South Africa: Meeting of 37 States on UN nuclear ban treaty underway

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Deputy Minister, Alvin Botes, on Monday, opened the African Regional Seminar on the Universalisation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which is currently underway in Pretoria.

The seminar is co-hosted by the DIRCO, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and includes the participation of 37 African States.

The TPNW, according to the department, is a landmark agreement in the history of nuclear disarmament and represents the desire for Member States of the United Nations (UN) to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

TPNW intends to further stigmatise and delegitimise nuclear weapons based on the adverse and indefensible humanitarian consequences of their use.

The Treaty emphasises the humanitarian consequences of the use of such weapons.

African States played a critical role during the open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament that culminated in the negotiation and adoption of the TPNW by the vast majority of UN Member States in July 2017.

This is by the declaration of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as far back as 1964 for the Denuclearisation of Africa, and the establishment of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Pelindaba Treaty, adopted in 1997.

The TPNW and the Pelindaba Treaty express the prohibition of nuclear weapons on the African continent while supporting the continued use of nuclear technologies for peaceful uses that contributes to socio-economic development.

The African Regional Seminar will take stock of the TPNW from a regional perspective and consider the need for further progress towards universalisation of the Treaty on the continent.

This will entail raising awareness about the TPNW, its importance for the African States, its place in the global and regional peace and security architecture as well as to highlight discussions about the risks posed by nuclear weapons and their catastrophic humanitarian consequences.

Universalisation of the TPNW maximises the authority of the Treaty, strengthens its core norms and principles and underscores the de-legitimization of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence.

Deputy Minister Botes stressed that: For a majority of non-nuclear armed States, especially African States, the risks of the use of nuclear weapons and the scale of the humanitarian consequences that would follow, make nuclear disarmament an urgent priority. South Africas own experience has shown that neither the possession nor the pursuit of nuclear weapons can enhance international peace and security.

According to Botes, the continued retention of nuclear weapons based on the perceived security interests of some States comes at the expense of the rest of humanity.

He said South Africas commitment to disarmament is based on the belief that international peace and security cannot be divorced from development.

South Africa continues to play a leading role in organising the implementation of the Treaty and calls upon African States to sign and ratify the TPNW at the earliest possible opportunity and thus reassert Africas leadership in nuclear disarmament and contributing to international peace and security, he added.

The Executive Director of ICAN, Beatrice Fihn, said: By coming to Pretoria for this meeting, the States here are reinforcing their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons and providing needed leadership on nuclear disarmament at a time when, for the first time in many years, we are faced with the very real and deeply concerning the possibility of a nuclear weapon being used in conflict.

Head of Pretoria Delegation of the ICRC, Jules Amoti, defined nuclear weapons as being one of the biggest threats to humanity.

Their catastrophic humanitarian consequences for all life on our planet are today well-known, and so are the immense risks their continued existence entails. The complete elimination of nuclear weapons is an urgent humanitarian imperative, and for all those States that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is also a legal duty, he added.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese economy gets off to a good start in 2023

Xinhua) 08:11, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- With long queues outside restaurants, crowded subway cars, and active machines in factories and on building sites, the Chinese economy is shaking off its COVID shadow and has gotten off to a good start in 2023.

ROBUST CONSUMPTION

During the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, which ended last Friday, cinemas, restaurants, and tourist attractions were swamped with people eager to meet their pent-up consumption desires.

Cinemas nationwide sold 129 million tickets, generating 6.76 billion yuan (nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the period, up 11.89 percent year on year. Some 308 million domestic trips were made, with tourism revenues hitting a total of 375.8 billion yuan, up 30 percent.

Better-than-expected holiday spending improved confidence in a services consumption recovery, CITIC Securities said in a report, noting that the catering sector is about to see a stable and sustainable rebound and that tourism will strengthen gradually during peak seasons.

Expanding consumption has become a policy priority.

A State Council meeting on Saturday stressed the need for timely measures to promote an early recovery of consumption as the main economic driving force. Local governments have since January been rolling out favorable policies to improve consumer sentiment.

Shanghai, a mega city in east China, on Sunday unveiled an action plan including purchase tax exemptions for new-energy vehicles and vouchers for sectors such as cultural tourism and catering. Hainan, an island province in south China, has actively promoted duty-free shopping, reporting 5.19 billion yuan in sales from Jan. 1 to 28.

A consumption rebound is a key theme for 2023, UBS economist Wang Tao said, predicting that full-year nominal retail sales will grow 9 percent year on year.

FACTORIES IN FULL SWING

Post-holiday production is also picking up across the country, with factories in full swing.

On Saturday, the first business day after the Spring Festival holiday, construction on 136 key projects broke ground in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

These projects, covering everything from advanced manufacturing to modern services, are expected to have an annual output of over 150 billion yuan and create more than 110,000 jobs.

In the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, more than 60 rotary drilling rigs were in simultaneous operation at a construction site for Changan Auto's new factory in January. "With an investment of 6.3 billion yuan, the project will have an annual capacity of 280,000 new energy vehicles," according to project director Wu Kezhi.

Chongqing is planning to launch 1,123 major projects this year, with total investment up 18.5 percent from a year earlier.

The same vigor can be seen nationwide, as local authorities are making solid efforts to resume production, bringing fresh and sustainable momentum to the economy.

Major economic powerhouses -- Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong and Sichuan provinces -- have set their 2023 growth targets at above 5 percent. New measures for this year have been unveiled in local government work reports, and they are expected to boost the high-quality growth of China's economy.

BRIGHTENED OUTLOOK

The reemerging hustle and bustle across the country has painted an encouraging picture of China's economy after a difficult 2022.

Saturday's State Council meeting urged efforts to promote a steady economic rebound for the beginning of the year.

The meeting underscored the need to facilitate a speedy resumption of business and production after the holiday. Timely measures will be taken to promote an early recovery, advance opening-up in a steadfast manner, and stabilize and upgrade foreign trade and investment.

Global investors and institutions have remained confident in the Chinese economy, and multiple investment banks have upwardly revised their forecasts for China's growth rate in 2023.

Liu Linan, head of China macro strategy at Deutsche Bank, has predicted that the Chinese economy will expand about 6 percent this year and that growth will become even more steady in 2024 as China emerges from the impacts of the three-year epidemic.

After returning to normalcy, and when financial risks tame and pro-growth reforms take effect, China's resilience will also strengthen in the medium-to-long term, Liu said, expressing optimism about the prospects of Chinese assets.

The country's economy has passed its most difficult moment and is expected to achieve an overall recovery and improve this year, with more market vitality unleashed and an accelerated rebound in activity, analysts have said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Karabakh NSS deputy director, head of presidential Central Information Department are dismissed

Armenia, Russia FMs meet in Uzbekistan

GeoProMining Gold develops social cooperation with Ararat region

Armenia Security Council secretary: International presence needed to resolve many security issues in Karabakh

Armenia police hand over Azerbaijani found in Kapan city area to National Security Service

Security Council head on CSTO: Not possible that Armenia be offered arms, ammunition help and it refuses

Armenia ruling force MP to Zakharova: If we hadn't fought, given casualties, Russia MFA could call as much as it wants

USD depreciating against several other major currencies

Armenia Security Council chief on Azerbaijan border stability: We expect Brussels to take appropriate steps

Armenia Security Council head: There were arrangements with Azerbaijan but most of them were broken

CIS FMs to hold meeting in Uzbekistan

Armenia Security Council chief: Azerbaijan is preparing for military escalation

Newspaper: Army General Staff chief admits that Tegh village incident was Armenian sides omission as well

Armenia MOD: Sanitary vehicle staff not hospitalized

shamshyan.com: Armenia MOD driver, 2 medical assistants hospitalized after truck, MOD sanitary vehicle collide

Brazil's president in China called for abandoning the dollar

Artsakh's Ombudsman expresses dissatisfaction to OSCE chairman for attitude of international community

Ararat Mirzoyan will go on a working visit to Uzbekistan

Police and demonstrators clash on the 12th day of demonstrations in France

Anahit Manasyan had a phone conversation with the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh

he 12th protest against pension reform takes place in France

Russia MOD: No ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh during last 24 hours

Lemkin Institute issues statement on Azerbaijan noncompliance with ICJ order to unblock Lachin corridor

MFA: Shushi is Artsakhs integral part in territorial, cultural, economic, historical aspects

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred in southeastern Turkey

Charles Michel explains his activeness in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process

Armenia PM to Bujar Osmani: This visit is good opportunity to get familiarized with complicated situation

South Korea bans its citizens from traveling to Armenia-Azerbaijan border region

Karabakh President convenes working consultation, security challenges discussed

OSCE Chairman-in-Office: I am here to find out if there is possibility to build bridges between Yerevan and Baku

Armenia PM chief of staff: Azerbaijanis are already in Yerevan, we have ensured their safety

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE toolkit provides mechanisms to assist peace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis

Osmani: We are ready for any efforts to achieve positive dynamics between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Armenia FM: Replacing army with guards on Azerbaijan border should be part of final settlement

Armenia MFA: Rumors about OSCE Minsk Group activities termination are greatly exaggerated

168.am: Who is the Azerbaijani already rendered ineffective in Armenia? What does he say in video?

Armenia village youth tell how they caught Azerbaijani

Armenia Investigative Committee issues statement on murder of security guard, 56, in Syunik Province

Azerbaijani who crossed border into Armenia is caught by locals, found in Achanan village territory

2nd Azerbaijan soldier found, detained in Armenia

Armenian health minister: Wounded soldier in critical condition due to Azerbaijan provocation has stabilized

Which Armenia company is put on US sanctions list?

Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders

Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border

Armenia to have trade attache in Germany

Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position

Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension

Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity

Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries

Newspaper: Karabakh soldiers who showed necessary resistance to Azerbaijan military are rewarded

Armenia FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office tete-a-tete kicks off (PHOTOS)

Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation

Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia

Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy

shamshyan.com: Murder in Armenias Syunik Province, 6 gunshot wounds found on body of security guard, 57

US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable

MFA: France deeply concerned about violence that took place near Tegh village of Armenia

Legal entity from Armenia on list of those subject to US export restrictions

Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

EU monitoring mission in Armenia not present in the area when Azerbaijan attacked

Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed

Armenia MOD: Tegh village incident that led to undesirable consequences was due to deployment adjustment

Mayor of Frances Lyon expresses unconditional support to people of Karabakh

Pashinyan: Armenian side had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

Criminal proceedings launched into Armenia soldiers being killed, wounded by Azerbaijan near Tegh village

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE supports continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan direct contacts

MFA: Russia asked Armenia to explain information about participating in joint military exercises with NATO

Zakharova does not disclose details of Russian, Turkish FMs talks on Armenia-Turkey relations

Russia MFA spox: CSTO mission deployment details can be talked about when Armenia is ready

Zakharova: Russia favors complete unblocking of Lachin corridor

Russia MFA: Other players engagement will lead to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations destabilization

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Russia MFA spox: Yerevan, Baku accepted proposal to hold another bilateral talks

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Armenia deputy defense minister on possible Azerbaijan provocations again: Nothing can be ruled out

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Parliament observes minute of silence in memory of Armenia soldiers who died yesterday

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Armenia MOD: No significant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan recorded at night

MOD: 3 of wounded Armenia soldiers in satisfactory condition, other 3 in moderate, severe, critical condition

RA MOD announces names of soldiers killed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces

As of 10:15 p.m., the situation on the frontline is relatively stable. RA Ministry of Defense

The destruction of Artsakh and Syunik is a key issue for Turkey and Azerbaijan. David Babayan

Suren Papikyan interrupts his working visit and returns to Armenia

Azerbaijans provocation is another encroachment on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. MFA

Azerbaijan MOD publicizes data on own losses during latest Baku provocation

Russia MOD: 2 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

The reason for Azerbaijan's aggression is not being sanctioned by the international community. Edmon Marukyan

Four Armenian soldiers killed, six wounded because of Azerbaijani provocation. MOD

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The public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Azerbaijani case against Armenia are over.



The Court will now begin its deliberations, the website notes.



During the hearings, which took place on Tuesday, 31 January 2023, at the Court's residence in the Peace Palace, the delegation of Azerbaijan was led by Elnur Mammadov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The delegation of Armenia was headed by Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Representative of the Republic of Armenia for International Legal Affairs.



The decision of the Court on the request for interim measures would be made at a public sitting, the date of which would be announced in due course.



At the conclusion of the oral arguments of Azerbaijan, the representative of Azerbaijan made the following request to the Court:



"In accordance with Article 60 (2) of the Rules of Court, on the basis of the facts and law set out in the Republic of Azerbaijans Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures of Protection dated 3 January 2023, and for the reasons explained during these hearings, the Republic of Azerbaijan respectfully asks the Court to indicate the following provisional measures:



(a) Armenia shall immediately take all necessary steps to enable Azerbaijan to undertake the prompt, safe and effective demining of the towns, villages, and other areas to which Azerbaijani civilians will return in the Lachin District, Kalbajar District and other formerly occupied districts of Azerbaijan, including by providing information about the location, quantity, type and characteristics of landmines, booby traps and other explosive devices in these areas, in order to enable Azerbaijani internally displaced persons to return to their homes; and



b) Armenia shall immediately cease and desist from any further efforts to plant or to sponsor or support the planting of landmines and booby traps in these areas to which Azerbaijani civilians will return in Azerbaijans territory, including, but not limited to, the use of the Lachin Corridor for this purpose."



At the conclusion of Armenia's oral arguments, the representative of Armenia made the following request to the Court:



On the basis of its oral pleadings, Armenia respectfully requests the Court to reject Azerbaijans request for the indication of provisional measures in full.
Microbes have an incredible ability to thrive in different environments. Extensive research has shown the vital roles that these invisible organisms play in the ecosystems of marine and soil environments.

But the atmosphere is another important habitat. Growing evidence shows that microbes in the Earths atmosphere can affect rainfall, land fertilization and food production. Little is known, however, about how these tiny life forms adapt to living in air and the even broader role that airborne microbes may play in the planets ecosystem.

The W.M. Keck Foundation awarded Emory University physicists Justin Burton and Minsu Kim $1.2 million to explore these mysteries. In a collaboration with the University of Oregon, the researchers will use the funds to pioneer new methods for mechanistic studies of the physiology, metabolism, ecology and evolution of airborne microbes.

The Emory project will create new tools to conduct never-before-done studies of how microbes adapt to living in air.

Weve developed a prototype acoustic levitation system that opens the door for air-culturing microbes in a well-controlled laboratory environment for the first time, says Burton, associate professor of physics.

The Burton lab specializes in studying the fluid dynamics of natural phenomena, from the molecular to the geographical scale.

The Kim lab specializes in using advanced biophysical techniques to characterize microbes from the molecular to cellular level.

We are helping to take the field of air biology into a new era, says Kim, associate professor of physics. Most research into microbe ecology has focused on microbes from marine and soil environments. Were expanding the possibilities for investigating atmospheric microbes.

The Emory researchers will collaborate with additional principal investigators on the Keck Award project: Earth scientist Joshua Mendez Harper, a former postdoctoral fellow in the Burton lab now at the University of Oregon, and Josef Dufek, professor of Earth sciences at the University of Oregon.

Wind-blown dust circulates globally, emitted by volcanic eruptions, wildfires and dust storms. These airborne particles can carry minerals and other nutrients across long distances. Desert dust from the Sahara, for example, is an important source of phosphorous for the Amazon rain forest.

It is also well-known that microbes  including viruses, fungi and bacteria  hitchhike on atmospheric dust. Perhaps the most striking example of how atmospheric microbes can impact the environment is the so-called rain-making bacterium Pseudomonas syringae that has been isolated from clouds. Research shows that this bacterium may play a role in the precipitation cycle by producing an enzyme that catalyzes ice formation.

Key impediments to further studying such atmospheric phenomena are sampling and culturing microbes in the air.

The Keck-funded project will develop an airborne-culturing method using acoustic levitators, each about the size of a microwave oven, that simulate atmospheric conditions. The levitators will work by creating standing waves of sound, just like a musical instrument, but at a frequency well outside of the range of human hearing. These high-intensity sound waves create high pressure that is capable of suspending particles in air that are as dense as copper.

Initially, the project will focus on studying bacteria, believed to make up more than 50% of atmospheric microbes. The controlled, laboratory conditions of the levitators will allow the researchers to home in on how different species of bacteria adapt to living in the harsh conditions found in the atmosphere, such as extreme temperature shifts, high humidity and solar radiation.

The bacterial species studied will include some that the researchers collect from the atmosphere through balloon experiments. Team members at the University of Oregon will release a series of small, ultralight balloons. They will float on easterly winds across the country at altitudes between five and six kilometers, which is comparable to those of Saharan dust clouds and wildfire plumes. Each balloon will house sterile titanium booms affixed with tiny sponges to trap microbes within their pores.

Balloon positions and sensor data  including temperature, pressure, humidity and dust concentration  will be transmitted continuously using amateur radio bands. As the balloons fly over Georgia, descent will be controlled using parachutes. GPS beacons will be enabled upon landing, allowing the researchers to pinpoint and recover the balloons.

The methods developed in the lab, and the resulting data, will be open source. Scientists around the world can build on the work and continue to push the boundaries in the field of air biology.

The award from the Keck Foundation is giving us the freedom to strike out in bold new scientific directions, Burton says.

Based in Los Angeles, the W.M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W.M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The foundations grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research and science and engineering. The foundation also supports undergraduate education and maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support for the Lost Angeles community, with a special emphasis on children and youth. For more information, visit www.wmkeck.org.
The University of Miami Law Review has announced this year's symposium, "An Unequal Burden: Exploring Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis," to be held February 10 and 11 on the Coral Gables campus.

The symposium will focus on the increasingly crucial legal field of environmental law. The discussion throughout the two-day event will look at the unequal burden shouldered by different communities from the climate crisis and how the environmental justice legal movement is working to correct historical wrongs.

The program will examine various subjects, such as Miami-centric issues, labor and immigration, Indigenous approaches, climate racism and human rights, and just energy transitions.

Shalanda H. Baker, the director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy, will deliver the opening keynote. Before her appointment at DoE, she was a Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs professor at Northeastern University. She was the co-founder and co-director of the Initiative for Energy Justice, which provides technical law and policy support to communities on the front lines of climate change.

Mary Kathryn Nagle, a lawyer, playwright, and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, will deliver the second-day keynote. Nagle works at the intersection of justice and drama to secure the rights and sovereignty of Native nations. She has drafted and filed numerous briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States. She has also published multiple law review articles and written plays performed across the country.

The symposium will also feature the first global preview of artist Xavier Cortada's video installation "Underwater Florida." Cortada will deliver a lecture Mobilizing Climate Constituencies through Socially Engaged Art to close the first day.

Through the Climate Resilience Academy, the University of Miami has demonstrated a renewed determination to address the climate crisis on the UM campus. The 2023 symposium will bring the University community and the legal community together and provide a platform for these critical issues with global impact for the coming decades.

The event, which will take place at the Lakeside Expo Center, is open to the public with registration and includes CLE credits  1.0 in ethics and 9.0 general  from The Florida Bar.

Read more about Miami Law's journals and law reviews
Blinken meets Palestine's Abbas as violence spikes

Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken met President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Photo: AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his sorrow Tuesday for "innocent" Palestinians killed in a spike of violence in the occupied West Bank, after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.



Washington's top diplomat met Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the final stop on a Middle East tour aimed at curbing the bloodshed, following meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet minister.



Both sides are reeling from a new wave of violence. A Palestinian shot dead seven people in an Israeli settlement in annexed east Jerusalem on Friday, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.



This month the conflict has killed 35 Palestinian adults and children -- including attackers, militants and civilians -- as well as the six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian, killed on Friday.



Speaking in Ramallah, Blinken expressed his "sorrow for the innocent Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in escalating violence over the last year".



The year 2022 was the deadliest in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking fatalities in the occupied territory in 2005.



"Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity, growing fear in their homes, in their communities and in their places of worship," said Blinken.



The US envoy's remarks alongside the Palestinian leader came a day after he met with Netanyahu, when he urged both sides to take "urgent steps" to calm tensions.



Blinken on Monday also condemned Palestinians "who celebrate... acts of terrorism that take innocent lives," in the wake of the shooting in east Jerusalem.



After meeting Palestinian residents in the West Bank, the US top diplomat said he saw a "shrinking horizon of hope" for Palestinians.



Before heading to the West Bank on Tuesday, Blinken met new Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who took office as part of the right-wing government Netanyahu formed in December.



Gallant praised Blinken for his "unwavering support" in helping safeguard Israel's military superiority in the region.



The fatal east Jerusalem shooting was preceded by the Israeli forces' deadliest operation in the West Bank in years, killing 10 people Thursday in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp. Israel said its forces targeted Islamic Jihad operatives.



The Israeli military later hit sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.



The Islamist group said Blinken's visit "emphasises the absolute support and partnership with the (Israeli) occupation".



Netanyahu's cabinet has moved to punish "the families of terrorists that support terrorism" with home demolitions and other measures.



His government is also planning to rescind the rights to social security benefits of attackers' relatives, and steps to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms.



Blinken had made an initial stop in Egypt, where he met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, commending "Egypt's important role in promoting stability in the region".



The diplomats and intelligence services of Egypt -- a major recipient of US military aid -- are regularly called upon to intercede between Israelis and Palestinians.



Blinken's Israel visit is part of the Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democratic president Barack Obama.



Blinken reiterated US support for a Palestinian state, a prospect few expect to advance under the new Israeli government.



Speaking in Ramallah, Blinken criticised Israeli moves which Washington believes create barriers to the two-state solution.



He listed "settlement expansion, the legalisation of (settlement) outposts, demolitions and evictions, disruptions to the historic status of the holy sites, and of course incitement and acquiescence to the violence".



Controversial policies such as settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes have been high on the agenda of Netanyahu's new government, the most-right wing administration in Israeli history.



During Netanyahu's previous tenure, Israel established ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, under deals brokered by then US president Donald Trump.



Netanyahu said Monday that expanding those deals and "working to close, finally, the file of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I think would also help us achieve a workable solution with our Palestinian neighbours". (AFP)
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order directing the payment of provident fund and gratuity dues of the Jet Airway's former employees. A bench, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, said: "Anyone stepping in would know that there are overriding labour dues. Unpaid labour dues always take precedence." The apex court order has come as a setback to the Jalan-Fritsch consortium, new owners of the cash-strapped Jet Airways. The bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala said that, somewhere, there has to be finality and added that it will not interfere with the NCLAT order. The consortium's counsel submitted that an additional Rs 200 crore would be required and it would become difficult for the revival of the airline, and further added that the resolution plan, once approved, cannot be either taken back or modified. Senior advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar and advocate Swarnendu Chatterjee, represented the Association of Aggrieved Workmen of Jet Airways (AAWJA), which comprised 270 former employees of the airline. The employees had resigned on or after the carrier's insolvency commencement date and they had filed a caveat before the top court. The apex court declined to entertain the plea moved by the consortium and upheld the NCLAT's order. After the hearing, Chatterjee told the media that the order is a ray of hope for all such workmen and employees who are entangled in these types of litigation. According to the consortium, the information memorandum did not disclose any liabilities of the corporate debtor (Jet Airways) towards the provident fund and gratuity dues in full. In October last year, the NCLAT had directed the consortium to pay the gratuity dues and the provident fund dues of the employees of the airline. The successful resolution applicants for Jet Airways (India) Ltd had moved the apex court challenging the NCLAT order. --IANS ss/vd ( 326 Words) 2023-01-30-22:36:02 (IANS)
The wait for the annual national Budget is almost over as the Union government is set to table the Economic Survey on Tuesday. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the pre-Budget document in the Parliament after President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament. The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, will give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators in the current financial year 2022-23 (April-March) and outlook for the next year. The Economy Survey may also give some idea about the tone and texture of the actual Budget for 2023-24, to be presented on Wednesday. The first economic survey reportedly came into existence in 1950-51, when it used to be a part of the budget documents. In the 1960s, it was separated from the Budget documents and presented day prior to the Union Budget. The most important feature which many will look out for is its central theme. Last year's central theme was 'Agile Approach', which put emphasis on India's economic response to the Covid-19 Pandemic shock. The preface of the Economic Survey 2022 stated that the "Agile approach" was based on feedback loops, real-time monitoring of actual outcomes, flexible responses, safety-net buffers and so on. Along with the sectoral chapters, the Survey document also adds new need-based chapters that need focus. The Economic Survey tabled in 2022 projected India's GDP growth of 8.0-8.5 per cent in 2022-23, which the government felt will be supported by widespread vaccine coverage, gains from supply-side reforms and easing of regulations, robust export growth, and availability of fiscal space to ramp up capital spending. Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha election due in April-May of 2024. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form. The Budget documents will be available on the 'Union Budget Mobile App' on both the Android and Apple OS platforms after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10. The first part of the session will be held from January 31 and will go on till February 13. The Parliament will reconvene after a recess for parliamentary committees to discuss the demand for grants of various ministries. The second part will begin on March 13 and will continue till April 6. (ANI)
The month of January started on a super bad note for employees in the tech world. With more Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Google joining the ongoing layoff season, more than 3,400 tech employees are being laid off per day on average in January globally. As per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi, 219 companies have laid off more than 68,000 employees in January so far. In 2022, over 1,000 companies laid off 154,336 workers, as per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi. The mass tech layoffs of 2022 are continuing into the new year. The sacking episodes have gained speed amid global economic meltdown and recession fears.Deeper layoffs are coming in 2023 as most business economists have predicted that their companies will cut payrolls in the coming months. According to a report in CNN citing a new survey, only 12 per cent of economists -- surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) -- anticipate employment will increase at their firms over the next three months, "down from 22 per cent this fall". This is the first time since early days of the Covid pandemic that more business leaders anticipate jobs shrinking at their firms. The findings indicate "widespread concern about entering a recession this year", according to Julia Coronado, president of NABE. With more Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Google joining the ongoing layoff season, about 3,000 tech employees are now being laid off per day on average in January globally, including in India. According to the survey, a little more than half of the business economists feel the risk of a recession over the next year at 50 per cent or higher, which means more layoffs in the offing in 2023. Amid the layoffs come another bad news for employees, especially from India in the US, as Google has paused its Program Electronic Review Management (PERM), a key step in acquiring an employer-sponsored green card. Google has sent an email to foreign employees, notifying them that the tech giant will pause any new filings of PERM, leaving foreign workers in a limbo. "Recognising how this news may impact some of you and your families, I wanted to update you as quickly as possible on the difficult decision we've had to make to pause new PERM applications. This does not impact other visa applications or programmes," an email from a company executive read. A Google employee posted the email on Team Blind, an anonymous social networking site for certified IT workers. A PERM application is a critical first step in the green card (permanent residence) process. The process requires employers to demonstrate that there are no qualified US workers available for the particular role, which has been an increasingly difficult position for us to support given the labor market today. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is full of job hunts, offers of support for laid off friends and colleagues, and advice for coping with career hurdles as several companies trim their workforce to navigate through an uncertain macroeconomic environment. Some LinkedIn groups are providing assistance around signing exit paperwork and aiding with connections for new jobs.
London [UK]/ Boston (Massachusetts) [US], January 31 (ANI/PRNewswire): B2B growth consultancy Momentum ITSMA is delighted to announce the release of The Executive's Guide to Account-Based Marketing: Grow your most valuable customers. The book - from the global pioneers of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) - explains how to build a successful account-based strategy, create powerful customer collaboration, and drive sustained revenue growth. ABM has never been more relevant or valuable. In our latest benchmark study, 71 per cent of companies said they will increase ABM spend in 2023 and 77 per cent reported revenue growth from ABM programs. But it isn't easy to get ABM right. Especially with the context for delivery constantly changing: from market conditions and competition to tactics and tools - and most of all, customer needs. That's why marketing leaders must do even more to put customers at the heart of their business and treat each key account as an individual market. To help businesses do that, the book provides a clear framework of: - The key principles of Account-Based Marketing- The critical success factors and how to measure them- How to build, embed, and accelerate an account-based program The guide was written by Momentum ITSMA CEO, Alisha Lyndon, and features first-hand insights from Momentum ITSMA's work. "Done well, Account-Based Marketing delivers tremendous business impact. We've helped our clients drive $100bn in revenue through Account-Based Marketing. This book provides a straightforward guide to help firms sharpen their account-based strategy, turning it into an organization-wide growth driver," Alisha Lyndon said. The book also includes findings from two Momentum ITSMA studies and contributions from Senior Vice President Rob Leavitt, Partner Robert Hollier, and Chief Community Officer, Dave Munn. "ABM has come a long way since we first codified it, 20 years ago. One of the biggest challenges in driving success with an account-based marketing strategy is having strong organizational alignment and a common understanding. This book comes at a time when executive interest in ABM is at all-time high and it aims to unite executives behind a common understanding," Robert Hollier said. Get your copy today on Amazon. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI/PNN): Gifting can be a great way to show your love and appreciation to your loved ones. But finding the perfect gift can be a daunting task. That's why online gifting has become increasingly popular. Online gifting allows you to send your loved ones a thoughtful gift without having to physically go to the store. Floral Room India is one of the best online gifting services in India. In this blog, we will take a look at the benefits of online gifting, the different types of flowers available, unique gifting ideas, advantages of online gifting, benefits of shopping with Floral Room India, and more. Introduction to Floral Room India Floral Room India is a one-stop destination for all your gifting needs. They offer a wide range of flowers, cakes, chocolates, and other gifting items for different occasions. Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or any other special occasion, you can find the perfect gift for your loved ones at Floral Room India. They also offer same day and midnight delivery services to ensure that your gifts reach your loved ones on time. The Floral Room was established in the year 2019 and is the first brand in India to officially introduce The Grande Box of 1000 roses popularly known as "Fairytale bed of 1000 roses" and plans to create many more such first-of-its-kind products for its customers. The Floral Room curates exotic and artistic floral arrangements, handcrafted with utmost love and care. It has served thousands of happy and satisfied customers in Delhi/NCR including celebrity clients, corporates, homegrown luxury brands, jewellers etc. Types of Flowers Available Floral Room India offers a wide selection of flowers for all occasions. From roses to lilies, you can find the perfect flower for every occasion. They also offer exotic flowers like orchids and tulips. You can even customise your bouquet by adding chocolates, cakes, and other items to make it even more special. Unique Gifting Ideas If you're looking for something unique, Floral Room India also offers unique gifting ideas. From personalised gifts to gift hampers, you can find something for everyone. You can even create your own gift hamper with items from their selection. Floral Room India : Advantages of Online Gifting Online gifting also offers several advantages over traditional gifting. For starters, you don't have to worry about finding a store or dealing with traffic. You can simply place your order online and have it delivered to your loved ones. Online gifting also offers more flexibility. You can choose the delivery date and time, so you don't have to worry about the gift arriving late. You can also track your order to make sure it arrives on time. Finally, you can save money with online gifting. You can often find great deals and discounts online that you wouldn't be able to find in a physical store. Benefits of Shopping with Floral Room India When you shop with Floral Room India, you can be sure that you're getting the best products at the best prices. They offer a wide selection of flowers, cakes, chocolates, and other items for all occasions. They also offer same day and midnight delivery services to ensure that your gifts reach their destination on time. Their delivery staff is courteous and professional, so you can be sure that your gifts will be handled with care. Gift Ideas for Different Occasions When it comes to gifting, Floral Room India has something for everyone. Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or any other special occasion, you can find the perfect gift for your loved ones at Floral Room India. For birthdays, you can choose from a selection of flowers, cakes, and chocolates. You can also add personalised gifts like teddy bears and photo frames to make it even more special. For anniversaries, Floral Room India offers a wide range of flowers, cakes, and other items. You can also add a personalised message to make it an even more special gift. For weddings, Floral Room India offers a selection of flowers, cakes, and other items. You can also add a personalised message to make the gift even more special. Tips for Choosing the Best Gift When it comes to gifting, it's important to choose the right gift. Here are some tips to help you choose the best gift for your loved ones: -Think about the occasion: What is the occasion? Is it a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or any other special occasion? Knowing the occasion will help you choose the right gift. -Consider their interests: What are their hobbies and interests? Knowing their interests will help you find the perfect gift. -Think about their personality: What is their personality like? Do they prefer practical gifts or something more unique? Thinking about their personality will help you find the perfect gift. Finally, don't forget to add a personal touch. You can add a personalised message or a photo to make the gift even more special. Conclusion Gifting is a great way to show your love and appreciation to your loved ones. But finding the perfect gift can be a daunting task. That's why online gifting is becoming increasingly popular. Floral Room India is one of the best online gifting services in India. They offer a wide range of flowers, cakes, chocolates, and other items for different occasions. They also offer same day and midnight delivery services to ensure that your gifts reach your loved ones on time. So if you're looking for the perfect gift for your loved ones, visit Floral Room India. They offer a wide selection of flowers, cakes, chocolates, and other items for all occasions. Plus, they offer a 100 per cent satisfaction guarantee and free shipping on all orders over Rs. 500. So visit their website today and get the perfect gift for your loved ones! Aakanksha Sinha, the founder of The Floral Room with more than 3 years of experience in this industry says," I am an architect by profession, but my creativity and immense love for flowers made me open the brand -The Floral Room. To get a change and cope with the growing market trend we wanted to redefine luxury in the floral industry." The brand's management of the supply/demand chain catering to thousands of orders every day has been excellent since its inauguration helping them to gain almost 100k followers on The Floral Room's Instagram handle ( @thefloralroomindia ). Dealing in exotic and some imported flowers like roses, hydrangeas, Lillies, carnations, daisies, etc., The brand plans to introduce more exotic varieties and unique concepts. Being established in Delhi / NCR, the brand plans to expand its services to some major cities like Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Surat, Dehradun and also plans to stretch its arms across India. Floral Room India : https://www.instagram.com/thefloralroomindia for more gifting ideas. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, said on Tuesday that Adani Gadot will transform the entire Haifa port landscape. "Privileged to meet with @IsraeliPM @netanyahu on this momentous day as the Port of Haifa is handed over to the Adani Group. The Abraham Accord will be a game changer for the Mediterranean sea logistics. Adani Gadot set to transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire," Adani tweeted. Speaking at the event in the Israeli port city of Haifa, Adani said, "Over these years, we have struck many critical partnerships that include Elbit Systems, Israel Weapon Systems, and Israel Innovation Authority. We have initiated several dozens technology relationships wherein we have offered the entire Adani portfolio of companies to be a giant sandbox for us to learn together." "We are also in the process of setting up an Artificial Intelligence lab in Tel Aviv which will work in close collaboration with our new AI labs in India and the US. We also anticipate establishing collaborative relationships with local colleges like the University of Haifa to be able to capitalise on the deep technology expertise available in this city," Adani said. "And now we have the most momentous partnership of all the Haifa Port along with our valued partner Gadot. Talking about Haifa port, I am very confident that with the support from the government of Israel, the local authorities, and our partner Gadot, we will transform the entire port landscape," Adani said. He added that the intention is to make the right set of investments that will not just make the Adani Gadot partnership proud, but will also make the whole of Israel proud. Adani said the acquisition of the Haifa Port also comes with a significant amount of real estate. "And I promise you that in the years to come, we will transform the skyline we see around us," he said. "The Haifa of tomorrow will look very different from the Haifa that you see today. With your support, we will deliver on this commitment and do our part to transform this city," Adani said. --IANS san/arm ( 365 Words) 2023-01-31-19:58:02 (IANS)
Late filmmaker Yash Chopra's iconic cinematic journey has inspired filmmaker Smriti Mundra to helm a docu-series about him. Global streaming giant Netflix is coming up with the docu-series titled 'The Romantics', which will feature 35 leading voices of the Hindi-language film industry and dive into the history of Bollywood through the lens of the Yash Raj Films' impact over the past 50 years in making Bollywood globally known. Sharing details on the collaboration, Monika Shergill, VP - Content, Netflix India said, "Fondly remembered as The King of Romance, Yash Chopra's films brought in a new wave of emotion, individualism and cultural change to Hindi cinema and helped turn one of the biggest film industries in the world into what it is today. In celebration of the iconic songs, stories and the nostalgia, we're partnering with the creative powerhouses, YRF and Smriti Mundra to bring The Romantics to our global audiences. The gripping documentary series is the real and definitive story of Yash Chopra and his son Aditya Chopra's journey to building a world class studio and will give our viewers a glimpse into the lives of one of the most influential families in Bollywood film history." The trailer of the project will be out on February 1. It was Yash Chopra who redefined Indian cinema by spreading romance and love through his films. From Raj-Simran to Veer-Zaara, the late director had given iconic love stories to Hindi cinema in his career spanning six decades. He died on October 21, 2012, just a month before the release of his last film, 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'. (ANI)
Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, on Tuesday, unveiled the first trailer of his upcoming family entertainer film 'Shiv Shastri Balboa' and it was a fun joyride filled with emotions. Anupam took to his YouTube channel and dropped the trailer with the caption, "Presenting the Official Trailer of Shiv Shastri Balboa!" Helmed by Ajayan Venugopalan, the film also stars Jugal Hansraj, Neena Gupta, Nargis Fakhri and Sharib Hashmi in pivotal roles. It is set to hit the theatres on February 10, 2023. The plot of the actor's new film revolves around its central character Shiv Shastri, a retiree from India and a big fan of the movie Rocky. He moves to the USA and ends up on an unexpected road trip through the American heartland which teaches that it's never too old to reinvent yourself. In the trailer, Anupam is introduced not as a boxer but as someone who trained boxers, who went on to win gold medals. After meeting his son in the USA and realizing that his grandchild has no clue about Rocky, he feels bad. As events transpire, Anupam meets Neena Gupta's character who wants to travel to India as she hasn't been home in eight years. Talking about the film, Anupam Kher said, "This is a very special movie for me. Shiv Shastri Balboa challenged my mental space but also my physical space. It's important to make films you challenge, me and Neena Gupta have worked for a year. Hard work stays with you, stardom comes and goes." Adding to this, director Ajayan Venugopal said, "It was a very small crew. It was like a family with hardly 40 people on the crew. While filming this we had lots of fun... It's been a long journey and we are very excited. Nargis Fakhri further added, "It was a great advantage and I am lucky to be part of the movie. I really enjoyed playing my character and it was a very interesting role. I enjoyed the role whether it's big or small and Anupam always helps me like my guru." (ANI)
One of the most typical causes for people to seek medical attention is chronic pain, which is frequently incapacitating. American individuals who suffer from chronic pain number 65 million. Between 67 and 88 per cent of them also have sleep disruptions, which include lower sleep quality and lengthier, more frequent nocturnal awakenings. Additionally, sleep issues may make pain worse by promoting the growth of diabetes, obesity, and depression. Because chronic pain and sleep are thought to be correlated, treatment of one could be beneficial to the other. One such treatment is spinal cord stimulation, which shows mounting evidence that it improves aspects of sleep and has demonstrated efficacy in treating a multitude of chronic pain conditions. This treatment involves an implantable spinal cord stimulator that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve pain. However, its impact on patients' lives has yet to be determined. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine, in collaboration with Albany Medical Center, conducted a study to better understand the effect of spinal cord stimulation on chronic pain and sleep. For the study, participants completed a battery of certified outcome measures regarding sleep, pain, functional status, and overall quality of life at various time periods throughout the study. These surveys were given pre-operatively and either six months or one year post-operatively. Participants also were asked about their satisfaction with the spinal cord stimulation procedure and if they would have the surgery again. Researchers examined the relationship between pain outcome measures using the insomnia severity index, a clinical screening tool that assesses the severity of both nighttime and daytime components of insomnia. With this tool, they established the minimally clinical important difference - the smallest noticeable change that a patient perceives as clinically significant, and which could indicate a change in their management. Minimally clinical important difference is particularly useful in evaluating newer treatments, as these have a smaller cohort with which to compare for statistical significance. The study, published in the journal Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, successfully established minimally clinical important difference ranges for the insomnia severity index outcome measure to help gauge improvement in insomnia after spinal cord stimulation. Results showed insomnia severity index improvement of 30 percent or more in 39.1 percent of the participants and an Epworth sleepiness scale of 30 percent or more in 28.1 percent of the participants. Minimally clinical important difference values of 2.4 to 2.6 correlated with improvement in disability and depression in the participants. The study revealed associations with sleep and both pain and depression, but no correlation between sleep and spinal cord stimulation success. "The physiologic mechanisms of both pain and sleep are complex, and the relationship between the two is poorly understood," said Julie Pilitsis, M.D., Ph.D., senior author and dean and vice president for medical affairs, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine. "By recognizing the intersection of sleep disorders and chronic pain, treatment plans can be more focused and can thus lead to drastic improvements in overall health, beyond the improvement in sleep or pain alone." Spinal cord stimulation success was measured by the change between the pre-operative scores and the scores between six to 12 months post-operatively. The insomnia severity index asks seven questions to assess an individual's level of insomnia, with higher scores indicating increased nocturnal sleep disturbance. The Epworth sleepiness scale quantifies day-time sleepiness based on a patient's likelihood to doze off during eight daily activities, with higher scores indicating increased daytime sleepiness. To determine which patients had improved sleep, researchers looked at improvement in insomnia severity index or Epworth sleepiness scale of 30 percent or more. "Our study includes pertinent sleep conditions in our analysis, as the interplay between sleep and chronic pain is important to consider in patients undergoing spinal cord stimulation," said Pilitsis, who also is a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. "As more studies are conducted on minimally clinical important difference thresholds, assessing the clinical response to spinal cord stimulation will improve. As such, we can gain a better understanding of the type of patient most likely to benefit from this treatment." (ANI)
Launching a scathing attack on Opposition parties, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday dubbed them as "wolves". Reddy said that all wolves are joining hands but he will fight them like a lion. "All the wolves are joining hands, but I am not scared. Ask me why? Because your son only believes in you (public) and God and will march ahead bravely like a lion," Jagan said at a public meeting in Vinukonda in Palnadu district. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President was apparently referring to the efforts to form an alliance of Jana Sena Party (JSP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). JSP leader and actor Pawan Kalyan, who is an ally of the BJP, is also trying to bring TDP on board to avoid a split of anti-YSRCP votes in next year's Assembly elections. Reddy also took potshots at the Opposition for its 'false' propaganda that the state would be engulfed in a financial mess just like what happened in Sri Lanka. "Many are jealous of the development in Andhra Pradesh under the YSRCP, and have decided to indulge in spreading false propaganda. Today, money is being credited directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Do you recall such an exercise by the previous government? The previous regime was being run by a gang of thieves who used to gobble up money meant for public welfare. Do you want such a rule," the Chief Minister asked. Reddy said that he only believes in development of SCs, STs, BCs and minorities, and is not bothered if the Opposition are joining hands to defame him. Claiming that Andhra Pradesh is the fastest-growing state in the country, he said the state has achieved numero uno position by achieving a GSDP of 11.43 per cent. The Chief Minister was addressing the public meeting after releasing aid under the Jagananna Chedodu scheme. "Andhra Pradesh has set an example in the country with regard to growth rate. We are ahead of all states with a GSDP of 11.43 per cent. Every sector is developing simultaneously under the YSRCP government," he said. This is the third consecutive year that the state government is disbursing aid under Jagananna Chedodu to washermen, Nayee Brahmins and tailors. A sum of Rs 330.15 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 3,30,145 beneficiaries as part of the exercise on Monday. Under the Chedodu scheme, the beneficiaries will get Rs 10,000 each per annum. The aid can be utilised by the beneficiaries to purchase tools, equipment and other necessary items to boost their income. So far, the government has extended Rs 927.51 crore aid to the beneficiaries. "As promised, we will change the fate of the poor, who are the backbone of the state. Financial support would be provided to all without any discrimination," he said. --IANS ms/arm ( 495 Words) 2023-01-30-19:50:03 (IANS)
Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya on Monday took a jibe at seer Mahant Raju Das stating that he could have just cursed him instead of spending Rs 21 lakh to get him killed. In a tweet, the SP MLC Mauya said the seer Raju Das wanted to spend Rs 21 lakh to get him killed due to his remarks. He passed a sarcastic remark on the seer stating he could have just used his magical powers to kill him. In his tweet, SP MLC Maurya stated, "A baba (seer) who claims to do the impossible is very popular nowadays. What kind of a baba are you? Despite having the most powerful back, you are offering a bounty to get me killed. You could have simply cursed. You could have also saved Rs 21 lakh and people could see your real face." Earlier on Saturday, the SP leader tweeted, "I will continue to oppose the conspiracy to humiliate tribals, Dalits-backwards and women in the name of religion, just as an elephant does not change its gait due to barking of dogs, in the same way, I will not change my point until they are given their duly respected." Maurya sparked a major controversy this month after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. Due to his remarks, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav was received with black flags, when he participated in the Maa Pitambara 108 Mahayagya on the banks of the Gomti in Daliganj on Saturday. Yadav alleged that the ruling BJP considers Dalits and Backwards castes as Shudra and said that the BJP is setting a bad precedent by disturbing programmes. Yadav told the mediapersons, "BJP people consider Dalits as Shudra. They consider us backwards and Dalits as Shudras (untouchable)." "I respect all religions. But if in the name of religion, a community or caste is humiliated, then it is objectionable," Yadav said. On January 24, an FIR was lodged at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on the basis of a complaint by one Shivendra Mishra against the SP leader. On January 27, Maurya in his recent remark said, "I respect all religions. I merely objected to certain verses in Ramcharitmanas which hurts the sentiments of 97 per cent of Hindus. Those verses reflect poorly on our own religion. They also advocate killing women and the Shudras. This is nothing but abuse and no religion should stand for such abuse and insult." "I just sought the deletion of a few lines that are disrespectful of women, Adivasis and the Dalits. All communities are being disrespected in the state since the SP was voted out of power. After the BJP came to power, 5, Kalidas Marg (the CM's official residence in Lucknow) was cleansed with Gangajal (water from River Ganga)," added Maurya. (ANI)
A Delhi court on Monday discharged a man arrested for allegedly supplying an illegal weapon to Shahrukh Pathan, an accused in the Northeast Delhi riots case. The court noted that there was no incriminating evidence, except the disclosure statements of two accused persons in the case. It held that there was no ground to presume that the accused committed the offence. The weapon was allegedly used to fire upon Deepak Dahiya as well as the general public protesting on Seelampur Road during the Northeast Delhi riots on February 24, 2020. The case in connection with the incident was registered at Jafrabad police station. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Court discharged Babu Wasim from the offence under Arms Act. "The case against accused Babu Wasim is essentially based on surmises and conjectures rather than actual material/evidence. There is no ground to presume that the accused Babu Wasim committed an offence under Section 25 Arms Act. He is accordingly discharged for the said offence," ASJ Rawat ordered on Monday. However, the court charged Wasim for non-appearance before the court after the declaration of proclamation. "As far as Section 174-A IPC is concerned, it is a standalone offence and all the necessary legal requirements for proceedings under Section 82 Cr. P.C. was completed and no infirmity has been found or even shown by the counsel for the accused in the proceedings or order of 18.07.2020 passed by the Magistrate Court, declaring the accused Babu Wasim, a proclaimed offender," the court noted. Thus, the accused Babu Wasim is liable to be charged for the offence under Section 174-A IPC, the court ordered. It said the first incriminating material produced by the prosecution, is the disclosure statement of both accused Shahrukh Pathan and Babu Wasim but disclosure statements, by themselves, are not admissible in law. Secondly, as is admitted by the prosecution, there is no witness on record to show that accused Babu Wasim provided the said pistol to accused Shahrukh Pathan on December 6, 2019, at Brahampuri, Shahdara, Delhi or that he possessed the said firearm before December 6, 2019, the court added. The court rejected the contention that accused Shahrukh Pathan made four successive calls to Babu Wasim on December 6, 2019, at night with a location chart of the mobile phones of both accused persons showing that they were at the same place, at best, shows that theywere at the same spot at the same time or met with each other. The court pointed out, "What the prosecution is required to prove is that accused Babu Wasim possessed the said pistol before 06.12.2019 and/or delivered such pistol to accusedShahrukh Pathan on that day at that time and which was then used in riots. There is no material to substantiate this allegation." It was further noted, "Even Sanction Order under Section 39 Arms Act issued by the Addl. DCP-1, North-East District, for the purpose of Section 25 Arms Act is without proper appreciation of material on record/evidence collected by IO." Previously, the court on December 7, 2021, framed charges against accused persons Shahrukh Pathan alias Khan, Ishtiyak Malik alias Guddu, Shamim and Abdul Shehzad under Section 147/148/186/188/353/ 307 IPC, read with Section 149 IPC. Additional charges were slapped against Shahrukh Pathan for the offence under sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act while against another accused, Kaleem Ahmed, was charged with an offence under Section 216 of IPC. The chargesheet also named Babu Wasim under Section 25 Arms Act and 174A of IPC. Accordinng to the prosecution, Shahrukh Pathan was arrested on March 3, 2020. Further, according to the prosecution, he disclosed that in December 2019, he had purchased a pistol and 20 rounds from Babu Wasim by paying Rs 35,000. It was alleged that he disclosed that he had met with Babu Wasim at Masjid (Khaddewali), Ghonda and disclosed the latter's mobile number to get him arrested from Meerut. On March 9, 2020, the Babu Wasim's residence in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was raided but he was found to be on the run. On March 18, 2020, a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Babu Wasim was obtained fromthe court. On July 18, 2020, he was declared a proclaimed offender by the Karkardooma Court. Babu Wasim was charged under Section 174A of IPC in the first supplementary chargesheet filed on December 26, 2020. (ANI)
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, on Monday said India is making strides in stamping out leprosy as cases are declining year after year. "With the support of the government, and the society at large, as synergy and cooperation of all stakeholders, we can achieve the target of Leprosy Mukt Bharat by 2027, three years ahead of the SDG," said Mandaviya. The Union Health minister was addressing a video conference at an event to observe the National Anti-Leprosy Day here on Monday. The theme for this year's event was 'Let us fight Leprosy and make Leprosy a History'. Reiterating Mahatma Gandhi's enduring concern for people affected with leprosy, Union Health Minister noted that the concern and commitment to treating leprosy have their origin in our history. "His (Mahatma Gandhi's) vision was not only to treat them but also to mainstream them in our society. Our efforts to eliminate leprosy from this country under National Leprosy Eradication Programme is a great tribute to his vision. We were successful in achieving a prevalence rate of 1 case per 10,000 population at the national level in 2005. The need of the hour is consistent efforts to eliminate Leprosy. It is a curable disease, however, if it is not detected and treated at the early stage, it can cause permanent disabilities and deformities among the affected person, leading to discrimination of such persons and their family members in the community," Mandaviya said. "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have adopted comprehensive measures for the prevention of the development of disease. From the year 2016, renewed efforts were made for actively detecting cases under the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)," he added. On the efforts of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State, said the Leprosy Programme of the country strives to detect and treat cases as early as possible, gives treatment free of cost to prevent the development of disabilities and deformities, medical rehabilitation of those with existing deformities. She said the Welfare allowance has been raised from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 for patients for their reconstructive surgery. Highlighting the achievements of the programme, she also informed that the prevalence rate of leprosy has come down from 0.69 per 10,000 population in 2014-15 to 0.45 in 2021-22. Further, the annual new case detection rate per 100,000 population has come down from 9.73 in 2014-15 to 5.52 in 2021-22, she added. "The programme also works towards spreading awareness and reducing the stigma attached to the disease. Surveillance was also strengthened by introducing ASHA-based Surveillance for Leprosy Suspects (ABSULS) where grassroot level workers constantly engaged in examining and reporting suspects. The special emphasis under the Focused Leprosy Campaign (FLC) was given to areas that were difficult to access or had child cases and cases with disabilities. Since 2015, with the constant efforts under NLEP, we have been able to prevent many cases of disability due to leprosy," she said. She also emphasised on the need to spread awareness about the stigma around leprosy. Emphasising the 2027 leprosy eradication target, S. Gopalakrishnan, special secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said the last mile target of 2027 is going to be tougher than what has been achieved so far. "With the experiences, whole of government and whole of the society's approach, new strategies and the Nikusth 2.0 portal, we can achieve it," said Gopalakrishnan. (ANI)
According to the ED statement, the attached properties include eight benami immovable properties worth Rs 7.57 crore which are beneficially owned by Saumya Chaurasia, Deputy Secretary to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The remaining 43 benami properties are beneficially controlled by Suryakant Tiwari.

ED had previously issued a Provisional Attachment Order on December 9, 2022 attaching properties worth Rs 152.31 crore belonging to Suryakant Tiwari, Sameer Vishnoi IAS, Saumya Chaurasia, Chhattisgarh Civil Service Officer, Sunil Agarwal and others.

In total, ED attached assets to the tune of approximately Rs 170 crore till now.

The ED initiated the money laundering investigation based on the FIR filed on the complaint of the Income Tax Department.

Searches have been conducted and, so far, nine accused persons have been arrested under PMLA. All of them are in judicial custody.

The ED investigation has established that proceeds of crime worth Rs 540 crore were acquired in this extortion racket.

A systemic network of extortion was set up with the active connivance and participation of large number of bureaucrats and higher powers.

The ED said it was investigating the entire gamut of the extortion racket. (ANI)
The protesters came out on to the streets and violence was resported. They burnt tires on the highway to express displeasure against the state government's decision.

While visiting Bodoland area on Sunday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government decided to include villages, which have at least 80 per cent Bodo population, in the BTR.

However, the protesters claimed that the decision has not been made looking into the demography of the villages carefully as many villages have a quite high non-Bodo population.

"We have been surprised to see that in many villages the non-Bodo population is higher than Bodo people," one of the protesters said.

They also criticised the role of MLA from Gohpur Utpal Bora for being a mute spectator in this issue.

Meanwhile, the Bodo leaders have welcomed the state government's decision.

Bodoland Territorial Council Chief Promod Boro said: "It is a matter of immense joy and celebration as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced a major decision towards the implementation of the clause of Bodo peace accord. It will help to create a permanent peaceful environment in the region."

Asked about the protests, Sarma said: "There is nothing to protest and we had a detailed discussion with various stakeholders before taking this decision to include 60 villages in the BTR."

--IANS tdr/vd

( 259 Words)

2023-01-30-20:34:04 (IANS)
The chartered aircraft in which the Chief Minister and senior officials were travelling to New Delhi returned to the airport, around 30 minutes after take-off.

The aircraft took off at 5.03 p.m. and returned to the tarmac at 5.27 p.m. It made a safe landing.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, the pilot identified an AC valve leakage which led to a problem in the pressurisation system. This forced the pilot to return to the airport to ensure safety of the passengers.

The Chief Minister was on his way to the national capital to address diplomats and entrepreneurs in a curtain raise event related to the AP Global Investors Summit-2023.

After the aircraft returned to the Gannavaram airport, the Chief Minister left for official residence at Tadepalli.

The officials were making alternate arrangements for the Chief Minister, public representatives and officials to go to New Delhi on Monday night.

--IANS ms/vd

( 189 Words)

2023-01-30-20:46:03 (IANS)
The last rites of Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, who was shot by a policeman on Sunday and succumbed to his injuries, were performed in his home town Jharsuguda, with full state honours, on Monday. The mortal remains of Das were cremated at Kherual ground in Jharsuguda in the presence of several ministers, MPs, MLAs and thousands of his supporters. Das's son Vishal lit the funeral pyre following Hindu tradition. When Das's body reached Jharsuguda, a large number of his supporters went to his home to pay last respect to the departed leader. Leaders from western Odisha, cutting across party lines, also paid tribute to him. The minister's mortal remains were taken out to the crematorium in a procession of his supporters from his home. During the procession, his supporters raised slogans against Odisha Police and demanded death sentence for the accused. Earlier in the day, Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik paid their tributes to Das at the latter's official residence in Bhubaneswar. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has started investigation into the high-profile murder case. ADG, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra and IGP, Northern Range, Deepak Kumar interrogated ASI Gopal Das, who killed the Minister by firing a bullet from his official pistol. During its investigation, a Crime Branch team examined the informant and other eyewitnesses in the case. The team visited the spot and seized one empty case and other physical clue material. The team also seized a 9 mm pistol and 3 rounds of live ammunition and a mobile handset of the accused ASI. The firearms, arms and ammunition will be sent for ballistic examination and opinion, the Crime Branch said. Another team of the Crime Branch conducted investigation at Bhubaneswar including inquest followed by autopsy by a team of doctors of Capital Hospital, after arranging sufficient lighting facility. Videography of the entire process has also been done. The team at Bhubaneswar also seized the treatment records and blood-stained clothes, including other biological exhibits. Viscera has been preserved for further chemical examination and opinion, they said. The accused ASI is in police custody and will be present before a court for further police remand. However, the reason behind the assassination is yet to be revealed by the police. Meanwhile, opposition BJP and Congress strongly condemned the murder of Das and criticised the government for failing to protect its own Minister. While the BJP demanded a CBI probe into the case, Congress demanded a SIT probe under the supervision of the Orissa High Court. --IANS bbm/vd ( 435 Words) 2023-01-30-20:48:02 (IANS)
TDP Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Nara Lokesh on Monday interacted with the youth during his ongoing padayatra 'Yuva Galam', saying the youth were bearing the brunt of unemployment. Lokesh said since the YSRCP came to power, the youth have been the worst sufferers because of the lack of employment opportunities and the discontinuation of fee reimbursement. Addressing the youth, the TDP MLC said, "Let us all work to dethrone this rule and bring back a regime that works for welfare and progress. Yuva Galam is an opportunity for us now and let us all utilise it." During his interactions with the public, many said jobless youths are migrating to the neighbouring states in search of employment, which was a cause for concern for their parents. Some said if they raise their voice, there will be no employment opportunities for them. Many alleged that police cases were being registered against them. To this, Lokesh Nara promised that once the TDP is back in power, the youth won't have to migrate to other states and there will be enough employment avenues for them. "I am assuring all of you that industries will come up at Palamaner through which job opportunities will be created," he said. Earlier, Nara held a meeting with the Vaddera union at Gandharamakulapalle in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh during which the community members said there was no recognition for them either economically or politically. The elders of the community also expressed concern over their children migrating to other states, and even other countries, in search of jobs. They further claimed they were not getting any funds from the federation. The community leaders demanded inclusion in the list for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and sought scholarships for students from the community. Nara said TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, during his tenure as chief minister, had set up the Satyapal Committee to study the problems of Vadderas, adding that the panel submitted its report only recently. He asked the YSRCP government to explain why the committee report has not been published yet. Nara said there is an urgent need to launch welfare schemes for the community. He promised that once the TDP comes back to power, all the necessary steps will be taken to resolve their problems. "Chandrababu Naidu has allocated Rs 70 crores for the welfare of the community," he said, adding that the people from Kuppam and Palamaner were migrating to Karnataka as they were not able to cope with the rising living expenses in the state. "Let alone new industries, even the business leaders who set up units here during the Chandrababu Naidu's tenure are leaving the state due to harassment and imposition of heavy taxes by this government," said Nara. (ANI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that state's budget for 2023-2024 will focus on promoting exports, products made from millets, and employment opportunities. "By promoting exports, foreign exchange will come into the country and the economy of the state will be strengthened," he said at the pre-budget consultation meeting with the stakeholders related to industry, manufacturing and service sector in Gurugram. "Special focus will be to strengthen the infrastructure of the state. Having good infrastructure will encourage investment and new industrial units will also be established," he said, adding that the state government aims to create more and more employment opportunities and rapid development of infrastructural facilities. "At present, there is no burden of any additional debt on the state. Haryana has grown its economy while staying within the limit of 25 per cent of total GDP set for loans; while many states of the country have crossed this limit," he said. --IANS str/vd ( 170 Words) 2023-01-30-22:34:03 (IANS)
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Monday said that talks on Naga political issues are going on with the Central government and the issue would definitely be resolved. Singh, along with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, accompanied Tripura Chief Minister and BJP candidate Manik Saha as the latter submitted his nomination papers seeking re-election from the Bordowali Assembly constituency in Agartala on Monday, the last day of filling candidature. The Manipur Chief Minister said that due to the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, insurgency problems have been resolved in the northeast to a great extent. "As the peace was restored, the development and the welfare activities speeded up in the entire northeast making a sea change of the region. Modi ji always has been trying to integrate the region with the rest of the country. Already he is successful in his mission," he told the media. "If BJP and Modi ji are in power, peace and development would continue in the northeast region." Singh, a Congress turned BJP leader, urged the people to vote for BJP and Saha for the second time to continue the development in Tripura. The BJP government led by Singh returned to power in Manipur in the 2022 assembly polls for the second time in a row. Singh, before leaving Agartala for Imphal, also met the Manipuri community in Tripura. --IANS sc/vd ( 241 Words) 2023-01-30-22:46:04 (IANS)
After culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on Monday, Congress strategists feel that Rahul Gandhi has emerged as an "undisputed leader" in the opposition camp and the programme has helped his image makeover, though he again stressed the Yatra is for the people, and not for himself or his party. In his around-3,970 km journey from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir which started on September 7, Gandhi traversed 12 states and two UTs and tried to touch the emotional chord of the people of the particular areas in that particular state. He addressed 13 press conferences, held over 100 corner meetings, over 275 planned walking interactions, and more than 100 sittings. Meeting people on way to Srinagar, he said, was the most beautiful experience of his life. At the rally concluding the Yatra, Gandhi, wearing a traditional Kashmiri 'pheran', said he was warned that he might be attacked in Kashmir, but the people here did not give him hand grenades, but hearts full of love. He added that the BJP members could not walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir because they are scared. He also spoke about the pain of losing someone while remembering his father Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, saying that he understood the pain of those who lost their kin in the Pulwama attack. "I did not do the Yatra for myself or Congress, the aim is to stand against an ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of the country," he asserted. However, the show of opposition unity was hampered as the BJP pointed out, despite all the effort, the opposition did not come together "as no one accepted him". Congress sources, however, said over a dozen leaders from the opposition parties were scheduled to attend the rally, but couldn't make it because of the closure of Jammu-Srinagar national highway and the disruption of air traffic. --IANS miz/vd ( 325 Words) 2023-01-30-22:56:02 (IANS)
More than a hundred students from a school in Palnadu fell ill and were hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning. The students were shifted to Sattenapalli government hospital, informed officials. According to a student of the school, they had tomato rice and groundnut chutney for breakfast and chicken curry and sambar for lunch, after which they threw up and came down with Diarhoea. The government superintendent Venkata Rao said, "They may taken ill due to food poisoning. All students are safe and their parents need not worry." Further details are awaited. (ANI)
The CBI filed a closure report on Monday, telling Bombay High Court that their investigation into the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar was over. The Bombay High Court had asked the CBI to inform within three weeks whether the investigation into Dabholkar's murder had been completed. The closure report was filed on Monday. A bench of Justices Ajay S Gadkari and Prakash D Naik gave three weeks' time to the Central Bureau of Investigation to inform the court so that it could decide whether to continue with the trial. The court was hearing a petition filed by Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Narendra Dabholkar, seeking continuation of the Bombay High Court's monitoring of the case. Dabholkar, 67, was shot dead on August , 2013 in Pune. The Pune Police was initially probed the murder but the case was handed over to the CBI in 2014 following a court order. The CBI told the court that it had completed the investigation into the murder of Dabholkar and the investigating officer had submitted the closure report to the competent authority. On behalf of Mukta Dabholkar, her lawyer told the court that the CBI had not investigated the case properly and there were still many lapses. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against five accused persons in the case. The court, earlier this month, asked the central agency to apprise it of the status of its investigation in the case. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the CBI, told the court that as far as the CBI is concerned, the investigation has been conducted and is now complete. Out of 32 witnesses, 15 have been cross-examined, he informed the court. The court then asked the CBI whether further surveillance was required. To this, advocate Anil Singh, appearing for the CBI, submitted that no further investigation was needed as the investigating officer had filed a report and it was pending before the competent authority. The court then asked the CBI to decide how much time would it take to decide. To this, Singh sought three weeks' time for the CBI to take a final decision on the matter. (ANI)
Trivedi said that "Rahul Gandhi brought all the anti-social elements together through the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'".

He added that "Rahul Gandhi was able to unfurl the national flag because of the sacrifices BJP leaders did".

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in the national capital, Trivedi mentioned several participants of the yatra and questioned their credentials. Most of them had walked with Gandhi during different parts of the foot march.

"It was a politically motivated Yatra. During the Yatra, Congress leaders organised a beef party on roads of Kerala, Pastor George Ponniah termed land of India as 'impure'," the BJP national spokesperson said.

He added that the former Congress President's co-travellers included Kanhaiya Kumar who was "associated with the "tukde tukde gang", and Digvijay Singh who raised questions over the surgical strike.

"With these hatemongers what is the campaign of love which Rahul Gandhi is running," he said.

Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 concluded in Srinagar on Monday.

--IANS dr/khz/

( 205 Words)

2023-01-30-23:06:03 (IANS)
Introduction

AACC will this year commemorate June 16, the Day of the African Child. The Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now known as the African Union (AU). It honors the children and the young people who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.

In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about ten thousand black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. This years theme is Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy & Practice since 2013.

In line with the history of 16 June, 1976 and the current challenges affecting young people in the continent AACC will celebrate this day by convening a public webinar to raise awareness on the day and Africa: My Home. My Future. campaign. The webinar question will be: Decolonizing the education system and changing the mindset in Africa. What is the role of the youth?

Background

The African continent is a host to a large population of young people. Estimates say that by the year 2050 the current youth population will be double[1]. Undoubtedly, young people are the leaders of today, who need to take up the challenge to transform Africa. As Africas youthful population continues to rise, there is uncertainty over the continents preparedness to tap this resource for economic growth. Yet the continent has challenges that are politically, economically, and socially affecting young people.

There is widespread frustration and agitation by and among young people over limited economic opportunities, growing corruption, rising unemployment, and limited opportunities for political participation[2]. This growing frustration is increasingly manifested in migration of young people from the continent. Many young people are willing to risk drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in the quest to get to Europe and other developed countries rather than stay in the continent. The motivation for migrating is mostly to pursue economic opportunities and an environment to succeed. The reality is that most of the young people fail to succeed and end up living in appalling conditions.

The huge youth demography that should offer tremendous dividends to the continent has seemingly been seen as a mirage. Bulk of the population of the continent are victims of the plethora of vices such as irregular migration and human trafficking, violent extremism, xenophobia, drug and substance addictions. These vices and many others have continued to impact on the wellbeing of the continent and its people. It is a disturbing situation. AACC is disturbed and is optimistic that the narrative can change. Africa is immeasurably endowed with all kinds of resources including impressive human capital resources, some of whom are excellently providing global leadership in corporate and multilateral institutions, but Africa stills lags behind with leveraging on these gifts and potentials for the common good of all people. Something fundamental is missing. The search for the missing thing and link will continue until Africa is changed for the better, and this can only be achieved if the youth of Africa think and act differently in a timely manner.

The rationale of the webinar

Africa: My Home. My Future. is a continental campaign that seeks to mobilize a critical mass of youth from across the continent with an intentional focus on one of AACCs programmatic thematic areas; Youth and African Patriotism. The campaign is a movement that aims to inspire young people to be and remain patriotic to their countries and Africa at large by utilizing their talents towards building a thriving continent.

The campaign led by the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) will continue to create and sustain in profound ways a generational movement made up of youth living in the continent and in the diaspora. It is expected that the youth that will be mobilized within the constituency of the AACC are youth that have demonstrated some level of being patriotic and passionate about Africa. The movement will stimulate conversations amongst young people of Africa, on various issues affecting them and impacting the integrity of the continent.

In recognition of the crucial role that youth can play as agents of change, the AACC deliberately launched the campaign that will culminate in the convocation of youth biennially in different countries of choice where thousands of youth will congregate to reflect, harvest, energize, challenge, evolve and chart the agenda for Africas transformation while keeping their eyes on national, continental and global development agendas.

AACC is organizing a series of webinars to promote the campaign Africa: My Home. My Future. in the run up to the All Africa Youth Congress scheduled for Ghana this year from 31 October to 04 November 2022.

Main objective

Youth are inspired to contribute to the transformation of Africa.

Specific Objectives of the webinar

To celebrate Day of the African Child To increase awareness on the campaign slogan Africa: My Home. My Future. To create a viable space for connectivity and networking To accelerate constructive conversations and innovative actions that display African potentialities and abundance.

Expected outcomes

Increased awareness of the importance of the Day of the African Child Increased awareness of the campaign Africa: My Home. My Future. Created potent space for youth engagements and constructive dialogue on the future of Africa

Guiding Question for the webinar

Decolonizing the education system and changing the mindset in Africa. What is the role of the youth?

Methodology

This will be held in a conversation format on zoom, where the guest speaker will respond to the webinar question in a one-on-one session. The speaker will have an opportunity to freely present in the first 30 minutes. After that, the moderator and participants will have an opportunity to converse with the speaker.

The webinar will feature a Pan African speaker.

Target beneficiaries (Participants)

100 youth leaders from the constituency of AACC in forty-three (43) African countries will be direct beneficiaries of the knowledge-based webinar that will spur them to ask critical questions and act reasonably for the greater good of their countries and the continent. Thousands of other youth will be indirect beneficiaries as the direct beneficiaries are expected to conduct stepdown engagements after the webinar.

Date

16th June 2022 Time: 12:00 GMT; 13:00 WAT; 14:00Hours CAT; 15:00 Hours EAT,

Social Media Hash tags

#AfricaMyHomeMyFuture #aaccyouth #AAYC2022 #DAC2022

Social Media handles

Twitter: @aacc_youth

Facebook: @allafricayouthcongress

Instagram: @aaccyouth

Africa: My Home. My Future Webinar Agenda

Time Item Facilitator 15:00-15:05 Opening Prayer AAYN Member 15:05-15:10 Objectives, Expectations, and Introductions Collins Shava 15:10-15:20 Opening remarks Rev Dr Lesmore G Ezekiel, Representing AACC GS 15:20-15:30 Day of The African Child Sharing from a South Africa Youth South African Youth 15:30-15:35 Poem on Africa By Obert Dube Obert Dube 15:35-16:00 Keynote Address **Key Note Speaker** 16:00-16:20 Question & Answer Session with the Audience Moderated by Collins Shava 16:20-16:30 Recommendations and way forward Daniel Orogo 16:30-16:40 Closing Remarks & Vote of Thanks Rev Dr Lesmore G Ezekiel, AACC Director of Programs 16:40-16:50 Announcements on the All Africa Youth Congress & Closing Prayer Daniel Orogo

Time: 3 pm East Africa Time

Link for Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_34oYE17kRxSnJYYdK4FtpQ

[1] UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html accessed 29/01/20

[2] The 2016 Africa Economic Outlook
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Navneet Rana MP, Dhananjay Mahadik BJP MP, Imtiaz Jaleel MP MIM, Narayan Rane MP BJP, Poonam Mahajan MP BJP, Amol Kole MP NCP were all present in the meeting at Sahyadri guest house in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the Sena MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction, as well as those of the Congress skipped the Union Budget discussion called for by CM Eknath Shinde.

Discussions at the meeting centered on the kind of development that is needed more in Maharashtra, and the type of development projects that need to be implemented, and the kind of schemes that are lacking presently.

The MPs put forward their suggestions and opinions on various issues, ranging from a flyover bridge or a dam to be built on a river to a medical college or other such things.

BJP MP Dhananjaya Mahadik said, "The Uddhav Thackeray group and Congress MPs did not come to the meeting as they are not concerned about the state."

Mahadik said all the MPs were allowed to raise issues pertaining to their respective constituencies at the meeting.

Despite being a part of the Opposition MVA, NCP MP Amol Kolhe attended the meeting. He said, "I opposed my party's decision and attended the meeting so that I can put forward my views on the Budget for my region."

A total of 64 development issues of the state were discussed at the meeting. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday launched a fresh attack on Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Kamal Nath. Chouhan on Monday said, 'Kamal Nath ji is running away from my questions. He is saying, why am I asking a question?...' "I will ask, why didn't you (Nath) fulfil your promises made during the Congress-led government which was in power for 15 months? You spoke so many lies and didn't fulfil them. Now you are telling new lies everyday...," Chouhan said. The chief minister said, "My question for Nath is, he had said in his the promissory note of 2018 that Krishak Kanya Vivah Sahayata Yojana (Farmers' Daughter Marriage Assistance Scheme) would be started and an incentive amount of Rs 51,000 would be given to the beneficiaries. Farmers having land up to two and a half acres would be eligible for the scheme. But did he start the scheme?" He added Kamal Nath should answer why the daughters who got married did not get money in their account and why did he not start the Krishak Kanya Vivah Yojana. Recently, CM Chouhan had said that he would ask Nath why he failed to fulfill the promises in the promissory note. He began asking questions of the PCC Chief from January 28. Reacting to CM Chouhan's remark, the Congress leader on Monday wrote on twitter, "Shivraj ji, you have once again brought your bundle of lies. You had announced in BJP's 'Nari Shakti Sankalp Patra' that 'we will double the number of Janani Express 108 ambulances to provide adequate transport facilities for mother and child to health centres.' But instead of fulfilling the promise, you want to cheat them." "Every day news arrives in the state that a pregnant woman died due to lack of an ambulance. Who is the partaker of the sin of this death, Shivraj ji?, who is responsible for the death of the children who died in the mother's womb before birth?," Nath asked of CM Chouhan. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will boycott the customary address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses in Parliament on Tuesday, calling her speech "a bundle of false promises and false claims by the Narendra Modi Government." Taking to Twitter, AAP MLA Sanjay Singh on Tuesday said that the party is boycotting Murmu's address because her speech is a "bundle of false promises" and "false claims" by the Narendra Modi-Government. "Hon'ble President's speech is a bundle of false promises and false claims by the Modi Government. In this, there is not a word of her own. Modi government has proved to be a failure on every front, so @AamAadmiParty will boycott the President's address," Singh said. The party's MPs will stay out of the Parliament House at the time of the address. There is a total of 10 MPs of the party in the Parliament. The President addresses members of both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall on the first day of a session. It will be the maiden address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The party will present its side by holding a press conference at Vijay Chowk at 12 noon, the AAP leader added. In the latest instance of its continued face-off with the central government, ahead of the crucial Telangana Assembly elections later this year, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also has decided to boycott the customary address by the President. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the pre-Budget document in the Parliament, half an hour after the President's address. The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, will give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators in the current financial year 2022-23 (April-March) and outlook for the next year. The session will have 27 sittings and will continue till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The session will take place in two parts with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6. The government held an all-party meeting on Monday in which the opposition parties raised issues of their concern. The first part of the session would also see a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President Address. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The government will also push its legislative agenda in the budget session. According to government records, 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and nine in the Lok Sabha. Amongst the 26 Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three Bills have already been passed by Lok Sabha including the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022. The bills which haven't been referred to any parliamentary scrutiny and are pending for passage include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, the Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019. However, the session is expected to be stormy with the opposition parties raring to corner it on a range of issues including those related to Adani stocks and BBC documentary and the government stating that it is willing to discuss all the issues permitted by the Chair. (ANI)
Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Aam Aadmi Party will boycott President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of both Houses of the Parliament on Tuesday ahead of the Budget Session, BRS MP K Keshava Rao said. Speaking to ANI, Rao said that the parties are not against the President and their boycott is a protest against the Centre's "failures". "BRS and AAP have decided to boycott the President's address to Parliament today. We are not against the President but only want to highlight through democratic protest the governance failures of the NDA government," Rao said. Earlier today, AAP MLA Sanjay Singh said that the party will boycott the President's address calling her speech "a bundle of false promises and false claims by the Narendra Modi Government." "Hon'ble President's speech is a bundle of false promises and false claims by the Modi Government. In this, there is not a word of her own. Modi government has proved to be a failure on every front, so @AamAadmiParty will boycott the President's address," Singh said. The party's MPs will stay out of the Parliament House at the time of the address. There is a total of 10 MPs of the party in the Parliament. The President addresses members of both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall on the first day of a session. It will be the maiden address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The party will present its side by holding a press conference at Vijay Chowk at 12 noon, the AAP leader added. In the latest instance of its continued face-off with the central government, ahead of the crucial Telangana Assembly elections later this year, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also has decided to boycott the customary address by the President. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the pre-Budget document in the Parliament, half an hour after the President's address. The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, will give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators in the current financial year 2022-23 (April-March) and outlook for the next year. The session will have 27 sittings and will continue till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The session will take place in two parts with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)
Mumbai Police has arrested an Italian woman passenger for allegedly creating a ruckus mid-air on a Vistara Airline flight soon after taking off from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on January 30. The passenger identified as Paola Perruccio was arrested by Sahar police early Monday morning after the flight landed in Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). She was later given bail by a court here. According to the Mumbai police the woman who was reportedly inebriated created a ruckus insisting that she be seated in business class despite being booked in economy. She also took off some of her clothes and walked up and down the aisle in a partially naked state hurling abuses and assaulting crew members. "We confirm that there was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 256 operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on 30 January 2023. In view of the continued unruly conduct and violent behaviour, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the passenger," a Vistara spokesperson said. "The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers onboard of their safety and security. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs), the security agencies on-ground were informed about taking immediate action upon arrival. The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities as per the SOPs," the spokesperson added. After registering a case against the passenger, the Mumbai Police filed a charge sheet within a day. "Mumbai Police has filed a chargesheet in record time in a case of misbehaviour by an airline passenger mid-air," police said. A medical examination was also conducted on the woman before booking her under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. The police said they have completed all formalities of recording statements of co-passengers and crew and others. "We have completed all the due formalities as per law and filed the chargesheet after recording all the relevant statements and medical and legal procedures," DCP Dixit Gedam said. Last year Vistara handed over an unruly passenger to London's Heathrow airport authorities after he manhandled and abused crew members during the flight. A Vistara spokesperson said the passenger was detained for investigation on arrival at London Heathrow. (ANI)
Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi would attend Tuesday's Presidential address in the Parliament as many of the party MPs are stuck in Srinagar, informed party sources. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said that party chief and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge along with other Members of Parliament (MPs) would not be able to attend the address of President Droupadi Murmu in Parliament on Tuesday. "Due to the delayed flights from Srinagar airport on account of inclement weather conditions, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and many other Congress MPs will be unable to attend the President's address to both Houses of Parliament at 11 am today," Jairam Ramesh tweeted. Meanwhile, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also expressed his regret for his absence attend the Presidential address as he is also stranded at the airport in Srinagar due to the prevailing weather conditions. "Due to inclement weather in Srinagar, I have been stranded at the airport in Srinagar. I may fail to join the Presidential address in Parliament today. So I deeply express my regret, I will communicate this to the Speaker also," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said talking to ANI. The party leaders went to Srinagar to attend the concluding ceremony of Bharat Jodo Yatra, held on Monday. The budget session of Parliament will commence today with President Droupadi Murmu's maiden address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at 11 am at Central Hall of Parliament. The Economic Survey will also be tabled in Parliament today ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24 which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. This budget will be the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There will be a separate sitting of the Rajya Sabha for the transaction of government business, half an hour after the conclusion of the President's Address today. However, the sitting will be held for a short duration as per procedures for the transaction of government business. On Monday (Yesterday), the government held an all-party meeting in which the opposition parties raised issues of their concern, which was attended by all the top leaders from the opposition parties including DMK leader, TR, Balu, TMC leaders, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, TRS leaders K Keshava Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao, except Congress. According to government sources, both Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were held up yesterday as well due to the Bharat Jodo Yatra which culminated in Srinagar on January 30. Other party leaders who were present included Vijayasai Reddy from YSR Congress, Farooq Abdullah from the National Conference, Professor Manoj Jha from the RJD and Ram Nath Thakur of JDU. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) was represented by Priyanka Chaturvedi. The all-party meeting is a customary meeting that takes place ahead, of the start of every session of Parliament. During the meeting, the Government will seek cooperation from all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament during the Session. (ANI)
Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India's Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation. "Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today's global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India's budget," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the aspirations. "Amid the unstable global economic situation, India's budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, the ray of hope being seen by the world glows brighter-for this, I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations," PM Modi said while addressing the media. The Prime Minister cited the "credible voices from the world of economy" and said that they have brought a positive message ahead of the session. "Today, the Budget Session is commencing. Credible voices from the world of economy, have brought in a positive message, a ray of hope and a beginning of enthusiasm. It is an important event today," he said. PM Modi said the maiden inaugural address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both Houses is a matter of pride for the Constitution. "The President is going to address a joint session for the first time today. The President's first address to the joint session of Parliament is a matter of pride for our Constitution, and especially for respect of women. The whole world has its eyes on India," he said. "Our Finance Minister is a woman too. She will present one more budget before the country tomorrow. In today's global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India's budget," PM Modi added. The budget session will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)
In areas like Patiala and Amritsar, visibility of 200 metres and 500 metres was witnessed on Tuesday morning while places like Churu and Ajmer in Rajasthan experienced low visibility of a mere 25 and 50 metres respectively, said IMD in a tweet.

However, in areas like Ganganagar, Bikaner and Jaisalmer of Rajasthan, visibility was witnessed at 500 metres.

In the Hissar area of Haryana, visibility was reduced to 50 metres.

In Uttar Pradesh, visibility was reduced to zero in Agra while at Bareilly, it was at 500 metres.

In Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior witnessed visibility of zero metres while the visibility at Purnea in Bihar was 500 metres. In Kolkata, too visibility was recorded at just 100 metres while Kaliashahar of Tripura witnessed visibility of mere 50 metres.

Earlier Tuesday, the authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport too have issued a fog alert for passengers.

According to the latest alerts, all airport flight operations are presently normal.

The airport has requested passengers to contact the concerned airline for updated flight information. (ANI)
CM Dhami, speaking at the event said that the migrants living in the country and abroad are playing a crucial role in the promotion of folk culture and assured all possible help to them by the government.

Dhami, on Monday evening, paid a visit to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in Lucknow and discussed various topics related to the mutual cooperation of both states.

"Today after reaching Lucknow, the city of Sheshavtar Prabhu Shri Laxman ji, met the son of Devbhoomi and Honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri @myogiadityanath ji. ," Dhami tweeted.

"On this occasion, discussions were held on various topics related to mutual cooperation of both the states from the point of view of sustainable development and public welfare," he added.

CM Dhami also attended the two-day BJP's State Working Committee meeting at Dehradun's Raiwala on Monday and discussed the strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha and the local body polls in the state. (ANI)
In her first address to Parliament as President, Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday expressed her gratitude to citizens for electing a stable government for two consecutive terms and said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has been identified as a decisive government. "My government always kept the country's interest paramount, showed the will to completely change the policy-strategy," she said in her pre-budget address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in Central Hall of Parliament today. "From the surgical strikes to the tough crackdown on terrorism, from the LoC to the LAC, from the abrogation of Article 370 to the triple talaq, my government has been recognised as a decisive government," President Murmu said. In her maiden address to the Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu expressed her gratitude to the citizens. "Wherever there is political instability anywhere in the world, those countries are surrounded by a massive crisis. But due to the decisions my government took in the national interest, India is in a better position as compared to other countries," Murmu said. Terming the government, a stable, fearless, and decisive one, "Murmu said, "My government is working towards realising the big dreams." "My government has worked for every section of society without any discrimination. As a result of the efforts of my government in the last few years, many basic facilities have either reached 100 per cent population or are very close to that target," the President said. Murmu further went on to highlight the ease that technology has provided in governance."Earlier there was a long wait for a tax refund. Today, the refund is received within a few days of filing the ITR. Today, along with transparency, the dignity of the taxpayers is also being ensured through GST," she said citing the e-marketplace and income tax refunds, and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme as examples. "Over the years, in the form of DBT, in the form of Digital India, the country has prepared a permanent and transparent system," she added. The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31, 2013, with the customary address by the President to a joint session which will be followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey by the Finance Minister. The President addresses members of both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall on the first day of the budget session every year. The first part of the Budget Session of the Parliament will go on till February 10. The Parliament will reconvene on March 12 and go on till April 6. (ANI)
Introduction

Internal migration within Africa has grown significantly in recent times, increasing from 15 million in 2000 to 25 million in 2017, a 67% increase that represents an annual average growth rate of 2.8% per year. Indications are that migration to Africa also experienced tremendous growth in recent years, increasing from just below 2.5 million in 1990 to more than 5 million in 2017. Africa in general and West Africa, in particular, have become a hub for irregular migration and human trafficking; and this is a major problem for the continent and its stakeholders. The reasons for such phenomena are many and varied. Among others, and to name but a few, we could point to the fact that the region is experiencing political instability with deep economic turbulences; extreme poverty causing a widespread desire among poor populations to migrate in search of better living conditions in the region or further afield; as well as traditional cultural practices such as widow inheritance causing women to flee from their villages hence falling into the hands of, in particular, even paying to be smuggled across borders. Furthermore, it has been noticed that West Africa has - compared to other regions - rather accessible/ organised migration routes for migrants destined to Europe, with flourishing networks and business for traffickers and smugglers. In the face of such a deplorable situation, corruption and lack of systematic cooperation and coordination among nations in the region has made it difficult and almost impossible for the various countries in the region to dismantle the phenomenon.

Young people live in a world of unlimited potential where they constitute a tremendous and essential asset and a door to unparalleled multiplier effect

When offered the right tools and motivation, young people can change the continent. AACC recognizes that the future of the continent lies in the potential of it young people as powerful agents of change and development. Moreover, the youth have a great opportunity to prevent and counter vices such as irregular migration and Trafficking in Persons.

Through its flagship program Africa my Future My Home AACC seeks to work closely with the Youth in the West and Central African Sub- Region to play proactive roles in preventing and combating trafficking in persons and modern slavery/ forced migration as well as developing systems and mechanisms that can protect and assist the victims of modern slavery, forced migration and trafficking, with full respect for their human rights and dignity.

Objective

The webinar will engage selected young people in the West and Central African Sub  Region to heighten their capacity in advocacy and create an online platform for the sharing of messages on issues relating to migration, trafficking in persons and modern slavery.

Also, the online platform will enhance the communication and advocacy efforts of young people in the sub region in migration related activities

Methodology

This will be a one- day webinar which will be attended by selected youth participants from AACC Member Churches

Expected Outcomes

At the end of the consultation, it is expected that: -

An online platform is created for young people from AACC member churches in West Africa to have collaborative efforts among themselves in terms of advocacy on migration, trafficking in person and modern slavery;

Young people from AACC member churches in West Africa will be more informed about migration trends in the region for an evidence-based advocacy;

Young people should be equipped to engage their peers at the All Africa Youth Congress in Accra, Ghana on migration issues in the West African Sub-Region

Participants: Approximate number of ten (10) Youth Representatives from:





DRC Nigeria Ghana Liberia Senegal Guinea Niger Gambia Togo Sierra-Leone Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Central African Republic Cote divoire Congo Brazzaville Equatorial Guinea Gabon

Dates and Venue

The meeting will be online and will take place on 24th June, 2022

Registration

To register for the webinar, click on the link https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_i7uoYnwdSmSLNIEnz-8kOQ
India has entered Amrit Kaal completing its 75 years of Independence and in this citizens have to focus on their duty towards building an ''aatmanirbhar'' (self-reliant) India, said President Droupadi Murmu in her pre-budget address to the joint session of Parliament on Tuesday. "By 2047, we have to build a nation that will be connected to the pride of the past and which will have all the golden chapters of modernity. We have to build an India that will be ''Aatmanirbhar'' and capable to fulfill its humanitarian duties," President Murmu said. In her maiden address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajay Sabha in the central hall of Parliament President Murmu said, "India has entered Amrit Kaal completing its 75 years of Independence. Amrit Kaal is a period of 100 years of Independence and making of a developed India. These 25 years is a period for all citizens to focus on duty." The President described an India without poverty and full of prosperity. "That should be an India that will not have poverty, whose middle class will also be prosperous, an India whose youth and women will stand at the front to show a path to society and the country, an India whose youth stays two steps ahead of time," she said. President Murmu also lauded India''s growing position on the world stage and said that the country is providing solutions to the world. "Today, India''s self-confidence is at its highest and the world is looking at her from a different perspective. India is providing solutions to the world," the President said. This is President Murmu''s first budget session speech since assuming office in July last year. The President arrived in a ceremonial escort to Parliament to address the joint session at the start of the Budget session Earlier addressing reporters outside Parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today''s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India''s budget. Amid the unstable global economic situation, India''s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations." The budget session that began today with the President''s address will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)
Underlining the role of political stability in the country's development, President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that India is in a better position as compared to other countries due to the decisions taken in the national interest by the central government. Addressing a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in Parliament today President Murmu said, "The benefit of a stable and decisive government is being reaped by us against the biggest crisis in 100 years and in tackling the situation that arose after it. Wherever there is political instability anywhere in the world, those countries are surrounded by a massive crisis. But due to the decisions my government took in the national interest, India is in a better position as compared to other countries." The President noted that 'Garibi hatao' in not just a slogan anymore, but the government is working to have a permanent solution to the problems of the poor and empowering them. "About 11 crore families have been connected with piped water supply in three years under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Poor families are getting the maximum benefit from this," she said. President Murmu listed the work done by the government and said that the government has worked for every section of society without any discrimination. "As a result of the efforts of my government in the last few years, many basic facilities have either reached 100 per cent population or are very close to that target," she said. "With complete transparency, more than Rs 27 lakh crores have been provided to crores of people. A World Bank report states that with such schemes and systems, India was able to save crores of people from dropping below the poverty line during COVID," the President said. Describing corruption as the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice, President Murmu said that the government has taken steps to curb it. "My government is of the clear opinion that corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice. To seize the property of fugitive economic offenders, my government passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act," she said. "My government has awakened the aspirations of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. Now that basic facilities are reaching them, these people are able to see new dreams," the President added. This is President Murmu's first budget session speech since assuming office last year. Earlier today, the President arrived in a ceremonial escort to Parliament to address the joint session at the start of the Budget session. Meanwhile, addressing reporters outside Parliament before the start of the budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today's global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India's budget. Amid the unstable global economic situation, India's Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations." The budget session of Parliament that commenced today will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday lauded India's indigenous defence manufacturing and said that the country's defence exports have increased manifold due to the initiatives of the government. "As a result of new initiatives by my government, our defence exports have increased six times. I am proud that today the first indigenous aircraft carrier in the form of INS Vikrant has also joined our Navy," President Murmu, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, said in her opening remarks of Parliament's Budget session. President Murmu in her maiden address to the joint sitting of the Parliament also noted that India's firm and tough stand against terrorism is the reason why the country is being heard seriously by the world on the issue of terrorism. President Murmu also mentioned India's G20 presidency this year and said that the country aims to find solutions to world problems. "India holds the presidency of the G20 this year. Along with all member states of G20, India aims to find solutions to world problems," she said. Referring to India's thrust on innovation and entrepreneurship, the President lauded the youth for taking India's innovation to the world. "My government has continuously laid unprecedented emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. Today our youth are showing the power of their innovation to the world," she said. "On the one hand, we are developing our pilgrimage centres and historic heritage, while on the other hand, India is becoming a major space power in the world. India has launched the first private satellite too," the President added. President Murmu also mentioned India's role in the world of pharmacy and said that the country is enhancing its identity as "pharmacy of the world." "Today, on one hand, India is taking its ancient knowledge of Yoga and Ayurveda to the world. On the other hand, it is enhancing its new identity as 'pharmacy of the world'," she said. President had this morning arrived in a ceremonial escort to Parliament to address the joint session at the start of the Budget session. This is President Murmu's first Budget session speech since assuming office. Earlier addressing reporters outside Parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today's global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India's budget. Amid the unstable global economic situation, India's Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations." The budget session that began today with the President's address will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)
A professor couple was found dead with several injury marks on them at their home in Bihar's Arrah city in the state's Bhojpur district, police said. According to the police, the pair was first attacked on their heads and then killed with a sharp object. The bodies were found on Monday night. The deceased identified as Mahendra Singh, 70 and his 65-year-old wife Pushpa Singh belonged to the Agni village in the limits of the Nasriganj police station area of Rohtas district and used to live alone in their house at Katira locality after retirement, police said. Singh had retired as Dean of Veer Kunwar Singh University while his wife was a retired psychology professor in a women's college. The police are trying to identify the killers and ascertain the reason for their alleged murder.Upon receiving information a police team headed by Bhojpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Pramod Kumar Yadav and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Himanshu reached the house located under the limits of the Nawada police station and began their investigation. The police have sealed the crime spot and a forensic investigation team from Patna have begun their investigation. "We are looking at the mobile surveillance of the deceased and CCTV footage of the area to solve the double murder case. With these we can acertain the time of the incident and who all were present in the house at the time of the murder and how they entered the house," Police said. Hira Singh, the younger brother of the deceased Mahendra Singh said, "I met my brother on January 26 last time at his house. My eldest brother called me today and informed me that both the mobile phones of my brother and sister-in-law were unreachable since yesterday." Singh said that upon reaching his elder brother's house, he was told by the police of the heinous crime. Bhojpur Superintendant of Police Pramod Kumar Yadav told ANI, "The retired couple has been murdered by unknown miscreants inside their house. The police are investigating the matter with the help of the forensic team and through scientific research. The reason for the murder is still not clear but very soon culprits involved in it will be identified and arrested. At present, we have sealed the spot and are moving ahead with the process of post-mortem as well as further legal action is being undertaken." The deceased are survived by three married daughters, police said. (ANI)
Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced the launch of 5G services across 34 cities spread across 13 states, taking the cumulative tally of the number of cities in the country having access to the company's True 5G services to 225. This comes days after Reliance launched its services in six states of the north east namely, Shillong, Imphal, Aizawl, Agartala, Itanagar, Kohima and Dimapur. "Jio users in these cities will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, to experience Unlimited Data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds, at no additional cost, starting today," a statement by the company said. Six cities in Andhra Pradesh (Ananthapuramu, Bhimavaram, Chirala, Guntakal, Nandyal, Tenali), three in Assam (Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur), one in Bihar (Gaya), two in Chhattisgarh (Ambikapur, Dhamtari), two in Haryana (Thanesar, Yamunanagar), one in Karnataka (Chitradurga), two in Maharashtra (Jalgaon, Latur), two in Odisha (Balangir, Nalco), two in Punjab (Jalandhar, Phagwara), one in Rajasthan (Ajmer) will receive the 5G services of the company from now on.Other cities where 5G was launched include Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore, Dindigul, Kancheepuram, Karur, Kumbakonam, Nagercoil, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai. Telangana's Adilabad, Mahabubnagar, Ramagundam will also receive 5G services. Services were also launched in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura. Jio spokesperson said that the company has achieved this feat in under 120 days since the Beta Trial launch. "We are really excited to launch Jio True 5G services in 34 additional cities, taking the total count to 225 cities. Jio has achieved this milestone in just under 120 days since the Beta Trial launch and is well on its way to connect the entire nation with the transformational Jio True 5G services by December 2023," the spokesperson said. The statement further added that a 5G network rollout of this scale is a first anywhere in the world, and 2023 will be a landmark year for India, when the entire country will reap the benefits of the revolutionary True 5G technology, delivered through Jio's superior network infrastructure. "We are grateful to the Central and State Governments for their continuous support in ourquest to digitize our country," the statement said. (ANI)
The smugglers were identified as Sajid Ahmed and Abdul Motin, both hailing from Keuti, Karimganj district of Assam.

According to Lunglei district police, in pursuance of specific intelligence, two persons wanted in connection with Dholai police station Case under sections 22(c)/29 NDPS Act, both of them were apprehended by Lunglei Police at Lunglei, Serkawn while boarding in one vehicle on Monday evening.

A senior police official of Lunglei district said that the Assam Police team will seek custody of the arrested wanted persons.

"We are also ascertaining their involvements in cases in our state too," the police official said. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the plea of journalist Rana Ayyub challenging the summons issued to her by a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad in a money laundering case lodged against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). A bench headed by Justice V Ramasubramanian heard the matter and reserved the order on Ayyub's plea against the Ghaziabad court's order where summons were issued to her in relation to a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. Earlier, the apex court had asked the Ghaziabad court to adjourn the case and posted Ayyub's plea for hearing before it on January 31 against the summons issued by the Ghaziabad court. Ghaziabad court on November 29 had issued summon to Ayyub and asked her to appear before it on January 27. During the hearing, advocate Vrinda Grover appearing for Ayyub told the bench that she is raising a jurisdictional issue that the Ghaziabad court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter. The prosecution complaint ought to have been filed in Mumbai, where the offence is alleged to have taken place, Grover said, adding that the alleged proceeds of the crime are at a bank account in Navi Mumbai and no part of the offence took place in Uttar Pradesh. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, opposed Ayyub's plea saying that money laundering is not a standalone offence and is linked with the scheduled offence. Mehta said that several persons from Uttar Pradesh have donated to Ayyub's campaign so a part of the cause of action has arisen in Ghaziabad and Uttar Pradesh. Solicitor General said that the agency has found that the money received was used for "travel and joy". In October 2022, the ED had filed a complaint against her before the Ghaziabad court over alleged violations in publicly raising funds. ED had registered the case on the basis of a complaint registered in September 2021 in Ghaziabad under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Amendment Act and Black Money Act against Ayyub. It was alleged in the FIR that she illegally acquired funds from the general public in the name of charity by launching fundraiser campaigns. Ayyub received foreign contributions without registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), it was alleged. (ANI)
Goa Public Works Department minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday refuted a statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the Mhadei river water dispute with Karnataka had been resolved in favor of the southern state. While speaking to the press on Monday, the Goa minister refused to believe that the Union Home Minister's statement was backed by the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Speaking to reporters in Panaji, Cabral said, "Our CM has not given any consent to divert Mhadei river water. I know he (Sawant) will never do it. I don't know what Union Home Minister Amit Shah is talking about." He said a delegation from the state would ask about this statement when they next meet Shah. When asked whether he condemned what Shah said, Cabral asserted, "Of course, I condemn the statement. We are not against water usage within the basin but will never allow the water to be diverted outside." Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Jana Sankalp Yatre' in Belagavi in Karnataka on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "I want to tell you (people) that BJP, by resolving the long-standing dispute between both states, has given Mhadei water to Karnataka and, thereby, ensured farmers in several districts here are benefited." Goa and Karnataka are battling out a two-decade-long dispute over sharing the Mhadei waters. While the river runs 28.8 km in Karnataka, it is over 50 km in length in Goa. Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi river in Goa and Mahadayi in Karnataka, is considered a lifeline in the northern parts of Goa. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through Maharashtra. Earlier on January 12, a delegation of the Goa government, led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, over the Mhadei river issue. The delegation urged for the immediate constitution of the Mhadei Water Management Authority as given in the award and also urged for the withdrawal approval given to Karnataka's detailed project report (DPR) for the disputed Kalsa-Bhanduri dam project. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against an accused in a Special Court in the national capital pertaining to a conspiracy hatched by a member of ISIS, a proscribed terrorist organization, for the propagation of the ideology and to raise funds for the organization. The NIA has filed the chargesheet in the Patiala House Court against accused Mohammad Mohsin Ahmad under sections 120B and 204 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 17, 18, 39 and 40 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). According to an official statement, the case was suo-moto registered by the agency on June 25, 2022. It further said, the investigations have established that the accused Ahmad raised funds for ISIS and sent them to his Syria-based ISIS handlers through Cryptocurrency channels. "Investigations have revealed that the accused Mohammed Mohsin Ahmad conspired with an ISIS Handler & others for propagation of the ISIS ideology, with the ultimate objective to radicalize the Indian youth and recruit them for ISIS. He was also involved in raising funds for ISIS from the ISIS sympathizers in India and sending the collected funds to his Syria based ISIS handlers through Crypto-currency channels, thereby supporting the ISIS in furtherance of its terrorist activities," the statement read. Further investigation in the matter is underway. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday informed the petitioner that on January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court allowed transferring the main proceedings pertaining to uniformity in the minimum age of marriage for men and women in diverse legislations. The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad after noted the submissions, directed its registry department to transfer the case related documents immediately to the Supreme Court. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday will hear the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to equalise of the legal age of marriage for men and women saying the limit of 18 years for a woman, while it is 21 for a man, amounts to discrimination. The plea before the Delhi High Court earlier stated that at present, while men in India are permitted to get married at the age of 21, women are allowed to get married when they are 18. It is mentioned that more than 125 countries in the world have a uniform age of marriage. The litigant / Advocate Ashwini Kunar Upadhyay said the plea is filed in the public interest under Article 226 and it challenges a blatant and ongoing form of discrimination against women. "The discriminatory 'minimum age' limit for marriage for men and women is based in patriarchal stereotypes, has no scientific backing, perpetrates de jure and de facto inequality against women, and goes completely against the global trends," the plea said. As per the petition, some of the statutory provisions, which are responsible for discriminatory 'minimum age' limit for marriage include -- Section 60(1) of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; Section 3(1)(c) of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936; Section 4(c) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954; Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Section 2(a) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The plea stated that the differential bar discriminates against women and contravenes with the fundamental principles of gender equality, gender justice and dignity of women and breaches Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The petitioner in his petition further stressed that women have a fundamental right to be free to pursue studies or occupations after finishing school at the age of 18. "It is a social reality that women are expected (and often also pressurised) to beget children immediately after marriage and also forced to take up household chores in accordance with their stereotypical roles in the family. This harms their educational as well as economic pursuits and often impinges on their reproductive autonomy as well," the plea said. It added that a higher minimum age will ensure "more autonomy to women in every sense". (ANI)
created on: Sep 12, 2022 by Comms Office 0 0 0

Communique

Libreville Communique 2

Faith Actors Ask for Stronger, Africa-Responsive Climate Ambition at COP27

Statement issued during the Faith and Climate Justice Session of a Pre-Conference of the UNFCCC Africa Climate Week (ACW) on 28 August 2022

The Welfare of the Earth is our Welfare

Libreville, Gabon

At the invitation of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and several partners[1], the Africa Faith Actors Network on Climate Justice (AFAN-CJ), under the auspices of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), met at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Libreville, Gabon on 28 August 2022 ahead of the Africa Climate Week. The theme of the meeting was The Welfare of the Earth is our Welfare.

The conference aimed to consolidate the Faith Actors voices on adaptation, Loss and Damage, Climate Finance and mitigation, ultimately to influence discussions, debates and resolutions at Africa Climate Week, Africa Ministerial Conference of Environment (AMCEN) and the 27th UN Climate Change Summit (COP27) and other critical spaces, post-COP27.

The conference focussed specifically on:

Establishing a common understanding of the extent of loss and damages, the scope of past climate-related damages and issues at stake in climate negotiations as correlated by professionals, and model anticipated damages.

Solidifying and strengthening the role of Faith Actors on mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, especially for loss and damage.





During the consultation, participants discussed the worsening impacts of climate change, the regrettable lack of sufficient commitment from global political leaders, and slow progress in climate change negotiations, especially on loss and damage and climate finance agenda items. After thorough reflections on the different views in the room and online, participants issued the following statement:

Cognisant of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.50C Report of 2018 noting that residual risks will rise as temperatures increase and that the report ranks Africa as the most vulnerable continent, with foreseeable catastrophes like those seen in Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Horn of Africa countries and Chad and the Sahel region, amongst other African nations.

Deeply concerned about the politicisation of the climate change discourse leading to continued loss of lives; and the serious moral implications of lack of urgency in addressing the climate crisis evidenced in the non-fulfilment of some milestone commitments by those responsible for polluting the environment.

Noting the role of Faith Actors as the first respondents of those affected by climate change.

Appreciating the role of Faith Actors as stewards of Gods creation and committing to do all in our capacity to contribute to the efforts of addressing the effects of climate change.

Welcoming the Glasgow Pact on Loss and Damage but further uncertain about the time needed to translate it into action as extreme events devastate livelihoods and economies in Africa.

Reflecting and premising our hope on the outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Dialogues, the upcoming AMCEN and COP27 convenings to provide unique policy spaces for key decisions on loss and damage and climate finance.

Welcoming the decision of the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC to include financing loss and damage on the agenda of COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh.

Reiterating that The Welfare the Earth is our Welfare and that the issue of climate change, is a matter of life and death beyond political discourse, hence requiring urgent attention by stakeholders.

Committing as Faith Actors to engage and expand the space to unify all Faith Actors in the entire African continent, political leaders and African citizens in their own formation and play a critical role in informing policy and programme actions in advancing climate justice.

In so committing, the Faith Actors demand:

On loss and damage: Urgent and frank negotiations on loss and damage, given the evidence already provided by the AR6 report of the IPCC, majorly on the African Continent.

Strongly denounce market-based mechanisms and other false solutions propagated as solutions for loss and damage. We further caution all stakeholders  and especially the global north and the private sector  against any form of thought on applying market mechanisms on loss and damage response. In addition, encouraging parties to advance dialogue on advancement of non-market and pro-poor solutions to loss and damage as a result of climate change including from slow onset events.

Urgent operationalization of the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage (SNLD) with a clear coordination and management structure having clear mandates and report and review procedures, and with an independent advisory body detached from the Excom, considering the magnitude of loss and damage in Africa no later than COP27.

A clear distinction between loss and damage and disaster risk reduction as provided in the evidence of AR6.

The establishment of a special finance facility for loss and damage response in line with article 8 of the Paris Agreement. These finances for loss and damage should be predictable in quantity and quality and should be separate from the Adaptation Fund, the GCF and any other already existing multilateral funds established under the UNFCCC.

That loss and damage become a permanent priority agenda in climate negotiation processes right from SBSTAs to COPs.

A greater commitment from Parties in following the direction already set by the Scottish government at COP26 in financing loss and damage not later than COP27.

Call parties to be alive to the differentiated impacts of losses and damages to men, women, youth and the disabled and act following the established evidence.

Greater consideration by Parties of the role and capacity of the Faith Actors in loss and damage response and fast track mechanisms for easing access to climate finance to CSOs and Faith Actors and their institutions.

Stronger support to national and regional research and academic institutions to deepen research on loss and damage in order to fast-track generation of evidence to foster rapid action on loss and damage

On Climate Finance: A new and additional short and long-term finance, based on the needs of the peoples of the Global South, balanced between mitigation and adaptation (with an immediate step of fixing the broken commitment of delivering the inadequate $100 billion in public finance by 2020).

A comprehensive definition of Climate finance no later than COP27 as provided in Article 9 of the Paris Agreement without further procrastination.

That GCF, the Adaptation Fund, and other fund mechanisms conform to evidence on gender and accessibility and embed Locally Led Adaptation Principles in all its processes. Recognition of the pivotal and leadership role that African governments should play in consolidating African voices and experiences on loss and damage and strong demand for predictable and verifiable new and additional climate finance support.





For more information and inquiries about the communique contact communication@aacc-ceta.org

[1] Youth organisations, women farmers, People with disabilities, Faith Leaders, Pastoralists
Ahmad, a resident of Pathan Tola Town Police Station, Mau has earned illegal money by indulging in criminal activities, a senior district official said.

"We are undertaking action under the Gangster Act against the moveable and immovable properties built using illegally acquired money in the district," District Magistrate Arun Kumar said in his order.

The immovable properties worth around Rs 2 crore were purchased by Haji Rafiq Ahmad alias Tiger in the name of himself and his relatives with the money he illegally earned through criminal activities, the order claimed.

"We are campaigning against those who have built a large number of moveable and immovable properties with the money earned illegally," he added.

The order stated that the accused Haji Rafiq Ahmad had built a luxurious house on land in Pathan Tola purchased in the name of his father Vakil Ahmad and his uncle Nisar Ahmad.

The land cost is close to Rs 48 lakhs (47,62,065) while the house is estimated to be close to Rs 60 lakhs (60,23,970), according to the order issued by the District Magistrate.

The land in the name of Afsana, wife of his brother Naseem Ahmad, located in Mohalla Bazar Mandi is estimated to be worth Rs 14.58 lakhs (14,58, 870) while the estimated value of the house built on that land is Rs 59 lakhs (59,20,388), stated the order.

The District Magistrate Kumar issued the order to attach all of them under Section 14(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act. (ANI)
Joshimath disaster package announced by the Uttarakhand government is the "best" so far, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) Chairman Ajendra Ajay said on Tuesday. "The package recommended for the affected people in the meeting held on Monday by the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted at the government level regarding Joshimath is the best disaster package so far. Some people want to create hurdles in Char Dham Yatra by resorting to bad propaganda," he said While speaking to ANI about the disaster packages, he said, "For the first time, a package of displacement and rehabilitation is being prepared based on the advice and suggestions of the disaster-affected people." Ajay, who attended the HPC meeting, said that before preparing the package for the Joshimath land subsidence-affected people, a committee of local public representatives was constituted under the chairmanship of Chamoli's District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana. "The suggestions of the committee were sent by the district administration to the government. In the governance, the HPC has given its in-principle approval on the suggestions received from the local people's representatives and the affected," added Ajay. Immediate relief was provided to the affected people due to the promptness and sensitivity of the Uttarakhand government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, he stressed. "Arrangements of heaters, blowers, electric kettles, bonfires etc., were ensured on a war footing for temporary housing, food, medical facilities and to protect the affected people from cold. Not a single affected person was allowed to face any kind of difficulty. On the contrary, at the time of the Kedarnath disaster, there were stories of every stumbling block to hide the heads of the affected," he claimed. While praising the work of the state government he said, "The government is keeping the long-term interests of the affected people in mind. As soon as the report of the experts regarding Joshimath is received, along with the works of displacement and rehabilitation, the works of conservation and treatment of the city will be started." He alleged that some people want to bake their political bread by confusing the affected. "Such people cannot be well-wishers of the affected. These people want to create hurdles in the Char Dham yatra by creating an atmosphere of fear and panic by resorting to bad propaganda. Such people want to give this message outside the state that everything is not right in Uttarakhand. "Char Dham Yatra is the backbone of the state's economy. No obstacle will be allowed to arise in it," added the BKTC Chairman. Earlier on Friday, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister while speaking to ANI said that the government is preparing a master plan to provide better facilities in the Char Dham yatra. According to officials, the state government will review preparations for the yatra 15 days prior to its commencement. Since Joshimath lies at the entrance of the yatra and the last major halt before Badrinath, officials will review preparations to ensure that the land subsidence issue does not impact the yatra. (ANI)
"We heard the President's address today, but the issues like unemployment or price hike were not included in it. I suggest to the President to advise the PM to bring an act called the 'Adani Act' as there is only crony capitalism now," BRS MP K Keshava Rao said while addressing the reporters here.

The party, notably boycotted the customary address by the President.

Hitting out at the Central government, he said that it has failed in all the sectors of development and governance.

"Modi government has failed in all sectors of development and governance during the last eight years. Since we wanted to focus on concerning issues so that the debate will go on the right path," he further said.

Rao also said that the protest by the party is absolutely a "democratic and demonstrative" protest against Murmu's address.

"We have respect for her like everyone. The protest by the party is absolutely a democratic and demonstrative protest against her address," he added.

The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31 with the customary address by the President to a joint session, followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey by the Finance Minister.

The President delivered her maiden address to both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall today.

Apart from the BRS party, Aam Aadmi Party also boycotted Murmu's address. (ANI)
"The law and order situation in Maharashtra is bad and the government is busy in the politics of revenge. If you can't handle law and order, Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign," she said.

Speaking about the Koyta gang of Pune, she said, "The members of this gang are threatening women. The way the cases are coming up, it looks like a complete failure of the state Home department. The ED (Eknath-Devendra) government is busy in vendetta politics and has no time to run the administration."

Condemning the government for its failure, she said, "I condemn this government and the Home Minister and want to ask him as to what is going on in the state."

"The Home Minister should answer. If he can't handle the situation then he should resign," said Sule. (ANI)
The incident happened on Monday night.

The accused have been identified as Akash Jaijaan and Sagar Chowdhary who are constables in the Mainpuri's jail police.

"On the information of the ruckus, the police got the medical examination of both the constables. Their consumption of alcohol has been confirmed," ASP Rajesh Kumar told ANI.

He said that action has been taken against both the constables.

"Action has been taken against both. A report has been sent by the police regarding the action taken in the matter," he added. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has continued shooting his questions to former Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Kamal Nath about his promissory note during the Congress-led government which was in power for 15 months. CM Chouhan on Tuesday said, "Today I am asking one more question from Nath: you had said about the Kisan Fasal Bima Yojana (Farmer Crop Insurance Scheme) that on the recommendation of the gram sabha, the benefit of the insurance would be given to the farmers. Crops get damaged so many times, did you take the recommendation of the Gram Sabha? When crops were damaged during your tenure due to excessive rains, floods, cold, etc, did you give even a single penny under crop insurance scheme?" He added that Nath had made such a base in the Yojana that the farmer did not get the money. "In the last two years we have deposited Rs 17,000 crores in the farmer's account under the Kisan Fasal Bima Yojana, what did you give?" Chouhan asked. The Chief Minister also said, "Kamal Nath ji is repeatedly saying that I lie, but I have a bundle of his lies, that is his promissory note. You (Nath) lied, you cheated and you misled. You have not fulfilled even a single promise in 15 months." "Which promise has been fulfilled, tell me? Now you have come out to cheat people, we will not let this game of cheating go on here. I am saying that you (Nath) are lying, you said so many things but did not fulfil even a single one and you call me a liar. You will have to answer in the public court," Chouhan said. Reacting to CM Chouhan's reamark, Kamal Nath again wrote on twitter on Tuesday, "Shivraj ji, some people lie so much that even the lie gets ashamed. In Mandsaur, the people of the party who shot at farmers, made laws from the centre to grab the land of the farmers, crushed the children of the farmers with their vehicles, are shedding crocodile tears these days." "I ask you (Chouhan) the question that in your vision paper you had promised that you will ensure 100% procurement of pulses. Is your government buying 100% pulses from farmers? Leave the meaningless rhetoric, look at the farmers and fulfil the promise you had made to them," he further wrote. Nath also appealed to farmers that they should not worry. "The film starring Shivraj ji has six more months left, after that we all will follow the path of truth and make golden Madhya Pradesh," he added. (ANI)
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday hit out at the central government over the upcoming Union Budget and said that the budget will be full of "unfulfilled promises". On being asked about his expectations on the budget, the Congress leader said, "I don't have any expectations from the budget. Because even this year, the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be full of unfulfilled promises." "This budget will be her last budget," added Siddaramaiah. While expressing his confidence in his party, the leader stated that the people of Karnataka have decided to bring the Congress government back to power. For the upcoming assembly elections in the state, the leader would contest from the Kolar constituency. "I have already announced it and if the high command agrees, I will contest from the Kolar seat," said the Congress leader. However, Siddaramaiah refused to speak about Congress's stance on the boycott of the Presidential address in the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament by some of the opposition parties. "You should ask this to the national leaders," added Siddaramaiah. The Congress leader refuted all the claims about his intention to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if given an important position. "Even my dead body would not go to BJP," added Siddaramaiah. As Congress's Bharata Jodo Yatra concluded on Monday, Siddaramaiah said, "We hope that Rahul Gandhi gathers all the opposition under one umbrella." (ANI)
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday virtually inaugurated IndiaOne Air's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Flight Operations for Jamshedpur-Kolkata under the UDAN scheme. "IndiaOne Air is an example of the UDAN Yojana how airlines were getting shut down one after the other in 20 years, three new airlines have come to the fore. There were only 74 airports in the country till 2013-14, there are 147 airports today. 1.15 crore such people who have never undertaken flight service have been benefited through this UDAN Yojana. 2.15 lakh flights were operated," Scindia said in his addressing. The Minister lauded the inauguration of the route and said that it is a landmark step in regard to the small aircraft scheme. "A landmark step that we're starting with inauguration of a route in J'khand, especially with regard to the small aircraft scheme introduced last year. This is basically for sub-26-seater aircraft, including helicopters," he said after the launch of the commercial flight. "UDAN 4.2 round devoted completely to regional and last-mile connectivity. Out of 184 routes, we've given 16 to helicopters, almost 50 to sea-planes and another 118 to small aircraft. This route today which is being inaugurated, Jamshedpur-Kolkata is an extremely important route," Scindia added. He said that for the first time officially operationalised for scheduled airlines Jamshedpur airport and under the UDAN scheme, there's viability cap funding which makes it economical for people who travel between the 2 cities between a range of Rs 2500-2600 in 9-seater Grand Cessna aircraft. (ANI)
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy held a curtain-raiser event for Andhra Pradesh Global Investor's Summit in the national capital on Tuesday and accentuated how the State created a business-friendly environment. Welcoming investors for the Global Investor's summit which will be hosted in Visakhapatnam on March 3-4, Chief Minister said that the event aims to showcase the State's strengths and the plethora of available opportunities. Addressing the international diplomatic alliance roundtable meeting hosted in Delhi, CM Jagan Reddy said, "Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the fastest growing state in the country with an 11.43 per cent year-on-year GSDP growth rate during the financial year 2021-22. Owing to an industry-friendly government, robust infrastructure, and enabling policy environment, Andhra Pradesh has always been an attractive choice for businesses from across the world. When industries grow, it speaks volumes of what we do in the state. In fact, all approvals take less than 21 days, thus making it easier to do business." The Chief Minister highlighted how the industrial corridors help in ease of doing business and magnifies the scope of scaling up the process. Hence, he announced that three industrial corridors would be constructed in Andhra Pradesh as part of the 11 being constructed in association with the Centre. CM Jagan Reddy said the emphasis has been on logistics efficiency and alluring global investors. With Andhra Pradesh having the second largest coastline in India, it is leveraging its inherent maritime advantage through the development of four new seaports. This is in addition to the existing six operational ports apart from six airports, he said. Hailing the investment-friendly environment in the State, industrialists said the state played a major role in supporting companies during a tough time such as Covid-19. Yamaguchi, Toray Industries CEO and MD said with the support of the Andhra Pradesh government, the company could start production despite the Covid constraints. "We have had huge support from Andhra Pradesh. We have invested Rs 1,000 crore in AP and started two business units. But then Covid happened. With the support of the AP government, we started production again in June 2020. Our business plan is to invest more than double our present investment by 2030. We are expecting the AP government's support for growing together," Yamaguchi said. Roshan Gunawardhana, Director, Everton Tea India (Pvt) Ltd praised the ease of doing business in the state and the government's handling of Covid-19. He said, "Ease of doing business is one factor that was good in AP and the support we got from the government helped us set up the units here. 99% of the employees are local. We are grateful to the officials and authorities for supporting us during Covid-19." Deepak Iyer, President, Cadbury India thanked the government of Andhra Pradesh for the best single-window clearance systems in the country. "Our deepest gratitude to govt of AP for providing one of the best single-window clearance systems in the entire country. We do business across the country but AP is one of the best," stated Iyer. Tae Jin Park, MD and CEO, Kia (South Korea) Motors acknowledged Andhra Pradesh's rich and abundant natural resources and assured economic growth. Tae noted that the ease of connectivity including proximity to major ports like Krishnapatnam and Chennai would enable KIA to sell their cars not just across India but across 95 countries in the world. Remembering the journey of Apache in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Sergio Lee, Director, Apache and Hilltop Group (Taiwan) said the company's success would not have been possible without Andhra Pradesh's support. He added that with the latest technology with green energy concept, the company is looking forward to contributing to economic growth in Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)
A team of Bhopal Cyber Crime Branch busted a gang involved in cheating people through a 'Buddy Cash Loan App', which was being operated from Thailand, and arrested two accused involved in the crime from Mumbai, a police official said on Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Sanjay Saulkar (52) and Vishal Pawar (38), residents of Mumbai. The accused used to do some business there but behind it they used to commit cyber crimes. Cyber Crime Branch, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Shailendra Singh Chouhan told ANI, "There is a 'Buddy Cash Loan App' through which people were being cheated. We received a complaint from a local victim in the regard after which a team was formed and started an investigation into the matter." "During the investigation, the police arrested two accused involved in the crime from Mumbai. The accused used to steal data of customers via the loan app and then they morphed their photos. After that the accused used to blackmail the customers," he added. Giving information about the app, he said that the investigation revealed that it is a Chinese app developed in Thailand. Besides, the calls to the people were being made through whatsapp and it was quite difficult to trace the location of the caller. During the investigation it was also revealed that the accused cheated around crores of rupees from more than 40 people. Further investigation into the matter is underway, Additional DCP Chouhan added. Reacting to the Buddy Cash Loan App, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday appealed to people to beware of it and said, "It is an appeal to all to avoid this type of app and if you are a victim of fraud then do register your complaint with the police. Strict action will be taken against the accused." A complaint was registered by a victim, Ranjit for the same and two accused were arrested in the case, Mishra added. (ANI)
created on: Jul 30, 2022 by Comms Office 0 0

AACC Statements

NAIROBI: 30 JULY 2022

STATEMENT BY ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES ON THE OCCASION OF THE WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

In Genesis 37: 1ff, the Bible informs us that Joseph was sold by his brothers out of sheer jealousy and envy. Likewise, history holds that in previous centuries Africa experienced the slave trade. Indeed, many Africans have been sold by their own brothers, sisters, and leaders for one reason or another. It was enough to become a threat to the community, royalty, a friend, or even the family that one would run the risk of being sold to slavers during their next visit to the region. And that was how Africa has been deprived of its able-bodied arms, sent to the confines of America to the sugar cane and other plantations. One might think that following the abolition of the slave trade, this horrible and shameful phenomenon has been eradicated from the existence of mankind. But it is clear that we were wrong to think so; because nowadays we are witnessing a new form of slavery. The only fact that changed is that it is no longer black/Africans who are falling victims, but everybody anywhere and victims are not only sold by someone else, sometimes they sold themselves out not knowing what they are getting into, while some just out of ignorance fall in the hands of traffickers who claim to help them.

Our brothers and sisters, wives, and children are being trafficked, smuggled into force labours, sexual exploitation, and child soldiers. As AACC, while fighting the phenomenon to preserve peoples God-given human dignity, we have been documenting the phenomenon of human trafficking and irregular migration. And our discovery was that anyone and everybody could be a victim. Also, poverty, social factors and cultural practices, conflict and natural disasters, and lack of information about the issue among others are the root causes.

While we are once again pausing to mark the world day against trafficking in persons, the AACC is reminding us that:

As churches and people of God,

We are called to preserve peoples God-given rights and life, protect their dignity, and show them Gods love. Consequently, as we call on each one of us to educate our people about the phenomenon so that they do not fall victims, we are equally demanding that our diaconal ministries are activated in order to provide psychosocial support to the victim to restore their dignity and heal those who are traumatized.

We are the prophetic voice in the nation and in the world. Hence, it is our responsibility to advocate and call on government and world leaders to promote a safe environment for people who are pushed into forced migration or would-be migrants.

As government,

It is your responsibility to set up a safe migration policy for your people;

You need to implement the various aspiration of the AU Agenda 2063 for an integrated Africa and for the well-being of your people.

Thus, the AACC is calling on the RECs, government, CSO, FBOs, and all stakeholders

To play their respective role so we to set up better migration governance at the national level;

To get involved in the Rabat process to ensure that migrants basic needs and catered for are respected
Chennai's Pollution Control Board conducted a public hearing meeting at Kalaivanar Arangam Hall where the locals were to give their views on 'Pen Statue' erection plan.

Opposition parties including the AIADMK alliance expressed views against the statue plan, as per the sources.

Meanwhile, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Chief Seeman warned to destroy the statue and asked DMK to erect it at their party head office.

"If the 'Pen statue' is erected in the sea, I will break and destroy the statue. If you (DMK) want to erect the 'Pen statue' in memory of Karunanidhi, you can do it in your party's head office Arivalayam," he said.

The statue was planned to be constructed in memory of former TN Chief Minister Karunanidhi.

Tension prevails inside the Kalaivanar Arangam as ruling DMK cadres and AIADMK alliance cadres raise slogans and voices against and in favour of the statue plan, respectively. (ANI)
Asaram is sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 376 & 377 in a sexual assault case. Court ordered Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to the victim, Public Prosecutor RC Kodekar said.

The 81-year-old is currently serving a life sentence in a Jodhpur case in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

In the 2013 case, a girl from Surat accused Asaram of rape. Statements from 68 people were taken in the case. There was a total of seven accused, including Asaram.

Earlier there were a total of eight accused but one of them became a government witness.

Asaram was presented virtually for the hearing. He is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail and has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jodhpur court.

In the 2013 case, Asaram was accused of rape by a Surat girl, while Narayan Sai was accused of rape by her younger sister. Narayan Sai has been sentenced to life imprisonment whereas today the verdict came on Asaram, in which, he was found guilty.

In this case, apart from Asaram, his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharati and four female followers Dhruvben, Nirmala, Jassi, and Meera were accused. All of these were acquitted.

The police have said that in this case, they had received strong evidence against Asaram. (ANI)
The PM CARES Trust on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was created and is existing as purely charitable and it is neither used for any government projects, nor it is governed by any of the government policies. In a fresh affidavit filed in Delhi High Court by an Under Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) who is discharging his functions in the PM Cares Trust also, stated that the Trust functions on the principles of transparency and public good in larger public interest like any other charitable trust and, therefore, cannot have any objection in uploading all its resolutions on its website to ensure transparency. "The Trust's fund is not a fund of the Government of India and the amount does not go into the Consolidated Fund of India. The record available in the public domain makes it amply clear that PMCARES-Trust is neither constituted by the Parliament nor by the government," the Trust said. It further said that the fund is not a "public authority" as defined by the Right to Information Act, and therefore, the Trust does not come under its provisions. "Contributions made to PMCARES Fund/Trust are exempted under the Income Tax Act,1961, but that by itself would not justify the conclusion that it is a "Public Authority," stated the affidavit of PMCares Trust. Under Secretary who filed this affidavit in Delhi High Court submitted, "I am discharging my functions in the PM Cares Trust on an honorary basis which is a charitable Trust not created by or under the Constitution of India or by any law made by the Parliament or by any State legislature. Despite being an officer of the Central Government, I am permitted to discharge my functions in PM Care Trust on an honorary basis." The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Tuesday heard the submissions of the petitioner who sought direction to restrain PM CARES FUND from using Prime Minister of India or Prime Minister including its abbreviations in its name and on its website. The Court was hearing petitions filed by Samyak Gangwal, who sought to declare the PM CARES Fund a 'State' under the Constitution. The petitioner has also sought direction to restrain PM CARES FUND from using Prime Minister of India or Prime Minister including its abbreviations in its name and on its website. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan appearing for Petitioner earlier argued that PM Cares is using the government of India portal, the national emblem is also on the left side. If Trust's fund is not a fund of the Government of India, then this would be a violation if it's a private party. The trustees of it are also not ordinary functionaries. They have taken a high oath of office. Earlier, an affidavit filed by PMCARES Trust affidavit stated that to ensure transparency, the audited report is put on the official website of the Trust along with the details of the utilization of funds received by the Trust. "Suffice to mention that all donations received by the Trust are received via online payments, cheques, and or Demand Drafts, and the amount so received is audited with the audited report and the expenditure of Trust fund displayed on the website. In view of the specific provisions of section 8 of the Right to Information Act, the relief against para 5.3 of the Trust Deed dated 27.3.2020 pales into insignificance," the affidavit reads. PMCARES Trust while opposed to the present petitions stated that such a prayer is not only unheard of but is legally not maintainable. In his other petition, Gangwal challenged the decision of the Central Public Information Officer, Prime Minister's Office wherein the RTI application seeking documents related to the PM Cares Fund Fund was denied. Gangwal has filed its petition through advocates Debopriyo Moulik and Ayush Shrivastava. (ANI)
Three persons, including two women, died and two other persons, including a minor, sustained injuries after a pile of coal ashes caved in, where they were searching coal, in Silatara locality in the state capital Raipur on Tuesday, a police official said. Those who died were identified as Mohar Bai Manhare (50), Pancho Gahare (32) and Puneet Kumar Manhare (22), residents of Sakra village in Silatara locality, Raipur. On getting the information about the incident, the police rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation. Those who sustained injuries have been admitted to the hospital. Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abhishek Maheshwari said, "The locals living in Sakra village used to extract coal from the debris of coal ash of a company situated in the area. They collect the coal from it and use it to light Sigdi (a kind of stove). The place from where they extract coal was became like a tunnel." "The tunnel had become long and due to which all of a sudden it caved in. Five people were buried inside it, in which three died on the spot while two sustained injuries. Both of them were undergoing treatment. As soon as we received information, the police team reached the spot and rescued them from the debris," ASP Maheshwari said. He added that the police registered a case against the land owner into the matter and started further investigation. On the other hand, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has expressed sorrow over the death of the people in the incident. He has also instructed the officials to provide better treatment as well as other necessary help required to the injured in the incident. (ANI)
As many as 50 posts of fire service personnel in different ranks were approved by CM Patnaik on Monday. They will be deployed at four airports of the state, including Jharsuguda, Utkela, Rourkela and Jeypore, as per a government release.

Out of the 50 posts, 9 personnel will be deployed at Utkela and Jeypore airports whereas 16 will be deployed at Jharsuguda and Rourkela airports.

Earlier, three fire stations were established at three premier medical colleges of the state, including Cuttack, Behrampur and Burla and two were established in Tihidi in Bhadrak and Baruan in Jajpur districts.

16 fire personnel were deployed at Rourkela Airport in December last year. (ANI)
Ahead of the central government introducing its last complete budget tomorrow, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command has formed a committee to take the benefits of the budget among the public and take their feedback. As per the BJP sources, the Committee formed on January 28, comprises nine party leaders from different states, which will be headed by former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi. The nine members are BJP leader Vivek Venkataswamy, BJP National General Secretary Sunil Bansal, National Kisan Morcha President Raj Kumar Chahar, National Yuva Morcha President MP Tejaswi Surya, Bihar's former Deputy CM, MP Sushil Kumar Modi, Union Government's Chief Financial Affairs Adviser, MLA Ashok Lahiri are in the committee, BJP national spokesperson Gopala Krishna Agarwal, Sanju Verma, and Yuva Morcha national in-charge Varun Zaveri. The responsibility of the committee is to take the information regarding the benefits of the budget to the people across the country and also get their feedback. This process will start from the next day of the Budget, February 2, and will go on till February 12, the sources said. The members will be doing four meetings, one of which will be physical and rest three will be virtual. In addition to this, every state will be visited by one central minister and one senior BJP leader. BJP will try to spread that when the world is facing an economic crunch due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the Indian condition is stable, and it has presented a good budget for the people. They will also try to spread how the government is working for improving the Railways facilities. For making the programme a success, a meeting of all nine members was held in the BJP headquarters today. The planning and strategy of the programme were discussed in the meeting lasting one and a half hours, the sources added. (ANI)
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Tuesday questioned the central government's silence on an US-based firm's allegations of financial irregularities against the Adani Group. At a press conference today, Pawar hit out at the Centre for not issuing any statement on Hindenburg Research's allegations of stock manipulation, money laundering and improper use of tax havens by the Adani Group. "Why does not any senior official speak on this matter?" Pawar asked. "Central government should intervene and make a statement to make people aware of the truth. There are allegations by a foreign agency about one of our industry leaders. The Centre should clarify its stand on the issue," the Maharashtra leader said. The Maharashtra LoP also reacted to the Centre's decision to block BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi from being viewed in India. "This is a democracy and we respect it," Pawar said. "If BBC or any news channel makes any news or documentary, then it should be seen that the documentary is not against the law or against the country, if it is does not disrupt the law and order situation then it should be shown," the NCP leader said. Pawar said that "if it is against the country, then the police should think about the release of the documentary or video. They should also look into the law and order situation so that it does not deteriorate." On Monday, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, senior journalist N Ram, and advocate Prashant Bhushan approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to restrain the central government from censoring the BBC documentary. The petition sought direction to quash all orders which directly and indirectly block online access to BBC's documentary "India: The Modi Question". The petitioners further sought restoration of their tweets sharing the links of the documentary, which were taken down by Twitter following Centre's orders. The right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to citizens by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution also includes the "right to receive and disseminate information", the plea stated. Even if the contents of the documentary and its viewership/discussion thereupon are unpalatable to the powers that be, it is no ground to curtail the freedom of speech and expression of the petitioners, the plea added. Senior advocate CU Singh mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday for urgent hearing and the court agreed to list the matter. "What does the government gain by the ban on documentaries like that of the BBC? It only creates unnecessary curiosity," argued the Opposition party leaders during an all-party meet at the parliament on Monday, before the start of the budget session. (ANI)
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha's suggestions came while hearing the CBI plea against the Bombay High Court order allowing Mehta to travel to Hong Kong.

CBI has challenged the Bombay High Court order which allowed Mehta to travel to his home in Hong Kong. Mehta, a British national who lives in Hong Kong with his family, returned to India in September 2021 and made his first appearance before the court in Mumbai.

CBI told the court that it apprehends that huge amounts of money that have gone into those accounts and Mehta, who is a foreign national, is not giving access to the accounts.

Mehta's counsel said that they have cooperated with the CBI but the probe agency is making false allegations against him.

The court has listed the matter for February 9 for further hearing. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at around 50 locations across seven states in cases related to leakage of question papers for the written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police. In a statement, CBI mentioned that searches were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana etc in an ongoing investigation of two cases related to leakage of question papers for the written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police. During searches, incriminating documents have been recovered. CBI registered two cases on November 30, 2022, on the request of the Himachal Pradesh Government and further notification by the Government of India and had taken over the investigation of these cases earlier registered by the State Police on the allegations of leakage of question papers of written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police, held in March 2022. During the investigation and scrutiny of documents, the alleged role of various middlemen based in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, etc were revealed. It was alleged that they were operating the nexus for the leakage of examination papers in an organised manner. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The Centre has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the top court judgement which struck down some provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988 and the 2016 amendments to the Act. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Tuesday mentioned the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. He sought an urgent hearing on the review petition. He also urged for an open court hearing of the case. The court said that it would list the matter. Centre has sought a review of the judgement, which was delivered in August 2022 by a three-judge bench of the apex court. In August 2022, the top court ruled that the forfeiture provision under Section 5 of the 2016 Act, being punitive in nature, can only be applied prospectively and not retroactively and declared some provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988 and the 2016 amendments to the Act unconstitutional. The top court has declared that the forfeiture provision under Section 5 of the unamended Act of 1988, prior to the 2016 Amendment Act, was unconstitutional for being manifestly arbitrary. The court has noted that this brings us to the last aspect as to the retroactive operation of confiscation (forfeiture) under Section 5 read with Chapter IV of the 2016 Act. It is the argument of the Union of India that civil forfeiture being in the domain of civil law is not punitive in nature and therefore, it does not attract the prohibition contained under Article 20(1) of the Constitution. The 2016 Act, which amends the 1988 Act, expanded the 1988 Act to 72 sections (from 9 sections), divided into eight chapters. Section 5 has been modified and it presently stands as "Property held benami liable to confiscation. -- Any property, which is the subject matter of benami transaction, shall be liable to be confiscated by the Central Government." The 2016 Act provides for provisional attachment of the property where the concerned officer has genuine reason to believe, based on the material gathered, that the person in possession of the property held in benami may alienate the property. "Such provisional attachment cannot be taken recourse to every time. Recourse under Section 24(3) of the 2016 Act should be exercised in exceptional circumstances after previous approval of the Approving Authority. Such interim provisional attachment is strictly limited by time," the court said. The court had noted that the response by the Government and the Law Commission to curb benami transactions was also not sufficient as it was conceded before this Court that Sections 3 and 5 of the 1988 Act in reality, dehors the legality, remained only on paper and were never implemented on the ground. The court had held that Section 3(2) of the unamended 1988 Act is declared as unconstitutional for being manifestly arbitrary and, Section 3(2) of the 2016 Act is also unconstitutional as it is violative of Article 20(1) of the Constitution. As per Section 3 (2) whoever enters into any benami transaction shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both. The court order came on Centre appeal challenging the Calcutta High Court order. The Calcutta High Court in 2019 said ruled that the 2016 amendment cannot be given retrospective effect since there is no express provision granting retrospectively. The court had opined that such reading down was mandated to ameliorate the harsh consequences of confiscatory laws which otherwise would have allowed the State agencies to take over the property without seriously pursuing the criminal prosecutions. The Benami Act empowers the authorities to provisionally attach properties. The amendment to Benami Act, 2016 was designed to curb black money and was passed by parliament in August 2016, came into effect in November 2016. The "benami property" means any property which is the subject matter of a benami transaction and also includes the proceeds from such property and "benami transaction" means,-- a transaction or an arrangement where a property is transferred to, or is held by, a person, and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid by, another person. (ANI)
created on: Oct 05, 2022 by Comms Office 0 0

AACC Statements

Nairobi: 05/10/2022

STATEMENT BY THE ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES ON THE RECENT COUP IN BURKINA FASO

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) strongly condemns the military coup that occurred in Burkina Faso on September 30, 2022.

The coup in Burkina Faso is a sad development and a shame to the African continent. The AACC is mindful of how these coup detats have over the years negatively affected the development of the African continent. They are a drawback to Africas development.

Foreign elements and invisible powers continue to exploit weak African states by providing guns and ammunition to fuel armed conflicts and capturing governmental machinery to exploit Africa's natural resources. This, AACC equally condemns and urges the international community, including African states to urgently address this phenomenon.

In denouncing the coup in Burkina Faso, the AACC urges a refrain from acts that threaten the civil liberties and human dignity of citizens. AACC calls for an urgent transition of the country to civilian and democratic rule in line with the tenets and the spirit of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (ACDEG) which Burkina Faso ratified in 2010. This will help to restore hope to the people. Africa and the people of Burkina Faso deserve better.

The AACC upholds prayers for Burkina Faso, and for its member churches, and citizens during these trying times.
No injury or casualty has been reported so fire.

Locals of the area noticed the fire and raised an alarm. Following information, a team of fire department reached the spot and started the operation.

As many as 12 fire tenders are at the spot, and efforts to douse the fire are on, officials said.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Janta Dal (United) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying that he was given the 'Jhunjhuna' of the Chairman of the parliamentary and he can't even nominate a member. Kushwaha even threatened to resign from the Bihar Legislative Council. "I was a Rajya Sabha MP and Union Minister. However, I didn't think twice while leaving those positions. The position of MLC is nothing big compared to that," said Kushwaha. "Even after being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board, I cannot nominate a member. No attention was paid to my suggestions," he complained. "CM Nitish Kumar says I was given a lot of respect after I was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board'," he said. "When I was made the leader of the parliamentary party, I thought that I would get the opportunity to execute the responsibilities of the position. But later on I realized that as the Chairman of the Parliamentary board, I was given nothing but a 'Jhunjhuna' in my hands," he rued. "When I became the Chairman, there was no mention of the post in the party constitution. Later on, the constitution was amended and it was added," Kushwaha alleged. He said that the party did not appoint any member to the parliamentary board and did not even give him powers to appoint the members. "I had suggested the Party to nominate candidates from the backward cast to the Rajya Sabha. However, my suggestion was not heard," he added. (ANI)
A constable posted at the residence of the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh died by suicide after shooting himself in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The police have taken the body into custody and sent it for post-mortem. Abhishek Yadav, a resident of Lucknow, was a constable of the 2020 batch and was posted at the SP residence last month. At around 3 am on Tuesday, he committed suicide by shooting himself with a government rifle. The incident came to light when another constable went to the guard room when it was time for changing the duty. Constable Abhishek Yadav was lying in a pool of blood. The deceased constable had been suffering from migraine for the last several months and was undergoing treatment. The deceased lived in a rented house near the police lines. He talked to some of his relatives on the phone on Monday night. The relatives of the deceased were informed; after which they reached Balrampur. The body was sent for post-mortem while the Police are probing the death from every angle. Vinay Yadav, brother of the deceased Abhishek Yadav, said that they received a call late Sunday evening from Abhishek. He had talked about a headache but did not tell anything significant. "There is no reason to take such extreme steps as suicide," his brother added. The police have said that more details would come forth after a thorough investigation. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed the medical termination of 25 weeks pregnancy carried by a minor victim of sexual assault. The High court passed the direction on a plea moved by the mother of the 13-year-old victim. Justice Prathiba M Singh directed the medical board of Safdarjung Hospital to undertake the procedure for the termination of pregnancy on Wednesday. The court observed, "The petitioner is 13 years of age and a victim of sexual assault and FIR has already been registered for the same. Further, the petitioner does not wish to carry on with the pregnancy. This stand of the petitioner is confirmed by the mother of the petition, who is acting as her legal guardian." "Under these circumstances, keeping in mind the interest of the life of the petitioner, her tender age, her education, and keeping in mind the social circumstances, even though the gestational period is more than 25 weeks, this court is of the opinion that the pregnancy is terminated," justice Singh said. The court passed the direction after considering the medical report. The court also interacted with the doctors of the medical board who joined the proceedings through video conferencing. From the interaction, it appears that there are risks involved in the termination of pregnancy as also in continuing with the pregnancy, the court said. The court directed that the minor be admitted to the hospital on Wednesday by 9 am. The doctors of the medical board assured the court that they would give the petitioner the best care during the pregnancy termination process. The minor petitioner approached the court moving a petition through advocate Shreyance Singhavi. The High Court on Monday directed the Safdarjung hospital to constitute a medical board and examine the petitioner. The bench directed to preserve a sample of the foetus for the purpose of a criminal case, which may be required in future. The court after considering the fact the petitioner is a victim of sexual assault directed that the cost of termination of pregnancy shall be borne by the Ministry of Health and Family welfare. The court has also directed that the DCPA shall release a sum of Rs 10,000 for immediate nutrition and other medical needs of the petitioner after the termination of pregnancy. (ANI)
The Union Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal hosted the pious event of Me-Dam-Me-Phi at his official residence in Delhi on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Today marks the pious occasion when we pay our respect to our ancestors as we thank them for the rich heritage they left behind for us to seek wisdom and guidance as we move ahead in life. Our rich heritage, our history, and our culture is our greatest teacher as we seek blessings to bring to life the vision of PM Narendra Modiji to build a new India." "In order to achieve the ultimate goal of Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat set by Modiji, we must look for knowledge and teachings that our forefathers have left behind. It is a wonderful occasion when we have all gathered here to celebrate this wonderful festival of the Tai Ahom community for the peace and prosperity of humanity," he added. Union Minister Sonowal extended his sincere gratitude to all who joined the prayer on Tuesday. "I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you, including everyone in Assam where it is celebrated widely by people from all communities," he added. The Tai Ahom community celebrates the Me-Dam-Me-Phi festival to worship and pay respect to the ancestors seeking their divinity with God. The meaning of 'Me' means offerings, 'Dam' means ancestors and 'Phi' means God. Those, who attended the event on Tuesday, also prayed for the peace and prosperity of humanity. The festival is celebrated every year on January 31 across Assam. The ceremony witnessed enthusiastic participation by hundreds of people from the Assamese society residing in the Delhi NCR, among others. Among dignitaries, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy, Rameshwar Teli, Dr Mahendrabhai Munjpara, Shripad Yesso Naik, and Shantanu Thakur were Members of Parliament from Northeast attended the event on Tuesday. The event was also attended by the Ambassador of Thailand, Pattarat Hongtong as well as the Deputy Ambassador of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Keo Sendavong. Padmashri Awardee Prof Jogendra Nath Phukan, a leading light in Tai and South East Asian studies including the history & culture of Assam, also attended. (ANI)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is making planned efforts for the employment of youth, has taken an initiative before the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit (GIS). CM Yogi has constituted a 48-member team, including 12 from the Indian Administrative Service, six each from the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service officers (all retired) and 24 educationists to acquaint the youth with the employment-oriented schemes and policies of the government. From February 3 to February 5, this team will communicate with the youth in different universities/colleges, answer their queries related to employment, as well as make them aware of the utility of the GIS for the youth. In this context, CM interacted with a 48-member special team of retired officers and senior educationists in a unique programme organized at the CM's residence on Tuesday, an official statement said. The CM said that when they took over the responsibility of the state in the year 2017, the state's economy was pathetic. He said that they studied all aspects and then worked in mission mode to bring policy reforms and simplify the system. Efforts were made to improve the law and order situation. The CM said that investment proposals worth Rs 4.68 lakh crore Investors Summit have been received. After this, through three groundbreaking ceremonies, we have implemented proposals worth about Rs 4 lakh crore. CM Yogi further said that in 2017, when the bankers were called to implement the loan waiver scheme for farmers, discouraging results were received. And recently, when there was a meeting with bankers and CEOs, and MDs of financial institutions in Mumbai, people spontaneously expressed their eagerness to be helpful in the development of the state. The CM also expressed concern over the inequality in development in Uttar Pradesh. "Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand had seen very little development as compared to Central Uttar Pradesh and NCR until a few years ago. He said that these areas faced a crisis of migration of its youth," he added. Policies to provide better connectivity, strong law and order and ease of doing business focusing on Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand have been implemented, said the CM. As a result, industrial units are being established in these backward areas. "We are getting investment proposals worth lakhs of crores of rupees," he added. Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit is being organized in Lucknow on February 10-12 to attract capital investment from the country and abroad with the aim of increasing the size of the state's economy to one trillion dollars. The three-day summit will provide a platform for industrialists, businessmen, managers, high-level administrative officials, corporate leaders as well as intellectuals, academicians and policymakers from industry and commerce to explore business opportunities and ways for inclusive development of the state and establish partnerships. "This three-day Global Investors Summit will pave way for the realization of the possibilities of industrialization in the state, but will also improve the standard of living of the common citizen of the state, strengthen the economy and create lakhs of new employment opportunities. Our youth will get the biggest benefit from this summit. Our youth will no longer be forced to migrate to other states for jobs and employment," CM Yogi said. In the roadshows organized in 21 cities of 16 countries, investment proposals of more than Rs 7.12 lakh crores were received, informed the CM. Industry from all over the world has expressed enthusiasm to invest in Uttar Pradesh. This summit is going to be historic. This time all the districts are joining in organizing the Investors Summit. Before the main function on February 10-12, investors' conferences are being held in the districts and investment intents worth thousands of crores of rupees are being received directly by the districts. This is unprecedented for Uttar Pradesh. "Good plans fail due to lack of awareness. Therefore, continuous dialogue and interaction between government, industry and academia are vital. For this purpose, the state government is taking the cooperation of all you experienced officers and educationists," the CM said emphasising the importance of communication. Before the GIS begins, communication with all the youths in universities and other educational institutions is important. "While communicating, inform them about the plans for attracting huge capital investment in UP through various policies issued by the Government. Introduce them to the schemes run by the Government of India and the State Government for the welfare of the youth. Address their curiosities so that more and more youth can be benefited from the schemes. Please guide how this summit will be useful for their bright future," informed the CM to the 48-member team. Students should be made aware of the ambitious plans of the government by visiting universities and colleges. Retired officers and senior educationists will introduce the youth to the employment policies of the state government. The Uttar Pradesh State government in its mission to connect youth with employment has constituted a special team of 12 retired IAS, six each IPS & IFS officers and 24 educationists. Retired officers and educationists will go to universities to introduce the youth to the vision and mission of the Chief Minister. (ANI)
"Opposition members in America have raised this issue in Parliament. Ancestors of Muhammad and Christ have been proved to be Sanatani Hindus," he told reporters here.

He further said that the governments shouldn't have control over the temples and math.

"The governments shouldn't have control over temples and Matth, and there is a need to spend money for the development to every corner," he added.

When asked about the lost key of the Puri's Ratna Bhandar, Shankaracharya said, "The Odisha government and Jagannath temple administration never consulted over any issues regarding the temple. Why should I interfere in the missing key issue of Ratna Bhandar?"

There are a total of seven treasuries within the temple, out of which one remains open at all times.

Around 38 years ago the keys to four treasuries went missing, but only two keys were there with the District Collector. (ANI)
CPI(M) Floor Leader in Rajya Sabha Elmaram Kareem, MP, on Tuesday said that the President's address to both Houses of Parliament today was very disappointing. CPI(M) MP Kareem said that the President's speech has become nothing more than a narrative of the corporate appeasement policies of the BJP government ruling at the Centre. In the nineteen-page speech, there is no mention of the words worker or labour. It does not mention anything about the agriculture sector of India, he said. "It endorses the fact that the union government does not stand with the downtrodden of the country. It is sad that the problems faced by the people or the challenges the country is facing today are not part of the President's speech. It prides itself on having a stable government in the centre for two consecutive terms and turns a blind eye to unconstitutional interventions by governors destabilising the state governments," said Kareem. CPI(M) Upper House MP from Kerala said that while thanking the people for giving a stable government in the centre for two consecutive terms, it does not see the horse-trading of the BJP, which came to power in many states of the country by subverting the people's mandate. "Many of the projects mentioned in the speech to praise the interventions made by the government in the fields of infrastructural development, poverty alleviation and women empowerment are actually only announcements that were not useful to the common people in any way. How can a government, which follows the policy of selling off the public sector undertakings and the country's wealth lead the country to progress?" he added He said that the job opportunities of the educated youth are constantly being cut, the rights of the workers are being taken away one by one, and the deliberate attempts to destroy the religious harmony and unity of the country were not being mentioned here. The BJP government, which has cheated the farmers, is trying to implement policies to hand over the country's agriculture sector to corporates. Not only that the government is not ready to fulfil any of the assurances given while ending the farmers' strike, but they are also doing the exact opposite to it. "The brief of this speech is that the central policy of providing all facilities to the country while the corporates are looting the entire wealth of the country is leading to the progress of the country. At this level, the President's speech, which turns a blind eye to the realities of our nation, is disappointing and extremely unfortunate" he added. (ANI)
Officials said that the incident took place in the Rana village of the Badkot area of Uttarkashi.

No casualty or injury to anyone was reported in the incident, they said.

The teams of police, fire squad and SDRF rushed to the spot and controlled the fire with the help of the local people.

The exact cause of fire and amount of property lost in the incident could not be ascertained. (ANI)
Restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by some states may temporarily save cash flows for the state governments but obviously it postpones the problem to a future date and makes the situation somewhat unsustainable or unstable, said Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageshwaran. In an exclusive interview with ANI, the CEA said, "We need to defer to the views of experienced former policymakers like Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who have already opined on this matter. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also expressed its concern about OPS. OPS may temporarily save cash flows for the state governments, but obviously, it postpones the problem to a future date and makes the fiscal situation unsustainable or unstable." "Congress-ruled states Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have restored the OPS and the demand to restore OPS is also being raised in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and some other states," he added. Responding to a question on unemployment, the CEA said the urban unemployment rate has come down substantially from the pandemic period and we need to continue to make investments in the private sector that will necessitate more hiring. "Construction sector is coming back to life after the pandemic-related closures and restrictions on the movement of people across states etc. The Real Estate sector is getting revived and will also provide employment opportunities. If we see the data of EPFO, the registration rate is higher than the previous three years," he said. He also informed that the government has created an e-Shram portal, which aims to connect employers and those looking for jobs. "Employment generation is a relatively slower moving process, as compared to normal economic growth. I believe that as economic growth steadily rolls on at 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent, we will begin to see the impact on job creation because the formal economy is already creating enough jobs. We need to make sure that it diffuses even further," he added. Nageshwaran said that GDP will accelerate further if the government focuses on some more measures. "India's GDP growth is projected at 6 per cent by many international organizations. I projected 6.5-7 per cent for two reasons, which is very clearly brought out in the survey. One is that India's financial cycle is ready to roll compared to the last decade, and the second factor is India's public digital infrastructure is also ready to contribute to economic activity, because India's digital infrastructure is enabling formalization and financial inclusion, bringing more people into the mainstream economy," he said. He added that if we undertake a set of reforms or policies at the union and state levels to dismantle the licensing, inspection and compliance regulatory ecosystem, our economy could grow even further. "That ensures that Indian Education caters to 21st-century requirements provide and also if we can ensure adequate reliable power supply and if we take care of our energy security and also create a viable MSME ecosystem and continue to invest in infrastructure. These are the things that will drive our economic growth, or create opportunities for economic growth to increase the rate of growth to increase from 7-8 per cent," he said. Talking about Current Account Deficit (CAD), the CEA said that it is a function of our imports and exports and also inward remittances from what Indians working overseas sent to India, interest income, dividend income, etc. "What we received minus what we pay out so India's CAD is dominated by the trade deficit because we depend on external markets for essential items and that is something we need to work on from the long-term point of view. In terms of energy security, India is ahead of its target in the diversification of energy sources, moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, renewable energy composition, renewable energy and traditional energy mix," he further said. (ANI)
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The Morbi court on Tuesday sent the Managing Director of Oreva Group, Jaysukh Patel, to judicial custody, in connection with the 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse case, that claimed the lives of 134 people. He earlier surrendered before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Morbi. Patel has been sent to a sub-jail in Morbi. People who lost their loved ones also raised slogans outside the court premises against Patel. Earlier this month, Gujarat Police filed a 1,262-page chargesheet in the case and named Jaysukh Patel as the prime accused for the suspension bridge collapse in Morbi. On January 24, a Gujarat court had issued a warrant for the arrest of Jaysukh Patel of the Oreva Group in relation to the October 30 bridge collapse in Morbi in which 134 people were killed. Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) had secured the contract to renovate, repair and operate the British-era bridge on the Machchu river in Morbi. On Sunday, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Morbi, MJ Khan, issued an arrest warrant against Patel under section 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). "The court issued an arrest warrant against Jaysukh Patel of Oreva Group, which had a contract for the renovation of the Morbi bridge. He has not been arrested for 70 days. "No lookout notice issued yet," Government prosecutor Sanjay Vora had told ANI. Notably, Patel had moved to Morbi sessions court on January 20 for anticipatory bail in the case, while the hearing was adjourned till February 1 as the public prosecutor was not present. Patel is not named as an accused in the FIR filed by the police in the case. Nine persons, including four employees of Ajanta Manufacturing (Oreva Group), have been arrested so far in the case. They include two managers and an equal number of ticket booking clerks of the Oreva Group that was managing the British-era bridge. As many as 134 persons lost their lives after a century-old suspension bridge fell into the Machchhu River of Morbi, Gujarat. Gujarat High Court on November 7 took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi accident, issuing notices to officials, including those of the state Home department and seeking a report within a week. The Supreme Court in November said the Morbi bridge collapse incident was an "enormous tragedy", as it asked the Gujarat High Court, which was already holding hearings in the matter suo motu, to hold periodical hearings. (ANI)
Aiming to strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organisation in West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting the state in February. Incidentally, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is constantly visiting West Bengal to strengthen its organisation. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar informed ANI that Amit Shah will visit Bengal in February but the date has not been confirmed yet. "We will finalise the date of the Home Minister's visit on February 6. Although, there is a possibility that he will visit the state in the second week of February," he said. The party has also started the Loksabha Pravas Yojana, in view of the Lok Sabha elections. During the visit to West Bengal, Amit Shah will hold public meetings in two Lok Sabha constituencies, and also hold a meeting with the organisation members. Sukanta Majumdar said that before this, BJP National President JP Nadda also held a meeting in an assembly under Krishnanagar Lok Sabha in West Bengal. "Our workers have got enthusiasm from him. The party has emerged from the post-poll violence of the 2021 Assembly elections. As per the national channel surveys, BJP is going to get more Lok Sabha seats than last year. This is what the respected Home Minister, National President and our Prime Minister do when they go and address the workers. Our workers go out of the house and become full of fresh energy," he further said. The BJP state chief also said that BJP will win more than 25 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "Trinamool Congress will try its best to bow us down and make the government. But, I can say that we will win more than 25 seats, more than the number of seats we won last time, and will try to give a gift to the respected Prime Minister from Bengal in 2024," he added. (ANI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch a 12-day-long nationwide campaign on Wednesday to reach out to the public and convey the benefits of the upcoming Union budget 2023-24. According to a party source, "BJP will hold 'Countrywide discussion on the budget', from February 1 to February 12, and run a nationwide campaign to spread awareness measures that will be announced in the Union budget 2023-24 on Wednesday. National President JP Nadda has constituted a nine-member committee for same." "Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi has been made the committee's convenor. On February 4 and 5, ministers of the Government of India, national officials and economic experts will hold conferences on the budget at 50 important centres including the capitals of various states of the country", the source added. BJP-ruled state CMs, State Presidents, Ministers, MPs and MLAs will hold conferences and public meetings across the country for the next two weeks and discuss the Budget and its benefits with the common people. Conferences will be organized in all the districts and the main issues of the budget will be conveyed to the public up to the block level. At the central level, many economic experts including Sunil Bansal, National General Secretary, Yuva and Kishan morcha national president have been made members of this committee, said party sources. (ANI)
Notably, MHADA has issued a demolition notice to Sena MLC Anil Parab for his office in Bandra East.

"The (illegal) construction was done by the housing society and I was using (office) as an MLA. Society demolished (illegal construction) on its own after it found that it cannot be regularised," Parab told ANI.

"MHADA has also clarified that the structure was not mine. We are already in court against Kirit Somaiya for defaming me," he added.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) workers staged a protest against BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and MHADA officials at Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority office in Mumbai. (ANI)
The two boulders of the Shaligram stone, which are being brought from the Gandaki river bank in Nepal for the construction of Ram Mandir, will be handed over to the Ram Mandir Trust in Ayodhya on February 2. Talking to ANI, the General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, Champat Rai said that the boulders holding spiritual importance, and considered to be crores of years old will reach the Ram Katha Kunj where it will be allowed to be worshipped by the devotees. "There is a water flow named Kali Gandaki in Nepal. It originates from Damodar Kund and is around 85 km north of Ganeshwar Dham Gandki. Both these boulders have been brought from there. The place is about 6,000 feet above sea level and snowfall takes place there. People even say that it is crores of years old. The two boulders weigh around 30 tonnes and 14-15 tonnes," he said. He said that both the boulders will reach by January 31, evening or night, after which it will proceed towards Ayodhya after a break and some rituals. "I have heard that people are coming out on streets to worship the boulders, and it took around three hours to complete the distance of 40-45 km in Bihar," he said. Champat Rai informed that the trucks will reach Ramsevak Puram by crossing the Balu Ghat intersection (booth no. 3). "The boulders will finally be handed over to the Ayodhya temple on February 2. The devotees who are willing to worship them can reach Ramsevak Puram by 10:30 pm," he added. He also said that currently the place where the boulders will be placed is being cleaned on full swing. "I am not aware of the historical and cultural significance of the boulders. I have heard that the stone of Gandaki is called Shaligram, which is considered a form of Lord Vishnu. When the black Gandaki stone comes from Nepal to Bihar, it is called Narayani," he further said. Ram Katha Kunj in Ramsevak Puram is an old workplace of the Ram Mandir, where the boulders of Shaligram stone will reach. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday suggested that Mainak Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive Nirav Modi, should consider providing the CBI a letter of authority to access his offshore bank accounts. The CBI has alleged that Mehta has received a large sum of money siphoned off in the PNB fraud scam, where Modi is the key accused. The investigative agency also alleged that Mehta transferred the money to his and his wife's offshore bank accounts. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud suggested Mehta's counsel that he can give the letter of authority to an official designated by the CBI for accessing the bank details and the matter will end, and if not, then the court will have to take up CBI's plea and decide it. The CBI's counsel submitted that Mehta had refused to give the letter of authority and as a result, the agency had to get letters rogatory (LRs) issued. "No response on LR has been received. We have written to the embassy (in Singapore) to pursue it," counsel said. The CBI's counsel further argued that they apprehend that a huge amount of money has gone into those accounts and Mehra is a foreign national and his wife is a Belgian national, and once he leaves the country, he will not come back. Mehta is a British national who lives in Hong Kong with his family. Senior advocate Amit Desai, representing Mehta, submitted that his client has been in India for a long time and he had always co-operated and false allegations have been made by the CBI. He added that his client is willing to give the letter of authority but then he will have to stay in India for another year, and emphasised that his client should be allowed to go for some time. The top court noted that allowing Mehta to travel out of the country would mean the dismissal of the CBI's appeal without a hearing and added that the court cannot compel Mehta to give the letter of authority to the CBI. After hearing arguments, the top court listed the matter for further hearing on February 9. The apex court was hearing CBI's plea challenging the August last year order of the Bombay High Court which had allowed Mehta to travel to Hong Kong and stay there for three months. --IANS ss/vd ( 407 Words) 2023-01-31-19:10:02 (IANS)
In a huge relief to lakhs of aspirants, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has deferred its new examination pattern till 2025, following a request by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after massive protests against the new system rocked the state, officials said here on Tuesday. In a letter to MPSC, Shinde said that the June 2022 move to switch the final (mains) exam pattern this year (2023) from the existing objective to descriptive, besides effecting many other changes, would be unjust and detrimental to the interests of the candidates. Accordingly, the MPSC has deferred its decision and will implement the new pattern from the 2025 exams, giving candidates sufficient time to prepare as per the new style. The Maharashtra Congress, which had carried out agitations and supported the aspirants, claimed credit and said the government has finally "bowed down" to the demands of the candidates. Congress' chief spokesperson Atul Londhe said that lakhs of candidates from all over the state have been demanding postponement of the new pattern since the past few months, including several huge protests held in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and other places. "State Congress President Nana Patole had also raised the matter in the legislature, but the government adopted a stubborn stance and refrained from taking a decision in the interest of the candidates. After the candidates' show of unity, the government had to bend and is now taking credit for their agitation," said Londhe. He pointed out that when the Congress held a daylong protest with thousands of aspirants agitating all over the state on January 13, though CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were in Pune, they did not go to meet the protesters shivering in winter temperatures. It may be recalled that the MPSC had announced its new pattern for the 2023 Main exams which led to massive protests, as the candidates usually prepare for 3-5 years before writing the competitive exam. With changes in the exam pattern from objective to descriptive, the preparations had to be changed which couldn't be done overnight, argued the candidates and organisations like Spardha Pariksha Samanvaya Samiti (SPSS). Besides the written exams pattern which will now be similar to the UPSC exams -- the number of papers has been increased from 6 to 9 with a major descriptive component, the total marks has gone up from 800 to 1750, with candidates needing to score a minimum of 25 per cent in each paper to qualify for the merit score. --IANS qn/arm ( 430 Words) 2023-01-31-19:28:02 (IANS)
The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday has recommended the elevation of Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court's Chief Justice Aravind Kumar as judges of the apex court. The collegium's resolution published on the apex court website said: "After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium finds the following persons to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India: Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, (PHC: Punjab & Haryana), and Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat, (PHC: Karnataka)." The collegium is headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K.M. Joseph, M.R. Shah, Ajay Rastogi, and Sanjiv Khanna. It further added that collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and senior puisne judges of the high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court. "Judgments authored by those falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the Collegium for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their judicial acumen," said the resolution. On December 13, 2022, the collegium recommended five names for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court, namely Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Manoj Misra. Their appointment is yet to be notified by the government. The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is presently functioning with 27 judges. Thus, there are seven clear vacancies. Detailing on the reasons for selection of two Chief Justices for elevation to the apex court, the collegium said while recommending the two names it has taken into consideration the following aspects: The seniority of chief justices and senior puisne judges in their respective parent high courts as well as overall seniority of the high court judges; and the merit, performance and integrity of the judges under consideration. It further added, "The need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by: (i) representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court; (ii) appointing persons from marginalised and backward segments of society; (iii) gender diversity; and (iv) representation of minorities. The Collegium resolves to recommend that (i) Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal and (ii) Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, be appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India." The collegium said the names recommended earlier by the Collegium by its resolution dated December 13, 2022 shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court. "The resolution of the Collegium in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is unanimous. However, in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Justice K.M. Joseph has expressed his reservations on the ground that his name can be considered at a later stage," said the collegium. Justice Bindal was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on October 11, 2021, and stands at serial No.2 in the combined All India seniority of high court judges and he is the seniormost judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. "While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of eighty five judges is not adequately represented on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States," added the resolution. Justice Aravind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009 and as permanent judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on October 13, 2021. "Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.26 in the combined All India seniority of High Court Judges. While recommending his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that in the seniority of Judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.02 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two Judges from the Karnataka High Court," said the resolution. --IANS ss/vd ( 785 Words) 2023-01-31-19:36:03 (IANS)
The AIADMK is likely to announce on Wednesday its candidate for the bypoll to the Erode East Assembly scheduled to be held on February 27, a party leader said on Tuesday. The by-election to the Erode East constituency was necessitated after the sitting legislator, E. Thirumahan Everaa, passed away on January 4. His father and senior leader of the Congress party, EVKS Elangovan, is the candidate for the Congress-DMK alliance. The last date of filing nominations is February 8 and the counting will be held on March 2. AIADMK leader and former minister, K.A. Sengottaiyan, on Tuesday said that there was no confusion in the party over the name of the candidate, adding that the 'good news' (name of the party nominee) would be announced on Wednesday. He also said that the party election committee office will also be inaugurated on Wednesday. Sengottaiyan, who is in charge of the by-election for the AIADMK, told media persons on Tuesday that the party was not worried about the allegations of the DMK that accused his party of distributing cash for purchasing votes. He said that many voters of East Erode have migrated to other constituencies and that the names of several deceased people figure in the list of voters. He said that the AIADMK would be sending a letter to the Election Commission of Tamil Nadu regarding these issues in a few days' time. --IANS aal/pgh ( 249 Words) 2023-01-31-19:44:03 (IANS)
Police said that the accused, identified as Sheikh Amjad, 33, was also found involved in 10 cases.

A reward of Rs 20,000 was declared for providing information on him that eventually led to the arrest of the accused -- a resident of Katihar district in Bihar.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav, in May 2022, a resident of Greater Kailash-I in the national capital had hired some persons for painting works at her house, which went on for a few days.

One day, she went to market by locking the main door of the house while those engaged in the white-wash work were still present.

"When she returned, she found that the lock of the main door of the house was broken, and jewellery worth around 25 lakh was missing," the police officer said.

During the investigation, police arrested one of the accused, Dilshad while Sheikh Amjad, Mantoo and Naseem, were absconding. A reward of Rs 20,000 was declared for each of them.

Yadav said Amjad was arrested after the police received a tip-off following which a trap was laid at ISBT, Sarai Kale Khan.

Police said that he is addicted to liquor and to fulfil his needs, he started committing theft and other crimes.

--IANS ssh/prw/pgh

( 243 Words)

2023-01-31-19:56:05 (IANS)
The raids were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The CBI said that during searches, incriminating documents have been recovered.

The CBI registered two cases on January 30 at the request of the Himachal Pradesh government and took over the investigation from the police.

During investigation and scrutiny of documents, the alleged role of various middlemen based in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, etc., were revealed.

It was alleged that they were operating the nexus of leaking of examination papers in an organised manner.

--IANS atk/prw/pgh

( 150 Words)

2023-01-31-20:38:02 (IANS)
Thousands of people from all over Ladakh joined education reformist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk in support as he completed his five-day hunger strike demanding the inclusion of the Union Territory (UT) in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. A video on the reformist's private YouTube channel showed scores of locals joining his protest site. Wangchuk, whose remarkable life story inspired the blockbuster '3 Idiots', has, on his personal Twitter handle, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the safety and protection of Ladakh, citing studies that have forewarned the extinction of nearly two-thirds of the glaciers in the Union Territory. "FINALLY, MY #ClimateFast ENDS... It was to #SaveLadakh under #SixthShedule. I was joined by 100s of people in prayers, from all over Ladakh in snowy polar conditions," tweeted Wangchuk. Wangchuk sat on a hunger strike to draw the attention of the central government and the world to the environmental hazards that the UT was faced with, and seek safeguards for an eco-fragile Ladakh. "ALL IS NOT WELL in Ladakh! In my latest video, I appeal to @narendramodi ji to intervene and give safeguards to eco-fragile Ladakh. To draw the attention of Govt and the world I plan to sit on a 5-day #ClimateFast from 26 Jan at Khardungla pass at 18000ft -40 C," tweeted Wangchuk. Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Wangchuk said if the authorities concerned continue to turn a blind eye to the needs of Ladakh and if the UT isn't provided protection and safeguards from industries, the glaciers there will be extinct, leading to enormous water scarcity and other hazards for the country and its neighbourhood. "If necessary measures are not taken, industries, tourism, and commerce will continue to flourish in Ladakh and will eventually ruin it. According to recent studies from Kashmir University and other research organisations, Ladakh may lose two-thirds of its glaciers if they are not properly taken care of. A study by Kashmir University has found that the glaciers surrounded by highways and human activities are melting at an alarming rate," Wangchuk said. "Global warming due to America and Europe alone is not responsible for this climate change. Localised pollution and emissions are equally responsible for it. In areas like Ladakh, there should be minimal human activities so that there is no harm to the glaciers," he added. Stressing the need for the adoption of sustainable development, the engineer-turned-education reformer appealed to Prime Minister Modi to ensure the protection of Ladakh and other Himalayan regions from 'industrial exploitation'. It will help safeguard the lives and employment of the people, he added. "It is my appeal to PM Modi to provide protection to Ladakh and other Himalayan regions from this industrial exploitation, as it will impact and safeguard the lives and jobs of the people. However, I believe that besides the government, the people should also be equally concerned about climate change and look for measures to mitigate it," he said, emphasizing on the need to adapt to a sustainable mode of living, ensuring that resources, while being used to meet the development goals, are also preserved for the coming generations. He also urged children to avoid wastage of food and clothes as it harms the environment in the long run. In a 13-minute long video shared by Wangchuk on his YouTube channel, he 'urgently' appealed to his countrymen and the world to help protect the 'environmentally sensitive' region of Ladakh. He has also urged PM Modi to intervene and safeguard the ecosystem of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. "This is an urgent appeal from Sonam Wangchuk in Ladakh (in the Indian Himalayas) to the people of India and the world to help protect the environmentally sensitive region of Ladakh. He appeals to the Prime Minister of India to intervene and safeguard this fragile ecosystem under the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution," read the description column for his Youtube video. Born in 1966, Wangchuk, a mechanical engineer and director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), was a recipient of the Magsaysay Award in 2018. Wangchuk inspired the fictional character of Phunsukh Wangdu essayed by Aamir Khan in '3 Idiots', which released in 2009. The Ladakh-based engineer is known for setting up his innovative school, the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), whose campus runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting, or heating. He set up the SECMOL in 1988 with the aim of supporting Ladakhi children and youth and training the students whom the system termed as failures. In 1994, Wangchuk launched Operation New Hope to bring reforms to the government school system. (ANI)
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Simranjit Singh Mann accused retired Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar of being a war criminal for his role in operation 'Blue Star'. He further stated that Brar should be tried in court for all the damage he inflicted on the Sikh people in India and the holy shrine of 'Darbar Sahib'. He further stated that Brar should be tried in court for all the damage he inflicted on the Sikh people in India and the holy shrine of 'Darbar Sahib'. "What can we say to the culprit who are behind the genocide, and vandalism which happened on the 'Darbar Sahib'? Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar is a war criminal, he should be tried in a criminal court for all the damage he has done to the Sikh religion and with the rest of India," Mann said. The Member of Parliament called Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a leader who wanted to liberate the Sikh people. "We consider Bhindranwale as our leader who wanted to liberate us," he mentioned. This comes after the recent episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, where the retired 1971 war veteran, Lt Gen (retd) Brar claimed that Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had "allowed" militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to grow into a sort of Frankenstein monster in operation 'Blue Star'. "No one wants an operation, but what do you do? Indira Gandhi allowed him to become Frankenstein. You could see every year what was happening. But when he reached the pinnacle, now finish him off, now destroy him. It is too late," he said. He claimed that the then-political leadership had allowed the Bhindranwale cult to flourish. "They had their own little problem support between Akali and Congress. They allowed this cult of Bhindranwale to continue," the retired army officer said. In the episode titled "Never before heard stories from the man who led Operation Blue Star" Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Brar recalled the situation of Punjab in the 1980s at a time when he said Bhindranwale was in full control of the state. Lt Gen Brar said that law and order had completely collapsed in Punjab and the "feeling of Khalistan" was building up. Bhindranwale was the head of the Sikh religious sect Damdami Taksal. He was killed along with his armed followers during Operation Blue Star launched by the Indian Army at the Golden Temple complex. The Indian Army carried out Operation Blue Star in 1984 between June 1 and June 8. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, had ordered the military operation to flush out Sikh terrorists including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were accumulating weapons inside the premises of the Golden Temple. (ANI)
As many 12 others were also injured in the fire that broke out in the Dhanbad apartment.

Expressing his condolences to the kin of the victims, Soren said the district administration is working on a war footing and treatment is being provided to the injured.

"The death of people due to fire in Dhanbad's Ashirwad Tower Apartment is extremely heart-wrenching. The district administration is working on a war footing and providing treatment to those injured in the accident. I am looking into the whole matter myself," tweeted Soren.

He further said that everything possible is being done to provide quick medical treatment to the injured.

"May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved families to bear the difficult times of grief. Everything possible is being done to provide quick medical treatment to the injured," he tweeted.

SSP Dhanbad Sanjiv Kumar said several people had gathered in the apartment for a marriage function.

"The cause of the fire is still not known. We're focusing on the rescue. The injured were shifted to the hospital," said Kumar.

Earlier in the day, a massive fire broke out at the apartment, leaving several trapped inside the building, the officials said.

They further informed that a rescue operation was underway. (ANI)
A number of labourers from Bihar's Siwan and other districts said that they are trapped in Tajikistan and requested the state and Central government to rescue them. The labourers went to Tajikistan on contract basis to work and alleged that the company has extended the work period from 11 hours to 14 hours but is not giving money for the overtime. As per the contract with an Indian placement company named Pari Enterprises and Tajikistan-based company TGM, the work period is 11 hours but the company forcibly asks them to work 14 hours, the labourers said. Moreover, they are only offered boiled rice, and potatoes to eat and contaminated water to drink. The family members of the labourers in Siwan district claimed that many of them fell ill and are not physically and mentally fit for work. Some of the labourers of Siwan were identified as Ramakant Kushwaha and Ramesh Kushwaha of Hardiya Bangra village, Om Prakash of Orma village, Mantu Singh of Teliabagh village, Motim Ansari of Nawada village, Nand Ji of Morwa village, and Sunil Kumar of Viyahi village. Another labourer named Harikesh Yadav is a native of Bhore Kalyanpur in Gopalganj district. Besides Bihar, dozens of labourers of other states are also trapped in Tajikistan, they said. --IANS ajk/vd ( 228 Words) 2023-01-31-21:34:04 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the loss of lives in the devastating fire at a Dhanbad apartment and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lahk for the next-of-kin of the dead. PM Modi also announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 each has also been sanctioned for the injured in the incident. As many as 14 people died and 12 others were injured after a fire broke out in the Dhanbad apartment. "An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the fire in Dhanbad. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," tweeted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). PM Modi also wished the injured a speedy recovery. "Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire in Dhanbad. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," the PMO tweeted. Earlier, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed his condolences over the death of 14 persons in the major fire in Dhanbad's Ashirwad Tower Apartment. Soren said the district administration was working on a war footing and treatment is being provided to the injured. "The death of people due to fire in Dhanbad's Ashirwad Tower Apartment is extremely heart-wrenching. The district administration is working on a war footing and providing treatment to those injured in the accident. I am looking into the whole matter myself," tweeted Soren.He further said that everything possible is being done to provide quick medical treatment to the injured. "May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved families to bear the difficult times of grief. Everything possible is being done to provide quick medical treatment to the injured," he tweeted. SSP Dhanbad Sanjiv Kumar said several people had gathered in the apartment for a marriage function. "The cause of the fire is still not known. We're focusing on the rescue. The injured were shifted to the hospital," said Kumar. Earlier in the day, a massive fire broke out at the apartment, leaving several trapped inside the building, the officials said. They further informed that a rescue operation was underway. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Don Pramudwinai in Delhi and discussed the bilateral relationship between India and Thailand on Monday. During the meeting, both dignitaries also discussed the situation in Myanmar. Taking the meeting to Twitter Jaishankar said, "Pleased to meet DPM and FM Don Pramudwinai of Thailand this afternoon. Discussed our bilateral relationship and the situation in Myanmar". Prior to this Jaishankar in August last year inaugurated the Indian Embassy Residence Complex in Bangkok along with Pramudwinai. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar congratulated the Ambassador of India in Thailand Suchitra Durai and her team for the excellent project delivery. "Jointly inaugurated the Indian Embassy Residence Complex in Bangkok with DPM and FM Don Pramudwinai. Congratulate Ambassador @IndiainThailand and her team for the excellent project delivery," he tweeted. Jaishankar at that time was in Thailand to attend the ninth India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting.There he called on Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and conveyed personal greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Privileged to call on Thailand PM Prayut Chan-o-cha during my visit. Conveyed the personal greetings of PM @narendramodi. Benefitted from his guidance on growing our bilateral relationship as we celebrate 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations." Jaishankar said in a tweet. The Minister also paid a visit to the Temple of Emerald Buddha in Bangkok."Saw the splendid Ramayana murals at the Temple of Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. Our contemporary partnership with Thailand draws so much from history and culture." he said.The ninth Thailand-India Joint Commission meeting was co-chaired by Jaishankar and Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. During the joint press conference later, Jaishankar was asked a question about the Chinese spy vessel Yuan Wang-5 docking in Sri Lanka. "What happens in our neighbourhood, any developments which have a bearing on our security obviously are of an interest to us," he said. The 8th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and Thailand was held on October 10, 2019 in New Delhi. (ANI)
Pakistan's Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Sunday accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supremo Imran Khan of taking Pakistan into bloodshed and chaos, adding that the former prime minister should stop calling the army for help and do politics alone as no one will help him now, The News International reported. Asif made these statements while addressing a press conference at his residence in Sialkot, Pakistan. The News International report further quoted Asif as saying that the PTI had the platform of assemblies they rejected, and now they were asking the institutions to facilitate them for talks with the government. He said Khan made baseless accusations and allegations against former President Asif Ali Zardari like Zardari wanted to get Khan killed. Due to this, there was fear of bloodshed in Pakistan's politics and at that time if anything would have happened, Khan would have been responsible, the report stated. He further mentioned that the leaders of the Pakistan People's Party had made sacrifices in the fight against terror, as he cited the assassinations of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. He also mentioned that by accusing Asif Zardari of wanting him dead, Imran had shifted from his stance yet again, which might bring more chaos to an already embattled country. Asif also accused Khan of being responsbile for the country's economic downfall. He said all the cards that Khan had played were rendered useless. "Khan used to blame the USA for bringing down his government, but now he was accusing caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi of doing so. This is a clear contradiction in Khan's words and actions," the report quoted him as adding. The minister said the PTI had sought dissolution of the Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Imran, himself, had said he did not want to sit with thieves and dacoits. After that, he said his party members would withdraw their resignations from the Assembly, the minister claimed in the report. The report quoted him as saying that when the PTI's resignations started being accepted, Imran Khan said: "We are coming back to the assembly". (ANI)
US President Joe Biden on Monday said that he was "not sure" about his trip to Europe around the one-year anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine next month. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said, "I'm not sure". However, in a separate question regarding Poland tour, the US president said that he would visit a crucial ally, but that date was not yet determined. Earlier, two senior administration officials in the US said President Biden was considering making a trip to Europe around the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine next month. A trip is not yet confirmed, and details have yet to be finalized. But one of the officials said that one stop under consideration is Poland, a key NATO ally currently housing thousands of American troops that also serves as a hub for Western weapons transfers to Ukraine. US service members are also training Ukrainian troops there. It is highly unlikely that Biden would travel to Ukraine as part of this trip, however, one of the officials said, citing the ongoing security concerns. Biden's aides have been planning for several weeks how they will mark the anniversary of the invasion, including potentially a major address. They hope to emphasise the resilience of the Ukrainian people, noting that when the war began, many assumed Kyiv would fall within days. Responding to queries in South Lawn, Biden also expressed his wish that the George Floyd Act be passed. Earlier, he also said America will not send the F16 fighter jets to Ukraine, CNN reported. While responding to a reporter on whether he would send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden said "no". Interestingly, the US had ramped up military assistance to Ukraine in the form of artillery and tanks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought fighter jets to help sustain his war effort against Russia. Biden has consistently said the planes aren't on the table, even as he has given aid in other areas. Last week, Biden announced that he would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite top US officials saying previously the heavy-duty vehicles were a poor fit for the country's military. Speaking on the White House South Lawn, Biden also said he wasn't sure whether he would visit Europe next month for the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, reported CNN. In response to a separate question, Biden said he was planning to visit Poland, but wasn't sure when. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that they have not received any requests from Ukraine for fighter jets, according to CNN. "We do not have such a request formulated [from Ukraine]," Macron said at a joint press conference at The Hague where the two leaders were meeting to prepare the next EU council of February. Macron said while no requests had been received by France, "nothing is off-limits in principle." He insisted that the usefulness of each request must be considered carefully. Macron said the weapons requested should not escalate the conflict, reported CNN. (ANI)
The toll from the deadly suicide bombing inside a crowded mosque inside Police Lines compound in Peshawar rose to 63, while the number of injured persons was 150, Geo News reported. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan announced a day of mourning in the province on Tuesday following the attack. The national flag will be at half-mast across the province, he said, adding, "The government shares the grief of the martyrs' families." The interim CM also assured the aggrieved families that the provincial government would not leave them alone in the aftermath of the tragedy. According to the security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayer when he blew himself up. Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin, the Imam of the mosque, was also killed in the blast, police said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Peshawar where he was informed on all aspects of the bombing, Geo News reported. PM Shehbaz also visited the injured at the Lady Reading Hospital in the city. He was accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that "investigations are underway" about how the attack happened and how the terrorist entered the vicinity. "Don't know where the attacker came from and how he entered," Ansari said while briefing the PM. The police chief further said, "There are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area." Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that "investigations are underway" about how the attack happened and how the terrorist entered the vicinity. "We don't yet know where the attacker came from and how he entered," Ansari said. The police chief further said, "There are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area." "An emergency has been imposed at hospitals across the city and injured persons are being provided the best medical facilities," Dawn reported, citing the senior official. Those injured in the blast are reportedly said to be in critical condition. The blast took place in the mosque located in the Police Lines area of Peshawar during the afternoon prayers. Earlier, an eyewitness said there were at least 120 people at the mosque when the explosion took place. He said that the injured mostly included police personnel. (ANI)
U.S. cannot demand cooperation from China while interfering in its internal affairs: FM spokesperson

Xinhua) 08:13, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday at a regular press briefing that the U.S. side cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao's comment came after the U.S. State Department Spokesperson repeatedly mentioned Secretary Blinken's upcoming visit to China, saying that his team will discuss with China how to "responsibly manage competition and step up cooperation on transnational challenges," and also raised concerns on issues related to Taiwan, fentanyl, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula.

Mao said that in growing relations with the United States, China follows the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, adding that China remains committed to defending its own sovereignty, security and development interests at the same time.

"China does not shy away or flinch from competition, but we are against defining the entire China-U.S. relations with competition alone and using competition as an excuse to contain and suppress others," she said.

Mao said China is ready to have both bilateral and multilateral communication and cooperation with the U.S. side on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, but the United States cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao also pointed out that Taiwan question is at the heart of China's core interests, and it is the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and the number one red line that must not be crossed between China and the U.S. side.

"At no time should the United States ever seek to cross that red line," she said.

Noting China is the first country in the world to have officially scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class, Mao said that China has taken an active part in international counternarcotics law enforcement cooperation under the framework of the UN conventions on drug control, adding that however, China's counternarcotics capacity has been seriously hampered by U.S. sanctions on relevant Chinese institutions.

"We are firmly against those sanctions and urge the United States to reflect on its inadequate counternarcotics efforts instead of deflecting the blame," Mao said.

She also mentioned that China is committed to seeking a political settlement and bringing parties to the table on Ukraine and the Korean nuclear issue, and goes against any rhetoric or action that could fuel the tensions and make matters worse.

"We hope the United States will work with China and let China-U.S. interactions be defined by dialogue and win-win cooperation, not confrontation and zero-sum competition, and deliver on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state to bring bilateral relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth," Mao added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The United States House of Representatives introduced a Bill calling on Washington to support Taiwan's participation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a member, Focus Taiwan reported. US House of Representatives Young Kim and Al Green, on Thursday, introduced the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act seeks to ensure that the US Governor of the international fund advocates for Taipei and the provision of IMF technical assistance and training to the country. The Bill also seeks to involve Taiwan's participation in the IMF's regular surveillance activities relating to the nation's economic and financial policies, job opportunities at the IMF for the nationals, and the provision of IMF technical assistance and training to Taipei, as per the report in Focus Taiwan. The IMF is a global organization of approximately 180 member countries set up to promote the health of the world economy. "As the 21st largest economy in the world and the 10th largest goods trading partner of the United States, Taiwan deserves a seat at the IMF," Kim, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement released on January 26. "I am proud to be a co-lead of the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act led by Congresswoman Kim. This bill requires the U.S. Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to use the voice and vote of the U.S. to urge Taiwan's participation and membership in the IMF," Rep. Green said. "As a leading world economy, Taiwan's experience in promoting sound economic policies can be instrumental in helping the IMF achieve its mission. Thus, it deserves a seat at the table. My hope is that this bill will help steer it toward that direction," he added, according to the statement. As per the Bill, "Taiwan is the 21st largest economy in the world and the 10th largest goods trading partner of the United States. Although Taiwan is not an IMF member, it is a member of the World Trade Organization, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum." According to the January 2020 Report on 15 Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of 16 Major Trading Partners of the United States, published by the Department of the Treasury, Taiwan 18 held USD 471,900,000,000 in foreign exchange reserves, 19 more than major economies such as India, South 20 Korea, and Brazil. According to the section of the Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96-8), enacted on April 10, 23 1979, ''Nothing in this Act may be construed as a 24 basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of 25 Taiwan from continued membership in any international organization.''. A Bill to promote Taiwan's membership of the IMF was first introduced in May 2020 by then-Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who did not run for re-election last year. In November 2021, Gonzalez and Green again presented a bill with the same purpose, which, however, failed to pass the House by the end of its term. (ANI)
China's nuclear weapons research institute managed to buy the United States chips at least a dozen times in the past two and a half years, despite decades-old American export restrictions, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The report of Wall Street Journal revealed that China had ignored the decades-old American export restrictions that were supposed to curb such sales and found a way around them. The report found that the state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics has managed to obtain the semiconductors that were made by the US companies such as Intel Corporation and Nvidia Corp since 2020 despite its placement on America's export blacklist in 1997. The chips were acquired from resellers in China and some of them were procured as components for computing systems, with many bought by the institute's laboratory studying computational fluid dynamics, a broad scientific field that includes the modeling of nuclear explosions. Such purchases defy longstanding restrictions imposed by the US that aim to prevent the use of any US products for atomic weapons research by foreign powers. The academy, known as CAEP, was one of the first Chinese institutions put on the US blacklist, known as the entity list, because of its nuclear work, reported WSJ. The Journal Review, published by CAEP, revealed that there are 34 over the past decade referenced using American semiconductors in the research. They were used in a range of ways, including analyzing data and generating algorithms. Nuclear experts said that in at least seven of them, the research can have applications for maintaining nuclear stockpiles. CAEP didn't respond to requests for comment. The findings underline the challenge facing the Biden administration as it seeks to more aggressively counter the use of American technology by China's military. In October, the US expanded the scope of export regulations to prevent China from obtaining the most advanced American chips and chip-manufacturing tools that power artificial intelligence and supercomputers, which are increasingly important to modern warfare, reported WSJ. America has been trying to aggressively counter the use of American technology by China's military for years now. In October last year, the US told chip designer Nvidia Corp to restrict exports of two computing chips for artificial intelligence work to Beijing. "On August 26, 2022, the US government, or USG, informed NVIDIA Corporation, or the Company, that the USG has imposed a new license requirement, effective immediately, for any future export to China (including Hong Kong) and Russia of the Company's A100 and forthcoming H100 integrated circuits," the company said in a statement that was published by the US Securities and Commission. The company said the license is required to export and support technologies, thereby eliminating the risk that these technologies could be used for military purposes. The statement noted that the company may request a license for a potential customer, but does not guarantee that the government will issue a license. (ANI)
A mass shooting in a Florida city has left 10 people wounded while two in critical condition, the Lakeland Police Department announced on Monday, according to CNN. According to the police, a dark-blue, four-door sedan pulled up at the scene of the shooting, Police Department Chief Sam Taylor said. "The vehicle slowed, did not stop, and the four windows went down. It appeared to be occupied by four shooters in the vehicle," Taylor said, adding, "They started firing from all four windows of the vehicle and shooting males on both sides." The car took off at a high speed, and police are "actively looking for that vehicle now," CNN quoted Taylor saying. According to ABC, the police responded to calls of a shooting at a location near Iowa Avenue North and Plum Street at 3.43 pm. All the victims were adult men between 20 and 35 years old, according to Taylor. "We will be out most of the night trying to figure out who these individuals are in the vehicle," Taylor said. Police found certain 'quantity' of marijuana at the scene, which indicates to police that "there was a narcotic sales or sales of marijuana going on at the time," Taylor said, adding, "Whether that is significant or related to this is unknown," according to CNN. The chief said in his 34 years career in this department, he had never worked on a case where so many people had been shot at one time. "This is something that doesn't happen to Lakeland," he said. (ANI)
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday participated in a Track 1.5 event hosted by the the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce, with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The round table discussion was held on the sidelines of the official high-level dialogue of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) on Tuesday. Participating in the event on Monday were top industry representatives from both India and the US. Doval, who arrived in Washington on Monday morning and was welcomed by Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The Indian envoy is also hosting a reception for Doval at India House and Sullivan is also likely to attend. [{ba5b89f4-4795-4190-9ad2-9cf59b461213:intradmin/ANI-20230131002228.jpg}] The official dialogue between Doval and Sullivan will take place on Tuesday afternoon. In the discussions that will be held at the White House, there would be a laser focus on aligning Washington and New Delhi's strategic, commercial and scientific approaches specifically in the field of technology. "iCET is the next big milestone in India-US Strategic Partnership with a simple objective to take bilateral cooperation to the next level but specifically in areas of interest to India," an official familiar with the India-US deliberations told ANI. The NSA is accompanied by a high-powered delegation. India's Principal Scientific Adviser, ISRO chairman, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, and DG of DRDO, are five high-profile members of the delegation. From the US side besides Sullivan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, NSC Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell, Senior director for national security and technology Tarun Chhabra and State Department's deputy envoy for the office of critical and emerging technologies Seth Center will be a part of the dialogue. iCET was first mentioned in a statement after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Tokyo in 2022 on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders Summit. "Through iCET, India would send a message out to the broader industry that India can be a 'trusted partner' and that the two democracies could discuss how to build a trusted partner ecosystem between US and India where there's a free flow of R&D and other information pertaining to technology specifically," the official said. Tuesday's meeting is ought to be outcome-oriented with a clear sense of achievable action points ANI has learned.Experts say that there is a hope that both India and the United States will be able to specify priority areas of cooperation.iCET has no explicit reference to China but the Biden administration sees technology development vis-a-vis China as a zero-sum game that the US cannot lose. iCET initiative could be one way forward."As China makes extremely fast progress when it comes to technology and one sees an aggressive penetration from the Chinese side across the world, if not stemmed and matched by something aggressive, the world will find it as a fait accompli... So if one has to roll that progress back, then everybody else has to work together," another official told ANI. (ANI)
United States President Joe Biden's administration on Monday announced plans to end the twin national emergencies related to COVID-19 on May 11. The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were declared by then-US President Donald Trump's administration in 2020. The twin emergencies are currently scheduled to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively. The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a statement said that the US administration's plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11 and then terminate them. It further said, "This wind-down would align with the Administration's previous commitments to give at least 60 days' notice prior to termination of the PHE." The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a statement said, "To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19. They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19." The OMB noted that an abrupt end to the PHE would cause "wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system." During the PHE, the medicaid programs were operated under special rules to provide additional funding to states to ensure that millions of vulnerable Americans retained their medicaid coverage during the global pandemic. The OMB stated that the end of Title 42 border policy and result in substantial additional inflow of migrants at the Southwest border. The OMB in the statement said, "The number of migrants crossing the border has been cut in half, approximately, since the Administration put in place a plan in early January to deter irregular migration from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti." In the statement, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stressed that the US administration supports an orderly, predictable wind-down of Title 42, with sufficient time to put alternative policies in place. (ANI)
Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra on Tuesday visited the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne and condemned its "vandalization" by "pro-Khalistani elements." He also said that the "place of worship has always been revered by all communities and faiths." "Visited the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, a place of worship that has always been revered by all communities and faiths. That makes its vandalization with hate-filled graffiti by pro-Khalistani elements even more condemnable. Confident that they will not succeed," tweeted Vohra. On Sunday, men from alleged pro-Khalistani groups attacked Indians carrying the national flag in their hands, The Australia Today reported. Taking to Twitter, The Australia Today said that "five people were sent to the hospital after the attack." "Another video of #Khalistan goons running a mock in #Melbourne's Federation Square Five injured one in Hospital," The Australia Today tweeted. The Indian group was seen running away from the scene while the Khalistani group continued to hit them. One individual was seen breaking an Indian flag and throwing it on the floor. Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia was also appalled to see violence at Fed Square in Melbourne. "I was appalled to see violence at Fed Square in Melbourne...People have right to engage in peaceful protest in Australia, but there's no place for violence or vandalism...Pleased that police responded quickly & are investigating," tweeted Watts MP. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles was concerned to see the violence that break out at Federation Square in Melbourne. "I was concerned to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday. Australia respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views. Pleased @VictoriaPolice responded quickly and are investigating," tweeted Giles. Earlier, Indian envoy Vohra paid his respects at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne and discussed the community's concerns over the temple's recent vandalization. The violence witnessed in Melbourne on Sunday was also discussed. "Paid respects today at the sacred BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne, a place of spirituality and service. Discussed the peaceful community's concerns over the recent attack by vandals, and the disturbing violence witnessed yesterday in Melbourne," the Indian High Commissioner to Australia said. BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in the Mill park area of Melbourne was allegedly vandalized by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the walls of the temple, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported. Patel, an onlooker shared how he witnessed the vandalized walls of the temple when he visited the site on Thursday. "When I reached the temple today morning all walls were coloured with graffiti of Khalistani hatred towards Hindus," The Australia Today quoted Patel as saying. He added, "I am angry, scared and dismayed by the blatant display of religious hatred towards the peaceful Hindu community by Khalistan supporters." Issuing a statement to The Australia Today, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir stated that they are "deeply saddened and shocked by these acts of vandalism and hate." It said that they have remained committed to "peaceful coexistence and dialogue to all faiths." BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir further said that they have informed the authorities regarding the incident, as per The Australia Today report. Various Hindu temples have recently been vandalized in Australia. India condemned the vandalization of Hindu temples in Australia and said that the matter has been raised with the Australian government in Canberra and asked for expeditious investigation against the perpetrators. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishnakar on Tuesday met visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and discussed the Indian subcontinent and the Indo-Pacific. "Glad to meet US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland this morning. Good talk on the Indian Subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and the many convergences in our relationship," tweeted Jaishankar. During her visit to India, Nuland will lead the US-India annual Foreign Office Consultations which cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, and will also meet with young tech leaders, the US Department of State said in an official statement. Nuland is on an official visit to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Qatar from January 28 to February 3. In Nepal, the top US official engaged with the new government on the broad agenda of the US partnership with Kathmandu. The Under Secretary, on reaching Sri Lanka will mark the 75th anniversary of US-Sri Lanka relations and offer continued US support for Sri Lanka's efforts to stabilize the economy, protect human rights, and promote reconciliation, the official release added. Finally, the Under Secretary will discuss global issues in Qatar as part of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. "She will also meet with counterparts to discuss Qatar's critical support for the relocation of Afghans with ties to the US, as well as our bilateral agreement to protect US interests in Afghanistan," the US State Department press release added. The US administration announced its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy last year. The document focuses on building collective capacity to deal with challenges in the region. These include a focus on challenges from China, advancing the US relationship, a 'Major Defence Partnership' with India, and supporting its role as a net security provider in the region. The US seeks an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient. There is an emphasis on working with other countries not just from the region, but also from beyond. The US says it will work "in flexible groupings" to tackle major issues, "particularly through the QUAD," comprising of Australia, India, Japan and the US. India's role in the QUAD is an important element of the US-India relationship. US will "continue to support India's rise and regional leadership," working with India bilaterally and through groups on a range of issues. It refers to India as a "like-minded partner" and "driving force" in the QUAD. It will also deepen its (five) regional treaty alliances and work with groups such as ASEAN, the European Union (EU) and NATO. AUKUS, a security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US has also been recently launched. Meanwhile, Jaishankar also congratulated the Government and the people of Nauru on their Independence Day. "Congratulate the Government and the people of Nauru on their Independence Day. India will always remain a trusted development partner," he tweeted. (ANI)
Delegates have arrived today at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) Research Park in Chennai to participate in the seminar on 'Role of Digital Technology in Education.' The foreign delegates were welcomed in a traditional way with a ceremonial stole. Musical instruments were played to welcome foreign delegates at the IITM Research Park as they arrived to attend the meeting. The first meeting of the G20 Education Working Group (G20 EWG) 2023 is due to take place in Chennai on February 1-2. India assumed the G20 Presidency from Indonesia on December 1, 2022, and will convene the G20 Leaders' Summit for the first time in the country this year. As India takes over the Presidency, the working group aims to work together with G20 countries to bridge gaps in quality education and skilling. Over 60 delegates from the G20 member, guest countries and invited organizations (OECD, UNESCO & UNICEF) will participate in the seminar and exhibition, including academic experts, faculty and students, MoE, MSDE, NSDC, NCERT, UGC, and AICTE. During the meeting, the Education Working Group will focus on areas to ensure inclusive, equitable, relevant and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, within the theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future," according to the Press Information Bureau's press release. "India proposes to build on and carry forward the deliberations held under past presidencies and address the problems that are preventing the full transformational potential of education from being realized," the press release said. It further said that in line with this spirit, priority areas have been identified for deliberation that will serve to identify and address major problems that is being faced by learners across the world, and help build on the strengths acquired during the past years, especially the use of technology in education. According to the press release, the deliberation will serve to enable a relook at the teaching and learning methods, contents, pedagogies, and assessment so that education can be made more relevant for the capacities and skills required in the 21st century. It further encourages collaboration between people, industries, and societies in the quest for widening the horizons of knowledge and using it for the good of humankind, according to the press release.In line with the approach, four priority issues have been identified for deliberation in the G20 Education Working Group meeting. The priority issues will include ensuring foundational Literacy and Numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning. It includes making tech-enabled learning more "inclusive, qualitative and collaborative at every level." The priority issues include building capacities, promoting lifelong learning with regards to the future of work and strengthening research and promoting innovation through collaboration and partnerships. (ANI)
Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi today held a meeting with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and exchanged views on further promoting bilateral and international cooperation. Lekhi is currently on an official visit to Greece from January 30-31. "Had a very useful interaction with Greek Foreign Minister Mr. @NikosDendias. Exchanged views on further promoting bilateral and international cooperation," she said in a tweet. Sharing details regarding his meeting with Lekhi, Nikos Dendias in a tweet stated, "On the margins of today's event on Greece - India friendship, organised by SG for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy, I met with #India Minister of State for External Affairs & Culture, @M_Lekhi." "Discussion focused on further strengthening Greece-India rapidly developing relations in many areas, including economy & culture migration & mobility (2/2)," Dendias said in another tweet. During her visit to Greece, Lekhi also paid floral tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Athens. Lekhi also held a meeting with Emer John Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy. Sharing details regarding the meeting, Lekhi in a tweet stated, "Had a productive luncheon meeting with Prof. Emer. John Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy and his team. Shared new ideas for further strengthening India-Greece relations." Upon arrival in Athens, Lekhi stated that she looked forward to a meaningful interaction with Greek leadership and dignitaries to review cooperation in multiple spheres. "Arrived in Athens, one of world's oldest cities, on my first bilateral visit to Greece. Looking forward to meaningful interaction with Greek leadership and dignitaries to review cooperation in multiple spheres, " she tweeted. According to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, Lekhi will participate in a special yoga event as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations. She will also interact with the Indian community, friends of India, academicians and Indologists. The MEA noted that her visit to Greece will bolster the ties between the two nations. "MoS's visit to Greece will further strengthen the long-standing, warm and friendly relations between the two countries and provide an opportunity to further explore new avenues of cooperation," the statement said. (ANI)
Sirisena served as Sri Lanka's President from 2015-2019.

The Presidential elections in Sri Lanka are due to take place in September 2024, Lanka Xpress reported. Maithripala Sirisena made the announcement while speaking at a media briefing at the SLFP headquarters.

The former Sri Lankan President said that he is not afraid of any conspiracy against him.

"I will not back down from anything. I'm not afraid of any conspiracy. I respect the law and the court. I will contest for the next Presidential election with the support of the SLFP no matter what troubles were given," Daily Mirror quoted Maithripala Sirisena as saying.

Meanwhile, on January 12, the country's Supreme Court ordered Sirisena to pay a sum of Sri Lankan Rupee 100 million as damages to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks that took place in 2019, as per the Daily Mirror report. (ANI)
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday ruled in favour of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and declared him the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Geo News reported. The ECP announced its verdict on a petition filed by the former Pakistan Prime Minister amid an ongoing tussle with his cousin Parvez Elahi over the party leadership. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had approached ECP after PML-Q's Central Working Committee (CWC) removed him as the party's president. Parvez Elahi had orchestrated the removal of Shujaat as party president, as per the Geo News report. In July of last year, PML-Q's CWC announced its decision to release Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from the duties of party president. The PML-Q's Central Working Committee (CWC) had cited health concerns for the decision which was taken at a meeting headed by Senator Kamil Ali Agha. "It has become necessary to isolate Ch Shujaat to save the party from destruction," said Kamil Ali Agha while talking to the media after the CWC meeting. At the time, the PML-Q's CWC had also established an election body to hold intra-party elections. During the meeting, the PML-Q leaders decided that the party will hold the polls within 10 days. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Senator Kamil Ali Agha called it an 'unpleasant' situation for everyone related to the party, according to a Geo News report. Kamil Ali Agha said that everything that happened in the party was taken in recent days was before everyone. Kamil Ali Agha said that the decision was made in the party's interest. He said that Shujaat had lost decision-making powers due to his ill health. However, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain approached the ECP regarding the matter, as per the news report. The ECP had said that former Pakistan PM Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will continue to hold the post of party president till the petition was dealt with, as per the news report. The ECP after hearing the plea filed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain reserved its verdict on August 18, 2022. The party was divided into two camps as Parvez Elahi, his son Moonis and most of the party leader sided with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Meanwhile, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Salik Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema backed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). (ANI).
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that the previous policy to resettle and rehabilitate the terrorists of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been proven ineffective, Geo News reported. Sanaullah's remarks came after the proscribed TTP claimed responsibility for the mosque attack in Peshawar on Monday. Rana Sanaullah said that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and extremism. Speaking during the Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath' on Monday, he said that it was wrong to think that the outlawed TTP would be brought under Pakistan's law after negotiations with them. Pakistan's Interior Minister admitted that the idea that TTP would lay down their arms and submit to law was mistaken, as per the Geo News report. Sanaullah stressed that it was incorrect to think that the TTP was separate from the Afghan Taliban. He said that the prior policy to resettle the Taliban could not bear fruit and led to the current situation in Pakistan. Sanaullah said that the incumbent government has changed its approach towards the Taliban. He condemned the terrorist attack in the mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines, according to Geo News report. Rana Sanaullah said that the suicide bomber aimed to target police personnel. Furthermore, Sanaullah said that outlawed TTP terrorists have found safe havens in a neighbouring nation. He stressed that the development comes despite Afghan Taliban making an agreement with Pakistan and the international community that they would not permit their land to be used against any other nation, according to Geo News. He highlighted the need to hold talks with Afghanistan in order to stop terrorists from having safe shelters. The number of fatalities in a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines has gone up to 93, with 221 people wounded, Geo News reported citing police. The explosion took place in the central hall of the mosque on Monday at around 1 pm after a suicide bomber blew himself up. A rescue operation is being carried out to pull out bodies from the debris of the mosque, Geo News reported citing an official. The official said that about 17 bodies have been pulled out of the rubble and one injured person. The official further said that a search operation is being conducted. Speaking to Geo News, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar Mohammad Aijaz Khan said that the explosion appears to be a suicide attack and the head of the suspected bomber has also been found at the site. He said that the exact nature of the explosion will be known after the rescue operation concludes. (ANI)
As Nuland was welcomed in India for the diplomatic visit, both sides looked forward to a productive exchange of talks.

"Welcome back to India, @UnderSecStateP Victoria Nuland! Looking forward to a productive visit to advance and strengthen the #USIndia partnership," the official account of the US Embassy in India tweeted.

Early today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishnakar met visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and discussed the Indian subcontinent and the Indo-Pacific.

"Glad to meet US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland this morning. Good talk on the Indian Subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and the many convergences in our relationship," tweeted Jaishankar.

During her visit to India, Nuland will lead the US-India annual Foreign Office Consultations which cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, and will also meet with young tech leaders, the US Department of State said in an official statement.

Nuland is on an official visit to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Qatar from January 28 to February 3.

In Nepal, the top US official met with the new government to discuss the broad agenda of the US-Nepal alliance.

The Under Secretary, on reaching Sri Lanka will mark the 75th anniversary of US-Sri Lanka relations and offer continued US support for Sri Lanka's efforts to stabilise the economy, protect human rights, and promote reconciliation, the official release added.

Finally, the Under Secretary will discuss global issues in Qatar as part of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. (ANI)
The death toll in the Peshawar's Police Lines mosque blast has risen to 100 as the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque concluded on Tuesday, Geo News reported. The toll of injured has reached at least 221. According to Mohammad Asim, the spokesperson for the primary medical facility, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, approximately 100 bodies have been taken into the facility and 53 patients are being treated, as per Geo News. A suicide bomber blew himself up in the mosque - a heavily guarded police facility at about 1 pm on Monday during Zohr prayers, forcing the roof to collapse on those praying at the time. The caretaker CM revealed that an inquiry committee had been constituted to identify those responsible for this act. Geo News reported citing Rescue 1122's spokesperson who stated that the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque has finally concluded. Speaking during a press conference alongside KP CM Azam Khan, Inspector-General Moazzam Jah Ansari said that about 10-12 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. He said that there has been a security lapse and investigations are underway to ascertain the facts, Geo News reported. "We are checking one-month's CCTV footage and tracking the facilitators of the bomber," he added. According to security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayers when he blew himself up. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier today, India condoled the loss of lives in the deadly terror attack that shook Peshawar. Taking to Twitter, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote, "India extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims of the terror attack in Peshawar yesterday. We strongly condemn this attack, which has taken the lives of so many people." (ANI)
The consultations were co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and the US under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.

The FOC provided an opportunity to continue conversations begun during the Foreign Secretary's visit to the United States in October 2022, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement.

Both parties discussed the progress made in further solidifying the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the objective of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Foreign Secretary and Under Secretary Nuland took stock of a number of initiatives and frameworks that reflect common strategic interests, including Quad, I2U2, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative (IPMDA), the official statement read.

Both sides agreed to work together during India's ongoing G20 Presidency.

They also agreed to intensify cooperation in multilateral fora and international organizations, including the UN, on global issues of mutual interest, according to the release.

The productive and substantive meeting enabled both sides to continue a regular dialogue that has been instrumental in enhancing mutual understanding and in the identification of opportunities for further growth and enrichment of the India-US partnership. (ANI)
A delegation of the German Parliament (Bundestag), led by Raph Brinkhaus, President of the German-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Group, called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at Parliament House on Tuesday. Referring to the long-standing ties between India and Germany, Birla said that the relationship between the two countries is based on shared values and common goals, according to an official statement. In the context of the 70th anniversary of establishment of Indo-German diplomatic relations in 2021 and completion of 50 years of India-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group, Birla appreciated the contribution of German parliamentarians in strengthening parliamentary relations between the two countries. He added that India and Germany have a 'Strategic Partnership' since 2000, which has been further strengthened through consultations between Heads of Government since 2011. Birla expressed happiness that the current German government has held consultative talks with India which is a commendable initiative for bilateral relations between the two countries. He further said that India wants to further strengthen the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, the official statement added. Birla also mentioned the convergence of views of India and Germany in upholding democratic values, rules-based international order, multilateralism and reform of multilateral institutions. He added that India is the largest democracy in the world. Referring to the country's democratic heritage, Birla said that India has a centuries-old democratic heritage, due to which it is known as the 'Mother of Democracy' around the world. Describing 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' as the eternal message of India, Birla said that 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' will be the main theme for the G-20 meeting to be held this year. He added that this year the P-20 meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments of G-20 countries will also be held in India. Birla hoped for the active cooperation from the German Parliament as a Member of the P-20, the official statement said. Talking about the relationship between the two Parliaments, Birla said that as vibrant, pluralistic democracies, India and Germany can play an important role in tackling new and emerging global challenges. Referring to the contribution of Indian diaspora living in Germany, Birla said that over the years, Germany has emerged as a preferred destination for Indian students and researchers seeking higher education including science and technology. He further said that NRIs have displayed merit in the field of science and research. Birla expressed happiness that NRIs living in Germany are discharging their responsibilities while working in various fields. (ANI)
Business conglomerate Adani Group's chairman Gautam Adani, after taking over one of the largest international seaports of Israel, the Haifa port, said that he would continue investing in Israel, according to Reuters. Adani made the remarks while speaking at an event in Haifa welcoming Adani Ports (APSE.NS) and Gadot, a local chemicals and logistics group that purchased the port for 4 billion shekels (USD 1.15 billion). "We will transform the entire port landscape," Adani said. "Our intention is to make the right set of investments that will not just make the Adani-Gadot partnership proud but will make the whole of Israel proud," according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Adani also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He described the day as 'momentous' as the Port of Haifa was handed over to the Adani Group. "Adani-Gadot set to transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire," he said. "Privileged to meet with @IsraeliPM @netanyahu on this momentous day as the Port of Haifa is handed over to the Adani Group. The Abraham Accord will be a game changer for the Mediterranean sea logistics. Adani Gadot set to transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire," Gautam Adani said in a tweet. Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur and the Adani Group comprises 7 publicly listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace and airports. In each of its business areas, the Group has established a leadership position in India. Over the past 5 years, flagship company Adani Enterprises has invested heavily in new growth sectors that include airports, cement, copper refining, data centres, green hydrogen, petrochemical refining, roads and solar cell manufacturing. Looking ahead, it plans to foray into the telecom space and has massive plans to grow its green hydrogen and airports businesses. (ANI)
Thailand expressed its desire to reconnect the people of New Delhi and Bangkok as a priority, Thailand's Ambassador to India Pattarat Hongtong said on Tuesday. "India and Thailand have close relations. We see a lot of opportunities and we should enhance our bilateral relations in all areas. We want to reconnect people of two countries as a priority," Hongtong said in an interview with ANI. Terming tourism as the "backbone" of country's economy, Thailand's key priority is to focus on boosting it and bringing international visitors to the country. After COVID, when Thailand opened the border gate for India and other countries, Bangkok witnessed huge numbers of Indians returning to Thailand. "India used to be one of the major tourist sources to Thailand before Covid with around two million people per year. Now when we are open to India and other countries we saw a huge number of Indians returning to Thailand almost with one million people which has become the number two source of tourists after Malaysia" Hongtong added. "The basis of the relation between two countries is people. So we want to reconnect with people as we used to do previously. And for Thailand tourism is the backbone of the economy and our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was 17 to 18 per cent before Covid. So we want to focus at the beginning stage of the opening to recover from the effects of Covid by boosting the tourism sector, " she said while emphasizing the significance of tourism for the country's economy and the revival of the sector after COVID. "India used to be one of the major tourist sources to Thailand before Covid with around two million people per year. Now when we are open to India and other countries we saw a huge number of Indians returning to Thailand almost with one million people which has become the number two source of tourists after Malaysia" Hongtong said. "We still want to work with India to increase the number of tourists from India to Thailand so this year minimum we expect 1.4 million so that everything returns back to normal", she added. "Now we have 230 flights per week from India to Thailand. We promote Thai tourists to know cities in India like Ahmedabad & Hyderabad and we have already started flight services. If we can bring people to know each other more then our relations will be closer," she further stated. While asserting that Indian tourists can get VISA from the Embassy as well as a visa on arrival at the airport, she said that Thailand provides full support and facility at the airport to help Indian tourists coming to the country. "And we are also sharing information and also working with the company incharge with the visa documentation and everything is in process," Hongtong said. (ANI)
Calling the handover of Israel's Haifa Port by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani as an "element of a long string of future cooperation in the economic field", Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon added it is a symbol of trust between the people of two countries. "The Haifa port is a strategic port for Israel. We're really depositing it in the hands of an important Indian company like Adani. It's a symbol of trust between our people. I hope that this investment will be just the opening element of a long string of future cooperation in the economic field," the Israeli envoy said. A special ceremony was organized in Israel to celebrate the takeover of Haifa Port by the Adani Group earlier today. Highlighting the close historical ties that the two countries share, the envoy stated that the ceremony was special as the two countries completed 30 years of full diplomatic relations. "This is another bridge between our two ancient civilizations, which will boost regional connectivity and increase trade opportunities in the region. It also highlights our close historical ties, as Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives to liberate Haifa during the First World War. The ceremony was also special as it coincided with our countries completing 30 years of full diplomatic relations. We hope to see more such partnerships and collaborations take place between our business communities in future," the envoy stated. After the handing-over ceremony, Gautam Adani said that the Abraham Accords will be a game changer for the Mediterranean Sea logistics. He also assured that Adani Gadot will transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire. "Privileged to meet with @IsraeliPM @netanyahu on this momentous day as the Port of Haifa is handed over to the Adani Group. The Abraham Accords will be a game changer for the Mediterranean sea logistics. Adani Gadot set to transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire," tweeted Gautam Adani. On the International Day of commemoration in memory of victims of the holocaust marked here, the Israeli envoy said that the message of tolerance has to go everywhere, also in countries that did not suffer from the Holocaust. "Learning about the Holocaust is a universal message to the world of tolerance, to the different, to the weak. I think this is the message that is coming out of The International Holocaust Remembrance Day," he said. "Jews for 2,000 years have been living in India and antisemitism is not even a word that is known here in India. We think that the message of tolerance has to go everywhere, also in countries that did not suffer from the Holocaust," he added. (ANI)
The death toll from the boat accident in Pakistan's Tanda Dam lake rose to 51, Dawn reported. Pakistani newspaper reported that a total of 51 students were saved while 5 were brought out alive from the Tanda Dam lake in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The boat capsized on Sunday as a group of over 50 people from the Mir Bash Khel seminary, aged between eight to fourteen years, had gone for a picnic along with the seminary's caretaker. Military personnel, including army engineers and Special Service Group's divers, along with Rescue 1122 and civil administration, have been working day and night for the last 72 hours, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the Pakistan Army's rescue and relief operation was underway at the lake, reported Dawn. Troops, along with Rescue 1122 and civil administration, rescued five students alive while army engineers and Special Services Group divers recovered 51 deceased students and teachers, the statement said. The statement added that the five rescued students had been shifted to the Kohat District Hospital while the search for one missing individual was ongoing. However, Rescue 1122 official Jawad Khalil put the death toll at 52, saying that four people had been rescued alive while one student remained missing. On Monday, the seminary's caretaker Shahid Noor -- who survived the tragedy, but lost his two sons and four nephews, had registered a first information report (FIR) against the irrigation department officials for negligence, as per the report in Dawn. On Sunday, Caretaker KP Chief Minister Azam Khan, in a statement issued, expressed grief over the incident, reported Dawn. He directed the district administration and rescue organisations to start a rescue operation on an emergency basis. "All available resources should be utilized for the safe recovery of the persons who drowned in the incident," he said. Mass drownings are common in Pakistan when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water. In July, 19 women drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying a wedding party across the Indus river in Rahim Yar Khan capsized. Rahim Yar Khan Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza said as word on the incident was received, 30 rescuers, five ambulances, and a water rescue van arrived at the spot, as per the Dawn report. "Nineteen bodies, all women, have been pulled from the water while a search operation is underway for the remaining passengers," Khan added. (ANI)
United Nations General Assembly President Csaba Korosi visited Anganwadi centre, the rural childcare centre in Karnataka, and appreciated the community, state government and UNICEF for providing essential services. Taking to Twitter, Korosi said, "A warm hug on a hectic day. Visited Anganwadi, the rural childcare centre in Karnataka. Applaud the efforts of the community, state govt & @unicefindiain providing essential services & supporting mothers & children." "During my visit to a Primary Healthcare Center in Kannuru, Karnataka, I saw first-hand how the UN's partnership with the Government is aiding in COVID-19 management through digital tech support & effective cold chain management of vaccines," he added. Korosi, who arrived in India on Sunday on a three-day visit at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, landed in Bengaluru on Monday and interacted with the academics at the Indian Institute of Science, and representatives from civil society organisations. "Arrived in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Today, I will interact with scientists & academics at the Indian Institute of Science, representatives from civil society organizations, and visit water & health sector projects," Korosi tweeted. Before heading for Karnataka, Korosi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the importance of conserving and optimising global water resources. During the meeting, the Prime Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to multilateralism including at the United Nations. Earlier, Korosi addressed the 40th Sapru House Lecture where he lauded India's calls for peace in Ukraine and worldwide. "We are approaching the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine that caused suffering and displacement. A war that has unleashed an energy and food crisis across the globe. I commend India for your calls for peace in Ukraine and across the world," the UNGA President said. Korosi commended the Indian government for its commitment to the safety and security of Indian students who were present in Ukraine when the war broke out. Korosi also stressed the need for reform in the council's size, composition, and regulations.Later, the UNGA president met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as he hosted him for a millet lunch. The two leaders also discussed the G20 agenda, UN reform, and the Ukraine conflict. "Welcomed President of General Assembly Csaba Korosi, hosting him for a millet lunch. Discussed global challenges, UN reform, the Ukraine conflict, and the G20 agenda. Assured him of India's fullest support in developmental progress and reformed multilateralism," the minister said in a tweet. (ANI)
The United States and India Civil Space Joint Working Group's (CSJWG) eighth meeting concluded on Tuesday. The discussions centered on space, earth, global navigation satellite systems, spaceflight safety and space situational awareness, and policies for commercial space, according to the statement released by US State Department. India and the US gathered at the department of state for the CSJWG's eighth meeting which was co-chaired by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer R Littlejohn and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations Karen Feldstein for the United States, and Shantanu Bhatawdekar, Scientific Secretary of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for India. Participants also considered the implementation of guidelines and best practices developed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. The United States and India have strong bilateral cooperation in space. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, planned to launch in 2024, is expected to systematically map Earth, using two different radar frequencies to monitor resources such as water, forests and agriculture. The mission will provide important Earth science data related to ecosystems, Earth's surface, natural hazards, sea level rise and the cryosphere. Deputy assistant to the President and executive secretary of the National Space Council, Chirag Parikh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu gave welcoming remarks on behalf of the United States. The US delegation included officials from the Department of State, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce, the statement read. S Somanath, chairman of ISRO, and ambassador of India to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu delivered remarks on behalf of India. The Indian delegation included representatives from ISRO, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)
In this article, we discuss 10 hot oil stocks to buy now. If you want to see more stocks in this selection, check out 5 Hot Oil Stocks To Buy Now.

According to a Reuters poll on December 30, oil price gains in 2023 could remain capped amid threats to demand growth from a deteriorating global economy and reemergence of COVID-19 in China. A survey of 30 economists and analysts predicted that Brent crude would average $89.37 per barrel in 2023, a 4.6% decrease from the previous consensus of $93.65 in a November survey. The average price for the global benchmark in 2022 was $99 per barrel. Analysts forecast that the average price of U.S. crude in 2023 will be $84.84 per barrel, a decrease from the previous consensus of $87.80 in the previous month. Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA, told Reuters:

"The oil market is still tight despite a weakening global demand outlook as recession fears run wild."

Oil demand will experience significant growth in the latter half of 2023 due to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China and central banks taking a more relaxed approach to interest rates. It is anticipated that the effects of Western sanctions on Russian oil will be minimal, and analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a research note:

"We do not expect an impact from the price cap, which was designed to give bargaining power to third-country buyers."

To delve deeper in the oil industry, investors can also check out Top 20 Oil Exporting Countries in 2023, 12 Best Oil Stocks To Buy Now, and 20 Countries with the Largest Oil Reserves. Some of the hot oil stocks to buy now include Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN).

Our Methodology

For this article we first used stock screeners to identify oil stocks that have gained at least 5% year to date in 2023 and have an average 3-month volume of more than 5 million as of January 31. From this resultant dataset we picked the stocks with highest volumes and share price gains. The list is ranked in ascending order of average 3-month share volume.

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10 Hot Oil Stocks To Buy Now

Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash

Hot Oil Stocks To Buy Now

10. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Average 3-month Volume as of January 31: 5.53 Million

YTD Share Price Gains as of January 31: 5.61%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) is a Texas-based company that provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. On January 5, Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) declared a $0.49 per share quarterly dividend, a 3.2% increase from its prior dividend of $0.475. The dividend is distributable on February 14, to shareholders of record on January 31.

On January 9, Wolfe Research analyst Keith Stanley upgraded Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $27 price target. The analyst is increasing his investment in "defensive names". He cited Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)s favorable balance sheet, 8% yield with extra cash flow, and a robust and diverse core business that withstands market changes. He also noted that the stock's valuation is now at an average level.

According to Insider Monkeys data, 21 hedge funds were long Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 23 funds in the prior quarter. Bruce Berkowitzs Fairholme (FAIRX) is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 3.88 million shares worth $92.3 million.

Like Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN), Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) is one of the hot oil stocks to monitor.

Here is what Fairholme Capital Management specifically said about Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) is the largest position in the Fund. Enterprise provides processing and transportation services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil. These hydrocarbons are critical for modern life and have few, if any, ready substitutes. Commodity prices do not greatly affect the companys toll road fees. Enterprise is priced at less than nine times distributable cash flows and pays a 7.5% cash distribution.

9. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Average 3-month Volume as of January 31: 5.97 Million

YTD Share Price Gains as of January 31: 6.55%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is a Texas-based company that produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids worldwide. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the hot stocks to invest in. On January 12, ConocoPhillips, which left Venezuela after its assets were taken over by the government in 2007, announced that it is having initial discussions about selling Venezuelan oil in the United States as a means to recoup the approximately $10 billion owed to them by Venezuela.

On January 23, Barclays analyst Jeanine Wai raised the firm's price target on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to $160 from $151 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. Although the analyst anticipates a weaker performance for the integrated oil and exploration and production sector in Q4 compared to Q3, she believes the main drivers for sector investment are responsible use of capital and cash returns, which support a positive outlook.

According to Insider Monkeys Q3 data, 64 hedge funds were bullish on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), compared to 71 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Fishers Fisher Asset Management is the leading position holder in the company, with approximately 7 million shares worth $708.5 million.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Diamond Hill Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

We redeployed capital into ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), which was trading at a discount to our estimate of intrinsic value and is well positioned over the long run due to its low-risk asset base.

8. Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Average 3-month Volume as of January 31: 6.33 Million

YTD Share Price Gains as of January 31: 8.27%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. The company develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Manufacturing, U.S. Manufacturing, and Retail segments. It is one of the hot stocks to monitor, with YTD share price gains of 8.27% and average 3-month volume of 6.33 million as of January 31.

On January 17, Scotiabank analyst Jason Bouvier maintained an Outperform rating on Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) but lowered the firm's price target on the shares to C$31 from C$33.

According to Insider Monkeys third quarter database, Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) was part of 47 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 42 in the prior quarter. Eric W. Mandelblatts Soroban Capital Partners is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 52 million shares worth $798.5 million.

Here is what L1 Capital Long Short Fund has to say about Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

Cenovus Energy (Long -13%) shares declined over the quarter due to an ~18% decline in oil prices on increasing fears of a U.S recession and a slowdown in global growth. Given the long-life nature of its oil sand assets and its low cost of production, we estimate Cenovus is free cash flow break-even at an oil price of ~US$40/bbl. Despite the recent fall, oil prices remain more than double this break-even point, implying considerable free cash flow generation potential for the company at current levels, with Cenovus currently trading on a consensus FY22 free cash flow yield of around 20%. There are also additional value realization catalysts with the company continuing to progress the de-gearing of its balance sheet via organic cash generation and asset sales.

7. BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Average 3-month Volume as of January 31: 8.25 Million

YTD Share Price Gains as of January 31: 5.39%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is a London-based energy company that operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, Customers & Products, and Rosneft segments. BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)s average 3-month volume as of January 31 came in at 8.25 million, and it is one of the hot stocks to invest in.

On January 27, BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) and Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) announced that they submitted a joint proposal to construct the second phase of the Beacon Wind project in response to New York's third offshore wind energy request. The companies stated that their proposed Beacon Wind 2 project with a capacity of 1,360 MW, located 60 miles east of Long Island, could supply energy to approximately 1 million homes in New York.

Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats on January 23 raised the firm's price target on BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) to 636 GBp from 603 GBp and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares.

According to Insider Monkeys Q3 data, 25 hedge funds were bullish on BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP), compared to 27 funds in the prior quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbells Arrowstreet Capital is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 27 million shares worth $772.5 million.

6. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)

Average 3-month Volume as of January 31: 9.2 Million

YTD Share Price Gains as of January 31: 7.12%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) was founded in 1919 and is based in Houston, Texas. The company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is one of the largest oil field service companies. On January 24, the company declared a $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, a 33.3% increase from its prior dividend of $0.12. The dividend is payable on March 29, to shareholders of record on March 1.

On January 30, HSBC analyst Abhishek Kumar increased the price target for Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) to $57 from $43.90 and maintained a Buy rating for the stock. In a research note to investors, the analyst stated that Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)s prospects for 2023 look strong, with growth expected from both the U.S. and international markets.

According to Insider Monkeys data, 48 hedge funds were bullish on Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 43 funds in the last quarter. Richard S. Pzenas Pzena Investment Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 15.6 million shares worth $384.5 million.

In addition to Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN), Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is one of the hottest oil stocks to consider.

Carillon Tower Advisors made the following comment about Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) provides equipment and services to the global energy industry. Shares have been on an impressive trajectory recently, outpacing the notable move in the overall oilfield services and equipment group. Halliburton benefits from the ongoing upswing in global upstream spending and should play a pivotal role in helping exploration and production companies navigate the recent productivity declines in North American shale. The tight services and equipment market has resulted in strong pricing gains and margin expansion, and when coupled with a disciplined approach to capital spending, has paved the way for the stocks outperformance.

Click to continue reading and see 5 Hot Oil Stocks To Buy Now.

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Disclosure: None. 10 Hot Oil Stocks To Buy Now is originally published on Insider Monkey.
Two teenagers are facing charges in connection with a stabbing near a school in Boston on Monday that left three students injured, law enforcement officials said.

Deionte Wall, 18, of Dorchester, and a 15-year-old boy are slated to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on charges including three counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, according to the Boston Police Department.

Officers responding to a report of a stabbing in the area of Washington and Armandine streets around 2:45 p.m. found three Tech Boston Academy students suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. They were all taken to an area hospital for treatment.

One of the students arrested in the stabbing is said to be a fellow TechBoston student.

A fight broke out on the basketball court near the school prior to the knife attack, according to school officials.

Students who witnessed the incident will be provided with emotional and social support.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Ju'Juan Johnson is a 5-foot-11, 175-pound, four-star athlete from the class of 2024.

He is from Lafayette, Louisiana, where he plays for Lafayette Christian Academy. The Knights finished the 2022 season 10-4 with a loss to St. Thomas More in the Louisiana 4A state playoffs.

As far as recruiting goes, Lafayette is right in LSUs backyard. Only an hour away from Baton Rouge, Brian Kelly and his staff have had a lot of chances to check out Johnson and try their best to keep him in the state of Louisiana.

The Tigers are currently a 92% favorite to land Johnson per On3, but Deion Sanders has been making moves at Colorado. He is a wildcard for any recruit right now. Kelly will have to compete with him and Florida head coach Billy Napier for the talented four-star athlete.

LSUs 2024 recruiting class currently ranks as the No. 2 class in the country.

NEW 2024 4-Star athlete Ju'Juan Johnson is set to commit on February 4th and decide between Colorado, LSU, and Florida. More from @Hayesfawcett3: https://t.co/1D3o6XxTLP pic.twitter.com/RMgm8Zc6Sv  On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) January 30, 2023

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8 LSU football records that could be broken

Ed Orgeron, Joe Burrow

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Maya Millete (left) and Ana Walshe instagram.com Help Find Maya / Instagram / Via helpfindmaya.com

In Taylor Swifts No Body, No Crime, her 2020 vigilante song with Haim, the narrator suspects her friend is killed by her cheating husband  but cant prove it because the body is never found. Her belief that justice wont be found in court isnt unfounded: Its difficult to prosecute a murder  or even prove that someone has died  without a body.

But that is changing.

In the cases of missing people, we hear a lot about corpus delicti, Latin for "body of the crime." Many interpret this literally: that you must have a body to prove a murder took place. In law, however, corpus delicti refers to the figurative body of essential facts that prove a crime was committed. Obviously, thats a lot easier to do with a corpse, as cause, manner, and even time of death can usually be determined. But as were seeing in high-profile cases like those of Ana Walshe and Maya Millete , police and the courts regularly rely on a totality of circumstantial evidence to charge, prosecute, and convict a suspect for murder in no body cases.

The absolute biggest reason we're seeing more no body murder cases and continued success is because of these electronic trails that we leave behind, Tad DiBiase, a former federal homicide prosecutor who now studies and tracks no body murder cases , told BuzzFeed News. For instance, cellphones and camera surveillance can pinpoint our location, credit cards and ATMs record our spending, texts can establish relationships, and Google searches can be very revealing .

Conversely, the cessation of electronic activity can also be incriminating. Virtually everyone has a cellphone, DiBiase said. Now you can say with certainty and with speed when a missing person is likely dead, because we know instantly, OK, this person's cellphone is not pinging off anything. We see exactly when she sent her last text or made her last call. If credit and bank cards arent used, DiBiase said investigators have to ask, How could she not have any access to money? How could we not know where she is? How could she not have her cellphone and all these things?

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Even people who cant afford or choose not to use cellphones can still be tracked by their contact with other people who do, DiBiase said.

Last fall, BuzzFeed News highlighted true crime podcasts that were credited with convictions : Three of those cases  Your Own Backyard, Up and Vanished, and The Teachers Pet  were successfully prosecuted as murders despite the bodies of the victims never being found. In fact, in October 2022, Australia passed  no body, no parole  legislation barring convicted murderers from being released on parole if they refuse to reveal the location of their victim's remains. Known as Lyns Law, after Lynette Dawson  the subject of The Teachers Pet  it was enacted just months after her husband, Chris Dawson, was found guilty of killing her.

Here are some other notable ongoing and closed no body murder cases:

Ana Walshe : At his Jan. 18 arraignment, a prosecutor said Brian Walshe, charged with murdering his missing wife Ana, used his sons iPad to google dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body, how long before a body starts to smell, and hacksaw best tool to dismember, and "what happens when you put body parts in ammonia. Surveillance video captured him spending more than $400 on cleaning supplies at Home Depot a few days after Ana disappeared; he was seen on other surveillance footage disposing of heavy garbage bags in a nearby apartment complex. Police later found trash bags containing a hatchet, a hacksaw, towels, a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning supplies, clothes resembling those Ana was last seen wearing, and her vaccination card. Police also found a bloody, broken knife in the basement of the couples home. Among his other internet searches, the prosecutor also said Brian googled "can you be charged with murder without a body."

Maya Millete : Larry Millete will face trial this year in San Diego for the killing of his wife, Maya, who disappeared in January 2021. Though his defense attorneys have questioned whether she was killed at all, prosecutors showed evidence that she suddenly stopped using her cellphone on the day she was last seen  and Larrys phone was turned off for 12 hours the next day, when prosecutors allege he was disposing of her body. Not only did she miss her childs birthday a few days later, but Maya left behind her wallet, government ID, and credit cards  which she never used again. In his ruling to move forward with a murder trial, the judge said, to accept the defense theory in the case, the court would have to be convinced that Ms. Millete abandoned her life, which included three young children whom she adored, an ailing mother, siblings with whom she was incredibly close, ownership of a million-dollar home, a six-figure income from a thriving professional career, personal savings and wealth in the form of stocks, expensive purses and jewelry, extremely close relationships with friends, and her newly purchased beloved Jeep Wrangler.

Jennifer Dulos : Like Ana Walshe, Jennifer was a wealthy Connecticut mother whose husband, Fotis Dulos, was arrested and charged with her murder after she disappeared in May 2019. Police found blood in their garage and in Jennifers car, and surveillance footage captured Fotis discarding black garbage bags that police later confirmed contained zip ties and clothing covered in Jennifers blood. In January 2020, he killed himself while on house arrest after posting a $6 million bond.

Helle Crafts : The famous wood chipper killing of Helle Crafts by her husband, Richard, was the first murder conviction without a victims body in Connecticut state history. Evidence showed that before Helle disappeared on Nov. 18, 1986, Richard bought a freezer and a chainsaw and rented a wood chipper and a truck; authorities believe he froze his wifes body, sawed it into pieces, and ran the remains through the wood chipper. Among piles of wood chips in various locations, police found pieces of bone and tissue, a fingernail, an envelope with Helles name, and crowns of her teeth. The Crafts case was the subject of the very first episode of Forensic Files in 1996 and inspired a famous scene in Fargo , filmmaker Ethan Coen confirmed to HuffPost.

Evelyn Throsby Scott : Leonard Ewing Scott was the first person in the US convicted of a no body murder. His wife, Evelyn, was last seen at their Bel-Air, California, home in 1955. Only her dentures and glasses were found, near the backyard incinerator where a neighbor had seen Leonard stoking a fire after her disappearance. The smell from that fire was so odious that neighbors called the police to complain about it, but it wasnt until questions were raised about Leonard spending his wifes money that police began investigating her disappearance. He was convicted in 1957; decades later, after he was freed, he made a dubious confession  but her body was never found.

Marion Fye : In this case that DiBiase prosecuted, Harold D. Austin was convicted of the murder of his live-in girlfriend Marion, a mother of five who disappeared in Washington, DC, in November 2003. Like Maya Millete, she left behind her children, purse, credit card, car keys, and driver's license, and police confirmed there was no activity on her credit cards and bank accounts. They also found her blood on the underside of a mattress at her home. Despite not having a body, DiBiase said at the time , it was the strongest case I ever took to trial. The evidence was just so overwhelming.

As a judge in 1977 pointed out, just because a body is never found doesnt mean a crime didnt take place.

The fact that a murderer may successfully dispose of the body of the victim does not entitle him to an acquittal, a judge wrote in rejecting an appeal by Charles Manson and his accomplices in the no body murder of one of their victims, his hired hand Shorty Shea. That is one form of success for which society has no reward. Production of the body is not a condition precedent to the prosecution for murder.

Don't forget to subscribe to our true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, to get true crime deep dives delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here.

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Rep. George Santos leaves the US Capitol on January 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

An overwhelming number of Rep. George Santos' own constituents want the Republican to resign.

According to a new poll, 78% of voters in Santos' district want him to step down.

The poll underlines the intense pressure Santos is under amid a stream of endless scandals.

An overwhelming majority of New Yorkers, including fellow Republicans, want Rep. George Santos to resign from Congress amid an endless stream of reports about he lied to voters about his experience before winning his seat.

According to a newly released Newsday/Siena College Poll, 78% of voters in Santos' district who responded to the survey want him to step down.

The view was broadly supported by 71% of Republican respondents, 72% of independents, and 89% of Democrats.

Even 71% of overall voters think it was "wrong" for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to allow Santos to serve on two committees, a view that would have left the district worse represented on Capitol Hill as committees are where most legislation is shaped.

On Tuesday morning, CNN's Manu Raju reported that Santos privately told his House GOP colleagues that he would recuse himself from his two committee assignments for an undetermined length of time.

As Insider previously pointed out, Santos' scandals have made him extremely well-known considering he just won his first term. According to the poll, he has a 90% name recognition in his district, recognition on par with Gov. Kathy Hochul (89%) and surpasses McCarthy (82%), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (60%). Former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, who ran unsuccessfully for governor and represented a nearby district for four terms, is also less recognized than Santos, who has been in office a month.

That 71% of Republicans in his own district want him to step down is particularly remarkable, as the 3rd District was a hotly contested one in the 2022 midterm elections and the House GOP is holding on to its majority by a thread.

The Newsday/Siena College poll was conducted from January 23-26. It was based on a sample of 653 registered voters in New York's Third Congressional District, and it has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 points. The entire methodology and crosstabs are available here.

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The stunning, although not surprising findings illustrate how Santos faces significant hurdles to winning reelection if he is even able to make it to November 2024. The poll comes after fellow New York House Republicans and some influential conservatives in the state previously called on Santos to resign.

"The arrogance and just the lack of judgment and pushing to see how far he could go makes me feel that, as a Republican, voting for him was a joke," Jillian O'Connor, a 42-year-old Republican, told the pollsters. "It seems like he was putting on a show, setting an example of what you can do if you cheat and lie from the beginning."

The poll also found that nearly 2/3rds of respondents who voted for Santos in November would not have voted for him if they know what they know about him now.

So far, the freshman lawmaker has rebuffed those calls. McCarthy has stuck by Santos, a show of support that belies how Republicans flipped a competitive seat and could struggle to retain it in a special election. The GOP holds just a four-seat majority in the chamber.

According to the poll, 86% of respondents within his district have an unfavorable view of George Santos, with a fascinating 6% who claim to possess a favorable view, a negative 80 percent net favorability rating that needless to say bodes ill for Santos' future in American politics.

Read the original article on Business Insider
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Seventh Memphis police officer relieved of duty over fatal Tyre Nichols traffic stop

A seventh Memphis police officer was relieved of duty over the fatal Tyre Nichols traffic stop, while fire officials have also been let go. Plus, USA TODAY National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise looks at an artificial intelligence prediction that climate change is coming faster than we recently thought, the Biden administration plans on ending COVID-19 emergency declarations in May, USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee has the latest tips for tax season, and millions are under winter storm warnings.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 31st of January 2023. Today, more firings after the traffic stop and death of Tyre Nichols. Plus climate change might be worse than we thought, and the Biden administration plans on ending COVID emergency declarations.



A seventh Memphis police officer has been fired after officers brutally beat, tased and pepper sprayed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols after pulling him over. Nichols died three days after the traffic stop. The last two firings come after five officers were initially fired and then charged with second-degree murder, along with assault and kidnapping charges. The Memphis Fire Department has also fired three employees for failing to give Nichols an adequate patient assessment when they were called to give medical aid after the beating. A video of the violence shows nearly a half hour passes between the start of the beating and the moment when a stretcher is brought for Nichols. Criminal charges have not been filed against the firefighters.

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Artificial intelligence predicts that climate change is coming faster than we recently thought. That's according to a new study that found the world faces a significant risk of passing a crucial global warming threshold, potentially as soon as 2050. For more and an attempt at reassurance, I caught up with USA Today National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise. Beth, always great to have you back on the show. Thanks for coming on.

Elizabeth Weise:

I'm happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

There's a new study out about when we might reach the critical two degrees Celsius warming threshold. Tell us more about this study, Beth.

Elizabeth Weise:

This is by researchers at Stanford and Colorado State University and they're using machine learning and artificial intelligence. They basically fed in climate data going back as far as we've got it, and tried to create models to show, okay, what happened in the past, what's going to happen in the future, and linking it to changes in the amount of carbon to and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And they know this works because then they went back and said, "Okay, what does our model say should have been happening, say, in 2015?" And it hit pretty spot on. There's a fair degree of reliability here, sadly.

Taylor Wilson:

So that's concerning. What might we see sooner rather than later? What's right around the corner in terms of global warming right now?

Elizabeth Weise:

There's two thresholds that they talk about. 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperature is 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit rise in temperature. So the two points we keep talking about are that 1.5 and then 2.0 Celsius. The reason that we have those thresholds is because at the Paris Agreement, back when the whole world got together and said, "Hey, let's do what we can to stop this, shall we," those were the thresholds they set. The ideal is to keep things from not rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, and really want to keep it below 2.0 degrees Celsius. And the bad news is, all the models have said, yeah, we're not going to stable at 1.5. We're already at 1.1 from pre-industrial times.

The big question is, are we going to hit 2.0, and if so, when? And there have been predictions, if we continue at really high rates of greenhouse gas emissions, it could happen by the 2080s. If we really bring it low, it could never happen at all. What this AI model found was that even if we really pull down our emissions, there's a 50 in 100 chance that will go over 2.0 before 2054. And that's soon. I mean, if you've got a kindergartner, your kid's just entering their 30s then. This is the world your kid's going to live in.

Taylor Wilson:

You mentioned the world that current kindergartners could be growing into. What does that world look like specifically? What will it look like, Beth?

Elizabeth Weise:

And it's an important question. Two things that it's not just that they will happen, it's that they're already starting to happen. I mean, one is, things just get hotter. We have more heatwaves, we have longer heatwaves, we have more droughts.

But the other is that weather gets more erratic. It's not that the world ends, but the world that we've built everything upon where you know the rains are going to fall at a certain time. And yeah, there are hurricanes, but there are hurricanes we can live with. It's kind of like, for people who are old enough, that movie from the '80s, This Is Spinal Tap, where the guy says, "Yeah, but my equipment goes up not just to 10, but 11." I mean, we're going to be hitting more 11s, and that's not good.

Taylor Wilson:

Beth, you mentioned the Paris Agreement. It's now been, what, about eight years since world leaders came together and signed that back in 2015. Is this latest study a sign that the agreement itself is failing?

Elizabeth Weise:

It's not. And I got to say, I mean, I couldn't keep doing this job if I thought there were no hope. Renewables are coming online at these insanely cheap prices. Every climate scientist I talk to, they all say there's hope. And not only there's hope, but we have the technology to do this. We just have to implement it. And that's what the scientists who did this work are saying is, we have to implement it harder and faster now because the ideal is not to overshoot. And what is that going to mean for the world that our kids or grandkids are growing up in.

Taylor Wilson:

Right. Elizabeth Weise covers climate change and energy transition for USA TODAY. Beth, thanks for giving us a little bit of a glass half full perspective at the end. We really appreciate it.

Elizabeth Weise:

It really is half full. You got to look on the bright side.



Taylor Wilson:

The Biden administration plans on ending COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11th. The move will restructure how the federal government responds to the pandemic entering its fourth year. A national emergency was first declared by then President Donald Trump on March 13th, 2020. States have been receiving extra Medicaid funding during the emergency, in exchange for keeping patients continuously enrolled in the healthcare program. As a result, Medicaid enrollment increased 30% and fewer Americans have been uninsured. But in a massive spending bill last month, Democrats and Republicans agreed to allow states to kick people off Medicaid in May. When the public health emergency ends, people without insurance will have to pay for vaccines, tests, and treatment on their own.

COVID vaccines are also expected to get more expensive as the government stops buying them. About seven in 10 Americans have received an initial COVID vaccine, but less than 20% of adults have the latest booster according to the CDC.



As you've already heard on the show, tax season is here. USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee has the latest tips and tricks. Medora, welcome back to 5 Things.

Medora Lee:

Hi, how are you?

Taylor Wilson:

Doing great. So let's talk taxes. First off, this may surprise some of our listeners, it surprised me, that not everyone actually needs to file their taxes. So who doesn't have to, Medora, and who does?

Medora Lee:

Okay. Well, basically who has to file taxes depends on a few different things, including how much you've earned and also your filing status. Whether you're single, married or filing jointly or separately, and if you're a head of household or a widower, and then your age. Those three things will usually determine whether you have to file taxes. There's some minimum thresholds for income for each of those situations that you can find on the IRS website. And then also people who are in special situations have to file taxes. People who might have household employment taxes. They have uncollected social security benefits. They bought insurance on the ACA and those types of things.

Then there are the people who do not have to file taxes, and those are the people who fall underneath those income brackets. But even if you don't have to file taxes, sometimes there are benefits to filing taxes. I know this sounds crazy, doesn't it? And let me tell you why. Because you might have a refund check coming to you that you may not even know about. This is a big one that a lot of people talk about, the earned income tax credit. A lot of low and middle income people qualify for this, but only one in five people actually ever claim it. And you could get between $500 and $6,000 back. That's incredible.

Taylor Wilson:

Medora, how can people get their tax refunds faster?

Medora Lee:

The best thing to do is to request a direct deposit right into your bank account. That's also the safest way to do it. There's no worries about lost checks, or someone stealing it from your mail, or it getting destroyed if you get it by paper. To be doubly fast, you could file electronically, too, and then also request your money come electronically.

Taylor Wilson:

Let's talk small business owners.

Medora Lee:

Oh yeah.

Taylor Wilson:

There are additional allowed deductions from 2022. Can you tell us more about this?

Medora Lee:

Oh yeah, this one excites me, although I don't think anyone's bought me a lunch lately or a dinner. But anyway, that's the sad part of working from home. But in 2021 and 2022, the IRS gave companies a tax break, that if they decided they were going to order food in for their employees, try to entice them back to the office again, they could deduct 100% of that bill, including tax and tip. But that is going away next year in the tax year 2023. It's going back to the pre-pandemic level of only half of it can be deducted.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Medora Lee, thank you for your insight on taxes. I'm sure we'll hear from you again throughout tax season. Really appreciate it.

Medora Lee:

Sure. Thanks so much.

Taylor Wilson:

You can stay up to date with everything money related with a daily USA TOAY newsletter called The Daily Money. You can find a link in today's show notes.



Winter storm warnings and weather advisories are stretching from Central Texas to the East Coast this week. Parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee are under an ice storm warning. And further north, wind advisories are in effect in the Upper Midwest with wind chills dropping to 35 degrees below zero in some places. The National Weather Service warns that such temperatures can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. You can find more about the weather in your neck of the woods and a Winter Storm Tracker with a link in today's show notes.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. We're here every morning wherever you get your audio. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 7th Memphis cop taken off force, winter storm warning: 5 Things podcast
The Telegraph

The precise veracity of the large cache of intelligence documents that have apparently been leaked from the Pentagon might be open to question, but there can be little doubt about the negative impact that they are having on Ukraines war effort. Even if the release of the documents turns out to be part of a clever disinformation campaign by the Kremlins cyber-trolls, it could nevertheless prompt Ukraines high command to rethink its long-planned counteroffensive against Russian forces.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Political activists met Thailand's biggest opposition party on Tuesday to demand that, if it wins in upcoming elections, it revoke a tough law that criminalises insults of the country's monarchy.

Thailand has some of the world's strictest lese majeste laws, with punishments of up to 15 years in prison for each perceived royal insult. Hundreds of people have been arrested or jailed under the rules, some for as long as 43 years.

Article 112 of the criminal code, as the law is known, has long been a taboo topic in Thailand and calls for it to be reformed have also led to arrests.

Eight activists met on Tuesday with the Pheu Thai party and said scrapping Article 112 must be a priority.

Pheu Thai has won most votes in every election in the past two decades and will be among the key contenders in this year's poll, which is due by May.

"If the Pheu Thai Party want to win by a landslide, they need to revoke 112," activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk said ahead of the meeting.

It came as two youth activists in pretrial detention on lese majeste charges entered their 13th day of hunger strike to demand the law be made an election issue.

Article 112 was for decades off-limits in public or political debate, but youth activists have recently started to discuss it on social media and at public gatherings and protests.

All 17 ruling coalition parties have vowed not to touch the law, while the ultra royalist Thai Pakdee party has started a petition to make it even stricter.

The palace typically does not comment on the law. No political party has ever called for it to be revoked, though several support debate on its enforcement or reducing punishments.

After the meeting, Natiporn Sanesangkhom, one of the activists, said Pheu Thai gave no firm answer on abolishing article 112.

Its secretary-general, Prasert Jantararuangtong, encouraged public discussion on the way it was being enforced as a means of addressing problems in the short term.

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"There are many opinions and polarised views in society on the amendment of this law, which could lead to more conflict," he told reporters.

In just over two years, 228 people have been charged under lese majeste and 10 are currently in detention, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which has represented many of those accused of royal insults.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)
Congratulations are in order for Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo, who have welcomed their third baby together.

On Jan. 30, sources confirmed the baby's birth to NBC News.

The couple, who wed in Mexico in 2014, are also parents to daughters Dusty Rose, 6, and Gio Grace, turning 5 in February.

News that the Victorias Secret model, 34, and the Maroon 5 frontman, 43, were expecting came in September. Prinsloo later showed off her belly in an Oct. 15 Instagram story, recording herself in the mirror and turning to the side to reveal a growing bump.

Around the same time in late September, Levine became publicly embroiled in an alleged cheating scandal. Instagram model Sumner Stroh claimed in a since-deleted TikTok video that she had an affair with the musician and shared messages between them.

Levine addressed the rumors in an Instagram story, saying that his online behavior with other women had crossed the line.

A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner, Levine wrote in a message to his followers on Sept. 20.

He continued, I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family."

The Maroon 5 frontman added that he had been naive and stupid to jeopardize his marriage to Prinsloo.

I take full responsibility, he concluded. We will get through it. And we will get through it together.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Gautam Adani. Illustrated | Gettyimages

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is in hot water after an activist investment firm published a report alleging large-scale corruption and malfeasance across his multinational conglomerate, Adani Group. Here's what you need to know:

What's happening?

On Jan. 24, Hindenburg Research  a small firm run by short-seller Nathan Anderson  published a 100-page report accusing the Adani Group, a conglomerate founded by Indian businessman Guatam Adani, of perpetuating "the largest con in corporate history." The report claimed the group was "engaged in a brazen stock-manipulation and accounting-fraud scheme," and vastly overstated its companies' valuations in an attempt to "maintain the appearance of financial health and solvency" despite mounting debts. Hindenburg also disclosed that it had taken a so-called "short" position against the tycoon's companies, betting that the conglomerate's stock price would drop to the benefit of the firm.

Since the report was released, the Adani Group has lost over $100 billion in market value, while Adani's personal net worth has plummeted by over $50 billion. Further, the allegations "upended" the group's "much-anticipated" secondary share offering, The Economist explains: The group was attempting to raise $2.5 billion in a stock offer that expired Jan. 31, though it ultimately canceled the sale on Feb. 1 after its stock plummeted almost 30 percent. The money raised from the sale will be returned to investors.

Who is Gautam Adani?

Adani, 60, is the owner and founder of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate comprised of at least seven publicly-traded companies across a number of verticals, including infrastructure, mining, and renewable energy. And though he's "relatively unknown" in other parts of the world, the prolific billionaire is an industry giant back home, where he also controls the country's largest port. But once Asia's richest man, Adani is now no longer even India's, his worth having plunged in the wake of Hinderburg's missive. Indeed, the firm "could not have selected a bigger whale," writes The Economist. "Adani is widely regarded as a master operator, with a genius for navigating the complicated legal and political landscape of Indian capitalism."

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How has the Adani Group responded?

The group denounced Hinderberg's report as "baseless" and "malicious," and accused the firm of having an "ulterior motive" for publishing the document. "This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors," the group wrote in its 413-page rebuttal. It said Hindenburg's actions represent a "calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity, and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India." Hinderberg and Anderson have not backed down from their accusations.

Are there larger implications?

The fight could have a knock-on effect for India's transition to clean energy, the Journal explains. Adani Group has interests in green energy, infrastructure, and power generation, and is "a big developer of renewable energy and generator of electricity." But it also "derives the majority of total revenue" from operations related to coal, The Washington Post reports.

What does this have to do with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

Both Adani and his companies have "close ties" to Modi's government, which has, in the past, helped the conglomerate more smoothly "expand into media, energy, and cement sectors," the Times writes. The billionaire and Modi are also widely perceived as having been cut from the same cloth, each with a similar ascent to power and origin story. "The Adani Group is no ordinary conglomerate: It's closely identified with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he was chief minister" of Gujarat state, Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the opposition Congress Party, said recently, per Bloomberg.

The strategies of Adani's many companies also seem to consistently complement Modi's goal of developing India's economy. As The Washington Post writes: "Whether building expressways or upgrading data centers, Adani can be counted on to provide money, infrastructure, or expertise, whatever the policy priority."

The prime minister has so far kept quiet on this scandal, though "it's not certain if or how Indian regulators could intervene" in the matter, the Times writes, "as Hindenburg is shorting the Adani Group's non-Indian securities."

Update Feb. 2: This article has been updated throughout to reflect the latest in the story.

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On 31 January, an air-raid siren was announced for the third time in all oblasts of Ukraine, which lasted just under half an hour.

Source: map alerts.in.ua, an independent Belarusian military monitoring project Belaruski Hajun

Details: Yurii Ihnat, Air Force spokesman, previously explained that the rapid spread of the air-raid siren on the territory of Ukraine indicates the threat of strikes with Kinzhal missiles.

At the same time, "Belaruski Hajun" reported about the landing of a radar plane and escort fighters in Belarus.

Analysts also noted that on 31 January, not a single take-off of the MiG-31K Russian Aerospace Forces from the Machulishchy airfield was recorded.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the first alarm across Ukraine on Tuesday was announced due to the take-off of a MiG-31K in Russia.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Paris, France --News Direct-- Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, a leading provider of communications, cloud and networking solutions tailored to customers industries, is hosting its global partner conference on February 8th and 9th 2023.

Following the success of the past years Connex events, this years Connex23 conference will again take to a virtual stage, enabling maximum participation from partners around the world.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise partners will have the chance to hear first-hand from CEO, Jack Chen and his executive and management teams about how Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise will help them to drive sustainable business for their companies and customers.

Solutions specialists will demonstrate new product roadmaps and show how Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise can help partners and end-customers achieve tangible business outcomes by making everything connect thanks to Advanced analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Connectivity and platforms, and the Internet of Things.

Continuing its vertical focus, Connex23 will reveal Alcatel-Lucent Enterprises plans for further innovation across the healthcare, education, government, transportation, energy and utilities markets.

Businesses on their path to digital transformation are embracing new technologies and models to boost their business outcomes through increased employee and customer collaboration with an enhanced user experience. comments Rukmini Glanard, Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Services and Marketing. We are offering an increased portfolio of value-added services to help accelerate this move to cloud subscription and as a Service business models.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise is continuing to focus on supporting its global ecosystem of 3,400 business partners and its worldwide base of over a million customers. The management will demonstrate how the company is using flexible and agile methods, which have been successfully implemented over the last year, to go the extra mile to enable complex opportunities, manage industry shortages and support business continuity for partners and end customers on an hourly and daily basis.

Story continues

The theme for this years event is Technology for Good. This underlines the importance of how our people, our partners, and our secure solutions work hand-in-hand to create and deliver positive outcomes, good for people, good for business and good for the environment. Technology can help individuals and companies to be better connected, to collaborate in more innovative and productive ways. said Rukmini Glanard.

About Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise delivers the customised technology experiences enterprises need to make everything connect.

ALE provides digital-age networking, communications and cloud solutions with services tailored to ensure customers success, with flexible business models in the cloud, on premises, and hybrid. All solutions have built-in security and limited environmental impact.

Over 100 years of innovation have made Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise a trusted advisor to more than a million customers all over the world.

With headquarters in France and 3,400 business partners worldwide, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise achieves an effective global reach with a local focus.

Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Contact Details

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Carine Bowen

press@al-enterprise.com

ALcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Katherine Skidmore

katherine@fox.agency

Company Website

https://www.al-enterprise.com/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/alcatel-lucent-enterprise-hosts-global-partners-at-2023-virtual-conference-540082480
By Andrew Hay

(Reuters) -Actor Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday for showing a "reckless" disregard for safety that led to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie "Rust" in New Mexico in 2021, according to court documents.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed charges following months of speculation as to whether she had evidence that Baldwin acted with criminal negligence when a revolver with which he was rehearsing fired a live round that killed Hutchins.

Baldwin and set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were each charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The most serious charge, which carries a potential sentence of five years in jail, would require prosecutors to convince a jury that Baldwin acted with willful disregard for the safety of others.

A lawyer for Baldwin declined to comment. Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer said the prosecutor had "completely misunderstood the facts and has reached the wrong conclusions."

Baldwin's case is remarkable in that there is little or no precedent for a Hollywood actor to face criminal charges for an on-set shooting.

A statement of probable cause by the prosecution's special investigator, Robert Shilling, made clear Baldwin was being charged as an actor and producer on the low-budget movie.

Baldwin's failure to get sufficient firearms training, check with the armorer whether the revolver was loaded, or address safety complaints from crew were cited by Shilling as some of his many "extremely reckless acts or reckless failures to act" in the 10-day period leading up to Hutchins' death.

The "30 Rock" actor has denied responsibility for the shooting inside a movie-set church, saying Hutchins directed him to point the gun at the camera, he cocked the revolver but never pulled the trigger.

Baldwin said live ammunition should never have been allowed on the set and it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and first assistant director Dave Halls to ensure the gun was unloaded, a position supported by many actors and the SAG-AFTRA union.

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Videos from inside the church prior to the shooting show Baldwin with his finger on the trigger, Shilling said.

An FBI forensic test of the revolver found it "functioned normally" and would not fire without the trigger being pulled.

The prosecution used Baldwin's comments to media against him, saying the investigation showed he deviated from firearm safety protocols that he laid out in television interviews.

"Baldwin would have been better served not making public statements about these incidents," said Kate Mangels, an attorney with entertainment law firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley.

Still, prosecutors could face long odds convincing a jury Baldwin is criminally liable as he was assured the gun was not loaded and it will be difficult to blame him for all the movie's alleged safety failures, legal analysts said

No other "Rust" producer has been charged.

LIVE ROUNDS

Charging documents held Gutierrez-Reed responsible for "allowing live ammunition on the set," but did not accuse her of physically introducing them onto the production.

Gutierrez-Reed has said she brought two boxes of dummy rounds onto the set from a previous movie. Supply company PDQ Arms and Prop also provided dummy rounds and blanks. An FBI test found live long Colt .45 rounds taken from PDQ in Albuquerque did not match those found at the movie set, including the round that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

As armorer responsible for firearm safety and training, Gutierrez-Reed failed to provide sufficient instruction to Baldwin, check rounds loaded into the revolver or remain present in the rehearsal to ensure the actor did not point the weapon at Hutchins, the special investigator said.

Gutierrez-Reed has said she checked that the rounds were dummies before handing the gun to Halls and leaving the church due to COVID protocols. Halls then handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a "cold gun," meaning it did not contain an explosive charge, according to police.

Halls has signed a plea deal for a misdemeanor charge and is expected to cooperate with the prosecution.

Gutierrez-Reed has said producers denied her requests for extra firearms training, including with Baldwin.

Gabrielle Pickle, line producer on the movie, on Dec. 20 testified to New Mexico's worker safety agency (OSHA) that all of Gutierrez-Reed's requests for extra days for armorer duties were granted.

On Dec. 7 Gutierrez-Reed testified to OSHA that Baldwin's lack of knowledge and "poor form" in using a revolver may have led to the discharge that killed Hutchins.

Her lawyer Jason Bowles said Halls, her senior in the production, was at fault for not calling Gutierrez-Reed back into the church to perform her armorer duties.

"We will fight these charges and expect that a jury will find Hannah not guilty," he said in a statement.

The defendants face a court arraignment, which can be done virtually, then a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide whether there is probable cause to move forward with a trial. Preliminary hearings are typically scheduled within 60 days of charges being filed.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; additional reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Rosalba O'Brien and Leslie Adler)
Alec Baldwin, pictured in New York on Tuesday as prosecutors are expected to file formal charges for his role in Halyna Hutchins's death on Rust. (Photo: Reuters)

More than one year after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed filming Rust, star and producer Alec Baldwin has been criminally charged in connection to the fatal shooting. A probable cause statement filed gives more insight into why prosecutors believe the actor is culpable, claiming he had a reckless disregard for safety on set. The document alleges he was "distracted" when he did attend a firearms training session.

Prosecutors filed formal charges on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the district attorney's office announced Alec faced two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The Emmy-winning actor isn't the only person authorities believe is responsible for the terrible accident. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of handling weapons on set of the Western, was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

"Today we have taken another important step in securing justice for Halyna Hutchins," New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement on Tuesday. "In New Mexico, no one is above the law and justice will be served."

Negligent use of a deadly weapon charges were also filed against David Halls, the film's first assistant director, who allegedly handed the gun to Baldwin and declared it "cold," meaning there was no live ammunition. Halls pleaded no contest and has entered into a plea agreement that is pending approval.

Tuesday's filing included a statement of probable cause. Police believe the 30 Rock star "displayed very inconsistent accounts of what happened during the incident," citing interviews they conducted as well as statements the actor made in the media.

Alec has maintained he did not pull the trigger. But investigators  and the FBI  found the gun could not "accidentally fire." For the weapon to fire, the trigger had to have been pressed. Photo and video evidence from rehearsals "clearly show" Alec "multiple times with his finger inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger, while manipulating the hammer and while drawing, pointing, and holstering the revolver."

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The document claims Alec was careless when it came to gun safety, noting he "was not present for required firearms training" prior to filming. When he did show up for training, Alec allegedly only completed 30 minutes of the one hour session as he "was distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family" according to Gutierrez-Reed's deposition.

Investigators determined that when Alec was rehearsing, the scene "did not require the weapon to be fired." A replica gun should be used as no firing of blanks is required.

"[Alec] directly pointed a firearm at Hutchins and Souza. Whether guided by her directions or not, Baldwin knew the first rule of gun safety is never point a gun at someone you don't intend on shooting. In addition, always assume a gun is loaded. Had Baldwin performed the required safety checks with the armorer ... this tragedy would not have occurred," the document claims.

The probable cause statement points to the actor's decades-long experience in the film industry and said he showed "reckless deviation" from standard safety protocols on set. The document outlines multiple ways Baldwin failed as the film's lead producer, too, as there were two "negligent discharge" incidents before the fatal incident.

Baldwin was photographed in New York City earlier Tuesday. Before charges were filed, his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, spoke out on social media. Hilaria, who gave birth to the couple's seventh child in September, once again thanked fans and offered public support for her husband.

"I hope you understand how much your support and kindness to Alec and our children mean. Thank you for being our community and our village. You are helping us to be stronger parents and partners during this unimaginable time, stemming from such heartbreaking tragedy," she wrote, adding: "Alec, we love you and we are here for you."

The actor and Gutierrez-Reed are charged in the alternative, meaning if a jury decides either is guilty, the panel then must determine which definition of involuntary manslaughter applies. A jury could also find them not guilty.

To be found guilty of the first charge, involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must prove there was underlying negligence. The other charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death. The latter includes a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, because of the weapon involved. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed face anywhere from zero to five years behind bars.

Lawyers for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed previously said they will fight the charges.

"This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins's tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun  or anywhere on the movie set," the actor's attorney, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, previously told Yahoo Entertainment. "He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win."

Gutierrez-Reed's lawyers Jason Bowles and Todd J. Bullion released the following statement to Yahoo after charges were filed on Tuesday:
Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of his movie Rust.

The Santa Fe, N.M., district attorneys office filed the charges against Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on Tuesday. Both were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The charges, which were first announced earlier this month, came more than a year after the October 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins, the movies cinematographer who was killed after authorities say Baldwin fired a live round from a prop gun while rehearsing a scene for the Western.

Rust director Joel Souza was also injured in the shooting on the set of the New Mexico production.

In charging documents filed in the First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies cited Baldwins reckless handling of the firearm and, as the films producer and star, his failure to mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period.

In the case of a trial, jurors would decide which of the involuntary manslaughter charges would apply, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed face up to 18 months in prison on the lesser charge and a mandatory five-year sentence on the other charge, according to the paper.

A law firm representing Baldwin, 64, told ITK on Tuesday it would have no additional comment, after earlier this month saying the district attorneys decision to file charges was a terrible miscarriage of justice.

In a Tuesday post on Instagram, the Academy Award winners wife, Hilaria Baldwin, thanked supporters during this unimaginable time, stemming from such heartbreaking tragedy.

Updated at 4:37 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The video at the top of the story will play a live stream of the trial or a replay upon completion of the day's proceedings.

Firearms and cell phone data dominated the discussion Tuesday afternoon in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial.

The state called John Bedingfield, Murdaugh's second cousin who is a S.C. Department of Natural Resources officer and a custom gunmaker. Bedingfield testified that between 2016 and 2018, he custom built three AR-style rifles in 300 Blackout caliber to fill special orders from Murdaugh.

Two of the guns were fitted with slings and thermal scopes - but one of those guns went missing, Murdaugh said.

A 300 Blackout caliber weapon was used to kill Maggie Murdaugh, and several Blackout cartridges found at the scene of the murders matched in several ways other rifle cartridges found around the Murdaugh estate, leading prosecutors to suggest that Maggie was killed with a family weapon.

Jan 30, 2023; Walterboro, SC, USA; Prosecutor Creighton Waters asks witness Jeff Croft, a SLED senior special agent, questions about weapons and ammunition collected from Alex Murdaughs home during Murdaughs trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Monday, January 30, 2023. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK

The state then called Lt. Britt Dove, a supervisor at SLED's compute crimes division and a member of the U.S. Secret Service and FBI computer forensics task forces. Dove was qualified by the court to testify as a cell phone forensic expert.

Dove testified that he extracted cellular data from phones belonging to Alex, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh using two methods, then verified the accuracy of the those results using a third method.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial:Walterboro restaurants, food trucks serve influx of visitors

While questioning Dove, Assistant S.C. Attorney General John Conrad entered into evidence the "full file system" data from Maggie's phone, data which was stored on an external hard drive so investigators could analyze it without altering the data on the phone itself.

This data included text messages, call logs, and "physical" updates of the phone - such as when the phone was turned from a landscape position to a portrait position, or when the display lights turned on, etc.

Based on the data extracted, Dove testified that Maggie made her last phone call at 7:50 p.m. on the night of the murders, June 7, 2021. The records also showed five missed calls from Murdaugh after that time, from 9:04 to 10:03 p.m. Murdaugh called 911 around 10:07 p.m. to report finding the bodies of Maggie and Paul.

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Dove also testified that the last text message Maggie read was from "Lynn G." - likely her sister-in-law, Lynn Murdaugh Goettee, Alex's sister - at 8:49 p.m.

However, Dove testified, the data suggested that someone held her phone in their hand at 8:54 p.m. and again at 9:06 p.m. - without unlocking it or answering any of several calls or texts.

The SLED cell phone expert also testified that Maggie's phone showed physical activity by the user or holder of the phone: 38 steps were taken at around 8:17 p.m., 43 steps at around 8:33 p.m., and 59 steps at 8:53 p.m.

Maggie's phone remain locked however, and showed no further activity until SLED agents found it beside the road the next day - roughly a quarter to a half mile away.

The trial is expected to resume at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with further questioning of Dove. To date, the state has called 15 witnesses and entered numerous pieces of physical and forensic evidence.

Jan 30, 2023; Walterboro, SC, USA; Alex Murdaugh listens to testimony from SLEDs Jeff Croft during his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Monday, January 30, 2023. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK

Tuesday a.m. updates from Colleton County court

Day 7 of the double murder trial of disbarred attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh featured grueling cross examination, controversial video evidence from SLED, and a massive amount of cell phone data.

Murdaugh defense attorney Jim Griffin proved himself knowledgeable about both firearms and the law, as he went after SLED Senior Special Agent Jeff Cross Tuesday morning in a pointed and often tough cross examination. Croft had testified Monday afternoon about weapons and ammo that he had seized from the Murdaugh property, Moselle, where Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed, and testified about a videoed interview SLED agents conducted with Murdaugh.

Video of Alex Murdaugh interview with SLED sparks controversy, debate

A videoed interview of Murdaugh, which SLED conducted on June 10, 2021, three days after the killing, has sparked a difference of opinion and interpretations between the state and the defense, and even among the public following the case.

During the interview, Murdaugh breaks down weeping when asked about seeing the crime scene, and appears to say, "It was so bad, I did him so bad." Croft also testified Monday afternoon that was what he heard Murdaugh say.

However, during cross examination, Griffin played the video again, at normal speed and at one-third speed, asking if it wasn't clear that Murdaugh was saying "... they did him so bad."

Croft, however, stuck to his original testimony. "I am 100 percent confident in what I heard and interpreted," he said, to which Griffin asked why SLED didn't immediately follow up on the alleged "confession."

People on social media were still debating what was actually said on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

The S.C. Attorney General's Office also called two cell phone forensic experts to the stand, Michael Anthony Knecht, Verizon records custodian, along with Paul McManigle and Jonathan VanHouten, both with the U.S. Secret Service, to discuss cell phone records and cell phones police downloaded for evidence. Placed into evidence were cell phone data downloads from the phones of Alex, Maggie, Paul, Buster Murdaugh, and Rogan Gibson, among others.

Murdaugh defense team fires back at gun evidence, testimony

During cross examinations, Griffin asked why SLED investigators didn't search Murdaugh's home for bloody clothes while they were looking for guns, and questioned not only the state's claim that ammo found elsewhere at the property matched shell casings found at the scene, also enquired why prosecutors were entering weapons into evidence that weren't the murder weapon.

"Did you ever find the murder weapons," Griffin asked, to which Croft replied, "Not that I am aware of."

Griffin questioned why SLED did not dig up rifle slugs from the shooting range at Moselle, and why state police didn't search Murdaugh's parent's house for evidence until September of 2021.

Check back for updates.

Looking back at Monday in Colleton County court

Day 6 of the Alex Murdaugh murder trial concluded with more testimony from SLED Senior Special Agent Jeff Croft about 300 Blackout rounds and 12 gauge shotgun shells found elsewhere at the Moselle estate, AR-15s being custom made for Murdaugh, and video footage of a SLED interview with Murdaugh that appears to contain some questionable statements from the suspect.

During the afternoon session, Croft testified that other areas of Moselle, including the shooting shed and a pond, were littered with spent 300 Blackout casings and 12 gauge shotgun shells like the kinds used to kill Maggie and Paul. The prosecution played body cam footage of Croft and other SLED agents collecting these cartridges.

Who is the real Alex Murdaugh? The man who wrecked a South Carolina legal dynasty.

The state also played video footage of Murdaugh during a June 10, 2021, follow-up interview with SLED - the second time that Murdaugh spoke to state police after the killings. The interview was conducted inside a vehicle at a hunting lodge owned by his brother, John Marvin Murdaugh.

After chatting with officers, Murdaugh relays his recollection of the timeline of events on the day of the killings. As the video plays, the S.C. Attorney General's lead prosecutor, Creighton Waters, stops and repeats certain key information to the jury, or asks Croft to elaborate or repeat certain portions of Murdaugh's statements for the jury.

Power, prestige and privilege:Inside the rise and fall of the Murdaugh dynasty in South Carolina

In the video, as Murdaugh described the last moments he spent with Paul, driving around the property, he broke down and wept, as SLED agents comforted him and gave him tissues.

In court Murdaugh, while watching the video, began rocking back and forth and appeared to get emotional, grabbing a tissue from the defense table.

Croft testified that Murdaugh told SLED the last time he saw Maggie and Paul was when the family had supper. However, earlier in the trial, Waters told the jury that the state had cell phone video evidence that put Murdaugh at the dog kennels later than that.

Dig deeperHow murder charges impact other death investigations, lawsuits surrounding Alex Murdaugh

Jan 30, 2023; Walterboro, SC, USA; Evidence presented in Alex Murdaughs trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Monday, January 30, 2023. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK

When asked about his relationship with his wife, Murdaugh, who again appeared upset in the video, responded, "I had a wonderful wife, she was a great mother. She didn't work, but she took care of me and the boys."

Murdaugh sniffled throughout the interview, then openly wept at times. During one grief-stricken moment of sobbing, Murdaugh appeared to have said this about Paul: "It's just so bad. I did him so bad." When Waters repeated this to Croft, he verified that is what he said.

While the interview was being conducted, SLED agents downloaded Murdaugh's phone and had him spit out his wad of chewing tobacco in order to do an oral "buccal swab" to collect DNA.

Follow Michael DeWitt's Twitter feed for Murdaugh trial updates

A Twitter List by SEDOT_J_Orlando

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Alex Murdaugh murder trial: Weapons, SLED interview, phones examined
Washington, DC --News Direct-- Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure

The Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure today praised Reps. Daniel Webster (R-FL) and Colin Allred (D-TX) for introducing bipartisan legislation to create a nationally chartered bank to provide capital for infrastructure projects throughout the United States. The Federal Infrastructure Bank, as its called, will receive no federal funds or government guarantees.

The bill, The Federal Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023, H.R. 490, was introduced and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which both Congressmen are members.

J. Patrick Cave, president of the Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure, called the bill an important milestone on the march to securing the worlds greatest infrastructure for this nation. Infrastructure is not just an economic boon. It boosts national security at a time of heightened threats around the world.

Americas infrastructure is long overdue for critical repairs and needed advancements, said Rep. Webster. This bank will work with state and local partners to facilitate private infrastructure investments, creating a much-needed mechanism for projects to access necessary funding.

"Our rapid growth in Texas requires us to use every tool we can to invest in our infrastructure so our economy can grow an we can remain competitive," said Rep. Allred. "This bipartisan bill will create a national infrastructure bank, modeled after similar banks in states across the country to leverage the private sector to spur sustained, long-term investment to create jobs and help meet our infrastructure needs. I am proud to join my fellow Transportation & Infrastructure Committee colleague Congressman Webster on this bill and look forward to working together to invest in our infrastructure."

Even after funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates that at least another $2 trillion is needed to bring U.S. infrastructure up to acceptable levels  and much more to become the global leader. According to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. ranks 12th in transportation infrastructure and 23rd for water and electricity infrastructure.

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While federal infrastructure investment is critical, said Rep. Webster, the current level of resources from the federal government will not address Americas current infrastructure needs on its own.

The new bank will attract investments from around the world and provide long-term debt financing and loan guarantees for bridges, tunnels, ports, the electric grid, broadband connectivity, energy pipelines and storage facilities, rail, airports, dams, water treatment, and, says the bill, any other infrastructure project which the Bank identifies as providing a public benefit.

The legislation encourages private investment for initial capitalization of the bank through limited tax incentives. The bill requires that at least 10% of the banks loans go to rural areas. Loans to any foreign country are prohibited, and China, its Communist Party and military are not permitted to invest. The Federal Reserve will oversee the bank, which will not take deposits or be engaged in any activities beyond infrastructure investment.

A major feature of the bank will be working with state infrastructure banks, most of which are now moribund, to invest in worthy projects throughout the nation.

In contrast to other infrastructure bank proposals, said Cave, this legislation establishes a nationally chartered bank that is entirely capitalized by private investment, with a board appointed by shareholders and no taxpayer dollars at risk.

The Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure is a 501(c)(6) organization whose role is to support the financing of infrastructure in the United States and to promote the common business interests of businesses that would benefit from increased federal financial support for infrastructure development in the United States.

Contact Details

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+1 202-445-9858

elizabeth@eahstrategiesllc.com

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View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/alliance-hails-the-introduction-of-a-bipartisan-bill-to-establish-a-nationally-chartered-private-bank-to-boost-infrastructure-investments-in-the-u-s-860256755
By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc illegally threatened to withhold raises and benefits from workers at two New York City warehouses if they voted to unionize, a judge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled.

In a decision issued on Monday, Administrative Law Judge Benjamin Green said Amazon supervisors told workers that they would miss out on regularly scheduled raises and improved benefits if the company was forced into lengthy union negotiations.

U.S. labor law prohibits employers from making threats or promises in order to discourage unionizing.

Workers at Amazon's JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last April, a first for the company in the United States. In May, employees at a smaller nearby storage facility rejected a union campaign.

Green said Amazon also violated federal labor law in 2021 by removing a post from an internal message board asking workers to sign a union-backed petition to make Juneteenth a paid holiday.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did the ALU.

The board's general counsel, which acts as a prosecutor, is trying to use the case to convince the five-member board to ban mandatory anti-union meetings. So-called "captive audience" meetings have for decades been a common tool used by employers to discourage unionizing.

Green did not rule on that issue because administrative judges cannot make new legal precedent. But the board will likely take up the issue if Amazon appeals.

Amazon has faced dozens of complaints from workers and the ALU as the union attempts to organize warehouses across the country. The company has generally denied wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, an NLRB official rejected Amazon's bid to overturn the results of the JFK8 election. The company said it intends to appeal that ruling to the board.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Mark Potter)
Editors note: The opinions expressed in our op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

Today, the results of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2022 have been published. Ukraine received 33 points out of 100 possible. Our score has increased by one point, and now Ukraine ranks 116th out of 180 countries in the CPI.

This year's corruption perception survey came amid high-profile arrests that rocked Ukraine in the first month of the year. After all, this is the hunt for the corrupt senior officials that Ukrainian society has longed for.

Anti-corruption institutions work steadily, despite the continuity of Russia's ongoing war, and do it quite effectively. But we have to admit, they still have a lot of work to do.

What influenced the Ukrainian results in the new CPI, how did the fight against corruption take place during the war, and what are the prospects of our country?

Let's discuss this in detail.

War and anti-corruption. What do CPI results mean?

Ukraine has shown stable growth within the last 10 years.

During this time, we added 8 points to our score. Yes, it is difficult to call this a surge, but it can definitely be considered a confident movement forward.

We need to remember that the one point we added was following the results of the most difficult year in the history of our country.

Today, we tied our all-time highest score in the Index, according to the new methodology (the same was in 2020, but you must agree, the circumstances were entirely different back then).

Since the time of corrupt pro-Russian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his associates, who actually turned the institution of power into a criminal group to steal state money, we have made a very tangible step forward.

Just look back on the times before the EuroMaidan Revolution, when all information was closed, officials filed printed asset declarations as they pleased, and procurement took place on paper behind closed doors  this was the reality in which the country lived 10 years ago.

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And over this decade, not only have we emerged as a state, but we also created a number of leading electronic tools (Prozorro, the Prozorro.Sale e-declaration system, E-health) and built the country's anti-corruption infrastructure from scratch.

It should also be understood that since it is the perception of corruption that is measured, and not its actual level (it cannot be measured), the situation with a sharp increase is rather extraordinary than expected, especially in the midst of a long war.

The course of modernizing the state and restoring order can be seen from how the current personnel improves the already existing elements of the state system, or at least not worsen them.

Here is just a brief analysis of what was implemented based on our recommendations in 2022 and what might have influenced our score in this year's CPI.

 The completion of the competitions to anti-corruption infrastructure bodies  partially implemented

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office head was finally appointed during the summer, which added power to the anti-corruption infrastructure.

The competition in which the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Director is to be elected is moving ahead.

However, electing the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency is still stalled.

This is bad because one of the agency's specialties is the manage seized Russian assets, and the presence of an effective and honest leader would improve the situation.

 Adoption of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and its implementation program  partially implemented

There is finally a strategy, but there is no state anti-corruption program to implement it.

The public calls on the government to finally approve it and not consider dubious changes from bodies that want to protect dubious practices.

 Continuation of privatization  implemented. Ensuring transparent accounting of public property  not implemented

And if everything is clear and positive with the former, then as far as the latter is concerned, Ukraine definitely needs to change the legislation to strengthen control over the data on property possessed.

 Public procurement oversight  partially implemented

The January scandal with overpayments on food procurement for the military is an example of the abuse of simplifications in the procurement procedure that took place during the war.

Appealing to the issue of security and urgency since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, procuring entities can sign direct agreements and not publish them online.

As we can see, it's pretty harmful. Thus, the visibility and transparency of procurement need to be restored.

 Reform of the Constitutional Court  not implemented

Despite the opinion of the Venice Commission and the indignation of public experts, President Volodymyr Zelensky did sign law 7662.

This law not only can raise doubts about the results of the work of the Advisory Group of Experts, which will elect the Constitutional Court judges but also allow dishonest judges to be elected to this crucial institution.

Unless the situation changes, this is a direct path to establish full government control over the Constitutional Court.

What Are the Prospects?

It should be noted that some of these recommendations were implemented under martial law  it was in 2022, the new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office head was appointed, and the Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2021-2025 was adopted, albeit without several important provisions.

However, the war still made it somewhat difficult to fight corruption.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the whole country has experienced a great shock. This concerned not only people but also state institutions.

From the first days of the war, all information was concealed. When the first shock passed, access to the data gradually began to be restored, but so far, this is not enough.

Yes, the war posed the most important challenge to Ukraine  survival. And we coped with it.

Our defenders have shown the entire world that they are not only able to resist the enemy but also are far superior to them in the strength of will, dedication, and professionalism.

However, at the same time, Russia's armed aggression exposed other challenges, in particular, it pointed to the need to continue overcoming the internal enemy  corruption.

It is sometimes visible at the local level  yes, even during the war, there are people who can use this bitter time to their advantage.

But the January wave of corruption scandals will most certainly discourage officials from participating in schemes and taking bribes. Our anti-corruption system shows that punishment will certainly catch up with the dishonest.

The anti-corruption ecosystem has survived, surrounded by Russian troops and under massive shelling, but that doesn't mean it's working at full capacity.

We still have a long way to go.

Namely to complete the competitions for the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency and choose professional, honest, and, most importantly, independent leaders.

To consider all previous shortcomings and start a competition for the head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (the next head should be appointed in January 2024). This will greatly strengthen the capacity of the anti-corruption infrastructure.

We must also open up databases where it is possible and doesn't harm our security and defense interests.

And to restore accountability of all authorities  submission of financial reports of political parties and electronic declarations and their verification by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

We must understand that not only the results of the Corruption Perceptions Index but also the effectiveness of the reconstruction of our country and the success of future European integration depend on the transparency and accountability of the authorities and the effective work of our anti-corruption institutions.

We, as a country, chose our path a long time ago, and this is the choice our defenders and every Ukrainian bravely fight for every day.
PROVIDENCE  A small crowd gathered at the south steps of the State House on Monday night to remember a Black man killed by police officers.

This time his name was Tyre Nichols, beaten in Memphis by five police officers on Jan. 7 and dying of his injuries three days later. Others have suffered similar fates. George Floyd, who died with a knee on his neck. Eric Garner, who died with an arm around his neck.

While the names and the places change, the end result is the same, a series of speakers said at a vigil gathered by the Black Lives Matter RI political action committee to remember this Black man from Memphis.

Jim Vincent, immediate past president of the Providence branch of the NAACP, said he was on the State House steps yet again calling for the General Assembly to repeal the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. Had Nichols been killed in Rhode Island, the five officers charged with his death would have been put on paid leave instead of being fired immediately, Vincent said.

Harrison Tuttle, executive director of Black Lives Matter RI PAC, the organizer of Monday evening's candlelight vigil for Tyre Nichols, addresses the gathering as he stands with community, religious and political leaders at the State House.

Rhode Island is among only 14 states that maintain a bill of rights for law enforcement officers, and the only state in New England, he said.

"The time is now, and now is the time," he said.

Former state Sen. Cynthia Mendes said she had been in contact with Memphis City Council Member J.B. Smiley and urged those assembled to sign up to call and to email their support when the time comes.

State Sen. Tiara Mack, who sponsored a bill to repeal the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, said the killings are not the only violence experienced in the community.

A lack of a living wage, a deficit of affordable housing, forcing people to live outside in the cold, are all forms of violence and are perpetuated, she said.

Patricia Poitevien of Barrington stands with her sons Noah LeBlanc, left, and Julien LeBlanc as they listen to speakers at Monday evening's candlelight vigil for Tyre Nichols.

For former state Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, Nichols' death was a reminder of the instructions she still gives to her grown sons, like telling her tallest, 6'3", when he was in school to not stand too close to white teachers so as not to intimidate them.

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"This is the burden on Black mothers," she said.

Nichols was just trying to get home when he was stopped, she said, calling to the audience.

"What was he trying to do?" she called.

"Get home," the crowd responded.

What happened to Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023

Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, three days after at least five Memphis police officers beat him following a traffic stop. Five officers were fired on Jan. 20, then indicted a week later on charges of second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping. The Police Department released videos from the incident on Jan. 27.

More:Tyre Nichols case reignites conversations among lawmakers on federal police legislation

The videos show Memphis police officers brutally beating Nichols, shouting expletives and using pepper spray and a baton on him while he called out for his mother. Police struck Nichols at least 13 times, kicking his face, side and head, punching his head and chest, and striking him with a baton. Three released videos came from officers' body cameras and another came from a pole-mounted surveillance camera on the street.

After the beating, as Nichols sat propped up against a police car moaning in pain, the officers gathered nearby, calling Nichols names, checking on each other and laughing. Nichols, an avid skateboarder and FedEx worker who had a 4-year-old son, was hospitalized in critical condition after he was beaten.

The vigil for Nichols came the same day as news broke that a sixth police officer was placed on leave in connection with his death.

'This was criminal': Former Memphis police officers arrested, face murder charges in Tyre Nichols' death

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

Material from USA Today was used in this report. Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Vigil for Tyre Nichols at RI State House protests loss, seeks RI change
(Reuters) -Armenia on Tuesday asked President Vladimir Putin to take a tougher line on Nagorno-Karabakh and for Russian peacekeepers to end what it calls Azerbaijan's blockade of the only road leading to the enclave.

Armenia said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had spoken to Putin about the resulting humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and had "highlighted" the importance of Russia taking the necessary steps to overcome it.

"In this context, reference was made to the activities of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh," the Armenian government said in a statement.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a first war in the early 1990s.

Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yerevan says the protesters are government-backed agitators. Baku denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.

The Kremlin said Armenia had asked for the call.

"The current situation around Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of consistent implementation of the entire complex of trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan," it said.

Later on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed "ways to resolve the situation around the Lachin corridor," in a telephone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.

Lavrov said Russia was ready to mediate the standoff, according a readout from Russia's foreign ministry.

In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the enclave after a second war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire upheld by Russian peacekeepers.

Armenia has made a series of increasingly blunt public demands of Russia over the blockade in recent weeks. Pashinyan last month said Russian peacekeepers were failing to perform their duties.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn, David Ljunggren and Jonathan Oatis)
PORT ST. LUCIE  With the help of the Florida Highway Patrol and Facebook, Port St. Lucie police found a man investigators said stole a van with a 55-year-old nonverbal man in it before ditching the vehicle in a residential area of the city.

John Peloquin, 46, of New Hampshire, was arrested Tuesday on charges including grand theft of a vehicle and abuse of a disabled adult.

Investigators said Peloquin on Monday took a Dodge Caravan that a worker at a group home left running as the group home worker stopped at a liquor store on Southwest Bayshore Boulevard and bought alcohol, Assistant Chief Richard Del Toro said.

The 55-year-old nonverbal man, who uses a wheelchair, was inside the vehicle.

Police later learned the caretaker at the group home had been taking the man to an establishment in St. Lucie West.

Police were called about the incident about 1:55 p.m. Monday.

Investigators quickly circulated an image of the Dodge Caravan and of the man who they said absconded with it.

About 4 p.m., police were called by a resident who reported seeing a vehicle matching the description. It was recovered on South Naranja Avenue near Floresta Drive with the 55-year-old man in it unharmed.

Family remembers homicide victim:'Beautiful soul, life of the party'

Del Toro said a sergeant saw the surveillance photo of the suspect, and said he thought hed encountered the man  later identified as Peloquin  earlier in the morning in the area of a gas station on Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard.

He (the sergeant) didn't get the guy's name, but the guy had told him he had an encounter with Florida Highway Patrol the night before, Del Toro said.

The encounter apparently involved a disturbance at a plaza on Floridas Turnpike, and FHP documented the mans name, police said.

Port St. Lucie crime scene detectives search the van that had been reported stolen with a wheelchair-bound man inside at the intersection of Floresta Drive and South Naranja Avenue on Monday, Jan 30, 2023, in Port St. Lucie. The van was left there with the man inside, whom police said is OK.

Del Toro said an FHP official had dropped off the man at a fast food eatery on Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard. That restaurant is across the street from the gas station where the sergeant encountered him.

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Later in the day, he walked northbound on Bayshore Boulevard and stole the vehicle, Del Toro said.

Del Toro said a detective found Peloquin on Facebook and sent him a private message.

At first the suspect pretended not to know what was going on, what incident he was talking about, wanting to know if the detective was a police officer, Del Toro said.

The detective sent a photo of himself in uniform, and basically said this isn't a game we need to talk about what happened.

Investigators went to Port Salerno where Peloquin was, and Del Toro said police got a full confession.

Del Toro said Peloquin expressed remorse.

He described it as a crime of opportunity, saw the vehicle running did not realize anybody was in the vehicle until he drove north on Bayshore, Del Toro said.

Del Toro said Peloquin pulled off in an area where he thought the vehicle would be noticed. He left it running and went to a nearby Wawa store and got a ride to Port Salerno.

He didn't intend to steal the vehicle with a person inside of it, Del Toro said. But he did leave a disabled individual unattended.

New K-9 team:Bloodhound, therapy dog on duty at Martin County Sheriff's Office

As for the man driving the van, 65-year-old Ernso Oge was arrested on a charge related to abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great harm, police said.

(Oge) was responsible for a disabled adult, left the gentleman in the vehicle running unattended, Del Toro said. Going into a liquor store is not what I would consider a stop that has to happen.

Del Toro said Peloquin was trying to find some help from a church that could get him back to New Hampshire.

He stole the vehicle to drive to this church, and while driving to the church, he realized there's somebody in the back here, and 'this isn't working out the way I thought', Del Toro said.

Peloquin was held Tuesday in the St. Lucie County Jail on $10,000 bond, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest breaking news and crime coverage.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Police arrest New Hampshire man after theft of van with man inside
Jan. 31ATHENS  A controversial asphalt plant planned for property that once was part of the city can't be blocked by the Athens City Council because it voted to de-annex the property in 2020.

Citizens and the City Council have called on the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to deny the property owner's request for an air permit, but an initial ADEM review suggests Grayson Carter & Son Contracting Inc. has met the agency's requirements to build the asphalt plant on 7 acres at 18736 Moyers Road, between Lucas Ferry Road and Hine Street.

Greg Chandler has lived with his wife on a private drive off Moyers Road since 2004 and said the plant would be located about a mile from his home. He said he has several concerns about the proposed plant.

"I'm concerned about the heavy use on the road of the asphalt trucks, the emissions that would be coming out of the plant, as well as a decrease in our property value," Chandler said.

Chandler said there is more than one reason he believes his property value would decrease.

"I think that the heavy use of the trucks along the road would be something that would take away from the attractiveness of the neighborhood for a buyer to come in," he said. "If there was a stench that came from the factory, the houses in that area would certainly be impacted by that."

Ron Gore, head of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management's air quality division, said Friday was the last day for public comment to ADEM for or against an air permit for the plant.

"Several weeks ago, the department wrote a document that included a proposed air permit because ADEM had determined that the application met all of ADEM's requirements," he said Monday.

Gore said the agency received 40 to 50 comments on the proposed permit but only a few addressed issues that could be taken into account by ADEM during the permitting process. He said ADEM's permit is not a zoning permit.

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"A lot of people mistakenly think that ADEM can take into account factors like quality of roads, aesthetics, noise, property values in whether a permit should be issued," Gore said.

Gore said it could be anywhere from one to three weeks before ADEM will issue a final determination on whether the permit has been approved.

"Because we got so many comments, we have to prepare a written response to the technical questions and the ones that aren't relevant," he said. "Of course, the response to the ones that aren't relevant will just be that, that they're certainly important questions for the community but not part of our decision-making process."

Gore said ADEM will check to see if any of the relevant comments are valid.

"For example, somebody found some article, that was originally in Arabic, that was translated and said that you shouldn't locate one of these plants near a community," he said. "It may not be correct or change our minds, but it is relevant to be checked out. So that's one of the reasons it'll take us a few days to go through that type of comment."

Chandler is not only concerned about the stench from the plant but also what will be released into the air.

"I know that the Alabama environmental department will do a study on that, but I'm concerned that once the plant goes in it may not be regulated and checked like it should be," he said.

Randy Thomason, Grayson Carter & Son Contracting chief financial officer, said the plant's emissions will be heavily regulated by both the federal and state governments.

"ADEM, which is the state government, have extremely high standards for pollution and environmental concerns," he said Monday. "In order to have a facility you have to meet their standards and if you meet their standards there would be no negative impact for the surrounding area from an environmental or pollution standpoint."

Thomason said ADEM will continue to do inspections while the plant is in operation.

"The ADEM permit is a continual permit, it's not a one-time thing," he said. "There will be regular monitoring from ADEM as a part of the permit."

Thomason said the company is committed to working with the county and the city to keep the road maintained with the added heavy traffic. He said his company respects the concerns of the citizens, but it is in compliance with all federal and state regulations.

De-annexation

Until 2020, the city of Athens had significant control over the land's use through its zoning code.

The site borders Athens city limits and at one time was in the city. On Dec. 14, 2020, the Athens City Council approved a resolution to de-annex 81.86 acres so the land could be excavated.

According to a Jan. 17 letter to ADEM from Halston Carter, president of Grayson Carter & Son Contracting, his company had been excavating the land for two years before being notified by the city that its use of the land violated a city ordinance. The company responded by proposing de-annexation of the land on Nov. 24, 2020, and the council approved the de-annexation Dec. 14, 2020.

Harold Wales, Athens council president and District 2 councilman, said in a special council meeting Friday that he reluctantly voted in favor of the de-annexation.

"The reason that it needed to be de-annexed, or so I was told, is they could not pull the dirt away from that site and it being in the city without a lot of other red tape," he said. "It was going to be used, most of it, here in the city at our park, at our new school, etc., etc. That's why I changed my mind on the de-annexation because I was not going to vote for it unless I had been told that."

Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said none of the dirt excavated from the site was used in the city.

Wales said he was told the site would eventually become a subdivision.

"I was led to believe that there would be houses over there; now it's an asphalt plant," he said. "The asphalt plant I strongly oppose at that location."

Dana Henry, District 4 Athens councilwoman, said after the meeting that she voted for the de-annexation based on the information they had at the time.

"We had nothing that led us to believe that an asphalt plant would ever be in the plans and I do not believe it was at that time," she said. "It was our understanding that once the dirt was moved and that site was no longer useful for that dirt, they would likely annex back into the city and do a large lot residential area."

Wayne Harper, District 5 Athens city councilman, agreed.

"I think all of us were in the same boat as far as what we thought," he said. "I would have never voted for this if I had known this plant was coming."

In his Jan. 17 letter to ADEM, Carter said the plan at the time of the de-annexation was to resume excavation of the land and eventually return it to its agricultural use.

In the letter, Carter said a decision was made in September to instead construct an asphalt plant.

Resolution

The Athens City Council on Friday unanimously approved a resolution, which was sent to ADEM, opposing approval of an air permit for the plant.

"The city council finds that the placement of an asphalt plant at such location would be inappropriate," the resolution says. "The city council finds that the presence of the asphalt plant at this location would result in odors and emissions that could be detrimental to the public health and welfare, and would constitute a public nuisance."

The resolution also mentions that there would be a negative impact on nearby property values and that heavy traffic would damage the roadways.

"For reasons stated in this document, the city council strongly opposes ADEM's issuance of an air permit for an asphalt plant at 18736 Moyers Road, and urges ADEM to deny that permit," the resolution says. "The city council calls upon Grayson Carter & Son Contracting, Inc. ... to reconsider its current plan in light of the concerns expressed in this resolution, and to withdraw its application for an air permit for an asphalt plant."

Henry said the plant should be located somewhere else.

"I realize that asphalt plants have to exist and they have to be used but they can be better located in places that don't have such direct impact on residential areas," she said. "The plant would literally have been in these people's backyards when it could have been located someplace elsewhere without having such a direct bearing on residential areas."

Gore said the resolution was one of the few relevant comments submitted to ADEM and will be reviewed carefully.

"But merely the fact that it was the Athens City Council doesn't give any more weight than anybody else's comments because it's not in their jurisdiction," he said, since the de-annexation.

Thomason said Grayson Carter & Son has not established a construction timeline, assuming the air permit is approved.

"There's other work to be done in terms of site preparation. We kind of have to take it step by step so we have to have one thing done before we can move to the next; we don't have a definitive schedule," he said.

erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.
Austin Butler with Vanessa Hudgens in 2014, Austin Butler with Kaia Gerber in 2022; Austin Butler with Olivia DeJonge in 2022. Amanda Edwards/WireImage/Getty Images, Matt Winkelmeyer/MG22/Getty Images, Jeremy Chan/Getty Images.

Austin Butler has been in a relationship with model Kaia Gerber since late 2021.

Previously, Butler dated Vanessa Hudgens for nine years between 2011 and 2020.

The Oscar-nominated actor has also been romantically linked to his "Elvis" costar Olivia DeJonge.

Butler dated Vanessa Hudgens for nine years between 2011 and 2020.

Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler at the premiere of "The Shannara Chronicles" at iPic Theaters on December 4, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images

According to the Daily Mail, Butler and Hudgens were first introduced to one another on the set of the very first "High School Musical," in 2005, although Butler did not appear in the film or any of its sequels. He did, however, appear in the spinoff, "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure."

Hudgens was dating her costar Zac Efron at that time, but sometime in 2010 they split and the following year she and Butler were first romantically linked.

They kept things pretty lowkey during their first few years together, with Butler not making an appearance on Hudgens' Instagram feed until August 2014 when "The Princess Switch" star shared a birthday tribute to the actor and referred to him as "the love of my life."

Appearing at the premiere of his 2019 film "The Dead Don't Die," just months before their reported split, Butler referred to Hudgens as his "rock."

More recently, the actor confirmed that Hudgens was the one to push him to pursue the role of Elvis Presley in the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic for which he has now received an Oscar and BAFTA nomination, telling The Los Angeles Times: "I owe her a lot for believing in me."

In January 2020, Us Weekly reported that the pair had broken up after nine years together.

The former couple did not respond to Insider's request for comment at the time, but Butler did address the breakup when asked about it in a GQ interview last year. He said: "Life is full of changes, and you've got to find a way to constantly be evolving and growing."

It's rumored that Butler and his "Elvis" costar Olivia DeJonge struck up a romance while shooting the movie in Australia in 2020.

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Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge attend the Australian premiere of "Elvis" at Event Cinemas Pacific Fair on June 04, 2022, in Gold Coast, Australia. Chris Hyde/Getty Images

DeJonge played Priscilla Presley in the critically acclaimed movie, so it's no surprise to hear that the two costars spent a lot of time together during their time in Australia shooting the movie in 2020.

In November 2020, the two were seen enjoying a day out at the beach together in photos obtained by MailOnline, sparking speculation that there was more than friendship between the two of them.

However, the nature of their relationship and when it possibly started and ended has never been addressed. Given that the two stars carried out the press tour and subsequent Oscar campaign for "Elvis" together, it seems like they are still on good terms.

Butler was photographed kissing Lily-Rose Depp in August 2021.

Austin Butler and Lily-Rose Depp at The Hollywood Reporter Sundance Studio At Rock & Reilly's on January 24, 2016. John Parra/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Butler and French-American actor and model Lily-Rose Depp  the daughter of Johnny Depp  were together in 2021 for an unknown length of time.

The two were photographed embracing each other outside of a London restaurant on August 9, 2021, per MailOnline. They had previously met at an event hosted by The Hollywood Reporter at Sundance Film Festival five years prior in 2016.

However, the two were never spotted together again, and by the end of the year, Butler had entered into another relationship.

Four months later, Butler began dating Kaia Gerber. The two have been together ever since.

Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber attend the 2022 Met Gala. Matt Winkelmeyer/MG22 / Contributor / Getty Images

In December 2021, Butler and Kaia Gerber  who is the daughter of iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford and business mogul Rande Gerber  were spotted attending a yoga class and heading to Los Angeles airport together, sparking speculation that they were an item.

While the couple never confirmed the rumors, in March 2022 they attended W Magazine's annual pre-Oscars Best Performances party together. The Instagram account for the outlet shared a photo of them that showed Butler planting a kiss on Gerber's cheek and referred to the actor as Gerber's "boyfriend" in the caption.

Gerber was by Butler's side for his entire "Elvis" press tour and subsequent award ceremonies, including the premiere at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival and the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, where picked up the award for best actor.

In a backstage video captured by journalist Alexandre Maras and posted to Instagram, the two can be seen embracing after Butler walked off stage following his win.

Read the original article on Insider
By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - The defence chiefs of the United States and South Korea vowed on Tuesday to expand military drills and boost nuclear deterrence planning to counter North Korea's weapons development and prevent a war.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Seoul for talks as Washington seeks to reassure a key Asian ally over its nuclear commitment amid growing threats from North Korea.

Austin met South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup, following their annual security talks in Washington in November, and was set to meet President Yoon Suk-yeol before flying to the Philippines.

"In order to realise peace through strength on the Korean peninsula, we pledged to expand the scale and elevate the levels of the combined exercises and training," Lee told a joint news conference.

The latest meeting of the two came as South Korea pushes to bolster confidence in American extended deterrence - its military capability, especially nuclear forces, to deter attacks on its allies.

Austin said his trip aimed to deepen co-operation on tackling shared security challenges and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to South Korea as "ironclad" at a time of heightened tension and provocation.

"The United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment that includes the full range of U.S. defence capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defence capabilities," he told the conference.

Meeting with Austin later, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed the need for discussions between the allies to evolve an effective and powerful system of extended deterrence, so helping to dispel the concerns of the South Korean people.

"North Korea's nuclear threats continue to escalate day by day," Yoon added, according to a statement from his office.

Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

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Officials from both the United States and South Korea have also warned Pyongyang could be preparing for its first test of a nuclear device since 2017.

The North's evolving threats have revived calls from some politicians and experts in South Korea to bring back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons or even a South Korean nuclear programme, though Seoul officials dismissed such a possibility.

In a joint statement, the defence chiefs added that they had also committed to expand this year's combined military exercises, and deploy more U.S. strategic assets, such as aircraft carriers and bombers.

NUCLEAR DRILLS

More than 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty.

Pyongyang has denounced the joint drills as proof of the allies' hostile intentions, and has staged its own military shows of force.

Lee has said the two countries will hold nuclear tabletop exercises in February in a scenario of North Korean nuclear attacks, as they move to improve joint nuclear planning and implementation and boost information sharing.

Austin said the table-top exercises would ensure that the allies saw "eye-to-eye" on their response to North Korea.

The exercises are in line with the allies' talks to expand extended deterrence activities and mechanisms on the peninsula and in the region, he added.

South Korea has faced growing pressure to join U.S.-led efforts to counter the rising influence of China, and help Ukraine battle Russia.

While visiting Seoul on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea to increase military support to Ukraine.

He cited other nations that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict following Russia's invasion.

Asked about Stoltenberg's comments, Lee said he was monitoring the situation but declined to elaborate on any military support for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Josh Smith and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence Fernandez)
SYDNEY (Reuters) -The trade ministers of Australia and China will hold a virtual meeting next week, Australia's trade minister, Don Farrell, told broadcaster ABC in an interview on Tuesday.

The meeting between China's Wang Wentao and Farrell would be the first between the commerce and trade ministers of both nations in three years.

Relations between the two countries are improving after years of strained ties.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 summit last November. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said it was a "step-by-step process", and Canberra has urged Beijing to lift sanctions on a raft of Australian exports.

Canberra has two complaints at the World Trade Organisation against China's tariffs on Australian wine and barley, and is watching to see whether Beijing lifts unofficial trade blockages on other Australian exports, including lobsters and meat.

"We want these trade impediments removed and next week I have organised to speak with my Chinese counterpart virtually, to start the ball rolling," Farrell said in an interview with ABC's 7:30 Report on Tuesday.

This month, several Chinese utilities received permission to begin importing Australian coal, more than two years after China put unofficial bans on coal, rock lobsters and other commodities.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Alasdair Pal, Stephen Coates and Gerry Doyle)
Austria and Hungary have agreed not to send military assistance to Ukraine, Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and her Hungarian counterpart Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said at a meeting in Budapest on Jan. 30, cited by Euractiv.

According to the top officials, both countries' position regarding Russia's war against Ukraine is "clear" as they don't provide Ukraine with defense assistance "to prevent a further escalation."

Szalay-Bobrovniczky added that Hungary would only supply humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Jan. 29 that it is important for Ukraine to continue receiving military support from partners at the same pace as Russia seeks to "prolong the war, exhaust our forces."

Germany, Poland, Spain, the U.S., and the United Kingdom have all publicly pledged to send tanks to Ukraine following Zelensky's months-long requests for more sophisticated weapons to defeat Russia.

Vadym Omelchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to France, said that western countries had pledged a total of 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine so far.

On Jan. 19, nine European nations signed a joint statement known as the Tallinn Pledge, committing to providing Ukraine with the support it needs to liberate all its territory currently occupied by Russia.

In late January, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said that Ukraine was a no man's land and compared it to Afghanistan. After that, Foreign Ministry summoned Hungary's ambassador to Ukraine.

Polish RMF FM reported on Jan. 19, citing a high-ranking EU diplomatic source, that Budapest had blocked half a billion euros worth of military aid in the seventh such package allocated to Ukraine as part of the European Peace Facility.

In December, Hungary also held up the EU's 18 billion macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine. Media reports alleged that the EU saw it as Budapest's attempt to force the EU to release aid to Hungary, which had been frozen due to the country's insufficient reforms.
Phoenix, AZ - (NewMediaWire) - January 31, 2023 - Choosing the right enterprise cloud-based phone system for a business can be a daunting task, with many factors to consider and numerous vendors to choose from. Ucaas Review simplifies this process by providing detailed reviews of different vendors, based on the most important metrics. This way, businesses can easily compare and select a personalized phone system provider that best meets their communication and performance needs, ultimately saving them money and improving their functionality and team performance. Discover a Professional Cloud-Based Phone System Today For businesses looking to improve communication by implementing cloud-based solutions, there are many ways of making it happen. One of the ways is hiring the services of a reliable cloud-based phone system company. The problem is finding a reliable cloud-based phone system service provider. 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Establishing the difference between UCaaS and VoIP services, the website reads: "UCaaS and VoIP vary in different major ways. A VoIP phone service is typically a voice service provider, both outbound and inbound. On the other hand, UCaaS is typically analyzing various business communications and installing them over Internet Protocol (IP). Another major difference between them is that VoIP is single-mode, while UCaaS is multi-modal: video conferencing, chatting, texting, video meetings, screen sharing, among others. The UCaaS solution makes it possible for companies to unify every business communication they have into a single streamlined platform." The comparison between both communication solutions also noted that UCaaS services make it possible for businesses and enterprises to support various communication services like instant messaging, VoIP, file sharing, video conferencing, and several collaboration tools all in one place instead of just leveraging streamlined voice communication. Businesses unable to decide between UCaaS and VoIP services can also leverage the information on the platform to make a productivity and performance-oriented decision that meets their communication needs. Describing the benefits of UCaaS over VoIP services, the platform noted the eliminated hardware costs required to set up and maintain UCaaS models. With this solution, businesses can effectively cut their overhead communication costs, eliminate maintenance costs, and get all of their communication solutions built into one dashboard. Besides this, UCaaS services offer integration of apps and tools, making it easier for users to explore different communication options, including secure file sharing, video and audio conferencing, and more. UCaaS solutions also provide advanced functionality and online/on-the-go access, which can help enterprises improve their internal and external communication. These solutions also offer managed security updates, which can help ensure that all communication channels are secure and protected against potential threats. UCaaS solutions can also be cost-effective, helping enterprises save money by reducing the need for expensive on-premise hardware and IT staff to manage the system. With the help of advanced call routing and automatic call distribution, UCaaS solutions can also enhance customer service by connecting customers quickly to the right representative. Overall, these solutions can improve productivity and collaboration, allowing employees to work from anywhere and focus on their work, instead of managing multiple communication channels. Ucaas Review understands the importance of getting personalized communication solutions for businesses and enterprises. They, therefore, pay attention to all information provided to ensure they are properly vetted and tailored for their audience. Business owners interested in personalized solutions can also contact the company for expert help in reviewing and assessing their needs as well as the right vendor for those needs. The Ucaas Review website also offers in-depth information on the top UCaaS services, including enterprise VoIP, Business VoIP, SIP Trunking. Call centers, IVR systems, and more. Interested businesses and enterprises can visit the company's website to read detailed reviews for decision-making. They can also contact the experts for custom recommendations. Media Contact: Company Name: Ucaas Review Contact Person: Tom Chambers City: Phoenix State: Arizona Country: US Website: https://ucaasreview.com/en/
Boston Police identify the young boy who was shot and killed in Bostons Mattapan neighborhood on Sunday.

Tyler Lawrence, 13, of Norwood was shot just before 12 p.m. Sunday in the area of 119 Babson St. Officers found Lawrence suffering from multiple gunshot wounds

Police said Boston Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene, but the victim died of his injuries before he could be taken to a hospital. Police have not released a description of the suspect or suspects involved, and investigators are not speculating on a motive in the murder.

Neighbors told Boston 25 News that they heard between three and five gunshots and then saw the teenagers lifeless body in a driveway.

That is somebodys child, said one neighbor, who didnt want her name published. It is just sad how many young people are dying, and its sad that nobody is speaking up.

The Suffolk County District Attorney, Kevin Hayden released a statement following the fatal shooting.

After leaving the scene in Mattapan Sunday I went home and watched football with my son, who is also 13. Thats something this family will never be able to do with Tyler, and the explicit tragedy of that reality is shattering. This is an immeasurable loss for the Lawrence family and for the city, Hayden said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the BPD Homicide Division at 617-343-4470.

Those who wish to remain anonymous can call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-8477 or by texting the word TIP to 27463.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Azerbaijan on Tuesday called on judges at the World Court to order Armenia to help demine areas it previously controlled and stop planting explosive devices which prevent Azeri nationals from returning to their former homes.

Azerbaijan asked the court, as part of an ongoing larger case, to issue an emergency ruling to order Armenia to give information about the location of the devices to allow for safe demining and stop putting in new mines.

"Azerbaijanis are continuing to suffer serious injuries and die because Armenia refuses to share the information that could save them," Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister Elnur Mammadov told the court.

Armenia's representative at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as the tribunal is also known, denied that his country had laid landmines outside its own sovereign territories "let alone in civilian areas".

Yegishe Kirakosyan accused Azerbaijan of planting some of the mines allegedly found in Azeri areas.

On Monday, Armenia asked the court in a competing case to order Azerbaijan to lift a blockade of the Lachin corridor in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Lachin corridor is the only route through which Armenia can provide food, fuel and medicine supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but home to around 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

The corridor has been blocked since Dec. 12, when protesters claiming to be environmental activists stopped traffic by setting up tents. Azerbaijan denies any blockade, saying the activists are staging a legitimate protest against illegal mining activity.

In October 2020, Azeri troops drove ethnic Armenian forces out of swathes of territory they had controlled since the 1990s in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, before Russia brokered a ceasefire.

In the following year Armenia and Azerbaijan filed competing cases at the World Court. Each claimed the other had violated a United Nations anti-discrimination treaty, to which both states are signatories.

It is not known when the judges will issue a decision on measures in both cases but it generally takes at least a few weeks.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Christina Fincher)
Bella Hessey went into cardiac arrest when she was 11 months old (Collect/PA Real Life)

A mother-of-two who watched her 11-month-old daughter take her last gasp of air before going into cardiac arrest and was told by doctors she would not make it has expressed her immense gratitude after her child survived and celebrated her third birthday last year.

Abby Hessey, 26, an operations executive who lives in Bicester, Oxfordshire, said she was preparing for the worst when her daughter Bella, now three years old, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital, in Hampshire, in an ambulance in 2020.

After Bella went into cardiac arrest, Abby said she watched as approximately 30 medical staff tried to resuscitate her baby, and she was given the devastating news that her daughter might not survive the night.

But now, nearly three years later, Bella, who has been described as a bubbly, talkative and happy girl, with a lot of sass, is living a normal life.

I had no hope, didnt think that we would ever make it, didnt think that I would ever be the same because I thought I was going to lose my baby, Abby said.

Its just been a complete 360 life change to be honest  just living a normal life now is amazing compared to what it was going to be.

Bella was born a month early, but she was a healthy, happy, normal baby.

When she was 11 months old, however, she started to develop a rash all over her body and stopped eating and drinking.

Abby took Bella to the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on multiple occasions, but she said Bella was initially misdiagnosed as having an ear and throat infection.

It was not until the fourth hospital visit that Abby was told her daughter had Kawasaki disease, which, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), can be fatal if not treated in time.

NHSBT says Kawasaki disease is one of the main causes of acquired heart disease in children under five in the UK. No one knows what causes Kawasaki disease, but scientists dont believe the disease is contagious from person to person, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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Abby said she was gobsmacked when she received the news.

(PA)

We stayed at the Horton that night and they gave us an ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital very early in the morning to give her the immunoglobulin (the medicine used to treat Kawasaki disease), she said.

It literally worked instantly  her rash had completely gone, she was eating fine, drinking fine, playing, laughing, speaking, which she hadnt done for a week prior.

Once she had that, we were allowed to go home.

Abby took Bella for a check-up two weeks later and was told she would need another dose of immunoglobulin  a solution of antibodies taken from healthy donors  as the disease had not been fully cured.

However, by this point, Bellas heart complications had worsened, and she was suffering from multiple aneurysms  bulges in the blood vessels around her heart.

(PA)

Abby explained that Bellas arteries should have measured 1mm or 2mm in diameter, but Bellas had swelled to 14mm.

Bella was given steroids, blood thinners and injections to prevent blood clots, and at one point, Abby said Bella was taking 12 different medications.

At the next hospital visit, Abby was told Bella would need to be taken to Southampton General Hospital as a matter of urgency  and that is when she feared the worst.

Being taken off in an ambulance to Southampton, it was just heartbreaking, she said.

Obviously my partner wasnt allowed to come with us (due to Covid restrictions); he was constantly calling.

He saw us off in the ambulance, crying, and his parents were there, crying. It was just awful because he thought he was potentially not going to see his little girl again.

(PA)

Abby said she had so many things racing through (her) mind in the ambulance, but she tried to stay positive and said the medical staff were amazing.

Bella remained in hospital for approximately three weeks, and it was during the first week that Bella went into cardiac arrest  a moment Abby remembers vividly.

Abbys partner Luke called the hospital several times, asking if he could visit Bella, and they allowed him to come in just days before it happened.

She was in her high chair and I could see her head going back, her taking a last gasp of air; it was just awful, Abby explained.

They pressed the panic alarm, and then in this tiny little private room in this ward, there was probably 30 people in there trying to get her heart started again.

We went into intensive care once they got a really low heartbeat, and the doctor came over to us and said, Im really sorry, but I dont think shes going to make the night. Just prepare yourself that this is going to be your last day with her.

(PA)

At that point, we were like, oh my goodness, this is it. Weve lost our little girl.

The couple stayed with Bella overnight and, despite the severity of her condition, somehow, she made it.

Bella is now living a normal life, is healthy and happy, and is taking only two medications.

Abby explained that Bella has had several scans since being discharged from Southampton General Hospital, and they have shown that her aneurysms have shrunk and she has no blood clots.

Abby continued: She is almost back to normal; her arteries are just a little bit weaker and slightly deformed, and theres a bit of wall damage in her arteries.

She added: Its amazing. If it wasnt for the immunoglobulin, (I dont think she would) have made it.

Abby would encourage other parents to follow (their) intuition when it comes to their childrens symptoms, as she knew something was wrong with Bella and she is glad she pushed for a diagnosis.

As a mum, you know whats wrong with your baby, she said.

You know if your child has a cold, or if its something more, and dont feel like youre pestering the doctors or healthcare providers if you know somethings wrong.

Just keep going and going and going because, at the end of the day, its your child thats going to be affected by these choices.

Abby and her partner Luke, 29, a painter and decorator, would also encourage anyone to donate plasma, as immunoglobulin, a medicine made from plasma, can help to treat Kawasaki disease.

The pair are going to donate plasma themselves, as they want to continue to raise awareness and try to help others.

Abby believes the medicine gave Bella an extra chance of survival and she feels extremely lucky that she did pull through and make it.

Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day is being held on January 26 2023, and to find out more about plasma and blood donations, visit the NHSBT website here: www.nhsbt.nhs.uk
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence has published an intercepted phone call in which a Russian occupier describes being under attack from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Source: press service of Ukraines Defence Intelligence

Quote:

"Its a f**king mess, yep, Ive already heard about that. Look, Roma, whats the food like at your end? Whatre the conditions like?"

"Dont even f**king ask. Water - two people get one and a half bottles a day, for f**ks sake."

"Thats f**ked up. And f**k-all to eat, right?"

"Yep."

"I can hear shooting where you are."

"Theyre f**king pummelling us non-stop  its a f**king mortar attack."

"Is that your guys shooting?"

"No, the Ukrops [Ukrainians  ed.]. Were 3 f**king kilometres away. Were on the front line. Theyre pounding us so f**king hard the blades are flying off."

"What blades?"

"Blades from the shells. They get all f**king bent - like, into screws."

...

"Of course. Obviously! Our commander and his deputy are Cargo 300 [wounded  ed.] and the guy next to us is Cargo 200 [dead]."

"We got musicians here with us. The musicians are ahead of us [a nickname for Wagner Group mercenaries  ed.]."

"So they have positions in front of you as well?"

"Oh. F**k. Its hell there, Misha. I dont want to talk about it It's all f**ked up. It's basically a meat grinder."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Lex, a beloved K-9 who served with the Penn Hills police department for six years, has died.

In a social media post, Penn Hills police said Lex loved children and thrived during elementary school visits.

He was also a favorite at the Penn Hills Citizens police academy, and enjoyed showing off his skills for the community. The department said Lex always took time to pose for photos with citizens after his demonstrations.

During his career, Lex helped arrest wanted suspects, find drugs and found numerous illegal firearms.

Lex retired in 2020.

Penn Hills police offered condolences to Lexs handler, Sgt. Matthew Junod, and his family.

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President Joe Biden has revealed that his cat, Willow, has no limits when it comes to her amusing sleeping patterns.

On 26 January, the US president hosted a Lunar New Year celebration at the White House where he shared details about his cats certain nighttime habit. While reflecting on how this year is the Year of the Cat in Vietnamese culture, Biden was reminded of his own feline friend.

For many of you, this is the year of the rabbit. And for others, like the Vietnamese community, its the year of the cat, he said during his remarks. The cat  majestic, beloved, a protector. By the way, that sounds like our cat, Willow, Biden added, before he was interrupted by laughter.

You think Im kidding. Willow may walk in here any time now, he said. She has no limitsEspecially in the middle of the night when she climbs up and lays on top of my head.

President Joe Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, welcomed the cat to the White House last year. The three-year-old green-eyed, grey and white tabby cat is the newest addition to the Bidens pet family, and was reportedly named after Dr Bidens hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

The Bidens are also pet parents to a two-year-old German shepherd puppy named Commander. They previously had two other German shepherds, Champ and Major, before adopting Commander in December 2021. However, Champ died in June 2021 at age 13, while Major started behaving aggressively after he arrived at the White House following President Bidens inauguration.

The first family brought Willow to the White House after she jumped on stage during a 2020 campaign stop in Pennsylvania.

Willow made quite an impression on Dr Biden in 2020 when she jumped up on the stage and interrupted her remarks during a campaign stop, the first ladys spokesman Michael LaRosa told The New York Times last year. Seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr Biden.

After welcoming the tabby cat into their pet family, the first lady shared photos of Willow prowling throughout the White House along with the caption, Meet Willow!

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Meanwhile, LaRosa said that Willow was settling into the White House with her favourite toys, treats, and plenty of room to smell and explore.

 Thank you for pawdopting me, mom @FLOTUS! Cant wait to explore the White House in its entirety. So far, everything is purrfect, I love it here and Commander is furry nice to me. I love him. And I love you! Meoweeee! - #COTUS #Willow pic.twitter.com/t3C5jUmXJU  The Oval Pawffice  DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) January 28, 2022

Willow is the first cat to live in the White House since former president George W Bushs cat India lived there between 2001 and 2009. Meanwhile, former president Barack Obamas family adopted dogs Bo and Sunny during his presidency.

Bo, a male Portuguese water dog, was a gift to Obamas daughters Sasha and Malia after his 2008 campaign. After winning his first presidential election, the former president addressed his daughters during his victory speech, saying, I love you both more than you can imagine. You have earned the puppy that is coming with us!
By Dan Peleschuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Russia claimed on Tuesday to have captured a village just to the north of Bakhmut, a city it is trying to surround in a major push for what would be its biggest battlefield prize in Ukraine since last summer.

A Belarusian volunteer fighting for Ukraine told Reuters from inside Bakhmut that Russia was shelling the city constantly and its troops were trying to encircle it. Fighting was under way building by building, the volunteer said.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv to Moscow's claim about the village of Blahodatne, and Reuters was not immediately able to verify the situation there. It came three days after the head of Russia's Wagner Group said the mercenary force had seized the village in an attack Kyiv said it had repelled.

Blahodatne, which sits on one of the main roads into Bakhmut about 5 km (3 miles) north, was captured with the help of aerial support, Moscow's defence ministry said.

Russian forces have made clear, if gradual, advances in the area in recent weeks, notably capturing the salt-mining town of Soledar to Bakhmut's north.

Were it to force Ukraine to withdraw from the city that once held 75,000 people, it would be Moscow's first major gain since it took the similarly-sized cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in July.

During the fighting for Bakhmut, two civilians, a boy and a 70-year-old-man, were killed by Russian artillery on Tuesday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Four others were wounded in the attack, he said.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty said in televised comments that the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut had been provided "with everything necessary," after it repelled Russian attempts to gain control of an important supply line.

Separately, a large Russian force has launched an assault against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar this week, further south along the same eastern front. Russian officials have claimed to have secured a foothold there, while Kyiv says it has largely repulsed that attack so far.

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Britain's Ministry of Defence said the Russian force in the new Vuhledar assault was at least the size of a brigade, a unit typically comprising several thousand troops.

The Russians had advanced hundreds of metres across a river toward Vuhledar and could make more localised gains there, the ministry said in an unusually detailed daily intelligence update. It said the assault on Vuhledar was unlikely to lead to a significant breakthrough, but could be intended to draw Ukrainian efforts away from defending Bakhmut.

MOMENTUM

Despite weeks of intense trench warfare that both sides have compared to a meat grinder, front lines in eastern Ukraine had largely been frozen in place since November after Kyiv recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022.

But momentum has lately swung back towards Russia as it has made incremental gains for the first time since mid-2022.

Military experts say Moscow appears determined to push forward in the coming months before Kyiv receives hundreds of newly pledged Western battle tanks and armoured vehicles for a counter-attack to recapture occupied territory this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia's push in the east as an attempt at "revenge" for earlier losses.

"We will stop them all, little by little, destroy them and prepare our big counteroffensive," he said on Monday.

Kyiv says the Russian assaults of recent weeks have come at huge cost, initially mostly relying on Wagner mercenaries, including thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons and sent into battle in waves with little training or equipment.

But Russia's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists late last year means Moscow has now been able to reconstitute regular military units exhausted or depleted earlier in the war.

Western military experts say Bakhmut is not itself of major strategic importance. But it is one of just a few substantial cities in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region still held by Ukraine. Moscow now says taking the full Donbas is a major objective of the "special military operation" it ordered 11 months ago.

F-16: BIDEN SAYS NO

Since winning the Western pledge for tanks after months of lobbying, Kyiv has pressed on with further requests for arms, including calls for jet fighters such as U.S. F-16s. Neither side has been able to secure control of the skies over Ukraine.

The West has so far refused to send weapons that could be used to attack deep inside Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden responded with a flat "No" when asked by reporters at the White House on Monday if Washington would send F-16s.

Still, Ukraine has held out hope. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday "there is no taboo" when asked about supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. Lecornu spoke after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov in Paris.

Reznikov was due also to meet President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters in The Hague on Monday that "nothing is excluded" when it comes to military help. Macron said any move to send jets would depend on factors including the need to avoid escalation and assurances planes would not "touch Russian soil".

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out a possible supply of F-16s to neighbouring Ukraine, in response to a question from a reporter before Biden spoke.

Morawiecki said on his website that any such transfer would take place "in complete coordination" with NATO. Poland has long called for more aggressive military support for Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Tuesday London did not believe its own jets would be useful, and given that learning to fly them would take months, it would not be practical to send them to Ukraine.

(Reporting by Reuters bureausWriting by Peter Graff and William Maclean; editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Mark Heinrich)
Canary Medias Climate Meets Culture column explores the intersection of energy, climate and the culture at large.

Did you know that the invention of the Super Soaker, one of the worlds bestselling toys, is inextricably tied to the buzzy appliance of the moment, the heat pump?

This fun fact was recently discussed at a Canary all-hands meeting. I was out of the office at the time, completing my familys winter BINGO card (stomach Bug, INfluenza, Gastro issues, cOvid), but given my writings on the heat pumps uncanny resemblance to George Clooney and the debate over its nomenclature, the team decided I was best suited to investigate this intriguing connection.

Before we get to that story, Id like to tell you a little bit about the inventor of the Super Soaker himself, Lonnie Johnson, because his resume is pretty incredible.



Here are just a few of his accolades:

Masters degree in nuclear engineering

U.S. Air Force engineer who worked on the B-2 "stealth" bomber program

NASA systems engineer for both the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn

Inventor of the Super Soaker water gun

Inventor of the Nerf N-Strike dart gun

National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee

Johnson has many other accomplishments as well. I recommend reading this BBC article in which he recounts his fascinating life story.

I chatted with Johnson last week to hear firsthand what heat pumps had to do with the invention of the Super Soaker and to learn more about some of his current work, including the solid-state battery storage company he founded.

But first, I asked Johnson to tell me the story of how he invented the Super Soaker, and he obliged, even though its clearly one hes told hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

It was 1982, and during his off hours from his day job as an engineer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he could often be found at home tinkering and inventing. His pet project at the time was developing a more environmentally friendly heat pump  one that used water in place of Freon. Johnson explained to me that he wanted to put the high water pressure that comes into homes to use as a power source.

Story continues

Johnson, a literal rocket scientist, explained to me how this water-based heat pump would work.

So the idea was for water to come through a nozzle, so that when the water vapor flash evaporates into a low-pressure region, that evaporation process will drop the temperature of the water. When the water temperature is cool, you can transfer heat to it. Then at the bottom, you would recondense the water, but at a higher temperature.

I, not a rocket scientist, nodded along.

So I was experimenting with some nozzles, continued Johnson, and I had a nozzle I made in my shop hooked up to the bathroom sink, and I shot the stream of water across the bathroom, and I thought as a toy, it would be a lot more fun.

After some iterations, Lonnie eventually assembled the original Super Soaker prototype, made of an empty soda bottle, PVC pipe, O-rings and nylon tubing. It would be almost a decade before the prototype became the billion-dollar blockbuster toy we know today.

Over the decades since its launch, Johnson has earned millions of dollars from the Super Soaker and Nerf guns. Most people might be tempted into early retirement, but not Lonnie Johnson.

I thought that I could earn enough money from a toy to support myself and then go back to some of the more challenging projects, he told me about first inventing the Super Soaker. And basically, that's what I've done.

While Johnson was happy to recount this tale, he was much more excited to tell me about those more challenging projects that he is working on now with his two companies JTEC Energy and Johnson Energy Storage, both based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Below is an edited and condensed transcript of the remainder of our conversation.

Mike Munsell: Can you tell me about JTEC Energy?

Lonnie Johnson: What we're working on now is called a Johnson thermoelectric energy converter (JTEC), and it converts heat directly into electricity. Instead of using water as a working fluid, it uses hydrogen. But the really neat thing about it is that it has no moving mechanical parts  its all solid-state.



The other neat thing about the JTEC technology is that it can operate on low-grade waste heat. The low-temperature range of 100200 degrees Celsius is where there's an abundance of waste heat from various industrial processes  even our power plants reject heat at around 100 degrees or so. There's not a technology that can cost-effectively convert that waste heat into electrical power. And so that's the capability that we bring to the table with a JTEC.

Munsell: So what are the use cases you're looking at for JTEC?

Johnson: The primary use case that we're focused on is geothermal. Were in the middle of constructing a 250-kilowatt demonstration unit now. This would be the first time we really scale the technology out. We've done laboratory demonstrations and so forth. But the primary application will be thermal heat.

There is an abundance of abandoned oil wells around the country and the world. And they all have geothermal heat down in the range of 100 to 200 degrees Celsius. That temperature is too low for conventional techniques for converting heat to work, but JTEC can convert that heat to electricity directly and do it more efficiently. And our projections indicate that it would be very cost-effective. It turns out that [using JTEC on] just 20% of the abandoned oil wells in the country could meet all of the U.S. power requirements. So we're very excited about it, to say the least.

Munsell: And you also run a solid-state battery storage company, right?

Johnson: The energy storage company is called Johnson Energy Storage. We've done our seed round of investors  we raised a few million dollars.

I would venture to say that we are one of two, maybe three true solid-state battery companies in the world. People claim they have solid-state, but they're using polymer gel, electrolytes and so forth. Our system is all ceramic, glass and metal materials. We literally have developed a glass electrolyte that will meet the performance requirements of the auto industry. We're in the process of demonstrating that right now. We're basically transitioning the technology out of the lab, making small cells that we can sample to customers so that they can see, indeed, that the technology is real and does what we've been saying it can do. Weve been at this a while  we started working on solid-state batteries back when everybody was excited about lithium-ion.

We began with a solid-state battery technology for microbatteries from Oak Ridge National Lab, and when I did the analysis there, I realized that those batteries could hold a lot more energy than lithium-ion could. But you could only make those batteries with a very expensive, slow process. And you can only make microbatteries  very small cells. So over the years, we've been investigating, researching, trialing  we've just about flipped over every rock  and we've developed proprietary materials that nobody else has. But it's taken that to really come up with a solution.

Munsell: And what makes your technology unique among those handful of companies making actual solid-state batteries?

Johnson: There is one other company that I'm aware of that is working with glass, but theyre not doing what were doing. Our glass is a separated coating on the cathode, but it also extends into the cathode. So we actually have a very fast, straightforward manufacturing technique that allows us to bond a battery to the cathode and separator in a single step. It's pretty cool.

Munsell: So what does your go-to-market plan look like at this point? You said you were working on getting out of the lab  what are the next steps?

Johnson: We're talking to investors now  basically, to start gearing up so we can actually put together a prototype, or demonstration manufacturing line, or however you want to describe it. But right now, the cells are being made in a laboratory by Ph.D.-level scientists by hand, as you would expect. But were starting to get some more sophisticated assembly fixtures so that we can  I wouldn't say automate, but semi-automate, actually have some tools that will allow us to produce consistent yield.

Munsell: Shifting gears a bit  as someone who has been working in science and energy for so long, how has climate change influenced your work?

Johnson: Climate change has been my primary motivator. It's been frustrating that scientists have been aware of the need to address climate change for, geez, many years, going back to the mid-1970s, maybe even sooner. But the politicians and decision-makers have, until now, not seen the need to address the problem. Now it's beginning to overwhelm us in terms of the weather patterns that we see. And so everybody, all of a sudden, is just starting to do something about it. I'm happy that it's finally happening. Hopefully, it's not too late.

Munsell: And that leads me to my next question: As a prolific inventor, someone who has created so much and is still creating, how does that impact your outlook for our future when it comes to climate?

Johnson: Well, we'll deal with it. When I talk to kids, I tell them that human beings are built to be problem-solvers; its what we do best. The impact on humanity remains to be seen. When I say, I hope it's not too late, I'm saying that knowing that the CO 2 levels have gotten to a point where we're in a no man's land, and we don't know what the implications are going to be; the Earth is a large ecosystem. And the ultimate response, I think, remains to be seen. I think there's a lag in terms of how long the warming cycle will last before it turns around and starts to cool again.

Its like turning a rudder on a ship  you can turn the rudder and the ship will start to turn, but it's gonna go a long way before you get going in a new direction. So we're turning the rudder. But what will it take before we actually change the path that we're on, and we start to see the climate begin settling down? We'll see.

Mike Munsell: What advice do you have for Canarys audience, many of whom are renewable energy and climatetech professionals?

Johnson: Well, climate change is an important problem to address; it's probably the most important challenge humanity has faced. It could literally lead to our demise. So I would encourage anyone who has technical interest, and even social interest, because there are a lot of people that need to understand the implications of what we're facing. There's a role for everyone to play in addressing this challenge and getting the resources and problem-solving momentum that we will need to move things in the right direction.

Munsell: Are there any new technologies out there that excite you from a decarbonization or renewable-energy point of view?

Johnson: Yes, my next invention that I haven't talked to you about! I'm working on a project that condenses water from the ambient air. Most of the water-stressed areas around the world have adequate humidity in the air to make the technology work. So I'm looking at how to do that cost-effectively.

Munsell: That sounds really interesting. I look forward to hearing more when more information can be released. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for your contributions to my childhood, my children's childhoods and everything you're doing with energy and everything you've done with spacecraft. You really do have quite the resume!
A group of Black women laughing together

Galentines Day is an annual holiday celebrated on February 13th. Its a day dedicated to celebrating female friendships and showing appreciation for the special women in your life!

And whether youre single, married, or somewhere in-between, Galentines Day is the perfect excuse to get together with your closest friends and celebrate each other.

There are lots of ways to make your Galentines Day celebration special. You could organize a group outing like brunch or dinner at a favorite restaurant, or perhaps plan an activity such as a spa day, wine-tasting adventure or movie night. Or even just get together at one of your homes for some simple snacks and drinks while you catch up with friends.

If youre looking for something a bit more low-key, you could also send out cute cards or create fun Galentines Day decorations. Whatever you decide to do, its important to make your celebration memorable and show your friends how much they mean to you.

A Black Girls Guide To The Perfect Galentines Day

Galentines Day is an opportunity to recognize the importance of female friendships. Its a day to appreciate the special women in our lives who have been there through thick and thin  even if it means just sending them a text message letting them know theyre appreciated! So give the special ladies in your life the flowers they deserve. Here are six must-have Galentines Day supplies to shop now:

Photo Credit: Big Blanket Co.

The Big Blanket Co. Hideout Hoodie can be a great addition to your Galentines Day wardrobe. Not only is it warm, but its extra large size means it can even double as a blanket!

This hoodie is made from premium polyester material, so its super soft and cozy to wear. Plus, its loose fit and thick material helps to keep you comfortable and insulated from the cold.

Wear it to an outdoor concert with your girls, or mix and match colors with your bestie. No matter how you decide to wear it, this hoodie is the best way to keep it cute AND comfy this Galentines Day.

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Photo Credit: uncommon goods

Cooking is a popular Galentines Day activity. Not only is it fun, but it can also be a great way to bond with friends or family members.

Kick off the celebration with this Heart Oven Mitt & Spatula Set from uncommon goods. Each set includes an oven mitt and potholder decorated with tiny pink and red hearts. It also includes a red spatula for stirring, scraping, and mixing.

But this set isnt just adorable, its functional, too. Its oven mitt is made from premium cotton material to provide a layer of insulation that helps to keep your hands safe. Plus, each set includes a hanger loop so you can save storage space by hanging it above your oven or kitchen sink.

Photo Credit: uncommon goods

Friendship necklaces are a popular way to show your love and appreciation for someone special in your life. So why not celebrate your friendship with this Birth Month Flower Necklace from uncommon goods?

Each necklace includes a real pressed flower set in eco-resin for a polished, crystal clear look. It also includes a 24k gold plated chain that can be adjusted for your convenience. Choose a pair for you and your best friend to wear, or gift a necklace to your favorite cousin or Auntie.

Photo Credit: Crate+Barrel

Enjoy classic fun with this vintage-inspired fondue set! The enameled cast iron is perfect for melting cheese, chocolate, or oil on the stovetop. You can then transfer it to the included stand and burner to keep your food toasty. Each set includes eight color-coded forks  perfect for hosting large families or friend groups.

Dip breads and vegetables in your fondue set for an ideal side dish. Or gather around for wine and girl talk as you dunk fresh berries into warm, melted chocolate. No matter what you decide, the Red Cast Iron Fondue Set is a great complement to any Galentines Day party.

Photo Credit: Mr. Chocolate

Jacques Torres is a renowned French chocolatier, patissier, chef, and author. Recognized as Mr. Chocolate, Torres is celebrated for his skill and dedication to making quality chocolates. And fortunately, with his delicious Girls Night In Bundle, you can experience the hype for yourself.

From milk chocolate pretzels to champagne truffles, this bundle provides no shortage of treats to share among friends.

Each order includes:

1-Milk Chocolate Pretzels

1-Dark Chocolate Bark  1/2 lb

1-NY Collection-Apricots & Almonds

1-60% House Blend Bar

1-Caramel Popcorn

1-Tattinger Champagne Truffles 10pc

So why not give it a try? Whether you enjoy your snacks over some much-needed pillow talk or tackle your cravings while watching a romantic comedy, with the Jacques Torres Girls Night In Bundle, you have everything you need and more to make this Galentines Day the best one yet.

Disclaimer:

Our editors love finding you the best products and offers! If you purchase something by clicking on one of the affiliate links on our website, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The post A Black Girls Guide To The Perfect Galentines Day appeared first on 21Ninety.
By Simon Lewis

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shuttled from Israel to the Palestinians' West Bank on Tuesday, appealing for an end to resurgent violence and reaffirming Washington's backing for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

Blinken is urging calm on both sides after last week's killing by a Palestinian gunman of seven people outside a Jerusalem synagogue and anger among Palestinians over actions by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank.

"That's the only way that we can create conditions in which people's sense of security will start to improve," he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

He took that message into a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, warning all parties against any action that could threaten a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

"We've been clear that this includes things like settlement expansion, the legalization of outposts, demolitions and evictions, disruptions to the historic status of the holy sites, and of course incitement and acquiescence to violence."

He said he had heard "deep concern" about the current trajectory in both Israel and the West Bank but also constructive ideas and he had asked senior officials to remain behind to continue talking.

A senior State Department official said the officials staying would be Barbara Leaf, the top department official for the Middle East, and Hady Amr, U.S. special representative for Palestinian affairs.

Blinken's first visit since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power this month at the head of one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history comes at a time of extreme tension between the two sides.

He said Palestinians were facing a "shrinking horizon of hope" that needed to change.

Amid rising anger at near-daily raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank, Abbas' Palestinian Authority (PA) suspended its security cooperation agreement with Israel last week after the largest incursion in years.

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The operation saw Israeli forces penetrate deep into a refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, setting off a gunfight in which 10 Palestinians died.

"The Israeli government is responsible for what is happening today, because of its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements," Abbas said after his meeting with Blinken.

BLOODY JANUARY

In January alone, 35 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, in the bloodiest month since 2015, while officials say attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers have also increased.

The raids have been going on almost daily for months as Israeli forces have stepped up a crackdown on militant groups in the West Bank following a spate of deadly attacks by Palestinians in Israel last year.

Blinken also highlighted U.S. assistance to the Palestinian economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

He said the United States would provide an extra $50 million in funding through the United Nations and that agreement had been reached on providing high speed 4G telecoms services to Palestinians.

Before meeting Abbas, Blinken visited Deir Dibwan, a town near Ramallah that is home to many Palestinian Americans, and met civil society leaders and businesspeople.

Netanyahu has reinforced troops in the West Bank and promised measures to strengthen settlements there, but has said Israel was not looking to escalate the situation.

On Tuesday, Blinken met Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and discussed cooperation to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon as well the situation in the West Bank.

Hopes of achieving a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state based largely in the West Bank, have all but disappeared since the last round of U.S.-sponsored talks stalled in 2014.

The Biden administration has said it would reestablish a consulate for Palestinians shuttered by former President Donald Trump, but has yet to say when or where it will be opened.

(Writing by James Mackenzie;Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Bernadette Baum)
SEATTLE (AP)  Boeing bid farewell to an icon on Tuesday, delivering its final 747 jumbo jet as thousands of workers who helped build the planes over the past 55 years looked on.

Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.

But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.

Thousands of workers joined Boeing and other industry executives from around the world  as well as actor and pilot John Travolta, who has flown 747s  Tuesday for a ceremony in the company's massive factory north of Seattle, marking the delivery of the last one to cargo carrier Atlas Air.

If you love this business, youve been dreading this moment, said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesnt erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy.

Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport  high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range  and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.

It took more than 50,000 Boeing workers less than 16 months to churn out the first 747  a Herculean effort that earned them the nickname The Incredibles. The jumbo jet's production required the construction of a massive factory in Everett, north of Seattle  the world's largest building by volume. The factory wasn't even completed when the first planes were finished.

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Among those in attendance was Desi Evans, 92, who joined Boeing at its factory in Renton, south of Seattle, in 1957 and went on to spend 38 years at the company before retiring. One day in 1967, his boss told him he'd be joining the 747 program in Everett  the next morning.

They told me, Wear rubber boots, a hard hat and dress warm, because it's a sea of mud,'" Evans recalled. And it was  they were getting ready for the erection of the factory.

He was assigned as a supervisor to help figure out how the interior of the passenger cabin would be installed and later oversaw crews that worked on sealing and painting the planes.

When that very first 747 rolled out, it was an incredible time, he said as he stood before the last plane, parked outside the factory. You felt elated  like you're making history. You're part of something big, and it's still big, even if this is the last one.

The plane's fuselage was 225 feet (68.5 meters) long and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building. The planes design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump and inspiring a nickname, the Whale. More romantically, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies.

Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar. One decommissioned 747, originally built for Singapore Airlines in 1976, has been converted into a 33-room hotel near the airport in Stockholm.

It was the first big carrier, the first widebody, so it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it, said Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Pennsylvanias Albright College who specializes in aviation and mobility. It became the essence of mass air travel: You couldnt fill it with people paying full price, so you need to lower prices to get people onboard. It contributed to what happened in the late 1970s with the deregulation of air travel.

The first 747 entered service in 1970 on Pan Am's New York-London route, and its timing was terrible, Aboulafia said. It debuted shortly before the oil crisis of 1973, amid a recession that saw Boeing's employment fall from 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. The Boeing bust was infamously marked by a billboard near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that read, Will the last person leaving SEATTLE -- Turn out the lights.

An updated model  the 747-400 series  arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He took a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.

Even people like me could go see Asia, Aboulafia said. Before, you had to stop for fuel in Alaska or Hawaii and it cost a lot more. This was a straight shot  and reasonably priced.

Delta was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr recalled traveling in a 747 as a young exchange student and said that when he realized he'd be traveling to the West Coast of the U.S. for Tuesday's event, there was only one way to go: riding first-class in the nose of a Lufthansa 747 from Frankfurt to San Francisco. He promised the crowd Lufthansa would keep flying the 747 for many years to come.

We just love the airplane, he said.

Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 freighters early last year, with the final one  emblazoned with an image of Joe Sutter, the engineer who oversaw the 747's original design team  delivered Tuesday. Atlas CEO John Dietrich called the 747 the greatest air freighter, thanks in part to its unique capacity to load through the nose cone.
Four years ago, the Stumo family got a text message from their daughter, Samya Rose  a Massachusetts native. She had just flown from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a business trip. Her final destination was Uganda.

Just arrived in Addis, two more hours to Nairobi, the text read. Love you all.

That was it, said Michael Stumo, Samyas father.

Samya Stumo was one of the more than 150 passengers and crew killed when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 plunged into the ground six minutes after takeoff. It was the second crash of a brand new Boeing 737 MAX in five months and led to the grounding of the plane for more than a year.

A federal investigation found deep flaws in not only the design of the 737 MAX  but in the corporate attitude towards its safety. Boeings chief goal, the report indicated, was to keep costs down  including training costs. The aircraft manufacturer had financial incentives to deliver an aircraft that required no simulator training for pilots.

But there was a problem with the MAX from the get-go. Its high-efficiency engines were larger than those on the previous iteration of the plane  the 737 NG  and that meant mounting them further in on the wings.

The result was a plane with a propensity to pitch up because the engines made the forward section of the fuselage heavier. Boeings answer to this design problem  a software program known as MCAS. Operating silently in the background, MCAS was meant to apply corrections to pitch, based on data from a single Angle of Attack sensor.

But MCAS was only as good as the data it was fed  and its believed faulty information triggered both MAX crashes  with the pilots struggling to maintain control of planes that kept, inexplicably, pitching down.

Two years ago, Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department over the MAX fiasco. Half a billion dollars was set aside to compensate relatives and heirs of crash victims. But Michael Stumo said there was just one legal problem with this settlement: the families were never consulted about it.

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We filed, several months later, a motion in the court saying the Justice Department violated the Crimes Victims Rights Act, Stumo said. We say it violated the law, its insufficient and wrongfully exonerated the executives.

The act requires victims be consulted in a timely manner whenever there is a plea deal or deferral of prosecution. Stumo said Boeing and the Justice Department fought the families on the grounds that they were not victims.

We were  and the judge agreed with us, Stumo said.

That would be a judge in Texas, who last week conducted the arraignment of a Boeing executive on criminal charges that the company engaged in conspiracy and fraud.

The executive pleaded not guilty  and Boeing told Boston 25 News, in a statement, it is deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

The company said it will never forget the lives lost in the two accidents  and that they serve as an inspiration to elevate the safety of Boeing products.

We have made broad and deep changes across our company, the statement continued. And made changes to the design of the 737 MAX to ensure that accidents like these never happen again.

Michael Stumo is not impressed.

Executives should go to jail when they commit crimes  just like street criminals, he said. Every other study and investigation found a widespread culture of concealment and wrongdoing at Boeing over the course of years  and all the way to the top.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Boston firefighters rescued a total of 12 people, including five children, after raging blaze broke out at a duplex in the citys Mattapan neighborhood early Tuesday morning, officials said.

Crews responding to a report of a multi-alarm blaze at 55 Cedar Street around 1 a.m. found flames on the second and third floors of the multi-family home, according to the Boston Fire Department.

Firefighters used a drone equipped with thermal imaging to track and attack the fire as it spread across the roof of the building, Boston Fire Deputy Chief Michael Hocking said. They also struggled to setup ladders to battle the flames due to wires and trees near the home.

The blaze was knocked down shortly after 2 a.m. and crews spent hours overhauling the burned-out duplex.

Seven adults and the five children were safely evacuated and are now displaced.

There were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Dedicated Members of A-10 @BostonSparks spent 3 1/2 hours in the middle of the night at the 2 alarm fire on Cedar st. , until the last fire company finally left the scene . Thank you pic.twitter.com/WzOzjNcLRv  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

Deputy Chief Michael Hocking addressed the media on the 2 alarm Cedar St fire where companies assisted 5 children & 7 adults evacuate & are now displaced. There were no injuries reported . Companies are clearing out. BFD-VAU is on scene to assist families with emergency services pic.twitter.com/phGnqDqEAK  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

Companies had a hard setup for ladders due to wires and trees but got all sides covered well. The rear windows put up a fight with child safety bars in windows but were no real match as well. pic.twitter.com/SaXfB22OOT  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

Heavy fire knocked down, all occupants were safely evacuated from the building. Companies are overhauling. pic.twitter.com/TWAJEZy2RH  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

Companies continue to chase the fire which has traveled across the roof of the duplex building . The Drone unit shows the heat from above pic.twitter.com/zeuPbpqBQD  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

At approximately 1:00 Companies working a 55 Cedar St. Mattapan. Fire on the 2nd and 3rd floor.The Fire has extended across to 57 Cedar st. a 2nd alarm has been ordered. pic.twitter.com/4wbfnqdsBL  Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) January 31, 2023

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Police are asking for the publics help to find a suspect wanted in connection with a violent attack in Mattapan on Thursday.

Officers responding to the area of 1286 Blue Hill Avenue around 3:00 p.m. on January 19 say the man pictured is a suspect for an assault and battery investigation that occurred there. A weapon was also used during the attack, according to authorities.

The details of the crime were not immediately available.

Anyone with information is asked to contact B-3 Detectives at 617-343-4712.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW




Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Olaf Scholz

Brazil has no interest in passing on ammunition so that it will be used in the war, Lula told reporters at a press conference in Brasilia alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Read also: Brazil refuses to provide Germany with tank shells for Ukraine

According to Bloomberg, Scholz has been trying to rally support for Ukraine during a four-day visit to South America after agreeing earlier this month to send German battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles and a Patriot missile battery to the government in Kyiv.

At their joint appearance, Scholz said that many countries, including Brazil, could get drawn into territorial conflicts if other leaders decided to leaf through the history books like Putin  a reference to the Russian leaders claims on Ukrainian territory, which are disputed by many academics.

Read also: Three lessons from Ramstein. About Germany, tanks and offensive weapons for Ukraine

Brazil does not want to have any participation, even indirect, Lula said.

We should be looking for who can help to find peace between Russia and Ukraine.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden will host Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for meetings on Feb. 10, the White House announced, a month after the storming of government buildings in the Brazilian capital by far-right protesters.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the leaders would discuss U.S. support of Brazils democracy and how the two countries can continue to work together to promote inclusion and democratic values in the region and around the world." They are also set to discuss climate change, migration, economic development and security matters.

Lulu replaced President Jair Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for Florida on Dec. 30, two days before Lula's inauguration. The ceremony proceeded without incident, but a week later thousands of Bolsonaros die-hard supporters stormed the capital and trashed the main government buildings, demanding that the leftish president's election be overturned.

The action was sharply condemned by Biden, who pledged U.S. assistance. It had echoes of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump after he lost his reelection bid.

Bolsonaro is being investigated for whether he had any role in inciting that uprising. It is just one of several probes targeting the former president, which at the least could strip him of his eligibility in future races.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court is stepping into a messy political fight next month over the meaning of a 26-word law that Big Tech firms describe as a linchpin of the modern internet but that critics say has led to the promotion of terrorism.

A closely watched dispute between YouTube owner Google and the family of an American killed in an Islamic State group attack in Paris in 2015 will put the court in the middle of a conflict about when internet companies may be successfully sued for content on their sites. It could also, as Facebook owner Meta put it, turn the internet into a "disorganized collection of haphazardly assembled information."

Thomas: Supreme Court Google case puts focus on Clarence Thomas

Potentially at stake, the companies say, is the ability to get relevant results when searching Google for a local pizza shop or a video on how to perform CPR.

The case, Gonzalez v. Google, centers on a law known as Section 230 that drew intense criticism from former President Donald Trump over accusations that social media companies throttled conservative views. Many Democrats agree, for different reasons, that the law needs an update.

Why Google is at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Feb. 21 in a case about whether internet platforms may be liable for targeted recommendations, such as when YouTube suggests a follow-up video. The family of an American killed in a terrorist attack says YouTube, through its algorithms, recommended videos that aided extremists.

Google and other internet platforms say recommending content is a "central building block" of the internet and that recommendations aren't endorsements. If platforms are liable for suggestions, they say, it could change what gets recommended on many different platforms.

Google's Bay View campus in Mountain View, Calif., on June 27, 2022.

What's Gonzalez v. Goabout?

Nohemi Gonzalez was a 23-year-old American studying in Paris when members of the Islamic State group fired into a crowd at a bistro, killing her. She was one of 130 people killed in a coordinated attack across the city.

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Gonzalez's relatives sued Google alleging the company aided the Islamic State group by promoting its videos on YouTube.

Explainer: Everything you need to know about Section 230

Trump: Aide says Trump weighed regulations on Google search engine

Section 230, enacted when Americans were dialing into the internet, is widely interpreted as shielding Google from liability for hosting the videos. What's at issue is whether recommending the videos to users, through the company's algorithms, is also shielded.

It's one of several major lawsuits percolating around internet regulation. The justices will hear a related case next month about whether social media companies may be sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act for "aiding and abetting" the Islamic State group. Separately, the court delayed a decision on whether to grant a review of laws in Texas and Florida that make it harder for social media companies to moderate content.

In those cases, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to offer the government's view before deciding whether to hear them later this year or next.

How Google could win

Section 230 says that an internet company can't be treated as a publisher of content posted on its platform by a user. Google, and many lower courts, read that as also protecting the "dissemination" of content online. Recommendations like those offered by YouTube, Big Tech firms say, are part of that dissemination.

"Recommendation algorithms are what make it possible to find the needles in humanity's largest haystack," Google told the Supreme Court.

Tracker: A look at the status of key cases pending at the Supreme Court

Leak: Supreme Court report on leak of draft opinion overturning Roe draws criticism

"The line between just providing access to content and actively promoting that content is a lot slipperier than initially appears," said Christopher Yoo, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. If the court rules against Google broadly, he said, "it may sweep in every finding tool we have on the internet today."

A woman holds a French flag at a memorial and vigil outside City Hall for the victims of the Paris attacks, on Nov. 17, 2015, in Los Angeles. Southern California resident Nohemi Gonzalez was among those killed in the attacks.

How Gonzalez could win

Others say that lower courts have read too much protection for internet platforms into the words of the law. In a brief that doesn't take a side in the case, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other GOP lawmakers question how much Section 230 shields the companies from liability at all.

Conservatives see the case as part of a bigger fight against what they view as biased content moderation.

Musk: 'The bird is freed' as Musk owns Twitter. What's next for the social media giant?

Poll: Did Musk just fire himself? Twitter users vote in poll to expel CEO from his position

"The whole goal was to prevent things like sex trafficking and proliferation of child pornography," said Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "What it has become...is a shield for the moderation of content in keeping with the particular political perspectives of the major tech companies."

Others oppose Google's interpretation for different reasons. Common Sense Media, a child advocacy group, pointed to another practice by Big Tech it believes shouldn't be shielded from liability: The collection of personal data.

"What gets recommended is based on the data collection," said Jolina Cuaresma, the group's senior counsel of privacy and tech policy. "Adolescents are really at an unfair disadvantage here, because their brains are structurally different than ours."

A decision is expected this year.

Contributing: Jessica Guynn

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court to hear Section 230 case Google says could 'upend' net
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain does not believe it is practical to send its fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday, after Kyiv indicated it would push for such Western planes.

"The UK's ... fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine," the spokesperson told reporters.

"We will continue to discuss with our allies about what we think what is the right approach."

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Elizabeth Piper; editing by William James)
Ukraine's call for a "fighter jet coalition" to provide planes so its forces can firmly control its airspace was on life support Tuesday after Britain apparently rejected the plan.

Also Tuesday, Ukraine mourned the death in combat of a former U.S. Navy SEAL, France promised to send more howitzers, and a Ukraine newspaper found evidence of over-the-top profiteering by European weapons dealers.

Max Blain, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said sending jets to Ukraine was not practical because his country's Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets "are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly.

A day earlier, President Joe Biden rejected the proposal, as did German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Asked if the U.S. decision was final, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday: "We're focused on making sure that Ukraine is ready and able to to meet the threats that they're facing right now, as well as those in the future.''

Poland and the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- all of them sharing a border with Russia or its ally Belarus -- expressed support for Ukraine's plan. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said Ukraine needs fighter jets and "we need to act."

France has not ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine under conditions that would bar Kyiv from attacking Russian territory, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said transferring jets should be discussed but that it would be a "very big next step."

Ukraine currently relies on old, Soviet-era jets.

Contributing: Francesca Chambers

Ukrainians soldiers participate in the farewell ceremony for US citizen Daniel W. Swift in Lviv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.

Other developments:

Russias refusal to allow on-the-ground inspections to resume is endangering the New START nuclear treaty and U.S.-Russian arms control overall, the State Department told Congress on Tuesday. Russia unilaterally suspended its cooperation with the treatys inspection provisions in August 2022 to protest U.S. support for Ukraine in the war.

The International Ice Hockey Federation said Tuesday that it will prioritize safety concerns when deciding whether to allow Russia and Belarus in next year's world championships. Both are banned this year, but the International Olympic Committee is working on a plan allowing both nations to compete at next years Paris Games.

France said it will send 12 more truck-mounted howitzers to Ukraine. The French military also said 150 of its soldiers would train 2,000 Ukrainian troops in Poland this summer.

Human Rights Watch has called on Ukraine to investigate its use of land mines around Izium during the Russian occupation. Russian use of land mines doesnt justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons, said Steve Goose, the group's Arms Division director.

Story continues

Ex-Navy SEAL Daniel Swift mourned in Ukraine

Ukrainians soldiers held a memorial ceremony Tuesday for American Daniel Swift in Lviv, Ukraine. Swift was a former member of the Navy SEALs who has been listed in official records as having deserted since March 2019. The Navy did not provide further information about his U.S. military record, but said, We cannot speculate as to why the former Sailor was in Ukraine. Swift was killed last week in Ukraine fighting against the Russian army.

Adam Thiemann  a former U.S. Army Ranger who previously fought in Ukraine  told Rolling Stone that during an operation in Bakhmut on the night of Jan. 14 and into the early morning of Jan. 15, Russian forces launched an anti-personnel rocket-propelled grenade at Swift and two other soldiers. Swift later died of his wounds.

At least five other Americans are known to have died fighting in Ukraine, according to State Department statements and reports from individual families.

Report: European arms dealers jacked up prices for Ukraine

European arms brokers drive prices up and charge excessive commissions when supplying arms to Ukraine, according to an investigation by the Kyiv Independent and other media outlets. The report alleges that the Estonian company Bristol Trust OU received about $2 million, or 30% of the deal, in commission for 12,500 grenades for shoulder-fired missile launchers last March. The report says the commission was three to six times the industry average.

Multiple arms brokers who spoke to the Independent on conditions of anonymity said they had raised prices for arms two to four times since Russia invaded Ukraine because of increased demand.

Ukraine expects up to 140 tanks in 'first wave' of contributions

Ukraine will obtain 120 to 140 modern tanks in the first wave of contributions from the West, Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday. Kuleba did not say when the tanks, including German-made Leopards, British Challengers and U.S. Abrams, would arrive.

The Ukraine military has suggested that the first tanks could arrive from Norway by the end of March. Norway owns 36 Leopard tanks but has not said how many it will send to Ukraine. Germany has said it hopes to begin transferring more than a dozen tanks to Ukraine by early April.

Kuleba said the tank donor coalition currently includes about a dozen countries and that Ukraine is trying to persuade more countries to join the group  and to get increased commitments from those already on board.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine live updates: Britain won't provide fighter jets
Kyrylo Budanov

The publication notes that although operations on foreign soil would technically fall under Budanovs purview,  he did not confirm his special forces were behind the strikes, which targeted strategic bombers Russia has used to hit Ukrainian cities.

Read also: Ukraine to defeat great and invincible Russian army  Budanov

However, he did say to expect more, and that Ukraine has agents working inside Russia.

This shattered their illusions of security, Budanov said. There are people who plant explosives. There are drones. Until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored, there will be problems inside Russia.

Read also: Bakhmut as a city no longer exists, but military situation not catastrophic  Budanov

He also suggested that the Kremlin should fear collaborators in its midst. There are indeed people who are very easy to work with on that territory, people who understand that Russia should be different, he added. And we support such people.

Read also: Budanov praises slain negotiator who helped Ukraine defend Kyiv from Russian forces  WSJ

In early January 2023, Budanov made similar statements in an interview with U.S. network ABC. He did not take responsibility for the strikes on Russian airbase, but suggested that such strikes would be deeper and deeper.

Then he was directly asked whether Ukraine had struck the Russian airbase, to which he said: I cannot answer that question now. Only after the end of the war.

He added that he was very happy to see such attacks, and when asked if there would be more, he said: I think so.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A California doctor accused of purposefully driving his Tesla over a cliff with his family inside has been charged with attempted murder.

Neha Patel was still conscious when first responders reached her at the bottom of a cliff off Devils Slide, a treacherous stretch of Highway 1 about 15 miles south of San Francisco, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the Los Angeles Times. She immediately started screaming, telling authorities her husband, Dharmesh Patel, intentionally tried to kill her and their two children, a 7-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy.

She said very simply this was not an accident, Wagstaffe explained.

Officials have said it is an absolute miracle that all four family members survived the 250-foot plunge the night of Jan. 2. In the end, rescue crews were able to free the two children from the Tesla Model Y using a jaws of life tool and pulled Patel and his wife from its windows.

Dharmesh Patel, who was hospitalized in wake of the crash, was transferred from a medical facility on Monday to a San Mateo County jail. Hes facing charges including first-degree attempted murder and child abuse, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse.

His wife, Neha, who suffered serious, unspecified injuries, has since been released from the hospital. She has yet to speak with investigators, but Wagstaffe said her screams on the scene were pivotal in charges being filed against her husband.

Both of their children have also been released from the hospital in wake of the incident.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  The CEO of a San Francisco-based tech company has apologized after she quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in a layoff letter sent to employees last week.

PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada sent the letter to employees, also posted on the companys website, announcing layoffs affecting roughly 7% of employees on Thursday. A cloud computing company with locations in San Francisco, Atlanta, Toronto, Australia and the United Kingdom, PagerDuty employed roughly 950 people as of January 2022.

In the letter, Tejada begins by listing out economic conditions which have led to the layoffs, before moving on to discuss the companys successes.

She goes on to describe how PagerDutys business model is still strong despite the economic conditions: While demand for our products and services remains stable and our strategy to help our customers transform their operations remains relevant and intact, it is taking longer to convert than prior years.

Tesla driver charged with attempted murder now in jail

The announcement of the layoffs does not begin until the seventh paragraph, where Tejada lists the elimination of roles, the vast majority of which are in North America, as refinements that aim to strengthen PagerDuty moving forward. The letter goes on to discuss upcoming top-level position changes and severance plans for those impacted by layoffs.

Tejada closed with the words of Martin Luther King Jr:

None of this would be possible without you, our leadership, and our board  thank you for your grit and resilience, your commitment to our customers and your support of our values and people. I am reminded in moments like this, of something Martin Luther King said, that the ultimate measure of a [leader] is not where [they] stand in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand in times of challenge and controversy. PagerDuty is a leader that stands behind its customers, its values, and our vision  for an equitable world where we transform critical work so all teams can delight their customers and build trust. Jennifer Tejada, CEO of PagerDuty

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Users on Twitter were quick to call Tejadas statement disgusting, callous, and tone-deaf.

Friday night, Tejada posted an apology to the companys website. She noted that the way she wrote the letter distracted from the struggle of the employees being laid off.

There are a number of things I would do differently if I could. The quote I included from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was inappropriate and insensitive. I should have been more upfront about the layoffs in the email, more thoughtful about my tone, and more concise. I am sorry, Tejada wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Cincinnati police officers outside the Procter & Gamble offices in downtown Cincinnati on the morning of May 18. P&G closed the building after they contacted the police about a security concern.

The case against a former Procter & Gamble employee accused of making threats that forced the consumer goods giant to temporarily close its downtown Cincinnati offices last year has been dismissed, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.

Benjamin Wood, 31, of Covington, Kentucky, was indicted in May 2022 on two felony counts of inducing panic, court records filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court show.

His case went to trial this week, however, it was dismissed as prosecutors were unable to move forward with the case on Tuesday because necessary witnesses failed to appear in court, Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Clausing said.

"Without those witnesses' cooperation, we will not refile," Clausing said in response to a question from The Enquirer about whether prosecutors will seek to try the case again.

In court filings, prosecutors said that on May 18, Wood caused the company's headquarters on Sixth Street to close and a Cincinnati police SWAT team to be called to the scene "by initiating threats involving P&G, the CEO and its employees."

The Enquirer obtained a Cincinnati police "officer safety bulletin" issued May 17 that states Wood "had been texting several people about going to P&G and taking over."

Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Wood was a former P&G employee fired in 2021.

According to the bulletin, family members told police Wood suffers from mental illness. Wood was fired for not returning to the office after the company phased out COVID-19 guidelines that allowed employees to work from home, the document said.

Deters said Wood made a statement that he would shut down the world via Cincinnati tomorrow. And law enforcement noted Wood had access to firearms. He was arrested at his home by the Kenton County Sheriffs Office, officials said.

In October, Wood was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination and was ultimately found competent to stand trial, court records show.

Wood's public defender has yet to respond to a message from The Enquirer seeking comment.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Charges against former employee accused of threatening P&G dismissed
Charlottes budget preparation is kicking off with the Charlotte City Councils annual budget retreat. Its early in the budget process right now but as the city continues to grow, one thing potentially on the table this year is a property tax increase. No final decisions will be made for several months.

As inflation continues and experts speculate a possible recession, the Charlotte City Council is trying to ensure the city remains financially strong.

ALSO READ: Mecklenburg County commissioners briefed on housing crunch

The city is growing. It is growing in leaps and bounds and the goal is how do we pay for the growth? Councilman Malcolm Graham said Monday.

The citys finance team told the Charlotte City Council their current revenue projections only cover existing services. That doesnt factor in wage increases or new projects needed due to growth. Property tax is Charlottes main revenue source. It doesnt grow with inflation and hasnt been raised in the past 4 budgets.

City Manager Marcus Jones is looking for guidance from #CLTCC as to whether they want to pursue a sales tax increase and whether transportation projects should be front-loaded (bus, road improvements, vision zero) instead of transit (rail) #CLTCC  Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) January 30, 2023

Councilman Ed Driggs worries this could be the year the city tries to do it.

I am going to be pretty aggressive about making them justify any increase, Driggs said. We need to be very accountable and very transparent.

City staffers say growth will require them to spend more money on things, such as new Charlotte Fire stations. Its too soon to say how city leaders will pay for their priorities.

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Lets take a look at where we are, where we want to go, and look at the resources on the table and make a decision, Graham said.

You cant every time you need new revenue, raise the taxes because it makes your city eventually, or wherever you are taxing, unlivable for certain people, Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said.

This is also a revaluation year. Mecklenburg County will be sending out new home values in March and the tax rate will depend on whether leaders lower it to revenue neutral.

I want the public to be aware and to be watching, Driggs said.

As the Charlotte City Council weighs a potential property tax increase, city leaders continue to hope the General Assembly will grant them the authority to seek a sales tax increase through a referendum. Proceeds from the sales tax increase would go to transportation and transit projects.

City Manager Marcus Jones gauged the Charlotte City Councils willingness to continue to seek a sales tax increase. He is also pitching a transportation-first package instead of prioritizing rail. That would mean the first projects completed from the funding would deal with road and bus improvements instead of light rail and streetcar.

The City Council needs a lot to happen. The General Assembly must give the council the approval to put this measure on the ballot and then voters must approve it. All of that will take convincing.

Winston is on board with a transportation-first approach.

We have to get things done. We have to get dirt moving and we have to get improvements, he said.

The city wants to act quickly to take advantage of the infrastructure law. Charlotte is already behind its peer cities, including Austin and Atlanta, which already approved funding sources for their projects.

VIDEO: New transit plan could cost Charlotte taxpayers








A judge has formally dismissed sex abuse charges against disgraced R&B star R. Kelly at the request of a Chicago prosecutor, who said Monday that "justice has been served" since Kelly's convictions in federal court cases in 2021 and 2022 have all but ensured he'll be behind bars for decades to come.

The dismissal came at a minutes-long hearing Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, a day after Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced that her office would no longer be pursuing indictments accusing Kelly of sexually abusing four people, three of whom were underage.

"I understand how hard it was for these victims to come forward and tell their stories," Foxx said in a statement. "I applaud their courage and have the utmost respect for everyone who came forward. While this may not be the result they were expecting, due to the sentences that Mr. Kelly is facing, we do feel that justice has been served."

She added, "My office will direct our resources to find justice for other victims of sexual abuse who do not have the power of a documentary to bring their abusers to light."

R. Kelly in court in 2019

E. Jason Wambsgans-Pool/Getty Images R. Kelly in court in 2019

Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York in September 2021. He is also set to be sentenced next month in Chicago federal court after being found guilty on child pornography and child enticement charges this past September. Kelly, 56, faces 10 to 90 years in prison in the latter case.

Allegations of sexual misconduct have long shadowed Kelly, but it wasn't until the rise of the #MeToo movement and the release of the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly that public pressure really began to mount for authorities to take action. The Cook County indictment was announced in 2019, before the federal cases in New York and Chicago.

An attorney for Kelly did not respond to EW's request for comment Monday.

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[This article has been updated to reflect the outcome of Tuesday's court hearing.]

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BEIJING (AP)  Chinas government accused Washington on Tuesday of pursuing technology hegemony, as the United States has begun stepping up pressure on tech giant Huawei by blocking access to American suppliers.

The Biden administration has stopped approving renewal of licenses to some U.S. companies that have been selling essential components to the Chinese company, according to two people familiar with the matter. Neither was authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and they spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The company, which makes network equipment and smartphones, has been on the U.S. Commerce Department's entity list, which comprises those subject to licensing requirements, since 2019. It has been allowed to buy some less advanced components. But the new restrictions could cut off Huawei's access to processor chips and other technology, as large U.S.-based companies such as Intel and Qualcomm are forced to wind down business with it.

Bloomberg News and the Financial Times first reported the administration move.

Huawei Technologies Ltd., Chinas first global tech brand, is at the center of a conflict between Washington and Beijing over technology and security. U.S. officials say Huawei is a security risk and might facilitate Chinese spying, an accusation the company denies.

China is gravely concerned about the reports, said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning. She accused Washington of over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress Chinese competitors.

Such practices are contrary to the principles of market economy and are blatant technological hegemony, Mao said.

The White House and Commerce Department declined to comment about specific deliberations regarding Huawei.

Working closely with our interagency export controls partners at the Departments of Energy, Defense and State, we continually assess our policies and regulations and communicate regularly with external stakeholders, the Commerce Department said in a statement. "We do not comment on conversations with or deliberations about specific companies.

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The move to halt licenses for Huawei comes after GOP Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced earlier this month that the committee would conduct a 90-day review of the Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry Security. McCaul said he was ordering the review because the agency had not been responsive to two-year-old requests for information on export control licenses that the agency has granted for China.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo this month, McCaul said the agency had failed to uphold its legal obligation to produce requested documents and information. McCaul on Tuesday called reports that Commerce is halting exports a positive step" and called on the department to declare it a permanent decision.

Mao said Beijing would defend the legitimate rights of its companies but gave no indication how the government might respond. Beijing has made similar declarations after past U.S. action against its companies but often does nothing.

The ban on sales of advanced U.S. processor chips and music, maps and other services from Alphabet Inc.s Google unit crippled Huaweis smartphone business. The company sold its low-end Honor smartphone brand to revive sales by separating it from the sanctions on its corporate parent.

The Commerce Department agreed to grant export licenses to U.S. companies to allow them to sell less-advanced chips and other technology to Huawei that was deemed not to be a security risk. That followed complaints suppliers would lose billions of dollars in annual sales.

Huawei scrambled to remove U.S. components from its network and other products and has launched new business lines serving factories, self-driving cars and other industrial customers. The company hopes those are less vulnerable to U.S. pressure.

Huawei says its business is starting to rebound.

In 2020, we successfully pulled ourselves out of crisis mode, Eric Xu, one of three Huawei executives who take turns as chairman, said in a December letter to employees. U.S. restrictions are now our new normal, and were back to business as usual.

Last years revenue was forecast to be little-changed from 2021 at 636.9 billion yuan ($91.6 billion), Xu said.

The tightening of export controls on Huawei comes just days after Japan and the Netherlands agreed to a deal with the U.S. to restrict Chinas access to materials used to make advanced computer chips.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit China next week. It will be the first visit to China by a Cabinet-level official in the Biden administration.

__

Madhani reported from Washington.
Christina Ricci Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

Christina Ricci reportedly called out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its review of this year's Oscar nominations following the backlash over actor Andrea Riseboroughs surprise Best Actress nod.

Riseborough's nomination on Tuesday, for the indie film To Leslie, confused some insiders as she landed a nod without a traditionally heavily funded campaign. On Friday, the Academy, which hosts the Oscars, announced it will review the campaign procedures for the recently announced 2023 nominees.

As Deadline reported on Friday, Ricci, in a now-deleted Instagram post, defended Riseboroughs nomination and criticized the notion that Oscar nominations should only go to the actors and filmmakers who spent a lot of money campaigning.

Seems hilarious that the surprise nomination (meaning tons of money wasnt spent to position this actress) of a legitimately brilliant performance is being met with an investigation, Ricci wrote, per Deadline. So its only the films and actors that can afford the campaigns that deserve recognition? Feels elitist and exclusive and frankly very backward to me.

The Yellowjackets actor said Riseborough likely had nothing to do with To Leslies Oscars campaign, claiming that actors never orchestrate their campaigns themselves.

If its taken away shame on them, Ricci reportedly wrote.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Riccis representatives for comment.

Andrea Riseborough Jason Mendez / Getty Images

The exclusion of The Woman King star Viola Davis and Till star Danielle Deadwyler in the Best Actress category caused outrage from fans online , who are arguing that the Academy continues to neglect performances by Black women. Davis and Deadwyler were nominated at other major awards shows leading up to the Oscars, like the Critics' Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. Riseborough did not receive nominations at either show.

Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Puck reported on Jan. 26 that Riseboroughs campaign was largely led by actor Mary McCormack, wife of To Leslie director Michael Morris. The story said McCormack and others emailed and called tons of members of the Academys actors branch, begging them to see the little-watched alcoholic drama and post online about Riseboroughs searing performance.

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Puck specifically cited celebrities Jennifer Aniston, Amy Adams, Edward Norton, Frances Fisher, Howard Stern, Gwyneth Paltrow, and fellow Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett as those who backed Riseboroughs performance.

Multiple sources told Variety on Friday that the Academy will hold a meeting on Tuesday where Riseborough will be discussed.

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(AP)

Cindy Williams, the Shirley half of the hit television sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died after a brief illness at age 75, according to a statement from her family

Her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement to the Associated Press that passing of their kind, hilarious mother has brought the family insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed.

Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved, according to the statement.

Williams, who starred opposite Penny Marshalls Laverne on the iconic eight-season sitcom, also starred in classics American Graffiti and the Best Picture-nominated 1974 thriller The Conversation.

A guest appearance as Shirley with Marshall as the wise-cracking Laverne on ABCs massive Happy Days proved so popular that the duo starred in their own spin-off series, following the friends lives as roommates and co-workers at Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee.

Laverne & Shirley  with its Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated opening sequence  ran for eight seasons from 1976 to 1983, becoming the most-watched show on television by its third season. It also received six Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination.

Williams left the show in its eighth season when she became pregnant with her first child.

This is a developing story
Nearly 80 percent of voters who live in embattled Rep. George Santoss New York district want him to resign from Congress, according to a new survey that comes the same day the first-term Republican told colleagues hed be stepping down from his committee assignments.

A Newsday/Siena College poll released on Tuesday, which questioned voters from New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, found that 78 percent of respondents think Santos should resign, including 71 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of independents and 89 percent of Democrats.

Thirteen percent of respondents overall said they didnt think the Long Island Republican should step down, while another 9 percent said they did not know or did not have an opinion.

Three-fourths of respondents said they did not think Santos could be an effective representative for his district, including 65 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 84 percent of Democrats.

And 71 percent of respondents said that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was wrong to seat Santos on two congressional committees, including 59 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats.

Talk about buyers remorse. NY 3 voters elected George Santos by a comfortable margin not even three months ago. But today, the vast majority of his new constituents  including the vast majority of those who voted for him  want him gone, Siena College Poll Director Don Levy said in a press release regarding the polls results.

Discouragingly, three-quarters or more of voters of every party say that Santos behavior and now his refusing to resign show that our political system is broken, not that his behavior says little about the state of our politics.

The polling comes as Santos has faced calls from Democrats and even his fellow Republicans in Congress, particularly New York members, to resign after he admitted he had fabricated parts of his identity and history and as news outlets continue to report discrepancies about his life. Hes also been under scrutiny regarding his financial disclosures.

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Santos told his fellow House Republicans on Tuesday that he is walking away from his committee seats, but he has rejected calls to step down entirely, and McCarthy has refused to call for his resignation.

The Newsday/Siena College poll surveyed 653 residents from New Yorks 3rd Congressional District Jan. 23-26. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A photo of Timothy Davis, then 31, of the South Side, taken at the Franklin County jail following his arrest by Columbus police in September 2017 on outstanding warrants, including assault on a police officer in 2016 for which he was latter convicted.

The city of Columbus will pay a $225,000 settlement to avoid a potential second federal court trial on claims of excessive use of force against a wanted man by city police officers, who beat him repeatedly and used a stun gun on him 11 times during an arrest at a Driving Park convenience store in 2017 that was captured on cellphone video.

The City Council approved the settlement 7-0 at its meeting Monday  despite an internal affairs investigation that found the officers were justified and a federal jury that determined in 2021 the officers did not violate his civil rights  because a federal judge last year determined the jury made a mistake in finding the city totally not responsible and ruled that the man could refile for a new trial.

Timothy D. Davis, of the South Side, was 31 years old in September 2017 when Columbus police sought to arrest him on several outstanding warrants after he was spotted inside a Driving Park convenience store. Police said officers had been injured during previous attempts to arrest Davis, and one of the warrants was for a 2016 incident in which an officer was struck near an eye with a handcuff bracelet.

Under the settlement, the city and the eight defendant officers in the case  Matthew Baker, Sean Connair, Eric Everhart, Anthony Johnson, LeVon Morefield, Robert Reffitt, Ryan Steele and Alan Bennett  will make no admission of liability and will be released from all claims connected to the incident. The settlement avoids another trial, along with potential punitive damages and attorney fees.

The parties agreed to the terms of a settlement in December, and the City Attorneys Office and the Department of Public Safety recommended council approval of the agreement Monday.

Citing the fact that the Columbus settlement comes in the wake of the disturbing graphic video released Friday and the arrests or suspensions of a group of Memphis police officers for the fatal beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols resulting from a reported traffic stop, Council member Shayla Favor said, "I think we would be remiss if we didn't ask what policies have been implemented (by Columbus police) to ensure that a situation does not occur again like this one, especially given the climate" nationally.

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Assistant Safety Director Robert Stewart said he would look into it.

"You know, you see eight officers and one individual, I think it probably does raise some red flags with folks," Favor said.

Favor, who also raised a question about "qualified immunity" for police officers, asked Public Safety to follow up with a written response to council concerning policies and training.

Davis had sued the city and eight police officers in federal court, claiming the Division of Police fails to properly train, supervise, monitor, counsel or discipline officers who use excessive or unreasonable force against civilians, in particular black residents.

A federal jury ruled in favor of police in 2021, but Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley of U.S. District Court in Columbus last September ordered a partial retrial, saying a complete jury 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.

A citizen's cellphone video showed officers using profanity and one officer punching him repeatedly during a struggle to arrest Davis, who resisted police instructions to put his hands behind his back. Two plainclothes officers initially attempted to arrest, but more arrived as Davis struggled and resisted.

Marbley found that as more officers arrived on the scene, the police should have reasonably been expected to reduce the amount of force being used against Davis.

"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. He noted that police used the stun gun on Davis for a combined 55 seconds, which exceeds the manufacturer's standard of 15 seconds due to risk of internal damage. Marbley also said that officers never gave Davis a chance to comply with their demands toward the end of the incident.

Marbley found that any reasonable jury "should have concluded that the force utilized was greater than necessary" later in the arrest as officers used a Taser on Davis 11 times and continued to hit Davis after he was subdued and while the stun gun was being used.

"The force never relented to give (Davis) a reasonable chance to comply. (Davis) had as little as one second between Officer Bennetts Taser cycles in which to regain control of his muscles and comply with commands. Similarly, Officer Baker left Plaintiff less than one second between knee strikes in which to give up his hands," Marbley stated in the ruling.

The initial officers involved were part of a "Violent Crime Working Group" that had been looking for Davis. The incident in Memphis involved a special "Scorpions" task force.

After the incident with Davis, a police bodycam video captured another officer, Joseph Bogard, who was not involved, talking to another officer about what had happened.

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."

He was reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer.

Davis was ultimately convicted of the 2016 assault on a police officer and sentenced in 2018 to 30 months in prison.

wbush@gannett.com

@ReporterBush

(Editor's note: a previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Public Safety official at the meeting Monday.)

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus pays $225k to settle any claims over 2017 police arrest
I spent my first 10 years living in Michigan City, 35 nautical miles from Chicago. I was a Cold War kid. Our bogeyman was Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, who made a lasting impression when he took off his shoe at the United Nations, hammering the podium while threatening to "bury" the U.S.

At Edgewood Elementary School, we practiced nuclear drills (along with fire drills). Downtown Michigan City had "fallout shelters" marked with yellow and black signs. After the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, my father, Jack Howey, who was city editor of the News-Dispatch, didn't betray his emotions to the family, but later described several sleepless nights during that 13-day crisis. I remember my first grade teacher telling us that President Kennedy was going to address the nation. She had a worried look on her face.

I conjure these events and images because here in 2023, we find ourselves once again on the nuclear straight-razor. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a top ally of President Putin who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council, posted on Telegram: "It never occurs to any of the lowlifes to draw an elementary conclusion from this: The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war can trigger a nuclear war. Nuclear powers have not lost major conflicts on which their fate depended."

That is just one in a continuum of reckless nuclear saber-rattling from the Putin regime as it flounders in its war with Ukraine, a conflict it picked and is now losing. The Guardian reported that the Kremlin is now deploying Pantsir defensive missile intercept systems around Moscow and near Putin's dacha.

January 25, 2023: A Leopard 2 main battle tank of the German armed forces Bundeswehr shoots during a visit by the German Chancellor of the troops during a training exercise at the military ground in Ostenholz, northern Germany, on Oct. 17, 2022. - Germany approved the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, after weeks of pressure from Kyiv and many allies. Berlin will provide a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from the Bundeswehr stocks and is also granting approval for other European countries to send tanks from their own stocks to Ukraine, a government spokesman said in a statement.

The Daily Beast reported that Ukrainian authorities are now saying that Russias biggest cities are bound to suffer attacks. Internal escalation of the war in Russia is inevitable, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told The Daily Beast.

This past week, President Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO have agreed to send Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The German Leopards will be delivered in a couple of months, in time for an expected Spring offensive that could determine the fate of this brutal war. These tanks have the ability to do what the first key advocate of the tank during World War I  First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill  envisioned, which is to break across trenched "no man's land."

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Recently, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that its 2023 Doomsday Clock has been set forward to the closest to catastrophe it has ever been, just 90 seconds before midnight.

The horrific war in Ukraine has increased the risk of nuclear weapons use, raised the specter of biological and chemical weapons use, hamstrung the worlds response to climate change, and hampered international efforts to deal with other global concerns, the Bulletin stated. Russias thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict  by accident, intention, or miscalculation  is a terrible risk. The possibility that the conflict could spin out of anyones control remains high.

No one can do this alone, but everyone can do something, said the Bulletins President and CEO Rachel Bronson. We hope that the moving of the clock is a motivator that we all need to pay attention to these key issues.

Brian Howey

Eric Schlosser, author of "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety and Fast Food Nation" writes in The Atlantic: "Several scenarios for how Russia might soon use a nuclear weapon seem possible: (1) a detonation over the Black Sea, causing no casualties but demonstrating a resolve to cross the nuclear threshold and signaling that worse may come, (2) a decapitation strike against the Ukrainian leadership, attempting to kill President Volodymyr Zelensky and his advisers in their underground bunkers, (3) a nuclear assault on a Ukrainian military target, perhaps an air base or a supply depot, that is not intended to harm civilians, and (4) the destruction of a Ukrainian city, causing mass civilian casualties and creating terror to precipitate a swift surrender  the same aims that motivated the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"Any response by the Biden administration would be based not only on how Russia uses a nuclear weapon against Ukraine but also, more important, on how Russias future behavior might be affected by the American response," Schlosser adds. "Vladimir Putin can determine if, when, and where a nuclear attack occurs in Ukraine. But he cannot control what happens after that. The consequences of that choice, the series of events that would soon unfold, are unknowable. One thing is clear, after all my discussions with experts in the field: We must be ready for hard decisions, with uncertain outcomes, that nobody should ever have to make."

Should we be losing sleep over this reckless rhetoric of the despot Putin and Dmitry Medvedev as this war worsens?

Well, perhaps.

This is not a situation for overt panic, but reasonable concern. It means having discussions with your family, friends and co-workers about what to do, where to go, and how to communicate should such a crisis develop.

The columnist is managing editor of Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs at StateAffairs.com/pro/Indiana. Find Howey on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How likely is a nuclear war?
Jane Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledges having represented a wide variety of public officials  including senior Justice Department officials and Cabinet members  as they transitioned to jobs in the private sector, according to testimony in an arbitration hearing to resolve a lawsuit filed by an ex-colleague against her former legal recruiting business.

A partial transcript of that testimony was included in a complaint submitted to the House, Senate and Justice Department filed in December on behalf of the former colleague.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, accuses the chief justice of failing to acknowledge the full extent of his wifes work in his ethical disclosures, presenting her as a salaried employee of her firm rather than one who receives commissions from law firms, some of which have cases before the Supreme Court.

Jane Roberts placements included at least one firm with a prominent Supreme Court practice, according to the complaint, which also includes sworn testimony from Roberts herself, in which she notes the powerful officials  whose agencies have had frequent cases before her husband  for whom she has worked.

A significant portion of my practice on the partner side is with senior government lawyers, ranging from U.S. attorneys, cabinet officials, former senators, chairmen of federal commissions, general counsel of federal commissions, and then senior political appointees within the ranks of various agencies, and I -- they come to me looking to transition to the private sector, Roberts said, according to a transcript of a 2015 arbitration hearing related to her former colleagues termination.

In her testimony, Roberts also noted the benefit of working with senior government officials: Successful people have successful friends.

Jane Roberts and her firm, Macrae, did not immediately respond to requests for comment by email.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court declined to respond to questions Tuesday about the complaint and whether the court is pursuing the issues raised in it.

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In response to earlier questions about the justices financial disclosures, the court pointed to a 2009 ethics opinionfrom the Judicial Conference that judges generally dont need to recuse themselves in cases simply because their spouse works as a consultant or service provider to a firm involved in litigation before the court.

As a general proposition, the fact that the spouse or the spouses business has a business relationship with an entity that appears in an unrelated proceeding before the judge usually does not require the judges recusal, the opinion says.

The high court also noted that the federal governments rules for financial disclosures generally do not require public disclosure of the clients of officials spouses.

As the most senior officials in the judicial branch, the justices are not bound to follow such guidance or policies. However, they look to those practices for guidance, a spokesperson said.

The complaint included a list of Jane Roberts placements between 2007 and 2014 and her alleged commissions, some of which are hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is unclear whether the figures represent her earnings or the firms billings for her work.

In an analysis filed along with the complaint, Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman writes that it is plausible that the Chief Justices spouse may have leveraged the prestige of judicial office to meaningfully raise their household income.

That concern, together with the failure of the Chief Justice to recuse himself in cases where his spouse received compensation from law firms arguing cases before the Court, or at least advise the parties of his spouses financial arrangements with law firms arguing before the Court, threaten the publics trust in the federal judiciary, and the Supreme Court itself, Gershman wrote.

A sworn affidavit backing the complaint was submitted by Kendal B. Price, a Massachusetts attorney and former colleague of Jane Roberts at the legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, where Price was a managing director in the partner practice group.

Price, who was eventually fired from the firm, recalled in his affidavit being told that Roberts was the companys highest-earning recruiter and that her early significant commissions, going to someone with so little recruiting experience, represented a stark anomaly compared to the rest of the field. When he raised the issue, colleagues did not seem to wish to discuss it, he said.

In a statement to POLITICO, Price said he decided to file a complaint with government authorities in order to expose potential ethical issues regarding the Supreme Court.

The national controversy and debate regarding the integrity of the Supreme Court demanded that I no longer keep silent about the information I possessed, regardless of the impact such disclosures might have upon me professionally and personally, Price said. Not sharing it with the appropriate authorities for purposes of enabling them to investigate weighed on me increasingly, and I felt obligated to make this contribution to this important national conversation.

A New York attorney who submitted the complaint on Prices behalf, Joshua Dratel, said his client acted in part out of frustration that there is no official mechanism for raising ethics issues at the Supreme Court and due to previous reporting in POLITICO and elsewhere about ethics concerns at the high court. In September, POLITICO reported that gaps in ethical disclosures enabled justices, including Roberts, to shield their spouses clients who may have business before the court.

The importance of this issue and the unavailability of any viable means of addressing this is what led to us sending it to the places that we sent it to, Dratel said Tuesday. This is a gap in transparency that's only become more critical in the past year in terms of the impact that it has on the integrity of our institutions.

In 2014, Price sued Major Lindsey over his termination, alleging that the firm had not paid his commissions and that another colleague there had stolen his clients, according to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Jane Roberts was named as a defendant in the case. Price explained in his affidavit sent to Congress that he had been afraid of potential negative consequences of coming forward with allegations against Jane Roberts.

Prices suit against Major Lindsey was moved from a Massachusetts state court to an arbitrator, who eventually ruled against Price. In his affidavit, he noted that he only directly interacted with Jane Roberts once during his time as an employee of Major Lindsey.

In a statement, John Cashman, president of Major Lindsey, maintained that Roberts, who worked at the firm for more than a decade, was among several very successful recruiters at [the firm].

As a firm, MLA makes placements at hundreds of law firms each year  and like many of our highly-skilled recruiting consultants, Mrs. Roberts had a strong track record of excellent work, Cashman said in the statement. The success of our recruiters  and of our organization  stems from the fact that we hold our work and each of our consultants to the highest standards: Candidate confidentiality, client trust, and professionalism are the cornerstones of our 40 years of successful business.

Dratel, Prices attorney, rejected the notion that Price leveled the complaint against the Robertses out of lingering spite over his firing or the failure of his legal action against the firm.

Were well down the road from that, Dratel said. This is about the nation and the integrity of the court and knowing something that contributes to that.  He didnt publish this. He sent it to Congress.

Among the officials represented by Roberts at Major Lindsey was former Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar, who joined the prominent Washington-based law firm WilmerHale in 2013, according to Price. For arranging Salazars hiring, Price calculated that Roberts must have received about $350,000, he alleges. And as part of that deal brokered by Roberts, WilmerHale also agreed to open an office in Denver.

In the 2015 testimony in Prices suit, Jane Roberts said lawmakers she has placed at law firms have started at annual salaries ranging up to $3 million.

WilmerHale did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment.

Salazar is currently U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Five years after Roberts received the commission from WilmerHale, the firms lawyers appeared before the Supreme Court representing a marine construction company, the Dutra Group, in a case regarding a sailor injured on one of the companys vessels. Chief Justice Roberts ultimately sided with WilmerHales client, that the sailor was not owed punitive damages, Gershman noted.

Beyond the Dutra case, WilmerHale maintains a significant practice before the Supreme Court, and between 2013 and 2017, argued more cases before the court than any other law firm, according to data from SCOTUSBlog cited in the complaint.

Gershman argued that, given his wifes relationship with the firm, the judicial recusal statute would require the chief justice to recuse himself from WilmerHales 27 cases between 2013 and 2017. Alternatively, Roberts could have sought disclosure and waiver. Gershman argued that the chief justice must recuse himself from all cases with counsel that have made substantial payments to his household or fully disclose such payments to counsel and seek a waiver by the litigants.

Gershman also noted that Roberts financial disclosures list his wifes income as salary, as opposed to commission. The allegations that Jane Roberts may have used her husbands position for financial benefit, combined with the deficiencies in Roberts financial disclosures, is far from trivial, technical, or harmless, Gershman writes.

It directly threatens the publics trust and confidence in the federal judiciary at the highest level, he noted.

It's unclear what action, if any, lawmakers have taken on Price's complaint, but Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tuesday that the situation underscores the need for formal ethics rules for the Supreme Court, along with an enforcement mechanism.

This complaint raises troubling issues that once again demonstrate the need for a mandatory code of conduct for Supreme Court justices," Durbin said in a statement. "We must work on a bipartisan basis to pass Sen. [Chris] Murphys bill, the Supreme Court Ethics Act, which would simply require Supreme Court justices to adhere to the same standard of ethics as other federally appointed judges. Passing this requirement is a common sense step that would help begin the process of restoring faith in the Supreme Court.
Workers from Eslich Wrecking Co. clean out debris Monday afternoon from the two downtown buildings being torn down along Lincoln Way E in Massillon. Demolition and cleanup are to continue for much of the week.

MASSILLON  The estimated price tag for the teardown of two collapsing buildings downtown has come in at little more than $450,000.

Overall, the cost to bring down the vacant structures, 14 and 20 Lincoln Way E, is about $457,000, Economic Development Director David Maley told City Council on Monday night.

Going, going, almost gone:Condemned downtown Massillon buildings with historic value coming down

Massillon historian:'Heartbreaking' two historic buildings coming down

Louisville-based Eslich Wrecking Co. began the work Sunday morning and continued throughout the day. On Monday, a crew was cleaning up debris from the properties.

A rear view Monday of two historic buildings, 14 and 20 Lincoln Way E, that are being demolished this week in downtown Massillon.

The Stark County Land Bank has committed to fund up to $200,000 of the total demo amount, Maley said. City Council will consider whether to dedicate 2022 carryover dollars from the general fund to cover the remainder of the total, or about $257,000.

If council approves the funding, Maley said, the plan is to asses the owner's property taxes to recoup $257,000. Grant "Fuzzy" Kowell is the owner of both structures.

Massillon Lincoln Way building demo work to continue this week

Work to demolish the two Lincoln Way buildings is to continue through the week.

"It will probably take a few more days to get everything down and cleaned up," said Maley, nothing that the overall job appears to be about 75% completed.

Work was done last week to secure much of the CJ Duncan Jewelers building, 24 Lincoln Way E, for the demolition of the two neighboring structures to the west.

Eslich workers last week installed steel support components to help preserve of neighboring buildings, such as CJ Duncan Jewelers, 24 Lincoln Way E, and 10 Lincoln Way E, the most recent home to Bonnie's Engravers Gallery.

On Jan. 18, the city closed a section of Lincoln Way and posted a detour  between Third Street SE and First Street SW  after a partial building collapse prompted inspectors to deem the Lincoln Way structures in need of emergency demolition.

There is no immediate use for the property once the buildings are completely down, said Maley, adding that the city has had no discussion with Kowell on the issue.

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"Ultimately, we'd like to have the site redeveloped. But we're focused now on getting the safety issue figured out," Maley said.

Massillon council vote denies former Howard's Tiger Rags demo plan

During a special meeting Monday night, City Council voted 5-4 against a plan to demolish the former Howard's Tiger Rags and adjacent building.

During a special meeting Monday night, City Council voted 5-4 against a plan to demolish the former Howard's Tiger Rags and adjacent building.

Following the vote, the meeting became somewhat testy between Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry and members of council who voted against the plan, mainly because there's no immediate "plan B" to tear down the unsafe buildings.

The A. Altman Co. of Canton was in line to purchase the buildings and property at 125 Lincoln Way W and 129 Lincoln Way W from current owner James Rubin. A. Altman had agreed to buy the properties for $120,000, pending the demolition using a state grant.

Councilman Ted Herncane, D-at large, said prior to the vote he would be against the proposal unless the city put a lien on the property.

"I think it's unfair to others who had been up for similar votes," Herncane said.

More:Biz moves: Real estate company plans to buy Tiger Rags building, redevelop site

Councilman Mike Gregg, R-Ward 3, reaffirmed his position to tear down the buildings using the state grant money.

"These are not city of Massillon taxpayer dollars. This is grant money from the state of Ohio," he said.

For weeks, City Council had been considering proposed legislation that would use state grant funding to demolish the two structures. The estimated cost to tear down the buildings was $175,000. The grant amount the city has been awarded is for $225,000.

Catazaro-Perry told council that Massillon was one of few Ohio cities to receive the grant money.

"We worked hard to get our application in (with the state) and get approved," she said. "And that's a big deal."

Reach Steven at steven.grazier@indeonline.com. On Twitter: @sgrazierINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Massillon demolition buildings Lincoln Way Conrad drug store
A diverse crowd  young and old, Black and white  turned out in Stroudsburg on Monday evening to call for change in response to the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police.

"If you remain silent, you are part of the problem. If you work within law enforcement, and your first thought was not, 'This must stop,' but instead, 'Not all cops,' you are part of the problem. If you remain silent again, you are part of the problem. If you remain apathetic, you are part of the problem," said Christa Caceres, president of the Monroe County chapter of the NAACP, which organized the event.

She urged people to contact elected officials to ask that deaths of unarmed people killed by police be investigated by the attorney general's office or a bipartisan review board every time, regardless of whether the district attorney refers the case.

State Reps. Maureen Madden (D-115) and Tarah Probst (D-189) both appeared at the vigil, urging the attendees to reach out to their elected officials to express their concerns about police brutality and support for the legislative initiative to have the attorney general investigate deaths linked to police.

"We are going to craft an incredibly responsible bill that looks at all sides," Madden said. "But at the end of the day, this bill is to have independent investigations of the deaths of people at the hands of law enforcement. So make those phone calls tomorrow. Make those phone calls and say, 'You know, Rep. Madden's got this bill she's introducing, we really think it will help.'"

Community members expressed their fears about potential police encounters.

"I just want to grow up where people can walk around and be safe and people can drive, African Americans can drive and not feel the need to be scared that if you get pulled over you're going to die and I just want to feel safe while growing up," said 12-year-old A.J. Williams to a round of applause from a supportive crowd.

12-year-old A.J. Williams speaks at a vigil for Tyre Nichols in Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

A Marine Corps veteran, Kenneth Mercer, said that "we have allowed our police departments to behave like militaries."

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"Armies are designed to kill. That's the business of armies. I was part of that business. And that's what's happening here right now," he said, adding that tactics must change for the safety of all people.

Marine Corps veteran Kenneth Mercer speaks at a vigil for Tyre Nichols in Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

'Work as one unit for humanity'

Stroudsburg Area Regional Police Department Chief Jennifer Lyon, the only law enforcement official to speak at the vigil, said Nichols' death "wasn't about bad police work, this wasn't bad training  these were criminals, this was a gang of thugs that beat somebody to death."

Lyon advocated for the community to work together to combat such practices.

"This is not getting solved from us. This is not getting solved from groups. This is only solved when we all get down and dirty together and work as one unit for humanity, for the basic human race at this point. So thank you all for coming out tonight. Thank you all for supporting each other. And let's continue to fight the fight," Lyon said.

Stroud Area Regional Police Department Chief Jennifer Lyon speaks at a vigil for Tyre in Nichols in Stroudsburg's Courthouse Square on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

On Jan. 7, Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by Memphis police officers at a traffic stop. Body camera footage from the officers  part of the "SCORPION Unit," which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods"  and other surveillance footage show them brutally beating Nichols while shouting expletives at him, using a baton and pepper spray as he called out for his mother.

Audio from the footage show the officers making light of the situation and laughing, as Nichols was struck at least 13 times.

Nichols was hospitalized, and died from the injuries he sustained three days later.

Christa Caceres, president of Monroe County NAACP, speaks during a vigil for Tyre Nichols at Courthouse Square on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr.  all members of the SCORPION Unit, which has been disbanded  have each been charged with one count of second-degree murder, aggravated assault  acting in concert, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression, court records show.

An officer who had fired a stun gun, identified by police and his own attorney as Preston Hemphill, was relieved of duty, though he was not subject to departmental or criminal charges.

"I haven't watched the video, and I'm not going to watch it. I have two sons. They are 25 years old and 22 years old, and I worry about them every minute of every day," said Tameko Patterson, vice president of the local NAACP. They tell her not to worry, but she tracks their locations using Life360, a location sharing and safety app.

"Why do I have to do that? Why? No one has the right to take another's life. I don't care what badge you wear. I do not care. A mother should not have to worry about her sons walking out of the door and if they will return again. It's time for this to stop. We have to change the laws," she said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

What happened to Tyre Nichols:Video shows Memphis police violently beating Tyre Nichols in the traffic stop that led to his death

In Congress:Tyre Nichols case reignites conversations among lawmakers on federal police legislation

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Monroe NAACP leads vigil in Stroudsburg after Tyre Nichols death
PIERRE, S.D. (AP)  A state House committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in South Dakota.

Supporters argued a bill barring youth from accessing puberty blockers, hormones and surgery would protect adolescents from irreversible damage, while opponents argued it only blocks them from becoming their authentic selves.

Republican Rep. Bethany Soyes bill passed through a House committee on health and human services Tuesday morning with a dominant vote from Republicans. Despite testimonies from health care providers, legal advocates and transgender youth, the bill will move on to a vote in the Republican-dominated House. Soye said she had Gov. Kristi Noem's support for the bill, which targets transgender individuals below the age of 18.

After nearly two hours of discussion, all eight Republicans on the committee voted for the bill, while the only two Democrats opposed it, adding South Dakota to the list of at least 18 other states pushing legislation to block transgender youth health care this year.

Utahs Republican governor signeda ban on gender-affirming care last week, and similar bans have passed in Arkansas and Alabama, but they are being challenged in court.

Testifiers in support of the bill spoke from personal experience, either as patients who regretted decisions to undergo surgery as young adults experiencing gender dysphoria, or as doctors who argued normal puberty was a cure for gender dysphoria.

Don Oliver, a retired pediatrician from Rapid City, said he disagreed with guidance from leading medical associations  such as the American Medical Association  that support gender-affirming care as medically necessary.

We as a profession have lost our way, lost our bearing, lost our anchor, Oliver said.

Opponents criticized the bill on the grounds of overreach into healthcare concerns between patients and doctors, and for infringing on civil rights.

Gender-affirming care is part of comprehensive primary care, said Daniel Heinemann, chief officer of Sanford Health and chair of South Dakota's American Academy of Family Physicians. Family physicians are deeply concerned by the growing trend of recent legislative efforts to criminalize care directed at specific patient hospitalizations.

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Heinemann said gender diversity is a normal part of the human existence.

Samantha Chapman, a member of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, said, It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex."

Soye raised this bill as a matter of consent. She compared a childs inability to consent to gender affirmation procedures to their inability to consent to purchasing cigarettes, drinking alcohol or joining the military. She also questioned the health care profession, saying, the fact is the medical community can get things wrong."

Opponents to the bill noted that a young person's decision-making is heavily factored into the procedure of certifying treatment.

Dr. Anne Dilenschneider, a mental health care provider with New Idea Counseling, said gender dysphoria diagnoses take months. The process factors in a child's social skills, emotional skills, medical history and disabilities before addressing gender, and that involves reports from teachers and other certified adults close to the patient.

This experience of gender dsyphoria or gender incongruence has to be marked and sustained over time, and that means years. This wasn't a kid who was on TikTok and says, Hi, Im trans,'" Dilenschneider said.

She added that the bill's misinformed language, such as chemical castration, upset her most.

Other opponents included 16-year-old Elliot Morehead of Sioux Falls, who skipped their physics test to testify at the Capitol.

Im transgender and Im proud, Morehead said.

Morehead told the committee it took six months of therapy to receive a referral to simply discuss hormone therapy and other affirming treatments. They said telling children to grow out of gender dysphoria is like telling someone struggling with depression to just be happy.

Democratic Reps. Kameron Nelson and Erin Healy opposed the bill for sex-based discrimination. They cautioned fellow voters the bill would cost the state and taxpayers millions of dollars spent in litigating a complete ruling.

Morehead was also disappointed in the committee's ruling but said they would remain optimistic. Despite having discussed leaving the state to pursue healthcare available to them, they want to keep up the fight.

If we leave, the next generation is left behind," Morehead said. "That's why I'm staying here and continuing to fight."
COVID-19 still int'l health emergency: WHO

Xinhua) 08:14, January 31, 2023

Photo taken on March 30, 2021 shows an exterior view of the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

GENEVA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.

The announcement came amid the recent increase of weekly reported deaths worldwide. After its quarterly assessment meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, the WHO's International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee announced on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a PHEIC, which has been concurred by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health systems, the committee said in a statement, while acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic may be approaching an inflection point.

Although infection or vaccination may lead to higher levels of population immunity globally and limit the impact of morbidity and mortality, "there is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals for the foreseeable future," the committee said.

It then called for long-term public health action that will prioritize the mitigation of COVID-19 impact on morbidity and mortality.

Meanwhile, the committee recommends that countries should achieve 100 percent vaccination coverage of high-priority groups, improve reporting of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data to the WHO, and ensure long-term availability of medical countermeasures, such as COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Jonathan Woodgate signed for Newcastle on this day in 2003 (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Archive)

Leeds defender Jonathan Woodgate completed a 9million move to high-flying Newcastle on this day in 2003.

The then 23-year-old joined the Magpies, who were second in the Premier League at the time, on a four-and-a-half-year contract after becoming the latest big-name departure from Elland Road.

Leeds faced a dire financial situation which forced them to sell Woodgate and left manager Terry Venables future in doubt. The former England boss had stated he would consider his options should the centre-half depart, having already seen the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler sold under his watch.

Woodgate had established himself in the Leeds side which reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2001 and during his time in West Yorkshire he won the first of his eight England caps at just 19 years of age.

Following his arrival at St James Park, Woodgate spoke about his title hopes, with Sir Bobby Robsons Newcastle five points behind leaders Arsenal at the time.

I believe so, the position theyre in. Why not? he said when asked of his new club could win the league.

Theyre second in the league, five points behind Arsenal, who have got to come here as well. Thats the big game, and hopefully they can win that game.

The defender, who was found guilty of affray in 2001, also spoke frankly about the court case which almost wrecked his career, saying: Its been the hardest time of my life.

You look back and you think of things that youve done wrong  and Ive done a few things wrong  but Ive got over them and Im going to start afresh at Newcastle United and hopefully go from strength to strength.

Woodgate made 37 appearances on Tyneside before joining Spanish giants Real Madrid for 13.4million in August 2004.

He only represented Real on 14 occasions during an injury-plagued spell in Spain and eventually returned to England with home-town club Middlesbrough, first on loan and then on a permanent deal in 2007.

A year later he made the switch to Tottenham  where he scored an extra-time winner in the 2008 Carling Cup final  before finishing his career with stints at Stoke and then back at Boro.

Woodgate is currently an assistant to Michael Carrick at Boro, having previously been in charge at the Riverside and Bournemouth.
A Charlotte concealed handgun instructor was in limbo for months as his concealed carry renewal went cold.

For months, Channel 9s Hunter Saenz has covered the challenges people face with getting gun permits approved in Mecklenburg County. Knowing he was going to talk with him, Saenz asked for the sheriffs office to weigh in on Bryan Yerkes renewal -- he asked them what was taking so long for it to go through.

By Tuesday afternoon, Yerkes permit was finally approved. But the process to get there is what hundreds of others are still going through.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gun rights advocates sue Meck sheriff, claim hes denying constitutional rights

Yerke is a certified concealed handgun instructor. But since September of last year, by no fault of his own, his concealed handgun permit has been expired.

Oh its definitely an unpleasant experience, he said.

It meant he cant carry his gun around, and later this month he could lose his gun permits in other states as well.

He said he did everything right last summer -- he filled out the application and even paid the fee. But as of Tuesday morning, his application was still pending.

I want the sheriff to obey the law, Yerke said.

Then, after Saenz started asking questions, Yerkes permit was approved Tuesday afternoon. But there are many others who are still waiting.

According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Office, as of Monday, there were more than 3,000 unfulfilled concealed handgun permits.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Sheriffs office faces lawsuit as gun permit applicants wait months for approval

In November, Sheriff Garry McFadden said he sends every applicant to the Veterans Administration as part of his mental health checks. Once an application is complete and all mental health checks are met, state law requires sheriffs to take less than 45 days to approve or deny a permit.

We cant make these institutions work any faster, we cant demand them to work any faster. So thats the clog, McFadden said.

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Data shows the sheriffs office is still waiting to get mental health checks back from applicants who applied in March of last year. Yerke, who was caught up in that wait, said thats not right. He doesnt understand why his application needs to go to the VA because hes not even a veteran.

The Veterans Affairs office would have no information whatsoever on me, Yerke said. It doesnt make any sense to me, unless you factor in that we may have a sheriff that just does not want to issue gun permits, period.

McFadden said he wants to be thorough with all checks. If something bad happens, he doesnt want the finger pointed at his department.

He is currently being sued by Grass Roots North Carolina over how long its taking to get permits. That lawsuit is still playing out.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Office shared the following statement with Channel 9:

The Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) has received several inquiries about the permitting process and where it now stands. Our dedicated staff continues to work diligently to process all permit applications in accordance with state requirements. Almost 3,800 hours of overtime have been expended this fiscal year. MCSO has implemented several changes to the permitting process to be more efficient to include mailing permit(s) to customers to eliminate visits to the office; and utilizing a new interface to reduce duplicate entries for new applicants. From October 22, 2022, to January 31, 2023, we have received 4,933 releases for approximately 110 days of releases from Veterans Affairs (VA). Since October 24, 2022, MCSO has processed over 6,200 applications to meet the demand and continues to work to process applications as soon as possible. MCSO has found that not everyone discloses their military status on their application, so to be certain we are getting accurate information, the process is to check everyone through the same facilities. This process has been in place since 1996. The agency continues to wait on mental health facilities to return the releases needed to process applications, as there is no state requirement for these facilities to return the documents in a timely manner. We could not be prouder of how hard our staff are working to process applications. They have worked during the holidays, significant hours of overtime, and have worked in the office throughout the pandemic to keep up with the demand. MCSO is committed to serving our customers as best we can, as we strive to process all permit applications in accordance with the state requirements.

(WATCH BELOW: Sheriff McFadden responds to lawsuit over waiting times for concealed handgun permits)
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Senate Democrats want to ramp up the pace of federal judge confirmations this Congress.

But their task could grow challenging when it comes to filling vacancies in states with GOP senators.

By tradition, senators have essentially a veto power over district court nominees in their home states.

Senate Democrats are vying to confirm more of President Joe Biden's nominees to the federal bench after he broke his recent predecessors' records for judges appointed in their first two years in office.

"This Congress, with an even larger majority, Senate Democrats will ramp up to a record pace and continue to make our courts more reflective of our country," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement to Insider.

But even with a 51-seat majority, the task for Democrats could grow challenging as many of the 88 open judgeships  a number that's expected to rise with new retirements  will require cajoling support from Republican senators, or jettisoning a century-old Senate practice that empowers them.

By tradition, senators essentially have a veto over district judge nominees in their home states. Almost a third of the current vacancies are in states with at least one GOP senator, who could block some of Biden's choices.

"I will not hesitate if I don't think they ought to be on the federal bench," GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, where there are four district court vacancies, told Insider.

Biden has repeatedly expressed a strong commitment to reshaping the federal courts after former President Donald Trump dramatically shifted the judiciary to the right. Democrats see judicial confirmations as a defense against GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, weaken gun restrictions or curtail voting rights through the bench.

"One of the really important things about having a balanced federal judiciary is ensuring that some of these awful, unpopular, radical things that the Republicans are trying to implement through the courts aren't just sailing through," said Justin Goodman, Schumer's former communications director who is now an executive vice president at the public affairs firm SKDK.

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Yet if Republicans balk at Biden's nominees, Democrats will face increased pressure from the left to bury the Senate's judicial-approval tradition to cement the president's legacy on the bench.

Both Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, and the panel's top-ranking Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, are hoping it won't get to that point.

"I'm not asking anybody to capitulate," Graham said during a committee meeting last week. "I'm asking people to cooperate. And I'm hoping we can find some system that works."

President Joe Biden. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Judicial vacancies in Republican-led states

Since Biden became president, he's appointed nearly 100 federal judges  more than Trump and President Barack Obama did in their first two years, according to the Federal Judicial Center. Biden's nominees increased diversity on the historically homogeneous courts, most notably with the ground-breaking confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

"Both, in terms of ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, and experience, no one has topped him. I mean, no one's even close," Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told Insider.

Now in a divided Congress, the table is set for Democrats to accelerate the pace of confirmations. The Senate, alone, confirms judicial nominees, and Democrats are expecting ample opportunity to focus on them since Republicans control the House and major legislative activity is less likely. The party is aiming for a year like 2019, when the GOP-led Senate confirmed 102 of Trump's nominees to the bench after Democrats won the House.

But the Senate Judiciary Committee's long-standing "blue slip" tradition could complicate Biden's plans to transform the courts over the next two years. When considering district court vacancies, senators from that home state must return a blue sheet of paper, with lines that say "approve" and "disapprove," for a nominee to receive a hearing and move forward in the confirmation process.

The process, started in 1917, is meant as a courtesy to home state senators and to fulfill the president's "advice and consent" constitutional obligation of the Senate.

With GOP hostility toward Biden's agenda and signs of hyperpartisanship in the Senate, he's so far largely avoided potential blue-slip fights by nominating circuit court judges  who sit on one of 13 courts that hear challenges of district court decisions and whose nominations do not require blue slips to advance  and district court judges in states represented by his party. A senator can derail an aspiring federal judge simply by refusing to return the slip.

Democrats confirmed 28 circuit court judges and 68 district court judges in Biden's first two years. Of the district court judges, the majority were in states with Democratic senators and only one nominee was confirmed in a state with two Republican senators: Iowa.

"President Biden's gonna have a tougher time filling district court slots over the next two years because he's already picked the low-hanging fruit of filling district court slots with two Democrat home state senators," said Mike Davis, who previously served as chief counsel for nominations to former Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.

Biden, a former Judiciary Committee chair himself, could continue to prioritize and appoint judges in Democratic-led states, which he's widely anticipated to do. But if Democrats want to make good on their promise of restoring balance to the courts, experts say they must place judges in red states, where there are currently 28 open district court seats, including in Texas, Florida, Idaho and Wyoming. The sole pending nomination for those vacancies is in Mississippi.

"The real difference will come when you replace the Republican appointees with a Democrat who has very different experience and different views ideologically," Tobias said. "[Biden] needs to get more of those."

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Image

'Antiquated blue slip process'

Durbin, as judiciary chair, has the power to change the informal, blue-slip practice for district court confirmations, but committee staffers said it's premature to discuss that option.

At the moment, the top Democrat is reminding Republicans that his party returned 130 blue slips for district court nominees under Trump, including many in the second half of his administration. Democrats are hoping their GOP colleagues will do the same now that the roles are reversed.

"It can be done if you're willing to sit down and be reasonable on both sides of the table," Durbin said during a committee work session.

Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) January 25, 2023

Besides Graham, other Republicans senators have worked across the aisle on judicial confirmations. Durbin recently praised Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana for returning blue slips on Judge Matthew Brookman for a district spot in their home state, signaling a smooth confirmation process ahead.

Yet although some Republicans are cooperating, Durbin said, "so far we've only received 12 blue slips in the first two years from the Republican side."

And some GOP members have threatened to withhold their support.

Kennedy, the senator of Louisiana, successfully negotiated with Democrats on confirming a circuit court nominee last Congress. But he said the White House "hasn't seemed to be in a real big hurry on the district court appointees."

"We have discussed some names, but the names that the White House has sent to me, I'm not going to support and they know that," he told Insider. "I'm not looking for activists or ideologues. I'm looking for good lawyers who will make good judges."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas also griped that the White House has delayed talks on judicial nominations.

"We would like to maintain some cooperation and communication with the White House and certainly we're not doing anything to slow this down," he said in last week's committee meeting.

Durbin, seemingly trying to assuage Cornyn's concerns, responded at the time: "It is definitely a two-way street. We're asking members to try to cooperate but certainly the White House has to do the same."

The White House has insisted that its goal is to consult with all senators of both parties to fill judicial vacancies in the remainder of Biden's term. And while the administration could win over some hesitant Republicans, at least one has already opposed a Biden nominee. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin initially approved Judge William Pocan for the state's eastern district court, but then walked back his support, denying a blue slip and preventing him from advancing.

Despite Durbin's pleas for bipartisanship, progressive advocacy and legal groups, who have celebrated Biden's record on the federal courts, aren't holding their breath that GOP senators will come around.

"It's time for the Senate to do away with the antiquated blue slip process, which is letting Republican senators tell President Biden who can and cannot become a judge," Christopher Kang, chief counsel at Demand Justice, said in a statement to Insider.

"With fewer and fewer vacancies remaining in blue states, President Biden needs to be able to appoint judges in red states to maximize his judicial legacy so Americans across the country will benefit from a diverse judiciary," he added. "For him to do that, he needs Chairman Durbin to have his back."

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Biden's 'partial legacy'

The blue-slip tradition has been a source of headaches for both Republicans and Democrats. The Obama White House voiced frustrations with the custom in 2014, when Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy chaired the committee, because they thought Republicans were exploiting it by blocking nominees or using delay tactics.

"This abuse is a significant constraint on the president's selection of potential nominees and on his ability to quickly nominate individuals to fill long-standing vacancies," Eric Schultz, then the White House deputy press secretary, told Gannett at the time.

Leahy required two positive blue slips from home-state senators for both circuit and district court nominees to advance. His successor, Grassley, however, announced a different standard for circuit court nominees during the Trump administration, saying a lack of two positive blue slips wouldn't prevent a nominee from getting a hearing unless the White House failed to consult with home state senators. Graham, who followed Grassley, imposed a similar policy and, now, so does Durbin.

It's a powerful tool that senators don't want to lose.

The blue slip is "the last thing pretty much left that makes senators very relevant" in the district judge nominating process, according to Graham, who chaired the committee from 2019 to 2021. He felt pressured to change the rule so Republicans could fill any vacancy they wished, and he warned that Durbin would now feel the heat from Democrats.

"I think it's important we keep it," Graham said.

The South Carolina Republican acknowledged that Democrats joined forces with Republicans when he was chairman, even if vacancies remained in three blue states under Trump and not many were filled in California. Graham encouraged his fellow GOP senators to create a process that would allow nominations to advance "in a reasonable fashion."

Durbin has not yet signaled any urgency to abolish the tradition. But in the coming weeks and months, if Democrats fail to place judges in red states because of GOP holdouts, the party must decide whether to abandon blue slips to satisfy their agenda before Biden's term ends.

Rakim Brooks, president of Alliance for Justice, a left-leaning legal policy coalition, cautioned against Republicans blocking nominees in their home states and slowing down legal action in different parts of the country. "That just seems fundamentally unfair," he said.

Brooks fears that Biden will leave only a "partial legacy" on the courts if Democrats fall short on this responsibility and continue to honor blue slips. Though he has faith that the party will make the right decision in the face of Republican opposition.

"I think they'll come around, ultimately, to seeing that what they're aiming to do just ultimately proves to be impossible," Brooks said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Members of the Service Trades Council unions, which represents 45,000 Disney workers, are encouraging members to reject a new contract offer from the company.

STORY: Port Canaveral sets record for passengers coming through the port

At issue is a pay increase for the first year of the contract.

The unions says Disney is proposing raises of $1 a year for most workers, but leaders say that is not enough to cover the increasing cost of living.

STORY: Laverne & Shirley star Cindy Williams dies at 75

The unions wants a $3 dollar per hour raise next year and a three-year contract.

Disney said that their offer would get all cast members to $20 per hour by the end of the contract.

STORY: Father speaks out after son allegedly receives racist messages and threats from fellow students

In an official statement, Disney further broke down what that means.

This very strong offer provides our Cast Members with a nearly 10% average increase immediately and guaranteed raises for the next four years with every single non-tipped Cast Member promised at least a $20 starting wage during the contract, and the majority seeing a 33% to 46% increase during that time.

The contract with the unions expired in October and both sides have been negotiating since then.

CLICK HERE to read the original WFTV article.

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MAINZ, Germany  A family dispute, a missing woman, and a body that had been stabbed to death found in the womans car by her parents: These things, authorities in Germany now say, are not as they once seemed.

Far from being the victim, the woman who had been missing had instead found a lookalike on Instagram and killed her with a friend in order to stage her own death and start a new life, prosecutors and police in Bavaria now say. The case has been dubbed the doppelganger murder by local media.

Arrest warrants on suspicion of murder have now been issued for the woman and her friend, police in the southern city of Ingolstadt, around 50 miles north of the regional capital, Munich, announced Monday. The pair have been in custody since days after the body was discovered.

Police searching for clues after murder case in Ingolstadt (Peter Kneffel / Picture Alliance via Getty Images file)

I can confirm that the accused 23-year-old female obviously planned to start a new life due to family problems, police spokesperson Andreas Aichele told NBC News. She had set up several social media accounts to find any persons looking as similar to her as possible,Aichele said.

Investigations revealed contact to several young ladies during a period of few weeks. Investigators assume that under a pretext she managed to organize a meeting with the later victim. Together with the 23-year-old male she traveled to the Heilbronn region to pick her up and carry out the planned murder, Aichele added.

Under German privacy laws, the full names of victims or suspects are not publicly released.

Police searching for clues after murder case in Ingolstadt (Peter Kneffel / Picture Alliance via Getty Images file)

The mystery began last Aug. 16, when the body of a woman who had been stabbed to death was found by the parents of the 23-year-old German-Iraqi female in her parked vehicle in Ingolstadt, according to a statement from police in upper Bavaria north.

But a subsequent autopsy raised serious doubts about the identity of the woman, they said in a statement two days later.

It brought relief to the father of the 23-year-old, but not under the circumstances he expected. The police came to us ... and said, Good news, your daughter is alive. We were so happy. We thought she was dead, German newspaper Bild quoted the womans father as saying.

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Instead, two days later, police said they had arrested the woman and another 23-year-old of Kosovan descent under suspicion of manslaughter. The two suspects have been in custody since, and the arrest warrants on suspicion of murder were issued late last week.

The dead woman, it turns out, was another 23-year-old woman who police said looked strikingly similar to the suspect.

The suspects came up with the plan to search online for a woman who looked similar to the German-Iraqi, kill her and place her in such a way that the corpse would be mistaken for the suspect, police said in a statement Monday.

She offered them various benefits in order to achieve a meeting. However, it did not come to a meeting with those women, prosecutor Dr. Veronika Grieser said.

According to the Bavarian police, the main suspect contacted the victim through social media in early August and arranged a meeting on Aug. 16. She traveled with her friend in her car to the greater Heilbronn area, around 150 miles west of Ingolstadt, to pick up the victim at home, police said.

The victim was lured out of the vehicle and stabbed to death in a wooded area insidiously and for base motives, the statement added.

Andy Eckardt reported from Mainz, Germany, and Aina J. Khan from London

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Activist Scott Schaeffer-Duffy holds a sign during a candlelight vigil Monday in memory of Tyre Nichols outside Worcester City Hall. Nichols, a Black man, was beaten by police officers Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tenn., and later died. The officers have been charged with second-degree murder.

WORCESTER  Dozens of people gathered Monday night at City Hall to hold a vigil honoring Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was fatally beaten by police in Memphis, Tennessee, and called for more action to address police brutality.

"Continue that fight so we can be a better city, a better commonwealth, a better country," at-Large City Councilor Khrystian E. King said. "This is not about showing up now or showing up for a little while and engaging and pushing an advocating. It has to be a sustained effort to ensure we have equity, equality and justice in every facet of our life and every facet of our community."

Police body cam video released Friday shows five Memphis officers brutally beating the 29-year-old Nichols, shouting expletives and using pepper spray and a baton on him, while he called out for his mother in a traffic stop Jan. 7.

He was hospitalized and died three days later.

The five officers were all fired and were charged Thursday with second-degree murder and other crimes in connection to Nichols' death.

Monday, city officials said two more Memphis police officers were relieved of duty and two EMTs and a firefighter were fired as the investigation surrounding Nichols' death continues.

Reverberations felt nationwide

Vigils nationwide have been organized to remember Nichols.

Monday's city vigil was organized by Free Worcester and the Independent Socialist Group of Worcester.

Speaker Ashley Rogers of the Independent Socialist Group of Worcester speaks Monday during a candlelight vigil in memory of Tyre Nichols outside Worcester City Hall.

Nelly Medina, a community activist with Free Worcester, said the vigil is a sign of the community's desire for action on police violence.

"Our meeting here this evening signifies resistance as we gather fearlessly, unapologetically," Medina said. "We seek justice desperately for Tyre Nichols and know every 28 hours before and after his murder, law enforcement, vigilantes or security guards take a life in this country."

Ashley Rogers with the Independent Socialist Group said protesters have been in the same place before, organizing in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, and setting off a summer of protest calling for changes to policing in the country.

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Rogers said that politicians ignored calls to defund the police and, instead, increased their budgets. She said the violence displayed in the Memphis video is inherent in the police system, referencing the shooting death of Sayed Faisal in Cambridge in early January, who advanced toward officers with a knife.

"This is not an isolated incident. This isn't a case of bad apples. This is business as usual for the police, all police," Rogers said.

Worcester not immune to scrutiny

As the nation reels from the video of Nichols' assault, Worcester has been in the midst of a moment of increased scrutiny on its police department.

Worcester police are currently under a civil investigation by the office of U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and the Department of Justice, attempting to determine whether a pattern of discriminatory practices or excessive use of force exists within the police department.

People gather for a candlelight vigil Monday in memory of Tyre Nichols outside Worcester City Hall, Monday. Nichols, a Black man, was beaten by police officers Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tenn., and later died.

Friday, the Telegram & Gazette reported the city recently paid $272,500 to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought against the police captain who acts as the departments civil rights officer and commands its investigative division.

Rogers referenced the DOJ investigation in her speech and compared the hotspot policing model the Memphis officers who beat Nichols used to Worcester's adoption of ShotSpotter Connect technology.

She also called for a greater organized movement to combat racist policing and a democratic body with complete oversight over the police.

Prayers, calls for justice

As a Black man and an elected official, King said desensitization from the trauma of incidents like the death of Nichols is all too common and escaping the presence of such violent footage can feel nearly impossible.

"I encourage everyone to think about that trauma, to take of yourselves, take care of your family and loved ones," King said. "And that's as important as the advocacy."

Bixby Fiske, 3, has his candle relit by Maya Desai as his mother, Jenny Pacillo, looks on behind him during a candlelight vigil Monday in memory of Tyre Nichols outside Worcester City Hall.

The participants held candles as a prayer was recited for Nichols and for justice in his case. A few audience members gave brief thoughts on the death of Nichols.

The event concluded with an impromptu singing of the civil rights movement anthem, "We Shall Overcome."

Saturday, Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent and City Manager Eric D. Batista both released statements condemning the actions of the Memphis officers, and promised to work to improve community relations with police and dismantling systemic racism in city government.

The weekend after the release of the video had been quiet in the city with no organized protests.

The vigil organizers emphasized that the event was not a protest and was meant to be a time to reflect on the pain caused by Nichols' death.

Material from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester candlelight vigil remembers Tyre Nichols, calls for action on police violence
bortnikau / iStock.com

Owners of older Hyundai and Kia car models might be having buyers remorse these days due to issues getting the vehicles insured.

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Two of the biggest auto insurers in the United States  Progressive and State Farm  have stopped writing policies in some cities on Hyundai and Kia models that have been classified as too easy to steal, CNN reported. The cities mentioned in media reports include Denver and St. Louis (though neither Progressive nor State Farm would confirm specific cities and states to CNN).

A Fall 2022 analysis from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that certain 2015 through 2019 Hyundai and Kia models are about twice as likely to be stolen as other vehicles of similar age.

According to a September 2022 press release from the HLDI and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), many 2015-19 Hyundai and Kia vehicles dont have electronic immobilizers that prevent thieves from breaking in and bypassing the ignition. The immobilizers are designed to confirm whether a specific key belongs to a specific vehicle. If not, the immobilizers keep cars from moving. The feature is standard on nearly all vehicles of that vintage made by other manufacturers.

Our earlier studies show that vehicle theft losses plunged after immobilizers were introduced, HLDI Senior Vice President Matt Moore said in a statement. Unfortunately, Hyundai and Kia have lagged behind other automakers in making them standard equipment.

Take Our Poll: What Are Your Financial Priorities in 2023?

As CNN noted, some of the 2015-19 Hyundai and Kia models are so easy to steal that their thefts started trending on social media. Some thieves even posted videos of their thefts and offered advice on how to steal the vehicles  developments that no doubt caught the attention of insurance companies.

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In a statement to CNN, State Farm said it has temporarily stopped writing new business in some states for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia vehicles because theft losses for these vehicles have increased dramatically. This is a serious problem impacting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry.

Progressive is also cutting back on insuring these cars in some markets, spokesman Jeff Sibel told CNN in an emailed statement.

During the past year weve seen theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles more than triple and in some markets these vehicles are almost 20 times more likely to be stolen than other vehicles, Sibel wrote. Given that we price our policies based on the level of risk they represent, this explosive increase in thefts in many cases makes these vehicles extremely challenging for us to insure. In response, in some geographic areas we have increased our rates and limited our sale of new insurance policies on some of these models.

To help address the problem, both Hyundai and Kia have been working with local police departments to make steering wheel locks available to affected owners, according to the IIHS-HLDI report. In addition, Hyundai has identified a security kit it believes will help prevent thefts. Whether these features are enough to convince certain insurers to write policies on the cars is uncertain.

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Find: Can You Buy Cars Directly From Automakers To Save Money?

Meanwhile, immobilizers are standard on all Hyundai vehicles built after Nov. 1, 2021, and immobilizers were installed on all 2022 Kia models and trims either at the beginning of the model year or as a running change.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If You Drive These Cars, You May Be Uninsurable for Reasons Out of Your Control
Image: Tristan Fewings / Stringer (Getty Images)

Joe Cornish, the Ant-Man writer who is also known for Attack the Block and The Kid Who Would be King, revealed in an interview with Playlist some new details behind Edgar Wrights Ant-Man exit. Although Wright has stated before that he left for creative differences, Cornish said that the issues likely started much earlier.



When Edgar and I first met Marvel, they were in offices above a BMW showroom in Beverly Hills, Cornish said. He described a business that was still struggling to find its footing in filmthis was pre-Iron Man after all. Cornish and Wright worked on Ant-Man for nearly a decade, but in between their argreement with Marvel and production time, the landscape changed completely.

Read more

He described Wrights auteurship evolving over that time as well. In this period in his career, he went on to direct Hot Fuzz and the comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His style was not Marvels style, and Cornish thinks this might have been a reason that the exit happened. Marvel didnt necessarily want the authored movie that Edgar and I wanted to make because, at that point, they had... this universe where the movies had to integrate. Edgar is an auteur. Edgar Wright makes Edgar Wright movies. In the end, thats why it didnt happen, I guess.

It makes sense that Marvel, which famously makes movies that almost all look the same due to its VFX process, wouldnt have been in love with whatever Wright dreamed up. The idea that Marvel would say no to Wright is baffling, as I cannot imagine asking someone to do a less cool version of whatever Wright wanted. At any rate, they didnt need each other: Ant-Man is still going (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jeff Loveness, is out February 17) as is Wright, who has a slate of projects lined up after his 2021 double-punch of Last Night in Soho and music documentary The Sparks Brothers.

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Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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Click here to read the full article.
Sameh Shoukry and Serhiy Lavrov

Lavrov said he confirmed that Shoukry has given him a certain message from Blinken, who was recently on a visit to the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Read also: Lavrov says its out of the question that Russia will accept Zelenskyys peace formula

The Russian minister said that Russia is allegedly always ready to listen to any serious proposal aimed at resolving the entire current situation in its comprehensive context.

In this sense, we once again heard the message through the minister that Russia must stop, Russia must leave, and then everything will be fine, Lavrov said.

Read also: Israeli FM conveys Blinkens message to Lavrov

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Ukraines peace formula at the G20 summit in November.

Russia has repeated refused to discuss Ukraines formula, and has yet to put forward any peace plans of its own.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
An El Paso woman accused of posing as a federal employee who promised to help process immigration applications "amassed more than $400,000 of unexplained wealth" in 18 months, authorities said.

Ana Maria Hernandez, 53, is accused of defrauding more than 20 immigrants and their families, but U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents believe she might have victimized many others.

HSI agents arrested Hernandez on Jan. 23 after a federal grand jury indicted her on Jan. 4 on 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of impersonating a U.S. government employee.

Ana Maria Hernandez is accused of defrauding migrants by posing as an employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Hernandez allegedly posed as an employee of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and told undocumented immigrants and their families that she could process immigration applications for a fee, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement.

Immigration:El Paso Border Patrol led nation in migrant encounters in 1st quarter of fiscal year 2023

While allegedly representing herself as working for the federal immigration agency, Hernandez allegedly claimed she could provide clients with legitimate U.S. immigration documents, according to the indictment.

The indictment stated that victims paid Hernandez for help in adjusting their immigration status for themselves, relatives and friends.

Biden on the Border:President Biden to El Paso: 'What can I do to help?'

An HSI investigation found that Hernandez might have allegedly defrauded victims of more than $400,000 and suspect she might have scammed more people than the ones already identified.

The indictment states that Hernandez allegedly contacted victims via telephone, text message, email and personal meetings. She instructed them to provide various identification forms and documents and was paid in cash, money orders and bank wire transfers. The alleged scheme dates back to at least 2020.

More:Lamborghini, horses and diamonds: El Paso crypto investor pleads guilty to fraud

If convicted, Hernandez faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and three years on the impersonation count, officials said.

Story continues

According to jail records, Hernandez, of the Lower Valley, remains held without bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.

Anyone who was allegedly deceived and defrauded by Hernandez may call the HSI toll-free tip line at 866-347-2423.

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This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso woman accused in $400,000 immigration impersonation fraud
Eleven Deltona High School students face charges after a fight between a girl and boy escalated into an all-out brawl in the school's cafeteria on Friday, Volusia County sheriff's deputies said.

All of the students were charged with unlawfully and knowingly disrupting or interfering with the lawful administration or function of the school, sheriff's investigators said.

Two girls, 15 and 16, were additionally charged with battery. They punched a student in the face, sheriff's deputies said.

Students fight construction workersAnother off-campus fight reported near Seabreeze High

Student groping accusationsFamily of 10-year-old accused of groping school employee wants apology, counselor fired

The incident occurred at 12:22 p.m. on Friday during lunch, according to a report.

The details in the report state that a boy and a girl were arguing, during which the boy pushed on the girl's arm. The girl pushed the boy's arm away and they separated.

The boy then reached at the girl and pushed her. In defending herself, she punched him in the face, the report states.

Another girl then hit the boy in the face without provocation, prompting an all-out brawl involving all 11 students, deputies said.

Deputies were called in to help a School Resource Deputy and with the help of the school's staff broke up the fight, the report said.

The school's principal pressed charges on all the students, the report indicates.

All the students were detained and taken to the Volusia Family Resource Center in Daytona Beach where they were processed and released to their parents or guardians, said sheriff spokesman Andrew Gant on Monday.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Deltona high school students face charges in lunchroom brawl
Peru Macchu Picchu

If you had plans to visit Machu Picchu in Peru any time soon, you may not get that opportunity in light of recent events.

Violent political clashes have endangered the safety of locals and tourists in Peru. As a result, officials have closed the site until further notice.

This Inca marvel has mesmerized for years and is probably Perus most celebrated site. People have wandered through the ruins and climbed Machu Picchu mountain. Risk-takers have conquered the narrow, steep steps of Huayna Picchu mountain, otherwise known as The Stairs of Death.

Machu Picchu was a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, explained History. For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist, Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, only peasants living in the region knew of the abandoned citadels existence.

The name means Old Peak or Old Mountain in the Quechua language. The Inca built it ages before the invention of cranes and other construction machines. Similar to the pyramids of Egypt, they managed to do it with baffling efficiency.

According to Machu Picchu Gateway, the Inca set the stones to fit together without mortar, and you cant even get a piece of paper between them. Moreover, the stones are very heavy. This begs the question: how were they able to move them? The answer is lots of chiseling, sheer and almost superhuman strength.

Machu Picchu has drawn hundreds of tourists, willing to risk crowds and the elements for a chance to get that fantastic Instagram photo, especially when the sun casts a yellow, orange and red glow over the stone monuments or when the fog rolls in.

Here is everything you need to know about Machu Picchu and the civil unrest in Peru.

1. What Happened?

According to BBC, the violent protests, which have seen dozens of people killed, began when Perus previous leader was ousted.

Additionally, protesters damaged railway tracks, forcing authorities to suspend service.

Over 400 people were left stranded at Machu Picchu, according to Luis Fernando Helguero, the Peruvian tourism minister.

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Those with tickets to Machu Picchu can get a refund or credit to use them. The credit is only valid for up to one month after the conclusion of the demonstrations.

2. Were Those Stranded Able To Get Out?

Yes, eventually.

The tourism ministry announced that 148 foreigners and 250 Peruvians were safely evacuated on trains and buses.

This is not the first time tourists and locals have been stranded owing to conflict in the country. In December, visitors stuck at Machu Picchu had to be airlifted out.

3. What's Happening Politically In Peru?

Locals responded angrily at the election of the new president, Dina Boluarte, who is the first woman in Peru to hold that office. Before becoming president, she was the vice president.

CNN reported on January 20 that Boluarte pleaded for an end to the violence, which mostly was happening in the capital city of Lima.

Once again, I call for dialogue, I call on those political leaders to calm down, she urged. Have a more honest and objective look at the country; lets talk.

4. Protesters Are Not Moved

BBC reports that demonstrators are demanding fresh elections and want Boluarte to stand down, which she has so far refused to do.

They want former president Pedro Castillo released from prison.

BBC explains, Castillo is in jail facing charges of rebellion and conspiracy, which he denies. He insists he is still Perus legitimate leader.

According to some reports, police response has been ruthless. Theyve used tanks, helicopters and tear gas to bring the crowds to heel.

NPR interviewed one young man who said, this outrages us. The only thing the government is doing with these detentions is worsen tensions. When the population finds out about this, theyre going to react in a more radical fashion.
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) will consult the technology and telecoms sectors on whether tech giants like Alphabet Inc's Google, Meta and Amazon.com Inc should subsidize network costs, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

EU telecoms providers including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Telecom Italia say the six largest content providers account for more than half of data internet traffic and should contribute their fair share. The providers also point to Netflix Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

The tech giants say the idea is equivalent to an internet traffic tax that could interfere with Europe's net neutrality rules treating all users equally.

The commission's query is part of a 19-page document the EU executive drafted before it proposes legislation.

The EU executive is expected to publish the document next week to garner feedback from telecoms operators and Big Tech, although the timing may change. The next step is an agreement with EU countries and lawmakers to finalise the legislation.

"Some stakeholders have suggested a mandatory mechanism of direct payments from CAPs (content application providers)/LTGs (large traffic generator) to contribute to finance network deployment. Do you support such suggestion and if so why? If no, why not?" the questionnaire asked.

The questionnaire also asks who the mechanism should apply t; whether it would negatively impact innovation, the internet ecosystem and consumers; and whether the EU should create a continental or digital levy or fund.

The EU will also query Big Tech and telecoms providers' investment spending and future developments, confirming a Reuters story this month.

"The Commission's questionnaire is basically asking questions that seek to justify the 'fair share' narrative pushed by big telcos. What is more, it seems to ignore the impact on consumers and fundamental net neutrality protections," an industry source said.

"The Commission is also asking for detailed business information, such as peering contracts, that is usually confidential. This effectively excludes key stakeholders from taking part.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Josie Kao)
Katie Crews, 30, was accused of employing excessive force in the moments leading up to the death of David McAtee, a cherished cook who provided LMPD officers with food while they were on their beats.

A former Louisville Metro Police Officer received two years of probation instead of a prison sentence in a case connected to the 2020 killing of a beloved Black barbecue chef.

Katie Crews, 30, was accused of employing excessive force in the moments leading up to the death of David YaYa McAtee just after midnight on June 1, 2020 when she fired a pepperball at his McAtees restaurant. Crews was among the LMPD officers and Kentucky National Guard members responding to a crowd near McAtees restaurant following a 9 p.m. curfew that then-Mayor Greg Fischer implemented in response to protests over Breonna Taylors killing by police, The Louisville Courier Journal reported.

A makeshift memorial for David McAtee is shown outside the location where he was shot and killed by police in the early hours of Monday morning on June 1, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. Katie Crews, who was charged with using excessive force in the moments leading up to McAtees death, has been sentenced to two years of probation. (Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

This sentence makes clear that law enforcement officials are not above the law, said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division in a statement Monday, according to The Courier Journal. The Justice Department will continue to prosecute law enforcement officials who violate our federal civil rights laws and defy the public trust by using excessive force.

A grand jury found Crews willfully deprived McAtees niece, Machelle McAtee, of a constitutional right to be free from an unreasonable seizure and force by a law enforcement officer.

The federal indictment claimed that the former officer caused bodily harm when she fired a pepperball at M.M., striking M.M., while M.M. was standing on private property and not posing a threat to (Crews) or others.

Even though nobody was outside YaYas BBQ, video from a nearby business shows Crews standing at the fence line and firing objects at the door of McAtees eatery. After McAtee pulled his wounded niece into the eatery, McAtee fired his handgun twice. Louisville police officers, Kentucky National Guard members and Crews returned fire. McAtee died instantly after a bullet from a National Guard members weapon struck him.

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Machelle claimed she had been struck at close range by at least three projectiles when standing in the entryway of YaYas BBQ.

Following internal investigations of Crews and a Facebook post made days before McAtees death in which she celebrated a protester being hit by pepper balls, the married officer, who joined the LMPD in 2018, was fired in February 2022. She had been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.

Crews attorney, Steve Schroering, emphasized in court documents that she has a wife and a large, loving and supportive family and no past criminal history.

As part of a plea agreement, Crews forfeited her certifications as a law enforcement officer and faced a misdemeanor rather than a felony charge. She also consented to forgo future job searches in policing. According to court filings, she now works as an explosive canine handler for a security company, primarily screening air cargo for dangerous objects.

A lawsuit brought on behalf of McAtees mother and niece, which has been settled for $725,000, described YaYas BBQ, located a few blocks from the Louisville unrest and rallies in its city center, as a safe haven that fateful summer.

Doubling the punishment recommended by prosecutors, in addition to probation, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton sentenced Crews to 200 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.

McAtee, 53, is remembered as a cherished cook who provided LMPD officers with food while they served the public on their beats.

This former Louisville police officer abused her authority as a law enforcement officer, Clarke said, The Journal reported, and violated the victims civil rights.

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The post Ex-Kentucky cop gets 2 years probation in case tied to killing of Black chef appeared first on TheGrio.
BOSTON  A former naval police officer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of making threatening communications to his ex-wife and her mother in Iowa.

Luis De Leon, 30, of Middleton, Massachusetts was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of making threats in interstate commerce, according to Rachael Rollins, U.S. attorney for Massachusetts and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge with the FBI. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. De Leon was arrested Sept. 26.

According to the charging documents, on or about April 30, 2022, De Leon made a threatening phone call to his ex-wife in Iowa from a mobile telephone belonging to another person. During the call, De Leon allegedly made several threatening statements including, Youre gonna (expletive) pay! Do you understand!? There will be death! There will be war in the street! You wanna to go war!? Ill take you to (expletive) war!

Between May and June 2022, prosecutors allege, De Leon sent sent two letters containing threats to his ex-wifes mother in Iowa. In the letters, it is alleged that De Leon wrote, Ill be heading over there soon [] God help you and your dysfunctional family if you try and stop me. I wont be alone either just so you know and thats for your safety not mine!!! [] If you dont believe me just look where Im sending this from. I dont really have much else to lose, and do you know what men with nothing left to lose usually do?

The charge of making threatening communications in interstate commerce provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Kistner is prosecuting the case.

If you need help

Seacoast Media Group provides the following information as a public service:

Haven is a violence prevention and support service for men, women and children affected by domestic and sexual violence. Havens 24-hour hotline is 1-603-994-SAFE (7233) or visit havennh.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Portsmouth shipyard officer to plead guilty to threatening ex-wife
By Sonia Rolley

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -A focus of Pope Francis' visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo is a meeting on Wednesday with around 60 victims of the decades of violence in the east of the country who have made the cross-country journey to see him.

The pontiff had hoped to travel to the eastern city of Goma but cancelled the stop following a resurgence of fighting in the mineral-rich region, where more than 120 armed groups are fighting for control of land and natural resources.

Millions have been killed, and millions more have been displaced by the violence in the east since the 1990s.

WHAT IS DRIVING THE VIOLENCE IN EASTERN CONGO

The conflict in Congo goes back decades, making it difficult to isolate a few causes, said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group. At the start, rebellions abroad with rear bases in Congo, local struggles over land, resources, and identity  especially over the status of groups speaking Rwandan languages, and the weakness of the Congolese state were the main causes, he said.

The state has a large responsibility because it has done little to dismantle, demobilize, or defeat any of the 120 armed groups in the east, he said.

Competition for control of the region's rich natural resources has also contributed to the violence.

Pierre Boisselet from Kivu Security Tracker, which monitors unrest in the region, said: "The conflict has reached a stage where it seems to be self-sustaining because, over the decades, a class of professionals in violence has been formed, both among local and foreign armed groups and the states of the region."

WHO ARE THE MAIN ACTORS IN THE VIOLENCE

Myriad armed groups are involved in the violence, some with a few dozen members while others have hundreds of armed combatants, sometimes along ethnic lines. The most active in recent years include:

* The M23. The name refers to the March 23 date of a 2009 accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo. The group says the government has not kept its promise to fully integrate Congolese Tutsis into the army and government.

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It seized swathes of territory in a resurgence since March 2022, displacing over 500,000 as they advanced to the gates of Goma, leading to the cancellation of the pope's visit there.

* The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), is an armed group run by mostly ethnic Hutus who fled Rwanda after taking part in the 1994 genocide. They are seen as M23's main rival. Rwanda has accused Congo of using the FDLR a proxy, while Congo has accuse Rwanda of backing the M23. Both sides have denied the accusations.

* Fighters from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, commonly known as CODECO, are drawn mainly from the Lendu farming community, which has been in conflict with Hema herders. They are seen as one of the most violent against civilians. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo blamed the militia for a mass grave with 49 bodies including 12 women and six children found on Jan. 19.

* Islamic State-linked militia, known locally as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is another violent group operating in the region. It has killed and maimed scores in village raids and bombings. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of ADF's violence. The group is suspected of killing 20 people in a raid last week, and 14 others in a church bombing.

(Writing by Bate FelixEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
CAIRO (AP)  Sudanese authorities have released a man convicted of the 2008 killing of a U.S. diplomat in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Khartoum, his family said Tuesday. The release followed a 2020 deal between Sudan and the Trump administration that included compensation settlements for killings of Americans.

Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist by the United States, was captured weeks after the shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of John Granville, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Granville's Sudanese driver.

Abu Zaid spent most of the past 15 years behind bars in Kubar Prison in Khartoum and was released on Monday, according to his brother, Abdel-Malek Abu Zaid, who posted photos on social media showing the scene outside the prison following Abdel-Raouf's release.

Abdel-Malek would not elaborate but one of the daily newspapers in the country, the Sudani, reported that the Abu Zaid family had paid blood money to the slain driver's family. Under Islamic law, or Sharia, which Sudan's judiciary follows, a convict can be pardoned if his victim's family is financially compensated.

A spokesman for Sudan's ruling military declined to comment on the case. Other officials could not be reached for comment.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported release of Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist in 2013 by the U.S., and was seeking more information from the authorities in Khartoum.

We call for full accountability for the murders, of Granville and his driver, Abdel Rahman Abbas Rahama, the State Department said.

Earlier this month, Abu Zaid's family apologized for the killing of Granville and his driver, saying in a video message: We, as a family, apologize and acknowledged Abdel-Raoufs mistake and he already admitted his mistake and expressed his regret and remorse for what has happened.

Three other men were sentenced to death along with Abu Zaid while a fifth man received a two-year sentence for providing the weapons used in the attack.

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The four awaiting hanging broke out of prison in June 2010, killing a Sudanese police officer and wounding another in a shootout in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman, according to a Sudanese notice to the international police agency, Interpol.

Abu Zaid was recaptured weeks later and returned to Kubar Prison. The three other men were not recaptured. Local reports have said two of them later died in Somalia while the third is still living there.

In 2020, Sudan's former transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok reached a deal with the Trump administration to stop any future compensation claims being filed against the African country in U.S. courts.

This came after Sudan paid $335 million to settle compensation lawsuits at U.S. courts related to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole at Yemens southern port of Aden which killed 17 Marines, as well as Granvilles killing.

Granville, 33, was an official for the USAID. He was working to implement a 2005 peace agreement between Sudans north and south that ended more than two decades of civil war.

He was being driven home early in the morning on Jan. 1, 2008, from a New Year Eve party, when another vehicle intercepted his car and the gunmen inside opened fire on Granvilles vehicle, killing him and his driver, also a USAID employee. The attackers then fled the scene.

___

Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.
Matthew Rodwell, left, died following an alleged attack by a father and son in Downham Market, Norfolk. (SWNS)

A father and his son murdered his wife's new partner after finding him hiding in an upstairs wardrobe at her home in Downham Market, Norfolk, a court has heard.

Wayne Peckham, 49, and his son, Riley Peckham, 23, are accused of murdering Matthew Rodwell, 39, on 23 January last year

A post-mortem examination revealed that Rodwell died as a result of strangulation, Norwich Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

The court heard he suffered more than 40 "significant injuries" during the alleged attack, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both Peckham and his son deny murder.

The court heard they attacked Rodwell after finding him at the home of Wayne's wife and Riley's mother, Kerry, with whom he had started a relationship.

A father and son are accused of murdering a man at a house in Downham Market, Norfolk. (SWNS)

Read more: Man who punched paramedic called magistrate 'mug' and told court 'I need a beer'

Riel Karmy-Jones KC, prosecuting, said Rodwell, from Fincham, Norfolk, had hidden in a wardrobe when the pair arrived at the house, and from there made a 999 call to police.

She said: "Matthew, still hiding in a cupboard upstairs, heard Kerry downstairs. He hid in the wardrobe and called 999."

She said Rodwell was "terrified about being found by Riley and Wayne".

During the call, made from the wardrobe in the bedroom of her youngest son, Rodwell expressed "genuine fear about what was about to take place", the court heard.

Mrs Peckham had let her son Riley in through a window after she heard him on a roof outside. She had tried to get him to leave but he shouted and then his father entered the house.

Riley then discovered Rodwell in the wardrobe after picking up his shoes, the court was told.

Karmy-Jones said: "Riley said: 'You're going to die, you're going to die'."

Mrs Peckham could hear her son and Rodwell "grappling with each other" upstairs and tried to block her husband, but he "barged" past.

Father and son Wayne and Riley Peckham are on trial for murder at Norwich Crown Court. (PA)

Mrs Peckham tried to grab hold of his leg as Rodwell was assaulted at the top of the stairs, the court heard.

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She then fell down the stairs and did not see "exactly what happens", the prosecutor said.

The court heard Rodwell also ended up at the bottom of the stairs, where Wayne began "kicking, stamping and punching" him to "his body and face".

Mrs Peckham tried to protect Mr Rodwell and was also struck, the court was told.

Karmy-Jones said he had "over 40 significant injuries as a result of the attack that was inflicted upon him".

Prosecutors say Matthew Rodwell, pictured, was murdered by a father and son. (SWNS)

He was pronounced dead at the scene and a post-mortem examination revealed that he died of strangulation, the court heard.

Police arrived at the house at about 8.05pm and arrested Wayne, but Riley fled the scene in handcuffs and was caught a few hours later at another address.

The court heard Mrs Peckham moved in with Rodwell after ending her "turbulent" relationship with Wayne, the father of her three children, who was "rough, volatile and controlling" towards her.

Wayne Peckham, from Hilgay, is charged with murdering Rodwell and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Mrs Peckham.

He has also denied two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and another offence of assault by beating in relation to an earlier incident in Downham Market on 4 December 2021.

Riley, also from Hilgay, denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the same incident on 4 December 2021.

Karmy-Jones said the prosecution case was that this was a "joint enterprise" in which the two defendants had "acted together to settle scores".

The trial continues.
UPDATE: 10:15 p.m.: Action News Jax spoke to Corker Wimberly, father of the targeted student, in a phone conversation. He had this to say about the latest message sent by Bishop John J. Snyder High School:

I empathize with the parents. Kids do crazy things, but for every action, there is a reaction. For me, I have to protect my family. So we definitely can feel a little safer tonight because threats are not taken lightly. I want everybody to know, we have to get along in this world, neither one of our races are going anywhere, so we have to figure it out, a way to get along. Corker Wimberly





UPDATE: 5:04 p.m.: The students accused of sending racist messages and threats to a fellow student have been expelled from Bishop Snyder High School.

This is the message that was sent to the families and faculty and staff of Bishop Snyder High School:

Snyder Letter 1-31-23 by ActionNewsJax on Scribd





UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.: Action News Jax has learned that two students have been charged with felonies in relation to the alleged racist messages and threats sent to a student at Bishop John J. Snyder High School on Jacksonvilles Westside.

Original story from 1/30/2023 below:

A Jacksonville family is outraged and speaking out after their son allegedly received racist messages and threats from fellow students at Bishop John Snyder High School in Westside Jacksonville.

Now, the family is taking to social media, calling out the boys who allegedly sent these messages to this student. This all comes after these alleged messages were sent to the student in a Snapchat group chat.

One of the messages states the student isnt allowed to use any words from the dictionary because, quote, white people made them.

Later in the chat, another fellow student is then seen referencing the nickname of the student and suggesting that hes dead.

One boy in the chat then proceeded to allegedly send this picture of him with a firearm, saying 10 v 1. Another student allegedly suggested that the student would get jumped.

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Its also alleged that they threatened the targeted students entire household, saying theyll, quote, black hawk down his residence.

The family has now filed a police report with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.

Read: A wave of declarations across the U.S. is condemning racism as a public health crisis

Action News Jax spoke with the allegedly targeted students father on Monday night, who says its been a painful time for his son and the family.

Its a lot of pain. Theres things in those messages that my son will never forget, Corker Wimberly said. I dont wanna have to worry about my son. And I dont want any parent to have to worry about the safety of their son, or their kid.

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Wimberly also met with school officials and says the school is investigating and taking the matter seriously.

It cant be swept under the rug at all, Corker says. And I think the school, Bishop Snyder, is taking the necessary precautions and got a good plan of action.

Action News Jax has also requested the police reports associated with this incident and will provide further updates as they become available.

STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
President Joe Biden. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The FBI searched Biden's old office after his lawyers discovered a cache of classified documents there, CBS reported.

Biden's representatives cooperated with the search in mid-November, and the FBI did not seek a warrant.

The DOJ also searched Biden's home earlier this month, after a second batch of records was discovered there.

The FBI searched President Joe Biden's old office at the Penn-Biden Center last year, CBS News reported. Agents carried out the search in mid-November, after Biden's aides discovered 10 classified documents at the office dating back to his time as vice president.

CBS reported that the FBI did not seek a warrant to search the office and that Biden's representatives cooperated with the sweep. Although the documents' discovery and the FBI's search took place in November, the White House did not publicly announce it until earlier this month.

CBS' reporting is the latest twist in an ongoing controversy involving both Biden and former President Donald Trump's mishandling of national security information  both of whom now face separate special counsel investigations.

After Biden's lawyers discovered the initial cache of classified documents in his office in November, they immediately notified the White House counsel's office, which contacted the National Archives.

The documents were turned over to the Archives soon after, and the FBI began investigating that same month whether classified information had been improperly handled. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John Lausch, a Trump-era US attorney in Chicago, to handle the inquiry.

In December, Biden's legal representatives told Lausch that they had uncovered additional classified materials in the garage at Biden's personal residence in Delaware.

On January 12, after reports surfaced that a second batch of classified documents had been found after the initial sweep of Biden's old office, Garland took the extraordinary step of appointing a special counsel to investigate Biden's handling of classified information. The move put Garland and the Justice Department in the unprecedented position of overseeing two parallel special counsel investigations into the current and former president's management of government records.

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On January 21, Biden's personal attorney Bob Bauer announced that the Justice Department had also searched the president's Delaware home and discovered half a dozen documents marked classified. Neither Biden nor first lady Jill Biden were present during the search, which lasted 13 hours.

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly pointed to the way the feds have handled the Biden investigation as being tainted by political bias, alleging that Biden has been treated with more leniency than he was when the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago last summer.

"When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House?" Trump wrote on his Twitter-esque website, Truth Social.

But legal experts and DOJ veterans caution against conflating the two inquiries, noting that Biden's team immediately notified the archives and has been cooperating with the DOJ, while Trump refused to turn over troves of sensitive government records over 18 months of back-and-forth with US officials.

As new details continued spilling out about the DOJ's investigations into Trump and Biden, CNN also reported last week that classified documents were discovered at former Vice President Mike Pence's home in Indiana.

According to the report, the FBI is investigating the materials and reviewing how they ended up at Pence's residence. The former vice president's team found two boxes that included classified records and four boxes that contained potential presidential records but believed they were courtesy copies of documents the Archives already possessed, according to Politico. Pence sent the six boxes to NARA last week.

Read the original article on Business Insider
[Source]

Filipino netizens have slammed the Philippines first virtual model for purportedly not looking Filipino.

Berlina, who has a fair skin tone, a slim figure and narrow eyes, was introduced to social media on Dec. 23, 2022, in a photo with Filipino Twitch streamer Ninabuns.

The virtual model, which was created to be part of the growing number of influencers in the fashion industry, has since garnered more than 6,000 followers on Instagram.

More from NextShark: Great taste is universal: Behind the scenes of Times Squares Jollibee flagship store

According to When In Manila, the models unique face structure was created based on 100 faces to make it appear more realistic and detailed.

Her face design also took into account Filipinos' favorite facial features, according to the lifestyle publication.

Although there are no details regarding Berlinas personality yet, there are over 11 photos of the model on social media.

More from NextShark: Chinese inventor builds 27,000,000mAH power bank capable of charging 5,000 smartphones

Many online users have reportedly criticized the virtual model, arguing that its physical appearance stems from unrealistic beauty standards.

Shes going to set impossible beauty standards for our younguns, an Instagram user wrote.

Except she doesnt look like a Filipina and may have unrealistic beauty standards. Rename it to a cute A.I. model instead since she doesnt represent a trace of being Pinay, another user said.

Even the non-human Filipino models look white lol, entrepreneur Amira de Vera commented.

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Some Facebook users also disapproved of Berlina's thin body type.

Feed her some rice, somebody, one user wrote.

Wouldve been more amazing if her body was of average size, another person commented.

Berlina was compared to Lil Miquela, an American fictional character that debuted in 2016 and was touted as the first virtual influencer.

UGH! Not [Philippines] being a copycat again. Can we not create another Lil Mickela [sic] guys? one user said. Lets support, hire and appreciate human models [more] than this thing.
A former employee of the Broome County District Attorneys Office pleaded guilty to charges of grand larceny Monday, wrapping up a case that resulted in the former District Attorney losing his license to practice law in New York.

James M. Worhach, 37, formerly worked as the executive assistant and media relations representative under Stephen K. Cornwell Jr., who served as Broome County District Attorney from 2016 to 2019.

In pleading guilty to the felony charge of fourth-degree grand larceny, Worhach admitted to stealing more than $1,000 from the Broome County government to pay for unauthorized long-term parking for himself and Cornwell in a downtown Binghamton commercial lot throughout Cornwells time in office.

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Worhachs guilty plea, which was entered one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin in his trial, was part of a plea agreement, according to Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph G. Fazzary, who served as special prosecutor on the case.

Fazzary declined to share the terms of the plea agreement prior to Worhachs sentencing, scheduled for March 7 in Broome County Court.

Worhach, Cornwell previously pleaded guilty in stolen records cases

The larceny charge was the second in a two-count indictment against both Cornwell and Worhach in 2021, though that case against Cornwell was later dropped.

In December, both Cornwell and Worhach pleaded guilty to their respective charges outlined in the first indictment, which accused them of stealing files related to their previous arrests on charges of driving while intoxicated.

Cornwell pleaded guilty to a felony count of fourth-degree grand larceny, admitting he stole hard copies of police reports and witness statements pertaining to his 1995 arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, assault of a police officer and obstruction of governmental administration.

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Cornwell then altered his name and deleted his date of birth from corresponding digital files in an apparent attempt to prevent them from turning up in a search of an online case management database.

Worhach pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge in exchange for admitting he stole and falsified county records relating to his own 2013 felony DWI conviction.

Cornwell was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and sentenced by Madison County Judge Donald Cerio to three years conditional discharge. Under the terms of the felony charge, Cornwell also forfeited his license to practice law in the state.

Building the case

The crimes were discovered in 2021 by investigators and other staff members at the District Attorneys office, working with Broome County internal auditors, according to Fazzary.

Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak brought the case before a grand jury and secured indictments before the case was transferred by court order to the Schuyler County District Attorneys Office, due to the likelihood that Broome County employees would be called as witnesses in a potential trial.

Since becoming DA Ive made a commitment to the people of Broome County to investigate and prosecute corruption in our local government, Korchak said in a statement after Worhach's plea.

Korchak previously served as chief assistant prosecutor under Cornwell.

Fazzarys office is seeking $5,455 in restitution for Broome County. Worhach faces up to four years in prison.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: James Worhach pleads guilty to grand larceny in DA corruption case
A grand jury in New Mexico has indicted a former Republican candidate for state legislature on 14 criminal charges in relation to conspiring with and paying four men to shoot at the homes and businesses of elected officials, the Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office said in a statement Monday.

Solomon Pena was arrested on Jan. 16 over what officials called politically motivated shootings. Pena was the Republican candidate for New Mexicos District 14 in November and subsequently lost to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia.

Pena was indicted on 14 counts, including three counts of criminal solicitation to commit a shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, two counts of conspiracy to commit a shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, one count of shooting at a dwelling or occupied building and two counts of transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device.

Police said that they believed Pena was the mastermind behind the four shootings that took place between Dec. 4 and Jan. 4 at elected officials homes. The police also said that Pena was with another suspect in a car after the latest shooting took place, where police said they found a gun with ballistics indicating that it was related to the shooting.

Police have previously said no one was injured in any of the four shootings.

We want to thank the Albuquerque Police Department and our other law enforcement partners for bringing Mr. Pena to justice, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement Monday. An attack on elected leaders is an attack on our democracy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Washington State University student was found dead in his dorm last week.

WSU made national headlines last month when one of its criminology graduate students, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, became the main and only suspect in the brutal quadruple murders in the neighbouring college town of Moscow.

The university and its Greek life have now come under scrutiny after 19-year-old freshman Luke Tyler was found dead on 22 January at the Pullman campus. Foul play is not suspected but Tylers official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy later this week, The Daily Evergreen reported.

A group of Tylers friends have since claimed that his sudden death followed a long and cruel pledging process allowed by his fraternity, Theta Chi, The Spokesman-Review reported. In a Change.org petition, they demanded that the fraternity is disbanded.

Their inhumane and cruel hazing forced Luke, and many others to do things nobody should ever be forced to do, the description read. We demand that Theta Chi be investigated, shut down and the fraternitys president, as well as pledge masters and others with power in the fraternity be investigated for their involvement with the death of Luke Tyler.

More than 9,000 people have signed the petition.

Meanwhile, Tylers grieving family remembered him as an amazing person with an incredible [effect] on everyone whose life he touched.

A GoFundMe page raised more than $11,000 for a memorial service and to contribute to a cause Tyler supported.

A spokesman for the university told CBS affiliate KREM2 that no details about Tylers death will be released pending the investigation by law enforcement.

Arguably the most important element of this protocol is the direct outreach from our Dean of Students Office to the family and friends of the decedent. Im very thankful for the incredible work and ongoing support services provided by our Dean of Students in this case, and overall, the university said in a statement.

The Independent has reached out to WSU Police.
Cooking with gas could get less expensive for Southern California consumers next month. (Frank Hoermann / Associated Press )

With astronomical natural gas prices squeezing the pocketbooks of Southern California Gas Co.'s 21.8 million customers, the company says relief may be on the way as soon as next month.

In a statement, the company said the price of natural gas for its customers would be down 68% for February compared with January.

While were relieved that prices have dropped significantly since last month, they remain higher than usual for this time of year, said Gillian Wright, a SoCalGas executive.

The utility attributed the drop in consumer gas prices primarily to a commensurate drop in the wholesale price that SoCalGas will pay for gas in February compared with January.

The utility said in December that a customer who paid $130 in their peak month of winter consumption last year would this year pay $315, a 142% increase, due to a more than 300% increase in the wholesale price of natural gas since January 2022.

The higher gas prices have spurred elected officials to take action.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson addressed the price hikes, saying in a tweet that he would call an emergency City Council meeting Wednesday afternoon "to establish a financial assistance fund for seniors and families struggling to make ends meet."

California Senate Minority Leader Brian M. Jones, a Republican from San Diego, wrote a letter Monday with other Republican senators to the California Public Utilities Commission urging the body to expedite the distribution of California Climate Credits to residents. Those credits, typically distributed in April and October, come from a state program requiring industrial polluters to buy carbon offsets from the California Air Resources Board.

SoCalGas, for its part, announced a $1-million contribution to the Gas Assistance Fund, which provides one-time payments of as much as $100 for residents below specified income thresholds. The fund is a partnership between the utility and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

Customers looking for tips on how to conserve natural gas  and lower their bills in the process  can use this guide.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The invaders are on the offensive, but suffer heavy losses

The enemy is also carrying out unsuccessful offensives on the Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka parts of the front, the General Staff said..

Read also: Russia likely preparing for offensive in Ukraine in coming months, says ISW

As of Jan. 31, Russian troops on the Kupyansk and Zaporizhzhya axes are defending previously seized positions.

Over the past day, Ukrainian Defense Forces units repelled Russian attacks near Novoselivske and Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast, as well as Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, Vuhledar, and eight other settlements in Donetsk Oblast.

Read also: Russians plan offensive actions for February, says analyst

The situation in the areas of Volyn, Polissya, Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi in the north of Ukraine remained unchanged, and no enemy offensive groups were detected. Russian units are conducting drills at the training grounds of the Republic of Belarus.

The Russian forces shelled areas near the settlements of Khrenivka, Huta-Studenetska, and Chervonyi Khutir in Chernihiv Oblast, around seven settlements in Sumy Oblast, and near 12 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.

On the Kupyansk section of the front in Kharkiv Oblast, Kupyansk and four other settlements in the oblast, as well as Novoselivske and Andriyivka in Luhansk Oblast were hit by enemy fire.

On the Lyman section of the front, the enemy shelled Kreminna and four other settlements in Luhansk Oblast, as well as four settlements in Donetsk Oblast.

On the Bakhmut section of the front, Bakhmut and 12 other settlements in Donetsk Oblast came under enemy fire.

On the Avdiyivka section of the front, shelling with tanks, mortars, and artillery was recorded in the areas of Maryinka and seven other settlements in Donetsk Oblast.

On the Novopavlivka section of the front, Russian troops fired at Vuhledar and five other settlements in Donetsk Oblast.

On the Zaporizhzhya section of the front, Russian attacks hit Vremivka and Novopil in Donetsk Oblast, as well as eight settlements in Zaporizhzhya Oblast. In total, more than 20 settlements were hit.

On the Kherson section of the front, attacks from multiple rocket launchers, cannon artillery, and mortars were recorded in the areas of the city of Kherson and six other settlements.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
George Santos will voluntarily step down from two House committees he recently joined after meeting Tuesday morning with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The move comes after weeks of calls from Democrats for Mr McCarthy to do more to punish the freshman congressman who has now admitted to lying about much of his background and faces a federal investigation by the Justice Department.

It also comes as some critics have hit the House speaker for seeking the removal of three Democratic members of Congress from two committees over what the left decries as partisan reasons  many criticised Mr McCarthy for seeking to punish Democrats for political reasons while shielding one of his own from accountability.

Though Mr McCarthy has faced pressure to strip Mr Santos of his committee memberships or even go as far as some of his GOP colleagues and call for his resignation, it wasnt immediately clear if the suggestion that Mr Santos step down had come from the speaker.

Nevertheless, its a major blow to Mr Santoss credibility as a US congressman and the third congressional district of New York in general, which now is represented by a member of Congress who has no committee memberships and little sway over the crafting of legislation at all beyond simple votes on the House floor.

The news broke as an NBC News poll released this week found that nearly in ten New Yorkers who live in the Nassau County district Mr Santos calls home want him out of office; this latest development is only likely to intensify those calls for his ouster.

The Independent recentely visited Mr Santos district on Long Island, where a local newspaper publisher admitted the lawmaker was a completely non-serious candidate and weird.

My initial reaction was that he was sort of childish and boastful, and he bragged about his money and his wealth, but he didnt carry himself in the way that someone who had been successful in finance would carry themselves, Grant Lally of the North Shore Leader said.

Story continues

Mr Santos has remained steadfast in comments to the media claiming that he will not resign; however, he faces a growing list of politicians on both sides of the aisle calling for him to step down and denouncing him as a liar. That list, which includes a fair number of his fellow New Yorkers, grew to include New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week; he joins other Empire State politicians like Reps Anthony DEsposito, Ritchie Torres and the Nassau County Republican Party.

The controversy surrounding his long list of lies about his background  which included fictions about his work history, education, and other, more shocking fibs  now appears to be causing serious trouble for the freshman congressman as he faces new questions about his campaigns fundraising tactics.

FEC filings from the Santos campaign last week showed an unusually high number of donations just under the $200 reporting threshold, but that was far from the only problem with the documents. A treasurer for several of his fundraising committees denied that he was working for the campaign, and a number of Mr Santoss top donors could not be located or even identified as real people by journalists digging in to the filings.
ATLANTA  Georgia lawmakers want to increase the sentence for gang recruitment activities as part of a tough-on-crime push under the Gold Dome this legislative session.

A new state Senate bill would increase the penalties for recruiting someone to join a gang or participate in gang activity through mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines that judges would have to follow in most cases.

Sponsored by Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, Senate Bill 44 has the backing of Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

Georgia state Sen. Bo Hatchett

This bill is one piece of the overall approach to reaffirm that Georgia will not tolerate gang activity or recruitment, Jones said. Senate Bill 44 will enact powerful new tools to combat the violent street gangs operating across our state.

The bill requires judges to impose at least a five-year prison sentence for violation of the law. If the person who has been recruited to the gang is under 17 years of age or has a disability, the mandatory minimum penalty is steeper  at least 10 years for the first offense.

The legislation provides some exceptions to the mandatory minimum sentences, including if the accused has not already been convicted of a felony or if the judge decides that the interests of justice will not be served. It also provides an exception to the minimum sentencing rules if the accused helps with identifying and convicting other gang members.

Delivery regulations:Georgia Senate bill aims to regulate DoorDash, Uber Eats, others

Senate agenda:Georgia Senate GOP issues agenda; backs tax rebates, pushes review of tax credits

Not everyone agrees that the bills sentences for gang recruitment would help solve Georgias crime problem.

Senate Democrats would prefer to reduce the number of guns on the street in Georgia and increase community investments in mental health and violence-prevention programs, according to a legislative agenda released Tuesday.

We will be tough on crime in a common-sense way: keeping guns away from people who will harm Georgians, the agenda states.

Story continues

In general, states have moved away from mandatory minimum sentencing requirements over the past few decades, said Kay Levine, a professor at the Emory University School of Law and an expert in criminal procedure.

Levine said leniency in sentencing is not a major problem in Georgia, and increasing penalties does not necessarily deter crime.

All that we know about deterrence is that it is the likelihood of getting caught that affects people's behavior not the punishment, she said.

Judges often view the minimum sentencing rules as legislative overreach into the judicial domain, Levine said.

Theyre like, We have this job for a reason: We're the ones who hear the evidence, we're the ones who read the pre-sentence report, were the ones who have seen the defendant testify, we hear from the victim, Levine said of how many judges think about such requirements. We are judges, we are here to exercise our judgment.

Despite such misgivings, the bill has a strong shot of success in what has been a slow start to the legislative session. Twenty-two Senate Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors.

There is no place for gangs in Georgia, said Hatchett, the bills main sponsor. Passage of this vital legislation is a top priority.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia Senate bill would set mandatory sentences for gang recruitment
A Georgia police department received what they considered a sizeable donation thanks to one North Carolina man.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Rincon Police Department says Austin Banks, of North Carolina, bought a gold Mercedes-Benz.

Officials say an anonymous caller told police they saw Banks shopping at the local Walmart.

Authorities later learned Banks was reportedly in possession of concentrated THC, also known as Dabs.

According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Dab or dabbing are the names for concentrated butane hash oil (BHO). Its a new way of taking or ingesting cannabis that involves THC.

Officers did not say how much of the substance Banks had in his possession.

TRENDING STORIES:

Officials says Banks had just purchased the Mercedes one day prior.

Banks car was seized and he was taken to the Effingham County jail.

Rincoin police says anyone who would like to donate their car to the police department can learn about their charitable program.

We would like to extend this program to whomever wishes to participate although there are certain restrictions. Rincons beloved Lt. Snitch is available to see if you qualify, the department said.

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Nuclear energy is regaining popularity and will likely help uranium prices rebound further in 2023. Several of the world's most developed countries have announced plans to extend the life of their existing nuclear power plants, with some even expanding their fleets rather than shutting them down as was previously planned.

The result has accelerated the uranium market's robust recovery over the last two years, after nearly a decade of low prices. This has included announcements of new construction and additional incentives and funding from Japan, France, South Korea, India, the UK, the US and most recently Germany, which has always had a love-hate relationship with nuclear energy.

For the last four decades, Germany has always maintained a love-hate relationship with nuclear power. Right now, Germany only has three existing nuclear reactors that produce 6% of the country's power supply, a fraction of the 1990s when there were 19 nuclear power plants that produced about a third of its electricity supply.

However, like many other European nations, Russias war is forcing Deutschland to rethink its energy security.

Germany and Russia were significant energy partners up until last year, with the latter supplying the majority of the nation's oil and natural gas. But as winter approaches, Europe and Germany are searching for substitute supplies as a result of the conflict in Russia.

The public is now supporting Germany's decision to reconsider its nuclear phaseout plan. In an August 2022 poll, 41% support extending the operation of German reactors by a few months, while another 41% support the use of nuclear energy in the long term.

Japan decided on a new nuclear policy in December. This policy will restart the country's nuclear fleet, extend the life of old reactors beyond the current 60-year limit, and build new reactors.

Also in December, the Indian government approved five new nuclear plants and announced funding for ten more. This is part of India's plan to build three times as many reactors in the next ten years.

Story continues

Western governments are also paying more attention to energy security following the December invasion of Ukraine.

However, after so many years in a slump in which mines were closed and most undeveloped projects struggled to move forward, uranium production is confronted with declining reserves and grades.

With uranium commentators estimating that the required incentive price for new supply is more than $90 per pound - a roughly 80% increase over current prices - an exceptional tightening of the already thin uranium market could occur as early as 2025.

Even though there are no official sanctions against Russian uranium, the fact that the country has 27% and 39% of the world's capacity for conversion and enrichment caused prices for conversion and enrichment services to more than double in 2022. According to experts, this upward price pressure could trickle down to the spot price of uranium in 2023 and beyond.

According to a new report from The Oregon Group, this uranium bull market, which is the third one since 1968, could continue for much longer.

The Oregon Group is a go-to resource in the world of finance. This investment firm was founded by independent capital markets professionals Anthony Milewski and Justin Cochrane.

Milewski has worked in the mining industry in various capacities, including consultant, founder, and investor.

The Oregon Group Forecasts a 10-year Uranium Bull Market

Milewski and The Oregon Group believe that the number of uranium-fueled nuclear reactors will increase in the future.

The report, which is titled "The Start of the Uranium Bull Market and the Coming of the Second Atomic Age," explains some of the most critical factors that have contributed to this increase, particularly energy security, decarbonization and the commercialization of compact modular reactor technology.

According to an analysis of the uranium market, there has been a significant decrease in global inventories. Plus, new production is expected for a while, meaning there is a serious possibility of a shortage.

Some key sections of the report include

The uranium market has recovered from a decade-long decline. Mining operations will be restarted as the price of uranium rises but because reserves and grades at existing producers are declining, and more advanced development projects are required, supply will only be able to keep up with demand sometime soon. The producers argue that higher prices should be used to encourage new production.

The European Union has approved billions of euros in green nuclear energy subsidies. Nuclear reactors generate clean energy when powered by uranium, one of the most energy-dense fuels. Opinions about uranium and nuclear power have shifted worldwide for similar reasons. Many Japanese people are now calling for the restart of their nuclear reactors.

After 10 years of underinvestment, mergers, and warnings from industry leaders that new output requires high prices, the supply side is finally recovering. Uranium stocks have increased in value over the last few years.

This study provides a wealth of data about a dynamic industry and analyzes the major drivers that will continue to drive price growth in the near future. It includes a list of uranium stocks and ETFs to consider and an explanation of why you should invest in each.

This market may be in the early stages of a long-term bull market for uranium, meaning its a good idea for investors to keep an eye on it.

The Oregon Group's "The Start of the Uranium Bull Market and the Coming of the Second Atomic Age" report can be read in its entirety by clicking here.

Disclaimer

1) The author of the Article, or members of the authors immediate household or family, do not own any securities of the companies set forth in this Article. The author determined which companies would be included in this article based on research and understanding of the sector.

2) The Article was issued on behalf of and sponsored by, The Oregon Group. Market Jar Media Inc. has or expects to receive from The Oregon Groups Digital Marketing Agency of Record (Native Ads Inc) one thousand five hundred USD for this article.

3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not Market Jar Media Inc., its directors or officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Market Jar Media Inc. for this Article. Market Jar Media Inc. was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this Article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Market Jar Media Inc. requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Market Jar Media Inc. relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Market Jar Media Inc. has no means of verifying its accuracy

4) The Article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of the information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Market Jar Media Inc.'s terms of use and full legal disclaimer as set forth here. This Article is not a solicitation for investment. Market Jar Media Inc. does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on PressReach.com should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Market Jar Media Inc. does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on PressReach.com

5) Market Jar Media Inc. and its respective directors, officers and employees hold no shares for any company mentioned in the Article.

6) This document contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, (collectively, forward-looking statements), which reflect management's expectations regarding The Oregon Group.s future growth, future business plans and opportunities, expected activities, and other statements about future events, results or performance. Wherever possible, words such as predicts, projects, targets, plans, expects, does not expect, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, anticipate or does not anticipate, believe, intend and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology have been used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to: (a) revenue generating potential with respect to The Oregon Group.s industry; (b) market opportunity; (c) The Oregon Groups business plans and strategies; (d) services that The Oregon Group intends to offer; (e) The Oregon Groups milestone projections and targets; (f) The Oregon Groups expectations regarding receipt of approval for regulatory applications; (g) The Oregon Groups intentions to expand into other jurisdictions including the timeline expectations relating to those expansion plans; and (h) The Oregon Groups expectations with regarding its ability to deliver shareholder value. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of managements experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this document including, without limitation, assumptions about: (a) the ability to raise any necessary additional capital on reasonable terms to execute The Oregon Groups business plan; (b) that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; (c) The Oregon Groups ability to procure equipment and operating supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis; (d) The Oregon Groups ability to enter into contractual arrangements with additional Pharmacies; (e) the accuracy of budgeted costs and expenditures; (f) The Oregon Groups ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; (g) political and regulatory stability; (h) the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third-party approvals, licenses and permits on favorable terms; (i) changes in applicable legislation; (j) stability in financial and capital markets; and (k) expectations regarding the level of disruption to as a result of CV-19. Such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of The Oregon Group to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: (a) The Oregon Groups operations could be adversely affected by possible future government legislation, policies and controls or by changes in applicable laws and regulations; (b) public health crises such as CV-19 may adversely impact The Oregon Groups business; (c) the volatility of global capital markets; (d) political instability and changes to the regulations governing The Oregon Groups business operations (e) The Oregon Group may be unable to implement its growth strategy; and (f) increased competition.

Except as required by law, The Oregon Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future event or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Neither does The Oregon Group nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this document. Neither The Oregon Group nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this document by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this document.

7) Any graphs, tables or other information demonstrating the historical performance or current or historical attributes of The Oregon Group or any other entity contained in this document are intended only to illustrate historical performance or current or historical attributes of The Oregon Group or such entities and are not necessarily indicative of future performance of The Oregon Group or such entities.

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A nine-year-old Black girl whose neighbours called the police on her as she was spraying to eradicate an invasive insect species from her home town in New Jersey has been honoured by Yale University.

Bobbi Wilsons efforts to remove spotted lantern flies from the town of Caldwell were recognised at a 20 January award ceremony at the prestigious Ivy League college, according to the university.

Bobbi also gave her personal lanternfly collection to Yales Peabody Museum collection, and was named as the donor scientist on its official database.

On October 22, the young girl prepared a homemade repellent of water, dish soap and vinegar and was using it to kill the destructive pests on trees near her home for a school project.

Gordon Lawshe, a former treasurer of the local branch of the Republican Party, called 911 to report that a little Black woman in a hood was spraying sidewalksand trees near his home.

I dont know what the hell shes doing, scares me though, Mr Lawshe said, according to a recording later released by the Caldwell Police Department.

The incident prompted a national debate about racial profiling after her elder sister Hayden, 13, spoke up about the encounter at a town council meeting.

Bobbi Wilson, 9, was given an award by the Yale School of Public Health. (Andrew Hurley / Yale)

Bobbis mother Monique Joseph said at a recent ceremony at Yale to honour her daughter that the experience had been such a visceral shock that the only thing she could compare it to was when her mother died.

You know, you hear about racism; you kind of experience it in your peripheral if youre lucky in your life. It doesnt come knocking on your door. That morning when it happened, my world stopped, she said in remarks published by the university.

A 9-year-old Black girl and her mother, Monique Joseph, were approached by a police officer after a neighbour called 911 on the young girl after he saw her spraying the grass to fend off an invasive species in the area (CNN/Caldwell Police/video screengrab)

Organiser Ijeoma Opara, an Assistant Professor at Yale School of Public Health, invited Ms Joseph, Bobbi and Hayden to tour the university campus in Connecticut in November after hearing about the police callout.

She described the recent award as something unique to Bobbi.

We wanted to show her bravery and how inspiring she is, and we just want to make sure she continues to feel honoured and loved by the Yale community, Ms Opara said.
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's main opposition Syriza party said on Tuesday it would abstain from any parliamentary votes until a national election is held, in protest over the conservative government's handling of a phone tapping scandal.

Alexis Tsipras, the firebrand leader of the leftist party, announced his decision days after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis survived a no confidence vote in parliament over the case, which is still under investigation by prosecutors.

"From now on we will abstain from any vote in parliament," Tsipras told reporters, calling on opposition parties and labour unions to take action and adding that the vote of confidence was now up to the Greek people.

Mitsotakis has denied any involvement in the case and has said that an election will be held in the spring. He controls 156 deputies in the 300-seat house, so Syriza's move is not expected to affect the government's legislative initiative.

The phone tapping case emerged in August, when the leader of the Socialist party said that Greece's intelligence service EYP had listened to his conversations in 2021.

Syriza submitted the censure motion against the government last week and Tsipras, prime minister from 2015 to 2019, told parliament the surveillance involved politicians, journalists and security officials.

On Tuesday, Tsipras said Mitsotakis had failed to provide answers in parliament on the matter and that the leftist opposition would not legalise the work of a "fallen" government.

The government accused Syriza of "blackmail," while the Socialist PASOK party, the third-largest group in the Greek parliament, responded that Syriza's stance was irresponsible.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Paul Simao)
ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Greeces main opposition party said Tuesday that it won't participate in parliamentary votes until a general election is held later this year, in response to the alleged wiretapping of senior officials by the state intelligence service.

We will not legitimize the legislative work of a government that is demonstrably ... deviating from democracy, opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, who heads the left-wing Syriza party, told reporters.

Allegations that politicians and journalists have been targeted in legally-sanctioned wiretaps, as well as with spyware from unknown origins, have triggered judicial investigations and rattled Greeces politics before an election due before the summer.

Tsipras on Tuesday called for parliament to be dissolved immediately, allowing for the election to be held in three weeks  a demand the government swiftly rejected.

Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou accused Tsipras of acting dangerously by attempting to undermine (Greeces) parliamentary system and constitutional order.

The center-right government argues that it mishandled some surveillance procedures by the National Intelligence Service and has recently banned the use of commercially available spyware.
As spring approaches, the time draws near for everyones beloved woodchuck to cast his prediction on whether therell be six more weeks of winter simply by seeing his shadow. Yes, its Groundhog Day.

Every year since 1886, crowds as large as 40,000 have gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on the morning of 2 February to watch a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerge from a burrow on Gobblers Knob. According to folklore, if the groundhog sees his shadow, then winter will endure for six more weeks. If it is cloudy, then spring will come early that year.

In recent years, the annual festival has even been live-streamed to people as early as six in the morning, as members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announce the groundhogs forecast.

Sure, Punxsutawney Phils weather predictions may not be totally accurate, but whats the harm in celebrating a small, furry woodchuck each year? In fact, Groundhog Day is an interesting tradition full of history.

Here are five facts you never knew about Groundhog Day:

1) Punxsutawney Phil, the legendary groundhog who casts his prediction, has reputedly been operating in the Pennsylvania town for more than 130 years. Despite the lifespan of a groundhog usually being less than six years, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Clubs Inner Circle maintains they have been speaking to the same groundhog since 1887.

2) Punxsutawneys first Groundhog Day in Gobblers Knob dates back to 2 February, 1887, when the towns newspaper editor Clymer Freas informed his readers: Today is groundhog day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow.

However, the tradition can be traced to the Christian religious holiday of Candlemas Day, when Christians would take their candles to the church to have them blessed. It wasnt until Candlemas Day was introduced in Germany that an animal was brought into the lore, claiming that if a hedgehog saw his shadow on Candlemas Day there would be a Second Winter or six more weeks of bad weather.

Story continues

After German settlers came to what is now the United States, the Pennsylvania Dutch and other German-speaking immigrants maintained the same tradition of Groundhog Day. But with the absence of hedgehogs in their new home, woodchucks were chosen instead.

The earliest known American reference to Groundhog Day was in a Morgantown, Pennsylvania shopkeepers journal entry dated 4 February, 1841.

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas Day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, the entry reads, per the National Weather Service. But if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.

3) Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow 106 times and not seen his shadow 20 times, according to The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Of these times, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that the groundhogs forecasts have been about 40 per cent correct within the last 10 years.

4) Groundhogs are also referred to as woodchucks, forming the basis for the tongue-twister: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

5) Groundhog Day is celebrated beyond Pennsylvania. All throughout the US, states and local towns have their own Groundhog Day events marked by their own residing groundhog. In Milltown, New Jersey, attendees await the weather forecast from Milltown Mel. Staten Island Chuck is the name given to New York Citys official weather-forecasting woodchuck who is housed at the Staten Island Zoo.

The holiday is also observed throughout Canada.
T+L TOP TRAVEL ADVISOR | SLOVENIA SPECIALIST

Courtesy of Respective Travel Advisor

A Slovenia vacation with Nicol might have travelers exploring the Piran salt pans along the Adriatic coast, dining at Michelin-starred restaurants in Ljubljana, or visiting the Renaissance-era Predjama Castle.

This country is great for travelers who have explored many of the major countries in Europe but want something new to experience with the similar highlights: food, culture, picturesque scenery, and history, says Nicol. She has expertise all over Europe too  recently, she planned an adventurous family trip in Iceland that included everything from overnight camping in the countrys highlands to a private Arctic surfing experience.

Language(s) Spoken: English

Additional specialties: Iceland and the UK

Average Daily Spend: $1,500 per person

Trip Planning Fees: none

Contact Info

gwen.nicol@scottdunn.com | 858-523-9000

scottdunn.com



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A 44-year-old Coast man was arrested Friday on charges of sexual battery and molestation after an investigation revealed he had raped a girl for several years and fathered her child, according to press release from Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam.

Deputies first learned of the alleged abuse on Jan. 11 after responding to a call to speak with a 16-year-old who wanted to report she had been molested.

The girl told authorities she had been molested and raped by Dan Cochran Jr. for several years, Hancock County Chief Deputy Jeremy Skinner said in the release..

The sheriffs office obtained warrants to obtain Cochrans DNA and confirmed he was the father of the victims 18-month-old child through a paternity test.

Skinner said deputies worked with Child Protective Services during the investigation and two other juveniles were removed from Cochrans home after his arrest.

Cochran is also wanted on a first-degree rape charge in a warrant issued by Vernon Parish Sheriffs Office in Louisiana.

Cochran is held on a $200,000 bond at the Hancock County jail and is on hold for Vernon Parish.

The Hancock County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigations Division is investigating and will continue to work with other agencies in relation to the sex crimes case, Skinner said.
Health officials are monitoring a case of active tuberculosis in a Tacoma woman who has declined treatment, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Washington averages about 200 cases of active TB per year, with about 20 of those cases occurring in Pierce County.

TB infections usually affect a persons lungs but can also happen in other parts of the body. It is curable with medication but can result in death if left untreated. Most people who are treated with the proper medication fully recover from the illness.

People with active, untreated infections are contagious and represent a risk to the community, according to health officials.

Most people we contact are happy to get the treatment they need, said Nigel Turner, division director of Communicable Disease Control in Pierce County. Occasionally, people refuse treatment and isolation. When that happens, we take steps to help keep the community safe.

Health officials say they are working with the woman and her family to try to persuade her to get the treatment she needs.

The health department has the legal authority to seek a court order to persuade patients to comply and receive treatment for TB, but this has only been done in very rare cases, according to Turner.

State law requires healthcare providers to report all cases of active TB to a local health department.
A close view of an F9F Panther jet touching down on the deck of the USS Oriskany, tail hook engaging the arresting wire, smoke coming from impact of tires, in November 1952. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

An outgunned US Navy pilot downed four Soviet MiG-15 jets in a legendary dogfight over 70 years ago.

Royce Williams was flying an inferior F9F Panther.

Military aviation experts say Williams' success that day was a result of his training and readiness.

More than 70 years ago, a US Navy pilot took on seven Soviet aircraft  then among the world's best interceptor fighters  and shot down four of them in a legendary dogfight that was classified for decades.

The Korean War air battle is no longer a secret, and the pilot, Royce Williams, was recently awarded the Navy Cross for his display of "extraordinary heroism."

Williams was outmatched that day, fighting in an inferior plane with the numbers clearly on the enemy's side. Insider asked naval-aviation experts how he pulled off a win with the odds stacked against him. They said it was his training and readiness that saw him through that.

On November 18, 1952, the day of the battle, Williams was flying an F9F Panther, a Navy carrier-based jet fighter, as part of a team of three planes from the fighter squadron VF-781 during a combat-patrol mission over the Sea of Japan when they encountered seven Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet fighters. This swept-wing Soviet aircraft was considered to be superior to the straight-wing American Panther in terms of overall performance.

The Soviet jets engaged the American team, and it wasn't long before Williams found himself fighting alone. An unexpected fuel-pump issue forced the team's flight leader to return to the aircraft carrier Oriskany, leaving just the young lieutenant and his wingman. Then when Williams shot down one of the enemy planes, his wingman pursued it, and Williams was left to take on the six remaining Soviet aircraft on his own.

Williams was outgunned and outnumbered as he took on the Soviet jets in what became the longest dogfight in US military history, but he held his own. According to Pacific Fleet, during the 35-minute battle, he shot down four MiG-15s in a single fight, something no American pilot had ever done. But as the US and Soviet Union were not engaged in open conflict, his exploits were kept secret.

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According to Williams' Navy Cross citation, his plane was "severely damaged" by a direct hit from one of the Soviet MiG-15s, but he continued to engage the Soviets until he managed to escape through the clouds and land a "nearly uncontrollable" plane back on the USS Oriskany.

A Grumman F9F Panther firing its guns during an attack on the North Korean port of Hungnam. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

'The only thing I could do was out-turn them'

Manufactured by Grumman, the F9F Panther first flew in 1947 and became the backbone of US Navy and Marine Corps air fleets during the Korean War, according to the National Museum of the US Navy. They were armed with four 20 mm cannons and also carried air-to-ground munitions.

Hill Goodspeed, the deputy director at the National Naval Aviation Museum, told Insider that during the Korean War, the Panther primarily conducted ground strike missions as opposed to engaging in air-to-air fighting.

The MiG-15, meanwhile, first entered service in 1949 and operated against United Nations forces during the Korean War, according to the National Museum of the US Air Force. This aircraft was armed with 23 mm cannons and a 37 mm cannon.

A Soviet Union MiG-15. Photo by: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Though the MiG-15 could fly faster and climb to a higher altitude, the Panther had the advantage in turning ability. When an aircraft is able to out-turn another, it can prevent an enemy from getting a good shot. The Panther also had certain firepower advantages with a more stable firing platform than the MiG-15, Goodspeed said.

Williams told the American Veterans Center in a 2021 video interview that the MiG-15 was the "best fighter airplane in the world" at the time and that "plane on plane," he was at a clear disadvantage.

"In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job," Williams said in an account of the fight, according to Pacific Fleet. "I was only shooting what I had," he recalled. "They had me cold on maneuverability and acceleration  the MiG was vastly superior on those counts to the F9F. The only thing I could do was out-turn them."

Goodspeed said human factors and the ability to understand the enemy were critical in a fight like this, explaining "it all comes down  first and foremost  to the person in the cockpit and the training they've received."

Two US Grumman F9F Panther jet fighters refueling after having been armed with rockets under their wings in 1951. Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images

This dogfight was 'a very rare feat'

Guy Snodgrass, a career Navy fighter pilot and former US defense official, told Insider that Williams' engagement "justifies" the role of institutions like the US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program  also known as TOPGUN. It's not always possible to change the equipment that the US has in its arsenal, but military institutions can help shape training and readiness levels.

"Having a better piece of equipment can lull you into a false sense of security that your equipment is going to take care of the engagement for you. And that's not the case," said Snodgrass, a former TOPGUN instructor. "Once you get inside that visual arena, then you're in a position where your skills, your dedication, your hard work, staying in the fight  all those things become outsized factors that can really turn the tide of the conflict."

Snodgrass said one element of the TOPGUN training was studying "adversarial" aircraft made by countries that the US might have a greater chance of going up against in the future  like Russia or China. These are then compared with the strengths and weaknesses of US aircraft.

Williams' dogfight isn't the only example of US planes battling enemy aircraft that are superior on paper. During World War II, for example, the Navy's F4F Wildcat went up against Japan's Mitsubishi A6M Zero, which was considered to be the more capable plane in part because of its maneuverability, Goodspeed said.

That said, "in the jet age, to shoot down multiple jets in air-to-air combat was a very rare feat," Goodspeed explained, comparing later fights with those during World War II, when an aviator might shoot down several planes in one day.

Snodgrass said there were lots of big-picture lessons to extract from large-scale wars like Korea or Vietnam, and specific engagements  like Williams' dogfight  demonstrate how a pilot can use their strengths in a situation where they may be outmatched.

"The machines have advanced. The tactics have advanced," the former aviator said. "So it's really more the principle that you're going after rather than the specifics of this case."

Williams receiving the Navy Cross at the age of 97. US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel Childs

The US government classified the legendary 1952 dogfight, and Williams, who was awarded the Silver Star in May 1953 and retired from the Navy in 1980, was sworn to secrecy about what happened until his story was finally declassified about 20 years ago.

Because Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has the authority to upgrade awards, he decided to review Williams' case and said it stood out. On January 20, he presented Williams with the Navy Cross, which is the service's second-highest military honor.

"It was very clear to me that his actions were extraordinary, and more closely aligned with the criteria describing a higher award," Del Toro said of Williams during a ceremony in San Diego. "And sir, what a tremendous honor it was to tell you in person, that after all these years, your courageous actions would finally get the recognition they deserve."

Correction: February 2, 2023 An earlier version of this article misstated the Grumman F9F Panther's place in naval aviation history. The first carrier-based jet-powered fighter was not the Panther. It was the McDonnell Aircraft Company FH-1 Phantom.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Taiwanese automotive conglomerate Hotai Motor exposed reams of personal customer data from its car rental and carshare unit, iRent, until a security researcher found the data online last week.

Even then, it took the company a week  and the intervention of the Taiwanese government  to act.

Hotai Motor is one of the largest financial holdings companies in Taiwan, and also the Taiwanese distributor for Toyota. iRent is a popular auto service app, bought by Hotai in 2022, which allows customers to pay hourly to rent cars that can be found either free-floating or at a depot.

iRent reportedly has over 1.1 million registered cars and 580,000 iRent users.

Security researcher Anurag Sen discovered a database containing iRent customers' full names, cell phone numbers and email addresses, home addresses, photos of their drivers' licenses, and partially redacted payment card details, on a Hotai-owned cloud server that was inadvertently accessible from the internet.

Because the database was not password-protected, anyone on the internet could access the iRent customer data just by knowing its IP address.

Sen said the exposed database also contained millions of partial credit card numbers, and at least 100,000 customer identification documents, as well as selfies, signatures, and rental vehicle details.

TechCrunch reviewed a portion of the exposed data and confirmed Sen's findings. Internet records by Shodan, a search engine for exposed devices and databases, show the database was spilling data as far back as May 2022 and contained about 4.2 terabytes of data at the time it was secured.

TechCrunch sent several emails this week to Hotai Motor with details of the exposed database, but we did not receive a reply. All the while, the database was updating with new customer data in real time.

On January 28, TechCrunch subsequently contacted Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs, the government department that regulates and oversees the country's internet and telecoms, for help in disclosing the security lapse to the company. In an emailed response, Taiwan's minister for digital affairs Audrey Tang told TechCrunch that the exposed database had been flagged with Taiwan's national computer emergency response team, known as TWCERT/CC. Within an hour, the exposed iRent database became inaccessible.

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A short time later, Hotai Motor confirmed it had secured the database. "We had blocked the outside connection to this IP immediately." Hotai said that it would inform customers whose data was exposed.

It's not clear if anyone else, other than Sen, found the database during the nine months it was spilling data.

Its not the first time a car rental company has compromised its own customers' data. Back in 2017, Hertz accidentally leaked the personal data of 36,000 customers. Frances national data protection authority fined Hertz France 40,000 at the time because the data was found to be easily accessible online.
House Republicans will push their long-planned investigations into the spotlight this week with hearings on the U.S.-Mexico border and COVID-19 relief spending programs, providing a first glimpse of how GOP leaders will use the biggest tools they have against Democrats and the Biden administration  and how they will set the tone for the 2024 election cycle.

The House Judiciary Committees first hearing of the new Congress will be on The Biden Border Crisis: Part I, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee, led by Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), will have a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse in federal pandemic spending.

I dont think history will be kind to the PPP loan program, Comer said at a National Press Club event on Monday, referring to a program that provided businesses with forgivable loans. I think itll be eventually viewed in the same manner that the big bank bailouts were when people find out where a lot of that money was going.

And the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee will hold a hearing titled Challenges and Opportunities to Investigating the Origins of Pandemics and Other Biological Events as a part of its probe into the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the viruss origins.

Theyre just the tip of the iceberg for planned investigatory hearings and actions.

Republicans had been plotting extensive investigations into the Biden administration for more than a year before the midterm elections. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in preparation for taking the House majority, organized GOP members into task forces to come up with oversight and legislative priorities. Republican members of committees started investigations last year when they were in the minority.

Republicans now have control over committee hearing topics, a better chance of getting answers from administration officials, and are armed with subpoena power to compel testimony and documents  though no committee has used it yet.

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Next week, the Oversight panel is set to hold a hearing on the U.S.-Mexico border and a hearing with former Twitter employees about the platforms suppression of the New York Posts story on the Hunter Biden hard drive in 2020.

The Oversight panel is also taking action on an extensive probe into the business dealings of President Bidens family, with a large focus on Hunter Biden. And a revived Oversight subcommittee on the COVID-19 pandemic is also planning to probe the origins of the virus.

The House Oversight, Judiciary and Intelligence committees have also sought information relating to President Bidens handling of classified information. The House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees are expected to revisit the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

The ultimate showstopper may be the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government under the House Judiciary Committee, a panel created after those who had opposed McCarthy for Speaker demanded a Church-style committee, in reference to a 1975 Senate select committee named for former Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) that investigated intelligence agencies.

In anticipation of aggressive Republican investigations, several outside groups have popped up to push back on the GOP narrative.

Congressional Republicans today have no other calling than to engage in character assassination that distracts from real issues, creates a false perception of corruption, runs up legal bills and threatens the livelihoods of those caught in the web of their lies, former Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said at an event this month for Facts First USA, one of those groups.

Comer, for one, is hoping that his handling of the hearings will bring a sense of legitimacy to his probes. His panel is packed with right-wing GOP firebrands such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (Pa.).

If I wanted to have a big political hearing that was full of red meat, we would have victims families that lost their lives to fentanyl. We would have people that have been human trafficked. But were not. We just asked four Border Patrol bosses, Comer said, referring to his request to have four Border Patrol agents testify in a Feb. 6 hearing.

Comer said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is refusing to allow those agents to testify and has accused DHS of obstructing congressional oversight. DHS had offered testimony from Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, but expressed concern about disrupting operations if the four lower-level officials testified in person, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

The Judiciary panel, in contrast to Comers thinking, on Wednesday will bring as a witness Brandon Dunn, the stepfather of a teen son who died from a fentanyl overdose and co-founder of an organization to raise awareness about fentanyl.

Other Republican witnesses for Wednesdays Judiciary hearing will be Terrell County, Texas, Judge Dale Lynn Carruthers and Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Mark Dannels.

Republican witnesses for the Oversight hearing will be Michael Horowitz, chair of a pandemic oversight committee under the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency; Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general at the U.S. Government Accountability Office; and David M. Smith, Assistant Director in the Secret Service Office of Investigations.

Updated at 9:31 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
For activist Helen Shih, hearing about Senate Bill 147  a proposal to bar citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from buying property in Texas  was stressful in a week filled with preparations for Lunar New Year events. The week also ended in grief after a mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, Calif.

"So it's like all of these things were happening simultaneously, and it was extremely stressful," said Shih, a member of the Rise AAPI board and an adviser to the United Chinese Americans board.

More:Asian Americans say Monterey Park killings revive fears, trauma of rising anti-Asian hate around US

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who filed SB 147, is proposing to bar legal permanent U.S. residents, visa holders and asylum seekers from those four countries from buying land, though she has indicated she'll remove legal permanent residents from the prohibition. Filed in November, the bill gained political steam after Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted on Jan. 15 his commitment to sign the bill, which proponents say is needed for national security.

SB 147 piggybacks on a 2021 state law that bars those four nations from owning or controlling critical infrastructure projects in Texas.

Shih said SB 147 discriminates against the very people trying to flee oppression in those countries and find safety in America. Being able to buy a condominium or a small home helps people build a life here, the Houston-area activist said. She helped Austin activists organize a rally at the Capitol on Sunday after co-organizing protests in the Houston area.

The Capitol rally came after other protests were held statewide, and there was a concurrent one in Dallas. An outpouring of Chinese American community members gathered at the Capitol from across the state with signs that said, "Stop Chinese hate," "Say no to the exclusion bill," and "Say no to discriminatory bill SB 147, SB 552," the latter a related bill filed by Sens. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, and Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, to ban the purchase of agricultural land by citizens of those same countries.

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Xiaoyu Wu holds up a sign in protest of SB 147 at the Capitol rally Sunday. "I work here, and I live here. I make contributions to this country. There's no evidence that we are threats. These are all groundless accusations," Wu said.

More:Proposed law would bar China, Russia, Iran and N. Korea from owning property in Texas

Community organizations including United Chinese Americans, the Austin Chinese Engineers Society and the Asian Americans Leadership Council organized the rally. State Reps. Gene Wu, D-Houston, and Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, and Austin City Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri spoke at the demonstration.

Austin resident Lina Sun said she is protesting SB 147 to protect her family. She said a bill targeting Chinese Americans could give rise to more anti-Asian sentiment and negatively affect her child.

"It can't be: Prohibit all the individuals, or good people, to purchase property for their family," Sun said. "It's unconstitutional."

She said this bill would affect her mother's dream to buy property and establish a life in the U.S. Her mother, in her 60s and currently living alone in China, wants to live with Sun in the U.S. since Sun's father has died.

Austin resident Sheng Peng said the rally was not just about protesting SB 147, but about raising alarm against these kinds of proposals, which might further provoke hatred and violence against Asians.

Chuck Guo from Stop Asian Hate unfolds a flag at the rally.

Peng said that even if you are an American citizen, you are not safe from discrimination, stoked by SB 147, as long as you look Chinese.

"And it's not good for the country," Peng said. "It's already a divided country. It will deepen the division further. So that's what this is about. It's not about a political game. It's about human rights. It's about the whole society."

Houston resident Xiaoyu Wu voiced similar sentiments and even gave up attending his son's Lunar New Year performance at the University of Texas to attend the rally. Tony Xu, also from Houston, said he is an American citizen but participated in the rally to protect future generations. Round Rock-based immigration attorney Chuck Guo called the bill unlawful discrimination based on national origin and said other state legislatures may follow suit if Texas passes this bill.

Protesters also told the American-Statesman they expect Chinese Americans  U.S. citizen or not  to face housing discrimination if the bill passes.

The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday of Kolkhorst's intention to change her bill to allow legal permanent residents to buy land.

In a Jan. 20 statement, Kolkhorst said: "In the committee substitute, the bill will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents. This has always been about common-sense safeguards against Russian, North Korean, Chinese and Iranian authoritarian regimes, not those fleeing the tyranny of those governments who seek freedom in Texas."

"Even if we cut it down, even if we remove some provisions, it will still say 'all Texans are equal, but some Texans are less equal.' And that's a really dangerous thing to say," state Rep. Gene Wu said of the bill.

Changing the bill is 'a slippery slope'

Wu, the Democratic state representative from Houston, is advocating for SB 147, in its entirety, to be rejected.

"Even if we cut it down, even if we remove some provisions, it will still say 'all Texans are equal, but some Texans are less equal.' And that's a really dangerous thing to say," Wu said.

Shih, the Houston-area activist, said any changes to the bill would still cause some groups to be excluded, even if legal permanent residents were removed from the land purchasing ban.

"Still, all other visa holders, other legal immigrants, will have trouble too," Shih said. "This is not just my concern, but the whole community feels that way. Again, it's like a slippery slope. Where are you going to draw the line? And whoever's being pushed out of that line, they will be the one who's going to suffer from this."

Wu said national security concerns were addressed in SB 2116, for which he voted in 2021. He said the only new proposal SB 147 adds is the individual person component, but he added that there are other ways for Texas to review and address national security risks without "a blanket law" targeting an entire community.

"Why use a sledgehammer approach? Why use a sledgehammer when a scalpel could do?" Wu said.

Hua Liu participates in a march in opposition to Senate Bill 147 at the Capitol on Sunday. The bill would ban the purchase of Texas land by companies, government agencies and citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Protests against SB 147 in Texas mount in Austin, Houston, Dallas
Anti-personnel petal mine

This is stated in the HRW report published on Jan. 31. The organization claims to have documented numerous cases of missiles with PFM antipersonnel mines (petal mines) being fired into occupied territories near Russian military facilities.

Read also: IAEA arrives at ZNPP, but some mission members leave early, Chairman of Lukoil falls out a window, HRW releases report on filtration camps

HRW also noted that Russian troops used antipersonnel mines, including booby traps, in various regions of Ukraine. During the seizure of part of Kharkiv Oblast, the Russians kidnapped, interrogated and tortured, and in some cases killed civilians, the report said.

Read also: Russian invasion forces launch overnight missile attack on Kharkiv, causing damage and casualties

Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesnt justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons, said HRW Arms Division Director Steve Goose.

The report states that HRW interviewed over 100 people, including witnesses to landmine use, victims of landmines, first responders, doctors, and Ukrainian deminers. Everyone interviewed said they had seen mines on the ground, knew someone who was injured by one, or had been warned about their presence during Russias occupation of Izyum.

Human Rights Watch documented PFM mine use in nine different areas in and around Izyum city and verified 11 civilian casualties from these mines.

Read also: Ukrainian rescuers free about 3,000 miners trapped in Dnipropetrovsk mines after Russian missile strikes

According to the organization, all nine areas were near the places where Russian troops were stationed at the time. HRW suggests that the Ukrainian military could have allegedly shelled these areas with Uragan multiple launch rocket system shells with PFM mines. Meanwhile, the organization believes that the use of antipersonnel mines by Russia on the territory that it hoped to permanently control is unlikely.

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HRW reached out to the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President, and contacted several government officials. The Ministry of Defense replied that the Ukrainian military adheres to international obligations, in particular the ban on the use of any antipersonnel mines, and said that until the end of the war they cannot comment on information about the types of weapons used by Ukraine.

The use of antipersonnel mines is prohibited by international humanitarian law because they can harm both military personnel and civilians.

Read also: Erdogan to discuss humanitarian issues with Zelenskyy and Putin

Reaction of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said Ukraine was fully fulfilling its international obligations against the background of the war crimes of the Russian invaders and their crimes against humanity and genocide of the Ukrainian people.

We remind you that according to the Ottawa Convention, Ukraine has already destroyed 3 million antipersonnel mines, in particular stocks of extremely dangerous POM-3 mines. Russia, having attacked Ukraine, used and is using the entire range of prohibited mines, in particular the POM-3 Medallion mines, which are particularly dangerous for civilians, the agency said in a statement.

Read also: Russians placed mines in schools and hospitals during retreat from western Kherson Oblast

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Ukraine is always open to cooperation with international organizations, and expressed hope that HRW will help Ukraine in consolidating international efforts to support the country in the field of demining.

Ukraine has taken note of the HRW report, which will be properly analyzed by the involved institutions of Ukraine, the agency added.

Ukrainian Ombudsman reacts

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliaments Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote on his Telegram channel on Jan. 31 that during the nine years of the war unleashed by Russia, Ukraine has become the most polluted country with antipersonnel mines, which threatens the lives of civilians.

Read also: Three lessons from Ramstein. About Germany, tanks and offensive weapons for Ukraine

He added that Russia has many more different weapons and uses its entire arsenal against Ukrainians, not complying with the norms of international law, since its goal is the destruction of the Ukrainians.

Despite this, Ukraine appealed to the UN that it could not fully guarantee the implementation of the Ottawa Convention (the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on their Destruction) in connection with the war in 2018. Russia, in turn, is not a party to this convention, he said.

The ombudsman said that Ukraine needs more high-precision weapons from Western allies in order to repel the aggressor.

He noted that on Jan. 25, the Russians fired at eight-story buildings in Bakhmut with thermobaric ammunition from the Solntsepek system. The occupiers also used POM-3 Medallion mines, which explode when approaching and can kill a person within a radius of 16 meters.

Ukraine remains committed to its international legal obligations! Lubinets added.

Read also: Kremlin within reach of Ukrainian weapons, just like Engels airfield, Ukraines intel warns Putin

Our state has always shown openness to investigations into any allegations. At the same time, Ukraine has reliable evidence that Russia is making every effort to discredit Ukraine, primarily with the aim of weakening its military support. Therefore, we call on all partners to take this factor into account before drawing conclusions about any accusations against Ukraine!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Advocacy group Human Rights Watch called on Ukraine on Tuesday to investigate accusations that its military used thousands of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the eastern city of Izium when Russian forces occupied the area.

Human Rights Watch noted that it had also issued three reports last year accusing Russian forces of using antipersonnel mines in multiple areas across Ukraine since they invaded the country on Feb. 24, 2022.

Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.

"Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk," said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at Human Rights Watch.

"Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesn't justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons," he said.

Ukraine is a party to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. Russia is not. Moscow has denied targeting civilians or committing war crimes.

Human Rights Watch said use of antipersonnel mines also violates international humanitarian law because the devices cannot discriminate between civilians and combatants.

In response to questions, Human Rights Watch said Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk wrote in a Nov. 24 letter that Ukraine fully commits to all international obligations in the sphere of mine usage, including "the non-use of anti-personnel mines in the war."

Polishchuk told Human Rights Watch that Ukraine's forces strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and the 1997 antipersonnel mine convention.

The New York-based advocacy group said it conducted research in Ukraine's Izium between Sept. 19 and Oct. 9, interviewing over 100 people, including witnesses to landmine use, victims of landmines, first responders, doctors, and Ukrainian deminers.

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"Human Rights Watch documented PFM mine use in nine different areas in and around Izium city and verified 11 civilian casualties from these mines," it said on Tuesday. "The nine areas were all close to where Russian military forces were positioned at the time, suggesting they were the target."

A PFM is a scatterable antipersonnel mine, commonly called the 'butterfly mine'.

Human Rights Watch said Polishchuk did not respond to any of its specific questions about PFM mine use in and around Izium, noting that "information on the types of weapons used by Ukraine... is not to be commented on before the war ends."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
[Source]

Chinese Americans from North Texas are protesting against two Texas Senate bills that would ban specific communities from buying property in the state.

Over 250 protesters flocked to John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza in downtown Dallas on Sunday to condemn Senate Bills 147 and 552, which they have denounced as discriminatory.

Bill 147, filed by Republican State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst in November 2022, will effectively prevent people with ties to four countries  China, Russia, North Korea and Iran  from purchasing Texas property or real estate if passed.

More from NextShark: Taiwanese Singer, Actor Alien Huang Passes Away at 36

Meanwhile, Bill 552 will hinder companies with links to the four countries from buying agricultural land.

"I will sign it, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted on Jan. 15 in support of Bill 147. This follows a law I signed banning those countries from threatening our infrastructure.

According to Kolkhorst, the bill seeks to address national security issues with the singled-out countries.

More from NextShark: Police Seek Help to ID Man Behind Violent Anti-Asian Attack in NYC

A bill is filed in Texas legislature to ban citizens, governments & entities of China, Iran, North Korea & Russia from purchasing land in Texas. I will sign it. This follows a law I signed banning those countries from threatening our infrastructure. More from NextShark: Recoil Magazine Addresses Controversy Over LGBT Advocate, 'Top Shot' Winner Chris Cheng Cover https://t.co/0b3LiQZHmE  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 15, 2023

More from NextShark: NYC man who attacked 7 Asian women in 3 hours charged with hate crimes

Following Abbotts expressed support, organizations backed by the local Chinese American community bared their plans to conduct a series of demonstrations in Texas' major cities.

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The Sunday protest, which was hosted by DFW Chinese Alliance, included testimonies from community members who shared their concerns about the bills.

A Euless resident named Kuo Zhang lamented how Bill 147 would have a significant effect on their family.

My husband and I are expecting a baby and we were planning to buy a house for our extended family, too, Zhang was quoted by The Dallas Morning News as saying.

A recent Texas A&M University graduate named Wei Wu finds both bills hateful and discriminatory.

We are here, we pay taxes, were here to seek our dreams; we should not be discriminated against, she said.

Speaking to attendees, Plano City Council member Maria Tu urged Austin lawmakers to fight against the Senate bills on behalf of the Chinese Americans in their community.

Other local elected officials sought help from attendees to let Auston lawmakers know that they oppose the proposed legislation.

Hailong Jin, DFW Chinese Alliance's board director, said the bills are akin to previous anti-Chinese legislation in the U.S., including the Chinese Exclusion Act and Californias Alien Land Law.

According to Jin, passing the bills poses a dangerous precedent, as other states will follow and anti-Asian hate will increase in this country  definitely.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Sweden's government should act differently if it wants to clinch Turkish support for its bid to join NATO, Hungary's foreign minister said Tuesday, adding that a recent Quran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm was unacceptable."

Peter Szijjarto made the remark at a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Hungarys capital Budapest. Both diplomats addressed the Jan. 21 anti-Turkish protest that increased tensions between Ankara and Stockholm as Sweden seeks Turkeys approval to join the military alliance.

As a Christian and as a Catholic, I must say that burning of a holy book of another religion is an unacceptable act," Szijjarto said, and criticized a statement by Sweden's prime minister that while the burning of the Quran was inappropriate and deeply disrespectful, it fell under Swedish freedom of speech protections.

"Stating that the burning of a sacred book is part of freedom of speech is just plain stupidity," Szijjarto said, adding that perhaps they (Sweden) should act differently than that" if they want to secure Ankara's backing.

The meeting in Budapest came as Turkey and Hungary remain the only two NATO members that havent approved bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. The northern European neighbors  one of which, Finland, shares a border with Russia  dropped their long-standing military neutrality and sought NATO membership in response to Moscows war in Ukraine.

A unanimous vote of all 30 NATO members is necessary for admitting new countries.

Cavusoglu said Turkey shares Hungary's wish for NATO enlargement, but that it was now impossible for us to confirm (Swedens) accession into the alliance. He called the Quran-burning protest a provocation which will take us nowhere, it can only lead to chaos.

Ankara has also said it's displeased with Swedens efforts to crack down on groups that Turkey considers to be terrorist or pose a threat to the country, including Kurdish groups. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Sweden should not expect Turkeys support in its membership bid.

Story continues

Hungarys government was expected to vote on accepting Sweden and Finland into NATO by the end of last year. The issue will be on the Hungarian parliaments agenda during its first session of the year in February, Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto said Hungary has a clear standpoint" on admitting Sweden and Finland into NATO, but would not attempt to influence Turkey either way.

I never urge any other foreign governments to do things which are not of our concern, Szijjarto said.

___

This story was first published on January 31, 2023. It was updated on February 1, 2023 to correct that while Finland has a border with Russia, Sweden does not.
Investigators working on the Idaho murders case lost Bryan Kohberger for several hours during the cross-country trip from his apartment at Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania, it has been revealed.

Surveillance teams were tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a person of interest in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

But, on 13 December, when he began the journey home for the holidays with his father, FBI agents managed to lose him almost as soon as their car pulled out of the parking lot at his graduate housing.

The shocking revelation has come to light in Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, citing law enforcement sources who admitted that for several alarming hours  or more the man believed to have brutally stabbed four University of Idaho students to death had seemingly vanished.

Hours later, the car finally pinged miles away in Colorado and surveillance resumed.

Mr Kohberger was arrested on 30 December at his family home and is now behind bars in Moscow on murder charges.

Key points

Bryan Kohberger attorneys receive trove of evidence in case

Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Xana Kernodles mom feels betrayed by attorney who dropped her for daughters alleged killer

Bryan Kohberger met local police chief and sent him gushing email  months before murders

Chilling online comments from suspect as teen revealed

FBI agents lost Bryan Kohberger for hours while he was under surveillance

09:46 , Rachel Sharp

Investigators working on the Idaho murders case lost Bryan Kohberger for several hours during the cross-country trip from his apartment at Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania, it has been revealed.

Surveillance teams were tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a person of interest in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Story continues

But, on 13 December, when he began the journey home for the holidays with his father, FBI agents managed to lose him almost as soon as their car pulled out of the parking lot at his graduate housing.

The shocking revelation has come to light in Air Mails The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two, citing law enforcement sources who admitted that for several alarming hours  or more the man believed to have brutally stabbed four University of Idaho students to death had seemingly vanished.

Hours later, the car finally pinged miles away in Colorado and surveillance resumed.

Mr Kohberger was arrested on 30 December at his family home and is now behind bars in Moscow on murder charges.

Why the defence requested evidence about a co-defendant

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Earlier this month, Bryan Kohbergers attorney Ann Taylor filed a discovery request in the case, asking the judge to order the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within 14 days.

Among the discovery requests were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case.

It also included a request for information about a co-defendant in the case.

Statements of co-defendant. Any written or recorded statements by a codefendant, and the substance of any relevant oral statement made by a co-defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person known by the codefendant to be a peace officer or agent of the prosecuting attorney, or which are otherwise relevant to the offense charged, the filing reads.

The request has prompted speculation of evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger may have had an accomplice  or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of their case.

However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.

These are just very standard requests as part of the defences discovery request, he said.

While ruling out other individuals as possible suspects will likely form part of the states case against Mr Kohberger, he said that this does not indicate that there are other suspects.

The probable cause affidavit makes no mention of a co-defendant and law enforcement officials have previously insisted that they believe the suspect acted alone.

The request making mention of a co-defendant is also just one of 18 discovery requests made in the court filing.

I dont think I would make much hay of that, Mr Levin said of the discovery request.

Judge extends gag order in Idaho murders case

12:15 , Rachel Sharp

A court in Idaho has extended a gag order issued earlier this month prohibiting law enforcement officials from revealing information about the murders of four University of Idaho students and the arrest of their accused killer Bryan Kohberger.

The order, issued by the Latah County Chief Magistrate on 4 January, was extended on Thursday and will remain in place throughout court proceedings until a verdict has been reached or unless the mandate is modified by the court.

The earlier court order banned investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and members of both the prosecution and the defence from sharing any new information about the investigation or the suspect before a verdict is reached at trial.

As a result, Moscow Police Department, which had been sharing updates on the investigation, said in a statement that it will no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding the case.

The order both extends and expands the earlier measure.

What is the significance of the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers home?

11:30 , Rachel Sharp

The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each of the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers home.

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

UI students launch fundraiser selling bracelets in victims honour

10:45 , Rachel Sharp

University of Idaho students have launched fundraiser selling bracelets in honour of the four murder victims.

The Vandal Strong bracelets are black silicon bands featuring the names of Ethan, Maddie, Xana and Kaylee.

They are for sale on the UI website with funds from the sales set to go towards a memorial for the victims.

Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever, tweeted Xana Kernodles family member Sheldon Kernodle.

Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever. Link to buy below:https://t.co/agvLa4CtmB  Sheldon Kernodle (@amigoshel) January 20, 2023

Restaurant where Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen worked denies Bryan Kohberger rumours

09:30 , Andrea Blanco

Jackie Fischer, owner of the Mad Greek  where slain students Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were servers  spoke out in a strongly-worded Facebook post on Friday after an anonymous former staff member claimed to People that Mr Kohberger had visited the eatery in the weeks before the killings.

Mogen, Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Kernodles boyfriend Ethan Chapin were all killed in a violent stabbing attack on 13 November in Moscow.

Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University PhD criminology student who lived 15 minutes from the victims home, has been charged with the murders.

According to the People report, Mr Kohberger visited the restaurant in Moscow twice in the weeks leading up to the murders and ordered vegan pizza.

It also alleged that an investigator with insight into the case reportedly told the magazine that authorities knew about the visits to the restaurant, had seized footage and that both staff and owners had been interviewed by law enforcement.

But within hours of the article being published, Ms Fischer slammed the claims and said they were unequivocally false.

The news/media should really do their due diligence before running a story with completely fabricated information. This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators, Ms Fischer wrote in a Facebook post.

Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by police chief for internship months before murders

08:00 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.

New emails show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohbergers interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.

In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement. Mr Jenkins replied that it was great to meet and talk with you as well.

Read the full story here.

A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders

06:30 , Andrea Blanco

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

Defence attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in Idaho murders case

05:00 , Andrea Blanco

Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.

Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.

The evidence  which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  came in response to the defences discovery request in the case.

However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.

The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants), prosecutors wrote in the court filings.

These were the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers Washington state home:

03:30 , Andrea Blanco

Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

This included:

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

Fraternity member found dead at alleged Idaho murderers Washington State University

02:00 , Andrea Blanco

WSU made national headlines last month when one of its criminology graduate students, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, became the main and only suspect in the brutal quadruple murders in the neighbouring college town of Moscow.

The university and its Greek life have now come under scrutiny after 19-year-old freshman Luke Tyler was found dead on 22 January at the Pullman campus.

Foul play is not suspected but Tylers official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy later this week, The Daily Evergreen reported.

A group of Tylers friends have since claimed that his sudden death followed a long and cruel pledging process allowed by his fraternity, Theta Chi, The Spokesman-Review reported.

In a Change.org petition, they demanded that the fraternity is disbanded.

Madison Mogen's father reveals what he did when he learned of Bryan Kohbergers arrest

00:30 , Andrea Blanco

The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just broke down and cried when he learned that his daughters accused killer had been taken into custody by police.

Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.

Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect  Bryan Kohberger  had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.

Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABCs  Good Morning America  earlier this month.

He said, Ben, this is the moment weve been waiting for, he said the officer told him.

I just broke down, and I just cried.

The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohbergers arrest felt like a huge weight that got lifted.

The evidence found inside Bryan Kohbergers home:

Monday 30 January 2023 21:46 , Andrea Blanco

Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

This included:

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

Kaylee Goncalves had moved out of student home shortly before the stabbings

Monday 30 January 2023 20:35 , Andrea Blanco

Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered  but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.

Goncalves parents told NBCs Dateline that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.

Then, on the weekend of 12 November, she decided to go back to the college town to visit her best friend Madison Mogen.

The two young women had been inseparable since meeting in the sixth grade and Goncalves wanted to show Mogen her new Range Rover that she had saved up for and bought.

The pair also planned to go to a party together on the night of Saturday 12 November.

These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable, said Goncalves mother Kristi Goncalves.

That was the last time that I saw Kaylee.

Hit-and-run unfolded outside Bryan Kohbergers home on night of Idaho college murders

Monday 30 January 2023 19:50 , Andrea Blanco

A hit-and-run unfolded outside of Bryan Kohbergers home on the same night that he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students, it has been revealed.

At around 11.40pm on the night of 12 November, police were called to a report of a crash in front of an apartment complex on the Washington State University (WSU) campus, in Pullman, Washington state, according to authorities.

The apartment complex, which houses mainly graduate or PhD students, had been home to Mr Kohberger since August when he relocated from his home state of Pennsylvania to start a PhD program in criminal justice at the university.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found two pedestrians  a male WSU student and a woman  with injuries after being struck by a car.

The driver had already fled the scene.

Defence attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in case

Monday 30 January 2023 19:08 , Andrea Blanco

Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.

Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.

The evidence  which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  came in response to the defences discovery request in the case.

However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.

The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants), prosecutors wrote in the court filings.

What can be expected from Bryan Kohbergers preliminary hearing on 26 June?

Monday 30 January 2023 17:57 , Andrea Blanco

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.

Further evidence and information about the case is not expected to be made public until the preliminary hearing on 26 June, after a judge issued a gag order preventing officials from talking about the case.

Behind the scenes, both sides will be conducting investigative work, examining discovery and moving the case forward, said Mr Levin.

In the preliminary hearing, the prosecution and the defence will then both lay out their cases in court for the first time, witnesses will likely be called and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine them, and Mr Kohberger will enter a plea on the charges.

I think this case looks like it is headed to trial, said Mr Levin, adding that due to the complexity of the case it could take some time.

As a case where the death penalty is on the table, it will take a long time to wind its way through the courts and it will be a lengthy court proceeding, he said.

Its not the kind of case a court regularly handles so whether its in 2023 is an open question.

Computer, hair, glove and stained items seized from Idaho murders suspects home

Monday 30 January 2023 16:15 , Andrea Blanco

Police investigating the murder of four Idaho students seized a string of items from suspect Bryan Kohbergers apartment, including possible hair strands, a disposable glove, items with red and brown stains and a computer, according to an unsealed search warrant.

Investigators stated in the search warrant application that they hoped to find hair strands that could link the suspect to the scene of the horrific November crime in Moscow, Idaho.

They said in the application that this could be either through the four victims or through a dog that was at the rental house at the time of the slayings, reported The New York Times.

Police said that one of the items found at the suspects apartment at nearby Washington State University was a possible animal hair strand.

In the documents, investigators said one item had a collection of dark red spotting, and that a pillow had a reddish/brown stain on it.

Bryan Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Monday 30 January 2023 15:30 , Andrea Blanco

The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.

Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.

The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohbergers arrest.

Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client  the same day that she took on Mr Kohbergers case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.

The ties to the victims families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.

How strong is the case against Bryan Kohberger?

Monday 30 January 2023 14:45 , Rachel Sharp

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.

Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.

Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.

But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohbergers attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts.

The Independents Rachel Sharp writes:

Kaylee Goncalves family reveals reason for calls to former boyfriend not long before murders

Monday 30 January 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Kaylee Goncalves family members have revealed a possible reason for the calls the slain student made to her former boyfriend not long before she was brutally murdered.

In the early hours of 13 November, Goncalves and Mogen both made phone calls to Goncalves ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur, with whom she shares pet dog Murphy.

Mr DuCoeur did not answer the calls.

Just hours later  at between 4am and 4.25am  Goncalves and Mogen were brutally stabbed to death alongside Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia, the Goncalves family spoke out about the calls, saying that they believe their daughter was seeking to rekindle her relationship with Mr DuCoeur.

Goncalves broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she might not ever find another Jack and was considering getting back together with him, they said.

Kaylees father Steve Goncalves said that the couple had remained friends and the slain student was looking for every excuse for [Mr DuCoeur] to pick up the phone.

The evidence found inside Bryan Kohbergers home:

Monday 30 January 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp

Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

This included:

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Monday 30 January 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

While America has long been fascinated with true crime, the shocking brutality and seeming randomness of the Moscow murders sent the internet sleuth community into overdrive.

Conspiracy theories and rumours have dominated the investigation with thousands of people joining social media groups to discuss their take on what transpired and why.

The Independents Rachel Sharp writes:

The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Xana Kernodles mother says she opposes death penalty for daughters killer

Monday 30 January 2023 11:45 , Rachel Sharp

The mother of slain student Xana Kernodle has revealed that she opposes the death penalty for her daughters accused killer Bryan Kohberger.

Cara Northington told NewsNation that she wants the suspect to pay for what hes done but is against the death penalty.

Thats not who I am. I dont believe in [the death penalty], but I do think that he should spend the rest of his days in prison, she said.

Her stance comes in opposition to the parents of Kaylee Goncalves who previously said they would support the death penalty for the person responsible for killing the four students.

What can be expected from Bryan Kohbergers preliminary hearing on 26 June?

Monday 30 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.

Further evidence and information about the case is not expected to be made public until the preliminary hearing on 26 June, after a judge issued a gag order preventing officials from talking about the case.

Behind the scenes, both sides will be conducting investigative work, examining discovery and moving the case forward, said Mr Levin.

In the preliminary hearing, the prosecution and the defence will then both lay out their cases in court for the first time, witnesses will likely be called and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine them, and Mr Kohberger will enter a plea on the charges.

I think this case looks like it is headed to trial, said Mr Levin, adding that due to the complexity of the case it could take some time.

As a case where the death penalty is on the table, it will take a long time to wind its way through the courts and it will be a lengthy court proceeding, he said.

Its not the kind of case a court regularly handles so whether its in 2023 is an open question.

Bryan Kohberger attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in case

Monday 30 January 2023 10:15 , Rachel Sharp

Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.

Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.

The evidence  which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  came in response to the defences discovery request in the case.

However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.

The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants), prosecutors write in the court filings.

How strong is the case against him?

Monday 30 January 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

Bryan Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Monday 30 January 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco

The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.

Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.

The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohbergers arrest.

Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client  the same day that she took on Mr Kohbergers case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.

The ties to the victims families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.

What is the significance of the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers home?

Monday 30 January 2023 15:05 , Andrea Blanco

The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each of the items seized from Bryan Kohbergers home.

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

Xana Kernodles mother says Bryan Kohberger lawyer had power of attorney over her as she slams betrayal

Monday 30 January 2023 05:00 , Rachel Sharp

The mother of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle has claimed that she gave her power of attorney to the public defender now representing her daughters alleged killer.

Anne Taylor, the chief of the Kootenai public defenders office, filed on 5 January to recuse herself from representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Denise Northington in order to become the lead defence attorney for Bryan Kohberger.

In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of betrayal she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.

The Independents Andrea Blanco has the full story:

Idaho murder victims mom says she gave Bryan Kohberger lawyer power of attorney

The tragic reason an Idaho murders victim returned to Moscow after moving out of her student home

Monday 30 January 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco

Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered  but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.

Goncalves parents told NBCs Dateline that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.

Then, on the weekend of 12 November, she decided to go back to the college town to visit her best friend Madison Mogen.

The two young women had been inseparable since meeting in the sixth grade and Goncalves wanted to show Mogen her new Range Rover that she had saved up for and bought.

The pair also planned to go to a party together on the night of Saturday 12 November.

These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable, said Goncalves mother Kristi Goncalves.

That was the last time that I saw Kaylee.

Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves (Instagram)

Idaho murders victims father reveals what he did when he learned of Bryan Kohbergers arrest

Monday 30 January 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco

The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just broke down and cried when he learned that his daughters accused killer had been taken into custody by police.

Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.

Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect  Bryan Kohberger  had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.

Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABCs  Good Morning America  this week.

He said, Ben, this is the moment weve been waiting for, he said the officer told him.

I just broke down, and I just cried.

The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohbergers arrest felt like a huge weight that got lifted.

Potential reason why victim called ex-boyfriend before Idaho murders

Sunday 29 January 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco

A University of Idaho student stabbed to death in her sleep may have called her ex-boyfriend on the night of her murder to rekindle their relationship, her family believes.

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed during a 13 November attack in the small college town of Moscow.

The murders gripped the nation and a secretive investigation by the FBI, Moscow Police, and Idaho State Police eventually materialised into the 30 December arrest of Washington State University PhD criminology student Bryan Kohberger.

Goncalves family has now shed new light on why she might have been calling her ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur in the hours before she was brutally attacked. In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia  filmed two days before Mr Kohbergers arrest the Goncalves said their daughter broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she might not ever find another Jack and was considering getting back together with him.

Kaylees father Steve Goncalves said that the couple had remained friends and the slain student was looking for every excuse for [Mr DuCoeur] to pick up the phone. The family noted that they were not just blindly sticking up for Mr DuCoeur, and that they had done their due diligence by looking out for scratches on his body, and potential evidence on his shoes and inside his car.

Even logically, I think a lot of people assume that were blinded by this individual but contrary to that, were very capable of removing our emotions for Jack which is absolute love  and just looking at the situation logically, Alivea Goncalves, Goncalves sister, said on the interview. Looking at this individual logically, looking at a pattern of behaviours of him that we have seen throughout five, six years ... In our hearts and in our heads and in every sense of the word, its just not [plausible that he committed the crime].

What was found inside Bryan Kohbergers home:

Sunday 29 January 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco

Last week, police in Washington unsealed search warrants for Bryan Kohbergers apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU).

The unsealed documents reveal that investigators seized a string of items from his home.

This included:

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickies tag

- two Marshalls receipts

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a dark red spot

- a computer tower

- a Fire TV stick

No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.

Hit-and-run unfolded outside Bryan Kohbergers home on night of Idaho college murders

Sunday 29 January 2023 19:00 , Andrea Blanco

A hit-and-run unfolded outside of Bryan Kohbergers home on the same night that he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students, it has been revealed.

At around 11.40pm on the night of 12 November, police were called to a report of a crash in front of an apartment complex on the Washington State University (WSU) campus, in Pullman, Washington state, according to authorities.

The apartment complex, which houses mainly graduate or PhD students, had been home to Mr Kohberger since August when he relocated from his home state of Pennsylvania to start a PhD program in criminal justice at the university.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found two pedestrians  a male WSU student and a woman  with injuries after being struck by a car.

The driver had already fled the scene.

Bryan Kohberger met local police chief for interview months before Idaho murders

Sunday 29 January 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp

Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.

New emails show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohbergers interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.

In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement. Mr Jenkins replied that it was great to meet and talk with you as well.

Read the full story here:

Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by police chief for internship months before murders

VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Sunday 29 January 2023 15:00 , Andrea Blanco

Even now Bryan Kohberger is in police custody, the online rumour mill shows no signs of winding down.

The Independents Rachel Sharp reports:

The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Forensic experts weigh in on evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home:

Sunday 29 January 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Authorities have lifted the lid on alleged evidence found in the home of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, marking the latest development in a horror case that has gripped the nation for two months.

A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohbergers apartment in Pullman, Washington, on 30 December, the same day he was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania on charges for the 13 November stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.

The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.

But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independents Andrea Blanco spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home

Computer, hair, glove and stained items seized from Idaho murders suspects home

Sunday 29 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco

Police investigating the murder of four Idaho students seized a string of items from suspect Bryan Kohbergers apartment, including possible hair strands, a disposable glove, items with red and brown stains and a computer, according to an unsealed search warrant.

Investigators stated in the search warrant application that they hoped to find hair strands that could link the suspect to the scene of the horrific November crime in Moscow, Idaho.

They said in the application that this could be either through the four victims or through a dog that was at the rental house at the time of the slayings, reported The New York Times.

Police said that one of the items found at the suspects apartment at nearby Washington State University was a possible animal hair strand.

In the documents, investigators said one item had a collection of dark red spotting, and that a pillow had a reddish/brown stain on it.

Restaurant where two Idaho murders victims worked denies Bryan Kohberger rumours

Sunday 29 January 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco

Jackie Fischer, owner of the Mad Greek  where slain students Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were servers  spoke out in a strongly-worded Facebook post on Friday after an anonymous former staff member claimed to People that Mr Kohberger had visited the eatery in the weeks before the killings.

Mogen, Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Kernodles boyfriend Ethan Chapin were all killed in a violent stabbing attack on 13 November in Moscow. Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University PhD criminology student who lived 15 minutes from the victims home, has been charged with the murders.

According to the People report, Mr Kohberger visited the restaurant in Moscow twice in the weeks leading up to the murders and ordered vegan pizza. It also alleged that an investigator with insight into the case reportedly told the magazine that authorities knew about the visits to the restaurant, had seized footage and that both staff and owners had been interviewed by law enforcement.

But within hours of the article being published, Ms Fischer slammed the claims and said they were unequivocally false.

The news/media should really do their due diligence before running a story with completely fabricated information. This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators, Ms Fischer wrote in a Facebook post.

Stained items seized from Bryan Kohbergers Washington state home

Sunday 29 January 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco

In the search warrant record, investigators list several items with stains, including cuttings of a mattress cover, a reddish/brown stain on an uncovered pillow and a collection of dark red spot.

Forensic expert Dr Monte Miller and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told The Independent that police likely believe those stains could be blood.

A reddish or brown stain is a euphemism for, We found something that looks like blood, Dr Miller said. It might be blood from the victims, might be his blood. They dont know until they test it, but theyll be able to get DNA if it is blood. We dont know what the stains in the cover sheets look like, but again theyre looking for any kind of DNA, evidence that might have come from the crime scene.

Bryan Kohberger is facing murder charges in the killings of four University of Idaho students

Ms Coffindaffer added: They dont call it blood, but its definitely inferred that it was blood.

Dr Miller noted that while stains on clothing and bedding are not necessarily unusual, investigators will try to link the evidence found at the Pullman apartment to the crime scene in Moscow.

The likelihood that any of those stains came from the crime scene, is going to be dependent on how well he cleaned up, he said.

A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders

Sunday 29 January 2023 05:00 , Andrea Blanco

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

Speculation around co-defendant in Idaho murders case is debunked

Sunday 29 January 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office and attorney at Levin & Associates, spoke to The Independent about the criminal case against the 28-year-old criminology PhD student.

Among the discovery requests made by the defence were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case. It also included a request for information about a co-defendant.

The request prompted speculation online that there may be evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger had an accomplice in the killings  or that the defence could be planning to argue that as part of their case.

However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.

The Independents Rachel Sharp has the story:

Speculation that Bryan Kohberger has co-defendant in Idaho murders case debunked

She slept through an attack that nearly killed her roommate. Now, shes defending a stranger in the Idaho murders

Sunday 29 January 2023 01:00 , Rachel Sharp

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo  none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independents Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders

Xana Kernodles mother says Bryan Kohberger lawyer had power of attorney over her as she slams betrayal

Saturday 28 January 2023 23:00 , Rachel Sharp

The mother of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle has claimed that she gave her power of attorney to the public defender now representing her daughters alleged killer.

Anne Taylor, the chief of the Kootenai public defenders office, filed on 5 January to recuse herself from representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Denise Northington in order to become the lead defence attorney for Bryan Kohberger.

In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of betrayal she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.

The Independents Andrea Blanco has the full story:

Idaho murder victims mom says she gave Bryan Kohberger lawyer power of attorney

Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Saturday 28 January 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco

The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.

Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.

The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohbergers arrest.

Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client  the same day that she took on Mr Kohbergers case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.

The ties to the victims families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.

Legal expert debunks speculation about co-defendant

Saturday 28 January 2023 19:00 , Rachel Sharp

Last week, Bryan Kohbergers attorney Ann Taylor filed a discovery request in the case, asking the judge to order the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within 14 days.

Among the discovery requests were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case.

It also included a request for information about a co-defendant in the case.

Statements of co-defendant. Any written or recorded statements by a codefendant, and the substance of any relevant oral statement made by a co-defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person known by the codefendant to be a peace officer or agent of the prosecuting attorney, or which are otherwise relevant to the offense charged, the filing reads.

The request has prompted speculation of evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger may have had an accomplice  or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of their case.

However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.

These are just very standard requests as part of the defences discovery request, he said.

While ruling out other individuals as possible suspects will likely form part of the states case against Mr Kohberger, he said that this does not indicate that there are other suspects.

The probable cause affidavit makes no mention of a co-defendant and law enforcement officials have previously insisted that they believe the suspect acted alone.

The request making mention of a co-defendant is also just one of 18 discovery requests made in the court filing.

I dont think I would make much hay of that, Mr Levin said of the discovery request.

Forensic experts discuss evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home:

Saturday 28 January 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp

Authorities have lifted the lid on alleged evidence found in the home of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, marking the latest development in a horror case that has gripped the nation for two months.

A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohbergers apartment in Pullman, Washington, on 30 December, the same day he was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania on charges for the 13 November stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.

The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.

But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independents Andrea Blanco spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.

What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohbergers home

Kohbergers attorney has ties to second victims family

Saturday 28 January 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp

The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.

Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.

The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodles mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohbergers arrest.

Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client  the same day that she took on Mr Kohbergers case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.

The ties to the victims families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.
By Chris Thomas, Aditya Kalra and Sriram M

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Gautam Adani's crucial $2.5 billion share sale was fully subscribed on Tuesday as investors pumped funds into his flagship firm, despite a $65 billion rout in the Indian billionaire's stocks sparked by a short-seller's report.

The fundraising is critical for Adani, not just because it will help cut his group's debt, but also because it is being seen by some as a gauge of confidence at a time when the tycoon faces one of his biggest business and reputational challenges.

Hindenburg Research's report last week alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and concerns about high debt, which Adani denied, but the subsequent market meltdown has led to a dramatic and sudden fall in his fortunes as he slipped to eighth from third in Forbes rich list rankings.

The 30% anchor portion of India's largest ever secondary share sale attracted investors including Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, as well as India's HDFC Life Insurance and state-backed Life Insurance Corporation.

The list of investors who participated in the book building, which had gathered only 3% in bids on Monday amid concerns over the rout in Adani's stocks, is not yet public.

By Tuesday, the overall share sale was fully subscribed as foreign institutional investors and corporate funds flooded in, although participation by retail investors and Adani Enterprises employees remained low.

"The purpose of the FPO (follow-on public offering) was two fold  to raise funds to reduce the debt and to broadbase the shareholding ... they haven't been able to broadbase the shareholding," Ambareesh Baliga, a Mumbai-based independent market analyst, said.

The offer closes days after Adani's public face-off with Hindenburg Research, which last week flagged concerns about the use of tax havens and "substantial debt" at the group. It added that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called "sky-high valuations".

Story continues

That Adani group has said it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements, calling the report baseless and adding it is considering taking action against Hindenburg.

Support for Adani's share sale came even as the flagship's shares closed at 2,973.9 rupees, up nearly 3% but below the lower end of the sale price band of 3,112 rupees.

Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees ($26.83 billion). Adani said on Sunday in response to Hindenburg's allegations that over the past decade the group has consistently de-levered.

Adani said the Hindenburg report was a "calculated attack" on India and its institutions, while its CFO compared the market rout of its stocks to a colonial-era massacre.

Hindenburg later said Adani's "response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions."

Adani Group's ballooning debt https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ADANI-INDIA/zjvqjwkdlpx/chart.png

RETAIL, CORPORATE DEMAND

Asked about the Adani-Hindenburg saga, India's chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran told reporters the "corporate sector as a whole has deleveraged and their balance sheets are healthy. So, what happens to one particular corporate group, is a matter between the market and the corporate group."

Adani had in recent days repeatedly said investors were standing by its side and the share offering would go through. Bankers at one point had considered tweaking the pricing of the issue, or extending the sale, Reuters had reported.

Most of the demand during the public book building process came from non-institutional investors who invested more than 1 million rupees each, with bids totalling five times the shares on offer. The portion for qualified institutional buyers, which includes foreign investors, was 1.2 times subscribed.

Adani Enterprises $2.5 bln share sale https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ADANI-FPO/FPO-ADANI/znvnbkeoevl/chart.png

But domestic financial institutions or banks, as well as domestic mutual funds, made no bids. And demand from retail investors and company employees remained muted, garnering bids of 12% and 55% of shares on offer.

"Investors would view the successful completion of the FPO as a welcome relief, as it implies that the company still has the support of institutional investors," Leonard Law, Senior Credit Analyst at Lucror Analytics Singapore, said on Tuesday.

Adani's firm held extensive discussions over the weekend and through Monday with investment bankers and institutional investors to attract subscriptions, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The names of investors is not yet available, but Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company said late on Monday that it will invest $400 million.

Adani Transmission closed nearly 4% higher on Tuesday after losing 38% since the Hindenburg report, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone climbed 2.6%.

Adani Total Gas closed down 10% at its lower price limit, while Adani Power and Adani Wilmar were down 5% each.

Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group. On Tuesday, U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone continued their fall into a second week.

(Reporting by M. Sriram, Chris Thomas, Aditya Kalra, Jayshree Upadhyay, Shivangi Acharya, Anshuman Daga and Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Alexander Smith)
BATTLE CREEK - An Albion man will spend up to three decades behind bars for his role in a 2020 murder and torture case.

David Michael Wallace, 49, was sentenced to 13.5 to 30 years in prison Monday for the June 2, 2020, shooting death of Jesse Fyffe, 24, of Lansing and formerly of Albion and Battle Creek, and the torture and wounding of Joseph Lazarus III, 23, of Albion. He was credited with 720 days served.

"All in all, you took somebodys life ... very brutally," Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge John Hallacy said moments before imposing Wallace's sentence. "Its just inhumane, just brutal."

David Michael Wallace

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Wallace pleaded no contest in November to single counts of torture and second-degree murder. In exchange, charges of open murder, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and felony firearm were dismissed, with a minimum sentence agreement of 13.5 years in prison.

"Had you been convicted as charged youd never see the light of day again," Hallacy reminded Wallace. "The facts of this case, I think, would be disturbing to any jury."

Wallace's brother, 33-year-old Tyler Christopher Wallace, was also charged in the murder and torture case and pled no contest in July 2022 to a single count of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for the dismissal of open murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and felony firearm charges. He was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison in September with credit for 588 days served.

David Wallace offered his condolences to Fyffe's family Monday, telling the court that "in my state of fright and my paranoid mindset, I was scared for my sons life and my life as well" on the night of June 1, 2020.

"I truly wish I could take everything all back and if I could, I would," Wallace said as he choked back tears. "To be able to go back and not do what I did to hurt anybody. ... I am truly regretful for what happened that night."

Lazarus testified during an April 2021 preliminary exam that he and Fyffe went to the Wallace property at 14225 24 Mile Road in Marengo Township about 10 p.m. on June 1, 2020, to purchase marijuana.

Story continues

Lazarus said he had purchased the drug several times from David Wallace and that his father knew Wallace.

Lazarus said they found a door to the house open and walked in.

Inside were two men  Tyler Wallace and an unknown third man who yelled "freeze."

Lazarus said he was struck with a gun by the unknown man as Fyffe fled through a window.

Tyler Wallace struck Lazarus and put him in a chair. Moments later David Wallace walked up the driveway yelling "we got them boys," Lazarus said.

"Mike Wallace began to laugh and beat me in the head with the butt of the gun. 'You came to the wrong . . . house. You are going to die. Who are you and who is your friend?'"

Lazarus said he was hit with the gun and brass knuckles and a small baseball bat was used to break his arm. He also was shot in the leg.

Wallace wanted to know the name of the other man, and told Lazarus, "I will have to tell your dad I had to kill his son."

Wallace told Lazarus to beg for his life and to pray but that it wouldn't do any good.

After Lazarus was shot in the leg, the brothers took him across a field to an opening in some woods and told him to dig his grave.

"I didn't believe anything that was going on," Lazarus told Prosecutor David Gilbert at the time. "I thought I was dreaming," but he admitted he feared for his life.

The men brought him back to the house and David Wallace left for about 10 minutes after a phone call from a family member who said Fyffe had been found. Wallace returned with Fyffe but the two men struggled and Fyffe took David Wallace's handgun.

David Wallace ran for cover and Lazarus said Fyffe and Tyler Wallace exchanged several gunshots and Wallace emptied his gun.

Fyffe then began to help Lazarus on his bad leg, and they crossed the road but more shots were fired and Fyffe let go of Lazarus.

Fyffe's body was found in a roadside ditch. Lazarus was found wounded in a nearby gravel pit.

Calhoun County Sheriff Office deputies and the Michigan State Police were called to the house after Tyler Wallace arrived at Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall with gunshot wounds and reported some details of the incident.

Joseph Lazarus

Lazarus told the court he received injuries to his head, to both hands, his broken arm and the gunshot wound to his leg.

He said the experience also affected him mentally.

"It crushed me," he said. "I died that night, honestly."

Michael Bartish, attorney for David Wallace, said his client denied taking Lazarus out and instructing him to dig his own grave. He also disputed Lazarus' reasoning for being on the property.

"I dont believe this was (about) a drug transaction anyway," Bartish said Monday. "These were two individuals who came to basically an abandoned house that was used for storage, and (they) had stolen a number of items (from that location) the evening before."

Bartish also said he believed Wallace's harsh comments toward Lazarus were, to some extent, intended to scare the young man "to make sure that nobody like this would ever come back to his house or property again."

"The fact of it is the defendant set a trap. He and his brother set a trap for these two individuals because they had some belief that someone who stole from them was going to come back, so they set that trap and they captured these two individuals," Calhoun County Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Meyer responded, noting Lazarus' ability to describe a portion of Wallace's property where he believed a dead body  ultimately that of a raccoon  was buried supported the fact he was led by Wallace to dig his own grave.

"How else would Joseph Lazarus know that there was a decaying raccoon out there that he had thought was a body if he wasnt there digging his own grave?" she said.

Meyer also pointed to the fact that Wallace admitted to his role in the incident once police arrived on scene.

"He admits to what he did. He admits to capturing this individual, kidnapping Jesse Fyffe from the side of the road and bringing him back to this scene," Meyer said. "Although the defendant has been able to sit in jail for the last couple years and think about his actions, he took those actions. He did what he did and he needs to be held accountable for what he did."

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: David Wallace of Albion to serve up to three decades in prison in murder, torture case
This article originally appeared on Velo News

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty didnt waste any time amassing points in the UCIs restarted promotion/relegation dogfight.

The UCIs officially updated ranking as at January 31 puts the Belgian team on top of UAE Team Emirates and Jayco-AlUla after the opening bout of the new three-year battle for WorldTour licenses.

A series of top 10s in Australia from Hugo Page and three victories in Mallorca from Rui Costa and Kobe Goossens saw the team counter the loss of former leaders Alexander Kristoff, Domenico Pozzovivo, and Jan Hirt by getting to the top of the league, early.

Id be lying if I said I dont look at the UCI points, team director Aike Visbeek recently told Wielerflits.

Our strategy is designed to ensure that we do not end up in a situation that many teams found themselves in during 2022. We want to be stable."

 Rui Costa

 Biniam Girmay

 Kobe Goossens

 Kobe Goossens

 Hugo Page

 Biniam Girmay 6 races. 6 podiums. 3 victories. But most importantly, an immense team spirit built for the rest of the season. pic.twitter.com/ysUvLg452h -- Intermarche-Circus-Wanty (@IntermarcheCW) January 30, 2023

The team already acknowledged it wouldnt match its breakout 2022 season this year as it pivoted toward youth.

Also read: Intermarche team set for season of renewal in 2023

Intermarches forecast that it would need to race strategically and focus on low-profile, high-scoring races in order to guarantee its WorldTour future is already playing out as the points battle sits front of mind of all but the biggest of teams.

UCI rankings at 31/01/23

Racing across the Tour Down Under, Vuelta a San Juan and Challenge Mallorca has already seen teams active in amassing points in fear of getting caught out in 2025.

Story continues

Last year saw endangered teams like Lotto-Soudal and Israel-PremierTech racing all across the globe as they looked to make up lost time in the UCIs league. It was a chase that proved futile as they ended up booted from the money-spinning WorldTour.

The UCI league published Tuesday gives early hints at how the next three years might play out as the lucrative, life-giving status as a WorldTour team again boils down to a triennial tally of points.

This month, WorldTour powerhouses UAE Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers clambered up the ranking via the single-minded hunt for GC victory in the prestigious WorldTour-opening TDU.

Elsewhere, squads that last year failed in the 2022 hunt for survival Lotto-Dstny and Israel-PremierTech made sure to get off on the front foot by spreading their squads wherever the going looked good.

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty did similar.

By intelligently selecting riders, it was possible to compete for victory every day with a balanced team and this gave the whole group a big motivation, Intermarche chief Visbeek said Tuesday of his early season hot start.

For teams like UAE Emirates, Ineos Grenadiers, and Jumbo-Visma with their dozens of top talents in just one roster, the calendar is there for the taking as wins come relatively easily.

Smaller teams have to spread their bets and cross their fingers.

Jumbo-Visma, Deceuninck-Alpecin in no rush

Van Aert and Van der Poels incoming return to road racing will change the game for their teams points tally.

The surprises in the UCI league table so far?

Jumbo-Visma and Alpecin-Deceuninck didnt crack the top 20, at 28th (108 points) and 37th (78 points) respectively.

The two teams bosses arent likely to be too bothered by their lowly ranking - its hard to see them struggle to pull in points in coming months.

Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel roar back to road racing in the coming weeks for the spring classics, and Jumbo-Vismas stage racer royalty will be following close behind in the UAE, Algarve, and Catalunya.

And Astana-Qazaqstan?

Team boss Vino wont want to know. After a 2022 season that Alexander Vinokourov described as rock bottom, his team is down in 56th with just 31 points.

Three weeks of racing means little over three years. But Intermarche-Circus-Wanty sure wont be complaining at its hot start so far.

For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today.
Buildings destroyed by shelling in Kherson region

A year ago, I wrote that we were facing a new 1914 or 1939. And the main question is, in which direction will we head: towards more war, or away from it?

My prediction, or rather wish, for 2023 is to advance as soon as possible towards 1918 or 1945 and end this war with a victory over Russia.

Read also: Who benefits from a long war in Ukraine?

This wish is dictated by the high price that we have already paid, which is growing every day. In addition, a price is being paid by the whole world. It is difficult to find a point on the map that has not been affected by the war in one way or another. Back in June, it was said that the populations of many countries in Asia and Africa were in for a real hell if the supply of Russian and Ukrainian bread to world markets was not resumed. American journalist Thomas Friedman even proved that the war in Ukraine was affecting the destruction of rainforests in the Amazon. And most of all, the nuclear blackmail of Russian President Vladimir Putin puts the whole world on the brink of the apocalypse.

In the early 2000s, British experts wrote that the 20s of this century would be decisive for the survival of mankind: if certain threatening processes could not be stopped, then our continued existence was greatly in question. As far as I understand, none of these processes have been stopped, and in addition to them, humankind has also added the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The issue of timing is key.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has the chance to go down in history as the last conventional war and the first technological one

Putin started the war against Ukraine with the expectation of a quick and easy victory. But in war, unlike in chess, the initiator generally loses. In most cases, decisions to start a war are made mainly on the basis of false calculations and, as a rule, with a significant underestimation of the enemy's forces. This is exactly what happened on February 24, 2022.

Ukraine erased Putin's expectation of a blitzkrieg.

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Read also: This will force Russia to end the war

Since that time, it has become clear that this war was destined to be a long one. The reason is its conventional nature. A few years ago, there were predictions that the wars of the future would be high-tech wars - in the silence of offices, in front of computer screens, with minimal use of human power. That did not happen. By its nature, this war is akin to the First or Second World War with massive armies, fronts, artillery, tanks, and aircraft. And the Russian invaders are fighting the way the Russian imperial army fought in the First World War and the Red Army fought in the Second World War. Their main calculation is to smother the enemy with their corpses, and also, as in previous wars, to kill, rape, and rob the civilian population.

However, with all the similarities to both world wars, this war is still closer to the First than the Second World War. In WWI, despite the large-scale battles, there were no big breakthroughs, the forces of both opponents were approximately equal, so after hopes for a blitzkrieg, the fighting turned into a protracted positional war. As British officers sneered in the spring of 1917, if the front continued to advance at the rate it was, then their army would reach the Rhine in 180 years. According to British intelligence, the Russian army at the beginning of this war was moving at a speed of 6-7 km per month. At this rate, they would reach the Dnipro in the spring of 2251.

The Kharkiv breakthrough and the liberation of Kherson broke the pace. We owe this to the dexterity of the Ukrainian command, the heroism of the Ukrainian army, the resilience of the rear, and Western assistance. But there is another accelerating factor: the increasing use of drones and the emergence of gamers. Thanks to them, the Russian-Ukrainian war has the chance to go down in history as the last conventional war and the first technological one. This change not only reduces Russias chances of victory (it was and has remained a great but backward empire), it increases the chances of ending the war as early as 2023.

Ukraine was being prepared for the role of cheese in the trap for the Russian rat. But the Ukrainians themselves have become skilled rat-catchers. The soldiers and officers who came to the rotation from the front say almost unanimously: the Russian army has no chance to win on the battlefield. Putin seems to understand this too. Therefore, he is imposing a protracted war of endurance. For this, he is destroying Ukraines infrastructure, depriving it of electricity and heat, and returning it to the Middle Ages in order to break Ukrainians spirit. He is also counting on the fact that the West will get tired of supporting Ukraine, and Westerners, terrified by the prospect of a cold winter and an economic crisis, will force their leaders to demand peace.

Read also: The Russians have been preparing for this for 30 years: How can we end the war in Ukraine?

Putin's biggest victory now would be to force Ukraine into a truce. It would stop the war for a while, but would not remove any threat to Ukraine or the world. In her biography of Putin, writer and journalist Masha Gessen writes that his philosophy is the logic of judo: to cling to an opponent, even if he is stronger, and not let go until he is completely exhausted.

Economists were wrong about how fast the Russian economy could collapse. Putin has managed to create his own economy built on oil, gas, and military production. It has little vulnerability to Western sanctions. Under such conditions, and given Russians' habit of despotism and poverty, Putin can hold out for a long time. Now time is on his side.

The only thing that really threatens the Putin regime is defeat at the front. This would undermine the Russian populations faith in Putin as an invincible alpha male. The successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces make it possible to end this war as early as 2023. Therefore, they deserve not only our support and sympathy, but also high-tech weapons, weapons, and more weapons.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Tacos, tequila shots and live music --- sign us up.

The 3rd annual Jacksonville Taco & Margarita Festival will return to TIAA Bank Field and Dailys Place in April!

WHEN + WHERE : Saturday, April 22 | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

More than 40 local restaurants and food trucks will serve up all kinds of taco creations, and there will be bars and beverage stations serving margaritas, tequila shots, beer, water, soda and more. Organizers say the family-friendly event will also feature a live DJ and bands.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

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Belarus announced the start of new exercises with the Russian troops

The ministry said that during the week representatives of the military departments of the two countries "will work on the issues of joint planning of the use of troops based on the experience of armed conflicts in recent years."

Read also: Joint aviation exercises with Russia to kick off in Belarus

The theme of the drills is as follows: "Decision-making on the use of a regional grouping of troops (forces) in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Union State."

The Union State is how Belarus and Russia describe the Moscow-dominated partnership between the Belarusian and Russian dictatorships.

Read also: Belarus unlikely to invade Ukraine, believes Ukrainian military intelligence

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense stated that the training is "aimed at increasing the compatibility of the military authorities of the two states" and "is the next stage of preparation for the joint operational exercise" 2023 Union Shield, which will be held in Russia in September 2023.

In a December interview with UK news magazine the Economist, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that Russia could launch a new offensive in February.

According to Zaluzhnyi, the offensive could take place not in Donbas, but in the direction of Kyiv from Belarus.

Read also: Ukraine would have enough time to react to potential invasion from Belarus

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Jan. 24 warned that Russia was amassing forces for a new large-scale offensive.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A circuit court judge has dismissed a lawsuit over Floridas decision to fly dozens of migrants to the northeast.

In September, Florida flew about 50 people from Texas, to our state, and then to Marthas Vineyard.

Watch: 10 injured in Lakeland shooting, suspects still at large, police say

The lawsuit argued the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor did not fully comply with public records requests related to those flights.

In her ruling, the judge said the plaintiff did not prove those documents had been withheld.

Watch: Florida lawmakers weigh getting rid of licenses to conceal carry firearms

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.
A New York federal court ruled that the identities of two anonymous sponsors who helped secure Sam Bankman-Fried's release on bail should be public. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

A federal judge agreed to unseal the names of Samuel Bankman-Fried's two anonymous bail sponsors.

But he paused his own decision for a week to allow for appeals.

The judge pointed out that the sponsors waded into a highly public criminal case.

The federal judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case said there was no justifiable reason to keep secret the names of the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul's two anonymous bail sponsors, ordering to unseal their names in court documents.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that the sponsors, whose identities Bankman-Fried argued should be kept secret for their safety, knew what they were getting into.

"The non-parental bail sureties have entered voluntarily into a highly publicized criminal proceeding by signing the individual bonds," Kaplan wrote in his ruling on Monday.

At the same time, Kaplan paused on his own decision until February 7, giving Bankman-Fried and the sponsors an opportunity to appeal because of the "novel" legal issues at stake, he wrote.

Bankman-Fried's bail package includes a $250 million bond secured by his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, and also involves the two additional sponsors who put up a combined $700,000, according to a court filing this month. According to the rules of their bail agreement, one of those additional sponsors couldn't be a family member, according to court filings.

Bankman-Fried's attorneys have sought to keep the names and addresses of the two non-parent sponsors under seal. They've argued in court filings that Bankman-Fried's parents have been subject to harassment, and that the two other sureties would be as well if they were publicly identified.

A group of media organizations, including Insider, argued that the public had a right to know who was bankrolling Bankman-Fried's bail.

"Given Mr. Bankman-Fried's relationships and access to some of the most wealthy, powerful, and politically connected individuals, including elected officials, access to the identity of the bond sureties will bolster trust in the judicial process here," the news organizations, represented by Jeremy A. Chase and Alexandra Settelmayer at the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, argued in a filing earlier this month.

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In December, federal prosecutors in New York unveiled 8 counts against Bankman-Fried, including wire fraud and conspiracy charges, in what they characterized as an effort to "misappropriate billions of dollars" of FTX customer funds.

Prosecutors have also pursued others in his orbit, and secured plea deals in December with Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Bankman-Fried's separate firm Alameda Research, and with FTX co-founder Gary Wang.

In his Monday decision, Kaplan weighed whether the bail documents qualified as "judicial documents" that normally have a presumption of public access, and considered whether the sponsors had countervailing privacy interests.

"If the names of the non-parental sureties are disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that those individuals would become subject to publicity that they would prefer not to attract," Kaplan wrote. "That is entitled to some consideration, especially in a case which has the notoriety that this one has attracted."

"But that alone does not do the trick," Kaplan continued.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Julia Fox has revealed why keeping her New York City apartment has helped her son become more in touch with the real world despite her life in the spotlight.

In a recent video on her TikTok, Fox responded to a troll who claimed that she was worth 30 million dollars. The remark was a comment on the New York City apartment tour video she recently conducted on the platform in an effort to give maximum transparency to her fans about her not-so luxurious space.

After noting in her clip that she didnt expect [her] apartment tour to go so viral, she shut down the claim that shes worth $30 million.

Not even close, she said. I dont give a f***. I dont need $30 million, what does one person need $30 million for? Ive survived on a lot less and Im doing just fine.

The 32-year-old actor explained that the criticsm around her apartment shouldnt be that deep since its the place where she first welcomed her now two-year-old, Valentino, whom she shares with ex-husband Peter Artemiev.

This just happens to be the apartment that I took my son home from the hospital from, she said. Its just home. It really is Valentinos apartment. Its like a sentimental thing.

She went on to explain that while she could probably afford a bigger place, she still thinks that her current apartment could give her child a sense of normalcy.

I dont want him to grow up and be like a f***ing prick, Fox continued. I want him to be in touch with the real world. Because I grew up in the real world, believe it or not. So I just want my son to have the same.

The Uncut Gems star noted that while fans have assumed that she buys nice s**t, she actually doesnt. More specifically, she said the couture she does wear is borrowed and that her clothes are usually made by young designers, who are just starting out.

The model concluded her video by calling out the positive reviews shes received about her apartment tour.

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It really warms my heart that so many people relate, she said. I used to be an aesthetic queen and want my space curated perfectly or a certain way. But now I realised theres more to life. I dont give a f***.

As of 31 January, Foxs video has more than 3.3m views, with fans in the comments praising her perspective and criticising any trolls who mocked her apartment.

People are mad when celebs are out of touch, and also mad when theyre just like us I guess? one wrote.

Youre so real for this, thats why youre the only influencer I follow, another added.

A third said: Its only you and your son, I dont get it, why do they think you need an empty mansion.

TikTok users also emphasised how much they enjoyed seeing Foxs space, one of which wrote: I loved the apt tour. I thought it was refreshing and its an actual HOME that is lived in and loved.

Fox first gave a glimpse of her one-bedroom apartment on TikTok earlier this week, describing it as very underwhelming because she doesnt like having excessive displays of wealth in her home.

@juliafox Come with me on a very underwhelming apartment tour! also to clarify I have only ONE mouse and hes cute   original sound - Julia fox

They make me feel icky, especially people that have really big houses. Its just really wasteful when theres so many homeless people in this country, she said. Im just not really like that.

In the tour, the native New Yorker revealed that she put her bed in the living room so she could turn the bedroom into a playroom for Valentino. She also showcased her little bathroom and kitchen, which had shoeboxes in it.

Fox confessed that similar to many New Yorkers, she has a minor mouse problem, which she tries to view as a positive thing.

I appreciate that at night, while were sleeping, they come out and clean up the crumbs that my son drops on the floor, she said. Im not gonna evict the mice any time soon.
Photo: Glacier Media

A man who tormented staff at North Vancouver's Lynn Valley Care Centre with dozens of hoax phone calls early in the pandemic was convicted Friday in BC Supreme Court for trapping a man in a Richmond apartment and subjecting the victim to assault and humiliation for more than a day.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes found Taymour Aghtai, 28, guilty of sexual assault with a weapon, assault with a weapon, extortion, unlawful confinement and use of an imitation firearm in relation to the unlawful confinement.

At the time of the crimes, six months after the Lynn Valley Care Centre hoax calls, Aghtai was operating a business buying and selling merchandise from his home. The victim, who he had known since they were teenagers, occasionally supplied or purchased items.

The victim, whose name is protected by a publication ban, testified during the trial that once he arrived at the apartment near the Richmond Olympic Oval on Sept. 4, 2020, Aghtai hit him on the head from behind, and restrained him with handcuffs and zap straps. He said Aghtai and others assaulted and humiliated over the course of 30 hours until he escaped.

The man testified that Aghtai was not the main aggressor, but played a very significant role, Holmes said.

Aghtai denied the charges. Holmes said that he testified the man willingly stayed at the apartment, and was at no time subjected to any restraint, violence or abuse of any type that Mr. Aghtai inflicted or witnessed.

Holmes found the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that Aghtai kept the man restrained physically and sometimes used threats and intimidation against the victim. For instance, Aghtai fired bear spray directly into the victims mouth and was a party to the pistol-whipping of a man with an imitation firearm.

Holmes said that he also aided and encouraged a sexual assault with a broom handle, recording it on video and laughing while he did so. Aghtai also committed extortion by aiding and abetting another man to use threats of violence to induce the victim to have or simulate intercourse with a dog, which was also recorded.

She found the victim to be a better witness than Aghtai.

Some of the offences on Mr. Aghtai's criminal record, such as conveying a false message with intent to alarm, and obtaining by false pretenses, and fraud, of falsehood at their core, Holmes said. This, too, weighs against Mr. Aghtai's credibility.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

Before she read her verdict, Holmes revealed the reason for adjourning Aghtais previous hearing.

It was my turn to get COVID, and Im over it, Holmes said. But there is a lingering cough and occasionally it comes out of the blue and I cant stop.

Holmes had managed to stay healthy while presiding over the highest-profile international and domestic BC Supreme Court white-collar cases that coincided with the pandemic: The extradition hearings for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and the fraud and breach of trust trial of former B.C. Legislature clerk Craig James.

The verdict came 11 days after a judge in North Vancouver Provincial Court reserved sentencing of Aghtai for public mischief and two counts of conveying a false message with intent to alarm.

Aghtai had pleaded guilty in December 2021 to making 63 malicious crank calls to four managers, six nurses and two administrators at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in March 2020.

The Crown recommended a sentence of two years less a day, plus three years probation. Aghtais defence lawyer asked for a 16-to-18-month sentence. Sentencing was originally scheduled for October, but Aghtai refused to leave his cell before the hearing.

Provincial Court heard Jan. 16 that a 2014 psychological assessment concluded that Aghtai was a narcissistic, anti-social alcohol abuser with psychopathic tendencies.

Aghtai has a criminal record dating back to 2008 for making hoax phone calls that falsely alleged heinous crimes or impersonated police officers. He also has a record of assault, robbery, break and enter, confinement and weapons offences, and violating court orders.

In 2020, he stole personal protective equipment from a seniors care home and escaped lawful custody at Richmond Hospital where he assaulted two corrections officers by threatening them with a contaminated syringe.
Kansas City, Kansas, police on Monday announced a homicide investigation involving a case of a man fatally shot during a suspected burglary attempt earlier in January.

The shooting occurred Jan. 22 in the 10900 block of Hubbard Road, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for KCKPD. Police officers were initially dispatched there by a homeowner who reported intruders at their home.

During the 911 call, the homeowner reported to police that another resident had shot one of the suspected intruders.

Responding police officers found 32-year-old Deven Monaghan, of KCK, critically injured by gunshot wounds outside of the home. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital and died there two days later, Chartrand said.

The Major Case Unit was investigating. Anyone with information was asked to contact the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.

The homicide investigation announced by KCKPD on Monday is one of two in the city since 2023 began, according to data maintained by The Star. On the afternoon of Jan. 27, police officers found one gunshot victim, described as a female, dead inside a vehicle in the 6100 block of Haskell Avenue after being called there in response to a reported shooting.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the shooting event as taking place during a home invasion. Police say the man was shot outside the home.
Update: Police said Tuesday morning that Lily Launer had been found.

Kansas City police were asking the public for help Monday evening to find a 14-year-old girl who did not return home from school.

Lily Launer, 14, was last seen near Northwest Congress Avenue and Northwest Barry Road after leaving school around 3 p.m. Monday, police said in a statement. She was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue sweatpants and rainbow-colored shoes, police said.

Runaway/Endangered Juvenile



Attempting to locate Lily Launer, white/female, 14 yoa, 508, 150 lbs

She was last seen leaving school on todays date at approximately 3pm wearing black hoodie, blue sweatpants, and rainbow colored Vans. pic.twitter.com/p0Qcm2FIzX  kcpolice (@kcpolice) January 31, 2023

Launer is described by police as a white female, 5-foot-8 and about 150 pounds.

Police were asking anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts to contact the Juvenile Section at 816-234-5150.
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign ministry criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as "unacceptable."

Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and Kyiv has said it will not abandon efforts to regain control of the region.

In remarks on Monday detailing his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic said it was "clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine".

"We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

In the same statement, Nikolenko thanked the Croatian government and people for backing Ukraine's since Russia's invasion in February last year. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has openly voiced support for Ukraine.

"We highly appreciate and thank the government of Croatia and the Croatian people for their steadfast support of Ukrainians in the fight against Russian aggression," Nikolenko wrote.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Lafayette Police Department

LAFAYETTE, Ind.  On Monday, police arrested a 14-year-old girl at Tecumseh Junior High School after she sent a photo of a gun over Snapchat and allegedly made threats to shoot another student.

The incident occurred over the weekend, but it was not reported to law enforcement until Monday, after the student, a 13-year-old boy, informed school officials about the Snapchat messages, according to police.

School officials were informed of this information shortly after the school day started, at which time the school called the Lafayette Police Department.

LPD investigated the boys claim, and then arrest the 14-year-old girl early Monday morning at Tecumseh Junior High School, who was also a student at that school, according to police.

It was a direct threat to one student, not a threat to the school, LPD Lt. Justin Hartman said.

We investigated right when the student came forward with the message and showed it to school authorities. We took the investigation right then and made an arrest pretty quick on it.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette middle school student arrested for threating to shoot classmate
Before the beauty community could even take a breath after the backlash against Tarte Cosmetics infamous influencer trip to Dubai, TikTok creator Mikayla Nogueira stepped up and said, Hold my mascara.

Nogueira, who is arguably one of the top beauty influencers on TikTok right now, posted a TikTok on Jan. 24 about LOreals telescopic lengthening mascara. The video was hashtagged with #LorealParisPartner, and Nogueira herself is no stranger to posting beauty product ads that are styled similarly to her genuine product review videos.

These are the lashes of my dreams! Nogueira captioned the video. Ironically, according to her followers, they are certainly lashes that dont exist in reality.

Nogueira has been accused of wearing false lashes when advertising the strengths of the mascara. The ad, which is still up on Nogueiras TikTok as of this writing, is being dubbed lashlighting  a play off of gaslighting.

im so deep into mikayla nogueira lashgate  bestie really thought she was fooling us,, i know ardell wispies when i see them miss girl pic.twitter.com/nVeV2Ihf13  jade (@Iatenightdevil) January 25, 2023

Many, many other creators took to their platforms to break down why they thought Nogueira was wearing fake lashes. Ashley Gonzalez, a lash artist with her own line of lashes, pointed out what she thought was a separation between Nogueiras real lashes and the alleged fake ones in the video.

I just want to share my professional opinion, and lets be 100%, there is no disputing that she used strips, Gonzalez wrote in the caption.

A Reddit post speculated that Nogueiras follower count has been fluctuating since Lashgate  which contradicted fan assumptions that she would only lose followers. The user included screenshots from TokCount, a live follower count tool that sources its data from TikTok, although it is not affiliated with the app or its owner, ByteDance.

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Other users pointed to Social Blade, which is another tool that breaks down the analytics of social media accounts like YouTube and TikTok, and accused Nogueira of buying followers during the month of January. According to Social Blades findings, Nogueiras TikTok account increased from 14.2 million to 14.4 million followers from Jan. 14 to Jan. 31.

Like TokCount, the platform is not part of YouTube or TikTok, and while Social Blade is pretty well known, its follow-count tracking has been found to not be 100% accurate.

Similar to with the Tarte Dubai trip, the backlash against Nogueira raises the question of whether LOreal actually benefited from the ad. The video  and, subsequently, the mascara  has been one of the top trending stories in the last week.

Does it work? Its been proven that outrage drives clicks and profit, so could this have been some genius scheme to sell mascara?

Studies have found that this marketing tactic  of using influencers and their platforms to sell products, whether or not it aligns with their overall branding  does not work on the younger generation.

Gen Z is aware of influencer marketing strategies adopted by brands; however, they expect the brands and influencers to behave responsibly while sharing information, a Psychology & Marketing article reported. Followers have avoided or unfollowed influencers because of disingenuous endorsements, the promotion of unrealistic or unsustainable lifestyles, and misrepresentation.

The timing for LOreal and Nogueira couldnt be worse, as searches and calls for de-influencing have skyrocketed across social platforms in response to users feeling overwhelmed with overconsumption and influencer inauthenticity. The hashtag for the movement currently has over 56 million views on TikTok.

De-influencing is intended to be a way to slow down the nonstop trend cycle nature of TikTok and encourage shoppers to be more sustainable and thoughtful when it comes to purchases. Its intended to be about recognizing that influencers are in partnerships with the brands theyre praising and typically get the products for free.

But de-influencing is being conflated with bashing bad products, which is a subjective point of view and not the point of the movement.

Influencers and brands can and should be taking the opportunity to examine marketing strategies  because they are not working anymore. Nogueira, who used to be considered a legitimate beauty expert by her millions of followers, lost her credibility in just one 44-second video. Was it worth the LOreal partnership?

In The Know is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post Lashlighting, de-influencing and why beauty brands are failing Gen Z appeared first on In The Know.

More from In The Know:

Jaclyn Hill responds to internet conspiracy theories that she's holding stranger's cat 'hostage'

Are influencer beauty trips even effective anymore?

Remi Bader, Jameela Jamil among influencers speaking out against Hollywood's 'wonder drug,' Ozempic
The latest week of Operation Consequences mainly targeted Victorville, resulting in felony arrests and the seizure of drugs and firearms, sheriffs officials said.

Sheriffs officials said the latest week of Operation Consequences mainly targeted Victorville, resulting in felony arrests and the seizure of drugs and firearms.

Authorities also revealed its participation in Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a statewide human trafficking rescue operation.

Operation Consequences

The latest seven-day operation ended on Jan. 27 and saw targeted crime suppression at the following locations:

13000 Block of Mesa Linda Road, Victorville

13400 Block of Baylor Drive, Victorville

15300 Block of Village Drive, Victorville

13800 Block of Dahlgren Drive, Victorville

12600 Block of Mariposa Road, Victorville

16500 Block of Bear Valley Road, Victorville

13500 Block of El Evado Road, Victorville

15000 Block of Tatum Road, Victorville

14100 Block of Riviera Drive, Victorville

14400 Block of Seventh Street, Victorville

15300 Block of Bear Valley Road, Victorville

12600 Block of Navajo Road, Apple Valley

16400 Block of Main Street, Hesperia

18600 Block of Juniper Street, Hesperia

2700 Block of Duncan Road, Phelan

34000 Block of County Line Road, Yucaipa

34200 Block of Yucaipa Boulevard, Yucaipa

34400 Block of Yucaipa Boulevard, Yucaipa

11400 Block of Mission Vista Drive, Rancho Cucamonga

3000 Block of Chardonnay Way, Jurupa Valley

4900 Block of N Acacia Avenue, San Bernardino

1000 Block of West Evans Street, San Bernardino

600 Block of E Third Street, San Bernardino

The latest week of Operation Consequences mainly targeted Victorville, resulting in felony arrests and the seizure of drugs and firearms, sheriffs officials said.

Investigators conducted the one-week operation with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Gangs/Narcotics Division, Specialized Enforcement Division, and multiple patrol stations.

Additionally, with assistance from the SBC Probation Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

During the week, 34 search warrants were served, and investigators made 24 felony arrests and seized 31 firearms, three unserialized or ghost guns.

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Also, 28 pounds of methamphetamine and one-half pound of cocaine were located and seized.

Operation Reclaim & Rebuild

As part of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the SBC Human Trafficking Task Force participated in Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, which focuses on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking.

Over the past week, investigators served six search warrants connected to human trafficking. Also, 21 arrests were made, and 14 victims were rescued and provided with resources.

The operation also provided victims with much-needed services, identifying and arresting their captors, seeking successful prosecutions, and disrupting the demand for vulnerable victims by targeting their customers.

To report activities or concerns related to human trafficking, contact the SBC Human Trafficking Task Force at 909-387-8400 or by email at humantrafficking@sbcsd.org. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may contact We-Tip at 1-888-78-CRIME, or you may leave the information on the WE-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Latest Operation Consequences mainly targets Victorville
Gitanas Nauseda believes that drawing new

Speaking to television channel LRT TV on Jan. 30, Nauseda said that in the context of Russian aggression, it was inappropriate to talk about any "red lines" in this matter with regard to the Kremlin regime.

Read also: Lithuania extends EUR 40 million in military aid to Ukraine

"I have seen many red lines that have been drawn, and sometimes I even have the impression that these red lines are not drawn by us, the Western countries, the democracies, but that it is the terrorist state of Russia that is trying to draw them through fear and threats, and it is trying to impose them," Nauseda said.

The Lithuanian leader noted that many Western countries, including Germany, had previously ruled out supplying Ukraine with anything more substantial than helmets and bulletproof vests, but now they are preparing to transfer heavily armored vehicles.

Read also: Ukraines path towards NATO membership should persist despite war, Lithuania says

"This Rubicon has been crossed, so I do hope that this red line  if it really exists, and I think it exists only in our heads  will also be crossed," Nauseda said, emphasizing the extreme importance of military assistance to Ukraine "at this crucial stage in the war."

Read also: Poland and Lithuania will insist on security guarantees for Ukraine, Polands Duda says

Hungary and Austria, on the other hand, are categorically opposed to providing any weapons to the Ukrainian army, according to the Osterreich newspaper.

During a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Klaudia Tanner, the parties declared that military aid to Ukraine could lead to an "escalation.

According to the Hungarian minister, this could result in the conflict spreading to other European states.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Photo: The Canadian Press

A national Indigenous organization is calling on Canadian police forces to make "fundamental changes" to end brutality against members of racialized groups in the country.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples says the case of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was brutally beaten by police during a traffic stop earlier this month in the Memphis, Tenn., and later died, is a reminder of the systemic police brutality in both the United States and Canada.

National Chief Elmer St. Pierre says racism and discrimination are the roots of police brutality against racialized people.

He says police officers should learn how de-escalate tense situations rather than using violence.

Last week, several Canadian police chiefs condemned the death of Nichols and said the officers involved must be held accountable.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples says all Canadian police forces need to "acknowledge the wrongs of the past"  there have been several notable cases of police brutality against members of Indigenous, Black and racialized communities in Canada in recent years.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told LRT TV that NATO countries should not have "red lines" and supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win the war against Russia.

The president explained that many of the so-called red lines that the West is afraid to cross were drawn by Russia.

Nauseda also pointed out that Ukraines EU candidacy, which was once considered non-negotiable, is now a serious possibility.

According to the Lithuanian president, the threats of Russian escalation only serve to frighten the west from sending more fighter jets, tanks, missiles, and other necessary weapons to Ukraine.

Because fighter jets and long-range missiles are essential military aid, and at this crucial stage in the war, where the turning point is about to happen, it is vital that we act without delay, he said.

Lithuania recently pledged to transfer L70 anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. The country has also committed to training Ukrainian soldiers and restoring Ukrainian military equipment.

Nauseda and Polish President Andrzej Duda recently visited Ukraine and reaffirmed both countries commitment to aiding Ukraine in the long term.
Disabled TV presenter Sophie Morgan says British Airways broke her wheelchair. (Getty)

Loose Women star Sophie Morgan has claimed that British Airways broke her wheelchair in transit.

The broadcaster, who requires a wheelchair at all times after suffering a spinal injury at 18, says the airline damaged her chair on a flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow.

Taking to Instagram to detail the experience, Morgan said: "Landed at Heathrow with a bang. Someone - no one took responsibility - decided to attach my wheelchair and my batec (battery-powered attachment) whilst in transit (they were checked in separately, in two parts, unattached) and they have done so a) without permission and b) COMPLETELY WRONG!!!"

Read more: Disabled TV presenter Sophie Morgan abandoned on empty plane for 40 minutes

She continued: "It took over half an hour to "break" them apart, all that time I had to sit on an aisle chair that was NOT safe and I didnt know if I would be able to get back into my chair. Eventually, they broke them apart and I got back into my chair and reattached the batec but its not safe to use. I then discovered more damage."

Sophie Morgan was traveling from LA to London when her wheelchair was broken in transit. (Alamy)

Morgan also explained her poor experience with British Airways customer service: "And what was I told to do by BRITISH AIRWAYS!? Send an email via the website.This has GOT TO STOP. Thousands of chairs are damaged by airlines every year. Its #JustPlaneWrong."

Yahoo has contacted British Airways for a response.

Morgan's Loose Women panelist Charlene White shared her dismay at the situation on Twitter calling the incident 'unacceptable'.

This is unacceptable Sophie. Livid youve had to deal with this. Were on the @loosewomen panel together tomorrow right? Well definitely talk about it more then this shouldnt be happening xx



https://t.co/kEKexxjL5W  Charlene White (@CharleneWhite) January 31, 2023

Since her injury in 2003, Morgan has been a vocal campaigner for disability rights and also designed a mannequin for wheelchair users for retailers to use in shops.

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As well as making several appearances on Loose Women since 2021, Morgan has also been a part of Channel 4's broadcasting team for the Paralympic Games since 2012.

Sophie Morgan tests out a robot walking system. (Getty Images)

Morgan has also fronted documentaries on disabled models, road accidents and transport issues for disabled people.

Watch below: London 'working on plan' to bring Olympics and Paralympics back to capital.
Watch: Lorraine Kelly laughs at Matt Hancock's TV presenting hopes

Lorraine Kelly has revealed Matt Hancock turned down an invitation to appear on her show as she laughed at suggestions he may become a host of Good Morning Britain.

The Scottish TV star - who previously called the former health secretary a "pound shop Milk Tray man" - made no attempt to hide her dislike for Hancock as she discussed his latest GMB interview with hosts Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid as they handed over to her on the ITV show.

Kelly, 63, chuckled: "I think he has [kept his distance]. I mean he did have an invite but he funnily enough didn't pop in and say hello."

Read more: Matt Hancock confronted by Kate Garraway on GMB over I'm A Celeb appearance

Lorraine Kelly thought Matt Hancock's TV presenting aspirations were a joke.

During Hancock's lengthy interview on the ITV breakfast show Reid asked him if he aspired to become a guest co-host, a question he declined to answer yes or no to.

Kelly laughed and shook her head as she said: "I thought you showed great restraint there."

She joked: "Richard - I'd be worried for your job! He's coming after you! He didn't say no, did he?"

Kelly went on: "I think maybe he thought this morning was an audition. But who knows?

"For goodness sake, can you imagine? That would be interesting handovers in the morning, wouldn't it?"

Matt Hancock did not deny he would like to become a TV presenter on GMB. (ITV)

She then burst out laughing.

She later said on her show that Hancock "did squirm, a lot" during the interview.

Hancock told Good Morning Britain he did not do I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! "primarily" for the money, but "to try to show who I am."

He admitted he would like to go into TV presenting and make documentaries on matters he thought were "important".

Lorraine Kelly was not keen on the idea of Matt Hancock working on GMB. (ITV)

Reid asked him: "Would you like to host Good Morning Britain? Is that what this is about? Do you want to sit in the Piers Morgan 'mincer' chair? You're laughing. Is that what you're after?"

Read more: Lorraine Kelly mocks 'pound shop Milk Tray man' Matt Hancock after tell-all interview

Hancock said: "No, I'm not going to be applying for your job. You do it too well."
(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned down a German request to send ammunition to Ukraine as part of the international effort to help Kyiv repel the Russian invasion.

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Brazil has no interest in passing on ammunition so that it will be used in the war, Lula told reporters at a press conference in Brasilia alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Scholz has been trying to rally support for Ukraine during a four-day visit to South America after agreeing earlier this month to send German battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles and a Patriot missile battery to the government in Kyiv. While the front lines in the conflict have been relatively stable so far this year, Russia has been attacking residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid with missiles, and both sides are looking to build up their supplies ahead of renewed fighting expected in the spring.

It is right and remains right that many countries in the world support Ukraine, with humanitarian aid, but also with weapons, Scholz said at the end of his trip on Tuesday in Brasilia. His team was surprised by the hard line Lula took on the issue during their meeting, a German official said, asking not to be identified discussing private conversations.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric offered the clearest response to Scholzs appeals, condemning President Vladimir Putins war of aggression.

We will always defend multilateralism, the peaceful solution of conflicts and, above all, the validity of human rights, Boric said after meeting with Scholz in Santiago Sunday. Boric said he had promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help with the clearing of land mines after the war.

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I am very thankful for Chiles clear position on this question and really also touched because it is important that there are states which help to argue here with a clear position, Scholz said at a joint presser with Boric. It is also important that there are other democracies in South America which share this view.

In Argentina, however, Scholz was less successful, with President Alberto Fernandez refusing to offer any military assistance follow a meeting in Buenos Aires on Saturday. The chancellor and I wish for peace to return to the region as soon as possible, Fernandez said.

Blaming Zelenskiy

Scholz has tried to establish a rapport with the South American leaders by talking about his own experiences on their continent. In Buenos Aires, he told his audience that he had first visited Argentina in the 1980s as a young Socialist and then again later as a tourist in Patagonia. In Santiago, he recalled a visit to Chile during the final phase of the Pinochet dictatorship.

On his last stop in Brasilia, he encountered in Lula a leader who remains ambivalent about the Russian invasion and who has in the past criticized Zelenskiy and blamed him for the conflict.

Lula, in line with Brazils traditional foreign policy, likes to portray himself as a mediator of conflicts in a multipolar world, rather than an automatic ally of the US and the European Union. A German government official suggested that Lulas reluctance to condemn Putin may also be shaped by the large quantity of fertilizers that Brazilian farmers buy from Russia.

At their joint appearance, Scholz said that many countries, including Brazil, could get drawn into territorial conflicts if other leaders decided to leaf through the history books like Putin - a reference to the Russian leaders claims on Ukrainian territory, which are disputed by many academics.

Brazil does not want to have any participation, even indirect, Lula said. We should be looking for who can help to find peace between Russia and Ukraine.

(Updates with comment from Scholz in fourth paragraph)

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(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim demanded Goldman Sachs Group Inc. honor its settlement with the government for its role in the 1MDB scandal and vowed to gradually lower the nations debt in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions Haslinda Amin.

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In the wide-ranging interview, his first with international media since taking office last year, Anwar spoke about his fragile coalition, the role of his family in the government and Malaysias desire to balance geopolitical competition between the US and China.

Below is a transcript of the interview with Anwar. Some of the questions and answers on a variety of topics have been edited for length and clarity:

Q: Your political journey has been extraordinary to say the least. You were touted as the future prime minister of the country from as far back as 1997. More than 20 years on how does it feel to finally be premier?

Waiting in the corridors of power is of course an experience by itself because you observe the players. Its like King Lear with Cordelia looking at the stage and you learn from the strengths and weaknesses of your foes, and hopefully when youre in office you try and improve, and do your best to serve.

Q: Youve inherited a nation thats so divisive. You saw the first hung of parliament, a country tainted by the long standing 1MDB scandal. How do you regain credibility?

Its not just 1MDB but this corruption is systemic, as Ive said, which means it cuts across the whole spectrum of particularly the political elite, and therefore you have to set a good example. There are political leaders who are not there for money and avoid all cases of corruption, abuse. People are fed up with the situation and Malaysia shouldnt be known for its financial scandals or malfeasance. It should be known for its vibrant, multiracial society with a capacity to move forward.

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Q: So what can be done in the first 100 days of your government?

From the first day you must give a clear message: no more corruption, no more negotiating tenders, no more abuse, and you remain consistent for days and weeks and months and years. Im sure the people will decide not only your favor, but the favor of a new narrative, a new policy.

Q: No more corruption you say, and yet here you are tied up with Barisan Nasional whose party chief faces multiple charges. Is there a disconnect there?

He has been investigated and charged  is undergoing trial and the court should decide independently. I made very clear that the courts are independent and I do not think I should prejudge the case. But it shouldnt be just purely political. Why refer to him personally when Ive said that the system is corrupt. Theres so many other political leaders who have been abusing their positions: former prime ministers, former finance ministers, by the hundreds and millions of dollars.

Q: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi faces 47 counts of corruption. He is your deputy prime minister.

Im not here to discuss his case. I am here to suggest that the court process must be independent and he must be given a chance  the fairness to be adjudicated by an independent, impartial court.

Q: What if you lose your deputy prime minister? What if Zahid is found guilty and sent to prison?

Let us move on. We have to work from day one, to ensure that the system that we have has good governance, and that the system is free from corrupt leaders. And I think to be fair, they have observed these rules now.

Theres not one trace I can find from any of my team now trying to squander through contracts or projects and Im fine with that. People should judge me from the last two months.

Q: How stable is your government?

What is important is has been tested in Parliament and we secured a two-thirds majority which is stronger. I dont need a two-thirds majority. I need a comfortable or strong majority. There is no indication that there is friction within the coalition. For now the government is stable. It has not been this stable for the last 10-15 years. Thats good enough for Malaysia.

Q: Some people are taking issue that your daughter Nurul Izzah is a senior adviser to economic and financial affairs. Your wife is a member of parliament. Is that too much family in the government?

Azizah is in her own evolution. She is not just pampered. She struggled, stood the test with the party, with reformasi over the last 20 over years and she is now an ordinary member of parliament. Is that a big deal? Nurul Izzah is now an advisor. Shes qualified. Shes not being paid for the job. Shes someone I trust to help me out.

She can deliver. Shes not abusing her position. Shes not using it to try and abscond some funds to give your cronies. That is a sickness and the rotten system we inherited, and she is there together with many other colleagues of mine to try and dismantle that.

Q: Is there is too much competition against China?

We dont have that problem. We would use our potential and whatever little influence to try and engage with everyone. We also express in private some of our concerns with China or the United States for that matter, but then overall we want to remain good friends to both.

Q: Who should bear the bulk of the responsibility for the rising antagonism between the US and China?

I dont necessarily need to assess that because our hope is that there should be more engagement to resolve this outstanding problem, because the continued resentment and antagonism into these countries are affecting a smaller country like Malaysia and Asean adversely, so it is to our interest and to the international community if they can have an amicable resolution to this tense relationship.

Q: On Ukraine, do you see the need for President Zelenskiy to start negotiating earlier rather than later for the greater good of the world?

We have been consistently in favor of negotiations. However tough and difficult you must never fear to negotiate.

(Updates with additional remarks from Anwar. An earlier version corrected a reference to Anwars wife Wan Azizah.)

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Jacob Dan Davidson of Centerburg, who was arrested following a Nov. 11 shootout with Bucyrus police, will be held without bail following a hearing Monday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.

A Licking County man who escaped custody after being arrested following a shootout with Bucyrus police will be held without bail, Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold ruled Monday.

Leuthold also ordered a competency evaluation for Jacob Dan Davidson, 38, 15715 Sinkey Road, Centerburg, during the hearing Monday.

Davidson, who was arrested by Bucyrus police following a Nov. 11 shootout, was indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 15 on charges of felonious assault, a first-degree felony; disrupting public services, a fourth-degree felony; improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, and discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises, a third-degree felony.

Bail originally was set at $2.5 million, Leuthold said. Because of a constitutional amendment approved by Ohio voters in November, guidelines for how bond is set have changed since Davidson's original arrest.

Davidson, who is being represented by attorney Jerry W. Thompson, escaped from Twin Valley Behavioral Health Hospital on Columbus' west side on Dec. 29, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. He was recaptured a few days later in West Virginia.

In denying Davidson bail, Leuthold said there was "clear and convincing evidence that he opened fire on police, and was basically well-armed and prepared for a firefight." Coupled with the fact that Davidson has mental health issues, "there's clearly, clearly, without question" evidence the defendant poses "a substantial risk of serious harm to any person or the community, because it's just random shooting; no one is safe."

Leuthold added there's no "reasonable expectation" that imposing conditions on his release, such house arrest, would be sufficient to ensure the public's safety.

In Morrow County, shooting victim was struck in the face

Leuthold's ruling followed testimony by Detective Tyler Winkelman of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office regarding events leading to Davidson's arrest.

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Winkelman, who said he had reviewed reports and video recordings pertaining to the case, testified that on Nov. 11, the sheriff's office received a 911 call from a woman who said she had just been shot at, and "ultimately her car was struck and she was struck in the face."

The woman called her husband, whose vehicle also was stuck by gunfire, Winkelman said. Deputies discovered the shooting had taken place in Morrow County, just south of the county line on Iberia Road near Galion. In Crawford County, they found signs that someone had been shooting at high-voltage power lines. Another driver reported someone had fired at his vehicle.

Detective Tyler Winkelman of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, right, testifies during a bond-setting hearing for Jacob Dan Davidson of Centerburg in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

The sheriff's department issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert, and Bucyrus police Officer Devin Wireman attempted to stop a vehicle that "somewhat matched the description, had a broken out rear window; the driver was wearing a helmet and he observed a long gun inside the vehicle," Winkleman said.

As Wireman attempted to stop the SUV, the driver stopped and shots were exchanged before officers were able to arrest the shooter, later identified as Davidson. No one was injured in the shootout but one bullet struck a helmet worn by Davidson, Bucyrus police reported afterward.

The T-F has previously reported that Davidson is also a suspect in Licking County for firing upon and damaging a public utilities station, according to Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp. Davidson's Sinkey Road address is in the northwest corner of Licking County.

Davidson has not been charged in connection with the shootings in Morrow County, Winkleman said. Two firearms, both rifles or long guns, were found in Davidson's car, along with matching shell casings, he said.

"I do believe the state has met its burden of clear and convincing evidence that the defendant did commit the F1, clear and convincing evidence that he poses a substantial risk of physical harm to the community and that there is no  absolutely no  term or condition I could set that would maintain safety," Leuthold said in issuing his ruling.

"These are random shootings; this isn't a situation where there's motive, where the defendant knew the person, had dislike for the person. This is a situation where, for no discernable reason at least so far, the defendant just started taking shots at property and at people," said the judge, who stressed Monday's session was bond hearing and "has nothing to do with the trial."

Competency evaluation ordered

Also during Monday's hearing, Leuthold also ordered that Davidson be evaluated to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

Jacob Davidson, right, who was arrested following a Nov. 11 shootout with Bucyrus police, will be held without bail following a hearing Monday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. His attorney is Jerry W. Thompson, left.

On Nov. 21, a written plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and request for competency evaluation was filed with the court, Leuthold said. A hearing was scheduled for Dec. 27, but did not take place because Davidson had been transferred to Twin Valley Behavioral Center for a mental evaluation. The hearing was rescheduled, but on Dec. 29, the defendant escaped from Twin Valley. "Whether legally it's an escape or not, it's not for me to decide," the judge noted.

Following extradition proceedings, he was returned to the Crawford County Jail on Jan. 23, and Monday's hearing was scheduled.

If Davidson is found competent to stand trial, evaluators will then attempt to determine his mental state at the time of the offense, Leuthold explained. Once he received those reports, a hearing will be scheduled within 10 days, he said.

ggoble@gannett.com

419-559-7263

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus shootout suspect will be held without bond, judge rules
A man armed with an AR-15 style rifle and 13 ammunition magazines opened fire in an Omaha, Nebraska, Target store Tuesday before he was killed by a responding officer, police said.

The shooting just before noon sent customers running out of the store or hiding in fitting rooms, but no one else appears to have been shot.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said 911 calls were made shortly before noon local time about an active-shooter inside the store, which prompted a heavy police response from local, state and federal authorities.

"The first arriving officers went into the building, confronted the suspect and shot him dead," Schmaderer said during a news conference.

Police officers gather outside a Target store in Omaha, Neb. (Josh Funk / AP)

Police said the man, who has not been identified, fired inside the store and was fatally shot by an Omaha police officer.

"He had an AR-15 rifle with him and plenty of ammunition," Schmaderer said.

Omaha police officers and a Nebraska State Trooper entered the Target and encountered the gunman with the rifle, police said.

Officers issued numerous loud verbal commands ordering the suspect to drop the rifle, the police department said in a statement Tuesday evening. An Omaha officer fired their handgun at the gunman, killing him, according to police.

At least 29 people called 911, police said. Some customers ran outside when gunshots were heard.

Jasmine Gascar told NBC affiliate WOWT of Omaha that she was in a fitting room and hid there. Others rushed in to hide as well. She reported hearing between 10 to 15 shots.

"I was sure I was going to die. I was sure," Gascar told the station. She texted people and told them that she loved them.

Investigators conducted sweeps of the store but did not find any victims, and as of Tuesday night no one had arrived at local hospitals on their own, police said.

Mayor Jean Stothert said that police saved lives by their response.

Target said in a statement that all employees and customers safely evacuated from the store, and the company thanked police. Target will provide counseling to workers, it said.

Police said the gunman will be identified once next of kin is notified. The investigation is ongoing, the department said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The family is Anthony Lowe Jr is calling for justice after the 36-year-old double amputee was shot and killed by police officers in Huntington Beach, California, last Thursday afternoon.

In a confrontation captured on video by a bystander and posted to social media, Mr Lowe, who uses a wheelchair, is seen holding a knife and scrambling away from multiple police officers who appear to be pointing weapons at him.

Shortly thereafter, police shot Mr Lowe multiple times and killed him.

You guys knew your lives wasnt in danger, Mr Lowes cousin Ellakenyada Gorum told KCAL in Los Angeles. Hes running on his limbs. How cold-hearted could they be?

The Huntington Park Police Department told the television station that its officers responded to a call around 3:45 on Thursday afternoon from a man who reported that he had been stabbed by a man in a wheelchair. After police arrived at the scene, they found and confronted Mr Lowe.

Police said the officers first attempted to taser Mr Lowe, but were unable to stop him from threatening them with the knife. Next, they shot him. The video below may be upsetting, but does not include footage of the shooting itself.

My cousin got this a few days ago. The gun shots happen a few seconds after he stop recording. Im not sure what the backstory is. #huntingtonpark #hppd #policeshooting #wheelchair #LASD pic.twitter.com/TXaY61a0in  WaFlo (@WaFlo998) January 28, 2023

To Mr Lowes family, the notion that police had to fatally shoot Mr Lowe to protect themselves strains credulity.

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Be realistic about this, what could he have possibly done in a wheelchair? Mr Lowes aunt, who did not provide her name, told the television station. We want justice.

The shooting of Mr Lowe, a Black man, comes as police violence prepetrated against Black Americans is once again at the forefront of the national consciousness due to the killing of Trye Nichols by police in Memphis and the killing of Keenan Anderson by police in Los Angeles.

Body camera footage of Mr Nichols death released last week sparked fresh outrage over the killing in Memphis and around the country, with Americans responding by participating in protests in multiple cities.

Now, Mr Lowes family and community members are calling for justice to be done in his case as well.

It is not yet clear whether there is any body camera footage of the shooting of Mr Lowe. The footage of the incident captured by the bystander that is posted to social media does not include the shooting itself, while Huntington Beach officials are thus far declining to release footage captured on a nearby business security camera and turned over to the sheriff.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department is assiting in the investigation into the shooting, but Ms Gorum told the television station that the family has heard little from the department so far.
A man in Singapore has sued a woman who rejected him for $3m, claiming that she caused emotional trauma to his life.

The man, Mr K. Kawshigan, filed his lawsuit against Ms Nora Tan after she told him she wasnt interested in a romantic relationship with him, according to Singapore-based newspaper The Straits Times.

The publication reported that Kawshigan filed two lawusuits against her, including a $3 million High Court claim that alleged the woman caused damage to his stellar reputation and trauma, depression and impacts to his life.

He claimed that due to the remarks she made, he lost earnings from his business partnerships and had to pay high costs for therapy in order to overcome his trauma.

The second lawsuit was a $22,000 magistrates court claim in which Kawshigan alleged that Tan had breached their agreement about working on their relationship.

He claimed that the breach had negatively impacted the earnings hed received as an active high-capital trader by night and a busy CEO by day. He also alleged that the breach required him to look for deeper psychological assistance.

The $22,000 claim was struck out earlier this month by State Courts deputy registrar Lewis Tan, who expressed that Kawshigans claim was manifestly groundless and without foundation, per The Straits Times.

His judgment was published earlier this week, in which he said: Considered in totality, I find that the present action was intentionally initiated by the claimant with the ulterior motive of vexing or oppressing the defendant by requiring her to defend various claims that fundamentally stem from the same factual matrix in different forums.

This court will not be an accessory to his calculated attempt to compel engagement from the defendant who, after years of massaging the claimants unhappiness, has finally decided to stand up to his threats rather than cower and give in to his demands, he added.

The magazine noted that Kawshigan and Tan first met in 2016 and then became friends. In September 2020, their friendship changed, with Tan regarding her peer as a friend while Kawshigan considered her his closest friend.

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Tan then told him that she needed to distance herself from the friendship and encouraged him to be self-reliant. That following month, Kawshigan sent her a letter and threatened to file a lawsuit with a claim for monetary damages arising from negligent infliction of emotional distress and possible defamation, as reported by Straits Times.

Although Tan tried to have a conversation, Kawshigan told her she either had to meet his demands or face irrevocable damage to her professional reputation. Kawshigans counsellor also reached out to Tan and asked her to be a part of his sessions, which he agreed to.

However, a year and a half later, she stopped going to the sessions. She started her harassment proceedings against him in April 2022.

The magazine went on to note that after multiple conversations, Tam cut contact with Kawshigan in May of that year because she realised that he couldnt respect her request for boundaries.

Kawshigan filed his $3m claim against her in July before filing his $22,000 claim in August. Tan has applied to strike out the $3m claim, with a pre-trial hearing set for 9 February, according to Straits Times.
The U.S. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Manchester contractor for failing to follow safety rules that could have prevented a trench collapse that contributed to the death of an employee who was buried during a trench collapse last summer in Vernon.

The workplace safety agency said the contractor, Botticello Inc., had been warned about what inspectors called four serious trench safety violations on an earlier job in Stafford. Botticello Inc. faces $375,000 in OSHA fines, the agency said.

The unidentified employee was buried when an 8-foot trench collapsed while he was connecting drainage piping at a residential development in July. OSHA had warned Botticello of the earlier violations in 2015.

This deadly cave-in and the workers death should never have happened, said OSHA Area Director Dale Varney. After a previous OSHA inspection, Botticello Inc. knew of the dangers of working in an unprotected trench and the need to inspect the trench and ensure required effective cave-in protection was in place before any employee entered the trench. The company, however, still chose to ignore these required safeguards and now a workers family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve.

In a statement announcing the fine, OSHA said Botticello failed to:

Provide the trench with a protective system to prevent it from collapsing and caving in on workers.

Have a competent person conduct inspections before and during the work to identify and correct any hazardous conditions before employees entered the trench.

Ensure the 135-foot-long trench contained sufficient means of egress to allow employees to safely exit.

By most estimates, one cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as 3,000 pounds  about the weight of a subcompact car  and trench collapses happen in seconds, which helps explain why they are among the construction industrys most fatal hazards, Varney said. OSHA has a National Emphasis Program in place to alert employers and workers of the dangers, and to hold violators accountable. We encourage anyone who sees workers in an unsafe trench to help us save lives by reporting the hazardous situation to OSHA.

Botticello provides construction contracting services including site work, rock crushing, stump grinding and demolition.

The company has 15 business days to contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHA said. A Botticello spokesman declined comment.
According to statistics published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),Canada's health care system employs 1.6 million people.

That's 8% of all jobs. It doesn't specify if that includes the private sector (dentists, physios, chiropractors, etc).

Also since 2010, Canada's population rose from 34 million to 38.2 million today, an increase of 12%. Over that same period, the number of physicians went from 77,500 to 106,000, an increase of 37%.

Among physicians, the category of "generalist medical practitioners" rose from 38,000 to 50,000, an increase of 33%.

In addition:

 The number of female physicians rose from 31,400 to 49,300, an increase of 57%.

 The number of nurses rose from 318,600 to 382,800, an increase of 20%.

 The number of personal care workers rose from 175,000 to 240,000, an increase of 37%.

 The number of CT scanners up 13%. Number of MRI machines up 35%. Number of mammography machines up 21%.

Granted, the average age went up two years over that same span, and older people consume more health care services, but, maybe, just maybe, it's not the number of healthcare workers that is the problem.

Why are wait times going up and service levels going down? Why are people dying in the ER waiting room? Perhaps it's the system that is sick. Are we getting full productivity out of those 1.6 million people? Not likely.

Sadly, instead of actually fixing the problems, the federal and provincial governments like to blame someone else for their incompetence. They love to fight amongst themselves over funding levels while the house of cards is falling down all around them.

(Meanwhile) the rest of us are paying a very high price, both literally and figuratively, for their ineptitude.

Lloyd Vinish, Kelowna
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Former U.S. Navy SEAL Daniel Swift, who was killed fighting for Ukraine, was commemorated in a memorial service in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Tuesday.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who attended the service, said on Facebook that Swift had fought for Ukraine's International Legion, and earned an award during his service.

"Sincere condolences to the family and eternal memory to the defender," Sadovyi wrote.

According to a statement by the U.S. Navy, Swift deserted from the U.S. military in 2019, and was killed while fighting in Ukraine on Jan. 18.

The service, held at a Catholic church in Lviv's historic centre, was attended by several dozen mourners, including Swift's brother, Thomas.

(Reporting by Roman Baluk; writing by Max Hunder; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
South Fulton police are on the search for robbers they say are finding their victims on dating apps.

Police told Channel 2s Audrey Washington that person or people responsible for a string of robberies along Old National Highway over the last few weeks.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Authorities say the suspects are using the dating app Grindr, which is largely used by gay men, to find unsuspecting victims, meet them along Old National Highway and rob them at gunpoint minutes later.

Money is asked for and, at some point in time, the gun is produced and the victims are robbed, Captain Jimmy Wyche said.

Washington asked to speak with some of the victims, but police told her they were uncomfortable speaking on camera.

In 2020, Channel 2 spoke with a woman who lived through a similar incident. She was threatened and assaulted by a man she met on the dating app Hinge.

Nothing was said, just started to strike me in my head all over, Brittany Correri said. He said he was going to shoot me.

That man, Ben Fancher, was later arrested in New York.

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Detectives say they are still searching for the suspects in the South Fulton robberies.

Police are urging people to be smart when meeting people online.

If you meet up with them, try to go somewhere public, somewhere well-lit, somewhere you will be safe. And also notify a friend or family and let them know where youre going, Wyche said.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
LANSING  The Michigan Legislature on Thursday approved a supplemental spending bill totaling $1.1 billion over two years, but some Republicans are complaining about how the new Democratic leadership moved the spending through the legislative process.

State Reps. Jim DeSana, R-Ash Twp., and Dale Zorn, R-Onsted, were two legislators who were expecting to have time to review the bills. They voted "no" on both of them because time was not given to review them, they said in news releases.

Zorn

Its a new year, new legislative term, new party in control of the Legislature  and unfortunately were not off to a great start, Zorn said in the release. Sadly, the first legislation House Democrats decided to put up for a vote was a secret spending plan they forced a vote on without any opportunity to review. They bypassed the typical process  put in place to make sure legislators and the public have a chance to thoroughly vet legislation  and chose to operate in the dark. I hope this is not a preview of how the next two years are going to be handled.

DeSana

In the final hours, these bills grew to a massive $1.1 billion, and then we were asked to vote them through without any chance to review the spending, DeSana said. I may be new to the Legislature, but Im not a fool. I respect the people I serve too much to rubber-stamp a bloated spending plan slapped together behind closed doors.

An example of what was in the bill is $200 million to support a paper mill near Escanaba, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The $200 million in incentives the state would pay to support Sweden-based Billerud, the owner of the Escanaba Mill, would be contingent on the company spending at least $1.1 billion on the project, according to budget documents.

The budget documents did not specify what project is to receive the money. But Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, confirmed Thursday that the incentive is aimed at the mill in Delta County, which can employ more than 1,000 people. The mill earlier received Michigan Strategic Fund support described as a first step in supporting a planned private sector investment of more than $1 billion.

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"Billerud is our largest employer in the U.P," said McBroom, and the project will revitalize a mill that is near the end of its life and switch its product to high-demand paper packaging from kraft paper, which is in decline, he said.

McBroom was among the Republican "yes" votes when the Senate voted 24-14 to approve the conference report on Senate Bill 7 late Thursday. The House later approved the conference report 60-48, with some Republican support. The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature.

The conference committee report also includes money to reduce blight in cities, increase affordable housing, help businesses hurt by the pandemic, and create a state fund to prevent drinking water shutoffs. Details of that program, which would be managed by the Treasury Department, were not provided.

Earlier, the conference report, which was not made public until Thursday, was approved 3-2 in committee a party-line vote.

"I like that we actually took the time to invest in a bunch of priorities that people have said that they needed prioritized," Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said after the conference committee meeting she chaired. "We did so urgently," and "we closed our books," on the 2022 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, Anthony said.

Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee

The bill includes $146.3 million in spending for the 2022 fiscal year, nearly all of which is federal, and $946.2 million in spending for the 2023 fiscal year, of which $706.2 million would come from the state's general fund. The state currently has a budget surplus calculated at $9.2 billion.

Republicans have complained that Democrats who took control of the Legislature Jan. 1 turned an exercise to close the financial books for 2022 into a spending spree. But neither of the two Republican members of the conference committee, Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon, or Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, would say why they voted no, as they left the meeting.

More:5 takeaways from Whitmer's State of the State speech

More:Buttressed by Democratic majorities, Whitmer lays out vision in State of the State speech

Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, a former House Appropriations chairman, voted no and said the spending is reckless with a likely recession looming.

"We should not take careless votes today that could potentially result in cutting services later this year," Albert said.

The 2022 spending is mostly $120 million to cover overspending in the state health department's food assistance program.

Spending for 2023, in addition to the $200 million for Escanaba, includes:

$150 million to deposit into the state's Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund, which the state has used to pay major incentives to manufacturers with plans to build batteries and electric vehicles.

$150 million to develop a tax credit program to "reduce the housing cost burden of residents," and $50 million to support affordable housing projects for "missing middle" households, which the Michigan State Housing Development Authority defines as households with incomes between 185% and 300% of the federal poverty guidelines.

$75 million to support programs to help businesses disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

$75 million for blight elimination in cities.

$25 million to create a Water Shutoff Prevention Fund in the Treasury Department.

$25 million to support the expansion of statewide apprenticeship programs.

The split vote in the committee was unusual during the administration of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Democrats and Republicans generally reached consensus on previous supplemental spending bills.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Michigan Legislature approves $1.1B supplemental spending bill
HANOI (Reuters) - A pilot was killed when a Vietnamese air force fighter jet crashed during a training session on Tuesday in the north of the country, state media reported.

The accident happened at noon in Yen Bai province and the 30-year-old pilot died while trying to land the Russian-made Su-22 jet at a local airport, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vietnam's defence ministry has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, it added.

Two pilots were killed in a similar exercise involving an Su-22 in central Vietnam in 2018, while two were forced to eject over the South China Sea in 2015 when their Su-22 jet went down.

Vietnam relies heavily on Russia for its military procurements, although it is seeking to diversify its equipment and arms suppliers.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Martin Petty)
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation on Tuesday that codifies a "fundamental right" to abortion access and reproductive care in the state, solidifying abortion protections into law over the objections of Republican lawmakers.

The Protect Reproductive Options Act, or PRO Act, narrowly passed the Minnesota Senate on Saturday. Lawmakers debated the act for more than 14 hours, as Republicans attempted to add in amendments that were ultimately all rejected. The House passed the bill earlier this month.

Walz and other Democrats had said the legislation was one of the top priorities for this legislative session. While abortion rights are already protected in Minnesota because of a 1995 Supreme Court decision, Democrats framed the PRO Act as a second line of defense.

"The message we are sending to Minnesota today is very clear: your rights are protected in this state," Walz said at Tuesday's signing. "Today we are delivering on our promise to put up a firewall against efforts to reverse reproductive freedom. No matter who sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court, this legislation will ensure Minnesotans have access to reproductive health care for generations to come."

Gov. Tim Walz signs a bill to add a fundamental right to abortion access into state law on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in St. Paul, Minnesota. / Credit: Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images

The bill codifies protections to reproductive health care, including contraception, sterilization, preconception care, maternity care, abortion care, family planning and fertility services, and counseling regarding reproductive health care.

There are other related bills moving through the legislature, which could repeal restrictions and protect patients and providers from out-of-state legal action. House Speaker Melissa Hortman says the bills will be on the floor by the second week of February.

Republicans have called the bill "dangerous" and "extreme."

"Make no mistake, this extreme bill provides for taxpayer-funded abortion, on-demand, up until and even after birth," said Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann.

Police kill man who opened fire in Omaha Target

Investors looking at water rights as Western drought continues

Police looking for man in connection with 2 monkeys stolen from Dallas Zoo
[Source]

The man hailed as a hero for disarming the Monterey Park mass shooting suspect was awarded a medal of courage and invited to attend President Joe Bidens upcoming State of the Union address.

Brandon Tsay, 26, wrestled a gun away from 72-year-old Huu Can Tran at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, California, minutes after the latter allegedly killed 10 people at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in neighboring Monterey Park on the eve of Lunar New Year.

Surveillance footage shows Tsay struggling with Tran before he ultimately manages to disarm the alleged mass shooter.

Had he failed to do so, there could have been more deaths that night.

More from NextShark: NYPD data: 32 percent drop in reported anti-Asian hate crimes in 2022

Tsay recalled the struggle in an interview with "Good Morning America":

I was able to pull the gun away from him, shove him aside, create some distance, point the gun at him, intimidate him and say, Get the hell out of here. Ill shoot. Get away! Go! At this point, I thought he would run away, but he was just standing here contemplating whether to fight or run away.

Tran was found dead hours after the incident with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Days later, an 11th victim succumbed to their injuries.

More from NextShark: Asian American COVID-19 Patients Have Higher Mortality Rate Than Others

Tsay said he was traumatized by the encounter.

I was shaking all night. I couldnt believe what happened. A lot of people have been telling me how much courage I had to confront a situation like this. But you know what courage is? Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to have adversity to fear when fearful events happen such as this.

Tsay was awarded a medal of courage by the City of Alhambra on Sunday, coinciding with Lunar New Year celebrations.

More from NextShark: Torrance Man Allegedly Receives Bizarre Anti-Asian Mail From 'Church of Scientology'

The carnage would have been so much worse had it not been for Brandon Tsay, said Rep. Judy Chu (D, CA-28), who attended the awarding ceremony.

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Chu invited Tsay to attend Bidens State of the Union as her guest, but the president himself invited the Alhambra hero an hour later.

More from NextShark: 'Suspicious death' of Chinese man leads Sydney police to seek identities of 2 men captured on CCTV

Biden also called Tsay last week to thank him for his incredible action in the face of danger.
Monterey Park police outside Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where Huu Can Tran fatally shot 11 people on Jan. 21. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Three decades before he shot 11 people to death in a Monterey Park ballroom, Huu Can Tran told police he believed relatives of a woman hed been dating had threatened to kill him and were trying to lure him into a trap.

Trans suspicions  which were apparently groundless  were laid out in documents obtained by The Times from the San Gabriel Police Department. The records provide some insight into what appears to be his paranoid worldview. Just this month, authorities said, he went twice to the police station in Hemet, where hed moved into a trailer park, and claimed his family had defrauded and tried to poison him.

Twelve days later, Tran, 72, opened fire in Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Garvey Avenue, killing 11 people on the eve of the Lunar New Year. He killed himself the next day as police closed in on his van in a Torrance strip mall.

Investigators have not disclosed whether they have identified a motive, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said last week they knew of no connection between Tran and his victims, who ranged in age from 57 to 76.

The sheriff said Tran had been arrested just once  in 1990, on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm  but provided no other details.

The San Gabriel police records shed light on that arrest. The evening of Nov. 27, 1990, Officer James Kermode responded to a radio call of a possible robbery at Glendon Way and Del Mar Avenue. Tran, then 40, ran up to Kermodes patrol car and said a liquor store had just been robbed, the officer wrote in a report.

Tran offered to show Kermode the store that had been victimized. Before driving him there, the officer did a quick pat-down for weapons. In Tran's left jacket pocket, Kermode found a loaded RG40 .38-caliber revolver, according to the report. Tran was handcuffed and driven to the San Gabriel police station.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Tran said he'd been walking his dog when he saw a man running out of Georges Liquor on New Avenue carrying a metal box. The owner ran outside, pointed to the man and said he had robbed money, Tran told police. He took off running after the man.

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As he passed his home on Manor Way, Tran said, he took his dog inside, grabbed his gun and continued tailing the suspect. When the man stopped at a bus stop, Tran said he walked past him and went to a phone booth, from which he called police.

Asked what he intended to do with the revolver, Tran said he "took the gun for protection, according to the report. He was booked at the city jail on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon, but there is no record of him being charged with the offense. It is unclear from the police report whether Tran legally owned the gun.

The day after Christmas in 1992, Tran called San Gabriel police and claimed he was being threatened. Officer C.E. Gray went to his home on Manor Way to take a report.

Tran told the officer hed met a woman about four months earlier at a Tokai restaurant and had been dating her occasionally since then, Gray wrote. She had recently confided in Tran that she was married but seeking a divorce.

Tran said he received a phone call from the sister of the womans husband. The sister-in-law, he said, told him she'd recently come to California from Taiwan and belonged to an unspecified Taiwanese gang. The woman said that if he kept seeing her brothers wife, she would have one of her buddies kill him, Tran claimed.

Tran, who reported working as a self-employed carpet cleaner, told police he got another call from a man who asked him to come immediately to clean the carpets in his Torrance home. Knowing that both the husband and sister-in-law of the woman he was dating lived in Torrance, Tran thought it could be a setup, and he told the caller he didnt work in the evening, he told police.

I just want you to come here tonight, Tran recalled the man saying.

Three weeks after making the report, Tran contacted the police again and said that morning hed found 49 shotgun shells on his front lawn. He claimed a relative of the woman he was dating had left the ammunition to scare him, the report says.

Tran agreed to place a recording device on his home line, but after it failed to work because of an unspecified malfunction, he told police he did not want prosecution, an officer wrote, but only to make the police department aware of the situation in case something happened to him.

When the officer called the husband of the woman Tran had been dating, the man, whose name is redacted, said he had never called Tran, much less threatened him.

The man acknowledged having marital problems and was aware Tran and his wife had been seeing each other when he leaves the country on business," the report says. The man said it was not he who was calling Tran but the other way around: Tran, he said, had been calling his home phone at all times of the night, hoping his wife would pick up.

Noting there was no physical evidence to support Trans allegations, the officer closed the case.

Seven years later, Tran called San Gabriel police and said he was being threatened again, records show. He told the officer who responded to his house that, for the last nine months, he'd received "numerous" calls at home, the officer wrote in a report.

"[Tran] said the suspect does not say anything when he answers the phone and has no idea who the suspect is," the officer wrote, signing off with "NFD"  no further details.

In the report, Tran's occupation is listed as "dancing instructor / self-employed."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Innovation to help fuel high-quality development

08:16, January 31, 2023 By ZHOU LANXU, LIU ZHIHUA and OUYANG SHIJIA ( Chinadaily.com.cn

An employee runs checks on a robot at a facility in Hai'an, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Zhai Huiyong/For China Daily]

Innovation: Targeted steps may help boost high-tech sector

China's multipronged pushes for innovation will accelerate productivity growth and give rise to more emerging industries, in turn consolidating the momentum of the country's high-quality development, economists and executives said.

They commented after China recorded 4.5 percent average annual growth from 2020 to 2022, which is projected to outrun global growth of about 2 percent during the same period as well as the growth of other major economies, such as the United States and the eurozone.

Having shown such resilience despite COVID-19 outbreaks, China's economy is expected to achieve average annual growth of above 4 percent through 2035, as innovation powers the country's modernization drive under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Wang Qian, chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region at the US-based Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, said, "If the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation (of the Chinese people) can be fully tapped, the long-term outlook of China's economy is expected to be upbeat."

Wang said innovation is of great significance because the country's population is projected to decrease in the coming years, and this means that growth momentum will come from labor productivity improvement, which relies on innovation as a key driver.

As China is expected to gradually overcome COVID-19 disruptions, the focus is shifting to how the nation will boost growth in a new year of its journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects, tackling growth challenges such as demographic changes, a real estate slowdown and a harsher external environment.

A key report delivered at the opening session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October stressed innovation as being at the heart of China's modernization drive and as the primary driver of growth.

Citing the report, Lan Zongmin, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that Xi's economic thought serves as the key guidance for the country's innovation-driven development, which has highlighted the crucial importance of innovation as well as the methodology to boost innovation.

To get the country's new journey of modernization off to a good start, policy efforts will be stepped up on multiple fronts this year to accelerate innovation, including strengthening macroeconomic policy adjustments, vitalizing private enterprises and boosting international technological exchanges, experts said.

Policymakers are expected to ease macroeconomic policies in a targeted manner this year to spur high-tech and emerging sectors, while keeping cautious about launching broad-based, large-scale stimulus, said Wang at Vanguard. "One should spend the policy space where it can generate the biggest effect."

In a sign that policymakers are focusing on structural stimulus, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said on Sunday that it will extend the use of lending tools to boost carbon reduction and ensure the stability of logistics.

The Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded in December, called for stronger support from financial institutions for such key areas as technological innovation, while highlighting the crucial role of enterprises in technological innovation.

As the country ramps up efforts to boost enterprises' innovative capacity, platform enterprises may receive favorable financing conditions in terms of research and development investment and overseas business expansion, Liu Li'nan, head of macro strategy for Greater China at Deutsche Bank, said in a research note.

Lin Jianhai, vice-president of the International Finance Forum and former secretary of the International Monetary Fund, stressed the importance of leveling the playing field for State-owned and private enterprises, which can go a long way to enhancing productivity growth by boosting technology development and application.

With the pushes for innovation filtering through, technological advances, digital transformation and green economy  among other priorities of innovation-driven development  will inject strong impetus into China's modernization in the coming years, according to experts.

Hu Yifan, head of macroeconomics for Asia-Pacific at UBS Global Wealth Management, said investments in such high-tech sectors as microchips, new materials, high-end equipment, robotics and artificial intelligence will likely register resilient growth this year, helping the country's annual GDP growth rebound to about 5 percent from 3 percent in 2022.

In 2022, high-tech manufacturing investment expanded by 18.9 percent, outperforming the 5.1 percent growth in total fixed-asset investment, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Liu at Deutsche Bank said digital transformation will remain a strong engine for China's growth in the coming decade, adding that the share of the digital economy in the country's GDP may increase to 45 percent by 2025 if the digital economy expands by 10 percent on average annually.

Zhang Ying, managing director of Dassault Systemes Greater China, said the French industrial software company has witnessed Chinese enterprises' accelerated push for digital transformation, which has strengthened its commitment to increasing investment in China.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
Re. Gerry Poole's letter No deal with Putin (Castanet, Jan. 27)

Does Mr. Poole expect NATO will invade Russia and parade victorious in front of the Kremlin?

Does he expect a western-friendly group will attempt and succeed in a coup, killing Putin, and eliminating all USSR-longing interests ?

If not, unless he gears up for a very bloody official war, there will have to be a deal with Putin.

Mathieu Nouquet, West Kelowna
A motorcyclist was killed when it collided with a Charlotte Fire Department ladder truck Monday, fire officials said.

Ladder 24 was responding to a call when the crash happened at about 5:40 p.m. on Pineville-Matthews Road at McMahan Road in south Charlotte.

The crew of Ladder 24 began treating the person on the scene who was taken to a hospital and died.

The wreck is under investigation.

ALSO READ: 1 hurt when bullets hit cars, fire truck in southwest Charlotte

Traffic was being diverted to Carmel and Johnston roads.

No further information has been released.

Return to this story for updates.




A state agent insisted Tuesday he heard a possible confession from Alex Murdaugh even after defense attorneys for the disgraced South Carolina lawyer slowed the audio down during Murdaughs double murder trial.

At question is whether Murdaugh said I did him so bad or They did him so bad as he sobbed and spoke to state agents during a recorded interview three days after Murdaughs wife and son were killed.

WATCH BELOW: ABC News live stream of the Murdaugh trial

State Law Enforcement Division Senior Special Agent Jeff Croft testified he was 100% confident Murdaugh said I. That could be interpreted as a confession from Murdaugh that he fatally shot his son Paul with a shotgun near kennels at their Colleton County home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. Murdaughs wife, Maggie, was shot several times with a rifle and her body was found nearby.

Prosecutors havent explained why they have emphasized the comment.

PREVIOUS TRIAL COVERAGE:

What were the things going through your mind when you heard, or misheard, I did him so bad? defense attorney Jim Griffin asked Croft during cross-examination. I wasnt a good dad? I spoiled him? Or, I killed him?

It was definitely something we needed to follow up on, Croft said.

The agent said he didnt ask for clarification that day because he thought it was too early in the investigation to confront Murdaugh and lose his cooperation. Griffin asked about an interview three months later and Croft said the agents didnt get to asking about that but did ask Murdaugh point-blank if he killed his wife and son.

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Griffin asked if it would be up to the jury to decide the truth.

They get to hear the tape and make their own mind up on what he said, yes sir, Croft responded.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife and 22-year-old son. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Crofts testimony wasnt only about Murdaughs statement. He assisted the chief agent investigating the killings and dealt with a wide range of evidence.

As with much of the first four days of testimony, there were interesting bits and pieces from prosecutors, often provided without further explanation like a $1,021.10 receipt from a Gucci store with an item circled or Maggie Murdaughs cellphone recovered on the side of the highway a short distance from the familys property.

MORE PREVIOUS REPORTING

The defense used their cross-examination of Croft to try to poke holes in how the investigation unfolded. Croft was asked if he knew why state agents didnt search Murdaughs home in the hours after the killings for dirty clothes, possible blood in drains or other evidence. Croft said he didnt know what other agents did.

Griffin also asked Croft why agents didnt search Murdaughs mothers home until September  three months after the killings  even though that was the only place Murdaugh said he went before finding the bodies.

I know I did not go and Im not sure what any of the other agents in the investigative circle had done, Croft said.

The next witness called up Tuesday morning testified about phone records from Murdaugh, his wife and son and others in the case.

That may lead to another piece of key testimony prosecutors mentioned in their opening statement  a video made by Paul Murdaugh at the kennels about four minutes before he stopped using his cellphone where his fathers voice can be heard.

Alex Murdaugh told police hours after the killings and repeated in Crofts interview three days later that he wasnt at the kennels that night.

Murdaugh also faces about 100 charges related to accusations of money laundering, stealing millions from clients and the family law firm, tax evasion and trying to get a man to fatally shoot him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. He was being held in jail without bail on those counts before he was charged with murder.

Since the killings, Murdaughs life has seen a stunningly fast downfall. His family dominated the legal system in tiny neighboring Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases.




Hendersonville Police Cheif Blair Myhand recites the pledge at the 75th annual North Carolina Apple Festival on Sept. 3, 2021 in Hendersonville.

HENDERSONVILLE - A decorated law enforcement officer and US Army veteran throughout his career, Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand has two more titles to add to his already impressive resume.

According to a Jan. 31 news release from the City of Hendersonville, Chief Myhand, who has served as Hendersonville Police Chief for the past two years, was recently sworn in as the President of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police and the North Carolina FBI National Academy Associates. His terms as president of both groups will run through January 2024.

More:HPD offers new engagement initiative following calls for service

"I am honored to have been selected by my peers to represent the Chiefs of Police around the state this year. So few people ever get this opportunity," Chief Myhand told the Times-News on Jan. 31. "I am also appreciative of City Manager John Connet, the Mayor (Barbara Volk) and city council for allowing me to serve in in this role."

Chief Myhand said his duties will include leading the Board of Directors, facilitating association meetings, representing the association in Raleigh on legislative matters and speaking to the media on behalf of NC chiefs upon request about emerging issues.

"As you might imagine, my tenure (mid-January 2023 to mid-January 2024) as president started very busily with the beating death of Tyre Nichols. My job is to represent the position of the chiefs in a positive and sincere way that promotes the values of our profession rather than damaging it," Chief Myhand said.

He began his law enforcement career in 1994 as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC and was one of three first Metropolitan Police Department responders to the Pentagon when it was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He was given the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism for his actions that day.

Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand with last year's popular Ellaberry Farm llamas.

Prior to his law enforcement career, he joined the U.S. Army in 1987, serving for both Virginia and North Carolina Army National Guards until retiring in 2011 as an Infantry First Sergeant. He served two combat tours, one each to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

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More:Hendersonville City Police fully staffed; has $6.7 million budget for FY22-23

He joined the Apex Police Department in Apex, North Carolina in 2005 where he served in many capacities before taking the job of Chief of Police of the Clayton Police Department in 2017. He stayed there until February 2021, when he was hired as Hendersonville's Chief of Police.

Chief Myhand has been a member of the NC Association of Chiefs of Police since 2012, when he served as the Region 7 Director from January 2018 to January 2021. Region 7 includes Person, Granville, Vance, Warren, Orange, Durham, Wake, Franklin and Johnston counties. He was elected to the executive board as Sergeant at Arms in January 2021. Once elected, executive board officers automatically ascend to the office of president over a five-year period typically, the release said. However, since being elected, two executive board officers retired during their terms of office, and those retirements shortened Chief Myhands rise to president.

As president, Chief Myhand will represent both the Hendersonville Police Department and all North Carolinamunicipal Chiefs of Police when speaking about law enforcement matters around the state. Those requestsoften come from media outlets, elected officials, special interest groups and other concerned parties. He mayalso appear during legislative matters to help influence public policy and laws affecting law enforcement andcitizens throughout the state, the release said.

Chief Myhand was also sworn in as the FBI National Academy Associates  North Carolina Chapter Presidentfor 2023. The association is comprised of graduates of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. ChiefMyhand graduated from the 252nd Session of the FBI National Academy in March 2013, the release said.

Police Chief Myhand has led the Hendersonville Police Department with professionalism and enthusiasm overthe past two years, said Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk in the release. His leadership has ushered in new initiatives, standards, transparency and community engagement to all levels of the organization. We look forward to his continued department leadership and applaud his appointments to these state-level organizations where hecan continue to bring advancements to the law enforcement profession.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Myhand sworn in as president of NC Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI NAA
House of Hope Domestic Violence Prevention Specialist Kayla Woody

In conjunction with National Stalking Awareness, on last weeks Native Bidaske (Spotlight), Editor Levi Rickert welcomed Kayla Woody, a domestic violence prevention specialist at the House of Hope, to discuss the signs of stalking and how to get help.

House of Hope is a program through the Citizen Potawatomi Nation that offers free assistance to all individuals, Native or non-Native, who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.

Stalking doesn't discriminate; it doesn't matter your gender, your economic status, your race, ethnicity, or your sexual orientation, Woody said. Stalking can happen to anyone.

When asked to share national figures on stalking, Woody stated that, 1 in 2 Native women in their lifetime are going to experience those stalking behaviors. Which is quite a bit higher than just the normal national average, where we see nationally 1 in 3 women will experience stalking.

When we see stalking, we think about what we've seen on TV, a person you know kind of lurking in the dark or hiding behind something but that's not always the case. A lot of times the stalker wants you to know they are there, Woody said.

During the interview, Rickert asked Woody about identifying stalking, how stalkers use technology to their advantage and more.

Watch the episode on our YouTube channel, or view the embedded video below.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/hacjFFEoHEo

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that China is watching closely and learning lessons from Russias ongoing invasion with neighboring Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Stoltenberg said it is a crucial time for Asian-European relations.

Beijing and Moscow are leading an authoritarian pushback against the international rules-based order, Stoltenberg said at the news conference, adding the Russia-Ukraine war is not just a European crisis,but a challenge to the world order.

Stoltenberg also said that If Russian President Vladimir Putin comes out victorious from his invasion of Ukraine, it could lead to dire consequences such as China heading down a similar path in the near future.

If President Putin wins in Ukraine, this would send a message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force. This is dangerous, Stoltenberg said. Beijing is watching closely. And learning lessons that may influence its future decisions.

What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow, he added. So we must remain united and firm. Standing together for freedom and democracy.

Stoltenbergs remarks come amid growing concerns about China possibly invading neighboring Taiwan. A U.S. general said in a memo on Friday that he believes the country will be at war with China by 2025.

China has ramped up its military and economic pressure on Taiwan in recent months, with experts predicting Chinese President Xi Jinping will use various tools in the coming year to impose Chinese control of the island.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is reportedly planning a trip Taiwan later this year, in a visit that would mirror that of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last year, which infuriated Beijing.

In a statement this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning warned certain individuals to abide by the one-China principle and avoid official interactions with Taiwan.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Sakura Murakami and Kentaro Sugiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) -NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida pledged on Tuesday to strengthen ties, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its growing military cooperation with China had created the most tense security environment since World War Two.

The comments came in a statement issued during Stoltenberg's trip to Japan following a visit to South Korea on which he urged Seoul to increase military support to Ukraine and gave similar warnings about rising tension with China.

"The world is at a historical inflection point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II," the two leaders said in the statement.

It also raised concerns about Russia's nuclear threats, joint military drills between Russia and China near Japan, and North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.

Stoltenberg told reporters a Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden China at a time when it is building up its military, "bullying its neighbours and threatening Taiwan".

He added, "This war is not just a European crisis, but the challenge to the world order.

"Beijing is watching closely, and learning lessons that may influence its future decisions. What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow."

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Stoltenberg's latest remarks.

Responding to similar comments Stoltenberg made during his Seoul visit, China on Monday said it was a partner to countries, not a challenge, and that it did not threaten any nation's interests or security.

While the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation groups 30 countries in Europe and North America, Stoltenberg has said its members are affected by global threats.

Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first leaders from their countries to attend a NATO summit last year, joining as observers.

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China has previously criticised NATO's efforts to expand its alliances in Asia. Russia, which calls its invasion of Ukraine a "special operation", has repeatedly cast NATO's expansion as a threat to its security.

In December, Japan unveiled sweeping plans to beef up its defence capabilities, changes once unthinkable for a pacifist country that will make it the third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

Bolstering its cooperation with NATO in areas from maritime security and arms control to cyberspace and disinformation will further help to respond to the changing strategic environment, the statement added.

The meeting comes as Japan prepares to host the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit in May, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine is expected to be a major topic of discussion.

Kishida is considering visiting Kyiv in February to reinforce his support for Ukraine in the conflict, domestic media have said.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Kentaro Sugiyama; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence Fernandez)
NLE Choppa took to the streets of Memphis, his hood, to express support for Tyre Nichols. He is the most recent Black man to have his life tragically and senselessly taken by police.

The post NLE Choppa Leads Peaceful Memorial Protest For Tyre Nichols appeared first on Blavity.

Nichols, 29, was savagely attacked and murdered by five Black Memphis police officers following a traffic stop on January 7. The city of Memphis is still in mourning over his death. NLE Choppa made the decision to act first on Saturday by planning a nonviolent rally in honor of the innocent Black man, as noted by Billboard.

#SkateForTyre 4687 Cottonwood Rd

At 2PM. Lets Do Something Peaceful And Loving For Something Tyre Loved To Do #SPREADTHIS #MEMPHIS #901  pic.twitter.com/JzrQaqHM2f  NLE Choppa (@Nlechoppa1) January 28, 2023

The rapper announced in a video shared on social media that he felt moved to make a bad situation better and he thought about it before going to sleep.

Today, I felt it on my heart to turn a negative situation to a positive. I actually went to sleep dwelling on how I could wake up today and do that, he said in the video I just want to skate for Tyre in respect to him and know thats how he would have wanted everybody to act, he continued.

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Along with adults and kids, the rapper from Memphis started the protest at 4687 Cottonwood Road using a skateboard.

No justice, no peace, we gon skate for Tyre, they passionately chanted.

He acknowledged that it is challenging for everyone to unite, and he lamented that it takes a tragic event to bring people together. He did, however, express appreciation for the groups efforts.

Last week, footage of the horrific attack was released to the public, prompting widespread outrage and ultimately leading to the dismissal and subsequent murder charges against the disgraced officers involved, according to Blavity.

Injury to Nichols resulted in hospitalization and eventual death. He can be seen crying out for his mother and yelling, Im just trying to get home, in footage of the fatal beatdown. Since then, the five police officers have been fired and accused of murder, according to AP News.

In the wake of the release of Nichols confrontation with police, many well-known figures have spoken out about the horrific incident. Ciara, along with a slew of others, took to Twitter to express their sorrow over Tyre Nichols unjust death.

My heart is crushed. I couldnt watch the full video because it hurt so much to see something like that. I pray for those with hate in their hearts. I pray for the lost souls of people. There is no need to take anyones life. Rest In Peace Tyre. #JusticeForTyre  pic.twitter.com/D6EmofKE9W  Ciara (@ciara) January 28, 2023

On Instagram, our former president Barack Obama expressed his grief-stricken thoughts and emotions.

The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets. Along with mourning Tyre and supporting his family, its up to all of us to mobilize for lasting change, he shared.

The murder of this defenseless Black man will continue to generate more interest and prompt additional research into the circumstances surrounding why it was committed by one of our own black brothers.

Much respect to NLE Choppa for stepping up to the plate to do something positive for our community during these trying and redundant times.
Kenya Waltons son still feels enough anxiety from a wrongful police raid on their home that he barely goes out the front door.

He cant go to a regular public school, Walton said. (Police) opened up wounds that shouldnt have been opened.

Walton spoke Monday at a news conference about a no-knock raid on her residence in May 2020 that was conducted on the wrong address. She said officers wearing tactical gear chased her son, then a juvenile, with assault weapons and detained him.

Walton was joined by Yolanda Irving, whose Southeast Raleigh duplex home also was raided in error in May 2020. They are part of a federal civil rights lawsuit filed last year against the city of Raleigh, a now-fired Raleigh police detective and his police colleagues and supervisor.

The women were joined by attorneys and activists of the civil rights group Emancipate NC and by attorneys of the Tin Fulton, Walker and Owen law firm.

They chased me and the Walton kids down with guns, said Irving. They was innocent. They was outside minding their business. I thought I was going to lose my son they way he was running for his life.

As part of the lawsuit, Irving has demanded that the city and the Raleigh Police Department apologize to them and that Raleigh police revise their warrant execution policies.

The city previously fought the plaintiffs over the latter demand last year, preventing them from reaching a settlement, according to previous N&O reporting.

Its been three years, said Irving. We still have no justice. Its been very hard. Its been very traumatizing.

Police did not petition for a release of the raids body camera footage, The News & Observer reported previously.

Raleigh police raid wrong home

The news conference comes after Emancipate NC issued a letter Jan. 17 to Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and members of the City Council calling out the city for spending thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to fight the civil rights lawsuit, said Dawn Blagrove, executive director and attorney of Emancipate NC.

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There is no question as to whether or not RPD violated and traumatized two families, Blagrove said. Instead of standing on that truth, the city of Raleigh has allowed its attorneys and the high-priced private attorneys that they have paid to fight these people that they know have no money for their own legal representation.

Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, speaks during a press conference in Raleigh, N.C. on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, about a 2020 incident in which Raleigh police officers served a no-knock raid at the wrong address.

The city previously told The N&O that it would not comment on the lawsuit and would deal with it in the courts.

We want a fair outcome for all parties involved in this litigation, spokeswoman Julia Milstead said in a statement last month, The N&O reported. Responding in kind will not promote justice; in fact, it would jeopardize fairness. Thus, we cannot comment on misrepresentations and material omissions that have been provided to you. Those will be addressed where appropriate in the courts.

Police chief Estella Patterson previously rejected the lawsuits claims and said that police do not use no-knock warrants.

Emancipate NC provided to reporters an image of a police warrant that shows the warrants designated address, apartment 1620B, with a red door.

But police instead raided Irvings home, which is at 1628B and has a tan door.

In previous court depositions, the plaintiffs said they were distressed by the use of thinly-veiled racist innuendos about Black people made by city attorneys, Blagrove said.

The deposition was very racist, Irving said. (The city attorneys) asked questions like, why is our kids father not in their lives, Why does your son have tattoos? What do they mean? What kind of gang is he related to?

The May 2020 raid was executed by the polices Selective Enforcement Unit. It was led by Omar Abdullah, a now-fired police detective who was sued separately for fabricating drug charges that sent over a dozen Black men to jail.

The plaintiffs and the city will enter mediation for the lawsuit on Feb. 6.

They will seek compensation for the traumatic injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by Irvings and Waltons children, as well as the children of another parent in the raid.

Racism at play, attorney says

It is systemic racism that allows the Police Department to insulate those officers who blatantly violate their trust and cause harm to the people they are supposed to protect, Blagrove said.

Blagrove argued thats behind the recent death of Darryl Tyree Williams, who died on Jan. 17 in police custody after police tased him three times.

It is systemic racism that allows the police all over the country, but specifically here in Raleigh, to create special units and give them so much leeway that they think and behave as though they are above the law, she added.

Blagrove said their demands  that the city and police apologize and compensate the plaintiffs  come in the aftermath of renewed national attention on police brutality due to the killing of Tyre Nichols.

Nichols, 29, was beaten to death in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7 by police officers who were part of a special crime-prevention squad, prompting protests nationwide.

Lawsuit filed against fired detective, city of Raleigh after police raid wrong apartment
Photo: The Canadian Press

Members of the Vancouver School Board have voted unanimously to support the renaming of Lord Roberts Elementary in the city's West End neighbourhood.

In moving the motion, trustee Lois Chan-Pedley told the board's Monday night meeting that "the evidence is clear that it is time to give the school a new name."

The school's parent advisory committee has been asking for the renaming since 2019 after exploring the background of the school's namesake, Lord Frederick Roberts, who led the British forces during the Boer War in southern Africa.

Roberts was considered one of the most successful British military commanders in 1901 when the school was built, but critics now reject his methods that included the use of concentration camps during the war and the targeting of Indigenous populations while Roberts served in India and Afghanistan.

In supporting the motion to explore a new name, Trustee Janet Fraser thanked parents and staff at the school for creating a detailed biography about Roberts.

She says the information was influential in understanding why "his name and legacy do not reflect where we are in the school district in 2023."

The Vancouver school board launched a new administrative policy in 2022 that allows for the renaming of a school or other board facility under several circumstances, including if requested by the community.

The policy now requires the formation of a community-based renaming committee that must present a final report to the board for its decision, although no timeline is linked to the work.

Several other Vancouver schools have been renamed recently but Lord Roberts is the first to use the officially codified policy.

"I really look forward to watching this process unfold," Chan-Pedley told trustees just before the unanimous vote in favour of the change.
Jan. 30"Not in our town!"

That was the wailing battle cry of longtime Gainesville civil rights activist Rose Johnson, who delivered an emotional sermon Monday evening during a prayer vigil for Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers as he screamed for his mother.

The vigil, held on Gainesville's Midland Greenway, drew a crowd of more than 40 people.

Johnson, executive director of the Newtown Florist Club, a longtime civil rights organization in the city, spoke in anguished tones about Nichols' killing and said the community must do everything in its power to ensure that this level of police violence is never visited on Gainesville.

"We are going to be better," she said.

Body camera footage of Nichols' beating was released Friday, spurring scattered waves of protests across the country and renewing calls for police reform.

"It's a systemic thing," said Mateo Penado, 22. "Black lives should not be lost because of police violence."

City Councilwoman Barbara Brooks said while it is not her job to micromanage the police, she and her fellow council members will work to enact policies meant to prevent police violence, noting that the city police department has hired two mental health clinicians.

"The demand was so great that we had to get two," Brooks said.

"You just need to know that the council is aware of issues that come up in the city and if we are not aware, then it's your job to let us know. Not that we're going to fix it, but we go to the various departments and find out what is happening, what's taking place. What can we do about this from your point of view? How can the City Council assist you in taking care of these issues so that the city is safe, the residents are safe?"

Police Chief Jay Parrish put out a statement on social media Friday condemning the five police officers whom he said murdered Nichols and pledged to continue having conversations about police accountability.

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"I am sickened by the actions of these five men that took an oath to protect the very person they murdered," Parrish said. "In communities like Gainesville, love, sacrifices, and relationships built over years can be affected by the poor actions of a few. We hope the pursuit of justice has begun with the arrest of the five former officers."

Five Memphis police officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols' death, the Associated Press has reported. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Two more officers have been relieved of duty, the AP reported Monday, and two emergency medical technicians were also fired.

Four of the five officers had posted bond and been released from custody by Friday morning.

A woman held a sign that read, "Killers out on Bond."

The footage released Friday shows police beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

"Our goal all along has been to always use these national cases as a way to help prevent incidents like this from happening in our community," Johnson said earlier in the day before the vigil.

"The treatment of Tyre Nichols goes beyond anything that we could ever imagine  it reopens old wounds," she added, referring to the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Following the release of footage of the beating last week, Johnson said she sent emails to Parrish and Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch alerting them to the possibility of protests.

Johnson said she is not aware of any protests so far in her community.

"But what I do know is that people have been talking, and I think that what you have is a community of people who are just tired, just really tired. Like, here we go again," she said. "And, you know, just because you don't see the public protests, it doesn't mean that people are not  there's a lot of tension in this space with what has happened to Tyre Nichols."

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after the video emerged, but protests were scattered and nonviolent, AP reported. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
State Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of lying on the record, in a letter to a judge presiding over her lawsuit against his company.

Trump and his lawyers have falsely denied facts they have admitted in other proceedings, and failed to respond to factual allegations plainly within their knowledge, attorneys for James wrote in a letter to state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

On Tuesday, James office also released video of Trump pleading the fifth more than 400 times in a deposition in the case.

James alleges Trump and his kids violated the law through serial manipulation of the values of his properties to obtain loans, tax breaks and other benefits.

A number of the denials are demonstrably false and actually contradict sworn statements by the defendants in other proceedings, a lawyer for James wrote in a six-page letter.

James office asked Engoron to schedule a conference to discuss the matter, and said they plan to ask him to impose sanctions.

The same judge sanctioned Trump last year for failing to meet deadlines by fining him $10,000 a day for nearly two weeks.

The judge had ruled the former president flouted a court-ordered deadline to turn over paperwork.

Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously, Engoron said at the time. I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 a day.

Specifically, James took issue with objections from Trumps lawyers regarding when he left his company for the White House. They disagreed with a characterization from James that Trump remained the inactive president of the Trump Organization.

James said Trump described himself that way in a sworn October 2021 deposition in a Bronx lawsuit brought by activists protesting his immigration policies.

Well, I wasnt active during the time I was at 1600, Trump said in the deposition, according to court transcripts. I would say that I was an inactive president and now Im active again.

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In a taped deposition with James office in August, Trump invoked his right to stay silent more than 400 times.

Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool, Trump said in the testimony, a video of which the Daily News obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request.

One statement or answer that is ever so slightly off  just ever so slightly, by accident, by mistake  such as, It was a sunny and beautiful day, when actually, it was slightly overcast, would be met by law enforcement.

The attorney generals lawyers said Trumps adult children and their lawyers have also alternately denied and admitted to things.

They said Eric Trump denied and stated in the same case that Seven Springs had purchased a building in December 1995 for $7.5 million.

James civil action lawsuit demands $250 million and to severely curtail the New York business prospects of Trump and his adult children.

Trumps lawyer Alina Habba did not respond to a request for comment.
BEIJING (Reuters) - One Chinese citizen was killed in an attack on Monday in Ethiopia's Oromiya region, the Chinese embassy in the country said, and it warned other citizens in Ethiopia to exercise caution and build up safety awareness.

Nine Chinese citizens in Gebre Guracha, a town in northern Oromiya, came under armed attack on Monday evening and one was shot dead, the Chinese embassy in Ethiopia said in a statement on Tuesday. It did not identify the perpetrators.

A spokesperson for Ethiopia's foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

The Chinese embassy added that border areas between Oromiya and other states have seen frequent armed attacks, kidnappings, and robberies, making security risks extremely high.

Last week, unidentified gunmen briefly abducted dozens of workers of Nigeria's Dangote Cement in Oromiya region. They were later released unharmed, a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement on Monday.

Hailu Adugna, spokesperson, for Oromiya's regional government, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the abduction of Dangote Cement's workers.

The violence in Oromiya is separate from a two-year war between the federal government and regional forces in the northern region of Tigray, which stopped in November, when the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces signed an agreement to end the hostilities.

Oromos, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, had hoped that their lot would improve after they helped Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is of mixed Oromo-Amhara parentage, come to power in 2018. However, many became disenchanted with Abiy and feel neglected by the government.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Additional reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
I thought that going natural 9 years ago was purely about embracing my budding Black womanhood and shunning the euro-centric gaze on how my hair naturally grows. It turns out that it was much more than that. For many, the return to natural hair was protection from processes that genuinely mean harm. Hair relaxers recently made the news and left a potent (and familiar) sting among Black women everywhere. A recent study revealed a link between excessive use of hair-straightening chemicals and uterine cancers in women. As most wouldve guessed, Black women are most vulnerable as hair-straightening chemicals are largely targeted at Black women and girls.

The study shows a link between hair-straightening chemicals and uterine cancers

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published findings from a study from researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The researchers used data from more than 33,000 women aged 35 to 74, across the U.S. for more than a decade. These were women also taking part in the Sister Study, an ongoing study focusing on risk factors for breast cancer as well as other health conditions.

The study was ongoing for 11 years and during that time, 378 women developed uterine cancer. We estimated that 1.64 percent of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70, but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05 percent, the study leader, Alexandra White of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Safety (NIEHS) explained in a statement. However, it is important to put this information into context. Uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer, she added. Frustratingly, there is still something to keep in mind, even with this caveat. Black women develop uterine cancer at much faster rates than women of other races, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Within the study, researchers list frequent use of hair-straightening chemicals as more than four times a year.

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Study reveals greater risk for Black women

Previous studies revealed an increased risk of certain hormone-related cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers linked to hair-straightening chemicals. The same study lists certain hair dyes as increasing similar risks too.

This study showed that the link between hair-straightening products and uterine cancer was most prominent among Black women. Black women made up only 7.4% of the studys participants yet 59.9% reported using hair-straightening products.

There are a few things to keep in mind with these findings. Not only are relaxers aggressively marketed at Black women and girls, but there is also exposure at younger ages than other races. The assumptions that Afro-textured hair needs to be tamed, is unprofessional, or unattractive are some of the beliefs that still linger in society. This has tragically led the Black community to cling to hair-straightening chemicals. Societal pressures from within and outside of the Black community have also led to normalizing the use of hair-straightening chemicals.

The study illuminates what many had a gut feeling about: safe haircare is not always a guarantee for Black women. This is exactly why Black women have started taking their strands back into their own hands. Supporting Black-owned products is, quite literally, life-saving. It provides transparency and honors the fact that Black women and girls deserve clean and safe hair care.

Related: These Are The Health Conditions That Black Women Disproportionately Suffer From

Thoughts from a natural haircare expert

We reached out to Kameese Davis, natural haircare expert and founder of Nylahs Naturals to speak on the study. Davis studied the science behind safe Afro-textured haircare and founded her company on toxin-less haircare. This is what she had to say about the use of chemical straighteners in the Afro-haircare space:

Recent studies have uncovered serious health risks associated with straight perm processes for Black women. According to the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, many chemicals used in these processes contain harsh ingredients such as formalin and ammonium thioglycolate. These can cause scalp irritation, hair loss, breakage, and even chemical burns. Further research conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) found that these strong chemicals could also lead to an increased risk of developing skin conditions like dermatitis or eczema. These issues can be difficult to manage and may require long-term medical treatment.

Your hair deserves the best, safest option

Additionally, using permanent toxins on delicate Afro-strands can contribute to further damage from environmental pollutants like dust and smoke. As a result, the AAD recommends that Black women avoid straightening or perming their hair, as it can be damaging to both their physical and mental health. Instead, they suggest using alternative methods such as deep conditioning treatments and natural oils to achieve desired looks without sacrificing the integrity of your hair and compromising your health.

Photo credit: Nappy

Overall, it is important for Black women to take into consideration the risks associated with chemical processes like straight perms before committing to them. With an informed decision, you can help maintain healthy hair and skin while avoiding unnecessary risks. At Nylahs Naturals, we are committed to providing natural and organic products that help maintain the health of your hair without compromising its integrity. We believe that all women should have access to high-quality products in order to look and feel their best. explains Davis.

Final thoughts on navigating hair-straightening chemicals and uterine cancers

Ultimately, the damaging link between hair-straightening chemicals and uterine cancers is an invitation to return to cleaner hair care. Equally, for those who choose to use hair-straightening chemicals, its about ensuring to use them moderately. While Black women are often encouraged  or forced  to put their supposed presentability before their health or comfort, this study is a loud call for reconsideration. How can we grow future generations to reverse these avoidable health risks and what conversations have we been avoiding?

Related: The Relaxer Box Girls: Where Are They Now?

The post Op-Ed: Study Reveals Link Between Hair-Straightening Chemicals And Uterine Cancers, And Black Women Are The Most Vulnerable appeared first on 21Ninety.
Police in Oregon are searching for Benjamin Obadiah Foster, who has been accused to attempted murder. Grants Pass Police Department

Police in Oregon are searching for an attempted murder suspect accused of tying up and beating a woman.

The suspect may be using dating apps to find potential victims or people who may help with his escape, police said.

A victim's rights lawyer told Insider that companies should do more to keep their apps safe.

Police in Oregon have launched a manhunt for an attempted murder suspect they say is using dating apps to target "unsuspecting individuals."

Major dating sites say they haven't found anyone matching the suspect's name and are monitoring for him, but a victim's rights lawyer told Insider on Tuesday that companies "should be held liable" now that they've been put "on notice of this violent user."

"The onus should be on the online companies  and not on the public  to keep their apps safe," Carrie Goldberg, a New York-based attorney specializing in sex crimes, told Insider.

Oregon's Grants Pass Police Department said that 36-year-old suspect Benjamin Obadiah Foster is using dating apps to find additional potential victims or people "who may be lured into assisting with the suspect's escape."

Authorities started searching for Foster after they discovered a woman "bound and severely beaten into unconsciousness" at a home in Grants Pass, Oregon, on January 17. The woman was hospitalized in critical condition.

The suspect  who authorities say fled the scene before officers arrived  is wanted by police on charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, and assault.

Authorities are offering a $2,500 reward for anyone who has information leading to Foster's arrest and prosecution. Police have described the man as "extremely dangerous."

In revealing that the suspect has been using dating apps, the Grants Pass Police Department said it wants "the community to be extra safe while this predator is still at large" and noted that anyone who may be assisting Foster with his escape "will face potential prosecution."

A spokesperson for Match Group, which owns a series of dating apps including Tinder, Match.com, Hinge, OKCupid, and Plenty of Fish, told Insider that it has not found a person with the suspect's name on its platforms.

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Additionally, a spokesperson for the dating app Bumble told Insider that its team "has been working around the clock to identify any members based on the information that is available to us at this time."

"As of now, we have not located any members with the name Benjamin Obadiah Foster on Bumble App," the spokesperson added.

Goldberg said all dating apps "should be on notice that this violent and dangerous user is a potential customer who may be using their product as a hunting ground."

If the apps claim that "their product is too big to moderate users or is immune from liability, that's not an excuse and should be challenged in court," according to Goldberg.

People have tried suing dating apps over real-life violence, Goldberg said. In 2016, for example, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that a woman who said she had been stalked and attacked by an individual she met on a dating app should be able to sue Match.

But the claim was dismissed in 2017 when a district court judge found that Match doesn't have an obligation to "control the dangerous conduct of another or to warn others of the dangerous conduct, except where a special relationship exists and the harm is created by foreseeable conduct."

It's unclear whether Match Group or Bumble have warned users about the Oregon suspect, and neither company answered if they had notified users when asked by Insider.

Police say Foster might try to change his appearance

Meanwhile, police said last week that authorities, including federal agents and an Oregon State Police SWAT team, raided a home in Oregon's Josephine County where they seized Foster's 2008 Nissan Sentra.

During the search, investigators arrested a 68-year-old woman for hindering prosecution, police said.

"Following a lengthy manhunt, Foster evaded capture and likely received assistance in fleeing the area," said the Grants Pass Police Department.

The department warned the public over the weekend that Foster "may attempt to change his appearance by shaving his beard and hair or by changing his hair color" as it urged the public to pay close attention to Foster's "facial structure and eyes since those features are very difficult to change."

Tips about sightings of Foster have inundated the department and police say they are "confident this dangerous criminal will soon be captured with the assistance of a concerned citizen."

Grants Pass Police Department Chief Warren Hensman told CNN on Monday that Foster had a "prior relationship" with the victim he is accused of torturing.

"This was not a random attack," Hensman told the news outlet, adding, "I've seen a lot in my career, but some things do stick with you, and this will stay stained in my memory for many years to come."

According to CNN, court records in Clark County, Nevada, show that Foster was accused of attacking women who he had relationships with in two previous different cases.

A spokesman for the Nevada Department of Corrections told Insider that Foster in the first case had been sentenced to 12 to 30 months for battery with substantial bodily harm and was brought to an intake facility in the prison system on October 18, 2021.

Foster was released on the same day "due to the pre-sentence jail credits," according to the spokesman.

In the second case, he was charged with felony assault, battery, and kidnapping in 2019, CNN reported. Foster took a plea deal for both, according to CNN.

Staying safe on dating apps

Security on dating apps is tricky, cybersecurity expert George Grispos told Insider. He said the law could provide added protection on dating apps. Legislators, for example, could make it a law that dating apps must require all users to verify their identity by providing an official document.

Requiring verification of identity is not challenging to implement on dating apps, said information technology expert Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo. But dating apps might be averse to the idea because there are practical implications to consider, such as whether a user would be willing to upload a copy of their ID.

Dating apps might also wonder whether doing so could bring up privacy issues, such as what happens in the event of a security breach, Choo said. If a dating app with ID information is compromised or breached, there might be reputational consequences.

Individual dating app users should be cautious when interacting with strangers online, Grispos said. Institutions can help by educating young students and women on cybersecurity and how to stay safe online.

It's also about common sense.

"I think people need to make sure they meet new dates in open and public spaces  let friends and family know," he said.

Read the original article on Insider
By Asif Shahzad and Ariba Shahid

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Cash-strapped Pakistan on Tuesday held a first round of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to unlock stalled funds from a $7 billion bailout to ward off economic meltdown.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar met IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter, the finance ministry said, and briefed him on the "fiscal and economic reforms and measures being taken by the government in different sectors".

The IMF funding is critical for Pakistan, which has barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover three weeks of imports. Fuel comprises the bulk of the import bill.

Pakistan secured a $6 billion IMF bailout in 2019, which was topped up with another $1 billion last year.

The talks, to continue through Feb. 9, are meant to clear the IMF's 9th review of its Extended Fund Facility, aimed at helping countries facing balance-of-payments crises.

The lender had set several conditions for resuming the bailout, including a market-determined exchange rate for the local currency and an easing of fuel subsidies.

Last week, Pakistan removed an artificial cap on the rupee, resulting in it losing 14.73% in interbank trading during the last three trading sessions.

The central bank said the rupee gained 0.65% against dollar on Tuesday in inter-bank trading, but, according to the exchange companies' association, lost 0.54% in the open market.

"We believe that the rupee's weakness still has further to run, particularly with Pakistan's balance-of-payments position likely to remain weak for several more months," Fitch Solutions said.

New measures also include taxation, shedding power sector debt and hiking energy prices, with people already facing 24.5% inflation.

The central bank also raised interest rates this month by 100 basis points to fight inflation.

The finance ministry, which raised fuel prices by 16% over the weekend ahead of the talks, said in its monthly report issued on Tuesday that fiscal consolidation was key to saving official reserves and exchange rate stability.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Arun Koyyur and Nick Macfie)
Re. Ricky Daytonas letter Proxy war with Russia (Castanet, Jan. 27)

Mr. Daytona, I really admire you. Just when I thought that at my advanced age I had seen, or read, just about everything, you arrive like a breath of air. You make me think, which is obviously your goal. I disagree with you, but I know where you are coming from.

As for Mr. Poole (No deal with Putin (Castanet, Jan. 27)) and Mr. Lupul, (Countering writer's view (Castanet, Jan. 27)) right on. Your responses to Mr. Daytona were spot on. If I may, Id like to add my two cents worth.

Mr. Daytona, do you know the difference between fighting and self-defence? Do you know the difference between aggression and resistance? I think not. Weve been taught through the Bible to turn the other cheek, but when a much larger and more vicious bully is beating you up, turning the other cheek just gives him/her a new target.

If someone were to break into your home, what would you do? Ask the Chechens. The Georgians. Ask the Belorussians (they havent been invaded, just had their democratic election stolen by a Putin-ite).

The difference this time is Ukraine is accessible to the outside world. Of course (Ukrainians) are asking for help, and of course the West should provide it. If it were my home, Id be rallying my friends and neighbours too.

As for the buffer zone, isnt that the excuse the (former) USSRthe government (Russian President Vladimir) Putin worked forused to enslave the Warsaw Pact nations? As if that wasnt enough for Stalin, he and his minions tried to recruit other nations from Malaysia to North Korea to Greece.

The Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War were the offshoots of a global communist (read authoritarian) action that could have led to either total enslavement or nuclear war. Thank God neither happened.

No one likes war and no one, except the corrupt, like corruption. Where do you get the information on how corrupt the Ukrainian government is? Is it from the same news items that tell how Putin is out to de-Nazify its neighbour? Probably.

At the same time, you dont mention the Russian oligarchs, and how many of them have disappeared (or died).

Putin is a monster. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy is no saint, but at least hes trying to save his people.

If we put you in charge, Mr. Daytona, what would you be doing?

Gary Lynch
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel on Tuesday for a sharp escalation of violence in the West Bank as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged calm on both sides and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to a two state solution.

Calling for "the complete cessation of unilateral Israeli actions, which violate the signed agreements and international law", Abbas reiterated the Palestinians' longstanding demand for Israel to end its occupation.

"We are now ready to work with the U.S. administration and the international community to restore political dialogue in order to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," he said in a statement.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Alison Williams)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Mahmoud Abbas spent much of his life before becoming Palestinian president in the shadow of Yasser Arafat, long the figurehead of the Palestinian cause, but he has never secured the same status in the role and has not brought his people closer to statehood.

Based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the 87-year-old has seen his role further eclipsed by the rise of Hamas, the Islamist group that has controlled Gaza since 2006, and by the expanding Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited him on Tuesday, after repeating Washington's support for a two-state solution. But Abbas has previously said Western governments have effectively undermined that goal by failing to recognise Palestine as a state and by failing to hold Israel to account.

It now seems a distant hope with rising bloodshed on the West Bank in the past year, a drive by the new Israeli government to expand West Bank settlements and recurrent exchanges over Gaza of militant rockets and Israeli airstrikes.

"The Israeli government is responsible for what is happening today, because of its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements," Abbas during Blinken's visit, a charge the Palestinian president often makes and which Israel refutes.

Abbas was the first generation of Palestinian exiles, born after colonial powers drew new Middle Eastern borders and is old enough to recall the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948 when half the 1.4 million Arabs of Palestine - including Abbas himself  fled or were driven from their land into a new life as refugees.

He was an early member of Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) faction that dominated Palestinian politics for decades. He became leader of both when Arafat died in 2004, and a year later was elected president of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited sovereignty in the West Bank.

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The high point of his career was a 1993 White House ceremony at which he and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signed the Oslo accords which offered the prospect of Palestinian autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Behind them were U.S. President Bill Clinton, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, applauding warmly.

In his suit and tie - a stark contrast to Arafats keffiyeh headscarf and combat fatigues - Abbas advocacy of dialogue over violence and long service as a negotiator raised hopes for a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But when Arafat died more than a quarter of a century later the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was moribund and relations with Washington were at a nadir. Critics accused Abbas' inner circle of graft, nepotism and ineffectiveness.

FEWER APPEARANCES

He has been seen less and less in later years, and repeated visits to hospitals have added to concerns about his ability to lead the Palestinian government through political turbulence.

One public appearance in 2018, backfired dismally when - not for the first time - he was accused of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in a speech. Amid international condemnation of his remarks, he was forced to apologise.

Abbas was born in 1935 in Safed, a town in what was then British-ruled Palestine and is now northern Israel. He fled to Syria as a child amid fighting over the creation of Israel and later went to work in Qatar, where he joined other Palestinians including Arafat in Fatah.

After Israel captured and occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six Day War, Arafat's Fatah seized control of the PLO and a decades-long guerrilla campaign against Israel began, with its leaders moving from Jordan to Lebanon and later Tunisia.

When the Palestinian leadership returned from exile to Gaza after the Oslo Accords Abbas was upbeat, promising: "I will live in Palestine." But peace talks faltered in following years.

Abbas won a presidential election in 2005 but his Fatah group was defeated 2006 parliamentary elections. Hamas routed Fatah in a civil war in Gaza, leaving Abbas with control of Palestinian-administered areas in the West Bank but there have been no Palestinian elections since.

Seeking to regain the initiative, Abbas made unilateral moves to seek Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. In 2012, Palestine won "non-member statehood" at the U.N. General Assembly. But the goal of a state has remained elusive.

Abbas has held little sway with successive U.S. presidents, whose role is vital in Middle East diplomacy, and he has looked ever more isolated as regional allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco have signed diplomatic deals with Israel.

"Having contributed to achievements that place our people at the forefront of history," he warned as far back as 1994, "I remain deeply concerned that we could get swept away by history, lose control, and suffer an unrecoverable setback."

(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Conservative commentators were forced to backtrack over conspiracy theories and jokes about the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, after the release of police video and audio last week.

Related: Police body-camera video of Paul Pelosi hammer attack released

One Fox News commentator had to retreat from his claim there was no evidence of a breaking and entering when his host pointed out that footage of the attacker breaking into Pelosis home was playing on screen at the time.

Got it, Brian Claypool said. Yeah. OK. Cant we talk more about what is the DoJ doing?

The Department of Justice has charged Pelosis attacker, David DePape, with assault and attempted kidnapping. The 42-year-old also faces state charges including attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Pelosi, 82, was attacked in his San Francisco home in late October, a time when his wife, Nancy Pelosi, was still speaker of the US House. According to tapes released by the police, the attacker said he was looking for her. She was not present. Her husband suffered a fractured skull and injuries to his hand and arm.

Republican leaders including Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell condemned the attack.

But prominent rightwingers including Donald Trump Jr, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk and Republican members of Congress including Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Greene eagerly spread jokes, misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Joe Biden said such reactions showed the Republicans were extremely extreme.

Jill Filipovic, a Guardian columnist, wrote that though the attack should shock the conscience of the nation  it has shown just how immune to human decency and empathy the Trumpist right has become.

Last week, a judge in San Francisco ordered the release of police and surveillance footage. On Friday, the footage played widely on TV and online.

Musk said sorry  in answer to a tweet in which Juanita Broaddrick, an author who accuses Bill Clinton of rape, said the Pelosi footage showed what was still a questionable and bizarre situation between two men in their underwear. Other users pointed out that the footage showed neither man was wearing only underwear.

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Perhaps the most awkward reaction, however, came from Claypool, who according to his own website is a nationally regarded trial attorney, trusted media personality, and a genuine ally to those who have endured sexual abuse and faced civil injustice.

Referring to a conspiracy theory which holds that Pelosi let DePape into his home, Claypool said: The question theyve not talked about is, and nobody wants to talk about, but lets do it, is did Paul Pelosi know this guy?

Claypool pointed to the fact the footage shows Pelosi with a drink in his hand. The commentator also claimed a 911 call also released showed Pelosi to be kind of passively in fear, it didnt sound like he was in fear for his life.

Things started to go wrong for Claypool when his Fox News host, Sandra Smith, said: Wasnt that an effort to keep the attacker calm, potentially?

I think thats the way a lot of us interpreted that 911 call  that this was somebody who had 911 on the line and that Pelosi was trying to convey that he was in distress, that he was in immediate danger, without escalating the situation with the attacker.

And, by the way, theres clear footage  outside of the house, showing this attacker breaking through the glass windows on the side of the house.

Fox News rolled the footage.

Im not saying that I welcome this upon him, Claypool said. What Im talking about is we just want transparency over what happened. Why did it take so long to get the video footage?

Instead of cutting his losses there, Claypool switched tack.

The other issue, he said, is, look, where is the evidence of a breaking and entering?

Smith said: Theres video of him breaking into the house.

Claypool said: I havent seen video of him breaking into the house.

Smith said: Its on the screen right now. I assume its with the hammer you later see [the attacker] with. This is clear video that we have been given outside of the house. The attacker is on the right side of the screen, breaking through the house.

Claypool said: Got it.

Smiths co-host, John Roberts, said: Hes clearly using that to break in.

Claypool said: Yeah. OK. But cant we talk more about what is the DoJ doing?

The attorney then attempted to compare justice department treatment of the Pelosi attack with the Hunter Biden thing, with the Mar-a-Lago search warrant  central Republican attack lines about the conduct of the presidents son and an FBI raid on Donald Trumps home in search of classified documents.

Claypool insisted he was not questioning that Paul Pelosi feared for himself. But, he said: All Im saying is a complete lack of transparency again, by the DoJ and people just want transparency on high-profile investigations involving high-profile Democratic officials.
PayPal announced on Tuesday that the company will lay off 2,000 employees, which is about 7 percent of its workforce.

CEO and President Dan Schulman wrote in a message to employees shared on the company website that while PayPal made substantial progress in restructuring its cost structure and prioritizing its allocation of resources, more work needs to be done. He said the downsizing will occur within the next few weeks, and that some organizations in the company will be impacted more than others.

Change can be difficult  particularly when it includes valued colleagues and friends departing. We will face this head-on together, drawing on the unparalleled scale of our global platform, the strategic investments we have made to strengthen our core capabilities, and the trust and loyalty of our customers, Schulman said in the message.

Schulman said the leaders of PayPals business units and teams will be in contact with their employees over the next few days and weeks to discuss how the changes will impact their parts of the company.

This will be a challenging period for our community, but I am confident we will come through it together with compassion for each other, our values at the fore, and a shared commitment to the future of PayPal, Schulman concluded.

PayPal is the latest tech company to announce a round of layoffs in the industry. Workday also announced plans to cut jobs on Tuesday, which will eliminate about 3 percent of its global workforce.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
As of 31 January, there are approximately 1,100,000 inhabitants in Kharkiv, although after the first month of the full-scale war there were 200-300,000 people there.

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, during a briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform media centre on 31 January

Quote: "We currently have 450,000 IDPs [internally displaced persons  ed.] in the city of Kharkiv and the oblast. If we're talking about the city of Kharkiv, we currently have 1,100,000 people [there].

Let me remind you that at the time of the full-scale invasion, after, relatively speaking, its first month, only 200-300,000 people remained to live in Kharkiv. This means that people are returning. They are not so active anymore, but they are returning to the territories where it is relatively safe."

Details: Syniehubov added that people are also returning to some settlements in the oblast, in particular, to the city of Lozova. During the evacuation, when part of the oblast was still occupied, there were about 10,000 people there, and now, there are 60,000.

Reference: As of 2019, the population of Kharkiv was 1,446,107 people.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






A California pizza restaurant that apologized for a workers refusal to serve police now faces online backlash over the firing of the employee.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association posted to Twitter on Jan. 29 to say police visiting Pizza Squared were denied food and told they were not welcome in the restaurant. The union called the actions shameful and hateful.

Pizza Squared responded on Twitter with an apology, saying the worker involved was a trainee on his third day at the restaurant.

We expressly told him we didnt share his views & that he was out of line, the restaurant said. He was fired at the end of the day.

The police union said on Twitter that it appreciated the apology. But responses on Twitter to the Pizza Squared post called the restaurant owners cowards and bootlickers for their actions.

Disappointing how you handled this. I love pizza but not if its made by boot lickers, read one comment.

So youre OK with armed violent thugs in your establishment? No thanks then, read another post.

Just chiming in to say that I wont ever be eating at your restaurant if this is how you treat your employees. Enjoy your cop-only clientele, another comment read.

The dispute comes amid national protests over the release of a video showing Memphis police beating Tyre Nichols, 29, after a traffic stop on Jan. 7. He died three days later.

Five former officers have been charged with murder in the case, National Public Radio reported. Three emergency medical technicians have been fired and two more police officers have been disciplined.

The San Francisco police union and other police unions in California and Hawaii posted a Jan. 27 joint statement to Twitter calling the death of Tyre Nichols horrific.

The killing of Tyre Nichols at the hand of five cowardly former Memphis police officers is repugnant and the complete antithesis of how honorable law enforcement professionals conduct themselves every day, the statement read.

Story continues

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By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Kuba Stezycki

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland aims to get training time on Leopard 2 battle tanks down to five weeks at a centre where Ukrainian soldiers are likely to be taught how to operate the Western battlefield workhorse against Russia's invasion.

The village of Swietoszow in western Poland, near the German border, hosts one of just three Leopard training centres in Europe - the others are in Germany and Switzerland.

The Polish military declined to confirm where Ukrainian soldiers would be trained, but military experts said Swietoszow was the most likely location.

"It is possible or even likely that the training of Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank crews will take place in Swietoszow, but other locations cannot be ruled out," said Jakub Pawlowski, military expert and deputy editor-in-chief of Defence24.pl.

A coalition of Ukraine's Western supporters formed in January to provide Kyiv with German-made Leopard tanks, and on Jan. 20 Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukrainian troops would be trained on Leopards in Poland.

At a training centre equipped with simulators, 14 crews of four personnel each can undergo instruction at once. Training on the Leopard - the vaunted modern battlefield tank used by many NATO member countries in Europe - has hitherto taken about 10 weeks but this could be reduced to five, instructors said.

"If we intensify training (by maximising the number of) instructors, our time and our weekends, we can train an entire crew in five weeks," Major Maciej Banaszynski, Poland's Leopard training centre commander, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"Leopard tanks are third-generation tanks. Their mobility on diverse terrain is better compared to Russian tanks," said chief warrant officer Lukasz Setny, a senior Leopard instructor.

"A (Russian tank) is like having a new Fiat 26p rather than a second-hand Mercedes. It is easier and more comfortable to drive an old Mercedes than a new Fiat 126p, he said.

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Banaszynski said Polish instructors were running Leopard training courses for tank crews and for drivers. "In addition, we now run courses for mechanics for the arms, chassis and equipment accompanying Leopards, he said.

The only tank Ukraine has so far used against Russia's invasion has been the T-72 inherited from the former Soviet Union. But Poland's Leopard trainers said it was not difficult to switch from operating old- to new-generation battle tanks.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Economic Development, Minister of International Trade and Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion Mary Ng, right, looks on as United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai speaks during a joint news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, May 5, 2022. The United States is filing another formal dispute over what it considers Canadas failure to live up to its trade obligations to American dairy farmers and producers.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The United States is filing another formal dispute over what it considers Canada's failure to live up to its trade obligations to American dairy farmers and producers.

It's the second time the U.S. has launched such a dairy-driven escalation, formally known as a dispute settlement panel, in less than two years.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the new panel has become necessary because Canada has so far refused to take the steps necessary to properly address the first one.

That panel ruled in December 2021 that Canada was indeed violating the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with the way it was allocating import quotas for U.S. dairy products.

U.S. trade officials and dairy industry advocates say a large share of those quotas were being allocated to processors rather than producers.

The U.S. says the federal government amended its policies, but that the new procedures remain "inconsistent" with the terms of the agreement, known as USMCA in the U.S. and CUSMA in Canada.

"The Canadian government's revised measures have not fixed the problem," Tai said in a statement announcing the decision. "Canada made commitments to the United States in the USMCA, and the Biden-Harris administration is ensuring that they honour those commitments."
Polish instructors train military on Leopard

Poland hosts one of three Leopard training centers in Swietoszow, near the German border. The other two are in Germany and Switzerland.

Read also: Poland very much wants Ukraine to become EU member, says Polish deputy FM

The Swietoszow center trains up to 14 four-man tank crews at a time.

According to the instructors, nominally the course takes 10 weeks to complete, but this time can be brought down to just five weeks.

Read also: Polish PM names terms for transferring F-16 fighters to Ukraine

If we intensify training (by maximizing the number of) instructors, our time and our weekends, we can train an entire crew in five weeks, said Banaszynski.

He added that besides tank crews, the center also trains maintenance and auxiliary personnel.

On Jan. 20, Polish Defense Ministry said it expects to train an entire Ukrainian tank brigade by March.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The US Secret Service (USSS) has arrested a man alleged to have impersonated an officer and who carried a stash of knives near the Congressional complex in Washington, DC.

The suspect, Max Eli Viner, 37, had previously been recorded by the Secret Service as being wanted for questioning.

Mr Viner was identified by US Capitol Police (USCP) and taken into custody on Monday evening around 6.20pm after the police were tipped off by USSS.

Hes now facing charges of Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer and Possession of a Prohibited Weapon within the District of Columbia. He was arrested by the Secret Service after being caught by US Capitol Police, the agency said in a statement.

Capitol Police said that an officer with the USCPs Bicycle Response Team noticed a man, who was wanted for questioning by the U.S. Secret Service, near the corner of Third Street and Madison Drive, NW. Officers with the USSS Uniformed Division first spotted the suspect a few minutes earlier near Constitution Avenue and 15th Street.

When police searched Mr Viner, they found multiple knifes on him as well as a chain saw blade.

Police found several knives on a suspect arrested near the US Capitol (US Capitol Police)

The United States Secret Service quickly arrived on scene, searched the suspects SUV, and found fake police equipment. USSS officers also discovered shell casings, a smoke grenade and a gas mask inside the suspects Ford Explorer, police said.

US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement that this is another example of how our teams work closely with our partner law enforcement agencies to keep everyone safe. These partnerships are critical.

We thank the U.S. Secret Service for their detailed and timely information and we thank our officers who continue to show their dedication to our critical mission every day, he added.
Jan. 31LINESVILLE  A western Crawford County couple has been charged with more than $100,000 worth of home improvement fraud.

Conneaut Lake Regional Police Department has charged Chad Eckenrode, 42, and Kristi L. McBride, 38, both of 3438 Maple Lane, Atlantic, with false statement for home improvement services, receiving advance payment for services and failing to perform work, theft by deception and deceptive business practices.

Police allege the married couple defrauded a man of $118,135 in remodeling of a Sadsbury Township home, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case.

Police allege the homeowner signed a contract with A+ Handyman Service in September 2021 to remodel a home on Hickory Drive, but failed to fulfill the contract as required.

A+ Handyman Service is owned by McBride and Eckenrode is a construction supervisor, the affidavit said.

The contract was to demolish and remodel portions of the interior, remove and remodel exterior portions, and construct a new addition to the rear of the residence, according to the arrest affidavit.

The affidavit said the homeowner made a down payment of $20,000 in December 2021.

In 2022, subsequent checks were issued by the homeowner of $11,130 and $9,000 on March 19; $19,130 on May 2; $2,615 on May 22; $28,130 on June 10; and $28,130 on Aug. 28  for a total payment of $118,135, the affidavit said.

McBride also had requested the checks be issued to McBride's Handyman Service instead of A+ Handyman or to McBride herself, the affidavit said.

The affidavit said there are photographs of uncompleted construction at the home, alleged damaged caused by rainwater, windows not sealed, open end plumbing, cracked wood and open electrical ends.

Eckenrode and McBride were arraigned Monday before Magisterial District Judge Adam Stallard of Linesville.

They were released on $120,000 unsecured bond each. Preliminary hearings for both McBride and Eckenrode are scheduled for Feb. 13 before Stallard.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
Police in Manhattan, Kansas were investigating three rapes reported in the college town on Saturday by women between the ages of 20 and 21.

The Riley County Police Department on Monday released its weekend report of criminal activity investigated by officers. It included two separate cases opened on Saturday evening and night in Manhattan, home to Kansas State University and roughly 120 miles west of Kansas City.

The first was made by a 21-year-old woman who told officers she was assaulted by an unknown man.

The second was jointly reported by two women, ages 20 and 21, who said they knew the identity of their attacker. Police as of Monday had a 32-year-old male suspect in that case.

Police were not disclosing further details of either case, citing the nature of the crimes, according to the crime report.
RIVIERA BEACH  City police are searching for the person who shot a man to death outside a convenience store Monday afternoon.

Officers responded to the fatal shooting shortly after 3 p.m. at the 3300 block of President Barack Obama Highway, north of Blue Heron Boulevard, Riviera Beach police spokesperson Brittany Collins said.

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They pronounced the man dead at the scene. Police have not identified the victim, nor did they release any details about people they would like to question in the shooting.

Police are investigating the incident as a homicide. They had not made any arrests as of Tuesday afternoon.

This is a breaking story. Check back to www.PalmBeachPost.com for updates.

Maya Washburn is a reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida network. Reach her at mwashburn@gannett.com Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach police investigate fatal shooting outside convenience store
Photo: The Canadian Press NDP MP Heather McPherson is seen during a news conference, Tuesday, April 26, 2022 in Ottawa. The NDP is accusing the Liberals of basing their sanctions regime on "political theatre" as data suggest few funds have been frozen and none have been seized. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The NDP is accusing the Liberals of basing their sanctions regime on "political theatre" as data suggest few funds have been frozen and none have been seized.

The federal government has been announcing sanctions almost weekly that bar people associated with authoritarian regimes from having financial dealings in Canada and from entering the country.

Yet publicly released RCMP data show barely any change in the amount of money frozen in Canadian bank accounts between June and December of last year, despite hundreds of people being added to sanctions lists.

Ottawa passed legislation in July that allows the government to take possession of funds from sanctioned people and divert them to victims of wrongdoing, but it has not moved to do so.

The government issued an order for the restraint of property in December to start the process of forfeiting US$26 million held by a firm owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, but it has yet to file an application in court.

NDP MP Heather McPherson argues that Canada is using sanctions as a symbolic tool, without taking the steps to actually disincentivize support for autocracies.
By Philip Pullella and Paul Lorgerie

KINSHASA (Reuters) -Pope Francis denounced the "poison of greed" driving conflicts in Africa as he began a visit to Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, saying the rich world had to realise that people were more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them.

Many tens of thousands of people cheered as he travelled from the airport into the capital Kinshasa in his popemobile, with some breaking away to chase it while others chanted and waved flags.

But the joyous mood, one of the most vibrant welcomes of his foreign trips, turned sombre when the 86-year-old pope spoke to dignitaries at the presidential palace. He condemned "terrible forms of exploitation, unworthy of humanity" in Congo, where vast mineral wealth has fuelled war, displacement and hunger.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hands off Africa. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said.

Congo has some of the world's richest deposits of diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum and lithium, but those have stoked conflict between militias, government troops and foreign invaders. Mining has also been linked to inhumane exploitation of workers, including children, and environmental degradation.

"It is a tragedy that these lands, and more generally the whole African continent, continue to endure various forms of exploitation," the pope said, reading his speech in Italian while seated. People listening to a French translation applauded repeatedly.

"The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood," he said, referring to Congo specifically.

Compounding the country's problems, eastern Congo has been plagued by violence connected to the long and complex fallout from the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group fighting government troops in the east. Rwanda denies this.

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"As well as armed militias, foreign powers hungry for the minerals in our soil commit, with the direct and cowardly support of our neighbour Rwanda, cruel atrocities," Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said, speaking just before the pope on the same stage on a hot, muggy afternoon.

The pope did not name Rwanda in his address or take sides in the dispute.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo rebuffed Tshisekedi's comments. "Its obvious that this ridiculous obsession with scapegoating Rwanda is President Tshisekedis electoral strategy - a distraction from the poor performance of his government, and failure to deliver to their citizens," she told Reuters.

'DEVOURED BY VIOLENCE'

An estimated 5.7 million people are internally displaced in Congo and 26 million face severe hunger, largely because of the impact of armed conflict, according to the United Nations.

About half of Congo's population of 90 million are Roman Catholics and the Church plays a crucial role in running schools and health facilities in the sprawling central African country, as well as promoting democracy.

The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

"One has the impression that the international community has practically resigned itself to the violence devouring it (Congo). We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths," he said.

Tshisekedi made a similar point: "While the international community has remained passive and silent, more than 10 million people have been horribly killed."

First scheduled for last July, the pope's trip was postponed because of a flare-up of a chronic knee ailment. Francis had originally planned to travel to Goma, in eastern Congo, but that stop was scrapped because of a resurgence in fighting between M23 rebels and government troops.

In an apparent reference to the M23 and other militias active in Congo's eastern regions, the pope said the Congolese people were fighting to preserve their territorial integrity "against deplorable attempts to fragment the country".

On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people. He also will meet victims of violence from the east.

Francis will stay in Kinshasa until Friday morning, when he will fly to South Sudan, another African country grappling with conflict and poverty.

In a first, he will be accompanied for that leg of his journey by the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the global Anglican Communion, and by the Church of Scotland Moderator. The religious leaders have described their joint visit as a "pilgrimage of peace" to the world's youngest nation.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011 from predominantly Muslim Sudan after decades of conflict. Two years later inter-ethnic conflict spiralled into a civil war that killed 400,000 people. A 2018 deal stopped the worst of the fighting.

(Additional reporting by Justin Makangara, Benoit Nyemba, Sonia Rolley and Stanis Bujakera, and Philbert Girinema in Kigali; Writing by Estelle Shirbon and Philip Pullella; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Barbara Lewis and Mark Heinrich)
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic in Zagreb, Croatia, in February 2020. AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File

Croatia's president said that Russian-annexed Crimea will never rejoin Ukraine, breaking from NATO.

Zoran Milanovic added that more Western-supplied weapons will only "prolong the war."

The county's prime minister disagreed, saying the comments "harm Croatia's foreign policy position."

On Monday, Croatia's president seemingly broke with his NATO allies by suggesting publically that Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, was forever lost to Ukraine.

"It is clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine," Zoran Milanovic said, according to Reuters.

Russia's annexation of the region has not been recognized internationally, including by the EU, the US, or China, and Ukraine has pledged to retake the Black Sea peninsula as part of its current military efforts.

The peninsula was taken before Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Milanovic also criticized the flow of Western weapons going to Ukraine, according to The Associated Press, including the recent decision by Germany, the US, and other allies to send advanced tanks.

"I am against sending any lethal arms there," he said, addressing reporters during a visit to a military barracks. "It prolongs the war."

He added: "What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is mad."

Milanovic's view that sending Ukraine arms will make the war last longer stands in contrast to the view of many Western officials, who say that giving Ukraine the weapons it needs is the best way to end the conflict as fast as possible.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in December that giving Ukraine better weaponry would help to end the war. "The Ukrainians have the valor necessary to succeed. They have shown it. They just need the equipment," he said.

In recent months Ukraine has pushed Russian forces back in the east, thwarting its efforts to conquer vast tracts of the country.

Experts told Insider's John Haltiwanger this month that a battle for Crimea could be the next big stage of the war.

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Croatia's president has repeatedly criticized Western help for Ukraine, Reuters noted.

In October Milanovic said that Croatia would not train Ukrainian troops as "I do not want Croatia to be involved in this war more than is necessary."

But the country's prime minister, Andrej Plenkovic, who has more political power, has taken a more pro-Ukraine stance.

On Monday he said that Milanovic's comments "directly harm Croatia's foreign policy position," according to the AP.

Plenkovic also said last June that he supported Ukraine's steps to joining the EU, and accused Russia in September of a "violation of international law."

Earlier this month Plenkovic said that "the key thing is that we support Ukraine in regaining their territories, in preserving their sovereignty, in preserving the constitutional order."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Prosecutors have dismissed a pending criminal case against a Wichita police officer accused of slapping a handcuffed prisoner strapped into a patrol car over an availability issue with a key witness.

Andrew Barnett was scheduled for jury trial this week on the misdemeanor battery charge. But in a court filing late Monday morning, the Sedgwick County District Attorneys Office announced it was dismissing the case without prejudice, which leaves open the possibility of filing it again in the future.

In an emailed response to questions Monday, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said his office made the decision to dismiss the case because a necessary witness is not available but said he would consider pursuing it again later.

I will reassess the case in light of this development and in light of the recent acquittal in the case involving Barnett before deciding whether to refile, he wrote.

A defense attorney listed for Barnett in court records did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Monday afternoon.

Earlier this month, Barnett was acquitted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in an unrelated case where he was accused of threatening an Avis Rental Car counter clerk at Eisenhower National Airport who wouldnt rent him a vehicle with someone elses travel vouchers and a credit card he didnt physically have in his possession on Dec. 2, 2021.

In the newly dismissed case, Barnett stood accused of hitting a Kansas City, Missouri, man who was in handcuffs and strapped into the back seat of a police patrol car on May 14, 2021. Barnetts slap came after the man, who was reportedly in custody for alleged drug- and traffic-related offenses, had climbed into the drivers seat of the patrol car and struggled with officers  but was after the man had already been subdued and secured.

Barnett, in an interview with law enforcement, claimed he opened the door to the patrol car after the scuffle to ask the prisoner what he was thinking and used his hand to move the mans face because he thought the man was about to spit on him, according to an affidavit released by the court last year.

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Other officers interviewed described Barnett as angry and hot headed, the document says.

The prisoner denied Barnetts version of events and said he didnt know why the officer had smacked him, the affidavit says. The interaction was not captured on police body camera.

Barnett was charged last February. He pleaded not guilty to allegations in both misdemeanor cases.
It was a fourth night of protest in Metro Atlanta after the video of the arrest of Tyre Nichols death at the hands of Memphis police was released.

Mondays protest was held at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark next to the Eastside Beltline Trail. Nichols, a skateboarder himself, was beaten with a baton, punched and kicked during a traffic stop with Memphis police.

He died three days later.

You want to be active. He was active skateboarding, so it should be nothing for us to be active either celebrating his life or protesting the police brutality, skateboarder Dimitri Crippen told Channel 2s Candace McCowan.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The calls for reform are coming from many directions, but how to make a change is dependent on who you ask. Protesters want to stop the construction of public safety training facilities such as the proposed Atlanta police training facility, where there have been protests.

At Destiny World Church in Austell, Pastor Wilbur Purvis III hopes the change can start in his sanctuary.

We must raise the status of black men, and I believe it begins with us and that is what happened at that moment, Purvis said. Video from his Sunday service of men from all races linking arms, a moment he believes was needed.

RELATED STORIES:

Five of the officers who were fired, arrested and charged for Nichols death were Black, which Purvis noted.

What was sad about Memphis it was brothers with badges. We are accustomed to having problems with badges, but now we have brothers with badges beating on people who look like themselves, thats problematic, Purvis said.

A sixth officer, who is White, and a seventh officer, who has not been identified, have also been relieved of duty.

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Two Memphis Fire Department EMTs and a driver were fired after an internal investigation determined they had violated multiple department policies and protocols.

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A Pueblo city councilor wants to introduce an ordinance that would seek to curb shoplifting by mandating jail time for people who steal more than $300 worth of retail items.

The ordinance, which is expected to be introduced by council president Heather Graham, would require a person convicted of that crime to spend no more than three days in Pueblo County jail, she told the Chieftain.

There is no timeline yet on when the ordinance might be introduced, but the citys legal department is working on it, Haley Sue Robinson, director of public affairs for the city, confirmed.

Graham, the owner of both Grahams Grill restaurant locations and Rubys at 100 Broadway Ave., said some Pueblo business owners are frustrated with crime they say is hurting their businesses.

I think to have immediate consequences for doing what were not supposed to do is another way to deter criminals who rob places and (commit) property damage, Graham said. I mean, small-business owners are ready to pack up and leave Pueblo because theyre so frustrated about the crime and constant trouble theyre facing.

An offender would be charged with no more than a misdemeanor if convicted through the ordinance, Graham said.

She said the ordinance would mimic one that Aurora City Council passed last year, which was met with criticism from some Aurora city councilors who felt mandating jail time wouldnt deter people from committing additional crimes, according to a report from the Denver Gazette.

Aurora council member Danielle Jurinsky, a conservative small-business owner who was elected to council in 2021, introduced the ordinance.

Another Aurora council member, Juan Marcano, voted against it and said at a September meeting where councilors discussed the ordinance that jail is not a deterrent (to crime). He also said he believes diversion and prevention programs would be more effective and cost friendly, according to the Sentinel.

The Sentinel also reported that council member Alison Coombs, who joined Marcano in voting against the proposal, said mandating jail time through the ordinance could cause people to lose their job for not showing up to work.

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Graham said she suspects the proposal could be hard to pass in Pueblo because some councilors will likely vote against it, but she believes its time to tell people that its not OK to do these types of things.

She said she doesnt think the ordinance would produce repeat offenders. Rather, people thinking about committing such a crime wouldnt do it in the first place, knowing they would face a consequence stricter than a fine, she said.

If the ordinance were to pass, Graham said she suspects the county jail might face overcrowding as offenders found guilty of the crime are sentenced, but once the word gets out about the ordinance, people will know not to steal and wont be put in jail.

I dont think its the intention of (people between) 18 and 30 years old to have a life of crime, Graham said. I think they do it because they know they can get away with it. Maybe spending a few nights in jail is what they need to get back on track.

Graham said she spoke with a district judge who expressed a desire to have the ability to sentence accordingly, if the ordinance passed. For example, if an offender is dealing with a mental health issue, a judge could pursue an alternative approach rather than impose the three-day jail stay.

Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller said at a press conference earlier this week the police department made significant progress to address shoplifting in 2022 and that the departments Directed Enforcement and Community Engagement (DICE) team has helped deter shoplifting and other low-level crimes.

Graham, who acknowledged Pueblo PDs efforts despite facing staffing limitations, said she thinks Pueblo needs to do more to deter shoplifting.

(Shoplifting) isnt just in Pueblo, its everywhere, but in Pueblo at least we can maybe control it a little better and come up with some tools and rules to enforce and take back the community from criminals, Graham said.

According to the city of Pueblos municipal code, theft from a merchant is a Class 2 municipal offense, which is punishable through a fine of no more than $1,000.

Graham said she expects city council will discuss the ordinance during executive session and that it could be introduced at some point in February.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo City Council member wants jail time for shoplifters
Vladimir Putin talks with David Cameron at the London 2012 Olympic Games - BBC/Darren Staples

"Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile it would only take a minute. Not the words of a Bond villain but of Vladimir Putin, on the telephone to Boris Johnson, on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine. It was one of many insider moments revealed in Putin vs the West (BBC Two), billed as the story of how Putin wrongfooted the West in the decade leading up to the war.



Award-winning film-maker Norma Percy specialises in heavyweight political documentaries featuring the people who were in the room when the big decisions were made, from world leaders to special advisers. Unsurprisingly, Volodymyr Zelensky appeared but Putin did not. On the British side of things, David Cameron, Theresa May and Johnson all appeared. The series serves as a reminder that Johnson can be a serious politician when not mugging for the cameras or deploying his schoolboy Latin, although he was the only talking head here to address the camera with, at one point, his hand stuffed into his trouser pocket.



News reports of the events covered here  a G20 summit, bilateral meetings, telephone conversations  gave us only brief, official lines. The documentary provided behind-the-scenes colour from those present, and it was fascinating. We got a real sense of the personalities involved. A British foreign policy adviser read out his note of what Putin had told Cameron in Downing Street: I know youre a great country with a great history. You all think Im not democratic like you. I wont argue with you  Im an ex-KGB man, Im wicked and scary with claws and teeth, and youre all so well-bred and so well-educated. But you remember Abu Ghraib, David? Did you see those pictures? It was medieval, what happened there.

It was a speech that provided more insight into Putins view of the West than any amount of commentary from political correspondents on the nightly news bulletins.



What makes Percys documentaries so compelling is the mix of small details and large truths. The latter: the reluctance of some nations to back sanctions against Russia. Johnson spoke of the magnetic pull of Putin and Russian influence, even within the EU. The former: Putin gazing admiringly at a portrait of Margaret Thatcher and murmuring: Ah, truly she was an Iron Lady. And a French diplomat describing the sensation of staring into the totally empty eyes of a Putin portrait: Suddenly you say, If I was in a cellar tied to a chair in front of him, I would really be terrified of this guy.
Photo: The Canadian Press CORRECTS NAME TO SOQUOIA -Soquoia Green, a cousin of Tyre Nichols, lights candles with family and friends during a vigil for him late Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, at Regency Community Skate Park in Natomas, where Tyree used to skateboard when he lived in Sacramento, Calif. Nichols, who moved to Tennessee in 2020, was fatally beaten by Memphis police earlier this month. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after he was beaten by Memphis police officers just minutes from his home, the White House said Tuesday.

Harris was invited to attend the funeral services Wednesday by Nichols mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, according to Harris's press secretary, Kirsten Allen. Harris spoke by phone with the Wells family on Tuesday, expressing her condolences and offering her support. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Nichols family last week.

Harris will be joined by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the president for public engagement, and Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, Allen said.

Five Black officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols Jan. 7 beating and subsequent death. Video of the beating, which was released publicly last week, shows that many more people failed to help Nichols, who was also Black, beyond the five officers charged in his death.

Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with Nichols death, officials said Monday. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, and another officer whose name wasnt released, have been suspended, police said.

Nichols' family, the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Ben Crump plan to gather Tuesday evening at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis  where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated  to speak about the latest developments in the case.

Six of the officers involved were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in high-crime areas. Other Memphis residents who say they also were brutalized by officers in the unit will also speak at Mason Temple, according to a statement from Crump.

Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis said after the video's release that the unit has been disbanded.

Its a step in the right direction, but due to the severity of the situation its not enough, Damion Carrick, 44, said as he participated in a protest Monday evening at Shelby Farms Park. You got a man dragged out of his car, beaten senseless, to a pulp and nobody doing nothing about it. Its heartbreaking.

Nichols death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted violent and sometimes deadly encounters.

Memphis Police Department officers used a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during the nighttime arrest. Video shows Nichols running away from officers toward his house after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. The video footage released Friday shows the 29-year-old father calling for his mother and struggling with his injuries as he sits helpless on the pavement.

The five officers chatted and milled about for several minutes as Nichols remained on the ground, but other authorities were on the scene. Two Shelby County sheriffs deputies also have been suspended without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Nichols' older brother, Jamal Dupree, told CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday that he feels guilty because he wasn't there to protect his younger sibling.

Im 99% sure that my brother has never gotten into a fight before. And the one time he got into an altercation with other humans, we wasnt there to protect him. My brother was trying to cooperate with them, Dupree, who lives in California, said of the Memphis officers.

Dupree said he hasn't watched the police video.

"I already knew how they treated him because Ive seen it all over the world, Dupree said. Police brutality is nothing new. I already knew they treated my brother like an animal. They treated him like he was nothing. I dont have to watch the video to know that.

He said he has seen reports about his brother and thinks other people are learning about who he was as a person.

I think people really know my brother did not deserve this," he told CNN. "He was not that type of person. Yeah, he was just a good guy around the board. ... We want justice.

Nichols' sister, Keyana Dixon, was among more than 100 friends, family and supporters who gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday night at a skate park in Sacramento, where Nichols grew up, The Sacramento Bee reported.

This was his favorite place to skate, she said at the vigil. I just want to thank all of you for your continued support for our family, and making sure his name is never forgotten.

A childhood friend, Ryan Wilson, said he met Nichols at a skate park when he was 12 and they became fast friends, sharing their dreams for the future. Nichols had some struggles while young, but he focused on making others happy, Wilson said.

I just feel like all he wanted to do was find his place in this world, and he just wanted to be happy," Wilson said.

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells have accepted an invitation to attend President Joe Bidens State of the Union address next week at the Capitol. They will attend with Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Vincent Evans, a spokesperson for the caucus.

Nichols' funeral is set for Wednesday at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. Sharpton will give the eulogy and Crump will speak immediately after the funeral. Those expected to be in attendance include Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

The deaths of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Floyd in Minneapolis, at the hands of police sparked protests across the nation about racial injustice.
House Democrats are asking for the visitor logs of those who met with former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence after they left office, matching a GOP request as both sides race to do oversight of mishandled classified records.

The letter from Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee comes after Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) requested visitor logs for President Bidens Delaware home following revelations that classified documents from his tenure as vice president were found in the house and garage.

In a tit for tat, ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said the panel should also look at the residences of Trump and Pence. While Pence had several classified documents, authorities spent months looking to recover more than 10,000 records from Trump, including an ultimate cache of more than 300 classified records found at Mar-a-Lago.

Just last week, news reports revealed that attorneys for former Vice President Pence discovered approximately a dozen documents with classified markings at his home in Carmel, Indiana, Raskin wrote in the letter to the U.S. Secret Service.

Given that the U.S. Secret Service provided protection for Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence during the time they stored classified materials at their respective residences, the Committee is seeking information from your agency regarding who had access to former President Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club and former Vice President Pences personal residence since leaving office, he added.

Oversight on documents issues has ramped up in recent weeks, as both parties seek to review the discovery of classified documents in private spaces used by Trump and Biden.

Thus far, the Justice Department has largely refused to provide much information to lawmakers on the pending investigations.

That has frustrated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including those on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which sent a bipartisan letter asking for information.

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This is very straightforward. We are the committee charged with making sure that our intelligence agencies are doing a good job, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chairman of the panel, said during an interview with Fox News.

Part of their job is to protect classified information from espionage and from putting our country in danger. We know that there are letters and documents and material  the media seems to know more about it than Congress does  that are out there, that were not stored properly, in [Bidens] garage or whatever. We want to know what those materials are, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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For a spring 2022 trip that Visram calls a Covid comeback celebration, he sent a group of 15 on a spectacular tour of South Africa and Botswana. Over 13 days, the group visited the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Victoria Falls, and a stop in South Africa, staying at private conservancies in Khwai and the Gomoti Plains, and at Ngoma Safari Lodge, which works with the nearby communities. It took an extreme amount of effort to plan and operate a safari via South Africa to Botswana when the fear of covid was still present in large numbers, he says.

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The Netherlands is ready to consider Ukraine's request for the supply of F-16 fighter jets, but so far no such request has been received.

This was stated by Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in The Hague; European Pravda with reference to NOS.

"There is no supply now, and no requests either," Rutte said.

At the same time, he emphasised that there are no taboos on supporting Ukraine to win the war with Russia.

"But it would really be a very big next step if it came to that," Rutte said about the fighter jet supply.

Macron did not rule out the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that "in general, nothing is prohibited."

Background: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that the transfer of F-16 multi-purpose fighters or other aircraft to Ukraine is possible only in close coordination with other NATO allies, as was the case with Leopard tanks.

At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claims that the question of a possible provision of fighter jets to Ukraine does not even arise at the moment.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  Multiple jihadi attacks across Burkina Faso over several days have resulted in the death of at least 32 people, including soldiers and civilians, government authorities said Monday.

Burkina Faso's State Information Agency posted on its Facebook page that a dozen soldiers and a civilian were killed Monday in Falagountou in Burkina Faso's Sahel region during clashes between the military and jihadis. Another 20 people were killed in two attacks over the weekend in the country's east-central and western regions.

Four people were executed Saturday afternoon when gunmen intercepted their van between Tenkodogo and Ouargaye villages. On Sunday, a passenger mini-bus coming from the western city of Banfora was intercepted by armed men, said Col. Jean Charles dit Yenapono Some, governor of the Cascades region in a statement. Eight women and one man were freed, the rest of the people were abducted and their lifeless bodies were found with bullet holes the following day, he said.

Jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State Group has ravaged the West African country for years killing thousands and displacing nearly 2 million people. Nearly 5,000 civilians have been killed since 2015, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

The violence has sowed frustration and distrust among the population and led to two coups last year. The new junta leader, Ibrahim Traore, seized power in September promising to stem the violence but attacks are increasing.

Traore has mobilized tens of thousands of civilian fighters to combat the jihadis alongside the army. But analysts says the civilian fighters are accused of targeting other civilians perceived to be working with the jihadis, which is fueling retaliatory attacks.

The types of mass-atrocities that are occurring were expected, as the conflict was expected to escalate in the coming months due to the increased mobilization of the population through the (volunteer) program and the increasing trend of extrajudicial killings by defence and security forces observed in recent months, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at ACLED.

With the increase in state violence and state-sanctioned violence, it is not surprising that militant violence is escalating and further fueling cycles of attacks and retaliation, he said.
NEW YORK (AP)  Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in a years-old probe into payments made to keep the porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president, according to multiple news reports.

The news outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that witnesses started testifying before the grand jury on Monday, signaling an escalation in what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has alluded to as the next chapter in his offices Trump investigation.

A spokesperson for Braggs office declined comment. In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Bragg as the Radical Left Manhattan D.A. and said the new grand jury was a continuation of the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time.

Grand juries have been convened before in New York to explore the possibility of criminal charges against Trump, but to date none have issued an indictment.

The Manhattan grand jury would be the latest legal threat to Trump as he ramps up his presidential campaign.

A special grand jury in Atlanta has investigated whether Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Last month, the House Jan. 6 committee voted to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Trumps role in sparking the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The FBI is also investigating Trumps storage of classified documents.

The hush-money investigation in New York involves payments of $130,000 to Daniels and $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to buy their silence in the run-up to Trumps 2016 election victory. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, made the payment to Daniels through his own company and said he then was reimbursed by Trump. McDougals payment was made through the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which then squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch-and-kill to help Trump become president.

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The New York Times reported that the National Enquirer's former publisher, David Pecker, was spotted entering the building where the grand jury was meeting on Monday.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges that he violated campaign finance law by arranging the payouts. He served about a year in prison before being released to home confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal prosecutors said Trump was aware of the payouts, but they declined to charge him with any crime.

Cohen previously told The Associated Press he recently met with Manhattan prosecutors for 2 hours.

The Trump Organization was convicted last month of tax fraud and fined $1.6 million as punishment for an unrelated scheme in which top executives dodged personal income taxes on lavish job perks.

Now with the trial having ended, we are now moving on to the next chapter, Bragg told The Associated Press in an interview after the tax fraud trial.

The Trump Organization in a statement suggested that Bragg, a Democrat, was trying to undermine Trumps fledgling 2024 presidential campaign. Reviving the investigation years after federal prosecutors had decided not to bring a case is simply reprehensible and vindictive," the company said.

Braggs predecessor as district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., also examined the hush money payments before shifting the probes focus to the Trump Organizations tax and business practices.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Jan. 30 said Russia made a mistake invading Ukraine but refused to condemn the full-scale invasion during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"I think Russia made the classic mistake of invading another country's territory, so Russia is wrong," Lula said, Reuters reported.

"But I still think that when one won't, two won't fight. You have to want peace," he said, adding that he did not think either side was interested in finding a peaceful end to the war.






PROVIDENCE  A little more than two years after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a group of Democratic lawmakers in Rhode Island is seeking to bar convicted insurrectionists from holding office.

The bill made its appearance on Friday, the day Bernard Joseph Sirr, a 47-year-old North Kingstown man who participated in the breach of the U.S. Capitol, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of interfering with police officers during a civil disorder, according to federal prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for May 12.

Sirr was one of three Rhode Islanders charged in connection with the siege, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump forced their way into the Capitol, breaking windows and assaulting members of the Capitol Police in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election as president.

Democratic lawmakers in at least three other states have introduced similar bills, aimed at sending the message that "those who engage in an attempted overthrow of the government shouldnt be allowed to run it," according to an Associated Press story on similar efforts in Connecticut, New York and Virginia.

What would the Rhode Island bill do?

The legislation in the states comes after the House Jan. 6 committees final report, which found Donald Trump criminally engaged in a conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election he lost.

The bills vary in scope.

For example, the bill introduced in Virginia earlier this month would prohibit anyone convicted of a felony related to an attempted insurrection or riot from serving in a position of public trust  including those involving policymaking, law enforcement, safety, education or health care.

The Rhode Island bill, introduced by Representatives Camille Vella-Wilkinson, Carol McEntee, David Morales, Jose Batista and Enrique Sanchez, is not that specific.

But it would permanently ban "any person convicted of sedition, insurrection, rebellion, or a [related] felony ... [from] being a candidate for or holding public office in the state" and also "from being employed by the state or any political subdivision thereof."

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How would the bill run afoul of RI's Constitution?

It is not yet clear, however, if the disqualifications sought by the legislators would require an amendment to the state Constitution.

Asked for his thoughts on the bill, Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, told The Journal: "Whatever one's sentiments about the bill's intentions, it is in clear conflict with our state Constitution, which explicitly bars only incarcerated felons from voting.

"The R.I. Constitution further specifies that people disqualified from running for office because of criminal convictions are eligible to run once three years have elapsed after completion of their sentence. A statute cannot override these clear constitutional commands and limits."

If passed, the legislation would, in effect, put a version of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution  barring insurrectionists from holding office  into state law.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress... or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same."

A Republican Rhode Island lawmaker, Justin Price, acknowledged that he "marched to the Capitol with 1 million peaceful patriots" on Jan. 6, but denied taking part in the violence.

Price was not charged, and he ignored calls for his resignation. But he was defeated in his 2022 bid for reelection to his House District 39 seat, representing Exeter, Hopkinton and Richmond.

On Monday, Republican Rep. Michael Chippendale, the House minority leader, said the law should come down hard on violent rioters, but he worries that the vague language in the bill about a felony committed "in relation to" sedition, insurrection, rebellion could snag a protester exercising his or her 1st Amendment rights.

"There's a very strong political motivation behind this bill. I get it," he said. "Let's make sure if we are going to pass this that we are not disenfranchising folks."

Nearly 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes in the Capitol riot, with about half of them pleading guilty to riot-related charges and more than three dozen convicted at trial, according to the Associated Press.

"The charges range from misdemeanors for those accused of entering the Capitol illegally but not participating in violence to felony seditious conspiracy for far-right extremist group members accused of plotting to stop the transfer of presidential power," according to the AP report.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI bill would block convicted insurrectionists from RI offices or jobs
BANGKOK (AP)  Myanmar's military is increasingly turning to airstrikes with deadly results to try to crush stiff armed resistance two years after it seized power and plunged the country into a prolonged civil war, a human rights monitoring group said in a report Tuesday.

The military is heavily reliant on fighter jets and helicopter gunships supplied by its allies Russia and China, according to the organization Myanmar Witness and other experts. The group's compilation of 135 airwar incidents from July to mid-December shows the number of airstrikes has been on an upward trend since September.

As the Myanmar military struggles to exert control over areas of resistance, airstrikes have become a key part of their offensive, the report says. The military "is putting the population of Myanmar in a precarious position, destroying homes, schools and places of worship  sites which should be safe for civilians.

According to a January statement by the National Unity Government, an underground group that calls itself the countrys legitimate government and serves as an umbrella organization for opponents of military rule, 460 civilians, mostly children, have lost their lives in airstrikes.

Myanmars army has defended its actions, saying they are being used against what it calls terrorist activities and legitimate military targets.

The army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, and immediately was met with widespread public protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force. The futility of nonviolent protest drove opponents to armed resistance, which some U.N. experts and others have characterized as civil war.

According to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group that tracks killings and arrests, 2,940 civilians have been killed by the authorities since the army takeover. The actual death toll is likely to be much higher since the group cannot easily verify casualties in remote areas and combat zones.

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The army has long contended with ethnic minority rebel groups in frontier areas that are fighting for greater autonomy but now finds its forces stretched thin as it also battles pre-democracy guerrillas in Myanmars heartland.

In many cases, ethnic rebels have teamed up with pro-democracy guerrillas in the loosely organized armed wing of the National Unity Government. They have effectively denied the military government control of large swaths of the country, undermining its claims to legitimacy. But they lack the resources to deliver a knockout punch on the battlefield.

Although the military is demoralized and has been losing control over many parts of the country, its increasing use of air power is a major challenge for the resistance, Christina Fink, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University, said at a Jan. 19 online seminar organized by the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, D.C.

The military has an air force capability it didnt have 20 years ago, she said.

They have been able to purchase planes from both Russia and China. Theyve been able to get the training in Russia, for instance, and are now using those to great effect, Fink said.

Members of the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief organization that offers hands-on medical assistance to ethnic minority villagers in Myanmars border regions, were among the rare outside witnesses who were able to see the effects of an airstrike when a Myanmar jet fighter dropped two bombs on the village of Lay Wah in northern Karen state on Jan. 12. They observed the bombing run from a distance and rushed to the village to offer assistance.

The bombs destroyed two churches and the school as well as other structures, the Rangers said in an account circulated to their supporters.

The victims included a 3-year-old and her mother, a Catholic deacon, another pastor, and a villager who was helping at the church "and was disintegrated by the blast and only the stumps of his legs could be found.

David Eubank, a former member of U.S. Army Special Forces and founder of the Free Burma Rangers, told The Associated Press in a text message last week that since the 2021 takeover, Myanmar's military has come with a speed and a force we have never seen in our 30 years of humanitarian relief work here.

We witnessed the first airstrikes right after the coup detat in Karen state in villages around us, killing and maiming civilians, many of the women and children we treated in our clinic," said Eubank. Then last year, he saw almost daily airstrikes by Yak-130 and MiG-29 as well as K-8 jet fighters that bombed, strafed and rocketed villages and clinics.

"I saw firsthand 10 people who were killed in different bombing events and came up on other areas where many more were killed before we arrived. We also saw Hind attack helicopters in February. Almost every day shooting rockets, and machine gun into villages, he said.

The opponents of military rule have virtually no access to sophisticated weapons to combat air attacks. Their supporters are urging an embargo on the sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar to stop the air attacks.

The European Union has imposed an arms embargo on Myanmar as well as a ban on equipment that can be used for internal repression or for monitoring communications. The United States bars any commercial transactions with Myanmar's military and its major cronies and agents.

These airstrikes have devastated families, terrorized civilians, killed and maimed victims. But if the planes cant fuel up, they cant fly out and wreak havoc," Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in November. Today we are calling on suppliers, shipping agents, vessel owners and maritime insurers to withdraw from a supply chain that is benefiting the Myanmar Air Force.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell talks to reporters Friday at the Republican National Committee winter meeting in Dana Point, California.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell talks to reporters Friday at the Republican National Committee winter meeting in Dana Point, California.

WASHINGTON  The Republican National Committee is welcoming ubiquitous pillow monger Mike Lindell into the fold after his failed run for the chairmanship, despite his continuing baseless claims that foreign powers stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump by hacking into voting machines and his post-coup-attempt visit to the White House with papers advocating martial law.

Lindell won votes from only four of the RNCs 168 members in Fridays election at its winter meeting, but he was nevertheless praised by Ronna McDaniel, who won her fourth two-year term, and her allies.

Wheres Mike? McDaniel said, after winning 111 votes, more than twice the total of California RNC member Harmeet Dhillon and Lindell combined, as she brought both onstage and thanked them equally. Thank you for the race you ran, for the leaders you are in our party. We are so grateful for you.

That embrace of an election liar worse than Trump himself brought bewilderment from former major Republican players.

I sometimes refer to the obviously unhinged as being crazier than a sprayed roach. Mike Lindell is such a lunatic that he makes sprayed roaches look like Zen masters, said Mac Stipanovich, a longtime GOP consultant in Florida who left the party after its takeover by Trump. Any embrace of Lindell by anyone is a sure sign of advanced, irremediable moral decay.

Jennifer Horn, a former RNC member when she ran New Hampshires state party, said cozying up to the likes of Lindell is not helpful. Further proof that the GOP is consciously choosing to build their future on dangerous, extreme, anti-democracy election deniers.

Lindell did not respond to HuffPost queries for this article.

In his sales pitch to committee members as well as in media interviews, Lindell has frequently claimed that he had been a major donor to the RNC but stopped after learning of the partys wasteful spending, which he described as a money-laundering operation.

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With the RNC, the money, I used to be a big donor, and you donate money, and when I find out that almost half of it was going to fundraising . Thats just too much overhead, thats crazy, Lindell said last week at a debate sponsored by pro-Trump radio host John Fredericks, whose program Lindell sponsors.

In fact, Lindell has never donated directly to the RNC, and he never donated to a federal candidate or committee at all prior to Trumps nomination in the 2016 presidential election, according to a HuffPost review of Federal Election Commission records.

Lindell did contribute $195,000 to Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee, that distributed a total of $110,700 to the RNC between August 2016 and January 2018.

And though that is a significant sum, it pales in contrast to the partys truly large donors. According to HuffPosts analysis, Lindells total to the RNC makes him its 865th biggest donor from August 2016 through November 2022, with 19 donors contributing $1 million or more.

Even among donors to Trump Victory, Lindells total places him in just 475th place, with nine donors giving more than $1 million.

In all, Lindell over the past six years has donated a total of $529,782 to federal candidates and committees  including $100,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC  a number dwarfed by the $40 million he claims to have spent on proving his election conspiracy theories.

I assumed he was a donor to some degree, said one RNC member who spoke on condition of anonymity and who defended McDaniels praise for Lindell. She would like to get him in the tent in a way that he would actually be helpful.

The praise for Lindell by McDaniel and others is based on his endless promotion of his MyPillow sleep products on right-wing media. Lindell once earned his living counting cards at casinos and then overcame a crack cocaine addiction before starting his pillow business, he told HuffPost in a previous interview.

Today he meticulously tracks the effectiveness of his various advertising by using unique promo codes for each piece of programming, be it a cable show or a podcast.

His prominence in Republican politics began when he enthusiastically endorsed Trump in 2016 and started donating to Trump Victory. By the 2018 midterm elections, he was appearing onstage with Trump. When the COVID-19 pandemic came, Lindell appeared at the White House with vaccine and testing executives to announce that his factory would turn out face masks.

Later that year, after Trump lost the presidency to Democrat Joe Biden, Lindell became among the most influential spreaders of ever-more-preposterous conspiracy theories. He was eventually sued for defamation by voting machine maker Dominion, which is seeking $1.3 billion in damages. And even after Trumps attempt to coerce his own vice president into falsely and illegally giving him a second term failed on Jan. 6, 2021, Lindell was photographed at the White House bearing papers with the words martial law if necessary visible on them.

Lindell claims not to know anything about the document he was carrying, but he has not stopped his lies about a stolen election. At Fredericks debate  at which he was the only candidate in attendance; neither Dhillon nor McDaniel showed up  he claimed that almost 2 million votes had been stolen from Trump in 2020 in California alone.

Hes a nut job, said Oscar Brock, an RNC member from Tennessee and one of the committees few outspoken critics of Trump. He spent $40 million trying to convince people that Italians affected the outcome of the election. There are no Italian space lasers affecting vote totals on the machines.

Even the RNC member who defends McDaniels attempt to co-opt Lindell concedes that doing so risks hurting the party with mainstream voters.

It gives credibility to some of the crazy things he says, the member said. Anybody who thinks that the 2020 election wasnt won by Biden just isnt dealing with facts. He needs to get some people around him who would actually educate him. And then the question is: Would he listen to them? I dont know.

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Dan Buchman walks through the newly expanded Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 31, 2023. The new expansion includes 350,000 square feet of vaulted ceilings, natural light, and floor-to-ceiling high-performance glass offering an expansive view of the airfield. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

OHare International Airports Terminal 5 now has more space to accommodate planes and passengers after 10 new gates opened for airlines use.

The new gates entering service mark the completion of a key piece of the revamp of the former international terminal, which has been under construction about four years. Additional work remains underway at the terminal and other major work is planned as part of a broader overhaul of the airport, including eventually tearing down Terminal 2 and replacing it with a new Global Terminal and two satellite concourses.

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The $1.3 billion renovation of Terminal 5, designed by firms HOK and Muller & Muller Ltd., was set to expand the terminal by 350,000 square feet, add passenger amenities and security checkpoint lanes, reconfigure customs facilities and replace an aging baggage handling system.

The terminal now serves both domestic and international flights. And, in October, Delta Air Lines moved into 10 renovated gates and opened a new lounge in Terminal 5, vacating its former space in Terminal 2.

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People eat, drink and work inside Delta Air Lines new 22,000-square-foot Delta Sky Club in Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 31, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

By providing jobs and contracting opportunities, as well as acting as a catalyst for roadway and other infrastructure improvements, our airports have become essential to the economic health of our region, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a Tuesday event celebrating the opening of the terminal extension. And further, our airports continue to serve as gateways to Chicago for domestic and international travelers.

The new gates are expected to handle about 120 arrivals or departures a day and up to 18,000 additional daily passengers, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. That will bring the total number of flights at Terminal 5 to about 440 arrivals and departures each day.

Nine of the 10 new gates use a flexible system that can accommodate both large wide-body planes and smaller narrow-body aircraft, meaning the space needed to park two large planes can also be repurposed to fit three narrow-body planes, the city said.

The new gates opened in phases between June 2022 and January. They are not assigned to an individual airline, and could be used by any carrier that operates out of the terminal.

Terminal 5 opened to serve international flights in 1993 at a cost of $618 million, Department of Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said during the Tuesday event. It replaced an interim international terminal created in the mid-1980s, known as Terminal 4.

A Southwest Airlines jet taxis outside of the newly expanded Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport on Jan. 31, 2023. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

It was initially designed to accommodate 61 million passengers flying to 30 international destinations, Rhee said. By 2019, the terminal was handling 83 million passengers traveling to 73 locations, she said.

The pandemic hit air travel hard in 2020, but it also allowed construction on Terminal 5 to progress quickly as airlines demand to use gates dropped, Rhee said.

Some work remains at the terminal. New concessions are expected to open in phases throughout 2023, and a six-story parking garage is to be finished in 2024.

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The new baggage handling system is expected to be finished later this year, as are more upgrades to the customs and immigration area.

About $3.5 million worth of art from Chicago artists, commissioned by the citys Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, will be installed near baggage claim, the customs and immigrations arrival area, and the concourse level.

Other work will take place along the roads and curbside areas outside the terminal.

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com
Tyre Nichols and Rodney King (AP)

US police officers deadly use of force against Black people is pervasive and lessons have not been learned over the decades, the lawyer for Rodney King has warned.

The comments come in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols, 29, who was savagely beaten by five Black Memphis Police officers on January 7. He died three days later in hospital.

On Friday, authorities released four different pieces of video showing the father-of-one being punched, kicked in the head, struck with a baton and pepper-sprayed, after a traffic stop.

The footage has been compared to the beating given to Rodney King in 1991, which was also captured on video; though Mr Nichols did not survive as Mr King did.

Milton Grimes, who was the attorney for the late Rodney King, said: The beating of Rodney King should have been a wake-up call to address the military style, racist police culture of violence in the US, but sadly nothing has changed.

The US is not a war zone but the violence impacted on African Americans speaks of a culture of impunity, and oppressive use of force.

The aggressive nature of policing in the US is a national disgrace falling well below international standards.

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was pulled over while driving and died three days later, is detained by Memphis Police Department officers on January 7, 2023. (AP)

A Memphis Police Chief said the video showing officers beating Mr Nichols is perhaps worse than the notorious footage showing Mr Kings attack.

Mr King was beaten by a group of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in 1991 in an attack that was captured by a bystander on video. He was aged 26 years old at the time.

The four officers were later cleared by a predominantly white jury which sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Mr King survived the beating and later became an advocate for peace, famously saying during the riots can we all get along. He died in 2012 aged 47.

Members of the United Nations-backed International Commission of Inquiry on the Systemic Racist Police Violence Against People of African Descent in the United States, have condemned unlawful violence on Black people who are often treated as second class citizens.

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The group, comprised of members and groups across the UK, US and Caribbean, has further called on US president Joe Biden to create an Independent National Federal Law Enforcement Oversight Commission, with the power to monitor and regulate the performance of all US police departments, implementing a zero-tolerance policy for instances of police brutality and use of excessive and deadly force.

Commission members include Judge Peter Herbert (UK), Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (UK), Former mayoral advisor Lee Jasper, Operation Black Vote, Society of Black Lawyers, the Pan African Lawyers Union, Sir Hilary Beckles (Barbados), Reverend Al Sharpton (US), Bert Samuels MP (Jamaica) and more.

Nichols parents  RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells  have accepted an invitation from the Congressional Black Caucus to attend Mr Bidens State of the Union address next week.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, said that the air defence system had been activated over the region.

Source: Telegram channel Real Gladkov ( )

Quote: "Our air defence system was activated over Belgorod district and Shebekinsky district. 2 shells were shot down.

The consequences are clarified by operational services. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or damage. If there are any, I will inform you additionally."

Reference: Belgorod Oblast borders Ukraine's Kharkiv and Sumy Oblasts.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russian troops shelled a residential area in the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on Jan. 31, killing two, including a 12-year-old boy, and injuring at least five more people, Prosecutor Generals Office reported. The exact number of victims is being clarified.

The artillery attack damaged shops, pharmacies, and other buildings, according to the Prosecutor Generals Office.

Earlier on the day, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said that Russian forces had injured three civilians in Kostiantynivka, Kurakhove, and Bakhmut.

Russia has attacked Bakhmut continuously for over five months in its effort to occupy the entirety of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine.

Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russia to disrupt Ukraines supply lines in the area and open up a main road leading to the two key Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.






Oil tanker, illustrative photo

According to preliminary estimates by experts, sea exports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea in January 2023 will increase significantly.

Read also: Sanctions decimate Russian oil price

Russia has already lost its key European market for crude and is about to do the same for refined products  an EU import ban is due to come into force on Feb. 5, U.S. news agency Bloomberg wrote on Jan. 30.

According to analysts, the growth will be from 15% to 35%, and the volume of exports will be from 3.4 to 4.2 million tons instead of 2.9 million tons in December 2022  depending on how many tankers with Russian crude oil pass through the Bosporus Strait in the last days of the month.

This is more than the growth of Russian crude oil exports from the Black Sea ports, which took place in December 2022  the first month of the introduction of the EU embargo and the price cap on oil, which amounted to 14.4%.

Read also: Russian oil shipping costs surge ahead of embargo  Bloomberg

This increase was fueled by exports to India.

While Russian oil companies have successfully diverted crude shunned by traditional European customers to willing new buyers, predominantly in India, it is unclear yet whether they will find it so easy to redirect refined products to markets that are well supplied from their own refineries, Bloomberg wrote.

On relatively small volumes of crude oil exports from the Black Sea, Russia managed in December 2022 to replace 2/3 of the Greek tankers that previously transported Russian oil to countries other than the EU with ships from non-European countries.

It is noted that in December 2022, 24.7% of this oil was subject to the price cap, respectively, 75.3% of oil did not fall within the scope of the restriction, as it was transported by tankers that did not belong to carriers from the European Union.

In December 2022, the decrease in the export of "marine" crude oil of the Russian Federation from the Black Sea to the countries of the European Union almost did not occur despite the beginning of the embargo, BlackSeaNews noted.

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Read also: Russia forming 'shadow fleet' to circumvent oil sanctions  FT

Since the introduction of the price embargo on Russian oil, 10 tankers with Russian crude oil have left the Black Sea for countries other than the EU.

For relatively small volumes of crude oil exports from the Black Sea, the Russian Federation was able to replace 2/3 of Greek tankers with vessels from other countries in December 2022. Among these tankers were recorded vessels that can be accurately classified as gray fleet.

In October of last year, Bloomberg wrote that a vast shadow fleet of tankers with unknown owners is being amassed to service Moscows interests. Intense US-led diplomatic wrangling to soften aggressive European Union sanctions has been going on for months but time is ticking.

Already in January, the agency wrote that transshipment of Russian Urals oil into the sea reached record values after the introduction of a maximum price for it.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Jan. 30The lawyer representing Garry Ramsey, who is charged with murder in the stabbing death of Robert Arthur Callahan Jr. outside Callahan's door in a Manchester elderly housing complex, made clear Monday that self-defense will be at least one of Ramsey's claims during his trial.

MURDER TRIAL

DEFENDANT: Garry Ramsey, 58, of Hartford

VICTIM: Robert Arthur Callahan Jr., who lived in an apartment at 21 Carver Lane in a Manchester elderly housing complex and died at age 68 on June 5, 2021

ISSUES: Self-defense, thoroughness of police investigation

The first witness at the Hartford Superior Court trial was now-retired Manchester police Officer Michael Brouillard, who was the first officer to arrive after the stabbing was reported shortly before noon on June 5, 2021.

Brouillard testified that he asked Callahan, 68, who did it, and Callahan responded, "Garry."

The jury saw those first moments of the investigation via video taken by Brouillard's body camera. Callahan, who was lying on the pavement in front of his apartment in a blood-soaked shirt, quickly stopped responding verbally, only moaning in response to the officer's persistent attempts to keep him talking.

Brouillard testified that there was a woman in Callahan's apartment at 21 Carver Lane, later identified as Tiffany Menendez, who "was hysterical."

Menendez didn't testify Monday, but police have said she gave them information indicating that Ramsey, now 58, of Hartford had committed the stabbing.

Brouillard testified that he went through Callahan's pockets looking for identification and found, along with his wallet, a set of brass knuckles.

Under cross examination by defense lawyer Michael L. Chambers Jr., Brouillard testified that he couldn't tell from the crime-scene evidence who "initiated any physical confrontation" or brought a knife into it.

But the former officer also said under redirect examination by prosecutor Samantha Magnani that no knife was found at the scene. Manchester police Detective Andrew Young, the lead investigator in the case, testified later Monday and said a search that encompassed the inside and outside of the apartment produced no knife.

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Young also described a number of other court-authorized searches, including a search of the car Ramsey was believed to have been driving, in which police took several swabbings for DNA evidence.

Young said the purpose of the swabbings was to find out whether the car contained Callahan's DNA. But, on cross examination by the defense lawyer, the detective acknowledged that, even if every swabbing taken from the car tested positive for Callahan's DNA, it wouldn't reveal who started using the knife.

Police obtained a warrant for Ramsey's arrest early in the investigation, and Ramsey turned himself in two days after the stabbing.

Young testified that he saw no injuries on Ramsey at the Manchester police station  and that Ramsey didn't complain of any injuries. But he acknowledged under cross examination by the defense lawyer that he didn't ask Ramsey whether he was injured.

Chambers said at Ramsey's arraignment in Manchester Superior Court on the day of the arrest that Ramsey had suffered injuries, and the defense lawyer wants to put a transcript of those remarks before the jury. But prosecutor John F. Fahey vigorously objected, saying the lawyer's remarks were hearsay and would improperly make him a witness in the trial.

Judge Kevin Doyle said he would wait until Tuesday morning to decide whether the jury could hear the transcribed remarks.

In addition to the self-defense, Chambers raised the possibility that police didn't fully pursue the possibility that someone other than Ramsey might have committed the stabbing. Brouillard testified on cross examination that Menendez had blood on her that she said was her own. The former officer acknowledged that he "didn't question it any further."

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1, Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.
(Bloomberg) -- US Senator Dianne Feinstein said shell announce this spring whether she will seek reelection to a seventh term even as fellow California Democrats announce plans to compete for the seat.

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Youll be hearing, soon, Feinstein told Bloomberg News on Monday night. In the spring sometime. Not in the winter. I dont announce in the winter.

Feinstein, 89, is the Senates longest-serving Democrat and its oldest member. Her health has been an issue on Capitol Hill and in her home state after the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that some colleagues were expressing concern about memory lapses and her ability to perform duties.

She has the seniority to serve this session of Congress as the Senates president pro tempore, a job that is third in line for the presidency. But she passed on it, and in January Senator Patty Murray of Washington rose into the prestigious post.

In 2020, she stepped aside as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after she was criticized by progressives over her handling of Amy Coney Barretts Supreme Court confirmation hearings just weeks before the presidential election.

Representatives Katie Porter and Adam Schiff have already announced plans to run for the Senate seat, while Representative Barbara Lee has informed the Congressional Black Caucus of her plans to run but hasnt announced publicly.

Representative Ro Khanna has also expressed an interest in the seat, but told Bloomberg News he wants to see whether Lee, a fellow progressive, runs.

The Democrats will be the candidates to watch, since the all-party primary system makes it possible for only members of the majority party to advance to the general election. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state by nearly two to one.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. air passengers would be offered refunds for delayed flights and transportation on rival carriers under sweeping consumer protections proposed on Tuesday after a series of disruptions including a holiday meltdown at Southwest Airlines.

U.S. lawmakers said the wide-ranging measures would require airlines to pay at least $1,350 to passengers denied boarding as a result of an oversold flight, prohibit airlines from further shrinking plane seat sizes pending regulatory changes, and give consumers new rights to sue airlines for unfair practices.

Passengers would receive refunds for any flights that arrived more than an hour late.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey joined with other senators in introducing the "Passengers Bill of Rights and the Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous Fees (FAIR) Act."

Southwest sent apologies to 2 million customers, CEO Bob Jordan said, after more than 16,000 flights were canceled in the week ending Dec. 29 when its crew scheduling software failed. The outage was a boost to consumer protection activists.

Blumenthal predicted airlines would mobilize an army of lobbyists to fight the proposals despite having received $54 billion in government assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They come into this moment with reduced power," he told reporters in a phone call, adding airlines "have lost a lot of credibility" by opposing new consumer protections.

Airlines for America, a group representing major airlines, said the "proposed policies in this bill  instituting government-controlled pricing, establishing a private right of action and dictating private sector contracts  would drastically decrease competition, leading to a subsequent increase in airfare."

In the past airlines have succeeded in defeating consumer protections proposed by lawmakers. Congress in September 2018 dropped plans to mandate "reasonable and proportional" baggage and change fees" in the face of heavy lobbying.

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A group of U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers also introduced the FAIR act which they said in a statement would "prohibit airlines from charging unreasonable fees... not proportional to the costs of the service actually provided."

Lawmakers want to require airlines to provide ticket refunds and alternative transportation, including for instance seats on other air carriers, for flights delayed between one and four hours.

The bills would direct the Transportation Department (DOT) to facilitate interline agreements between airlines to ensure availability of alternative flights. Southwest Airlines does not have such agreements.

The bills would requires airlines to disclose "true costs of flying" and offer lowest fares on multi-segment flights and allow passengers to sue airlines for unfair and deceptive practices.

They would eliminate a cap on fines that DOT charges airlines for violating consumer protection laws and prevent "airlines from negotiating low, slap-on-the wrist fines for egregious conduct."

In August, a bipartisan group of 36 state attorneys general said states and federal agencies should have new powers to investigate airline passengers' complaints and complained DOT had not done enough to hold airlines accountable.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Howard Goller)
Mourners pay their respects Jan. 28, 2023, at a makeshift memorial in Memphis, Tennessee, near where Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by police. (Desiree Rios/The New York Times)

Along with our heartfelt sympathies for their loss, we extend our gratitude and admiration to the family of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old father who died three days after a sickeningly savage police beating in Memphis on Jan. 7.

The familys courageous call for protesters to avoid violence as they demanded justice appears to have helped Americans to process some of the anger and pain of this horrible episode and mercifully maintain peace after the release of the incendiary video.

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The video shows Nichols putting up no defense as five police officers drag him from his car and punch, kick, tackle, pepper-spray, shout dozens of contradictory orders at him. They tase the defenseless, 29-year-old FedEx worker  and then laugh about it.

No question that the video offers much to be outraged about. Instead of trying to bring order, the police in these video images appear to be creating more disorder, until Mr. Nichols is taken away unconscious  without any reason becoming apparent as to why police stopped him in the first place.

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The officers were immediately fired and the district attorney brought charges including second-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

And, once again, the nation is left to ask what went wrong and how can we avoid such tragedies from happening again?

In Memphis, attention quite properly turned to the special unit in which these particular cops were working. Known by the acronym SCORPION, for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, it emerged in the ways that similar strike-force units have been created in other cities, including Chicago, at various times as part of a get-tough response to surges in crimes. Chief Cerelyn Davis formed the Memphis unit in 2021 shortly after she became the first Black woman to lead the department.

In response to rising homicide numbers and, among other hazards, incidents of late-night drag racing and stunt driving on the citys streets, she deployed some 40 officers to focus less on writing tickets and more on aggressive strategies such as seizing cars from the most dangerous drivers.

But, as arrests went up, so did complaints of heavy-handed tactics, particularly by this team, in response to relatively minor offenses. Such past complaints seemed to be graphically illustrated in the present by the bodycam video that showed officers beating Nichols relentlessly as he pleaded to be released to go home.

Although born out of a desire to respond quickly in neighborhoods torn apart by crime, these units often create new problems. The Memphis Police Department immediately disbanded its SCORPION unit after Nichols death.

The tragedy has to be particularly frustrating for Chief Davis, a former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. While the killing of Nichols reminds many of the deaths of Laquan McDonald in Chicago or George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of white police, Nichols case offers the less frequent and perhaps more complicated example of a Black victim killed by Black officers.

Thats a possible sign of what retired New York Detective Marquez Claxton, director of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance, called a toxic police culture which, of course, sometimes can be fed by racism.

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All of these issues and more have been raised in Chicago, where issues of race and policing are often intertwined.

Even among police officers themselves, the use of specialized units has long been controversial. District officers are divided as to how much value the specialized units who operate citywide can have, compared to officers who are more familiar with the communities they patrol day in, day out. Officers assigned to specialized citywide units do not know the good kids from the bad kids, said an officer quoted in a recent university study of Chicago high crime hot spots. After they alienate local young people, for example, they then leave neighborhood officers to clean up the mess. The research suggests this is not a matter of the race of the individual officers, but of the kind of policing they are being told to do.

In the wake of Nichols death, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called on Sens. Cory Booker (D.-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R.-S.C.) to resume their talks for federal policing legislation.

Previous talks ultimately stalled on such sticking points as whether police should be shielded from lawsuits and whether national policing standards could be imposed without funding for local departments to pay for them. Still.

Its the right starting point, said Durbin on ABC This Week Sunday.

Lets hope so. A similar bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, repeatedly passed the House under Democrats and President Joe Biden has said it should be taken up again.

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One thing that mercifully has not been heard in the current talks is the self-defeating Defund the Police slogan that emerged out of the Democrats progressive wing on the heels of Floyds tragic death.

Now we have a new tragedy. Let us drum up a new seriousness about improving big-city policing, preventing such tragedies from happening again. Its not an impossible task.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
BROUSSARD, La. (KLFY)  Police in Louisiana are investigating after 12 squirrel monkeys were stolen from their habitat over the weekend.

Zoosiana, a 45-acre zoological park located roughly 10 miles outside Lafayette, was broken into shortly before midnight Saturday, officials said in a social media post. The suspect allegedly targeted facilities for Zoosianas smaller primates and was able to steal 12 squirrel monkeys.

The remaining squirrel monkeys have been carefully assessed by both the Zoosiana veterinarian and animal care team, and there are no other apparent issues affecting their health or well being, officials said Monday. All other animals are accounted for and appear to have been undisturbed.

2 monkeys taken from Dallas Zoo in latest suspicious event

Broussard Police Chief Vance Olivier told Nexstars KLFY that investigators are reviewing video footage to help capture the suspect or suspects.

Its a unique investigation but that doesnt change the protocol.

In the 13 years of law enforcement, we havent really investigated a theft of squirrel monkeys. Were going to continue investigating it as any other crime that has taken place, Chief Olivier said.

Zoosiana Director Matt Oldenburg said the focus is to stay on track.

We checked the remaining squirrel monkeys to make sure there was nothing apparently wrong outside of the situation that occurred. Were working hard to rebuild their comfort, Oldenburg told KLFY.

Squirrel monkeys require special care that the suspect or suspects who stole them may not be able to provide that care. Oldenburg added that when one squirrel monkey is missing, those who remain are aware something is out of place.

If you hear something, we really want to get these animals back to their natural habitat where theyve been for a while, Chief Oliver said, encouraging the community to report anything suspicious to authorities.

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Anyone with information is asked to contact Broussard Police Crime Stoppers at 337-232-TIPS or Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.

This theft comes as authorities in Dallas, Texas continue to investigate a string of odd incidents at the citys zoo. On Monday, police said they believe someone cut an opening in an enclosure and took two emperor tamarin monkeys, small primates with long whiskers that look like a mustache.

The incident follows the Jan. 13 closure of the zoo and a daylong search when a clouded leopard named Nova went missing. On Jan. 21, an endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, and the zoo said the death did not appear to be natural. Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson said the vulture had a wound.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  Slovakia's parliament on Tuesday approved Sept. 30 as the date for an early election in the country.

Ninety-two lawmakers in the 150-seat National Council  two more than needed  voted in favor of the move that came a week after lawmakers amended the countrys constitution to make it possible to hold early elections.

The Slovak Constitution previously didn't allow for an early election.

After the coalition government led by Prime Minister Eduard Heger lost a no-confidence vote in parliament in December, President Zuzana Caputova gave lawmakers a Jan. 31 deadline to make the needed constitutional changes and approve a date for the snap vote.

The opposition called the no-confidence vote following months of political crisis. Caputova asked Hegers Cabinet to stay in office with reduced powers as a caretaker government.

The president had said she would select a new prime minister and swear in her government if lawmakers didn't meet the Jan. 31 deadline.

The Sept. 30 date was supported by the parties that formed the outgoing coalition government. The opposition wanted the election to be earlier  in June or May.

The opposition would stand a good chance to win an early ballot, according to recent polls.

The outgoing government has been donating arms to the Ukrainian armed forces while opening its border to refugees fleeing the war with Russia.

Some current opposition leaders, including former populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, oppose military support for Ukraine and European Union sanctions against Russia.

Slovakias next regularly scheduled parliamentary election wasn't due to be held until February 2024.
Christian loved art, sports, geology and had a passion for social justice, his family say; he had trained as a chef and was looking at coding programmes (The Glass Family)

The parents of a Colorado 22-year-old killed by police after calling 911 for roadside help have blasted officers attempts to dismiss charges against them  while sharing their despair that people like Tyre Nichols and their son keep losing their lives at the hands of law enforcement.

What are they doing? an exasperated Sally Glass, mother of Christian, asked as she fought back tears outside of Clear Creek County Courthouse, where the two former officers charged in her sons death appeared on Monday.

Former Clear Creek County Sheriffs Deputy Andy Buen has been charged with second-degree murder and two misdemeanors, official misconduct and reckless endangerment, in the 11 June death of Christian. Former Deputy Kyle Gould, who was Mr Buens supervisor working remotely while observing events via body cam, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

The men responded last June when Christian called 911 because his car got stuck near Silver Plume; the amateur geologist repeatedly offered to throw anything that might be considered a weapon out of the car when dealing with 911 and law enforcement but was instructed not to. Seven officers responded from different departments and spoke with Christian for more than an hour as he appeared to suffer some type of mental health crisis. When he refused to leave the vehicle, however, officers eventually tasered him; he appeared to grab a small knife as he subsequently thrashed and Mr Buen fatally shot him.

Prosecutors have petitioned for a joint trial, while Mr Goulds lawyer on Monday argued that the case be dismissed for reasons that include his clients physical absence on the night in question. After speaking to on-site officers and allegedly authoritizing the breach of the vehicle, Mr Gould was en route to the scene when Christian was killed, according to court documents.

Its incredibly hard to sit there and hear them basically trying to get off, Ms Glass said Monday after the hearing. Thats what theyre going to try and do ... Thats what were going to have to sit through.

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The court date came just days after the release of body camera footage from the fatal police stop of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, video eerily reminiscent of the footage from Mr Glasss killing.

I saw Tyres parents interview, part of the interview that they did, and really see the same thing we were going through  just disbelief, Mr Glass said on Monday. I think he said something like, Im just trying to make it home or something like that.

What are they doing? What are they doing? he said of police departments and violent altercations.

Elijah McClain, with his iced tea  Im just walking home, his wife added. The guy driving  Im just going home. Christian, just driving ... what are they doing?

She said it was just very, very hard to listen to and, honestly, to be that physically close to the former officers charged in her sons killing, who are next due in court in April. Both men were fired by Clear Creek County following the indictment last year.

An internal affairs report that concluded in December found that Mr Buen had failed to recognize his verbal and non-verbal tactics were failing to de-escalate Mr. Glass and gain Mr. Glass cooperation.

Simon and Sally Glass were present in court this week in Georgetown, Colorado for the court appearance of two officers charged in the death of their son, Christian, 22 (Sheila Flynn)

Rather, Deputy Buens actions escalated Mr. Glass to the point that Mr. Glass stopped all verbal communication before other officers could attempt to negotiate with him.

The report found that Christian had not been in a physical position to kill anyone.

A knife is a dangerous weapon, however for Mr. Glass to kill or seriously injure an officer on scene, he would have had to exit the vehicle or turned his body so significantly in the drivers seat that he would have been able to reach the knife more than one to two feet outside the vehicle, in order to inflict injury.

Regarding Mr Buens actions, the report found that four reasonable officers with direct vantage points of the events chose not to fire their handguns. For this reason, Deputy Buen using deadly force against Mr. Glass was not consistent with that of a reasonable officer.

Mr Glass on Monday said more must be done to stop such fatal interactions with police.

People need to see this, he told reporters. This needs to stop.

He added that he would love to see the other police chiefs here in this area in Colorado come out [and] condemn what happened to Christian Glass.

They were very quick to do it with with Tyre Nichols, he said. This is happening in their own backyard.

The Glasses praised Tennessee authorities for swift action taken against officers charged in the case of Tyre Nichols, a Black 29-year-old man who died three days after being beaten during a 7 January traffic stop. Five officers were fired and indicted on charges including murder and kidnapping.

Theyve already filed charges for all of them ... quick, and its great to see that and thats thats how things should be done, Mr Glass said Monday, noting that seven months had passed since their sons killing. The runup to Mondays court date was particularly emotional, he said.

Its just really hard, added Ms Glass. I think now were beginning to accept [Christians] gone. At the beginning, we couldnt understand and, honestly, accept it. But as months go by ... you just have to accept it. Its just a deep, deep sadness and loss.

She said that people are disgusted by what happened to their son as obviously we are, as parents.

So many people have reached out to us, she said. It could have been your nephew, your son, your grandson. If it could happen to us, it can happen to anyone. People are outraged, and we have to make sure that this goes ahead, theyre indicted, theyre prosecuted, theyre convicted, theyre put in prison, and it doesnt happen to somebody else.
South Koreas Financial Supervisory Service, the countrys regulator, has recommended setting up a unified system for mandatory information disclosure from digital asset exchanges and issuers of cryptocurrencies to provide more dependable data and protect investors from fraud, according to local media reports.

See related article: S.Korea sees passing crypto investor protection as a priority: report

Fast facts

Ahn Byung-nam, the head of Digital Asset Research at the regulator, said a unified mandatory disclosure system about issuance, listing and circulation of cryptocurrencies will provide better safeguards to investors, Asia Business Daily and other media reported, citing his comments at a Monday meeting of the governments Digital Assets Committee.

Other officials at the meeting emphasized the need for stricter disclosure on token issuers and exchanges, according to the media reports, following a series of bankruptcies and allegations of fraud in the global crypto industry last year.

Disclosure of relevant financial information should be an obligation to protect investors, but there arent any requirements right now for such digital assets, Jeon In-tae, professor of mathematics at the Catholic University of Korea, said at the meeting, according to Asia Business Daily.

Last year, South Korean blockchain game developer Wemades native token WEMIX was delisted from four major exchanges in the country on reports it underreported circulation numbers for the token. WEMIX plunged over 70% in less than a week on the report.

At the same meeting, Cha Myung-hun, the chief executive officer of local crypto exchange Coinone, said the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) is developing a unified standard for exchanges in token delisting, according to the news reports. DAXA is a trade group of five local exchanges  Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and GOPAX  that are licensed to provide fiat-to-currency services to local investors.

South Korea has been working to establish an all-encompassing regulatory framework for protecting digital asset investors, initially aimed at being enacted last year. Around ten proposals were presented at the countrys National Assembly, but none have been discussed at its parliamentary sessions.

See related article: South Korea unlikely to push out crypto regulation before the U.S., authority says
Southern Democrats are pushing for President Biden to pick Atlanta to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention over fellow finalists New York City and Chicago.

Current and former lawmakers and leaders from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia were among more than five dozen signatories who penned an imploring letter to the president, shared by NBC News.

Democratic turnout in the state of Georgia is the single greatest reason that you and Vice President Harris are in the White House today instead of Donald Trump and it is the single greatest reason why Democrats have maintained a majority in the United States Senate, the letter to Biden reads.

While some pundits might argue that there is no correlation between a convention site and partisan performance in the ensuing election, holding the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta will have effects that reverberate far beyond Georgias borders, it added.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnocks win in Georgia against Trump-backed Republican candidate Herschel Walker delivered a crucial win to Senate Democrats, bumping up their majority to 51-49. Warnock is notably among the letters signatories, along with fellow Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, five Georgia representatives and other state leaders.

The Democrats in the letter argue that selecting Atlanta would be key to acknowledging Georgia voters contributions during the midterms and spurring them to get out the vote to reelect Biden and Harris.

Biden has not yet formally announced whether hell mount a 2024 bid to stay in the White House but has said that he intends to and is expected to announce a campaign as soon as next month.

The Atlanta advocates also say selecting the city will inspire Democrats in other competitive Southern states to run, to organize, to fundraise, and to volunteer in what is now truly fertile Democratic territory and could doubly serve to put Republicans on notice for competitive future races.

Lets nominate Joe Biden in the very building where over 40,000 Georgians cast their ballots  the deciding ballots for Georgias 16 electoral votes  for him in 2020. Hosting the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia will reignite the sense of enthusiasm that led him to victory and inspire Democrats around the country down the home stretch in 2024, the letter concludes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
On the eve of the visit to Volgograd of Vladimir Putin, the aggressor country's president, the 'Volgograd' road signs at all main entrances to the city were temporarily replaced with 'Stalingrad' signs [Khrushchev's administration changed the name of the city to Volgograd (Volga City) as part of his programme of de-Stalinisation following Stalin's death].

Source: Interfax Russia

Details: Interfax reported that the renaming of the city in accordance with the decision of the local authorities is done 10 days a year, including 2 February: the day of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.

However, it is known that Putin's visit to Volgograd is expected from 30 January to 5 February.

Before that, the centre of Volgograd was hurriedly cleaned up. At the same time, from 30 January to 3 February, the city introduced a ban on the transit of heavy-duty and large vehicles, in particular those transporting dangerous goods.



Background:

On 30 January, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, said that Putin would come to Volgograd for one day. It is not yet clear whether the president will take part in the celebrations.

Volgograd-based media report that the city is also expecting a visit of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner, and Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, as part of the festive events.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
For years, climate experts have been warning that our planet is undergoing changes that would make extreme weather events more commonand this past year, New Mexico saw those predictions come true. Extremely dry and windy weather in the spring and early summer created the perfect conditions for what proved to be the worst wildfire season in our states modern history. Then, a mere few weeks later, heavier than normal monsoon rains dropped nearly 20 inches of rain on parts of the state, flooding areas that had been scorched by the fires.

As our neighborsmany of whom were forced out of their homes for monthscontinue to recover from this disaster, the Forestry Division of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department recommends specific actions that could lessen the impact of future extreme weather events on the states forests and communities.

These steps include:

Updating the Forest Conservation Act to clearly delineate the Forestry Divisions authority to carry out taskssuch as projects to stabilize steep slopes after they have burnedthat contribute to the long-term health of forested watersheds.

Creating a minor exemption to the State Procurement Code to streamline the process of securing federal funds for wildfire prevention and forest management.

Providing funding for hot-shot firefighting crews to boost our chances of suppressing wildfires at the earliest possible stages.

EMNRDs Forestry Division is the states lead agency for fire suppression and forest management on 43 million acres of non-federal, non-municipal and non-tribal land, that is, the state and private lands. This important work was authorized by the Forest Conservation Act in 1939. However, this act has not been updated in 35 years. New Mexico has enormous needs for forest fire suppression rehabilitation and repair, post-fire slope stabilization, erosion control, riparian restoration, seeding and reforestation of burned areas after the historic 2022 fire season. Updating the Forest Conservation Act will enable the state to provide better technical assistance to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate. This change has been proposed in the form of House Bill 195 in this years legislative session.

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Senate Bill 206 proposes a minor exemption in the State Procurement Code that would make it easier to secure federal funds that have recently begun flowing to address the wildfire crisis. The federal government launched an initiative in fall of 2021 to address the wildfire crisis with potential to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to New Mexico counties, communities and landowners to prepare for the next bad fire season. For example, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 created a new competitive grant program for Community Wildfire Defense Grants with an authorization of one billion dollars to be spent over 5 years.

While non-governmental entities are eligible to receive funding from these programs, and the NGOs provide critical support to local governments and communities to plan projects and get more work done, there is a hitch. The New Mexico state procurement code requires a competitive process for state agencies to pass federal funds to NGOs, which in many cases means NGOs have to compete through two duplicative processes. A narrow procurement code exemption could fix the problem by allowing the state to rely upon the federal agencies competitive application and selection processes before contracting with non-governmental entities.

Finally, catching wildfires when they start and while they are still small is essential. New Mexico can increase its capacity for initial attack with more firefighting crews. We are urging the legislature to fund two hot shot crews and fire support positions for the Forestry Division to boost the states capacity to catch wildfires before they spread. These crews could put their expertise to work restoring forests when not actively fighting firesdoubling the value to the state.

These three actions will be a good start to address the impact climate change is having on our states forests and surrounding communities. We urge all New Mexico residents to contact your elected representatives and ask them to support these proposed solutions.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Reducing the impact of climate change on NM's forests, surrounding communities
Chef Stephen Sandoval butterflies a striped sea bass at Suenos inside the Soho House on July 13, 2022, in Chicago. The former executive chef at Lena Brava, Stephen Sandoval, has opened a pop-up at the Soho House focusing on the Baja coast. The menu is rich with seafood and items grilled over a live fire. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Stephen Sandovals cooking finally has an official home.

As you may remember, Suenos started as a pop-up in Soho House last year, where it was only supposed to operate for six months. But the project did so well, and received such high praise, that it kept extending its stay. A month ago, we found out that it would continue until May, meaning it will soon mark its one-year anniversary.

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But Sandoval always knew he wanted to find a permanent location, and now he has one at 1235 W. Grand Ave. in West Town. He hopes the new restaurant will open in the fall.

Actually, there will be two concepts in the same building, Entre Suenos and Diego. The former will delve further into Sandovals take on the seafood-focused Mexican cuisine from Baja California. It will be a bit more elevated than what we had at the pop-up, Sandoval said. It will be more in line with our Entre Suenos dinners that we held. Despite the fact that it will feature an a la carte menu, hes also hoping to offer a tasting menu option.

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If youre worried about missing the more casual dishes from Suenos, thats where Diego comes in. Diego will be where youll find the fish tacos and the Diego burrito from the pop-up, Sandoval said. Youll also find things like a chilaquiles torta. Sandoval compared Diego to Nonna, the small sandwich and pizza shop attached to Formentos in the West Loop. You have to utilize the space as much as possible, Sandoval said. Plus, we love those traditional flavors.

Though Sandoval is still working on the layout, the first floor could have up to 75 seats, with an additional 50 on the patio. The second floor will hold a private event space. Sandoval is bringing in Danielle Lewis to design the cocktail menu, and hes close to securing a pastry chef, but hes keeping the name a secret for now.

While youll have to wait until the fall to see it in person, Sandoval is still operating the Suenos pop-up at Soho House until May. Even though he could coast to the finish line, hes using the time to test out new menu items. Im doing a big menu change soon, Sandoval said. We are going to try some new ideas to test what our opening menu is going to look like.

Entre Suenos and Diego plan to open in the fall at 1235 W. Grand Ave.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com
Selma school officials say the students of Eric White Elementary School are safe while the campus is locked-down after a police officer was shot Tuesday afternoon.

The district is releasing students in small groups from the schools gate on Mitchell Ave. starting at 2:30 p.m. due to police action in the area, according to a message officials shared with The Bee.

This was an update from the schools original plan to release students from the K-6 school of roughly 450 students at nearby Ringo Park.

The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority, the message says.

A Selma police officer was shot by a man in a residential neighborhood in the Fresno County city on Tuesday, authorities said.

The shooting occurred shortly before noon in the 2600 block of Pine Street, just west of Highway 99 and south of Rose Avenue.

It was not clear if the suspect was injured.

Just before 2:30 p.m., the Fresno County Sheriffs Office said an arrest had been made but did not immediately report any details.

We have our shooting suspect in custody, Deputy Tony Botti said in a brief media statement. There are no outstanding suspects.

The officers condition remained unclear.

In addition to FCSO, law enforcement including California Highway Patrol and police from Fresno, Kingsburg and Parlier were at the scene and established a perimeter around the location for the investigation.

The Bees Thaddeus Miller and Anthony Galaviz contributed to this report.
Jan. 30FARMINGTON  Students and staff at the Mt. Blue Campus were dismissed early Monday after Regional School Unit 9 officials were notified of a bomb threat that proved to be a hoax, according to authorities.

Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles said state police did a thorough search and nothing was found.

"It was not a credible threat," he said, adding that the investigation will continue into the source of the threat.

Before that determination was made, however, the Maine State Police Explosive Detection Canine Team was called to check the campus, which includes Mt. Blue High School and the Foster Regional Applied Technology Center. Public safety officers and Farmington Fire and Rescue were also on site.

High school students were sent home by noon, either by bus or their personal vehicles. "All students and staff are safe," according to a post on the school district's Facebook page.

All after-school activities were canceled.
A fundraiser created by the mother of Tyre Nichols has raised more than $1m for the family in the wake of his death.

My husband and I have had our entire world turned upside down by what happened to our son, RowVaughn Wells wrote in the description of a GoFundMe page raising funds for the family.

We are two hardworking, loving parents, [and] now have to turn our full-time attention to seeking proper justice for our son, she added. We have yet to have the proper space to begin our grieving process, which will be long and burdensome.

The fundraiser will help cover the costs of mental health services and time off work, where they do not have unlimited paid time off, she said.

The funds will also support the creation of a memorial skate park for Nichols, in honor of his love for skating and sunset, according to Ms Wells.

Nichols died in hospital three days after he was severely beaten by police in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month.

The 29-year-old FedEx worker and father of a four-year-old son was a celebrated skateboarder who loved photography, writing on his website that his vision was to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens.

People have a story to tell, he wrote, why not capture it.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Tyre Nichols was loved by his community and was known to be gentle, kind, and joyful, Ms Wells wrote. He was known as someone you know when he comes through the door he wants to give you a hug and that he wouldnt hurt a fly.

Nichols had never been in trouble with the law, not even a parking ticket, she said. He was an honest man, a wonderful son, and kind to everyone. He was quirky and true to himself, and his loss will be felt nationally.

On 27 January, the city released video footage from the night he was brutally beaten, pepper sprayed, kicked in the head and repeatedly struck as officers shouted a series of contradictory orders and failed to provide aid as Nichols pleaded for them to stop and called out for his mother.

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The videos  which have galvanised a national movement against police violence  also contradict an initial police report written hours after the beating that claims Nichols was noncompliant and started to fight officers.

My baby was just trying to make it home to be safe in my arms, Ms Wells wrote on GoFundMe. Tyre was unarmed, nonthreatening, and respectful to police during the entire encounter.

We have verified this fundraiser that was started by Tyres mom to cover the cost of the familys mental health services and a memorial skate park in his honor. We will ensure these funds safely and quickly reach the family as they navigate this tragedy.https://t.co/dZ3iRDWa1C  Jalen Drummond (@jalen_drummond) January 28, 2023

Five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  were fired and charged with second-degree murder, along with several other offences. A sixth officer has been placed on administrative leave, and two Memphis Fire Department emergency medical workers and a driver have also been fired.

Jalen Drummond, GoFundMes director of public affairs, said the platform will ensure these funds safely and quickly reach the family as they navigate this tragedy.

The fundraiser was supported by social justice platform Communityx, founded by Chloe Sledd, whose father was nearly fatally shot by Chicago police officers in 1989.
A mannequin's head is covered in a dress shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Veiled and headless mannequins are a ubiquitous sight in fashion shops across Afghanistan.

A shop owner says the Taliban's restriction has affected the psyche of female shoppers.

Afghans say life is difficult under the Taliban, with no signs of things improving.

Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been forced to cover up. Now, the faces on mannequins of all genders must be hidden, too.

A mannequin's head is covered in a dress shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

For the past two years, the Taliban has gradually erased women from public spaces. Being a woman in Afghanistan means being invisible. Women are not allowed to work, go to school, and are forced to wear the veil in public.

The Taliban's move to restrict women's rights in Afghanistan began with vandalizing storefronts displaying images of women. Today, the Taliban have ramped up these efforts by trying to ban a seemingly inconspicuous object: mannequins.

Insider spoke to several locals from Kabul, including a shop owner, a female athlete, and an Afghan-born scholar, to find out why the Taliban wants to destroy mannequins and how this affects the lives of both men and women in Afghanistan.

In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, mannequins were once a symbol of fashion and culture. But in the past year, shop owners have resorted to displaying them headless or covered in cloth, just to keep their stores open.

Black plastic bags cover the heads of mannequins displayed in evening gowns in Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

In August 2021, the Taliban announced that shop owners must remove the heads of their mannequins, or do away with them all together.

But several shop owners pleaded with the Taliban to let them keep their mannequins intact. The Taliban agreed, but on one condition  all mannequins must have faces covered.

One such shop owner is Faisal Azizi. Before coming to the US to study political science and government at Dartmouth College in March, he operated a family business selling traditional Afghan clothing.

Azizi told Insider that the Taliban forced locals to deface banners displaying photos of fashion models before trying to totally ban the use of mannequins.

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The Taliban believe statues and images of the human form are forbidden, according to their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

But experts like Bahar Jalali, an Afghan-born professor of the history of modern Middle East at Loyola University Maryland, believes the move to deface mannequins is part of an extremist ideology to attack personal freedoms and to rid life in Afghanistan of any semblance of normalcy.

"Even under the most conservative Afghan regimes of the past, mannequins were part and parcel of the urban landscape," Jalali, who fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979, told Insider, adding that the Taliban sees the figures of women as offensive and shameful.

Shop owners now use various materials to cover the faces of mannequins: lace, cloaks, and even black plastic bags.

Hooded and cloaked mannequins in Afghanistan. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

While some shop owners in Afghanistan have resorted to using aluminum foil or paint to obscure the faces of mannequins, Azizi still feels it's important for the mannequins to look stylish. Azizi, with the help of his brothers in Afghanistan, continues to run the shop from the US.

Mannequins are a valuable commodity to shop owners because of how expensive they are. Azizi estimates that each one costs between $200 and $300.

"We try to match it to the color of the dress, to make it look like a mask," Azizi said. "We can't just put a plastic bag  it looks like you've abducted someone."

No matter how hard the shop owners try to make it look fashionable, Azizi feels the requirement has affected shoppers' psyche.

"Sales are completely down at the moment," he said, adding that sales for his shop have dropped between 50% and 70% since the restrictions began.

"When people go to the store and see the covers they don't want to buy," he added.

For many Afghan women, shopping in itself is a difficult experience under the Taliban. Like the mannequins, they too are subjected to many rules.

Tape wrapped around the head of a mannequin in Afghanistan. Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

In Afghanistan, women must be accompanied by a male chaperone whenever they leave their house, Jalali said, and going shopping is no exception.

Marwa Ali, a 21-year-old soccer player raised in Kabul, said many women like her experience a harrowing journey from their homes to the apparel shops. Ali declined to share where she currently lives for security reasons.

"I went shopping with my brother in our personal car, and the Taliban forced me to leave the front seat of the car and sit in the back," Ali told Insider, adding that she likely would have been treated worse had she refused to wear a mask or cover her face.

Ali said she misses shopping in her relaxed clothing and that browsing fashion shops doesn't make her feel "alive" like it did before.

"We don't want to cover the faces of women or mannequins," she said.

In an effort to keep female employees protected, Azizi often has them act as shoppers during spot checks by the Taliban.

The heads of mannequins at a clothing store in Afghanistan. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

Operating a shop with female employees in Afghanistan is risky, Azizi said. Those caught are often subjected to violence.

"You can't argue with them. They come with guns," Azizi said, adding that the Taliban can "just abduct you or put you in jail without due process."

Working women are harassed, he said. Azizi likened the Taliban's treatment of women to living in "a cage" where "they can't go out."

Several of Azizi's female employees are widows. He explained that many of their husbands died while serving in the now-defunct Afghan National Army.

Veiled mannequins in an apparel shop in Afghanistan. Courtesy of Faisal Azizi

In a patriarchal society like Afghanistan, living as a woman without a husband makes life even harder.

Living under Taliban rule is a balancing act, Azizi said: Shop owners need "to be nice with them" in order for their businesses to survive, but they also need to employ female workers in order to help families in need.

"My business is feeding 40 to 50 families," he said. "Women are not allowed to work. There's no protocol. But I try to take care of my employees."

For Marwa Ali, whose father died 12 years ago, the hardship is something she witnesses everyday.

"There are so many women, like my mother, who don't have a husband to work for them. They need a job. How else would they have income or food for their family?" Ali said.

The future of the mannequins  and women  under the Taliban continues to look bleak.

A close up of traditional Afghan clothing. Courtesy of Faisal Azizi

Mannequins might just be the tip of the iceberg, Azizi said, adding that he expects the Taliban to impose more restrictions over time.

"For the local economy, the Taliban need to be nice to the locals. But once they are stable  in three or four years  they'll ban everything," he said.

For the Taliban, the plan is to continuously erase women from the public sphere, Jalali said. She sees the mannequins as just one more example of the broader attack on women and their presence in the public sphere.

"Being a woman in Afghanistan will be the equivalent of being under house arrest with no opportunity for education, employment, freedom of movement, and basically no sense of normalcy," she added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Norway will send German-made Leopard 2 combat tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible; most probably, this will happen at the end of March.

Source: Bjrn Arild Gram, Minister of Defence of Norway, in an interview with AFP, reported by European Pravda

Details: Oslo has not stated the number of tanks yet.

"We have not decided on the number yet," Defence Minister Bjrn Arild Gram said.

Norway is among several European countries that have promised to send Western-type tanks to Ukraine.

This Scandinavian state has 36 Leopard 2 tanks in service.

Earlier, Gram clarified that it was going to be Leopard 2A4, which is the same modification that Poland is going to supply Ukraine with.

The media reported that Norway is considering supplying Ukraine with up to eight Leopard 2 tanks.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Reproductive rights is a hot-button topic for much of the political spectrum in the U.S. Against that backdrop. TBD Health is not-so-quietly making patient-focused and inclusive sexual healthcare available and accessible to everyone in the U.S., as it raises a $4.4 million round to scale up further.

At a time when womens rights are being challenged by our government, it was critical for us to build a sex-positive healthcare company that makes it easy for people to prioritize their health, said Daphne Chen, co-founder and co-CEO of TBD Health in an interview with TechCrunch. As someone who has experienced firsthand the judgment that doctors and clinicians pass when it comes to sexual health, its our mission to create a safe space for people to seek inclusive, trauma-aware care, as well as treatment and resources on their own terms, regardless of where they live.

The company is extending operations in the context of a huge amount of change. At one end of the scale, people are more likely to have non-traditional relationships where multiple sexual partners are a thing, and sexual safety and testing remains important. At the other extreme, a huge swathe of the U.S. has woefully lacking sex ed and access to sexual health clinics. The CDC reports that 20% of people in the U.S. have an STI, and that young people are not as good at preventing them as perhaps they ought to be.

TBD Health is pushing a new line of services it refers to as digital sexual health.

"We have a couple of services that are available today. One of which is our at-home STI testing, which we're really excited about because it's a protocol that allows you to manage your sexual health from the comfort and privacy of home," says Chen. "What that looks like is we're able to send you a kit that's customized to your specific needs and your risk profile to your home, you're able to self-collect your samples (urine, blood as well as any swab samples that might be needed), which then gets shipped to our partner lab and you get your results in just a few days. All results are reviewed by our clinical team and a customized care plan is created just for you. And we're also really excited about the fact that your relationship with TBD doesn't end after your test result comes back. We are creating an ongoing relationship, and we're doing a lot of follow-up. We really believe that as your sex life changes your sexual health care needs do too. And so we want to stay on top of that and make sure that we're able to serve you no matter where you are in your sexual health journey."

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We spoke with the company a year ago, when it was just starting to gather speed with its at-home services, in addition to its in-person clinic in Las Vegas. Today, the company told TechCrunch it has raised a $4.4 million round of investment from Tusk Venture Partners, with participation from Springdale Ventures, Human Ventures, Expansion VC, Starbloom Capital, Hyphen Capital and The Community Fund.

More and more were seeing local sexual health clinics nationwide shuttering due to lack of funding and resources. This leaves an immense strain on those who urgently need care, said Stephanie Estey, co-founder and co-CEO of TBD Health. We seek to be a solution for those living in sexual health care deserts and beyond by offering a more accessible and approachable way to taking care of your sexual health.

Of course all eyes are on Roe v. Wade's impact on delivery and access to sexual health services.

"Since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, its critical people must have accessible options to reproductive and sexual healthcare," said Bradley Tusk, managing partner at Tusk Venture Partners in a statement provided by TBD. "We are proud to back TBD Health as they establish new standards for care through its STD testing kits, availability of emergency contraceptives with next-day shipping nationwide, and an in-person care hub in Las Vegas."

The company has invested a lot into ensuring its services are trauma-informed and radically inclusive, which means that its clinicians are able to meet complex sexual health situations with understanding and kindness.

"The true differentiator of TBD is the care that comes along with the experience. All of our clinicians are trained in sex positivity, they have sensitivity training, and they are trauma-aware. And so with TBD, you are not just getting a test result. You're getting a partner. So what does that actually look like?" Estey asks rhetorically. "That looks like counseling. That looks like making sure you have the next steps. That looks like making sure that you have resources to think about an STI result both for yourself as well as your partners. We really walk you through the entire process. That is dramatically lacking in healthcare today, which feels very transactional. TBD is all about putting the human and compassionate approach back into the experience and making sure that people feel empowered to take ownership of their sexual healthcare."

You can learn more about TBD on its website.
When members of the Democratic National Committees Rules and Bylaws Committee voted in December to propose a new calendar for the partys presidential primary lineup  one that replaced New Hampshire with South Carolina as the host of the first-in-the-nation primary  many national Democrats saw a chance for progress.

This calendar does what is long overdue: It expands the number of voices in the early window, and at the same time it elevates diverse communities, said Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the DNC, last week.

But New Hampshire Democrats have not welcomed the change, responding with final pleas to keep New Hampshires spot, vows to hold the primary first anyway, and threats to withhold support from President Joe Bidens reelection campaign if the calendar is approved.

A supporter of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden picks a campaign sign up off of the ground outside of a polling place at Webster School on Feb. 11, 2020, in Manchester.

This week, DNC members from around the country will meet in Philadelphia to decide whether to formally accept that new calendar. If recent public discussions are any guide, there is little interest in further negotiation.

A testy Rules and Bylaws meeting last week illustrated two forces that appear unlikely to change: The DNC is poised to push New Hampshire back in its primary lineup, and New Hampshire is poised to move ahead and hold its primary anyway. Both sides appear exasperated.

I am a little bit frustrated to hear folks in New Hampshires Democratic establishment sounding more like the Republican governor publicly, said Mo Elleithee during the Jan. 25 meeting.

Lee Saunders, another committee member, agreed. It doesnt help organizing and mobilizing our communities across the country to have this divisiveness shared in public. We should never talk like that within the DNC.

The members were reacting to a series of responses from New Hampshire Democrats in the two months since the Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to put South Carolina first. As a condition of joining Nevada in the second spot, New Hampshire would be required to change its voting laws to expand absentee voting or else be pushed back in the lineup to March, well behind the early states.

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On Jan. 5, a number of New Hampshire political leaders  from Republican Gov. Chris Sununu to House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, an Auburn Republican, to Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy  sent letters indicating that the DNCs demands would not be met. Some were sharply worded.

On Jan. 18, prominent New Hampshire Democrats, including former Gov. John Lynch, penned a letter to Biden urging him to reconsider the calendar and warning it could affect his reelection campaign.

And this month, former New Hampshire House Speaker Steve Shurtleff told WMUR that he would vote for another candidate for president if New Hampshire lost its primary spot.

Ill look for another candidate before I support Joe Biden if he should go so far as to take away the first-in-the-nation primary from the Granite State, Shurtleff said.

The comments touched a nerve. At the Jan. 25 meeting, Saunders said he found the comments from New Hampshire disturbing.

I appreciate and understand differences of opinions. We have it all the time within our union. But we also come to agreement when the time comes.

Leah Daughtry, another member, said she was shocked by claims that the change in the calendar had come as a surprise.

This has been an ongoing conversation for this committee  through I dont know how many meetings  that New Hampshires status, like Iowas status, was up for discussion, she said.

The irritation highlights a disconnect between national and Granite State Democrats. DNC members believe there can still be an outcome where New Hampshire embraces a second-place position that elevates more diverse voting bases in South Carolina and Nevada. New Hampshire Democrats dont see a happy ending in any scenario that does not keep the state first. The disconnect could play out in Philadelphia this week.

Speaking to her fellow Rules and Bylaws Committee members, Joanne Dowdell, New Hampshires party delegate, made the traditional pitch for New Hampshires first position: New Hampshire is a small state with discerning voters where any candidate can compete regardless of wealth or connections.

Retaining the New Hampshire primary as the first primary is not merely an argument to adhere to a century-long legacy, she said. It is because during that period of time, we have cultivated a process and created an atmosphere that is uniquely positioned to host the kind of contest that makes all politics  even the race for president  local.

She said she supports elevating more diverse states to start the primary calendar, but said that could be done while keeping New Hampshire at the start. The early primary window, Dowdell argued, should tell the story of not just one group of voters, but rather the broader story of our party.

But Dowdell also used her time to push back on the committees proposed conditions to allow New Hampshire to go second. One of those conditions is the repeal of the 1975 law that requires the New Hampshire secretary of state to schedule New Hampshires Democratic and Republican primaries before any other state. The other is the expansion of absentee voting.

Both mandates are nonstarters in the Republican-led State House, Dowdell said. And the states law means that the Democratic presidential primary will be held just as early as the Republican one, Dowdell added.

Dowdell also issued warnings to the national party: Should the full DNC attempt to end New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primary, Biden could see a dip in support in the Granite State.

And should Biden try to skip campaigning in New Hampshire as punishment for an unsanctioned primary in 2024, he could miss out on critical infrastructure in the general election, Dowdell said.

New Hampshire was proud to deliver our four electoral votes to the president on election night, Dowdell said, referring to the general election. These four votes could be the deciding factor in 2024. Unfortunately, they could now be at risk.

Dowdell emphasized her support of Biden and her appreciation for his first term, but she said the new primary calendar is a risk.

It is safe to say that  this is not how any of us would like to kick off a reelection campaign, she said. And given everything that is at stake, it is in everyones interest to find a mutually agreeable solution that meets the presidents and the DNCs goals without punishing New Hampshire because of our state law.

Democrats from outside of the Granite State voiced a different perspective.

Daughtry argued that New Hampshire was clamoring to keep a 100-year-old privilege, an effort that could be seen as insensitive to many Black Americans who had not had easy access to voting until the Civil Rights movement. And she said the existence of a state law should not have bearing over the decisions of the DNC.

If all 56 state parties are going to pass a law so that we can be first, were just going to have the wild, wild West, she said, referring to the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories.

And Elleithee said that the new calendar ensured that the DNC was not going to be held hostage by history.

National Democrats also took pains to praise New Hampshires historic role. Elleithee called the state one of the most magical places to do politics, and said that he saw compelling reasons to keep New Hampshire in the early window, if not first in line.

But Elleithee argued that New Hampshires first-in-the-nation status was a bit of a fallacy. The Granite State had always followed Iowa in the calendar, he noted. With the new proposed primary calendar, New Hampshire was still in the second week.

I understand Iowa is a caucus and New Hampshire as a primary, and New Hampshire state law says they need to be the first contest of its kind, he said. But lets be real  it has been viewed as the second-in-the-nation contest.

The proposed primary calendar  championed by Biden  gave New Hampshire a chance to stay in that second place if it changed its state laws, Elleithee argued.

We have maintained the tradition that New Hampshire has asked us to maintain, he said.

Dowdell was not convinced. As the meeting wound up, she asked what the punishment would be if New Hampshire held an unsanctioned primary. Would the national party remove the states primary delegates? Would Biden cease campaigning? How would the state party transition from a rogue presidential primary to a general election campaign.

My concern is  what does the path look like going forward? she said. And we havent had that discussion.  We havent had that conversation and I think the implications are real.

This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH primary 2024: Tensions rise as DNC meets
Employees of HarperCollins Publisher participate in a strike outside the company's offices in Manhattan on Nov. 15, 2022 in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

There is a romantic notion that a book is the product of a single authors obsessive work, perhaps locked away somewhere  a garret or a basement  sweating the details down to the last comma.

While theres some measure of truth in this image, when you go into a store and hold that finished book in your hands, in reality, youre looking at the product of the work of dozens of people  editors, designers, marketers, publicists  literal teams that are tasked with bringing an authors work to its best final form.

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Having witnessed this process with each of my own books and comparing the final package with what I mightve been able to accomplish on my own, I came to appreciate the necessity of these people with the expertise and dedication to doing the work not of writing, but of publishing.

Currently, some of the folks who do that work for the publisher HarperCollins are on strike in order to establish conditions of employment that allow them to do their work better, work that ultimately benefits all of us as readers.

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After having worked without a contract since last April, staffers from the design, marketing, legal, publicity and sales departments called for an indefinite strike this past November. Since that time, HarperCollins reportedly hasnt engaged in formal bargaining sessions with union leaders.

The primary negotiation point for the striking workers is raising the minimum pay from $45,000 per year to $50,000 in order to make it more possible for lower-level employees to live in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the country and the locus of the majority of U.S. publishing.

Authors, including HarperCollins authors, have pledged support for the striking workers. That includes big names like Barbara Kingsolver and Jacqueline Woodson. Additionally, more than 200 literary agents have pledged not to submit any new manuscripts to the publisher until the strike is resolved.

Importantly, the striking workers are not asking people to boycott HarperCollins books, recognizing that such a move would punish authors.

Its a complicated dynamic, as Dan Kois writes in an essay at Slate discussing his conflicted feelings over publishing his debut novel Vintage Contemporaries with HarperCollins, even as he supports the staffers who are on strike.

There does not appear to be a way to force HarperCollins to the bargaining table, unless things really start to fall apart. The money it would take to increase the minimum salaries of staffers is truly trivial measured against the size of HarperCollins corporate parent News Corp.s bottom line.

I must admit that for a number of weeks, Ive wanted to write about this situation, but have hesitated because I wanted to be able to provide a suggested action or some fresh insight on the situation, but the fact of the matter is that things are at an impasse and theres not much bystanders like us can do about it.

But as I realized that the vast majority of regular reading folks are probably not aware of the strike, and might not know the kind of service these employees provide, I felt the least I could do is to use my platform to say that these workers deserve a living wage, and the books we read would be lesser things without them.

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John Warner is the author of Why They Cant Write: Killing the Five-Paragraph Essay and Other Necessities.

Twitter @biblioracle

Book recommendations from the Biblioracle

John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books youve read.

1. Hamnet by Maggie OFarrell

2. Coventry by Helen Humphreys

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3. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

4. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

5. What are People For? by Wendell Berry

 Anna N., Winnipeg, Manitoba

A Willy Vlautin novel is a powerful emotional experience, and its not something every reader appreciates, but looking at this list, I think Anna will be absorbed and moved by Dont Skip Out on Me.

1. Beyond the Sea by Paul Lynch

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2. The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen

3. Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

4. Sugar Street by Jonathan Dee

5. Weapons of Mass Delusion by Robert Draper

 Bill M., Atlanta, Georgia

For Bill, Im going to suggest a pairing that I experienced by reading Sugar Street and Lydia Millets Dinosaurs back-to-back, two novels with a similar premise  a main character who walks away from a previous life  with very different trajectories after those acts.

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1. The Professor and the Parson by Adam Sisman

2. In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul

3. Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus

4. The Looking-Glass War by John le Carre

5. An African in Greenland Tete-Michel Kpomassie

 Connor G., Oxford, England

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For Connor, Im going to recommend a mordantly funny novel about philosophy. Looking at this list, he looked like a good candidate for Lars Iyers Spurious.

Get a reading from the Biblioracle

Send a list of the last five books youve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features, according to a regulatory filing.

To our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred, Tesla said in the filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle maker cautioned that if the government decides to pursue an enforcement action, it could possibly have a material adverse impact on its business.

Messages were left Tuesday seeking comment from the Justice Department and from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department.

Tesla Inc. is already facing multiple investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for problems with its two driver-assist systems, Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.

Despite their names, Tesla still says on its website that the cars cant drive themselves. Teslas using Full Self-Driving can navigate roads in many cases, but experts say the system can make mistakes, which even CEO Elon Musk acknowledges. Were not saying its quite ready to have no one behind the wheel, CEO Musk said in October.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the Justice Department could be looking at safety issues with the systems, or it could be investigating Tesla claims that the cars can drive themselves when they can't.

When you get the car, it really can't do everything that's been promised, Brooks said. Tesla is putting a vehicle out on the road that is unable to perform to the capabilities claimed. Yet we have drivers relying on those promises and esentially not paying attention to the drive because they think it is more capable than it is.

The systems have been under investigation by NHTSA since June of 2016 when a driver using Autopilot was killed after his Tesla went under a tractor-trailer crossing its path in Florida. A separate probe into Teslas that were using Autopilot when they crashed into emergency vehicles started in August 2021. At least 14 Teslas that have crashed into emergency vehicles while using the Autopilot system.

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Including the Florida crash, NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. Nineteen people have died in those crashes, including two motorcyclists.

The agency also is investigating complaints that Teslas can brake suddenly for no reason.

Full Self-Driving went on sale late in 2015, and Musk has used the name ever since. It currently costs $15,000 to activate the system. Tsl

In 2019 he promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by 2020, and he said in early 2022 that the cars would be autonomous that year.

Since 2021, Tesla has been beta-testing Full Self-Driving using owners who havent been trained on the system but are actively monitored by the company. Tesla said this month that 400,000 owners are participating.

Auto safety advocates and government investigators have long criticized Teslas monitoring system as inadequate. Three years ago the National Transportation Safety Board listed poor monitoring as a contributing factor in a 2018 fatal Tesla crash in California. The board recommended a better system, but said Tesla has not responded.

NHTSA has noted in documents that numerous Tesla crashes have occurred in which drivers had their hands on the wheel but still werent paying attention. The agency has said that Autopilot is being used in areas where its capabilities are limited and that many drivers arent taking action to avoid crashes despite warnings from the vehicle.

In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in 2020 that Teslas system to make sure drivers are paying attention is not adequate, and it should be limited to areas where it can safely operate.

Tesla shares were up just under 4% in Tuesday morning trading.
A Tesla car "spontaneously" burst into flames on a California freeway over the weekend and firefighters used thousands of gallons of water to put it out.

According to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, the car's battery caught fire on Saturday along Highway 50.

No one was injured, authorities said.

The department tweeted that "nothing unusual" took place before the Tesla Model S became "engulfed in flames," but the agency said the car's battery cells "continued to combust" while the fire was being extinguished.

"Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery," the department tweeted.

Electric vehicle fires: Something surprising can cause electric vehicles to catch on fire. Here's what experts want you to know.

Experts: Gas prices have jumped for five straight weeks and are 'unlikely' to drop soon

A Tesla car "spontaneously" burst into flames on a California freeway over the weekend and firefighters used thousands of gallons of water to put it out. According to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, the car's battery caught fire on Jan. 28, 2023 along Highway 50.

A Tesla car "spontaneously" burst into flames on a California freeway over the weekend and firefighters used thousands of gallons of water to put it out. According to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, the car's battery caught fire on Jan. 28, 2023 along Highway 50.

In all, firefighters said, they used 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire.

Tesla vehicles have lithium-ion batteries that can present fire and explosion hazards when damaged, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Crews arrived to a Tesla Model S engulfed in flames, nothing unusual prior. 2 Fire Engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck were requested to assist. Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery. Thousands of gallons were used in extinguishment. pic.twitter.com/5dIXxo9hP5  Metro Fire of Sacramento (@metrofirepio) January 29, 2023

Tyre Nichols update: 3 Memphis Fire Department personnel fired for not providing aid to Tyre Nichols

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tesla car battery 'spontaneously' bursts on California Highway 50
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) has introduced a slate of legislation that seeks to honor American slaves and their descendants.

At some point, they ought to have their descendants benefit from the injustice with justice, in the form of first making sure that their ancestors are respected for what theyve done, Green told The Hill. I assure you  if Anglos suffered what Black people suffered in this country, they would be doing what Im doing, and would have done it long ago to correct the injustice.

Greens legislation, The Conscience Agenda: Our Moral Imperative, includes expanding Slavery Remembrance Day, posthumously awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to the American enslaved, removing Richard Russells name from the Russell Senate Office Building, enacting the Securities and Exchange Atonement Act and establishing the Department of Reconciliation.

Green said this agenda is needed more than ever, coming as the country argues over what part of African American history can be taught in schools.

Most recently, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) rejected a new Advanced Placement (AP) course for high school students on African American studies, saying the content is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.

In response, the College Board will release an updated version of the course

At this moment in time, we have persons who are trying to rewrite history, persons who refuse to acknowledge the facts associated with our history, said Green. There are persons who dont want the history of slavery, the atrocities that were perpetrated upon Black people, they dont want that talk. We cannot allow history to be rewritten to the extent that it likely will be without our voices being raised.

Part of Greens agenda is already in action.

On Aug. 20, 2022, President Biden recognized Slavery Remembrance Day as a day to reflect on the terrible toll of slavery, and on our nations profound ability to heal and emerge stronger.

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That specific date was chosen because on Aug. 20, 1619, the first Africans were brought to Virginia on the slave ship, the White Lion.

While Juneteenth is a day to celebrate the emancipation of Black people, Green said, Slavery Remembrance Day would involve a program that would be spread out in churches around the country to honor and remember those who lived and died in slavery. It would also be a day of reflection, Green added, when the U.S. would take time to condemn the act of enslavement.

Theres no emolument associated with it, but there is the benefit of knowing that you have been a part of correcting an injustice and what happened in this country in 1619 and then for centuries was a great injustice, said Green.

Posthumously awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to the American enslaved would be another way for Congress to honor the foundational mothers and fathers whose backs this country was built on, he added.

The medal would be awarded to the Africans first brought to America on the White Lion and all their descendants.

Posthumously awarding a Congressional Gold Medal isnt unheard of  the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the honor, as were servicemen and women who died in Afghanistan. Most recently, Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley were awarded the honor.

But, Green said, part of why it is so important to bestow this honor is because in 1956, Congress awarded the medal to Confederate soldiers.

We cannot revile the ancestors but revere the enslavers, said Green. And that includes those who went on to join the United States government, like Sen. Richard Russell, he said.

Russell (R-Ga.) served in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1971.

As chair of the Southern Caucus, Russell was a staunch opponent of civil rights. He filibustered for six days to stop an anti-lynching bill from passing and, in 1964, voted against the Civil Rights Act. He was against integration, and he once declared America a white mans country.

Today, the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., is named after Russell, but Green refuses to enter that building in a one-man silent protest. His agenda calls for removing Russells name from the building and renaming it The Old Senate Office Building until a new name can be agreed upon.

But Greens agenda also calls for atonement, specifically in the form of a racial equity audit every two years.

This audit would investigate the extent of a financial institutions historical connections  direct or indirect  to slavery. For instance, during the 19th century, Citizens Bank and Canal Bank in Louisiana, part of JP Morgan today, accepted slaves as collateral for loans to Southern plantation owners. JPMorgan and Chase apologized for this involvement in 2005.

Greens plan would also create an office of reparations within the Treasury Department.

Green is hoping to see movement on his agenda this Congress  but much of it is unlikely to pass.

The House is now controlled by Republicans, who have a very different view on racial justice. In fact, a 2021 Pew Research Center survey found an overwhelming number of Republicans think little or nothing needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans, regardless of race.

Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to say the nation has made a lot of progress toward racial equality over the last 50 years. Only 6 percent of Republicans believe white people benefit from advantages that Black people do not have.

Green said America has always needed racial justice.

Racial justice is needed because theres been racial injustice, said Green. It was a great injustice to enslaved people and over the centuries, one segment of society has benefited from that injustice.

It requires acknowledgement of what the enslaved peoples did to make America the great country that is, Green added. America didnt get great by itself. It had free labor for centuries to give it a pretty good start.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Reuters) - The Texas oil regulator on Sunday advised oil and gas pipeline operators to secure equipment and facilities after forecasts for severe weather over the next several days.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), which oversees the state's oil and gas industries, issued the notice after the National Weather Service forecast wintry precipitation and ice accumulations across several parts of the state.

The oil regulator advised the operators to secure all personnel, equipment and facilities to prevent injury or damage, and monitor and prepare operations for potential impacts.

It also asked the operators to "heed" all watches, warnings and orders issued by local emergency officials and monitor weather reports.

"Significant icing possible due to freezing rain. Total ice accumulations of one-tenth to one quarter of an inch, particularly on elevated surfaces and bridges. Some sleet will be possible," the National Weather Service said in a forecast for portions of north central, northeast and south central Texas.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates most of the state's power grid, also issued a notice for a potential freezing precipitation event for the Panhandle, north, west and central areas of the region beginning on Monday through Thursday.

Millions of Texans were left without power, water and heat for days during a deadly winter storm in February 2021 after the shutdown of a large amount of electric generation and gas pipelines.

(Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
BANGKOK (AP)  Thailand's police commissioner apologized Tuesday after seven officers were placed under investigation for allegedly extorting money from a Taiwanese actor who was visiting Bangkok on a holiday.

Charlene An posted on social media that she was traveling in a taxi with friends after a night out in the Thai capital when they were stopped and searched at a checkpoint in the early hours of Jan. 5. She said she was threatened with a criminal charge for having an e-cigarette and later paid 27,000 baht ($820) before they were able to leave.

Two captains, two senior sergeant majors and three sergeants who were at the checkpoint were transferred to inactive positions while the investigation is ongoing, police said.

There are still many good police. We must encourage the good ones and deal with the bad ones," police Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapas told reporters at police headquarters.

"I would like to stress that our city has lots of visitors coming. Immigration police, tourist police and local police must take the best care of tourists. And for the incident that has happened, if there is wrongdoing, as the head of the organization, I apologize to the victims affected by what happened, he said.

Anyone found guilty will be punished, he said.

Thai police earlier denied the accusation and suggested An was intoxicated and had not been able to produce travel documents, possibly because of a language barrier. Police were unable to produce videos from body cameras from the night, according to local media.
Presidential politics are hanging over efforts to rekindle police reform in Congress after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis.

The lead Republican negotiator in the talks, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), is widely believed to be exploring a presidential bid, and Republican strategists warn any deal with Democrats could set him back.

Senate Republicans are expecting Scott, the only Black member of the conference, to take the lead in negotiating with Democrats after he spent months during the last Congress trying to hammer out a police reform deal with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and former Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.).

GOP aides and strategists are doubtful that any reform deal can be passed by Congress that wont become a political liability for Scott, given demands by Democrats to open individual police officers to personal legal liability for alleged misconduct.

Thats a potential concern for Scott, who is viewed as a top prospect to become the GOPs vice presidential nominee if he doesnt win the presidential nomination.

Scott has to be careful he doesnt sign off on a sweeping reform bill that puts him at odds with the Republican base, something that happened to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) after he endorsed a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013.

I see this as something that can turn into a Gang of Eight situation for Tim Scott in the way that it did for Marco Rubio, said GOP strategist Ford OConnell. He was referring to the bipartisan negotiating group that agreed to create a pathway to citizenship for more than 10 million undocumented immigrants in exchange for tougher border security and other reforms.

Political experts, however, say that Scott could boost his national profile ahead of a presidential run by achieving a legislative breakthrough on an issue that rose to prominence after George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

The clamor for reform has grown more intense after authorities released graphic videos Friday night that showed police beating Nichols. Five police officers face criminal charges for the incident.

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Theres reason to think he would be serious about and he would be looking for a way to maybe package what were calling police reform with a larger law enforcement package that might include a lot more money for training, Steven S. Smith, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis, said of Scott.

Smith said if Scott is looking for a niche in what is likely to be long list of Republican candidates running for president, this might be it.

He acknowledged that theres a pretty serious risk for Scott if he cuts a major police reform deal with Democrats, but argued he has to balance that potential downside with the need to break out in what could be a crowded presidential primary field.

The question is whether or not theres a place for him in the contest for the presidency without distinguishing himself in some way, Smith said. Maybe this would be a way he could do that.

Scott declined to comment when asked about police reform Monday afternoon.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said Monday that he expects Scott to again take the lead in any potential talks but raised doubts whether Democrats would agree to anything that most Republicans could support.

He did a lot of good work the last time around until the Democrats torpedoed it, he said.

GOP senators are already warning that Democrats shouldnt expect Scott to make any big concessions beyond the legislation he introduced in 2020 to end the use of chokeholds, increase the use of body cameras and provide more federal resources to hire and train new officers.

Tim Scott proposed an incredible bill  and frankly Democrats turned it down, said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a centrist who has worked with Democrats on other issues. Tim had a great bill, they wouldnt accept it.

We can go back to Tim Scotts bill, Cassidy said, asserting that some of the demands being made by Democrats are disingenuous.

Cassidy said there might be a better chance of striking a deal on police reform in a nonelection year, before next years presidential politics scuttle any chance of getting something done.

Were in the first year of a two-year cycle and sometimes people actually look at policy as opposed to have an eye toward politics, and maybe that will change the dynamic of the talks, he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Monday floated the idea of protecting individual police officers from lawsuits but making police departments liable for misconduct, an idea he raised two years ago during the final stretch of police reform negotiations.

I oppose civil lawsuits against individual officers, Graham posted on Twitter. However, holding police departments accountable makes sense and they should face liability for the misconduct of their officers.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to the Senate Republican leadership, noted that Senate negotiators discussed this possible compromise two years ago and it didnt go anywhere.

The Texas senator predicted that police reform has less chance of passing now that Republicans control the House than it did in the last Congress, when there was a Democratic House majority.

I think its probably less likely to happen now with divided government, he said.

A senior Democratic aide said any police reform bill that has a chance to get to President Bidens desk will likely have to originate in the Senate, given that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) didnt show much interest in passing a comprehensive bill in the last Congress.

Only one House Republican voted for the sweeping George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March of 2021.

The House passed four other crime- and policing-related bills with varying bipartisan support in September.

They were the Invest to Protect Act, to provide federal grants to small law enforcement agencies; the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, to provide grants for community violence initiatives; the Mental Health Justice Act, to train and assign mental health professionals to situations with people suffering mental health crises; and the VICTIM Act, to give local investigators more access to crime-solving technology.

The biggest accomplishment on the police reform front in the last Congress was passage of the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act of 2022, which Biden signed into law in late December.

It provided $124 million in grant funding to pay for law enforcement agencies to develop new curricula for officers.

Cornyn on Monday said these types of reforms only work when police officers follow their de-escalation training, something that didnt happen in Memphis the night Nichols died.

He said the de-escalation tactics funded by the bill, which he cosponsored, if used, would have avoided this tragic result.

We talked about the George Floyd Act for a couple years and [de-escalation training bill] was the only thing we could come to agreement on so I dont know what other options are on the table, he said, dismissing the chances of passing a broader police reform bill.

Mychael Schnell contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Polish tourist was hit in the head with a stick and yelled at after walking up the steps of the Mayan pyramid in Chichen Itza, according to the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia of Mexico.

The pyramid, an archaeological and historical site, has been closed to climbing since 2008, but that didnt stop the man from crossing into the restricted area and walking up the stairs of the pyramid on Jan. 28.

In a video circulating on social media, the man can be seen being led down the steps of the Temple of Kukulcan, the Mayan pyramid, by site officials. When he reaches the ground, he is met by an angry crowd.

Other local and international tourists can be heard yelling obscenities and voicing their anger toward the tourist in the video.

The tourist is then approached from behind by a shirtless man holding a large stick while being led away from the temple.

The shirtless man swings the stick, hitting the back of the mans head. The site officials then attempt to lead the tourist through the crowd where he continued to be berated.

The Mexico Daily Post reported that the man had accessed the area to take pictures and share them on social networks.

The man was arrested by the Municipal Police of Tinum and held for 12 hours before being released with a fine, Jose Arturo Chab Cardenas, head of the INAH Yucatan Center, said in a statement according to Aristegui Noticias.

Chab Cardenas said the man was a visitor from Poland and that he had been fined 5,000 pesos, the equivalent of around $266.

His arrest comes just two months after another tourist went viral for walking up the steps despite yells from onlookers. The woman climbed the temple on Nov. 20 and when she came back down, people threw food and water at her and pulled her hair.

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The Temple of Kukulcan was built by the Mayans for the feathered serpent god Kukulcan between 800 and 900 A.D., according to Atlas Obscura. The temple helped the Mayans to track the summer and winter equinoxes, when the Mayans said Kukulcan would return to commune with his worshippers and bring good health and healthy crops.

Tourists must respect the security measures of the INAH in the archaeological zone to preserve the cultural heritage of Mexico, take care of other visitors and enjoy that Mayan legacy, Chab Cardenas said to the Mexico Daily Post.

Medieval Italian bridge was pedestrian-only  until California tourist arrived, cops say

Iconic California state park with waterfall onto beach closed by storm damage

I love to kill deer. Man accused of poaching says hed kill more deer, officials say
After 28 years  the age of the victim herself  police in California connected a truck driver living in Utah to the 1994 murder of a trans woman.

The victim, Terrie Ladwig, was murdered in her apartment in Concord, California, on Dec. 2, 1994, and the case had remained unsolved until recently, Concord police said in a news release posted to Facebook on Monday, Jan. 30.

Concord Police said recent developments led them to identify 55-year-old James William Grimsley as a suspect in the killing.

Lt. Sean Donnelly told news outlets there was forensic evidence at the scene.

Police say theyre investigating Grimsleys ties to the Bay Area and told the Bay Area News Group he could have passed through the Contra Costa County area as a truck driver in the 1990s. He would have been about 26 at the time.

The Contra Costa Times reported in 2004 that Ladwig had called her husband, who was a U.S. Navy sailor, to tell him someone was trying to break into their home, according to the outlet. Her husband rushed home from a base in Bangor, Washington, and discovered her body after she had been beaten and strangled.

Her murder publicized their marriage, and the U.S. Navy gave her husband an other than honorable discharge, the San Francisco Examiner reported at the time, according to the Bay Area News Group.

This victim, Terrie, was only 28 at the time, Donnelly told Bay Area News Group. She was young and had her whole life ahead of her. Hopefully there will be some justice after all these years.

A friend of Ladwigs told ABC 7 she was relieved to see her friends case finally solved.

She was a great woman, she had a great personality, she made people laugh, Brittany Shoras told the station. She would brighten my day when she came in. We talked about transgender issues and the laws that we didnt have back in those days that we have today.

After an extradition hearing in Utah, Grimsley will be extradited to California to face the murder charge, Donnelly told McClatchy News in an email. Hes being held on a $1 million fugitive bond, ABC 7 reported.

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Police ask anyone with information to contact Concord PD Detective James Cartwright at 925952-603-5829.

Woman found dead in canvas sack 52 years ago has been identified in Arizona, cops say

Threats against LGBTQ community spark domestic terrorism warning, Homeland Security says

Man kidnapped mall manager 29 years ago, CA officials say. Now DNA leads to charges
President Donald Trumps administration neglected state efforts to combat domestic and foreign criminals collecting billions of dollars fraudulently from overwhelmed unemployment systems, Californias Employment Development Director said Monday.

Nancy Farias swung back hard against allegations by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., that California has done a poor job fighting unemployment fraud.

We object to the chairs mischaracterization of Californias response to the unemployment insurance fraud attacks and the chairs failure to acknowledge the inadequate response by the Trump Administration Farias wrote in a four page letter to Comer.

Comer is chairman the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is investigating the California unemployment system. The committee plans a Wednesday hearing on Californias actions, as well as those of other states.

Farias contended it was President Donald Trumps administration which left neglected state UI systems fighting domestic and international criminal enterprises effectively on their own.

Their fight is shaping up as a highly partisan battle. Republicans took control of the House earlier this month, and Comer has vowed to examine COVID-related spending.

I believe with all my heart that we have a duty to have the backs of the American taxpayer. That is something that has been left out of the mix over the last several years in Congress, he said Monday.

Its unclear who was most to blame for the initially slow response to the fraud, and chaos, that the system endured as the COVID pandemic exploded in 2020. The California state auditor was critical of some of the states response, and the independent federal Labor Department was critical of some of the federal response.

Plagued by fraud

California, like other states, was suddenly deluged with unemployment claims as the economy went into freefall in the spring of 2020, when COVID-triggered restrictions virtually shut down public activity.

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Washington created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to help. It provided weekly jobless benefits to people who traditionally could not qualify for unemployment insurance, such as self-employed workers.

Unemployment agencies throughout the country made it a priority to get the benefits out quickly to those in need. But in doing so, they exposed their systems to massive fraud.

California officials have estimated about $20 billion was improperly paid, including some to prisoners, organized crime interests and others. The vast majority of that fraud activity occurred in the new federally-funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program which lacked some of the basic safeguards that are built into the regular state unemployment insurance programs.

Regular unemployment Insurance is a joint federal-state program. There are some federal regulations that govern the program and there are some state specific ones as well.

But with PUA, states were required to build and launch what the federal program called for, funded entirely by federal funds, not the employer contribution funds that pay for regular UI benefits. States administered the PUA program according to the requirements of the program set by the federal government.

Comer blasted state officials for the mess.

Governor (Gavin) Newsom and agency officials tried to deflect by blaming the federal government for expanding unemployment benefits during the pandemic and loosening eligibility rules, Comer said in a letter to Farias earlier this month.

He said that Despite the unexpected and unprecedented nature of the coronavirus pandemic, Californias problems cannot be blamed on COVID alone.

He cited a January 2021 report from then-State Auditor Elaine Howle. She said the federal government warned the state at least three times in the early months of the pandemic to beef up its fraud protections.

EDD fights back

Farias Monday hit back at Comer.

The Trump administration expressed no interest in establishing such coordinated national response when these programs were initiated in 2020, leaving states to fend for themselves against a clear pattern of sophisticated, international criminal syndicates at work, she wrote.

She cited an August, 2020, report from the Labor Departments Inspector General, a nonpartisan watchdog.

The report showed that on May 26, about two months after PUA was created, the inspector general warned about potential fraud.

And that office suggested timely, additional guidance could assist states in better protecting funds against fraud, waste, and abuse. Further, ETA has directed states to leverage their existing program integrity systems to include (new) programs, but ETA can do more to ensure adequate program assessment. ETA is the U.S. Labor Departments Employment and Training Administration.

On August 31, that agency sent a 17 page memo addressing ways to combat fraud to the states.

But Farias told Comer that the federal agency did not act to develop any sort of coordinated national response to detect or prevent the fraud. And federal money to help fight fraud was not available until September 2020, and Californias share was woefully inadequate.

Nevertheless, Farias said, California, responded aggressively to fraud attacks by implementing new fraud prevention and detection measures, which prevented over $125 billion in fraudulent payments.

As of November, EDD reported 1,713 investigations into fraud have been opened in the past three years. There have been 296 convictions and more than $1.1 billion seized or recovered so far as investigations into pandemic fraud continue.

Farias, appointed to her current job last year by Newsom, praised the Biden administration, which took office in January 2021, for creating a Fraud Enforcement Task Force in the Justice Department to prosecute and recover stolen funds from domestic and international criminals involved in the fraud.

Last year, the department named a chief prosecutor to lead a team to probe major fraud targets.
Biden says "no" to sending fighter jets to Ukraine

Xinhua) 08:18, January 31, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 27, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

President Joe Biden's remarks came as debate picked up steam over whether to arm Ukraine, which has been in conflict with Russia for nearly a year, with Western-made fighter jets.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that he won't approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"No," Biden said in response to a question about the possibility of such a decision.

As he spoke, Biden arrived back at the White House from a trip to Baltimore, Maryland. Biden also said he was planning to visit Poland but didn't yet know when.

The president's remarks came as debate picked up steam over whether to arm Ukraine, which has been in conflict with Russia for nearly a year, with Western-made fighter jets.

Asked about the administration's decision on potential delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said during an appearance on MSNBC last Thursday that "we have not ruled in or out any specific systems."

"We have tried to tailor our assistance to the phase of the fight that the Ukrainians are in. I don't have an announcement to make one way or the other," he added.

Albeit a constant request from the authorities in Kiev, fighter jets have long been regarded by the West as a taboo in terms of military assistance for Ukraine, for fear that such deliveries would lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the conflict.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter last Wednesday that securing the provision of Western-type fighter jets are among the "new tasks ahead" for Ukraine. On the same day, the United States and Germany announced their respective decisions to send combat tanks to Ukraine.

Ukraine's plea for fighter jets met with refusal from Germany, whose chancellor, Olaf Scholz, recently said combat aircraft is not an item on Berlin's list of weapons for Ukraine.

"The question of combat aircraft does not arise at all," Scholz said in an interview with Tagesspiegel published on Sunday. "I can only advise against entering into a constant competition to outbid each other when it comes to weapons systems."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Over the next two weeks, well have the chance to see a rare green comet that is flying by the Earth for the first time in about 50,000 years.

At its closest point on Wednesday, it will come within 26 million miles of our planet. Its expected to be at its brightest around Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 and just barely visible to the naked eye.

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But what makes this green-hued comet, officially named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), so special?

This literally is current humankinds one and only chance to see this comet because even if it does return to our part of the solar system, were talking like 50,000 years in the future, said Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetariums director of public observing. That alone kind of makes it a little special.

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While it could potentially come back in several tens of thousands of years, it may also just keep going and exit the solar system completely if a large gravitational object, such as a planet like Jupiter, adjusts its orbit enough, she said.

Its origin and hue also make it special. There are a couple of different reservoirs for comets, Nichols explained, such as the Kuiper belt out past the orbit of Neptune. This green comet is from the Oort cloud, which is much farther out in space in an area that we actually have never observed. Its distance also means we rarely see comets from the Oort cloud since it takes them so long to orbit the sun.

Green-hued comets are seen a little less frequently than comets that are yellowish-white (which might be due to dust) or blue (which is a different kind of gas). The color all depends on the type of stuff the comet is made of, what it is emitting and what happens when light hits it, Nichols said. For comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), when ultraviolet light from the sun hits it, a specific molecule emits a green light.

A close-up of the green comet taken through a telescope from Northerly Island on Jan. 15. (Bill Chiu )

What does the name mean?

While comets are often named after people who discovered them, such as the Hale-Bopp comet, named after Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, the green comets official name is more complicated.

The C/ portion of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) indicates that its a comet. Next, 2022 is for the year it was discovered, while E indicates the specific time period, in this case, the first half of March. The 3 means that its the third comet to be discovered in that time period. Finally, ZTF stands for Zwicky Transient Facility, which is the facility in California that discovered the comet.

Comet vs. asteroid

Comets and asteroids basically are all leftovers from the formation of the solar system, Nichols said. So comets and asteroids are old.

The main difference between them is what theyre made of: asteroids tend to be rocky, while comets have more ice.

Meanwhile, meteorites, like the one a Field Museum research scientist helped discover recently in Antarctica, are pieces of space rock that didnt fully burn up once they entered the Earths atmosphere and reached the Earths surface.

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While comets can impact Earth, Nichols said it doesnt happen often.

How to see the green comet

If you want to get a glimpse of this comet, there are some steps youll need to take. Since its just on the cusp of being considered naked eye visible, its recommended to use binoculars or a small telescope to really see the comet.

Youre looking for a faint fuzzball, Nichols said.

Getting away from the bright lights of the city is usually always better when it comes to looking out for comets, but a big problem that people will run into is that the moon will be in its waxing gibbous phase, so its bright light will compete with the comet. If you cant get away from bright lights, trying to mitigate them as much as possible will help viewing efforts. That could be as simple as making sure any lights are to your back.

In terms of where to look in the sky, it will all depend on the day and the time. Nichols recommended searching for the comet on an app that shows you the night sky, such as Stellarium. The Adler also has a viewing chart with details on where to look for the comet at 9 p.m. from Feb. 1-8.

A viewing chart for where to look in the night sky to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Feb. 1 through Feb. 8. (Adler Planetarium / HANDOUT)

And dont forget to check the weather. Weather permitting, the Adler hopes to get its telescope rigged up with a camera and broadcast a live view on its YouTube channel of the comet from the Doane Observatory on Feb. 1 and Feb. 8. The Scopes at the Adler Facebook group will post updates on if the observatory will be open. The National Weather Service currently is predicting mostly clear skies Tuesday night, partly cloudy Wednesday for Chicago, though bitterly cold.

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Well probably know a day or two in advance if the weather is going to cooperate enough to at least try, Nichols said. It all depends on if these clouds move out of the way.

ksamoy@chicagotribune.com
Former President Donald Trump pauses during an address to New Hampshire Republicans. Reba Saldanha/AP

Trump had a rocky start as he emerged from seclusion to hit the 2024 campaign trail.

A pair of events in South Carolina and New Hampshire illustrated his staying power in the GOP.

But the former president's appearances also underlined his status as a vulnerable front-runner.

Former President Donald Trump's return to the campaign trail over the weekend ended his bizarre self-imposed seclusion that saw a declared presidential candidate do few of the actual things candidates are supposed to do.

In campaigning in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Trump checked off the box of visiting two of four early states that loom over the GOP's presidential primary and caucus calendar. His presence also illustrated that while he is the current frontrunner, he is not scaring opponents off the field as one might expect from a former president.

The reality is that Trump is only beginning to take his third campaign seriously. In the meantime, senior operatives are gathering support for one of his possible opponents just outside of the room. But the rest of the entire field is frozen, unable or unwilling to grapple with Trump head-on.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis smiles as confetti falls after he is declared the victor on election night 2022. Getty Images

Rival campaigns are poaching support at Trump's own rallies

For example, take his time in New Hampshire. Trump's commanding win in the Granite State in 2016 after a humiliating loss in Iowa began his glide path to the nomination and eventually the White House. While the former president worked the room, reporters found volunteers for a pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC signing up volunteers for the Florida governor, who has yet to even announce his intentions. That fact didn't stop outgoing Vice Chairwoman Pamela Tucker from signing up volunteers.

Just before the gathering, a University of New Hampshire poll found that DeSantis held a 12-point lead among likely GOP primary voters. DeSantis hasn't even visited the state for months.

According to Politico, Trump's speech at the New Hampshire GOP's annual meeting was added to his schedule at the last minute. The apparent lack of communication about the former president's first visit to New Hampshire since 2020 came despite Trump confirming his trip to South Carolina weeks prior.

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Former President Donald Trump listens to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the White House, on October 21, 2019. Alex Wong/Getty Images

But no one is willing to take him on directly

The good news for Trump is that for the time being the rest of the potential 2024 campaign field remains frozen. Former Vice President Mike Pence is dealing with his own classified documents mess. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is sniping at former US Ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley. And it remains to be seen what former 2016 hopefuls like Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will do.

Trump's visit to South Carolina also appears to have gone more smoothly. Gov. Henry McMaster, who more or less owes Trump his job, re-upped his support for the former president. Ditto for Sen. Lindsey Graham, who rebuked Republicans who want Trump's policies without Trump personally. In 2016, Trump locked down support across the South, something he'll want to replicate, particularly if the 2024 nomination turns into a protracted fight.

There's a lane to take on Trump, but nobody is stepping into it

None of these factors are evidence of a juggernaut campaign. The reality is that there has always been an opening to challenge Trump. The question is will any candidate want to lock horns with a former president, as The Atlantic's McKay Coppins outlined in a piece on how 2024 could look a lot like 2016, with the GOP privately wishing for Trump's demise while doing little to actually bring his comeuppance.

"None of Donald Trump's opponents ever have the balls to throw him the damn brick," Terry Sullivan, one of Rubio's top 2016 operatives, told Coppins. "They just hope someone else will. Hope isn't a winning strategy."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump sued journalist Bob Woodward on Monday, claiming that the audio companion to Woodward's book "Rage" improperly used recordings of his interviews with the former president.

According to Trump's suit, filed in federal court in Florida, he contends that he consented to being recorded only for the purposes of the book and not to the release of the audio recordings for other reasons.

The complaint accuses Woodward of "systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump gathered in connection with a series of interviews."

MORE: GOP members of Congress show little concern over Trump book revelations on coronavirus response

The "Trump Tapes" were released in October and include 20 interviews Woodward conducted with Trump from his time as president and as a candidate.

Those interviews include 19 times that Trump and Woodward spoke, either in person or by phone, between December 2019 and August 2020, Trump's lawsuit states.

"I wanted to put as much of Trump's voice, his own words, out there for the historical record so people can hear and make their own assessments," Woodward says in the audiobook, calling the conversations "lengthy" and "raw."

PHOTO: Investigative journalist Bob Woodward delivers remarks on 'New threats to Democracies' during CNN International Summit on November 21, 2022, in Lisbon, Portugal. (Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images)

Trump's suit also names "Rage" publisher Simon & Schuster and its parent company, Paramount, as defendants -- alleging they usurped audio that was subject to limitations on use and distribution "as a matter of copyright, license, contract, basic principles of the publishing industry, and core values of fairness and consent."

In a joint statement, Woodward and Simon & Schuster said: "Former President Trump's lawsuit is without merit and we will aggressively defend against it."

"All these interviews were on the record and recorded with President Trump's knowledge and agreement. Moreover, it is in the public interest to have this historical record in Trump's own words," the statement continued. "We are confident that the facts and the law are in our favor."

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"Rage" was one of three books that Woodward published about Trump after his turn as a political candidate, along with "Fear" and "Peril."

"Rage" reportedly sold hundreds of thousands of copies after its initial release, in the fall of 2020, and made headlines when Woodward quoted Trump during a March 2020 interview as saying that he had wanted to intentionally minimize the risk of COVID-19 to avoid alarm: "I still like playing it down because I don't want to create a panic."

Trump's new lawsuit argues "Rage" was a "total failure," which motivated Woodward to release the interview audio as well.

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop to unveil his leadership team, at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina, January 28, 2023. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters, FILE)

He is suing for breach of contract, deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment and copyright infringement.

He asked the court to find that he owns the recordings, audiobook and derivative works in full and therefore is entitled to all revenues arising from what he calls the exploitation of such works. The lawsuit also seeks damages.

ABC News' Kate Hodgson contributed to this report.

Trump sues Bob Woodward for releasing audio of their interviews originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Mutulu Shakur, who has an advanced form of cancer, is making up for lost time with his family after the Black liberation activist was released on parole from a 60-year prison sentence in December.

Im so happy to be free, Shakur, Tupac Shakurs stepfather, told NBC News. I fought hard every day that I was incarcerated. I have a lot to do, hoping that society gives me another swing at it. But my life is an example of what could happen. I am very hopeful.

The 72-year-old was released from federal prison on Dec. 16 after more than 35 years behind bars on racketeering, robbery and robbery murder charges.

The organized movement advocating for Shakurs release stepped up its efforts in recent years as the man developed myriad health issues, most notably stage 3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that can affect the bones and kidneys. Shakur has endured drastic weight loss due to his illnesses and treatments; has had Covid at least twice; and has relied on IV feeding tubes on and off in the months leading up to his release, his attorney, Brad Thomson, previously said. Thomson said doctors with the Federal Bureau of Prisons gave Shakur less than six months to live last May, noting that his cancer treatment had stopped working.

Shakur was considered the leader of a group that robbed a Brinks armored car in Rockland County, New York, in 1981, leaving two police officers and a Brinks guard dead.

Shakur had been denied release several times over the years, with authorities insisting that his crimes were too serious and his health had not deteriorated enough to warrant release. However, in the October decision, officials told Shakur, We now find your medical condition renders you so infirm of mind and body that you are no longer physically capable of committing any Federal, State, or local crime.

Now hes spending his final days with family in Los Angeles. Mopreme Shakur, Shakurs son, said his fathers health has appeared to be improving since coming home. He was reunited with his six living children and three grandchildren, which, Mopreme said, has done wonders in lifting Shakurs spirits.

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I think being free does a lot for the spirit, Mopreme said. He gained like nine pounds in the first 10 days he was home.

Tupac Shakur in 1992 (Gary Reyes / Bay Area News via Getty Images )

Shakur said of his own health: I am receiving excellent care in two categories  Western oncology and holistic natural therapies. I dont take this freedom for granted.

Along with enjoying time with family, Shakur has spent the last few weeks on a food tour, trying different foods he didnt have access to while in prison, his son said. Everyones bringing him bean pies from every direction! Mopreme added.

Supporters spent years advocating for the release of Shakur, whom they consider a political prisoner. They say authorities wanted to make an example of Shakur because of his activism with revolutionary Black nationalist groups.

Its been kind of surreal for myself and many others, said Jomo Muhammad, an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement who advocated for Shakurs freedom. A lot of tears and happiness. We were always clear that the system had no intention of freeing him and it was only through organizing and people rallying behind him that hes home. Folks feel a lot of accomplishment.

Shakur served 36 of a 60-year sentence stemming from a 1988 conviction for conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, bank robbery, armed bank robbery and bank robbery murder. He was convicted of leading a group of revolutionaries in a string of armed robberies in New York and Connecticut. He was also convicted of helping JoAnne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979, according to The Associated Press and Thomson.

But advocates like Muhammad have said the government targeted Shakur all those years ago to quell his activism, and believe that at the time of his arrest in 1986, Shakur was doing his own independent investigation of COINTELPRO, an FBI campaign to discredit radical groups including Black liberation movements that were deemed illegal. They also have claimed his incarceration was linked to his Black liberation efforts and his work with revolutionary Black nationalist groups in the 1960s, including the Revolutionary Action Movement and the Republic of New Afrika.

In his younger years, Shakur was also recognized for his work bringing holistic health care to Black communities in the Bronx. He informally studied acupuncture and in the 1970s joined with several other activists, in groups like the Black Panthers and the Young Lords, to take over part of Bronxs Lincoln Hospital and run the Lincoln Detox Center, a community center that used acupuncture to treat drug dependence and provided political education that produced several community activists, according to The Washington Post.

Shakur expressed joy over reuniting with his family, of whom he said he feels proud.

Its been a great, great day, in 38 years of life, that I have had an opportunity to hug and nestle with my six children and three grandchildren, he said. I am so proud of them, that they have survived and are presently in good physical and, more importantly, mental strength in light of what my life has caused them. Theyre very productive citizens that have not been tainted by the politics of my issues.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Amina Ismail

SARARO, Iraq (Reuters) - Looming over the deserted village of Sararo in northern Iraq, three Turkish military outposts break the skyline, part of an incursion that forced the residents to flee last year after days of shelling.

The outposts are just some of the dozens of new military bases Turkey has established on Iraqi soil in the past two years as it steps up its decades-long offensive against Kurdish militants sheltered in the remote and rugged region.

"When Turkey first came to the area, they set up small portable tents, but in the spring, they set up outposts with bricks and cement," Sararo's mayor Abdulrahman Hussein Rashid said in December during a visit to the village, where shell casings and shrapnel still litter the ground.

"They have drones and cameras operating 24/7. They know everything that's going on," he told Reuters, as drones buzzed overhead in the mountainous terrain 5 km from the frontier.

Turkey's advances across the increasingly depopulated border of Iraqi Kurdistan attract little global attention compared to its incursions into Syria or the battle against Islamic State, but the escalation risks further destabilising a region where foreign powers have intervened with impunity, analysts say.

Turkey could become further embroiled if its new Iraqi bases come under sustained attack, while its growing presence may also embolden Iran to expand military action in Iraq against groups it accuses of fomenting unrest at home, Kurdish officials say.

Former secretary general for Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces, Jabar Manda, said Turkey had 29 outposts in Iraq until 2019 but the number has mushroomed as Ankara tries to stop the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) launching attacks on its own territory.

"Year after year the outposts have been increasing after the escalation of battles between Turkish forces and the PKK," he said, estimating the current number at 87, mostly in a strip of border territory about 150 km long (95 miles) and 30 km deep.

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"In those outposts there are tanks and armoured vehicles," said Manda, who is now a security analyst in Sulaimaniya. "Helicopters supply the outposts daily."

EMPTY VILLAGES

A Kurdish official, who declined to be named, also said Turkey now had about 80 outposts in Iraq. Another Kurdish official said at least 50 had been built in the last two years and that Turkey's presence was becoming more permanent.

Asked to comment on its bases in Iraq, Turkey's defence ministry said its operations there were in line with article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which gives member states the right to self defence in the event of attacks.

"Our fight against terrorism in northern Iraq is carried out in coordination and close cooperation with the Iraqi authorities," the ministry said in a statement, which did not address questions about the figures cited by Kurdish officials.

Turkey's presence in northern Iraq, which has long been outside the direct control of the Baghdad government, dates back to the 1990s when former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein let Turkish forces advance 5 km into the country to fight the PKK.

Since then, Turkey has built a significant presence, including one base at Bashiqa 80 km inside Iraq, where it says Turkish troops were part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State.

Turkey said it worked to avoid civilian casualties through its coordination with Iraqi authorities.

A report published in August by a coalition of NGOs, End Cross-Border Bombing, said at least 98 civilians were killed between 2015 and 2021. The International Crisis Group, which gave a similar civilian death toll, said 1,180 PKK militants were killed between 2015 and 2023.

According to an official with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the conflict has also emptied at least 800 villages since 2015, when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK broke down, driving thousands of people from their homes.

NEW TARGETS

Beyond the humanitarian impact, Turkey's incursion risks widening the conflict by giving carte blanche to regional rival Iran to step up intelligence operations inside Iraq and take its own military action, Kurdish officials say.

Tehran has already fired missiles at bases of Kurdish groups it accuses of involvement in protests against its restrictions on women, displacing hundreds of Iranian Kurds and killing some.

Iran did not respond to requests for comment.

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq also have a pretext to respond to Turkey's presence, analysts say, raising the prospect of escalation between Turkish troops and groups besides the PKK.

Hamdi Malik, a specialist on Iraqi Shi'ite militias at the Washington Institute, said pro-Iranian groups such as Liwa Ahrar al-Iraq (Free People of Iraq Brigade) and Ahrar Sinjar (Free People of Sinjar) rebranded themselves last year as the resistance against the Turkish presence.

According to a Washington Institute report, attacks on Turkish military facilities in Iraq increased from an average of 1.5 strikes per month at the start of 2022 to seven in April.

If the groups, which are deeply hostile to Washington, step up operations that would also undermine the influence of the United States and its 2,000 troops in Iraq, said Mustafa Gurbuz, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington.

"Turkey is underestimating the strength of opposition and the fact that these facilities will become targets in the future and more so as hostilities increase," said Sajad Jiyad, Baghdad-based analyst for The Century Foundation, a U.S. think-tank.

'THEY HAVE BOTH WRONGED US'

Northern Iraq's fragmented politics mean that neither the federal government in Baghdad nor the KRG regional authority are strong enough to challenge Turkey's presence - or to meet Ankara's goal of containing the PKK themselves.

The Baghdad government has complained about Ankara's incursions but has little authority in the mainly Kurdish north, while the region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) does not have the firepower to challenge the PKK, despite seeing it as a potent and populist rival.

The KDP has historically cooperated with Turkey but has limited influence over a neighbour which wields far greater military and economic clout.

"We ask all foreign military groups - including the PKK - to not drag the Kurdistan Region into any kind of conflicts or tensions," KRG spokesman Jotiar Adil said.

"The PKK are the main reason that pushed Turkey to enter our territories in the Kurdistan Region. Therefore, we think the PKK should leave," he said. "We are not a side in this long-standing conflict and we have no plans to be on any side."

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told Reuters the conflict between Turkey and the PKK was a matter of concern, but less pressing than the threat from Islamic State.

Hariam Mahmoud, a leading figure in the Kurdistan Liberation Movement, a civilian opposition group in Iraq influenced by the ideas of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, said no matter how much Turkey squeezes them they will continue to resist.

"In our opinion, this is an occupation and fighting resistance is a legitimate right," said Mahmoud, who lives in Garmiyan district south of Sulaimaniya.

Civilians, meanwhile, continue to pay the price.

Ramzan Ali, 72, was irrigating his field in Hirure a few km from Sararo in 2021, when he heard a huge blast. The next thing he remembers is being on the ground covered in blood.

He said a Turkish shell had crashed into his property - a regular occurrence when Turkish troops respond to PKK attacks with artillery.

"I watched my life flash before my eyes," Ali said in the town of Zakho, where he is still suffering from shrapnel wounds. "I am mad at both the PKK and Turkey. They have both wronged us."

(Reporting by Amina Ismail in Sararo, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Kawa Omar in Dohuk; Editing by Dominic Evans and David Clarke)
By Reuters staff

(Reuters) - Two years after Myanmar's military coup, a young factory worker turned resistance fighter mourns the loss of his leg in battle. A former diplomat has not seen his family in four years. A beauty queen adjusts to a new life in wintry Canada. And an exiled teacher dreams of returning to school.

The Feb. 1, 2021 coup, which unseated Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyis elected government, has left a trail of upended lives in its wake.

U.S-based conflict monitoring group Acled says about 19,000 people died last year as a crackdown on protests led many to take up arms against the military.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced and over 70,000 have left the country, according to the United Nations, which has accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Myanmar's military says it is carrying out a legitimate campaign against "terrorists". It did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.

The stories of four people reflect a crisis the U.N. special envoy last week warned was taking a "catastrophic toll" on the population.

THE RESISTANCE FIGHTER

Aye Chan heard the rat-tat-tat of gunfire followed by an explosion.

"I didn't know if I had been hit or not," the 21-year-old told Reuters, recalling the military attack last year that cost him his leg.

When he tried to stand, his legs didn't work. A comrade carried him to a hospital where he awoke to find one had been amputated from the knee down.

A factory worker making instant noodles before the coup, he had been part of the massive crowds which took to the streets to demand democracy be restored after the coup.

When protest groups began taking up arms, he joined them.

The first time on the frontlines, his heart was pounding.

Then I looked around at my comrades and they were smiling and laughing. I was not afraid.

While morale among the resistance troops is high, he said, they are outmatched by a well-equipped army.

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When they shoot, they shoot continuously, we cant even raise our head, he said. We need to save bullets as well.

Now, he spends most days sleeping, cooking and sharing food with friends. I try to live my life as happily as I can, he said. I can't do the things I did before.

Reuters is not disclosing his whereabouts for security reasons.

He has no regrets about joining the resistance.

If I recover enough, I will go back to war. This is until the end.

THE DIPLOMAT

Aung Soe Moe, 52, was the first secretary in Myanmar's embassy in Japan when the coup happened.

A month later, he joined hundreds of thousands of government workers who quit to join the civil disobedience movement, which aimed to cripple the military's ability to govern.

His wife, stuck in Myanmar with his daughter after the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraged him to speak out. They later fled across the border to Thailand, where many from Myanmar have sought refuge but have been trapped without documents. He has not seen them since 2019.

Alone in Tokyo, he had to move out of his plush three-bed apartment in the embassy grounds. With his source of income gone, other Myanmar residents in Japan offered money to cover his basics and rent for a cramped studio flat.

Japan's government extended Aung Soe Moe's diplomatic visa so he could remain in Tokyo, but he can't work and that visa expires in July. Japan's foreign ministry declined to comment on his future status.

"I suffered a lot but there is nothing worse than losing the future of the people in Myanmar," he told Reuters.

He volunteers a few days a week doing administrative tasks such as writing social media posts for Myanmar's National Unity Government - a parallel civilian government set up after the coup.

He is worried the world will forget about Myanmar, especially since the war in Ukraine.

"But the Myanmar people have not given up on the truth," he said. "We will never give up!"

THE BEAUTY QUEEN

When the military seized power, 23-year-old Han Lay was a model about to take part in an international beauty contest in Thailand.

After protesting with friends, she decided to use her platform to speak about Myanmar. The night before, she couldnt sleep with excitement and worry, she said.

On the stage, she fought back tears as she spoke about military violence on a day when more than 140 demonstrators were killed. The clip went viral.

In Myanmar, the military charged her with sedition.

She was detained at an airport in Bangkok for several days, pleading on social media not to be sent back to Myanmar.

Eventually she flew to Canada and settled in London, Ontario, where she lives with a Burmese-Canadian family, refugees from the 1988 democracy uprising also crushed by the military.

She said she had been lonely when she first arrived but was adjusting.

"I was born in Myanmar, and my family, my friends, and my future, everything (is) in Myanmar I could not have a chance to meet them, I miss them every day," she said.

THE TEACHER

A middle-school teacher has been living in a Thai border town since fleeing arrest in Myanmar last year.

A slight woman with long black hair, she joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) that sprang up after the coup. She asked not to be named, for fear of military reprisals.

I knew that my life would become difficult if I joined CDM, she said. But if we dont revolt, it will not be OK for our future.

She joined street protests wearing her green and white teacher uniform, and fled the country after the crackdown.

Like many Myanmar refugees in Thailand, she is undocumented and lives in fear of arrest.

She ekes out a living crocheting bags and clothing, earning less than $10 a week, and relies on food donations from the parallel civilian government.

I will be a CDM-er til the end, she said. A person needs to go through both good times and bad times.

Her green and white uniform is safe in Myanmar, she said, neatly stored, in case of her return.

(Reporting by Reuters staff in Asia, John Geddie in Tokyo and Wa Lone in London, Ontario; Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  On the eve of the funeral for Tyre Nichols, who died days after a brutal beating by Memphis police officers just minutes from his home, his family was sharing remembrances and expressing grief.

Nichols older brother, Jamal Dupree, lamented he was not there to save his brother from the attack he suffered at the fists and feet of the five officers, who have been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.

Ive been fighting my whole life and the one fight I needed to be here for, I wasn't here," said Dupree, adding that violence was against his brother's nature.

My brother was the most peaceful person I've ever met in life, he said. If my brother was here today and he had to say something, he'd tell us to do this peacefully.

The family gathered Tuesday evening with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the historic Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis  where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated  to speak about Nichols and the latest developments in the case. Sharpton, who will eulogize Nichols at the funeral Wednesday morning, said he wanted the family to stand where King stood before they lay Nichols to rest.

Theyre standing on that ground because we will continue in Tyre's name to head up to Martins mountaintop. Thats why we wanted to start this right on this sacred ground. This is holy ground. And this family now is ours and they're in the hands of history, Sharpton said.

Among those expected in attendance Wednesday is Vice President Kamala Harris, who the White House said was invited by Nichols mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells. Harris spoke by phone with the Wells family on Tuesday, expressing her condolences and offering her support. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Nichols family last week.

Harris will be joined by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the president for public engagement, and Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, said Harriss press secretary, Kirsten Allen.

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Five Black officers have been fired and charged in Nichols Jan. 7 beating and subsequent death. Video of the beating, which was released publicly last week, shows that many more people failed to help Nichols, who was also Black, beyond the five officers charged in his death.

Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with Nichols death, officials said Monday. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, and another officer whose name wasnt released, have been suspended, police said.

Six of the officers involved were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in high-crime areas. Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis said after the video's release that the unit has been disbanded.

Its a step in the right direction, but due to the severity of the situation its not enough, Damion Carrick said as he participated in a protest Monday evening at Shelby Farms Park. You got a man dragged out of his car, beaten senseless, to a pulp and nobody doing nothing about it. Its heartbreaking.

Nichols death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted violent and sometimes deadly encounters.

Memphis Police Department officers used a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during the nighttime arrest. Video shows Nichols running away from officers toward his house after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. The video footage released Friday shows the 29-year-old father calling for his mother and struggling with his injuries as he sits helpless on the pavement.

The five officers chatted and milled about for several minutes as Nichols remained on the ground, but other authorities were on the scene. Two Shelby County sheriffs deputies also have been suspended without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Nichols' sister, Keyana Dixon, was among more than 100 friends, family and supporters who gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday night at a skate park in Sacramento, where Nichols grew up, The Sacramento Bee reported.

This was his favorite place to skate, she said at the vigil. I just want to thank all of you for your continued support for our family, and making sure his name is never forgotten.

A childhood friend, Ryan Wilson, said he met Nichols at a skate park when he was 12 and they became fast friends, sharing their dreams for the future. Nichols had some struggles while young, but he focused on making others happy, Wilson said.

I just feel like all he wanted to do was find his place in this world, and he just wanted to be happy," Wilson said.

Nichols' mother and step father have accepted an invitation to attend Bidens State of the Union address next week at the Capitol. They will attend with Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Vincent Evans, a spokesperson for the caucus.

Nichols' funeral will be held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. After Sharpton's delivers the eulogy, Nichols' family attorney Ben Crump will issue a call to action. Others expected to be in attendance include Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

The deaths of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Floyd in Minneapolis, at the hands of police sparked protests across the nation about racial injustice.

___

Associated Press journalists Gary Fields in Memphis; Darlene Superville in Washington; and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. For more coverage of the Tyre Nichols case, go to https://apnews.com/hub/tyre-nichols.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The parents of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was severely beaten by a group of Memphis, Tennessee, police officers and died days later, will attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week at the U.S. Capitol.

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of Nichols, have accepted an invitation to attend the speech from Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Vincent Evans, a spokesperson for the group of Black lawmakers.

Videotape released last week of the violent Jan. 7 encounter between Nichols and the police officers shows the officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him.

Nichols was hospitalized and died on Jan. 10.

Five police officers, who also are Black, have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols' beating and death. On Monday, two more Memphis police officers were disciplined and three emergency medical technicians were fired in connection with the case.

Horsford said it was important for Nichols' parents to hear from the president and their elected representatives in Congress.

I have invited the Nichols family as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus so they will be there on that day to hear from the president and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to hear how we will finally take action to keep our communities safe, Horsford told MSNBC on Monday.

Lawmakers this year are allowed to take guests with them to the House chamber for the Feb. 7 speech for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cindy Williams arrives to the TV Land Awards 10th Anniversary in New York on April 14, 2012. Williams, who played Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the popular sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Los Angeles at age 75, her family said Monday, Jan. 30. (Charles Sykes/AP)

LOS ANGELES  Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 80s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshalls Laverne on the beloved sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died, her family said Monday.

Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

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The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed, the statement said. Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.

Williams worked with some of Hollywoods most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George Cukors 1972 Travels With My Aunt, George Lucas 1973 American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppolas The Conversation from 1974.

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But she was by far best known for Laverne & Shirley, the Happy Days spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.

Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshalls more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 60s.

They were beloved characters, Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.

DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.

Wed make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had, Marshall told the AP in 2002. Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.

Williams told the AP in 2013 that she and Marshall had very different personalities but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were a bit overblown.

The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: Give us any chance, well take it, read us any rule, well break it.

That opening would become as popular as the show itself. Williams and Marshalls chant of schlemiel, schlimazel as they skipped together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.

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Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series, died in 2018.

Actor Rosario Dawson shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.

Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies, Dawson tweeted. Absolute gems. United again Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.

The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirleys oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy. Lander died in 2020.

McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.

Backstage, Season 1: Im offstage waiting for a cue. The scripts been a tough one, so were giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time, McKean tweeted. Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: Shows cookin! Amen. Thank you, Cindy.

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As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.

In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands werent met, she walked off the set, and filed suit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.

Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and major in theater arts at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on Room 222, Nanny and the Professor and Love, American Style.

Her part in Lucas American Graffiti would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. Happy Days, starring her American Graffiti co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winklers Fonzie before they got their own show.

Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, a role that went to Carrie Fisher.

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In the past three decades Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including 7th Heaven, 8 Simple Rules and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a Laverne & Shirley tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series Sam and Cat.

Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, " Me, Myself and Shirley, at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.

Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.
By Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of a military coup with curbs on energy officials and junta members, among others.

Washington imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises and energy officials, among others, according to a Treasury Department statement. Details of the decision were first reported by Reuters.

It marks the first time the United States has targeted Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions program, a Treasury spokesperson said.

Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom also announced sanctions.

Myanmar's top generals led a coup in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system that was created by the military, which led to a decade of unprecedented change.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.

Tuesday's U.S. sanctions target the managing director and deputy managing director of MOGE, which is the junta's single largest revenue generating state-owned enterprise, according to Treasury.

Human rights advocates have called for sanctions on MOGE, but Washington has so far held back.

Also designated by Washington was the Union Minister of Energy, who Treasury said represents Myanmar's government in international and domestic energy sector engagements and manages the state-owned entities involved in the production and export of oil and gas.

Mining Enterprise No 1 and Mining Enterprise No 2, both state-owned enterprises, as well as the Union Election Commission, were also hit with sanctions by Washington.

TOUGH ELECTION RULES

On Friday, the junta announced tough requirements for parties to contest an election planned for August, including a huge increase in their membership, a move that could sideline the military's opponents and cement its grip on power.

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The election would subvert the will of the people if opponents of the military continue to be met by violence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"Many key political stakeholders have announced their refusal to participate in these elections, which will be neither inclusive nor representative, and which almost certainly will fuel greater bloodshed," he said.

The rules favor the Union Solidarity and Development Party, a military proxy stacked with former generals, which was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2015 and 2020 elections.

Thousands of NLD members were arrested or jailed in the coup, including Suu Kyi, and many more are in hiding.

The NLD in November described this year's election as "phoney" and said it would not acknowledge it. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.

Washington also targeted former and current Myanmar military officials, the Treasury said, accusing the Air Force of continued air strikes using Russian-made aircraft against pro-democracy forces that have killed civilians.

Canada targeted six individuals and prohibited the export, sale, supply or shipment of aviation fuel in its action. Australia targeted members of the junta and a military-run company.

The United Kingdom designated two companies and two people for helping supply Myanmar's air force with aviation fuel used to carry out bombing campaigns against its own citizens.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said that even with Tuesday's action, the United States has still not matched stronger sanctions imposed by the European Union, particularly when it comes to natural gas revenue and banks that process foreign payments for the extractive sector.

"As a result, the measures taken so far have not imposed enough economic pain on the junta to compel it to change its conduct," Sifton said in a statement.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey in Washington and Sachin Ravikumar in London; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
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Almost since the emergence of COVID-19, the U.S. has treated the disease as both a national and public health emergency. That will end on May 11, 2023, the Biden Administration announced Jan. 30. The decision to end these important designations will have wide-ranging impacts on many health measures that Americans have come to take for granted over the past few years, including free vaccines, booster shots, tests, and treatments.

Declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency (PHE) in Jan. 2020 allowed the federal governmentvia a COVID-19 response led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)to access funds and resources to pay for everything from personal protective equipment such as masks, to tests and vaccines, and respond in other ways to the pandemic. Under the PHE, the government could also modify Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement policies to increase access to treatments and other resources critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19. Two months later, President Trump declared a national emergency surrounding COVID-19, which opened up additional funding for the response, including continued coverage for people under Medicaid and expanded funds for hospitals to care for COVID-19 patients.

The declarations allowed a public health approach to health care during the pandemic, says Dr. Josh Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They helped a lot of people to get services. Now were going back to a health care approach to health care, and that brings all of the weaknesses of our system into play.

Sharfstein notes that when the emergency declarations end, more than just access to COVID-19 services will be affected. The funding made available through the declarations made it possible to continue covering millions of people under Medicaid, even if their eligibility had changed; the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) estimates that anywhere from five to 14 million people could lose Medicaid coverage if states deem they are no longer eligible when this provision ends. The majority of them are expected to be Black and Latino people, so there are concerns that health inequities will worsen, says Dr. Jose Figueroa, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

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Heres what will else change when the national and public health emergencies end in May.

COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters will continue to be covered for people with private insurance when given by in-network providers, but according to an analysis by KFF, people may have to pay out-of-pocket if they get their shots from providers outside of their covered network.



People with Medicare will continue to receive free vaccines, which are covered under Medicare Part B through the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress in 2020. Medicaid beneficiaries will also continue to receive free vaccines.

Uninsured people will no longer be able to access free vaccines through state Medicaid programs, which had received expanded federal funding to cover these services for the uninsured.

COVID-19 tests

Currently, people with private insurance or Medicare can order up to eight rapid at-home tests a month and get reimbursed for their cost. After the PHE ends, insurers may continue to cover COVID-19 tests, including the over-the-counter at-home kind, but only if they are distributed by a narrower pool of in-network providers.

Medicare beneficiaries will also have to start paying for a portion of any tests. Medicaid will continue to pay for COVID-19 tests that are ordered by a doctor, but each state will decide whether to cover at-home tests.

Read More: When Should You Use Home COVID-19 Tests? Heres What Experts Say

COVID-19 treatments

Privately insured people will continue to receive coverage for COVID-19 treatments, including widely used antiviral therapies like Paxlovid.

People with Medicare Part D will be covered for antiviral treatments until the federal supply is depleted. After those doses are gone, beneficiaries will have to pay for a portion of this drug treatment.



Medicaid will reimburse only for treatments that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Whether medications that are under an emergency use authorization from the FDA are covered will vary state by state.

Emergency use authorizations (EUAs)

The dual emergencies arent the only ones in place to respond to COVID-19: The HHS Secretary also granted EUA power to the FDA to streamline availability of new COVID-19 drugs. The end of the dual emergencies does not affect the EUAs that the FDA granted to some COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid.

The emergency declaration behind the EUAs is issued by the HHS Secretary, and remains in effect until the Secretary decides to terminate it. If the emergency EUA declaration ends, then any medications authorized under it may no longer be available. The drugs would have to receive full FDA approval in order to make it to market again. In a statement, the FDA says that if that occurs, it would allow enough time for the transition to ensure that approvals of the drugs are forthcoming.

Telehealth

Most Medicare coverage of telehealth services that were expanded and allowed during the pandemic will end when the PHE concludes reports KFF. The only exceptions are permanent changes for beneficiaries seeking mental health and substance use help. For these services, providers from another state can treat patients in different states, and audio-only services are also permanently covered.



For Medicaid recipients, services and coverage will vary state by state.

Hospital care

The 20% increase in Medicare reimbursements that hospitals received for COVID-19 patients will end with the expiration of the PHE. This may indirectly affect patients hospitalized for COVID-19, who may see higher costs reflected in their medical bills.

With people having to pay for COVID-19-related health services, the virus could find new opportunities to spread, and potentially even morph into more disease-causing variants. It means there will be less testing in this country, and likely less treatment because not everyone can afford it, says Figueroa. Will this change the trajectory of the pandemic? Its something we are going to have to watch.
President Joe Biden and his aides are making nice with Israels new far-right government  and theyre doing it in a highly public fashion.

The choice to engage the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu was clear Monday, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrivedon a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. Blinkens trip follows separate visits to Israel by U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns. It also comes amid a spike in violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

The visits show how, given U.S. worries about Iran, Russias war in Ukraine and the Palestinians, distancing the United States from Israel is not a serious option, former officials and analysts said. Thats despite the fact that the new Israeli leadership includes backers of what many critics allege are racist, homophobic and misogynistic policies.

Israel remains an important ally due to its intelligence capabilities and its historical and political resonance in the United States. And Bidens long-term goal of shifting Americas focus toward Asia will rest in part on remaining on good terms with Israeli leaders, while encouraging their efforts to improve ties with Arab states and bring more stability to the long volatile Middle East.

The administration will go to great lengths to avoid a confrontation with Netanyahu, said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official who took part in many Middle East peace talks. Its good policy to engage, and clearly, given the fact that the president is going to announce in the next several weeks or months his intention to seek a second term, its also good politics.

The Biden administration is treading carefully in the new reality presented by Netanyahus far-right coalition. Make the visits, but downplay their importance. Meet with Netanyahu, but avoid his more extreme coalition partners. And hold onto the hope that diplomacy can reduce tensions.

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The new Israeli government is dotted with religious zealots with antipathy toward Arabs, LGBTQ+ people and others. And as Blinken arrived, there were questions about whether some of these coalition leaders would further stoke recent violence.

On Thursday, Israeli security forces killed nine Palestinians in the West Bank in what Israel called a raid against a terrorist unit. The next day, a Palestinian gunman killed seven Israelis near a synagogue in east Jerusalem.

Blinken urged de-escalation. Its the responsibility of everyone to take steps to calm tensions rather than inflame them, he said upon reaching Israel after a stop in Egypt.



Asked about the significance of the secretary of States visit, a U.S. official described it as unexceptional.

Israel is an important ally with a new government very different from what came before. Its normal for a secretary of State to make an early trip, said the senior Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the topic involved sensitive diplomatic issues.

But Blinken has more than meet-and-greets to deal with on his trip.

Iran is one major example. Israel views the Islamist regime, which has called for Israels destruction, as an existential threat.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that suspected Israeli drones had attacked a military facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Details of that strike, including the type of military facility targeted and whether Washington had advance notice, remain fuzzy.

Netanyahu has long been at odds with the Biden administration on exactly how to deal with Iran. He has opposed the Iran nuclear deal, which lifted many sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. The Biden team tried to salvage that agreement, which the Trump administration quit in 2018, but the Iranian regimes oppression of popular protests has put the matter on hold.

But the United States is working to strengthen the ties between Israel and a few Arab countries  some of them also at odds with Iran  through the Abraham Accords. The Biden administration hopes such integration  as it calls it  will provide a bulwark against Iran, whose Shiite Islamist regime has harassed its neighbors for years.



Israels enmity with Iran also is affecting its policy toward Russias war on Ukraine.

Kyiv has urged Israel to donate systems to help it fend off Russian missile and other attacks. But the Israelis want to maintain good relations with Moscow because they want to be able to strike Iranian sites in Syria, where the Kremlin holds significant sway. The issue is further complicated by Irans decision to supply Russia with drones that the Kremlin is using against Ukraine.

Blinken pushed Israel to do more to help the Ukrainians.

Russias ongoing atrocities only underscore the importance of providing support for all of Ukraines needs  humanitarian, economic and security  as it bravely defends its people and its very right to exist, a topic that we also discussed today, he said alongside Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday.

Blinken did not plan to meet with the more extreme members of the Netanyahu-led coalition  some of whom have views that have alarmed many Israeli Jews, especially secular ones, not to mention Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Netanyahu has given these allies positions that include overseeing some security forces that deal with Palestinians.

U.S. officials have, however, said they will hold Netanyahu responsible for the actions of his government, noting that hes stressed that hes the one in charge.

But Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges, is counting on his coalition partners to help shield him from prosecution. That makes it harder for the United States to pressure him, even though hes had experience as a prime minister and has a long friendship with Biden.

The new Israeli government Netanyahu leads also is trying to limit the powers of the Israeli judiciary  an effort that worries Washington, though it has little ability to stop it.

Blinken nodded to all of these concerns Monday, stressing that Israel and the United States had shared ideals, among them our support for core democratic principles and institutions, including respect for human rights and the equal administration of justice for all.

Administration officials also say they will keep pushing Israel to engage with the Palestinians, and the chief U.S. diplomat is supposed to meet Tuesday with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, in the West Bank.

But Netanyahu and his Israeli colleagues appear to have zero interest in talking about peace with the Palestinians. In fact, they are taking steps to make it harder, including by promising more allowances for settlers in the West Bank, which further undermines the possibility of a Palestinian state.

The reality is that the Palestinians themselves are ill-prepared for serious negotiations. Abbas has run the Palestinian Authority for nearly two decades, and hes unwilling to hold an election for fear of losing to rivals such as Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Many younger Palestinians are deeply disillusioned with their leaders corruption and ineptitude.

Although the Biden administration frequently speaks out in support of human rights for Palestinians, Biden has ruled out conditioning U.S. military aid to Israel on its treatment of the Palestinians  and there are few other levers Washington has to pull with an ally whose cooperation it needs in the Middle East.

While the Biden administration routinely says it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it has abandoned the issue in all but rhetoric, said Khaled Elgindy, a scholar with the Middle East Institute. Palestinians are low on the agenda.
NEW PHILADELPHIA  A Dover woman who stole $196,422 from St. John United Church of Christ in Strasburg has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos also ordered former church office manager Jodi A. Davis to pay $30,924 in restitution and spend five years on probation.

Fraud in Newcomerstown:Former funeral director sentenced to 15 years for stealing from employer

The judge noted that the amount of restitution requested was far below the amount stolen because insurance covered most of the loss.

Thomakos reserved a three-year prison sentence, which Davis could be forced to serve if she fails to follow terms of probation. Terms include no use of alcohol or drugs of abuse, and maintaining or obtaining employment to make monthly restitution payments. Davis must pay court costs.

Beginning:Dover woman facing theft charge, accused of stealing nearly $200K from Strasburg church

Try to reduce fraud:'Trust but verify'

Nearly $3 million taken:County prosecutor continues effort to recoup stolen funds

In 2018:Pastor forgives woman who stole from Dennison-area church

Davis, 57, was in charge of all secretarial and financial duties at the church, according to congregant Kathy Osler, who coordinated the five-member team of church members who volunteered to investigate the theft.

"The church realizes that we trusted but failed to verify," Osler said. She noted the church has developed new safeguards.

How did Jodi Davis steal from St. John United?

She said Davis made unauthorized purchases for personal use from 16 online and in-store merchants, including $55,680 worth of gift cards, two storage barns and 20 phone cases. She used the tax exemption number of the church to avoid paying sales tax.

The total church budget for 2022 was less than the amount Davis embezzled, Osler said. She said many members are elderly and on fixed incomes.

Osler gave a detailed account of the negative impact the crime had on the church, including:

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Maintenance and capital projects were delayed.

Fundraisers were needed to finance special projects or repairs, such as replacement of the front door.

The credit rating of the church suffered because some card balances were large and were not paid timely.

Employees, including the pastor, went without deserved raises because of a shortage of funds.

Davis stole money from an insurance settlement for a roof replacement necessitated by a 2016 hailstorm. A church member made a special contribution of $10,000 to allow the church to cover its bills.

Emotional distress for church members and employees.

The investigative team, all retirees, worked 22 months to uncover the extent of the theft. They worked full time for the first 10 months.

"The work of investigating this crime was grueling," Osler said. "It was exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. There were many times that we wanted to quit, but that was never an option. We felt like we were incarcerated for at least 10 months."

Jodi Davis' attorney gives her side

Defense attorneyReid Yoder said Davis initially stole to support her family in 2009 after her husband lost his job. He said she intended to repay the church.

He asked that Davis be sentenced to house arrest because incarceration would cost her the job she needs to keep paying restitution. He said Davis suffers from anxiety and depression and had suicidal thoughts after her crime was discovered.

"She also has been in a living hell and a nightmare since this has happened," the Akron defense attorney said. "It's an ugly crime, judge, stealing from the church."

Thomakos said Davis had other options.

"Over 300 people lined at the food bank last week and received enough food," Thomakos said. "You don't have to steal from the church to get food in this community because there are even more generous people outside of that one church who are supporting the food bank. Many churches help people with utility bills from time to time, or other needs. So there are resources out there."

Given the chance to speak on her own behalf, Davis sobbed before making her statement.

"I am so very sorry and devastated by what I have done," she said. "This is not who I am. I was raised better and I know better. I want to get myself back and to be the person I know I really am."

Thomakos said she was not surprised the Davis suffered from anxiety and depression after hiding her deception through "manipulative conduct" for 12 years.

In her statement, Osler said that whenever anyone in the church started asking "too many" questions about finances, Davis tried to get that person removed from the position. She asked to get an accountant off the finance committee, saying he gave her the "creeps," Osler said. She said Davis never fully cooperated with a former church council treasurer who continually asked questions about finances and asked to see bank statements.

"Instead, she contacted the current church council president and threatened to quit if they didnt stop this person from harassing her," Osler said. "That should have been a sign to all of us that something wasnt right, but most people just thought it was a personality conflict."

The thefts occurred between Sept. 30, 2009, and March 19, 2021.

"People gave that money to the church for its mission," Assistant County Prosecutor Scott Deedrick said. "The church does a tremendous amount of good in Strasburg and even some of the surrounding areas. That money wasn't available."

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Defense: Woman stole from church after husband lost job
The U.K. Prime Minister's spokesman said on Jan. 31 that "it is not practical" to send British fighter jets to Ukraine, as quoted by Sky News. "The U.K.'s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly," explained the spokesman.

Ukrainian officials have recently stepped up calls on allies to supply advanced fighter jets, mainly F-16s, as Ukraine's Armed Forces use old Soviet-era aircraft. However, Western countries have been reluctant to send the fighters so far.

"We will continue to provide and accelerate our military support to Ukraine and listen carefully to their requests," the U.K. governmental spokesman added.

This statement comes hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said that his country wouldn't send American fighter jets to Ukraine, even though the U.S. is ramping up military assistance in the form of artillery and tanks.

On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine. He added, though, that multiple conditions must be met before doing so, including the assurance that such equipment will not be used to "touch Russian soil."

The U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Jan. 30 that he was keeping an open mind about providing Ukraine with fighter jets if a coalition is created, according to Sky News.

According to Ukraine's Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak, Poland is ready to provide Ukraine with long-requested F-16 fighter jets in coordination with NATO.

The Dutch government also said on Jan. 20 that Ukraine hasn't yet formally requested the jets adding that the Netherlands is ready to look into providing them when asked.

Kyiv's intensified requests for heavy weaponry from the West come as Western, Ukrainian, and Russian sources continue to indicate that Russia is preparing for an imminent offensive, according to the latest update of the Institute for the Study of War.
LONDON (AP)  Britain's police chiefs promised a cultural change on Tuesday as they apologized to families of the victims in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, the U.K.'s worst sports disaster which saw 97 people killed during a crush of soccer fans at an overcrowded stadium.

For what happened, as a senior policing leader, I profoundly apologize. Policing got it badly wrong," said Chief Constable Andy Marsh, the College of Policings chief executive officer, said as the body published a response to a 2017 report into the experiences of victims' families.

A crush in the lower tier of Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, a city in northern England, at an FA Cup semifinal match led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters on April 15, 1989. Many victims were smashed against metal fences, trampled on or suffocated in the crush.

Authorities spent years blaming fans for the disaster, and an initial inquest ruled the deaths an accident. But a campaign by survivors and victims families succeeded in getting the verdicts overturned in 2012, after a far-reaching investigation that examined previously secret documents and found wrongdoing and mistakes by authorities.

A second inquest concluded in 2016 that the victims were unlawfully killed as a result of failings by police, the ambulance service and the Sheffield Wednesday soccer team, which plays at Hillsborough Stadium. The report found that the behavior of fans didn't contribute to the deaths.

Several former police officers and a lawyer were charged years after the disaster with attempting to pervert the course of justice, but none has been convicted.

The National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing said Tuesday that the code of ethics used by police forces will be reviewed. They also said there will be a new code of practice on police information and records management to prevent the problems faced after the Hillsborough disaster, when records were lost or destroyed.
The European Union will commend Ukraine for its progress on the reforms needed for accession, and it will send a strong signal to Moscow, but member states remain divided over the speed of accession.

Source: Euractiv, referring to the draft communique of the Ukraine-EU summit, which will take place on 3 February in Kyiv, reports European Pravda

Details: According to the draft communique, EU and Ukrainian leaders are set to reiterate "the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union" and "its commitment to support Ukraine's further European integration".

"The EU acknowledged the considerable progress that Ukraine demonstrated in the recent months towards meeting the objectives underpinning its candidate status for EU membership, welcomed Ukraine's reform efforts in such difficult times, and encouraged the country to continue on this path and to fulfil the conditions specified in the Commission's opinion on its membership application to advance towards future EU membership," the draft communique states.

Beyond the anticipated language on EU accession, progress is expected in such areas as customs-free access for Ukrainian exports, access to the bloc's roaming-free zone and inclusion in the single euro payment zone.

Both sides are also set to sign a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership in the field of renewable energy sources.

The EU ambassadors are expected to agree on the final version of the summit communique on 31 January.

Four EU diplomats told Euractiv that during the last few weeks, the member states argued about the positive wording of the text regarding the prospect of Ukraine's membership in the EU.

Poland, the three Baltic states, and Ukraine have been pushing for language that would indicate to Kyiv its membership application can be sped up.

"What we expect from the summit is encouragement for Ukraine and a clear assessment of the progress they have made. Although its just a statement, words matter, which is why we are pushing for a more encouraging version of the text," an Eastern European EU diplomat said.

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In June, the European Commission recommended Ukraine be given the status of a candidate for EU membership, on the condition that Kyiv takes a number of legislative and political steps known as the "seven recommendations".

These recommendations included the adoption of a law on the selection process of the country's Constitutional Court's judges on a competitive basis, strengthening the fight against corruption, harmonising media regulation within EU standards, and protecting national minorities.

However, despite the decision to grant Kyiv candidate status, the prospect of Ukraine joining in the near future remains remote.

"A large number of large member states will not accept too positive language  not in the least because the agreed language is hardly a month old, so no one's ready to reopen a difficult discussion that weve only just concluded," one EU diplomat said.

Several EU diplomats said that the language in the draft declaration has become "too forward-leaning for some more sceptical member states", with pushback expected from France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark and Belgium.

The more sceptical member states deem the reference to "considerable progress" as too premature and "pre-empting the normal steps in the accession process" as no formal assessment of Ukraine's progress has been presented yet.

They would prefer to stick with the language used at the June European Council and the agreed-upon process, under which the European Commission is expected to provide an interim update on Ukraines progress in fulfilling the seven requirements that the EU set to start accession talks.

This update would come in addition to the regular assessment done as part of the Commission's annual enlargement package regularly published in October, where further recommendations are likely to be added.

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By 1976, the mercenarily brilliant artist Andy Warhol had figured out there was bacon to be brought home from painting portraits of the rich and famous. And so when the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Fereydoun Hoveyda, offered to arrange for the white-haired iconoclast to journey to Tehran to take preparatory Polaroids of the Shahs wife, Farah Pahlavi, Warhol was all in with the idea.

And thus Warhol found himself ordering room-service caviar at the Royal Tehran Hilton in a modern, culture-loving city that would not be so easily recognized today.

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In Andy Warhol in Iran, a two-character play first seen last summer at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires and now in its Chicago premiere at the Northlight Theatre, the writer Brent Askari imagines a scenario wherein Warhol encounters a young Iranian revolutionary, Farhad (Hamid Dehghani) who plans to kidnap the famous face of pop art as a pawn who might be used for political purposes.

Warhol, who is played at Northlight by Rob Lindley under the direction of BJ Jones, is having a moment in the theater. In December, I saw the actor Paul Bettany take him on in Anthony McCartens The Collaboration, a Broadway piece about Warhols work with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (played by Jeremy Pope). McCartens play was based on real-life events; Askari imagines an alternate reality at the Tehran Hilton. And set designer Todd Rosenthal recreates the lux room.

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Rob Lindley and Hamid Dehghani in "Andy Warhol in Iran" at Northlight Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)

The result at Northlight is a modestly entertaining piece of theater  its only 70 minutes  that falls somewhat short of riveting real-time drama (you dont really believe Warhol is in any danger) but debates a lot of interesting cultural history. Those ideas, richly articulated here, are enhanced by two honest performances and projections from Mike Tutaj that underpin Warhols musings on art and commerce, and also Farhads narration about the history of his beloved city, a place that has seen so many people and entities try and mold it in their preferred image.

Askari doesnt take a clear or radical position on the Iranian revolution (just three years away at the point where the play is set) but offers two fundamentally sympathetic characters with the rise in fundamentalism that led to the disruption of so many of the nations freedoms squarely placed on the shoulders of imperialist and corporate malfeasance and myopia. Dehghanis Farhad, well-educated and literarily inclined, is not unlike a U.S. progressive trying to persuade the famously agnostic Warhol into a greater level of political engagement.

Warhol is a fascinating assignment for an actor. Ive seen two strong performers, working with two different directors, play him in the last few weeks and the interpretations were quite distinct and yet both were complex and compelling. For all his interest in commerce and duplicability, Warhol was a true original. And, as this play makes clear, a famous figure in the now-lost Tehran of 1976.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Review: Andy Warhol in Iran (3 stars)

When: Through Feb. 19

Where: Northlight Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie

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Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Tickets: $30-$89 at 847-673-6300 or northlight.org
Ukraine needs to replace its morally and physically outdated Soviet-made aircraft of various types with a single type of multipurpose fighter jet in order to protect the skies. The F-16 can become such a fighter jet in the number of 200 pieces.

Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Air Force of Ukraine, on air with the La Chaine Info French TV channel and in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Ihnat has pointed out that Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe, and it needs air protection both in wartime and peacetime.

The aircraft grouping of the occupiers that is located at 40 airfields in Russia, Belarus and occupied territories is five or six times bigger than Ukrainian aircraft in terms of the quantity of vehicles.

Quote: "In addition, we are behind when it comes to technologies. Therefore, the need is serious. We need to create up to five tactical aircraft brigades with a single type of Western-type multipurpose aircraft. It is now being determined what type it will be

Obviously, we cannot receive all of them at once, but gradually transitioning to a new multipurpose jet is a demand of time.

As of now, the F-16 is the most likely candidate to replace outdated Soviet-made jets, because there are certain unbiased reasons for that. And this is not a sole decision; we are constantly having consultations with our partners.

Indeed, Ukraine will not get everything at once; obviously, it will be several aircraft units first, the squadrons.

First, we need to prepare flight crews, aircraft engineers and airfield infrastructure for further switching to new equipment types and everything that comes with it.

Then, we need to form up to five aircraft brigades. Each of the brigades can include up to three squadrons. Such a state as Ukraine, one of the largest ones in Europe, needs this exact number of jets, and it will be a full rearmament and replacement of old Soviet-made equipment."

More details: Ihnat has said that the Air Force of Ukraine has 11 brigades at the moment: one training brigade, three transport brigades, one assault brigade, one bombardment brigade and five fighter brigades. The Air Force received the newest jet, the Su-25, in 1991.

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He has also pointed out that such a reform of the Air Force was planned long before Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is about gradual rearmament and switching to Western equipment by 2035: aircraft, anti-aircraft missile systems, and UAVs. The war has significantly accelerated this process. Ihnat has emphasised that supplies of weapons do not happen very fast. Nevertheless, negotiations are ongoing at all levels.

The spokesperson has stressed that the F-16 jet has a wide range of weapons: it can strike both ground targets (such as ammunition and fuel storage points, fortifications and armoured vehicles of the enemy) and all kinds of aerodynamic targets (such as missiles, jets, helicopters and kamikaze drones).

Ihnat has added that obtaining air superiority will let the army successfully conduct ground operations, including the liberation of Ukrainian land.

As for possible terms of F-16 supply, he has specified that there has to be a relevant decision at the highest level first; therefore, making any predictions now is incorrect. At the same time, he has stated that pilots and other specialists are ready for training, and relevant bodies are already adapting the infrastructure.

Background:

The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine pointed out that receiving multipurpose fighter jets was a priority for them.

Yurii Ihnat said that a multipurpose jet is capable of carrying out various tasks, including efficiently fighting air threats, including cruise missiles and UAVs, and striking ground targets at the same time. This particularly refers to American-made F-16, F-15 or F-18 aircraft of certain modifications or their European analogues.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that after the decision on tanks, Ukraine should be supplied with aircraft, and this is an important task.

The manufacturer of American F-16 fighters is ready to supply its aircraft to European countries, which could then re-export the fighter jets to Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron, President of France, does not exclude the possibility of supplying Ukraine with fighter jets.

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Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, said that a "no" from the United States regarding Western fighter jets for Ukraine should now be understood as a refusal only at this particular moment in time, and Ukraine previously passed such "stages of refusal" with all Western weapons.

According to European Pravda, he said this at a briefing in Paris after a meeting with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

"In the beginning, all types of assistance passed the "no" stage. This means "no" as of today," said Reznikov, adding that in the end, the focus moved to the discussion of technical possibilities, then to the training of crews and, finally, the transfer of certain systems.

"It happened with HIMARS, it happened with 155-mm artillery, with the Bradley [IFVs]. With the German Leopard, it was also a "no" at first, and now we have a tank coalition. That's why I believe in the future "aircraft coalition". But there must always be a leader first. That's why I'm here," Reznikov said, hinting that he expected French leadership in the issue of aircraft as well as light wheeled tanks, which was also a certain impetus for the rest of the allies.

According to him, at the meeting, the ministers discussed Ukraine's needs for aerial platforms with an emphasis on air defence.

"Any aircraft is a platform, from which one or another type of weapon can be used, so we did not talk about the specific name of the aircraft. We talked about the fact that tactical aviation is also an element of air defence. We talked and agreed that we will research this issue together with partners, which could be such a practical platform for improving our air defence capabilities," Reznikov said.

Commenting on the issue of aircraft for Ukraine, Lecornu recalled the statement of President Emmanuel Macron that "there are no taboos" for France, and hinted that a personal meeting of ministers was necessary, particularly in order to discuss issues that are not discussed in telephone conversations.

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As reported, on Monday, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, said that the USA did not plan to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. After that, the White House said that the US was already providing significant military aid to Ukraine and was focused on the needs of Kyiv and the situation on the battlefield.

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The current situation in Bahmut

He said the enemy had shelled Ukrainian positions in this area with artillery almost 200 times in the past day.

Read also: Regular Russian army likely to replace exhausted Wagner Group forces in Bakhmut offensive

Bakhmut continues to be one of the main directions of enemy attack, Cherevatyi said.

The enemy suffered huge losses in personnel during the day: 277 enemy troops were killed, 258 received wounds of various degrees. The fighting took place near Spirne, Chervona Hora, Paraskoviyivka, Bakhmut, and Klishchiyivka.

Read also: Azov Regiment becomes assault brigade and already fighting in Bakhmut

At the same time, Cherevatyi said the invaders had failed to cut the route used to support the group of Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut. All necessary ammunition, equipment, and food are being delivered to the city, he added.

When asked about the possibility of Ukrainian units withdrawal from Bakhmut, he said that such decisions are made in the context of the general situation to preserve personnel and occupy better positions, and are taken in several stages.

The command has various options for actions, the command is constantly monitoring the enemy, and we have a countermeasure for each of his actions, Cherevatyi said.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
At least five light motorboats with Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups (SRGs) were destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the area of the islands at the mouth of the Dnipro River on 30-31 January.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Quote: "The enemy has intensified the activities of its sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the area of the islands at the mouth of the Dnipro River.

Over the last day [30-31 January], Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed at least five light motorboats with such hostile groups."

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By Edward McAllister and Nellie Peyton

DAKAR (Reuters) -United Nations experts on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by government forces and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali.

Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, have previously said Russian forces in the West African country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.

Western powers say the Russian forces in Mali include Wagner Group contractors.

"Since 2021, the experts have received persistent and alarming accounts of horrific executions, mass graves, acts of torture, rape and sexual violence, pillaging, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances perpetrated by Malian armed forces and their allies," said the statement from the independent experts.

Mali's army spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last year that the Russian state had nothing to do with Russian military contractors working in Mali, adding that the African country had the right to work with private Russian firms.

Reuters has contacted Wagner for comment.

Mali is engaged in a fight against militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State who have waged a decade-long insurgency that has spread to neighbouring countries.

The statement mentioned Wagner Group by name, and described credible reports of the involvement of military personnel believed to belong to the group in a massacre of hundreds of people in March.

Survivors have said white mercenaries suspected to be Russians took part in the massacre in Moura, a market town in central Mali. The incident sparked international uproar and prompted the U.N. to open an earlier investigation.

Mali's army has denied any wrongdoing in Moura and said it killed 203 militants there during what it described as a military operation.

Wagner Group has attracted international attention over its prominent role in fighting during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Washington last week designated Wagner as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread human rights abuses.

(Reporting by Edward McAllister, Nellie Peyton and Emma Farge;Editing by Alexander Winning and Frank Jack Daniel)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday asked a judge to put a hold on Meta Platforms Inc's deal to buy virtual reality app maker Within Unlimited while the two sides await a decision from the court.

The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the Within deal and asked the judge to order a preliminary injunction, saying Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer. There was a trial on the case in December.

The agency asked for the court to order Meta to refrain from closing its deal for Within until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on the first business day after the judge rules on whether the deal may go forward. Or, the agency said in a court filing, the judge could extend the existing temporary restraining order for 7 days.

The current restraining order expires at 11:59 Pacific time Tuesday night.

The fight to determine if Meta could go forward with this relatively small deal is seen as a test of the FTC's bid to head off what it sees as a repeat of the company acquiring small upcoming would-be rivals to secure dominance, this time in the nascent virtual and augmented reality markets.

(Reporting by Diane BartzEditing by Nick Zieminski)
The US will accelerate its deployment of advanced weapons including fighter warplanes and bombers on the Korean peninsula, the countrys defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday after arriving for talks in South Korea.

Washington is looking to bolster its joint training and operational planning with its ally as the region witnesses the rising threat of nuclear test and missile launches from North Korea.

The US defence secretary met with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-Sup in Seoul and pledged to further expand and bolster the level and scale of this years combined exercises and training, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense.

To this end, the two leaders concurred on the need to take into account changes in the security environment, including the DPRKs [North Korea] recent steps with respect to its nuclear and missile programmes, to strengthen combined exercises and training, including the upcoming combined bilateral exercises, the statement added.

The two leaders agreed to expand the scope and scale of combined field training exercises and to conduct a large-scale combined joint fires demonstration this year, it added.

Both the ministers vowed to continue to deploy US strategic assets in a timely and coordinated manner in the future.

Mr Austin and Mr Lee also spoke about an upcoming simulated exercise between the allies in February, which is aimed at sharpening their response if North Korea uses nuclear weapons.

Experts monitoring tensions in the region say North Korea has been building towards a full-scale nuclear test by conducting close to 100 short- and long-range missile launches last year.

The top US defence officials visit comes at a time when South Korea has publicly raised its concerns about Pyongyangs escalatory test launches as well as provocative statements from Kim Jong-un and his regime.

Dozens of missiles tested by the country in 2022 were confirmed to be nuclear capable and having the potential to strike targets as far afield as the US mainland.

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Reassuring the South of the USs continued military backing, Mr Austin said: We deployed fifth-generation aircraft, F-22s and F-35s, we deployed a carrier strike group to visit the peninsula, you can look for more of that kind of activity going forward.

The USs commitment to protecting its allies with its full range of military capabilities, including nuclear ones, remains ironclad, he added.

This weeks visit is expected to spark tensions in the coming months as Mr Kim had pledged to deliver on promises over North Koreas nuclear ambitions for 2023.

In an address at the end of last year, he had called for an exponential increase in nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea and the development of more powerful long-range missiles designed to reach the US mainland.

Analysts say Mr Kim is attempting to force the US to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and negotiate urgently needed economic concessions from a position of strength.
For Pamela Anderson, fame came in increments. First as a model for the Canadian beer brand Labatt Blue. Then in the pages of Playboy magazine. Baywatch was the project that brought her to life in three dimensions, even if the shows producers treated her character as yet more scenery  there to be looked at  and thats how audiences responded in turn. The consumption of her image soured and turned gleefully cruel when a sexually intimate home video of her and then-husband Tommy Lee was stolen from their home. The tape transformed their private moments into a public bootleg cash machine  and without their consent. Anderson looks back on all of it in the Netflix documentary Pamela, a love story, which functions as a corrective to the Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy, which came out a year ago.

Anderson had no involvement in the Hulu show, by her own choice. She would have preferred it hadnt been made at all. Why dredge up one of the ugliest periods in her life? Who does it serve? Hint: Those who stood to gain financially.

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Many people not named Anderson and Lee made several millions from that tape. Thirty years after the fact, the Hulu project ensured an entirely new group of people not named Anderson and Lee would again profit from this saga. That includes the shows creators, as well as stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan in the title roles.

If something about that feels off, the Netflix documentary is an opportunity for Anderson to sort through some of these feelings on her own terms. (Her oldest son, Brandon Thomas Lee, is a producer on the film.)

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Pamela Anderson at home with her dog, as seen in the documentary "Pamela, a love story." (Netflix)

The interviews take place at her home in Vancouver Island. Shes returned to the small town of her childhood which is triggering and crazy, she says, coming home to this nutty place where my childhood happened.

The rocky beaches and grassy fields look idyllic. A dog is frequently by her side. But her memories are more complicated. Her mom worked as a server at a pancake house. Her father was a poker player, con man, chimney sweep and also a notorious bad boy. Her parents would fight and reconcile in a never-ending cycle.

Her childhood was disrupted by sexual abuse, first at the hands of a babysitter and later by an older man. She learned to dissociate. When those traumatic moments happened, I would just leave my body and float away and Id make my own little world. She doesnt talk about what kind of life or career she envisioned in her future. Maybe she didnt know herself. I just thought: I have to get off the island. When Playboy came along, it was her ticket out. But also: Now I was going to take the power of my own sexuality and take my power back.

Too often celebrity documentaries are an exercise in image management, or artless compilations of archival footage spliced with recent interviews. Andersons documentary, from director Ryan White (whose credits also include 2019s Ask Dr. Ruth), avoids many of these pitfalls. I was surprised by how much I liked it, largely because White creates an intimacy with Anderson that gives the illusion of stripping back the artifice.

I say illusion because interviews, by their nature, are staged, purposeful conversations. Theres a level of performance going on, perhaps more so when the subject has been in the public eye for so long.

From left: Pamela Anderson early in her career with Playboy photo editor Marilyn Grabowski. The photo appears in Pamela, a love story. (Netflix)

But White does some interesting things to undercut that cynicism. Theres an informality, with the camera up close. Gone is the heavy makeup that defined Andersons look for so long. At 55, there are hints in her offhand asides that suggest she doesnt feel as confident about her body as she once did. She wears loose clothing in colors like off-white and sand  call it beachy cottage core  and she has the ultrathin eyebrows of someone who lived through the intense plucking of the 90s and colors her own hair with products she buys at the drugstore. Its unclear if she has close friendships with women. If so, they remain tucked away and undiscussed. Her golden retriever gazes at her longingly and she seems content in these moments. You dont get the sense someone is nervously hovering just off camera ready to step in for a quick touch-up.

These are all intentional decisions  Anderson and White are presenting her in a specific way  but it never feels like a put-on.

You also notice the absences. Anderson doesnt talk about whether she felt pressured to maintain a certain body image, even after her pregnancies. How was she able to avoid this notorious pitfall of Hollywood?

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She is also a person of contradictions: A survivor of sexual abuse herself, she has said in previous interviews that she thinks the #MeToo movement went too far. She also struck up a friendship with Julian Assange, who has been accused of rape. People are complicated and make all kinds of rationalizations that make sense to them. But the documentary doesnt ask her to grapple with these cognitive dissonances. Its a missed opportunity  not to get the goods on her, but to learn more about how Anderson has constructed her worldview.

Because so much else comes through with clarity. Shes funny and a bit lonely. Self-aware and self-deprecating. Smart and bright and interesting. Its worth asking if the fame machine couldnt, or wouldnt, make room for a career where these qualities could be put to sly use.

For too long she sought out men who embodied the flattest stereotypes of masculinity. The relationships didnt last. (I forgot she was once married to Kid Rock; or as she calls him, Bob.) More than once she marries someone because why not? She wants a deep and real connection, but that doesnt always sync up with why not?

The now-infamous videotape would alter her life forever. The law should have been on her side, but a persistent misogyny clouded those efforts. She remembers looking at an assemblage of male lawyers and wondering: Why do these grown men hate me so much? Its an astute observation, about the entitlement  the rage  that fuels exploitation.

From left: Brandon Thomas Lee and Pamela Anderson revisit old tapes in Pamela, a love story. (Netflix)

There are other videotapes from that time that shes kept stored away. She watches them again for the first time here. She and Lee were besotted in the beginning. Hearing the tone in my voice, I was happy. But later she admits: I romanticize the past, so now that were talking about it a little bit, I can remember some things that were really big red flags  but if I didnt think about it too much, I would think our relationship was perfect.

Lee was often jealous of phantoms that didnt exist. The tape only complicated that dynamic and he would ultimately turn violent one night while she was holding their infant son. A six-month jail sentence followed. He wanted to stay together. Anderson refused. I just took my kids and was like, no. It wasnt a gray area for me. You cant do that. She still has affection for Lee  its wrapped up in a wish for what might have been  but she describes their life post-divorce as a very long 18 years of co-parenting.

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The tape branded her with a digital scarlet letter in a way that Lee simply wasnt. It affected her opportunities going forward. I had to kind of make a career from the pieces that were left. The aftermath affected her two sons and Im glad the film addresses this, even briefly. Brandon talks about being a young child and thinking everyone had this dirty little secret about my family. In school, if anyone brought up his mom, I was quick to fight.

Almost 30 years later, her anxiety about the tape becomes a present-day reality once again thanks to the Hulu series. She declines to watch, but her son tells her about the first few episodes and you can see her panic rising. She had blocked out so much as a defense mechanism. And now that its all coming back up again, I feel sick  I feel like Ive been punched. I dont feel good right now.

Anderson doesnt dwell in her anger, so Ill do that for her. Hollywood likes nothing more than to pat itself on the back when it deserves nothing of the sort. Andersons story is part of the public record; producers dont need her permission. But whose story is Pam & Tommy really interested in telling?

Seth Rogen developed the series and he also stars as Rand Gauthier, the man who stole the tape and was never held legally accountable. The character is a sad sack whose motives are given a lot of consideration. He ultimately feels terrible about his actions and is contrite by the end. Thats a departure from the real Gauthier, who told Rolling Stone in 2014 that he likes the fact that he contributed this small token to the world and hes always enjoyed watching the tape itself. The shows creators claim their intentions were sincere and hoped the series could perhaps find a little recompense for Anderson. Its a hollow sentiment.

The documentary humanizes her experience  and the vapor trails that never seem to fully burn off  in ways a scripted prestige project never could.

Anderson says she received no money for the tapes distribution. That was her call. It felt too gross, too morally compromised. Do you regret not monetizing it, White asks her. No  and she could have used the money, too. Im not that person when it comes to money. I just want my credit card to work and I want to be able to get my nails done. This is a very down-to-earth sentiment  and then later you see a full-size shipping container on her property that is filled to the brim with her shoe collection. Now, Pamela.

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The shoes come out because shes packing for an extended trip to New York. Shes starring in Chicago on Broadway, an eight-week run as Roxie Hart. I was struck by how committed she is during rehearsals. Its a reminder that Andersons fame precedes the social media era of influencers who get by with neither talent nor charisma. She has the stuff. And by the time she takes the stage, youre rooting for her  and shes good. Really good. She doesnt have a powerhouse voice, but in the clips we see, its clear she understands the inner life, the pain and the humor, of a vamp like Roxie Hart.

And she imbues the quiet opening bars of Nowadays  Its good, isnt it? Grand, isnt it? Great, isnt it? Swell, isnt it?  with a mournful feeling that I found unexpected and moving. Its a high point to end the documentary on, but also one thats well-earned.

So much of Pamela, a love story is about a woman searching for love from men who saw her as a person to be obtained  and then controlled. The best love story might just be the one she develops with herself.

Pamela, a love story  3.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Netflix

Pamela Anderson performs on Broadway in "Chicago," as seen in the documentary Pamela, a love story. (Netflix) (Netflix)

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

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nmetz@chicagotribune.com
The three lead officials carrying out oversight of American military and economic assistance to Ukraine concluded a joint trip to Kyiv last week as part of their investigative duties, according to a joint statement.

The leaders from the offices of inspector general for the department of Defense and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials as part of oversight efforts on billions of dollars of U.S. assistance.

They also visited the countries of Poland and Germany.

Our time in Kyiv afforded us the opportunity to directly communicate American taxpayer expectations of transparency and accountability to the Ukrainian government officials responsible for ensuring that U.S. assistance is deployed efficiently and effectively as Ukraine fights to win this war and its future, Diana Shaw, acting inspector general for the State Department said in a statement.

The visit comes as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed the need to be vigilant on tracking American tax dollars going to Ukraine.

Congress has approved two massive assistance packages in response to Russias invasion totaling $85 billion. Another aid package is likely to come up around September as part of Congresss deliberations on spending for fiscal 2024.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had warned not to expect a blank check to be written for Ukraine with Republicans in control of the lower chamber.

A group of conservative Republicans has opposed U.S. aid and military assistance to Ukraine.

But Republicans supportive of ongoing assistance to Ukraine have welcomed the efforts by the offices of inspector general, even as they have called for oversight.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a joint statement earlier this month welcoming a plan put forth by the Defense, State and USAID inspectors general.

The Inspectors Generals newly-released Joint Strategic Oversight Plan is a welcome development. We look forward to hearing from them on their findings and recommendations on how to enhance the oversight of these funds and how to replenish U.S. stockpiles in a timely manner, the chairmen said in the statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The response of Joe Biden, the US President, to the question about supplying Ukraine with modern fighter jets may not be the final stance of Washington, since the high-level discussions on arming Kyiv with jets are yet to be held.

Source: European Pravda, with reference to the Politico media outlet, citing an anonymous American official

A U.S. official, when asked about Bidens remark, said "there has been no serious, high-level discussion about F-16s".

"In other words, it doesnt appear that Bidens pronouncement is the result of an internal policy review and instead is the current stance of the ultimate decision maker," Politico concludes.

On Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said the U.S. would be discussing fighter jets "very carefully" with Kyiv and its allies.

Apart from the direct supply of the fighters, the U.S. could approve the re-export of F-16s from third-party countries that operate them, a requirement for the transfer of the American-made warplanes.

Earlier, Politico reported that a contingent of military officials is quietly pushing the Pentagon to approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help the country defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.

Reportedly, on Monday, 30 January, Joe Biden stated that the USA was not planning to send the F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. After that, the White House clarified that the USA was already supplying Ukraine with significant military aid, taking into consideration Kyivs needs and the situation on the front.

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Virgin Medias internet service has gone offline, users have complained.

The company acknowledged the problems but said there had been only a brief outage for some services.

The problem was fixed shortly after it began, the company said.

A host of users complained on Tuesday afternoon that they were unable to get online with the apparent outage hitting in the middle of the working day in the UK.

Thousands of users were affected by the problems, across the country, according to tracking website Down Detector.
Jan. 30A middle school counselor in Wasco was arrested Monday on suspicion of molesting a 14-year-old girl.

Kern County Sheriff's deputies were called Sunday night to the city for a child molestation investigation. Their preliminary investigation showed Jose Solis, 37, of Shafter touched a girl inappropriately, the KCSO wrote in a news release.

Solis worked as a counselor at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 305 Griffith Ave.

Kelly Richers, the superintendent of the Wasco Union Elementary School District, wrote in an email the district was notified Monday about the arrest by KCSO deputies "due to allegations unknown to the district at this time."

The counselor was placed on administrative leave, and Richers declined to answer other questions because this was a personnel matter.

Solis was booked into jail at 12:13 a.m. Monday on suspicion of a felony charge of a lewd and lascivious act with a child, annoying or molesting a child and sexual battery.

The Kern County District Attorney's Office said Monday it hasn't yet received KCSO's investigation to review for potential charges.
The White House on Tuesday condemned this weeks terrorist attack on a mosque in Pakistan, noting that reports say the death toll is up to 100 people.

The suicide bomb blast in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan is one of the deadliest militant attacks in the country in years, leaving more than 200 people injured. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has accused the Pakistani Taliban of the attack.

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson in a statement called targeting a mosque particularly inexcusable.

This is tragic and heartbreaking news, and we extend our deep condolences to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives. Terrorism is indefensible, and to target worshippers is unconscionable, Watson said.

She added that the United States is ready to provide support to Pakistan in its efforts to recover and rebuild.

The suicide bomber is suspected of using more than 26 pounds of explosives, CNN reported.

The mosque was located in a highly secured police compound in Peshawar. The attack has raised alarms with authorities over how the bomber carried it out amid an increase in activity from the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP, The Associated Press reported.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden will press House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for a detailed list of spending proposals when the two meet at the White House on Wednesday, officials said ahead of the meeting.

Biden advisers Brian Deese and Shalanda Young said in a memo to reporters Tuesday that the White House would release its own budget in early March.

It is essential that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit, Deese and Young wrote.

A Republican budget proposal, the advisers said, should specify whether Republicans would pursue savings through cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance subsidies, research or public safety spending.

Republicans should also specify how much their budget will add to the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, as in their first bill this year. House Republicans approved a symbolic bill cutting IRS funding for tax enforcement, which the Congressional Budget Office said would boost deficits by more than $100 billion.

Republicans have signaled they want a major spending showdown with Biden, and that they would use the so-called debt ceiling as leverage. The federal government is already butting up against a legal limit on how much it can borrow in order to cover expenses, and if Congress fails to raise the limit, the government would default  potentially triggering a financial crisis and a recession.

Biden has said he would refuse to negotiate over the debt limit, but has nevertheless engaged in a back-and-forth with Republicans, skewering them for suggesting theyd cut spending on popular retirement programs and demanding they be specific about what they want.

Republicans have struggled to define what theyd like to see cut from the federal budget. Some have proposed vague across-the-board cuts to discretionary spending, while others have suggested that it is Biden and the White House who should identify spending restrictions. A top House Republican on Monday said the GOP would seek to cut the woke agenda in negotiations with Biden.

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Since last week, McCarthy has claimed that Republicans would not propose changes to Social Security or Medicare as part of their spending demands. GOP lawmakers typically sidestep political blowback over such proposals by promising to strengthen or save those programs instead  with changes for future beneficiaries.

Deese and Young noted Tuesday that the Republican Study Committee, a policy-focused group of House lawmakers, last year proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare through higher eligibility ages and reduced benefits for some recipients.

McCarthy insisted Sunday those programs should be off the table for now and that it was a shame congressional Democrats had refused to produce a budget.

They wont even negotiate, McCarthy said on CBS. I want to make sure we have something responsible, something that we can move forward on and something that we can balance our debt with. So Im looking [forward to] sitting down. Thats exactly what Ive been asking for.

The White House is expected to submit a budget proposal to Congress in the coming weeks, as mandated by federal law. But such plans are often ignored on Capitol Hill. Its unclear whether the divided and narrow House GOP majority will also produce a budget of its own.

Asked Monday what his message was for McCarthy ahead of their sit-down this week, Biden told reporters: Show me your budget, Ill show you mine.

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The White House will release its budget proposal for next fiscal year on March 9, officials said Tuesday, as they pressure Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to release a detailed budget of his own outlining House Republicans spending plans.

The White House on Tuesday circulated a memo from National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young ahead of President Bidens meeting with McCarthy on the debt ceiling. The two officials confirmed Biden would unveil his budget for fiscal 2024 in early March.

President Biden will release a budget on March 9, Deese and Young wrote. It is essential that Speaker McCarthy likewise commit to releasing a budget, so that the American people can see how House Republicans plan to reduce the deficit  whether through Social Security cuts; cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage; and/or cuts to research, education, and public safety  as well as how much their Budget will add to the deficit with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, as in their first bill this year.

The presidents proposed budget is typically seen as a messaging document about the administrations priorities and is often disregarded by lawmakers as they seek to pass funding bills through Congress.

But in this case, White House officials are using the release of the budget to lean on McCarthy to be transparent about whether he wants to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare as members of his caucus call for spending cuts.

Biden and McCarthy will meet Wednesday at the White House to discuss the debt ceiling, which lawmakers must raise in the coming months or risk a government default that could wreck the economy. Some Republicans have signaled they plan to use the debt ceiling negotiations as leverage to secure spending cuts and reforms to government programs.

Asked about his message to McCarthy ahead of the meeting, Biden told reporters Monday: You show me your budget, Ill show you mine.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President of the United States Joe Biden delivers his

President Joe Biden, pictured in Baltimore, informed Congress on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 that he intends to end the COVID-19 emergency in May. Credit - Kyle MazzaSOPA Images/LightRocket Getty Images

President Bidens plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt was already in crisistied up in legal challenges that have already reached the Supreme Court.

But the Administrations announcement that it is ending the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11 could spell its doom, according to legal experts. The federal pause on student loan payments may also be in jeopardy.

At least 16 million Americans were approved for the program, but relief was put on pause by two separate federal court rulings, including by a judge from Texas who said the program was an unconstitutional use of power.

Bidens legal justification for forgiving student debt relied on the HEROES Act, which allows the Department of Education to modify provisions of student loan programs to alleviate financial hardship borrowers might face during national emergencies.

The plan, announced in August, would impact 40 million Americans. It would forgive up to $10,000 of student loan debt for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for those who went to college on Pell Grants. Only those earning less than $125,000 per year are eligible.

In a November court filing, U.S. Department of Education Undersecretary James Kvaal outlined the Administrations argument, saying that unless the Administration is allowed to take action, there could be a large increase in the amount of federal student loan delinquency and defaults as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the Administrations decision to end the public health emergency puts the crux of the Education Departments argument at high risk, says Jed Shugerman, a professor who studies executive branch powers at Fordham Law School.

It is possible in the wake of an emergency, that one would have a program to deal with the fallout of an emergency, he says. The problem is that the program is not tailored to the emergency.

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In order to have the authority to forgive student loans, the Education Department agreed that it would have to show that recipients of the program faced a strong financial burden as a result of COVID-19. While nearly 17 million Americans were unemployed at the height of the pandemic, workers in other industrieslike streaming services or video conferencing businesses such as Zoomthrived. Since borrowers were not required to provide evidence of a financial burden when applying for student loan forgiveness, the Administrations argument is faulty, Shugerman says.

The only excuse for not actually having any step to show a causation or correlation from the emergency would be if the emergency was still happening, he adds.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over student loan relief at the end of February.

What is the future of student loan forgiveness?

Experts tell TIME its increasingly likely the Supreme Court will strike down Bidens loan forgiveness plan in the following weeks.

The best path forward would be to create a new plan that could be justified under the Higher Education Act of 1965, which aimed to increase access to college and university, says Shugerman.

Implementing a student loan forgiveness plan under that statute, while a better fit, would take longer. But experts say Biden could still pass some sort of relief for borrowers by the end of his term if the Administration acts promptly.

Student loan payments likely to resume

Experts tell TIME that the student loan payment pause could also run out as a result of Biden ending the COVID-19 emergency.

Student loan payments have been paused since March 2020. Payments were set to resume 60 days after the Education Department was allowed to implement the student loan forgiveness program, or when litigation around Bidens student loan relief program ends.

I dont think it would be out of the question that if the case came down after May, the payment cost pause could extend a little bit longer, Luke Herrine, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Alabama tells TIME. But the Biden Administration would have eliminated its justification for continuing to extend it much beyond what it takes to resolve the legal dispute.

Other measures to forgive student loans

In the meantime, the administration is already considering structural changes to student loan plans. In early January, the Education Department announced new proposed regulations that could cut monthly payments in half for the 10 million borrowers enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan.

Those changes are not yet confirmed, but if the proposal goes into effect, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native borrowers could see their lifetime payments per dollar borrowed cut by 50%. An earlier initiative announced in April said the Department of Education would conduct a one-time account adjustment that would extend borrowers payment histories to include credit for partial and late payments. Eligible borrowers would automatically see the adjustment on their account.
Rodney Wells, stepfather of Tyre Nichols, speaks at a prayer gathering at the site where Nichols was beaten by Memphis police officers, and later died from his injuries, in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 30, 2023. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Vice President Kamala Harris plans to attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after he was beaten by Memphis police officers just minutes from his home, the White House said Tuesday.

Harris was invited to attend the funeral services Wednesday by Nichols mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, according to Harriss press secretary, Kirsten Allen. Harris spoke by phone with the Wells family on Tuesday, expressing her condolences and offering her support. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Nichols family last week.

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Harris will be joined by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the president for public engagement, and Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, Allen said.

Five Black officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols Jan. 7 beating and subsequent death. Video of the beating, which was released publicly last week, shows that many more people failed to help Nichols, who was also Black, beyond the five officers charged in his death.

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Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with Nichols death, officials said Monday. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, and another officer whose name wasnt released, have been suspended, police said.

Nichols family, the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Ben Crump plan to gather Tuesday evening at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis  where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated  to speak about the latest developments in the case.

Six of the officers involved were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in high-crime areas. Other Memphis residents who say they also were brutalized by officers in the unit will also speak at Mason Temple, according to a statement from Crump.

Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis said after the videos release that the unit has been disbanded.

Its a step in the right direction, but due to the severity of the situation its not enough, Damion Carrick, 44, said as he participated in a protest Monday evening at Shelby Farms Park. You got a man dragged out of his car, beaten senseless, to a pulp and nobody doing nothing about it. Its heartbreaking.

Nichols death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted violent and sometimes deadly encounters.

Memphis Police Department officers used a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during the nighttime arrest. Video shows Nichols running away from officers toward his house after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. The video footage released Friday shows the 29-year-old father calling for his mother and struggling with his injuries as he sits helpless on the pavement.

The five officers chatted and milled about for several minutes as Nichols remained on the ground, but other authorities were on the scene. Two Shelby County sheriffs deputies also have been suspended without pay while their conduct is investigated.

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Nichols older brother, Jamal Dupree, told CNNs Don Lemon on Tuesday that he feels guilty because he wasnt there to protect his younger sibling.

Im 99% sure that my brother has never gotten into a fight before. And the one time he got into an altercation with other humans, we wasnt there to protect him. My brother was trying to cooperate with them, Dupree, who lives in California, said of the Memphis officers.

Dupree said he hasnt watched the police video.

I already knew how they treated him because Ive seen it all over the world, Dupree said. Police brutality is nothing new. I already knew they treated my brother like an animal. They treated him like he was nothing. I dont have to watch the video to know that.

He said he has seen reports about his brother and thinks other people are learning about who he was as a person.

I think people really know my brother did not deserve this, he told CNN. He was not that type of person. Yeah, he was just a good guy around the board. ... We want justice.

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Nichols sister, Keyana Dixon, was among more than 100 friends, family and supporters who gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday night at a skate park in Sacramento, where Nichols grew up, The Sacramento Bee reported.

This was his favorite place to skate, she said at the vigil. I just want to thank all of you for your continued support for our family, and making sure his name is never forgotten.

A childhood friend, Ryan Wilson, said he met Nichols at a skate park when he was 12 and they became fast friends, sharing their dreams for the future. Nichols had some struggles while young, but he focused on making others happy, Wilson said.

I just feel like all he wanted to do was find his place in this world, and he just wanted to be happy, Wilson said.

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells have accepted an invitation to attend President Joe Bidens State of the Union address next week at the Capitol. They will attend with Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Vincent Evans, a spokesperson for the caucus.

Nichols funeral is set for Wednesday at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. Sharpton will give the eulogy and Crump will speak immediately after the funeral. Those expected to be in attendance include Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

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The deaths of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Floyd in Minneapolis, at the hands of police sparked protests across the nation about racial injustice.

Associated Press journalists Gary Fields in Memphis; Darlene Superville in Washington; and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
Indigenous anti-government protesters shout in front of a line of police during a march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte

Indigenous anti-government protesters shout in front of a line of police during a march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 25, 2023. Protesters are seeking immediate elections, Boluarte's resignation, the release of ousted President Pedro Castillo and justice for protesters killed in clashes with police. Credit - Martin MejiaAP/Shutterstock

An attempted self-coup by former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on December 7 led to widespread protests in the country that have left almost 60 dead and hundreds injured.

After over seven weeks of protests, demonstrators have been calling for the resignation of Castillos successor, President Dina Boluartewho imposed curfews in some cities and temporarily suspended some civil liberties such as freedom of movement. Last month, lawmakers voted to move elections from 2026 to to 2024, but with protests showing no sign of stopping, Boluarte urged lawmakers to move the elections up further to December of 2023.

There isnt one clear reason for the demonstrations. While Castillos arrest might have provided an immediate opportunity for some of his supporters who believe he got a raw deal, experts say the demonstrations are the result of years of political and economic instability.

Who is Pedro Castillo?

Castillo came to power with the support of Perus disenfranchised, many of whom saw themselves in the former elementary school teacher from the impoverished Cajamarca region, known as a son of the soil for his lack of political ties. He wasnt connected to Lima at alleconomically, socially, or politically, which made him popular amongst the countrys poor, says Moises Arce, a professor of Latin American Studies at Tulane University.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo gives a press conference at the presidential palace in Lima on Oct. 11, 2022. Martin MejiaAP

In 2021, Castillo scraped a win in a tight election against hard-right opponent Keiko Fujimori, but his lack of political expertise contributed to a turbulent government and a failure to deliver on many of the promises that got him elected. He would promise reform but never had the votes to make it happen, says Arce.

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He appointed five Prime Ministers and over 80 ministers in just over a year and a half, many of whom lacked political experience. He was unable to put together a government in that short period, says Arce. It was simply a government failure.

Congress tried twice to impeach him, but both times, the measure failed to get enough votes. A third impeachment vote had been called for December 7ththe day Castillo announced that he would be dissolving Congress and installing an emergency government.

But Castillos reign as a dictator was a blink-and-youll-miss-it moment, over just as soon as it began. It took all of a few hours for his political allies to drop him and Congress to finally deliver the impeachment vote it had been threatening for months. As Castillo headed to the Mexican embassy in search of asylum, his security detail turned him in to the police. He remains in prison while prosecutors continue their investigation into criminal charges against him.

For many, Castillos actions were reminiscent of those of dictator Alberto Fujimori who staged a self-coup in 1992 and later rewrote the constitution. The memory, still fresh in the minds of Peruvians, allowed people to jump in quickly to ensure Castillo did not follow in his footsteps.

Anyone who has followed Peru through the 90s remembers Fujimori, says Cynthia McClintock, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University.

Why are Peruvians protesting?

The protests that launched in December are only one part of an ongoing political crisis. After a commodities boom led to a period of growth in the early 2000s, Peru began to face an economic downturn in 2016.

Since then, no president has finished their termin 2020, the country went through three presidents in one week. Boluarte is the countrys sixth president in seven years, and it is unlikely she will make it to the end of her term.

Protesters who want President Dina Boluarte to resign face off with police in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 19, 2023. Marco GarroThe New York Times/Redux

As the government changed hands constantly, it became difficult for the country to build on programs it began during its growth period. There was total gridlock in Congress between the far-right and the President, says McClintock.

Peru has had the highest COVID-19 fatality rate in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, basic services were put under strain, with the country unable to provide things like medical oxygen for patients with the virus. The pandemic revealed the fragility of basic institutions, says Arce.

The pandemic also impacted the 2021 elections. Pollsters were unable to poll and campaigns were on hold, says McClintock. No one could vote strategically, she says. It was catastrophic.

This, McClintock said, is why many protesters are pushing for another round of elections. A lot of people are saying, we can do better in a new election because 2021 was such a catastrophic election.

What happens next?

The Peruvian Congress has already approved a measure to move elections up to 2024two years before they were scheduled, but Peruvians are pushing for an election to be held even sooner than that. McClintock says that setting a date for elections in the next few weeks could help quell protests eager for a change in leadership.

Some of the protesters are calling on the government to replace the constitution put in place by Fujimori, a decision experts are wary of.

Were going to replace a constitution that came out of a dictatorship with another constitution that has basically come out from a lot of violence, says Arce.
Prosecutors in New York have convened a grand jury in their investigation into hush money paid to an adult film star who said she'd slept with Donald Trump, three sources familiar with the situation confirmed.

The seating of a grand jury, first reported Monday by The New York Times, marks a significant new phase of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe into the $130,000 payment to actor Stormy Daniels during Trump's 2016 campaign.

A spokesperson for Bragg declined to comment Monday.

Michael Cohen, Trumps former attorney, met with prosecutors in recent weeks and could be asked to appear before the grand jury.

Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making the illegal payment to Daniels for the principal purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential election and said he did so at Trump's behest.

Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison for that and other crimes, maintained in an MSNBC interview Monday that the payment "was done at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump."

An attorney for Trump declined to comment Monday night.

Trump has denied ever having slept with Daniels, but he acknowledged that he repaid Cohen the $130,000.

In 2018, Trump tweeted that the money was "not from the campaign" and that the deal had been a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.

The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair ... despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair, Trump said on Twitter.

Trump's company was sentenced this month on tax fraud charges brought by the district attorney's office. Bragg said at the time that the sentencing closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the former president and his businesses, adding, We now move on to the next chapter.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
At first glance, and probably second and third glances, members of the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement task force dont look like how one might imagine police officers are supposed to look, which, given the nature of their work, is by design.

When tasked with insinuating yourself into the world of illegal drugs in order to stop its distribution in your area, you want an officer who doesnt set off any alarm bells by their mere presence.

The three officers who provided a glimpse into Council Bluffs seedy underbelly, all veterans of the CBPD, requested that they not be identified, and so will be referred to as SWINE 1, SWINE 2, and SWINE 3, in reference to the task force acronym, and not the derogatory term often directed at police  pig.

In fact, when asked whether the task force acronym was in any way a reference to the word pig, it appeared to have not crossed anyones mind. Its just a coincidence.

The three SWINE officers were all dressed in jeans, T-shirts, hoodies  normal, everyday clothes that paired well with their scruffy beards.

A lot of the reasons we dress the way we do, we look the way we do, we dont wear uniforms is because we interview people a lot, SWINE 1 said. And theres a different attitude when they talk to us dressed like this than when were in a uniform. They can calm down a little bit sometimes. Theres a command presence that you have to carry when you are in a uniform, and were allowed to break that down and kind of just talk to them in a different way.

Working drug enforcement in Council Bluffs is very much like trying to find a job in that networking plays an important role in both. Who you know can just as easily score you dope as it can find you a job, and its the job of the SWINE task force to tap into those drug networks and find out where the drugs are coming from.

Arresting some guy slinging dope on his corner or out of his house is not going to do much in the grand scheme of drug trafficking. There will always be someone to fill that void. The key to stopping the flow of drugs into or through the city lies further up the food chain, and most likely lives in Mexico.

Its all cartel, SWINE 2 said. If you get high enough, if youre buying pounds from people, eventually youre just going to get a number straight to Mexico.

Once someone in Mexico receives that call, it starts a whole chain reaction that culminates in two guys, most likely strangers, meeting each other to exchange drugs for cash.

And thats what makes it so hard, is that somebody here is calling Mexico, Mexicos calling somebody else, these two guys dont even know each other, SWINE 3 said. So when they meet up, one guys like, I have no clue what that guys name was, he was just some Hispanic dude in his mid-to-late 20s, short brown hair.

Even if SWINE or another enforcement agency takes down the people dealing drugs at the local level, its no skin off the cartels nose. They already got their money and the drugs are relatively cheap to make. Theyll just send more shipments across the border, collect their money and carry on.

Even when a shipment is stopped at the border, its only one of many, and the cartel chalks it up to the cost of doing business.

The SWINE task force uses a multitude of tools to combat the drug trade, from interviews with users or dealers, to placing someone under surveillance for a period of time, SWINE 1 said.

Interviews are really probably the bread and butter of all our investigations, SWINE 1 said. Jail interviews, uniform making traffic stops, calling us, well go to the traffic stop sometimes and talk to them right there. Were in houses. Its just constantly talking to people.

With surveillance, sometimes a neighbor will contact the police to tell them about suspicious activity at a house down the street  people coming and going at all times of the day and night, loud music, yelling.

Surveillance is just constantly looking at houses, constantly looking at people, trying to build a pattern of life, SWINE 1 said. Everyone, whether they like to believe it or not, has a pattern of behavior and a pattern to their life. They get up at the same time, they go to the gym at the same time, they go to certain places at the same time. Everyones on a routine and everyone wants to be on a routine, and so we try to figure those (patterns) out in what people are doing, and then that can lead us to how theyre selling drugs, who theyre selling drugs to and then the cases just kind of go from there.

Another tool in SWINEs toolbox is interdiction. When someone is pulled over on the interstate, sometimes its because law enforcement was looking for something specific.

One day we were looking, my DEA group was out in west Nebraska, we were looking for a certain kind of U-Haul-style truck, and it was supposed to be in a certain area at a certain time, SWINE 1 said. There was three of them. Of course we didnt have a plate number, and they all had similar license plates. We pulled all three of them over for different violations. Two of them had dope in them. Only one of them was what we were looking for, the other one was just a lucky strike.

One of the class participants asked if the trucks had actually done anything wrong that would warrant being stopped.

You have to have reasons, SWINE 2 said. Who goes the exact speed limit? Dont use your seat belt, dont use your turn signal?

After the SWINE officers spoke, three members of the police departments chaplain corps spoke about their duties.

Chaplains are there to talk to officers, or, more importantly, to listen. Being a police officer brings with it a lot of stress, said Ken Sewing, who has been a chaplain with the CBPD since 2009.

(They) need somebody that they could talk to and know it goes in and doesnt come out, Sewing said. They need that because theyre under a lot of stress every day. I mean, the three (SWINE officers) you just saw, imagine the stress their lives have. But its the same with any uniform. They have everything that you and I have at home, and then they come and get to listen to all of us mouth off to them.

Much like a priest, anything an officer says to a chaplain stays with the chaplain, the only exceptions being if the chaplain believes the officer to be a danger to himself or others.

Out of the three chaplains who spoke to the class, only Lynn Saathoff had experience as a police officer. He worked in the CBPD records department for 11 years and had daily interactions with many of the officers.

During that 11 years here, you get to know the officers and become part of the family, Saathoff said. They reminded me of that when I retired, if you want to come back and support them as much as I could.

Saathoff is the only member of the chaplain corps who is not an ordained minister, but that never stopped him from ministering to the men and women of the department, Sewing said.

This guy says hes not a minister, Sewing said. Hes been ministering to the officers ever since he came to work in this department, and they love him. And when  I said were considering Lynn, to have him being one of our chaplains, we all said he already is. The guys trust him, they know they can, and thats the biggest thing with being a chaplain.

Ward Doering was a military police officer in the 1980s, and he applied to join the Omaha Police Department and Nebraska State Troopers, but by the time he heard back about his application, he already had another job.

By the time they called me back to come to work, I had a different job, and I would have taken about a 50% cut in pay, and my wife said, nuh-uh, weve got three little kids at home. So life took me in a different direction, he said.

Doering worked as a chaplain in Omaha for 12 years before he and his wife moved to Council Bluffs. Hes been a member of the Council Bluffs chaplain corp for four years.

Were trained to try and get to know you, the officers, as you are, Sewing said. And that way, we are trained to try and watch you during briefings, and when wed do ride-alongs, and when were just talking with you, to find or to notice when you are not being you, according to who you typically are.

If we can pick up that youre carrying a burden, then we have  we dont have the solutions; typically, we will not, but we will walk with you wherever it is you need to go to get you that solution. And we will talk to you and try and help you open up, hey, I got a problem, and then were going to see that we do everything we can to get you what you need.
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A former Chicago police officer has been charged with multiple felonies of perjury and forgery, the citys Office of Inspector General announced Tuesday afternoon.

Jeffrey Kriv was a Chicago Police Department officer from Aug. 5, 1996, until earlier this month, according to a statement from the inspector general. Kriv is facing four counts of perjury and five counts of forgery, according to documents filed Tuesday morning in Cook County Circuit Court.

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Both offenses are punishable by probation or up to two to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, the inspector general said.

Kriv, 56, appeared in court Tuesday and was ordered released from jail on his own recognizance, according to court records.

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According to Assistant States Attorney Thomas Fryska, Kriv was fired Jan. 10, before his retirement set for Jan. 20, due to the charges.

Kriv was employed as a CPD officer at the time of the alleged offenses, the inspector general said. The offices investigation revealed that between 2009 and 2022, Kriv successfully disputed multiple parking tickets and moving violations related to his personal vehicles by providing fraudulent documents as evidence or making false statements in person during department of administrative hearings.

The truthfulness and credibility of police officers is foundational to the fair administration of justice, and to CPDs effectiveness as a law enforcement agency, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said in a written statement. We are grateful to CPD and to the states attorneys office for their partnership in this investigation.

The inspector generals office was initially contacted on Feb. 8, 2022, about a potentially fraudulent parking ticket related to Kriv, Fryska said.

The inspector general learned that Kriv had contested a parking ticket on Oct. 13, 2021, to one of his personal vehicles by claiming that he had received a second citation for the same parking violation just 15 minutes earlier, Fryska said. But the copy of the ticket was signed by an Officer D. Stuart with Krivs star number, and was actually a ticket Kriv had written as a CPD officer on a different date to a different vehicle.

The inspector generals investigation also revealed that Kriv, starting in 2013, had resolved 44 automated ticket violations by going to court. He would testify that his girlfriend had stolen his vehicle and was driving it on the day and time each ticket was issued, Fryska said.

Kriv would also provide the administrative law judge with fraudulent police reports to support his claims, Fryska said.

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Specifically, from January 2021 to September 2022, Kriv appeared at four in-person hearings where he disputed four different automated traffic violations issued to his personal BMW, Fryska said.

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On those dates, he would provide the judge with a forged police report, claiming the vehicle had been stolen by his girlfriend, Fryska said. In all four of these incidents, the court retained a copy of the police report, which all appeared to be identical apart from their dates.

The total cost of the five tickets that were dismissed on the basis on Krivs false information was $330, Fryska said. But going back through, the total cost of all 44 dismissed tickets based on the forged documents and false testimony about his girlfriend stealing his vehicle was about $3,665.

Krivs next court date is Feb. 23, according to court records.

Chicago Tribunes Madeline Buckley contributed.

pfry@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @paigexfry
The number of endangered rhinos poached in Namibia reached the highest level on record in 2022, as twice as many animals  87 compared to 45  were killed in 2021, official government data showed on Monday (30 January).

Africas rhino population has been decimated over the decades to feed demand for rhino horn, which, despite being made of the same stuff as rhino hair and fingernails, is prized in East Asia as jewelry and fake medicine. The horns are worth tens of thousands of dollars in illegal Asian markets. Rhino numbers in Africa have dropped significantly in recent decades to feed demand for rhino horn especially in China and Vietnam. Poachers killed 61 black and 26 white rhinos mainly in Namibias largest park, Etosha, where 46 rhinos were found dead, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said. We note with serious concern that our flagship park, Etosha National Park, is a poaching hotspot, Mr Muyunda said.

International criminal gangs are reported to use sophisticated equipment to track and tranquilize the animals before hacking off the horn, leaving them bleeding to death. Apart from Namibia, also poaching in South Africa and Botswana has led to wildlife teams sawing off the rhino horns in order to keep them alive. For many generations rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine although there is no proven medical benefit. Poaching has also been fueled by demand in Vietnam, where horns are displayed as a sign of wealth. Globally there just over 26,000 rhinos of all species left
At least 28 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in two separate attacks by rebel fighters in northern Burkina Faso, a regional governor and the army said in separate statements.

The army said on Monday (30 January) that a combat unit in Falagountou, in the countrys north near its border with Niger, came under attack and that 10 soldiers, two fighters of the volunteer force and a civilian were killed. On the same day, the bodies of 15 men, all civilians, had been found following an attack on Sunday (29 January), authorities in the countrys Cascades region near the border with Ivory Coast said in a separate statement. Armed men had reportedly stopped two transport vehicles carrying eight women and 16 men, the women and one man were freed, the rest of the men were shot dead.

The latest killings come as Burkina Faso  and its neighbors in Mali and Niger  battle armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL who have occupied territory in the countrys arid and mainly rural north, executing hundreds of villagers and displacing nearly 2 million people. The fighters have blockaded towns and villages, worsening a food crisis. With more than a third of Burkina Faso now beyond the control of the government, frustration within the army regarding the handling of the security situation triggered two coups last year and has intensified political instability and strained relations with former colonial power France, which has fought against the armed groups in the Sahel region.
The expulsion of the Polisario militias from the African Union is a matter of time and not a principle as an increasing number of African countries realize the risks of admitting a separatist group into a continental organization of sovereign states.

The Polisario has to be kicked out of the African Union for this organization to regain neutrality over a territorial dispute fueled by Algeria to undermine its western neighbor, Morocco.

Rationale

A group of former African prime ministers and foreign ministers met in Tangier where they elaborated ink on paper arguments that would serve the advocacy to eject the Polisario militias and their self-declared republic from the African Union.

The arguments build on an earlier declaration they signed last year in Tangier which is part of a diplomatic momentum ushered by the motion sent in 2017 by 28 countries demanding a freeze of Polisarios membership from the African Union.

The salient argument is that the Polisario lacks all state attributes as a separatist organization fed and hosted on the Algerian territory.

By admitting the Polisario as a fully-fledged state, the African Union has opened a pandoras box that encourages other separatist groups to follow suit.

The presence of the Polisario within the African Union is a blatant bias that prejudged the outcome of the UN efforts and the African Union needs to repair its prejudice regarding Morocco by expelling the separatist militias.

The African Union has adopted resolution 963 which recognizes the primacy of the UN process as the sole framework for the settlement of the conflict.

As long as it includes the Polisario separatist militia as a member, the African Union is in a situation of bias that strips it of any legitimacy to mediate in the conflict.

The signatories of the Tangier appeal also argue that the African Union is able, through the conference of the heads of state, to put an end to this prejudice and contribute to conflict resolution in North Africa. If 37 countries vote for a resolution to freeze or suspend the Polisarios membership, the African Union could restore its neutrality and could play a role in favor of settling the conflict.

Wind of change

The Polisario was introduced as a full member into the predecessor of the African Union, the Organization of African Unity, in 1984 at a cold war context using oil money. Morocco left the organization in reaction while focusing on fostering bilateral ties with different African friendly states.

Since then, Algeria used the comfort of not having Moroccos voice to pass resolutions serving the separatist cause going as far as using the most important body in the African organization, the Peace and Security Council, to serve Algiers hegemonic agenda under the cover of supporting Polisarios separatism.

But the winds of change have blown on the African Union with the triumphal return of Morocco in 2017. Since then, Rabat managed step by step to correct the bias of the organization and make its voice heard to the disappointment of Algeria and the few remaining countries rallying behind its agenda to unsettle Morocco through the Polisario militias.

Moroccos presence within the continental organization served as a bulwark against separatist plots and together with its numerous friends managed to push the African Union to recognize that the Sahara peace process is an exclusive domain of the UN, barring thus the road for Algiers as it seeks to pressure the African Union into a mediation role.

Building on a pro-active foreign policy and multi-layered cooperation based on a solidarity-oriented approach and win-win projects, Morocco stands in stark contrast to the cash hand out policy adopted by Algeria and formerly by Gaddafis Libya to buy support in the continent.

Not only in African where Moroccos faithful supporters are located, the sands globally are shifting in favor of Moroccos autonomy initiative.

The recognition by the US of Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara and its support for autonomy as the only political solution to the dispute and the opening by 28 African and Arab states of consulates in the Sahara indicate an inflection point to put an end to attempts to undermine Moroccos territorial integrity.
Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) is set to proceed with the complete takeover of Kenyas Mayfair CIB, after obtaining approvals from authorities, in a deal valued at $40 million.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have just granted their consent for CIB to acquire the remaining 49% of Mayfair CIB, CIB said in a statement.

The deal makes Mayfair CIB a fully owned subsidiary of the Egyptian lender. The banking institution last April acquired 51% stake in Mayfair Bank, marking its entry into the Kenyan market.

We are pleased and grateful for this vote of confidence from [authorities} as we are firm believers in the prospect of prosperity of the Kenyan economy and look forward to our contribution to the same, said Hussein Abaza, CEO and Managing Director of CIB.

Mayfair CIB saw its operating income rise by 64% to KSH 891.45 million ($8.2 million) in 2021. Profits, after tax, stood at KSH 96.1 million compared to a net loss of KSH 279.3 million.

Hossam Rageh, Executive Director at Mayfair CIB, believes Kenya offers great opportunities. The Eastern African country has a population of more than 53 million and is home to 39 commercial banks.

We are excited to be part of the countrys business life and future. We will grow this bank as we continue to provide a first-class service to all our clients, he said.
Tunisian President Kais Saied conducted Monday a slight cabinet reshuffle with the replacement of two ministers in the wake of an unpopular second round of legislatives.

A statement from his office announced that Ali Boughdiri replaces minister of Education Fathi Selaouti while Abdelmonam Belati takes over the ministry of Agriculture from Mohamed Ilyes.

The office did not provide details why the shakeup took place. It is worth recalling that Saied fired two weeks ago the Minister of Trade.

The move came a day after the country held the second round of the legislative elections. The process was boycotted by voters with turnout put at 11.4 per cent by the independent electoral body ISIE.

The first round held in December also recorded the lowest ever turnout registered in the history of the country, 11 per cent.

The ISIE Saturday said the result of the second round will be released on February 1st while the aggregate results will be made public on March 4.

The National Salvation Front alliance, an assortment of civil society movements and political parties, opposed to Saieds political decisions since 25 July 2021 the day the President sacked the Prime Minister, froze the parliament, demanded Monday that Saied steps down after the fiasco of the second round.

The alliance headed by Ahmed Nejib Chebbi indicated that the rate of abstention is record high, 90 per cent.

It is a great popular disapproval for the July 25 process which started by the freezing of the Parliament, before monopolizing all powers, Chebbi said.
Protesters march down the street on Jan. 27, 2023, in Memphis, Tennessee, as authorities release police video depicting five Memphis officers beating Tyre Nichols, whose death resulted in murder charges and provoked outrage at the country's latest instance of police brutality. (Gerald Herbert / AP)

The video-recorded killing of Tyre Nichols that led to charges against police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, stirred echoes all the way in Chicago, where eight years ago another recorded death similarly sent shock waves across the nation and spurred public demand for police reform.

In the case of Laquan McDonald, a teenager fatally shot by a uniformed Chicago police officer in October 2014, release of graphic video provoked public outrage and immediate criminal charges against the officer, Jason Van Dyke, reigniting the embers of resentment in Chicago and calls for accountability against police.

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The McDonald case led to years of reform efforts, including the departmentwide rollout of body-worn cameras and a 2019 federal consent decree mandating reforms in Chicago police training, use of force, data management and other areas. But lawyers who have been involved in the consent decree say slow reform efforts create an environment similar to the one that led to Nichols death in Memphis.

Nichols, a 29-year-old African American who worked for FedEx and was the father of a 4-year-old son, was dragged from his car by police officers from Memphis Scorpion street crime unit for alleged reckless driving. Video showed he was held down, kicked, punched and tased. Five officers were charged with murder. Two other Memphis officers were relieved of duty and three fire department workers who responded to the scene were fired, according to the Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis.

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People march on State Street in Chicago's Loop on Jan. 30, 2023, to protest the killing of Tyre Nichols. Nichols died after he was beaten on Jan. 7 by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Officials in Memphis and across the country were fearful that releasing video of Nichols beating death would serve as a flashpoint to civil unrest as McDonalds and George Floyds deaths had been, despite Nichols alleged attackers also being African American.

When the Chicago consent decree was being drafted, community groups pushed for inclusion of requirements that would limit police power to engage with people suspected of minor and nonviolent criminal offenses because of the propensity for such interactions to needlessly escalate into violence, said Sheila Bedi, a Northwestern University law professor and an attorney who has been involved in litigation over the decree.

The language was ultimately not adopted, she said, though she added that the city could petition the court to modify the consent decree to include such provisions. Without such limits on police, and with the slow pace of complying with the consent decree overall, real reform appears far off, she said.

What happened in Memphis could easily happen here, Bedi said.

A common thread between both Nichols and McDonalds cases was perception of a cover-up by police to protect their own. In the McDonald case, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 initially provided a statement that described the teen as the aggressor despite police dashcam video evidence that later showed the knife-wielding African American teen backing away as he was shot 16 times by Van Dyke, who is white.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 Community activist James Tiller, left, and protesters carry a coffin toward City Hall on Nov. 28, 2015, to decry the police killing of Laquan McDonald. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

In Memphis, police released a vague statement without any indications of wrongdoing by the officers.

Bedi said the kind of brutal violence we saw on our TV screens happens regularly in Chicago.

During the summer of 2020, when mass protests erupted in Chicago following the murder of Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Chicago police officers were captured via body cameras using unlawful force against protesters, she said, noting that the use of force was documented in reports from the city itself and the independent monitor reviewing the departments progress in meeting consent decree goals.

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Those officers are still policing our streets, and that says a lot about the culture and intransigence of the Chicago Police Department and policing in general, she said.

A Tribune article from last year explained how resistant the city and its police have been to federal intervention on police matters and challenges activists continue to face.

Attorney Craig Futterman, who is director of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the University of Chicago, agreed that a situation like Nichols could happen in Chicago due to the persistence of what he called a toxic, pervasive police culture that turns a blind eye to violence against citizens.

What happened to Tyre Nichols was very much about culture  dominant police culture and the culture in Chicago has been and continues to be resistant to change, said Futterman, whose project successfully petitioned the court to release McDonalds death video.

Some academics have called video  particularly the sometimes-shocking images captured by police body cameras  a main driver for police reform. Two years ago, criminologists and economists at Georgia State, American and Stockton universities who studied eight years of Chicago police complaint data found that police bodycams had led to a significant decrease in the dismissal of investigations due to insufficient evidence, and an increase in sustained misconduct cases against officers, according to the 43-page report by GSU criminology professor Volkan Topalli and three other researchers.

Video can make the difference between a citizen complaint tossed because of a lack of evidence and those sustained because of clear evidence of misconduct.

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Police officers guarding the Trump International Hotel & Tower hold back protesters on May 30, 2020, during a rally and march to remember the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

It can be quite challenging for the investigators to distinguish truth from falsehood when police officers and citizens make contradictory statements. In these cases, the video footages can provide critical objective information about the incident and the credibility of police officers and complainants statements, according to the 2021 report.

Video is no doubt a game changer, said Futterman, who added that video evidence can quickly push police to amend false statements that often exonerate officers of wrongdoing.

If there was no video, we wouldnt be having this conversation, he said. Would it simply been written off in Memphis as (it was initially) in Minneapolis with George Floyd, or in Chicago like Laquan McDonald?

Stretching back to the infamous Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police in 1991, video has altered the law enforcement landscape, not only in solving crimes, but also in confirming the veracity of statements made by officers and community complaints.

But Futterman cautioned that video alone wont solve the root problem of violence and mistrust.

Videos by themselves dont wholly strip away racism, he said. Videos dont necessarily always tell all the truth, but videos also are a game changer because they do provide real objective evidence of what actually happened. Thats been evidence that in prior decades ... was totally absent.

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Unsurprisingly, topics of law enforcement and police reform have been major talking points in the campaign leading up to next months Chicago mayoral election. Mayor Lori Lightfoots handling of Chicago police reform and the consent decree has sparked criticism from rival candidates who say she has not done enough to implement the court orders programs.

Former high-ranking city staffers have also criticized the administrations efforts. Lightfoot first came to public prominence as Mayor Rahm Emanuels hand-picked chair of the Police Accountability Task Force. She later broke with the Emanuel administration, criticizing its handling of crime and reform as not stringent enough and launching her ultimately successful campaign for mayor.

Rivals have seized on the lack of progress implementing the consent decree and a series of staff controversies have fueled further questions about Lightfoots leadership on the issue. U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, a candidate for mayor, has repeatedly criticized Lightfoot for last years firing of Bob Boik, who directed the Chicago Police Departments constitutional policing and reform office. Boik was fired after sending an email asking for a reversal of a decision to distribute staffers to patrol instead of officer training, a move he said would harm reform efforts. Lightfoot previously said she wouldnt get into the details of a now-fired employee who sends off an email and described the firing as palace intrigue.

Bob Boik, executive director of the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform at the Chicago Police Department, talks with reporters at police headquarters on Sept. 8, 2021. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Boiks firing also drew criticism from former Lightfoot administration officials including former acting police Superintendent Charlie Beck, Lightfoots former chief of staff Maurice Classen, and her former deputy mayor for public safety, Susan Lee, who argued it would hurt the departments efforts.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

A separate Chicago police leader who worked to implement the departments federal consent decree sent a resignation letter to Lightfoot in August 2021 alleging that CPDs top leadership failed to even feign interest in pursuing reform in a meaningful manner. Lightfoot downplayed that as one persons opinion and said the department continues making progress.

Ald. Sophia King, 4th, another mayoral candidate, took the criticism a step further this weekend, linking Lightfoots defense of an officer who was suspended but not fired for lying about associations with the Proud Boys to Boiks firing.

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Fire the Proud Boy, not the officer in charge of the consent decree, King said.

Tribune reporter Jake Sheridan contributed.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com

gpratt@chicagotribune.com
The Renault factory in Algerias Oran has come to a halt after Algerian authorities banned imports of key parts from Spain, a ban highlighting that the Algerian regime is ready to pursue political goals at the expense of the economy.

Since Spain ended its double-speak on the Sahara issue by expressing full support to the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan, Algeria retaliated by reducing the amount of gas it exports to the Iberian Peninsula and ordering business to shun importing from Spain.

The Oran Renault factory was a collateral in Algerias economic blackmail against Spain which supplied gearboxes.

According to El Khabar, the factory can only continue operating by importing these gearboxes from Brazil at a higher cost.

The factory shut down in 2020 when Algeria banned imports of key parts used in assembly as Algerias reserves were decreasing due to a sharp drop in gas and oil prices.

Renaults ordeal reflects that the Algerian regime has no predictability and that political crises can easily spill over to self-defeating economic blackmail, adding to the countrys unattractiveness to foreign investors.
As of late afternoon on Monday, Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 30 were partially covered with snow west of Paxton. Other areas of the main east-west highways had normal driving conditions, according to 511.nebraska.gov.

However, highways in some areas of north central Nebraska, the Panhandle and extreme southwest Nebraska were partly to completely covered with snow, slush and ice.

The 511 system also shows road closures and detours, and indicates when snow plows are out, said Gary Thayer, district 6 engineer for Nebraska Dept. of Transportation.

Its a very good use of technology, he said

It can be a guide to help people know whether to change their travel plans, to allow extra time, or to stay home.

Were in the middle of winter, and although driving behavior changes, even careful drivers can have incidents, said Captain Tyler Schmidt of Nebraska State Patrol, Troop D.

Things become particularly treacherous when afternoon thaws are followed by freezing temperatures night, he said. Drivers at night or in the morning are often caught off guard by surfaces that are glazed over but look normal.

With a limit in equipment and manpower, When we have our plows out its for a very specific reason  the roads are not dry, Thayer said. Plows typically run from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the department places priority on clearing roads for school buses.

Plows typically operate at speeds of 25 to 35 mile per hour on rural highways and other motorists need to use caution around them. That may be the maximum safe speed for motorists, anyway, Thayer said, depending on the conditions.

Schmidt cautioned motorists to get stranded vehicles off the roadway, even if that means parking them in the median of the Interstate.

He recounted that last Saturday in Buffalo County a vehicle became disabled in the passing lane on I-80. Before it could be moved there was a secondary collision that put one vehicle in the median and another in the road ditch.

The last month its been challenging, Thayer said. Our road conditions have been anything but favorable. We ask the traveling public to please slow down and be aware.
After a lengthy decision-making process, the City of Auburn recently voted to amend its city code to allow for business license revocations in cases of delinquent taxes. The unanimous vote came down at the Jan. 17 Auburn City Council meeting.

Previously, city ordinance only allowed the city council to vote on whether or not to have the district court pursue a license revocation on the citys behalf. This new amendment now allows the city to hold hearings for those who are delinquent on their taxes instead of having to go through the courts.

An early draft of the amendment had some residents concerned about possible government overreach. Vague language said to now have been removed from the amendment pointed to possible closure of businesses that constituted a probable danger to public health, safety, or welfare of the Citizens of the City of Auburn.

Auburn City Councilman Tyler Adams was responsible for rewriting the ordinance.

I wanted to pare this down so that the revocation only addressed the nonpayment of taxes or licensure fees, Adams said at the council meeting. Some of that language was a little problematic to members of the community as well as members on this council.

Additional language added to the amendment said business license revocation hearings cannot take place until at least 60 days after an initial revocation notice is sent out. This buffer gives delinquent business owners a chance to remit taxes without having to go to a hearing.

The intent of that is basically to show the city has a process by which they inform individuals that are delinquent in their taxes or payment of fees, and they walk through that, Adams said. Bottom line is what we try do is we try to get people to resolve the issue before it comes to us.

A final line was also added to the amendment stating that a taxpayer whose business license has been revoked can seek judicial review in accordance with state law.

Mayor Ron Anders commended Adams for his work on the amendment.

We have been talking about this since October of 2022, Anders said. We have listened to many of you in our community.

One of the motivating factors behind the city pursuing this new ordinance was a handful of unnamed local businesses being extremely delinquent on their taxes. The city has emphasized in the past that these businesses were in the minority, just three out of 7,100 businesses in the Auburn area.

However, without a city ordinance in place, those three businesses could remain open despite not paying their taxes and potentially tying up the court system. The amended ordinance will help to expedite that process.

Auburn City Manager Megan McGowen-Crouch previously told Opelika-Auburn News: The goal is to keep the business open and for the city to receive the taxes that the business is collecting on behalf of the city.
Monday afternoon at the Lee County Justice Center Judge Jeff Tickal denied bail for Lamar Vickerstaff Jr. during a bond hearing.

Vickerstaff, 50, is accused of murdering his daughter Amore Wiggins, who was known as Opelika Jane Doe during investigation. He is charged with felony murder.

Vickerstaff and his wife Ruth were arrested on Jan. 17, in Jacksonville, Fla. Ruth is charged with failure to report a missing child. At a hearing on Friday, Ruths bond was set at $10,000, and her preliminary hearing was set for March 22, according to the Lee County Circuit Clerks office.

Opelika Jane Doe was recently identified by police as Amore Wiggins, more than 10 years after her remains were found in a wooded area behind a mobile home off Hurst Street in Opelika in 2012. Detectives believed she was killed in 2010 or 2011, was about 4 years old and was likely malnourished and physically abused before her death.

The autopsy revealed Wiggins had fractures to her skull, arms, legs, shoulders and ribs, making a total of 15 individual fractures. Detectives also believe she was blind in her left eye because of a fracture to her eye socket.

Opelika Police Detective Sgt. Alfred White, who has been working on this case since 2015, took the stand on Monday during the bond hearing.

The fractures she notated had a high indication for child abuse, White said referring to the forensic anthropologist who analyzed Wiggins remains.

Forensic scientists and genealogists were also able to determine Wiggins family tree, and White said they found a link in Lee County. Evia Vickerstaff, Lamar Vickerstaffs mother, appeared on the family tree and detectives obtained her DNA.

White said the OPD first contacted Evia Vickerstaff then Lamar Vickerstaff then Sherry Wiggins, Amores biological mother who now lives in Baltimore, Md.

In a Virginia court in 2009, Vickerstaff and his second wife Ruth were awarded legal and physical custody of three-year-old Amore Wiggins. Sherry Wiggins lost visitation rights and lost contact with her daughter, but continued to pay child support to Vickerstaff since then.

In December, White said Opelika detectives traveled to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., the base Vickerstaff was currently working on, and met with NCIS, who told Vickerstaffs commanding officer that he needed to come to the NCIS building.

We attempted to interview him there, White said. He fled from the base. He was located several hours later by NCIS and by Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and was then transported to the Jacksonville Sheriffs Police Department where he was attempted to be interviewed. However, he declined to be interviewed and it was during that time we obtained a secondary DNA swab from Mr. Vickerstaff.

White also confirmed that the location where Wiggins remains were found was in close proximity to one of Vickerstaffs childhood friends and what many considered to be his second mother.

Detectives discovered Vickerstaff was born and raised in Opelika and graduated from Opelika High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and during his career, he lived in Norfolk, Va., Honolulu, Hawaii and Jacksonville, Fla.

After hearing the evidence presented on Monday, Judge Tickal denied bail for Vickerstaff.

Based upon the charge here, a felony murder of a child, appears upon the evidence Ive heard is that to have sustained long-term injuries over a period of time, serious injuries, of which theres no record of, and the fact that Mr. Vickerstaff did go AWOL immediately upon being notified of the charges as well as his connections throughout the United States and outside of the United States Im going to deny bail at this time, Tickal said while Vickerstaff shook his head.

This case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Opelika Police Department Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App.
The day after being crowned, Miss Alabama and Miss Teen Alabama said reality hasnt set in just yet.

Saturday night the Miss Alabama USA pageant was held at the Gogue Performing Arts Center in Auburn. Sophie Burzynski, competing as Miss Auburn-Opelika, was crowned Miss Alabama USA, and Kensey Collins, competing as Miss Spanish Fort Teen, was crowned Miss Teen Alabama USA.

Burzynski and Collins will go on to compete at Miss USA and Miss Teen USA representing Alabama. The date and location has not been announced at this time.

After Burzynski was named Miss Alabama, she said, I was really in complete shock. I didnt know exactly what to say.

Collins said for her, It was amazing and crazy all at the same time. I remember when I got Spanish Fort called everything went blurry. I couldnt hear and I remember hugging Ava (LeBlanc) so hard, I was like I probably knocked the breath out of her.

LeBlanc competed as Miss Shelby County as was the runner up in the teen division.

While the interview portion of the competition was one of Burzynskis favorite parts of the experience, she said shell never forget the support from her family and her Auburn family.

I could hear all my friends and my roommate yell, Thats my roommate! she said. Just to be surrounded by love afterwards, just seeing all the people there that came to support me, and then also they rolled Toomers (Corner) afterwards, which is a super fun tradition here at Auburn, that was something that was so cool and special to me.

Collins said she also enjoyed the interview portion of the pageant, but was most proud of walking in her heals after having knee surgery last year when all the cartilage in her knee was torn.

Burzynski and Collins are looking forward to the next stage as well as a spending a year giving back to the state of Alabama and serving together. While they hadnt met before the pageant, theyre but excited to work together this year and become close friends.

I want to do lots of service, especially with kids going to school. I want to teach leadership programs and entrepreneur (programs) throughout the state of Alabama to really inspire young girls and young boys to go after their dreams and to really not be afraid of success, Burzynski said.

Collins added she is also planning to do a lot of community service and is open to any opportunity that comes her way. Her other goal is to go to all the elementary schools in Spanish Fort to read to students.

Meet the winners

Burzynski, 21, is the daughter of Norbert and Paige Burzynski. She grew up in Louisville, Ky., and came to Auburn University to double major in nutrition science and business management. After graduation, she plans to become a pediatric dentist because she was inspired by her grandfather.

My grandfather was a dentist, and I always looked up to him. I think for me, a smile is something that really draws people in and its something that is so important to greet everyone with a smile, she said.

Currently, Burzynski is a member of the War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, the official hosts of Auburn University, and is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority where shes served as the director over the philanthropy event Big Man on Campus. She also owns a wedding videography company called Videos By Sophie B.

Burzynski said shes the second title holder Auburn has had with the first being Auburn graduate Kelly Hutchinson, who was crowned Miss Alabama in 2020 and made it to the top 5 at the Miss USA pageant. Last years title holder, Katelyn Vinson of Dothan, also attended Auburn University and was in the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority with Burzynski.

(Katelyn Vinson) and Kelly Hutchinson, theyre both just such role models to me and great people, Burzynski said. Shes also looking forward to following in their footsteps and being able to go to them for guidance.

Collins, 15, is the daughter of Ashley and Joseph Collins. She is a freshman at Spanish Fort High School and has future plans to attend Auburn University after her high school career. She said shed like to study fashion design or interior design.

Ive always loved designing things, definitely since I was little, she said. I used to put crazy things in my hair. My mom had to tell me I could dress myself every day of the week, except for Sundays for church.

Currently, Collins is involved in numerous clubs at her high school and one she believes is very important is FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America).

This was Collins second year participating in the Miss Teen Alabama pageant, and she said she wanted to compete again because it was a great experience.

It has been amazing, Collins said about being crowned. There hasnt been a Spanish Fort to win yet, and so Im so excited to be the first.

She said she was also amazed by all of the support shes received from her friends and family.

I couldnt have done any of it without my mom. Shes like my best friend. Shes always there for me and tells me even when Im tired and Im just wanting to give up, because we all have those moments in life, shes always there pushing me forward and helping me achieve my goals, she said.

Burzynski advices young girls and boys to be open to opportunities, open to new experiences and to always be kind. Collins added its also important to be yourself.

God has a path planned out for you. I know its hard sometimes to walk that path, but its always gonna go in the right direction, Collins said.
i don't blame you for posting this when you did but the academy just announced she's keeping her nomination but they're going after those who posted on social media, so... meh

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Booooo

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That's more than I thought they would do tbh

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Not a dislike on you but the academy saying for her to keep her nomination when we all know that if Michelle Yeoh or Viola Davis did that shit, they would have been blackballed for years. White women be white womening and I wish more people realized that.

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going by these comments... clearly not

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actions have consequences.







https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/78611891.html im logging back off. sorry yall.actions have consequences.

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This is iconic lmao

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you doomed us 10 years ago lmfaooo

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This is all your fault

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GODDAMNIT SUPERTEX!

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Oh my god

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This is amazing. Going in my "No Fam, It Was I" ONTD Hall of Fame.

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this comment is iconic

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ten years of sleeper agent activity, eh? smh

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Who says Andrea came in at the last minute, she beat all of us!

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DAMN YOU!

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So it's you who unleashed this upon us.

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where's that gift of prophecy meme?

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tucker



We knew it first she has star written all over her imo -2013We knew it first

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What if....you're really andrea!

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I dont understand the issue here  like they lobbied and campaigned for people to watch and support their movie? ok?



And if they did a better job at doing that than other actors and films why is that a travesty?



this all reeks of studios getting prissy bc an independent film did a better job promoting and yall fell for it.



This shit happens all the time but its suddenly a huge controversy mmmkay

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Just hit the damn tags and read the posts about this. This has been explained ad nauseam

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girl I been reading and I am stumped

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That's exactly what it is lol. These awards have always been a popularity contest and people have used their relationships to campaign, but because she didn't have millions of studio dollars paying for it she's a monster

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how many times am i going to see a variation of this comment between now and march 12

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The Academy is upset because because the social media posts specifically mentioned her competition in the race, which is against the rules/unsportsmanlike, and there were messages targeted at academy members which was also against the rules (and which obviously can't be allowed or they would be overwhelmed by this type of thing). This is why they are going after the social media. It also looks like they threw parties for the academy members that didn't even have screenings, so it seems less about getting people watching the film? I'm not sure why no one is in trouble for this as it is also against the rules as it is tantamount to a bribe.



The general public though is upset because we are watching all of Hollywood come out of the woodwork to support a random white woman - they weren't even trying to get the film itself nominated or watched - in a way they have never rallied behind woc, and which likely resulted in a woc being locked out of the nominations. It also came across as really inauthentic because there was a lot of copy&paste social media posting. It doesn't seem like they even watched the movie themselves they just wanted to knock someone else out of the race.





People have complained in the past about gross campaigning or the obvious use of connections, and even just the Oscars nominating big stars or the movies they're in to try and get them to show up to the show for ratings. This one was just all over social media and therefore more noticable to outsiders.



As for the studios vs. indies - this most likely bumped Danielle's nomination for her performance in Till, another smaller film that has been working hard to get noticed the whole awards season. This isn't exactly David vs. Goliath.









Apologies for the wall of text but a lot of people are asking in this post and this is my understanding. Someone can correct me if I missed anything.

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I hear what you are saying. I'm been leading into "well she played the game the other way", but the more Im reading about this, you can see it has some problems - this campaign has been manipulation when you are saying please go for the underdog because the big names already have it secured, but give the underdog a chance, while of course its not true. You are breaking the rules when you included names of other performers and email them directly.

Do other people do it? 100%. Have they been caught? No.

There is a reason why actors, directors go to these screenings, probably to talk about nomination processes with one to one, because they simply can't call people or send emails to the whole branch and say "well give Andrea the first spot" (then you are breaking the rules)



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I dont get it as well. It sounds like fake outrage by media and publicists who are mad that somebody showed that you don't need a lot of money to run succesful campaign.

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I feel like we should've agreed on a scandal name for this



Personally I liked 'Risebought'

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I have no idea what this movie is about but lord knows I've heard about it nonstop lol

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Its about an alcoholic woman whose drinking alienated herself from her family particularly her son and even when people tried to help she relapsed. And then she got her act together and her life began to turnaround including an implied reconciliation with her son.



Groundbreaking.gif

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thats what gets me  all this over a movie with a her?.gif plot. I havent seen it but there is no way her acting is so exceptional as to rise above the formulaic serious actor-bait story.

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White woman going through it wearing no make-up





(i saw this somewhere else lol)

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-not-punishing-andrea-riseborough-best-actress-campaign-1235312816/



She's keeping her nomination.



CamillaMendesImshocked.gif



bootomatotomato.gif She's keeping her nomination.CamillaMendesImshocked.gifbootomatotomato.gif

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Predicable I was saying last week that Will got bounced for ten years over a personal beef that happened to occur on air while these people including the actress who helped fund these rule breaking antics would get nothing more than a scornful statement.



Mary M isnt in the Academy so they cant do anything to her and Allison will lay low until it blows over.

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This pisses me off so much

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Looks like she gets to keep her nomination which is unsurprising but super annoying.

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Mary McCormacks biz in this making me wish we still had Barbara Walters around.

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Watched For Leslie last night and she deserves the nomination

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Thank you for you objective opinion, Mary

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The performance made such an impact on her she forgot the name of the movie lmfao

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Is she that good if it made you forget the correct movie title 

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I'm truly baffled at why these ppl decided to go so hard for Riseborough. Like I get McCormick bc her husband's the director but you've got Winslet out here calling it the best female performance ever.

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Some of the supporters are people she's worked with so I get that but overall the support she got is unbelievable, especially when you look at other better-known actors who've famously have been snubbed and never won. Like where was the support for them lol??!?!?!?

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The intensity of which they're all reacting to the nomination review is also odd. They're treating her like some martyr but I just find all of it so embarrassing.

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like seriously what on earth did amy adams DO if this shit worked lol

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Has Kate Winslet ever seen a movie?

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People like feeling like theyve been able to find a hidden gem and will usually take the opportunity to champion what they see as a worthy underdog and at least based on the reviews, she gave a pretty impressive performance. Of course theyre going to feel better about signal boosting a performance in a little movie that got overlooked over a performance in a movie thats been widely recognized.

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Winslet and Riseborough are in an Oscar bait movie together next year called Lee. a biopic of WWII photographer Lee Miller with Winslet as Lee and Riseborough as a famous WWII journalist (i literally only know about this movie bc Andy Samberg and Josh O'Connor are going to be in it).



so basically Winslet and Riseborough are friends + Lee will be able to get a boost bc a recent Best Actress nominee and two Best Actress winners will be in it (Marion Cotillard is also in the film) + Riseborough has a higher profile and will campaign for Winslet next year too.



Edited at 2023-01-31 10:47 pm (UTC)

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I like the comment made in a previous post where someone said this same actress couldnt scrape up a Golden Globe or a BAFTA from her own native land or a Critics Choice or a SAG and I think the reporting on this has been remiss without considering how glaring it was they did this for an Academy Award nomination but for none of the others. At all.

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I'm surprised anyone here would cap for her as much as they have tbh, is it just because she's a conduit to which they can minimize the actual struggles of WOC to get recognized? Like I don't get supporting her nom and acting like she's a victim when 2 Black women were ACTUALLY not nominated and 1 Asian woman's nom is being overshadowed by all this

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They don't really care about the racial aspect but do like the middle finger to the studio system or just wanna be contrarian. Even though Andrea's scheme almost makes the studio look fair-ish cause that last minute push was fuckery.

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Because theres nothing that she actually did that seems crazy out of bounds of a normal Oscar campaign.

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I mean she did toe the line and did overstep otherwise there wouldn't be an investigation, but when we discuss this whole situation we're not just talking about what is "fair" vis-a-vis the rules of an established institution, we're talking about the actual consequences. In this case it ended up sidelining two WOC candidates. You can talk about Ana and WMW all you want, but we can also talk about Andrea Riseborough, and we should, because if the only thing this astroturfing accomplishes is other white women getting acclaim over deserving WOC, this is not the kind of progress we ought to want or strive for.

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but but but it's the little indie that could!11!!!! david v goliath!!!11!11 they beat the studios are their own game by...being rich enough to pay PR firms to have a bunch of white actresses with clout rally all their friends to vote for her lmfao



Edited at 2023-01-31 10:25 pm (UTC)

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some of the defenders are our usual trolls



(embarrassed for the ones who arent tbh)

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It's been 22 years since a since a black woman won the Oscar to Best Lead actress, the first and only WOC to ever win it. This could have been an special year with 3/5 non white women nominated. Like what's not clicking??





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Idt it's too deep tbh, it's just some people really are that dumb.

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I'm not caping for her. It just seems like ya'll are acting like she is responsible for this fucked up system, and instead of being mad at the Oscar and thinking they should change the way campaigns work folks here are just mad at her? Like she is the problem and her losing her nomination would fix it.

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If Mary McCormack isn't even a member of the academy then what's the fuss?

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I think in this case it's probably Frances Fisher and her dumb comments about locks.

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From what I can tell Frances Fisher isn't even a member of the compaign so why would that be held against To Leslie.



So far the only thing that seems dodge is the Instagram post quoting the reviewer who mentions Andrea's performance in comparison to Cate Blanchett

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Yeah her social media post and the one from the official movies Instagram are probably worth sanctioning but people are acting like Andrea made the post herself or the one on the official Instagram had more than three likes.

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frances fisher gets fewer likes on her posts than i do, so who is she influencing? that's what i don't get here.



like obviously it's the number of famous people who campaigned for andrea, including cate in her own accetance speech that's fucking weird to me.



but to have frances fisher and some director's wife have a campaign like this actually work is wild to me.

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Several posts and comments have told yall what the fuss is over, I highly suggest reading them.

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She didn't even do anything wrong either lol. She could have had an identical get-together and just had people watch the movie at her place instead of at home before having an identical reception, and it would have followed the rules to the letter. She followed the spirit of the rules by asking them to watch it first

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unsurprised this was handled like ass and people are still acting obtuse about it and why others are annoyed but alas  Danielle and Viola deserved better and so does Michelle

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"Now, movies like To Leslie are an endangered species...close to extinction.



well, no, they're just on streaming. Also, how do we even know the people who she sent her email blast to even saw her movie? I thought most of the people were just like "Oh, okay, she's my friend of my agent's or w/e, let me put her in 1, knowing Michelle/Viola/Danielle are safe."

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I think that and the old white farts got scared and thought the non-whites were getting too much and this nice white lady has worked hard and bootstraps and all that and really the non whites need to work harder nothing should be easy for them you know?

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Streaming itself is not something thats going to be a financially viable format moving forward. Netflix has almost totally saturated the market and the other streaming services keep merging because its not worth it for anyone to subscribe to all of them.



Thats not even counting the fact that small indie movies are never going to be considered enough of a customer draw for streaming in the first place so they arent a dependable funding source.



Edited at 2023-01-31 10:29 pm (UTC)

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Seriously. Indie movies do fine in NY & LA and on streaming. This "marvel movies are destroying cinema!!!" Chicken Littling is really a bit much.

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I mean, I think it would be pretty depressing if it was no longer possible to see indie movies in theaters outside of NY or LA.



For the record, I'm not on board with how the To Leslie team conducted this campaign; I think they broke the rules. But on this one point, they're right that it's getting increasingly difficult to find funding to make smaller films because streaming is not a replacement for theatrical revenue and DVD sales. Streaming cannot save independent film; Disney+ lost $1.5 billion last year, Netflix has learned it can churn out cheap garbage and people will lap it up, and other platforms are consolidating and slashing budgets.



It's really dark!

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LOL Jesus what a comment. Obviously commenting from an NYC bubble.

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The quality of streaming movies is slowly changing but most movies that are only on streaming are studio rejects and not of the best quality.



There's definitely a lack of low to mid size budget movies at the cinema.

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"Also, how do we even know the people who she sent her email blast to even saw her movie?" That has been a problem with the academy and voters for decades now, where people just vote for whoever they know and don't watch shit.

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Time to manifest a win for Michelle Yeoh.



Split the white vote. Split the white vote. Split the white vote.

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i'm hoping that the enough of the ppl locked in for cate decide to swing the other way and vote for andrea out of spite that michelle yeoh takes it lmfao

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Me too!



Sidenote: Did you see the new TwiceXAllure video?

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This is what Im hoping happens now since they insisted on keeping her nomination lol

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I suppose a win is a win, but I'm saddened this fuckery could overshadow a Michelle Yeoh win.

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As much as I want Michelle Yeoh to win, at the same time I'm mad because if she does her win will be tainted by white people's fuckery. Just like when Moonlight won 

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You just KNOW the person in that Vanity Fair article who mentioned Viola is going to vote so hard for Michelle their pencil is going to go through the paper!

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Maybe I'm delusional but Idt this would overshadow Michelle's win. Yes, folks will talk about this fuckery but they'll also gladly ignore it on Oscar night in order to not make the sensitive actors uncomfortable. Andrea will walk the red carpet just fine, give her interviews and act all humble about how surprising her nom was, and people will probably meme the shit out of it. Meanwhile (hopefully) Michelle will look stunning, give a fantastic, heartfelt speech & make history as an Oscar winner. MUNNIFESTING THIS RN.

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The Dangers of the Cold: Different Types of Cold-Related Illnesses

As workers are exposed to the cold, they can be at risk for cold-related illnesses.

Although this past December was warmer than many other Decembers, winter is not over yet.

Many states across the country may still encounter cold temperatures throughout the next two months. Employers and employees exposed to cold conditions will need to take extra caution to protect themselves from cold-related illnesses. Here are just a few to know about and prepare for, according to OSHA and The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Chilblains

Its possible that while in temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and under, a worker may get chilblains. A worker may experience itching, redness or, in some cases, blisters on some areas of their body, most commonly the cheeks, ears, fingers and toes, according to NIOSH. Its important to not scratch the area, but in cases where this is difficult, utilize corticosteroid creams. Any blisters should be clean[ed] and covered.

Trench Foot/Immersion Foot

If a workers foot is wet and cold for a long period of time, they may be at risk for trench foot. Workers in temperatures as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit can experience this illness, which is also called immersion foot. Keep an eye out for visual symptoms like blisters, discoloration of the skin, bleeding under the skin or swelling as well as a loss of feeling, cramps and tinging pain, NIOSH said. If a worker thinks they have trench foot, they should take everything off their feet and dry them. Extreme cases of trench foot may result in amputation, sepsis or death, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Frostbite

If a worker can no longer feel parts of their bodyor feels pain, tinging or stingingand notices discoloration, they may be experiencing frostbite. To stop the illness from getting worse and causing severe damage, like the loss of a body part, the affected area needs to be warmed. Use warm water and body heat, NIOSH explained, and dont use hot water, a heating pad, heat lamp or the heat of a stove, fireplace or radiator.

Hypothermia

A worker experiencing hypothermiawhen the bodys temperature falls lower than 95 degrees Fahrenheitmay notice a variety of symptoms, ranging from shivering and fatigue early on to a lack of shivering, blue skin and decreased breathing later on, according to NIOSH. However, the drop in body temperature has a negative impact on the brain, meaning some people wont be aware of their condition.

If you have or notice someone who has these symptoms, call for medical assistance. Once the person is in a warm area, any wet clothing should be taken off prior to dry clothes or other items, like blankets, being applied. To help warm the person up, give them warm drinks (only if theyre conscious, and no alcohol) and utilize options like skin-to-skin contact and electric blankets, NIOSH and OSHA said.

Looking to learn about heat-related illnesses? Check out OH&S article.
Given that Libya has exhibited all the stability of a puff adder on benzedrine since the West removed its longstanding leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, it is little wonder that it has found attracting foreign investment into its flashpoint oil and gas sector a tad tricky since then. It is a testament, though, to Libyas hydrocarbons potential that any significant lull in hostilities between the multitude of self-interested factions in the country is sufficient to re-engage the interest of several hardy oil and gas companies. Italys Eni is one such company, with an announcement last week that it is to sign an agreement with Libyas state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) that will see it invest around US$8 billion to produce about 850 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) from two offshore gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea.

The deal  as stated by the NOCs chairman, Farhat Bengdara, in a television interview with the local al-Masar station - would involve the renewal of an existing agreement originally struck in 2008. Eni currently produces gas in Libya from its Wafa and Bahr Essalam fields operated by Mellitah Oil & Gas, a joint venture between the Italian company and the NOC. According to Eni, gas from the fields is transported to Italy through the 520 kilometre eight billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y) capacity Green Stream pipeline that crosses the Mediterranean Sea and lands in Gela in Sicily. These gas flows were interrupted at the beginning of the year due to unscheduled maintenance at the Mellitah Complex, according to Eni, but have since been restored to full capacity. According to the NOCs Bengdara, the reduced exports to Italy were a result of Libyas preference at that point to send gas for electricity production instead. It may be, therefore, that Italy is seeking to secure the stability of its gas supplies from Libya through further investment from its key oil and gas companies into the country and, more broadly, into other target suppliers in the region. Like all other European countries, Italy is seeking to offset the loss of Russian gas and oil supplies following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The government in Rome has pledged to eliminate Russian gas by 2025 and, to this end, has announced several new short- and medium-term measures to boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline flows from other sources.

Related: Texas Oil And Gas Industry Braces For Severe Winter Weather

One highly notable success in this context, which may also boost gas flows into Europe more broadly, was the announcement by Eni  in conjunction with U.S. hydrocarbons giant, Chevron  of a major new gas discovery in the 1,800 square kilometre Nargis offshore area concession. This discovery followed the announcement in December 2022 that the two companies had hit at least 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas with its Nargis-1 exploration well in the eastern Nile Delta, about 60 kilometres north of the Sinai Peninsula. As analysed in depth by OilPrice.com, Eni said the Nargis-1 well find confirms the validity of its focus on Egypt offshore: [] which [we] will further develop thanks to the recent award of exploration blocks North Rafah, North El Fayrouz, North East El Arish, Tiba and Bellatrix-Seti East. This all follows Enis discovery of the huge Zohr field in the East Mediterranean in 2015.

As Libya tries to main gas production of at least 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), Bengdara said back in November that the upcoming US$8 billion deal with Eni would be a key part of Libyas refocusing its efforts on boosting its gas production and tapping some 80 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves. According to previous comments from the NOC chairman, ideas are also in place to install another gas pipeline from the east of Libya to Greece to augment the potential export capacity inherent in the gas pipeline already in place from Libya to Italy. In addition, Bengdara has said there could be another pipeline linked to the Damietta LNG plant in Egypt, with ENI in place as the leader of the SEGAS consortium that owns Damietta LNG. He added that there is also a program of drilling offshore and onshore that will start soon, under the leadership of Eni and BP. We are [also] in talks with TotalEnergies to invest more in Libya and increase production, and other companies of course, he highlighted.

These plans for Libyas gas sector were announced in tandem with its plans for the development of its oil sector, with Bengdara stating that Libya wants foreign investment in order to be able to boost its oil production up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the next three to five years. According to industry figures, Libya - which does not have an OPEC quota - pumped 1.17 million bpd in December, and Bengdara said last week that its oil and condensate production has stabilised now to around 1.255 million bpd. Having said all this, it is apposite to note that the legality of any deals for gas or oil signed by Bengdara or the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli that appointed him could be challenged at any point by the Libyas eastern-based parliament.

The core problem in this respect has been the ongoing lack of clarity in the agreement of 18 September 2020 as to how funds from Libyas gas and oil sector would be divided up between the various political factions active there. On that date just over two years ago, a deal was struck between Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the rebel Libyan National Army (LNA), and elements of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in which Haftar made it clear that the resultant lifting of the oil blockade then in place would not last unless a precise framework was agreed about precisely how oil revenues would be divided up between various groups from then on. Such a framework has still not been agreed and the failure to do so has resulted in a series of further embargoes on the oil sector, large and small, since then. The most significant recent example came last April with widespread blockades of various ports and installations. Just prior to this, the Sharara field in the west of the country, which can pump around 300,000 bpd, was also shut down and before this the El Feel oil field, which produces 70,000 bpd, was closed. Overall, during that wave of blockades and shutdowns, Libya was losing around 550,000 bpd of its oil production.

At various other points since then, farcical scenes have emerged at the top of the political structure in the country. July that year saw the GNU Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, replace the widely-respected Mustafa Sanalla as chairman of the NOC with Bengdara, who is a long-time associate and friend of Dbeibahs. Sanalla rejected Dbeibahs authority to sack him, and in a fiery television appearance, the former NOC chairman  who had received backing from both of Libyas opposing legislative bodies - warned Dbeibah not to touch the NOC or the oil revenues and contracts that it manages. The then-would-be NOC chairman, Bengdara, then held his own news conference at the NOC headquarters building and received the backing of two major NOC affiliate companies - Al Waha Oil, and Arabian Gulf Oil - before Al Waha then deleted its message of support. All of this followed the failed attempt by Fathi Bashagha  appointed prime minister of the alternative government in the east of the country three months before  to seize power in Tripoli. This occurred amid the ongoing refusal of the Dbeibah - who was appointed through a United Nations-led process in 2021 - to hand over power until such a time as a properly elected government was voted into office by the people of Libya.

Nonetheless, there remains huge natural oil and gas resources potential in Libya. Before the removal of Gaddafi, Libya had easily been able to produce around 1.65 million bpd of mostly high-quality light, sweet crude oil and production had been on a rising production trend, up from about 1.4 million bpd in 2000. Although this output was well below the peak levels of more than 3 million bpd achieved in the late 1960s, the NOC had plans in place before 2011 to roll out enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques to increase crude oil production at maturing oil fields. Given this plan, there appeared scope to increase crude oil production up to the 2.1 million bpd targeted by Libyas minister of gas and oil, Mohamed Aoun, and to hit the informal interim target of 1.6 million bpd by the end of 2023. It is apposite to remember as well at this point that Libya still has around 48 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves  the largest in Africa.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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People march on State Street in Chicago's Loop on Jan. 30, 2023, to protest the killing of Tyre Nichols. Nichols died after he was beaten by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Braving below-freezing temperatures, over 100 people gathered Monday night at Federal Plaza in the Loop to protest police killings after a video was released of the traffic stop in which Memphis police brutally beat Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man.

Calls for protesters to vote  particularly in the upcoming police district council elections  and for the Chicago City Council to pass the Peace Book ordinance  to reallocate part of the police budget to peace initiatives in the city  remained a main focus of the night.

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For the first time, Chicago voters will see police district council elections on their ballots. Representatives in those districts will be responsible for collaborating with department officials on community policing issues.

[ Gatherings remain calm in Chicago after release of Memphis police video ]

The Loop protest, organized by Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Innocent Demand Justice and SOUL (Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation), came after small groups gathered across the city over the weekend. Mayor Lori Lightfoot had called on protesters to remain peaceful when the video of Nichols beating was released.

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Kobi Guillory, co-chair of the alliance, began by asking protesters to Say his name, prompting the crowd to yell Tyre Nichols repeatedly. Acting as emcee for the protest, Guillory introduced Frank Chapman, educational director and field organizer for the alliance.

We see the same thing, year after year, year after year, the same thing, Chapman said. Thats because the system is not changing. Its the same system. And its going to continue to murder us and kill us until we unite and get together and fight.

Chapman urged attendees to vote but not only in the mayoral and aldermanic elections.

I want you to grit your teeth, do whatever you got to do, but get out there on voting day, he said. And vote. And vote. And I aint talking about the mayor. I aint talking about the aldermen. Im talking about: Vote for the district council ... The solution aint in the White House, he said.

Hell no, a protester responded.

The solution aint in the Statehouse, Chapman continued. The solution aint in the mayors office. They had their chance of doing it ... and what have they done with it? The solution is us.

Ameena Matthews rallies with other activists at Chicago's Federal Plaza on Jan. 30, 2023, to protest the killing of Tyre Nichols. Nichols died after he was beaten by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Organizers invited police district council candidates to speak, including Arewa Karen Winters, who is a candidate for district council in the 15th Police District.

No matter how much we think we have achieved the American Dream, we must continually confront systemic and institutional constructs of racism in all forms, said Karen Winters.

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Winters, who said her great-nephew Pierre Loury, 16, was shot and killed by Chicago police, added that police officers must possess certain characteristics like compassion, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, tolerance and truthfulness.

They must have the spirit of discernment, respect for human life, common sense and the spirit of stability, she said. In this current climate, it has to be more than a job or career  it has to be a way of life.

William The Kid Guerrero, a 21-year-old from Pilsen who is running for district council in the 12th Police District, also spoke to protesters about Nichols beating and killing.

Wheres the justice? And I dont care that it wasnt in Chicago  the same thing happens here in the city of Chicago as well, Guerrero said.

Bishop Tavis Grant, acting national executive director of the Chicago-based nonprofit Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, called the beating one of Americas most brutal acts of institutionalized racism on a 140-pound body that bore the spirit of Tyre Nichols.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Cassandra Greer-Lee, widow of former Cook County Jail inmate Nickolas Lee, who died of COVID-19 in April 2020, held a sign with her husbands picture on it. Her activism has been fueled by what she said was the belief that jail officials did not act swiftly enough to curb COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic.

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Greer-Lee held back tears as she spoke. Im just a little shattered and broken, she said, referring to Tyre Nichols. Because, like I said, Im a mother, and watching that baby cry and scream for his mother  I wish I could have helped him.

After extending condolences to Nichols family, she also asked attendees to vote in the upcoming election, pointing out what she said was Lightfoots hypocritical $16.4 billion spending plan, which calls for an overall Chicago Police Department budget of $1.94 billion next year.

After the speeches, the group of protesters walked down West Adams Street, then turned north onto State Street and finally reached the Atrium Mall at the Thompson Center by way of West Randolph Street.

They yelled the names of people of color who have allegedly been killed by police over the last few years, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Manuel Tortuguita Teran and Laquan McDonald.

The protest scattered after organizers thanked attendees and made sure everyone knew to leave with a companion and stay warm.

adperez@chicagotribune.com
Prior to the unwitting boost that Russias ongoing failure in Ukraine has given the U.S., NATO, and Europe, Washingtons intentions regarding Iraq were mixed. On the one hand, the reasons why the U.S. invaded Iraq  to secure oil supplies that would lessen its reliance on Saudi Arabia, to control the centre ground in the Middle East, and to counteract Irans growing influence in Iraq and in the region  still stood. On the other, though, it had long been clear in Iraq, Afghanistan and indeed Saudi Arabia, among many others, that Islamic countries did not want an ongoing Western Christian presence in their countries. It may be that Qatars move to buy a 30 percent stake in four US$27 billion projects in Iraq that were set to be managed entirely by Frances TotalEnergies are in line with the U.S.s new strategy for Baghdad.

The four projects are essential to Iraqs future as a truly independent country. The first of them is the completion of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), which remains crucial in enabling Iraq to reach crude oil production targets of 7 million barrels per day (bpd), then 9 million bpd and perhaps even 12 million bpd, as analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets. The CSSP in its most basic iteration involves taking and treating seawater from the Persian Gulf and then transporting it via pipelines to oil production facilities to maintain pressure in oil reservoirs to optimise the longevity and output of fields. The long-delayed plan for the CSSP is that it will be used initially to supply around 6 million bpd of water to at least five southern Basra fields and one in Maysan Province, and then built out for use in other fields.

Related: Oil Prices Set To Climb On Rumors That The Fed Will Stop Hiking Interest Rates

The second of the projects is to collect and refine at a major processing plant the associated (with oil drilling) gas that is currently burned off at the five southern Iraq oilfields of West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Tuba, Luhais, and Artawi. Initial comments from Iraqs Ministry of Oil highlighted that the plant is expected to produce 300 million cubic feet of gas per day (mcf/d) and double that after a second phase of development. Then-Iraqi Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, also stated at the time the TotalEnergies deal was announced that the gas produced from this second project would also help Iraq to cut its gas imports from Iran, with the domestically produced gas being cheaper than the Iranian gas. Successfully capturing associated gas rather than flaring it would also allow Iraq to revive the also long-stalled US$11-billion Nebras petrochemicals project with Royal Dutch Shell. If Nebras went ahead it could be completed within five years and would generate estimated profits of up to US$100 billion for Iraq within its 35-year initial contract period.

The third part of TotalEnergies four-pronged US$27 billion deal is aimed at boosting crude oil output from Iraqs Artawi oil field to 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, up from the current circa-85,000 bpd. This project could lead TotalEnergies (and eventually) others to engage in similar crude oil production boosting projects across the country. The French oil and gas giant already has a 22.5 percent stake in the Halfaya oil field in Missan province in the south and an 18 percent stake in the Sarsang exploration block in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north. The last of the four projects to be undertaken by the French company will be the construction and operation of a 1,000-megawatt solar energy plant.

The most obvious fit for Qatar into this array of projects would be in the gas project, given its expertise in the field and its role as the worlds top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. This is also the role that since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has put it in the spotlight of the major Western powers as a substitute for lost Russian gas supplies. Qatar does not just have abundant volumes of gas, but it also has the ability in its LNG capabilities to move that gas more quickly and to more places than is possible for gas that is transported via pipelines. Currently Qatar has liquefaction capacity of around 77 million tonnes per year (mtpy), although it can and has produced more if required, and has plans to increase that to 126 mtpy by 2027. When the de facto leader of the European Union (EU) bloc, Germany, was wavering over whether to back the intended sanctions on Russian gas  gas constitutes around 27 percent of Germanys energy mix and 55 percent of this came from Russia before the invasion of Ukraine  Qatar LNG supplies were used to plug a significant part of the short-term gap in supplies. The remainder was plugged by increased take up from Norway, the U.S., and the Netherlands.

Crucially here, it was the U.S. that played a key role in brokering this short-term gas fix from Qatar for Germany. As highlighted at the time by OilPrice.com, December 2022 saw two early sales and purchase agreements signed between QatarEnergy and the U.S.s ConocoPhillips to export LNG to Germany for at least 15 years from 2026. These deals will provide Germany with 2 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, sent from Ras Laffan in Qatar to Germanys northern LNG terminal of Brunsbuettel. An accompanying statement from QatarEnergys chief executive officer (also Qatars Energy Minister), Saad al-Kaabi  which sounded as though it could have been written by one of the high-level energy policy advisers in the White House  ran: [The two sales and repurchase agreements] mark the first ever long-term LNG supply agreements to Germany, with a supply period that extends for at least 15 years, thus contributing to Germanys long-term energy security. The U.S.s ConocoPhilips is involved as one of its subsidiaries will be the entity that purchases the LNG from Qatar that will then be delivered to Brunsbuettel, which is currently still under development.

Ever since the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has cleverly sought to turn Russias own weaponization of its energy supplies  especially into Europe  against it. After all, the logic runs, if Europe depended on gas and oil supplies from Russia to keep the wheels of its industry turning then conversely Russia depended on revenues from those supplies into Europe to keep its financing and economy running smoothly. Consequently, by cutting as many of those revenues off to Russia, over time its economy will be devastated, in a much more directly correlated way  and therefore, much more quickly  than had been in achieved through similar sanctions on Iran.

There is another very interesting element to the U.S.s focus on Qatar as a prime ally in this element of its anti-Russia strategy: Washington has chosen it over and above Saudi Arabia, from which it has asked for, expected, and received no assistance at all in its attempts to punish Russia for its invasion on Ukraine. As analysed in great depth in my last book on the global oil markets, the longstanding agreement made on 14 February 1945 between then-U.S. President, Franklin D Roosevelt, and the then-Saudi King, Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, was this: The U.S. would receive all of the oil supplies it needed for as long as Saudi Arabia had oil in place and, in return for this, the U.S. would guarantee the security both of the ruling House of Saud and, by extension, of Saudi Arabia.

This deal ran smoothly until the 1973 Oil Crisis, after which the race was on as far as the U.S. was concerned to made itself independent of the whims of Middle Eastern countries  especially Saudi Arabia  for its energy needs. After the rise of the U.S. shale gas and oil sectors in the early 2010s especially, and the 2014-2016 Oil Price War instigated by Saudi Arabia to destroy or at least disable those sectors, the U.S. relationship with the Kingdom was finished in spirit. The final nails in the coffin of any residual goodwill left over from the original 1945 Agreement came in the form of Russias crucial support for OPECs oil production cut at the end of 2016, aimed at increasing oil prices to try to restore its members finances after the War. This turned into the OPEC+ grouping, with the plus principally being Russia. Since then, as also analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets, Saudi Arabia has moved inexorably away from the U.S. and toward the Russia-China sphere of influence, failing to condone the Russian invasion of Ukraine and not deigning to take a telephone call from U.S. President Joe Biden to play a part in alleviating spiralling energy prices.

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By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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Demand for battery metals is already growing fast, but its just getting started. Like it or not, clean technologies like EVs and energy storage, and renewable energies like solar and wind, rely on finite natural resources. As demand for mineral-intensive items like lithium-ion batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles heats up along with the global clean energy transition, the production of these resources is going to need to grow along with it. But can it?

Many leading experts have worried about whether the world has enough of these non-renewable resources to make the great reset possible without depleting these minerals and driving prices prohibitively high. In short, the worry is no longer peak oil; its now peak lithium. One major problem is that no one knows for sure exactly how much lithium we have. As of 2021, it was estimated that the world had 88 million tonnes of lithium resources. One-quarter of that  22 million tonnes  is feasibly extractable. This issue is that this figure is changing all the time as we explore for more lithium and find more advanced ways to extract it.

While there has been much hand wringing about running out, some experts think that its far too soon to panic. In fact, the U.S. geological survey says that these kinds of resources are relatively abundant. And as Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist at Oxford University, explained early this year: We keep discovering more lithium, and we get better at mining it. Basically, she argues, worrying over lithium supply is a malthusian fallacy. Those who claim that we are running out arent taking technological advancement into account. If we count the lithium present in seawater, for example, well have more than we could ever need  we just need the technology to extract it. And necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

Related: Texas Oil And Gas Industry Braces For Severe Winter Weather

And now, a new study published in scientific journal Joule on Friday unequivocally concluded that the world has enough raw materials, including battery metals minerals, to make the big switch from fossil fuels to renewables. Lithium wont even be the biggest worry. The closest calls will be with rare earth minerals dysprosium and tellurium, the first of which is used in wind energy production and the latter in solar farms. But in both cases proven reserves outstrip predicted demand.

Decarbonization is going to be big and messy, but at the same time we can do it, study co-author Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth, was quoted by the Associated Press. Im not worried were going to run out of these materials. While the findings from the Joule study are considerable, however, its important to note that they only took into account energy needs, and not other big consumers of rare earth materials such as electric vehicles. Making the calculation for EVs is much more complicated, and the team from this paper has said that thats what they will tackle next.

Even if the quantity of rare earth minerals doesnt hold back the green energy transition, however, there are other geopolitical risks associated with the supply chains of these essential resources. For one thing, all of this mining will also release more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, but these emissions will be so far offset by the reductions achieved in the green energy transition that they are negligible.

But there is another concern that proves far more worrying. As elements like lithium become more demanded and therefore more valuable, companies and countries around the world are trying to shore up supply chains and acquire reserves as quickly as possible. And the West is lagging far behind. China currently dominates battery metal supply chains, and has continued to consolidate its already near-monopolistic market power. This could cause major issues in the future, as Beijing is not above using these supply chain strangleholds for political leverage. The West is working hard to make up the difference by investing in lithium development in allied countries  but they will have to work a lot harder to make a dent in the stranglehold that China has been cultivating for years.



By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

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Baku aims to double gas exports to Europe within five years and BP's exploration wells are crucial to securing new gas volumes.

UK oil giant BP has started drilling two new exploration wells to search for gas deep beneath the Caspian Sea.

The announcement comes as Azerbaijan imports gas from Iran and Russia to meet both growing domestic demand and existing export contracts. Baku has also pledged to double exports to Europe within five years.

One of the wells will reach a depth of 7,000 meters, BP said this month, to tap a gas reservoir believed to lie below the existing Shah Deniz gas field, which currently provides the bulk of Azerbaijan's gas exports. This well, which is expected take around a year to complete, should confirm whether gas in the deep reservoir can be extracted commercially.

BP said the second well, which will reach a depth of about 4,500 meters, is targeting a possible reservoir below Azerbaijan's main oil field, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field. This drilling project will follow an existing well for part of its depth and so is expected to be completed in just three months.

Offshore drilling in deep water is enormously expensive, with each well costing many tens of millions of dollars.

The first well is being drilled under the existing production agreement between Baku and the consortium operating the field, which includes BP, Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, Turkey's state oil company TPAO, Iranian state oil company NICO and Russia's Lukoil. This means both that any gas produced from the deep reservoir belongs to the consortium, and that the consortium can recover the cost of the well from the revenue generated by the sale of gas from the field.

The situation with the ACG well is more complex.

Like most oil fields, ACG also produces large quantities of gas; some is pumped back into the field to boost oil production and the rest delivered onshore by pipeline.

Under the production agreement, oil produced from the field belongs to the ACG consortium  which includes BP, SOCAR, TPAO, Exxon Mobil and six other international companies, who together export the oil to global markets. However, the gas which is delivered onshore belongs to SOCAR, and is used to meet Azerbaijan's domestic gas demand.

BP confirmed to Eurasianet that the new exploration well into the deep gas reservoir is being funded by the ACG consortium itself ahead of an agreement over who owns the gas, and with no guarantee that it will be able to recover costs. This unusual move suggests both that the consortium is confident that it will locate significant gas reserves, and that it will be able to secure a deal over ownership which suits both Baku and its commercial partners in the consortium.

Timely move

If commercial volumes of gas are discovered by one or both of the exploration wells, as things stand there will be no difficulty finding markets for the gas.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the subsequent imposition of sanctions by the EU, and Moscow's retaliatory decision to restrict gas flows have upended the European gas market.

With Azerbaijani gas already flowing to Greece and Bulgaria, in recent months countries across southeastern Europe have been signaling their interest in importing gas from Azerbaijan.

In July Brussels and Baku inked a landmark agreement under which Baku would increase gas deliveries to Europe from 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 12 bcm in 2022  and double deliveries to 20 bcm by 2027. In the event, exports to Europe last year totaled only 11.4 bcm, and are expected to reach only 11.6 bcm this year.

It's unclear if the shortfall is due to limited production, or limited capacity in the three pipelines which make up the Southern Gas Corridor that carries Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

Azerbaijan has faced difficulties meeting both growing domestic demand and export commitments.

In late 2021 Azerbaijan signed a three-way swap deal which saw Turkmenistan ship gas to northeastern Iran and Iran ship a corresponding volume from northwestern Iran to Azerbaijan.

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It's unclear if the trade is continuing, but Baku has agreed to buy gas from Russia in order to meet an expected shortfall, raising the uncomfortable prospect that Azerbaijan may have been importing Russian gas in order to export more Azerbaijani gas to Europe. From the EU's perspective, this would undermine the point of the Azerbaijan-EU deal, which was to reduce European dependence on Russian gas.

What isn't in doubt, though, is that existing reserves at Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field will be unable to meet Bakus commitments to Brussels by 2027. New volumes will have to be found.

Efforts to secure agreements to bring gas from Turkmenistan across the Caspian appear to have stalled.

Now the question is, with several years of development work required on the new deeper fields, can Baku deliver the promised gas on time?

By Eurasianet.org

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Big Oil had a record year in 2022, earning billions from the imbalance between oil and gas demand and supply, and from the massive uncertainty that geopolitical events and decisions in Europe precipitated.

The record profits drove higher dividends and lofty share buyback plans. They are also drawing highly unwanted attention from governments. And this attention might just become more focused this year, just when oil and gas prices are retreating.

Commodity prices are down across the board relative to record 2022 levels, but it still looks like its going to be a very strong year, according to Kim Fustier, head of European oil and gas research at HSBC, who spoke to Bloomberg. It could very well be the second best year in history for overall distributions and share buybacks.

Indeed, Big Oils five supermajors were expected to report combined earnings of close to $200 billion for 2022, and although oil and gas are down, they are not down sharply enough to prompt the majors to rethink their plans for the year. But governments may do that.

Windfall profit taxes are already a thing in the European Union and the UK, and the industry has criticized the move as likely to discourage investment in new production just when such new production is urgently needed. According to Bloomberg columnist Lionel Laurent, the windfall taxes might just be the start.

Noting how the U.S. oil industrys decision to repurchase billions worth of shares amid last years oil price surge annoyed the Biden administration, Laurent suggested that European supermajors decision to buy back shares and raise dividends might annoy governments in Europeand lead to more taxes.

If this does happen, then the industry will have an even better motive than it does now to argue against more investments in new oil and gas production. And thats likely to put it at even sharper odds with governments. Ultimately, it would also limit the growth potential of oil and gas output at a time when forecasts are multiplying that the world will need fossil fuels for decades to come.

Back to the short term, however, this year will likely be very much like last year, despite lower prices. Because forecasts for this year see record oil demand. None other than the International Energy Agency, an outspoken opponent of the oil and gas industry, said earlier this month that Chinas reopening after Covid lockdowns would cause a surge in global oil demand to a record high of 101.7 million barrels daily this year.

The IEA also said in the same forecast that oil supply is going to tighten this year as more Western sanctions in Russia come into effect, notably the fuel embargo set to kick in on February 5th. And, like every supply tightening, if this materializes, it would push prices higher, fattening Big Oils profits yet again. And this will, in all likelihood, intensify criticism of the industry.

Wood Mackenzie wrote a report earlier this month noting that the different priorities of the oil industry and the governments it operates under will lead to clashes this year. With governments pushing for a transition to less oil and gas, and the industry making billions out of selling these two commodities, a continuation of the already existing conflict is all but inevitable.

Activists are also likely to intensify their attacks on Big Oil in light of its record profits. Follow Thiss Mark van Ball told CNBC last week that What we saw happening in 2022 is that the oil majors used the high oil prices and the energy crisis to convince investors that the energy crisis should eclipse the climate crisis  and that has caused a setback.

Another climate activist from nonprofit Transport and Energy told the news channel, They are profiting from the current increase in oil and gas prices, and they are betting on it. And what you see is actually increased investment in oil and gas.

I think given that prices of oil and gas are likely to stay up, its important for us to reflect on the fact that these profits are going to stay high at the same time as many households are struggling with energy prices, Agathe Bounfour also said.

In this, governments and activists will be together against Big Oil. But unless someone takes another supermajor to court and forces it to cut oil and gas production, Big Oil will continue focusing on what its shareholders wantand what shareholders want are dividends and buybacks.

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There is still an aversion to big capital expenditure increases, period, Jeff Wyll, an analyst with asset manager Neuberger Berman Group, told Bloomberg. The problem the sector got into in the past is doing too many megaprojects at one time. Now its much more focused.

With the industry getting much more focused and cautious with spending decisions, chances are it will continue to annoy governments, giving them a convenient scapegoat for the results of their own energy policies. But it will be a rich scapegoat with happy shareholders.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Libyas Oil Ministry has rejected the huge $8-billion deal that the Italian energy giant signed with the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) this weekend, saying that the agreement violated legislation and was not approved by the ministry prior to the signing.

Enis chief executive Claudio Descalzi and the CEO of the National Oil Corporation of Libya, Farhat Bengdara, agreed on Saturday on the development of Structures A&E, a strategic project aimed at increasing gas production to supply the Libyan domestic market as well as to ensure export to Europe. The agreement was signed in the presence of the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Al-Dbeibah.

Under the deal, the combined gas production from the two structures will start in 2026 and reach a plateau of 750 million standard gas cubic feet per day, Eni said in a statement. The overall investment is estimated at $8 billion, with a significant impact on the industry and the associated supply chain, allowing a significant contribution to the Libyan economy, the Italian group said.

However, Mohamed Aoun, Libyas Oil and Gas Minister in the Tripoli-based government led by Al-Dbeibah, rejected the deal because, he says, it bypassed his oil ministry and cabinet approval and changed a previous deal signed in 2008.

Aoun and his supporter Fathi Bashagha, the rival eastern-based prime minister appointed by Libyas Parliament, have now rejected the deal.

According to Aoun, the agreement is illegal and lacks equality between Libya and Italy, the oil minister said in a video recording seen by Libya Herald.

Libyas inner political struggle could delay the start of gas flows from the project from Libya to Europe, which has pinned its hopesespecially through Italyon increased gas supply from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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The biggest sovereign wealth fund in the world, Norways $1.3-trillion Government Pension Fund Global, slightly lowered its stakes in the worlds top Western oil firms last year, taking a profit from the rise in oil and oil stocks.

The fund is commonly referred to as Norways oil fund and it invests in global equities, fixed-income assets, real estate, and renewables.

As of December 31, 2022, the fund held investments in energy companies worth $37.84 billion (377.8 billion Norwegian crowns) excluding cash and derivatives, according to the annual holdings update of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund.

Government Pension Fund Global held stakes in 213 energy firms in 37 countries, representing 3% of all investments. The largest investments in energy by value were in the five Big Oil firmsShell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Chevron, and BP.

The fund has a 3.14% in Shell, historically one of the biggest-value holdings of all companies worldwide the fund is invested in.

As of December 31, 2022, the stake in Shell was valued at $6.1 billion, while Shells share price has jumped by 25% over the past year. The funds stake in Exxon was worth $5 billion, and Exxons stock has surged by 49.50% in one year. The stake in TotalEnergies was worth $4.44 billion at the end of last year, the Chevron holding was valued at the equivalent of $2.9 billion, and the BP stake  at $2.8 billion.

The funds total equity investments consist of ownership shares in more than 9,000 companies worldwide. On average the fund owns 1.3% of all listed companies in the world.

With the rise in oil and gas prices, Norway is also benefiting. The country expects to receive a record $89.5 billion (884 billion Norwegian crowns) in oil and gas tax revenue for 2022, triple the previous record in 2021, thanks to soaring gas prices last year, the Norwegian Tax Administration said last week.

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By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed an agreement demanding that all Russian oil companies comply with a previous order that disallows any exports of Russian crude oil or crude oil products to any buyer that adheres to the price cap mechanism.

It should be noted that Russian companies failing to comply will face no penalties, according to Upstream.

Mishustins resolution, signed this week, bans Russian oil producers from signing sales contracts with any buyer engaged in the price cap clause imposed by the G7. The resolution calls on producers to submit a declaration to Russian customs for each cargo sold, attesting to the fact that the price-cap mechanism hasnt been used. Russian customs, then, will review old and new crude oil export contractsand customs reserves the right to stop any cargo that violates Putins decree.

Even more convoluted, the decree requires all Russian crude producers to track the progression of the seaborne cargoes from the point of origin to its final destination, which means they will have to obtain and review contracts from third parties every time the crude changes hands along the journey, to make sure the price cap clause isnt included.

If a producer discovers that the price cap clause is included in some paper after the crude oil has left the point of origin, it has 30 days to remedy the violation, with five additional days granted to notify customs if they were unable to fix it. Again, there are no stated penalties for failing to comply.

Last month, Russia shipped crude oil to India under the price cap mechanism in what was the first sign that the oil-producing giant could acquiesce to the Western criteria.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabia will spend some $270 billion (1 trillion riyals) on low-carbon energy projects by 2030, energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said, adding the Kingdom will also invest in modernizing its grid.

We are determined to be the leading exporter of hydrogen, as well as to provide clean hydrogen for local uses in heavy industries to produce green products such as green steel, green aluminum, fertilizers, and others at competitive prices, bin Salman said, speaking at the in-Kingdom Total Value Add Forum and Exhibition, as quoted by Al Arabiya.

The ultimate goal for the kingdom, the energy minister said, would be to become an electricity exporter. It is to this end that the government in Riyadh would aim to expand the countrys transmission and distribution network.

Despite its status as the worlds largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has signaled it has ambitions in low-carbon energy as well. Under its Vision 2030 program, the kingdom would aim to boost the share of renewable energy in its mix to 50 percent by that year. The other 50 percent is planned to come from natural gas rather than oil, which is what the kingdom uses in massive amounts currently to generate electricity.

In wind and solar, Saudi Arabia has perhaps one of the most ambitious capacity-building targets in the world. In 2030, the kingdom should have some 58 GW of wind and solar energy capacity, which would compare with less than 1 GW currently.

Yes, its ambitious, [but] its been done in a heartbeat in China, its been done on a significant basis in India, Paddy Padmanathan, the chief executive of Saudi utility ACWA Power, told the FT last year. Money is not in short supply [and] the commitment is there from the procurer. The supply chain, yes its a challenge, but its not insurmountable.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The UKs oil and gas industry should have taken the chance to invest in new projects instead of fighting the windfall tax, the boss of a North Sea oil and gas producer has said.

Steve Brown, chief executive of Orcadian Energy, told City A.M. that the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) created a big incentive to invest with the 91 percent tax relief for fossil fuel producers prepared to develop new projects in the North Sea.

This includes Orcadians proposed Pilot development in the central North Sea, which is projected to produce up to 79m barrels of oil over its lifetime.

But the company is still looking for an investor to back the project  despite the investment relief in the windfall tax.

My hope was that I would see lots of these companies which have big EPL bills become very keen to get involved in new projects. They would look at our project, see the fantastic environmental performance of the project, and want to jump in. Instead, the industry was very upset. They really focused on trying to push back on the EPL rather than take advantage of the opportunities, Brown said.

The windfall tax was introduced last May by then chancellor Rishi Sunak, who unveiled a further 25 percent tax on the profits of oil and gas companies on top of the 40 percent special corporation tax rate they currently pay.

This was then hiked under current chancellor Jeremy Hunt to 35 percent, with the duration expanded from three to six years.

They really focused on trying to push back on the [Energy Profits Levy] rather than take advantage of the opportunities, said Steve Brown, chief executive of Orcadian Energy.

Brown argued this was a step too far, however, because while the hiked windfall tax brings rates nearly in line with Norways, Norwegian oil and gas fields are at an earlier stage of development compared to the UKs continental shelf.

Costs are higher in our basin. Most projects are smaller. You need to find ways to really incentivise that tax for investment decisions. People have lost a bit of confidence that the EPL will actually work the way it says it will on the tin, he said.

Brown also warned that a future Labour government would likely hurt the sector  which wanted to beyond imposing a windfall tax.

The centre-left party is seeking to scrap the levy and backdate the windfall tax to an earlier date, with opposition leader Keir Starmer pledging no new oil and gas fields under a Labour government.

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Brown considered Labours approach to be a mistake, as he argued new developments were both more environmentally friendly than ongoing sites in the North Sea and essential for supply security.

Every politician should be supporting new oil and gas. I dont care if its because they want energy security. I dont care if its because they want jobs. I dont care if its because they want reduced emissions, because new oil and gas can do all three, Brown said.

He concluded that without new projects and the newly-hiked windfall tax, the UK would become increasingly reliant on carbon-intensive imports such as liquefied natural gas from overseas, alongside production from the remaining ageing fields on the UKs continental shelf.

By CityAM

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Two Omaha police officers were shot and a 38-year-old man was killed during an attempted burglary at a storage facility near 53rd and Center Streets Monday night.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the two officers responded to a report of a burglary at Dinos Storage, 5328 Center St., about 10:30 p.m. Monday. The officers were let into the building by employees and, at some point, gunfire was exchanged between the officers and Steven Docken.

During the altercation, the two officers, Nicholas Lanning and Joshua Moore, suffered gunshot wounds to their lower extremities and Docken was killed, Schmaderer said. One officer was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center by an ambulance and the other officer was taken to the same hospital by another officer in a police cruiser.

The police shooting was the first of two within 14 hours. OPD officers responded to a report of an active shooter at a west Omaha Target store and fatally shot the alleged gunman just after noon Tuesday. Nobody else was injured in that shooting.

Lanning was shot through his upper leg and later released. Moore suffered a wound near his knee and may need surgery, Schmaderer said.

Lanning has been with the department for about eight years, while Moore has been an OPD officer for less than two years.

Schmaderer confirmed to The World-Herald that both officers were awake and alert after the shooting. He spoke to both officers and their spouses.

Both officers wore body cameras, though one was damaged during the incident. Security video from the storage building will be reviewed as well, the spokesman said.

A relative of Docken, reached Tuesday morning by phone, said the family would have no comment about the incident. His mother also declined to comment. According to his Facebook page, Docken attended Benson High School in Omaha.

Docken served two stints in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. He was most recently released in December 2021 after spending about two years on a charge of attempted distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He also was in prison from December 2013 to June 2017 after he was found guilty of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and a theft charge.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene near Dockens body. The police spokesman said the officers entered the storage facility with the assistance of the propertys management, who told them that a man was breaking into a first-floor storage unit, which contained a gun case and ammunition.

Officers attempted to make contact with the man who was still inside an open storage unit. When Docken saw them, he ran down a hallway and was pursued by the officers who gave multiple loud verbal commands to stop running, the spokesman said.

The officers caught up to Docken and a physical altercation began, the spokesman said. Gunfire was exchanged resulting in the wounding of the officers and the death of Docken, who was shot multiple times.

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Douglas County Sheriffs Office will be involved in the investigation along with an Omaha Police Department team.

The officers will be interviewed in the coming days and have been placed on paid administrative leave.

World-Herald staff writers Courtney Brummer-Clark and Paul Goodsell contributed to this report.
Alex Acevedo, son of former state Rep. Edward Acevedo, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Jan. 30, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

The son of former state Rep. Edward Acevedo was found guilty by a federal jury Monday of tax evasion charges that were an offshoot of the investigation into Commonwealth Edisons alleged attempts to influence then-House Speaker Michael Madigan.

After a quick, three-day trial, the jury deliberated only about 45 minutes before finding Alex Acevedo guilty on two counts of willfully filing false tax returns that underreported his lobbying income by about $70,000 in 2016 and 2018, resulting in a total tax loss of about $20,000.

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Seated at the defense table wearing a mask, Acevedo, 37, showed no outward reaction to the verdict. After the jury left, he embraced his wife and cried, while their 7-year-old daughter, whod attended most of the trial, hugged him around the waist.

Acevedo faces up to three years in prison on each count when hes sentenced in July.

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His attorney, Ricardo Meza, had no comment after court.

Though relatively minor in scope, the indictment against Acevedo, along with separate charges filed against his younger brother and their father, received widespread attention due to the connection to the ComEd probe.

Meza repeatedly alleged in court filings that it was clear investigators were after Madigan, not his client. During a proffer meeting between Alex Acevedo and prosecutors in February 2020, at least 75% of the questions asked by the government pertained to Mr. Madigan and his associates, Meza wrote in one motion last year.

However, when (Alex) Acevedos truthful responses did not seem to align with what the government sought to hear, the IRS agent pivoted and began asking Mr. Acevedo questions about his 2016 and 2018 tax returns, Meza wrote.

But none of that came out during Acevedos trial, where the only real question was whether there was proof that he intentionally left income off his tax returns.

According to the charges, Acevedo, a registered nurse who previously made failed election bids for Chicago alderman, failed to report earnings from Apex Strategy LLC, a lobbying and consulting firm formed by his brother, Michael, in 2015, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors alleged Alex Acevedo did most of the work on several of Apex Strategys contracts, including one with the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois trade association and another with a Washington-based consulting firm working with AT&T.

But all of Acevedos income was off the books, with no W-2 form issued and no other paperwork reporting it to the IRS, prosecutors alleged.

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Apex was a virtual black box, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman said in his opening statement Thursday.

Chapman said that as a lobbyist and son of a longtime state lawmaker, Alex was sophisticated enough to know that he had to report the money but failed to do so out of greed.

To work in the world of lobbying in consulting down in Springfield, where youre trying to advance or defeat legislation, you have to be detail oriented, Chapman told the jury in his closing argument Monday.

Meza, however, however, said the case was really just about a common man who was doing his best under the circumstances  not about politics or greed or his father. Meza said Acevedo was simply waiting for the paperwork from his brother and was under pressure to file his returns on time and made a mistake.

Alex should not be in this courtroom, Meza said in his closing argument. He made an error. He made a pretty bad error. He did his own taxes.

In rebuttal, Chapman called the idea farcical, noting that all of Acevedos alleged mistakes seemed to help line his pockets.

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Edward Acevedo, 59, pleaded guilty to skirting about $37,000 in taxes by misreporting lobbying income hed received over three years. He was sentenced in March 2022 to six months in prison and was released in December, records show.

Michael Acevedo, 36, pleaded guilty last month to failing to file tax returns documenting five years of revenues for Apex Strategy. Hes scheduled to be sentenced on March 15.

ComEd agreed in 2020 to pay a record $200 million fine as prosecutors unveiled a criminal complaint charging the company with a yearslong bribery scheme involving jobs, contracts and payments to Madigan allies. Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement with the government, the charges against the utility giant will be dropped if the company continues to cooperate.

In November 2020, Madigans longtime confidant Michael McClain and three others were charged. Theyre scheduled to go on trial March 6.

Meanwhile, last year AT&T Illinois and the phone giants former president, Paul La Schiazza, were charged in a similar scheme to funnel payments to Edward Acevedo in exchange for the speakers help passing legislation important to the company.

La Schiazza, 65, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, federal program bribery, and using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity.

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AT&T Illinois has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorneys office, admitting its role in the scheme and agreeing to pay $23 million and cooperate in the investigation. In exchange, prosecutors will drop criminal charges filed against the company in two years.

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Madigan and McClain were both charged in a separate indictment in March 2022 with racketeering conspiracy alleging they participated in a range of corrupt schemes, including the ComEd and AT&T Illinois bribery.

The scandal helped end Madigans reign as the nations longest-serving speaker in January 2021. Madigan later resigned from the Illinois House and as Illinois Democratic Party chairman.

In April 2017, La Schiazza approved a deal to secretly funnel $2,500 a month to Edward Acevedo through a lobbying company already doing business with AT&T Illinois, according to the statement. The lobbying company was not named in the court filings.

At McClains direction, AT&T employees then met with Edward Acevedo to discuss a pretextual reason for the payments: to prepare a report on the political dynamics of the General Assemblys and Chicago City Councils Latino Caucuses, according to the statement of facts.

Edward Acevedo never did any real work for AT&T Illinois, however. In fact, according to AT&Ts admissions in court, he balked at first at the payments, saying they were too low. But he agreed to the deal after McClain stepped in and said the amount was sufficient.

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From June 2017 to January 2018, Edward Acevedo was paid a total of $22,500 in monthly installments. According to AT&Ts admission, the former representative did not complete the purported assignment on Latino politics, and no efforts were undertaken by AT&T to ensure work was being done in exchange for the money.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
A Topeka man told a former platoon mate that he killed his Omaha ex-girlfriend after they got into an argument, a Douglas County sheriffs deputy testified Monday.

I killed her, Deputy Neal Klein said Aldrick Scott told a former U.S. military comrade while he was in a hotel in Cancun, Mexico, just a day after he allegedly buried Cari Allens body near an abandoned barn in Kansas.

Data from Scotts cellphone, his Snapchat location and the OnStar account from his Chevy Equinox as well as video surveillance helped investigators piece together his journey from Topeka to Omaha and back again after fatally shooting 43-year-old Allen in the chest at her northwest Omaha home on Nov. 20.

Scott will stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and tampering with evidence, a judge ruled Monday.

Investigators had first sought a warrant for the arrest of Scott on suspicion of kidnapping before Allens frozen body was found in a shallow grave at an abandoned farm property on Dec. 21.

Authorities were able to figure out the location of Allens body because that day they received OnStar data from Scotts SUV, mapping his previous locations.

Klein said that on Saturday, Nov. 19, Scott left Topeka about 7:30 p.m., about the same time Allen went to The Good Life Bar near 180th and Pacific Streets with a date she had just had dinner with. Scott had called Allen repeatedly, up to four times within one hour, which prompted Allen to turn off her phone, Klein said.

Scott and Allen dated for about one year but had ended the relationship two weeks before, her friend told police.

Scott then arrived at The Good Life Bar about 10:15 p.m., but Klein said investigators werent sure if he went inside the business. Scott left after roughly 10 minutes and headed toward Allens house near 168th and Blondo Streets.

Klein said he believes Scott entered Allens house through her garage because he knew the code and that Scott waited for Allen to return home at about 11:30 p.m.

When investigators went to Allens home the next day, because her ex-husband and son reported her missing, they found a single bullet hole that went through Allens bedroom door, two walls and penetrated her sons bedroom door, Klein said. The holes had been freshly spackled, Klein said.

An autopsy determined that Allen was shot once in the chest and the bullet exited out of her back. Scott then wrapped a combat bandage  an elastic bandage with a big cotton pad to stem blood loss  around Allens wounds and put her body in trash bags, Klein said.

Investigators believe Scott used Allens sedan to transport her body from her home to where Scotts SUV was parked in a nearby neighborhood under construction. The trunk liner from Allens car was missing and Scotts SUV trunk showed evidence of apparent traces of blood, Klein said. The vehicle has not yet been tested for DNA.

Scott then drove his SUV back to his Topeka home, arriving at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 20. About four hours later, he spent roughly 70 minutes at the abandoned farm property, according to the OnStar data.

Scott purchased plane tickets that day to leave the next day from the Kansas City International Airport, flying to Houston and then Cancun, Klein said. Officials found his SUV in an airport parking garage and found a loaded Sig Sauer P320 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in a handgun case in the spare tire compartment.

Klein testified that on Nov. 22, despite having just flown to Cancun, Scott bought tickets to Fiji via Los Angeles the following day, so Klein and another detective went to Los Angeles to try to intercept Scott. But Scott never got on that plane, Klein said.

Scott eventually turned up in Belize, where he was taken into custody Dec. 6.

Authorities confiscated one of Scotts three phones and believe the two others were ditched in Houston and Cancun.

On that phone, Scott searched the internet asking whether he could be arrested or whether police could confront him in Belize, Klein said. Scott also Googled his name and Allens name.
A man wielding an AR-15 rifle and 13 loaded magazines of ammunition walked into a west Omaha Target store Tuesday and began shooting.

Shoppers rushed out emergency exits. Some employees went to hide inside fitting rooms. Many messaged family members, saying they loved them. Others called 911.

A group of Omaha police officers who were the first to respond went inside and confronted the gunman.

One officer fired at the gunman, killing him.

No one else was injured.

The police shooting was the second within 14 hours in Omaha this week. The first incident occurred late Monday night, when two Omaha police officers exchanged gunfire with an alleged burglar at Dinos Storage in the Aksarben area, killing a 38-year-old man. Both officers were shot in their legs and will survive.

Midday Tuesday, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies swarmed the Target superstore and quickly searched the store for any victims, finding none.

In brief comments after the scene was secure, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer thanked his officers and other agencies for their swift actions.

This is what you want, he said. When you have an active shooter in your city, you want a massive response like this.

Several 911 calls alerted police at 11:59 a.m., saying there was a gunman who was shooting at the superstore, located at 17810 West Center Road. One caller had heard at least six shots.

Meg Mandy, 36, was in the grocery section picking out apple juice when she heard thunderous noise. She saw a wooden pallet on the ground and thought something had fallen over. Then she heard the noise again.

A Target employee ran by Mandy, and told her, Active shooter, active shooter, hide, run.

Others ran toward the back of the store. Mandy assisted a mother who had a baby strapped to her chest in a carrier and two more toddlers. The shoppers left through an emergency exit. A construction worker led them into a metal shipping container in order to provide warmth and protection. Douglas County 911 received 29 calls about the gunman and gunfire.

Mandy said she couldnt believe that a shooting occurred at her local grocery store.

Its just really surreal, she said. Im just thankful that no one else was hurt. It seems crazy to me that no one else was hurt.

Schmaderer said the gunman, who was White, in his 30s and had plenty of ammunition had fired shots, but it was unclear whether he was firing at anybody. His name was not being released Tuesday night pending next of kin notification.

Police havent said how many shots the gunman fired, though bullet casings were found inside the store. A statement from OPD said officers gave the gunman numerous verbal commands to drop the rifle before one officer fired their service weapon, killing the gunman.

Elianne Robinson, an 18-year-old Target employee, said she heard a voice say, Get on the ground! And then she heard at least one more shot. Later she said she thought that was the moment that police killed the gunman.

Authorities did a thorough search of the store at least three times and deemed the situation secure within an hour of the 911 calls.

Another shopper, who declined to give her name, was in the toy department when she heard gunshots.

I heard three shots, she said. Everyone was in a panic. We all ran out of the store.

She said she and about a dozen people  employees and other customers  ran out the back door.

A number of Target employees went to the nearby Sleep Number store to seek refuge after the shooting.

One Target employee told a World-Herald reporter that he heard multiple shots.

Mike Gergen, general manager of the Voodoo Taco, said an employee got a text from his sister indicating there was an active shooter at Target.

Not five seconds after that, a young woman pulled up and ran in here, he said. She was scared to death, upset and shook up.

The woman, in her mid-20s, had been in the store to do some banking when she heard the shots. She ran out and fled in her car.

Joe Garry, operations manager, said they immediately locked the door and then attempted to comfort her. She seemed more assured once the door was locked.

I was just trying to calm her down, Garry said.

After all the shootings around the country, Gergen said, it was sobering to learn of one next door.

Its getting pretty real when its right by you, he said.

OPD said any witnesses should call 402-444-4877 to talk to detectives. Investigators planned to be at Target well into Tuesday night and said once theyre finished, shoppers and employees can retrieve their personal items and vehicles.

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said the officers actions saved lives and prevented mass casualties.

Omaha police officers are highly trained to respond to and assess life-threatening situations, she said. Their bravery and high level of skill should be commended.

At 1 p.m., Kaley Schlueter was among several people waiting to pick up loved ones outside the store when police let them out.

Schlueter was calm at the moment, after what had been a terrifying 35 minutes when her sister, Elianne Robinson, was inside the store as a gunman was firing off rounds.

Robinson had texted Schlueter at 12:03 p.m.

She said, I love you. Theres a shooting in my Target. Im in the fitting room. He shot so much, I dont know if hes killed anyone, Schlueter said.

Schlueter and other relatives began racing to the store. Her sister sent a video message via Snapchat at 12:13 p.m.

She just was saying, I love you, Im sorry,  Schlueter said.

Robinson used the video to show where she was. Schlueter could hear gunshots in the background of the video. She feared the worst thing possible was happening, that her sister wanted her family to know she loved them if she did not survive.

But Robinson kept messaging. And then, after what seemed like forever, she let her sister know at 12:38 p.m. that she was OK.

Im with the cops, she messaged. They got it.

Waiting for her to come out, Schlueter said she was out of tears, relieved and happy that her sister and others had survived.

If only the shooter was killed, that was as it should be, she said.

But its wild that it happened at all, Schlueter said.

Kaitlyn Vu, who had been on her way to pick up medicine at Target when she heard about the shooting, talked with a mom of an employee outside the store, then sat in a parking lot nearby and tried to process what was happening.

Vu said there should be more mental health check requirements for gun ownership.

Its just tragic that this keeps happening, said Vu, a Second Amendment supporter who plans to get a concealed carry permit. You see the two mass shootings in California, and were still not over what happened to those children in Texas ... But theres going to be no legislative process; theres just going to be a lot of thoughts and prayers sent out on social media and then well wait for the next mass shooting.

World-Herald staff writers Henry J. Cordes, Jessica Wade, Anna Reed and Chris Machian contributed to this report.
A 69-year-old Plattsmouth woman, reported missing on Saturday morning, was found dead in a residential backyard late Sunday afternoon.

Plattsmouth Police Department said in a press release that the deceased woman, identified as Patricia Lanam, was found after authorities responded to a residence near the 300 block of North Fifth Street around 5 p.m.

At around 9 a.m. Saturday, police began an investigation on a report that Lanam, who was described as having dementia, was missing. Other local agencies also began searching various locations in town.

A missing endangered advisory was also issued through the Nebraska State Patrol.

Lanam died from medical conditions, along with being outdoors in the extreme cold temperatures during the time of her disappearance, police said. No suspicious activity was involved.
Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested an employee of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services in connection with a sexual assault of a co-worker.

A 33-year-old was arrested Monday at his home in Humboldt, Nebraska, on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual assault, according to a spokesman for the State Patrol. The investigation began after officials in the Corrections Department received a report of an assault at the state prison in Tecumseh last October, he said.
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.

Martin Gibson freezes in place at his desk.

Its Thursday in December 2021. The sky is dark. Gibson is the last person in the Portland Multnomah Defenders office.

More than 200 public defense client files surround Gibson. Stacks flood two filing cabinets, spill onto his desk, dot the floor and perch atop cabinets. At Gibsons left a pile of seven or eight unopened cases wait.

An urgent stack of cases stare at Gibson. He needs to call those clients immediately. Its too late. Its already 7:30 p.m., he thinks.

He cant move. He cant breathe.

I was trying to gasp for air, Gibson remembers. I was trying to do everything that was in front of me, which was insurmountable piles of files. I had so much to do, and I got so overwhelmed that my body just didn't know how to breathe. I was trying to get oxygen, and my body just didnt even know how to do that.

Its his first panic attack.

I was so afraid, he said, and I never wanted to have one again. So Gibson sent his boss a succinct email saying he couldn't take any new cases. About a month-and-a-half later, he quit without another job lined up.

The job was impossible, Gibson said. It wasnt just difficult. It was impossible and unsustainable.

Staff shortages and decades of underfunding have created public defense systems crises across the West. Public defenders say theyre unable to serve clients effectively as they grapple with crushing caseloads, few resources, burnout, student debt and low pay.

They say wage increases would go a long way because they attract lawyers who could share the massive workload. Experts say states must retain public defenders and recruit more of them to ensure everyone who needs an attorney gets one.

Gibson said he had twice as many clients as he could represent.

It watered down my representation to the point of ineffectiveness," he said. "I felt the only ethical thing I could do was to quit because I couldnt be part of a system that was doing that. It didnt feel like I was doing my job. It didnt feel like I could do my job."

When attorneys feel like they're "pushing paper around rather than really advocating for people," it "drives motivated folks out of the profession, said Jessica Kampfe, Oregons Office of Public Defense Services executive director.

Too many cases

Lee Enterprises requested public defense workload data from 17 western states. Public defenders in Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming had more cases than outdated national standards recommend. Public defenders in Colorado, Montana and Nevada worked too many hours. The other states dont track that data statewide.

A public defender should not represent more than 150 felonies, 400 misdemeanors, 200 juvenile delinquency cases or 25 appeals in a year, according to guidelines from the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (NAC).

Those half-century-old standards ignore modern case complexity, said the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, which helped develop them.

Jon Mosher, Sixth Amendment Center deputy director, said the standards are "way too high," but useful, and the only national metric to show state agencies and lawmakers the extent to which public defenders are overworked.

Nearly 400 Texas attorneys in 2021 had more public defense cases than the standards recommend, according to Texas Indigent Defense Commission data. Some private lawyers are contracted for public defense cases, as in many states, and work cases on top of the public defense work. Two private attorneys who worked among the most cases each defended more than 700 public defense felonies  the work of nearly five attorneys.

More than 100 Idaho private attorneys and full-time public defenders had more public defense cases than the states maximum, which allows attorneys to take on more work than the national standards, according to Idaho Public Defense Commission data. An additional 65 attorneys worked too many cases, based on the national standards.

Some Idaho attorneys said they could manage cases above the maximum. Idaho County contract public defender John Wiltse said working with reasonable prosecutors in his small, rural county helps resolve many cases efficiently. Nez Perce County contract public defender Rick Cuddihy said he can handle heavy caseloads because he has nearly two decades of experience. But in another county, Twin Falls, seven inmates said they barely heard from their overburdened public defenders.

Arizonas Pima County had at least 23 attorneys with caseloads above the national guidelines, according to Pima County Public Defense Services data. Statewide data was unavailable because Arizona counties, like in many states, each run their own public defense system.

Montanas state public defender office says it needed on average 63 more public defenders to handle cases assigned since 2019 and still meet its workload management limits.

Oregon and New Mexico have one third the attorneys they need to provide adequate representation, according to American Bar Association studies from last year.

Some Oregon public defender offices temporarily stopped accepting cases last spring because they had too few attorneys. Arizonas Pima County could soon have to do the same, said Dean Brault, Public Defense Services director.

At some point, we will have to go attorney to attorney and ask if they can take another case and provide effective representation, Brault said. When the answer to that from everyone is no, were going to be at a crisis where we have to go to the court and say we cant ethically take any more cases.

Burning people out

Wyoming had its own public defense crisis in 2019 when the Natrona and Campbell county public defender offices could no longer handle misdemeanors.

State Public Defender Diane Lozano said high turnover caused constitutionally inappropriate caseloads in Campbell Countys seven-attorney office.

"We would lose two to three people at a time, and then the people that remained were having to pick up that extra caseload," she said. "Then we were burning those people out. Wed get fully staffed, and then the people that had stuck around ... would quit. It was just this endless cycle."

She remembered Natrona County also lost three or four veteran public defenders around that time.

A circuit court held her in contempt for refusing misdemeanor case appointments, but the Wyoming Supreme Court ultimately ruled she had a right to determine her attorneys couldnt handle more cases.

An unnamed Campbell County public defense supervisor testified that handling too many cases at once made him ineffective, according to court documents.

I dont tell my clients this, but most of the time, especially on misdemeanor cases, Ive never read their police report. Ive never watched their videos from the police. Ive had no time to really investigate their case at all," he said.

Public defenders can lose their license if they take on more clients than they can competently represent or recommend a plea before they complete the case investigation, according to the American Bar Associations conduct rules.

Cant be effective

Defense attorney Vaavia Rudd heads to court in the Texas Panhandle in 2016. She looks down at her files, and a name surprises her.

I have no idea who this person is, she thinks. "I dont know anything about this case, but Im about to go into court and tell the judge whether or not Im ready to go to trial."

It just scared me to death, Rudd said. I was like, Im going to lose my license. I cannot effectively represent this many people. I cant do it.

She stopped taking public defense cases to instead focus on her private practice. She now helps improve public defense through a liaison and advocacy program.

Gibson also went into court unprepared before he left Oregon public defense. He often would schedule up to five trials for the same date, prepare one or two, and gamble that the others would resolve with plea deals. Judges encouraged trial-stacking to get through the pandemic-driven backlog, he said.

Sometimes the strategy backfired. One trial date, he gambled on the wrong case. The one he didnt prepare went to trial. He told the judge what happened, and the case ended with a last-minute plea deal.

Its a system that encourages unethical behavior," Gibson said. "Youre not actually prepared for those cases. No one is. Youre just trying to move those cases along and process these people. Its most certainly not justice. No one feels like its justice.

Montana public defenders office leaders told the Legislature last April that trial stacking also happens there. One western Montana public defender said she recently tried to prepare for seven trials scheduled on a single day.

Longtime California Defense attorney Bill Abramson worked almost every weekend for five years to build strong defenses for his clients. He ended his Plumas County public defense contract last September to spend less time working another countys higher-paying cases.

"My hope and my desire is that Ill no longer have to work seven days a week," he said. "I need a break from it."

Pay disparities

Money also played a role in Rudds decision to temporarily leave public defense.

She once had a $500 public defense case and a $20,000 divorce case scheduled for the same time. The judge refused to reschedule the criminal case.

Anybody can do the math on that, Rudd said. It wasnt financially feasible.

Montana in April boosted state public defenders entry-level pay from about $31 an hour to $37.

Most prosecutors earn more. A Madison County deputy prosecutor position pays $40 an hour, and entry-level prosecutors in Missoula and Bozeman earn $41 and $54 per hour, respectively.

Arizonas Pima County Public Defense Services have many job openings, but not enough qualified people apply because the pay is low, Brault said.

Weve been struggling to pay our people in-house what theyre worth, Brault said.

Carl Macpherson, Oregons Metropolitan Public Defender executive director, said his state-funded offices salaries are "offensive."

The prosecutors pay scale starts where our pay scale ends, Macpherson said. You could have a 20-year public defender making less than a brand new attorney thats working at the prosecuting attorney's office.

Staff attorneys in his office earn $64,000 to $95,000, while area prosecutors earn $98,000 to $196,000, according to Elisabeth Shepard, Multnomah County District Attorneys Office spokesperson.

Gibsons salary was about $70,000 when he left Oregon with about $150,000 in student loan debt that grows by about $1,000 each month.

"I dont know how Im supposed to pay off any principle at all when the interest is that high," he said.

He hopes to get hired at Californias Sacramento County public defenders office, which offers a starting salary of more than $115,000 and is closer to family.

The collapse of an office

Savina Haas said her California public defender office was so underfunded that for a while she didnt have an office chair. Staff wandered the Lassen County office looking for any broken chairs. Her pay was about $65,000.

She became busier over her three years there, sometimes going days with no sleep. The quality of her representation diminished.

There was a time when defendants would ask for me, she said. Eventually they probably hated me because I never visited them anymore.

She left at the end of 2020 to work for a private law firm in Monterey County, where she has family.

Another Lassen County public defender resigned months after the new year and the position remained vacant until the office collapsed at the end of 2021. Lassen County now contracts with a private firm to provide public defense.

Lassen County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Egan said the county tried several times to recruit and just couldnt do it. He conceded the county did not increase the salary range.

The private firm contract works better for the county than paying for department staff and an office space, Egan said.

We struggle fiscally every year to balance our budget, Egan said. Its a rural county that were in. Our resources are just limited.

Attracting talent to the area is a challenge the firm is working on, Egan said.

Haas said keeping her would have been simple.

In all honesty, all they needed to do was get us the resources that we need, she said. Pay us at least somewhat competitive wages so we can bring people here. Have a full staff. Have the ability to be able to run with a decent budget. We had a good strong public defenders office at one point.  They managed to destroy it.

About Broken Defense: Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes, been pressured to plead guilty and been denied the benefit of exonerating evidence. People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without ever talking to a lawyer. Lee Enterprises West region Public Service Journalism team and local reporters attended more than a dozen court hearings and interviewed more than 25 defendants, 40 attorneys and 25 experts to reveal public defense in many western states is broken. Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Reporter Emily Hamer may be reached at emily.hamer@lee.net.
A Council Bluffs man was sentenced to five years in federal prison last week after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography.

Robert Kerber, 32, was indicted in 2021 on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He accepted a plea deal last August and pleaded guilty the first count of receipt.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa, a cybertip was sent in from a social media site to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2020.

The tip, which was referred to the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Council Bluffs Police Department, claimed that a user had uploaded an image depicting child pornography.

The tip was traced back to Kerber, and police obtained a warrant to search his home, according to the press release. A computer and hard drive found in the home contained multiple images and videos of child pornography, including some involving children under the age of 12.

There is no parole in the federal system. After serving his five-year sentence, Kerber will be required to register as a sex offender and will serve another five years of supervised release. During supervised release, he will not be able to own any device capable of connecting to the internet without prior approval.
Gov. Jim Pillens school finance and property tax reduction plan would mean more state dollars for every school district in the state  enough new dollars for most Omaha metro area districts to reduce their property tax demands by 5% or more.

But a World-Herald analysis of the plan to boost state aid to education and special education funding by more than $260 million also raises questions of equity, particularly when it comes to its state aid provisions.

The Westside school district, one of the metros wealthiest districts in terms of resident income and property value, would receive enough new state aid dollars under the plan that its per-pupil aid would approach that of OPS  a high-poverty district where roughly seven in 10 students qualify for free or reduced price school meals.

Westsides gain of $1,500 per student under Pillens plan would raise its total state aid to more than $5,000 per student. OPS, which currently receives just under $5,800 per student from the state, would not receive the $1,500 increase.

Millard, Papillion-La Vista, Ralston and Gretna likewise would not receive the additional state aid, despite currently receiving less aid per student than Westside.

The reasons for those seemingly contradictory results are complex and largely tied to the large number of Westside students who live outside the districts boundaries and opt in  and the big state dollars the district reaps from such student transfers under state law.

Pillens plan would further benefit Westside and dozens of other districts across the state that already receive large amounts of option student aid. And that has some suggesting the governors plan could use some tweaking.

Wow, thats not good, said State Sen. Justin Wayne, a former OPS school board member. Its crazy that the state aid per pupil (between Westside and OPS) would be about the same when you talk about the different needs.

Pillens administration in a statement defended the workings of his plan. The additional aid that would go to districts with option students would provide more property tax relief for residents of those districts, the statement said.

The plan also aligns with Governor Pillens vision that funding follow each student  an apparent reference to the governors support for providing state dollars for private school choice. Pillen last week rallied in Lincoln with supporters of a bill to offer $25 million worth of tax credits to people donating to private school scholarship funds.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, who like Wayne is an Omaha senator who serves on the Legislatures Education Committee, cautioned against anyone reading too much into the aid projections at this point. Lawmakers will surely examine such equity issues as the governors plan moves forward.

We are at the beginning of a process, Linehan said. I dont think we can expect to fix every wrinkle  its complicated. But I think we can make some improvements.

Westside officials declined to comment.

A number of districts have also been reluctant to publicly state positions on the governors plan, saying they are still studying it. OPS noted in a statement that many pieces of the governors agenda could impact school funding, including the changes to school aid and special education, school budget lids and changes to the way agricultural land is valued.

There are currently many moving parts that, when combined, could have a far greater impact than any single piece of legislation, the statement said. There are still essential questions to be addressed for something as important as this.

Pillens school funding plan was generally well-received by the states education community when he rolled it out two weeks ago, mostly because all districts would see additional funding.

Nebraskas new Republican governor had campaigned on a pledge to send state school aid dollars to all school districts in the state, including the mostly rural, land-rich districts that now often dont qualify for aid. His solution is to guarantee districts at least $1,500 per student in state aid regardless of their current resources and needs.

While not all districts would gain dollars under that $113 million proposal, all districts would come out ahead under his plan to provide $157 million in additional state dollars to pay to educate children with disabilities.

The governors office provided a draft of the projected funding each district would receive from the school aid and special education increases. It shows total state funding would increase $23 million for OPS, $9 million for Millard, almost $13 million for Westside, $5 million for Bellevue, and almost $6 million for both Elkhorn and Papillion-La Vista.

If those new state dollars offset current property taxes dollar for dollar, it would be enough to reduce school tax levies in most metro districts by 5% or more. In OPS, the reduction would be 6%  about $157 for a home valued at $200,000 for tax purposes.

But Westside would by far benefit the most. It would receive enough new dollars to reduce its property tax request by more than 20%  equal to almost $600 in reduced property taxes on a $200,000 home.

Learning why begins with understanding how the states current school aid law functions.

First, a school districts needs are determined based on student enrollment and other factors, including the percentage of students in poverty or who are learning English as a second language.

Then each districts available local funding is calculated. Schools are held accountable for levying property taxes at a minimum level. Any district needs not covered by that minimum levy are then back-filled with state aid dollars called equalization aid.

Most metro school districts currently receive such equalization aid. For them, the $1,500 per student in foundation aid under the governors plan simply offsets equalization aid they currently receive. In effect, every dollar of foundation aid in the front door merely pushes an equalization dollar out the back.

Like many rural districts, Westsides property resources and needs are such that it doesnt qualify for equalization aid. Thats why under Pillens plan, it would receive the $1,500 in foundation aid for each of its 6,000 students  totaling more than $9 million.

But while Westside doesnt receive equalization aid, that doesnt mean it currently lacks state aid dollars. It receives substantial funding under another portion of the state aid law school that pays for students who opt into a district from their home school district under the states public school option enrollment program.

Remarkably, more than a third of Westsides students are option students. And the state pays $10,625 for each of them.

As a result, Westside today receives more state dollars per student than equalization districts like Millard, Ralston and Papillion-La Vista. Pillens plan would widen that gap by another $1,500 per student.

Larry Scherer, a Lincoln attorney who as a legislative staffer helped craft the states school aid formula in the 1990s, said that seeming disparity can be traced to the generous way the state funds option students.

For example, today when a student attends school in Papillion-La Vista, Nebraska pays about $2,700 in state aid to help educate that student. But if the same student opts into Westside, the state pays almost four times that figure.

Scherer couldnt recall why state policymakers decided to fund option students so generously, but said it was likely to keep districts  and their taxpayers  from being overly burdened by the students who transfer in. Policymakers also surely never imagined back then that a district one day would receive a third of its students through option enrollment.

The current $10,625 figure is based on the average statewide per-pupil cost. That is still less than Westsides per-pupil cost of roughly $15,000  the highest among the urban districts in the metro area.

While Westside is a relatively high-income district, last year 38% of its students qualified for free or reduced priced meals.

Westside certainly isnt the only district receiving heavy option funding that would benefit under the governors plan. There are others throughout the state.

For example, Hemingford, a small district in the Panhandle, receives enough option funding that it receives slightly more state aid per pupil than neighboring Alliance, a district that qualifies for equalization aid. Under the governors plan, Hemingford would receive the additional $1,500 per student. Alliance wouldnt.

Wayne said he has long had a problem with how the state funds option students compared to other students. With the governors plan potentially increasing that disparity, the funding bears scrutiny, he said.

Why is a kid from North Omaha worth less if he goes to his neighborhood school? he said.

Without tweaking option funding, Scherer said senators could also simply decide to offset all or part of the governors $1,500 in foundation aid dollars against option dollars, much the same way theyre offset for equalization districts.

In principle, it should come off the top, Scherer said.

Such a move would also save money for the state, or enable lawmakers to boost the amount of foundation aid for other non-equalization districts above the $1,500 figure the governor has proposed.

Several senators said they expect much work on the details of the governors plan as it moves forward.

Overall, I think the governors education package is a good start, said Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, the former chair of the Education Committee. But there are still details that need to be worked out. Its an opportunity to look at how we fund public education and make sure its equitable for every student.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2023
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Legislature is considering ways to recruit and retain more educators as the states teacher shortage continues to grow.

Three bills aimed at attracting new teachers or retaining existing teachers were the subject of public hearings in the Legislatures Education Committee on Monday afternoon. The bills would, among other things, eliminate teaching certificate fees, create alternative ways to obtain a teaching certificate and establish a grant for educators with at least one year of experience in a Nebraska school.

The two lawmakers who introduced the bills, State Sens. Lynne Walz of Fremont and Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, each marketed their legislation as tools the state can use to fill the vacancies challenging many school districts across Nebraska.

There is no future for Nebraska if we do not have teachers to teach the next generation of Nebraskans, Linehan said.

Nebraska, like many other states, has struggled with a statewide teacher shortage for years. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on the issue, but as cases have slowed, the problem has only worsened, according to state data.

The Nebraska Department of Education recently reported that unfilled teaching jobs across the state increased by nearly 60% over last school year, going from 482 vacancies at the start of the 2021-22 school year to about 768 at the beginning of 2022-23.

Legislative Bill 519, introduced by Walz, would eliminate teaching certificate fees, which currently can cost up to $75. It also would increase the maximum loan for students looking to enter the teaching field, establish a loan of up to $8,500 for student teachers and establish a grant for school districts for the purpose of employee retention with a $35 million cap.

The bill received universal support during the testimony Monday, with most speakers claiming the changes would reduce the financial burdens that prevent individuals from entering the teaching field. In particular, speakers praised the proposed loan for student teachers. Cheryl Logan, superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, said payments for student teachers are long overdue.

Walz said the loans would be completely forgiven once the student completes four years of teaching in Nebraska. Multiple speakers argued that the loans would help incentivize student teaching programs, as the students that participate already have to deal with other expenses like tuition, and have to balance other responsibilities with college classes or often at a second job.

Being a student teacher is really more than a full-time job, said Sara Skretta, director of accreditation, placement and licensure for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

LB 603, introduced by Linehan, would create alternative options for individuals to obtain a teaching certificate. The individual must have a bachelors degree, and the organization supplying the teaching certificate must operate in at least five other states, be in operation for at least 10 years and require candidates pass two exams relating to their subject area and general professional teaching knowledge.

Melanie Olmstead with American Board, a nonprofit that provides alternative paths for teaching certification in 14 other states, said the organization and at least two others could operate in Nebraska under the bill and help to reduce the states teacher shortage. She said American Board provides a cheaper option for would-be teachers to obtain their certificates, costing a one-time $1,500 payment as opposed to the typical costs associated with higher education.

However, Skretta and several others opposed the plan, calling it redundant to the alternative options Nebraska already has in place. Skretta said the criteria specified to obtain a teaching certificate under the bill would qualify the candidate for an alternative option under the states established system. Bringing in out-of-state options would only make things more difficult for existing programs, and would not increase the amount of teaching applicants, Skretta claimed.

Tim Royers, a representative of the Nebraska State Education Association, said LB 603 would make it easier for outside established companies to profit off Nebraskas teacher shortage, while discouraging grassroots efforts within the state. Royers said the testing requirement is also the least crucial step in obtaining a teaching certificate, and objected to the bill leaving out any requirement for field work.

I dont think it solves any real problems without creating some others, said retired UNL professor Jim Walter.

LB 385, also introduced by Linehan, would allocate up to $10 million to establish a $5,000 grant for new Nebraska teachers who sign on to continue teaching for another school year. The grant applies to teachers in their first through third year of full-time employment at a state school, and can be applied for each year, meaning teachers who qualify could receive up to $15,000.

The bill is similar to another piece of legislation, LB 1218, that passed into law last year. The bill provided first-year educators up to $5,000 a year for up to five years. It was one of the Education Committees priority bills that session, and was supported by both Linehan and Walz.

Linehan said the main difference between the two bills is that LB 1218 required teachers to use the funding toward reducing their student debt, but LB 385 includes no such requirement. She said its important to provide financial incentives to new teachers, as working teachers commonly leave the profession within their first few years, when theyre on the lower end of the pay scale.

If you want people to stay, youve got to pay them, Linehan said.

LB 385 received widespread support during its public hearing, with most speakers arguing that it would make progress in reducing the states teacher shortage.

Nobody spoke against the bill, though two people were neutral. Royers pushed for Linehan to raise the $10 million cap, arguing that the limit would not allow enough people to access the funding. Another speaker criticized the plan for not benefiting experienced teachers.

Walz said there was no silver bullet to solve Nebraskas teaching crisis. She said she hopes to work together with Linehan and other lawmakers to advance collaborative bills that work toward solving the issue.

Its going to take a pretty significant piece of legislation to help us get results that we need, Walz said.

Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
A York, Nebraska, man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife.

Officers from the York Police Department were called to a home at 84 S. Platte Ave. about 9:45 p.m. to investigate a shooting. They located Stacie Beutler, 46, who had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead, according to a statement from York Police Chief Ed Tjaden.

Bart J. Beutler, 47, the victim's husband, was arrested without incident at another York residence about 30 minutes later, Tjaden said. In addition to first-degree murder, he was also arrested on suspicion of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and being a prohibited person in possession of a deadly weapon.

Tjaden said there is no indication that anyone else was involved in the incident. York is a city of about 7,800 residents located approximately 50 miles west of Lincoln.
U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders bumps elbows with kindergartener Aleyna Contreras at Oakhill Elementary School in Streamwood on May 6, 2021. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The Illinois State Board of Education announced Tuesday that Tony Sanders, superintendent of Elgin School District U-46, was named the new state superintendent of education.

Carmen Ayala  the first woman and person of color to hold the position  announced in November that she would be retiring as the states top education official in February.

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Before joining U-46 in 2007 as the districts chief communications officer, Sanders served in a similar role for St. Louis Public Schools and worked in communication and government relations for Illinois agencies, including ISBE, according to the agencys announcement. Sanders then held a chief of staff role in U-46 before being appointed to lead the district in 2014. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Ted Sanders, former U.S. deputy secretary of education and superintendent of education in Illinois, Nevada and Ohio.

Dr. Tony Sanders is an extraordinary choice for state superintendent of education, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a news release. Dr. Sanders breadth of experience as superintendent of School District U-46 and his entire background have prepared him to take on this role. His focus on innovation, social emotional development and academic excellence make him an extraordinary pick.

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Sanders accomplished a number of things during his tenure at the second-largest school district in Illinois, including the expansion of the dual language program, the launch of full-day kindergarten and the creation of a dual credit program with Elgin Community College, according to a news release from District U-46.

In a statement, ISBE board chair Steven Isoye noted Sanders deep understanding of issues rooted in the public school system.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

At U-46, he has championed equity, expanded opportunities for students, and brought innovative new programs to the district, Isoye said. We are confident he will build on our record-high graduation rates and college and career readiness to continue leading Illinois schools in a positive direction.

At U-46, Sanders pushed for career pathways programs for high school students.

The U-46 School Board is sad to see Superintendent Sanders leave, but knows that the children of the state of Illinois will benefit from his leadership at the Illinois State Board of Education, said U-46 Board of Education Board President Sue Kerr in a statement.

Sanders supported the effort to reform Illinois school funding and helped pass the Every Student Succeeds Act. Illinois Federation of Teachers union President Dan Montgomery praised Sanders advocacy work. We  hope in his new role, he helps to move our state closer to achieving equitable funding and eliminating disparities in districts statewide, Montgomery said in a statement.

Sanders will step into the role in late February. He could not be reached for comment.

zsyed@chicagotribune.com

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smacaraeg@chicagotribune.com
Commitment to Service

An Evening Honoring John Penn

Thursday, Jan 26

ISU Bone Student Center, Normal

After a half-century of service to the community, protecting and empowering unions and mentoring emerging leaders, John Penn is ready to retire.

At least, that's what he says.

"John's not going anywhere," said lifelong friend and fellow Laborers Local 362 leader Tom Whalen, speaking at the event in Penn's honor .

Penn, 74, is stepping down as vice president, Midwest regional manager of Laborers International Union of North America, where he represents thousands of laborers within a 10-state region. He has held the role since 2008 and been involved in local union leadership since the early 1970s.

And while his job title may be changing, Penn says he will continue working on veteran and retiree councils as well as lobbying for union members' benefits.
BLOOMINGTON  A Florida man was sentenced to six years in prison after he entered a guilty plea Monday in a McLean County drug case.

David L. Hendricks, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, a Class X felony. The charge involved LSD.

Hendricks, of Clearwater, Florida, was arrested on May 13 after officers from the McLean County Sheriff's Office conducted a traffic stop and search of a vehicle in which he was passenger, said Assistant State's Attorney Spencer Chikahisa.

Chikahisa said officers discovered a bag inside the vehicle with the LSD and other controlled substances. Hendricks then told officers that the bag was his, Chikahisa said.

As part of a plea agreement, five other counts were dismissed in this case.

Hendricks was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and 18 months of supervised release.

He has already served 144 days prior to the sentencing.

Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph Bryant Lewis Derek Roesch Justin M. Mata Marcus D. Wesley Phillip Tinch Trisha L. Hanke William B. Givens David L. Oliver Kenneth E. Funk Jordan R. King Holly M. Isaacson Kenneth L. Minton Tony L. Jackson Britley L. Hilger Jasmine L. Smith Jackie S. Claypool Noah R. Demuth Brandon L. Parsano Alexander N. Williams Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano Jaylin S. Bones Jordan R. King Dominique M. Banks Austin T. Daugherty Sandra M. Lewis Samantha E. Morris Nolan C. Love Nikkita L. Sandefur Katlin M.B. Wilson Eli C. Garozzo Tysean T. Townsend Curtis J. Byrd Noral K. Nelson Charles J. Tankson
PEKIN  Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois 16th Congressional District announced his plans to donate physical and digital artifacts from his 12 years in Congress to the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin.

Kinzinger said in a news release that America, now more than ever, needs a transparent understanding of Congress, and the Dirksen Congressional Center has become a leader in its mission to educate the public on the inner workings of the countrys legislative branch.

The center is named for Everett McKinley Dirksen, a Pekin native who served in the U.S. House from 1933-1949, the U.S. Senate from 1951-1969, and as Senate Minority Leader from 1959 until his death in September 1969.

Growing up in Illinois, I learned at a young age the legacy of Everett Dirksen, Kinzinger said. Its a legacy that helped guide me during my 12 years in Congress to selflessly serve my constituency and always put the interest of my district before my political interests.

Unlike many members of his party, Kinzinger has been openly critical of former President Donald Trump, and he was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He and former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the only two GOP members of the House select committee investigating the insurrection.

In October 2021, Kinzinger announced he would not seek reelection after Illinois Democrats remapped him into a district with Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria.

Tiffany White, executive director of the Dirksen Congressional Center, said the donation emphasizes the earned trust of generations of public servants who have become partners in the centers mission to educate the public about Congress and its policies.

Many Americans are familiar with him now because of his service on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, White said. His complete papers will help tell the story behind the policies he pursued, the agreements  and disagreements  he had over three presidential administrations and the expertise he brought to debates in subjects from national defense and veterans issues to commerce and energy.

Kinzinger served on the McLean County Board in 1998 at the age of 20. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he was elected to Congress in 2010. He now serves as a senior political commentator at CNN.

Photos: Scenes from historic speaker vote of 118th Congress
Thank you, Governor, Illinois legislature and others for enacting an assault weapons ban in Illinois. Its hard to believe some in law enforcement are against this. Some years ago, there was a federal ban but of course that got overturned. The Constitution was written by people who used flintlock rifles and did not have high-capacity magazines.

This ban does not infringe on your rights to own firearms, just not assault weapons. Why does anyone need an assault weapon and high-capacity magazines unless members of military, SWAT teams or other law enforcement groups? Have we learned nothing about the power of these weapons? And if you already own this type of weapon, all you have to do is register them  they are not being taken from you.

Have we learned nothing from Sandy Hook, Majory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, the Las Vegas festival, Boulder, Columbine, Odessa, UNC-Charlotte, Charleston S.C., the Highland Park parade right here in Illinois, plus a multitude of other places? Who can forget Uvalde  some students faces so badly decimated DNA was needed to confirm identity. Schools, movie theaters, outdoor events, places of worship and on it goes.

One does not think it will happen in my backyard, but it does. It could be your child, best friend, neighbor, colleague or spouse in right place at wrong time.

In 2023 there have been 25 to 36 mass shootings, depending on the source and definition: at least three or four killed in one event. At least in Illinois the government is trying to be proactive about banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

If only everyone recognized this and stopped foolish law suits. And now, we need to remember Monterey Park, California.

Mary H. Haskell, Bloomington
Four persons involved in the syphoning of GHC1,262,496.66 from Best Point Savings and Loans Limited have been sentenced to a total jail term of 20 years.



This is after an Accra Circuit Court found them guilty.



The four broke down in tears after the sentence, with some relatives also unable to control their tears and reached for the convicts hands before they were escorted out of the courtroom.



Silas Adjei, former IT Officer of the Company was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court presided over by Justice Malike Wornya, a High Court Judge who sat with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court Judge.



Kwadwo Kudekor, a Supporting Officer of the Company, was also sentenced to three years imprisonment.



Patience Adjei, sister of Silas and a mobile vendor and James Afadzie, a trader, are to serve five years imprisonment each.



Silas and Kudekor were charged with conspiracy and stealing.



Silas was additionally charged with unauthorised interference with electronic records and money laundering.



Patience and Afadzie were held for abetment of crime and dishonestly receiving monies stolen by Silas.



Silas is said to have acquired over 18 vehicles and other properties.



The prosecution, led by Richard Gyambiby, a Senior State Attorney, said the complainant was Best Point Savings and Loans Limited.



The prosecution said Patience was the sister of Silas and Afadzie, the husband of Patience.



The State said in January 2014, the Company started operating with a banking software known as Bankers Realm, which was purchased from Kenya.



The State said in the course of operations, it was realised that the Companys system had some challenges, so management decided to acquire and migrate to a new system.



The prosecution said at the end of the 2015 financial year, the Company started migrating from the Bankers Realm software to a new one known as X100 format.



It said having run a successful conversion test in December 2015, another conversion test with an updated database was converted for staff training in January 2016.



The prosecution said another database was also converted for user acceptance tests on the new software.



It said after all the tests had been completed a final database known as Go Live purposes was also converted on March 18, 2016.



The prosecution said during the final conversion, while the data was being validated, some discrepancies between the old and the new software were detected.



It said the validation also revealed that there was a transaction amounting to GHc1,262, 496.66.



The prosecution told the court that a Kenyan Consultant was employed to help investigate the course of the discrepancies and he found out that the system had been tampered with.



That was also corroborated by the software engineers of Global Union System, another company.



The prosecution held that the transactions were similar in nature and emanated from four different accounts.



It said the different accounts were in the names of Patience and Afadzie, one Asante Seth, aka Precious Havor and Theophilus Aboagye, aka Dennis Amankwa, all friends of Silas, who are at large.



The prosecution said investigations showed that Silas had fictitiously and unlawfully credited the accounts with various sums of money and deleted the transactions from the final database for migration onto the new system of the Company.



According to the prosecution, it was discovered that the narration of those transactions had been changed into interest accrued and the same had been made to look like the transaction had been done automatically by the system and all its trait details had been deleted.



It said Silas had resigned from the Company during the final stages of migration just when the discrepancies were discovered.



During investigations, the prosecution said Kudekor had on several occasions checked and performed transactions on the four different accounts with two of the names on the accounts having different pictures.



The prosecution told the court that the matter was reported to the Police and on May 3, 2016, Silas was arrested at Pokuase.



It said a passport, DVLA documents on 18 vehicles, and a laptop, among others, were retrieved during a search.



The prosecution said documents from three vehicles in the name of Silass wife were also found.



The prosecution said while in custody, investigations revealed that two Policemen aided Silas to disinvest and cash GHC 195,233.72 he had invested with Ideal Finance.



It said on July 26, 2016, Kudekor was also arrested.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ministry of Education has welcomed the Fourth Estates latest investigative piece, School Placement for Sale which uncovered widespread under-dealings in the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSPSS).



According to The Fourth Estate led by Manasseh Azure Awuni, the CSPSS which is a computerized system used to place students in various secondary schools is not as credible as it is touted to be.



Some parents according to the expose, had to pay as much as GHS20,000 to get their wards placed in schools. Others paid, GHS8500.



Speaking to this in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng commended Manasseh Azure and added they intend to invite him to help them in their investigations.



Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has advised parents, guardians, and the general public to be vigilant and avoid paying money to secure school placement.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The miraculous tale of Precious, a young girl who once had finger deformities, was revisited in the ninth episode of Vodafone Healthline's Spin-Off edition. She was able to get surgery and use her fingers again after that, thanks to Vodafone.



Precious could not grip objects or eat with her hands because she was born with a limb abnormality, which worried her family about her ability to thrive in school.



Six months after her operation, Precious smiled as she greeted the Vodafone Healthline team, demonstrating the tremendous transformation she has undergone. The operation has restored her ability to hold things and play with her friends, much to her family's delight.



Dr. Kwekuma Yalley, a member of the team that visited Precious and her family, underlined the importance of waiting a while before considering another operation for Precious, given her young age.



Precious' mother, Cecilia Acheamaa, thanked the Vodafone Healthline team for their assistance, admitting that it had been difficult to watch her daughter struggle with her condition. Precious' family is eager to enrol her in school now that she has recovered.



Drs. Aba Folson and Kwekuma Yalley debunked a myth about post-partum belly-flattening during the episode. According to Dr. Yalley, binding the belly after giving birth can momentarily give the appearance of a flat tummy when wearing a fitting dress, but it does not make the tummy flat in the long run. Dr. Folson stated that, while there is no scientific evidence to back the technique, tying the belly regularly can help maintain muscle tone, burn fat, and push the internal organs inward.



Consistent core and muscle strengthening exercises, according to the experts, are essential for maintaining a trim midsection after pregnancy.



Dr. Salamatu Nantogma, a family medicine expert who spoke about dementia and ageing, was also featured in the episode. She noted that muscle deterioration and cell loss characterise ageing beginning at the age of 35 and can cause several issues, including dementia, immobility, instability, and muscle wasting.



Dr. Nantogma emphasised the importance of healthy living, exercise, and healthy habits in avoiding issues such as ageing, loneliness, and sadness.



The Vodafone Healthline show aims to provide free medical education to the public through its broadcasts on selected media outlets and social media.



The show airs on UTV on Mondays from 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on DGN on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Electricity Company of Ghanas debt to Bui Power Authority has hit a whopping US$ 614 million as at the end of 2022, from the previous US$386 million at the end of 2019.



This was revealed when officials of Bui Power appeared before the Public Accounts Committee in its consideration of the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana-Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions for the year ended 31st December 2020.



Deputy CEO, Finance and Service at the BUI Power Authority, Dr George Tettey told the committee that one of the Authoritys major financial challenges has to do with the collection of receivables from ECG.



We have a huge problem with the collection of our receivables. ECGs indebtedness to BUI Power stood at $386 million as at the end of 2019. And, it is now $614 million, he stated.

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.

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Couples in China's Sichuan province will be allowed to have as many children as they want, as the country continues to try and get a grip on its declining population.



Last year, the population in China fell for the first time in 60 years.



For decades, the country had a one-child policy - increased nationally for married couples to three in 2021.



As part of the policy change in Sichuan, unmarried individuals will also now be able to raise children.



Previously there was a ban on single women registering a birth.



In 2016, China scrapped its controversial one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979. Families that broke the rules were fined and, in some cases even lost jobs.



In a culture that historically favours boys over girls, the policy also led to forced abortions.



But the changes that began in 2016 failed to halt the decline in the birth rate. Deaths outnumbered births for the first time last year in China.



Now, there will be no limit on the number of children people can have in Sichuan, a province of 80 million people in the southwest of the country.



Chinese President Xi Jinping has made boosting birth rates a priority. The government has offered tax breaks and better maternal healthcare to reverse or slow the falling rates.



It comes as China is still battling Covid-related deaths throughout the country. The virus tore through towns and cities after the lifting of zero-Covid restrictions in December.



Neighbouring countries, including Japan, are also facing falling birth rates. Japan's prime minister says, as a result, his country is on the brink of not being able to function as a society.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) taskforce has arrested five managers of shopping malls at Spintex Road in Accra for allegedly evading tax on the electronic Value Added Tax (VAT) system.



The companies are China Mall, Sneda Shopping Mall, and Fresh First Limited, which were found not to be issuing the e-VAT while Palace Mall and Shoprite at the Junction Mall were faulted for issuing receipts with duplicate signatures of the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority.



The Managers were sent to the Customs office at the headquarters for their statements before they were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police.



The initiative is part of an ongoing nationwide VAT invigilation exercise to ensure tax compliance and retrieve taxes due the State.



The Commissioner in charge of Domestic Tax Revenue Division at the GRA, Mr Edward Appenteng Gyamerah said the GRA had found that some taxpayers were issuing invoices that were not certified by the Commissioner-General as required by law.



He said under section 41 of the VAT Act 2013, (Act 870) as amended by Act 1082 and Act 1087, every registered VAT taxpayer was required to issue an electronic VAT invoice with details that are prescribed by the Commissioner General when they provided services or supplied goods.



The investigations, he said, found that some taxpayers were involved in the issuance of false tax invoices or sales receipts, while others had failed to integrate the certified invoicing system into the invoicing system of the GRA Commissioner General.



Mr Gyamerah stated that the punishment for such infractions as provided under the VAT Act included a fine of not more than one hundred penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not more than six months, or both, in addition to a payment of penalty of an amount of not more than GH50, 000 or three times the amount of tax involved.



He said people who flouted the law could also be charged under sections 78 and 82 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) that focused on failure to comply with a tax law and impeding tax administration, respectively.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Current wave of infections nearing end

08:24, January 31, 2023 By Wang Xiaoyu ( Chinadaily.com.cn

A woman receives a booster dose in Chaoyang district of Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's current wave of the COVID-19 epidemic is nearing an end, with rural and remote areas getting through the Spring Festival holiday without spikes in infections and no new virus mutations detected, officials and experts said.

Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said at a news briefing on Monday that the epidemic is at a low level nationwide and in steady decline.

China ended the requirement for mass testing on Dec 8 and downgraded its management of the disease from Class A to Class B on Jan 8.

Following the optimization of the antivirus strategy, the epidemic peaked in late December and then declined. The number of severe cases and deaths at hospitals has continued to trend downward, according to a report released recently by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of COVID-19 deaths at hospitals peaked at around 4,270 on Jan 4, and fell consistently to reach less than 900 fatalities on Jan 23.

"By late January, the overall epidemic had waned, easing the strain on the nation's medical systems," the report said.

No significant rebound occurred during the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 21 to Friday, and no new viral mutation was detected. "This wave of the epidemic is drawing to a conclusion," the report said.

Before the weeklong holiday, concerns over the impact of COVID centered on rural areas as millions of migrant workers traveled home.

According to the Ministry of Transport, 226 million trips were made during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 71.2 percent, but lower than the same period in 2019.

Mao Dezhi, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' rural cooperative economy bureau, said rural areas saw no major increase in new infections during the holiday thanks to concerted efforts in protecting vulnerable groups and supplying key medical equipment and oral medications to grassroots clinics.

Fu Wei, an official with the National Health Commission's department of primary health, said rural clinics and community healthcare centers made nearly 9.9 million visits to people age 65 and older throughout the holiday. About 40,000 infected patients at risk of becoming seriously ill were transferred to higher-level hospitals.

"Monitoring data shows that over 94 percent of grassroots clinics have been supplied with sufficient traditional Chinese medicine and pills to reduce fever and coughing pills to last at least one week, and some have stocked up on COVID-19 oral medications," she said.

Despite the waning epidemic, officials said rural areas remain the priority for disease control work. With increasing cross-border travel, regular surveillance to access the trajectory of the epidemic as well as virus mutations will also be ramped up.

Chen Cao, a researcher at the China CDC said the dominant strains driving the latest wave were BF.7 and BA.5.2, and no other novel coronavirus strains are circulating widely.

"During the holiday, we received 1,421 genome sequences submitted by local authorities," he said. "They consisted of 11 types of lineages  and no new mutation was identified."

Chen added that China will continue regular surveillance of outpatients, emergency room visits, severe COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as inbound travelers, to keep a close watch on viral mutations and take precautions.

According to National Immigration Administration data, 2.87 million cross-border trips were made during the holiday, including 1.43 million inbound trips and 1.44 million outbound trips, a 120.5 percent year-on-year increase.

The World Health Organization said in a statement on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern  its highest alert level.

However, the pandemic may be approaching a turning point, the statement said. While expanding vaccination programs can limit the disease's threat, the WHO said it is almost certain that the virus will remain "a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals in the foreseeable future."

Careful and long-term public health plans should be made to mitigate the disease's devastating consequences on people's lives, it added.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
A Cook County school district official has been charged in the theft of $1.5 million worth of food.

Vera Liddell, 66, was being held in the Cook County Jail on a $150,000 bond, WGN-TV reported Monday.

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Liddell worked as food service director for Harvey School District 152.

More than 11,000 cases of chicken wings were ordered from the districts food provider and then picked up in a district cargo van, according to court documents reviewed by the television station.

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The food was ordered during the height of the coronavirus pandemic at a time when students were being educated remotely and not allowed to attend class in school buildings. The district continued to provide meals for students that their parents could pick up.

Prosecutors say district funds were used to pay for the food, but none of it was taken to the district or provided to students. A routine mid-year audit found the district was $300,000 over its annual food service budget, despite being only halfway through that academic year.

The districts business manager discovered signed invoices for massive quantities of chicken wings, an item that was never served to students because they contain bones, prosecutors said.

More than 80% of the 1,600 students attending the districts five schools qualify as low-income, according to the television station.
The VVIP lounge at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has been closed.



In a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry - the move is to pave the way for a restructuring of the lounge for efficient travel as well as meet international standards.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana wishes to inform the travelling public, who patronise the VVIP Lounge at the Kotoka International Airport that it will be temporarily closed for two weeks, effective Tuesday, 31 January 2023. The aim of this new directive is to enable restructuring of the lounge for efficient travel and to meet international standards, the statement said.



While expressing apologies for any inconvenience the closure might cause, the ministry encourages users of the Lounge to patronise the Commercial Important Person (CIP) Lounge and the Business Lounge at Terminal 3, the statement added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Economic and Petroleum analyst, Senyo Hosi has expressed his frustration over the failure of the Ministry of Agriculture and other government agencies to collaborate with the private sector in creating food sufficiency.



Speaking on Peace FMs Kokrokoo morning show, Senyo Hosi told host, Kwame Sefa Kayi that officials who are responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the agric sector are rather interested in procurement which is an avenue for them to steal from public coffers.



"The thing is not rocket science, it is like seeking to have five children in five years. You need to know that it takes nine months to give birth to a child so you will have to know that you need five years if you have one wife, and you will also need to have five wives if you want to do it in a year.



"It is simple, I dont know how to break it down. It is not difficult but you must have love and a heart for what you are doing, he said.



It is all part of my frustrations with this country, people are more interested in procurements because it is what they rely on to steal. Because of that, people are not interested in the actual work that will help the country. That is our challenge, he added.



According to Senyo Hosi, the failures of the government and the agric ministry include their inability to create an enabling environment for private investors to thrive.



You want one million metric tonnes (of rice) and you know that your yield in this country is 3.4 metric tonnes per hectare. But here is the case the government has secured zero lands for the private sector.



"You dont even sit with the private sector to plan, meanwhile you dont have funding. So how do you do the work? he questioned.



Ghana relies heavily on imports to meet its demand for food items such as rice and poultry.



However, the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo under its flagship Planting for Food and Jobs says it has done creditably well in growing the countrys agric sector.



But speaking on Kokrokoo on Monday, January 30, 2023, Senyo Hosi described the policy as a complete failure.



"How much irrigated fields do we have? Have we invested in our irrigated fields to match our needs as a country? But when you look at the billions we have spent on this Planting for Food and Jobs, which we can't see any particular thing that's sustaining the industry. I think that it's a failed project. It's a totally failed project, he stressed.











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.

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An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to lawyer of Evangelist Patricia Asiedua Oduro Koranteng, popularly known as Nana Agradaa.



Theophilus Donkor, had been charged with verbally assaulting police officers who were in the process of arresting Agradaa.



Theophilus Donkor's bail comes after he pleaded not guilty to assault on a public officer and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace.



He was granted a self-recognisance bail by the court presided over by Rosemond Baah Tosu, Graphiconline.com reports.



The two parties were asked to consider resolving their case outside the court.



Mr Donkor is, however, to reappear on February 27, 2023.



Meanwhile, the lawyer has filed a motion challenging the authority of the police who arrested him.



Graphic.com stated that the personnel from the Cantonments Police Station who arrested him did not have the authority to do so because the alleged crime was committed around the Accra Metropolitan Assembly area, a jurisdiction outside the operations of the Cantonments Police Division.







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.

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A Rockdale County high school student will face criminal charges after attacking her teacher inside a classroom.



On Thursday, Jan. 26, an unidentified ninth grader at Heritage High School was caught on camera getting into an argument with her teacher and attacking her.



The teacher, Tiwana Turner, had to be carried out on a stretcher after she suffered a broken knee (read here).



Students say the girl was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center following the incident.



As a juvenile under Georgia criminal law, her name will not be released.



Rockdale County School District officials confirm the student has since been suspended from school.



School administrators say they are still investigating the attack but say violence against staff will not be tolerated.



The statement released by the school reads: "Rockdale County Public Schools is investigating an incident where a student allegedly attacked a teacher during class today. RCPS does not tolerate student violence towards any staff members.



"Students who harm other students or staff will be disciplined according to our Student Discipline Code of Conduct and will be appropriately charged by law enforcement. We will adhere to personnel and student privacy laws in this matter."



A spokesman from the Rockdale County Sheriffs Office said the agency is "actively investigating this incident. Once there is a decision to charge either party, RCSO will take the proper steps."



Due to the severity of Tiwana Turner's injuries, members of the community have raised a fundraiser to support the teacher while she recovers financially.













Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In Gloria Padikie Tettehs salon located at Teshie Bush Road, clients sit for hours in pursuit of great hairstyles. This is an exercise that requires patience and Gloria is no stranger to that. She conscientiously built Glorias Beauty & Clothes  a hairdo and clothing salon dedicated to the art of African hair braiding  from absolutely zilch. For years, Gloria worked from her compound. This allowed her to gain more experience and saved every pesewa she made.



Three years have passed since Gloria opened the doors of her salon. Within these years, Gloria has been able to amass a good number of customers from both far and near. The salon that she commenced from her small compound now trains other ladies who also look forward to becoming hairdressers in the near future.



To Gloria, teaching people the art of braiding is her contribution to curbing unemployment in Ghana. Remarkably, she does not charge the people she teaches any money. She believes her students will have some skills to earn income for themselves once they graduate.



According to her, there are many aspiring entrepreneurs in the country but due to lack of funds, these people are not able to hone their skills. In her own words, Gloria said I do not have much but I make sure that many people benefit from the little I have.



Using herself as an example, Gloria indicated that she did not have anyone she could borrow money from when starting. She did menial work to raise some money and that is when she enrolled in a hairdressing school (informally).



According to her, she used to practice on a mannequin head day and night for several months just to perfect her skills. Telling how she got her first client, Gloria said she made a friend design a flier for her which she distributed to people in her neighbourhood.



A friend of mine who operates an internet cafe designed a flier and printer some copies for me. I then distributed them to the people in my vicinity. Thats how I got clients in the beginning. I didnt charge the first five (5) who came, she stated.



Gloria continued, After practicing on mannequin heads for a long time, I just wanted to be able to have live people to practice on. I always tried to be as professional about my business as possible, even though I was working in my home.



I remember thinking that I really had to look for a commercial space because doing this in my house was not going to work. It was really challenging. I tried to save, to move toward that goal. But at the same time, money was still very, very tight for me. I literally had no savings. I saved the little I made from the work I was doing at home and I was able to acquire a shop to operate commercially.



Recounting how difficult it was for her during the beginning, she promised herself to help others to also learn the trade when she is in a better position to do so.



Gloria said she always saw herself as being able to make something from nothing.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Professor Charles Amoatey, the Director of the Academy of Leadership and Executive Training, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), said with proper sexual and reproductive health awareness, people will have a satisfying and safe sexual life.



They will have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so, to improve their well-being, he said.



Prof. Amoatey said this at the closing ceremony of a four-day training in Koforidua for political and social actors on the importance of sexual and reproductive health to national development.



It was organised by GIMPA, in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, to achieve broad-based improvements in good sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among women and adolescents.



This would ensure they contribute more effectively to national development.



Participants included members of parliament, traditional and religious leaders, and leaders of educational institutions.



Prof. Amoatey said lawmakers could influence and prioritise sexual and reproductive health issues in Parliament, while influential community members engaged women and adolescents on the importance of SRH to development.



Lack of access to sexual and reproductive health undermined individual control over decisions concerning education, health, and participation in social and economic life, he noted.



We, the collaborating partners, hope to organise similar training for other groups on a quarterly basis across the country to widely spread information on the impact of sexual and reproductive health on national development.



Caesar Kaba Kogoziga, the Programmes Coordinator at Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, said: Just as we preach Ghana beyond aid, theres the need to also preach or advocate families and societies beyond aid.



He noted that if SRH's needs and rights were not met and individuals were denied the right to make choices about their own bodies and future, it would have negative impacts on their family's welfare, future generations, and the entire nation.



Dr Leticia Appiah, the Executive Director of, the National Population Council, and a facilitator led participants through topics including Ghanas population history, development growth and impact, and understanding the global perspective of reproductive health.



We are situating reproductive health education and services as part of our economic intervention because if we do not situate it well, and there is a lot of expenditure, then we cannot reap the benefit of our investment, she said.



Dr Appiah indicated that family planning and contraception were among the measures put in place to help women look healthy, space their births, and limit unplanned pregnancies.



Madam Betty Krosbi Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North, described the course content as solid and participatory.



Gathering people with different points of view and understanding gives us [MPs] a clear direction as to where we are going, where we have fallen short, the benefits of certain programmes that Parliament is implementing, and possibly, how we can finetune some of them to the benefit of the public.



Adindaa Awamyelum II, Chief of Kodorogo, Bongo District in the Upper East Region, said education on SRH would help minimise child marriage and teenage pregnancies, and encourage girls to stay in school, finish their education, and contribute to more gender-equal societies.



Certificates of participation were presented to participants.



The Leadership and Executive Training programmes are designed to enhance skills in leadership, build a solid foundation in management, sharpen technical skills and competencies, and connect participants to a global network of peers.





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.

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The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has been advised to expedite its rate of recovering a $614, 373,274.36 debt owed it by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

This is because the money owed the power generator has been indicated to be adversely affecting its ability to operate effectively and deliver on its mandate.



The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, gave the advice when the Ministry of Energy and its agencies took their turn before the committee to answer queries raised by the Auditor General for the year 2022.



The indebtedness will not go out completely at any point in time, it will continue because every day there is production, sale and repayment by the buyer, so what is more important is the rate at which the debt is being recovered, he stressed.



Infractions



According to the report, the ECG owed the authority $386 million as at the end of December 31, 2019, which increased to $614, 373,274.36 by the end of 2022.



The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BPA, Kofi Dzamesi, explained that the authority was not gaining any receivables from the ECG despite trying its best to generate more power for the country.



He added that last year, the BPA generated more power than any year in the history of the authority since it was commissioned.



We generated about 1,540 gigawatts and our profit margin for last year should be hitting around $70 million, yet we are not getting anything, he lamented.



Recommendation



The PAC Chairman equally urged the Ministry of Finance to take more steps to ensure that all government agencies settled the debts they owed one another.



They should ensure that at least, they settle some of the debt the ECG owes other agencies like Bui and VRA because they buy the power from these two sources, he said.



The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also recommended that steps should be taken to ensure the ECG was financially viable as it continued to deal with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).



Charging in dollars



Dr Avedzi also urged agencies in the energy sector as well as other government agencies to refrain from charging their fees in foreign currencies, particularly, the United States dollars.



Our currency is Ghana Cedi, ECG will sell the power and collect cedis and they will now go chasing to buy dollars in order to pay, he said.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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With Ghanas dedication to Moving Beyond Aid and expanding its local digital economy, there has been a lot of noteworthy achievements throughout the years.



Notable among these include:



 Ghana recording the highest internet penetration rate (53%), as well as the highest e-Connectivity Index (86.43), in the West African Sub-region, in 2022.



 Ghanas close to 19 million unique mobile subscribers, equivalent to 67 percent of the population, which is significantly higher than the Sub-Saharan African average of 44 percent.



 Ghana toping African countries with the fastest internet speed in the latest global ranking as well as its significant investments in rural network coverage through its Rural Telephony Project which has helped increase the communication coverage rate in underserved communities from 83% to 95% by providing affordable ICT infrastructure.



Huawei is proud to have contributed to many of these achievements including the governments Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project. Through this project, Huawei deployed 2,000 base stations in rural areas and provided voice and data services to 3.4 million people, 2,000 schools, and 200 rural clinics.



All of these achievements have paved way for Ghana to transition towards a flourishing digital economy; with the younger generation being the main driving force behind this progress. However, it is undeniable that the demand for digital-skilled talents in Ghana exceeds its supply.



Research suggests that by 2030, 50 percent of all jobs and 75-80 percent of the formal sector jobs in Ghana will require essential digital skills as a prerequisite. This reality hurdles young people from fully fulfilling their potential in the digital era. To bridge this gap, Huawei, as a world-leading ICT company and a long-time partner of the Ghanaian Government, is committed to improving the digital skills capacity of more Ghanaians by introducing the LEAP digital talent program - which promotes the 'Leadership', 'Employability, 'Advancement', and 'Possibilities' of people by equipping them with sufficient digital skills.



Under the LEAP program, we are aiming to provide ICT training to a hundred thousand (100,000) people from 2022 to 2024 in Ghana, together with our partners from industry and academia.



In addition to providing world-class training lessons and certificates to policymakers, young graduates and ICT professionals while improving the digital literacy skills of the public, Huawei is also dedicated to enhancing the hands-on experience of the programs beneficiaries. It is against this backbone that we established the Ghana ICT Talent Development Centre (GITDeC) in Ghana, to boost the career readiness of the youth interested in joining the ICT industry and equip them with hands-on experience in the real-world environment.



The Ghana ICT Talent Development Centre has been set up to offer training in the field of telecommunications equipment installation, standardized quality control, EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) compliance, and the use of digital delivery platforms. All of these courses are designed based on the demands of real-world jobs.



There will be full-time qualified instructors and skilled engineers on-site to guide and support the trainees. There is no need to fear the wind when your roots are deep, says an African proverb. At Huawei, we believe that the LEAP program, will widely and deeply spread the roots of digital prosperity in Ghana.



This initiative strongly advocates for putting people, especially the youth, at the centre of the spotlight and investing immensely in people with the ultimate goal of realizing the growth of the youth, their communities and societies, as well as their beloved country. With this approach, economic advancement is inevitable. We also see the launch of the Ghana ICT Talent Development Centre as a clarion call for more collaborations. The goals of ICT talent development and adequate digital skills provision cannot be achieved by an individual. It takes a village to raise a child, as the saying goes.



We must therefore closely collaborate with government, industry, and academia, as well as encourage more domestic and international resources, expertise and partnerships. This will enable us build an ecosystem which is open to everyone and from which all parties can benefit.



We firmly believe that, with a strong supply of digital talent and an extensive collaboration among stakeholders, the full bloom of Ghanas digital future would be within reach.

Source: Mr. Tommy Liang, CEO, Huawei Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed that records available to him shows that Reverend Victor Kusi Boateng, secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral was still using his pseudonym, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.



The MP said on the January 27 edition of Metro TVs Good Morning Ghana show that as recently as January 16, 2023; the embattled clergyman had registered an insurance brokerage firm using details of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.



He told show host Randy Abbey that this was the fifteenth company that the clergyman had. Eight of which he used details of Adu Gyamfi for registration and Kusi Boateng for the remaining seven.



Ablakwa is concerned why the man of God continues to use both names interchangeably, which occurrence he said bordered on illegality and to some extent criminality.



How is it that you have different TINs (Tax Identification Numbers) which you have been using for the past 12 years, taking no steps to draw GRAs (Ghana Revenue Authority) attention and to have that corrected.



You have profited from it, as recent as last week, you registered a new insurance company (January 16) as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, still operating. Dunamis Insurance Brokerage, they opened it last week.



He has opened 15 companies and Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is in a comfortable lead with 8 companies and then Rev. Kusi Boateng, 7. Different identities, different date of birth, different TIN, different mother, Ablakwa stressed.



According to the lawmaker, the clergyman identifies sometimes as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi with the date of birth of 30th December, 1969 and mother as Yaa Gyamfuaa whiles at other times, he is Victor Kusi Boateng with 7th September 1971 date of birth and mother as Agnes Ataa.

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.

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The Managing Editor of The Insight, Kwasi Pratt Jnr says the decision by top hierarchy of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to remove the Tamale South Member of Parliament (MP) Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader was a reckless move.



According to him, the party could have adopted a better strategy to get him out of the position than the coup embarked on by the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah and his cohorts.



Mr Pratt described Mr Iddrisu as primus inter pares because he is a huge personality in the Northern Region therefore the NDC should have considered the political circumstances that exist prior to taking the decision to remove him as the Minority Leader in Parliament.



He believes that the modus operandi adopted has given room for all manner of speculations against the party.



Speaking on the Alhaji and Alhaji show on Saturday, January 28 Mr Pratt said Haruna Iddrisu may have all his faults but he is the primus inter pares in the Northern region. I have been to Tamale on many occasions, I went to school in Tamale, I know Tamale fairly well. This is a man who comes to Tamale and he doesnt drive a car, I have seen him riding just an ordinary bicycle moving from place to place holding caucuses in the streets, playing cards with members. I have seen him on a motorbike going to funerals and so on.



His popularity is legendary and any time he has been touched there have been repercussions. He is not God, he is not all-knowing, he is not omnipotent, he is not omnipresent, he can be removed but if you want to remove him there are things that you have to do knowing the political circumstances. Were those things done?



This is a reckless move, absolutely reckless move. So what have you achieved? You have created conditions for all manner of speculations. Yesterday, I was listening to some of my friends in the NPP discuss this matter, come and see, it is like they have won a bonanza. One of them actually went to the extent of saying John Mahama directed this move because he has a rift with Haruna, he wants to show Haruna some sense. This is not true, John Mahama was not comfortable with this move.



Besides Haruna Iddrisu, Muntakla Mubarak and James Kluste Avedzi have also been removed as Minority Chief Whip and Deputy Minority Leader respectively.



Their removal has divided the Minority caucus with some petitioning the party against the decision.



For instance, Zebilla lawmaker, Cletus Avoka said the Speaker of Parliament has not informed the Minority caucus and the entire House of any changes made to the leadership of the Minority therefore, Haruna Iddrisu and the others removed still remain at post.



Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, January 26, he said For us, there is no reshuffle yet, the Speaker has not communicated to us.



Aswase Member of Parliament Muntaka Mubarak who was also affected by the changes asked his party, the NDC to sit up.



Muntaka is unhappy with the changes that have been made to the leadership of the Minority by the party.



He believes that the decision was made by a few executives although the statement announcing it was signed by the General Secretary Fifi Kwetey.



If you cannot write a letter to appoint, how can you write to disappoint? He asked at the press conference.



He added We dont want to create enmity among us unnecessarily, we believe that the right process should be followed.



He further stated if the right process is followed we will be happy and thank them for the opportunity to serve.



We hope that they will help fast-track the hearing of the issues.



The decision to change the leadership created division among the minority caucus.



National Chairman of NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah and the General Secretary Fifi Kwetey will be attending the meeting.



So far, forty-eight of the opposition lawmakers have signed a petition to the party executives to reverse the decision.



According to them, the decision is unpopular for which they wanted it reversed.



Some of the NDC MPs including Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed expressed shock at the decision by the NDC to change the partys leadership in Parliament.



The decision was made known on Tuesday, January 24 with the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency, Cassiel Ato Forson, replacing Tamale South legislator Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader. Ellembelles Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah also replaces James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader.



However, the National Chairman of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said the decision was taken because the previous leaders were fighting with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin.



According to him, he wanted people who can cooperate more with the speaker for the benefit of the NDC since the speaker is a member of the party.



My priorities in Parliament is to see our parliamentary caucus working together and also cooperating with the speaker of Parliament



Why did we struggle to get an NDC person, elected, as the speaker of Parliament?, Asiedu Nketiah said this in the United Kingdom in a video in possession of DGN Online.



He joined former President John Dramani Mahama last Friday January 27, 2023 at Chatham House in London on the topic Africas Strategic Priorities and Global Role.



General Mosquito continued that There are certainly some advantages and those advantages can be tapped into when your leadership is cooperating with the speaker.



So we cannot have a situation where and other people leadership is cooperating with the speaker and our and NDC leadership have challenges, cooperating, with the speaker. And if you are given a party whose leadership in Parliament is not working together. What would you do?



You make the changes or you resign.

And Im not about to resign.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Though Chicagos mayoral election is still about a month away, the race may already seem over for Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Polling by The Harris Poll shows city residents widely rebuking her, with three-quarters of likely voters agreeing that the city would be better off with a new mayor. But itd be a mistake to write her off.

Lightfoot, or almost any of the eight other candidates, could still come out on top. Victory requires a straightforward, though daunting, task. The candidate must persuade voters that she or he is the tough leader our poll respondents say the city needs to meaningfully reduce violence and deal with the other social and economic afflictions that are diminishing the quality of life in Chicago.

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The incumbent hasnt been able to do that yet. But then again, neither has anyone else. Which explains why, along with stock answers such as not knowing enough about the candidates platforms or backgrounds, almost half of registered Chicago voters still havent settled on their pick for mayor in the Feb. 28 election.

Its not like our respondents to dither. Our representative panel of Chicagoans has been clear and consistent over the past months  often by supermajorities and across all demographic groups  on the most critical issues, on the citys trajectory and on the job requirements of the next mayor. That consensus continues in our most recent survey conducted online in mid-December.

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Chicagoans almost uniformly agree on:

The issues: Public safety is the electorates top concern, with 95% of voters citing it. At least 9 out of 10 also checked off the local business economy (94%), health care access (94%), local government leadership (91%), and taxes and fees (90%) as issues of importance. Two-thirds, moreover, think that Chicago is worse off when it comes to crime and taxes than other places in the U.S.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot mingles Jan. 25, 2023, during a ribbon-cutting event for the new Public Safety Training Center on the West Side. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The citys trajectory: Few voters have high hopes for postelection Chicago. Less than a third foresee improvement five years from now on most key issues, and more think things will actually get worse than better when it comes to affordable housing, public safety, and taxes and fees. Theres optimism, however, about jobs, with 30% foreseeing better days ahead versus 19% predicting worse.

The job requirements: Chicagos next mayor needs to be strong. Almost unanimously (94%), voters agree the city is facing issues that require a firm leader to address. Similarly, 84% agree that Chicagos leader needs to be tougher than mayors in other cities. Those who plan to cast their vote next month are looking for honesty (75%), trustworthiness (73%), integrity (63%) and leadership experience (61%) from mayoral candidates. Charm, likability and endorsements dont really matter.

In the 2019 mayoral runoff, when violence and affordable housing, along with city finances and policing, also were top issues, Lightfoot ran as a reformer and outsider and won in a landslide. But today, our polling shows that as the incumbent, Lightfoot runs a real risk of becoming the next Jane Byrne, that rare Chicago mayor voted out of office after only one term.

To fully assess voters judgment of Lightfoot, we asked three questions directly or indirectly about her. Asked whether Chicago would be better off with a different mayor, 74% of likely voters agreed. Asked whether Lightfoot deserves to be reelected, 64% said no. And asked if they were satisfied with her performance as mayor, 7% said they were very satisfied, and 14% said they were somewhat satisfied.

So far, though, many likely voters dont seem convinced that any of the other candidates has the character, credentials and capability to do the job and fix what needs fixing: In our poll, 47% said they have not yet decided for whom theyre going to vote.

Such a large group of on-the-fence voters gives Lightfoot an opening to win. The 21% of voters at least somewhat satisfied with her tenure, in fact, could be enough for her to place among the top two vote-getters on Feb. 28 and go on to the likely runoff election in April. (She finished first among 14 candidates in the 2019 general election with 17.5% of the vote .)

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Apathy is a factor too. Turnout has been slumping in municipal elections, to a record low of 32% of registered voters in 2019. Unless candidates begin to inspire them, its safe to say that at least some of the registered voters who told us they plan to vote in the mayoral election wont do so.

Who that helps  or hurts  isnt certain.

The one thing we do know for sure, based on our polls, is that Chicago voters are deeply worried about how their city has sunk and how it seems to be sinking even further. They want a can-do leader who will make Chicago the peaceful and prosperous world-class city it deserves to be.

Heres a call to that candidate: Make yourself known  now.

Will Johnson is the Chicago-based CEO of The Harris Poll, one of the worlds leading public-opinion research firms

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.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.
National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has all but endorsed former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu to sail through upcoming party primaries for the Tamale South seat.



Asiedu Nketiah said the four-time Member of Parliament (MP) had become so powerful in his constituency that it would even be surprising if he is contested at all when the primaries are held later this year.



The outgone Minority Leader, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, he is so powerful in his constituency, he is almost always not contested at all. I have my doubts whether anybody will contest him, Asiedu Nketiah told party faithful during a meeting in London last week.



The one-time General Secretary was addressing concerns that the January 23 changes to the partys leadership in Parliament was going to affect some of the replaced leaders at the upcoming primaries.



They will not be impacted by the changes, one of the ousted persons, Dr. Avedzi (former deputy Minority Leader) is not going to Parliament again, he explained.



On the case of Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak, Asiedu Nketiah said despite recent challenge he was facing, we didnt think that this change will affect his fortune one way or the other and so we felt this is the best time to undertake these changes.



He stressed that the advantages of expedition outweighed the concerns that were being raised about the timing.





NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership



The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.



The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.



Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.



While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.



Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.







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.

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Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy General Secretary, Koku Anyidoho has tagged Asied Nketiah as a terrible leader who is now worse off as there are no leaders to manage him now.



He described the current National Chairman of the NDC as always having been a bad leader and is now displaying his true nature.



Asiedu Nketia was a terrible General Secretary but we were able to manage him. His time as General Secretary was peaceful because there were level headed chairmen who always steered affairs of the party to sobriety. But now we have a party leader who has fed his ego, he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy 98.9 FMs Epa Hoa Daben political talk show.



According to Koku Anyidoho, Asiedu Nketiah thinks he is bigger than the party and thinks he can do everything per his will without anyone questioning him.



Although the politician says he formed his own opinion about Asiedu Nketiah, he never undermined him and insists I will never want to work with Asiedu Nketia ever again.



The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has once again justified the partys decision to reshuffle the Minority leadership in Parliament.



The former General Secretary of the NDC at a Press Conference in the United Kingdom said the changes became necessary because the Minority leadership was not working well together.



He also claimed that the minority leadership had challenges cooperating with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.



The NDC last week reshuffled its leadership in Parliament replacing Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.



Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.



But several NDC MPs have described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying after they claimed they were not consulted prior to the change.



Over 70 MPs subsequently signed a petition to reject the decision of the party.





Source: happyfm









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The General Overseer of the Global Revival Ministries, Rev. Dr. Robert Ampiah-Kwofi has described the immediate past Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon. Alan Kyerematen as a man with integrity at a Thanksgiving service in Accra.



According to the revered man of God, Alan Kyeremanten's unblemished integrity makes him a rare industry player in a politically tainted system.





Addressing thousands of congregants in Accra, Rev Ampiah Kwofi heaped kind words on the former Trade and Industry Minister.



"I am struck by the fact that Alan Kyerematen has served under former President J.A Kufuor and H.E President Akufo Addo, he has served under different leadership and yet I havent heard bad thing about him.



And if your enemies have nothing against you, then you are a man of integrity" , Rev. Ampiah Kwofi told the stakeholders present.



Hon Alan Kyerematen made a name for himself as the longest serving Trade and Industry Minister with over 10 years of experience in the industrial space.



He has accounted for such projects like 1D1F and other industrialization based projects.



Mr Kyeremanten has declared his intention to contest in the upcoming NPP Presidential Primaries slated for the last quarter of 2023.



Special guests present at the thanksgiving service are the Deputy Minister for Finance, Hon. Abena Osei Asare, Subin MP Eugene Boakye Antwi, MP for Ngelehshi Amanfrom Sylvester Tetteh, Former minister for Tourism, Arts and culture Catherine Afeku, prophet salifu Amoako, Prophet Isaac Owusu Bempah,the founder and leader of Glorious Word Power Ministry International and other dignitaries.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Research fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, Dr George Domfe says it is unfortunate to blame Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta for Ghanas economic crisis.



He said there is no data and nothing to support the claims that the Finance Minister caused Ghanas woes.



Dr George Domfe believes Ghanas problems have been in existence for long before the appointment of Mr Ofori-Atta by the Nana Addo-led government.



Ghanas problem has been debt to the GDP ratio from former President Kufuor's time to the recent government, he said on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie' when discussing Ghanas economy.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Turnersuchus hingleyae by Julia d'Oliveira. Credit: Julia d'Oliveira

A new study has uncovered a new thalattosuchianan ancient 'sister' of modern-day crocodiles' ancestors.

The discovery of Turnersuchus hingleyae follows an impressive unearthing of fossils on the Jurassic Coast, in Dorset, UK, including part of the head, backbone, and limbs.In fact, the find at the Charmouth Mudstone Formation was so successful, Turnersuchus is the only complete enough thalattosuchian of its agedating back to the Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian period, around 185 million years agoto be named to date.

In work published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, experts state the discovery of this new predator helps fill a gap in the fossil record and suggests that thalattosuchians, with other crocodyliforms, should have originated around the end of the Triassic periodaround 15 million years further back in time than when Turnersuchus lived.

"We should now expect to find more thalattosuchians of the same age as Turnersuchus as well as older," states co-author Dr. Eric Wilberg, Assistant Professor at the Department of Anatomical Sciences, at Stony Brook University.

"In fact, during the publication of our paper, another paper was published [in Journal of African Earth Sciences] describing a thalattosuchian skull discovered in the roof of a cave in Morocco from the Hettangian/Sinemurian (the time periods preceding the Pliensbachian where Turnersuchus was found), which corroborates this idea. I expect we will continue to find more older thalattosuchians and their relatives. Our analyses suggest that thalattosuchians likely first appeared in the Triassic and survived the end-Triassic mass extinction."

However, no digs have found thalattosuchians in Triassic rocks yet, which means there is a ghost lineage (a period during which we know a group must have existed, but we haven't yet recovered fossil evidence). Until the discovery of Turnersuchus, this ghost lineage extended from the end of the Triassic until the Toarcian, in the Jurassic, "but now we can reduce the ghost lineage by a few million years," the expert team states.

Thalattosuchians are referred to colloquially as 'marine crocodiles' or 'sea crocodiles', despite the fact they are not members of Crocodylia, but are more distantly related. Some thalattosuchians became very well adapted to life in the oceans, with short limbs modified into flippers, a shark-like tail fin, salt glands, and potentially the ability to give live birth (rather than lay eggs).

Turnersuchus is interesting as much of these recognized thalattosuchian features had yet to fully evolve.It lived in the Jurassic Ocean and preyed on marine wildlife. And, due to its relatively long, slender snout, would have looked similar in appearance to the currently living gharial crocodiles, which are found in all the major river systems of the northern Indian subcontinent.

"However," co-author Dr. Pedro Godoy, from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil says, "unlike crocodiles, this approximately 2-meter-long predator lived purely in coastal marine habitats. And though their skulls look superficially similar to modern gharials, they were constructed quite differently".

Thalattosuchians had particularly large supratemporal fenestraea region of the skull housing jaw muscles. This suggests that Turnersuchus and other thalattosuchians possessed enlarged jaw muscles that likely enabled fast bites; most of their likely prey were fast-moving fish or cephalopods. It's possible too, just as in modern-day crocodiles, that the supratemporal region of Turnersuchus had a thermoregulatory functionto help buffer brain temperature.

Its name 'Turner'suchus 'hingley'ae originates from those who discovered and donated the specimen to the Lyme Regis Museum: Paul Turner and Lizzie Hingley who discovered the fossil in 2017. The ending "suchus," is the Latinized form of "soukhos," Greek for crocodile. The specimen is currently on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England.

The excavation also involved colleagues from the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, who helped to unite the parts. These cliffs and the beach on the South Coast of England site have become synonymous for such finds with the discovery of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, as well as the best preserved and most complete dinosaur found so far in Britain, Scelidosaurus, to name but a few.

More information: Eric W. Wilberg et al, A new early diverging thalattosuchian (Crocodylomorpha) from the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of Dorset, U.K. and implications for the origin and evolution of the group, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (2023). DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2022.2161909 Hicham Benani et al, Discovery of the teleosauroid crocodylomorph from the early Jurassic of Chaara cave, Middle Atlas of Morocco, Journal of African Earth Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2022.104804 Journal information: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Biden administration banned the dumping of mining waste near Bristol Bay, Alaska, issuing a decree that thwarts longstanding plans to extract gold, copper and molybdenum because of potential harm to the region's thriving sockeye salmon industry.

The Environmental Protection Agency's final determination, announced Tuesday, effectively blocks the mine planned by Pebble Limited Partnership as well as future mining of the same deposit in headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world's largest sockeye harvest.

"The Bristol Bay watershed is a vital economic driver, providing jobs, sustenance, and significant ecological and cultural value to the region," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in an emailed release. "With this action, EPA is advancing its commitment to help protect this one-of-a-kind ecosystem, safeguard an essential Alaskan industry and preserve the way of life for more than two dozen Alaska Native villages."

Pebble, a subsidiary of publicly traded Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., has been seeking to mine in the area for roughly two decades and could challenge the decision in federal court. Representatives of the company did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The ban dovetails with a pledge President Joe Biden made while campaigning for the White House, when he called Bristol Bay "no place for a mine."

Bristol Bay supplies roughly half of the world's wild sockeye salmon, generating an estimated $2.2 billion in economic activity each year. A record number of sockeye have returned to Bristol Bay to spawn in recent years, even as other salmon runs have declined.

Katherine Carscallen, director of Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, called EPA's final action "surreal," because it "will finally put an end to the threat of Pebble."

"Any mining of that site would do irreperable damage to the watershed," Carscallen said. "This is not just about fighting this mine this year or the last 20 years but making sure we won't be fighting another mine at that site in the future."

The proposed Pebble Mine has been a source of contention for years. Under former President Barack Obama, the EPA recommended restrictions that would rule out the project. But the agency later withdrew the controls after a legal challenge. A federal judge last year sent the issue back to the EPA for reconsideration.

Critics said the decision conflicts with the Biden administration's commitment to accelerating the deployment of renewable power and electric vehicles that rely on critical minerals.

These goals "cannot possibly be realized responsibly if US government authorities continue on this adversarial path with domestic mining projects," the National Mining Association said in an emailed statement. "This end-run of the proper permitting process creates significant regulatory uncertainty for the mining industry during a crisis point for minerals demand."

The ban, ordered under the Clean Water Act, represents a victory for conservationists and local residents who lobbied the EPA to definitively kill the mine by wielding broad authority under the statute to veto projects involving the discharge of dredged material. The Bristol Bay move marks only the third time in 30 years the EPA has used the authority.

Under the final determination, the EPA is prohibiting certain waters in the Bristol Bay region from being used as disposal sites for waste associated with Pebble Limited Partnership's plan as well as any future proposals targeting the same deposit that would result in the same or greater levels of loss or change to aquatic resources.

The EPA "truly listened to the original stewards and first peoples of this land," said Alannah Hurley, executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay. "These Clean Water Act protections provide certainty that Pebble cannot be built in Bristol Bay."

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The membrane protein insertase and extractase in budding yeast. Credit: Mashun Onishi

Researchers from Osaka University identify a system known as the "GET pathway" as essential for efficient regulation of the numbers of energy-producing mitochondria

A process known as mitophagy is responsible for the removal of mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of a cell. This occurs if they are defective, or to regulate their numbers. A protein anchored in the mitochondrial surface, called Atg32, promotes this process when it interacts with another protein, Atg11. Modification of Atg32 by phosphorylationthe attachment of a phosphate groupstabilizes the interaction between Atg32 and Atg11. The process by which this phosphorylation is regulated was unknown, but now a group from Osaka University has shown that a system known as the GET pathway is required for efficient mitophagy.

Mitophagy requires phosphorylation of Atg32 and a stable interaction between the Atg32 and Atg11 proteins. Mitophagy is suppressed by the action of a protein complex called the Ppg1Far complex. This acts to reduce Atg32 phosphorylation and interaction with Atg11, and thus suppresses mitophagy.

Proteins located in membranes within the cell must be targeted to their appropriate destinations to maintain the functionality of the different cellular compartments. The GET pathway is responsible for inserting membrane proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum, which is a continuous and dynamic membrane system within the cell. When this pathway is disrupted, proteins can become predominantly inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane instead.

The GET pathway mediates insertion of the Ppg1-Far complex to the ER. Credit: Mashun Onishi

The team first found that cells lacking the GET pathway showed reduced mitophagy. "This phenotype was rescued when cells lacked both the GET pathway and the Ppg1Far complex," explains first author Mashun Onishi, "indicating that the reduction in mitophagy that we observed is related to the activity of the Ppg1Far complex."

"We then went on to show that the GET pathway is responsible for tethering the Ppg1Far complex at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane," explains senior author Koji Okamoto, "preventing it from interacting with Atg32 to suppress mitophagy, thus allowing Atg32 activation and consequent interaction with Atg11." In the absence of the GET pathway, however, the Ppg1Far complex is instead targeted to the outer mitochondrial membrane, where it acts to suppress the process of mitophagy.

A possible role of Msp1 for removal of the Ppg1-Far complex from mitochondria. Credit: Mashun Onishi

A protein called Msp1 acts to remove non-mitochondrial proteins from the mitochondrial membrane that have been located there. The team found that disruption of both GET and Msp1 resulted in more severe defects in mitophagy. This suggests that Msp1 might be responsible for removing incorrectly excessively localized Ppg1Far from the mitochondria and thus maintaining the required levels of mitophagy.

Defects in the process of mitophagy can lead to cell death and have been implicated in aging and Alzheimer's Disease. This work greatly increases our understanding of mitophagy and opens avenues for future research with a significant impact on human health.

The article, "The GET pathway serves to activate Atg32-mediated mitophagy by ER targeting of the Ppg1-Far complex," was published in Life Science Alliance.

More information: Mashun Onishi et al, The GET pathway serves to activate Atg32-mediated mitophagy by ER targeting of the Ppg1-Far complex, Life Science Alliance (2023). DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201640
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Violin plot of the differences (%) between the mean total bulk density of a JB category (BD db ) according to national soil databases (Taghizadeh-Toosi et al., 2014) and the site-specific total bulk densities measured in the current sampling campaign (BD total ) for the seven JB categories as well as across the whole dataset (total). The white dots signify the mean differences. Credit: Geoderma Regional (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2022.e00560

Soil can store carbon. Therefore, there is also an increasing focus on soil organic carbon content and how to either increase or maintain it. This is because soil can also lose carbon in the form of climate gases from microbial decomposition, in which case soil suddenly contributes to climate change rather than mitigating it. But to maintain or even increase the amount of carbon, farmers need to know the current carbon content of their soil.

Soil contains carbon in the form of organic matter. This is material that comes from plants, such as roots or plant residues such as cover crops that have settled in the soil. It can also come from added organic matter such as manure. The organic matter decomposes in the soil and has an impact on the structure and soil's ability to retain water, for example. It is also the organic matter that sustains soil micro-organisms. Fungi and bacteria break down the material and release nutrients to the plants.

"The soil simply stores carbon and in doing so can help reduce the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere. The soil can also lose carbon through microbial decomposition, and thus the soil contributes to climate change rather than mitigating it," says Ph.D. student Laura Sofie Harbo from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University. She explains that it is therefore important to be able to estimate changes in the amount of carbon in the soil, because any increase in the carbon content of the soil can help compensate for other emissions.

"Carbon credits and climate accounting are new concepts that have emerged as climate change becomes more real. Carbon credits is a concept that covers the possibility of being able to buy carbon storage from, for example, a farmer, i.e. where you can buy compensation for your own emissions," explains Laura Sofie Harboe.

Rocks make a difference

Both climate accounts and schemes such as carbon credits require reliable and accurate estimates of the amount of organic carbon in the soil, and of the changes in the soil carbon pool.

"In 1985, the Kvadratnettet was created. It is a nationwide network with a total of 830 measurement points covering about 600 ha of agricultural land. In 1986 and three times since (1997, 2009 and 2019), soil samples have been collected for soil carbon concentration analysis to calculate the amount of carbon per hectare and monitor changes over time in soil carbon content," says Laura Sofie Harbo.

In a new study, she has helped to refine and improve these measurements. There are a number of factors that can complicate soil carbon calculations.

"First of all, it is important to have an accurate and representative measurement of the carbon content of the soil. This is important because carbon can be very unevenly distributed in the soil, so even a small offset in the measurement can cause uncertainties in the estimates," she explains.

Secondly, the new study shows that you need to know the bulk density of the soil as well as the rock content to accurately calculate the carbon content in tons per hectare. This is information that has not previously been used to calculate carbon estimates for Danish farmland, and it makes a big difference.

"When we use this new information on soil bulk density and rock content, the estimates for the amount of organic carbon become more precise," explains Laura Sofie Harbo.

On average, the researchers found that the carbon content measured with the new method was 5% lower than with the previous method, which did not take into account the rocks in the soil.

"Rocks don't contain any organic carbon, so if you don't take them into account, you will always end up overestimating the soil's carbon pool," she says.

Trends take time

"It's important for farmers to get accurate estimates for their land so that they can adjust their operations to either increase or maintain the carbon they already have, so that they don't contribute to additional climate gas emissions," says Laura Sofie Harbo, who explains that an annual inventory of the carbon pool will not be the way forward, even if the new methodology provides more accurate estimates than before.

"It takes time to build up carbon in the soil, which means that the actions we take today won't be measurable tomorrow. In practice, it will be a number of years before the measurements will show a statistically significant trend," she says.

The work is published in the journal Geoderma Regional.

More information: Laura Sofie Harbo et al, Estimating organic carbon stocks of mineral soils in Denmark: Impact of bulk density and content of rock fragments, Geoderma Regional (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2022.e00560
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This imaginary perfume bottle illustrates the role pheromones play in Drosophila courtship decisions by featuring the silhouettes of a male chasing a courted female. Naming this fictional eau de pheromone Dew Lover was inspired by the etymological origin of the genus Drosophila, which is based on the modern scientific Latin adaptation of the Greek words drosos (dew) and philos (loving). Vernier et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105882) show that the coupling of the perception and production of some mating pheromones is regulated by the action of a pleiotropic pheromone receptor. Credit: Digital art by Yehuda Ben-Shahar, Washington University in St. Louis

It's almost Valentine's Day, and love is in the air. Or in the waxy coating on your skin, if you are a vinegar fly. That's where flies encounter pheromones that play an important role in regulating sexual attraction.

Flies use pheromones to ensure that they court and mate with members of the same species. As new fly species split off from a common ancestor, but continue to share the same environment, they need a way to rapidly diversify their pheromones to suppress inter-species mating. When members of two related species stop finding each other attractive, this helps prevent interbreeding.

But it's more complicated than "she loves me, she loves me not."

Because the perception and production of pheromones are mediated by different tissues and cellular pathways, evolving new mating pheromones requires a coordinated evolution of both the genes responsible for sensing the pheromones as well as the genes that produce them.

A new study in iScience led by Yehuda Ben-Shahar at Washington University in St. Louis identifies a link between the genetic instructions for the production and perception of sex pheromones. The research was conducted in collaboration with Jocelyn Millar from the University of California, Riverside.

Researchers reported that a single protein called Gr8a is expressed in different organs in male and female flies and appears to play an inhibitory role in mating decision-making. The findings point to one of the ways that flies could put up behavioral barriers to protect against mating with the wrong kind of partner.

"Mating pheromones often show rapid evolution," said Ben-Shahar, a professor of biology in Arts & Sciences. "Because pheromonal communication requires a very robust and specific structural recognition of chemicals used as pheromones by the proteins that bind them in sensory neurons (chemoreceptors), it means that major molecular changes in either the receptor or the pheromone would reduce sexual attraction between males and females."

Ben-Shahar and his team found that Gr8a was expressed in tissues in fly mouthparts, including the proboscis, as well as in taste neurons in the forelegs of both males and females. They also found Gr8a in cells in the abdomens of males. This was important because it provided Ben-Shahar and his team the first hint that a gene that had been previously identified as a sensory chemoreceptor must also have non-neuronal functions.

"Our findings provide a relatively simple molecular explanation for how signal production and perception are tied together in vinegar flies," Ben-Shahar said. "A single pleiotropic protein can function as both a receptor for pheromones in sensory neurons, as well as contribute to their production in the pheromone-producing cells (oenocytes) of males, by way of a less-understood process."

In one of the experiments that Ben-Shahar and his team conducted, the scientists took flies that were mutant for the Gr8a receptor and reconstituted them using input from a different vinegar fly species. This experiment showed that introducing Gr8a from another species was enough to change the overall pheromone profile of the animal.

The scientists still have not pinpointed exactly how the chemoreceptor affects the way the signal is produced, but they do know that it causes quantitative and qualitative differences in pheromones. And even small changes in pheromones could be enough to keep closely related flies from finding each other attractiveand change their mate choice behaviors.

The question of how closely related species evolve and maintain behavioral mating barriers is one that has implications for several different basic and applied biological research fields.

"Based on what we have observed, mutations in a single gene could provide a molecular path for a pheromonal communication system to evolve while still maintaining the functional coupling between a pheromone and its receptor," Ben-Shahar said. "Our research uncovers a potential avenue for pheromonal systems to rapidly evolve when new species arise."

More information: Cassondra L. Vernier et al, A pleiotropic chemoreceptor facilitates the production and perception of mating pheromones, iScience (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105882 Journal information: iScience
Sundays are special for David Pasqual Ruiz. He honors the memory of his father by inviting others to run through the neighborhood where he once walked holding his dads hand as a child. Pilsen for him means family. The murals, the sounds and the tamales all remind him of his community, he said.

So when he learned that a local tamal stand was targeted in a the string of armed robberies of street vendors in the last few months, Pasqual Ruiz and other leaders of the Tortugas Run Club decided to organize a run to help the tamal stand owner, Aurelia Alvarez.

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The success of the event inspired the club to keep helping neighborhood tamaleras, women who make and sell tamales. After all, the running club Pasqual Ruiz founded in 2021 is about more than just the sport, he said. In fact, the running comes second; it is family, friends and culture that come first.

When more than 200 people, including members of diverse running crews from across the city, showed up on Jan. 22 to buy tamales from Alvarezs stand and other nearby vendors who had also been robbed and assaulted, Pasqual Ruiz was touched.

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It was more than double the number that join the club every Sunday. And thanks to their efforts, the tamaleras who set shop at 21st Street and Damen Avenue sold almost all of their tamales for the day.

All it does is take a simple post, but with a very intentional idea, and that alone inspired and gathered so many people to support these ladies, Pasqual Ruiz said. These women are a staple in our community. So if something is important to them, we gotta support and care for one another.

The women have been selling tamales at 21st and Damen for several decades. Their fear has grown after reports of a spike in armed robberies of vendors in Little Village and other Southwest Side neighborhoods.

Hortensia Jimenez sells tamales as customers line up at 21st Street and Damen Avenue in Chicago, Jan. 27, 2023. Jimenez is among the recent armed robbery victims. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Aurelia Alvarez said her daughter and other women who help sell tamales at her stand were assaulted the morning of Jan. 15 by a group of men, leaving them in shock and concerned for their safety.

But tamales are their livelihood and the only way to move on was to keep running the business, Alvarez said.

To be honest, we felt joy by having so much support. Thank you, Alvarez said in Spanish.

Christopher King, a member of the Tortugas Run Club and a Pilsen resident, had told Pasqual Ruiz about the robbery at Alvarezs stand. He buys tamales from her, so the robbery hit close to home, King said.

Tamaleras are essential to the culture of the neighborhood, but they are vulnerable targets for criminals because they are women working with cash, King said.

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Tamales and hot drinks are sold Jan. 27, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

On Jan. 22, the runners gathered at Bellis, a juice bar at 1850 S. Blue Island Ave. They ran a mile to the vendors to get the tamales, and then ran another mile back to eat their tamales and drink champurrado, a sweet Mexican drink.

The tamaleras who were robbed, Pasqual Ruiz said, are someones mom or someones grandmother. He invites others to find ways to help those vendors.

The running crew has two more events planned to support the community, including a fundraiser for a scholarship for college students and a community cleanup in Harrison Park.

Kaira Peyton, a runner with Gumbofit, a group on the South Side, attended her first run with Tortugas despite the icy sidewalks and cold temperature when she heard about the purpose of the run.

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The vibes of run groups are to promote community and fellowship through fitness  and there is something very powerful and positive about people showing up, holding each other accountable, and doing real work that cant be ignored, Peyton said. And it serves as an inspiration and an intensive way to get up and get out in whatever way you can.

Tortugas is collaborating with DDLR Scholarship Fund to raise money for undocumented college students by hosting an event following the Shamrock Shuffle on March 26.

The DDLR scholarship was created in memory of Dennis De La Rosa, an undocumented student who graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Pasqual Ruiz said Tortugas will continue to promote the Sunday runs, encouraging people to live a healthier lifestyle and also to come together to help each other.

larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Oil refineries are dumping massive amounts of toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the Great Lakes and the nation's rivers with little, if any, oversight from government regulators, according to a new analysis that found some of the worst polluters are in the Chicago area.

During 2021 alone, 81 refineries in the United States that treat waste on-site released 1.6 billion pounds of chlorides, sulfates and other dissolved solids harmful to fish and other aquatic life, the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project determined in its review of federal data.

The refineries also collectively discharged 60,000 pounds of selenium, an element that can mutate fish, and 15.7 million pounds of nitrogen, which contributes to water-fouling algae blooms and dead zones in important fisheries such as the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Most of the refineries are in low-income, predominantly Black and Latino communities that face disproportionate health risks from industrial pollution.

Some refinery pollution is legal because federal and state officials have failed to limit it, despite requirements in the 1972 Clean Water Act mandating a review of standards for various chemicals and metals at least every five years based on the latest science and improvements in water treatment technology.

"You have refineries that may look like they are complying with the law, but the standards are decades old and really don't require very much," said Eric Schaeffer, the group's executive director and former chief of civil enforcement at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Three Chicago-area refineriesBP Whiting in Indiana, ExxonMobil Joliet and Citgo in Lemonthighlight the consequences of lax regulations and weak enforcement, Schaeffer said Thursday during an online news conference.

Even when limits are in place, oil companies often pay minimal fines for violating the law. Some aren't penalized at all.

The Joliet refinery, on the Des Plaines River southwest of the city, exceeded its permitted levels of pollution 40 times between 2019 and 2021, federal records show. Neither federal nor state officials have sued ExxonMobil or fined the company for its repeated infractions.

Only three other refineries discharged more selenium than BP Whiting, located on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan about 8 miles from one of Chicago's water intake cribs. Small doses of the element are healthy, but higher levels can cause hair and nail loss, gastrointestinal distress, dizziness and tremors.

Citgo Lemont and ExxonMobil Joliet ranked fifth and ninth for selenium pollution, respectively, the analysis showed.

A public beach near the Whiting refinery is a popular spot for surfers drawn by big waves when winter winds whip down Lake Michigan from Canada.

Mitch McNeil, chairman of the local chapter of Surfrider, a nonprofit advocacy group, said he and other surfers have suffered eye, ear and urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal illnesses after swimming in dark brown water that smells alternately like metal, sewage, petroleum and a used ashtray.

"People always ask us why we keep surfing in dirty water," McNeil said. "Our response is we surf in it but you drink it, so you should be just as concerned as we are."

BP routinely faces scrutiny about air pollution from the Whiting refinery. Water pollution hasn't drawn as much attention since the Chicago Tribune reported in 2007 that Indiana regulators were planning to relax limits on the refinery's discharges of ammonia, brain-damaging mercury and suspended solidstiny particles of sewage sludge.

The company later backed down and vowed to abide by the terms of its existing permit.

Responding to the new analysis of federal data, BP said it will "continue to operate consistent with its permit as part of our commitment to safe, compliant and reliable operations, not just at Whiting refinery but at every facility BP operates around the world."

Speaking on behalf of the oil industry in general, the American Petroleum Institute did not directly answer questions about the lack of standards for selenium and other pollutants.

"Our industry takes seriously its obligation to protect our nation's waters and adheres to strict local, state and federal requirements to ensure water is properly treated and tested prior to leaving a facility," Will Hupman, the trade group's vice president of downstream policy said in a statement.

Schaeffer, the former chief of civil enforcement at the EPA, noted that federal pollution standards for refineries and several other industry sectors haven't been updated since Ronald Reagan was president during the 1980s.

Federal judges are taking notice. Calling existing standards out of date is a "charitable understatement," a federal appellate court concluded after the EPA in 2019 updated its 1982 limits on water pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Environmental groups asked EPA Administrator Michael Regan in 2021 why the agency had fallen so far behind in meeting its legal obligations under the Clean Water Act. The EPA acknowledged the letter but didn't respond.

An EPA spokesman said the agency is aware of the new pollution analysis "and will review and respond accordingly."

Most of the top polluting refineries are in California or along the Gulf of Mexico in Texas and Louisiana. Also in the top 10 is a Phillips 66 refinery on the Mississippi River in Wood River, a small, heavily industrialized Illinois city upstream from St. Louis.

The Wood River refinery released more fish-harming nickel than any of the other facilities reviewed. It also ranked among the top 10 for discharges of selenium, nitrogen and total dissolved solids.

For people who live near refineries, the new report reflects what they see, smell and breatheand ingest when eating locally caught fish.

John Beard, a former refinery worker who leads the Port Arthur Community Action Network in Texas, said communities like his rely on the EPA to enforce air and water laws because they can't afford to fight for a cleaner environment.

"(Oil companies) don't build these facilities in Beverly Hills, or River Oaks (in Houston) or Madison Avenue," Beard said. "They don't build in communities of affluence that have the ways and means to go about seeking justice and correction."

"Many people say we need the jobs and we need all these products (oil companies) produce," Beard added. "That's true. But we don't need the pollution that comes with it, and they can do better."

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Published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, a new study investigates the transparency and traceability of cocoa supply chains in Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer. The results show that less than 45% of cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire can be traced back to the first buyer. The remaining 55% cannot, either because it is indirectly sourced by traders from intermediaries or exported by traders that disclose no information about their suppliers.

In Cote d'Ivoire, cocoa accounts for over one third of the national export revenue. However, this industry drives deforestation due to weak enforcement of land use regulations, among other factors. Cote d'Ivoire has lost 80% of its forest cover in the past 60 years. The study shows that over 20002019 almost half of the deforestation and forest degradation in the country was due to cocoa, replacing each year an area larger than New York City.

In response to public pressure, most chocolate companies have made some investment in tracing the origins of their cocoa supplies, committing to zero-deforestation policies. However, the success of these initiatives is very limited. There is often a breakdown of records between the cocoa production and its transportation. This makes it difficult to assess where companies source their cocoa from and what progress they are making toward their zero deforestation pledges.

Cecile Renier, lead author of the study, says, "As Easter approaches, the world's largest chocolate consumer, the European Union, is nearing the peak of its chocolate season. It is one of the busiest times of year for the chocolate industry, which increasingly sells its products to consumers as 'ethical' or 'sustainable.' But given the extremely limited tracing in the industry, consumers are not being shown the full picture about where their chocolate comes from, and the serious sustainability issues attached to it."

Led by researchers from Earth and Life Institute at UCLouvain, Belgium, the new study shows that high rates of untraced cocoa sourcing can be found along the border with Liberia, where forests are under threat by cocoa expansion from Cote d'Ivoire. In these regions, 80100% of exported cocoa is not traceable to its first buyerlet alone to its origin farm. This falls short of the forthcoming requirements under the EU due-diligence legislation, cloaking the sustainability risks associated with cocoa products.

As part of the Trase initiative, the research team utilized publicly available datasets for Cote d'Ivoire's 2019 cocoa exports and land use to link cocoa production and its associated deforestation to specific companies and markets. The study is one of the first to lift the opacity surrounding the cocoa sector in West Africa, showing that it is possible to trace at least some of the cocoa exports, and attribute impacts such as deforestation to specific traders and importing countries.

"A lack of transparency and traceability within the industry means that this deforestation is going unchecked and unaccounted for. Even traders who disclose their supplying cooperatives can greatly strengthen their level of transparency: the disclosed data is incomplete, irregular, non-standardized or never updated," says Renier.

"Above all, companies must go beyond the traceability of their own supply chains. Much greater means are needed to enforce land use policies and landscape initiatives. Coupled with transparent national traceability systems and robust deforestation monitoring, this would ensure effective forest conservation, and achieve true sustainability in the cocoa supply chain."

More information: Cecile Renier et al, Transparency, traceability and deforestation in the Ivorian cocoa supply chain, Environmental Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/acad8e Journal information: Environmental Research Letters
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Over the past 10 years, CRISPR has been transformative for research, enabling gene editing that is fast, simple and precise, experts say.

The first paper showing that CRISPR could be used to edit the genes of mammals was published 10 years ago this month. Since then, it has been used in research laboratories across the world and is being tested in treatments for cancer and rare diseases and for making crops that are heartier and more resistant to disease and climate change.

CRISPR gene editing is fast, simple and precise, researchers say.

"There are many instances that without CRISPR, our life as scientists would be much more difficult," said Beverly Davidson, a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Gene editor Fyodor Urnov compared DNA sequencinga detailed reading of the genometo a powerful telescope. CRISPR, meanwhile, "allows us to fly to these newly discovered galaxies and do something useful once we're there," he said. "It gives us absolutely unprecedented insight into the functioning of every biological system from tiny yeast to the human being."

CRISPR has already been used to discover the biological basis of diseases that have then led to treatments, he said. "And that's within 10 years."

Here's what to know.

What is CRISPR used for?

In nature, CRISPR, an acronym for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats," serves as an immune system for bacteria. Scientists have repurposed it to make gene editing more precise and simpler to use.

CRISPR has the ability to find a specific spot in a strand of DNA and make a cut, add or swap a genetic "letter" or even a word.

Advanced forms of CRISPR allow researchers to rapidly screen diseased versus normal cells, finding targets for gene editing.

Scientists used to spend years and "tons of money" breeding mice that had the same genetic changes as people with rare inherited diseases, said Dr. Tippi MacKenzie, a pediatric and fetal surgeon at the University of California San Francisco. "Now you can do it in a matter of weeks."

Has CRISPR been used on humans?

In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui sparked a global scandal by admitting he had used the gene editing tool to edit embryos and create "CRISPR babies."

Most scientists and medical ethicists support the idea of using gene editing to improve the life of someone with a terrible disease. Such changes help address illness while the person is alive.

But mainstream scientists and companies are not working on so-called germline editing, though there may be some rogue actors still considering it.

"It doesn't even make sense" to do this, said Dr. John Leonard, president and CEO of Intellia Therapeutics, which is developing CRISPR-based treatments for rare diseases and cancer. Virtually all conditions that could benefit from germline editing can be treated or prevented another way, he said.

Since 2016, CRISPR has been used in clinical trials to treat patients with blood cancer. More recent research has tested CRISPR gene edits on people with rare diseases caused by single gene mutations.

"We're trying to create answers for people who actually have diseases," Leonard said.

What is CRISPR-Cas9?

In June 2012, biochemists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier published a paper describing how CRISPR works as a bacterial immune system. They revealed that Cas9, short for CRISPR-associated endonuclease 9, acts like a scissors, snipping DNA. The two women earned a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2020 for their findings.

"The protein Cas9 to DNA is like the cursor of your mouse that you use to 'click' on a segment of text you want changed," said Urnov, of the University of California, Berkeley.

Delivered to the right spot with an RNA, Cas9 cuts both strands of a piece of DNA. When the strands are put together again, a few letters of genetic text are lost. Researchers use that ability get rid of a toxic gene.

In people with sickle cell disease, for instance, researchers are using Cas9 to make a genetic snip enabling a patient's body to once again make a substance called fetal hemaglobin. Fetal hemaglobin, typically turned off in the first year of life, reduces the sickling of red blood cells that causes patients' severe pain and organ damage.

Using CRISPR to treat sickle cell, Urnov said, is essentially like pulling a spare tire out of a trunk to replace a flat.

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Medical innovations typically take 17 years from the time a lightbulb goes off in a scientist's head until the first person benefits.

But every once in a while, an idea is so powerful and so profound its effects are felt much faster.

That's been the case with CRISPR gene editing, which celebrates a 10th anniversary this month. It has already had a substantial impact on laboratory science, improving precision and speeding research, and it has led to clinical trials for a handful of rare diseases and cancers.

Over the next decade, scientists predict, CRISPR will yield multiple approved medical treatments and be used to modify crops, making them more productive and resistant to disease and climate change.

"It's a revolution in progress," said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist who founded the Scripps Research Translational Institute, where he serves as director.

The rise of CRISPR is "unmatched and unparalleled" in science, added Brad Ringeisen, the executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. "It's changed the way we do biology."

What is CRISPR?

In nature, bacteria use CRISPR systems to identify and disable the genes of attacking viruses.

The scientific insight was that this bacterial immune system, an acronym for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats," could be repurposed to edit cells of plants, animals and people.

CRISPR has the ability to find a specific spot in a strand of DNA and make a cut, add or swap a genetic "letter" or even a word.

"It's truly wondrous," said Fyodor Urnov, a gene editor at the University of California Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute. "It has worked in every biological setting that it has been placed into. Imagine somebody who can be a stellar performer in a heavy metal band and a symphony orchestra."

In late June 2012, biochemists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier published a paper describing how CRISPR works to edit genes. (The pair earned a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2020 for their finding.) In January 2013, two other groups of researchers from Harvard and MIT showed they could use CRISPR to edit the cells of mammals.

Earlier this month, Doudna, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, published a paper in the journal Science, noting the progress CRISPR has brought so far and its continued promise.

"CRISPR has come a long way in just 10 years, farther than I could have imagined when our paper was first published," she said in a follow-up email. "Each year we're seeing more clinical trials for CRISPR therapies, and new applications."

Gene editing existed before CRISPR, but it wasn't as efficient. CRISPR is easy to use, fast and allows much more precision in the edits than earlier technologies, several experts said.

"There are many instances that without CRISPR, our life as scientists would be much more difficult," said Beverly Davidson, a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

CRISPR is adaptable and precise, making many lab activities simpler, she said. Even undergraduates in her lab can be readily trained to get CRISPR to work.

CRISPR can still have off-target effectshitting genes that weren't intendedbut the risk is much smaller than with other editing tools.

That also explains why the field of gene editing is moving slowly and deliberately, said Dr. John Leonard, president and CEO of Intellia Therapeutics, which is developing CRISPR-based treatments for rare diseases and cancer. Sloppy work could lead to cancers or other problems.

"Nobody wants to make a mistake that hurts the potential, because the potential is so extraordinary," Leonard said.

Using CRISPR to treat cancer

CRISPR has the potential to improve cancer treatment by ramping up the immune system.

Since 2016, it's been used in trials of patients with blood cancer, editing their own immune cells outside the body to launch an immune attack on the cancer.

This approach, called CAR-T, has been shown effective against several types of blood cancer.

Until now, CAR-Ts has to be made for each individual patient, costing money and time the person may not have.

Caribou Biosciences is working on an "off-the-shelf" version of the treatment that will be sitting in a freezer for the next patient who needs it, said Rachel Haurwitz, company CEO, president and co-founder with Doudna. This would cut weeks of preparation time and potentially cost.

In its first clinical trial, six patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma had no detectable cancer after a single dose of the therapy, Haurwitz said.

How CRISPR works against rare diseases

More than 6,000 rare inherited diseases are caused by a single genetic "misspelling." For these, CRISPR offers the possibility of snipping the defective gene, ramping up a different one, or subbing out genetic "letters" that are causing problems.

The first gene therapy for sickle cell disease, based on a CRISPR snip, is expected to be approved later this year.

With other diseases, "it's harder to develop a single scissors to treat all of those mutations," said said Dr. Tippi MacKenzie, a pediatric and fetal surgeon at the University of California San Francisco.

Pompe disease, for instance, which weakens heart and skeletal muscles and can be fatal, has 100 different variations, each of which would need a different gene edit to correct, said MacKenzie, who also directs The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF.

Researchers must either find a gene edit they can make that will correct many variants, or figure out a way to rapidly develop an edit specific to each person with the disease.

In her own work, MacKenzie is developing gene-editing approaches that can be used on a late-second or third trimester fetus, addressing diseases that are easier to treat in utero and would cause harm if the child is allowed to develop further.

Editing a fetus would correct a disease, but would not be passed on to any children that child would go on to have.

"There are multiple advantages to treating diseases before birth," MacKenzie said.

Potential for gene-editing crops

The potential for using CRISPR to improve crops is "remarkable," said Ringeisen, and could help secure food for billions of people, even as climate change threatens more floods, droughts and diseases.

Gene edited crops are still mostly theoretical, but a few have recently hit the market.

Part of that is technological and part is consumer acceptance, said Zachary Lippman, a plant biologist and geneticist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York.

Plants that are gene edited may not technically be "genetically modified organisms" in the classical sense. GMO was defined to refer to transferring genes from one species to another, like a fish giving a plant a new ability.

Gene editing, by contrast, amplifies an ability that was already present in DNA and genes of a plant or a related species, making it more heat- or disease-resistant, faster growing or able to be planted more densely, for instance, Lippman said. These are changes that domestication of wild plants or breeding has already achieved, he said, though it's too early to know if the public will accept them.

Lippman's own work focuses on tomatoes. He recently gene edited 10 varieties of tall-growing cherry and grape tomato plants to create dwarf versions that didn't require staking. It took him 18 months to make the three needed edits.

Whether companies will invest the time and effort in that kind of work for other crops remains to be seen, Lippman said. A company that makes a drought-tolerant soybean might be able to mark up their prices by 20% but that new soybean still has to compete with a soybean grown without CRISPR. Plus, crops that work well in one environment will likely need different edits to work in another.

"A the end of the day, this is not a panacea" that will transform crop production or enable humanity to survive climate change, Lippman said. "This becomes yet another tool in the toolkit of what conventional and modern breeding is already using."

Challenges for the next decade

The biggest controversy involving CRISPR took place in November 2018, when Chinese scientist He Jiankui was first reported to have used the gene editing tool to edit human embryos.

Most scientists and medical ethicists support the idea of using gene editing to improve the life of someone with a terrible disease. But they recoil in horror at the concept of editing the genome of a human embryo, making a change that will be passed down through the generations.

"We do not know enough about human biology to make genetic engineering changes on behalf of the unborn," said Leonard of Intellia Therapeutics. Virtually all conditions that could benefit from such editing can be treated or prevented another way. "Nor can the unborn agree to have these procedures done to them."

Rogue actors might still be working in this area, trying to make "designer babies," but mainstream science and business are focused on solving pressing medical and social problems, he and others said.

Two other major challenges face CRISPR before it can gain widespread acceptance as a medical therapy: reducing its astronomical cost and figuring out how to deliver gene edits to more organs and cells.

Delivery "is the bottleneck that if we can break open, we'll be able to realize a much broader potential of gene editing," said Feng Zhang, who helped show CRISPR's usefulness in the cells of mammals.

So far, most of CRISPR edits have been in blood, which can be edited outside of the body; in the eye, which is relatively easy to target; or in the liver, where many cells end up as they are cleansed from the body.

The fact that even these areas can be reached is testament to other scientific advances and a deeper understanding of the biology of diseases over the last decade, said Zhang of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a biomedical research center. CRISPR is now delivered to the body inside harmless viruses or tiny balls of fattwo methods that have improved over the last decade.

It still remains challenging to deliver large molecules inside such tiny packages. This makes it particularly difficult to treat neurological disorders such as Huntington's Disease, Davidson said.

"It's an issue of delivering all of the machinery to the right cells at the right time for the appropriate duration," she said.

Cost remains a hurdle for CRISPR and other gene editing approaches.

One therapy for adults with hemophilia, approved by the FDA late last year, costs about $3.5 million for a one-time treatment.

Three hundred million people across the globe suffer from diseases driven by a single gene, Urnov said, and the vast majority don't live in countries with well-developed healthcare systems. "Do we want a future where each of these treatments is $3 million and then we can immediately calculate where it can be available and for whom?"

Leonard said that a one-time treatment leading to a cure "can be incredibly economically efficient."

But costs are a secondary concern at the moment, expected to go down as manufacturing and other processes improve and demand increases. "First we've got to start with the innovation and then solve for the access," he said.

What else is on the horizon?

Researchers hope to one day be able to reliably edit multiple genes at once, enabling CRISPR to tackle more common, complex diseases.

George Church, who co-authored one of those papers a decade ago, said he has already managed to make up to 24,000 edits in a single cell and is working up to making 1 million.

Church, a Harvard Medical School geneticist who always pushes the edge of what's possible, hopes to restore the woolly mammoth with such multiplex gene editing, as well as help people become resistant to dangerous viruses.

Ringeisen would like to be able to turn up or down genes that regulate inflammation, potentially treating diseases like Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. In agriculture, he envisions gene-editing plants and microbes to capture carbon and reduce global warming.

Zhang said he would like to use gene editing to restore cells to a more youthful and healthier state. The goal, he said, would not be to help people live forever, but to improve their health while they are alive.

And Urnov envisions a day when even complex diseases like heart disease can be avoided with gene editing.

"I would love a future where we would use CRISPR to prevent disease before it starts," he said.

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A sign warns visitors about sneaker waves in Yachats, Oregon. Credit: Tiffany Woods, Oregon Sea Grant

On Jan. 16, 2016, beachgoers up and down the Washington, Oregon and northern California coasts were surprised by multiple "sneaker" waves that inundated beaches, caused injuries and swamped a vehicle.

Sneaker waves, also known as wave runup events, can be perceived as a mini-tsunami because the waves surge much farther up the beach than anticipated, often catching beachgoers unaware. The rapid and forceful surge from a sneaker wave can sweep beachgoers off their feet, trap them against jetties or rocky shorelines, push logs and other heavy debris into them and pull them into the ocean when the wave rushes back down the beach, all while exposing them to dangerously cold water.

The Jan. 16, 2016, events occurred over a five-hour period on beaches from Humboldt Bay, California, to Pacific Beach, Washington. They were likely fueled by a specific type of wave condition generated by far-off storms and paired with just the right conditions closer to shore, a new study by Oregon State University researchers has found.

The paper is published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

The finding is an important step in understanding the causes of sneaker waves and developing a system for predicting such waves, which could improve warning systems and help reduce deaths and injuries, said Tuba Ozkan-Haller, interim dean of OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and a co-author of the study.

Across Oregon, Washington and northern California, extreme runup events contribute to about two drowning deaths each year.

"There are some things that are predictable about sneaker waveswe know they are more likely to occur in winter months, and that they are likely to occur in parts of the world where the continental shelf is narrow, such as the Pacific Northwest," said Ozkan-Haller, an oceanography professor who studies the physics of ocean waves.

The National Weather Service issues sneaker wave warnings based on those elements of predictability, but such warnings could be improved as researchers learn more about how the waves are created, she said.

"The more we learn, the closer we get to our ultimate goal, which would be to develop a warning system that is specific, accurate and localized," Ozkan-Haller said.

The study's lead author is Chuan Li, who conducted the research as a doctoral student at Oregon State. Li completed his Ph.D. in 2021 and continued doing runup-related studies as a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. He now works in Hong Kong as a senior engineer at Arup.

Additional authors are Robert Holman and Peter Ruggiero of OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences; Gabriel Garcia-Medina of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who also earned a doctorate at OSU; and Treena Jensen, David Elson and William R. Schneider of the National Weather Service in Portland.

"Close collaboration with the scientists and forecasters at the National Weather Service was a key component in helping us home in on the relationship between the offshore wave climate and the potential for sneaker waves," Ozkan-Haller said.

The sneaker waves that occurred Jan. 16, 2016, caught researchers' attention in part because there were several events up and down the coast during a short period of time, and because multiple videos of the events were posted on YouTube.

Ozkan-Haller, Li and their colleagues used the videos and other available scientific data such as wave height readings and wind speeds to test several theories around what may have caused the series of sneaker waves that day.

"The videos showed important general characteristics of the extreme runup events on this dayin particular that they were roughly 5 minutes from beginning to end," said Li. "This information helped us identify their signals from tide gauges and also helped narrow down possible causes."

The researchers found a relationship between two types of waves: surface gravity waves, which surfers watch and surf, and which arrive in sets and break on the beach; and underlying longer "infragravity" waves, which are longer waves fed by the energy created by gravity waves. One infragravity wave will run underneath a set of gravity waves.

When large storms are brewing near Alaska or the South Pacific, they can create conditions where there is more time between each wave in a set of gravity wavesthe waves are spaced out over a longer period of time, and the wave field looks well-organized. Those conditions also make the underlying infragravity waves longer and stronger.

"The longer the wave is, the less likely it is to break," Ozkan-Haller said. "Instead, it sloshes up, like the water would if you're getting into a bathtub."

These longer waves also carry more energy, so they can run a lot further up the beach. But not all of these long waves turn into sneaker waves; other conditions, including weather near the shore, also factor in.

"If these long waves are forming out in the ocean, but there is also a local storm, the wave field is jumbled, and sneaker waves won't occur," Ozkan-Haller said. "When the wind is calm, the local weather is milda beautiful day on the beachsneaker waves are more likely."

Not all coastlines are vulnerable to sneaker waves; the narrow continental shelf and the potential for far offshore winter storms contribute to their occurrence in the Pacific Northwest. More research is needed to understand why certain locations within the region are more prone than others to sneaker waves, according to Ozkan-Haller.

Until researchers are able to generate accurate and localized forecasts, Ozkan-Haller suggests a few safety tips for beachgoers:

Check the National Weather Service social media outlets for sneaker wave warnings.

Before heading down to the beach, spend some time20 minuteswatching the waves from a nearby viewpoint. Count the seconds between each wave breaking on the shore. The more time between waves, the more likely a sneaker wave could occur. If the waves are 20 or more seconds apart and look well-organized, with long, clean lines of swell waves, be especially cautious.

Avoid areas where you could be trapped by rushing water, such as jetties or rocky cliffs, and areas where rolling logs could be swept up and into you.

Don't turn your back on the ocean, and always have an exit plan that will get you to higher ground in 15 to 30 seconds.

"The worst position you can put yourself in is to get trappedpushed up against a dune or rocks or perched on a jetty at the mercy of the down rush or overtopping waves without an exit path," Ozkan-Haller said. "It never hurts to be extra vigilant about watching the ocean and making sure one has an exit plan. One sneaker wave can change the course of life."

More information: Chuan Li et al, Observations of extreme wave runup events on the US Pacific Northwest coast, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-107-2023
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Scanning Electron Microscopy (gray) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (yellow and red) images reveal the calcium and iron elemental distribution in novel pigment mixture consisting of iron (red) oxide to calcium (yellow) hydroxide ratio of 1:10 by mass. Credit: Shinobu Hashimoto of Nagoya Institute of Technology

In medieval Europe, before the rise of oil paintings, fresco was a popular religious painting technique. Many artworks across Europe, hundreds of years old, utilize this method and constitute an important part of cultural heritage. Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel ceiling and Fra Angelo's Annunciation in Italy are perhaps two of the most well-known examples of frescoes. But how exactly does the fresco technique work?

A fresco is painted on a wet slaked lime plaster wall with natural rock pigments. The plaster, consisting of calcium hydroxide, reacts with water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form calcium carbonate. It gradually forms a protective coating over the pigments, preserving the painting. In addition, it increases the mechanical strength of the plaster. However, this process takes place over decades, making frescoes a rarely practiced art form.

In this regard, a group of researchers from the Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan, including Professor Shinobu Hashimoto, Mr. Keitaro Yamaguchi, and Prof. Yuji Iwamoto, rapidly fabricated frescoes through a ceramic cold sintering technique that was "geomimetic", or inspired by the natural rock formation processes taking place in the Earth's crust.

The team's work was published in Ceramics International.

Prof. Hashimoto explains the idea behind geomimetic ceramics. "This hardening method is named so because it imitates the formation of sedimentary rocks in the crust. It employs a warm press to heat calcium hydroxide powder up to 300 C under the high pressure of several hundred megapascals. These conditions harden the powder, forming the base material for frescoes." The time required to create a fresco has been drastically reduced to the span of a single day thanks to researchers from Japan, who developed a novel technique that mimics the formation of sedimentary rocks in the Earth's crust. Credit: Shinobu Hashimoto of Nagoya Institute of Technology

The researchers painted on the fabricated bases using red iron oxide pigment powder because of its low environmental impact. Next, they performed supercritical carbon dioxide treatment. Supercritical carbon dioxide is a fluid form of carbon dioxide that forms when it is heated and held at a very high temperature and pressure. The application of supercritical carbon dioxide in their technique helped form calcium carbonate on the painted surface.

To ensure that the pigment stayed immobilized on the surface, the researchers subjected the painting to a warm press before the carbon dioxide treatment. The resultant calcium hydroxide layer exhibited superior visible light transmittance and better pigment immobilization.

Further, to ensure an even coating and sufficient translucency, the researchers mixed the pigment and calcium hydroxide powders for painting instead of powder coating the fresco. The heavier iron-based pigment particles in the mixture settled and deposited on the base, while the calcium hydroxide remained on top and covered the surface uniformly, ultimately resulting in an even calcium carbonate coating.

The researchers found that a 1:10 pigment-to-hydroxide ratio by mass was sufficient to immobilize the pigment particles. Adding more hydroxide made the painting whitish. They analyzed the structural characteristics of the resultant frescoes using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to confirm the calcium and iron element distribution.

A research team from Japan have successfully created a fresco in a single day using a novel technique that mimics the formation of sedimentary rocks in the Earth's crust. Their method greatly hastens the completion of a fresco painting, which otherwise takes several decades to form. Credit: Carlo Raso from Openverse.

Lastly, the researchers measured pigment color differences among various mixing ratios with a colorimeter. The 1:10 novel mixture ratio showed appreciable color development. In fact, its pigment color was brighter than even the original pure pigment. The researchers suggest that the calcium hydroxide particles dispersed the red iron oxide pigments, reducing their aggregate size. That, in turn, increased the transmitted light intensity.

The results highlighted in this work will enable the rapid production of frescoes designed with calcium hydroxide mixed pigments, warm pressing, and supercritical carbon dioxide treatment. This fresco technique can also be used for the production of pigmented pictures on pottery, which could act as a push towards new, energy-efficient, unfired pottery technology.

Prof. Hashimoto puts into perspective the enormity of the present work. "Using our technique, a fresco, a historical art painting that takes hundreds of years to form, was successfully created in one day. This finding could facilitate unfired pottery technology for a low-energy society. It is important to pay attention to traditional fields as past technologies can also contribute to the latest advancements."

More information: Keitaro Yamaguchi et al, Rapid fabrication of frescoes using a geomimetic ceramic formation process, Ceramics International (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.11.022
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Graphic depiction of bend-forming of large electrostatically actuated space structures. Credit: Zachary Cordero

It is an exciting time for astronomers and cosmologists. Since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have been treated to the most vivid and detailed images of the universe ever taken. Webb's powerful infrared imagers, spectrometers, and coronagraphs will allow for even more in the near future, including everything from surveys of the early universe to direct imaging studies of exoplanets. Moreover, several next-generation telescopes will become operational in the coming years with 30-meter (~98.5 feet) primary mirrors, adaptive optics, spectrometers, and coronagraphs.

Even with these impressive instruments, astronomers and cosmologists look forward to an era when even more sophisticated and powerful telescopes are available. For example, Zachary Cordero of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently proposed a telescope with a 100-meter (328-foot) primary mirror that would be autonomously constructed in space and bent into shape by electrostatic actuators. His proposal was one of several concepts selected this year by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program for Phase I development.

Corder is the Boeing Career Development Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and a member of the Aerospace Materials and Structures Lab (AMSL) and Small Satellite Center. His research integrates his expertise in processing science, mechanics, and design to develop novel materials and structures for emerging aerospace applications. His proposal is the result of a collaboration with Prof. Jeffrey Lang (from MIT's Electronics and the Microsystems Technology Laboratories) and a team of three students with the AMSL, including Ph.D. student Harsh Girishbhai Bhundiya.

Their proposed telescope addresses a key issue with space telescopes and other large payloads that are packaged for launch and then deployed in orbit. In short, size and surface precision tradeoffs limit the diameter of deployable space telescopes to the 10s of meters. Consider the recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful telescope ever sent to space. To fit into its payload fairing (atop an Ariane 5 rocket), the telescope was designed so that it could be folded into a more compact form.

This included its primary mirror, secondary mirror, and sunshield, which all unfolded once the space telescope was in orbit. Meanwhile, the primary mirror (the most complex and powerful ever deployed) measures 6.5 meters (21 feet) in diameter. Its successor, the Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR), will have a similar folding assembly and a primary mirror measuring 8 to 15 meters (26.5 to 49 feet) in diameterdepending on the selected design (LUVOIR-A or -B). As Bhundiya explained to Universe Today via email:

"Today, most spacecraft antennas are deployed in orbit (e.g., Northrop Grumman's Astromesh antenna) and have been optimized to achieve high performance and gain. However, they have limitations: 1) They are passive deployable systems. I.e. once you deploy them you cannot adaptively change the shape of the antenna. 2) They become difficult to slew as their size increases. 3) They exhibit a tradeoff between diameter and precision. I.e. their precision decreases as their size increases, which is a challenge for achieving astronomy and sensing applications that require both large diameters and high precision (e.g. JWST)."

While many in-space construction methods have been proposed to overcome these limitations, detailed analyses of their performance for building precision structures (like large-diameter reflectors) are lacking. For the sake of their proposal, Cordero and his colleagues conducted a quantitative, system-level comparison of materials and processes for in-space manufacturing. Ultimately, they determined that this limitation could be overcome using advanced materials and a novel in-space manufacturing method called bend-forming. Credit: NASA

This technique, invented by researchers at the AMSL and described in a recent paper co-authored by Bhundiya and Cordero, relies on a combination of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) deformation processing and hierarchical high-performance materials. As Harsh explained it:

"Bend-forming is a process for fabricating 3D wireframe structures from metal wire feedstock. It works by bending a single strand of wire at specific nodes and with specific angles, and adding joints to the nodes to make a stiff structure. So to fabricate a given structure, you convert it into bending instructions which can be implemented on a machine like a CNC wire bender to fabricate it from a single strand of feedstock. The key application of bend-forming is to manufacture the support structure for a large antenna on orbit. The process is well-suited for this application because it is low-power, can fabricate structures with high compaction ratios, and has essentially no size limit."

In contrast to other in-space assembly and manufacturing approaches, bend-forming is low-power and is uniquely enabled by the extremely low-temperature environment of space. In addition, this technique enables smart structures that leverage multifunctional materials to achieve new combinations of size, mass, stiffness, and precision. Additionally, the resulting smart structures leverage multifunctional materials to achieve unprecedented combinations of size, mass, stiffness, and precision, breaking the design paradigms that limit conventional truss or tension-aligned space structures.

In addition to their native precision, large bend-formed structures can use their electrostatic actuators to contour a reflector surface with sub-millimeter precision. This, said Harsh, will increase the precision of their fabricated antenna in orbit:

An arrangement of 3 exoplanets to explore how the atmospheres can look different based on the chemistry present and incoming flux. Credit: Jack H. Madden

"The method of active control is called electrostatic actuation and uses forces generated by electrostatic attraction to precisely shape a metallic mesh into a curved shape which acts as the antenna reflector. We do this by applying a voltage between the mesh and a 'command surface' which consists of the bend-formed support structure and deployable electrodes. By adjusting this voltage, we can precisely shape the reflector surface and achieve a high-gain, parabolic antenna."

Harsh and his colleagues deduce that this technique will allow for a deployable mirror measuring more than 100 meters (328 ft) in diameter that could achieve a surface precision of 100 m/m and a specific area of more than 10 m2/kg. This capability would surpass existing microwave radiometry technology and could lead to significant improvements in storm forecasts and an improved understanding of atmospheric processes like the hydrologic cycle. This would have significant implications for Earth Observation and exoplanet studies.

The team recently demonstrated a 1-meter (3.3 ft) prototype of an electrostatically actuated reflector with a bend-formed support structure at the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Conference, which ran from January 23rd to 27th in National Harbor, Maryland. With this Phase I NIAC grant, the team plans to mature the technology with the ultimate aim of creating a microwave radiometry reflector.

Looking ahead, the team plans to investigate how bend-forming can be used in geostationary orbit (GEO) to create a microwave radiometry reflector with a 15km (9.3 mi) field of view, a ground resolution of 35km (21.75 mi) and a proposed frequency span of 50 to 56 GHzthe super-high and extremely-high frequent range (SHF/EHF). This will enable the telescope to retrieve temperature profiles from exoplanet atmospheres, a key characteristic allowing astrobiologists to measure habitability.

"Our goal with the NIAC now is to work towards implementing our technology of Bend-Forming and electrostatic actuation in space," said Harsh. "We envision fabricating 100-m diameter antennas in geostationary orbit with have bend-formed support structure and electrostatically-actuated reflector surfaces. These antennas will enable a new generation of spacecraft with increased sensing, communication, and power capabilities."
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Three bighorn ewes. Credit: Regina Abella, California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Desert bighorn sheep whose Southern California range is bisected by freeways may one day benefit from Oregon State University modeling designed to show where the animals would be most apt to use overpasses to safely cross the interstates.

The research is important because it shows how GPS tracking data and computer simulations can be used to predict animal movementsinformation that's needed for the optimal siting of crucial but expensive habitat connectivity enhancement projects.

Findings of the study led by Christina Aiello, a research associate in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences, were published in Landscape Ecology.

"Our work is already having an impact on conservation and land management decisions," Aiello said. "The study's findings are central to discussions among California officials about enhancing wildlife connectivity across barriers like interstate highways and a proposed Southern California to Las Vegas high-speed rail project. Government agencies and non-governmental organizations have voiced support for the construction of wildlife overcrossings at three key locations identified by our research."

A collaboration that also included Clinton Epps, a professor in the Oregon State College of Agricultural Sciences, and OSU graduate student Paige Prentice looked at GPS data from collared animals from nine populations of bighorn in the Mojave Desert.

The 20-million-acre desert includes Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks and the Mojave National Preserve as well as Interstate 15 and I-40. The center divider of I-15 would hold the tracks of the proposed 200-mph train, which would be separated from auto traffic by a 6-foot concrete wall on either side of the rails.

Aiello, Epps and Prentice teamed up with scientists from the National Park Service to analyze bighorn movements as a series of step-by-step processes. That type of breakdown allowed the researchers to determine which landscape features the sheep prefer to travel through and which ones they would rather avoid.

"The computer models we used are known as step-selection functions because they determine what habitat bighorn select as they make steps from location to location," Aiello said. "There are no pre-freeway GPS data to show how bighorn used to travel, so we're using our models to simulate where bighorn would go if these freeway barriers were to suddenly disappear. Freeways continue to limit where bighorn can travel, even though they have been in place for decades."

The scientists ran simulations totaling 8,200 years in the lives of bighorn sheep200 one-year periods apiece for 41 individuals, on landscapes with and without freeways. The results of the simulations sync up well with what genetics data and road kill numbers have suggested regarding movement corridors, the researchers say, and provide a more detailed look at how the sheep would benefit from a manmade-obstacle-free environment.

"Barrier removal increased accessible habitat for eight of the nine populations we looked at," Aiello said. "Our results can inform important ongoing land use and restoration questions such as, where should we build a wildlife crossing that bighorn sheep would benefit from and use most? And where should we not disturb land because it would interfere with movements that bighorn currently make to access habitat and interact with one other?"

That type of information, she added, is particularly important in desert habitats that continue to see large development proposals related to solar energy, transportation and urban expansion.

"There are limited resources in desert ecosystems that make movement and access to diverse habitats especially important to wildlife survival," Aiello said. "Our study provides a glimpse into how bighorn could use this landscape if they were free to move and choose the habitat they preferthis helps us know how much the species might benefit if we improve movement across highways."

Neal Darby, Debra Hughson and Nathan Galloway of the National Park Service also took part in the research.

More information: Movement models and simulation reveal highway impacts and mitigation opportunities for a metapopulation-distributed species, Landscape Ecology (2023).
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Vaitsa Giannoul, a social scientist with European University Cyprus, has looked into the question of which group or groups of people tend to overestimate their own level of intelligence. The study is published in the journal Brain and Behavior.

Giannoul begins by noting that intelligence in humans is difficult to assess, pointing out that different forms may exist. She also notes that in addition to the kind of intelligence that is most often identified with the label, there is also something she calls emotional intelligence. And other factors may play a role, as well, such as memory. Thus, she concludes, any assessment of age group self-assessment of a person's IQ level must include such other attributes as well.

To conduct a self-estimated intelligence (SEI), assessment, Giannoul, chose to focus on stages of development. Which age group, she wondered, thinks they are smarter than other people, whether they actually are or not? To find out, she enlisted the assistance of two groups of peopleone of those under the age of 65 and the other over 65.

The first group comprised "young" people (90 female, 69 male) while the second comprised "older" people (93 female, 59 male). Each of the volunteers took a survey to assess their SEI and learn more about other characteristics regarding their self-image, including memory and emotional maturity. Next, each took several standardized tests designed to measure their IQ.

In comparing SEI for each volunteer with their IQ test results, Giannoul discovered that two of the subgroups overestimated their SEI, one of which was surprising. The data showed that young males tended to overestimate their IQ by between 5 and 15 points on average, a finding similar to other studies.

More surprising was that older women also tended to overestimate their IQ. Giannoul also found that older women who viewed themselves as more attractive than average were the same women who tended to overestimate their IQ. This, she suggests, may indicate that for older women, SEI might be related to the degree of self-confidence.

More information: Vaitsa Giannouli, Are sex differences in selfestimated intelligence an elusive phenomenon? Exploring the role of working memory, creativity, and other psychological correlates in young and older adults, Brain and Behavior (2023). DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2857 Journal information: Brain and Behavior

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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Traditional confectionary in Thailand is getting crowded out of the market by major western brands; but a new study suggests local manufacturers can fight back by using their country's local heritage and culture to gain competitive advantage.

"Food is an important part of any country's culture, identity and economy," explained Dr. Hiroko Oe, Principal Academic in Marketing at Bournemouth University, who led the study. "However, in recent years we have seen people in Asian countries increasingly drawn to western foods which are overpowering the local markets."

"It is not just happening in the confectionary market. Big-budget marketing campaigns by major corporations for breakfast cereals has led to a decline in the traditional Thai breakfast experience." She continued.

For this new study, Dr. Oe and her team carried out in depth interviews with consumers and retail managers in Thailand. She then designed survey which was completed by around 400 people, asking about their attitude towards western and local products, and the factors that influence their purchasing decisions.

The results have been published in the journal Sustainability.

"We found that the iconic appearances of big city stores and restaurants that sell western foods are very well suited to today's Instagram and Tik Tok culture," said Dr. Oe. "This makes them extremely appealing to Thai youngsters who like to share images of their food and stories of their evenings out."

By contrast, local products in Thailand are mostly made by small family businesses and sold in more modest settings, such as on street markets, without eye-catching packaging and logos.

Despite these challenges, Dr. Oe's study found that youngsters in Thailand do still enjoy local confectionary as well as the western brandsand that local products have strong emotional value to them. "Young Thai's are proud of their traditions and history, and that applies to their traditional foods too," Dr. Oe explained.

The research team point out that by listening to the voices of youngsters about what they want, there is a strong opportunity for small, traditional confectionary businesses to gain competitive advantage and fight back against the major players in the market.

"They really have to think about what they have and how they can make the most of it," said Dr. Oe. "They don't need to make major changes to their business models but small innovations to combine tradition and modernity can make a difference. We have found that the unique identity and culture of Thailand is often taken for granted by local businesses when they should be using this as their strength."

Dr. Oe and the team liken their recommendations to approaches to revive traditional confectionary products in the UK which have been very successful. Nostalgic sweet shops are very common on high streets, alongside the bigger retailers. Likewise, independent tea shops selling cakes and cream teas are very popular with locals and overseas tourists, co-existing with the big coffee shop franchises.

The new study found that when people in Thailand decide to purchase a certain product, they are very likely to go ahead with the purchase and not change their mind. And word of mouth is very powerful in the communities too. Local producers can use these findings, and the loyalty to their national culture to build and maintain a loyal following for their products.

"As one example of changes traditional sellers can consider, we found that youngsters associate western foods with social settingsgroups of friends sitting and chatting in coffee shops. However, when it comes to local confectionary, they tend to simply purchase and take away.

"For cities and towns with character, a cute store selling traditional sweets and cakes is an asset to the community. A space where local residents and tourists can gather and enjoy the same sweets. With such potential, there are many ways to utilize and develop traditional sweets," Dr. Oe concluded.

The research team hope to expand their research to cover a wider variety of different markets. In the meantime, they hope that the findings of this study will lead to the development of marketing strategies to ensure the sustainability of traditional confectionery in the Thai sweets market.

More information: Hiroko Oe et al, Personal and Emotional Values Embedded in Thai-Consumers' Perceptions: Key Factors for the Sustainability of Traditional Confectionery Businesses, Sustainability (2023). DOI: 10.3390/su15021548
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has reached a 15-year deal with Commonwealth Edison that the city bills as the strongest municipal utility franchise deal in the country, but some aldermen are worried it would bind Chicagoans with the embattled electricity company for much too long and much too fast.

The Lightfoot administration developed two companion agreements that were presented to aldermen on Monday before theyll be submitted for City Council approval, multiple sources said. One is a 15-year franchise agreement for ComEd to continue providing electricity, with an option to extend it for another five years. The city would have the option to municipalize the system if it chooses after the first five years. The other is an energy and equity agreement to advance the citys climate action plan with promised benefits ranging from solar panels for low-income people to more than 1,000 jobs for South and West Side residents.

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The deal represents the first significant breakthrough between Lightfoots administration and the company since the U.S. attorneys office announced in July 2020 that ComEd would be charged with a single count of bribery in a nearly decadelong scheme to funnel money and jobs to loyalists of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan, in hopes that he would back the companys legislative agenda in Springfield.

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The company agreed to pay a $200 million fine so federal authorities would drop the charge after three years, but Madigan, ComEd executives and others remain tangled in the probe and face trials in the coming year.

Lightfoot and City Council members had explored options for replacing ComEd  which most recently signed a franchise deal with the city in 1992 that expired in 2020  but city officials said they dont have fiscally prudent alternatives.

A city spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A presentation by Lightfoot officials billed the pair of agreements as the strongest municipal utility franchise deal in the country for its use of shareholder funds from ComEd to support clean energy and jobs training.

ComEd spokesperson Shannon Breymaier said: ComEd remains closely engaged with the city of Chicago to arrive at an agreement that will expand on our centurylong partnership to support and spur a reliable and equitable transition to a clean energy future for all of Chicagos communities.

But Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said he doesnt understand why Lightfoot would rush through such a long-term deal when details of the alleged bribery scheme will likely come to light soon after. Madigans trial is set for next year, while ex-CEO Anne Pramaggiore is due to face trial in March.

Why would we want to lock ourselves into 20 years when theres something critical that is going to happen next year? Martin asked.

Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, concurred, noting his fears that Lightfoot wants to jam this deal through the City Council before the end of the term. He also worried that waiting five years to offer the option to municipalize the electricity system would actually remove the citys leverage for that duration.

If we have something in the legislation that blocks us from having that conversation for five years, I dont think thats in the best interest of our taxpayers or Chicagoans across the city, Vasquez said.

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On the overall length of the proposed deal, he added: If you agree to a 15-year agreement, and lets say you have a different council and what could be a different mayor, if they wanted to make any changes, theyd have to wait three terms. The mayor and all 50 ward seats are up for election Feb. 28, with early voting now underway.

The second proposed agreement outlines that the ComEd cash going toward a climate action plan would be controlled by a third-party nonprofit board consisting of five people appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council and two selected from ComEd. Current city employees would not be eligible.

Martin said that approach would strip City Council members of oversight.

If were talking about money that the city needs to execute the citys Climate Action Plan, those are funds that the city should have control over, Martin said. Instead, the decisions would be made by some unelected nonprofit.  Why are we getting tens of millions of dollars to a nonprofit that really is not accountable in the ways that folks are demanding right now? That to me is a very, very big red flag.

About $90 million of ComEds cash would go toward executing the climate action plan, with another $10 million into training the workforce, sources said. Should the agreement be approved and eventually get extended another five years, an additional $20 million would go toward the fund.

In total, $520 million in state and federal grants would go toward hundreds of community benefit projects for the climate action plan, according to the citys presentation. That includes 4,000 solar roofs for low-income residents and one community site, thousands of residents receiving affordable broadband internet using ComEd fiber, a new West Side clean energy training hub with a $3.2 million expansion of a Chicago Public Schools program to train 10,000 residents in transitioning to clean energy, over 1,000 South and West side residents hired in new construction or customer service roles and over 100 energy ambassadors to help assist with bills.

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Lastly, the deal would create a coordination council to streamline operations across all city agencies involved.

Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, also raised concerns after a deal that he noted only came about after two years of silence following the explosive bribery allegations.

I would say the more I dig into the details of this agreement, the more questionable it is, La Spata wrote in a text. We cant afford to rush this over the next three months.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

"Never again" is the phrase echoed among NASA leaders recalling the last major tragedy in the space program that occurred 20 years ago this week, when Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, never making its way back home to Florida.

But with more spacecraft, more players and farther-flung destinations like the moon and Mars, the potential for another disaster has grown.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who as a member of Congress flew on the space shuttle on the mission immediately before the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, recalled this week how engineers at one of the shuttle's contractors told their managers to call off the launch because of the weather. The cold was ultimately blamed for shrinking an O-ring that led to the explosion.

"The management would not listen to the engineers begging them to stop the count, and that went up all the way to the top," Nelson said.

The warning signs for Columbia on STS-107 were out there as well. Nelson's mission's shuttle commander, Robert "Hoot" Gibson, told Nelson how he would always inspect the orbiter in space during missions he flew in the time between the two shuttle disasters.

"You'd look at the underside or the sides of the orbiter with those delicate silicone tiles, and he said it was like somebody had taken a shotgun and just shredded it," Nelson said. "A warning about what was to come."

The two shuttle accidents, particularly, led to changes in how NASA operates, with a safety-first mentality that can seem to slow down progress at times, Nelson said.

"The bottom line is this. Speak up. A question, even a simple question is more forgivable than a mistake that can result in a tragedy, and each of us has a responsibility to cultivate a work environment where every member of the NASA family feels empowered to voice doubt. Make your concerns heard. Communicate openly," he said.

The times between NASA's three major tragedies have been close to two decades each, and now NASA has gone the longest run without human loss of life in spaceflight.

During those runs, though, the American space program featured only one spacecraft managed by the U.S. government. Now NASA has multiple commercial partners with SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner flying astronauts to the International Space Station while also working with its own Orion crew capsule for moon missions in the Artemis program.

Later this decade, NASA will rely on SpaceX's Starship as well as potentially a second commercial lunar lander to keep its astronauts safe during trips to the moon's south pole, part of NASA's plans to eventually send humans to Mars.

Alex Roland, a retired Duke University history professor and former NASA historian, warns the push to deep-space exploration could become deadly.

"Don't send people to Mars or the moonyet," he said, noting human missions are "unnecessary, inefficient and exorbitantly expensive. ... The spacecraft systems redundancies necessary to guarantee human survival of a Mars mission can only be imagined. Sending people to Mars in any foreseeable future is a dangerous, expensive stunt. Leave it to Elon Musk."

Even for SpaceX, though, he foresees potential disaster.

"I think (Musk) has an uncanny ability to achieve very difficult goals," Roland said. "In my opinion, he is moving faster than NASA ever has. I will be surprised if SpaceX does not experience a fatal accident before it attempts a Mars mission. I find it hard to predict how that will change the calculus."

He added, "Musk might change his agenda. The government might increase regulation of non-governmental spaceflight. NASA's fatal accidents did not change NASA's manned programs, but they sure set them back for a while."

Commercial efforts closer to home have proven risky as well.

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic continue to pursue space tourism flights for short suborbital trips, an endeavor that has seen the Federal Aviation Administration already halt flights for safety concerns for both companies. Blue Origin's New Shepard remains grounded after a booster incident last year sent its capsule blasting away to safety, although that flight did not have humans on board.

Down the line, Sierra Space looks to develop its Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft, which could fly for the first time this year, into one that could fly humans as well.

The field is growing, with projections of the number of people having flown to spacemore than 600 in 60 years since the first person in space in 1961to more than double in the next decade.

"It's a challenge, but it is the responsibility of us as the overseers even though we may have a partner in the public-private sector," Nelson said. "We've got to look over their shoulder."

Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said she expects human commercial spaceflight will flourish the same way commercial aviation did.

"At some point, the industry will have to learn its lessons on its own," she said noting NASA's close relationship with the FAA to scrutinize commercial spaceflight. "We hope to transfer that knowledge as things go forward, but I think for at least a decade or more to come, we're going to be extremely engaged. ... They're going to have to grow up and have their own regulator someday, and we're going to support that as best we can with all the knowledge of the agency."

One part of that effort is NASA's Apollo Challenger Columbia Lessons Learned Program based out of KSC. The program is managed by Michael Ciannilli, who was part of the Columbia recovery team and responsible for the moving Challenger and Columbia exhibit "Forever Remembered" at KSC Visitor Complex that opened in 2015.

That means venturing out and talking with not only groups within NASA, but commercial aerospace partners, and even industries outside of aviation that could reap some benefit in the wake of tragedy. The program tackles everything from engineering to management-type discussions.

The main thrust of the program is to prevent future accidents.

"We're sharing these ways with folks that are on design teams, designing the new systems, those huge new rocketssharing new processes, working on establishing cultures," he said. "We're also working with all of the commercial spaceflight providers that are coming on board, and they're developing their systems and their rockets and procedures and programs. We're working with them intimately now, so it's still way before their first flight."

That includes discussions with SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing and others.

Ciannilli said thinks the Columbia and Challenger disasters help him bring home that message of safety.

"They're just flying a new mission," he said of the two space shuttles. "The mission is to inspire, educate and change things and to positively impact the future for the better."

2023 Orlando Sentinel.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The map includes values for the 100 countries with the highest number of active researchers over time and with a population of at least 0.5 million people. Most countries have emigration rates below 40 per 1000 academics. Sudan, Malawi, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic have the highest rates. Other notable cases with high scholarly emigration rates include Canada, Peru, Switzerland, Ireland, Kenya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Georgia, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Credit: MPIDR

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, developed a database on international migration of academics in order to assess emigration patterns and trends for this key group of innovators. Their paper was published in PNAS on Jan. 18.

As a rst step, the team produced a database that contains the number of academics who publish papers regularly, and migration ows and migration rates for all countries that include academics who published papers listed on the bibliographic database Scopus. The migration database was obtained by leveraging metadata of more than 36 million journal articles and reviews published from 1996 to 2021.

"This migration database is a major resource to advance our understanding of the migration of academics," says MPIDR Researcher Ebru Sanliturk. Data Scientist Maciej Danko adds: "While the underlying data are proprietary, our approach generates anonymized aggregate-level datasets that can be shared for noncommercial purposes and that we are making publicly available for scientic research."

MPIDR Researcher Aliakbar Akbaritabar explains how they processed the bibliographic data in order to receive information about the migration patterns of academics: "We used the metadata of the article title, name of the authors and affiliations of almost every article and review published in Scopus since 1996. We followed every single one of the roughly 17 million researchers listed in the bibliographic database through the years and noticed changes in affiliation and, by using that tactic we know how many academics left a given country every year."

The researchers' empirical analysis focused on the relationship between emigration and economic development, indicating that academic setting patterns may differ widely from population-level ones.

Previous literature has shown that, as low-income countries become richer, overall emigration rates initially rise. At a certain point the increase slows down and the trend reverses, with emigration rates declining.

This means that favoring economic development has the counterintuitive effect of initially increasing migration from low- and middle-income countries, rather than decreasing it.

Is this pattern also generally valid for migration of scientists?

Not really.

The researchers found that, when considering academics, the pattern is the opposite: in low- and middle-income countries, emigration rates decrease as the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increases. Then, starting from around 25,000 US Dollars in GDP, the trend reverses and emigration propensity increases as countries get richer.

MPIDR Director Emilio Zagheni adds, "Academics are a crucial group of innovators whose work has relevant economic effects. We showed that their propensity to emigrate does not immediately increase with economic developmentindeed it decreases until a high-income turning point and then increases. This implies that increasing economic development does not necessarily lead to an academic brain drain in low- and middle-income countries."

Unveiling these and related patterns, and addressing big scientific questions with societal implications, was possible only because of painstaking work in preparing this new global database of migration of academics. "We are putting the final touches on an even more comprehensive database, the Scholarly Migration Database, which will be released on its own website soon," says software developer Tom Theile.

More information: Ebru Sanliturk et al, Global patterns of migration of scholars with economic development, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2217937120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Online climate deniers can monetise their content and become minor celebrities, researchers say.

Right-wing ideologues funded by fossil fuels, fame-seeking narcissists and doubt mongers monetising their content are pushing climate disinformation that undermines the fight against global warming, researchers say.

Experts interviewed by AFP outlined six key things that motivate people to deny climate change or seek to delay action.

Oil money

Studies have documented flows of cash from the fossil fuel industry to conservative US think tanks, signalled by researchers as publishers of misleading climate claims.

Greenpeace on the site exxonsecrets.org published documents from oil giant ExxonMobil revealing donations it made in the 1990s and 2000s to three such bodies: the Heartland Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute. Exxon has repeatedly denied working against climate science.

An analysis of tax documents and donor records by sociologist Robert Brulle of Brown University found that 91 climate-sceptic think tanks and lobby groups received income of $900 million in 2003-2010, largely from conservative foundations.

Since the mid-2000s, the funding has largely been channelled through philanthropic groups that conceal their donations.

"Fossil fuel companies have a long history of funding climate misinformation promulgated by conservative think tanks," Brulle told AFP.

"This misinformation has misled many Americans regarding the risks associated with climate change and has hindered actions to mitigate carbon emissions."

Greenpeace has revealed oil firm ExxonMobil donated to climate-sceptic think tanks.

Monetising

Elsewhere there are individuals "who benefit from the outrage economy online and are exploiting the current business model of social media, which allows them to monetise climate denial and climate disinformation," said Jennie King, head of civic action at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based digital research group.

"There is a large element of grift taking place in the online space. By cultivating a brand as these contrarian, intellectual Dark Web pundits, they gain increasing prominence on social media platforms," she said.

"That drives traffic to their websites and increases the likelihood of them developing brand relationships, sponsorship and paid talking appearances."

Ideology

For psychologists, climate disinformation is driven by free-market ideals that make people reject climate reforms.

"The number one driver of whether people accept climate science or reject it is their personal ideology," said Stephan Lewandowsky, a psychology professor at Bristol University who researches attitudes to climate change.

"People who are committed to unregulated free markets find it impossible to accept the science because the implications of the science are that we have to have regulations or a price on carbon," he told AFP.

Some climate policies involve a tax on carbon -- distasteful to free-market devotees.

Politics

Some of the most widely shared social media posts come from politicians - such as US ex-president Donald Trump's repeated claims on Twitter that snowfall was evidence against global warming.

"People who vote conservative are more likely to be climate deniers," said John Cook, a researcher at Monash University in Melbourne and founder of the climate explainer site Skeptical Science.

"Not liking the solutions to climate change, they reject that there's a problem in the first place."

A November 2022 study in Nature by researchers at City, University of London revealed a rise in ideological polarisation around climate change during the COP26 climate summit in 2021, "driven by growing right-wing activity".

Psychology

A 2022 article co-authored by Lewandowsky and Matthew Hornsey of the University of Queensland pointed to other psychological aspects of climate claims, such as "motivated reasoning" - people deciding what they believe and then seeking evidence that supports their view - and "solution aversion" against reforms that imply painful sacrifice.

"On top of that, people are fearful of climate change," said Lewandowsky.

"Jumping into denial in the context of fear is not uncommon. The pandemic is another prime example."

Trump has repeatedly suggested that snowfall is evidence against climate change.

Fame

Some climate contrarians have millions of followers on social media.

"I think that malignant narcissism probably is a big driver of the influencers," said Cook.

"These kind of mini-celebritieswhat makes them popular, famous, gets followers, gets blog readers, is their denial of the science."

Some prolific contrarians are former weather forecasters, such as Anthony Watts, founder of sceptic blog Watts Up With Thator scientists themselves.

"I can think of individual instances of academics who had an extremely mediocre career at best and then climate change came along and they said, 'Oh, it's a hoax,' and claimed to have some expertise," said Lewandowsky.

"They were flooded with media requests. These guys are motivated by attention."

 2023 AFP
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Chimpanzees are among the best studied primates for parasite interactions. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Fleas, tapeworms, Giardia, pinworms: Parasites are all around us. But some animals are more susceptible than others. Take the well-studied chimpanzee, for example: it's known to host over 100 parasites. In contrast, species like the indri, a lemur only found on Madagascar, are only known to host about 10 parasites. Many other primates are so poorly studied that only one parasite has ever been recorded.

In a new study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, we examined which traits of both primates and parasites predict the likelihood of their interactions. Using advanced techniques in social network analysis, called the exponential random graph, we were able to simultaneously test the traits of primates and parasites to determine what predisposes primates to infection and what gives some parasites a unique advantage.

For primates, larger species that are found in warmer, wetter climates are more likely to host diverse parasites, compared to smaller species living in drier, cooler climates. Further, species in the same branches of the evolutionary tree and those that live in the same geographic region are more likely to share parasites than more distantly related species found on different continents.

Viruses, protozoa, and helminth worms are more likely to infect diverse primates than fungi, arthropods, and bacteria. Parasites that are known to infect non-primate mammals are also more likely to infect diverse primates.

A photo from a microscope slide showing the blood parasite Plasmodium falciparum. One of the pathogens that causes malaria, P. falciparum also infects 118 other primates. In contrast, there are at least 30 other kinds of Plasmodium that only infect one or a few primates and their disease effects are poorly understood. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

These new results were made possible by the great advances being made in infectious disease ecology. Over the last two decades, Dr. Charles Nunn at Duke University's Evolutionary Anthropology and Global Health departments has been working with teams of researchers to compile all published records of primate-parasite interactions.

Combing through the literature, almost 600 published sources were obtained to glean which parasites are found in over 200 primates species, with over 2,300 interactions recorded. With the analytical tools in social network science mastered by Duke Sociology professor Dr. James Moody, we were able to systematically test how traits of both hosts and parasites affect the likelihood of their interaction for the first time. While many previous studies used subsets of this database and examined either hosts or parasites in isolation, we were able to make new inferences about the critical links in this unique ecological network.

This work builds on a recent study that showed how extinction of primate hosts could lead to the co-extinction of almost 200 parasite species. While at first this might seem like a good thing, in fact it could have negative impacts on biodiversity as a whole. Many parasites don't actually cause disease or death in the hosts, and some may even have beneficial properties. We simply don't know enough about these critical and co-evolved relationships to understand what effects host-parasite coextinctions could have in the long-term.

While it might seem strange to worry about parasite extinctions, they are actually an important part of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Understanding how primates and parasites interact reveals new insights into coevolutionary theory, and could also contribute to the conservation of underappreciated species richness.

While from a public health perspective, we'd like to see some parasites disappear, like corona and ebola viruses, from an evolutionary stance, the sheer diversity of parasites and their intimate relationships with their hosts make them fascinating and crucial components of biodiversity.

More information: James P. Herrera et al, Predicting primateparasite associations using exponentional random graph models, Journal of Animal Ecology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13883 Journal information: Journal of Animal Ecology
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In a world increasingly dependent on social media, consumers rely on reviews and ratings for everything from restaurants to service providers. And those opinions, published instantly online, can make or break a business.

University of Notre Dame economist A. Nilesh Fernando recently examined whether a rating system could impact a far greater issuethe effort to prevent the widespread abuse of South Asian migrants in the Persian Gulf region at the hands of their employers.

A study by Fernando, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, and Niharika Singh, a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia University, focused on a Sri Lankan governmental review system enacted to combat labor abuses of that country's migrant workers employed in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"As with many international migrants, Sri Lankans leave home to find employment as laborers in construction and as domestic workers and vehicle and machinery operators, hoping to financially support their families and build better lives," Fernando said. "In fact, roughly 17% of the total Sri Lankan work forceapproximately 1.5 million workerswere employed in the Gulf region alone in 2015."

Unfortunately, many Gulf region employers routinely withhold pay; seize passports; engage in verbal, physical and sexual abuse; and fail to honor their contracts, leaving migrant workers with few options for legal recourse, Fernando said. Using administrative data on more than 1.5 million Sri Lankan migrant workers, the researchers found that approximately 8 percent of them make a complaint to a consulate to report labor abuseswith 80 percent of those complaints coming from female migrant workersalthough the occurrence of abuse is likely much higher.

Countries that supply migrant workers have no power to control labor laws in host countries, and banning migration altogether hurts both the migrants and the economies of their home countries. However, migration in the Gulf corridor is often mediated by recruitment agencies, Fernando noted, and targeting these intermediary agencies for reform has the potential to help solve the problem.

"Vulnerable migrants place their trust in intermediaries in return for finding them safe passage and employment opportunities," he said. "As a consequence, these middlemen have enormous power in determining the potential quality of the migrant's job.

"But if nobody holds an intermediary accountable in Sri Lanka, and an abusive employer is willing to pay you more money, they may as well send the migrant to an abusive employer. We found that some agencies systematically send migrants to abusive employers; we call them 'underperforming' or 'low-quality' agencies. Those are the ones that you really want to find a way to improve on their practices."

In 2010, the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment instituted a rating program to give star ratings to eligible intermediaries to incentivize them toward better placement practices. ("Eligible" intermediaries were those agencies that sent more than 100 migrants to jobs in 2009.) The government announced it would grant intermediaries zero to five stars based on each agency's total recruitment, skill intensity of jobs matched and performance in resolving complaints. In 2012, the star ratings were then announced in a public ceremony and made available in an online database.

To assess this "regulation by reputation" strategy, Fernando and Singh examined how eligible Sri Lankan intermediaries responded, beginning with when they first learned they would be reviewed and rated based on their business practices. They discovered that the star-rating policy did make a difference and that intermediaries responded proactively to an incentive that threatened their reputationespecially those agencies that were underperforming.

To determine this, Fernando and Singh compared agencies that were eligible to those that were not, by tracking individual migrants and their contracts, local recruiters, foreign employers and, ultimately, whether they sought assistance from a Sri Lankan consulate for an employment-related dispute.

What was most surprising, Fernando said, was the timing and the efficacy of the policy.

"The period between 2010 and 2012 when the intermediaries were given the chance to get their act together was the most productive," Fernando said. "That was when the agencies, particularly those who were previously underperforming, started complying and taking action to improve what their future rating would bebefore it was revealed how many stars they had garnered.

"If you create a reputational incentive for these intermediariesif you give them a carrot, so to speakthen they start caring about where they place migrants. The agencies will choose better employers when they have reason to do so."

In a related result, Fernando and Singh found that employers also sought out the higher-rated intermediaries to find workers for them because they deemed them more dependable and trustworthy in finding reliable, consistent help.

The researchers did not find evidence, however, that migrants responded to the star ratings, in large part because the ratings were primarily made available on the internet, which, at the time, was accessible to less than 12% of the Sri Lankan population. In fact, only 14 percent of the migrants had ever heard of the rating program. The researchers concluded that work still needs to be done to better market the star ratings to a broader audience.

Improving the lives of Sri Lankan migrant workers is not only personally important to Fernando, who is from Sri Lanka, but is also completely aligned with the spirit of Notre Dame, he said.

"I can't think of something more consistent with Notre Dame's mission than caring about the dignity of labor. Any human being, no matter where they come fromno matter if they are rich or poor, Black, brown or whitehas an inherent dignity about them that we should respect."

"And being able to conduct research that uses credible methods, that is empirically oriented, that uses a ton of data to make simple points, is very much consistent with the idea of valuing human development and human flourishing."

More information: Regulation by Reputation? Intermediaries, Labor Abuses, and International Migration. news.nd.edu/assets/501978/migrec_070622.pdf
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Global color mosaic of Neptune's largest moon, Triton, taken by NASA's Voyager 2 in 1989. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS

In a recent study published in the journal Icarus, a team of researchers at the International Research School of Planetary Science (IRSPS) located at the D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara in Italy conducted a geological analysis of a region on Neptune's largest moon, Triton, known as Monad Regio to ascertain the geological processes responsible for shaping its surface during its history, and possibly today. These include what are known as endogenic and exogenic processes, which constitute geologic processes occurring internally (endo-) and externally (exo-) on a celestial body. So, what new insights into planetary geologic processes can we learn from this examination of Monad Regio?

"Exogenic geological features, such as glaciers, channels, and coastlines, characterize the bodies of the solar system that possess, or possessed, a dense atmosphere," Dr. Davide Sulcanese, who is a Junior Scientist within IRSPS and lead author of the study, recently told Universe Today. "The surface of Earth, Mars and Titan contains a large variety of similar features. Surprisingly, we observed that even in one of the farthest and coldest bodies of the solar system, the icy satellite Triton, the surface can be reshaped by exogenic processes, including deposition and flowing of ice (though in this case we refer to nitrogen ice)."

"Such exogenic activity has already been observed on another body of the outer solar system, Pluto, where the high-resolution images acquired by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 revealed for the first time the presence of active glaciers and dendritic channels on its surface," Dr. Sulcanese continued. "We showed that also the surface of Triton (at least in Monad Regio) could host several ice flow-related features, like glaciers, moraines, ogives, and subglacial channels, that have probably played a fundamental role in the rejuvenation of its surface."

For the study, the researchers created a geomorphological map at a scale of 1:1,000,000 of an extended area of Monad Regio, meaning the measurement of 1 on their map is equivalent to 1 million of the same measurement on Monad Regio. They then used a combination of images from NASA's Voyager 2, a roughness map of the study area, and a digital elevation model to conduct their geological analysis of the area. Their findings indicate that an endogenic phase is potentially followed by an exogenic phase, which could help explain the surface features we see today.

"Most of the morphologies we observed on Triton are a consequence of the internal geological activity of the moon, like diapirism, explosive events, faulting, cryovolcanism and consequent flow of cryolava," Dr. Sulcanese recently told Universe Today. "However, we infer that after this first endogenic phase, some of these landforms in Monad Regio have been further modified by deposition and flow of solid and liquid nitrogen, forming features strikingly similar to terrestrial glaciers, morains, ogives, channels, and even coastlines." The study notes that while endogenic processes could be responsible for reshaping the surface early in the moon's evolutionary history, it is the exogenic processes that could be responsible for actively reshaping its surface today.

"The almost total absence of craters on Triton denotes that its surface is extremely young, geologically speaking," Dr. Sulcanese recently told Universe Today. "This means that there is some kind of process that modified, or perhaps is still modifying, its surface. While in the south polar region of Triton the reason of such rejuvenation is probably attributable to the active geyser-like plumes (observed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989), in Monad Regio the cause could be the exogenic processes mentioned above."

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft is still the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune and its largest moon, Triton, meaning the only images we have of Triton are over 30 years old, which Dr. Sulcanese informed Universe Today as being "the challenge of this work."

"Still now, the only available information we have about the surface of this satellite derives from these images," Dr. Sulcanese recently told Universe Today. "Many of our findings were made possible thanks to the availability of a digital elevation model (DEM), that we were able to generate here at the International Research School of Planetary Sciences (IRSPS) (University of G. d'Annunzio in Pescara), by applying a technique called photoclinometry. This is to say that, although new space missions are crucial for improving our knowledge of planetary bodies, modern software can help rework old data in a different way and extract new information that was not accessible earlier."

While there are currently no missions slated to return to Neptune, NASA's Neptune Odyssey mission was one of the finalists for a NASA Discovery mission, but it was announced in June 2021 that it was not selected, as two missions to Venus, DAVINCI and VERTITAS, were chosen instead.

More information: Davide Sulcanese et al, Geological analysis of Monad Regio, Triton: Possible evidence of endogenic and exogenic processes, Icarus (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115368 Journal information: Icarus
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The list of extinct species that genetic engineering company Colossal wants to bring back to life is growing. The latest addition: the dodo.

Colossal gave life to real-world visions of Jurassic Park in 2021 with its mission of bringing back the wooly mammoth. In August 2022, the company, which has offices in Boston, Dallas and Austin, Texas, said it also planned to de-extinct the Australian thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger.

This new project, announced Tuesday, would bring back a species that's historically highlighted as a case of how humans can contribute to the extinction of an animal species.

When did the dodo become extinct?

The last dodo was killed in 1681, according to Britannica.com. Portuguese sailors discovered the dodo on the island of Mauritius, which is off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, more than five centuries ago.

The birds, which were larger than turkeys, were killed for food, the site says. Pigs and other animals brought to the island ate dodo eggs.

"The dodo is a prime example of a species that became extinct because wepeoplemade it impossible for them to survive in their native habitat," said Beth Shapiro, lead paleogeneticist and a member of Colossal's scientific advisory board, in the announcement.

Shapiro, a professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz, led a group that announced in March 2022 it had sequenced the dodo genome. "I am thrilled to collaborate with Colossal and the people of Mauritius on the de-extinction and eventual re-wilding of the dodo," she said. "I particularly look forward to furthering genetic rescue tools focused on birds and avian conservation."

How are scientists trying to bring back extinct species like the wooly mammoth?

Colossal's biotech and genetic engineering teams are combining wooly mammoth and elephant DNA to recreate a next-generation mammoth capable of surviving in the Arctic and helping restore that ecosystem. "These embryos will be implanted into healthy female elephant surrogates with our first calves expected in 5 years," accounting for the 22-month gestation period, Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, told U.S. TODAY.

A similar process is being used with the Tasmanian tiger's genome and similar mammal DNA to bring back that predatorexterminated in the early 20th centuryto the island off the southeast tip of Australia.

Colossal is creating an Avian Genomics Group to bring back the dodo and, eventually, other extinct bird species "through genetic rescue techniques and its de-extinction toolkit," the company said in its announcement. Colossal also announced $150 million in investments, boosting to $225 million its funding since the company's September 2021 debut.

What other benefits might Colossal's research yield?

Gene editing and biotech advances used for de-extinction "will inevitably have utility in the human healthcare field," Lamm said. Gene editing technology such as CRISPR is already being used to correct genetic mutations found in diseases. "We'll be building new tools to enable more complex editing protocols which will advance the state of the art when compared to what is available in the healthcare industry," he said.

(c)2023 USA Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Scientists have released a new survey of all the matter in the universe, using data taken by the Dark Energy Survey in Chile and the South Pole Telescope. Credit: Andreas Papadopoulos

Sometimes to know what the matter is, you have to find it first.

When the universe began, matter was flung outward and gradually formed the planets, stars and galaxies that we know and love today. By carefully assembling a map of that matter today, scientists can try to understand the forces that shaped the evolution of the universe.

A group of scientists, including several with the University of Chicago and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, have released one of the most precise measurements ever made of how matter is distributed across the universe today.

Combining data from two major telescope surveys of the universe, the Dark Energy Survey and the South Pole Telescope, the analysis involved more than 150 researchers and is published as a set of three articles Jan. 31 in Physical Review D.

Among other findings, the analysis indicates that matter is not as "clumpy" as we would expect based on our current best model of the universe, which adds to a body of evidence that there may be something missing from our existing standard model of the universe.

Cooling and clumps

After the Big Bang created all the matter in the universe in a very hot, intense few moments about 13 billion years ago, this matter has been spreading outward, cooling and clumping as it goes. Scientists are very interested in tracing the path of this matter; by seeing where all the matter ended up, they can try to recreate what happened and what forces would have had to have been in play.

The first step is collecting enormous amounts of data with telescopes.

In this study, scientists combined data from two very different telescope surveys: The Dark Energy Survey, which surveyed the sky over six years from a mountaintop in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope, which looks for the faint traces of radiation that are still traveling across the sky from the first few moments of the universe.

Combining two different methods of looking at the sky reduces the chance that the results are thrown off by an error in one of the forms of measurement. "It functions like a cross-check, so it becomes a much more robust measurement than if you just used one or the other," said UChicago astrophysicist Chihway Chang, one of the lead authors of the studies.

In both cases, the analysis looked at a phenomenon called "gravitational lensing." As light travels across the universe, it can be slightly bent as it passes objects with lots of gravity, like galaxies.

By overlaying maps of the sky from the Dark Energy Survey telescope (at left) and the South Pole Telescope (at right), the team could assemble a map of how the matter is distributedcrucial to understand the forces that shape the universe. Credit: Yuuki Omori

This method catches both regular matter and dark matterthe mysterious form of matter that we have only detected due to its effects on regular matterbecause both regular and dark matter exert gravity.

By rigorously analyzing these two sets of data, the scientists could infer where all the matter ended up in the universe. It is more precise than previous measurementsthat is, it narrows down the possibilities for where this matter wound upcompared to previous analyses, the authors said.

The majority of the results fit perfectly with the currently accepted best theory of the universe.

But there are also signs of a crackone that has been suggested in the past by other analyses, too.

"It seems like there are slightly less fluctuations in the current universe, than we would predict assuming our standard cosmological model anchored to the early universe," said analysis co-author and University of Hawaii astrophysicist Eric Baxter (UChicago Ph.D.'14).

That is, if you make a model incorporating all the currently accepted physical laws, then take the readings from the beginning of the universe and extrapolate it forward through time, the results look slightly different from what we actually measure around us today.

Specifically, today's readings find the universe is less "clumpy"clustering in certain areas rather than evenly spread outthan the model would predict.

If other studies continue to find the same results, scientists say, it may mean there is something missing from our existing model of the universe, but the results are not yet to the statistical level that scientists consider to be ironclad. That will take further study.

However, the analysis is a landmark as it yielded useful information from two very different telescope surveys. This is a much-anticipated strategy for the future of astrophysics, as more large telescopes come online in the next decades, but few had actually been carried out yet.

"I think this exercise showed both the challenges and benefits of doing these kinds of analyses," Chang said. "There's a lot of new things you can do when you combine these different angles of looking at the universe."

University of Chicago Kavli Associate Fellow Yuuki Omori was also a lead co-author for the papers.

More information: Y. Omori et al, Joint analysis of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data and CMB lensing from SPT and Planck . I. Construction of CMB lensing maps and modeling choices, Physical Review D (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.023529 C. Chang et al, Joint analysis of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data and CMB lensing from SPT and Planck . II. Cross-correlation measurements and cosmological constraints, Physical Review D (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.023530 T. M. C. Abbott et al, Joint analysis of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 data and CMB lensing from SPT and Planck . III. Combined cosmological constraints, Physical Review D (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.023531 Journal information: Physical Review D
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An artist's concept of a binary pair where a smaller star is feeding material to a neutron star. Perturbations in the neutron star may be sending a constant wash of gravitational waves through space. Credit: Gabriel Perez Diaz, SMM (IAC)

The cosmic zoo contains objects so bizarre and extreme that they generate gravitational waves. Scorpius X-1 is part of that strange collection. It's actually a binary pair: a neutron star orbiting with a low-mass stellar companion called V818 Scorpii. The pair provides a prime target for scientists hunting for so-called "continuous" gravitational waves. Those waves should exist, although none have been detectedyet.

"Scorpius X-1 is one of the most promising sources for detecting these continuous gravitational waves," said Professor John Whelan from Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Mathematical Sciences. He's the principal investigator of RIT's group in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, part of a group of scientists focused on the direct detection of gravitational waves. LIGO is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, situated in Washington State and Louisiana. Virgo (in Italy) and KAGRA (in Japan) are also searching for gravitational waves, often in conjunction with LIGO.

Hunting for gravitational waves at Scorpius X-1

Whelan's team used data from the third LIGO-Virgo observing run in their search for continuous gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1. "It's fairly close at only 9,000 light years away," said Whelan. "We can see it very brightly in X-rays because the gaseous matter from the companion star is pulled onto the neutron star."

Despite its brightness, the team did not detect a continuous wash of gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1. That doesn't mean the waves aren't there. In fact, their data provide important goalposts as they plan more observations of the pair. It helped them improve their search methodology and should eventually result in the detection of these elusive waves.

"This search yielded the best constraint so far on the possible strength of gravitational waves emitted from Scorpius X-1," said Jared Wofford, an astrophysical sciences and technology Ph.D. candidate. "For the first time, this search is now sensitive to models of the possible torque balance scenario of the system, which states that the torques of the gravitational wave and accretion of matter onto the neutron star are in balance. In the coming years, we expect better sensitivities from more data taken by Advanced LIGO observing runs probing deeper into the torque balance scenario in hopes to make the first continuous wave detection."

An artists conception of a neutron star shows a schematic of its magnetic field and possible jets of material escaping from the poles. In the Scorpius X-1 system, the neutron star is paired with a low-mass star. Material escapes from the smaller star onto the surface of the neutron star. irregularities in the surface of the neutron star may play a role in creating gravitational waves. Credit: Kevin Gill, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

The Scorpius X-1 system

Scorpius X-1 is the strongest X-ray source in our sky (after the sun). Astronomers discovered it in 1962 when they sent a sounding rocket with an X-ray detector up to space. Over the years, they figured out that its strong X-ray emissions come from a 1.4-solar mass neutron star that's gobbling up matter streaming from its smaller 0.4-solar-mass companion. The strong gravitational field of the neutron star accelerates the stellar material as it falls onto the star. That superheats the matter and causes it to give off X-rays.

While the system is a strong X-ray emitter and is bright in optical light, it's actually classified as a low-mass X-ray binary. The two objects have an 18.9-hour orbital period. It's not clear if they formed together early in their history. Some astronomers suggest they could have come together when a supermassive star and the small companion had a close encounter in a globular cluster environment. The larger companion eventually exploded as a supernova, which created the neutron star.

Using gravitational waves to understand the Scorpius X-1 binary pair

Most of us are familiar with gravitational waves generated by the mergers of black holes and/or neutron stars. The first detection of those waves happened in 2015. Since then, LIGO and its sister facilities KAGRA and Virgo have detected these "stronger" waves regularly. It's important to remember that those detections record specific collisionsessentially "one-off" events. However, they aren't the only sources of gravitational waves in the universe. Astronomers think that massive objects that spin hundreds of times per secondsuch as neutron starscan produce weaker continuous waves that should be detectable.

So, what might cause the waves in a neutron star/companion star binary pair? Look at the outer structure of neutron stars. Scientists describe them as uniformly smooth objects, with strong gravitational and magnetic fields. However, they could have tiny surface irregularities (called "mountains"). These stick out only fractions of a millimeter above the surface of the neutron star's "crust." The mountains are really deformations in that crust. They're created by extreme stresses in the electromagnetic field of the neutron star.

It's also possible that these deformities happen as the spin of the object slows down. Or, possibly when its spin suddenly speeds up. However they're formed, they affect the magnetic and gravitational fields of the neutron star. That may be what's causing the gravitational waves. If so, those mountains may be small, but their influence could be big.

The challenge now is to measure those waves. Eventually, astronomers will detect a constant "wash" of waves coming from Scorpius X-1. Their data will tell them more about the neutron star itself. It should also give clues to the dynamics of the binary pair as the members orbit with respect to each other.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Popular fireworks should be replaced with cleaner drone and laser light shows to avoid the "highly damaging" impact on wildlife, domestic pets and the broader environment, new Curtin-led research has found.

The new research, published in Pacific Conservation Biology, examined the environmental toll of firework displays by reviewing the ecological effects of Diwali festivities in India, Fourth of July celebrations across the United States of America, and other events in New Zealand and parts of Europe.

Examples included fireworks in Spanish festivals impacting the breeding success of House Sparrows, July firework displays being implicated in the decline of Brandt's Cormorant colonies in California, and South American sea lions changing their behavior during breeding season as a result of New Year's fireworks in Chile.

Lead author Associate Professor Bill Bateman, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said fireworks remained globally popular despite the overwhelming evidence that they negatively impacted wildlife, domestic animals and the environment.

"Fireworks create short-term noise and light disturbances that cause distress in domestic animals that may be managed before or after a firework event, but the impacts to wildlife can be on a much larger scale," Associate Professor Bateman said.

"The annual timing of some large-scale firework events coincides with the migratory or reproductive movements of wildlife, and may therefore have adverse long-term population effects on them. Fireworks also produce significant pulses of highly pollutant materials that also contribute significantly to the chemical pollution of soil, water, and air, which has implications for human as well as animal health."

Associate Professor Bateman said firework bans at sensitive periods for wildlife migration or mating periods could limit the impact, as well as drone or other light-based shows.

"Other than horses, for which there is some evidence that they can be gradually familiarized with flashes of light, there is very little that can be done to address the disturbing impact of noise from fireworks on animals and wildlife," Associate Professor Bateman said.

"The future of firework displays may be in the use of safer and greener alternatives such as drones, eco-friendly fireworks or visible-wavelength lasers for light shows.

"There is growing evidence that these community events can be managed in a sustainable way and it's clear that out-dated firework displays need to be replaced by cleaner options that are not harmful to wildlife and the environment."

The full paper, "Not just a flash in the pan: short and long term impacts of fireworks on the environment," is available online.

More information: Philip W. Bateman et al, Not just a flash in the pan: short and long term impacts of fireworks on the environment, Pacific Conservation Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1071/PC22040
To inform voters, the Chicago Tribune politics team posed a series of questions to the candidates running for mayor of Chicago.

There are nine candidates running for mayor. See their answers linked below.

State Rep. Kam Buckner (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked about funding for public transit agencies, Buckner said: Im the only candidate in this race who has put forward a comprehensive plan to improve non-automobile infrastructure and the CTA  Im a lifelong avid CTA rider and a proponent of safe streets, and this issue is incredibly important to me. Read more here.

U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked about compliance for the Chicago Police Department consent decree, Garcia said: Step one is replacing Superintendent Brown. He is not trusted by his force or the public. We need a leader at the top who buys into the reforms we need to make and committed to building relationships with community stakeholders across the city. Read more here.

Activist Ja'Mal Green (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked about reforming or abolishing some city fines or fees, Green said: We will be abolishing the practice of booting cars for nonpayment of violations, ending the red light cameras that keep Chicagoans in poverty via multiplication of fines, and fighting to take back our parking meters from Daleys deal with the devil. Cook Countys personal bankruptcy rate is out of control, and its driven by debt to the City of Chicago. This must end. Read more here.

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked about Chicago Public Schools transitioning to a fully elected school board, Johnson said: The future of Chicago schools, and of our entire city, will depend on how well the next mayor leads the transition to a fully elected school board and financial independence for Chicago Public Schools. Chicago needs a mayor who understands and believes in public education, and who will invest in our youth to ensure our citys ability to thrive going forward. Read more here.

Ald. Sophia King, 4th (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked of how she would improve transparency in city government, King said: I think that under this administration there has been a culture of silence and secrecy which has undermined not only the faith of residents in their government, but the proper functioning of that government. I would not view the press as opponents. I would instruct those who work in my administration to err on the side of disclosure in any case where third-party privacy or significant legal restrictions do not exist. Read more here.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked of dealing with crime, Lightfoot said: The most important responsibility of any mayor is public safety. My goal is to make Chicago the safest big city in the country by creating lasting peace, not just episodic periods of peace in certain neighborhoods. Read more here.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked of aldermanic privilege, Sawyer said: Many of my constituents believe we are still living in the 1970s in terms of aldermanic privilege. We dont have the kind of authority to do what previous generations of alders did. We have made strides in improving the transparency on zoning matters, though I still believe the local alder has a place in the process. Read more here.

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked of city ethics laws, Vallas said: City government is bedeviled by a transactional approach to ethics reform that all but guarantees the perpetuation of our increasingly toxic history and culture of corruption. What distinguishes Chicago from other cities is not what happens that is illegal, but what happens that is perfectly legal. In the wake of a fresh scandal, Chicagos elected officials too often congratulate themselves for passing ethics reforms that more often than not are a least common denominator reaction to what just occurred. Read more here.

Businessman Willie Wilson (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

When asked of how he would deal with crime, Wilson said: Carjacking, robberies, gun violence and other crimes terrorize the city. I lost a 20 year old son to violence -- he was murdered. This is personal for me. Read more here.
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The filament visible in chicken samples, as seen under CT scan. Credit: RMIT University

A new antimicrobial suture material that glows in medical imaging could be a promising alternative for mesh implants and internal stitches.

Surgical site infections are one of the most common medical infections, occurring in 2 to 4% of patients post-surgery. For some procedures, such as vaginal mesh implants to treat prolapse, infection rates can be much higher, leading to a ban on that procedure in 2018 in Australia.

Study lead author and Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Shadi Houshyar, said their suture was being developed in partnership with clinicians specifically for this type of procedure.

"Our smart surgical sutures can play an important role in preventing infection and monitoring patient recovery and the proof-of-concept material we've developed has several important properties that make it an exciting candidate for this," said Houshyar, from RMIT University's School of Engineering.

Lab tests on the surgical filament, published in OpenNano, showed it was easily visible in CT scans when threaded through samples of chicken meat, even after three weeks.

It also showed strong antimicrobial properties, killing 99% of highly drug-resistant bacteria after six hours at body temperature.

Houshyar said the team was not aware of any commercially available suture products that combined these properties.

How they did it

The multidisciplinary team led by RMITincluded nano-engineering, biomedical and textile experts working in partnership with a practicing surgeonused the university's cutting-edge textile manufacturing facility to develop their proof-of-concept material.

The suture's properties come from the combination of iodine and tiny nanoparticles, called carbon dots, throughout the material.

Carbon dots are inherently fluorescent, due to their particular wavelength, but they can also be tuned to various levels of luminosity that easily stand out from surrounding tissue in medical imaging.

Attaching iodine to these carbon dots, meanwhile, provides them with their strong antimicrobial properties and greater X-ray visibility.

Houshyar said carbon nano dots were safe, cheap and easy to produce in the lab from natural ingredients.

Professor Elisa Hill-Yardin, Dr Shadi Houshyar and Professor Justin Yeung inspect a prototype of the iodine-infused filament. Credit: RMIT University

"They can be tailored to create biodegradable stitches or a permanent suture, or even to be adhesive on one side only, where required," she said.

"This project opens up a lot of practical solutions for surgeons, which has been our aim from the start and the reason we have involved clinicians in the study."

Clinical possibilities

Consultant colorectal surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne, Justin Yeung, was involved in the study. He said it addressed a real challenge faced by surgeons in trying to identify the precise anatomical location of internal meshes on CT scans.

"This mesh will enable us to help with improved identification of the causes of symptoms, reduce the incidence of mesh infections and will help with precise preoperative planning, if there is a need to surgically remove this mesh," he said.

"It has the potential to improve surgery outcomes and improve quality of life for a huge proportion of women, if used as vaginal mesh for example, by reducing the need for infected mesh removal."

"It may also significantly reduce surgery duration and increase surgical accuracy in general through the ability to visualize mesh location accurately on preoperative imaging."

A sample of the iodine-infused filament in the lab. Credit: RMIT University

Next steps

Study co-author from RMIT's School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Professor Elisa Hill-Yardin, said the next steps were pre-clinical trials.

"While this research is at an early stage, we believe we are onto something very promising that could help a lot of people and are really keen to speak with industry partners who are interested in working with us to take it further," she said.

"We see potential especially in vaginal mesh implants and similar procedures."

The research team used Australia's leading university-based textile manufacturing facilities at RMIT's Centre for Materials Innovation and Future Fashion, as well as the Rapid Discovery and Fabrication team's labs to produce the proof-of-concept material.

Next, they team plans to produce larger suture samples to use in pre-clinical trials.

More information: Shadi Houshyar et al, Smart suture with iodine contrasting nanoparticles for computed tomography, OpenNano (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.onano.2022.100120
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Credit: Tokyo Tech

Advances in molecular biology have revealed that pep-tRNAsnascent polypeptides inside the ribosome that are covalently attached to transfer RNAare involved in myriad cell functions, including gene expression. All proteins exist as pep-tRNAs at some point, and studying these translation intermediates is vital as they possess properties of both RNA and protein, and can help researchers better understand the specifics of translation.

Depending on stimuli and/or stresses, translational regulation is very rapid and spans initiation, elongation, and elongation pausing. Garnering deeper insights into the process of translation therefore requires a suitable method to process pep-tRNAs in large quantities. These nuances have fueled the development of molecular tools to investigate cellular translation.

Presently, the two primary approaches being used to survey cellular translation leverage vastly different strategies. The first, ribosome profiling, a powerful deep-sequencing technology, monitors translation by targeting ribosome-protected mRNA fragments produced from RNase digestion. Unfortunately, this approach is inherently unable to capture pep-tRNAs, and is time-consuming, expensive, and data intensive.

The alternative relies on proteomics with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) and requires using unusual amino acids to label polypeptides. However, such proteomics approaches are time-intensive, and, most importantly, do not capture the translation elongation status of the cell, as pep-tRNAs aren't directly targeted.

To navigate around these limitations in "pep-tRNA-ome" technology, a team of scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), led by Prof. Hideki Taguchi, has developed PETEOS. Their findings have now been published in Nucleic Acids Research.

Regarding the main advantages of their work, Prof. Taguchi explains, "This non-labeling methodology is unique in that it specifically enriches and rapidly captures pep-tRNAs while still complementing conventional translatome analyses platforms."

PETEOS has four steps. First, RNA is enriched using organic solvent extraction and then isolated on a silica column. Next, the target polypeptides in the isolated pep-tRNAs are separated from their ribonucleotides using a combination of high pH and temperature. Then, the liberated polypeptides are subjected to enzymatic digestion and cleaved. And lastly, these polypeptides are identified using shotgun LC-MS/MS proteomics.

"As a proof-of-concept, we were able to identify nearly 800 E. coli proteins that were derived from pep-tRNA using PETEOS. Importantly, these proteins were N-termini-enriched, which underscores that the method really does capture the intermediate pep-tRNA pool during translation," says Prof. Taguchi, speaking of the significance of their new method.

The team was also able to show that PETEOS could capture "screenshots" of the nascentomethe pool of nascent pep-tRNAs present at any given timewhen E. coli cells were subjected to heat shock and antibiotic treatments. PETEOS outperformed conventional methods in terms of the capacity to capture acute protein expression under heat stress, and the rearrangement of the nascentome following exposure to different antibiotics.

PETEOS does have a few limitations, including a difficulty in analyzing low abundance pep-tRNAs using LC-MS/MS, limited quantitative capacity because of the acidic phenol/chloroform step, no codon-level resolution, and difficulty capturing the C-terminal end of the growing polypeptide. However, some of these issues exist for conventional approaches as well and can be overcome by improving the C-terminal peptide enrichment efficiency of this process.

The team believes there is tremendous potential to optimize their protocol moving forward. Prof. Taguchi concludes, "Despite the limitations, we're confident PETEOS has potential as it enables analyses that current translatome methods simply cannot. Most importantly, it can be applied to any organism." With more research in this field, we will deepen our understanding of protein synthesis.

More information: Ayako Yamakawa et al, A method to enrich polypeptidyl-tRNAs to capture snapshots of translation in the cell, Nucleic Acids Research (2023). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1276 Journal information: Nucleic Acids Research
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Credit: Ruslan Lytvyn/Shutterstock

Thousands of women have voluntarily joined Ukraine's armed forces since 2014, when Russia's occupation of Crimea and territories in eastern Ukraine began. Over the past nine years, the number of women serving in the Ukrainian military has more than doubled, with another wave of women joining after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Women have served in Ukraine's armed forces since the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but were mainly in supporting roles until the beginning of the war in 2014. They started serving in combat roles in 2016 and all military roles were opened to women in 2022. However, many women in non-combat roles, such as medics, are exposed to the same dangers and hardships as their male and female colleagues who fire the weapons.

According to Ukraine's deputy minister of defense, Hanna Maliar, by the summer of 2022 more than 50,000 women were employed by the armed forces in some capacity, with approximately 38,000 serving in uniform. Women are now with units on the front lines.

Women in the armed forces are being taken as prisoners-of-war by the Russians. Ukrainian medic Yulia Paevska was imprisoned for three months . "The treatment was very hard, very rough  The women and I were all exhausted," she told Associated Press.

Patriarchal attitudes are changing

Ukraine is a country with strong patriarchal traditions, especially in the defense sector. But Ukraine's women soldiers are increasingly being accepted by Ukrainian society and the country's political leadership during this war.

One indication of the recognition of women's presence in the military and society's rating of their contributions was when National Defenders' Day was renamed in 2021 as the Day of Men and Women Defenders of Ukraine.

And there are other indications. Images of servicewomen are now regularly used by the ministry of defense in its social media posts. Ukraine's women soldiers are also often in the news, talking about their military experiences. There are also approximately 8,000 women officers as of October 2022, and one of Ukraine's deputy defense ministers is a woman.

But the presence of women in the Ukrainian armed forces has not been without controversy. Some analysts warn against assuming that the photographs and videos in the news and on social media showing women on the front lines means that they enjoy equality with the men they serve beside.

Boots that don't fit

Ukraine's women soldiers still have to overcome skepticism from commanders and fellow soldiers about their commitment and abilities, obstacles to promotion and career development, as well as difficulties with practicaland vitally importantmatters such as getting uniforms, body armor and boots that fit.

Women are also more exposed to sexual violence. Many Ukrainian female combatants mention in interviews with journalists that they must avoid captivity by any means and that they are ready to die rather than being captured by the Russians.

A major research project, Invisible Battalion, began in 2015 and has shed light on the conditions of military service for Ukrainian women. Led by a group of Ukrainian sociologists (including Anna Kvit, one of the authors of this article), it identified legal barriers to women's employment in the defense and security sector, as well as obstacles to their access to military education and training. These regulations had prevented women in the military from occupying a range of technical and leadership positions.

Not only have many of these formal obstacles now been removed, but gender advisers and audits have been introduced to encourage a military culture that is more welcoming for women. In families where both parents are serving in the armed forces, parental leave is no longer the exclusive preserve of mothers.

Social attitudes towards women soldiers have also improved a great deal over the past few years. For example, the percentage of Ukrainians who agreed that women in the military should be granted equal opportunities with men increased dramatically from 53% in 2018 to 80% in 2022.

Looking ahead to post-war Ukrainian society, it is hard to predict whether these more positive public attitudes towards women soldiers will translate into greater acceptance of women in the relatively new role of war veteran. A follow-up study conducted for the Invisible Battalion project in 2017 revealed that women veterans struggled to have their status recognized by both government officials and civilians. This meant difficulties in accessing public services for veterans and in making the transition back to civilian life.

Will attitudes roll back?

In the aftermath of war there is often social pressure on women to resume more traditional gender roles, namely to focus on motherhood and family. This is precisely what happened to Soviet women who fought in the second world war: they were the first to be demobilized and were even instructed not to talk about what they did in the war in case they might embarrass their husbands.

However, just as public attitudes towards women in in the military are changing quickly in Ukraine, so too are the country's laws and government policies.

Ukraine's commitment towards addressing women's needs and rights is reflected in the government's strategic documents for the next decade. For example, in 2022 Ukraine adopted the national strategy on equality of women and men, covering the period up to 2030.

In 2020 it introduced Ukraine's second national action plan including measures to improve conditions for women's military service and support women veterans. The plan makes a commitment to provide "servicewomen with uniforms, equipment, and body armor that would fit their anthropometric measures", and to provide women veterans and their family members with free legal advice.

The common experience of war brings an understanding of the scale and nature of the contributions that Ukraine's women are making to protect and defend their country. This shared understanding, reinforced by everyday encounters with women veterans who are friends, neighbors and family, might mean these women's experiences will be valued in the years to come.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Laboratory experiments were conducted in the Georgia Tech Environmental Chamber (GTEC) facility to study oxidation chemistry and secondary organic aerosol formation in multi-precursor systems. Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) consists of extremely small particles generated in the atmosphere from natural and human-made emissions. It is a major constituent of PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers) worldwide that is known to affect climate and human health.

Nga Lee "Sally" Ng, Love Family Professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, led a study to investigate the formation and properties of SOA from the nitrate radical oxidation of two common monoterpenes, compounds found in many plants.

Monoterpenes represent an important class of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their oxidation by nitrate radicals is a substantial source of SOA globally. Specifically, her research team examined the monoterpenes -pinene and limonene, which are both emitted in large quantities from trees.

In findings published in the journal Nature Communications, Ng's team found that oxidizing mixtures of monoterpenes simultaneously produced different results than observed through oxidizing them separately in laboratory chamber experiments. Given the chemical complexity of VOC reactions and SOA formation, previous experiments have mostly only studied one VOC compound at a time. In this study, Ng's team used advanced mass spectrometry techniques to probe chemistry of multi-VOC reactions from the bulk to molecular level.

"Our results highlight that unlike what is currently assumed in atmospheric models, the interaction of products formed from individual VOCs should be accounted for accurately to describe SOA formation and its climate and health impacts," Ng said.

Ng explained that one might have expected -pinene and limonene to have the same potential to form SOA when they are oxidized as mixtures simultaneously compared to when they are oxidized separately. But what the researchers found was approximately a 50% percent enhancement in the formation of SOA from -pinene and about a 20% reduction in limonene SOA formation.

"In this case, one plus one does not equal two," Ng said. "We do not get a linear reaction in the simultaneous oxidation experiment like we do in the sequential experiment. New products are being made by the interaction of the two monoterpenes."

Ng's study examined -pinene and limonene in a nighttime setting when nitrate radical chemistry prominently happens. Nitrate radicals are produced by traffic emissions and ozone.

"Aerosol chemistry does not stop at night," Ng said. After sunset, the nitrogen oxide compounds and ozone can react with the emissions from trees to produce organic aerosols. "At night, oxidation still takes place, but nighttime interactions have not been well studied."

Ng said she hopes this research will lead to further studies to examine VOCs in the atmosphere and how they interact together. "Studying the interaction of two VOCs is really just the beginning," Ng said. "It's a big step froward, but there's still a long way to go to understand the complexity of the atmosphere, where hundreds of VOCs are emitted and reacting at the same time."

More information: Masayuki Takeuchi et al, Non-linear effects of secondary organic aerosol formation and properties in multi-precursor systems, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35546-1 Journal information: Nature Communications
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Giant drag effect is discovered between a graphene layer and an interfacial superconductor, which can be attributed to a unique interaction between normal electrons and dynamical fluctuations of superconducting phases mediated by static Coulomb fields. Credit: Tao et al.

The Coloumb drag is a phenomenon that affects two electronic circuits, whereby a charge current in one circuit induces a responsive current in a neighboring circuit solely through so-called Coloumb interactions. These are electrostatic interactions between electric charges that follow Coulomb's law, the key physics theory describing classical electrodynamics.

Typically, this phenomenon was investigated using neighboring circuits made of conducting materials, or electrical conductors. These are essentially materials through which electricity can flow easily.

Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have recently explored what happens when one circuit is based on a conductor and a neighboring other on a superconductor (i.e., materials that offer no resistance whatsoever to electrical current). Their findings, published in Nature Physics, show that in these instances the drag response is significantly larger than that previously observed in studies using two normal conductors.

"Drag experiment between two electrically isolated conductors has been an effective approach to detecting elementary excitations and revealing interlayer phase coherence," Changgan Zeng, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. "Replacing one of the conductors with a superconductor may open opportunities for examining superconductivity and fluctuation effects as well as exploring new techniques for manipulating superconductor circuits."

The first drag experiments using conductors and superconductors were conducted in the 1990s. The devices used at the time, however, were based on conventional metal-superconductor double films, such as Au/Ti-AlO X.

The drag responses observed in these experiments were rather weak and uncontrolled. Moreover, researchers were unable to clarify the microscopic origin of the drag effect they observed.

"Thanks to newly emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials, we were able to revisit the problem, since the electronic properties there are highly tunable and an ultra-small interlayer separation is also archivable," said Lin Li, who designed and supervised this work together with Zeng.

"Our experimental group at USTC led by Prof. Zeng has long experience in fabricating devices and investigating transport properties of 2D materials. We naturally designed the unique Graphene-LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 heterostructure for studying drag effect in the ultimate 2D limit."

The heterostructure that Zeng and his colleagues used in their experiments was fabricated using a lanthanum aluminate (LAO) layer as a natural insulating spacer between the conductor graphene and a 2D electron gas that formed at the interface between LAO and a strontium titanate (STO) layer, which becomes a superconductor at low temperatures.

The researchers then tuned multiple parameters of their system, including its temperature, magnetic field and gate voltages. As they did this, they observed a sizable and tunable drag signal in the superconducting transition regime of the LAO/STO interface.

"The optimal passive-to-active ratio (PAR) is much higher than the typical drag signal between two normal conductors as well as that between Au/Ti and SC AlO x obtained in the existing studies," Li said. "The giant values and anomalous temperature and carrier dependence of the PAR indicate that a new drag mechanism is hidden behind our observations."

Dr. Hong-Yi Xie, a theoretical physicist at the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences who recently moved to the University of Oklahoma, used modern quantum many-body theory to explain the team's observations. More specifically, he developed a theoretical description of what happens when a Coulomb-coupled normal conductor is paired with a superconductor.

"Eventually, we revealed that the observed drag phenomenon can be attributed to the dynamic coupling between the quantum fluctuations of the SC phases of a Josephson-junction-array superconductor and the charge densities in the normal conductor, which we termed the Josephson-Colulomb (JC) drag effect," Zeng said. "The unveiled JC drag effect creates a new category in drag physics and manifests the unique role of quantum fluctuations in dominating the interlayer processes."

The recent work by this team of researchers shows that the drag response between a normal conductor and a superconductor can be much larger than that between two normal conductors. This finding could have significant implications both for physics research and technology development.

The JC drag unveiled by the researchers could prove to be particularly promising for the creation of new electronics. Specifically, it could contribute to the creation of components based on superconductors that could work as current or voltage transformers.

"In our next works, we would first like to carry out drags experiments between two 2D superconductors," Zeng added. "Moreover, we are planning to investigate emergent interlayer coupling between broader 2D systems that exhibit various quantum phases by parameter tuning, i.e., 2D topological semimetal/insulator and 2D ferromagnet. We aim to discover novel many-body effects due to strong interlayer coupling between various elementary excitations."

More information: Ran Tao et al, JosephsonCoulomb drag effect between graphene and a LaAlO3/SrTiO3 superconductor, Nature Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01902-7 Journal information: Nature Physics

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Credit: Science@NASA

Are wildfires getting worse? Unfortunately, yes. Changes in our climate, along with other factors, have led to wildfires increasing in intensity, severity, size and duration.

NASA climate and wildfire expert Liz Hoy explains how and why NASA studies these events from the ground, air, and space to better understand the impacts they have on both a local and global scale. Credit: Science@NASA

Provided by NASA
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols earlier this month, some experts have questioned whether police officers are even needed in responding to routine traffic stops.

Northeastern Law professor Deborah Ramirez, who chairs the criminal justice task force, argues that, in fact, the police shouldn't be working the traffic beat; that instead, civilians can be trained to enforce traffic laws in what she says is a much-needed change in the way society thinks about policing.

"My research is focused on how to prevent, detect and deter these kinds of things from happening in the first place. It's about rethinking public safety," Ramirez says.

Since news broke of the incident that saw five Black police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, kick, punch and use a baton to beat a defenseless Nichols, leading to his death, there has been widespread condemnation of the officers actions, renewing calls to address institutional racism in police departments across the country.

Some cities, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles, have already taken measures to overhaul traffic policies in an attempt to mitigate a kind of policing that disproportionately affects Black drivers and can lead to avoidable violence and even death.

But other cities, such as Eugene, Oregon, have for decades operated using radically different models of policing that include heavy reliance on mobile crisis intervention units to address issues that, in other communities, usually fall on the police. Ramirez holds up Eugene's "crisis assistance helping out on the streets" program, or CAHOOTS, as a potential model for rethinking policing.

That's because Ramirez says that structural racism, which describes a reality in which racially marginalized communities are disproportionately targeted by the police, is the primary culprit underlying the way policing is conducted today. To root out prejudice, she argues that police departments should look to reduce the size of their armed police.

When it comes to traffic policing, Matthew Ross, associate professor of public policy and economics at Northeastern, says that the most common solution offered is more police training. But Ross, who has extensively studied traffic stops conducted by police departments in Connecticut and Rhode Island, argues you can't "train away this problem."

The most successful way to reform traffic policing that Ross has seen involves "taking a lot of the discretion out of who we do and don't stop for a motor vehicle violation."

"[That involves] making a particular set of standards with which you can or cannot pull someone over, and then once you do pull someone over, you're required to give them a moving violation for the specific reason you pulled them over and no discretion in terms of issuing a warning," Ross says.

But Ramirez says the scaling back of the "institution" of the police, and narrowing the scope of police functions, necessarily entails a transfer of responsibility to other stakeholders. She proposes a model in which various community task forces, made up of mental health professionals and trained civilians, would respond to a broad category of situationsfrom monitoring traffic and treating youth unemployment, to addressing substance use disorder and issues homeless individuals might be facing.

All of the above-mentioned are currently issues that fall on the police, as first responders, to address.

The solution, Ramirez argues, is a new kind of division of laborone that reduces the likelihood of fatal outcomes, such as the one in Memphis earlier this month, during routine incidents.

"It means only sending armed police in situations when there is serious crime, felony crime or ongoing crime," Ramirez says.

For all other matters, she says deploying a team of trained civilians, with medical and mental health training, as first responders is the best way to avoid the kind of needless escalations of violence that many say has become an all-too-frequent feature of police culture in the U.S.

Such a civil public safety force would consist of "community-trained mediators, social workers, emergency medical technicians, traffic monitors and quality-of-life monitors." The team would be deployed across a range of situations, including traffic offenses that do not require armed police officers and monitoring quality of life on the streets.

The force could also be deployed in certain 911 calls; research suggests that between 23% to 45% of calls to police are for "minor concerns"noise complaints, behavioral health issues or other non-criminal and non-violent incidents that use up police resources and distract from potentially serious crimes.

Ramirez has also publicly advocated for police departments to mandate that their officers carry professional liability insurance. Such a policy would serve to price out officers who are repeatedly involved in claims by raising their premiums.

"We have to create a system that allows us to weed out the bad cops so the good ones can thrive," Ramirez says.
GRANVILLE  A family of five is safe after a fire in their Granville home late Monday evening.

Multiple fire departments responded about 8 p.m. to the residence at 1 South St.

What started with a call about a mother, child and a dog entrapped ended with them all making it out of the home safely, according to Granville Police Departments Mark Nelson.

The mother and child were rescued by ladder and the family dog made it out as well, he said.

The father and two other children left the building without assistance.

Neighbor Audrey Zellars was on the scene as the flames were being extinguished and said she heard that the fire started in the living room.

It started in the living room from what I was informed. It started to go up and there was one child stuck inside, she said. Everyone got out safely and in a timely manner and they are in the process of finishing extinguishing the fire.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Fire departments of both North Granville and Middle Granville responded along with the Granville Fire Department and the West Pawlet Volunteer Fire Company from Vermont.
ABSECON  The city last week recognized its three Citizens of the Year during a presentation dinner at the Villa Rifici Restaurant.

Jim Smith, Ed Vincent and Butch Stewart, three men instrumental in constructing a large 9/11 memorial at Heritage Park, were honored Jan. 24, said Lynn Caterson, a coordinator of the Absecon Republican Club, which sponsors the program.

Smith and Vincent recently died. Sandy Smith and Mary Vincent were presented with the awards for their husbands, Caterson said.

The Citizen of the Year award highlights residents for their work in the community without holding public office. Each is given a personal award, and their names are featured on a plaque at the entrance of City Hall.

A monetary donation also goes to a charity of their choice, in this case the Sept. 11 memorial, Caterson said.

The men helped build a memorial visible to motorists passing Heritage Park along Mill Road. It features two 19-foot replica towers made of aluminum, as well as a steel beam recovered from the rubble of the towers after they fell from the New York City skyline during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The city dedicated the memorial in 2016.
BRIGANTINE  The island will host another meeting on offshore wind development 11 a.m. Feb. 11 at the Community School.

This will be the third such meeting city officials have held to inform the public on plans by private companies to build massive wind farms 10 to 15 miles offshore.

Our goal throughout this entire process has been to offer a series of community forums where we can share information and help educate the public about the states plans to develop wind farms off the South Jersey coast, Mayor Vince Sera said Tuesday in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd; state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic; and Sera will speak, while representatives from Save Long Beach Island and Defend Brigantine have also been invited to speak.

Wind company Atlantic Shores also has been invited to participate.

The meeting comes as local officials have called for a moratorium on offshore wind work amid a spate of whale deaths over the past two months. On Monday, a dead whale washed ashore on Lido Beach in New York. This was the eighth whale to wash up on New Jersey and New York beaches in 38 days. On Jan. 13, a dead humpback whale washed up on the beach in Brigantine.

State and local officials want all offshore wind activities suspended until a cause for the marine mammal deaths is determined.

Experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this month there is no evidence offshore wind work has harmed the whales, and that whale deaths have been on the rise since 2016, before any wind work started.

The meeting will feature a formal presentation, with a brief question-and-answer session at the end.

Brigantine City Council supports the need for clean energy solutions but has a lot of concerns about the impacts these ocean wind projects may already be having on whales and other marine life, said Sera. Its very important for us to get real scientifically supported facts and proof that these projects will not harm our marine mammals or disrupt the ocean environment before anything can move forward. To try to fast track these projects without getting all the facts would be simply irresponsible.

Danish wind company rsted plans to build 98 wind turbines about 15 miles off Brigantines coast. Construction is set to begin next year, with the turbines fully operational by 2025.

Atlantic Shores plans to have 111 wind turbines fully operational across 183,353 acres at three different lease sites about 10 to 20 miles off the coast by 2027.

The Brigantine Community School is located at 301 E. Evans Blvd.
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick will not face possible censure from the DuPage County Board after he agreed to enforce all state and local laws after a discussion which included talk about the states new assault weapons ban with DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy and DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin, according to a joint statement from the three released Monday.

Mendrick, a Republican, faced backlash after making a statement earlier this month that he would not enforce the states new assault weapons ban, leading to several Democratic legislators calling on him to retract his statement.

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Conroy, a Democrat, said during last weeks DuPage County Board meeting that she planned to introduce a resolution at the boards next meeting to censure the sheriff for his statement.

More than 200 people showed up at the board meeting last week to let their feelings be known - both pro and con - concerning Mendricks comments.

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On Monday, in a joint statement, Conroy, Mendrick and Berlin said they engaged in a meaningful conversation during which they discussed their shared commitment to the safety of DuPage County residents.

After clarifying that enforcing the assault weapons ban does not demand that deputies go door to door seeking to remove weapons from those licensed to own them, the statement said that Mendrick is committed to enforcing all state and local laws.

The statement said that Conroy is committed to supporting the sheriffs office and will no longer pursue a censure resolution at this time.

All parties look forward to positive, productive collaboration on important initiatives that will keep DuPage residents safe and ensure the security of our communities moving forward, the officials said in the statement.

Mendrick previously said he believes the new legislation is unconstitutional and said his office wouldnt be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state nor arresting nor housing anyone charged solely with not complying with the act.

Dozens of sheriffs around Illinois have declared they will not enforce the new assault weapons ban.

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The DuPage County Board, previously a Republican stronghold, is now made up of 10 Democrats and eight Republicans. During the board meeting last week, members spoke out both in favor of and in opposition to a move to censure Mendrick.

On Jan. 20, an Effingham County judge temporarily blocked the assault weapons ban from being enforced on more than 850 people and a handful of licensed gun dealers named in a lawsuit filed in the county. The judge set a hearing for Wednesday on the matter. The order only applies to the plaintiffs in the case.

That lawsuit was filed by downstate attorney Thomas DeVore, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for attorney general last year, who later filed another lawsuit against the assault weapons ban, in downstate White County, that lists more than 1,000 plaintiffs, including former state senator and GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and some 70 firearms dealers.

mejones@chicagotribune.com
AVALON  Police are looking for two men suspected in a burglary Monday evening.

According to police, a home security camera caught video of two men wearing dark clothing, hoods and gloves exiting a vehicle and approaching a house, one police said was occupied at the time.

One entered the unlocked front door, while the other remained outside.

Less than a minute later, the first man is seen exiting the residence holding two purses, police said. They soon returned, entered again and grabbed keys to a vehicle.

They then entered a vehicle in the driveway and stole numerous items, then entered a getaway vehicle and departed the area, reads a news release from police Chief Jeffrey Christopher. Individuals may be armed.

The burglary took place at 7:26 p.m. Police did not specify the area of town.

The suspects had no contact with the occupants of the home, police said.

Police say burglaries and thefts of motor vehicles are on the rise throughout New Jersey in record numbers.

Avalon is not exclusive to this type of criminal activity, police said. These are mostly crimes of opportunity in which actors take advantage of unlocked residences and motor vehicles.

Christopher urged residents to be alert and aware of their surroundings and to call police immediately if they see or hear anything suspicious.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to keep all doors to residences, garages and vehicles locked even while you are home, the release states.

Anyone with additional information can call police at 609-967-3411 or detectives at 609-967-7743.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Police and members of the Atlantic County sheriffs substance abuse task force revived a man living in the woods from a drug overdose Friday, a spokesperson for the Sheriffs Office said.

Hope One members Lindsey Komar and Patrick Reece were with police surveying people living in a wooded area as part of a weeklong effort to count Americas homeless population. When they arrived, they spotted a man who had overdosed, the Sheriffs Office said Tuesday in a news release.

Police Detective Matthew Worth and Detective Sgt. Jason Kiamos removed the man from his tarp tent while Komar and Reece provided naloxone, a medication used to revive people who have overdosed on opioids.

Detective Dominic Fabrizio then administered the drug before township emergency medical services arrived, the Sheriffs Office said. The man regained consciousness before being taken to a hospital.

Sheriff Eric Scheffler said the groups quick response and teamwork helped save the mans life.

On behalf of the Atlantic County Sheriffs Office and the Hope Exists Foundation, I would like to commend the Galloway Township officers for their heroic actions in saving the mans life, Scheffler said in a statement. Our community is proud of our law enforcement and grateful for our uniformed officers and emergency services who knowingly put their lives on the line to protect others in the line of duty.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, will serve on two subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee, he said Tuesday.

He will be on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement for the 118th Congress.

My focuses this Congress include border reform, holding big tech accountable for censoring conservative speech, and reining in the powers of unelected federal bureaucrats, Van Drew said.

Van Drew thanked Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for making the appointments and entrusting me to do the important work required of these subcommittees.

Van Drew to join high-profile House Judiciary Committee U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, in just his third term in Congress, is about to increase his

Earlier this month Jordan appointed Van Drew, in just his third term in Congress, to the high-profile House Judiciary Committee.

Jordan has said one of the first things the high-profile committee will do is examine President Joe Bidens handling of classified documents and the Justice Departments investigation.

Van Drew has said Jordan became a real supporter of his as soon as he changed parties from Democrat to Republican in 2019, after refusing to vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

I want America to be number one again, to have our own energy and close the border, Van Drew said. Many of these issues are tangentially related to the work Ill be doing on this committee.
PLEASANTVILLE  School board and city officials recently recognized the contributions of Doris Graves, a longtime fixture in the city and school district who died Jan. 5.

Graves, who was from the city, was 96. No cause of death was given in her obituary, and it was said that her children sang her soul happy as she embarked on her heavenly journey.

Pleasantville Public Schools issued a statement honoring Graves that was posted on the board website. It described her radiant smile, her care for the districts children and her singing of the Whitney Houston song Greatest Love of All.

We are grateful that she dedicated her heart, soul and passion to our community, the statement read. She was not only an amazing mother, sister, grandmother, and aunt but she was a surrogate mother to many. Ms. Graves mentored and advocated for so many people that she is known as a legend. Ms. Doris Graves will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

Graves time on the school board spanned more than a quarter century. She won a seat on the board as a political newcomer in 1987, ousting 12-year incumbent Mignon Coburn, according to Press archives. Her first campaign focused on having parents more involved in the school district, raising test scores and improving the districts image. Later in her career, in 2003, Graves said she wanted to focus on improving the quality of alternative education programs district students attended, while improving school safety. She also served several stints as school board president.

City Council held a moment of silence for Graves at its meeting Jan. 18. City Council President Ricky Cistrunk praised Graves as a matriarch for the city, noting her long service on the Board of Education and describing her as a pioneering local Black female business owner. Press archives indicate she ran Doris House of Beauty.

We had one of the mothers of our community pass, Cistrunk said.

Graves had to navigate the challenges that had confronted the district over the last two decades. The district was placed under the purview of a state monitor in 2007, the same year in which five members of the school board were arrested as part of a federal public-corruption investigation. Board members chafed under the oversight of the monitors, with the district not leaving the monitors control until October 2021.

Graves resigned from the board in the summer of 2015 to spend more time with loved ones, following a loss in the family that occurred earlier in the school year.

Graves was born in Philadelphia to Carl and Bertha Marsh Price on April 23, 1926, according to her obituary. She is predeceased by her daughter Doris Dottie Graves and survived by a host of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, as well as a multitude of nieces, nephews, cousins and other loved ones.

She was a shining Black queen in this community, Cistrunk said.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  The Atlantic City International Airport and two other local aviation entities will receive $13.3 million in earmarks from the recent federal spending bill, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, said at a press conference Monday at the airport.

These are federally directed appropriations, earmarks, Menendez said, which he and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker chose to lobby for, rather than automatic funding.

Menendez brought home a total of about $181 million for New Jersey projects statewide, his office said.

The funding includes about $3 million to design and plan a cargo taxiway at the airport in order to connect the planned air cargo terminal to existing infrastructure, said South Jersey Transportation Authority Executive Director Stephen Dougherty.

The SJTA owns and operates the airport and recently voted to contract with a company to build air cargo facilities.

The taxiways total cost is estimated at about $18 million including construction, Dougherty said.

The airport is in the middle of one of the busiest air corridors in the country, Dougherty said, and companies that use a cargo hub here will see fewer delays than at larger nearby airports.

There is a growing trend in the cargo industry. It is looking to smaller less-congested airports to move cargo more cheaply, quickly and reliably, Dougherty said. That can only mean good news for ACY.

The National Aeronautics Research and Technology Park, or NARTP, at the airport will receive about $2 million to contract with companies to develop robotic tools called autonomous vehicles to clear debris from runways, mow grass at airports and more.

We have laid the foundation for a new industry in Atlantic City, said Howard Kyle, NARTP president. Kyle said it is the NARTPs first grant for directing research.

Its a new emerging area of research, Kyle said.

And the 177th fighter wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, based at the airport, will receive more than $8 million to upgrade their facilities with a new high-security gate that meets U.S. Department of Defense standards and a new maintenance hangar that will enable us to properly maintain the F-16 fighter jets known as the Jersey Devils, Menendez said.

The new main gate for the 177th will not only provide up-to-date security but also help traffic flow on Tilton Road, said 177th Commander Col. Derek B. Routt.

And the new maintenance hangar will replace facilities built a century ago, Routt said.

New Jerseys airports serve as critical transportation and logistics hubs that help grow our economy, create good jobs, and connect our state with the world, said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, in a written statement.

When the cargo taxiway and terminal open here at the airport large multinational firms and small businesses alike will be able to move goods around the globe faster and more efficiently than ever before, Menendez predicted. It will create hundreds of construction jobs ... and build a 75,000 square-foot terminal that will process nearly 9,000 tons of cargo a month.
Bebos upcoming Hansal Mehta film The Buckingham Murders has been inspired in part by the Hollywood stars role Marianne Mare Sheehan in 'Mare of Easttown'

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan is entering a new era of her impressive career with a pair of shockingly different movies.

She has wrapped a project that was shot in the UK under the working title The Buckingham Murders, directed by Hansal Mehta, reports Variety. The diva essays a detective and mother who investigates a murder in a town in Buckinghamshire.

I love Mare of Easttown and when Hansal came to me, I said this is something that Ive really been dying to do. So weve molded a little bit on those lines, she plays a detective cop in that, she told Variety.

Its the first time that Ive dabbled in that.

I speak fluently in Hindi and I think also in Hindi because thats been what Ive been doing all my life, Kapoor Khan said. When youre thinking in Hindi, but speaking in English, it was actually a difficult task to do because it was the reverse situation for the first time.

The project, produced by Ektaa Kapoors Balaji Telefilms and Mahana Film also marks Kareenas debut as a producer.

I never really thought that I would be a producer. But when I heard this subject, and the fact that its very different to a regular Hindi movie, its a very different take to things. So I thought that will be really nice and different, Kapoor said.

And when Ektaa and Hansal told me that since you love the script so much, why dont you come on board as a creative producer as well, and take some calls as to what you think also and give your name to it - after much thought, I thought that if I love something so much, and this is a character that I wanted to play, I think its fun to do it. Its the first time. I dont know if Ill repeatedly do it. But lets see.

Kareena has also wrapped up the Indian adaptation of Japanese author Higashino Keigos bestselling 2005 novel

The Devotion of Suspect X by filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh. The actor tags it as dramatically different from the Mehta project and as dark and fun.

For me, its very different because obviously youre used to seeing me in all the mainstream movies, which has the song, the dance, the gloss, the glamour. Both these films are shockingly different, Kareena said. Next up for her is Rajesh Krishnans The Crew, alongside Tabu and Kriti Sanon, which commences production in March.

The Crew is the film that is going to be gloss and glamour. And its a comedy chick flick heist film. That will be the Hindi masala commercial film as compared to Devotion and Hansals film, Kareena said. Kareena is married to actor Saif Ali Khan and is a mother of two boys.

How does she manage to balance her personal life with her career, she said: Its literally like standing on one leg, but Im pretty good at yoga. Im also very lucky to have a husband who works in the same profession. We take turns as to when we have to travel, Kapoor Khan said, adding that they are blessed to have staff who supports them.

When I was doing Hansals film, Saif was at home with the kids, and now hes doing a film in Amritsar. And Im at home till March. And then after that, he finishes and stays home, and then I go into The Crew. Its a lot of meticulous planning, but if youre well planned, I think you can achieve it, she said.

Its not the quantity of time that you spend with your children, thats what Ive learned, in the five-six years that Ive been a parent, its the quality of time that you give them without distraction, because children want focus from their parents, from their teachers from their friends, thats what they need. IANSvg
Bench headed by CJI to examine plea challenging Centres ban on contentious documentary on 2002 Guj riots on Feb 6

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine on February 6, a plea challenging the Centres ban on the BBC documentary in connection with the 2002 Gujarat Riots. Advocate ML Sharma mentioned the plea for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The top court agreed to hear on February 6.

The top court will also hear next Monday, a separate petition filed by journalist N. Ram and advocate Prashant Bhushan on taking down their tweets with links of the documentary. The plea filed by Sharma contended that the BBC Documentary on Gujarat riots recorded and was released for public view, however due to fear of truth the documentary has been banned from viewership in India by any means under rule 16 of IT Act 2021.

Sharmas plea sought a direction for quashing of the January 21 order under the IT Act being illegal, malafide and arbitrary, unconstitutional and void ab-initio and ultra vires to the Constitution of India.

The documentary titled India: The Modi Question has been banned on social media and online channels, but some students have screened it on campuses of various universities across the country.

Waste of apex courts precious time: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday described as a waste of the Supreme Courts precious time the petitions, which challenged the ban on a BBC documentary in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots. Rijiju tweeted: This is how they waste the precious time of Honble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for Justice. IANS

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Controversial BBC documentary screened in Bengaluru

The All-India Students Association (AISA) has screened the controversial BBC documentary in the city for the first time. However, the ruling BJP has put the ball in the polices court saying that it is for them to act.

Joint Spokesperson for BJP Prakash S, on Monday said, It is for the police to act, if a banned documentary is screened. BJP insiders stated that it is an age of internet and the party is not really bothered about screening.

Reacting to the development, the Karnataka Education department maintained that since the screening did not take place in any of the schools or colleges, no action could be taken. AISA had screened the documentary late on Saturday night at its office on Infantry Road. IANS
Centre is making efforts to divert attention from failed policy

The Congress on Monday accused the Centre of not accepting the truth and alleged that since May 2020, the Modi governments preferred strategy to deal with the Chinese incursions in Ladakh can be summed up with DDLJ -- Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify.

Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh in a statement on Monday said, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankars recent remarks attacking the Congress party are simply the latest attempt to divert attention from the Modi governments failed China policy, the most recent revelation being that since May 2020 India has lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh. He said the fact is that there is no comparison between 1962, when India went to war with China to defend its territory, and 2020 after which India has acquiesced to Chinese aggression with denials followed by disengagements in which India has lost access to thousands of square kilometres of territory.

Jairam alleged that EAM Jaishankars implied cheap shot at Rahul Gandhi for meeting the Chinese ambassador in 2017 is ironic to say the least coming from someone who as ambassador to the US during the Obama administration presumably met with leading Republicans.

Are opposition leaders not entitled to meet diplomats from countries that are important from a trade, investment and security standpoint? he asked. IANS
Sri Lankan police have launched an investigation into alleged telephone threats received by the members of the independent elections commission, an official said on Sunday.

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said court orders to analyse telephone records had been obtained.

On 19 January, two members S.B. Divaratne and K.P. Pathirana had lodged complaints over telephonic threats to resign. Later M.M. Mohamed, another member, had received similar threats. Fourth member P.S.M. Charles had reportedly offered her resignation from the membership.

The opposition charged that it was the government which was keen to postpone the local election scheduled for March 9. It claimed that resignation of EC members would lead to the postponement of the election. Agencies
Top cop Retesh Kumaarr issued stern warning against the Vasuli elements that harass industries, hoteliers & developers

After an investigation into extortion cases revealed that local goons are running an extortion network by impersonating Mathadi workers and targeting industries, hoteliers, and developers in the city, the Pune police have resolved to deal with the menace with an iron fist. Pune police commissioner Retesh Kumaarr has constituted a special cell to investigate any illegal activities allegedly involving unauthorised Mathadi organisations.

The top cop has given a stern warning to vasooli elements in Mathadi unions and directed a crackdown on extortionist syndicates tormenting industries and businesses. The action was taken after the Pune police received 11 complaints about harassment by unlicensed Mathadi workers. Previously, complaints were limited to industries, but now the syndicates are targeting hoteliers, developers, and local retailers. The modus was revealed during a meeting called by the Pune police chief. Approximately 120 representatives from various business groups, chambers of commerce and agriculture, corporate companies, and IT firms were present.

Police commissioner Retesh Kumaarr

We had three meetings with industries and business groups, Kumaarr told Pune Mirror, adding, We discovered that some people do not come forward to file a complaint as they are afraid of these goons. Our meetings have given them confidence and made them feel safe. We urge the business community to file complaints against troublemakers masquerading as Mathadi workers and acting under the guise of Mathadi labour unions.

Since offices of many companies are located in Talegaon, Chakan, Ranjangaon, and other MIDC areas, the city police are particularly concerned about taking action against extortion crimes involving Mathadi organisations, the top cop added.

Sandip Karnik, Joint Commissioner, Pune city, who was also present at the meeting, stated that officials from industries and business groups can meet with senior police officials about any issues created by such elements.

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Authorised Mathadi unions demand stern action

Secretary of the Maharashtra Hamal Mathadi Mahamandal Hanumant Bahirat told Pune Mirror, The various political unions are responsible for the present situation. There is a legal process for the Mathadi workers which they should follow. The authorised Mathadi workers have Identity cards, and registration numbers. They also get facilities from the organisation. But in all these cases, we are getting affected, such syndicates are defaming our image. We urge the police officers to take action against the people asking for extra charges or demanding money from businessmen. We also received many complaints, which we have reported to the police.

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Special cell takes up the task

The special cell, led by deputy commissioner of police (crime) Amol Zende, will keep a close vigil on industrial zones and company offices throughout the city to ensure that people feel safe filing complaints. The cell will consist of two senior police inspectors from the anti-extortion unit.

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Crackdown by the Anti-Extortion Cell

A squad led by senior police inspector Pratap Mankar and sub-inspector Mohandas Jadhav registered three cases and arrested seven people, including a woman, who were posing as Mathadi workers. A hotel owner, developer, and trader with shops at a mall in Vimannager filed the complaints. The investigation found that all of the accused are locals who are running a syndicate to extort money from the business community. They have now started to target hotel owners as well. All were booked under sections 385, 386 and 387 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said Inspector Pratap Mankar.
The losing candidate in the 2022 race for Will County clerk is asking a judge to order a new election in the case, citing mathematic formulas alleging the final count was fraudulent.

Republican Gretchen Fritz filed the lawsuit Dec. 28, claiming she believes mistakes and fraud have been committed in the casting and counting of ballots in the Will County clerks race because her opponent, Democratic Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, received more votes than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

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Staley Ferry issued the final results of the election Nov. 29 with the final results tallied at 121,833 for Staley Ferry and 108,629 for Fritz, according to the lawsuit.

In reviewing the vote totals in other races, Fritz noticed Pritzker received 117,475, which is 4,358 fewer votes than Staley Ferry, according to the lawsuit.

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Gretchen Fritz (Gretchen Fritz)

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry (Lauren Staley Ferry)

It appeared quite unusual that a candidate for Will County Clerk, listed at least eight offices below the office with the most media coverage and largest political spending in the state, would receive more votes than the gubernatorial candidate of her party, according to the lawsuit.

Erik Nisbet, Northwestern University associate professor of policy analysis and communication, said when candidates of the same party receive different vote totals it indicates ticket splitting, not voter fraud.

Voters split tickets for various reasons, Nisbet said. For example, state races tend to be more partisan than local races, meaning voters had lots of reasons for voting for or against Pritzker but felt differently about the clerks race.

Split ticket voting is a sign of a healthy democracy not bad elections, Nisbet said. The fact that a local town clerk got more voters than the governor just means they saw the clerk race as less partisan than the governor race.

Fritzs attorney, David Shestokas, said Tuesday the lawsuit highlights a 21st Century approach to manipulating the election process.

When asked about the possibility of ticket splitting, Shestokas said the lawsuit includes 40 pages with calculations that account for various variables.

The lawsuit also cites an analysis by Walter Daugherity, senior lecturer emeritus in computer science and engineering with Texas A&M University, who determined the vote totals were artificially contrived according to a predetermined plan or algorithm.

It also relies on Edward Solomon, who the lawsuit states analyzed the Will County clerk election results and found they are not the result of a free and fair election.

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A previous analysis by Solomon is part of a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against One America News Network, after Solomon told the network the results in Fulton County, Georgia, for the 2020 presidential election can only have been done by an algorithm.

Fritz is asking the court to find the election was the predetermined result of fraudulent and illegal manipulation of the voting processes and not the free and fair expression of the will of the people, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also asks the court to declare the Will County clerks office vacant, order a new election for the clerks office and that the new election be conducted with only paper ballots and be physically hand counted.

During the campaign, Fritz cited election security as a concern, saying she would focus on proactively cleaning voter rolls if elected by doing things such as comparing death records to the voter rolls, and she supported showing identification to vote.

Staley Ferry said one person on her team was dedicated to removing those who are deceased from the system, and there are checks and balances in place to maintain the voter rolls. She also noted the county board had approved an automated vote-by-mail system costing about $1.9 million, paid for from federal pandemic relief funds, that was used in the June 2022 primary and general election.

The case is scheduled in court Thursday before Will County Judge John Anderson, but Assistant States Attorney Scott Pyles will request a 28-day extension to file a response to the complaint, according to court filings.

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Pyles did not respond to calls or email for comment Tuesday.
From 249, the seats have been reduced to 118; aspirants write to CM, min to save their future, get assurance

In a major setback to students who have completed their Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), the seats in post-graduate courses in government Ayurvedic colleges and hospitals in the state have been reduced. Now, out of 249, only 118 seats will be filled for MD Ayurveda in four government colleges in the state.

This decision will be unfair to both qualified and economically disadvantaged students. Prospective doctors have told Pune Mirror that the state government should make an immediate decision about the Ayurveda MD and MS admission procedure, to give justice to the affected students.

Without any fault of the students, the admission process to the degree course took six months, and the term for admitted students was pushed back six months. This only happened in Maharashtra. Due to the Covid pandemic, this batch completed the degree in nearly 6 years that otherwise completed in 5 years.

According to Dr Rishabh Mandla, The initial list of postgraduate Ayurvedic admissions issued in Maharashtra was annulled the next day. Because, according to information, there would be an increase in these seats in government colleges. We are awaiting the final judgement; if we do not receive admission for MD, our future will be ruined.

Dr Pooja Gaikwad said, From BAMS admission in the state in 2016 until current postgraduate admission, all candidates have faced several challenges. Since there is no fault on the part of the students, we have requested the chief minister and the minister of medical education to look into this issue and allot more seats.

Dr Sadanand Deshpande, Principal of Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Every year, till December 31, all BAMS students must have finished their internship. According to the rules, after admission to BAMS (UG), every student will be entitled to sit for a written test after three years (6 terms). The admission process for the BAMS batch of 2016 was delayed, which caused the problem. This is under the jurisdiction of the National Commission for Indian System Medicine (NCISM), however, the state government can take the initiative to save students futures.

Speaking on the issue, Girish Mahajan, minister of medical education, said, We got several request e-mails and letters regarding this matter. We have taken serious cognizance of the issue, no single student will be deprived of MD admission.
Several new courses are being offered at Black Hawk College to help satisfy the demand for certified workers in the emerging cannabis industry.

In partnership with Green Flower, a cannabis education and training agency, BHC is offering three fully online cannabis training programs, which result in certification: Advanced Manufacturing Agent, Advanced Dispensary Associate and Advanced Cultivation Technician.

Demand for workers is high in Illinois as the cannabis industry continues to expand.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation reports 113 marijuana dispensaries in the state as of Jan. 6, 2023, and another 189 are on the way to being fully licensed. Moline is among the communities where a new dispensary is licensed and soon to open.

In 2021, Illinois cannabis industry supported roughly 29,000 full-time jobs and brought in $1.78 billion in sales, according to the Leafly 2022 Jobs Report.

"That speaks volumes to the growth potential in this industry," said Dr. Richard Bush, associate vice president for economic and workforce development at BHC. "Students who are interested in learning more about cultivation and botany of the plants, transportation and all other aspects of running or managing a dispensary, will truly benefit from the skills and certificates associated with our cannabis program."

Daniel Kalef, vice president of higher education at Green Flower, said the U.S. cannabis industry was likely to experience growth similar this year to that which occurred in 2021.

"Illinois continues to be really strong; what we've heard from employers in our network  I wouldn't be surprised to see sales increase by another 20 to 30 percent (this year)," he said, adding that jobs growth would follow.

Kalef categorized the three certification programs at Black Hawk as relatively equal in employment potential, and Bush agreed.

"I think it's dependent on the student's interest, where they want to be within the industry," he said. "Across the three certifications, there are some commonalities between them, and there are some significant differences  from what I can tell, there's a very high demand across all three, and students can take one certificate or take all three if they want and apply those skills at any dispensary they get hired into."

Courses are $900 and last eight weeks. Students may begin at any time. Those who register by Saturday, Feb. 18, will save $50.

Marijuana sold in Illinois has to be grown in Illinois, which makes cannabis career pathways even more important in the state, Kalef said, adding that quality and safety are crucial factors too.

"These things are very intricate. I always think about how half the people that go into a recreational dispensary are over the age of 50 and are there to solve a problem, not to get high," he said. "They have chronic pain, or inflammation, can't sleep or they're going through cancer treatment, they're not eating  the list is pretty expansive."

It is important that dispensary workers understand how cannabis works and interacts with the human body's endocannabinoid system, he said, along with having an understanding of quality manufacturing, dosage and THC extraction.

"We think of this as a way to make sure that a population that's looking into cannabis are confronted with people who know what they're talking about," Kalef said. "In order to make sure that customers are safe, healthy and happy, and in order to make sure that the industry continues to be seen as legitimate and professional, education and training are vital."

Recognizing the stigma around cannabis, despite its legal status, Kalef hopes others understand that Green Flower's programs push education, not advocacy.

"We're not out here crusading for the industry, trying to get everybody to believe it's right for everyone," he said. "When there's a very well-trained workforce, we hope the stigma goes away as more of those people are in the industry. When people see that a recognized, respected, accredited U.S. college or university is offering these programs, I think that goes a long way to help with the stigma as well."

Green Flower currently offers the three training programs to 16 community colleges, partnering with another 19 universities across the country to offer more in-depth six-month programs, such as cannabis medicine and health care, policy compliance, agriculture and more, Kalef said.

Upon completion, graduates will earn a certificate from Black Hawk College and have access to Green Flowers employer network.

"Over 150 companies throughout the country look to us for employees," he said, adding that Green Flower also partners with the largest cannabis job site, www.careersincannabis.com. "Usually four to five times a year, we'll do a virtual career fair where a company hosts it, and we invite everyone whose completed the program to be a part of it. It's another great benefit that students get from having access to our employer network, as it grows."

For more information, visit the program's website at bhc.cannabisstudiesonline.com.

Photos: First day of recreational cannabis sales in Illinois 010220-qct-qca-weed-013a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-036a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-016a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-030a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-021a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-029a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-008a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-037a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-026a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-035a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-003a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-040a.JPG 010220-qct-qca-weed-012a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-014a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-018a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-023aa.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-024a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-025a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-027a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-031a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-032a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-033a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-034a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-042a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-046a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-047a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-048a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-049a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-050a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-051a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-052a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-053a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-054a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-055a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-056a.jpg 010220-qct-qca-weed-057a.jpg
Vice-President Christina Caldwell of Del's Metal is denying allegations from nearby business owners that the company is expanding junkyard operations and causing hazardous air qualities.

Located in Rock Island along 18th Avenue and 1st Street right off of Illinois Route 92, Del's Metal has come under scrutiny from nearby businesses who are alleging the company is causing poor air quality from toxic fumes from heavy cutting of metal and expanding its junkyard operations to an empty lot at the dead end of 1st Street.

Across the street from Del's junkyard, sit businesses such as Unley Marines, Jackson Auto Body & Custom Paint, and Custom Covers, and a few residential houses at a dead end. The area that includes those businesses and houses is zoned as a light industrial district, which does not allow junkyard operations, according to Community and Economic Development Director Miles Brainard.

A junkyard license is required from the city and must be within a heavy industrial zoning district. Brainard said Del's Metal did not have a license to operate at that expanded lot.

City staff have been aware of the situation since the beginning of January and were documenting what has been unfolding before they proceeded with contacting Del's. A notice from the city was given to Del's regarding the supposed second junkyard.

Caldwell denied that Del's Metal is using it as a junkyard. She said it was being used for excess overflow of equipment, such as semitrailers that collect scrap metal.

"There's no junkyard going down there whatsoever," Caldwell said. "It's things we use to operate our business and to service our customers."

Business owners are concerned with the amount of damage being caused by the trucks driving up and down the road from the junkyard.

Owner of Custom Covers, Mark Chronister, noticed within the past month an increase of Del's semitrailers going up and down the street with extra containers for scrap metal.

"I'm concerned this road is going to be destroyed in a matter of months because it's not designed for heavy semis," he said.

The other concern is Del's Metal is allegedly creating hazardous smoke from the cutting of the scrap metal.

Tom Unley, owner of the boat repair shop Unley Marines, says the scrap metal being cut has been creating toxic fumes that have caused sore throats, headaches and eyes to water. When the wind is blowing in the direction of the businesses and metal is being cut, the wind carries the smoke over.

Most days it becomes unbearable to the point where the boat repair shop garage doors are being shut, Unley said.

"If you're sitting around the campfire and the smoke starts blowing your way, you generally pick up your chair and move to the other side of the campfire," Unley said. "Unfortunately, we aren't in that position here."

Unley said he had purchased handheld air-quality readers and would test the air every so often, especially when there was smoke.

According to the U.S. Air Quality Index, good air quality needs to be between 0 to 50. Anything between 101 to 150 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, and anything above 151 is considered unhealthy for everyone.

Second Ward Alderman Randy Hurt, who represents the neighborhood, said the city was taking a closer at the situation and planned to pursue remedies to ensure everyone had clean air and felt safe to work and live around the area.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was last on site in August/September 2022, Caldwell said, and they did not find any problems.

Unley and Chronister said that over the past week since a group of them aired their concerns at the Monday, Jan. 23, council meeting, no heavy cutting causing the alleged toxic fumes had taken place.

City staff is looking at what entities will need to get involved to look into the alleged bad air quality and how to possibly address it.

Photos: Fire at Del's Metal in Rock Island. 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-106 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-109 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-087 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-083 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-113 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-093 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-100 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-062 111220-nws-dels-rockislandfire-073
CAMBRIDGE, Ill.  Judge Colby Hathaway on Monday found probable cause to believe Andrew R. Luce, 35, of Kewanee committed a felony in connection with a Jan. 19 shooting incident in a residential area of Kewanee.

Luce is charged with Class X felony aggravated discharge of a firearm and Class 4 felony reckless discharge of a firearm following the incident.

During Monday's preliminary hearing, Kewanee Police Detective Michael Minx testified that police had been dispatched on a report of shots fired at an occupied garage at 5:15 a.m. Jan. 19, and they found spent shell casings spaced 1 or 2 feet apart at 133 S. East Ave. They also found an iPhone that showed a call from Justin Stanley. A search warrant for the phone indicated it was Luce's phone.

During an interview, Luce said the phone had been stolen from him approximately two days earlier. An examination of the phone showed several phone calls to subjects the afternoon of Jan. 18, including Luce's parole officer.

The parole officer confirmed Luce had called him to check in from the phone number on the phone at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 18. Walmart video surveillance showed Luce walking in the store with a phone, and GPS data showed someone walking with the phone leaving Luce's residence at 4 a.m., which corroborated a message to Stanley that he was walking on East Prospect Street then south on Vine Street.

Luce's parole agent made contact with Luce on Jan. 19 and Luce did not indicate his phone had been stolen, according to Minx.

In response to questioning from defense attorney Aaron Dyer, Minx said police had received multiple calls from the area of the garage and the occupants told police the walls started shaking and things started falling off the walls and they realized what was happening.

Minx said Luce had said Stanley was responsible for the shooting, but when they interviewed Stanley, he said he had not been involved and he was home the whole time.

A pre-trial hearing was set for Feb. 23.

Justin K. Stanley, 18, and his father Danny H. Stanley, 38 are also charged with drugs and weapons charges in connection with the shooting incident. Danny Stanley waived his preliminary hearing Monday and a Feb. 23 pre-trial hearing was set; Justin Stanley's case was continued to Feb. 6 for a possible preliminary hearing.
A Pennington County judge ruled Monday that a police officer did not violate a 19-year-old murder suspect's rights when the officer detained him.

Quincy Bear Robe is charged with the March 2022 murder of Myron Pourier, 19, at the Grand Gateway Hotel. His defense attorney, John Murphy, filed a June 2022 motion arguing that the search and seizure was unconstitutional.

The motion states a Rapid City police officer stopped Bear Robe, patted him down, cuffed him and placed him in the back of a police cruiser. It is alleged Bear Robe made an incriminating phone call before he agreed to go downtown, where he was ultimately read his Miranda rights.

Murphy asked the court to throw out all evidence and interviews following that moment, which would include the interview Bear Robe gave after having read his Miranda rights. The motion also included evidence about the gun found on his person that matches the caliber of bullet that would wound and then, about two weeks later, kill Pourier.

At a hearing in October 2022 to address the motion, RCPD officer Samantha Williams testified that she responded after 4 a.m. on March 19, 2022 to a dispatch from a private security firm reporting the smell of marijuana coming from a vehicle in the Grand Gateway Hotel parking lot.

Williams' body-camera footage, which was played at the October hearing, showed her speaking with two minors, and questioning them about the smell and drinking. She testified that one of the security employees said something about a weapon and started running towards the north side of the Grand Gateway Hotel.

Her body-camera footage showed the interaction.

She got into her patrol vehicle, drove to the north side of the hotel, where a security employee said he believed that gunshots were fired and people were running everywhere. When communicating with dispatch, Williams can be heard on video saying that gunshots were reported, but she did not hear them.

She drove towards the Clarion Inn across the street where she saw several people running across North Lacrosse Street, away from the hotel. Williams testified that one particular person in the group caught her eye, Bear Robe, who she did not know at the time.

She called out to him to come here and talk to me.

She did not know whether any of the people that left the hotel were suspects in regard to a crime. Williams did not know whether any crime had been committed. Williams wasnt even sure that a gun had been fired, Murphy wrote in his complaint.

While talking with Bear Robe, she asked him if he had anything in his waistband, he said no. However, after frisking him, she found a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol in his waistband, which he said he was scared to disclose because it wasnt his. When Williams handcuffed Bear Robe she told him it was for her safety and his.

Body camera footage captures Williams telling Bear Robe that he isnt under arrest, but she testified at the evidentiary hearing that he was not free to leave the scene.

After handcuffing Bear Robe, the discussion between the two continued before dispatch told Williams that someone was at the hotel with a gunshot wound. She put Bear Robe in the back of her vehicle and went back to the hotel, leaving him in the backseat while she went to the hotel room where Pourier was with a gunshot wound to the neck.

Bear Robe made a phone call in the back of the patrol car, which Murphy wrote was incriminating. The call was not played in court. After about 2.5 hours, Bear Robe agreed to go downtown for more questioning.

After Detective Andrew Randazzo told Bear Robe that they would take his clothes, Bear Robe was given his Miranda rights.

Murphy invoked the fruit of the poisonous tree argument, from Segura v. United States, which ruled that evidence obtained from an illegal search or seizure and evidence derived from it, is essentially contaminated and must be excluded.

Murphy argued that if Williams hadnt detained Bear Robe, he would not have been frisked for weapons. He argued if Bear Robe hadnt been frisked, the gun wouldnt have been found and Williams wouldnt have questioned him. The arguments goes on to say Bear Robe wouldnt have made incriminating statements that led to her handcuffing him and putting him in her vehicle.

If Bear Robe wasnt in the back of her patrol vehicle, he would not have been recorded making incriminating phone calls, Murphy wrote.

Further, he argued that if Bear Robe hadn't been in the patrol car, he would have never ended up at the police station to be interrogated.

Pennington County Deputy States Attorney Rachel Lindsay made the states case in a 17-page reply to Murphys 16 pages. Lindsay argued that Williams' stopping Bear Robe was completely legal. While in the area, she was told gunshots had been fired and the first thing she saw after that was people running.

Officer Williams did not know, based on the information she had at the time, whether this was a minor or very serious event, and was concerned for public safety and for whether a person was injured, she wrote.

Lindsay highlighted that Williams testified she saw Bear Robe slow from a run to a walk and change the direction he was headed. She testified that she thought this was suspicious and a possible avoidance tactic, and led her to suspect that this individual may have been involved or knowledgeable about the gunfire at the hotel.

His change in pace and direction of travel, seemingly away from the hotel, combined with the potential of gunfire, gave Williams reasonable suspicion to stop Bear Robe, Lindsay argued.

The events took place at around 4:00 (a.m.) in the morning on the north side of Rapid City, Lindsay wrote. Taken as a whole, (Bear Robe) was seen running from a potential crime in a high crime area, in the early morning, and then attempted to evade law enforcement. Any reasonable person would believe he had some involvement in the events that took place at the Grand Gateway.

Ultimately, Murphys argument wasnt enough to convince Circuit Court Judge Joshua Hendrickson. He ruled Monday in favor of the state.

Hendrickson said the detention of Bear Robe wasnt done on a whim.

A trial date has not been set for Bear Robe, but Murphy discussed the possibility of late summer or fall 2023. Bear Robe is scheduled to appear in court at 4 p.m. Feb. 27 for a motions hearing.
State Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, R-Rapid City, filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck alleging the Senate violated her First Amendment rights when she was suspended last week and stripped of her voting rights in the current legislative session.

Frye-Mueller was removed from her committee assignments on Wednesday and then suspended Thursday following allegations she made inappropriate remarks and harassed a Legislative Research Council staff member over vaccines and breastfeeding.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Pierre, claims Frye-Mueller's suspension from the Senate violated her First Amendment rights and was done in retaliation. Frye-Mueller is being represented by former state Rep. Steven Haugaard, who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Gov. Kristi Noem in the 2022 Republican primary.

The lawsuit alleges Frye-Mueller "engaging in conversation with a Legislative Research Council staff member about both Legislative activity and person(al) conversation" were activities protected by the First Amendment, "namely political speech and free speech."

Frye-Mueller and Haugaard allege Schoenbeck's action of bringing her suspension to a vote of the full Senate before a hearing was completed "deprived" Frye-Mueller's "rights or privileges secured by the Constitution" and "restricted" her "expression because of its message, ideas, subject matter, or its content."

The lawsuit points out that Frye-Mueller's suspension prior to a hearing prohibits her from carrying out her duties as a duly elected state senator. It says preventing Frye-Mueller from "serving in her official capacity deprives the citizens of South Dakota District 30 from their representation in the South Dakota Senate."

The lawsuit seeks for the federal court system to intervene and assume jurisdiction over the suspension. Frye-Mueller requests the court to declare "that banning Frye-Mueller from her Senate duties violates" her First Amendment right to free speech and to order her immediate reinstatement to the Senate.

The Senate Select Committee on Discipline and Expulsion met for the first time Monday to discuss the allegations against Frye-Mueller. The committee is expected to finish their meetings by the end of this week and provide a full report to the Senate with recommendations by the end of next week.

Detailed report released

The Senate also released Monday a partially redacted report from the LRC staff member with more details on Frye-Mueller's conduct. The report included allegations against Frye-Mueller's husband, Mike Mueller, who was reportedly in the LRC staff member's office at the time.

The report alleges that Frye-Mueller and Mueller entered the staff member's office to discuss a legislative bill draft. The staffer said earlier in the day, Mueller left her a message with his card to contact him directly about the bill draft. The staff member said this was unusual and that she had "not had a legislator spouse contact me to talk with them directly."

The LRC staff member alleges that Mueller made her feel "uncomfortable."

"Mr. Mueller has stated to me more than once that he is very protective of his wife, and I do feel that I must be careful of what I say or what I do in his presence, so I don't upset him or Senator Frye-Mueller," the report states.

After the discussion on the bill draft, the LRC staff member alleges Frye-Mueller asked about the staff member's baby and whether or not the the staff member vaccinated. When the staff member responded "yes," Frye-Mueller "proceeded to point her finger at me and aggressively say that this will cause him issues."

Frye-Mueller allegedly said the baby "could get down syndrome (sic), or autism," as well as allegedly saying that the baby "will die from those vaccines."

The report goes on to allege that Frye-Mueller continued to harass the staff member about unfounded and untrue claims that the World Health Organization is using vaccines on people because "we are guinea pigs for big pharma." The report states Frye-Mueller allegedly said the staff member was "taking away God's gift of immunity from" the staff member's baby.

The conversation then turned to breastfeeding, the report states, where Frye-Mueller allegedly told the staff member their husband could "suck on my breasts" to get milk to come in. Frye-Mueller allegedly said "a good time for that is at night" and then made "hand gestures to her chest area and motion for her husband to see if he agreed. He (Mueller) smiled and nodded," the report states.

The report states the conversation continued on vaccinations, alleging that Frye-Mueller "continued to point her finger at me with tears in her eyes saying repeatedly, 'you can't vaccinate your child anymore.'"

The Senate subcommittee investigating the allegations met briefly Monday evening to set a Tuesday closed-door executive session with the staff member and Frye-Mueller. Committee members said a redacted transcript of the Tuesday meeting will be released.
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.

Montana resident Joseph Jefferson-Dust often found himself staring into space sitting in jail four years ago, fantasizing about the day he might prove his innocence.

As he served his sentence partially on probation in 2021, Jefferson-Dust had no idea a memo that could clear his name was sitting in an overwhelmed public defenders office, delaying his exoneration fight for more than a year.

He was accused of sexual assault by a 9-year-old girl, prompted by her father, who detested Native Americans. Jefferson-Dust, a 38-year-old member of the Crow Tribe, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, criminal endangerment, and was sentenced in 2017 to probation. Hes since been in and out of jail for probation violations.

His accuser recanted three years later at the public defenders office. It changed nothing for more than a year.

The appointed public defender was 10 days from retirement with a workload more than 25% beyond the agencys case management standard. The internal memo explaining the recantation went unseen for 13 months.

I dont even understand how that can work like that, Jefferson-Dust said of the delays in raising the recantation. Dont people feel an obligation to do the right thing?

Jefferson-Dust discovered the girls recantation in December 2021, yet again was jailed twice for probation violations: Two months for an unplanned detour to get gas on the way to work and four months after he and his probation officer failed to connect in person. He visited the probation office to check in on the day he was told, but his probation officer wasnt there, he said.

He remained on probation as of early January.

Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems, and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes while in jail waiting for attorneys to argue for a lower bail or for their release. Theyve had public defenders who were too busy to investigate their cases and felt pressured by their own attorneys to plead guilty when they said they were innocent, according to more than 15 people accused of crimes.

Public defenders have so many cases they struggle to provide effective representation, according to a Lee Enterprises investigation. Some regions have no attorneys at all. Failing public defense systems across the West routinely violate the Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel.

"The system is completely broken at this point," said Jared Hawkins of Oregon. "People like me are finding out how badly broken it is (while) sitting in jail with no lawyer."

Stephen Hanlon has practiced law for 55 years and leads a national public defense reform effort. The nations public defense systems are "systemically unconstitutional and unethical," he said. Judges and attorneys push defendants through the system as quickly as possible instead of investigating cases and seeking justice, Hanlon says, calling it a "criminal processing system."

This is a national disaster and has been for 50 years, Hanlon said. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem somewhat, but the pandemic will be over and this problem will be here regardless.

Variety of problems

Hundreds in Oregon currently are defenseless as the state faces a public defender shortage. Wyoming didnt have enough public defenders in 2019 to represent people charged with misdemeanors. Arizona attorneys might be unable to keep up with filed cases.

Were hitting a crisis point, Arizona public defender Megan Page said of Pima County. My concern is that if we continue to pursue low-level felony cases, we wont be able to have an attorney for everyone.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Nevada and California for failing to provide attorneys, and Idaho for having so many cases that attorneys can't effectively represent defendants.

Montanas public defenders office has historically been underfunded, but the pandemic sparked whats become known as the Great Resignation. Public defenders left the office to double their salaries in the private sector or move laterally in state government for a $13,000 pay hike. A recent analysis by the office shows it needed another 63 attorneys on average since 2019 to handle the caseload assigned to the agency and still meet its workload management limits.

A Montana judge in 2021 held the states public defender office in contempt when more than 650 Yellowstone County area defendants were unrepresented during historic turnover and vacancies.

The Yellowstone County regional office, which handled Jefferson-Dusts case, had double the cases it could handle when his accuser walked in to recant.

At the time, the office had developed a practice that masked the severity of the staff-caseload imbalance.

As cases were filed, regional deputy public defender Kris Copenhaver assigned herself incoming cases, then sought delays. A placeholder attorney would be on hand for the defendants initial appearance, but neither that attorney nor Copenhaver would follow the case. Clients were then unrepresented until workloads lightened, and a dedicated public defender could take it.

We had no idea how understaffed we were, said Brian Smith, division administrator at the state public defenders office.

Calls to Copenhaver seeking comment were not returned. She no longer works at the office.

Yellowstone Countys problems left cases in limbo with repeated delays waiting for counsel and let a potentially exonerating recantation fall through the cracks.

Montanas public defender office director Brett Schandelson said his agency had a moral obligation to alert Jefferson-Dust that his accuser admitted she lied.

"There is no dispute that what happened to (Jefferson-Dust) is unfortunate and should not have happened," Schandelson said. "Unfortunately, the information about the recantation came to OPD at a time when the office was understaffed and overburdened. ... And while we did ensure that information was documented in a memo, its not quite clear what happened with that memo."

Stuck in jail

Oregons ongoing public defense crisis shows how having no attorney can devastate lives.

More than 750 people daily from mid-August through December needed an attorney but couldnt get one, according to the Oregon Judicial Department. About 6 percent of them were in jail.

Richard Smith waited more than 40 days for an attorney last summer in the Coos County Jail, accused of burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He lost his job, home and 10 pounds while in jail eating cereal with cockroaches in it.

He was released within two weeks once a public defender was appointed.

Jared Hawkins, also of Oregon, for more than six months had no attorney for non-violent offenses, including theft, possessing a stolen vehicle, identity theft, computer crimes and meth possession.

He lost his job and apartment waiting for a lawyer more than three months in the Douglas County Jail. His wife became homeless when she could no longer afford rent alone.

Hawkins also permanently lost feeling in his cheek after a jail dentist botched a tooth removal, slicing him about an inch.

Im losing more things every day in my life while Im sitting in here, Hawkins said from jail in August.

Hawkins got himself out of jail by filing bail reduction motions on his own. He began rehabilitation from opioid addiction. A day after completing the program in early November, he was arrested in Lane County for a probation violation from last January.

He was appointed a public defender for that, but not his other cases, keeping those stuck.

Right now Im just kind of in limbo, Hawkins said in early December while incarcerated in the Lane County Jail. I want to get my life back on track. I want to start working again.

His public defender was able to take over his ongoing Douglas County cases by mid-December. For the probation violation, he was sentenced Dec. 19 to another two years of probation and 30 days in jail. He was released the next day for time served.

Busy attorneys

Public defenders are stretched so thin, some barely provide representation  a violation of people's right to effective counsel.

Nona Wiley, 55, met her public defender for the first time after her court hearing began in Matagorda County, Texas last October. "He's late," she said.

"I called him, and he won't even answer the phone," Wiley said.

Her lawyer had her felony drug possession case for a month before reading it the day of Wileys court appearance, she said.

Wiley sobbed in court, devastated at the possibility of losing time with her grandchildren. Her case was delayed to give her attorney more time to prepare, she said.

Theresa Dugas, 63, estimates she spent a total of 30 minutes talking with her Oregon public defender throughout her case last year.

She said her public defender arrived about 10 minutes before a court date and told her to sign papers. Dugas had no idea it was a guilty plea agreement for probation.

She admitted to drunken driving, but wanted to fight allegations that she also hit her 72-year-old boyfriend with her car. Dugas is her boyfriends caregiver and didnt want to be labeled as an abuser.

I would never have plead guilty to that, Dugas said of the domestic violence assault charge. I didn't know what I was signing for.  Theyre supposed to be the ones telling me what its for. And she didnt.

Im sick

Idaho resident Chris Ellison was in the Twin Falls County Jail for most of 2022 pressing his lawyer to fight for his innocence or to get a new public defender.

Ellison was arrested Feb. 6 after police found $10 worth of meth and a pipe in his truck. Ellison has maintained the meth  possession of which resulted in a felony charge  was not his. He said friends had stayed at his house and left bags containing the drugs in his vehicle.

Public defenders have an ethical obligation to complete case investigations before recommending a plea, said Hanlon, the national public defense expert. Ellison said his first public defender, Douglas Emery, never questioned the friends, nor talked with witnesses who could have explained the bags werent his.

In August before court, Emery and Ellison discussed the prosecutors offer for Ellison to plead guilty and spend four to seven years in prison, Ellison said.

I dont want to take a deal and plead to a guilty charge for a crime that I didnt commit, Ellison remembers telling Emery that Friday. And (Emery) was like, Come on man, Im sick. I dont want to spend all weekend preparing for a trial that youre gonna lose.

Ellison wouldnt budge. Emery visited him in jail on Sunday, the eve of trial, Ellison said. Prosecutors could charge Ellison as a "persistent violator" and pursue a life sentence because he has prior felony convictions.

(Emery) was like, You have until I walk out of this building to take this deal otherwise its going to get really bad for you, Ellison said. He said, I have an email right here from the prosecutor saying  theyre going to go for 24 years in prison. So life in prison, if I dont plead guilty. I have three minutes to decide.

So I had no choice but to plead guilty to a charge that I didnt even commit.

Emery declined to comment on Ellisons claims because of attorney-client confidentiality, but in a written statement explained he handled well in excess of 200 Twin Falls felony cases in the last year. That's 50 cases more than the recommended maximum, according to national standards that experts say are already too high. Emery said he averages 42 to 65 work hours a week.

Ellison requested that Emery get kicked off his case, and a judge approved in October. Ellison and his new attorney had planned to withdraw his guilty plea in November, but by December the thought of more prison time changed his mind. He was sentenced Dec. 16 to three to seven years in prison.

Not justice

Six other men in the Twin Falls County Jail had similar complaints about their public defenders. They said they felt pressured to delay their cases, saw delays in getting discovery documents and couldnt reach their lawyers after dozens of calls. Scott Jaynes said his public defender, Emery, wouldnt order a retest of a powdery residue police said was drugs unless Jaynes paid for it.

Emery said theres no constitutional right per se to have evidence retested at the countys expense. The defense must demonstrate a good reason why existing test results are questionable before the county would foot the bill, he said.

The six men believe their public defenders were more interested in plea deals than defending them.

"They want us to take these deals so they can get us moving through the system already," Victor Salazar, one of the men, said. "Im not going to plead guilty to something that I didn't do. And then because of that, theyre going to punish me more by giving me a life sentence. Thats not justice."

Twin Falls County head public defender Ben Andersen declined to comment on the complaints. Twin Falls District Attorney Grant Loebs said his office and the public defenders office struggle with staffing shortages, despite pay increases. Staff attorneys in each office earn the same salaries.

"We put ads out, and nobody applies," Loebs said.

Structural problems

The ACLU of Idaho in 2015 filed a class action lawsuit alleging the states public defense system is unconstitutional and structurally flawed.

Defendants each in Bonner, Shoshone, Ada and Payette counties say their public defenders didnt investigate their cases or argue for lower bails and spent a total of 20 or 45 minutes with them.

Aadika Singh, ACLU of Idahos legal director, said the states public defense has improved, but "widespread, persistent structural problems" remain.

The Idaho Supreme Court is reviewing the class action lawsuit. The ACLU demands that the state develop a concrete plan for a new constitutionally acceptable system. Idaho plans to create a new, state-funded public defense system by October 2024, but the Legislature hasnt detailed what the new model will look like.

A recent ACLU filing states the annual $50 million planned so far will not even come close to adequately funding a constitutional public defense system. Rep. Jon Weber, R-Rexburg, said it's difficult to estimate the new system's cost since a model hasn't been chosen, but he welcomes discussion.

Over the summer, the ACLU added a fifth person to the lawsuit. The man, Billy Chappell, had to investigate his own case in 2021 because his public defender didn't have time. It took two months for Chappell to talk with his attorney initially, a delay that may have caused exonerating evidence to be lost, the lawsuit says.

That attorney is unnamed in the lawsuit. Singh said the ACLUs goal is to show public defenders lack resources.

Our case is not about individual public defenders, Singh said. Our case is about an underfunded and overloaded system that makes it impossible for public defenders to do the kind of job theyd want to do for their clients. Theres too many clients. Too little time. Too few resources.

About Broken Defense: Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes, been pressured to plead guilty and been denied the benefit of exonerating evidence. People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without ever talking to a lawyer. Lee Enterprises West region Public Service Journalism team and local reporters attended more than a dozen court hearings and interviewed more than 25 defendants, 40 attorneys and 25 experts to reveal public defense in many western states is broken. Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Reporter Emily Hamer may be reached at emily.hamer@lee.net.
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When lawmakers returned to the Virginia Capitol for the 2023 session, Richmond Times-Dispatch journalists were there to report on key legislation as it developed. The extensive coverage spanned multiple platforms, from our "Virginia Politics Insider" newsletter by editor Andrew Cain to our reporters roundtable produced live in the newsroom on Fridays. Dozens of stories, photos, videos and more have been produced so far  with much more coming.

Such comprehensive coverage is possible because of the financial support from our subscribers. The investment helps provide the resources we need to report the news.

But the impact extends far beyond our statehouse reporting. The political team is just one piece of our award-winning newsroom thats full of talented and passionate reporters, editors and visual journalists.

There are writers like Bill Lohmann, whose columns showcase unique and interesting Virginians from all walks of life. Theres Sean Sublette, our on-staff meteorologist, whose insightful forecasts and reporting on climate tell the story behind data. Theres multimedia journalist Eva Russo, public safety reporter Lyndon German and counties reporter Thad Green, to name just a few.

All are talented and dedicated professionals who take the responsibility and honor of telling our regions stories seriously.

If youre a subscriber, thank you. And if youre not, I invite you to join us. Unlimited access to our digital content  including videos, podcasts and the popular e-edition  starts at $1 for 26 weeks. Learn more at richmond.com/members.

Have a story idea or suggestion for our newsroom? Email me at ccoates@timesdispatch.com.

Thanks for reading.

Chris Coates is executive editor of The Times-Dispatch.

PHOTOS: Ice on the James River over the past 70 years
Michael C. Hild, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct Chesterfield County-based Live Well Financial, was handed a 44-month prison sentence on Friday by a federal judge in New York for charges related to a $140 million bond fraud scheme.

Hild, 48, was found guilty by a federal jury in April 2021 of five criminal counts in the bond fraud scheme.

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams sentenced Hild on five counts: one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. The maximum sentence for those charges was 115 years.

Hilds legal representation did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

Federal prosecutors said Hild fraudulently inflated the value of Live Wells portfolio of complex reverse-mortgage bonds in order to induce various securities dealers and at least one financial institution to loan more money to the fast-growing mortgage lender and servicer.

Hild was arrested by federal officials in 2019.

According to the indictment, the scheme between September 2015 and May 2019 allowed Live Well to grow its bond portfolio from about 20 bonds with a value of $50 million in 2014 to 50 bonds with a value of $500 million by the end of 2016. In May 2019, Live Well wrote down the value of its portfolio at about $141 million.

A U.S. attorney told the court during the April 2021 trial that Hild had been recorded referring to his scheme as a self-generating money machine, and said that Hild was using lenders as an ATM. Hild maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

The indictment said the scheme enabled Hild to fund a lavish compensation package for himself, which allowed him to pocket over $25 million and enabled him to take full control of Live Well Financial.

Around 10 of Hilds Manchester properties were auctioned off by his wife in 2019 after his arrest. The properties totaled around $4.7 million and ranged from a single family house to a 1930s era building with potential for development for multi-family use.

In addition to filing criminal charges against Hild, the federal government also charged Eric Rohr, who served as Live Well Financials chief financial officer from 2008 to late 2018, and Darren Stumberger, the companys former head trader from 2014 to March 2019, for their part in the alleged scheme. They both pleaded guilty to five criminal counts.

Live Well Financial abruptly shut down and laid off its 103 employees nearly four months before Hilds arrest in August 2019. Most of those employees worked at the companys corporate offices in the Boulders office complex in Chesterfield. Hild founded the company in 2005.

In July 2019, three of the companys creditors sought  and were granted approval by a judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware  a motion to place Live Well into involuntary bankruptcy protection.
A new location for Sugar Shack donuts is headed near Brandermill.

The new location will be located in Charter Colony at 2425 Colony Crossing Way in Midlothian.

A Sugar Shack employee said that the new location is expected to open this week or next week.

The first Sugar Shack opened at 1001 N. Lombardy St. in Richmond in 2013 and became popular for its hand-rolled, hand-cut and hand-dipped creations. An expansion of 11 stores followed, with locations in Stafford, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg, Mechanicsville, Virginia Beach and elsewhere. Many have closed or changed owners.

In Virginia, there will now be three Sugar Shack locations, at 1001 N. Lombardy St. in Richmond, 1931 Huguenot Road in North Chesterfield and the new location at 2425 Colony Crossing Way in Midlothian.
Evanston police will receive pay raises of at least 26% over four years under a new union contract that officials said was needed to bring pay for the citys force in line with other area police departments.

This was an easy choice for the entire City Council to move forward with, Councilmember Devon Reid said. We understand (Evanston Police Departments pay wasnt) in alignment with our neighbors and our neighbors do not have the same complications we do.

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Police sergeants will receive a 26% gross wage increase, according to a memo from city officials, beginning with a 14% equity increase in the contracts first year and a 4% increase in each of the following three years. Patrol officers will receive a 27% gross wage increase, according to the memo, with an 18% increase in the first year followed by 3% the following three years.

The agreement has a longevity salary increase to 6.5% for police sergeants with more than 25 years of service, and 4.5% for patrol officers with more than 15 years of service.

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City Council members used a 2022 Baker Tilly report to compare city staff wages to other suburban Chicago municipalities, Reid said, which raised concerns. Police Chief Schenita Stewart told Pioneer Press the wage increases will put Evanstons pay scale at the high end locally.

These increases come despite the 2023 budget designating $508,332 less for salary and benefits than in 2022. The departments 2023 total budget is $66,504 less than last year.

With the bargaining agreement, the lowest 2023 salary tier listed for an EPD police sergeant is $121,482 with the highest tier at $146,581. Evanston declined to provide similar information for patrol officers.

Stewart said she is excited about a current employees made whole provision giving wage protections to existing Evanston officers. The new language will adjust current staff salaries if a new hire with the same experience is offered a higher wage. Stewart said in the past new officers have occasionally received higher wages than existing EPD officers, which she believes sends a false message devaluing longtime employees.

We have had training officers get paid less than the people they were training (because Evanston lacked this provision), Stewart said. Now well match the salary for individuals that have been loyal to the agency instead of (just increasing pay for) officers from other departments that come here and kind of forgetting about the people we have internally who have been dedicated to the department.

The department has allegedly faced employee morale challenges in recent years due to inconsistent leadership and the nationwide scrutiny increase toward police officers. Evanston residents say this contributed to the departments limited staffed in recent years.

Evanstons police department has had more staff members leave than it could hire in recent years with 2022 being the first year, since at least 2019, to have more new employees than departing. Stewart said she hopes the pay increases will help combat employee retention and morale concerns.

The new collective bargaining agreement was unanimously approved by the City Council on Jan. 23 and will be in effect until Dec. 31, 2026.

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Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
At Abner Clay Park against the backdrop of the setting sun, area residents gathered Monday night, bound by grief, anger, shock and horror. In their hearts and minds was the memory of Tyre Nichols.

With eyes sullen and heads bowed, the crowd whispered a prayer for the 29-year-old man, with memories fresh in their minds of Nichols being brutally beaten to death, allegedly at the hands of Memphis police officers.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney recalled the sinking feeling in his stomach Friday when Memphis authorities released harrowing body camera footage of Nichols being hit with fists and batons by five uniformed officers during a Jan. 7 traffic stop just yards from Nichols home. The beating lasted three minutes. Nichols, a FedEx worker, died three days later.

Stoney said he went back and forth deciding whether to watch.

But I watched, he said. I watched in shock and horror because I could not believe that one human being, this time five plus, could do that to another human being. You could see with your own two eyes that that was not policing. That was violence for the sake of violence.

Stoney  joined by GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, local law enforcement and city officials  came together to condemn the actions of the officers who have since been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other charges.

The death of Nichols, who was Black, has resulted in renewed questions about the use of force by law enforcement and calls for criminal justice reform. Five officers, all of whom are Black, were charged last week and face up to 60 years in prison if found guilty of second-degree murder. Two more involved in the arrest were disciplined on Monday, authorities said.

The disturbing and shocking video that was released on Friday evening displays incomprehensible violence towards another human being, Youngkin said. We must condemn these heinous acts  and its a very important time for us also to stop and invite the Lord to come to this moment.

Youngkin asked that Virginians come together in strength and unity as law enforcement officers attempt to repair the damaged trust within their own communities.

Richmond interim Police Chief Rick Edwards said he watched the video at police headquarters on Friday and asked his officers to view it as well. He said they should consider what they would do if they witnessed such a horrific scene.

Because its their duty to intervene, Edwards said. Its in our policy, its in the law. There is no training. Theres nothing we could teach you to say that thats not right. If you dont know thats not right, you shouldnt be in this job, Edwards said.

Edwards and Henrico County Police Chief Eric English agreed that the culture of policing has to change because, every time brutal policing is broadcast to the community at large, the trust in all communities is broken.

It takes a long time to build trust with communities because of police culture, because of the history of policing, English said. And we got to do better and we will do better.

It is the very same culture that people like Lawrence West say has to change in order for the community to heal properly. West is the CEO and founder of Black Lives Matter RVA. He came to the vigil with a megaphone and a shield he made during the protest in Richmond three years ago in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police.

Its hard for me to take them serious, because this feels like just another publicity stunt, West said. And here we go again. If this happens next week, what will they say?

West said he hopes that officials acknowledge there is a lack of trust within the community and that they have to do something to fix that.

Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond, cited the need to dismantle this culture.

And governor, I say to you because you are standing in a place that where you can do something with the power of the pen... we must, we must, we must dismantle these systems, she said. Because if we dont, we will continue as America, as citizens, as communities, as leaders to be grieved by what we have seen once again.

Here is the timeline of events in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols  and what's followed Jan. 7, 2023 Jan. 8 Jan. 15 Jan. 16 Jan. 18 Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Jan. 24 Jan. 25 Jan. 26 Jan. 27 Jan. 28
Virginia will consider allowing parties to use ranked choice voting for presidential primaries  but not just yet.

Ranked choice voting allows people to rank multiple candidates in order of preference. Generally, under ranked choice voting, if a voters first choice is eliminated, the top vote is transferred to the voters second choice, and so on.

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, pulled his bill from the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee Tuesday after he heard feedback from the Department of Elections, which said it had logistical concerns.

Deeds said that Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals dropped by his office and, when he asked her about his bill, she relayed that the state board of elections did not feel like they could technologically do this right now.

That is because Virginia only recently allowed elections for city council and boards of supervisors to be conducted through ranked choice voting.

Additionally, Virginia allows localities to use four different types of voting machines, which could complicate things should local registrars around the state coordinate ranked choice voting in a presidential election.

Deeds said he felt it was best to pull his bill for now and reintroduce it later, perhaps next year. He is confident the matter will be worked out in the future.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reached out to the Department of Elections to ask what the department would need to adjust in order to accommodate statewide ranked choice voting, but did not receive a response at the time of this publication.

Ranked choice voting has long been championed by Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, who will face Deeds in a Democratic primary election this summer for the nomination Virginias 11th Senate District, based in Albemarle County and the city of Charlottesville.

Ranked choice voting was a part of the platform of her 2019 campaign, and in 2020 the General Assembly passed her bill to allow ranked choice voting for certain local elections.

Though not yet law for all elections, ranked choice voting has already been implemented for other races. Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the GOP nomination for governor when the party utilized ranked choice voting in a 2021 convention. But because primary elections  which allow for more people to vote  are state-run and not party-run, the state has to pass laws allowing for its use in primaries.

Hudson called that a legal limbo, but added that collaborating with registrars and the department of elections will help Virginia eventually to ease into allowing ranked choice voting in more races.

Arlington County plans to use it during its primary this year, as state law shepherded by Hudson now allows it. Charlottesville is considering using it in November.

Theres demand from the parties to use it. Theres demand from the voters to use it. And theres demand from a solid hunk of legislators to use it in Richmond, Hudson said.

Advocates say that ranked choice voting allows people to support their favorite candidate as well as their backup options.

It truly gives voters a better voting experience. They get a more thorough and complete method of sharing their preferences and what they respond to in a candidate, said UpVote director Liz White. It lets voters truly just go in and say I like this person the best, this person the second best and this person the third best.

She added that she believes it benefits candidates as well, because they can garner more support based on their platforms rather than relying on party-line voting.

A candidate succeeds by building consensus and building a coalition, White said.

Deeds said he hopes to reintroduce the legislation next year, depending on what he hears from election officials. Hudson is eager for more widespread adoption of ranked choice voting, but noted that continued incremental rollout may be beneficial to voters and registrars.

How home equity compares in each state How home equity compares in each state #51. Louisiana #50. Illinois #49. Alaska #48. West Virginia #47. North Dakota #46. Iowa #45. Mississippi #44. Maryland #43. Kansas #42. Delaware #41. Oklahoma #40. Virginia #39. Connecticut #38. Wyoming #36. Washington DC #37. Arkansas #35. Ohio #34. Missouri #33. Alabama #32. Kentucky #31. Pennsylvania #30. Minnesota #29. New Jersey #28. Nebraska #27. South Dakota #26. Wisconsin #25. Michigan #24. Indiana #23. New Mexico #22. New York #21. South Carolina #20. Georgia #19. Montana #18. Rhode Island #17. North Carolina #16. Massachusetts #15. Oregon #14. New Hampshire #13. Colorado #12. Nevada #11. Texas #10. Tennessee #9. Maine #8. Hawaii #7. California #6. Washington #5. Utah #4. Florida #3. Arizona #2. Idaho #1. Vermont
Local school divisions in Virginia just learned they will receive $201 million less in state aid than they expected  including $58 million less for the current K-12 school year that is almost three-quarters done.

The Virginia Department of Education has acknowledged the mistake in calculating state basic aid for K-12 school divisions after the General Assembly adopted a two-year budget and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed it last June. The error failed to reflect a provision to hold localities harmless from the elimination of states portion of the sales tax on groceries as part of a tax cut package pushed by Youngkin and his predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam.

State Superintendent Jillian Balow notified school division superintendents by email on Friday, promising to provide corrected estimates of basic aid for this fiscal year and the next one after the House of Delegates and Senate adopt competing budget revisions on Feb. 9.

It was human error on our part, said Charles Pyle, spokesman for the Department of Education. We regret that it was not identified until December.

For big school divisions, the shortfalls are sizable for the two fiscal years  almost $18 million for Fairfax County, the states largest; $10.8 million for Chesterfield County; $8.1 million for Henrico County; $3.2 million for Richmond; and $2.6 million for Hanover County.

But the effects could be disproportionately damaging to small and rural school divisions that rely more on state aid for K-12 schools than urban and suburban divisions, which bear a higher share of the cost because of their ability to pay.

Theres a little bit of panic right now, said Bristol School Superintendent Keith Perrigan, who also is an officer at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and president of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools in Virginia.

Perrigan doesnt blame the state for the mistake, but he wants to be sure that local school divisions are part of discussions on how to fix the error and help localities with school budgets that were based on the wrong numbers.

Theres a solution and wed like to be at the table to come up with that solution, rather than just bemoaning the problem, he said.

House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, said he was blindsided by the new basic aid numbers on Monday.

I didnt know anything about it at all until this afternoon, Knight said. Im not very happy. They did not bother to tell Appropriations that the numbers had changed.

We need to have some open communication here, he said. Now its on me, what do we do?

Petersburg is an urban member of the coalition because it is small and poor, so it relies more on state aid to pay for schools than bigger divisions do.

Preliminary estimates show that Petersburg would get $853,486 less in state aid, including about $246,000 less for this school year, which is already well into its third quarter.

Bristol, the division that Perrigan leads in the far southwestern corner of the state, would receive $140,488 less in this fiscal year, which ends on June 30, and $347,000 less in the next one, which begins on July 1. It has a low score on the Local Composite Index, which measures a localitys ability to pay, so it relies more on state funds to meet the Standards of Quality for public education.

We have already adopted [budgets based on] what we thought we were going to get from the state and localities, he said. Now, we are rounding second [base] and headed to third, and finding out that the number is going to be different.

School divisions also have begun developing their budgets for next school year, while relying on estimates of the state aid they will receive.

Pyle, at the Department of Education, said, We know that its going to be inconvenient.

He said the mistake, while regrettable, did not affect what the school divisions actually received from the state during the current year.

This is not money that school divisions received that theyre going to have to give back, Pyle said.

Balow, the state superintendent, said the mistake was made when the department inadvertently failed to recognize the effect of a hold harmless payment made to local school divisions to offset money they receive directly from the states portion of the sales tax on groceries.

The General Assembly included the hold-harmless provision when it eliminated the state portion of the grocery tax, effective Jan. 1. The decision reduced sales tax revenues by $107.3 million in this fiscal year and $265.1 million next year.

As a result, the calculation tool used by the state inflated estimates of basic aid for localities. Balow provided school division superintendents with new formulas to apply to the revised calculation tool released on Dec. 16, the day after Youngkin proposed his new budget.

Were not as concerned about the mistake as how do we find a solution to it? Perrigan said.

29 photos from The Times-Dispatch archives
After investigating more than 330,000 cases of potential fraud in payment of unemployment claims, the Virginia Employment Commission has confirmed that it has paid out $1.6 billion to people who used someone elses identity to gain public benefits.

Virginia Employment Commissioner Carrie Roth had told legislators in August that potential fraud claims could reach that level, but she said Monday that the beleaguered agency had already paid out that amount in cases of identity theft under then-Gov. Ralph Northam, while blocking $1 billion in additional benefits to people using false identities. The state has worked to separate true and false claims in a flood of requests for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ones we can prosecute, we will prosecute, Roth said in an interview.

As for the federal and state dollars already spent, she said, Some of it well be able to recover... a lot of it we wont get back.

The VECs struggles remain an urgent concern for state legislators, who have been flooded with calls and emails from frustrated and desperate people seeking unemployment benefits, as well for as employers that pay into the state unemployment trust fund. The VEC faces a backlog of nearly 95,000 appeals in unemployment insurance cases, both by the people who have lost their jobs and employers who say benefits are unwarranted in some cases.

The General Assembly has tabled two bills Gov. Glenn Youngkin sought to cut in half the time that claimants and employers have to appeal VEC decisions about eligibility for benefits that affect both. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted unanimously on Monday to spike legislation at the request of its sponsor, Sen. John Bell, D-Loudoun, that would have cut the time to file an appeal from 30 to 15 days. The House Commerce and Energy Committee did the same thing last week at the request of Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, who had introduced the same bill for the governor.

The legislation ran into concerns among some Republican members of the House committee who said the shorter appeals time was unfair given delays in notifying claimants and employers of their right to challenge VEC determinations in their cases.

Im very concerned about it from the standpoint of the employers, said Del. Chris Head, R-Botetourt. Thats a quick turnaround.

Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, also expressed misgivings about the proposal and questioned whether reducing the time for appeal would help the VEC reduce its existing backlog of appeals.

Im certainly concerned about shortening that time frame, McNamara said in an interview. Im not sure its solving a problem.

The assembly is sending the legislation to the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, a legislative advisory panel, for study as the state continues to grapple with the effects of the pandemic on the unemployment system almost three years after the public health crisis began.

Were glad to have a study into how we can further expedite the appeals process at the VEC, said Flannery ORourke, an attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

Roth, whom Youngkin appointed as commissioner a year ago, has a different perspective on the proposal to shorten the appeals window, but she said she welcomes the study.

We firmly believe that this is the right proposal, but we also believe we need to work with everyone to move this forward, she said Monday.

When Roth took the job, the VEC was under a legislative and judicial microscope. It had just settled a federal lawsuit brought by advocates that required the state to hire more people to adjudicate disputed claims and answer calls from frustrated Virginians. The previous fall, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission had faulted it in a withering report over the backlog of cases.

Those backlogs included more than 246,000 late reports from employers to verify that claimants worked for them and had lost their jobs through no fault of their own, which would entitle the claimants to benefits. That backlog at the front door led to long waits for adjudicating claims and investigating potential fraud, including identity theft.

The VEC said it has eliminated the backlog of employer separation reports to zero, reduced the number of claims awaiting adjudication to about 10,000 and cut potential fraud cases to about 5,200. But now the backlog is at the other end of the process, with almost 95,000 in requested appeals awaiting initial action.

Roth said the VEC has investigated 98% of potentially fraudulent claims, about 70% o which had already paid.

The agency also has waived $226 million in overpayments made to claimants through no fault of their own, but successfully blocked a legislative proposal in this assembly session to revive the waiver program, which expired last year.

The problem of identity theft also affects legitimate claimants, who have had to endure delays and technical glitches in proving their identities to collect benefits, said ORourke at the poverty law center. It continues to be a stumbling block.

Roth said the VEC has worked hard to identify legitimate claimants from those flagged for potential fraud.

We did everything we could do, she said.
A major change of heart by Democratic senators has resulted in a proposal for long-shunned paid family and medical leave, which would cover some salary or wages if an employee needs to take time to care for a newborn or a family member.

Under Senate Bill 1101 from Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, paid family and medical leave would operate like unemployment insurance, with employers and employees each contributing to cover the cost. It would be available to all employees. The contributions, as in unemployment insurance, would be mandatory.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee approved the measure by an 11-4 vote as eight Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, who had voted to kill the same measure in 2021, changed their stance.

Democrats previous position killed the measure when they controlled both the Senate and the House of Delegates. Now, in spite of their reversal, the measure still likely faces a tough ride in the House although, in the past, a handful of Republican members have said they were sympathetic to the idea of some kind of paid leave benefit.

The bill would set up a self-funded program, like unemployment insurance, with a portion of the cost paid by employers and another paid through deductions from employees paychecks  something like the cost of a Starbucks  $4, the bills sponsor, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.

The benefit would amount to 80% of an employees average weekly pay, capped at 80% of the average weekly wage across the whole state. The latest annual Department of Labor and Industry figure for the average weekly wage is $1,195.

The benefit would be limited to 12 weeks.

The lack of a paid leave program forces a cruel choice on employees, Boysko said.

Employees are entitled by federal law to take time off to care for newborns or seriously ill family members, but the federal law only authorizes unpaid leave.

Many families simply cannot afford to go without pay for that long, Boysko said.

Currently, paid leave is available only through private insurance offered as a fringe benefit by a minority of employers, or else by employers who eat the cost of employees leave from their own profits.

Advocates for Virginians with low-to-moderate incomes, including the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy along with the AFL-CIO and United Food and Commercial Workers, told the committee they support Boyskos bill.

But Nicole Brenner, representing the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, said the statewide business group opposes the measure. She said a measure enacted last year for a voluntary benefit needs time to work.

That measure authorizes family leave insurance as an amendment or rider to a group disability income policy. It passed with broad bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 1029 would kick off a 30-day response process when companies and co-ops apply for permission to cross railroad tracks. Stanley said it has taken months sometimes to get a response from railroad companies, and this bill would streamline the process.

A Times-Dispatch subscription supports local journalism Unlimited access to our digital content  including videos, podcasts and the popular e-edition  starts at $1 for 26 weeks.

The bill is endorsed by the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Broadband Cooperatives.

Simply put: Virginians, especially in rural and remote communities, need this legislation, said Casey Logan, chair of the broadband group.

A couple of senators said they might support the bill in the future, but expressed concern that such a law might be challenged legally by railroad companies.

Chuckles and groans filled the room when Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, made several train puns, saying My purpose in rising is not to take the train off the tracks, but to suggest that this train has a ways to travel.

While speaking in support of his bill, Stanley said it could help more areas of the state be able to conduct business or participate in telemedicine. He said students will benefit by being able to do their homework in rural areas where broadband access is inconsistent with access in other areas of the state.

He also explained that the bill is meant to foster relationships between broadband groups and railroad companies.

The Senate voted 36- 3 to pass the bill. Its next step is review by the House of Delegates.

In a follow-up statement after the vote, Casey said: Weve still got work to do to pass this legislation and close the digital divide, but legislators sent an irrefutable message across our commonwealth that a commitment to bringing broadband to every Virginian who wants it is bipartisan and it is strong. Together with legislators support, well close the digital divide, leaving no one behind and no community without broadband.

States with the most multigenerational households States with the most multigenerational households #10. Utah #9. Arizona #8. Florida #7. New Jersey #6. Maryland #5. Nevada #4. Georgia #3. Texas #2. California #1. Hawaii
Cancun captures nearly half of all Mexicos international air travel in 2022

Cancun, Q.R.  During 2022, the Cancun International Airport captured nearly half of all international air travelers into the country. Miguel Torruco Marques, head of the Ministry of Tourism, says that last year, over 20.6 million international tourists arrived in Mexico by air.

That figure, he reported, is 46.3 percent higher than 2021 and 8.2 percent higher than international air passengers received in 2019.

Between January and December of 2022, the main international arrivals were from the United States, Canada and Colombia.

The Secretary of Tourism reported that in 2022, Cancun International, Mexico City International (AICM) and Los Cabos received the largest number of international tourists.

Between the three airports, more than 15.8 million international air passengers landed. Of those, over 9.4 million did so at Cancun International, 47.7 percent more than the previous year. Just over 4.2 million were recorded arriving at the AICM and 2.1 million at Los Cabos.

During 2022, Mexico recorded more than 107 million air passengers between domestic and international flights.
Daikin starts construction of two new San Luis Potosi plants for $280 million expansion investment

San Luis Potosi, Mexico  Japanese company Daikin has begun construction of two of its new production plants in the Millennium Industrial Park in San Luis Potosi. The new buildings will be constructed on 11 hectares which will include an Innovation and Development Center where they will develop air conditioning products.

Once complete, the Daikin Campus will increase its staff from its current 1,200 employees to 4,000.

Satoru Akama, president and CEO of Goodman Manufacturing (Daikin Industries brand) said the project is a source of pride in terms of sustainability since it will be an example of clean energy, reduction of CO2 emissions and rationing water.

In order to consolidate in Mexico, the air conditioning and aerothermal manufacturer has made an investment of $280 million dollars. He said $230 million will be used for the first plant to manufacture residential air conditioning, with which they contemplate an annual production of 2.7 million units.

For the second building, they will invest $50 million to produce 4,500 commercial chillers per year. The two new plants will begin operations in April of 2024, by which time Daikin Manufacturing Mexico will have approximately 4,000 employees.

Satoru Akama said that they made the decision to invest in the expansion of production in San Luis Potosi, positioning it as the second production center in the Americas after Houston. Daikin has been manufacturing air conditioning units in San Luis Potosi for 12 years.
Embassy of Bulgaria issues Cancun travel warning due to large number of denied entries

Cancun, Q. R.  The Embassy of Bulgaria in Mexico has issued a warning for their countrymen traveling to Cancun. The warning came after more than two dozen Bulgarians were denied entry into the country at Cancun International.

We recommend that Bulgarian citizens refrain from traveling! is the title above the Mexico travel section of the Bulgarian Embassy page.

Due to frequent cases of Bulgarian citizens not being admitted to the territory of Mexico by the immigration authorities at the airport in Cancun and until the reasons for this are clarified by the Mexican authorities, the embassy advises Bulgarian citizens who are about to travel to Cancun and who could postpone it to consider such a possibility.

In the event of detention by the migration authorities, we advise Bulgarian citizens to insist on being contacted by the embassy for assistance, as well as to request a copy of the inadmissibility form, they posted on their website.

Late last year, Bulgarian diplomats asked the federal government of Mexico to clarify the many cases of inadmissibility of Bulgarian tourists, most of which, have occurred at Cancun International.

According to information obtained, at least 27 Bulgarian tourists have been denied entry into Mexico at the Cancun airport since December of 2022.
Government expropriates another five Costa Maya properties for Maya Train use

Costa Maya, Q.R.  An additional five properties are being expropriated in the south for the Maya Train. The land has been declared public utility and will be used for section 6.

The new decree will see more than 114,000 square meters of land corresponding to five privately owned properties put to Maya Train use. The five properties are located in the municipalities of Bacalar and Othon P. Blanco.

The decree, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, states that the topographic plans of the properties and the file created for the purpose of this declaration, are available to all those natural or legal persons who prove and justify a legal right or interest.

Of the five properties, two are located in the municipality of Bacalar and three in Othon P. Blanco.

In December, the government of Mexico expropriated private land in the municipalities of Tulum, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Othon P. Blanco and Bacalar after also declaring those of public utility, which will also be used for section 6 of the Maya Train.
Robert E. Crimo III signals as he leaves Lake County Court in Waukegan after a hearing on Nov. 1, 2022, Crimo is accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more in a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Alleged Highland Park parade shooter Robert E. Crimo III is expected back in Lake County Court on Tuesday for what likely will be a routine hearing.

Crimo is due to appear before Judge Victoria Rossetti for a case management conference. At such conferences, judges usually inquire of the prosecutors and defense attorneys to ensure that a case is proceeding without issue.

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In the early stages of a felony case, prosecutors routinely will make recent police reports or other investigative material available to defense attorneys, as part of their obligation in the discovery process. In addition, the judge can respond to pretrial issues that may arise.

Tuesdays hearing will be the first for Crimo, 22, since it was reported earlier this month that the defendant reportedly made a prank phone call from the jail on Dec. 31 to a New York Post reporter who had been trying to arrange an interview.

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Crimo reportedly asked the reporter if his refrigerator was running. When the reporter said yes, Crimo said, Well, you better go catch it, before laughing and hanging up, according to authorities. Jail administrators, who tape all calls, said they forwarded a copy of the call to prosecutors.

At a court hearing last week for Crimos father, prosecutors acknowledged that police are continuing to investigate the July Fourth parade shooting, at which seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded.

Authorities said Crimo opened fire on the assembled crowd with an assault rifle from the roof of a downtown store. He was taken into custody later that day and is facing seven murder charges among more than 100 felony counts.

Crimos father, Robert Crimo Jr., was charged with reckless conduct in connection with his sons case.

At the fathers hearing last week, prosecutors said that they were furnishing copies of all information in the sons case to the attorney representing the father. Prosecutors suggested that Crimo Jr.s attorney would need a terabyte-size computer drive to hold it all.

Lake County authorities allege it was reckless for the father to vouch for his then-underaged son in 2019 on state forms that allowed the son to purchase guns.
Mexico issues arrest warrants against former secretary of public security being tried in US

Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico has issued two arrest warrants against Genaro Garcia Luna, who is the former Secretary of Federal Public Security. In a statement from the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) the two arrest warrants are for crimes committed in Mexico.

The agency said that the charges in Mexico are not related to the trial Garcia Luna is currently facing in the United States.

The first arrest warrant is related to the participation of Genaro G, in the case of the illegal introduction of weapons in an operation called Fast and Furious. In this matter, the weapons that the Mexican authorities, at the time, allowed to enter illegally, have caused a large number of deaths and irreparable damage to justice.

The second arrest warrant in Mexico against Genaro G corresponds to the CEFERESOS case (privatized federal prisons), in which the participation of said person was essential to generate immense patrimonial damage and a series of criminal responsibilities in this regard, they said in their statement.

According to the FGR, there are two other ongoing investigations against Genaro Garcia Luna and the request for a third arrest warrant.

In their statement, the Prosecutors Office said that efforts continue before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and American authorities to obtain the extradition of Genaro G.

Earlier this month, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the United States should return reclaimed money in the Garcia Luna case to Mexico. He said that Mexico will insist, before U.S. authorities, that any resources recovered from Genaro Garcia Luna, the former Federal Secretary of Public Security, be returned to the country.
Tourist suffers fractured leg after falling from Tulum hotel

Tulum, Q.R.  A young woman who fell from a Tulum hotel balcony was taken to hospital with a leg fracture. The accident happened Monday when, while leaning against a wooden rail, she fell approximately three meters when the rail gave way.

Maria N, 30, was taken to hospital after being stabilized by paramedics at the hotel. According to preliminary information, she is believed to have suffered a fracture in her left leg and possible broken toes on her right foot.

According to Maria N, she was leaning on a section of the wood rail of her hotel when it broke. The hotel is situated around a cenote. People in the ceonte at the time of her fall came to her rescue. Maria N is a tourist visiting the area from Mexico City.
A news release from the county sheriffs office did not identify either person, say if they were adults or minors, or convey any details of what happened except to report that the incident occurred in the 6000 block of Baptist Hollow Road. The location is southeast and across the New River from the town of Pulaski and roughly between the communities of Hiwassee and Snowville.
Jami Poff of southwest Roanoke County is a longtime customer of the U.S. Postal Service.

She lives in the area of U.S. 221 and Cotton Hill Road. Unlike many of late, shes not complaining about sporadic postal deliveries to her house.

Poffs upset about delivery of mail she sent from there. As an example, she cited a card mailed to a friend, Shelby Grisso Munro, in Cave Spring. The two women live less than 4 miles apart.

Poff put the card in the mail Dec. 10. Poff knows because that was the date on the postmark when the card arrived at Munros home on Jan. 5.

Thats a timespan of 26 days. To be fair, there were four no-delivery Sundays plus two Monday federal holidays in that period, which means we should probably count the delivery times as only 20 days, for 4 miles.

Poff could have walked the card over to Grissos house and back to her own home in less than half a day.

She was one of many readers  from Martinsville to Christiansburg to Glasgow  who responded to last Tuesdays column about curtailed deliveries by the Postal Service.

Some said theyre receiving mail at their home only two to three days per week, rather than six days as required by law.

When I asked the Postal Service about that, spokesman Philip Bogenberger said the agency has roughly 20 unfilled positions in the Roanoke area, and that its trying to hire people at local job fairs.

Most post offices are adequately staffed and delivery routes are covered in the Roanoke area, Bogenberger replied by email. We have contingency plans when employees are on leave. Still, staffing challenges can arise, which has resulted in brief periods of sporadic mail delivery on a few routes.

Here are some other readers whove experienced mail problems recently. Most, but not all, concern sporadic delivery.

Ibby Greer of Virginia Heights: Weve had the same problems for years and years.... it started about 5 years ago. We dont get our mail most days, and if we get it, it comes at night, in a pile. Boxes are delivered on the porch after weve gone to bed, and uh, who knows if they ever reach us?

Important First Class mail is so irregular that Ive pretty much stopped using mail. But Im expecting a new credit card in the mail today  and theres no mail today.

Dave McRoberts, Christiansburg: Same thing with mail happens here, in Christiansburg. No mail when it is on [Informed Delivery] website. Arrives in bunches.

Dianne Simmons, southeast Roanoke: For a period of time, I felt like I was only getting mail every other day, but wasnt keeping a record. Then a friend who called the Post Office about a problem she was having was told they were attempting to deliver each route every other day.

 The week of December 19-24, I only received mail two days. I subsequently discovered that I was missing a distribution check from a 401-K, two credit card bills, and who knows what else. I took care of the bills online, but the financial institution would not do anything about the check until it had been missing for X number of days. I requested an electronic transfer instead of another check, and finally received the funds on January 10.

Florence Rea Wright of Martinsville: Weve been going through this in Henry County, Virginia, for about a year, maybe longer.

Peter Jennings, Smith Mountain Lake: My problem is, I get other peoples mail at least three, four times a month. And I make it my business to either put it [back] in the mailbox with a note, take it to the post office, or if its a neighbor, I deliver it to them.

But I get mail for people in Vinton, Thaxton, Botetourt County, even Roanoke. And, uh, I dont know, I think its this compressed way they sort the mail, whether its in Greensboro or Roanoke, but I think the letters are stuck together.

I just wonder how much of my mail I never get, because I know there are people on my mail route who say that, you know, misdelivered mail is junk mail, they just throw it away. Thats a real problem, especially during tax time when youre waiting to get 1099s and stuff.

Bill Haynie, Raleigh Court: Ill miss my mail three to four times per week and then get a batch one day. I subscribe to the Informed Delivery service and can see that I am supposed to get mail every day.

I, like you, went to the Grandin Road Post Office to see if they could let me know whats going on. Apparently our regular mail carrier is out with an injury and her manager is on leave for some reason so they are definitely short staffed.

An additional problem is that there are so many different subs that deliver to our neighborhood that they are not familiar with house addresses and we never get mail until after dark anyway and I know they cant see our house address.

Genevieve Henderson, southwest Roanoke County: Weve been having problems on 12 Oclock Knob Road. (The most frequent one, she added, is carriers dont close her post-mounted roadside mailbox when delivering mail).

And Ive had problems when I took a Christmas card to the main post office there at Cave Spring, on the 16th of December. It had three checks in the Christmas card as a Christmas present for my nephew and his family. They didnt get it for almost a month. They just recently received it outside of Atlanta, Georiga.  But it was not just my card. Another aunt had sent a card through the Cave Spring Post Office, it took a month to get to that nephew.

I go back to when [First-Class postage] was three cents, said Henderson, 87. And let me tell you something: Mail service was a lot better then.

Boyd Walker, of Glasgow said mail delivery problems dont seem as bad in Rockbridge County as in Roanoke. But he noted that a birthday card hed sent to a friend who lives outside Lexington took five to 10 days to be delivered. (Its about 16 miles from Glasgow to Lexington.)

Walker tracked that delivery. It went to Roanoke to Greensboro back down to Sandston, Virginia, back to Lexington and then [to] the rural carrier from the main post office in Lexington.

Other readers wondered why Postmaster Louis DeJoy, a North Carolinian hired under ex-president Donald Trump, still holds his job more than two years into after President Joe Bidens inauguration.

This fools been appointed, said Wright, the reader from Martinsville. I dont know why [U.S. Sens.] Tim Kaine and Mark Warner cant fire his a.

I thought the president had replaced this postmaster, Charles Reynolds of Roanoke said in a voicemail. Isnt he the one who gutted machines and people out of the post office? So if the mail is slow, isnt he responsible? I thought they had moved him out of office. If not, maybe its time.

In 2017, DeJoy was one of three deputy finance chairs for the Republican National Committee. The Trump-appointed U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors hired him as U.S. postmaster general in May 2020.

The postmaster serves at the boards pleasure, not necessarily the presidents.

One of DeJoys first initiatives was a 10-year cost-reduction plan critics predicted would slow the mail in advance of the 2020 presidential election. That was only a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when record numbers of voters were expected to vote by mail.

Late in the summer of 2020, DeJoy said the cost reductions would be suspended until after the 2020 election. That October, the Postal Service announced his initiatives would be reversed.

Congress later passed a federal law requiring six-day deliveries except under emergencies such as blizzards and hurricanes.

Currently, the Board of Governors is dominated 5-4 by Biden appointees.

If people need to go, DeJoy ought to be the first, wrote Jeff Wendell of Roanoke. Question is, why is he still there?
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Antisemitic flyers were distributed throughout Charlottesvilles Barracks Rugby and Venable neighborhoods over the weekend, in what appears to be part of a national public relations stunt by the Goyim Defense League hate group.

Congregation Beth Israel, Charlottesvilles only synagogue whose temple is the oldest still standing in the commonwealth, warned its congregants Monday morning to be aware of their own personal safety when in public and at their home.

Former Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, who is Jewish, said his street was in one of the neighborhoods the campaign targeted. He said he found the leaflets scattered on several nearby driveways on Saturday morning as he walked out to fetch the morning newspaper.

He said he ran across the street to grab a flyer that had been thrown on his neighbors driveway. She wasnt going to be interested in receiving that.

Signer, who served as mayor during the deadly Unite the Right rally-turned-riot when neo-Nazis and neo-Confederates descended on downtown Charlottesville in 2017, said he has heard of such messages showing up in other places in America.

We have seen a lot of this kind of thing, he said on Monday. I know whats happening all around the country with this kind of activity. It is obviously upsetting to see it come right here to Charlottesville.

The leaflets distributed in Charlottesville were sealed in plastic bags filled with corn kernels in an apparent attempt to keep them from blowing away. Every single aspect of the media is Jewish, they read. 6 Jewish corporations own 96% of the media. Printed below that is a list of major media companies and the names of Jewish employees, regardless of whether they are still employed there or not.

The leaflets also have an advertisement for Goyim TV, a video platform owned by the Goyim Defense League and operated by self-proclaimed white supremacist Jon Minadeo II.

Minadeo, who uses the pseudonym Handsome Truth, could best be described as an internet troll. A high school dropout, by his own account, Minadeo has an IMDB page online which suggests a brief career in poorly reviewed, low-budget comedies made before he ventured into the publication of conspiracy theories.

His website, Goyim TV, is a crude version of YouTube with videos called Joe Biden Wants To Eliminate White People and Jewish Domination of the Slave Trades, among other lies, discredited conspiracies and what can only be described as nonsense.

Minadeos best-known work is a banner his group claims it hung last year across a Los Angeles freeway that read, Kanye is right about the Jews. The rapper formerly known as Kanye West had earlier previously engaged in several rants on podcasts and social media attacking Jews.

Though Minadeo was previously based in Californias Bay Area, he has since moved to Florida. His organizations mission remains the same.

GDLs overarching goal is to cast aspersions on Jews and spread antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories, according to an Anti-Defamation League report.

Theyve been doing this in six states and came to Virginia within the past six months, Bruce Hoffman, director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, said on Monday. There were incidents this fall in Virginia Beach and Lynchburg that were identical to what happened in Charlottesville over the weekend.

There were more incidents than that.

Newspapers up and down the East Coast on Monday, from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Rochester, New York, were reporting that antisemitic flyers had been discovered in their cities.

Antisemitic hate crimes are on the rise nationally, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 2021, the most recent figures available.

Charlottesville has not been immune. Residents have reported antisemitic stickers appearing on street signs and utility poles around the city.

On Oct. 25, surveillance cameras captured a young man removing a Welcome Jewish Students banner hanging from the door of the Rohr Chabad House, which is a home away from home for the schools Jewish students and community, according to its website. The suspect was never identified, according to university police.

Truman Brody-Boyd, assistant director of development at the Brody Jewish Center at the University of Virginia, said the members at the center have not noticed any antisemitic acts locally since the sign incident. Hearing about the most recent incident was unsettling, he said.

To be Jewish in America these days is to experience antisemitism, and [we] can feel a little bit of insecurity, Brody-Boyd said. Of course we do everything we can to support our students and make sure they feel safe and secure at all times.

Brody-Boyd said the center will maintain its usual safety measures, which are designed to protect its community from standard safety concerns as well as antisemitic threats.

Congregation Beth Israel has encouraged its members to attend the synagogues periodic security trainings, which include Situation Awareness, Run, Hide, Fight, Stop the Bleed and White Supremacist Threat.

While its true that Minadeo and his followers have not been responsible for any violence yet, that doesnt mean it isnt the groups ultimate aim, said Georgetowns Hoffman.

There hasnt been any violence to date. Theres been obnoxious and outrageous theatrical antics, but no violence, he said. But, the message of this kind of leafleting is to generate hatred and intolerance with a view toward targeting members of our society for their religion or ethnic identity.

Virginia Republicans Del. Terry Kilgore and state Sen. Bryce Reeves have introduced bills in the House of Delegates and state Senate, respectively, that would enforce higher criminal penalties for antisemitic hate crimes and require those crimes be entered into a database maintained by the Virginia State Police.

On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Reeves bill to the Finance and Appropriations Committee, which will review the proposed legislation later this week.

While Virginias elected officials push for legislation in Richmond, Hoffman said Charlottesville should focus on supporting its Jewish community.

In the short term, I think communities have to stand together and refuse to allow their neighbors to be intimidated or harassed or be made to feel like theyre unwelcome or dont belong in the community, Hoffman said. In the long term, I think we need digital literacy, teaching the children in schools to be able to research facts and get authoritative information from recognized sources.
1. What is the Hindu Rashtra ?

When we utter the words Hindu Rashtra, most people feel the meaning is  A Nation belonging to Hindus. For that matter, some even take it as a concept put across to the people by a political party to gain political mileage; however, there is not a semblance of politics in the concept of the Hindu Rashtra. In fact, it is a well-established culture and a system helpful in leading day-to-day life. It is verily a social arrangement which aims for the spiritual evolution of human beings, animals, birds, insects, ants, trees and creepers to the subtlest of creatures.

Since God has resolved to set up this arrangement, it can be called a Divine Rule as well. A society that is ready for any sacrifice and is committed to the progress of the Nation, a duty-bound defense system, a legal system that stands by the Truth, a system of governance that is productive, and most important, the rulers who are devoted to Dharma, who are patriots and who strive selflessly day and night for the welfare of society  these are going to be the distinctive features of the Hindu Rashtra, and hence, it is going to be an ideal Nation in the world !

There is a Sanskrut adage     (The viewer is tied to the scene he has in front of him). Accordingly, because of the pollution caused by the present-day system of governance that is secular, meaning corrupt, selfish, caste-based and unpatriotic, the supreme concept of Hindu Rashtra has been eclipsed. The truth that Ramrajya or Divine Rule is one where Hindu Rashtra has come into existence is being considered a myth.

The Hindavi Swarajya, meaning, Hindu Rashtra established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been deliberately pushed into oblivion, and intense efforts are being made to paint it green under the pretext of terming it secular. Deliberate efforts are being made to spread the belief that Hindu Rashtra is religious fanaticism; however, all this is false propaganda. Taking a clue from the Hindu Rashtras of the past, a prosperous Hindu Rashtra that will have a strong spiritual and cultural heritage is going to be established. This period is not distant. In the next 7-8 years, the Hindu Rashtra that will give a glimpse of the Divine Rule will be established.

When there are no incidents that give a ray of hope of the Hindu Rashtra, speaking about it will appear to many as an exaggeration. However, Saints who can look into the future have already sensed the bright tomorrow. Making efforts in this direction is our spiritual practice or duty unto Dharma.

2. The need for establishing the Hindu Rashtra

These days, it has become a fashion to eulogize a secular Government. One is compelled to say that this praise is due to their wrong notions about Dharma or their intellect getting tainted due to their anti-Dharma (Unrighteous) behaviour. In modern terminology, what we call Rashtrarachana (Organisational structure of the Nation) is called Dharmasansthapana (Instating Dharma) in Sanskrut. Taking all aspects into consideration, Dharmasansthapana of this nature, meaning, establishing the Hindu Rashtra is verily the need of the hour.

2A. From the perspective of difficulties faced by the Nation : Even after thousands of years, people remember the Ramrajya, simply because its foundation was Dharma. As a result, the subjects then were cultured, happy and content. During the reign of Shriram, grief, sorrow, etc. were unheard of  this is how Maharshi Valmiki has described Ramrajya in the Yuddhakand of Ramayan. We have a secular Government in India today, and as a result, we find that sorrow, poverty and atrocities are on the rise everywhere. Instability arising out of terrorism, naxalism and crime, conversion of Hindus by other sects, destruction of temples and violence, step-motherly treatment to Hindus by the Government, impotency that Hindus have developed in the form of Sarvadharmasamabhav (Equal regard for all religions) through overindulgence in Gandhian principles and the pollution caused by modern science  this is the true state of our India.

Since Hindus get no formal education on Dharma, they blindly follow the western culture. The fact is, Hindus themselves are the cause of extensive harm to Hindu Dharma. The Divine language Sanskrut and the Sattva predominant regional languages that have been derived from Sanskrut, are on their death bed, and English is being heaped everywhere with undeserving praise. All this is a consequence of the secular form of Indias Government. It does not have the support of the Sattva predominant Hindu Dharma. Hence, from the perspective of ending the problems faced by the Nation, establishing a form of governance that has Dharma as its foundation, has become the need of the hour.

2B. Establishing the Hindu Rashtra is a necessity not just for the Hindus, but for entire mankind : Establishing the Hindu Rashtra is a necessity not just for Hindus, but for entire mankind. No doubt, Indian citizens are going to benefit from the Hindu Rashtra. Additionally, the fact that it is going to facilitate the spread of Dharma throughout the world, the world will learn about Spirituality and spiritual practice. This will help them in their spiritual evolution. It will generate a Sattva predominant atmosphere in the world and entire mankind will become happy.

2C. From the perspective of world peace : Sanatan Hindu Dharma teaches how to imbibe the highest of values. It is a Dharma in which tolerance is inherent. Therefore, it is benevolent for the world. To continue living on earth, tolerance and not violence is essential. This is why, the existence of Hindu Dharma is essential. Only if Hindu Dharma survives, will everyone survive. There will be peace everywhere in the world and this noble aim will be achieved.

3. Who is the founder of Hindu Rashtra ?

3A. Nation-building is not the work of politicians : First and foremost, it should be clearly understood that it is impossible for the present-day power hungry politicians to contribute to Nation-building; because Nation-building is a scientific process and only Truth can prevail here. While contemplating on this concept, the extent to which we accept flaws such as falsehood and ignorance (knowingly or unknowingly), the structure will be weak and incomplete proportionately. Modern-day politicians have a single agenda  to get and retain power. One who does not think of grabbing power, can never be a politician in todays context. There is a vast difference between Nation-building and such type of politics. Nation-building decides the place of the rule, purpose and limitations.

3B. Only Hindus who abide by Dharma can establish the Hindu Rashtra

3B 1. Importance of abiding by Dharma : Nation-building requires an expansive analytical intellect to understand the prevailing circumstances and to work for the welfare of the Nation with foresight. Abiding by Dharma, meaning, performing spiritual practice helps in developing an analytical intellect; hence, devout Hindus should commence abiding by Dharma.

3B 2. Only Hindus who abide by Dharma are true revolutionaries : Attracted towards the spiritual ideals, if a Hindu leads a moral life, meaning, abides by Dharma, he will be a revolutionary in the true sense. Only if leaders and their followers, who are interested in bringing about a revolution, are morally inspired, they will be able to bring about a revolution. In short, if the modern revolutionaries are inspired to lead a life based on Dharma, then and only then, a Dharma-based revolution for the establishment of the Hindu Rashtra will be successful.

(Ref.: Sanatans Text  Why do we need a Hindu Rashtra ?)

Nation-building requires an expansive analytical intellect to work for the welfare of the Nation with foresight !
Credit: CC0 Public Domain It was a good week for physics as a pair of physicists at the University of Luxembourg, Alexandre Tkatchenko and Dmitry V. Fedorov, took a new approach to solving the mystery of dark energythey proposed using quantum scaling to describe characteristics of quantum fields corresponding to electrons and positrons and to generate the Casimir self-interaction energy density of a field. Also, a trio of physicists, Gilly Elor with Johannes Gutenberg University, and Robert McGehee and Aaron Pierce, both from the University of Michigan, developed a new model to explain dark mattercalled Highly Interactive Particle Relics (HighiY), the model suggests that interactions between dark and normal mater are too weak to be detected using current technology. And pair of researchers, Ludovico Lami, with Universitat Ulm and Bartosz Regula, with the University of Tokyo, claimed that prior work suggesting that there might be a second law of entanglement is wrong because entanglement is fundamentally irreversible.

In technology news, Jonathan Choi, a professor at Minnesota University Law School, announced that the ChatGPT bot passed a U.S. law school exam. And a trio of researchers at the University of Washington, Zerina Kapetanovic, Miguel Morales and Joshua Smith, designed and built a device that could transmit radio waves with almost no powerwithout violating the laws of physics. Also, a team at Korea's KAIST, Daejeon, Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Lab designed and built a versatile robodog capable of running across a sandy beach at 3 meters per secondcalled RaiBo, the quadrupedal robot is based on new technology used to model the forces of a walking robot. And a team at the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, working with a colleague at Carnegie Mellon University, demonstrated a human-shaped robot that could liquify and escape jail, all using the power of magnets.

In other news, a team of researchers from several institutions in Italy and the U.K. discovered an anti-aging gene that is capable of rewinding the age of the heart by 10 years. Also, a pair of researchers at Peking University, Xiaodong Song and Yi Yang, found evidence showing that Earth's inner core rotates more slowly than the surface. And finally, a team at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University found that when chronic stress activates certain neurons, behavioral problems like loss of pleasure and depression tend to result.

 2023 Science X Network
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

New research is exploring the vital role that bushfire maps play in informing how people respond to fire threats, with input from Huon Valley, Tasmania, residents impacted by the 2019 Riveaux Road bushfire.

If you are a resident of the Huon Valley in Tasmania and were affected by bushfire in the last four years (since 2018) and are aged 18 years or over, your experiences can help shape bushfire safety via a research interview in February.

The study by Natural Hazards Research Australia and RMIT University is supported by the Tasmania Fire Service and the Huon Valley Council. It will improve the design of maps that show a bushfire's location and potential spread.

No experience with bushfire spread prediction maps or maps in general is needed to participate. The research team will ask participants to recall information they received and actions they took during a previous bushfire, along with any role maps played in their response. Participants will also be asked for their perspectives on two pilot maps that have been developed for the study.

The research team will be conducting in-person interviews in the Huon Valley from 2028 February and registrations are encouraged now. Online interviews are also possible from 1 February. To participate in either option register at bit.ly/3fnOChN and follow the prompts. Participants can also call or email the research team to express interest: (03) 9925 3267 or philippa.perry@rmit.edu.au.

Dr. Erica Kuligowski, Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University, said the input of Huon Valley locals will provide important information.

"To improve bushfire maps, we need to know what information people would expect to find on these maps," Dr. Kuligowski explained.

"This research will improve bushfire safety by finding out critical information about how TasALERT warning maps are understood, used and importantly, what actions those under bushfire threat would take after seeing these maps.

"If you want to have a say in how these maps are designed and communicated in future bushfires, please register for our research.

"This research will help bushfire safety, not just in the Huon Valley or Tasmania, but around Australia, as we develop guidance for fire experts so that future bushfire maps can be better understood by the people who need them the most," Dr. Kuligowski said.

More information:

Predictions in public: understanding the design, communication and dissemination of predictive maps to the public. www.naturalhazards.com.au/rese  on-and-dissemination

Provided by Natural Hazards Research Australia
Disinformation has become one of the greatest social threats to the stability of modern democracies. Credit: CiTIUS

Humans and machines will join forces to curb one of today's biggest threats to democracy: fake news, hate speech and misinformation will face a new obstacle in the European consortium 'HYBRIDS': an international initiative funded with over 2.9 million euros by EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks, and UKRI's Horizon Europe funding guarantee.

The spread of rumours and fake news, hate speech against vulnerable minorities and harassment through social media have become one of the main threats to modern democracies.

The parliaments and governments of different nations are becoming aware of the need for a global strategy against disinformation, assuming that the stability of democratic societies also depends on citizens having access to verifiable information, thus being free to construct their own opinions based on objective data whose veracity can be demonstrated.

Although there have been significant advances in the automatic detection of misinformation in recent years, it remains an under-studied field, as it is an extremely complex task that requires deep semantic knowledge and different inference and reasoning mechanisms based on natural language.

In this context, the European Union (EU) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have just given its support to a new transnational research project whose scientific aim will be to design and develop new automatic tools to counter the threat of misinformation, based on natural language processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Representatives from the different institutions involved in the HYBRIDS project met at CiTIUS to kick-off the project in Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Credit: CiTIUS

Throughout the HYBRIDS initiative (Hybrid Intelligence to monitor, promote and analyse transformations in good democracy practices) different Deep Learning techniques will be developed on the basis of an exhaustive analysis of public discourse about crucial global issues, such as health, climate crisis, European scepticism or immigration, which will take into account both traditional media and content published through social networks.

'Hybrid' intelligence

From its very initial conception, HYBRIDS has assumed the need for a multidisciplinary research team, capable of transferring the knowledge acquired in the human and social sciences to the technological tools of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Deep Learning (DL) algorithms. Pablo Gamallo, an expert in computational linguistics heading the project from the leading institution in Spain (CiTIUSResearch Centre on Intelligent Technologies of the University of Santiago de Compostela), states that "the ultimate goal is to generate new neuro-symbolic interpretation systems, something that we know as 'hybrid intelligence". The researcher sums up the essence of the project: "the idea of hybrid intelligence consists of combining the high computational capacities of recent neural algorithms with symbolic representations that model human knowledge, thus paving the way to overcome the shortcomings of current artificial intelligence methods", he explains.

However, despite these advantages, very little research has been published to date in the field of hybrid systems; mostly due to the difficulty of finding highly qualified personnel in these disciplines, traditionally as distant as computer engineering, social sciences, or linguistics. The launch of HYBRIDS (a Marie Skodowska-Curie Doctoral Network funded by the Horizon Europe programme and UKRI) will also contribute to the training of such profiles in hybrid methodologies, who will provide their expertise in this and other social studies with a high potential impact on the sustainability of good democratic practices in Europe.

Academia and industry hand-in-hand in the face of disinformation

HYBRIDS is the result of an international consortium led from Santiago de Compostela (Spain) by the Research Centre on Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS), and it involves a total of 14 members (8 beneficiaries6 partners) from 7 European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Among the institutions are 6 universities (Queen Mary University of London, Radboud Universiteit, Universidade da Coruna, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Universite Caen Normandie and Universidade de Evora); 3 R&D centres (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Leibniz-Institut fur Sozialwissenschaften); 2 non-profit foundations (Fondazione Openpolis ETS, Fundacion Empresa Universidad Gallega) and 3 private companies (Factoria Software e Multimedia, Industrieanlagen Betriebsgesellschaft MBH and Newtral Media Audiovisual). Following the official start of the project, which began on 1 January 2023, members from the different institutions have met for the first time today in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), along the kick-off meeting of the HYBRIDS initiative.

More information:

Andres Ruiz

Communications Manager

citius.press@usc.es

Provided by CiTIUS (Singular Research Center on Intelligent Technologies)
FLORENCE, S.C.  Florence-Darlington Technical College Tuesday announced William Fleming, Jr. was appointed to the colleges area commission which serves as the colleges governing board.

I am honored to serve the students, faculty and citizens of the Pee Dee in this capacity, said Fleming. A strong technical college is key to an areas ability to recruit and retain businesses. Florence- Darlington Technical Colleges array of academic programs as well as its affordability is a true asset to this region.

Fleming will replace long-time FDTC Area Commissioner Alvin Dewitt, who served for 54 years.

On behalf of the Area Commissioners, we are very excited to have Mr. William Fleming join the Florence-Darlington Technical College team as we strive to help the residents of the Pee Dee Region by providing an excellent opportunity to receive a quality education at a very reasonable price, FDTC Area Commission Chairman Paul Seward said.

I have known Mr. Fleming for over 20 years and by him agreeing to serve is yet another example of his passion to help the residents of the Pee Dee Region through his time and service. We are also very thankful for the more than 54 years of service Mr. Alvin Dewitt gave to our college as an Area Commissioner whom Mr. Fleming will be replacing with this new appointment, Seward said.

Fleming currently serves as President and CEO of Marlboro Pee Dee Electric Cooperative (MPD), one of the largest industrial electric cooperative in the nation. MPD was formed in 2020 through the merger of Marlboro Electric Cooperative and Pee Dee Electric Cooperative.

I look forward to working alongside other business and education leaders at FDTC, one of the best technical colleges, not just in South Carolina but in the nation, Fleming said.

He also serves as President and CEO of Marlboro Development Team (MDT) a South Carolina based real estate developer focused on single tenant build-to-suits, value-add acquisitions, and strategic investments throughout the United States. The organization has successfully delivered more than 13 million square feet across a broad spectrum of development projects including retail, industrial, commercial, and office space.
Robert Crimo III, left, appears with his attorneys Gregory Ticsay, assistant public defender for Lake County, center, and Anton Trizna before Judge Victoria Rossetti at the Lake County Courthouse on Jan. 31, 2023, in Waukegan. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)

Lake County prosecutors indicated the massive investigation into the July 4 Highland Park parade shooting is still ongoing during a brief courtroom appearance Tuesday for alleged shooter Robert Crimo III.

In a case management conference that lasted three minutes, Lake County Assistant States Attorney Ben Dillon said prosecutors had shared an additional 10,000 written pages of reports and other investigative materials, along with dozens of photographs, with Crimos attorneys since the defendants last court appearance on Nov. 1. The prosecutor also said his office was seeking medical records of shooting victims in the case.

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Judge Victoria Rossetti noted for the record that she had received information prosecutors had subpoenaed from a company that sells tactical gear. Prosecutors said they had shared that information with Crimos attorneys from the public defenders office.

Rossetti set a May 9 date for the next hearing in the case.

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Crimo, 22, who was wearing a surgical mask, was then escorted out of the courtroom, near where his mother and father, Robert Crimo Jr., were seated. His father is due back in court in mid-February on charges filed in December by prosecutors who allege Crimo Jr. acted recklessly when he vouched for his then-underage son in 2019 on state forms that allowed his son to purchase firearms.

Crimo III is charged with more than 100 felony counts, including seven counts of first-degree murder, in the shooting at the Highland Park July 4 parade.

Tuesdays hearing was the first since it was reported earlier this month that Crimo had allegedly made a prank phone call to a journalist on Dec. 31. The incident was not mentioned during the hearing.
OpIran: Anonymous launched Operation Iran against Teheran due to the ongoing crackdown on dissent after Mahsa Aminis death.

Anonymous launched OpIran against Iran due to the ongoing crackdown on dissent after Mahsa Aminis death.

The protests began after the death of Mahsa Amini from Saqqez in Kurdistan province after her arrest by Irans morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely. The authorities claimed Amini died of natural causes after suffering heart failure while it was at the police station, but citizens dont believe this is the truth and moved the protests to the streets (September 2022 Iranian protests).

Ms Amini was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.(Reuters: IranWire) Source ABC Australia

Last week, network data from the Internet observatory NetBlocks detailed a near-total disruption to internet service in parts of Kurdistan in Iran from the evening of Monday 19 September 2022. During the week, the experts also observed the partial disruption to internet service in Tehran and other parts of the country while the protests were fueling a heated discussion on Instagram and WhatsApp. Then the Iranian government shut down the mobile networks in the country.

 Confirmed: Real-time network data show a near-total disruption to internet connectivity in #Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan Province in west #Iran; the incident comes amid widening protests over the death of #MahsaAmini after her arrest by morality police  pic.twitter.com/wZVHJjgpiR  NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 19, 2022

 Confirmed: A significant internet outage has been registered in Tehran, #Iran with real time network data showing connectivity at 67% of ordinary levels; the incident comes amid protests over the death of Mahsa Amini and may affect coverage of events on the ground  pic.twitter.com/a8fjaaLoYG  NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 16, 2022

Anonymous declared war on the Iranian government and launched its #OpIran campaign against the government websites, including the ones belonging to the Iranian Intelligence and police. The group calls for action to launch DDoS attacks on Iranian websites, steal their data and leak them online. Hacktivists also invite Iranian citizens to bypass state censorship by using the Tor browser.

Dear Iran, you shut down internet. We'll shut you down. #OpIran #MahsaAmini  Anonymous TV  (@YourAnonTV) September 21, 2022

Anonymous also hacked the Forensic Research Center, the Iranian Assembly and leaked stolen data online, and also took down the Iran state-affiliated media Fars News Agency.

In the case of Russia, as reported by Hackread.com, Anonymous managed to hack over 400 security cameras across the country while sending almost 10 million texts to Russian citizens to raise awareness about the conflict.

Anonymous has claimed to have hacked hundreds of security cameras In Iran, in one of the messages members of the collective revealed to have exploited the CVE-2018-9999 vulnerability.

140 CCTV cameras hacked in Iran#Devil_Squad @Devil_squad1 #OpIran



We are anonymous pic.twitter.com/IfHD1Fj3Bo  D A R K G H O S T (@dark_ghostclan) September 22, 2022

While I was writing this post the news of another tragedy was circulating online. Hadis Najafi, 20 years old who is considered one of the symbols of the protest, was killed by the Iranian security forces last night during the protests in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. She had become one of the girls who symbolized the protests after facing the police, she was without a veil because she was against the mandatory hijab and the discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  hacking, OpIran)

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Carinata seeds can be crushed to make an oil that is used as a fuel.
 If you never tire of acquitted conduct talk, here is a podcast episode for you | Main | "Joe Biden Hasnt Kept His Promise to Reduce the Prison Population" 

January 31, 2023

Sad accounting of 150-year prison term for child-porn possession after 3-year plea deal had been offered

The Miami Herald has this extended and sad review of an 150-year state sentence imposed on a person with schizophrenia who possessed child pornography. The case provide an example of the "trial penalty" and all sort of other factors that can contribute to extreme prison terms. The piece is headlined "Extreme injustice: Homeless man with untreated schizophrenia fights 150-year sentence." I recommended the lengthy article in full and here are excerpts:

The crime that Jared Stephens committed is not in dispute. The question is whether he should die in prison for it. On a stormy September day in 2016, Stephens  a former wrestler at Arizona State University who became homeless after years of untreated schizophrenia  walked into a Best Buy in Sweetwater. He snatched a $399.99 laptop, stuffed other merchandise totaling $157.96 into a brown Publix tote bag and tried to walk out without paying. Confronted by employees, he resisted, then pulled his own laptop out of a backpack and did something extraordinarily irrational. Look, I have child pornography! he declared. He was telling the truth. Stephens, then 25, marched in and out of the store with his laptop playing a video of child abuse, tilting his computer screen so it was visible to a surveillance camera, according to an arrest report. He proceeded to lie down between two sets of sliding doors at the stores entrance, perusing illicit images as shoppers flowed by, until police arrived and hauled him to jail. That unhinged act sent Stephens on an odyssey through the criminal justice system, resulting in a sentence that has no parallel in local courts for a similar crime: 150 years in state prison  to be followed by a 120-day stint in the Miami-Dade County jail. The sentence  handed down by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Veronica Diaz in 2018, with a minimum of public explanation  was 147 years longer than the three-year term state prosecutors initially proposed in a plea deal and 129 years longer than the 21-year term the state asked for at sentencing. It was also dozens of times greater than the typical sentence for possession of child pornography.... Stephens ... made outlandish claims in open court at his criminal trial, asserting he could command African armies and shut off electricity to Russia with the power of his mind. He largely refused to talk to his lawyers, much less cooperate in his defense. Court-appointed psychologists diagnosed him with schizophrenia... He had also suffered his own shocking trauma as a child  a fact that went unmentioned at his sentencing because he never told his defense lawyers. Fan Li, a private attorney now representing Stephens, said that courts are ill-equipped to handle people experiencing mental illness, leading to widespread unjust prosecutions and sentences.... Stephens presumptive release date is July 4  Independence Day  2166, when he would be 175. He did not produce or distribute the illegal images, which would typically lead to a longer sentence.... Had he gone along with the state and accepted a plea deal when it was originally offered, he could have gotten just three years in prison, as well as treatment in a program for mentally disordered sex offenders. That sentence would have been in line with those given to other, similar offenders, according to court documents submitted by his lawyers. Instead, he chose to fight the case. State prosecutors responded by upping the charges from one count of child porn possession  with a maximum of five years in prison  to 30 counts, with a maximum of 150 years, based on a forensic analysis that found a cache of illegal images on his computer. Between 2000 and 2017, Miami-Dade judges decided that nearly one-third of defendants who, like Stephens, possessed child porn  without producing it or passing it around to others  should not be sent to prison, according to data from the Florida Department of Corrections. Those sent to prison received a median term of three years, according to the data, which was submitted in a court filing by Stephens defense team. Only one other local case resulted in such a lengthy sentence: Adonis Losada, a former performer on the longtime Univision show Sabado Gigante, received a 153-year term. The trial for Losada was later ordered redone, resulting in a sentence slashed by two-thirds.

January 31, 2023 at 11:20 AM | Permalink

Comments

Also from the article: a quote from my former colleague, assistant public defender Adam Saper:

In a more than 900-page motion to correct Stephens sentence, his lawyers do not claim racial bias affected Diazs decision. Still, Adam Saper, one of the public defenders who represented Stephens at trial, said he thought race played a role. I think what the judge saw was a young, mentally ill Black man in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit with no family and friends, Saper told the Herald in an interview. Lets throw him away because we are so afraid of mental illness that we would rather just bury him in the corner of society until he dies rather than trying to get him some help.

Impressed with Saper speaking truth to power!

Posted by: Anonymous | Jan 31, 2023 12:11:42 PM

This is a case in which one of those 40-year probation terms after incarceration, derided a few posts ago in a drug case, may have been appropriate.

Posted by: Jason | Jan 31, 2023 1:53:34 PM

Of course we can all agree with "Anonymous" in his anti-Hispanic and sexist criticism of Judge Veronica Diaz, and with his conclusion that there's nothing wrong with repeatedly sexually abusing (and terrorizing) little children so you can take photos of them during their degradation and pain.

Still, one might think there's something wrong with people who turn down a sweet deal, particularly when it's absolutely clear that the defendant is ice-cold on the evidence and going to lose big time at trial.

As ever with the defense bar, it's always somebody else's fault, particularly with one of their favorite scenarios, child abuse.

P.S. Schizophrenia does lots of bad things, but making you think that a four year-old is sexy is not one of them.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jan 31, 2023 1:57:30 PM

Bill, what exactly was "anti-Hispanic and sexist" about what Anonymous said? I did not see any mention of Judge Diaz's race or gender. Is any criticism of a female judge's decision-making inherently "sexist"?

Also, how exactly does expressing respect for someone expressing concern about the factors that led to the imposition of a 150-year prison term for downloading child porn constitute a "CONCLUSION that there's nothing wrong with repeatedly sexually abusing (and terrorizing) little children so you can take photos of them during their degradation and pain"?

Posted by: Doug B | Jan 31, 2023 2:20:09 PM

Doug --

"Is any criticism of a female judge's decision-making inherently "sexist"?"

It sure seems to be when a conservative makes it. Welcome to the "sauce for the goose" department. Not my favorite precinct, but if that's how it goes...............

As to your second paragraph, "Anonymous" (you might want to ask yourself why so many of these people want to stay hidden) gushes about the True Wonderfulness of an ex-APD who lambastes the system but has not a single word of criticism about how the defendant GOT INTO THE SYSTEM.

The answer here is not to bash the female, Hispanic judge. The answer is (1) for the defendant to refrain from loading up on kiddie porn, and (2) if he must load up on it anyway (a real prince, there), to take the sweet deal the prosecutors offered him rather than to try some dishonest fancy dance the jury is certain to reject. When the rejection then happens, he made his own bed.

That's the real story about what happened in this case, not Judge Diaz.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jan 31, 2023 2:38:03 PM

Two comments thus far have criticized the defendant for not taking the "sweet deal." As if his poor decision making excuses the judge's decision to sentence him to 150 years in prison. The article makes clear that the defendant is profoundly mentally ill. My experience in the criminal legal system has been that defendants are often deemed "competent" to stand trial, even if they do not truly understand what is happening around them. The uncomfortable truth is that a severely mentally ill man was put on trial while not understanding the process, and then sentenced to die in prison. This is even more shocking when we see that he was in college at one point, and then his life shifted due to mental health. Who amongst us can say that such tragedy will not strike us or a loved one? Who can say that this young man's life should be thrown away?

Posted by: Anonymous | Jan 31, 2023 3:24:59 PM

Bill,

What you said is so over the top and disingenuous I don't even know where to begin. You keep knocking down straw man, after straw man, after straw man.

1) Why is "Anonymous"'s criticism of Judge Diaz anti-Hispanic or sexist? It would be racist and sexist to hold a Latina to any different higher or lower standard as to when criticism is warranted. And whether or not race played any role is this sentence is certainly debatable. But there is no group that is categorically immune to possible cognitive racial bias more than any other group, and it is bigoted and sexist to suggest otherwise.

2)As you are fully aware, no one (other than perhaps the defendant) has argued there is "nothing" wrong with the defendant's conduct here. The question is simply what the sentence should be.

3)The linked article makes clear that the defendant's crime was possession, not production or distribution. So assuming someone "repeatedly sexually abus[ed] (and terroriz[ed]) little children" to "take photos of them during their degradation and pain", which the article implies happened in this case (though for all we know the ASAG's comments are about child SAM in general, and this case consisted of illegal possession of selfies of 17 1/2 year olds), the monster who destroyed these kids lives is not the person at issue here. Instead the concern is that allowing the possession of these images to go undeterred will incentivize more of them to be produced, in addition to the harm created in the victims' minds every time the state has to let them know that yet another person watched their abuse for personal gratification. Which leads to

4) No one is saying it's "somebody else's fault" as to the extent of the harm the defendant did. But a life sentence for marginally adding to the market for more child sex abuse, and marginally adding to the pain and suffering and anguish of victims for acts committed long ago is insane.

5)I'll assume you're correct that there is no correlation between the mental illness of schizophrenia and the mental illness of finding four-year olds sexy (again, assuming that's what these images consisted of). But what of it? It's a mental illness nonetheless, and former long-time commenter Supremacy Clause has even linked studies that claim that viewing CP for some of those mentally ill people reduces the risk that they will go out and harm more children. Obviously Congress and state governments have decided that is still worth it to criminalize possession, with harsh sentences to bat, but that shouldn't dictate that a harsh sentence is the appropriate one in every single case, particularly for a schizophrenic whose a) distortion of reality made him unlikely to fully understand the effects of the trial penalty and b) more generally probably is correlated with a much lower level of self controlwhich means if he also has the mental illness of attraction to little girls, it will be more difficult for him to resist the urge to go to dark corners of the internet and download CSAM.

6) In case there was any doubt about defendant's mental illness causing lack of self control, his horrifying conduct that occurred in the store where he boasted of and showed off his crimes is proof in the pudding.

7) I don't know what the appropriate sentence should be in this case. But one thing I'm sure of is that there are many prosecutors out there who've, exhibiting tunnel vision along the lines of what your wrote here, destroyed people's live far, far, more than the defendant did in this case or is likely to ever do in the future. Not to mention Judge Diaz if the sentence is allowed to stand.

Posted by: Poirot | Jan 31, 2023 3:25:58 PM

Bill, your response to my question about sexism seems to essentially be: "Other people make misguided and inappropriate claims of sexism, so I will, too." Got it.

Posted by: Doug B | Jan 31, 2023 4:17:25 PM

Doug --

Actually, you come close to getting it. Dozens and dozens of times, my positions been misstated, mangled, inverted, re-cast and flat-out lied about. I have asked again and again for this to stop. It hasn't and it's now clear it's not going to.

Since those are the rules of the game, I get to play by them too. And will.

Don't like it? Change the rules and enforce the changes against all comers.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jan 31, 2023 6:00:05 PM

Or, since rule enforcement is notoriously challenging (and time-consuming) in online spaces and speech codes are particularly nettlesome, I can be content to sincerely hope that people of good will generally will make efforts to try to use this comment space responsibly and respectfully. But if you want to use the space to make claims of racism and sexism, I am not going to stop you. And I fully understand your grumpiness if others make this space feel hostile to you or if you perceive a structural bias in my laissez faire approach.

Posted by: Doug B. | Jan 31, 2023 6:16:49 PM

If anything, this is a mental illness and crime story, not trial penalty.

If a completely sane person fights a three year sentence when caught with the goods, he deserves it.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jan 31, 2023 10:05:48 PM

Poirot,

1. 1) Why is "Anonymous"'s criticism of Judge Diaz anti-Hispanic or sexist? It would be racist and sexist to hold a Latina to any different higher or lower standard as to when criticism is warranted. And whether or not race played any role is this sentence is certainly debatable. But there is no group that is categorically immune to possible cognitive racial bias more than any other group, and it is bigoted and sexist to suggest otherwise.

And there is the problem. Every word is correct. However, that attitude never exists when the warranted criticism is given to KBJ, Hillary, Kamala, etc. Criticizing them is sexist/racist, but calling Clarence Thomas Uncle Tom, Ben Carson Not really black, or a black Republican an Oreo, is AOK. Hell, we just learned that black cops are white supremacists.

3. Im not willing to spend my time discerning much of a difference between making, possessing, or distributing. They are all part of a cycle that ruins kids.

4. Of course you are saying it is someone elses fault. At, least not his fault. If Schizophrenia was not the excuse, another would be found. He was abused as a kid, someone else put the porn on his computer, etc.

5. Why in the world would you bring up a study about watching child porn making freaks less likely to create it? Well, if thats true, give it to them! SMH

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jan 31, 2023 10:31:00 PM

Mr. Otis:

"... if he must load up on it anyway (a real prince, there), to take the sweet deal the prosecutors offered him rather than to try some dishonest fancy dance the jury is certain to reject."

So you believe that 3 years is a reasonable sentence for possession, and an additional 147 years is a reasonable sentence for demanding one's right to a trial? If there's a criminal penalty for exercising a right, it isn't a right. And he wasn't necessarily being dishonest, as he's obviously not in his right mind.

"When the rejection then happens, he made his own bed."

Again, he's not in his right mind. If you run over a pedestrian because you have a heart attack while driving a car, are you guilty of murder? Is mental illness really any different from a physical illness, morally?



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Jan 31, 2023 11:34:52 PM

Keith Lynch,

You say, obviously. Isnt the threshold that he didnt know what he did was wrong? Thats not obvious at all.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jan 31, 2023 11:55:09 PM

TarlsQrr: He was showing off his child porn in a Best Buy, even making sure a security camera had a good view. So obviously he didn't realize that it was incriminating.

As a separate issue, it doesn't seem that he was capable of understanding or meaningfully participating in his trial. As such, he should have been found incompetent to stand trial.

Like a driver who accidentally kills due to a heart attack, or like a patient in diabetic crisis who is thrown in a drunk tank, he needs treatment, not punishment.

Mental illness, like physical illness, can happen to anyone.



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Feb 1, 2023 7:51:06 AM

Tarls, I am curious about this statement: "If a completely sane person fights a three year sentence when caught with the goods, he deserves it."

Are you asserting that a decision by a "completely sane person" to exercise her constitutional right to require prosecutors prove her guilt to a jury BRD, then she "deserves" an additional 147 years in prison?

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 1, 2023 8:44:44 AM

Many schizophrenics end up with various kinds of criminal charges, where the facts are bizarre and irrational. I have worked on the case of a Schizophrenic 21-year old college student, who burglarized 6 apartments in the same complex where he lived, and stole items of no value to him, including shoes and an ROTC uniform that were far too small for him to wear. He also ran his fingers from the ankle up the thigh of a naked coed sleeping in an apartment, leading to a charge of sexual abuse. We got our client evaluated by a senior psychiatrist who has written a 1,200 page text on Schizophrenia. He told us that our client had the best case for a defense of "Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Disease or Defect" (Kentucky's name for an insanity defense). Our defendant had had a normal childhood, but then had an adult onset of Schizophrenia, such that he never made it thru basic training in the Air Force, which he joined after high school graduation. He spent 2-3 months in an Air Force psych hospital before receiving the gift of a General Discharge (which qualified him for free V. A. medical care for the rest of his life. Between the time he joined the Air Force and the time he was arrested in Lexington, his I.Q. had dropped by 14 points (Two I.Q. tests given 4 years apart were compared). I learned from our expert psychiatrist witness that schizophrenia is the only mental illness that destroys the intellect over time. Other mental illnesses, such as bi-polar disorder, cause the patient to engage in unusual and bizarre behaviors, but they don't destroy his intellect -- his or her I.Q. remains about the same. Schizophrenia also causes cognitive impairment. See, Vol. 8 Frontiers In Psychistry, p. 293 (2017) -- "A Brief Assessment of Intelligence Decline in Schizophrenia As Represented by the Difference Between Current and Premorbid Intellectual Quotient", at nchi.nim.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC5743746/. Many attorneys and judges are unaware of the effects that schizophrenia has on cognitive functioning and intellect. I wonder whether defense counsel ever requested or the trial court ever held a competency evaluation and hearing for this defendant? There would be two levels of analysis: first, can this defendant legally be held responsible for his criminal conduct, and second, can he rationally work with his lawyers and assist in his own defense? Only psychiatrists could make those determinations. On its face, there appear to be things profoundly wrong with how this case was handled by the Court and by defense counsel (habeas corpus motion, based upon ineffective assistance of counsel?). I suspect we will hear more in the press about this unusual case in the future.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 1, 2023 8:50:28 AM

Jim Gormley: I agree regarding most of your post, but disagree about the defense counsel. The attorneys tried everything re competency, etc. At the end of the day, the judge makes a competency determination, and she found him to be competent to proceed, despite his obvious mental illness. Both the judge and the prosecutors moved forward in this case, and defense counsel did everything possible to stop it.

Posted by: Anonymous | Feb 1, 2023 11:04:13 AM

Keith Lynch,

Then why did he choose to show the porn. If he did not know it was wrong, he could have just as easily shown his tax returns or his high score in minesweeper.

It would be a huge coincidence that of all the things contained on a computer, it was the porn he brought up.

If he chose to bring it up, then he did so because he knew it was wrong.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 11:38:54 AM

Douglas,

First off, if gender is unknown it is customary to use he. Its good to know that The Ohio State University engages in that woke BS. Another place I can tell my kid not to go. I get it though. The admin and students with too much time on their hands are watching. Big broer, I mean Big sister lives.

I believe we all have choices to make in life. First, dont download the child porn. Second, you are using a faulty premise that it is a trial penalty, when it is really a plea gift. Finally, it is your choice to accept the gift, or not.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 11:50:31 AM

Douglas,

First off, if gender is unknown it is customary to use he. Its good to know that The Ohio State University engages in that woke BS. Another place I can tell my kid not to go. I get it though. The admin and students with too much time on their hands are watching. Big broer, I mean Big sister lives.

I believe we all have choices to make in life. First, dont download the child porn. Second, you are using a faulty premise that it is a trial penalty, when it is really a plea gift. Finally, it is your choice to accept the gift, or not.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 11:50:32 AM

Tarls is a tough customer . . . .

Posted by: federalist | Feb 1, 2023 12:00:17 PM

I have a local friend whose very bright and well-educated (he is a graduate of elite private schools and a top 20 University), 30-something year old son moved to Austin, Texas, where his schizophrenia presented in a way that would terrify any parent. He shot and killed his next-door neighbor in the apartment complex where he lived, and also shot and wounded two women he knew not at all in the parking lot. The week before this incident, the son was a patient in a Kentucky psych hospital, but the psychiatrists determined to release him, over the parents' objections and begging. Initially, the son was found by both the state's psychiatrist and the defendant's private psychiatrist to be unfit to stand trial, because he was so psychotic. After 6 month's of medication, he was found competent to assist in his own defense and to stand trial. The parents hired both a diagnostic psychiatrist and a forensic psychiatrist, who agreed with the state's doctor that the young man is paranoid schizophrenic, and was not mentally culpable for his shooting conduct. Texas consented to a plea of "NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY", and the young man is now a patient in a Texas state hospital for the criminally insane, where he will remain for a period of years, where he will remain until he can establish that he is no longer a danger to himself or anyone else in the community. It was the best possible outcome, but remains very sad, all around. His parents spent more than $250,000 on attorneys and expert psychiatrists. Mental illness is a scourge that doesn't fit naatly into criminal law.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Feb 1, 2023 12:31:41 PM

Tarls, the last case I worked on closely involving serious complaints of a "trial penalty" involved a woman, Daniela Gozes-Wagner, a single mother and midlevel manager in Houston, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for being part of health-care fraud/money laundering after trial. Her co-conspirators and superiors who developed and directed the fraud were given a "plea gift" of 6-year and 5-year sentences. I was thinking of Daniela as the "completely sane person" you mention. Notably, President Trump apparently did not think she "deserved" 20 years, as he commuted her sentence: https://www.justice.gov/pardon/page/file/1349131/download

Indeed, if you look just at Prez Trump's commutation record, you see a disproportionate number of women who had received disproportionately long sentences after exercising their trial rights -- eg, Alice Marie Johnson, Judith Negron, Crystal Munoz, Tynice Nichole Hall were all part of Trump's relatively few (pre-election) commutations. In short, women were 40% of his pre-election commutations, though they make up less than 7% of the total federal prison population.

My use of the term "she," in other words, was not about "woke BS," but rather part of my effort to accurately reflect my experience and the data suggesting that a disproportionate number of folks who get slammed at sentencing after exercising their rights to trial are women. That you seemingly were eager to turn a reflection of reality into a culture-war complaint is perhaps a useful reminder of what really drives and influences your thinking.

Finally, Tarls, you did not answer my question, so I will ask it again: "Are you asserting that a decision by a 'completely sane person' to exercise her constitutional right to require prosecutors prove her guilt to a jury BRD, then she 'deserves' an additional 147 years in prison?" It is certainly true that "we all have choices to make in life." But I was not asking you about life. I was asking you about your claims about "deserving" a 150-year sentence and specifically whether you think a person "deserves" an additional 147 years in prison for exercising the right to trial.

If you do not want to answer that question or think it not a fair question, that's fine. But even if you think all plea offers are "gifts," there is still a fundamental question of what an individual "deserves" -- -and how government power should function --- when someone turns down a "gift" simply by exercising constitutional rights.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 1, 2023 12:57:47 PM

Douglas,

Mentioning Trump holds no weight with me. Ive never been a supporter, so his record will not change my mind in either direction. In fact, my biggest issue with him as POTUS, other than being a bellend, is in the area of criminal justice. Hell, even if I did like Trump, it wouldnt make a difference.

Your nonsense aside, it is customary to refer to non-specific people as he, although Im sure your OSU style guide says otherwise. You are employing the face tattoo trick. You get a face tattoo, someone notices, and you get angry that the person noticed. I dont believe for a minute that you were thinking of plea gifts and the percentage of women. It doesnt matter, but I just dont.

I thought my answer could be easily extrapolated with my previous answer, but I guess I was wrong. My apologies.

I believe that prosecutors have a right to seek, and judges have a right to give, any punishment consistent with law. If a prosecutor is generous enough to offer a plea gift, thats his discretion. Its then in the defendants hands.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 2:36:55 PM

Federalist,

Thank you? I think? 

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 2:42:05 PM

I am not at all angry, Tarls, that you apparently have such a big problem with my use of the pronoun "she" to reference your "completely sane person" who exercises her trial rights (though I suppose I am grateful you did not call me "sexist" for doing so). I merely wanted to explain why I opted to use that pronoun in this context. It also served to make sure you and others were clear that I was not referencing the male defendant in the story from Florida (which was a bit vague in your use of "he" in your comment). Also I trust you know my use of "she" does not come from any "OSU style guide." I am not aware of any such "guide" for OSU faculty, though it seems you think it important that I follow the "Tarls style guide" at the risk of being branded "woke" for failing to do so.

Trying to stay on topic, you still have not directly answered my question about what you think a defendant "deserves." You have now prattled on about "woke BS" and the "face tattoo trick," but you still have not spoken directly to what I asked. Saying what judges and prosecutors have a legal "right" to do is obviously not the same as saying that someone "deserves" 147 years of incarceration. That choice of words --- and the reference to (retributuvist?) desert --- is what caught my attention and prompted my initial inquiry which you still have not directly addressed.

Maybe it will help, Tarls, if I use your preferred pronouns with a slight rewording of my query: "Tarls, legalities aside, if a sane defendant turns down a plea offer, is it your view he deserves a sentence 147 years longer (or whatever the absolute statutory maximum might be after prosecutors add any additional counts)?"

For someone seemingly concerned about "woke" issues, I hope you can understand why I worry about anyone claiming that an individual can "deserve" decades and decades of imprisonment for exercising a constitutional right. Perhaps you did not really mean to use the word "deserves" here, and so that is why I asked you to explain or clarify initially. (And in the future, I will try to use your preferred pronouns in any direct question to you.)

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 1, 2023 3:19:12 PM

federalist --

TarlsQtr is indeed a tough customer. Formerly worked in a prison, so he knows all their scams. Also a keen analyst, although his son already has him beat real bad.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 3:40:32 PM

Its not the Tarls Style Guide. Its the one used in the English speaking world for centuries up until about five minutes ago.

I have said what they deserve. Whatever the judge decides to give the person within the parameters of the law.

 Maybe it will help, Tarls, if I use your preferred pronouns with a slight rewording of my query: "Tarls, legalities aside, if a sane defendant turns down a plea offer, is it your view he deserves a sentence 147 years longer (or whatever the absolute statutory maximum might be after prosecutors add any additional counts)?"

Again, not my preferred pronouns. It is how the English speaking world has been writing for centuries.

I was not there and do not know the specifics. However, the prosecutor, judge, and jury do know them. If 147 years is the max and that is what the judge decreed, so be it. If the people of the jurisdiction disagree, they have the right to remove the prosecutor, judge, or whoever appointed them. Unlike Joe Bidens latest nomination to the bench, I know what Article II is, what Article V is, and that voting is the ultimate weapon if you feel like injustices are being done.

BTW, your snarkiest at the end belies your claim of not being angry at all. You didnt like your face tattoo being noticed.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 4:07:25 PM

Doug --

What sentence any given defendant "deserves" is a question so subjective that coming up with an answer that satisfies a consensus, particularly on a pro-defendant blog like this one, is very difficult. For the contingent that believes the whole system is corrupt and over-punitive and needs a "reckoning," you're going to get one sort of answer. For the contingent that believes mental illness is get-out-of-jail card most or all of the time, there will be a different answer. For the contingent that believes kiddie porn is "just looking at pictures," yet a third. And so on.

It seems to me that a more productive question is what sentence conforms to the law and (as you might say) respects the jury's verdict (that is, if multiple convictions count as jury findings to the same extent as multiple acquittals). The article makes no assertion that the sentence is illegal or inconsistent with the jury's verdict.

One other question is whether the sentence makes sense. I have previously taken the view that no sentence for a term of years over 75 years makes sense, because human lifespans are what they are. Anything beyond that is showboating.

It's worth noting that the real dispute underneath most of this is the defense bar's continuing refusal to accept the SCOTUS's 45 year-old holding in Bordenkircher. But I have seen no movement on the Court to overrule that case (correct me if I'm wrong). Given that, Bordenkircher is settled law, like the constitutionality of the DP, and that's that.

Finally, let's face facts. This defendant is going to be a ward of the state in one setting or another for the rest of his life. It makes some difference how confining his settings are, sure, but, to be honest, not that much. If it's not prison, it's going to be a secure mental hospital. So all the angst I see here would be better reserved for the child victims of pornographers, at least for those of us who are retrograde enough to consider child victims as something other than human garbage.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 4:07:33 PM

Doug,

It literally took me two minutes to find the OSU Style Guide. https://www.osu.edu/assets/brand/ohiostate-editorialstyle.pdf

Its under nonsexist language.:

Do not use he as an all-inclusive pronoun.

You are welcome.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 4:13:17 PM

Bill,

Wouldnt the showboating lengthen the time until a person could be paroled, have good time reduce the sentence, etc.?

That would seem reasonable to me.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 4:20:28 PM

TarlsQtr --

We should do away with parole, and the Feds did, long ago. But in the end, neither the length of the sentence nor any other safeguard is going to work if the pro-criminal forces get the state legislature and the governor's office and thus are able to work all kinds of scam legislation to lower sentences, or just pardon willy-nilly -- because, after all, child rapists are wonderful and Amerika Stinks.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 4:38:35 PM

Doug,

Let me be more direct as my point seems to whistle past.

Do I believe a sentence of 147 years for child porn possession could be deserved? Yes.

Do I believe all such cases should have that sentence? No. Theoretically, if someone could show another downloaded the porn and he/she/they/xi/xy/fe/fi/fo/fum didnt know it, I believe such a sentence would be too harsh.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 4:40:46 PM

Tarls, I can't be angry at you because your comments are so amusing. First, on style guides, you cite the OSU COMMUNICATIONS style guide (which says it is following the style guides of the Associated Press and was updated Nov. 5, 2013). If you want to bemoan AP style guides or OSU communications following the AP a decade ago, have at it. But, at the very least, change your silly talking point about language being always "he" gendered "until about five minutes ago." (Note: I expressly said that I am not aware of any guide "for OSU faculty" because I feared you might be silly enough to look for a standard communication guide that every large institution uses in communications.) Your mixture of silliness and fatuousness here, Tarls, truly does make me chuckle --- as does accurately noting that you have preferred pronouns and are quick to whine when those are not being used.

On substance, it seems your definition of "deserves" is whatever the law permits a judge to give so that, in Tarls' lingo, every single defendant "deserves" the statutory maximum sentence. Fine, but I am pretty sure that is not how the English speaking world has been using that word for centuries. I will keep in mind that "deserves" = "within the parameters of the law" in the Tarls' vernacular, and I am glad I pressed you to express your meaning given that it is so out of keeping with how most people talk about what punishment a defendant "deserves."

And, Bill, I was not in any way asking for a consensus view of "deserves," I was asking for Tarls to explain if he really meant that 147 years of imprisonment was "deserved" for the decision to exercise the constitutional right to trial. He seems to keep saying "yes if that is what the law permits." Do you agree, Bill? Again, I am not seeking a consensus opinion: I am asking you, Bill, for your honest explanation of whether you think 147 years of imprisonment could be "deserved" for the decision to exercise the constitutional right to trial. Do you?

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 1, 2023 5:04:41 PM

Tarls, you are now conflating the issues, which is exactly why I tried to make my initial question clear with the "she" pronoun that freaked you out as much as a face tattoo.

I am NOT trying to inquire about what sentences you think are "deserved" for CP offenses (which is a very hard question for all sorts of reasons). I am trying to ask you whether you think someone could "deserve" decades and decades (and even 147 years) of imprisonment simply for decision to exercise the constitutional right to trial.

Your original statement spoke of when "a completely sane person fights a three year sentence" --- which I took to mean putting the government to its proof at trial --- then "he deserves it" [which I took to mean 150 years in prison]. I did not want to talk about the "he" in the press story -- I wanted to talk of other people in all sorts of other cases getting slammed for exercising their right to trial. So that's why I kept asking a question that I means to focus on that issue.

Maybe your rage over the fact that I did not use your preferred pronoun got us off-topic, but I am trying to understand your claim about "deservedness" as it relates to the exercise of the constitutional right to trial. I hope that is clear, but maybe there is no way we can get past the pronoun problems.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 1, 2023 5:14:26 PM

Are you really claiming that the values and practices expected of OSU faculty are not exemplified in the provided document? Risible. Note: That faculty are not held to the same standard as students or the communications department, or likely even a higher standard, is equally risible.

As far as the English being he gendered, Id love to see how many examples you could come up with of she being used in the manner you do that is not of recent vintage. Just as it was always mankind, fireman, mailman, etc.

I apologize for noticing your face tattoo that you got because you wanted me to notice your face tattoo. You and your ilk have butchered the language, claim you havent, then get angry when people notice it.

And there is no conflation at all. If I say 147 years over the plea gift could be deserved (dependent on specific facts), then it should be clear it could be deserved in any case.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 5:49:40 PM

Three paragraphs highlighting again your rage over the fact that I did not use your preferred pronoun, Tarls, is not evidence that I am "angry" but suggests you are still seething that the AP updated its styles guides many years ago. And its is again funny to hear you complain about folks who "butchered the language" after you have redefined "deserves" to mean "within the parameters of the law."

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 1, 2023 6:04:21 PM

Doug --

"I am not seeking a consensus opinion: I am asking you, Bill, for your honest explanation of whether you think 147 years of imprisonment could be "deserved" for the decision to exercise the constitutional right to trial. Do you?"

It would be foolish for a thoughtful person to say what sentence was deserved in a particular case without seeing the entire casefile, and I never did so when I was an AUSA. How old were the children? What was being done to them? Was it a bunch of snuff films? Were they being forced to have sex with animals? How severe is the defendant's alleged schizophrenia? What's his prognosis? What's his criminal record?

Beyond that, he is not being sentenced for the "exercise the constitutional right to trial." That's just flat-out false. He is being sentenced under the jury's verdict for HIS OWN REPEATED FELONIES. I mean, we should respect the jury's work, right? That's what you've said over and over. But we shouldn't respect it here? Why not? Because the jury came up with a conviction rather than an acquittal?

Stop trying to blame everyone else. It's become such a tiresome game. The defendant had two easy choices: (1) refrain from the behavior, which the huge majority of schizophrenics do; or (2) take the sweet deal he was offered. But he gave the finger to both those options, and now I'm supposed to get all worked up about it. The Supreme Court didn't in Bordenkircher, and I'll stand with the Court rather than with Mr. Wonderful here.

Finally, in a point you just walk right past, I noted this: This defendant is going to be a ward of the state in one setting or another for the rest of his life. It makes some difference how confining his settings are, sure, but, to be honest, not that much. If it's not prison, it's going to be a secure mental hospital. So all the angst I see here would be better reserved for the child victims of pornographers, at least for those of us who are retrograde enough to consider child victims as something other than human garbage.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 6:18:17 PM

Methinks thou doest protest too much.

Its fine, Doug. Youve gone woke. Lots of people do it. I just get a kick out of your face tattoo and pointed it out. Its not like it makes you automatically a bad person.

I redefined nothing. If a murderer lives in a LWOP state, he deserves LWOP. In many cases, he would morally deserve the DP, but its not within the parameters of the law.

I find that concept pretty simple.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 6:22:07 PM

Tarls: you suggested something that strikes me as quite foolish and arguably indefensible, namely that a defendant "deserves" a sentence 147 years longer for exercising the constitutional right to trial. I asked a follow up to see if that's really what you meant; you whined that I did not use your preferred pronoun in my follow-up question and persistently avoided discussing the key concepts at the heart of your foolish and arguably indefensible statement (whether extreme punishment is truly "deserved" simply when one "fights" the government's criminal allegation at trial). Its not like it makes you automatically a bad person, but it does make you someone who says foolish and arguably indefensible things and then would rather focus on his preferred pronouns than try to defend or clarify what he said.

Bill: I am not trying to blame anyone for anything. Nor am I eager to discuss the fate of sad Mr. Stephens. I am seeking an understanding of Tarls' suggestion that a defendant "deserves" a sentence 147 years longer for exercising the constitutional right to trial. And, I agree that no defendant is being sentenced solely for exercising the constitutional right to trial. But that is why, from my view, it should be quite easy for you and Tarls (or anyone else) to answer my question in a straight-forward way -- namely by stating that nobody "deserves" a sentence 147 years longer for exercising his constitutional right to trial. Are you prepared to state that? Is Tarls?

Once we can all get on the same page that nobody "deserves" 100+ years in prison simply for exercising trial rights, we can then have a subsequent discussion of what sentence folks might think is/was "deserved" for Mr. Stephens or Ms. Gozes-Wagner or Ms. Alice Marie Johnson (or the many other "hes" and "shes" who have received long sentences after exercising their trial rights). But, so far, neither you nor Tarls have directly answered the basic question that I had after reading Tarls' initial "deserves" comment -- namely, do you think a defendant "deserves" a sentence 147 years longer for exercising the constitutional right to trial.

Can you (or Tarls) provide a direct answer that basic question?

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 1, 2023 8:10:39 PM

Doug --

What the defendant deserves depends on his choices. He CHOSE to commit multiple felonies and got indicted for them. He then CHOSE to give the finger to the prosecutor's offer to kiss goodbye to a whole bunch of counts, thinking instead he could pull a fast one on the jury and arduously desiring to do so. But the jury saw through it and returned multiple verdicts of guilty. Since, as you have forcefully and repeatedly reminded us, the jury's work is entitled to respect, the court's sentence should embrace that respect. It did so, and that's why Mr. Wonderful got the sentence he did.

As the Supreme Court, through that right wing nut Potter Stewart, reminded us in the case you hate, Bordenkircher, what is "deserved" in this context does not depend solely on offense behavior. The concept of desert is (as the defense bar often loudly insists) a holistic one, embracing many things about the defendant's life and conduct. When desert is understood in that more comprehensive and nuanced way, the defendant made his own bed.

In addition, and now for the third time, all the outrage is misplaced regardless because THE DEFENDANT WAS GOING TO BE A WARD OF THE STATE FOR LIFE ANYWAY. It was going to be in the slammer or in a secure mental hospital that (again, according to the wails of the defense bar) is just like the slammer but under a more euphemistic name.

For those of (admittedly not in the defense bar) who think that oogling pictures of child sexual abuse isn't so cool, the sentence in this case is even less worth worrying about than what kind of pronouns we ought to use with transgender people.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 9:38:27 PM

TarlsQtr --

You have to give Doug credit for consistency. As he has argued at great length, he wants sentencing courts to disregard acquitted conduct. In the present case, we see that he also wants sentencing courts to disregard CONVICTED conduct. Doug is nothing if not a steadfast friend of the defense! Now wonder his blog is so popular.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 9:53:11 PM

Doug --

"[T]hat is why, from my view, it should be quite easy for you and Tarls (or anyone else) to answer my question in a straight-forward way -- namely by stating that nobody "deserves" a sentence 147 years longer for exercising his constitutional right to trial. Are you prepared to state that?"

I'll go you one better: Nobody deserves a sentence 10 minutes longer SIMPLY for exercising his constitutional right to trial. Indeed, I'll quote the Supreme Court, with which I fully agree (do you?): "To punish a person because he has done what the law plainly allows him to do is a due process violation of the most basic sort, see North Carolina v. Pearce, supra at 397 U. S. 738 (opinion of Black, J.), and for an agent of the State to pursue a course of action whose objective is to penalize a person's reliance on his legal rights is "patently unconstitutional." Chaffin v. Stynchcombe, supra at 412 U. S. 32-33, n. 20. See United States v. Jackson, 390 U. S. 570. But in the "give-and-take" of plea bargaining, there is no such element of punishment or retaliation so long as the accused is free to accept or reject the prosecution's offer." That's from Bordenkircher.

Here, the defendant wasn't forced to a trial. He WANTED a trial. Fine. He got it. Then he got a bunch of verdicts that you want to effectively bury, so he can get the sweetheart sentence that, in his arrogance and belligerence, he turned down. But the court did exactly what you've so earnestly endorsed in other contexts -- respected ALL the jury's work.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 1, 2023 10:33:13 PM

Doug,

If I wanted to discuss statements from you I considered foolish and indefensible, I could start my own blog to go over them. If I wanted to add comments from all those here who think like you, Id have to hire staff.

You see? I can play the same game that doesnt move the football at all. Now that we both think the other is foolish

I noticed and made a comment regarding your usage of non-traditional pronouns. I also correctly hypothesized that it is a woke OSU thing. It is. I got a chuckle and you got angry. All is good. I apologize for triggering you. I was not a good guest on your blog. Ill attempt to avoid such sensitive topics for you.

As far as the above case, again, you foolishly and indefensibly see it backwards. You see three years as the starting point and anything past that as a penalty. I see the 150 years as the starting point (the max for charged behavior) and a huge 147 year break for doing the right thing and admitting guilt.

I get it though. Its difficult to escape the echo chamber and think outside the box you and your like minded colleagues find yourselves in.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 10:39:52 PM

Bill, I am glad with your last comment you focus on stating your own views on the simple question Tarls' initial "deserves" comment prompted rather than misrepresenting others' views. So we finally got an answer, namely that you think "Nobody deserves a sentence 10 minutes longer SIMPLY for exercising his constitutional right to trial." Great to hear, and this should not have taken so many posts to establish.

With that established, now we have the kind of question that federalist has been struggling with in the acquitted conduct setting --- namely how do we make sure prosecutors do not seek and judges do not impose longer sentences on defendants SIMPLY for exercising their constitutional right to trial. I do not have a ready answer here, but I am glad to have finally established that you agree with me that this is an important question (both constitutionally and as a matter of policy).

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 1, 2023 10:43:52 PM

Bill, the blog is so popular because its an echo chamber, just like legal academia. They might disagree on the edges, but on the big topics its perfect three part harmony. If you asked 15 of his colleagues about the the topic of this post, the responses would all come back in chorus like they were written by a ChatGPI bot.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 1, 2023 10:51:00 PM

Tarls, I do not think you are foolish, but you made what I saw as a foolish statement that suggested "IF" someone turns down a sweet plea deal, then "he deserves" a max sentence of 150 years. I followed up by asking if you were really saying that simply the choice to go to trial was what made 100+ years in prison "deserved." You could have at that point said that what you really meant was that you consider the stat max "deserved" in every case. I find that a peculiar view of what an individual "deserves," but it does provide me with a better understanding of your curious statement. But you had to first whine about your preferred pronoun, and thereafter showed a confusion about the conversation and my question that reinforced the good sense of my pronoun choice.

It is especially funny after this conversation that you think this is a sensitive topic for me. I am not the one who started complaining about the failure to use preferred pronouns or concocted fairy tales about why someone else did not use those pronouns. But your sensitivity does not make you automatically a bad person, and I would still eagerly read your blog if you start one. And I would not complain if you don't use my preferred pronouns, as I try to be polite when a visitor.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 1, 2023 11:18:20 PM

TarlsQtr: You say, "I have said what they 'deserve.' Whatever the judge decides to give the person within the parameters of the law."

Before Lawrence v. Texas (2003), Virginia had a law (18.2.361) making consensual oral sex, even in private with one's spouse, a felony with a sentence of up to five years in prison. So if a married couple committed this "crime" twice a week for 20 years, you think both of them deserve a sentence of more than ten thousand years in prison? Also note that in 1995 Virginia abolished parole, so ten thousand years means ten thousand years. Well, okay, about seven thousand years with time off for good behavior, so they might be released before the next ice age, especially if they agree to donate their organs to the state.

You also say, "Then why did he choose to show the porn. If he did not know it was wrong, he could have just as easily shown his tax returns or his high score in minesweeper." I don't follow your reasoning. Neither do I follow his, since he's crazy. But whatever his reason, he presumably didn't know it was wrong or that it could land him in prison. That's basically the "policeman at the elbow" test for insanity, i.e. would he have done it if he knew a cop was watching.



Mr. Otis, you say, "This defendant is going to be a ward of the state in one setting or another for the rest of his life .... If it's not prison, it's going to be a secure mental hospital." He should be treated only until he has recovered enough to be safe to release. Note that John Hinckley has been freed of all restrictions.



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Feb 2, 2023 1:09:47 AM

Doug --

Do you agree with the entire quotation from Bordenkircher I used to answer your question, or are you cherrypicking only the first part and putting the last sentence in the shredder? The reason I ask is that, as you know, the last sentence is the whole deal in answering the tiresome defense claim that the supposed "trial penalty" after failed plea negotiations is unconstitutional. The precise holding of Bordenkircher is that it isn't.

Now of course it's possible that Potter Stewart was a right wing freak, but I wouldn't like your chances of selling that to SCOTUS.

P.S. That other right wing freak, Justice Stevens, was the deciding vote for the Bordenkircher majority.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 3:11:34 AM

TarlsQtr --

One reason the blog is popular is that it's the defense bar's Alternate Universe Supreme Court. They can lose Bordenkirher in the real world but "win" it here. They can lose Watts in the real world but "win" it here. They can lose Glossip in the real world but "win" it here. They can lose the waiver-of-appeal issue in every circuit (starting with losing it to me in the Fourth Circuit) but "win" it here.

Hey, look, when you're not doing so hot in court, there's always the Internet!

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 3:21:40 AM

Bill, though I have been focused on Tarls' and your notion of what is "deserved," I am happy to discuss constitutional doctrine and the decision in Bordenkircher.

1. The sentence you ask about --- "But in the 'give-and-take' of plea bargaining, there is no such element of punishment or retaliation so long as the accused is free to accept or reject the prosecution's offer" --- as well as the entire Bordenkircher case are focused only on prosecutorial behavior in a case in which the prosecutor had fully informed the defendant that he was to be indicted as a habitual offender if he did not accept the offered deal. That is a key part of the ruling and the court later says: "There is no doubt that the breadth of discretion that our country's legal system vests in prosecuting attorneys carries with it the potential for both individual and institutional abuse. And broad though that discretion may be, there are undoubtedly constitutional limits upon its exercise." This context means that Bordenkircher, as a matter of constitutional law, indicates it is important to explore just how and why prosecutors pursue additional charges after a plea is turned down to ensure prosecutors do not seek longer sentences on defendants SIMPLY for exercising their constitutional right to trial.

2. Bordenkircher speaks not at all to judicial sentencing decisions, and I trust you would worry if a judge gave statutory max sentences to every first offender who went to trial (while, say, giving much, much lower sentences to repeat offenders even absent plea deals). Of course, a single statutory max sentence alone may not reveal unconstitutional behavior, but that returns me again to the real challenges of how we make sure prosecutors do not seek, and judges do not impose, longer sentences on defendants SIMPLY for exercising their constitutional right to trial.

3. And all I just said upon your invitation to engage Bordenkircher's discussion of constitutional law highlights exactly why I was eager to pursue the views of you and Tarls as to whether you think the decision to exercise the right to trial "deserves" extreme punishment. If former prosecutors and others think the decision to exercise the right to trial "deserves" extreme punishment, that suggests there is a heighten risk that current prosecutors and judge may pursue punishment in ways that Bordenkircher suggests is unconstitutional.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 2, 2023 8:48:40 AM

And, Bill, on interest in an "Alternate Universe Supreme Court," I recall from some months ago that you were unable or unwilling to name a single criminal constitutional SCOTUS case with a ruling for the defendant in the last 35 years that you think was rightly decided. (And, for the record, I think Bordenkircher and Glossip are right on the merits, and most of Watts has been reversed by Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne.)

There have been, of course, hundreds of criminal constitutional SCOTUS rulings limiting federal and state criminal justice powers over the last three+ decade --- with a majority of Justices being GOP appointees throughout this whole period --- and yet it seems you are the one pining for an "Alternate Universe Supreme Court" that never puts limits on state CJ powers.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 2, 2023 9:16:35 AM

Doug --

"And, for the record, I think Bordenkircher and Glossip are right on the merits, and most of Watts has been reversed by Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne."

Glad to hear, for the first time, that you agree with Bordenkircher and Glossip. But while we're doing the "can-you-name-a-single-case" game, can you name a single case in which SCOTUS has said "most of Watts has been reversed by Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne"?

I sure can't. I don't think that's the Court speaking. I think that you wishing. The Court had the opportunity to join your wish quite recently, in the Osby case (where the defense filed a cert petition almost identical to the one in McClinton), but didn't say anything like what you now say. In fact, wasn't cert denied in Osby without dissent?

I don't need an Alternative Universe. Unlike our All Seeing Masters in academia, I actually went to court and won, see, e.g., the waiver of appeal argument -- an argument in which you are just as confident and just as assertive as you are in the acquitted conduct argument, and have had exactly the same degree of success in court, namely none.

I'll take court, and you can have academic dreamland. (Full disclosure: I also spend some time in academic dreamland, by my pitiable take home pay hardly compares with your chaired professorship).

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 1:43:45 PM

Doug --

As to Bordenkircher specifically, your dictum-laden attempt to turn it into a win for the defense doesn't get too far. In fact, it was (1) a huge win for the government, and (2) almost identical in every legally relevant respect to the 150 year sentence here under discussion.

In both cases, so it appears from the article you quote, the prosecutor told the defendant that he would either plead to the sweet deal, saving the government the cost and delay of a trial, or face a massive sentence (in Bordenkircher, it was life). In both cases, the defendant told the prosecutor that he was going to trial anyway, and that the prosecutor could f*ck off. In response to the defendant's insistence, the prosecutor followed through on his threat. It was exactly that which the Court approved. If the resulting life sentence was more than Mr. Bordenkircher "deserved," the Court's answer was that, in the plea bargaining context, what you "deserve," Mr. Defendant, is what you in your arrogance and foolishness demand.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 1:55:31 PM

Bill, Watts held that a judge could increase the mandatory/legal range of the federal guidelines based on acquitted conduct proven by a preponderance. After Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne, it is clear that is no longer legally allowed for either the top or bottom of a legally binding sentencing range. So that part of Watts have been reversed by the Court's subsequent 5th and 6th Amendment jurisprudence. All that is left of Watts is whether acquitted facts can be used "in-range" in an advisory system.

As for this case and Bordenkircher, at least make some efforts to pay attention to the facts detailed in this article (or link to whatever source of different facts you think exist). Here are facts that are unclear or that you seem to have wrong:

1. We do not know if prosecutors here warned the defendant and his counsel that they would go from one count to 30 counts of CP possession. A clear warning of the dire consequences of turning down a plea was essential to the holding in Bordenkircher.

2. We do not know the details of why the defendant turned down the deal or what was said to prosecutors when he did. We do know, according to the reporting, that the defendant suffers from mental illness and that "Stephens ... made outlandish claims in open court at his criminal trial, asserting he could command African armies and shut off electricity to Russia with the power of his mind. He largely refused to talk to his lawyers, much less cooperate in his defense."

3. The prosecutors here, after the trial convictions based on the original count and the added 29 counts, requested a 21-year sentence for Mr. Stephens (not life with parole, which was the Bordenkircher mandatory minimum term based on the KY habitual offender statute).

4. We do not know why, after prosecutors proposed an initial plea to 3 years and then after trial recommended a sentence of 21 years, Judge Diaz decided to provide the absolute maximum sentence allowed for the 30 counts of conviction. You apparently surmise that the judge must have thought it was Stephens' "arrogance and foolishness" to demand that the government prove his guilt at a trial. That almost sounds like an admission that you actually do believe judges should impose longer sentences on defendants SIMPLY for exercising their constitutional right to trial.

In other words, Bill, you have the facts of this case wrong, and you are projecting your own visions of reality onto the case, and your vision seem to include a real desire to see defendants punished specifically for having the "arrogance and foolishness" to turn down a plea deal and exercise their constitutional right to trial. Nice work.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 2, 2023 2:36:05 PM

Doug,

I know what a sensitive topic it is for you because you took such great offense. Hell, you cant stop bringing it up in even other threads. Use woke language all you want. It is just a nice window into what drives some of your pro-criminal beliefs.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 2, 2023 6:11:00 PM

Keith Lynch,

Im not sure if you want to compare two adults in the privacy of their own home with getting off to pictures of naked kids. At least I wouldnt want to make such a comparison.

As far as Jared Stephens, do you believe it is more likely that he pulled child porn up on his computer randomly or because he had some sense that it would get a reaction? If the latter, doesnt that indicate he knew it was wrong?

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 2, 2023 6:16:19 PM

Tarls, I took no offense, but I continue to be amused by your affinity for speech codes and preferred pronouns. And I will likely keep bringing it up because it reflect on your mindset and sensitivities. But that does not make you automatically a bad person.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 2, 2023 6:46:15 PM

On Feb.1, Tarls stated above: "If a murderer lives in a LWOP state, he deserves LWOP".

In other later threads, Tarls opinied that the starting point of sentencing is the (and here I am paraphrasing, but with accuracy) "maximum penalty" allowed by the law.

So if the "parameters of the law" allows for a penalty of several years in prison, then the offender is legally and morally deserving of that punishment. Example: Traitors/Insurrectionists of 1/6 are deserving of whatever the maximum that the law allows as punishment (several years, for some offenses). Tarls said so, and so it must be. After all, "Tarls is tough".

Therefore, anyone who whines about the 'severity' of the punishments imposed on those miscreants is obviously "soft on crime", or at worst, hypocrites.

Posted by: SG | Feb 2, 2023 7:19:59 PM

Doug --

"Bill, Watts held that a judge could increase the mandatory/legal range of the federal guidelines based on acquitted conduct proven by a preponderance. After Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne, it is clear that is no longer legally allowed for either the top or bottom of a legally binding sentencing range. So that part of Watts have been reversed by the Court's subsequent 5th and 6th Amendment jurisprudence. All that is left of Watts is whether acquitted facts can be used "in-range" in an advisory system."

Let's assume for the moment that I tend to agree with your take on this. The problem is that I'm not the Supreme Court and neither are you. But the Justices are, and 18 months ago (and without dissent I believe) they turned aside the let's-revisit-Watts cert petition in Osby, knowing full well what they had said in Apprendi, et al.

Why was that? Maybe that the Court is content to leave Watts as it is?

"In other words, Bill, you have the facts of this case wrong, and you are projecting your own visions of reality onto the case, and your vision seem to include a real desire to see defendants punished specifically for having the "arrogance and foolishness" to turn down a plea deal and exercise their constitutional right to trial. Nice work."

First, I am indeed projecting my (extensive) experience with how plea bargaining works on the ground, correct. Second, together with the Bordenkircher majority (which you say you support), I want to see defendants perfectly free fatuously to exercise their constitutional right to trial, PROVIDED they're willing to live with the consequences when their concocted, shake-and-jive defense flops with the jury and they get a list of guilty verdicts (we do want to respect verdicts, right?) just as long as the list of felonies they committed (a list the prosecutor offered to whittle down considerably before he got told to go f*ck himself). The sentence for that long list is, you bet, likely to be longer, and perhaps much longer, than the sentence would have been for a shorter list. That's not a constitutional violation, as Bordenkircher indicates. It's just arithmetic.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 8:25:38 PM

Doug and TarlsQtr --

Doug writes, "Tarls, I took no offense, but I continue to be amused by your affinity for speech codes and preferred pronouns. And I will likely keep bringing it up because it reflect on your mindset and sensitivities. But that does not make you automatically a bad person."

No, but it does make him contingently a bad person. Believe me, I know. He's as bad as they come. Fortunately, his kid is a lot smarter.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 8:28:28 PM

Bill, I agree that the current SCOTUS seems content to leave the shrunken Watts as is. The new US Sentencing Commission seemingly is not, nor was the vast majority of the GOP caucus in the last Congress. And I am hoping, with Justice Breyer having moved on, that the Justices will show fidelity to the originalist principles that Justices Scalia and Thomas championed in the Apprendi/Blakely/Alleyne line of cases and will extinguish Watts fully. But I am certainly not counting on it (in part because, as you have suggested in our discussions of how Bruen will be applied, I fear there are that many truly principled originalists on the Court).

And I have never suggested it is inherently problematic for a sentence after trial to be longer than with a plea. But 147 years longer? And with the judge imposing 129 year longer than urged by the prosecutors? You know that's not just extreme, it is truly inhumane (given that humans do not live that long). And that you are Tarls are so eager to defend something that is truly inhumane is truly sad.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 2, 2023 9:25:24 PM

SG,

I have no problem with the 1/6 vandals getting the max sentence for a proven charge. What makes you believe I would think otherwise?

I would also approve of the maximum sentence for those who engaged in and aided the soft coup fraud of Russiagate.

I would also approve of the maximum sentence for all of those who misled the American people and impacted an election with the Hunter laptop coverup. Not to mentioned the scores of crimes committed by Hunter and The Big Guy. Just the number of sex trafficking crimes on there is mind boggling.

What I do get completely irate over, is the difference in treatment due to ideology.

As far as some getting less, I do understand external factors come into play. Crowded dockets, the expense of trials, etc.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 2, 2023 10:50:22 PM

TarlsQtr: You say, "I'm not sure if you want to compare two adults in the privacy of their own home with getting off to pictures of naked kids." I don't want to. The law does, or rather did before 2003. I was responding to your "I have said what they 'deserve.' Whatever the judge decides to give the person within the parameters of the law." Are you retracting that claim?

"As far as Jared Stephens, do you believe it is more likely that he pulled child porn up on his computer randomly or because he had some sense that it would get a reaction? If the latter, doesn't that indicate he knew it was wrong?" Again, I don't know why he did it. You don't know either. Presumably he wanted to get a positive reaction, so it seems that he thought it was praiseworthy. Or maybe his actions really were random.

If 147 additional years are okay, and not at all coercive, because he could have just pleaded guilty, then your being killed by a mugger is okay because you could have just handed over your wallet.



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Feb 2, 2023 10:52:46 PM

Doug,

If your students provide you with work that changes the very definitions of legal terms or abandons all rules of English grammar, do you deduct points? Is that a speech code?

And I hope you do keep bringing it up. Im the one on firm ground.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 2, 2023 10:55:23 PM

Mr. Otis, you ask, "Was it a bunch of snuff films?"

It's never a bunch of snuff films. There is no known example of a snuff film, i.e. a film which depicts a murder which took place just to get it on film. Even if there was, it's not illegal to possess such a film.

Police are upset that millions of people have seen the video of their murdering Tamir Rice, a 12 year old boy. Maybe next time they want to kill a child, they'll sodomize him first, so that it will be illegal to have or show the video of their crime.



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Feb 2, 2023 11:00:28 PM

Doug,

In my experience working in prison, they generally remove the bodies after death and the prisoners dont feel too much other than passing gas and crapping themselves upon death.

Im not sure how inhumane that is.

I, as stated previously, also disagree with any premise that tethers a given sentence to the plea bargain offered.

Im not sure you should want that either. If you desire to narrow that gap, it will merely move the plea offers to the right. If I want a guy to get 10 years, I offer a plea at 8 years instead of 3. You feel better about yourself but the clients do more time and your buddies get more billable hours.

Maybe thats the plan?

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 2, 2023 11:08:22 PM

Doug --

I have said that you sometimes misrepresent my position. You now provide a wonderful example. You write, "But 147 years longer? And with the judge imposing 129 year longer than urged by the prosecutors? You know that's not just extreme, it is truly inhumane (given that humans do not live that long). And that you are Tarls are so eager to defend something that is truly inhumane is truly sad."

What I actually said (in my comment yesterday at 4:07:33 pm) was this: "...no sentence for a term of years over 75 years makes sense, because human lifespans are what they are. Anything beyond that is showboating."

There is no version of the English language in which criticizing a sentence of more than 75 years amounts to a defense of a sentence of 150 years. But you're just off by a factor of two! (Still, not that bad for a Harvard guy. Maybe you should have tried Stanford).

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 11:23:08 PM

Keith Lynch --

In this thread about a sentence for possession of unspecified sorts of kiddie porn, you write, "Mr. Otis, you ask, 'Was it a bunch of snuff films?'" You then answer, "It's never a bunch of snuff films."

How would you know that?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 11:32:17 PM

TarlsQtr --

"What I do get completely irate over, is the difference in treatment due to ideology."

DING DING DING

You gotta love it. For your child rapist, due process and no rush to judgment. For your January 6 defendant, hang 'em high and be quick about it. And then these guys get breathless about what civil libertarians they are.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 2, 2023 11:37:57 PM

Bill: you did say "no sentence for a term of years over 75 years makes sense," but I still read --- perhaps misread --- your comments here as a defense of Judge Diaz's decision to impose 150 years. I apologize if I did not understand that you shared my view that this sentence is truly inhumane. I know you get concerned when you think I am misrepresenting your views, so I will put this is the form of a question:

Do you agree with me that the 150-year maximum sentence imposed here is inhumane? (If so, perhaps we can work together on an amicus brief in support of efforts to have the 150-year sentence vacated -- possibly on the grounds it is "cruel and unusual punishments" clause.)

Tarls: If a student provides work "that changes the very definitions of legal terms or abandons ALL rules of English grammar," that can hurt his scores. But if she just use "she" (or even "they") for a genderless pronoun, she certainly will not lose points, nor will I accuse her of "woke BS." It is telling how you had to badly distort the hypo to try to make a point, Tarls (and that kind of sloppy thinking and expression also can cost even more points).

And I am happy to continue this conversation about your preferred pronoun and speech code, Tarls --- or maybe I should call you the Hiroo Onoda of the pronoun wars (he likely thought he was still defending "firm ground" too). That said, there is a new Fifth Circuit Second Amendment ruling that might be more productive to debate.

Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 2, 2023 11:45:34 PM

Doug --

Thank you for the apology. In a thread this long, it's easy to forget what's been said before.

"Inhumane" is not the word I would use, because, for one out of several reasons, he's never going to serve anything like that. To know what the sentence should be, I'd have to know a bunch of things I don't know now. It would be ill-advised to say what sentence was deserved in a particular case without seeing the entire casefile, and I never did so when I was an AUSA. How old were the children? Four vs. seventeen makes a big difference. What was being done to them? Was it a bunch of snuff films? Were they being forced to have sex with animals? How severe is the defendant's alleged schizophrenia? What's his prognosis? What's his criminal record? Does he have a chronic attraction to children?

One thing in particular I'd like to see is the court's sentencing memo. Judge Diaz was thinking something, and I don't want to either endorse or condemn it without knowing what it was.

I can say that, when I was litigating, I never asked for a 150 year sentence and never defended one on appeal. In federal jurisdiction, where I spent my career, I never heard of a sentence like that for possession (only) of kiddie porn. Then again, I did very few cases CP cases. Mostly it was drugs, firearms and fraud.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 3, 2023 1:00:47 AM

In my experience, even in the worst cp possession, receipt, or distribution cases, rarely did we have a sentencing over 10 years. We had a few that had multiple state priors that netted them additional time, close to 180-200 months, but that certainly was not the norm. Now production of CP was completely different, but that's not the issue here.

Posted by: atomicfrog | Feb 3, 2023 2:51:42 PM

Keith Lynch,

Whatever the judge decides to give the person within the parameters of the law." Are you retracting that claim?

Not at all. I assumed we were talking about laws that were at least constitutional. I wouldnt punish people who smuggled slaves north either, but that is not comparable to this.

Again, I don't know why he did it. You don't know either. Presumably he wanted to get a positive reaction, so it seems that he thought it was praiseworthy. Or maybe his actions really were random.

Huh? Werent you one of those who was sure the guy was crazy? Suddenly, we cant know? I guess that is why we have judges and my point was made.



Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 3, 2023 5:46:02 PM

Doug,

You didnt answer this: Im not sure you should want that either. If you desire to narrow that gap, it will merely move the plea offers to the right. If I want a guy to get 10 years, I offer a plea at 8 years instead of 3. You feel better about yourself but the clients do more time and your buddies get more billable hours.

Not being an attorney, Id love to get your opinion. Does that ring true? It sure seems like human nature to me.

The hypo was not distorted. Only the severity is different. I believe you know that, but there is a reason academia and the legal profession poll below colon cancer. You happen to be both.

One can say a lot about Hiroo Onoda, but he is much better than those who willingly follow the masses into the daily two minutes hate.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 3, 2023 5:57:50 PM

As I understand the facts, the sentence here was as cruel, barbaric, and sadistic as any I've seen.

Posted by: Michael R. Levine | Feb 3, 2023 6:52:24 PM

Michael R. Levine,

Perhaps, but I expect the photos on that laptop were 10X more cruel, barbaric, and sadistic.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 3, 2023 7:13:00 PM

Tarls, thanks for flagging your comment about your concerns with any efforts that "tethers a given sentence to the plea bargain offered."

I think you are 100% right that if we had a strict rule or even a general custom that a prison sentence after trial should be, say, no more than double the prison sentence offered in a (final?) plea offer, then that would impact the prison sentence offered in plea bargains. But, as I see it, that is another virtue, not a vice, that could result efforts to "tether a given sentence to the plea bargain offered."

Let's use Elizabeth Holmes as our hypo. I think one might reasonably assert that the "right" sentence for her crimes is in the 10 to 25 year range --- though you might well think she deserves a lot more. In a world without tethering, a prosecutor might offer 5 years to get the case concluded and ensure a conviction, but then argue for 40 thereafter because she took the case to trial. But neither the offered 5 nor the later argued 40 is in the "right" sentence range. But if the prosecutor knows of the "no more than double" rule, he offers 10 and then argues for 20 after trial. Both the plea offer and the post-trial sentences are inside the "right" range that I hypothesized.

I have made up convenient numbers, but the fundamental point is valid: tethering post-trial sentences to plea offers should help avoid unduly lenient pleas AND unduly severe post-trial sentences. And I sincerely believe unduly lenient pleas can sometimes be a problem --- see, eg, Jeffrey Epstein --- though I tend to think unduly severe post-trial sentences are a bigger problem.



Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 3, 2023 8:51:05 PM

Doug,

Thats fine for Elizabeth Holmes and some specific cases, but lets use a hypo on the very case above.

Because you tethered a sentence to a plea deal, this guy makes out better. But what about the 9 of 10 who accept a plea deal and would rather do 3 instead of 10 years, but the plea window was moved to the right?

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 3, 2023 9:02:39 PM

If a defendant wants to do less time, he can and should make an effective case to the prosecutor that he can and should get a sweeter plea deal. That is often when well-heeled defendants can do, but that's harder for the poor folks with an overworked public defenders. In other words, leniency that we see in some pleas is likely to be inequitably distributed.

Is their a risk that "tethering" might reduce the prosecutorial leniency across the board? Maybe. But I largely doubt it because prosecutors have very little interest and lack the resources to take many cases to trial. That pressure is always going to lead them to make pretty sweet deals. It might reduce the most extreme outlier lenient sentence for the Epsteins, but that may be a benefit for the system as a whole. And I think we will also see an increase in trials, which would be another benefit for the system as a whole.

Ultimately, Alice Marie Johnson getting LIFE and Weldon Angelos getting 55 years and this guy getting 150 years troubles me more than the plea version of folks getting an extra year or two. But maybe it would work out different, and I'd like to see us try. We could always undo a tethering reform if we do not like its echoes.

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 3, 2023 9:40:30 PM

Its all about perception. If a defendant got 10 years instead 20, it would seem like a sweet deal, even if I might have gotten 3 in the old system.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 4, 2023 1:07:55 PM

Mr. Otis:

> In this thread about a sentence for possession of unspecified sorts of kiddie porn, you write,

> "Mr. Otis, you ask, 'Was it a bunch of snuff films?'" You then answer, "It's never a bunch of

> snuff films."

> How would you know that?

As I already said, I know that because there is no evidence that any snuff films have ever existed anywhere at any time. Check with Google, Wikipedia, and Snopes. Or with whatever databases lawyers have access to. There are videos of murders, but "snuff film" means a film of a murder that was committed for the purpose of filming it. There is no evidence that anyone has ever been guilty of producing such a video.



Posted by: Keith Lynch | Feb 5, 2023 4:27:35 PM

Post a comment
Cup of Coffee with Book

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Food Empire Holdings Limited (SGX: F03)

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Valuetronics is an electronic manufacturing service (EMS) company that serves the industrial and consumer electronics segments.

Story continues

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Ludovic Michaud witnessed his wife Esther Nakajjigos death during an April 2020 trip to Utahs Arches National Park (Facebook / Esther Nakajjigo)

The family of Ugandan philanthropist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a traffic gate in front of her husband in Arches National Park in Utah, has been awarded $10.5m.

The ruling was issued by a US District Court on Friday, according to KUTV.

Relatives of a Ms Nakajjigo initially sought $140m in damages from the US government. The $10.5m decision came after a wrongful death trial in Salt Lake City for the philanthropist who was tragically killed on a camping trip with husband Ludovic Michaud on 13 June 2020, the Associated Press reported.

Attorneys for Ms Nakajjigos family argued that the US National Park Service were negligent for not securing a metal traffic control gate that whipped around in high winds and sliced through the cars passenger door, instantly killing her.

Ms Nakajjigo was described as an extraordinary warrior for good who was destined to become a future Princess Diana or Oprah Winfrey in pre-trial court documents.

She was one in a billion, family attorney Randi McGinn told the court during opening arguments, according to Fox 13.

US attorneys dont dispute that park officials were to blame. But they argued that the damages initially sought based on Ms Nakajjigos future earning potential was too high, and that a figure of $3.5m would be appropriate.

Ms McGinn asked relatives to leave the courtroom before describing in graphic detail how Mr Michaud realised his wife was dead when he inhaled the copper-tinged smell of blood, and turned to see she was dead, the AP reported.

The attorney said Nakajjigo was on a path to becoming a non-profit CEO capable of earning an annual salary of more than $1m.

At the age of 17, Nakajjigo was awarded a Woman Achiever Award from the United Nations for fundraising for a childrens hospital and created a popular reality television series aimed at empowering young mothers.

She was known in Uganda as the Princess of Hearts for her internationally acclaimed humanitarian works and earned a full scholarship for emerging leaders to study at the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado, in 2019.

Story continues

For the government, US assistant attorney Jeffrey Nelson accepted Nakajjigo was an extraordinary person but said it was impossible to determine what her future earnings would have been, per the Associated Press.

The claim filed on 22 October argued that her death could have been avoided if the gate had been installed correctly or if it had been locked in place to prevent it from moving in the wind.

The lawsuit argued that the unsecured gate in effect turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo.

More follows...
SIOUX CITY -- During lunchtime at Liberty Elementary School, fourth graders were peppering Roberto Alvarez-Arreola about classwork and his Super Bowl picks.

"If I had the choice between the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles, I'd go Chiefs all the way," he said, diplomatically. "But that's only because my favorite team (the Los Angeles Rams)isn't playing."

Even though he has an easy rapport with the elementary kids, Alvarez-Arreola isn't a teacher.

Instead, he is a West High School senior who is participating in a Sioux City Career Academy Pathway.

Several times a week, Alvarez-Arreola gains hands-on experience through a teaching internship.

"I'm there to help teachers out," he explained. "Sometimes, I'm there to answer a question a student has on an assignment. Other times, I'm there just to help with a problem."

Originally from Los Angeles, Alvarez-Arreola moved to Sioux City in the ninth grade.

Valeria Alcala, on the other hand, grew up in Sioux City.

Like Alvarez-Arreola, she is a West High senior participating in Career Academy's educational pathway as a student teacher.

However, Alcala actually attended Liberty when she was younger.

"Becoming a student teacher at my old elementary school is strange," she said with a laugh. "Many of my former teachers are still teaching class."

Alcala's interest in education probably didn't surprise too many people. After all, she keeps herself busy in and out of the classroom.

Active in her high school jazz band, marching band and choir, Alcala also participates in the Spanish National Honor Society and serves as the sergeant at arms for West's Student Council.

Similar to Alcala, Alvarez-Arreola is also a high achiever.

He is already a member of the Army National Guard and wants to attend Western Iowa Tech Community College after basic training.

Both Alcala and Alvarez-Arreola said being bilingual has helped them as student teachers.

"We're able to bond with students because we speak the same language while experiencing some of the same problems," Alvarez-Arreola said. "There's nothing worse than not understanding a question due to language."

This is an issue that Alcala knows first-hand.

"When I was in elementary school, there weren't very many Spanish-speaking instructors," she said. "That's why I try to be there for my kids."

Another advantage Alcala and Alvarez-Arreola have over more traditional teacher is their youth.

"We're less intimidating than adult teachers," Alvarez-Arreola said. "The kids know we're students just like they are."

Alvarez-Arreola is considering studying education or psychology in college. Alcala said she'd like to pursue either education or social work.

Still, Alcala is amazed at how inquisitive fourth-graders can be.

"They seem really interested in everything and willing to ask a lot of questions," she said. "Kids seem a lot more mature than when I was in elementary school."
SIOUX FALLS  An Elk Point, South Dakota, man was sentenced Monday to 30 months in federal prison for storing files containing images of child pornography on his cellphone.

Hector Paulin-Torres, 33, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls to one count of possession of child pornography, which was amended from production of child pornography as part of a plea agreement. He must serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
SIOUX CITY  The family of a Le Mars, Iowa, man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Sioux City hospital, alleging staff members gave him a lethal dosage of medication and were not paying attention to a heart monitor showing his heartbeat had been stopped for five minutes.

Mary Kay Dreckman and her three children say in the lawsuit that MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center staff members were negligent in the hours leading up to the Sept. 18, 2021, death of 65-year-old Michael Dreckman, who three days earlier had had successful quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery at the hospital.

"Mr. Dreckman was given a lethal injection," said Nick Rowley, a Decorah, Iowa, lawyer representing the Dreckmans. "When he flat-lined he was in the ICU (intensive care unit), but no healthcare providers were monitoring him. ... Nobody rushed to the rescue when loud monitors and flashing lights were going off. Mr. Dreckman's wife and kids are the ones who discovered that his heart had stopped."

Michaela Feldmann, MercyOne regional communications lead, released the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

"Safety of our patients, colleagues and communities is a top priority at MercyOne. We are saddened by the loss of Mr. Dreckman, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this time. As this is an active legal matter, we are unable to provide further comment."

According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court, Dreckman was sitting up and walking in the ICU two days after his heart surgery. Early the next day, Sept. 18, his heart began to beat rapidly. During a period of three hours and 20 minutes, nurses administered three doses of amiodarone, a medication used to treat certain types of serious irregular heartbeat, and also started Dreckman on an IV drip of the same drug.

"Combined, this amounted to a toxic dose of amiodarone," Rowley said.

Dreckman was last seen at 8 a.m., sitting up in a reclining chair, the lawsuit said. Ten minutes later, telemetry readings showed his heart rate slowing, and by 8:18 a.m. his heart rate went into long pauses followed by slow intermittent beats. Monitor readings showed Dreckman's heartbeat flat-lined for five minutes without any response from staff.

Nurses were alerted to his condition at 8:25 a.m., when Dreckman's wife and a daughter entered his room and found him unresponsive, his monitor flashing and beeping. Medical staff members began life-saving measures, but Dreckman remained in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead approximately 40 minutes later.

The lawsuit alleges MercyOne and its staff were negligent in giving Dreckman a toxic dose of amiodarone, failing to properly monitor his vital signs and his heart monitor and in the administration of medication to control his heart rate.

Dreckman's family is seeking a judgment to compensate them for an unspecified amount of damages.

Rowley said another cardiac patient died at MercyOne in 2018 after not being properly monitored. Rowley filed two lawsuits in that case, and both were settled prior to trial.
SIOUX CITY  Rod Earleywine has been selected as Sioux City Community School Districts next superintendent.

Earleywine is currently serving as the interim superintendent. He was previously the superintendent of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District.

"I am thankful, I am humbled that they chose me and I honestly believe I am the best person for the job and I believe good things will happen for Sioux City Community School District under my leadership," Earleywine said.

The school board deliberated in closed session for two and a half hours before voting on offering Earleywine a contract in open session Thursday. He was chosen by the board in a 6-1 vote, with Perla Alarcon-Flory against.

Earleywine said he was out running errands when the deliberation was taking place when he was notified the board was about to vote in open session. He said he watched the voting from his car.

"I was very excited and relieved at the same time," Earleywine said.

Superintendent candidates speak at community forum Rod Earleywine, interim superintendent, responds to questions from the audience during a community forum with the two candidates for superinte

He said the board had a tough decision to make for the students and the community

The other candidate for the position was Geovanny Ponce, the assistant superintendent of high schools for the Houston Independent School District.

Dan Greenwell said each candidate had different experiences and both would have brought strength to the district, but needed to pick one. He said the board at the end came to a consensus.

We decided that Dr. Earleywine was our choice. Were excited to have him. Hes done great things in the last seven months with this district, Greenwell said.

Earleywine and the district will now enter into contract negotiations. Pending the negotiations he will start July 1 with a three-year contract.

Before resigning in February 2022, Earleywine served as superintendent of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District for 15 years and before that worked for 12 years as Sergeant Bluff-Lutons middle school principal. He was selected as interim superintendent in April 2022 and officially started in July 2022.

He holds a doctorate in education administration from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, a specialist degree in educational administration and a bachelors degree in education from Drake University and a masters degree in education administration from the University of Northern Iowa.

A few of the changes Earleywine has made as interim superintendent includes rebuilding the culture and climate of the school district, putting in new discipline policies, adding reading back in the middle schools, starting to overhaul the special education program and revamping the English language learners program, Greenwell said.

Dr. Earleywine, in our opinion, deserved a chance to continue on and continue to improve and rebuild our district for the next several years, He said.

During public interviews on Wednesday, Earleywine said he officially applied for the superintendent position because of his experience so far with the Sioux City Community School District.

When he became interim, he didn't intend on applying for the full time position due to turmoil and controversy in the district at the time.

What Ive learned over the past seven months is this is a very, very good school district, Earleywine said. We have great staff, we have people that truly care about the students and they want to see our students succeed.

A community member asked if Earleywine saw the position as a short-term job or a long-term role. He said there is a misconception that he retired from Sergeant Bluff but, in reality, he resigned because he felt he needed to do something different.

I never retired, Im not ready to retire, Earleywine said.

Each of the board members took a moment to discuss the decision that was made.

All of the board members said both candidates were highly qualified and the board had a very extensive conversation on what the district needed and what the feedback from the community was. Each said it was a difficult decision.

Perla Alarcon-Flory said all of the board members spent hours of research to come to a decision and took into account all of the feedback from community members, students, parents and staff.

Bernie Scolaro said there was a robust discussion weighing the needs of the district and the board did they best they could in the best interest of the community.

The district received 23 applications for the position vacated by Paul Gausman in June 2022 for a job as superintendent of the Lincoln Public Schools. With the help of the recruiting firm hired by the district  GR Recruiting  the school board narrowed it down to five candidates who they interviewed, eventually narrowing it down to the current two.

Ponce and Earleywine participated in public interviews on Wednesday as well as interviews with the school board and special interest groups such as students and teachers.

The search began in the fall of 2022 with community surveys, followed by in-person input sessions with district staff, students, and the public.
Tourists take part in lantern parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in E China's Anhui

Xinhua) 08:28, January 31, 2023

Tourists play with rabbit-shaped lanterns at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

A boy learns to make a rabbit-shaped lantern at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Tourists learn to make rabbit-shaped lanterns at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Tourists take part in a lantern parade at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 30, 2023 shows tourists taking part in a lantern parade at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

A girl learns to make a rabbit-shaped lantern at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Tourists take part in a lantern parade at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Tourists take part in a lantern parade at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

A girl learns to make a rabbit-shaped lantern at Hongcun Village in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 30, 2023. Tourists here learned making rabbit-shaped lanterns and take part in a lantern parade to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Wheeler residents Judi and Don Shobe look over a map of proposed routes of the Willowcreek extension during a meeting at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana Monday January 30, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the Porter County Board of Commissioners. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

If any of the folks who attended a Monday evening meeting held by the Porter County Board of Commissioners supported extending Willowcreek Road through Union Township, they didnt come forward.

More than 120 people, some clutching signs opposing the roads proposed route through Wheeler, attended the meeting, held at the Porter County Expo Center and led by Bob Thompson, the countys director of development and stormwater.

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After brief opening remarks by Thompson, describing the route selection process and explaining how a previously considered route using Indiana 149 was deemed too expensive because of the cost of bridges over wetlands  the cost of the bridges alone was not much less than the cost of the entire project with the route as selected  the public got the chance to have their say over the course of the more than two-hour meeting.

Residents cited the loss of generational farmland, the lack of communication by county commissioners about the project as its moved forward so far, increased traffic and the development that could come with it, and concerns over a change to their rural way of life, including the possibility of increased crime, though they were offered a glimmer of hope at the end of the meeting that the county could reexamine Indiana 149 or find another route.

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American Structurepoint project development director Eric Wolverton, left, and Bob Thompson, Porter County director of development and storm water, listen to Portage Mayor Sue Lynch during a meeting about the Willowcreek Road Extension at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana Monday January 30, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the Porter County Board of Commissioners. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Portage Mayor Sue Lynch said she had a meeting with county officials some time ago about the road project but hasnt been contacted about it since then.

From then on we have not been part of this process and that disturbs me because we are the first leg of this journey, she said. Willowcreek Road now ends at Portage city limits at County Road 700 North.

The city spent $4.5 million on improvements for Willowcreek Road, she said, wanting to know more about what kind of traffic would traverse the road extension and whether it would be primarily cars or trucks.

She also said she has a huge problem with taking land by eminent domain.

There needs to be a huge, huge benefit to taking somebodys land, she said, garnering applause from the audience before echoing a previous speaker and suggesting future meetings be held at the Wheeler High School auditorium, providing easier access to the residents most impacted by the road proposal.

Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, chats with Jean Hardesty following a meeting about the Willowcreek Road Extension at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana Monday January 30, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the Porter County Board of Commissioners.(Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Jean Hardesty, who lives with her husband Curt on his familys farm on County Road 650 West, said a report on the preferred route noted it would displace two businesses that have the option of relocating outside of Wheeler and taking tax revenue with them.

She asked the representatives of American Structurepoint, the projects contractors, to define a business.

I found it rude, disrespectful and insensitive that you dont consider farming a business, she said to applause. We have been a business for 124 years, not that it matters to you. But it matters to us.

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The farm, which will be impacted by the route, cant relocate, she said, also disputing the notion that the road would not affect any houses.

What is going to be the valuation of those houses on (Indiana) 130 with an overpass over them, she asked. Im still waiting for someone to say what will be the benefit for the people of Union Township. That roads not going to benefit me.

Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, speaks with American Structurepoint Vice President Christopher Murphy, right, during a meeting about the Willowcreek Road extension at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana Monday January 30, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the Porter County Board of Commissioners. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

As far as progress on the preferred route, Thompson said the county is in the middle of putting together a report required by the National Environmental Policy Act, since the roadwork will receive federal funds. Thats due to the Indiana Department of Transportation in October and will be released to the public in January 2024. A public hearing would follow in March of next year, also a federal funding requirement, with federal funding potentially available by that June.

A 2016 regional corridor study by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission on 22 routes for extended roads in the region ranked Willowcreek Road third, Thompson said, while a route involving Indiana 149 was 21st.

The cost of the necessary 2,000 feet in bridgework to extend Indiana 149 over wetlands would be $26 million, not including the expense of the rest of the road, Thompson said, so commissioners pulled back on that idea in the 1990s. The preferred route as it now stands would be 4.5 miles and cost a little more than $36 million for a two-lane road, which officials have said will have a 45 mph speed limit. Traffic counts also revealed that Indiana 149 was not the best route.

Several residents encouraged commissioners to take another look at Indiana 149, despite the increased cost, noting 80% of the funding for the project is federal highway funding, with the remaining 20% coming from county coffers.

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Union Township resident Liz Bennett, who helped oversee an online petition against the road has more than 1,700 signatures, said she and other residents think Indiana 149 makes the most sense, particularly since federal funding is paying for the brunt of the work.

Why not look at 149? Bennett said to applause. I think that makes the most sense with a place to start.

She went on to say that opening the road up was inevitably going to bring development to Union Township. We dont want it to be Lake County. We want it to be Porter County, she said.

Wheeler resident Liz Bennett speaks during a public meeting about the Willowcreek Road Extension at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana Monday January 30, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the Porter County Board of Commissioners. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, tried to appease the crowd, offering better communication going forward and a look at other routes.

I know this is extremely difficult for all of you. Nothing is written in stone yet, he said. Well look at 149 and you will be privy to that. You might not like what you read, but you might. The cost might not be a good enough reason. Were going to look real hard. If theres another alternative, we havent discussed it.

After the meeting, Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, noted Indiana 149s low ranking as a route by NIRPC.

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I think the chances of it getting federal funding are very low, she said. We just have to decide whether we want to do this.

Even that route, if it were to come to fruition despite the increased cost, faces obstacles. Rich Herr with the Woodland Savanna Land Conservancy, said the conservation group owns more than 100 acres of wetlands where that route would go, with plans to acquire another 40 to 50 acres.

If they put that bridge over there, theyre going to wreck that wetland, he said, noting the high rate at which wetlands are disappearing. Were just as passionate about our conservation. We dont want to see a bridge go across there.

More information on the project is available at www.willowcreekextension.com.

alavalley@chicagotribune.com
SIOUX CITY -- OVG360 is searching for a new general manager to oversee day-to-day operations at Sioux City's Tyson Events Center.

Rick Hontz, OVG360's senior vice president, confirmed that Tim Savona, who has been the general manager since February 2019, has accepted a position with another company, but will remain in the industry.

"He's going to a bigger building almost double the size. So, he's growing in the industry," Hontz said. "You grow in this company and in this industry."

Savona told The Journal Monday that he's going to Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, and that his last day will be Feb. 10.

Pinnacle Bank Arena is a 15,500-seat multi-purpose arena, which is owned by the City of Lincoln and managed by ASM Global.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to serve this community. Our team of 20 full-time staff pretty much remains in tact. We will continue to evolve and grow and make sure everyone is serviced," Savona said.

Savona said Enzo Carannante, who served as assistant general manager and director of marketing at the Tyson, departed a few weeks ago for a general manager position at The Pavilion At Star Lake, an amphitheater west of Pittsburgh that is owned and operated by Live Nation. Emily Vondrak, who worked under Carannante, has already assumed his position.

Also leaving Sioux City is Carannante's wife Meghan, but she is staying with OVG360 and is being promoted from her role as director of corporate partnerships, according to Hontz.

Hontz said OVG360 will have a temporary general manager come into the Tyson until the "right person" is found. He said the search could take a month or a couple of months. He said the job has been posted and that quite a few applicants have already applied.

"I think it's important to know that because we're such a big company in this industry, we're not going to miss a beat there," Hontz said. "We're going to stay on top of things. We're going to continue to book it. We're going to continue to build on success that we have in the last five years."

Last August, in a split decision, the Sioux City Council agreed to extend the city's current agreement with OVG360 for the management and operation of the Tyson and Orpheum Theatre for a duration of five years and, potentially, another five years after that.

OVG360, formerly Spectra, took over booking, marketing, staffing and food and beverage service at the Tyson and Orpheum Theatre on Jan. 1, 2018, after the council voted to privatize the Tyson's operations.

The 10,000-seat Tyson had been owned and run by the city since it opened in 2003. The Orpheum is independently owned and jointly operated with the city.

Last February, Oak View Group announced that it had rebranded its OVG Facilities division and its Spectra acquisition as OVG360. OVG acquired Spectra in November 2021.
WAYNE, Neb.  At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, Wayne State College is hosting an event with a Ugandan man who has dedicated his life to helping orphans in his home country.

Mathias Mulumba, who founded the organization Father to the Fatherless with his wife, will give a free talk at the campus' Gardner Hall auditorium, "Tragedy to Triumph: Saving Uganda Orphans and Building Dreams."

According to the group, its mission is to "reach out to the street children, orphans, single mothers, and widows of the world through education, nutrition, boarding, and fostering." A release also notes that the Mulumba family is raising funds, purchasing land and overseeing construction plans in Uganda.

The event is being promoted by the Wayne State chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, a co-ed professional business organization.
SANTA FE, N.M.  Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist have been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, according to court documents filed by prosecutors Tuesday.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed the charging documents naming Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons on the set of the Western "Rust."

The filing comes nearly two weeks after she first announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would be prosecuted for what authorities described as a pattern of criminal disregard for safety. In recent weeks, Carmack-Altwies outlined two sets of involuntary manslaughter charges in the shooting.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed maintain their innocence and vowed to fight the charges.

Baldwin's attorney Luke Nikas declined comment Tuesday and referred to his previous statement on the case, in which he called the charges a "terrible miscarriage of justice" that he and his client would fight and win.

"Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun  or anywhere on the movie set," the statement said. "He relied on the professionals with whom he worked."

Gutierrez-Reed's attorney said they would release a statement later.

Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Prosecutors have said that Baldwin's involvement as a producer and as the person who fired the gun weighed in the decision to file charges.

The manslaughter charge against Baldwin includes alternative standards and sanctions. One would apply a charge of manslaughter for reckless disregard of safety "without due caution and circumspection."

Hutchins' death led to new safety precautions in the film industry.

Carmack-Altwies told The Associated Press in a Jan. 19 interview that the set was "really being run pretty fast and loose" and Baldwin should have known there had been previous misfires on the set and that multiple people had brought up safety concerns.

She added that Baldwin was the one who pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be issued a summons to appear in court. Prosecutors will forgo a grand jury and rely on a judge to determine if there is sufficient evidence to move toward trial. It could take up to 60 days for decision.

Involuntary manslaughter can involve a killing that happens while a defendant is doing something lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or without caution. Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb cited a pattern of "criminal disregard for safety" on the set of "Rust."

Prosecutors also said they will release the terms of a signed plea agreement with assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on the set. Participants in the unfilmed rehearsal gave conflicting accounts of who handed the gun to Baldwin.

Halls agreed to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon, they said.

Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said in a statement Monday that prosecutors are "fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins" and "the evidence and the facts speak for themselves."

Baldwin, also a co-producer on "Rust," described the killing as a tragic accident. The 64-year-old actor said he was told the gun was safe and he sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded .45-caliber revolver.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the weapon, which discharged.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles, who represents Gutierrez-Reed, said the charges are the result of a "flawed investigation" and an "inaccurate understanding of the full facts."

Defendants can participate remotely in many initial court proceedings or seek to have their first appearance waived.

The decision to charge Baldwin marks a stunning turn of events for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster "The Hunt for Red October" and a starring role in the sitcom "30 Rock," as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" and a film adaptation of David Mamet's "Glengary Glen Ross." In recent years, he was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live."
It was only a week ago that everything looked bullish for the wealthiest man in Asia. Indian tycoon Gautam Adani had just ushered his namesake megacorporation, the Adani Group, through years of vertiginous growth. While other firms were bruised by Indias economic travails during the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Adani took advantage of his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to gobble up businesses across various sectors and execute major infrastructure and energy projects on the subcontinent. Adanis riches and renown flourished as his empire took on everything from agriculture to shipping; he became a villain in Oceania for his fossil fuel projects, and at home for taking over a major news channel. 2023 was looking sunny, with the $260 billion Adani Group fresh off a stupendous boom in stock value and perched to raise about $2.5 billion through a follow-on offeringor FPOfor its holding company and flagship brand, Adani Enterprises.

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Then, the bomb hit hard. Last Tuesday, the Wall Street short-selling firm Hindenburg Research released a 100-page report on Adanis companies, accusing their founder of pulling the largest con in corporate history. Describing a two-year investigation, Hindenburg accused Adani and his executives of having ties to seedy criminal enterprises, sidestepping multiple fraud investigations, using offshore companies to manipulate revenue figures, and severely inflating the stock prices of companies within the Adani conglomerate. The small research firm, known for investigating and exposing sketchy companies, then took a short position on Adani securities traded outside of India.

The blast radius was enormous. By Friday, Adani corporations had lost $51 billion in market capitalization, with some of their share values plummeting 20 percent; Indian stock exchanges halted trading of many Adani properties to stanch the damage. The Adani Group released a 413-page response on Sunday that called the Hindenburg report a calculated attack on the entire nation of India and accused the firm of targeted market manipulation and fraud. (Hindenburg countered that very day.) This rhetoric, which went so far as to compare the New York short sellers to murderous British colonizers, helped little: On Monday, Adani stock continued to plunge and the CEO himself shed up to $41 billion of his own net worth. As of now, it seems he was able to dredge up enough cashthanks in large part to a last-minute surge in foreign investmentto successfully close out the Adani Enterprises FPO. Yet that success has come with extensive damage to Adanis reputation, credibility, and market standing. (Theres even a vibrant hashtag on Twitter: #AdaniScam.) He went from being the worlds second-richest businessman to only the 11th-richest.

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Why does this matter? Are there any broader implications, not only for Indian politics and business, but the entire global economy? Is calling a short-selling firm Hindenburg a little too on-the-nose? (Yes.) Allow me to explain.

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OK, give me the quick history of this Adani guy.

Sure thing. Gautam Adanis fortune and rise to power are entangled with the story of modern Indian politics: The businessman got his start in the late 1980s and early 1990s, right as India began liberalizing its government-dominated economy by encouraging more private enterprise, deregulating industries, and opening up to globalization. As James Crabtree noted in his book The Billionaire Raj, Adani took advantage of this moment to launch a plastics-importing business for which he vertically integrated the supply chain, buying and developing his own trading ports on the coast of his home state of Gujarat. Throughout the 90s, he expanded his empire to include railroads, textiles, and geothermal power.

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Adanis real shot at success came after the turn of the century, when Narendra Modi was elected chief minister of Gujarat. The two established a close relationship; when Modi faced international controversy early on for his alleged role in 2002s fatal Gujarat riots, Adani was one of the few India businessmen to staunchly defend Modi from accusations of fomenting interreligious violence. In fact, Adani went on to launch business alliances and events that relentlessly promoted Modi to the world, facilitating the chief ministers eventual rise to national powerand cementing a friendship that won Adanis companies numerous contracts both with Gujarat and with officials from Modis political party. By 2008, Adani was a billionaire and the largest coal player within the entire country.

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Modi was eventually elected prime minister in 2014 thanks in no small part to Adanis yearslong boosting, and the demagogue returned the favor in flagrant fashion: He flew on Adani-branded jets (the plutocrat had expanded into aviation by then), took the businessman with him on public trips and meetings, and even threw him a government-backed billion-dollar loan to support the construction of a coal mine and related infrastructure network in Australia. As Adanis business and net worth ballooned under Modis reignespecially during the pandemicand the CEO was lavished with government contracts, detractors of the right-wing, business-friendly Modi accused him of engaging in the same sort of crony capitalism hed campaigned on ending. After all, during his initial run for prime minister, Modi had denounced his predecessors (fairly!) for their rampant corruption. Yet the new boss now seemed to resemble the old ones.

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Adanis companies became evermore intertwined with Indias welfare, as they became the countrys dominant firms for sectors like shipping, energy, and mining. He was in so deep that many of Indias biggest controversies included links to Adani by sheer proximity, like the sweeping farmers protests in 2020 and 2021, an ongoing plague of information censorship from the press-hostile government, and the stubborn resilience of the countrys fossil fuels. Adani also sent shockwaves through the brittle Indian mediasphere last year after he carried out a hostile takeover of NDTV, a storied television broadcaster formerly viewed as one of the countrys few truly independent journalism institutions. Critics feared that Adanis ownership and influence would gradually turn NDTV into yet another propaganda channel for his pal Modi.

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So what is Hindenburg, and how did it cause such a stir?

Hindenburg Research was established in 2017 by Nathan Anderson, whod become a name on Wall Street a few years earlier after tipping off the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to fraudulent practices by a billion-dollar hedge fund, with evidence based on research hed conducted. Anderson decided he enjoyed this sort of probing and launched Hindenburg in order to analyze and bet against firms hes determined are sketchyto great success and controversy. Though Hindenburg is tiny, with only about five staffers, it is potent: In 2020, it gained notoriety after calling out the hot electric vehicle startup Nikola for intricate fraud, thus demolishing the companys stock price and setting its founder up for federal investigation and indictment. In a time of rising activist investing, Hindenburg continued its successful track record of investigating and shorting businesses that seemed kinda off, earning plaudits from the financial world.

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So Hindenburgs titular research is pretty legit, huh?

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Absolutely, which is likely why Adani reacted so strongly to the report.

And the complaint here that Adanis gargantuan business network is a bit crooked?

Indeed. To be clear, such claims arent necessarily new. As far back as 2015, Credit Suisse had raised concerns about Adani Enterprises rapid pace of acquisitions and massive debt buildup. By the 2020s, financial organizations like Dealogic and Creditsights also suspected that Adani was overleveraging his debt as he bought up company after company. And in 2021, investors worried over Adanis sources of backing when the Economic Times reported that three Mauritius-based funds with Adani investments had had their accounts frozen in their native country. Still, he got through it just fine.

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What the Hindenburg report has done is to build on this scrutiny of Adanis debt to claim explicit wrongdoing on the magnates part, through interviews with former Adani Group executives, analysis of internal documents, and on-the-ground reporting from various countries. Calling back to the earlier Mauritian scare, Hindenburg Research counts 38 Mauritius shell entities used as tax havens, in tandem with other shell companies in nations like Panama and the United Arab Emirates that route undisclosed funds to Adanis private businesseswhich then appear on the public companies balance sheets. The report also accuses Adani of insufficient accounting oversight, noting that Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas are reportedly audited by a firm that has no online presence, a small staff, and a limp track record of any actual audits. Several Adani associates are also accused criminals, including the Amicorp Group, a core part of the Malaysian 1MDB scandal. Overall, Hindenburg draws on such findings to claim that Adani company shares are overvalued by as much as 85 percent.

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Doesnt seem great!

It does not! And if Adanis assets are bad, that means a lot of other cash is exposed. Just last month, Gautam Adani himself admitted that Indian banks have a 32 percent share in his companies loans, and that half of the Adani Groups borrowing is done through international bonds. If Adani Enterprises ever went under, that would mean a wipeout of investments and projects parked in several countries, along with a heavy hit to large-scale development within India. Plus, Modi himself would likely face questions about his extensive patronage of his friend, and international investors whod been bullish on Indias overall business climate just months ago might become more pessimistic.

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But Adanis business has survived this kind of thing, right?

For now, yes. Even though some significant trustees withdrew, the FPO has met its target thanks to a splurge of last-minute investments over the past couple days, including nearly $400 million from Abu Dhabis International Holding Company. Still, Adani has not been left unscathed. The goal of the FPO was to diversify his investor base from larger sources corporations in order to attract more retail investors; that didnt really happen. His share prices, company valuations, and personal net worth remain lower than preferred. He faces renewed government investigation, and activist investors are calling on bondholders to stop funding his coal empire, which constitutes about 60 percent of his conglomerates total worth. Plus, Indias multitrillion-dollar stock exchange is no longer one of the worlds top five most valuable, and financiers interested in the country may have a lot more questions about how things are done there. Adani may have held the line this past week. But his ground seems to be shrinking.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden directed his megawatt grin toward a worthwhile cause: getting Americans to ditch their gas-powered cars. On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified, he tweeted, pushing the up-to-$7,500 federal tax credit Americans can now receive by buying a new electric vehicle. A picture showed him smiling from inside of one of GMCs new all-electric Hummers.

On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.



And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle. pic.twitter.com/n3iZ9etL4A  President Biden (@POTUS) January 30, 2023

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There were a few problems here. For one thing, with an MSRP of around $110,000, that EV is too expensive to qualify for the tax credit. For another, at 4.5 tons, it is hardly an environmental standard-bearer; one recent study found that it is actually worse for climate change than gas-powered sedans. And finally: Imagine getting hit by that thing.

The president, like the country he leads, has something backward about overhauling Americas automotive fleet in the face of a changing climate. It isnt just about how our cars work. Its about how big they are.

How do we fix that? By being a little more like Norway.

Norway is the global leader of electric vehicles, with fully 87 percent of new cars purchased last year at least partially powered by electricity. The countrys embrace of EVs is no accident: Buyers benefit from enticing government incentives, such as an exemption from a standard 25 percent car tax, that have delighted EV carmakers. (Id like to thank the people of Norway again for their incredible support for electric vehicles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted last month. Norway rocks!!)

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But now the Nordic nation is changing course. This month Norway implemented new taxes on car purchases that scale with vehicle weight. Although the fees are much higher for gas guzzlers, EV buyers must now pay them tooat a rate of NOK 12.50 ($1.26) per kilogram. (The first 500 kilograms are untaxed.) For larger EVs, the added expense can be significant: An Audi e-tron, one of Norways most popular models, now costs around $2,600 more than it did before.

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Slapping new taxes on EVs might seem like a head-scratcher, especially since around 4 in 5 cars on Norwegian roads are still gas-powered. But the countrys new weight-based car fees are a sensible move to address two critical drawbacks of oversize EVs: These models exacerbate climate change, and they endanger everyone else on the street. Other countriesand U.S. statesshould follow Norways lead.

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To be clear, all gigantic cars create significant societal problems, regardless of their power source. Heavier vehicles require more energy for propulsion, which helps explain why gas-powered SUVs and trucks have pitiably low fuel efficiency compared with sedans. (The Ford Bronco, for instance, gets 22 mpg on the highway, compared with 39 mpg for the Toyota Camry.) Larger SUVs and trucks also generate additional force during a crash, endangering anyone not inside them. Researchers have linked the ascent of SUVs to the rising number of American pedestrian deaths, which hit a 40-year high in 2021.

In the United States, federal officials invited the rise of gas-guzzling SUVs and pickups in 1975, when they created a fuel-efficiency loophole big enough to, well, drive a truck through. Today 4 in 5 new American cars are SUVs or trucks, up from less than 1 in 2 in 2000. With gas prices higher in Europe, continental car buyers have been slower than their U.S. peers to embrace vehicular enormity, but SUV sales there have surged 900 percent in the past 20 years, claiming over 40 percent of the European car market. (Pickups, meanwhile, remain a peculiarly American obsession.)

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The electrification of cars addresses some, but not all, of the problems posed by the largest modelsbut it also creates new ones. Electric cars do not use gasoline, so the traditionally terrible mpg of SUVs and trucks is no longer an issue. But EVs still require energy to move, and generating it creates emissions. Bigger electric vehicles demand more electricity, which produces significant greenhouse gasespotentially more per mile than gasoline-powered sedans.

Another environmental risk makes giant EVs even more of a problem. The size of an EV battery scales with vehicle weight, since heftier cars require more power to move. As a result, the biggest EVs have truly enormous batterieslike the 3,000-pound battery that powers the 9,083-pound Hummer EV. Gigantic batteries consume larger amounts of critical minerals like graphite and lithium that are in short supply worldwide.

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If we can redistribute these resourcesinstead of putting them in a Hummer, put them in smaller cars or e-bikesthats preferable, said Jay Turner, a professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College and the author of the book Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy Future. Supporting his point, a recent study found that SUVs are so inefficient that electrifying them instead of smaller vehicles could actually worsen climate change.

Largely because of their batteries, electric vehicles are typically around 30 percent heavier than equivalent gas-powered models. That leads to yet another concern of bigger EVs: the added force they exert during a crash. Already, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is revising its crash safety tests to account for the unprecedented weight of certain EVs. As National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy warned in a recent address, the tonnage of goliath-like EVs portends danger for any road user not inside oneespecially those walking and biking.

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A recent study found that SUVs are so inefficient that electrifying them instead of smaller vehicles could actually worsen climate change.

To sum up: The purchase of each oversize EV makes climate change harder to mitigate, while placing other road users at greater risk. Economists call these societal costs externalities, a kind of market failure that, unaddressed, leads to skewed purchase decisions because buyers see only their own costs, ignoring those borne by everyone else.

The economists solution? A tax or fee that forces consumers to consider their choices impacts on others. This is the beauty of weight-based car fees like Norways: They nudge buyers away from the most massive and damaging car models and toward those that are smaller.

Norways new fees land especially hard on anyone buying an oversize car that runs on gas, potentially adding tens of thousands of dollars to the purchase price. That makes sense, given large SUVs inefficient use of fossil fuels. But gigantic EVs impose costs toosomething that Norway now acknowledges.

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France, by contrast, also charges weight-based car fees, but EV buyers dont have to pay them. (In a 2019 policy brief, a research group within the French government recommended removing that exemption.) Pierpaolo Cazzola, the director of the European Transportation Research Center at the University of CaliforniaDavis, said that climate-focused European officials are giving new consideration to weight-based fees for EVs. Its a resource-allocation argument, he said. There is growing awareness that were talking about a limited battery supply chain.

But in the United States, the federal government has shown no signs of taxing cars by weight, despite Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegs declaring the rising number of traffic deaths a national crisis (which enormous cars make harder to solve) and President Bidens setting a goal that EVs comprise half of all new cars sold in 2030 (which will be harder to reach if massive EVs hog battery resources).

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Given the politics at the national level, its almost impossible to imagine the federal government implementing weight-based vehicle fees, said Turner. Its much easier to see a state doing something like this.

The District of Columbia offers a model. The city last year overhauled its car registration fee schedule, charging owners of cars weighing over 6,000 pounds $500 a year, almost seven times more than the cost of registering a modest-sized sedan. Acknowledging the added weight of electric batteries, the District offers EVs a 1,000-pound credit that preserves the incentive to go smaller.

Carmakers, which have grown reliant on pricey SUVs and trucks, were less than pleased by D.C.s move. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group, sent a letter to D.C. councilmembers warning that the citys new policy will capture a growing number of EVs that are expected to come to the market over the next few years and will act as a disincentive to their purchase.

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To which D.C. officials might respond, Great! Disincentivizing the purchase of the most societally damaging EVs is exactly what we should want. Moreover, carmakers themselves determine which EVs come to the market; making the biggest models more expensive might force a welcome reevaluation of their product development plans.

Even the stiffest weight-based fees still leave buyers with plenty of reasonably sized EV options, including many vehicles that weigh less than 5,000 pounds, like the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai IONIQ 5. The Alliance for Automotive Innovations letter implied that enormous EVs are inevitable, but that view is not universally held among car executives. The CEO of Citroen, Vincent Cobee, recently said he expects that people will start limiting weight and battery sizes, either through tax, through incentives, through regulation, through naming and shaming.

And they would be right to do so. Whether powered by gasoline or electrons, colossal vehicles like the Hummer are a societal malignancy, hindering our ability to address climate change while placing other road users in greater danger. Rather than cheer them on, leaders like Biden should be taxing the hell out of them.

Lucas Peilert provided research assistance.
The American news media have barely noticed, given their (justly) vast coverage of the war in Ukraine, but other hot spots are also brewing in east Asia. In the last month, Japan has taken a huge step away from its anti-military tradition, doubling its defense budget and asking the U.S. for long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, while South Koreas president has talked about building nuclear weapons.

These moves have been motivated by a growing belligerence on the part of China and North Korea, but Russias invasion of Ukraine has been the main driving force. Long-standing but furtive hawkish rumblings in Tokyo and Seoul have begun to morph into bold statements and active policy.

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The war in Ukraine is framing all of this, said Daniel Sneider, lecturer in Asia studies at Stanford University, who is currently doing research and reporting in Japan. The idea that the aggressive use of force can still happenand could happen herehas turned peoples heads.

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The effect has galvanized not just elite attention but the popular mood. Japanese TV news, which often pays little attention to the rest of the world, has recently been dwelling for hours on the war in Ukraine. Russias stepped-up naval exercises off Japans coast, along with its continuing dispute over the Kuril Islands in the northern Pacific, have intensified the nervousness. No one thinks Russia is going to invade Japan, but theres a growing sense of threat, Sneider said, the notion of a turning pointthe same phrase that Germany has used since Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukrainethat has allowed the government to do things that they had been moving toward, and to do so more rapidly.

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In December, the Japanese government released an official National Security Strategy, its first such document in a decade. It also doubled its defense budget, from 1 percent of GDP to 2 percent, and asked the U.S. to supply nearly $50 billion worth of cruise missiles with the range to hit targets in China and North Korea (these would be Japans first counter-strike weapons). Japan has also approved an American plan to transform a unit of U.S. Marines in Okinawa into a littoral regiment, capable of mounting offensives along the regions islands and coastlines.

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Together, this amounts to a very big deal. Only in 2014 did Japan reinterpret Article 9 of its constitution, which banned war under whatever circumstances, to allow its military to help defend allies. (The constitution was written in 1947 in the wake of Imperial Japans surrender and the reinvention of the country, under the victorious Allies purview, as a democracy.) Though the militarycalled the Self-Defense Forcesis large, with 250,000 active-duty personnel, it has never fired a shot in anger since 1945. Nor does it export weapons (though it has recently supplied Ukraine with items like mine-detectors).

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This new attitude, which began to take hold a few years ago, when Shinzo Abe was prime minister, was motivated by the gradually perceived need to deter, and if necessary counter, an expansive China and North Korea. But the changes accelerated and hardened into policy under his successor, Fumio Kishida, who took office in Oct. 2021, as Putin was mobilizing troops for his invasion. Kishida reemphasized the shift in a White House meeting with President Biden in January of this year.

The National Security Strategy, which was signed in December, doesnt even mention China until the eighth page of its 36 pages. The document begins by indicting Russia, whose aggression against Ukraine, it charges, has breached the very foundations of the rules that shape the international order. More specifically, the document states: A similar situation may arise in the future in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in East Asia. The resulting challenges to Japans security are as severe and complex as at any time since the end of World War II, the document continues. So, Japan must improve its abilities to defend itself on its own, while also cementing the U.S.-Japanese alliance as the cornerstone of its securityincluding the extension of Americas nuclear deterrent to protect Japan.

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Kishida has been able to sell the newly assertive policy to the Japanese public, in part because he is seen as less militaristic than Abe. Despite the countrys reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent, the strategy remains adamantly opposed to building a Japanese nuclear arsenala strict prohibition, given Japans history as the only country hit by nuclear bombs in wartime. Kishida was born in Hiroshima, the target of Americas first atomic bomb, and will host the G-7 summit this May in his hometown, where he plans to emphasize nuclear non-proliferation.

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The brake on South Koreas nuclear temptations is not so firm. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office last spring, has not only abandoned his predecessors hopes of detente with the North, but recently mentioned, in a public speech, that he might build a nuclear arsenal to deter an attack by North Koreawhich has enough enriched uranium for at least a dozen atom bombs and the missiles needed to launch them.

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Yoon backpedaled a bit when allies in Washington and elsewhere popped their eyeballs in alarm, but the idea has its advocates. Some analysts at the Sejong Institute, a leading think tank, have formed the ROK Forum for Nuclear Strategy (ROK standing for Republic of Korea), a group of several dozen scientists and strategists who are making the case for a South Korean A-bomb.

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The context of this concern is not only the rising military power of China and North Korea but also growing concerns about whether the United States really would fight to defend South Korea in case of an attack. Fear of abandonment is a familiar theme in Japan and South Korea, said Sneider. The isolationists in the House and the possible return of Trumpwho was set to withdraw all troops from South Korea had he won in 2020are making many in Tokyo and Seoul feel more vulnerable still.

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As with Japan, the war in Ukraine is aggravating South Koreas security situation too. Russia, which is running out of artillery shells, has been buying many of them from North Korea. In return, Russia is sending North Koreas leader, Kim Jong un, plenty of oil. As a result, Kim is feeling unbounded and is acting that way too.

Japan and South Korea are both completely dependent on the United States for their security. Japan has no choice but to cuddle up still closer to its Washington protectors. South Korea is doing the same but is also talking more openly about going it alone, if necessaryhence the talk of nukes, still a subject off limits to Japan.

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The impact of these newly assertive policies is as yet unclear. Russia, which is now implacably hostile to the United States, is turning up the heat, at least rhetorically. (Its military is too distracted to mount real threats on its Asian border.)

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China, however, is a different matter. One could imagine Chairman Xi Jinping escalating his pressures across the region, but one could also imagine him seeking ways to calm the waters. Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are looking for avenues of engagement in any case. President Biden met with Xi in Bali in November and has talked about a possible summit in the future. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing in February for a meeting with his counterparts. Xi recently appointed a new foreign minister, Qin Gang, the former ambassador to Washington, who at least speaks in a friendlier tone about improving U.S.-China relations.

M. Taylor Fravel, director of the security studies program at M.I.T. and a specialist on Chinas military, wrote in an email that Beijings pivot to present a more likeable image to the world is mostly superficial, designed mainly to lower the heat and put wedges between the U.S. and various allies.

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However, Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund, who is currently traveling in the region, thinks there might be genuine ambivalence in Chinas actions and behavior. China is surprised by the steps Tokyo is taking in the defense and security realm and isnt quite sure how to respond, she said in an email.

Meanwhile, Glaser said, Chinese officials are stressing the very strong trade ties with Japan as a way to strengthen its peace message. Beijings chief Asian diplomat told the chairman of Japans chamber of commerce last week that these ties were a major foundation and bright spot of their relationship.

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It is unlikely that South Korea will start building nukes any time soon, and it is not clear how fully Japan will implement its newly assertive defense policies. The Japanese parliament is divided on whether to pay for the defense budget hike with new taxes. And while U.S. officials are pleased with the new direction, some wish more attention were paid to prosaic basics. For instance, the purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles are welcome, but Japans military lacks the command-control and surveillance systems to guide the missiles to their targets. This would require a joint U.S.-Japan military command, which doesnt exist at the moment. Recent articles in The Economist and War On the Rocks also note that Japan has little to no defenses against a cyberattack, which China, Russia, or North Korea would certainly mount in a war. It also needs to boost the number of all-volunteer troops, though there is no policy as yet to boost pay or offer any other incentives.

In the past year, geopolitical dynamics have shifted in eastern Asia as well as in eastern Europe, and the two shifts are affecting each other. But it is too soon to call whats happening a global new cold war, much less the prelude to World War III. There is still time for Washington and Beijing to find some paths of cooperation. The war in Ukraine is far from settled one way or another. It is unclear whether the adoption of stronger military postures in Tokyo and Seoul will deter Beijing and Pyongyangor trigger a spiral of countermoves.

The world is, clearly, more tense and dangerous, but it could spin in any number of directions.
Over the past few years, corporations facing thousands of lawsuits have increasingly turned to a legal tactic that was literally a joke in The Office: declaring bankruptcy under a different name. As the legal theory goes, it doesnt matter if the company is actually insolvent or in need of debt restructuring, because a quirk in Texas law allows companies to perform a divisional merger in which two new companies are created: one to keep all the productive business assets and one to absorb the litigation liabilities. The latter company then declares bankruptcy and uses the bankruptcy process to delay, reduce, or wholly eliminate the claims against it. This so-called Texas two-step looked to be the future for most mass torts (particularly those involving carcinogens) until Monday, when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pumped the brakes in the LTL Management case.

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LTL Management marked Johnson & Johnsons effort to avoid liability for its talc-based baby powder products. (Disclosure: Ive litigated against J&J subsidiaries but have no financial interest in the talc litigation.) Tens of thousands of people have sued the company, claiming it knew these products contained asbestos that caused women to develop ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. In response to a slew of lawsuits from patients and their survivors across the country, J&J created two new companies. It offloaded all its liabilities into one, called LTL Management, and shifted all its assets into another, called J&J Consumer Inc. The first company, LTL Management, then swiftly declared bankruptcy and obtained an injunction against lawsuits involving J&Js talc products, preventing alleged talc victims from moving forward at all in their cases, much less recovering damages. Meanwhile, the second company, J&J Consumer Inc., just kept on making money.

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If this looks like an obvious shell game, thats because it is. And it gets worse. J&J is headquartered and incorporated in New Jersey. Yet it created these new companies under the laws of Texas, then filed bankruptcy in North Carolina. Why? Forum shopping. North Carolina is in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a low standard for determining if a bankruptcy was filed in good faith. That gives the Texas two-step a better chance of passing muster. As the 3rd Circuit noted yesterday, it is perhaps not by coincidence then, debtors formed by divisional mergers and bearing substantial asbestos liability seem to prefer filing in the Fourth Circuit, with four such cases being filed in the Western District of North Carolina in the years before LTLs filing.

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But thats where everything started going off the rails for J&J. The bankruptcy court for the Western District of North Carolina noticed some rather obvious problems with the filing. For example, the employees of the Debtor are all employees of Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, and the Debtors assets involve no operation of a business in North Carolina. The court concluded that in this case, the Debtor is not just forum shopping; the Debtor is manufacturing forum and creating a venue to file bankruptcy. In our era of rising judicial sophistry and arrogance, Judge J. Craig Whitleys candor and humility is refreshing: Pointing out that J&Js claims mirrored four previous bankruptcy cases filed in his district, he wrote: There is no reason this court should be the only bankruptcy court to have the opportunity to weigh in on these novel legal issues, especially considering that the Texas Two Step tactic is being employed by national corporations and impacts tens of thousands of present and future claimants across the country.

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Judge Whitley thus transferred the case to New Jersey, where it should have been filed in the first place.

New Jersey was a more receptive venue for J&J, which is one of the states largest businesses. The plaintiffs filed a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy, but the New Jersey bankruptcy court let J&J have its cake and eat it too, allowing LTL Management to rely on a $61 billion funding agreement with J&J to show that it wasnt just pulling off an enormous fraudulent transfer while also allowing LTL Management to pretend it only had $373.1 million in assets for purposes of deciding if the company was in financial distress. The bankruptcy was allowed to proceedincluding, crucially, the automatic stay that prevented lawsuits against J&J from going forward in other venues.

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Plaintiffs appealed to the 3rd Circuit, and J&J did what a lot of shady companies do when they want an appellate court to adopt a cockamamie legal theory that lets them avoid ever facing a jury trial: hire Neal Katyal. (Plaintiffs hired David Frederick. If youre so inclined, the two-and-a-half-hour oral argument is available here.) And on Monday, the court sided firmly with the plaintiffs.

The 3rd Circuits precedential opinion doesnt wholly neutralize the Texas two-step, but it does make it harder for corporations to knock over more structural components in our already shaky civil justice system. Bankruptcy is, by design, one of the more potent tools in the law, a legal black hole with a gravitational pull that automatically halts every lawsuit in the country against a debtor, grants courts the discretionary power to halt other lawsuits that might affect the debtor, and pulls in every debt, contract, and claim ever made against the company, enabling debtors to set their claimants against one another as they fight for timing and priority. In LTL Management, the 3rd Circuit made clear that bankruptcy is not merely an alternative proceeding that corporations can elect if they dislike the results produced by the civil justice system: absent financial distress, there is no reason for Chapter 11 and no valid bankruptcy purpose.  Financial distress must not only be apparent, but it must be immediate enough to justify a filing.

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J&J is, of course, not in financial distress. The 3rd Circuit noted: At the time of LTLs filing, J&J had well over $400 billion in equity value with a AAA credit rating and $31 billion just in cash and marketable securities. It distributed over $13 billion to shareholders in each of 2020 and 2021. Moreover, the 3rd Circuit recognized that J&Js estimate of the potential defense costs and liability from its talc productswell over $300 billionwas wildly inflated: J&J had already settled about 6,800 talc-related claims for under $1 billion and obtained dismissals of about 1,300 ovarian cancer and over 250 mesothelioma claims without paying a dime to the plaintiffs. The essence of the 3rd Circuits opinion is that courts need to look seriously at the companys actual situation, rather than eagerly accepting every bit of contradictory hype pushed by the companys lawyers.

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Presumably, J&Js next step is to file for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. (It could file for en banc review with the full 3rd Circuit, but that is likely a lost cause. Because it was a precedential decision, the draft was already circulated among the entire 3rd Circuit and the three-judge panel was nonetheless comfortable with their unanimous opinion.) Certiorari seems a longshot: The Supreme Court already declined an opportunity to review a $2.24 billion talc judgment against J&J in favor of 20 ovarian cancer plaintiffs, theres no split among the circuits yet on the Texas two-step, and the 3rd Circuits opinion is well reasoned and limited to the issue at hand.

One final point: this case also provides us with a concrete answer to the question how much does it cost to get the supposed liberal hero Neal Katyal to help a Sedition Caucusfunding corporation like Johnson & Johnson try to slam the courthouse doors on thousands of cancer victims? The answer is $2,465 an hour.
Drivers license, prom, ridding the body of vestigial teeth. All rites of passage for American adolescents.

So things were right on track when, after a routine dentist visit during my oldest childs senior year of high school, he left the office clutching a referral slip to an oral surgeon.

According to the dentist, my sons bottom two wisdom teeth were partially impacted. They were coming in vertically, as teeth should, but had stalled on their journey up through the gums. They would remain stuck there forever, posing a risk of future infection. The upper two wisdom teeth had grown in normally, but would have nothing to bite against if the lower teeth were no longer there. If we went for the removal of the bottom two wisdom teeth, all four would have to be yanked.

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I trust our family dentist. Hes thorough, listens well, and is conservative in his treatment recommendations. A watchful-waiting kind of guy. In this case, his take on the potential surgery was: Its a little borderline but, yeah, Id say its worth doing.

The word borderline left a little space for doubt, though, so I wanted to mull it over. Even minor surgery has risks, and the fact that wisdom tooth extraction seems to be the default made me want to push back a little.

Im well aware that our fee-for-service health care system tends to provide lots of medical procedures, including surgeries, that have later turned out to be unnecessary. For part of the 20th century, tonsillectomies were the countrys most-performed operation, with tonsils once seen as portals of infection. Now, how many kids do you know who have had their tonsils out? Turned out it wasnt as helpful for most kids as doctors thought, and it might even carry long-term risks.

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There are other examples. Spinal surgery was once a go-to remedy for stubborn lower back pain. But these operations made things worse as often as they made them better, and even gave rise to a brand-new diagnosis, failed back surgery syndrome, with millions experiencing prolonged suffering. Surgery is now seldom recommended for chronic lower back pain. Cardiac stents were considered helpful for clearing arteries, until a rigorous study showed that in many cases they arent.

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At some point before each and every one of these operations were performed, a doctor looked a patient or family member in the eye and said that surgery was the best way to go, or at least a reasonable option.

These doctors believed they were doing the right thing. Standards of care evolve as new evidence supportsor fails to supportuse of a particular treatment. Yet this system does not work perfectly. Sometimes things are done in a certain way simply because they are done that way, regardless of the state of the evidence. In fact, because we are all creatures of habit, its often harder to stop old health care practices than to implement new ones.

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I called the number on my sons referral slip and made an appointment for him to see the oral surgeon in a couple of weeks. The receptionist suggested that I also go ahead and book a date for the surgery a few days after the consultation, which I did. In the meantime, I decided to peek at the medical literature to see what kind of evidence there was for the removal of wisdom teeth for preventative purposes.

I went first to the highly regarded Cochrane Collaboration, an open-access hub for systematic reviews of health care treatments. Systematic reviews are compilations of findings from studies on a particular treatment, taking into account the quality of each study (for example, results from randomized trials are given more weight than studies that lack a control group). But the review about the impact of wisdom teeth removal, published in May 2020, was based on a measly two prior studies. It concluded that the available evidence is insufficient to tell us whether or not asymptomatic disease-free impacted wisdom teeth should be removedthe scientific equivalent of the Magic 8-Balls Cannot predict now.

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Next, I typed NHS wisdom teeth into the search bar. The U.K.s National Health System lacks the baked-in profit motive of the U.S. system, and thus tends to provide less unnecessary care (although what is necessary and unnecessary is often far from clear-cut). I learned that the NHS does not generally recommend removal of wisdom teeth unless a patient is experiencing symptoms like severe pain. The NHS policy jibed with an (admittedly old) 2008 statement issued by the American Public Health Association against removal of wisdom teeth for preventive purposes.

Clearly, wisdom teeth have never been a hot research topic. But there could be investigations underway right now, so my final stop was the public-access databases NIH Reporter and Clinicaltrials.gov to check for ongoing studies. While I found records for studies comparing approaches to pain relief following wisdom tooth extraction, and others comparing surgical techniques, there were no ongoing research projects that would give insight into whether and when the operation should be performed at all.

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Back to my sons teeth. The oral surgeons recommendation was to have all four teeth removed, under general anesthesia. We were given information about risks from the surgery: swelling and pain, infection. Rarely, it could lead to more permanent damage. And of course general anesthesia always carries a teensy-tiny risk of death. (Not mentioned at all was the not-insignificant risk of addiction to opioid painkillers following wisdom tooth extraction in adolescents and young adults.) All in all, though, the chance of serious harm from this surgery appeared to be slim. If I felt certain that it was necessary to avoid future suffering and trouble for my son, I wouldnt think twice. But was it?

After weighing the meager information at hand and going back and forth a few times, we made the type of decision we are best at making when neither choice is appealing: We decided to decide later. He could have the operation done over the summer, when, if something went wrong, at least there wouldnt be school to worry about. Soon, my son would be an adult and could decide for himself whether or not to have the surgery (so far, he was unsure, too). And of course, if he developed any symptoms or signs of disease around his wisdom teeth, then the case for surgery would be more clear-cut.

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For the record, no one ever pressured us to do it. Not our dentist. Not the oral surgeon, or his receptionist, who was kind and understanding when we canceled the operation. But our experience left me wanting more data. Should we be pulling out symptom-free wisdom teeth as often as we do in this country? Based on my own look at the evidence, maybe not. But how do you know if your kid is one of the people who would benefit from this procedure? Wisdom teeth are removed from thousands of healthy young mouths every day in this country. This surgery is not risk-free and, for families who lack dental insurance, it is costly. Seems like we should know a little more about it than we do.
Carvana's glass tower lights up the night sky near 22nd Street and Interstate 88 in Oak Brook. Skokie officials have just informed the company that it will need to re-start the permitting process to build a new facility in the village following a resolution of their legal trouble with the state of Illinois. Brett Johnson/Pioneer Press, April 25, 2019 Oak Brook (Brett Johnson / Pioneer Press)

The Skokie ordinance that would have allowed used-car seller Carvana to build a glass tower near a forest preserve in the suburb has expired and Carvana must reapply and meet stricter conditions, including greater protections against bird deaths due to striking the glass, according to village documents.

Skokies Director of Community Development Johanna Nyden wrote to Carvana officials last week saying the company would need to start over in the approval process because more than six months have passed since the village green-lighted a Carvana proposal to locate there. She noted any new building would need to comply with two ordinances the village has passed recently, an updated building code and a measure that requires stronger bird-strike mitigations. The letter was sent last week after Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias reached a settlement with Carvana for violating Illinois law, according to previous reporting.

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The Skokie Village Board originally approved Carvanas plan to build one of its signature vending machine glass towers, in which car buyers can view their car descend to ground level on a lift, last Feb. 7. In the weeks preceding that vote, numerous residents and bird lovers attended Village Board meetings to protest the proposed Carvana brightly-lit glass tower, which some said would unnecessarily kill large numbers of birds. Others worried it would increase traffic, depress property values and flood residents with light at night.

The site of the proposed Carvana car tower in Skokie, Ill. (Brian L. Cox / Pioneer Press)

A few months later, after then-Secretary of State Jesse Whites office halted Carvana sales in Illinois on May 10 due to what they said were irregularities in transferring vehicle titles, Michael Lorge, Skokies village attorney, sent the company a May 16 letter ordering them to cease any building plans in Skokie.

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The state objected to what it said was Carvanas practice of misusing out-of-state temporary vehicle registration permits and its practice of failing to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold, according to previous reporting.

That left the Skokie-Carvana deal in what Village Manager John Lockerby called a holding pattern until last week.

On Jan. 24, Carvana and the state reached a settlement agreement after Carvana admitted to violating state law by failing to transfer car titles in a timely manner, officials said.

The following day, Skokies Nyden wrote in her letter to Carvana officials,Since a period longer than six months has lapsed (since Skokie gave approval for Carvana to build a glass tower) with none of this activity undertaken, the site plan approval ordinance has become invalid and will be repealed. A new request for site plan approval will be required at this time and the process to start anew.

This time, she noted, Carvana will have to meet the standards outlined in two ordinances passed since then; an updated construction code and an ordinance that adds bird strike mitigation guidelines to the villages building code.

According to Skokies website, Skokie will require the bird strike mitigation measures for certain new construction including residential buildings over three stories.

The agreement announced Jan. 24 between the secretary of state and Carvana calls for the used-car company to abide by Illinois law going forward, surrender a $250,000 bond and allow inspections by secretary of state police to ensure compliance, according to a news release from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. Illinois can suspend or revoke Carvanas license again if the company does not act according to the agreement, or if it violates the law.

Talia Soglin contributed to this article.
Transparency International warns that Slovakia's slight progress might reverse after expected early elections.

Despite the improvement in the Corruption Perceptions Index two years in a row, Slovakia is still significantly behind the average of EU member states. (Source: Pixabay)

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Slovakia has slightly improved its position on Transparency International's ranking, Corruption Perceptions Index, though this positive change is more the outcome of stagnation in other countries.

Slovakia came in 49th in the latest ranking, which examines the perception of corruption in 180 countries. In 2021, Slovakia ended in 56th place.

Transparency International Slovakia points out that the country's score improved by one point, from 52 to 53 points out of 100. The more points a country obtains, the less corruption.

The organisation's index is based on the findings of 13 various indices, including the World Bank and several think tanks, which consider the corruption perception among experts and investors.

The nonprofit has also noted that the government's ambition of improving Slovakia's position by 20 places has not been fulfilled, but admits at that the country's score is the best since 2012, when it scored 46 points. In addition, the current government improved Slovakia's position in the ranking by 11 places in two years.
Slovakia's position in the Corruption Perceptions Index, investment in the Orava region, and the date for early elections is now set.

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Good evening. Here is the Tuesday, January 31 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

CPI ranking: Slovakia's cosmetic improvement

The 'step by step against corruption' slogan during an anti-corruption march in Slovakia in 2017. (Source: Sme)

Slovakia has slightly improved its position on Transparency International's ranking, the Corruption Perceptions Index, though this positive change is seen more as the outcome of stagnation in other countries.

Slovakia came in 49th in the latest ranking, which looks at the perception of corruption in 180 countries. In 2021, Slovakia ended in 56th place.

Still, the nonprofit remains on the alert ahead of the expected snap elections.

Other stories from The Slovak Spectator website

Science: How human biases affect the conservation of animal species and how people walk in the absence of orientational cues: these are just a selection of the many topics that scientists in Slovakia explored during the last quarter of 2022.

Podcast: American Jeremy Hill talks to four foreigners, including Rida from Sudan, about dating and finding love in Slovakia, but also about losing it.

Investment: A Liechtenstein firm plans a huge investment in northern Slovakia.

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.

OPINION FOR TUESDAY

Slovaks are obsessed with titles, but they are not the only ones

Do Slovaks love putting letters before and after their names? (Source: SME)

James Thomson's column looks at the quality of university education in Slovakia and Slovak people's obsession with rank in a clever and light-hearted way.

SONG OF THE DAY

'The world gone nuts'

Jozef Bil, a Slovak who lives in NYC, creates music in his free time.

He has recently released a catchy song that reacts to how much the world has changed, not necessarily for the better, and that what his generation experienced as children is not coming back.

More than a decade ago, Bil wrote a fun song about people spending a lot of time on Facebook.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/QLqi5vqIEXE

In a few lines:

Early parliamentary elections will take place in Slovakia on September 30 following a parliamentary vote on Tuesday evening. Ninety-two of 148 MPs present in the debating chamber supported the proposal.

Ukraine is criticising the Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International. The group has not left the Russian market despite Russia's war in Ukraine. The group owns a 78-percent share in Tatra Banka, a Slovak bank. Tatra Banka says that the scandal does not concern them, noting that it does not operate in Russia, Belarus, nor in Ukraine. (SME)

Hungary will join Poland and the Czech Republic in protecting Slovakia's airspace until next year, when the US should deliver the country's new but delayed F-16 jets.

The Berlin Court of Appeals has sentenced a Vietnamese national, 32, to five years in prison for his involvement in the 2017 abduction of Vietnamese entrepreneur and former communist functionary, Trinh Xuan Thanh. The businessman, who is now imprisoned by the communist regime in Vietnam, was abducted from Germany to Vietnam through the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A Slovak government plane was used in the abduction, but nobody in Slovakia has been brought to justice for assisting in the abduction. The investigation in Slovakia is still open. Prosecutor General Maros Zilinka has questioned Slovakia's involvement in the scandal.

Interim Environment Minister Jan Budaj (OLaNO) has presented Slovakia's first climate bill to the public. According to the bill, Slovakia shall become carbon neutral by 2050 and achieve negative greenhouse gas emissions five years later. The bill sets a number of specific and sectoral goals, but no specific measures. There is still a long way to go before the bill is adopted as the legislation has just been sent to the interdepartmental comment procedure. (SME)

Gorals want to become an official ethnic minority. They have already submitted their application for recognition to the Justice Ministry. In February, the Vietnamese may officially be recognised as the country's fourteenth ethnic minority.

President Zuzana Caputova meets his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, in Bratislava on January 31, 2023. (Source: TASR - Jaroslav Novak)

WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: Cloudy sky. Snowing in many places, rain or sleet in places at lower altitude. Daily temperature from 3C to 8C, in some places in northern Slovakia from -2C to 2C. Strong wind in the mountains. A number of yellow warnings (wind, ground ice, snowfall, snowdrifts) will be in place in western and central Slovakia on Wednesday.

Thank you for reading The Slovak Spectator.

P.S. If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
The main attraction in Eugene over the weekend was 5-star athlete Nyckoles harbor, one of the top-ranked uncommitted players left in the 2023 class. Harbor was on an official visit to see the Oregon Ducks, checking out the facilities for both football and track and field, making his way from Autzen Stadium, to Hayward Field, to Matthew Knight Arena to check out a basketball game as well.

Weve extensively covered how things went for Harbor over the weekend, and on Monday, he finally released some of the top photos from his visit. With a mix of track and football, its safe to say that he looks pretty good in the green and yellow.

Harbor is set to announce his final commitment on Wednesday, February 1 at 10:00 a.m. PT. He has a final list of schools that includes the Ducks, Michigan Wolverines, Maryland Terrapins, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Miami Hurricanes.

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Social Media Buzz: Oregon recruits react to big-time visitor weekend in Eugene

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire
Newly elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy

Many Cincinnati Bengals' fans have heard enough of politicians talking smack about NFL teams their constituents' team is playing.

But Congressman Mark Alford, serving as the Representative of the 4th district of Missouri, asked Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval - or "Mayor Jabroni," as he calls him - in essence, to hold his beer.

Alford attempted to pile on after Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's nationally televised slam of Pureval by kicking Bengals linebacker Joseph Ossai as he looks to rebound from a heart-wrenching penalty with seconds remaining in the AFC championship, among other insults directed toward Cincinnati and its fans.

And despite several fourth-quarter calls - including Mike Hilton's pass interference, Frank Clark's late hit of Joe Burrow that wasn't called, the hold that wasn't called on Mahomes' scramble in the final seconds, the block in the back that wasn't called on Skyy Moore's punt return, the intentional-grounding call and, of course, "the do-over" - that didn't go the Bengals' way, Alford insisted the officials were against the Chiefs the entire game.

The video of Alford's general speech in the U.S. House, via Alford's Twitter account:

Congratulations to MY Kansas City Chiefs!



Thank you @PatrickMahomes, @tkelce, and Joseph Ossai for their efforts last night. #ChiefsKingdom to the Super Bowl! pic.twitter.com/IrwgNKIlib  Mark Alford (@RepMarkAlford) January 30, 2023

"Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor my Kansas City Chiefs for their AFC championship and their berth in Super Bowl 57," Alford said. "Like many Missourians, I could not be prouder of the effort put forth on the field yesterday, last night. Despite having an injured Patrick Mahomes, injuries to several key players, incredible amounts of outside noise and the referees against them the entire game, the Chiefs made short work of the Bungles - I mean, Bengals - and sent them off to the offseason. Well, I hope Eli Apple has fun in Cancun. Also, I hope that Mayor Jabroni and the rest of the Cincinnati fanbase learned a valuable lesson last night - it IS called Arrowhead. It is the loudest, toughest place to play in the NFL with the strongest fanbase. A special thank you to Patrick Mahomes, Harrison Butker, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and, of course, Joseph Ossai, for all of their wonderful efforts last night. We couldn't have done it without you. And to the Philadelphia Eagles - we'll see you in Arizona. Go Chiefs! Mr. Speaker, I yield back."

Subscribe today: Follow every snap, touchdown and reaction

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mark Alford, Missouri rep, thanks Joseph Ossai after KC win vs Bungles
Alabama Crimson Tide fans have been patiently waiting to see who head coach Nick Saban will bring in as his offensive and defensive coordinators for the 2023 season. Unfortunately, that answer will not be coming today.

Washington Huskies offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, emerged as a top target for Saban and his staff late last week. Grubb was an offensive coordinator for the first time in 2022 and was a key part of the Huskies 11-2 season.

However, after meeting with coach Saban in Tuscaloosa on Monday, Grubb will remain with the Huskies in 2022 and the Tides search will continue.

Source: #Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will remain with UW after meeting with Nick Saban about Alabamas OC job Monday in Tuscaloosa. Grubb was a top target at Bama but will stay with the Huskies.  Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 31, 2023

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football and the programs search for both offensive and defensive coordinators.

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Alabama lands in top 8 for 2024 4-star WR Bredell Richardson

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Alabama to have six former players compete at the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Story originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/ankara-will-not-approve-sweden-finland-nato-membership-under-current-conditions-turkish-fm-says-1106852219.html

Ankara Will Not Approve Sweden, Finland NATO Membership Under Current Conditions, Turkish FM Says

Ankara Will Not Approve Sweden, Finland NATO Membership Under Current Conditions, Turkish FM Says

The Turkish parliament will not ratify the protocol on the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland under the current conditions

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"Swedish Foreign Minister [Tobias Billstrom] came to visit us. He was in the parliament, met with parties. He heard that all parties are equally declaring that without the fulfillment of the obligations assumed to us, the ratification of the protocol is impossible. Therefore, in the current conditions, it is not necessary to talk about the approval of this document," Tobias Billstrom said at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart. Ankara may "look positively" at Finland's membership in NATO if Helsinki and the alliance decide on a separate application from Sweden, the minister added.On May 18, 2022, against the backdrop of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership. Their accession protocols have already been ratified by all NATO members except Hungary and Turkey.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden should not count on Turkish support for the application to join NATO. Earlier, trilateral talks among Turkey, Sweden and Finland on NATO membership were postponed at Ankara's request.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230130/swedish-military-set-for-greatest-upgrade-since-1950s-as-nato-bid-hits-the-skids-1106806348.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/brazil-germany-express-support-for-black-sea-grain-deal-foreign-ministry-1106847508.html

Brazil, Germany Express Support for Black Sea Grain Deal

Brazil, Germany Express Support for Black Sea Grain Deal

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have expressed support for the Black Sea Grain Initiative and voiced concern about the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine for food and energy security

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istanbul grain deal

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"They [Lula and Scholz] expressed concern about the global effects of the conflict on food and energy security, especially on the poorest regions of the planet. They converged in support of the full functioning of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. They stressed the need to promote a just and durable peace," the ministry said in a statement released after a meeting of the two leaders in Brasilia. In addition, Lula and Scholz decided to relaunch the strategic partnership between Germany and Brazil, deepening cooperation in solving global problems, especially in promoting peace and security and expanding renewable energy sources, as well as combating climate change and poverty, the statement read. The leaders also noted the importance of deepening trade relations between the countries and expressed their intention to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on a balanced agreement between South American regional trade bloc Mercosur and the European Union. On July 22, 2022, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The deal, originally scheduled to expire on November 18, has been extended for another 120 days on November 17.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/egypt-ready-to-host-global-grain-storage-center-foreign-minister-says-1106333953.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/britains-royal-navy-faces-sticky-situation-as-superglued-bolts-found-in-reactor-of-trident-nuke-sub-1106864641.html

Britains Royal Navy Faces Sticky Situation as Superglued Bolts Found in Reactor of Trident Nuke Sub

Britains Royal Navy Faces Sticky Situation as Superglued Bolts Found in Reactor of Trident Nuke Sub

Britains nuclear arsenal is the fourth-largest in the world, and the Royal Navy has at least two of its four Vanguard-class Trident-bearing nuclear missile subs on patrol in the North Sea at all times.

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military

nuclear submarine

nuclear-powered submarine

ballistic missile

nuclear weapons

royal navy

british royal navy

glue

repairs

babcock international group

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The UKs Ministry of Defense has ordered an urgent probe after it was discovered that bolts holding crucial thermal insulation in place in a reactor chamber aboard the HMS Vanguard had been glued together using superglue after being over-tightened and broken off.The defect was said to have been discovered during a routine inspection. Subsequently, at least six more glued bolts were found, with the discovery reportedly made as engineers were preparing to increase the reactors power to full blast.British defense giant Babcock International was contracted to carry out repairs and refueling aboard the Vanguard at its Devonport, Plymouth dock, with the repairs lasting from 2015 and 2022, and costing over 300 million pounds ($369 million US) above the 150-200 million the Navy initially planned to spend on the upkeep.Its a disgrace. You cant cut corners with nuclear. Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised, a Navy source told local media, blasting the contractor. But another source insisted that the vessel and its crew were never at any risk from the superglued bolts.The MoD assured that the defect had been promptly reported and fixed, and that Defense Minister Ben Wallace talked to Babcock International CEO David Lockwood to seek assurances about future work.However, Labour shadow defense chief John Healey called on Wallace to do more to bring the contractor to heel.Our nuclear deterrent is essential to our national security and the very highest maintenance standards should be observed at all times. Delays in overhauling nuclear subs are bad enough, but cutting corners on repairs risks safety and operations, Healey said.The lead ship of the Vanguard fleet went in for repairs after a microscopic leak had been discovered in reactor fuel cladding in 2011  with the government first reporting on the issue in 2014.Repair work on the HMS Vanguard has meant that the three other boats in the fleet, the HMS Vengeance, the HMS Victorious and the HMS Vigilance, have had to stretch the length of their patrols, increasing wear and tear on the vessels.The Royal Navy plans to replace its Vanguard-class subs, built between 1986 and 1998 and in service since the 1990s, with the Dreadnought class, which will also carry Trident missiles, but promises to feature advanced capabilities, including a cutting edge Rolls-Royce propulsion system, and have a smaller crew. Dreadnought-class will also have fewer missile tubes  12 as opposed to 16, and lower overall destructive power. Three of four planned Dreadnoughts are already under construction, and are expected to begin arriving between the late 2020s and early 2030s. The Dreadnought program has an estimated 31 billion price tag, and has faced criticism over construction delays, which have put an additional strain on the existing Vanguard-class boats as their service life extends beyond planned limits.Britains nuclear fleet has captured the attention of the press repeatedly in recent years over a series of problems and scandals, from mass firings of sailors on suspicion of drug use, to allegations of improper lascivious conduct, to electrical fires and collisions with other vessels at sea, plus concerns that Britains NATO allies could deprive the country of key equipment needed to create the vessels deadly cargoes  nuclear bombs.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221206/ex-uk-navy-officer-hints-at-risks-in-prolonged-patrol-of-nuclear-submarines-reports-say-1105092844.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/de-gaulles-grandson-urges-france-to-restore-independence-break-with-washington-on-ukraine-quagmire-1106851918.html

De Gaulles Grandson Urges France to Restore Independence, Break With Washington on Ukraine Quagmire

De Gaulles Grandson Urges France to Restore Independence, Break With Washington on Ukraine Quagmire

Paris has marched in lock step with Washington in NATOs proxy conflict with Russia in Ukraine, with President Emmanuel Macron considering sending heavy tanks and not ruling out the delivery of fighter jets to Kiev.

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charles de gaulle

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Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of revered French statesman Charles de Gaulle, has slammed the Wests dangerous decision to deploy heavy weapons in Ukraine, and has called on Paris to persuade the Americans see reason and broach a lasting peace with Moscow.Within France and in Europe, on the whole, the public is against such escalationWestern politicians are trying to show us that they are in control of the situation, but this is a lie. Because they do not understand either history or consequences, de Gaulle added.Criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for selling himself and the Ukrainian people to the Americans, de Gaulle said the time has come to achieve peace, to bring the Americans to see reason and to come to a lasting and stable peace with Russia. Unfortunately, he said, President Macron and many other European leaders have also been blinded by subservience American interests  a tendency fraught with disaster, in de Gaulles view.Pointing to the tensions in relations between Moscow and Paris today, De Gaulle recalled the deep, strong history of Franco-Russian cooperation, including during the joint struggle against Nazism during World War II.Already in 1941, my grandfather, General de Gaulle, expressed the idea of creating the Normandie-Niemen regiment, the French fighter squadron that fought on the Eastern Front alongside the Red Army from 1943 and 1945. This was an example of an alliance between our countries. We honor the memory of the brave French pilots who fought against Germany together with Soviet soldiers, de Gaulle said.Pierre de Gaulle has been dragged through the mud in his home country over his alternative perspective on French-Russian relations and the crisis in Ukraine. He has brushed off these accusations, telling French media last week that if he was a relay from Russia, then Macron and [former German chancellor Angela] Merkel are the servants of the Americans. Me, I only defend the interests of the French.Pierre de Gaulle isnt the only Gaullist figure calling on Paris to take a more independent position in world affairs. Late last week, Le Patriots President Florian Philippot urged France to consider leaving NATO to avoid World War III after pointing to recent comments by NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer boasting that the Western alliance was ready for war with Russia.De Gaulles Foreign PolicyEmerging as the leader of the French resistance during the Second World War, Charles de Gaulle served as the chairman of the provisional government of the French Republic between 1944 and 1946, and as President of France between 1959 and 1969. Throughout his presidency, the centerpiece of French foreign policy was independence for Paris in global affairs. This included the pursuit of an independent French nuclear deterrent, support for cooperation with European countries (but rejection of a supranational European state), and detente with the Soviet Union and China. De Gaulle forced the Americans to remove their nuclear weapons from France, and withdrew French forces from NATO command structures and from SEATO, the Western alliances Southeast Asian equivalent.France under de Gaulle was also an opponent of American dollar hegemony. French Finance Minister Valery Giscard dEstaing dubbed the benefits Washington got from the convertibility of dollars to gold Americas exorbitant privilege, and pulled French gold reserves out of Americas coffers. This move ultimately helped force the Nixon administration to end dollar-gold convertibility in 1971.De Gaulles opposition to US hegemony, NATO, opposition to Israel, support for Quebec liberation, and detente with the Eastern bloc earned him many enemies in Washington, with the CIA allegedly attempting multiple attempts on his life, and watching closely during the May 1968 political crisis which helped culminate in his ouster as president.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230122/macron-says-france-germany-will-cooperate-on-joint-gas-procurement-mechanisms-1106597600.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/nato-throws-nuclear-bait-to-south-korea-1106851182.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220209/scholz-no-merkel-macron-no-de-gaulle-biden-said-to-take-swipes-at-eu-allies-behind-closed-doors-1092874483.html

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Ilya Tsukanov

charles de gaulle, pierre de gaulle, france, us, russia, ukraine, nuclear war, peace agreement, security guarantees, peace deal, peace, emmanuel macron, france, independence
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/dual-containment-of-moscow-beijing-is-mission-impossible-for-washington-taiwan-expert-says-1106864934.html

Dual Containment of Moscow, Beijing is Mission: Impossible for Washington, Taiwan Expert Says

Dual Containment of Moscow, Beijing is Mission: Impossible for Washington, Taiwan Expert Says

Although the US has identified great power competition with Russia and China as its new strategic orientation, Washington has struggled to build even regional alliances against them outside of NATO. Its no coincidence, then, that NATO is seeking to make partners out of US allies in East Asia.

2023-01-31T18:52+0000

2023-01-31T18:52+0000

2023-01-31T18:59+0000

analysis

us-china relations

taiwan

containment

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Dr. Chang Ching, military expert on the People's Liberation Army and regional security and senior research fellow of the Taiwan-based Society for Strategic Studies, told Sputnik that while many commentators have accused Washington of having a dual containment strategy against Moscow and Beijing, based on their very strong disagreements, Washington simply doesnt have the global clout to isolate such strong and powerful countries.Even many of the US' traditional allies like the Philippines would have strong reluctances to take coordinated actions against Russia and China. No nation would like to take sides unconditionally nowadays. It all depends on how much Washington can commit to the alliance relationships. There is no free lunch for Americans to take from the dining tables of other countries any more. After all, the general rule of give and take is always valid in international politics, Chang noted.Indeed, this is no small part of why NATO defines China as a systemic challenge rather than using the more hostile word threat.He noted that Seoul had very skillfully declined a request by NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg to make any promise of committing itself to any effort causing negative consequences towards China.Turning to the recently leaked memo by US Gen. Mike Minihan, the head of US Air Force Mobility Command, which called for the US to prepare for war with China over Taiwan as early as 2025, Chang noted that the theater is far from Minihans area of responsibility and his comments dont count for much.A memorandum issued by the military leadership to his subordinate commanders does not actually activate any military planning process, but only a prior notice to remind certain concern, Chang explained. This is exactly the reason why the Pentagon confirmed the existence of this memorandum but clarified that it does not reflect any official position regarding policy.Picking up the crystal ball for a moment himself, Chang noted that even the uppermost echelons of the US defense and national security apparatus dont believe Beijing has any plans to initiate hostile action against Taiwan in the near future.So, I do share the same conclusion with them. The pressure does exist. The tension also needs to be well managed. Yet, the hope of peace always exists. If there is a conflict across the Taiwan Strait, there is no winner, we are all losers then. Beijing knows that, Washington also knows that. Only those people who have a plot or even a conspiracy to drag Beijing down and weaken Washington through a war attrition are expecting a cross-strait conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221027/pentagon-publishes-new-national-defense-strategy-aimed-at-integrated-deterrence-of-china-russia-1102778571.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230110/think-tank-simulation-predicts-taiwan-could-defeat-china-with-us-japan-aid-in-invasion-scenario-1106184632.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/really-silly-actions-us-efforts-to-isolate-chinas-tech-sector-will-backfire-expert-says-1106863446.html

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Fantine Gardinier

us challenges china, us-china relations, us asian nato
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/eu-members-divided-over-ukraines-accelerated-accession-to-bloc-media-reports-1106861557.html

EU Members Divided Over Ukraine's Accelerated Accession to Bloc, Media Reports

EU Members Divided Over Ukraine's Accelerated Accession to Bloc, Media Reports

EU member countries remain divided over the feasibility of speeding up Ukraine's accession to the bloc, which makes its membership unlikely in the near future, reports European news website, citing sources.

2023-01-31T15:40+0000

2023-01-31T15:40+0000

2023-04-12T17:05+0000

world

ukraine

ukraine crisis

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The news website, which covers EU news, cited a draft communique of consultations between EU and Ukrainian diplomats, which will take place later this week.Despite the fact that the document praises the "considerable progress" made by Ukraine and says that "the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union" while underscoring the bloc's determination to "support Ukraine's further European integration," not all member states are happy with the phrasing of the communique, website said.The media specified that Poland and the Baltic states had advocated a more positive wording that could suggest Ukraine's accession to the EU may be sped up.Larger member states, however, do not wish for Kiev's early accession to the bloc, according to the report."A large number of large member states will not accept too positive language  not in the least because the agreed language is hardly a month old, so no one's ready to reopen a difficult discussion that we've only just concluded," another diplomat from the EU told the news outlet.Several EU diplomats added that "pushback" can be "expected from France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark and Belgium," as cited in the report. They may not accept language that appears to condone "pre-empting the normal steps in the accession process," since the formal assessment of Kiev's progress has not been made yet, they specified.On Monday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told US media that Ukraine hoped to join the EU within the next two years. The newspaper said few in the bloc consider this plan realistic.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine's accession to the EU on February 28, 2022, four days after Russia launched its special military operation. On June 23, EU heads of state approved candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova. To start accession talks, the countries need to fulfill a number of conditions, including reforms.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220611/norwegian-media-give-five-reasons-ukraine-cant-join-european-union-1096225731.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/f-16s-not-needed-in-ukraine-with-us-already-sending-new-capabilities---white-house-1106840422.html

F-16s Not Needed in Ukraine With US Already Sending New Capabilities, White House Says

F-16s Not Needed in Ukraine With US Already Sending New Capabilities, White House Says

The US does not need to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets because it is already providing Kiev with lots of new capabilities announced in the latest aid package, said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

2023-01-31T01:32+0000

2023-01-31T01:32+0000

2023-01-31T11:52+0000

americas

us military aid

ukraine crisis

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john kirby

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Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden told reporters the United States would not send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. "What I can tell you is that there's a lot of capability that is being sent, and will be sent in the coming weeks and months," Kirby told CNN on Monday. The United States recently announced it will send up to 31 M1A2 Abrams battle tanks, up to 109 Bradley fighting vehicles armed with anti-tank rocket systems, and dozens of other Stryker fighting vehicles. Kiev has long been lobbying Washington to provide F-16 fighter jets to bolster its forces amid Russia's special military operation. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO countries to unlock the supply of long-range missiles and military aircraft to Kiev after Western countries announced their intention to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks. A group of US military officials is quietly lobbying to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which is gathering momentum in the Defense Department as Kiev braces for a planned offensive this spring, Politico reported, citing sources. It may take weeks for the United States to make a decision on such deliveries, the report said, adding that the fighter jets would have to be sourced from the country's own reserves or reexported from other countries. Russia started the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev amid the conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that providing Ukraine with weapons did not contribute to the success of peace negotiations.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230130/biden-reveals-us-will-not-provide-ukraine-with-f-16-fighter-jets-1106837708.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/former-brazilian-president-bolsonaro-applying-for-us-visa-amid-legal-concerns-reports-say-1106842335.html

Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Applying for US Visa Amid Legal Concerns, Reports Say

Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Applying for US Visa Amid Legal Concerns, Reports Say

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is seeking a visitor visa for the United States amid accusations of wrongdoing in his native country, media reported, citing a Bolsonaro attorney

2023-01-31T02:43+0000

2023-01-31T02:43+0000

2023-01-31T04:44+0000

americas

jair bolsonaro

brazil

us

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US authorities received an application on Friday from Bolsonaro for a six-month visitor visa, the report said on Monday. Felipe Alexandre, a lawyer representing Bolsonaro, reportedly said that the former president is likely to stay in the US state of Florida. Bolsonaro faces allegations of responsibility for riots in Brasilia earlier this month by supporters of the former president who rejected his defeat by new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro also faces allegations of wrongdoing during his time as head of state. Bolsonaro has been staying in the US on a visa reserved for diplomats and other top government officials, which expired on the day he left office, although it has a 30-day grace period, the report said. Bolsonaros presence in the US led 41 Democratic lawmakers to sign a letter urging the Biden administration to revoke his visa. Alexandre denied any evidence of Bolsonaro committing a crime related to the Brasilia riots, the report added.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/former-head-of-us-indo-pacific-command-arrives-in-taiwan-report-1106860185.html

Former Head of US Indo-Pacific Command Arrives in Taiwan: Report

Former Head of US Indo-Pacific Command Arrives in Taiwan: Report

Former head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, retired Adm. Philip Davidson, arrived in Taiwan to discuss security issues with the island's leadership, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

2023-01-31T14:30+0000

2023-01-31T14:30+0000

2023-01-31T14:31+0000

world

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Davidson, who claimed in 2021 that China could possibly attack Taiwan before 2027, arrived on the island on Monday as part of the US delegation from the National Bureau of Asian Research, the report said. The delegation will meet with Taiwan's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, local security council officials, the ministries of defense and economy, as well as other government officials, according to the news agency. The situation around Taiwan escalated after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August 2022. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Despite this fact, several countries, including France, the US and Japan, have since sent their delegations to the island, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/whats-new-in-us-latest-rhetoric-on-china-1106852459.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/frying-russians-in-butter-major-swedish-daily-under-fire-for-spreading-hate-speech-1106843523.html

'Frying Russians in Butter': Major Swedish Daily Under Fire for Spreading Hate Speech

'Frying Russians in Butter': Major Swedish Daily Under Fire for Spreading Hate Speech

The cannibalistic remark by the head of the Swedish Home Guard, Laura Swaan Wrede, has sparked outrage on Twitter.

2023-01-31T06:38+0000

2023-01-31T06:38+0000

2023-01-31T06:44+0000

sweden

scandinavia

outrage

russia

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world

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Dagens Nyheter, one of Swedens largest dailies, has found itself in hot water after Twitter branded the cover of its weekend supplement as offensive content".The cover features a picture of Laura Swaan Wrede - the head of the Swedish Home Guard, who was interviewed by the paper - and it is accompanied by a quotation where she recounts that her grandmother used to say: "A Russian stays a Russian even if you fry him in butter."This expression sparked outrage on Twitter, where many said that Swaan Wrede would have faced dismal consequences had the quotation been about some other group than Russians. Some pointed out that roasting humans in a pan amounted to cannibalism."In Toyland, you can be as stupid as you want and still become boss, apparently," one user said."Replace 'Russian' with 'Jew' and see what happens," another one concurred.Others urged the newspaper to replace "Russians" with "Somalis" in the phrase to appreciate the effect fully."Prejudiced from her mother's milk, apparently. When it comes to Russians, it is okay to spew bile," yet another one fumed."The fact that hatred against Russians was widespread even before Ukraine is known. But no boss should say something like that," yet another one said.Others, however, appeared to be in total agreement with Swaan Wrede, praising her for her "competence" and "guts".Russophobia goes back a long way in Sweden, with rulers such as Gustav Vasa - Swedens King between 1523 and 1560 - stirring up anti-Russian sentiments to wage wars against the "inherited nemesis". Over the centuries, Sweden has fought more than 30 wars against Russia, often over control of the Gulf of Finland and surrounding territories. Although both sides gained and lost territory initially, Russia has emerged a clear victor from the Great Northern War (1700 to 1721) onwards, putting an end to Swedens aspirations to supremacy once and for all. The string of military losses left a deep mark on the Swedish psyche and the language, spawning not one but two words for Russophobia: "rysskrack" (fear of Russians) and "rysshat" (hatred of Russians). Both are part of everyday speech and encapsulate Swedes distrust of Russia and fear of the military threat it supposedly poses.In modern-day Sweden, there is a law against "hatred against ethnic groups", which, in practice, is most often used against critics of the countrys immigration policy.Although negative stereotypes and unfounded allegations against Russia and Russians have been used in Swedish politics for various purposes, it is nevertheless remarkable to see such blunt remarks from a chief of the Home Guard, a military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces, comprising half its army and constituting the basis of Sweden's territorial defense.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230130/swedish-military-set-for-greatest-upgrade-since-1950s-as-nato-bid-hits-the-skids-1106806348.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/guinea-to-develop-simandou-iron-ore-reserves-with-chinese-support--1106849529.html

Guinea to Develop Simandou Iron Ore Reserves with Chinese Support

Guinea to Develop Simandou Iron Ore Reserves with Chinese Support

Guinea's military government has announced that it is going to relaunch the developmnet works at the Simandou mine, one of the largest untapped deposits of high-grade iron ore, following consultations with Chinese investors and officials

2023-01-31T12:04+0000

2023-01-31T12:04+0000

2023-01-31T12:04+0000

africa

west africa

guinea

china

iron ore

mining

mining industry

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Guinea's military government has announced that it is going to relaunch the development works at the Simandou mine, one of the largest untapped deposits of high-grade iron ore, after consultations with Chinese investors and officials, according to media reports. The media has reported, citing the government, that Rio Tinto Group, Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and China Baowu Steel Group decided to resume infrastructure development at the site from March. The companies are set to complete negotiations on the projects paperwork before 28 February.Earlier this month, a Guinean government delegation reportedly traveled to China to hold a meeting with financing partners and stakeholders in the Simandou project, including the Chinese Export-Import Bank, the Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The Simandou mine is in the Simandou mountain range in the southern part of Guinea in the Nzerekore Region. The efforts to develop the site have faced various obstacles over the years, including mining rights and infrastructure disputes, political changes in the West African nation, and subsequent delays in construction. Launching Simandou MineIn March last year, the country's government suspended operations at the site. Progress in the development of the mine stalled because of disagreements over how the project would be financed and what share of revenues the government would get. In July, Anglo-Australian multinational company Rio Tinto, the Guinean government and WCS created a joint venture to start building rail and port infrastructure needed to transport iron ore from the mine in the far south-east of the country to Guineas coast so that it can then be exported.In October, Baowu, Chinas biggest iron and steel producer, signed a deal with WCS, which consists of Singaporean shipowner Winning International Group, Chinese aluminum producer Shandong Weiqiao and Guinean logistics firm United Mining Suppliers, to invest in the northern Blocks 1 and 2 controlled by the consortium. The mining concession is divided into four blocks. The rights to the southern blocks, three and four, of the Simandou mine are held by Rio Tinto, Chalco Iron Ore Holdings and the government.In December, Baowu said it had reached a consensus with all the stakeholders on the development of infrastructure, noting that the investment would depend on government approvals from both China and Guinea. Guinea's government, for its part, called the agreement "an important milestone" that will allow the partners to start the financing of the project, which is estimated to be approximately $15Bln. It underlined that the deal was largely facilitated by the participation of Baowu. The recent announcement comes as China seeks to reduce its dependence on Brazilian and Australian iron ore, and in general diversify its partners-suppliers of natural resources. This kind of global quest has already made China one of the biggest importers of raw materials from Africa. Crude oil, copper, cobalt and iron ore account for a large share of Africas exports to China. It is also a main driver of the Belt and Road initiative, an infrastructure development strategy that involves infrastructure, trade, and investment enhancement aimed at improving connectivity on a transcontinental scale.

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guinea, china, simandou mine, iron ore reserves, mining, natural resources
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/imf-economist-trade-restrictions-on-chinese-microchips-could-harm-global-economy-1106840924.html

IMF Economist: Trade Restrictions on Chinese Microchips Could Harm Global Economy

IMF Economist: Trade Restrictions on Chinese Microchips Could Harm Global Economy

Trade restrictions on China's microchip industry could be harmful to the global economy, the International Monetary Fund Chief Economist and Director of the Research Department Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said during a conference.

2023-01-31T03:01+0000

2023-01-31T03:01+0000

2023-01-31T02:54+0000

economy

imf

international monetary fund

global economy

microchip

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"Our analysis suggests that such reshoriing... would be something that potentially could be harmful to the global economy," Gourinchas said on Monday night when asked about impact of Japan and the Netherlands agreeing to adopt certain US export controls on China's chip-making industry. Gournichas added that the IMF is looking at these developments in the semiconductor sector and trying to understand its implications for the global economy. The IMF official reemphasized that their initial analysis suggests that moves by the United States and its allies will not necessarily leads to stronger growth. The United States has reached a deal with Japan and the Netherlands to restrict China's access to their advanced semiconductor chip-making technology, according to media reports. Several key companies in Japan and the Netherlands, as part of the agreement, will implement some US export control measures the United States adopted in October. The new agreement will restrict China's access to semiconductor technology from Dutch firm ASML and Japanese firms Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd., media reported. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that it is unclear if the Netherlands will disclose details about the agreement. In October, the Biden administration expanded controls on the export of US semiconductor technology going to China to restrict Beijing's ability to make certain high-end microchips used in military applications. Beijing took the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO), filing a lawsuit challenging the US export controls.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230122/world-bank-president-forecasts-global-economy-unlikely-to-see-strong-recovery-in-2023-2024-1106594011.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/lavrov-says-received-certain-message-from-blinken-through-egyptian-foreign-minister-1106855347.html

Lavrov Says Received 'Certain Message' From Blinken Through Egyptian Foreign Minister

Lavrov Says Received 'Certain Message' From Blinken Through Egyptian Foreign Minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that he had received a "certain message" on what Russia should do in Ukraine from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

2023-01-31T12:44+0000

2023-01-31T12:44+0000

2023-01-31T13:13+0000

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"Mr. Minister [of Foreign Affairs of Egypt] said that he conveyed a certain message from Secretary Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I confirm this. We have always said that Russia is ready to listen to any serious, I emphasize this word, proposals aimed at resolving the current situation in its comprehensive context. In this regard, we have once again heard the message conveyed through Mr. Minister that Russia must stop, Russia must leave and then everything will be fine," Lavrov told a briefing, following his meeting with Shoukry in Moscow. The minister added that there was a second part to Blinken's message that was not conveyed to Russia. "Tony Blinken did not convey the second part of this appeal. But the second part of the appeal  and this is the true interest of the United States and the West  was outlined by NATO Secretary General [Jens] Stoltenberg when he was in the Republic of Korea. He said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, Russia must be defeated, and the West cannot allow Ukraine to lose, because then the West will lose, and the whole world will lose, Stoltenberg said. That is, he took the liberty to speak not only on behalf of three dozen members of the North Atlantic Alliance, but also all other countries of the world, Asia, Africa and Latin America," Lavrov concluded.There is a principle agreement to engage Iran in the trilateral discussions among Russia, Turkey and Syria, Sergey Lavrov said.Russia supports Ankara's interest in improving relations with Damascus and will develop work in this regard, the minister said.Moscow is concerned about the situation around Iran, and believes that the attitude of the United States toward the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is similar to the attitude of the West to the Minsk agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday."The actions of the West mean only one thing  that they still prefer, just as they did with regard to the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian settlement, prefer to dismiss the UN Security Council resolutions and prefer to switch to aggressive actions, including using military force, instead of implementing the decisions of the supreme UN body," Lavrov told a briefing, following a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Moscow.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221024/iranian-foreign-ministry-calls-us-position-on-talks-on-revival-of-jcpoa-hypocritical-1102587465.html

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Company in Russia's Far East Launches Mass Production of Drones for Use in Ukraine

A company in Russia's far eastern Primorsky Territory has launched the serial production of drones for the Russian army's needs during the military operation in Ukraine, the regional government said on Tuesday.

The facility was inspected by Deputy Russian Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, Minister of Development of the Far East and the Arctic Aleksey Chekunkov and Primorsky Territory Governor Oleg Kozhemyako. The officials visited enterprises of the military-industrial complex in the city of Vladivostok and checked the military equipment.

"Those present paid special attention to unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV]. Each drone weighs only 1.5 kilograms [3 pounds]. There is a mechanism for dropping cargo at the enemys deployment site. Currently, the company has manufactured 45 such devices and is preparing to launch mass production, expecting to release about 60-100 more UAVs," the government said in a statement.

In addition, the officials had an opportunity to look at a novel aircraft-type drone whose software was developed entirely in Primorsky Territory. Manufacturers are ready to produce up to 30 such units per month, according to the statement.

Kozhemyako noted that he will hand over the drones to Russian troops when he goes to the military operation area.

Primorsky Territory-based companies started production of military equipment for use in the area of hostilities last year.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/minsk-agreements-were-a-ruse-that-gave-kiev-time-to-rearm-ukraines-ex-president-admits-1106856464.html

Minsk Agreements Were a Ruse That Gave Kiev Time to Rearm, Ukraines Ex-President Admits

Minsk Agreements Were a Ruse That Gave Kiev Time to Rearm, Ukraines Ex-President Admits

The admission confirms suspicions expressed last March by Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president ousted in a Washington-backed coup in 2014, that Kiev and its American masters were responsible for the failure of the Minsk Peace Agreements and the escalation of the Donbass crisis into a full-blown Russia-Ukraine conflict.

2023-01-31T13:27+0000

2023-01-31T13:27+0000

2023-01-31T13:27+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

donbass

petro poroshenko

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The February 2015 Minsk peace deal was just a sham that gave Ukraines post-Maidan coup authorities time to rearm and create an anti-Russia coalition, former President Petro Poroshenko has admitted.This document gave Ukraine eight years for building up [its] army, for building up [the] economy, and for building up [a] global pro-Ukrainian, anti-Putin coalition, Poroshenko said in a BBC documentary entitled Putin vs. the West.For his part, Munich Security Conference chairman Christoph Heusgen, a one-time security advisor to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, revealed that Poroshenko had worriedly informed Berlin about the sorry state of Ukrainian forces fighting in Donbass after local militias inflicted a major defeat on them in the city of Debaltsevo in the winter of 2015, leaving Ukrainian lines on the brink of total collapse.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not mince words in commenting on Poroshenkos confession. We, at the request of our Egyptian friends, provided them with detailed information on events related to the special military operation in Ukraine, about the long years of sabotage of the Minsk Agreements that preceded the current situation, and which were actively used by the Ukrainian regime and Western countries that nurtured this regime to prepare for a war against Russia, Lavrov said, speaking to reporters alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Moscow on Tuesday.[These preparations] have been openly confessed to by those who signed the Minsk Agreements, former Ukrainian President Poroshenko, the former leaders of France and Germany, Mr. Hollande and Mrs. Merkel, Lavrov said. Now, he added, NATO is directly involved in a hybrid war against Russia in Ukraine.This is the second time Poroshenko openly admitted that the Minsk deal was a sham. In November, the former president told a pair of pranksters posing as the former US ambassador to Russia that he needed these Minsk Accords to get at least four years to form the Ukrainian Armed Forces, build up the Ukrainian economy and train the Ukrainian military together with NATO to create the best armed forces in Eastern Europe.Along with Poroshenko, Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande have also come forward to admit that Minsk was a ploy, not a genuine desire to reach peace in Donbass.Last month, Merkel told reporters that the 2014 Minsk Agreement was an attempt to buy time for Ukraine, and that Kiev used this time to become stronger, as you can see today.Separately, Hollande similarly revealed that even though Russia had honestly met its obligations as a guarantor to the deal, the agreement was never about reaching a lasting peace. Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military posture. Indeed, the Ukrainian army [of 2022] was completely different from that of 2014. It was better trained and equipped. It is the merit of the Minsk Agreements to have given the Ukrainian Army this opportunity, Hollande said.President Putin, who also signed the agreements, expressed surprise at the chancellors candor, saying he did not expect to hear such a thing from her, because he always proceeded from the idea that the German leadership behaves sincerely with us.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who hosted the peace negotiations in the Belarusian capital in 2015, called Merkels remarks not just disgusting, but abominable, and slammed the former chancellor for acting in a petty, obnoxious way.What Were the Minsk Agreements and Why Did They Fail?The Minsk Peace Agreements were a thirteen-point ceasefire and peace deal signed by Ukraine and guaranteed by Russia, Germany and France designed to allow Kiev to restore its control over the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, in exchange for constitutionally-mandated autonomy. Kiev stalled on the implementation of the agreements political elements, while Donbass forces on the contact line accused the Ukrainian military of shelling and sniper attacks, and the illegal deployment of heavy military equipment in the buffer zone.Late last year, at a meeting with the mothers of Russian servicemen taking part in the military operation in Ukraine, President Putin said Moscow proceeded sincerely from the idea that peace in Donbass could have been achieved through the Minsk deal, but now, with the benefit of hindsight, it has become obvious that this reunification should have happened earlier, in 2014, before NATO had gotten its claws into Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230130/russias-deputy-foreign-minister-says-us-main-beneficiary-of-ukraine-crisis-1106805536.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221208/the-minsk-agreements-explained-1105193250.html

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A protection plan for Beijing's Central Axis was released last weekend ahead of its application to become a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site.

The plan, from 2022 to 2035, for the first time specified the heritage zone and buffer zone of the conservation area.

According to the plan, the heritage zone covers an area of about 5.9 square kilometers, including 15 heritage sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The buffer zone covers 45.4 square kilometers.

A local official with the office for cultural heritage application and protection said that the plan is necessary for Beijing's application for its Central Axis to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. The official also remarked that the plan marks a new step in the conservation work.

First created in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Beijing Central Axis, or Zhongzhouxian, stretches 7.8 kilometers between the Yongding Gate in the south of the city and the Drum Tower and Bell Tower in the north. Most of the major old-city buildings of Beijing sit along this axis.

The Beijing municipal government started preparation work for the world cultural heritage application of the Central Axis project in 2011. It was included in the preliminary list of China's world cultural heritage in 2012.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/nato-throws-nuclear-bait-to-south-korea-1106851182.html

NATO Throws Nuclear Bait to South Korea

NATO Throws Nuclear Bait to South Korea

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg started his visit to South Korea and Japan on Sunday, but the "gifts" he brings with him aren't good

2023-01-31T10:51+0000

2023-01-31T10:51+0000

2023-01-31T10:51+0000

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He also mentioned that NATO and South Korea can share information with each other in response to doubts caused by North Korea's nuclear and missile program. Besides, Stoltenberg further touted about the importance of nuclear deterrence before his trip, claiming if "China, Russia and North Korea have nuclear weapons, but NATO allies do not - that's a more dangerous world."Obviously, Stoltenberg eyed wider. NATO's existing nuclear sharing mechanism has nothing to do with the security issues on the Korean Peninsula. It has to bring China and Russia along so that its appearance on the Korean Peninsula will not seem that abrupt and will not arouse the South Korea's vigilance. Stoltenberg cited "nuclear threat" from China, Russia, and North Korea to strengthen information sharing with South Korea. His purpose is very clear, that is, to draw South Korea into the cooperation framework of NATO. Nuclear sharing is just an excuse with which NATO's grip can be extended to Northeast Asia in an imposing manner.Although on the highly sensitive issue of nuclear sharing, Stoltenberg reserved some leeway in his public statements, the outside world generally believes that the "information sharing" he proposed will not be the end of NATO's involvement in the Asia-Pacific. Some analyses from South Korea pointed out that NATO's move is intended to echo the US and expand its activity area to the "Indo-Pacific" region to contain China. Although NATO claims that its positioning as a regional defensive alliance has not changed, since last year, it has continued to break traditional defense zones and areas and greatly strengthened military and security ties with Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan and South Korea. Now Stoltenberg is standing on the soil of Northeast Asia, talking about "nuclear deterrence" in such a high-profile manner, which highlights the serious threat NATO poses to this region.The stalemate on the Korean Peninsula and NATO are two remnants of the Cold War in Eurasia, but the former is a victim of the Cold War, while the latter is a beneficiary. After the end of the Cold War, NATO lost the necessity and legitimacy of existence, but it survived by sucking the tense and terrifying atmosphere caused by new crises and conflicts. The reason why NATO has set its sights on the Korean Peninsula is just like hyenas staring at the bleeding wounds of other animals. What it brings to Northeast Asia is the drumbeat of a new cold war.It is very popular in the US and the West to use the Ukraine crisis as a "security textbook" to sell security fears everywhere, and Stoltenberg's trip is no exception. However, what happened on the European continent just shows that once there is a security dilemma, even allies will turn against each other, and this knot will become tighter and tighter. In fact, this has a similar underlying logic to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The North and the South used to "arm themselves" out of their respective security concerns, which in turn deepened the other side's concerns. What has happened on the peninsula in recent years has already proved that hostility and confrontation can never be the messengers of peace. This is crystal clear. We have noticed that although Stoltenberg always "intentionally or unintentionally" mentioned China when he unilaterally talked about the "threat" from North Korea, the South Korean side seemed to be relatively low-key about it. In Stoltenberg's meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, as well as with the defense and foreign ministers, the South Korean side avoided talking about China as much as possible. This shows that South Korea's security concerns so far are still mainly focused on the peninsula issue, but South Koreans need to take more precautions against the calculative NATO. The accelerated extension of NATO from Europe to Northeast Asia will only make the situation on the peninsula more complicated and difficult to resolve, and the result is by no means what South Korea wants to see.South Korea's national stability and economic development today are inseparable from the long-term relative peace and stability on the peninsula. The Hankyoreh pointed out soberly in a commentary, "NATO's nuclear sharing is not about owning or sharing usage rights to nuclear weapons, but a means of sharing the political burden and operational risks." The "nuclear bait" brought about by NATO is definitely poison rather than a cure for South Korea, which pursues a safe and stable external environment. Today, NATO's intention to get involved in the Asia-Pacific is well known. How to refuse to "drink poison to quench thirst" will test Seoul's political wisdom.This article originally appeared on the Global Times website.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/pushilin-on-dprs-liberation-special-operation-will-definitely-end-in-russias-victory-1106841291.html

Special Operation Will Definitely End in Russia's Victory, Acting DPR Head Says

Special Operation Will Definitely End in Russia's Victory, Acting DPR Head Says

Acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin told Sputnik that he would not predict when the republic could be liberated, but that Russia's special military operation would definitely end in victory.

2023-01-31T03:56+0000

2023-01-31T03:56+0000

2023-01-31T04:10+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

denis pushilin

dpr

donetsk people's republic

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Earlier, Akhmat special forces regiment commander Apty Alaudinov said the DPR could be completely liberated in the next 30 to 45 days, adding that the Russian Armed Forces were advancing in all directions. The official further indicated that any possible supplies of Western tanks to Ukraine will not decide anything, and that they would instantly become targets during ongoing hostilities.As for the plans announced by the West to supply tanks to Ukraine, there is no doubt that all of them will become a target for the Russian army, like all previous armored vehicles, which, in fact, caused its shortage," Pushilin said.Pushilin's comments come days after the US confirmed it would be shipping out 31 Abrams tanks as part of its latest military aid package, a move which had earlier been shied away from after it was determined Ukrainian forces were ill-equipped to operate the advanced vehicles. Earlier Monday, US President Joe Biden confirmed Washington would not be shipping out F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby later explaining that Kiev was being supplied with sufficient arms at the moment.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/russia-will-turn-all-western-weapons-sent-to-ukraine-into-scrap-kim-jong-uns-sister-says-1106767360.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/really-silly-actions-us-efforts-to-isolate-chinas-tech-sector-will-backfire-expert-says-1106863446.html

Really Silly Actions: US Efforts to Isolate Chinas Tech Sector Will Backfire, Expert Says

Really Silly Actions: US Efforts to Isolate Chinas Tech Sector Will Backfire, Expert Says

The US has pushed its own businesses and those of its allies to decouple from China as part of Washingtons effort to pursue great power competition with Beijing and Moscow. However, with the global economy more integrated than ever, cutting the worlds second-largest economy out from the rest is essentially impossible.

2023-01-31T17:30+0000

2023-01-31T17:30+0000

2023-01-31T20:06+0000

analysis

us-china trade war

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The US has expanded its efforts to isolate Chinas tech sector from advanced technology used by Western firms, especially high-end semiconductors and the microchips theyre used to make. Taiwan and South Korea have faced extensive pressure to limit sales to China, but more recently Washington has pressured Tokyo and Amsterdam, too. Meanwhile, Chinese tech firms have been rushing to adapt.Thomas W. Pauken II, author of "US vs China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal," a consultant on Asia-Pacific affairs and a geopolitical commentator, told Sputnik that people become most innovative in a crisis or they have no choice but to be innovative.The author noted that China is well-positioned to innovate as the US pressures other nations to decouple from Chinas economy.Indeed, the White Houses most recent efforts have already produced innovative fruits in Shenzhen.Insider reports quoted in US media have said that Dutch and Japanese officials have agreed after talks with their US counterparts to abide by the US ban on selling the most advanced semiconductor chips to Chinese companies, including Huawei, which the US moved toward a total ban on doing business with late last year. The agreement will block Chinese companies from buying from the Dutch firm ASML, presently the worlds only producer of high-end microchips using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. However, last month, reports in Chinese media indicated Huawei had filed for a patent on EUV lithography, evidently an innovation the Shenzhen-based tech giant had been working on for years.The US effort extends beyond Huawei, however, to Chinas efforts in the fields of AI, quantum, cyber, 5G, and advanced semiconductors - all fields in which Chinese companies have been making great gains and even taken the lead over their American counterparts in some cases.Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates who has a 30-year-old investment and business career in China, Russia and Asia, told Sputnik that the US and China have different capabilities.Devonshire-Ellis predicted that the consequences of this race would be to divide the world, with the loser not wanting to be subject to the whims of the winner.Could China retaliate for the US sanctions and trade bans? Pauken said they dont need to, they just need to anticipate such moves and believe they will be followed through, because the US and Europe will end up punishing themselves more so than the Chinese.Devonshire-Ellis noted that even if China did not retaliate in kind, the US efforts have completely disregarded the World Trade Organizations (WTO) rules regarding fair competition.That said, Pauken noted that if the US-Dutch-Japan ban does go into full effect, it would have a huge impact.The analyst noted that the Japanese have not totally agreed to the US terms because of Japans close trade relationship with China, especially their tech sectors, which are making quite a bit of money.He noted the same is likely true of an agreement with Amsterdam.If the Netherlands actually agree to this on paper, then that would be devastating to their economy. Recently, they changed environmental rules, so they practically destroyed their agriculture because of new environmental rules. So right now, their only real sector is either tourism or the chips industry. So obviously, if they lose a major customer from China, this will have a very deep impact on them. I really don't believe that they have a paper agreement claiming that they actually agreed to what the newspapers are saying. And this is why a lot of times these treaties and agreements are never disclosed to the public, he observed.I just don't see it happening with these countries actually going in ahead, signing some, the US and their country, agreement specifying exactly what they're claiming to the media. And this is very common. This is a very common occurrence. I always find it interesting that the media never ask specifically, can you show us the agreement papers? Can you show us what is exactly in writing? The Western media doesn't do it that often. I would advise them that they should start spending more time looking at the actual documents.Devonshire-Ellis noted that the Dutch response follows the EUs perspective, which is to closely follow what the US says. While Japan has had some more independence from Washington, especially economically, its superiority to China in the field of robotics is undoubtedly connected to its close relationship with the US.Overall, it should be mentioned that many of the component parts that go into semiconductors, including precious metals, rare earths and gasses, and the technologies required, are already in possession of Russia and China and its allies. This is also the case with energy reserves. The West, in time, will need access to these in order to continue a drive towards supremacy. The crunch time isnt now  its when the West finds it needs to rely on Russia and China and their allies to continue to manufacture the super semi-conductors they are technically capable of designing.Short-term, the US decision makes sense for Washington. But longer term it could prove to be highly damaging should Russia and China invoke reciprocity and refuse to supply the West with the core ingredients.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/whats-new-in-us-latest-rhetoric-on-china-1106852459.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230109/penny-wise-pound-foolish-us-embargo-driving-china-to-pioneer-own-semiconductor-industry-1106173244.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/reports-of-classified-documents-found-on-hunter-bidens-laptop-1106839538.html

Reports of Classified Documents Found on Hunter Biden's Laptop

Reports of Classified Documents Found on Hunter Biden's Laptop

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including 32 killed in a Pakistan mosque bombing, and Donald Trump insulting... 31.01.2023, Sputnik International

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2023-02-03T08:21+0000

the backstory

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brazil

donald trump

fbi

ukraine

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Reports of Classified Documents Found on Hunter Biden's Laptop On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including 32 killed in a Pakistan mosque bombing, and Donald Trump insulting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Wyatt Reed - Digital Media Producer with Sputnik | Germany Brags about Sending 14 Tanks to Ukraine, Who is in Charge of Germany?, and Coded MessagesJim Hoft - Founder of The Gateway Pundit | The MAGA Base, Classified Documents on Hunter Biden's Laptop, and The Gateway Pundit Readers.In the first hour, Lee spoke with Wyatt Reed about Germany's involvement between Russia-Ukraine, Angela Merkel, and Brazilian politics. Wyatt talked about Victoria Nuland's recent statements about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bombing and government ordered censorship in Brazil. Wyatt discussed the media coverage of the special military operation in Ukraine and the revision of world history. In the second hour, Lee spoke with Jim Hoft about Donald Trump's inability to apologize, GOP led committees, and the FBI protection of Hunter Biden. Jim spoke about the classified documents found on Hunter Biden's laptop and the media propaganda on Hunter Biden's laptop. Jim commented on Donald Trump's recent 2024 election videos and the Trump administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.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.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/russian-fm-lavrov-and-egyptian-counterpart-shoukry-hold-joint-press-conference-in-moscow-1106846451.html

Russian FM Lavrov and Egyptian Counterpart Shoukry Hold Joint Press Conference in Moscow

Russian FM Lavrov and Egyptian Counterpart Shoukry Hold Joint Press Conference in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry hold a joint press conference following bilateral talks in Moscow.

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Sputnik brings you a live broadcast as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry hold a joint press conference after talks in Moscow on Tuesday, 31 January.The ministers are expected to have discussed a broad range of issues both local and international.The previous meeting between Lavrov and Shoukry took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2022, when they discussed the implementation of the grain deal. The Egyptian foreign minister has previously visited Russia in October 2021.In July 2022, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that most of the ships carrying Ukrainian grain did not make it to the world's poorest countries and ended up in Europe.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!

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Russian FM Lavrov and Egyptian Counterpart Shoukry Hold Joint Press Conference in Moscow Russian FM Lavrov and Egyptian Counterpart Shoukry Hold Joint Press Conference in Moscow 2023-01-31T11:20+0000 true PT37M01S

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/supply-of-leopards-to-kiev-spanish-govt-humbly-follows-washingtons--natos-orders-1106850100.html

Supply of Leopards to Kiev: Spanish Govt Humbly Follows Washington's & NATO's Orders

Supply of Leopards to Kiev: Spanish Govt Humbly Follows Washington's & NATO's Orders

In mid-2022, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said she would not send Leopard tanks to Ukraine because they were in "absolutely deplorable condition."

2023-01-31T10:28+0000

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2023-01-31T10:28+0000

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"If NATO orders to send tanks, the Sanchez government cannot refuse," commented Juan Antonio Aguilar, director of Geoestrategia.es, on the recent announcement by the Spanish Defense Ministry to send Leopard tanks to Kiev. However, he gave three reasons as to why these vehicles would be useless. Juan Antonio Aguilar explained that the poor condition of the tanks was not an excuse to not send them to Kiev. On the contrary, Spain tried to comply with all NATO requests.According to the expert, the Leopard A4 tanks stationed in Zaragoza have not been moved in more than 15 years, and it would take a lot of work and money to get them up and running again. Assessing the current situation, the expert identified three main problems that the Spanish government may face.First of all, he noted, there is the training of the crew, which takes about 22 months, but Spain plans to do it in four to six weeks. It turns out that poorly trained Ukrainian troops will operate a sophisticated weapons system in the most dangerous spot in the world, the expert said.The second problem is logistics. One hour in a combat zone is equivalent to three hours of maintenance on such tanks. Ukrainian soldiers also need highly specialized maintenance teams and training to produce quality mechanics, so the analyst doubts this can happen.Third, the operational environment is another challenge for Kiev. Tanks cannot operate alone. They must coordinate with other types of forces, such as air defenses, artillery, drones, or attack helicopters. In addition, the terrain through which they advance must be occupied by infantry in mechanized formations, he explained, calling such tank deployments a "monstrous operation" if these conditions are not met.At the same time, Aguilar noted that while some Western tanks have advantages over Russian tanks, it also works the other way around. For example, Russian tank crews require three tankers, while Western tanks require four. The Russian T-90 tank has a 125mm main gun, the Leopard has a 120mm one, and the Russian tank also has a range of fire advantage of 4,000 meters to the Leopard's 3,500 meters, the analyst calculated."It also has better mobility, greater autonomy and ability to take cover, a lower profile for anti-tank weapons, and another very important aspect: it is much cheaper to produce," he said.Spanish Leopard 2 A4 VS German Leopard 2 A6Comparing the two types of Leopard tanks, the expert pointed out that the tanks Germany is sending to Ukraine are at least 15 years newer than the Spanish ones, so their technological gap could be very large. The crews of these types of tanks are not interchangeable, which aggravates the problem rather than facilitates combat operations.Therefore, the analyst concluded that sending 150 Leopard tanks to Kiev would not give the Ukrainian army any advantage and would not change the course of Russia's special military operation.Russia has repeatedly warned that supplying arms to the Kiev regime will only increase tensions in Eastern Europe and exacerbate the conflict in Ukraine. However, the United States and its EU allies have launched a sanctions campaign against Moscow to supposedly weaken its economy and prevent Russia from funding its army.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/four-reasons-leopard-2s--m1-abrams-will-bite-the-dust-in-ukraine-1106772754.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/berlins-decision-to-send-leopard-2s-to-ukraine-historically-wrong-german-mp-says-1106729958.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/tanzania-reportedly-warns-foreign-envoys-against-issuing-alarming-statements-1106860433.html

Tanzania Reportedly Warns Foreign Envoys Against Issuing 'Alarming Statements'

Tanzania Reportedly Warns Foreign Envoys Against Issuing 'Alarming Statements'

Foreign diplomatic missions should avoid issuing "alarming statements" concerning security in Tanzania, the country's Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax reportedly said.

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Foreign diplomatic missions should avoid issuing "alarming statements" concerning security in Tanzania, the country's Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax reportedly said. The statement was made at a meeting in the capital Dodoma, organized specifically to warn the heads of the missions on the matter.The US mission's earlier claim that high-traffic areas frequented by Westerners "continue to be attractive targets to terrorists planning to conduct attacks" was followed by an alert made by the Dutch airline KLM. The latter warned its customers that there could be possible disruptions to its Kenya and Tanzania flights, attributed to "civil unrest."Responding to KLM's statement, Kenyan Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen deemed it "unfounded, false, insensitive and misleading information that paints Kenya in bad light," noting that the government was "shocked" by the airline's warning.In his turn, Tanzanias Minister for Works and Transport Makame Mbarawa said that KLM's statement "has caused unnecessary fear and panic to the general public and aviation industry at large."

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/tehran-warns-any-us-military-action-against-iran-will-be-declaration-of-war-1106848520.html

Tehran Warns Any US Military Action Against Iran Will Be Declaration of War

Tehran Warns Any US Military Action Against Iran Will Be Declaration of War

The Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN warned on Tuesday, after the recent drone attack in the province of Isfahan, allegedly carried out by Israel, that Tehran would consider any military action by the US against Iran as a declaration of war

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"In Iran's perspective, the use of the military option at any level means U.S. entry into the war. For now Iran considers such a possibility to be weak," the mission told US news magazine.Tehran also said that if the US "miscalculates and starts a war," then Washington would be responsible for the consequences of such a conflict "for the region and the world," the news outlet reported. In such a case, Iran will be capable of ensuring its own security and defending the country's interests, the magazine cited the mission as saying. Washington has so far denied any involvement in the recent attack on Iran, the media outlet reported. On Saturday night, an explosion occurred in Isfahan's northern neighborhood, at one of the military enterprises of the Iranian Defense Ministry, media reported. Mini-drones reportedly attacked an ammunition depot. No casualties were registered. The same night, an explosion and a subsequent fire occurred at an industrial oil production plant in the city of Azarshahr in northwestern Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that Israel was behind the drone attack. Similar assumptions were voiced by an Iranian official cited by the Al Jazeera broadcaster.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/three-years-on-from-brexit-what-has-changed-in-the-uk-1106849995.html

Three Years on From Brexit, What Has Changed in the UK?

Three Years on From Brexit, What Has Changed in the UK?

Today marks the third anniversary of the Britain's formal departure from the European Union. But how much has the UK changed since leaving the Brussels bloc, and has it yet succeeded in forging its own path?

2023-01-31T15:25+0000

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Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) at the end of January 2020 was the culmination of a fierce political battle that had been waging since before it joined the bloc in 1993.The 2016 referendum, in which 17.3 million Britons voted to leave the increasingly super-state-like bloc, was bitterly contested. Remain campaigners almost immediately claimed dishonesty on the party of the Leave campaign and even nefarious 'Russian meddling'.After pro-Brexit Boris Johnson became prime minister in July 2019, Europhiles within the ruling Conservative Party united with the opposition in a bid to derail the process even as talks on a post-withdrawal agreement entered their final leg.But how much has Britain changed since then? Famous top-hatted Remain protester Steve Bray is still bray-ing outside the Houses of Parliament, and Nigel 'Mr Brexit' Farage is still a major media figure with his own show on GB News  a channel set up to appeal to Brexiteers.Conservative MP John Redwood, one of the leading voices for Brexit, wrote last week that there had already been "wins", but "the government needs to do more to exercise the Brexit freedoms we have gained."Redwood argued that the "wild pessimism" of the Remain camp was proven unfounded, pointing to the scores of bilateral commerce deals swiftly struck with non-EU nations by then-trade minister Liz Truss and the continued growth in exports to the rest of the world.Like Johnson, Redwood pointed to the rapid roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the UK from December 2020, leaving the effort organised centrally by the European Commission in the dust and prompting commission President Ursula von der Leyen to embark on the ill-fated 'vaccine war'. Redwood also pointed to the AUKUS military pact with the US and Australia  which saw France jilted out of a submarine deal with Canberra  and argued the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing group that also includes Canada and New Zealand had been strengthened. Military TiesThe UK remained a member of military alliance NATO, long considered synonymous with the EU, when it left the bloc. If anything, London has drawn closer to Brussels since the launch of Russia's military operation in Ukraine as the west imposed sanctions on Moscow while eagerly arming Kiev.Ironically, it was Johnson who played a leading role in forging 'European unity' on economic warfare and military aid, far more than Joe 'I'm Irish' Biden who opposed Brexit. BoJo alternately schmoozed EU leaders then turned on the emotional blackmail on his frequent trips to Kiev, claiming to have seen evidence of war crimes.Johnson caused a minor diplomatic spat after leaving office when he revealed that the governments of France, Germany and Italy had initially resisted the sanctions regime for "sound economic reasons". But that has done nothing to dent the cheek-by-jowl relationship between the UK and EU, whose economies are now firmly lashed together and sinking as one.No Cause for Celebration?Mark Garnett, a politics professor at Lancaster University, took a more negative view, claiming that "supporters of Brexit are finding it difficult to identify any reasons for celebration."He dismissed Redwood's arguments about the COVID-19 vaccines roll-out and downplayed the significance of global trade, insisting that "the benefits of these agreements have been minimal."The academic pointed to a new poll that found a majority believed leaving the EU was a mistake  but conceded that "there is no great public appetite for re-joining the EU."That left the leaders of the two big parties, the Tories and Labour, with "the task of persuading the people that, at some point in the future, the supposed opportunities opened up by Brexit could still lead to greater national prosperity."Protocols and BordersWhat has certainly not changed is the row over Ireland's place in post-Brexit relations between the UK and EU. The republic of Ireland, still a member of the Brussels bloc, shares a land border with the British exclave in Northern Ireland.While most commerce between the two countries  and onwards to the continent  goes by sea through the port of Dublin, Brussels claimed it was worried Northern Ireland could become a 'back door' for British goods to enter unregulated. At the same time, Dublin insisted that any customs checks on the country roads that cross the border would be a breach of the 1999 Belfast Agreement that ended three decades of sectarian terrorism. The compromise was the Northern Ireland Protocol tacked onto the UK-EU withdrawal agreement. That kept the 'six counties' within the EU's common market along with the republic, but erected a customs barrier between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain.The result has been an increase in red tape for businesses and an effective ban on the import of certain goods, such as British sausages and potted plants, prompting protests and outbreaks of unrest in unionist communities. Downing Street has mooted invoking article 16 of the protocol to bring in emergency measures in a bid to bring a an adamant Brussels back to the negotiating table.Irish academic Dr Roslyn Fuller, director of the non-profit think tank Solonian Democracy Institute, told Sputnik that after Britain, Ireland had been most affected by Brexit.Fuller believes Brexit appealed to British voters who were "seeking a return to politics that worked for the average person and improved the standard of living." She pointed out that Both Johnson and former Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn both campaigned on platforms of popular power "with great success." But with both Corbyn and Johnson since brought down by media campaigns against them, power has "returned to a rather elitist candidate Rishi Sunak.""I would have loved to see Brexit followed by a renewed national politics in the UK that improved pay for the average worker, regulated foreign investment in finance and real estate and re-nationalized some basic infrastructure around transportation and energy," Fuller said. "However, I also didn't believe that would automatically happen as a result of Brexit. That would require a sustained effort."Sweet OblivionBy contrast, Alistair Jones, associate professor of politics at De Montfort University in the UK, thinks most Britons are "oblivious of this date."Jones argued that little has really changed. He said the UK was now in the same boat as the US, Russia, China, Australia and New Zealand when it came to trading with the EU, by having to prove its goods conform to the bloc's standards.He held up a report by think-tank the Institute for Government  which is independent of the government  that the British economy had contracted by four per cent more than could solely be blamed on the pandemic. Jones also singled out the British dairy industry, saying it had suffered from attempts to diversify its markets for cheese outside the EU.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230101/life-outside-the-bloc-how-did-brexit-take-place-1105977616.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221123/johnson-admits-sound-economic-reasons-for-wanting-ukraine-to-surrender-1104575858.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230124/prospects-of-brexit-deals-renegotiation-slim---report---1106638764.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/twitter-files-exposes-scam-ilton-68-hoax-rand-report-on-ukraine-german-political-discord-1106839860.html

Twitter Files Exposes "Scam-ilton" 68 Hoax; Rand Report on Ukraine; German Political Discord

Twitter Files Exposes "Scam-ilton" 68 Hoax; Rand Report on Ukraine; German Political Discord

A Twitter files release has revealed that a think tank called "The Alliance for Securing Democracy" operated a scam called "The Hamilton 68 Dashboard" that... 31.01.2023, Sputnik International

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Twitter Files Exposes "Scam-ilton" 68 Hoax; Rand Report on Ukraine; German Political Discord A Twitter files release has revealed that a think tank called "The Alliance for Securing Democracy" operated a scam called "The Hamilton 68 Dashboard" that purported to track Russian online influence operations.

John Kiriakou, former CIA Officer and Co-Host of "Political Misfits" on Radio Sputnik, joins us to discuss Russia gate. A Twitter files release has revealed that a think tank called "The Alliance for Securing Democracy" operated a scam called "The Hamilton 68 Dashboard" that purported to track Russian online influence operations.Regis Tremblay, an American citizen living in Crimea, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking a hospital. Also, a Rand study argues that a protracted war in Ukraine will hurt US interests and US public opinion is shifting away from US intervention in Ukraine.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss foreign policy. Mini-drones attacked an amunition depot in the Iranian province of Isfahan; the attack was allegedly carried out by Israel. Also, a US Air Force general predicts war with China before 2025.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Germany. Another retired German military expert has come out against the Olaf Scholz government's policy on Ukraine. Also, Ukraine is asking for German submarines and the German foreign minister may be in hot water.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel is again attacking its neighbors. Also, the Lebanon port blast is in the news again and the Israeli Prime Minister vows harsher policies against Palestinian civilians.Darryl Jones, attorney and voting rights activist, joins us to discuss domestic policy. The killing of a Black Memphis man has sparked a dialogue on systemic racism in America. Also, Representative Ilhan Omar argues that she is facing prejudicial treatment in Congress because she is a Muslim.Miko Peled, author, and activist, joins us to discuss Israel. Israel's challenge to Al-Aqsa ownership will threaten world peace. Also, a new report challenges that major corporations are complicit in Israel's water apartheid.Caleb Maupin, journalist, and political analyst, joins us to discuss China. The accusations against China for censorship are made by the same people who try to use media treachery as a weapon against the Asian powerhouse. Also, China and Latin America strengthen their ties.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.

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Staff members work at a workshop of an auto manufacturing enterprise in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



With long queues outside restaurants, crowded subway cars, and active machines in factories and on building sites, the Chinese economy is shaking off its COVID shadow and has gotten off to a good start in 2023.

Robust consumption

During the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, which ended last Friday, cinemas, restaurants, and tourist attractions were swamped with people eager to meet their pent-up consumption desires.

Cinemas nationwide sold 129 million tickets, generating 6.76 billion yuan (nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the period, up 11.89 percent year on year. Some 308 million domestic trips were made, with tourism revenues hitting a total of 375.8 billion yuan, up 30 percent.

Better-than-expected holiday spending improved confidence in a services consumption recovery, CITIC Securities said in a report, noting that the catering sector is about to see a stable and sustainable rebound and that tourism will strengthen gradually during peak seasons.

Expanding consumption has become a policy priority.

A State Council meeting on Saturday stressed the need for timely measures to promote an early recovery of consumption as the main economic driving force. Local governments have since January been rolling out favorable policies to improve consumer sentiment.

Shanghai, a mega city in east China, on Sunday unveiled an action plan including purchase tax exemptions for new-energy vehicles and vouchers for sectors such as cultural tourism and catering. Hainan, an island province in south China, has actively promoted duty-free shopping, reporting 5.19 billion yuan in sales from Jan. 1 to 28.

A consumption rebound is a key theme for 2023, UBS economist Wang Tao said, predicting that full-year nominal retail sales will grow 9 percent year on year.

Factories in full swing

Post-holiday production is also picking up across the country, with factories in full swing.

On Saturday, the first business day after the Spring Festival holiday, construction on 136 key projects broke ground in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

These projects, covering everything from advanced manufacturing to modern services, are expected to have an annual output of over 150 billion yuan and create more than 110,000 jobs.

In the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, more than 60 rotary drilling rigs were in simultaneous operation at a construction site for Changan Auto's new factory in January. "With an investment of 6.3 billion yuan, the project will have an annual capacity of 280,000 new energy vehicles," according to project director Wu Kezhi.

Chongqing is planning to launch 1,123 major projects this year, with total investment up 18.5 percent from a year earlier.

The same vigor can be seen nationwide, as local authorities are making solid efforts to resume production, bringing fresh and sustainable momentum to the economy.

Major economic powerhouses -- Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong and Sichuan provinces -- have set their 2023 growth targets at above 5 percent. New measures for this year have been unveiled in local government work reports, and they are expected to boost the high-quality growth of China's economy.

Brightened outlook

The reemerging hustle and bustle across the country has painted an encouraging picture of China's economy after a difficult 2022.

Saturday's State Council meeting urged efforts to promote a steady economic rebound for the beginning of the year.

The meeting underscored the need to facilitate a speedy resumption of business and production after the holiday. Timely measures will be taken to promote an early recovery, advance opening-up in a steadfast manner, and stabilize and upgrade foreign trade and investment.

Global investors and institutions have remained confident in the Chinese economy, and multiple investment banks have upwardly revised their forecasts for China's growth rate in 2023.

Liu Linan, head of China macro strategy at Deutsche Bank, has predicted that the Chinese economy will expand about 6 percent this year and that growth will become even more steady in 2024 as China emerges from the impacts of the three-year epidemic.

After returning to normalcy, and when financial risks tame and pro-growth reforms take effect, China's resilience will also strengthen in the medium-to-long term, Liu said, expressing optimism about the prospects of Chinese assets.

The country's economy has passed its most difficult moment and is expected to achieve an overall recovery and improve this year, with more market vitality unleashed and an accelerated rebound in activity, analysts have said.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/ukraines-bid-for-warplanes-appears-to-be-lacking-wings-1106845891.html

Ukraine's Bid for Warplanes Appears to Be Lacking Wings

Ukraine's Bid for Warplanes Appears to Be Lacking Wings

Shortly after the US, the UK, France and Germany signaled readiness to provide Kiev with their main battle tanks, Ukrainian authorities were quick to say that they now need scores of warplanes and long-range missiles from the West

2023-01-31T06:53+0000

2023-01-31T06:53+0000

2023-01-31T06:54+0000

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It seems as though Kievs hopes to get its hands on the US-made fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets from its western allies remain destined to go unfulfilled as some leaders have already ruled out such a possibility and others only pledged that the warplanes' deliveries might be on the cards.US President Joe Biden made it clear on Monday that Washington would not be sending the F-16s to Ukraine in its future military aid packages. His remarks came as he spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn, moments after he returned from an event in Baltimore, Maryland.Hours after Biden spoke to reporters, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explained that the reason for the refusal was that "there's a lot of capability that is being sent, and will be sent in the coming weeks and months" to Ukraine.Biden spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that by definition, nothing is excluded when it comes to Paris sending combat aircraft to Kiev, something that he said would depend on at least three factors.A UK newspaper previously reported that "the French government could be prepared to offer some of its older generation planes - likely Dassault Mirages - but Paris is aware of the difficulties in training both Ukrainian pilots and the 10 support staff needed for a jet.This came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed late last week that Berlin will not send its fighter jets to Kiev.The fact that weve only just made a decision [on sending tanks] and already the next debate [fighter jets] is firing up in Germany - that just seems frivolous and undermines peoples trust in government decisions, he added.Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has, meanwhile, told reporters that Warsaw would provide Kiev with its F-16 fighters only with NATO's blessing.Earlier this month, the UK and Germany announced that they would deliver an array of their main battle tanks - the Challenger 2 and the Leopard 2, respectively - to Ukraine. The US, in turn, plans to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Kiev also needs combat aircraft and long-range missiles to tackle Russian troops whose special military operation in Ukraine is under way.Moscow has repeatedly warned that the West's military aid to Ukraine will only prolong the Ukrainian conflict and that NATO countries are playing with fire by providing Kiev with weapons. Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that any cargo that contains arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230124/what-is-the-m1-abrams-main-battle-tank-biden-wants-to-send-to-ukraine-1106666570.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230123/what-is-the-leopard-2-tank-and-why-is-its-possible-delivery-to-kiev-so-explosively-contentious-1106621828.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/russia-rolls-out-combat-robot-to-detect-and-destroy-leopard-2-abrams-tanks-sent-to-ukraine-1106724932.html

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russian special military operation in ukraine, deliveries of western made battle tanks to kiev, kiev's request to get combat aircraft and long-range missiles from west
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/us-pressuring-turkey-to-impose-sanctions-against-russia-turkish-economist-says-1106848605.html

US Pressuring Turkey to Impose Sanctions Against Russia, Turkish Economist Says

US Pressuring Turkey to Impose Sanctions Against Russia, Turkish Economist Says

Washington is putting pressure on Ankara to impose sanctions against Russia, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still pursuing his own, independent policy towards Moscow

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"Our economy is based not on planned production, but on unplanned trade. In other words, there is an understanding of an economy based on trade rather than manufacturing. There is no plan anyway. The US is putting pressure on us, demanding an embargo against Russia, but there are no serious sanctions," Soral was quoted as saying by Turkish newspaper. The Turkish economist reportedly added that Erdogan was pursuing his own policy towards Russia, within the framework of which he established warm relations with Moscow. If a serious study of public opinion among the Turkish population is carried out, it will become clear that "anti-American and anti-Western sentiments are at their peak," the economist reportedly said. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2023, responding to calls for help from the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Western countries, including Canada, and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. Ankara has not joined Russia sanctions as they could hit, first of all, the Turkish economy, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said last year.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/west-begins-to-understand-that-us-provocation-lies-at-heart-of-ukrainian-conflict-moscow-1106853573.html

West Begins to Understand That US Provocation Lies at Heart of Ukrainian Conflict: Moscow

West Begins to Understand That US Provocation Lies at Heart of Ukrainian Conflict: Moscow

Western countries are gradually beginning to understand that the Ukraine crisis stems from Washington's provocative policy

2023-01-31T12:13+0000

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2023-01-31T12:13+0000

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"Additional enlightenment, an additional position is manifested here and there that, it turns out, the US provocation is at the heart of the entire Ukraine situation. And it is not us who is getting this insight as we did understand everything a long time ago and have been trying to tell everyone about it for many years. This awareness comes to the West, comes to experts, political scientists and journalists, who, someone more timidly, someone more insistently say that [US] provocativeness is obvious and it has led to such consequences," Zakharova said on the air of Russian online show Solovyev Live. The spokeswoman added that those states that did not intend to comply with the Minsk agreements from the very beginning should be held accountable for that. In 2014, the Minsk Agreements were signed by Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe with mediation of France and Germany to find a political resolution to the military conflict in eastern Ukraine. The deal failed and Minsk II, a revised version, was signed the following year. Moscow repeatedly stated that Kiev was not fulfilling the deal, for example not granting self-government to the Russian-speaking breakaway territories in Donbass. In February 2022, Russia recognized independence of the republics in Donbass and began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from them. The US and its allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia while also increasing their military support for Ukraine. The breakaway republics of Ukraine were incorporated into Russia last fall after referendums. In December 2022, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German newspaper that the 2014 Minsk agreement was an "attempt to give Ukraine extra time" before a wide-scale military conflict with Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230130/biden-reveals-us-will-not-provide-ukraine-with-f-16-fighter-jets-1106837708.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/whats-new-in-us-latest-rhetoric-on-china-1106852459.html

Whats New in US Latest Rhetoric on China?

Whats New in US Latest Rhetoric on China?

Engagement between US and China actually came to a standstill following the August 2022 visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan despite protests by Beijing.

2023-01-31T13:59+0000

2023-01-31T13:59+0000

2023-01-31T13:59+0000

china

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tensions

taiwan

escalation

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nancy pelosi

sputnik explains

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Recent days have seen US officials express fresh unfriendly rhetoric (sometimes stern) toward China, in a sign of escalation of political and economic tensions between the two countries. Lets take a closer look at what exactly they said.US Wins Japan, Netherlands' Support to Hit China's Chip IndustryA US media outlet has cited unnamed sources as saying that Washington has managed to convince Tokyo and Amsterdam to join the United States in expanding a ban on exports of chip-making technology to China.The sources claimed that several key companies in Japan and the Netherlands, as part of the agreement, will implement some US export control measures the White House adopted last fall. The insiders argued that the deal would restrict China's access to semiconductor technology from Dutch firm ASML and Japanese firms Nikon Corp and Tokyo Electron Ltd. ASML is the worlds only producer of machines that use extreme ultraviolet lithography to make advanced semiconductor chips.White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby for his part told reporters that Dutch and Japanese officials met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington to discuss the issue.He added that the Biden administration is grateful that they were able to come to DC and to have these talks. Kirby declined to say whether there was a deal on tighter export controls on semiconductor technology.In October 2022, Washington expanded controls on the export of US semiconductor technology going to China to restrict Beijing's ability to make certain high-end microchips that the White House claims are used by Beijing in military applications, allegations that Chinese authorities have repeatedly rejected. Beijing took the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO), filing a lawsuit challenging the US export controls. US Exports to Huawei HaltedIn a separate development, a UK newspaper reported that Washington had stopped issuing licenses to US companies to export to Huawei, as the US administration is getting closer to imposing a total ban on American technology sale to the Chinese telecom giant.The newspaper claimed that the decision comes as Washington moves towards a total ban on the sale of US technology to the Chinese telecom equipment giant.Washingtons move comes amid stabilization of Huaweis operations in the face of the US clampdown on the company. The firms rotating chair Eric Xu said in December that 2023 would be the first year in which Huawei would return to business as usual. According to the company, its 2022 revenues were flat at $94bn after a significant decline in 2021.Washington's ongoing crackdown on Huawei kicked off back in May 2019, when the US Department of Commerce banned Internet providers from using the company's products and American tech firms from selling technologies to the Chinese telecom titan without obtaining a special license first.The White House argues that the company is collaborating with the Chinese government to allow it to spy on those who use the tech firms equipment, allegations that have been rejected by both Beijing and Huawei. In 2020, the US barred manufacturers from using American technology to produce chips for Huawei, in a move that came amid the Trump administration's efforts to pressure foreign countries not to purchase Huawei's 5G equipment.'Very High' Odds of US War With China?Michael McCaul, the new chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives, told an American media outlet that the odds of an armed conflict between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan are very high after a US general suggested in a leaked memo that such a conflict would purportedly happen in the next few years.He claimed that if China fails to take control of Taiwan without bloodshed, then they are going to look at a military invasion in my judgment. We have to be prepared for this.The memo McCaul referred to was earlier issued by US Air Force Mobility Command chief General Mike Minihan and is titled February 2023 Orders in Preparation for the Next Fight. The document is addressed to US commanders and officers, outlining an operational game plan for the forces under Minihans command and other members of the US military in the coming months.The White House has not commented on the issue yet, while a Pentagon official said that Minihans comments were not representative of the departments view on China.The US wrapped up formal relations with Taiwan in 1979, as stipulated in the second communique and the US Congress-ratified Taiwan Relations Act that came into effect that year.Since then, the US has maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity of neither encouraging Taiwanese independence nor its reconciliation with Beijing. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the US continues to provide the island with arms to help Taipei to defend itself in case of any military event. This is vehemently opposed by Beijing, which sees Taiwan as an integral part of China.The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August 2022. China condemned the trip, dubbing it a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island in retaliation.Earlier last year, the White House had to reiterate several times that the US strategic ambiguity policy had not changed following President Joe Bidens apparent hints that there would be a military response from Washington if Beijing attempts to use force against Taiwan.'Most Consequential Geopolitical Challenge'US officials latest statements on China come as Beijing was described as Americas top threat in Washingtons new National Defense Strategy that was unveiled in October 2022.National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the time that the strategy recognizes that the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] presents Americas most consequential geopolitical challenge.On the other hand, the strategy notes that It is possible for the United States and the PRC to coexist peacefully, and share in and contribute to human progress together.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220901/china-chip-restrictions-will-backfire-cause-severe-economic-pain-for-us-itself-observers-say-1100282954.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221203/us-judge-dismisses-indictment-against-huawei-cfo-meng-1104989881.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230110/think-tank-simulation-predicts-taiwan-could-defeat-china-with-us-japan-aid-in-invasion-scenario-1106184632.html

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us-china relations, us crackdown on huawei, escalation of tensions between beijing and washington, us-chinese tensions over taiwan, a us general's prediction of washington's war with beijing, nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/who-carried-out-the-drone-strikes-in-iran-1106837267.html

Who Carried Out the Drone Strikes in Iran?

Who Carried Out the Drone Strikes in Iran?

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas, Melik Abdul and Manila Chan discussed several international and domestic topics, including the drone... 31.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-31T04:22+0000

2023-01-31T04:22+0000

2023-02-03T08:22+0000

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Who carried out the drone strikes in Iran? On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas, Melik Abdul and Manila Chan discussed several international and domestic topics, including the drone strikes that were carried out in Iran over the weekend.

Guests:Mohamed Marandi - Professor of Orientalism at the University of TehranAngie Wong - Political Pundit and National Media Spokesperson for Veterans for America FirstShane Harris - President of the People's Association of Justice AdvocatesScott Ritter - Military AnalystIn the first hour, Fault Lines was joined by professor Mohamed Marandi to discuss the drone strikes on a munitions factory in the Iranian city of Isfahan over the weekend. In the first half of the second hour, Angie Wong joined the show to discuss the latest Twitter Files and the Hamilton 68 project that claims to track Russian and Chinese influence on social media.In the second half of the second hour, Fault Lines was joined by Shane Harris to discuss the latest from the city of Memphis, following the release of the video showing five police officers killing Tyre Nichols. In the last hour of the show, Fault Lines spoke to Scott Ritter about the latest from the Russian Special Military Operation and his analysis regarding the delivery of German and US-made tanks to Ukraine. 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.

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February is Career & Technical Education Month in Culpeper County Public Schools and across America.

CTE Month is a public awareness campaign celebrating the value of technical education and achievements of programs teaching practical work skills around the U.S. In Culpeper County, an entire public high school dedicated to career and technical education opened for the 2021-22 academic year.

CCPS CTE programs will highlight and celebrate its programs in February, according to a release from division spokesperson Laura Hoover.

National FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Week will be Feb. 13-17 and National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Week Feb. 19-26 at both high schools. The Marine Corps JROTC will take a trip to the Marine Corps Museum and ESquared classes will visit the PATH Foundation.

At Culpeper County High, Devils Depot school store will have giveaways, and Eastern View High School will host a ribbon cutting celebration for the opening of its school store, Storm Seller. Such school-based enterprises are a key component of career and technical education, Hoover said.

EVHS FFA will host a Valentines bouquet flower-arranging class 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 9 at CTEC. The Blaze Kitchen at CTEC will host a Valentines cooking class 5-9 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the school.

On the menu will be: plated caprese salad, crab (or sausage) stuffed shrimp, heart-shaped risotto with fresh asparagus, red velvet cupcake garnished with a chocolate-covered strawberry and red rose lemonade. Reserve a space for either at 540/423-6504. Donations appreciated.

Winona Pritts, business development coordinator with the Culpeper County Dept. of Economic Development, is helping to promote CTE Month. She worked with CPPS CTE Director Randi Richards-Lutz on a recent news release to get the word out about all the local opportunities.

Theres a clear link between career and technical education for young people and a communitys economic growth. Available for students as early as secondary school, Culpepers CTE classes continue to grow and evolve based on student interest, according to the release from Pritts.

During its January meeting, the Culpeper County School Board approved the resolution recognizing CTE Month, in part, stating, Career and Technical Education provides youth with a pathway to postsecondary education and workplace readiness and is the foundation of a strong, well-educated work force which fosters productivity in business and industry.

Agriculture, Virginias largest industry, continues to be one of the most in demand programs locally, the release stated. CCPS offers 10 related courses for high school students as well as greenhouses and an agri-science technology course is offered to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Many students participating in these classes attend Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, leading schools in agricultural science degree programs.

Culpeper Technical Education Center offers 13 hands-on programs in a state-of-the-art facility powered by solar. Classrooms were built for collaboration, with tactile instruction and authentic workplace experiences.

A passionate staff and partnerships with Culpeper businesses and Germanna Community College make the programs offered at CTEC unlike anything available elsewhere, the release from economic development dept. stated. Local companies engage students through classroom visits, field trips, internships, and apprenticeships.

Working with the public is an important skill CTE students have learned through school-based enterprises, like in the school stores. Culinary, automotive, and cosmetology enterprises allow students to work with the public by booking clients, practicing customer service skills, and keeping track of inventory, the release stated.

These soft skills not only assist in students employability, but future job performance and professionalism, according to the release.

Follow CTE Month events on Twitter on @CTE4CCPS and #28DaysofCTE.
An Alexander County Schools employee is charged with assaulting a student.

Statesville resident Teresa Ellison Campbell, 63, is charged with misdemeanor counts of child abuse and assault on a child younger than 12, according to a release from the Alexander County Sheriffs Office.

Alexander County Sheriff Chad Pennell said Campbell is accused of slapping a student. The assault occurred Thursday and was reported to authorities on Friday, according to statements from the sheriffs office and school system.

Campbell was fired from the school system, according to a statement on the school systems website.

She was listed in the school system staff directory as a teacher assistant at Ellendale Elementary Schools Exceptional Children program. Her name was removed from the staff directory some time Monday afternoon.

Alexander County Schools Public Information Officer Denita Dowell-Reavis declined to confirm Campbells job with the school, only referring to her as a classified employee. She said that category includes teacher assistants.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and Iredell County community leaders hope that plans to address addiction issues throughout the county can save both lives and dollars.

Leaders from all around the county met at the N.C. Cooperative Extension on Monday with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to discuss how they are attacking the opioid crisis, as well as plans on how they will use the funds secured in a settlement that the attorney general negotiated.

Whether striving for prevention from an early age or dealing with the issue once adults find themselves suffering from addiction, they hope funds received from a national opioid settlement can play a role in saving lives and money going forward for the county.

Stein was a lead negotiator in a $26 billion opioid agreement with the nations three major pharmaceutical distributors  Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen  and Johnson & Johnson in 2021. For Iredell County, that translates to $13,629,253 over an 18-year period; in 2022, that payment was $523,542.

Those funds go toward addressing the opioid crisis, which the county is doing in the form of youth substance misuse prevention, which Norma Rife said can lead to between an $8 to $36 return on investment by targeting younger people before they develop addictions.

You cant put a dollar value on the losses American families have suffered due to the addiction and overdose crisis. A life lost to overdose is not acceptable, Rife said. She is the director of public health development in Iredell County. On a more positive note, we are really excited to have the opportunity to use some of these opioid settlement funding dollars for youth prevention programming.

As they strive to prevent, they also spoke on the need to address issues as they occur as well. The addiction to opioids can begin with a prescribed medication, before becoming an addiction and leading to illegal activity. Whether addressing physical or mental health, the need was readily apparent to the elected leaders, health care providers, law enforcement and criminal justice representatives there.

If we can people overcome their addiction, we can dramatically reduce crime, Stein said during the question and answers portion of the opioid resource event. Making sure we can do everything we can to get health care can actually reduce the criminal justice expenses we all incur.

Leaders like Bert Connolly, both the head of the Iredell County Detention Center and a county commissioner, spoke about how he sees the effects at the county jail as people.

People that get on this track  weve got plenty of mechanisms out here to help these people. But it comes to a point where we have to ask, how much can we help these people? Connolly said. These people also need to grow up, get up in the morning, put their shoes on, go to work, get a job and be productive citizens. We cant continue the course we are on. We see it each and every day.

Weve got to face this thing with several prongs hitting it at the same time, and that includes law enforcement.

Capt. Richard Adams with the detention center said part of the issue with finding help for inmates after they leave is that many treatment facilities dont want to deal with those facing pending criminal charges.

The community could get stronger in recognizing that people who do have problems, theyre going to have criminal charges associated as well. We have to combat everything, Adams said.

Adams said the detention center will use funds distributed to it to have a liaison from Daymark Recovery Services and a part-time position for peer support.

Blair Richey, director of the countys emergency medical services, said the funds they received will allow them to expand many of the services they already offer, as well as increased training.

Whichever one of the prongs end up involved, Rife and others spoke to the need to make sure departments and organizations were filling in gaps and not overlapping services for the public. Whether it be emergency medical services providing naloxone to an overdosing victim, addiction support groups working with individuals, or law enforcement dealing with the secondary and tertiary effects of addiction, the hope is the combined effort can drive addiction rates down.

You have different agencies with different roles, and serve different individuals. Some of us do touch the same individuals, but you have specialties, entities with special services, and special programs, Rife said. Most of us know where to send an individual for what they need in order to help that person have their optimal life.

There were 35 deaths in Iredell County attributed to overdoses from opioids in 2021, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Tourists from China are welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City, the Philippines, Jan. 24, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Chinese tourists have shown a strong enthusiasm for traveling abroad during this year's Spring Festival break, following China's quarantine-free cross-border travel since Jan 8 after nearly three years, with Southeast Asia being the big winner during the holiday.

The weeklong Spring Festival served as the first long holiday after the government optimized COVID-19 control measures. The most popular overseas destinations for Chinese tourists include Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Manila in the Philippines and Bali in Indonesia, according to Trip.com, China's largest online travel agency.

During Spring Festival, the volume of outbound travel orders surged 640 percent year-on-year. The number of orders for overseas hotels and international flights booked by Chinese mainland tourists both increased by more than four times the figure from the last Spring Festival, Trip.com found.

"The outbound travel market is expected to see a more apparent boom during the May Day holiday with the gradual increase of international flights and improved travel convenience. This year's travel market is set to see a remarkable recovery," said Shen Jiani, a senior researcher at Trip.com.

Meanwhile, starting Feb 6, China will resume outbound group tours to 20 selected countries, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Those countries are Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba and Argentina.

After announcing the notice in late January, the number of searches for overseas group tours surged on various online travel platforms. The search for group tours to Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia was the highest on Trip.com.

"With the notice, we have rapidly launched hundreds of overseas group tour products, including private small group tours, semi-self-service group tours and joining local group tours in various destinations," said Jiang Wen, CEO of group tours at Trip.com.

The Tourism Council of Thailand said the announcement is good news for the local tourism market of Thailand and the change is faster than expected. The trend also fits with the early marketing plans of travel agencies.

Budget carrier Thai AirAsia said between late January and March, it will gradually resume direct flights that connect Thailand with eight Chinese cities across the country. The airline is preparing its pilots and cabin crew for the return of Chinese tourists, its largest customer group previously.

Currently, Thai Lion Flying Charter is operating chartered flights between Bangkok and Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. In February, the carrier plans to launch flights that connect Bangkok with Nanjing, Jiangsu province and Zhengzhou, Henan province.

In addition, Tongcheng Travel, a Suzhou-based online travel agency, found that during Spring Festival, the most popular outbound routes include flights from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Guangzhou to Bangkok; Shanghai to Bangkok; and Xiamen, Fujian province, to Bangkok.

Visa inquiries have also increased, with the most inquiries for travel to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. During Spring Festival, the most popular outbound hotels booked by Chinese mainland travelers include hotels in Macao, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand, and Dubai, according to Tongcheng Travel.

"The domestic outbound tourism market will enter a recovery cycle, and the recovery pace of different destinations varies. Chinese tourists will first consider destinations that are more open and friendly. Cities with warm weather in Southeast Asia and South Asia have become preferred choices for Chinese tourists during the winter season," said Cheng Chaogong, a senior researcher with the research institute of Tongcheng Travel.

Tuniu Corp, a Nanjing-based online travel agency, has also seen growing volumes in international flights and hotel room bookings. Hong Kong, Macao, Maldives, Phuket of Thailand, and Bali of Indonesia were among the most popular destinations on the platform.
Sherwin Ferguson likes national parks.

The 63-year-old saw a herd of 300 bison on a recent trip to Yellowstone and a moose on a river bank at Grand Teton.

And Fergusons property outside Eatonville, Mountain Lodge Farm, looks at Mount Rainier. They have goats and sheep, and they name the cheeses they sell at their dairy after places in the national park.

The clean air, trees, animals, and the peace and quiet are part of the draw, she said.

Ferguson is worried how plans for a new major airport in Western Washington could impact that.

Certainly jet fuel and sound and pollution and all of that is absolutely going to affect a national park, she said.

As Seattle-Tacoma International Airport approaches capacity, the state is looking at sites for a new airport in Western Washington to handle the growing population. Two of the three greenfield sites on the short list are close to the park.

A spokesperson for Mount Rainier National Park declined The News Tribunes request for an interview with someone from the park about what impact a new commercial airport in the shadow of Mount Rainier might have on the park and its visitors in the decades to come.

But a letter Mount Rainier National Park superintendent Greg Dudgeon sent to the commission charged with recommending a location for the new airport outlined concerns the National Park Service has with the plan.

Increased aviation near the park may adversely impact wilderness values, viewsheds, scenic values, air quality, park soundscapes and the opportunity for visitors to experience natural sounds and solitude in an unimpaired condition, Dudgeon wrote. Noise and air pollution may occur at considerable distances from an airport, impacting park values and resources. Airport lighting and other aspects of airport operations may be visible at park viewpoints, impacting viewsheds and night sky resources.

He sent the letter, dated Dec. 15, to the chair of the state Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission, Warren Hendrickson.

Asked if the commission has had discussions with park leaders, Hendrickson mentioned the letter and shared a copy with The News Tribune.

The News Tribune also has pending records requests for any communication between the commission, its staff and the park.

Airport development, related public infrastructure, and traffic may impact park visitation and travel patterns from the highly populated Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia corridor via SR-7 or SR-161, the superintendents letter said. We are also concerned about impacts to wildlife, threatened and endangered species and their habitats, water resources, and wilderness values in our connected watersheds and landscapes.

The commission has narrowed potential greenfield sites down to three: one south of Graham, one east of Roy, and another near Olympia. The commission is supposed to make a final recommendation to the Legislature by mid-June. State lawmakers will make a final decision, though some have said in recent weeks that they might ask the commission to restart the search process.

Dudgeons letter noted that the park is 17 miles and 23 miles from the proposed Pierce County sites, and 40 miles from the one in Thurston County.

It is unclear whether these issues have been considered before determining the sites to evaluate further for airport development, Dudgeon wrote. We request that you conduct robust environmental reviews that include evaluating and mitigating the specific concerns outlined here, and that the National Park Service be included as a stakeholder during these reviews.

Theyre going to go somewhere else

Ferguson worries that the development necessary for a new airport would turn the area into another SeaTac.

Its going to become ugly urban sprawl, she said. They are basically thinking of desecrating the highway, this scenic highway to Mount Rainier. That is essentially where theyre looking.

Its not clear what a new airport would mean for traffic to the park.

Just because they build an airport closer to the park doesnt mean the park would be able to accommodate what might come its way, she said.

Jeremy Foust, 45, has had a goat farm for 13 years, Left Foot Farm, that offers Airbnb rentals near Eatonville. Visitors stay, enjoy the goats and play in the national park.

He said he thinks people visit the area to get away from an urban setting.

With planes overhead and the freeway noise he expects would come with an airport, he said: Who the heck wants to experience that? Theyre going to go somewhere else.

Its already tough to run a business in the gateway communities near the Nisqually entrance to the park, he said, in places such as Elbe, Ashford and Eatonville.

Its very difficult, he said. Just historically there hasnt been a lot of year-round business.

Asked if he thinks having an airport closer to the park would mean more visitors, he said hes not convinced. SeaTac isnt that far from the park, he argued, and he said he could see the infrastructure that comes with an airport making the drive to the park more difficult.

I dont think building in a green space near the national park is the best way forward, he said. The park would have to reevaluate its budget and its thought process for how theyre going to deal with visitors, lack of or more so, either one, if an airport is nearby, this close.

He said he expects those conversations are happening. The park and the federal government move at a very slow pace, he said, but the park plans for everything.

Foust acknowledged that the commission has a tough job to do in finding a site for a major airport.

We have to plan ahead, I get that, he said. I dont know what the solution is.
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Visualization of the similarity matrix P of the experimented data sets using Matlab spy function, where the rows and columns are sorted by the manual cluster labels. Blue dots show the 1s in the matrix and white dots show the 0s. Due to limited resolution, the figures shows a uniform subsample 10% data points. Credit: Statistics and Computing (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s11222-022-10186-z

A new AI algorithm developed by researchers at the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence is aimed at visualizing datasets as clearly as possible. The project demonstrated that the solution chosen independently by the algorithm was often very close to that most commonly favored by humans.

The human brain has an astounding ability to observe traits even from extremely large quantities of visual information. This ability is used, for example, in the study of large data masses whose content must be compacted into a form understandable to human intelligence. This problem of dimensional reduction is central to visual analytics.

At the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI), researchers affiliated with Aalto University and the University of Helsinki tested the functionality of the most well-known methods of visual analytics, finding that none worked when the amount of data grew significantly. For example, the t-SNE, LargeViz and UMAP methods were no longer able to distinguish extremely strong signals of observational groupings in the data when the number of observations was in the hundreds of thousands. The research is published in the journal Statistics and Computing.

Higgs boson data inspired creation of new algorithm

The dataset for experiments related to the discovery of the Higgs boson contains more than 11 million feature vectors, for instance.

"The visualizations drawn from them resembled a tangle of yarn, revealing none of the notable characteristics of particle behavior included in the data," says Professor of Statistics and Probability Jukka Corander from the University of Helsinki.

"This finding provided the impetus to develop a new method that utilizes graphical acceleration similarly to modern AI methods for neural network computing."

The AI algorithm designed by the researchers is aimed at visualization, so that data clusters and other macroscopic features, easily observed by and understandable to humans, are as distinct as possible.

In the project, several volunteers tested the technique. It turned out that the solution independently chosen by the algorithm was often very close to the solution most typically favored by humans; in this situation, human intelligence clearly distinguishes, according to personal notions, between clusters of data composed of similar observations. When applying the technique to the Higgs boson data, their most important physical characteristics were clearly highlighted.

"This is a veritable quantum leap in the field of visual analytics. Besides being several orders of magnitude faster than previous methods, our technique also is much more reliable in connection with challenging applications," says Corander.

Under the direction of Corander's group, a separate interface was also designed for utilizing the technique as efficiently as possible in genomics applications. This way, users can even analyze their datasets interactively by uploading files directly into the web browser. Employing global bacterial and SARS-CoV-2 datasets, this further study illustrated how the new tool can be used to quickly examine as many as millions of genomes and identify relevant characteristics.

The study was a collaboration between Professor Sami Kaski, Director of FCAI, and Jukka Corander's group. Professor Zhirong Yang from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology served as the project lead. Professor Yang has a doctoral degree from Aalto University, and has subsequently worked as a researcher at both Aalto University and the University of Helsinki in Professor Corander's group.

More information: Zhirong Yang et al, Stochastic cluster embedding, Statistics and Computing (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s11222-022-10186-z
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Sharing platforms have become a regular part of our lives for travel and daily needs, especially for young people. In 2018, Airbnb reported that the majority of its users were millennials. And with the ongoing cost of living crisis, more people may turn to these platforms as ways to save on their travel, or to make extra money by sharing their property.

Companies such as Airbnb and Turo (a car-sharing platform) are often more affordable and flexible than traditional hotels or car hire services. But using them can also expose you to liability risks if something goes awry. It might be tempting to assume that you are given the same rights as a consumer, but this is not the case.

When you hire a car through a traditional rental company, you enter a contract as a consumer and are protected under the UK's Consumer Rights Act 2015. This guarantees you receive a safe and fit-for-purpose product or service, and certain rights to refunds.

But on sharing platforms, you are directly contracting with another consumer to provide and consume goods and services between yourselves. The sharing company simply provides an online platform to facilitate your contract. Its obligations to you are limited to providing that servicemaking its website available and processing your data (according to its privacy policy and GDPR rules).

Your rights and obligations on these platforms are therefore not covered by consumer protection regulations. Neither party is covered by the Consumer Rights Act, which only applies to business-to-consumer contracts.

This means that if you suffer an injury while using someone else's property or driving their car, the platform company is not legally obliged to compensate you. Your contract is with the other user (who is renting you their home or car), and it is they who have the legal obligation to compensate you for your injury or loss.

Likewise, if you list your property on a sharing platform, you expose yourself to personal liability towards anyone who is injured while using your property. The same goes for damage to property. As a guest you are personally liable for damage you cause to your host's property, and as a host you can only claim against your guests for damage they cause, not the sharing platform.

Taking risks

Large platforms such as Airbnb do offer dispute resolution centers, which coordinate such claims. This can reduce the stress and hassle of having to go through court yourself. But even so, the chances of getting full recovery for your loss is uncertain, particularly if the loss is large.

It is also unlikely that standard insurance can help. Most personal insurance policies do not permit you to use insured property for commercial purposes, and will invalidate your policy if you are caught doing so without permission from your insurer. The same goes for assuming that you are insured for using another person's property.

For vehicles, it is illegal in the UK to drive without the driver having third-party insurance. Most likely the other party will not have commercial vehicle insurance in place to cover your driving, so you run the risk of driving illegally.

Turo requires that hosts maintain a valid insurance policy over the vehicle at all times in accordance with UK law. Guest drivers are not required to carry their own insuranceinstead, they choose one of Turo's protection plans. These plans cover vehicle damage and third-party liability claims, with policies from a company that is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Turo told The Conversation.

Most major platforms will mandate third-party liability insurance. But pay attention to the excess amount, which may be much higher than your personal vehicle insurance, and can have an additional fee for processing claims.

For homes, you may be breaching either a term of your mortgage or your lease if you sublet on Airbnb. In the recent UK case of Bermondsey Exchange Freeholders Ltd v Ninos Koumetto, a court ruled that the tenant Airbnb host had breached the terms of his lease by subletting it.

Many platforms offer some sort of protection through their platforms, such as Airbnb's AirCover for hosts and guests. But these are not the same as insurance policies, and don't always cover everything. Airbnb's host damage protection only covers those losses not covered by another party, such as your home insurer or the liable guest. This means contacting your insurer and potentially causing it to invalidate your insurance policy if you have been sharing without the insurer's consent.

In a statement, Turo told The Conversation: "Turo has made trust and safety the bedrock of our platform and our protections have consistently worked as designed." Airbnb chose not to comment for publication.

Protecting yourself

Currently, sharing platforms are largely unaddressed by law and there is little regulators can do about their practices. But if you understand the risks you are taking, you can protect yourself from unpleasant surprises.

1. Be familiar with your policies

If your insurance specifically disallows commercial activities, get in touch with your insurer to clarify, or switch to another insurer with sharing-friendly policies. This is particularly important if you regularly use sharing platforms, as you risk both personal liability towards your guest and losing your cover for your property.

2. Think about purchasing additional insurance

Look for a policy that covers you specifically for these activities. This will protect you if you are injured and the other party cannot compensate you. If you cause damage to someone else's property, you can rely on insurance instead of being personally liable.

3. Read the terms and conditions

While trawling through pages of legal jargon might be unappealing, it is important to know where you stand with these companies. This could be as quick as reading through the FAQs on their websites, or looking out for disclaimer and waiver clauses before you click "accept". Platforms such as Airbnb offer region-specific advice on the laws and regulations for using their services.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Imagine being in a boat miles from shore when the engine fails, or getting lost in a remote spot while hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Having a beacon or transmitter that sends a distress signal via satellite could mean the difference between life and death.

The same satellites that send compelling images when massive hurricanes approach land or huge icebergs break off in Antarctica also play a crucial role in helping to find and rescue people from potentially life-threatening situations like these.

Activating a device that sends an emergency signal can mean the difference between a search that takes a few hours or a search that could take days, if it's successful at all.

Last year, satellite technology helped rescue 397 people throughout the nation and surrounding waterways, according to information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. That's 67 more than last year, but below the record high of 421 U.S. rescues in 2019.

How do satellites help rescue people?

When a lost hiker or a sinking boater turns on an emergency distress beacon, it sends a signal that can be detected by the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system.

The program "truly takes the 'search' out of search and rescue," stated Steve Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Service.

Distress signals beamed from aircraft, boats and handheld personal locator beacons are detected by a network of U.S. and international spacecraft and used to send rescuers.

Since its beginnings in 1982, the network has supported more than 50,000 rescues worldwide.

When a satellite picks up a distress signal, it's related to NOAA's Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, then dispatched to coordination centers staffed by the Air Force for land rescues or the Coast Guard for water rescues.

Water rescues occur most often

Of the 397 rescues in the nation last year, 275 were water-related, while 42 were from downed aircraft. Personal locator beacons were used in 80 land rescues.

The 106 rescues in Florida were the most of any state. Fifty-six were in Alaska and 20 in Utah. The rescues included:

A group of 17 hikers who were lifted to safety after being stranded on a backcountry hike in Sandthrax Canyon, Utah, thanks to a personal beacon.

Seven rescued in November near Bethel, Alaska, after the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center got the coordinates of a commercial plane forced to land on a frozen lake when its engine failed.

A man who grabbed his life raft and activated a beacon in August when his boat capsized and sank off the coast of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. He was lifted to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter.

How to buy a beacon that connects to satellites

Emergency transmitters and beacons, whichunlike your mobile phonedon't rely on cellular networks, range in price and are sold online and at outdoor stores. Registering a beacon with NOAA is required by law and it may help rescuers to find you faster. It also allows responding agencies to check and eliminate false alarms, without sending a rescue squad unnecessarily.

Since its investigation into the sinking of the El Faro shipping vessel in 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended at least four times that the Coast Guard require emergency beacons for crew members on ocean-going vessels.

The "lifesaving promise of PLBs (personal locator beacons) cannot be overstated," board chair Jennifer Homendy said last fall. She also stated: "We cannotmust notwait any longer. I'm urging all mariners and their employers not to wait; you can improve safety today."

In December, Apple introduced a feature in its iPhone 14 and 14 Pro that allows users to signal a satellite in an emergency. The feature is available to users as a free service for two years.

NASA used similar newly developed technology to track the Artemis I Orion Capsule when it splashed down into the Pacific Ocean in December. The agency stated the technology also will be essential for future moon missions by astronauts. In coordination with other systems, it could provide distress location services for missions on the lunar service and provide internet-like capabilities for humans stationed on the moon.

2023 USA Today.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

There are significant privacy concerns surrounding the use of smart phones with camera-based assistive technology. The primary concern being that visually impaired users relying on such technology for facial recognition and object identification purposes may be exposing themselves and others to compromise through liberal software permissions on their device or should their device, connections, or the software be breached in some way by third parties.

Writing in the International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, Hyung Nam Kim of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S., discusses user perspectives and the state of digital privacy issues in this realm. He has carried out a small-scale survey of users with visual impairments who use this technology and associated software.

The survey revealed that very few users had much knowledge of the privacy policies and potential risks of using assistive technology and were generally unaware of the potential issues that might arise with privacy and security breaches of personal information. Kim has developed the research to help form a conceptual framework that could be used to help researchers and professionals in this field to provide better support and education for those with visual impairment relying on this technology in their everyday lives, whether at work, in public, or even in the home.

Given that a significant proportion of people with visual impairments in the U.S. are just as likely as fully sighted people to use and engage with social media sites such as Facebook, there is a pressing need to improve and enhance their privacy awareness given the additional layer of risk they must face in using extra software to interact and engage online and so remain independent.

More information: Hyung Nam Kim, Digital privacy of smartphone camera-based assistive technology for users with visual disabilities, International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics (2022). DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2022.10051733
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The Supreme Court is stepping into a messy political fight next month over the meaning of a 26-word law that big tech firms describe as a linchpin of the modern internet but that critics say has led to the promotion of terrorism.

A closely watched dispute between YouTube-owner Google and the family of an American killed in an Islamic State group attack in Paris in 2015 will put the court in the middle of a conflict about when internet companies may be successfully sued for content on their sites. It could also, as Facebook-owner Meta put it, turn the internet into a "disorganized collection of haphazardly assembled information."

Potentially at stake, the companies say, is the ability to get relevant results when searching Google for a local pizza shop or a video on how to perform CPR.

The case, Gonzalez v. Google, centers on a law known as Section 230 that drew intense criticism from former President Donald Trump over accusations that social media companies throttled conservative views. Many Democrats agree, for different reasons, that the law needs an update.

Why Google is at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Feb. 21 in a case about whether internet platforms may be liable for targeted recommendations, such as when YouTube suggests a follow-up video. The family of an American killed in a terrorist attack says YouTube, through its algorithms, recommended videos that aided extremists.

Google and other internet platforms say recommending content is a "central building block" of the internet and that recommendations aren't endorsements. If platforms are liable for suggestions, they say, it could change what gets recommended on many different platforms.

What's Gonzalez v. Google about?

Nohemi Gonzalez was a 23-year-old American studying in Paris when members of the Islamic State group fired into a crowd at a bistro, killing her. She was one of 130 people killed in a coordinated attack across the city.

Gonzalez's relatives sued Google alleging the company aided the Islamic State group by promoting its videos on YouTube.

Section 230, enacted when Americans were dialing into the internet, is widely interpreted as shielding Google from liability for hosting the videos. What's at issue is whether recommending the videos to users, through the company's algorithms, is also shielded.

It's one of several major lawsuits percolating around internet regulation. The justices will hear a related case next month about whether social media companies may be sued under the Anti-Terrorism Act for "aiding and abetting" the Islamic State group. Separately, the court delayed a decision on whether to grant review of laws in Texas and Florida that make it harder for social media companies to moderate content.

In those cases, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to offer the government's view before deciding whether to hear them later this year or next.

How Google could win

Section 230 says that an internet company can't be treated as a publisher of content posted on its platform by a user. Google, and many lower courts, read that as also protecting the "dissemination" of content online. Recommendations like those offered by YouTube, big tech firms say, are part of that dissemination.

"Recommendation algorithms are what make it possible to find the needles in humanity's largest haystack," Google told the Supreme Court.

"The line between just providing access to content and actively promoting that content is a lot slipperier than initially appears," said Christopher Yoo, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. If the court rules against Google broadly, he said, "it may sweep in every finding tool we have on the internet today."

How Gonzalez could win

Others say that lower courts have read too much protection for internet platforms into the words of the law. In a brief that doesn't take a side in the case, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other GOP lawmakers question how much Section 230 shields the companies from liability at all.

Conservatives see the case as part a bigger fight against what they view as biased content moderation.

"The whole goal was to prevent things like sex trafficking and proliferation of child pornography," said Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "What it has become...is a shield for the moderation of content in keeping with the particular political perspectives of the major tech companies."

Others oppose Google's interpretation for different reasons. Common Sense Media, a child advocacy group, pointed to another practice by Big Tech it believes shouldn't be shielded from liability: The collection of personal data.

"What gets recommended is based on the data collection," said Jolina Cuaresma, the group's senior counsel of privacy and tech policy. "Adolescents are really at an unfair disadvantage here, because their brains are structurally different than ours."

A decision is expected this year.

(c) 2023 USA Today

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In just the past month there have been nearly 50,000 job cuts across the technology sector. Large and small tech companies went on a hiring spree in over the past several years due to a demand for their products, software and services surged with millions of people working remotely. However, even with all of the layoffs announced in recent weeks, most tech companies are still vastly larger than they were three years ago. Here's a look at some of the companies that have announced layoffs so far.

August 2022

Snap: The parent company of social media platform Snapchat said that it was letting go of 20% of its staff. Snap's staff has grown to more than 5,600 employees in recent years and the company said at the time that even after laying off more than 1,000 people, its staff would be larger than it was a year earlier.

Robinhood: The company, whose app helped bring a new generation of investors to the market, announced that it would reduce headcount by about 23%, or approximately 780 people. An earlier round of layoffs last year cut 9% of its workforce.

November 2022

Twitter: About half of the social media platform's staff of 7,500 was let go after it was acquired by the billionaire CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk.

Lyft: The ride-hailing service said it was cutting 13% of its workforce, almost 700 employees.

Meta: The parent company of Facebook laid off 11,000 people, about 13% of its workforce.

January 2023

Amazon: The e-commerce company said it must cut about 18,000 positions. That's just a fraction of its 1.5 million-strong global workforce.

Salesforce: The company lays off 10% of its workforce, about 8,000 employees.

Coinbase: The cryptocurrency trading platform cuts approximately 20% of its workforce, or about 950 jobs, in a second round of layoffs in less than a year.

Microsoft: The software company said it will cut about 10,000 jobs, almost 5% of its workforce.

Google: The search engine giant becomes the most recent in the industry to say it must adjust, saying 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, would be let go.

Spotify: The music streaming service is cutting 6% of its global workforce. It did not give a specific number of job losses. Spotify reported in its latest annual report that it had about 6,600 employees, which implies that 400 jobs are being axed.

SAP: Germany-based SAP, Europe's biggest software company, said it it cutting up to 3,000 jobs worldwide, or about 2.5% of its workforce, after a shop drop in profits.

PayPal: The digital payments company says it will trim about 7% of its total workforce, or about 2,000 full-time workers, as it contends with a challenging environment.

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People visit the Countries & Regions Exhibition Area at the China National Convention Center during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]



China's services trade value grew 12.9 percent year on year in 2022, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Monday.

The total trade value stood at 5.98 trillion yuan (about 884.29 billion U.S. dollars), according to the data.

Exports of services expanded 12.1 percent year on year to around 2.85 trillion yuan in the period, while imported services totaled 3.13 trillion yuan, up 13.5 percent from a year ago, resulting in a deficit of 275.71 billion yuan.

Trade in knowledge-intensive services raked in 2.51 trillion yuan in 2022, up 7.8 percent year on year.

Exports of Knowledge-intensive services increased by 12.2 percent to reach 1.42 trillion yuan, led by categories such as intellectual property royalties and computing and information services.

Travel services continued recovery momentum in the period, as trade in this sector advanced 8.4 percent from the previous year to about 855.98 billion yuan, data showed.
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A disturbance Monday in the Grand Island Senior High cafeteria, as filmed by an onlooker, shows around a dozen students involved.

One cell phone video taken during the altercation shows about a dozen students throwing punches at one another in the cafeteria. Adults can be seen trying to manage the situation as other students look on, some yelling. The incident allegedly started after an apple was thrown by one student at another.

As far as I know, it was handled with regular protocol, said Grand Island Public Schools Communications Director Mitch Roush.

It wasnt (a situation where) the school was in danger, he added. There were students that needed to be separated. (Student Resource Officers) were heavily involved. 

The Grand Island Independent reached out to Grand Island Police Department for comment and to find out if additional officers were sent to GISH for support during and after the skirmish. Officers on duty were unable to provide any information.

Roush said the schools administration is already assessing consequences for the students involved.

Communication concerning the lunchtime cafeteria incident was sent to families, according to GIPS. The Independent's attempts to obtain that communication wasn't immediately successful.
ALDA  A 7-month-old boy, the youngest of the three children kidnapped over the weekend, spent more than two hours outside on a deck near Alda early Sunday morning before he was rescued by the homeowner.

Two suspects in a car theft and kidnapping left the baby outside the home of Chuck and Susanne Sorahan, who live north of Alda at 36835 S. Alda Road.

Video at the house showed the infant was placed on the deck at 3:12 a.m.

Chuck Sorahan was awakened by an electronic alert asking people to look for the child. After looking around the house, he found the baby on the deck at 5:25 a.m.

Because of the cold, Sorahan feared the worst. The infant's eyes were closed and his hands were up to his chest. Dressed in a sleeper, he wasn't wearing a hat or gloves.

The Sorahans took the baby inside. When the car seat hit the floor, the baby started crying. "It was the best cry I've ever heard," he said.

They then put the baby near their fireplace.

In no time, several law enforcement officers and firefighters arrived. They had been patrolling the neighborhood, looking for the boy.

The Sorahans were glad the baby was left on the south side of the house, which sheltered him from the wind. On the other side of the house, the news might not have been good. In addition, the placement of the baby would have made it difficult for law enforcement to spot him. Searchers were focusing spotlights on homes as they drove through the area.

The baby's survival was a miracle, Susanne said. He must have been blessed to survive all that time outside, she said. He had stopped shivering, which was not a good sign, she said.

You could tell from his appearance that the boy is well cared for by his parents, Susanne said.

The baby and his siblings, who are 5 and 1, were taken from a running vehicle on the 1400 block of North Wheeler Street at about 3 a.m. Sunday. The kids were inside a 2012 Chevy Traverse, which was running.

The two men accused of stealing the Traverse and kidnapping the children are Tate Wolfe, 18, of Kearney and Jozef McAllister, 17, of Hastings. Monday morning in Hall County Court, they were each charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of child abuse, theft of property worth more than $5,000, theft by receiving stolen property and operation of a vehicle to avoid arrest. McAllister was also charged with obstructing a peace officer.

Bond was set at $1 million, 10% of which is necessary to obtain release. A preliminary hearing was set for 3 p.m. Feb. 28.

The parents of the children were not guilty of any negligent behavior, says the Grand Island Police Department.

"The parents loaded the children in the running vehicle due to the cold, and engaged in very brief conversation with neighbors, at which time the suspects took opportunity to steal the running vehicle," says a Monday news release from GIPD.

Video evidence corroborated the parents were not negligent.

They "didn't do anything that parents don't do. They started the car so it was warm. They loaded their kids in," Capt. Jim Duering said. The neighbors flagged them over for a short conversation and that's when the suspects struck, he said.

The North Wheeler residence is not the family's address. Duering believes the couple was picking the kids up after getting off work.

"There was no alcohol use. They weren't over there partying," he said.

Duering has seen online comments criticizing the parents. He feels they are being "revictimized."

"They didn't do anything wrong. They've already had it hard enough" without people second-guessing them, he said.

The parents quickly called 911. Less than two minutes later, a Grand Island police officer spotted the Traverse, which had been reported stolen. "All of this happened in a very short period of time," Duering said.

Not aware that kids were inside, the officer attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle stop was unsuccessful, and the officer terminated the pursuit.

Officers then became aware the Traverse might be in Buffalo County. That news came to light through "an investigative tactic," Duering said. "I'll just say that it was a good piece of investigative follow-up that led to that."

The Traverse was located in rural Buffalo County. The two suspects were taken into custody by the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, but the missing children were not inside the stolen vehicle.

At 4:52 a.m., Grand Island police officers found the 5-year-old and 1-year-old in a vehicle stolen from Kearney. The kids are believed to have been placed there by the suspects.

The infant, though, was not in the car.

As part of the countywide search, the Hall County Sheriff's Department asked the Wood River and Alda fire departments to help look for the infant.

The alert asked people to check their property for the baby.

"We're very thankful for their attentiveness and for the technology that gives us the ability to put that out there," Duering said.

The kids have all been treated and released, and reunited with their parents.

It was "the best outcome that we could hope for, in really a horrible set of circumstances," Duering said.

There were moments during the night that "that could have gotten much much worse," Duering said, referring to the children's exposure to the cold. Temperatures at the time were hovering around zero at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport.

In addition to the agencies mentioned above, the Nebraska State Patrol assisted with the search.

A GIPD news release says the successful outcome was the result of "interagency communication, great police work and the assistance of the public."

"The safety of our community, and the most vulnerable of them  our children  was the foremost consideration throughout this case," GIPD says.
The granddaughter of Bob and Loveda Proctor of Aurora has not given up hope that they're still alive.

Even though they've been missing for almost three weeks, Laci Fleming believes they're still out there somewhere.

"Of course," she said Tuesday.

The Proctors, who are 89 and 92, have been missing since Jan. 11.

Under a best-case scenario, the Proctors might be holed up in a farmer's outbuilding.

"We're hoping maybe that's the case, or that they're still driving around. We just have no idea," Fleming said.

She hopes people keep looking. "Just keep your eyes open everywhere," she said.

In an update earlier this week, Fleming wrote, "The Aurora Police Department is working tirelessly around the clock. We can feel their hearts aching as they constantly have Bob and Veda on their minds. The Civil Air Patrol continuously offers their support and has strategically searched and assisted. Several friends and family members continue search efforts as well as assisting with helping spread the word far and wide.

"There are undoubtedly others working hard to get us answers as well. We deeply appreciate the help weve received as well as all the prayers and well wishes," Fleming continued. "Please never give up on this search, we WILL find Bob and Loveda Proctor."

Fleming has been in contact with television crime reporter Nancy Grace. The Nebraska woman emailed Grace. "And I sent her an updated statement as well," she said.

Grace devoted a podcast to the subject and has been sharing news on Twitter.

Asked to describe her grandparents, Fleming said: "My grandma is a very strong, kind-hearted person. She has some strong, heavy faith and she's always been there for all of us and always been the voice of reason. My grandpa has always been there for all of us as well, and he's a very proud veteran. He's worked hard his entire life. He came from nothing and has really built up his career and life through everything that he's done. They're both really great people."

Timeline for Bob and Loveda Proctor

At 4:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, Bob and Loveda Proctor left their home. They proceeded to Aurora Co-op to fill up with gas in their blue 2007 Chrysler Pacifica at 4:19 p.m. and then left for Grand Island. Bob felt like hell so he had Veda take him to the Grand Island VA Medical Center, arriving there at 4:55 p.m. As Bob walked up to the VA hospital with the assistance of his walker, he was approached by a doctor who offered immediate care. Bob complained of pain, dizziness, weakness and that everything felt dry. Doctor reports Bob appears very weak, is pale/grayish in color and is slow to respond to questions. After assessment, determining Bob required emergency attention, they called 911.

The VA Medical Center closes at 5 p.m., so they decided to transfer Bob to the CHI Health St. Francis Emergency Room.

At 5:35 pm, Bob was transferred via ambulance and Veda was instructed to follow in her blue 2007 Chrysler Pacifica. Keep in mind, Veda has glaucoma and has a hard time seeing at night. Unfortunately, Veda wasnt able to follow/keep up with the ambulance for unknown reasons and gets lost. She ends up going the opposite direction and seeking help on Vine Street. Thankfully a good Samaritan gives Veda directions to St. Francis ER.

Upon Vedas arrival at St. Francis ER around 6:15 p.m., Bob complains of a cough and nonproductive dry (as stated by St. Francis ER). St. Francis says Bobs diagnosis is an acute cough and notes no weakness but that Bob is adamant about going home. They then discharged Bob and allow him and Veda to leave at 8:04 p.m.

St. Francis states that they are aware that Veda has problems driving at night and got lost on her way to St. Francis from the VA Medical Center.

Veda attempts to drive the couple home in the dark and heads west on Faidley Avenue from St. Francis. Video footage shows Veda turns south on Webb Road around 8:15 p.m. They aimlessly drive around searching for Aurora. They reportedly arrive at a home in Giltner and ask for directions, specifically to Aurora, between 10 and 10:30 p.m. Please note it should take around 30 minutes to get from Grand Island to Giltner.

Video footage shows Bob and Veda arriving at a stop sign in Giltner at W 6 Road and South H Road. Veda turns south onto South H Road and arrives back at the stop sign around 10 minutes later. Fleming and her husband drove south on that road and discovered that at almost exactly five minutes, driving at Vedas pace around 35-40 mph, the pavement ends and the road turns to gravel in all directions. This tells us that Veda knew not to take gravel at this time, according to Fleming. After Veda and Bob return to the stop sign after 10 minutes, they turn east on W 6 Road at 10:25 p.m.

Its been reported that they stopped at another home outside of Giltner on W 6 Road. There is no video evidence to support this, but Fleming believes this happened.

There have been no sightings since then.
A resident collects medicine at a fever clinic in Kaifu District of Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Dec. 20, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Some cities are experimenting with innovative uses for old COVID-19 testing booths, turning them into makeshift fever clinics, pharmacies and even employment advice centers for job seekers from out of town.

The changes follow China's decision to drop mass testing requirements last month, which was part of a sweeping effort to fine-tune the country's epidemic control policies in light of the decreasing virulence of Omicron subvariants.

The ubiquitous testing booths used to be staffed by a couple of nucleic acid sample collectors and ensured free-of-charge COVID-19 testing within walking distance for most urban households.

As China has downgraded the management of COVID-19 and reduced testing requirements for everyday scenarios such as using public transport, the booths have begun to appear for sale online.

The prices vary, from a modest few hundred yuan (about $50) to tens of thousands of yuan.

In Suzhou, a major destination for migrant workers in Jiangsu province, the city has repurposed some of the facilities near the central train station as "service stations", which offer employment consultations and legal aid for labor disputes, local media reported on Friday.

In the wake of the weeklong Spring Festival break, which ended on Friday, tens of millions of migrants are returning to cities for work.

Remodeling testing booths for other purposes is nothing new.

Just ahead of Chinese New Year, the Suzhou government temporarily turned them into stores catering to residents buying goods for the holiday.

Last month, the booths were also used as makeshift consultation rooms and pharmacies to handle a sudden surge of fever patients. The testing booths-turned medical outposts dotting residential communities helped ease the strains on local hospitals so that doctors could focus more on patients in critical condition.

In Jinan in Shandong province, neighborhood official Lyu Qiang came up with an idea in mid-December to convert the local testing booth into a mini fever clinic. He reported his idea to his superiors and received a green light to proceed.

In the end, 10 such booths in his neighborhood were re-engineered to serve the purpose.

Each booth was fitted with computers, radiators, printers and blood pressure monitors, and staffed by a primary-care doctor and a pharmacist.

Lyu worked with the local government to ensure that they had fever-reducing drugs and other medications commonly used for seasonal flu that were in tight supply at the time.

According to Lyu, the booths played a significant role in reducing pressure on hospitals during the peak in COVID-19 infections ahead of the Spring Festival holiday.

"They were each receiving about 80 patients a day at the time," he said.

Lyu said that though there are few visitors now, they've decided to keep the booth in case of future waves of COVID-19.

"I have no idea what we will do with these booths in the future, but I definitely wish they do not have to be used to fight pandemics like COVID-19," he said.
Thursday evening, Doane University's IT staff removed biology professor and volunteer firefighter Brad Elder from the email lists, then sent out a secret announcement to those on campus that Elder was coming home.

Three months ago, while helping battle a wildfire in southwestern Lancaster County, Elder was caught in the flames, badly burning 20% of his lower body, the back of both legs and his left hand. He's been at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital since being released from the CHI St. Elizabeth burn unit.

Students gathered Thursday night to make signs for Elder and maintenance staff spray-painted his name on snow shovels to wave.

Then Friday morning, Crete residents and Doane students and faculty lined the streets to welcome Elder home.

At about 10:30 a.m. Friday, Elder arrived at the edge of Crete to see firetrucks lined up and fellow firefighters waiting for him.

They put him in the passenger seat of the first firetruck for the last part of his journey.

"I was doing my best not to cry through the whole thing," Elder said. "This amazing outpouring of support from the community, it's been overwhelming."

The procession wound through downtown Crete before turning to go through the Doane campus.

"I expected to see one, maybe two firetrucks," said Patty Lavelle, Doane's manager of event services. "I think they brought all five or six and the police joined in their cruisers with the sirens on, people were cheering  it was just a very exciting atmosphere."

When Elder finally reached his house, down the hill from Doane, he found more than 50 people waiting outside.

"I don't know that anyone thinks they're worth that kind of effort," he said, beginning to cry. "That's my crew and they kept me alive, I wouldn't be here without them. It's just overwhelming to come back and see them all out there, all there waiting for me."

Elder said he looks forward to returning to Doane this semester.

"I had to fight to get a class on the schedule," he said. "I begged and fought until they gave me one  my senior research students."

For now, his future as a firefighter remains unclear. Elder said the skin grafts make it difficult to fight fire safely, since they can't detect temperature or thermoregulate with sweat.

"At some point, you kind of have to stop running into burning buildings," the 54-year-old said. "I'd planned to stop around turning 60, but now it'll just be six years earlier."

Doane is hosting a benefit event for Elder on Feb. 4.

"It's been amazing to see the college and the community coming together to support one of our own," Lavelle said. "He's a friend, he's a colleague and he means a lot to the community. Everyone's been really worried about him and I think we're all glad to contribute in any way we can."

Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
Specifically citing wide disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice system, Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha on Friday urged the Legislature's Executive Board to support a bill that would require an examination of the potential racial impact of proposed legislation.

His bill (LB54) would direct the legislative research office to prepare racial impact statements for bills introduced in the Legislature.

McKinney said his purpose is to "evaluate potential disparities and unforeseen policy ramifications" while attempting to assure that "systemic racism remains subdued."

"Legislation that has negative effects on the minority population perpetuates systemic harm," the senator said.

Blacks and Hispanics are incarcerated at a much higher rate than white Nebraskans, McKinney said, and many of them "have zip codes in my (North Omaha) district."

Nine states, including neighboring Iowa, already have implemented similar racial disparity mechanisms, he said.

An array of civil liberty and human rights organizations testified in support of McKinney's proposal.

Jasmine Harris, director of public policy and advocacy at RISE in Omaha, said "a disproportionate number of people of color are incarcerated," largely because "over-policing" in their neighborhoods results in more contact, which in turn has "a devastating impact on families."

A number of other organizations, including Open Sky Policy Institute, Voices for Children in Nebraska, ACLU Nebraska and Nebraska Appleseed, added their support.

There was no opposition testimony, although the board received some written statements expressing opposition.

The board, chaired by Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, adjourned without taking action in order to allow senators to participate in afternoon committee hearings that had just gotten underway.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023
SXSW EDU 2023

SXSW EDU Highlights: Education Design, Poetry and Nature as Teaching Tools, and 'Real Talk' with National Teachers of the Year

More Featured Sessions and First Keynote Unveiled  Plus Schedule Highlights of Note for K12 Educators

SXSW EDU has revealed more featured sessions and announced a keynote session featuring accomplished sibling duo Doreen Gehry Nelson and Frank Gehry.

In a keynote titled Design-Based Learning Unwrapped: Build Our Future, Nelson and Gehry will celebrate the culmination of their lifes work, and share their perspectives on the roles that creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration must play in education, particularly through the implementation of the Design-Based Learning methodology, SXSW EDU said.

The Doreen Nelson Method of Design-Based Learning, applied in K12 classrooms around the world since 1969, features 6  Steps of Backwards Thinking  and everything is rooted in the spatial domain, or learning by doing.

Nelson is professor emerita of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, School of Education and Integrative Studies; adjunct professor at the Cal Poly College of Environmental Design; and was formerly a professor at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 2019, she was named Founding Director of Design-Based Learning by the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies  Center X for the UCLA Design-Based Learning Project.

An award-winning educator for five decades, Nelson started her career teaching in public schools, where she taught all grades over 15 years. She began developing her Design-Based Learning methodology (formerly called City Building Education) in the late 1960s to ignite creativity, promote high-level transfer of learning, and foster cross-curricular critical thinking skills among K12 students using the spatial domain, according to her bio.

Named one of 30 top innovators in education by The New York Times in 1991, Nelson is the recipient of both the American Institute of Architectures prestigious Lifetime Honorary Membership (the highest honor for a non-architect) and the California State Universitys statewide, 2006 Wang Award for Excellence in Education.

Frank Gehry holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California (1954), and he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Since then, Gehrys architectural career has produced public and private buildings in America, Europe, and Asia  and earned him several of the most prestigious awards in the architectural field, including the Pritzker Prize.

Notable Gehry projects include Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower in New York City; Opus Residential Tower in Hong Kong; Foundation Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris, France; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C; the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Childrens Institute Inc. in Watts, California, a new center for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) in Inglewood, California, and the Grand Avenue Project in Los Angeles. Projects under construction include Facebook campuses in Menlo Park, California, and Redmond, Washington; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and a new headquarters for Warner Brothers in Burbank, California.

Featured Sessions Part Two Unveiled

Additional SXSW EDU featured sessions announced recently include:

Building Sustainable Early Childhood Education (March 8): Since COVID-19 thrust the availability of quality childcare into the spotlight as necessary to the economy, a newfound public interest is emerging in improving current systems and building sustainable early childhood education across the country. Panelists will discuss how to translate that chatter into action: Wonderschool CEO Chris Bennett; EdSurge Senior Reporter Emily Tate Sullivan; National Association for the Education of Young Children CEO Michelle Kang; and Home Grown Executive Director Natalie Renew.

Finding Identity Through Poetry, Art, & Nature (March 7): Remember the sky that you were born under, / know each of the star's stories. So begins the poem Remember, which implores the listener to know their origins, their communion with all things. Poetry, art, and place have the power to transcend generations, and reinforce one's sense of self and connection with others. Join the original author, an award-winning artist, and an educator in conversation as they discuss adapting this poem into a picture book, the connections between poetry and art, and their power to impact readers of any age. Speakers include U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and Caldecott medalist Michaela Goade, both authors with Random House Childrens Books.

Real Talk with Two National Teachers of the Year (March 7): Two National Teachers of the Year will lead an insightful conversation about how schools and districts can support educator agency, diversity in materials and student-centered learning. Kurt Russell (2022 honoree) and Rodney Robinson (2019 honoree)  both veteran educators  have taught students in suburban, city and juvenile detention schools and will discuss why representation matters, how to diversify the profession, and how to create a pipeline for a strong future workforce.

Other Schedule Highlights for K12 Leaders

Leadership Prep: Educators Need Differentiation Too (March 6): Educators are leveraging new scientific research on how brains learn to meet students where they are and to design learning thats relevant and engaging. But when it comes to educator training and development, content for teachers is the same across the board no matter the teachers experience, strengths, or needs. This session will focus on rethinking how we invest in developing educators.

Bridging Offline Students Connectivity Barriers (March 7): With an estimated 15 million U.S. students living with unstable internet access or no access at all, the 2030 estimated completion date of a federal broadband-for-all plan is not fast enough. This presentation will address low-barrier options for students to access carefully curated resources of digital content on their devices  without an internet connection.
MARION  The University of Illinois Extension program is looking for adults who enjoy spending time outdoors and have a passion for giving back for their Illinois Master Naturalist volunteer training.

Horticulture Educator Kim Rohling said the course will teach adults about nature and how to be good stewards. It will include classroom and in-the-field training.

Illinois Extension will host a hybrid training in early 2023 for the next cohort of Master Naturalists. The training consists of science-based educational opportunities offered through self-paced assignments, in-person activities and discussions.

Becoming an Illinois Master Naturalist starts with the 60-hour training class. After completing the class, a minimum of 30 hours of volunteering is required. Part of the training will be introducing the class to places to volunteer.

Regional experts will teach classes on ecology, invasive species, aquatic life, forestry, geology, herpetology, entomology and much more. The program includes videos, a manual, reading materials, and activities. A strong internet connection is highly recommended.

This years class will have a lot of field trip days to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. A lot of volunteer opportunities exist at the refuge, Rohling said.

Training sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Thursday from April 13 through June 8. The group will meet at the Williamson County Extension office at 1301 Enterprise Way, Suite 60, Marion, IL 62959, with field trips to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge.

Rohling said they hope to move to CONWR visitor center when it opens. The orientation session will meet from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 13.

The Illinois Master Naturalist training has been offered in other counties, according to Rohling. It was offered in conjunction with Giant City State Park, Cypress Creek and Rend Lake.

Southern Illinois has a rich and diverse landscape that allows for many volunteer opportunities, Rohling said. Volunteers can work with state parks and refuges to assist with natural areas restoration and education, or collect data as a citizen scientist.

She added that some of areas Master Naturalists do a lot of youth programs. Trail Blasts which are trash cleanups are popular. In Ripple Hollow, they have collected 3,200 pounds of trash.

Recently, Rohling said a bunch of volunteers have been interested in pollinators. They volunteer with organizations that track pollinators.

The fee for the spring course is $250, which includes nine weeks of online materials and live sessions.

Download an application packet at go.illinois.edu/2023SpringMN. The deadline to apply is March 31.

To learn more about becoming a Master Naturalist, contact Horticulture Educator Kim Rohling at (618) 687-1727 or kimrohli@illinois.edu.

University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in programming, contact Kim Rohling. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting participant needs.
Joseph A. Cervantez, Jackson County States Attorney, announced Tuesday that three defendants were found guilty on Jan. 30, following a jury trial in Jackson County.

Demarcus Jones, 28, and Charleton J. Patterson, 29, of Carbondale, were found guilty of multiple gun related offenses including aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Also, Simeon C. Patterson, 29, of Carbondale, was found guilty of reckless discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. The jury found the defendants guilty on a total of 13 felony counts.

In a two week-long jury trial with all three defendants, Cervantez presented evidence that Saturday, April 30, 2022, at around 1:27 a.m. Carbondale police responded to the city parking lot near Tres Hombres in the 100 block of N. Washington St., for a reported shooting. Police say they found a large crowd of people in the parking lot and learned that multiple individuals had fired shots. Detectives identified Demarcus Jones and Charleton J. Patterson as two of the shooters.

On May 1, the Jackson County Sheriffs Office stopped a vehicle in the 300 block of E. Walnut St. Jones and Patterson were inside. Jackson County deputies and Carbondale police arrested Jones after he ran from the vehicle. Two firearms were recovered from the vehicle and were eventually connected to the shooting from the night before. Simeon Patterson was eventually implicated as well and arrested May 10, 2022.

Cervantez led the prosecution of Demarcus Jones, Charelton Patterson and Simeon Patterson, and after securing the guilty verdict Jan. 30, Cervantez explained that a sentencing hearing will be set for each of the three defendants. Cervantez emphasized that the quick response of law enforcement to the scene of this incident and their tireless follow-up investigation shows the dedication that law enforcement has in keeping our community safe. In Jackson County, those who put our community in harms way will be held accountable, he said.

The investigation was led by the Carbondale Police Department and assisted by the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, among others.
CARBONDALE  Community members can soon receive free income tax preparation services at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, thanks to a group of specially trained students.

Beta Alpha Psi, a College of Business and Analytics honors accounting student organization, is again sponsoring the popular free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2023 for low- and moderate-income community members.

We are honored to continue the tradition of providing tax services to SIU students and our community members, said Loralei Glueck, a senior accounting major from Tremont, Illinois, who is vice president of Beta Alpha Psi. We look forward to serving everyone as we prepare individual tax returns.

Glueck and Jaiden Sanders, a senior accounting major from Vienna, Illinois, are the 2023 VITA program coordinators.

Program kicks off Feb. 25

The program begins Feb. 25 and continues each Saturday through March 25 (except for March 18 when there will be no services due to spring break). Students will offer the free tax preparation services from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the computer lab on the lower level of Rehn Hall, 1025 Lincoln Drive.

In addition, there will be a special session from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 11 specifically to provide tax preparation for SIU students.

Students are very prepared

SIU student volunteers have offered the free tax preparation for nearly a quarter of a century, and they train extensively in order to provide professional services, according to Benna Williams, the School of Accountancy program coordinator, associate lecturer, CPA and former tax practitioner who serves as the Beta Alpha Psi adviser.

Glueck and Sanders participated in advanced training to prepare for their leadership roles in the VITA program. They are at the helm of a team comprising about two dozen accounting students. Each of the tax preparers is an IRS-certified volunteer who has completed mandatory ethics and tax examination courses. All are donating their time and energy to prepare tax returns at no cost for community members and students who meet the qualifications.

Williams noted that the students save community members hundreds of dollars and do such a good job, that many people return year after year to gratefully take advantage of the program.

Glueck or Sanders will review returns and assist with questions as will Williams and other SIU faculty members.

Im excited for another year of VITA and offering our service to the community, Sanders said. As always, we have a great group of students who are stepping up this year to volunteer their time. This hands-on experience is an excellent way for SIU students to generously use and enhance their skills and knowledge.

Who qualifies?

The free tax preparation services are available to any U.S. citizen, whether single or married, as long as their income does not exceed $58,000, and they take the standard federal deduction.

The SIU VITA volunteers will prepare tax returns that involve:

Wages/salaries.

Interest income.

Dividends received.

State tax refunds.

Unemployment benefits.

IRA distributions.

Pension income.

Social Security benefits.

Simple capital gains or losses.

Self-employment income.

Gambling winnings.

Education credits.

Earned income credit.

Child tax credit.

Limited itemized deductions.

The VITA students can only file domestic returns. However, SIU international students and faculty may submit their information to www.getyourrefund.org/Franklin, another VITA site with international certifications, to get their returns completed for free, Williams noted.

The services at SIU are also unavailable for people whose returns involve:

Schedule C with losses.

Complicated capital gains and losses (Schedule D).

Nondeductible IRA (Form 8606).

Minors investment income (Form 8615).

Determination of worker status for purposes of federal employment taxes and income tax withholding (Form SS-8).

Premium tax credits (Parts 4 and 5 of Form 8962).

Foreign returns.

What to bring

In order to take advantage of the free tax preparation, community members should bring all of the necessary documents. That includes legal identification, such as a drivers license, passport or state ID, along with Social Security cards and birth dates (for spouse and dependents as well, if applicable).

In addition, bring all necessary tax documents, including all official wage, earning, interest and dividend statements and copies of the previous years state and federal tax returns, if available. Those claiming child care credits will need to bring the day care providers tax identification number (either Social Security number or business employer identification number) and amount paid for child care.

Participants should also bring Letter 6419, which provides information about any Advance Child Tax Credit payments they may have received, if applicable. Failure to provide all of the necessary information could result in the VITA students being unable to complete and file the return on-site and/or the payment of any income tax refund being delayed or hindered, Williams said. In addition, bring a blank check or other proof of bank account routing and account numbers for direct deposit if you anticipate receiving a tax refund.

Fast service, filing included

The VITA services are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who arrive late in the morning or at exceptionally busy times may be asked to return later or the following week if necessary to allow sufficient time for the tax preparation.

Free e-filing is included with the tax preparation.

Note that when married couples are filing a joint return, both must be present to sign the required forms.

For more information, email vita@business.siu.edu or call 618-453-1407.
A 34-year-old Gray Court man is serving a probation term for having a stolen pistol.

James Arthur Prophet II, of 107 Adriann Ave., pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen pistol during a recent term of court held at the Orangeburg County Courthouse.

Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended to 18 months of probation.

She also ordered Prophet to enroll with the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department or Job Corps and complete substance abuse counseling.

She gave Prophet credit for having already served 20 days in jail.

In other recent guilty pleas:

 Lashanda Denise Sims, 37, of 105 Cool Street Road, Norway, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of cocaine.

Goodstein sentenced her to prison for one year, suspended to one year of probation.

She also ordered Sims to enroll with the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department or Job Corps, complete substance abuse counseling, undergo random drug/alcohol testing and attend either Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous twice weekly.

 Aaron Wesley Smoak, 23, of 1663 Bennett Circle, Holly Hill, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods valued at $10,000 or more.

Goodstein sentenced him to prison for seven years, suspended to probation for three years.

She also ordered Smoak to enroll with the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department or Job Corps, complete substance abuse counseling and undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

Goodstein stipulated as part of Smoaks probation term, hes required to remain a minimum of six months at Turning Point rehabilitation. She noted that if Smoak fails to complete his minimum rehabilitation stay, hell be in violation of his probation.

 Deoreon TyRek Steward, 19, of 1814 Middleton St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug and unlawful carrying of a pistol.

Goodstein sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed three years, suspended to two years of probation.

She also ordered Steward to complete substance abuse counseling, undergo random drug/alcohol testing and forfeit his weapon.

 Huey J. Williams Jr., 42, of 1207 Cannon Bridge Road, Cordova, pleaded guilty to first-offense distribution of methamphetamine.

Goodstein sentenced him to 10 years in prison, suspended to five years of probation.

She also ordered Williams to enroll with the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department or Job Corps, complete substance abuse counseling and undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

 Scott Lamont Williams, 27, of 328 Threson St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and second-degree domestic violence.

Goodstein sentenced him to seven years in prison, suspended to two years of probation.

She gave Williams credit for having already served one day in jail.

She also ordered Williams to undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

 Christopher Eugene Wilson, 29, of 512 Longleaf Road, Summerville, pleaded guilty to first-offense third-degree burglary and grand larceny valued more than $2,000 but less than $10,000.

Circuit Judge Heath Taylor sentenced him to three years in prison, provided that after he served 295 days, the remainder of his term would be suspended to three years of probation.

Taylor gave him credit for having already served 295 days in jail.

 David Hill, 23, of 277 Anderson St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of a scheduled drug.

Taylor sentenced him to jail for 90 days and gave him credit for having already served 27 days there.
A 33-year-old St. Matthews man admitted his guilt in an Aug. 22, 2022 incident involving the theft of a catalytic converter on Wingate Street in Orangeburg.

Brandon Lee Hanna, of 170 Wild Rose Road, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy, breaking into a motor vehicle and two counts of transporting or possessing stolen nonferrous metals.

During a recent term of court held at the Orangeburg County Courthouse, Circuit Judge Heath Taylor sentenced him to five years in prison. After he serves 18 months, the remainder of his term will be suspended to five years of probation.

He also ordered Hanna to pay restitution and complete substance abuse counseling.

Taylor gave Hanna credit for having already served 10 months in jail.

Prosecutors dismissed Hannas following charges: malicious injury to personal property valued $2,000 or less and possession of implements capable of being used in a crime.

Charges remain pending against Hannas two co-defendants, both from Orangeburg: Tracy Burke Hughes, 58, of Willington Drive and David Ryan Jones, 36, of 133 Odell Drive.

In other recent guilty pleas:

 Marshall Bernard Felder, 32, of 143 Cold Drive, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense failure to stop for blue lights.

Taylor sentenced him to two days in jail and gave him credit for having already served that time there.

Prosecutors dismissed Felders charges of reckless driving and first-offense uninsured motor vehicle fee violation.

 Kareem Jomon Fludd, 23, of 122 Scenic Drive, St. Matthews, pleaded guilty to unlawful carrying of a pistol.

Taylor sentenced him to pay a $100 fine within 60 days or report to jail for 90 days.

 Shari Danielle Frazier, 38, of 124 Harbison Drive, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to forgery, no dollar amount given.

Taylor sentenced her to one day in jail and gave her credit for having already served that time there.

 Calvin Goff, 64, of 206 Bonanza Road, Eutawville, pleaded guilty to shoplifting with enhancement.

Taylor sentenced him to five years in prison, provided that after he serves 116 days, the remainder of his term will be suspended to two years of probation.

He gave Goff credit for having already served 116 days in jail.

As part of Goffs probation requirement, Taylor ordered him to complete at least six months at an inpatient drug treatment facility.

Prosecutors dismissed Goffs two counts of shoplifting valued at $2,000 or less.

 Brandi Lea Gonzales, 36, of 4428 Birch Street, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of a controlled substance.

Taylor sentenced her to 65 days in jail and gave her credit for having already served that time there.

 Cheryl Lashea Graham, 42, of 1439 River Front Road, Charleston, pleaded guilty to financial transaction card theft and neglect of a vulnerable adult.

Taylor sentenced her to five years in prison, provided that after she serves one year, the remainder of her term will be suspended to five years of probation.

He gave Graham credit for having already served 182 days in jail.

Prosecutors dismissed Grahams two charges of financial transaction card fraud valued $500 or more during a six-month period.

 Treyvion Shaleek High, 24, of 1001 Toney Bay Road, Holly Hill, pleaded guilty to first-offense possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug.

Taylor sentenced him to pay a $100 fine or spend 10 days in jail.

 Tymara Marie Irick, 25, of 217 Casa Court, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person.

Taylor sentenced her under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed one year, suspended to two days in jail.

He gave Irick credit for having already served two days in jail.

 Charles Quincy Jackson, 41, of 68 Peterkin Street, Denmark, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree domestic violence.

Taylor sentenced him to prison for three years, provided that after he served four days, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

He gave Jackson credit for having already served four days in jail.

 Leroy Antwan Jenkins, 41, of 244 Sanibel Drive, Eutawville, pleaded guilty to first-offense failure to stop for blue lights.

Taylor sentenced him to two years in prison, provided that after he served one day, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

He gave Jenkins credit for having already served one day in jail.

Prosecutors dismissed Jenkins charges of first-offense driving under suspension and first-offense possession with intent to distribute a schedule drug.

 Nick Taiste, 21, of Hugine Suites Building K, S.C. State University, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and battery.

Taylor sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed three years, suspended to 30 months of probation.

He gave Taiste credit for having already served two days in jail.
WALTERBORO -- "I did him so bad."

That's what a South Carolina investigator on Monday testified that Alex Murdaugh had uttered between sobs during a recorded interview three days after Murdaugh's wife and son were killed.

But to others inside and outside the courtroom, it sounded like Murdaugh said, "They did him so bad," on the audio from a police interview that was played at the disgraced attorney's double murder trial after he was asked about a picture of his son's body.

Court ended Monday before the defense could cross-examine the agent.

Earlier in the day, defense attorneys continued to question the way state authorities collected and analyzed evidence in the shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife and son.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. His wife, Maggie, 52, was shot several times with a rifle; their son Paul, 22, was shot twice with a shotgun near kennels on the property. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

In the interview played Monday, Murdaugh spoke to the state agent at his brother's house for about an hour three days after the killings. Murdaugh's lawyer was close by.

Prosecutors paused the video several times to give State Law Enforcement Division Senior Special Agent Jeff Croft a chance to emphasize some of Murdaugh's comments. At one point, Murdaugh said his wife was home hours before the killings when he and his son returned from riding around the property. Later in the interview, Murdaugh could be heard saying "It's just so bad," before the unclear comment that Croft said sounded like Murdaugh was implying he had killed his son.

After mentioning a small disagreement he had with his wife over visiting her family, Murdaugh broke into sobs during the 2021 interview.

"She was a wonderful girl and a wonderful wife. And she was a great mother," Murdaugh said.

Monday started with cross-examination of another state agent who testified at length about evidence collected from the Murdaugh home and property.

Similarly to the previous days of testimony, officers and crime scene technicians presented evidence to the jury that investigators will likely later explain in more detail. Prosecutors described their case as a puzzle in last week's opening statement.

While cross-examining witnesses, though, defense attorneys have asked questions suggesting the metaphorical puzzle pieces either aren't clear or prosecutors aren't putting them all on the table.

State Law Enforcement Division Special Agent Melinda Worley testified Friday about photographs of the bodies, shotgun pellets and DNA swabs from the scene as well as clothes and fingernail clippings from the autopsies.

In Monday's cross-examination, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian honed in on several items, including identifying footprints, one of Worley's specialties. She told him one of the footprints in blood near where Murdaugh's son was shot came from a deputy.

"Is that the preservation of the scene that your standards require?" Harpootlian asked.

"Not exactly, no," Worley responded.

Harpootlian also had Worley come off the stand and work on a rough diagram of the angles of the shots fired at Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, pointing out a significant disparity between the directions the shots at each victim came from.

Worley said that can happen when a shooter is moving.

"One explanation would be movement. One explanation would be two shooters," Harpootlian said.

Alex Murdaugh continued to rock and dab his eyes during more graphic testimony, including when Harpootlian showed a photo of his wife's body to ask Worley if there could have been a shoeprint on his wife's calf that was not formally documented as the scene was examined.

Worley said she couldn't be certain.

Croft was one of the chief agents investigating the double killings and also testified about guns, ammunition, and fired casings gathered from the Murdaugh home after the killings, showing at least four different shotguns and rifles to the jury and testifying that the Murdaughs kept the weapons loaded in their gun room.

In his interview, Murdaugh told Croft that his son was unfocused and would stay with family and friends across the state, leaving his possessions behind instead of bringing them home.

"He did that with clothes, he did that with guns he did that with my boats," Murdaugh said.

Prosecutors in their opening statement said the guns that killed Paul and Maggie Murdaugh have not been found, but markings on casings found around the home that may have been used for target practice matched casings found at the scene.

Alex Murdaugh also faces about 100 charges related to accusations of money laundering, stealing millions from clients and the family law firm, tax evasion and trying to get a man to fatally shoot him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. He was being held in jail without bail on those counts before he was charged with murder.

Since the killings, Murdaugh's life has seen a stunningly fast downfall. His family dominated the legal system in tiny neighboring Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases.
China will stop accrediting foreign diplomas and degrees obtained via online courses starting from the spring semester this year as major overseas study destinations have opened their borders, according to the Ministry of Education's Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange.

Since 2020, the center has accredited the qualifications earned by Chinese students who were supposed to study in-person but were forced to study partly or fully online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The accreditation is important for the students to find jobs in China.

However, as the pandemic situation in major overseas study destinations and China changes, the center will stop the temporary measures from the new spring semester (fall semester in the Southern Hemisphere), the center said in a notice on Saturday.

The center stressed that it has never recognized purely online teaching programs.

It encourages students to return to their universities as soon as possible given the differences in teaching schedules of universities in different countries.

Students still unable to return to their universities in the new semester due to force majeure need to have written proof and submit it to the center when they want to get their qualifications accredited, it said.

Students who have chosen to study online for the new semester and are not allowed to change it by the universities can still have their diplomas recognized, the center said in a further notice issued on Sunday.

If the universities only offer online courses in the new semester, the students should contact them and return to their campus for study in the next semester, the notice said.

Students having difficulties getting visas and booking flights can take online courses temporarily while the procedures are finished, the notice said.

Those who are in their final semester of study need to confirm with their universities whether they can return to their campus, and if not, the students need to prepare written evidentiary documentation to have their qualifications recognized by the center.

Students who are studying in Ukraine and cannot return to the country in the new semester can attend courses online, and students who study in Russia and are also impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and cannot return to their universities can also have their qualifications recognized, the notice added.

Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said while allowing students who cannot travel to overseas universities to have their qualifications recognized shows concern and care for the students, stopping the temporary measure safeguards educational equality.

"To seek profit, some foreign institutions have offered distance learning programs with low quality, and recognizing this kind of diploma only hurts students who studied hard overseas to get their diploma," he said.

While the barriers posed by COVID-19 for Chinese students studying overseas have been removed, there is no reason for them to continue studying online, he said.

With the number of Chinese students studying overseas increasing over the years, the appeal of overseas degrees in the domestic job market is declining, so a strict accreditation system is required to weed out students who just obtained a foreign diploma but learned little, he added.
Special elections are set in the Orangeburg County towns of Branchville and Norway on March 28.

The elections will be held to fill the unexpired term of former Norway Mayor Tracie Clemons and the unexpired term of Branchville Town Councilman Charles Dukes.

Clemons resigned from her position at the end of the Norway Town Council meeting on Dec. 5. Her term would have expired in November 2023, when the next regular election is scheduled. Dukes also resigned from his position on the Branchville Town Council. His four-year term would have also expired in November of 2023.

The next regular election in both municipalities is scheduled for Nov. 7.

Filing for both seats ended Monday, Jan. 30. Lynn P. Garrick was the only person to file for Clemson's former seat. Wendy Myles was the lone filer for Dukes' seat.

The special election is set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at the Norway Senior Center, located at 105 St. John Ave. in Norway, according to Orangeburg County Voter Registration and Election Office Director Aurora Smalls.

Smalls said the special election in Branchville is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 28 at the Branchville Commuity Center at 7647 Freedom Road in Branchville.

She said only registered voters residing within each town's limits are eligible to vote.

Votes cast in each election will be certified at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Orangeburg County Voter Registration and Election Office, 1475 Amelia St. in Orangeburg.

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COLUMBIA  The South Carolina House of Representatives passed in second reading H. 3614, which would prohibit a public utility from taking action against an employee who reported wrongdoing.

The Rate Payer Protection Act was sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, and Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Florence. It now heads to the Senate.

Todays vote is an important step in holding public utilities accountable to the ratepayers, Ott said. This bill does two things: protects public utility employees when they do the right thing by reporting wrongdoing and protects the ratepayer from public utilities engaging in that wrongdoing. Im glad the House moved quickly on this bill and Im hopeful our colleagues in the Senate will do the same.

Weve seen public utilities be untruthful before, Kirby said. This bill will make it much harder for them to hide the truth from the public and retaliate against employees who have the courage to speak up. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came together to make this legislation a priority and Im confident that it will be signed into law soon.

The House passed in second reading H. 3614 with overwhelming support on Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 114-0.
COLUMBIA -- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and PalmettoPride announce a comprehensive joint study on the efficacy of state litter statutes and enforcement practices and procedures.

The multistate study is the first of its kind in the country and can serve as a benchmark to measure litter control enforcement efforts across the country.

The two states engaged with Carson Consulting to review existing state litter laws and interview key stakeholders to evaluate the strength of the states current litter enforcement tools and systems.

Carson Consulting conducted a mixed-methods study examining five years of data from 2016-20 and conducted interviews with representatives of law enforcement and judicial officers to gain on-the-ground insight.

A primary focus of the research included examining Pennsylvania and South Carolina statutes regarding penalties and reviewing the attitudes, behaviors, and influences that emerge by comparing case disposition with interviews.

Four key takeaways from the study reveal that enforcement is considered necessary to stopping littering and illegal dumping but that activity is low; officers or judges do not favor high fines; there is a high rate of guilty convictions; and community service requirements are considered effective in sentencing.

Enforcing litter laws is crucial to changing behaviors that create litter, said Sarah Lyles, executive director of PalmettoPride, but those laws need to be enforceable from ticketing to adjudication. This study helps to support and identify what is most effective from a law enforcement and judicial perspective.

The Litter Law Studies in each state are part of larger initiatives dealing with litter prevention. The goal of Pennsylvanias Litter Action Plan is to prevent littering through the development and implementation of a research-based plan of recommended actions that can be used statewide to change littering behavior over time. PalmettoPride, South Carolinas anti- litter organization, will release a litter study in 2023.

Pennsylvanias Litter Action Plan of 2021 called for litter law enhancements, including but not limed to the following action items: evaluate and update littering and illegal dumping fines, mandate litter pick-up, and link community service to litter clean-ups. This research, which details the efficacy of the states thirteen litter and illegal dumping laws, is the first step in this process, said Shannon Reiter, president of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Litter is not a problem unique to any area, state or county. Population density, individual attitudes, and infrastructure are just some factors that impact how well we deal with the amount of waste produced.

This study provides insight into a much bigger conversation about how we address solid waste, Lyles said. Globally, we are playing catch up with a decades-old system.

Carson Consulting is a global consulting company specializing in litter, illegal dumping, and waste management issues. Dr. Carson and the team conducts research on these issues to determine the effectiveness and efficacy of related programs and provides a unique blend of analytical and operational expertise in addressing littering behavior and identifying innovative solutions. Carson Consulting is working with several other states on similar litter studies, providing hope for change for Reiter and Lyles, who are both state leaders for Keep America Beautiful.

Systematic change takes time. Understanding the scope of the problem and the efficacy of existing tools in the toolbox are critical. As more and more states turn their attention to addressing litter and illegal dumping, our hope is that lessons learned in Pennsylvania, can not only add value, but also move those discussions forward, Reiter said.

The study was funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

PalmettoPride is working towards a litter-free South Carolina. It is a legislative initiative to fight litter and help beautify South Carolina by engaging citizens to take action in their communities through education, enforcement, awareness and pickup.
This story was originally published in the Jan. 31 edition of the Star-Tribune. As a service to our print-only readers, we are republishing it.

Susie McMurry, a Casper philanthropist and volunteer known for her decades of generous giving, died Saturday. She was 76.

McMurry died at Wyoming Medical Center after a lifelong battle with diabetes, according to an obituary posted to Bustard and Jacoby Funeral Home in Casper. Her family confirmed that she had passed Saturday morning. A Casper native, McMurrys legacy of giving can be seen in countless Wyoming organizations and buildings that were supported through her contributions. She and her husband, Mick, started the McMurry Foundation, which awarded nearly $50 million in its first 15 years of operation alone. They assisted groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming, the University of Wyoming, Caspers YMCA and Wyoming Medical Center, among many others.

Mickey was in charge of making the money, and certainly he had input on what philanthropic endeavors they should support, said Cary Brus, a director of Jonah Bank who has worked closely with the family for decades. But Susie was in charge of directing the philanthropic efforts, to a larger degree.

Looking back on the couples legacy, he said, its hard to put into words how many communities theyve touched.

Blessing others

McMurry was raised in Elk Mountain and Hanna before returning to the Oil City to attend Casper College. She graduated with an education degree from the University of Wyoming and taught for a time in Casper.

In 1973, she married Mick, who later developed Jonah Field in southwest Wyoming. That success made them two of the wealthiest people in the state. They used that wealth to help numerous organizations and countless Wyomingites.

Susie courageously always thought of others first, her obituary states. She gave from her heart and was a living legacy of joy, kindness, love, and faith. Her life was about blessing others.

Around the time of her wedding to Mick, McMurry befriended Barbara Cubin, who went on to serve as Wyomings sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009. That friendship  which also included former state superintendent Judy Catchpole  predated the success of Jonah Field, but the money didnt change our relationship one single bit, Cubin said. We were still common people at heart.

Catchpole added, Susie is the best friend anyone could have.

Even after decades of friendship, McMurrys devotion to children was a point of amazement for Catchpole. McMurry was instrumental in the creation of the Child Development Center of Natrona County.

She was just a leader in getting those things to happen for children in Casper, Catchpole said. It was so fun to watch her.

Making a difference

Without McMurry and the familys philanthropic efforts, Casper would be a different place, she said.

The McMurrys touched nearly every corner of the university with their philanthropy, said UW spokesperson Chad Baldwin. The High Altitude Performance Center, a gym located at the universitys Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium, for example, is endowed in their names. And theyve made contributions to UWs marching band, college of business, college of education, college of health sciences and the library.

In addition to her philanthropy, McMurry volunteered much of her time to the causes she believed in, Cubin said. She donated not only her money, but her life.

Jamie Purcell, executive director of the Wyoming Food for Thought Project, recalled meeting McMurry while working for the Boys & Girls Club. The philanthropist supported Wyoming Food for Thought Project when it was a fledgling organization aiming to tackle food insecurity in the Casper area.

She would make sure to say hello to all of us, Purcell said. She knew us as people and friendly faces, and it meant so much to me coming up through the ranks of [community] development and nonprofits to have someone as influential as Susie McMurry know my name and say hello to me.

McMurry saw the value in Wyoming Food for Thought and community groups when others did not, and she had faith in those working to better Casper, Purcell said  and, unlike some philanthropic organizations that ask for detailed accounting down to the penny, truly invested in what they supported, she said.

They got to know you. You developed a relationship and then they would give you a gift for your mission. It was very trust-based, she said.

Susie very much believed in investing in the community in so many different ways. Its just highly impactful to have someone so influential, but also so kind, trust that our mission was going to be doing what we said it was, Purcell said. To have their backing meant just so much to us.

McMurry continued her philanthropic work after Micks death in 2015.

After Mickey died, Susie stepped up in a way that surprised all of us, Brus, the former McMurry employee, said.

She was every bit his equal in many respects, he added, and sometimes his superior.

Kindness and faith

But those close to McMurry spoke about more than her kindness and generosity. They also recalled her devotion to her Catholic faith, and her sense of humor.

She had a rapier wit, Brus said. And I think that, coupled with her wonderful [judgement] of people around her for good traits and bad  it was a blast just to be in the same room with her and hear her sense of humor on full display.

Cubin, her lifelong friend, said the pair found ways to laugh through it all. They amassed plenty of inside jokes over the decades, she said. The sort that you wouldnt put in the newspaper.

McMurry had a great giggle, Catchpole added.

We loved to have fun and giggle and do things together with our families, she said.

McMurry is survived by her daughters, Trudi (Tyler) Holthouse and Jillian McMurry, sister San Koeneke, and grandchildren Lou McMurry, Tayla Davis, Tillie Holthouse, Ellie Holthouse, Evie, Lily, Max, and Drew Kaschmitter. She was preceded in death by Mick McMurry, her parents Robert and Tillie and her sisters Trudy Wilson and Pat Quigly.

Her family has asked memorial contributions be made to the Child Development Center of Natrona County or the McMurry Foundation.

A Rosary is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at St. Patricks Catholic Church in Casper. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, also at St. Patricks.
CHEYENNE  Wyoming voters could very well see greater restrictions around crossover voting in coming elections after a committee advanced two bills on Monday that would narrow the time frame when people could jump from one party to another.

House Bill 207, sponsored by Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, would put in place a 14-day blackout period before primary elections, during which time voters would not be able to change their party affiliation from one major party to another.

They also would not be able to make that change at the polls on the day of the primary election or when requesting an absentee ballot, although those particular restrictions dont apply if the voter is changing affiliation between minor parties or if theyre unaffiliated.

Crossover voting has been a topic thats come before the Legislature several times since the 2014 elections, Zwonitzer said. The practice came to the forefront in particular during the last election cycle as some Democrats crossed over to the Republican Party to vote for Wyomings former Rep. Liz Cheney, who ultimately lost her race to Rep. Harriet Hageman.

The drumbeat gets louder, the cry gets louder about, We got to do something. And I think this last primary election season 94% of the state voted in the Republican primary. Certainly an issue there, Zwonitzer said before the committee.

What Im attempting to do is a very small step to say weve done something, because weve kind of had this all or nothing approach now for the past decade.

Zwonitzers bill passed in a 5-3 vote. Reps. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, and Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, voted no. Rep. Cody Wylie, R-Rocks Springs, was excused.

The other proposed legislation, House Bill 103, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, is more restrictive.

The blackout period for changing party affiliation would be 45 days before the primary election, and 14 days before the general election.

Moving into this session, once again, it was an overwhelming drive by my constituents to say, Hey, we need to address, we need to talk about this once again, Haroldson said.

While both Zwonitzers and Haroldsons bills impose greater restrictions, neither are as stringent as some of the options that initially came before the House Corporations Committee Monday afternoon.

Haroldsons bill, as it was originally written, would have barred voters from changing their party affiliation after the first day of the candidate filing period. In other words, voters wouldnt have been able to see what their options were before deciding which party ticket they wanted to vote on.

Help me understand how thats good for the voters if they dont even know whos running for office, committee chairman Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, asked Haroldson, who explained that this was the cutoff date that his constituents have overwhelmingly been asking for.

But the committee ended up adopting an amendment to the bill brought forward Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, to change that deadline, barring voters from changing party affiliation within 45 days prior to a primary election instead. The bill, with Harshmans amendment, ended up passing in a 7-1 vote. Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, voted no. Wylie was excused.

Another bill sponsored by Rep. Cyrus Western, R-Big Horn, would have done the same thing as Haroldsons bill prior to it being amended. The committee didnt end up voting on Westerns House Bill 141 since it was the same as House Bill 103.

Secretary of State Chuck Gray favored House Bills 141 and 103, telling the committee that he believes crossover voting has undermined the sanctity of Wyomings primary process in the past several election cycles. He also specifically said he supported the stricter cutoff date for party affiliation changes.

I prefer the start of the filing period as the deadline, because I think your party affiliation membership really transcends who the candidates are, Gray said.

But Gail Symons, owner of the nonpartisan blog Civics307, warned of the unintended consequences of restricting party affiliation changes to this degree.

Be careful of what you ask for, Symons said. You shut down party affiliation changes in the cycle, and I guarantee you that you just kill whats left of the Democratic Party, because everybody who cares about who gets elected to any office is going to change to Republican and stay there.

Mary Lankford, a lobbyist for the County Clerks Association of Wyoming, said clerks would be able to administer the processes in either of the bills, but that House Bill 103 in particular would require pretty heavy voter education for the public so that they arent caught short.

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In the latest attempt to give Wyoming clearer hate crimes protections, a new bill would establish penalties for acts of violence and vandalism motivated by prejudice toward another persons race, color, sex, creed or national origin.

Hate crimes, also called bias crimes, refer to crimes committed against people or groups for having specific characteristics. Someone who deliberately damages a mosque out of animus for Muslim people, for example, would fit that definition.

But Wyoming state statute doesnt directly address those kinds of crimes  at least, not as explicitly as federal law does.

Groups of lawmakers and activists in Wyoming have been trying for years to change that, without success.

So House Bill 280  sponsored by Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne  is giving it another shot.

New penalties

The bill would amend Wyoming statute 6-9-102, which holds that no person shall be denied the right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness or the necessities of life the above protected classes.

Violating the law is currently a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a fine of up to $750.

House Bill 280 would add specific penalties for bias-motivated acts of violence and vandalism on top of that.

Causing bodily harm to another person because of their race, color, sex, creed or national origin would be considered a misdemeanor, the bill says.

Defacing, injuring or destroying the property of another person for the above reasons would also be a misdemeanor, so long as the damage amounted to less than $1,000.

Both would come with punishments of up to six months in jail and a fine of $750 max.

More severe hate crimes would face harsher punishment.

Anyone who inflicts, or attempts to inflict, serious bodily injury on the basis of someone elses race, color, sex, creed or national origin could face up to 10 years in prison. (Serious bodily injury refers to bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or which causes miscarriage, severe disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.)

Bias-motivated acts vandalism that cause more than $1,000 in property damage would likewise face up to 10 years and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Those penalties are the same as current punishments for bodily injury and vandalism, Zwonitzer said.

The district attorney or the county attorney would just be able to charge them under the hate crime statute are the regular property damage or assault battery statutes, he said.

If passed into law, the amendments would take effect immediately.

Long odds

House Bill 280 takes after a bill drafted by a committee of lawmakers in 2021. The Joint Judiciary Committee spent that year considering potential hate crimes legislation for Wyoming, but ultimately voted not to sponsor any for the 2022 session.

Zwonitzer doesnt expect things to go differently this time.

Its probably not leaving the Speakers desk, he said.

While lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Wyoming have supported the idea of hate crimes law, hard-line conservatives tend to oppose it.

And with the statehouse leaning farther right this year, the odds of House Bill 280 gaining traction are slim, Zwonitzer said.

Thats partly why the bill doesnt bother with expanding protected classes.

While there have been attempts to add sexual orientation, gender identity and religion into Wyomings anti-discrimination statute in the past, more and more lawmakers seem ideologically opposed to the idea of protected classes in general. Anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws are meant to protect everyone equally, but some view the phrase protected classes as implying the law will favor people with certain characteristics over others.

Zwonitzer said another bill hes sponsoring, which addresses assault against health care workers, caught criticism during a Friday committee meeting for trying to make nurses a protected class.

House Bill 280 comes as more and more Wyoming communities have taken an interest in adopting, or expanding, their own local hate crimes and non-discrimination laws.

Last year, Cheyenne and Casper both passed hate crimes ordinances. (Caspers also banned discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation.)

Towns like Gillette and Riverton have both expressed interest in following suit, said Sara Burlingame, executive director of Wyoming Equality.
Bruce Moats has been accused of never having met a document that shouldnt be public or a meeting that shouldnt be open.

Largely I plead guilty to that, though not totally, the grayed, wiry 66-year-old Cheyenne attorney said.

Moats mindset and bias toward transparency was born partly from his upbringing, he said. Growing up in a massive family, with 10 kids, decision-making was a collective effort. Functioning as a family wouldnt have worked, he said, unless all of us [knew] whats going on.

That just makes such simple sense to me, Moats said, I find it astounding I have to argue about it sometimes.

Moats thought back on his life and career as the chatter of dozens of journalists permeated a fast-filling ballroom at the Little America hotel in Cheyenne. The babbling scribes, photographers and publishers were assembled for the Wyoming Press Associations final salute to the late Jim Angell, a longtime AP Bureau chief and WPA executive director who advocated alongside Moats for decades for open Wyoming government.

Now Moats, too, is leaving. After 40 or so WPA conventions, its probably my last, he said.

The longtime legal counsel for Wyomings fourth estate is forthcoming about why hes stepping away. His 13-year-old granddaughter, Lily Alicia Gomez Moats, has battled aplastic anemia  a potentially life-threatening condition that has channeled her grandpas fight away from his profession.

Its just this constant pressure thats changed me, Moats said of Lilys anemia. I just dont have the gumption to fight  not in a fisticuff way  but just standing strong and saying, You cant do this. I just dont have it.

But fight, Moats did. The journalist-turned-attorney is retiring from a four-decades-long battle for the publics right to know. Its a safe bet to say he knows the Wyoming Public Records Act better than anybody. Hes repeatedly brought newspapers disputes all the way to the Wyoming Supreme Court, where he amassed nine victories to only three losses. And Moats has provided a voice, calling for transparency, for generations of Wyoming journalists who are being shut out or stonewalled.

When I was a reporter, I always sided with openness, but didnt really have anybody to say it, Moats said. You cant quote yourself. So I became that [voice for others].

Newspaper reporter

A job offer from the then-publisher of the Lovell Chronicle, Pat Schmidt, introduced Moats, a native of Montana, to Wyoming.

Faced with a small editorial staff, Moats pretty much wrote the whole paper. But the duo had to get creative in their effort to chronicle life in Big Horn County while staying true to journalistic ethics and standards, Schmidt said.

Right off the bat I got crazy and I decided to run for school board, Schmidt said. Bruce and I, we worked out a deal where he would cover the school board meetings and I wouldnt edit his stories.

In Schmidts estimation, Moats was a stud reporter. He got a tip and broke the news when charges were being filed against John Story, the town doctor, in a case that ultimately revealed the family physician sexually assaulted legions of Lovell women.

All of our friends  Bruces friends, my friends  were behind the doctor, Schmidt recalled. But he reported on it and kept on it and did a great job.

Story spent 16 years in prison.

Next stop was Sheridan. It was the late 1980s, and Moats was hired as a reporter but rose to become the editor of the Sheridan Press. Around this time, hed doubled down on his love of the profession, marrying a fellow journalist, a photographer named Cecilia Ontiveroz.

We got married in the Sheridan Press, Moats said. Milton Chilcott was the publisher and he agreed to it. He got the champagne for us, too.

Protecting speech

The pivot away from hands-on journalism came in Moats early 30s. Moving to Laramie for a communications job at the University of Wyoming, he had his sights set on law school. All along his interest was in standing up for the First Amendment, an inkling he had early on in life.

Free speech is really about free thought, Moats said. They want to control your speech because they want to control your thinking. They want to control how much information you have to control your thinking and control your thoughts. And thats something thats always rubbed against my brain. I dont want somebody trying to control me.

Moats could have chased down the big bucks. He graduated at the top of his class at UW, Schmidt said.

Instead, he opted for civil rights and media law. It happened organically.

Newspaper people just kind of knew me, Moats said. So they started calling me.

Eventually, for a $2,500 annual retainer, Moats became the official attorney for the Wyoming Press Association. Under the arrangement hed take any reporters phone calls via the hotline (really just his office or cell phone) and give advice. Although hed bill media outlets and WPA for additional work, like letter writing or court appearances, there was an unavoidable opportunity cost to channeling his lawyering toward journalism  a profession rolling in ink, but not so much dough.

Ive given away a lot to the press and the association on non-hotline issues, but its a labor of love, Moats said. And Ive been able to make a sufficient living for my family.

Until 2015, Moats was also a lobbyist for WPA. It was a role he played for 15 years or so, and it had him guarding against state laws that inhibit the free flow of information. He wasnt always successful, like when the Wyoming Legislature exempted itself from the Wyoming Public Records Act.

Moats was following the legislation (nearly two decades later he immediately remembered the bill number) when he caught word of an impromptu, secretive House committee hearing that was being held to advance the measure.

A Capitol employee who shall remain unnamed tipped me off that they were going to meet in the basement of the Capitol underneath the attorney generals office, Moats said. It was a room that was unfinished, with pipes all over. Jim Angell and I were sitting in that room when they filed in. Thats one of my cherished memories, the looks on their faces.

Although it was his job, it wasnt easy to go in a room of 20 people and admonish them for meeting like that. Confrontations of that nature, being the skunk at the picnic, didnt always come painlessly for Moats. He recalled another time, in Big Horn County, where public officials were meeting secretly and he pulled the same move  showing up anyway.

Then they were going to go into executive session and I said, No, I dont think you can do that, Moats recalled. It wasnt easy for me to do, I just knew I had to do it.

The Big Horn County officials adjourned rather than conduct their business in front of Moats.

First Amendment successes

Over the decades, Moats scored plenty of victories for the publics right to know.

After moving on to become publisher of the Thermopolis Independent Record, Schmidt recalled enlisting the help of his former reporter in a case where the Hot Springs County sheriff and county attorney decided they no longer had to reveal who was being held in jail.

We took them on and persevered with a little bit of financial help from the Press Association, Schmidt said. It was all Bruce. Boy did he do a job on it.

The county attorney got voted out in the next election, he said, and public officials were leery of taking on the Thermopolis Independent Record for years to come.

In 2019 and 2020, Moats sued the University of Wyoming, and won, on behalf of WyoFile, the Casper Star-Tribune and Cheyennes Wyoming Tribune Eagle when trustees refused to share records related to the sudden dismissal of President Laurie Nichols. The case set a precedent by challenging an often-used, overly broad interpretation of personnel-file exemptions to public records laws.

That was Moats role: The go-to source for Wyoming journalists up against a wall.

WyoFile reporter Angus M. Thuermer Jr., a longtime editor for the Jackson Hole News and, later, News&Guide, guesses he made roughly quarterly calls to Moats when in a bind.

At the Casper Star Tribune, former editor Dan Neal also leaned into the WPAs legal counsel time and again.

We talked to Bruce a lot, more than youd think would be necessary, Neal said. Bruce was always there to give you the language you needed to make it clear  whether it was to a city official, or a state official  that the law required them to make information available to the public.

Moats other role was as an educator, Neal said. Along with Jim Angell, he gave seminars around the state, teaching public officials about the Wyoming Public Records Act, public meetings laws and the publics right to access information.

Nowadays, the whole institution is on the backslide. Wyoming newspapers have trimmed down for years, a dynamic that hastened during the pandemic. Angell died last summer. Moats is retiring. Wyoming journalism is lacking much of the infrastructure it relied on for years to stand up for itself. When bills that may infringe on the press First Amendment rights are moving through the statehouse, theres been no one there to push back.

Shared truth born from grinding journalism, like reporters sitting in city council meetings, has suffered, Moats estimates.

Thats scary to me, he said. Now its more the government dispensing the information, putting it up on their website, their Facebook pages. Thats what we have to rely on. Experience tells me thats not a good thing.

Going home

Moats is migrating back to Montana, drawn toward siblings who still live in the vicinity of the family ranch where he will live. His Cheyenne office is emptied and the plan is to sell his Wyoming house. Hell again be a regular consumer of his hometown paper, the Mineral Independent, and maybe even a contributing reporter.

Just for fun, Moats said. I enjoyed being a reporter.

First, however, theres some unfinished business in Wyoming. Theres a couple pending cases hes litigating, both journalism related. One is a challenge of ordinances that Mills and Bar Nunn passed, exempting themselves from having to publish public notices in the newspaper of record.

The other is a dispute Moats entered into on behalf of the Newcastle News Letter Journal, challenging the secret ballot Weston County commissioners used to find a replacement for former Rep. Hans Hunt, R-Newcastle. Through discovery, Moats learned that the county commissioners had been communicating via a group text thread in alleged violation of Wyoming Public Meetings Act regulations. He even found evidence that they were voting via text message.

They voted on some payment authorizations, Moats said. Most of them were pretty small [amounts], but still 

At least one group of Weston County residents, he said, are upset at the secret voting. That sentiment has been a common thread Moats has observed throughout his career.

People care about open government, they do, Moats said. Time and time again, people have said to me, Were happy for what youre doing. Keep doing it. Its important.
Telecoms provider Flow will increase prices next month.

In a notice to its customers on Wednesday, Flow said the 3.5-per cent increase in its Internet and cable packages will come into effect on May 1.

Another notice was sent to customers with multiple cable boxes via e-mail on Wednesday.
Your childs education should be a family priority, according to Kimarie Richardson-Thomas, who has taught for 23 years in the public school system.

Richardson-Thomas is the Academic Dean at Goodwood Secondary School, and teaches English Language, English Literature, and CAPE Communication Studies.
NATIONAL Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said the Government has no intention of calling a state of emergency in response to the escalation of crime, especially murders in Trinidad and Tobago.

And he also put to rest calls for him to devise a crime plan, saying it is not his job.
Medicinal plant brews up sweet life for locals

Xinhua) 08:38, January 31, 2023

Li Chunyan produces the special "vine tea" in Qing'an Village of Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, July 9, 2022. (Xinhua)

CHANGSHA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Displaying a tea caddy in front of the smartphone, Li Chunyan enthusiastically introduced the special "vine tea" grown in the Wuling Mountains, to promote sales online.

Vine tea, or Ampelopsis grossedentata, is a medicinal plant, and locals call it "meicha." "We Tujia people affectionately refer to it as 'Tujia divine tea' since it has both edible and medicinal properties," said Li, a local of Qing'an Village in Zhangjiajie, a renowned tourist city in central China's Hunan Province.

"In addition to lucid water and lush mountains, Zhangjiajie is also known for its unique agricultural goods, like this snow-white vine tea in my hand...," Li introduced to the audience.

Over 10 years ago, Li and her husband both quit their jobs in more developed coastal areas to start a new business in their hometown. In 2015, the couple started to develop a vine tea base.

"We sowed 12 mu (about 0.8 hectares) the first year, and to our surprise, we earned over 100,000 yuan (about 14,800 U.S. dollars)," said Li.

Later, they established a company and encouraged other villagers to plant such tea together, gradually increasing the scope of their operation each year.

Li said that the sales of her company topped 20 million yuan in 2022, and more than 300 households in Qing'an Village now grow vine tea.

"I buy fresh leaves directly from the villagers, so they do not have to worry about sales. When it's the leaf-picking season, everyone can help pick leaves and make some extra cash without leaving their homes," Li said.

"I used to plant corn and peanuts, and can barely make ends meet. With the growth of the vine tea industry in the village, I can now earn money not only by picking tea leaves but also by planting them," said Hu Guoying, a Qing'an villager.

"Now, I have some savings, and my family recently moved into a new house," said Hu.

"Vine tea is now the dominant industry in Yongding District (where the village is located), playing a vital role in consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements and in promoting rural revitalization," said Tian Liping, the secretary-general of the Zhangjiajie vine tea association.

According to Wang Xuejun, head of Yongding District, the district has become a major producing base of vine tea. Its vine tea industry now hires over 90,000 people and has an annual turnover of 2.2 billion yuan.

"We will continue to accelerate scientific and technological innovation, build brands and expand the market to pursue high-quality development of the vine tea industry," said Wang.

Li Chunyan introduces the special "vine tea" grown in the Wuling Mountains online to promote sales at a warehouse in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 20, 2022. (Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Government needs to promote discussion and engage the public more on initiatives that have major implications for the people and society of Trinidad and Tobago.

One example is the current push towards a cashless society in a world touted as one of financial inclusion. This initiative is being led by the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC), which heads the Governments digitalisation initiatives in the financial services sector, and Visa, one of the worlds biggest names in digital payments.
The Motet is bringing its funk, soul and jazz-influenced sound to the opening night of the three-day Tucson Gem & Jam Festival, taking the audience on what founder Dave Watts called a psychedelic and cathartic journey through different musical concepts.

Watts, who founded the group in Denver, Colorado, in 1998, shared what the audience should expect when the band takes the late-night headlining stage on Friday, Feb. 3.

A later set  the band goes on at 10:45 p.m.  and a venue like Gem & Jam is always appropriate for us to do our instrumental exploratory side of our sound, Watts said.

Watts and his versatile electronic dance music group are making a return visit to the festival, which Watts said is always a pleasurable experience for them.

The band is touring on its just released album All Day, their first instrumental record since 2009.

Its really satisfying for us to be able to put out an album that really features the band, he said.

Watts handles the drums for The Motet with Joey Porter on the keys, Garrett Sayers on bass, Drew Sayers on saxophone and Ryan Jalbert on guitar.

After vocalist Lyle Divinsky and trumpet player Parris Fleming left the band during the pandemic, Watts decided to focus the group more on its instruments.

Creating sounds that are different is what the group strives towards, and their traversing music between funk, soul, jazz and rock does just that. Watts prefers his music to have a more alternative arrangement, making the next beat unpredictable.

Weve gotten into more sort of synthesizer music, he said, explaining that the groups new focused style would have been prevalent in the groove and funk-oriented 1980s or 90s.

Watts said his bandmates have embraced the new direction and it feels really good.

Besides a stimulating and elating audiovisual dance fest, Gem & Jam presents more than just a euphonious experience for guests.

Theres a certain spiritual side, Watts said, adding that the festivals audience really likes to lose themselves and the band tends to cater to that.

Well explore whatever vortex in the area happens at that time, he said.

The Motet is on a lineup that includes LSDREAM, which also is focused on the psychedelic side of music, and the jam band The String Cheese Incident.

Whenever we are back in town together it feels like a family affair, Watts said of being on the lineup with The String Cheese Incident, which also is based in Colorado. The bands share 20 years of history, he said.

Were excited to get down somewhere different like Tucson, Watts said.
Pima County sheriff's deputies working off-duty at a north-side store heard gunshots behind the store Saturday and found a 15-year-old who had been fatally shot, police said Monday.

The teen, Carlos Cadena, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, the Tucson Police Department said in a news release, also giving the following account:

Homicide detectives learned that a group of adults and juveniles got into a physical fight behind the store, a Walmart in the 400 block of East Wetmore Road, and gunshots were fired.

Several witnesses to the shooting left the area before police arrived.

"Detectives are actively working to determine a motive and to identify a suspect as details are extremely limited at this time," police said.

Detectives are asking anyone with information or who was at the scene to call 88-CRIME; callers may remain anonymous.

Tucson has seen five homicides in 2023, one more than in 2022 at this time, police said.
Winter is always a busy time in Tucson. People who live in cold weather climates flock to Tucson like sandhill cranes; students return to class. Its a great time to open a restaurant, with the rest of our glorious spring to capitalize on sunny weather.

At least 20 local restaurants have either opened or expanded this winter. Heres the rundown!

Barbata

The restaurateur behind Reillys Craft Pizza and its basement bar, Tough Luck Club, is duplicating the concept in more upscale digs. Bata, a fine dining restaurant named after the Japanese art of cooking over open flame, was one of the buzziest restaurants of 2022. Barbata is its basement bar, designed with European flair.

For more information, check out their website.

Blondies Ice Cream

Dana Rengel makes ice cream at Decibel Coffee Works in the MSA Annex  and in a cute lil trailer around town under the name Blondie's Ice Cream. Harder to find are typical flavors  youre more likely to try sweet potato pie, orange creamsicle and vegan snickerdoodle than chocolate or strawberry.

Location: While you can always find ice cream at Decibel Coffee Works, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, follow Blondies Instagram for up-to-date locations of the trailer.

For more information, check out their Instagram or our article.

Blue Front

The newest addition to Patricia Schwabes roster of chic downtown eateries is Blue Front, an upscale American restaurant inspired by her visits to the United States from Mexico as a child.

For more information, check out their website or our article.

Che Cafe Empanadas Argentinas

If you want to visit Buenos Aires, but youre on a budget, this lovingly curated cafe on the south side is the quickest way to feel like youre in Argentina. The cafes menu focuses on Argentine-style empanadas baked with wheat dough.

For more information, check out their website or our article.

Chef Brians Comfort Kitchen

The Instagram aficionado @tucsonwingexpert declared Chef Brians wings a 9.1/10. Though the celebrity chefs menu is centered around elevated chicken and waffles, Chef Brian also offers a limited selection of vegan and gluten-free options at this Fourth Avenue eatery.

For more information, check out their website.

Minibar

Spaghetti Club was the MSA Annexs sensation of the summer  but as new vendors Savior and Warm Shape moved into their space after Spaghetti Clubs off-season lease ended, Minibar arrived. The stylish, small bar is run by the same folks behind Spaghetti Club, and, like its predecessor, will delight with fun pop-ups and other special events.

For more information, check out their Instagram.

Okashi Ice Cream & Confections

Each week, Dean Blair posts two eclectic menus on his Instagram page: a traditional and a vegan option, featuring pastries you cant find anywhere else, like caneles, and always a pint of ice cream. He applies Japanese techniques and Asian flavors like Filipino ube and Japanese kinako to both his ice cream and pastries.

Location: Okashi is currently based out of owner Dean Blair's home in Blenman-Elm, but keep an eye out for his upcoming commissary.

For more information, check out their website, Instagram or our article.

Puro Ice

This Mexican-Italian ice shop downtown was inspired by the owners experiences with nieve de garrafa in Guadalajara, Mexico. Its also a new brick and mortar from Tanna Cole, the force behind the beloved Mexican snack shack Tannas Botannas.

For more information, check out their Instagram or our article.

Snake & Barrel

Batch made a splash downtown with its quaint combination of whiskey and doughnuts. Now theyve opened a basement bar with an expanded cocktail menu and a speakeasy-adjacent vibe.

For more information, check out their website.

Unitea

Looking for mochi doughnuts and bubble waffles? This cute boba tea shop in midtown offers all kinds of goodies and is the second location for Ethan Pham, who got his start in Michigan.

For more information, check out their Instagram or our article.

Uptown Burger

You might be familiar with Daniel Scordato from his work at the long-standing Italian restaurant Vivace. Hes looking to reproduce his success in the Foothills with a refined casual burger restaurant.

For more information, check out their website.

Wooden Tooth Records

This vinyl record shop opened a second location on Congress Street, in the former location of the Red Room venue. The shop is outfitted with a bar featuring limited beer selections, for now, to enjoy while you browse.

For more information, check out their Instagram or website.

New locations

Blacktop Grill  This grill slinging Sonoran-style pub fare recently branched out from their flagship location in Marana to a second spot downtown. The Blacktop Grill will be supplying revelers with their loaded nachos and hot dogs at the Dillinger Brewing Company location at 402 E. Ninth St. For more information, check out their website.

 This grill slinging Sonoran-style pub fare recently branched out from their flagship location in Marana to a second spot downtown. The Blacktop Grill will be supplying revelers with their loaded nachos and hot dogs at the Dillinger Brewing Company location at 402 E. Ninth St. For more information, check out their website. Borderlands Brewing Company  Their sights on a second location, Borderlands Brewing Company settled into new digs in the Sam Hughes neighborhood at 2500 E. Sixth St. They brought along the talents of Chef Maria Mazon, of Fourth Avenues Boca Tacos, to design a limited bar fare menu to accompany their beer selection and refreshing assortment of cocktails. For more information, check out their website.

 Their sights on a second location, Borderlands Brewing Company settled into new digs in the Sam Hughes neighborhood at 2500 E. Sixth St. They brought along the talents of Chef Maria Mazon, of Fourth Avenues Boca Tacos, to design a limited bar fare menu to accompany their beer selection and refreshing assortment of cocktails. For more information, check out their website. FireTruck Pizza Company  FireTruck Brewing Company has expanded into the pizza market. This local chain of brewpubs just opened a pizza restaurant at 800 N. Kolb Road, of course, with their typical selection of beers on tap. For more information, check out their Facebook.

 FireTruck Brewing Company has expanded into the pizza market. This local chain of brewpubs just opened a pizza restaurant at 800 N. Kolb Road, of course, with their typical selection of beers on tap. For more information, check out their Facebook. Tuk Tuk Thai  This cult-classic Thai street food restaurant just opened its third location, this time in the Foothills at 6878 E. Sunrise Dr. For more information, check out their website.

Expansions

Bistro at the J  If youve ever enjoyed the Shabbat dinners that the Tucson Jewish Community Center caters, youve enjoyed the work of Chef Asher Amar. Now the JCC, 3800 E. River Road, is collaborating with Chef Asher to host kosher pop-up dinners every third Thursday of the month, through April. For more information, check out their website.

 If youve ever enjoyed the Shabbat dinners that the Tucson Jewish Community Center caters, youve enjoyed the work of Chef Asher Amar. Now the JCC, 3800 E. River Road, is collaborating with Chef Asher to host kosher pop-up dinners every third Thursday of the month, through April. For more information, check out their website. 5 Points dinner service  Barrio Viejos brunch darling has now opened for limited dinner service! The announcements have mostly been informal over social media, but theyre open for dinner with their natural wine selection Thursday-Saturday at 756 S. Stone Ave. For more information, check out their website.

 Barrio Viejos brunch darling has now opened for limited dinner service! The announcements have mostly been informal over social media, but theyre open for dinner with their natural wine selection Thursday-Saturday at 756 S. Stone Ave. For more information, check out their website. Ensenada Street Food breakfast  This women-run food truck-cum-restaurant at 1602 S. Park Ave., known for their Baja-style tacos, now offers breakfast! They offer breakfast burritos, pancakes, and more, including an entire vegan menu. For more information, check out their Instagram.

 This women-run food truck-cum-restaurant at 1602 S. Park Ave., known for their Baja-style tacos, now offers breakfast! They offer breakfast burritos, pancakes, and more, including an entire vegan menu. For more information, check out their Instagram. Family Joint Pizzeria breakfast  Our food writers favorite pizza in Tucson is now partnering with Cals Bake Shop to launch Breakfast & Bread. The weekend special (check their Instagram to see what locations theyre running Breakfast & Bread and when) features a special menu of breakfast enchiladas, sandwiches on Cals conchas, and French toast, as well as a selection of Cals pastries.

Coming soon
PHOENIX  Secretary of State Adrian Fontes wants an investigation of failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake after she published signatures of some people from voter registration records.

In a letter late Monday to Attorney General Kris Mayes, Fontes cites a Jan. 23 Twitter post where Lake claims a bombshell discovery, saying 40,000 ballots were illegally counted.

As evidence, she embedded an image of signatures from 16 ballot envelopes and what she said were the signatures of the same people from their voter registration records.

Do you think these Arizona ballot signatures match??? the posting says.

Fontes said while state law allows for public inspection of voter registration records for election-related purposes, it says those containing a signature shall not be accessible or reproduced by any person other than the voter.

There are other exceptions in the statute, ranging from government officials in the scope of official duties and verifying signatures on petitions and candidate filings, to news reporters and those with a court order. But Fontes said what Lake did falls outside of all that.

The protections afforded by this subsection prohibit posting any information derived from voter registration forms or precinct registers to the internet, he told Mayes, a newly elected Democrat, as is he. And under no circumstance may a person other than the voter or a statutorily authorized person reproduce a voters signature.

The law also says violations are a Class 6 felony, which carry a presumptive penalty of a year in state prison, Fontes said.

Therefore, the Secretary of States Office is referring this matter to you for further investigation and possible prosecution, both for violating the law cited and any other applicable state laws, Fontes wrote.

Tim La Sota, an attorney for Lake, told Capitol Media Services the complaint is another attempt to weaponize the justice system with a phony allegation against a Republican.

Adrian Fontes selectively quotes the statute in an attempt to distort the law and smear Kari Lake in the process, he said, saying Mayes should announce she will have no part in this shameful, disgusting effort.

La Sota also pointed out that the documents came out of the state Senate investigation of the 2020 election when the Senate subpoenaed ballot envelopes and voting records. Part of that inquiry, he said, was looking at acceptance of clearly mismatched signatures on early ballots by Maricopa County.

Kari Lake has an absolute right under the First Amendment to republish the information presented to the Senate, La Sota said.

Lake has continued to insist, both at public events and in court filings, that the outcome of the November election was affected by intentional actions and Election Day mistakes.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson refused last month to overturn the official returns, which showed Lake losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs by 17,117 votes.

Thompson said Lake provided no evidence she should have been declared the winner. Her theories about what went wrong, and why, were not backed by facts, the judge said.

Lake still contends issues with ballot printers and tabulators at some Maricopa County vote centers were part of a scheme to depress the votes of Republicans, who tend to vote on Election Day rather than cast early ballots. Yet the final election results showed some GOP contenders not only won but did so by wide margins.

The state Court of Appeals is set to review her claims on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Lake also has had a series of overflow rallies, including one Sunday at a Scottsdale resort where she showed some ballot signatures on screen, took a cell phone call from former President Donald Trump that she played for the audience, called Hobbs a squatter in the governors office and said of the new governor, dont get too comfortable, sweetie.
All Colorado River Basin states but California are proposing new cuts of nearly 2 million acre-feet of water use annually in an effort to prop up the declining river and its reservoirs.

The proposal faces opposition from California, which controls the largest share of the rivers water among the seven basin states. Because of that, its fate is highly uncertain.

The bureau will ultimately decide how much river water use is cut, although federal courts could overturn that decision in the event of litigation.

The six states including Arizona released their proposal Monday, which calls for saving 3.368 million acre-feet a year. About 40% of that represents savings the states already agreed to accomplish under two past agreements. One was a 2007 set of operating guidelines for the rivers reservoirs. The other was a 2019 drought contingency plan.

The proposal would reduce Arizonas share of total Colorado River supplies by about 55%, from its 2.8 million acre-foot allocation. How much the reduction would fall upon the 336-mile-long Central Arizona Project canal serving drinking water to Tucson and Phoenix isnt spelled out.

This comes after months of fruitless efforts among all seven basin states to reach a consensus proposal  efforts carried out in countless meetings as recent as Thursday and Friday.

On Tuesday, Chairman J.B. Hamby of the Colorado River Board of California released a statement saying California-based water agencies will submit their own proposed modeling effort involving water use reductions based on what is practical, voluntary and achievable through 2026 in a way that works within the existing body of laws, compacts, decrees and agreements known collectively as the Law of the River.

At this time, the modeling proposal submitted by the six other basin states is inconsistent with the Law of the River and does not form a seven-state consensus approach, he said.

Some cuts tied to lake levels

Like past measures, the six-state proposal ties some water cuts to levels at Lake Mead, with cuts increasing as the reservoir declines. The new proposal also speeds up the timing of cuts, having some kick in at higher elevations of the lakes water level than before.

Most savings would be felt across the board, at Lake Mead levels from as high as 1,090 feet to as low as 1,000 feet. Mead stood at 1,046 feet Tuesday morning.

Those savings would result partially from the federal government accounting for, for the first time, how much water is lost to evaporation and other forces, and splitting the losses among the Lower River Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, plus Mexico.

The bureau, which is under the Interior Department, will consider this proposal as it prepares a draft supplementary environmental impact statement for the river by April and makes a final decision and releases a final impact statement by August.

The proposal advocates keeping Lake Mead at least at 1,000 feet high and Lake Powell at least at 3,500 feet. Those elevations are 50 feet and 10 feet, respectively, above the levels below which Hoover and Glen Canyon dams cant generate electricity -- 950 and 3,490 feet respectively.

At dead pool levels of 895 feet at Mead and 3,370 feet at Powell, the reservoirs couldnt release any of the water stored in the reservoirs, thereby shutting off supplies to Arizona and Southern California cities and huge farming operations in Yuma and the Southern California desert.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead cannot be further diminished without unacceptable impacts to the Colorado River system ... any preferred alternative must be sufficiently certain that system storage is maintained without reliance on remote or speculative action by third parties, the proposal said.

Excellent proposal or not enough

The new savings would total 1.993 million acre-feet a year. Thats just below the low end of the 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of new reductions Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton testified last June in Congress that she wants from the states.

Still, John Fleck, a University of New Mexico-based water researcher, said, I think this is an excellent proposal; it goes a long way toward dealing with the near term crisis. These are big cuts.

The fact that you have broad support across much of the basin is a big step forward, said Fleck. But without California, the biggest and most populous state, on board, you face the risk of litigation.

The Upper River Basin states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Comments by David Wegner, a retired Reclamation engineer, and Kyle Roerink, a Nevada environmentalist, were less favorable.

The six states have circled the wagons. Theyve given Interior a path in respect to an alternative theyd like to see considered, said Wegner, a National Academy of Sciences board member. What they dont give, in my estimation, is what Interior wanted: a plan to reduce use by (up to) 4 million acre-feet.

Now the ball is in Interiors court. Theyll ask, Is this enough to move forward for us? Or do we need more concrete actions to be taken today to reduce demand and put more water in the reservoirs? I think they are going to come back and say its not enough, Wegner said.

The proposal leaves uncertainty about what happens next, said Kyle Roerink, of the Nevada- and Utah-based Great Basin Water Network. This is the bare minimum. This does not put us in the clear for the long run.

This is a set of proposals from the very people who have helped contribute to the systems crash over the years. Its like the doctor convicted of malpractice saying Ive got the cure, Roerink said.

But Colorado State University water researcher Brad Udall said hes pleased that a proposal was even made, because I didnt expect them to have a proposal.

Udall said hed like to see a proposal with bigger savings, however, achieved at higher lake levels than called for by the six states.

People still want to run the system as close to the edge as they can, Udall said. I think you need to do those cutbacks sooner rather than later.

Sharing evaporation losses

The biggest disagreement likely to occur between the other states and California involves the proposals allocation of most new cuts to evaporation and other losses  and sticking California with by far the largest share.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates the river sheds about 1.5 million acre-feet a year to evaporation and other system losses such as seepage in irrigation canals in the Lower Basin.

The proposal would require California to forfeit 810,000 acre-feet a year of that  more than Arizona and Mexico combined.

California officials say evaporation losses should be divided among states by priority of use. That would slash or end all deliveries to CAP. California has a far higher legal priority to river water than does CAP. CAP serves water to the Tucson and Phoenix areas, including all of Tucsons drinking water.

The overarching issue is that the other basin states are trying to suggest the river be operated outside of the bounds of the Law of the River and the priority system that is within the Law of the River, said Bart Fisher, a Colorado River Board of California member. There are a lot of people who have painted a target on California because were the biggest user of water.

Arizona officials say Californias proposed cuts are unfair because the priorities to river water were devised more than five decades ago, long before the climate crisis slashed river flows dramatically.
JERUSALEM  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday with no visible signs of progress toward halting one of the deadliest outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.

The anemic outcome highlighted what appears to be the limited influence the Biden administration has over Israels new government, which is dominated by hard-line nationalists who oppose concessions toward the Palestinians.

It also reflected a yearslong process that has turned the U.S. into little more than a conflict manager  drawing Palestinian accusations that Washington is a dishonest broker with a bias toward Israel.

Blinken arrived in the region at a particularly tense time  ending a month in which 35 Palestinians and seven Israelis were killed.

The bloodshed overshadowed what was meant to be a mission to establish working relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new far-right government. Instead, Blinken spent much of his time trying to defuse tensions.

Speaking to reporters before returning to the U.S., Blinken said both sides voiced their readiness to restore calm and he instructed two senior officials to remain in the region.

He also reiterated the long-term U.S. goal of working toward a two-state solution that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel under a final peace settlement.

Restoring calm is our immediate task. But over the longer term, we have to do more than just lower tensions, he said.

It was a familiar message expressed by a string of U.S. administrations but, based on the bitter experiences of his predecessors, one that is unlikely to bear fruit. Blinken gave no details on what steps he has in mind to promote his short-term goals or his long-term vision.

In the short run, Blinken must contend with Israels most right-wing government ever  a collection of religious and ultra-nationalist politicians who oppose concessions to the Palestinians and rule out Palestinian independence.

On the eve of Blinkens arrival, Netanyahus Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians in response to a pair of shootings in east Jerusalem last weekend.

These include plans to step up West Bank settlement construction, demolitions of the homes of attackers families as well as dozens of Palestinian homes put up without building permits. Palestinians say such permits are almost impossible to get.

Blinken said the U.S. would oppose anything that undermines hopes of a two-state solution, including settlement construction built on occupied lands sought by the Palestinians. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians.

But he gave no indication on how the U.S. might respond if Israel presses ahead with such moves, and reiterated longstanding lines about the U.S. commitment to Israels security and shared values between the countries.

Yara Hawari, a senior analyst at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank, said Palestinian expectations for Blinkens visit were low to begin with, and that Blinken delivered a worn message coddling Israel.

Its a textbook visit, she said. The U.S. is not an honest broker in this situation, so I dont understand how it could bring anything to the table that would actually lead us toward achieving Palestinian fundamental rights.

In a sign of what could lie ahead if the U.S. pushes the new government, Israeli Cabinet Minister Orit Strock, a member of a religious ultra-nationalist party, lashed out at Blinkens call for a commitment to human rights and rule of law.

The comments were widely seen as criticism of the governments plans to overhaul Israels judicial system and weaken its Supreme Court. Critics in Israel say the plan will severely damage Israels democratic system of checks and balances.

Blinken needed to respect Israeli sovereignty. Were not the 51st or 52nd state of the U.S., Strock said.

Blinken played down the criticism, saying he would focus on Israels policies, not individual personalities.

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, said the blame for failed peacemaking lies with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who at 87 is seen as weak, corrupt and increasingly authoritarian after nearly 20 years in office.

I think this administration understands there is no one really to work with on the Palestinian side, he said. They have other issues to deal with.

The mutual lack of trust is just one of the many reasons for repeated U.S. failures in the region since the historic interim Oslo accords 30 years ago. Over the decades, the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations all tried their hands at Mideast peace plans with little to show.

Preoccupied with the war in Ukraine and the U.S. rivalry with China, the Biden administration appears to have little desire or bandwidth to wade into a mission doomed to fail.
One of downtowns newest office buildings has added another tenant.

Legacy Bank and Trust, headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, has reached an agreement to lease space in the 222 North Detroit Avenue building that opened last year.

Legacy will occupy roughly 11,142 square feet for corporate offices on the third floor and establish a 3,000-square-foot, full-service branch on the ground level.

We couldnt be more excited to announce this move as it highlights our commitment to serve the Tulsa market, Brett Magers, Legacy Bank and Trust president, said in a statement. We looked at several locations in the area to locate our Tulsa headquarters, but none compared to this location. This is the premier Class A office building in Tulsa.

The bank will join a list of current and future 222 North Detroit tenants that include Crowe & Dunlevy, Helmerich & Payne and Fixins Soul Kitchen. The building originally was designed as the corporate headquarters of WPX Energy, but the company was dissolved when it was purchased by Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy.

Legacy expanded into the Tulsa market in February 2022 with a loan production office, which ultimately was converted into a full-service branch in the Post Rock Plaza located at 8211 E. Regal Place. The bank will continue to operate in that location while mapping out plans to build another venue in south Tulsa.

Legacy is a $1.3 billion community bank founded in 1907 and acquired in 2003 by Ozarks Heritage Financial Group. It has made its mark in Tulsa with loans totaling more than $100 million and deposits nearing $60 million.

We have been extremely pleased with the growth we have experienced in Tulsa in such a short period of time, Jeremy Loftin, Legacy chief operating officer, said in a statement.

September 2022 video: Time-lapse of downtown Tulsa 222 North Detroit building
Medicare Advantage plans for seniors dodged a major financial bullet Monday as government officials gave them a reprieve for returning hundreds of millions of dollars or more in government overpayments  some dating back a decade or more.

The health insurance industry had long feared the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would demand repayment of billions of dollars in overcharges the popular health plans received as far back as 2011.

But in a surprise action, CMS announced it would require next to nothing from insurers for any excess payments they received from 2011 through 2017. CMS will not impose major penalties until audits for payment years 2018 and beyond are conducted, which have yet to be started.

While the decision could cost Medicare plans billions of dollars in the future, it will take years before any penalty comes due. And health plans will be allowed to pocket hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges and possibly much more for audits before 2018. Exactly how much is not clear because audits as far back as 2011 have yet to be completed.

In late 2018, CMS officials said the agency would collect an estimated $650 million in overpayments from 90 Medicare Advantage audits conducted for 2011 through 2013, the most recent ones available. Some analysts calculated overpayments to plans of at least twice that much for the three-year period. CMS is now conducting audits for 2014 and 2015.

The estimate for the 2011-13 audits was based on an extrapolation of overpayments found in a sampling of patients at each health plan. In these reviews, auditors examine medical records to confirm whether patients had the diseases for which the government reimbursed health plans to treat.

Through the years, those audits  and others conducted by government watchdogs  have found that health plans often cannot document that they deserved extra payments for patients they said were sicker than average.

The decision to take earlier audit findings off the table means that CMS has spent tens of millions of dollars conducting audits as far back as 2011  much more than the government will be able to recoup.

In 2018, CMS said it pays $54 million annually to conduct 30 of the audits. Without extrapolation for years 2011-17, CMS wont come near to recouping that much.

CMS Deputy Administrator Dara Corrigan called the final rule a commonsense approach to oversight. Corrigan said she did not know how much money would go uncollected from years prior to 2018.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the rule takes long overdue steps to move in the direction of accountability.

Going forward, this is good news. We should all be happy that they are doing that [extrapolation], said former CMS official Ted Doolittle. But he added: I do wish they were pushing back further [and extrapolating earlier years]. That would seem to be fair game, he said.

David Lipschutz, an attorney with the Center for Medicare Advocacy, said he was still evaluating the rule, but noted: It is our hope that CMS would use everything within their discretion to recoup overpayments made to Medicare Advantage plans. He said that it is unclear if they are using all of their authority.

Mark Miller, who used to work at the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a congressional advisory board, said extrapolating errors found in medical coding have always been a part of government auditing. It strikes me as ridiculous to run a sample and find an error rate and then only collect the sample error rate as opposed to what it presents to the entire population or pool of claims, he said.

Last week, KHN released details of the 90 audits from 2011-2013, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The audits found about $12 million in net overpayments for the care of 18,090 patients sampled for the three-year period.

In all, 71 of the 90 audits uncovered net overpayments, which topped $1,000 per patient on average in 23 audits. CMS paid the remaining plans too little on average, anywhere from $8 to $773 per patient, the records showed.

Since 2010, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services has threatened to crack down on billing abuses in the popular health plans, which now cover more than 30 million Americans. Medicare Advantage, a fast-growing alternative to original Medicare, is run primarily by major insurance companies including Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Centene, and CVS/Aetna.

But the industry has succeeded in opposing extrapolation of overpayments, even though the audit tool is widely used to recover overcharges in other parts of the Medicare program.

That has happened despite dozens of audits, investigations, and whistleblower lawsuits alleging that Medicare Advantage overcharges cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year.

Corrigan said Monday that CMS expected to collect $479 million from overpayments in 2018, the first year of extrapolation. Over the next decade, it could recoup $4.7 billion, she said.

Medicare Advantage plans also face potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in clawbacks from a set of unrelated audits conducted by the Health and Human Services inspector general.

The audits include an April 2021 review alleging that a Humana Medicare Advantage plan in Florida had overcharged the government by nearly $200 million in 2015.

Carolyn Kapustij, the Office of the Inspector Generals senior adviser for managed care, said the agency has conducted 17 such audits that found widespread payment errors  on average 69% for some medical diagnoses. In these cases, the health plans did not have the necessary support [for these conditions] in the medical records, which has caused overpayments.

Although the MA organizations usually disagreed with us, they almost always had little disagreement with our finding that their diagnoses were not supported, she said.

While CMS has taken years to conduct the Medicare Advantage audits, it also has faced criticism for permitting lengthy appeals that can drag on for years. These delays have drawn sharp criticism from the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress.

Leslie Gordon, an acting director of the GAO health team, said that until CMS speeds up the process, it will fail to recover improper payments of hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahomas new attorney general has dismissed a lawsuit against a Florida company state officials said was to blame for the misuse of pandemic relief funds earmarked for education needs.

Gentner Drummond said his office will now focus on holding accountable any Oklahoma officials who had a role in allowing pandemic relief funds to be misspent.

Former Attorney General John OConnor in August sued a company the Stitt administration hired to administer an education program that federal officials said was mismanaged and allowed public funds to be misspent on noneducational expenses.

After a thorough review of this matter, I have concluded that the lawsuit  is almost wholly without merit, Drummond said in a Tuesday news release. It is clear that a number of state actors and other individuals are ultimately responsible for millions in misspent federal relief dollars.

Drummond had previously expressed skepticism about the lawsuit, and said he would dismiss it if he felt like it was filed for political purposes.

Gov. Kevin Stitts office opposed Drummonds decision.

The governors office strongly disagrees with the decision to dismiss the states legitimate effort to recover federal taxpayer dollars from a bad out-of-state vendor, said Stitt spokeswoman Kate Vesper.

In the breach of contract lawsuit that was filed but never served, the state alleged Kleo Inc., the parent company of ClassWallet, was to blame for an unflattering audit of federal pandemic relief funds under Stitts control. The audit was critical of how the Stitt administration spent $31 million to provide pandemic relief for students educational needs.

ClassWallet administered the governors Bridge the Gap Digital Wallet program that provided low-income families with $1,500 grants to purchase educational materials for their children ahead of the 2020-21 school year. The state may have to repay the federal government nearly $653,000 that auditors said families spent on noneducational items such as televisions, home appliances and Christmas trees.

Auditors also recommended a full review of an additional $5.4 million in Bridge the Gap spending to determine if there were other noneducational purchases. If more funds were misspent, the federal government could claw that money back from state coffers.

Federal auditors also recommended a review of the governors Stay in School program, saying they were unable to verify the eligibility of some of the participants. The Stitt administration also lacked adequate documentation for how some of the Governors Emergency Education Relief Funds were spent, according to the audit.

While Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters have blamed ClassWallet for the misspent funds, auditors noted Walters declined to use security features that would have limited where families could spend the grant money. Prior to being named Stitts education secretary and long before he was elected state superintendent, Walters was involved in selecting ClassWallet as the states vendor through a no-bid contract.

The company said it was grateful Drummond dismissed the lawsuit. A spokesman for Walters did not respond to a request for comment.

In response to the federal audits findings, the Stitt administration said it was taking corrective action.

State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd is reviewing the GEER spending as part of an annual audit of all expended federal funds.

Video: Gentner Drummond, other state executives take oath of office Jan. 9

Gallery: Highlights from bills filed for Oklahoma's 2023 legislative session Minimum age to carry firearms Second Amendment protection Changing the state question process School choice proposal Senate Bill 943 by Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee Slate of bills from Senate Education Committee chair Senate Bill 656 by Sen. David Bullard Putting abortion to a vote Race Massacre reparations Addressing problems at the polls Transgender health care Clarifying Oklahoma's abortion ban Prohibiting sex ed Psilocybin research Defining criminal lewdness Continued work on medical marijuana oversight House Bill 2012 by Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now
ATOKA  Newly elected State Superintendent Ryan Walters may be off the campaign trail, but he has only just begun explaining some of his most controversial ideas to public school educators.

Right off the bat Monday morning, Walters told Atoka-area superintendents and teachers that he made the 100-mile drive to speak to them directly and also hear their concerns directly.

School choice and merit-based pay incentives for the highest-rated teachers were top of mind for Walters.

Im going to continue to have conversations with teachers and parents all across the state to develop the path of how we get to the vision of school choice for all, Walters told the Tulsa World about his purpose for coming to Atoka.

Walters also wanted to clear the air by saying he does not believe Oklahoma needs to stop receiving all federal funding for its public schools. Rather, he believes that the state should begin pushing back on some of the strings attached including specific standardized test mandates  and that includes initiating lawsuits, if necessary.

In this rural, southeastern corner of Oklahoma, superintendents told Walters, school choice exists largely between public schools  and has been a longstanding option for parents before state lawmakers ever decided to formalize and mandate the practice.

We feel like that is something we have done for years and years and years, said Atoka Public Schools Superintendent Jay McAdams. Most of us here have kids from all over. Do you feel like thats more of an issue in rural Oklahoma or in urban areas?

Walters said the size and scale of districts impacts their ability to address the issues that they face.

Walters said he would be open to pushing for Tulsa Public Schools to be broken up into smaller schools because of academic results there he says are dismal and parents who complain they are locked in because they cant afford private school tuition and suburban schools bursting at the seams.

School report cards are getting ready to come out. Tulsa has done so poor that if you took Tulsa Public Schools out of what were doing, were in the top half nationally. If you take Tulsa and OKC out, were in the top 15, Walters said.

McAdams interjected with his original point: Why are we bringing their problems to us?

Walters praised Stringtown Superintendent Tony Potts for offering the most simplified explanation he said he had heard to date of one of the most common concerns for public education-minded Oklahomans  that taxpayer-funded private school tuition and homeschool costs would undercut funding for the public school system.

Potts grabbed a pen and jotted down two circles on a piece of paper.

This is all the public school kids in a pie. This is all the private school kids in their pie. Unless you put more money in here (the public school pie) and all of these kids (from the private school chart) move into here (public school pie), Stringtown Public Schools loses money, Potts said.

The line in the sand for me is if you didnt lose any kids, you shouldnt lose any dollars. I agree with you fundamentally, Walters told him. I also believe that the only way we truly ensure every kid has a quality education is to say I want all options on the table and I want funding to follow that kid.

Tushka Superintendent Matt Simpson told Walters this: We are not losing kids. Parents and kids think we are the best choice.

Oklahoma Speaker of the House Charles McCall, R-Atoka, attended alongside the dozen or so school district leaders.

While he has supported other school choice measures that have been adopted, such as the Opportunity Scholarship Fund and year-round public school transfers, McCall has stood firmly against bills that would direct taxpayer dollars to vouchers or education savings accounts for private school and homeschooling.

McCall told Walters another measure to more closely keep funds with students who move between public schools was accepted by district leaders throughout southeastern Oklahoma even though it makes it more difficult for them to manage budget fluctuations year in and year out.

If you want to tackle issues in the urban schools, weve got to find a way to do that without harming these schools that are doing their best, McCall said, before adding: Here, we do not have an economic base  we do not have the ad valorem base that the urban centers do. Its great that kids have a choice to go to Atoka, Stringtown, Tushka, Caney from K-12.

There isnt a person in this room that doesnt want every single child in Oklahoma to have an outstanding education, but its more about the how than it is about the what.

Pay incentives for teachers

Walters explained to some Atoka-area teachers that he has been working with Texas, Iowa and Tennessee on an incentive pay plan that would reward a select few highly rated teachers in each school with up to $10,000 on top of their salaries.

His FY24 budget pitch to the Oklahoma Legislature includes a request for $150 million to begin with.

I hear about discipline issues that werent present years ago, I hear about lack of respect for the profession, but theres also the pay showing how much are you appreciating and respecting what teachers do, he told teachers.

Walters himself took notes with pen and pad as teachers voiced questions and concerns about how such an incentive pay system would work.

Among them were the validity of the states current standardized tests to measure the quality and effectiveness of teachers and the subjectivity of principal and assistant principal evaluations.

The most important thing is how much did they grow, Walters said, referring to students.

One teacher suggested more pay incentives for experienced teachers to train and mentor other teachers and even for spending part of their day in school leadership or school administration duties.

Walters, a former McAlester Public Schools teacher himself, praised the idea as he jotted down notes.

Everything we do in the education system financially incentivizes you to go into administration, he said. But the number one important thing for parents is high-quality teachers.
When Ali Saga visited a clinic in Jakarta four decades ago, he watched as patients and health workers scrambled to get away from him. "The doctor suddenly shouted at the patients, 'stand back! this person is a leper!" the 57-year-old said, recalling one of the most devastating moments after his diagnosis in the 1970s. "They also roughly used a syringe to test my skin and I cried. My skin might not feel anything but my soul was hurt," the former leprosy patient added, choking back tears. Now he is using his pain to help other residents of a village on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital live a normal life after leprosy with hand-crafted prosthetic limbs. After Brazil and India, Indonesia has the world's third-highest cases of leprosy -- a contagious bacterial disease transmitted by prolonged close contact with untreated cases. Ahead of World Leprosy Day on Sunday, the health ministry said the country still has over 15,000 active cases, with more than 11,000 new cases recorded last year. The ancient disease, which causes disabilities and loss of feeling in reddish skin patches, is now diagnosed with a skin biopsy and easily treated with multidrug therapy. But Saga and other residents of Sitanala village -- where hundreds of former leprosy patients have relocated to find solace -- have been treated as outcasts for years and dubbed a "leper colony" by local media. They are heavily stigmatised by pervasive perceptions around leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, with some Indonesians believing the affliction is a curse sent by God that can be passed on by brief contact. But in a small, dusty workshop surrounded by fake body parts hung on white walls, Saga is chipping away at that social cold shoulder, sculpting artificial limbs that have been improving residents' lives since 2005. One of the neighbours to receive Saga's creations is 70-year-old tailor Cun San, who had a leg amputated in his teens and lost another in 2007. "I once thought I would never be able to walk again... but now I am so grateful I can walk normally," said San. 'No longer in pain' Nearly 500 people who had leprosy now live in Sitanala because it was located behind a hospital that for decades served as the rehabilitation centre for patients across Indonesia. The hospital made headlines in 1989 when Britain's late Princess Diana visited and was photographed shaking hands with a leprosy patient, challenging the stigma against the marginalised group. Today, many in the village cannot find formal jobs because of their disabilities, and instead have taken on roles as street sweepers or rickshaw drivers. Jamingun, a 60-year-old driver, lost his leg when he was a teenager. For years he wore a fake bamboo stump because he could not afford a prosthetic limb. "It was painful and I still had to use a walking stick to steady myself when I walked," said Jamingun, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. But his life changed after receiving a prosthetic leg for free that Saga had made through a charity. "It feels so different because now I actually have a sole, it feels like a real foot," he told AFP. "And I'm no longer in pain when I walk." 'Vicious cycle' Saga finds it difficult to talk about his past, preferring to focus on his part in helping others build their future. A limb can cost as much as 10 million rupiah ($667) but he gives away prosthetic legs for free, or accepts lower sums, for those who can't afford the price. He says he has now made more than 5,000 prosthetic legs for people across Indonesia. Experts say efforts to eliminate leprosy are hampered by a focus on finding and treating cases instead of erasing prejudices that prevent patients from seeking help. "If we don't deal with the stigma, the transmission won't stop and the disability will keep happening," said Asken Sinaga, executive director of NLR Indonesia, a nonprofit focusing on leprosy. "This is a vicious cycle." Indonesia wants to eliminate leprosy by next year, a daunting task after the Covid-19 pandemic directed health resources elsewhere. Those who have recovered from the disease say they just want to be treated the same as everyone else. "I hope people will stop judging us," San said. "I hope things will get better and people will help us instead."

When Ali Saga visited a clinic in Jakarta four decades ago, he watched as patients and health workers scrambled to get away from him.

"The doctor suddenly shouted at the patients, 'stand back! this person is a leper!" the 57-year-old said, recalling one of the most devastating moments after his diagnosis in the 1970s.

"They also roughly used a syringe to test my skin and I cried. My skin might not feel anything but my soul was hurt," the former leprosy patient added, choking back tears.

Now he is using his pain to help other residents of a village on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital live a normal life after leprosy with hand-crafted prosthetic limbs.

After Brazil and India, Indonesia has the world's third-highest cases of leprosy -- a contagious bacterial disease transmitted by prolonged close contact with untreated cases.

Ahead of World Leprosy Day on Sunday, the health ministry said the country still has over 15,000 active cases, with more than 11,000 new cases recorded last year.

The ancient disease, which causes disabilities and loss of feeling in reddish skin patches, is now diagnosed with a skin biopsy and easily treated with multidrug therapy.

But Saga and other residents of Sitanala village -- where hundreds of former leprosy patients have relocated to find solace -- have been treated as outcasts for years and dubbed a "leper colony" by local media.

They are heavily stigmatised by pervasive perceptions around leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, with some Indonesians believing the affliction is a curse sent by God that can be passed on by brief contact.

But in a small, dusty workshop surrounded by fake body parts hung on white walls, Saga is chipping away at that social cold shoulder, sculpting artificial limbs that have been improving residents' lives since 2005.

One of the neighbours to receive Saga's creations is 70-year-old tailor Cun San, who had a leg amputated in his teens and lost another in 2007.

"I once thought I would never be able to walk again... but now I am so grateful I can walk normally," said San.

'No longer in pain'

Nearly 500 people who had leprosy now live in Sitanala because it was located behind a hospital that for decades served as the rehabilitation centre for patients across Indonesia.

The hospital made headlines in 1989 when Britain's late Princess Diana visited and was photographed shaking hands with a leprosy patient, challenging the stigma against the marginalised group.

Today, many in the village cannot find formal jobs because of their disabilities, and instead have taken on roles as street sweepers or rickshaw drivers.

Jamingun, a 60-year-old driver, lost his leg when he was a teenager.

For years he wore a fake bamboo stump because he could not afford a prosthetic limb.

"It was painful and I still had to use a walking stick to steady myself when I walked," said Jamingun, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

But his life changed after receiving a prosthetic leg for free that Saga had made through a charity.

"It feels so different because now I actually have a sole, it feels like a real foot," he told AFP. "And I'm no longer in pain when I walk."

'Vicious cycle'

Saga finds it difficult to talk about his past, preferring to focus on his part in helping others build their future.

A limb can cost as much as 10 million rupiah ($667) but he gives away prosthetic legs for free, or accepts lower sums, for those who can't afford the price.

He says he has now made more than 5,000 prosthetic legs for people across Indonesia.

Experts say efforts to eliminate leprosy are hampered by a focus on finding and treating cases instead of erasing prejudices that prevent patients from seeking help.

"If we don't deal with the stigma, the transmission won't stop and the disability will keep happening," said Asken Sinaga, executive director of NLR Indonesia, a nonprofit focusing on leprosy.

"This is a vicious cycle."

Indonesia wants to eliminate leprosy by next year, a daunting task after the Covid-19 pandemic directed health resources elsewhere.

Those who have recovered from the disease say they just want to be treated the same as everyone else.

"I hope people will stop judging us," San said.

"I hope things will get better and people will help us instead."
Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested a man suspected of stealing a large amount of gold jewelry equal to over 100 taels of gold worth US$190,000 from a local gold shop on Sunday. The alleged thief, Pham Van Nu, 37, hailing from Dong Thap Province, was detained while hiding in Binh Duong Province, which borders the city, local police reported on Tuesday. Earlier on Sunday morning, M.T.P.D., the owner of the Kim Thinh gold shop in District 12, reported to local police that a thief had stolen gold jewelry equivalent to 113 taels of gold (a tael = 1.33 ounces) valued at VND4.5 billion ($192,000) from her shop. The district police coordinated with their colleagues from the city level to immediately launch an investigation into the case. This photo shows some of the gold items recovered from Pham Van Nu, who allegedly committed a theft at Kim Thinh gold shop in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, January 29, 2023. Photo: Supplied After examining the scene and watching the relevant cameras, investigators determined that the thief climbed up the utility pole next to the shop and entered through the balcony on the first floor of the facility on the early morning of that same day. He then went down to the ground floor to steal the gold and escaped at 3:20 am by taking the same route through which he entered. A search for the suspect was deployed and a joint police force of Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong Province detained Nu at 8:00 pm on Monday while he was hiding in the province. Nu admitted to the theft and police officers recovered the gold items he had stolen from the shop. The man confessed he committed another theft of gold in Binh Duongs Thuan An City in November 2021, when he broke in a gold shop on Phan Dinh Giot Street and stole a lot of gold jewelry, which he sold later for about VND780 million ($33,300). Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested a man suspected of stealing a large amount of gold jewelry equal to over 100 taels of gold worth US$190,000 from a local gold shop on Sunday.

The alleged thief, Pham Van Nu, 37, hailing from Dong Thap Province, was detained while hiding in Binh Duong Province, which borders the city, local police reported on Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday morning, M.T.P.D., the owner of the Kim Thinh gold shop in District 12, reported to local police that a thief had stolen gold jewelry equivalent to 113 taels of gold (a tael = 1.33 ounces) valued at VND4.5 billion ($192,000) from her shop.

The district police coordinated with their colleagues from the city level to immediately launch an investigation into the case.

This photo shows some of the gold items recovered from Pham Van Nu, who allegedly committed a theft at Kim Thinh gold shop in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, January 29, 2023. Photo: Supplied

After examining the scene and watching the relevant cameras, investigators determined that the thief climbed up the utility pole next to the shop and entered through the balcony on the first floor of the facility on the early morning of that same day.

He then went down to the ground floor to steal the gold and escaped at 3:20 am by taking the same route through which he entered.

A search for the suspect was deployed and a joint police force of Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong Province detained Nu at 8:00 pm on Monday while he was hiding in the province.

Nu admitted to the theft and police officers recovered the gold items he had stolen from the shop.

The man confessed he committed another theft of gold in Binh Duongs Thuan An City in November 2021, when he broke in a gold shop on Phan Dinh Giot Street and stole a lot of gold jewelry, which he sold later for about VND780 million ($33,300).

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Authorities in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam have initiated the construction of a VND1.5 trillion (US$64 million) bridge to boost connectivity and create conditions for local socio-economic development. The Dong Nai Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board on Tuesday morning organized the groundbreaking of Thong Nhat Bridge and two roads leading to the bridge. Thong Nhat Bridge is part of a project to build the central route of Bien Hoa City, which is the capital of the southern province. This is one of Dong Nais key projects, carrying a price tag of VND1.5 trillion. The route project has a total length of 5.4 kilometers, connecting Thong Nhat and Hiep Hoa Wards in Bien Hoa City, which are separated by the Dong Nai River. Thong Nhat Bridge and the roads leading to it are the most important categories of this project. The groundbreaking of Thong Nhat Bridge is organized in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, January 31, 2023. Photo: B.A. / Tuoi Tre The bridge will be 45-95 meters wide and have six to 10 lanes upon completion. The construction of Thong Nhat Bridge is expected to last for 900 days. The project to build the central route of Bien Hoa City will open up a new urban development space when completed, said Cao Tien Dung, chairman of the Dong Nai Peoples Committee. The route is aimed at boosting connectivity at the eastern gateway of Bien Hoa City, creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development, contributing to the improvement of urban space, and gradually completing the traffic development plan of the city. Chairman Dung requested relevant units to complete necessary procedures to ensure the quality and progress of the project. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Authorities in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam have initiated the construction of a VND1.5 trillion (US$64 million) bridge to boost connectivity and create conditions for local socio-economic development.

The Dong Nai Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board on Tuesday morning organized the groundbreaking of Thong Nhat Bridge and two roads leading to the bridge.

Thong Nhat Bridge is part of a project to build the central route of Bien Hoa City, which is the capital of the southern province.

This is one of Dong Nais key projects, carrying a price tag of VND1.5 trillion.

The route project has a total length of 5.4 kilometers, connecting Thong Nhat and Hiep Hoa Wards in Bien Hoa City, which are separated by the Dong Nai River.

Thong Nhat Bridge and the roads leading to it are the most important categories of this project.

The groundbreaking of Thong Nhat Bridge is organized in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, January 31, 2023. Photo: B.A. / Tuoi Tre

The bridge will be 45-95 meters wide and have six to 10 lanes upon completion.

The construction of Thong Nhat Bridge is expected to last for 900 days.

The project to build the central route of Bien Hoa City will open up a new urban development space when completed, said Cao Tien Dung, chairman of the Dong Nai Peoples Committee.

The route is aimed at boosting connectivity at the eastern gateway of Bien Hoa City, creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development, contributing to the improvement of urban space, and gradually completing the traffic development plan of the city.

Chairman Dung requested relevant units to complete necessary procedures to ensure the quality and progress of the project.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
US actor Cindy Williams, best known for Laverne & Shirley, has died, aged 75.

She died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children said in a statement.

The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed, Zak and Emily Hudson said. Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.

Williams (pictured right) played Shirley Feeney on 8 seasons of Laverne & Shirley, alongside gifted co-star Penny Marshall (who also died at 75) from 1976 to 1983.

Laverne & Shirley became the most-watched American television program by its third season; in total, it received six Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination.

They first debuted as a comedy double in Happy Days before their own spin-off as two 1950s roommates working on the assembly line at Milwaukees Shotz Brewery.

Williams originally rejected the idea of starring in a spin-off but was talked into it, with now-Disney CEO Michael Eisner only showing her screen test to ABC executives, and not others.

Williams would leave the sitcom early in its eighth season after becoming pregnant, but had also been feuding with Marshall, reconciling years later. By the 1980s they both voiced the animated Laverne & Shirley in the Army for 13 episodes.

When you can find those characters with attitudes who are in sync, they are funny and charming to watch. You see aspects of yourself in the characters attitudes, Williams once said. Usually in sitcoms, the characters you play are close to you. They are beats within yourself that you really play well.

Williams had a long list of other credits including Room 222, CHiPs, Cannon, Police Story, Love American Style, Hawaii Five-O, Insight, Nanny & the Professor, Petrocelli, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Touched by an Angel, 8 Simple Rules, Law & Order: SVU, The Odd Couple, Sam and Cat and more.

Films included Travels With My Aunt, American Graffiti, The Conversation, The First Nudie Musical. She also auditioned for Star Wars but lost the part of Princess Leia to Carrie Fisher.

Source: LA Times
Screenworks and Netflix have named the three trainees who will commence their screen industry apprenticeships as part of Screenworks 2023 Regional Crew Development Program.

Willow Inman from Alstonville (NSW), Ami Gray from Grafton (NSW) and Enya Flett from Townsville (QLD) will participate in paid on-the-job placements and training at TAFE NSW Lismore for Certificate III in Screen & Media.

Screenworks CEO, Ken Crouch, said, It has been incredibly rewarding to witness the four trainees develop their skills and kickstart their careers this past year. Theyve taken the opportunities and created long-lasting relationships with practitioners that will stand them in good stead for the future. We are thrilled to extend the program to North Queensland this year with the support of Screen Queensland, and the team are looking forward to seeing how far Ami, Enya and WIllow can take their traineeships in 2023.

Ami Grey from Grafton in NSW said, My passion for the screen industry is driven by its commitment to storytelling and the reactions it fosters. I am beyond thrilled to have this rare opportunity to acquire valuable experience within it

Enya Flett, said, I am so grateful that whilst residing in a regional area, I am fortunate enough to have the same opportunity to work in the industry, thanks to Screenworks, Netflix and Screen Queensland

Willow Inman added, The opportunity to be a part of this program is an absolute dream. Im eager to learn every aspect there is about film, to have all these new experiences and meet so many new people through this traineeship.

Que MInh Luu, Netflix Director Content ANZ, said: Congratulations to Ami, Enya and Willow; you will all get a fantastic introduction to the industry from Screenworks as the 2023 Regional Crew Development Program trainees. Were privileged that Netflix can play a part at the beginning of what we hope will be long and fulfilling careers in the screen sector.

Screenworks is also looking for Production Companies and Heads of Departments from across Australia interested in taking on trainees for work placements in 2023. Placements can be based in Northern NSW, South East Queensland, North Queensland or beyond. All trainees will be paid by Screenworks during their placement terms.

Please contact Screenworks at [email protected] to register your interest.

The Regional Crew Development Program is being delivered by Screenworks in partnership with Netflix with the support of the NSW Government, Screen Queensland and TAFE NSW.
Orange

Press release

Paris, 31 January 2023

Evolution of the Orange groups Executive Committee

The Orange group announces the appointment of Jean-Francois Fallacher as CEO of Orange France from April 3. He will replace Fabienne Dulac, who after eight years at the helm of Orange France, has chosen to take on new challenges within the Group. Fabienne Dulac will remain on the Executive Committee and will contribute to the deployment of the upcoming strategic plan.

Jean-Francois Fallacher is currently CEO of Orange Spain. He will be replaced by Ludovic Pech, the current Chief Financial Officer of Orange Middle East & Africa. Jean-Francois Fallacher will remain a member of Orange Spain's Board of Directors.

Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, commented: I would like to thank Fabienne Dulac for her commitment over eight years as head of Orange France. Through her action, she has strengthened the network leadership and customer excellence of Orange in France. During this time, Orange played an essential role in the success of the deployment of Fiber in France. Thanks to her work and that of her teams, France can today boast of having the most extensive Fiber network in Europe. We will continue to work together in the coming months. I am delighted to now welcome Jean-Francois Fallacher as the new head of Orange France. I know I can count on his very solid international experience and on his operational expertise to continue to develop Orange's leadership in France in the service of our customers."

For more information on Fabienne Dulac's career, cli c k here . Photos are available he r e .

For more information on the career of Jean-Francois Fallacher, cli c k here .

About Orange

Orange is one of the worlds leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.5 billion euros in 2021 and 136,500 employees worldwide at 30 September 2022, including 75,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 286 million customers worldwide at 30 September 2022, including 240 million mobile customers and 24 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

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Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com , www.orange-business.com and the Orange News app or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

Press contacts:

Tom Wright; tom.wright@orange.com ; +33 6 78 91 35 11

Sylvain Bruno; sylvain.bruno@orange.com ; +33 6 86 17 88 89

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England centre Guy Porter Credit: Alamy

England have been forced into another change to their squad ahead of their Six Nations opener against Scotland, as Dan Kelly suffered an injury.

The Leicester Tigers centre pulls out of the build-up to the match at Twickenham on Saturday with a thigh problem in a cruel blow to the 21-year-old back.

Kelly has been replaced in the squad by club team-mate Guy Porter, who is familiar with the England squad after featuring for the Red Rose side last year.

Porter replaces injured Kelly

The Rugby Football Union stated that Porter joined up with the squad who are training at the Honda England Rugby Performance Centre at Pennyhill Park.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has a selection dilemma in his midfield against Scotland, with Henry Slade and Elliot Daly also having been ruled out.

Borthwick could opt to start Owen Farrell at inside centre with Marcus Smith at 10 or name his captain in the main playmaking jersey with others outside.

Other options available to England include Ollie Lawrence, Manu Tuilagi and now Porter, with this disruption in personnel far from ideal before Saturday.

After facing Scotland at Twickenham in their Six Nations opener, England will then take on Italy on home soil before a weeks break in the Championship.

Jonny Gray links up with Scotland

Meanwhile, Scotland have added second-row Jonny Gray to their squad ahead of their Six Nations opener against England in a boost to their forward stocks.

The Exeter lock did not attend the training camp in Edinburgh last week because of what the Scottish Rugby Union described as an ongoing medical issue.

Edinburgh lock Jamie Hodgson was brought in on a temporary basis but Gray has now been included after starting and scoring for the Chiefs last weekend.

After missing the training week in Edinburgh, Gray has rejoined the squad in Spain, read a brief SRU statement on Monday.

Jamie Hodgson has remained with his club.

READ MORE: Opinion: Who Steve Borthwick should pick for Englands Six Nations opener against Scotland

The article Six Nations: Dan Kelly ruled out as England call in Guy Porter while Scotland bring Jonny Gray into squad appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
A unique, century-old collaboration between humans and dolphins in Brazil, which has seen the two species team up to fish together, may be under threat of disappearing, according to a new study.

The research, published following 15 years of study on Monday in the journal PNAS, has documented this rare example of collaboration between the two top predator species that has been beneficial to both parties for nearly 150 years and called for new conservation strategies to protect the practice.

We knew that the fishers were observing the dolphins behavior to determine when to cast their nets, but we didnt know if the dolphins were actively coordinating their behaviour with the fishers, study co-author Mauricio Cantor from the Oregon State University in the US said in a statement.

Scientists used drones and underwater imaging to observe the behaviours of fishers and dolphins with unprecedented detail.

They found that both humans and dolphins could catch more fish by working in synchrony.

Dolphins herd schools of mullet towards the coast which increase the availability of these fishes within the reach of the net-casting fishers, the study found.

The cooperation also benefits the dolphins, scientists say, adding that the animals that engaged in cooperative fishing in the area have an over 10 per cent increase in survival rates.

When dolphins approach the fishers nets closely and cue fishers in, they dive for longer and modify their active foraging echolocation to match the time it takes for nets to sink and close over mullets  but only when fishers respond to their foraging cues appropriately, scientists wrote in the study.

This shows that this is a mutually beneficial interaction between the humans and the dolphins, Dr Cantor said.

Fishing in synchrony brings mutual benefits for dolphins and people in Brazil, research shows https://t.co/jM2N5KwYQg  Oregon State University Research Office (@ResearchOSU) January 30, 2023

While it is common to see synchronized movements of flocks of birds and schools of fish  collaborative behaviour that can be key to the survival of the animals involved  such behaviour in predators on top of the food chain such the Lahilles bottlenose dolphins and the traditional net-casting fishers in Brazil is much rarer, researchers say.

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This team-up has been widely documented in the city of Laguna on Brazils southern coast, where the cultural tradition has been followed for over 140 years and has also been passed down through generations of fishers and dolphins.

The collaboration is also specific to this population of dolphins, scientists say, adding that it is not a genetic trait in the animals.

Such synchrony between species has been documented in a handful of locations elsewhere in the world, and is also in decline or has disappeared completely in most places, researchers say.

Due to its rarity, the cultural practice between the fishers and dolphins in Brazil is being considered for a cultural heritage designation, Dr Cantor said.

From the fishers perspective, this practice is part of the culture of the community in all kinds of ways. They acquire skills passed down from other fishers and knowledge is spread through social learning. They also feel connected to this place and have a sense of belonging to the community, he explained.

Scientists also ran a predictive model which suggests the practice could be threatened if populations of mullet  the type of fish both dolphins and people are seeking  continue to decline, or if future generations of fishers lose interest in learning the art of this unique fishing practice.

The practice is unlikely to continue if either the dolphins or the fishers no longer benefit from it, Damien Farine, another author of the study from the University of Zurich in Switzerland said.

Scientists say there may already be early signs of decline in the practice.

If we take steps to document and conserve the knowledge and the culture of the practice, we can indirectly and positively impact the biological aspects, as well, Dr Farine said.

Since most interactions between species documented across the world are mainly competitive than mutually beneficial, researchers say the new research can lead to a better understanding of the conditions such interspecies cooperation can evolve.

They believe the findings are of growing importance in a rapidly changing world to also unravel under what conditions such cooperation might go extinct, or flip from a cooperative to a competitive interaction.

Scientists call for urgent conservation action to ensure the future of this practice in Brazil where both the dolphins and the fishers are reliant on a strong and healthy fish population for the cooperative relationship to succeed.

In recent years, they say, the region has seen reduced availability of fish as well as reduced interest among the fishers in learning the tradition.

They say conservation strategies like understanding the main reasons for the local fish decline, reducing the use of illegal nets, as well as incentives to encourage the traditional practice may go a long way.

We dont know what is going to happen in the future, but our best guess, using our best data and best models, is that if things keep going the way they are right now, there will be a time when the interaction will no longer be of interest by at least one of the predators, Fabio Daura-Jorge, study author from Brazils Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, said.

This phenomenon of mutually-beneficial interaction between wildlife and humans is getting more and more rare and seems to be at global risk. The cultural value and the biological diversity are important, and its important to preserve it, Dr Cantor added.
A new therapy to treat late-stage cancer in dogs can not only extend the lives of canines but also preserve good quality of life, according to a new study that may also lead to improved treatments for some cancers that affect humans.

The research, published recently in the journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, used technology that modified unspecialised stem cells in dogs to treat the cancer-stricken canines.

Scientists, including those from the National University of Singapore (NUS), modified Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) that are capable of seeking out cancerous tumours.

The modified cells, according to researchers, carry a potent kill-switch  molecules called cytosine deaminase  that produces a high, localised concentration of a cancer killing drug (5-fluorouracil) in the tumour environment and subsequently induces immunity against cancer.

To repurpose stem cells for cancer treatment, it is usual to use viruses to introduce therapeutic genes into the cells. We have however, designed a non-viral gene delivery platform that introduces a high payload of therapeutic genes into the stem cells, to effectively destroy the out-of-control growing cancer cells, study co-author Too Heng-Phon from NUS said.

With this therapy that has been proven safe and demonstrated promising clinical benefits in animal patients, we hope to develop effective treatment options to help human patients with cancer as well, which can improve their health without compromising their quality of life, Dr Heng-Phon said.

The technology was first tested on canine patients in 2018, and later delivered to 65 dogs, as well as two cats, with cancer conditions like perianal adenoma, lung metastasis, and sarcoma.

Veterinary patients in the study first received the treatment via direct tumour-site injections or through blood stream, followed by the ingestion of oral pills containing a drug commonly used to treat fungal infection (5-flucytosine), over a few days.

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#Stemcells modified to carry novel #cancer therapy extend lives of terminally ill #dogs. Therapy differs from other cell and #genetherapies that use viruses to introduce genes into cells. Instead, modification involves using chemical carrier. https://t.co/SZYaUIEgy7 #caninecancer  Greg Slabodkin (@Slabodkin) January 30, 2023

The cycle was repeated for two more weeks after about seven days before the first course of treatment was completed.

Researchers then monitored the condition of the animals and repeated the course where necessary.

They say 56 showed signs of positive response among those that received the treatment over a duration ranging from three to eight weeks.

About 14 of these animals, scientists say, showed full recovery from the treatment.

Two animals remained cancer free at least 30 months post treatment, according to the scientists, who added that 46 of the veterinary patients overall showed good quality of life over two to 32 months, with the treatment.

There were no significant side effects observed during the study likely due to the localised presence of the therapeutic cells which remain within the tumour environment, researchers say.

Beyond results that have shown to benefit our companion animals, it is our hope to extend the therapy to human patients in the future and improve healthcare outcomes for those who have cancer  especially when they have no treatment options left, Ho Yoon Khei, another author of the study, said.

In further studies, scientists hope to review the therapys safety and efficacy for veterinary medicine and discuss plans for clinical trials on human patients in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.
Watch: Police seize e-scooter from woman taking young child to school

Police have seized an electric scooter from a woman who was taking a young child to school.

Gloucestershire Police said it had taken the e-scooter from a woman in Stroud after a complaint from a member of the public.

The force posted a video of the woman using the e-scooter to transport the four-year-old child in an area close to a school.

The woman had been transporting the child using the e-scooter "on a daily basis", police said.

The force said "concerns were raised" when it was alerted.

In a tweet, alongside a video of the woman using the scooter, Gloucestershire Police Specialist Ops, which is responsible for roads policing, said: "Concerns were raised regarding a female using an e-scooter to transport a young child on a daily basis."

Police seized an e-scooter from a woman in Stroud. (Gloucestershire Police Specialist Ops)

It said officers attended and "observed four-year-old being transported in this way and vehicle seized".

The force added: "Thanks to the public for making us aware."

In the clip, the woman is seen travelling on the scooter behind the child, who is standing at the front as it goes down a hill.

Read more: Drink driver crashes Maserati in city centre right in front of police car

In 2020, Gloucestershire Police warned that its officers would seize e-scooters.

It said: "Gloucestershire Constabulary has warned that officers will seize electric powered vehicles being used illegally on pavements and cycle paths.

"It comes after a growing number have been spotted being used around Gloucester with many users unaware that they are committing offences, including young children."

Chief Inspector Al Barby said: While these may seem like fun and environmentally-friendly ways of getting around, these vehicles can be dangerous to other road users as well as to the riders themselves.

Any vehicle using the roads must be legally registered. Anyone caught using them on pavements or cycle paths face the possibility of it being seized, having points on their licence and being fined.

Story continues

Are e-scooters legal in the UK?

E-scooters cannot be used legally on roads, cycle lanes or pavements.

Because they do not have a specific law, they are recognised as "powered transporters", which means they fall under the same regulations as motor vehicles.

Electric scooters that are available as part of a government-backed trial in London. (Getty Images)

But e-scooters are illegal on roads because they don't have visible rear red lights, number plates or signalling ability.

The only e-scooters than can be used on public roads are those that are hired as part of government-backed trials.

E-scooters may be used on private land with the permission of the land owner.

How fast do e-scooters go?

In trials, such as in London, the speed limit of e-scooters is capped at 12.5mph, and they will automatically reduce speed to 8mph in "go-slow" areas.

However, most e-scooters on the market can reach speeds of up to 25mph.

How much do e-scooters cost?

Cheaper models can cost about 150, with mid-range e-scooters costing anything from 450 to 700. The most expensive e-scooters can cost up to 5,000.
Prince Andrew's accuser has been urged to speak out credit:Bang Showbiz

Virginia Giuffre has been encouraged not to "remain silent".

The 39 year old agreed a huge settlement with Prince Andrew - who she claimed she was forced to have sex with by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was just 17 - last year, with the agreement including a clause that banned her from speaking about the case for a year.

And with the confidentiality agreement due to expire some time next month, attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented some of the victims of late billionaire paedophile Epstein, has urged her to speak out.

Lisa told Times Radio: "[Virginia is] a tremendous advocate for women, not only victims of Jeffrey Epstein, but victims in general.

I dont expect her to remain silent. I expect her to continue to use her voice to speak out. And I hope that she does."

While Andrew is said to be considering a legal attempt to overturn the settlement, Lisa believes it is unlikely he will be able to do anything, arguing the case is "over and done with" because it didn't go to trial, despite the disgraced Duke of York - who has denied any wrongdoing - being represented by "highly competent attorneys".

She said: Its never going to be resurrected. Its never going to come back because of the decision that he made as a grown man to settle the case.

Lisa's comments came shortly after Alan Dershowitz encouraged Andrew to challenge the agreement after Virginia dropped an eight-year legal battle against him in November, admitting she "may have made a mistake" in identifying him as a man who abused her as a teenager.

The lawyer said: I have never understood why he accepted the settlement.

There were many, many good defences he could have raised. Ive thought right from the beginning, as soon as the deal was done, it was a mistake to do it. He should pursue every legal remedy and the media should investigate thoroughly all of the allegations because this is just the tip of the iceberg."

Andrew is said to feel Virginia's u-turn in her allegations against Alan have damaged her credibility.
This photo taken on Sept. 20, 2022 shows the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port, constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), in Djibouti city, capital of Djibouti. [Photo/Xinhua]





The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) initiated by China seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.



The BRI comprises a Silk Road Economic Belt  a trans-continental passage that links China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe by land  and a 21st century Maritime Silk Road, a sea route connecting China's coastal regions with Southeast and South Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East and Eastern Africa, all the way to Europe.

The initiative defines five major priorities: policy coordination; infrastructure connectivity; unimpeded trade; financial integration; and connecting people.

The BRI has been associated with a very large programme of investments in infrastructure development for ports, roads, railways and airports, as well as power plants and telecommunications networks. Since 2019, Chinese state-led BRI lending volumes have been in decline. The BRI now places increasing emphasis on "high-quality investment", including through greater use of project finance, risk mitigation tools, and green finance.

The name was formulated by China's President Xi Jinping, who drew inspiration from the concept of the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago  an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries.

The ancient Silk Road, which was a network of trade routes originating from China, connecting Asia, Europe and Africa. Ancient Chinese poems had indicated that, numerous emissaries and traders took to the Road, and ships set sail, bringing about a boom in travel and trade over land and across the seas, and providing a strong impetus to regional development and exchanges and cooperation among different nations and civilizations along the routes.

The world today is undergoing great development and profound transformation and changes, which calls for new growth drivers for the global economy, more inclusive and balanced development and ways and means to bridge the yawning gap between the rich and the poor.

In line with the prevailing trend of economic globalization and in response to the call of the times for reforming the global governance system and the strong aspiration of the world's people for a better life, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013, later known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This is an initiative for open and inclusive economic cooperation that follows the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It is based on and centered around economic cooperation, underpinned by people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and aims to increase connectivity among countries along the routes through deepened practical and win-win cooperation to achieve common development.

The five major priorities are as stated below:

Foremost, policy connectivity: states that, any cooperation project under the BRI will be carried out on the basis of consultation on an equal footing, with no political strings attached. It will not be imposed from a "position of strength." Rather China seeks to align the initiative with other countries' development strategies and regional and international development agendas so that the parties involved can draw upon each other's strengths to achieve complementarity. In fact, the BRI has been effectively aligned with policy initiatives like the Middle Corridor initiative of Turkey, the Bright Road initiative of Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia and the Development Road initiative of Mongolia to produce greater synergy and a multiplying effect.

In addition, infrastructure connectivity: China is working with relevant countries to accelerate implementation of major infrastructure projects such as railways, roads and ports, with many more connectivity projects in the pipeline. It is the goal of China to create better conditions and more opportunities for trade and investment cooperation and economic development of all countries.

The Infrastructure connectivity saves transportation time and cost, unleashes trade and investment potential, and lends impetus to global economic recovery from the pandemic. Unimpeded trade is a focus of efforts in advancing the BRI, and a strong driving force for sustained growth of the world economy.

Furthermore, trade connectivity: China is working with other BRI participating countries to promote trade and investment facilitation, improve business environment and build FTAs in firm support of the multilateral trade regime and the building of an open world economy.

Moreover, financial connectivity: China has engaged in diverse forms of financial cooperation with BRI partner countries and organizations, and is willing and ready to provide them with financial support for economic development to the best of its ability. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, for instance, have already made good contributions to economic growth in relevant countries.

Last but not the least, people-to-people connectivity: Guided by the Silk Road spirit, China and other BRI participating countries have carried out extensive cooperation in science, education, culture, health and people-to-people exchanges with firm commitment to enhancing exchanges, dialogue and mutual learning among different civilizations.

Having received positive response and broad support from the international community, the BRI is being translated from a blueprint into reality and has grown to be the broadest and largest platform for international cooperation in the world, generating huge opportunities and dividends to countries around the world. The cumulative trade between China and its BRI partners has exceeded $9.2 trillion, and Chinese businesses direct investment in countries along the routes exceeded $130 billion. A World Bank report estimated that when fully implemented, the BRI could help nearly 40 million people in relevant countries get out of poverty.

Despite the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 that has ravaged the world for the past three years, the Belt and Road cooperation has not come to a halt. Instead, it has pressed ahead against the headwind, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, China and its BRI partners have worked together to put up an international firewall of cooperation against the virus. China has held over 100 meetings with relevant countries to share experience in pandemic response, provided more than 280 billion masks, 3.4 billion protective suits and 4 billion testing kits to the world, and helped many countries build testing labs. China has also conducted extensive vaccine cooperation with many countries, and had by mid-June, 2021 donated and exported more than 400 million doses of finished and bulk vaccines to more than 90 countries, most of which were BRI partners.

In spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic, trade and investment cooperation under the BRI has made remarkable achievements, making the Belt and Road a promising model of recovery for restoring economic and social activity and a model of growth for unlocking development potential. The China-Europe freight trains playing a more prominent role as an artery for trade, the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor picking up speed and the cross-border e-commerce boosting the circulation of supplies of anti-pandemic materials and daily necessities. Platforms like China International Import Expo (CIIE) and China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) are also playing an increasingly important role in facilitating trade connectivity and technological cooperation among countries.

In 2020, Chinese investors made non-financial direct investment of $18.61 billion in 58 Belt and Road countries, despite a 35% year-on-year decline in global outward direct investment, and their accumulated investment in overseas economic and trade cooperation zones reached $44.85 billion, creating 373,000 local jobs.

Going forward, China had indicated that it will continue to work with all other parties to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in line with the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and the philosophy of open, green and clean development to make it high-standard, sustainable and beneficial to the people.

The Belt and Road is a road to prosperity. China and other participating countries will continue to promote all-round infrastructure connectivity and enhance the free flow of goods, capital, technology and personnel to deliver more tangible benefits to the people and enable more developing countries to participate in and gain from the Belt and Road cooperation.

The Belt and Road is a road for green development. China is advocating for a green, low-carbon, circular and sustainable way of life and work, and call for increased cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy and green finance and deepened implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so as to bring about harmonious coexistence between man and nature and sustainable development of human society.

The Belt and Road is a road for health. China will continue to work with its BRI partners to help and support underdeveloped countries and regions in fighting and preventing epidemics, promote exchanges and cooperation in public health R&D, scale up cooperation in virus origin tracing and vaccine R&D and production, and further improve global public health governance, so as to build a robust global community of health for all.

The BRI was proposed by China and belongs to the whole world. It is open to all countries, and its achievements will be shared by all.

China had welcomed and supported the United States of America's participation in the Belt and Road cooperation. The two countries were highly complementary in economic structures and comparative strengths. The cooperation on the Belt and Road will serve not only the interests of the U.S. and China, but also the interests of all participants in the initiative. The BRI would provide broad opportunities for U.S. businesses, open up a new horizon for China-U.S. cooperation, and place the two countries in a better position to help partner countries strengthen infrastructure building, advance industrialization process and improve people's living standard.

China has embarked on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects. China is actively building a new paradigm of development with domestic cycle being the mainstay and domestic and international cycles reinforcing each other. This will provide stronger impetus and greater space for the Belt and Road cooperation. China will continue to work with relevant countries to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and help them meet their needs in pandemic response and economic recovery so as to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind and create a brighter future for all countries.

The author is Deputy Director of Human Resource Management and Development, Ministry of Defence of Ghana.
The University of North Georgia's (UNG) career fairs are back this spring and open to all students and alumni. Hosted every semester at both the Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses by Career Services, these fairs aim to include employers who are hiring from a wide array of majors.

"Career fairs are a great way to learn about local and sometimes national employers. They are specifically looking for what they call 'early-career' talent, or college students who are getting ready to graduate," Lisa A. Walker, assistant director of Career Services, said. "We often hear students who have attended their first career fair say how good it was to have attended and they learned about so many unexpected things."

On Feb. 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the all-majors career fair will focus on students and alumni interested in full-time career entry-level positions and internship opportunities. It will be held in the Convocation Center at UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

Another all-majors fair will take place March 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Robinson Ballroom of the Student Center at the Gainesville Campus.
HA NOI  Viet Nam lured US$1.69 billion worth of foreign investment in the first month of 2023, down 19.8 per cent year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

One bright spot in January was that 153 new foreign-invested projects, valued at $1.2 billion, were granted licenses, up 48.5 per cent in number and 3.1 times in value, which was a signal to confirm the confidence of foreign investors in the investment environment of Viet Nam, the FIA said.

During the month, capital added in operating projects by foreign investors saw a yearly decline of 76 per cent to $306.3 million while their capital contributions and share purchases also declined 61 per cent year-on-year to over $174 million.

At the same time, disbursed capital also witnessed a decline of 16.3 per cent to an estimated $1.35 billion in the first month, the FIA said, adding that the processing and manufacturing industry saw $1.05 billion worth of foreign investment disbursed, making up 77.6 per cent of the total.

Since January saw two long holidays - New Year and Lunar New Year, the decrease recorded in registered foreign investment capital, or even disbursement, had not yet reflected the general trend of foreign investment capital flows to Viet Nam in 2023, according to the agency.

Projects related to wholesale, retail, and repair of automobiles and motorised vehicles accounted for the lions share of the total registered sum, at 54.1 per cent or $651.9 million. They were followed by those in the processing and manufacturing industry, which together registered $351.2 million in capital or equivalent to 29.1 per cent and those in other sectors at $202 million or 16.8 per cent.

Also in January, 28 foreign countries and territories invested in Viet Nam. Singapore was the largest with $767.6 million, followed by China with $198.2 million.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors poured $126.7 million into their projects overseas, increasing by 3.4 times against the same month in 2022.

Among three countries and territories receiving investment from Viet Nam, South Korea was the leading country with $125.1 million, accounting for 98.7 per cent of total investment capital; followed by Thailand ($1.5 million or 1.2 per cent); and Laos ($140,000 or 0.1 per cent).

Foreign investment bonanza

Viet Nam is expected to attract a lot of FDI this year due to its impressive economic performance in 2022, improved business climate and the advantages brought by the free trade agreements it has signed, experts said.

o Van Su, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Investment, said Viet Nam is likely to attract $36-38 billion worth of FDI in 2023.

South Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China) are expected to be among the main sources of investment as they continue to pump money into Southeast Asia.

Economist Le ang Doanh said the country needs to further speed up administrative reforms, improve its investment environment and ensure policy stability.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said priority would be given to projects that use new and green technologies and have high added value.

Though there are admittedly still problems related to human resource quality, Viet Nam remains an appealing destination for foreign investors due to its supportive policies, he added.

A recent survey done by the Ministry of Planning and Investment found 76 per cent of enterprises saying they were satisfied with the Governments support policies.

They were most satisfied with the VAT waiver and reduction policies, and those to stabilise gasoline prices, improve the work permit issuance process and customs clearance procedures, and support import- export and workers livelihoods.

To continue to attract foreign investment, Dung said it is vital for Viet Nam to develop innovation and financial centres at the regional and international levels.

It is also important to stabilise the economy and improve infrastructure and the quality of human resources, he added.

Last year FDI was worth nearly $22.4 billion, according to the General Statistics Office.

Of the more than 100 nations and territories investing last year, Singapore topped with $6.46 billion, followed by South Korea ($4.88 billion) and Japan ($4.78 billion).

They invested in 54 provinces and cities of which HCM City attracted the most: $3.94 billion.

Binh Duong was second with $3.14 billion and Quang Ninh was third with $2.37 billion.  VNS
Quy Duong

HA NOI The ginger cake of the Khmer ethnic group in Soc Trang Province is a beloved traditional treat that is often offered to ancestors on important anniversaries such as the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

According to legend, the cake is also a symbol of faithfulness between husband and wife.

It was said that there had been a girl named Nai Chrao Cho Pho who waited for her husband (who joined the army) from year to year with hopelessness. During these times, she made ginger cakes and brought them to a rock and sat there eating cakes, waiting for her husband until she turned to become a rock, elderly Khmer Son Phuoc Dung recalled.

He said the cake had always been present at the groups traditional festivals, such as Dolta, Chol Chnam Thmay, Tet and wedding anniversaries, according to the groups traditional customs.

Locals thought that ginger turns out many branches, so the presence of the cake would help their families and offspring to become wealthy and thriving.

At wedding parties, the cake is considered a symbol of faithfulness between husband and wife, Dung said.

Making the cake is simple. It needs makers with skills in each process. They have to choose the right sticky rice, which has a milky colour, and wash it carefully before it is ground.

The maker then mixes the grounded dough with chicken eggs and a certain quantity of wine yeast and kneads it until it no longer sticks to their hands. Then it is cooked in oil, Dung said, noting that the final stage is to cover the roasted cake with molasses before drying it under sunlight.

The perfect cake is crispy mixed with buttery fat and fragrant flavour from chicken eggs and light sweetness molasses, Dung said.

He said at important festivals such as Chol Chnam Thmay or the traditional Tet holiday, the Khmer people used a bamboo stick to pin the ginger cakes and stick it around a wooden round pillar decorated with colourful paper patterns and placed it at the most important place of a festival.

Dung said the Khmer people brought their ginger cakes as their special dish to join a big meal tray, with different specialities such as com lam (sticky rice cooked in bamboo) and others, made by 13 other ethnic groups to welcome Lunar New Year held recently at the Viet Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Ha Nois ong Mo site of Son Tay Town.

Maker Tang Thi Lan, in Soc Trangs Hung Hoi Village who has been making the cake for many years, said she and her villagers are trying their best to preserve this traditional occupation by training young people, particularly young girls, to make the cake to improve their monthly income and more important is to further tie sentiment between family members. VNS
Dabaco is aiming for $1 billion in revenue and $24.24 million in after-tax profit for 2023. This is despite earning VND2.93 trillion ($124.82 million) last quarter, a decrease in revenue of 4.3 per cent on-year.

Gross profit saw a decline of almost 60 per cent on-year to VND150 billion ($6.4 million) for the same period. It is the first quarter that the group has reported losses since 2017.

Revenue for the whole of 2022 reached VND12.26 trillion ($522.3 million), up 13.5 per cent on-year, however, after-tax profit fell by 82 per cent to VND150 billion ($6.4 million). These results equal 54 per cent of initial revenue targets and 16 per cent of initial profit targets.

The revenue target for 2023 is considered ambitious for the group due to the ongoing crises in the domestic and global economies, leading to increases in material, production, and logistical costs, and their impact on animal feed production

In addition, complications from diseases, especially African swine fever (ASF), are also a factor affecting companies working within the livestock industry.

Furthermore, the company failed to deliver its ASF vaccine as expected in late 2022 and is presently still in the final stages of completion of the vaccine before its official launch.

Grobest supports local shrimp farmers to access top-quality, high-yield shrimp larvae Grobest Vietnam Co., Ltd. has entered a cooperation with leading domestic shrimp larvae hatcheries to diversify the supply of high-quality, high-yield larvae for shrimp farmers. The combination of Grobest's 40 years of expertise in shrimp nutrition with the hatcheries hands-on manufacturing experience will help optimise shrimp larvae production while securing a high-quality source. The shrimp larvae hatcheries in question include: Thong Thuan, Truong Thinh, Nam My, Le Xuan Bay, Tran Hau Dien, and Shrimpvet.

Bel Ga holds grand opening for Tay Ninh high-tech hatchery Bel Ga JSC (Belgium), De Heus Group (the Netherlands), and Hung Nhon Group (Vietnam) held the opening ceremony of Bel Ga Tay Ninh High-Tech Poultry Hatchery on April 17 at Thanh Thanh Cong Industrial Park in Tay Ninh province, as part of their supply chain of clean, sustainable, and export-oriented agricultural products.

Livestock groups satisfied despite drop in recent profits While supply chain disruptions exacerbated by rising input material prices have brought down revenue and profit from standout heights in 2020, many of the biggest livestock companies in Vietnam are looking at first-half year results with a sense of satisfaction.
Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan (right) and a member of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Board and EEC Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics, Sergei Glazyev (Photo source: antaranews)

Jakarta - Indonesias Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan has called for the promotion of economic cooperation between his country and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), saying he expects the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides to be completed soon.

At his recent meeting with a member of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Board and EEC Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics Sergei Glazyev, Hasan said that the launch of negotiations on the Indonesia-EAEU free trade agreement last December is a historic moment to bolster bilateral relations to a higher level.

During their meeting, Hasan and Glazyev also talked about the Indonesia-EEC Joint Working Group (JWG). The Indonesian minister said that the two parties have entered into a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) to establish the JWG as a discussion forum on trade and investment technical cooperation.

Indonesia welcomes various initiatives to optimise the potential of bilateral economic relations, he said, adding that it is very important for both parties to complete negotiations as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Glazyev said that although the bilateral trade has been quite good, there are still opportunities to improve it.

FTA agreements and discussions on technical cooperation under the MoC are expected to encourage two-way trade and investment flows, he added.

From January to November 2022, the total trade between Indonesia and the EAEU reached 4 billion USD, up 32.75% year on year.

Indonesia stepping up its funding priorities Vietnam and Indonesia are intensifying their digital and investment ties, with both sides set to venture into new activities together.
The donation funded by the Japanese government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) includes supplies such as soap and hand-sanitiser, and medical equipment such as temperature screening, contactless thermometers and disinfection sprayers.

The donation funded by the Japanese government and IOM for Quang Tri province include essential hygiene supplies such as soap and hand-sanitizer, and medical equipment such as temperature screening thermographic, contactless thermometers and disinfection sprayers

The consul-general of Japan to Danang, Yakabe Yoshinori, welcomed the recent deliveries, highlighting Japans ongoing support for Vietams safe resumption of international travel.

The Japan government supports the IOMs ongoing efforts to assist frontline workers working at entry points by equipping frontline workers with necessary skills for COVID prevention and control and providing personal protective equipment and other essential supplies, said consul-general Yakabe said.

As part of the $1.6 million support of the Japanese government, IOM has supported the Vietnamese governments safe resumption of international travel by enhancing public health capacity at Points of Entry (POE) of six land-border crossings throughout Vietnam and five international airports (Noi Bai, Danang, Cam Ranh, Tan Son Nhat, and Phu Quoc airports). It is estimated that 400 frontline officials, 50 government officials and 3000 citizens have benefited directly from this project.

The equipment supported by the government of Japan is a practical contribution to strengthen Vietnams border capacity post-COVID, said IOM chief of mission Park Mihyung.

The pandemic brought into focus the vital role that migration play in our societies, and the need for more effective mechanisms that both protects and empowers migrants as important members of our communities. As Vietnam has successfully reopened the borders, our challenge is to continue supporting safe movements of people, especially those who travel overseas to work, ensuring that they are provided with accurate information, empowered to make informed decisions, and protect themselves from the risks when working overseas, Park added.

Earlier this year, IOM also introduced health handbooks for Vietnamese migrant workers living in Japan and the Republic of Korea, which provide basic information, advice, and guidance for health needs of migrant workers.

IOM is working closely with the Ministry of Health and local authorities to ensure that migrants have access to essential health services and leave no one behind, especially in the 'new normal' phase in Vietnam.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hanoi  The southeast region is preparing necessary conditions in infrastructure, administrative procedures and human resources to welcome a new wave of foreign direct investment (FDI), as investors have flocked to the region right from the beginning of this year.

The region, comprising Ho Chi Minh City and five provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba RiaVung Tau, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh, has been attractive to investors. HCM City and Binh Duong were the leading localities in FDI attraction in 2022 with 3.94 billion USD and 3.14 billion USD, respectively.

Right at the beginning of 2023, Binh Duong welcomed many large firms coming to explore the local investment opportunities, including Sembcorp and CapitaLand from Singapore, Nebraska from the US, and Tokyu from Japan.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)s Foreign Investment Department, the southeast region will continue to be the major FDI magnet of the country in 2023. This year, the country may lure about 36-38 billion USD in FDI.

In order to attract investors, over the recent years, the region has focused on developing the infrastructure system to strengthen regional connectivity. A 76.3-km Belt Road No.3 crossing four localities of HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An will be launched in the second quarter of this year, contributing to motivating the regions development.

Meanwhile, regional localities have broadened the national highway and expressway systems to boost their growth.

Commenting on the growth prospect of the region, Japanese Consul General in HCM City Watanabe Nobuhiro said that once the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway and Belt Roads No.3 and No.4 are put into operations, the connections among regional localities will be fostered, making the region even more attractive.

Alongside, the localities have also expanded their industrial parks (IPs) to make more spaces for investors.

HCM City is working on a 668-hectare Pham Van Hai IP, while Binh Duong is turning the 1,000-hectare Vietnam-Singapore IP (VSIP) to a green IP and investing on a 1,000-hectare Cay Truong IP as well as Rach Bap IP.

At the same time, Dong Nai is finalising procedures to set up eight other IPs, which are expected to provide more than 7,000 hectares of industrial land for investors.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau is also working on a plan to set up eight more IPs with a total area of over 8,000 hectares from now to 2030.

Furthermore, the localities have concentrated on improving their investment environment, with the promotion of single-window mechanism at IPs, aiming to make all procedures involving businesses faster, smoother and easier.

In terms of human resources, the localities have formed a linkage among the State, businesses and training facilities to ensure human resources training match businesses demands, and create a start-up ecosystem.

With the careful preparations of necessary conditions, experts predicted that the region will continue to take the leading role in FDI attraction.

FDI inflows to Vietnam reach almost $1.7 billion in January According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam lured $1.69 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) as of January 20 this year, a year-on-year decrease of 19.8 per cent.
Vietnam is seeing more and more early-stage investors newly established, expanded to Vietnam market or raised new Vietnam-focused funds from 2021 to 2022.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is the hottest destination for investors pursuing a longer-term vision, according to a survey by Bain.Investors are confident in Vietnams long-term prospects, despite the current economic downturn and lack of funding.

According to DealstreetAsia, Vietnam has recorded 11 early stage venture capital funds focused on the market, with seven maiden funds and four others Vietnam focused funds including AVV, Do Ventures, Nextrans, ThinkZone, Touchstone Partners, VinaCapital Ventures. In terms of total AUM, there was $371 million raised and $200 million target needed to be raise in 2023 and 2024.

Since 2021, there have been more deals conducted by these Vietnam-focused funds, proving themselves as one of the most crucial support systems for early-stage entrepreneurs in the country. In contrast, the number of later-stage funds is still moderate, almost all of them are regional or global funds.

Although the dry powder became the highest ever, due to the economic headwinds, venture capital has become more cautious when investing in startups. Deal activity drops by half from 165 deals in 2021 to 85 deals in 2022. Meanwhile, deal value drops by one-third from $1.44 billion in 2021 to $855 million in 2022, reflecting a slow-down in investment, according to Nextrans.

While early-stage activity remains robust, total investment value dropped significantly in 2022 due to the absence of late-stage funding, highlighting the need to see more scalable businesses.

The report also points out that e-commerce remains the top to attract investment in 2022, which accounts for 31 per cent of the total funding amount, followed by fintech (26 per cent), then logistics and transportation (15 per cent).

Edtech and medtech and healthcare came next with 6 per cent and 5 per cent of total capital invested respectively. Foodtech, Proptech, Foodtech, and SaaS deals make up a total 8 per cent. Other industries deals account for the remaining 9 per cent, which mainly come from startups in the Media, Blockchain or the Travel industry.

After the peak of 2021, the investment amount and the number of deals done in 2022 decreased significantly due to the caution of investors in investment.

Investors are more selective regarding the investment stages and due diligence in startups. In terms of stages, most of the capital flows into early-stage startups, while later-stage investments are relatively few. Investors are now looking critically into the company's profitability and feasibility to exit for their investments.

Vietnam has tools to latch onto startup movement International venture capitalists are still optimistic on Vietnams startup scene amidst global headwinds. Vinnie Lauria, managing partner at Golden Gate Ventures, discussed with VIRs Van Huong the future trends for venture capital funds and how the government could support startups.

Promoting potential in fit-for-purpose startup scene Vietnam is expected to be on fire with emerging startups and innovative technologies as 2023 unfolds. Herston Elton Powers, managing partner of 1982 Ventures, discussed with VIRs Luu Huong on how to build an appropriate setting for the tech ecosystem, and several trends that are more likely to catch on this year.
A logo is seen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. [Photo/cfp.cn]





Recently, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) denounced the United States for its abusive series of appeals against the global trade watchdog's panel rulings over its import tariffs and flawed labeling of goods' origins. As such, they urged the country to fulfill its obligations as a WTO member and stop its unilateral and protectionist moves, according to reports.



By blocking the appointment of new judges since 2019 and preventing the appeals process from functioning, the United States has effectively paralyzed the World Trade Organization as a governing body by using its right of appeal to block any rulings against it, meaning that "appeals cannot be processed, and related rulings cannot move forward."

While the United States calls for reform of the WTO, its real motivation, in keeping with the actions pushed forward by the Trump administration, is protectionism. It no longer believes in fair and free trade. Rather, it seeks to aggressively shore up its advantages by willfully undermining the global trading order in the name of "America First."

Starting with the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, Matthew Pottinger, the U.S. devised a blueprint that linked its trade with its so-called national security. Despite having promoted free trade and open markets for decades and having promoted this ideology in the name of spreading American "values," the U.S. has come to the conclusion that such arrangements are no longer in fact in the national interest to sustain.

In other words, as once confidently assumed, free trade did not remake the world in America's image but "empowered" rival countries, instead of transforming them. The U.S. then came to believe these undermined the unilateralist hegemony that it once deemed to be inevitable. This led to the Trump era level of logic that free trade "ripped off" the United States and established a new consensus of protectionism focusing on "bringing jobs back" to America. While this was seen as largely populist rhetoric directed toward Trump's supporters, the circumstances of its emergence also had a clear geopolitical element too.

Thus, in line with Trump's rhetoric, the United States changed its foreign policy strategy, which much to the surprise of many was doubled down on by Biden, seeking to dismantle globalization in the name of "America First," pursuing protectionism with the goal to politicize, strategize, and weaponize trade. The U.S. wants to be able to gain control of key global supply chains, such as high-end chips, semiconductors, renewable energy goods, and energy, etc., seeking to re-establish them in America, forcing the dependency of allies upon them while excluding competitors from the market.

The United States is using a number of perverted means to achieve these goals. They typically involve baselessly branding things a "national security threat," such as how it has treated certain Chinese companies, or by weaponizing "human rights" rhetoric to smear companies or products so as to try and exclude them from the market on legal grounds, such as what is done to Chinese cotton, polysilicon, and solar panels.

While Washington primarily uses geopolitical conflict to force "decoupling" between its allies and target countries, it also uses a variety of other coercive means to enforce its will on third parties, including sanctions, tariffs, and large-scale subsidies, the latter two of which have caused serious harm to Europe. Despite the World Trade Organization is in theory an arbiter of the rule-based system it once created, America's attempts to hobble the organization are deliberately designed to place it beyond accountability and to gain an unfair advantage. That is why other countries cannot challenge it.

According to reports, 127 WTO members have attempted on 61 occasions to start the selection process for filling vacancies in the Appellate Body. Nevertheless, the United States has blocked the proposed decision. This has rendered international law on trade toothless and is a clear representation of how the U.S. is breaking the free trade system for its own geopolitical gain.

This is the world we now live in, one plagued with growing uncertainty and insecurity in the name of U.S.-led geopolitical conflict and protectionism. The countries of the world must work together to preserve rule-based free trade order and protect it from those who seek to destroy it, which ultimately means engaging with China and resisting coercion to follow U.S. unilateralism.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
A fourth suspect has been arrested in connection with the Dec. 23 robbery and slaying of Stanley Wilcox, whose body was dumped under a bridge near Baylor University.

Authorities arrested Alijah Benson, 19, of Dallas, on Friday and charged him with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence in the case. He remained Monday in McLennan County Jail with bond set at $550,000.

Detectives with Waco Police Department's special crimes unit concluded that other suspects in the case arrived near the 300 block of West Kiest Boulevard in Dallas around 2:30 a.m. Dec. 22 and received a handgun from Benson, WPD spokesperson Cierra Shipley said in a statement.

Those receiving the gun intended to use it in a planned robbery of Wilcox, according to the statement.

"In exchange for lending the firearm, Benson was to receive financial gain after the robbery was completed," Shipley's statement says. "The handgun was returned to Benson, after the murder of Wilcox."

The body of Wilcox, 59, was discovered Jan. 6 under a bridge in the 1100 block of South Ninth Street. Police arrested James Keylan Willis and Brandon Xavier Stephens, both 19, on murder and tampering with evidence charges in the case. Police said the young men shared a home with Wilcox and both took part in the fatal shooting at their house in the 800 block of Garrett Lane, then hid the body under a bridge on Waco Creek.

Police also arrested Heavyn Hamilton, 17, on charges that she failed to report the crime.
EOAC Waco is leaving downtown for a former cafeteria building it bought at 1800 North Valley Mills Drive, a location officials said would afford the agencys staff and clients more parking and less congestion.

EOAC, or Economic Opportunities Advancement Corp., now leases space in a historic edifice at Fifth Street and Franklin Avenue, only blocks from restaurants and tourist attractions. The buildings owner last year put it up for sale, and EOAC began searching for a spot away from downtowns bustle.

The search ended at the former Underwoods Cafeteria building on North Valley Mills, once famous for its barbecue and fried chicken before it closed in 2001 and became a bank building.

LoopNet, an online real estate site, shows the building was constructed in 1988 and has 13,000 square feet and 150 surface parking spaces.

EOAC Executive Director Dorothy Marstaller said the agency began to seriously pursue an alternative when a local real estate agent began offering tours of the building, with would-be buyers and developers in tow.

EOAC employs about 300 people around Waco and Central Texas. Marstaller estimated that 50 permanently occupy office space. Other staffers have access to the headquarters when necessary. EOAC runs programs to assist low-income households with utility bills, rent payments and weatherization projects to make homes more efficient.

The agency also operates the EOAC Waco Charter School and Head Start programs.

Marstaller said nearly 840 youngsters are enrolled in the Head Start program, and about 170 children attend the charter school. She estimated that at least 4,000 people avail themselves of EOAC-related services annually.

EOAC was chartered by the State of Texas in 1966 to implement and carry out provisions of the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

The area EOAC oversees work in nine counties: McLennan, Bosque, Freestone, Limestone, Hill, Falls, Johnson, Ellis and Navarro.

Parking has always been an issue for clients and employees, said Marstaller. After many years, we finally have our own building. Its just one story, which is also good for our clients, providing easy access.

She said interior remodeling will make our building really nice.

The building EOAC leaves was the longtime home of Wacos Western Union telegraph office. Originally called the Fidelity Building, it was built for the Texas Fidelity and Bonding Co. circa 1910. It originally cost $40,000 and was modern in every particular, the Waco Morning News reported in 1915.

It was known in postwar years as the Jordan Building for its owner, Harry Jordan, a former state representative and local attorney affiliated with Texas Fidelity, who also founded the Waco Kiwanis Club in 1921. Jordan and his wife sold the building, then appraised at $58,500 market value, in 1963 to Wm. Harvey Life Insurance Co for $35,000, according to Tribune-Herald archives.

The space became the Insurance Building, housing insurance and professional offices, including the draft board. EOAC arrived in the early 1990s.

As of October, McLennan County Appraisal District valued the property at $471,680 for tax purposes. Local developer Bill Wetterman controls the property. Wetterman has had a hand in several downtown projects, including developing Behrens Lofts at 219 S. Fourth St. and in 2019 re-purchasing the building to convert leased units into owner-occupied condos. He refurbished the building next door for occupancy by Fabled Bookshop.

Wetterman started work several years ago on a shipping container development at 319 South Fourth St. called the Containery. The development faltered until it was bought by San Diego-based Rad Lab, which is at work on an $11.6 million mixed-use development called Herringbone.

We are still marketing the property, said real estate agent Gregg Glime of the EOAC building. The market seems to be changing daily right now, and I think a lot of speculative developers are really cautious moving forward.

We have dealt with that on this property, he said via email. I still have some active prospects and working hard on getting it sold.
Schools and other institutions are closed Tuesday amid a winter storm warning and predictions that light rain and freezing temperatures will combine for treacherous roads throughout the Waco region.

The National Weather Service on Monday predicted that a strong arctic cold front moving through the Great Plains will bring freezing rain and sleet from Tennessee to Texas. A quarter-inch of frozen rain could accumulate in Central Texas, bringing with it downed trees and power outages along with dangerous travel conditions, the NWS said.

Since the surface is below freezing, any [precipitation] is going to freeze basically on contact, Hunter Reeves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Services Fort Worth office, said. Whether that impacts travel or not depends on where youre driving.

Most school districts in the McLennan County area, including Waco Independent School District and Midway ISD, are closed Tuesday, as are Baylor University, Texas State Technical College and McLennan Community College. Most McLennan County and the city of Waco offices will also close along with local libraries and museums.

Jake Smith, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportations Waco District, said crews have been pretreating interstates and highways with a brine solution to prevent ice from building up, and more workers will be prepared to pour a mixture of sand and magnesium chloride on problem areas.

City of Waco workers were also sending out trucks to sand roads as the weather worsened Monday.

However, the best thing Central Texas drivers can do is stay of the roads entirely, Smith said.

If you have to drive, drive to the conditions and give yourself enough time to get to your destination, Smith said.

Tuesday will bring the worst conditions, according to Reeves.

The NWS forecast for Waco calls for a high of 31 degrees with an 80% chance of precipitation, possibly including less than a half inch of sleet. Ice layers of of 0.1 to 0.2 inches could accumulate.

Reeves said the freezing rain will be patchy, making it difficult to anticipate where the ice will be. He said drivers should expect slick spots on bridges, overpasses and other elevated surfaces.

Those develop pretty easily because you have the cold air both on top and beneath the road surface, he said.

A high chance of freezing rain and sleet continues Tuesday night and early Wednesday, with a low of 29 and winds of 10 to 15 mph.

The agencys winter storm advisory is set to expire 6 a.m. Wednesday but might be extended based on conditions. Reeves said as of Mondays forecast, he expects conditions to improve in Central and North Texas after noon Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Oncor Electric warned of possible impacts of ice on its electric distribution system.

Ice accumulation may pose the greatest possible impact to electric delivery service, the company said in an online announcement. These accumulations can weigh down tree limbs, causing them to significantly sag or break onto power lines, and create dangerous road conditions.

To report an outage, Oncor customers can text OUT to 66267, use the MyOncor app, or visit stormcenter.oncor.com. They can also call 888-313-4747.

The Salvation Army opened its 300 Webster Ave. location Monday in Waco as a cold weather shelter, and will keep it open as long as the temperature stays below 40 degrees.

The city of Waco opened a warming center at Dewey Community Center, located at 925 N. Ninth St., at 6 p.m. Monday. The center will remain open at least through through 11 a.m. Wednesday. Pets are allowed at the center as long as they are confined to crates.

Elizabeth Thomas, emergency management coordinator for Waco and McLennan County, said the center will have blankets, cots, snacks and bottled water on hand. The last time the city opened a cold weather shelter was last month, when the Sul Ross Community Center housed 18 overnight guests Dec. 22, 13 guests on the 23 and 15 guests on Dec. 25.
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Veterans Council is sponsoring a Veterans Legislative Day for veterans to discuss proposed legislation with Gov. Jim Pillen and several state senators. The council is a coalition of recognized veterans service organizations which are banded together to serve as the Voice of the Nebraska Veterans.

The free event begins with registration at 8 a.m. followed by the official opening at 8:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 3 in the Warner Chamber. All veterans and family members are encouraged to participate.

Following the governors presentation, there will be a briefing by members of the Nebraska Veterans Council regarding this years legislative priorities and several state senators will speak on veterans legislation.

The organizations that make up the council are representatives from the following organizations: The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, CVSOAN and the Marine Corps League. Representatives come from all parts of Nebraska.

Contact the Nebraska Veterans Council Secretary, Dave Salak, at 402-464-6338 for additional information.
WATERLOO  A Waterloo woman has been found guilty of lesser charges for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend in the leg in 2021.

Aaliyah Renee Wright, 25, had been charged with willful injury causing serious injury, a felony,

Following trial last week, jurors returned Friday with a verdict finding her guilty of simple assault, a misdemeanor. She was also found guilty of misdemeanor domestic assault causing bodily injury.

Assistant County Attorney Alisha Stach said Wright deliberately stabbed Quentin Bradley in the leg after he disappeared for two days and then returned home Dec. 12, 2021. The knife pierced the skin, fatty tissue and even muscle and left him with lasting nerve damage, according to testimony.

Bradley then went to the hospital, and Wright ordered McDonalds Door Dash, Stach said.

Defense attorney Nichole Watt said the stabbing was an accident, and that Bradley was injured during a struggle over the knife. As for the other aspects of the altercation Watt said Wright was acting in self-defense  hitting him back when he hit her.

Sentencing will be at a later date.

Photos: Missing children in Iowa Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Fatima Conteh Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo
CEDAR FALLS  The Honors Cottage and Alumni House have been offline for several months at the University of Northern Iowa and are not being used for anything.

But no concrete plans exist outlining what might be in store for the two century-old buildings, according to Pete Moris, director of university relations.

Its been a little more than a year since UNI officials proposed the houses be demolished, primarily to be good financial stewards of state resources. They said an estimated $1.6 million in deferred maintenance needed to be completed on the buildings at the time.

The Board of Regents later tabled the request after Regent David Barker, who now happens to be the chair of the property and facilities committee, questioned whether all of those repairs were absolutely necessary and asked the university to take a step back to look at its campus needs.

A basic breakdown of the maintenance, provided last year to The Courier, lists the expenses as being for windows ($57,414), utilities ($56,958), site work ($25,979), roofs ($36,333), plumbing ($151,718), interiors ($268,006), HVAC ($251,608), building envelope ($322,140), electrical ($172,046), elevator ($165,747) and controls ($102,546).

There hasnt been any dialogue among senior leadership with regards to those two specific facilities, Moris said. He also acknowledged the houses have limited functional space and dont offer as much flexibility as other facilities on campus.

No timeframe exists for when a decision may be made as the universitys needs are continually being evaluated, he added.

Conversations that had been ongoing with an outside individual about possible preservation efforts are no longer happening, according to Moris. The focus had been the Honors Cottage, the former home of the late UNI president Homer Seerley and his family.

Barker could not be reached for comment, but Josh Lehman, a spokesman for the board, said he was not aware of any recent conversations between the regents or any upcoming business that pertains to the structures.

Since the request to raze, the university has moved a call center and the Honors and Scholars programs, their previous uses, out of the Alumni House along West 23rd Street and Honors Cottage along College Street, respectively.

The sign noting Honors Cottage has been removed from out in front of the home, too.

In November, Michael Zwanziger, the universitys assistant vice president and facilities management director, gave a brief update to the regents on the campus master plan, saying, among other things, how one of its goals guiding future projects is to right-size campus, or in other words: Assess underutilized and obsolete space while continuing to improve overall space utilization.

He noted academic positioning and enrollment as being some of the drivers, as well as the charge of the institution being to meet the states workforce needs.

But the only mention of the Honors Cottage or Alumni House came indirectly when describing a recent success, the honors program moving from an inaccessible location that had a high amount of deferred maintenance to Bartlett Hall, one of the universitys renovated century buildings, because of what it offers in terms of accessibility, space and potential to expand.

Meanwhile, the university has begun the final fundraising push for its $250 million Our Tomorrow campaign with a focus on carefully chosen capital projects that renew and elevate campus facilities that are central to our future.

But neither home was among the selected facilities.

The buildings are the only ones on campus that are considered offline and not serving any type of use for classrooms, offices or residency, according to Moris.

Campbell Hall is the lone comparable structure with its singular purpose right now being as a quarantine and isolation unit.

The university has invested heavily in preserving and utilizing other century-old buildings, like the Innovative Teaching and Technology Center. But right now, it is also working to address a backlog of deferred maintenance needs across its campus.

Zwanziger and facilities reports have not indicated that the Honors Cottage and Alumni House are part of the future plans, unlike numerous other projects that were included in a five-year major maintenance capital request to address the backlog.

The lack of a significant update on the Honors Cottage and Alumni House was met with maybe no news is good news by Susan Card, a resident and board member with the nonprofit Preservation Iowa, which brought awareness to the Honors Cottage last year as one of the most endangered properties in the state.

Former state representative Dave Williams, who once was the chairman of the citys Historic Preservation Commission, suggests that progress may be made with some alumni passion.

Others, however, are not feeling as optimistic.

I suspect well drive by them one day and theyll just be all gone, said Rosemary Beach, a former historical society director and resident who tried multiple times last year to drum up support in front of the City Council for finding a way to save Seerleys former home.

Photos: Wartburg wrestling vs. Augsburg, Jan. 26 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 7 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 2 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 9 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 1 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 8 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 12 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 11 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 13 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 5 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 10 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 6 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 4 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 3
During the Windows on Waterloo event, Smith will be providing insights and updates on how his first year in the district is going and initiatives he is excited about for the future. Community members may join the presentation by contacting Paige Price, the foundations program manager, at paige.price@wloocommunityfoundation.org.
CEDAR FALLS  Representatives of the four properties at the corners of the Main and Sixth Street intersection got what they wanted.

They didnt wish to see the traffic signal there replaced with a roundabout.

The City Council convened for a special meeting Monday to reconsider that proposition as part of the larger $30 million plan to reconstruct the thoroughfare and ended up rejecting the possibility.

On a voice vote, the only councilor seemingly to disagree with keeping the traffic signal after nearly an hour-long session was Daryl Kruse. Other councilors said those property representatives who spoke played a role in their decision.

A traffic-signal directed intersection will allow (our) accessibility, flow, lot size and sign location to remain at its current peak convenience, said Lexie Heath, business development officer at Farmers State Bank.

It was the second time in the last year a roundabout had been considered, but the conversation ended the same way  with not enough support. The latest conversation came as part of a referral by Kruse, with councilors Dustin Ganfield, Dave Sires and Gil Schultz backing the reintroduction of the discussion on the item.

The entire project last month came at a price that was 40% over what had been estimated. It includes replacing signals with roundabouts at 12th and 18th streets as well as Seerley Boulevard. Construction is slated to begin this spring.

The council received input from Heath as well as Susan Whitson, chief executive officer at First Bank, and Kelly Stern, director of the Cedar Falls Public Library, the leaders of the other organizations with buildings at that intersection.

I can see both sides, and Ive thought about it a lot, said Councilor Simon Harding. Believe or not, to me, I just dont think its worth changing.

Harding made the motion to continue with what had been previously approved. He also read aloud a letter from an unnamed Caseys representative about why the convenience store preferred a traffic signal over the roundabout. Kruse previously contended he talked with a company executive who preferred the roundabout.

On Monday, the council considered a roundabout with three or four legs  the exits/entrances to the circular lane.

The section of Sixth Street to the east, between Main and State streets, would have been closed to Main Street traffic if the governing body had elected to go with three legs.

I see the three-legged roundabout as having the reduced construction cost, which then would help offset the redesign cost, said Kruse.

The councilor also suggested the right-of-way acquisition and other one-time costs are worth it because of the more optimal function of a roundabout. He noted that the road design includes ongoing savings. One reason is traffic signal maintenance being eliminated.

I think its a good investment, he added.

Neither bank representative supported the proposition of being unable to turn left out of their properties as result of the roundabout design.

First Bank had further concerns about accessing its property if Sixth Street was closed because of the three-legged roundabout, while the library objected to the likely loss of three to five parking spots.

But Kruse provided other arguments in support of his proposition like that Iowa Northern Railway Companys plans to remove the railroad train tracks through town may lead to more parking spaces.

Prior to voting, Aaron Moniza, an engineer with project designer Foth Engineering, provided information he said had been shared in previous sessions.

He explained how a signalized intersection will have a smaller footprint than a roundabout and minimal impacts to right of way, but also highlighted the benefits of a roundabout. It would allow for better traffic flow as well as other benefits, like less exhaust being emitted by idling cars.

At this point, though, a redesign could impact the timeline and increase the cost because the project already had been awarded.

Bob Manning, resident and executive officer of the Cedar Valley Home Builders Association, was slightly critical of how the council went about its decision on the roundabout.

This appears to be a waste of taxpayer money, said Manning. And thats why Im disappointed in the council in bringing this up  as The Courier referred to it  in the 11th hour. I think this is the 11th-and-a-half hour, folks, and thats not responsible governing.

Photos: Missing children in Iowa Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Fatima Conteh Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo
GILBERTVILLE  The 2023 federal omnibus appropriations bill will benefit multiple community projects in Northeast Iowa, including much-needed emergency centers in Black Hawk and Buchanan counties.

In Black Hawk County, $500,000 was set aside for the Gilbertville Emergency Services building. According to Curt Bovy, chief of Gilbertville Fire and Rescue, construction is expected to begin in the fall. The building, which Bovy expects to come in at around $2.8 million, will be large enough to house police, fire and emergency medical services.

The city will hold a referendum March 7 to ask voters to approve issuing $1.25 million in general obligation bonds to allow the project to go forward. The bonds would be repaid with property tax proceeds.

The $500,000 is a big step towards moving forward with this project and getting this project started, Bovy said. Its been in the works for a number of years but, obviously with COVID and everything else, the price of the building has gone up. So this is a big step towards possibly making this happen as long as the referendum vote comes through on March 7.

Meanwhile, Buchanan County received $208,000 for its new Emergency Operations Center in Independence. Recognizing a need for more space, the countys emergency management agency purchased the former Rydell auto dealership building since its space in the courthouse can only seat 10 people comfortably.

We saw a need for a new emergency operations center, said Chris Hare, Buchanan County emergency operations assistant. So when we were doing the planning for the building inside the service area, the front 42 feet of that, we thought that would make a great emergency operations center.

The first part of the remodeling process, moving Public Health into the old showroom, is complete and officials are using the paint room for the sheriffs office. However, there was still work that needed to be done.

Upon learning that U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, was accepting applications for community project funding Buchanan County jumped at the opportunity to apply. A proposal was written up by Hare, who met with Hinsons office. The project was funded when Congress approved the appropriations bill.

Hinsons agreed with everything were doing. She put it in and finally  it was a long time  but it finally passed, Hare said. And its a good thing  it is a good thing for our community, our county, anyway.

According to Emergency Management Coordinator Rick Wulfekuhle, the measure has benefits for not only Buchanan County but much of Northeast Iowa. The agency is now in a position to assist with over a dozen counties it is partnered with.

And the good part about that, too, to make a side note, is we work really strongly within our district, and our district is a pretty good sized 14-county district, Wulfekuhl said. So that means we could be the backup for somebody contiguous to us if they were having problems.

Photos: Wartburg wrestling vs. Augsburg, Jan. 26 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 7 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 2 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 9 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 1 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 8 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 12 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 11 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 13 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 5 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 10 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 6 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 4 WR Wartburg vs. Augsburg 3
 Flash

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday discussed with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the ongoing escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Al-Sisi stressed the importance of immediate action at the political and security levels to calm the situation and limit any unilateral measures taken by the two parties.

The Egyptian president also reiterated "Egypt's fixed stand to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international references, and in a way that solves this pivotal regional issue and opens prospects for peace, stability, cooperation, and construction."

Blinken, who is on a three-day trip to the Middle East, said Washington is "counting on vigorous coordination with Egypt to restore stability, achieve calm, and contain the situation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides."

They also exchanged views over several regional and international issues of common concern, according to the statement.

Blinken is scheduled to leave for Israel later Monday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas amid escalating tensions between the two sides.
CEDAR FALLS  A close-knit assisted living/memory care facility expects to open a second location in the fall.

Oak Park Estates is constructing a 10,000-square-foot building for 16 future residents at 3202 Greenhill Circle, immediately to the west of its current home on the eastern side of town, and on an acre it purchased from nearby First Security State Bank.

Weve been full, and people have been on a waiting list, said founder/owner Luke Moore. When under stress, people are looking to move fast and theyre ready to act. Theres not many other places our size, and we feel weve become good with those struggling with their memory.

His business also is building the new facility with expectations it will help Oak Park Estates stay competitive in the job market by offering better wages and more benefits as well as more and flexible hours.

One significant development coming as part of the plans will be the hiring of an activities director.

Shell keep the residents engaged and active with things like exercise, crafting, and baking, said Moore. Its great for their minds  and reduces the decline. Nobody ever wants to stay still.

Moore anticipates shovels being in the ground in April for the $3 million project after its first home opened in July 2020, when no thoughts were on his mind about a possible expansion down the road.

The layout will be completely identical to the current facility, with single occupancy rooms and common spaces like the family, dining, and living rooms as well as an outdoor patio  a favorite spot for residents during the warmer months.

Everybody is in and out, and we have grill outs, Moore said. Everybody likes a good hot dog or burger in the summertime.

Rooms have individualized lighting and temperature controls and the facility features chaplain services, a hair salon, a professional chef, and visits from University of Northern Iowa students, among other perks of living there.

Moore also noted that communication is key.

We know whats going on with our residents all the time and their extended family, and all their likes and dislikes, he said. Everybody is in the loop and our size allows us to do that.

Between the two buildings, he expects about 42 employees to run the operation. That includes caregivers and nurses as well as a director, manager, and activities director.

The activities make their world go round, Director Michelle Rasbeck pointed out. She also expressed her pride in what theyve built the last couple years and the environment created for those struggling with memory loss.

Home is the best place until its just not working anymore, she said. Its really hard to move, and small changes lead to confusion, but theyll be coming to a small atmosphere where were in tune with them and their struggles. Someone is always here and its not someone random.

Its not always as easy to transition to a bigger building, and were established now at this point.

She said theyve had a few residents stay put there since the facility opened but one of them transitioned back into an independent living situation.

I feel very fortunate. Everyone is kind and good here, said Dee Lynch, one of those longtime residents. All of my needs are met and I feel very safe. I dont know how there could be any other better place to live. I like the food and its a nice place for people like me.

PHOTOS: Courier Athlete of the Week Grace Knutson in action GBBall CF vs. WW 5 GBBall CF vs. WW 7 GBBall CF vs. WW 3 GBB Cedar Falls vs. Ankeny 3 GBBall Cedar Falls vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 3 GBball Cedar Falls vs. Cedar Rapids Washington 2 GBball Cedar Falls vs. Cedar Rapids Washington 8 Cedar Falls Tigers Girls Basketball takedown Dubuque Senior GBBall West vs. CF 4 CF GBball 3 CF Conf 5 Cedar Falls vs Johnston girls state basketball GBBall Cedar Falls vs. Iowa City High 6
JERUSALEM  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel and the Palestinians on Monday to ease tensions following a spike in violence that has put the region on edge. The bloodshed has alarmed the Biden administration as it attempts to find common ground with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government.

Yet aside from appeals for de-escalation and restraint, Blinken did not publicly offer specific ideas for calming the situation and it was not immediately clear from his meeting with Netanyahu that the administration would propose any. Blinken will meet Tuesday with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Were urging all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate, Blinken said after meeting Netanyahu. We want to make sure that theres an environment in which we can, I hope at some point, create conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, which of course is sorely lacking.

Blinken arrived during one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. An Israeli military raid Thursday killed 10 Palestinians in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin, while a Palestinian gunmen killed seven people outside a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement on Friday. The next morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two Israelis elsewhere in east Jerusalem.

Netanyahu made no reference to the recent flare-up in violence in brief comments after the meeting, instead speaking of the dangers to Israel posed by Iran and his hope for expanding the so-called Abraham Accords  normalization agreements with several Arab countries.

Expanding the circle of peace; working to close, finally, the file of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I think would also help us achieve a workable solution with our Palestinian neighbors, Netanyahu said in his only mention of the Palestinians.

Blinken was more forthright, saying the U.S. supports the expansion of the Abraham Accords but that they cannot be a substitute for a two-state solution that resolves the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

These efforts are not a substitute for progress between Israelis and Palestinians, but as we advance Israels integration we can do so in ways that improves the daily lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, he said, adding that the best way to do that would be through a two-state resolution creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Netanyahu's government is dominated by far-right politicians who oppose Palestinian independence. Following the weekend shootings, his government approved a series of punitive moves against the Palestinians, including plans to strengthen West Bank settlements. The U.S., like most of the international community, considers Israeli settlements on lands claimed by the Palestinians for their state as obstacles to peace.

"Anything that moves us away from that vision is, in our judgment, detrimental to Israels long-term security and its long-term identity as a Jewish and democratic state, Blinken said.

Israel's options may be limited. Both shooters are believed to have acted individually and were not part of organized militant groups, and punitive steps against the broader population could risk triggering even more violence.

Just before meeting Netanyahu, Blinken said he arrived in Israel from Egypt at a pivotal moment and condemned Palestinian attacks that have targeted Israeli citizens. But he also called for restraint in response, saying that all civilian casualties are deplorable.

To take an innocent life in an act of terrorism is always a heinous crime but to target people outside their place of worship is especially shocking, he said, referring to the Friday night shooting, which occurred on the Jewish sabbath.

We condemn all those who celebrate these and any other acts of terrorism that take civilian lives no matter who the victim is or what they believe," he said. "Calls for vengeance against more innocent victims are not the answer. And acts of retaliatory violence against civilians are never justified.

On Monday, shortly before Blinken's arrival in Israel, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the flashpoint city of Hebron, bringing the toll of Palestinians killed in January to 35.

The violence comes after months of Israeli arrest raids in the West Bank, which were launched after a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the spring of 2022 that killed 19 people.

But it has spiked this month during the first weeks of Netanyahu's new far-right government, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians and ramp up settlement construction.

Blinkens trip follows visits to Israel by President Joe Bidens national security adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director Willian Burns. Blinken's meeting was the highest-level U.S. engagement with Netanyahu since he retook power last month.

The visit, which was planned before the flare-up, was already expected to be fraught with tension over differences between the Biden administration and Netanyahus government, which is made up of settlement supporters.

Israeli Army Radio reported late Sunday that the government was also set to approve a rogue outpost deep inside the West Bank, and speed up approval for other such small settlements.

Israel also arrested 42 Palestinians, some relatives of the Jerusalem attacker, in its investigation into the attack. And the firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he has ordered authorities to demolish illegally built Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem in response to the attack.

After the Jenin raid, the Palestinians said they would cancel security coordination with Israel.

Photos: Scenes from the Israel-Palestinian conflict
Briefing on analysis of US military and biological activity documents by Chief of NBC Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov

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We have previously informed about the works on enhancing the pathogenic characteristics of COVID-19 causative agent, carried out at Boston University with funds of the U.S. state budget, as well as the possible involvement of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the emergence of the new coronavirus.

The key role in the implementation of the abovementioned projects belongs to EcoHealth Alliance intermediary organisation. The available documents of the U.S. Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) confirm that since 2015, professionals of the abovementioned company have been studying the diversity in the population of bats, searching for new coronavirus strains, and mechanisms of its transmission from animals to humans. Over 2.5 thousand specimen have been researched.

The project on zoonotic virus research in South-East Asia contain the following recommendations for the employees of EcoHealth Alliance:  If any of the experiments proposed for Aim 1 result in a virus with a phenotype of enhanced pathogenicity and/or transmissibility, enhanced growth by more than 10 fold when compared to wild type strains , the recipient must immediately stop the work and notify the NIAID Program Officer, Grants Management Specialist, and appropriate institutional biosafety committee 

The high degree of readiness of the U.S. mRNA vaccine manufacturers for a pandemic of the new coronavirus infection raises questions. One gets the impression that pharmaceutical companies had produced the vaccine preparations in advance, being unable to rapidly introduce them into the market due to specific characteristics of the virus that embodied in low efficiency of vaccination and numerous side effects.

It is to be reminded that on 18 October 2019, two months before the first official reports about the emergence of the new coronavirus infection in China, the John Hopkins University, supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, conducted Event 201 exercise in New York.

This exercise simulated the epidemic of a previously unknown coronavirus that, according to the scenario, was transmitted from bats to humans via pigs, the intermediate host.

Outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic precisely according to this scenario raises questions about its premeditated nature, involvement of the USA in this incident, as well as real objectives of the U.S. biological programmes aimed at enhancing the characteristics of dangerous pathogens.

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We have repeatedly noted that the United States conduct the studies that are most controversial in terms of the international law outside the national territory.

The examples are the experiments related to HIV infection that have been carried out by U.S. specialists in Ukraine since 2019. It should be emphasized that the target groups include not only high-risk infection patients (convicted or drug addicts), but also representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The premises of Pharmbiotest Medical Centre in Rubezhnoye were explored during the special military operation in the liberated territory of the Lugansk Peoples Republic. It was a venue for clinical trials to test the medicinal products that caused serious side effects: they include medications for treating leukaemia, mental disorders, neurological diseases, epilepsy, and other dangerous illnesses.

In early 2023, residents of Lisichansk found a large landfill of biomaterial residues that belong to Pharmbiotest. The clinical samples and patients clinical records with their personal data were buried instead of being cremated or eliminated in appropriate manner, prescribed by the rules. This means that the evidence were being eliminated in extreme hurry.

The Russian Defence Ministry has received data on numerous facts of Ukrainian military personnel taking psychostimulants and narcotics (tramadol, methadone, amphetamines). The facts about smuggling morphine into war zones have been revealed. It is to be reminded that in accordance with Ukrainian laws, illegal circulation and transportation of the abovementioned products is to be punished by deprivation of liberty ranging from eight to 12 years.

Russia considers the actions committed by the officials who carried out the research on Ukrainian personnel, whose blood contained high concentrations of antibiotics, narcotics, antibodies to the causative agents of infectious diseases, require appropriate legal assessment.

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During the special military operation, Russian personnel acquired over 20,000 documents, reference and analytical materials, as well as surveyed witnesses and participants of the U.S. biological programmes. The abovementioned materials confirm that the Pentagon aimed at creating elements of a biological weapon, and testing it on the population of Ukraine and other countries along the perimeter of the Russian borders.

The Russian Defence Ministry has already mentioned the names of the participants of the military and biological programmes, including those of the U.S. Democratic Party representatives, employees of the U.S. military department, and the Pentagons contracting organisations.

The DTRA reports have led us to the new information about key persons involved in the so-called Ukrainian projects who have been staying in the shadow until now.

Among of them are:

Karen Saylors, CEO at Labyrinth Global Health and ex-director of Metabiotas programmes in Central Africa. Since 2016, Saylors has worked in Ukraine as leading advisor at the UP-10 project, dedicated to studying ways of spreading of African swine fever.

Colleen B. Jonsson, an employee of the University of Tennessee, Director of the Institute for the Study of Host-Pathogen Systems. She observed the UP-8 project, dedicated to studying the capabilities of the Crimean-Congo fevers causative agent in Ukraine. Jonsson managed the selection of biological samples from Ukrainian personnel, provided the cooperation between the contract specifiers in the USA and the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Lewis Von Thaer, President and CEO of Battelle company, a major contractor of the Pentagon and U.S. Department of Energy. Since 2003, the company has been responsible for organising research projects in Ukraine related to zoonotic infections.

Other persons involved in the Ukrainian projects are presented on the slide. The acquired materials will be submitted to the Investigative Committee for measures to bring those guilty to justice.

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The active action of the Russian Defence Ministry has resulted in halting the military biological programmes in Ukraine. In this regard, the Pentagon is actively relocating the studies, that have not been completed within the Ukrainian projects, to Central Asia and Eastern Europe countries. At the same time, the cooperation with African and Asia-Pacific countries  Kenya, Singapore, and Thailand  is being actively enhanced.

Under the pressure from the international community, Washington changes its approaches to organising its military biological activity, transferring the functions of the customer to purely civilian departments: the Department of Health, Department of Energy, and the Agency for International Development. This will allow the U.S. authorities to avoid criticism at international venues, and deflect a blow from the Department of Defense and DTRA.

Within curtailing the military biological activities in Ukraine, the United States actively use the material base of chemical and pharmacological enterprises of Poland and Baltic countries, where the equipment from the Ukrainian territory was sent to. The funding, imposed by the collective West, makes the post-Soviet countries conceal the true nature of these works.

The European Union is actively promoting the initiative to deploy a network of centres of excellence in the field of nuclear, biological and chemical protection, that provides for placing EU-funded biolaboratories in the territories of the former Soviet Union. The prospective partners are highly recommended  not to advertise this initiative due to its extreme sensitivity for the Russian Federation 

At the same time, it is stressed that the Central Asian countries  are already taking benefit from technical cooperation with the European Union 

In 2022, the USA, Canada, and EU countries initiated programmes to employ and relocate the Ukrainian professionals, who had been involved in military biological works before, to Western countries. It is primarily due to the concerns that the Russian law enforcement can receive additional testimonies to the illegal activities carried out in violation of international obligations.

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It is to be emphasised that the strategy of military and biological expansion is not fundamentally new, and it was founded by the United States back in the period of the Korean conflict.

Since the 1950s, biological laboratories were established in Africa, Central and South America, as well as South-East Asia, with the priority role of the U.S. Navy. Their main objective was to sample causative agents of highly dangerous infections, and determine the level of morbidity among local population.

The areas, where these laboratories located, witnessed a deterioration in the epidemic situation regarding highly dangerous infections, as well as now. New diseases, uncharacteristic for these regions, emerged. One of the examples is the outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in 1977 in Cairo, where the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit Three was located.

This disease had previously been recorded only south of the Sahara, but then it suddenly emerged in Egypt, simultaneously infecting 18,000 people. Further analysis of the samples taken from the population showed that the total number of infected people was around 2,000,000. A whole array of proofs reveal the artificial nature of this outbreak and the involvement of the U.S. laboratory.

First, several months before the epidemic started, its staff had been vaccinated against Rift Valley Fever, although there had been no records of an outbreak of this infection in that region, whilst in the endemic regions of Africa, it proceeded as a light influenza-like illness that caused no human deaths.

Second, the causative agent suddenly acquired high pathogenicity for humans during the epidemic in Egypt. The disease caused haemorrhage, severe eye and nervous system lesion. The virus became highly pathogenic and almost could be compared with smallpox, Marburg and Lassa fevers in this regard. It is extremely difficult to define the sudden change in pathogenicity of the virus by its natural evolution.

The analysis of initial focus shape is of particular interest. The form of this epidemiological focus reminds an aerosol cloud trace that can emerge in case of intentional dispersion of a biomaterial or its accidental release into the environment.

Despite the available evidential base about the artificial nature of the outbreak, the U.S. leadership has done everything to conceal the involvement of the laboratory in this incident. Only in 2019, it was decided to relocate it to the U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, to continue the research on highly dangerous pathogens, including coronaviruses.

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In conclusion, I would like to note that the disclosure of the content of the Pentagons military biological programmes in Ukraine by the Russian Federation has gained a wide public response.

Mass demonstrations against the activities of the U.S.-funded laboratories were held in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Non-governmental organisations of the Eurasian Economic Union adopted a resolution against the Pentagon-funded biolaboratories.



Various investigations were initiated in the United States itself. The U.S. law enforcement has paid attention to the topics related to bribing employees of social networks and mass media while broadcasting the cause of the new coronavirus infection, as well as manipulating the public opinion about the U.S. vaccines against COVID-19 commissioned by biotechnological and pharmaceutical corporations.

It is to be reminded that lobbying the interests of large pharmaceutical companies by the U.S. government is a common practice. Back in 2010, the operation of a U.S. Navy Medical Biological Centre in Jakarta was ceased due to a conflict of interests and various violations.

The Americans performed their works outside the agreed research programme, carried out unauthorised sampling, and refused to inform the Indonesian government on the purposes of their works and the results achieved. These biomaterials turned out to be used to the benefit of the Gilead company, affiliated with the Pentagon, that tested their preparations in Ukraine and Georgia (including, but not limited to).

The Indonesian example was followed by Malaysia: the government of that country decided to establish special control over the activities of the U.S.-funded biolaboratory.

Therefore, the concerns of the international community, related to the activities of the Pentagon-funded biolaboratories, is gradually increasing. The issues, raised by the Russian Federation at the international venues  the Nineth Review Conference of BTWC Member States, and the UN Security Council  have revealed the reluctance of the USA to conduct a substantive dialogue. Russia considers it extremely important that the disclosure of the facts that reveal the illegal military and biological activities have caused various countries to consider possible consequences of their biosafety cooperation with the USA, and take a fresh look at the necessity and rationale of this kind of cooperation.

The Russian Defence Ministry will continue its work in this direction and report on it.

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WtR
Weather Alert

.Warming temperatures this weekend will bring renewed snowmelt and streamflow rises, especially for snow covered terrain below about 7000 feet. Creeks that brought impacts this past week are likely to be problematic again and potentially reach higher levels, especially by late Sunday. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt is possible. * WHERE...Portions of California and western Nevada, including the following areas, in California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties and Surprise Valley California. In western Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties. * WHEN...From Saturday afternoon through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...Creeks and streams will be running high and fast. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Minor mainstem flooding along the Susan River, Forks of the Carson River, and the East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir cannot be ruled out. Anyone participating in outdoor recreation this weekend should use caution as water will be running high, fast, and potentially out of banks for some creeks and streams. The water will be extremely cold as well, quickly causing shock. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
 Flash

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.

The announcement came amid the recent increase of weekly reported deaths worldwide. After its quarterly assessment meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, the WHO's International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee announced on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a PHEIC, which has been concurred by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health systems, the committee said in a statement, while acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic may be approaching an inflection point.

Although infection or vaccination may lead to higher levels of population immunity globally and limit the impact of morbidity and mortality, "there is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals for the foreseeable future," the committee said.

It then called for long-term public health action that will prioritize the mitigation of COVID-19 impact on morbidity and mortality.

Meanwhile, the committee recommends that countries should achieve 100 percent vaccination coverage of high-priority groups, improve reporting of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data to the WHO, and ensure long-term availability of medical countermeasures, such as COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.




Vineyard Wind LLC, a joint venture between AVANGRID, Inc. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), announced that it has signed a partnership with Shoreline Offshore, a joint venture between the Quinn Family, a longtime member of the fisher community in New Bedford and SEA.O.G Offshore, to build out a berthing and fueling area for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs).





Under the terms of the agreement, Vineyard Wind will provide $750k in funding through its Industry Accelerator Fund, which is co-managed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), to support the acquisition of two floating barges to meet the berthing needs of Vineyard Wind and future developers. The barges will be located on the northern side of Popes Island, are expected to be fully protected by the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, and help developers work during both the construction and operations and maintenance phases of the different projects. In addition to the barges, Shoreline Offshore will upgrade its existing facilities, including the addition of fuel tanks and other infrastructure needed to serve New Bedfords multiple maritime industries.







Shoreline Offshore is currently working on final designs and permitting for the fuel terminal and expects it to be installed and operational by April 2023.







Once installed, the floats will be able to berth up to six CTVs and meet the specifications of the offshore wind industry, with access to a fueling station, potable water, ramp, and full security. This project is also expected to increase fueling capacity in the New Bedford Harbor, which is currently limited to one terminal.





Were proud to partner with the Quinn family on a unique project that meets the evolving needs of both commercial fishing and offshore wind, said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller. By expanding the capability of this site, we not only secure a great location for our vessels, we also are improving facilities that can serve other fishing vessels and increase fueling capacity of the harbor  a win-win for both of New Bedfords vitally important industries.





This project provides the capacity for the offshore wind industry to efficiently utilize the New Bedford Harbor while also ensuring New Bedfords commercial fishing industry can continue operating within the New Bedford Harbor with little to no interruptions, said Charles Quinn, President of Quinn Fisheries, who has been working within New Bedfords commercial fishing industry for more than 35 years. By expanding space through increased berthing spaces and increased fueling capacity, were supplying two key components that both industries need, so that both can flourish.





The New Bedford Ocean Cluster is committed to ensuring local businesses are included in the development of the offshore wind industry in New Bedford, said Jennifer Downing, Executive Director of the New Bedford Ocean Cluster. News of this project is particularly exciting because were seeing a longstanding family business in New Bedford entering a new market and contributing to the growth of offshore wind, but also a project that will demonstrate the economic benefits of commercial collaboration between two port industries.





The investment from the Vineyard Wind Accelerator Program in the Shoreline Offshore facility represents yet another great example of the advancement of the offshore wind supply chain in the Commonwealth, said Jennifer Daloisio, CEO of MassCEC. This project will leverage additional MassCEC funding recently announced for the expansion and improvement of port facilities to serve offshore wind.









Vineyard Wind LLC is developing the Vineyard Wind 1

project, an 800 MW wind farm to be installed 15 miles off the coast of Marthas Vineyard. It is poised to be the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the United States. The project is expected generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.



It will feature 62 of GE renewable Energy's 13 MW Haliade-X turbines. Power will come ashore via and offshore substation and export cables making landfall at Covell's Beach for integration into national grid using an onshore substation.

The wind farm is expected to begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.

For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide,

click here

.


Board and Management Restructure

Sydney, Jan 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - BetMakers Technology Group Limited ( ASX:BET ) ( TPBTF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to announce that Mr Matt Davey has been appointed as President and Executive Chairman as part of a Company restructure. Mr Davey is a former Board member of BetMakers and a highly respected global wagering and gaming business leader with a proven track record. His appointment is a key part of the Company's decision to restructure its Board and Management. The changes are intended to accelerate the delivery of business optimisation and growth, and ultimately to maximise shareholder value. The changes, effective immediately, are as follows:



- Matt Davey has been appointed to the Board as President and Executive Chairman;



- Nick Chan, formerly Non-Executive Chairman, remains on the Board as a Non-Executive Director;



- Todd Buckingham, formerly CEO, has been appointed to a new role of Chief Growth Officer, with a dedicated global project remit, as part of Todd's refocus, he has also stepped down from the Board; and



- Jake Henson, formerly COO, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer.



Background to the restructure



BetMakers has experienced exponential growth in the past three years. The business is well positioned and widely recognised as a global leader in the B2B racing and wagering market.



The Company's strategy for the past three years has been focused on growth and has created a range of global opportunities that are viewed as highly lucrative. The exponential growth and the geographically diverse nature of this expansion has required the Company to invest in processes and systems as required of a leading global technology business. This includes cyber-security, ISO certification, regulatory and compliance frameworks. Whilst transitory in nature, the implementation has consumed valuable management resources and added materially to the cost base.



The three revenue divisions of BetMakers are at different stages of business cycles. As such, the Company's management changes are designed to allow the Company to maximise and increase profits on its mature and developed businesses by addressing operational efficiencies and creating more scalable processes, while at the same time allowing a more agile team to focus on capitalising on the international opportunities that are emerging.



The Global Betting Services division, which is the Company's platforms and trading division, is in strong growth mode and, with the recently delivered BetR contract and technology platform, represents a significant business opportunity that is ready to scale globally.



The Global Racing Network division is relatively embryonic, but the potential is underpinned by a strong platform in the Monmouth/New Jersey fixed odds initiative, Caymanas Park, and the recently launched Global Tote Hub.



Looking Ahead



The Board and Executive management team of BetMakers have taken action to realign management responsibilities and reporting lines to address the factors noted above.



The intended purpose of these changes, collectively, is to enable the optimisation of the full potential of the business in an accelerated time frame. It is designed to align the skill base of our key executives to the areas that will deliver maximum shareholder value for the Company.



Commenting on the changes, Nick Chan said:



"The Board, working with management, have concluded that this restructure creates absolute clarity and focus to deliver on our growth plans for shareholders. I welcome Matt Davey back to the Board and thank him for taking on the role of President and Executive Chairman.



"In practical terms, these changes are designed to affect a strategic reset of the business, with a clear shift from growth to optimisation plus execution.



"This will entail an increased focus on operational disciplines, specifically a return to positive cashflows, cost efficiency, and optimal capital management. The changes will also allow the team to execute on growth opportunities, particularly international fixed odds and the Global Tote International Pools.



"Todd Buckingham has been a fantastic CEO as founder of the Company. I thank Todd for his leadership and ability to scale and grow the business from a start-up to a global operation with more than 500 employees, and the way he has positioned the business for the intended success in the coming year. His transition to a new dedicated role as Chief Growth Officer will add focus on the delivery of the Company's international pportunities, including fixed odds in the US and other markets, and the Global Tote Hub globally. We are experiencing increasing interest from wagering and racing organisations all over the world and this role will allow Todd to dedicate his time to executing on these opportunities.



"Finally, we are delighted to announce the promotion of Jake Henson to the role of Chief Executive Officer.



Jake is a highly regarded wagering industry professional who has been fundamental in the success of our core Global Betting Services business division of Platforms and Managed Trading Services. Jake's unrelenting focus on operational excellence will drive revenue growth and profitability across the whole organisation.



"These changes support our urgency to deliver on the next phase of profitable growth for the business. It aligns the three business units of BetMakers with clear leadership and a pathway to execute."



Commenting on his appointment to the Board, Matt Davey said:



"Over the last 25 years as an executive in the industry, and through my investment company Tekkorp Capital LLC, I have had the opportunity to explore many gaming and wagering opportunities across the world. It remains clear to me that there is no better business or investment opportunity on the international stage than what the BetMakers business currently has on a global scale.



"I am delighted, after discussions with management and Board members, to be re-investing my energy and time to delivering on these opportunities. I am taking on the role of President and Executive Chairman to work closely at a Board and management level with the intention to get results for all shareholders. I have confidence in the team, I have a strong belief in the market opportunities, and I will begin with an urgency in our approach to deliver results."



Commenting on the Board and Management changes, Todd Buckingham said:



"I am especially proud to have been the founding CEO of BetMakers as we have built the Company from a start up to the respected expansive Global company it is today.



"The decision to transition from CEO to a focused delivery role on our international opportunities and growth initiatives came after an internal review to best position the Company for accelerated growth and how best I could assist in capitalising on these opportunities.



"I have no doubt that we have assembled some of the best and most forward-thinking racing, wagering, and technology executives in the world. "I would like to congratulate Jake Henson on becoming the new CEO, which is a well-earned and deserved appointment given his long history, and commitment to the Company. I am excited to be working with him over the years ahead.



"I am also thankful for the past and ongoing support of the Board and look forward to the next exciting phase for BetMakers under this aligned and focused team."





About Betmakers Technology Group Ltd





Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX:BET) (OTCMKTS:TPBTF) is an ASX-listed holding company and a global provider of online wagering products and services to both wholesale and retail markets through its various wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company operates a retail wagering business, offering consumers wagering, fantasy tournament and content products and services.
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday at a regular press briefing that the U.S. side cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao's comment came after the U.S. State Department Spokesperson repeatedly mentioned Secretary Blinken's upcoming visit to China, saying that his team will discuss with China how to "responsibly manage competition and step up cooperation on transnational challenges," and also raised concerns on issues related to Taiwan, fentanyl, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula.

Mao said that in growing relations with the United States, China follows the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, adding that China remains committed to defending its own sovereignty, security and development interests at the same time.

"China does not shy away or flinch from competition, but we are against defining the entire China-U.S. relations with competition alone and using competition as an excuse to contain and suppress others," she said.

Mao said China is ready to have both bilateral and multilateral communication and cooperation with the U.S. side on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, but the United States cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao also pointed out that Taiwan question is at the heart of China's core interests, and it is the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and the number one red line that must not be crossed between China and the U.S. side.

"At no time should the United States ever seek to cross that red line," she said.

Noting China is the first country in the world to have officially scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class, Mao said that China has taken an active part in international counternarcotics law enforcement cooperation under the framework of the UN conventions on drug control, adding that however, China's counternarcotics capacity has been seriously hampered by U.S. sanctions on relevant Chinese institutions.

"We are firmly against those sanctions and urge the United States to reflect on its inadequate counternarcotics efforts instead of deflecting the blame," Mao said.

She also mentioned that China is committed to seeking a political settlement and bringing parties to the table on Ukraine and the Korean nuclear issue, and goes against any rhetoric or action that could fuel the tensions and make matters worse.

"We hope the United States will work with China and let China-U.S. interactions be defined by dialogue and win-win cooperation, not confrontation and zero-sum competition, and deliver on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state to bring bilateral relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth," Mao added.


Quarterly Activities Report

Perth, Jan 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - On 2 August BPH Energy Limited ( ASX:BPH ) announced that, following its shareholders meeting on 21 June 2022 at which shareholders voted unanimously to approve to make an investment in hydrogen technology company Clean Hydrogen Technologies Corporation ("Clean Hydrogen Technologies" or "Vendor"), BPH and its investee Advent Energy Ltd ("Advent") have now settled for the acquisition of a 10% interest in Clean Hydrogen Technologies for $1,000,000 USD (8% BPH and 2 % Advent).



As announced previously BPH and Advent had a further first right of refusal ("ROFR") to invest in Clean Hydrogen Technologies to a maximum of a further US$1,000,000 for a further 10%, on or before 31 December 2022. The ROFR conditions have now been amended such that it exists when (i) the Vendor does not seek a Series A investment in its equity securities comprising a minimum investment of US$3,000,000 by 30 April 2023, where such investment values the Vendor in excess of US$20,000,000 (such investment, a "Qualified Financing"), and (ii) the Vendor determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that it requires at least a further US$1,000,000 investment for continued development and operations. Subject to the above, should the Purchaser exercise the ROFR, it must do so within 1 month of the Vendors request for the Additional Funding. The consideration payable is an aggregate of US$1,000,000, comprising of $US800,000 by BPH and US$200,000 by Advent ("Additional Cash Consideration") subsequent to which BPH shall hold a total 16% interest in Clean Carbon and Advent shall hold a total 4% interest in Clean Carbon (based on the assumption that Clean Carbon has not issued any additional Clean Carbon Shares prior to the Right being exercised).



Capital



On 11 October 2022 BPH announced that it had received binding commitments to raise approximately $1.196 million (before costs) ("Placement"). The Placement will comprise the issue of 66,494,825 new fully paid ordinary shares ("Placement Shares") in the Company at an issue price of $0.018 per share. Placement participants will receive one (1) free attaching option for every one (1) New Share subscribed for under the Placement, exercisable at $0.03 each with an expiry date of 30 September 2024 ("Attaching Options").



The intended use of funds is:



- $0.65 million - Further Investment in Clean Hydrogen Technology



- $0.35 million - Funding for exploration and development of oil and gas investments



- $0.10 million - For working capital including costs of the offer



Everblu Capital Limited (Everblu) acted as the Lead Manager for the Placement and were paid a cash fee of 6% on funds raised by Everblu under the Placement and 1 Broker Option per 3 Placement Shares issued exercisable at $0.03 per share, expiring 30 September 2024.



The Company also undertook a loyalty option issue of one (1) option for every eight (8) shares held to all shareholders registered on a record date of 2 December 2022 ("Loyalty Options") with an current offer closing date of 9 February 2023 and a subscription price of $0.004 per Loyalty Option. The Loyalty Options, which have the same exercise price and expiry date as the Attaching Options, will raise a maximum $431,532 from the issue of 107,883,088 Loyalty Options.



The intended use of funds is:



- $0.297 million - Funding for exploration and development of oil and gas investments



- $0.135 million - For working capital including costs of the offer



The Loyalty Options will provide the Company with a potential source of additional capital if the Loyalty Options are exercised in the future (being approximately $3,236,493 where all Loyalty Options entitlements are taken up).



400,000 unlisted share options with an exercise price of $0.20 per share expired on 30 November 2022.



Significant activities by the Company's investees' during the December 2022 quarter were as follows:



Advent Energy Pty Ltd ("Advent")

PEP 11 Permit



Advent Energy Limited's (BPH 36.1% direct interest) 100% subsidiary Asset Energy Pty Ltd has applied to the Federal Court pursuant to section 5 of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) and section 39B of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) to review the decision of the Commonwealth-New South Wales Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority (Joint Authority), constituted under section 56 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Cth) (Act), to refuse to vary and suspend the conditions of Exploration Permit for Petroleum No.11 (PEP 11 Permit), pursuant to section 264(2) of the Act, and to refuse to extend the term of the PEP 11 Permit, pursuant to section 265 of the Act.



Asset Energy Pty Ltd is a 100 % owned subsidiary of Advent Energy Ltd and has lodged the appeal as Operator for and on behalf of the PEP11 Joint Venture Partners, Bounty Oil and Gas NL ( ASX:BUY ) and Asset Energy Pty Ltd.



PEP11 interests are: Advent Energy 85 %

Bounty Oil and Gas 15%



In light of media coverage regarding former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's use of ministerial powers to block the PEP-11 gas exploration licence, the Company previously announced it was undertaking a full review of its options, including potential for legal channels, as part of its strategy to protect shareholder value.



In June 2022, Asset Energy Pty Ltd (wholly-owned subsidiary of BPH's investee Advent Energy Ltd) commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia alleging that the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was biased and failed to afford procedural fairness in his decision not to grant an extension of term and a suspension and variation of the minimum work requirements under PEP11.



Asset Energy has now lodged an amended originating application for judicial review claiming in particular:



1. In making the Decision, the Former Prime Minister breached the requirements of procedural fairness in that he predetermined the Application and the purported decision was infected by actual bias.



2. Further or in the alternative, there was a reasonable apprehension of bias, in the form of predetermination, on the part of the Former Prime Minister, such that there was a denial of procedural fairness.



3. Further or in the alternative, in making the Decision, the applicant was denied procedural fairness because the Former Prime Minister, before determining the merits of the Application, failed to take into account the submissions made by the applicant dated 22 January 2022.



4. Further or in the alternative, in making the Decision, the applicant was denied procedural fairness because the applicant was not provided the opportunity to respond to issues raised by NOPTA in relation to the applicant's financial capacity.



5. Further or in the alternative, the Decision is void and of no effect because the Former Prime Minister was not validly appointed as the responsible Commonwealth Minister of the Joint Authority to administer the Department.



Following revelations that Scott Morrison took responsibility in a number of portfolios including Resources, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought advice as to whether Mr Morrison's appointments and decisions (which includes the PEP-11 decision) were beyond power.



Taranaki Basin



On 14 December 2022 BPH advised that, subsequent to its ASX announcement of 4 April 2022, its 36.1% associate Advent's 100% subsidiary Aotearoa Offshore Limited ("AOL" or "Farminee") has given notice to OMV New Zealand Limited ("OMV" or "Farminor"), under clause 4.3.6 of the Farm Out Agreement ("Agreement") executed on 24 December 2021, that it was terminating the Agreement.



Clause 4.3.6 of the Agreement states that if Condition Precedent 4 is not satisfied within 6 months (or such other date that the Farminor or Farminee may agree in writing) of submission of the application to the New Zealand Minister ("Minister") responsible for the administration of the Crown Minerals Act 1991 ("Act") for the Minister's approval ("Application"), either party may terminate the Agreement by notice to the other party.



The recently disclosed potential acquisition of the OMV oil and gas business by US financial investor Carlyle also introduced a material uncertainty into the planning process necessitating a review by Advent of the Agreement.



On 21 December 2022 the Company advised that OMV had returned US$1.621 million (approximately A$2,423,000) to AOL in accordance with the termination of the Agreement. The US$1.621 million represents the Earning Costs 1 ("Earning Costs") based on Agreement clause 5.1 paid by the Farminee to the Farminor in early 2022. As a consequence of the termination of the Agreement the Advent group repaid BPH before 31 December 2022:



- the A$2,257,345 loan from BPH to pay for the Earning Costs

- the A$800,000 BPH loaned the Advent group to fund Year 1 exploration costs

- accrued interest on these loans of A$146,152



Cortical Dynamics Limited ("Cortical")



Investee Cortical Dynamics Limited is an Australian based medical device neurotechnology company that is developing BARM(TM), an industry leading EEG (electrical activity) brain function monitor. BARM(TM) is being developed to better detect the effect of anaesthetic agents on brain activity under a general operation, aiding anaesthetists in keeping patients optimally anaesthetised. The Australian manufactured and designed, electroencephalographically based (EEG-based), BARM(TM) system is configured to efficiently image and display complex information related to the clinically relevant state of the brain. When commercialized the BARM(TM) system will be offered on a stand-alone basis or integrated into leading brand operating room monitors as "plug and play" option.



Cortical continues the FDA 510K filing process for BARM(TM) in the USA assisted by Washington based technical advisors MCRA. The Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") is the federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services which regulates the sale of medical device products (including diagnostic tests) in the U.S. and monitors the safety of all regulated medical products. FDA approval is a necessary precursor for sales of BARM(TM) to commence in the USA.



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/95DVE155





About BPH Energy Limited





BPH Energy Limited (ASX:BPH) is an Australian Securities Exchange listed company developing biomedical research and technologies within Australian Universities and Hospital Institutes.

The company provides early stage funding, project management and commercialisation strategies for a direct collaboration, a spin out company or to secure a license.

BPH provides funding for commercial strategies for proof of concept, research and product development, whilst the institutional partner provides infrastructure and the core scientific expertise.

BPH currently partners with several academic institutions including The Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research and Swinburne University of Technology (SUT).


Significant Assays at new Horse Well Fault Prospect

Melbourne, Jan 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) ( CHKMF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide an update to the market in relation to significant assays results from drilling at the Horse Well Fault Prospect (Figure 1*).



Cohiba's CEO, Andrew Graham says, "The Horse Well Prospect has delivered two key exploration target zones; the central eastern area where the Bluebush Fault has been traced in multiple holes and the central northern area where the Horse Well Fault has been identified. Persistent low-level copper, gold and silver mineralisation in drill hole HWDD08, which is only the second hole drilled in the region since 1982, has confirmed that the Horse Well Fault Prospect is an IOCG target area worthy of thorough investigation. A thorough review of the Western Mining's HWD1 hole drilled in 1982, coupled to the Company's own technical assessment of the geophysics and geology led us to prioritise this area as a standalone IOCG target."



HWDD08 was completed to 1509.9m on 12 October 2022. The hole was designed to follow up on low level but persistent copper mineralisation encountered in Gawler Range Volcanics (GRV) in the historic WMC (Western Mining Corporation) hole, HWD1, drilled in June 1982.



The follow-up drilling substantially improved the knowledge of this location, intersecting basement rocks of diorites and gneiss' which are dissected by the large scale ENE-WSW striking Horse Well Fault, and into a down-faulted block of Wallaroo Group sediments, which underlie the Gawler Range Volcanics the original HWD1 hole ended in. The Horse Well Fault has caused brecciation and is associated with mineralisation radiating away from the fault into all rock units. The gneiss units in the hanging wall of the fault have fractured brittlely making them ideal hosts for mineralisation, which is demonstrated by the significant intersections outlined in this announcement.



Cohiba is targeting IOCG (Iron Ore Copper Gold) and associated mineralisation styles at its Horse Well Project.

Minor intervals of IOCG style mineralisation have been intersected in hole HWDD05 at the Bluebush Fault prospect, which is another highly prospective target area. The broad elevated geochemistry is highly encouraging and consistent with substantial mineralisation in the area, opening up the potential of the greenfields Horse Well prospect for further exploration. Potential mineralisation could occur along the Horse Well Fault, along inferred faults parallel to this, or in structures intersecting or oblique to the Horse Well Fault.



The analytical results for drill hole HWDD08 were completed by ALS Laboratories and have been assessed by the Company and its technical consultants. The assay results have been weighted based on the sample length and all reported intervals are continuous sample lengths. The results are summarised below:



o 111.6m @ 0.27% Cu & 0.05ppm Au & 0.35ppm Ag from 1043.2-1154.8m



INCLUDING



o 0.8m @ 1.17% Cu & 0.34ppm Au & 0.83ppm Ag from 1068.2-1069m

o 0.65m @ 2.52% Cu & 0.4ppm Au & 1.51ppm Ag from 1107.35-1108m

o 1m @ 2.03% Cu & 0.21ppm Au & 1.51ppm Ag from 1122-1123m

o 1m @ 2.07% Cu & 0.23ppm Au & 1.88ppm Ag from 1135-1136m



*To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2607O882





About Cohiba Minerals Limited





Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK.

The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia.


Quarterly Update

Sydney, Jan 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Haodex Limited ( NSX:HAO ) is pleased to update the market on its activities for the quarter ended 31 December 2023.



Updates on BulkBuyworld



BulkBuyworld is a wholesale and retail e-commerce marketplace that allows users and businesses to participate in group buying deals. BulkBuyworld enables merchants to set up an online store similar to the operation of Amazon and sell products from Chinese factories directly to USA customers and businesses. On the Bulkbuyworld marketplace, Haodex generates revenue from sales commissions, membership fees and product listing fees.



Haodex has developed different entry levels for the channel partner to facilitate the channel partner programme, adding upwards of 60 strategic partners this quarter, with more than 200 channel partners. The programme has wide coverage in six provinces in China and Sydney, Australia. Haodex has channel partners in the following geographic areas: Sichuan, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hainan province.



Haodex assists the strategic channel partner to develop premium merchants, which have export facilities and capability to increase the popularity and facilitate the development of manufacturers and merchants for the platform.



The new C2C and B2B functions of the English version of Bulkbuyworld platform are now complete. Merchants on the platform now have the option to easily sell in bulk with wholesale pricing structures simply displayed on their listing. Customers can access both retail and wholesale listings of the platform through the simple app design. This development is pushing Bulkbuyworld closer towards a one-stop-shop app, and will attract merchants and manufacturers to the platform.



For the quarter ending 31 December 2022, Bulkbuy received revenue of $2.78 million Chinese Yuan (AUD$619k).



Haodex is working with the world's premium payment platform Zai



Haodex has partnered with Zai, a stable, scalable and sophisticated platform to provide Haodex payment solutions that simplify complex payment flows. Zai is Worldpay's global partner, allowing Zai to accept cards globally as well as enable 3D Secure 2.0, real-time fraud detection, and digital wallets, Apple Pay(R) and Google Pay(R) to customers. Zai has Bank-grade security and processing volumes and global compliance reach to facilitate overseas expansions.



Haodex can collect payments via several payment methods and disburse funds or pay bills via various ways. Zai provides secure payment solutions that deal entirely with multiple currency payments considering the platform customers from the US market and merchants from China.



Zai also provides a complete business dashboard for Haodex to have a business overview, user information and payment management, which will assist Haodex in having a comprehensive strategic review.



Centralised Procurement in China



Haodex is building a centralised procurement centre in China mainly for quality control, assessing all export products coming from local manufacturers. The quality control system maintains the level of product quality, removing and returning the products which haven't reached the standard and back to the manufacturers.



Quarterly Cashflow



The Company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $1.97 million. Quarterly operating cash inflows for the period were $206k. During the December 2022 quarter, the aggregated amount of payments made to related parties and their associates totalled $56k for the director's fees.



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/F0IW604J





About Haodex Limited





Haodex Limited (NSX:HAO) is an Australian company focused on forward thinking online platforms and global projects.

Haodex owns 78% of and operates 2 omnichannel marketplaces, being MonkeyKing Australia (www.monkeykingaustralia.com) and BulkBuy (www.bulkbuyworld.com), and owns 100% of a short term Chinese accommodation hosting business, Franks Haus (www.frankshaus.com).

MonkeyKing is an online e-commerce platform which sources Australian products from Australian suppliers to distribute to consumers in Asia, mainly China.

BulkBuy is a wholesale e-commerce marketplace which allows users to participate in group buying deals. BulkBuy enables merchants to set up an online store and sell products directly to customers at wholesale prices by allowing several customers to participate in group buying deals (crowd-ordering).

Franks Haus is an online platform for leasing private properties, mainly for short term accommodation, in China. The platform will attract tourists
NEW YORK (AP)  Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in a years-old probe into payments made to keep the porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president, according to multiple news reports.

The news outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that witnesses started testifying before the grand jury on Monday, signaling an escalation in what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has alluded to as the next chapter in his offices Trump investigation.

A spokesperson for Braggs office declined comment. In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Bragg as the Radical Left Manhattan D.A. and said the new grand jury was a continuation of the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time.

Grand juries have been convened before in New York to explore the possibility of criminal charges against Trump, but to date none have issued an indictment.

The Manhattan grand jury would be the latest legal threat to Trump as he ramps up his presidential campaign.

A special grand jury in Atlanta has investigated whether Trump and his allies committed any crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Last month, the House Jan. 6 committee voted to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Trumps role in sparking the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The FBI is also investigating Trumps storage of classified documents.

The hush-money investigation in New York involves payments of $130,000 to Daniels and $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to buy their silence in the run-up to Trumps 2016 election victory. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.

Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, made the payment to Daniels through his own company and said he then was reimbursed by Trump. McDougals payment was made through the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which then squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as catch-and-kill to help Trump become president.

The New York Times reported that the National Enquirers former publisher, David Pecker, was spotted entering the building where the grand jury was meeting on Monday.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges that he violated campaign finance law by arranging the payouts. He served about a year in prison before being released to home confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal prosecutors said Trump was aware of the payouts, but they declined to charge him with any crime.

Cohen previously told The Associated Press he recently met with Manhattan prosecutors for 2 hours.

The Trump Organization was convicted last month of tax fraud and fined $1.6 million as punishment for an unrelated scheme in which top executives dodged personal income taxes on lavish job perks.

Now with the trial having ended, we are now moving on to the next chapter, Bragg told The Associated Press in an interview after the tax fraud trial.

The Trump Organization in a statement suggested that Bragg, a Democrat, was trying to undermine Trumps fledgling 2024 presidential campaign. Reviving the investigation years after federal prosecutors had decided not to bring a case is simply reprehensible and vindictive, the company said.

Braggs predecessor as district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., also examined the hush money payments before shifting the probes focus to the Trump Organizations tax and business practices.
SANTA FE  A proposal moving through the Senate would prohibit former legislators and appointees working under the governor from returning immediately to the Roundhouse as paid lobbyists.

Supporters said it would stop a revolving door that erodes public trust.

The measure narrowly survived its first committee hearing, advancing past the Senate Rules Committee on a 6-4 vote.

The measure  sponsored by Sen. Harold Pope Jr., D-Albuquerque  was initially aimed only at keeping legislators from lobbying their ex-colleagues for two years after the end of their term. An amendment expanded the scope to include some members of the executive branch.

The legislative prohibition, Pope said, would ensure lawmakers arent compromised by the promise of a lucrative job after they step down. The two-year ban would also prevent ex-lawmakers from selling their contacts and relationships to the highest bidder, he said.

It seriously threatens the integrity of the legislative process, Pope told his colleagues.

His legislation was sharply expanded Monday by an amendment sponsored by Republican Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque.

The change  supported by Pope  adds employees who serve at will under the governor to the two-year lobbying ban.

My amendment really addresses the perception of corruption youre talking about, Moores said.

The debate didnt fall precisely along party lines  either in the final vote or over whether to expand the scope to include some executive branch employees.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, supported the amendment but opposed the bill overall. He asked whether theres any real harm if a former legislator is paid to advocate for a good cause, such as charitable group.

I know theres this perception that somehow lobbyists are bad, he said. But there is a place for them. They do a lot of good.

He also said it would be easy get around the bill. An ex-legislator could take a job as the executive director of an advocacy group and contended theyre not being paid to lobby.

Its just not enforceable, he said.

At least 20 former legislators and state officials are among the hundreds of people registered to lobby this session, though many of them served several years ago.

Among the more recent additions to the lobbying corps is former Rep. Kelly Fajardo, a Republican who didnt seek reelection last year. One of her clients is an advocacy group pushing to open New Mexicos primary elections to independents, a measure she also supported as a legislator.

Proposals to restrict lobbying by former legislators have repeatedly failed at the Roundhouse over the last decade.

Whether the expansion Monday to cover some executive branch employees will help or hurt the bills prospects is unclear.

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, voted in favor of the final bill but opposed the amended scope.

You need a second bill for this, he said of the expansion to include governors employees.

Popes measure, Senate Bill 34, now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee, potentially its last before the full Senate. It would also have to go through the House to reach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams desk.

State law already outlines some restrictions on executive branch employees who lobby. They cannot represent a client before their former employer for one year after leaving state employment.
SANTA FE  A proposal to tap New Mexicos revenue windfall to bolster health care services in rural parts of the state where residents frequently have to drive long distances to find a hospital or health care facility if they can even find one  is on the move at the Roundhouse.

The Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee voted 7-1 on Monday to approve the measure, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has touted as a priority during this years 60-day legislative session.

Expanding rural health care delivery not only benefits New Mexicans in rural communities, Lujan Grisham said in a Monday statement. It benefits every single New Mexican by increasing provider access statewide.

The legislation could free up funding for projects like a proposed new inpatient behavioral health facility in Curry County, as Clovis Mayor Mike Morris said funding concerns loom as a potential stumbling block for the project that would serve residents in a five-county region.

There is no inpatient facility in the area, so (currently) its a drive, sometimes as far as El Paso, said Morris, who traveled to Santa Fe to speak with lawmakers Monday about the facility that he said could also benefit service members at Cannon Air Force Base and their family members.

If we dont lift up New Mexicans who need some help  how will we ever have a strong workforce? Morris also said in an interview.

The legislation, Senate Bill 7, is similar to a previous measure that stalled during last years session.

It would appropriate $200 million in state funds to help defer the costs related to building new health care clinics  or hospitals  in rural parts of the state and expanding services for existing health care facilities.

Under the definition of the bill, only hospitals in counties with fewer than 100,000 people could qualify for the money, which would be issued in the form of grants by the state Human Services Department.

That means at least five New Mexico counties would be ineligible  Bernalillo, Dona Ana, Santa Fe, Sandoval and San Juan counties  that, combined, make up nearly two-thirds of the states population.

Troy Clark, the president and CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association, said after Mondays hearing the funding would not be available directly for hospital land acquisition and construction costs, but could be used to offset the costs of staffing and other operational expenses while a new facility is ramping up.

He also said bill backers are hopeful there would be demand to use the funding to expand behavioral health and maternal care services in particular.

But he acknowledged labor shortages could make it difficult for some hospitals to expand, despite recent state efforts to bolster the states medical provider pipeline.

I really think thats the issue that will determine how widely this is tapped, Clark told the Journal.

Meanwhile, Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, the only senator who voted against the bill during Mondays hearing, questioned bill backers about whether funding distributed under the bill could be used for abortion services.

But Kari Armijo, the interim acting secretary of the Human Services Department, sought to dispel the concern, saying, Thats not the intention of the bill.

New Mexico has long struggled to recruit health professionals to clinics and hospitals in rural parts of the state.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, some rural hospitals also saw financial losses due to elective surgeries and other procedures being put on hold in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

At least five New Mexico counties currently did not have a hospital located within their boundaries as of 2019, according to a state rural health care plan, while several other largely rural counties had hospitals that offer only limited services.

Christina Campos, administrator of the Guadalupe County Hospital in Santa Rosa, said its not unusual for some New Mexico residents to have to drive more than an hour to reach the nearest hospital.

She said the proposed funding infusion would support rural start-up hospitals while they get their finances in order.

All New Mexicans deserve access to quality hospital and emergency services regardless of where we choose to live, urban or rural communities, Campos added. This is one important step toward achieving that goal.

The bill now advances to the Senate Finance Committee  its last assigned panel before reaching the full Senate.
SANTA FE  A push to increase the minimum age to buy certain firearms from 18 to 21 cleared its first Senate hurdle Monday, after a heated committee hearing in which backers cited recent mass shootings and opponents raised concerns about law-abiding gun owners being prosecuted.

The bill, Senate Bill 116, is one of several gun-related bills that have been filed during this years 60-day legislative session by Democratic lawmakers.

Specifically, the measure would make it a misdemeanor offense in New Mexico for individuals under age 21 to purchase or possess AR-15-style rifles  and other similar automatic and semiautomatic weapons  though it would provide some exceptions, including shooting at a firing range and attending a gun safety class.

The bills sponsor, Sen. Carrie Hamblen, D-Las Cruces, said New Mexico already prohibits individuals under age 21 from purchasing semi-automatic handguns, describing it as a discrepancy in state statute.

Ultimately, this is not a bill to remove guns from people, said Hamblen, who described the bills intent as instead setting parameters on gun ownership.

But critics werent convinced.

Tiffany Rivera, a lobbyist for the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, said firearms play an essential role in many rural New Mexicans lives, adding many residents currently carry firearms to defend themselves and their animals.

A representative with the National Rifle Association also spoke against the bill, saying New Mexicos gun violence rate increased after state lawmakers approved a 2019 bill expanding background check requirements for firearm purchases,

You are making criminals out of law-abiding citizens, added Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice. Youre not stopping the gun violence.

However, the bill was ultimately approved by the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee on a party-line 6-3 vote, with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans in opposition.

Sen. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, predicted the bill would be upheld as constitutional if challenged.

I think this hits a really good, reasonable spot balancing individual liberties and public safety, Maestas said.

New Mexicos firearm fatality rate is among the nations highest and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called on lawmakers to pass additional gun safety measures during this years session.

A total of 562 state residents died in 2021 due to firearm-related injuries up significantly from 481 firearm-related deaths in 2020, according to state Department of Health data. Of that amount, more than half  or 319 cases  were classified as suicides and 243 were classified as homicides.

The measure now advances to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.

California  with the largest allocation of water from the river  is the lone holdout. Officials said the state would release its own plan.

The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through seven states and into Mexico, serving 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry. Some of the largest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas, two Mexican states, Native American tribes and others depend on the river thats been severely stressed by drought, demand and overuse.

States missed a mid-August deadline to heed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations call to propose ways to conserve 2 million to 4 million acre feet of water. They regrouped to reach consensus by the end of January to fold into a larger proposal Reclamation has in the works.

Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming sent a letter Monday to Reclamation, which operates the major dams in the river system, to outline an alternative that builds on existing guidelines, deepens water cuts and factors in water thats lost through evaporation and transportation.

Those states propose raising the levels where water reductions would be triggered at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are barometers of the rivers health. The model creates more of a protective buffer for both reservoirs  the largest built in the U.S. It also seeks to fix water accounting and ensure that any water the Lower Basin states intentionally stored in Lake Mead is available for future use.

The modeling would result in about 2 million acre-feet of cuts in the Lower Basin, with smaller reductions in the Upper Basin. Mexico and California are factored into the equations, but neither signed on to Mondays letter.

John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said all states have been negotiating in good faith.

I dont view not having unanimity at one step in that process to be a failure, he said late Monday. I think all seven states are still committed to working together.

California released a proposal last October to cut 400,000 acre feet. An acre foot is enough water to supply two to three U.S. households for a year.

JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, said California will submit a model for water reductions in the basin that is practical, based on voluntary action, and aligns with law governing the river and the hierarchy of water rights.

California remains focused on practical solutions that can be implemented now to protect volumes of water in storage without driving conflict and litigation, he said in a statement Monday.

Nothing will happen immediately with the consensus reached among the six states. However, not reaching a consensus carried the risk of having the federal government alone determine how to eventually impose cuts.

By not signing on, California doesnt avoid that risk.

The debates over how to cut water use by roughly one-third have been contentious. The Upper Basin states of Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah have said the Lower Basin states  Arizona, California and Nevada  must do the heavy lifting. That conversation in the Lower Basin has centered on whats legal and whats fair.

The six states that signed Mondays proposal acknowledged ideas they put forth could be excluded from final plans to operate the rivers major dams. Negotiations are ongoing, they noted, adding that what they proposed does not override existing rights states and others have to the Colorado River.

Theres a lot of steps, commitments that need to be made at the federal, state and local levels, said Entsminger of Nevada.

Mondays proposal included accounting for the water lost to evaporation and leaky infrastructure as the river flows through the regions dams and waterways. Federal officials estimate more than 10% of the rivers flow evaporates, leaks or spills, yet Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico have never accounted for that water loss.

The six states argued that Lower Basin states should share those losses  essentially subtracting those amounts from their allocations  once the elevation at Lake Mead sinks below 1,145 feet (349 meters). The reservoir was well below that Monday.

Reclamation will consider the six states agreement as part of a larger proposal to revise how it operates Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams  behemoth power producers on the Colorado River. The reservoirs behind the dams  Lake Powell and Lake Mead  have reached historic lows amid a more than two-decade-long drought and climate change.

Reclamation plans to put out a draft of that proposal by early March, with a goal of finalizing it by mid-August when the agency typically announces the amount of water available for the following year. Reclamation has said it will do whats needed to ensure the dams can continue producing hydropower and deliver water.

Those annual August announcements have led to mandatory cuts for the past two years for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico in the rivers Lower Basin. California has so far been spared from cuts because it has some of the oldest and most secure water rights, particularly in the Imperial Valley where much of the countrys winter vegetables are grown, along with the Yuma, Arizona, region.

Without Californias participation, the six states proposal can only go so far to meet the hydrological realities of the river. Water managers in the Lower Basin say the scale of conservation Reclamation is seeking cannot be met without California, tribes and farmers who draw directly from the Colorado River.

Also unclear is how much Mexico eventually will contribute to the savings. In the best water years, Mexico receives its full allocation of 1.5 million acre feet under a treaty reached with the U.S. in 1944.

___

Naishadham reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press writer Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
With peak oil and gas production lurking on the horizon, New Mexico could face up to a $36 billion accumulated budget deficit by the mid-2030s, making tax and revenue-management reforms urgent, according to a new report by PFM Group Consulting.

The Pennsylvania-based financial consultant released its latest analysis about New Mexicos over-dependence on oil and gas revenue Monday morning, following a previous study it published in 2020 about the issue. The new report warned of a potential budget catastrophe over the next 15 years unless lawmakers take aggressive action to diversify the states economy and broaden the tax base.

With nearly $3.6 billion in new money projected for the fiscal year that starts in July, todays revenue windfall from oil and gas provides a unique opportunity to prepare for an inevitable decline in fossil fuel production in coming years, said PFM Director Ryan McNeely.

But lawmakers need to seize the moment.

New Mexico policymakers have been riding the oil and gas revenue roller-coaster for decades, and this year are experiencing the highest up-slope, and subsequent excess revenue, in state history, McNeely said an a statement. Our report is not warning of doom and gloom, but rather urging policymakers to strike while the iron is hot and to prepare for the downturn while excess state revenue and federal opportunity allows for decisive and impactful action toward revenue diversification.

PFM scrutinized tax and revenue data from the Legislative Finance Committee to compare LFC projections on future income with industry expectations about oil and gas production over the next 15 years. It concluded that long-term LFC calculations on revenue flow may significantly overestimate realistic assumptions, potentially creating a $26 billion to $36 billion accumulated budget deficit by the mid-2030s if current tax structure and revenue-management strategies are left unchecked, McNeely told reporters in an online presentation Monday morning.

Thats because the LFCs long-term analysis relies heavily on currently elevated oil prices and unprecedented growth in production, rather than calculations based on historical trends of boom and bust and future headwinds facing the industry.

Todays boom reflects once-in-a-generation circumstances  including the pandemic and the war in Ukraine  which have distorted global supply and demand and kept fuel prices at sustained highs. But those unique conditions will disappear as the market recovers, and when the next industry bust comes, it could mark the start of a permanent decline in oil and gas production as the world moves away from fossil fuels, McNeely said.

Predicting when that happens is difficult.

There is no crystal ball, McNeely said. But at some point, oil and gas revenue will decline permanently, and that could begin sooner than folks project with little time for the state to respond.

If New Mexico focused solely on tax reform to make up for lost revenue, it would need to raise gross receipts income 60%, or double personal income taxes, according to PFM.

Rather, the report recommends comprehensive reforms to both broaden the tax base and better target incentives to stimulate key industries and diversify the economy.

Lawmakers are already considering many mitigation measures, such as channeling more general fund revenue into new and existing permanent accounts, including the severance tax permanent fund and the early childhood trust fund that was created in 2021, said LFC Chief Economist Ismael Torres.

Those mechanisms can build up state reserves and turn todays surplus money into future money, Torres told the Journal. Shoring up the permanent funds will help offset oil and gas revenue losses in the future.

But getting bipartisan legislative backing could be challenging, depending on what measures are pursued. In fact, even generating a sense of urgency may be difficult, since some legislators reject the premise of peak oil.

Republican Rep. Larry Scott, a longtime oilman from Hobbs, said modern drilling technologies have opened up a virtually inexhaustible supply of oil and gas in southeast New Mexico that could continue to generate abundant state revenue if state and federal regulations dont cripple the industry.

I have nothing against diversification  its an admirable goal  but given the economic conditions in this state, there is simply no substitute for the petroleum business, Scott told the Journal. There is no diversification effort I see now or on the horizon to supplant oil and gas money coming into state coffers. Its foolish to think its even possible.

New Mexico State University economics professor emeritus Jim Peach said such disagreements have blocked economic reform in the past and may well do so again.

Im not optimistic that the Legislature will respond very well to this report, because theyve been told this story time and time again, Peach told the Journal. The idea that this oil boom will go on for a long time is just false. Many legislators know that, but it doesnt translate into the kind of fiscal reforms we need to do.

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP)  Pakistani authorities scrambled on Tuesday to determine how a suicide bomber was able to carry out one of the countrys deadliest militant attacks in years, unleashing an explosion in a crowded mosque inside a highly secured police compound in the city of Peshawar. The death toll from the blast climbed to 100.

Monday mornings bombing, which left at least 225 wounded, raised alarm among officials over a major security breach at a time when the Pakistani Taliban, the main anti-government militant group, has stepped up attacks, particularly targeting the police and the military.

In a televised speech to parliament Tuesday, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, of carrying out the attack, saying they were operating from neighboring Afghan territory and demanding the Afghan Taliban take action against them. A TTP commander earlier claimed responsibility, but a spokesman for the group later distanced the TTP from the carnage, saying it was not its policy to attack mosques.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the Sunni mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest, officials said. The blast blew off part of the roof, and what was left caved in, injuring many more, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer.

Rescuers worked through the night and into Tuesday morning, removing mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble. The death toll rose as more bodies were found and several of the critically injured died, said Mohammad Asim, a government hospital spokesman in Peshawar.

Most of the victims were police officers, he said.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating how the bomber was able to reach the mosque, which is inside a walled-off police headquarters compound called Police Lines. The compound is located in a heavily security district of Peshawar that includes other government buildings.

Yes, it was a security lapse, said Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital.

Akhtar Ali Shah, a former regional interior secretary once based in Peshawar, said it was not a spur of the moment attack.

It was the handiwork of a well-organized group, he told The Associated Press. He said those behind the attack must have had inside help to gain access to the compound and probably entered it several times for reconnaissance or even to plant explosives ahead of time.

Its not a security lapse, its a security breach, he said. From all entry points, there are multiple layers of security you have to cross with ID checks.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson condemned the attack in Peshawar. Terrorism is indefensible, and to target worshippers is unconscionable. The United States stands ready to provide support to Pakistan in its efforts to recover and rebuild, she said.

Speaking to parliament, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said investigators suspect that the bomber was helped by someone from the families of government employees who live on the compound near the mosque. He said 97 of the 100 dead were members of the police and 27 police officers remain in critical condition.

The militarys media wing declined an Associated Press interview request for the chief of army staff. Asim Munir, who took office in November, has yet to do any media appearances.

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the Terrorist Attack on Pakistan Mosque

Kamran Bangash, a provincial secretary-general with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, blamed the instability on the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The government has failed to improve the economy and law and order situation, and it should resign to pave the way for snap parliamentary elections, he said. The partys leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, denounced the attack.

The bombing comes as Pakistan is contending with political and economic crises from a disputed election and from unprecedented floods last summer that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the bombing and vowed stern action against those behind the attack. On Tuesday he dismissed criticism of his government and called for unity. My message to all political forces is one of unity against anti-Pakistan elements. We can fight our political fights later, he tweeted.

Shortly after the explosion, a Pakistan Taliban commander Sarbakaf Mohmand claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani said it was not the groups policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places and that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTPs policy. His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with government forces.

The Pakistani Taliban are the dominant militant group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Peshawar has been the scene of frequent attacks. In 2014, a Pakistani Taliban faction attacked an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 154, mostly schoolchildren.

But the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group and a rival of the Taliban, has also been behind deadly attacks in Pakistan in recent years. Overall, violence has increased since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. It has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency. Security officials said Monday the gunman was killed in a shootout near the Afghan border.

The Taliban-run Afghan Foreign Ministry said it was saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives in Peshawar and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to the Middle East, tweeted his condolences, saying the bombing in Peshawar was a horrific attack.

Terrorism for any reason at any place is indefensible, he said.

___

Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Riazat Butt in Islamabad contributed to this report.
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday held phone talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

During the talks, Qin said President Xi Jinping's recent presence at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, and his state visit to Saudi Arabia have scored complete success, making it a new milestone in the history of China-Saudi Arabia, China-GCC and China-Arab relations, adding that China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to implement the outcomes of the summits and promote their relations to new levels.

China highly appreciates Saudi Arabia's consistent and firm support on issues concerning China's core interests and stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to uphold non-interference in internal affairs and other basic norms of international relations, Qin noted.

He said the two sides should further expand cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, energy, infrastructure, investment, finance and high-tech, increase communication and coordination, make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, continuously strengthen the China-GCC strategic partnership and build a China-GCC free trade zone as soon as possible.

China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Saudi Arabia in regional and international affairs, jointly promote regional peace and stability, and better safeguard the common interests of the vast developing countries, Qin said.

Faisal said Saudi Arabia regards its relations with China as an important cornerstone of its foreign relations and is willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of the summits, take joint actions, deepen cooperation in various fields, promote further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and China, and safeguard the common interests of the two countries.

Saudi Arabia fully adheres to the one-China principle and firmly opposes the politicization of human rights issues, Faisal said, noting that his country is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China and jointly uphold the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP)  Pope Francis demanded Tuesday that foreign powers stop plundering Africas natural resources for the poison of their own greed as he arrived in Congo to a raucous welcome by Congolese grateful he was focusing the worlds attention on their forgotten plight.

Tens of thousands of people lined the main road into the capital, Kinshasa, to welcome Francis after he landed at the airport, some standing three or four deep, with children in school uniforms taking the front row.

The pope is 86 years old but he came anyway. It is a sacrifice and the Congolese people will not forget it, said Sultan Ntambwe, a bank agent in his 30s, as he waited for Francis arrival in a scene reminiscent of some of Francis earlier trips to similarly heavily Catholic countries.

Francis plunged headfirst into his agenda upon arrival, denouncing the centuries-long exploitation of Africa by colonial powers, todays multinational extraction industries and the neighboring countries interfering in Congos affairs that has led to a surge in fighting in the east.

Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! Francis said to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasas national palace.

Calling Congos vast mineral and natural wealth a diamond of creation, Francis demanded that foreign interests stop carving up the country for their own interests and acknowledge their role in the economic enslavement of the Congolese people.

Stop choking Africa: It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered, said historys first Latin American pope, who has long railed at how wealthy countries have exploited the resources of poorer ones for their own profit.

The six-day trip, which also includes a stop in South Sudan, was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed because of Francis knee problems, which were still so serious on Tuesday that he couldnt stand to greet journalists in the plane heading to Kinshasa and forced him to use a wheelchair on the ground.

It was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Program.

Instead of travelling there, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy on Wednesday. The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony jointly committing to forgive their assailants.

Sylvie Mvita, a student in economics in Kinshasa, said the popes arrival would focus the worlds attention and television cameras on Congo and the fighting in the east to show how its suffering has been forgotten by the rest of the world.

This will allow the world to discover the atrocities of which our brothers in the east of the country are victims. And maybe for once, the little humanity that remains in some people will cause an awakening and the international community will not only be interested in what is happening in Ukraine but also in what is happening in this country, she said.

President Felix Tshisekedi voiced a similar line in his speech to the pope, accusing the international community of forgetting about Congo and of its complicit inaction and silence about the atrocities occurring in the east.

In addition to armed groups, foreign powers eager for the minerals in our subsoil commit cruel atrocities with the direct and cowardly support of our neighbor Rwanda, making security the first and greatest challenge for the government, he said.

Rwanda has been accused of  and has repeatedly denied  backing the M23 rebels operating in Congo.

Francis tough words at the start set the tone for the trip, in which the pontiff is aiming to bring a message of peace, a warning to the international community to not look the other way and a recognition that Africa is the future of the Catholic Church.

The continent is one of the only places on Earth where the Catholic flock is growing, both in terms of practicing faithful and fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

And Congo stands out as the African country with most Catholics hands down: Half of its 105 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than 6,000 priests, 10,000 nuns and more than 4,000 seminarians  3.6% of the global total of young men studying for the priesthood.

That makes Francis trip, his fifth to the African continent in his 10-year pontificate, all the more important as the Jesuit pope seeks to reshape the church as a field hospital for wounded souls, where all are welcome, poor people have a special pride of place and rivals are urged to make peace.

Aid groups had hoped Francis six-day visit would shine a spotlight on the forgotten conflicts of Congo and South Sudan and their soaring humanitarian costs, and rekindle international attention amid donor fatigue that has set in due to new aid priorities in Ukraine.

Francis answered their call, pointing the finger at the role colonial powers such as Belgium played in the exploitation of Congo until the country, which is 80 times the size of Belgium, gained its independence in 1960, and neighboring countries are playing today.

Francis didnt identify Belgium or any neighboring country by name, but he spared no word of condemnation, quoting Tshisekedi as saying there was a forgotten genocide under way.

The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood, Francis said. May the world acknowledge the catastrophic things that were done over the centuries to the detriment of the local peoples, and not forget this country and this continent.

We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths that remain mostly unknown elsewhere, he said.

At the same time, he urged Congolese authorities to work for the common good and not tribal, ethnic or personal interests; and put an end to child labor and invest in education so that the most precious diamonds of Congo can shine brightly.

Congolese faithful were flocking to Kinshasa for Francis main event, a Mass on Wednesday at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as 2 million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis biggest Masses ever.

Banners emblazoned with the popes image carried messages including Pope Francis, the city of Kinshasa welcomes you with joy.

Some women wore colorful dresses and skirts made of pagne, a wax print fabric featuring images of Francis, the Virgin Mary or the Vatican keys, in a celebratory sign of welcome.

Jean-Louis Mopina, 47, said he walked about 45 minutes to Kinshasas airport before the popes arrival on Tuesday.

He has come like a pilgrim sent by God, Mopina said. His blessing will give us peace in our hearts.

___

Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

___

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.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed told authorities Alec Baldwin had failed to attend required firearms training during the filming of Rust, so she had requested an hourlong firearms training with the movie star, according to court records filed Tuesday.

Gutierrez-Reed felt this training was very important for Baldwin but told deputies the requested training was cut short  to about a half-hour  due to the actor being distracted on his phone and speaking with family.

The instance is one of several prosecutors point to in alleging that Baldwin, as producer and actor on the movie Rust, allowed a climate of recklessness on set before he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, with a Colt .45 prop gun at a movie set outside Santa Fe.

For her part, prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Reed  the films armorer  was responsible for Hutchins death as she did not follow numerous safety protocols, including by leaving ammunition unattended, allowing live rounds onto the set and not insisting on proper training for Baldwin.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were each charged Tuesday in 1st Judicial District Court with involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 21, 2021, death of Hutchins during a rehearsal on the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set. The shooting also left director Joel Souza injured with a bullet in his shoulder.

Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, said the probable cause statement filed against his client shows that the prosecution has completely misunderstood the facts and has reached the wrong conclusions.

Hannah pleaded to provide more firearms training, Bowles said. She was denied and brushed aside. Hannah asked to be able to perform her armorer duties more for safety reasons. She was told by production to focus on props.

He said she also asked to use a plastic gun for the ill-fated rehearsal but Assistant Director Dave Halls insisted on a real gun, and that she asked to be called back into the church set if Baldwin was going to use the gun, which Halls didnt do.

We will fight these charges and expect that a jury will find Hannah not guilty, Bowles said.

Luke Nikas, Baldwins attorney, previously called the charges a terrible miscarriage of justice.

Nikas said Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun  or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.

The filings came less than two weeks after 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced the pair would be charged in the high-profile incident that made international headlines and led to several lawsuits as well as a hefty fine for lack of safety from the New Mexico Environment Department.

Halls has pleaded guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon and faces a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

Gutierrez-Reed told deputies she loaded the gun from a box, later found to contain both dummy rounds and live ammunition, and handed it to Halls who declared the firearm cold before he handed it to Baldwin.

The Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office, which investigated the shooting, never determined how live rounds got onto the movie set  arguably one of the most important pieces of the case.

Testing of live rounds found scattered around the set showed the smokeless powder inside them did not match live rounds seized from the films weapons supplier Seth Kenney, who had initially told deputies he may have accidentally provided live rounds to Gutierrez-Reed.

In response to questions on the matter, Santa Fe Sheriffs spokesman Juan Rios said as of this writing the sheriffs office has no comment as the case is currently in the purview of the Santa Fe District Attorney.

The 1st Judicial District Attorneys Office did not respond to questions.

Reckless environment

Prosecutors allege Baldwin was responsible for Hutchins death by not addressing prior accidental gun discharges, hiring inexperienced crew like Gutierrez-Reed, failing to hold sufficient safety meetings and personally mishandling the firearm that killed Hutchins.

Baldwin was given only minimal training even after Gutierrez-Reed requested more training for him, according to a statement of probable cause filed in 1st Judicial District Court. According to court records, Baldwin was distracted and talking on his cellphone to his family during the training.

Furthermore, the rehearsal did not require the gun to be fired, according to court records. Despite Baldwins assertion that he did not pull the trigger, FBI analysis found the gun would not fire any other way, including when a mallet was used to strike the hammer.

Regardless, It was also determined by consultation with expert armorers that in a rehearsal, a plastic gun or replica gun should be used, according to the court records. Prosecutors also allege that Baldwin failed to demand at least two safety checks by Gutierrez-Reed before shooting Hutchins, which is standard safety protocol.

Finally, Baldwin directly pointed a firearm at Hutchins and Souza. Whether guided by (Hutchins) directions or not, Baldwin knew the first rule of gun safety is never point a gun at someone you dont intend on shooting, according to court records. Had Baldwin performed the required safety checks with the armorer (Gutierrez-Reed) this tragedy would not have occurred.

Prosecutors allege Baldwin should have known better after he has touted himself as an expert in firearms in filmmaking and having been in at least 40 movies or TV shows that involved him in scenes with guns.

As producer, Baldwin also allowed the hiring of inexperienced crew such as Gutierrez-Reed and prop master Sarah Zackary, both of whom had no certifiable firearms training, according to court records.

There were also two negligent discharges on set in the days leading up to the fatal shooting  one by Zachary  and prosecutors allege Baldwin failed to act to address this reckless situation or have Gutierrez-Reed do so.

Baldwin also did not address the lack of daily safety meetings and, according to court records, only three or four had been done by the 13th day of filming.

As armorer, investigators found Gutierrez-Reed knew of many of these shortcomings and did not address them or insist changes being made, according to court records. She also did not follow safety protocols herself, leaving ammunition unattended on a cart and handing loaded guns to regular crew members  one of which led to a negligent discharge.

Gutierrez-Reed, according to court records, also did not stay on set with firearms and failed to correct Baldwin from having his finger on the trigger and pointing it at people, shown in rehearsal video.

Her absence from the set allowed the reckless behavior to happen and continue, resulting in the fatal shooting, according to court records, adding that her allowing live ammunition onto the set put everyone on the Rust set in danger.
On a frigid Tuesday morning, before the sun rose above the Sandia Mountains, Rebel Donuts owner Margot Cravens and general manager Amanda Kist were already hard at work.

After a fire on Saturday forced the stores Wyoming location to close, the company decided to sell doughnuts from their logo-emblazoned van in the stores parking lot.

These will be full dozens, bakers choice, (and) credit card only, the company posted Monday on Facebook.

Beginning at 7 a.m., boxes filled with assortments of colorful doughnuts were unloaded onto a small folding table as customers drove up to get their sugar fix.

Customers, some who had initially tried to enter the damaged property, expressed their sympathies for the local shops situation as they lined up for their boxes or waited in their warm idling cars.

In less than an hour, the van was down to their last handful of boxes. By 8:15 a.m., the company announced on Facebook that they had sold out.

Albuquerque, you are amazing, the company said in their post, thanking everyone who came out to buy a box.

They will be back in the parking lot tomorrow, they said, with more doughnuts and vegan options as well. Their location on the West Side is also open from Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SANTA FE  New Mexico already has a state song, a state cookie, a state bird, a state flower and even a state question.

What the state does not have, however, is an official state smell, though that would change under legislation advancing at the Roundhouse enshrining the scent of green chile roasting in the fall as the states official aroma.

The mouth-watering proposal, Senate Bill 188, cleared its first Senate committee via a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, after fifth-grade students at Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces served as expert witnesses for the bill  participating in the hearing via an online platform from their classroom.

Is there anyone in the room who does not know what chile roasting smells like? one of the students while introducing the bill at the request of Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, a retired teacher whos sponsoring the legislation.

Soules said the classrooms involvement came about after he and another state senator visited the school last fall. He said the students involvement has included writing letters to legislators, researching and practicing public speaking.

Theyre going to be telling their grandkids about how they were part of making this happen, Soules told the Journal.

During Tuesdays committee hearing, the students faced questions from members of the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Sen. Bill ONeill, D-Albuquerque, asked them whether any other states have an official aroma, while Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, questioned whether the smell of dairies or oil drilling operations should also be included in New Mexicos state aroma.

But one of the students pointed out in response the smell of roasting chile can be found around New Mexico, while the other smells are more regional aromas.

In addition, while some might question the practical importance of the legislation, Soules said hes been in contact with state Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte about the bill and said it could be used to bolster New Mexicos green chile marketing efforts.

Meanwhile, a legislative analysis of the bill pointed out the proposal could give New Mexico a leg up in its running chile superiority battle with neighboring Colorado.

The new state aroma could help draw visitors away from Colorado, which, for some reason, thinks it has green chile comparable to that of New Mexico, the analysis cheekily claimed.

Sen. Joshua Sanchez, R-Bosque, a small business owner who grew up in a farming family, suggested the smell of freshly-cut alfalfa should be added to the bill, but stopped short of trying to amend the bill.

Fresh-cut alfalfa and green chile  you cant get them anywhere else in the world, he said. You know youre in New Mexico.
ABC Celebrity

The new Catwoman depicter explains how make-up can be a powerful tool to help her get into character for her movies and dishes on what she likes about her look in 'The Batman'.

Jan 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Zoe Kravitz says make-up is "powerful." The "Big Little Lies" actress explains her costumes and cosmetics play a big part in helping her get into character and she's fascinated by the way her appearance can even make her "walk and talk differently."

"They have a big impact on the way I feel. Often, when I'm playing a character, I see that it really comes together when I find out what she'll be wearing and I try out the clothes, with hair and make-up," she said when asked if make-up and costume help her at work.

"At that point I no longer look like me, and it's very interesting to see what happens... You start to walk and talk differently. That's what's so powerful about make-up. You put on lipstick, and all of a sudden you start swinging your hips differently. It proves that we - human beings - are greatly affected by how we look. It's amazing to see the extent to which we're influenced by our appearance."

Zoe was particularly happy with the beauty look she sported as Catwoman in "The Batman" because she thinks it perfectly encapsulated the "rough and messy" side to the character, as well as being "sublime and modern."

She told Numero magazine, "I like my make-up in 'The Batman', which was designed by make-up artist Pat McGrath. She's incredible, and I feel very lucky that she came on set to design these looks for me and the other actors. She created something sublime and modern, but also rough and messy that symbolises the different facets of the personality of Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman, who I was playing."

The 34-year-old actress is the face of Black Opium Le Parfum and she's proud to be associated with such a "sexy, mischievous scent." She said, "It's a really great fragrance because it's complex, mixing soft vanilla notes, which for a lot of people are very feminine, with more woody scents that are deep and rich like a shot of coffee."

"They're not masculine exactly, but they help create an ensemble that's both sumptuous and subtle. It's a very Yves Saint Laurent perfume because the brand is strongly focused on creating a balance between women's different facets. It's a very sexy, mischievous scent. And I must say I adore the ad campaigns, which are both fun and beautiful. They're all about adventure, nightlife and independence."

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Cover Images/Faye's Vision Celebrity

The 30-year-old pop star, who shares his 13-month-old daughter with wife Priyanka Chopra, is given the prestigious honor of a spot on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles along with his brothers Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas as The Jonas Brothers.

Jan 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Nick Jonas "cannot wait to embarrass" his daughter with his Hollywood Walk of Fame star. The 30-year-old pop star, who is married to Priyanka Chopra and has 13-month-old Malti with her, was given the prestigious honor of a spot on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles along with his brothers Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas as The Jonas Brothers.

Nick joked that he wants to show his daughter up in front of her friends with the star when she is a teenager as the little one appeared in public for the first time ever. He said, "To my beautiful wife, you are the calm in the crazy, the rock in the storm and I love being married to you. It is the greatest gift. And I love being a parent with you, so Malti Marie, 'Hi, babe.' I can't wait to come back here with you in 15 years and embarrass you in front of your friends."

The former Disney Channel star was joined by his brothers at the prestigious event, who he has sold more than five million albums with since their days appearing on "Camp Rock" and "Hannah Montana" in the late 2000s, and Kevin went on to explain that the honour was "testament" to the support of their fans.

He said, "This is a testament to the love and support of our fans, our family, and our friends who have been with us every step of the way. Thank you to everyone who has shown up, and even flown in, for this moment. We are so grateful to everyone who has made this possible, from our label to our management, to the media, and of course, most importantly, our fans."

He added, "You have been the driving force behind everything we do, we couldn't have done this without you. So, thank you," the 35-year-old continued, before adding, "Oh, and to Joe and Nick, couldn't have been here without you! This is pretty awesome."

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The model, who previously announced that she wanted to be single forever, posts on her Instagram account that she will be giving sexual services to anyone who can get her the coveted Super Bowl tickets.

Jan 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Amber Rose seemingly is desperate for some coveted Super Bowl tickets. The model made headlines after she posted on her Instagram account that she'd be giving sexual services in exchange for the tickets.

"Yo, who's a** I gotta eat to get tickets to the Super Bowl?" the 39-year-old star said in a post on Monday, January 30. She added in the caption, "B***h I'll have a busy eatin' contest for them tickets #FlyEaglesFly."

The eyebrow-raising post quickly earned responses from Internet users with some potential suitors coming forward. Among them was Diplo, who simply left a hands up emoji in the comments section. Amber caught wind of his comment and replied, "Lmaoooo Diplo!!!!"

Also hoping to spend some time with Amber was Russell Simmons. The 65-year-old Def Jam Recordings co-founder commented, "i got tickets." "Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino also expressed his interest in the offer as he wrote, "I'm sure I can find some."

Prior to this, Amber shocked fans after she announced that she wanted to be single for the rest of her life. Sharing her thought on men in general, she said on "Sofia With an F" podcast, "It's worse than ever. They're pretty disgusting out here. They're f**king gross. Like, I wanna be single for the rest of my life."

She explained, "I don't want to share my house or my life with anyone. I don't want anyone around my kids. I don't want to have sex  It's so gross. I don't want it."

Amber went on to claim that she's okay with the idea of being a lesbian, but she claimed that she's content "being by myself." The mom of two added, "I'm very happy to not be in my bed with anyone."

Amber previously dated Alexander "AE" Edwards who is now dating Cher. The former couple, who was together for three years, called it quits in August 2021 with Amber accusing AE of cheating on her with at least 12 different people.

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The Duchess of Cambridge, who shares four children with Princess William, notes that those raising children 'need the very best information' in order to ensure the best for the next generation.

Jan 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Catherine, Princess of Wales says it is "essential" that we "understand" the early years of a child's life. The 41-year-old royal, who shares Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis with Prince William, has launched her "Shaping Us" campaign for her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

In an address in London on Monday, January 30, the Duchess of Cambridge noted that those raising children "need the very best information" in order to ensure the best for the next generation. She said, "The campaign is fundamentally about shining a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes the adults we become."

"This is why it is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years, but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults. Those involved in raising children today need the very best information and support in helping to achieve this mission  and this campaign aims to help do that too," she added.

Catherine went on to give a "huge and heartfelt thank you" to everyone in attendance at the BAFTA event and expressed her gratitude for the "personal support" she had received before insisting that we can all make a "huge difference" for generations to come.

She said, "I want to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to so many of you in this room, for your ongoing work in this area. Thank you for the years of dedication and your unfailing determination to advocate for and improve the lives of the youngest members of our society. And thank you also to many of you in this room this evening, for your personal support to me in helping me develop my thinking and work on this issue over the years As you all know, by building a supportive, nurturing world around children and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to generations to come."

She concluded, "As you all know, by building a supportive, nurturing world around children and those caring for them, we can make a huge difference to generations to come. Because fundamentally healthy, happy children shape a healthy, happy future."

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The chatter about Latto's panties starts after a Twitter account mocked the 'B***h From Da Souf' femcee for donning the cheetah-print panties with two different outfits.

Jan 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Latto (Mulatto) had a hilarious way to further respond to an Internet troll, who called her out for wearing the same panties on two different occasions. On Monday evening, January 30, the "Bad Energy" raptress shared that she auctioned off her cheetah-print panties.

"I'm gonna wear a pair today and sell em tomorrow," the raptress wrote on Instagram Stories alongside a picture of several panties in the same pattern. She went on to joke in another post, "Auction live on eBay since I can't wear them twice Link in bio."

On her eBay page, the "Muwop" raptress titled the item "Latto's cheetah print panties" and the bidding began at 99 cents. The bids were climbing rapidly as it reached more than $95K with more than 80 bids entering. The listing, however, has since been deleted.

Fans found the whole thing hilarious with someone writing in an Instagram comment, "I laugh in ridiculousness." Someone praised Latto, "If turning a negative to a positive was a person."

"When you turn a joke into a profit now the same ones laughing ain't got s**t to do but hate," one person added. Latto herself also chimed in after her eBay page was reposted on The Shade Room, saying, "Prolly smell like a Frappuccino."

The chatter about Latto's panties started after a Twitter account mocked the raptress for donning the panties with two different outfits. The person wrote in the caption, "Can't afford new panties?" The tweet didn't go unnoticed by Latto, who sarcastically responded, "Oh no, it's the panty police."

After catching wind of the "B***h From Da Souf" femcee's tweet, Internet users did think it was too much. "The internet be soooo weird, people need to get a life fr. Didn't realize you had to throw away y'a panties after wearing them just once," one person opined.

One other noted it was normal to wear the same panties more than once. "Normal people wear the same underwear more than once. It's a washer and dryer TF!" the person said. "So y'all don't have washing machines," one other said.

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Chinese, Dutch FMs talk over phone

Xinhua) 08:39, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday talked over phone with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

During the conversation, Qin said China looks forward to working with the Netherlands to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen exchanges at all levels and push for new progress in China-Netherlands relations.

The defining feature of the China-Netherlands relationship is that it is open and practical, Qin said, adding that China is speeding up its efforts to promote high-quality development and high-level opening-up, which will bring greater opportunities to China-Netherlands cooperation.

China, Qin said, stands ready to work with the Netherlands to strengthen cooperation in multilateral areas, support the 28th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in achieving positive outcomes, maintain stability of the international industry chain and supply chain, and promote an open and orderly international trade environment rather than a fragmented and chaotic one.

For his part, Hoekstra said the Netherlands stands ready to strengthen interactions with China at all levels, deepen bilateral cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, arms control, non-proliferation and climate change, and push forward their open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership, adding that the Dutch side will continue to handle economic and trade affairs with China in a responsible manner.

During their talks, the Dutch side invited China to attend the UN 2023 Water Conference co-hosted by it, and the Chinese side said it will send high-level delegates to the event.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Japanese government's decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Both sides agreed that such an action concerns human health and the marine environment, on which they agreed to maintain communication.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue, during which Qin reiterated that China will work with relevant parties to promote peace talks.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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The death toll from the suicide blast that ripped through a mosque on Monday afternoon in Pakistan's northwest provincial capital of Peshawar rose to 44, an official told Xinhua.

Muhammad Asim, spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital, said the death toll rose after some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries and some more bodies were recovered from the debris of the mosque that collapsed following the blast.

The spokesperson added that at least 157 injured people are still under treatment, out of whom 12 to 15 are in critical condition at the hospital, fearing that the death toll might further rise.

The deceased included three police officers and other police personnel, civilians, a prayer leader and a woman who was residing in a house near the mosque. At least three of the victims have not been identified yet.

Muhammad Ijaz Khan, capital city police officer of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, told Xinhua that around 300 people were praying in the mosque of the Police Lines area of the city when the blast happened, killing and wounding the people including the police officers.

He said the powerful blast damaged a portion of the mosque building, which caved in and trapped many worshippers.

The Police Lines is located in Peshawar's most sensitive area of cantonment where a large number of law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, the counter-terrorism department of KP police, are situated, according to local reports.

Official sources from the Peshawar police said that the target of the suicide bomber was the police personnel, adding that the bomber managed to sneak into the highly sensitive area before blowing himself up in the mosque.

Following the explosion, the provincial health department declared an emergency in district Peshawar and asked all medical personnel to remain on duty. Security forces condoned off the area and launched a full-fledged investigation into the incident.

Rahim Khan, a 35-year-old local resident, said he was inside the mosque when he suddenly heard a loud bang followed by cries and screams of the wounded.

"For a moment I could not believe my eyes. I saw people covered in blood lying everywhere while screaming for help. This is the most horrible incident of my life ... I am still in a state of shock," Khan told Xinhua.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, saying the entire nation was standing united against the menace of terrorism.

"Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan," he said, adding that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in KP and the federal government will help provinces increasing their anti-terrorism capacity.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing yet.
In an advisory issued dated January 27, 2023, the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), has sought fresh online applications from the publishers seeking empanelment with CBC in the month of February 2023 for new publications.

CBC will be opening the window for filing application for fresh empanelment by new and old publications on its website (www.davp.nic.in) from February 1, 2023 to February 28, 2023.

As per Clause 6.3.1. of the Print Media Advisory Policy, 2020, Fresh applications for empanelment may be made twice a year, that is, once during February, and the other during August, on the empanelment module on CBCs website.

CBC further stated that the publishers who had applied online or had submitted physical files for empanelment in the months of August 2021, February 2022 and August 2022, their applications were under process.
Credit Fair, a consumer lending fin-tech start-up, has appointed Vikas Agarwal as its Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO). In this new role, he will lead Supply of Capital initiatives including partnersihps with Co-lending and Independent Financial Adivosrs (IFAs). In addition, he will also lead the strategic alliances (fintech) and merchant relationship developments to accelerate the business growth for Credit Fair. Vikas will be closely working with Aditya Damani, Founder and CEO, Credit Fair.

Before joining Credit Fair, Vikas founded a SME focused NBFC, SSA Finserv in 2019 and served as MD & CEO. He also founded Shree Krishna Corporate Advisors LLP in 2010, where he advised over 300 SMEs on raising debt worth over Rs. 500 crs. A chartered accountant from ICAI, Agarwal started his career in 2009 with Ernst & Young (EY), India.

Vikas brings to the table over a decade of experience in the financial services sector especially in business development, debt raise, project finance, working capital finance and advisory to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

Welcoming Vikas, Aditya Damani, Founder and CEO, Credit Fair said, Vikas is joining us at an exciting phase of our journey, as we are witnessing a huge demand uptick for credit both at the business and consumer levels. With a proven combination of strategic thinking and strong execution capacity, he will help Credit Fair continue to deliver value to its customers and all the key stakeholders. He will be responsible for driving operational excellence of the company, thus helping in achieving our mission of enabling Fair Finance for Every Indian!

Commenting on his appointment, Vikas Agarwal, Cofounder and CBO, Credit Fair said, I am excited to join Credit Fair and look forward to playing my role in effectively scaling up our credit delivery ecosystem across the country. I believe that the company is making a significant difference in the lives of individuals and small businesses by providing fair and accessible credit. I look forward to working with the team to introduce new-age innovations in financing and capture emerging opportunities such as green financing.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has delineated the procedure for public service broadcasting by the private satellite channels.

As per Para 35 of the Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite Television Channels in India, 2022, a broadcaster having permission for uplinking a channel and its downlinking in India is required to undertake public service broadcasting for a minimum period of 30 minutes a day on themes of national and social importance. This has been mandated since airwaves/ frequencies are public property and need to be used in the best interest of te society.

However, foreign TV channels only downlinked in India are exempted from following this mandate.

After undertaking a series of consultations with the broadcasters and their Associations, MIB has now further refined these guidelines. TV channels are required to report public service broadcasting in the manner prescribed as per these guidelines with effect from March 1, 2023.

Content

In an advisory issued, the Ministry has stated that the list of themes of national importance and of social relevance given under Clause 35 of the Policy Guidelines are indicative and may be expanded to include similar subjects such as water conservation, disaster management, etc.

Broadcasters can modulate their content and the relevant content embedded in the programmes may be accounted for public service broadcasting.

The Ministry has further stated that such content can be shared between the broadcasters and could be repeat telecast on one or several channels.

A common e-platform can also be developed as a repository of relevant videos or textual content from various sources for the purpose of public service broadcasting, which may be assessed and used by TV channels.

Accounting of timing

The Advisory further states that the public service content need not be of 30 minutes at a stretch, but can be spread over smaller time slots. However, the time for which the public service broadcasting content is telecast in between commercial breaks shall not be accounted for the 12-minute limit for commercial breaks.

The time for public service content shall be account cumulatively on a monthly basis, that is, 15 hours per month.

The Minister further stated that the time for transmission of the relevant content shall be flexible except that any content transmitted from midnight to 6 am shall not be accounted for under public service broadcasting.
As per Kantars ITOPS 2022 study, which completes 27 years of tracking the MSME market in India and covering MSMEs across 48 cities of India, the pandemic had hit the MSME businesses hard, but the segment has bounced back and is currently extremely positive about the business and Indian economy despite worry of tough global economic scenario.

The pandemic has proven the resilience of the MSMEs and more MSMEs are also looking to invest in their business than in the past as they feel that economy will continue do well and somehow be insulated from probable global slowdown. This is evident from the fact that the MSMEs that are defined as wave-riders (Businesses that invest in-line with the economic growth of the country in order to stay competitive in the market)) has increased too. Similarly, these businesses are quite confident about their industry doing well. While only 1 out of 10 businesses were extremely confident about this in 2021, we have seen that more than 3/4 th of the businesses are hopeful of a strong growth in their industry now.

Looking at the current scenario, it is important to mention that the current vision of MSMEs are not myopic one. More than half of the businesses are confident about increasing their revenue and executing their business plan for next 5 years. It is worthy to mention that there is a very keen interest on investing in technology and going digital is growing. Kantar has noticed that they have started investing heavily on these areas post pandemic and currently, there are very few MSMEs in India that are not exploring digital technology for their business. This is because of the demonstrable benefit that digital and technology has brought forth during the last couple of years. Discussing the latest findings from Kantar ITOPS study, Indranil Dutta, Vice President, Insights Division, Kantar feels that, while MSMEs have bounced back from COVID, it is important for them to continue with this positive mindset. It will only prevail if positivity gets translated into higher revenue and profitability. Given MSMEs are the lifeline of Indian business economy with contribution of 99.8% to all businesses in India and contributing to almost a third of the total GDP of the country, significant responsibility lies with government to help them grow. As the budget for FY 2023-24 is just round the corner, I am quite hopeful that Indian government shall continue to instill confidence in such businesses by providing attractive schemes and roadmap to flourish.
Sky today announces 12 new unscripted original commissions coming to Sky Documentaries, Sky Crime, Sky Nature and Sky Arts in 2023. On Sky Documentaries, brand new feature doc Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse (w/t) will piece together the events of Mark Zuckerbergs life along with the creation of Facebook and Meta, combining rarely seen archive footage and exclusive interviews to take us up close and personal to one of the most powerful figures of the 21st century. Daley (w/t) is a definitive account of the life and career of athlete Daley Thompson and tracks his eight gold medals and four world records as he became the first athlete ever to hold wins in the Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European competitions simultaneously.

Crime-lovers can tune in to Dublin Narcos, from the team behind BAFTA Award-winning Liverpool Narcos, tracking the rise in violence, addiction and organised crime in Dublin from the 1980s to present day. The Wicklow Mountains west of Dublin are the backdrop for Gone: Irelands Vanishing Triangle (w/t), exploring the mystery of six women who went missing without trace in the darkly wooded hills between 1993 and 1998. New docu-series Who Killed Lin and Megan Russell? (w/t) explores one of the most shocking multiple murders of the 90s as Michael Stone, after serving 25 years in prison, prepares a last appeal against his murder conviction. Meanwhile, a complex ecological crime story is unpicked in The Great Rhino Robbery (w/t), exploring how the rhino horn came to be more valuable than gold. One-off feature documentary Forced Out (w/t) asks why being gay in the Armed Forces remained illegal until as late as 2000, telling the story of the countless men and women dishonourably discharged because of their sexuality.

On Sky Nature Steve Backshall returns with his next series Whale with Steve Backshall which will take viewers on a journey across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans to uncover the worlds most popular yet endangered whales and dolphins. Watch a teaser clip here
As in many other developed countries, government, not industry, compensates families in the event of vaccine injury. Thus GSKs apparent lack of concern for the vaccines adverse effects is notable and perhaps not surprising. In the final assessment, the report states that [t]he benefit/risk profile of Infanrix hexa continues to be favourable, despite GSKs acknowledgement that the vaccine causes side effects including anaemia haemolytic autoimmune,thrombocytopenia, thrombocytopenic purpura, autoimmune thrombocytopenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, haemolytic anemia, cyanosis, injection site nodule, abcess and injection site abscess, Kawasakis disease, important neurological events (including encephalitis and encephalopathy), Henoch-Schonlein purpura, petechiae, purpura, haematochezia, allergic reactions (including anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions), and death (see page 9).

Presiding Judge Nicola Di Leo considered another piece of damning evidence: a 1271-page confidential GlaxoSmithKline report (now available on the Internet ). This industry document provided ample evidence of adverse events from the vaccine, including five known cases of autism resulting from the vaccines administration during its clinical trials (see table at page 626, excerpt below).

Based on expert medical testimony, the court concluded that the child more likely than not suffered autism and brain damage because of the neurotoxic mercury, aluminum and his particular susceptibility from a genetic mutation. The Court also noted that Infanrix Hexa contained thimerosal, now banned in Italy because of its neurotoxicity, in concentrations greatly exceeding the maximum recommended levels for infants weighing only a few kilograms.

Like the U.S., Italy has a national vaccine injury compensation program to give some financial support to those people who are injured by compulsory and recommended vaccinations. The Italian infant plaintiff received three doses of GlaxoSmithKlines Infanrix Hexa, a hexavalent vaccine administered in the first year of life. These doses occurred from March to October 2006. The vaccine is to protect children from polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, pertussis and Haemophilus influenza type B. In addition to these antigens, however, the vaccine then contained thimerosal, the mercury-containing preservative, aluminum, an adjuvant, as well as other toxic ingredients. The child regressed into autism shortly after receiving the three doses. When the parents presented their claim for compensation first to the Ministry of Health, as they were required to do, the Ministry rejected it. Therefore, the family sued the Ministry in a court of general jurisdiction, an option which does not exist in the same form in the U.S.

On September 23, 2014, an Italian court in Milan award compensation to a boy for vaccine-induced autism. (See the Italian document here.) A childhood vaccine against six childhood diseases caused the boys permanent autism and brain damage. While the Italian press has devoted considerable attention to this decision and its public health implications, the U.S. press has been silent.

The Milan decision is sober, informed and well-reasoned. The Ministry of Health has stated that it has appealed the Courts decision, but that appeal will likely take several years, and its outcome is uncertain.

Rimini: 2012

Two years earlier, on May 23, 2012, Judge Lucio Ardigo of an Italian court in Rimini presided over a similar judgment, finding that a different vaccine, the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR), had caused a childs autism. (See: Italian MMR Remini decision 2012) As in the Milan case, the Ministry of Healths compensation program had denied compensation to the family, yet after a presentation of medical evidence, a court granted compensation. There, too, the Italian press covered the story; the U.S. press did not.

In that case, a 15-month old boy received his MMR vaccine on March 26, 2004. He then immediately developed bowel and eating problems and received an autism diagnosis with cognitive delay within a year. The court found that the boy had been damaged by irreversible complications due to vaccination (with trivalent MMR). The decision flew in the face of the conventional mainstream medical wisdom that an MMR-autism link has been debunked.

***

Both these Italian court decisions break new ground in the roiling debate over vaccines and autism. These courts, like all courts, are intended to function as impartial, unbiased decision makers. The courts decisions are striking because they not only find a vaccine-autism causal link, but they also overrule the decisions of Italys Ministry of Health. And taken together, the court decisions found that both the MMR and a hexavalent thimerosal- and aluminum-containing vaccine can trigger autism.

These court decisions flatly contradict the decisions from the so-called U.S. vaccine court, the Court of Federal Claims Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. There, from 2007 to 2010, in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, three decision makers, called Special Masters, found that vaccines did not cause autism in any of the six test cases, and one Special Master even went so far as to compare the theory of vaccine-induced autism to Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland. The Italian court decisions contrast starkly with these U.S. cases based on similar claims.

How do we reconcile the difference between the U.S. and Italian decisions in similar cases? Whats different about Italy? Well, there may be many differences, but a critical one is that in the U.S., if someone loses in the government vaccine injury compensation program, she cannot sue the government in civil court; she can sue only the manufacturer. In the U.S., her family would have to shoulder legal fees in a David and Goliath mismatch, pitting a global pharmaceutical behemoth against a family likely already suffering financially from serious health costs.

Furthermore, since 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court has foreclosed potential cases and class action lawsuits to contest unreasonably dangerous vaccine designs, such as the use of thimerosal as a preservative or the simultaneous administration of multiple live viruses, such as the MMR. Since the Supreme Courts 2011 Bruesewitz v. Wyeth decision, no court in the U.S. can entertain vaccine design defect claims, the most likely legal actions to aggregate plaintiffs in similar circumstances against large, pharmaceutical defendants.

Unlike American victims of vaccine injury, the Italian plaintiffs didnt have to sue GSK; they sued the Ministry of Health. In both the Milan and Rimini decisions, the plaintiffs won compensation based on findings that vaccines caused autism. One might say that these cases achieved nothing more than a small payout for injured children. But arguably the families, lawyers and medical experts behind these cases achieved far more. They took the issue of vaccine-induced autism to impartial courts, and they got clear a clear judicial answer based on the evidence: vaccines cause autism.

Are court decisions science? Of course not. There is a desperate need for more science on autism and the role that vaccines play, flimsy industry, medical and government retorts to the contrary notwithstanding. But in the current absence of the necessary science on vaccines and autism, decisions of impartial judicial tribunals, based on extensive evidence and testimony, may be some of the best sources of information and insight we have.

Mary S. Holland is a Research Scholar at the NYU School of Law and chairs the advisory board of the non-profit organization Health Choice.
Woke speech is the language of hate, because woke is a hate movement. Everything about woke comes from a place of hate. You needn't dig down to the deep core of woke to find hate, because the hate is up front and center in woke.

People who are truly marginalized aren't on television, or in Congress. People who are truly marginalized are ignored by the larger society; they aren't in the spotlight. People who are marginalized don't complain about their plight because they can't. Nobody pays attention to them or what they say or do. They don't live in royal palaces, host television shows, receive awards at televised events, publish magazines, or have any title such as "the Honorable" in their name. They don't have 100k followers, aren't on TV competing on Ru Paul's Drag Race, don't have book deals, aren't in college, and they aren't writing for blogs on their phones made by slaves.

The marginalized people who made our phones and their components have no voice. When they tried to have a voice by leaping to their deaths out the phone factory windows... the woke defenders of the marginalized watched nets being put up to catch the jumpers and went right back to tweeting about their own oppression, proving once again, they care little for real plights experienced by real people... and that real marginalized people have no voice. The irony of the voiceless being slaves in a phone factory is lost on the woke.

The woke don't beg the unwoke to stop marginalizing the marginalized. Instead, they demand that others engage in linguistic gymnastics. They engage in ad hominem attacks on assumed oppressors. Name calling, screaming, and tantrums to demonstrate how much they are using their privilege as helpful allies. They hurl insults rather than try to convince or sway the people they are attacking to see their point of view. They allow no room for misunderstanding or ignorance of their numerous and ever-changing linguistic rules.

A truly marginalized person would try to reason with their oppressors should they ever be given the opportunity to have a voice. The truly marginalized will use that voice to calmly explain how they have been oppressed, and how it could end; they almost never just start screaming... unless it is an appropriate situation like directing anger over murdered relatives at a war criminal during the sentencing phase of a trial.

The truly oppressed rarely have opportunity to stand in public holding a sign stating their grievances, and never have opportunity to do so on the internet.

People who mutilate themselves and are angered by the fact that self-mutilation is off-putting to people who don't mutilate themselves arent marginalized, no matter how angry they get. Self-marginalization isn't marginalization from the white, cis, heteronormative patriarchy, it's self-destructive behavior. That's it. (Nothing to see here, just attention seeking.)

The woke think that an employer who might be leery of hiring someone with blue hair and piercings who screams on social media about how oppressed they are is a bigot. When in fact people who dye their hair blue and pierce or cut off everything they can cut off or pierce and then scream on the internet about their oppression are in fact a narcissistic whack jobs. The smart prospective employer knows that hiring people who insist that they never make mistakes, is a mistake. And in their own estimation, the woke never make mistakes.

Just last week I was engaged in a high dollar cash transaction with a woke young person wearing a button informing me of it's preferred pronouns. Her/she rang up the merchandise incorrectly. I tried to warn her/she of the sizable impending error in my favor, and I was rebuffed in the most hostile manner imaginable. I walked away with an undeserved discount, and her/she doesn't seem to work there anymore. Apparently, it was better for her to lose the job than risk mansplaination of her mistake.

Any kindness, true generosity, or attempt toward understanding directed at the woke by the unwoke is instantly rebuffed as criticism, bigotry and harassment.

Any concession given the woke by the unwoke is only used as evidence of bigotry and used to justify harassment and punishment for imagined transgressions.

The woke aren't fighting for a better world, or anything in it. The woke are fighting because they want to fight.

Woke is a contagious version of societal narcissistic personality disorder. The absence of empathy supplemented by manipulation and other toxic behaviors resulting in abuse of others. To be woke is the action of engaging in a histrionic harangue, with no satisfactory outcome available other than continue the harangue.

The woke use a figurative microscope to seek out new ways to feel oppressed. The woke lie in the gutter and scream incoherently that they occupy moral high ground. The woke are smug, self righteous, arrogant, exclusionary, and intolerant of others feelings or experiences. The woke are mean bullies.

Woke was/is trendy, and trendy is temporary. Woke is being enshrined into culture and law, which are more permanent.

Poodle skirts were trendy at one point too... wisely, we did not enshrine them into law. But woke isn't an article of clothing, or a haircut. It isn't a dance, song, catchphrase, or piercing.

Woke is the intentional infliction of damage onto others. Woke is "justified" abuse. Woke is the act of doxing, swatting, complaining, and swarming in the hope of inflicting pain or even death on someone who dare disagree.

Woke treats inclusion the same way political pawns treat power inside the D.C. Beltway... like a finite resource, to be guarded jealously. Thus, segregation has become the new inclusion.

Woke is spiteful, its language is designed to taunt while it destroys reason and courtesy. Woke language is designed to make people feel bad about themselves and everyone around them. Words like "cisgendered", "white___", "mansplain", "transphobe" and "hetronormative" are designed to insult, malign and other.

Any attempt at discussion or debate regarding any of the woke principles is met with ridicule and hostility, ad hominem attacks, and the inevitable tantrums.

Woke feeds off a bounty of negative thoughts and emotions. The woke never seem happy because they never are happy. They want to be miserable. They desperately want you (or anyone) to say anything that they can construe and spin into something they can perceive as an insult or transgression.

Forgiveness is not a part of the woke ritual. Forgiveness requires understanding, nuance, introspection and privacy; woke demands punitive public spectacle, with negative "likes" acting as digital lashings with degrading comments and humiliation dished out endlessly. Especially if an attempt at apology has been made by the transgressor.

Woke offers no comfort for its adherents. There is no peace to be found at the end of woke, no prosperity. Woke won't be paying a dividend, and it won't form very good networks of connectivity for advancement in life.

Woke is petty, obtuse, and insufferable. Woke can't take care of itself, much less anyone else.

Woke is about making excuses for, and enabling poor life choices. When a young black man is killed by five black police officers for not complying with their commands the woke demonstrate in the name of combating white supremacy. There is some serious excuse making going on.

The woke need to settle legal issues right now, this very second. The woke don't want to wait for the judge. By refusing to comply with police orders, the woke force police to be the only arbiters of justice, defendants shot by police because they refused to follow orders never get the opportunity to present their case in court.

I have watched hundreds of hours of police dash and body cam footage of thousands of police shootings, including some where the ultimate actions of the officers were questionable. In no instance did the police officer ever instigate a shooting without some kind of provocation from the defendant.

In each and every case, no matter how unarmed and studious the suspect, that person refused a lawful order, usually "please step out of the car" (Pennsylvania v Mimms 1977, you MUST exit the vehicle when instructed to do so by a police officer). In most shootings there are multiple times that the suspect could have avoided being shot, simply by following instructions and allowing the process to take place.

If the police pull you over because you are black, and for no other reason, you should want to have your case heard by the judge... you should be eager for that.

But woke won't afford the black community that dignity because going into schools and teaching children what to do and how to behave in a police encounter is "racist". I honestly don't see how teaching any driver about Pennsylvania v. Mimms and how that ruling might affect them in a traffic stop is racist... but that's just me.

What started as the "Summer of Love" in the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco has come full circle to become an anti-liberty, pro-war, anti-life, genetically modified, sexually charged, money printing festival of debauchery. The "me" generation has new pronouns, and you had better get them right.

Because woke is the world's newest Haight movement.

Pohto credit: JMacPherson (cropped) CC BY 2.0 license
Donald Trump was a great, if imperfect, president. By the third year of his presidency, the country was flourishing. The economy was roaring, jobs were up, incomes were up, gas prices were down, and America and Americans were doing fairly well.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to the election. The swamp struck back via Covid and the George Floyd protests. Neither of those was of Trumps making, but Democrats used both to steal the election. The Democrats didnt create Covid or put Floyd in the morgue, but they used the lockdowns and the riots to sufficiently upend American life so that they could steal the election under the cover of chaos.

Those were tests, and Donald Trump failed. With Covid, he allowed the country to be misled by a snake oil salesman and, with the Floyd protests, he didnt send in the troops. Its easy to understand, of course, why he failed.

Anthony Fauci had played a role in Americas various health crises for decades and was an internationally respected doctor. As the media was hyping the idea that the virus could wipe out mankind, Fauci was a voice of calm, reassuring the country that, with distance, masks, and lockdowns, we would persevere.

At the same time, when Trump raised questions about anything that diverged from the Big Pharma/media narrative or suggested we should remember the economic costs of lockdowns, the media, medical people, and scientists attacked, lampooned, and vilified him unmercifully. Given the fusillade facing him, its not a surprise that Trump couldnt recognize the lies the American people were being served.

Image: Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.

On the George Floyd-inspired Antifa/BLM riots, Trump failed, and thats on him, although again, one can see why he acted the way he did. As one article explains, Section 252 of the Insurrection Act

permits deployment (of military troops) in order to enforce the laws of the United States or to suppress rebellion whenever unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion make it impracticable to enforce federal law in that state by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.

Thus, Trump could have used the military to stop the violence that cities were unwilling or unable to stop. Trump knew this, saying in early June 2020, If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them. The Democrats pilloried him, with Pelosi stating: But there is no reason for the U.S. military to be called out for this.

Trump chose not to act, likely because he knew Democrats would brand him a tyrant or dictator if he did, despite the fact that FDR, Kennedy, LBJ, and Bush 41 all used troops for far smaller riots. His forbearance was irrelevant because Democrats attacked him anyway for thinking about troops.

That Donald Trump failed at leading the country through those two disasters is, sadly, understandable. Given the savagery and breadth of the relentless attacks on him, it would have taken someone just short of Zeus to have succeeded. The result of that failure was that Democrats stole the election, and Trump lost the White House.

Fast forward two years. In November, Trump announced he was running, and he said many of the right things, starting with In order to make America great and glorious again. I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States. Possibly the best line of the night was, But just as I promised in 2016, I am your voice. I am your voice. The Washington establishment wants to silence us, but we will not let them do that.

That all sounds great, but the question is: Has Trump learned the hard lesson that the swamp is the Terminator, it will not stop, it cannot be negotiated with, the swamp knows no parties or limits, and it must be crushed? Otherwise, it will kill him, kill his supporters and kill the Republic of the United States.

Recent events seem to suggest that he has not learned.

First, he endorsed Dr. Oz over a rock-solid MAGA candidate in Pennsylvania. Oz was anything but MAGA and went on to lose to a literally brain-damaged Democrat. Trump made other MAGA endorsements, but Pennsylvanias was for one of the most important swing states in the nation, and he blew it.

Next, in December, he endorsed the decidedly not MAGA Kevin McCarthy for Speaker even though there were several MAGA candidates in the running. In 2021, McCarthy stated, I dont think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. Thats true, except for virtually every single MAGA voter in America and 70% of the larger GOP as well.

Then, earlier this month, Trump threw his most ardent supporters, the pro-life movement, under the bus, stating, It was the abortion issue, poorly handled by many Republicansthat lost large numbers of Voters. He continued, Also, the people that pushed so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court, & just plain disappeared, not to be seen again. That was completely unnecessary and wrong, to boot.

Then, quixotically, he invited the biggest dolt in Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham, who actually proposed a nationwide abortion ban less than two months before the election, to be with him at his first campaign event! Most Republicans despise the warmonger and big-spending Graham, behind only McConnell and perhaps Collins, Murray, and Romney.

Then, finally, despite six years of failure, Trump supported the grifter Ronna McDaniel to lead the Republican Party over the incomparable super lawyer and MAGA candidate Harmeet Dhillon. If there was ever anyone in the Republican Party who shouldve been ousted and replaced by a dyed-in-the-wool grassroots MAGA candidate, it was McDaniel.

McDaniel was recently revealed to have spent over $2 million from the RNC treasury on luxury travel and private jets, $300,000 on flowers, $75,000 on beauty and spa treatments, and $1,280 on LBGTQ+ filings! She did all of this while undermining MAGA candidates in the midterms.

McDaniel is the antithesis of the grassroots MAGA voter. She is the polar opposite of the farmers, plumbers, police, truckers, and steel workers who put Trump into office in the first place and the ones who recognized the coup. Theyre the 50,000 people who filled stadiums and were in the trenches with him. But McDaniel and the establishment loathe them.

If Trump circa 2024 hasnt figured out that success lies with the grassroots MAGA voters who put him in the White House rather than with the establishment grifters who lead the party todaywith his helpthen Im not sure what the motivation is to support him is.

2024 is too important a moment in American history to let serial failures like the establishment McFailures (McConnell, McCarthy, and McDaniel) lead the way. This election may well be the last opportunity for Americans to rescue the nation from a Democrat party that has turned our cities into dystopian wastelands, turned 40% of American children into gender-confused lab rats, and seeks to balkanize the nation based on race, sex and anything else the swamps denizens can think of. The swamps goal is power, and it knows no party. McDaniel & Co. is its GOP arm, and if Trump doesnt recognize that, then the baggage that comes with supporting him isnt worth the fight because, with those charlatans leading the way, come January 20, 2025, there will be another Democrat being sworn in.

Follow Vince on Twitter at @ImperfectUSA.
Enemies of Freedom wish to see our prosperous nation willingly give up our success to become a failed state. Think about the enormity and monstrous nature of that goal they set for themselves. All they had at first were the obvious imperfections of our country to work with, and our enemy commenced from there.

Have you considered the impact of the plan by the destroyers to change our language and its influence on all of us? Within this strategy is another plan to change the emotional impact of words we never contemplated or would not have given a passing glance. To be successful, destroyers must control the meaning of words.

The destroyers had to take a functioning country with the world's largest middle class and tank it. Not only that, but to tank it with the acquiescence of a significant portion of the population and make it appear noble. Where do you start?

First, you become a metaphorical geologist and, in that way, uncover our stress points. But instead of rock, you look at fissures like inequities, racial disparities, the continuing breakdown of families, and how to take on the economic and political power structures. Introduce fear, such as claiming the end of the world is at hand through climate change. Then, institutionalize the process so that challenging "change" identifies you as one of the dangerous ones standing in the way of "progress."

Remember former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel? He is widely credited for saying, "Never let a crisis go to waste." He associated with Clinton, Ayers, and other members of those New Left radicals who are primarily responsible for where we are today. That period began while George H. Bush was still in office, and their power and influence still grows to this day. That cabal built an organization of reflexive haters of America.

Bill Ayers is one of those central figures of the New Woke generation. Read some of his quotes that validate his hatred of America and its institutions:

Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents; that's where it's really at

"I get up every morning and think...today I'm going to end capitalism."

"The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school; 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years later, a quarter of us was in SDS, in Students for Democratic Society. Not because we were particularly chosen or because we were, as I say, we were lucky. Still, we were mainly lucky to grow up at a time when this black freedom movement was really defining the moral character of what it meant to be a citizen and a person."

"I get up every morning and think today; I'm going to make a difference. Today I'm going to end capitalism. Today I'm going to make a revolution. I go to bed every night disappointed, but I'm back to work tomorrow, and that's the only way you can do it."

Ayers was not the founder of the anti-capitalism, anti-American movement, but he worked to perfect it and to convince many adherents who soon would become key players in our country. To save America, you have to destroy it first, they believed. Who were some of those people?

Barack Obama

Hillary and Bill Clinton

Bernardine Dohrn

Jane Fonda

Rahm Emanuel

Jeremiah Wright

Think about the phrase." Speech is Violence." What is notable about this hyperlink is its source, Psychology Today. "Hateful speech," according to Feldman Barrett, is so stressful that it should be prohibited because, as she reports, chronic stress can shrink your telomeres." According to the article, speech is so dangerous that it claims, "Faculty and administrators across the country are telling students they will suffer irreparable harm if they engage with ideas they find abhorrent, or even interact in a civil manner with the people who hold those ideas."

If this were an isolated statement, we wouldn't be too concerned. But this kind of thought is established dogma in thousands of schools across the nation, from elementary to university. This is not simply another tool of the Destroyers. Changing our history, how we speak, our country's iconology and our culture redefines who we are. And, once it's gone, how do you bring it back? It's the same with removing historical figures like Jefferson and other important figures from history that form our past. Who rewrites history?

Nazis

Communists

Intellectuals

Politicians

The list goes on. What empowers some to determine what's true and what's not? "reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.." wrote George Orwell in 1984. Who should tell you how to live your life, even with whom you can associate? Have we become so spoon-fed that what we see and hear with our own eyes and ears is no longer valid? When we no longer believe what we witness and instead favor what we are told, we are no longer real Americans. You have passed the Destroyers Litmus test, for when you see the truth right in front of your eyes, yet deny it. If one plus one no longer equals two, you have become one of 'them.'

How did the destoyers gain so much power over us? The University of Pennsylvania received $54 million from China, and China gave over $1 billion to other U.S. universities. Why do you think they make such donations? It is for influence, access to technology, and the power to circumvent U.S. laws and even money laundering. Much of it is, indeed, all about the Benjamins.

Bill Ayers and his ilk understood what it would take to bring America to its knees. Changing our language, getting rid of our iconology (think America's Flag and Pledge of Allegiance), and changing history to take away our natural pride, tenacity, and very intellectual being is required to get to their end game.

We must fight back with force against those with a generation or two head start on the rest of us. If someone comes into your house to kidnap your baby, no amount of your righteous indignation will suffice in defense. We must commit to total war against those intruders who hold such blackness in their hearts.

Such is another litmus test we will need to pass to survive.

God Bless America!

Allan J. FeiferPatriot, Author, Businessman, and Thinker. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com

Graphic credit: Robert Couse-Baker CC BY 2.0 license
There are many explanations for Trump's spectacular success in the 2016 election and during the first 30 months of his presidency. There are as many explanations for his descent into more spectacular

failures.

Using Occam's Razor  "plurality should not be posited without necessity"  my view is that Trump has two traits that account for both: Trump is amazingly stubborn and breathtakingly naive.

Entering and winning the 2016 election required both traits. Occasionally, not knowing the odds against success is an asset. That occasion has passed. Over time, naivete results in failure. Trump's failures continue piling up.

1. COVID. For 30 months as president, Trump successfully implemented standard conservative policies, which were successful, as all of us knew they would be. Even liberals know that conservative policies work. They just have a counterproductive agenda.

COVID provided a novel challenge requiring adaptation. Trump fell for the Fauci-Birx agenda. Two weeks to slow the curve became a forever nightmare on Trump's watch. As disagreements mounted, Trump left Fauci and Birx in place. They continued to spread the "shut down" mantra. Trump started a runaway train and didn't stop it.

Most performers and politicians know the risks of overexposure. Trump did not. He appeared virtually every night on camera with his enemies while facing a hostile press corps. He gave his enemies ample opportunities to successfully make him look foolish.

Two governors took a different path. Kemp in Georgia and, to a greater degree, DeSantis in Florida did not shut down. They took criticism, but, unlike Trump, they rose above it. Today, Trump is a critic of both men as he stubbornly defends his failure.

There are lessons here. Some people, in this case Kemp and DeSantis, can deal with novel problems. They can also overcome a hostile press.

Trump's record poses two problems. One is that he could make a similar mistake again. The greater problem is that a real crisis could arise that demands drastic action. If DeSantis said we have a major problem, everyone, including liberals, would believe him. But Trump would be the little boy who cried wolf.

2. Elections. When asked if the 2020 votes were fairly counted, my response is "I don't know, and neither do you." The numerous anomalies make the answer unknowable. What we do know is that the often illegal changes in the election laws in several states mean that the election was neither free nor fair. For example, the mass mailing of ballots invites votes from people who either are dead or have moved away. The bigger problem is that mass mailing denies everyone a secret ballot. A ballot-harvester who knows you have a ballot could be an employer, a union leader, or a gangbanger.

Trump used these anomalies to naively insist that he be installed as president and that Kari Lake be installed as governor of Arizona  too little, too late. That talk more than anything else will cost Trump the 2024 election, by costing him independent voters, who view these demands as attempts to override the Constitution

The time to fight voting problems was before the election. For example, Florida's increased population meant redistricting. DeSantis vetoed two weak legislative efforts. He finally forced his own new set of districts on the Legislature, which resulted in four additional GOP congressmen. Had DeSantis not taken action, the current GOP House majority would be one vote. DeSantis acts when his actions produce results. Trump rages, with acts that are too little and too late.

3. Endorsements. Trump made many endorsements in 2022. Many of his people won, but in the marquee races that determined a Senate majority, almost all of Trump's picks spectacularly failed. In Pennsylvania, Oz lost to a zombie. In Georgia, Walker lost to a slum landlord, while all the other Republicans running for statewide office won. In Ohio, J.D. Vance won but by significantly fewer votes than the rest of the GOP slate. We all know about the losses in Nevada, New Hampshire, and Arizona.

Trump based his endorsements on people loyal to him and on being well known in areas other than politics. Trump's endorsements had a negative effect in spite of their prior notoriety. Within a GOP primary, Trump's blessing carries weight. In the general election, it is counterproductive. For Trump, and the rest of us, to pretend otherwise is naive.

4. Support. Trump believes he can win in 2024 in spite of losing important support he had in 2020. Evangelical Christians are now withdrawing support from him. Most of his financial supporters oppose him. Trump had some media support from the Rupert Murdoch empire, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the N.Y. Post. Murdoch now says he and his publishing empire would support a Democrat over Trump. Trump still thinks he can win. I hope the rest of us have outgrown believing in fairy tales.

My admiration for Trump's accomplishments is on record. In one article, I swept away all the standard criticism. Unlike Rupert Murdoch, I will vote for Trump if he is the Republican nominee. But my vote won't make up for all the losses.

It's true that some polls have Trump beating Biden. We would be naive to believe that the Dems will run Biden in 2024. They'll find a better candidate.

It's time we acknowledge Trump's contributions and then cut him loose. A loss in 2024 will undo all the good that the first 30 months of Trump's presidency bequeathed us. That doesn't need to happen. We can win  just not with Trump.

Image: Ninian Reid via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
The other day, I noticed a moving display that read, Rise Above Racial Injustice. Only it wasnt moving in the emotional sense; it was traveling down the road. While sitting in my car at a red light in Chapel Hill, NC, a large public transit bus passed by fully decorated with woke messaging. Next to the Rise Above Racial Injustice slogan were illustrated portraits of two residents, each wearing large medical masks, surrounded by the phrases, my self worth negates racist remarks and rise above hate.

As part of an Art + Transit program, the town of Chapel Hill commissioned full vinyl wraps for three public passenger buses. Artists applied for the opportunity to display their social justice artwork. Winners included the Racial Injustice design, a Cant Stop Pride design with a raised fist (probably not the best slogan for a vehicle that stops repeatedly), and a LatinX Pride bus festooned with cartoon hearts and various gendered Spanish terms like mama and papa. Even the interiors didnt escape activist art. The bus ceilings are wrapped as well: one program participant explained, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, so why not a bus?

Chapel Hills public transportation bureaucrats ignored their towns own policies. Public transit advertising rules state that Chapel Hill Transit does not intend to create a public forum for public discourse or expressive activity, and maintain[s] an image of neutrality on political matters and other noncommercial issues that are the subject of public debate or concern. Just like the fiery but mostly peaceful protests of 2020 in the midst of COVID lockdowns, rules dont apply when it comes to select and exaggerated social injustices.

After taking in the imposingly woke city buses, I wondered if public school buses are next. How soon will Who doesnt love a yellow school bus? become, Who doesnt love a non-binary gender neutral racial tolerance and educational liberation bus? Chapel Hill schools are primed for this hypothetical to become reality.

In 2021, the Chapel Hill School District hired a new Superintendent, Nyah Hamlett, Ed.D. (The previous superintendent resigned following revelations that she hired an educational equity consultant company without school board approval.) The new hire came from Loudoun County, Virginia, a district infamous for woke controversies, including a female raped in the girls bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt. During Hamletts tenure as Chief of Staff for Loudoun County Schools, the district developed an Action Plan to Combat Systemic Racism including a Student Equity Ambassador program that would later be challenged in a lawsuit as viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause.

Dr. Hamlett immediately emphasized equity following her move to Chapel Hill. Its really about modeling equity in the work that we do, and having it embedded in everything that we do. Equity is something that has to support, and be the foundation of, our work, she stated.

With significant support and involvement from Hamlett, Chapel Hill Schools released its Think (and Act) Differently 2027 Strategic Plan with five core values: Engagement, Social Justice Action, Collective Efficacy, Wellness, Joy. Clearly the strategic plan encourages a childs call to activism over academic achievements, and the children must show joy in this vision. To push partisan activism on kids, Hamlett receives a $226,000 per year government salary.

Not unlike the Student Equity Ambassador program of Loudoun County, Hamlett started an Equity and Empathy Ambassador Program in Chapel Hill composed of 39 high schoolers from the district. To Hamletts delight, her personal ambassadors of wokism successfully lobbied the district to eliminate class rankings. The deputized social-justice warriors have their sights set on rendering homework useless, calling for grades based on completion rather than accuracy. Without grades, there can be no inequities.

Unfortunately, recent controversy has disrupted Hamletts march toward a more equitable but less academic future here in North Carolina. An anonymous tip led a local newspaper, the News & Observer, to investigate whether Hamlett plagiarized portions of her education doctorate dissertation. The article included interviews with three plagiarism experts, reporting:

The multiple examples of duplicate wording and incorrectly cited sources suggest intentional plagiarism, two experts told The N&O, although a third expert viewed it more as a case of sloppy work.

The credible questions of plagiarism against the school superintendent could not stand. In an open letter that deserves to be read in Gretas How dare you! voice, a self-described multiracial group came together because of concern that [the] superintendent was undergoing this kind of attack. According to the authors, investigations of plagiarism are racist and a clear violation of public transit slogans. The letter quoted one teacher asking, If she wasnt a Black woman, would they be asking these same questions about her dissertation? Asserting, Its not typical that we scrutinize the academic work our leaders completed as students, (Hamletts dissertation was published only five years ago) the authors insisted, Black educators in our town report exaggerated levels of scrutiny and suspicion regarding their academic backgrounds and their work.

The N&O journalist, Dan Kane, was also reprimanded in the letter. Instead of working with an anonymous informer to dredge up plagiarism charges against Dr. Hamlett, the authors thought Kane should apply his investigative energy and resources to reporting on Dr. Hamlett's outstanding performance as superintendent. Is this journalist not willing to ride Chapel Hills Rise Above Racial Injustice bus?

Hamlett published her own statement on the matter prior to the news article, which Mr. Kane cited. She stood by her dissertation while inferring that the questions of plagiarism were an unnecessary and frivolous distraction. I do not know why this topic may be represented in a local news article, she wrote in boldface type. In a radio interview, she admitted plagiarism was a serious charge, but again asserted the allegations were mere distractions: I had to address something that was not specific to our schools.

Plagiarism is specific to Chapel Hill Schools. School board policy describes plagiarism and copying as a violation of academic integrity. At one point the radio host (a former public high school English teacher) bravely told the Superintendent, To be a little bit blunt some of those passages I would have made a high school student rewrite if Id seen that and that much content had been not changed in any way without a citation.

Chapel Hill transportation governance can be ignored for select social and political messaging. Questions of plagiarism by a Chapel Hill official should be disregarded if the accused represents a certain racial class or activist ideology. According to the social justice mindset, whether or not the Chapel Hill School Superintendent is guilty of plagiarism -- accidental or otherwise -- is not the issue: that she is even questioned is an act of racial injustice.

This sets a dangerous precedent already manifesting at a federal level. U.S. representative Sheila Jackson Lee proposed legislation that would punish anyone who published material advancing white supremacy, white supremacist ideology. directed against any non-White person or group if that material was read by someone who perpetrated a white supremacy inspired hate crime. Several hundred people signed the open letter claiming racism drove the allegations and articles questioning Superintendent Hamlett. Under Jackson Lees bill, would the news article be seen as an act of white supremacist ideology? In being blunt with Hamlett, will the radio host be charged with advancing white supremacy?

At the school board meeting following the published plagiarism allegations, numerous members of the community spoke in support of Hamlett. One speaker read a statement written by a Chapel Hill parent: This attack is so classically Chapel Hill. Its heartbreaking and unsurprising in the same breath. Understandably, the tipster wished to remain anonymous. Investigating unethical behavior in a progressive town has reputational risk. If you dare ask legitimate questions of a woke government official, expect to be run over by a social injustice bus.

Image: Nancy Andersen
In the words of Karl Marx, the theorist of communism, history reveals itself the first as tragedy, then as farce. Another 19th century philosopher Hegel said that The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. It seems that today we are witnessing another confirmation of these profound thoughts.

What is happening in Ukraine is not an isolated event that arose either by misunderstanding or as a result of one man's ill will. It would be wrong to assume that Russia's attack on Ukraine was due to an unfortunate miscalculation by the Russian president. On the contrary, all current events are a logical step in the centuries-long history of the Russian state, which has always been aimed at imperial expansion and the conquest of foreign lands.

The conquest of Siberia, Central Asia, countless wars with Turkey, with Sweden, with Lithuania, with Austria, with Persia, with Napoleonic France, with Finland, with Afghanistan  its only a small list of the Russian wars of aggression. Russia has never been interested in developing its own country and improving the lives of its people, but only in expanding its territory at the expense of its neighbors. Putin's power is not a legacy of past traditions, but an inseparable continuation of centuries of the Russian expansion, one inseparable chain of colonialism from the time of Ivan the Terrible, to Alexander the First, to Stalin, to Brezhnev and now Putin.

The vast majority of Russians (about 70%) support the war in Ukraine and are not concerned about any moral constraints in this regard. According to the old wisdom that every nation deserves the government it has, it is not Putin who usurped power in the country and sends the Russian men to war, but he is exactly what meets the traditions and aspirations of the Russian people, exactly the government that the population of this miserable country wants and deserves.

What if we try to break Hegel's cynical observation about history and assess the war in Ukraine through the prism of relatively recent events? Recall 1938, when Hitler first annexed Austria to Germany and then invaded the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia on October 1 of that year under the pretext of protecting the German population from oppression. Not only did Austria not resist, it gladly joined Germany. Czechoslovakia at the time was the 7th world economy with advanced industry and agriculture  a tidbit for Hitler. But it, did not resist and did not go to war with Germany over its territory. Moreover, neighboring Poland too under the pretext of protection of the Polish population decided to snatch a piece of Czechoslovak territory and occupied Zaolzie.

How did other countries react? The United Kingdom and France tried to avoid confrontation with Germany at all costs and decided to appease Hitler, hoping that the territories he took would curb his appetite and he would go no further. The government of Neville Chamberlain tried to persuade Czechoslovak President Benes not to resist and to give Germany everything it wanted. Benes resisted at first and even declared a mobilization. However, on September 28 in Munich, U.K., France and Italy surrendered Czechoslovakia without her consent and signed an agreement with Germany. Chamberlain returned to London extremely pleased and proudly waved a piece of paper with Hitler's signature, I have brought you peace!

What happened next? Less than a year later, Hitler invaded Poland and it was the beginning of World War II in Europe. However, it wasnt just European countries that hid their heads in the sand like ostriches and hoped that the weather would carry them through, an isolationist mood was also strong in the USA. America was busy with getting out of the Great Depression and did not want to get involved in the overseas wars, believing that its none of our business. Yet, it had become impossible to isolate from the rest of the world and Pearl Harbor woke America from her sweet slumber.

And what would have happened if France and U.K. had resisted and supported Czechoslovakia, if not with troops, but at least politically and economically, and Czechoslovakia itself had resisted with arms? Historians are nearly unanimous in this regard  there would have been no World War, there would have been no loss of tens of millions of lives and the world today would be a very different world. Appeasement of an aggressor is a sure path to doom.

Now let's go back to our days and compare them with those of 85 years ago. As a KGB agent, Putin studied the history of World War II and learned well the lesson of the past: the West has no will to resist and will go to any lengths to avoid confrontation with an aggressor. This is exactly what has unfolded in the last 20 years as Putin has waged small wars of invasion: with Chechnya (1999-2009), with Georgia (2008), with Ukraine (2014), and in Syria (2015).

The countries of the free world reacted anemically to Russian aggression, limiting themselves to diplomatic protests and imposing symbolic sanctions on Russia. Like Hitler in 1938, Putin realized that he had a free hand and could continue his expansion in Ukraine. Ukraine is an obvious tidbit for the aggressor: it has well-developed agriculture, heavy industry and rich deposits of minerals, especially a lot of lithium, a valuable metal for modern industry. But then the unexpected happened.

Ukraine offered fierce resistance and the Russian blitzkrieg failed. The U.S., U.K., France, and other countries initially behaved just as they had 85 years earlier  they were willing to accept the de facto defeat of Ukraine and the expansion of the modern Russian empire. However, the grandiose failures of the Russian army and the unexpected successes of the Ukrainian army forced Western governments to reconsider their positions. Ukraine received economic and military aid, first in small bits, then in more powerful streams, and Russia was subjected to sanctions unprecedented in history. And not only Western powers, but even China also refused to support Russian aggression.

However, it seems that not everyone has learned the lessons of the past. While in England Churchill's legacy is strong and thus the United Kingdom is now doing everything possible to help Ukraine, in France, in Germany and especially in the United States the voices of opposition are increasingly heard: this is not our business, we need negotiations with Russia to end the war as soon as possible, give Putin what he wants, and the war is over. Even Trump recently stated that he would end this war in a couple of days. How would he end it? Very simply: He would end aid to Ukraine and force onto it peace on Putin's terms, hoping, like Chamberlain, that after that there would be peace for a long time to come. Never before in history has coercing peace led to peace. It's about time we realized that! If we let Putin get even a small fraction of what he wants, it will just take a little time and he or his successor will move again with war, and not only to seize more territory in Ukraine, but also in Poland, Germany, and then all over Europe. To concede to Putin now is not to prevent the war from spreading to other countries. It is a guaranteed step toward the next wars of conquest. This has always been the case; it is in a Russian tradition. Russia is incapable in sustaining a stable productive life; it can exist only in a state of permanent war. As the wise Churchill once said: The baby must be strangled in its cradle. Ukraine, for all its problems and shortcomings, today is an outpost of the free world. Its victory will be a victory over aggressive Russia, which is cancer on the body of humanity. This tumor cannot be persuaded, it must be starved economically or destroyed physically. Defeating Russia, no matter how much it costs, is the only way to prevent a hot WW3, and without military and economic aid from the West and especially from the United States, this is impossible. We have to understand that by helping Ukraine, we are helping ourselves and our children. In recent history we have already seen tragedies more than once, should we repeat past mistakes and turn history into a farce? Only I am afraid that it will not be funny at all.

Jacob Fradens website: www.fraden.com
This year, California was hit by not one, but nine "atmospheric rivers" that drenched the state, flooded communities, and filled reservoirs. The storm fronts are called "rivers" because they concentrate their punch over long, narrow areas. Despite the property damage, the parade of storms was a welcome respite after years of drought.

However, California officials are saying the massive storms have not solved the drought problem. Water customers may be asked to continue conservation efforts. Agricultural users can expect only 30 percent of regular water deliveries.

These drought provisions will continue despite the following:

Tens of trillions of gallons of freshwater that dropped upon the state from the storms;

A snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that is double the size of an average year;

Many reservoirs, especially in the state's northern part, now have over 100 percent capacity;

Rains so intense that they could have filled a reservoir the size of the massive Hetch Hetchy water system that supplies San Francisco once every 24 hours; and

Water districts reporting underground storage replenished by billions of gallons of water.

All these factors should point to surpluses. The long drought should be over. Each atmospheric river provided its share to make California wet again.

But there is nothing like a good crisis to keep things liberal, especially in eco-friendly California. The good news is that the rains dumped tens of trillions of gallons upon the parched land. The bad news is that most of the water ended up in the Pacific Ocean.

California is in a state of a manufactured crisis. The state is known to have seven-year drought cycles. "The science" proves that the present drought was predictable based on past data. It is not the result of global warming or climate change. For decades, state officials capitalized on this knowledge to build a sophisticated water system to supply residents and agriculture in times of need.

Thus, the present crisis should not be happening. However, it is occurring because man-made efforts to harness nature's solutions have suddenly shrunk.

The key to solving the problem of finding enough water in dry California is building essential infrastructure. A growing population and dwindling water storage make for high water bills and shortages. Since the seventies, the state government has slowed down building major water projects. Environmentalists oppose dams, canals, and tunnels that would get the water where it is needed. Projects that even remotely endanger wildlife can be canceled or suffer death by environmental impact studies.

The water system is getting old. Instead of expanding storage, ideologically shortsighted officials are issuing conservation mandates. They are paying farmers to keep over half a million acres fallow to save water that is not in the right place. Overregulation of groundwater pumping also contributes to the shortage. Building dams is not as trendy as green energy projects with zero-carbon footprints.

The effects of such policies cause two big problems. The first is that the failure to arrange water storage flushes precious water into the ocean, despite the drought. It also helps cause flooding when "atmospheric rivers" visit the Golden State.

Because of the expansion of housing into new areas, efforts must be made to keep these areas safe with new water projects. The recent rains caused immense property damage due to a lack of foresight from water management officials.

A second effect is a dramatic rise in water prices. The law of supply and demand has made scarce water very expensive. In some places, spot water prices have quadrupled over the past three years. Some water districts have even resorted to costly processes like desalination and wastewater reclamation to compensate for shortcomings.

Yet another strange twist to the California water "crisis" is that voters have approved water bonds with large margins. Consumers and voters want to solve the problem. However, of the $27 billion approved for water storage and flood control since 2000, only a small percentage makes it to the drawing table, much less the construction company's job list. A Wall Street Journal editorial reports that most funds are repurposed to pet environmental projects. Of the seven water projects now approved by the state, none of them has started. Most are expected to be completed by the end of the decade  if they survive legal challenges.

The first step to solving a crisis is the desire to solve it. Eco-ideologues who oppose human domination over nature don't want to solve this problem. They will use the crisis to pressure society to embrace their Green New Deal world without water.

Image: National Archives.
Kevin McCarthy's bid to win the speaker's gavel should have been a cakewalk with the GOP having a majority in the House. But a few Republican House members used their votes as a tool for negotiation with McCarthy.

The de facto leader of the rebel movement was Florida rep. Matt Gaetz. Last December, Gaetz said, "I'm not voting for Kevin McCarthy for speaker because I think he's just a shill of the establishment. ... We need someone like Jim Jordan as the speaker of the House."

If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge.

I'm not voting for Kevin McCarthy. I'm not voting for him tomorrow. I'm not voting for him on the floor.

I resent the extent to which he utilizes the lobbyists and special interests to dictate how political decisions, policy decisions are made.

Gaetz also made his case against McCarthy on the House floor.



YouTube screen grab.

During the second round of voting, Gaetz nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for speaker, and during the seventh ballot, Gaetz nominated President Donald Trump.

Gaetz vowed to resign from the House of Representatives if "Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican." Gaetz claimed that McCarthy was threatening and pressuring incoming freshmen.

Kevin McCarthy (Establishment-CA) is now reduced to threatening and pressuring incoming freshmen House members to vote for him.



We have the votes to force a change. @RepAndyBiggsAZ makes the case brilliantly here:https://t.co/qpgS2ljzay  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 18, 2022

In the 14th round, it was Gaetz's "present" vote that prevented McCarthy from winning, forcing a 15th round.

Gaetz's antics in the 14th ballot led to a rare display on the House floor, when McCarthy walked up the steps seemingly to confront the Florida lawmaker.

Gaetz seemed to tell off McCarthy while animatedly pointing his finger at McCarthy. McCarthy walked away in dismay, but suddenly turned back around and approached him again, perhaps irked by something had Gaetz said.

Georgia rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that Gaetz and others were using their power of the vote to get plum panel assignments.

South Carolina rep. Nancy Mace (R) called Gaetz a "fraud" for fundraising off his efforts to block McCarthy from becoming speaker.

But Gaetz, who was obviously enjoying the spotlight, insisted that his actions were based on principle.

He voted "present" in the 15th, but with five other holdouts voting "present," the threshold for a majority dropped, and McCarthy was finally able to win a majority.

When Gaetz was asked what prompted him to change his strategy, which allowed McCarthy to become speaker, the Florida congressman claimed that he had "run out" of additional concessions to ask of leadership.

There was nothing wrong with this display. House members are not supposed to function as robots who blindly vote as ordered.

The pressure probably worked.

McCarthy has agreed on some valuable concessions. McCarthy promised to change the House rules to make it easier to oust a sitting speaker. McCarthy also pledged to include members of Congress outside the top leadership having more say over how bills are proposed, amended, and passed. McCarthy has promised to restrict spending and not to raise the debt ceiling. The issue of congressional term limits and border security have been frequent topics of conversation among the Republican holdouts.

These "rebel" Republicans caused McCarthy to achieve the dubious distinction of needing the most voting rounds in the last 164 years to become a speaker.

Some claimed that Gaetz's hostility towards McCarthy emanated from not receiving adequate political support when he was the subject of a sex-trafficking investigation, which was dropped last year.

So how has McCarthy been doing so far? Very promising. McCarthy recently removed Democrat hoaxers Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.

Next McCarthy also plans to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. However, a group of House Republicans has already opposed the move.

I attempted to make a case that the GOP must learn to be fighters and give as good as they get. The Democrats no longer regard them as political opponents but as domestic terrorists, insurrectionists, bigots of all varieties, and traitors. There is no need for the GOP to return back the rulebook of fairness have long been discarded by the Democrats now that they are in a position of advantage.

Monica Showalter in her excellent piece made the case that McCarthy needs to go after these RINOs who vote against the public interest before their numbers multiply. She rightly pointed out that he has a slim ten-vote majority, and experts are predicting that he's in for a tough slog.

Well, who would have thought that the leader of the rebels, Matt Gaetz, who almost blocked McCarthy's bid for speaker, alleging that McCarthy was unprincipled and corrupt, would also join the group that wants Omar to remain on Foreign Affairs Committee?

During an appearance on Newsmax, Gaetz said he is open to listening to McCarthy's case against Omar. Yet he insists he is undecided whether or not he would vote to remove her.

"I am undecided, as of tonight, as to whether or not I would vote to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee," says @RepMattGaetz. pic.twitter.com/qqdT8i8owm  NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 31, 2023

The Democrats have voted unanimously to retain all their party members of their committee assignments. McCarthy can afford only four GOP defections in order to successfully garner the votes needed to keep Omar from holding committee seats.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has said he will be out of D.C. for "several weeks" due to injuries sustained from falling off a ladder. McCarthy abandoned the practice of voting by proxy once he became speaker.

If Gaetz joins House Republican reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Victoria Spartz (Ind.), David Joyce (Ohio), and Nancy Mace (South Carolina), all of whom plan to vote against evicting Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, it will bring the total to six, including the one on sick leave.

Why does Omar not deserve to be on the Foreign Affairs Committee?

Omar is a known anti-Semite who also supports the notorious anti-Israeli BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement. Omar also trivialized the 9-11 terror attacks by claiming that "some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." Omar was also accused of illegal ballot-harvesting,

The choice in this matter is plain as a pikestaff: Omar must go. Yet Gaetz claims to be undecided.

Does he really think Omar deserves a place?

During his Newsmax appearance, Gaetz seems to suggest that Omar is better than Swalwell and Schiff because she didn't peddle as many hoaxes. That is like claiming that arsenic poisoning is better than cyanide poisoning.

Perhaps this is another ploy to torment McCarthy and grab a few headlines before he falls in line and votes to evict Omar from her committees.

When anyone has doubts about an issue that is obvious, the inference is that the individual is either vacuous or nefarious.

These are qualities you do not want in any congressman, especially since Gaetz claims to be a man of principles.

It also makes Gaetz seem like a hypocrite, for violating the very principles he opposed McCarthy. Draining the swamp is impossible with Ilhan Omar on a committee.

Rep. Matt Gaetz had been making the rounds on the D side today talking to members. He told Rep. Omar the anti-Kevin group got all they wanted but still werent voting for him yet, per source familiar



Photo cred to Getty/Win McNamee pic.twitter.com/KOV3FVLlXv  Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) January 6, 2023

I hope Gaetz will abandon these theatrics and focus on the MAGA agenda.

The stakes are simply too high for frivolities!
Most journalists have been pushing an agenda for a long time instead of reporting objectively or based on facts. This includes news and opinion journalists.

Now, we see a Washington Post article saying that the media can regain the trust of the people even if they intentionally are not objective. But if the media are pushing ideas on social policies and political activity, they are propagandists, not journalists. They are seeking to indoctrinate instead of educate their readers.

Newsrooms that move beyond objectivity can build trust What's needed for each are clear and consistent policies regarding social media and political activity. By Leonard Downie Jr.

The media, government bureaucrats, and other Democrats pedaled lies about Russian collusion for years to destroy Trump. That was not subjective reporting. Those were intentional lies.

In 2020, the media, government bureaucrats, and other Democrats buried the truth about Biden family corruption by falsely calling it Russian disinformation. Those were intentional lies, not subjective reporting.

Democrats have challenged elections for years. Yet, the media did not call them far-left, extremist, election deniers who were seeking to destroy our country and who should not be allowed to hold office. The name-calling was reserved for Republicans, especially Trump. That was subjective and biased reporting meant to mislead the American people.

The media went along when Biden falsely called voter integrity laws Jim Crow laws. The lies were meant to gin up racial hate and division.

No matter how much the CDC and Fauci got wrong, the media pretended that everything they did was based on science and set out to silence anyone who disagreed with them. People who didnt take an experimental vaccine that did not prevent the virus were said to want people to die and were fired. That was supported by subjective and biased reporting.

How many children were permanently harmed due to government edicts that were not based on science yet were supported by a very compliant media?

In 2009, President Obama went around the country intentionally lying about Obamacare. The complicit media supported Obamacare even though they had no idea what was in the law. Pelosi wouldnt even let her minions in the House see the bill before they voted on it, so how would a truthful media support it?

The Obama administration used the complicit media to spread lies to get the dangerous deal done with terrorists in Iran who continue to pledge death to America.

No matter how many false predictions the UN, Biden, Kerry, Gore, and others make about natural resources causing an existential threat of climate change, the media just repeats the false predictions and calls it settled science. People who tell the truth that the climate has always changed cyclically and naturally are falsely called climate change deniers to shut them up.

These false predictions are greatly harming the poor and middle class, but the subjective and biased media clearly don't care.

The media claims they care about laws and corruption, but they campaign for corrupt, career criminals like the Bidens and the Clintons.

The media claims that no one is above the law and the Justice Department is now an independent agency that doesnt care about political affiliation. That is the biggest lie of all.

The media is properly attacking Santos for his fictional biography, but they have never cared about Bidens fictional biography that seems to change every day.

Journalists who believe it is their job to push a political agenda instead of reporting objectively and factually is a much dangerous threat to our survival as a great country than anyone who challenges elections.

Graphic credit: Nick Youngson, CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
Those of us of a certain age remember well the Cuban missile crisis. I was a student at Toaz Jr. High on Long Island, a fortress of a school built in 1939 from WPA funding.

I remember vividly the assembly in the auditorium when we were told the Russians were putting nuclear missiles in Cuba that could reach major East Coast cities in minutes. Being a mere 30 miles from New York, a possible target, we were terrified at the prospect of a nuclear holocaust capable of wiping us out.

We had air raid drills where we were told to shelter under our desks, as if that would provide any protection (put your head between your legs...you know the rest). We were escorted into the bowels of the building, where there was a concrete tunnel we could use for an air raid shelter, complete with barrels of survival supplies with the nuclear symbol stenciled on them. Some of our neighbors even built their own fallout shelters in their basements.

This was a lot for a 13-year-old's mind to process. What is going on now with Ukraine is a lot for a 73-year-old's mind to process.

Yes, Putin was out of line invading Ukraine. But no, this is not the sword for us to fall on. Zelensky is a petty tyrant, and Putin is a world-class tyrant but this is not our war, and the actions by Congress to throw gasoline on this dumpster fire threaten to make the Cuban missile crisis pale in comparison.

I once had respect for Tom Cotton, but he has fallen off his pedestal  first with his vote for the $1.7-trillion omnibus spending bill, and now with his endless war rhetoric in support of Ukraine. And Senator Wicker? He should be socially castrated for his comments about using nukes as first-strike weapons. Is he out of his cotton-pickin' mind?

Now the talk is of retaking Crimea. Note to Congress: Crimea and a warm-water Black Sea port have been a strategic priority of Russia since Peter the Great established the first Russian navy. What are the odds Putin's going to give it up without a fight  including throwing a few nukes around?

Russia in the 1960s was a nuclear power and a definite threat to us, but Russia today has thousands of nukes and is capable of total world destruction at the push of a button. Why are we poking this bear?

In the classic movie A Man for All Seasons, Thomas More says to Richard Rich, who has perjured himself to convict More of treason, "Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. ... But for Wales?

But for Ukraine?

Image via Public Domain Pictures.
It's hard to find a sweeter and more appropriate verdict than one that was handed down from Philadelphia of all places, in the wanton federal prosecution of pro-life activist Mark Houck.

If you haven't heard, here is the news from the Washington Examiner:

A jury has reportedly acquitted Pennsylvania pro-life activist who was accused of allegedly pushing a Planned Parenthood escort during a clash outside an abortion clinic, Life News reported. Mark Houck, 48, faced charges that he violated 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. The charge stems from an Oct. 13, 2021 incident in which the Biden Administration alleged Houck assaulted and "forcefully shoved" Bruce Love, a 72-year-old volunteer at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood.

The circumstances of this prosecution, which I wrote about here, were outrageous -- full FBI SWAT team to make the arrest and cart off Houck, holding him for six hours, case itself deemed so garbagey even the Pennsylvania state proscutors threw the whole thing out years ago, and charges entirely scurrilous, given that the shoving incident came about when the so-called clinic escort came over to a pro-life prayer table located more than 100 feet from a clinic entrance, blocking no one, and began threatening Houck's 12-year old son, who moved behind the table out of fear. The clinic itself had admitted it had spoken to the escort about interfering with others and the guy ignored them. Houck shoved the menace away and the rest became the basis for the prosecution.

The jury was unanimous, taking a mere hour to throw this crap case out, and the judge, Gerald J. Pappert of the U.S. Eastern District of Pennsylvania, gave the stinkeye to the entire prosecutory circus:

Even U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert noted the holes in the DOJs case when he asked the federal prosecutor whether the governments interpretation of the FACE Act in this case seemed to be stretched a little thin.

The whole prosecution was utter garbage, with many pro-life advocates noting that the act was done to intimidate.

Who's doing the intimidating? Joe Biden's White House, of course, which would be the same Joe Biden who hails himself as a "devout Catholic." The same Joe Biden on whose watch churches and crisis pregnancy centers are being firebombed and vandalized with no consequences to the thugs.

His hypocrisy is pretty big in this one, given the damage done with a vindictive prosecution so flawed even a Philly jury wouldn't go along. They must have thought they had it in the bag, and they didn't.

Meanwhile, President Devout Catholic, as if to take the public's mind off this outrageous abuse of government power on his watch, was last seen claiming the pope was on his side in his federal funding for abortions.

A bishop called bee ess on that one. Here's the headline from Steven Ertelt at LifeNews:

Well done all around. Let's see more of this as some kind of balance to the insane abuses of power around the pro-life and abortion issue.

Image: LBJ Library photo, by Jay Godwin // public domain
As if the cost alone weren't enough to make the millions of illegal migrants brought in by Joe Biden's open borders unpopular here, the ingratitude and entitlement mentality of these illegals now seals the deal.

According to National Review:

More than 50 migrants camped outside the Watson Hotel in Manhattan in protest on Sunday night as the city sought to move the single male migrants to a new shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to make space for migrant families. The new shelter holds as many as 1,000 single adult men and provides the same services the migrants had been receiving, city officials told the New York Post. The shelter is the fifth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center to open in the city since last year.

As for their demands, well, they let us know in this Twitter image below:

Just passing by the Watson Hotel this morning where migrants are refusing to leave to be relocated to a city shelter. The sidewalk in front looks like a tent city https://t.co/mibn2qtpWb pic.twitter.com/6KTohbABcV  Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) January 30, 2023

The translation is "Permanent Housing" followed by "Cancel Rent." Getty Images has an excellent collection of similar images worth a look here.

The New York Post noticed a funny resemblance in the migrants' demands and left-wing NGO sloganeerings.

Dont blame the migrants, blame the lefty activists filling them with nonsense

There's no arguing with that.

But there's more to it than just leftists putting ideas into empty migrant heads. News reports say that many of the migrants refusing to move are Venezuelan, denizens of the country that was turned into a socialist dump by the late unlamented Hugo Chavez who really had a thing against private property, or paying at all for anything. The sign featured above has a small Colombian flag and that country has significant cultural crossover with Venezuela, as well as its own newly elected Chavista president, the loathesome leftist ex-guerrilla, friend, and imitator of Chavez, Gustavo Petro.

Odds are good that these migrants demanding as beggars to be choosers of what kind of "free" housing they expect to get were infused with that entitlement mentality from the day they were born, because entitlement to housing was pretty much all they ever heard about the topic from their socialist leaders in that free press-deprived hellhole.

Let's look at the tape:

In 2012, Venezuelanalysis, a Chavista press organ, ran this headline about Chavez's intentions:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made a commitment that every Venezuelan family must have a dignified home by 2019 whatever it costs.

Money, see, is no object. Sound like New York City, which has made similar promises to migrants, in its self-proclaimed obligation to shelter every illegal entrant at taxpayer expense?

More than 42,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring and we continue to surpass our moral obligations as we provide asylum seekers with shelter, food, health care, education, and a host of other services, City Hall spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement.

Sort of. No wonder the migrants put two and two together and now call for free "permanent housing."

It gets worse.

Over in Venezuela, the locals have been infused with a "right" to housing from the Chavista government and its shills for many years. Here are a couple of whoppers from the pro-Chavez, Chavismo-aligned press to give you the flavor:

In Venezuela, the Right to Housing is Made Possible by the Revolution -Orinoco Tribune, 2019

The right to housing for working families is fully protected, in stark contrast to a past in which people were thrown out onto the street by capital with the complicity of the State. -Resumen LatinoAmerica and the Third World, 2021

As for Chavez himself, it gets worse still. Here's what Hugo encouraged in his quest to turn Venezuela into a socialist "sea of happiness" as he once put it:

Chavez tackles housing crisis by urging poor to squat wealthy parts of Caracas -The Guardian, 2011

Wearing red T-shirts from Hugo Chavez socialist party, and encouraged by the Venezuelan strongman himself, organized squatters seized 20 unused private properties in a suburb of Caracas in an attempt to keep angry slum dwellers from turning against him as the middle class is already doing. The fundamental goal of socialism is to satisfy human needs  the needs of all, equally, without privilege, Chavez, who sent 1,600 troops to seize 47 private farms, told Venezuelans during one of his mandated national television broadcasts. -San Francisco Examiner, 2011

..and not just once, either:

Caracas Journal; The Squatters Have Their Day, Shaking Venezuela -New York Times, 1999

Might that call to squat from the authority in charge have influenced these Venezuelan migrants to squat at a Manhattan hotel? It certainly would be something they would be familiar with.

Here's a famous "fruit" of Chavez's famous call to squat:

The tallest slum in the world: Venezuelan skyscraper made famous by TV thriller Homeland has 45 floors, a helipad and large balconies with wonderful mountain views... but is home to squatters -Daily Mail, 2014

Predictably, Chavez blamed capitalism as justification for residents squatting on private property, and naturally, he refused to prosecute the squatters.

The Venezuelan government itself, which bills itself as Bolivarian socialist, features this pull-quote on its housing page from Hugo himself.

Via Google Translate:

"The housing problem has no solution in capitalism, here we are going to solve it with socialism, and more socialism, live by living, for that the Great Housing Mission Venezuela was born." Chavez, 2011.

So logically, the migrants' call for free housing is not just the words of activists in their mouths, but a call to socialism, the socialist paradise that somehow didn't happen in Venezuela. And yes, Hugo did build "free" government housing, or tried to, flinging it around like confetti.

Here's how that worked out, by one of Venezuela's greatest bloggers, Daniel, of Venezuela News & Views:

Image: By permission from Daniel

In 2007, Daniel wrote:

Because the fact of the matter is that the pent up demand for housing access, no matter how humble this one might be, is reaching dramatic proportions. And the government does not realize that no state controlled society has never been able to solve the problem. The only societies that have come close to solve it are those which are able to provide decent jobs at decent wages, something impossible in Venezuela today as the private sector is slowly squeezed to death. And even then, such societies report squatters taking over old abandoned buildings all the time. Even if these buildings are a heath hazard, such is the desperation. Venezuela does not escape this phenomena and in fact amplifies it greatly.



Traveling through Venezuela since 2004 shows a stupendous increase of "invasiones". An "invasion" is a group of people that get together and invade some large track of land and build shacks. The idea is to force the state to either expropriate the legal owner of the land to give it to the squatters, or to force the state to give them houses somewhere else to dislodge the land. The strategy is of course well worked out: the lands are ALWAYS close to major roads, and thus quite visible, quite the eyesores. Until 2004 some opposition governor still in office like Salas Feo or Lapi were able to stem such squats, but now that they have been replaced by "people loving" governors the situation has become catastrophic as these governors have no authority to stop such squatting organized from within chavismo itself. Below I am posting a montage I did of such an invasion in Carabobo, close from the very chavista town of Moron.

Which tells us a lot about what the ungrateful migrants demanding free permanent housing in New York have been steeped in. The government tells them free housing is a right, and tells them to seize that free housing as a matter of right, and the whole thing goes to hell in a handbasket.

That's what they heard for years growing up-- on television, on the radio, in the schools, in the streets, and that's what destroyed their country. Now, with this migrant-staged uprising, they are taking that learned lesson into the U.S. as a matter of 'right' and claiming the right to "permanent" housing on top of it.

Image: Daniel of Venezuela, by permission
A higher percentage of eligible voters regularly show up to the polls in Mexico, Brazil, and Slovakia than in the world's pre-eminent and oldest democracy.

The two parties that, in reality, constitute a uniparty duopoly bend over backward to cater to their respective pet voting blocs (racial minorities for Democrats and Evangelicals for Republicans, for instance). But those demographics pale in comparison to the volume of non-voters.

The 2020 presidential election was a banner year for participatory democracy. It turned out a record number of voters (most of them presumably legal, eligible ones), amounting to 62% of the electorate. That's the best it gets participation-wise in the US. The 2022 midterms produced about a 47% turnout.

George Carlin, whom I revere, did a whole hilarious bit in which he blamed the slovenly public for producing terrible politicians, citing the ignorant American population as the reason electoral politics is pointless.

Some percentage of the non-voting population is certainly apathetic or disinterested in politics. And they deserve a share of the blame for the sorry state of affairs, for sure.

Yes, some contingent of the population will always be checked out of participatory politics because they simply can't be bothered to engage in civic pursuits. But a minimum of 38%  on the best of years  of the entire eligible voting public each election cycle? Are they all useless, ignorant slobs who don't appreciate the precious, hard earned right to self-government?

Or is there something more intrinsic to the U.S. political system that dissuades them?

The majority of non-voters are independents who do not identify with either party. Most have no higher than a high school education and also make less than $40K/year. In other words, they're people don't belong to the permanent D.C. political class and don't see their interests represented there.

Less than 30% of Americans approve of the American two-party system. Lots of non-voters, like one interviewed by NPR, don't feel like voting matters at all: "I feel like my voice doesn't matter[.] People who suck still are in office, so it doesn't make a difference."

Can the political system be reformed to counteract this widespread perception that participation is pointless? Here are potential remedies to the real or imagined disincentives for non-voters to participate in the Great American Experiment:

Break the two-party duopoly. The American Conservative published a thorough article on how to accomplish this.

Term limits. The McCarthy refuseniks actually pushed for a vote on this issue as a precondition to elect the new House speaker.

Spotlight the corruption. Require politicians to wear an insignia on their $1,000 suits for every corporation that has funneled money into their campaign, directly or indirectly, like NASCAR drivers. Voters should know whether they're supporting a human being or a mindless corporate robot.

Transparency. Declassify all the documents currently hidden from the public that do not have a legitimate national security justification to remain classified, as determined by some truly independent panel empowered to make such judgment calls. By the government's own admission, up to 90% of these documents would not adversely affect national security if they were released. Their status as classified does not serve "national security"; it keeps the Deep State's dirty secrets hidden from those of us who pay for their dirty deeds to be performed in our name. JFK expressed the essence of this wild notion, and he was rewarded with a bullet in the head.

Of course, reform might a pipe dream. The swamp is so deep at this point that the only true remedy may be to drain it all and start over.

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. Follow his stuff via Armageddon Prose and/or Substack, Patreon, Gab, and Twitter. Bitcoin public address: bc1qvq4hgnx3eu09e0m2kk5uanxnm8ljfmpefwhawv.

Image: Tom Arthur via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Late last night, Miranda Devine wrote an essay thats ostensibly about a poll showing that Americans think that Biden was wrong to brush off the news about his squirreling classified documents as nothing. In fact, most Americans, including Democrats, think what happened is something. But buried in Devines article was well-grounded speculation more interesting than poll results: She believes theres inferential evidence that Hunter Biden was openly selling national security information to foreign governments and corporations.

Devine opens her article, Majority of voters, including Democrats, believe Bidens mishandling of classified documents is a scandal, by discussing a Rasmussen poll asking voters whether they believe that the way in which Biden handled classified documents is a scandal. As you may recall, Bidens only take on the increasing number of classified document finds was that theres no there there and that theres nothing there.

Au contraire said the voters that Rasmussen polled. Those poll results show that 72% of voters, including 55% of Democrat voters, think that Bidens conduct constitutes a scandal. Indeed, 48% believe that its a major scandal.

Hunter Biden turns out to be part of what voters consider so scandalous. Of those polled, 60% believe that Hunter used classified documents in his business deals.

Image: Hunter Biden. YouTube screen grab.

So, did he? Its entirely possible that Hunter did indeed borrow information from Daddy to get money from foreign businesses.

Devine has already speculated, based on her intimate knowledge of Hunters laptop, that one of Hunters emails is so unlike his usual stylepolished, comprehensive, and informed versus semi-literate and with minimal informationthat its probable he copied it right off a classified briefing. What I can throw into the mix is that the language from that particular email, when run through Grammarlys plagiarism checker, does not return any other document on the internet, suggesting that Hunter was copying a document that never saw the light of day.

It turns out, though, that you dont just need to speculate about Hunters sudden high-level research and linguistic skills to be suspicious. Hunter was openly offering foreign oligarchs information that he promised was unavailable elsewhere. Writes Devine:

The classified files Hur is investigating cover Bidens vice presidential years, when Hunter and his uncle Jim Biden were actively monetizing the family name overseas. Some documents reportedly date back to the presidents time in the Senate. [snip] For instance, documents on the laptop from 2011 show that Hunter offered to sell intelligence on Russian oligarchs to the US aluminum firm Alcoa Inc. for $55,000. In internal discussions over Hunters proposal, a senior executive at Alcoa suggested the information was valuable because it would not otherwise be on Government Affairs teams radar. As I previously reported, Hunter offered to provide Alcoa with statistical analysis of political and corporate risks, elite networks associated with Oleg Deripaska (OD), Russian CEO of Basic Element company and United company RUSAL. Alcoa had just signed a metal supply agreement with RUSAL. Hunter promised to provide a list of elites of similar rank in Russia, map of ODs [Deripaskas] networks based on frequency of interaction with selected elites and countries.

Devine has even more information about pricy offers Hunter was making to Russian oligarchs, promising to give them raw data from an elite mapping procedure. As Devine says, How Hunter, 52, a raging drug addict with a voracious appetite for cash during much of his fathers vice presidency, got access to classified information is a matter of national concern.

Its not necessarily beneficial if Biden gets impeached because that allows Democrats to put their chosen 2024 candidate in the White House, first as Kamalas Veep and then, when shes driven out, as President. There is a real incumbent advantage. With the media rhapsodizing about the chosen one, theres a strong likelihood that a credulous public, with help from a gamed election, will keep that Democrat in the White House. Better a lame duck Biden than an ascendent Michelle or Gavin Newsom.

Ultimately, though, assuming a clean 2024 election, it would be a wonderful thing if Biden and his son Hunter were definitively proven (at an honestly conducted trial, of course) to have engaged in criminal conduct and were then sent for a long stay in one of the less nice federal prisons.
Alinskys Rules for Radicals apply to all radicals, including those who take the radical position that patriotic constitutional conservativism is a good thing. Conservatives need to enshrine his sixth rule: Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. Thats the wonderful move the descendants of T.C. Williams made when the University of Richmond deleted his existence.

The University of Richmond is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy. It was founded as a Baptist institution in 1830 and officially became a college in 1843. During the Civil War, its entire student body enlisted in the Confederate Army, while its buildings were a hospital for wounded Confederate troops.

The college fell on hard times after the Civil War and was saved thanks only to a $5,000 donation ($93,332 in 2023 dollars) in 1866 from James Thomas. Thomass papers are at the Duke University Library, which describes him as one of the largest of antebellum tobacco manufacturers. If he wasnt a slave owner, Ill eat mywell, I dont have a hat, but Id eat it if I did. [UPDATE: I don't have to eat my hat.] No schools or buildings, however, carry his name.

And then theres the law school. It was founded in 1870 but got its real boost in 1890 when T.C. Williams, a trustee, passed away, and his family donated $25,000 ($803,999 in 2022 dollars) to start an endowment for the law school. That endowment was so important that, by 1920, the University of Richmond renamed the law school. Up until last year, it was The T.C. Williams School of Law.

What changed in 2022 was the lefts crusade to wipe out the stain of American racism by renaming everything that carried the name of someone associated with racism or slavery in any way. (Im still waiting for Democrats to rename everything associated with Woodrow Wilson, who segregated the federal government.) So it was that The T.C. Williams School of Law will henceforth be called the University of Richmond School of Law.

Image: The entrance to the University of Richmond School of Law by Snapper Tams. CC BY-SA 4.0.

However, the college kept T.C. Williamss money, leading to the beautiful and brilliant thing T.C. Williams descendants have done: Acting via their attorney, Robert C. Smith (also a descendant), theyve demanded that the University return the money, including compounded interest, for a total of $51,000,000. Smiths letter is seven pages long, but Ive distilled the high points:

The Board has insulted the honor of my family. [snip] I can tell you the difference between T.C. Williams and the cancel culture mob. T.C. Williams believed that all men were made in the image of God, and his mission was to love and serve others. [snip] Obviously, the Board is interested in illustrating how virtuous it is to its very left leaning and out of touch political contingency. But how virtuous is it for the University to accept the services and largess of the Williams family for 150 years and then disparage the name of their benefactor? If suddenly his name is not good enough for the University, then isnt the proper ethical and indeed virtuous action to return the benefactors money with interest? At a 6% compounded interest over 132 years, T.C. Williamss gift to the law school alone is now valued at over $51 million. [snip] Against all odds, T.C. Williams amassed a great fortune. [snip] And what did he do with his wealth? He hired thousands of workers, [and] many were blacks and women. Productive work and industry is the only thing that lifts people out of poverty.

Along the way, Smith also explains how idiotic it is to pretend that slavery was confined to America when one of the miracles of America is that an institution that has spanned human existence is no longer present. He also castigates the Board members for their ahistoric ignorance and arrogance in believing that they could have created a better society from humankinds inception, making all other people throughout time moral midgets.

Smith isnt just blowing smoke. Hes talking total war, including investigating the morally superior academics (seemingly including both board members and faculty) who have defamed his family: Satan worshippers, Marxists, people supporting mutilating childrens bodies, anti-free speech absolutists, and vaccine totalitarians.

In closing, Smith demands not only the return of the $51 million that the campus turned its back on when it defamed and rejected T.C. Williams but also the other substantial gifts my family made to the University and the return of this money as well.

And thats how you do it: Make them live up to their own rules. Indeed, considering that the Confederacy-supporting college survived the post-Civil War era only because of a gift from a tobacco planter (which means a 99.999% certainty that he was a slave owner), there are only two honorable actions left to it: Either close the University down entirely and distribute all remaining cash and property to the descendants of those Blacks who worked, voluntarily or not, for T. C. Williams and James Thomas, or oust every employee and student who is not a descendant of slaves and sharecroppers in favor of those who are.
Downsizing the federal bureaucracy is an urgent priority, and an easy first step is in sight thanks to the larcenous behavior of federal bureaucrats who have nominated themselves for swift termination. Jordan Boyd reports at The Federalist:

The bureaucrats committed fraud to get the extra money. It was disturbingly easy:

Thanks to rushed and lax standards, whereby claimants only needed to self-certify they met eligibility requirements when they filed for [pandemic unemployment assistance] benefits, more than $8.8 million in taxpayer funds were funneled to 638 DHS employees unlawfully. FEMAs state workforce agencies also paid out $1.2 million in lost wages assistance to 935 DHS workers who were fully employed. At least 366 of those ineligible DHS officials were actually paid overtime during the period they were approved, receiving up to hundreds of dollars per week on top of normal unemployment benefits.

We must thank Iowas Senator Joni Ernst for publicizing this grift. She noted a 2022 report from the DHSs Inspector General and has urged prosecution, recovery of the stolen money, and firing in a letter to Michael Horowitz, chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

I know that this will shock you, but this is not the only (or maybe even the largest) Covid relief fraud by federal employees.

Already, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), an oversight committee within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, determined that tens of thousands of federal employees applied for and received Small Business Administration loans even though their status as government-employed disqualified them from taking the handout. Ernst, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, noted in her letter that the PRACs investigation into loans is ongoing and could yield even more deception and taxpayer money wasted by government workers.

And its not just federal bureaucrats who have been grifting.

Hundreds of state and local government staff in Georgia, Indiana, and Louisiana also defrauded taxpayers.

Hundreds in just three states translates to thousands nationwide.

A bureaucracy staffed by crooks... why am I not surprised?

Photo credit: Jericho CC BY 3.0 license
The city of Dundee on the Firth of Tay, on the east coast of Scotland, was a major whaling port in the 19th century. But few locals had actually seen a whale. That changed in late 1883 when a humpback whale began to frequent the coast, often swimming up and down the River Tay in search of food. The attraction to the river was the young herrings with which the firth was abound at that time. For several weeks, starting from early November, the humpback was seen in this vicinity entertaining inhabitants with its gymnastic performances and enticing whalers whose fleet was laid up in the harbor for the winter. After a few days, the whalers decided to catch this potential profit that had presented itself on their doorstep.

A postcard of the Tay Whale. Photo: David McGreevy/Flickr

For six weeks, the whalers tried in vain to conquer the beast that had earned the nickname Monster. Several times the whalers gave chase, but each time the humpback managed to escape. The local newspaper, the Dundee Courier, gave a blow-by-blow account of these attemptsThis monster still continues to keep several members of our whaling fleet on the alert, wrote the newspaper on 12 December 1883.

Finally, on 31 December 1883, the quarry was struck by several harpoons. The mighty beast, though injured and heavily bleeding, showed great strength and endurance by towing two six-oared rowing boats and two steamboats up and down the estuary. A great excitement ensued when news broke out of the successful harpooning and a large number of people began to line up the coast and the estuary in order to view the ensuring battle. Others piled up on whatever boat was available and began following the chase. By evening the whale had headed out to open sea, dragging along the attached flotillaits captors firmly holding on to the lines with hopes of landing the monster. After an all-night struggle, the lines were reluctantly parted, and the whalers returned home tired and empty handed, but convinced that mortal injury had been done.

A week later, the whales carcass was found floating 6 miles off the shore. Some fishermen from Gourdon towed the whale to Stonehaven and dragged it onto the beach. John Struthers, an anatomist at the University of Aberdeen, who never missed an opportunity to dissect whales, quickly arrived at the site. Struthers measured that the whale was 40 feet in length from the snout to the tail, and about 23 feet in girth at its widest part.

The Tay Whale, from John Strutherss Memoir on the Anatomy of the Humpback Whale, Megaptera Longimana.

Struthers wanted to have the whale for himself, but for that to happen, he would have to outbid everyone else at the open auction. An intense competition of bids ensued between Professor Struthers and John Woods, an entrepreneur from Dundee and an oil merchant, better known as "Greasy Johnny". In the end, it was Woods who made the final bid, buying the 16-ton cetacean for 226. However, it was arranged that Struthers would eventually take possession of the whales skeleton for anatomical purposes once Woods was done.

Woods had the whale removed to Dundee, where he expected to put the monster on display. Several thousand spectators gathered at the dock at the dead of night to watch its arrival. The massive carcass was hauled to Woodss scrap yard in a bogie pulled by twenty horses. The effort crushed two heavy-duty lories and almost turned the whale carcass into a spectacular funeral pyre when a naptha flare, used to light up the area, was knocked over and set some loose oil on fire. These mishaps delayed progress, and the half-mile journey took 26 hours to complete.

Woods immediately placed the whale carcass on public display and charged visitors a shilling for a view. On the first Sunday alone, 12,000 people came to view the exhibit, and over the next fortnight, some 50,000 people had seen the whale. The exhibit also inspired a poem by William McGonagall, a poet with a regrettable reputation for outrageous compositions. The Famous Tay Whale is no different. Two of the versus run:

And my opinion is that God sent the whale in time of need,

No matter what other people may think or what is their creed;

I know fishermen in general are often very poor,

And God in His goodness sent it drive poverty from their door. So Mr John Wood has bought it for two hundred and twenty-six pound,

And has brought it to Dundee all safe and all sound;

Which measures 40 feet in length from the snout to the tail,

So I advise the people far and near to see it without fail.

By late January, the whale had been dead for nearly four weeks, and even in the cool Scottish winter, the carcass had decomposed to such an extent that there wasnt anything recognizable left except its tail. The smell itself was beginning to keep visitors away.

The Tay Whale, from John Strutherss Memoir on the Anatomy of the Humpback Whale, Megaptera Longimana.

Realizing that there was no more money left in the spectacle, Woods invited Struthers to perform a dissection on the famous specimen. Struthers, who was no alien to stinking carcasses, arrived with two of his assistants to discover that Woods had made the dissection public and was charging people for a view. Surrounded by a crowd and a band playing in the background, Struthers opened the animal and found the viscera to be completely decomposed and turned into a pulp. When Struthers tried to reach out for the heart, his hands went through. Struthers salvaged parts of the vertebrae, sternum, ribs and hyoid for detailed examination and then at Wood's request,the remains were embalmed, a wooden backbone and frame introduced, and the whale stuffed and stitched back to its original form.

The partially-taxidermied whale then went on a road trip through Edinburgh, Liverpool, London and Manchester, where it was displayed to awestruck audiences, before returning to Dundee in August, seven months after the whale was killed. Struthers was invited back to complete the removal of the skull and the remaining bones.

Struthers eventually wrote seven anatomy articles over the next decade on the whale, and ultimately published a complete monograph on it in 1889, entitled Memoir on the Anatomy of the Humpback Whale, Megaptera Longimana.

The whale's skeleton is now on display at the McManus Galleries in Dundee.

Skeleton of the Tay Whale at the McManus Galleries in Dundee. Photo: VisitScotland/Kenny Lam

References:

# The Tale of a Whale, McGonagall Online

# Williams, M. J. Professor Struthers and the Tay Whale, Scottish Medical Journal

# John Struthers, Memoir on the anatomy of the humpback whale, Megaptera Longimana, Archive.org
Google Chrome will continue to get better in 2023. According to a report by 9to5google, the popular browser app will get a refreshed look this year, making its design more user-friendly. The update is still in the works, but we can quickly look

at what Google wants to roll out in the coming months. It was first in November that some sources reported Google is working on an interface update for Chrome.

The changes first appeared on Chrome Canary and then found their way to the latest Chromium builds. Of course, the option to see the interface refresh is disabled by default, but you can activate it by a flag (chrome://flags/#chrome-refresh-2023).

Google Chrome gets a new look in 2023

The updates to the Google Chrome interface are not that prominent but give a modern look to the browser. After enabling the update, youll notice that the background tabs have a slight blue tint.

Additionally, there is a more distinct separation between the tabs and the omnibar. The second visible change is the bookmarks interface with rounded text boxes and buttons. The current shape of these boxes is rectangular.

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Yet, there are all things we know about Googles refresh package for Chrome in 2023. Unsurprisingly, calling the update a refresh means the company is not planning for a major makeover on Chrome.

However, Google might add a few other things, like dynamic theming that chooses the browsers theme color according to the main color of the wallpaper. This is the same thing weve already seen in Material You Dynamic Colors on Android.

The famous tipster Leopeva64 also alluded to a new design for toggle buttons that might be included in Chromes 2023 refresh package. Despite massive efforts from rivals like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome is currently the most popular browser in the market. Likewise, it will continue its reign in 2023. The only downside with the app is its high CPU usage, which might cause issues for users with older devices, but we hope Google finds a solution for it.
OnePlus is distributing updates to its older phones, and the latest to get a new update are the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. However, the company just advised its users not to download this latest update. Winkey W from the OnePlus software team just told OnePlus 9 users not to download OxygenOS 13 F.19.

A lot OnePlus 9 users got this news rather late, as OnePlus staff were off during the Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, this means that several users were able to download the update. The company promptly addressed the community through a forum post. The post currently has 5.6k views, so, hopefully, more people will see this message.

So, whats wrong with OxygenOS 13 F.19?

Theres no use in sugar-coating it; this situation is pretty bad. Those unfortunate enough to install the update will find their devices pretty much bricked. After installing the update, some users found that their devices wont boot at all. It was so bad that the company immediately pulled the update and started working on fixing the issue.

In the meantime, if you installed the update only to have your device soft-bricked, the best thing to do is to take your phone to a OnePlus care center. The company will be able to recover the device with no data loss. Were not sure if youre able to send the company if you dont have access to a care center. You can try contacting the company.

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In other OnePlus news: We may know the name of the OnePlus foldable phones

OnePlus has been gearing up to make its foray into the foldable phone market. While we dont know much about these phones, their potential names have just been leaked. It appears that these phones will be called the OnePlus V Fold and the OnePlus V Flip. Were not sure what kind of specs to expect from these phones, but more details will come on before we get an official announcement.
Samsung has published its final earnings report for Q4 2022 and FY (financial year) 2022. As suggested by its earnings guidance earlier this month, the company suffered a massive profit decline last year, particularly in the final quarter. Its operating profit in the year-ending quarter hit an eight-year low.

According to Samsungs press release, the company generated KRW 70.46 trillion (approx. USD 57.16 billion) in consolidated sales revenue in the final quarter of 2022. While that is a healthy figure comparable with the past years, the Korean firms profits werent up to the mark.

Rising manufacturing costs and component prices meant it only made KRW 4.31 trillion (approx. USD 3.5 billion) in operating profits between October and December last year. That marks a 69% decline from the KRW 13.87 trillion it made during the same period in 2021. It is Samsungs lowest Q4 earnings in the past eight years.

The Korean behemoths operating profits for the full year of 2022 were also lower than in 2021. It made KRW 43.38 trillion (approx. USD 35.19 billion) last year, down 16% from KRW 51.63 trillion in the year before.

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However, a global price increase meant that the annual revenue reached an all-time high of KRW 302.23 trillion (approx. USD 245.18 billion) in 2022. The previous historic high was KRW 279.6 trillion in 2021. Samsungs profit decline despite a healthy revenue increase tells you that the company significantly reduced its profit margin last year.

Weak demand for memory chips affected Samsung badly in Q4 2022

Samsung is the worlds largest vendor of smartphones and memory chips. But, the company makes more money from the latter business. Well, it did until Q4 2022. The Korean behemoth only took home KRW 0.27 trillion (approx. USD 218 million) from the entire semiconductor businesses in the year-ending quarter.

Thats due to the weak demand for memory chips induced by the global economic headwinds that have made consumers spend cautiously. The entire tech industry has been hit hard by this global economic downturn.

Unfortunately, Samsung isnt expecting things to improve anytime soon. The company has already estimated its semiconductor profits to be halved in 2023, which doesnt sound good for its business. It plans to secure profitability this year by optimizing operations and managing costs.

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The firm will also focus on the market for premium products, such as high-end QLED TVs, which usually have higher profit margins. Foldable smartphones should be another area of focus for Samsung. It will launch the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 in the second half of the year. The Galaxy S23 series flagships will arrive tomorrow.
In March, the CEO of TikTok will appear before the US House of Representatives. The social media giant hopes that this testimony will clear the air regarding the issues they are currently facing. TikTok has been going through some tough times with the US government, hence prompting this testimony.

It is no news that in recent times, TikTok has faced a series of governmental bans from the US government on state and federal levels. The ByteDance-owned social media firm has kicked against these bans by the government. On its part, the US government claims that TikTok is a threat to national security, hence warranting the bans.

TikToks CEO is set to face the US House of Representatives panel in March

The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, has agreed to testify before a panel in the US a few weeks from today. This is coming given the current ban the US is putting on TikTok in various parts of the country. Already, all government-issued smartphones are facing a ban which prevents them from accessing TikTok in the United States.

Various states in the country have also moved to ban the social media app on official government devices as well. This ban is a result of security concerns and the effect the content of these apps has on young ones. TikTok has refuted all allegations labelled against it by the United States government.

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The US government claims that TikToks parent company, ByteDance, provides the data of US citizens to the Chinese government. Mr Shou Zi Chews testimony in March will aim at proving these accusations false. The panel will thoroughly question Mr Shou Zi Chew during his testimony to find out more about the activities of TikTok in the US.

The outcome of Mr Chews testimony in March will determine the future of TikTok in the US. Possibly, with a few regulations on the kind of content displayed, TikTok might recover from the ban. In a few weeks, the fate of the popular social media companys business in the US will be decided.
(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 30 - Ireland is to go ahead with health warnings on wine bottles similar to those on cigarette packets, Irish diplomatic sources told ANSA Monday.

Italy has said it will make common cause with France and Spain in trying to block the labels, which warn of links to cancer and harm for the liver due to excessive consumption.

After the tacit approval of the European Commission, Dublin is set to move ahead with the warnings on beer, wine and spirits despite the opposition of Italy and the other major wine producers, the sources said.

"We do not yet have precise dates, but the government is working on it and we will go ahead," they said.

They noted that Irish legislation on the issue dates back to 2018. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 31 - Pope Francis said on a plane flying over the Sahara desert taking him an a trip to the DRC and South Sudan Tuesday that people should spare a thought for the migrants who didn't make it across the desert in their quest for a better life.

The Pope, on his way to the Democratic Republic of Congo, flying over the Sahara desert, asked journalists to think and pray in silence for "all those people who, seeking a bit of well-being and freedom, did not make it".

He also asked them to pray for all those who, trying to reach the Mediterranean, ended up in "lagers (brutal detention camps) and suffer there.

"We pray for all those people", said the Argentine pontiff.

(ANSA).


MADRID - Spain's sea rescue services on Tuesday rescued 171 people sighted onboard three makeshift vessels off the Canary Islands, according to a tweet.



The first two boats, with 117 people onboard, were in the area of the island of Fuerteventura.



The third, carrying 54 people, was instead closer to Gran Canaria.




Kasabians Sergio Pizzorno has said the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series is a beautiful thing as it was confirmed the group is among the star-studded line-up.

Wet Leg, Underworld and Courteeners have also been announced for the music and comedy event, which will be held at Londons Royal Albert Hall in March.

Since 2000, the event has helped raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust and this years series will mark Kasabians fifth performance at the event.

Pizzorno told the PA news agency: Its a beautiful thing because obviously the charity is so close to our hearts, as patrons, weve been part of this.

Sergio Pizzorno told PA the charity concert was a beautiful thing (PA)

(I think it was) 15 years ago maybe, the first one, and its (now) the fifth  so on that level, raising awareness and raising as much money as you can is a beautiful thing.

I cant be thankful enough to be part of it.

The group are ambassadors of the show, having played the first in 2007, before returning in 2009, 2013 and 2018.

Pizzorno teased that there would be some little special surprise during this years show as well as the bands classic futuristic, cyber-rock-electronic sound.

Thats a given, he told PA.

And then theres a few little things that weve got, that were trying to pull together, which, hopefully they will but you know were going to try our best.

Just let it be known the beauty that we will bring and then if there is any little special surprise happens then beautiful.

He added that the charity was special to the group due to its large teenage following, saying that for some to have such a brutal diagnosis at a young age hits home.

Its just that age being a teenager, that is a time growing up where we sort of formed the band, its such a beautiful time in your life and to have something so drastic happen to kids that are just trying to figure their lives out at that point, he said.

Thats a lot of our fan base and so it just hits home, its just that thing of young kids in the crowd, just having the best time of their lives.

The idea that gets taken away, its just brutal and horrendous.

Last August, the group claimed their sixth UK number one album with The Alchemists Euphoria, their first offering since the departure of former frontman Tom Meighan.

Meighan left Kasabian in 2020 after pleading guilty to assaulting his partner Vikki Ager, with his bandmates branding his behaviour as totally unacceptable.

Pizzorno has fronted the band ever since the departure of Tom Meighan in 2020 (PA)

Reflecting on the achievement of the latest album with himself as frontman, Pizzorno said: It was amazing. If Im being honest, like totally honest, it was a relief.

We sort of put our heart and soul into it and we were on a great streak, weve had five consecutive number ones. You sort of go Itll be nice to have another, you dont want to break the streak.

Ive got to say, out of all of this, (its) the one thats meant the most to all of us, because there was a time where we didnt think that we were ever going to be releasing another record so to do it and then for it to be number one was absolutely incredible.

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey, who helped launch the concert series and is also a patron of the charity, said: The generosity of the people who work in the music and comedy industries never ceases to amaze me.

In this, our 21st year, after two years of artists having no shows at all, at a time where the only certain paydays are from live performances, artists are willing to give up their earnings from a London show.

It shows us that miracles are everywhere, but if you cough or sneeze youd miss them!

Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall is taking place between March 20 to 25.

Tickets go on sale at 9.30am on Friday, February 3.
Ministers have been urged to accept that Brexit has added to the UKs economic woes, after the IMF warned the country will be plunged into recession this year.

Labour MP Stella Creasy accused the Government of walking away from questions about how Brexit has impacted the UKs economic outlook.

Treasury minister James Cartlidge faced scrutiny from MPs following the IMFs prediction that the UK economy will contract by 0.6% in 2023 against the 0.3% growth it pencilled in last October.

In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the IMF upped its growth outlook for the global economy, but cautioned that Britain looks set to suffer more than most from soaring inflation and higher interest rates.

In the Commons, Walthamstow MP Ms Creasy said: The minister seems to be walking away from the question about what role Brexit has played in this economic outlook and I can understand why, because over half of his own constituents think it was a mistake.

These benefits of Brexit seem to be like a toddlers imaginary friend. Ministers keep talking about them, but only they can see them.

She added: The Prime Ministers spokesman today told us that we are now seeing significant benefits from Brexit, so will the minister set the record straight?

Can he explain to the small businesses in our constituencies who used to be able to export with ease to the European Union, a single market, where they now face a better deal than they did before?

Treasury minister Mr Cartlidge stressed the importance of Solvency II reforms and said that alcohol duty reform planned later this year was only possible because of Brexit.

Treasury minister James Cartlidge faced scrutiny from MPs following the IMFs forecast (James Manning/PA)

He added: I think the most important by far was when we were faced with the greatest challenge outside of wartime in this country, in the pandemic, this country was able to move fast with an amazing vaccine programme because of its independence, which reduced deaths and freed up our economy, and allowed us to reopen and get growing again.

Other opposition MPs also called on the Government to acknowledge the impact of Brexit on the economy.

SNP MP Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) told MPs about a cafe near Parliament which had a notice in its window reading breakfast only today sorry, we are badly understaffed.

He added: That seems to chime with the findings of UK in a Changing Europe that there is a 300,000 shortfall of workers as a result of Brexit and the end of freedom of movement. It seems that Brexit really does mean breakfast after all.

So will the Government not admit that it is Brexit that has taken the UK economy out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Mr Cartlidge said the Government was proud to have almost the lowest unemployment for the best part of 50 years.

He added: Of course that does present challenges when you have a tight labour market, that is why we think the best way forward is to ensure we have the apprenticeships, the skills, the training to ensure that we can deliver the workforce to meet our growth ambitions.

Labours Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) also claimed that the minister failed to mention the former prime minister (Liz Truss) and her chancellor crashed the economy on top of the uncertainties of the previous years, following the failure to get a decent deal after Brexit, which has hit our economy with a 4% hit on output.

Elsewhere in the debate, DUP MP Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) said the Northern Ireland Protocol was continuing to create added uncertainty for traders there.

She said: Investment to drive growth is now being stalled as we await a new agreement. Does the Government recognise the need to urgently restore the integrity of the United Kingdoms internal market to assist economic growth in Northern Ireland and does he commit to doing that?

Mr Cartlidge stressed that work is happening across departments in terms of the protocol.
Senior Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned against being too snowflakey over bullying allegations as he defended Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.

Rishi Sunak has refused to suspend Mr Raab despite the number of allegations to his bullying inquiry reportedly swelling significantly and being added to by a former top civil servant.

The Prime Minister has been under increased pressure after he sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman following a furore over his tax affairs.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have urged Mr Sunak to suspend Mr Raab while he is under investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.

Reports suggest that former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Simon McDonald has given evidence to Mr Tolley as a witness.

The two other permanent secretaries who worked with Mr Raab while he held Cabinet positions have now also been interviewed, according to The Guardian.

The newspaper has also reported that at least 24 civil servants, and perhaps more than 30, are involved in formal complaints. Mr Raab denies allegations of bullying.

Mr Rees-Mogg said it is completely sensible for Mr Raab to remain as Mr Sunaks deputy, and Justice Secretary, while under investigation.

The former Brexit opportunities minister and Commons leader told Sky News: I think weve got to be slightly careful about the bullying allegations.

We mustnt be too snowflakey about it. People need to be able to say this job has not been done well enough and needs to be done better.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab (PA)

Its a very difficult line to judge. Its not a straightforward issue in most cases. Its how did somebody react, what did somebody say, is it reasonable to demand from senior and well-paid professionals a level of good service? And then you have to judge whether that line has been overstepped.

Mr Rees-Mogg backed then-PM Boris Johnson for keeping Priti Patel on as home secretary despite her being found to have broken the ministerial code over bullying allegations.

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union representing senior civil servants, said: Even by Rees-Moggs standards this is outrageous.

A former leader of the House trivialising bullying that we know has ruined lives and careers.

Not only should he be ashamed of himself but his leader and party should distance themselves from this.

Labours shadow Cabinet Office minister Florence Eshalomi added: It speaks volumes that Jacob Rees-Mogg is seeking to belittle the serious claims of bullying and intimidation that have been made against the Deputy Prime Minister.

He should be ashamed of himself. If Rishi Sunak was serious about his zero-tolerance approach, he would distance himself and his party from Jacob Rees-Moggs remarks.

Last week, No 10 insisted the number of formal allegations against Mr Raab remained at eight but could not rule out each complaint including multiple accusers.

Speaking during a Cabinet awayday at his Chequers grace-and-favour retreat, Mr Sunak said he will await the outcome of Mr Tolleys investigation before taking any action.

I appointed an independent investigator to have a look at that matter. Ill wait for that independent investigator to complete that investigation and report back to me, he said.

Last week, Mr Raab insisted he is always mindful of the way I behave.

Im confident I behaved professionally throughout, and of course the Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, he told the BBC.

Angela Rayner claims the PM is too weak to do anything about Mr Raab (PA)

The investigation centres on when Mr Raab was foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.

Last year, Lord McDonald alleged Mr Raab was so demeaning and abrasive to junior colleagues that many were scared to enter his office.

Colleagues did not complain to me formally, it was kind of their professional pride to cope, but many were scared to go into his office, the crossbench peer told Times Radio.

His sort-of defence was that he treated everybody in the building in the same way. He was as abrasive and controlling with junior ministers and senior officials as he was with his private secretaries.

Mr Sunak has pledged to take whatever steps are necessary to restore the integrity back into politics.

But Downing Street would not be drawn on whether the Prime Minister was told of informal concerns about Mr Raabs behaviour when he made him his deputy.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said Mr Sunak had the requisite information needed to make the appointment and had acted swiftly by appointing Mr Tolley to investigate once formal complaints were made.
Britains train services will be hit by strike action on two days this week.

Train driver members of Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out on Wednesday and Friday in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Here is a breakdown of each operators plan for strike days:

Avanti West Coast is among the operators running no services on strike days (Luciana Guerra/PA)

 Avanti West Coast

No trains will operate.

 c2c

Services will be unaffected.

 Caledonian Sleeper

Services will be unaffected.

 Chiltern Railways

No trains will operate.

 CrossCountry

Planned industrial action by the ASLEF & RMT Unions, which is affecting drivers only, on 1 & 3 Feb means there will be no CrossCountry services in operation on these dates. Please seek alternative modes of transport. Visit our Disruption page for info https://t.co/Pkb9MtHcXS pic.twitter.com/Ttog9NDXEC  CrossCountry trains (@CrossCountryUK) January 25, 2023

No trains will operate.

 East Midlands Railway

No trains will operate.

 Elizabeth line

Services will be unaffected.

 Gatwick Express

No trains will operate.

Services to Gatwick Airport will be hit (Gareth Fuller/PA)

 Grand Central

Services will be unaffected.

 Great Northern

No trains will operate.

 Great Western Railway

Many Great Western Railway trains are cancelled (Andrew Matthews/PA)

An extremely limited service will operate, and only between 7.30am and 7.30pm.

The only routes served by trains will be: Between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads; between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff; between Reading and Basingstoke, Oxford and Redhill; between Swindon and Westbury; between Exeter St Davids and Exmouth and Paignton; between Plymouth and Gunnislake; and between Penzance and St Ives.

 Greater Anglia

A very limited service will operate with one train per hour in each direction between London Liverpool Street and each of Norwich, Colchester, Cambridge and Southend Victoria.

Services will start from 8am and finish earlier than usual.

No other routes will be served by trains.

 Heathrow Express

No trains will operate.

 Hull Trains

Services will be unaffected.

 London North Eastern Railway

An extremely limited timetable will operate.

It will run just five trains in each direction between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, with a handful of other services.

 London Northwestern Railway

No trains will operate.

Some operators will be running very limited services (Victoria Jones/PA)

 London Overground

Services will be unaffected.

 Lumo

Services will be unaffected.

 Merseyrail

Services will be unaffected.

 Northern

No trains will operate.

 ScotRail

Services will be unaffected.

 South Western Railway

The operator intends to run a full service on the mainland but there will be no trains on the Isle of Wight.

 Southeastern

No trains will operate.

Southeastern will not run any trains on strike days (Gareth Fuller/PA)

 Southern

No trains will operate.

 Stansted Express

One train per hour will run in each direction between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport.

 Thameslink

No trains will operate.

 TransPennine Express

No trains will operate.

 Transport for Wales

Services will be unaffected.

West Midlands Railway

No trains will operate.
The latest grim forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees Britain fare worse than every other major economy as it appears to be suffering a bigger blow from the cost-of-living crisis.

Here we look at what is behind the IMFs pessimism for the UK economy and how worried we should be.

 Why is the UK performing worse than other countries?

The IMF believes the UK will suffer a 0.6% contraction over 2023, predicting that it will be the only one of the major economies tracked in its report to suffer a recession.

It had a stab at explaining why it believes the UK is the outlier, suggesting it is down to three main factors.

Firstly, the UKs reliance on natural gas, which has seen prices skyrocket since Russias invasion of Ukraine. This has pushed up inflation, which hit 11.1% last October and is still above 10%.

Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey (Leon Neal/PA)

The IMF also believes that Britains employment levels have also not recovered to those seen before the pre-pandemic struck, which has left the UK with staff shortages and a high level of so-called inactivity, in turn impacting upon overall productivity and output.

Lastly, it reckons that the UK has had to raise interest rates at a faster pace than other countries, because of the sky-high inflation, and that this is putting further pressure on the economy.

With a number of UK borrowers still on variable rate mortgages, albeit far less than in the past, this has hit their pockets hard and will further constrain consumer spending.

Advanced economies will grow at 1.2% in 2023, a sharp decline from 2.7% in 2022, before rising to 1.4% in 2024. About 90% of advanced economies are projected to see a decline in growth this year. https://t.co/4ifKc9pKeL #WEO pic.twitter.com/9HwYfVkvhf  IMF (@IMFNews) January 31, 2023

 Has Brexit played a part in all this?

Labour certainly believes the UKs exit from the EU has impacted our economy.

While it is unclear how much Brexit has affected gross domestic product (GDP) directly, there are many reports and anecdotal evidence from companies suggesting the shrinking workforce is largely down to the EU withdrawal.

 How about last years disastrous mini-budget?

It has been widely acknowledged that last Septembers ill-fated mini-budget under former Prime Minister Liz Truss and the market turmoil that followed have left the UK facing higher mortgage rates than would otherwise be the case  dubbed by many as the Truss Premium.

Given that the IMF points to the unhelpful pressure on households by higher mortgage rates as one of the reasons for the UKs under-performance, this would suggest that some of the economic pain may be down to home-grown problems.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Aaron Chown/PA)

 How seriously should we take the IMFs prediction?

It is important to remember that the IMF forecast is just that  a forecast. And forecasts can be wrong, as the Government has been quick to point out.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt rebuffed the IMFs latest pessimism, stressing that many predictions about the UK economy last year proved to be wrong.

It is true that the IMF has upgraded its predictions for the UK economy in 2022 twice since last July.

It predicted growth of 3.2% in July, then 3.6% in October and now 4.1% in its latest report  which would see the UK top of the league among the G7 nations.

 The IMF projects global growth to fall from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, and then rise to 3.1% in 2024. Inflation is peaking amid low growth. Read our analysis in the World Economic Outlook Update. https://t.co/4ifKc9qi4j #WEO pic.twitter.com/5tdSaw0Q81  IMF (@IMFNews) January 31, 2023

Mr Hunt said last week in his first major speech that declinism about Britain was wrong in the past and it is wrong today.

But the IMFs forecast adds to mounting fears over the UK economy in 2023, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also warning recently that it believes the UK economy will perform worse than any of the worlds seven most advanced nations in 2023.

 Are there any reasons for optimism?

Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey said earlier this month that the recession was likely to be shallower than at first feared.

The Bank will give its latest economic forecasts on Thursday when it is also expected to deliver another rate hike, from 3.5% to 4%.

Economists also believe the Bank will upgrade its forecasts for the economy after a stronger-than-predicted performance in late 2022, giving a glimmer of hope for inflation-battered Britain.
In less time than it takes me to write this sentence, ChatGPT, the free artificial intelligence computer program that writes human-sounding answers to just about anything you ask, will spit out a 500-word essay explaining quantum physics with literary flair. .

Once upon a time, there was a strange and mysterious world that existed alongside our own, the response begins. It continues with a physics professor sitting alone in his office on a dark and stormy night (of course), his mind consumed by the mysteries of quantum physics...It was a power that could bend the very fabric of space and time, and twist the rules of reality itself, the chat window reads.

Wow, the ChatGPT answer is both eerily entertaining and oddly educational. In the end, the old professor figures it all out and shares his knowledge with the world. The essay is cool and creepy, especially these last two sentences:

His theory changes the way we see the world and leads to new technologies, but also unlocks a door to powers beyond human comprehension, that can be used for good or evil. It forever changes the future of humanity.

Yes, it could be talking about itself.

ChatGPT ban: Schools nationwide are banning ChatGPT. What we know about the future of AI in education.

ChatGPT in real estate: ChatGPT takes on real estate: Agents say the AI could be a game changer in the industry

What does ChatGPT stand for?

ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is the latest viral sensation out of San Francisco-based startup OpenAI.

Its a free online tool trained on millions of pages of writing from all corners of the internet to understand and respond to text-based queries in just about any style you want.

When I ask it to explain ChatGPT to my mom, it cranks out, ChatGPT is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and respond to natural language text, just like a human would. It can answer questions, write sentences, and even have a conversation with you. It's like having your own personal robot that can understand and talk to you!

A screengrab of ChatGPT answering a question about what it does

ChatGPT is free. Try it yourself

The easiest way to get a picture of its powers is to try it out for yourself. Its free, you just need to register for an account, then ask it a question.

You can even prompt it to write something for you  anything really and in any style  from a poem using your childs name to song lyrics about your dog, business taglines, essays, research papers, and even software code. It types out responses in a few seconds and follows up in the same thread if you dont like the first answer.

ChatGPT launched as a prototype to the public Nov. 30, 2022. Within five days, more than a million people were using it.

ChatGPT is a conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI.

By comparison, it took Netflix 3 years to get that many people on board. Facebook didnt crack its first million people for 10 months, and Spotify went five months before it reached that million user mark.

Microsoft confirmed on Monday that its making a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI, and while they didnt disclose the specific dollar amount  its reportedly a $10 billion deal.

No more free Netflix?: Netflix says it plans to halt free password sharing before April

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT was trained in writing that already exists on the internet up to the year 2021. When you type in your question or prompt, it reacts with lightning speed.

I am a machine learning model that has been trained on a large dataset of text which allows me to understand and respond to text-based inputs, it replies when I ask it to explain how it works.

The idea behind this new generative AI is that it could reinvent everything from online search engines like Google to digital assistants like Alexa and Siri. It could also do most of the heavy lifting on information writing, content creation, customer service chatbots, research, legal documents, and much more.

(OpenAI) will provide vastly new potential  at a scale and speed which weve never seen before, reinventing pretty much everything about our lives and careers, says Neil Voss, Co-Founder of augmented-reality startup, Anima. Voss uses OpenAI's system to create AR-based 'creatures' that can talk to their owners.

He and many others predict OpenAIs latest tools will become the most significant since the launch of the smartphone, with potential already being likened to the early days of the internet.

Very quickly, AI will make not only finding information (much easier) but understanding it  reshaping it and making it useful  much faster,  Voss explains in an email.

In a follow-up question about how well use ChatGPT and this kind of next-generation AI in the next year or two, the program highlighted several applications including health care, for things like diagnostics, drug discovery, and personalized treatment plans, and content creation for, human-like text, audio, creative writing, news articles, video scripts, and more.

While some worry computers will push people out of jobs, its the bots' last sentence that raises the most serious red flags.

What are the dangers of ChatGPT?

ChatGPT parrots back existing content, and although it sounds authoritative, it can be flat-out wrong. (We all know by now that not everything you read on the internet is true, right?)

AI cant yet tell fact from fiction, and ChatGPT was trained on data thats already two years old. If you ask it a timely question, such as what the most recent iPhone model is  it says its the 13.

In the past, AI has been used largely for predictions or categorization. ChatGPT will actually create new articles, news items or blog posts, even school essays, and its pretty hard to distinguish between them and real, human-created writing, Helen Lee Bouygues tells me over email.

Bouygues is the president and founder of the Reboot Foundation, which advocates for critical thinking to combat the rise of misinformation. Shes worried new tech like ChatGPT could spread misinformation or fake news, generate bias, or get used to spread propaganda.

My biggest concern is that it will make people dumber  particularly young people, while computers get smarter, Bouygues explains. Why? Because more and more people will use these tools like ChatGPT to answer questions or generally engage in the world without richer, more reflective kinds of thinking. Take social media. People click, post, and retweet articles and content that they have not read. ChatGPT will make this worse by making it easier for people not to think. Instead, it will be far too easy to have the bot conjure their thoughts and ideas.

OpenAIs use and content policies specifically warn against deceptive practices, including; promoting dishonesty, deceiving or manipulating users, or trying to influence politics. It also states that when sharing content, all users should clearly indicate that it is generated by AI 'in a way no one could reasonably miss or misunderstand.

But its humans were talking about. And honesty? Sigh.

Buzzfeed announced Thursday that it will partner with ChatGPT to create content. News site CNET is under fire for using AI to create informational articles in its Money section, without full disclosure and transparency.

A recent survey of 1,000 college students in America by the online magazine Intelligent.com also reports nearly 1 in 3 have used ChatGPT on written assignments, even though most think its cheating.

New York City and Seattle school districts recently banned ChatGPT from their devices and networks, and many colleges are considering similar steps.

How to detect AI written content

In a statement from OpenAI, a spokesperson told us that the company via email that theyre already working on a tool to help identify text generated by ChatGPT. Its apparently similar to an algorithmic watermark, or sort of invisible flag embedded into ChatGPTs writing that can identify its source, according to CBS.

Weve always called for transparency around the use of AI-generated text. Our policies require that users be up-front with their audience when using our API and creative tools like DALL-E and GPT-3, OpenAIs statement reiterates.

A senior at Princeton recently created an app called GPTZero to spot whether AI wrote an essay. But its not ready for the masses yet.

I used an AI content detector called Writer, and it spotted most cases of ChatGPT that I fed it. But some people fear AIs ability to mimic humans will move much faster than techs ability to police it.

Still, the cats out of the bag, and theres no wrestling it back in.

This isnt evil, says Neil Voss. On the other side of this are accomplishments weve only been able to dream of, but getting there is going to be difficult. It is up to us to apply that potential to things that are worthwhile, meaningful, and human.

When I ask ChatGPT to write a sentence about the ethical implications of ChatGPT in the style of tech journalist Jennifer Jolly, it said, "ChatGPT is a technological tour-de-force, but it also raises important ethical considerations, like how to ensure that this powerful tool is used responsibly and for the greater good."

I have to admit, I couldnt have said it better myself.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech columnist. The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ChatGPT has the answers. How does ChatGPT get its information?
FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends a news conference at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 21, 2015. A Santa Fe district attorney is prepared to announce whether to press charges in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie "Rust." Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said a decision will be announced Thursday morning, Jan. 19, 2022, in a statement and on social media platforms. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist have been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, according to court documents filed by prosecutors Tuesday.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed the charging documents naming Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who supervised weapons on the set of the Western Rust.

The filing comes nearly two weeks after she first announced that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed would be prosecuted for what authorities have described as a pattern of criminal disregard for safety. In recent weeks, Carmack-Altwies has outlined two sets of involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the shooting.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed maintain their innocence and have vowed to fight the charges.

Baldwins attorney Luke Nikas declined comment Tuesday and referred to his previous statement on the case, in which he called the charges a terrible miscarriage of justice that he and his client would fight and win.

Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun  or anywhere on the movie set, the statement said. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked.

Gutierrez-Reeds attorney said they would release a statement later.

Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Prosecutors have said that Baldwins involvement as a producer and as the person who fired the gun weighed in the decision to file charges.

The manslaughter charge against Baldwin includes alternative standards and sanctions. One would apply a charge of manslaughter for reckless disregard of safety without due caution and circumspection.

Hutchins death already has led to new safety precautions in the film industry.

Carmack-Altwies told The Associated Press in a Jan. 19 interview that the set was really being run pretty fast and loose and that Baldwin should have known there had been previous misfires on the set and that multiple people had brought up safety concerns.

She added that Baldwin was the one who pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be issued a summons to appear in court. Prosecutors will forgo a grand jury and rely on a judge to determine if there is sufficient evidence to move toward trial. It could take up to 60 days for decision.

Involuntary manslaughter can involve a killing that happens while a defendant is doing something lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or without caution. Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb has cited a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the set of Rust.

Prosecutors also said they will release the terms of a signed plea agreement with assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on the set. Participants in the un-filmed rehearsal have given conflicting accounts of who handed the gun to Baldwin.

Halls has agreed to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon, they said.

Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said in a statement Monday that prosecutors are fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins and "the evidence and the facts speak for themselves.

Baldwin, also a co-producer on Rust, has described the killing as a tragic accident. The 64-year-old actor said he was told the gun was safe and has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded .45-caliber revolver.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the weapon, which discharged.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles, who represents Gutierrez-Reed, said the charges are the result of a flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts.

Defendants can participate remotely in many initial court proceedings or seek to have their first appearance waived.

The decision to charge Baldwin marks a stunning turn of events for an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster The Hunt for Red October and a starring role in the sitcom 30 Rock, as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorseses The Departed and a film adaptation of David Mamets Glengary Glen Ross. In recent years, Baldwin was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.
Eric Sham visits a makeshift memorial on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023 for those killed in a mass shooting at The Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Those killed by a gunman who opened fire at a Los Angeles-area dance hall are being remembered by friends and family for the zest for life that brought them out that night to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Eleven people were killed when a gunman opened fire on Jan. 21 at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a dance hall in Monterey Park that is popular with older Asian Americans.

Its always happy, people just come and have fun, they just love dancing, Peter Phung, a singer who has performed there and frequently stopped by to sing karaoke as well, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Following the attack, the gunman went to another nearby ballroom but was disarmed before anyone was shot. He fled  and on Jan. 22 shot and killed himself.

In the days after the shooting, a makeshift memorial with flowers and photos grew in front of the Star Ballroom. And as of Monday, a GoFundMe organized by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California was nearing $1 million for the families of the victims.

Here are profiles of the 11 people killed:

LILAN LI

LiLan Li, 63, who had gone to the Star Ballroom to celebrate the Lunar New Year with friends, was a pillar of strength and optimism, her daughter wrote in a fundraising campaign.

Stolen is the grandmother whose granddaughter fell asleep many a night nestled in between her loving arms! daughter Min Yi wrote on the GoFundMe website. Taken away from us is an opportunity for her grandson to ever feel her love and warmth!

The post on GoFundMe, organized by her nephew, Hao Hua Tan, said that much of Li's immediate family and close friends live in China, and the family is hoping to raise money to not only help with funeral costs but to also bring them to California for the funeral.

DIANA TOM

Diana Tom, 70, was a hard-working mother, wife and grandmother who loved to dance, her family said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

Her family said that she went to the ballroom to celebrate the Lunar New Year by dancing with her friends.

To those who knew her, she was someone who always went out of her way to give to others, her family said.

Phung, the singer, remembered Tom as very friendly, outgoing, and said that in addition to her passion for dance, she would also frequently perform karaoke at the venue.

Tom's family said that after she was wounded at the Star Ballroom, she was hospitalized in critical condition. She died on Jan. 22.

XIUJUAN YU

Xiujuan Yu, 57, was a married mother of three who worked tirelessly to provide for her family, her niece Kathleen Fong wrote in a fundraising campaign to cover funeral costs.

Yu immigrated about a decade ago from China to the U.S., where she and her family, Fong wrote, "have done their best to make a life for themselves by working odd jobs and taking on labor-intensive occupations to make ends meet.

Fong wrote on GoFundMe that Yu and her husband also were financially supporting their twins college educations at California universities, where they are studying sports medicine and kinesiology.

Now, Fong wrote, her aunt will never be able to witness what she dreamed of for all these years.

Yu, who celebrated her birthday in December, was at the ballroom on the night of the shooting to celebrate the Lunar New Year with friends, but never returned home.

After days of uncertainty, anxiety, and waiting in worry, Fong said, Yu was identified as one of the 11 victims.

Personally, this still doesnt feel real, Yus niece wrote. It happened all too quickly.

Fong did not immediately respond to interview requests from The Associated Press.

MING WEI MA

Ming Wei Ma, 72, was the manager of the Star Ballroom and a talented dancer himself. He was described by those who knew him as always smiling, helping out and making people feel welcome.

He was a genuine, special person who was loved by all, Walter Calderon, a dance instructor who held events there, told The Associated Press.

Calderon said that while Ma didnt speak much English, he conveyed a lot with his facial expressions.

Siu Fong told the AP she would sometimes lead karaoke outings for older people there, where Ma would always say hello to everyone. He would go into my session, and talk to the singers and greet them.

MYMY NHAN

Mymy Nhan, 65, was a regular at Star Ballroom. She had been the main caretaker for her mother, who recently died, and was looking forward to the dance hall's Lunar New Year celebrations as a way to start the year fresh," her niece Fonda Quan said.

It is comforting to know that she enjoyed her last dance, even though it was her last dance, she continued.

Tiffany Liou, a reporter with WFAA television station in Dallas, wrote for the station's website that for Nhan, her husbands aunt, her family was her passion. Liou said that Nhan had no children but loved her nieces and nephews like her own.

She was kind to all strangers. Her warm smile was contagious. She was everyones biggest cheerleader," Liou wrote.

Nhan, who was of Chinese descent, was raised in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. in 1985, Liou wrote.

VALENTINO ALVERO

Valentino Alvero, 68, was remembered as a dedicated family man who loved ballroom dancing and was the life of any party, his family said in statement.

Alvero was a loving father, a dedicated son and brother, a grandfather who loved his three granddaughters fiercely, an uncle who loved his nieces and nephews like his own, his family said in a statement.

He loved people and hearing about their lives and in return, he shared his own stories with so much enthusiasm that you couldnt help but listen and laugh along with him, the family said.

The statement said Alvero, a devout Catholic, loved ballroom dancing.

We hope that he danced to his hearts content until the very end and hope that he is now dancing in heaven, the family said.

WEN TAU YU

Wen Tau Yu, 64, was retired, but he'd recently returned to school to study to be a pharmacist, his son said.

He was 64 years old and retired, but he was exploring his second career, Szu Fa Yu told The New York Times. I really admire him for that.

Wen Tau Yu had immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, where he was a manager at an agricultural company, his son said.

On Jan. 21, the family had gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year before his father went out to celebrate with friends. When his father's friends said he'd never made it to lunch the next day, the family reported to police that he was missing.

Szu Fa Yu said that if his father was a dancer, he didn't know about it.

YU LUN KAO

Yu Lun Kao, 72, was a longtime member of the dance community in Monterey Park, and he was known to practice for hours.

All day long, thats how much he loved dancing, Alex Satrin, an instructor who teaches at Star Ballroom, told The New York Times.

Satrin said that Kao, who also went by Andy, had participated in his group classes and also frequently practiced on his own.

Kao's brother, Alan Kao, told the newspaper that his brother worked in the construction business after coming to California from Taiwan two decades ago.

MUOI DAI UNG

Muoi Dai Ung, 67, who came to the U.S. from Vietnam over a decade ago to be with family members who fled the country in the 1970s and 1980s, was an extrovert who loved to dance, her family said.

Her niece, Juily Phun, told the Washington Post that her aunt came to the U.S. in hopes of building a life here different from the sorrows she had experienced.

On Jan. 21, Ung, who worked multiple jobs, including as a seamstress, had gone to the Star Ballroom to celebrate the Lunar New Year with her best friend.

A statement from Ung's family described her as "complicated, messy, easy to love and sometimes hard to understand from the outside.

This month, Ung's daughter was visiting her from overseas. She came to see her mother, and now she has to bury her, Phun said.

NANCY LIU

Hongying Jian, 62, who was known as Nancy Liu, and her husband Jeff were regulars at the Star Ballroom, their daughter said.

They know everyone, Juno Blees told The New York Times.

The couple emigrated from China more than 25 years ago and did everything together, Blees said. They liked to socialize at the dance hall because the clientele were about their age, and many were also Asian immigrants.

A neighbor, Serena Liu, described Nancy Liu as a very nice, cute, kind person who liked to sing, play piano and go out dancing.

She used to say she can make friends with anyone if she wants, Liu told the Los Angeles Times.

On the night of Jan. 21, Jeff Liu was near the entrance when he witnessed the gunman storm in and open fire. He saw his wife collapse, Blees said.

They got separated and he never saw her again.

Jeff Liu's shoulder was grazed by two bullets. He was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 22.

CHIA LING YAU

Chia Ling Yau, 76, had a passion for music, dance and travel, his family said in a statement, the Washington Post reported.

Yaus family said he was a caring father, uncle, brother and friend who was a happy, fun-loving person. His family said that he was the kind of friend who was generous with his time, and to his children he was generous with words of love and affirmation.

___

Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas and Yamat contributed from Las Vegas. Also contributing to this report were reporters Terry Tang and Amy Taxin in Monterey Park, Calif.; reporter Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and researchers Jennifer Farrar and Rhonda Shafner in New York.
The National Womens Law Center on Monday filed a federal civil rights complaint against hospitals in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois for allegedly denying a Joplin woman life-saving abortion care last year after her water broke at 18 weeks of pregnancy.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights on behalf of Joplin resident Mylissa Farmer, alleges that the hospitals discriminated against her based on her sex, according to a news release.

The release did not say which hospitals the organization filed the complaint against. But Farmer has publicly talked about how she was denied an emergency abortion at Joplins Freeman Health System in August of last year. Farmer said last year that her water broke early during her pregnancy, putting her health at risk.

A representative from HHS did not respond to a request for comment.

Abortion is time sensitive and sometimes life-saving health care, Michelle Barker, Farmers attorney and the director of reproductive rights and health litigation at NWLC, said in a statement. When a hospital offers emergency care to everyone but refuses to provide emergency care that only pregnant people need, that is sex discrimination, pure and simple.

Farmers situation gained a close focus in last years race for U.S. Senate in Missouri, where she was featured in TV ads criticizing then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt for his role in triggering the states near-total ban on abortion. Missouri voters elected Schmitt to the U.S. Senate in November.

Farmer, in a previous interview with the Springfield News-Leader, said she was denied a life-saving abortion procedure at the Joplin hospital in August after her water broke early and put her health at risk.

The newspaper reported that she also visited the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas  where she was told doctors wouldnt be able to perform the procedure.

A representative from Freeman Health System did not immediately return a call for comment on Monday. A representative from the University of Kansas Medical Center also did not respond on Monday.

Farmer, according to the Springfield News-Leader, eventually had the abortion procedure performed at the HOPE Clinic in Granite City, Illinois.

Last October, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services launched an Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act investigation into Freeman Health System for denying Farmer the procedure.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a 1986 federal law, prohibits hospitals with emergency departments from refusing to treat people with an emergency medical condition.

The Stars Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.
Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2019. (Michael Conroy/AP)

Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, widely considered a top-tier potential candidate for Indianas open Senate seat, announced Tuesday that he would not be running, dashing the hopes of the old GOP establishment, much as he did almost a dozen years ago when he declined a bid for the White House.

After what I hope was adequate reflection, Ive decided not to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Daniels said in a statement. With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude its just not the job for me, not the town for me and not the life I want to live at this point.

Danielss decision leaves Indiana Rep. Jim Banks as the lone candidate in the Republican primary for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun  for now.

For a few weeks, it appeared as though Indiana could serve as the stage for a showdown between the old Republican Party establishment embodied in leaders like Daniels, President George W. Bushs former budget director, and the ascendant hard right of the party represented by Banks, who shot to prominence in the Trump era.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., speaks as then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy listens during a news conference in June 2022. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

But after a jaunt through the Capitol last week and meetings with top Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Daniels backed away. He said he would easily win but the fight just wasnt for him.

Daniels made similar remarks when he stepped back from a White House run in the spring of 2011. (Four years later, he amended the comment to say he would have beaten Mitt Romney in the GOP primaries but would have likely lost to Barack Obama.)

Mitch is a rare thinker, the likes of which we may not see again in our lifetimes. He has the ability to challenge the status quo without trashing those who think smaller thoughts, veteran Indiana Republican strategist Mike Murphy tweeted Tuesday. He didn't need to run to be somebody. He is already the most consequential Hoosier of his time.

Daniels has long been seen as a fighter, and during his time as Indiana governor from 2005 to 2013, he picked many fights that seemed impossible  including leasing the states toll road for 99 years with a cash windfall of $3.8 billion and instituting daylight saving time.

As he was leaning toward a White House bid in 2012, Daniels also picked a fight with the states unions  crafting new limits on collective bargaining for teachers and pushing a sweeping overhaul of the states education system and pushing a so-called right-to-work law.

From left: Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, President George W. Bush and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin in 2006. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

His rare ability to drive an agenda as the chief executive of the state bolstered calls for him to run for president and served as a playbook for many top candidates who later jumped in the race in 2016, including then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

But Daniels also struggled with competition. The key determinant in his decision against running in 2012 was his family. After he separated from his wife in the '90s, he raised his daughters in Indiana. He and his wife later reconciled, and she even took on a prominent role in the run-up to a possible 2012 race.

Tim Miller, then a young opposition researcher working for the 2012 presidential campaign of Jon Huntsman, which viewed Daniels as a critical threat, slipped details to reporters about the messy divorce. The day after Daniels announced he wouldnt run, a withering piece detailing their divorce was published in RealClearPolitics.

Its unlikely he would have faced a repeat of 2012 this go-round. Indiana Republicans who spoke with Yahoo News over the past week or so repeatedly said they believed Daniels would run only if the polling backed it up, and the party had changed dramatically since he left office years before Donald Trump overhauled the GOP.

Daniels speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference dinner in Washington in 2011. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

But behind the scenes, opposition research on Daniels was being shopped to reporters again, this time regarding his decade-long tenure as president of Purdue University.

In bowing out of contention, he said he would never have served more than one six-year term in the Senate and would have focused on government spending  his usual territory.

I would have tried to work on these matters in a way that might soften the harshness and personal vitriol that has infected our public square, rendering it not only repulsive to millions of Americans, but also less capable of effective action to meet our threats and seize our opportunities, Daniels wrote.

Of course, getting to that point would have meant surviving a withering campaign filled with the exact same vitriol. The Club for Growth, helmed by veteran Indiana Republican David McIntosh, whom Daniels pushed out of the race for governor in 2004, gave Daniels an early taste of what would have been a grueling battle with an attack ad dubbing him a member of the old guard and supporting big government.

The group then endorsed Banks for Senate.
Russia's war on Ukraine latest: 3 major areas can avoid power cuts, Ukraine says A Ukrainian serviceman looks on in Bakhmut

(Reuters) - Russian has begun a major new assault on the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar that could make local gains but is unlikely to lead to an operational breakthrough, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

CONFLICT

* Ukraine said it had repelled assaults on Vuhledar and Blahodatne, a village just north of Bakhmut. The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, said Russian troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar.

* In an intelligence update, the British ministry said Russia had been assaulting the coal mining town with a force at least the size of a brigade, a unit that normally comprises several thousand troops. "There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough."

* Ukraine's general staff said Russia had carried out air strikes and three missile strikes in the past 24 hours, one of them on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine. It is also continuing offensive operations in the areas of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, it said.

* Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

* Human Rights Watch called on Ukraine to investigate accusations it used thousands of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the eastern city of Izium when Russian forces occupied the area. Human Rights Watch said use of antipersonnel mines violates international humanitarian law because the devices cannot discriminate between civilians and combatants.

DIPLOMACY

* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's bid to rally support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion during his first South American tour fell flat, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterating his view both parties shared blame.

* Ukraine's foreign ministry criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as "unacceptable."

* Ukraine's defence minister is expected in Paris to meet Macron amid a debate among Kyiv's allies over whether to provide fighter jets for its war against Russia, after Biden ruled out giving F-16s.

* Biden said he will visit Poland but does not know when after reports suggested he is considering a trip to Europe to coincide with the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the southern city of Mykolaiv during a rare visit by a foreign leader to a region close to the war front.

WEAPONS

* France and Australia on Monday unveiled plans to jointly manufacture ammunition for Ukraine as the two countries seek to shore up defence cooperation and move past a row over Canberra's decision to ditch plans to buy French submarines two years ago.

* Ukraine's military will spend nearly $550 million on drones in 2023, and 16 supply deals have already been signed with Ukrainian manufacturers, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said.

* Tanks donated by Britain to Ukraine will be on the front line before summer, Defence Minister Ben Wallace said, without giving an exact timetable.

* Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said further supplies of Western weaponry to Ukraine would lead to further escalation of the conflict there and draw NATO members more deeply into it.

(Compiled by Simon Cameron-Moore)
By Andy Bruce

LONDON (Reuters) -Three years after its departure from the European Union, Britain is yet to benefit from the Brexit dividend that was promised for its economy as it lags its peers on multiple fronts, including trade and investment.

Britain exited the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, though remained in the bloc's single market and customs union for 11 more months.

On that day, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country could finally fulfil its potential and that he hoped it would grow in confidence with each passing month.

So far, the opposite has happened, with a range of indicators showing under-performance compared with other economies.

Opinion polls show Britons who regret leaving the EU increasingly outnumber those who do not. A survey published on Monday by news website UnHerd showed this was now the case in all but three of 632 parliamentary constituencies analysed.

The government, led by Brexit-supporting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, says Britain is prospering with new-found freedoms.

Last week, finance minister Jeremy Hunt challenged the talk of decline and said Brexit offered a brighter future with room for measures that will attract investment in areas such as the green economy and tech.

Many economists say leaving the EU is not the sole cause of Britain's woes - the country was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the surge in gas prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine - but it is a factor that can help explain recent underperformance.

"It's been more than a slow burn. It's been a serious reduction in economic performance," said John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform think tank.

"If you impose barriers to trade, investment and migration with your biggest trading partner (EU), then you're going to have quite a big hit to trade volumes, and to investment and to GDP," he said, pointing to a string of dismal economic data.

Britain was the only Group of Seven advanced economy yet to regain its pre-pandemic size of late 2019 at the end of September last year, the most recent period covered by data.

On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund said it expected Britain's economy to shrink by 0.6% this year, in contrast to predictions of growth across the rest of the G7.

Springford estimated that Brexit reduced Britain's economic output - compared with what it would have been without leaving the EU - by around 5.5% as of mid-2022, based on a "doppelganger" model in which an algorithm selects countries whose economic performance closely matched pre-Brexit Britain.

The government's own forecasting organisation, the Office for Budget Responsibility, and the Bank of England also judge there to be a long-running net cost to leaving the EU.

Some economists disagree with the consensus.

Brexit-supporting economist Gerard Lyons, an adviser to online wealth management platform NetWealth and who advised Boris Johnson during his years as the mayor of London, said it was wrong to blame Britain's problems on Brexit.

"Our problems pre-date Brexit," Lyons said, pointing to chronically low rates of investment in Britain. "Achieving the benefits of Brexit very much depends on delivering ... a growth plan - how you can use your levers post-Brexit."

He criticised the doppelganger method of analysis on the basis that some smaller countries selected by the models were inappropriate comparators for a large economy like Britain.

TRADING BLOWS

Trade and investment data point to other Brexit problems.

Exports, especially in goods, have disappointed over the last three years - despite high hopes for a "Global Britain" rebalancing of the economy after Brexit.

Total exports, including services, have grown by less than those of any other G7 country since late 2019.

Boris Glass, senior economist at ratings agency S&P Global, said increased red tape in UK-EU trade had damaged the competitiveness of smaller British manufacturers especially, since they have fewer resources to deal with it.

"It's worth noting that the UK has more small exporters than for example, France or Germany. So in that respect they are disadvantaged," Glass said. "If you are an exporter with 20 employees, then the burden of filling out these forms is very costly. Some of them can't compete at all."

Business investment too has grown by less since the June 2016 Brexit referendum than in the United States, France or Germany, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Some pro-Brexit economists say such statistics ignore the fact that British corporate investment was unusually strong in the years leading up to mid-2016 and was bound to slow. But business survey evidence overwhelmingly points to Brexit as a factor behind weak investment in recent years.

"It's concerning that there doesn't seem to be any kind of pickup in investment. And I think, in order for us to have a durable recovery from the Brexit shock, then we've got to see that rise," Springford said.

Britain still boasts higher rates of employment and lower unemployment than most EU countries but there are some signs that Brexit may have impacted the labour market too.

Business groups want the government to relax its post-Brexit immigration rules as firms are struggling to find workers, something the BoE fears is stoking inflationary pressures.

And unlike most of its G7 peers, Britain's employment rate has yet to recover to its pre-pandemic level.

(Reporting by Andy BruceEditing by William Schomberg and Mark Heinrich)
A Wichita man has been ordered to pay more than $14,000 after being convicted of two counts of Medicaid fraud.

Johnson Kongvongsay of Wichita pleaded guilty in December 2022 to one felony count of making a false claim, statement or representation to the Medicaid program and one misdemeanor count of unlawful acts concerning computers, according to a news release from the Kansas attorney generals office.

Johnsons daughter, 22-year-old Kyla Kongvongsay, pleaded guilty the same month to the same charges. At different times, they had both worked as personal care assistants for a relative who was a Medicaid beneficiary, according to the news release.

They both submitted false claims, stating they were providing care when they were working other jobs, according to the news release.

All together, the father and daughter had committed $30,947.45 worth of fraud, the release said.

Johnson was ordered to repay $14,857.78 to the Kansas Medicaid Program. His daughter was ordered to repay $16,089.67. Both were sentenced to serve 12 months of supervised probation, the release added.
The principal of the Richneck Elementary School in Virginia, where a 6-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher, has been removed from her post as children return to classes Monday, Jan. 30 for the first time since the shooting with new security protocols.

Briana Foster Newton, who was principal at the time of the Jan. 6 shooting, is no longer serving in that role, but is still employed by the Newport News Public Schools, district spokesperson Michelle Price said Monday. Its not clear what her new role is.

Her exit marks the latest in a sweep of departures in the wake of the shooting that saw first grade teacher Abigail Zwerner, 25, seriously wounded in a hand and her chest and hospitalized.

Assistant Principal Dr. Ebony Parker resigned, Price said Friday. The school systems superintendent, George Parker III, was ousted from his job on Wednesday in a 5-1 vote at a school board meeting, effective Feb. 1.

Abigail Zwerner (Abby Zwerner via Facebook)

With the departures of the principal and assistant principal, Karen Lynch, the districts Extended Learning Supervisor and an experienced elementary school principal, will serve as the administrator on special assignment at Richneck, coordinating the students return to learning, Price said.

With the impending exit of Parker, the school board voted to name Dr. Michele Mitchell as the interim Superintendent of Schools to oversee the district of about 26,500 students. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Student Advancement for Newport News Public Schools, the district said.

Back to school: clear backpacks, metal detectors and security officers

School will look a little different for Richneck students returning Monday.

Two permanent school division security officers will be present, two metal detector systems have been installed, doors have been installed in classroom areas without one, and all students will receive clear backpacks Monday, according to the district.

Emotional support services for students, families and staff will continue including in-person services.

Police respond to a shooting at Richneck Elementary in Newport News, VA., on Jan. 6, 2023. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot via Getty Images))

Teacher recovering, lawsuit will be filed

Police hailed Zwerner as a hero saying she was intentionally shot, and despite her wounds, she still managed to safely escort about 20 students out of her classroom.

She was released from the hospital earlier this month and continues to recover.

On Wednesday, Zwerners attorney Diane Toscano announced she will file a lawsuit on her clients behalf. Toscano said that three teachers went to the school administration about the boys behavior on Jan. 6, saying he was believed to have a gun on the campus, but those concerns werent taken seriously.

In one incident between a teacher flagging concern and administrator, an administrator said, wait the situation out because the school day was almost over, Toscano said.

No charges have been announced in the case.

Police Chief Steve Drew has said that the childs mother bought the 9 mm Taurus firearm used in the shooting legally and that the boy took the gun from his home. Whether it was properly secured is a key element in the investigation, he has said.

The family of the boy who shot Zwerner said in a statement the child suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending class with him.

The statement said the gun was secured when he took it from their home but didnt go into further detail.

The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him. We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives, the statement said. Since the shooting, the boy has been in a hospital receiving the treatment he needs, it said.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Russia is making gains in Ukraines Donetsk but facing fierce resistance for literally every metre, according to a Moscow-backed local official.

Administrator Denis Pushilin said that the Russian forces were making advances in Bakhmut, Maryinka and Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, running north to south to the west of Donetsk city.

Moscows gains were not clear-cut, that is, here there is a battle for literally every metre, he said, according to Russias state news agency TASS.

Military analysts have said that Ukraine still controls Maryinka and Vuhledar  which are now on Russias radar after capturing the small mining town of Soledar  and that these areas were witnessing less intense Russian attacks on Monday.

This comes as French president Emmanuel Macron said he has not ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, in a positive sign for Kyiv which has been seeking top notch military aid from allies.

Mr Macron said certain conditions would have to be met by Ukraine before France sent jets.

Key points

France sets conditions on sending jets to Ukraine

Russian business offers cash bounties to destroy Western tanks in Ukraine

Germany warns against arms race

France open to sending fighter jets to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 20:59 , Liam James

President Emmanuel Macron said France was open to sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step might be taken.

France has sent Ukraine air defence systems, rocket launcher units, cannons and other military equipment and has pledged to send armoured surveillance and combat vehicles, but has stopped short of sending battle tanks or heavier weaponry.

Asked at a news conference in The Hague on Monday if France is considering sending warplanes, Mr Macron said nothing is excluded as long as certain conditions are met.

Among those conditions: that providing such equipment would not lead to an escalation of tensions or be used to touch Russian soil, and that it would not weaken the capacities of the French army, Mr Macron said.

He also said Ukraine would have to formally request the planes.

Allies have held back from pledging war planes over fears of a Russian response but after several states took the previously unthinkable step of sending tanks, the terms of support for Ukraine have changed.

Russia is having its big revenge, warns Zelensky

04:00 , Liam James

Russia has begun its big revenge for Ukraines resistance to its invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, as Russian forces claimed a series of incremental gains in his countrys east.

Mr Zelensky has been warning for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault on Ukraine after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.

He said Russian attacks in the east were relentless despite heavy casualties on the Russian side, casting them as payback for Ukraines success in pushing Russian forces back from the capital, northeast and south earlier in the conflict.

I think that Russia really wants its big revenge. I think they have [already] started it, Zelenskiy said.

Every day they either bring in more of their regular troops, or we see an increase in the number of Wagnerites, he told reporters in the southern port city of Odesa.

Zelensky at a news briefing in Odesa on Monday (Reuters)

Biden says US wont provide F-16 jets to Ukraine

03:22 , Arpan Rai

Joe Biden has said the US would not be providing Ukraines armed forces with the American-made F-16 fighter jets that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and members of his government have asked for.

Mr Biden was addressing reporters upon his return to the White House when he was asked if the US would offer the single-engine multirole fighters to Kyiv.

He replied: No.

The presidents statement comes amid a renewed push by Pentagon officials to provide the jets, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and used by a variety of US allies, in the wake of his decision to allow Kyiv to acquire American-made M1 Abrams tanks.

Read the full story here:

Biden says US wont provide F-16 jets to Ukraine

Slovenian authorities hold 2 alleged Russian spies'

03:00 , AP

Slovenian authorities have apprehended two alleged Russian spies suspected of using an agency dealing in real estate and antiques as a front for their activities in the Nato member, media reported Monday.

Slovenias respected Delo newspaper and the Siol news portal cited the public prosecutors office as confirming the arrests.

Slovenian police confirmed that two individuals had been arrested in December for suspected espionage but did not disclose which country they were accused of working for.

They are suspected of being members of a foreign intelligence service, police spokesman Drago Menegalija said.

Report: Slovenian authorities hold 2 alleged Russian spies

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

02:00 , PA

The Kremlin has suggested Boris Johnson told a lie when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson, talking about a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Moscows invasion of Ukraine, said: He sort of threatened me at one point and said: Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute, or something like that.

But the Kremlin disputed the claim, saying there were no threats with missiles during the bilateral conversation held in February 2022.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Five civilians killed as fighting remains deadlocked, say Ukrainian officials

01:00 , Liam James

Fighting has remained largely deadlocked in eastern Ukraine, where Russian shelling killed five civilians over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials.

The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were wounded by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city in the countrys north-east, regional governor Oleh Syniyehubov said.

An emergency worker walks in front of a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket in the city centre of Kharkiv (AP)

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

00:00 , Liam James

The Ukraine war should provide a massive wakeup call for how the government looks to fund the British Army, former soldiers and military historians have warned amid criticism over its ability to defend the UK and its allies (William Mata writes).

Rishi Sunak has come under fire from veterans and members of his own party after a US general said the army could no longer defend the UK. The army is currently 76,000 strong but would shrink to 73,000 if downsizing plans go ahead. It is already half the size it was in 1990 and the smallest it has been since Napoleonic times.

Former soldier Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British Army officer from 1988 to 2012, told The Independent: We thought the artillery was in good shape but that was before the Ukraine conflict, a lot of money was spent. But having been playing Star Wars [with focus on cyber and space security] the Ukraine war has shown that to be successful on the battlefield you need to focus on that.

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

UK still a top-tier military power, says No 10

Monday 30 January 2023 23:00 , Liam James

London has insisted the UK remains a top-tier military power following claims a senior US general told defence secretary Ben Wallace the British Army is no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force.

Asked if Rishi Sunak still believes the UK is a top-level fighting force, his spokesman said: Yes, adding that the PM believes the British military personnel have the equipment and capability to meet the threats they face.

Defence sources told Sky News that cost-cutting measures have seen the status of the British Armed Forces decline in the eyes of world leaders. You havent got a tier one, its barely tier two, the US general reportedly told Mr Wallace.

France and Australia in joint arms pledge, moving on from Aukus snub

Monday 30 January 2023 22:00 , Liam James

France and Australia have unveiled plans to jointly manufacture ammunition for Ukraine as the two countries seek to shore up defence cooperation and move past a row over Canberras decision to ditch plans to buy French submarines.

The relationship hit historic lows in the autumn of 2021 with Paris accusing its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines built with US and British technology instead in what became known as the Aukus pact.

French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said France and Australia had agreed to cooperate to make several thousands of 155-mm shells to help Ukraine, which he hoped could start being delivered in the first quarter of this year.

Mr Lecornu was speaking after meeting his Australian counterpart Richard Marles, the first joint high-level talks since the submarine row erupted.

Croatias president criticises tank deliveries to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Nato-member Croatias president has criticised Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons in its campaign against invading Russian forces, saying those arms deliveries will only prolong the war.

Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital that its mad to believe that Russia can be defeated in a conventional war.

I am against sending any lethal arms there, Mr Milanovic said. It prolongs the war.What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is mad, he added.

Mr Milanovic won the presidential election in Croatia in 2019 as a left-leaning liberal candidate, a counterpoint to the conservative government currently in power in the European Union and Nato-member state.

Milanovic after taking the presidential oath in 2020 (AP)

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Monday 30 January 2023 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin has suggested Boris Johnson told a lie when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson, talking about a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Moscows invasion of Ukraine, said: He sort of threatened me at one point and said: Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute, or something like that.

But the Kremlin disputed the claim, saying there were no threats with missiles during the bilateral conversation held in February 2022.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Joe Bidens decision to send tanks to Ukraine is about more than just politics

Monday 30 January 2023 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The decision by the Biden administration to reverse its previous stance and send tanks to Ukraine is a significant political and military move, Kim Sengupta writes.

The supply of the M1A1 Abrams has met the German stipulation on Leopard 2 tanks, for Berlins own forces  and those of other Nato states using them  to transfer them to Kyiv, with new offensives by both Russia and Ukraine due to begin in the spring.

The Abrams, the Leopards and the British-supplied Challengers will not, by themselves, win the war for Ukraine; but they will have a major impact on the battlefield and raise the scale and lethality of combat.

The number of tanks for a decisive tilt against the Russians are not adding up at the moment: although that may change.

Bidens decision to send tanks to Ukraine is about more than politics | Kim Sengupta

Russian official says small steps needed to reconcile with US

Monday 30 January 2023 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russias deputy foreign minister said that small steps would be needed for Moscow and the United States to come closer to agreement on bilateral issues, the RIA news agency reported on Monday.

We hope that the tactics of small steps will allow us to come to mutually acceptable solutions on the most important issues of the bilateral agenda, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency in an interview.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Slovenia arrests two men suspected on spying for Russia

Monday 30 January 2023 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Slovenias state security service has arrested two men suspected of spying for Russian military intelligence, the Ljubljana-based Delo newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.

The suspects, one of whom has citizenship of a South American country, operated under assumed identities from a rented office in the Bezigrad neighbourhood of the capital Ljubljana, the report said.

It said the two suspects have been charged with espionage for Russias GRU military intelligence service and using false documents. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to eight years.

The Slovenian Intelligence Agency said the information gathered was classified and therefore the agency does not make it public nor does it publicly comment on it.

The Agency regularly informs the main bodies of the national security system on intelligence activities carried out by foreign entities and cooperates ... closely with Slovenian security authorities as well as with the EU and NATO authorities and services, it said in an emailed response to Reuters.

NATO chief urges Seoul to send military support to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 15:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying Kyiv is in urgent need of weapons to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with the large US-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining US-led economic sanctions against Moscow.

But the country has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.

Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg urged South Korea to step up on the specific issue of military support.

He noted that several NATO members and allies, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, have changed their policies of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.

If we believe in freedom, if we believe in democracy, if we dont want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons. Thats the reality, said Stoltenberg, who arrived in South Korea on Sunday on a trip that also includes Japan.

Stoltenberg also met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday. They discussed South Koreas commitment to support Ukraine and NATOs possible role in dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoons office said.

South Korean officials didnt confirm any specific discussions about sending arms to Ukraine.

Following his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Sunday, Stoltenberg mentioned U.S. intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, which he said highlights how security between the regions is more and more interconnected.

Russian business offers cash bounties to destroy Western tanks in Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 15:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian company said it will offer five million roubles - approximately 58,000 - in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture western-made tanks in Ukraine, after the Kremlin vowed Russian forces would wipe out any Western tanks shipped to Ukraine.

The United States, Germany and several other European countries are lining up to send Kyiv dozens of advanced combat tanks over the next few months to help boost Ukraines military capacity as the war approaches the 12-month mark.

The decision has been criticised by the Kremlin as a dangerous escalation, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the tanks would burn on the frontlines.

Now a Russian company - Fores, a Urals-based firm which makes proppants for the energy industry - is offering cash payments to Russian servicemen who capture or destroy German-made Leopard 2 or U.S.-made Abrams tanks.

The company said it will pay five million roubles to the first Russian soldier to destroy one of the tanks, and 500,000 roubles- approximately 5,700- for all subsequent attacks.

Echoing language used by Russian officials and pro-war state TV hosts, Fores said NATO was pumping Ukraine with an unlimited amount of arms and escalating the conflict. It also said it would pay a 15-million rouble ($215,000) bounty on Western-made fighter jets, should they ever be delivered to Ukraine.

The tanks have not yet been dispatched to Kyiv, and it could take several months before the bulk of the promised deliveries are sent.

Finland to stick with Sweden in NATO bid, hopes for green light by July

Monday 30 January 2023 14:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Finland is sticking to its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbour Sweden, and hopes to do so no later than July, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said on Monday.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey raised objections.

The three countries signed an agreement in Madrid over a way forward, but last week, Turkey suspended talks after protests in Stockholm that included the burning of a Koran.

Turkeys President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday made similar statements.

However, Haavisto said Finland will stick with Sweden, its closest military partner, during the application process.

Our strong wish is still to join NATO together with Sweden, Haavisto told a news conference in Helsinki.

We have underlined to all our future NATO partners, including Hungary and Turkey, that Finnish and Swedish security go together, he said.

A spokesperson for Swedens foreign ministry declined to comment.

Zelensky visits southern Ukraine, meets Danish prime minister

Monday 30 January 2023 14:31 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen in the southern city of Mykolaiv on Monday during a rare visit by a foreign leader to a region close to the war front.

Zelensky greeted Frederiksen with a handshake on a snowy street before entering a hospital where they met soldiers wounded in Russias invasion.

It is important for our warriors to be able to undergo not only physical, but also psychological rehabilitation, Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. I am grateful to all the medical workers who care about the health of our defenders. I wish them a speedy recovery!

The two leaders also visited the Mykolaiv Commercial Sea Port, where they saw oil storage tanks hit by Russian enemy missiles and drones, and a heating point equipped with a water purification and distribution unit under a project implemented with Danish assistance.

Zelensky thanked Frederiksen for the assistance provided by Denmark, whose defence ministry said earlier this month that the country would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine.

The president said he had also met local officials while in Mykolaiv region, which has frequently been under attack by Russian forces since the invasion 11 months ago.

The region is heroically withstanding all the attacks of the terrorists (Russian forces). During the visit, I held a meeting on the current situation in the region, he wrote.

We discussed the operational situation in the south of Ukraine, the consequences of Russias missile and drone attacks.

Talks also covered the state of the regions energy infrastructure and the regions long-term recovery, Zelensky said.

Russia claims gains in relentless battles in east Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 13:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces claimed incremental gains in eastern Ukraine on Monday adding up to their biggest advances in months, after relentless battles that Kyiv described as human wave attacks which showed Moscow had no regard for the lives of its own men.

The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, claimed troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

A day earlier, the head of Russias Wagner mercenary force said his fighters had secured Blahodatne, a village just north of Bakhmut, a city that has been the focus of sustained Russian attacks for months.

Kyiv said it had repelled assaults on Blahodatne and Vuhledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situations there. But the locations of the reported fighting indicated clear, though gradual, Russian gains after around two months in which front lines had largely been frozen in place.

The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region - there are constant Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address late on Sunday.

The enemy does not count its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks.

Vuhledar sits south of Bakhmut, near where the eastern frontline protects Russian-controlled rail lines supplying Moscows forces in southern Ukraine. Mykola Salamakha, a Ukrainian colonel and military analyst, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Moscows assault there was coming at huge cost.

The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there, he said. This is a repetition of the situation in Bakhmut - one wave of Russian troops after another crushed by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Monday 30 January 2023 13:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russias special military operation in Ukraine has now been raging for more than 11 months, the conflict continuing to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russias western neighbour needed to be demilitarised and de-Nazified, an entirely baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president.

Ukraine has fought back courageously ever since and continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Read more from Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad:

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

China's top diplomat to visit Moscow in February

Monday 30 January 2023 13:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is set to visit Moscow in February, Russias Vedomosti newspaper said on Monday, citing two sources.

According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the sources said.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the report.

(AP)

Slovenia arrests two men suspected on spying for Russia

Monday 30 January 2023 13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Slovenias state security agencies have arrested two men suspected of spying for the Russian military intelligence service, the Ljubljana-based Delo newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.

The suspects, one of whom has citizenship of a South American country, operated under assumed identities from a rented office in the Ljubljana neighbourhood of Bezigrad, the report said.

The two suspects have been charged with espionage and using false documents. If convicted, they may face jail terms of up to eight years, the report said.

Slovenias intelligence agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

More Russian forces moved to Kursk region on Ukrainian border -governor

Monday 30 January 2023 12:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has moved additional forces and equipment to the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine to protect the frontier and ensure security, regional governor Roman Starovoit said on Monday, according to Interfax news agency.

Local authorities say that the region has repeatedly been subjected to Ukrainian shelling since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.

Some of Russias troops entered from the Kursk region, although the areas of northeastern Ukraine that they seized have since been retaken by Kyivs forces.

Starovoit told a meeting of the regional government that a solid contingent of personnel from the armed forces, border guards and law enforcement agencies had already been formed in Kursk, but that it is necessary to provide comprehensive support for the reception, deployment and arrangement of additional forces.

Kyiv has repeatedly warned that Russia could make a new attempt to seize parts of northeastern Ukraine, pointing to increased joint military activity in Russias close ally Belarus, another of the staging points for Februarys invasion, around 200 km (120 miles) west of Kursk province.

In pictures: Kherson strikes damage residential homes

Monday 30 January 2023 12:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian firefighters douse flames in a burning house following Russian shelling in the city of Kherson.

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Ryanair hiring Ukraine staff in anticipation of return after war

Monday 30 January 2023 11:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ryanair is hiring significant numbers of Ukrainian pilots and cabin crew so that it will be ready to return to the country when the war with Russia ends, Chief Executive Michael OLeary said on Monday.

We are very committed to returning to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so, said OLeary, who had said on the eve of the conflict that he was considering basing up to 20 aircraft in the country.

We are hiring quite a number of Ukraine pilots and cabin crew specifically so that we can ... restore bases in Ukraine if and when it is safe to do so, OLeary told analysts after the release of third-quarter financial results.

Russian shelling kills 5 in tough eastern Ukraine combat

Monday 30 January 2023 11:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian shelling killed at least five people and wounded 13 others during the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian authorities said Monday as the Kremlins and Kyivs forces remained locked in combat in eastern Ukraine.

The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were wounded by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city in the countrys northeast, according to regional Gov. Oleh Syniyehubov.

(via REUTERS)

(via REUTERS)

Russian army shells Kherson atrociously all day'

Monday 30 January 2023 10:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes on Kherson which damaged a hospital and residential buildings.

Today, the Russian army has been shelling Kherson atrociously all day. Residential buildings, various social and transport facilities, including a hospital, post office, and bus station, have been damaged, he said in his nightly address.

Two women, nurses, were wounded in the hospital. As of now, there are reports of six wounded and three dead.

(AFP/Getty)

Boris Johnson lied about Putin missile threat, Kremlin says

Monday 30 January 2023 10:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin said on Monday that former British prime minister Boris Johnson was lying when he said Vladimir Putin had threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that what Johnson said was not true, or more precisely, a lie.

Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader had threatened him with a missile strike that would only take a minute.

He threatened me at one point, and he said, Boris, I dont want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute or something like that, Johnson said.

Russia seeks 'new level' of China ties

Monday 30 January 2023 09:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia said on Monday that it wanted to take ties with China to a new level and was looking forward to face-to-face talks with Beijings leadership as a Russian newspaper reported that Chinas top diplomat would visit Moscow in February.

We are convinced that the potential for Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation is still far from exhausted, Russias foreign ministry said.

Russia aims to reach its target of $200 billion worth of trade between the two countries ahead of schedule and to significantly deepen its ties with Beijing, it said.

The deepening no limits partnership between the rising superpower of China and the natural resources titan of Russia is being watched by the West with some anxiety, though it is unclear just how deep the partnership is.

China has refrained from condemning Russias operation against Ukraine or calling it an invasion in line with the Kremlin which casts the war as a special military operation.

After the West imposed the most severe sanctions in modern history on Moscow due to the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin says Russia is turning towards Asia - and China in particular - after centuries of looking to the West as the crucible of economic growth, technology and war.

The Russian foreign ministrys comments came shortly after Russias Vedomosti newspaper reported that Chinas chief diplomat Wang Yi was set to visit Moscow in February.

According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Putin during his stay. The purpose of Wangs visit is unclear but may be related to preparations for an upcoming visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping, it added.

When asked about the potential visit by Wang Yi, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular briefing that she was not yet aware of such a meeting.

Iran summons senior Ukraine diplomat over comments on drone strike

Monday 30 January 2023 09:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Iran summoned Ukraines charge daffaires in Tehran on Monday over his countrys comments on a drone strike on a military factory in the central Iranian province of Isfahan, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in Ukrainian cities far from the front, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the incident directly to the war there.

Explosive night in Iran, Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Sunday. Did warn you.

A US official told Reuters that Israel appears to have been behind the attack.

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but says they were sent before Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year.

Moscow denies its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.

(AP)

Watch: Three killed in Russian strike on Kherson

Monday 30 January 2023 09:04 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian missile strikes killed three people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson while fighting raged in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia again shelled the key town of Vuhledar, Ukrainian officials said.

Russian business offers cash bounties to destroy Western tanks in Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 08:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian company said it will offer five million roubles - approximately 58,000 - in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture western-made tanks in Ukraine, after the Kremlin vowed Russian forces would wipe out any Western tanks shipped to Ukraine.

The United States, Germany and several other European countries are lining up to send Kyiv dozens of advanced combat tanks over the next few months to help boost Ukraines military capacity as the war approaches the 12-month mark.

The decision has been criticised by the Kremlin as a dangerous escalation, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the tanks would burn on the frontlines.

Now a Russian company - Fores, a Urals-based firm which makes proppants for the energy industry - is offering cash payments to Russian servicemen who capture or destroy German-made Leopard 2 or U.S.-made Abrams tanks.

The company said it will pay five million roubles to the first Russian soldier to destroy one of the tanks, and 500,000 roubles ($7,200) for all subsequent attacks.

Echoing language used by Russian officials and pro-war state TV hosts, Fores said NATO was pumping Ukraine with an unlimited amount of arms and escalating the conflict. It also said it would pay a 15-million rouble ($215,000) bounty on Western-made fighter jets, should they ever be delivered to Ukraine.

The tanks have not yet been dispatched to Kyiv, and it could take several months before the bulk of the promised deliveries are sent.

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

Monday 30 January 2023 08:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying it would only take a minute in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister said the extraordinary conversation took place in February after he had visited Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine amid growing fears of an assault.

Mr Johnson, who would emerge as a staunch backer of Volodymyr Zelenskys government, made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the invasion.

The former PM, who left No 10 in September after being forced from office, made the visit to Kyiv in early February to warn Russia that an invasion would prove disastrous and lead to tough Western sanctions.

Adam Forrest reports:

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

In video: Russia makes basic military training mandatory in schools from September

Monday 30 January 2023 07:30 , Namita Singh

Secondary school students in Russia will learn basic military skills as part of a life safety course from 1 September, according to UK officials.

The last time it was a compulsory part of the school curriculum was in the 1993 Soviet Union.

The initiatives highlight the increasingly militarised atmosphere in wartime Russia, as well as being a (likely deliberate) evocation of Soviet Union, posted the UKs Ministry of Defence on Twitter.

Russia makes basic military training mandatory in schools from September

Ukrainian refugees need more support for mental health, charity says

Monday 30 January 2023 07:15 , Namita Singh

Ukrainian refugees require more psychological support to cope with the impact of the Russian invasion of their country, a charity has said.

In a report published today, Ukrainian psychologists Marina Kedrova and Sergii Ugrium said refugees and internally-placed people had suffered from a profound range of problems since the invasion in February 2022.

These included anxiety, emotional instability, feelings of survivors guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In a series of interviews with refugees, Ms Kedrova and Mr Ugrium also found some Ukrainians feared human trafficking and physical abuse, as well as aggression from those who had remained in Ukraine once they returned home.

Volunteers in Santa costumes welcome refugees from Ukraine to an Epiphany event at the Tegel refugees registration center and temporary shelter on 7 January 2023 in Berlin, Germany (Getty Images)

Children have been particularly affected by psychological symptoms, in some cases regressing and struggling with school in their host countries, in turn adding to the burdens faced by their parents.

Further problems have been caused by difficulties integrating in refugee host countries, due to language and cultural barriers making it hard to access services.

The researchers have called for more to be done to support the mental health of Ukrainians, both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, saying the whole population of Ukraine were psychological victims of Putins aggression.

They added: It is already clear there is a need to provide increased psychological and psychiatric support for the innocent victims of war.

This will be particularly challenging as refugees return to a war-torn Ukraine with a vast array of reconstruction needs.

Sweden will be shocked if Turkey approves Finland NATO membership first, says Erdogan

Monday 30 January 2023 07:00 , Daniel Reast

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that Turkey might sign off on Finlands membership to NATO before its decision on Sweden.

Both countries applied to join the NATO community following Russias invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

In a prerecorded video, president Erdogan said: If needed, we could give a different message about Finland.

Sweden will be shocked when we give the different message about Finland.

Relations between Turkey and Sweden have been strained with president Erdogan urging his Swedish counterpart, prime minister Ulf Kristersson, to deport alleged terrorists residing in Sweden.

The burning of a Koran by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan outisde the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital Stockholm has also raised tensions.

Turkey responded to the incident by indefinitely postponed key meetings in Brussels to discuss Sweden and Finlands NATO membership.

Read more here:

Protests across the Middle East against far-right Quran burning

Chinas top diplomat 'to visit Moscow in February

Monday 30 January 2023 06:48 , Namita Singh

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is set to visit Moscow in February, Russias Vedomosti newspaper reported today citing two sources.

Mr Wang is the director of the Communist Partys foreign affairs commission, making him Chinas most senior diplomat.

The visit to Moscow could include a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to the newspaper.

Erdogan might approve Finlands Nato bid, shock Sweden

Monday 30 January 2023 06:45 , Namita Singh

Turkeys president has suggested his country might approve Finlands application for Nato membership before taking any action on Swedens, while the Turkish government issued a travel warning for European countries due to anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia.

The travel warning published late Saturday followed demonstrations last weekend outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden, where an anti-Islam activist burned the Quran and pro-Kurdish groups protested against Turkey. The events stiffened Turkeys refusal so far to ratify Swedens Nato bid.

Sweden and Finland applied jointly to become members of the military alliance, dropping their longstanding military nonalignment following Russias war on Ukraine. In a prerecorded video of an event released Sunday, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that Turkey might sign off on only Finland.

Report:

Erdogan might approve Finland's NATO bid, 'shock' Sweden

Russia says nuclear arms treaty with US may end after 2026

Monday 30 January 2023 06:32 , Namita Singh

Russias deputy foreign minister said in an interview published today that it was quite possible the New Start nuclear arms control treaty with the United States would end after 2026.

This is quite a possible scenario, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency in an interview.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov looks on during a press conference following talks with US counterpart on 10 January 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

USRussia talks on resuming inspections under the New Start treaty, which expires in February 2026, were called off at the last minute in November 2022. Neither side has agreed on a time frame for new talks.

Missile hits Kharkiv apartment building, killing one says regional governor

Monday 30 January 2023 06:30 , Namita Singh

An apartment building was hit by a missile on Sunday in Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city. One person is reported to have died, with others injured.

The report came from regional governor Oleh Synehubov, issuing a statement on Telegram, who said the missile landed in the citys central Kyiv district.

A picture from the news agency Reuters shows the fire engulfing part of a residential building.

There was no verified reports of how many people were injured. Synehubov earlier suggested the number of injured was three people and said casualties were receiving medical treatment.

Russian official says small steps needed to reconcile with US

Monday 30 January 2023 06:26 , Namita Singh

Russias deputy foreign minister said that small steps would be needed for Moscow and the United States to come closer to agreement on bilateral issues, reported the RIA news agency.

We hope that the tactics of small steps will allow us to come to mutually acceptable solutions on the most important issues of the bilateral agenda, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency in an interview.

US-Russia talks unlikely to end with all-for-all prisoner swap  RIA

Monday 30 January 2023 06:20 , Namita Singh

Russia and United States will continue talks on prisoner exchanges but it is unlikely they will end with an all-for-all swap, RIA Novosti news agency cited Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday.

Negotiations on creating safety zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are tough'

Monday 30 January 2023 06:05 , Namita Singh

Negotiations on creating a safety zone around Ukraines Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are tough, and Kyiv appears to be just stalling for time, RIA Novosti cited Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

While consultations with the IAEA are ongoing, it would not be right to make public information about the possible parameters of the ZNPP protection zone. The negotiation process is not progressing easily, Mr Ryabkov said in an interview with the agency.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a meeting in Moscow on 15 March 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

We handed over our proposals to Rafael Grossi, the agencys director general. As far as we know, Kyiv has not yet given a clear answer to the initiative of the IAEA head. Apparently, its just stalling.

Russian offensive ongoing in Donetsk region, says Russian military

Monday 30 January 2023 06:00 , Daniel Reast

Russian forces are conducting an offensive in multiple parts of the Donetsk region, according to official reports from the Russian military.

The Russian General Staff said that its troops were attacking towards the settlements of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka.

Ukrainian troops have been locked in battle in the eastern Ukraine region, as Putins forces look to strike further following the announcement of new military equipment, including main battle tanks, last week.

The report added that Russian troops are attempting to hold positions and maintain its defence of occupied regions.

Prelude to confrontation: North Korea expresses displeasure over Nato chiefs visit to South Korea

Monday 30 January 2023 05:45 , Namita Singh

A disgruntled North Korea called Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenbergs visit to South Korea a prelude to confrontation and war.

In a statement carried by state media, officials described the trip as bringing the dark clouds of a new Cold War to the Asia-Pacific region.

Earlier today, Mr Stoltenberg urged South Korea to increase military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict after Russias invasion.

Last year South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to Nato, vowing to deepen cooperation on non-proliferation, cyber defence, counter-terrorism, disaster response and other security areas.

Germany warns against arms race as Zelensky demands faster weapon supplies

Monday 30 January 2023 05:30 , Namita Singh

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned against a race to supply advanced arms systems to Ukraine, after Volodymyr Zelenskys demand for faster deliveries of supplies from the West.

Mr Zelensky urged Western allies to supply Ukraine with new types of weaponry, saying that the country is facing a very tough situation in Donetsk region and is under constant Russian attacks. He also requested the supply of long-range missiles and fighter jets to strengthen the countrys air defence.

Germanys chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a joint statement with Chiles president Gabriel Boric following their meeting at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, on 29 January 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

But the German chancellor advised against entering into a constant competition to outbid each other when it comes to weapons systems.

The question of combat aircraft does not arise at all, Mr Scholz said, as he declined Kyivs request of supplying them with warplanes.

No sense talking to Kyiv, says top Russian minister

Monday 30 January 2023 05:15 , Namita Singh

With the United States supplying tanks to Ukraine, there is no sense in talking to Kyiv or its Western puppet masters, RIA news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

Mr Ryabkov said no one in the West has come up with any serious initiatives on resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

Scholz downplays differences on Ukraine on South America tour

Monday 30 January 2023 05:00 , Namita Singh

German chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to drum up support for Ukraine during his first South American tour although differences with his hosts emerged, with Argentine president Alberto Fernandez declaring the region was not planning on sending weapons.

On his three-day trip, Mr Scholz has sought to stress unity, noting all three countries he is visiting - Argentina, Chile and Brazil - condemned Russias invasion at the United Nations General Assembly last year.

The fallout of the war and Western sanctions on Russia such as soaring food and energy prices, however, have hit the region particularly hard, raising questions over the Wests approach.

Chiles president Gabriel Boric speaks next to Germanys chancellor Olaf Scholz during a joint statement following their meeting at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, on 29 January 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Fernandez said in a joint news conference with Mr Scholz in Buenos Aires on Saturday that Argentina, like Germany, wanted to help restore peace as soon as possible.

But asked if Argentina would send weapons to Ukraine to fend off Russian troops like Germany and its western allies had, he gave an emphatic no.

Argentina and Latin America are not planning to send weapons to Ukraine or any other conflict zone, he said.

Chilean president Gabriel Boric did not refer to the war in his opening statements at a news conference with Mr Scholz in Santiago de Chile yesterday, focusing instead on economic cooperation, particularly in the commodities sector.

Natos chief urges South Korea to step up military support for Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 04:45 , Namita Singh

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea today to increase military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict after Russias invasion.

Mr Stoltenberg is in Seoul, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan and is aimed at strengthening ties with US allies in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.

In meetings with senior South Korean officials, the Nato chief argued that events in Europe and North America are interconnected with other regions, and that the alliance wants to help manage global threats by increasing partnerships in Asia.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a conversation at Chey Institute in Seoul on 30 January 2023 (Getty Images)

Speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, he thanked South Korea for its non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but urged it to do more, adding there is an urgent need for ammunition.

South Korea has signed major deals providing hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other weapons to Nato member Poland since the war began, but South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has said that his countrys law against providing arms to countries in conflicts makes providing weapons to Ukraine difficult.

Mr Stoltenberg noted that countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Norway had similar policies but have changed them.

If we dont want autocracy and tyranny to win, then (the Ukrainians) need weapons, thats the reality.

Jens Stoltenberg

What did Russia's defence minister tell Ben Wallace on his trip to Moscow?

Monday 30 January 2023 04:15 , Namita Singh

Defence secretary Ben Wallace spoke to the Putin vs The West programme, set to air this evening, about his journey to Moscow in February as he sought to reach a breakthrough and prevent a war.

He recalls speaking to Russias minister of defence Sergei Shoigu, as well as chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov.

And I remember saying to minister Shoigu they will fight and he said, My mother is Ukrainian, they wont! He also said he had no intention of invading, Mr Wallace said.

Britains defence secretary Ben Wallace leaves after attending the weekly cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, in London, on 10 January 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Wallace said it was a Russian demonstration of bullying or strength: Im going to lie to you. You know Im lying. I know you know Im lying and Im still going to lie to you. He knew I knew and I knew he knew. But I think it was about saying: Im powerful.

I remember as we were walking out General Gerasimov said, Never again will we be humiliated. We used to be the fourth army in the world, were now number two. Its now America and us. And there in that minute was that sense of potentially why [they were doing this].

Ben Wallace

Author of Ukrainian declaration of sovereignty, and famous poet Pavlychko dies at 93

Monday 30 January 2023 04:00 , Daniel Reast

Ukrainian poet, literary critic and politician Dmytro Pavlychko has died aged 93.

Active in Soviet Ukraine, Pavlychko was one of the founders of the Soviet-controlled nations first major independent political party, Rukh (Peoples Movement of Ukraine).

In 1990, he co-authored the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine, a law which overruled the authority from the Soviet parliament.

He later served as ambassador in post-Soviet Ukraine to neighbouring countries Slovakia, and later to Poland, before being awarded the nations highest honour, Hero of Ukraine, in 2004.

In a post on Telegram, president Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to Pavlychko in his political and literary achievements, calling him an outstanding poet.

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

Monday 30 January 2023 03:30 , Namita Singh

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying it would only take a minute in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister said the extraordinary conversation took place in February after he had visited Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine amid growing fears of an assault.

Mr Johnson, who would emerge as a staunch backer of Volodymyr Zelenskys government, made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the invasion.

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has more:

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

US officials meet with Ukrainian deputy PM to ensure transparency of aid

Monday 30 January 2023 03:00 , Daniel Reast

Inspectors from the US government have met with Ukraines deputy PM to discuss proposals for a new audit mechanism to ensure transparency in the use of partners aid.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, who is also head of Ukraines infrastructure projects, added that any funds utilised for infrastructure repairs and reconstruction should be monitored with US assistance.

Scrutiny of how aid is being used in Ukraine has increased since a recent scandal involving the sale of food packages at inflated prices, which prompted the deputy defence minister, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, to resign.

Deputy prime minister Kubrakov said in a post on Facebook: I am grateful to my American colleagues for their leadership role in supporting our country in the fight against the Russian aggressor.

Today, Ukraine shows the whole world that it is a reliable and predictable partner with working anti-corruption institutions, and we continue to move in this direction.

Zelensky pushes for Russian ban from Paris 2024 Olympics in latest address

Monday 30 January 2023 02:00 , Daniel Reast

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his stance on Russian athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Games, suggesting it showed that terror is somehow acceptable.

He added that he had sent a letter to French president Emmanuel Macron as part of his assertive campaign.

In his latest address, Zelensky said: Attempts by the International Olympic Committee to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable.

As if you could shut your eyes to what Russia is doing in Kherson, Kharkiv, Bakhmut and Avdiivka, all of which have been the focus of intense attacks in recent days.

His latest comments were accompanied by references to the tragedies of the 20th century, including the hosting of the 1936 Olympic Games in Hitlers Berlin.

Zelensky added The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths.

Read more here:

IOC will be on wrong side of history if Russian athletes compete at Paris 2024

US military officials urging supply of F-16 fighter jets, says defence department sources

Monday 30 January 2023 01:00 , Daniel Reast

Efforts within the US military high command to supply Ukrainian forces with modern F-16 fighter jets are quietly gaining pace, a defence department official has said.

Speaking with Politico, a senior official from the US department of defence said: I dont think we are opposed, when asked if jets were being considered for supply.

A spokesperson for the White House declined to comment for this story, though referred reporters to previous statements made by deputy national security adviser Jon Finer.

Ukraines own stock of fighter jets are older models, first produced by the Soviet Union (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Finer said that US officials would be discussing the prospect of fighter jets very carefully with Ukraine and its other western allies.

He continued: We have not ruled in or out any specific systems.

President Zelensky reiterated his plea for arms and military equipment in his latest daily address, where he said: We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.

Putin threatened to kill me with missile strike, says Boris Johnson

Monday 30 January 2023 00:15 , Daniel Reast

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying it would only take a minute in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister said the extraordinary conversation occurred in February following his visit to Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine, amid growing fears of invasion.

The former prime minister, who would later emerge as a key supporter among western allies of Volodymyr Zelenskys government, made the claim in a new series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with the Russian president in the years leading to the invasion.

Read more here:

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

Four killed in Ukrainian attack on bridge in Melitopol, Russian authorities say

Monday 30 January 2023 00:01 , Daniel Reast

Four people were killed and five injured in an attack by Ukrainian forces on a bridge in Melitopol, a city in southeastern Ukraine.

Reported by Russian-installed head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, wrote on Telegram that a rocket was launched at the railway bridge from across the Molochna river.

The Zaporizhzhia region has been partially occupied by Russia since it first invaded in February last year, and contains Europes largest nuclear power plant.

Balitsky added that the rocket was launched from a Himars missile system, which are in production in the United States.

He added: At this time, renovation work was under way at the facility. According to preliminary data, as a result of the shelling, four people from the railway brigade were killed, five were injured, they are receiving the necessary medical care.

Reporters from news agency Reuters were unable to verify the accuracy of Balitskys statement.

Situation on frontline very tough, says Zelensky

Sunday 29 January 2023 23:00 , Daniel Reast

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of constant Russian attacks across frontline regions in his daily address.

In a markedly sombre tone, Zelensky said: The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other areas in the Donetsk region are under constant Russian attacks.

There are constant attempts to break through our defense.

Zelensky repeated reports from his previous address on Saturday of fierce fighting in the Donetsk region, amid reports of Ukrainian forces struggling to hold Bakhmut, at the epicentre of fighting in the region.

President Zelensky continued: We are doing everything to ensure that our pressure outweighs the occupiers assault capabilities.

Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon.

We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.

President Zelensky also paid tribute to those killed in shelling in Kherson, where three people died on Sunday.

Russia-Japan disputed islands fishing talks ruled out, says Russian foreign ministry

Sunday 29 January 2023 22:00 , Daniel Reast

Russias foreign ministry said on Sunday it will not hold annual talks with Japan on renewing a pact allowing Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands.

The islands, off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

As reported on Russian state media, the defence ministry said: In the context of the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government ... the Russian side informed Tokyo that it could not agree on the holding of intergovernmental consultations on the implementation of this agreement.

Japan tightened its sanctions regime on Russian trade, institutions and individuals on Friday in response to the increase in shelling attacks.

Russia had suspended the diplomatic agreement in June which allowed Japanese boats to fish near the islands, though the Japanese chief cabinet secretary has demanded the talks to go ahead.

Ukrainian defence ministry calls for F-16 fighter jets in Twitter post

Sunday 29 January 2023 21:15 , Daniel Reast

This is Su-27, with which we fight ruscits. But with F-16 we can win. pic.twitter.com/3OZBsXEEga  Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 28, 2023

Heavy shelling in Kherson hits hospital, kills three civilians says Ukraine officials

Sunday 29 January 2023 20:30 , Daniel Reast

Three people were killed by Russian shelling on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sunday, damaging a hospital and a school, regional officials said.

The administration wrote on Telegram: Todays Russian shelling injured nine people: three people died (two men and one woman), six were injured.

In an earlier post, before casualties could be identified, it was reported: As a result of enemy shelling, a number of civil infrastructure objects were damaged: the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital, a school, a bus station, a post office, a bank, and residential buildings.

Ukrainian firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a house following Russian shelling in the city of Kherson on January 29 (AFP/Getty)

Ukraines ministry of health posted on Facebook that a nurse was wounded in the attacks.

Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November after Russian forces occupied the city in the early days of the conflict.

The city has since seen regular shelling and attacks from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Ukraines western allies concerned time might be on Russias side, say officials

Sunday 29 January 2023 20:15 , Daniel Reast

Officials from Ukraines western allies have reported concern that the window for Ukraine isnt indefinite, requiring more munitions and supply to break through.

Cited in a report from the Wall Street Journal, the unnamed officials from western nations suggest Russian forces will control any war of attrition, with Ukraine needing an expansion of supply of powerful military equipment to counter this.

Recent expansion of conscription, military training in Russian schools and continued ability to finance spending in the conflict have suggested Moscow has a greater ability to stay in the war.

According to the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff, Russia has lost 126,000 troops and thousands of pieces of military hardware since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

The report also suggests that officials have less confidence in the ability of Ukraines armed forces to carry out offensives seen last year.

Ukrainian president Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News that Ukraine needs 500 tanks to liberate its provinces.

Alleged Ukrainian shelling into Russia left villages without electricity, says Russian governor

Sunday 29 January 2023 19:30 , Daniel Reast

The Russian regional governor for Kursk, situated on the northeastern border of Ukraine, has reported shelling of the bordering region and strikes on Russian villages.

Alleged mortar strikes cut off two villages from electricity, however there were no reported casualties.

Governor Roman Starovoyt said on Telegram messaging app: The village of Chervonozhovtneve of the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region came under mortar fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

12 hits were recorded. There are no casualties. Power supply lines were damaged, which left the village of Chervonozhovtneve and the neighboring village of Volfino without electricity.

Ukraines military has not commented on the alleged attack.

Possibility of military aircraft a game changer, says Ukraine defence minister

Sunday 29 January 2023 18:45 , Daniel Reast

Early talks on the supply of military aircraft and long-range missiles for Ukrainian forces could be a game changer, Ukraines defence minister has said.

Speaking with Canadas CBC, defence minister Olek Reznikov said he had written a wish list to Santa for military supplies.

Reznikov said the list contained: fighter jets, aircraft, and probably rockets long-hand options to hit the Russians fuel depots, ammunition depots, and their commanders.

Presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine was in fast track talks to secure a supply of new missiles and military equipment.

Ukraines western allies have so far declined to supply military aircraft such as fighter jets. But Reznikov said that military equipment and weapons previously refused by allies, were now arriving in Ukraine.

The minister added: For me, everything thats impossible today [will be] possible tomorrow.

Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, was quoted in the Spanish newspaper El Pais saying that their forces aim to receive 24 fighter jets, though Germany has previously said jets were off the table.

Read more here:

Ukraine in fast-track talks with allies for fighter jets and missiles
Tropical Cyclone Cheneso blasted Madagascar with flooding rain and damaging winds for 10 straight days before it departed over the weekend, leaving at least 30 people dead, several more missing and causing significant damage.

The storm, which first strengthened into a tropical storm on Jan. 18, meandered in the waters near Madagascar for nearly two weeks, making two landfalls during that time. AccuWeather meteorologists first warned about the potential for the tropical system about two weeks in advance of its development.

"As Cheneso was making its first of two landfalls in northeastern Madagascar, near the town of Anthalaha on Jan. 19, it was a severe tropical storm with sustained winds in excess of 55 mph (89 km/h)," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.

The cyclone then crossed the country and emerged into the waters of the Mozambique Channel.

The above satellite image shows Cyclone Cheneso on Friday, Jan. 27, while bringing heavy rain to the western portion of Madagascar (Photo NASA/MODIS).

The warm tropical waters of the channel allowed Cheneso to peak as a tropical cyclone Wednesday, Jan. 25, prior to making a second landfall Thursday, this time on the western coast of Madagascar. Authorities in the country confirmed wind gusts as high as 105 mph (170 km/h), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane in the Atlantic or East Pacific ocean basins.

In its wake, Cheneso caused disastrous flooding across the island and killed at least 30 people. At least another 20 people were still missing as of Monday.

"For much of last week, Cheneso remained slow-moving along the southwestern coast of Madagascar, in the Mozambique Channel, allowing the storm to pound the island with heavy, tropical moisture for days," explained Nicholls.

People walk on a flooded road in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Jan. 25, 2023. The death toll has risen to at least 16 with 19 people still missing after the strong tropical storm Cheneso hit Madagascar, according to the latest report released Thursday by the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management BNGRC. (Photo by Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua via Getty Images)

As the storm stalled and rapidly intensified in the Mozambique Channel, wave after wave of tropical rainfall got funneled into the island. Widespread rainfall amounts of 8-10 inches (200-250 mm) were observed across the country, including in the Boeny region which was one of the hardest hit. Some places even reported in excess of 12 inches (300 mm) of rain during the 10-day period.

Rising floodwaters led to flooded homes, impassable roadways and infrastructure damage, including collapsed bridges. Colonel Faly Aritiana, of the risk and disaster office, said there had been house collapses and landslides in which people have become trapped, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities have estimated that more than 37,000 people have lost their homes because of the cyclone, the AP reported.

Residents of the Belle Souvenir neighborhood try to resume their daily life in their house submerged by water in Sambava on Jan. 21, 2023, following the passage of cyclone Cheneso on Jan. 19, 2023. (Photo by ELIE SERGIO / AFP) (Photo by ELIE SERGIO/AFP via Getty Images)

Intermittent showers are expected to continue to impact the country through the end of the week, AccuWeather forecasters say. Due to Madagascar's tropical climate, downpours can be heavier in nature this time of year, which could continue to slow cleanup efforts in the coming days. On the other hand, AccuWeather forecasters do not expect any tropical cyclones to impact Madagascar through the first week of February.

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The island of Madagascar is no stranger to tropical cyclones. While Cheneso was the first to impact the country so far in 2023, there have been three other named tropical storms or cyclones since the beginning of this tropical season, which began in September. In early 2022, the island was impacted by seven tropical storms and cyclones during the months of January and February alone.

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.


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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation on the preliminary Medium-Term Expenditure Framework 2024-2026, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Offic eof the Prime Minister.

Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan presented the summary analysis made by the ministry, the purpose of which is to provide information on the assessment of current and capital expenditure limits to state departments. The Minister referred to the main indicators of the fiscal framework, the chances for achieving the Government's targets in terms of current and capital expenditures, the fiscal risks and the predicted trends in other directions.

In this context, an exchange of ideas took place, issues related to the activities provided for by the Government's Action Plan were discussed. Current and capital projects, the course of reforms initiated in various fields and the future activities were the subject of discussion.

The Prime Minister emphasized the effective implementation of capital expenditures and other economic drivers, emphasizing the need to consistently increase the quality of project implementation and reforms. Nikol Pashinyan instructed the heads of departments to continue working on finalizing the mid-term expenditure framework for 2024-2026 and clearly defining the targets.
Today's headlines: Death toll in mosque bombing rises to 87; Extremist who recruited militiamen among Rohingya arrested in Bangladesh; In Indonesia, a former leprosy patient builds prosthetics for other lepers; Chinese woman learns 10 dialects to help fellow citizens; Landfills become the only source of livelihood for some Syrian families.

AFGHANISTAN

At least 170 factories in the industrial city of Shorandam, southern Kandahar province, have been forced to close in recent months due to repeated power outages. Several owners have complained about the shortage of electricity, saying they are in danger of closing because production levels are too low.

PAKISTAN

The death toll from yesterday's Peshawar mosque suicide bombing has risen to 87. Official Pakistani Taliban (Ttp) media distanced themselves from the incident after some initial claims by some of the organization's commanders.

The Ttp's code of conduct, they claim, is not to attack mosques but only law enforcement agencies, because their battle is against the Pakistani state. It is estimated that there were between 300 and 400 police officers in the targeted compound.

BANGLADESH - MYANMAR

Dhaka's counterterrorism unit arrested an Afghanistan-trained extremist who was trying to recruit more militiamen in Rohingya refugee camps. In recent days a group of five others were placed under arrest for being part of the al-Qaeda-linked Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh organization.

INDONESIA

Ali Saga, 57, who has recovered from leprosy, has committed himself to making handmade prosthetics for the 500 or so sufferers in Sitanala village. After Brazil and India, Indonesia is the third-largest leprosy country in the world, currently over 15,000 cases. However, infected people are isolated because the disease is considered divine punishment.

CHINA

A Chinese woman has self-taught at least 10 dialects spoken in the country to help people, who for some reason have lost loved ones, find them. These are people who have been kidnapped or trafficked, biological relatives raised in other families or simply elderly people who have lost their way home. Tan Yinghuan, 42, has helped about 300 people in nine years of volunteering.

RUSSIA

In Irkutsk, Siberia, a trial has begun in a major violence scandal against inmates at Angarsk Prison No. 15, where more than 60 incidents of sexual violence and more than 10 victims have been found, for which four "pressers," inmates who cooperate with the administration, a figure that seemed to have disappeared since Stalinist times, are accused.

SYRIA

For some Syrians, the dump at the U.S. military base in Tell Beydar has become their only source of livelihood: here families look for food to eat and plastic items to resell. After more than 10 years of war, some 15.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria, according to the latest United Nations figures. At least four out of five people do not have access to enough food.
At least 260 people were in the building for midday prayer at the time of the blast. Some Pakistani Taliban's accounts claimed responsibility for the attack. Experts expect violence to increase in the coming months.

Peshawar (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A suicide bombing killed at least 32 people, wounding more than 145, in a mosque in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, in a suicide attack.

This is the deadliest attack since March 2022, when 58 people were killed and almost 200 wounded in an attack later claimed by the Islamic State group.

At least 260 people were in the mosque for midday prayers at the time of the explosion, police official Sikandar Khan said.

The blast ripped through the two-storey building, causing part of the roof to cave in on top of worshippers.

The mosque is located in a compound that includes a provincial police station and a counterterrorist office.

Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said the suicide bomber was in the front row during prayers.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban are active in Peshawar and neighbouring tribal areas, on the border with Afghanistan. Its aim is the overthrow of the Pakistani government and the imposition of Islamic law, as their cousins did in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Several attempts at peace talks between the government and the TTP have been made but they have all failed.

Last month, the terrorist group seized a counterterrorism centre taking hostages to negotiate with government authorities.

It claims to have carried out more than 360 attacks in 2022, up 27 per cent over the previous year, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with more than a thousand dead and wounded.

In December alone, the TTP carried out 69 attacks, killing 87 law enforcement officers and wounding 119.

Experts predict that 2023 will be an even more violent year in terms of attacks against government targets since the group has had time to reorganise after peace talks failed.
The "Table of Six" met yesterday to end Erdogans 20 years in power. The opposition candidate should be named on 13 February. A 240-page, 2,300-point programme aims to restore parliaments central role. How Kurds will vote will shape the final outcome.

Istanbul (AsiaNews)  Turks will go to the polls on 14 May to choose a new president and parliament.

This will provide the countrys opposition with an opportunity to boost its democratic freedoms, much battered during President Recep Tayyip Erdogans 20-year rule. A former prime minister, the latter combined nationalism and Islam doing much damage to the country.

To this end, six opposition parties, united in the Nation Alliance, better known as the "Table of Six, met yesterday to finalise a common manifesto and announce that on 13 February, they will present a joint candidate.

The parties, united against Erdogan, are getting ready for the most important challenge in Turkeys recent political history, one that will be decisive for its future.

Held in the capital, Ankara, yesterday's meeting saw opposition leaders presented a 240-page programme with 2,300 points to roll back many of the changes introduced by Erdogan; they include boosting the powers of parliament and ministers, stripped by Erdogans reforms.

The goal is to limit the presidency to a seven-year term, empower the prime minister, and make the latter accountable to parliament.

"We will shift to a strengthened parliamentary system," the programme says. "We will put an end to the president's power to issue decrees."

The elections also represent a key moment for the entire region given Turkeys membership in NATO and its still strong diplomatic and trading relations with Russia since it did not join the West to impose sanctions over the Kremlins war in Ukraine.

The joint candidate of the Table of Six is expected to come from the ranks of the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP), created by modern Turkeys founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The opposition plans to reinstate the post-Ottoman constitution but to do so, it will need a two-third majority in the Turkish parliament, the 600-member Grand National Assembly. A vote by 360 MPs can also trigger a constitutional referendum.

However, the polls show strong divisions in the electorate with margins too narrow to predict a possible winner. In addition, the Kurdish question looms large over the election; if and how Kurdish voters, concentrated in the countrys south-east, will cast their ballot will have a major impact.

What is certain is that, even today, thousands of activists, mostly Kurds, are languishing in prison on terrorism-related charges that, according to human rights groups, are just a weapon in Erdogan's hands to suppress dissent.

Other issues that will take centre stage are the fight against corruption and the promise to restore the traditional institutions of the Turkish republic, including state media, which are presently mouthpieces for the current rulers.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Over the 1,314-kilometer-long border, the two sides have had armed clashes with many casualties. Agreement on joint exploitation of resources in affected areas. The territorial dispute between Kyrgyz and Tajiks still remains in the region.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The conclusion of the long-standing border dispute between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, sanctioned on Jan. 27 in Biskek by Presidents Mirziyoyev and Zaparov, appears like a light in the fog of the borders that demarcate the Central Asian countries.

The former Soviet republics are heirs to a confusion desired by the communist regime to fractionalize and control the ethnic tensions of these peoples.

The border with Uzbekistan is the longest stretch of Kyrgyzstan's territory, stretching 1,314 kilometers. Disputes have often turned into conflicts, which have also claimed many lives.

In November last year, the authorities of the two countries had announced that they had reached a common settlement of the more than 30-year dispute.

Central Asian affairs expert, Novaja Gazeta political scientist Arkadij Dubnov, commented on the situation on Currentime.tv, saying he was very pleased with the agreement reached: "An event of historic significance, where there seemed to be insurmountable mutual claims, contradictions, ambitions and misunderstandings of all kinds."

The "penultimate border problem" in this region is thus solved, the dispute between Kyrgyzstan itself and Tajikistan still being open.

Now the border with Uzbekistan has instead been recognized as "interstate," thanks largely to the political will of Uzbek President Mirziyoyev and Kyrgyz President Zaparov: the latter had to stifle internal protest over the cession of the Kempir-Abad reservoir.

The hope, Dubnov says, is that all those arrested as a result of these protests will be freed as soon as possible to prevent the conflict from flaring up again.

The point is that the protesters of the agreement "did not propose any credible alternative," considering that these crucial sites for water and energy resources had remained undefined by the Soviet legacy.

The agreement does indeed provide for a territorial cession, but the exploitation of resources will benefit both countries, and "there is no need to claim demonstrative possession," the political scientist argues, but "to be able to work for the common good and remain in peaceful relations with neighbors."

Everyone's hope is that the agreement reached will inspire a similar solution for the problem with Tajikistan, but observers are not very optimistic in this regard.

Everything in Dushanbe is in the hands of the absolutist power of President Emomali Rakhmon, with whom it is difficult to find mutually acceptable compromises.

The Tajik leader has just fired the Minister of Labor and Emigration, Sirin Amonzoda, for "wrong policy in managing administrative cadres."

The incident occurred during a closed-door meeting of the government to take stock of the past year's activities, from which the president's clear dissatisfaction with the work of his subordinates leaked out.

Rakhmon also lashed out at the head of communications and his own brother-in-law, Beg Sabur, for failing to manage the modernization of the country's Internet network, especially in "isolated and border regions," where more intensive exchange of information is needed, also precisely to prevent possible disruptive actions by adversaries such as the Kyrgyz.

Another target of presidential fury has been the chairman of the State Property and Investment Committee, Sadi Kodirzod, who has been unable to attract major economic interventions from abroad.

Overall, Tajikistan's satrap, who also presides over the religious administration of local Islam, shows no inclination to find friendly solutions in either domestic politics or foreign relations.
Best Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Him 2023

These Gifts Are Guaranteed to Please Any Man This V-Day

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.

Product photos from retailer sites.

Just like that, Valentines Day is right around the corner. All the holiday accouterments of December have been replaced by heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and candies, and the feeling of love is in the air.

Whether youre in the early stage of your relationship, or you and your significant other have been together so long you are slowly turning into each other, V-Day presents a special opportunity to get a little sappy and show your someone just how much you care.

RELATED: Wow Your Lady With One of These Sweet Valentines Day Gifts

And what better way to show it than with a token of appreciation? Gifts are one of the five love languages, after all.

We know, coming off the cusp of the holidays can make shopping for gifts particularly tricky. Your wallet is just starting to recover and all your best gift ideas were wrapped under the tree back in December.

But have no fear. We have scoured the web high and low to bring you the best Valentines Day gifts for him. From budget-friendly buys to investment items, its all here.

Guys, we recommend you leave this page open in your browser so your Valentine can happen upon it.

Best Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Him

Vincero Collective Chrono S Watch

Sure, he might not need to keep tabs on the time lately, but a watch serves as a timeless accessory and great gift nevertheless. Add on a scratch-resistant sapphire coated face, a luxe Italian leather strap, and Japanese Miyota Citizen Movement, and you cant go wrong.

$195.00 at Amazon.com

GrowlerWerks Stainless Steel uKeg Growler

Give your Valentine the unique gift of fresh brews for weeks. Not only does this growler's double-wall, vacuum-insulated, stainless steel construction ensure future pints stay nice and cool, the carbonation cap automatically adjusts itself to maintain proper pressure.

$179.99 at Amazon.com

MeUndies Valentine's Day Collection

You know your relationship is close when you're buying each other underwear! We're big fans of MeUndies in general, but especially on Valentine's Day, as they go the extra mile to curate some of their best V-Day-themed undies, sleepwear and loungewear, available in a wide variety of colors, styles, patterns and sizes. Their boxers are insanely comfortable, and their sleepwear will revolutionize the way your man sleeps, but if you really want to up the romanticism, opt for a matching set.

And to celebrate the day properly, MeUndies is offering 25% off your first purchase with the code FORHER25.

From $20 at MeUndies.com

Hawthorne Grooming

Instead of trying to determine if he has curly or coily hair, dry or combination skin, regular or excessive sweating patterns sign him up for Hawthorne. After taking Hawthornes quiz, he will receive curated recommendations for body, hair and cologne products  available for purchase once or in intervals.

Find out more at Hawthorne.co

Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones

Whether hes an audiophile or a gamer, good-quality sound is never a bad idea. Get him a top-quality pair of headphones, like these bad boys, which are a collaboration between Sennheiser and Drop  and watch his face light up as he imagines all the crystal-clear audio hes about to pump into his ears. (Meanwhile, you wont have to hear any of it.)

$179.00 at Drop.com

Lovehoney Wilder Weekend Couple's Sex Toy Kit (10 Piece)

If you want to spice up your Valentine's Day, the Wilder Weekend kit from Lovehoney has everything you need. This ten-piece set includes three cock rings of varying sizes (one of them even vibrates), a butt plug, anal beads, two vibrators, and a "jiggle balls" toy. Every toy is made from premium, phthalate-free silicone, and is both waterproof and rechargeable, so you can your fun into the shower or bath.

$124.99 at Lovehoney.com

Port Products Beard Oil

Mustache, goatee, or full-on beard, facial hair is at its finest when its well-conditioned. This oil's pleasant woodsy scent is just an added bonus.

$22 at PortProducts.com

Gillette Heated Razor

Every guy needs to keep his beard in check, and this tool will help him do just that and more. While the heated sensation of the Gillette razor might take some getting used to, once hes adapted hell wonder what he ever did without this bad boy.

$136.00 at Amazon.com

Cade Oxidized Sterling Silver Corded Bracelet in Brown Tiger's Eye

Made from oxidized sterling silver, the Cade Corded Bracelet comes in a wide variety of styles (and three sizes), but we especially love the Brown Tiger's Eye variant. It's stylish and versatile, made from durable and low-maintenance materials, so it's the perfect jewelry option for men and a great Valentine's Day gift choice. Even better: 20% of the proceeds from sales of Cade bracelets go to support youth causes and charities.

$78.00 at KendraScott.com

Nanoleaf Ultra Black Triangles Smarter Kit

If you're shopping for a gamer, you can take his battlestation to the next level with the limited edition Ultra Black Triangles Smarter Kit from Nanoleaf. These clever RGB-enabled triangles can be installed in a variety of shapes and patterns and synced up to his gaming monitor or Corsair or Razer peripherals, enabling over 16 million color combinations and a much more immersive gaming experience.

$219.99 at Nanoleaf.me

Getaway Cabin Rental

Want to spend some quality time together? Get romantic by offering him a cabin rental via Getaway  think of it like Airbnb for the wilderness, with romantic options all over the U.S. offering great vistas and a way for the two of you to get a much-needed break from the day-to-day.

Find out more at Getaway.house

The Sill Live Plants

Valentine with a green thumb? Help his hobby grow with a new plant. From the Island Pine Tree to the Parlor Palm, The Sill has a plant to fit his horticulture skill level and environment.

Find out more at TheSill.com

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The Cupid Shuffle Underwear

These V-Day-themed undies from Shinesty offer style and comfort in equal measure. We're big fans of the "Ball Hammock," the clever pouch at the front interior that helps to keep your testicles safely compartmentalized, minimizing friction, sweat buildup and the painful crunch that can happen if you sit down too quickly. The fabric itself is ultra-soft, breathable and moisture-wicking, and the cut helps to prevent them bunching up at your crotch. In other words, the good folks at Shinesty have really thought this pair through and delivered a product any man would be happy to wear.

$25.99 at Shinesty.com

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Adjustable Kettlebell

Sure, this might not seem like the most romantic gift idea, but giving him something he will put to good use and enjoy is pretty romantic if you ask us. In addition, to having a comfortable grip for the hands, this adjustable kettlebell can go 8 to 40 lbs at the twist of a dial.

$149 at Walmart.com

Minted Map Print

Personal without being kitschy, this foil-pressed map will look great in his office or in your home. Options range from cities and states to countries, so you can opt for anything be it his home state, his favorite travel destination, or your current city.

Find out more at Minted.com

City Sweat Jogger Lululemon

If your Valentines Day plans include cuddling up on the couch with a glass of wine in hand and Netflix on deck, help him dress for the occasion with these super-soft joggers from lululemon. With a slim fit and stretchy fabric, these are sure to be an upgrade from his tattered gym sweats.

$118 at lululemon.com

Theragun Mini Massage Gun

Even if youre not a great masseuse you can give him the gift of a massage with this handy gadget. The Thergaun Mini is small but powerful and uses rapid percussion to soothe and release tension in muscles big and small.

$199 at Amazon.com

Fjallraven Travel Toiletry Bag

Even when at home, a quality dopp kit is essential. If he's still opting for a floppy nylon number, or worse, a Ziploc bag, this durable model from Fjallraven will serve as a definite upgrade for grooming storage.

$55 at Amazon.com

Chuao Chocolatier Mini Chocolate Bars

Sweets for your sweet. Chocolatier goes above and beyond the standard drugstore candy options with flavors like baconluxious and potato chip.

$24.95 at Amazon.com

Merrell Fleece Jogger

If hes working from home still, why not give him the gift of comfort? These fleece sweatpants from Merrell are an absolute treat to wear and will make crawling out of bed in the morning that much easier knowing hes going to put on a pair of pants so cozy itll feel like his lower half is still curled up in the sheets.

$60.00 at Merrell.com

Glenfiddich 14-Year Bourbon Barrel Reserve Scotch Whisky

If your partners a whiskey guy, theres a good chance hell appreciate Glenfiddichs delightful 14-Year. Its a Scotch thats been aged in bourbon barrels, meaning its got a foot squarely planted in both flavor camps, and its able to please bourbon lovers, Scotch die-hards and omnivores, too.

From $64.57 at Drizly.com

Rumpl Outdoor Blanket

All the cozy qualities of a sleeping bag but in a format thats better for two, the Rumpl will upgrade your camping cuddle experience  even in 40F temps. On top of its heat-locking design, this blanket is easily packable, water-resistant, and machine washable.

From $99 at Amazon.com

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Lelo Hugo

Have you been wanting to explore the backdoor a little? Nudge things along with this gem from Lelo, who are one of the best in the business when it comes to bedroom pleasure. Hell love the sensations; youll love having control via remote of said sensations. Everyone wins.

$153.30 at Amazon.com

Muscle Soak Salts

While you might typically be the one on the receiving end of bath salts, now, its his turn. No matter if hes unwinding from a tough weight training session or a day at his desk, he can ease his pain and relax his muscles with this Epsom salt soak. Its 100 percent natural and features a refreshing blend of eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils.

$12.99 at Amazon.com

Shinola Double-Stitch Belt

Were huge fans of Detroit-based brand Shinolas top-quality leather goods and precision-made watches. Case and point, this subtly distressed leather belt with double-stitched edges and brushed silver hardware that shows off Shinolas eye for detail.

$125 at Nordstrom.com

Whiskey Peaks Grand Canyon Glasses - Set of Two

Perfect for the guy who loves a stiff drink, these innovative glasses will add a touch of spice to his nightcap routine. The set includes two hand-blown glasses with topographic impressions of the Grand Canyon.

$30 at Huckberry.com

Personalized Swell Water Bottle

Functional, budget-friendly, and customized, this gift checks all the V-Day gifting boxes. Whether hes in need of a classic water bottle, a traveler, or a tumbler, Swell has a wide array of options available for personalization. Choose between a 10-character name or three-initial inscription.

Find out more at Swellbottle.com

Carhartt Beanie

Spotted on everyone from Nas to Rihanna, the classic Carhartt has seen a resurgence over the past few years  and for good reason. With an eight-gage knit designed for optimal warmth, this beanie is simple, yet functional, and the budget-friendly price doesnt hurt either.

$16.99 at Amazon.com

Nathan Dash Short Sleeve Shirt 2.0

Comfy, breathable, stretchy and sleek, Nathans Dash T-shirt is a great example of an everyday item thats bringing a lot to the table. His new favorite workout shirt is here. Maybe get him two just so he isnt wearing the same one every single day.

$45.00 at NathanSports.com

HETIME Sheet Masks

Sheet masks aren't just for the ladies anymore. HETIME masks are designed with the dude's face in mind  they fit on the top half of the face, leaving the facial hair area mask-free. These bad boys will hydrate and replenish his skin and help reduce blemishes. Buy individually, as a set or sign him up for a subscription.

From $8 at HETIME.com

RELATED: Unique Valentine's Day Gifts

W&P Craft Cocktail Syrup Set

If your special man loves whipping out his mixology skills at-home, he'll make great use of this gift set. From old fashioned to Moscow mule and spicy margarita, there is a syrup to suit any occasion.

$30.13 at Amazon.com

Le Puzz Match Made in Heaven Jigsaw Puzzle

Are you a low-key couple who prefer a night in to a night out? Make the most of your together time with one of Le Puzzs awesome jigsaw puzzles. The companys branding is a work of art, and their puzzles are somehow even more impressive, as the pieces feel great in your hand and the custom shapes mean no two are exactly alike, making this a much more enjoyable puzzling experience than youre used to.

$38.00 at LePuzz.com

Driftaway Coffee Subscription

For a gift that keeps on giving, look to the coffee subscription. Driftaway Coffee has built up a loyal following thanks to its fresh roasts (coffee is shipped within six hours of roasting) and user-friendly process.

Find out more at Driftaway.coffee

Aerangis Aging Spirits Candle

Rare is the guy who doesnt appreciate the smell of a good whiskey. Give him just that with the stunningly scented Aging Spirits candle from Aerangis, which expertly conjures maple and bourbon and a rug by the hearth. Just make sure he doesnt try to drink the thing.

From $38.00 at Aerangis.com

Nest Weighted Blanket

Sleep quality is one of the biggest factors in how a person feels day to day, and sometimes all it takes to take your sleep up a notch is a weighted blanket. These genius inventions help people relax by mimicking the slight pressure of body contact  meaning he can feel cuddled even when youre not there to cuddle him  and we think Nests sleek and stylish entry might be the best one of the bunch.

From $109.60 at NestBedding.com

Teku Beer Glasses, Set of 6

Born from a collaboration between an Italian brewer and a sensory analysis expert, the German-made Teku glasses from Rastal are for the true beer aficionado. Features include an angular bowl to build aroma, a slightly flared rim to accentuate your beverage as you sip, and a stem to keep your hands from warming the contents.

$59.99 at Amazon.com

Philips SmartSleep

Give him the gift of better sleep for V-Day with this Philips SmartSleep light. Not only does it simulate a sunset to help you fall asleep with ease, but it creates a sunrise in the a.m. to awaken the body naturally in the morning.

$99.99 at Amazon.com

Goldbelly Food

Even if you cant take him out for a special meal, you can still have some deliciousness delivered right to his door. Whether its desserts, pizza, or bagels, Goldbelly makes it easy to enjoy some of your favorite dishes from across the country right at home.

Prices vary at Goldbelly.com

Movie Scratch Poster

Home decor and date night activity all in one. This poster features 100 of the best movies of all time, curated from AFI & IMDbs top 100 lists. You two can work your way through the poster and scratch off a square each time youve finished a flick.

$29.97 at Amazon.com

Bevel Skin Essentials Bundle

Give your guy a serious grooming upgrade with Bevels Skin Essentials Bundle. Featuring a face wash, an exfoliating toner and a moisturizing face gel, this set will have him looking and feeling fresh every day. He might not even believe how nice his face feels  reward him with kisses.

$34.95 at GetBevel.com

Casper Pillow

A pillow might seem like an odd Valentines Day gift, but its something he probably hasnt thought to purchase for himself and it will make a world of difference in his every day. This foam model from Casper is made to support the head and neck while remaining cool to the face throughout the night.

$65 at Casper.com

Cole Haan Generation Zergrand II

If hes a stylish guy, why not get him a sweet pair of kicks? This model from Cole Haan is sleek, refined and sporty all at once  a winning combination. Its got laces for adjusting to optimal tightness when hes being active but the low-cut shape means theyre easily slipped on when hes just hanging around. And we bet hell love the way they look.

$140.00 at ColeHaan.com

Fellow Stagg EKG, Electric Pour-Over Kettle

If hes been missing his usual cafe visits lately bring the experience and enjoyment of a great brew home with this Fellow Pour-Over Kettle. While the long spout is optimal for preparing pour-over coffee, the heating element and temperature toggle ensure water reaches just the right temp.

$159 at Amazon.com

Sunspel Textured Donegal Jumper

You cant go wrong with the thoughtful gift of a classic sweater. This gorgeous cable-knit number from British brand Sunspel is sure to be a standout pick in his wardrobe for years to come. Its thick and warm and cozy thanks to the Donegal wool its made from, and the little flecks of color woven into it give it a homespun quality that only adds to its lovely vibes.

$450.00 at Sunspel.com

BritBox Streaming

Shopping for the Anglophile? Look no further. This streaming service will allow him to enjoy all his favorite TV and movie content from across the pond on his regular devices  think Apple TV, Fire Stick, Chromecast, etc. From Mr. Bean to The Fall, its got it all.

From $8.99 at Britbox.com

Intimacy Deck by BestSelf

It can be hard to come up with romantic Valentines Day plans when you need to stay home, thats where this card game comes in. Filled with a variety of cards, all geared to spark conversation, this deck will allow you to learn new things about one another and grow even closer.

$24.99 at Amazon.com

HeadSpace Meditation

If hes been trying to get into meditation this year, give him a boost with a membership to HeadSpace. In addition to providing an ample selection of guided meditations, it offers workout routines to follow, as well.

From $12.99 at HeadSpace.com

Juniper Books Themed Set

No matter if hes into historical figures or retro comics, Juniper Books has a themed book set to suit his interests. Bonus, they all look super stylish on a bookshelf.

From $50 at JuniperBooks.com

Clase Azul Reposado Tequila

If youre in the early stages of your relationship and you want to get your boyfriend a gift without coming across too strong, a bottle of one of his favorite spirits is a good way to go. Great on its own or in a cocktail, Clase Azul Reposado Tequila is sure to be put to good use for V-Day margaritas.

From $167.99 at Drizly.com

The Beatles White Album Vinyl Record Set

If hes hopped on board the vinyl craze, help him expand his collection  and set the mood for your special evening  with this classic set. It includes four discs from The Beatles legendary White Album, including newly mixed tracks he may not have heard before.

$89.95 at Amazon.com

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GM Investing $650M to Develop Major U.S. Lithium Mine

Published Jan. 31, 2023

General Motors Co. and Lithium Americas Corp. announced Jan. 31 they will jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, the largest known source of lithium in the U.S. and the third largest in the world.

Under the agreement, GM will make a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas, which represents the largest-ever investment by an automaker to produce battery raw materials.

Lithium Americas estimates the lithium extracted and processed from the project can support production of up to 1 million EVs per year.

Lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass will be used in GMs proprietary Ultium battery cells. Lithium is a key material in lithium-ion batteries and stands up well to repeated charging and discharging---including enabling fast charging---delivers higher energy density and offers more usable capacity than other battery types.

GM is launching a broad portfolio of trucks, SUVs, luxury vehicles and light commercial vehicles using the Ultium Platform, including the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and SUV, GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac LYRIQ, Cadillac CELESTIQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, BrightDrop Zevo 400 and BrightDrop Zevo 600.

GM has secured all the battery material we need to build more than 1 million EVs annually in North America in 2025 and our future production will increasingly draw from domestic resources like the site in Nevada were developing with Lithium Americas, said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. Direct sourcing critical EV raw materials and components from suppliers in North America and free-trade-agreement countries helps make our supply chain more secure, helps us manage cell costs and creates jobs.

The agreement with GM is a major milestone in moving Thacker Pass toward production, while setting a foundation for the separation of our U.S. and Argentine businesses, said Lithium Americas President and CEO Jonathan Evans. This relationship underscores our commitment to develop a sustainable domestic lithium supply chain for electric vehicles. We are pleased to have GM as our largest investor, and we look forward to working together to accelerate the energy transition while spurring job creation and economic growth in America.

GMs investment will be split between two tranches. The funds for the first tranche will be held in escrow until certain conditions are met, including the outcome of the Record of Decision ruling currently pending in U.S. District Court. If those conditions are met, the funds will be released and GM will become a shareholder in Lithium Americas. The escrow release is expected to occur no later than the end of 2023.

The second tranche investment is expected to be made into Lithium Americas U.S.-focused lithium business following the separation of its U.S. and Argentina businesses and is contingent on similar conditions, including Lithium Americas securing sufficient capital to fund the development expenditures to support Thacker Pass.

Production at Thacker Pass is projected to begin in the second half of 2026. In connection with the closing of the first tranche investment, GM will receive exclusive access to Phase 1 production through a binding supply agreement and has the right of first offer on Phase 2 production.

Lithium Americas expects Thacker Pass to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations.

GM has announced four U.S. cell plants with annual capacity of 160 gigawatt hours, including the Ultium Cells joint venture plant with LG Energy Solution in Warren, OH, which is in production, and additional sites in Spring Hill, TN, and Lansing, MI, that are scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The first three Ultium Cells plants are expected to create 6,000 jobs in construction and 5,000 in operations.

GM is currently building EVs in two Michigan plants, one Tennessee plant and one Ontario plant, and its suppliers are investing to create a robust North America-focused supply chain for EV raw materials, processed material and components, with major projects under way in California, Texas, Ohio and Quebec.

Source: General Motors Co.
Michigan Auto Instructor Named ASE Instructor of the Year

Published Jan. 31, 2023

Juwan Willis Sr., a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Certified automotive technician from Pontiac, MI, was honored with the Byrl Shoemaker/ASE Education Foundation Instructor of the Year award, presented in late 2022 at the ASE Board of Governors meeting in San Diego, CA.

Juwan, who is an automotive instructor and the four-campus program teacher leader at Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast in Pontiac, is one of the outstanding ASE Certified professionals recognized annually by different segments of the automotive service and repair industry, said Tim Zilke, president and CEO of ASE.

Zilke, along with Mike Coley, president of the ASE Education Foundation, and Brad Pellman, chair of the ASE Board of Directors, presented the award to Willis.

ASE has honored extraordinary industry professionals from across the nation for more than 40 years, Zilke continued. This is made possible by the support of our many award sponsors. This award is given by the ASE Education Foundation in memory of Byrl Shoemaker, a champion of automotive education. We are proud to recognize Juwan's commitment to excellence, providing the very best in automotive technology education to his students. This dedication is reflected in the talented professionals we recognize each year and Juwan represents the best of the best.

Thirty-three companies from both OEM and aftermarket segments sponsored the individual technician recognition awards in the auto, truck, collision, parts and service categories, along with awards for instructors. In addition to looking for top scores on ASE tests, award sponsors examine on-the-job excellence, community service and other factors when selecting honorees.

Source: ASE
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 doesnt strike as the most handsome electric vehicle out there, but it sure is one of the most efficient. The same reason behind its peculiar shape is whats making it use so little battery: the state-of-the-art aerodynamics. Thanks to a 0.22 drag coefficient, the Ioniq 6 is among the most efficient vehicles in the U.S. Now that EPA has completed the tests, we found that the most efficient Ioniq 6 is the SE Long Range RWD trim, with an EPA estimate of 140. Only the Lucid Air Pureand Lucid Air Touring AWD have a similar fuel economy rating.The same Ioniq 6 version boasts a 361-mile (581 km) EPA-estimated range, which is more than Hyundai expected. Last November, Hyundai got its European WLPT certification , with an estimated range of 614 kilometers, which converts to 382 miles on a full charge. Thecycle is notoriously optimistic, which makes its figures almost impossible to achieve in real-world traffic. On the other hand, the EPA estimates are more in line with what people expect while driving a car. This is why Hyundai targeted an EPA range estimate of 340 miles (547 km).As EPA figures show, other versions of the Ioniq 6 are less efficient. The same Long Range version, but in AWD configuration, has a 316-mile EPA rating, with 121 MPGe combined. It all goes downhill from here, as the standard-battery trims are losing in range and efficiency. The SEL and Limited trims in RWD guise get 305 miles (509 km) and 117 MPGe, while the AWD versions must contend with 270 miles (435 km) and 103 MPGe. Olabisi Boyle, vice president of product planning and mobility strategy at Hyundai Motor North America, explained how Hyundai achieved such impressive figures.Instead of just adding a larger battery to increase the range, we chose to optimize IONIQ 6s aerodynamic performance and its Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) for efficiency to produce these long driving ranges, said Boyle.The 0.22 drag coefficient was instrumental to Ioniq 6s impressive efficiency, but what went into honing aerodynamics is even more impressive. Hyundai fitted the Ioniq 6 with active air flaps, wheel gap reducers, and an elliptical wing-inspired spoiler to have smooth airflow around the cars body. The electric sedan also features flow separation traps on both sides of the rear bumper and a full underbody cover to improve aerodynamics. Hyundai Ioniq 6 is available in Long Range versions featuring a 77.4-battery, while the standard range trims get a 53-pack. Designed to support both 400- and 800-volt charging infrastructures, the Ioniq 6 can recoup 65 miles (105 kilometers) with only five minutes of charging at a 350-kW charger. The RWD versions rely on a 225-horsepower motor, whereas the dual-motor AWD versions have 320 horsepower on tap.
BMW is arguably one of the worlds sought-after automakers. Its cars come in various shapes and sizes, with powertrains that can suit almost everyones motoring needs. The interior quality plus the technology available onboard are also on the menu. Apart from a pickup truck and a van, the German carmaker really does it all, and, from the looks of the sales result, does it very well.There are not that many bad things that can be said about BMW, which is a rarity in this day and age. The brand even strives to turn its entire operation into a sustainable one through various measures like replacing its entire thermoplastics components with recycled materials, creating efficient powertrains for its electric vehicle lineup, and changing logistics packaging with reusable materials.So, how can you improve an already updated four-door premium sedan that can meet almost any wish you may have? With a new optional color! The seventh generation of the 5 Series can now be ordered in a metallic exterior finish called Arctic Race Blue. This new color joins Phytonic Blue and Tanzanite Blue II as alternatives to more restrained options like Sophisto Grey or Carbon Black. It's trying to reflect the color of the polar sky while also encompassing the concept of being cold on a cloudless day.True BMW fans might unconsciously associate this new blue with one that debuted on the 8 Series . But Barcelona Blue is a shade because it contains black pigment, while the Arctic Race Blue is a tone thanks to grey inserts. Of course, things are a little bit more complicated than that, but well leave it to paint specialists to dissect every spec of color.It's also different from the Blue Ridge Mountain greenish blue paint that debuted with the pre-facelift 3 Series.Arctic Race Blue first appeared on the current-generation 4 Series (G22, G23, and G26). For those who have not seen one in real life, it might be useful to know that as other optional BMW colors do, this one also allows sunlight to point out the cars proportions. On a sunny day, it may look like a bright but light blue. When clouds rule the sky, the vehicle might even end up looking almost grayish.If youre after a strong blue for your vehicle, then maybe you should consider the other paint finishes available.Arctic Race Blue was most likely added to BMWs color roster for the North American and European markets after the Alpina B5 GT was introduced in sedan and wagon forms. The Alpina fits between the M5 Competition and M5 CS and can be ordered with the new blue optional color.But if you dont want to pay more for a V8-powered sedan, then you might like to know that Arctic Race Blue is also available for other versions of the 5 Series. We verified this by speccing a 520i M Sport with the Extended Shadowline option (included in the M Sport Pro Pack) in the UK and a 540i xDrive Sport without the blacked-out bits and pieces in the U.S. You can admire both in the photo gallery.Finally, this new paint job will set you back 900 in the UK, $650 in the U.S., and around 1,100 in other European markets. In Canada, its a no-cost option.
Photo: U.S. Air Force

Photo: U.S. Air Force

Separately, ten tankers are ordered by the Japanese and Israeli air forces, with six going to the Asian country and the remaining four allotted to the middle east ally. Although its best known for its aerial refueling role, the KC-46A is a versatile cargo and troops carrier and can also serve as a medical transporter.The tanker was deemed combat-ready by the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command in September of last year, extending the range of missions that the aircraft can perform. A little over a month ago, on December 17-18, two KC-46As completed the first operational long-endurance for this type of warbird. Forty-two hours, from Kansas to Guam and back, with a short ground stop in the Pacific territory for regular service.Last year, the Pegasus air tankers performed exceptionally well, according to the military, which claims a 97% mission-capable success rate for the deployment exercises involving the KC-46A. The planes flew over Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific region.Boeing assembles these around-the-globe-capable airplanes in the largest building on the planet  the Everett, Washington facility, using the 767 production line. Built specifically for aerial refueling and airlift, the Pegasus first flew in December 2014 after three years of development.The KC-46A can assist most fixed-wing aircraft with range-extending mid-air refueling missions thanks to its combined boom, hose-and-drogue, and WARP (Wing Aerial Refueling Pods) delivery systems. Combined, these features enable the airplane to undertake multi-point simultaneous aerial refueling tasks. In plain average Joe parlance, the giant can fill the tanks of several airplanes at once.Each of the Pegasus fuel offloading systems is independent of the others, with the Boom Operator controlling the boom, centerline drogue, and WARPs simultaneously. The Air Refueling Operator station provides permanent wingtip-to-wingtip monitoring.The massive warplane can carry up to 65,000 lbs (nearly 30 tons) of cargo  a total of eighteen 122-gallon (463-liter) pallets  along with 213,000 lbs of fuel (96 tons) and 58 passengers. The Pegasus takeoff weight is a hefty 415,000 lbs (188 tons) at full load.The combined thrust of 124,000 lbf of the two Pratt & Whitney 4062 high-bypass turbofan jet engines doesnt look like overkill, keeping in mind the figures in the paragraph above. The 159-foot-long behemoth (48.5 meters) has a wingspan of 156 feet (47.5 meters) and stands almost 52 feet tall (15.5 meters).A crew of up to fifteen (including the standard five aeromedical evacuation crew) can take position inside the KC-46A air tankers . The MedEvac team (which regularly consists of two nurses and three medical technicians) can be reconfigured as needed, depending on the number of patients.
The Blue Oval subsidiary, founded by Edsel Ford in late 1938, competed for most of its life against Buick and Oldsmobile from GM and DeSoto or the namesake Chrysler brand. It was closed in 2010 due to dwindling sales and the need to cut expenses following the then-recent financial crisis, but not before sending out into the world an entire series of memorable automobiles.Chief among them was also the Cougar nameplate that was applied to a pony car model (1967 to 1973), a personal luxury car (1974 to 1997), some mid-size cars (1977-1979 and 1981-1982), plus a forgettable sport compact model between 1999 and 2002 . Naturally, classic Blue Oval fans only have eyes for the traditional counterparts of the Ford Mustang (first and second generation) or Ford Torino/Thunderbird (third through seventh gens).As such, they have an ample choice between their respective pony car and personal luxury car iterations  and we can see that people could easily lean heavily toward one or the other, depending on their POV. And that is valid both in the real world as well as across the vastness of the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Such is the latter case with Timothy Adry Emmanuel, the virtual artist better known as adry53customs on social media, and as far as we can tell it pony-happened twice.As he continues his commissioned dream ride periplus alongside HotCars , the pixel master has recently dreamt about the return of the Mercury Cougar Eliminator, which was a special 1969 and 1970 version introduced alongside the Boss 302 Mustang. It replaced the performance-oriented Cougar GT as an exclusive hardtop Cougar (no Convertible or XR-7 goodies), and the Eliminator featured all standard engines along with the exclusive use of the Boss 302 mill.The CGI experts restomod was cooked up as a quintessentially extreme Hot Rod , complete with a thoroughly slammed attitude and an extra widebody aerodynamic treatment, plus a massive old-school blower protruding through the hood and making all supercharged fans get giddy at the sight of it. Interestingly, the author also has a second version for Mercury enthusiasts, as he later imagined an orange, modernized version of the original dwelling on a quarter-mile dragstrip alongside its ancestor.Unfortunately, although it is dreamt of as a hypothetical competitor for the big and brawny Dodge Challenger, this slightly toned-down variant of the Mercury Cougar Eliminator lacks a definitive personality. Especially from the sides, where it looks just like any other body kit placed on top of an unsuspecting Mopar two-door coupe if you get my drift. So, does it get our CGI hall pass, or is that a hard pass, actually?
At the dawn of the 1970s, when Ferruccio started running into financial difficulties, the Raging Bull of SantAgata Bolognese launched a 90-degree V8 that you might know from the Urraco, Silhouette, and Jalpa. Lamborghini wouldnt develop a new engine until the Gallardo entered the scene with a high-revving V10. Bankrolled with Volkswagen money, said engine would be shared with the Audi R8. It continues to be produced today, although its days are numbered because the R8s future is probably electric and the Huracans replacement may get a twin-turbocharged V8.Speaking of the heir apparent of the Huracan, its been confirmed with plug-in assistance. Lamborghini will first reveal the plug-in successor of the Aventador with a clean-sheet V12 rather than the Aventadors lump, and the Urus will soon receive a plug-in V8 powertrain as well. Never before had Lamborghini been more successful than in 2022, with 2023 promising to be a record-breaking year as well. But alas, Lamborghini cant roll out a fourth model for the time being over a couple of reasons.First and foremost, battery tech simply isnt good enough for the Raging Bull of SantAgata Bolognese. Speaking to Motor1, chief technical officer Rouven Mohr made it clear that current battery and electric vehicle tech isnt feasible in a hi-po vehicle. Think supercar and hypercar levels of performance rather than a sporty grand tourer. Thats why Lamborghinis first electric vehicle wont come in the form of a midship, but a two-door coupe with seating for four. Think Taycan and e-tron GT minus two doors.It will be a slow burn, though. Best described as the long-awaited successor of the hideously underrated Espada, the yet-to-be-named electric grand tourer would perfectly complement Lamborghinis current lineup. The Italian automaker has an entry-level supercar, a flagship supercar, and the mandatory sport utility vehicle. A luxury-oriented gran turismo with the right styling and performance characteristics to be worthy of the Lamborghini Taurus logo is the right call by all accounts. Being a user-oriented vehicle rather than a white-knuckle ride will also bring new customers to the brand, which is close to cracking 10k annual deliveries.Speaking to the cited publication, chief technical officer Mohr also stressed that Lamborghini customers expect something outstanding rather than a similar execution to what one may find in other automakers. Given the advancements that will occur through 2028 when the newcomer enters production, the E-spada or whatever it will be called is certain to stand out from the crowd, including from the Taycans and e-tron GTs successors.
In addition to five Agusta A109 LUH helicopters, the RNZAF No. 3 Squadron had eight Airbus NH90 in its fleet. The first NH90 entered service within RNZAF in 2015. Today, almost a decade later, its name is linked to a different kind of milestone  not one related to technical performance or operational success. It turns out that the three pilots in this small squadron are all women, which makes the Airbus helicopters the first ones in New Zealand to be operated by an all-female crew.The three trailblazers have already seen what the NH90, designated as the NATO standard helicopter, can do. For example, two years ago, it proved to be an invaluable asset during the Christchurch Floods. Thats when the crew had the challenging mission of saving people from the water at night (which means limited visibility for pilots) after arriving at the spot as fast as possible, despite the weather conditions.The NH90 is built precisely for these types of demanding operations. A twin-engine rotorcraft , its packed with advanced technology, including a four-axis autopilot, fly-by-wire control systems, on-board monitoring, and diagnostics systems.It was also designed for top-notch resilience. The fuselage was made from modern composite materials, which resulted in a lower structural weight, and fewer parts. Thanks to this, the NH90 claims to offer 30% better endurance compared to similar rotorcraft boasting metallic fuselages. The same type of materials was used for the rotor blades, helping with what is known in the industry as damage tolerance and fatigue strength.According to Airbus, the NH90 also boasts top-level operational survivability, thanks to multiple features, including an advanced self-protection suite and a low radar signature. Combining the diamond-shaped airframe made of composite materials with infrared suppressor devices, this tough chopper also becomes stealthy. So much so, that it claims to ensure the lowest radar signature in its class.The NH90 is also highly versatile, which makes it so exciting for the all-female crew at the No. 3 Squadron. They can literally go from search-and-rescue missions above the mountains to supporting police units counter-terrorism operations in just a weeks time. This multi-role helicopter is also amphibious and can handle the challenging condition of Sub-Antarctic regions.Its name comes from the NHIndustries partnership, a European collaboration between Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters, and Fokker Aerostructures, which was set up for developing the NATO helicopter.
SUV

And if you think about it, there is a logic behind all the commotion. The original iterations  first with a dedicated platform for a compactto rival the Jeep CJ-5, International Scout, or Toyota Land Cruiser, then as an F-Series full-size two-door SUV offspring battling the K5 Blazer, Ramcharger, or Cherokee  are all deeply beloved. As such, there is no shortage of classic restorations, restomods, or custom creations Secondly, the modern reinvention has more customers than Ford can produce vehicles (hence a lot of chagrin from the eager fan base) and also battles very few foes in the mid-size off-road-focused SUV field, including the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner. Plus, the Blue Oval company made sure to keep things enticing with Everglades, Bronco Raptor, and Heritage editions, among other things. Additionally, where the OEM stops it is open business territory for the aftermarket realm, both in the real world as well as across the dreamy kingdom of digital car content creators, as it turns out.And there is no need to take our word for granted, as we have many examples. The latest has recently arrived courtesy of the automotive digital creator behind Innov8 Design Lab (aka innov8designlab on social media), who has prepared something CGI and outrageous - for both Mickey Thompson and Bronco fans, and all sprinkled with a heavy lift twist. After all, this rendering house is no stranger to such crazy high-riding vehicles that would stand out in any crowd  either for positive or negative reasons.Truth be told, it was about time for a lifted monster since their latest CGI projects included a slammed vintage station wagon, a super clean Porsche 911 GT3 RS rocking a new set of Vibrant Forged VFF wheels, or a bonkers twin-turbo 1966 Lincoln Continental . That one dropped its murdered-out stance for a quick CGI-to-reality restyle just in time to show the bagged goodies at the iconic SEMA Show held in Las Vegas between October 31 and November 3 as part of the newly minted SEMA Week.Now theyre back to high-riding shenanigans with this orange-and-blue Ford Bronco 4-Door that is fresh out of the lab riding on massive 54-inch Mickey Thompson tires and also features a couple of custom solid axle swaps thanks to a bonkers Roam Offroad lift kit. As far as I am concerned, it looks utterly great for some heavy-duty dune bashing and rock crawling. However, I do have one CGI regret  this is a regular Bronco-based build rather than something designed to let the Bronco Raptor flex its upgraded muscles.
Can you imagine a future where hydrogen aircraft are rolled out of factories on a regular basis, and where passengers can board airliners with no emissions at all? This is the vision of H2Fly, a company with a trailblazing spirit, that was founded almost a decade ago in Stuttgart.Established by a team of engineers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the University of Ulm, its not surprising that it aims to break technological barriers and revolutionize commercial aviation.The company first made headlines with a four-seat prototype that has achieved impressive results for hydrogen-powered aviation. It became the first of its kind to complete a flight between two commercial airports, when it traveled from Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen powered by hydrogen. Next, it managed to fly at 7,230 feet (2,203 meters), which was considered an altitude world record for hydrogen-air-breathing aircraft.But these successes are just stepping stones on the way to something thats much more impressive  a 40-seat regional airliner powered by liquid hydrogen. It wont be a new aircraft built from scratch, but an existing Dornier fitted with H2Flys fuel cell system.All of the future tests will be performed at a new development and testing hub, called the Hydrogen Aviation Center, in Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Airport is H2Flys partner for this ambitious project, which is also getting millions of Euros in funding from the Ministry of Transport, through Baden-Wurttemberg.As its name suggests, the future center will be entirely dedicated to the development and testing of hydrogen-electric powertrains. According to H2Fly, it will include workshops and test stands in the hangar, plus a spacious outdoor area, where aircraft demonstrators can be used for further testing of the hydrogen technologies.Baden-Wurttemberg officials even believe that Stuttgart has the potential to grow from an R&D hub for hydrogen technology, to a manufacturing center for hydrogen aircraft.The new Hydrogen Aviation Center in Stuttgart is set to start operating by the end of next year. In the meantime, the German startup is working with Deutsche Aircraft to certify the D328eco using Power2Liquid jet fuel thats made from green hydrogen.The future passenger aircraft could be certified by 2026, and the new Hydrogen Center will certainly play an important part in that. In addition to the powertrain, H2Fly is also developing a liquid hydrogen tank for the future 40-seat passenger aircraft. However, this complex endeavor requires the cooperation of multiple industry partners, which is why the new hub for centralized operations is so important.
Be they stellarators, tokamaks, or any other Earth-bound fusion reactor, the goal is to do much the same as inside the center of the Sun. Just without the benefit of all that immense gravity. With only 9.8m/s2 worth of force to work with here on Earth, the solution to a chronic lack of gravity is electromagnets of ever-increasing power.

Photo: Quora

Photo: Princeton University

Photo: Princeton University

Photo: Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

Photo: Justin Ruckman

Most fusion enthusiasts are familiar with the tokamak-class reactor of Soviet origin. They're perhaps most famous for their use in the UK's Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory and the ITER facility in Southern France. But to understand why stellarators and tokamaks took the forms they did, we need to know the history behind the primordial days of human-produced fusion.Even if most of us aren't nuclear physicists, we can at least identify the basic nuts and bolts of nuclear fusion as demonstrated by both American and Soviet technology. In simple terms, very light atoms get smashed together with immense pressure and heat to form novel, heavier elements with the motherload of hopefully harvestable energy left over. It's the same process that fuels every star in the universe.As far back as 1934, a group of three scientists, Mark Oliphant, Paul Harteck, and Ernest Rutherford, used a rudimentary particle accelerator machine similar to that of a stellarator or a tokamak to smash atoms of deuterium into lithium foil. Keep in mind the team had no computers to aid this process. Though primitive on many levels, the working theory behind its operation was no-less groundbreaking.By the end of World War II, several British physicists were experimenting with micro-scale electromagnetic confinement, as was first proposed by Sir George Paget Thomson of the Imperial College in London. Diving even further, we find that ex-German nuclear scientists fled en masse to Argentina after the war. Scientists like Ronald Richter were employed by Argentine President Juan Domingo Peron to design a stellarator-like device on a remote island near the border with Chile.Skipping to the year 1951, the stellarator reactor's inventor and Toledo, Ohio native Lyman Spitzer Jr, is taking a phone call from his father detailing Ronald Richter's experiments. Experiments, which, keep in mind, were being dubiously touted by the Argentine press as having achieved sustainable fusion plasma and scientific breakeven. Accolades that wouldn't be confirmed as successful until the 2020s by American scientists in Livermore, California, not Argentina.As one of the post-WWII-era's brightest minds in plasma physics and star formation, Spitzer took one good look at the newspaper report from Argentina and knew it was bogus. That said, this news got Spitzer's considerably powerful mind jogging about how he could take Ronald Richter's idea and make it more plausible. Being that he was packing for a ski trip at the time of his father's phone call, Spitzer spent his time waiting on ski lifts breaking down the nuts and bolts of his new idea in his head.All the while, Soviet engineers Igor Tamm and Andrei Sakharov were hard at work with their tokamak design. One of the key issues with fusion reactors which Spitzer wished to solve included a phenomenon called atom drift. In this, ionized atoms of plasma inside a tokamak reactor tend to deviate in their orbits around a perfectly circular fusion core as the temperature and pressure inside the core increase.In experiments with Spitzer's first number-eight-shaped fusion reactor, he found that pre-fusion plasma tended to maintain a more stable flow with a handful of corners and chicanes mixed in. I.e., the laws of physics appear to prefer Formula One to NASCAR. The results of the American and Soviet research on the matter birthed two profoundly different-looking fusion reactors. The famous donut-shaped torus native to the tokamak is no doubt visually pleasing. That's especially true with a brilliant ring of infernally hot plasma forced to run through it using powerful electromagnets and a central power transformer.The requirement of such massive, powerful electromagnets makes tokamaks by far the largest form of a fusion reactor. That's why the tokamak that will power ITER in 2025 is 30 meters (98 feet) tall and weighs north of 25,000 US tons (23,000 metric tons). As unapologetically Soviet in origin as tokamak-class reactors are, the American equivalent is similar in working principles. But unlike tokamaks, stellarator reactors, as invented by Lyman Spitzer, could be magnitudes smaller and also many magnitudes more like squiggly line-adjacent.The deliberately twisted and curvy construction of a stellarator made for a reactor which, in theory, prevented most of the atomic drift associated with tokamaks by working on the same physics as a car losing kinetic energy when entering a tight turn. This, plus portability by itself wouldn't be enough to keep tokamak reactors from being the favored design globally. Starting in the 1960s, research groups around the world, North America included, began to take the same "no replacement for displacement" philosophy that'd define the American auto industry in the same decade.Meaning, of course, people figured bigger reactors must be better. Spitzer appealed to the United States Atomic Energy Commission to fund his designs. All the while, he employed famous astrophysicist and nuclear engineers like James Van Allen to help manufacture more tabletop-scale stellarator reactors. The first of these machines was completed in 1953.In subsequently upgraded prototypes with larger, more powerful magnets, Spitzer found the mounts on which the magnets were fastened tended to flex and shift as the current flowing through the device increased. Think of it almost like a worn-down motor mount on your car that makes the engine shake when you rev it. Speaking of car-related items, one variant of Spitzer-designed stellarators, the B-65, used an entirely new plasma flow layout dubbed the "racetrack" configuration.So then, the Formula One quip from before hits home even harder. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in New Jersey played host to these achievements starting in the late 50s and early 60s. By 1961, Spitzer had stepped down from the leader of PPPL's stellarator program. With his successor Melvin B. Gottlieb at the helm, Princeton scientists unveiled their ultimate stellarator, the Model C. Making the most out of what was learned from the tabletop-sized Model A and Model B, the Model C was considerably larger. Operation began on the Model C in March 1962.Even in its largest form, the Model C stellarator is visibly far smaller than the equivalent research-grade tokamaks of the day. In the end, the downfall of the Model C had nothing to do with its design. In an era when the Apollo flight computer undergoing testing to put men on the Moon only had enough RAM to measure in words, not bytes, the hardware simply wasn't available to fine-tune the Model C's fusion core to undergo sustainable fusion.With that, stellarator-class reactors soon faded into obscurity. Especially after top-secret Soviet tokamak technology was de-classified and licensed off to universities and research groups across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States. As if by cruel irony, the Model C stellarator itself was re-engineered into a torus-shaped tokamak reactor in 1969.As we're all aware, humanity today lacks the gross deficit in computing power it had in the 60s. If anything, the exact opposite is the case. With microchips of ever-increasing power on ever-shrinking sizes, the human race has more than enough power to make stellarators viable once more. Proof-positive of this is the Wendelstein 7-X located at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany.Completed in 2015, the W7-X recently finished a series of comprehensive upgrades in the fall of 2022. But with a major radius of 18 feet (5.5 meters), W7-X isn't the largest stellarator. That title belongs to the Large Helical Device built-in Gifu, Japan, in 1998. To say the inside of that reactor looks like you inserted yourself into a tokamak and dropped a tab of some strong hallucinogen would be an understatement. No, seriously, looking at the internals of the thing almost gave us vertigo.After the National Ignition Facility in California achieved 1.5 times breakeven with a laser-based fusion core in 2022, it's been a two-horse race between stellarators and tokamaks to see which will be the second to break even. Even 25 years ago, experts would have likely told you that tokamaks are the slam-dunk choice over stellarators. But nowadays, the race is so much closer than even Lyman Spitzer might have realized.A quarter century after his death in 1997, perhaps the most underappreciated theoretical physicist in American history might be about to be vindicated and placed very deservingly in the history books sometime very soon. This is doubly the case if his brainchild manages to achieve scientific breakeven before any of the tokamaks, which experts claimed to be superior in the first place.Check back soon for more awesome nuclear fusion profiles here on autoevolution.
Full Self-Driving

NHTSA

Teslas driver-assist systems have been at the center of many controversies, mostly because their names were considered misleading. Many people reportedly believed that Autopilot andcould drive autonomously, leading them to dangerous situations that sometimes ended with the tragic loss of lives. After several crashes, U.S. authorities decided to investigate how these systems work and how Tesla advertises them.Weve already reported that theis investigating Tesla for multiple problems with its driver-assist systems. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the crashes involving the two systems and Teslas conduct regarding Autopilot and Full Self Driving. The criminal investigation appears to be accelerating because Tesla has been subpoenaed to hand over documents related to the two driver-assist systems. The information has been confirmed by Tesla in a Form 10-K document filed with the SEC following 2022 financial results.The company has received requests from the DOJ for documents related to Teslas Autopilot and FSD features, writes the Form 10-K document. To our knowledge, no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred. We cannot predict the outcome or impact of any ongoing matters.There are three DOJ investigations opened in various stages, but none of them is advanced enough to have a court strategy. A decision on pressing charges has also not been made so far. Nevertheless, Tesla cautioned investors that a decision to pursue an enforcement action could have a material adverse impact on its business.Tesla is already under scrutiny for its driver-assist systems. It all started in 2016 when a driver using Autopilot was killed after his Tesla went under a tractor-trailer crossing its path in Florida. In total, 35 crashes in which Teslas automated-driving systems were involved are investigated by the NHTSA. Nineteen people lost their lives in those crashes. According to Reuters, NHTSA investigations proceed really fast and are very extensive.Tesla and Elon Musk are adamant that Autopilot and Full Self-Driving are designed to increase safety. The carmaker also presented statistics that show enhanced safety when using Autopilot compared to non-Autopilot driving. Following a one-year hiatus, the statistics have been altered to demonstrate improved data compared to earlier safety reports.Besides NHTSA and DOJ investigations, Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk are facing criminal charges in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation. The Commission wants to see whether Musk inappropriately made forward-looking statements when talking about Autopilot. Musk got in hot waters after it was discovered that a 2016 Autopilot video was staged under his indications.
ICE

Any self-respecting Blue Oval enthusiast knows the story of the Ford GT40. It was a high-performance endurance racing car commissioned by Ford to try and compete in Old Continent endurance races, such as the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Interestingly, and more specifically, they tried to contest Ferraris absolute dominance (the Italian company had won the 1960 through 1965 editions) and fulfill an American dream on European soil.With help from a set of bright minds  Carroll Shelby, Ron Bradshaw, Ken Miles, and Bruce McLaren, among many others  they succeeded in the endeavor, snatching the laurels for the 1966 through 1969 races. Naturally, during the early 2000s, Ford was approaching its centenary and wanted to pay homage to the GT40 and other important milestones. And after the GT40 Concept presented in 2002 at NAIAS was well received, the limited production of the model was just a small step away that was fulfilled between 2004 and 2006 as the first-generation Ford GT.Then, after a decade-long hiatus, the second iteration of the Ford GT came to life and was produced between 2016 and 2022 in even fewer units  a bit more than 4k for the original run and just 1,350 units for the butterfly-door coupe, respectively. This turned even more into a collectible item with numerous special editions, and of course, the series culminated with a track-only version called GT Mk IV that wants to churn out more than 800 ponies. Of course, the long-tailed toy is also crazy expensive, at $1.7 million.But what if Ford comes down from the GT cloud number nine and settles on a more accessible idea for a third stint  hopefully, earlier than the next decade? Well, that may not be possible in the real world, or at least not as an-powered supercar. But across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, just about anything is virtually doable. So, here are the good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media), who tipped us off to Andreas Ezelius elegant yet vintage next-gen Ford GT CGI idea.Better known as andreas_ezelius, this 3D artist works at River End Games but is also a self-described car nut and photography enthusiast, so his final result of the Ford GT Concept project has photorealistic qualities that could fool many fans with its true Ford colors and simple livery. The striped goodies sure look ready for production, but unfortunately, this is merely wishful thinking. So, there is no restomod-like new Ford GT for you and me today, sorry!
COVID-19 situation stable in China's rural areas during Spring Festival holiday

Xinhua) 08:43, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- China saw no rise in COVID-19 cases across its rural areas during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, a senior ministry official said at a media briefing on Monday.

The COVID-19 situation in rural areas was generally stable, said Mao Dezhi from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Special measures were put in place targeting rural residents of remote mountainous regions, pastoral areas, forest regions and islands, which are weak links in COVID-19 prevention and control work, Mao noted.

Such measures included delivering targeted services to the elderly, children, pregnant women, people with physical disabilities and people with illnesses, sending itinerant medical workers to rural areas, prioritizing vulnerable rural areas in the distribution of medicines and medical supplies, and ensuring township medical facilities are equipped with sufficient ambulances to transfer patients to bigger hospitals in a timely manner when necessary, Mao said.

Rural areas are of primary importance in the country's current COVID-19 response strategy.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
kW

kWh

Founded in 2017 by Michael Norcia, Pyka has quickly become the global leader in autonomous electric aviation technology and, more specifically, in electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. They are also the makers of the Pelican Spray, an all-electric and fully autonomous purpose-built aircraft for agricultural operations, the first of its kind to perform aerial applications on banana crops for major customers in Costa Rica.The new Pelican Cargo unveiled on Monday by the young aviation company is an adaptation of the plane they developed for crop spraying and could turn out to be a true game changer in the shipping industry. The zero-emission plane is the worlds largest autonomous electric cargo airplane, boasting unprecedented payload and range capabilities. It is also the first autonomous aircraft in its class.Powered by Pykas proprietary autonomous electric flight engine, the Pelican Cargo offers a range of up to 200 miles (322 km) and a payload of up to 400 pounds (approx. 180 kg). This is made possible by the maximized cargo volume of 66 cubic feet (1,870 liters).The electric airplane is equipped with four electric motors, producing a total of 100combined power, and a 50lithium-ion swappable battery that can either be charged in approximately one hour or exchanged for another charged one when necessary. Night flying is also possible thanks to the incorporated GPS and Laser/Radar based navigation.The new aircraft has an airframe and structural components made of high-performance carbon fiber, corrosion-resistant metal, and 3D-printed parts that leveraged industry-standard aerospace manufacturing processes. It features a nose-loading configuration with a sliding cargo tray that will allow loading to be done in five minutes, and it is meant to facilitate and improve express logistics networks, as well as enable access to remote rural communities and areas in need.Pyka says its new electric aircraft will revolutionize the shipping industry not only due to the new cutting-edge technology it incorporates but also due to the low operating costs, which are expected to be $15 a flight hour. The new plane will also have the ability to take off and land in just 500 feet (150m) on dirt or grass airstrips, which means it will be well suited to serve isolated and under-served communities that are currently relying on water or ground transportation for necessities.Pelican Cargo will have a significant positive impact on peoples lives. We designed this plane to eliminate C02 emissions from the logistics chain, while offering a significant speed advantage over ground transportation and operating costs at a fraction of conventional air transportation, explains Michael Norcia, Pyka co-founder and CEO.According to the company, the planes autonomous flight engine can be operated by a single on-ground pilot. The first test flight for the new Pelican Cargo happened in December 2022, and the company says the launch customer is expected to begin daily trial services in the second half of 2023. As it turns out, Pyka has already secured over 80 orders and options for its electric cargo plane from three customers.
kWh

The Japanese carmakers chief scientist made that very clear at the World Economic Forum in Davos and also in an interview with Automotive News. Gill Pratt used an interesting example to demonstrate why the company believes those pushing for BEVs are wrong.Suppose you have a fleet with 100 vehicles powered by combustion engines. Each of these vehicles emits 250 g/km of carbon. If you have a limited amount of lithium, enough only for 100of batteries, which would be the best strategy to reduce emissions?If the batteries were put in a single pack, the fleet would have 99 combustion-engined vehicles and one BEV . The average carbon emission in such a fleet would drop to 248.5 g/km. In other words, the pure electric car would not make much difference in a universe of vehicles that still need fossil fuels.Now get those cells and make smaller battery packs of 1.1 kWh. That would allow the fleet to have 90 hybrid electric vehicles and only ten cars powered by combustion engines. According to the Toyota chief scientist, this fleet would have an average carbon emission of 205 g/km. If the goal is to prevent pumping more carbon into the atmosphere, the less intuitive strategy is the one that has a more considerable impact.Pratts model is a small-scale representation of what the automotive industry is currently going through. There are not enough raw materials for all EVs that governments, politicians, and activists want to see on the streets as soon as possible. Extracting them is not easy: mines take several years to be approved and to start producing and also have troublesome effects on nature. Pratt told Automotive News a car factory takes around three years to be completed, while a mine demands 16 years to start producing raw materials.The race to get more lithium will also make its prices increase, limiting access to all vehicles that will soon need to get battery packs. Supply may cover just one-third of the global demand for lithium at least until 2040, which is well past what some car companies are establishing as their deadlines to sell only BEVs.Pratt rightfully argues that the path to carbon neutrality will have to follow other directions if the goal really is to hold climate change back. The chief scientist argues that there is a crunch that's going to come" and that it will prove that one size does not fit all. What if we are wrong about BEVs?
EV

ICE

Akio Toyoda announced he is stepping down from the CEO role in April, leaving current Lexus boss Koji Sato at the helm. It isnt clear what prompted Toyoda to make such a decision, but he said something interesting in his announcement. The new team can do what I cant do. I now need to take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the future of mobility should be like.Its unclear from the announcement what Toyoda couldnt do or why, but we can only speculate that it could have been a more decisive push toward electric vehicles. Toyota is the laggard in the auto industry regarding EVs, although its fair to admit that it shares this shortcoming with other Japanese carmakers. Based on this, we can say that theres something inherently Japanese that makes car companies oblivious to the major trends in the auto industry today.Koji Sato, the upcoming CEO, has not clarified his intentions yet, but he pledged to turn Toyota into a fully-fledged mobility company. Hopefully, this means that Toyota is finally considering going all-in with electric vehicles. Akio Toyoda also indicated he was willing to follow this path in December 2021 when it announced a bold newstrategy. Nevertheless, Toyota continued business as usual while delaying new electric vehicles and botching their only electric car, the bZ4X.Toyota was supposed to use the same e-TNGA platform that underpins the bZ4X for other future EVs, but it appears it changed course and wants an EV-only platform instead. The reason is that the e-TNGA was derived from anarchitecture and thus uses parts that are unnecessary for electric vehicles. This increases manufacturing costs, making competing with other EV makers that have developed dedicated EV platforms more difficult.According to the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, Toyotas new EV platform will adopt a skateboard shape, which has proved ideal for mass-producing electric vehicles. There arent many details about the new architecture, but according to the Japanese media, Toyota doesnt expect to have an EV built on top of it earlier than 2027.Toyota still wishes to stick to initial plans to build 30 new EVs by 2030, with a projected production capacity of 3.5 million EVs by then. The company is looking to increase bZ4X production capacity by installing a new dedicated assembly line at its Takaoka factory. Currently, Toyota builds the bZ4X at its Motomachi factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.Hopefully, the new CEO will accelerate Toyotas EV program because the times are growing impatient. Toyota may still be the number one carmaker in 2022, but as the world accelerates EV adoption, it might find out it doesnt have much to offer to automotive markets. Toyota invented the lean manufacturing process adopted by the entire auto industry, but it risks losing on another manufacturing revolution that is now in full swing.
Photo: Callum

Photo: Callum

Photo: Callum

EV

Designers and engineers are already considering sustainable options for car interior materials. For example, BMW announced last year that models of the Neue Klasse due to be launched starting in 2025 will come with trim parts made out of plastic containing about 30% recycled nets and ropes. Admittedly, that doesnt sound like much, but its a step in the right direction. And since a major brand such as BMW is taking measures to create more sustainable vehicles, it can set an example for other companies to follow in its new steps.But of course, before implementing such measures, its essential to conduct as much research as needed to test the feasibility of new materials. One of the companies focusing on making car interiors more sustainable is Callum. Callum is a design and engineering business creating bespoke and limited-edition products. The company is specialized in design, lifestyle, and travel and has collaborated with individuals and brands across several segments, such as art, automotive, audio, fashion, and motorsport.Callum carries out design, prototyping, machining, and trim services in a 20,000 square feet facility in Warwick, UK . The British designer Ian Callum is the co-founder and design director for the firm. He is renowned for his extensive automotive work, with projects such as the Aston Martin Vanquish, Vantage and DB9, Jaguar F-Type, F-PACE, and others under his belt.The company's new initiative is meant to discover fresh options  Charlotte Jones and Ian Callum lead the company's team. It uses a retromod Porsche 911 interior as the basis for the research to identify coffee pulp, eggshells, red lentils, walnuts, and rice as viable materials for a car interior in 2030.In the UK alone, thousands of tons of food are wasted every single day  in this context, Callum identified an opportunity to reuse food to create new materials. The company partnered with green-tech company Ottan to find the appropriate materials to replace plastic while meeting a car's strict design, environmental, and engineering requirements.One of the identified solutions that meet the requirements, specifically regarding temperature and wear, is eggshells mixed with resin. The resulting material is smooth and opaque, with either a matte or glossy surface. It can be applied inside the trim surround for the window switches. Furthermore, by adding walnut shells to the eggshells, Ottan's material will have a 6% increase in its recycled content, from 78% to 84%.Another solution is using out-of-date rice or lentils to create a smooth translucent material that can be used ideally for illuminated areas of vehicles, such as illuminated switches or lamp covers.You probably didn't expect this, but coffee pulp can be used as a flame-resistant alternative. It can be processed and utilized as a replacement for traditional plastics for glossy, decorative trims like dashboard inserts, for example.Even if you use food waste to create sustainable materials , you don't have to sacrifice the visuals. For instance, you can still offer vivid colors when using alternative materials. Callum identified that the purple carrot pulp could produce a mulberry-like color for trim parts. What's more, tree leaves can be transformed into a dark surface as an alternative to wood finishes for the center console or dashboard.Another significant waste we produce globally is clothes. Callum's head of materials and sustainability, Charlotte Jones, declared that we consume around 62 million tons of textiles a year, and about 87% of the total fiber input for clothes ends up landfilled or incinerated. However, companies like Planq have designed a process to reuse certain garments. For instance, the company takes jeans, shreds them, and presses them with potato or corn starch to create a hard veneer, which can then be used in seat shells or dash centers. Callum's design study explores other ways to upcycle clothes waste.And lastly, we have plastic waste. Callum's design study uses Camira, a fabric made from marine plastic waste such as polyester, and Feline, a soft material from PET bottles , to cover bolster surfaces. There are two advantages for both these materials. First, they offer no weight penalty compared to standard materials, and second, they can be recycled multiple times. Callum has added a hemp/flax composite option for its latest project, the Barqscooter, to demonstrate its sustainability studies.Now that Callum has demonstrated that sustainable materials can respect the requirements and are production feasible by 2030, the next step is to test the material in upcoming projects. Ian Callum said, "More of our customers are starting to think about sustainable projects and put an emphasis on the circular economy. With others, we might nudge them down that path, highlighting the business benefits of making a more sustainable choice."
EV

SAIC announced on January 30 that it had sold more than 1 million units of the tiny 1.11 million, to be precise. The Wuling would not be considered a car in most countries. It should be classified as a quadricycle in Europe due to its dimensions and speed limitations. For its fans, that was no problem, especially considering how affordable the little machine is.In July 2021, we told our readers that Wuling made only RMB89 for each Mini EV it sold. At the current exchange rate, that represents only $13 per vehicle. SAIC makes more money selling carbon credits for the tiny EV than it does by selling around 400,000 units per year. It is worth remembering that the Hongguang Mini EV is sold primarily in China, with a few imported EVs reaching Europe more recently.To celebrate this achievement, SAIC will sell the Mini EV for an even lower price than it normally charges. While it currently starts at RMB32,800 ($4,860), Wuling will have the New Year Car Buying Festival from January 30 until March 31. During this period, SAICs brand will sell the Mini EV for RMB29,800 ($4,415).For a vehicle that was presented in July 2020, the Hongguang Mini EV may have been the fastest one to reach the 1-million-unit milestone. The Tesla Model 3 was introduced in 2017, while the Model Y emerged in 2019, with deliveries starting on March 13, 2020. It could be even faster if Wuling sold more units abroad with its own logo. The EVs that reached other markets are mostly rebadged vehicles.The Hongguang Mini EVs success made several other Chinese car companies try to offer similar products in that market. Chery may be the most famous case with the QQ Ice Cream . Wuling even made fun of the competitor by selling ice cream in the format of the Mini EV at its dealerships. After all, if customers wanted ice cream, at least they could buy one with the right shape.One of the most amazing things about the Mini EV is that it can seat four people in a vehicle that is only 2.92 meters (115 inches) long. Wuling also sells a long wheelbase version that is 3 m (118 in) long. If you fold the rear seats, the EV can carry 741 liters (26.2 cubic feet) of cargo. Affordable, practical, and charming: thats quite a formula to convince 400,000 customers a year to buy one.
Hiiii, we are doing an interview with TikTok star Khaby Lame and we would love an interactive format to accompany our print.  Sara Kruger from ICON Magazine was on the phone, and we were on fire.

Having worked on tons of interactive editorials for Highsnobiety, we were excited to weave in our latest experience with WebGL to create something new and magical.

ICON x Khaby Lame Gesture Opening Screen

The visual approach

Khaby Lame, TikTok star number one, is known for charming the world by creating funny content without the use of language and spoken words, but only with gestures. When Sara introduced us to creatives Dirk Konig and Lisa Fessel on the top floor of Alex Springers golden tower in the middle of Berlin, we quickly decided to work with short video sequences to be paired with catchy questions as bold headlines.

Giving the user a sense of control and exploration is what makes interactive experiences so different from other linear storytelling.

Dirk was really drawn to an example with bold rotating headlines, and we decided to make this website a long rotating machinery, directly interlinked with the user scroll. To me, giving the user a sense of control and exploration is what makes interactive experiences so different from other linear storytelling. To match the Roman colosseum as the shooting location, we decided to add 3D pillars and columns. I am personally a big fan of rotating 3D objects. They add depth, are cute and are tons of fun.

Khaby Lame Screencast

Additional Interaction Elements

There is a little emoji bar in the interview section. By clicking on the buttons, the user enables a splash of likes, hearts, and fires. I loved the visual effect, but struggled to find real purpose in this bar as, unlike on social media, clicking doesnt impact anything. But I soon realized that the sheer joy of causing an explosion of colorful emojis is purpose enough.

We added a little dragging UI for the image galleries, and I was surprised at how nice it felt having this conventional slider paired with a tilted bunch of WebGL images. I will definitely apply this approach of regular HTML interface interacting with 3D content in future projects.

Emoji Rain

Gallery UI

Code and architecture

Our approach for including 3D was to harness the simple responsiveness of media queries and mixins in HTML/SCSS and to pair them with the complexity and richness of WebGL through ThreeJS.

We started by coding the basics of the design with simple responsive flex boxes containing layouts with video, images, or headlines and text. Then we added the javascript classes containing the WebGL code for each module. These modules then read data attributes and style values from their assigned div, applying 3D model and textures, copying position and scale, and adding a resize event listener to re-copy and apply these values again  voila. We have a responsive system to pair 3D objects with normal HTML code.

Fine-tuning position and scale were achieved easily by applying new CSS values in the inspector and slightly resizing the window.

We used the same principle for all modules on the stage. React modules with image and video contain the textures used in 3D and take care of the play/pause of the video when in the viewport. Again their javascript class counterpart creates and adds 3D models and textures with ThreeJS and mimics the position and size of their assigned HTML element. The same is done with text, and I really really loved doing this with text. Text javascript classes read out regular headline tags content, font family, font size, and line height, and apply this to 3D text - making it easily responsive and adaptive.

Rotation and fine tuning

Done with basic module creation and displaying assets and text, we added rotation in the WebGL classes based on the assigned HTML elements position on the screen and some more parallax depth and variation by adding more variables and parameters from the divs down to the 3D magic. 

Then it was really about adding all the content and fine-tuning the variables and page to make sure we have an even distribution of objects and the flow feels perfect.

I love going to watch contemporary dance pieces, and I recently understood that creative coding is like writing a choreography. We let objects dance, coding interface to enable interaction between elements, and re-watching the movement over and over to modify parameters bit by bit until we are happy with the flow of the website.

Creative coding is like writing a choreography. We let objects dance, coding interface to enable interaction between elements

One of my big favorites in the project is the gradients we applied with a shader to the headlines depending on their rotation. Adding multiple headlines into the one text block caused a beautiful fade-in of the words. We also added some noise to the gradient - the devil is in the detail.

Text Gradient with Shader and Noise

Sound

Adding sound was a last-minute request, but made all the difference. Before this project, I did not quite understand the importance of satisfying as many senses as we can. Leaving out sound completely ignores the fact that our ears want to be entertained too.

Sound producer Lina Dorsam delivered a slick mix of five different audio files which start and stop through triggers which are placed within the various sections. Despite the fact that this is not big coding magic, it still has the surprising effect that the beat picks up when Khaby starts dancing, and this completely transforms the mood. So dont be scared to use non-invasive audio in your coding.

Final thoughts

I often struggled to articulate what it means to be a creative developer, and it took me years to take ownership of my creative influence in projects as a coder, but I feel that with our latest ventures into WebGL, and especially with this project, we broke the barrier of design and development and started melting those two by coding interactive magic.

Technologies

We mainly work with React, and we use NextJS even if there is no CMS attached. The pages load faster through code splitting, and it comes with many other performance tweaks.

For WebGL, we worked with ThreeJS and developed a starter with an asset loader, a base stage class, and some reusable utils.

We always take our learnings from our projects into the next starter to constantly increase our standard of development.

The project is deployed with Netlify.

Company Info

Rocani Studio is a Berlin-based creative development studio working with international brands, renowned agencies, and cultural institutions.
A second claim was filed against Kern County this week over last summers downtown apartment complex explosion that killed one person while in
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
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As the first major consultation on developing offshore wind schemes here is launched, RenewableNI director Steven Agnew examines why its so important for NI to meet clean energy targets, the economic potential, and the job creation, as Stormont and the Crown Estate agree a statement of intent on taking plans forward

For anyone looking outside their window in the past few months it will come as no surprise that climate change is already having an impact here. Last year an unwelcome record was set  the highest annual mean temperature.

A summer drought and a second spring in November making a mean temperature of 9.85C in NI.

Everyone is also aware of the cost of living crisis. Energy bills continue to rise for homes and businesses.

Renewable energy offers consumers a saving on the cost of bills, brings energy security, boosts the Northern Ireland economy, and reduces carbon emissions.

Onshore wind can deliver 70% clean electricity by 2030 but offshore generation will be essential to reach 80% as required by the Climate Act.

Northern Irelands offshore waters are particularly attractive because of the prevailing and consistent wind conditions and ease of access for installation. Our onshore wind farms continue to develop efficiencies and are ready to exceed their renewable electricity targets. Northern Ireland can create jobs and end our reliance on imported fossil fuels in a matter of a few years.

The NI offshore wind sector is emerging as one of the most likely economic success stories of the decade. In addition to generating enough electricity to power 1.6 million homes, it can generate 2.4bn GVA (gross value added) and create 1,500 new jobs.

But good will, a sense of urgency, recognition that we are in the jaws of a climate emergency and genuine intent are not enough. We need change to achieve this.

This year has started with welcome signals from government that for it, renewable energy means business. The Department for the Economys consultation on the draft Offshore Renewable Energy Action Plan (OREAP) for Northern Ireland is a clear sign of intent.

RenewableNI will be leading an industry response to the consultation, making clear the opportunities and the industrys readiness.

The draft OREAP sets a target of 1GW of offshore from 2030 while attempting to accelerate this ambition if feasibly possible. RenewableNI wants to see a more solid commitment to connecting offshore by 2030 with a greater than 1GW ambition beyond this.

The draft OREAP can provide clarity on the 2030 target will be necessary to give industry confidence and to provide direction for grid investments.

The consultation provides a voice to raise the challenges need addressed to progress. Gaps in the Northern Ireland grids capacity; expectations The Crown Estate (TCE) will lease seabed sites to meet developer timelines, decommissioning legislation and the Strategic Environmental Assessments and Habitats Regulations Assessments.

It is not a case of whether leasing, consenting and grid connections requires the first attention, they must be addresses simultaneously.

The proposed timeline to generate and transmit 1GW of offshore wind sourced electricity shows that all the processes including decommissioning regimes, planning and consenting, skills and supply chain among them, are inter-connected and co-dependent.

For instance, the environmental and habitat assessments must be completed and the decommissioning regime legislated for before TCE will agree to lease; planning submissions will be required and grid capacity needs to be upgraded in order to accommodate the new electricity sources.

The continuing lack of an Assembly and Executive could put this potential 2.4bn industry in real jeopardy.

Even in the absence of a functioning Assembly, RenewableNI has been involved and kept closely informed by departmental officials on progress.

RenewableNI has worked diligently with the department and is confident that the expert voices and opinions of our members will have an impact on shaping the final policy.

Industry is ready to deliver on the ambition of the draft OREAP. The action plan will stimulate huge levels of private investment, but we now need government to deliver against the proposed timelines. In fact, some timelines will need to be accelerated to achieve the 80% renewable electricity by 2030 target.

Last year, DAERA minister Edwin Poots said he would agree to lobby TCE on the matter of a Northern Ireland leasing round. A lack of clear policy and underpinning legislation resulted in Northern Ireland being excluded from recent TCE leasing rounds but this is being remedied and I am encouraged by TCEs level of engagement in the OREAP process.

However, the indicative timeline for completion of the leasing round will be too late to deliver projects by 2030. We will explore with TCE and DfE how these timelines can be reduced.

Overall, the consultation brings a fresh optimism. RenewableNI members include private sector developers with generous budgets and a willingness to invest. Some of these are well established firms with global presences in the traditional oil and gas sector and who are now transitioning to renewables.

For these firms, new technologies in wind generation, their manufacture and installation techniques mean they can react quickly given the right legislative conditions and begin work right away on the next generation of clean and low environmental impact electricity sources.

RenewableNI will continue to work closely with officials to make progress on defining the policies we so urgently need to reduce our carbon footprint, to become self-sufficient in generating our own electricity and even becoming a net exporter of electricity.

By working together we can transition to a cleaner future and boost our economy.
A killer who displayed indifference when beating his partner to death is not entitled to any reduction in his prison sentence, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Senior judges rejected William Hutchinsons challenge to the minimum 21-year term imposed on him for the murder of vulnerable 53-year-old grandmother Alice Morrow in east Belfast.

Ms Morrows body was discovered at her flat in the Braniel estate in March 2019.

Hutchinson, 46, from Kilbroney House in the east of the city, initially denied the murder but pleaded guilty as he was set to go on trial in June 2021.

Appealing the sentence imposed, he claimed a failure to take into account mitigation and insufficient credit for his plea.

But in a judgment aimed at providing sentencing guidance for cases of domestic violence femicide, the Court of Appeal identified no merit to the challenge.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan set out the horrific circumstances of the killing.

She said: Where there is gratuitous violence to a vulnerable victim and an indifference as to whether or not a victim dies, we do not consider that the argument made for mitigation gains any traction at all.

Hutchinson called 999 after carrying out the fatal attack, telling an operator he had just come in and found Ms Morrow in bed with bruising to her hands and face and apparently not breathing.

Police arrived and discovered the victim lying on the floor lifeless, with the defendant distressed and weeping uncontrollably.

Post-mortem examinations established that Ms Morrow died as a result of a combination of injuries to the head and chest. A total of 71 wounds had been inflicted.

Dismissing the grounds of appeal, Dame Siobhan held that the sentencing judge correctly identified a series of aggravating features: the victims vulnerability; evidence of gratuitous violence; and the extensive and multiple injuries inflicted on the victim before death.

She also pointed out: The applicant deliberately chose not to summon medical help at a time when this would have been critical.

He subsequently engaged in a cynical pretence that he was a grieving partner to direct attention away from himself.

Referring to the scourge of domestic violence, the Chief Justice stressed the sentence imposed on Hutchinson reflects societys condemnation and should be taken as a signal of the level of punishment for perpetrators.

Finally, we are aware of the effect upon the family of Alice Morrow of this horrific offence., she added.

Hopefully, with the conclusion of this appeal, the family may be allowed to properly begin the grieving process and the journey towards rebuilding their lives.
A man who robbed a pizza delivery driver whilst brandishing a pair of scissors has been sent to jail for at least 14 months.

Paul Stephen Campbell, a 28-year-old dad-of-one, admitted the offence, which he committed in the north of the city last April.

The robbery occurred outside a block of flats on the Cliftonville Road at around 9.30pm on April 10, 2022.

When the pizza delivery driver arrived at the flats, he called the mobile number for the order and advised the food had arrived.

Campbell, of Hopefield Avenue in north Belfast, approached the communal doors of the flat and was told the order was 29.99. He said the pizza was already paid for, and when told this wasnt the case Campbell checked his wallet.

At this point, Campbell told the driver to stay and walked away from the door. The driver got back in his car and was then approached by Campbell who at this stage was holding what appeared to be a pair of scissors in his right hand.

Belfast Crown Court heard Campbell grabbed the pizza bag, told the driver Ill be having that and when the driver let go of the bag, Campbell ran back into the flats with it.

The driver called the police and when they arrived at the scene they were approached by Campbell who said: Its me youre looking for.

He was arrested, identified by the driver and confessed at the scene to taking the pizza bag. During a police interview, he admitted he had ordered pizza, had no money to pay for it but took it anyway.

Campbell also said due to his drug and alcohol intake, he could not remember if he had scissors  but accepted the drivers version of events.

Defence barrister Taylor Campbell said his clients offending occurred when was under the influence of both alcohol and Pregabalin.

The barrister told Judge Patrick McGurgan that Campbell has expressed genuine remorse for his very stupid behaviour.

Saying Campbells life has changed since then, his barrister revealed he now attends Alcoholics Anonymous and volunteers in a soup kitchen.

Judge McGurgan said victims such as taxi and delivery drivers who worked at night were vulnerable  and any form of assault upon them warrants a prison sentence.

He added that whilst the driver in this case didnt provide a victim statement it was obvious he would have suffered some harm and level of distress.

Judge McGurgan imposed a 28-month sentence, which was divided equally between prison and licence.
The PSNI has charged a 34-year-old woman with drugs offences following a series of house raids.

Detectives from the forces Organised Crime Branch carried out searches at four properties in Belfast, Portadown and Hillsborough.

They seized a number of items for further examination, including a quantity of Class A and Class B drugs, mobile phones and a quantity of cash.

A 34-year-old woman was arrested and has since been charged with a number of offences including being concerned in the supply of Class A controlled drugs, transferring criminal property and being in possession of Class A and Class B controlled drugs.

The woman is to appear before Lisburn Magistrates Court on Monday February 27.

As is usual procedure all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Detective Inspector Shaw said: Through Operation Dealbreaker and with the support of partner organisations, we will continue to tackle the supply, use and harm caused by illegal drugs.

Were grateful for the support of local people, and Im keen to reiterate our ask for anyone with information, or concerns, to get in touch on 101.

Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

For information on local support services that can help with issues like drug addiction, please visit www.drugsandalcoholni.info
Scientists have released a newly accurate map of all the matter in the universe (Owen Humphreys/PA)   Owen Humphreys

Scientists have released one of the most precise measurements ever made of how matter is distributed across the universe today.

When the universe began, matter was flung outwards, gradually forming the planets, stars and galaxies.

By carefully putting together a map of that matter today, scientists can try to understand the forces that shaped the evolution of the universe.

Combining data from two major telescope surveys of the universe, the Dark Energy Survey and the South Pole Telescope, the new analysis involved more than 150 researchers, including several with the University of Chicago and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

The research suggests matter is not as clumpy as would be expected based on the current best model of the universe.

According to the scientists, this adds to a body of evidence that there may be something missing from the existing standard model of the universe.

By analysing the two sets of data, the scientists could infer where all the matter ended up in the universe.

They say it is more precise than previous measurements as it narrows down the possibilities for where this matter wound up, compared with previous analyses.

The majority of the results fit perfectly with the currently accepted best theory of the universe.

But there are also signs of a crack  one that has been suggested in the past.

Co-author and University of Hawaii astrophysicist Eric Baxter, said: It seems like there are slightly less fluctuations in the current universe than we would predict assuming our standard cosmological model anchored to the early universe.

The new readings find the universe is less clumpy, clustering in certain areas rather than evenly spread out.

The researchers say that if other studies continue to find the same results, it may mean there is something missing from the existing model of the universe.

However, the results are not yet to the statistical level that scientists consider to be certain.

But because the analysis yielded useful information from two very different telescope surveys the results are considered to be landmark findings.

The findings are published as a set of three articles in Physical Review D.
Briefly showing people a visual flicker that aligns with their individual brainwave cycle can boost their learning ability in a visual identification task, a study has suggested.

Neuroscientists from Cambridge University attached sensors to the heads of 80 participants aged 18 to 35 to sample their brainwave rhythms.

They used these to create a visual pulse  of a high contrast white square displayed briefly on a dark background followed by a blank interval  at the same tempo as the individuals alpha wave.

Participants got a 1.5-second dose of personalised pulse to set their brain working at its natural rhythm  a technique called entrainment.

They were then given a visual identification task  detecting targets on a cluttered background.

A brainwave cycle consists of a peak and trough.

Some participants received pulses matching the peak of their waves, some the trough, while others got rhythms that were either random or at the wrong rate  a little faster or slower.

Each participant repeated more than 800 variations of the visual identification task, and the neuroscientists measured how quickly people improved.

The learning rate for those locked into the right rhythm was at least three times faster than for all the other groups.

Lead author Dr Elizabeth Michael tweaks the electroencephalography cap (Cambridge University/PA)

When participants returned the next day to complete another round of tasks, those who learned much faster under entrainment had maintained their higher performance level.

The research indicated that the learning boost only occurred when the visual flicker chimed with the trough of a brainwave.

Scientists believe this is the point in a cycle when neurons are in a state of high receptivity.

The studys first author, Dr Elizabeth Michael, said: It was exciting to uncover the specific conditions you need to get this impressive boost in learning.

The intervention itself is very simple, just a brief flicker on a screen, but when we hit the right frequency plus the right phase alignment, it seems to have a strong and lasting effect.

Professor Zoe Kourtzi of Cambridges Department of Psychology, who is senior author of the study, said: Each brain has its own natural rhythm, generated by the oscillation of neurons working together.

Professor Zoe Kourtzi (Cambridge University/PA)

We simulated these fluctuations so the brain is in tune with itself  and in the best state to flourish.

Our brains plasticity is the ability to restructure and learn new things, continually building on previous patterns of neuronal interactions.

By harnessing brainwave rhythms, it may be possible to enhance flexible learning across the lifespan, from infancy to older adulthood.

Co-author Professor Victoria Leong, from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Cambridges Department of Paediatrics, said: We feel as if we constantly attend to the world, but in fact our brains take rapid snapshots and then our neurons communicate with each other to string the information together.

Our hypothesis is that by matching information delivery to the optimal phase of a brainwave, we maximise information capture because this is when our neurons are at the height of excitability.

She said the mechanism in the study mirrors the way people learn as infants.

The brainwaves experiment set-up in the Adaptive Brain Lab (Cambridge University/PA)

We are tapping into a mechanism that allows our brain to align to temporal stimuli in our environment, especially communicative cues like speech, gaze and gesture that are naturally exchanged during interactions between parents and babies, said Prof Leong.

When adults speak to young children they adopt child-directed speech  a slow and exaggerated form of speaking.

This study suggests that child-directed speech may be a spontaneous way of rate-matching and entraining the slower brainwaves of children to support learning.

Prof Kourtzi suggested that brainwave rhythms could be used to enhance aspects of learning for children who struggle in regular classrooms, perhaps due to attentional deficits.

She said they could also help with training in professions where fast learning and quick decision-making is vital, such as pilots or surgeons, adding: Virtual reality simulations are now an effective part of training in many professions.

Implementing pulses that sync with brainwaves in these virtual environments could give new learners an edge, or help those retraining later in life.

The research is published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
Protesters walk through flares smoke at the end of the demonstration against plans to push back Frances retirement age in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

By Jade Le Deley and John Leicester, Associated Press

By Jade Le Deley and John Leicester, Associated Press PA Media

An estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets of French cities, towns and villages on Tuesday, according to the Interior Ministry, in new massive protests against the governments key pension reform plans.

The turnout exceeded participation in a previous round of strikes and protests against the proposed retirement age increase, in a significant victory for labour unions.

The eight unions organising the protests promptly announced that they would organise new demonstrations on February 7 and February 11.

In the face of massive rejection, the government must withdraw its reform, said Patricia Drevon, of the Workers Force union.

Demonstrators arrive near the Invalides monument during a demonstration against plans to push back Frances retirement age in Paris (Lewis Joly/AP)   Lewis Joly

She stood beside colleagues from the other unions in a rare show of solidarity.

The powerful CGT union claimed that 2.8 million protesters marched on Tuesday.

The nationwide strikes and protests were a crucial test both for President Emmanuel Macron and his opponents.

The government says it is determined to push through Mr Macrons election pledge to reform Frances pension system.

And strong popular resentment will strengthen efforts by labour unions and left-wing legislators to block the Bill, which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

In the capital Paris, police said 87,000 people took to the streets  up from 80,000 in the first big pension protest on January 19, when authorities said one million people demonstrated nationwide.

Union estimates had doubled that figure.

The overall peaceful Paris march was marred by scattered clashes between a small group of black-clad radicals and riot police, who fired tear gas at Les Invalides, site of Napoleons tomb towards the end of the march that stretched across the city.

Riot police officers take position near the Invalides monument after a demonstration against plans to push back Frances retirement age in Paris (Christophe Ena/AP)   Christophe Ena

Police reported 30 arrests.

Some 11,000 police were on duty for an estimated 250 protests nationwide.

Today, the government is in a corner. It has only to withdraw its reform, Erik Meyer, of the Sud Rail union  one of eight which organised the march  said on BFM TV.

Veteran left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon celebrated a historic day of protests and predicted defeat for Mr Macron.

Its not often that we see such a mass mobilisation, he said, speaking in the southern city of Marseille.

Its a form of citizens insurrection.

On the other hand, Mr Macron on Monday defended the reform as essential.

His prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, insisted this past weekend that raising the retirement age to 64 is no longer negotiable.

Protesters end the demonstration against plans to push back Frances retirement age, at the Invalides monument in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

The protests were not limited to Frances big cities.

On Ouessant, a tiny western isle of some 800 people off the tip of Brittany, about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the office of mayor Denis Palluel and marched, he said.

Mr Palluel told The Associated Press that the prospect of having to work longer alarmed mariners on the island with arduous ocean-going jobs.

Retiring at a reasonable age is important, because life expectancy isnt very long, he said.

In addition to the protests, strikes disrupted services across France on Tuesday.

Rail operator SNCF said most train services were knocked out in the Paris region, in all other regions and on Frances flagship high-speed network linking cities and major towns.

The Paris Metro was also hard hit by station closures and cancellations.

Power workers also demonstrated their support for the strikes by temporarily reducing electricity supplies, without causing blackouts, power producer EDF said.

Protesters hold a banner demanding to stop plans to push back Frances retirement age during a demonstration in Paris (Christophe Ena/AP)   Christophe Ena

Jamila Sariac, 60, a civil servant, said the pension system should be left alone.

Social protection is a milestone of our society, a milestone that the government wants to break, she said, adding that strikes would more effectively pressure the government than demonstrations.

We owe it to our elders who contributed to the wealth of France.

Construction worker Said Belaiba was among travellers whose morning train from Paris to the city of Lyon was cancelled, forcing him to wait.

Still, the 62-year-old said he opposed the planned reform.

My job is physically exhausting, he said. You cant keep on over 64.

Strikes also hit schools, with the Education Ministry reporting that around one quarter of teachers stayed off the job  fewer than in the first round of protests.

French media also reported walkouts in oil refineries.

Radio station France Inter played music instead of its usual morning talk shows and apologised to its listeners because employees were striking.
Of the 87 rhinos poached last year, 61 were black rhinos and 26 white rhinos, the ministry said (Alamy/PA)   Alamy Stock Photo

Rhino poaching in Namibia increased dramatically last year, with nearly twice as many of the critically endangered animals killed than the year before, the countrys environment ministry has said.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism released figures showing that 87 rhinos were poached in 2022, up from 45 in 2021.

It was a serious concern, the ministry said.

Of the 87 rhinos poached last year, 61 were black rhinos and 26 white rhinos, the ministry said.

And 46 of those rhinos were poached at the Etosha National Park, Namibias flagship game reserve.

Namibia has more than a third of the worlds black rhinos and the Etosha National Park is home to the biggest single black rhino population, according to Save The Rhino.

Save The Rhino estimates there are approximately 6,000 black rhinos left and around 15,000 white rhinos.

Those two species are only found in the wild in Africa.

Conservation groups have warned the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic could undermine efforts to stop poaching.
Executive Office accused of stalling over offers of redress in class action

A campaigner has called for victims of abuse  whose details were made public in a data breach  to be properly compensated as the largest class action in Northern Ireland looks set for the High Court.

Personal details of victims of historical institutional abuse who had taken part in an inquiry led by the late judge Sir Anthony Hart were accidentally sent out via email in May 2020.

The email containing a newsletter revealed the names of recipients in a redress scheme in error.

It was sent on behalf of the Interim Advocate for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse, the late Brendan McAllister, whose office has been accused of breaching GDPR and privacy rights.

An inquiry into the data breach found there had been a procedural error in the office of the victims advocate.

Those named in the leak had opted to remain anonymous during the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry.

The incident was described as a massive breach of confidence for victims, with their email addresses made visible to everyone who received the newsletter.

Mr McAllister, who passed away in December, apologised for the error, which was also reported to the Information Commissioner.

Campaigner Margaret McGuckin, who was a victim of historical abuse, said: It is just once again having to fight with these people when it is not the victims fault.

There were so many names on that list who hadnt even told their families, secrets theyve held a lifetime about their abuse.

For the men especially, they spoke of feeling shame because they never wanted anyone to know their identity and that email was sent out hundreds of times and seen by so many people.

There are people who never even told their partners about what happened to them when they were children in those institutions and were promised anonymity.

The Executive Office (TEO) at Stormont, which oversees the advocates office, has already accepted responsibility for the breach.

While some of those impacted accepted payouts from TEO, the majority have yet to be compensated for the breach of privacy.

Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law, who represents 89 victims in the class action data breach case, said her clients were once again being forced to fight through the courts.

We are now two-and-a-half years on and the TEO have accepted liability but are stalling about making any offers to compensate victims and forcing them to go through yet another judicial review process, she said.

All of this is causing further harm to victims who had to fight for the redress scheme and now have to go to the High Court in the largest class action in Northern Ireland to get compensation for a data breach that should never have happened.

This was a result of the failures to properly fund the office of the Interim Advocate and to properly train, monitor and oversee what it was doing.

A TEO spokesperson said: It is not appropriate to comment on ongoing legal matters.
Shankill Road on a knife-edge as fears mount feud violence will ramp up

Pressure being piled on UDA boss Mo Courtney, who allegedly ordered recent attack on Bar Berlin, after fall-out with other criminals

The Bar Berlin on the Shankill Road which was trashed by a gang of 20 men last Friday

Allison Morris Belfast Telegraph Tue 31 Jan 2023 at 07:30
Blair wrong to say Northern Ireland divided over sovereignty

Malachi O'Doherty says he does not accept that "the core problem in Northern Ireland was a dispute between reasonable people over sovereignty".

Tony Blair made an extraordinary statement in the interview he gave Eamonn Mallie on UTV last week. He said that when he had looked at the problem in Northern Ireland he realised that it was fundamentally simple.
Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock.com

Ivanka Marie Trump has always been in the spotlight and it is no mystery that she was a principal contributor to her father Donald Trump's campaign and perhaps should have been his running mate (just kidding). The American businesswoman and former fashion model is the daughter of Trump and his first wife, Ivana Trump (married from 1977 to 1992.). In addition to her business pursuits, she has reached out to working mothers to encourage them in all facets of their careers and is passionate about this initiative. Ivanka is a mom of 3 kids and launched the #WomenWhoWork initiative in 2014 to help women live to their full potential. Women can find articles on health tips, fashion tips and also find guidance. The executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization is also the co-founder of Trump Hotels and runs IvankaTrump.com. What a hard-working gal! Here are other facts on Ivanka Trump that are quite entertaining and provocative.

She is a fashion guru.

Ivanka businesses also include running her clothing line, shoe line, jewelry line and a handbag collection. Revenues from her collections were estimated at $100 million dollars in 2015.

She was boycotted.

With the contention over Donald Trumps remarks against women, Ivanka was the one who took a hit from the public because of her continual support of her father. One brand strategist generated the hashtag #grabyourwallet in response. "The beauty of America is people can do what they like, but I'd prefer to talk to the millions  the 10 of millions  of American women who are inspired by the brand and the message that I've created," Ivanka said in response to the boycott.

She was criticized for her maternity leave policy.

Former creative director Marissa Velez Kraxberger came forward about the Ivanka Trump's parent company G-III for not offering paid maternity leave. Kraxberger wrote she had to battle for her leave. "I'm not writing this because I think Ivanka is a bad person. If you truly support parenting and children then you actually have to support it fully." The storm started after Ivanka said that her dad would change the labor laws for women in the workplace by focusing on affordable childcare for all. This would include 6 weeks of paid leave for new mothers. She said that hopefully under the Trump administration they will be able to implement it. Ivanka actually offers a pretty good benefits package. The benefits package includes paid leave. They have a flexible work schedule, endless vacation and endless sick days, according to her spokesperson.

She is an advocate for women.

Ivanka prides herself in not being just a businesswoman, but being an advocate for women by trying to empower them in every aspect of their lives. She said it began before the presidential campaign and explained it was never politically motivated. "I've never politicized that message," she continued. "People who are seeking to politicize it because they disagree with the politics of my father  there's nothing I can do to change that."

She attended Wharton Business School.

Ivanka attended Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania after she attended Georgetown University. She graduated with a degree in economics in 2004. Her father, her brother Donald Jr. and her sister Tiffany also graduated from there as well. They are all supportive of each other. "So proud of my beautiful and brilliant sister @tiffanytrump on her graduation today. We all love you very much," Ivanka posted.

She became Jewish.

Ivanka married businessman Jared Kushner in 2009 and converted to Judaism before she was married. She considers herself as Orthodox." The couple reportedly does not eat pork and keeps dairy products and meat products separate. She told Vogue: "Its been such a great life decision for me. I am very modern, but Im also a very traditional person, and I think thats an interesting juxtaposition in how I was raised as well. I really find that with Judaism, it creates an amazing blueprint for family connectivity. The couple will move within walking distance of the Orthodox Kesher Israel and a Chabad congregation, according to the Jewish Telegraph agency.

She was an acquaintance of Chelsea Clinton.

She was criticized for mixing business with politics.

Ivanka and Chelsea Clinton were introduced by their husbands and connected a few times in the same social circles. The ladies never discussed politics because they had so much in common. Chelsea told Cosmopolitan.com that she was appreciative of her friendship with Ivanka. "I'm always going to believe because this is how my parents raised me, that friendship is more important than politics," Clinton said in the 2016 interview.

When Ivanka gave a speech at the RNC and sent out a tweet to shop for her look with a link to buy her dress at Macy's--there was a backlash. People were upset and one person posted that "@IvankaTrump is using her speech to the RNC to market her clothing line." An email alert went out to journalists about purchasing her $10,000 dollar bracelet that was seen on "60 Minutes." Her representatives responded and said that they were just obeying protocol and that they were "discussing new policies and procedures with all of our partners going forward."

She supported Hillary.

According to reports, Ivanka supported Hillary during her 2007 campaign and donated to the Clinton Foundation. It is believed the donations ranged from $5,000 dollars to $10,000 dollars.

Her real name is not Ivanka.

She is named after her mother Ivana, who was a model. Since her mother hails from the Czech Republic, the traditional Slavic name is Ivanka. The name stuck and is now a brand.

Ivanka is busy doing it all. She is balancing a professional life, a marriage, 3 kids and is working to make an impact by supporting women in the workforce. You may not think that she's an ideal role model for women, but you can't discredit her for being her own person and working to make a resolute change.

Corine Gatti-Santillo is a freelance digital journalist, editor, and content producer. She is also the The Christian Post Voices Editor. She is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com.
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The goal of most single Christian men is to find a good Christian woman who not only loves Jesus Christ, but also shares his same vision  who is willing to step on the mission field with him. This is a woman that hes not only physically and emotionally attracted to, but also a person he can also see himself growing old with. While many Christian men are hoping to find their dream wife, statistics show that men are spending a great percentage of their lives single. More and more men are choosing to delay marriage. According to U.S. Census records, in 1960, the median age at first marriage for a man was just under 23. Now, its at a current high of over 27. This prolonged period of singleness presents a series of challenges for Christian men as they seek to live for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Scripture teaches us that marriage is a covenant that establishes a relationship between a man and a woman that have no natural obligations to each other, but who voluntarily take on the permanent obligations and commitments of a family relationship. In marriage, two individuals become related in union, and become one flesh, developing a relationship that is so close, intimate and permanent. To form this kind of covenant relationship is part of what it means to be created in the image of God. Just as Christ is united to His people in such a way that He is the head, and the church is His body, God created us to reflect His image as we relate to one person in a one-flesh union. Its also important to understand that to become one flesh doesnt mean to become one person. A husband and wife are still two distinct people. However, it does mean as a result of this union, a husband now relates to his wife as if she were part of his own body, caring for and protecting her as he would care for and protect himself.

When it comes to sex and the single man, the Bible teaches that sex should not be experienced outside of marriage. Following the Bibles instruction is becoming a bigger problem not only because people are marrying later, but also because people are valuing marriage less and less. Despite this, the biblical teaching to reserve sexual intimacy for marriage is still relevant for todays Christian man. The fullness of sexual expression was created to be expressed only within the covenant of marriage. Regardless of our cultures emphasis on casual sex, sexual intercourse is a powerful emotional and spiritual bonding that will always have implications; there is no such thing as casual sex. While God commands us to save sexual intimacy for marriage, our sexuality is something that will always be there even when sex isnt part of our life. We spend so much time talking about the physical act of sex, we ignore the fact that its our sexuality that drives us into relationship, makes us desire marriage and expresses our desire to be known, protected, heard and understood. Our sexuality drives our longing to be vulnerable, soul to soul with another person, and our longing to be known by God. As a single Christian man, your sexuality serves a purpose.

Your sexuality draws you into relationship. We spend so much time focusing on the act of sex that we forget that sexuality is about intimacy and relationship. A key aspect of sexuality is the desire to share intimately with another person. While this is expressed in the fullness of marriage, your sexuality as a man deeply impacts how you relate to others. You have a longing to connect, to share and to trust another person wholly. These are all aspects of Gods image expressed in your sexuality.

"The struggle to stay pure doesnt end at the wedding ceremony. Sexual purity is a constant battle."

The struggle for sexual purity isnt just for singles either. Married and single men have a lot more in common than they may think. Just like single men, married men struggle with sexual frustrations and temptations. The struggle to stay pure doesnt end at the wedding ceremony. Sexual purity is a constant battle. It just takes on a different form in marriage. Just because your married friends are free to have sex doesnt mean they dont struggle with porn, unmet desires, extramarital flirtations and conflict over sex in marriage. Understand that sexuality is not about an on-off switch called marriage. Single or married, yielding your sexuality under Christs command will always be a challenge. In your season of singleness, it doesnt help to pretend youre not sexual. Instead, your sexuality should be expressed in ways that honor God and also validate your longings for intimacy.

One way you can do this is by guarding your mind. Our culture is so sex-saturated. Porn can be accessed not only on every computer, but also on every mobile device. Sex is everywhere on TV and movies, and even in our advertisements. Sex is everywhere. The Song of Solomon warns us not to awaken love before it's time.

The next way you can honor goal and also validate your longings for intimacy is by channeling your desire for intimacy in healthy ways.

Intimacy doesnt mean sex. Many men and women who struggle with sexual temptation are really longing for intimacy. The feeling to be known, cherished and valued. Yes, we have hormones and sexual longings, but these are not nearly as powerful as our drive for intimacy. The physical act of sex, while beautiful as an expression of intimacy is a cheap replacement for it. Our society sabotages intimacy while promoting casual sex as a substitute. No amount of sex, whether real or imagined can replace intimacy.

Christian men should continue to seek marriage, but intimacy should be the greater goal. Your sexuality and your longings should remind you that you are created for relationship  intimate relationships with others and with Him. Instead of focusing on the act of sex, focus on building up intimacy in your relationships. Everything will eventually fall into place.

Lesli White is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications and a concentration in print and online journalism. In college, she took a number of religious studies courses and harnessed her talent for storytelling. White has a rich faith background. Her father, a Lutheran pastor and life coach was a big influence in her faith life, helping her to see the value of sharing the message of Christ with others. She has served in the church from an early age. Some of these roles include assisting ministry, mutual ministry, worship and music ministry and church council.
Protesters gather outside the local parliament building during a rally against the governments proposed plans to weaken the anti-corruption commission, in Surabaya, Indonesia, Sept. 26, 2019.

Indonesia dropped sharply in worldwide corruption rankings released on Tuesday, as cases of kickbacks, judicial corruption and conflicts of interest have worsened in Southeast Asias biggest country, watchdog group Transparency International said in its annual report.

Indonesia fell 14 spots to rank 110th on the groups 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which measures perceptions of public sector corruption.

Meanwhile, its score for perceived cleanliness in government and the public sector fell to 2014 levels  a drop that could affect investments in the project to build a new national capital on Borneo island, analysts said.

Political corruption including bribery, gratuities and conflicts of interest between officials duties and business interests remain rampant, leading to the sharp drop in Indonesias position compared to the previous year, said Transparency International Indonesia researcher Wawan Heru Suyatmiko.

The countrys score allocated by Transparency International fell to 34 out of 100 in 2022, down from 38 out of 100 the previous year.

This is the worst since 2014, when the score was also 34. So were back to square one, he said.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo came to power in 2014 on a pledge to clamp down on corruption.

According to Transparency International, a countrys score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where zero means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.

A countrys rank is its position relative to the other countries on the index. Ranks can change merely if the number of countries included in the index changes.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore topped the Corruption Perception Index list, while Indonesia ranked sixth, lower than Malaysia, Timor Leste, Vietnam, and Thailand. Bangladesh ranked as the second most corrupt country in the South Asian region, behind Afghanistan.

Pahala Nainggolan, the deputy for prevention at Indonesias Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said the Transparency International findings took him aback.

Im shocked. How come we scored only 34? he said, warning that the perception could deter investors from coming to Indonesia.

Yusuf Hakim Gumilang, a member of the Presidential Staff Office, acknowledged likely shortcomings in the governments anti-corruption fight. He said the government had been implementing digitization at its agencies to reduce corruption.

Maybe its true that our corrective efforts are not enough, he told BenarNews.

As it is, in 2019, Indonesias parliament had passed amendments that brought the once-independent KPK under the control of the executive branch.

The move provoked street protests, during which opponents accused the government of using the law to weaken the independence of the agency fighting corruption.

Then in December, Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for investment and maritime affairs, said the KPKs practice of arresting officials while allegedly receiving bribes had tarnished Indonesias image abroad, giving the impression that corruption was rampant in the country.

Its not good for our country. Its very bad, said Luhut, Jokowis most trusted minister.

If you want to be squeaky clean, you might as well live in heaven, he said at the time.

Back to square one

The government stepping away from fighting corruption has backfired, according to Danang Widoyoko, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia.

The decline in the CPI score shows that this strategy is not working. Efforts to fight corruption in the political sphere and the judiciary have been stagnant, Danang said.

Bivitri Susanti, a lecturer at the Jentera Indonesia Law College and anti-corruption activist, concurred.

President Jokowi had promised to strengthen the KPK, but now its back to square one. This is proof that he has failed to fulfil his promises, Bivitri said.

A low corruption perception index score could get in the way of the governments efforts to attract investment to the new capital being built on Borneo, as quality investors will hesitate to enter countries with poor governance and high corruption levels, she said.

As a result, low quality investors will come. They will look for quick profits, make money as fast as possible, then bring it back to their countries of origin, she said.

In August 2019, Jokowi announced that the country would move the capital from crowded and partially sinking Jakarta, on Java island, to East Kalimantan, a densely forested and thinly populated province in the Indonesian part of Borneo.

The government has struggled to attract investment for its construction since Japanese tech conglomerate Softbank last year withdrew its plans to invest.

University of Indonesia economist Faisal Basri said conflicts of interest had reached an emergency level because many top government officials have business interests.

Its no longer clear who are the government and who are business people, Faisal said.

Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.

The index assesses 180 countries and territories worldwide on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting firms and think-tanks. Scores reflect the views of experts and business people.
In this photo taken on December 23, 2022, Filipino fishermen aboard their wooden boat sail past a Chinese coast guard ship in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

Updated at 10:33 a.m. ET on 2023-01-31

The increasingly powerful Chinese coast guard has boosted its presence to an unprecedented level in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, a new report alleges.

Meanwhile, Chinese and Japanese coast guard ships appeared to have had a brief but tense confrontation near the contested Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

The report Flooding the Zone: China Coast Guard Patrols in 2022 by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a research institution at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C., asserted that, Chinas coast guard presence in the South China Sea is more robust than ever.

It said the China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained near-daily patrols at key features claimed by China and other neighboring countries.

Together with the ever-growing force of maritime militia, the CCG patrols show Beijings determination to assert control over the vast maritime zone within its claimed nine-dash line, the report said.

The so-called nine-dash line is an imaginary boundary that Beijing uses to demarcate its historical claims over nearly 90% of the South China Sea.

Chinas claims are disputed by other countries and were rejected by an U.N. tribunal in 2016.

Largest coast guard vessel

The AMTI team analyzed ships automatic identification system (AIS) data from the year 2022 across the five features: Second Thomas Shoal, Luconia Shoals, Scarborough Shoal, Vanguard Bank, and Thitu Island.

Several countries hold contesting claims over all the five features but, so far, China has been the most assertive.

CCG patrols across all five features amounted to 1,703 ship-days in total, according to the AMTI report, which also noted that the number of days the CCG patrolled at Vanguard Bank, an important site of Vietnamese oil and gas development, more than doubled from 142 days in 2020 to 310 days in 2022.

This has been a major concern for Vietnamese authorities as Vietnams economy relies heavily on its oil and gas industry.

Vanguard Bank, called Bai Tu Chinh in Vietnamese, has become some kind of stopover for Chinese patroling vessels, said Van Pham, chief administrator of the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative, a Vietnamese independent research project.

They often anchor at the bank before continuing their patrols, she said.

In 2021, CCG ships from Vanguard Bank regularly approached Vietnams Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields, sometimes so close that they would be inside the fields security areas and jeopardizing the pipeline, the analyst said.

Vanguard Bank is where Chinese and Vietnamese law enforcement vessels confronted each other in July 2019, one of the worst standoffs between the two countries in the South China Sea in recent years.

CCG vessels in general move from one patrol location to another, including spending time at Vanguard Bank and then passing by Tuna Block, an Indonesian gas field in Natuna Sea, en route to Malaysias Luconia Shoals, said AMTI Director Greg Poling.

Chinese coast guard vessel 5901 in Malaysias exclusive economic zone as of Jan. 31, 2023. [MarineTraffic]

Indonesian and Malaysian law enforcement were both put on alert this month when Chinas largest coast guard ship 5901 operated in their exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

An EEZ gives a state exclusive access to the natural resources in the waters and seabed but those in the South China Sea overlap with Chinas nine-dash line.

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur both sent naval ships to monitor the Chinese vessels movements.

The CCG5901, also the worlds largest coast guard vessel, was still in the area on Tuesday, according to data provided by ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.

Confrontations and accidents

All indications are that these trends will hold in 2023. China will keep the CCG patrolling these locations daily, will harass new oil and gas drilling, and will deploy hundreds of militia in the Spratlys, Poling told RFA.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam all stood more or less firm in 2022, which I'd expect to continue this year, he added. But there will inevitably be tense run ins and potential accidents that could escalate.

Vessels from China Maritime Surveillance and the Japan Coast Guard are seen near disputed islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, Sept. 10, 2013. [Reuters/Kyodo]

Japanese media reported that four Chinese coast guard ships tried to approach a Japanese-registered private vessel in Japans territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

This is the second time this year Chinese law enforcement ships were accused of intruding into Japanese waters around the Senkaku chain.

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships secured the safety of the 997-ton Shinsei Maru and warned the Chinese ships to leave the waters, Jiji Press reported.

The ship is said to have been conducting marine research around the Senkakus. Researchers also flew a drone to take images of the islands.

Chinese state media meanwhile said Chinas coast guard expelled Japanese ships that illegally entered Chinese territorial waters around the Diaoyu Islands, using the Chinese name for the Senkaku islands which are under Japans control but also claimed by China.

China Coast Guard vessels took necessary management and control measures and warned them away according to the law, a Chinese spokesman was quoted as saying.

Japan said Chinese vessels have intensified activities around Japan after Tokyo designated Beijing an unprecedented strategic challenge in its latest National Security Strategy in mid-December.

Chinese warships of the Liaoning carrier group held exercises near Japan in December, 2022, simulating attacks on Japans outlying Nansei islands. Tokyo said it would acquire more counter strike capabilities and has already planned to bolster missile and electronic warfare capacity on those islands.

Asked about the AMTI report at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China followed international law in its South China Sea conduct.

In accordance with Chinas domestic law and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Chinese Coast Guard vessels conduct patrols in jurisdictional waters claimed by China to maintain maritime order, and defend Chinas legitimate and lawful rights and interests.

China is ready to work with relevant parties to continue to properly manage maritime disputes though dialogue and consultation.


Kiribati President Taneti Maamau (center, right) and Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (center, left) look on during a ceremony for Rabukas official visit to Kiribati in Tarawa, Kiribati on Jan. 20, 2023.

Kiribati said it would rejoin a diplomatic grouping of Pacific Island countries this year, potentially ending a rift that raised questions about the relevance of the Pacific Islands Forum at a time of increased U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

Kiribatis government withdrew from the regional forum in mid-2022, partly because it and four other Micronesian nations had been slighted by the organizations secretary-general role not going to one of their countries for more than two decades.

The office of Kiribatis president, Taneti Maamau, said on Monday that Kiribati has formally reinstated its positive endorsement to rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum this year.

Kiribati, a chain of coral atolls thats among the poorest nations in the Pacific, switched its diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 2019. Its exit from the regional organization suggested it might further tighten relations with Beijing.

Kiribatis opposition leader reportedly alleged last year that the decision to leave the Pacific Islands Forum was a result of Beijings influence. Maamau, in an October 2022 interview with Chinese state media, said he was amazed by Chinas economic development and praised Beijings responsiveness to Kiribatis development needs.

The island country controls a vast exclusive economic zone in the Pacific Ocean including a 408,250 square kilometer (approximately 157,600 square miles) marine reserve known as the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.

Fijis recently-elected prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, who is also the chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, visited Kiribati earlier this month in an effort to mend relations with Maamau.

The decision to rejoin the Pacific forum comes following a fruitful, positive, and successful bilateral meeting between Maamau and Rabuka, Kiribatis statement posted on Facebook said.

During the state visit, the Prime Minister [of Fiji] also formally delivered an apology by showcasing the traditional Fijian ceremony seeking forgiveness, it said.

The Pacific Islands Forum, which comprises 16 island nations as well as Australia and New Zealand, doesnt have any political or regulatory powers. It holds leaders meetings and also provides a way for the region to present a united voice on issues such as climate change.

The Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Palau also had threatened to leave the forum after a February 2021 meeting elected a Polynesian candidate, former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna, as secretary general instead of a Micronesian candidate. Only Kiribati acted on the threat.

Puna reiterated last week that he wont seek a second term as part of the resolution to Micronesian grievances.
Pedestrians and motorists in Manila cross the Estrella-Pantaleon bridge built by Chinese workers during the Rodrigo Duterte administration, Jan. 31, 2023.

The Philippine president is willing to cooperate on infrastructure projects with a Chinese state-owned giant, his office said, although the U.S. has blacklisted the firm over its links to the militarization of Beijings outposts in the South China Sea.

In 2020, the United States put China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC) on a list of companies involved in projects that were part of Beijings expansionist agenda in the contested waterway.

On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with CCCC officials during their courtesy call at Malacanang Palace, the palace said in a statement.

CCCC has committed more investments to the Philippines particularly through public-private partnership (PPP), the statement said.

The president said the central part of his governments economic policy is the establishment, endorsement, and promotion of PPPs, in which the CCCC could participate, the statement added.

Marcos said such partnerships can be of any nature whether through a commercial venture or a joint venture with a local partner.

Of course, the PPP, where you have partnership with government, even G2G  government-to-government arrangements  are also something that we have been doing for a long time and again that we wish to further, Marcos said.

Marcos added that the government had also relaxed the rules to allow foreign contractors to bring in their own professionals to encourage technology transfer.

In 2020, the United States Department of Commerce under the Trump administration blacklisted CCCC and 23 other Chinese state-owned companies for their role in helping China militarize outposts in disputed waters of the South China Sea.

The U.S. State Department barred them from receiving American-made components.

The PRC must not be allowed to use CCCC and other state-owned enterprises as weapons to impose an expansionist agenda. The United States will act until we see Beijing discontinue its coercive behavior in the South China Sea, and we will continue to stand with allies and partners in resisting this destabilizing activity, then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said at the time.

Meanwhile, militarization of South China Sea outposts by Beijing continues untrammeled.

A recently released satellite image shows a Chinese air defense facility on the disputed Paracel Islands. Analysts said this indicates that the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) now has surface-to-air missiles at the ready.

The Paracels, or Xisha islands in Chinese, are claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan but occupied entirely by Beijing since 1974.

China also occupies some of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands in Chinese), which are claimed by other neighboring countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Beijing has continued to ignore an international arbitration courts 2016 ruling that favored the Philippines and invalidated Chinas expansive claims in the sea region.

Marcos brought up the issue when meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit to Beijing in early January.

More infrastructure projects

At Mondays meeting, CCCC officials pitched to Marcos the construction of a 270-kilometer highway linking Laoag City, in Marcos home province of Ilocos Norte, to Rosario City in La Union province.

They also proposed the construction and introduction of Chinas Juncao technology to the Philippines.

The United Nations describes the technology as the cultivation of a grass that can be used as a substrate for mushroom production, feed for animals, windbreaks, and to minimize soil erosion.

CCCC, including its 60 subsidiaries, is a key player in Beijings Belt and Road Initiative, a massive network of trade and transport infrastructure linking China with the rest of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

As part of this initiative, Beijing is bankrolling roads, rail, ports, and energy pipelines in developing countries, which could lead to a debt trap, critics have warned.

One of CCCCs subsidiaries, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), built the two bridges in Metro Manila that were donated by Beijing during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022), who was known for being an ally of Beijing.

In 2020, CCCC and a local partner initially won a deal to modernize an airport south of Manila, but that project fell through after the firms failed to comply with requirements.

Since 2009, the World Bank has debarred CRBC from participating in all its funded or executed projects after the international institution found that the Chinese company had colluded with several local and international companies on the bidding for the first phase of the Philippine National Roads Improvement and Management Program (NRIMP 1).

This ban later applied to CCCC in 2011 after it became the successor firm of CRBC.
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JERUSALEM/GAZA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank on Tuesday, with little progress made in de-escalating the Israeli-Palestinian tensions, experts said.

Blinken's trip, during which he met with leaders of Israel's new right-wing government and the Palestinian Authority (PA), came amid escalating violence between Israelis and the Palestinians.

Since the start of 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 35 Palestinians, making January one of the most deadly months in the West Bank in recent years. Most casualties occurred during Israeli military raids, which Israel says aimed to detain Palestinian militants.

In retaliation, a shooting attack launched by a Palestinian gunman outside a synagogue in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem claimed the lives of seven people on Friday night.

On Monday, Blinken held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and other senior officials before traveling on Tuesday to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In both places, Blinken urged de-escalating the tensions and renewed the call for a two-state solution to the conflict. "The rising tide of violence has resulted in the loss of many innocent lives on both sides," he told reporters in Jerusalem. "All sides must take steps to prevent further escalation of violence."

LITTLE PROGRESS ACHIEVED

The top U.S. diplomat's trip failed to offer any new initiative to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Michael Milshtein, an expert from the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at the Tel Aviv University, told Xinhua.

Milshtein said the Israeli government was hopeful that Blinken will exert pressure on Abbas to renew the security coordination between the PA and Israel. The PA decided on Jan. 26 to end security coordination with Israel in response to an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, in which Israeli forces killed ten Palestinians.

The security coordination, which is criticized by many Palestinians, has led to the arrests of some Palestinians who were allegedly planning attacks against Israelis.

In a statement issued after meeting with Blinken, Abbas made no indication he was going to resume the coordination. He accused Israel of violating Palestinians' rights, promoting annexation of the West Bank, and demolishing Palestinian homes -- moves that pose further hurdles to achieving a peace deal.

"We have found that the Israeli government is responsible for what's happening these days," Abbas said.

Assaf Meydani, a professor at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Reichman University in Herzliya, told Xinhua that "negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the current situation is impossible, even the United States knows it."

On the other hand, Blinken's visit also had limited impact on the Israeli side, which has a new hawkish government that is unlikely to dial down its position against the Palestinians.

"The situation inside Israel makes the current government go to more 'extreme' to ensure its survival for the longest possible period, and therefore it will continue to escalate, and in return, there will be a Palestinian reaction," said Ghassan al-Khatib, a political science professor at the Birzeit University in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The visit, which marked the first meeting between Blinken and Netanyahu since the latter returned to office in December as the leader of a new right-wing government, was seen as part of Washington's efforts to navigate through the differences between the Biden administration and the new Israeli government.

His trip followed the visits to Jerusalem by Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns earlier in January.

U.S. ATTENTION OCCUPIED ELSEWHERE

Al-Khatib also noted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a priority for the U.S. as its attention is occupied by "other internal and external issues."

The Palestinians have repeatedly called on Washington, as Blinken promised in 2021, to reopen the U.S. consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem and the PLO office in Washington. They also urged the U.S. to pressure Israel to preserve the status quo in Jerusalem and stop Israeli unilateral measures or withholding Palestinian tax revenue dues.

But the U.S. administration led by President Joe Biden has remained largely acquiescent regarding the escalation of Israeli violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, while failing to fulfill any of its promises made either during the election campaign or in bilateral meetings with Palestinian officials, analysts noted.

Milshtein said that the U.S. does not prioritize the Palestinian issues anymore, adding the attention of Washington is occupied elsewhere, mainly its internal issues as well as the Ukrainian crisis.

Ziyad Abu Ziyad, a think-tanker and former Palestinian minister, said that the U.S. is not interested in ending the Israeli occupation or the conflicts in the region despite its talk of a two-state solution and positive steps to solve the Palestinian issue.

He added that it's time for anyone who bets on a U.S. solution to the Palestinian issue to "realize that this was nothing but a mirage."

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ended without progress due to deep differences on several key issues in March 2014, since which Washington has made no real push to renew the stalled peace process despite the recurrent violence and conflicts between the Israelis and Palestinians. 
Reporter

Heather Bellow, a member of the investigations team, joined The Eagle in 2017. She is based in the South Berkshire County bureau in Great Barrington. Her work has appeared in newspapers across the U.S.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Habitat for Humanity are offering free tax preparation services through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program beginning Feb. 6.
Sal Garozzo is stepping down after more than seven years as CEO of UCP of Western Massachusetts, which is based in Pittsfield.
Cops and Courts Reporter

Amanda Burke is Cops and Courts Reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise.
LENOX  Zoning board members will gather today to inspect the site targeted by a luxury-brand auto dealership proposing a multimillion dollar relocation from Pittsfield to the commercial strip on Route 7/20.

The site visit slated for 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of Pittsfield and New Lenox roads is open to the public, ZBA Chairman Robert Fuster has said. But there will be no discussion or board deliberation during the tour of the property that includes the Different Drummers Kitchen store and three adjacent residences.

All four would be torn down if the McGee Automotive Familys project wins a special permit and site plan approval from the zoning board as well as a green light from the Conservation Commission.

McGee, a regional chain based in Hanover, wants to relocate its Berkshire Audi, BMW and VW dealership, now on Merrill Road in Pittsfield, to a 4-acre Lenox location in a mixed commercial and residential area on the east side of Pittsfield Road (Route 7/20).

The company founded in 1970 has 17 locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. It purchased the former Flynn Volkswagen Audi BMW at 600 Merrill Road in February 2021 for $3.5 million.

The 210-page special permit application for the project in a commercially zoned site at 374, 384 and 388 Pittsfield Road, as well as 11 New Lenox Road, outlines construction of boutique dealerships for BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, and expansion of existing parking facilities. It also calls for reclamation of the riverfront area along Yokun Brook in a 100-year floodplain at the rear of the site.

Some neighbors living in the nearby Rolling Hills and Yokun Brook condo developments have signaled opposition to the proposal. On file at Town Hall is a total of 20 letters to the ZBA and Conservation Commission, nearly all negative except for one of support from the owners of Arizona Pizza on Pittsfield Road.

Earlier this month, the ZBA unanimously approved the relocation of the Berkshire Mazda dealership, on East Street in Pittsfield since 2007, to the 1.4-acre site of the Knights Inn and adjoining land owned by the Howard Johnson motel on Route 7/20 (Pittsfield Road), north of the Holmes Road intersection.

Knights Inn would be demolished, but the Howard Johnson motel will remain, minus 17,000 square feet of land being acquired by Berkshire Mazda proprietor Jim Salvies 474 Pittsfield Road LLC. The project represents an investment of more than $5 million, including purchase of the site and construction costs. The 14,500-square-foot dealership, including a showroom, outdoor sales area and a service facility, is expected to open in 2024.

Here are some of the details in the McGee special permit and site plan application for Berkshire Audi-BMW-VW:

 One new 17,500-square-foot building will house the BMW showroom, along with sales, services, offices and related business facilities.

 A second, 24,000-square-foot building for the Audi/VW dealerships also includes showroom, sales, service, office and related facilities. Lighting for both buildings will be downward, directional and shielded. After the dealerships close at 6 p.m., lighting will be minimized.

 An existing commercial garage near Yokun Brook would be torn down and the riverfront area restored, with debris and invasive species on the west side of the waterway removed. This area will be vegetated with native species to improve riverfront habitat, according to the application.

 McGee Automotive is proposing 139 parking spaces, one more than required by the town for the large retail buildings.

 Two new curb cuts from Pittsfield Road will accommodate two driveways, replacing seven existing curb cuts, including three on New Lenox Road to be closed and not replaced.

 A traffic study prepared by Fuss and ONeill civil engineers states that the site will be safer than it is now because of fewer curb cuts and elimination of access from New Lenox Road.

 The town has already approved demolition of the four existing structures on the site, the McGee application states. All owners of those structures have signed off on the potential deal.

The application asserts that the project would be beneficial to the town, bringing in 30 full-time and five part-time well-paid professionals as part of a multimillion dollar investment.

A positive impact on the natural environment is expected, the applicant states, since the current site use places Yokun Brook and the Housatonic River System at risk. McGee will correct this dangerous condition and create improvements that will enhance the riverfront area, while also providing new green space with pedestrian access to Yokun Brook.

Several dozen Rolling Hills and Yokun Brook condo owners showed up for a scheduled ZBA public hearing at Town Hall on Jan. 4 that was postponed pending the site visit. That hearing is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at in the Town Hall auditorium. The Conservation Commissions review is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the same location.

Lengthy letters to the ZBA and the Conservation Commission from Yokun Brook condo owner Sander Rabin include objections to the scale of the proposed project, which he views as far from a boutique-type store.

Rabin contends the dealership would increase traffic as well as noise, air, light, ground and water pollution, posing a potential threat to endangered species.

His letter asserts that the project will certainly decrease surrounding residential real estate values, and will most likely be destructive of the surrounding residential community.
KHARTOUM, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), together with 41 international and national partners, on Tuesday called for raising 556 million U.S. dollars in funding to help the refugees living in Sudan.

In a statement, the UNHCR said its 2023 inter-agency funding appeal aims to raise money to provide much-needed assistance to more than 900,000 refugees in Sudan.

"The refugee response plan, co-developed with all partners including the Sudan Commission for Refugees, places critical protection and life-saving assistance for refugee communities in Sudan," said Axel Bisschop, the UNHCR representative in Sudan.

"With the recognition of the global humanitarian environment and multiple crises we face, we encourage the international community to support the newly launched refugee response plan for Sudan," Bisschop said.

The statement said that Sudan is the second largest asylum country in Africa, hosting about 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers. 
Jane Kaufman is Community Voices Editor at The Berkshire Eagle. She can be reached at jkaufman@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6125.
As a new two-year legislative session opens, Berkshires lawmakers are prioritizing broadband access, passenger rail expansion, wider availability of Narcan and addressing regional inequities.

With the loss of a state House seat due to redistricting, members of the all-Democrat Berkshire delegation acknowledge they were concerned about a lack of representation.

But they feel their ranks are strong  and are attempting to coalesce a broader Western Massachusetts coalition. Berkshire County is represented in Boston by state Reps. John Barrett III; William "Smitty" Pignatelli; Tricia Farley-Bouvier; and state Sen. Paul Mark.

Pignatelli characterized his concerns as parochial when it comes to the district. In the case of expanded rail and broadband, the four legislators hope to draw people back to an area thats suffered from population loss.

In each case there are pet issues. Farley-Bouvier is trying to reform the foster care system. Mark is vying for a green "bank" to fund environmentally friendly projects. Pignatelli is focused on health care. Barrett wants to foster a more business-friendly Northern Berkshires.

State Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams

Barrett said his first priority is expanding broadband in the area.

Weve seen some communities that have added their own system with prior broadband money thats come through. Now another slug of ARPA monies has come through, this time $50 million is available, Barrett said. I want to work with communities to make sure that, not only does it close the digital divide, so its available to everybody from all walks of life, but also that its going to drive our economy, and I think thats where were missing the boat.

Barrett says faster broadband service will spur growth in the area, drawing professionals from cities such as New York or Boston who want an office, or, if working remotely, a home, in Berkshire County. He called the federal funding coming as a result of the pandemic a generational opportunity.

We have to make sure that somehow, someway, everybody has access to it  federal legislation says it must be affordable, he said. It cant just be affordable to some.

Barretts other chief priority is bringing the proposed passenger train that would run between North Adams and Boston to fruition. A new train station and train layover facility in North Adams would be needed as part of a potentially $2.187 billion project.

Lawmakers see strength in '413 delegation' After losing a seat in the state House, Berkshire County lawmakers say they will work together to amplify the voices that remain. We all get along. Thats good, said state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams. I am concerned about remaining as a strong voice. The seat formerly held by Paul Mark was eliminated in redistricting after the 2020 Census. He was elected in November to the state Senate seat vacated by Adam Hinds. Its never great when you lose a voice in Boston, but we do work really collaboratively with our friends in the other three counties, Mark said. The bright spot is, the three remaining Berkshire reps only have Berkshire towns. William P. Smitty Pignatelli, D-Lenox, called the loss of the state House seat frustrating. But I do have to say that the four voices we have left work very well together, we have great institutional knowledge, and I think thats important, he said. Pignatelli said he and the other Berkshires lawmakers will work to form a 413 delegation, covering the four western counties. So that it [isnt] just the four reps from the Berkshires, but 15-20 reps from the 413 area code speaking about infrastructure and rail in Massachusetts, he said. Thats how we can level the playing field. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, said the loss of the House seat reflects the regions loss of population  an issue that demands attention. People move around in response to public policy. Theres a few exceptions to that, like a pandemic, but mostly its a result of public policy, she said. We have disinvested in this part of the state for so long, and its showing.  Sten Spinella

The higher-speed rail going into Pittsfield, thats several years away, he said. We have an opportunity now with available ARPA money and federal assistance to connect us, North Adams, Williamstown, right into Boston. Right now passenger service ends in Fitchburg. The $2.1 billion in the grand scheme of things is not a lot of money to get this done.

State Sen. Paul Mark

The Democrat from the town of Peru, who served in the House since 2011, won his race for state Senate last year. His district is comprised of parts of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.

Mark said he will continue to advocate for a revolving loan fund for renewable energy projects, a cause for which he has filed bills since 2014. He said the idea is gaining support.

The fund would provide backing renewable energy and jobs projects. Right before COVID in 2020 we got a version of it passed in the House called Green Works for $1 billion. Then COVID set everything aside.

President Joe Biden recently announced $29 billion nationwide to fund the concept. Former Gov. Charlie Baker established a clean energy fund in his final months in office. Mark sees more of an appetite for the legislation, with the potential for federal funding.

We put in the language to ensure at least 20 percent of the funding will come to rural communities and some of the smaller coastal communities as well, Mark said.

Mark is also pushing another repeat bill, The Cherish Act, which establishes minimum funding for public colleges and universities and bars any institution from raising tuition for four years, as long as the state meets its funding commitments.

He sees momentum on this issue as well. Gov. Maura Healey and Senate President Karen Spilka have highlighted higher education investments in public speeches.

Like other members of the delegation, Mark also backs legislation to better regulate how electric companies charge customers and to make Narcan more accessible in response to the opioid crisis.

State Rep. William P. 'Smitty' Pignatelli, D-Lenox

Pignatelli said he is focused on the health care system in the Berkshires, noting a shortage of nurses and dentists.

He backs legislation that would authorize an interstate medical licensure compact. Such an agreement among states would streamline the licensing process for physicians, according to the bill's summary.

Now, physicians have to jump through too many hoops, he said.

I think the Berkshires and Massachusetts could be very attractive to professionals from all the other states," Pignatelli said. "What Mass. has done to protect same-sex marriage [and] a womans right to choose."

Pignatelli is refiling the HOPE Act, or Helping Overdosed Persons in an Emergency. It would require all first responders to carry Narcan when they respond to a call. He notes that the measure has support from the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association. We have this teed up early because weve seen the highest opioid overdose deaths pre-COVID. Weve seen those numbers spike," he said.

Pignatelli said a Berkshires family told him they watched a loved one die from an overdose in the presence of a police officer who was waiting for Narcan to arrive.

Pignatelli would also like to change the state's Chapter 90 formula  local aid for transportation  so that it is more favorable to rural areas. The measure would change a funding formula to boost assistance to small towns.

Infrastructure, roads, bridges, dams  those are the very issues ... that are going to bankrupt smaller communities, Pignatelli said. The state has to play a much larger role in trying to alleviate the cost burden of sewer plant upgrades, water upgrades, and roads and bridges.

Support for the bill could be scarce, though. Any formula that gives me more money is a great formula. Any formula that takes money away from me is a bad formula. Thats the problem we have," he said. "The larger cities actually see a decrease in their amount of money, and thats where the critical mass of politicians are."

State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield

Farley-Bouvier said she is continuing her work on child welfare issues. One bill calls for independent foster care review.

Federal law requires that every six months, each case is reviewed. In Massachusetts, it is run through the Department of Children and Families, Farley-Bouvier said. I believe it has to be taken out of DCF in order to have a really good look at it.

Farley-Bouvier is proposing that a supervisor to the social worker on a case, a reviewer from DCF and a community volunteer review cases. She pointed to the case of David Almond, a 14-year-old who died in 2020 after DCF mismanagement and "multi-system failure," according to a state report, of his case.

Farley-Bouvier is also pushing for the unionization of foster parents. Its not a traditional union like a nurses union or steelworkers or teachers, but it gives them representation, a true seat at the table, when talking about important issues such as working conditions, she said.

She is also invested in broadband access, passenger rail and housing.

You can never have a conversation without talking about housing these days. Transportation is a huge thing. What we used to call the 'future of work' is now our reality. We must, must, must have excellent internet in order for people to be able to meet their goals of working in a place where they want to live, Farley-Bouvier said.
PITTSFIELD  A Pittsfield restaurant faces a rare obstacle to obtaining its liquor license: citizenship.

A requirement from a state commission has the House of Seasoning filing its second application since November.

The owners of the restaurant, at 117 Seymour St., received approval from the Pittsfield Licensing Board in November for its liquor license application. Restaurants from the city have to secure approval from that board before sending it on to the state.

But when the House of Seasoning sent its license application to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, the request was denied. State law indicates that a liquor license cannot be granted to any applicant corporation with a majority of owners who are not U.S. citizens. The law also indicates that businesses cannot serve alcohol unless they have a manager who is a U.S. citizen.

The owners, Raissa and Mathieu Doumbia, are not yet U.S. citizens. The couple originally come from the nation of Ivory Coast in West Africa. Their restaurant combines African and American cuisine. State law does not prevent them from applying for the license as owners but does require that established citizens also be part of the corporation.

To move forward, the restaurants owners are applying as a limited liability company, or LLC, as the state commission does not require members of an LLC to be U.S. citizens. The restaurants manager must be a U.S. citizen, however, which is the case for House of Seasoning, Martin said.

The licensing board voted unanimously Monday to approve the second application. The restaurant will now await approval from the state, a process that generally takes a few weeks.

My only comment is sorry you had to go through all this, said board Chair Thomas Campoli. All these legalities.
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.
GREAT BARRINGTON  Work continues at a former nursing home set for conversion into 30 new condominiums.

The Planning Board last week unanimously approved a special permit for the former Great Barrington Rehabilitation & Nursing Center complex at 148 Maple Ave. and Route 23 after going over details such as lighting, parking, signs and trees.

As a condition, more of those details will have to be submitted for additional review and approval.

Two residents in the neighborhood said they support the project by The Goldman Group, a Boston real estate investment and development firm  a change from 2021, when an earlier plan by another developer to build rental apartments here was met by hostility from the neighborhood.

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That developer dropped his plans to buy the property and the 29,176-square-foot Colonial-style structure was back on the market at $1.2 million.

The project includes 12 one-bedroom condos, 16 two-bedroom and two three-bedrooms. It also will include a fitness center, pet-grooming station and gathering areas inside and out.

In a statement, a company spokesperson said the firm plans to finish the project by summer, and that potential owners can pre-buy beginning soon. The company said it could not yet provide cost estimates for the units.

They also said that theyve been meeting with neighbors and community members to get a better sense of the town.

Bear Mountain Health Care announced in January 2020 it would close the facility for what it said were financial reasons. The company continues to own Timberlyn Heights Rehabilitation and Care Center in Great Barrington.
Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler on Tuesday said the educator workforce shortages are being felt in early education, K-12 and higher education.
SYDNEY, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A new study led by Australia's Curtin University has revealed the "highly damaging" impact of fireworks on animals and the broader environment, calling for greener alternatives for light shows.

The study, published in the Pacific Conservation Biology journal on Tuesday, examined the environmental toll of firework displays by reviewing the ecological effects of major celebration events in India, the United States, New Zealand and parts of Europe.

The research team said in a statement that the timing of some large-scale firework events coincides with the migratory or reproductive movements of wildlife, and thus may have adverse long-term population effects on them.

Examples include fireworks in Spanish festivals impacting the breeding success of house sparrows and South American sea lions changing their behavior during breeding season as a result of New Year's fireworks in Chile.

Philip Bateman, lead author and associate professor from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, told Xinhua that fireworks not only create noise and light disturbances that cause distress among domestic animals in the short term, but also have a much larger scale of impact on wildlife in the long term.

"Fireworks can have far-reaching effects through the pollution they produce as well as the noises and lights," Bateman said.

The expert pointed out that the noise from fireworks causes panic and heightened responses and induces animals to flee, which can result in birds at roost taking off at night in an attempt to escape.

In addition, pollutants such as heavy metals, once in the environment, can also have long-term effects on wildlife, degrading the environment and reducing the health of wildlife, he added.

Noting that firework bans at sensitive periods for wildlife migration or mating periods could limit the impact, the researchers are also calling for more environmentally-friendly ways to replace the firework, such as drones or other light-based shows.

"There is growing evidence that these community events can be managed in a sustainable way and it's clear that outdated firework displays need to be replaced by cleaner options that are not harmful to wildlife and the environment," Bateman said. 
Today

Partly cloudy. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 35F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 66F. Winds light and variable.
Tonight's rundown:

 Talking Points Memo: Joe Biden continues to decline with the world watching and remains out of the press reach

 Presidential Historian Larry Cook weighs in on how Bidens relationship with the press compares to past presidents

 US Special Forces have been confirmed to be in Ukraine

 OReilly describes Democrats hosting the DNC in Chicago as Crazy Arrogant

 The trial of Fox News gets underway

 58% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation begins to cool off

 Smart Life: Utilizing Kelly Blue Book when searching for a new car

 This Day in History: FDR dies in office

 Final Thought: what to do when someone is disrespectful to you

In Case You Missed It:

 Read Bill's latest column, "Reason to Believe"

 Join 'Team Normal!' Order your gear now at BillOReilly.com!

 Pre-order Bills next bestseller Killing the Witches NOW

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
FCB Africa is delighted to announce the appointment of Jacquie Mullany as its new executive creative director. Jacquie brings a wealth of skills to the team, a specialist in digital with experience in writing and art direction, will help oversee agency operations in the Cape Town office supported by the Joburg team.

As FCB, we pride ourselves on offering 360-degree capabilities to our client partners, and Jacquie's expertise will be a great addition to enhancing our core capabilities in a turbulently shifting advertising and marketing landscape across the country and the globe. Her passion for behavioural science has already had a significant impact on the creative products we produce, helping us to create timeless and timely brands that people love.

We are thrilled to see an upward vertical movement in our business creative leadership. Jacquies expertise is a sought-after asset across the FCB family an industry. Her intuitive and data-led leadership, passion for behavioural science and ability to blend traditional and digital mediums seamlessly, make her the perfect fit for our team. We're excited to see the impact her ideas will have on our clients and the industry as a whole" said Tseliso Rangaka, chief creative officer.

With 19 years of industry experience, Jacquie has worked in both art direction and copywriting roles. She started her career as an ATL conceptual creative, but it was her early adoption of digital in the early 2000s that really set her apart. Now, she approaches ideas with a holistic view, using the entire ecosystem to bring them to life.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Jacquie recently completed studies in Behavioural Economics and Applied Behavioural Sciences, further fueling her curiosity about the human mind. Her work has been recognised at multiple award shows, and she has even had the honour of judging a few of them.

We are ecstatic to have Jacquie join our team and can't wait to see the creative and innovative ideas she brings to the table.




Daily Investor is South Africa's premier investment news and analysis platform.

Daily Investor is South Africa's premier investment news and analysis platform and has achieved impressive growth since it was launched by Broad Media in August 2022.

The publication has rapidly built an audience of 350,000 South African fund managers, analysts, finance professionals, and retail investors.

Over 30,000 readers have created user profiles on the site, and more than 31,000 readers have signed up for the publications daily email newsletter. This incredible growth is thanks to Daily Investors excellent content.

Daily Investor content

Daily Investor provides the South African investment and finance community with the latest news, investment insights, and financial data. It offers a fresh perspective on large, medium, and small-cap companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), as well as extensive coverage of international stocks  particularly US equities  and macroeconomic events.

Daily Investor also regularly runs features such as articles that highlight the stock picks of investment experts, as well as performance tracking of these prominent analysts and investors.

To learn more about Daily Investor, contact Broad Media CCO Kevin Lancaster.




Corporate marketing ecosystems are complex. Large internal teams spanning brand, digital, trade and public relations (the list goes on!) are supported by a network of supplier marketing agencies - who all, in turn, have their own networks of partners and suppliers (collectively this is "the channel").

Channel Partnership Pyramid of Value Creation

In a career spanning 15 years, Ive experienced multiple client service teams, worked with diverse brands on various projects, in agency and corporate settings. Ive learned a lot, but perhaps the single biggest takeaway has been the power of productive channel partnerships to amplify results, and transform brands and careers.

Productive partnerships are characterised by continuity, communication and commitment and they result in exponential and superior value creation. As in our personal lives, partnerships afford us the opportunity to get to know one another. We learn whats important to our partner  their expectations, boundaries, non-negotiables. Over time, this results in synergy, chemistry, and more intuitive communication. We explain less, revert less, meet less, yet achieve more. Were freed up to focus on the important and collectively reap the benefit of accelerated time to value.

So, what makes for productive partnerships, how do we cultivate them, and why are they in such short supply despite the obvious benefits?

Lets explore:

The Longest First Date

The average agency-client relationship tenure is reducing. According to Atlanta search consultancy, The Bedford Group, in 1984, the average client-agency relationship tenure was 7.2 years. By 1997, that number had fallen 25% to 5.3 years. And in 2013, it was estimated at less than three years (45% shorter). The data is scanty as to where we sit now but at that rate of decline, were looking at an average tenure of less than 1,5 years. The frequency with which marketing agencies are required to pitch suggests to me that this isnt far off the truth.

At face value, a year and a half may sound like a long time. But consider the average 3-6-month duration of campaigns with promotions agencies.

Thats a long first date. It means that over the course of 18 months, you may not even make it to first base!

These early days of any relationship can feel like an uphill battle. Thats because it literally is  its the Value Creation J-Curve:

Just like dating, we start strong, presenting our best selves and fighting hard to conceal our quirks. But you can only hide your crazy for so long. In the second phase, we encounter challenges that could not have been imagined or anticipated at the outset. Perhaps hes a vegan, or she only listens to traditional Georgian Folk Music. This is where the relationship is tested.

Unless these differences are irreconcilable, we work to accept, align, refine  we invest. Its this learning process that sets us up for success  the third phase  when we start to see return. We can be ourselves; we feel appreciated. We anticipate each others needs, and together we co-create a fulfilling future.

The trouble with most client-agency relationships is that they dont survive the second investment phase. The uphill slog means that, all too often, we fail to take into account the potential for value creation through long term partnership. We give up just before we reach the Return phase in the J-curve of committed relationships  we terminate at the first disconnect failing to see that, with persistence, together we can reach the plateau of peak performance.

Now, Im not for a second suggesting that you, discerning Brand Manager, should accept complacency or abuse by your marketing agencies. But you should accept that you are going to encounter obstacles and there will be misunderstandings.

Key to remember is that remaining committed as you overcome these obstacles is your investment in a high value future. And if youre investing in the right partner, you will see returns.

Case in Point:

1. Ogilvy and Mather, and SAB Carling Black Label

SABs Carling Black Label Champion Cup campaign is a great example of the power of productive, persistent partnerships. As project lead (a role I assumed for two consecutive years), I experienced first-hand the power of the partnership between Ogilvy and SAB. A partnership that, in 2011, celebrated 50 years of friendship!

In a case study by the Digital Training Academy, it was reported that the campaign, a South African first for the beer category, generated almost 450% traffic increase to Facebook page and 600% increase in Twitter following. It grew the beers market share as votes were linked to sales  one beer, one vote. It also won locally and internationally at Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, Global Mobile awards, Bees Awards and APEX.

The success of this ambitious campaign was, in no small part, due to the depth and breadth of the client-agency relationship. Their long history meant that Ogilvy and Mather understood the brands position and objectives and that SAB could trust Ogilvy to execute the vision.

2. Tradeway and MTN

More recently, Ive seen how the power of partnerships enables scale and speed otherwise impossible in the relationship between MTN and Tradeway Promotions. Since 2017, Tradeway has honed their knowledge and understanding of MTNs brand. The result is more intuitive client service, greater clarity, faster design and fewer meetings.

This coupled with Tradeways executional expertise  mean that they are able to consistently deliver on MTNs large-scale activations requirements  on deadline and in budget.

"Our relationship with MTN extends beyond the parameters of agency or service provider, says Jabu Shange, business unit director at Tradeway. We are one team and for every project assigned, we share one common goal - to deliver excellence and maximise value. The depth and breath of our relationship with MTN means that our team is always willing to go above and beyond to ensure delivery". Kallyn-Leigh Winter, Account Director for MTN at Tradeway, concurs: "We definitely consider ourselves an extension of the MTN businesses that we collaborate with."

Half the Battle Won: Choosing the Right Partner

How did SAB and Ogilvy, and Tradeway and MTN get it right? And to be fair, we cant all lean on friendships spanning half a decade.

Half the battle is won by having a clear set of vetting criteria against which to pre-qualify agency contenders. Here are 3-key considerations when selecting agency partners:

1. Know your Non-negotiables

Be clear on what are you looking to supplement from a skill and capacity perspective. And make sure that these align with your strategic objectives for the brand. In short, when shortlisting, make sure you know what your non-negotiables are. What do incumbent agencies need to be able to do? In the realm of promotions agencies, you want a partner with the resources and track record to source and train high calibre brand ambassadors and supply and manage the distribution of collateral of the highest quality.

2. Do your Due-Diligence

Do your homework. Its important to research contenders. Do your reference checks. Make sure you understand their key differentiators relative to how they can add value to your business. If its digital marketing, are they Google certified as an organisation? If its promotions agencies, do they have the infrastructure necessary to generate data and actionable insights post in-store promotions and brand activations? Beyond capabilities, do they tick regulatory compliance boxes when it comes to PoPIA and B-BBEE, for instance? All of these are indicators of their level of commitment to servicing businesses as large and complex as yours.

3. Don't discount your Values

As in any relationship, you should make sure that your core values are aligned. This will go a long way to achieving the chemistry necessary to make magic down the line.

Do they understand your industry, your business and your brand? If you care about consumer connections, is this something that they espouse? Are they just paying lip service to being data-led, or is this something they can demonstrate and have invested in?

The Other Half: Setting your Partnership up for Success

As they say, it takes two to tango. So it is with client-agency partnerships. As a brand manager or brand custodian, you play a pivotal role fast tracking time-to-value and enabling maximum return:

1. Set the Boundaries

As in any relationship, boundaries are key. In the case of agency-client relationships, these are best expressed as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) . Make sure that your expectations are clearly agreed, understood and documented. These will be the impartial measure of success for both parties. Its critical that this is a discussion rather than a dictatorship. Any agency worth its salt will not agree to KPIs that are not possible within available budget.

2. Allow your Partner to Thrive

Dont quibble over every line item. Trust in the due diligence you did when selecting your partner. You want to pay them a fair and sustainable fee for their services. If you do, you can (and should) expect to see them reinvest in your brand and the team that services it. And as a result, youll see increased efficiencies, economies of scale, dedicated resources, and increasing return.

The most counter-productive thing corporates can do is invest in relationship building while whittling away at margin to the point that the relationship is not sustainable for the agency. It becomes a lose-lose situation.

3. Communication, communication, communication

Ill say it again  communication. As in any relationship, open, transparent and consistent feedback at the outset is key. The right partner will welcome constructive criticism and will endeavour to improve. By communicating frequently and frankly, you fast track the investment phase and start maximising return sooner.

4. Trust is Key

Having vetted and appointed an agency, you have to do the hardest thing  take a (mitigated) leap of faith and allow your agency to do its job. Youve selected them based on criteria you defined and qualified them against. Youve agreed what success looks like and that its achievable. Now let them work their magic. The results will speak for themselves but, if you second-guess them at every turn, you are likely to hinder rather than help.

5. Don't play the Blame Game!

All too often, clients succumb to the temptation to treat agencies as scape goats when things go wrong. But, in reality, its very rarely so cut and dry. In productive partnerships, everyone takes accountability, and both parties use challenges to improve ways of working moving forward.

Unless your agency has well and truly f*cked up, and you have no choice but to terminate the relationship, dont throw them under the bus. They rightly value their reputation and this type of treatment will only undermine trust and goodwill, and robs you of an opportunity to get closer to peak performance and ROI.

In Conclusion

Lauren Durant, CEO of Tradeway Promotions, says it best: supplier partnerships allow us to leverage expertise and elevate output, freeing us up to focus on strategic deliverables. At Tradeway, our business survives on partnerships but thrives on relationships. Our deep commitment to clients permeates the whole business and is a big part of why we consistently exceed expectations. Durant added that [p]artnership doesnt necessarily mean retainer. There are many models and permutations that allow our clients to be more nimble with their budgets, while getting the benefits that come with committed relationships.

Brand promotions, activations and experiential events are a great example of why partnerships work. These types of activities have many moving parts  talent, training, creative, procurement, warehousing, logistics and venue booking, for instance. Partnering with an expert promotions agency with inhouse competencies saves you time, ensures accountability and enhances outputs.

With a little commitment and communication, youll get the best (and most) out of your strategic partnerships.

About the Author: Andreas Smit is a sales and marketing specialist with over 15 years experience in trade marketing spanning corporate, agency and as an independent consultant. In that time, Andreas has experienced first-hand the power of productive partnerships as well as the diminishing returns that result when these break down. A lifelong learner, Andreas has a B.Com Honours degree in Marketing, multiple post graduate diplomas and is currently pursuing his MBA through Henley Business School.
Warc and The Marketing Society have joined forces to form a new knowledge partnership that will provide members of The Marketing Society with valuable insights and thought leadership on the latest trends and best practices of the marketing industry.

Image supplied. Sophie Devonshire, CEO, The Marketing Society, says Warc is such a valuable resource for marketing professionals who want to stay ahead

At the heart of the collaboration will be the launch of an exciting new programme, The Effective CMO. The two organisations will work together to deliver tailored content to empower marketers with the skill sets and knowledge required to accelerate more effective and impactful marketing.

Warc is a global authority on marketing effectiveness.

Paul Coxhill, CEO, Warc says: Warcss mission is to champion more effective marketing, and our partnership with The Marketing Society will provide a new and exciting way to help marketers get to grips with the ever changing marketing landscape and be better equipped with the latest insights, best practices, case studies and data to drive a culture of effectiveness within their businesses.

The Marketing Society is a global community of progressive marketing leaders.

Sophie Devonshire, CEO, The Marketing Society, says Warc is such a valuable resource for marketing professionals who want to stay ahead.

The Marketing Society is committed to accelerating marketing leadership and helping our members grow, learn and flourish, so we are delighted to announce our knowledge partnership with Warc.

I'm really looking forward to us working together to help our members make their marketing even more effective, through great stories of success, marketing intelligence and insight, says Devonshire.

Exclusive to members

Exclusive for members of The Marketing Society, The Effective CMO programme will include:

Quarterly releases of curated region-specific content to advance marketing effectiveness.



A programme of joint events throughout the year at various locations around the world.



A three-part CMO to CEO podcast series later in 2023.

Official partner of The Marketing Society Awards

In addition, Warc will be an official partner of The Marketing Society Awards supporting the Effective & Impactful Strategy category.

To launch the knowledge partnership, members of the society who sign-up for a Warc Strategy subscription will be entitled to three months free access to either Warc Creative, Warc Media or Warc Digital Commerce.

Warc subscribers wishing to join The Marketing Society will benefit from a no joining fee and will enjoy global network access, 120+ world-class events, members-only digital Coffeehouse, 12 exclusive members newsletters featuring curated content, members-only inspiring content library, access to The Marketing Society Awards entries, exclusive discounts on five leadership programmes and 10% discount on CIM online training courses.
Hong Kong: Branding HK meeting held

The Task Force on Promoting & Branding Hong Kong, led by Financial Secretary Paul Chan, held its first meeting today.

During the meeting, members of the task force deliberated on ways to step up the promotion of new potential and opportunities in Hong Kong under the new development stage.

They also discussed the overall publicity strategy and plans, including the local, Mainland and overseas promotional plans of Hong Kong Inc. partner organisations, mega events to be held in the year as well as media marketing plans.

Noting that Hong Kong is advancing from stability to becoming more prosperous and steadily returning to normalcy, Mr Chan said the start of the task force's work signifies the initiation of efforts by the Government and the whole Hong Kong team to proactively demonstrate to the world its real strengths and advantages.

He thanked the task force members, especially the non-official members who are all heavyweights in their respective sectors, for contributing their invaluable insights and advice at the meeting.

With joint efforts, our promotional work in overseas countries and regions as well as in the Mainland would certainly be more targeted, impactful, and effective in achieving its objectives, thus further enhancing the branding and image of Hong Kong.

The task force, comprising prominent individuals with diverse backgrounds, representatives of Hong Kong Inc. partner organisations as well as government officials, was set up last week to advise the Government on the overall strategy of promoting Hong Kong's advantages, and a series of promotional plans and activities overseas and in the Mainland.

This story has been published on: 2023-01-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Snow, swans attract visitors to Shandong

08:44, January 31, 2023 By ZHAO RUIXUE in Jinan ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Snow, swans and houses thatched with sea grass combined for scenes that attracted tourists to Rongcheng, Shandong province, during Spring Festival. [Photo by Li Xinjun/For chinadaily.com.cn]

In Rongcheng, Shandong province, whirling snow and whooper swans created beautiful winter scenery that attracted visitors, amateur shutterbugs and professional photographers during the Spring Festival.

With its favorable geographical location and wetlands, Rongcheng is an important stop for migratory waterfowl, with more than 10,000 birds staying at the site annually.

The swans stick around for around five months, making Rongcheng one of the largest wintering grounds for whooper swans in the world.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
by Raheela Nazir

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a deadly suicide attack that ripped through a mosque in Pakistan's northwest Peshawar city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province jumped to 95 as rescue and relief operation is still underway, hospital and police officials said on Tuesday.

The death toll rose after more bodies were recovered from the debris of the mosque building that collapsed due to the powerful impact of the explosion, Muhammad Ijaz Khan, capital city police officer of Peshawar, told Xinhua, adding that a search operation is being carried out to retrieve the remaining missing people.

He said at least 221 people were injured in the huge explosion, out of which more than 100 have been discharged after receiving necessary medical aid at Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital.

He said over 350 people were in the prayer hall when the blast took place at about 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday in the Police Lines area of Peshawar, killing and wounding hundreds of people, mostly policemen.

The Police Lines area is located in Peshawar's most sensitive area of cantonment where a large number of law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, the counter-terrorism department of KP police and Elite Police Force, are situated.

Inspector General of the KP police Moazzam Jah Ansari told local media that about 10 to 12 kg of explosives were used in the bombing, adding that a joint investigation team has been constituted to investigate the attack.

According to local media reports, the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack after the blast. However, later, a statement circulating in the local social media allegedly from the TTP denied their involvement in the attack.

Bilal Faizi, spokesperson of the country's Rescue-1122, said rescue workers have pulled out over 20 bodies since the morning from the debris of the mosque.

"The operation is still underway. We are using heavy machinery to cut the roof of the collapsed building to recover survivors, if any. A fresh squad of rescue workers has been dispatched to the blast site to expedite the rescue activities," he told Xinhua.

The intensity of the blast was so high that it damaged the bases of the mosque building, causing the roof of the building crashing down on the worshippers, he said, adding that many casualties happened after the roof of the mosque caved in.

Confirming the casualties, the spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said the process of victims' identification is being conducted to hand over the bodies to their families.

Mehmood Khan, a 48-year-old family member of a blast victim, was desperately searching for his brother who had been missing since Monday after the blast.

"I have no contact with my brother who went to offer an afternoon prayer to the mosque. I have searched for him in the hospital and also asked rescue officials for any news of him, but no one has any information about him ... some police officials told me to wait for the rescue operation to be completed," he told Xinhua.

"At this moment, I do not know what to do. My family is in deep grief and want him to be back soon and hopefully alive," Khan said while wiping tears from his eyes.

Meanwhile, a day of mourning has been announced across the KP province to condemn the deadliest attack of the year and share the grief of the victim's families.

Following the incident, security has been beefed up in all the major cities of the country. In the federal capital Islamabad, the police have issued a high alert and increased the security at all entry and exit points to the city. 
In an industry first The Nedbank IMC and the Effie Awards South Africa (The Effies) will partner this year with the two industry events coming together on 15 September.

Nedbank IMC Conference, a marketing conference in Africa, will serve as the Effies summit with the awards ceremony held in the evening following the conclusion of the conference. The Effies recognise and award marketing effectiveness.

With the collaboration of two heavyweight industry summits, the combined focus is to significantly extend reach into Africa, with a longer-term vision for the event to be bigger and more inclusive, possibly incorporating other industry awards and activities.

Attendees will experience one hard-hitting day of 15-minute relevant insights into marketing and advertising, followed by the showcasing and recognition of the most effective campaigns of 2023.

Highlighting the value of marketing

As the lead sponsor for the Nedbank IMC and a sponsor of the Effie Awards South Africa, Nedbank is proud to support the communications industry and highlight the immense value of marketing, says Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank group executive: marketing and corporate affairs.

The partnership between the Nedbank IMC and Effie South Africa will bring marketers and agencies closer together, showcasing the importance of effectiveness and presenting innovative marketing insight on a platform that will serve to enhance and positively grow the industry in South Africa and beyond, she adds.

Promoting insights for effective marketing

I am excited about the partnership with the ACA/Effies as we constantly strive to promote insights for effective marketing. Having the Effies Awards after the conference means that delegates can get the insights at the Nedbank IMC and see how winners apply them effectively at the Effies, says Dale Hefer  CEO Integrated Marketing Council (IMC).

By joining forces with Effies, the result will be a bigger chance to better deliver a conference and awards ceremony that upskills, celebrates and showcases the most effective marketing possible, she adds.

Collaboration: key for business success

The Effies are about leading, inspiring and championing the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness, says Karabo Songo, ACA Chair.

It is exciting to bring together Nedbank IMC and Effies - two premier programmes. There is complete alignment between the two as both champion the business case for marketing, and for marketing to claim its rightful seat at the table.

Songo adds that collaboration is key for business success, and ultimately within the broader marketing and communications awards and industry events space too.

We know that collaboration between agency and client leads to great success, and we anticipate the same with this new partnership. We are excited to see how the insights gleaned from the conference will play out in the work that delivers successfully on business objectives.

Marketing: Up close and personal

This years theme for both events is Marketing. Up Close & Personal, and will allow delegates and attendees to get an up-close insight of industry trends without the waffle and sales pitches. The theme enables the seamless incorporation of a diverse range of relevant topics

Next generation of talent

It is also about the next generation of talent. We (the IMC) have provided eight bursaries and made a quarter of a million rand in attendance value available to students, adds Hefer.

Furthermore, the Effies supports the industrys future leaders by contributing to the upliftment of youth through the awarding of bursaries with a total of 15 bursaries awarded in the first two years of the programme in South Africa.
Alexandra High School pupils involved in a lunch time food ruckus at the school, have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.

This comes after a video went viral on social media displaying the unacceptable behaviour by the pupils at the school on Monday, 26 January 2023.

According to an official report, learners had to queue in the order of their grades to receive lunch.

The lunch that was being served was uPhuthu and milk, which is the learners favourite meal. Given the excitement for the meal of the day, some learners became impatient in the queues. They allegedly began pushing and shoving other learners, causing a ruckus in the queues and disturbing those who were being served.

Amid this commotion, senior learners reportedly grabbed the pot of food and dragged it away to dish up for themselves. In the process, the food that was meant to benefit other learners was spilled out, and further commotion was incited, the Gauteng Department of Education said in a statement.

The department said that the main culprits were identified in the morning of Friday, 27 January 2023, using surveillance footage at the school.

These learners have since been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing that is scheduled for today.

Gauteng Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, said that he is disappointed by the behaviour displayed by the learners who destroyed food meant for learners.

The School Nutrition Programme plays a vital role in the well-being of our learners. As such, it must be treated with respect and remembered as an initiative that is meant to benefit all learners equally, Chiloane said.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw a rise in the popularity of remote and hybrid working. A 2022 study conducted by Owl Labs found that 16% of all businesses around the world are now fully remote. This means that more businesses are looking to attract foreign workers as employees, with the help of technology like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, can do their jobs from anywhere in the world.

In order to access these opportunities, it is vital for graduates to have an internationally recognised degree as well as the relevant skills.

Private higher education is increasingly recognised as a high quality and affordable alternative for tertiary education. It is estimated that about 25% of all students are now in private higher education, says Dr Riaan Steenberg, a director of the NetEd Education Group that owns several education institutions, including Eduvos. With international comparability, industry endorsements, and better support structures to students, there is a real opportunity for young people to change their future outcomes through private education.

Eduvos offers more than 27 qualifications which are all fully accredited by the South African Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Eduvos is registered on the National Qualification Framework (NQF) by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), through which our qualifications are nationally and internationally recognised.

SAQA aligns South Africa's education system to the global environment and ensures international comparability. Eduvos students thus leave with an internationally recognised degree, which is vital in the digital, globalised world we find ourselves in.

Eduvos is also a registered private higher education institution with the Department of Higher Education and Training under the Education Act No. 101 of 1997.

Where possible, Eduvos aims to be endorsed and accredited by relevant industry bodies. These industry endorsements are from both local and international companies.

The faculty of Information Technology provides students with industry-recognised content, endorsed by CompTIA and AWS Academy.

As of September 2022, Eduvoss Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting qualification is accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Associate General Accountants (SAICA AGA).

Other endorsements include:

ACCA, the global body for professional accountants



CIMA, the worlds leading and largest professional body of management accountants



SA Board for People Practices



Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers

For a full list of qualification endorsements, click here.

As well as being a fully accredited degree-conferring institution, Eduvos strives to ensure its students leave with a degree as well as practical and up-to-date knowledge that they can apply in the working world. Eduvos curricula are therefore constantly updated to keep up with industry trends and give Vossies an academic edge.

At Eduvos we meet regularly with our Industry Partners to ensure that our learning is current, innovative and relevant. Our programmes include elements of Work Integrated Learning, exposure to global insights, and immersions into the real world, to ensure that we remain locally relevant and internationally competitive.

For press enquiries please contact Kara van der Berg moc.sovude@grebdv.arak or moc.sovude@eciffosserp.




Research including more than 5,000 South Africans has shown the nation is not making the right money moves at crucial life stages, resulting in massive gaps in their financial planning.

Source: Supplied. Avatars exploring Sanlam's virtual world.

The Sanlam-commissioned News24 survey also showed more than half (54%) of respondents would advise their younger selves to think of money as an asset to grow, rather than a luxury to spend. Despite knowing what to do to thrive financially, many are understandably focused on their short-term financial priorities rather than making financial decisions based on long-term success. Across all age categories, most do not have core financial products.

These findings were released at Sanlam's first fully immersive media briefing in the metaverse, where it also launched its new campaign Life of Confidence.

The event saw just under 500 people in attendance, represented as avatars who were able to explore Sanlam's new virtual meeting space, which featured a main stage, gallery and breakaway rooms.

Source: Supplied.

The virtual space was designed using digital tools featured on Mona.- a platform for fully customised interactive worlds. It provides creators with open tooling and infrastructure to freely launch high quality experiences in the metaverse.

Its use-cases include optional tokenised gated access to virtual spaces for socialising, exhibiting and for livestreaming events such as the one offered by Sanlam.

5,205 demographically and geographically diverse South Africans across various life stages took part in Sanlam's survey.

Zweli Moyo, executive head: strategy and impact office at Sanlam, says, notwithstanding the macro challenges impacting South Africans, one of the main reasons we miss crucial moments to make sound financial-planning decisions may lie in what is known as present bias or future discounting.

This is the tendency to choose instant reward above the benefits that come with restraint, time, and planning. In fact, research has found that humans cannot picture their future selves in any true capacity. When we think of our future self, the synaptic activity in the brain is the same as when we think of a stranger.

Findings show that people regret not getting financially organised and educated earlier in their lives.

Financial literacy a sticking point

The key findings of the survey:

The majority of respondents in every life stage said they would advise their younger self to think of money as an asset to grow, not a luxury to spend. Enjoy your money, you only live once, came in as the lowest recommendation for younger selves across the board. But reality looks a lot different: the top two financial concerns across all life stages are making ends meet and paying off debt. From age 50 until retirement, the biggest concern after making ends meet, is retiring comfortably.

Just 10.3% of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed have a retirement product; with only 17.6% in the 25 to 29 age group having a retirement product. Unfortunately, this means the vast majority are not taking advantage of compound interest and tax breaks linked to saving for retirement. Only 7.2% of the retired respondents say that they had felt well prepared to retire. Unless people are encouraged to act early, the outcomes for future retirees are unlikely to improve.

Overall, 41.3% of respondents have life insurance, with under a half (49.4%) of 40 to 44-year-olds (49.4%) and 45 to 49-year-olds (47.8%) having life insurance.

Source: Supplied.

Providing for education, leaving a legacy, and even being able to buy property came in as a lower priority across all age groups than paying off debt and making ends meet. This indicates that South Africans are living largely on the backfoot, rather than being focused on financial provision for aspects of life that build wealth and success.

67.3% of all respondents dont have a financial adviser. The younger life stages -18- to 39-year-olds - use the internet as their main source of advice. Ages 40 onwards: mainly get financial advice from an adviser.

Moyo said that competing short- and long-term priorities, as well as the natural tendency to focus on the here and now, often result in a misalignment between our intentions and our actions. We want to thrive financially, but we get into debt. We want to stop working and enjoy our lives, but we dont prioritise saving for retirement.

"We want to become wealthy, but we dont invest. Making decisions today to secure your future financial wellbeing may seem overwhelming, but there are resources available to help you on this journey. You dont need to do this alone.

Source: Supplied.

Mariska Oosthuizen, chief marketing officer at Sanlam says, Sanlams promise is to help all Africans live with confidence. A key part of delivering on this promise means using human insights like short-term bias creatively to engage audiences and catalyse them to empower themselves and thrive financially.

The research has shown an alarmingly low incidence of financial planning and financial product ownership and therefore resilience and preparedness among South Africans. Our challenge is to find ways to engage differently, to help South Africans realise the benefit of planning and looking at their finances as a lifelong priority.

Avatars at the forefront of financial education

To showcase the impact of present bias on financial planning, the Sanlam group is launching a new financial education initiative, Life of Confidence, which uses a range of digital tools to help address this short-termism.

Oosthuizen continues, We are taking these human insights and neuroscience behaviour and looking at how we can help spark more long-term thinking and planning. Using a time period that every one of us can easily conceive - 24 hours - to help people connect with their future selves and encourage more South Africans to take financial action at pivotal life moments.

We are hoping this catalyses better decision making at the moments in life when it counts most.

Source: Supplied.

At the core of the campaign is Zesande, a digital avatar who lives her entire life in a day.

We map out the course of her lifetime in just 24 hours  for instance at 6am she is 20 starting out in the working world and by 8pm she has entered retirement - educating consumers about the big financial decisions and plans that need to be made at each stage to live a life of financial confidence.

" Concepts such as compound interest, retirement savings and life insurance are explained and linked to the time of life when those are most important for individuals, helping them tangibly map out their financial lives on a time continuum.

Creatively engaging the metaverse

Through Life of Confidence, we want to help South Africans understand what is most important at their present and future life stages, and encourage them to take the necessary steps. This will give them the highest level of financial preparedness and success and set them on the path to a life of financial confidence.

The campaign has allowed us to realistically depict living an entire life in a day and demonstrates financial learnings in a creative, compelling way, said Oosthuizen.

Additional elements include an interactive digital experience by means of desktop or mobile technology where South Africans can learn what they should be considering at the key life moments.

The campaigns media launch took place in the metaverse today (Tuesday, 31 January), a first for South Africa.
South Africa slips one point in the rankings of the global index measuring perceptions of public-sector corruption around the world.

Source: Reuters.

This is according to Transparency Internationals 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which was released today.

South Africa has barely shifted position on the CPI over the 11 years that Corruption Watch, Transparency Internationals (TI) local chapter, has been tracking its progress.

Now ranked at 43, the country is back where it started in 2012, with very little upward movement over the past decade.

It is important to note, however, that the CPI measures perceptions of corruption, and not actual corruption that is experienced in countries across the world. In this regard, perceptions may differ from the current reality in South Africa, where there has been some forward momentum by law-enforcement agencies in curbing and combating corruption.

Using data from 13 external sources reflecting the views of country experts and surveys of business people, the CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public-sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The global average remains unchanged at 43 for the 11th year in a row, indicating that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50 and thus have a serious problem with corruption, and most countries have made little to no progress in tackling corruption in more than 10 years.

The 2022 report paints a disturbing picture of an increasingly dangerous world, highlighting the link between corruption and conflict globally, and the threat that corruption poses to peace and security.

The recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and growing security threats can be said to be at the root of a new wave of uncertainty and greater instability in the world in general.

The annual CPI represents an opportunity for countries to redeem themselves by demonstrating a tangible shift in addressing their corruption problems. However, we are assailed each year by the failure of governments, our own included, to be seen to be advancing anti-corruption efforts, said Karam Singh, executive director of Corruption Watch.

The global average in the #CPI2022 remains unchanged at a score of 43 out of 100 for the eleventh year running, and more than two thirds of countries have a serious corruption problem, coming in at a score below 50: https://t.co/tPjUiJwEps. pic.twitter.com/wNhSE9kczA  Corruption Watch (@Corruption_SA) January 31, 2023

The fact that South Africa has slipped a point at a time when there appears to be some momentum in bringing the corrupt to book, following the findings of the Zondo Commission reports, is particularly galling.

"It is hardly comforting that we have leaders paying lip service to the anti-corruption agenda in an environment that is not just hostile but extremely dangerous for whistleblowers and those activists seeking to address the huge inequality and injustices wrought by corruption.

Whistle-blowers and activists in South Africa and the Southern African region, as has been seen too often recently, face real threats to their physical safety and even their lives, Singh added. Part of making a breakthrough in the fight against corruption involves squarely addressing the plight of whistle-blowers and providing them with greater protection and support in terms of physical safety, psycho-social support, financial incentives, and legal protections.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The picture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the lowest performing region on the CPI with an average score of 32, reveals a vicious cycle of corruption, violence, and instability, with 44 of the 49 countries assessed in the region scoring below 50.

This is no coincidence, as according to the Global Peace Index referenced by TI in this years report, it is one of the least peaceful regions in the world, and as corruption and conflict exacerbate one another, so countries in conflict become more corrupt, and corruption then fuels further conflict.

The gains made by a few countries in the region are outweighed by significant declines by the majority. Seychelles continues to lead the region with a score of 70, while Botswana (60) and Cabo Verde (60) have both made slight progress. Burundi (17), Equatorial Guinea (17), South Sudan (13), and Somalia (12) score the lowest.

While South Africa may have scored above the regional average score, public-sector corruption remains a serious  if not endemic  problem, underscored by a series of corruption scandals involving the former and incumbent presidents, which remain doggedly unresolved.

South Africa shares its position with Benin, Bulgaria, Ghana, and Senegal on the global index, and remains in position eight on the regional SSA table, along with its three counterparts.

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic has been an ongoing challenge for SSA, having severely affected the livelihoods of all Africans, deepened inequalities, and increased corruption risks across the continent, through opaque procurement systems, among others. Some of the other commonalities across the region include lack of state capacity for fighting corruption, made worse by insecurity, weakened political institutions, and in some countries an ever-shrinking space for civil society.

Alarmingly, there has also been an increase in intimidation and arrests of opposition figures or activists, sometimes under the guise of anti-corruption crackdowns, and enabled by heavily politicised judicial systems, or in the case of South Africa, inadequate and ineffective law-enforcement agencies.

TIs chapters came together in 2022 to collectively raise these concerns, calling on the African Union to step up its anti-corruption commitments, protect anti-corruption activists, and accelerate strategies to combat illicit financial flows.

South Africa

In South Africa, one can point to some of the recommendations in the Zondo Commission reports as a step in the right direction towards facing the countrys corruption challenges head on. There is an acknowledgement both in the recommendations of the Zondo Commission and in the presidents response that South Africas anti-corruption architecture, particularly when it comes to enforcement, requires an overhaul.

There has also been some encouraging progress in advancing implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which advocates a whole-of-society approach to countering corruption in South Africa, further propelled by the appointment towards the end of last year of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (Naca) to drive the process forward.

The appointment of the Nacac gives a faint glimmer of hope at a time when people see very little to be hopeful about, said Singh. The Nacac represents a real possibility of ensuring that there is movement in finally securing the anti-corruption measures that the country so desperately needs.

As a civil-society organisation, Corruption Watch has been invested since its inception in the project to at least reduce, if not eradicate corruption in South Africa. It is time now for more robust interventions than ever, across all of society, and for a vastly accelerated process to get the country to where it needs to be.

This will require huge collective commitment to bring all our resources and skills to bear in creating an environment that is safe for whistle-blowers, that prioritises accountable leadership, and transparent systems that enable the proper and equitable distribution of resources.

Transparency International calls on governments to prioritise anti-corruption commitments, reinforcing checks and balances, upholding rights to information, and limiting private influence to finally rid the world of corruption  and the violence it brings.

The fight against corruption is a simultaneous fight for peace and stability.
DKMS Africa, an international non-profit organisation with an aim to fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, has partnered with Miss South Africa 2020, Shudufhadzo Musida.

Image supplied: Miss South Africa 2020, Shudufhadzo Musida

In South Africa, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer every 72 minutes and a blood stem cell transplant is their best chance for survival. Considering that patients of African descent have a less than 30% chance of finding a blood stem cell match, compared to 79% for White patients, this presents a huge challenge to patients with this life-threatening illness.

DKMS Africas head of community engagement and communications, Palesa Mokomele, explains that currently, the global registry consists of 75% Caucasian donors and only 25% of potential donors of African descent. This disparity places Black, Coloured, Indian, and Asian blood cancer patients at a 19% chance of finding a lifesaving match, and this has to change she explains.

Crowned Miss South Africa in 2020, Musida has served as an advoctae for mental health throughout her reign, which resulted in her launching her successful online series, Mindful Mondays, which accumulated millions of viewers across the globe.

As a mental health champion, Musida has taken her work across various global initiatives by being of service to Global Citizen and United Nations Womens Forum, as well as contributing to important causes in the African continent.

To extend the work she does on mental health, Musida was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the Global Surgery Foundation ensuring that women and children globally are afforded life-saving surgeries. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that blood cancer and equitable access to transplants for Black patients would be a cause close to her heart.

Diseases such as blood cancer affect not only the patient but the family in its entirety. The financial, mental health, and access to medical care for diagnosed patients is the reason why I partnered with DKMS Africa, to ensure that patients and families receive holistic support in their needs and also to urge South Africans to come forward and donate to save a life, says Musida.

With the prevalence of blood cancer in the country, Musida recognised the critical importance of the work DKMS Africa does and the ability we have as citizens to give blood cancer patients the second chance they need at a cure. If there is any opportunity for Black, Coloured, Indian, and Asian patients to receive treatment and reach transplant then we have to act as South Africans, she says.

We are excited about this partnership at DKMS Africa because Ms Musida is not just a beauty pageant titleholder. She is committed to social equity and implementing change in the causes she chooses. As a Goodwill Ambassador, a Champion for Southern and Eastern Africa for the UNFPA, author, and all-around vehement advocate for healthcare in the African continent, she is the perfect person to help us reach South Africans in the fight against blood cancer, says Mokomele.

To register to become blood stem cell donor, simply visit here and follow the steps. Registration is free and only requires a cheek swab.
Google has announced that it has launched the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, its first dedicated startup accelerator for women founders in Africa. Applications are now open for the inaugural programme, Google said. "The programme aims to empower and support women founders on the continent by providing resources and opportunities for them to scale their startups and address African problems," Google explained.

Women founders who are building tech startups in Africa or for Africa can apply through the program website at g.co/acceleratorafrica before the 20 February deadline.

Eligible applicants must have a working product or service, a viable business model, and a working team. The application process includes a written application and an interview with the program team.

The 12-week programme will commence in March 2023 and include one bootcamp per month, held in a hybrid style of online and in-person sessions.

Selected participants will receive access to Google's products, mentoring from industry experts, resources, tools, and technology, as well as networking opportunities and connections with investors to support the growth of their startups.

We are excited about the open call for applications for our three-month accelerator programme, specifically tailored to address the unique challenges faced by women founders in Africa. We believe that investing in women founders in Africa is critical for economic empowerment that will enable the creation of jobs for the growing African youth population, says Folarin Aiyegbusi, head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google.

African female founders face challenges in their entrepreneurial pursuits, including limited access to funding. Despite these challenges, women make up a significant portion of African entrepreneurs, with 58% of businesses in Africa being owned by women.

Elevating the participation and leadership of women in the entrepreneurship ecosystem is crucial for promoting gender equality and driving economic growth in Africa. Investing in women-led startups is a key step towards achieving this goal, and Google's commitment to these goals is reflected in the launch of the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program," added Aiyegbusi.

Akua Nyame-Mensah, a mentor for the program said, "It's an honour to be a mentor in the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator Program for Women Founders. As part of supporting the next generation of leaders in Africa, this program offers women an opportunity to grow their networks and the accountability to achieve their professional goals. The focus on mentorship will be invaluable. Participants will benefit and grow from the exchange of ideas and experiences."
South African Tourism (SA Tourism) has revealed its new strategic look for this year's Meetings Africa, which will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, from 27 February to 1 March 2023.

Meetings Africa is a gathering of Africas various stakeholders in the meeting incentives conferences/conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector of the growing tourism industry.

South African Tourism's acting chief executive officer, Themba Khumalo says: "The entire global tourism sector has been through a really rough time in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic but we are back with a renewed energy and we are motivated to build and grow our sector to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.

Source: Supplied

"Meetings Africa aims to contribute to helping African business events players restart and grow. We want to create opportunities for Africas business events sector so that we can all grow back more vital than ever before. Our new look represents this new injection of energy and is an emphasis on the importance that we place on connections."

Connecting people and ideas

Khumalo adds that South Africa seeks to use Meetings Africa as "a tool to forge even more partnerships by offering various opportunities to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world."

Meetings Africa features a global, hosted buyer programme for optimal interaction between buyers and exhibitors. In addition to this, South African Tourism has partnered with all nine provinces to host Meetings Africa familiarisation pre and post-tours for hosted buyers and media to experience South Africas business events facilities and establishments.

In keeping with the spirit of renewed energy, this years Meetings Africa will, for the first time, host the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) Summit. The Africa chapter of the AIPC Summit was born out of a partnership between the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB), a business unit of South African Tourism and the AIPC.

Khumalo says the summit is critical for the continent, to ensure that Africas conferencing facilities are on par with those from the rest of the world. "This summit will help African venues to benchmark themselves against the global standards, to brand and position themselves based on what people are looking for in an internationally recognised venue."

To date, 275 buyers representing 45 countries have been approved to participate at Meetings Africa 2023, with almost 450 applications being vetted. A total of 305 exhibitors representing 15 African countries are currently registered to showcase their wares this year. Various Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) will also be at Meetings Africa in the development zone.

"Transformation, inclusive economic growth and accelerating job creation are all central to all the work we do at South African Tourism. Providing our small businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to also interact and engage with hosted buyers is very important because we are serious about harnessing business opportunities both within the African continent and globally," adds Khumalo.

Meetings Africa will be preceded by the Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDAy) on 27 February with the official opening of the trade show taking place on 28 February. There will also be a variety of business-driven talks and discussions.

Tourism, a critical contributor to the economy

Cumulative arrivals for the January to November 2022 period increased by 151.9% to reach 5.0 million arrivals over the same period in 2021. Arrivals in November 2022 were 565,758 arrivals.

The biggest region in terms of real numbers was African Land with a 126.1% increase in arrivals when compared with January to November 2021. The total number of arrivals from Europe in this period of 2022 was 778,222. Arrivals from the Americas increased by 227.0% and represented 285,446 arrivals. Over these eleven months, 2022 has performed better than 2021 but it is still not

at the 2019 levels.

On the domestic front, overnight trips from January to November 2022 reached 29.8 million trips, 139.4% over the same period in 2021. Holiday and MICE trips increased in share whilst trips for VFR purposes fell in share.

Total domestic expenditure was R84.2bn, a 172.4% increase over 2021, and was driven by holiday trips having accounted for 44.3% of total expenditure. Domestic day trips recorded a 173.0% increase or 160.6 million. Day trips spend also showed a phenomenal increase of 174.8% to reach 148.6 billion.

"We remain optimistic for the year ahead both from a business events and leisure tourism perspective and we will continue to use our strategic platforms such as Meetings Africa and Africas Travel Indaba in May to promote our country and in so doing contribute to business success and growth" concludes Khumalo
Many know the annual Rand Show as the place for entertainment and shopping, but what's less known is the powerful assistance offered by the trade show to small to medium businesses (SMMEs). This year the Rand Show is immensely stepping up that support with significant incentives and assistance to SMMEs - including a unique new summit that will take place on 5 April in the Black Eagle conference facility, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre at Nasrec for all those SMMEs who book space at the show, particularly in Hall 7, where SMMEs will be showcased.

The summit is designed to elevate SMMEs by directly linking them with corporate and public sector representatives who play a role in the SMME sector through funding, training and access to the market. By giving these SMMEs the opportunity to connect, listen to and network with the people who can help build their companies, the Rand Show is offering significant opportunities for growth, development and operational improvement in the SMME space. The best part is that all of this is included in the price of signing up an SMME for a stand, with no additional charges.

The summit will include live streams, speeches and panels hosted by industry experts in SMME development, training and assistance, and will be packed with advice for new and established companies. Topics to be covered include growing a business with funding, attracting financial support, drafting a business plan, taking a product to market, smart cash flow management and point of sale options.

The Rand Show is currently calling on those corporates and public sector entities involved in this to come on board and participate in the summit, giving them a chance to connect with fast-developing leaders in the small to medium business space. Those corporate and public sector entities who do come on board will be charged a nominal fee, which gives them a full SMME contact database, a 30-minute speaking slot at the summit, branding throughout the summit, and an on-camera interview explaining their involvement with SMMEs, which will be used on the Rand Show platforms and on post-show exposure reels.

Starting at 9 am, the summit promises to be an exciting and important step forward for the SMMEs involved, the SMME connected corporate and governmental entities involved and the Rand Show, who, by connecting and growing this vital part of South Africas economy, hopes to make an impact on the future development of the country.

In addition to the summit, those who book a stand in Hall 7 will be automatically entered into a competition in which the winning stand will receive R50,000 towards the development of their business as well as receive a PR campaign around their win, both assisting with improvements and increasing profile for one lucky SMME.

Sponsorship opportunities still exist for those eager to partner with the Rand Show on this groundbreaking opportunity.




TOKYO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came under continued fire Tuesday from the opposition camp over allegations his son used taxpayers' money for sightseeing trips oversees while on official duty.

Kishida's son, Shotaro, 32, who serves as his secretary, was alleged by the Shukan Shincho magazine to have visited tourist hot-spots in Paris, London and Ottawa at the taxpayers' expense and used a government-owned vehicle, while the prime minister was carrying out official duties overseas in January.

The allegations have dealt a further blow to the already slumping approval rating for Kishida's cabinet, following a number of high-profile ministerial resignations over funding scandals, gaffes and links to a shady religious organization.

The approval rating has also taken a major hit from the Kishida administration's contentious and publicly denounced plan to raise taxes to fund an unprecedented increase in the country's defense spending.

According to local media polls in December, the prior controversies led to the approval rating dropping to around the 30 percent-mark, the lowest level since Kishida launched his cabinet in October 2021 and a level below which has historically been a harbinger of the end of a prime minister's tenure.

The Japanese leader initially caught flak in October when he hand-picked Shotaro, the eldest of his three sons, to serve as his executive secretary, sparking fervent accusations of nepotism from the opposition bloc as well as the public.

The latest headache for Kishida follows his week-long trip to Britain, Canada, France, Italy and the United States, ahead of the Group of Seven summit in May to be held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Kishida's constituency.

At a parliamentary committee session Tuesday, Kishida, under a grilling from the opposition, refused to definitively comment on his son's actions. 
HANOI, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese pilot was killed in a fighter jet crash in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Su-22 aircraft crashed while landing Tuesday noon in Yen Bai Province, the news agency said.

Thirty-one-year-old captain Tran Ngoc Duy was ordered to parachute but he tried to save the aircraft. However, the plane crashed, killing the pilot, it said.

The Ministry of Defence has directed Air Defense-Air Force and relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the accident, according to the news report. 
Australias corporate regulator is understood to be reviewing a short-seller report that accused Indian conglomerate Adani of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, causing tens of billions of dollars to be wiped from the value of its listed companies.

The report by US-based Hindenburg Research, titled Adani Group: How The Worlds 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History, was released a week ago, and since has wiped $US74 billion ($105 billion) from the value of Adanis listed companies.

A US activist investor has accused Indian conglomerate Adani of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Credit: Bloomberg

Hindenburgs founder, Nate Anderson, in the report and in a subsequent statement, has made allegations that Adani failed to disclose related-party transactions, and the source of funds for suspect transactions between Adani Group entities, founded by Gautam Adani, and his brother Vinod Adani-associated entities.

This information is critical to the integrity of Adanis business, as it indicates whether the company is round-tripping turnover, laundering illicit funds, or using cash to manipulate its stock, Anderson wrote.
Virgin Australia is loading up its board with bankers as the nations second-biggest airline prepares to re-list on the Australian sharemarket about three years after it collapsed into administration.

Former Macquarie Bank chairman Peter Warne will join the airlines board of directors alongside Pippa Downes, a former banking executive at firms including Goldman Sachs, who now holds several directorships, Virgins chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, said in a note to staff on Tuesday.

Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, who also chairs Tennis Australia, kept a close eye on matches at the Australian Open. Credit: AP

The appointments coincide with the companys chief financial officer, David Marr, moving to a new role focussed on preparing the carrier for a sharemarket listing, according to the note seen by this masthead.

Race Strauss, a former chief financial officer of Jetstar and Qantas, will replace Marr in his former role.
Finlands Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has estimated that the revenue from Russias fossil fuel sales was 17 per cent lower in December and is costing Russia about 160 million ($246 million) a day. Russia has been able to largely maintain its oil export volumes by redirecting its sales from Europe, which used to be its biggest market for oil and gas, to China, India and Turkey. It has been building its own fleet of tankers to circumvent the caps, and using sanctions-busting techniques developed by countries like Iran and North Korea, but the relatively small pool of buyers prepared to accept its oil were using their leverage to get big discounts even before the price caps were imposed. The war is going to leave permanent damage on Russias economy. Credit: AP The new caps on refined product could be even more effective but generate some adverse implications for the West in the process.

China and India, the two biggest buyers of Russian oil, have their own very large domestic refinery sectors. They dont need Russias diesel or fuel oil or other intermediate products. There is no obvious market for the Russian product that has previously been sold into Europe. Loading China and India might, of course, be prepared to buy Russian products at very big discounts and then ship their own to those buyers who previously bought from Russia but thats a cumbersome and, given the relative distances, expensive way to substitute Chinese or Indian products for the Russian oil that Europe used to buy. The flip side of that Russian dilemma is that, if there is no market of sufficient size, the Russian product wont flow into the global market and prices for refined products will rise, perhaps sharply. Even if China and/or India were prepared to buy from Russia and sell their domestic product into the global market there would be material increases in transport costs and therefore end prices unless the Russian product were sold to them at massive discounts.

The caps on Russian product that the EU is proposing are $US100 a barrel for diesel and $US45 a barrel for other, less value-added, products. CREA estimates that a cap at that level, along with the planned simultaneous EU ban on imports of refined products, could cost Russia a further 120 million ($A185 million) a day. Caps at that level would be broadly in line with the approach adopted for Russian crude. The prices of refined products vary far more widely than crude but those caps would appear to represent a discount of roughly 30 per cent, perhaps slightly more, to the freely-traded products. Russia will still generate massive revenues from it crude and refined oil sales even with the caps and embargoes but the 1 billion or so a day it was generating before the invasion could be nearly halved. Apart from the lost income, the embargoes and price caps will do long-term damage to Russias energy industry which, pre-invasion, generated about 45 per cent of its federal governments revenue. Last year Russia had a record budget deficit of 3.3 trillion roubles (about $70 billion) after a deficit in December wiped out 11 months of surpluses.

It is budgeting for something similar this year but that is predicated on an average oil price of $US70 a barrel. At the prices it has been receiving since the caps were established, that deficit would roughly double even before the caps on refined products. Pre-invasion, Russias energy industry generated about 45 per cent of its federal governments revenue. Credit: Bloomberg It could face something worse. The G-7 agreed earlier this month to review the level of the price cap on Russias crude exports. The G-7 countries originally planned the review to occur in February but have deferred it to March to get a better sense of how the cap has impacted Russia and the global market and some initial feedback on the caps on refined products that might enable the group to better calibrate them.

The new caps will be imposed within a more complicated market, with more varied pricing, than crude. Apart from the lost income, the embargoes and price caps will do long-term damage to Russias energy industry which, pre-invasion, generated about 45 per cent of its federal governments revenue. It has lost its core European market for crude oil, refined products and gas, which makes hundreds of billions of dollars of processing and pipeline infrastructure redundant and could leave some major gas fields stranded. Europe wont ever allow itself to become as dependent on Russian energy as it was before the war and it is improbable that China or India would allow themselves to be as exposed as the Europeans were. The costs, whether the oil or gas is shipped or transported via pipelines to non-European buyers, would be considerably (for gas, perhaps prohibitively) higher.
Tens of thousands of Chinese students enrolled at Australian universities will need to rush into the country before semester one after the Chinese government announced it would stop honouring qualifications gained through online learning.

The Chinese Ministry for Education has released a special announcement confirming it would acknowledge degrees awarded only to students attending in-person classes, reversing rules put in place before Chinas dramatic loosening of pandemic restrictions.

Education Minister Jason Clare welcomed the policy shift. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The edict, published on Saturday, surprised Australian universities accustomed to online learning that were not preparing for so many Chinese students to return at once.

The abrupt policy shift could add demand to scarce flights from China and accommodation markets and put pressure on Australias strained visa processing unit, but may also help ease the worker shortage.
Can artificial intelligence save you money on your bills? I decided to find out by running the latest artificial intelligence tool through its paces.

Theres been a lot of buzz about ChatGPT, a new generative AI that scans the internet and spits out answers to written queries. Schools are banning it because academics say it can sometimes write distinction-level essays. Microsoft has invested $US10 billion ($14.2 billion) in the company behind it.

Can A.I. save you money on your bills? Credit: Bloomberg

So, to see if it lives up to the hype, I asked it a series of frequently asked money-saving questions. The first was this: Whats the cheapest electricity plan for a four-person household in my postcode, 2035, NSW, Australia?

I am not able to give you a specific answer, said ChatGPT, as the cost of electricity plans can change frequently and depend on many factors such as usage, provider and location. I recommend checking with energy providers in your area or using a comparison website to find the best plan for your households needs.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there would be few who look at 114 William Street in Woolloomooloo and think: thats beautiful.

An empty piece of land owned by the government since it carved the eastern distributor through the city, it is at least 3000 square metres of prime real estate that is currently little more than an ad-hoc outdoor carpark for M1 staff.

The vacant block of prime land owned by Transport for NSW on William Street in Woolloomooloo. Credit: Cole Bennetts

Which made it the ideal ground zero for a competition launched on Tuesday night by Street Level Australia, a burgeoning urban lobby group pursuing greater beauty, diversity and resilience in the architecture of Australian cities.

The groups founder Milly Main, a former corporate consultant, doesnt think beauty is subjective. If I show you a beautiful picturesque Venice landscape, or if you walk down a beautiful street in Kyoto or Paris, thats beautiful. And to deny it is actually just facetious, she says. There are obviously things that are beautiful ... to deny that is really doing ourselves a disservice.
WA Police have seized around 1.2 kilograms of meth after using a drone to track an alleged drug runner travelling the streets on an electric scooter.

Vision shows the accused 32-year-old travelling with a backpack through the Perth northern suburb of Darch on Wednesday before being picked up by another man driving a white ute.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch told Radio 6PR detectives from the drug squad began tracking the scooter rider by covert drone after receiving a number of reports from the public of a man on an electric scooter acting suspiciously in the area.

So weve got our technology up in the sky, weve seen a gentleman on an e-scooter, what we will allege is he is distributing methamphetamine, he said.
Australians would be able to use their Medicare cards, display their drivers licence, renew passports and enrol to vote on a one-stop-shop phone app similar to an Apple Wallet under the federal governments vision to digitise its services by transforming the MyGov app.

The app would also allow Australians to verify their identity with banks, phone companies and utilities providers without handing over identity documents that are vulnerable to hacking and affected millions of people in last years breaches on Optus and Medibank.

MyGov, the online entry to services such as Centrelink, Medicare and the Australian Taxation Office, is used by 1.4 million Australians each day and has 25 million authenticated accounts.

Bill Shorten wants MyGov to be seen as a piece of critical national infrastructure. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The service has long been derided as clunky and unreliable, but Government Services Minister Bill Shorten wants it to be seen as a piece of critical national infrastructure akin to transport or hospital systems.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet will seek a national deal to overhaul Medicare and expose doctors to greater competition at a crucial meeting on Friday that will hear a new warning about the growing burden on public hospitals from patients who cannot find a GP.

The reform plan calls for a boost to Medicare rebates, the construction of more GP clinics and a controversial shift to allow pharmacies to offer primary care that is currently restricted to doctors, such as prescribing some medicines.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet wants Medicare reform. Credit: Anna Kucera

In a blunt response to doctors who oppose the changes, Perrottet declared the GP groups to be wrong and said this Fridays meeting of national cabinet had to agree on a roadmap for reform before later decisions to boost funding for primary care and hospitals.

The premier will also join forces with Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews to press for more federal funding for public hospitals by extending a 50:50 funding deal with Canberra that was agreed during the pandemic but lapsed at the end of last year.
A dispute over activist Sally Ruggs resignation from her role as teal independent Monique Ryans chief of staff in December is at the centre of a high-profile court case between the pair as the staffer sues the new MP over allegations of unreasonable work hours.

Five sources within the teal movement said the pair clashed over their priorities after initially celebrating their union.

Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg are in a legal stoush. Credit: Photos: Alex Ellinghausen/Nick Moir

Rugg, the former Change.org head, is trying to stop Ryan, the climate and integrity campaigner who rolled former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the election on a platform of improving politics, from firing her following a dispute about working hours.

The Federal Court case lodged against Ryan and the Commonwealth  Ruggs technical employer  has reignited debate within the crossbench over the Albanese governments decision to reduce the number of staff allocated to independent MPs.
Activist Sally Rugg claims teal independent Dr Monique Ryan tried to sack her after just six months as her chief of staff because she refused to work unreasonable hours.

Rugg, the former head of Change.org and an experienced campaigner on socially progressive issues, has launched Federal Court action against Ryan and the Commonwealth of Australia, and is trying to stop the latter from firing her following a dispute about working hours.

Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg. Credit: Photos: Alex Ellinghausen/Nick Moir

Ryan recruited Rugg in July after the Kooyong independents election win over former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg on a campaign platform of climate action and political integrity.

In court documents lodged in the Federal Court, Rugg claims the first respondent in the action  listed as the Commonwealth  denied her workplace right of refusing to work additional hours that were unreasonable resulting in the Commonwealth engaging in hostile conduct in the workplace.
One of the states most powerful lobbyists has been sacked after triggering a political firestorm for linking Premier Dominic Perrottets Catholic faith to his gambling crackdown, leaving the ClubsNSW campaign against poker machine reform in tatters.

The organisations board fired Josh Landis with immediate effect on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the polarising chief executive told the Herald that the premiers pursuit of cashless gaming cards was motivated by his conservative Catholic gut rather than evidence.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (left) and ClubsNSW boss Josh Landis. Credit: Anna Kucera, Dominic Lorrimer

The incendiary comments sparked an unlikely alliance of cabinet ministers, independent MPs, religious groups, unions and NSW Labor leader Chris Minns to call for Landis scalp.

In a joint statement, the six-person ClubsNSW board led by rugby league and business identity George Peponis said it had met and after careful consideration decided to end his employment immediately.
Nelsons family is already in talks with the Corrections Department and prison healthcare provider Correct Care Australasia to negotiate a settlement over Nelsons death at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. The coroner on Monday referred Correct Care Australasia to prosecutors, saying if an ambulance had been called at any point during Nelsons 36 hours at the womens prison, it was likely shed still be alive. The media have painted a very negative picture of the death and staff interactions with Ms Nelson. Prison general manager Tracy Jones The inquest found that as Nelson slowly died, calling out for her late father, the nurse responsible for her care, Atheana George, watched a movie on her computer and prison officer Tracey Brown told Nelson to stop screaming because she was keeping the other prisoners awake, McGregor found. In her email to staff, Jones, then the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre general manager, attacked the coroners decision to release unedited audio and video recordings that identified those working at the prison, including prison officers and medical workers from Correct Care Australasia.

The actual intercom calls from Ms Nelson to staff, were played on all major news channels, as was the reception of Ms Nelson, her vomiting and screaming in her cell and its pretty horrendous! Jones wrote in her email. I want you all to prepare yourselves for seeing this footage, hearing how the prison has been highlighted and do not take it personally. The family are angry and grieving and they want someone to blame for the death of their daughter/partner/sister/niece, the email says. We were unaware that the Coroners Court would release the actual prison footage and intercom calls to the media. The viewing is particularly disturbing and distressing. The media have painted a very negative picture of the death and staff interactions with Ms Nelson. We sought to get a suppression order to blur staff faces but we lost. Whilst we have sought legal advice on the airing of this footage by media channels, its very unfortunate for staff and their families. It will also distress the women in our care I suspect, as its really sensationalised media and none of it positive  Please take care, look after each other and get support if you need it.

Jones signed her email: Cheers. Jones is the same official who initially said at a boardroom debrief of Nelsons death two weeks after the incident that she was proud of the way Nelson had been treated in her final hours and that staff sensitively managed the intercom calls. In January, she was appointed by Corrections Victoria as the general manager of the Judy Lazarus prisoner transition centre. Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said the email was completely insensitive to Veronica Nelsons family. The dismissive and attitude of the head of the prison is further proof of the callous indifference that the prison is run on, and it certainly makes you wonder whether the management at DPFC is willing to grapple with the findings and recommendations of the coroner, Waight said.

Ali Besiroglu, who is representing Nelsons mother Donna, said the email was cruel. Besiroglu, a principal lawyer from firm Robinson Gill, said it provides insight into the insensitive culture that existed from the top down. Jones testified before the inquest that at the debrief held two weeks after Nelsons death, the incident had not been critically examined. The minutes indicate that the debrief was opened without an Acknowledgement of Country and without any recognition of Nelsons Aboriginality. Victorian coroner Simon McGregor found Veronica Nelsons death was preventable. Credit: On Monday McGregor said in his findings that the truth about Nelsons death in custody may never have surfaced but for the coronial investigation. He said the approach taken, to which Correct Care chief nursing officer Christine Fuller agreed, was they didnt ask, so [we] didnt tell. Nelson was arrested on Spencer Street on December 30, 2019, and taken to a nearby police station for questioning on suspicion of shoplifting. But instead of being released on bail, she was transferred to Melbourne Magistrates Court where she was placed on remand until a court date weeks later.

Over the following two days, she made 49 calls for help over the prisons intercom while heroin withdrawal and an undiagnosed medical condition ravaged her body. Loading She was found dead in her cell on January 2, 2020, lying in the fetal position. An autopsy found Nelson had the undiagnosed medical condition Wilkies syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal condition. In his findings on Monday, McGregor savaged the action and inaction of Correct Care Australasia and prison staff. He also sent a copy of his findings into the conduct of nurse Atheana George and prison physician Dr Sean Runacres, who miscalculated Nelsons weight and completed an insufficient medical examination when she came to prison, to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Veronicas death was preventable, McGregor found.
US secretary of state meets with Israeli Prime Minister

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By Nathan Gomes

BENGALURU (Reuters) - BMW is evaluating the launch of more battery electric vehicles (EVs) in India, amid growing demand from luxury car buyers, Vikram Pawah, country president at the German carmaker, told Reuters in an interview.

"We are going to have 25 electrified products (globally) by the end of 2023, of which half of them will be fully electrified. Our intention is to evaluate each one of those 12 electrified products for the Indian market," Pawah said.

BMW already sells three EVs in India. If supply chain problems ease, which Pawah expects will happen in 2023, EVs could contribute more than 10% of BMW's total sales in 2023.

A shortage in semiconductors and supply chain disruptions due to pandemic-related lockdowns and the Ukraine war have affected car production globally but the situation seems to be easing.

India is largely a small and low-cost car market, in which luxury models accounted for only 1% of the total sales of 3.8 million units in 2022. The luxury EV market is even smaller and largely untested but demand is growing.

Also Read BMW's Z4 convertible has little competition, offers freedom on tap BMW expects sales momentum to continue next year; lines up 8 new launches BMW launches petrol, diesel variants of third-gen X1 SAV in India Will raise Chennai unit output to curtail waiting period: BMW's Pawah BMW increasing focus on India, sees growth potential amid low penetration Electric two-wheeler sales to reach around 22 million by 2030: Report Finance costs, global demand near-term hurdles for auto sector: Eco Survey Hero MotoCorp puts scooter play in higher gear with Xoom Eye on untapped market, nine e-bikes to turn up the heat in 2023 Auto parts sourcing start-up CapGrid raises $7 mn in series A from Nexus

BMW, along with rival Mercedes, is looking to capitalize on this demand at a time when Tesla has decided to stay out because of high import taxes on EVs.

Mercedes launched three EVs in India in 2022, including a locally assembled electric model of its flagship S-Class sedan, and expects EVs to make up 25% of its total sales in the next five years.

BMW, which is aiming for at least half of its global sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, expects adoption of clean vehicles in India to be fast, according to Pawah.

In 2022, BMW's total sales in India rose about 35% to nearly 12,000 cars, its highest ever. But it still lags Mercedes, which posted a record year in India with 41% growth in sales with close to 16,000 cars.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditi Shah and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
Addressing a gathering of top politicians and Indian officials at the handover ceremony, Adani said the group has struck many critical partnerships in Israel that include Elbit Systems, Israel Weapon Systems, and Israel Innovation Authority. "We have initiated several dozen technology relationships wherein we have offered the entire Adani portfolio of companies to be a giant sandbox for us to learn together. We are also in the process of setting up an artificial intelligence lab in Tel Aviv which will work in close collaboration with our new AI labs in India and the US," Adani said. In July last year, the group announced the acquisition of Haifa Port with a local partner, Gadot, for $1.15 billion.

Even as investment bankers back home were busy selling the Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer of Adani Enterprises on Tuesday, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani group, took over Haifa Port in Israel in the presence of Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.


Reports here are flagging that the firm co-founded by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's father-in-law, Narayana Murthy, was contesting a GBP 20 million tax bill with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department. Software services major Infosys on Tuesday admitted that it has appealed against a corporation tax assessment by the UK authorities as British media reports referenced the company's annual report to reveal the dispute.



Infosys provides details of certain ongoing disputes with various regulatory authorities, including this specific tax matter with HMRC, an Infosys spokesperson told The Times'. The dispute, first revealed by The Times', comes at a sensitive time for Sunak who sacked his Conservartive Party chief, Nadhim Zahawi, after an investigation found he had breached the ministerial code of ethics over his tax affairs.



There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Infosys, the newspaper highlights. The company has filed an appeal against a tax assessment in the UK and obtained a stay on the payment of the tax demand from HMRC, the spokesperson said.

Also Read 'Proud of him', says Infosys founder Narayana Murthy on Rishi Sunak What challenges await Rishi Sunak as the new PM of the UK? Rishi Sunak's wife earned Rs 126.61 cr dividend income from Infosys in 2022 UK PM Sunak: Tharoor stirs Twitter storm after 'visible minority' remark Rishi Sunak inching closer to become first Indian-origin UK PM on Diwali MGL slashes CNG price by Rs 2.50 per kg; leaves PNG prices unchanged Zoho Corp eyes $1 billion revenue from ManageEngine in next 2-3 years Income tax department conducts survey action against drug major Cipla Tata Motors raises final tranche of Rs 3,750 crore from TRG Rise Climate Adani takes over Haifa Port for $1.15 bn, promises to invest more in Israel



Murty found her personal wealth under the spotlight in April last year when it emerged that she legally held non-domiciled tax status as an Indian citizen, which meant she did not have to pay tax on earnings from abroad, including from Infosys dividends. Murthy quit Infosys in 2014 and is not involved with its operations. His daughter and Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, owns just over 0.9 per cent of the Bengaluru-based company  a stake estimated by The Sunday Times' to be worth GBP 730 million.

She has since denounced her non-dom tax status saying it was not compatible with her husband's job  who was then the chancellor of the country.




Revenue from operations on a consolidated basis at Rs 12,452.44 crore declined by 0.57 per cent over the same period last year. A poll of analysts by Bloomberg had estimated revenues at Rs 13,105.9 crore and net income at Rs 1,004 crore. Jindal Steel & Power has reported a 67.91 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 518.67 crore in Q3FY23 on higher input cost and lower steel prices. In the year-ago period, profit was at Rs 1,616.67 crore.



Bimlendra Jha, managing director, JSPL, explained that it was a non-cash write-off. These investments were in assets abroad where intrinsic value had been reassessed by our auditors. It is a major one-time clean-up exercise that we have undertaken. On a standalone basis, the company recorded revenues of Rs 11,832.25 crore and a net loss of Rs 4,512.27 crore. The company said that it had created a provision of Rs 7,253 crore towards diminution in value of its investments in its wholly owned subsidiary, Jindal Steel & Power (Mauritius).



On the outlook for Q4, he said, Steel and raw material prices have firmed up. China is opening up and in India year-on-year demand growth has been approximately 12 per cent. This is mainly due to the focus of the government on infrastructure and we dont see this going away, he said. After a two-year rally, steel prices started sliding from the first quarter of the financial year. However, Jha pointed out that quarter-on-quarter there was a more than 50 per cent improvement in EBITDA.
GAIL (India) Ltd is scouting for long-term gas import deals and hopes to sign one contract shortly to make up for disrupted supplies from a former unit of Russian energy giant Gazprom, its head of finance said on Monday. India's largest gas distributor reported a 93% decline in its December quarter net profit as it transmitted less gas locally due to a reduction in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from a deal with Gazprom Marketing and Singapore (GMTS). GAIL is in talks with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and many other parties to source gas. "Probably we will get a better deal," Rakesh Kumar Jain told an analyst call.

"The Indian economy is needing more and more gas. Even if GMTS had not happened, we were in the market for sourcing gas. Yes, but GMTS circumstances have forced us more," he said. GAIL agreed a 20-year deal with GMTS in 2012 to buy an annual average of 2.5 million tonnes of LNG. At the time, GMTS was a unit of Gazprom Germania, now called Sefe, but the Russian parent gave up ownership of Sefe after Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sefe has halted supply to GAIL since May. Jain said GAIL was seeking more gas import deals primarily to meet local demand and a resumption of supplies under the Gazprom contract would give his company the flexibility "to able to play more in the international markets".

The state-run company has been trading some of the LNG bought on a free-on-board basis under its long-term deals from the United States in global markets. Jain said in 2023 GAIL would bring in eight extra LNG cargoes from its U.S. portfolio, which were previously sold to a global customer. "We get 90 cargoes from the USA and we intend to bring all of them to India," Jain said.
Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has adopted 10 tuberculosis patients under the Centre's Nikshay Mitra initiative.

The governor will take care of their nutritional and allied support needs for a period of six months.

He handed over prescribed food packets to health officials in Raj Bhavan on Monday for distribution among the 10 patients.

Under the Nikshay Mitra initiative of the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, individuals or organisations can adopt tuberculosis patients for six months and help meet their nutritional and medical requirements.

Speaking on the occasion, the government said common people have always helped transform government programmes into mass movements, and hoped that the TB eradication mission will also be a huge success.
The government's Ayushman Bharat and Jan Aushadhi schemes have helped the poor in the country with the two initiatives alone providing assistance to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday.

In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament as the Budget session began, she noted that the government has been working to empower the poor and eradicate poverty.

"Poverty eradication is no longer just a slogan. Now my government is working towards empowering the poor by providing a permanent addressal to their concerns," she stated.

Murmu noted that a major cause of poverty in the country is illness.

"A serious ailment completely shatters the morale of a poor family, leaving generations in debt. To free the poor from this worry, a nationwide Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched. Under this scheme, more than 50 crore countrymen have been provided the facility of free treatment," she said.

The Ayushman Bharat Yojana has saved crores of poor people from becoming poorer, preventing them from spending Rs 80,000 crore, Murmu said.

Also Read Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crosses over 40 mn linked health records Mandaviya to inaugurate Arogya Manthan to mark Ayushman Bharat anniversary Ayushman Bharat: Patients prefer private hospitals for govt schemes President Droupadi Murmu's Jharkhand visit rescheduled to Tuesday Mandaviya to inaugurate Arogya Manthan to mark 4 years of Ayushman Bharat President Murmu focuses on govt's development thrust in maiden address J-K highway closed for 2nd consecutive day due to landslide in Ramban About 300k women farmers benefited from PM-KISAN, Rs 54,000 cr transferred Delhi HC sends plea seeking minimum age for marriage for men, women to SC Centre moves SC, seeks open court hearing on plea for review on Benami law

"Today medicines are being made available at very low cost in about 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras spread across the country. As a result, about Rs 20,000 crore of the poor have been saved in the past few years.

"That is, from Ayushman Bharat and Jan Aushadhi schemes alone, the countrymen have got assistance worth Rs one lakh crore," she added.

Murmu also noted that within just two years, India has administered more than 220 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses.

The President also said that while India is taking its ancient methods like Yoga and Ayurveda to the whole world, on the other hand, it is also strengthening the country's new identity as the 'Pharmacy of the World'.
Karkardooma Court on Monday directed the Tihar jail authorities to provide a phone calling facility thrice a week for 5 minutes to 7 minutes to accused including Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid after considering their conduct report and other facts.

The court issued the direction while disposing of the 7 pleas moved by Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Tasleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan and Meeran Haider. They are accused in the larger Conspiracy of Delhi riots case and are presently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Amitabh Rawat allowed the application moved on behalf of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Shifa Ur Rehman, Gulfisha Fatima, Athar Khan, Tasleem Khan and Meeran Haider.

"Considering the overall situation and the conduct report, the present applications are disposed off with the directions to the concerned Jail Superintendents to provide the said accused with the said inmate telephone call facility for 5 minutes for conversing with their family members thrice a week," said ASJ Rawat

The other conditions of the said calling facility, as incorporated in Rule 631 of Delhi Prison Rule, 2018 and the PHQ Circular dated 02.09.2022 be followed by the Jail Superintendents, the ASJ Rawat said.

The court directed to send the Copy of the order to DG (Prison) for onward transmission to the concerned Jail Superintendents for information and compliance. The jail authorities had filed the Conduct reports of the accused. As per the report, the conduct of applicants namely Shifa-ur-Rehman, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, Tasleem Ahmad and Athar Khan found satisfactory while applicant Gulfisha Fatima was warned.

Also Read Home Ministry official testifies in sedition case against Sharjeel Imam Umar Khalid released on bail from Tihar jail to attend sister's marriage Court acquits Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi in 2020 Delhi riots case Court grants 7-day interim bail to Umar Khalid for sister's wedding High court dismisses Umar Khalid's bail plea in 2020 Delhi riots case France doesn't rule out sending warplanes to Ukraine amid war with Russia Kerala: NIA questions 6 journalists on suspected ties with terror outfits Arvind Kejriwal launches mechanism to track realtime pollution sources 1,675 EWS flats in Delhi's Jailorwala Bagh to be completed by March: DDA Himachal Pradesh to have advance warning system to mitigate disasters

It was argued on behalf of the accused persons that since the beginning of their judicial custody, accused persons have been provided 05 minutes phone call facility with their family members on a daily basis which has been stopped. On the other hand, the jail authorities in their reply stated that in terms of Rule 631 of Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 and PHQ Circular dated 02.09.2022, the said inmates can call once a week.

The concerned Law Officers and Jail Superintendents had appeared and stated that under Rule 631 of Delhi Prison Rules, those prisoners were involved in the offence against State, terrorist activities, " as is the case here", and are not eligible for the said facility in the interest of public safety and order. However, Jail Superintendent can take appropriate decisions on an individual case-to-case basis with the prior approval of DIG(Range), the reply stated.

Moreover, as per PHQ Circular issued on 02.09.2022, the telephone facility is contingent upon the good conduct of the prisoner and is limited to once a week and the duration shall not be more than 05 minutes for each of the accused, it added.

On the issue of the said facility being provided to the accused persons from the very beginning of their judicial custody, the concerned Law Officer, Prison (HQ) stated that there was some digression of the said rules by the different Jail Superintendents, who had not followed the rules. It was stated that the said Rule 631 has not been set-aside and as per the said Rule, the said phone calling facility shall be in terms of Rule 631 and the PHQ Circular issued on 02.09.2022.

The court said that from the reading of the said Rule, it appears that the accused persons, who are at present involved in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, are not eligible for this facility in terms of the said existing Rule 631, Delhi Prison Rules, 2018.

The court pointed out, "However, it remains a fact that all the accused persons have been granted this facility on a daily basis for 5 minutes from the beginning of the judicial custody. There have been some instances of different approaches by different Jail Superintendents. It was fairly conceded by the concerned Law Officer, Prison (HQ) that the approach of the jail authority has not been fair and correct and disregards the Prison Rules."

The concerned Tihar Jail Administration must set its house in order and follow the rules and, at the same time, maintain consistency without any discrimination against any individual accused, the court said.

The court also said that the relaxation to the said Rule 631 is provided at two levels. Firstly, at the level of Jail Superintendent, who can take proper decisions on a case-to-case basis on prior approval of DIG (Range) and Secondly, in terms of circular under Rule 631 whereby the competent court can order for providing the Inmate Phone Call facility to accused persons.

The court is conscious of the fact that if such facility, as is prayed by the counsel for applicants, is provided on a daily basis to the accused persons while also considering the fact that considering the said rule, this should apply not only to accused in this case but for all the accused persons in similar offences, the rule itself will get defeated. However, the court is equally conscious of the fact that this facility was being provided continuously without break to the accused persons from the beginning, even if wrongly provided by the Tihar Jail Administration, the court said.
West Bengal Chief Minister on Monday held an organisational meeting of the TMC's Birbhum district unit, and took stock of the party's preparedness ahead of the rural polls.

The district unit's president Anubrata Mondal was last year arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in a cattle smuggling scam.

Banerjee, who is on a tour of various districts from Monday, held a closed-door meeting in Bolpur, and inducted three new leaders in the district core committee, which was formed after the arrest of Mondal.

During the meeting, the party supremo (Banerjee) oversaw the preparedness for the panchayat polls (due this year). She also inducted Kajal Sheikh, MP Satabdi Roy and MP Asit Mal into the district core committee, a TMC leader said.

This was Banerjee's first visit to the district after the arrest of Mondal, a staunch loyalist of the party chief.

His three-decade-long political career has been marked by controversies and strong-arm tactics.

Also Read All govt scheme grievances to be redressed: TMC MP assures Birbhum locals Mamata Banerjee to leave for three-day tour to West Bengal districts CBI summons Trinamool Congress MLA's husband in post-poll murder case TMC's Saket Gokhale held in Rajasthan, claims O'Brien; no info, says cop TMC's Anubrata Mondal sent to 10-day CBI remand; here's what we know so far Government receives 99 bids for 36 coal mines under commercial auction 165 death sentences by trial courts in 2022, highest since 2000: Report R-Day: Punjab Regiment best marching contingent; Uttarakhand's tableau best Food and Drug Administration dept seals mineral water factory at Kapurthala Nearly 100 students fall sick in Wayanad school; inspection being done

Mondal was arrested in August last year from Bolpur for his alleged involvement in the scam.

The TMC had won the last panchayat polls in 2018 in Birbhum without any contest in most of the seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit poll bound Karnataka on February 6 for a one-day visit to inaugurate 'India Energy Week' programme. He will also participate in other programmes before leaving for New Delhi.

PM Modi will arrive in Bengaluru at 10.55 a.m. on February 6 and inaugurate India Energy Week at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

After this, he will reach Gubbi town in Tumakuru district in a chopper. He will also participate in foundation laying ceremonies of various Jal Jeevan Mission projects.

Ruling BJP in the state has been inviting central leaders to the state as polls are scheduled to take place in less than three months. Minister for Health Dr K. Sudhakar has stated that PM Modi will arrive to inaugurate the newly built medical college in the district.

Minister Sudhakar has stated that lakhs of people are gathering for the programme to have a glimpse of PM Modi and all arrangements are being made.

Recently, Union Minister for Home Amit Shah visited the state, participated in a road show, and addressed a public rally. Amit Shah has visited Mandya in south part of the state and Belagavi and Yadgir districts in the north.

Also Read Kejriwal, Mann to visit poll-bound Gujarat on Sunday to hold meetings My family has long relationship with poll-bound Karnataka: Rahul Gandhi Nadda to launch BJP's 'Vijaya Sankalpa Yatra' in poll-bound Karnataka Arvind Kejriwal announces recruitment calendar in poll-bound Gujarat IT raid, GST crackdown in poll-bound Padampur, traders call 12-hr bandh Free Wi-Fi service down in Delhi since December as contract expires: Report Lumpy skin disease: North Goa extends ban on cattle transportation Govt asks TV channels to provide monthly details of public service content Kharge, several MPs won't be able to attend Prez address: Jairam Ramesh Trump lawsuit claims Woodward audiobook violates copyright, seeks $50 mn

The ruling BJP has announced that it will seek vote in the name of PM Modi in the upcoming assembly elections.--IANS

mka/kvd
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a plea of journalist Rana Ayyub challenging the summons issued by a special court in Ghaziabad in the money laundering case.

A bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice J B Pardiwala said it will pass orders on the plea.

During the hearing, advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for Ayyub, submitted, "Can her personal liberty be deprived by a procedure not authorised by law?"



She submitted that the Ghaziabad special court has no jurisdiction to try the offence as the alleged act is said to have been committed in Mumbai.

Grover said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the journalist's personal bank account in a bank at Navi Mumbai in which around Rs 1 crore was lying.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, said the prosecution complaint has been filed in the Ghaziabad court by the agency as part of the cause of action had arisen in Uttar Pradesh, where a lot of people, including from Ghaziabad, contributed to her crowdfunding campaign.

He said the money laundering offence is not an independent offence and is always connected to a scheduled offence for which an FIR was lodged in Indirapuram police station of Ghaziabad.

Also Read Supreme Court set to review PMLA verdict, reconsider two provisions ED files chargesheet against journalist Rana Ayyub in money laundering case What is PMLA Act? Money laundering, law statement and objectives SC to hear journalist Rana Ayyub's plea in money laundering case on Jan 25 Indian journalist Rana Ayyub receives support from US Senator Patrick Leahy As filing of nominations begins, AIADMK expects BJP to end uncertainty ASI Gopal Das had clear intention to kill Odisha health minister: FIR Ayushman Bharat, Jan Aushadhi provided assistance of up to Rs 1 trn: Prez President Murmu focuses on govt's development thrust in maiden address J-K highway closed for 2nd consecutive day due to landslide in Ramban

Mehta said arguments advanced by the other side is that if a person chose to launder money in Singapore or Thiruvananthapuram, the agency has to go there and lodge a case.

"Sorry, this is not the scheme," he said, adding that Ayyub raised funds through online platform Ketto' in the name of helping slum dwellers, COVID-19 patients and people of Assam which resulted in the collection of Rs 1 crore, out of which Rs 50 lakh fixed deposit was done in a personal account.

He said, "Money was shown by fake bills, groceries, among others, and was used for personal luxury items and consumption."



On January 25, the top court had asked a special court in Ghaziabad to adjourn the proceedings in the money laundering case against Ayyub scheduled for hearing on January 27 to a date after January 31.

In her writ petition, Ayyub has sought quashing of the proceedings initiated by the ED in Ghaziabad citing lack of jurisdiction as the alleged offence of money laundering occurred in Mumbai.

On November 29 last year, the special PMLA court in Ghaziabad took cognisance of the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the ED and summoned Ayyub.

The ED charge sheet was filed under section 45 read with section 44 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

"I have perused the above mentioned prosecution complaint and have also gone through the prosecution papers as well as documents, including statements.

"From the perusal of the entire record, there is sufficient evidence as to a prima facie case for taking cognisance against Ms Rana Ayyub with regard to commission of offence," the special court judge had said.

The special court had said Ayyub's alleged crime involves taking money illegally from the general public in the name of charity via Ketto -- an online crowdfunding platform -- in three campaigns, without any approval, raising a huge sum in the bank account of her sister and father, and transferring it into her own bank account which was not used for the intended purpose.

On October 12 last year, the ED had filed a charge sheet against Ayyub, accusing her of cheating the public and using Rs 2.69 crore she got in charity for creating personal assets, and also violating the foreign contribution law.

"Rana Ayyub launched three fundraiser charity campaigns on the 'Ketto' platform, starting from April 2020 and collected funds totalling Rs 2,69,44,680," the ED had said in a statement.

The campaigns, it had claimed, were meant to raise funds for slum dwellers and farmers, relief work for Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra, and help Ayyub and her team help those impacted by coronavirus in India.

"Ayyub utilised these funds to create a fixed deposit of Rs 50 lakh for herself and also transferred Rs 50 lakh to a new bank account. Investigations found that only about Rs 29 lakh was used for relief work," the ED had claimed.
Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the President's address to Parliament on Tuesday as many party MPs, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, are stuck in Srinagar due to inclement weather, sources said here.

Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Due to delayed flights from Srinagar airport on account of inclement weather conditions, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, @kharge ji & many other Congress MPs will be unable to attend the President's address to both Houses of Parliament at 11am today.'

President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of Parliament for the first time after being elected to the post. She will outlay the government's vision for the current year.

The Parliament Budget session will commence from Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic survey.

She will present the Union budget on Wednesday.

In her first Republic Day-eve speech, President Murmu had hailed India's G-20 presidency, calling it an opportunity to promote democracy and multilateralism, and also the right forum for shaping a better world and a better future.

Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget Crypto industry wants 0.1% TDS, Sebi-like regulator in Budget 2023 Budget 2023 to increase capex for infra projects for growth: Experts PM to inaugurate Sohna-Dausa stretch of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Feb 12 SRK's 'Pathaan' raises Rs 542 crore gross worldwide in first weekend Uttarakhand: Chamoli DM Khurana submits settlement plan for Joshimath Indian wheat prices drop after PM Modi releases grain for flour millers Inherent powers of high courts should be exercised with care, says SC

--IANS

miz/shb/




However, when asked about who they trust their data with, 90 per cent of the respondents said global service providers were their first choice, the report added.

"When viewing these two statements together, it seems that while organisations would ideally like to keep their data local, they still prefer and trust a global provider over a local provider," the study said. Indian organisations prefer their data to be stored within the country but do not trust local data protection service providers, according to Cisco's 2023 Data Privacy Benchmark Study. The Economic Times reported that around 88 per cent of the participants of the study said they trusted their data being stored within the Indian territory.However, when asked about who they trust their data with, 90 per cent of the respondents said global service providers were their first choice, the report added.



The report also highlighted the significance of privacy legislation in holding organisations accountable for how they manage users' data. It said the count of countries with privacy legislation in place has gone up from 145 last year to 157 now. "Of course, their ideal solution would be to get both - a local instance that retains the data locally set up by a global provider," it added.



"Many governments and organisations are putting in place data localisation requirements, which force data to be kept within a country or region...To many, these requirements seem like a good idea at first, but our research indicates this view does not hold up once costs, security, privacy, and other trade-offs are considered," the report stated. About 79 per cent of all corporate respondents in the report said that these laws had a positive effect, even though complying with these laws involves significant cost and effort on the part of the organisations.

Also Read Personal data: All you need to know about data localisation rules in India 70% respondents want data protection bill to drop localisation rule: Survey Algo Rhythm: AI presents significant privacy concerns, says survey SC clears decks for CCI probe into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy Overseas investors oppose Sebi's data localisation norms, cite cyber risk India budget will be ray of hope for world amid economic turmoil: PM Modi Odisha govt urges HC to monitor health minister's murder case probe Assam set to host first series of G20 events, meeting to begin this week Gautam Adani now no longer among world's top 10 richest billionaires India records 66 new Covid-19 infection, active cases decline to 1,755

The Government of India recently released the draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, proposing cross-border data flow.


India and the US on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the objective of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The situation in the Indo-Pacific came up for discussion during talks between Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Victoria Nuland.

In the talks, held under the framework of annual India-US Foreign Office Consultations, the two sides covered contemporary regional developments in South Asia, Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

"The two sides reiterated their commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the objective of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region," it said in a statement.

The MEA said both sides reviewed progress made towards further consolidating the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

It said Kwatra and Nuland took stock of a number of initiatives and frameworks that reflect common strategic interests, including Quad, I2U2, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative (IPMDA).

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While the Quad comprises India, the US, Australia and Japan, the members of the I2U2 are India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates.

US President Joe Biden in May last year launched the IPEF, which is an initiative aimed at deeper cooperation among like-minded countries in areas like clean energy, supply-chain resilience and digital trade.

In May last year, the Quad leaders launched the IPMDA which is primarily aimed at monitoring regional waters against the backdrop of China's increasing muscle-flexing in the region.

"Both sides agreed to work together during India's ongoing G20 Presidency. They also agreed to intensify cooperation in multilateral fora and international organisations, including the UN, on global issues of mutual interest," the MEA said.

"The productive and substantive meeting enabled both sides to continue a regular dialogue that has been instrumental in enhancing mutual understanding and in identification of opportunities for further growth and enrichment of the India-US partnership," it added.


Solicitor General(SG) Tushar Mehta told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph that a data protection bill is likely to be introduced in the second half of the ongoing Parliament session. The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will examine the feasibility of considering a plea challenging WhatsApps policy to share users data with parent company Facebook and others, after the introduction of the data protection bill in the Budget Session.



The top court observed that there was no harm in waiting for the bill to be tabled and heavens are not going to fall in the meanwhile. Will it not be a mere academic exercise, the bench asked. Data protection bill will be introduced, subject to administrative issues, in the second half of this session which started today. We have filed an affidavit, the SG said.



However, Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the introduction of a Bill itself should not defer the taking up of this case. He said the prayer he was seeking is that personal data cannot be shared with the Facebook group of companies. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing WhatsApp, suggested that the apex court should wait for the bill to be tabled.

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The apex court was hearing the plea filed by two students, Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, who had challenged the sharing of user data by WhatsApp to Facebook and others. You cannot share my data with the Facebook group of companies. We want an opt-out option, seeking a declaration to that effect. There should be a meaningful option. That option is not available to Indian users. There is a public interest element to this, he said.

With PTI inputs
The death toll in a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines has gone up to 83 after nine more bodies were recovered from the rubble, The News International reported.

The police said that the explosion took place at the centre hall of the mosque at 1 pm on Monday.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for the attack.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan announced a day of mourning in the province on Tuesday following the attack, as per the news report. He said that the national flag will be at half-mast across the province.

Azam Khan also assured the aggrieved families that the provincial government will not leave them alone in the aftermath of the tragedy. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Peshawar where he was informed of all aspects of the bombing and he also visited the injured, according to The News International.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that "investigations are underway" about how the attack took place and how the terrorist entered the vicinity.

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"Don't know where the attacker came from and how he entered?" The News International quoted Jah Ansari as saying.

"There are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area," he further said.

Earlier, two more bodies were recovered from the rubble, The News International reported citing an official of Rescue 1122, as per The News International report. The official added that the services recovered five people trapped under the wreckage. The spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said that 157 injured people were brought to the medical facility after the explosion.

"Two injured and three dead bodies have been retrieved from the rubble," The News International quoted the rescue spokesperson Bilal Faizi as saying.

Muhammad Asim said that the bodies of 83 people have been shifted to the hospital. Around 55 injured people were being treated at the Lady Reading Hospital, as per the news report. After the attack, the injured were moved to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. The hospital requested people to donate blood for the victims.

"Bodies of 83 people were also transferred to the hospital. At the moment, around 55 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital. Some of the injured are critical, while the condition of most is satisfactory," The News International quoted Muhammad Asim as saying, adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officers.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the terrorist attack on worshippers in Pakistan's Peshawar. He tweeted, "Canadians strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack on worshipers in Peshawar, Pakistan. My thoughts are with the victims and those who are grieving during this terribly difficult time.
The death toll from the suicide blast rose to at least 100 on Tuesday after rescue workers retrieved more bodies from the debris of the devastated mosque inside a major police facility in Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city.

According to security officials, the suicide bomber who was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers on Monday blew himself up, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers.

Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesperson Mohammad Asim said that 100 bodies had been brought to the medical facility.

Asim said 53 injured were currently being treated while seven had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). He said that most of the injured were out of danger.

Most of the victims were policemen. At least a deputy superintendent of police, five sub-inspectors and the mosque's prayer leader Maulana Sahibzada Noorul Amin were among the dead.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan in August last.

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According to the Police Control Room Peshawar, more than two-hundred injured were brought to the Lady Reading hospital.

Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar (CCPO) Ejaz Khan told Geo TV that the head of the suspected suicide bomber was recovered from the blast site.

The suspected bomber was identified as 37-year-old Mohammed Ayaz son of Salim Khan from Mohmand agency.

"It is possible that the attacker was already present in the Police Lines before the blast and that he may have used an official vehicle [to enter]," he said. "(The) CTD is investigating the case," he said.

He said many policemen are still trapped under the rubble.

"Close to 300-400 policemen usually offer prayer at the Zuhr time. If a blast has taken place inside police lines then it is a security lapse but an investigation into the matter can reveal further," he said.

The bomber entered the highly secured mosque inside police lines where four layers of security were in place.

Provincial Police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said they are investigating the blast and how the bomber entered the highly fortified mosque in the Police Lines area.

He expressed the apprehensions that the bomber might have been residing in the police lines before the blast as there are family quarters too inside the police lines.

Ansari admitted grave security lapses by the police and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the blast.

Talking to the media here Tuesday, he said that the search process for entrance to police lines was limited only to the main gate of the police lines.

He said 10-12 kg explosives were used in the blast. Explosives in parts shifted to police lines as construction activities are in progress these days in police lines.

The headquarters of the Peshawar Police, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Frontier Reserve Police (FRP), Elite Force and telecommunications department are also located near the blast site.

A high-level investigation committee has been set up to look into the security lapses.

A preliminary investigation report of the blast has been sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Meanwhile, funeral prayers for six policemen, including deputy superintendent of police, were offered earlier Tuesday at the Police Lines area.

On Monday night, collective funeral prayers for 27 policemen were offered in Police Lines area.

President Arif Alvi has condemned the attack.

"I strongly condemn the heinous & cowardly blast that has taken place in Peshawar mosque. The perpetrators will be found and punished. Condolences to families who have lost an innocent member & prayers for the injured. Terrorism must be buried forever," Alvi tweeted.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said the blast inside the mosque proves that those involved in the attack have nothing to do with Islam."



"These terrorists are trying to instil fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan, he said, assuring the people that the coalition government will take strict action against those involved in the attack.

PTI Chairman and ex-premier Imran Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the Peshawar mosque.

Last year, a similar attack inside a Shia mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area in the city killed 63 people.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.

The group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students. The attack sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemned.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in Japan as part of his East Asia tour, said our security is closely interconnected and called for stronger ties with Japan as Russia's war on Ukraine raises global dangers and shows that democracies need stronger partnerships.

Japan has been quick to join the US-led economic sanctions against Russia's war on Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid and non-combative defence equipment for the Ukrainians.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has sounded alarm that Russia's aggression in Europe could happen in Asia, where concerns are growing over already assertive China and its escalating tension near Taiwan. Japan also has significantly stepped up ties with NATO recently.

The war in Ukraine also demonstrates that our security is closely interconnected, Stoltenberg said during his visit at the Iruma Air Base north of Tokyo, where he started his Japan visit Tuesday after arriving late Monday from South Korea.

If President (Vladimir) Putin wins in Ukraine it will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians, but it will also send a very dangerous message to authoritarian leaders all over the world because then the message will be that when they use military force they can achieve their goals, he said. So the war in Ukraine matters for all of us."



Stoltenberg said his visit to Japan is a way to further strengthen the partnership between NATO and our highly valued partner Japan.

His is set to meet with Kishida and hold a joint news conference later Tuesday.

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Japan, already a close ally of the United States, has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific nations as well as with Britain, Europe and NATO amid growing security threat from China and North Korea.

Japan issued a new national security strategy in December stating its determination to build up its military and deploy long-range missiles to preempt enemy attacks in a major break from its post-World War II principle that limited itself to self-defence.

Japan also hopes to further ease restrictions on arms export to strengthen the country's feeble defence industry.

While in South Korea on Monday, Stoltenberg called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine to help Kyiv to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion. So far, Seoul has only provided humanitarian aid and other support, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries in conflict.

Stoltenberg also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday and discussed Seoul's commitment to support Ukraine and NATO's possible role in dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon's office said.

Stoltenberg on Sunday mentioned US intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.

North Korea condemned his visits to South Korea and Japan, saying that NATO was trying to put its military boots in the region and attempting to pressure America's Asian allies into providing weapons to Ukraine.

In a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea criticised increasing cooperation between NATO and US allies in Asia as a process to create an Asian version of NATO that would raise tensions in the region.
US President Joe Biden on Monday said America will not send the F16 fighter jets to Ukraine, CNN reported.

While responding to a reporter on whether he would send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden said "no".

Interestingly, the US had ramped up military assistance to Ukraine in the form of artillery and tanks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought fighter jets to help sustain his war effort against Russia. Biden has consistently said the planes aren't on the table, even as he has given aid in other areas.

Last week, Biden announced that he would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite top US officials saying previously the heavy-duty vehicles were a poor fit for the country's military.

Speaking on the White House South Lawn, Biden also said he wasn't sure whether he would visit Europe next month for the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, reported CNN.

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In response to a separate question, Biden said he was planning to visit Poland, but wasn't sure when.

Earlier, Biden provided Ukraine with a defense package of USD 2.5 billion in new weaponry and munitions for Ukraine, as the country prepares for a new stage in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for unwavering leadership from the US side.

Taking to Twitter, Zelenskyy wrote, "Thank you @POTUS for providing with another powerful defense support package worth USD 2.5 billion. Stryker IFVs, additional Bradley APCs, and Avenger air defense systems are an important help in our fight against the aggressor. Thank you people for unwavering leadership support!"

Significantly, however, the defense package does not feature battle tanks requested by Kyiv but includes 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, an additional 59 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Avenger air defence systems, and large and small munitions, according to a Pentagon statement.

"The 59 Bradley IFVs included in this package, together with the 50 Bradleys previously committed on January 6, and the 90 Stryker APCs will provide Ukraine with two brigades of armored capability," it said.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that they have not received any requests from Ukraine for fighter jets, according to the CNN.

"We do not have such a request formulated [from Ukraine]," Macron said at a joint press conference at The Hague where the two leaders were meeting to prepare the next EU council of February.

Macron said while no requests had been received by France, "nothing is off-limits in principle." He insisted that the usefulness of each request must be considered carefully.

Macron said the weapons requested should not escalate the conflict, reported CNN.
Stocks to watch today: Domestic equity markets are expected to remain choppy on Tuesday as investors await the Economic Survey of 2022-23. Fun rotation, ahead of the Union Budget presentation on Wednesday, Feb 1, could also remain a key sentiment dictator today. At 7:40 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,770, up 65 points.

Globally, Nikkei, Straits Times and Kospi started Tuesdays trade on a flat note. Overnight, the US markets declined up to 2 per cent ahead of the US Fed meeting, which begins later tonight, and big corporate earnings. : Domestic equity markets are expected to remain choppy on Tuesday as investors await the Economic Survey of 2022-23. Fun rotation, ahead of the Union Budget presentation on Wednesday, Feb 1, could also remain a key sentiment dictator today. At 7:40 AM, SGX Nifty was at 17,770, up 65 points.



Q3 Earnings: ACC, Blue Star, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, Coal India, Godrej Consumer Products, Indian Hotels, Indian Oil Corporation, Jindal Steel, KPIT Tech, Orient Bell, Orient Cement, Power Grid, RailTel, Star Health, Sunteck Realty, Venus Pipes and Tubes, Welspun Enterprises, and Westlife Foodworld are some of the key companies due to report their Q3FY23 results today. ACC, Blue Star, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, Coal India, Godrej Consumer Products, Indian Hotels, Indian Oil Corporation, Jindal Steel, KPIT Tech, Orient Bell, Orient Cement, Power Grid, RailTel, Star Health, Sunteck Realty, Venus Pipes and Tubes, Welspun Enterprises, and Westlife Foodworld are some of the key companies due to report their Q3FY23 results today. CHECK FULL LIST HERE Here're the top stocks that will be in focus on Tuesday, Jan 31:

Adani Group: Stock exchanges BSE and NSE on Monday revised the circuit limits for three Adani group companies  Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, and Adani Green Energy  from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. The move comes after the massive sell-off triggered lower circuit in these scrips in the last three trading sessions.

LIC: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) will not invest over the board-approved limit of Rs 300 crore in the follow-on public offer (FPO) of Adani Enterprise even as it plans to engage with the business conglomerate to seek clarification over charges made by Hindenburg Research. State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) will not invest over the board-approved limit of Rs 300 crore in the follow-on public offer (FPO) of Adani Enterprise even as it plans to engage with the business conglomerate to seek clarification over charges made by Hindenburg Research. READ MORE Stock exchanges BSE and NSE on Monday revised the circuit limits for three Adani group companies  Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, and Adani Green Energy  from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. The move comes after the massive sell-off triggered lower circuit in these scrips in the last three trading sessions. READ MORE

Also Read OnePlus details Nord Watch features ahead of India launch: Details here OnePlus debuts Nord Watch at Rs 4,999: Specifications, features, and more Stocks to Watch: Axis Bank, Maruti, ConCor, HFCL, Zomato, BoB, Gold related Apple 'Far Out' event today: Here's what users expect from Watch Series 8 Stocks to Watch Today: Paytm, Reliance, NDTV, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank Bajaj Finserv, Mphasis: Is it time to buy these stocks at current levels? Stock Exchanges BSE, NSE lower circuit limits on Adani group stocks Construction & infra firms among biggest wealth destroyers in past 20 years Counting losses: Adani group stock rout hits Rs 5.6 trillion in 3 days Bharat Electronics stock attractive after stake sale by Norges Bank

Tech M: Tech Mahindra (TechM) reported a fall of 5.3 per cent in net profit for the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23 (FY23) at Rs 1,297 crore. However, total contract value of deals signed was at $795 million. This was up 11 per cent sequentially. The other milestone that the company crossed this quarter was its enterprise business, which touched the $1-billion quarterly revenue mark.

L&T: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,553 crore for the October-December quarter of 2022-23, up 24.2 per cent from a year ago, aided by exceptional gains of Rs 97 crore due to a profit on the divestment of the mutual fund business. At the group level, L&T received orders worth Rs 60,710 crore during the quarter, registering a growth of 21 per cent over the year-ago period. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,553 crore for the October-December quarter of 2022-23, up 24.2 per cent from a year ago, aided by exceptional gains of Rs 97 crore due to a profit on the divestment of the mutual fund business. At the group level, L&T received orders worth Rs 60,710 crore during the quarter, registering a growth of 21 per cent over the year-ago period. READ MORE Tech Mahindra (TechM) reported a fall of 5.3 per cent in net profit for the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23 (FY23) at Rs 1,297 crore. However, total contract value of deals signed was at $795 million. This was up 11 per cent sequentially. The other milestone that the company crossed this quarter was its enterprise business, which touched the $1-billion quarterly revenue mark. READ HERE

Inox Leisure: Inox Leisure widened its net loss for Q3FY23 to Rs 40.42 crore compared to Rs 1.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue surged 74 per cent to Rs 516 crore from Rs 296 crore while expenses jumped 63 per cent to Rs 493 crore.

BPCL: State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,747 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2022 (Q3FY23), getting back into the black after two consecutive quarters of losses. Consolidated revenue from operations in Q3 rose 13.67 per cent to Rs 1.33 trillion. : State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,747 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2022 (Q3FY23), getting back into the black after two consecutive quarters of losses. Consolidated revenue from operations in Q3 rose 13.67 per cent to Rs 1.33 trillion. READ MORE Inox Leisure widened its net loss for Q3FY23 to Rs 40.42 crore compared to Rs 1.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue surged 74 per cent to Rs 516 crore from Rs 296 crore while expenses jumped 63 per cent to Rs 493 crore.

Kansai Nerolac: Kansai Nerolac Paints has entered into an agreement with realty developer House of Hiranandani Group to sell its nearly 24-acre land parcel at Kavesar in Thane for Rs 655 crore.

KEC International: The company said it has bagged orders worth Rs 1,131 crore across various businesses. Kansai Nerolac Paints has entered into an agreement with realty developer House of Hiranandani Group to sell its nearly 24-acre land parcel at Kavesar in Thane for Rs 655 crore.

Alkem Laboratories: Mumbai-based drug maker Alkem launched an antibiotic on Monday to treat multiple drug-resistant infections. The firm became the first from India to launch a novel antibiotic combination for treating drug-resistant infections, the company claimed.

ADF Foods: The company's consolidated net profit for Q3Fy23 came in at Rs 18.52 crore as against net profit of Rs 13.3 crore YoY and Rs 13.6 crore QoQ. It's revenue was Rs 123 crore vs Rs 117 crore YoY and Rs 107 crore QoQ. Mumbai-based drug maker Alkem launched an antibiotic on Monday to treat multiple drug-resistant infections. The firm became the first from India to launch a novel antibiotic combination for treating drug-resistant infections, the company claimed. READ MORE

Mangalore Chemicals: The company's standalone net profit rose to Rs 76.2 crore as against Rs 31.1 crore last year. The company had logged net loss of Rs 32 crore in Q2FY23.

Sanofi India: French drugmaker Sanofi SA is reviewing operations at two of its vaccine making facilities in India and plans to let go of all employees at the plants, the company told Reuters, after it failed to win a UNICEF contract. The drugmaker is offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to all its employees at two sites near Hyderabad, a spokesperson for Sanofi's India unit told Reuters in an email. French drugmaker Sanofi SA is reviewing operations at two of its vaccine making facilities in India and plans to let go of all employees at the plants, the company told Reuters, after it failed to win a UNICEF contract. The drugmaker is offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to all its employees at two sites near Hyderabad, a spokesperson for Sanofi's India unit told Reuters in an email. READ MORE : The company's standalone net profit rose to Rs 76.2 crore as against Rs 31.1 crore last year. The company had logged net loss of Rs 32 crore in Q2FY23.

Nippon Life India AMC: NAM India on Monday reported an 18 per cent increase in the profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 205 crore for Q3FY23. In comparison, the company had a PAT of Rs 174 crore in the year-ago period.

Punjab National Bank: Punjab National Bank on Monday allayed concerns about its exposure to Adani companies and noted that its loans to the group are diversified into 8-9 companies, which are generating sufficient cash. Punjab National Bank on Monday allayed concerns about its exposure to Adani companies and noted that its loans to the group are diversified into 8-9 companies, which are generating sufficient cash. READ MORE NAM India on Monday reported an 18 per cent increase in the profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 205 crore for Q3FY23. In comparison, the company had a PAT of Rs 174 crore in the year-ago period. READ MORE

GAIL (India): State gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd on Monday reported 90 per cent drop in December quarter net profit, at Rs 397.59 crore vs Rs 3,800.09 crore YoY, after it suffered losses in petrochemical and natural gas marketing business. The nation's largest gas trading and transportation company booked Rs 349 crore loss in petrochemical business after it had to cut run rate due to curtailment in supply of cheaper domestic gas.

Ultratech Cement: UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company in UAE, has entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seven Seas Company LLC, Oman for acquisition of 70 per cent equity shares in Duqm Cement Project International, LLC, Oman. State gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd on Monday reported 90 per cent drop in December quarter net profit, at Rs 397.59 crore vs Rs 3,800.09 crore YoY, after it suffered losses in petrochemical and natural gas marketing business. The nation's largest gas trading and transportation company booked Rs 349 crore loss in petrochemical business after it had to cut run rate due to curtailment in supply of cheaper domestic gas.
The offer received bids for 5.08 crore shares as against 4.55 crore shares on offer.

The follow-on public offer (FPO) of Adani Enterprises was subscribed 1.12 times on the third day of bidding. As on 17:00 IST on Tuesday (January 31), the issue received bids for 5,08,68,352 equity shares against the issue size of 4,55,06,791 equity shares.

The portion reserved for retail individual investors (RIIs) was subscribed by 0.12 times with bids of 27,45,960 equity shares against offered 2,29,08,464 equity shares.

Meanwhile, the portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) has received bids for 1,61,03,776 shares. It was subscribed 1.26 times.

International Holding Company (IHC), the diversified Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate, announced on Monday (Jan 31) that it would be investing AED 1.4 billion (USD 400 million) into the Adani Enterprises Further Public Offering (FPO), the Indian multinational publicly listed holding company and a part of Adani Group, through its subsidiary Green Transmission Investment Holding RSC Limited.

This is the second investment deal International Holding Company has completed with India's Adani Group after last year's Dh7.3 billion (USD 2bn) investment in three green-focused companies of the Adani Group, including Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, and Adani Enterprises, which are all listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.

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Meanwhile, the non-institutional investors (NII) category has been subscribed by 3.32 times, receiving bids for 3,19,30,848 shares as against 96,16,323 shares reserved for them.

The issue also included a reservation of upto 1,60,668 equity shares for eligible employees. The employees category was subscribed 0.55 times against the reserved portion.

The FPO consists of fresh issuance of equity shares for an amount aggregating to Rs 20,000 crore. The price band for the offer was fixed at Rs 3112-3276 per share and the minimum bid quantity is 4 shares. The issue opened for public participation on 27 January 2023 and it will close on 31 January 2023.

Qualified institutional buyers were allotted 50% of the offer. A minimum of 15% of the FPO was reserved for non-institutional bidders and a minimum 35% was allocated to retail individual bidders.

The company proposes to utilise the net proceeds to fund capital expenditure requirements for projects under its subsidiaries and repayment of borrowings. Out of the total proceeds, Rs 10,869 crore will be utilised for funding capital expenditure requirements of some subsidiaries. These include certain projects of the green hydrogen ecosystem, improvement works of existing airport facilities; and construction of greenfield expressway.

Further, Rs 4,165 crore will go for repayment, in full or part, of certain borrowings of our company and three of our subsidiaries, namely, Adani Airport Holdings, Adani Road Transport, and Mundra Solar. The remaining sum would be used for general corporate purposes.

Before the FPO, the Promoter and Promoter Group held 72.63% stake in the company while the remaining 27.37% stake was held by the Public shareholders. Post-FPO, the Promoter holding would be 68.94% and that of the Public would be 31.06%.

Ahead of the FPO, the company on 25 January 2022 raised Rs 5,985 crore from 33 institutional investors by finalising the allocation of 1.83 crore shares under anchor portion at a price of Rs 3,276 a share.

Major foreign institutional investors such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Maybank Asia, Goldman Sachs, Nomura, Societe Generale, Jupiter, BNP Paribas, Al Mehwar, Citi Group, Morgan Stanley picked up stake.

Adani Enterprises is the flagship company of Adani Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates. The company's business investments are centered on the fields of airport management, technology parks, roads, data centre and water infrastructure.

On consolidated basis, the company's net profit surged 117% to Rs 460.94 crore on 188% jump in net sales to Rs 38,175.23 crore in Q2 FY23 over Q2 FY22.

Shares of Adani Enterprises advanced 3.35% to end at Rs 2,975 on the BSE today.

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The drug major announced that it has received tentative approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its new drug application for Dolutegravir, Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Alafenamide (DETAF) tablets.Under the U.S. president's emergency plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR), USFDA gave tentative approval for DETAF tablets. This product would be manufactured at Lupin's Nagpur facility in India.

The company said that DETAF would be a welcome new addition in the management of HIV infections and will be available for supplies to low- & middle-income countries, Lupin said in a statement.

Naresh Gupta, president - API and Global Institution Business, Lupin said, "We are committed to providing affordable and quality treatment options to patients in low- and middle income countries. We are pleased that U.S. FDA has tentatively approved DETAF, which will significantly enhance our HIV portfolio."

Lupin is an innovation led transnational pharmaceutical company producing, developing and marketing a wide range of branded and generic formulations, biotechnology products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) globally.

On consolidated basis the company reported net profit of Rs 129.73 crore in Q2 FY23 as against net loss of Rs 2,098.04 crore in Q2 FY22. Net sales rose 2.2% to Rs 4,091.16 crore in Q2 FY23 as compared to Rs 4,003.42 crore in Q2 FY22.

The scrip rose 0.25% to Rs 736.25 on the BSE.

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Total Operating Income rise 16.49% to Rs 22808.28 croreNet profit of Punjab National Bank declined 43.33% to Rs 708.27 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 as against Rs 1249.87 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2021. Total Operating Income rose 16.49% to Rs 22808.28 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 as against Rs 19579.41 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2021. ParticularsQuarter EndedDec. 2022Dec. 2021% Var.Total Operating Income22808.2819579.41 16 OPM %49.2454.85 -PBDT1043.231738.97 -40 PBT1043.231738.97 -40 NP708.271249.87 -43

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This comes a month after it emerged that such a shift by PhonePe cost its investors around Rs 8,000 crore in taxes to allow the financial technology unicorn to domicile in India. Indian start-ups are exploring reverse flipping, or shifting their domicile back to India, with easy access to capital from private equity and venture capital, changes in rules regarding round-tripping, and the growing maturity of Indias capital markets, observed the Economic Survey 2022-23.



The Survey also suggested measures like simplifying multiple tax layers, resolving uncertainty due to tax litigation, especially of employee stock ownership plans, exploring the incubation and funding landscape for start-ups in emerging fields like social innovation and impact investment, and facilitating mentorship programmes through partnerships with established private entities. During a recent video session, the founders of PhonePe said over 20 start-up unicorns and their investors were looking for ways to move back to India from Singapore.



Flipping refers to the process of transferring the entire ownership of an Indian company to an overseas entity, accompanied by a transfer of intellectual property (IP) and all data hitherto owned by the Indian company. This effectively transforms an Indian company into a 100 per cent subsidiary of a foreign entity, with the founders and investors retaining the same ownership via the foreign entity, having swapped all shares. The Survey also pointed out several challenges start-ups face, such as funding hurdles, revenue generation struggles, lack of easy access to supportive infrastructure, and a complex regulatory tax environment. It added that many start-ups have been headquartering overseas, especially in destinations with favourable legal environments and taxation policies, technically known as flipping.

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The start-up sector welcomed the observations made by the Survey. Some companies prefer to domicile in countries where they would like to access the capital market later for better valuations and ticket size. Better protection and enforcement of IP and tax treatment of licensing revenue from IP, residential status of founders, and agile corporate structures have been the reasons for flipping in the past, it said.

Nandini Mansinghka, chief executive officer of Mumbai Angels, told Business Standard, Flipping in the start-up system has been a source of immense value flight for the past few years. These steps by the government to stem the tide will give a welcome push to making India the largest start-up ecosystem in the world.



It also suggested simplifying the process for the grant of an interministerial board certification for start-ups. To accelerate this process, the Survey suggested measures such as simplifying taxation and procedures for capital flows, akin to countries like Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the Netherlands, which incentivise companies to store IPs and create holding companies as regional headquarters.



In addition, over 900,000 direct jobs have been created by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade-recognised start-ups (self-reported), with a 64 per cent increase in 2022, compared to the average number of new jobs created in the previous three years. The number of direct jobs created by up-and-coming companies jumped from 43,000 in 2017 to 269,000 in 2022. The Survey also added that India ranks among the largest start-up ecosystems in the world, with about 48 per cent of young companies in the country being from tier II and III cities.


Data shows, up until H1FY23, as many as 23,417 applications for initiating the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of corporate debtors having underlying defaults of Rs 7.3 trillion were disposed of before their admission into CIRP. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has managed to bring about a change in the debtor-creditor relationship, with the fear of losing control over one's enterprise nudging thousands of debtors to settle their dues with their creditors so that their company is not pushed into insolvency proceedings, the Economic Survey of 2022-23 has observed.



According to the survey, IBC, introduced in 2016, has imbibed some of the best international practices of an asset resolution mechanism by providing an honourable exit mechanism for honest business failures and enabling the release of credit locked into the stressed assets for better resource allocation. This market-driven, transparent resolution mechanism instills confidence in the financial system and attracts many new investors to invest in Indian businesses, the survey noted. One of the far-reaching spill-over effects of the Code has been the behavioural change effectuated by it among debtors. The fear of losing control over the CD upon initiation of CIRP has nudged thousands of debtors to settle their dues even before the initiation of insolvency proceedings, the Economic Survey noted.



However, defending the IBC process, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Trend and Progress Report said, the extent of haircut represents the discount the market demands for acquiring the stressed entity as a going concern. Also, the rate of recovery is contingent on several factors, including the overall macroeconomic environment, perceived growth prospects of the entity and its sector, and the extent of erosion in the intrinsic value of the entity. As a broad-based recovery gains traction, these factors are likely to turn favourable for financial resolution, the RBI had said. Having said that, concerns have lately been raised over the declining rates of recovery in comparison to their claims admitted through the IBC mechanism, resulting in large haircuts for lenders.

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The Economic Survey noted that despite the very low value of the distressed firms, 69 per cent of distressed assets were rescued by the Code, until September 30, 2022. And, overall, in terms of value realisation for initiators of CIRPs, the resolution plans realised Rs 2.4 trillion, which is 177.6 per cent of the liquidation value and 841 per cent of the fair value of the 553 corporate debtors rescued. Moreover, realisation by financial creditors under resolution plans in comparison to liquidation value was 201 per cent, while the realisation by them was 33 per cent of their claims. The RBI has suggested that the comparison of realised value with admitted claims may perhaps not be a reasonable indicator of the effectiveness of the resolution process. Instead, the resolution value should be compared with the liquidation value of the stressed assets.
Boomi, a category-leading, global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, recognized by Gartner for its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision

Recognized as one of Americas fastest growing and most innovative technology companies on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 5000 lists, Boomi celebrates the largest customer base among integration platform vendors and has won numerous awards for its product excellence and culture

As enterprise demand for digital connectedness, integration, and intelligent automation solutions continues to grow, Boomi continues to scale rapidly around the globe

BoomiTM, the intelligent connectivity and automation leader, today announced that Gartner has positioned Boomi as a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), Worldwide for the ninth consecutive time. Gartner evaluated 16 iPaaS providers on their ability to execute and completeness of vision.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005154/en/

Boomi Named a Leader for Ninth Consecutive Time in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service, Worldwide (Graphic: Business Wire)

The iPaaS market is projected to reach $11 billion in revenue by 2026.1 Given the advanced capabilities and immense scale of iPaaS vendors, [iPaaS] has become the strategic integration platform of choice for hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world. In many cases, iPaaS has replaced previous generations of integration platform software such as application integration suites, data integration tools and B2B gateway software.2

Boomi continues to have more customers than any other cloud integration provider, said Steve Lucas, CEO at Boomi. Our self-managing, self-learning, and self-scaling integrations run themselves autonomously  saving more time and money over the long term. We help organizations of all sizes and industries worldwide achieve better collaboration and data-sharing as their technology environments become more fragmented and complex. Thats why our mission of digital connectedness is more important than ever for business success.

Trusted by customers across all industries globally, for its speed, ease-of-use, and lower total cost of ownership, the cloud-native, unified, low code, scalable, open, secure, and intelligent Boomi AtomSphere Platform helps organizations across all industries quickly and easily accelerate business outcomes. Boomi connects everyone to everything, anywhere, by providing end-to-end capabilities, including integration, master data management, API management, workflow automation, data quality governance, B2B/EDI network management, and data catalog and preparation.

Boomi recently announced significant updates to its platform and business, including:

Product Innovation

Rapid API Creation  Single-click creation of an API from an integration flow to rapidly expose secure services to developers.

 Single-click creation of an API from an integration flow to rapidly expose secure services to developers. Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authorization  Boomis low-code workflow automation service, Boomi Flow, joined other Boomi platform services that have been FedRAMP authorized since 2019, including API Management, Integration, and Master Data Hub.

 Boomis low-code workflow automation service, Boomi Flow, joined other Boomi platform services that have been FedRAMP authorized since 2019, including API Management, Integration, and Master Data Hub. IRAP Assessment  The Boomi AtomSphere Platform was independently assessed for cloud security against the Australian Governments Information Security Manual (ISM) PROTECTED controls. Boomis security posture for storing, processing, and communicating information allows government agencies to purchase the Boomi platform without needing to complete their own independent assessments.

 The Boomi AtomSphere Platform was independently assessed for cloud security against the Australian Governments Information Security Manual (ISM) PROTECTED controls. Boomis security posture for storing, processing, and communicating information allows government agencies to purchase the Boomi platform without needing to complete their own independent assessments. B2B/EDI for the Automotive Industry  Support for the ODETTE standard for faster interoperability with a customers automotive supply chain.

Citizen Integrator/Business Technologist Enhancements

Expanded Boomi Discover Catalog  More pre-built recipes to simplify integration.

 More pre-built recipes to simplify integration. Simplified Visual Experience  New iconography, dynamic and responsive user engagement that provides the foundation for an engaging user experience.

 New iconography, dynamic and responsive user engagement that provides the foundation for an engaging user experience. Accelerated Product Onboarding  Platform and Welcome Pages make it easy for the citizen integrator/business technologist to launch their journey.

Expanded Leadership and Global Reach

Leadership Expansion  Boomi recently appointed Steve Lucas as Chief Executive Officer, a 3x CEO with more than 27 years of experience leading and operating some of the worlds most innovative, global enterprise software companies. Prior to spending three years growing iCIMS, Lucas held executive roles at Adobe, Marketo, SAP, and Salesforce, and brings specific expertise and experience in data management, platform as a service, and integration. As CEO of Marketo, Lucas implemented significant product expansion and platform growth, leading to Adobes $4.75 billion acquisition of the company.

 Boomi recently appointed Steve Lucas as Chief Executive Officer, a 3x CEO with more than 27 years of experience leading and operating some of the worlds most innovative, global enterprise software companies. Prior to spending three years growing iCIMS, Lucas held executive roles at Adobe, Marketo, SAP, and Salesforce, and brings specific expertise and experience in data management, platform as a service, and integration. As CEO of Marketo, Lucas implemented significant product expansion and platform growth, leading to Adobes $4.75 billion acquisition of the company. Global Growth  Boomi has also been continuing to scale rapidly, recently expanding its global footprint in Japan to address growing demand across Asia-Pacific.

As a category-leading, global software as a service (SaaS) company, Boomi touts a growing community of more than 100,000 members, and one of the largest arrays of global systems integrators (GSIs) in the iPaaS space. The company boasts a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners, including Accenture, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake; and works with the largest hyperscaler cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft, among others.

Recently included on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 5000 lists as one of Americas fastest growing and most innovative technology companies, Boomi has also won two International Stevie Awards, for Company of the Year and Product Innovation; the Gold Globee Award in the Platform as a Service (PaaS) category; the Merit Award for Technology in the Cloud Services category; the Stratus Award as a Global Leader in Cloud Computing 2022, and received the prestigious 5-star rating in the CRN Partner Program Guide, a definitive list of the most notable programs from industry-leading technology vendors that provide innovative products and flexible services through the IT channel. Boomi has also won numerous awards for being an employer of choice, including a recent listing as one of Inc. Magazines Best Workplaces.

To learn more about the iPaaS market and Boomis recognition, read the Gartner report: Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service, Worldwide.

Additional Resources

Learn more in Boomis latest blog post from Ed Macosky, Chief Innovation Officer

Explore the Boomiverse Community

Follow Boomi on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube

Gartner Disclaimer:

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service, Worldwide, Keith Guttridge, Andrew Comes, Saikat Ray, January 24, 2023

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartners research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Note: Boomi was recognized as Dell Boomi from 2014 to 2019.

About Boomi

Boomi aims to make the world a better place by connecting everyone to everything, anywhere. The pioneer of cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS), and now a category-leading, global software as a service (SaaS) company, Boomi touts the largest customer base among integration platform vendors and a worldwide network of approximately 800 partners  including Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, SAP, and Snowflake. Global organizations turn to Boomis award-winning platform to discover, manage, and orchestrate data, while connecting applications, processes, and people for better, faster outcomes. For more information, visit http://www.boomi.com.

 2023 Boomi, LP. Boomi, the B logo, Boomiverse, and AtomSphere are trademarks of Boomi, LP or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Other names or marks may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

1 Forecast: Enterprise Infrastructure Software, Worldwide, 2020-2026, 4Q22 Update

2 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Integration Platform as a Service, Worldwide, Keith Guttridge, Andrew Comes, Saikat Ray, January 24, 2023

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005154/en/
Singapore /

Cover Story: The vision of Singapores next prime minister

Entering 2023, as major global economies usher in a relatively stable political cycle and China walks into a new phase following the 20th Communist Partys National Congress and drastic changes in its Covid control measures, Singapore and China will jointly write a new chapter in the post-pandemic era by strengthening cooperation in recovery efforts and working together to maintain stable regional development.

As the successor to Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the countrys Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will play a key role on this journey. Wong was elected as the new leader of Singapores fourth generation leadership team in April 2022, following a collective decision by the new leadership team of Singapores ruling Peoples Action Party.

Missing /

Missing for 100 days, teenager found dead behind school

The body of a 15-year-old student who disappeared from school in eastern China more than 100 days ago has been found on a mountain behind the school, local authorities said.

On Sunday, police in Shangrao, Jiangxi province, issued a statement saying DNA tests confirmed a body found hanging from a tree on Jinji Mountain by local residents was that of Hu Xinyu, whose months-long disappearance drew nationwide attention and led to multiple search efforts involving thousands of people.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Employees work on a textile production line in Qingdao, East Chinas Shandong province, on Sunday. Photo: VCG

Economy /

Chinas provinces target household spending in plans for post-zero Covid recovery

Most Chinese provinces have made expanding household spending a priority this year to help the worlds second-largest economy recover from one of its worst showings in decades as policymakers try to pull together a raft of growth-boosting measures with the end of zero Covid.

At least 25 of the 31 provincial-level governments on the Chinese mainland listed increasing household consumption among their policy goals for the new year, with new-energy vehicles (NEVs), senior care services, tourism and housing among the key areas, analysts at TF Securities Co. Ltd. said in a Jan. 18 report.

China-U.S. /

U.S. seeks guardrails in China talks to avoid conflict, State Department says

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss competition and cooperation between China and the U.S. including management of nuclear weapon stockpiles and climate change during his trip to Beijing early next month, according to a department spokesman.

Following the summit between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in Bali last year, Blinken will seek to discuss those areas that have the potential to be conflictual, where we hope to establish those guardrails to see to it that competition doesnt veer into conflict, State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a press conference Wednesday.

Quick hits /

PBOC to extend monetary policy tools for green sector

China resumes visas for Japan, ending Covid retaliation

BUSINESS & TECH

A staff member in protective clothing works beside an airplane in September 2022 at Yantai Penglai International Airport, East Chinas Shandong province. Photo: VCG

Aviation /

Losses blow out at Chinas airlines as passengers dip to 12-year low

Chinas civil aviation industry plunged deeper into the red in 2022 as Covid restrictions effectively shut down international travel and sent passenger numbers tumbling to a 12-year low with airlines racking up annual losses exceeding the previous two years combined.

However, there are hopes things may turn around quickly after the abandonment of the zero-Covid strategy last month and the removal of quarantine-on-arrival Jan. 8, with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) saying it expects the industry to break even this year as it works to boost passenger numbers and flights.

Chips /

U.S.-led chip talks targeting China closer to deal, ASML says

The U.S. government is hashing out the final details of an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan that would further squeeze the supply of chipmaking tools to China, according to key Dutch fab supplier ASML Holding NV.

The disclosure from ASML over the weekend raised questions about whether such a deal would extend previous curbs on the most advanced machines to the sale of slightly less advanced fabrication equipment such as deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography.

AI /

IFlytek jumps by daily limit as AI arouses investor interest

Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) specialist iFlytek Co. Ltd. climbed 10% on the first day of trading after the week-long holiday as chatbot ChatGPT reignited investor interest in the space despite the companys recent profit warning.

IFlyteks stock rose by the daily limit to 41.67 yuan ($6.17) a share in Shenzhen Monday, a day after it disclosed in an exchange filing that its 2022 profit suffered a 60% to 70% drop.

Quick hits /

China gives conditional nod to two homegrown Covid antivirals

Apples iPhone dominated China last quarter despite disruptions

Long Read /

What Jack Ma taught me in 1999

GALLERY

Chinas post-holiday hunt for workers

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Egyptian president, U.S. state secretary discuss Israeli-Palestinian tensions

Xinhua) 09:26, January 31, 2023

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (C) meets with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (3rd L) in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 30, 2023. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday discussed with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the ongoing escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. (Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua)

CAIRO, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday discussed with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the ongoing escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Al-Sisi stressed the importance of immediate action at the political and security levels to calm the situation and limit any unilateral measures taken by the two parties.

The Egyptian president also reiterated "Egypt's fixed stand to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international references, and in a way that solves this pivotal regional issue and opens prospects for peace, stability, cooperation, and construction."

Blinken, who is on a three-day trip to the Middle East, said Washington is "counting on vigorous coordination with Egypt to restore stability, achieve calm, and contain the situation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides."

They also exchanged views over several regional and international issues of common concern, according to the statement.

Blinken is scheduled to leave for Israel later Monday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas amid escalating tensions between the two sides.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A custodial worker at Wintergreen Magnet School in Hamden was assaulted by an intruder who also stole his wallet and car on Tuesday morning, police said.

The Hamden Police Department was called to the school for children with disabilities, located at 670 Wintergreen Ave. in Hamden, just before 6 a.m. on Tuesday for a report of an assault. An early investigation revealed that when the worker arrived at the school, he was met by an unknown man inside the building.

When the worker asked the man to leave, he was assaulted. The man then stole the workers wallet and keys before stealing his car.

The worker was transported to the hospital with facial injuries, police said.

Detectives from the Hamden Police Department Major Crimes Unit are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4000.
A 32-year-old man has been charged in connection with a fatal shooting in Hartford more than a decade ago.

Shawn Milner, 32, is charged with felony murder, murder and first-degree kidnapping for allegedly killing Waqas Victor Rehman in December 2010, according to the states attorneys office.

Rehman, 42, of Farmington, was working at The Smoke Stop, a store he owned on Barbour Street in Hartford, when Milner allegedly demanded money from him and told him to get into a car, officials said.

Rehman was later found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in Hartford. He was taken to a hospital where he died, officials said.

In 2022, DNA evidence showed that Milners DNA could not be eliminated from being a match for DNA found on a live round recovered from the scene of the shooting, officials said.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney John Fahey, who heads the Connecticut Cold Case Unit, said investigators worked tirelessly for nearly 13 years to make an arrest in connection to Rehmans killing.

Mr. Rehman senselessly lost his life 12 years ago, and detectives assigned to this case never forgot him and the family and friends who still mourn his death, Fahey said in a statement.

Lt. Aaron Boisvert with the Hartford Police Department said that another cold case murder has been solved and closure has been brought to another family, thanks to the continued efforts of the Harford police, the Cold Case Unit and the Hartford States Attorneys Office.

This arrest is a reminder that cold case homicide investigations are never closed, Boisvert said in a statement. Until they are solved, they are always open and constantly being investigated by the dedicated detectives assigned to these cases.

Milner is being held on a $2 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Hartford on Feb. 14, officials said.
A 16-year-old boy allegedly armed with a stolen gun was taken into custody on assault charges in the Manchester High School parking lot on Monday afternoon, police said.

The teen was wanted on an arrest warrant in connection with a serious assault that took place in Manchester around 8 p.m. on Friday night, according to the Manchester Police Department.

After an extensive investigation into Fridays assault, police obtained a warrant for the teen. As officers located him in the parking lot of Manchester High School, school resource officers and detectives approached him, according to police. When they attempted to detain him, he allegedly began to resist, police said.

After taking him into custody, officers found he was armed with a loaded Glock 9mm firearm, police said. A check of the firearms serial number allegedly showed it was stolen out of Georgia in June 2022, police said.

Manchester Superintendent of Schools Matthew Geary said in a letter to parents on Monday that administrators were notified that a Manchester Public School student was taken into police custody for possession of a loaded firearm . Geary said the student had arrived on the school grounds shortly after the school day was over when he was detained by police.

Geary acknowledged that the information could be scary to students, staff, parents and families.

As a parent, I send my kids to our schools expecting them to be safe while they learn  not to have to worry about their safety, Geary said in the letter. This kind of information provokes feelings of worry and concern, and I want you to know that we are working with police and community agencies to address these issues in a variety of ways.

The teen was charged with first-degree assault related to the Friday incident and faces charges of carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of weapon on school grounds, second-degree reckless endangerment and other charges for Mondays incident. He was transported to Hartford Juvenile Detention pending a court appearance, police said.

Geary said possession of a firearm on school grounds is a mandatory expulsion, adding that the district will take all means necessary to keep the schools safe. He noted that in the past two weeks, there has been an uptick in fighting at Illing Middle School and Manchester High School, including a fight in the boys bathroom on Friday at the high school.

We will continue to respond to these issues with consequences for the students involved and additional incidents of fighting will not be tolerated, Geary said in the letter.

He added that there will be an additional police presence at the high school and middle school for the rest of the week.

We understand this is very difficult for students and will have support available for those who need it, Geary said.
Two motor vehicle stops in West Hartford led to firearm and drug charges over the past week, according to the West Hartford Police Department.

West Hartford patrol officers conducted a motor vehicle stop on Jan. 27 around 1:30 p.m. after allegedly witnessing a driver commit moving violations. During the stop, a West Hartford police K9 allegedly alerted to the presence of narcotics on the passenger side front door, police said.

During the search, officers reportedly found a loaded handgun under the drivers seat, marijuana and materials used for packaging drugs, police said.

The driver, identified as Sergio Cruz, 31, of Bridgeport was arrested and charged with failure to drive right, criminal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and sale of a controlled substance.

He was released after posting a $250,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Hartford on Feb. 9.

In an unrelated incident on Sunday evening around 5 p.m., a West Hartford patrol officer stopped a vehicle that was displaying a misuse license plate, police said.

Officers learned the driver was wanted by the Hartford Police Department for disorderly conduct, according to police. During the stop, a single bullet was allegedly found on the passenger side floorboard of the car, police said. Officers then conducted a search of the car and allegedly located a loaded handgun under the driver seat, as well as ammunition and an extended magazine, according to police.

Nehemiah Lewis, 22, of Hartford, was arrested and charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, improper storage of a pistol/revolver in a motor vehicle, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine, illegal operation of a motor vehicle without insurance, misuse of plates and operating without a license.

Lewis was held on a $100,000 surety bond and was transferred to the custody of judicial marshals for arraignment.
A man who was last residing in Maryland was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on drug trafficking charges, according to federal authorities.

Kereem Swinton, also known as K, 41, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to six years of supervised release, for the narcotics trafficking offenses, according to federal authorities.

Authorities, citing evidence presented during a trial, said that in 2018, the FBI, the Norwich Police Department and other law enforcement agencies began investigating a narcotics trafficking organization that was operating in southeastern Connecticut.

The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of crack, revealed that Swinton, who formerly resided in Norwich, regularly traveled to Connecticut and other states to supply co-conspirators with narcotics, primarily cocaine and crack, authorities said in a statement.

Swintons co-coconspirators in Connecticut distributed the drugs, authorities said.

Swinton was found guilty by a jury in 2022 of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine and cocaine base, and one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, a controlled substance, authorities said.

Ten other individuals were convicted of narcotics trafficking offenses stemming from the investigation.

Swinton has been in federal custody since Feb. 21, 2019, authorities said.

Swinton was previously convicted on a federal level with trafficking cocaine and crack, authorities said. He was arrested in 2008 by the Texas Highway Patrol after he was found in possession of approximately two kilograms of cocaine and more than two pounds of marijuana that he was transporting from Arizona to Connecticut. He was sentenced in Bridgeport federal court in 2009 to 100 months in federal prison for that offense, authorities said.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police, and Norwich, Town of Groton, and Waterford police departments, with assistance from the FBIs Baltimore Field Office, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Delaware State Police.
Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market...
Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer that is reportedly teetering on a bankruptcy filing, is closing more stores in Connecticut and across the country.

The chain  once a favorite for bridal and baby registries  confirmed Tuesday it will close outlets in Wethersfield, Enfield, Southington and Fairfield. The company told The Courant in a statement that liquidation sales will commence and continue over the next few weeks and months.

Bed Bath & Beyond had already closed locations in Waterford and Stamford and is in the midst of a closure in Hamden. After all the closures, the chain would have these five locations in Connecticut, according to the retailers web site: Brookfield, Guilford, Manchester, Norwalk and Simsbury.

Reuters reported Tuesday the retailer was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection, possibly as soon as this week, and has lined up liquidators to close additional stores unless a last-minute buyer emerges, citing four people familiar with the matter.

Last fall, the retailer announced plans to close 150 underperforming stores nationwide as it sought to cut expense and gain financial stability. An additional round of closures is now being rolled out, including 87 Bed Bath & Beyond stores, five buybuy BABY and all its Harmon drug stores.

As we continue to work with our advisers to consider multiple paths, we are implementing actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible, the companys statement said. We will update all stakeholders on our plans as they develop and finalize.

For years, Bed Bath & Beyond was considered a category killer for it dinnerware and small appliances, but the chain lost its way, analysts say, because it was slow to move into online sales. The retailer also launched in-store brands that werent popular with customers.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
EUA falling below EUR80 on lower energy complex

ICR Research By 10 January 2023

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark

December was characterised by low trading activity and high volatility. Driven by oil and gas the energy complex fell due to reduced power demand in Europe, lowering compliance purchasing.

While the dark spread is still offering higher value, some gas firing has returned, lowering the demand for EUAs.

The new front-year contract is trading with high volatility between EUR75-90 and major support still at EUR65. For 2023 Brannvoll ApS expects a range of EUR60-95, with an average of EUR82.

In the next few months, the implementation of the new EU ETS and CBAM rules will be followed closely.

In terms of CBAM and the EU-ETS the European Commission and Parliament agreed in December that CBAM will come into force from 1 October 2023 with a transition period that only has reporting obligations.

In addition, CBAM will apply a price on emissions to a range of EU imports in the following categories:

 cement, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity

 iron and steel, including some downstream products

 hydrogen.

The scope of CBAM will be assessed before the end of the transition period and might be extended to include other product categories.

CBAM charges will be calculated based on embedded emissions, which refers to emissions occurring upon manufacture, as well as indirect emissions. Where imported goods have been subject to carbon pricing regimes in their country of origin, only the difference between the price paid there and the price of EU-ETS carbon allowances will be paid. Payment of CBAM charges will be facilitated through the purchase of CBAM certificates. A programme of free allowances will be applied to CBAM certificates initially, similar to the EU-ETS.

Furthermore, the carbon reduction target was increased from 43 to 62 per cent in 2030. The linear reduction increased from 2.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent between 2024-27 and 4.4 per cent between 2028-30.

Published under
Low-cost Breeze Airways Tuesday launched mid-winter, Get off the couch promotional fares to 11 nonstop destinations from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

Breeze cited a poll by SWNS Digital that found that during the pandemic, 7 in 10 Americans agreed their couch had become their best friend.

The one-way fares start at $39 for travel to Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va., Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Richmond, Va., Savannah. Ga., and Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.

One-way fares start at $54 for flights to Jacksonville, Fla.; $59 to Vero Beach, Fla.; $79 to Las Vegas and $99 to Phoenix.

The promotional fares must be purchased by Feb. 6 for flights between Feb. 3 and Feb. 28. There is a three-day advance purchase requirement.

There are other restrictions to consider: the low fares do not apply to travel from Feb. 16 to Feb. 20, around the Presidents Day holiday.

A year ago, Breeze Airways said it would establish a base of operations at Bradley, creating more than 200 new jobs in the state.

In addition, the promotion does not apply to return flights to Bradley from Las Vegas and Vero Beach on Sunday or Mondays. The low fares also do not apply to travel from Sarasota-Bradenton on Saturdays.

Other restrictions and black-out dates also may apply, the airline said.

Fares include taxes and government fees.

Promotional fares can rise depending on seating and amenities that are desired. Depending on the seating, there can be fees for carry-on and checked bags.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
A Chattanooga man has been sentenced to serve six years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Carlos Terrell appeared before Judge Charles Atchley.

On March 5, 2021, Chattanooga Police officers responded to 640 West 14th Street Court after receiving an anonymous report that the defendant was at the address. Terrell was wanted for questioning related to another crime.

The registered tenant allowed law officers to enter the apartment and they located the defendant on the couch. The tenant consented to a search of the apartment and officers located a Hi-Point, Model JHP, .45 caliber pistol in a bedroom.

Terrell admitted to possessing the Hi-Point pistol and stated he had the gun for protection. He said he purchased it for $250 two days prior.

Terrell, 37, has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2004.

He has felony convictions for aggravated assault and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
A man found with a gun at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant has been sentenced to serve 54 months in federal prison.

Jerterrius Akridge appeared before Judge Charles Atchley.

A man found with a gun at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant on March 23, 2021, has been sentenced to serve 54 months in federal prison.

Jerterrius Akridge appeared before Judge Charles Atchley.

Chattanooga Police officers responded to 8001 Volkswagen Dr. on a report of a man with a gun, later determined to be Akridge. Management at the Volkswagen facility reported that the defendant was not threatening anybody, however, they would like him removed from the Volkswagen property.

Patrol officers made contact with Akridge and found that he had a Taurus PT738 .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his possession. Patrol officers secured the gun.

At the time, officers were not aware the defendant was a convicted felon.

Police later learned about his felony record.

2) On March 26, 2021, an investigator with the Chattanooga Police Department was present when Akridge arrived for a meeting with his probation officer. He was arrested and transported to the Chattanooga Police Department Gun Team Office.

Akridge said he had pled guilty to the offenses just to get out of jail. Regarding the firearm found in his possession, he noted that it was in somebody elses name, and that he "just happen[ed] to buy it off the street. He said he only had the gun about a week after paying $120 for it.

He said he had never fired the gun, though it had bullets in the clip when he bought it.

As for why he was in possession of the gun at work, he said he had previously gotten into it with people where he was working, and wasnt thinking. The defendant stated that he was probably eventually going to sell the gun for more than he paid for it.
Jehovahs Witnesses invite Chattanooga residents to an open house on Saturday, Feb. 4 at their newest Kingdom Hall in the city at 3741 Carl White Place in Chattanooga.Visitors will be invited to tour the new meeting facility and watch a slideshow covering highlights of the construction project. Informational banners will showcase the educational and construction activities of Jehovahs Witnesses worldwide, and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.Among the many unique aspects of the Kingdom Hall is that it was built entirely by volunteers, officials said.One of them, Yesenia Goeser, said that she was impressed with how organized the project was.From the moment I came on site, everything was in perfect order, Ms. Goeser said. Even though I had little experience, I was treated with dignity and could feel the love everyone had for each other and the place of worship they were building.Zaida Cueto, another volunteer, said she was struck by the effort that many fellow workers made to participate in building the facility. Some gave up their vacation time to work on the project, while others made financial sacrifices to pay for rising gas prices and drove upwards of two hours to share in the work.She added, Their giving spirit inspired me to find ways to help my neighborhood be a better place.The Witnesses hope that the community will reap long-lasting benefits from this "literal labor of love.""We are so excited to make this special effort to invite our neighbors to visit our communitys Kingdom Hall and learn how we will use this building as a center for Bible education," said Tim Weaver, local spokesperson for Jehovah's Witnesses in Tennessee. "This building is evidence of our care for our neighbors, our community and our environment.
A suicide bombing that struck inside a mosque at a police and government compound in northwest Pakistan reflects security lapses, current and former officials said as the death toll from the devastating blast climbed to 100 on Tuesday.

The blast, which ripped through a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility in the city of Peshawar, was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years. It left as many as 225 wounded, some still in serious condition in hospital, according to Kashif Aftab Abbasi, a senior officer in Peshawar.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest on Monday morning, officials said.

The explosion blew off part of the roof, and what was left soon caved in, injuring many more, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer. Rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.

More bodies were retrieved overnight and early Tuesday, according to Mohammad Asim, a government hospital spokesman in Peshawar, and several of those critically injured died. Most of them were policemen, Asim said of the victims.

Bilal Faizi, the chief rescue official, said rescue teams were still working Tuesday at the site as more people are believed trapped inside. Mourners were burying the victim at different graveyards in the city and elsewhere.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating how the bomber was able to reach the mosque, which is in a walled compound, inside a high security zone with other government buildings.

Yes, it was a security lapse, said Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital.

Abbasi, the official who gave the latest casualty tolls, concurred. There was a security lapse and the inspector-general of the police has set up an inquiry committee, which will look into all aspects of the bombing, he said. Action will be taken against those whose negligence caused the attack.

Talat Masood, a retired army general and senior security analyst said Mondays suicide bombing showed negligence.

When we know that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is active, and when we know that they have threatened to carry out attacks, there should have been more security at the police compound in Peshawar, he told The Associated Press on Tuesday, referring to a militant group also known as the Pakistani Taliban or TTP.

Kamran Bangash, a provincial secretary-general with opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf called for an investigation and said Pakistan will continue to face political instability so long as the current government is in power.

The current government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has failed to improve the economy and law and order situation, and it should resign to pave the way for snap parliamentary elections, he said.

The militarys media wing declined an Associated Press interview request for the chief of army staff. Asim Munir, who took office in November, has yet to do any media appearances.

Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the bombing and vowed stern action against those behind the attack. The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan, he tweeted.

On Tuesday he dismissed criticism of his government and call for unity.

Through their despicable actions, terrorists want to spread fear & paranoia among the masses & reverse our hard-earned gains against terrorism & militancy, he tweeted. My message to all political forces is one of unity against anti-Pakistan elements. We can fight our political fights later.

Authorities have not determined who was behind the bombing. Shortly after the explosion, TTP commander Sarbakaf Mohmand claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places, adding that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTPs policy. His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with government forces, as the country was contending with unprecedented floods that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

The Pakistani Taliban are the dominant militant group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Peshawar has been the scene of frequent attacks. But the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, a regional affiliation of the Islamic State group and a rival of the Taliban, has also been behind deadly attacks in Pakistan in recent years. Overall, violence has increased since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021, as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. It has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the countrys military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Security officials said Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout in the northwest, near the Afghan border. In 2014, a Pakistani Taliban faction attacked an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 154, mostly schoolchildren.

The Taliban-run Afghan Foreign Ministry said it was saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives in Peshawar and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to the Middle East, tweeted his condolences, saying the bombing in Peshawar was a horrific attack.

Terrorism for any reason at any place is indefensible, he said.

Pakistan is also contending with political and economic crises in the wake of the floods and a disputed election.

Condemnations also came from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, as well as the U.S. Embassy, which said that the United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the bombing particularly abhorrent for targeting a place of worship, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan also expressed his condolences, calling the bombing a terrorist suicide attack.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Three people have died of fentanyl overdoses at a residence at Kensington, Ga., address.

In Fort Oglethorpe, three people were found passed out, but they were revived after emergency personnel arrived and administered narcan.

Those found dead at Kensington were Donald Ray Wallin, 70, of LaFayette, Kevin Leroy Walker, 55, of LaFayette, and Carla Joann Quillen, 37, of Menlo, Ga.

The bodies were discovered at 88 Walden Spur Road on Monday morning.

In the incident in Fort Oglethorpe, Catoosa County Fire Department, Catoosa County Sheriff's Department and the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department all responded. to a home on Sunday shortly before 7 p.m. They requested at least three more EMS units, saying they had several people with CPR in progress.

Narcan was also being administered.

Puckett EMS advised that they were able to get everyone breathing.

Two fire personnel had to be treated at a hospital for fentanyl exposure.

A woman at the home with outstanding warrants was arrested.
State Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) and Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) on Monday filed the James Dustin Samples Act, which seeks to reduce stigma and provide support for firefighters following a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis.

The bill is named in honor of Captain James Dustin Samples of the Cleveland Fire Department, who tragically committed suicide in 2020 after a years-long struggle with PTSD.

If passed, the bill will make the diagnosis of PTSD for a firefighter presumed to be an injury suffered in the course of employment if certain criteria is met.

The entirety of the Senate and a majority of the House have signed on as cosponsors.

Senator Bailey said, When a person goes to work saving lives in our communities, we owe it to them to do all we can to minimize the risk of any type of injury. We cant legislate away traumatic accidents and emergencies, but we can remove obstacles to getting support when firefighters need it. Addressing the crisis of PTSD and suicide in the fire service requires a commitment to both prevention and treatment from all stakeholders and thats what SB856 aims to do.

Rep. Garrett said, The choice to become a firefighter comes from a passion to help others and save lives. firefighters do an extremely difficult job that frequently puts them in dangerous situations and exposes them to terrible destruction, trauma and sometimes loss of life. It can take an enormous toll on a persons mental health which can be just as detrimental as any physical injury. This legislation will improve access to effective treatment but also break down barriers where asking for help has not always been easy.

Jennifer Sample, widow of Capt. Samples, said, Dustin was incredibly passionate about the work he did and gave all he had. Its important to me that I honor his legacy by continuing to raise awareness and support for those with mental health injuries. These injuries can be just as severe, if not more so, than many of the physical injuries that are visible. Unfortunately, sometimes, as in Dustins case, they can even be fatal.

Jeremiah Million, president of the Cleveland Professional Fire Fighters Association, said, I answered calls alongside Dustin Samples and he was the kind of firefighter everyone wanted to be like. One of the bravest things that firefighters from Cleveland and across the state are doing is telling their stories about how traumatic experiences impact our mental health. By telling firefighters now and in the classes to come that its okay to not be okay' and that help is available, well save lives.

Matthew Tomek, president of the Tennessee Professional Fire Fighters Association, said, "We are thankful for every Senator and Representative who supports this critical piece of legislation and has signed on as a cosponsor. PTSD is an ever-growing illness in the fire service and deserves to be treated like any other job-related illness or injury that they may encounter while on duty."
Women from across Tennessee will join the Mayors Council for Women for two days of discussion on policy issues affecting women at the fifth annual Statewide Womens Policy Conference in downtown Chattanooga at The Chattanooga Westin, 801 Pine St., on Thursday and Friday.Hosted by the Chattanooga Mayors Council for Women, the annual event brings together hundreds of researchers, advocates and community members for two days of discussion on policies affecting women.It is up to us to be among the change-agents for all women in our communities, said Mayors Council for Women Chair and City Councilwoman Carol Berz.We can no longer wait for others to do our work. It is our task to be among those who shape policy that changes the present and impacts the future.The council was launched in 2015 and hosted its first conference in 2018.While great strides have been made toward gender equality, the fight is far from over, said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. The Statewide Womens Policy Conference is a great way for women in our region to collaborate and learn from each other, as we work together to promote policies that empower women to succeed and thrive. Im grateful to Councilwoman Berz and the Mayors Council for Women for making this important event possible.Conference speakers include: Judge Glenda Hatchett, renowned judge and TV personality; Laurel Graefe, Federal Reserve; Dr. Eve Valera, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Jaquelyn Campbell, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing; and Kimberly Ellis, director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Floyd E. Flynn, 86, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away on January 30, 2023, at his home surrounded by his family.

Floyd was born on Sept. 23, 1936, in Toledo, Ia., to Leonard and Nellie (Holmes) Flynn. He graduated from Toledo High School in 1954 and from the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Long Island, New York, Class of 1958. He graduated as a maritime engineer and sailed on the first civilian nuclear powered ship, the Savannah.



After sailing on the Savannah Merchant ship, Floyd became a nuclear engineer working for Combustion Engineering, Cooks Nuclear Plant, and TVA plants around the country. During his years as an engineer he became one of the few licensed Senior Reactor Operators (SRO) in the nation. He retired at age 55.



On July 16, 1960, he married the love of his life, Elodia (Muniz Arias) Flynn born in Dominican Republic. They had three children. His work assignments moved the family to many sites around the country making Chattanooga their final home of 46 years.



After retirement Floyd found fulfillment in continuing and growing in his relationship with God. Out of his growing relationship, he found it his calling to serve and mentor other men in their walk with the Lord. In 2011, Floyd and Elodia became co-founders of Walking Worthy: A Journey to Freedom, a ministry focusing on helping men and women to understand Gods design for relational fulfillment. Walking Worthy, a 501c3 organization was recently rebranded as Four:One Journey.



Floyd is survived by his wife of 63-years, Elodia; his three children, Floyd L Flynn of Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Jeffery (Megan) Flynn of Coral Springs, Fl., Jacqueline (Dan) Muniz-Groenendyk of Holland, Mi.; and his five grandchildren, Jordan (Matt) Ribeiro of Wayne, Ok., Gerrit Groenendyk of Big Rapids, Mi., Eli Flynn of Brooklyn, N.Y., Joshua Flynn of Coral Springs, Fl., Cassia Flynn of Coral Springs, Fl.; his sisters Barbara Schwebke of Quartz Hill, Ca., Kay McWain of Seaman, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard and Nellie (Holmes) Flynn, and his grandparents, Floyd H. Flynn and Elizabeth (Taylor) Flynn who were life long residents of Toledo, Iowa.



His family will remember Floyd as a man of great integrity and humility who loved his God, his Family, and his Country. They take great comfort in knowing that heaven rejoices in his GONE HOME.



The Flynn family will be celebrating Floyds life with visitation on Thursday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home in Hixson.

A GONE HOME memorial service held at 10 a.m. at Woodland Park Baptist Church, 6735 Standifer Gap Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421, on February 10, 2023.



The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations made to:

Four:One Journey

P. O. Box 28348

Chattanooga, TN 37421

www.fouronejourney.org

Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory, and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com
The Tennessee RiverLine announced the winners of its 2022 awards at the sixth annual Tennessee RiverLine Summit, which was held in Guntersville, Al., last Monday-Wednesday at Lake Guntersville State Park.

The Tennessee RiverLines awards program recognizes communities, individuals and organizations who best demonstrate leadership through their commitment to the transformational vision for North Americas next great regional trail system, and who embrace its guiding principles through innovative Tennessee RiverTowns programming.



The Tennessee RiverLine is powered by partnerships. It stands as a testament that we can achieve

something together that none of us could accomplish alone, said Brad Collett, cirector of the Tennessee RiverLine and professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Our team, the UT Institute of Agriculture, and our principal partners, UT Knoxville and Tennessee Valley Authority, continue to be inspired by the many and innovative ways that our partners in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee put these ideas into practice in their community and across the region.



"This years awards celebrate partners who have made substantial contributions to the ongoing impact and development of the Tennessee RiverTowns Program. Their individual and collective efforts in 2022 exercises the Programs potential as a framework for collaboration to fulfill the vision for the Tennessee RiverLine and the economic development, public health, resource stewardship and equitable access benefits it promises," officials said.



The 2022 Tennessee RiverLine awards include:



Organizational Partner of the Year: Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association



Individual Partner of the Year: Terrence Johnson, Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area



Community Partner of the Year: South Pittsburg, TN



J.E.D.I. Path Award: The Shoals, AL



Excellence in River Animation: Calvert City, KY



Excellence in River Stewardship: Hardin County, TN



Event of the Year: Bridgeport, AL



Powered by Partnerships: Meigs County, TN



Extra Mile Awards:

John Bobenage  Bridgeport, Al.

Blair Travis  Calvert City, Ky.

Terri Chapin - Chattanooga

Rena Purdy  Clifton, Tn.

Jeanne Payne  Decatur, Al.

Julie Patton  Guntersville, Al.

Beth Pippin  Hardin County, Tn.

Brandi Quick  Huntsville, Al.

Lydia Pennington - Jackson County, Al.

Sheryl Ely  Knoxville

Simon Bradbury  Loudon County, Tn.

Sunshine Loveless - Meigs County, Tn.

Suzi Davidson  Paducah, Ky,

Bonnie Angus  Roane County, Tn.

Walker Henley  South Pittsburg, Tn.

Norm McCowan - Spring City, Tn.

Terrence Johnson  The Shoals, Al.



All of our partners have made meaningful and essential contributions to the Tennessee RiverLine initiative this past year, said Lizzy Gardner, Tennessee RiverLine programs director. Were moved by the effort and commitment these recipients have shown, and its their impacts that will further inspire the work we share to make the Tennessee RiverLine vision a reality.



All awardees were recognized at the 2023 Tennessee RiverLine Summit, presented by Board Safe Docks.



This years Summit convened more than 140 partners from across the region for three days of engaging sessions and excursions at Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge in Guntersville, Al.



Award recipients are nominated by members of the Tennessee RiverLine staff, the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership and Local Leadership Team members of each Tennessee RiverTowns community. All award recipients received a custom plaque commemorating their achievement. The award plaques are designed and fabricated by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students at the College of Architecture and Designs Fab Lab.



Visit tnriverline.org for more details about each award.
The Conasauga Drug Court announces the graduation of four individuals from the drug court program last Thursday.The 24-month program is designed for non-violent offenders struggling with addiction, and provides a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation. Those in the program receive counseling and have access to other support services. Graduates have shown commitment to overcoming addiction and making positive changes in their lives, officials said.Addiction is a life destroyer, and can be a death sentence for a lot of people, said Superior Court Judge Jim Wilbanks during the ceremony.We are fighting a war against drugs, and this is our effort to do something with this program.The graduation ceremony took place at the Whitfield County Courthouse and was attended by family members, friends and representatives from the community. The graduates received certificates of completion and were recognized for their hard work and dedication.One graduation requirement is to write a letter to Judge Wilbanks and the drug court team.You (Judge Wilbanks) and your staff believed in me even before I could believe in myself, said one of the drug court graduates, Eric Green, while reading his letter."The Conasauga Drug Court would like to extend its congratulations to the graduates, Krista Dyer, Eric Green, Amanda Miller and Nick Vandiver. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors, and we would also like to thank the community for its continued support," officials said.For more information on the Conasauga Drug Court, visit:
Chuck Day of Spring City has been named a Melvin Jones Fellow by Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) in recognition of his commitment to serving the world community. Named for the founder of Lions Clubs International, Melvin Jones, the fellowship is one of the Foundations highest recognitions, honoring the commitment to humanitarian service.



Mr. Day is a member of the Spring City Lions Club. He recently received a commemorative plaque and lapel pin acknowledging his dedication to the foundations humanitarian goals. As a Melvin Jones Fellow, Mr. Day becomes a part of the growing network of individuals who are committed to improving the quality of life for people locally and in communities around the world.



The Melvin Jones Fellowship is a recognition presented to those who donate $1,000 to LCIF or to people for whom a donation was made by others. It is the backbone of LCIF, providing 75 percent of the Foundation's revenue. Contributions can be made by individuals (including non-Lions), clubs or districts.

Lions Clubs International Foundation is the charitable arm of Lions Clubs International. Established in 1968, LCIF is committed to providing humanitarian services to those in need, including providing disaster relief, saving sight, supporting youth and combating disability. There are more than 476,000 Melvin Jones Fellows worldwide who provide more than 75 percent of the Foundations revenue. LCIF was ranked by a Financial Times study as the #1 non-governmental organization with which to partner.
Nearly $3 million in federal funds will become available to support the creation of affordable housing units across Chattanooga beginning in July 2023, as part of three local programs managed by the Citys Division of Housing and Community Investment.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the programs provide grants and forgivable loans to developers, landlords, and non-profit organizations for the development of new affordable units and the rapid repair and renovation of vacant units.

The City is hosting a workshop to discuss the opportunities with interested parties this Thursday, Feb. 2, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Development Resource Center.

Were working hard to increase Chattanoogas affordable housing supply in every neighborhood, and a huge part of that is making the market more attractive for builders and landlords to develop and rent affordable units, said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Thats why programs like these are so important  they offer financial incentives that will help catalyze the creation of affordable homes across the city, so that Chattanoogans can access quality housing at every price point.

Two of the programsthe Rapid Rental Repair Program and the Landlord Renovation Programprovide Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to landlords to assist with the costs of repairing and renovating vacant rental units. Landlords are then required to re-rent the units to individuals and families who make no more than 60 percent of Chattanoogas area median income, at a cost that does not exceed 30 percent of their monthly income.

The third program provides funding to developers through the HOME Investment Partnership to support up to 50 percent of the construction costs for similarly affordable units, at a maximum of $40,000 per unit.

Applications for CDBG funding are due by Feb. 28. The application for HOME-funded projects will be available year-round.

We are laser-focused on developing the tools we need to increase the supply of affordable home ownership and rental opportunities for all Chattanoogans, and that includes deepening development incentives for local builders and landlords, said Chief Housing Officer Nicole Heyman. Im grateful for our strong partnership with HUD, which makes programs like these possible. My team and I will be working to expand and enhance similar funding opportunities in the months ahead.

Building a toolbox to catalyze affordable housing development is a key strategy in Mayor Kellys ongoing work to increase accessibility to housing in every neighborhood. Last year, Mayor Kelly launched a $100 million affordable housing initiative, which included an unprecedented $33 million in this years budget to help create and preserve hundreds of affordable homes.

Since taking office, his administration has supported the development of more than 380 new affordable units through HUD funds, with another 230 planned using American Rescue Plan dollars.

The City is also conducting a top-to-bottom redesign of its land use and zoning codes to make it easier for builders to construct the types of housing that most residents can afford.
Unilever announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive, global search process. Hein will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from Unilever.

Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a Non-Executive Director of Unilever in October last year. He will begin as Unilever CEO on 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period.

Hein is a business leader with an excellent track record across multiple leading companies in the consumer goods industry. As CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, an 11bn turnover business operating in over 40 countries, he has delivered significant portfolio and organisation change as part of transforming it into a more focused, growth-driven and sustainable business.

Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Hein worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade  during a time of significant change at the company  across the US, Europe and Asia. In his last four years at Heinz, he was based in China, where he led a turnaround of the Asia Pacific zone. Hein began his career in finance at Unilever, before joining Royal Ahold NV.

Hein Schumacher will receive annual fixed pay of 1.85m, be eligible to receive annual bonus and Performance Share Plan awards, and relocation support, all in line with Unilevers existing remuneration policy. His salary puts him at the median of our benchmark companies.

He will also receive share-based awards to replace the loss of incentive payments from his previous employer. Further details of his remuneration arrangements will be set out in the 2022 Directors Remuneration Report.
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Pope Francis is opening a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan on Tuesday, aiming to bring a message of peace to two countries riven by poverty, conflict and what Francis has called a lingering colonialist mentality that still considers Africa ripe for exploitation.

Aid groups are hoping Francis trip will shine a spotlight on two of the worlds forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africas worst humanitarian crises, amid donor fatigue and new aid priorities in Ukraine.

But Francis trip will also bring him face-to-face with the future of the Catholic Church: Africa is one of the only places in the world where the Catholic flock is growing, in terms of practicing faithful as well as fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

That makes his trip, his fifth to the African continent in his 10-year pontificate, all the more important as Francis seeks to make his mark on reshaping the church as a field hospital for wounded souls where all are welcome and poor people have a special pride of place.

Yes, Africa is in turmoil and is also suffering from the invasion of exploiters, Francis told The Associated Press in an interview last week. But he said the church can also learn from the continent and its people.

We need to listen to their culture: dialogue, learn, talk, promote, Francis said, suggesting that his message would differ from the scolding tone St. John Paul II used in 1980 and 1985 when he reminded Congolese priests and bishops of the need to stick to their celibacy vows.

Congo, Francis first stop, stands out as the African country with most Catholics hands down: Half of its 105 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than 6,000 priests, 10,000 nuns and more than 4,000 seminarians  3.6% of the global total of young men studying for the priesthood.

Congolese faithful were flocking to Kinshasa for Francis main event, a Mass on Wednesday at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as 2 million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis biggest Masses ever.

There are people who chartered planes to come here because there were so many of them! marveled Inniance Mukania, who travelled to Kinshasa from the Kolwezi diocese in southern Congo.

On the eve of the popes visit, President Felix Tshisekedi met with foreign diplomats in Kinshasa and told them the visit was a sign of solidarity particularly with the battered populations of the eastern part of the country, prey to acts of violence and intolerance that you are witnessing.

Jesus-Noel Sheke, technical coordinator of the organizing committee for the papal visit, said nearly everything was ready at Ndolo, where organizers have arranged for 22 giant screens to carry the service live.

There are only a few decorations left, he told journalists of the preparations over the weekend. They will be done the day before.

The trip was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed because of Francis knee problems. It was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Program.

Instead, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy. The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony jointly committing to forgive their assailants.

While the people of Goma were saddened that Francis wont be visiting the east, we hope with the visit that the pope can bring a message of peace to the people of Congo who need it, said Providence Bireke, a Goma-based manager with AVSI, an Italian aid group active in the area.

The second leg of Francis trip will bring him to South Sudan, the worlds youngest country where continued fighting has hampered implementation of a 2018 peace deal to end a civil war. Francis first voiced his hope of visiting the majority Christian country in 2017, but security concerns prevented a visit and only contributed to worsening a humanitarian crisis that has displaced more than 2 million people.

The South Sudan stop also marks a novelty in the history of papal travel, in that Francis will be joined on the ground by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields.

The aim of the three-way visit is to show a united Christian commitment to helping South Sudan make progress on the implementation of the 2018 accord. Francis presided over a similar joint initiative in 2019 in the Vatican when he famously got down on hands and knees and kissed the feet of South Sudans rival leaders, begging them to make peace.

Since then, progress on implementing the accord  in particular creating a unified army comprised of government forces and opposition fighters  has been painfully slow, said Paolo Impagliazzo of the SantEgidio Community, which has spearheaded an initiative to bring the groups that didnt sign onto the 2018 accord into the process.

The visit will bring hope to the people, Impagliazzo said in an interview in Rome. And I believe the visit will strengthen the churches  the Anglican Church, the Catholic Church, the local church  that are playing a critical role in bringing about peace and dialogue in South Sudan.

One area of particular concern remains the widespread availability of firearms among the civilian population, which has led to continued fighting in areas as cattle herders seek more land or faction leaders seek to gain more territory, he said.

The Small Arms Survey estimated in 2017 that there were some 1.2 million firearms in the possession of South Sudanese civilians, or 1 for every 10 people. The estimate was believed low and pales in comparison to the number of per capita firearms in Europe or the U.S., but remains an outstanding issue that will not go ahead until we have the possibility to have a unified army, Impagliazzo said.

Francis has long denounced the weapons industry, calling traffickers merchants of death. In the AP interview, he repeated his condemnation.

The world is obsessed with having weapons, Francis said. Instead of making the effort to help us live, we make the effort to help us kill.

Kamale and Ntshangase reported from Kinshasa, Congo. Sam Mednick contributed from Dakar, Senegal.
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Pet-sitting services in high demand during Spring Festival holiday

People's Daily Online) 09:29, January 31, 2023

A cat drinks water from a smart drinking fountain at its home in Beijing. (OUYANG SHIJIA/CHINA DAILY)

Demand for pet-sitting services soared during the Spring Festival holiday in China, as many pet owners went on vacations or returned to their hometowns during the seven-day holiday.

Mr. Zhang, who works as a part-time pet-sitter, said he was busiest during the first four days of the holiday, and became less busy with five orders on Jan. 26, as the holiday came to an end and many owners prepared to return home. Starting before Chinese New Years eve, he has earned some 2,000 yuan (about $296) so far.

Zhang's services for cats include feeding, preparing drinking water for them, and disposing of their waste. He charged 35 yuan per cat, and around 60 yuan for those that lived far away. "For clients who owned more than one cat, I charge another five yuan for each cat," he explained. To date, he has taken care of nearly 50 cats.

Looking after dogs can be more demanding as they need to be walked. Another pet-sitter surnamed Li charged 30 yuan for each pet, but asked for an extra ten yuan for a playful one. One of the dogs she took care of was a spirited Shiba Inu dog. "It always dashed around every time I walked it," she recalled.

Apart from giving dogs food, one dog owner asked her to cook a dinner for the dog on Chinese New Year's Eve. "I made a dinner with Chinese cabbage, duck heart, duck liver and chicken breast."

There was also demand for taking care of turtles, fish and birds. A caretaker surnamed Chen explained that she had to change the tank water for fish and turtles, and found that attending to the two aquatic species is not particularly time-consuming.

Mr. Lin, an executive of Cocofei, a pet service platform, said that around 3,000 orders for pet-sitting were placed on the platform during the Spring Festival holiday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, but there was a serious shortage of pet-sitters. He said that his company charged from 30 to 100 yuan for each pet, cheaper than in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Some pet owners paid generously but had more requirements, such as providing companionship for pets.

Lin said that pet owners opt for pet-sitting services for many reasons. One major reason is that cats, for example, enjoy consistency. If they are taken to a new house, they could become stressed out the entire time, making it a better option to leave them at home and have someone stop in to check on them.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Du Mingming)
As five Memphis police officers attacked Tyre Nichols with their feet, fists and a baton, others milled around at the scene, even as the 29-year-old cried out in pain and then slumped limply against the side of a car.

Just like the attack on George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly three years ago, a simple intervention could have saved a life. Instead, Nichols is dead and the five officers are charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.

More disciplinary action may be coming now that the harrowing video of Nichols treatment has been released. Memphis police relieved two other officers of duty Monday and say the department is still investigating what happened. The Memphis Fire Department also fired three emergency response workers who arrived on the scene for failing to assess Nichols condition.

The Memphis and Minneapolis police departments are among many U.S. law enforcement agencies with duty to intervene policies. The Memphis protocol is clear: Any member who directly observes another member engaged in dangerous or criminal conduct or abuse of a subject shall take reasonable action to intervene.

Its not just a policy, its the law. The three Minneapolis officers who failed to step in and stop former Officer Derek Chauvin from kneeling on Floyds neck as the Black man said he couldnt breathe were all convicted of federal civil rights violations.

Experts agree peer pressure, and in some cases fear of retribution, is on the minds of officers who fail to stop colleagues from bad actions.

Theyre afraid of being ostracized, said George Kirkham, a criminology professor emeritus at Florida State University and former police officer. Youve got to depend on those guys. Its the thin blue line. When you get out there and get in a jam, youve got nobody else to help you but other cops.

Nichols was pulled over in a traffic stop the night of Jan. 7. Body camera video shows he was beaten as officers screamed profanities, even as Nichols seemed confused about what he did wrong. Amid the chaos, he ran and was eventually caught at another intersection, a short distance from his mothers house.

Security camera images from that scene show two officers holding Nichols to the ground as a third appears to kick him in the head. Later, another officer strikes Nichols repeatedly with a baton as another officer holds him.

Officers pull Nichols to his feet, though hes barely able to stand. An officer punches him in the face, and Nichols stumbles, still held up by two officers. After more punches, he collapses. But the attack continues.

When it ends, Nichols is slumped against a car. It would be more than 20 minutes before medical attention was rendered, though three members of the fire department arrived on the scene with medical equipment within 10 minutes. Those workers, two medics and a lieutenant who was with them, were the personnel fired late Monday.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank, said duty to intervene policies became common after officers attacked and badly injured Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1992.

But having a policy and overcoming what many would argue is the culture in policing are two different things, Wexler said. Its not enough to simply have a policy. You need to practice. You need to talk through it.

In some cases, concerns by officers about retaliation for intervening have proven true.

In Buffalo, New York, Officer Cariol Horne was a year away from collecting her pension when she faced departmental charges after pulling a fellow officers arm from around the neck of a domestic violence suspect in 2006. She was fired. In 2021 a state Supreme Court judge reinstated her pension and overturned her dismissal.

Last year in Sunrise, Florida, Sgt. Christopher Pullease was criminally charged after an incident caught on video in which an unidentified female officer pulled Pullease by the belt away from a handcuffed suspect after Pullease pointed pepper spray at him. Pullease responded by putting a hand on his colleagues throat and pushing her away, the video showed.

Experts were also perplexed that no police department supervisors were present during the Memphis incident. Had there been, they said, the outcome might have been different.

I was a supervisor for a long time, and you showing up on the scene even unannounced keeps people from doing, for lack of a better adjective, stupid things, said former New York City Police Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, who teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis said the police department has a supervisor shortage and called the lack of a supervisor at the incident a major problem. Davis on Saturday disbanded the citys so-called Scorpion unit, whose officers were involved in the beating.

University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger said decisions on whether to intervene in a police colleagues actions are not always cut and dried. He said one officer may see a weapon that is blocked from the view of another, for example, and stepping in at the wrong time could jeopardize the lives of officers at the scene.

Training has to be precise about the sorts of circumstances that would warrant an intervention, Klinger said.
The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer, Katharina Buczek.

Do you ever wake up and feel like you are the star of your very own Groundhog Day? Each morning, you probably step out of bed at around the same time before heading downstairs to prep some coffee or tea.

Then, you participate in the same skincare and makeup routine before heading out the door to sit in the same old traffic on your commute to work.

Finally, by the days end, you might return home, walk your dog, cook your dinner, and turn on your favorite comfort television show. Around this time of year, mine is Gilmore Girls.

Now, this might not sound like that bad of a day. In fact, Im sure that many people would be grateful to have stable employment with normal hours, food in the fridge, and a streaming service like Netflix ready to help them decompress every evening.

But if you have all of these things and still feel unfulfilled, uninspired, or kind of empty inside, you are not overreacting, and you should not feel ungrateful.

Instead, this hamster wheel of life can take a very real toll on your mental health, no matter what industry you work in or where you live.

Nowadays, high productivity and habit stacking are the touted ideals of our society. It is even quite impossible to go on social media without encountering at least one daily routine video which features the same monotonous tasks completed in the same mindless order every single day.

Dont get me wrong: routines can be great. The structure can provide people with feelings of stability and consistency and help them maintain valued areas of their lives for instance, physical health or a clean home.

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The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) does not ask its pastors to subscribe to extensive statements of faith. The denomination wants church leaders to unify around six essential doctrines concerning salvation, the Bible, the significance and mission of the church, the role of the Holy Spirit, and freedom in Christ.

And since 2015, it has also asked ECC ministers to refrain from participating in same-sex weddings.

That last detail has become a sticking point for some ECC pastors who have changed their position on whether or not faithful Christians can be in same-sex relationshipsand whether or not that should be a litmus test for fellowship.

We agree on 99.9 percent of things, said Micah Witham, an LGBT-affirming pastor at Awaken Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. This one matter  I would contend is a nonessential.

This summer the denominations pastors will vote on whether or not to expel Awaken and Quest Church, in Seattle, for their positions on LGBT issues. The Covenant Executive Board voted in October 2022 to remove both from the roster of ECC churches after pastors from the Washington State and Minnesota congregations participated in same-sex weddings.

This isnt a new fight for the ECC. In 2018, the denomination suspended a North Park University chaplain who officiated a wedding for two men. The following year, First Covenant Church, a prominent and historic Minneapolis congregation, was expelled after church leaders said they would affirm LGBT members, host same-sex weddings, and ordain married gay people.

Some hoped the decisive action would settle the issue. But Dan Collison, pastor of First Covenant, said at the time he didnt think the conversation was over.

Ultimately, it becomes a question of what is love about and what is inclusion about, he said.

The denomination, founded by Swedish immigrants in 1885, has long emphasized theological diversity and the importance of freedom in Christ. New members are taught that a lot of Scripture is open to interpretation and faithful Christians can differ on peripheral issues. Doctrines that are considered nonnegotiable in many Christian traditionssuch as the proper way to baptize a new believerare deemed open for reasonable disagreement in the ECC. The denomination seeks to stand in the center and allow a lot of leeway on everything else.

But more than 850 US congregations do not all agree on whether the theology of human sexuality is periphery or center. For many, the authority of Scripture is at stake.

In the last few years, however, the main divide is over whether or not to fight about the issue.

Paul Lessard, executive minister of the ECCs church health initiative, said several pastors have petitioned the annual gathering to reconsider the position on marriage it established in 1996, when it issued a statement affirming heterosexual marriage, faithfulness within marriage, abstinence outside of marriage. In 2004 the Annual Meeting made this statement the basis for the ECCs policy, practice, and guidelines, positions that pastors must agree to support in their ordination vows. The Annual Meeting voted again in 2015 to keep its established position on marriage. Each time, the denominational gathering has voted against adding those petitions for reconsideration to the agenda.

Its perceived as squashing the conversation, but it is actually the people saying, No, we dont want to have that conversation. We dont think we need to open the conversation, Lessard told CT.

Some ECC ministers who have become affirming have accepted this and chosen to voluntarily withdraw from fellowship. By choosing not to leave, Awaken and Quest are forcing the ECC to have the conversation.

People have started to voluntarily remove themselves over issues of human sexuality, Lessard said. If they choose to stay and be involuntarily removed, it is because they are seeking to be prophetic.

Quest pastor Gail Song Bantum said on Facebook that the decision to force removal was intentionally disruptive, but thats necessary to shift a culture.

My lifes call has always been about shifting existing cultures toward greater diversity and possibility, she wrote. I trust that this removal process and the conversations that emerge will press all of us to acknowledge and be honest about where we are on the spectrum of truly embodying difference and liberation.

Quest, which was planted by Eugene Cho in 2001, currently describes itself as fully affirming and says on its website it welcomes everyone including, but not limited to, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Asexual, and Queer folks to all levels of involvement in the church.

At Awaken in St. Paul, however, Witham said the church is not trying to be prophetic but just faithful to the people and the context in which we find ourselves.

He said, Were just asking to stay, not that people change their posture or position.

The division over sexuality is commonly thought of as a fight between progressives and conservatives, but some in the ECC say the deeper issue is the lack of racial diversity in the denomination.

You dont see any non-white denomination going through this battle, said Shaun Marshall, an ECC pastor who served as the denominations director of congregational vitality. You dont see any nonwhite Christian denomination battling back and forth.

According to Marshall, both the inclination to rewrite the Bible to accommodate changing social mores and the impulse to kick people out for straying from traditional Christian positions are evidence of whiteness. He wants the denomination to discuss that when it gets together in June.

When you focus on deconstructing whiteness, all the fear and control will become apparent on both sides, he said. Focus on repenting for the ways you have bowed down to the idolatry of whiteness.

Top church leaders have also expressed concern that conversations about LGBT issues are distractions. In 2019, the president of ECC warned about groups  diverting our focus away from topics such as immigration, mass incarceration, justice, and evangelismmatters that have never needed the presence of the faithful more than they do now.

In 2023, however, church leaders will be forced to vote on what do about Awaken and Quest, deciding whether or not theres room in the ECC to agree to disagree on human sexuality.

Most observers think they know what the answer is.

Part of being a Covenant church is agreeing to stand in the same space on these issues, Lessard said. Whats interesting in the conversation is the sense [from the affirming ministers] that if you knew what I knew, if you knew the people I knew, if you read what I read, you would agree with me. We are saying We know those people, we read those books, and yet we continue to land on the same position.
Andy Stanley to host conference for Christian parents of LGBT-identified kids Scheduled speakers include Evangelical pastor who resigned after board discovered son's attraction to minors

Megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley, who has been the center of controversy following public comments he made regarding gay individuals in the Church having more faith in God, is scheduled to host a conference at his church for Christian parents of LGBT-identified children later this year.

The Unconditional Conference is scheduled to be held Sept. 2829 at Stanleys North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. Stanley is listed as one of the conference speakers on the event page of the Embracing the Journey website.

With a stated goal of helping parents demonstrate the unconditional love of Jesus, the Unconditional Conference includes a scheduled lineup featuring Stanley, Embracing the Journey co-founders Greg and Lynn McDonald, former megachurch pastor John Ortberg, North Point Ministries Debbie Causey, and LGBT advocate Justin Lee.

In a world that makes us choose sides, experience a conference from the quieter middle, reads a tagline on the site.

In addition to being featured in the guest speaker lineup, Stanley himself offers an endorsement of the event, writing, Greg and Lynn have done a remarkable job with a difficult subject: raising a child who is gay in a conservative Christian culture that doesnt always know how to respond or how to help. They tackle tough issues with grace, compassion, and integrity.

Embracing the Journeys stated mission is to build bridges between LGBT individuals, their families, and the church, not in spite of the [Bible] but because of the [Bible], drawing parents and children into a deeper relationship with each other and vertically with God.

In addition to the McDonalds, the lineup includes Ortberg, an Evangelical pastor who resigned from Menlo Church in Northern California in July 2020 after the churchs board of elders learned he allowed his son to serve as a volunteer in childrens ministry despite knowing he was attracted to minors.

Ortberg, who had pastored the multi-campus Menlo Church since 2004, reportedly learned his youngest son, Johnny, was attracted to children in July 2018.

The board of elders later said their leader exhibited poor judgment but that no harm was done to any minor in the Menlo Church community based on their investigation.

Causey, who wrote a book about her own son coming out as homosexual with featured endorsements from the McDonalds and Lee, is the director of Care for North Point Ministries and is featured on several videos and other pages of the Embracing the Journey site.

Lee, whose Nuance Ministries website features the tagline "Bridging the LGBTQ/Christian divide," spoke of non-affirming Christians in a 2017 interview.

"Its really easy for us to feel like, 'The work is done, everybody gets it, except for maybe a few extremists out there.' Thats just not the case. The reality is in the United States, and around the world, there are lots and lots of LGBT folks and their families who feel incredibly alone in Christian spaces," he told the progressive Christian magazine, Sojourners.

He added, "I think its still important to keep the dialogue open with folks that are not affirming in a way that recognizes where theyre coming from, but also recognizes our own needs as human beings. Theres kind of a tough balance. Its a tough place to be."

Notably, another one of the endorsements for the McDonalds comes from Kathy Baldock, executive director of Canyonwalker Connections, which aims to repair the division existing between social and Christian conservatives and[LGBT] communities.

Baldock was part of the team behind the film "1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture," a documentary released last November that claims a mistranslation of the Bible is to blame for Christians believing that homosexuality is a sin.

Neither Stanley nor Embracing the Journey responded to requests for comment from The Christian Post.

Stanley drew controversy earlier this month after a video of a sermon he gave during North Point's Drive Conference in May 2022 went viral.

In the clip, Stanley is heard telling the audience that any LGBT individual who continues to go to church has "more faith than a lot of you."

"A gay person who still wants to attend church after the way they've been treated, I'm telling you, they have more faith than I do," Stanley said. "They have more faith than a lot of you."

The son of Charles Stanley, famed pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church, Atlanta, Andy Stanley has courted controversy over his comments about the LGBT community in the past.

In 2015, Stanley said local congregations should be the "safest place on the planet for students to talk about anything, including same-sex attraction."

During a message delivered at a two-day church leadership summit in Southern California, he said: "We just need to decide, regardless of what you think about this topic  no more students are going to feel like they have to leave the local church because they're same-sex attracted or because they're gay. That ends with us."

In 2018, he also told his congregation they should "unhitch" their theology from the Old Testament.
Pro-life church 'heartbroken' after young child found alive in dumpster

Members of a small pro-life church in Ardmore, Oklahoma, were left heartbroken Saturday after local police discovered a baby in their dumpster.

While Ardmore police did not identify the church where they found the child in the dumpster, Associate Pastor Ed Skidmore of House of Prayer on Harris Street told The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday that the baby was found at their church.

Of course we were absolutely heartbroken, Skidmore said. Were pro-life from the moment of conception. We support babies in the womb. We support our local pregnancy center. We support mothers. Our hearts have gone out to the dad, the mom, the baby. We are absolutely heartbroken.

The parents and baby have no known affiliation with the church where the child was left.

Ardmore police told WLBT 3 that the young child was found around 3 p.m. and was in stable condition as of Saturday night but did not reveal much else about the discovery. Investigators did not immediately respond to requests from CP for more information.

Skidmore told CP that investigators on the scene told him that it was the mother who alerted them that the baby was left in the dumpster and that no one was at the church at the time the baby was left there.

I did talk to the police officers that were here and they did say that it was the mother that gave them the information to where the baby was and she was at another location. Thats all they would tell me, Skidmore said.

He explained that while the baby was not a newborn, the child was several weeks old based on what he was told.

Skidmore further noted that even though his small congregation of approximately 60 members does not offer support for mothers in crisis, the town has many resources to help.

I do know that we have a wonderful pregnancy center here in town that works with lots of women and provides many avenues of help for women that are pregnant that want to keep their baby, he said.

I dont know any of the circumstances behind the situation  [but] I know this  in this world without Christ, the enemy will try to tell us that there are permanent solutions to temporary problems, he said. And when we are not surrounded by people that really care for us it can spin out of control really fast. But we were heartbroken [by the dumping of the baby].

Skidmore said he doesnt know why the mother chose to dump her child but said he told his church, which has never experienced anything like this in the eight years he has served in leadership, it should be taken as a divine message to pray more.

This is what I told my congregation. I dont know if this was an area of town that she lived in, I dont know. But I know that that baby was here so that we could be as a body praying specifically, he said. We just need to bind our hearts together to pray for the mom and dad and the child. We have a wonderful congregation. Were just heartbroken that somebody was put in a position of hopelessness like that.
DeSantis proposes ban on critical race theory, diversity curriculum at Florida universities No more degrees in 'zombie studies,' governor tells reporters

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new series of proposed reforms Tuesday to the state's higher education system, including eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory curriculum.

During a media briefing at the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential nominee, laid out a sweeping package of changes he said would help "to ensure higher education is rooted in the values of liberty and Western tradition."

Among those proposals is establishing tighter controls on faculty tenure, which in addition to the scheduled reviews that are currently administered, would allow Florida university boards and presidents to review tenured faculty "at any time."

With State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues on hand, DeSantis said he wants to return "authority over the hiring process" back to university presidents.

Alongside an effort to create "civics institutes" at three state campuses, DeSantis is also seeking to completely eliminate what he called the "bureaucracies" behind DEI and CRT curriculum.

"We are also going to eliminate all DEI and CRT bureaucracies in the state of Florida," he said at the briefing. "No funding, and that will wither on the vine. And I think that's very important because it really serves as an ideological filter, a political filter."

The critical race theory framework dates back to the 1970s. It is defined as a "movement" of "activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power."

Encyclopedia Britannica defines critical race theory as "an intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour."

"[C]ritical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans," the reference resource states.

Conservatives have argued that critical race theory is divisive and wrongfully vilifies members of certain races.

At the event Tuesday, the governor's staff handed out fliers with the heading "Education not indoctrination" to members of the media who attended the briefing.

In the flier, DeSantis advocates for changes to university standards and course content, which includes requiring Florida schools to "prioritize graduating students with degrees that lead to high-wage jobs, not degrees designed to further a political agenda."

As part of the budget, the governor proposed $100 million for "recruitment and retention of highly qualified faculty at state universities," along with "world-class civics institutes" at Florida State University, the University of Florida and Florida International University.

The proposals were announced as both DeSantis and state lawmakers unveiled their budget and legislative agendas ahead of the session in March.

They also come just weeks after a report requested by DeSantis found Florida academic institutions spent more than $34 million on DEI and CRT curricula.

According to data from the Florida Department of Education, 12 State University System universities spent $34.5 million.

Earlier this month, The College Board, a nonprofit organization that works to offer greater access to higher education, agreed to DeSantis' demand to revise its national Advanced Placement course in African American studies after it was found to contain CRT elements.

The Florida Department of Education's Office of Articulation wrote a Jan. 12 letter to the College Board informing the oversight body that the course doesn't comply with state law.

"The content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and lacks educational value," the letter reads.

The relevant state law, known as the Stop WOKE Act, outlines a list of concepts that schools must not teach because they constitute discrimination based on "race, color, national origin, or sex."

In response, Pastor Andy Oliver of Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg offered his church as a space to teach the subject.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Oliver said he sees teaching the content of the course as essential to his congregation's mission.

"We have an important job as Christians to know our history, to know the history of harm specifically that African Americans have experienced in this country," he said. "I lead a congregation that sees it as a central part of our faith to stand with those who are marginalized and oppressed because that's where Jesus always located himself."
Mark Houck found not guilty of federal FACE Act charges after altercation near abortion clinic

A jury on Monday found Mark Houck, the Catholic pro-life advocate and father of seven who faced 11 years in prison, not guilty of a federal violation related to an encounter with a Planned Parenthood clinic escort in Philadelphia.

Houck was charged with two counts of violating the FACE Act in two incidents that occurred at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic on Oct. 13, 2021. The federal indictment accused Houck of shoving abortion clinic escort Bruce Love in two separate incidents on the same day.

The pro-life advocate was declared not guilty on all counts in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

"We are, of course, thrilled with the outcome," stated Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm that defended Houck.

"Mark and his family are now free of the cloud that the Biden administration threw upon them. We took on Goliath  the full might of the United States government  and won," Breen continued.

"The jury saw through and rejected the prosecution's discriminatory case, which was harassment from day one. This is a win for Mark and the entire pro-life movement. The Biden Department of Justice's intimidation against pro-life people and people of faith has been put in its place."

As The Christian Post reported, in one incident, Houck was across the street from the facility and attempting to counsel two women when Love verbally confronted the pro-life advocate.

Houck claimed that in the second incident, he was defending his son, who was 12 years old at the time, after Love became aggressive. Security footage of the confrontation showed the escort falling to the ground, injuring his elbow.

The father and his son, Mark Houck Jr., testified Friday, the third day of the trial. On Thursday, defense attorneys requested a motion to dismiss the federal indictment.

Brian McMonagle of the law firm McMonagle, Perri, McHugh, Mischak & Davis, alongside Breen, argued before Judge Gerald Pappert that the federal government had not made a strong enough case to prosecute Houck.

This information was provided to CP via Pastor Bill Devlin, a friend of Houck's for over 20 years who had been present throughout the court proceedings.

"We are deep brothers in the faith, and I've come alongside to undergird and support him because it's the presumption of innocent until the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mark Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act," Devlin told CP.

During every court recess, Devlin told CP that he would take people outside and lead them in prayer. Many also fasted in addition to praying that God would bring "victory" for Houck.

According to Devlin, McMonagle said Houck's actions were not a violation of the FACE Act, which prohibits "violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services."

After hearing the arguments for dismissing the case, the pastor said that the judge stated, "It appears to me that the U.S. government is stretching the statute of the FACE Act."

Federal prosecutors argued that Houck committed two violations of the FACE Act by preventing someone from entering the clinic and causing injury to Love by pushing him to the ground.

McMonagle argued that Love initiated the confrontation that resulted in his injury and that the escort was in violation of the non-engagement policy described in Planned Parenthood's volunteer escort manual, which instructs them not to engage with the pro-life sidewalk counselors.

The defense attorney argued that the case "never should have been brought to federal court" and the fact that it was brought to federal court is a "disgrace."
The newly created state Office of Inspector General released its first annual report showing that it investigated nine incidents last year in which police officers used deadly force against suspects and it concluded that all but one was justified.

All nine cases of use of deadly force involved law enforcement officers firing at or toward suspects. Three suspects died of gunshot wounds, four recovered after being shot and in two cases officers fired at vehicles to prevent suspects from driving them over, the inspector general found.

The one shooting found not to be reasonable or justified involved the Jan. 15, 2022 death in West Haven of Mubarak Soulemane. Soulemane was shot after leading the state police into West Haven in a stolen automobile after a long chase on Interstate 95.

After the stolen car had been stopped, state trooper Brian North fired seven shots through the drivers side window, striking and killing Soulemane, who was holding a knife. Inspector General Robert Devlin, a retired judge and state and federal prosecutor, concluded that neither North nor anyone else was in imminent danger when the shots were fired.

Connecticut state trooper Brian North leaves Milford Superior Court on Thursday, where he entered a plea of not guilty on charges of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in the 2020 shooting death of Mubarak Soulemane.

North has been charged with manslaughter and the case against him is pending in Superior Court

The office of Inspector General was created by the legislature in 2021 as part of a sweeping package of so-called police accountability reforms enacted in response to concern around the country about police violence. Devlin is the first appointee to hold the office.

Among other things, the office is charged with investigating the use of deadly force by law enforcement and in-custody deaths

The use of deadly force case that Devlin found to be justified or reasonable, involved:

Roznovsky Machado, who was found to have rammed his automobile into a police vehicle in Naugatuck and pushed the police car toward an officer. The officer fired three times at the car Machado was driving, but did not hit him.

Juan Esteban Villa Ramirez was wounded by a single shot fired by a Bridgeport police officer. At the time, Villa was stabbing someone else. Devlin concluded it was objectively reasonable and justified for the officer to shoot in an attempt to prevent a stabbing death.

Shamar Ogman was fatally wounded by a Hartford police officer in 2020. Responding to a report of an armed man on Gilman Street, officers confronted Ogman, who was armed with what appeared to be a handgun and a rifle. Ogman took cover behind a dumpster and was shot when he raised his rifle and pointed it in the direction of the police, Devlin said.

Dennis Lee Waiters Jr. was shot and wounded when a state and federal law enforcement task force blockaded his car at a stop light in Bridgeport as part of a weapons investigation. As an officer approached Waiters, he crashed his car into four other cars and then accelerated at the officer, who shot him in the leg. Devlin said it was objectively reasonable and justified for the officer to believe his life was in danger.

Kenneth Strothers was shot and wounded by a police officer in Meriden in 2021. Devlin said his investigation concluded the shooting was justified because the officer had reason to believe that Strother possessed a handgun and had racked a round into the chamber in anticipation of shooting him.

Cornelius McCullough was shot and wounded by a police officer in Derby in 2021. At the time, Devlin said McCullough was unlawfully firing a handgun at an occupied vehicle or threatened imminent use of deadly force against the officer.

Marvin Owens, who was not hit by gun fire, was driving a box truck in New Haven when a Deputy U.S. Marshal, trying to serve him with three arrest warrants, fired five shots at one of the trucks front tires. Devlin said the marshal was justified in trying to disable the truck and protect himself and law enforcement colleagues who were endangered by Owens efforts to flee the scene to avoid arrest.

Christopher W. Hagans was fatally wounded after firing at Stratford police officers who were trying to take him into custody on a felony arrest warrant. Devlin found that Hagans presented an imminent and grave threat of serious physical injury or death to the officers and nearby civilians.

According to the report, the office is investigating seven more deadly force cases.

The office of inspector general is also charged with investigating the death of prisoners being held both after arrest and after conviction. The report said that last year there were no in-custody deaths attributable to police use of force. But it said the office is investigating the deaths of prisoners who died while being held by police in Norwich, Manchester and South Windsor.

The report said the state Department of Correction reported to the inspector general that 73 inmates died last year while serving prison sentences, but 30 of those were convicts who had been released on parole and not subject to inspector general jurisdiction and investigation.

Of the remaining deaths, autopsies attributed 28 to natural causes. Nine more inmates died in custody of drug overdoses. Five died by suicide while in state custody, in all cases by hanging.
Revelation 7: The Jewish evangelists who will win countless people to Christ

Actor, filmmaker and liberal activist Rob Reiner once said, I think Jews are the smartest people in the world. For once, I agree with him. My respect for the Jewish people is profound. President John Adams said of them:

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations.

Adamss estimate of the Jews is borne out in the promise God made to Abraham, the father of their race when he called them out as a people:

The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your native country, your relatives, and your fathers family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.'

We owe so much to the Jewish people. It was through them God revealed himself. Moreover, it was through them that the Messiah, the worlds Savior, Jesus Christ came.

God indeed gave them their own land. He did make them into a mighty nation. But he forewarned them from the start that if they forsook him and his commandments, if they became idolatrous, they would be vomited out of the land (Leviticus 18:24-30). They also rejected their Redeemer, Christ, and had him crucified. Thus, they were scattered throughout the nations for centuries and brutally oppressed and persecuted.

Nevertheless, they are remarkably resilient, which demonstrates in a special way that God is not finished with them.

Dr. George Sweeting, former president and chancellor of Moody Bible Institute, has written:

A list of the persecution of the Jews since 1,000 B.C. would be many pages long, but just as God promised Abraham, every nation that has persecuted the Israelites has passed from the world scene; every ruler who has oppressed them has been deposed; and every society that has abused them has fallen.

Sweeting also brings up another dynamic that shows the unique place of the Jewish people in Gods economy. He adds:

[T]hroughout all the years of dispersion, the Jews held the hope of returning to the land God promised to their Fathers. Every year, each Jewish family that observes the Passover feast ends the ritual with the words Next year in Jerusalem. Incredibly, centuries after the dispersion, the modern state of Israel officially came into being on May 15, 1948. In our lifetime, we are seeing the people of Israel return to their homeland from all the nations of the earth, just as the Scriptures prophesied. In the face of unbelievable odds, this tiny nation has grown in a few decades to become a dominant force in the Middle East. And with these events, the stage is being set for the ultimate fulfillment of Gods purpose for Israel, his people.

Revelation Chapter 7 appears as a parenthesis before the seventh seal of the scroll is opened. The Tribulation has been underway, but now four angels have been instructed to create a pause by holding back the winds of judgment temporarily. Then a fifth angel appears in the East.

And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, Wait! Dont harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants. And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God  144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: From Judah 12,000, from Reuben 12,000, from Gad 12,000, from Asher 12,000, from Naphtali 12,000, from Manasseh 12,000, from Simeon 12,000, from Levi 12,000, from Issachar 12,000, from Zebulun 12,000, from Joseph 12,000, from Benjamin. After this, I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb! And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom

and thanksgiving and honor

and power and strength belong to our God

forever and ever! Amen. Then one of the 24 elders asked me, Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from? And I said to him, Sir, you are the one who knows. Then he said to me, These are the ones who died in the great Tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. That is why they stand in front of Gods throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

The identity of the 144,000 in this text has been a matter of some theological controversy. Some scholars argue its language shouldnt be taken literally but symbolically. They say these verses reference the Church, the new Israel, and the Church will go through the Tribulation.

However, this approach to the passage hermeneutically seems to do violence to it. There isnt any clear example of the Church being called Israel in the New Testament. The apostle Paul also makes a clear distinction in Romans 11:25-26, saying:

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.'

Formerly the pastor of the First Baptist Church, Dallas, and sometimes called the prince of preachers, the late W.A. Criswell asked:

What is wrong with taking the text as it is? What is wrong with understanding it as it is written? I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. That is what God said. Let us take the text as meaning just what he said. The 144,000 were all of the tribes of Israel.

Someone may argue, Well, no one knows where the tribes of the children of Israel are anymore. Its an absurd interpretation. Are we to believe the One who will raise the dead from the earths elements; from the ground; from the ashes; from the waters; doesnt know the location of the 12 tribes?

Here we are told this one 144,000 are sealed by God. They are elected by God, redeemed, and marked as His own. Its unclear what the seal is. Some contend the seal is the power of Gods Spirit. The apostle Paul told the Ephesians, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).

However, this seems to be more of an outward sign than an inward one. The seal sets these Jews apart for protection during the wicked days of the Tribulation period. Its a seal like the circumcision required of the Jews in the days of Moses and the mark above the door which made the angel of death pass over the Hebrews in Egypt. Furthermore, its in contrast to the 666 seal voluntarily accepted and placed on the right hand or foreheads of the doomed mentioned later in Revelation.

Lastly, the passage connects a great multitude so massive they cant be counted to the 144,000. They are people converted to Christ from all over the world during the Tribulation period, people who have suffered greatly for their faith, but are now dressed in white robes and safely worshipping in Heaven.

So, what do we have here? There seems to be only one reasonable conclusion. The 144,000 are Jews who turn to Christ, become incomparable evangelists who proclaim the Gospel, win countless souls to the Savior from their own nation and every other in the world. And God specially protects them with a seal to complete this mission.

The passion of a Jew in right relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is an amazing thing to witness. The disciples of Christ were Jews; although their number was small, they turned the world of their day right-side up for Christ with their testimony. The apostle Paul was a Jew, writing most of the New Testament, penning 13 books, and evangelizing much of the Mediterranean.

A more modern-day example would be Richard Wurmbrand, author of Tortured for Christ. Wurmbrand was a hardened atheist before his conversion. But an old carpenter in Rumania prayed, My God, I have served you on earth, and I wish to have my reward in heaven. But I wish my reward should be that I not die until I bring a Jew to Christ because Jesus was from the Jewish people.

One day, Wurmbrand was strangely and irresistibly drawn to a little village where out of 12,000 people, he was the only Jew. Discovering that Wurmbrand was a Jew, Wurmbrand said, the old carpenter courted me as never a beautiful girl had been courted.

The older man prayed for hours for Wurmbrands salvation and gave him a Bible to read. Wurmbrand finally gave his life to Christ and would become a central figure of the underground church in Romania, suffering tremendous persecution, yet bringing about the conversion of countless people to Christ.

Shortly, there will be 144,000 Wurmbrands and innumerable people from every nation who will follow Christ after hearing their preaching.

Dennis Prager, a conservative radio talk show host and author, as well as a Jew who is a graduate of the prestigious Yeshiva of Flatbush, has said:

When Jews left Judaism, they didnt stop being religious. They simply swapped God-based Judaism for godless secular humanism and leftism. For left-wing Jews, Judaism is their ethnicity; leftism is their religion.

According to Revelation, all of this will change in the future. Being the brilliant people they are and empowered by the Spirit of God, the Jews will realize Jesus is their Messiah and convince much of the world of the same.

I can hardly wait.
Did Andy Stanley do a 'great disservice' with comments on LGBT churchgoers?

A now-viral video of Georgia Pastor Andy Stanley magnifying the faith of LGBT people over "most" of his own congregation has drawn sharp criticism from pastors and Christian thinkers alike, with one ministry leader claiming the megachurch pastor does God a "great disservice."

The clip of Stanley, an influential pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, and the leader of North Point Ministries, comes from North Point's Drive Conference last May, where Stanley told churchgoers that any LGBT individual who continues to go to church has "more faith than a lot of you."

"A gay person who still wants to attend church after the way they've been treated, I'm telling you, they have more faith than I do," Stanley said in the clip. "They have more faith than a lot of you."

While drawing praise from some LGBT-affirming Christians, others such as David Hoffman, founder and director of the evangelism training ministry His Kingdom Enterprises in Tucson, Arizona, have accused Stanley of pandering to LGBT individuals over "straight people."

"Stanley's attempt to magnify the faith of openly LGBT individuals over 'straight people' is total pandering to the dictates of secular pagan American culture and a rejection of Biblical truth," Hoffman told CP via email. "His most recent stance can be summed up by saying he believes gay people in his church have more faith 'than him' and the majority of his congregation, because they are willing to come to church even though historically Christian churches have not been accepting of homosexuality."

Calling such a statement "absurd," Hoffman said homosexuality, just like a myriad of other sins, is clearly defined as sin in the pages of Scripture.

"The disposition of the heart is very important in coming to saving faith. If a liar, a thief, an adulterer, a porn addict, or any other person stuck in sin, comes to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, He will forgive their sins and give them a new identity," he added.

"The homosexual is in no different position than anyone else that is in need of coming to Jesus Christ and receiving forgiveness for their sins and receiving a new forgiven, sanctified, and righteous identity that is imputed to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ."

When it comes to fellowshipping and worshipping with unrepentant LGBT individuals, Hoffman said anyone who openly refuses to obey the clear teachings of Scripture is called to first repent before being welcomed into fellowship.

He pointed to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, which states: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you."

Hoffman, a graduate of Southwestern Assemblies of God University, said that standard still applies to unbelievers who refuse to acknowledge what is clearly defined as sin.

"The Church is meant to be set apart. Biblically, the Church is the Body of Christ, not a building," he explained. "Hence, if someone is in open rebellion to God, they cannot be part of His body, regardless of the sin. The same standard applies to anyone that is not LGBT."

But Hoffman distinguishes between unbelievers living in unrepentant sin and those who belong to Christ who struggle with same-sex attraction.

"In no way am I talking about people that struggle with sin and are seeking to live a life of repentance and a life of overcoming temptation," he said. "Many people struggle with sin, and they struggle against their sin, seeking to give it no place in their lives. Fellowship and worship are fine for someone that struggles with same-sex attraction, or the person that has had past homosexual encounters that have been repented of, or even the person that wants God to change them but still feel stuck, but they have responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and no longer engage in same-sex relationships."

In the same sermon, Stanley seemed to suggest that God has said "no" to the prayers of some of the LGBT community that asked Him to change their hearts.

"I know 1 Corinthians 6, and I know Leviticus, and I know Romans 1, so interesting to talk about all that stuff," Stanley said. "But just, oh my goodness, a gay man or woman who wants to worship their heavenly Father, who did not answer the cry of their heart when they were 12 and 13 and 14 and 15. God said, 'No,' and they still love God?

"We have some things to learn from a group of men and women who love Jesus that much and who want to worship with us," he continued. "I know the verses; I know the clobber passages, right? We got to figure this out. And you know what? I think you are."

Hoffman said the topic of unanswered prayer is far more complex than Stanley's response.

"He really does God a great disservice in this statement. Individual lives are complicated and hard to speak of in generalities," he added. "If there is one thing I have learned in ministry, it is that people are complicated. Childhood experiences are unique for each person. They often shape our experience of life and even shape our understanding of God many years later after the experiences even though we wouldn't think they could have such long-lasting effects.

"It is always God's will to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ."

Hoffman's His Kingdom Enterprises was founded in 2015 as a multi-faceted ministry that seeks to further the Gospel in local communities and equip believers to fulfill the Great Commission.

CP reached out to North Point Ministries for comment on Wednesday. A response hasn't been received.

In a column published Friday, Dr. Richard Land, CP Executive Editor and President Emeritus at Southern Evangelical Seminary in North Carolina, warned Stanley may have edged toward blasphemy with his comments.

"Frankly, this is an astounding statement from a leading Evangelical pastor. When God did not answer 'the cry of their heart,' is he saying that God was wrong in not accepting their sexual orientation, or is he saying that God should have answered their prayer by changing that orientation?" wrote Land, a former head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "Either option is blasphemous."

Ultimately, Land wrote, it's about laying down not just sin but all that people cling to as their own to truly take up our cross and follow Christ on His terms.

"When people of whatever background, behavior, or orientation come to God, they must come without reservation, forsaking all to follow Jesus as Savior," he wrote. "We throw ourselves on His mercy and trust Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. He is Lord and Savior, and we come on His terms, not ours  it is not a negotiation.

"I fear the Rev. Stanley has drifted farther than he is aware from the biblical foundations of his youth, and all of his Christian brothers and sisters should pray for him, and all the Christians whom he influences, without ceasing."
Archbishop of York says gay sex is OK if in committed, stable, faithful relationships'

The Church of Englands Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, responded to pressure to answer whether homosexuality and same-sex marriage are sinful by saying the CofE's new stance on the issue is that it's OK, as long as couples are in "committed, stable, faithful relationships," adding that same-sex married couples will be "welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms."

This comes on the heels of the denominations recent decision not to officiate same-sex marriages but to offer blessings for same-sex couples in civil partnerships within its churches.

BBC Radio Fours William Crawley asked the archbishop whether the CofEs recent decision not to officiate same-sex weddings while allowing gay marriages to be blessed was a bit of a fudge.

Cottrell responded, I see it as a way of holding together a church which doesnt agree on this issue and it takes us to a place where LGBTIQ+ people, people entering into same-sex marriages, people in civil partnerships are able to come to the Church of England and those relationships and marriages can be acknowledged and celebrated.

Crawley then asked if the denomination believes gay sex is sin, to which the archbishop replied, Well, what we are saying is that physical and sexual intimacy belongs in committed, stable, faithful relationships and therefore where we see a committed, stable, faithful relationship between two people of the same sex, we are now in a position where those people can be welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms.

Crawley said the CofE must be blessing same-sex unions because it believes it to be good.

Archbishop Cottrell replied, As I say, we believe that stable, faithful, committed, loving relationships are good. They are the place for physical intimacy 

Crawley again asked, And not a sin?

The archbishop then responded, But well, that  thats what Im saying  were looking to focus on the good in relationships and we want people to live in good, stable, faithful relationships.

The group Christian Concern said Cottrells statement confirms the CofEs departure from its own biblical teaching on human sexuality which states that marriage is: in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman.

Andrea Williams, Christian Concern's chief executive who was also a member of the general synod for 10 years, said Cottrells comments embody the compromised position of the Church of England on human sexuality.

The role of the Archbishop of York is to lead in explaining Gods beautiful pattern for human life and relationships, not to preside over a convoluted process of compromise. Sadly, it has been a failure of leadership from the start by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. For this, they will answer to God, and we must pray for them. It is not loving or kind to hide the truth from the culture, she said.

What we have needed for so long on these issues is spiritual leadership from the Church of Englands hierarchy. Sadly, however, what we have seen is a relentless and determined capitulation to the spirit of the age from the Archbishop of York, among others. The church and Christians are called to be distinct from the world around them and yet the Archbishop has shown he is ashamed of the clear teachings of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this month, CofE bishops apologized to the LGBT community for their rejection and exclusion within the denomination, saying they were now welcome and valued within the denomination.

The CofE also announced its support for a proposal allowing same-sex couples to receive Gods blessings.

We want to apologize for the ways in which the Church of England has treated LGBTQI+ people  both those who worship in our churches and those who do not, the bishops said in a statement.

"For the times we have rejected or excluded you, and those you love, we are deeply sorry. The occasions on which you have received a hostile and homophobic response in our churches are shameful, and for this we repent."

"As we have listened, we have been told time and time again how we have failed LGBTQI+ people," the statement continues. "We have not loved you as God loves you, and that is profoundly wrong. We affirm, publicly and unequivocally, that LGBTQI+ people are welcome and valued: we are all children of God."

Williams of Christian Concern said in a statement the apology could prove to be a "turning point" and signal the decline of the denomination.

"Christianity teaches that sexual expression is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman. Any other form of sexual relationships are sexually immoral," Williams said.
Candace Cameron Bure talks dangers of believing social media platitudes that misinterpret the Bible

Candace Cameron Bure and podcaster Tara-Leigh Cobble recently discussed the imperative of reading God's Word instead of believing oft-repeated bumper sticker platitudes shared on social media that mangle the meaning of Bible verses.

One such saying Cobble shared on the "Candace Cameron Bure podcast" is, Gods never going to give you more than you can handle.

That phrase stems from verse 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is about temptation and says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (ESV)

Cobble said that decades-old saying that's still frequently shared on social media often leaves Christians in a state of despair because it makes them feel as though they have to handle their struggles alone, even if they feel overwhelmed.

Often, Cobble said, Christians wont reach out for support from fellow believers because they heard the popularized phrase and were led to believe God hasnt given them a struggle they can't handle on their own.

"A lot of things sound really good when you see them on social media," said Cobble, who co-hosted the first season of Bure's podcast. "These one-liners, like God's never going to give you more than you can handle. No, that is not the Bible! He does give you more than you can handle because other people can shoulder it [with] you, Cobble said.

He can come along and equip and sustain you through that process. And so, those kinds of platitudes that make us feel really empowered, a lot of times are not accurate, she stressed.

[Statements like that] are not biblically true. And that leads to a lot of despair when you feel like, Oh, man, I didn't have enough faith to pull that off for you.  I guess I'm not strong enough. And so those things we have to measure them against Scripture.

Cobble said that there are many other false popularized phrases that often lead Christians astray. And she said Christians will only know if a popularized phrase is false if they listen to the Holy Spirit who directs us to read the Word of God and use it as a measuring stick for truth.

I don't have any wisdom of my own. Any wisdom that I speak to you or anybody else is given to me by God. It's Him at work in me and through me. Any comfort that I might offer anybody is meaningless if it all just terminates on some platitude I dreamed up, Cobble said.

Bure reiterated that point, adding that along with discerning whether a common phrase is false or not, Christians must stay rooted in Christ by reading the Bible because thats where wisdom to discern is derived from.

God tells us to 'put on kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you. You are also forgiven. And above all, put on love which is the perfect bond of unity, Bure said, citing Colossians 3.

I put on my clothes every morning. I put on my makeup. I put on my lipstick. I put on my shoes to walk out my door. But the first thing I need to put on is kindness, put on compassion, put on humility and gentleness and patience," she said.

"And those are things I need to be aware of. It's not easy," she added. "It's a choice that you make, and it's a choice that you practice. And you practice something enough that it becomes a habit.

The fruit of the Spirit would not be possible without the Holy Spirits workings, Cobble added.

[The fruit of the Spirit] is going to come from Him. He initiates it in us and moves us through that process with other believers.  We have access to put those things on through the power of the Spirit and work within us, said Cobble, who hosts her own podcast, "The Bible Recap."

It's like every day you're choosing to surrender to the Spirits work in you. You're choosing to die to self, to be kind to others who maybe are unkind to you. And it's the spirit who enables us to do that. He's the one at work in us to do all these beautiful things.
Church, school reflect on faith of 5 young adults killed in car crash: 'We praised God, said our last goodbyes'

The tremendous faith of the five young adults killed in a car accident on their way home from a Bible college was highlighted by their classmates and peers at vigils held at their church and school last week.

According to KARK, students and teachers at Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas, joined together on Thursday for a balloon release to honor the lives of the young adults who lost their lives in a fatal car crash in Wyoming on their way back from visiting Jackson Hole Bible College.

The deceased included Sylvan Hills High School seniors Susana "Suzy" Prime and Ava Luplow, Salomon Correa, 21, Maggie Franco, 20, and 23-year-old Andrea Prime, Suzy's sister.

Juan Silva, a student at Jackson Hole Bible College in Wyoming, revealed the students were visiting him and died on their way home. He described his friends as good representatives of Christ and living like Christ.

We went to go eat and we were talking about the Lord  how good and wonderful His plans are, he said. We praised God and said our last goodbyes, but I didnt know it was going to be our last goodbyes.

Whats comforted me a lot is Psalm 46:1 and it says that God is our refuge and strength  very present help in trouble, Silva added.

Isaac Riley, who was close friends with the students, said his hope is in God in the midst of the heartbreak.

Although Im mourning, Im also rejoicing, he said.

At a Monday night memorial service held at Faith Bible Fellowship in Little Rock, the church the young adults attended, Elizabeth Conway, an admissions officer at Central Baptist College, revealed that Luplow had just sent her a testimony for a scholarship to attend the college and Suzy Prime was working on hers as well.

"They both just had those leader personalities, that's just how they were, every single one of them," she said, according to Arkansas Online. "It's just a blessing  we've all been talking about how they all had some unsaved family members and they were always, each and every one of them, were praying for someone that was unsaved in their family consistently at church."

The five young adults were driving on Interstate 80 two Sundays ago when a Dodge Ram was reported heading east in the westbound lanes.

The pickup truck collided with a passenger car and commercial truck, forcing another truck to swerve into the other side of the road where the driver collided head-on with the students' Ford F-150. The truck and the students' vehicle were engulfed in flames, killing the five young adults and leaving others with critical injuries.



According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, 57-year-old Arthur Nelson was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired. He was charged with 11 crimes, five of which are for aggravated homicide by vehicle.

Conway said the grieving community is clinging to their faith and taking comfort in the fact that the young people knew the Lord.

"There's a different kind of peace that comes from ... we know for sure that every single one of them knew the Lord and that's just a blessing to know that they are probably dancing on streets of gold right now. It's definitely hard. We grieve with one another that they're not here, on Earth, they're not here for us to hug their necks and tell them how much they mean to us, she said.

"Every single one of them just radiated the love of Christ so well," she said. "They were all examples to people wherever they went, people were looking up to them. They were an example of what it looks like to follow Christ faithfully."

Elizabeth Dilts, a member of the church for two years, revealed her daughter was in Andrea Prime's Sunday school class. She said that despite her grief, she knows that the Prime sisters, Luplow, Correa and Franco, are all where they need to be, "with the Lord."

"We're very thankful for people giving because it helps, I know to be able to do something helps yourself, like you feel like you can take part in the grief if you can help the family," she said.

"Prayer is definitely the thing we want the most though. I know people will say that, but it really is true because you get to the end of yourself where you're like, I can't even pray anymore, I hope somebody's praying for me. That's kind of how a lot of us feel is like, you just get so tired and you need someone to take that burden."

In a statement, the Bible college revealed the young adults had spent the week before the accident sitting in on classes and getting to know this year's student body, as well as catching up with staff who were previous classmates to three of them.

All five attended Faith Bible Fellowship, a church of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who we have come to love beyond words, the statement said. It is with inexpressible joy that we tell you that our friends had placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a result, we know they are currently with Him, a reality we are quite envious of.

Faith Bible Fellowship has set up a Cash App account for donations to the families of the deceased.
Evangelical revivalist churches drawing more Catholics in DRC: Miraculous healing

Congo is home to the largest Roman Catholic community in Africa, representing around 40% of the country's 96 million inhabitants. But many Catholics are reportedly attending Evangelical churches, which, they say, are more relevant to their needs, including "miraculous healing."

Ahead of Pope Francis' four-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which begins Tuesday, Reuters took a look at the country's religious landscape.

There are at least 30,000 revivalist churches in Congo, also known as "churches of awakening," the newswire stated, citing an association representing these churches.

Deo Malela, a Catholic who regularly attends an Evangelical church in the eastern city of Beni, said some illnesses cannot be cured in hospitals, but instead require divine and miraculous healing that is unexplainable.

"It does me good to have the base of the Catholic church and add these miracle solutions of the revival church," he said.

Pastor Davis Alimasi, an Evangelical from Beni, told Reuters that people are drawn to the church because they discover "truth, healing and faith." The Holy Spirit communicates with them in various ways, he added.

"There are illnesses where you can go to hospitals (and) you don't find solutions, but here you have a divine and miraculous healing that you can't explain," 28-year-old Malele told Reuters after attending an Evangelical service in Beni.

The Evangelical movement in Congo grew in the 1980s when Mobutu Sese Seko was the country's president. At the time, he sought to counter criticism from Catholic citizens.

Malela said the Catholic Church still provides him with a stronger sense of community and "political protection," so he has not departed from the church he was raised in.

Evangelical churches continue to grow as the eastern DRC has been plagued by armed conflict and violence for decades.

The pope's visit to DRC, the first by a pontiff since 1985, seeks to raise awareness about the decades-long conflict inflicting the country. Francis lamented the world's growing inability to weep in the face of injustice, AFP reports.

Militia groups and rebel groups have long operated in the region. Among its major sources of violence and terror are the various ethnic-based militia groups, which have targeted civilians and government forces.

These militia groups often fight for control of resources such as gold, tin and tungsten and have been accused of committing human rights abuses, including rape and murder.

Earlier this month, at least 17 Christians were killed and dozens injured in a bombing that targeted an Evangelical church in Kasindi town in North Kivu province.

The Allied Democratic Forces, a militant group that pledged its alliance to the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the bombing, AFP reported at the time.

The ADF is considered one of the most dangerous armed groups in the DRC, responsible for thousands of civilian deaths and bomb attacks. The group is also active in Uganda.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC has been deployed in the region since 1999 to protect civilians. However, it has faced challenges in effectively stemming the violence.
Christian group rebukes former minister, Labour MP who claims Jesus never addressed sexual sins

A U.K. Christian group has strongly condemned Member of Parliament Chris Bryant, a former Church of England minister and homosexual, for his statement in the House of Commons that there is no Biblical teaching against same-sex relationships or marriage.

Bryant, who is married to his partner, made the statement during a House of Commons discussion about the Church of Englands recent decision to offer prayers of blessing for same-sex relationships.

Is there any biblical teaching that says this is wrong? Any? Really? Did Jesus say a single word about same-sex relationships or marriage? I dont think he did. He said a great deal about love. The God of Love and St. Paul said in Christ there was neither male or female, nor Jew or Greek, and I think he probably would have also said neither gay or straight, Bryant, a member of the Labour Party, said.

Ben John, who is affiliated with Wilberforce Academy, a one-week Christian program for young professionals run by Christian Concern, wrote an opinion piece disagreeing with Bryants statement in Parliament.

John asserted in his op-ed piece that both Jesus and Paul addressed homosexuality as a sin that requires repentance and the offer of grace.

When Jesus was asked a question about divorce, as mentioned in Matthew 19:4-6, He referred to Genesis saying that marriage is between a man and a woman, as they become one flesh.

Jesus also affirmed the complementarity of the male and female gender in marriage and that it was rooted in creation, the author wrote.

While speaking to Peter, Jesus said, as per Matthew 15:18-19, But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

In this passage, the author explained, sexual immorality is translated from the Greek word porneia, which is also referenced by Jesus in Matthew 5:32, 19:9 and Mark 7:21. The term is the origin of the word pornography, he wrote, adding that while it might seem unclear to modern listeners, those who heard Jesus speak would have understood the reference to Leviticus 18, which lists various sinful sexual acts, including incest, adultery, bestiality and homosexual acts.

Even liberal scholars who disagree with their message acknowledge that the Bible does condemn homosexuality, John said in the article, quoiting Diarmaid MacCulloch: Despite much well-intentioned theological fancy footwork to the contrary, it is difficult to see the Bible as expressing anything else but disapproval of homosexual activity.

John also quoted Revelation 2:20-23: I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead.

Therefore, those who continue in unrepentant sexual immorality do not truly love Jesus, the author wrote, adding that Bryant should be encouraged to repent and receive God's love and grace through forgiveness.

Referring to Paul saying in the Bible that in Christ there is neither male or female, nor Jew or Greek, the author noted that Paul emphasized the unity and oneness in Christ, as shown in Galatians 3:27-29 where he says those baptized into Christ are one, regardless of their background.

In contrast, the author added, Paul views homosexual relations as dishonorable, unnatural and shameful, as stated in Romans 1:26-27.

Therefore we can say categorically: Jesus and Paul spoke about homosexuality. Homosexual practice is a sin that should be met with the call to repentance and the offer of grace, John wrote in the op-ed. Perhaps it is because the Church of England has been ordaining people like Bryant, who appear to know nothing of the teaching of Jesus, that we are in the state that we are in.

For his part, Bryant defended his comments and responded to those who oppose his views on Jesus, the Bible and homosexuality in a Twitter thread on Thursday, writing:

Starting with the obvious, the Bible was not written in English and theologians have haggled over what books shd be included for centuries. Each book was written in a specific time and cultural context. To fully grasp its meaning you have to read each book against its context. This includes the injunctions and prohibitions in the Torah such as in Exodus and Leviticus. Many things are considered abominations including breaking the Sabbath, eating pork or touching the skin of a dead pig. Some practices are not condemned but sanctioned, including selling your daughter into slavery and stoning. Even the most ardent born again fundamentalist would agree that we need to read these in the light of the teaching of Jesus and modern understandings of justice and science.

Earlier this month, CofE bishops apologized to the LGBT community for their rejection and exclusion within the denomination, saying they were now welcome and valued within the church.

The CofE also announced its support for a proposal allowing same-sex couples to receive Gods blessings and full inclusion in the denomination. However, it would not be officiating same-sex marriage ceremonies.

We want to apologize for the ways in which the Church of England has treated LGBTQI+ people  both those who worship in our churches and those who do not, the bishops said in a statement. "For the times we have rejected or excluded you, and those you love, we are deeply sorry. The occasions on which you have received a hostile and homophobic response in our churches are shameful, and for this we repent."

"As we have listened, we have been told time and time again how we have failed LGBTQI+ people," the statement continues. "We have not loved you as God loves you, and that is profoundly wrong. We affirm, publicly and unequivocally, that LGBTQI+ people are welcome and valued: we are all children of God."

Andrea Williams, Christian Concern's chief executive who was also a member of the general synod for 10 years, said in a statement the apology could prove to be a "turning point" and signal the decline of the denomination.

"Christianity teaches that sexual expression is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman. Any other form of sexual relationships are sexually immoral," Williams said.
School where first grader shot teacher reopens with tighter security, principal replaced

Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, reopened Monday under the watchful eyes of local police with a new safety protocol and principal weeks after a troubled 6-year-old boy shot his teacher in the chest as she taught his class.

"We had a lot of officers here. I didn't want it to be overwhelming, but I wanted those kids to know we support them, as well as the faculty and staff," Newport News Police Chief Steve R. Drew told CNN about the reason for their presence on the campus. "There was a lot of smiles, a lot of high-fives, some fist bumps going on."

School district officials told the network that two metal detectors were installed at the school. New administrator, Karen Lynch, told parents in an announcement that officers were on campus Monday to "assist with the transition." Each student, she said, would also receive clear backpacks.

"If your child brings a lunch to school or other items, please be aware that these items will go through metal detection and will be subject to search. All students and visitors must enter and exit the school building from the front main doors," Lynch said.

While parents are anxious about returning to school, some praised the new efforts to improve safety.

"It's sad that we have to go in and see all the officers there at an elementary school with these babies," DeDe Williams, the grandmother of a Richneck Elementary third grader, told CNN. "[B]ut it made my heart feel better that they were there, taking it serious."

Another parent, Suzanne Turner, explained how anxious she was about the process.

"All day, I think I've just been pacing. Every parent has. So just to hear how he was doing, once he said that he was happy. I was just like, 'OK, you're good,'" Turner told WAVY.

Since the shooting of Abigail Zwerner, the 25-year-old teacher, on Jan. 6, it was revealed that she repeatedly begged school administrators for help with the boy, but her complaints fell on deaf ears.

Children younger than 7 are presumed unable to form the intent to carry out an illegal act under Virginia law, but someone could be charged for failing to secure the gun used in the shooting, Drew previously explained.

It was unclear how the boy gained access to the gun secured with a trigger lock and kept on the top shelf of his mother's bedroom closet. In a statement through attorney James Ellenson, the boy's family said they were praying for Zwerner, who was recently released from a local hospital. The family also noted that the boy has an "acute disability."

"Our son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day. Additionally, our son has benefitted from an extensive community of care that also includes his grandparents working alongside us and other caregivers to ensure his needs and accommodations are met," the statement said. "The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him. We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives."
Celebration Church founder Stovall Weems launches website to clear family name

Intent on clearing his family's name from "salacious lies that cost us everything," embattled Celebration Church founder Stovall Weems has launched a new website to counter the narrative from current leaders of the Jacksonville, Florida, megachurch where he and his wife, Kerri, were ousted from leadership in 2022 due to allegations of abuse, including financial fraud.

"In 2022, we were accused with salacious lies that cost us everything  our life's work, the ministry we built for God's Kingdom, our jobs, our finances, our reputations, and even many of our dearest friends," Weems wrote on the website called ClearingOurName.com. "The problem is, the accusations that were made and the actions taken against us were lies  not to mention illegal."

Last April, an internal report released by the 12,000-member Celebration Church presented Weems and his wife as abusive, mentally troubled divas who constantly exploited church staff and finances until they were forced to resign from all their positions in the church earlier that month.

They are fighting a push from current Celebration Church leaders to evict them from a Black Hammock Island home purchased as a parsonage. Celebration Church is demanding in a lawsuit that the Weemses vacate the million-dollar waterfront parsonage because they completely resigned from all work with the church in April 2022.

In court documents, it is alleged that Celebration Church trustees analyzed the church's financial position in December 2021 and discovered that the Weemses made "several large financial transactions earlier in 2021 without notice to or authorization from the board."

These transactions included "multiple large transfers to new for-profit entities that the Weemses intended to manage going forward." The motion claims that the church purchased a parsonage for $1.2 million that a company owned by Stovall Weems had purchased four months earlier for $855,000.

The couple was also accused of improper use of $1 million worth of Paycheck Protection Program loan funds to purchase a speculative digital currency known as TurnCoin.

In their own lawsuit against the church, the Weemses allege that they were defamed by the 22-page internal report produced by the Nelson Mullins law firm.

"We all want to move forward and leave the painful emotions we've suffered behind us, but we can't heal without truth; we can't reconcile without truth. The truth must come out and everything must come to the light. Only then can we heal and reconcile," Weems wrote on the website. "Above all, as a man of God, a husband, and a father, I must clear my name and restore the dignity of my wife and kids, so they will no longer walk around this city under a cloud of shame."

On the website, Weems, who is still on a period of prayer and fasting with his family, includes copies of his lawsuits against the church and a review of Celebration Church's internal report by former FBI Special Agent Tom Simon. Simon now works as a licensed private investigator in Florida.

Simon, who said he had no prior relationship with Weems before he was asked to review the Mullins report, said he was paid $4,000 for his services as of the date of the report, Aug. 12, 2022.

"I have never been to Celebration Church, nor did I have any relationship or knowledge of Pastor and Mrs. Weems before this engagement. However, as someone who has written hundreds of investigative reports, it is clear that the first 12 pages of the Nelson Mullins Report were written to embarrass Pastor and Mrs. Weems by cherry-picking stories curated to present the couple in the worst possible light imaginable," Simon wrote in his review that focused mainly on six "improper financial transactions" that Weems is accused of making during his time at the helm of Celebration Church.

While Weems "made decisions that I believe were unwise" in some cases concerning his dealings at the church, Simon said Weems' actions were mainly within his legal authority, and church leaders were given notice of his actions as he carried out these deals. Simon further argued that the Nelson Mullins report did not give readers sufficient context to arrive at a fair conclusion.

"It is almost as if the authors of the Nelson Mullins Report deliberately set out to ignore all the relevant factors surrounding their six 'Improper Financial Transactions.' This appears to be an attempt to make Pastor Weems look as bad as possible in managing the church he founded with the Board he established. This is why it is instructive in any internal investigation to understand the motives of the subject," Simon argued.

"A subject interview is valuable to understanding the decisions made in real-time without the benefit of hindsight. Pastor and Mrs. Weems made repeated requests to be interviewed by the 15 authors of the Nelson Mullins Report, but the authors declined or neglected to schedule a meeting with the Pastor and his wife," he continued.

Highlighting Weems' decisions that were "unwise," Simon said he is "highly-skeptical of TurnCoin as an investment vehicle."

"Time will tell if it was a good investment or not, but I believe that he acted in good faith and in the best interest of Celebration Church (and related entities) in each of the 'Improper Financial Transactions' detailed in the Nelson Mullins Report," he added.

"In conclusion, I do not believe the evidence supports the assertion that Pastor Weems breached his fiduciary duties to Celebration Church, committed fraud, unjustly enriched himself at the expense of the Church, or failed to meet the fiduciary duties and standards of care required by the office."
Tensions flare at open mic event over First Baptists document on gender, sexuality

Tensions erupted at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville in Florida on Sunday evening as Senior Pastor Heath Lambert defended the church's statement on biblical sexuality even as an LGBT advocate slammed it as "disgusting" and urged members of the church to leave because of it.

Yesterday, an acquaintance messaged me and told me about this forum. Their family has made the decision to stop attending this church considering recent events, which is something I encourage all existing congregants to follow, a woman who identified herself as Katie and queer said during a 90-minute open mic discussion about the statement on Facebook Live.

The decision to have your members sign any form of contract to attend turns your church into an organization, a club. This church is no longer a religious place of worship welcome to all. These sexuality oaths are drawing a clear line in the sand, showing us who you truly welcome, which is by no means all.

The church's statement, which made waves in the media last week, declares: "As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression."

According to The Florida Times-Union, the statement was adopted by the church last fall but only became a source of public conflict recently after local media reported that members were asked to sign an agreement affirming the statement by March 19 to ensure your membership at First Baptist Church continues without any interruption.

Members who do not meet the signature deadline will be considered to have resigned your membership from First Baptist, according to information from the churchs website.

Pastor Lambert made it clear at the start of the meeting that the statement is meant to be something positive for the church.

I just want to say at the beginning that this is intended to be a positive statement. If you only hear about the statement and dont read the statement, you wont recognize that in the statement, there is not a single sin listed. It doesnt pick on any one sin over and above any other sin, he said.

There are sins that by extension are ruled out of the statement, but the statement is a positive expression about what the Bible teaches about human sexuality, about marriage, about manhood, about womanhood, and it means to rule out any sin that would contradict it."

Lambert further explained that the statement is not something he decided to institute on his own, but it was done in collaboration with the congregation and leadership. The pastor insisted that everyone is still welcome to attend the church, but anyone who wants to be a member must be prepared to live biblically.

The statement rules out homosexuality to be true, but it also rules out polygamy. It also rules out pornography. It also rules out adultery and fornication; it rules out lust. There is a lot of ways to get crosswise with a biblical sexual ethic, Lambert said.

A good friend of mine, talking about this, said, because of the nature of the brokenness of the human heart, none of us are sexually straight. We all need Jesus to forgive us where we are wrong. And so one of the great truths of the Christian faith, one of the great truths that our church has built on, is the thing that makes us as members of First Baptist Church different, he said.

It is not that we are any less sinful than anybody out there in Jacksonville. Its not that we are any better than anybody who thinks our statement is a joke. Its that we have come to confess our sin instead of looking at the Bible and railing against what the Bible has to say about sexual sin. Weve said, 'God, youre right, and Im wrong, will you please forgive me and [then] you wash me in the blood of Jesus,' he added. By faith, we are not better, but by faith, we are saved.

And so thats one of the reasons why we have to be welcoming to everybody because if we start crossing people out, then sooner or later, none of us are going to be welcome.

Bishop William Hackworth of the Alliance Partners Network International, described as a Reformation of Churches and Leaders of the Lord's Church from around the world in Jacksonville, was one of several voices in the church that encouraged Lambert for his stand.

The Holy Spirit asked me to come up to encourage you. I want to thank you for standing on the word of God, Hackworth said to heavy applause, which quickly turned into a standing ovation.

I go through some things that you go through. When you have to speak truth, whether it be at your job, whether it be at the airport, whether it be in front of the cameras ... or pulpit, youre going to be the one that theyre going to come after. And they dont realize when they come for you, and youre speaking Gods words, they are coming after God, he said.

And then, they will say, Im saved. Im a Christian. And the truth is that that Word says youre not, he added. And its hard for those of us in the Church to speak it to those that we love and care for because we dont want to see no one lost. But the reality is, if we dont stand up and say the truth, our own children are going to go to Hell.
In the same week when some New Britain homeowners were organizing opposition to a proposed cannabis-growing center in their city, Bloomfield authorized one in that town with no public pushback at all.

Bloomfields planning and zoning commission unanimously approved a nearly 46,000-square-foot cultivation center Thursday night, with members mostly complimenting Fine Fettle for planning to build it.

At a hearing, seven people submitted letters of support and nobody either wrote or spoke in opposition. Fine Fettle promised an elaborate security system for the facility and pledged to seek local candidates for at least some of the new jobs.

Fine Fettle Chief Operating Officer Benjamin Zachs quickly did away with two common objections to indoor marijuana farms: The risk of offensive odors to neighbors, and the possibility of future conversion to retail sales instead of commercial production.

We use carbon filter scrubs, we pressurize the air within our cultivation rooms, we also generally vent out through multiple places so theres no condensed spot, Zachs told the commission. The cultivation of the plant is very different than consumption: Theres no burning of anything. All of our product is packaged in a self-contained area and then held in a DEA-regulated vault.

Project architect Tim Crosby said the only smell comes during the plants flowering phase, when oils known as terpenes are produced.

When theres a large-scale flowering going on, there will be a Febreeze-like system. It wont mask the odor; theres a mist that attracts terpene odor molecules and takes them out of the air, Crosby said.

Modern odor control for cannabis facilities has come a long way. We cant say 100 percent therell be absolutely no odor, but odor control is being done successfully at most of the facilities in the United States. Its at the top of the list of issues to be dealt with, Crosby added.

Customers wait in line outside the Fine Fettle marijuana dispensary in Willimantic earlier this month for the opening of legal sales of recreational marijuana in Connecticut. In response to a Bloomfield zoning board members question, the company promised a new facility planned in that town will do only commercial production  and no retail sales. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb)

Zachs repeatedly said the building will be used only for commercial production, but Commissioner Katie Blint asked for clarification about whether retail sales would be added later. Zachs answered simply No.

A marijuana-growing center proposed in New Britain has drawn fire from some residents who fear odors as well as traffic from retail sales. The proposal goes to a hearing Tuesday night by the citys zoning appeals board.

Fine Fettle runs medical dispensaries as well as recreational marijuana outlets, but at the Bloomfield site will only grow, process, package and ship commercial quantities of marijuana to sell elsewhere, the company said.

The building will be put up on former farmland along Mosey Road, close to Home Depot.

Fine Fettle plans to pave parking spaces for 67 cars, and designate space on the land for another 31 if theres future hiring.

Wed like to have the opportunity to expand the parking if the employment situation grows, representative David Ziaks said.

Zachs said the plan is to have 40 to 90 workers in various shifts.

Those jobs range from cultivation technicians and assistants, lab scientists and chemists, he said.

Fine Fettle intends for at least half of its hiring to come from a field of minority applicants, and also will try to emphasize local candidates for production jobs as well as subcontractors during construction.

We hope this is an economic driver for the town, Zachs said.

Commission Barry Berson asked if anyone at the hybrid hearing wished to speak, but got only one question from the public about bike parking. Fine Fettle said it would provide facilities for workers who commute by bike.

We dont seem to have many people in this audience, Berson said after a protracted silence.
Reactions To Tyre Nichols Murder, Christian Scientists Viewed As Less Intelligent, Students May Identify As Animals In ND Bill

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Prominent Christian leaders from across theological backgrounds have weighed in on the police killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols earlier this month, denouncing the incident as inhumane.



A new study finds that nonreligious individuals tend to stereotype and hold a bias against Christians working in scientific fields.



Legislation in North Dakota aimed at prohibiting schools from providing separate accommodations for trans-identified students is raising eyebrows over a subsection of the bill that suggests the same limits for students who identify as any species other than human."

Candace Cameron Bure and podcaster Tara-Leigh Cobble recently discussed the imperative of reading God's Word instead of believing oft-repeated bumper sticker platitudes shared on social media that mangle the meaning of Bible verses.
Can America survive the radical leftward shift of the culture?

In the wake of the Supreme Courts decision in Obergefell, I attended a very cordial and well-done debate on the subject of same-sex marriage. The debaters were thoughtful and the audience respectful. The event as a whole represented our free, discursive society in its best light.

Nonetheless, I thought at the time that my side, those advocating for the natural law, werent so much defending their views as they were discussing the terms of surrender.

After the debate, I asked the panel whether they believed society could expand wide enough to tolerate both sets of views. All the panelists assured me that it could. But I was skeptical. I am even more skeptical now.

Although I didnt know the term then, I later realized that my question related to a concept called The Overton Window.

Coined in the mid-90s by Joseph Overton, the Overton Window is the range of ideas and values which are deemed acceptable by the general population. Ideas too far outside the window are considered radical, or even unthinkable.

The window can expand, contract, and move. However, its two most important aspects are these: 1. it is finite; and 2. ideas which are too far outside simply cannot be tolerated.

The Overton Window was primarily developed as a tool for analyzing the relationship between politicians and society, as politicians are limited in their policy decisions by what society as a whole will accept. As society grows more fractured though, the Overton Window is making itself felt in our private lives as well. In fact, Cancel Culture is the natural result of a massive and sudden shift in the Overton window.

Conservatives typically argue that Cancel Culture is wrong. Full stop. But we fail to realize that Cancel Culture is the overgrown, misplaced version of a normal, or at least unavoidable, aspect of society: That in any society, there are some individuals on the fringes whose ideas prohibit full participation in that society.

As a clear-cut example, imagine encountering an individual who openly advocated for the reinstatement of slavery. You might grant that the First Amendment allows him to say what he likes, however vile it is. But you would not think it any great injustice if such a person had trouble getting into college, or finding a job, or making friends. The more charitable among us might try to dissuade him of his beliefs, but most people would probably just avoid him. Certainly no one would listen with an open mind as if he might actually have a point. Anyone who even considered that would be deemed suspect as well.

These reactions to radical beliefs are reasonable. If truly anything were tolerated, society could no longer function. That has always been true across every human civilization. The idea that society can stretch infinitely in any direction is largely a cover-idea for people who want to alter it radically in their chosen direction.

In actuality, we have to realize there always have been and always will be ideas that are simply out of bounds. The only question is whose ideas they are.

In America, there used to be very few individuals who fell so far outside the bounds of the Overton Window that they wound up socially shunned. But woke ideology is expanding that number every day, both by narrowing the window and by pulling it further and further left, leaving what used to be centrist ideas far outside the right-most margin. This has been a massively destabilizing event as huge swathes of the population have been left outside the Overton Window.

This is dangerous for two reasons. First, truth is being marginalized in favor of radical lies, particularly in the realm of sex and human identity. Second, it is massively destabilizing for the country as a whole. There is the great risk of two completely separate Overton Windows developing with no overlap whatsoever. Once that happens, dialogue is truly impossible.

This is exactly what happened to the nation during the Civil War. Indeed, it took that war to forcibly establish the Overton Window I used above with the example of slavery. Sometimes the right, fed up with the left, almost seems to want the final splitting of the Overton Window. But that would be a truly disastrous event. Once the window is split, there is no clear, peaceful path to recovery. I do not think we are quite there yet, but we are dangerously close.

The conservative response to this has been to argue almost exclusively for the re-expansion of the window to include our ideas again. That is what the panelists at the debate put all their hope in. Its a good argument as far as it goes. The Overton Window could surely be larger than the left will allow. But even as we push for the expansion of the Overton Window we have to remember that the fight for its edges is a zero-sum game  and right now were losing.

The radical left is arguing that traditional, biblical, and common sense ideas, held by billions for all of human history, no longer have a place in our society. We need to demonstrate that they are the ones without a place. We dont need to resort to their tactics of ruining private lives over stupid tweets, but we do need to abandon the pretext that ideas and practices like reintroducing segregation, mutilating adolescents, and butchering infants are acceptable in a just society.

Indeed, we should do whatever we can to remove those who hold those ideas from positions of influence both in and out of government.

At one time not very long ago, the vast majority of Americans agreed on basic truths like the value of life, desegregation, the biological reality of two binary sexes, and the foundational right of parents to make decisions concerning the education, medical care, and overall well-being of their children.

We ought to work towards a day when the vast majority will agree on them again.

Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
How Gods grace conquers sexual immorality

Fornication and adultery occur when people give into temptation, whereas followers of Christ are called to flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18). Scripture declares: Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure (Hebrews 13:8). Sexual purity requires daily vigilance.

No one is immune from temptation. For example, King David became consumed with lust when from the roof of his palace he saw a beautiful woman bathing. He proceeded to commit adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-5).

Thomas Fuller was a 17th-century British scholar and preacher who said, Our eyes, when gazing on sinful objects, are out of their calling, and out of Gods keeping.

The Pandoras box of sexual lust includes both heterosexual and homosexual proclivities. A recent Gallup poll reveals that 7.1% of U.S. adults now identify as something other than heterosexual, which is double the percentage from 2012.

More than 1 in 5 Generation Z adults now identify as LGBTQ, and more than half of LGBTQ Americans (57%) identify as bisexual. Between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of 15-17-year-olds who said they identified as non-heterosexual rose from 8.3% to 11.7%.

Dr. Andrew Adesman is chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Childrens Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Adesman is uncertain if the rapid rise represents a true increase, or instead, reflects greater comfort by teens to acknowledge a non-heterosexual identity on an anonymous questionnaire. After all, the intense fear of being labeled a bigot is widespread among young people today.

One thing is certain: sexual lust tends to become all-consuming when acted upon. Scripture describes those who get swept away by the strong current of sexual sin. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more (Ephesians 4:19).

Sexual sin devastates bodies and souls. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body (1 Cor. 6:18). And giving into temptation (heterosexual or homosexual) can easily produce a sexual addiction.

Safeguards must be put in place. David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

If only David had offered this prayer the moment he was tempted to lust after Bathsheba. Instead, David gave into his sinful passions and experienced the painful consequences of his wicked behavior, as well as the subsequent joy and relief of Gods grace.

When overwhelmed by the guilt of his sin, David prayed: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:7,10).

David was completely cleansed when he repented and asked God to forgive him. The Lord's grace and forgiveness are available to you as well. God is willing to search you, convict you of sin, forgive you, deliver you and lead you in the way everlasting.

The blood of Jesus washes away sins, and the Savior rescues people from the stranglehold of sin. The Holy Spirit works within every believer to help us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

Davids prayer in Psalm 139 is a wonderful model for us today. The simple request essentially says, Lord, change me wherever I need to be changed.

Changed Movement is a group of people who have announced: We left LGBTQ+ because we wanted to. Changed is possible! We are a community of friends who once identified as LGBTQ+. Today, we celebrate the love of Jesus and His freedom in our lives.

If you find yourself enslaved today to pornography, sexual lust, fornication, adultery, or homosexual behavior, dont give up. There is hope! God can set you free and give you new desires that are pleasing to your Creator.

God loves you unconditionally, regardless of your weaknesses and setbacks. And while none of us deserve Gods mercy, Christ endured the agony of the crucifixion in order to pay the penalty for our sins.

Jesus said, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Missionary Kris Lundgaard posed this profound question: Will you give your hours to fantasizing about and dwelling on and longing for the vile things that nailed the Lover of your soul to the cursed tree?

If you are losing the battle with sexual lust, the grace of God can move you in a new and godly direction. Jesus told a woman caught in adultery that he did not condemn her, and then he said: Go now and leave your life of sin (John 8:11).

The Puritan preacher Thomas Brooks said, Saving grace makes a man as willing to leave his lusts as a slave is willing to leave his galley, or a prisoner his dungeon, or a thief his bolts, or a beggar his rags.

Scripture reveals that the grace of God teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives (Titus 2:12).

When your heart is filled with Gods love and you are guarding your eyes and your mind, sexual lust loses its power over you. C.S. Lewis said, Love is the great conqueror of lust.

Davids prayer in Psalm 139 offers a clear path forward as you "find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:10). David's plea to the Lord was heartfelt: See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:24).

You will only experience the freedom, joy, and power of a clean heart when you actually receive a clean heart by getting real with God and trusting Jesus to forgive your sins. You see, Gods grace makes all things new (2 Cor. 5:17).
Amid spread of ISIS, US warns of potential attacks on churches, soft targets in Tanzania

Amid the spread of the Islamic State in southern an eastern Africa, the U.S. government has warned about the potential for terror attacks in Tanzania, an East African country largely seen as being among the region's most peaceful.

An advisory issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania last week warns of the increasing potential for terrorists.to target places like hotels, embassies, restaurants, malls and places of worship, specifically naming the coastal town of Dar es Salaam.

"Locations frequented by U.S. citizens and other Westerners in Dar es Salaam and elsewhere in Tanzania continue to be attractive targets to terrorists planning to conduct attacks," reads the advisory.

Tanzania has been infiltrated by the Islamic State jihadists due to its proximity to the Muslim-dominated province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, according to the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern.

"Terrorist groups could attack with little or no warning, targeting hotels, embassies, restaurants, malls and markets, police stations, places of worship, and other places frequented by Westerners," the embassy stressed.

ICC reports that a church leader in Tanzania has asked believers to be alert and prayerful.

"The Lord has been good to Tanzania over the years, and we are thankful for that. We have had times of tears due to terrorism, but we are not like other East African neighbors," the unnamed church leader was quoted as saying. "Lately, we have seen how our young men and women have joined terrorist groups within the region, and so we should remain vigilant and prayerful and ask God to protect us from these enemies."

An advisory on Tanzania issued by the United Kingdom government also says terrorists are "very likely" to attempt attacks in Tanzania.

"They could be indiscriminate and occur without warning," the U.K. advisory states. "Places frequented by westerners, including places of worship, transport hubs, embassies, hotels, restaurants and bars, and major gatherings like sporting or religious events may be targets."

Tanzania has not experienced a major terrorist attack since the bombing of the U.S. embassy in 1998, but there have been several smaller-scale incidents.

In neighboring northern Mozambique, thousands have been killed and nearly 1 million displaced by violence committed by Islamic extremist groups since an insurgency began in 2017.

During that time, radicals attacked several villages and took control of a province rich with gas, rubies, graphite, gold and other natural resources.

In this mostly-Muslim region of Mozambique in the otherwise Christian-majority country, Islamic extremists kidnap women and keep them as sex slaves and force boys to become child soldiers, according to The Washington Post.

Last year, militant groups affiliated with the Islamic State killed at least 29 Christians and displaced hundreds of residents in northern Mozambique in September and October.

A report published by the Pennsylvania-based Barnabas Aid stated that at least 21 Christians were killed by Islamist extremists in October in Cabo Delgado province. In September, Barnabas Aid released another report stating that militants from the same terror group had killed at least eight Christians and set fire to two churches and 120 houses in Cabo Delgado and neighboring Nampula province.

The U.S. labeled Islamic State-Mozambique as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorists." Known as Ansar al-Sunna, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in early April 2018.

"Since October 2017, ISIS-Mozambique, led by Abu Yasir Hassan, has killed more than 1,300 civilians, and it is estimated that more than 2,300 civilians, security force members, and suspected ISIS-Mozambique militants have been killed since the terrorist group began its violent extremist insurgency," the State Department stated in a March 2021 report.

"The group was responsible for orchestrating a series of large scale and sophisticated attacks resulting in the capture of the strategic port of Mocimboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado Province."

In its 2020 country report on Tanzania, the State Department stated that Islamic State Mozambique launched two attacks inside Tanzania in 2020.

"Renewed assurances of Tanzania-Mozambique cross-border security cooperation have yet to materialize; however, bilateral cooperation will be important to securing Tanzanian citizens and territory," the report reads.

On Oct. 14, 2020, an estimated 300 Islamic State fighters attacked the Kitaya village on the border with Mozambique, killing 20. The militants looted and burned homes, shops, vehicles and an office building.

Two weeks later, the Islamic State-affiliated militants attacked Michenjele village, 25 miles from Kitaya, killing five and kidnapping others as they looted and burned homes and other buildings.
London School of Economics strips Christian words Lent, Easter from term calendar

The London School of Economics said it is doing away with Christian words for its semester names to provide a more international atmosphere.

Starting next year, the Michaelmas term will be renamed as autumn term, the Christmas break as winter break, Lent term as winter term, and Easter break as spring break. Michaelmas marks the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, one of the most important saints in the Catholic and Anglican Churches, and is celebrated on Sept. 29, The Telegraph reported.

The university added: These new names use more accessible and widely-recognized terminology, and better reflect the international nature of our community and our broader global engagement.

Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said the university's decision to strip Christian words from semester names reflects the fact that the LSE, like most British universities, is in thrall to a new religious cult  the church of woke  that is far more dogmatic than Christianity, LBC reported.

LSE's move is seen as the latest attack on Christians at Britains top campuses and as pandering to secularists who want to strip the country of its last remnants of Christian identity.

Anglican Deacon Calvin Robinson responded to the universitys announcement by calling it whitewashing Christ from the calendar.

LSE is whitewashing Christ from the calendar. Sam Smith is trending for normalizing debauchery and degeneracy, he wrote on Twitter. Police officers are prancing around with rainbow flags and glitter again. We truly live in a post-Christian Britain and it is ugly.

Simon Calvert, deputy director at The Christian Institute, told The Telegraph: We have been warning for years that Christians are being pushed from the public square, yet the problem is getting worse.

Christians and those with traditional views often find themselves silenced or bullied. Its particularly ironic when this happens at institutions that were originally founded on Christian principles and with endowments from Christian benefactors.

So, this ludicrous decision by the LSE to rebrand traditional academic terms, by scrapping references to the calendar of the established Church, is more virtue-signaling nonsense that creates exclusion in the name of inclusivity."

This move follows the University of Brightons advice to staff not to say Christmas, but instead refer to it as the winter closure period, as the festive title is too Christian-centric.

Further, Worcester College at Oxford University issued an apology to students in 2021 after hosting a training session by the group Christian Concern and canceled a subsequent reservation due to complaints from a few students.

Last September, Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University canceled an event for young Christian professionals, saying that the values of the organizers, who do not support same-sex marriage, were not compatible with the values of the college.

Christians now account for less than half of the population of England and Wales (46.2%) for the first time in census history, the British newspaper noted, adding that its decreased by 13.1% within a decade.

Last week, the Church of Englands Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, responded to a question by BBC Radio Fours William Crawley about whether homosexuality and same-sex marriage are sinful by saying the CofEs new stance on the issue is that its OK, as long as couples are in committed, stable, faithful relationships, adding that same-sex married couples will be welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms.

This came on the heels of the denominations recent decision not to officiate same-sex marriages but to offer blessings for same-sex couples in civil partnerships within its churches.
Pastor, 3 other Christians killed by Islamic extremists in pre-dawn attack in Sudan

NAIROBI, Kenya  A church pastor and three other Christians were killed in Sudan on Monday when suspected Islamic extremists shot them to death, an area source said.

Four of the victims traveling companions were wounded when the assailants opened fire on the team at the facility where they were spending the night in Kadugli, the capital of Sudans South Kordofan state.

Sudanese-American Pastor Ibrahim Kandr, Ismail Osman, Bashir Almaak and Ayoub Ibrahim were spending the night in Kadugli en route to their home area of Um Durein when the assailants shot them between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., an area church leader said.

Islamic extremists who have been terrorizing people in the area since 2011 monitor movements in and out of town and likely saw the ministry team arrive for the night, said the church leader, whose name was withheld for security reasons.

Wounded in the attack were Imtiyas Marhy Jabdool, 29; Fadul Musa Al Haraba, 23; Zakaria Butros Al Haraba, 34; and Mujahid Hassan 19, the source said.

Sudanese Christians expressed their shock and sympathy for the victims families on social media.

My condolences to the family of the servant of God Ibrahim and the rest of the victims, wrote one Christian who identified himself only as Komi.

The bodies of the four slain Christians were transported to Khartoum for burial.

In southwestern Sudans South Darfur Province, two Christians were arrested on Jan. 8 in Nyala town by masked men believed to be national security personnel, local sources said. They were released without charges the same day.

The two converts, whose names are withheld for security reasons, were arrested by men in a government vehicle at 7 a.m. from an area home, said a source. Muslim sheikhs (teachers) had accused them of evangelizing Muslims and had warned them to stop doing so.

Following two years of advances in religious freedom in Sudan after the end of the Islamist dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir in 2019, the specter of state-sponsored persecution returned with the military coup of Oct. 25, 2021.

The Christian population of Sudan is estimated at 2 million, or 4.5 percent of the total population of more than 43 million.

After Bashir was ousted from 30 years of power in April 2019, the transitional civilian-military government had managed to undo some Sharia (Islamic law) provisions. It outlawed the labeling of any religious group as infidels, and thus effectively rescinded apostasy laws that made leaving Islam punishable by death.

With the Oct. 25, 2021, coup, Christians in Sudan fear the return of the most repressive and harsh aspects of Islamic law. Abdalla Hamdok, who had led a transitional government as prime minister starting in September 2019, was detained under house arrest for nearly a month before he was released and reinstated in a tenuous power-sharing agreement in November 2021.

Hamdock had been faced with rooting out longstanding corruption and an Islamist deep state from Bashirs regime  the same deep state that is suspected of rooting out the transitional government in the Oct. 25, 2021 coup.

Persecution of Christians by non-state actors continued before and after the coup.

In Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Sudan was ranked No. 10, up from No. 13 the previous year, as attacks by non-state actors continued and religious freedom reforms at the national level were not enacted locally.

Sudan had dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in six years when it first ranked No. 13 in the 2021 World Watch List. The U.S. State Departments International Religious Freedom Report states that conditions have improved somewhat with the decriminalization of apostasy and a halt to demolition of churches, but that conservative Islam still dominates society; Christians face discrimination, including problems in obtaining licenses for constructing church buildings.

The U.S. State Department in 2019 removed Sudan from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom and upgraded it to a watch list. The State Department removed Sudan from the Special Watch List in December 2020.

Sudan had previously been designated as a CPC from 1999 to 2018.
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Weeks after Elon Musks decision to reinstate Donald Trump on Twitter, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) announced it will allow Trump back on its platforms too.

The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying  the good, the bad and the ugly  so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box, wrote Nick Clegg, Metas president of global affairs and the U.K.s former deputy prime minister, in a blog post announcing the decision.

With due respect to Nick Clegg, this is rubbish. Trump is far worse than an ugly politician. Hes a dangerous traitor to American democracy.

You know this, of course. You and I have lived it. We were there when Trump refused to concede the 2020 presidential election, based on no evidence. We saw how he used Facebook and Twitter to mount an attempted coup, which included an attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five dead.

Weve watched him continue to push his big lie. Weve witnessed the ongoing violence his big lie provokes, even without the giant megaphones of Twitter and Facebook.

Facebook says it has a policy of not fact-checking political candidates. This means it will make no effort to correct Trumps future lies on its platform, because Trump has declared himself a candidate for president in 2024.

So, the most dangerous traitor in recent American history gets back his giant megaphones because a corporate behemoth decides its time to have him back?

This doesnt seem right to me.

America is still struggling with the damage Trump did to our democracy. We must not normalize it by calling it free speech or characterizing additional access to him as hearing what our politicians are saying.

The deeper question is how the issue of whether Trump should get back his giant megaphones  a question with such important consequences for our democracy  should be decided.

Metas and Twitters size and reach make them major players in our system of self-government. Trumps Truth Social reaches only 4.8 million followers. Thats peanuts compared to his 34 million followers on Facebook when the attack on the Capitol occurred, his 23 million on Instagram, and his 88.9 million on Twitter.

These platforms had significant political power by the time Trump attempted his coup  power they are now exercising in allowing him back. But how can such private power be reconciled with their lack of public accountability?

It cannot. Even though Meta has made a former deputy prime minister its president of global affairs and calls its decisions policies (such as Facebooks policy of not fact-checking political candidates), it is not publicly accountable. Its policies are not public policies. They dont emerge from our democratic process. They are private, arbitrary, corporate.

America has been shut out of the decisions to give back to Trump the loudest megaphones in the land and to let him spout his lies unchecked  although we witnessed the public havoc he created just over two years ago when he used these same megaphones, unchecked.

Call me old-fashioned, but I dont believe our democracy should depend on the decisions of capricious billionaires or a former U.K. official to allow a traitorous demagogue back on their giant platforms. And I dont see why Twitter and Facebook should be allowed to exercise such extraordinary power over our democracy.

Whats the alternative?

Antitrust laws were enacted more than a century ago to protect our democracy from being undermined by giant corporations. Yet this is what Twitter and Meta are now doing. In my view, we should reduce the size and reach of these huge corporate megaphones by using antitrust laws to break them up.

What do you think?

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It. Read more from Robert Reich at https://robertreich.substack.com/
Penn State Wilkes-Barre hosted a blood drive on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, at Hayfield House to benefit those impacted by childhood cancer. The American Red Cross will donate $4 for every participating donor to the Four Diamonds Fund  THON.

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La Sireti s-a desfasurat o sedinta de Consultari publice privind procedura de expropriere temporara pentru terenurile afectate in timpul constructiei magistralei de apa Chisinau-Straseni-Calarasi
The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into a charity after a US cryptocurrency exchange that funded the organisation went bankrupt.

Effective Ventures Foundation UK reported FTXs bankruptcy as a serious incident, and the regulator states there is no indication of wrongdoing by the trustees at this time.

However, the Commission is concerned about potential risks to the charitys assets, and the inquiry was opened on 19 December 2022.

It will aim to establish facts and help ensure the trustees protect the charitys assets and are running the charity in line with their duties and responsibilities.

The regulator said trustees had been cooperating fully and Howie Lempel, interim chief executive of Effective Ventures Foundation UK, said he understood the Commissions desire to exercise extra scrutiny, especially given the scale and profile of the FTX situation.

He said we will be cooperating fully adding the trustees have assessed the financial situation and the charity is not reliant on the FTX-related funds for its future operations.

Lempel added: We have kept the Commission informed of our actions throughout the process and note that the Commission has confirmed that we complied with our duties in making a serious incident report.

We are pleased that the Commission has found our interactions thus far to be fully cooperative and we plan for that to continue.

According to the regulators data for the financial year ending 30 June 2021, Effective Ventures Foundations total income was 18.7m.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
ITV / I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here

Former health secretary and Conservative MP Matt Hancock has donated 10,000 of his television fee for appearing on Im a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here! to two charities.

The British Dyslexia Association and St Nicholas Hospice Care received a share of the funds, but could not confirm how much each.

According to Matt Hancocks register of interests, he received 320,000 for appearing on the reality TV programme for 720 hours  a total of 30 days.

In an interview on Good Morning Britain today , Hancock was asked why he had given a tiny fraction of his fee to good causes.

During the interview, Hancock said the 10,000 was a decent sum and called his chosen charities brilliant.

British Dyslexia Association: Large or small donations welcome

A spokesperson from British Dyslexia Association told Civil Society News that it was grateful for all donations made to its charity, large or small.

It costs about 90,000 per year to keep our free helpline open through which we support approximately 5,000 members of the general public with our expert information, support and advice each year. There is still a great deal to do to create a dyslexia-friendly society which is inclusive. We continue to raise funds so that everyone with dyslexia can reach their full potential in education, in work and in life.

According to its latest accounts, the charity total income for financial year ending 2022 was 2.2m with a total expenditure of 2.1m.

St Nicholas Hospice Care: Grateful for his generosity

A statement on the charitys website thanked Hancock for his support and donation.

We can confirm Matt Hancock MP has donated to St Nicholas Hospice Care. We are grateful for his generosity, and his gift will be used to help fund the care and support we provide.

Without our communitys kindness and generous support, we would struggle to keep our services going. Every gift we receive is a vital contribution, especially during these challenging times.

The Suffolk charitys latest filed accounts for 2022 show a total income of 6.9m and total expenditure of 6.3m.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
A few weeks ago, journalists from India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Malaysia gathered in Kuala Lumpur for an event put on by the World Health Organization. They were there to receive training to better cover a global public-health crisis that often flies under the radar of the worlds media: road deaths.

Among other pointers, the journalists were advised not to rely solely on police reports, which often seek to apportion individual blame for a given crash, and to interrogate the role of other factors, from the safety of the vehicle involved to the design of the road on which the crash took place. With major crashes in the past, our story will only be about that accident; we rarely talked about any policies, or subjects such as faulty roads, Gunjan Sharma, a reporter at Indias biggest news agency, who attended the training, told me. When I met other journalists there from different countries, I realized the issue is the same everywhere: that a subject like road safety is kind of neglected.

Related: When covering car crashes, be careful not to blame the victim

This WHO training was the first to come to my attention but not the first overall: theyve been taking place for a decade or so, in conjunction with journalism trainers and, sometimes, outside groups including the International Center for Journalists and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. They run alongside a global action plan on road safety, led by the WHO and the United Nations, that rests on what is known as the Safe System approachthe idea, broadly speaking, that humans will always make mistakes, and that roads and vehicles should be designed with this in mind. The global action plan explicitly names training journalists as one way of strengthening advocacy and policy support toward the creation of safer roads. Matts-Ake Belin, who oversees the implementation of the global plan, told me recently that the worlds media have an extremely important role to play in helping shift societies from a traditional paradigm, one that places the individual responsibility of road users at its core, in the direction of a new one.

The WHOs trainings have focused on journalists from low- and middle-income countriesin Asia, but also in Africa and Latin Americabecause they collectively account for more than 90 percent of road deaths globally, despite only having 60 percent of the worlds vehicles, according to WHO data. But road safety is a crisis in the US, too, especially compared with other rich countries: US road deaths have climbed in recent years, including during the pandemic, even as road use declined. Pedestrians and cyclists have been particularly hard hit. In late November, the New York Times reported that fewer foreign-service officers in the US State Department died overseas last year than were killed by vehicles while walking or biking in DC.

And, as Meg Dalton reported for CJR in 2018, American journalism on road deathsthe preserve of local TV stations and under-resourced community papers as much as major national outletshas often fallen into the sorts of traps that the WHO has identified elsewhere in the world, from an overreliance on police reports to an excessive focus on individual incidents over, say, trends in infrastructure and vehicle design, not least that of big cars and trucks. (One historical reason for this, Dalton reported: aggressive lobbying on the part of the auto industry.) Angie Schmitt, the author of Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America, thinks that US media coverage of road safety has generally improved since she spoke with Dalton five years ago, but that much of it is still bad. Not just the press, but the broader culture, rationalizes deaths by concluding that the victim of a crash did something wrong, Schmitt says. Its really much more complex than that.

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Since the introduction of the car in our societies, Belin told me, a recurring mantra has been that around 90 percent of crashes are caused by human error. Sure enough, a similar statistic has often been bandied around in the US, not just in the media but also among officials. A year ago this week, the federal Department of Transportation radically shifted its approach to road safety, at least rhetorically, inaugurating its own new national strategy premised on the same Safe System thinking embraced by the WHO. The strategy outlined five principal objectives, from promoting safer speeds through better road design to improving post-crash care, and how they complement two other Biden administration priorities: to fight climate change and ensure racial equity, given that Black and Indigenous Americans die on roads at disproportionate rates. The new strategy, we learned, would be supported by funds from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that had recently passed through Congress. Its as if we were living through a war, Pete Buttigieg, Bidens transportation secretary, said of road death rates in the US. We cannot accept that these fatalities are somehow an inevitable part of life in America.

What the strategy did not mention, unlike the WHOs global action plan, was any role for the press in changing American attitudes about what causes crashes. (I asked the Department of Transportation for clarifications on this, but did not hear back.) The new strategy is not the first or final word on road safety thinking in the US, not least because state and local governments have their own powers in this area. Still, the absence of a WHO-like media component to the strategy strikes me as indicative of a broader attitude toward the relationship between the press and power in America: that it should be one of church and state. Officials, it seems to me, rarely seem to see journalists as partners in making better policy. And many journalists have traditionally balked at anything that might smack of complicity with the state.

When I put this theory to David Zipper, a visiting fellow at Harvards Kennedy School and influential writer on road safety, he wasnt quite sold; journalism isnt inherently baked into the Safe System approach that formed the basis for the new federal strategy, he told me, even if one could argue that it should be. Government-led, WHO-style trainings for journalists would be controversial in US road safety circles, Zipper said, in no small part because of a divide between an old guard that still focuses on the individual responsibility of road users and an increasingly loud reformist voice that advocates the Safe System approach and would likely embrace the idea of such trainings. This divide, I noted to Zipper, sounds remarkably similar to one that would likely form around such an idea within the US journalism community. If the government were to sponsor journalism education programs along these lines, I almost think you could count the minutes until somebody calls it Orwellian, Zipper said.

The federal government, of course, is not the only actor that could train journalists in this area: any number of US-based nonprofits, including those that have worked with the WHO to train overseas journalists, could do so, while other groups already offer some road safety resources for reporters. But nor, it seems to me, should the very idea of government-sponsored training be tabooparticularly where its aim is to help journalists dig deeper, not to tell them what to report. Indian road safety officials sometimes do the latter, Sharma told me, but the WHO training she attended was completely different; its aim, instead, was to endow a small number of journalists with policy expertise that they could then pass on to colleagues in their home countries. Journalists cant make policy, but they play a crucial role in changing public perception and attitudes, convening debates that can end in policy changes. At the very least, journalists can raise awareness. We just hit a sixteen-year high in road deaths, Zipper told me, of the US. And Americans dont really notice it. They dont really know about it.

Before becoming involved with the WHOs global action plan, Belin was an official in Sweden, the country that, in the nineties, was ground zero for Vision Zero, the notion that road deaths are not an unfortunate price that we pay for greater mobility but a social ill that mustand realistically canbe eradicated. The idea has since gained international traction, including in the US, and is closely associated with the Safe System approach. When Vision Zero took off, the Swedish media went from blaming the victim to starting to discuss who can prevent this from happening, Belin said, with reporters pressuring resistant officials, for example, on the implementation of safety barriers on high-speed rural highways known colloquially as death roads. The barriers have since proved highly effective, Belin says. Road reform doesnt happen without a very open discussion in the society, he added. My experience in the implementation of Vision Zero is that the whole public discussion is good from a safety point of view.



Other notable stories:

New from CJR: The press versus the president

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  The Philippines is set to secure a $600-million fresh loan from the World Bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, the lender said proceeds are eyed to bolster the country's economic rebound from the pandemic.

The multimillion-dollar financing would cover three policy reform areas: strengthening the financial sector, expanding financial inclusion, and improving disaster risk finance.

"Policy actions that strengthen the stability of the financial sector  including banks and insurance companies  will help Filipino families, businesses, and investors withstand financial shocks and enhance their resilience by ensuring that problems in these financial institutions are detected at an early stage without severe disruptions to the economy," said Ndiame Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Financial inclusion in the Philippines remains low, with only 51% of Filipinos aged 15 and above having a transaction account with a financial institution, the World Bank said.

Diop said improving this segment could accelerate poverty reduction while pushing the local economy out of the global health crisis' economic slowdown.

"Filipinos who have accounts with financial institutions like banks will have opportunities to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance, to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health of their children, manage risks, and weather financial shocks, which can improve the overall quality of their lives," the official said.

To improve access to finance, the loan program would support reforms promoting innovative financial services by harnessing digital technologies and building consumer trust and credit information infrastructure.

The loan also aims to cover the development of the catastrophe insurance market, with offerings designed to protect households, assets, and businesses against natural disasters like floods and earthquakes.

To boost financial sector resilience to climate-related shocks, the program would also support integrating climate and environmental risks in financial institutions' risk management frameworks and mobilizing private sector financing for green investments.
(CNN)  Phoebe Dynevor has confirmed that Daphne Bridgerton will not appear in Season 3 of Netflix's "Bridgerton."

"I'm just excited to watch as a viewer," Dynevor told Screen Rant on Saturday, after confirming her character was "sadly not in season 3."

The door isn't completely shut, though, with Dynevor also revealing that viewers may see Daphne again "in the future."

CNN has reached out to Dynevor's representatives and Netflix for further comment.

The saucy Shonda Rhimes-produced series debuted in 2020 and is based on Julia Quinn's widely popular Regency-era book series.

"Working with someone like Shonda, who's sort of pushing boundaries and doing exciting things, I just felt very safe and comfortable knowing that it was under her scope," Dynevor told Harper's Bazaar in 2021.

Dynevor starred in the first season of "Bridgerton" alongside Rege-Jean Page, who played the swoon-worthy Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset.

Season 1 followed Daphne and Simon's romance, and while Page did not return for the second season, Dynevor appeared in a smaller role in that season as the story centered around Daphne's brother Anthony Bridgerton's (Jonathan Bailey) own search for love.

Season 3 will focus on breakout star Nicola Coughlan's role as Penelope Featherington and her romance with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).

A premiere date for Season 3 of "Bridgerton" has yet to be officially confirmed.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Phoebe Dynevor reveals she will not be in Season 3 of Bridgerton'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, Jan. 30)  This week, shop for furniture, book a dream travel destination for less, pay a visit to a newly-opened BGC museum, and try some new chocolate-flavored brand collaborations.

Stop by a furniture stores pre-opening party

Launched in 2020, Studio Yakal is a furniture store thats known for offering a wide selection of vintage pieces. This Feb. 4 to 5, theyre pre-opening their showroom in Legazpi St., Makati for guests to view some of their inventory (some old, some new, all interesting!"), and sip some drinks from Kapitolyo cafe 1C Coffee. Follow them at @studioyakal for updates.  CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF

Book your dream trip at an annual travel expo

Revenge travel is up and swinging, and airlines, travel agencies, and tourism offices are stepping up to cater to travelers needs. From Feb. 3 to 5, you can get more discounts and deals on flights, tour packages, and other travel-related activities at the 30th PTAA TravelTour Expo happening at the SMX Convention Center Manila. The annual expo is known for offering travelers the best deals to visit their dream destinations, both locally and internationally. Perhaps now is the time to take that barkada trip out of the group chat. For more information, visit their Facebook page.  CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF

Merry Moo's Milk Chocolate with Nibs is a collaboration with Auro Chocolate. Photo by MARGA BUENAVENTURA

Try Merry Moo Ice Creams new collab with Auro Chocolate

A match made in dessert heaven  local ice cream maker Merry Moo has collaborated with tree-to-bar brand Auro Chocolate to create two new flavors. Starting Jan. 30, you can get a pint of the new Auro Chocolate Nibs ice cream. Merry Moo churned in some of Auros best selling 64% dark chocolate with nibs and 42% milk chocolate with nibs into two chocolate-creamy varieties. My personal pick is the Milk Chocolate with Nibs flavor; just the right amount of sweetness, with crisp cacao nibs adding crunch to every spoonful.  MARGA BUENAVENTURA

Merry Moo is available in SM Megamall, SM Aura, and SM Mall of Asia. Order online at merrymooicecream.com. Follow them on Instagram for more info on their newest flavors.

Pay a visit to the relocated Metropolitan Museum of Manila

While looking for new art spots to check out last week, a friends Instagram story pointed me to the Phantasmapolis x Manila exhibit at the newly opened Metropolitan Museum of Manila (known now as The M). The museum relocated from its original spot at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas complex along Roxas Boulevard in mid-2022 and is still in the process of renovation so only two sections are available for public viewing. Phantasmapolis x Manila is their first exhibit, held at the 3rd floor with select works from the 2021 Asian Art Biennial by Filipino contemporary artists like Mark Salvatus, Catalina Africa, and Alvin Zafra, whose works were displayed alongside artists from other regions of Asia. For more information on visiting guidelines, visit their Facebook page.  GABY GLORIA

Try the new KitKat x Krispy Kreme doughnut flavors

With Valentines Day a few weeks away, its fitting that OG doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme decided to partner up with chocolate breaktime partner KitKat for three limited edition flavors. Surprise your loved ones with the sweetest package  a box of Milk Choco Crisp, hand-dipped in KitKat chocolate spread, the Choco Swirl Cake, a cake doughnut dipped in white chocolate and drizzled with a milk chocolate swirl and topped with a KitKat, and White Chocolate Kreme Filled, a classic kreme-filled confection stuffed with a KitKat, dipped in white chocolate, and topped with dark chocolate and caramel.  CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  The Philippine governments Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has designated as terrorist a community doctor who helped Lumad and poor communities in Mindanao.

According to the ATCs new resolution released on Monday, Dr. Maria Natividad Marian "Naty" Silva Castro was designated as terrorist due to probable cause that she was allegedly involved in planning and facilitating the commission of terrorism and recruitment and in providing material support to terrorist groups.

Verified information, sworn statements, and other evidence gathered by Philippine law enforcement and security agencies, affirmed that Maria Natividad Marian Silva Castro a.k.a. Doc Naty or Ka Naty, among her CPP aliases, violated Sections 6, 10 and 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (of 2000), it added.

Castro may file a request for delisting from the terrorist list before the ATC within 15 days from the resolutions publication.

The doctor was arrested in February last year for kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges. She was released after the court junked the cases a month later.

Health groups and human rights organizations denounced Castros arrest.

Reports said Castro helped establish health centers in Mindanao.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  The Philippine government is working to bring home the Filipino tourist who is currently detained in Myawaddy, Myanmar.

Im pretty sure the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) is doing everything it can to bring her home, Department of Migrant Workers Sec. Toots Ople told CNN Philippines The Source on Tuesday.

She noted this will not be easy since Myawaddy, which is a town in southeastern Myanmar close to the border with Thailand, is a remote area.

The DFA said in a statement on Monday it is working on the repatriation of Samson, along with the Filipinos who were rescued by Myanmar authorities from their worksites in the town.

Among the Filipinos whose repatriation we are working on is Ms. Kiela Samson, whose family members are now directly in touch with our Embassy in Yangon, the agency said.

CNN Philippines has asked DFA for more information about the case of Samson, but the department has yet to reply.

In an interview with ANCs Rundown, the Samson family rejected the possibility that Kiela was working in Myanmar. This was amid the issue on Filipinos getting lured to work there as crypto scammers.

Her mother Eunice said her daughter and a friend flew to Thailand on Dec. 7 to tour the country as a gift for herself.

Ang sabi nya po samin, naglilibot daw po sila ng Thailand that time tapos nakarating sila sa Mae Sot. May pinuntahan silang isang pasyalan, may nag-alok po sa kanila ng bangka. Na-intriga daw po sila kasi ang ganda daw po ng bangka, Kielas sister Elaine said.

[Translation: She told us they were touring Thailand that time until they reached Mae Sot. They went to a tourist spot there where someone offered a boat ride. They got interested because the boat was attractive.]

Ang sabi sa kanila, pagtawid daw po ng ilog may pasyalan daw po doon kaya pumunta po silang magkaibigan, she added.

[Translation: They were told after crossing the river, there is a tourist spot there so they went.]

Elaine said both her sister and her friend were arrested and detained in a police station. Based on their communication with Kiela, there are also other Filipinos detained there who were abused.

Kiela told her family not to send messages too often so as not to get caught.

Their last video call with Kiela was on Jan. 19, when the she told her family that they will be released the next day which did not happen.

The Samson family reached out to the DFA for assistance.

Meanwhile, Ople reiterated the departments reminder to Filipinos who are interested in working abroad to refrain from engaging with recruiters on social media.

Recruiters who promise Filipinos jobs abroad, if they pretend to be tourists and evade our controls, are just leading our kababayans (fellow citizens) to dangerous situations where it may be very difficult to secure their safety and assist them in returning home, the DFA also said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  Japanese nationals suspected to be behind a string of robberies in Japan may have run criminal enterprises while detained at the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters that this is very possible after BI authorities found that the suspects have been illegally keeping several phones inside the detention facility.

One of them even had six mobile phones, he said.

The DOJ chief has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the matter, but he added that they will also cooperate with the Japanese government if it launches its own investigation.

Both the BI and the NBI are agencies under the Justice department.

Remulla also gave assurance that BI officials found to be involved in the illegal use of communication equipment will be held liable.

This reeks of corruption and the people who are responsible for the behavior of all the people under detention will be dealt with severely once proven that they did not do their jobs in ensuring that the use of communication tools are only tolerated or only used for lawyers or family calls, he said.

Its a very serious breach of discipline within the ranks of the Bureau of Immigration, Remulla added.

The DOJ on Monday said there are 17 Japanese nationals detained at the BI.

It is not yet clear how many of them were discovered to have been keeping phones. Of the 17, however, the Japanese government wants four deported over robbery cases in Japan.

Among them is the presumed robbery mastermind who goes by the alias Luffy.

READ: PH to expedite deportation of alleged Japan robbery leader Luffy

The Japan Times earlier reported that the alleged leader, whom Japanese news media have identified as a certain Yuki Watanabe, had been sending instructions via smartphone from an immigration detention center in Manila.

The DOJ said it has yet to determine who Luffy is among those detained, but Remulla is certain he is one of the four being sought for deportation.

The Justice secretary also explained that the Japanese nationals cannot be extradited yet as they still have pending cases in the Philippines, most of which are for violence against women and children.

There is a rule that we cannot deport anybody with a pending criminal case in the Philippines, Remulla told the media. All of these cases have to be cleared prior to any deportation.

READ: Cases filed vs. Japanese robbery suspects maybe invented  DOJ chief

He said they hope to send two of the suspects back to Japan by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, they intend to finish the deportation of all four before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits Japan on the second week of February.

Were trying to settle the case, to finish these cases prior to the Presidents trip so these will not be the focus of media when he goes to Japan, because this will be a distraction, Remulla said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  One million doses of donated bivalent vaccines are expected to arrive in the country by the end of March, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday.

In a media forum, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the donation is part of the commitment of COVAX to give bivalent vaccines to the Philippines.

Last week, we finalized the commitment of COVAX to donate bivalent vaccines in the country. Kapag nag push through talaga [If this pushes through], hopefully, by the end of March, we expect the initial doses to arrive, Vergeire said.

Vergeire also said DOH is currently confirming the commitment of other countries in donating bivalent vaccines.

She added that one country has already confirmed its commitment and the delivery date is being finalized.

This country will also be the one providing us additional doses of bivalent vaccines [but] we cannot disclose [the name] yet hanggang sa hindi pa final yung negosasiyon at pag-uusap, Vergeire said.

Kasi baka magkaroon tayong issue in terms of the country donating. Kapag napirmahan na natin yung agreement, we will be informing everybody, she added.

[Translation: Because there might be an issue regarding the country donating. Once the agreement is signed, we will be informing everybody.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he visits Manila this week, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed on Tuesday.

READ: US defense chief to visit PH

"It is really more of getting to know each other. It is an ongoing relationship that we have with the United States. As President Marcos pointed out  it is evolving," the ambassador said in a press briefing.

Romualdez added that Austin has also requested a meeting with his Filipino counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr.

He said Austin's visit aims to reinforce key agreements between Manila and Washington  including the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA, and the Visiting Forces Agreement.

READ: EXPLAINER: The Visiting Forces Agreement

'Unwavering commitment'

Austin's trip comes amid ongoing tensions between the Philippines and China in the hotly-contested South China Sea  where the US has affirmed its "unwavering commitment" to support Manila in asserting its maritime rights.

"We must stand up for principles such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," US Vice President Kamala Harris said during her visit to Palawan in November last year.

"We must reiterate always that we stand with you in terms of defense of international rules and norms as it relates to the South China Sea, and an armed attack on the Philippine Armed Forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US defense commitments. And that is an unwavering commitment that we have to the Philippines," she added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday said it would look into all aspects of the countrys labor agreement with Kuwait following the gruesome death of a Filipino domestic worker in the Gulf state.

We will explore all possibilities. Right now, its difficult to just give everything away kasi negotiations nga yan [because these are negotiations], DMW Secretary Toots Ople told CNN Philippines The Source.

Despite calls from several lawmakers, the DMW said it is not considering a deployment ban to Kuwait after the killing of Jullebee Ranara, whose burnt body was found in a desert in Salmi, Al-Jarah Governorate.

What the department is eyeing are additional safeguards, Ople said on Jan. 24.

DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told CNN Philippines the agency will be reaching out to the Kuwaiti government to revise the labor agreement between the two countries.

Ople said some of the matters they will look into are the implementation of the labor agreement, complaints and reporting mechanisms, response time of authorities, tracking of welfare cases, and the possible whitelisting and blacklisting of recruitment agencies similar to what is being implemented in Saudi Arabia.

The DMW has imposed a preventive suspension against Ranaras employer as the department also looks into the shortcomings committed by local recruiter Catalyst International Manpower Services Co. and its foreign counterpart, Platinum International Office for Recruitment of Domestic Manpower, based in Kuwait.

Olalia said there was negligence on the part of the recruiters as they failed to continuously monitor and provide assistance to Ranara.

Ople said agencies did not have a monitoring report about Ranaras case despite the latter already raising issues of harassment and abuse to her family in the Philippines. She noted such negligence can be considered grounds for suspension, meaning they will be prohibited from recruiting.

Kuwaits foreign minister assured the Philippines that the case will be tried in a fair and transparent manner, Ople added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government is working on the assistance to be given to Ranaras family, which includes scholarships and housing, she said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tapped Valenzuela City Rep. Rex Gatchalian as the new secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

MMalacanang confirmed the appointment on Tuesday  the same day Gatchalian took his oath before the chief executive.

Before the oath-taking, Gatchalian said he received a call Tuesday morning directing him to visit Marcos to talk about the post.

"We had a long talk at napag-usapan namin 'yong vision naming dalawa na nagkakatugma naman [and we discussed our vision which actually matched]," he told CNN Philippines' News Night on Wednesday.

Gatchalian added that the president told him it was important to "immediately fill the position," and wanted him to "immediately assume and move" as DSWD secretary.

In a social media post, Gatchalian thanked Marcos for giving him the opportunity to "serve the country in a much larger capacity."

He also assured his constituents that the "services of our Congress and district offices" will continue, adding that a "caretaker" will be appointed by the House of Representatives in the next few days.

"Please don't worry. Business as usual," Gatchalian wrote on Twitter.

Prior to winning a seat in the current Congress, Gatchalian also served as mayor of Valenzuela City. His past programs on social protection and disaster response were highlighted by the Palace in its latest advisory.

He said his colleagues recommended that Malacanang include him in the list of candidates for the job.

Gatchalian will replace Erwin Tulfo, whose designation as DSWD chief was bypassed twice by the Commission on Appointments over libel and citizenship issues. The president then named Undersecretary Eduardo Punay as officer-in-charge of the agency.

READ: Marcos: Plans for Erwin Tulfo do not include being adviser

The DSWD, meanwhile, welcomed the appointment and vowed to work with its new leader.

"The community supports the president in appointing Secretary Gatchalian to lead the department in its pursuit of compassionate public service," it said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday bared that he and Housing Secretary Jose Acuzar are studying the creation of a subsidy fund for beneficiaries of the governments housing program.

He acknowledged that many housing beneficiaries are not able to pay their monthly amortization.

Siguro maglalagay tayo diyan, pag nakahanap tayo ng pera, mga 1 billion to start with para meron tayong subsidy na ibibigay para sa ating magiging tenant, Marcos said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the second Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) project in Quezon City.

[Translation: Perhaps well allocate an initial 1 billion so we can provide subsidies to our tenants.]

The Marcos administration earlier said it intends to build a million affordable residential units per year to address the countrys housing backlog, which is estimated at 6.5 million units.

RELATED: Govt plan to build 1M housing units a year too ambitious, impossible  Pimentel

During the groundbreaking event, the President also asked lawmakers to help ensure there is enough budget to realize this goal.

I now call on Congress for your support, including housing interest support as part of the regular appropriations for the succeeding years, he said.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who was present at the ceremony, said Congress will do everything to support our President in all of his programs.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 30)  Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said she is now ready to be appointed as the agencys chief after six months of working on the ground showed her opportunities to carry out reforms in the healthcare system.

Nung nakita ko yung oportunidad [When I saw the opportunity,] it convinced me to really take on the position because, as you all know, I have a lot of hesitancy because of my career executive position, the tenure of this position, Vergeire said Tuesday in a DOH media forum.

Pero sa tingin ko [But I think], with all these things happening, for us to really improve our healthcare system, this is the appropriate time to help the country, she added.

RELATED: Vergeire sees no difference between OIC duties, DOH chief role

However, Vergeire clarified that her appointment will go through a process in which she will have a discussion with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

If and when, that [appointment] would be his [Marcos] decision, pero hindi niya ako kailangan lapitan para i-appoint, Vergeire said. Ako po ang makikipag-usap sa kanya.

[Translation: If and when, that would be his decision but he need not be the one to approach me. I will be the one who will talk to him].

Vergeire was appointed as DOH officer-in-charge on July 14, 2022 as Marcos searched for a head for the department.
Shanghai museum opens exhibition on Jewish refugees during WWII

Xinhua) 10:06, January 31, 2023

SHANGHAI, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition opened at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum on Monday commemorating the Jewish refugees who came to China to evade the Nazis during World War II (WWII).

The exhibition, titled "After the Holocaust: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps," is co-hosted by the United Nations and the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.

It presents copies of archived materials, including both text and photographs, and reviews the situation of the Jewish refugees seeking refuge in Shanghai during WWII.

Tens of thousands of Jewish refugees came to Shanghai from Europe during WWII, mostly settling in an area in the northern part of the Suzhou River. They escaped Nazi atrocities and established deep friendships with the Chinese people.

According to Chen Jian, curator of the museum, the exhibition reveals that the yearning for peace is a common aspiration of humanity.

The exhibition will run until March 10.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31)  Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri is asking colleagues not to rush discussions on the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as the chamber gears up for its first hearing on the controversial bill.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, Zubiri said he has instructed Sen. Mark Villar  whose committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies will conduct the hearings  to "give time to all sectors" concerned.

"In other words, wag nyang madaliin ito (he should not rush this)," Zubiri stressed.

"Hindi 'to pang-one hearing lamang. Hindi 'to pang-two hearings or three hearings (This should not be done for only one, two, or three hearings). So I suggested to Sen. Mark that he should conduct weekly hearings all the way [until] the break," he added.

Zubiri said Villar can craft the committee report before they go on a break by the end of March, so that lawmakers can thoroughly study it.

"He could either sponsor it before the break, or he can sponsor it when we get back after the Holy Week break, and have a full debate on the issue," he noted.

The Senate will kick off its deliberations on the MIF on Wednesday following its swift passage at the House of Representatives in December.

The measure  backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  aims to accrue profits from government assets to further promote development, according to administration officials.

READ: Marcos: Maharlika fund being crafted to suit current PH

Meanwhile, the Senate president also gave updates regarding their recent meeting with economic managers.

"They assured us that the version passed in the House has the highest standards of accountability, fiscal responsibility, and good governance. Measures have been placed under that bill of the House to help safeguard the funds," Zubiri said.
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The proposal submitted by six of the seven states on the Colorado River could offer a path forward on saving hydropower at two dams and the West's $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry.

But without agreement from California  the largest water user on the Colorado  the proposal could fall flat.

Or wind up in court.

Most notable about what was suggested by Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada in the Jan. 31 letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is that the lower basin states  Arizona, Nevada and California  would take into account evaporation and other losses, part of what's known as system loss accounting.

Kalsoum Abbasi, water conveyance planning supervisor for Colorado Springs Utilities, called the proposal a good sign.

But, even if adopted, the measures may only be temporary ahead of major operational changes for the river that will take effect after 2026, Abbasi said.

These are stopgap measures to get us through, she said.

Without these steps, Mead and Powell could see water levels crash, she said.

Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River Conservancy District, went so far as to call the requirement that the lower basin states start system loss accounting "a watershed moment" for the Colorado River.

"Our state and the Colorado River District have been calling for the proper assessment of evaporation in the lower basin for decades," Mueller said Tuesday.

The upper basin states have been accounting for evaporation and other losses in their annual allocations since 1948, he said, while the lower basin states, until now, have resisted.

For a lot of different reasons, two of the lower basin states  Arizona and Nevada  have now aligned with the upper basin states on this issue, one that Mueller said could form a permanent solution for resolving the imbalance on the river.

Abbasi agreed that accounting for system losses, such as evaporation, in the lower basin states is a straightforward step to help Lake Meads levels, and that other water users, including Colorado Springs Utilities, have been accounting for system losses for years.

The upper basin states have never used their full allotment of the Colorado River. While collectively, the 1922 Colorado River compact and subsequent agreements dictated the upper basin states receive 7.5 million acre-feet per year, the four states have never used more than 4.6 million acre-feet. In 2021, the consumptive use in the upper basin states dropped to 3.5 million acre-feet, according to the Upper Colorado River Commission. In comparison, the compact says Colorado should receive 3.9 million acre-feet from the Colorado annually.

That's echoed by Becky Mitchell, Colorado's commissioner on the Upper Colorado River Commission, who said in a statement Tuesday that it remains critically important to Colorado that "any potential solutions recognize the hydrologic realities in the basin, including the fact that our water users routinely take deep and painful shortages due to lack of physical and legal availability of water."

"Because of that factor," she added, "the Upper Division States regularly use less than half of our Compact apportionment and significantly less than the Lower Division States, who have been able to rely on reservoir storage in times of low flows."

Upper Basin reservoirs , including Blue Mesa and Navajo in Colorado and Flaming Gorge in Utah, have been depleted from previous releases, Mitchell pointed out.

She said the upper basin states are, nonetheless, committed to being a part of the solution to "the extent we are able, and are committed to doing that through additional voluntary conservation efforts, taking into account hydrologic conditions."

She said the upper basin states also continue to diligently implement the Five-Point Plan released in July.

That plan, however, doesn't identify how much water could be conserved by the upper basin states. The Southern Nevada Water Authority suggested last month that the upper basin states should cut their allocations by 500,000 acre-feet per year.

Evaporative loss accounting the solution?

Evaporative loss is not a small matter. The Southern Nevada Water Authority recently estimated that evaporation and transportation and other system inefficiencies result in a loss of about 1.5 million acre-feet per year just in the lower basin states.

Mueller said that, if the Bureau of Reclamation, which could force the lower basin states to start accounting for evaporative loss, had done so 20 years ago, that would have left 25 million acre-feet of water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

"We'd have about 12.5 million acre-feet more in those two reservoirs, and the Colorado River would not be a front-page news story. It would not be in a state of crisis had the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Interior implemented this at the turn of the millennium," Mueller said.

Mueller said this accounting would be a huge piece of how to fix the river.

But the cost to California, which refused to be a signatory on the six-state proposal, could also be huge.

The allocation for California, the largest user of water from the river allocation, is about 4.1 million acre-feet per year. More than 3 million acre-feet of that water goes to the Imperial Valley Irrigation District, the nation's largest producer of winter vegetables. The Colorado River supplies 100% of the water used in the district, which also holds the most senior water rights.

Were the Bureau of Reclamation to account for system loss, evaporative loss could result in 708,000 less acre-feet of water for California, said Mueller, who added that the U.S. Department of Interior should impose those requirements and it has the legal authority to do .

But that almost certainly will provoke a lawsuit from California or at least from the Imperial Valle, he said.

"They have made it very clear they will sue the Bureau over this," Mueller said, adding that has so far stopped the Department of Interior from moving forward on a system accounting standard.

"We think it's really important that it be set up correctly. Not only does Interior have the legal authority, [the standard] also follows the laws of physics," Mueller said. "Those users should be held accountable for those losses."

There's enough at stake that California, or at least the Imperial Valley Irrigation District, will sue, he said.

California appears to be ready for that possibility.

JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and the state's Colorado River Commissioner, said in a statement Tuesday that California water agencies will submit their own modeling framework for additional water use reductions  "based on what is practical, voluntary, and achievable through 2026 in a way that works within the existing body of laws, compacts, decrees, and agreements known collectively as the Law of the River."

The proposal submitted by the six other basin states, Hamby said, is inconsistent with that law, which includes the 1922 Colorado River Compact. Hamby added that California is "not able to provide input on the six-state proposal and detail our state's specific concerns," which he did not identify in his statement.

"California remains focused on practical solutions that can be implemented now to protect volumes of water in storage without driving conflict and litigation," Hamby continued. "Our states voluntary commitment to conserve 400,000 acre-feet of water a year through 2026 is the only concrete proposal submitted to date from any basin states water users as part of a solution to address the current water shortage."

The six-state proposal submitted to the Department of the Interior will become one among dozens of suggestions the department will consider under a supplemental environmental impact statement for near-term Colorado River operations. The SEIS, as it's known, will address the potential for continued low-runoff conditions in the Colorado River Basin in the next couple of years, a stopgap that the department hopes will cover the river's operations until the seven states, Mexico and tribal nations conclude negotiations for new operational guidelines, slated to be in place by Jan. 1, 2027.

The decision on the SEIS from Department of Interior is expected in August 2023.

In a statement Tuesday, the department said it remains committed to "pursuing a collaborative and consensus-based approach, and ongoing conversations with the basin states, Tribes, water managers, farmers, irrigators and other stakeholders are helping to inform the supplemental process to revise the current interim operating guidelines for the operation of Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams."

The dams, on Lake Powell and Lake Mead, respectively, are both in danger of seeing water levels drop so low that they will not be able to generate the hydropower that supplies electricity all over the West.

The department's statement added that its collaborative supplemental process is "our strongest immediate tool to help improve and protect the short-term sustainability of the Colorado River System by empowering the Bureau of Reclamation with additional alternatives and tools needed to address the likelihood of continued low-runoff conditions across the Basin over the next two years."
The Colorado House of Representatives passed nine bills Tuesday morning, marking the first legislation of the year to make it all the way through a chamber.

Each of the bills passed three readings on the House floor, in addition to their respective committee votes. The bills will now be sent to the state Senate for further consideration. If passed by the Senate, they will be sent to Gov. Jared Polis for final approval before going into law.

House Bill 1045 is the only bill unanimously approved by the House so far this session. The bill clarifies that members of the Colorado National Guard and military reserve forces are allowed to take three weeks of leave from work when called to service or for training.

This bill better protects the civilian employment rights of our Colorado National Guard as they respond to state disasters such as wildfires and blizzards, said bill sponsor Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, a National Guard veteran. Despite being in a historically small Republican minority, the unanimous passage of my bill shows my commitment to finding common sense solutions that help all of Colorado.

Two bills passed with near complete support, with only one representative voting against each: House Bill 1053 to allow the Division of Veterans Affairs to spend donations made to the Western Slope Military Veterans' Cemetery Fund, and House Bill 1052 to expand property tax exemptions to veterans who do not have 100% permanent disability but are unable to work because of severe service-related medical conditions, pending voter approval in 2024.

Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, said she voted against HB 1053 because it would also create a new fund in the Department of Public Safety, which she thought was unnecessary. Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, R-Watkins, said he voted against HB 1052 because it would fund the expanded tax exemptions by decreasing refunds from the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The most divisive bill of the bunch was House Bill 1028, which seeks to allow former legislators to get a special name badge indicating their status. The bill passed in a 40-23 vote  the smallest margin by far out of Tuesdays bills  with members of both parties voting for and against the bill.

This bill provides an opportunity to recognize former members service as they continue their work to improve this great state in their local communities, said bill sponsor Rep. Mary Young, D-Greeley, while debating the bill on the floor.

The bill wouldnt afford the former legislators any special rights, such as bypassing security in the state Capitol, and would be paid for by each individual who wishes to get one. However, opponents raised concerns that the name tag would give former legislators undue influence while working in the Capitol, as many former state legislators go on to work in the building as lobbyists.

I wouldnt want somebody that was a former representative coming to me in the capacity of a former representative but really theyre now working in the lobby core and theyre riding the coattails of their label as a former representative or state senator, said Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, who voted against the bill Tuesday.

The other five bills all passed the House with bipartisan support, receiving opposition from only a handful of Republicans:

 House Bill 1033, to broaden the type of professions the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel can contract with. Passed 55-7.

 House Bill 1049, to enact the 2022 Colorado Revised Statutes, including laws passed during the last legislative session. Passed 58-4.

 House Bill 1004, to require insurance providers to translate policy documents to a customers preferred language. Passed 49-14.

 House Bill 1043, to modify the criminal records that disqualify an adult from caring for a child relative or kin and to allow for exceptions. Passed 60-3.

 House Bill 1058, to expand the definition of child-occupied facilities for the purposes of lead-based paint abatement. Passed 54-9.

The following freshman representatives each prime sponsored one of the bills, marking the first bill passages of their legislative careers: Evans; Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker; Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch; Rep. Said Sharbini, D-Brighton; Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder; Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glennwood Springs; Rep. Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs; and, Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village.

One representative was absent Tuesday, one seat is vacant and Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, missed the first three bill votes  HB 1033, HB 1049 and HB 1052  making the vote totals vary for each bill.
Key points

Including the value, extent and condition of natural assets on balance sheets can help combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

This style of natural capital accounting represents a new measure of sustainability expressed in financial terms.

Using these practices, business and agriculture can readily partner to meet emissions targets and regenerate Australias ecosystems.

Australias history of riding on the sheeps back and exporting mountains of golden grain has come at the cost of our natural biodiversity. Since European settlement, the continent has lost an estimated 40%1 of its forest cover, and much of the native vegetation that remains occurs in fragmented patches.

This loss of habitat has a significant role in the climate crisis, as these native ecosystems helped absorb greenhouse gases. Reversing biodiversity loss by regenerating vegetation could be just as important in combatting climate change as moving away from fossil fuels.

That is now the challenge  and opportunity  for Australias agricultural sector.

Working with nature

Agriculture accounts for 55%2 of Australias land use, and its environmental impact has been orders of magnitude larger than mining, said Terry McCosker OAM, founding director of regenerative agriculture consultancy RCS.

Speaking at CommBanks second sustainability conference, Momentum, McCosker said that for hundreds of years farmers were taught to think of their farms only as agricultural land and not part of the broader ecosystem.

There wasnt a connection in their training between farming and ecology, he said.

The biggest breakthrough for me probably happened 35 years ago, when I understood that what we are actually farming is an ecosystem.

The CSIROs Living Landscapes research director, Libby Pinkard, adds that agriculture relies on healthy environments to function. To maintain this, farmers need to think of biodiversity on their land as an asset.

One of the challenges limiting farmers conservation activities is realising a return on their investment. And thats partly because as modern consumers we arent paying the price we should for our food, said McCosker.

To make a living, farmers have had to focus on maximising production rather than stewardship of the land. And thats been devastating for the environment.

Recent research suggests some agricultural land in the US and the UK has only between 60 and 100 harvests left3 before it becomes totally degraded and infertile, McCosker said.

Securing our food supply will mean helping the agricultural sector to preserve and improve the quality of the land it occupies.

Putting natural capital on the balance sheet

Some farmers now measure the health of the environment in financial terms using natural capital accounting.

Pinkard explains this is a way to value the role nature plays in a businesss ongoing success and profitability. Effectively, its a form of sustainability reporting expressed in financial terms.

For Julian von Bibra, a seventh-generation farmer from Tasmania, this sort of accounting can fill the gap between farmers love of land and the impact their work has on it.

We all have this mantra that we will hand [the land] over to the next generation in a better state [than we received it], he said.

Luckily, when you start that mantra the next generation probably hasn't been born, and at no point did anyone actually take a snapshot of what your 30 years of farming looked like to hold you accountable  because most of us fail.

Ensuring that we somehow have capital accounts that acknowledge the environment, that's a space we are working at. We need to put that on the balance sheet.

Carbon credits and an opportunity for businesses

Solutions like natural capital accounting help create new opportunities for farmers and businesses to collaboratively tackle the climate crisis.

Von Bibra pointed to a wool supply agreement he has with a customer in London which factors in the environmental impact of his work.

We are working on the understanding of planetary boundaries that will see no negative impact from agriculture or processing in the production of those garments, he said.

The full cost will be paid by the consumer. Yet, I will be paid fair value. And, beyond that, money will go towards the environment.

McCosker adds many farms where he consults are now sequestering more carbon than they produce, with one notable example sealing away 47 kilograms of carbon for each kilogram of steak and sausages produced.

By using natural capital accounting to track the health of a farm and the volume of carbon sequestered, the agricultural sector could now sell carbon credits to businesses.

This would shift food production costs not included in supermarket prices off the farms books while helping businesses meet their own emissions targets.

By getting those credits and that income back to farmers, we will fund them to regenerate things like our water cycle, put carbon away into soils, and increase our biodiversity, McCosker said.

That is where some of the potential is in agriculture.

Our regeneration and biodiversity experts

Dr Terry McCosker OAM Founding Director, RCS Australia

Terry is an internationally acclaimed teacher and has worked in research and property management in government and the private sector for almost 55 years. He has published over 40 papers and made several world-first discoveries in the 1980s in the fields of bull fertility, ruminant nutrition and pasture ecology. One of his greatest lifetime achievements is effectively bridging the gap between traditional agriculture and regenerative agriculture.

Terry co-founded RCS in 1985. The organisation has set the benchmark for capacity building in rural and regional Australia, and was independently rated by a Commonwealth Government survey as the most trusted source of farming knowledge in Australia.

Libby Pinkard Research Director  Living Landscapes, CSIRO Environment Business Unit

Dr Libby Pinkard applies her background in tree physiology to quantify the risks and impacts of environmental stress and pests on forest function and condition. She leads projects applying novel tools such as genomics to issues of climate change adaptation in natural and managed forest systems.

Libby led the first integrated assessment of climate change risks and impacts for the Australian plantation forest industry. Her recent work focuses on the application of natural capital accounting to primary enterprises to improve environmental outcomes from private land. As a Research Director in the CSIROs Environment Business Unit, Libby oversees a broad portfolio of research that aims to inform land use change and sustainable management.

Julian von Bibra Farmer and Land Conservationist, W and C von Bibra.

Julian is a seventh-generation family farmer based in the Midlands of Tasmania, a traditional wool-growing area. The family has transformed the farm through water development, irrigation, and the opportunity to expand by purchasing neighbouring properties. Today the farm still produces Merino wool, but also prime lambs, beef, cereal crops and carbon. The property also has significant areas of native vegetation and biodiversity.

In his business, Julian values relationships, partnerships and focusing on customers. The family has a strong sense of community and manages the land with a future vision.

To watch this session on-demand or explore other content from CommBank Momentum 2022, visit Momentum.

To learn more from leading industry experts about Australias transition to a net-zero economy, head to CommBank Foresight  insights for future-facing businesses.
COP15 accomplishments

The UN conference on biodiversity, on the other hand, was deemed a success by many.

Emma Despland, professor of biology in the Faculty of Arts and Science, reports that she was pleased with the outcome of COP15.

I was impressed by the respect given to science, acceptance of evidence of biodiversity loss, commitment, professionalism and constructive attitudes in the negotiations I witnessed, Despland says.

Despite some watering down of language and concerns over financing, this agreement to protect nature is the strongest weve ever had.

In December, negotiators finalized an agreement with several goals, including conserving at least 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030 while respecting Indigenous and traditional territories in the expansion of new protected areas.

There is also a pledge to reduce subsidies deemed harmful to nature by at least $500 billion USD by 2030.

To me, the real concern is over the political will to meet the targets, Despland adds. Of the targets for 2020 set out in the Aichi (Japan) talks in 2010, only six were partially met and none were completely met.

Universities role in fighting climate change and biodiversity loss

Both Despland and Bossert believe universities like Concordia have an important role to play in enacting the commitments laid out in UN climate and biodiversity agreements.

Despland notes that the final COP15 agreement calls for the involvement of all of society to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, which includes universities.

Many universities are large landowners and need to rethink how to manage their campuses in nature-positive ways.

Concordia is already a leader in sustainable development. The university recently launched Sustainability in the Digital Age, a think tank that brings together subject-matter experts who will explore how digital innovation can help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Concordia committed to supporting the SDGs in 2020. It has since placed among the 100 best universities in the world in the 2022 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which tracks the progress of the international higher education sector toward achieving the SDGs.

Bossert maintains that universities have an important role when it comes to climate change because they tend to have a more long-term and neutral perspective. Politicians are looking to the next election period and industry is motivated by their next quarterly review, so theyre less able to tackle long-term problems.

Universities will equip the next generation with knowledge, he says. They will help form the change-agents and decision-makers of the future.



Learn more about Concordias commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Cybercrime is a growing scourge that transcends borders, spreading across the boundaries of virtually all the world's nearly 200 nation-states. From ransomware attacks to rampant cryptocurrency theft, criminal exploitation of borderless digital systems threatens global economic security and the political welfare of all countries.

Now, the United Nations has a major initiative to develop a new and more inclusive approach to addressing cybercrime. This revised global approach could spark new laws worldwide to battle cybercrime more effectively. However, concerns over the scope of the emerging international convention and its possible threats to free speech, privacy, and cybersecurity research, among other issues, have emerged following the recent release of early drafts of the new convention.

Cybercrime convention aims to be more global

On December 27, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to counter the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes. Through the resolution, the General Assembly established an open-ended ad hoc intergovernmental committee of experts from all countries to create the cybercrime convention, which will be voted on by the General Assembly at its 78th session starting in September.

This convention will supplement a convention on cybercrime developed in the 1990s and signed in Budapest in 2001, commonly referred to as the Budapest Cybercrime Convention. The Budapest Convention resulted in the first international treaty to define crimes committed via the internet and other computer networks. It went into effect in 2004, with updates adopted since then, most recently in 2022.

Sixty-seven countries ratified the Budapest Convention, with two additional countries, Ireland and South Africa, signing the convention but not ratifying it. The ad hoc committee aims to create a new cybercrime convention that is more widely adopted and influential than the Budapest Convention.

"The US and lots of other like-minded countries have been saying that we have the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime," Chris Painter, president of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation and the former top cyber diplomat for the US, tells CSO. "That's great. But a number of countries, led by Russia and China, said they wanted a new UN convention since they weren't part of the original negotiation of the Budapest Convention. So, the US and others said, Okay, we'll fully participate."

A new convention would enable "us to more swiftly, in a more modern manner, exchange information to pursue and bring to justice those who abuse computer systems," Ambassador Deborah McCarthy, US lead negotiator on the Ad Hoc Committee for the Department of State, tells CSO. "This makes it truly global."

Due to the tight timeframe to meet the September deadline, the working groups assigned to hammer out the new convention presented compilations of draft texts of the proposals at the fourth session of the Ad Hoc Committee in Vienna that concluded on January 20.

Bad cybercrime policies can come out of the process

The critical characteristic of any new cybercrime convention is that it could, when implemented, have the same force as federal legislation, Kurt Opsahl, deputy executive director and general counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told attendees at this year's Shmoocon conference. EFF, along with Painter's group and more than 74 digital and human rights organizations, are participating in the Ad Hoc Committee's discussions at the encouragement of committee chair, HE Ms. Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki of Algeria, to get views of "non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector."

Because of this force of law, treaties resulting from conventions can "short circuit" the political process. "We have seen some bad policies come through the treaty process and then get adopted here in the states," Opsahl said. For example, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), "which we're not really big fans of," mandated that US copyright law comply with two treaties established World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Cybercrime convention scope should be narrow

From Painter's perspective, the fundamental questions in the current negotiations center on what's in and out of the convention's scope. "Those are the two things we're dealing with, and they're both difficult issues. The US, the EU, and others have been pretty clear that they think it should be restricted to real cybercrimes. There might be a couple of exceptions like child exploitation or things like that, but not every crime that may be cyber-enabled [should be included] because that's everything; that would be every crime."

Ambassador McCarthy underscores Painter's point, emphasizing the cybercrime nature of the convention more broadly, saying, "This is not about cybersecurity, it is not about internet governance, it's not about covering speech crimes or terrorism. Our aims are not broad; they're quite narrow." Likewise, when it comes to some countries' goals of including a range of cyber-enabled crimes, "If you add all the cyber-enabled crimes that a number of countries would like to have, they touch on freedom of expression and freedom in general," she says. "And we do not want to see that in this instrument."

"It's a very long treaty," EFF's Opsahl said at Shmoocon. "It covers a lot of things. It would be best if it is limited to cybercrime."

Lots of room for improvement

The drafts released at the fourth session in Vienna point to a range of provisions that go far beyond the strict parameters of cybercrime, suggesting room for improvement before the US and its like-minded allies could agree to a new convention.

The first area for improvement is in the area of civil disputes, such as violating a site's terms of service, "which should not be a crime," Opsahl said. However, many of the ways that the cybercrime provisions are being written "could certainly have an interpretation that unlawful conduct would include contract violations. They should make it clear in the statute, in these proposed articles, that this is not going to be criminalizing civil disputes."

Another area to watch out for is clarifying the nature of intent when it comes to provisions that criminalize "the serious and unlawful hindering of the functioning" of a computer system. "Intent is that difference between finding a vulnerability, proving it up, and helping the world with that information, and going, and exploiting it," according to Opsahl.

Painter agrees, saying "you don't punish researchers. As lawyers say, you actually have to have mens rea or mental state for these crimes, and not if you engineer something, suddenly you're liable."

Including speech content in cybercrime treaty could endanger rights

Perhaps most concerning are the draft sections that criminalize the content of speech, such as extremism or terrorism. "Many countries who will be signatories to this treaty use similar language to strike down dissent and say that anyone who's opposing the regime is spreading sedition is spreading strife and hatred," said Opsahl. "This has been used far too often to endanger rights. There are no agreed international definitions of what these kinds of terms mean."

"What is cyber terrorism?" Painter asks. "What does that mean? To Russia, it might mean someone disagreeing with Putin. The Chinese representative reportedly said in one of the meetings that he wanted to introduce a substantive crime about disinformation, but he was talking about people spreading rumors about natural disasters or the pandemic."

"Terrorism is handled in other fora, violent extremism is handled in multiple fora," McCarthy says. "This particular instrument is not appropriate for these things that are being handled in other fora. If you try to incorporate all these other things on which there is sometimes no final agreement, it goes beyond being a crime instrument, and the process will never conclude."

A broad desire for something tight, nimble

Despite these and other thorny issues, McCarthy says she is heartened at how the process has brought "more people under the tent" and how only a handful of countries have a list of demands that would threaten the acceptance of a new convention. She has faith in the caliber of the policy people and practitioners on the US team, which includes experts from the Department of Justice.

During a fifth session in April, small subgroups of the ad hoc committee will tackle "the difficult things that we ran into on the fourth session," she says. In addition, the teams will continue negotiating between sessions. "There's a broad desire to have something tight and nimble."

The crunch time will come before the sixth session in late August, by which time the committee chair will have produced what is called the zero draft or the last draft version of the convention. "So, there's not a lot of time," says McCarthy.
Researchers from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint claim to have discovered a new threat campaign involving malicious third-party OAuth apps that are used to infiltrate organizations cloud environments. According to a blog on the companys website, threat actors satisfied Microsofts requirements for third-party OAuth apps by abusing the Microsoft verified publisher status, employing brand abuse, app impersonation and other social engineering tactics to lure users into authorizing malicious apps.

The potential impacts of the campaign, which Proofpoint first discovered in December 2022, include data exfiltration and mailbox abuse, the company stated. Proofpoints analysis suggested that the campaign has targeted mainly UK-based organizations and users. The firm informed Microsoft of the malicious activity on December 20, 2022, and the campaign ended seven days later. Microsoft has since disabled the malicious applications while continuing to investigate this attack, Proofpoint confirmed.

Threat actors sought to abuse OAuth privileges

Publisher verified or verified publisher is a status that a Microsoft account can gain when the publisher of the app has verified their identity using their Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) account and has associated this MPN account with their app registration, Microsoft stated. Threat actors recognize the value of verified status in the Microsoft environment to abuse OAuth privileges, increasing the probability of tricking users into granting consent when a malicious third-party OAuth app requests access to data accessible via a users account, Proofpoint wrote.

We identified three malicious apps created by three different malicious publishers, Proofpoint stated. These apps targeted the same organizations and are associated with the same malicious infrastructure. Multiple users were observed authorizing the malicious apps, thereby compromising their organizations environment. UK-based organizations and users were most targeted, affecting financial and marketing personnel, as well as high-profile users such as managers and executives, Proofpoint noted.

Data exfiltration, mailbox, and brand abuse among campaign risks

If consent is granted by users, default delegated permissions in the malicious applications allowed threat actors to access and manipulate mailbox resources, calendar, and meeting invitations linked to compromised users accounts, Proofpoint wrote. Offline access provided by the permissions meant that user interaction was not required after consent, while the granted token (refresh token) has a long expiry duration of over a year in most cases, giving threat actors the ability to leverage compromised accounts in subsequent BEC or other attacks, Proofpoint stated. In addition to user accounts being compromised, impersonated organizations could suffer brand abuse.

Proofpoint urged businesses and users to be cautious when granting access to third-party OAuth apps, even if they are verified by Microsoft. Do not trust and rely on OAuth apps based on their verified publisher status alone. Organizations should carefully evaluate the risks and benefits of granting access to third-party apps. Further, organizations should restrict user consent to apps with verified publishers and low risk delegated permissions. Automated remediation actions, such as revoking malicious OAuth apps from your cloud environment, can greatly decrease threat actors dwell time and prevent most post-access risks.

GitHub repositories compromised by stolen OAuth tokens

In April last year, Salesforce-owned PaaS vendor Heroku and Microsofts GitHub warned that compromised OAuth user tokens were likely used to download private data from organizations using Heroku and continuous integration and testing service Travis CI. At the time, GitHub stated that five specific OAuth applications were affected  four versions of Heroku Dashboard and Travis CI (IDs 145909, 628778, 313468, 363831, and 9261). Our analysis of other behavior by the threat actor suggests that the actors may be mining the downloaded private repository contents, to which the stolen OAuth token had access, for secrets that could be used to pivot into other infrastructure, GitHub said.
After the super success of Prabha's episode, Unstoppable 2 with NBK' will feature Pawan Kalyan this week. . (Image credit: Aha)

After an insipid start to the new year, things on streaming platforms are yet to pick up. Though there is no dearth of new content, big titles still elude the streamers. While power star Pawan Kalyan will appear on a chat show, multiple Oscar nominee Wakanda Forever will be released on OTT this week.

Netflix

Cunk on Earth is a mockumentary by Philomena Cunk tracing the history of civilization. It will be aired on January 31. On the same day, we have an interesting documentary on Pamela Anderson, a name synonymous with Bay Watch. Netflix will release Class this week from February 3. Adopted from a Spanish series, this drama deals with friendships, betrayal, class conflicts, and murder. After the emotional Dog Gone, Netflix brings Gunthers Millions, a limited series in which a dog inherits millions. On the same day, we have Infiesto, a dark and gritty story of two detectives solving a case against the backdrop of the pandemic. Next is True Spirit", an inspiring tale of a girl who aims to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Another movie releasing on the same day is Viking Wolf, in which after witnessing a murder, a teenager starts having visions. On Friday, Stromboli , a movie dealing with a woman dealing with a broken marriage will start streaming.

Amazon

Harlem, a story of four girlfriends in their 30s, trying to balance their work and life, returns for a second season on February 3. The American comedy series has been created by Tracy Oliver and two episodes will be released every week.

SonyLiv

Hindi heartland of Bihar once again serves as a backdrop for a story where love and anarchy come head-to-head. Set in 2005, Jehanabad has been directed by Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh. The show will be streamed on February 3. The earlier reality shows, Masterchef and Shark Tank also continue.

Lionsgate Play

One of the last releases of 2022, Shotgun Wedding stars Jennifer Lopez. This romantic comedy deals with a destination wedding gone awry. Its available on Prime Video and Lionsgate Play.

Disney+Hotstar

The superhero action film, Wakanda Forever, which has secured multiple nominations for the Academy Awards, will be released on the streamer on February 1. Its an eagerly awaited release as the movie has garnered both commercial and critical acclaim on its theatrical release.

Aha

After the super success of Prabhas episode, Unstoppable 2 with NBK will feature Pawan Kalyan this week. The first part will have the power star speaking about his three marriages, foraying into the films, and his bond with the family among other things. It will be telecast on Feb. 3. On the same day, the finale episode of Comedy Stock Exchange will be aired. Also, Friday will see the release of Couple On The Backtrack, a Korean drama dubbed in Telugu.

Netflix

1. Cunk on Earth

2. Class

3. Infiesto

4. True Spirit

5. Viking Wolf

6. Pamela

7. Gunthers Millions

Prime Video

1. Harlem Season 2

2. Shotgun Wedding

SonyLiv

1. Jehanabad

Lionsgate Play

1. Shotgun Wedding

Disney+Hotstar

1. Wakanda Forever

Aha

1. Comedy Stock Exchange (Finale episode)

2. Couple On The Backtrack

3. Unstoppable 2 with NBK (Pawan Kalyan)
Doctors also underscored the importance of learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), which can help save a person's life if their heart or breathing stops. (Representational Image: Pexels)

HYDERABAD: The growing incidence of young people experiencing sudden cardiac arrests in their 30s and early 50s, including 39-year-old Tollywood actor Nandamuri Taraka Ratna or 46-year-old Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar, is alarming both the general public and the medical community.

Doctors advise that people begin routine checkups at the age of 30, especially if they display symptoms that could be indicators of an impending cardiac arrest. Doctors used to recommend checkups for those over 40, but due to the increasing number of younger people experiencing cardiac attacks and the rising stress brought on by modern lifestyles, they now recommend it starting at age 30. Doctors also underscored the importance of learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), which can help save a person's life if their heart or breathing stops.

Dr. Naveen Krishna, a senior interventional cardiologist, said younger people may develop symptoms that can act as warning indicators, such as a burning sensation in the chest that is often mistaken for gastric issues, sweating without exertion, shortness of breath, and weakness following physical exercise that they used to find easy. "A mistake many people make when they have a burning sensation in the chest is to not consult a doctor, but buy over the counter medication," he stated.

There can, however, in rare circumstances be no precursory symptoms of a

cardiac arrest. In such situations, Dr. Krishna recommends people to check

if anyone in their families have a history of suffering a cardiac arrest at a young age. The family members could be parents, cousins, uncles, aunts or grandparents.

The incident involving Tarakaratna, according to doctors, has underlined the

need for public education and training in CPR to save lives. "Each second delay decreases the chances of survival. Bystander CPR can be initiated by the public, and we need to give them training in basic CPR," noted Dr V. Hariram, a consultant in interventional cardiology.

Along with CPR, the general public can be trained on how to operate defibrillators, devices that send electric shocks to the heart to restore heartbeat in the event of a cardiac arrest. They are currently available only in airports and hotels, and should be more widespread, he said.
Opinion: New reports show that police killings in 2022 set a new high for the last decade. How do these figures hold up to crime statistics from the past century though, and what can we do to resolve them?

----------

Last week, the streets of Atlanta were met with violent protests after an activist was shot and killed by police officers earlier in the week.

According to a Reuters witness, some protesters threw fireworks and rocks, smashed windows and set a cop car on fire. They marched with signs and chants revolving around Stop Cop City.

Cop City refers to the 85-acre area of land which is planned to become a new public safety training center. While already owned by the city of Atlanta, activists claim that the $90 million project  funded by the Atlanta Police Foundation  would cut down so many trees that it would damage the environment. They are also generally opposed to the idea of that much investment into police operations.

As a result, protests have occurred at the location for over a year, with some activists committing arson, using explosives and other seriously harmful devices while others have peacefully camped out.

One of these protestors was Manuel Teran. They were removed from the site by police officers in a clearing effort when, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Teran refused to comply and allegedly shot a state trooper. The surrounding state troopers returned fire in self-defense.

While this incident remains under investigation, Mapping Police Violence  which claims to be the most comprehensive account of police killings since 2013  has released its database for 2022. It reports that in 2022, 1,186 civilians were killed by police officers.

Headlines quickly followed the report claiming police killings have reached a record high, featuring US police kill record number of people in 2022 and It never stops: killings by US police reach record high in 2022.

While it is true the police killed an astonishing and unacceptable amount of people last year, its important to consider the limitations of this data set.

Mapping Police Violence has only been collecting data since 2013, and while there are databases from the U.S. National Vital Statistics System and the FBI, these lists are incomplete and often inaccurate.

That being said, data accumulated by Peter Moskos  a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice  shows that in New York, police killed an average of 62 people per year between 1970 to 1974 in a population of 7.5 million people. Between 2015 and 2021 though, police killed an average of nine people a year in a population of 8.7 million people.

Look also to cities such as Los Angeles, where the average in the 1970s was 30 people a year compared to 15 people a year recently. Across the 18 cities Moskos examined, there was a 69% drop in fatal police shootings.

But can we really compare the 1970s to now? In terms of straight numbers, yes. In terms of social and political tensions, no.

It is clear from the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in 2020 that there is a racial disparity in policing.

Black people were 26% of those killed by police in 2022 despite being only 13% of the population, Mapping Police Violence reported.

Additionally, only one in three police killings began as a response to an alleged violent crime. The majority were the result of traffic stops, mental health checks or non-violent disturbances. There were no alleged crimes or violent acts to justify a police officers killing of a person.

While there has been a drop in police killings overall in the past 50 years, the number of police killings has continued to increase year to year.

Regardless if you would like to claim last year as a record high or not, policy implications must be considered if we would like to see this number begin to trend downwards.

Time after time, members of Congress, activists and communities have called for police and criminal justice reform, and while slight shifts in policy have been implemented locally, we must be looking toward a national, systematic reform.

Recommendations by the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organization, begin with eliminating qualified immunity and creating national standards for de-escalation. Once that has been achieved, compensation for civilians as a result of police violence and officer wellness must be assessed. Finally, what results is a restructure of the fraternal order of police institutions and the culture surrounding policing.

I dont believe this can all be achieved in the next 12 months. Frankly, Im unsure if there is a possibility for this to be achieved in the next decade. However, whatever steps we begin to take, we should hope they result in a headline next January that reads U.S. police killings began to decline in 2023, rather than another record high.
Social media accounts are circulating defamatory content against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. (Photo:Twitter)

HYDERABAD: Kukatpally police have registered a case against unidentified persons running social media accounts circulating defamatory content against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Telangana State Technology Services chairman P. Jaganmohan Rao lodged a

complaint stating that defamatory content is being circulated from 24 accounts on social media platforms. The accounts are run by the persons working for the BJP and Congress IT Cells, he claimed.

He submitted a 24-page complaint to the police, following which the police

registered a case and started an investigation.

Kukatpally inspector T. Narsing Rao said a case has been registered under

relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act. "We are in the process of tracking the users operating these accounts. We have also written to the social media platforms seeking details of the users," he said.
Don't know about you, but I've come to view these endless strikes as a bit like the weather. They control my life, but there's not really an awful lot I can do about them.

As with everything these days, one must just accept the general nightmare of it all and get around it as best one can.

And so I haven't bothered phoning the doctor about the nagging pain in my hip, because the chances of anything being done about it are vanishingly small.

As to my frozen shoulder, which is sometimes so painful it wakes me up at night, pah. Why bother? I'll only be made to feel guilty for taking up some poor underpaid, overworked nurse's time.

My son, who is in his A-level year, now has to get up at the crack of dawn to stand a chance of catching a delayed train or Tube to reach school on time  although this morning who knows if he will even go, since today the teachers are on strike, too

Likewise public transport. I made the mistake of going to the theatre the other night. Honestly, it would have been easier (and cheaper) to get to the Moon.

My son, who is in his A-level year, now has to get up at the crack of dawn to stand a chance of catching a delayed train or Tube to reach school on time  although this morning who knows if he will even go, since today the teachers are on strike, too.

Meanwhile, my daughter and her university colleagues are saddling themselves with debt, paying full-on fees and accommodation costs while her lecturers strike for 18 days in February (on top of the extra days last term).

I mean, there are only 28 days in February, and eight of those are weekends. So that's, what, two days the lecturers are working next month? No wonder so many of her cohort are dropping out.

Anyway, my point is: no one gives a fig about me or anyone else whose lives are being wrecked by these strikes. Not the unions, not the Government.

The ordinary people of Britain, the ones who can't afford to lose the work, or who don't have nice gold-plated pensions or sharp-elbowed union reps, they're just the mugs in the middle.

I don't doubt that life is hard for doctors and nurses and ambulance drivers and train operators and teachers and civil servants have I left anyone out?

Their job is to keep going so that the 54.2 per cent of the population that now receives more from the state than they pay in taxes can be kept in the style to which they have become accustomed.

I'm sorry to be so brutal, but it's true. Britain has become a nation of two halves: those who quietly get on with the job, and those who take everything they can get. And right now, the latter are winning.

I don't doubt that life is hard for doctors and nurses and ambulance drivers and train operators and teachers and civil servants have I left anyone out?

But it's also hard for everyone else. We're all suffering the fall-out from all those stupid and (in my opinion) unnecessary lockdowns; everyone is feeling the effects of rising prices and the war in Ukraine.

What's crucial is how you respond to those hardships.

Do you blame everyone else and make others pay by having to work twice as hard? Make their lives miserable so you can force the Government to its knees, demanding more and more of a system that simply doesn't have the resources to give?

Or do you accept that in life there always has to be a modicum of compromise  and act with moral responsibility?

I agree: nurses do deserve to be paid more, so do ambulance drivers and junior doctors. God knows they have difficult and important jobs. But there are reasonable demands and there is pie-in-the-sky. Double-digit pay rises, which is what they are demanding, are just not feasible in the current economic climate.

It would, however, be feasible if more people were contributing more to the Exchequer; and the way to do that is not to make the dwindling pool of existing taxpayers stump up more; it's to increase the number of taxpayers by encouraging growth and investment.

And that, I'm afraid, is hard to do when people can't even catch a train to work or have to take endless days off sick because they can't see their doctor.

No one gives a fig about me or anyone else whose lives are being wrecked by these strikes. Not the unions, not the Government. Pictured: Protesters outside Downing Street, London, demonstrating against the new law on strikes

That is the point that Labour and the unions and all the mini-Corbynistas on the picket-lines either don't or won't understand: you paralyse the country, you cripple the economy, and a crippled economy can only afford to pay its workers less, not more. It's a vicious circle that only has one outcome: bankruptcy. Or Italy, if you prefer.

What the Government should do is make a sensible offer. Eight per cent across the board would be my suggestion, and a cast-iron guarantee of no more industrial action for at least two years, when there would be a review.

As a taxpayer, I would be happy with that, even if it meant shelling out a bit more in the short term.

For the Government, it would be a win/win situation: either the unions accept, and everyone goes back to work; or they don't and they lose the support of the British public.

Either way, can you please hurry up? Before we all lose the will to live.

Rude, moi? No, just French

Bond girl Eva Green has blamed her rudeness towards the producers of a doomed sci-fi film in which she was involved on her 'Frenchness'. Best defence I've ever heard. Does Dominic Raab have any French ancestry, I wonder?

Bond girl Eva Green has blamed her rudeness towards the producers of a doomed sci-fi film in which she was involved on her 'Frenchness'

If you missed Susanna Reid grilling Matt Hancock on Good Morning Britain yesterday, look up the clip online.

It was a masterclass in how an interviewer can, with great restraint, hold even someone as slippery as the former health secretary to account.

Reid is often underrated because she presents 'fluffy' breakfast telly  but, as Hancock proved, she's not to be underestimated.

Parody of femininity

Thanks to people like Nicola Sturgeon, scumbags such as trans double rapist Isla Bryson (formerly Adam Graham) now think all they need to do to become 'women' is shove on a pair of pink leggings and a wig (see picture).

Quite apart from everything else that is wrong about this, the idea that being a woman is merely a question of hair and make-up is highly offensive.

We spend our entire lives being judged by men for our appearance; now when one despicable man appropriates our identity for his own means, he offers a crude caricature of femininity.

Quite apart from everything else that is wrong about this, the idea that being a woman is merely a question of hair and make-up is highly offensive. Pictured: Isla Bryson (formerly Adam Graham)

As a parent, you should never reward bad behaviour. Which is why it would be completely wrong for Prince Harry to attend the Coronation.

Inviting him to be present at a solemn ceremony that celebrates everything he and his wife have scorned will only encourage him to think that what he has done is acceptable  and send a signal that he can do it again.

Charles needs to stand firm, both as King and as a father, or the Sussex nightmare will never end.

My favourite recent story is 'selfie bear', a black bear in the U.S. state of Colorado, who has snapped more than 400 photos on a motion-activated wildlife camera, striking a series of flattering poses that even Kim Kardashian would be proud of. Talk about bear-faced cheek!

My favourite recent story is 'selfie bear', a black bear in the U.S. state of Colorado, who has snapped more than 400 photos on a motion-activated wildlife camera

The Alexander McQueen trouser suit that the Princess of Wales wore to launch her early years initiative this week marks a turning point in her style evolution. Nothing screams confidence more than a woman in a sharply tailored suit; a RED suit is off the scale. World, watch out.

It's no wonder parents and pupils at King Henry VIII School in Abergavenny, were dead-set against the council renaming it the 'Abergavenny Learning Centre' on account of the Tudor monarch's 'issues' with women. Just another example of political correctness turning our rich history into bland pulp.

In yesterday's Daily Mail, interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch posed the question: is it naff to colour-code your books? The answer is, of course, yes. Books are not wallpaper. They are designed to be read, not offset cushions.

I'm actually starting to get a bit worried about Meghan now. Oprah Winfrey released a picture of her birthday celebrations this weekend  and the Duchess of Sussex wasn't there. Given the pair's close friendship, surely it is inconceivable she wasn't invited?

Love Island 'star' Paige Thorne is removing her implants after complaining her bikinis didn't fit. Talk about first-world problems. But what I want to know is this: why do all the girls insist on wearing their bikini tops upside down? My daughter tells me it's the fashion, but I say no wonder your boobs keep popping out, love, your bra's the wrong way up.
Entrepreneur Katherine Ruiz saw a big gap between the quality and price of haircare products ranged in supermarkets and those that are stocked exclusively by hair salons.

Now her Australian made, owned and manufactured People Haircare products are selling for $16 in over 800 Coles supermarkets nationwide.

Entrepreneur and People Haircare founder Katherine Ruiz

People Haircare was created by co-founders Katherine Ruiz and Matt John with the intention of making high quality, salon-performing haircare products accessible through supermarkets across Australia.

At a $16 price point, People Haircare is proving that salon-performance doesn't need to be overly pricey. The results speak for themselves, with People Haircare selling a bottle a minute since launching.

'I've found it frustrating that premium haircare has never been accessible through supermarkets. We've worked with award-winning haircare brands through our branding agency Anatomy Studios over the years and thought to ourselves if we don't do it, someone else will,' says Ruiz.

Nourishing People Hydrate Shampoo softens hair and replenishes moisture

'As people that care a lot about our hair it was a non-negotiable that our formulas had to perform like they do in salons without breaking the bank,' Ruiz explains. 'We are not afraid to say we're the best performing product in the supermarket. And so do our customers.'

People Haircare co-founders Matt John and Katherine Ruiz

Not only are Ruiz and John the founders of People Haircare, they're the brand's creative directors and self-proclaimed hair fanatics as well as being well supported by industry-leading experts. With years of experience under their belts, they know a thing or two about building brands and the hair industry.

People Haircare was created to fill the gap in salon-performing, affordable and accessible hair care in supermarkets. People Haircare's highly-effective, beautifully designed and ethically made products are made to suit everyone and every hair type.

People Haircare's ethically made products are made to suit every hair type

Haircare for volume People Volume Shampoo and Conditioner gives fine hair that oomph it's looking for, adding volume, bounce, and shine back to limp locks. Packed with Papaya and Ginseng, it's a highly-conditioning formula that softens strands without ever holding them down. Shop

Haircare for hydration People Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner is a nourishing duo that softens hair and replenishes moisture. Packed with Coconut Oil and Olive Oil, these two super ingredients have humectant properties to hold on to moisture, without greasing up the place. Shop

Haircare for smoothing People Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner calms down fly-aways and frizz while softening thick and coarse strands. Packed with Olive Oil and Mango, you'll want to run your fingers through your hair at every chance you get. Who knew strands could be so smooth. Shop

Haircare for repair People Repair Shampoo and Conditioner is a strengthening power couple for hair that desperately needs a service. Packed with Almond and Shea Butter, it helps rebuild and repair dry, damaged hair, bringing a healthy shine back to dull locks. Shop
SHOPPING  Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this Mail Best article are selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, DailyMail.com will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information.

When it comes to Valentines Gifts, you have a choice between buying your love a gift theyll use a few times or choosing an experience you can enjoy together.

If you want the latter option and to make memories together trying new things, one delicious and unique option is a Japanese tasting adventure from Sakuraco.

Youll both get to pleasure your tastebuds as well as have fun experimenting with a Sakuraco Valentine's gift box that contains an incredible 20 tasty treats direct from Japan that you could never find in an American grocery store.

Sakuraco Valentine's Treat Box With 20 Pieces With treats, teas and items for the home like tea cups or chopsticks, this is the perfect mix of a taste sensation plus an object to keep forever. Use the code DAILYMAIL to make the cost of a box of 20 treats just $32.50. Shop

And the Valentines box is more special than most as it contains tea for two as well as perfect tea accompaniments such as sweet Kinako dumplings and Mikan jelly.

With the $5 discount, a box works out to $32.50, which is less than $2 per snack.

The Sakuraco Valentine's box includes Japanese afternoon tea perfectly paired with sweet Kinako Dumplings and refreshing Mikan Jelly.

The box also includes ceramics and chop sticks, making it even better value for money as you can reuse these items time and time again and keep them as a sign of your Valentine's love for each other.

Whether you enjoy the box on Valentines night and pick on the treats instead of a heavy dinner or spread them out over a few months and make the gift last longer, Sakuraco's Valentine's box is a couples experience.

Just look at these luscious strawberry treats paired with rich milk chocolate, fluffy dorayaki cakes, and the comforting flavor of barley.

Enjoy a romantic night with luscious strawberry treats paired with rich milk chocolate, fluffy dorayaki cakes, and the comforting flavor of barley. Just some of the treats inside the Sakuraco Valentine's box

If youre feeling extra generous, you could take out a subscription and receive brand new treat boxes every four weeks.

Each box has a different theme with previous themes ranging from Japanese blossom season to Chinese New Year to celebrating specific regions in Japan.

The boxes themselves look gorgeous so you can reuse them when the treats are gone.

After you've eaten the treats in the Sakuraco box, you can keep the box and also a ceramic item or chopsticks so you'll always have something to remind you of Valentine's Day 2023

If you are intrigued by the culture and cuisine of Japan but are yet to visit, a subscription box will help you experience all the best, most authentic tastes of the country without an expensive plane ticket.

Those who have tried one have really enjoyed the thrill of experiencing different flavors, with the average score from 12,000 reviewers a near-perfect 4.8 out of five.

'I received a subscription to Sakuraco as a Christmas gift and am completely delighted with it,' praised one happy subscriber. 'The nibbles are delicious and the tea divine. It all comes beautifully packaged with a vivid booklet describing a specific region of Japan. I cant wait for our next box.'

Sakuraco offers subscription options so you can enjoy a unique delivery every month in a beautiful box, Previous themes have included Japanese Cherry Blossom

Another added: 'The quality of the snacks was incredible and diverse! A lot of cool items with unique taste and new flavors. The delivery was on point and we can't wait for the next box!'

Ready to wow your Valentine? Head to the Sakuraco website now and don't forget the code DAILYMAIL to save $5.
A father who went missing 10 years ago was 'killed after rejecting the sexual advances of a man before his body was dismembered and deposited at a pig farm', a Channel 4 documentary claims.

Robert Duff, then 37, was reported missing in January 2013 after he failed to attend his daughter's 18th birthday party in London, with his family describing his disappearance as 'completely out of character'.

His case was treated as a missing persons inquiry until 2018, when a new witness came forward following an appeal on ITV London Tonight. Officers began a murder inquiry and have been searching bodies of water near to where he was last seen.

In the new film, In the Footsteps of Killers, which airs on Thursday, Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox speak to a contact who has been told by a homeless man what happened to Robert.

In the new film, In the Footsteps of Killers, it was claimed Robert Duff was 'killed after rejecting the sexual advances of a man before his body was dismembered and deposited at a pig farm'. PIctured: Robert with his two children

Robert, who was also known as Duffy, was last seen on January 12 2013 when he was pictured on CCTV withdrawing cash.

His family grew concerned when days later, he failed to arrive at a celebration for his daughter's 18th birthday.

There was going to be a party to celebrate that fact at his mothers' house, but Robert never turned up.

Professor David Wilson explained it was extremely out of character for the man, saying he was 'involved in his daughter's lives.'

Police believe Robert was involved in a fight with two men on the day he disappeared, and was killed that night.

He had been to a flat in Bredgar Road, Archway, north London, on the night and several people were there.

Timeline of Robert's disappearance Saturday January 12 2013 - Robert is seen on CCTV for the last time, getting money out of a cash point in Archway. He is in a flat on Bredgar Road with a number of other people. Days later, he fails to turn up to his daughter's 18th birthday party. His mother reports him missing to police but his body is never found. January 2018 - There was an appeal for new information, and the case became a murder investigation Police are also seen searching ponds in the area May 14 2018 - Two men aged 70 and 51 were arrested on suspicion of murder in Archway and questioned before being released under investigation. 2020 - Police search for a body in Highgate No 1 Pond on Hampstead Heath, which is next to the famous Men's Bathing Pond. 2023 - The case is featured on In The Footsteps of Killers Advertisement

In 2018, on what was the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, there was an appeal for new information.

Professor David said: 'As a result, the case was turned into a murder inquiry.'

On May 14 2018, two men aged 70 and 51 were arrested on suspicion of murder in Archway and questioned before being released under investigation.

Divers searched two local ponds but there has been little progress in the case since.

Professor David and Emilia started their investigation by speaking with Robert's mother Helen, who was the person who reported him missing back in 2013.

She said: 'He was really, really funny. He was always keen to make sure his kids have birthday presents, Christmas presents.

'His family were everything to him. This was one of the difficulties we had when he went missing.

'He had - in a sense - two lives. he had his family life and he had the drug taking. It was devastating.

'It was totally out of character that he didn't show up.

'We kept phoning and phoning throughout the day, and there was no answer - it kept going to voicemail.

'As the days wore on, we thought, "Has he fallen asleep? Has he lost his phone?"'

She said: 'My fear was, maybe he'd had an overdose or something. I phoned the police and I said, "I'm concerned about him, he's high risk.

'"Go and break the door down, I'll pay for it."

'They did do that and they said he wasn't there. Even when I went to the police, they initially didn't take it seriously.

'I was told, "Oh we've got 20 other people missing."'

'They went to five shops to get CCTV footage, but they were shut. They never went back. I think they felt because of his lifestyle, he's gone off on a bender or he's done something.'

She added: 'They didn't take it seriously. Had they conducted a proper investigation from the start...we felt a lot of information ahs been lost over the years, evidence has been lost.'

Later, he met up with Stephanie, Robert's daughter. She said: 'We'd always been close, almost more like friends, joking around. He was very proud of us and boasting to everyone that he had two daughters. It was the first thing he told anyone.'

'He was a joker, he liked to wind me up. It was all just a load of fun.'

Police believe Robert was involved in a fight with two men on the day he disappeared, and was killed that night

In the new film, In the Footsteps of Killers, which airs on Thursday, Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox speak to a contact who has been told by a homeless man what happened to Robert

Speaking about the week he disappeared, she recalled: 'It was really out of character when he didn't turn up, it was a special dinner we had planned.'

She recalled how the evening her father had disappeared, she received a pocket dial call from him which left a lengthy voicemail.

She could hear him saying 'Sorry girl" in the background, while a woman appeared to be telling a dog to 'sit.'

As she grew older, Stephanie was prompted to begin her own investigations, and went door-to-door in her local area to ask for information.

She said the name which kept coming up was Helen McGuire, and she tried to meet up with her on a number of occasions - but she would always fail to appear.

And when Professor David began doing some research, he found Helen McGuire died of drug related causes in 2020.

Robert's daughter Charlotte also spoke to the programme, and said she was also investigating her father's death.

She said she had been putting up posters in Archway when she kept seeing one homeless man, who approached her and said it 'broke his heart' to see her.

Professor David started his investigation by speaking with Robert's mother Helen, who was the person who reported him missing back in 2013

She said he told her: 'I do know what happened to your dad.'

The man claimed Helen McGuire had told him Robert had got into an argument with two men in Bredgar Road.

He reported she said they had then 'killed him, before chopping him up and putting him into a suitcase.'

Charlotte said she was convinced of the man's comments, saying: 'I believe the main things he said. He got down on his knees, he had tears in his eyes and everything. He just felt real.

'I do feel he was telling the truth. He wanted to remain anonymous. I spoke to him and said, "Can you call the hotline?" and he said he'd be happy to do that.'

Two months later, an unnamed contact of Professor David's was able to track down the homeless man who spoke to Charlotte.

Elsewhere in the programme, investigators looked to find any links between Robert's death, and the death of Lana Purcell, who died two years earlier in the same area

He said: 'It took a few weeks, I tracked him down last week. He said he was friends with Robert Duff, the story he'd heard when Helen was dying - the story seems to fit what Charlotte knows.

'Two men invited him back to Bredgare road. One of the men had made sexual advances towards Robert and a fight ensued. Robert was eventually murdered, and one of the men dismembered him.

'He apparently used to be a butcher, he dismembered him in a flat, they transported him in two suitcases.

'They transported him to a pig farm in Epping Forest, which is where Robert's remains were deposited.

'The motive is something we hadn't heard before - a sexual motive which lead to Robert's murder.'

Elsewhere in the programme, the team began to see similarities between Robert's case and that of another woman who had disappeared in the area.

Lana Purcell was 26 when she vanished from Camden, north London, in January 2011.

A single mother to a six-year-old girl, she had fallen into a life of drug use and sex work before she went missing and her family believe her chaotic lifestyle meant her case was initially overlooked by police.

Emilia said police had also investigated whether there were any links between the two victims (pictured)

Emilia said police had also investigated whether there were any links between the two victims.

Both went missing, presumed murdered, and their bodies were never found. They were addicted to the same substance, and therefore they were presumably in the same drug dealing network.

The team went on to meet Lana's family, her sister Davina and father John.

John described her as a 'wonderful, beautiful daughter', adding: 'She was mischievous when she was younger. Bless her, she didn't have a bad bone in her body. She wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone.'

Davina said: 'I think she was taken, worked somewhere and disposed of. I have heard she got minced in a butchers at the bottom of Kentish town.

'Nothing phases me anymore, I've been told the most horrible stuff.'

She said when she was putting up missing posters for her sister, people would approach her to say that they knew her.

John, Lana's father, said he believes Robert contacted him about the dangers Lana was in before she disappeared

She added: 'They wouldn't go to the police. They see it as a form of snitching, and you're from around there, that is the wrong thing to be called.

'Lana and Robert knew each other, without doubt - I don't know whether they were friends but they're both from the same area. Same addictions.'

Meanwhile John, Lana's father, said he believes Robert contacted him about the dangers Lana was in.

John said: 'When I was asleep one night, I had a phone call from someone. The person said she was mixing with the phone people.

'They said she was in a lot of trouble and mixing with the wrong people who were not very nice. He said, "I'm watching her back, but I won't be there all the time, I can't be there all the time so you want to try to keep her in."

'That was a man. That was before she went missing. I have an idea who it is - but I don't want to say any names because I think he's no longer here either.

'I think it was Robert Duff, but I can't prove it.'

However, despite the similarities between the two cases, criminologist Dr Graham Hill said he 'doesn't believe the two are connected'.

He said: 'If you look at Lana's lifestyle, she lived a very chaotic lifestyle. She was known to the police for shoplifting, lots of local drug dealers, it was rumored she was allowing her flat to be used by drug dealers and that she owed them a lot of money.'
A handful of towns have been deemed 'snotty' and 'snobbish' - including Leigh in Essex, Ilfracombe in North Devon and Harpenden in Hertfordshire

ILiveHere invites reviews of UK towns from the people who live in them

A location website that lets users say what they really think about the towns they live in - often resulting in scathing reviews - has highlighted the towns and cities that think they're a cut above the rest.

Last week, a poster on ILiveHere, penned a no-holds barred review of Farnham in Surrey, claiming it was awash with parents driving BMW X5s and stopping for coffee on the school run, suggesting 'showing the world just how middle class you are is an absolute must.'

Farnham isn't the only town to get short shrift from residents and visitors. Here, FEMAIL looks at the other UK towns being flagged as 'snooty' by anonymous posters on the satire-heavy site...

ILFRACOMBE, NORTH DEVON

Devon's not heaven: One disgruntled local suggested that the offspring of middle class children were making Ilfracombe in North Devon undesirable

A review of the North Devon seaside town - popular amongst day-trippers and holidaymakers in the summer months - packs a bitter punch from the first paragraph, suggesting that the town's biggest problem is 'a whole generation of 16-24 year olds raised by middle class parents'.

The offspring apparently enjoy 'sneering at men working the harbour, like to complain everyone is racist when they havent even left the confines of mummy and daddys white suburb.'

The savage wordsmith continues, saying middle class twentysomethings 'fill Ilfracombes restaurants and cafes, announcing every self-diagnosed intolerance. Gluten intolerance or lactose, if its trendy to have They have it.'

The poster adds that Ilfracombe's younger generations like to share their luck 'on all forms of social media about their wonderful life with photos of them basically naked, or selfies by the ocean or parents backyard.'

MORPETH, NORTHUMBERLAND

Stuck up: Morpeth in Northumberland looks beautiful but one reviewer suggested that the north east town wasn't all it seemed to be

No, we weren't entirely sure where it was either...but those in the know about Morpeth - which is, in fact, an historic market town in Northumberland - certainly don't hold back on ILiveHere.

One review of life in Morpeth suggests it's full of 'stuck up posh t***s' by day, and drunks 'looking for a fight' after dark.

The same review claims that the local council 'cover up' what the town's really like, saying it works hard to 'preserve an image' that is 'nice flowers in leaflets', making people think it's a town for retired people.

The reality, the ILiveHere post claims, is the very opposite, describing it as a 'town of rejected young people who are going in no direction but down'.

HARPENDEN, HERTS

Smug? Residents of leafy Hertfordshire town Harpenden have an inflated opinion of themselves according to one unimpressed review

An estate agent's review of Harpenden describes it as 'an upmarket enclave beloved by London commuters looking for a pretty place to settle down' - however, unsurprisingly, a very different picture is conjured up on ILiveHere, with 'smug' the word one writer chose.

They opined: 'In one of the "boutique shops" on the High Street (between a Costa and a charity shop), they sell mugs that say "Im terribly posh, Im from Harpenden".

The reviewer continues to rage: 'Clearly intended to be slightly tongue in cheek but in practice bought by people whose tongues are less in their cheeks and more worming into their own self-entitled a******es.' Ouch.

HARROGATE, YORKSHIRE

Tea served with a slice of snootiness? Harrogate in North Yorkshire pulls in parents obsessed with getting their children into the right school - and residents look down their noses at nearby towns and cities including Bradford and Leeds, according to one ILiveHere writer

Despite the North Yorkshire town regularly topping lists of great places to reside, one post doesn't quite see the historic town in the same way, suggesting that the tourist honeytrap, known for Betty's Tearooms and it's honeyed architecture, is actually a teeny bit judgey.

According to the satirical post on the town, residents 'love to judge everyone else and feel superior to those living in Leeds, Knaresborough or (God forbid) Bradford.'

The reviewer also suggests that estate agents are the biggest winners because people in Harrogate love to pay a premium to get their kids into the local schools.

It claims: 'Upwardly mobile middle classes spend years fretting about getting little Jemima or Tarquin into the right state schools, until eventually they realise that they dont actually live on the school playground, they cant be a**** to go to church every week and then resign themselves to being poor for the rest of their lives and send the kids to private school anyway.'

LEIGH-ON-SEA, ESSEX

Ouch: One reviewer claims Leigh-on-Sea in Essex 'thinks its a glass of champagne, when really its a bucket of p***'

According to one particularly acerbic reviewer, 'Leigh-on-Sea is a small-ish part of the larger Southend-on-Sea district'.

And residents apparently 'like to think of themselves as better than the rest of the district, with 'a weird kind of "oh, youre not from Leigh then" snobbery' existing.

While one review concedes that residents are well-heeled because of the number of City salaries pouring into the area, it then quickly condemns, saying 'money does not buy class.'

The vitriolic post suggests that 'the main pastime at night is looking for people who arent from Leigh, in order to look down their powdered noses at them.'

It suggests 'fights are commonplace, and the over-bearing atmosphere is one of joyless faux-snobbery.'

'After 1am, local cab drivers prefer to avoid Leigh, due to the possibility of violence or being verbally abused for not being from Leigh.

'It is truly a horror, and, as someone from one of the lesser areas you would not get me to live there for anything.'

'So Leigh then: it thinks its a glass of champagne, when really its a bucket of p***.'
A pinning technique is used to make clothes fit better in photos, she says

A model has revealed some of the wild methods employed by fashion and beauty brands in a bid to 'trick' people into buying items.

Maddie White, who was born in the UK but grew up in Los Angeles, California, posted a clip to TikTok in which she shares several insider secrets.

Firstly, the 26-year-old details how fashion brands use a pinning technique to make items of clothing look more figure-hugging than they actually are.

In the video, White explains how she ordered a little black dress online but when it came 'it just kinda looks like this... Like it's the same but it's not giving the same.'

Maddie White posted a clip to TikTok in which she shares several insider secrets. Firstly, she details how fashion brands use a pinning technique to make items fit better

Using a hair clip, White shows how clamping it her dress from the front and back instantly gives her waist a more nipped-in look

TRICKS USED BY FASHION AND BEAUTY BRANDS British-born model Madeleine White claims these are common tricks used in the fashion and beauty industries: 1. CLOTHES ARE CLIPPED OR PINNED: To achieve a fitted appearance in photos, when in fact the clothing is not well tailored. 2. BRAS ARE STUFFED: To give the chest a fuller finish, bras are stuffed with padding, sometimes twice. 3. EXPENSIVE HAIR EXTENSIONS ARE APPLIED: To give the hair a more luscious look and trick consumers into buying haircare products. 4. BODY PARTS ARE SWAPPED OUT IN PHOTOS: Foot models are employed if the brand doesn't like the way the primary model's feet appear in photos. The images are then combined. Advertisement

She then says that it's highly likely that the model who was wearing the dress in pictures online, was wearing clips to give it a more tailored look.

Using a hair clip, White shows how clamping it to the back of the dress instantly gives her waist a more nipped-in look.

She then attaches the same clip to the front of the dress so when she turns around, she flaunts a flattering hourglass figure.

In e-store videos where models can be seen doing the catwalk in products, White says skilled videographers simply splice pieces of footage together so that no pins or clips can be seen when the model swivels around.

Next up the TikTok star, who has more than four million followers, reveals how lingerie brands make models 'stuff' their bras to achieve a fuller look.

White recalls one instance where she went to her first casting for Victoria's Secret and they didn't take one photo of her until 'they'd stuffed the bra twice.'

In the video, the British beauty demonstrates how putting fillers from another bra gives her decolletage an instant boost.

But it's not just the fashion industry deceiving the public, White says, with beauty brands also in on the act.

The brunette reveals how for her first modelling job for Loreal, she was decked out with four sets of hair extensions which were carefully died to match the color of her hair.

Next up the TikTok star, who has more than four million followers, reveals how lingerie brands make models 'stuff' their bras to achieve a fuller look

The brunette reveals how for her first modelling job for Loreal, she was decked out with four sets of hair extensions (pictured right) which were carefully died to match her hair color

She recalls: '[They were] then glued to my head for one day. These extensions had security they were worth so much money [but] at the end of the day they just ripped them out.'

The video shows a photo of White modelling for Loreal back in the day, with her fake luscious locks on display.

Another case of deception occurred when White was employed to be a foot model in an advert because the fashion brand didn't like the size of the other woman's feet.

She explained: 'So they had me come in with my little size 7 just to be the feet.'

White, who posed for many big magazines like Harpers Bazaar Japan, Company, and Wylde in her teen years, concludes in the video: 'The fashion brands are doing it, the beauty brands are doing it they've always been doing it.

To date, White's video titled 'just a few tricks of the trade', has been watched more than 4.6 million times and garnered more than 900,000 comments

Another case of deception occurred when White (seen above at 16) was employed to be a foot model in an advert because the fashion brand didn't like the size of the other woman's feet

White (pictured when she was a teen, in 2015) posed for many big magazines like Harpers Bazaar Japan , Company, and Wylde in her teen years

'People have been tricking you into buying things forever.'

To date, White's video titled 'just a few tricks of the trade', has been watched more than 4.6 million times and garnered more than 900,000 comments.

Many commenters have applauded White for sharing her trade secrets.

A spread of other people in the fashion industry also back up her claims.

Camille Lescai wrote: 'I've worked in fashion for years and can guarantee you nearly 100 per cent of garments are clipped to fit the model.'

And Kailan Carter commented: 'I'm a fashion photographer and learning this stuff was eye opening! Not to mention the retouching.'

Meanwhile, creator @.jessicalidia revealed: 'Ive worked in the industry from the marketing side, and I still get fooled.'
While socalites used to once stay off social media, 'Honourable huns' are famous for posting loved-up snaps with partners and jetting off to Dubai with the 'girlies'

New era of socialites have been dubbed 'honourable huns' in a nod to their titles

Wearing some form of tweed on an everyday basis, owning a pony from childhood and regularly attending charity galas - these are just a few assumptions most people would have once made about the everyday life of an aristocratic woman.

But even though figures such as Lady Amelia Spencer, Lady Clara Paget and Lady Victoria Hervey have been born into enormous privilege, you wouldn't necessarily know they had honorific titles when looking at their social media accounts.

In the past few months, the 'It girls' of the English aristocracy appeared to have swapped their 'Honourable' prefixes for another social tribe entirely... namely the internet 'huns' of which Gemma Collins is a founding member.

'Hun' culture (a slang abbreviation of honey) has become a huge online sensation in recent years with meme pages popping up racking up millions of likes and followers.

Lady Amelia Spencer (right) pictured with Lady Eliza on her recent Cape Town hen do. The sisters were pictured in hun-approved pink heart-shaped glasses

A hun is a celebrated 'ordinary woman' and the culture revolves around idolising 'relatable' women (known as huns) - including the likes of Alison Hammond, Gemma Collins, Ruth Langsford and many female characters in EastEnders and Coronation Street.

Where boasting about your 'gap yar' and describing your girlfriends as 'darling' used to reign supreme in aristocratic circles, Tatler reports it's now far more fashionable to jet off to Dubai with the 'girlies' and post photos of yourself tucking into a cheeky Greggs.

Here FEMAIL explores how high society 'It girls' are embracing the 'hun' trend - from over-the-top bridal bashes to posting loved-up videos with their other halves.

Lady Amelia Spencer's Lavish 'Hun' Do

The bride-to-be posed in front of an extravagant rose gold balloon arch as she celebrated her upcoming wedding with her nearest and dearest

Left: Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer pose for photos by the South African villa pool. Right: Lady Amelia blows a kiss to a friend

Lady Amelia poses with friends at her hen do in South Africa earlier this month. While the bride remained in white the entire time, it appears as though her guests were asked to wear varying shades of hot pink

Earlier this month, Princess Diana's niece Lady Amelia Spencer, 30, jetted off to Cape Town in South Africa with a group of her closest girlfriends to celebrate her hen do in extravagant style.

Complete with their own private pool and hot pink floats, the villa could easily have been mistaken for the Love Island complex - where UK singletons are currently filming the winter series.

And while Lady Kitty Spencer's 2021 Florence hen do was an altogether much more demure affair, her youngest sister went all out with her 'hun' do - modelling glistening gold handbags and matching shoes along with some fluorescent pink heart-shaped sunglasses.

While the bride remained in white the entire time, it appears as though her guests were asked to wear varying shades of hot pink.

In true 'hun' fashion, the bride-to-be posted pictures of the villa all over Instagram - including shots of her posing in front of a rose gold (the social tribe's preferred colour) balloon arch.

Amelia said the party was her 'dream bachelorette', adding she had 'one of the best days of my life with my favourite girls.'

Lady Amelia Spencer's fiance Greg Mallett summed up his 2022 by sharing multiple images of his wife-to-be

In various posts, Greg has described Lady Amelia as the 'love of his life' and told followers how he 'can't wait' to marry her

Hun-approved Public Displays of Affection

Forget lovingly exchanging glances from across the ballroom of a charity gala - these 'Honourable huns' are all about professing their love in a big way.

As Lady Amelia Spencer partied away with her 'girlies', her groom-to-be Greg Mallett indulged in a hun-approved public display of affection on his Instagram

Sharing the images in his own Instagram Reel, he added: 'Can't wait to marry you!'

What's more, the loved-up partner also shared a series of photos of him and his future wife attending various glamorous events in 2022 in a post rounding up his best bits from the year.

Socialite Clara Paget posted a loved-up photo with her husband Oscar Tuttiet and baby Ludo earlier this month

In November, Greg let it slip that their wedding will be taking place this March as he posted another Reel featuring photos of Lady Amelia's modelling work.

He gushed: 'I did a thing for you. Four months until I marry the love of my life!'

Meanwhile, Lady Amelia's sister Lady Eliza has been exhibiting some 'hun' credentials with her recent loved-up Instagram posts.

Last week, the 30-year-old posted a photo of her kissing her entrepreneur boyfriend Channing Millerd during their recent trip to Dubai - notably, what Tatler says is the hun destination of choice.

She wrote: 'What an unforgettable experience watching the beautiful Beyonce.'

Jade Holland Cooper then posted a photo of herself breastfeeding her newborn son Jamie while eating at the exclusive Cheltenham restaurant No 131

Clara Paget used the playful hashtag #huglife for this 'accessible' photo with her baby boy Ludo

'Accessible' Instagram Posts

In years gone by, Tatler says high society women preferred to shun the spotlight in favour of a more private existence... in other words, keep their Instagram profiles private.

But in the age of 'Honourable huns', this has jumped to an all new extreme - with aristocrats such as Lady Clara Paget, Lady Victoria Hervey and Jade Holland Cooper all posting images which cast them in a more 'accessible' light.

Following the birth of her son in August, new mum Lady Clara - who is Cara Delevigne's BBF and goes by the huntastic username Clara Jungle Safari online - posted a series of adorable pictures of herself snuggled up with little Ludo.

Sharing images of them on autumnal walks and chilling out on the sofa, Clara playfully used the hashtag #huglife.

Lady Victoria Hervey is another socialite who has posted more relaxed, candid photos on her Instagram of late

Following on from this, designer Jade Holland Cooper then posted a photo of herself breastfeeding her newborn son Jamie while eating at the exclusive Cheltenham restaurant No 131.

As she smiled for the camera and sipped on a drink, the new mum wrote: 'Some more happy snaps from us to you.'

Gemma Collins-inspired fashion

Alongside Alison Hammond, Ruth Langsford and EastEnders stars, Gemma Collins is widely considered to be the 'Queen' of Hun culture.

Emma Weymouth appeared to take a note out of Gemma Collins' book last night when she wore this hot pink suit

Lady Victoria Hervey wore a sheer, bedazzled dress in the GC's favourite colour on the Cannes red carpet last year

Lady Marina Windsor (left) looked sensational in a magenta dress as she attended a friend's wedding in Majorca last year

Gemma Collins (pictured wearing her favourite colour last night) says 'hun culture is about positivity'

So it's hardly surprising that the TOWIE star has become something of a fashion figurehead for the most recent additions to her tribe.

Last night, Emily Weymouth - the Marchioness of Bath - appeared to take notes from the GC when she attended the open auditions for The London Cabaret Club in a hot pink suit with a matching feather trim.

What's more, fellow Honourable 'hun' Lady Victoria Hervey took to the Cannes red carpet in a glistening gown with sheer panels in Gemma's signature colour too.

Meanwhile, Lady Marina Windsor also choose a hot pink magenta gown to attend her friend's wedding in Majorca last summer - which is both a fashion choice and holiday destination the GC will no doubt approve of.

She recently told Tatler: 'Hun culture is positivity. A hun is someone who wears their heart on their sleeve.

'They want to see the good and the fabulous in the everyday because, let's face it, there's a lot of s*** going on in this world.'
Adam Simpson-York, from Ipswich, scours eBay for forgotten heirlooms and photos and then tries to reunite families with them

A history fan has revealed how the Queen Consort sent him a personal letter after he found a photo of her great-great grandmother and sent it to her at Clarence House.

Camilla, 75, wrote back to Adam Simpson-York, from Ipswich, to thank him for sending her the photograph of her relative Edrica Faulkner, penning a typed letter with her handwritten signature on it.

The royal commented in the letter, that arrived on headed notepaper bearing the Clarence House crest, that she thought her ancestor looked 'a bit sad' in the sepia-tinged snap.

Simpson-York runs the Facebook page Medals Going Home, where he reunites families with their ancestors' war medals and forgotten heirlooms.

Scroll down for video

A right royal response! Amateur historian Adam Simpson-York, from Ipswich, scours eBay for heirlooms and photos and then tries to reunite families with them - and after he found a photo that he thought showed the great-great grandmother of the Queen Consort, he was shocked to receive a reply from her

He spends hours scouring eBay and other sites looking for treasure and then researches the items in the hope of finding modern-day relatives to give them to.

And on January 3rd, he spotted a picture that caught his eye on the auction site, buying it an hour later for just 9.95.

The amateur historian said he didn't initially know there was a royal connection but when he saw the photo had the name Edrica Faulkner on it, a quick Google search revealed the link to Camilla, who was born Camilla Rosemary Shand in July 1947.

The sepia snap of Edrica Faulkner that Simpson-York picked up on eBay for around 10, after making the connection with Camilla, he sent the photo to her

Camilla's parents were the British Army officer-turned-businessman Major Bruce Shand and his wife The Hon. Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe.

After making the decision to send it to Clarence House, he was amazed when the Queen Consort herself replied.

He said: 'This is most definitely the best item yet that I have rehomed - I'm not sure I'll be able to top rehoming an item to Queen Consort Camilla.

'But it just goes to show you that it's amazing what you can find on eBay.'

A few weeks after he sent the photo, he revealed on his Facebook page Medals Going Home that the Queen Consort had responded with a typed letter and handwritten signature

Simpson-York added: 'I loved the personal touch to her reply. It's a great feeling to know she took the time to look at it and it's even more exciting that she'd never seen it before.

'Hopefully it was a nice surprise for her. I imagine there is a royal archive that it would go into.'

Edrica Faulkner is the Queen Consort's great-great grandmother on her father's side and lived between 1822 and 1890.

Not much is known about her, except she was apparently the daughter of an itinerant painter, but she married Hugh Morton Shand in 1857 and they had three sons, including Alexander Faulkner Shand, Camilla's great grandfather.

Mr Simpson-York, 37, who works as a postman by day, set up Medals Going Home on Facebook to pass the time during the Coronavirus lockdowns.

The back of the photograph reveals the identity of the subject - with the Shand surname added in brackets. Camilla's father was former British Army officer Major Bruce Shand

He initially bought a random medal on eBay to see what he could discover about its original owner.

Since then he has reunited families with their relatives' photos, postcards, binoculars, domino sets and even reunited one person with their long lost dad.

The dad-of-two says his boys Reuben, 13, and Tate, nine, love his hobby and help where they can.

Royal stamp: The historian says he wasn't expecting a reply and was surprised to the see the Crown's marking on the 'private and confidential' letter on January 16th

Speaking about his first sight of the picture of Edrica, Mr Simpson-York said: 'I just had the name on the back, so I put it into Ancestry and instantly knew from the results that it was someone of some importance.

'I messaged a couple of people who had done family trees with her in and I received a response saying that there is a royal connection.

'Then I used Google to do some searching and very quickly realised the connection was to Camilla.

'As soon as I realised who it was I bought it with the intention of sending it to her. It's what I do.

'It is also a great story and was worth the wait to see how excited my boys were when the reply came through.

'I was definitely being excitedly impatient and was starting to give up hope.'

But on January 16, an envelope arrived with the Buckingham Palace stamp on the front.

Excitedly the family tore open the letter, which said: 'Many thanks for the photograph of my great great grandmother.

'It is the first time I have ever seen her picture, I must say she looks a bit sad in it!'

It was signed 'with best wishes, Camilla.'

The Royal family did not wish to comment on the letter.
While India has made great progress in various fronts, the country still has to ensure that health care reaches the grass root levels. (Photo: Representational/Pixabay)

HYDERABAD: Year after year, Budget after Budget, successive governments in the country have spoken about healthcare and promised to invest in basic infrastructure but the country has to go a long way to be called a developed nation. While India has made great progress in various fronts, the country still has to ensure that health care reaches the grass root levels.

Healthcare professionals from Hyderabad put in their suggestions before the centre, in the week leading to the Union Budget of 2023-24.

Stressing on the importance of efficiently using the spending, Amor Hospital AD, Dr. Kishore B. Reddy said "Every year we hear Governments announce an increased spending on healthcare and related sectors. In addition to this increased spending, it is important that Governments plan this spending in an effective and efficient manner which would help expand the reach of quality healthcare to the last mile. Let's hope there is no person left behind in accessing quality healthcare."

DVS Soma Raju, Executive Director, SLG Hospitals "Prevention must be a priority over cure when a country devises its policy on healthcare, and India, a nation with people from diverse social backgrounds needs this approach more than any other. It is the planning and efforts of successive Governments which helped India almost double its average life expectancy since Independence."

Ucchvas Rehabilitation Chairman, Dr, Ramapapa Rao said "It is important Governments encourage investments into future technologies. While India is doing well on using telemedicine efficiently, we must make considerable progress to make best use of artificial intelligence. Future technologies will help healthcare professionals to serve the weak and the aged better."

CEO of Century Hospital opined that "Better infrastructure like improved roads connectivity too will help in delivering quality healthcare in remote areas of the country. Improving accessibility of ambulance services to the remotest areas will help deliver best healthcare to the needy, and I urge the finance minister to focus on that too."

Dr. K. Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Group said "Investing in health has the potential to further the economy and Indias global contribution manifold. In the spirit of furthering health and unlocking Indias true human capital potential, we request the honorable ministry and the government to grant Healthcare a preferred infrastructure status."
The Queen Consort put on a very stylish display to meet soldiers in Hampshire today.

Camilla, 75, met the members of the 1st Battalion stationed at the Lille Barracks during her day trip, and presented some of them with medals, before meeting their loved ones.

For the occasion, she donned an elegant red woolen dress coat with a pleated skirt, and accessorised with her trusty Chanel bag.

King Charles' wife, who is Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, looked relaxed during the engagement.

Queen Camilla, 75, met the members of the 1st Battalion stationed at the Lille Barracks during a day trip to Aldershot, Hampshire today, and delivered some of them with medals, before meeting their loved ones

Camilla did not compromise on style to feel warm today, thanks to her elegant coat dress, which included a pleated skirt and long puffed sleeves with a pleated detail,

Keeping the look minimal, Camilla accessorised with a trusted pair of black nubuck boots.

She added a discreet touch of glitz with a golden bracelet and necklace and pearl earrings.

For the occasion, she donned an elegant red woolen dress coat with a pleated skirt, which she matched with black accessories

Camilla went for a natural makeup, with just a touch of bronzer and mascara. She also sported a pink lipstick to add a splah of colour to her complexion.

Her platinum locks were styled in an impeccable blow-dry.

Upon her arrival, the Queen Consort was greeted by soldiers in uniform, who wasted no time in sitting her down for a few pictures and a chat.

Camilla was expected to deliver some of these army men with medals commanding their service to the country.

Today's visit comes as a history fan has revealed how the Queen Consort sent him a personal letter after he found a photo of her great-great grandmother and sent it to her at Clarence House.

The Queen Consort wasted no time in sitting with the soldiers at the barracks during her visit today

Camilla is expected to hand out medals to some of the soldiers in Aldershot, and to meet their families

Camilla wrote back to Adam Simpson-York, from Ipswich, to thank him for sending her the photograph of her relative Edrica Faulkner, penning a typed letter with her handwritten signature on it.

The royal commented in the letter, that arrived on headed notepaper bearing the Clarence House crest, that she thought her ancestor looked 'a bit sad' in the sepia-tinged snap.

Simpson-York runs the Facebook page Medals Going Home, where he reunites families with their ancestors' war medals and forgotten heirlooms.

The Queen Consort, who is Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, looked relaxed as she chatted with soldiers during the event

He spends hours scouring eBay and other sites looking for treasure and then researches the items in the hope of finding modern-day relatives to give them to.

And on January 3rd, he spotted a picture that caught his eye on the auction site, buying it an hour later for just 9.95.

The amateur historian said he didn't initially know there was a royal connection but when he saw the photo had the name Edrica Faulkner on it, a quick Google search revealed the link to Camilla, who was born Camilla Rosemary Shand in July 1947.

Camilla's parents were the British Army officer-turned-businessman Major Bruce Shand and his wife The Hon. Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe.

After making the decision to send it to Clarence House, he was amazed when the Queen Consort herself replied.

He said: 'This is most definitely the best item yet that I have rehomed - I'm not sure I'll be able to top rehoming an item to Queen Consort Camilla.

'But it just goes to show you that it's amazing what you can find on eBay.'

Simpson-York added: 'I loved the personal touch to her reply. It's a great feeling to know she took the time to look at it and it's even more exciting that she'd never seen it before.

'Hopefully it was a nice surprise for her. I imagine there is a royal archive that it would go into.'

Edrica Faulkner is the Queen Consort's great-great grandmother on her father's side and lived between 1822 and 1890.

A right royal response! Amateur historian Adam Simpson-York, from Ipswich, scours eBay for heirlooms and photos and then tries to reunite families with them - and after he found a photo that he thought showed the great-great grandmother of the Queen Consort, he was shocked to receive a reply from her
The world's very first vagina museum, which opened nearly four years ago, is to close tomorrow.

The museum, which aims to tackle the taboos surrounding the gynaecological anatomy, will welcome its final guests on Wednesday evening after landlords asked the museum to vacate.

On Twitter, the founders of the museum, currently located in Bethnal Green, said it was sad to be asked to close so quickly and would 'continue to operate in the 'digital world' while it was searching for a new home.

Since opening four years ago, the museum has attracted both support and criticism and a social media campaign to save the museum has begun in earnest.

The Vagina Museum in Bethnal Green will become a digital only entity after it was asked to vacate its premises; the museum was opened by science YouTuber Florence Schechter (pictured) in 2019

Exhibits over the years have included 'Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How To Fight Them', which have adorned the walls alongside giant glittery red tampons, menstrual cups and vagina-themed bunting.

In a message on Twitter, the museum announced its closure, saying: 'Sad news. Weve received notice to vacate our premises at Bethnal Green by the end of this week.

The Bethnal Green museum, which aims to tackling the taboos surrounding the gynaecological anatomy, will welcome its final guests on Wednesday evening (Pictured: The museum's first home in Camden Market)

The museum describes itself on Twitter as the 'World's first bricks and mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas and the gynae anatomy' (Pictured: crocheted vulva earrings)

Originally opened at Camden Market, the museum moved to a more permanent Bethnal Green home - but the founders say they were only ever 'property guardians'

A social media campaign has now begun to try and find the museum an alternative home

'As a property guardianship, weve always been aware that we may be asked to leave with very short notice. Were disappointed that it has come so soon.'

They added that they are 'incredibly proud of what weve accomplished in the ten months weve been at our Bethnal Green premises.

'Weve welcomed more than 40,000 visitors through our doors, and received so much love and positive feedback.'

The museum, which has also frequently featured plays and comedy nights around the theme of vaginas, was the creation of science YouTuber Florence Schechter, who decided to create a building dedicated solely to vaginas after discovering Iceland's Phallological Museum.

The eye-catching exhibits on display include menstral cups and glittery red tampons

In 2017, Florence set about making her vision a reality by hosting pop-up programmes and events across the country - including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

She also launched a crowdfunder web page which received widespread support from the general public by amassing almost 50,000.

Inside the unique and free-to-enter exhibition, visitors are able to purchase necklaces that come with a vagina pendant, clitoris crochet, feminist books and vulva postcards and bookmarks - with 25 per cent off all items ahead of the closure.

Also available to the public are leaflets informing them about vaginal health and information boards.

Prior to its opening, the museum had sparked concern among local resident groups after it was granted an alcohol license.
Queen Letizia of Spain looked effortlessly elegant as she stepped out in a chic patterned dress and long black overcoat to attend a meeting in Petrer.

The Spanish royal, 50, was pictured in the monochrome ensemble as she arrived for a meeting with the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases in the Alicante province.

She donned a stylish black and white over-the-knee dress which was tied with a belt at the waist to add shape to her look.

To guard against the cold on the bright but chilly day in Alicante, the monarch chose a stylish black overcoat.

Queen Letizia of Spain, 50, looked elegant as she attended a meeting with the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases in Petrer

She teamed the outfit with a glamorous pair of tall black suede boots to add an extra layer of warmth.

Letizia opted for simple jewellery, wearing a delicate pair of diamond drop earrings and a chunky gold ring on her index finger.

Her brunette locks were styled in a sleek blowdry, managing to keep their hold against the wind.

Keeping her make-up understated, the royal sported a subtle bronzed look with a rosy blush and clear lip gloss.

The European royal sported a subtle makeup look teamed with delicate diamond drop earrings

The mother-of-two wore a chic over-the-knee patterned dress with a long black overcoat

The Queen waved at the cheering crowds wearing an flattering dress that was tied at the waist

Letizia greeted royal fans on a sunny day in Alicante as she pulled over her coat to guard against the cold

She donned the sophisticated look to chair the meeting of the Network of Direct Care Centres and Specialised Services of the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases at the Sense Barreres centre

The monarch wore a copper eyeshadow look to complement her eyes and sculpted brows for extra definition

Letizia finished off her look with a glamorous pair of suede black boots and wore a single gold ring

The copper eyeshadow look complemented her eyes and her sculpted brows added extra definition.

Queen Letizia had a meeting at the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases in Madrid earlier this month.

As honorary president of the organisation, she chaired the meeting of the Network of Direct Care Centres and Specialised Services of the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases at the Sense Barreres centre today.

Letizia is particularly active in the healthcare field and regularly visits hospitals to meet medical professionals and see the work being done.

The royal chaired today's meeting in Alicante and had attended another meeting for the organisation in Madrid earlier in the month

Letizia wore her hair in a sleek blowdry to attend the meeting as honorary president of the organisation

A clip captured the moment Iran's ambassador to Spain, Hassan Ghashghavi, didn't shake the hand of Queen Letizia but preferred to opt for the polite greeting in his culture

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were hosting their annual reception for the Diplomatic Corps living in Madrid

Last week, she attended a cancer conference in Madrid which discussed strategies to tackle the disease with some of Spain's leading cancer experts.

The monarch also came under scrutiny when the moment she met Iran's ambassador to Spain last week went viral after royal fans mistook his traditional greeting for a 'disrespectful' snub to the royal.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI hosted a reception for Spain's Diplomatic Corps at Zarzuela Palace and lined up to great their guests at the start.

Footage shared to Twitter showed that Iran's ambassador to Spain, Hassan Ghashghavi, shook the King's hand, but placed his hands over his heart and nodded to the Queen.

Placing a hand on the heart with a nod or slight bow is considered a polite way for a man to greet a woman in Iran, but some royal watchers were confused by the lack of handshake.
He revealed he doesn't want to 'burden' his son and daughter with his millions

A self-made millionaire has revealed he will give away 99 per cent of his fortune when he dies because he doesn't want to 'burden' his children with his riches.

Dave Fishwick, 51, from Burnley, who launched his own bank during the 2008 financial crisis, admitted he wants to ensure his loved ones will continue to work hard, rather than relying on his millions.

Speaking to the Daily Star he said: 'It's important that you have that work ethic and I think hard work puts you where some good luck will find you. My kids don't always agree with that but they are good kids.'

Dave Fishwick, from Burnley, revealed he will give away 99 per cent of his fortune when he dies as he doesn't want to 'burden' his children with his riches

'It's so important that the children work hard because I have seen lots of people who have become successful and wealthy and they spoil their kids and the kids have no understanding of money whatsoever.'

Dave, who left school at 16 without any qualifications, has loaned more than 27 million to people and businesses since setting up a community bank.

His bank, which is still going strong today, operated on a not for profit basis and all surplus money went to good causes

Dave, who started his own bank, arrived in his Ferrari to watch the filming of 'Bank of Dave' the Netflix film in 2022

Unable to call himself a bank, he put up a sign on his town centre premises which read 'Bank on Dave' (Pictured: Dave and his wife Nicola attend the world premiere of Netflix's Bank of Dave)

From his desk at his small headquarters in Burnley town centre, Dave has loaned thousands of locals to cover everything, from funeral expenses to IVF.

His children Sarah and Connor are both working professionals in their own right with his son working as a police officer while Sarah works for an animal charity.

The down to earth businessman's extraordinary life was recently captured in the recent biopic called Bank of Dave which trended number one on Netflix.

James Bond star Rory Kinnear played him in the feel good film which also starred Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor.

It's a captivating feel good story that caught the eye of Hollywood scriptwriters, who have turned Dave's battle with the banking giants into a big-budget biopic.

Speaking to the Mail Online previously, he said: 'People who rob banks go to prison, but banks who rob people get paid bonuses and get bailed out.

Dave Fishwick (left) and Rory Kinnear (right), attend the world premiere of Netflix's 'Bank of Dave' in Burnley, England on Sunday

Rory Kinnear (centre) plays Dave in the new biopic based on his life, which came out on Netflix

'The truth is, we've been badly served by the banks in the past and we need change. Banks that are too big to fail are just too big to exist.'

'I like going home. I like my own bed, and being around family,' he says.

'When I've had a really tough day  and I've had plenty of tough days  I open my front door, I can smell apple pie, and my wife, Nicola, will have run me a bath with a bottle of beer there. What can be nicer? Burnley is where I'm from, where my pals don't care who I am, and rightly so.'

However the Burnley that Dave lives in today is a far cry from the one he grew up in.

Born in 1972, he was raised in a modest terrace with an outside toilet in a town that was slipping into decline after the collapse of the textile industry and closure of local coal mines.

'My dad had two jobs: a farm labourer in the morning and he worked in the mill in the afternoon fixing the looms,' Dave recalled.

'He did 6am until 2pm on the farm, then 2pm until 10pm at the mill, and my mum worked in the same mill as a weaver.'

Bullied at school because of his NHS prescription glasses, Dave dropped out of formal education aged 14, and by 16 was working as a builder's labourer.

'I was up and down ladders all day with buckets of cement in each hand for 27.50 a week.'

Bullied at school because of his NHS prescription glasses, Dave dropped out of formal education aged 14, and by 16 was working as a builder's laboure

Dave Fishwick (left) and brother outside their house on the back street where he played with the gas tar on the cobbles and built old gokarts

He recalled a 'fork-in-the-road' point one bitterly cold day.

'It was a moment of recognising that I wanted something different,' he recalls. 'You start making yourself a roadmap, some achievable goals. That first step can be tiny, but it's the hardest one.'

It led Dave to embark on a money-making experiment. Passionate about cars, he visited garages and asked them to take a chance on his salesman skills.

One let him clean and sell a Vauxhall Cavalier. Anything over 70 he could keep.

He got 97  earning 27 for two hours work, the equivalent of a week's wages. He was just 17 and 'onto something'.

It was the start of years of hustling and juggling endless makeshift roles  yet cars remained his first love.

After spotting a gap in the market for companies selling vans and minibuses, he set up David Fishwick Minibus Sales in 2003.

Today, the business operates all over the world, although its headquarters remains in the same modest Burnley garage.

Not that Dave's burgeoning wealth insulated him from the impact of the 2008 financial crash.

Almost overnight, banks stopped lending money to his customers, meaning they in turn were unable to buy his vans.

Faced with the inevitable impact on his own business, Dave decided to take matters into his own hands.

Dave, who has also been the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, has always shied away from talking about his poverty-stricken background

'The customers weren't doing anything differently  it was the banks that were the problem,' he said.

'I've always felt that people who work hard and are still stuck through no fault of their own need a net to fall on, to help them bounce back up again.

'And if the banks weren't going to do it, then it was going to have to be me.'

Which was all very well in theory  but in real life involves vast expense, a mountain of red tape and a licence to open a bank.

When Metro Bank opened in 2010, it became the first new High Street bank to be given one in 150 years.

Dave decided to apply anyway. 'Everybody said: "You're going to end up in trouble for this."

'But what was I doing wrong? All I was doing was giving people the best rate of interest on the High Street, guaranteeing 100 per cent of their savings with my own money, lending that money to people and businesses who can't borrow from a High Street bank, and giving what is left after overheads to charity.'

The banks took a different view. 'When I met the then head of the financial regulation authority, the first thing he asked was where I was from,' Dave recalled.

'When I said Burnley, that put him off for starters. Then he asked whether I went to Oxford or Cambridge. Basically, he said I had no chance. I'll be honest, I wanted to punch him.'

However Dave was not easily put off and unable to call himself a bank, he put up a sign on his town centre premises which read 'Bank on Dave'.

For while Dave pulled himself up by his bootstraps to make his fortune selling vans and minibuses, he also launched an astonishing mission to make sure everyone else prospered alongside him

Twelve years later, that business is still going strong. Dave never did get his licence, but Burnley Savings and Loans  the locals call it Bank of Dave  employs its own unique lending model, linking savers with businesses desperately in need of loans.

At first, Dave personally assessed every customer himself, but that job now goes to his right-hand man David Henshaw, a 60-year-old former bank manager, who makes decisions on a personal case-by-case basis rather than a computer algorithm.

Borrowers with a good credit record are charged 8.9 per cent interest, while investors can make 5 per cent on their savings. In the beginning, it was all Dave's money.

He has helped all manner of people since, from a struggling dog biscuit business to nurses and hairdressers.
This is the sweet moment the Princess of Wales calmed a man's nerves as he asked her for a selfie during her visit to Leeds this morning.

Dressed in a bespoke Alexander McQueen emerald coat, Kate, 41, toured Leeds Kirkgate Market to discuss the importance of the early childhood years - which is the subject of her new campaign Shaping Us.

As she visited the market, a royal fan, who says he's 'a little bit autistic', asked the mother-of-three to pose for a photograph with him - and admitted he was 'just really nervous'.

Seemingly eager to put the man's nerves to the rest, Kate replied: 'Please, don't worry. It's OK. We all get nervous.'

This is the sweet moment the Princess of Wales calmed a man's nerves as he asked her for a selfie during her visit to Leeds this morning

In a clip of the moment, which has been shared to Twitter, the princess is heard saying 'well done' after the royal enthusiast successfully captures the image of them posing together.

At the start of the footage, Kate is seen walking around the market when the unidentified man in the crowd shouts: 'Can I get a selfie?'.

As the royal walks towards him, he confesses: 'Sorry... I'm just really nervous,' to which Kate replies: 'Please, don't worry. It's OK. We all get nervous.'

For today's outing, Kate opted for a pair of 1,280 brown knee-high boots by Gianvito Rossi and a cream dress.

As she visited the market, a royal fan, who says he's 'a little bit autistic', asked the mother-of-three to pose for a photograph with him - and admitted he was 'just really nervous'

The Princess of Wales visited Leeds this morning to mark the official launch of her Shaping Us campaign, which focuses on the early childhood years

During her visit, the mother-of-three politely ignored a wolf whistle from a member of the public as she waved to crowds of adoring royal fans who had waited to catch a glimpse of her.

Keeping her jewellery minimal with some 74 gold earrings by Shyla London, Kate opted for a bouncy blow-dry and finished off her outfit with a matching green suede 435 handbag from Manu Atelier.

The royal's campaign, which is launching today, is a long-term project of the princess's, beginning with how a child develops and the importance of the formative years.

During her visit, the mother-of-three spoke with vendors who have worked at the market for over 30 years and members of the public about their reflections on the campaign's film, which made its big screen debut at a BAFTA event last night.

Kate pictured waving to the crowds after her tour of Kirkgate Market in Leeds, West Yorkshire this morning

The Princess of Wales laughed as she waved to royal fans during her tour of the Leeds Kirkgate Market

The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she spoke with staff at Kirkgate Market. She paired her cream dress with an emerald green Alexander McQueen coat and gold hoop earrings

The Shaping Us short film highlights how babies and children develop in response to their earliest experiences.

The 90-second claymation film depicts how the development of a young girl from the age of zero to five is shaped by interactions and her environment, and will be shown in cinemas from Friday.

Following her tour of the market, Kate then visited the University of Leeds - where she will attend a second-year lecture on the 'Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Supporting Children's Learning' module, which examines children's learning and development, including attachment theory.

The princess chose to visit Leeds today as part of the city's ongoing ambition to become the best place in the UK for young people and children to grow up in.

The Princess of Wales pictured touring the market in Leeds this morning. She wore a longline green coat, dark brown suede boots and a cream dress

The Princess of Wales styled her hair in a bouncy blow-dry and opted for a brown smokey eye for this afternoon's engagement

The Princess of Wales speaks with vendors who have worked at the market for over 30 years and members of the public about their reflections on the film

In 2012, the city launched Child Friendly Leeds with the belief that by investing in and supporting children, young people and their families, the whole city will see immediate and longer-term social and economic benefits.

Leeds City Council, working with partners to deliver enrichment programmes to improve outcomes, has seen a safe reduction in the number of youngsters being taken into care, more teenagers going into education, employment and training, and better school attendance.

Leeds Kirkgate Market opened in 1857 and is home to hundreds of local independent businesses covering everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, butchers, and fishmongers, to a Community Library, cookery school and Volunteer Centre.

During the BAFTA screening last night, the Princess of Wales described the Shaping Us programme as her 'life's work'.

As she toured around the market, the Princess politely ignored a wolf whistle from a royal fan

The Princess of Wales matched her emerald tailored coat with an old favourite suede handbag by Manu Atelier

It will 'explore in more depth the importance of a child's social and emotional world' and the significance of relationships, 'surroundings and experiences'.

Earlier today, the princess appeared in a new video which was shared on her official social media pages, donning a smart green blazer with a black scoop neck top underneath.

She said: 'Our early childhood, the time from pregnancy to the age of five, fundamentally shapes the rest of our lives.

'But as a society we currently focus much more of our time and energy on later life.'

Kate explained she is now launching the Shaping Us campaign, adding: 'To raise awareness of the life changing impact we can have, when we build a supportive, nurturing world around children and those who care for them.

'By focusing our collective time, energy and resources on these most preventative years, we can make a huge difference to the physical and mental health and happiness of generations to come.

In the clip, the royal swept her hair into a bouncy blow dry style, tucking part of it behind her shoulder.

Introducing the film last night at a BAFTA screening, the princess said: 'The campaign is fundamentally about shining a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes the adults we become.

'During this time we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. And it is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live.

'This is why it is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years, but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.'
A woman has told how she was left in a state of shock after giving birth to her daughter in the passenger seat of a car while stuck in traffic.

Deshai Fudd, 23, from Atlanta, Georgia, started feeling contractions in the morning of November 29 and when her husband Loston returned from work they decided to head to hospital.

However, within 10 minutes of driving, Deshai's waters broke and she ended up delivering her newborn somewhere along the I-75 north.

Recounting the chain of events, the now mom-of-three told Fox 5 News: 'I was like oh my gosh my water just broke and then something like exploded in my pants... a second later she was in my pants... I didn't even have time to have an emotion it was just total shock.'

Deshai Fudd, 23, from Atlanta, Georgia, has told how she was left in a state of shock after giving birth to her daughter in the passenger seat of a car while stuck in traffic

Deshai started feeling contractions in the morning of November 29 and when her husband Loston returned from work they decided to head to hospital

In a bid to speed up the drive to hospital Loston, 25, frantically flagged down a police car so it could put its lights on and fast-track them through the traffic.

While they were making their way to the hospital, Deshai said she made sure that her baby was warm and breathing okay.

She explained to NeedToKnow.Online: 'She didn't cry so we were concerned until I felt her move.

'My husband was yelling and asking if she was okay and asking what he should do.

'I told him to keep driving and get us to the hospital! I was panicking at first but I just wanted to reassure my husband that she was okay and to just keep driving so we could to the hospital as soon as possible.'

When they got to the hospital, the Fudds were greeted by around 15 medical staff.

Luckily, baby Dariya was 'in mint condition', weighing five pounds and 12 ounces

The newborn was discharged from hospital with her family the day after her car birth

When they got to the hospital, the Fudds were greeted by around 15 medical staff

The Fudds say they can't wait to tell their daughter about her unusual delivery

Deshai, with daughters Demiah and Dariya, says her youngest is doing 'amazing'

Deshai was transferred into a wheelchair, while her newborn's umbilical cord was cut and she was taken for checkups.

Luckily, baby Dariya was 'in mint condition', weighing five pounds and 12 ounces and she was discharged with her mom the next day.

Deshai says both she and her baby are doing 'amazing' and she is enjoying watching her 'baby girl grow'.

She is also a mom to Demiah, four, and Lamell, two.

The Georgian has admitted that the traumatic birth did leave her feeling down for a while and she often replays the moment in her head.

She mused: 'Honestly, I was pretty down about the entire situation.

'I was wondering if I hadn't told my husband to go ahead and go to work, would we have made it to the hospital in time?

'I thank God that my baby is healthy and safe and that was what kept me afloat.'

While Dariya was born in late November, the story about her birth recently went viral after her mom detailed it in a TikTok video

Many commenters have deemed wide-eyed Dariya 'beautiful' and 'gorgeous'

Mom Deshai admitted that the traumatic birth did leave her feeling down for a while and she often replays the moment in her head

Deshai says the kind words from people on social media have helped to lift her spirits. She said: 'I am very thankful for all the positivity that my family has been receiving'

While Dariya was born in late November, the story about her birth recently went viral after her mom detailed it in a TikTok video.

The clip, which shows a selection of footage from the big day, has been viewed more than 11 million views with many commenters in awe of Deshai's strength and her baby's speedy delivery.

'Her just chilling in your pants is kinda funny, congrats,' one person said.

Another person added: 'She seemed all comfortable right there lol.'

'The baby in your pants like a baby kangaroo in its mommas pouch. Congratulations! Hope you're okay,' one person wrote.

Someone else said: 'Not all super heroes wear capes! Super Mom.'

'Is this Atlanta traffic?! Omg congratulations,' another person commented.

Many viewers have also deemed wide-eyed Dariya 'beautiful' and 'gorgeous'.

Deshai says the kind words from viewers have helped lift her spirits.

She concluded: 'When I posted the video and got all the loving and supporting comments it made me feel better than anyone would know.

'I am very thankful for all the positivity that my family has been receiving it makes me so happy!'
If you fall pregnant with an IUD, you are likely to experience complications

A 20-year-old woman who got pregnant while on birth control has detailed the shocking moment her baby was born - with her IUD in his hand.

Violet Quick, from Idaho, married her husband John Francis at 19, and while the two lovebirds weren't planning on having a child, just one year into their marriage they were met with a surprise when the now-mom-of-one learned she was expecting.

Violet and John welcomed their baby boy Rudy one week ago and in a viral video, which has amassed 22.8 million views, the new mom shared footage of their son clasping her contraception device just moments after he was born.

In the viral video, Violet showed footage of her newborn proudly holding up his mother's birth control.

Violet Quick, 20, from Idaho, got pregnant while on birth control has revealed her baby came out of the womb clutching her IUD

She married her husband John Francis at 19, and while the two weren't planning on having a child, just one year into their marriage, Violet learned she was expecting

Violet and John welcomed their baby boy Rudy one week ago and shared footage of their son clasping her contraception deceive just moments after he was born

A newborn while using birth control? How you can fall pregnant with an IUD and the effects An IUD is one of the most effective forms of birth control, with an over 99 per cent success rate, meaning that fewer than one of out 100 people with an IUD will get pregnant each year.

In very rare cases, you can get pregnant while using an IUD because your IUD has been misplaced.

If you do fall pregnant with an IUD, you are more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, according to Healthline.

According to Healthline, if you want to stay pregnant, you should remove the IUD early in pregnancy. Advertisement

She revealed that Rudy left even the nurses in shock as they all rushed to see her IUD baby.

'When all the nurses come in to see a baby with his IUD,' Violet captioned the video.

In a series of videos, Violet revealed that she decided to take a pregnancy test out of precaution because she had been nauseous for the past two weeks.

'So I had my Skyla IUD for nine months before I got pregnant and the reason that I decided to take a test was because I was feeling nauseous for about two weeks and I would just throw up every once in a while.

'I didn't know what was going on and so I took a test and it was positive right away,' the 20-year-old explained.

Not fully believing she was pregnant, Violet was stunned when she saw the positive result and proceed to take six more tests to confirm her results.

'They were all positive and I actually went to the ER and I was seven weeks pregnant,' she explained.

She advised her over 6,000 followers to 'take a test,' if they were experiencing any symptoms, even if they were on birth control.

'I would say if you are having any of those signs of pregnancy or if your period is late to take a test.

'It's better to know because there is a high risk of having ectopic pregnancies when you have an IUD, but they work for the most part, someone has to be the .01 per cent and that's me and my baby,' she added.

She revealed that Rudy left even the nurses in shock as they all rushed to see her IUD baby

In a series of videos, Violet revealed that she decided to take a pregnancy test out of precaution because she had been nauseous for the past two weeks

After the mom's photo of her newborn clenching the IUD in his tiny fist went viral, many wondered how one could even conceive a baby while using the contraception device

And after the mom's photo of her newborn baby clenching the IUD in his tiny fist went viral, many wondered how one could even conceive a baby while having the contraception device inside them.

An IUD is one of the most effective forms of birth control, with an over 99 per cent success rate, meaning that fewer than one of out 100 people with an IUD will get pregnant each year.

In very rare cases, you can get pregnant while using an IUD because your IUD has been misplaced.

If an IUD slips out of place the risk of falling pregnant increases.

You can check the placement of IUD from the comfort of your home or go to your doctor's office to receive an ultrasound.

To ensure your IUD hasn't moved on your own, insert your index or middle finger into your vagina. You should be able to feel the strings attached to the IUD, but not the plastic itself.

If you are unable to feel your IUD strings, contact your doctor to schedule an ultrasound exam.

Violet revealed that her IUD was still in place when she discovered she was expecting.

An IUD is one of the most effective forms of birth control, with an over 99 per cent success rate, meaning that fewer than one of out 100 people with an IUD will get pregnant each year

If you do fall pregnant with an IUD, you are more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, according to Healthline

However, many cases have also seen women, like Violet, give birth to healthy babies while having the contraception device in them

If you do fall pregnant with an IUD, you are more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, according to Healthline.

However, many cases have also seen women, like Violet, give birth to healthy babies while having the contraception device in them.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a pregnancy develops outside of your uterus. It can happen if a fertilized egg begins to grow in your fallopian tube.

While rare, ectopic pregnancies are extremely serious and if left untreated can even be fatal.

According to the International Journal of Womens Health, an estimated two out of 10,000 women with a hormonal IUD will experience an ectopic pregnancy, while it affects five out 10,000 with a copper IUD each year.

Miscarriages - which occur when a pregnancy ends spontaneously after its 20 week - are also more common while using the IUD.

According to Healthline, if you want to stay pregnant, you should remove the IUD early in pregnancy

According to Healthline, if you want to stay pregnant, you should remove the IUD early in pregnancy.

And while doctors recommend the removal of the contraception device early in the pregnancy, sometimes, they have no choice but to keep the birth control in.

If the IUD strings curl up into the cervix due to the enlarging fetus, the IUD can't be reached and attempting to remove it could potentially danger both the mother or pregnancy.

And while the effectiveness rate is high, if an IUD slips out of place the risk of falling pregnant increases.

If you develop any of these signs or symptoms while using an IUD, contact your doctor and/or take a pregnancy test. The symptoms include: fever, chills, excruciating pain or cramps in your lower belly, unusual discharge or heavy bleeding coming from your vagina, pain or bleeding during sex.

And although rare, many women in Violet's comments section shared their own stories of their IUD babies

And although rare, many women in Violet's comments section shared their own stories of their IUD babies.

One user said: 'Watching this with my IUD baby asleep in my arms.'

Grown up IUD baby here,' commented another user.

Another user added: 'I have an IUD baby, shes almost 12 now lol!'

'Seven weeks with my IUD baby, got the IUD removed but it happened while it was in,' said one user.
READ MORE: Queen Maxima stuns in a red dress and hat

Maxima looked chic in her green jumpsuit, orange belt and stylist sun glasses

The Dutch royals went to the Aruba site as part of their two week Caribbean tour

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Princess Amalia looked effortlessly chic as they cut leaves from an aloe plant during their Caribbean tour.

During the Dutch royals' second day in Aruba, Amalia was seen cutting the plant while wearing thick yellow rubber gloves.

The Princess of Orange was neatly dressed in a voluminous green blouse and loose fitting white trousers.

More snaps were taken of Maxima and Amalia together, where they were pictured walking while holding a bouquet of flowers.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Princess Amalia (left) looked effortlessly chic as they cut leaves from an aloe plant during their Caribbean tour

The Dutch queen looked elegant in her cream coloured top and a salmon knee length skirt.

The 51-year-old royal spruced up her look with a pink headpiece, stylist sunglasses and understated silver jewellery.

The news comes after the two royals and King Willem-Alexander were spotted during their visit to Arikok National Park earlier today.

The Dutch royals explored the Aruba site as part of their two week tour of the Caribbean islands.

The three have also penciled in visits to Bonaire, Curacao and St Maarten before travelling to St Eustatius and Saba.

During the Dutch royals' second day in Aruba, Amalia (above) was seen cutting the plant while wearing thick yellow rubber gloves

The Princess of Orange (above) was neatly dressed in a voluminous green blouse and loose fitting white trousers

More snaps were taken of Maxima and Amalia together, where they were pictured walking while holding a bouquet of flowers

In the snaps, Maxima was dressed for the occasion, donning a green jumpsuit, large orange belt and stylish sunglasses.

The Argentinean Royal had her thick blonde hair tied up while showcasing her long and ornate earrings.

The 51-year-old queen was also carrying a small beige coloured bag in her right hand, which was adorned with a large animal and palm trees.

Meanwhile King Willem was practically dressed in his light green chinos and blue short sleeved shirt.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, the King Willem-Alexander and the Princess of Orange (above) were spotted during their visit to the Arikok National Park today.

The Dutch royal wore a cap and sun glasses to protect himself from the sweltering 28C heat in Aruba.

In the meantime, the Princess of Orange looked effortlessly chic in her baggy chinos and loose-fitting yellow blouse.

One shot shows the three royals posing for the cameras with cacti behind them and a clear blue sky above.

Other photos show the royals being directed by a man with black hair and glasses about something in the distance.

The news comes after the Princess of Orange, 19, accompanied her mother, 51, to a welcome ceremony in Wilhelmina Square in Oranjestad yesterday.

The Dutch royals explored the Aruba site as part of their two week tour of the Caribbean islands

The three Dutch royals (right) have also penciled in visits to Bonaire, Curacao and St Maarten before travelling to St Eustatius and Saba

In the snaps, Maxima (right) was dressed for the occasion, donning a green jumpsuit, large orange belt and stylist sunglasses

The Argentinean Royal (right) had her thick blonde hair tied up while showcasing her long and ornate earrings

King Willem (above) wore a cap and sun glasses to protect himself from the sweltering 28C heat in Aruba.

The royals have had a packed itinerary so far, meeting with Governor Alfonso Boekhoudt and cabinet employees at the Cas Ceremonial following the welcome ceremony.

King Willem-Alexander, 54, also attended the events with his family, which included a cultural tour of nearby town San Nicolas in the afternoon.

The monarch yesterday wore a smart navy blue suit to the welcome ceremony, which he paired with a light orange tie, the colour of his country and family, the House of Orange-Nassau.

Catharina-Amalia is the eldest of the King and his Argentine wife's three daughters, and therefore his future heir.

The news comes after the Princess of Orange, 19, accompanied her mother, 51, to a welcome ceremony in Wilhelmina Square in Oranjestad.=

As the popular royals began on the second leg of their Caribbean tour, onlookers waved Dutch flags and applauded them as they waved enthusiastically back at the crowds.

Although the Netherlands is the largest and wealthiest part, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is actually comprised of four constituent countries - all of which have equal status.

Along with the Netherlands itself, the members are Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten, each of which is a constitutional monarchy with King Willem-Alexander as its head of state and its own parliament.

Three further Caribbean islands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, are administered as municipalities of the Netherlands and as such, inhabitants are Dutch citizens with the same rights and responsibilities.

Until 2010, all the Caribbean islands, with the exception of Aruba, were part of the Dutch Antilles - an entity that was dissolved and its residents given the choice of independence or integration.

The arrangement is similar to that between the Commonwealth Realms, all of which have Britain's monarch as head of state but have separate directly elected parliaments.
Princess of Wales visited Leeds today to mark the start of her landmark project

Kate joked that she wouldn't be getting Valentine's Day roses from William

The Princess of Wales has been supported by her husband ahead of the launch of her early years campaign - but joked Valentine's Day roses from Prince William may not happen.

Kate, 41, marked the start of her landmark project, Shaping Us, by visiting Leeds today; she toured its Kirkgate Market to meet stall holders and members of the public to hear their views about her campaign.

During her trip, she stopped at florist Neil Ashcroft's business, where she admired his display of flowers and with Valentine's Day just a fortnight away he said 'William will be buying you some roses?' and then cheekily offered her a discount on the blooms.

After presenting her with a bouquet of hyacinths he claimed were her favourite flowers, the stall holder said: 'I suggested William will be buying her roses and she said "I don't think he will do"'.

The Princess of Wales has been supported by her husband ahead of the launch of her early years campaign - but joked Valentine's Day roses from Prince William may not happen

The Prince of Wales supported his wife when he joined Kate at a BAFTA event on Monday night where the princess met supporters of her project and launched a campaign film.

Her Shaping Us campaign has been described as the princess' 'life's work' and is aimed at highlighting the significance of the formative years of a child's life.

In a video message to mark the launch Kate said: 'Our early childhood, the time from pregnancy to the age of five, fundamentally shapes the rest of our lives. But as a society, we currently spend much more of our time and energy on later life.

'Today, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood is launching a new campaign, Shaping Us, to raise awareness of the life-changing impact we can have when we build a supportive, nurturing world around children and those who care for them.'

The Prince of Wales supported his wife (pictured together) when he joined Kate at a BAFTA event on Monday night where the princess met supporters of her project and launched a campaign film

Kate (pictured right), 41, marked the start of her landmark project, Shaping Us, by visiting Leeds today; she toured its Kirkgate Market to meet stall holders and members of the public to hear their views about her campaign

Meanwhile, the Shaping Us short film highlights how babies and children develop in response to their earliest experiences.

The 90-second claymation film depicts how the development of a young girl from the age of zero to five is shaped by interactions and her environment, and will be shown in cinemas from Friday.

During her tour Kate was mobbed by shoppers unaware the Victorian market would be having a royal visit and one pensioner referred to the future Queen as 'love' when they chatted.

Shirley Wainwright, 75, from Harrogate, said she made Kate laugh when she told her: 'I didn't know love you were coming, it was a complete surprise. I'm just coming on the bus from Harrogate when I came across you.'

During her trip, she stopped at florist Neil Ashcroft's business, where she admired his display of flowers and with Valentine's Day just a fortnight away he said 'William will be buying you some roses?' and then cheekily offered her a discount on the blooms

Kate pictured waving to the crowds after her tour of Kirkgate Market in Leeds, West Yorkshire this morning

The Princess of Wales laughed as she waved to royal fans during her tour of the Leeds Kirkgate Market

Later Kate joined a discussion with a group of individuals who have been involved with Child Friendly Leeds, launched in 2012 and designed to encourage the city to make Leeds the best place for youngsters to grow up in, with the belief the community will see social and economic benefits.

She told them: '(Having) children and young people at the heart of the city and community here is really impressive.'

Later, speaking about Shaping Us, she said to the group, who included representatives from West Yorkshire Police and other local institutions: 'Having a chit chat with some of the parents downstairs they feel this is an issue for them'.

Later, Kate arrived at the University of Leeds where she met students on the Childhood Studies programme, telling them: 'I really want to come and study again.'

The Princess of Wales pictured touring the iconic market in Leeds this morning. She wore a longline green coat, dark brown suede boots and a cream dress

The Princess of Wales styled her hair in a bouncy blow-dry and opted for a brown smokey eye for this afternoon's engagement

The Princess of Wales speaks with vendors who have worked at the market for over 30 years and members of the public about their reflections on the film

As she toured around the market, the Princess politely ignored a wolf whistle from a royal fan

She told one group: 'It makes me want to be back at uni. Everyone says it's never too late.'

The princess discussed with students the importance of early years development, asking them about their dissertations.

One student said she was looking at the role of outdoor play in childhood and the royal visitor said 'this is something I'm really passionate about', discussing with the group her visit to a forest school in Denmark.

The Princess chose to visit Leeds today as part of the city's ongoing ambition to become the best place in the UK for young people and children to grow up in.

The Princess of Wales matched her emerald tailored coat with an old favourite suede handbag by Manu Atelier

The Princess of Wales pictured arriving at the University of Leeds where she attended a 'Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Supporting Children's Learning' lecture

The royal mother-of-three spoke with a young royal fan and their mother as they toured the market in Leeds

In 2012, the city launched Child Friendly Leeds with the belief that by investing in and supporting children, young people and their families, the whole city will see immediate and longer-term social and economic benefits.

Leeds City Council, working with partners to deliver enrichment programmes to improve outcomes, has seen a safe reduction in the number of youngsters being taken into care, more teenagers going into education, employment and training, and better school attendance.

Leeds Kirkgate Market opened in 1857 and is home to hundreds of local independent businesses covering everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, butchers, and fishmongers, to a Community Library, cookery school and Volunteer Centre.

During the BAFTA screening last night, the Princess of Wales described the Shaping Us programme as her 'life's work'.
A 23-year-old has told how she's the the parent of a 17-year-old after becoming the legal guardian of her half-sister.

Hunter Nelson, who is currently based in Kentucky, started posting about her unusual family setup on TikTok in a bid to help others going through similar situations.

In a series of posts, she informs people that she did not have a child when she was six, but rather she took teenage Gracie into her care in 2021. The two share the same father and he passed away in 2015.

Then, in May 2021, Gracie's mother also died and that's when Hunter decided to find a way of filing for guardianship her to keep her 'safe, happy and have all her needs and wants met' instead of her being put into foster care.

Kentucky-based Hunter Nelson started posting about her family setup on TikTok. She took teenage Gracie into her care in 2021 after her parents died

The two share the same father and he passed away in 2015. Then, in May 2021, Gracie's mother also died and that's when Hunter decided to find a way of filing for guardianship

A shot of Hunter meeting her half-sister Gracie shortly after she was born

While many people told Hunter she was throwing her life away, she says becoming a mom has changed her life for the better.

The college student, who is majoring in elementary school education, explains: 'My life took on a whole new purpose when she came to live with me!! I love seeing her get to enjoy being a teenager.'

Following the death of her father, the social services were either looking at putting Gracie into foster care or with an aunt, but the aunt didn't prove to be a good fit.

'Things were going on that... just weren't safe for Gracie,' Hunter explained.

She also touched on there being a history alcohol abuse in the family, with her father drinking heavily with his partners.

In a bid to help her North Carolina-based sister out, Hunter filed for legal guardianship which she said cost around $120 at the time.

Growing up, Hunter said she and Gracie 'were never really that close' as they grew up five hours apart

While many people told Hunter she was throwing her life away, she says becoming a mom has changed her life for the better

Hunter said of her boyfriend: 'Honestly I could not do anything without him, he is so supportive of me, he's proud of me, he lets me know that I'm doing a good job'

However, she needed a signature from a family member and the 'resentful' aunt wasn't willing to sign off. In the end, the matter went to court.

Following a legal battle, the case was settled and Hunter won guardianship of her half-sister.

She said when Gracie moved in with her, all she had was a backpack full of clothes and a small dog which was pregnant.

To make Gracie feel at home, Hunter said she made her bedroom 'super cute and got her some clothes.'

In one video she details some of the fears she had on becoming a mom at 15. Presented as though they are her inner thoughts, the accompanying captions read: 'No other parents or staff members at her high school are gonna [sic] take me serious.

We have fun together, we love each other and we do like things that sisters do but then also I'm her only parental figure

'I can already feel people asking me what grade I'm in when I go to her events How am I going to teach her how to drive when I can barely get down the road.'

While Hunter said taking on the role of mom has been tough, she says she has had lots of support from friends, her own mom and her boyfriend.

She says of her boyfriend: 'Honestly I could not do anything without him, he is so supportive of me, he's proud of me, he lets me know that I'm doing a good job... and his mom is such a godsend as well.'

Since posting about her story online, Hunter has been inundated with comments from intrigued viewers.

To begin with, many people were confused about how she became a mom so young, so Hunter went about detailing her situation step-by-step.

In terms of what home life is like, many people asked Hunter if she enforces rules to which she answered 'yes.'

She says doesn't allow Gracie to have sleep overs at her friends' houses, she cannot smoke, she cannot drink alcohol and she cannot vape.

Gracie does not call Hunter 'mom' but she does respect her as an elder

Hunter and Gracie also have another half-sister who is the product of a third relationship their father had

On the subject of social media, Hunter says Gracie is allowed on apps such as TikTok and Instagram 'but I do follow her to kind of like regulate who's interacting with her.'

Other commenters have been intrigued about what the relationship is like between Hunter and Gracie as they are so close in age.

One commenter quipped: 'Do y'all have a strong sister bond relationship or more a mother daughter one?'

In response, Hunter said the relationship is 'a bit of both' but her primary role is 'parent'.

She continued: 'She does understand that it is my job to keep her safe - I am her guardian.

'I have to like make sure she is not making any harmful decisions to herself or other people around her.

'We have fun together, we love each other and we do like things that sisters do but then also I'm her only parental figure so it adds that extra element into it.

'She has rules and chores to do. I do everything her mom would do.'

The aspiring teacher says that she had some money saved up, she has a part-time job and both she and Gracie received some money from their dad passing away

While Gracie respects Hunter as an elder she doesn't call her 'mom.'

Growing up, Hunter said she and Gracie 'were never really that close' as they grew up five hours apart.

One family photo unearthed by Hunter shows her meeting her baby half-sister for the first time in hospital.

Another photo shows her smiling as she cradles the newborn back home on the couch.

The two also have another half sister, who is the product of a third relationship their father had.

Some people have asked how Hunter manages financially.

The aspiring teacher says that she had some money saved up, she has a part-time job and both she and Gracie received some money from their dad passing away.

Summing up life as a mom, Hunter says in one of her video clips: 'It fluctuates. Some days it is really, really hard and I think I'm going to pull my hair out.

'Somedays it is so easy and we get along so great. That's been the hardest part for me, is having to admit when I need help and having to ask for that help.'

Looking ahead, Hunter is concentrating on graduating college and helping Gracie to pass her driving test.

She concludes: 'I think that it really worked out for the best for the both of us and I think we're both very happy now.'
Underlining the health aspect, Owaisi in a Tweet said the existing policy was making tobacco more affordable. (Twitter)

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi urged Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to bring tobacco products under the highest tax bracket when she tables the Budget 2022-23 in Parliament on Wednesday.

Underlining the health aspect, Owaisi in a Tweet said the existing policy was making tobacco more affordable. "Very important that all tobacco products are covered in the highest tax bracket. Nirmala Sitharaman Madam it is in the interest of our economy and health of our next generations that tobacco is taxed well. Currently the policy is making tobacco more and more affordable," he Tweeted.
She said that others should learn to utilize what they have to save money

The mom explained that she learned how to invest and is now worth millions

Nicole Victoria, 32, from Canada, revealed how she retired before 40

A mom has revealed her top money investing tips that helped her achieve financial freedom, a net worth of $3,000,000  and will allow her to retire before her forties.

Nicole Victoria, 32, an author and investor from Canada, is a self-made millionaire who has been given the freedom to live life as she pleases after becoming 'work optional' in her 30s.

Seeing her family deal with financial struggles throughout her childhood, prompted her to begin investing, learning to live on less than what she makes and discovering how to avoid burnout.

Now, she has shared her top tips on how to get started yourself  and claims anyone can reach similar levels of success.

Nicole Victoria, 32, an author and investor from Canada, has revealed her top money investing tips in a bid to achieve financial freedom  and claims they will help her retire before her forties

She is a self-made millionaire who has been given the freedom to live life as she pleases after becoming 'work optional' in her 30s

Nicole managed to gain her real estate license and, while working two other jobs, started selling homes, earning commission  which she carefully saved up.

By the age of 25, she had $100,000 saved and was able to invest $15,000 into her first property which she flipped two years later  making a profit of $150,000.

Nicole has never looked back, using her business knowledge and savvy to carefully invest her money, including buying a property that she rents out and another which she resides in.

Incredibly, having built up her stock portfolio 'enormously' and investing in mortgage investment corporations, she says she now has an overall net worth of $3,000,000.

Along with her husband, Justin, 35, and their two children, Liam, three and Zachary, one, she is now living a life of freedom, with her partner also able to retire.

Less is more! Live on less than what you make

While income is important to save, so are monitoring daily expenses  and Nicole believes people who increase their lifestyle on earnings alone are risking loss

Nicole was first thrusted into her first job as a cashier at local fast food chain, Wendy's.

In her late teens, she recalls hitting 'rock bottom' as she struggled to earn money and knew things needed to change in order to turn her life around.

Nicole enrolled in a business course to get her qualifications at 19, and started teaching herself as much as she could about personal finance and investing, while working restaurant jobs to pay the bills.

After graduating at 23, she took a corporate job in an office earning $43,000 a year, while working weekends as a receptionist.

While income is important to save, so are monitoring daily expenses  and Nicole believes people who increase their lifestyle on earnings alone are risking loss.

She said: 'You can become rich making loads of money per year, but it all depends on what you do with it.

She said: 'My parents lived paycheck-to-paycheck without the ability to really save for anything, so I became quite frugal'

'So many people increase their lifestyle when they start to make more, but probably due to my scarcity mindset and the belief I could lose everything, I kept my expenses low.

'My parents lived paycheck-to-paycheck without the ability to really save for anything, so I became quite frugal.

'When I started making more money, on paper I could have easily afforded a "nicer" car, but although a luxury vehicle might feel cool for the first few weeks, after the novelty wears off it just becomes the means you use to get to work,' she explained.

The mom noted that her and her husband even share a car and use public transportation to cut down on costs.

'Instead, I drive an affordable Kia SUV, and my husband and I have always shared a car and used transit to get where we needed to go.

'I don't deprive myself of things, but I found that after doing the inner work and changing how I thought about money, I stopped wanting to spend as much.'

Get ahead of the game! Investing early and often leads to success

Many people believe the higher amount of money invested, equals a higher amount of success  but Nicole said even $60 per month can be life-changing

Many people believe the higher amount of money invested, equals a higher amount of success  but Nicole said even $60 per month can be life-changing.

Speaking about her experience, she said: 'Time is more important than money when you get started, but the key above all else is to just start.

'Even $60 a month can grow into hundreds of thousands over time.

'Also, invest defensively. You can't control the market when you invest, but look at how you're doing this by keeping your emotions out of it, and project for the future.

'This means setting yourself up for success by expecting the unexpected, as life will always throw negativity at some point  but succeeding means predicting.

'Build an emergency fund, pay off any high-interest debt and don't gamble with money when you invest.

Speaking about her experience, she said: 'Time is more important than money when you get started, but the key above all else is to just start'

'For example, I go with diversified funds, so my eggs aren't all in one basket and I lived in my real estate investments, so I didn't overstretch myself.

'The key is to just start somewhere  even if it's small  be prepared and, most importantly, take your time to learn before you jump in so you don't make gambling-type mistakes.'

'My biggest advice is to never build wealth simply by saving, budgeting and couponing  learn how to maximize your current income.

'Investing isn't a nice thing to have, it's a must-have if you ever want to stop working,' she added.

Flashy isn't best! Utilize the home you have instead of upgrading just because you can afford it

The mom revealed that one the most important tips she followed was to utilize the things she already had rather than buying new items.

Nicole explained: 'Most people think buying a "done up" home is an investment, but your home is actually a liability if you don't have a strategy for how it's going to make you money.

The mom revealed she utilizes the things she already had rather than buying new items

'Even if your home goes up in value over time, it doesn't mean you've made money - it just means you're living in it. Without a plan to take the money out you will never realize those gains,' she explained.

Nicole added that while many splurge on a home because they believe the value will go up in time, that isn't always the case.

'There's a false belief that simply buying a home will build you wealth, but this prevents people from actually making other real investments.

'My first property was ugly and one most people wouldn't have wanted, but I saw good prospects for appreciation based on the neighborhood, size and other aspects.

'Because I bought this "unwanted" home, I had more room to easily increase the value and I did what others didn't want to do, but made the money they didn't.

'I continued this with other properties and built up my portfolio.'

Avoid burnout! Don't overwork yourself

After graduating, Nicole believed working multiple jobs would provide security  but this only resulted in burnout

Now, she advises others to maximize their current income, rather than stretching their personal time

After graduating, Nicole believed working multiple jobs would provide security  but this only resulted in burnout.

She said: 'At one point, I had a full-time, weekend and sales job, which was a quick path to burnout.

'Instead of working more, I learned to negotiate my salary for an increase, so I could make more for every hour of my life that I was already working,' she exlained.

Now, she advises others to maximize their current income, rather than stretching their personal time.

'I also invested in my education to learn a new skill, which helped me make more, such as a higher certification in my current job.

'It's not bad to job hop either, and actually staying at the same company for more than two years stifles salary growth.

'This is partially why I went into real estate, as I was able to double my income because I didn't have a limit to what I could make.'

Now, she's used her top tips to secure financial freedom and runs her own business as a money expert to help others.

She explained that there is a belief that you must retire by a certain age and work until that age, but she didn't want to follow that path

She said: 'We get one ride in life and I want to make the most of it instead of being on the "exhaustive treadmill" forever'

She said: 'After seeing how much people were struggling, I realized there was a need for this education, so I started my social media account and created both free and paid programs to ensure everyone can build their dream lives.

'It's been the most beautiful journey in the world, as I've worked for thousands of students and I've seen entire lives changed.

'I can't believe I get to help people find their happiness.

'I'd never go back to a regular job, but if I did, I'd want something low stress where I get to connect with others.'

'For a while, I believed life would always be a struggle and that people who had money were lucky,' Nicole said.

She explained that there is a belief that you must retire by a certain age and work until that age, but she didn't want to follow that path.

'Retirement isn't an age, it's a number in the bank  and when you hit that number, you get to stop working, but if you never hit it, then you'll be stuck.

'We get one ride in life and I want to make the most of it instead of being on the "exhaustive treadmill" forever.'
When maths teacher Kevin Lister received a message from his 17-year-old student, Lizzie, telling him she would now like to be called Liam, he was concerned.

It was September 2021, only days into the new term at the college where he worked in the South West, and Lizzie had previously shown no signs of wanting to identify as a boy.

Id experienced this in my previous school, where a girl had wanted to transition, says Mr Lister, a 60-year-old father of two. Id had no idea about gender ideology at the time and raised concerns but went along with it, calling her by a different name and he/him pronouns.

But at parents evening, when I had referred to the pupil as him, the parents referred to her throughout. They didnt challenge me, but it made things rather awkward.

Legal action: Maths teacher Kevin Lister was sacked for allegedly being a transphobe

So, Id already had my fingers burnt. I read up extensively on the problem and learned of serious long-term medical complications associated with transitioning.

When the issue rose again, Mr Lister raised a safeguarding concern with the college, asking whether Lizzies parents had been told of her request (they had not, although Mr Lister found this out only later) and whether Lizzie was aware of the potential long-term ramifications of such a decision.

He also queried whether there was a risk of her self-medicating with cross-sex hormones (unavailable to under-18s without prescription, but accessible off-prescription online) as this would violate the colleges drug policy.

Mr Lister says he was uncomfortable socially transitioning (using different names and pronouns) his student until these concerns had been addressed.

Crucially, he also says his bosses never gave him any written guidance. Instead, they expected staff to make decisions on their own, presumably to avoid any liability for the management. But Mr Lister's well-intentioned report sparked a chain of events that would turn his life upside down.

Five months later, he was suspended on full pay for transphobia. And last September, he was sacked for gross misconduct and reported to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a safeguarding violation, which he claims is preposterous and vehemently denies. He is now taking legal action against the college for wrongful dismissal and discrimination.

Mr Lister's story, though far from unique, reveals the extent to which gender ideology has infiltrated our educational establishments, confusing teachers and pupils alike.

It is also the perfect illustration of how teachers in UK schools have effectively been put on the front line of this brave new world of gender politics, but with precious little back-up or official guidance to call on when circumstances become fraught, as they so often do.

Last month, the Mail published my investigation into school children who are being socially transitioned without their parents consent  with requests from parents not to refer to their child using different names or pronouns ignored by teachers. I was surprised by the number of desperate teachers, from primary schools to further educational colleges, who contacted me after theyd read my article.

They spoke of the enormous pressure they face to socially transition students  some as young as five  whether their parents are involved or not.

Some, like Kevin, have expressed concerns and have lost their jobs. Others have been threatened with disciplinary action.

To some, it feels very much like being thrown to the wolves. The Department for Education last issued guidance in 2020, saying teachers in England should work together with parents on any decisions concerning a schools treatment of a child.

Last week, it was reported that the DfE will give teachers further official advice later this year, in which they will be warned against socially transitioning children who question their gender.

Yet the teachers we spoke to say that clearer official guidance is needed now.

Three days after hed raised concerns, Mr Lister heard that the college would not be telling Lizzies parents about her name change. In UK law, children over 16 can self-certify a new name, via whats known as an unenrolled deed poll (unlike a change made via an enrolled deed poll, for which you need to be 18, not all organisations will accept this), depending on the circumstances.

Mr Lister said: As a parent, I would have been furious. Shortly after this, the colleges safeguarding policy was updated to say we had to work in partnership with parents. I was now in a really difficult position.

I knew there was no parental consent, but I also knew I would be in trouble for deadnaming [using her previous name], so when I needed her attention in class, Id gesture at her  something the college later said was harassment by pointing.

Mr Lister's uncertainty over how to handle this delicate situation was compounded a month later by the student asking to be considered for an external girls-only maths competition.

I said, Of course you can  youre still a girl and I wrote Lizzie on the board with other contestants names. She subsequently entered the competition. I wondered if she was having second thoughts about her transition. After all, why enter a girls-only competition when youre telling people you want to be called by a boys name?

Three months later, in January 2022, Lizzies friend told Mr Lister to use male pronouns for Lizzie/Liam. Mr Lister repeated his concerns, and the friend made a complaint against him to her pastoral tutor.

When maths teacher Kevin Lister received a message from his 17-year-old student, Lizzie, telling him she would now like to be called Liam, he was concerned

Unbeknownst to Mr Lister, other teachers  whom he describes as trans-activists  were made aware of this and also raised complaints about him. And on February 28 last year, he was suspended.

Mr Lister was accused of transphobia for not referring to his student as a male, using their legal name in an official reference and asking during a transgender training session about the risk of a false-positive transgender diagnosis.

The college accused me of causing emotional distress, which they said was a safeguarding violation, but this comes nowhere near a defined safeguarding threshold, Mr Lister says.

He reported his college to Ofsted, which, in turn, reported it to the DfE whistleblowing service.

I was appalled to see that the DfE blindly accepted the colleges claim that theyd done a risk assessment for Lizzie, even though the principal had previously told me they did not need to do one, Mr Lister says.

They justified this to me by saying Lizzie was only asking for a name change. Given that I had been suspended for transphobia, this was nonsense.

Ive never been transphobic, which would mean trying to harm them or deprive them of their education. Even if Lizzie had asked to change her name to another girls name, such as Sally or Evie, I would still have raised a safeguarding concern.

Mr Lister says the DfE recommended the college do a risk assessment of its transitioning policy, which he says encourages students to transition.

On their diversity report, they boast of their increasing number of trans students and their gender reassignment policy is written in conjunction with trans-activists, Kevin says.

Some of it conflicts with safeguarding policy and gives no consideration for the teachers having to lie to parents. There are no warnings about the consequences of transitioning.

In my view, the college is totally invested in transgender philosophy and has lied throughout the process to protect their position. They have not once considered the implications of the Cass review [an independent review into gender identity and children] or any other evidence.

Their policy favours trans-activist teachers, and this is the consequence of no government guidance.

I think the college was going to fire me, irrespective of what I said. Their final justification was to say that I hadnt followed their gender reassignment procedure, which wasnt even contractual. What I had done was follow their safeguarding procedure, which was contractual.

No school will employ me while I have a safeguarding concern against me. I want to teach maths, but I am forced to defend myself against unfounded accusations of transphobia. My tribunal result wont be for a year and thousands of children could be affected between now and then.

I dont have any views about transgenderism in general. I simply look at the best quality evidence I can find.

When approached by the Mail, the college said no one was available to comment.

But Mr Lister is not alone. Vanessa Smiths 12-month supply teaching contract at an East Midlands primary school was brought to an abrupt halt when she expressed concerns over transitioning two boys aged only eight and five.

I was a Year 1 teacher on long-term supply and Thomas, a five-year-old boy in my class, had an older brother, George, eight, who was now being referred to as his sister, says Vanessa, who has taught for more than ten years. The mother who was leading it all had learning difficulties, was barely able to read or write and was a victim of domestic violence, which the boys had both witnessed. The family were very vulnerable.

The actual words the headteacher used as proof [that George was trans] were: Mums concerned about George because shes played with too many dolls in nursery. I couldnt believe what I was hearing. A child playing with different toys isnt a sign that theyre trans.

The entire Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and most of the staff were congratulating themselves on being so inclusive [by accepting this unofficial diagnosis], so I didnt dare say anything at that point.

From there, it snowballed into socially transitioning the child without any medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Ms Smith says the child in question was autistic, a diagnosis that was made by a team of professionals including an educational psychologist.

(In 2020, research carried out by Cambridge University showed there may be a link between autism and gender diversity.)

I was deeply concerned that this childs mental health could be harmed by calling him a girl, and I tried to swallow every concern because of the fear of reprisals, she says.

But by December, I decided that safeguarding was my priority, and if that meant taking the hit, then so be it.

I presented the SLT with guidance from organisations such as Transgender Trend [an organisation advocating for evidence-based care of gender dysphoric children and science-based teaching in schools], Safe Schools Alliance and the Cass Report.

They ignored everything and totally relied on guidance from pro-trans charity Mermaids, as well as the Local Authorities Trans Toolkit, which said that social affirmation was the right path.

I could only manage using they/them but never she/her. I did manage to speak to a couple of staff members who were horrified as well, but they wouldnt speak out for fear of being disciplined or losing their jobs.

Ms Smith said that George grew his hair long and started wearing nail varnish and make-up  despite the fact these were banned for girls in school. He carried on wearing trousers but started using the girls toilets because he was being bullied for being a girl, she said.

It must have been difficult for him and I had great sympathy for the family. The mother had been advised by Mermaids and she was vulnerable, too.

We were supposed to be the adults in the room, the ones who supported and helped, instead of blindly choosing to affirm the child immediately.

The situation was to become even more troubling for Ms Smith when, a few weeks later, Georges five-year-old brother in her class  who had also been referred to the autism team for probable diagnosis  came into school wearing nail varnish and eye shadow because his sister does.

Mr Lister says he was uncomfortable socially transitioning (using different names and pronouns) his student until these concerns had been addressed

Ms Smith said that though he didnt believe he was a girl thats what he was being told.

After Id seen the Cass interim report [which said that socially transitioning children is not a neutral act, and better information is needed about outcomes], I raised concerns with the SLT and was accused of transphobia. The head rang my agency and told me not to return to the school, leaving me with no income over Christmas.

Id been employed for a year but only lasted three months. I was actually relieved to be out of the situation, but concerned for the welfare of those two boys, particularly George.

My heart breaks for the  obviously effeminate  boy who is on a path towards medicalisation if no one steps in soon.

Ms Smith added: Thankfully, my agency has been very supportive and Ive got a much better role now, but I cant believe whats going on in schools.

There needs to be an audit of all third-party providers of Relationships and Sex education in schools to ensure gender ideology is not taught as fact.

The Safe Schools Alliance, a grassroots organisation which campaigns to uphold child safeguarding in schools, says teachers with similar concerns have been contacting them from throughout the UK.

Many teachers do understand their safeguarding responsibilities and are strongly committed to protecting the children in their care, said spokeswoman Tanya Carter. Sadly, they are often not backed up by leadership and management at their school or trust, or even their own union.

The National Education Union (NEU) continues to promote politically partisan and dangerous materials, despite being repeatedly challenged on it. Many of their members are distressed by this failure to prioritise child safeguarding.

It is way past time for the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, and the DfE to issue and enforce clear guidance that schools must segregate sports, changing rooms, toilets and overnight accommodation by sex, not gender, and work constructively with parents, including being transparent about materials used, and not promote partisan political views.

The NEU declined to give a comment to the Mail, but on its online Trans Toolkit it says: It is crucial that schools and colleges provide confidentiality in supporting trans students. In all other cases, the wishes of the pupil or student in respect of disclosure should be respected.

Schools and colleges should ensure they discuss with students, and with their parents or carers, when it will be necessary to disclose trans childrens legal names, for example when registering for exams and for medical record purposes.

Many teachers contacted me talked about a culture of fear within schools. Liane Gallagher, 57, a teacher in a co-ed grammar school in south-west England, says she was reported to the headteacher simply for discussing womens rights.

A 15-year-old boy in my class identifies as a girl, and were all expected to call them by their new name and she/her pronouns, Ms Gallagher said, who has been teaching for more than 30 years.

One day, the whole class got on to the subject of the suffragettes. I discussed how hard women had fought for their rights, and it was quite a lively conversation.

I didnt think any more of it. But later that day I discovered the boy had made a formal complaint about me because Id been talking about womens rights and he said he didnt feel safe.

Some of the girls were called into the headteachers office and, thankfully, they said I wasnt being transphobic. Had they agreed with this boy, I would have been seriously disciplined.

Its frightening because these children are being radicalised by this ideology. As teachers, we are supposed to do whats best for pupils, but now were all too scared to speak out if we are concerned.

All names apart from Kevins have been changed.
A reflection in the bottle's lid showed the product photographer with no shirt on

An Aussie shopper spotted a risque detail in a perfume bottle ad on Shein

An eagle-eyed shopper has spotted an X-rated detail in an ad for a perfume bottle on Shein's website.

The online fast fashion retailer listed a small perfume bottle for $3.95 but one Australian customer noticed a racy reflection in the shiny gold lid.

In a video posted to TikTok, they zoomed in on the bottle top to expose a reflection of the product photographer without a shirt on.

Scroll down for video

Can you spot the mistake in this perfume ad? An Australian shopper noticed an X-rated detail while browsing Shein's website

In a TikTok clip, the customer pointed out the online fast fashion retailer had failed to pick up on the reflection of the shirtless photographer in the bottle's shiny gold lid

The hilarious clip has been viewed more than 5.8million times with many in the comments thinking the risque gaffe was hysterical while others raced to Shein's site to see if it was real.

'They was working from home,' joked one person.

'I just went on Shein and it's actually true,' another said,

'I saw the same thing today when I was looking at Shein,' a third reported.

'I was looking for it on SHEIN but I saw another one and I think she just had her dressing gown on not tied aaahhh!!!' laughed a fourth

'The pictures are usually taken by customer or testing employees and then photoshopped to look more professional,' someone speculated.

Since the video went massively viral the $4 perfume bottle as been removed from the Shein website.

This isn't the first time Shein has raised shoppers' eyebrows.

Previously, the retail giant caused a stir after launching a pair of 'shorts' that leave very little to the imagination.

Previously, the retail giant caused a stir after launching a pair of 'shorts' that leave very little to the imagination

Complete with a waistband, belt loops, fly-buttons and a leather patch on the back reading 'Being Human', brave fashionistas can score the skimpy shorts for just $14.95

The 'Letter Patch Detail Denim Booty Shorts' are not only more revealing than a standard pair of underwear but are hardly bigger than a g-string.

Poll Would you wear the booty shorts? No, they are too short! Yes, love them! Would you wear the booty shorts? No, they are too short! 610 votes

Yes, love them! 270 votes Now share your opinion





Complete with a waistband, belt loops, fly-buttons and a leather patch on the back reading 'Being Human', brave fashionistas can score the skimpy shorts for just $14.95.

On Shein's website, the tiny hot pants are bizarrely described at 'straight leg' with a 'skinny fit', 'cropped' length and 'high stretch'.

Not all were put off by the racy shorts as it has received a string of five-star reviews but some reported they were too small.

'Too small I can't close buttons even with a large I will have to lose weight. Also no stretch,' one customer wrote.

'It looks different and is far more high waisted as you can tell by the length of the crotch so it fits weird,' said a second while a third simply commented: 'Cute but not great'.
Taking to UK parenting site Mumsnet, she said that she doesn't know what to say

A mother has said that she won't let her seven-year-old son go to the toilet alone

A mother has sparked debate after revealing that she won't let her seven-year-old son go to the men's toilet on his own.

Seeking advice, the mother took to the British parenting site Mumsnet to explain that he has started to complain about going to the ladies toilets with her.

She said she lets him go to the Gents in one public place where she knows there's 'never anyone about' beacuse she doesn't want him to 'see grown men using urinals', but she doesn't like the idea of it in busier places like the swimming pool toilets, on the off-chance 'someone dodgy' approaches him.

Commenters rushed to offer their opinions, with some claiming she is being 'paranoid' and creating an issue where none exists, while others sympathised and said they too would have concerns.

A mother has said that she won't let her seven-year-old son go to the toilet alone. Taking to UK parenting site Mumsnet, she said that she doesn't know how to explain why she doesn't want him using the Gents alone (stock image)

Explaining her predicament, the mother wrote: 'I'm sure this has been discussed before. When we're out and my boy needs the toilet, I make him come into the Ladies with me.

'Problem is, he's starting to complain about it and wants to go in the Gents on his own. I have let him do this in one particular place where there's never anyone about, so I knew he wouldn't encounter anyone at the urinals.

She continued: 'I'm always honest with him but I don't quite know how to explain why I'm not letting him do this anywhere else, like at the swimming pool/gym toilets.

Posting on the Am I Being Unreasonable? forum, the mother explained: 'He knows about the Pants rules and personal space and consent but I don't exactly want to spell out what I'm worried about. What do you tell your kids?'

She later clarified her point, saying she doesn't want him 'seeing grown men using urinals' or to run the risk of 'someone dodgy apporaching him'.

'We all know there are flashers and worse about. I saw them when I was a kid and so did most women I know,' she added.

Taking to UK parenting forum Mumsnet, one mother has asked what parents tell their children about going to the toilet alone, as she is afraid to let her seven-year-old son use the gents alone

However, some commenters accused her of paranoia and told the mother that he was too old to be going into the ladies with her and questioned when she would allow him to use the men's toilets alone.

One said: 'At what point will you allow him to go to the gents? A special outing on his 18th birthday?'

'I don't think most men's toilets are full of predators who hang out there all day waiting to pounce on a kid,' one wrote.

A third added: 'You're going to have to get comfortable with it sooner than later. He won't be able to go into the ladies for that much longer.'

Some commenters accused the mother of being 'paranoid' and said she was the one creating the issue

While a fourth suggested: 'Talk to him about how to handle different situations. I called in after mine that I was just outside, so anyone inside knew someone was watching.'

Responding to these questions, the mother explained her situation further saying that her son had only just turned seven.

She said: 'Obviously he's perfectly able to use a toilet himself, but the idea of him seeing grown men using urinals, or - even if it's a small chance - somebody dodgy approaching him, worries me.

'We all know there are flashers and worse about, I saw them when I was a kid and so did most women I know.

However, she recognised that she would have to change eventually and continued: 'At some point he just won't agree to go in the ladies, hopefully by then he'll be ready to handle any bad situations.'

Many users were quick to tell the mother that he was too old to be going into the ladies and one suggested that she talk to him about the different situations he could

One user sympathised with the mother and shared her own experience of letting her nine-year-old go to the toilet in a motorway service station alone

Replying, one user suggested: 'Let him go to the gents and you stand outside. Tell him to scream if somebody stops him from leaving. Otherwise continue with your stranger danger teachings. Hes got to learn to go by himself at some point.'

Another sympathised and said: 'My anxieties about public loos with my just 9-year-old when he goes in alone are often about losing him - I'm thinking of the busy motorway service stations we stop at pretty often.

'I've let him go alone there once with strict instructions of where to meet me (me and my daughter had to use the loo as well). He took ages and I got in such a panic, I was imagining someone abducting him, it was so busy anyone could be lost in a crowd, just horrible...

'Most public loos are fine I think and he uses them alone no problem, but I really wish they'd have more family loos in busy/big places.'

Elsewhere another parent shared their experience of letting their young child go to the toilet alone.

They said: 'He is still young and I agree that at his age using a gent's on his own is worrisome. I'm afraid so many more deviants are around now cos porn has made some aspects of sexual contact seem like theyre normal.

'I recall my 7yo using the ladies at Anfi Beach Club, Gran Canaria and some woman spouting off about it.told politely told her to wind her neck in yet she complained to the pool guy who said it was OK cos he was still small.'

Another revealed: 'I challenge boys who look more than about 7 using the ladies.'

Many people were outraged at this revelation with asking if it makes them feel powerful or if they just like to complain

This revelation had the adverse effect and many were shocked at her behaviour.

One said: 'Why? How weird. What's wrong with a child being in the loos, I assume people are in their own cubicles and you close the door when you go to the toilet? It's literally just a room with sinks and mirrors in it.'

A second agreed: 'How ridiculous, you're an adult and you challenge children for using the ladies? Does it make you feel powerful or do you just like to complain?'
Do you know more? Contact tips@dailymail.com

Those in the community helped identify the man and connect the two together

The two didn't exchange names or numbers in person

A single Aussie woman has opted to use a Facebook group in attempt to find an attractive man she was chatting to at a public pool as he read a pop psychology book.

The anonymous woman called on all 'cupids and detectives' of the north shore in Sydney to ask if anyone knew the man described.

That day she had dropped by the Maccallum Seawater Pool in Cremorne Point while visiting her parents for the weekend when she had a 'nice chat' with man who was lounging under a tree shirtless.

In the Mosman Living Facebook group, she said she spotted the man after patting an 'adorable' Moodle dog - though she didn't get the man's name or number, and doesn't know if he's single.

A woman was kicking herself when she didn't exchange numbers with a handsome stranger at a public pool in Sydney, so she reached out to Facebook for help (pictured: Maccallum Seawater Pool)

The anonymous woman called on all 'cupids and detectives' in Sydney to ask if anyone knew the man described. In the Mossman Living Facebook group, she said she spotted the man after patting an 'adorable' Moodle dog - though she didn't get the man's name

'I couldn't resist going over to pat an adorable Moodle called Leon, whose human was lounging under a tree shirtless reading How to Win Friends and Influence People (unsure if red flag?),' she wrote.

'We had a nice chat, I admired his lovely dark eyes, he patted my parents' dog but I was too shy to ask for his number.

'Didn't even get his name and he mightn't be single, but does anyone have any leads on a man who matches this description?'

She added how he looked to be 'about 30'.

The woman said she's been on dating apps but hasn't had much luck, so she thought she'd reach out to the community.

Against all odds, a group member knew exactly who the man was - and he was single. The two dog lovers were able to connect thanks to social media.

A mutual friend confirmed: 'Connection made' and that she's 'Leaving the rest up to them.'

The woman said she's been on dating apps but hasn't had much luck, so she thought she'd reach out to the community. Against all odds, a group member knew exactly who the man was - and he was single. The two dog lovers were able to connect thanks to social media

A mutual friend confirmed: 'Connection made' and that she's 'Leaving the rest up to them.'

Many seemed happy the woman managed to get in touch with the handsome man, but others were concerned and raised issues of privacy.

In the comments the woman said she 'wasn't expecting all these reactions'.

'To the couple of people who pointed out that this could be a violation of privacy, valid point!' she wrote.

'I didn't think of that when I posted on a whim but fortunately he doesn't seem too worried by that.'
Scrubbing your face with soap, hot water and a flannel? Well, you might be washing your face wrong, according to dermatologists.

Exfoliating too much, washing with overly hot water and using too many disposable wipes are some of the biggest mistakes people make when washing their face.

These techniques can destroy your skin's natural barrier, dry it out and clog your pores.

MailOnline spoke to dermatologists to find out what we should be avoiding when it comes to keeping our faces squeaky clean.

Your routine should be unique and tailored to your skin type. Dermatologists warn that having too many steps can lead to irritation and just because someone famous has recommended a product does not mean it is right for your skin

Product overload

From charcoal facemasks to moisturising your face with Vaseline, social media is awash with skin-cleansing tips.

But following these trends might not be the best way of maintaining a healthy glow.

Dermatologists warn that having too many steps, with too many different chemicals, can strip your skin of its natural oils, making it sore and dry.

And just because someone famous has recommended a product does not mean it is right for your skin.

Dr Penelope Pratsou, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson said: 'The most common mistake people make with skincare routines is that they tend to overcomplicate them.

'People like to follow the latest skincare trends as recommended on social media.

'This can often result in complex regimes which may not be suited to their own skin and result in skin irritation.'

But there is no 'one-size fits all' when it comes to skincare. Your routine should be unique and tailored to your skin type, according to Dr Pratsou.

'Do not feel you need to follow a particular regime because someone famous has recommended it,' she added.

Dr Salome Dharamshi, a dermatologist at a private clinic in Birmingham, believes that 'less is more' and suggests sticking to a simple routine, such as one that has two to four steps.

She said: 'Wash your face in the morning, apply moisturiser and SPF.

'In the evening before you go to bed double wash the face, remove your make-up and then wash again gently to make sure the skin is clean and apply moisturiser.'

However, experts urge people to stay away from bars of soap and use other gentle facial washes. This is because bars can be abrasive and dry out your skin.

Stop scrubbing

Another common mistake people make is overly scrubbing their skin.

Although scrubbing will remove dead skin cells, oils and dirt helping to make skin appear flawless, it will also remove healthy cells from the skin, according to experts.

This can lead to irritation, just in the same way as adhering to an overly-complicated regime.

Dr Pratsou said: 'I am not a fan of physical exfoliation on the face because it can often be traumatic to the skin, and cause irritation, dryness or breakouts.'

Instead she recommends using a chemical exfoliator, such as glycolic acid and retinols, as these work over about 10 minutes to gently exfoliate, with noticeable results in two weeks.

Having water too hot or even too cold can over dry the skin, which in turn can cause the over production of sebum making it greasy, and as a result, spotty

Dr Pratsou added: 'Micro-fibre face cloths are thought to be gentler on the skin, helping to exfoliate for those that have sensitive skin.

'They might therefore be helpful if you wear make up to help remove it at the end of the day.'

Dr Dharamshi agrees that a micro-fibre cloth is a good gentle exfoliator, as is a soft sponge.

However, Dr Kajal Babamiri, a dermatologist at the private CLNQ clinic in Manchester, says we should be putting the face cloth down altogether in favour of simply using our hands to clean with a water and a gentle wash.

She said: 'Definitely use your hands to wash your face.

'A cloth can be too abrasive, you are taking a lot of skin away.

'What you want is to take the dead skin away but not be too aggressive that it actually damages the skin.'

You're over washing

Washing your face twice a day is the optimum amount, according to dermatologists.

Keeping it to just morning and night will help wash away dirt and grease and keep imperfections at bay.

But, if you start trying to clean it any more than that, you could end up with dry, irritated or even spotty skin.

Keeping washes to just morning and night will help wash away dirt and grease and keep imperfections at bay for normal skin types

Dr Dharamshi explained that over washing not only causes dryness but acne, too.

She said: 'Over washing the face can increase over production of sebum, which is one of the reasons for acne.

'It can also damage the skin barrier, cause redness and dehydration of the skin.'

Dr Pratsou also warns that for those who are prone to eczema, even water can be an irritant causing flare ups.

Medical moisturising treatments are suggested by dermatologists if you suffer with eczema flare ups.

For normal skin types Dr Pratsou advises: 'Sticking to the same principles of starting both daytime and night-time routines by cleansing your skin with a suitable cleanser for your skin type, and ending them with an appropriate moisturiser.'

She added: 'I would always recommend adding a sunblock to protect your skin from the sun's rays year-round.'

Hot water

If you're using hot water you may want to turn the temperature down just a bit.

Having water too hot or even too cold can over dry the skin, which in turn can cause the over production of sebum making it greasy, and as a result, spotty.

Dr Dharamshi said: 'Water should be warm, very often people use water that is too hot or cold.

'If the water is too hot it can damage the skin, it can cause redness and it over dries the skin. It also damages the skin barrier.'

Lukewarm water is the happy balance for washing your face, according to experts.

Although scrubbing will remove dead skin cells, oils and dirt, it will also remove the healthy cells from our skin, according to experts. This can lead to irritation, including sore or dry skin and eventually breakouts

Although some people use hot water to open the pores and then cold water to close the pores, Dr Dharamshi claims this doesn't actually work.

In fact, she goes as far to say that opening your pores is technically impossible.

Because your pores are not muscles, they can't open and contract, so there is little to no benefit of doing this.

But others say there is some logic to it.

When you splash your face with warm water it simply loosens the sebum, which is the oil in your face, allowing it to slide out the face, Dr Dharamshi explains.

Similarly, splashing cold water on your face causes the muscles to contract, which makes the skin feel tighter, but your pores will not get any smaller.

Ditch the wipes

Face wipes can be handy because they appear to wipe your face clean in seconds.

But skin experts are not fans of the convenient product, sold for pennies on the high street.

Disposable face wipes can be good at removing make-up, but they are not designed to be used to wash your face daily.

Disposable face wipes can be good at removing make-up, but not all are designed to be used to wash your face daily and using water could be better, dermatologists warn

Dr Babamiri said: 'Face wipes are good at removing makeup, but that should not be your cleanser and not for washing your face.'

In fact, if you have nothing else to wash your face with that day, using water could be better than using the packet ready wipes, dermatologists warn.

Dr Pratsou said: 'Using a suitable cleanser with water, with or without a reusable facial cloth is preferable to using disposable face wipes.'

This is because wipes are also not as efficient at wiping away all the grime, make-up and oil from the day.

If grime is left behind on the face, then over time it can lead to clogged pores, breakouts and irritation from residual product on the skin.
But a 2017 University of Edinburgh study found a mother's genes are to blame

He says your chance of hair loss is determined by genes from both familial sides

If your mother's father went bald, you will too. That is what men have been told for decades.

But it's just an old wives' tale, according to one GP.

Dr Sameer Sanghvi, of LloydsPharmacy online doctor, is now telling men: 'Its time to stop blaming your mum for your baldness.

'The notion that your mothers genes are responsible for your baldness is a myth.

GP Dr Sameer Sanghvi says that while family history of baldness is 'the most decisive risk factor' in determining your own fate, it can come from either your mother or father's side (file photo)

'But its a fallacy that many believe.'

He accepted a family history of baldness is 'the most decisive risk factor' in determining your own fate.

But Dr Sanghvi said it's 'only fair to blame both of your parents', adding: 'It can come from either your mother or father's side.

'Your chances of losing your hair are determined by a complex combination of genes that can be passed on from both parents.'

Other examples of human characteristics influenced by multiple genes are skin colour and height.

Although experts insist mother's genes aren't to blame, the science on the topic isn't as clear-cut.

One analysis, in 2017, concluded that the statement was accurate.

Edinburgh University researchers looked at 52,000 males aged between 40 and 69 who were participants of the UK Biobank database.

They found that 80 per cent of male pattern baldness is passed down in our genes.

The study suggested that men can mainly blame their mothers, and not their fathers, as most of the genetic signals come from the X chromosome inherited through the female line.

Male-pattern baldness, the name for androgenetic alopecia in men, is the most common type of hair loss.

It affects 6.5m men in the UK and more than 50m in the US, data suggests.

It typically starts with thinning of the hair at the temples and top of the head, or a receding hairline.

This is followed by more substantial hair loss, exposing the scalp, according to the NHS.

Some affected men begin to lose their hair in their late teens, while for others the process begins much later. Most men will have lost some hair by 60, experts say.

Lloyds says male pattern baldness is 'caused by a very sensitive reaction to DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, which is a type of testosterone'.

This causes hair follicles to shrink, according to its advice page, and 'as a result they lose the ability to grow new hair'.

Celebrities like Elton John and chef Gordon Ramsay have undergone hair transplants to hang on to their youth after thinning on top

Male-pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss, affecting 6.5 million men in the UK and more than 50 million in the US

'In addition, this also shortens the lifespan of hair follicles so you lose hair more quickly and frequently,' it adds.

'Male baldness is a combination of losing hair more quickly, with a slower growth and replacement rate.'

The NHS says you can lose anywhere between 50 and 100 hairs a day.

Male pattern baldness is permanent but can be treated with medicines finasteride and minoxidil, steroid injections or creams, immunotherapy or light therapy.

Other forms of treatment can include wigs, tattooing to give the illusion of hair or hair transplants.

Celebrities like Elton John and chef Gordon Ramsay have undergone hair transplants to hang on to their youth after thinning on top.

Other medical causes of baldness, such as cancer, weight loss or an iron deficiency, can be temporary. Stress is another potential cause.
The US birth rate increased slightly during the Covid pandemic, new official figures show  reversing a seven-year downward trend.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, 3,664,292 babies were born in 2021, a one percent jump from the 3,613,647 born in 2020.

The small increase was driven by a rise in women aged 30 to 45 having children - a trend attributed to better fertility treatments and the switch to working from home.

While the number of children born last year was still lower than the 2019 figure, the year-on-year increase ended a downward trend that began in 2014.

The US birth rate increased by 1 percent in 2021, up to 11 births per every 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44. This is the first rise since 2014 but still a significant drop from the rate of 13 per 1,000 birthing age women recorded in 2010

Utah and North Dakota at the most fertile states in America, being the only ones where more than 13 births were recorded for every 1,000 birthing aged women. The states with the lowest overall fertility rates were concentrated in the Northeast region

Experts had warned that if the trend was not reversed, America's declining fertility could lead to systems like Medicare and social security being overwhelmed.

In the report published Tuesday, CDC researchers revealed final birth counts in the US. Provisional data was announced over the summer of last year.

Results showed births among women between ages 30 and 34 increased by three percent, from 94.9 out of 1,000 in 2020 to 97.6 in 2021.

For those aged 35 to 39, there was a five percent increase from 51.3 to 53.7 births per 1,000 women.

There was also an increase among women in their 40s - from 11.8 per 1,000 women in 2020 to 12 in 2021.

Experts point to women having more money available to raise a family during the pandemic after stimulus checks and generous unemployment benefits.

Lockdowns and work-from-home orders also allowed many expecting mothers to spend more time resting at home - and meant they could spend more time with children after giving birth.

The rise in births in America was largely fueled by women 30 and older deciding to have kids. Births increased three percent among women30 to 34, and five percent for women in the second half of their 30s

Experts have warned that declining fertility in the US can lead to economic devastation in the future (file photo)

When Covid first began, many believed that lockdowns, fear of the virus and other measures that kept people inside would lead to more children being conceived.

Restrictions related to the virus in the US began in March 2020. Because there are nine months on average between conception and birth, 2021 data is the first to reflect the impact the pandemic had on birth rates.

Researchers found that there were 11 births given for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in the population.

This is a slight uptick from the 10.9 in 2020, but still significantly lower than the 11.4 births per 1,000 logged in 2019.

A decade earlier, in 2011, the US fertility rate was 12.7 per 1,000 birthing-aged women.

From 2014 to 2019, America's birth rate decreased by around two percent each year. There was a steep four percent drop from 2019 to 2020.

In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, the US recorded 3,747,540 births.

The Northeast region of the US had the sharpest increase in birth between 2020 and 2021, with New Hampshire (six percent increase in birth rate) and Connecticut (five percent) experiencing the largest jump.

In total, the fertility rate rose in 26 US states.

Hawaii experienced the sharpest year-over-year decline in fertility, falling four percent from 2020 to 2021. Fertility declined in a dozen states, but the CDC notes that these declines were not significant.

White and Hispanic women were most responsible for the upward trend nationwide.

In 2021, white women gave birth to 1.89million children, a 2.3 percent rise from the previous year.

Hispanic women experienced a 2.1 percent rise to 885,916 births, up from 866,713 a year earlier.

These upward trends are a welcome sight for US officials - who have long warned that America's declining birth rate put the nation's future in danger.

A CDC report earlier this month revealed that the average US woman only had 1.1 children in 2019 - down from 1.3 in 2002.

States in the Northeast such as New Hampshire and Connecticut experienced the largest rises in fertility year-over-year. Hawaii experienced the sharpest fall

The rise in birth rate was carried by Hispanic and white women, each of which saw an increase in overall birth of more than two percent from 2020 to 2021. Birth figures significantly declined among Asian and black women in America, though

Only 52 percent of women had children the year before the pandemic, down from nearly 60 percent at the turn of he century.

Experts told DailyMail.com this was a result of shifting priorities among younger people.

Dr Melissa Kearney, an economic professor at the University of Maryland, told DailyMail.com: 'There has been a greater emphasis on spending time building careers. Adults are changing their attitudes towards having kids.

'They are choosing to spend money and time in different ways... [that] are coming into conflict with parenting.'

She continued that younger people are also showing more interest in leisure activities and travel now than they did before, on top of career building.

'[Wanting to travel] just comes into conflict with parenting,' she said.

According to the US Census Bureau, the fertility rate - which measures how many children an average woman will give birth to during her life - was 1.6 in 2020.

This falls far below the 2.1 needed to maintain current population levels.

Many have pointed to high childcare costs, student debt held by Americans in their early 20s and other financial pressures.

Dr Kearney warns that, gradually, the government would need to collect more taxes to keep these programs afloat - while providing fewer benefits to each recipient.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Ms M.H. writes: I bought artwork from Smith & Partner Limited last August, and later I purchased another two pieces.

I was naive and believed this to be a good investment because of the strong sales pitch. Since then I have been continually fobbed off. It never sends emails, only calls claiming it has 'great news'.

As time has passed, I have realised how much rubbish I have been fed. I have asked that the artwork is resold, but I am palmed off all the time.

'Naive': The reader bought Lion & The Witch from Smith & Partner, headed by Luke Sparkes (inset)

Tony Hetherington replies: You contacted me following my report on December 11 that an elderly investor had pumped 17,000 into limited edition prints sold by Smith & Partner, after he was told that his first purchase had soared in value and shown a 3,000 profit within weeks. I asked the art company's owner Luke Sparkes for details of this amazing piece of art. He failed to answer, but I am delighted to add that he has just given the elderly investor a complete refund.

One of the attractions of the scheme is that Sparkes advertises that his investors can notch up 'potential returns of up to 64.6 per cent in just 12 months'. I questioned this, and Sparkes has told me that just such a profit was made once, back in 2017, when the business had just begun and before he took over. If there had been a repeat performance  or a bigger profit  since then, I expect he would have been keen to highlight it.

I also questioned Sparkes about his company's financial position. The latest Companies House accounts show it being in serious trouble with the taxman. I asked Sparkes twice about this ahead of last month's report but he failed to answer.

He now says the dispute has been settled, though the figures are unclear. Similarly, the accounts show Sparkes himself borrowed 459,038 from the business. I asked whether he has since repaid this, but Sparkes has not answered.

When I pressed him about your own investments, Sparkes told me: 'Please note that I have shared supporting evidence with you to the extent that we are permitted to do.' He added he would be happy to share further evidence 'if given permission to do so'.

Well, last Monday I gave Sparkes your legally binding signed authority, allowing him to discuss your complaint with complete freedom, and to hand over any documents or other records about Smith & Partner's dealings with you, including its sales pitch. And last Tuesday he refused.

There are lots of question marks hanging over this scheme. Smith & Partner advertises its 'vast expertise within the art investments market', but will not say who exactly has this vast expertise and where they obtained it.

Prints which are produced by a separate company controlled by Sparkes are marketed by his telephone salesforce based near the Shard building in London, but investors are bound by written terms and conditions. Are these read out to them in sales calls? How can they be bound by conditions they have not seen? I asked, but Sparkes offered no explanation.

Despite all this, I can report two bright spots. Sparkes conceded that his company's advertising included incorrect advice about tax due on any profits made by investors. He is correcting this. And the other good news? You bought prints costing 7,651, which Smith & Partner says are stored in a warehouse in Switzerland. By the time you read this, you will have received a full refund.

WE'RE WATCHING YOU Fraudster Michael Nascimento Fraudster Michael Nascimento  who was exposed by The Mail on Sunday as long ago as 2011  has been ordered to spend almost four extra years in prison for failing to compensate victims of his 2.8million investment scam. The extra time is on top of an existing 11-year sentence handed down in 2018. Nascimento and his gang set up a fake investment company, Morgan Forbes (UK) Limited, and used high pressure phone calls to persuade investors to buy shares in a scheme to develop a resort on the island of Madeira. They were promised guaranteed returns of between 125 and 228 per cent. But the Financial Conduct Authority found that the money raised was used to pay the expenses of running the fraud and to fund Nascimento's lifestyle. In 2021, he was ordered to repay 976,511, but has handed over less than half of this. The fraud began in 2010, and in 2011 I warned that Nascimento's company was breaking the law simply by selling shares without being authorised by the financial watchdog. No action was taken, and I repeated the warning in 2012 when Nascimento did a deal to allow an offshore sales firm to take over marketing his dud shares. The fraud continued until 2014, and the FCA's prosecution reached court in 2018. Last April, the FCA delivered its final bow to Nascimento. Twelve years after he began operating his illegal investment firm, the FCA banned him from the financial services industry. That'll teach him.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
I ordered a brand new 999 Apple iPhone 14 Plus from Amazon but when the package arrived it contained two candles and no sign of the mobile.

I was bemused at first, but now Im fuming as Amazon is refusing to refund me for the device.

A. B., Sussex.

Another ball of wax: A reader was left bemused when Amazon sent him two candles instead of the 999 iPhone 14+ he had ordered

Sally Hamilton replies: Your story had me reminiscing about the vintage Two Ronnies four candles TV sketch where hardware shop owner Ronnie Corbett thinks customer Ronnie Barker wants to purchase four candles when what he actually wants are fork andles  andles for forks.

The misunderstanding makes for brilliant comedy. But to order a 999 phone from Amazon and receive two candles instead  and have the firm wash its hands of your case  well, I can see why that got on your wick.

You explained that, as well as the phone, you had ordered a laptop from Amazon, with the two parcels delivered at the same time.

You provided the security code to the delivery driver that Amazon had emailed previously. The same code applied to both items. Such codes are required for high-value purchases to prove packages have been safely received by the right person.

When you opened the first package, all was fine: the laptop was as expected. The second, which should have been the phone, contained candles.

To put me in the picture fully, you told me your husband had in fact ordered candles separately from Amazon, as a gift for you but sent to him. He suggested this must have caused the mix-up.

But you were concerned because his Amazon account is different from yours and the offending candle package had your name and business details on the address label. And, in any case, where was the iPhone?

You contacted Amazon, which replied that it had delivered parcels of the correct weight and told you to file a police report. You tried, but the police werent interested, stating that it was a civil matter and you should speak to Amazon.

You phoned Amazon to try to resolve the impasse, but it told you to contact its customer services online. You got nowhere.

You reached a similar dead end with its social media and on Trustpilot, the customer reviews website, where you hoped it might pick up on your complaint.

Having hit a brick wall, you contacted me. You told me you are a clinical psychologist and have a strong view on how Amazons lack of a positive response made you feel disempowered as a consumer. Sadly, such treatment of customers by businesses is widespread.

Another reader, J. B. from Leicestershire, contacted me with a similar tale of intercepted Amazon parcels and the subsequent poor response by its customer services. The 459 Samsung tablet he ordered via the firm before Christmas was replaced by cake decorations.

As with your case, the correct passcode had been given on delivery. But the label on the package was wrinkled, as if it had been taken off another parcel.

When J. B. called Amazon to report this, an agent said he would be refunded upon returning the package. On the understanding that the original payment would soon be reimbursed, he ordered another tablet for a further 459.

Sadly, this was premature, as Amazon then refused to refund him. He appealed several times, in vain. An email escalating his concerns to Amazons complaints department was ignored. So, like you, he came to me.

When people buy something online, the retailer is responsible for its safe delivery, according to the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I felt both you and J. B. should be reimbursed.

I took both cases to Amazon, which agreed to investigate. Within a few days, it came back with some excellent news.

Although there was no explanation about what had gone wrong in either case, nor why the refunds had been refused, a spokesman says: Weve contacted the customers directly, apologised and processed a full refund.

Anyone in the same boat, or who receives damaged goods, should always contact the retailer immediately.

It also helps to collect evidence, including photographs of the packages that have been damaged or tampered with, and of whatever was substituted for a genuine order. If signing for a delivery that cant be opened in front of the courier, add the words not inspected, which could help if issues emerge on opening.

Opting for a delivery to be made to a safe place or a neighbour can make problems harder to resolve later. Consider requesting signed-for delivery only, particularly for high-value items. If the retailer wont play ball, try to request reimbursement via a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if the purchase was by credit card and the item cost between 100 and 30,000.

The card provider is jointly liable with the retailer if something goes wrong with a purchase.

If a debit card was used, consider raising a chargeback dispute  an informal arrangement offered by banks for customers who do not get the goods or services they have paid for.

Straight to the point I ordered a Zara necklace online for 29.99 but when it arrived it was too small. Zara will not offer me a refund as it claims the necklace I returned was broken, which is not true. S. H., Devon. Zara has contacted you and admitted that it made a mistake. It has confirmed that a full refund is on its way. *** I was scammed by a street trader who charged 821 to my card rather than 21. Santander says it cannot deal with my complaint without a receipt, but the trader did not supply one. K. B., via email. You have received a full refund via chargeback. A Santander spokesman says: We will typically request evidence of the agreed price at point of sale so it can be verified as being different from what was charged. After reviewing the case, we understand that this is unlikely to be possible. *** My flight from Zurich to London with British Airways on August 10 was four-and-a-half hours late. I put in a delay repayment claim, but heard nothing, so Ive submitted my claim to a dispute resolution service. R. H, via email. BA apologises for your experience. It had to follow the processes of the dispute resolution service, and has now paid 455.

Good to Go said no go to cancelled cruise claim

I booked a two-week holiday costing more than 3,000 with Cruise1st for my wife, and I arranged travel cover with Good To Go Insurance through the website Paying Too Much.

We were due to sail on May 14 2022, but three days before, my wife was taken to hospital with respiratory difficulties.

She was discharged later the same day, but the doctor advised against travel. I cancelled the cruise and told the insurer.

I was contacted by its claims handler, Global Response, with forms to complete, including one for our GP. A few weeks later our claim was denied because there was a discrepancy between the sailing date of May 14 and the policy start date of May 15.

As I had used the insurer for previous cruises, and always found it to be helpful and efficient, I did not check the small print as I should have.

H. W., Goring, Oxon.

Sally Hamilton replies: When rejecting your claim, the Good To Go claims manager pointed to a clause stating that, for a claim to be valid, the policy must cover the duration of the trip.

When buying the policy over the phone, you had mistakenly told the firm that it should start a day later than it needed to.

You didnt recall the details of this conversation but the company has a recording where you had stated the wrong start date. You accepted the facts. Nevertheless, you felt hard done by.

Good To Go was well within its rights to turn down your claim of 3,298 plus 60 for the confirmation from the GP that your wife was too ill to travel.

However, stating the wrong date by one day was not a deliberate act by you, as there was no gain to be had in choosing the following day for the policys inception. In a nutshell, you had tripped up.

Since you had purchased the cover via comparison service Paying Too Much, I went to it first to ask if it could help with the reassessment of your claim. It took a while to track down the decision-maker.

But once I did, I am happy to say she contacted Good To Go that day and it was quickly agreed that your claim should be met after all. Good on you, Good To Go.
Children from government orphanage homes across the state during the protest in Hyderabad. (DC)

Hyderabad: More than 300 children from various government orphanage

homes across the state have launched a protest against the BRS government,

stating that their living conditions are appalling due to a lack of amenities and that the promises made by the government nearly eight years back remained unfulfilled.

The children from the orphanages, aged between two and 25, marched to the

Dharna Chowk in Indira Park with the support of Shantha Sinha, the founder

of the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MV Foundation), and Manda

Krishna Madiga, the leader of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS),

to express their displeasure with the BRS party over a number of issues,

including insufficient facilities. On June 23, 2015, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao pledged that the state would support orphanages throughout the state with funds and smart cards.

One of the most prominent demands made by the orphan children was that the

government issue them with special smart cards after recognising them as

State children, which would exempt them from having income, caste, and other

certificates. The orphans lamented that the government had not yet distributed smart cards. The Chief Minister, however, has not kept his word 777 days after making the pledge.

The government has proposed setting up a separate integrated campus to

provide orphans with a high-quality education from KG through PG that is

equivalent to quality of education provided by Gurukuls.

However, 13-year-old orphan Ajay, who lives in a state orphanage in Kapra, believes that the government broke its promise. He was abandoned by his parents when he was just a few days old, and is still waiting in the orphanage, hoping that one day his parents will take him in.

Munna, a researcher at Hyderabad Central University (HCU), claimed that the

government had abandoned the state orphanages by failing to provide

facilities and honouring its promises to the orphans made 777 days back.

According to Govindu Naresh Madiga, state president of the MRPS and a member of the Orphanage Rights Protection Association, "the orphanage home

organisers are having a difficult time financially protecting hundreds of

orphanage children who don't know their parent's details and even they don't

have Aadhaar cards."
Big banks are now offering far better savings rates to existing customers - and it can take just minutes to get them.

With more than 600 billion parked in current accounts and easy-access accounts paying less than 0.5 per cent, you can easily get an interest boost with your bank.

Unlike when you open an account at a new bank, you probably won't need to go through ID checks because, as an existing customer, the bank already holds the vital information on you it needs.

Better rates: With more than 600bn parked in current accounts and easy-access accounts paying less than 0.5%, you can easily get an interest boost with your bank

Note that most of the banks have limits on how much money you can pour in at the top rate.

Here are the best offers...

HSBC

HSBC Online Bonus Saver pays 3 per cent on up to 10,000, against just 0.65 per cent on its Flexible Saver (this is rising to 0.9 per cent tomorrow). The 3 per cent account is open to its current account or savings account holders.

You only earn the 3 per cent in the months you don't make any withdrawals. In those you do, you'll earn 0.9 per cent.

By moving 10,000 into the Online Bonus Saver you can earn up to 300 interest over the course of the year, in contrast to just 90 if left in the Flexible Saver.

It also has a regular savings plan at 5 per cent on deposits of 25 to 250 a month. A 250 monthly deposit in the regular saver will pay you 81.25 interest over the year.

Barclays

It's Rainy Day Saver pays 5.12 per cent on up to 5,000 and gives you easy access to your money. Over this level you earn 0.5 per cent.

You can open an account if you are a Blue Rewards member  this comes with a 5 monthly fee and requires online banking.

Interest on 10,000 here is 215 over the year, minus the current account fee, or 165 more than leaving it in Barclays Everyday Saver at 0.5 per cent.

You can get the fee back by paying two direct debits from your current account each month.

Barclays also has a best buy, one-year fixed-rate cash Isa at 4 per cent, open to anyone and allows transfers in  10,000 here means 400 interest. This Isa also allows three withdrawals over the year, up to 10 per cent of the total pot.

Deposit limits: Most of the banks have limits on how much money you can pour in at the top rate

Halifax

Halifax Reward Bonus Saver pays 2.55 per cent to its Halifax Reward or Ultimate Reward current account holders. This costs 3 per month, but is free if you pay in more than 1,500 per month.

If you move 10,000 out of its Everyday Saver at 0.55 per cent, you will earn 200 extra interest in a year. You'll see 255 rather than 55.

But the better account comes with restrictions  you can only make a maximum of three withdrawals a year. Make any more and you only earn 0.35 per cent.

After a year, you need to move your money as it then changes to an Instant Saver account, which pays 0.55 per cent.

The bank offers a similar deal on its Isa Saver Bonus Reward. Its one-year Regular Saver pays 4.5 per cent on between 25 and 250 a month and is open to all.

Virgin Money

M Plus current account holders can make use of Virgin Money's savings account at 2.52 per cent. That's 252 interest on 10,000 versus 25 in its Everyday Saver at 0.25 per cent.

The bank also has the best one-year fixed-rate cash Isa at 4.25 per cent for its Virgin Money, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank current account holders and 3 per cent on an easy-access Isa.

That would mean 425 interest on its fixed-rate Isa, and 300 on its easy-access.

Club Lloyds

Club Lloyds members can get 2.25 per cent with its Advantage Saver.

You are limited to making up to three withdrawals a year from this easy-access account. If you take out more, the rate drops to 0.3 per cent. Club Lloyds costs 3 per month, but is free if you pay in more than 1,500 per month.

You'll see 225 on 10,000, 175 more than leaving it in its normal Easy Saver or Standard Saver which pay 0.5 per cent.

It also pays 5.25 per cent on its Club Lloyds Monthly Saver on 25 to 400 a month, or 4.5 per cent on its standard Monthly Saver for other current account holders.

Bank of Scotland Vantage current account holders can also get the 2.25 per cent Advantage Saver, along with a Monthly Saver at 4.5 per cent.

Convenient: As an existing customer you probably won't need to go through ID checks because the bank already holds the vital information on you it needs

Nationwide

For fee-free Flexaccount holders, Nationwide has the Flex Instant Saver 2 at 2.25 per cent.

In an ordinary easy-access account with the building society, the best rate is 0.75 per cent on up to 10,000 and 0.8 per cent on 10,000.

You'll make 145 extra interest by moving 10,000 into the Flex Instant Saver 2.

Santander

Those with its new Edge current account can get 4 per cent on balances up to 4,000. This account comes with a 3 monthly fee.

You'll earn 124 interest over a year on the top amount. This compares with just 22 if you leave it in its Everyday Saver account.

Natwest/RBS

With the NatWest and RBS Digital Saver, which pay 5.12 per cent, you can only deposit a maximum of 150 a month. You can carry on saving and earn this rate until you reach the 5,000 mark.

If you put in 150 a month from your current account, you'll earn 49.70 interest in the year.

If you leave that 1,800 saved over the year in the banks' easy-access account, your interest will only add up to 11.70.

sy.morris@dailymail.co.uk
The mother of NRL star Nicho Hynes told police she panicked when she found a young man unconscious in her loungeroom after he had allegedly inhaled a fatal amount of heroin.

A jury has heard Julie Hynes, 50, claimed she was asleep in her home on the NSW Central Coast when Luke Murphy, 29, accidentally overdosed on the drug in May 2021.

Hynes is facing trial in the District Court at Gosford where she has pleaded not guilty to knowingly taking part in the supply of heroin.

Michael William Selvage, 59, has pleaded not guilty to committing the same offence in what the Crown alleges was a joint criminal enterprise.

Hynes's 26-year-old son Nicho is the reigning Dally M medal winner and plays halfback for the Cronulla Sharks, having debuted in 2019 for Melbourne Storm.

The mother of NRL star Nicho Hynes is accused of taking part in a narcotics supply operation in which a man packaging heroin died after inhaling the drug. Julie Hynes is pictured outside the District Court in Gosford on Tuesday

Hynes is facing trial in the District Court at Gosford where she has pleaded not guilty to knowingly taking part in the supply of heroin (she is pictured outside court on January 30)

Crime scene photo shows a 250kg hydraulic press allegedly used to package heroin in Hynes's granny flat

On Tuesday, Judge David Wilson released crime scene photographs which were taken after Mr Murphy's death to Daily Mail Australia.

The pictures feature a hydraulic press the Crown says was used by Mr Murphy to package heroin as well as a floor plan which shows where his body was found.

Another of the photographs depicts NRL memorabilia on the walls of Hynes's lounge room, including a Melbourne Storm poster.

The court heard that Hynes, a mother-of-two, had known Mr Murphy for about 20 years, since he was in primary school.

She was arrested on her 49th birthday, a day after Mr Murphy died of heroin toxicity in her two-bedroom granny flat at Blackwall on the afternoon of May 25, 2021.

Hynes had called Triple Zero after finding Mr Murphy unresponsive on a couch but he was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.

The Crown alleges Mr Murphy had earlier been pressing blocks of heroin in Hynes's bathroom before inadvertently inhaling the drug through his nostrils and mouth.

Neither Hynes nor Selvage is accused of any offence in relation to the death of Mr Murphy.

This crime scene photo shown to the court on Tuesday shows NRL memorabilia and photos of Julie Hynes's NRL star son next to part of a hydraulic press allegedly used to package heroin

Luke Murphy (pictured) was dead when paramedics arrived at Hynes's home

Crown Prosecutor Peter Lowe told the jury in his opening address that Hynes had called Selvage at 2.26am on May 25 asking him to help Mr Murphy press heroin in the bathroom of her home.

He said phone records would show Mr Murphy had also contacted Selvage requesting he pick up mechanical parts for a hydraulic press he was using to package the heroin.

The Crown case is that Selvage and Hynes were involved in preparing the heroin for sale and that fingerprints from both were found on the 250kg press in her bathroom.

Before being pressed, the heroin was allegedly blended with glucose to half the purity and double its weight.

Mr Lowe said Mr Murphy manually operated the machine to compact the heroin after it was cut and had been covered in 'dust', which was also found on the floor.

As a result of that process, Mr Murphy had inhaled heroin and some of the drug might have been absorbed through his skin, Mr Lowe told jurors.

A police diagram of the crime scene shows where Mr Murphy was found in the granny flat's lounge room

Police allegedly found 173.4 grams of heroin in a purple dustpan in a spare room, shown here in a crime scene photo. An extra 7.4g of the drug was allegedly located on the bathroom floor

Mr Lowe said phone records would show Hynes made a series of calls from about 12.30pm, including to her oldest son Wade and another man who came to her home.

When the other man arrived Mr Murphy was slumped on a couch with his head tilted forward and was unconscious, the court heard.

Hynes allegedly told the man: 'I don't know what he's had, he was on a bender.'

Mr Lowe said Hynes and the man rolled Mr Murphy off the couch and the man performed CPR while Hynes called Triple Zero at 1.19pm.

Paramedics arrived at 1.34pm and attempted to revive Mr Murphy but he was pronounced dead at 1.55pm.

Mr Murphy was not wearing a shirt and had white powder on his denim shorts.

Constable Zachary Jones told the court he spoke to Hynes outside her home and she said Mr Murphy had arrived in a 'dazed' state between 7am and 7.30am.

Body-worn camera footage was played to the jury in which Hynes said, 'I think he said, "I've been on a bender".'

'He was a little bit dazed,' Hynes told Constable Jones. 'He'd just been depressed lately too.'

'He wanted to come in to stay. I said, "Absolutely".'

Hynes said she bought Mr Murphy a 'big breakfast' from a local cafe then went back to bed about 9am or 10am while Mr Murphy was on the couch.

She woke about 12.50pm to find Mr Murphy still on the couch with his eyes part-closed. She called out, 'Lukey, Lukey' but got no response.

Mr Murphy had dribble coming from his mouth and sounded as if he was snoring.

'I woke up and seen him like that,' Hynes told Constable Jones. 'I just started panicking.'

Nicho Hynes, the NRL's player of the year for 2022 joined the Sharks last season after making his NRL debut for Melbourne Storm in front of his family including mother Julie in 2019 (above)

Constable Jones said Hynes looked 'tired and distressed' during their discussion. While they spoke, a passing paramedic stopped and told her: 'Sorry for your loss'.

The Crown alleges Hynes had been up all night while Mr Murphy packaged the drugs.

Police who attended the scene allegedly found the hydraulic press, as well as 180.8 grams of heroin: 173.4g in a purple dustpan in a spare room and 7.4g on the bathroom floor.

Mr Lowe said the Crown case was that Hynes's residence was being used by Hynes, Selvage and Mr Murphy to cut and package bricks of heroin for sale.

'The circumstances speak for themselves,' he told the jury.

Other alleged drug paraphernalia including heat-seal bags and gaffer tape for wrapping bricks were also allegedly located at the house.

Julie Hynes, who has pleaded not guilty to one charge of knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug, is pictured with her son Nicho at last year's Dally M Awards ceremony

Police found Selvage asleep in the main bedroom at 2.44pm, almost an hour after Mr Murphy was pronounced dead. Senior Constable Paul Corbett told the court he had to yell at Selvage to wake him up.

When Detective Sergeant Andrew Jeffrey told Selvage a crime scene had been established he allegedly replied, 'A crime scene? Why? Is Luke all right?'

Detective Sergeant Jeffrey: 'It appears as though Luke has passed away in the lounge room.'

Selvage, who allegedly had powder on his pants, told police he had arrived at the premises about 3am and had never met Mr Murphy before.

He allegedly said he initially did not know what Mr Murphy was doing with the press, which exerted 50 tonnes of pressure, but later learnt it related to heroin.

Selvage allegedly said Mr Murphy had 11 'keys' of the drug, each weighing about 360 grams. No such bricks have ever been found.

His barrister, Jacob Tate, said it would be disputed that Selvage had known the purpose of the mechanical parts for the press he had supplied to Mr Murphy.

The trial continues.
The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to several sources, laying the groundwork for a total ban on the sale of American tech to the firm.

Such a move will dramatically tighten restrictions imposed in 2019 that limit Huawei's access to processor chips and other technology.

The Chinese company, which makes network equipment and smartphones, was previously allowed to buy some less-advanced components but will now face considerable difficulties in accessing American tech, sources told the Financial Times.

China's Communist Party in response issued a scathing statement, accusing the U.S. of pursuing 'technological hegemony' and 'abusing state power'.

Huawei, a Chinese manufacturer of network equipment and smartphones, was previously allowed to purchase lower-level technology from the U.S. but will now face considerable difficulty in accessing such equipment (in this file photo taken on May 25, 2020 a woman walks past a shop for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in Beijing)

The Biden administration is implementing further restrictions to prevent the sale of American tech to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei (Biden pictured, January 30, 2023)

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China opposes the United States abusing an overly broad notion of national security to suppress Chinese firms unreasonably.

'China is gravely concerned about the reports,' Mao said during a press conference in Beijing today.

The move 'goes against the principles of the market economy and rules of international trade and finance, hurts the confidence the international community has in the U.S business environment and is blatant technological hegemony,' the diplomat concluded.

A U.S. Commerce Department spokesperson said officials 'continually assess our policies and regulations' but do not comment on talks with specific companies. Huawei and Qualcomm declined to comment when approached by Reuters.

Huawei has faced U.S. export restrictions around items for 5G and other technologies for several years, but officials in the U.S. Department of Commerce have granted licenses for some American firms to sell certain goods and technologies to the company.

FILE - Visitors walk past a booth for Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing on Sept. 28, 2021

One person familiar with the matter said U.S. officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, Wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.

Another person said the move was expected to reflect the Biden administration's tightening of policy on Huawei over the past year.

Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5G, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said.

Toward the end of the Trump administration and early in the Biden administration, officials had still granted licenses for items specific to 4G applications.

Smartphone with a Huawei logo is seen in front of a U.S. flag in this stock illustration

American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses.

Officials continued to tighten the controls to cut off Huawei's ability to buy or design the semiconductor chips that power most of its products.

But U.S. officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products. For example, suppliers to Huawei got licenses worth $61 billion to sell to the telecoms equipment giant from April through November 2021.

In December, Huawei said its overall revenue was about $91.53 billion, down only slightly from 2021 when U.S. sanctions caused its sales to fall by nearly a third.

'In 2020, we successfully pulled ourselves out of crisis mode,' Eric Xu, one of three Huawei executives who take turns as chairman, said in a December letter to employees. 'U.S. restrictions are now our new normal, and we're back to business as usual.'

FILE - A technician stands at the entrance to a Huawei 5G data server center at the Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital in Guangzhou, in southern China's Guangdong province on Sept. 26, 2021

China's overall smartphone sales endured a record fall in 2022, tumbling 13% to their lowest level in a decade as COVID controls and a slowing economy sapped consumer appetite, data from third-party research firms showed.

The total number of devices shipped was 286 million, down from 329 million in 2022. It was the lowest sales volume since 2013 and the first time since then that annual sales have dropped below 300 million, IDC said in a report.

Strict COVID-19 controls weighed heavily on the Chinese economy last year but Beijing started dismantling the restrictions in December, boosting consumption.

Android handset maker Vivo was the top-selling brand in 2022, with a market share of 18.6%, according to IDC. Its total shipments fell 25.1% year-on-year.

Huawei Technologies spin-off Honor ranked as the second best-selling brand, with shipments growing more than 34%, albeit from a low base.

Apple Inc was the third best-selling phone brand in 2022, tied with Oppo, moving up from fourth place in the previous year.
Two people have been charged over the incident in Wyong, NSW

Mariana Cheri Taitoko, (pictured) 44, and Sean Froggatt, 52, were allegedly held against their will at a housing commission unit on Levett St in Wyong, on the NSW Central Coast, from Thursday until Saturday

A grandmother who was allegedly kidnapped and tortured with a 'jet flame' lighter over a drug debt remains in hospital with 18 burns to her body and bleeding on the brain.

Mariana Cheri Taitoko, 44, and Sean Froggatt, 52, were allegedly held against their will at a housing commission unit in Wyong, on the NSW Central Coast, from Thursday until Saturday.

Mr Froggatt's lifeless body was discovered in the bedroom of the unit after Ms Taitoko managed to escape and call police from a friend's house on Saturday afternoon.

Ms Taitoko was in a stable condition in Gosford Hospital on Tuesday after suffering 'serious' burns to her chest and arms as well as head injuries, 7News reported.

Daniel Hasapis, 30, has been charged with murder and kidnapping, while his hairdresser girlfriend Bonnie Cullen, 33, was charged with concealing a serious offence.

It is alleged that Hasapis bashed and tortured Mr Froggatt over the three days and burned him and Ms Taitoko with a 'jet flame' lighter.

Police claim the alleged torture and kidnapping was in relation to an unpaid drug debt.

Cullen, who rented the unit and shared it with Hasapis, is not accused of being responsible for the death of Mr Froggatt or the kidnapping of Ms Taitoko.

The alleged kidnapping came after Cullen had left complimentary comments on Facebook photos of Ms Taitoko in recent months.

Hasapis allegedly tortured Mr Frogatt and Ms Taitoko with a 'jet flame' lighter. Pictured is a photo Hasapis posted to Facebook

Pictured is the unit complex where a man and woman were allegedly tortured in Wyong

Bonnie Cullen (pictured), 33, has been charged with concealing a serious offence

Hasapis (pictured) allegedly bashed and tortured Mr Froggatt over three days and is accused of using a 'jet flame' lighter on him and Ms Taitoko

'You look stunning lady xo,' she wrote on a picture of the 44-year-old from eight months ago.

In an older post of a selfie taken by Ms Taitoko, Cullen commented: 'So nice love u with straight hair.'

NSW Police Superintendent Chad Gillies said all four people were known to each other.

Mr Froggatt had lived in the housing commission unit complex, while Ms Taitoko lived nearby.

Hasapis was arrested at the unit on Saturday and Cullen was taken away in handcuffs while she was visiting a relative at nearby Watanobbi.

Neighbours said they did not notice anything out of the ordinary when they spotted the two accused and two alleged victims together on Australia Day.

A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Froggatt was a nice guy.

'He was harmless,' she said.

Detectives are seen on Monday at the Wyong unit complex were the alleged crimes occured

Cullen had often complimented Ms Taitoko in the comments of photos she posted online

In one Facebook post, Cullen said the 44-year-old Ms Taitoko looked 'stunning'

'He wouldn't hurt a fly.'

The woman said she ran into Cullen around the building a handful of times but never saw her boyfriend.

She said she did not hear any unusual noises on Saturday.

'I've been here 20 years and have only seen Bonnie three times,' she said.

'I didn't really get involved with her or our other neighbours. We stick to ourselves.'

Mr Froggatt had been living with epilepsy and required a carer.

Both Cullen and Hasapis' matters were mentioned in Wyong Local Court on Monday, however neither appeared in court or applied for bail.

They will remain in custody until their next appearance on March 28.
Police are hunting for a gunman on the run after he sprayed a home with bullets before fleeing in a getaway car.

NSW Police said officers rushed to a home on Mountain View Crescent in Penrith, west Sydney, at about 1.10am on Tuesday.

No one was injured in the attack.

'Officers have been informed that a car was seen (driving) away from the location immediately after the shooting,' police said in a statement.

'A crime scene was established and the area examined by specialist police.'

Photos show the front windows of the home were shattered with shell casings left scattered across the road.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has dashcam or CCTV footage of the area at the time is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Taryn Brumfitt may have inadvertently caught the eye of the ACCC after appearing to endorse a number of products on Instagram without a disclaimer she was paid to do it.

The newly-crowned Australian of the Year has made several posts over the past few years gushing about food, fashion and cars to her Instagram page 'bodyimagemovement'.

San Remo Pasta, Modibodi underwear and a Mazda dealership are among the companies and products peddled on her social media account.

Some posts include disclaimers of a paid partnership with the companies while others appear to be missing them.

Influencers are required, at minimum, to end posts with #ad or #sponsored or add a kicker at the top that explains it is a paid partnership.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced in January it would be cracking down on any influencer not including clear disclaimers they were being paid to promote products.

Taryn Brumfitt has made a number of social media posts endorsing products raising questions whether they included proper advertising disclaimers (pictured, Ms Brumfitt shows off a pair of Modibodi underwear in a post containing a paid partnership disclaimer)

In a post made on September 6, Ms Brumfitt posted a photo of a bowl of Sam Remo pasta and a recipe for spaghetti without a paid partnership disclaimer.

'You might not know, but @sanremopasta was one of the first brands that jumped at the opportunity to support the Embrace Kids film,' she wrote.

'It was right at the beginning when I was talking about the vision of the film but had nothing tangible to show.

In another post made on June 23, Ms Brumfitt included a disclaimer with a photo showing her dressed in a jumper and holding a bowl of pasta.

'Last week I was talking to the @sanremopasta team about how sick I'd been (thanks Covid & co) and I was telling them how I'd been smashing raw turmeric and ginger (FYI tastes gross raw!) in an attempt to get better quicker!' she wrote.

'They suggested I try a healthy San Remo soup recipe with those ingredients aplenty, I did and it's a winner! Swipe right for the recipe!'

Ms Brumfitt made posts endorsing a number of cars at Edwardstown Mazda in Adelaide, South Australia

In a post made on August 29, Ms Brumfitt boasted about Modibodi underwear in a video without including an advertising disclaimer.

'I've been a @modibodi customer since they opened their doors may years ago now! I'm a big fan of all Modibodi products, but their latest one, I'm into - a lot!'

In a post on June 30, Ms Brumfitt attached a disclaimer to the post as she spoke about several of her friends suffering from incontinence.

The 44-year-old then offered a solution by showing off a pair of underwear sold by Modibodi.

'Absorbing up to 250mls and designed to manage incontinence discreetly, comfortably and without leaks or odour, Modibodi is like everyday underwear but with a built-in floating leak-proof lining which completely replaces disposable incontinence pads or underwear...and always feels dry,' she wrote.

In a post made on September 6, Ms Brumfitt posted a photo of a bowl of Sam Remo pasta and a recipe for spaghetti

'I've loved, used and raved about Modibodi for over six years, you should definitely try  you'll love them too!'

Two separate posts made in October and November 2021 showed Ms Brufmitt talking up the perks of a Mazda BT-50 model.

It came after Ms Brumfitt was gifted the vehicle and driving lessons by Edwardstown Mazda, a car dealership located in Adelaide, South Australia.

Ms Brumfitt did mention her association with the car dealership in another post she made on August 14.

She acknowledged her role as ambassador of the dealership while spruiking a CX-9.

'With a family of six, we need all the seats we can get,' she wrote.

Social media influencers are required to inform their followers of their association with a brand under the Australian Association of National Advertisers guidelines.

Another post showed Ms Brumfitt dressed in a beanie and jumper while holding a bowl filled with sauce and San Remo Pasta

An influencer must be 'clear, obvious and upfront to the audience' when it comes to advertising.

It comes a week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed more than 100 social media influencers were identified for investigation after more than 150 tip-offs to the government body.

The watchdog asked people to identify any influencers who weren't disclosing when their posts constituted paid ads.

Influencers in the beauty and lifestyle industries were identified as having the most problematic posts, while those in the parenting and fashion fields were also likely to be subject to scrutiny.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the organisation would continue to investigate.

'We find with online purchasing that people take a lot of note and are persuaded by influencers,' she said.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the number of tip-offs was concerning and suggested manipulative marketing techniques were on the rise

She urged influencers to be truthful about any kind of financial benefit they are receiving for making these posts.

'We want them to be honest, we want them to be upfront.'

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook and live-streaming service Twitch are all being monitored by the watchdog.

Australian Association of National Advertisers CEO Josh Faulks said all ad content must be easily identifiable.

'Labels or other means used to identify ad content must be obvious, clear, prominent and upfront,' he said.

'It is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure ad content is distinguishable, however influencers need to ensure any guidelines from the advertiser are followed and understand what the AANA Code of Ethics requires to ensure advertising content is distinguishable from organic content.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Brumfitt for comment.
A Ukrainian officer has revealed footage of the moment his forces wiped out an advancing unit of Russian soldiers.

Video shows the group of Russian soldiers walking through a field that has been scarred by heavy fighting.

But moments later, many of the soldiers are killed and others seriously wounded after Ukrainian troops launched a series of missiles at the group.

Ukrainian officer Anatoly Shtefan, who shared the footage, tweeted: 'Whoever comes to our land with a sword will die by the sword.'

A Ukrainian officer has revealed footage of the moment his forces wiped out an advancing unit of Russian soldiers

In the video, a group of Russian soldiers can be seen walking through a field with detonated mines in it

Video shows the group of Russian soldiers walking through a field that has been scarred by heavy fighting. But moments later, many of the soldiers are killed and others seriously wounded after Ukrainian troops launched a series of missiles at the group

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He added: 'High-quality work of the unit in the eastern direction [of Ukraine].'

In the footage, Russian soldiers can be seen running across the field to help those who were hit by the missile strike.

But moments later, they are struck by a second blast as they carried the injured soldiers across the field.

The remaining Russian troops began to run across the field - attempting to find cover under the trees - before being hit by a third missile.

Footage then shows them lying dead in the field, which is scarred by the missile strikes.

The latest video comes just weeks after more than 100 Russian troops were wiped out in one missile strike.

Using a Tochka-U missile, a weapon specifically designed to hit smaller targets deep in the enemy's defence, Ukraine was able to use just one blast to kill Russian soldiers.

Meanwhile, on the front lines in Ukraine, fighting raged in the eastern Donetsk region, with Russia again shelling the key town of Vuhledar.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was facing a difficult situation in Donetsk and needed faster weapons supplies and new types of weaponry, just days after allies agreed to provide Kyiv with heavy battle tanks.

'The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region - there are constant Russian attacks,' Zelenskiy said in a video address late on Sunday.

'Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine.'

The remaining Russian troops began to run across the field - attempting to find cover under the trees - before being hit by a third missile

Meanwhile, Russian missile strikes killed three people and injured six more in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sunday night. The shelling damaged a hospital, school, bus station, post office, bank and residential buildings.

Among those reported injured were two women in the hospital at the time: a nurse and a cafeteria worker.

Russian troops had occupied Kherson shortly after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and held the city until Ukrainian forces recaptured it in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Later on Sunday a missile struck an apartment building in the northeastern town of Kharkiv, killing an elderly woman, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said.
The photo showed the Ford Falcon driving in Windsor, north of Brisbane

A motorist has been called out for driving with a pet carrier tied to the roof of their car on a busy road with a 'terrified looking' cat inside.

The Ford Falcon was snapped as it travelled along Lutwyche Road in Windsor in Brisbane's north and was posted to social media on Monday.

The large cat box was pictured fastened onto the top of the moving car with two yellow straps.

The cat is not visible but the onlooker who took the photo of the 'appalling' act claimed the animal was in the box.

'Yes, that is a cat carrier strapped to the roof racks. Yes, there was a terrified looking cat inside. Yes, there was room inside the car for the cat carrier to go,' the post read (pictured, the blue sedan carrying the cat box)

'Yes, that is a cat carrier strapped to the roof racks. Yes, there was a terrified looking cat inside. Yes, there was room inside the car for the cat carrier to go,' the person's post read.

'Who the hell even does this?? ... 'It's appalling, how was this the only option??'

Animal lovers took to social media slamming the driver over the act of animal cruelty.

'Some people should not be allowed to own pets,' one commenter said.

'That's messed up from the owner, and that cat needs to be re homed to a person who will look after it,' one more said.

'I can't imagine what this would do to a poor little kitty,' said another.

'There's no way anyone would do that, surely,' an online user wrote.

But others said there could be other reasons why the box is on the roof.

'Maybe its a diseased feral cat theyve caught, to get off their property?' one asked.

Animal lovers took to social media slamming the driver over the 'appalling' act of animal cruelty (stock photo)

'It appears empty and for all you know it's a snake,' another said.

The person who posted the image online said the RSPCA and police had been contacted over the sighting.

Meanwhile, others compared their stories of trying to get their pet cats into portable carriers for transport.

'My cat is terrified any time we have to put him in the carrier and travel,' one wrote.

'Mine hates the car so much we have to sedate him to go to the vet. The vet is literally at the end of our street. Its a two minute drive,' said another.
Celebrity activist Sally Rugg was so happy she'd landed the job as chief-of-staff to teal independent Monique Ryan she told the world how much she loved it - but is now suing her for working her too hard.

The former GetUp! and Change.org campaigner was appointed as the MP's chief-of-staff after Dr Ryan defeated then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg for the inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong in the May federal election.

In August, Ms Rugg took to Twitter to say: 'I love my new job so much omg.'

Two weeks earlier she had posted with a blushing smiling emoji: 'Best first-week-of-a-new-job ever.'

But she is now suing her boss in the Federal Court after Dr Ryan allegedly tried to sack Ms Rugg for refusing to work 'additional hours that were unreasonable'.

Social activist Sally Rugg (pictured left with her partner, ABC comedian Kate McCartney) had online about landing her new job as chief-of-staff to teal independent MP Dr Monique Ryan - but is now suing her just months later

In August, Ms Rugg took to Twitter to celebrate her new job

Marriage equality campaigner Ms Rugg - whose partner is ABC TV comedian Kate McCartney - claims Dr Ryan breached general protections under the Fair Work Act.

Court documents filed on Wednesday reveal Ms Rugg is seeking a final injunction preventing the termination of her employment.

The lawsuit against both Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth claims her sacking would contravene Section 340 of the Fair Work Act.

The Act is designed to protect workers from 'harmful [adverse] action, coercion, undue influence, or pressure and/or misrepresentation, where they affect workers' rights.'

The court documents add that Ms Rugg 'has exercised a workplace right...to refuse to work additional hours that were unreasonable'.

The lawsuit also alleges Dr Ryan took 'adverse action' against Ms Rugg 'to injure [Ms Rugg] in her employment by engaging in hostile conduct in the workplace'.

Sally Rugg (pictured right) is renowned for her star-pulling power and posted a picture on social media three weeks ago with ABC personalities including journalists Annabel Crabb (fourth from left ) and Louise Milligan (left)

Dr Ryan is also accused trying to sack Ms Rugg because she exercised her 'workplace right' to make 'complaints and inquiries in relation to her employment'.

The legal action calls for compensation and financial penalties, and to acknowledge the 'unreasonable additional hours' are a breach of national employment standards.

The court documents also reveal Ms Rugg wants a statement that Dr Ryan was involved in contraventions of the Fair Work Act by the Commonwealth.

It alleges Dr Ryan was 'directly procured, induced, or having been knowingly concerned in or party to the contravention' as the 'principal actor on behalf of [the Commonwealth] in the relevant transactions'.

Ms Rugg is now being trolled on social media for her August 13 tweet.

'This aged perfectly,' said one commenter, while another asked Ms Rugg whether she loved her job 'so much that you're suing her?'

Another added: 'Not so much now, hey?'

Other commenters said they hoped the pair could resolve their differences and return to working together.

'I thought you two were the dream team, smart capable women with a passion for improving society,' posted one fan.

'I do hope this is just a technical issue that can be sorted. You are both so admired by so many people and are an inspiration and example to ambitious young women.'

Sally Rugg is being trolled on social media for the August tweet, while other commenters are more supportive (tweets pictured)

Ms Rugg is renowned for her star-pulling power and was pictured on social media with leading ABC personalities three weeks ago, including journalists Annabel Crabb and Louise Milligan.

The lawsuit has set Canberra alight with gossip and speculation surrounding the reasons behind it, but new court rules outlawed further details being revealed.

However media organisations successfully fought on Tuesday for the court documents to now be made public.

At the time of recruiting Ms Rugg, Dr Ryan, a former GP, wrote on her website: 'We are thrilled to welcome her to Team Mon.'

Teal independent MP Dr Monique Ryan (pictured) is being sued in the Federal Court by her social activist chief-of-staff for allegedly breaching workplace laws

Dr Ryan hired the former GetUp! campaigner as her top staffer after unseating then-treasurer Josh Frydenburg (pictured) in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong at May's election

She hailed Ms Rugg as 'an outstanding all-rounder with excellent leadership experience, a proven track record of effective policy advocacy, and high-level strategic communications skills'.

Ms Rugg said at the time she was 'obviously' drawn to working with the independent MP because of her policies on climate change, gender equity, integrity and transparency in politics.

However, on January 25, Ms Rugg's solicitors Maurice Blackburn filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court alleging Dr Ryan's breach of workplace laws.

It is understood Melbourne-based Ms Rugg is still currently employed by Dr Ryan.

But a media report at the weekend noted that Ms Rugg - who calls herself 'Australias 11th favourite lesbian' - had 'proved not quite a comfortable fit with Kooyong'.

Nina O'Connor, a former campaign chief for Climate 200 - the environmental pressure group backing teal candidates, convened and bankrolled by Simon Holmes a Court - is believed to have replaced Ms Rugg as Dr Ryan's chief-of-staff.

Marriage equality campaigner Sally Rugg (pictured) - whose partner is ABC TV comedian Kate McCartney - claims Dr Ryan breached general protections under the Fair Work Act

Marriage equality campaigner Sally Rugg got engaged to her ABC comedian partner Kate McCartney (both pictured) on New Year's Day 2022

The case will initially come before court on Friday, February 3.

Ms Rugg previously launched a Gofundme to bankroll reporter Tegan George's legal fight against Channel Ten over her alleged treatment at the Canberra bureau under political editor Peter Van Onselen. She shares the same law firm as Ms George.

Ms Rugg's solicitors declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. Dr Ryan's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Both were found in their CBD apartments

Police are investigating an alleged double murder in Melbourne after the bodies of two women were discovered in their apartments days apart.

Victoria Police were called to an apartment on La Trobe St on December 27 after the friends of a 31-year-old Chinese woman discovered her body.

Xiaozheng Lin, 22, was arrested three days later on December 30 and charged with murder, robbery and theft.

Homicide Squad detectives looking into the alleged murder then discovered the body of a second woman, a 51-year-old, inside her Waterside Place Docklands apartment at about 1.30pm on the same day as Lin's arrest.

Xiaozheng Lin (above) has been charged for allegedly robbing and murdering two women in Melbourne's CBD

Lin was arrested following the discovery of a 31-year-old woman's body on La Trobe St before officers discovered his second alleged victim inside her Docklands (above) apartment

Police claim Lin is not from the area where the bodies were found but lives in Huntingdale, in the city's southeast.

Lin appeared in court last Wednesday via video link from the Melbourne Remand Centre for an application to be interviewed by police about the Docklands woman.

'I am making an order transferring you into the custody of a detective to be interviewed and fingerprinted,' Magistrate Belinda Franjic told the court, the Herald Sun reported.

'I am doing so because you are reasonably suspected of having committed the offence of murder and that offence is another offence than what you are currently being held for.'

Lin had the help of a Mandarin translator during the hearing but remained emotionless throughout.

He was charged with murder, robbery, theft and obtain property by deception in relation to the second woman's death on Monday following his interview with police.

Lin reportedly appeared emotionless during a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court (above) last week and is due to appear again on May 5

During his first court hearing in relation to the Chinese woman's death, the court heard Lin would be remanded to custody despite suffering a 'physical impairment' in his right leg.

Charge sheets allege Lin stole a mobile phone, tablet, washing basket and $7,080 in cash, NCA NewsWire reported.

Detective Acting Superintendent Dean Thomas said he understood the community's 'angst' over the two women's deaths.

'I understand there is a lot of concern and anxiety from the community, particularly those who reside in the CBD and surrounding suburbs, following the death of both these women this week,' he said.

'At this stage there is nothing to indicate we are looking for any further victims, and we have a man in custody who was known to both women.'

Member for La Trobe Jason Wood shared his sympathies, writing: 'My thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and friends. May they both Rest In Peace.'

Lin will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on May 5.
France celebrates Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 10:09, January 31, 2023

An Auxerre fan poses with a performer dressed up as god of fortune outside the Abbe Deschamps Stadium of Auxerre club before a French Ligue 1 match between Auxerre and Montpellier as part of the Day of China activites to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Auxerre, France, Jan. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The traditional Chinese festival is now widely considered one of the highlights of the country's wintertime festivities.

PARIS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- After a three-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, people across France have gathered again in recent days to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The traditional Chinese festival is now widely considered one of the highlights of the country's wintertime festivities.

In the French capital's Chinatown (13th arrondissement), the district's municipality, in coordination with local associations and businesses, has organized a series of celebrations that last from Jan. 16 to Feb. 5.

People attend the Chinese New Year parade in Paris, France, on Jan. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The events include exhibitions of Hanfu, the traditional Chinese clothing, and of Chinese paintings, workshops for adults and children, Chinese music concerts, shows with Franco-Chinese comedians, gourmet tasting, and karaoke shows.

The highlight was the traditional Chinese New Year parade, which attracted more than 200,000 people in 2020 since its debut in the 1980s.

This year, the Mayor of the 13th arrondissement, Jerome Coumet, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were present for the parade.

For Coumet, the Chinese New Year is a "highly anticipated" moment. It has become "a significant event for the residents of the 13th arrondissement and of all Paris to experience the meeting of cultures."

Participants perform during the Chinese New Year parade in Paris, France, on Jan. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Similar celebrations were also held in the French capital's other Chinese residential areas, such as Belleville in the 20th arrondissement and a smaller one in the 3rd arrondissement.

Asian businesses are no longer the only ones celebrating this holiday. For several years now, the district of Faubourg Saint-Honore (8th arrondissement) has decorated the streets with red lanterns for its own Spring Festival parade and has hosted lion and dragon dances.

On Jan. 21, when the Chinese New Year festivities began, the ever increasing number of Chinese restaurants across the French capital offered traditional dishes for good luck and best wishes in the coming year.

On the first day of the Year of the Rabbit, a parade was held on the Square of la Republique, where red and golden colors brought warmth to the freezing temperature of the Parisian winter.

Participants perform during the Chinese New Year parade in Paris, France, on Jan. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

For Anicet, who studied Chinese for several years at the Confucius Institute of Paris Diderot, the activities were definitely not to be missed.

He was delighted with this year's rich cultural offer. "I will go to as many events as I can, just to discover," he said.

Alice and Marcel are a Franco-Chinese couple. Alice moved to France from Guangzhou 30 years ago, when she was in her twenties, and she introduced her husband to Chinese culture.

Marcel, the most Sinophile member of the family, likes to play Mahjong and decorates their apartment with Chinese objects.

In preparation for the Spring Festival, Alice and Marcel usually go to the Chinese stores in Paris to do some shopping, such as dumplings and sweet ginger, tangyuan (a traditional Chinese dessert) and Chinese New Year's lights.

A customer poses for a photo with Chinese artist Chen Jianghong (R), designer of the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps, during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Philippe and his wife donned the traditional clothing Hanfu for an evening event organized on Jan. 16 by the Association Boyan, which focuses on the study of traditional Chinese culture, at the town hall of the 13th arrondissement.

They discovered Chinese culture 20 years ago through their passion for tea.

He regularly practices Tai Chi and Qigong, a mind-body-spirit practice that improves one's mental and physical health, which "help him overcome stress."

Philippe prepared dumplings, shrimp soup and stir-fried veggies for the Chinese New Year dinner. He also hosted tea tasting sessions in Paris on Jan. 21 and 28, and will host another one on Feb. 5 in Lille, northern France.

Chinese and French musicians participate in a concert to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the China Cultural Center in Paris, France, Jan. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Tang Ji)

Nadine, an 83-year-old retiree living in the suburbs of Paris, has never been to China. For her, "it is one more party" in the year, but it is also an opportunity to taste "dishes that we are not used to eating."

With the resumption of international travel, more and more French are wishing to visit China, and Chinese tourists in increasing numbers are planning to travel to France for their holidays.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Telangana state Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. (Twitter/@DrTamilisaiGuv)

Hyderabad: Although the Telangana High Court's intervention brought an end to the conflict between Pragathi Bhavan and Raj Bhavan over the Budget Session, there is still uncertainty regarding Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan's approval of seven Bills that have been pending with her since September of last year.

Legislative affairs minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy visited Raj Bhavan on Monday and requested the Governor to approve the Bills that were passed on September 14, 2022. The Governor only assured to look into the matter without giving any specific timeframe.

Of the eight Bills passed on that day, the Governor gave her assent to only one Telangana GST (Amendment) Bill, 2022, seeking inclusion of some more items under the purview of GST as per a decision taken at a GST Council meeting held by the Union finance ministry in June.

The seven bills included one on setting up a common recruitment board for making appointments in 15 state universities, of which the Governor is the chancellor. Others pending are: the University of Forestry Bill; Azamabad Industrial Area (Termination and regulation of leases) (Amendment) Bill; Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill; the Public Employment (Regulation of age of superannuation) (Amendment) Bill; the Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill and Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Amendments Bill.

Of these the government hopes to get the Bills on common recruitment board, municipal laws and private universities approved quickly.

Several municipalities held by BRS are facing no-confidence motion due to rebellion among councillors, in places where the councils have completed three years of their five-year tenure. The Municipal Act, 2019 allows this. The government amended the Act in September 2022 increasing this period to four years but the Governor is yet to grant approval. If the Governor approves the amendment Bill, the councillors will have to wait another year to move no-trust motions.

The teacher recruitment process under a unified board has halted with the Governor keeping approval of the Bill pending. Education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy had visited Raj Bhavan along with officials to clarify the doubts raised by the Governor in November last year.

The government granted private university status to few educational institutions, but it could not be implemented due to the pending Telangana State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Amendments Bill.
The drug dealer who headed the cocaine delivery service that left three dead of fentanyl overdoses in one day was convicted in Manhattan court on Monday.

Billy Ortega, 36, was working as a dispatcher of sorts for the on-demand drug service back in March of 2021.

Ortega directed fellow drug dealer Kaylen Rainey to transport cocaine to several Manhattan addresses, according to federal prosecutors.

Rainey, who pleaded not guilty, then allegedly sold fentanyl-tainted cocaine to attorney Julia Gharamani, Credit Suisse trader Ross Mtangi, and social worker Amanda Scher.

Each of the working professionals would die of an overdose on March 17.

Julia Ghahramani, 26, a first year attorney died in March of 2021 after taking cocaine laced with fentanyl

Ross Mtangi, a trading executive at Credit Suisse Group AG, died on the same day in March after taking cocaine from the same dealer

Amanda Scher, 36, a social worker, was the third victim that day after ordering cocaine from the service run by Ortega

On Monday, Ortega was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury of one count of narcotics conspiracy resulting in death, three counts of narcotics distribution resulting in death, and one count of use and carrying of a firearm in furtherance of the narcotics conspiracy.

He pleaded not guilty and has not yet been sentenced, but is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and could be looking at life behind bars, according to federal authorities.

Two of Ortega's alleged runners, Rainey and William Drayton, are awaiting sentencing. Drayton pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on the 17th of next month.

According to text messages between the dealer and the victims, Ortega had touted a 'new batch' of drugs that his crew was selling that day. He specifically warned Scher that the batch was particularly potent after she asked about its quality.

US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following Ortega's conviction, 'Billy Ortega ran a drug delivery service that delivered fentanyl, killing three victims on a single day.

'Worse yet, Ortega was fully aware that a customer had previously overdosed from the deadly fentanyl Ortega laced into his product, yet continued sending the drugs to his victims.

'As a unanimous jury determined, Ortega will now be held accountable for the victims tragic and untimely deaths,' he said.

It takes just a tiny dose of fentanyl to cause an overdose. Two milligrams - the equivalent of five grains of salt - is enough to cause death.

Because it is cut into other popular drugs, many people who die of overdoses (including Scher, Mtangi, and Ghahramani) do not know they are taking fentanyl. Fentanyl has been partially blamed for America's sharp decline in life-expectancy over the past three years.

Drayton (left) pleaded guilty to acting as a drug runner for the service operated by Ortega. He will be sentenced next month. Rainey (right) entered a not guilty plea

Pictures of Rainey allegedly delivering drugs from the government's case against the three dealers

On March 17, Gharamani, who was back at her Avenue B apartment following a stay at her family's Connecticut home, sent a text to a phone that prosecutors say belonged to Ortega, asking: 'Can u come thru?'

The number then texted back: 'I'll send them right now if you want.'

'That would be great, thank you, really appreciate it,' she replied.

'No worries, we family,' came the response.

After getting the text, prosecutors say, Ortega sent Rainey to Ghahramani's address with instructions to collect $200.

Just about nine minutes later, Rainey could be seen on surveillance footage buzzing her apartment.

Six hours later, she received two text messages that she never responded to.

They read, 'Hey,' and 'Hey, you there.'

Ghahramani also received seven calls on her phone through the night and into the next morning from the delivery service number.

By the time her mother woke up that morning, the Wall Street Journal reports, her mom knew something was wrong because she had not heard from her daughter.

A friend then went to check in on her, and found her dead still holding her phone.

On the table, the complaint says, was a credit card and a rolled up piece of paper with white residue on a plate.

Rainey was caught on surveillance footage in the elevator of Ghahramani's apartment before he rang on the door and allegedly delivered the drugs

Dealers have been cutting fentanyl (pictured) into cocaine to make it more potent and addictive

The same day, prosecutors say, Amanda Scher texted a number stored in her phone as 'Jason Melissa.' Prosecutors say Ortega sometimes used the name Jason.

She proceeded to order some drugs, but asked if it was the same as she got on Sunday 'because that was not good, lol, had to get rid of it.'

The dealer on the other end replied: 'No new... Batch.'

About two hours after Rainey was once again caught on surveillance camera delivering the drugs, she texted back that it was 'def better.'

She then counseled a private patient online from 8 to 9pm before sitting down on the sofa and turning on the television.

Soon, texts came in from the service number saying: 'Hey, try not to do too much because it's really strong.

'Hey boss lady you heard?'

'Lol.'

Three FaceTime audio calls to her phone went unanswered that night, and she later received another message from 'Jason Melissa' saying: 'Hey can you give me a call back I need to ask you something real fast?'

The next morning, her dog walker found her dead on the sofa.

Prosecutors say the texts and calls to Ghahramani and Scher after the deliveries showed a consciousness of guilt.

And, they say, just one day after the deliveries, Rainey sent Ortega screenshots of home drug testing kits, and Ortega switched to a different phone.

They then continued to sell drugs until their arrests, prosecutors allege.

Deaths caused by fentanyl in the US surged in the 2010s. At the start of the decade, 2,666 Americans died of a fentanyl overdose. This figure shot up to 19,413 by 2016. Covid made the situation worse, with a record 72,484 deaths recorded in 2021

Already In the first weeks of 2023, dozens of overdose deaths have occurred in King County, Washington, according to local outlets. Pictured: A man in Seattle smokes fentanyl

The fentanyl crisis has helped fuel the steep drop in American life expectancy in recent years. Americans now live 76.4 years on average, down from 78.8 years in 2019. In the UK, which suffered the Covid pandemic just as the US did, but does not suffer a fentanyl crisis, life expectancy slightly increased from 81.3 years in 2019 to 81.52 in 2021.

The US remains in the throes of the catastrophic fentanyl epidemic that is causing an eye-watering number of deaths and tearing the fabric of American society apart.

The synthetic opioid being cut with virtually every street drug in the country killed a record 75,000 Americans in 2021, the equivalent of 1,500 lives lost every week.

Fentanyl - which is 100 times more potent than morphine - started off as a cheap alternative to heroin and was used by only the most hardcore drug addicts in the US, who mainly injected it or smoked it through a pipe.

But its cheap manufacturing costs and potency have made it the go-to cutting agent for cartels and drug dealers in and out of the US looking to stretch their supply. It's now found in everything from cocaine to molly and street benzodiazepines like Xanax.

Fentanyl has infected virtually every major city in America, turning once-thriving streets in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia into wastelands. Scenes of zombified addicts shooting up or smoking the drug in front of children are increasingly becoming a part of everyday life in America's major metropolitan areas.
A marriage celebrant has recalled the incredible moment she reunited a beachgoer with her wedding ring found at the bottom of the ocean during her daily swim.

Meggan Brummer was snorkelling at Sydney's Balmoral Beach on Friday.

A frantic woman approached her, explaining that her wedding ring had fallen off her finger and slipped through the pier's wooden slats into the sea.

Ms Brummer offered to help and, after several 3-4 metre dives, found the precious ring among seaweed and algae at the bottom of the ocean 20 minutes later.

She rose to the surface and returned the ring to relieved beachgoer Paola, who revealed the band's sentimental value.

A delighted Paola (right) was grateful to be reunited with her beloved wedding band retrieved from the bottom of the ocean by Meggan Brummer (left)

'She explained how her husband gave it to her when they got married 13 years ago at a time where they didn't have much money,' Ms Brummer told Daily Mail Australia.

'Her husband eventually upgraded the ring, but the opal fell off and was expensive to repair. Paola had just started wearing the original wedding ring again when it fell off last Friday.'

Paola was beside herself after the ring was miraculously found.

'She ran up to me and gave the biggest hug,' Ms Brummer recalled.

'It meant everything to her. Had it happened the next day, I would have never found it as the water wasn't as visible.'

The Mosman resident has been a marriage celebrant for more than a decade, including dozens of ceremonies at Balmoral.

'Who knows, she and her husband could be doing renewing their vows with me in the future!' Ms Brummer joked.

'Maybe we could even do it down at Balmoral.'

Avid snorkeler Meggan Brummer also retrieved an Apple phone from the water at Balmoral last week which has since been returned to its owner

Simon and Meggan Brummer have retrieved dozens of lost treasures at Balmoral from wedding and eternity rings to Fitbits, phones and Apple watches

The remarkable discovery was found days after Ms Brummer found an Apple phone from the water and has since tracked down its owner to return it.

The phone was still working after two days after it was accidentally dropped in the water after it was soaked in rice to dry it out.

Just two weeks ago, Ms Brummer's husband found a young woman's eternity ring which had been a Christmas present from her boyfriend.

Two years earlier, Mr Brummer searched and retrieved a man's wedding ring also lost in the water.

The story brought back vivid flashbacks for the grateful owner when Ms Brummer recalled her recent retrieval on a Mosman community Facebook page on Monday.

'Lightening does strike twice! Thank you and your husband for your amazing work finding my wedding ring at Balmoral 2 years ago! I was beyond stoked!' the man posted.

Marriage celebrant Meggan Brummer (pictured) goes down to Balmoral almost daily to swim, dive and snorkel with her family where they often come across lost treasures

Other group members were touched by Ms Brummer sharing the story behind her heartwarming gesture.

'Wow what an incredible story and beautiful act of kindness, compassion and determination demonstrated by you in her time of need,' one local commented.

Another added: 'What a wonderful story and a beautiful thing to do for a stranger.'

The Brummers have found dozens of lost treasures at Balmoral this summer alone, including phones, several Apple watches and an expensive Fitbit.

'My greatest finds have been an Apple Phone, a wallet and someones car keys  which I managed to return because the owner just happened to still be at the Boathouse two hours later,' Ms Brummer said.

'It gives me absolute joy and satisfaction to find lost treasures and return them to their owners.'

Meggan's husband Simon also found a lost wedding ring at Balmoral two years ago, which brought back fond memories for the owner when she shared her story this week

'It was just so wonderful to be able to return her ring to her': Meggan Brummer describes the moment she found woman's wedding ring On Friday I found this womans wedding ring at the bottom of the harbour!! I was at snorkelling at Balmoral around the nets when this woman on the pier asked me how deep it was. She quickly followed up with the bombshell ... her wedding ring had just fallen between the boards into the depths below. Right at the back of the baths. I started driving down  looking for it. We then worked out it was probably on the outside of the shark net. So I climbed out and jumped over. Im not really good at diving down too deep, and today it mustve been over 4m, but I was determined to find her ring.  I wasnt having much luck. Id been down quite a few times and could only hold my breath for a few seconds with each dive. So I decided that instead of swimming around when I got down, I would just stare at the ground immediately in front of my eyes. And so I did. And then there was! Right in front of my eyes! Despite all the seaweed and algae down there, the ring had fallen straight on the sand.  It was just so wonderful to be able to return her ring to her. Paola was just beside herself with relief.  And she couldnt believe it when I told her Im actually a marriage celebrant! Lol! Perhaps its time for her & hubby to renew their vows. Advertisement



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A man at the center of an intense police search in Oregon after a violent kidnapping last week was released from custody in October 2021 by Nevada officials on the same day he arrived at the prison.

Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, faced decades behind bars in Nevada after he was charged in 2019 with five felonies, including assault and battery.

But a deal with Clark County prosecutors allowed him to instead plead guilty to felony and misdemeanor battery, and a judge sentenced him in September 2021 to serve between one and two-and-a-half years in a state prison.

William Quenga, a spokesperson for the Nevada prison system, told the Associated Press in an email that Foster arrived on Oct. 18, 2021, at a prison intake facility but was released the same day, because the judge had factored into Foster's punishment the 729 days he had spent in jail awaiting trial.

That means Foster had served his minimum sentence behind bars but was a half-year from serving the maximum time given by the judge.

Foster is now on the run and after he allegedly 'bound and severely beat' victim Jessie Siemens until she was unconscious inside her home on Shane Way, Grants Pass, Oregon, last week.

She was hospitalized in critical condition and has not regained consciousness since then, said Grants Pass Police Lt. Jeff Hattersley.

Undated photo (left) provided by the Grants Pass Police Department shows Benjamin Obadiah Foster, accused of torturing Jessie Siemens (right), whom he held captive in Oregon

Siemens was found inside her home (pictured) in Grants Pass, Oregon, last week

Authorities say Foster forced his former girlfriend to eat lye while holding her captive in her Las Vegas apartment for 16 days before she escaped in 2019

The case has rattled residents of Grants Pass, a town of some 40,000 in southwest Oregon next to Interstate 5.

Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman told AP that it is 'extremely troubling' that Foster wound up being sought for attempted murder in Oregon instead of still being behind bars in Nevada.

Foster narrowly eluded a police raid Thursday in the nearby unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, Oregon, and may have changed his appearance by shaving his beard and hair or changing his hair color, police said.

Police initially released a photo of Foster showing him with shoulder-length brown hair, but he had cut it and grown a thicker beard since the photo was made. He may have altered his appearance further since then, Hattersley said.

'We're getting all kinds of calls about people walking along I-5, they have long beards and long hair,' Hattersley said. 'We have a feeling that's not really what he is looking like at this point.'

Police offered a $2,500 reward Friday for information leading to Foster's arrest and prosecution. None of the 50 or so tips that have come in, mostly by phone, since then has been solid enough to lead to Foster, who is charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault, according to Hattersley.

Grants Pass police announced Friday that Foster was using online dating applications to contact unsuspecting people to lure them assisting with his escape. They also said he had likely cut his long hair and beard to change his appearance

Siemens was hospitalized in critical condition following her kidnapping last week and has not regained consciousness since then, said Grants Pass Police Lt. Jeff Hattersley

The Thursday night raid in Wolf Creek, some 20 miles north of Grants Pass, involved Grants Pass police, sheriff's deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT team, and federal agents.

Foster, who had been staying on the family property there, slipped away. Forested mountains surround the community, but investigators believe that instead of disappearing solo into the wilderness, Foster had help getting out of the area.

Grants Pass police announced Friday that Foster was using online dating applications to contact unsuspecting people to lure them into assisting with his escape or to potentially find new victims.

Hattersley said Monday that investigators no longer believe Foster was trying to find more victims but could have been seeking an unwitting person to help him avoid the intensive police manhunt.

'That's why we put that out there,' he said. 'We don't want someone to unknowingly think that they're meeting some great guy that's actually a wanted felon that's trying to get away.'

Before moving to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks before she managed to escape in October 2019.

Police said the woman suffered seven broken ribs, and two black eyes and had been choked to the point of unconsciousness during her captivity.

Foster was released from custody two years later after reaching his deal with Clark County prosecutors.
Former President Donald Trump is suing longtime journalist Bob Woodward over publication of his Trump Tapes audiobook  claiming he has copyright ownership and asking Woodward and Simon & Shuster to fork over $49 million in damages.

Trump, who can be heard on the tapes calling Woodward 'a great historian' and 'the great Bob Woodward' in their recorded on-the-record chats, is nevertheless incensed at Woodward's audio publication.

He had earlier called Woodward 'very sleazy' and threatened to sue. On Monday, he finally did so in Florida, drawing a Pensacola judge who is battling terminal prostate cancer and who once issued a ruling that struck down Obamacare.

His new lawyer was born in Britain, and is licensed to practice law in Florida and New York as well as to appear in court as a barrister in the U.K.  and as he revealed to DailyMail.com has done voiceover acting for Wendy's, Panera Bread, and other clients in a variety of accents.

Trump took part in 19 interviews with Watergate journalist Bob Woodward. He is suing for $49 million in damages after publication of The Trump Tapes

Trump's lawyers claim the former president, who spoke to Woodward while he was in office in repeated interviews  which Woodward recorded  'for the sole purpose of a book.'

'This case centers on Mr. Woodward's systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump,' according to the suit.

Trump had done the interviews during the pandemic, as Woodward penned Rage, his follow-up to his 2018 book critical of Trump, Fear. Trump participated in 19 interviews with Woodward.

He has been accused of forum shopping in the past, and of using the courts to make political points. Days ago, he dropped a second suit against New York AG Letitia James.

Trump filed suit in Florida after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago looking for classified material, drawing a judge he appointed who ruled in his favor and appointed a 'special master' to sort through the material. An appeals court later struck down the ruling.

His attorney, Robert Garson, denied any kind of forum shopping. 'He's a Florida resident,' Garson told DailyMail.com.

He also said the suit was not meant to make a political statement. 'I don't bring suits for headline grabbing. I'm not that sort of guy,' he said.

Garson, who has won awards for his voiceover work, has a 'remarkably versatile voice anchored in the British accent range,' and has done work in Scottish, Irish, and American accents. He says he hasn't repped Trump previously.

Trump himself is a former TV pitch-man, and famously once served McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King at the White House.

Woodward published The Trump Tapes after conducting multiple interviews with Trump

Lawyer Robert Garson says he has not represented Trump previously

His suit bases the $49 million damages figure based on selling 2 million copies at $24.99 each, as Bloomberg reported, noting that all three judges in the division of the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida where Trump filed are GOP appointees.

Trump last week dropped his $250 million lawsuit against James, after a judge hit him with $1 million in fines over a suit that he called a 'political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him.'
An 'aggressive' husky could be seen writhing around in pain while being tasered to death by police in California following reports the pet had been chasing a family with young children.

The disturbing incident which occurred in Lodi, south of Sacramento, came after the family sought refuge from the animal in their own back yard and were forced to use a piece of wood to protect themselves and their dog until Animal Services arrived.

The two-year-old Husky broke free twice when officials attempted to snare the pet as it approached a group of people in front of their home.

The dog, named Enzo, ran about half a mile away from its usual home where the showdown with police officers took place, which ended in Enzo's death.

The dog, named Enzo, could be seen standing upright before he was tasered by police

A loose husky was tasered to death by police officer Timothy Ivey after it chased a family, including young children, into their home and attempted to attack their pet

Lodi Police said they used a stun gun on the dog in order for it to be be captured safely

Lodi Police were called to assist with officer Timothy Ivey drawing a stun gun on the animal, much to the shock of bystanders who were watching the episode unfold in front of their driveways.

Video footage sees the dog standing before a police officer before a taser is fired.

Enzo bounces back up and is instantly tased once again with the police office continuing to tase the animal as it howls in pain.

The husky can be seen thrashing about on the ground as the electrical charges surge through its body, causing it to become rigid and collapse to the ground.

The 'aggressive' husky could be seen writhing around in pain after it was tasered

Jordan Kranich from Animal Services could then be seen dragging the dog along the road and into the back of a van

Footage from home surveillance cameras sees the dog being dragged along the ground

The dog is then dragged away along the ground by Jordan Kranich from Animal Services officers as locals watched on aghast.

'You could have just grabbed him. You didn't have to tase him!' neighbors shouted at the police officers.

'He just attacked a bunch of kids. That's what the problem was,' explained officer Delgado.

'He wasn't attacking us!' the neighbor responded, clearly distressed from what he had just witnessed.

'There's a bunch of kids and he attacked them, then he ran around the corner and attacked some more kids,' Officer Delgado said in an attempt to justify their use of force.

'The taser just stops him running around,' he explained.

'He just attacked a bunch of kids. That's what the problem was,' explained officer Delgado, seen left

Lodi officers said they were called after receiving reports of an aggressive dog trying chase a family with young children and bite them.

Officers defended their use of a taser stating that it was 'in order for Animal Services the opportunity to safely secure the dog.'

The dog died shortly after the incident with its owners, Aline Galeno and her mother Anna Marquez later notified of its death.

'We never put our hands on your dogs or anything. For that to be his last moments getting hurt, I just don't think that's right,' Galeno said to KCRA.

Aline and her mother say Enzo was not a vicious dog.

'Please tell his story, that's all I want. Everybody tell his story, spread it around, I want to get those guys fired or sued. I believe Enzo didn't deserve this and I want to get justice for Enzo,' Galeno said.

The dog died shortly after the incident with its owners, Aline Galeno and her mother Anna Marquez later notified of its death

A tribute has been set up outside Enzo's home following the dog's untimely death

A makeshift gravesite has been erected following the dog's demise
The debunked Amtrak story that Joe Biden told in Ohio on Friday was the seventh time in the last year-plus - and sixth since entering the White House - that the president repeated the tale.

Biden made similar remarks on these occasions.

October 12, 2020

Then-candidate Joe Biden spoke to a small group at Cincinnati's Museum Center at Union Terminal on October 12, 2020

During an appearance on the campaign trail in Cincinnati, Ohio, then-candidate Joe Biden repeated the story about his friend, Amtrak conductor Angelo Negri.

'And so I started commuting every day back and forth, and that's how I got involved as sort of Mr. Amtrak,' Biden said.

'Because when they publish that, they keep fastidious records on how many miles you travel on government aircraft when your vice president.

'And I had traveled a little over, I think it was a 1,400,000 miles.

'It was on the front page of the paper, but I used to like to take the train home on Fridays still as Vice President because it costs a lot of money to take that small plane back.

'But in addition to that, the Secret Service felt much more secure if I wasn't on a train, but they humored me and let me go home on Fridays sometimes.

'My mom was living at my home as she was passing.

'And I remember getting on the train and a guy named Angelo Negri, I got to know their families, all the conductors and all the people all those years.

'And he came up to me and he grabbed me and he said, 'Joey.' He grabbed my cheek.

'I thought the Secret Service was going to shoot him. I said, 'No.' I said, 'He's okay.'

'It's a true story.

'And he said, 'I just read, Joey, 1,400,000 miles on Air Force Two, big deal. The boys, we were checking. We had our retirement dinner. Went up to New Jersey for the dinner. You know how many miles you traveled on Amtrak?'

'I said, 'No, Ang, I don't.'

'He said, 'Joey,' he said, 'we figure 117 days a year, 36 years, and then X number of days as Vice President, you've traveled 2,100,000 miles on Amtrak.'

'I think I hold the record, other than a conductor.'

April 30, 2021

Delivering an April 30 speech in Philadelphia commemorating the 50th anniversary of Amtrak, Biden launched into the tale of reaching 1.5 million miles on the service

Delivering a speech in Philadelphia commemorating the 50th anniversary of Amtrak, Biden launched into the tale of a certain conductor congratulating him on reaching the milestone as he traveled to visit his sick mother.

Biden said the incident occurred in his 'fourth or fifth year as vice president', or around 2014-2015, at which time the conductor he named had been retired for 20 years and had passed away, inconsistencies first pointed out by Fox News.

Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years, famously commuted by Amtrak to Congress from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, racking up many miles on the train service.

'When I became vice president, one of the Capitol Hill newspapers estimated that I had taken more than 7,000 round trips on Amtrak over my career,' he explained in his speech on Friday.

'I think that's an exaggeration. I'm going to rely on those two conductors  one of them was a guy named Angelo Negri,' he continued, launching into the anecdote.

'There was an article, I guess my fourth or fifth year as vice president, saying Biden travels 1,300,000 miles on Air Force One [Two]. I used to  the Secret Service didn't like it  but I used to like to take the train home,' he continued.

'My mom was sick and I used to try to come home almost every weekend as vice president to see her. I got on the train and Angelo Negri came up and he goes, 'Joey, baby,' and he grabbed my cheek like he always did. I thought he was going to get shot. I'm serious. I said, 'No, no, he's a friend,' Biden recalled.

'He said, 'Joey, what's the big deal? 1,300,000 miles on Air Force Two? Do you know how many miles you traveled on Amtrak?'

'I said, 'No, Angie, I don't know.'

'He gave me the calculation and he said you traveled 1,500,000 miles on Amtrak.

'The fact is, I'd probably take Angie's word before I'd take the word of what the article said,' Biden said.

June 29, 2021

Biden told the same story during a June 29 speech at La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility in La Crosse, Wisconsin

President Biden made an appearance at La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to tout his bipartisan infrastructure framework.

During his remarks, he once again told the story of being 'Mr. Amtrak.'

'Now, I know I'm 'Mr. Amtrak',' the president said.

'I've traveled over 2 million miles on Amtrak. I commuted every day. I get it.

'I know you think I'm nuts. But after my wife and daughter were killed, I decided to commute back and forth to Delaware.

'It was a 257-mile roundtrip.'

Biden continued: 'I'll tell you a real quick story. I shouldn't bore you with it.

'But, you know, the Secret Service - they're the best in the world - doesn't like you taking Amtrak because it stops too many times - the train.

'They want me flying home in the small jets that were available as Vice President.

'And that cost a lot of money, so I would go home on Fridays, you know, because my mom was passing away.

'I'd go home on Amtrak. And they published - they keep fastidious record of the miles you travel in an air- in a Air Force aircraft as President and Vice President.

'And toward the end of my term, a headline came out in all of the papers: 'Biden travels'  I think it was 1.3 or 1.7 million miles on Air Force planes.

'And so, I'm getting on the train on that Friday, and these guys who all became my family - all - the conductor.

'And a guy named Angelo Negri came up, and he goes, 'Joey, baby!'

'Grabs my cheek like that. And I thought they were going to shoot him. I really did.

'I said, 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He's a friend.'

'He was like, 'What the hell.'

'And he said, 'Big deal, Joey. A million' - whatever it was - 'three-hundred thousand miles. You know how many miles you've traveled on Amtrak, Joey?'

'And I said, 'No, Ang. I don't.'

'And he said, 'At that retirement dinner, we calculated it. We estimated 127 days a year, 250 miles back and forth, 3  36 years, then as Vice President.

''Joey, you traveled more on Amtrak.'

'Well, I - and when they named a station after me in my city, someone complained that Biden is using his influence.

'I said, 'Hell, they should name the whole Northeast Corridor after me.'

'I've [traveled] more than anybody else.'

September 21, 2021

President Joe Biden holds a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Oval Office at the White House on September 21. Biden relayed the same story to the British premier

The president told the same story during a one-on-one meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Oval Office of the White House.

At the beginning of their meeting, Biden and Johnson exchanged pleasantries and joked about their shared love of trains.

The prime minister took the Amtrak train down from New York City, where he was at the annual UN General Assembly meeting, to meet with Biden at the White House.

'They love you,' Johnson told Biden of Amtrak. 'You are a living deity on Amtrak, I can tell you.'

The president bragged how he had ridden over 2 million miles on the nation's train system.

'Well, they should. I've traveled more on Amtrak,' he said. 'If I were conductor I'd be number one in seniority.'

Biden then shared the oft-repeated story with Johnson.

'I got to tell you a quick story that has nothing to do with anything,' Biden told the British premier.

He told Johnson that 'the Secret Service didn't like me traveling on Amtrak because there were too many options for people to cause trouble along the way.

'But I insisted I do it.'

'One day,' Biden continued, 'they put in the newspaper: 'Biden travels 1 million ' - and I think - don't hold me to the exact number - I think it was - ' 350,000 miles on Air Force Two'.'

The president then told Johnson that whenever he hopped on the train home to Delaware, he was met by 'a guy, who was the number three guy from New Jersey in seniority as a conductor, [who] walked up and grabbed me and he goes like this: 'Joey, baby!' [and] grabs my cheek.

'I thought the Secret Service was going to shoot him.'

October 20, 2021

The president recalled the encounter with Angelo Negri during an appearance touting his 'Build Back Better' infrastructure plan in his native hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

In this retelling, Biden explained that when he was vice president, government officials kept track of the mileage that he traveled via air.

He then said that 'seven years into my tenure as vice president,' he was informed that he had surpassed the 1 million mile mark in flying on Air Force Two - which is the vice president's official aircraft.

According to Biden, after reaching the milestone, he was accosted by an old friend, Amtrak conductor Negri, who was adamant that his Amtrak milestone was far more impressive.

'Joey, baby!' the president recalled Negri telling him.

'I thought the Secret Service was going to shoot him.'

Biden says he told Secret Service agents: 'No, no, no, he's good. He's good.'

After Biden flew some 1.2million miles, the president claims Negri sarcastically told him: 'Big deal!'

'You know how many miles you did Amtrak?' Negri is said to have told then-Vice President Biden.

'No, Ang, I don't have any idea, pal,' Biden says he responded.

Biden says Negri told him that the president amassed more than 2 million miles on Amtrak going back to his days as a US senator representing Delaware.

December 8, 2021

In the sixth retelling, at an event in Kansas City, Missouri, Biden the encounter happened when he visited his sick mother, who died in January 2010, less than one year after he became vice president, contradicting the at least three other occasions, Biden said it happened much later in his second term.
A listing for a four-bedroom home that recently went on the rental market conveniently left out the fact a brothel sits right upstairs.

The property on Elizabeth Street in Waterloo, Sydney's inner city, was listed as both residential and commercial, and has a car space, a kitchen and one bathroom.

The entire property has tiled floors but looks more like an office space with a run-down kitchen than a family home.

The bathroom also looked dated with one photo showing several large cracks in the shower screen.

The property was listed for $1,000 a week and has since been leased out for commercial purposes.

But as exposed in a TikTok by comedian Jordan van den Berg, the house also has the same address as a working brothel.

The property on Elizabeth Street in Waterloo, Sydney's inner city, was listed as both residential and commercial, and has a car space, a kitchen and one bathroom. Those viewing the listing were not made aware of the brothel running upstairs

'Our ladies are very talented and capable to fulfill your pleasure requirements,' the brothel's website reads, with customers charged a minimum of $90 for 30 minutes and $150 for an hour.

'They offer services according to your personal taste and needs, TLC are provided by our ladies.'

One listing for the property said it was an operating laundromat with both 'front and rear access'.

Photos of the front of the building also show the name of an accountancy - making it confusing as to which or how many businesses are being run from the site.

The Century 21 Masterpiece agent listed with the property claimed she didn't know about the intimate encounters happening upstairs when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

'I have no idea, I just took (prospective tenants) inside to have a look,' she said.

The property was listed for $1,000 a week and has since been leased out for commercial purposes

The entire property has tiled floors but looks more like an office space with a run-down kitchen than a family home

She then claimed the brothel was separate to the listing as it was upstairs.

Photos of the front of the home show a mysterious purple stairway leading up to the second floor while one of the blinds down on the second storey window is also purple.

Mr Van Den Berg guessed the real estate agents looking after the listing would definitely have 'had a clue' about what goes on at the address.

'Sex work is real work and that isn't the issue, it's the lack of disclosure on the listing,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'When I asked (the agent) about the other business at the address, they were really hesitant about providing any details about it, even though I hadn't even mentioned the brothel.

'One of the agents was really happy to chat until I told her the address. You're not that standoffish otherwise.'

The director of Century 21 Masterpiece Real Estate was contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment.
A restaurant owner fears her new business will be tainted after she received backlash for naming the new breakfast joint Woke.

Carmen Quiroga opened her tiny breakfast shack in Coventry earlier this month anticipating to sell loads of crepes, eggs and bacon - but instead was met with contention.

Coventry residents assumed the local cafe was named after the political term 'woke' that was originally meant to mean aware of prejudice and injustice, but is now often used to explain progressive behavior people find performative and extreme.

But Quirgo says that's untrue, and that the name is just a reference to people starting their day and seeking out breakfast at establishments like hers.

Quiroga worries nasty Facebook posts about her the restaurant would immediately ruin business without a fair shot.

'They dont give me the opportunity to try my food and my work,' Quiroga told WTNH.

Carmen Quiroga's new cafe has angered many with it's name - WOKE - which she insists is just part of its breakfast-theme, and not an attempt to wade into the culture wars

Carmen Quiroga was scrutinized for naming her breakfast cafe Woke. Some locals assumed the restaurant was named to reference the political term often used to explain progressive behavior people find performative and extreme

Quiroga recently opened the cafe and feared it her business would be tainted

Quiroga saw the cruel comments on a private Facebook page for the town. Several people were quick to bypass the true meaning behind the name which is to 'wake up and have a coffee,' according to the news outlet.

She claimed she had no idea what the political definition of 'woke' meant.

The cafe owner was left her in tears while reading the comments that have since been discouraged on the page.

'Just a word of warning, any more ridiculous comments about the name of the new breakfast place in town will be deleted,' the page admin wrote.

Several people rushed to Woke's Facebook page to support Quiroga's new business following the news about the negative backlash.

Photos displaying the cafe's breakfast offerings were flooded with promising comments to support Quiroga's business.

'I saw your story on the news in Boston and Im so sorry people brought negativity to a simple and fun name,' one person wrote. 'If we ever come to Connecticut we will be eating breakfast at Woke!'

'That looks absolutely delicious,' one person commented under photos of the cafe's pancakes. 'Wish I lived closer. Congrats on the new business and glad to see. People are giving you the support you deserve.'

Others left encouraging reviews after eating at the cafe while others expressed their excitement at trying out the food.

Quiroga saw the cruel comments on a private Facebook page for the town. The contention led to the page admin having to step in and warn against foul comments

Quiroga explained the Facebook contention didn't represent the town of Coventry. Locals echoed her statement and appeared to be unbothered by the name.

'To me, when I hear Woke as a breakfast restaurant, it just means waking up, so Im not personally offended by it,' resident Benjamin Kieso told the news outlet.

'Its a catchy name,' Brian Pope added.
There may be drama in the llama community as one New Mexico animal just booted out a fellow creature to become the oldest living llama in the world.

Dalai Llama celebrated his 27th birthday over the weekend, officially surpassing the current Guinness World Record holder at 26 and going way beyond the typical lifespan of a llama, which is about 20 years.

Dalai's owners, the Strait family of Albuquerque, have already started the application process to get him into the record books. The previous holder, Rapper, a llama in Olympia, Washington, was 26 years and 258 days old at the time of certification.

This is Dalai Llama who celebrated his 27th birthday over the weekend

The family threw Dalai a full birthday party, inviting friends to come celebrate

The one-eyed llama is owned by Andrew Thomas and Kee Straits, along with their daughter Samibah 'Sami' Straits.

The family, who told local media Dalai is 'definitely a part of' their family, threw the llama a party on Saturday and even invited some of their friends.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, guests were fed ribs, burgers and chocolate cake, and donned party hats and decorations.

Dalai, however, ate a personal alfalfa 'cake' with candles reading '27.'

Also in attendance was Dalai's best friend, Gelato, a Nigerian dwarf goat.

Thomas said they are so close that Gelato cries when Dalai leaves the pen.

The pair also sleep together, the owner said.

'It's the cutest thing,' Thomas told the Journal.

'This llama is bringing everyone together,' said Shannon Fleg, a family friend of Thomas and Straits who attended the party. Fleg brought a sign and a carton of apples as a gift.

The llama worse this colorful beaded sash on the day of his party

Party attendees got the chance to 'play' with Dalai

The family, who told local media Dalai is 'definitely a part of' their family, threw the llama a party on Saturday and even invited some of their friends

Say cheese! Dalai is now the oldest living llama in captivity

Kee Strait (left) and Andrew Thomas (right) with Dalai Llama

The Straits have owned Dalai since 2007.

'He's definitely a part of our family. He means a lot to us. My daughter and I were both born in Peru, and llamas, you know, we highly regard them because we live so closely with llamas traditionally,' said Kee Straits.

For perspective, Dalai has been with the family longer than the couple's 13-year-old daughter Sami has.

Sami grew up riding on Dalai's back and continues to have a soft spot for the llama.

'He was so proud when he put on the saddle,' Sami said.

The young girl told the Journal she wants to be a vet one day.

The llama is older than the family's daughter, Sami, who is 13

This chocolate cake was a treat for the human guests

This is a sign brought by one of the family friends who attended the party

The family also owns multiple other animals on their property including guinea pigs, Navajo churro sheep and chickens.

Their love of animals, they say, comes from their heritage.

Kee Straits is Peruvian and Quechua while Thomas is Navajo.

'We've grown up so interdependent with each other,' Kee Straits said. 'In Peru, our llamas are part of our ceremonies, and we celebrate them  they're a livelihood.'

Unfortunately, representatives for Guinness were unable to attend the party but guests who did show up can act as witnesses to prove the claim.

This is the actual Dalai Llama, who Dalai the llama is cheekily named after

Kee Straits, who is Peruvian, said llamas are embedded in her culture

Llamas are native to Peru

Guinness will also require the animal's 'birth certificate.'

It generally takes weeks or months for Guinness to certify a world record.

Llamas generally live between 15 and 20 years.
A father and daughter have been captured in a uniquely Australian moment as they bickered while removing ticks from the father's pet snake.

The Tasmanian father, a certified snake handler, and his daughter were filmed while squabbling as she became afraid of the extremely venomous tiger snake he had pinned to a table.

Video of the interaction was posted to the TikTok channel, ebbs1987, on Sunday, captioned 'he loves them [snakes] more than his own children'.

A father and daughter have been recorded bickering while removing ticks from a deadly snake (pictured)

The video shows the Akubra-wearing daughter nervously searching for ticks in between the snake's scales.

'That's quite a big one there,' she says.

'You ain't seen nothing yet,' the father replies, while pinning the animal down.

The woman then appears to pull off one of the snake's scales instead of a tick, the beast opening its mouth and sharply turning towards the woman.

'Oh f*** dad,' the woman yells in shock.

The father, shirtless and unfazed by the experience, mutters 'I'd be crabby with you too'.

The two then become frustrated with each other, taking the time to exchange insults while handling the potentially deadly animal.

'Just look what you're doing, will you,' the father chides.

'A snake nearly f****** bit me,' the woman replies.

The daughter was frightened after her dad's pet tiger snake turned to strike her after she accidentally hurt it while pulling out a 'big' tick

'It did not,' the father bickers back.

After some more squabbling, the snake then twitches again as the woman makes another attempt to dislodge the tick, freaking her out once more.

'Oh my gosh mum you're such a baby,' the woman's son says from behind the camera.

The two then reconvene and return to treating the snake.

TikTok users quickly took to the post, commenting on how Australian the situation was.

'This is typical Aussie drama, absolutely love it,' one commenter wrote.

Tiger snakes (pictured) have an extremely potent venom that inhibits the central nervous system, but also causes muscle damage and affects blood clotting

'This is the most Kath and Kim thing ever,' a second commenter wrote.

'This was like me and my dad when he fed his carpet snake without tongs and needed him removed from his arm,' another user commented on the video.

The tiger snake has an extremely potent venom that inhibits the central nervous system, but also causes muscle damage and affects blood clotting.

They have been attributed to 17 per cent of identified snakebite victims in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with four deaths recorded from 119 confirmed envenomations.
Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan. (File Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's Republic Day address drew sharp reactions, including critical remarks, from BRS leaders here on Thursday.

Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy found fault with the Governor while minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav came down heavily for Dr Soundararajan for delivering a 'political speech' on Republic Day. He said the state government would write to President Draupadi Murmu complaining against the 'unconstitutional functioning' of the Governor.

"Her comments were unwarranted. It is unfortunate that the Governor chose to breach norms on the day when our Constitution came into force in 1950," Yadav said.

MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha "thanked" the Governor for what she called echoing the vision of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao."

In a Twitter reaction to the Governors address, she wrote, "Choosing countrys infrastructure over Central Vista during the pandemic, is what we demanded. Choosing farmers, labourers, unemployed youth over focusing on wealth generation for a few is exactly what we have been fighting for. Thank you for echoing the vision of CM KCR Garu (sic)."

Sukhender Reddy, while referring to the Governor's call to protect democracy in the state, said, "There is no threat to democracy in Telangana. Those who are criticising the state government or question what it has achieved should also tell about what the Centre has done in the last eight years. When questioned, they talk of laying national roads. We cannot help if someone fails to notice the development achieved by Telangana in the last eight years. It's not proper to criticize farmhouses and construction of new buildings."

Srinivas Reddy said those holding constitutional positions should talk more responsibly. It's not proper to criticise someone just to show their presence, he said.
A senior Republican promised to hold the Biden administration to account on Monday amid a fresh report that weapons abandoned to the Taliban during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan had made their way to another conflict.

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir claimed that Pakistan-linked militants have been seen with M4s, M16s and other American arms that have rarely been spotted before in the decades-long conflict.

Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, said it was the predictable result of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal.

'House Republicans warned this would happen yet there was zero oversight or investigation into Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan under Nancy Pelosi,' he told DailyMail.com.

'Rest assured, we will be holding hearings and looking into the consequences of leaving so much military equipment behind.'

Rep. Mike Waltz, of the House Armed Services Committee, said he had long warned that weapons left behind in Afghanistan would make their way into the hands of the Taliban and then on to other militant groups in other parts of the world

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir claim that U.S. weapons have been used by Pakistan-linked militant as part of their struggled to take territory

The U.S.-backed Afghan government had $7.1 billion of weapons when it collapsed in August 2021. The Taliban swept into the capital Kabul filling a void left by Afghan security forces who simply melted away when U.S. troops left.

At the same time, American forces had to abandon vehicles, helicopters and stocks of their own weapons, which they said were mostly made inoperable.

Most are though to have ended up in the hands of the Taliban.

But Waltz, who is expected to take over as chair of the House subcommittee on military readiness, last year that the group's ties to Pakistan's intelligence agencies meant weapons could be transferred to fighters in another Pakistani target: Kashmir.

The region has been disputed ever since India was split at independence in 1947 to create a separate Muslim-majority country in the form of Pakistan.

Both sides claim the Himalayan region as their own, and it has been the trigger for wars, battles and skirmishes ever since.

The U.S. weapons have been reportedly seen in the hands of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) or Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistan-linked Jihadist movements that are designated as terrorist groups by the U.S.

A propaganda video released last year by the People's Anti-Fascist Front, a new militant grouping, apparently showed U.S. weapons, such as this M249 light machine gun

Analsyts believe the People's Anti-Fascist Front is a cover name for Jaish-e-Mohammad

The U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover triggered chaotic scenes at Kabul airport. In one iconic photo, an infant is seen being handed to a U.S. Marine. House Republicans are demanding answers from the Biden administration about what went wrong

A Taliban fighter poses with a US-made Afghan air force Blackhawk helicopter at Kandahar airfield in August 2021, as weapons fell into the hands of the country's new rulers

Lt. Col. Emron Musavi, an Indian army spokesperson in Srinagar, the capital of Indian Kashmir, said the two groups had used Afghanistan for training.

'It can be safely assumed that they have access to the weapons left behind,' he told NBC News.

Last year, local police said they had seized an M4 carbine rifle after a firefight with JeM militants.

It is not the first time that American weapons have been spotted in Kashmir.

Last year the Peoples Anti-Fascist Front  thought to be a front for JeM  released a video that showed members training with an arsenal of new weapons.

Analysts identified militants wielding an M249 light machine gun, which was used extensively by American troops in Afghanistan, and which was supplied to the Afghan National Army, as well as M4 rifles (which have previously been seen in the hands of the Taliban.)

Taliban forces showed off their new military hardware during a victory parade in Kandahar in 2021 as they celebrated the retreat of U.S. forces and their capture of Afghanistan

The Taliban last year released propaganda footage of body armour-clad 'special forces' with night vision goggles, which may have come from abandoned Afghan army stores

Also spotted was the L85A2, used by the British Army.

Some may have been captured in battle. But Indian officers said they may have been left by Americans in Afghanistan.

'From the weapons and equipment that we recovered, we realized that there was a spillover of high-tech weapons, night-vision devices and equipment, which were left by the Americans in Afghanistan, were now finding their way toward this side,' Major General Ajay Chandpuria was quoted as saying by Indian media.

He said some had been recovered along the Line of Control, which separated Pakistan-controlled territory from Indian-controlled territory.

Republicans are already promising far reaching investigations into Biden's decision to withdraw and the way it was handled.

They want to know why the rapid advance of the Taliban, and the fragility of the Kabul government, was not predicted.

'It has been over a year since the Biden administration's botched Afghanistan withdrawal and the American people have not received any answers about this national security and humanitarian catastrophe,' said Republican Rep Rep. James Comer wrote to the Pentagon, White House and State Department last year, before becoming chair of the House oversight committee.

'U.S. servicemen and women lost their lives, thousands of Americans were abandoned, billions of taxpayer dollars are still unaccounted for, military equipment fell into the hands of the Taliban, progress for Afghan women has stalled, and the entire region is under hostile Taliban control.

'Under a Republican majority, the Biden administrations obstruction of this investigation will be met with the power of the gavel.'
Ministers must stop online porn from warping young minds, a major report warns today.

Children as young as nine are being exposed to graphic adult material on the internet, a survey of 1,000 young people found.

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the pornographic material was having a devastating impact on real-life teenage relationships by 'normalising' sexual violence.

The research found four in ten of those aged between 16 and 21 believe girls 'enjoy' aggressive sex, such as strangling and slapping.

Children as young as nine are being exposed to graphic adult material on the internet, a survey of 1,000 young people found (file image)

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the pornographic material was having a devastating impact on real-life teenage relationships by 'normalising' sexual violence

And nearly half admitted they had personally experienced a degrading sex act with frequent porn users most likely to have done so.

Children are 'frequently exposed' to violent pornography  most of it perpetrated against women, the report reveals.

And one in ten children have viewed porn by the age of nine, rising to nearly half of 13-year-olds.

Dame Rachel said the research proved the 'urgent' need for the Government's Online Safety Bill, which will enforce age checks on platforms hosting pornography.

But she warned age verification would not be a 'silver bullet' and that teachers and parents had a vital role in educating and supporting children to have 'healthy, safe and consenting relationships'.

The Children's Commissioner said top-shelf adult magazines which parents may have read in their youth were 'quaint' in comparison to today's online pornography.

Nowadays, 'depictions of degradation, sexual coercion, aggression and exploitation are commonplace and disproportionately targeted against teenage girls', she added.

Dame Rachel said: 'I will never forget the girl who told me about her first kiss with her boyfriend, aged 12, who strangled her. He had seen it in pornography and thought it normal.'

Rather than adult websites, Twitter was the site where the highest proportion of young people  41 per cent  accessed sexual content.

Despite allowing users to set up an account aged 13, it is one of the few social media giants to still allow adult content, provided it is marked sensitive.

Some 79 per cent of respondents to the survey had seen sexual violence in pornography by the time they had reached 18, while more than a third had sought it out.

The report said it was 'of perhaps greatest concern' that young people were discussing 'the influence of pornography in informing real-life sexual aggression and coercion'.

It added: 'A young age of first exposure and frequent consumption of pornography were predictors in the likelihood of actively seeking out violent content for sexual gratification.'

The Online Safety Bill reaches the House of Lords tomorrow for its second reading tomorrow, giving peers their first chance to debate it.

Lord Bethell of Romford is bringing forward an amendment that would force adult websites to introduce strict age checks within six months of the Bill becoming law.

Backed by 14 charities, including the NSPCC and Barnardo's, he warns the Bill is too weak in its definition of age verification and leaves too much to codes of practice and guidance being drafted later.

The NSPCC said the survey's findings showed Britain 'cannot underestimate the sheer number of children of all ages being exposed to online pornography on a daily basis'.

Richard Collard, the charity's associate head of child safety online policy, said: 'The negative and long-lasting impact this can have on children and their views on sex and healthy relationships is deeply worrying and it is essential that the Government implements strong measures in the Online Safety Bill to protect them from seeing this type of content.'
He said it's the people whose houses have names who are against his farm shop

No sooner has the dust settled on Jeremy Clarksons controversial attack on Meghan Markle than he stirs up another hornets nest by accusing people who live in houses with names rather than street numbers of being social-climbing Nimbies.

Clarkson, 62, says that its the snobby types whose houses have names who are dead against his Diddly Squat farm and shop in Chadlington, Oxfordshire  which has been inundated with visitors after being the subject of a hugely popular Amazon Prime Video series  whereas locals who live in numbered houses tend to be more tolerant.

Its split pretty neatly between those who have a house number  you know, 22 Oak Avenue or 3 Grove or whatever  who tend to support us, because we bring business to the area and jobs for their kids, says the former Top Gear presenter.

If theyve got a house name, they tend not to like us, because they tend to have moved here from London quite recently, and they dont want crowds of people coming to the farm shop, so that seems to me to be the split.

Broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson pictured at his Diddly Squat farm shop in West Oxfordshire

Clarkson, 62, says that its the snobby types whose houses have names who are dead against his Diddly Squat farm and shop in Chadlington, Oxfordshire

Actually, Clarkson doesnt mention snobby types but thats what hes getting at. And, while, in the grand (or not remotely grand) scheme of things it doesnt matter a jot if your house has a name or just a number, it matters hugely when it comes to the minutiae of class distinctions for which Britain remains justly famous around the world.

House names were rare until late Victorian times because single-family homes were not common  in the strict meaning of the word. Even a century ago, nine in ten homes were privately rented, but by 1939 a quarter of homes were owner-occupied.

With the surge in homeowners came a rise in home-namers. But the name you chose for your home spoke volumes about your status  and was a social minefield. Still is.

Call your house a manor when its clearly just a modest family dwelling and youre a social climber. Conversely, a citation in the Oxford English Dictionary for the word naff says: It is naff to call your house The Gables or Mon Repos.

Clarkson said: If theyve got a house name, they tend not to like us, because they tend to have moved here from London quite recently, and they dont want crowds of people coming to the farm shop, so that seems to me to be the split'

But there is no doubt that the name of a house somehow can elevate those who live in it. After all, people with wealth, or who regarded themselves as members of the landed gentry, or socially superior in some way, have for centuries called their homes a manor, hall, castle, or even grove.

And we can all probably agree that the expression to the manor born has more of a ring to it than to 27 Elm Tree Walk born.

Mind you, there are house names that carry an air of grandeur and then there are those that can easily lead you down a naff cul-de-sac. Meadow View, Tree Tops, Sunnyside, Oak Barn and Primrose Cottage are all in the top 20 house names, according to The House Nameplate Company. But none has quite the same cachet as a Dartington Hall, Hartley Wintney Hall, or even more ubiquitous monikers such as The Old Rectory or The Vicarage.

Indeed, there is even a special members organisation for people who live in a rectory or vicarage. Founded in 2006, its called The Rectory Society and it has The Lord Chartres (former Bishop of London) as its Ecclesticial Patron and former editor of the Daily Telegraph Lord Moore of Etchingham as its Chairman of Trustees.

The dust has only just settled on Jeremy Clarksons controversial attack on Meghan Markle

I may be wrong but it seems unlikely that theres a similar grouping for those who live in a Tree Tops or Meadow View.

My own Berkshire childhood home had a name. It was called Foudry House, after a local brook, and, although Grade II-listed, it overlooked a busy road and wasnt particularly posh.

My grandparents, on the other hand, lived in a stately home at the end of a long drive in the Scottish Borders called Manderston, which was so grand that, like King Charless Highgrove in Gloucestershire, or the Prime Ministers official country residence, Chequers, its name told you everything you needed to know.

Clarkson said: Its split pretty neatly between those who have a house number  you know, 22 Oak Avenue or 3 Grove or whatever'

According to Alexander Gibson estate agents in Harrogate, Yorkshire, buyers are prepared to pay up to 40 per cent more for a house with a name

When I first married, my wife and I lived at 35 Broxash Road in South London, a small terrace house with what estate agents called potential. I suppose we could have called it Broxash House to set it apart from all the other near-identical homes in the street, but that would have been laughably pretentious.

And, yet, according to Alexander Gibson estate agents in Harrogate, Yorkshire, buyers are prepared to pay up to 40 per cent more for a house with a name, and, according to one survey, some 85 per cent of people said they prefer a house with a name rather than just a number.

But attaining such an ambition is largely the preserve of rural dwellers. Many city slickers can only dream of a day when they will live in a house with a name attached  but, in the country, its the norm rather than the exception. In some villages up to 95 per cent of homes have names rather than numbers.

And this makes them a bane of the emergency services. One former copper reacting to Clarksons comments online said: When I was in the police we had a road about five miles long in one village [with] no numbers just names  try finding blogs villa at night in an emergency.

To make matters worse, some villages have more than one property with the same name. A colleague tells me that a postman friend delivers to a village with three Yew Tree Cottages.

You can, of course, have both a name and a number. My wife and I have just finished building a little house in the High Street of a Wiltshire village. There used to be a bungalow on the site called Glenafon and so it was assumed that our house would adopt the same name.

But Joanna wanted to change it to Bend In The River, in part because we can just about see a bend in the River Kennet from our bedroom windows and because one of her favourite books is V.S. Naipauls A Bend In The River.

So for a fee of around 80, Wiltshire Council let us change the name. Trouble was that the postmen and delivery drivers had no idea where Bend In The River was on the High Street.

The solution was to revert to Glenafons actual house number, which happens to be 55B. I fear my late grandparents would be looking gravely on such a social descent and so now weve opted for the best  or worst  of both worlds. Our house is called Bend In The River, 55B High Street.

The postman is pleased but Im not sure that long-standing residents of the village approve of us London escapees dismissing a name thats been part of the community for nearly 100 years.

Mark Palmer, Daily Mail

The letter after our number might indicate that we live in a flat rather than a house. But who cares? The answer is plenty of people. There are those whose aspirations stretch no further than losing that tell-tale letter on their street address. After all, there is no greater sign of urban advancement than living at number 12 rather than 12B, a sure sign that one occupies a house rather than an apartment.

Some who escape to the country go down the humorous route, which, as it happens, is what Clarkson has done by calling his farm Diddly Squat. Its like cab drivers who retire to Essex and rename their houses Dunroamin. Or the couple called Dave and Trisha who named their house Daverisha. Elsewhere, Ive come across an East London semi called Erseandmyne, a country house named Windy Bottom and another, whose owners presumably are not planning to sell any time soon, called Bog View. Theres also a holiday cottage in Wales called Llamedos, which should be read backwards.

I suspect theres a smugness about the house name camp in general but its worth remembering that arguably the grandest address in the entire country has a number, namely Number One London, which looks out across Hyde Park Corner towards Buckingham Palace.

It was acquired by the Duke of Wellington from his brother in 1817, two years after the generals victory at the Battle of Waterloo, as a London pied-a-terre.

Actually, just like my own little Wiltshire abode, it has a name, Apsley House, as well as a number. So Im in exalted company.
A real estate ad encouraging investors to 'cash in' on rural Australia's housing crisis has infuriated people struggling to find a place to live as house prices and rests soar.

Cooktown Real Estate listed the three-bedroom home in the far north Queensland town for $520,000 - but it was the description of property which drew anger.

'Cash in on Cooktown's housing shortage and purchase this excellant (sic) rental investment,' the ad reads.

'This modern home is in a central location with an existing government tenant.

'With limited properties for sale and severe rental shortage, well built homes are in demand.'

The ad then lists the features of the home, including its 'sturdy rendered concrete'.

An ad (above) by Cooktown Real Estate for a $520,000 home encourages investors to 'cash in' on the rural community's housing crisis

The listing was shared to Reddit where users said they were struggling to find a home because of 'astronomical' prices.

Cooktown is about 330km north of Cairns and about 80km off the main highway to the tip of Cape York.

With fewer than 3,000 residents, many commenters said that homes should be cheap and plentiful.

'I'm shocked they have houses going for $520,000 to be honest. Not the kind of place you'd even buy a shack!' one person wrote.

'Cooktown is in the middle of nowhere, I would have thought rental oversupply because nobody wants to live there,' another commenter said.

A third wrote: '520k in Cooktown, tell 'em they're dreaming.'

Many commenters underneath a post calling out the ad said they don't understand how the home (above) could be worth $520,000

Locals said a lack of homes in the area is driving the housing market to 'astronomical' prices (pictured, the $520,000 Cooktown home)

Other commenters called out the real estate agency for its thoughtless ad.

'Real estate people are vile and obviously this person can't even spell,' one said.

'Trying to find a house or even a bloody rental in Australia might actually kill me,' another person said.

A third commenter wrote 'F**king scumbags', while another added: 'Scum of the earth some might say.'

However, at least one commenter was happy to defend the realtor, writing: 'At this stage we have to stop attacking real estate agents.

'I can't stand real estate practices, but to be honest this isn't really one of the sh***y ones.

'They're not a charity, everyone knows what's going on with the housing market, it would be mad not to use it to sell houses.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cooktown Real Estate for comment.
An exclusive floating nightclub in Melbourne has gone up in flames in a 'suspicious' fire after neighbours complained about the noise.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire at ATET after a ball of flames was spotted erupting from the roof of the club around 4.30am on Tuesday.

The club, moored to North Wharf in the Docklands, only opened in August but has been marred by noise complaints since opening.

A Victoria Police spokesman told NCA NewsWire that emergency services were called to the fire after onlookers on the Bolte Bridge spotted the blaze.

He said nobody was on the boat when crews arrived.

Emergency crews have battled an intense blaze on a Melbourne party boat that was moored at Docklands. Picture: 7 NEWS

ATET (pictured) was a popular spot for Melbourne clubbers

Fire Rescue Victoria commander Mitch Simons told 3AW the fire was being treated as 'suspicious' because of how late it started and the raft of noise complaints that the venue had been the subject of.

Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control in six minutes but the damage was significant.

The club operated between 4pm and 11pm on Thursdays and Fridays and from 10am on Saturdays to 1am on Sundays.

The ATET boat was damaged after an intense blaze was discovered on Tuesday. Picture: 7 NEWS

The floating nightclub had showcased a sold-out show on Saturday and was docked when the fire started.

Police will investigate the cause of the fire and anyone with information is urged to contact Crimestoppers.

ATET has been contacted for comment by NCA Newswire.
Workers being able to access their full pay rate while on domestic and family violence leave is being touted as a game-changer.

The new laws come into effect on Wednesday and give full-time, part-time and casual workers up to 10 days of paid leave.

The new arrangements will cover at least seven million workers, expanding the five days of unpaid domestic violence leave they're currently entitled to.

Tess Oxley, a paramedic in southwest Sydney, said the leave applying to millions of workers meant she no longer has to ask women what their entitlements are when they're at one of their lowest moments.

Two people are charged with manslaughter after the death of a child in their care in Queensland

'When I go to women, I go to them at one of the most frightening, disempowering moments of their life,' she said.

'Now I can start to give back the power to them. I can let them know that every single woman can make the decision to get help, to get help for their children.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was remarkable that people suffering from domestic violence had to choose between financial security and physical safety.

'This is a day, frankly, which we wish we didn't have to have, but we do,' Mr Albanese told a meeting of union workers and advocates on Tuesday.

'Let us hope that in putting in place this measure it's used less and less in the future.'

The prime minister said tackling domestic violence required bringing the topic out into the open and breaking the cycle, which involved women, men and children.

'Those children often who are having to watch these tragedies occur in their homes then go on to be traumatised and have difficulty having what are respectful relations,' he said.

'So this is a policy that is about women and their children, but it's also about men. It's about changing behaviours. It's about sending that message.'

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the measures needed to include casuals and loading rates to ensure the safety of workers.

'Normally we don't give leave entitlements to casuals, but if you don't on this, then a whole portion of the workforce is going to have to choose between their safety and their pay,' he said.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said the reforms are fundamental in reducing violence against women across society.

'Many people in this country don't realise how difficult the lives of women are. We bear the brunt of the violence,' she said.

'It is the beginning of turning that back and saying to victim-survivors, 'you deserve your pay when you're making these big choices'.'

Small businesses have been given a grace period until August 1 to enact the changes.

The leave will not appear on the workers' payslip for privacy reasons.

One woman in Australia dies at the hands of a former or current partner every 10 days, and police deal with an average of 5000 domestic violence incidents each week.

It's estimated one in five women have taken time off due to violence from a previous partner, and one in 11 due to a current one.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Sydneysiders have been queueing for hours to get a taste of the cult pastries from the American bakery chain Cinnabon.

The store opened in central Sydney's Darling Square on January 7 and has seen wait times of up to two hours, with people prepared to queue down the block.

Cinnabon's signature item is an instore-baked scroll coated with the distinctive-tasting Makara cinnamon from Indonesia and topped with sweet white icing, which is best served warm from the oven.

DOES CINNABON LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? DAVID SOUTHWELL SHARES HIS VERDICT American stand-up comedian Louis CK described Cinnabon rolls as 'a six-foot high cinnamon swirl cake made for one sad fat man'. As with many American servings, Cinnabon pastries are big by Australian standards, which can lead to deep regret about life choices about two-thirds of the way through. I'd had the standard-sized Cinnabon roll before but on this occasion I had four smaller ones in a sample pack. They weren't as sweet as I anticipated, if anything the icing was fairly thinly applied in places. The inside glaze spread on the thick dough also counteracted the sweetness with a slightly sour taste that reminded me of golden syrup. Two was all I could manage warm, which is the way to eat them. Once cold they congeal into pretty solid lumps. They are worth trying and sharing but perhaps not if the wait is longer than 10 minutes. Advertisement

Such has been the demand, the Sydney store's website advises customers to expect a wait of 60 to 90 minutes and warns that queues will be cut off before closing time.

On the day Daily Mail Australia visited, those edging forward into the front third of the queue had been waiting for around 30 minutes.

Gyuri and Yuna had been waiting said they were keen to try the pastries, after waiting half an hour, because friends had recommended them.

Joan, who had been waiting patiently towards the back of the queue for 15 minutes, said she had visited on a weekday because the line had been 'crazy' on the weekend.

Sydneysiders have been waiting patiently for the cult US pastries served up by Cinnabon

Lines have been particularly long on weekends sometimes extending near the length of Darling Square

'They promoted it and some people were waiting about two hours all the way down the back for this,' she said.

Having seen it 'all over the streets' and promoted by social media influencers, she was intrigued to try the new taste.

'This new to me,' she said.

'I can smell the aroma from a distance but I am not sure what the taste will be like.

'I think it is just going to be sweet, like its got that sugar taste to it.'

The scrolls are baked instore and have a distinctive-tasting cinnamon glaze

Dina was queuing despite having already tried Cinnabon pastries in her native Egypt.

'I used to eat it back home and I am very much looking forward to have it again,' she said.

'It's so good. I hope it's the same here, so I am waiting here to see.'

Cinnabon, which also has six stores in Queensland and one in Victoria, has become well known to Australian fans of critically acclaimed TV crime drama Better Call Saul, which is the prequel series to the award-winning Breaking Bad.

Friends Gyuri and Yuna had never tried Cinnabon but were prepared to put in the waiting time

In Better Call Saul, the shady lawyer Jimmy McGill, who practised under the name Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, has adopted the identity of Gene, a Cinnabon store manager, to escape his misdeeds.

The show was the reason Annie waited in line with her 10-year-old daughter Ava.

Despite being a worldwide franchise, Cinnabon scrolls are only available in three Aussie states

'I am a Better Call Saul fan,' Annie said.

'It was the best series.

'You feel for him as a human being but he continues manages to make bad decisions that aren't ethical so you struggle to relate to him.

'I am hoping Saul will be there.'

The promotion of the new Sydney store on social media had convinced some people to give it a try

The store's owner, Helen, said there were queues every day but the largest had been on the opening Saturday - almost a four-hour wait.

'It's because we bake them fresh every day,' she said.

'All our rolls are handmade and you can tell, we roll the whole thing and bake so it takes time.

'I can understand it is frustrating to wait but we just want to deliver as fresh a product as we can.'

The store has sent out samples of its drinks for customers to try while waiting on particularly hot days and has also limited the number of rolls customers can buy.

The critically acclaimed US crime drama Better Call Saul (pictured is Bod Odenkirk playing lead character Saul Goodman) has prompted a lot of interest in Cinnabon

'At the beginning, we tried not to sell with our limit but if we don't sell with our limit, and people were prepared to buy a lot more, the wait would be a lot longer,' Helen said.

She said she hoped demand would remain strong but slow to the extent of not making people wait for long periods.

'We try our best to accommodate everyone,' Helen said.

Despite doing the same job as the fictional Saul Goodman, Helen admitted she hadn't watched the hit TV series.

'This show advertised for us very well,' she said.
The benefits of Brexit will be used to empower communities and businesses, Rishi Sunak pledged last night.

Ahead of the third anniversary of Britains departure from the EU today, he promised a renewed focus on exploiting the flexibilities and freedoms offered by no longer having to follow the Brussels rule book.

The Prime Minister, who backed the Leave campaign, said the UK had already made huge strides in harnessing the freedoms unlocked by Brexit, including the vaccine rollout and new trade deals.

Talking tough: Rishi Sunak yesterday during a visit to Durham

Weve forged a path as an independent nation with confidence, he added.

Were cutting red tape for businesses, levelling up through our freeports, and designing our own, fairer farming system to protect the countryside.

This is just the beginning of our plans and Im determined to ensure the benefits of Brexit continue to empower communities and businesses right across the country.

Mr Sunak has committed to reviewing more than 4,000 EU-derived laws this year and repealing those not suited to the UKs needs.
A half-eaten stingray has terrified Perth locals after it washed up on the shore of a river with massive bite marks taken out.

Graphic images were shared online of the decimated stingray near Minim Cove jetty on the shores of the Swan River.

Fisherman Liam Kenny reeled in the dead animal while fishing at the spot on Sunday morning.

A fisherman pulled the creature up on Sunday

'It's easily the craziest thing I've seen (while fishing) and the biggest ray I've caught,' he told 7NEWS.com.au.

Mr Kenny believes a bull shark had taken it's fill of the stingray before discarding the carcass in the water.

A person shared the 'gruesome' images to social media which attracted a barrage of messages from terrified Reddit users.

'Old mate pulled this stingray out of the Swan River that has three large bites freshly taken out of it.,' he wrote.

'The stingray is one metre across for reference.'

People were disturbed by the find

'Far out ... that's an epic picture and story,' one user wrote in the comments.

'I'm scared and second-guessing paddle-boarding at the moment.'

A father-of-two was lucky to survive a violent bull shark attack just a few kilometres further along the Swan River in 2021.

Cameron Wrathall had been swimming at Blackwall Reach when the three-metre shark attacked him with so much force it broke his hip.
A woman who was a victim of domestic violence and was headbutted in the mouth by her ex-husband causing her to lose her front teeth has also lost her job at a convenience store chain for breaching the store's 'smile policy'.

Rose Marie Counts had been working at Sheetz in Circleville, Ohio for a month when she was summoned into the manager's office for breaking the company policy that forbids 'obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth.'

Counts was told she would no longer be allowed to work for the company until her her smile was fixed - a process that could take as long as nine months while she waited for swelling to subside to have a proper denture fitting.

The company, based in Pennsylvania, has about 650 locations and says it is now reviewing its unusual policy which states: 'applicants with obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability) are not qualified for employment with Sheetz.'

Rose Marie Counts was a victim of domestic violence and lost her front teeth after her ex-husband headbutted her has been fired from her job at a convenience store

The company, based in Pennsylvania, has about 650 locations and says it is now reviewing its unusual policy which states: 'applicants with obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability) are not qualified for employment with Sheetz.' Pictured, the Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 1395 S Court St. in Circleville, Ohio

Counts shared her despair at unfairly losing her job on her Facebook page.

'I was asked to come to the office at work. I was nervous having only been with the company for about a month. When I walked in the office the manager had the company policy pulled up to were it talks about employees appearances. I was informed that policy states all Sheetz employees must have and remain with a perfect beautiful warm welcoming smile. If you are an employee with this company and you break a tooth you have 90 days to have it fixed,' Counts wrote online.

Then, in a heartbreaking conversation that was secretly recorded and posted to social media, Counts was told she would no longer be allowed to work for the company.

The conversation starts with her manager appearing to show some understanding over Counts' position who had a new set of top front teeth and was about to embark on a new set of bottom teeth - a lengthy and painful process in and of itself.

Counts shared her despair at unfairly losing her job on her Facebook page

PIctured, the inside of the Sheetz gas station and convenience store in Circleville, Ohio

The Circleville, Ohio Sheetz store where having a nice smile was a job requirement

'If you can type out a letter - a written plan in detail including a time, duration and cost to get it fixed. I know you said you were going to get some work done,' the manager asks.

'I had my top ones done and my appointment for my bottom ones is later this month. My insurance will not pay for me to have temporary teeth so it will be three months for the swelling to go down and then they'll make them which can take up to six month,' Counts explains.

'So nine months total?' the manager replies, showing signs of exasperation. 'So if you can, and I appreciate you being understanding...'

In the company handbook, Sheetz appearance policy dictates: 'The timeframe for resolving issues such as this should not typically exceed 90 days. In the event a current employee develops a dental problem that would limit their ability to display a pleasant, full, and complete smile, we cannot permit this situation to go on indefinitely,' it states.

Counts explains on Facebook that when she started the job she had no upper teeth with plans in place for her lower teeth already scheduled, but her insurance will not pay for a temporary denture while her new teeth are fashioned

'Sheetz believes that an employee's smile during interactions with customers and coworkers is critical to creating the sense of hospitality in our stores that we strive for,' the company explains.

Counts explains on Facebook that when she started the job she had no upper teeth with plans in place for her lower teeth already scheduled, but her insurance will not pay for a temporary denture while her new teeth are fashioned.

'I was hired this way,' Counts responds. 'I feel like I will seek other employment because if my job performance is not enough and it's based on part of my looks it's not a company I want to be associated with.

'This company has no idea what i've been through. I lost my front teeth because my ex-husband head butted me because I forgot to turn the hall light out. So it's not like I was a drug user and things happened that way. It was legit,' she continues.

'But I feel like my job performance alone should be enough. I don't feel like I should have to justify myself because of my looks. I am not a materialistic person. I am very nice to the customers,' Counts says calmly.

Rose Marie Counts says she is having issues working at Sheetz because of her dental work, because the company policy is to hire people with perfect teeth. She is shown here with her fiance, Shawn Chapman

'And I have heard wonderful things about you,' her manager responds in an attempt to show empathy.

There is a momentary pause before Counts makes the decision before the manager can formally dismiss her.

'Maybe this isn't the line if work that I am supposed to be in. I've always done health care and wanted something different. I've loved it.

'I don't want to be here anymore,' she says, her voice breaking.

On Facebook, Counts went into greater detail on her conversation with her unnamed boss.

Travis Sheetz, President & CEO of the Sheetz chain of gas stations/convenience stores which has stated the company's policy is to change

'Even though I am good at my job I can no longer be a frontline employee with the company because of my smile,' Counts detailed online. 'The company defines my smile as unbeautiful because I still have work that needs to be done on them. So I went to work today and I left work today crying.'

'To get told based on my looks that my job is in jeopardy. And that maybe I should fill out paperwork and maybe the company will help me if I tell them my story. I will not spend one red penny at Sheetz!!!

'This is in my opinion one of the biggest forms of discrimination that there can be. Who are they to decide what beauty is? So I leave this job feeling like I'm not good enough again.'

Other former workers have also spoken out about the so-called 'smile policy'.

'I hate the policy,' one former employee in North Carolina said to Insider. 'It's really disgusting and kind of classist, especially when the majority of people you're employing are going to be lower-income,' the former employee said.

Following Insider's questioning about the policy, it appears things are finally under review.

'The inquiry has prompted a more specific review to ensure our policies are aligned with Sheetz's commitment to foster a culture of respect,' Nick Ruffner, a public-relations manager for Sheetz stated.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi and other leaders during an all-party meeting ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Monday. PTI

New Delhi: On the eve of Parliaments Budget Session, the government made it clear it was willing to discuss all issues under the laid-down rules and sought cooperation from the Opposition parties for the smooth functioning of both Houses.

The first day of the Budget Session, which starts on Tuesday, will begin with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to a joint sitting of both Houses. The Economic Survey will be tabled after the presidential address. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Narendra Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on February 1. The first part of the session will conclude on February 14. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session.

Seeking the cooperation of all parties at the all-party meeting today, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said: "We seek the Oppositions cooperation in running the proceedings smoothly."

Even as the government has sought their cooperation, the Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the Centre on issues ranging from the caste-based census, womens reservation, unemployment, price rise, and the conduct of governors in Opposition party-ruled states, among other issues. Sources said the K. Chandrashekhar Rao-led BRS was apparently reaching out to the Opposition parties for boycotting the Presidents address.

The Congress, however, went unrepresented as all the top leaders were busy with the partys Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar. Congress floor leaders are expected to meet the parliamentary affairs minister on Tuesday before the House commences.

During the all-party meeting, the BRS and the DMK raised the conduct of governors in Opposition-ruled states. The YSR Congress, meanwhile, demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census. The YSR Congress felt that it was important to know the economic status of backward castes which are "lagging behind" across the country.

YSR Congress leader Vijaysai Reddy said the backward castes are over 50 per cent of the countrys total population and the census "will help track their economic status". Besides the YSR Congress, the JD(U) and RJD have also demanded a caste census. The YSR Congress also demanded passage of the womens quota bill. The TMC and the BJD also supported the demand.
The 14-year-old is in a wheelchair and non-verbal

The outraged parents and carers of a teenage girl who suffers from a rare medical condition have slammed a nail salon for refusing to do nails 'for people like her'.

Queensland couple Jade Maberly-Stenner and Darren Corea were furious when their daughter Shiloh was turned away from a Gold Coast nail salon due to her disability.

Shiloh's grandmother Kim Maberly-Stenner and support worker Keya Woodland took the teen to Rainbow Nails at Robina Town Centre in late December to have her nails done for Christmas.

Shiloh (pictured) was born with open-lip bilateral schizencephaly - an extremely rare birth defect which causes slits or clefts in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain - leaving the teen 'missing half her brain' and in a wheelchair

The 14-year-old was taken to Rainbow Nails in Robina Town Centre (pictured) by her grandmother and carer but was denied service because of her disability

The 14-year-old was born with open-lip bilateral schizencephaly - an extremely rare birth defect which causes slits or clefts in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain - leaving the teen 'missing half her brain' and in a wheelchair.

'They essentially said, "no we can't, we don't do nails for people like her",' Shiloh's mother Jade told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'They were like, "we've had someone with a disability complain in the past, so now we just have a company policy that we don't do people with disabilities".

'It's just truly infuriating. It's 2023 and I can't believe this is still happening.'

Shiloh's grandmother was 'gobsmacked' by the nail salon's justification and said the ordeal made her non-verbal granddaughter burst into tears.

'I was shocked, I couldn't believe that somebody actually said that,' Kim said.

'It was heartbreaking, it was just horrible, it was just terrible. It made me cry, it upset me that much.'

Shiloh's mum Jade Maberly-Stenner (pictured getting her nails done with Shiloh on another occasion) said the ordeal was 'infuriating'

Shiloh's support worker Ms Woodland said she was unable to comprehend the salon's reasoning and asked the worker three times for an explanation.

'I was completely just blown away, I was in shock, couldn't comprehend what they were actually saying, it did take me a moment to process it,' Ms Woodland told the Bulletin.

'I asked her again why she couldn't do her nails and she said "because she has a disability and we don't do anybody with a disability".

'I asked her about three times if she could explain to me why and she said, "My manager said no".'

Ms Woodland told the worker that refusing to do Shiloh's nails was discrimination.

She believes businesses need more education on how to treat people living with a disability.

Under the the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, it is against the law to discriminate against a person because of their disability.

Shiloh's carer explained to the nail salon that refusing to do the 14-year-old's nails was discrimination

Shiloh's father Darren said it was 'extremely upsetting' that a business in Australia would discriminate against his daughter.

'The fact a company would have a policy discriminating against persons with a disability in a first world country is extremely upsetting,' he said.

'Being Latino myself and having experienced discrimination on multiple occasions, it really hurts for my daughter to go through this as well.'

Shiloh's parents help run a charity in Vietnam for orphaned children with disabilities and hope the discrimination experienced by their daughter does not happen to other disadvantaged children.

A Robina Town Centre spokesperson told Daily Mail the complaint was discussed with Rainbow Nails.

'The comfort and safety of our entire community is very important to us,' Robina Town Centre said.

'We can confirm we have approached the retailer and these concerns have been discussed.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Rainbow Nails for comment.
Actresses can either be funny or beautiful on British TV but are not allowed to be both, writer Nick Hornby claims.

The About A Boy author says women never get to play attractive characters who also get laughs.

While Lucille Ball paved the way for generations of US female comedians, British stars did not have the same early role models.

Writer and executive producer Nick Hornby in New York City in 2019

We didnt have that until Pamela Stephenson and French and Saunders came along, he told the Radio Times.

Hornbys 2016 novel Funny Girl, about a young woman attempting to launch herself as a comedian in the 1960s, has been adapted into a Sky series starring Gemma Arterton.

Beautiful women dont often get to play comedians, and even less so in the Sixties, so Sophie [Miss Artertons character] is sort of throwing over her beauty in order to mug up and allow herself to be funny, he said.

Gemma Arterton stars as Barbara Parker in Hornby's best-selling novel Funny Girl

Hornby, 65, joked that Sophie would probably would have ended up being a Bond girl  as was Miss Arterton.

The actress, 36, has said she regrets playing agent Strawberry Fields opposite Daniel Craig in 2008s Quantum Of Solace.

Hornby says he was inspired to write Funny Girl by Rosamund Pike, who starred in his 2009 film adaptation of Lynn Barbers An Education and told him: No one ever lets me be funny.
A man has been charged with the alleged murder of his mother after she was reported missing from her Gold Coast home.

The body of Wendy Sleeman, 61, was found in a garage at a unit block in the inner-northern Brisbane suburb of Windsor on Thursday.

Police had been searching for her after she had been reported missing since January 24, when she called police from her home.

The body of Wendy Sleeman, 61, was found in a garage at a unit block in the inner-northern Brisbane suburb of Windsor on Thursday

Her son, Slade Murdok, 30, was arrested the day before her body was found and charged with a number of offences including her alleged kidnapping.

Murdok was denied bail on Thursday, hours before his mother's body was found after appearing in court in Brisbane on charges of unlawful stalking, burglary, assault occasioning bodily harm, kidnapping, attempted arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Police allege pools of blood were found in Ms Sleeman's Elanora home.

Emergency crews were called to Ms Sleeman's Gold Coast home at 3.30pm on Tuesday after she reported a potential break-in.

Her son, Slade Murdok, 30, was arrested the day before her body was found and charged with a number of offences including her alleged kidnapping

Officers believe Ms Sleeman may have been inside a blue Honda Jazz that sped away from her home as police arrived.

Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith told reporters on Thursday the garage where Ms Sleeman's body was found had been hired by Murdok, with the owner unaware of who he was.

'It would appear there's an innocent party involved in the ownership of the garage,' supt Smith said.

He said 'forensics examination of electronic devices have led to us coming here'.

Murdok was charged with murder on Tuesday.

His lawyer, Rodney Keyte, appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court on his client's behalf.

The matter was adjourned to Southport Magistrates Court for committal mention on February 14.
Scott Pape - better known as the Barefoot Investor - has shared his advice on how Australians could save up to $5,400 each year by selling belongings they no longer need.

Pape used his latest newsletter to reveal corporate giants across the globe spend $1trillion dollars annually on marketing and ads in a bid to convince consumers to purchase their brand new products.

'Now guess how much money is spent trying to get you to buy something second-hand,' Pape wrote.

'The answer is $0.'

Figures from online sales site Gumtree reveal the average Australian family has $5,400 worth of belongings they no longer use lying around their house.

Scott Pape (pictured) - better known as the Barefoot Investor - has used his latest newsletter to advise Australians on how to save thousands of dollars

Pape said it would take just five minutes to find items to turn into cash online.

'Then you'll use the money you get to buy what you really want,' he said, noting that his advice was specifically for teenagers but applicable to anyone.

'First, set an alarm for five minutes. With the clock ticking, I want you to go on a treasure hunt around your house. You're searching for two or three things you no longer use. Place whatever unused treasure you've found on the kitchen table.

'Then ask your parents for permission to sell this stuff. They are in control, so what they say goes (and if you haven't found anything, you could ask for their suggestions).'

If buying used items doesn't appeal, the Barefoot Investor points out that it will take a lot less time to save up the money to buy something second-hand.

He added that the only real difference between new and second-hand is the packaging - as soon as you buy something it's already second-hand.

Pape gave the example of a teenager saving money from their weekend job to buy a bike.

'A new bike costs $300, and it could take you well over a year to save up for it,' he said.

'Here's what you do. Start searching online and find the same bike as good as new for $50, listed on an online marketplace.

The Barefoot Investor's advice is specifically aimed at teenagers (pictured) saving to buy what they most desire, but it is applicable to anyone looking to save some money

'You might find one at a garage sale or an op shop. $50 . . . this means you'll be able to buy the bike in the next few months - not next year.'

'Buying something second-hand and using it again is awesome for the environment.

'Less stuff needs to get made. Less pointless packaging. Less stuff thrown out, rotting in a rubbish tip.'

Pape said people need to be smart about how they shop by comparing the price of new and second-hand good with online searches.

He gives the example that while a new guitar might cost $300, a second-hand version of the exact same brand might only be $100, meaning a $200 saving.

'Once you see for yourself how much the price drops straight after you buy it, you will never again be sucked into advertising that tries to make you spend all your hard-earned cash on new stuff,' Pape said.

'Nearly everything you want is right now sitting in someone else's house gathering dust.'

A new bike (pictured) costs $300 or more, but you could get a perfectly good second-hand one for $50, Scott Pape said

Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay are good places to look for and sell second-hand goods online, but there are often better bargains to be had by going to an op shop or a local garage sale.

Buying something local also saves on the cost of shipping items bought online.

'Stop thinking about what you're giving up - the stuff in your cupboard gathering dust - and start thinking about the things you really want,' Pape said.

Scott Pape, also known as the Barefoot Investor, is pictured with his wife Liz. His latest financial advice could save you thousands
An Oxford University student who stole more than 2millon worth of cryptocurrency has been jailed for four and a half years.

Wybo Wiersma set up a bogus website for people investing in online currency lota, and stole millions from more than 100 victims in the process.

All the victims of the 40-year-old Dutchman logged onto the same site to generate passwords with what they thought was a random string of 81 characters including capital letters and the number 9.

But all the passwords had been predetermined and allowed Wiersma to transfer their 'tokens' to cryptocurrency trading accounts. Some victims lost their inheritances and businesses as a result.

Wybo Wiersma (pictured) set up a bogus website for people investing in online currency lota, and stole millions from more than 100 victims in the process

The Oxford University student stole more than 2millon worth of cryptocurrency from over 100 victims

Wiersma was arrested in Oxford on January 23 2019 and regional crime squad officers seized a number of devices.

But when he was released on bail, Wiersma fled to the Netherlands. He was extradited back to the UK on April 7 2021 and appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court the following day.

He admitted the theft of 2,156,000 at Oxford Crown Court following a five-year investigation by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).

Judge Michael Gledhill KC slammed Wiersma for his 'greed and dishonesty' as he handed down a four-and-a-half year sentence behind bars.

He also deprived Wiersma of all his digital devices which had been seized by the court and made a confiscation order of 2,156,000.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rob Bryant, of SEROCU, said: This was a particularly complex investigation involving more than 100 victims worldwide.

Wiersma deprived people of their money which they had invested in cryptocurrency, moving it through a web of trading accounts and causing some to lose businesses and life savings.

On 19 January 2018 and in the days that followed there were numerous reports of the theft of Iota tokens from the owners.

Wiersma was arrested in Oxford on January 23 2019 and regional crime squad officers seized a number of devices.

For some people this had a devastating effect and meant losing significant amounts of money - their savings and businesses.

SEROCU took on this highly complex and intricate investigation from police in Germany - Hesse State Criminal Police - Cybercrime Investigations team, which I would like to thank for working in collaboration with us. I would also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service and Europol for their assistance.

Wiersma has now admitted his involvement and will have time to reflect upon his actions in prison.

Meanwhile SEROCU will use all available legislation to ensure that as much of the money seized from his cryptocurrency wallets is returned to its rightful owners.
More than four in ten of us believe police are more interested in 'wokeness' than catching criminals, a survey suggests.

The public are under the impression that  barring murders and traffic offences  officers do not treat crimes seriously enough, the poll found.

Voters blame woke policing and the cost of living squeeze for driving up crime, according to the study from consultancy Public First and think-tank More in Common.

The focus groups surveyed agreed that boredom drove young people to crime and blamed the closure of youth centres and community spaces for increased offending in deprived areas.

The public are under the impression that  barring murders and traffic offences  officers do not treat crimes seriously enough, the poll found (file image)

The survey also found that 68 per cent believe the police have given up on trying to solve crimes such as shoplifting and burglaries altogether.

And 81 per cent of the public think the police need to be held more accountable for bad behaviour.

The National Police Chiefs' Council previously announced that officers in England and Wales would attend every burglary.

Home Office figures show just 3.2 per cent of 200,000 sexual assaults resulted in a charge.

But the latest Crown Prosecution Service figures show that the volume of suspects charged with rape has risen in five consecutive quarters.

The study found support for more on-the-spot fines for people found guilty of antisocial behaviour such as vandalism or drug-taking.

And respondents also indicated support for community schemes for the perpetrators of antisocial behaviour with bespoke punishments that made them responsible for the damage caused by their actions.

The most popular of these were instant fines, and making people pick up litter or clean graffiti.

Focus groups in red-wall seats largely said the levelling up agenda was pointless without a robust plan to tackle crime.

Just 43 per cent of those surveyed trust the Conservative Party over Labour to reduce crime, with this lead narrowing in Red Wall seats to 49 per cent trusting the Conservatives and 51 per cent Labour.
Mercenaries for Russia's infamous Wagner Group will be aided by 'secret drones' thanks to a secretive arms deal with Chinese intelligence services, it has been revealed.

The drones are tipped with explosives and could be mobilized in large numbers to attack civilian and army targets.

The deal, led by Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, is at odds with the Chinese government's claims that it is not involved in the Ukraine war, The Mirror reports.

Beijing is understood to have already transported over 2,500 DJI Mavix2 drones to Moscow.

Mercenaries for Russia's infamous Wagner Group will be aided by 'secret drones' thanks to a secretive arms deal with Chinese intelligence services (Pictured: a thermal power plan heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike)

Emergency personnel work at the site in Dnipro, Ukraine, where an apartment block was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike

An intelligence report stated: 'The group is attempting to develop a swarm platform for coordinated autonomous drone orchestration using the 2,500 delivered from China.

'The communications channel between the Wagnerites and the Chinese Communist Party is in two cloaked networks, one in Russia and one in China.

'The network is responsible for the clandestine shipments of war materials being ued against Ukraine, regardless of how much the Chinese deny it.'

Wagner reportedly has a 'bot farm' in St Petersburg, dedicated to IT research and new drone tech.

Yevgeny Prigozhin set up the armed militia during the Syrian conflict in 2014 when his men were deployed to look after Russian interests in the country.

Now, the Kremlin has ordered Prigozhin to send troops to support the Russia's stalled offensive in Ukraine, where the mercenaries have been accused of murdering civilians.

Reports suggest Prigozhin has been recruiting men from Russian prisons, offering them pardons if they complete their military service.

Russian mercenary company the Wagner Group has registered as a company for the first time in Russia, pictured, Wagner boss Yevheny Prizgozhin, left, with Russian president Vladimir Putin

Prigozhin, pictured, registered the firm as a 'management consultancy' as running private military contractors in Russia is illegal

According to The Telegraph, ChVK Wagner Centre has been registered as a company in Russia which is primarily focused on 'management consultancy'.

It is illegal under Russian law to operate a mercenary company.

Wagner is currently recruiting in Serbia, even running adverts on local media seeking volunteers to join the fight against Ukraine.

Serbia and Belarus are the only two countries in Europe not to have joined in with sanctions against Russia.

However, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has condemned the recruitment drive.

The criticism marks a rare public rebuke from the Serbian leader toward Russia - a steadfast ally of the Balkan country.

The controversial advertisement appeared earlier this month in the Russian state media outlet RT's Serbian affiliate.

Small numbers of Serbians have fought alongside Russian-backed forces in Ukraine since fighting first broke out in the country in 2014.

The exact number of Serbs who fought in Ukraine has never been disclosed by officials.

The controversial company's boss Yevgeny Prigozhin set up the armed militia during the Syrian conflict when his men were deployed to look after Russian interests in the country

Serbia has long been a reliable ally to Moscow, with shared Orthodox heritage, mutual hatred of NATO, and military alliances during several wars strengthening their relations.

Serbia remains the only European country - apart from Belarus - that did not join Western sanctions against Moscow.

On Tuesday, Russia's RIA news agency published footage apparently showed two Serbian citizens participating in a weapons training course in Ukraine.

The Wagner mercenary outfit founded in 2014 - which has been involved in conflicts in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East - shot to prominence after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Tens of thousands of Russians have relocated to Serbia since the outbreak of war, where most have been warmly welcomed.

Despite the arrival of dissident Russians fleeing the conflict, Serbians by and large remain ardent supporters of the invasion of Ukraine, with pro-Kremlin rallies held in the capital Belgrade.
Defence chiefs have launched an urgent investigation after workmen allegedly used glue to repair broken bolts inside a nuclear reactor chamber on one of Britain's Trident submarines.

The unsuitable repairs to the bolt heads, which had sheared off after being over-tightened, were discovered during a routine check aboard HMS Vanguard, The Sun reports.

Repair work was being undertaken as part of a dry dock refurbishment at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth, which is behind schedule by four years and 300million over budget.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is said to have demanded 'assurances about future work' carried out on the 15,900-ton vessel by established contractor Babcock following the discovery.

Defence chiefs have launched an investigation after workmen allegedly repaired broken bolts inside a nuclear reactor chamber on board HMS Vanguard (pictured) by using glue

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is said to have demanded 'assurances about future work' carried out on the 15,900-ton vessel by contractor Babcock following the discovery

One Navy source said the situation was 'a disgrace', adding: 'Standards are standards. Nuclear standards are never compromised.'

Former sub captain Cdr Ryan Ramsay added that such repairs made him wonder 'what else has been done poorly'.

As a result of the delayed works, the UK's other Trident submarines - HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilant - have had to endure lengthy patrols.

All four will be replaced by the Dreadnought class, which will carry the Trident missile deterrent, from 2028.

The submarines, whose name derives from the motto 'Fear God and dread nought', carry nuclear missiles and are designed to remain at sea undetected for months.

They will be larger than the current class at 16,900 tons and measuring 500ft, with an expected lifespan of 30 years.

HMS Vanguard is one of the UK's four nuclear submarines, alongside HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilant, which will be replaced in 2028 by the Dreadnought class

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'As part of a planned inspection, a defect was found from work done in the past when HMS Vanguard was in dry dock.

'It was promptly reported and fixed.

'In light of the issue, the Secretary of State spoke directly with the Chief Executive Office of Babcock to seek assurances about future work.'

It's understood at least seven glued bolts had been uncovered. They were used to hold insulation in place on coolant pipes which prevent a nuclear meltdown.

Babcock, which is responsible for the maintenance of Britain's fleet of boats, insisted safety remained its 'most important priority'.

'Any quality related issue is a huge disappointment, but our own robust inspection processes discovered the issue, and we have taken immediate action to resolve it,' a company official told MailOnline.

'Safety remains our most important priority and we can confirm there was no safety or operational impact from the work.

'We will continue to work closely with our customer, as we have throughout this most complex and critical of programmes.'
Back in the 1970s, when I was a teenager, my family lived on the Surrey/Hampshire border, which was also the border between two ITV companies, Southern and Thames.

This was a huge advantage to those of us who were addicts of Crossroads, the daily soap opera. First, you could watch it on Southern  and then, the second it was over, you could watch it again on Thames, though weirdly, Thames was six months behind, so the Crossroads Christmas party always took place in July.

With these double doses, I became something of an expert on the comings and goings at Crossroads Motel. As far as I know, I am still the only castaway to have chosen the theme tune as one of my Desert Island Discs.

I mention all this because Nolly, a drama about the sacking of the Crossroads lynchpin Noele Gordon (played by Helena Bonham Carter), is being screened this week.

Helena Bonham Carter as Crossroads star Noele Gordon alongside Mark Gatiss as Larry Grayson in the new ITVX drama Nolly

On the Graham Norton Show, Nolly writer Russell T. Davies observed that Noele Gordon had once been one of the most famous women in the country, but nowadays her name means nothing to those below the age of 50.

TV is an amnesiac medium. People who were, in their day, huge TV stars  Robert Robinson, Hughie Green, Fanny Cradock, Johnny Morris  ring no bells with the under-50s. Even David Frost, who was once on every programme, has just about evaporated from our memory, and he died only ten years ago.

Luckily, I still have Noele Gordon's 1975 autobiography, My Life At Crossroads, to help jog my memory. It comes with a foreword by Mary Wilson. 'Mary who?' younger readers will ask. The clue lies in the address at the bottom: 10 Downing Street. Mary was the wife of Harold Wilson, who was then Prime Minister.

'I am sure many women see Noele Gordon in the character of Meg Richardson as the type of woman they themselves would like to be  understanding, sensible, able to cope with any situation,' writes Mrs Wilson.

The real Noele Gordon as Meg Richardson on the 1960s ITV soap opera Crossroads

Yet, in reality, Crossroads was comically rackety, and My Life At Crossroads unwittingly confirms this. The skinflint producers hated recording more than one take: if actors fluffed their lines or an accident occurred, the cameras would keep whirring.

Noele Gordon recalls shooting a kitchen scene when the actor who played her son, Sandy, 'noticed that the toaster had caught fire and that flames were coming out of the machine . . . 'Put it out, Sandy,' I told him. We all swung into action, still acting the scene and saying the lines we were supposed to say as we coped with the flaming toaster.'

Another time, a tea cloth caught fire. 'The director at the time not only covered the whole incident with his cameras but he also gave instructions to the floor manager as to what he should do if the whole set went up in flames. 'Evacuate the studio,' he said, 'But keep one camera on  just for the Midlands News.' '

Actress Ann George, who played the busybody Amy Turtle, regularly forgot her lines. She would simply repeat whatever the actor before her had just said. If her fellow actor had said: 'I see it's raining again,' she would look startled, and then say, 'It's raining again'.

Helena Bonham Carter at the BFI preview of Nolly at BFI Southbank earlier this month

My own favourite episode involved the actor who played Chris, Noele Gordon's on-screen stepson. One week, Chris set off for Switzerland. Months later he returned, played by an entirely different actor. 'Welcome back, Chris!' said Noele. 'Your holiday seems to have done you the world of good!'

The wonderful comedian Kate Robbins, who played a cleaning lady, remembers hoovering in the reception area while Noele Gordon was talking on the phone.

The vacuum cleaner made such a loud noise that Noele was forced to shout to make herself heard. Eventually, the exasperated director yelled: 'Cut!' and stormed over to Kate, asking what on earth she was doing.

'The script says 'Kate hoovers in the background',' she replied.

The director glared at the script. 'It's a typing error!' he snapped. 'It should read: 'Kate hovers in the background!'

Another volume I treasure is my Crossroads Cookbook (1977). In my next column, I shall examine its recipes, which also seem like relics from a long-forgotten land.
A plan to overhaul Medicare will be considered by leaders later this week as pressure mounts on the federal government to reform the 'broken' health system.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the report by the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce will be handed to the national cabinet when it meets on Friday.

'We need to talk through the hospital system, the way that it works as a whole,' Mr Albanese said.

'It's not surprising that people will always argue for increased funding.'

Anthony Albanese confirmed the report by the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce will be handed to the national cabinet when it meets on Friday

A plan to overhaul Medicare will be considered by leaders later this week as pressure mounts for the federal government to reform the 'broken' health system (stock image)

The states and territories have been lobbying the federal government to increase its share of funding for hospitals.

Despite acknowledging Medicare is in 'worst shape it's been in its 40-year history,' the federal health minister is reluctant to throw more money at the problem.

'Simply putting more money into the existing structures is not going to deliver the type of care modern Australia needs,' Mark Butler told ABC's RN.

'We don't just need to add more money to the existing systems, we need to change the existing system.'

What the Medicare reform will look like is yet to be decided, however the government is considering sharing the load of primary care between other health practitioners in a 'blended' system.

The need for urgent reform comes after bulk billing rates plummeted by seven per cent in the past year, and are continuing to fall as general practice surgeries are left with no choice but to charge higher fees to supplement Medicare rebates.

Other options before the government include increasing the rebate to make seeing a GP more affordable.

In its pre-budget submission, it called for bulk billing incentives to triple and increase patient rebates for longer and complex consultations.

Fresh analysis undertaken by the Australian Medical Association revealed only three of 201 public hospitals delivered care in the recommended time frames.

What the Medicare reform will look like is yet to be decided, however the government is considering sharing the load of primary care between other health practitioners in a 'blended' system (stock image)

Ahead of Friday's meeting, AMA president Steve Robson indicated he wanted to see the federal government up its share of hospital funding.

'We're suggesting 50-50 Commonwealth state and territory funding,' he said.

'We need to scrap the artificial cap and we need to look at a return to pay-per-performance so that hospitals that perform well are rewarded.'

Meanwhile, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have warned the gap between rich and poor will widen unless access is improved.

In its pre-budget submission, it called for bulk billing incentives to triple and increase patient rebates for longer and complex consultations.

Funding for enhanced primary care for the over 65s and support for patient follow up following an unplanned hospital visit is also on the RACGP agenda.

'We're continuing to call on government to reinstate patient rebates for longer telephone consults, for mental health and GP management plans,' president Dr Nicole Higgins said.

'These services were unfairly taken away from patients and new research has found it's hurting the most disadvantaged, those who are poorer, elderly, vulnerable and in need of complex care.'

'Without urgent action to stem the bleeding and improve access to care for Australians, inequality, and the gap between rich and poor will get much worse.'
Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan (Twitter)

Hyderabad: Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has won the second round of battle against the state government in less than a week. First, it was on the issue of the Telangana state government not holding the Republic Day celebrations and police parade last week. This time, it was on the issue of the state government doing away with the customary Governor's address to the joint session of Legislature for the Budget session set to begin on February 3. On both these occasions, the state government suffered setbacks in the High Court and had to reverse its decisions.

The Governor had written to the state government to clarify its decision on holding the Republic Day celebrations and the police parade that were stopped in 2021 and 2022. However, due to the ongoing tussle between the Governor and the state government for the last two years on several issues, the government did not respond to the Governors letter and kept the issue pending. However, it later responded informing the Governor that it had no plans to hold the Republic Day fete as well as the police parade citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finally, the matter reached the High Court when a petition was filed by K. Srinivas, a city resident, who contended that the BRS government was not following the conventions and protocols by not holding the Republic Day Celebrations at Parade Ground in Secunderabad.

Hearing the arguments, the High Court found fault with the state

government's decision and issued an interim order on January 25 directing the Telangana state government to conduct the Republic Day Celebrations, including the Parade, by following union ministry guidelines.

With regard to the Budget session from February 3, the Governor's office wrote to the state government on January 22 to clarify whether arrangements had been made for the Governor's customary address in the Assembly. If so, a copy of the Governor's speech was sought for verification. However, there was no response from the state government. The state government had commenced the Budget session without the Governor's address in 2022 and decided to continue the same this year too by not proroguing the House.

To avoid Governor's address, the state government has been convening the Assembly sessions since September 2021 as continuation of previous sessions.

If the Assembly is prorogued, the subsequent session will be treated as a new session and as per norms, the new session of Assembly in the new year should begin with the Governor's address.

The Governor too kept her approval pending for Budget presentation in the Assembly to the request sent by the state government on January 21. As the February 3 deadline for the Budget session neared, the state government approached the High Court seeking a direction to the Governor to approve the Budget presentation.

Following the High Courts intervention, the state government agreed to have the Governor's address in the Budget session and the issue got resolved.

Had the government responded to the Governor's letter on January 22 and agreed to have the Governor's address, the issue would not have reached the court. The state government could have avoided an embarrassing situation on both these occasions.
He is currently being held on $5 million bail

A man in a Tesla who has been terrifying parts of Southern California with bursts of violent road rage was arrested Sunday night by the California Highway Patrol.

The EV-driving lunatic had made headlines previously after being linked to several vehicle attacks that occurred on SoCal freeways, including one in June in West Hollywood that involved an altercation between the man and a woman who was in the car with her 93-year-old mother.

The alleged road rage-aholic has been identified as 36-year-old Nathaniel Radimak. He was booked and is being held on $5million bail for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon as well as two outstanding arrest warrants.

He is allegedly responsible for a handful of LA-area attacks that always involved him getting out of his Tesla with a metal pipe and approaching a vehicle before pounding on the doors and windows, and then getting back into his car and driving away.

Footage shows Radimak hopping out of his black Tesla Model X and approaching several other vehicles with a metal pipe he proceeds to use to beat the cars, before getting back in his car and zipping off

Police say Radimak is responsible for at least two such incidents that occurred on January 11.

In one of the incidents, the man was captured on video, hopping out of his black Tesla Model X and running toward the victim's car before striking it multiple times with the pipe.

The victim in that specific incident said he began recording after he saw the Tesla driver behaving erratically and targeting another victim before turning his focus on him.

The victim, who remained anonymous when speaking with a local outlet about the encounter, said: 'Initially you think, 'Should I pin him to the wall with my car?' 'Should I run him down?' 'What should I do?'

'And I tried to stay focused and think, 'I dont want to go from victim to criminal in an instant.''

Video of the incident captured Radimk stopping his Tesla next to a white sedan on an exit shoulder of the freeway.

He then gets out of his car and sprints toward it, attempting to strike it before the sedan quickly drives off.

'He gets back to his car and he notices that Im taping him, so he follows me,' the victim continued to explain.

'At some point, he cuts me off, slams the brakes and starts beating on my car,' said the victim back in January, when he was still hoping an arrest would be imminent.

CHP arrest Nathanial Radimak on Sunday after connecting him to a string of road rage incidents around the Southern California area

Radimak apparently attempted to pull the same criminal stunt one to many times

Once apprehended, Radimak's name was linked back to several outstanding warrants and a history of alleged domestic abuse and other crimes

The Tesla driver who's been on a one-man road rage rampage across SoCal has been ID'd. The suspect targets women and the men who come to their aid, smashing cars with pipes and punching victims. So who is he, and where is he? Tonight at 11 from ABC7 https://t.co/5vlnn2tKD3 pic.twitter.com/9DJAyRCkof  ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 21, 2023

CHP authorities said that several leads and dash camera videos led to Radimak's eventual arrest.

The WeHo Times dug up Radimak's previous run ins with the law and found that the hot-tempered man has an extensive history with the law.

In 2022, there were two allegations of domestic violence against the same woman.

In 2021, there is a charge of 'possession for sales of methamphetamine.'

And in 2017, there are two vandalism charges under his name.
The heartbroken family of a five-year-old girl who tragically choked to death on a snack during a car ride have been targeted by callous trolls.

Imogen Lennon, from Canowindra in Central West NSW, died on January 16 when she choked on a deli frankfurt as she chatted to her mother on the way home from swimming lessons.

Family friend Tamara Harrison told Daily Mail Australia she has been bombarded with 'nasty' emails since launching an online fundraiser to help Imogen's parents, Samantha and Bill Lennon, pay for funeral costs.

The five-year-old, from Canowindra, in Central West NSW, died on January 16 after choking on a deli frankfurt as she chatted to her mother on the way home from swimming lessons.

Mrs Harrison said strangers had sent her messages and posted comments online saying the family did not deserve to have money raised on their behalf, and that they must not have done enough to save Imogen's life.

But Mrs Harrison said that could not be further from the truth.

'Imogen was sitting in the back of the car and has taken in a big breath of air as she was eating and began choking,' Mrs Harrison said.

Imogen Lennon, 5, tragically died after choking on a deli frankfurt on January 16

Some strangers said online Imogen's parents should have known first aid - despite Mrs Lennon being trained and applying all of the skills she had learnt

'Sam pulled over straight away. She is a first aid officer - her sister is also a nurse. She knew what to do in that situation. She did everything she could.

'Imogen even bit her hand when she tried to get the frankfurt out of her throat.'

The GoFundMe plea has so far raised more than $28,000.

Despite the cruel taunts, Mrs Harrison said her 'strong, brave' friend knew she did everything she could to save Imogen, who was due to start kindergarten this week.

Just seven days before death, the 'loud and energetic' little girl, who lived with a hearing impairment, was fitted with her first hearing aid.

It was the first time she had ever heard her own voice.

'She put it in, and she said "Is that my voice mummy?",' Mrs Harrison recalled.

'And her mum said: "Yes, yes it is".'

Instead of getting ready for her first year of school, Imogen's devastated family faced the daunting task of laying her to rest at the local church on Saturday.

Her older brothers Bailey and Hayden held hands and were comforted by friends as they said their last farewell.

Mrs Harrison said it was devastating to see the five-year-old's small, white coffin adorned with pink flowers and cowgirl boots loaded into the back of a hearse.

'Imogen was meant to start kindergarten this year,' she said.

Tamara Harrison (left) and Bec Haddow (right) comfort Samantha Lennon at Imogen's funeral

Imogen was farewelled by loved ones at St Edward's Catholic Church (pictured) on Saturday

Imogen's older brothers Bailey (left) and Hayden (right) comforted each other at their sister's funeral

'She never got to live her life.

'Something like that shouldn't have happened.'

Mrs Harrison is now working alongside the Lennons to set up a foundation in Imogen's honour to ensure no one else feels the pain they are experiencing.

Mrs Harrison, a nurse who works with children, said she was shocked to recently learn of an American-made airway clearance device, called the LifeVac, that is available for sale in Australia.

She said she and other colleagues who have completed first aid training had never heard of the device - which has been approved by the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods - despite its potential life-saving benefits.

As part of the foundation, Mrs Harrison and the Lennons are seeking to raise awareness about the LifeVac, have it made readily available to the public, and increase education about choking hazards for both parents and children.

The LifeVac is a portable suction apparatus which features a mask attached to a plunge-like lever.

In an emergency, the plunge is pushed down toward the victim's face then pulled upwards to create a vacuum effect to dislodge anything blocking the airway.

Her coffin was adorned with pink flowers, cowgirl boots, a pink 'Ringers Western' snapback cap and pictures of butterflies and unicorns

The service pamphlet was filled with photos of Imogen and her loved ones together during happier times

According to statistics released by LifeVac on Tuesday, the medical device has so far saved 657 lives, including 395 children, since its release in 2012.

Mrs Harrison said rolling out the medical device in first-aid kits was crucial, as was the need for parents to reinforce the importance of chewing food to children.

Mrs Harrison said she only recently learnt about the LifeVac (pictured), an American-made device used to clear airways

The Lennons, who Mrs Harrison described as 'kind-hearted' dairy farmers, told her if they manage to save just one person from the same fate as their daughter, they will have made the world a better place.

The family have received some donation offers from members of their tight-knit community to help launch the foundation, but Mrs Harrison said they were seeking further sponsorship.

As the family learns to live without their little girl, Mrs Harrison said they have already made plans for what would have been Imogen's sixth birthday.

'For her birthday this year, Imogen wanted to go bowling,' she said.

'So on May 24, that is what they will all be doing.'
Survivors of child sex abuse have started tying ribbons to Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral in a final protest against George Pell's legacy as his body arrives in Australia for burial.

Pell died in Rome on January 10 at the age 81 from hip replacement surgery complications and was Australia's most senior Catholic member.

His legacy has remained shrouded in deep controversy since he was jailed for, and later acquitted of, several historic child sex abuse offences.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews have both denied the former archbishop of Melbourne and, later, Sydney a state burial.

Silent advocates for child sex abuse survivors have started tying colourful ribbons to the gates of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney in protest of his requiem mass and private burial service, to take place on Thursday.

Controversial Catholic Church figure George Pell (above) will be buried in the crypt of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral on Thursday

Child sex abuse survivors have began tying colourful ribbons (above) to St Mary's gate in hopes of forcing the church to recognise Pell's controversial legacy

However, Ballarat child abuse survivor Paul Auchettl said church employees and 'staunch supporters of George Pell who believe we are desecrating the church' have been removing the ribbons.

'They hold George Pell in such high regard. That's okay because he did do good things, but we believe to honour him properly we have to be able to talk about the legacy he's left,' he told the ABC.

'So many people, as reported by the royal commission, have been harmed by his inaction and inability to move on the offenders he was constantly warned about.'

A royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse found Pell was aware of child abuse by clergy in the 1970s but did not take proper action to stop it.

Pell rejected the finding.

He was the Vatican's top finance minister before he left to face the charges in Melbourne in 2017.

His successor as archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, will be the principal celebrant for Pell's requiem mass on Thursday at 11am.

Advocate Paul Auchettl said church employees and 'staunch supporters of George Pell who believe we are desecrating the church' have been routinely removing the ribbons (above) ahead of Thursday's service

The service will be livestreamed on YouTube, however, Pell's burial in the crypt of St Mary's will be kept private.

His body will lie in state at the cathedral from Wednesday morning, The Guardian reported.

St Mary's Cathedral dean Father Don Richardson said thousands of mourners from around the world were expected to attend Thursday's mass.

'Cardinal Pell left a remarkable legacy for the Catholic church in Australia and this will undoubtedly be one of the most significant funerals ever held at the cathedral,' he said in a statement on January 17.

'Cardinal Pell was also known and highly respected by many overseas due to his numerous roles in the Vatican over many decades.'

Screens will be placed at the front of the church on Thursday so crowds outside can watch the service.

Masses for Pell will also be held on Wednesday at 1.10pm and 8pm for those unable to attend the main service.
Popular Australian writer Natalie Fornasier has died at the age of 28 after battling melanoma

The husband of Australian writer Natalie Fornasier who recently lost her battle with melanoma has revealed the powerful note she left behind for him.

Ms Fornasier, from Sydney, passed away on January 14. She was diagnosed with stage III metastatic melanoma at the age of 20 and dedicated much of her life to raising awareness of the dangers of skin cancer.

Her husband Alexander shared an emotional post to her Instagram page on Tuesday, writing 'our beautiful Natalie moved on from this life'.

He then included a piece of life advice his wife had written down.

'Be confident. Embrace your disability. Don't hide it or lessen its existence,' the message read.

'It's one piece of your puzzle and each time you share it, it is an opportunity to define yourself by your own standards. Because telling your story has power, and not only is it powerful to you, but to others as well.'

Alexander said Ms Fornasier had and will continue to have an 'immeasurable' impact on the lives of those around her, even those she did not know personally.

'As I'm struggling to find words, I can't help but think of how Natalie would just laugh out loud over my clumsy composition,' he wrote.

'Looking at me with this sparkle in her eyes, full of love and amusement. Words are her gift. How lucky we are to have been touched by the magic she created.

'I'd always call her my 'beautiful girl', and by that I wasn't even talking about those big, emerald and hazel eyes. I wasn't even talking about her immaculate skin, perfected by a curated 12-step-skincare-routine.

'I wasn't even talking about the smile that lit up a room and made me feel home.

'I was talking about her beautiful soul. The soul of a writer, a poet, someone who seemed to have lived many lives. The beautiful soul I fell in love with. That I was so incredibly privileged to have crossed paths with.

'I love you Natalie, always, forever.'

Ms Fornasier's husband Alexander shared an emotional post to her Instagram page on Tuesday, writing 'our beautiful Natalie moved on from this life'.

He ended the post with another message from Ms Fornasier: 'Love as much as you can'.

He had moved to Australia from Germany to be with Ms Fornasier after the pair met while travelling through Europe in 2018.

The 28-year-old's battle with cancer began when she noticed a mole on her toe had changed shape.

In December last year she told her 35,000 Instagram followers that her cancer had become terminal - and shared a heartbreaking update from palliative care.

'The last four months have been brutal. At the end of July, I received the news that my cancer was now terminal and had months left to live,' she wrote.

'I've cried myself hoarse about the fear of death. I've screamed for the children I would never have, growing old, my friends, the life I was supposed to live.

Ms Fornasier was able to walk down the aisle with her husband Alexander

The 28-year-old provided updates to her 35,000 followers about her cancer battle

'At 28 years old everything about it feels wrong.

'The conversations I've had to have, the plans I've had to make, the places my thoughts have gone and are still going - none of it is natural. It's painful.

'I've fallen into oblivion crying for (husband) Alexander, the heartbreak, and the love I would be leaving - for the life we were supposed to have. I've cried for my family.

'My one goal in life was to love. I've experienced a love that is all consuming - something so deeply precious and powerful and soul changing that I know that even though I'm leaving this earth, that energy and love will never die.'

Her final Instagram post from December 21 feature an image of bouquet of flowers she had been given in hospital - and a reminder that time is precious.

'It's one minute at a time for me right now - and I'm so thankful that, that is still a possibility.

'If my time here has taught me anything - it's that time moves like a river,' she said.

'You're unable to see the beginning or the end but you can feel it - so you better make the most of it.'

The writer had dedicated her life to raising awareness about the dangers of skin cancer

Ms Fornasier married her partner Alex while battling her illness

Melanoma symptoms Melanoma is a type of skin cancer which usually occurs on the parts of the body that have been overexposed to the sun. Often melanoma has no symptoms, however, the first sign is generally a change in an existing mole or the appearance of a new spot. These changes can include: colour - a mole may change in colour or have different colour shades or become blotchy

size - a mole may appear to get bigger

shape - a mole may have in irregular border or may increase in height

elevation - the mole may develop a raised area

itching or bleeding Source: Cancer Council Advertisement

It came during Ms Fornasier's fourth week in palliative care and she had more than three weeks to go.

'It's absurd it's been that long - time is so fluid, it feels like none has gone by but the calendar says otherwise,' she wrote at the time.

Ms Fornasier detailed the simple things about her home she missed before detailing the severe toll her melanoma had taken on her body.

'I can no longer walk without aids, my legs are filled with fluid, my whole body aches 24/7 and the tumour burden is intense,' she wrote.

'My pain is increasing slowly, day by day I can feel my body slow just that little bit more which is such a bizarre thing to witness - especially when you can physically feel it too.

'However these yellow tinged walls with creaky old doors is the best place for me to be - it's safe (and fully stocked with all the meds I need!).

'People often misunderstand palliative care and what it means - but basically the weight of medical care is lifted off Alexander's shoulders and looked after by nurses and doctors who want nothing but you to be pain free.'

The 28-year-old had candidly opened up to her followers about her cancer battle

The writer announced to her followers in December her cancer had become terminal

Loved ones set up a GoFundMe for Ms Fornasier's family and husband before her death.

It has raised more than $110,000.

Ms Fornasier was just 20-years-old when she woke up one morning to find her legs covered in bruises during a holiday in Greece.

She initially thought she'd been sleep walking until she realised the mole on her toe, in which she had since birth, had changed shape.

It wasn't until two weeks after returning home that she was told she had advanced melanoma.

She had her toe amputated and the lymph nodes in her groin removed.

Ms Fornasier - who's the ambassador for a social media campaign called #CallTimeonMelanoma - had urged young women to get their skin checked and to be more cautious with sunbaking.
He plans to make Texas 'undesirable' for hundreds of thousands of illegal border crossers

His primary focus will be to 'respond to Joe Biden's open border policies'

Texas, a state on the frontlines of the ongoing illegal migrant crisis facing America, has appointed a new border czar who plans to make the state the 'least desirable place' for delinquent crossers to end up.

Retired US Border Patrol agent Michael Banks was named to the job on Monday.

He will report directly to GOP Governor Greg Abbott and be tasked with handling surges at the border - like the one that notably impacted the city of El Paso in December.

His duties will also including attempting to convince private landowners to give the state of Texas access to their property to continue adding miles to its border wall.

Michael Banks (right) discusses his new role as Texas' border czar alongside the state's Governor Greg Abbott (left) on Monday January 30, 2023

When asked about his new role, Banks told the press that his 'number one priority is to make the State of Texas the least desirable place for illegal immigrant to cross.'

Abbott said that Banks' only responsibility will be responding to the current administration's 'open border policies.'

Abbott announced the creation of the position Banks now holds in the border town of San Benito.

Recent data from US Customs and Border Patrol showed approximately 2.4million encounters with migrants attempting to illegally cross the US border during the last fiscal year.

That figure is the highest on record.

US Border Patrol forces remain focused on the embattled city of El Paso, which in the last several weeks has become the single busiest border crossing location in the country.

In the last three months alone, officers in El Paso have encountered some 162,603 migrants attempting to enter the country - more than triple the amount encountered during the same time period last year.

The number of migrants crossing over the US southern border since January 2021 when the Biden administration took over the White House has surge

Most of the foreigners attempting to enter the country arrived from a handful of South and Central American points of origin - Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia.

Sixty-four percent of the migrants arriving were single adults. Nearly a third were families with children, and another 8,000 were unaccompanied minors.

Four-hundred Texas National Guard troops, as well as Texas state troopers were dispatched to El Paso to assist the overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Peter Jaquez said: 'The first quarter of FY2023 demonstrated the complexity of the southwest border, with the recent migrant influx, and the challenges that our agents and migrants face during these times.'

Banks' new job has been described as a response to Joe Biden's 'open border policies'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke about the ongoing need to secure the US border on Monday as he announced the appointment of his state's new border czar

The Mayor of El Paso Oscar Leeser (2nd R) is led away as President Joe Biden (2nd L) walks along the US-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. - Biden went to the US-Mexico border earlier this month for the first time since taking office

Extensive lines of illegal immigrants waiting for the next bus out of town have taken shape

Migrants queue near the border fence, after crossing the Rio Bravo river, to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 5, 2023

Asylum-seeking migrants from Haiti walk before crossing the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to U.S Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas last spring

So far in fiscal year 2023, there have been 863,929 total documented Customs and Border Patrol encounters.

The figure indicates that the true number of attempted crossings is well into the millions.

In the final month of 2022, there were 225,797 unique individuals encountered by the CBP at the border across the country - the highest number for a monthly total on record and a 10 percent increase over November figures.

Biden's migration headache EXPLODES: a record 242million people across Latin America now want to leave, many eyeing the US, as border crisis intensifies

Share of would-be migrants jumped from 18 to 37 percent this past decade

Latin America now on par with sub-Saharan Africa for numbers seeking an exit

Survey comes after record 251,487 encounters at southern border in December

The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean who wish to migrate has jumped this past decade to 242 million, many eyeing the US, heightening fears about the border crisis.

In 2011, only 18 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean wanted to permanently leave their homes. By 2021, that had risen to 37 percent of the region's 655 million people, Gallup polling shows.

The desire to migrate rose faster in South America than anywhere else in the world. By the end of 2021, the share of Latinos wishing to migrate was on a par with those in poverty-wracked sub-Saharan Africa.

In some South American nations  Honduras, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic  as much as half of the total population expressed a desire to move and live abroad permanently.

In 2011, only 18 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean wanted to permanently leave their home countries. By 2021, that had risen to 37 percent of the region's 655 million people, a Gallup survey shows

The survey comes amid record numbers of migrants trying to enter the US irregularly from Mexico, with Republicans criticizing President Joe Biden, a Democrat, over what they call his 'loose' or 'open' border.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a right-leaning advocacy group, said the survey revealed 'enormous pent-up demand' to migrate north to the US.

'We can see how President Biden has created a dangerous and volatile situation as every month, millions more formulate the intentions and plans to try to move,' Stein told DailyMail.com.

Migrants come from South America and the Caribbean in search of a better life for them and their families. Many are fleeing corrupt and inept leftist governments in such nations as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

But border locals and critics of the immigration policy view the current numbers as unsustainable and balk at the prospect of hundreds of millions more also laying plans to head north.

Globally, the desire to migrate has reached 'decade-high levels' in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and other regions, said Gallup, which polled 127,000 people aged 15 and older across 122 countries last year.

The US remains the favored destination for the world's migrants, though the share eyeing America has fallen slightly this past decade to 18 percent

In some South American nations  Honduras, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic  as much as half of the total population expressed a desire to move and live abroad permanently

Asylum-seeking migrants from Venezuela cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to US Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, late last year

President Biden, in the White House this month, is under fire over his border policy

Still, not everyone with a desire to migrate is able to do so, researchers added.

The US remains the favored destination for the world's migrants, though the share eyeing America has dropped slightly to 18 percent this past decade. Canada, Germany, Spain and France round out the top five destinations.

In previous surveys, Gallup has found that America was the favored end point for more than a third of Latin America and the Caribbean's would-be migrants.

The survey was released on Tuesday amid a surge of Cubans and Haitians traversing the Caribbean by boat to reach Florida's shores, and record flows of people trying to cross the southwestern border.

The border city of Yuma, Arizona, is at breaking point with the unprecedented flow of migrants leaving the community at the brink of collapse and hospitals and food banks overloaded, local officials say.

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines has slammed the Biden administration for its handling of the border crisis and said his county will crumble as it can't support the cascading flow of migrants.

Customs and Border officials say there were 251,487 migrant encounters at the border in December. That's the highest figure for a single month ever, and brings the latest three-month total up to 717,600.

Immigrants line up to present themselves to U.S. Border Patrol agents after spending the night camped alongside the U.S.-Mexico border fence on December 22, 2022

Thousands of Venezuelans rallied against the government of Nicolas Maduro and demanded salary increases in Maracaibo this week. Millions have spilled across the country's borders in recent years

Military police frisking a group of men at a checkpoint during a special operation against criminal gangs in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, last month. Many people wish to escape poverty and insecurity across Central America

Last month saw a surge in unauthorized immigration due to uncertainty over Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has expelled migrants at the border since the start of the pandemic.

Some 5 million migrants have crossed over the US southern border since January 2021 when the Biden administration took over the White House, according to the agency.

The Biden administration has launched new schemes to allow more Latinos into the US legally and advised unauthorized migrants to stay at home, but Republicans still blame him for unruly scenes at the US-Mexico frontier.

Stein said Biden's plan to 'parole in more people' was no solution.

'That merely incentivizes more to come until conditions in the US replicate those of the sending nations,' he told DailyMail.com.
Melissa Caddick's Dover Heights mansion has sold for $9.8million.

Bruce Gleeson of Jones Partners - the receivers of Caddick's companies - said on Tuesday that the sale was 'a good outcome given the current market conditions.'

The funds from the sale of the five bedroom house will go toward repaying investors who were fleeced out of millions of dollars by the missing conwoman.

The settlement for the home successfully took place on January 27 2023 after being sold on October 28 2022.

It was previously thought the home would sell for a price in the region of $12million.

Melissa Caddick lived in the Dover Heights home with her husband, Anthony Koletti (pictured together)

The home was expected to sell for over $10 million. NSW.Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

It's believed that liquidators were hoping to receive $10million from the sale of the home.

'We believe the sale price achieved is a strong result, given the current market conditions and will make a significant contribution towards the pool of funds available for Investors,' Mr Gleeson said at the time of the sale.

'We are very pleased with the outcome of the sales campaign and the interest received from prospective purchasers.'

There was high interest in the home due to Caddick's notoriety, with a refundable $10,000 deposit needed just to enter the property for an inspection in a bid to deter sticky beaks.

The home sits on 390sqm of land and boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms, study, a double garage, a heated pool and views of the city skyline.

According to the listing, published online last year, the luxurious home has a 'soothing palette of cocooning colours and luxurious materials'.

The home boasts harbour views, a pool and a wine cellar. NSW.Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Last year, Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti submitted a statement to the Federal Court claiming a cut of the sale of the house.

He told the Federal Court that he saw 'no purpose' in receivers having access to the Dover Heights home.

'I need all the money that I can get,' he said at the time. However, the claim was rejected.

The receivers have also sold jewellery, artworks, and designer goods before Christmas 2022.

The jewellery and luxury goods pulled in around $806,000 at auction in November while her paintings sold for a combined $48,000.

An 18-carat white gold necklace with 13 black sapphires surrounded by diamonds by Stefano Canturi  called 'Stella'  sold for $130,000.

Caddick purchased the necklace for $307,000 in 2015.

Caddick was last seen at the residence (pictured) in the early hours of November 12, 2020

Meanwhile her collection of twelve handbags sold for $35,000, almost triple their estimated price.

'We have also received from Christian Dior Australia documents and funds they had been holding on behalf of Melissa Caddick,' Mr Gleeson said.

Now Mr Gleeson's attention will be focused on the remaining property owned by Ms Caddick.

'Regarding the remaining items of Receivership Property, our efforts will be focused on the Edgecliff Property, and ultimately the distribution of the funds held by us to Out-of-Pocket Investors.'

'We will shortly be providing Investors with an update on the Receivership and Liquidation generally and holding an Investor Meeting around late February 2023.'

Caddick was last seen at the residence in the early hours of November 12, 2020, just one day after her home was raided by ASIC agents and federal police officers.

Her foot washed up on a beach on the NSW south coast in February 2021.
An online booking site has revealed the world's top 10 most welcoming tourist destinations - and only one Australian city has made the cut.

Online travel agency Booking.com released its 2023 Most Welcoming Cities on Earth list on January 24 for keen travellers looking for a friendly escape.

The list, which is released yearly, compiled more than 232million customer reviews of local hotels, hire car companies and airport taxi suppliers.

The Gold Coast ranked 10th on Booking.com's list of most welcoming cities on earth for 2023 and is the only Australian city listed

The online travel agency labelled the Gold Coast 'the ultimate playground' for travellers of all ages (pictured, Warner Bros Movie World at the Gold Coast)

Scraping into the 10th spot was the Gold Coast for its sun, surf, sand and theme parks, making it the 'ultimate playground for every traveler of any age'.

Booking.com Chief Marketing Officer Arjan Dijk said cities were considered 'welcoming' based on the hospitality and effort they showed towards travellers.

'Its that personal attention to detail when checking in or sharing helpful recommendations to explore the destination like a local that demonstrates how our partners show up and shine for travellers,' Mr Dijk said.

'These awards are our way of thanking them for their dedication to making everyone feel welcome and to going out of their way to create incredible experiences for our customers.

'Whether its a friendly greeting from a taxi driver at the airport, sharing some local driving tips at the car rental counter or a thoughtful note waiting in the room, our passionate partners help make every trip more special.'

Polignano a Mare in Italy (pictured) was ranked the most welcoming on earth. It is the second year in a row that a city in Italy has taken out the top spot

This year's most welcoming places on Earth spans five continents. Hualien City in Taiwan (pictured) ranked second on the list

Closing out the top three spots was San Sebastian located in the north of Spain

This year's most welcoming places on Earth spans five continents, with Polignano a Mare in Italy taking top spot, while Taiwan's Hualien City and Spain's San Sebastian closed out the top three.

European cities featured on the list with Dresden in Germany, Klaipeda in Lithuania, and York in the United Kingdom taking fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Seventh and eighth place went to two South American cities - Ushuaia in Argentina and Porto De Galinhas in Brazil, while Mexico City edged above the Gold Coast in ninth place.

The online agency also ranked Australia's 'friendliest' cities - with the coastal town of Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria topping the list.

Port Campbell had a number of 9 out of 10 ratings for accommodation reviews.

The coastal town of Port Campbell along the Great Ocean Rd in Victoria took out the top spot as the most welcoming tourist town in Australia for 2023 (pictured, The Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell, Victoria)

Halls Gap in Victoria made second place for its spectacular hiking views and waterfalls.

In third place was Port Lincoln in South Australia, which is known for its pristine beaches and great white shark cage diving.

Queensland was the most represented with three cities - Toowoomba, Montville and Maleny - ranking fourth, fifth and sixth on the list.

The remaining spots went to two cities in Western Australia and one city in both New South Wales and Tasmania.
New features include access to drivers licence and census

The govt has flagged a series of changes to the portal

There are 25million accounts on govt website, MyGov

Registration of births and deaths, access to your driver's licence and enrolling to vote are just some of the new features expected in a major revamp of the government services portal, MyGov.

The government has flagged the changes along with a huge funding boost following an expert panel review into the much-maligned service led by former Telstra executive, David Thodey.

MyGov has experienced a boom in user numbers and online activity since the Covid pandemic with more Australians using government services online.

There are 25million MyGov accounts, with 1.4million people using the website everyday and daily usage tripling in the past five years.

An expert panel review into MyGov has highlighted a series of changes to improve the government services website (stock image)

What changes have been recommended for MyGov? * Access to more government services * Registration of births and deaths * Helping people respond to disasters * Access to drivers licence, Medicare card, senior card and occupational licence * Access to the census * Allow users to enrol to vote * Allow users to renew their passport Advertisement

The review included a survey that discovered 75 per cent of Aussies felt MyGov - notoriously difficult to log into - needed improvements.

A series of recommendations have been highlighted in a report, which has been handed to the Albanese government.

The findings propose the Commonwealth work closely with state and territory governments to bring more services to MyGov so Australians have access to more services in a single online location.

New features recommended in the report include registering births and deaths, providing assistance for people in responding to natural disasters and better access to services related to drivers licences, Medicare cards, seniors cards, occupational licences and other forms of ID.

It was also suggested that the government look into allowing people to enrol to vote, renew their passport or complete the census through MyGov.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the changes in the report would be considered by the Albanese government over the coming months.

'It's a matter for negotiating with our comrades-in-arms at the state governments, and getting various federal departments on board,' he said.

'This (report) is the blueprint, and what we want to do - what I would like to do - over the next 12 months is articulate a calendar where we can start dropping cards in.'

Government services minister Bill Shorten (left) said the commonwealth would consider the recommendations outlined in the report that was led by former Telstra executive, David Thodey (right)

The report also suggested increased funding for MyGov, recommending a budget of $132million per year.

Mr Shorten said this significant funding boost could be in the federal government's May budget.

He stressed that the service urgently required additional funding to sufficiently operate going forward.

Access to the Medicare card is expected to be introduced to the MyGov app in March.
A shocking brawl broke out in a western Sydney bank on Monday between several teenage boys - before their mothers got involved and started trading blows.

Incredible footage shows a group of women throwing punches at each other outside a St.George Bank in the Bankstown Central Shopping Centre.

At one stage, a woman was knocked to the ground with two others climbing on top of her and appearing to rain down punches.

It is unclear what sparked the brawl, though witnesses have suggested there was a fight between teenage boys before their mothers got involved.

The footage shows up to 15 people involved in the fight, which is said to have lasted about 10 minutes.

It is unclear what sparked the brawl, though witnesses have suggested there was a fight between teenage boys before their mothers got involved

At one stage, a woman was knocked to the ground with two others climbing on top of her and appearing to rain down punches

One woman, 52, was taken to hospital after suffering a lip injury in the melee.

Video of the chaos was captured by onlookers and shared widely on social media.

Screaming can be heard throughout the footage as workers attempt to separate the fighters.

One witness, Haya Tallawi, told 9News she heard one of the women yell 'don't touch my son'.

'I was hearing bad screaming and when I looked up there was there a million people and then two women fighting together,' she said.

NSW Police confirmed they attended the scene and are currently investigating the brawl.

No arrests have yet been made.

A police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'About 3.30pm yesterday (Monday 30 January 2023), officers attached to Bankstown Police Area Command were called to a shopping centre on North Terrace, Bankstown, following reports of a brawl.

NSW Police confirmed they attended the scene and are currently investigating the brawl

Screaming can be heard throughout the footage as workers attempt to separate the fighters

'A 52-year-old woman sustained an injury to her lip during the incident.

'She was taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment.

'Upon arrival, some of those involved left the scene.

Investigators are urging those who witnessed the incident, or anyone with information about those involved to contact police immediately.
A speeding Staten Island driver found out his pregnant 23-year-old fiance and their unborn child had died in a horror car crash - moments before he appeared in court charged with their manslaughter.

Adem Nikeziq, 30, broke down on Monday when he was told Adriana Sylmetaj was dead after he crashed a Dodge Challenger while driving at around 100mph early Sunday morning.

Nikeziq appeared in court weeping, wearing a hospital gown and sitting in a wheelchair, photos obtained by The New York Post showed.

'No one told him that his fiance and baby had passed,' lawyer Mark Fonte told the news outlet. 'When I told him, he broke down crying, sobbing. He was at first completely in disbelief.'

Nikeziq was charged with manslaughter, driving under the influence, criminally negligent homicide and vehicular assault.

Adriana Sylmetaj and her unborn baby were killed at 4.45am on Sunday morning after her fiance drove into a pole. Adem Nikeziq, 30, wept in court after discovering his fiance had died in the crash

Nikeziq was allegedly drunk when he crashed the car while traveling at more than 100 mph

Prosecutors explained in court how Sylmetaj's body was found at the scene when police arrived.

'She was found at the intersection,' Nicholas Agostino, assistant district attorney, said. 'Her severed leg was found 20 feet past her body. Her unborn child, ripped from her body, was found 20 feet past her leg.'

Nikeziq claimed that a car had cut him off when he plowed into a utility pole at around 5am on Sunday morning, causing the vehicle to break into three parts.

Agostino alleged Nikesiq was drinking when the crash occurred, and he was driving at a high speed.

He asked for $500,000 cash bail or $750,000 bond, because the driver had a prior felony for driving without a license. He also asked that Nikesiq's passport be seized if he posted bond, SI Live reported.

Nikesiq's attorney railed at prosecutors for insinuating his client was at risk of fleeing the country.

'Maybe [it's because] Mr Agostino can't pronounce his last name,' Fonte said.

'In the blink of an eye, he loses his girlfriend, he loses his child, he loses his liberty - and his life turned upside down. Let him mourn, let him grieve.'

Nikesiq's bond was ultimately set at $400,000 cash bail and he is expected to return to court on Thursday.

Sylmetaj and Nikesiq were expecting a daughter in April.

The brother of Adriana Sylmetaj said how excited his sister was to become a mother.

'She was excited when she learned she was going to be a mother. It was something new to her. She couldn't wait to see the baby born,' Al Sylmetaj, told the New York Daily News.

'They were thinking on names but I don't think they came to any decision,' he added. 'They were planning on a baby shower.'

Images emerged of the mangled car after the pregnant woman was killed. Prosecutors explained in court how Sylmetaj's body was found at the scene when police arrived

Adriana Sylmetaj was ejected from the car when it collided with a utility pole at around 5am on Sunday morning, causing the vehicle to break into three parts

The brother of Adriana Sylmetaj, 23, who died alongside her unborn daughter in a high sped car crash in Staten Island, has spoken of his sister's excitement over her pregnancy

Nikeziq has a checkered driving history, including a 2017 arrest for drunk driving and driving with a suspended license, police sources told the Daily News. In 2019 he was also arrested for driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest.

Sylmetaj's brother said Nikeziq seemed untrustworthy and was often drunk after his father past away.

'I had this feeling the outcome was going to be this way,' Al said. 'Every time he presented himself, he was under the influence - not that he was uncontrollable, but how he articulated himself.

'He would always ask if I wanted to go have a drink,' he said. 'My birthday just passed and he was inviting me to go out to have a drink but I just said no thank you.'

Sylmetaj and Nikesiq, who was often drunk, her brother says, were expecting a daughter in April

The Albanian couple were traveling southbound on Hylan Boulevard in New Dorp at 4.44am when Nikesiq lost control. The vehicle hit a barrier wall before spinning out and crashing into a wooden utility pole, police said.

'He's going away for the rest of his life and that's still not good enough for that piece of s**t,' one grieving relative of Sylmetaj told the Post outside her home on Sunday.

'They couldn't save the baby,' he said. 'We're never going to be OK. None of us. We've experienced a terrible tragedy.'

'I don't understand how the [utility] pole is still standing,' Mario Basso, 31, owner of H20 Auto Spa near the site of the crash told The Post. 'It was hit so hard.'

The severity of the impact caused Sylmetaj to be ejected from the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene

The scene in the aftermath of the fatal crash, The collision happened as the couple was traveling at more than 100 mph
Legislative Affairs Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy invites Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan to address the Budget Session on Monday. (Twitter)

Hyderabad: The state government invited Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan to address the joint session of the Legislature on February 3 as the stalemate between the state government and the Governor over the approval of the state Budget was resolved with the intervention of the High Court, which refused to be drawn into the controversy while advising counsels of the two parties to hold deliberations.

Minister for legislative affairs Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Special Chief

Secretary of finance K. Ramakrishna Rao and legislature secretary V.

Narasimha Charyulu met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan and invited her to address the Budget session of legislature while requesting her to give her approval for introducing Budget in the legislative Assembly and legislative Council. The Governor responded positively, sources said.

Further, the Governor was requested to give approval to prorogue Assembly and Legislative Council to enable commencement of new Assembly session in the new year to facilitate the Governor's customary address to Legislature for Budget session. The governor agreed to prorogue both the Houses.

The government is reworking the Budget session schedule to accommodate the Governor's customary address to the joint session of the Legislature.

Sources said the Governor is likely to address the Legislature on February 3, and the Budget is likely to be presented in the House on February 6 or 7 by finance minister T. Harish Rao.

As per earlier plan, the government was supposed to present the Budget on February 3 without the Governor's address. However, it is now being proposed to have the Governor's address on February 3, discussion on motion of thanks to the Governor's address in both the Houses on February 4 or 6, and the Budget presentation on February 6 or 7.

The Governor's speech will be drafted by the government and will be approved by the Cabinet. It remains to be seen whether the Governor sticks to the speech copy sent by the government or makes changes as Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao earlier alleged that the Governor had included some contents in her speech praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led government at the Centre which were not approved by the Cabinet.
A Met Police officer who used duct tape to restrain his female housemate then said 'who are you going to tell, I'm the police' has been sacked.

PC Sam Grigg, 36, tied up Natasha Rabinowitz by taping her wrists together behind her back, taping her ankles together and gagging her mouth in the kitchen of their shared home in Twickenham, south west London on December 2, last year.

He told the victim, in her 20s, he was doing it 'because it's funny,' according to the Telegraph.

Having left her restrained for a period of time, he cut her free using a knife, cutting her in the process, the Met said.

Grigg, who was attached to the South West Basic Command Unit, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared via video-link at Kingston Crown Court earlier this month.

Scotland Yard said that an accelerated misconduct hearing at Westminster Magistrates on Monday found that Grigg breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of 'discreditable conduct' and he has been dismissed without notice.

Sam Grigg will now be added to the barred list held by the College of Policing

During the hearing John Howey, defending, said: 'Mr Grigg accepts that he tied up the complainant. He takes no issue with anything she says.'

The Met said Ms Rabinowitz suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Grigg was off duty at the time of the offence.

Judge Georgina Kent ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned the sentencing hearing to February 10 at the same court.

The incident was reported on December 6 last year and Grigg was charged two days later.

After the misconduct hearing, Commander Jon Savell, in charge of the Met's professional standards department, said: 'PC Grigg's behaviour was totally unacceptable and I know it will cause concern among members of the public.

'He's let down the Met and his colleagues who are committed to keeping the people of London safe.

'We took immediate action to suspend him from duty when his offending came to light and have now removed him from the organisation.

'We are determined to have a Met that the public can trust, with officers that people feel comfortable to approach.

'When someone fails to meet these standards, we will take action to remove them from our organisation.'

Grigg will now be added to the barred list held by the College of Policing.

Anyone who appears on the list cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct or His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
The arrest of two parents after their seven-year-old daughter died has sparked fury in the community.

The couple from Stoke Newington, north London were arrested on suspicion of child neglect on Saturday.

Neighbours say that the man and woman were taking care of their daughter, who it is claimed has a 'debilitating illness'. They said that the pair 'do not deserve' to be in this predicament.

The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the girl's death, previously calling the arrests 'necessary'.

The arrest of two parents after their seven-year-old daughter died has sparked fury in the community. The couple from Stoke Newington, north London were arrested on suspicion of child neglect on Saturday. The child was found dead at a home on the street pictured above

One neighbour told MailOnline: 'They are the most beautiful family. They took care of her so well and never complained or disturbed anyone. She was always dressed so well and was so looked after.

'I am so sad. They do not deserve this.'

Another neighbour, who has been friends with the mother for around 30 years, said: 'They are a wonderful family. The social services got involved I think because she wasn't gaining weight, but when she went to hospital she couldn't gain weight either.'

Locals said the girl was born with an extremely debilitating illness. It is not known what the girl's ailment was.

'It wasn't the parents doing anything wrong - it was part of her condition,' another neighbour said. 'She was extremely unwell.

'I think it was because something happened when she was born at the hospital, she didn't get enough oxygen or something.'

They added: 'Everyone is outraged as they have been going through it for so long and they gave their daughter everything.

'I went round often and I saw her always interacting with her and saw her devotion.

'Whenever she had to go to hospital she was would cry so much.'

Police have circulated a memo to members of the community in a bid to calm the situation

Girl, seven, is found dead at house in north east London: CLICK HERE TO READ MORE The Metropolitan Police says the parents were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of child neglect and then bailed pending further enquiries Advertisement

Currently there is no coroner's report indicating how the girl died.

A friend of the family said: 'What I am angry about is that there is no Coroner's report, so there is no evidence, so how can they say all this?

'It's all speculation... I don't like that the story is is so one-sided.'

Another neighbour echoed those sentiments, saying: 'They couldn't be a nicer family.

'The family did everything they could for her. They were so dedicated and attached to her.

'They tried the best they could.'

According to the memo which is being circulated in the community, the Met was called to the property by London Ambulance Service and Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer emergency medical service that operates in North London.

Police confirmed a 49-year-old man and 50-year-old woman have been arrested as a result of an incident on Friday, which saw the young girl pass away.

In the notice the force said: 'There has been some concern amongst the orthodox Jewish community as the arrests were made during Sabbath.

'The arrests were necessary due to the seriousness of this tragic incident and needs of the investigation.'

In a statement released Sunday, the Met said: 'They were taken into custody and have since been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in late April.

'Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.'

MailOnline contacted Met Police today and was told 'there are no updates at this time.'
Police are attempting to block LGBTQI protests from being held outside the funeral of Cardinal George Pell, citing concerns for community safety.

The former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney died in a Rome hospital last month from heart complications following hip surgery and was given a traditional cardinal's funeral by the Vatican at St Peter's Basilica. He was 81.

Protest group Community Action for Rainbow Rights applied to demonstrate outside the funeral at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on Thursday.

'However, despite attempted negotiations with organisers, safety concerns associated with their proposed assembly cannot be adequately mitigated without amendments to the proposal,' NSW Police said.

Cardinal George Pell (pictured) died in a Rome hospital last month from heart complications following hip surgery

NSW Police are trying to block LGBTQI protests from being held outside Cardinal Pell's funeral at St Mary's Cathedral (pictured) in Sydney

'As such, the Commissioner will apply to the NSW Supreme Court to prohibit the assembly.

'The NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals and groups to exercise their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly, however, the first priority is always the safety of the wider community.'

A solemn reception has been planned for Cardinal Pell on Wednesday morning, with two masses followed by a vigil where mourners are invited to pay their respects.

The Sydney-based protest group planned their demonstration for Thursday, when a requiem mass will be held before the cardinal is buried in a private ceremony at St Mary's crypt.

The group said it would go ahead with a peaceful march on Thursday morning timed with the funeral, despite the police order.

'We need everybody to come out and protest on Thursday,' it said on Facebook.

'We can't let the police get away with denying us our right to protest.'

Protest group Community Action for Rainbow Rights had applied to demonstrate outside the funeral

Survivors of sexual abuse have tied coloured ribbons to the fences of St Mary's Cathedral, which symbolise sexual abuse perpetrated by the clergy

The Catholic ceremonies are expected to attract thousands and screens will be put up in the cathedral's exterior forecourt to accommodate the mourners.

It comes as survivors of sexual abuse tie coloured ribbons to the fences of St Mary's Cathedral in central Sydney, which symbolise sexual abuse perpetrated by the clergy.

Cardinal Pell was the Vatican's top finance minister before leaving Rome in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne for child sexual abuse offences.

The following year, he was convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne while archbishop in 1996.

He maintained his innocence and in 2020 his convictions were quashed by the High Court.
Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has boasted he is turning convicted killers into 'real cannibals' after they were released from prison to join his feared mercenary group.

Prigozhin was seen in a video at a special training ground for his private paramilitary fighters in the village of Molkino in the Krasnodar region, southern Russia.

Prigozhin's mercenary group consists of around 50,000 prisoners including rapists and murders who will be pardoned and free to live in society no matter how heinous their crimes if they survive six months of war.

The Wagner chief boasted he is turning the prisoners into 'real cannibals' before they are deployed to Ukraine.

Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has boasted he is turning convicted killers into 'real cannibals' after they were released from prison to join his feared mercenary group

Prigozhin was seen in a video at a special training ground for his private paramilitary fighters (pictured) in the village of Molkino in the Krasnodar region, southern Russia

Ukrainian BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles drive in a convoy down an icy road in the Donetsk region on Monday

'This is a supplementary training base for our fighters,' Prigozhin said in the video, as Wagner troops conducted combat drills behind him.

'The primary training is in Molkino [Krasnodar region], and here experienced fighters are given additional training in their specialties.

'So they raise young eagles there [in Molkino]. And here they make real cannibals.'

Prigozhin, himself a former jail inmate after assaulting and robbing a woman, has become a billionaire under Putin's rule, and he also runs troll factories pumping out Russian propaganda on social media.

He mocked his foes who criticise him as running a private army with appalling losses at the frontline.

Prigozhin was seen in a video at a special training ground for his private paramilitary fighters (pictured) in Molkino

Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar on a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Bakhmut, on January 27

He slammed those who 'were once in the army' or 'once wore the shoulder straps of a general' in the 'distant past'.

He said: 'Live in the present. [This is] a war unlike anything that has happened, in the previous century or this one - except WW2.'

It was reported earlier that Wagner recruited at least one 'maniac' killer convicted of cannibalism and 'hundreds of murderers' to fight in Putin's war.

Olga Romanova, from human rights group Russia Behind Bars told Mozhem Obyasnit media outlet: 'We have started to hear that he has begun taking rapists, too.

'They have also taken a maniac from [a jail in] Saratov region, who has cannibalism in his 'portfolio'.'

Meanwhile, Putin is said to have turned against Prigozhin after he 'failed to take the hint' and kept on bragging that his forces were achieving more success than Russia's army.

And the Wagner chief has risked further angering the Russian President by dismissing Moscow's generals as 'a bunch of clowns'.

Prigozhin is increasingly seen as posing a rising threat to the Kremlin leader with his daily grandstanding and outspoken boasts.

Last week, he claimed his ragbag fighters have achieved heroics greater than Soviet soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad, a key military turning point in the Second World War.

He has also openly mocked General Valery Gerasimov - the Russian commander-in-chief - who ordered that Russian soldiers should shave off their beards as part of a discipline drive in the armed forces.

Russia's defence chiefs were 'a bunch of clowns' seeking the 'glamorisation of the army', raged Prigozhin, a Soviet-era jail inmate who came to fame arranging banquets and managing online troll factories for Putin.

'Female war correspondents go into the absolute heat of [war],' said Prigozhin.

'Jail inmates fight better than units of the Guards. Servicemen with broken spines pass on their military experience at training camps, moving around like robots.

'And a bunch of clowns try to teach fighters exhausted with hard military labour how many times they ought to shave  and what kind of perfume they must use to greet high commanders.'
Alec Baldwin is set to be formally charged with felony charges of involuntary manslaughter today over the shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The actor, 64, will be charged alongside the film's weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed over the death in October 2021 during on on-set rehearsal for the Western movie.

The 30 Rock star, who was pictured looking somber on Sunday as he took a stroll in New York carrying his phone and paperwork while wife Hilaria unloaded their car, could face trial this year over the killing.

Hilaria, 39, admitted she doesn't 'feel so strong' after a state prosecutor announced on January 19 that her husband would face charges.

Alec Baldwin is set to be formally charged with felony charges of involuntary manslaughter today over the shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured in New York on Sunday)

She said on a recent episode of her podcast Witches Anonymous: 'It's been an emotional time for my family. And I do so want to express to you how grateful I am for your support and your kindness and your reason.

'Quite honestly, without it, we would crumble. So, thank you so much for being our rock right now because I don't feel so strong.'

In recent weeks, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has outlined two sets of involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the shooting against Baldwin and film set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

The district attorney said through a spokeswoman Monday that her office will release charging documents and a statement of probable cause outlining the evidence.

Hutchins' death already has led to new safety precautions in the film industry.

Involuntary manslaughter can involve a killing that happens while a defendant is doing something lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or without caution.

Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb has cited a pattern of 'criminal disregard for safety' on the set of Rust.

The 64-year-old actor took a solo walk carrying some paperwork and bundled up in a navy blue puffer jacket

Hilaria Baldwin, 39, was pictured unloading her car by the family home after a short trip away

Baldwin is set to be formally charged with felony charges of involuntary manslaughter today

Hilaria, 39, admitted she doesn't 'feel so strong' after a state prosecutor announced on January 19 that her husband would face charges

Prosecutors also said they will release the terms of a signed plea agreement with assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on the set.

Participants in the un-filmed rehearsal have given conflicting accounts of who handed the gun to Baldwin.

Halls has agreed to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon, they said.

Previous witnesses have said that Halls handed Baldwin the gun and that he declared it a 'cold gun' despite the presence of live ammo in the chamber, according to a search warrant.

Alec and Hilaria are pictured last week leaving the city as he prepares to face a potential trial

Hutchins was the cinematography director of the film and is shown here on her Instagram page

'Cold gun' is a term used on sets to notify that live ammo isn't being used.

In a December deposition with the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, Halls denied giving Baldwin the gun, saying he gave it to Gutierrez-Reed. He also accused Gutierrez-Reed of declaring 'cold gun.'

Halls also compared the death of Hutchins as comparable to a plane crash in that it wasn't any one person's fault but rather 'a system failure.'

Halls told the deposition that he had no 'recollection' of saying 'cold gun' adding, 'I have recollections of Hannah saying it.'

'Its just like what they say about an airplane crash. Its like its just not one thing, yknow. It's a system failure.'

The assistant director is even expected to testify against Baldwin if it goes to trial.

Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said in a statement Monday that prosecutors are 'fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins' and 'the evidence and the facts speak for themselves.'

Baldwin, also a co-producer on Rust, has described the killing as a tragic accident.

In November, Baldwin had launched a lawsuit against Halls, in addition to other production staff

David Halls, the first assistant director on the set of Rust, is likely to testify against Alec Baldwin

The 64-year-old actor said he was told the gun was safe and has sought to clear his name by suing people involved in handling and supplying the loaded .45-caliber revolver.

In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the hammer of the weapon, which discharged.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles, who represents Gutierrez-Reed, said the charges are the result of a 'flawed investigation' and an 'inaccurate understanding of the full facts.'

Involuntary manslaughter linked to negligence is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.

The second set of manslaughter charges allege recklessness with a provision that could result in a mandatory five years in prison because the offense was committed with a gun.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film set's armorer, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter

Once charges have been filed with the court, Baldwin will be issued with a summons - but he won't have to go New Mexico to honor it in person.

Instead, he will be allowed to appear before a judge virtually.

The hearing is the first step in long judicial process.

A judge must then review the evidence that the prosecutors have compiled, and rule on whether or not the case can proceed to trial.

That is known as a probable cause hearing.

If Baldwin pleads not guilty, which he is expected to do, the case will move to trial.

If convicted, Baldwin has the right to an appeal and it's likely he would file one.

Sentencing would likely be put on hold until then.

Baldwin faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison of convicted of involuntary manslaughter with the firearm enhancement that prosecutors discussed today.

The involuntary manslaughter charge also carries a $5,000 fine.

The key questions that remain UNANSWERED as prosecutors prepare to formally file charges over Rust shooting

Alec Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

But even though prosecutors say they are responsible for the accidental death, two key questions remain unanswered.

Namely, how did live bullets end up on the film set to begin with? And did Alec Baldwin pull the trigger?

Why were live bullets on the set of Rust?

Baldwin was handed the gun by Assistant Director Dave Halls, who'd been handed the gun by weapons supervisor Gutierrez-Reed.

She has always insisted she is not to blame, and doesn't know how a live round ended up mixed in with dummy rounds on the set.

It remains unclear how they came to be on the ranch.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed allegedly brought the live rounds to the set and was to blame, according to Baldwin

Seth Kenney, the owner of the prop shop which supplied the dummy rounds for Rust, had both live and dummy rounds in his shop.

He told police that Gutierrez-Reed had been firing live rounds on the set - but he didn't say where she obtained the bullets from.

That is the question that Baldwin believes is at the heart of the investigation.

He has always argued that whoever brought those rounds onto the set and mixed them with dummies is to blame, and his fans agree.

Did Alec Baldwin pull the trigger or not?

The shooting happened while Baldwin was rehearsing, so he insists he did not pull the trigger.

He says he pulled the gun from his holster and held it facing Hutchins, director Joel Souza and the rest of the crew.

Crucially, he has always maintained that it was 'cocked' - but says he did not fire it.

Those comments were undermined by an FBI report released in August which said it was impossible for the gun to fire while cocked unless the trigger had been pulled.

The same report said that it was possible for the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled if the gun was not cocked.

Baldwin's attorneys however slapped down that report. They said it was based on testing that wasn't extensive. They are expected to pick that apart at trial.
Footage has emerged of a survivor of the suicide bombing at a mosque in north-western Pakistan who was discovered under the rubble almost 10 hours after the attack.

The worshipper was miraculously pulled out alive by rescuers last night.

Video shows the man blinking, with his face discoloured by the dirt, as rescuers work to pull him from the ground.

The death toll from the attack has risen to more than 90, officials said on Tuesday.

Footage has emerged of a survivor of the suicide bombing at a mosque in north-western Pakistan who was discovered under the rubble. The worshipper was miraculously pulled out alive by rescuers last night

At least 170 people were injured in the attack on a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility in Peshawar, which was one of the deadliest on Pakistani security forces in recent years.

Some 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest on Monday morning.

The blast ripped through the building, killing and injuring dozens of people and also blowing off part of the roof.

What was left of the roof then caved in, injuring many more, according to police officer Zafar Khan.

Rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.

More bodies were retrieved overnight and early on Tuesday, according to Mohammad Asim, a government hospital spokesman in Peshawar, and several of those critically injured died.

'Most of them were policemen,' he said of the victims.

Rescue workers search for victims amid debris a day after a suicide bomb blast at a Mosque in Police Lines, in Peshawar, KPK province, Pakistan, on January 31, 2023

The blast ripped through the building, killing and injuring dozens of people and also blowing off part of the roof

Chief rescue official Bilal Faizi said rescue teams were still working at the site on Tuesday as more people are believed to be trapped inside.

Mourners were burying the victims at different graveyards in the city and elsewhere.

It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound in a high-security zone with other government buildings and get to the mosque.

An investigation will show how the terrorist entered the mosque, said Ghulam Ali, the governor in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the capital of which is Peshawar. He said it was a 'security lapse'.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the bombing and vowed 'stern action' against those behind the attack.

'The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,' he tweeted.

Security personnel and rescue workers search for victims amid the debris of a damaged mosque a day after a blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 31, 2023

Rescue workers carry the remains of the blast victims from the debris on January 30, 2023

He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, saying their pain 'cannot be described in words'.

Authorities have not determined who was behind the bombing.

Shortly after the explosion, Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban - also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP - claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it is not its policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places, adding that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTP's policy.

His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their ceasefire with government forces.

Security officials gather for funeral prayers of police officers who were killed in the suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan on January 30, 2023

Mourners gather at the funeral of a policeman a day after the mosque blast on January 31, 2023

Earlier this month, the group claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counter-terrorism wing of the country's military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence.

Security officials said on Monday that the gunman had been traced and killed in a shootout in the north-west, near the Afghan border.

The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war. It has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

The Pakistani Taliban are the dominant militant group in the province, and Peshawar, which is close to the border with Afghanistan, has been the scene of frequent attacks since November, when the militant group ended their cease-fire with government forces.

In 2014, a Pakistani Taliban faction attacked an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 154, mostly schoolchildren.

The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group has also been behind deadly attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

Overall, violence increased since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021, as US and Nato troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The Pakistani government's truce with the TTP ended as the country was still contending with unprecedented flooding last summer that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than two million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

The Taliban-run Afghan Foreign Ministry said it was 'saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives' in Peshawar and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

A wounded policeman gets treated at a government hospital a day after the mosque blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 31, 2023

Men move an injured victim, after a suicide blast in a mosque, at hospital premises in Peshawar, Pakistan on January 30, 2023

Pakistan's army soldiers patrol outside the police headquarters a day after a mosque blast in Peshawar on January 31, 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to the Middle East, tweeted his condolences, saying the bombing in Peshawar was a 'horrific attack'.

'Terrorism for any reason at any place is indefensible,' he said.

Strong criticism also came from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, as well as the US Embassy, which said the 'United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism'.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the bombing 'particularly abhorrent' for targeting a place of worship, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan also expressed his condolences, calling the bombing a 'terrorist suicide attack'.

Sharif's government came to power in April after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ousting was illegal and part of a plot backed by the US, but Washington and Sharif have dismissed his claims.

The suicide bomb attack collapsed a mosque roof and killed worshippers in Pakistan. Around three hundred people are believed to have been praying in the mosque when the bomb exploded

An injured man is stretchered away from the bomb site. The death toll from a suicide bombing at a mosque in north-western Pakistan has risen more than 90, officials said on Tuesday

Security forces near the site of the attack in Peshawar, Pakistan. It is believed that the targets of the bomb were police officers

At least 170 people were injured in the attack on a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility in Peshawar, which was one of the deadliest on Pakistani security forces in recent years

Rescue workers carry the remains of the blast victims from the debris of a damaged mosque after a blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on Monday

Police officers shift their injured colleague to a hospital after the blast at a Mosque to a hospital in Peshawar on Monday

An injured victim of a suicide bombing talks on his mobile phone after getting initial treatment outside a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday

Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan estimated that between 300 and 400 officers usually attended prayers at the mosque.

After the blast, bloodied survivors emerged limping from the wreckage, while bodies were ferried away in ambulances as the rescue operation continued.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes as the police and the rescuers scrambled to rush the wounded to hospitals.

Security officials said the bomber was sitting in the front row of the mosque as people lined up to pray.

Provincial governor Haji Ghulam Ali said on Monday that rescue workers did not know exactly how many people remained trapped under the rubble.

Local police officer Zafar Khan said several of the wounded were listed in critical condition at a hospital and there were fears the death toll would rise.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (centre) and Pakistan's Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir (left) meeting a wounded police officer at a military hospital following the mosque blast

Senior officials have condemned the attack. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and ordered the best possible medical treatment for the victims

A mourner at the site of the blast in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan

Rescue workers gather to remove the rubble to look for survivors at the site of the bombing in Peshawar

Hundreds of people are thought to have been in the vicinity at the time of the blast, including police officers and worshippers

Riaz Mahsud, a senior local government official, said: 'We cut three main beams of the building and efforts are underway to cut the remaining one.'

One survivor, 38-year-old police officer Meena Gul, said he was inside the mosque when the bomb went off.

He said he doesn't know how he survived unhurt. He could hear cries and screams after the bomb exploded.

Shahid Ali, a policeman who survived, said the explosion took place seconds after the imam started prayers.

'I saw black smoke rising to the sky. I ran out to save my life,' the 47-year-old said.

'The screams of the people are still echoing in my mind,' he added. 'People were screaming for help.'

Rescue workers at the scene of a blast at a Mosque, in Peshawar, on Monday. The blast ripped through the walls and roof of the mosque (pictured)

A frantic rescue mission is now underway at the mosque as emergency personnel search for survivors amongst the rubble (pictured)

A police officer, who was injured in a blast at a Mosque, is helped by worshippers to a hospital in Peshawar in the wake of the attack

Police officers help injured victims of the suicide bomb attack to a hospital in Peshawar

Volunteers carry the coffin of a man, killed in the suicide bombing inside a mosque, at a hospital, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday

Security officials and rescue workers search for bodies at the site of suicide bombing in Peshawar on Monday

The impact of the explosion collapsed the roof of the mosque, which caved in and injured many, according to Zafar Khan, a local police officer

The attacker appeared to have passed through several barricades manned by security forces to get into the 'Red Zone' compound that houses police and counter-terrorism offices in the volatile northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.

'It was a suicide bombing,' Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters. Many of the 170 wounded people were in critical condition, he said.

The bombing happened a day before an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Islamabad to initiate talks on unlocking funding for the South Asian country's economy, which is enduring a balance of payments crisis.

Cash-strapped Pakistan faces a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial instalment of 1.1 billion US dollars (888.5 million) from the IMF - part of its six billion dollar (4.9 billion) bailout package - to avoid default.

Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled in the past months.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims.

He also vowed 'stern action' against those who were behind the attack.

'The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable,' Sharif said.

'This is no less than an attack on Pakistan. The nation is overwhelmed by a deep sense of grief. I have no doubt terrorism is our foremost national security challenge.'

A man mourns for a dead relative, who was killed in the suicide bomb attack on Monday

Rescue workers extract the body of a victim of the mosque blast as they desperately search for survivors underneath the rubble

People gathered around the damaged buildings to help look for survivors in the hours after the explosion

The Prime Minister appealed for members of his own party to donate blood to help survivors.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the bombing, calling it a 'terrorist suicide attack' in a tweet online.

Khan wrote: 'My prayers & condolences go to victims families.

'It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.'

Last April, a mosque in Imam Saheb was the target of another bombing, which killed dozens in Sunni Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque.

Injured people are being carried to ambulances at the site of the suicide bomb attack in Peshawar on Monday

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the victims

Some worshippers are being treated outside the mosque while others in critical condition are being rushed to hospital

In the capital Islamabad Police issued a security high-alert and said security at all entry and exit points to the city had been increased

In the capital, Islamabad Police issued a security high-alert and said security at all entry and exit points to the city had been increased.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years.

It seeks the stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of their members who are in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that it has longed used as its base.

The suicide bombing had catastrophic affects on the mosque and its worshippers and has caused the roof to collapse

Brave onlookers and survivors risked their lives to help save their fellow worshippers

The building falling apart after the suicide bomb attack on Monday

The government's truce with the TTP ended as Pakistan was still contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as one third of the country.

Mohmand, of the militant organization, said a fighter carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, who was widely known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, and was killed in neighbouring Afghanistan's Paktika province in August 2022.

Sharif's government came to power last April after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif have dismissed Khan's claims.
The United Kingdom has been given its worst ever score in a global corruption report, which blamed public spending and ministerial misconduct.

The closely watched study by anti-graft organisation Transparency International said most of the world's countries were failing to fight corruption, finding 95 percent have made little or no progress since 2017.

The report ranks countries on a scale from a 'highly corrupt' 0 to a 'very clean' 100. Denmark is seen as the least corrupt this year with 90 points, and Finland and New Zealand both follow closely at 87. Somalia ranked worst, with 12 points.

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, was given a score of 73 - placing it 18th on the list, alongside Belgium and Japan - its lowest score since the index began in 1995.

The closely watched study by anti-graft organisation Transparency International said most of the world's countries were failing to fight corruption, finding 95 percent have made little or no progress since 2017. Pictured: A map showing how countries were ranked in the report

Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures the perception of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, found that governments hampered by corruption lack the capacity to protect the people, while public discontent is more likely to turn into violence.

'Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict - and endanger people everywhere,' said Delia Ferreira Rubio, the chairperson of Transparency International.

'The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few,' she added.

Strong democratic institutions and regard for human rights made the top countries some of the most peaceful in the world, the report said.

However, the report also found that while western Europe remains the top-scoring region (a 66 average), some of its countries are showing worrying signs of decline.

The United Kingdom dropped five points to 73 - its lowest ever score - and fell from 11th place in 2021 (when it had 78 points) to 18th in 2022.

The report said a number of scandals from public spending to lobbying, as well as revelations of ministerial misconduct, have highlighted woeful inadequacies in the country's political integrity systems.

Public trust in Britain's politics is also worryingly low, it said.

A recent flash point has seen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sack Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs.

Last year, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned after a string of scandals resulted in over 50 ministers - including Sunak and Zahawi - quitting government.

This led to Liz Truss being chosen as the next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, who herself resigned just 49 days in to her tenure, before being replaced by Sunak in October. He now says he is taking steps to clean up the government.

Public trust in Britain's politics is worryingly low, Transparency International's report said. A recent flash point has seen Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sack Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi (left) for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs. Meanwhile, Baroness Michelle Mone (right) is under investigation by the National Crime Agency as part of a fraud investigation into a Covid supplies company

UK's Corruption Perceptions Index scores since 2012 Year / Score / Rank 2022 - 73 - 18 2021 - 78 - 11 2020 - 77 - 11 2019 - 77 - 12 2018 - 80 - 11 2017 - 82 - 8 2016 - 81 - 7 2015 - 81 - 7 2014 - 78 - 7 2013 - 76 - 8 2012 - 74 - 8 Advertisement

In terms of public spending scandals, questions have been raised in particular over the government's procurement of PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was reported last week that a further 6billion of taxpayer's money was 'wasted' on Covid-era equipment in 2022, meaning Department of Health has lost 14.9billion on over-priced, faulty or unused PPE, tests and drugs since the pandemic began.

In one case, Baroness Michelle Mone is under investigation by the National Crime Agency as part of a fraud investigation into a Covid supplies company.

The report described the UK's score as having 'dropped significantly' since 2021.

'This sharp fall in the UKs score is a powerful indictment of a recent decline in standards in government and controls over the use of taxpayer money. These findings should set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street,' said Daniel Bruce, Chief Executive of Transparency International UK.

'The underlying data clearly indicate that business executives and other experts are concerned about insufficient controls on the abuse of public office and increasingly view corruption and bribery as a real issue in Britain. This is the strongest signal yet that slipping standards are being noticed on the world stage'

Transparency International UK called on the British government to take three key steps to improve its CPI score for 2023.

These included supporting the Public Service (Integrity and Ethics) Bill - currently in the House of Lords - appointing an influential anti-corruption champion, and protecting the taxpayer's money by disclosing all Covid-19 'VIP lane' transactions and by introducing new rules around government emergency contracting powers.

'The UK's sharp fall paints a bleak, if not unexpected picture. The good news is that changes can be made to reverse the decline,' Bruce continued.

'Restoring the confidence of business to begin rebuilding Britain's CPI score will not be easy  it demands comprehensive action as well as words in order to make good on the Prime Minister's commitment to lead a government of integrity and accountability.'

Countries like Switzerland, at 82, and the Netherlands, which scored 80 points, are showing signs of decline amidst concerns over weak integrity and lobbying regulations - even though their scores remain high compared to other nations.

In eastern Europe, which with central Asia scored an average of 35, corruption is seen as remaining rampant as many countries reached historic lows.

Russia in particular was highlighted as a glaring example of corruption's impact on peace and stability.

The report ranks countries on a scale from a 'highly corrupt' 0 to a 'very clean' 100. Denmark is seen as the least corrupt this year with 90 points. Ukraine scored 33 points, but the report noted the country was taking steps to fight corruption, as it also fights Russia's invasion. Pictured: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a visit to Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, 30 January 2023

The country's invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago was a stark reminder of the threat that corruption and the absence of government accountability pose for global peace and security, the report said.

It added that kleptocrats in Russia, which is at 28 points, have amassed great fortunes by pledging loyalty to President Vladimir Putin in exchange for profitable government contracts and protection of their economic interests.

'The absence of any checks on Putin's power allowed him to pursue his geopolitical ambitions with impunity,' the report concluded. 'This attack destabilized the European continent, threatening democracy, and has killed tens of thousands.'

Before the invasion, Ukraine, which scored 33 points, had a low score but was undertaking important reforms and steadily improving.

Even after the outbreak of the war, the country has continued to prioritise anti-corruption reforms.

However, wars disrupt normal processes and exacerbate risks, the report pointed out, allowing corrupt actors to pocket funds meant for recovery. Earlier this month investigations exposed alleged war profiteering by several senior officials.

The index rated 180 countries and territories. Somalia was at the bottom with 12 points; South Sudan tied with Syria for second-to-last with 13.

The report also pointed out how after decades of conflict, South Sudan is in a major humanitarian crisis with more than half of the population facing acute food insecurity - and corruption is exacerbating the situation.

In Yemen, with a score of 16, where complaints of corruption helped spark civil war eight years ago, the report said that the state has collapsed, leaving two-thirds of the population without sufficient food in what has become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

As a region, sub-Saharan Africa scored the worst average with 32. The Middle East and North Africa scored an average of 38, the Americas 43 and Asia Pacific 45.

Only eight countries improved last year, among them Ireland with 77 points, South Korea with 63, Armenia at 46, and Angola at 33.

Compiled since 1995, the index is calculated using 13 different data sources that provide perceptions of public sector corruption from businesspeople and country experts. Sources include the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and private risk and consulting companies.
Ministers have promised a crackdown after a surge in the number of affairs between prison staff and inmates - with criminals exploiting illicit relationships to smuggle contraband into jails.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of workers exposed for inappropriate relationships since 2017 to more than 40 a year, according to figures released under Freedom of Information laws.

Better external security, such as x-rays, sniffer dogs and baggage checks, has made criminals more likely to try to corrupt staff to bring in contraband such as mobile phones, which can be worth 1,000 behind bars.

Insiders say offenders try to identify and target officers' weaknesses, such as debts and inexperience.

Ayshea Gunn was pictured kissing inmate Khuram Razaq in HMP Berwyn near Wrexham. She was later jailed

One source told the Telegraph: 'It normally starts with the blurring of boundaries, small requests around being out of the cell for a bit longer or an extra breakfast pack.'

A new anti-corruption unit involving 20 police officers from regional organised crime units seeks to snare inmates and the staff they have enticed to bring in contraband - and sometimes even help run their criminal empires.

Staff are also receiving training to identify tactics prisoners use to lure them into relationships which can make them vulnerable to blackmail.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab vowed that the 'newly bolstered Counter-Corruption Team' would continue to 'root out' corrupt officers.

The unit now has 140 staff and has carried out 'hundreds' of investigations into suspect staff and prisoners.

One of its first successes saw prison health worker Megan Woodham jailed for six years for sneaking ketamine into HMP Risley for drugs baron Daniel Doran.

Prison nurse Elyse Hibbs, 25, had a 'fling' with 'manipulative' inmate Harri Pullen, 25

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured today) has vowed that the 'newly bolstered Counter-Corruption Team' would continue to 'root out' corrupt officers

Jurors also heard the crooked jail worker also used her Wigan home as a 'safehouse' for a wider, multi-million pound cocaine ring.

In another notorious case at HMP Berwyn near Wrexham, three prison officers were jailed for affairs with inmates over four years, with some caught having sex in cells.

The number of female prison staff has risen by 27 per cent to 15,000 since 2017 as part of a diversity drive, with women now accounting for 42 per cent of the total.

Last year, it emerged there had been a sixfold increase in the number of prison officers convicted on corruption charges since the specialist investigation unit was set up.

In 14 months to January 2022, there were 65 convictions of staff out of 143 cases, with 42 jailed.

There were just ten successful prosecutions of 123 cases in the year after the unit was formed with 29 staff in April 2019.

Offences include supplying Class A drugs to prisoners and smuggling in banned items.

John Podmore, former governor of HMP Belmarsh, said: 'It's the tip of the iceberg. The number of investigators is key. The more you have, the more you'll catch.'

A Prison Service spokesman said: The overwhelming majority of Prison Service staff are hard-working and dedicated, and we will not hesitate to punish those who break the rules.
French workers took to the streets today as they protest against Emmanuel Macron's plan to push the state pension age from 62 to 64.

Transport blockages and mass strikes are threatening to bring the country to a standstill for the second time this month over the policy.

The situation contrasts dramatically with the UK, where ministers are currently mulling speeding up the increase in the retirement age to 68 by the mid-2030s - even though life expectancy is lower on most metrics.

Mr Macron has vowed to push ahead with his drive to reduce the burden on state pensions despite a million people being expected to join protests. Under the proposals the minimum age for claiming the full state pension - assuming you have accrued enough working years - would increase to 64 from 2030.

Some 11,000 police have been mobilised across the country, with 4,000 deployed in Paris.

French workers took to the streets today as they protest against Emmanuel Macron's plan to push the state pension age from 62 to 64. Pictured, French high school students block the access to the Lycee Turgot in Paris

Transport blockages and mass strikes are threatening to bring France to a standstill for the second time this month over the policy

Mr Macron (left) has vowed to push ahead with his pension reforms despite the protests. Meanwhile in the UK, Jeremy Hunt (right) is said to be pushing for the state pension age to rise to 68 by 2035 - potentially affecting huge numbers currently in their early 50s and 40s

Analysis by think-tank the King's Fund has found that life expectancy at birth was 85.3 years for women and 79.2 for men in France in 2020. The equivalent figures for Brits were 82.4 and 78.4 years.

Most Paris metro and suburban rail services are severely restricted and just one in three high-speed trains are expected to run.

On January 19, some 1.1million took to the streets to rally against the shake-up - the largest protests since the last major round of pension reform in 2010.

Meanwhile, in the UK - where the system is slightly different - ministers are engaged in a furious split over making millions more Brits work until they are 68.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is said to be pushing for the state pension age to rise to 68 by 2035 - potentially affecting the retirements of around 10million people currently between 45 and 55.

The dramatic move could help with the battle to stabilise the government finances in the wake of Covid and the Ukraine war.

However, ministers have been warned they are 'playing with fire' - and Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride is believed to be pushing for a later date.

The government announced its intention to raise the retirement age to 68 by the end of the 2030s after the Cridland review was carried out in 2017.

But Mr Stride is said to be worried that advances in life expectancy have fallen short of the predictions used in that study - meaning that people will not enjoy as long in retirement.

That would suggest that the schedule should actually be slowed down, rather than brought forward to 2035.

Analysis by think-tank the King's Fund has found that life expectancy at birth was 85.3 years for women and 79.2 for men in France in 2020.

The equivalent figures for Brits were 82.4 and 78.4 years.
Zoran Milanovic said Western support for Ukraine would only 'prolong the war'

Ukraine's foreign ministry criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as 'unacceptable'.

In remarks on Monday detailing his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic said it was 'clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine'.

'We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine,' Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

Milanovic on Monday declared it is 'mad' to think that Russia can be defeated in a conventional war and criticised western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons.

Croatian president Zoran Milanovic has railed against the West's provision of military aid and weapons to Ukraine, despite his nation being a part of NATO

The US are to send some 31 of their M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, US President Biden announced on 25 January 2023. The move comes as Germany agreed to send its Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries with stocks of Leopard 2s to do the same

Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital Zagreb that the military aid provided by Western nations to Kyiv is futile and will only extend the conflict.

'I am against sending any lethal arms there, it prolongs the war,' Milanovic said of the West's bid to help Ukraine end Putin's illegal and unprovoked invasion.

'What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is mad,' he added.

Milanovic also declared that Crimea - the peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 - would never be returned to Kyiv.

What the West is doing about Ukraine 'is deeply immoral because there is no solution (to the war),' Milanovic told reporters during a visit to military barracks in the eastern town of Petrinja.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to restore Ukrainian rule over Crimea, arguing the peninsula belongs to Ukraine and that the annexation was not recognised by most countries.

Milanovic won the presidential election in Croatia in 2019 as a left-leaning liberal candidate, a counterpoint to the conservative government currently in power in the European Union and NATO member state.

But he has since made a turn to populist nationalism and criticised western policies towards Russia as well as the Balkans.

Milanovic has built a reputation of being a supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin, something he has routinely denied.

Yet in recent months, he has openly opposed the admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO, and has also refused to host training of Ukrainian troops in Croatia.

In December, Croatian lawmakers rejected a proposal that the country join a European Union mission in support of the Ukrainian military, reflecting deep divisions between Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

After months of hesitation, the US said last week it would send 31 of its 70-tonne Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine.

Milanovic (left) is seen shaking hands with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in December 2020

Milanovic today declared: 'It is clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) has vowed to restore Ukrainian rule over Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video-linked meeting with the Vologda region governor at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on January 30, 2023

Berlin will initially supply at least 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine (file image), allowing other nations with stocks of Leopard 2s to do the same

READ MORE: Vladimir Putin is set on 'big war' with NATO to bring back the Iron Curtain says top Russian political scientist A high-ranking Ukrainian official said it is 'no secret' that Russia are preparing for a new wave by February 24 - the first anniversary of their invasion Advertisement

Germany announced it would dispatch 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries to do the same.

The ramping up of military aid in the form of heavy armour came after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to send a battalion of Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv.

But the move was hotly contested by Milanovic despite his allegiance to all three countries via NATO.

He appeared to complain that the United States could send military aid to Kyiv without repercussions, while European nations are forced to carry the burden.

'From 2014 to 2022, we are watching how someone provokes Russia with the intention of starting this war,' he said today.

'What is the goal of this war? A war against a nuclear power that is at war in another country? Is there a conventional way to defeat such a country?'

'Who pays the price? Europe. America pays the least. A year has passed and we are only now talking about tanks,' Milanovic continued.

'Not a single American tank will go to Ukraine in a year. Only German tanks will be sent there.'

Although the presidential post is mostly ceremonial in Croatia, Milanovic is formally the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Ukraine had been relying on Soviet-era T-72 tanks but its military will be modernised with the shipment of Nato vehicles

His latest anti-western outbursts have embarrassed and irritated the country's government which has fully supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia's aggression.

Milanovic criticised Western countries for using double standards in international politics, saying Russia would invoke what he called the international community's 'annexation of Kosovo' as an excuse for taking parts of Ukraine.

Milanovic was referring to Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 following a 1998-1999 war in which NATO countries bombed rump-Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.

'We recognised Kosovo against the will of a state (Serbia) to which Kosovo belonged,' he said, cautioning that he was not questioning Kosovo's independence but the concept of Western double standards.

The Croatian president's stance against continued Western support for Ukraine came as Russian officials today warned their country is on the 'verge of a direct collision with the US and NATO'.

Russia today warned it is on the 'verge of a direct collision with the US and NATO' and it is 'very possible' there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 due to Washington's efforts to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Moscow in Ukraine (launch of a Russian Sarmat nuclear-capable missile is pictured)

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington's decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks (pictured) was an 'extremely destructive step' which 'escalated' the war in Ukraine

They said it is 'very possible' there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 due to Washington's efforts to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Moscow in Ukraine.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington's decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks was an 'extremely destructive step' which 'escalated' the war in Ukraine.

Ryabkov claimed Washington's apparent insistence to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Russia means that the future of the nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Moscow is in doubt.

He warned that the last remaining pillar of the treaty could therefore expire in 2026 without a replacement.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. (PTI)

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the BJP and said that he would "accept death but will never join hands with the BJP again".

He accused the BJP of deliberately levelling charges and implicating Lalu Prasad Yadav in multiple cases and termed his decision to revive his alliance with the party a "mistake".

"I would rather choose to die than to get into an alliance with the BJP. These are bogus things. The question of returning to the BJP doesnt arise. Dont you all know how they implicated him (Tejashwi) and his father in cases", the chief minister said, pointing at his deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav who was standing at his side.

Mr Nitish Kumar also mocked the BJP for claiming that it would win 36 out of 40 seats in Bihar during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He said: "They are worried. They will not get anything this time. Earlier our supporters, including Muslims, used to give them votes because we were in an alliance, they should remember all this".

He sought to remind the BJP of the fewer number of seats it won in 2015 when the BJP and JD(U) fought the Lok Sabha polls separately. He also claimed that the BJP now was very different from what it used to be when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

Mr Kumars comments come a day after the BJP called him an "unpopular leader" and said that it would not get into an alliance with him in the future.

Earlier, while speaking on the issue, BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal said: "We have sought to stamp out rumors among our party cadre about such realignment. Everyone is aware of his nature and tendency to swing like a pendulum. We are not going to be cheated again".

The BJP leader claimed his party was aiming to win about 35 out of the states 40 seats in Lok Sabha polls. He referred to the 2020 results, claiming that the poor performance in the Assembly elections was due to Nitish Kumars falling graph and unpopularity.

The BJP lost power in August last year when Nitish Kumar snapped ties with NDA and forged an alliance with the RJD, Congress, and five other Opposition parties in Bihar. The move prompted the BJP to accuse Nitish Kumar of violating the peoples mandate for his national goals.
Nicola Sturgeon struggled to explain her policy on violent transgender prisoners last night as she was quizzed about why she barred a rapist from a women's prison despite previously allowing in a child sex attacker.

The First Minister squirmed and deflected as she was asked why she intervened to block the transfer of Isla Bryson last week, having done nothing in the case of 6ft 5in Katie Dolatowski.

Back in 2018, the 22-year-old, who was born male but identifies as female, assaulted a 10-year-old girl in the lavatory of Morrisons supermarket in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Her transfer to Cornton Vale  the same all-female prison from which Bryson has just been removed - sparked protests in December. But she remains at the unit.

But twice asked by Channel 4 about why she did nothing in that case, the First Minister was unable to provide an answer, saying: 'I'm not going to comment on decisions that have been taken in the past by the prison service on the basis of risk assessments that they have carried out.'

The First Minister squirmed and deflected as she was asked why she intervened to block the transfer of Isla Bryson last week, having done nothing in the case of 6ft 5in Katie Dolatowski.

But twice asked by Channel 4 about why she did nothing in that case, the First Minister was unable to provide an answer, saying: 'I'm not going to comment on decisions that have been taken in the past by the prison service on the basis of risk assessments that they have carried out.'

'We have seen in recent days and, you know, that's just a fact of life, a heightened degree of public concern around these issues and what we have done is set out clarity that, in many respect, is giving clarity about decisions that the prison services in all likelihood would have reached through the normal procedures anyway. And I think that is important and I think it is the right thing to do, pending the broader review that is underway.'

It was the second interview this week in which the First Minister has struggled to explain her policy on trans prisoners.

Last night JK Rowling took another swipe at her after she stumbled her way through an awkward ITV interview.

The SNP leader admitted that trans women will be treated differently to born women, which prompted the Harry Potter author to tear further holes in the explanation.

JK Rowling has taken another swipe at Nicola Sturgeon as the Scottish First Minister stumbled her way through an awkward TV interview on trans offenders being put in women's prisons

The Harry Potter author took to Twitter to tear further holes in the Scottish Minister's explanation over trans offenders being treated differently to those who are born women

She tweeted: 'I don't know about you, but excluding women from women's prisons just because they've got penises, male pattern baldness and have committed a couple of rapes seems awfully TERFy to me.'

The term 'Terf' is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist and is defined as a person whose views on gender identity are considered hostile to transgender people.

Ms Rowling, 57, has herself been called a Terf over previous tweets about gender and sex, which some deemed as transphobic.

Her latest Twitter statement comes just days after an extraordinary attack on Nicola Sturgeon in which she branded her Orwellian, after the First Minister accused critics of her transgender Bill of being misogynistic, homophobic and racist.

Ms Rowling claims that Ms Sturgeon must now also move Dolatowski  who tried to covertly film, abduct and rape schoolchildren.
He's been banned by the Church of England until 2030 for the 2018 complaint

These included sharing an anti-Semitic article entitled 9/11: Israel did it

Rev Dr Stephen Sizer was found guilty of 4 acts of anti-Semitism by a tribunal

A Church of England vicar who peddled an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Israel was behind the 9/11 terror attacks has been barred from ministry for 12 years following a disciplinary hearing.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews made 11 allegations against the Rev Dr Stephen Sizer which claimed his conduct in incidents between 2005-2018 was 'unbecoming or inappropriate' in that he 'provoked and offended' the Jewish community and/or engaged in anti-Semitic activity.

The tribunal found he engaged in anti-Semitic conduct with respect to suggesting Israel's responsibility for 9/11.

In total, the tribunal found Dr Sizer's conduct was 'unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Order' in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community and/or engaged in antisemitic activity with respect to four out of 11 allegations.

Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer, 68, has been prohibited licensed ministry until 2030

Four out of eleven allegations against the former vicar were upheld by the tribunal

Dr Sizer, former vicar of Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey, admitted the 'factual basis' of all allegations against him but disputed that his conduct was unbecoming or inappropriate and denied provoking and offending the Jewish Community and/or engaging in anti-Semitic activity.

He was given a 'penalty judgment' under the Clergy Disciplinary Measure 2003.

This will prohibit the retired vicar from licensed ministry in the Church of England for 12 years - which will take into account time served since the Board of Deputies of British Jews 2018 complaint.

This means he will be free to practise again in 2030.

Throughout the process, the former vicar of Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey denied anti-Semitic behaviour but admitted the factual basis of all 11 claims.

In a rare move, Dr Sizer chose to hold his tribunal in public in a bid to clear his name, arguing that his actions were political and aimed at the state of Israel, not Jewish people.

However, the tribunal eventually found that Dr Sizer's conduct had been 'unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Order' in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community and/or engaged in anti-Semitic activity with respect to four out of 11 allegations.

In 2006, Dr Sizer met 'senior Hezbollah commander' Sheikh Nabil Kaouk in a secret location near Tyre, Lebanon - however he claimed he did not instigate the meeting.

Regardless, the tribunal decided it was 'unacceptable' for an ordained minister to make an 'unauthorised visit' to a senior commander of the military wing of Hezbollah other than in an official capacity and found Dr Sizer's conduct unbecoming and inappropriate in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community.

It also concluded, however, that he was not engaging in anti-Semitic activity.

Dr Sizer met the senior Hezbollah commander Sheikh Nabil Kaouk in summer 2006 (pictured together) and is accused of promoting the idea that Israel was behind the September 11 attacks by posting an article entitled: '9/11: Israel did it'

Dr Sizer denied his actions were anti-Semitic arguing they were political and aimed at the state of Israel, not Jewish people. (Above, Dr Sizer in Tehran in 2014)

In September 2010, Dr Sizer posted a link to an article entitled The Mother of All Coincidences, which pushed the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an Israeli plot.

The tribunal said an ordained minister should not have given 'the oxygen of publicity' to such an article and found his conduct was unbecoming and inappropriate in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community, although not engaged in anti-Semitic activity.

Dr Sizer was also accused of promoting the idea that Israel was behind the September 11 attacks by posting an article entitled: '9/11: Israel did it' in 2015.

Alongside the article he wrote that it 'raised so many questions'.

The tribunal rejected the vicar's assertion that the article raised 'serious issues' that needed to be talked about and labelled it 'virulently anti-Semitic', fulfilling 'all the tropes of antisemitism'.

It concluded that Dr Sizer's conduct was unbecoming on the grounds that he provoked and offended the Jewish community and that by posting the link he was engaging in anti-Semitic activity.

The ex-vicar was also accused of anti-Semitism for attending a range of events in the same period where attendees included Holocaust denier Fred Tobin and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist Michael Hoffman.

In respect of these seven allegations, the tribunal found it was not proved that Dr Sizer's conduct was unbecoming or inappropriate for an ordained minister nor that he was engaging in anti-Semitic activity.

Speaking in his defence at his tribunal, Dr Sizer claimed his views had been 'routinely misrepresented and distorted' and that he 'repeatedly and unequivocally repudiated racism, antisemitism and Holocaust denial in his lectures, books and website articles.'

Commenting on the tribunal's findings, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: 'I note the findings of the Bishop's Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Winchester regarding the Revd Dr Stephen Sizer and his subsequent prohibition from licensed ministry in the Church of England. It is clear that the behaviour of Stephen Sizer has undermined Christian-Jewish relations, giving encouragement to conspiracy theories and tropes that have no place in public Christian ministry and the church.

'I renew my call for the highest possible standards among ordained ministers of the Church of England in combatting antisemitism of all kinds.'

MailOnline has reached out to Dr Sizer's representatives for comment.
A huge brawl broke out at a shopping centre in Alice Springs - the latest shocking spate of violence to strike the troubled Outback town.

Footage recorded at Yeperenye Shopping Centre on Tuesday shows a group of young people throwing chairs and chasing after each other to exchange blows.

The violence sent staff and shoppers scurrying for cover as it spread through the busy mall.

It is unclear what sparked the chaos or exactly who was involved - though dozens appeared to be caught up in the violence.

Footage recorded at Yeperenye Shopping Centre shows a group of young people throwing chairs and chasing after each other to exchange blows

It is unclear what sparked the chaos or exactly who was involved - though dozens appeared to be caught up in the violence

Daily Mail Australia has contacted NT Police for comment.

The incident is just the latest in a string of violent attacks in the Outback town, which is plagued by gangs of youths trashing businesses and robbing homes.

Partial alcohol bans are also in place in the town - despite grumbles from locals.

'No Grog today but this aint going away, one person posted on social media.

Another wrote: Our town is at breaking point!

What an absolute disgrace. The AFP needs to be brought in to restore order, this is absolutely unacceptable, a third said.

Other locals stated they are now too terrified to visit the area.

Sorry store owners of Yeperenye - no go zone for me until things improve - just not worth the trauma - so sad for everyone, one person wrote.

Another added: Seeing and hearing about Alice, I'm so close to cancelling all my plans to visit in April. l have elderly people with me and I don't think I want them to be confronted with this.'

On Monday afternoon in a separate incident, a teenager was set upon by axe-wielding youths in a horrific broad daylight attack.

Alice Springs Hospital worker Namfon Fon, who moved to the town from Thailand to be with her partner, posted a warning on Facebook following the assault of her son near Sammy's Pizza.

Ms Fon's 16-year-old son was walking in the Alice suburb of Braitling when three young persons attacked him.

'They have an axe and hit him multiple times in his face, stomach, leg and other parts of his body,' she said.

The violence sent staff and shoppers scurrying for cover as it spread through the busy mall

Alice Springs police have confirmed to Daily Mail Australia a teenage boy who allegedly struck Ms Fon's son with 'an edged weapon' has since been arrested.

Disturbing video of the assault shows three young males  one wielding an axe or hatchet  laying into the teenager, hitting and kicking him as he cowers in a park.

Video of the attack, which is believed to have taken place in Rhonda Diano Oval, shows two males in black T-shirts and an axe-wielder grunting as they beat the 16-year-old.

Ms Fon said it was 'very sad to end up in ED after you get attacked by your own community'.

'This town has become a nightmare for everybody,' she said. 'Stay safe.'

Despite violence and crime being part of Alice Springs life, the situation has worsened in the 10 months since the Northern Territory Government lifted alcohol restrictions.

A campaign by a local baker and activist Darren Clarke gained national headlines this week, forcing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make a flying visit and impose partial alcohol bans.

During the brief visit to the town last week, Mr Albanese also promised $48.8 million over two years for programs to address the crime problem.

The incident is just the latest in a string of violent attacks in the Outback town

Meanwhile, police have charged two males for a home invasion of a 75-year-old woman who was robbed while being threatened with a blunt weapon.

Alice Springs Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Rob Kent said it was 'absolutely disgusting that vulnerable members of our community have been preyed upon in this manner'.

A child care centre was also smashed up, forcing it to close down while forensic police attended the crime scene and tradespeople repaired the damage.

This comes a day after video emerged of a town pub battlefront on one of Alice Springs's main streets last Saturday night with locals under siege by belligerent teenagers and adults.
Preston Hemphill has been suspended but was spared criminal charges

The only white officer involved in the horrific beating and death of Tyre Nichols was 'shielded and protected' by the Memphis Police Department, the family's attorneys have claimed.

Preston Hemphill was suspended with pay pending a hearing, but has so far been spared the criminal charges filed against his five police colleagues.

Hemphill, 26, who joined the force in 2018, wore the body-camera that captured the first of four videos released by authorities on Friday of the traffic stop and violent confrontation that followed.

In the video, Hemphill is seen 'violently pulling Nichols from his car while hitting him on the ground with a taser, later saying, "I hope they stomp his a**" after Nichols ran away', the family's lawyers said.

Preston Hemphill has been suspended with pay pending a hearing, but was spared criminal charges

Hemphill then said on the radio to a dispatcher, 'Taser was deployed,' later telling another officer later, 'One of the prongs hit the b*****d.'

The officer was not present at the second scene where Nichols was brutally punched, kicked and beaten while lying defenseless on the floor.

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers who are defending the Nichols family, slammed the police for appearing to give Hemphill special treatment, the only white officer involved.

They said in a joint statement yesterday: 'The news today from Memphis officials that officer Preston Hemphill was reportedly relieved of duty weeks ago, but not yet terminated or charged is extremely disappointing.

'Why is his identity and the role he played in Tyre's death just now coming to light?

'We have asked from the beginning that the Memphis Police Department be transparent with the family and the community  this news seems to indicate that they haven't risen to the occasion.

Tyre Nichols, 29, was brutally beaten like a 'human pinata' by five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers , who were all African American, on January 7 and died three days later in the hospital from kidney failure and cardiac arrest

Five officers were fired on January 20 before being arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct on January 26

Ben Crump, pictured alongside Mr Nichols' mother RowVaughn Wells, has called for Hemphill to be charged

Protesters march over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police

'It certainly begs the question why the white officer involved in this brutal attack was shielded and protected from the public eye, and to date, from sufficient discipline and accountability.'

A seventh officer who was not immediately identified has also been relieved of duty without pay, the police department said.

Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has said an unspecified number of officers besides the five initially implicated remained under investigation for policy infractions stemming from the arrest of Nichols.

The five officers dismissed on January 20 - Justin Smith, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean - were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression in the fatal beating of Nichols.

Lee Gerald, Hemphill's attorney, said: 'As per departmental regulations officer Hemphill activated his bodycam.

Shocking bodycam footage shows the suspect being brutally beaten by a team of violent cops

The body cam and surveillance footage of his January 7 interaction with five Memphis police officers was released on Friday night

'He was never present at the second scene. He is cooperating with officials in this investigation.'

Three members of the Memphis Fire Department who responded to the fatal police confrontation were also dismissed on Monday after investigators found he was beaten and left handcuffed on the ground without medical attention for nearly 15 minutes.

According to a fire department statement, emergency medical technicians Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge failed to assess Nichols' condition when they arrived, while fire Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker, who drove them to the scene, remained in her vehicle.

An internal review of their conduct found that all three fire department employees 'violated numerous (fire department) policies and protocols,' the agency said in a statement issued by Fire Chief Gina Sweat.

According to a fire department timeline of its response to an incident originally dispatched as 'a person pepper sprayed,' Long and Sandridge 'failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment' when they reached Nichols at 8.41pm, minutes after the beating.

JaMichael Sandridge (left) and Robert Long, both EMTs with the fire department, were fired on Monday after they failed to attend to the dying Tyre Nichols

Lieutenant Michelle Williams was also fired on Monday night: She remained in the fire truck when they arrived on scene

Instead, after an initial 'interaction' with Nichols, the two EMTs called for an ambulance team, who arrived on the scene at 8.55pm and 'initiated patient care,' the fire department said in its statement. Nichols was transported to a hospital a short time later.

The 'actions or inactions' of Long, Sandridge and Whitaker 'on the scene that night to not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department,' Sweat said.

In addition to the seven police officers and three fire department personnel implicated in the Nichols encounter, two Shelby County Sheriff's deputies have also been relieved of duty pending an internal review, Sheriff Floyd Bonner said last Friday, after the video was released.

The Shelby County district attorney's investigation is examining the roles played by all individuals involved in the Nichols traffic stop and its immediate aftermath, including Hemphill Memphis Fire Department personnel and 'those responsible for documenting the incident,' the office said in a statement.

The specialized Scorpion police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with murder in the case was disbanded on Saturday by the city.

It was not immediately clear if the sixth and seventh officers under investigation belonged to that unit.

Davis has said investigators have not substantiated the claim Nichols was driving recklessly when he was pulled over, as some of the officers involved asserted at the time.
Dog owners have been told to stay 'vigilant' after new cases of a life-threatening canine disease have been reported across Britain.

Veterinary specialist clinic Anderson Moores has warned owners after two new cases of Alabama rot were reported this year.

It comes after a Berkshire couple were left 'heartbroken' when their dog died after contracting the deadly disease.

Grace, a three-year-old Labrador, died after catching cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) - better know as Alabama rot.

Grace, a three-year-old Labrador, died after catching cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) - better know as Alabama rot

All breeds are at risk, but those which have been worst hit are Labradors, English Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Whippets, Flatcoated Retrievers, Hungarian Vizlas and Border Collies.

What is Alabama rot? A Labrador called Lulu who caught the disease and suffered skin lesions in 2017 Alabama rot, otherwise known as Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy (CRGV), is a disease that affects dogs. It damages the blood vessels in the skin and kidneys, which causes visible sores on the skin and can lead to severe organ dysfunction and ultimately kidney failure. What causes Alabama rot? The cause of the disease is currently unknown, though research is on-going. Since December 2012, a small number of cases have been seen throughout the UK. Most reports come from pet owners who walk their dogs in the countryside, and most cases are reported during winter and spring. Generally, cases are rare in the summer months compared to the colder months. What are the symptoms of Alabama rot? Skin sores, visible swelling, red patch or skin defects not caused by a known injury. These skin lesions typically appear below the knee or elbow, and occasionally on the face or at the bottom of the chest or abdomen.

Changes in appetite - reduced appetite, drinking more, vomiting and lethargy are signs of acute kidney injury. The majority of visible skin lesions will not be caused by Alabama rot disease, and most cases of kidney failure will be a result of another cause. Can I do anything to avoid Alabama rot? While it's extremely difficult to give advice about how to avoid Alabama rot, the RSPCA recommends washing off all mud following a wet and muddy walk, especially through woodland. What should I do if my dog is showing signs of Alabama rot? If you're concerned that your dog may be suffering, we urge that you contact your vet immediately for further advice. If it is Alabama rot, early recognition and aggressive management are likely to have the best results. Source: RSPCA Advertisement

Simone, the owner of Grace the Labrador, said: 'Grace was like a daughter to us, so it isn't easy to accept she's gone and gone so suddenly and tragically.

'She was young, only three years old, she was fit and she was powerful but this is such a dangerous disease and everything happens so fast.

'One morning she was a little bit lame and while we were brushing and combing her we discovered a lump on her chest which was very sore.

'We took her straight to our local vets and they gave her pain relief and antibiotics, but the lump grew bigger and she started to decline very quickly.'

Scientists don't know exactly how Alabama rot is caught, or how to prevent or cure it.

Vets have no way of testing for the disease when a dog is alive. It can only be confirmed during a post mortem.

What is known is that the disease was first spotted in greyhounds in the U.S. state of Alabama  hence the name  in the Eighties.

For decades, Britain's dogs were safe.

But in 2012, Alabama Rot took its first UK victim. Since then, increasing numbers of dogs have been killed.

Most cases have been on the south coast of England, but plenty have been confirmed in the North-West.

London's Royal Veterinary College said all breeds are at risk, but those which have been worst hit are Labradors, English Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, Whippets, Flatcoated Retrievers, Hungarian Vizlas, and Border Collies.

Most dogs initially have an unexplained skin lesion or sore which is often below the elbow or knee and may involve the paw.

It may appear as a patch of red skin with or without a defect like an ulcer in the skin.

Dogs can then go on to develop kidney failure and symptoms including vomiting, tiredness and no appetite.

The highest number of confirmed cases have been in Greater Manchester, Dorset, Surrey, Devon and the New Forest.

Anderson Moores veterinarian Josh Walker said: 'We're incredibly sorry to have to confirm Grace was a victim of CRGV.

'We have been at the forefront of research into CRGV for almost a decade and have witnessed first-hand the often-devastating effects of the disease.

'Treatment largely revolves around management of the sudden onset of kidney failure and, sadly, with our current understanding of the disease, is only successful in around 10 per cent of cases.'

'We're advising owners across the country to remain calm but vigilant and seek advice from their local vets if their dog develops unexplained skin lesions.'

Vet Fiona MacDonald, added: 'Walking dogs on muddy ground seems to be the common factor.

'Owners who have been in such areas should hose their dogs down with cold water after every such walk.

'They won't like it, but it might save them.

'There is currently no known cure for Alabama Rot, but the best chance for survival is if the condition is diagnosed early.'

Is there Alabama rot in your area? Is the virus in your area? Reported cases of Alabama rot across Britain in 2022/23 According to Anderson Moores, this is the full list of areas in the UK which have recorded a case of the disease: 2023: Romsey, Hampshire Stanford Dingley, West Berkshire 2022: Ashstead, Surrey Bolton, Manchester Emersons Green, Bristol Godstone, Surrey Kingsbridge, Devon Lambourn, Berkshire Ledbury, Herefordshire Plymouth, Devon St Albans, Hertfordshire Warminster, Wiltshire Wokingham, Berkshire Source: alabama-rot.co.uk Advertisement
Now prosecutors believe suspect murdered victim in bid to fake her own death

She allegedly dumped victim's body in her Mercedes in August last year

hahraban K, 23, is accused of stabbing Khadidja O, also 23, around 50 times

A 23-year-old woman allegedly tracked down her lookalike on social media and murdered her in a bid to fake her own death.

The suspect, identified by police as Shahraban K, is accused of stabbing Algerian beauty blogger Khadidja O 50 times in the German city of Ingolstadt, her face completely disfigured from the number of stab wounds.

Shahraban K, who is also a beauty blogger, then allegedly dumped Khadidja's body in her Mercedes in a ploy to make it look like she was the one who had been murdered in August last year, prosecutors now believe.

German police officers had initially identified the body, located in the parked Mercedes, as Shahraban K, a beautician of Iraqi descent.

But suspicions about the body's identity rose following an autopsy and the victim has since been identified Khadidja, who is also 23 and has the same dark hair and complexion as Shahraban K.

The suspect, identified by police as Shahraban K (pictured), is accused of stabbing an Algerian beauty blogger to death

Algerian beauty blogger Khadidja O (pictured) was stabbed 50 times in the German city of Ingolstadt, her face completely disfigured from the number of stab wounds

Now, prosecutors believe that Shahraban K murdered Khadidja, from the city of Heilbronn, in an attempt to fake her own death and go into hiding because of a 'family dispute'.

The 23-year-old is suspected of setting up fake Instagram accounts to try and meet other women resembling her - and Khadidja fell into her trap.

Shahraban K began speaking to Khadidja online and allegedly offered her a set of beauty products.

The suspect and her boyfriend, named as Sheqir K, 24, then allegedly picked the unsuspecting Khadidja and drove her to a forest in Ingolstadt and stabbed the victim 50 times.

Shahraban K allegedly made a point to disfigure Khadidja's face with the knife in a rouse to make it difficult for investigators and her family to identify the victim.

Shahraban K had told her parents she was going to Ingolstadt to meet her ex-husband but when she didn't return to their Munich home, they went out searching and they found what they believed to be their daughter's body in the back of her Mercedes.

But police later identified the body as Khadidja O and nvestigators were perplexed as to why the victim looked so like Shahraban, who owned the car.

Khadidja (pictured), is also 23 and has the same dark hair and complexion as Shahraban K

But investigators have now looked at Shahraban K's social media and have found that she had been speaking to dozens of women who looked like her in the week before the murder.

Veronika Grieser, an Ingolstadt prosecutor, told the Bild newspaper: 'It has been confirmed that the accused had contacted several women via Instagram before the act who seemed to look similar to her.

'It can be assumed that the suspect wanted to go into hiding, due to internal disputes with her family, and fake her own death.'

A police spokesman said the killing had been carried out for 'base motives'.

The spokesman said: 'During the return journey, the victim was lured out of the vehicle as planned under a pretext and killed in a wooded area with a large number of stabs in the body.

'The accused then continued their journey to Ingolstadt, where the body was found on the evening of Aug 16th. It was found lying in the vehicle.'

Another police spokesperson told the German newspaper: 'The murder weapon has still not been found but the burden of proof is overwhelming.

'The victim was killed with more than 50 stab wounds and her face was badly injured. That was brutal in the extreme.

'It was an extraordinary case that required all the investigators' skills. We don't have a case like this every day, especially with such a spectacular twist. On the day we found the body, we did not expect it to develop like this.'

Shahraban K and Sheqir K were arrested on Friday and they face life in prison if convicted of murder.
This is the shocking moment a Russian couple were detained for speaking out against Vladimir Putin's war while having a family dinner in a restaurant.

Armed officers from the country's national guard handcuffed Olesya Ovchinnikova, 42, and her husband Alexey Ovchinnikov, 40, forcing them to the floor.

Their private conversation was evidently reported to the police by a staff member at restaurant Na drovakh - or On Firewood - in Krasnodar.

After they were handcuffed by the officers, Ovchinnikova defiantly made clear her full support for Ukraine in a video that may see her jailed for up to five years under draconian laws forbidding criticism of Putin's war.

Olesya Ovchinnikova (R), 42, and Alexey Ovchinnikov (L), 40, are pictured on another occasion. Armed officers from the country's national guard handcuffed and arrested them, forcing them on the floor

After they were handcuffed, Ovchinnikova defiantly made clear her full support for Ukraine in a video that may see her jailed for up to five years under draconian laws forbidding criticism of Putin's war

'I'll go all the way,' she said, undaunted, getting up from the floor while handcuffed.

'Hail to Ukraine!

'No, I will not shut my mouth. I won't shut my mouth.

'Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! Glory to Zelensky.!'

Olesya Ovchinnikova and Alexey Ovchinnikov were detained in Krasnodar, Russia for talking together of their support for Ukraine while they ate a restaurant

Olesya Ovchinnikova and Alexey Ovchinnikov are pictured on a family holiday

She mocked the young officer as he filmed the video as evidence against her.

'Bunny, take the film, your mum will be proud of you, you're so ******* good.,' she told him in footage released by the authorities.

'You're a superhero.What else can I say?

'I know you're ashamed [detaining us for this], I know how ******* ashamed you are.

'I know at your young age how ******* ashamed you are of everything you do.'

Restaurant Na drovakh - or On Firewood - in Krasnodar. The couple's private conversation was evidently reported to the police by a staff member

Pictured: Alexey Ovchinnikov and his children. The family were having a private conversation during a family meal when they were arrested

'I'll go all the way,' Olesya Ovchinnikova said, undaunted, getting up from the floor while handcuffed. 'Hail to Ukraine!

The couple - who have two underage daughters - were hauled to a police station after their arrest in the restaurant.

Next day a court detained her husband for 15 days, said the couple's lawyer Alexey Avanesyan.

She was fined 1,000 rubles [12].

But she will also face future action after law enforcement drew up a protocol against her for allegedly discrediting the Russian army with her comments in support of Ukraine.

The maximum penalty is five years in prison.

Olesya Ovchinnikova (L) and Alexey Ovchinnikov (R) were hauled to a police station after their arrest in the restaurant

Alexey Ovchinnikov with his daughter. Ovchinnikov was detained for for 15 days, said the couple's lawyer Alexey Avanesyan. She was fined 1,000 rubles [12], but she will also face future action after law enforcement drew up a protocol against her for allegedly discrediting the Russian army

Putin's former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov said the episode was proof that Russia is sinking into totalitarianism.

'An important difference between authoritarianism and totalitarianism is that in the first case, the public expression of oppositional sentiments can be banned, but no one cares about the personal opinion expressed in private conversations,' he said.

'Under totalitarianism, even words spoken in a personal conversation and not intended for other people's ears are punishable.

'Russia is moving towards totalitarianism.'

He forecast witch-hunts with people blaming anyone they disliked for being anti-war.

'Judging by what happened in the Krasnodar restaurant, anyone can be declared a 'critic of the regime' based only on a private statement of some vigilant citizen'.
The daughter of actor Sir Michael Caine failed to avoid a six months driving ban despite claiming that a disqualification would affect her ability to help care for her famous 89-year-old father.

Dominique Caine, 65, of Fossebridge, Glos, received the ban at Cheltenham Magistrates Court yesterday after she admitted speeding in a Range Rover on the A436 in the Cotswolds on May 3 last year.

She was caught doing 64mph in a 50mph zone at Lineover Wood - between Seven Springs and Shipton Sollars, Glos - and the minimum three penalty points imposed on her licence took her to 12, making her liable to a six months ban under the 'totting up' rules.

Despite her plea that a ban would make it more difficult to get to London to see her father, and that it would hit a struggling horse eventing business in which she is involved, district judge Nicholas Wattam imposed the full six months ban.

He also fined her 200 plus costs of 90 and a surcharge of 34.

Michael Caine and wife Shakira Caine with daughter Dominique, who admitted speeding

Ms Caine's relationship to one of Britain's best known and most successful actors emerged during the hearing when the judge looked at a letter of support from her mother, Shakira Caine.

Judge Wattam asked defence lawyer James Findon 'Are we dealing with a famous name? I have a number of letters of support from Shakira Caine. Therefore are we talking about Sir Michael?'

Mr Findon replied: 'We are.'

Judge Wattam pointed out: 'So money isn't really an issue with this family?'

Mr Findon replied: 'The issue isn't financial. The issue is the flexibility with which she is able to assist in providing care for her father.

'She provides care to her father, who is based in London. If she was deprived of her ability to drive it would necessitate the use of three trains and two buses. The travel time would be in excess of eight hours.'

He said Ms Caine also needed to be able to drive so she can continue to help a woman who is struggling to run an eventing business.

The daughter of actor Sir Michael Caine claimed that a disqualification would affect her ability to help care for him - here Mr Caine is pictured with his wife

Dominique Caine, 65, was caught doing 64mph in a 50mph zone at Lineover Wood - here she is pictured (left) with actress mum Shakira

The business owner believes that without Ms Caine's help and input she would not be able to keep afloat, he said.

Judge Wattam said 'The only way that somebody with 12 or more points on their driving licence who wants to avoid being banned is to demonstrate that exceptional hardship will be caused.

'Inconvenience and difficulties surrounding a driving ban do not amount to exceptional hardship.'

Mr Findon stated: 'I think the effect on the eventing business would be exceptional for the lady, who may struggle to keep it going.

'The loss of Ms Caine's help and support will affect the people who have horses at the stables, and ultimately affect her ability to pay her bills.'

Judge responded : 'I accept that a driving ban may have an impact, but it does not demonstrate exceptional hardship. What about the use of taxis? '

Dominique Caine, of Fossebridge, Glos, received the ban at Cheltenham Magistrates Court yesterday (stock image)

Mr Findon replied: 'It would be impossible to try and get to and from the stables by taxi. These journeys would be at sporadic times, and being in a rural location, it's not a realistic option.

'Additionally if Ms Caine is travelling to an event at the weekend this would not in fact work. The taxi driver would not hang around all day.'

The judge then suggested that Ms Caine could employ a driver. Mr Findon said that was something he and Ms Caine had discussed.

'Drivers these days are a scarcity, especially when dealing with unusual and anti-social hours,' he said. 'Ms Caine is at the stables at 6am and is still there at 10pm so, again, the driver is not going to wait around all day. It just wouldn't work.'

After retiring to read all the documentation provided by the defence in support of Ms Caine's plea not to be disqualified for the mandatory six months, Judge Wattam told her that she had a bad driving record and already had nine penalty points on her licence.

'You pleaded guilty to speeding at 64mph in a 50mph zone and you will be fined 200 for this,' Judge Wattam said.

'Your driving licence will be endorsed with three penalty points which, because you already have nine points recorded on it, makes you a 'totter' for which you have to be banned from driving.

'I am unable to find exceptional hardship in your case and therefore I must disqualify you from driving for the next six months.'
Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is nowhere near ending, and will continue to drag on and get even more bloody, the former head of the Royal Navy has warned.

Speaking to MailOnline, Admiral Lord Alan West said the Russian despot does not care about his people dying in his desperate attempt to seize the country, which he said has also thrown the world economy into chaos.

The former security minister and Cold War commander was speaking as Ukraine braces itself for a Spring offensive which is expected to see some of the most brutal fighting since the war began on February 24, 2022.

Ukraine has surpassed expectations with its fierce defence of Kyiv and subsequent counteroffensives, but West - the former First Sea Lord - said were it not for the supply of western weaponry, Kyiv's armies would already be getting pushed back.

Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is nowhere near ending, and will continue to drag on and get even more bloody, the former head of the Royal Navy Admiral Lord Alan West has warned. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers ride armoured vehicles down an icy road in the Donetsk region

Speaking to MailOnline, Admiral Lord Alan West (pictured arriving for a service at Westminster Abbey, file photo) said the Russian despot does not care about his people dying in his desperate attempt to seize the country

'I'm afraid it will be much longer and bloodier. I think if we hadn't given any weapons to Ukraine then I think they would have start being pushed back. This means they won't be,' Lord West said.

'Even then it will be a stalemate. The casualties will go on. Putin doesn't care about his people dying. He couldn't give a s**t about them.

'It's totally unacceptable what he is doing. He is a loathsome chap. He has thrown a complete blight to the world. People are starving, the world economy has been thrown into chaos - he is an absolutely dreadful man.'

His comments alluded to attempts by Russia, and specifically the Wagner mercenary group, to take the key town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region, a city in the north that has been the main focus of Russia's offensive for months.

Wagner has crashed wave upon wave of convict soldiers against Ukraine's defences in what has been likened to a First World War meat grinder of a battle.

Both sides have suffered heavy losses, but reports have said Russia in particular has been using the Wagner prison mercenaries as canon fodder to try and make inroads.

After Ukraine's Western allies announced they would send main battle tanks to Ukraine to aid in its defence against a new major offensive by Russia, Moscow seems desperate to make as much ground as possible.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia is massing at least 200,000 more soldiers for the new assault, and ominously said that there is 'no sign' the Russian president is preparing for peace.

Ukraine has surpassed expectations with its fierce defence of Kyiv and subsequent counteroffensives, but West - the former First Sea Lord - said were it not for the supply of western weaponry, Kyiv's armies would already be getting pushed back. Pictured: A boy stands on a destroyed Russian tank displayed in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, January 31

Speaking in South Korea, he warned Russia is preparing for 'more war'.

Intelligence in the West, Ukraine and in Russia is suggesting Putin and his generals are intending to mount a new blitzkrieg-style onslaught to take Kyiv.

Ukraine fears this new assault on the capital, with the intention of winning the war, could coincide with February 24 - the first anniversary on Putin's invasion.

He said the world must 'prepare for the long haul' and said it is 'extremely important that Putin doesn't win'.

A Russian victory would only empower other dictators and make the world a 'more dangerous' place, he said.

Stoltenberg and Lord West's comments came as Britain said a large Russian force has advanced hundreds of metres in a major new assault on a Ukrainian-held bastion in southeastern Ukraine this week, but it added it is unlikely to force a significant breakthrough in the region.

Russian officials claimed the advance had secured a foothold in the coal-mining town of Vuhledar. Kyiv has acknowledged heavy fighting there but says it has repelled the push so far while inflicting heavy losses on the attackers.

In an intelligence update offering rare battlefield detail, the British ministry said Russia was attacking the town with a force at least the size of a brigade, a unit normally comprising several thousand troops with a full range of capabilities.

A Ukrainian serviceman uses his foot to brush snow off the top of a BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle in the Donetsk region on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

So far, the Russians had likely advanced from the south several hundred metres beyond the Kashlahach River, which it said had marked the front line for months.

The small river flows on the edge of the town of Pavlivka, about two kilometres south of Vuhledar.

'There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough.'

It said Russian commanders were probably trying to develop a new axis of advance, as well as to divert Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut.

Vuhledar lies at the southern-most end of the eastern front in Ukraine, overlooking railway lines that supply Russian forces on the adjacent southern front.

Ukraine has repelled several Russian attacks on the town since the start of the war eleven months ago.

The Russian assault there comes after Moscow made significant advances around Bakhmut over the past two weeks, its biggest gains since Ukraine took back large chunks of territory in the second half of 2022. Momentum has swung towards Russia in recent weeks after front lines were frozen in place since November.

Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of Vitaly Svintsitskyi at the Latin Cathedral in Lviv, January 30, 2023. Svintsitskyi was a deputy of the Lviv City Council, who from the first days of the war joined the ranks of the 80th brigade

Military experts say Moscow is determined to make gains in Ukraine in the coming months, before Kyiv receives hundreds of newly pledged Western tanks and armoured vehicles for a counter-attack to recapture occupied territory this year.

Bakhmut, a city which once held 100,000 people, looks increasingly vulnerable after Russia captured the salt-mining town of Soledar to its north around a week ago.

Moscow says it has made substantial further gains both on the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut; Kyiv says the city itself is not yet in danger of falling, but the fighting there is hard.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia's assault in the east as an attempt to exact 'revenge' for its earlier losses.

'And I think that they will not be able to provide their society with any convincing positive result in the offensive. I am confident in our army. We will stop them all, little by little, destroy them and prepare our big counteroffensive,' he said on Monday.

Kyiv says the Russian assaults of recent weeks have come at huge cost, initially mostly relying on mercenaries, including thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons and sent into battle in human waves without proper training or equipment.

But Russia's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists late last year means Moscow has now been able to reconstitute regular military units exhausted or depleted earlier in the war.

The British defence ministry statement said the assault on Vuhledar was led by a unit of Russian naval infantry that had tried and failed to attack the town in November.
He is accused of intentionally driving his wife and kids off a cliff in his Tesla

Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, has been transferred to jail after three weeks in hospital

The wife of a Pasadena doctor charged with the attempted murder of his family told paramedics who rescued them that her husband intentionally drove their Tesla off a 250ft cliff.

Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, was booked into San Mateo County's Maguire Correctional Facility in California and is facing first degree attempted murder and child abuse charges.

Patel's wife, who remains hospitalized, told paramedics: 'He intentionally tried to kill us' after they rappelled down the sheer cliff face to rescue the family, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

'She said very simply this was not an accident. We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,' Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The wife of Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, told paramedics he intentionally drove their car off a cliff in California with the whole family inside

Patel's transfer to jail comes after he spent three weeks in hospital, having been seriously injured in the crash.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday but his lawyer asked for a delay until February 9, which the judge granted. The judge also granted the prosecution's request for no bail and ordered that Patel stay away from his family.

Patel's attorney Josh Bentley did not respond to request for comment from AP.

Patel is accused of intentionally driving his white Tesla Model Y off a cliff known as Devil's Slide near San Francisco on Monday, during a trip north.

Miraculously, all four members of the family - Patel, his wife Neha and their two children aged four and seven - survived without any serious injuries.

Although he has been accused of attempted murder, last week prosecutors were seeking to rule out the possibility the car's brakes had malfunctioned. Speculation the Tesla may have been in self-driving mode was also ruled out.

'Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him not being able to stop the vehicle?' Wagstaffe said to the LA Times. 'We're having the car looked at from top to bottom'.

The wreckage of the Tesla is pictured at the bottom of the cliff

The DA's office was still in the early stages of the investigation, he added.

Patel was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators 'developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,' the agency said.

Wagstaffe said his office was still trying to determine why Patel drove off the cliff. Patel has not spoken to investigators since the January 2 crash, Wagstaffe said.

'We're looking into what led up to this. Was there depression or anything else?' Wagstaffe said. 'It wasn't just that he was trying to kill them, he was trying to kill himself too.'

Miraculously, the family of four survived the plunge to the water's edge without sustaining life-threatening injuries. The mangled Tesla Model Y is pictured after the smash

The car was traveling northbound on Highway 1 near San Francisco at around 10am on Monday, January 2

Sheriff's deputies work to free the car after the family was airlifted to safety

Patel is being held in a California correctional facility

Patel works as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena.

He has since been transferred to San Mateo Medical Center, Wagstaffe said, but he was not to be formally booked until he finished receiving treatment.

Troopers were dispatched at around 10am on January 2 to reports that a vehicle had veered off the cliff on Highway 1, around 20 miles south of San Francisco. The steep, rocky, winding coastal area is known as Devil's Slide.

Fire Chief Brian Pottenger told reporters: 'We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle.'

The car was initially said to have flipped multiple times. However, experts have since raised doubts, arguing the heavy batteries located in the floor of the Tesla would have stopped it from rolling.

There was no guardrail at the spot where the sedan went off the cliff, officials said.

Patel was seen driving at speed northbound on Highway 1 and he is speculated to have performed a sharp turn before reaching the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which is where the Tesla veered off the road, first onto a dirt area and then down the cliff.

Robin Johnson, who called 911 after seeing the crash, recalled: 'Wow, he's driving extremely fast to take that exit. You're not even supposed to be going up that way.

'And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car just go over the edge and straight down.'

The huge drop from the highway to the scene of the crash. The family members were airlifted to safety

Rescue teams had to abseil down the side of the cliff while others used helicopters to try to reach the family

About 30 to 50 rescuers arrived at the scene, where it was initially assumed that anyone in the car must have been dead.

A helicopter and specialist teams were required to rappel down the cliff to the car. It was not until hours later that rescue teams discovered the four family members conscious and alert in the car.

The children were pulled out first, through a back window, and hauled up the cliff by hand in a rescue basket using a pulley.

The doctor and his wife were more seriously injured and had to be hoisted out by helicopter and were then flown directly to hospital.

Neighbors expressed their shock after learning the allegations against Patel, describing their family as 'idyllic'.

Roger Newmark, who lives several doors down from the family on a leafy Pasadena street, told CBS: 'They're the sweetest couple and they have the greatest two little kids.'

The hospital where Patel works as a radiologist also released a statement after the crash.

'Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is deeply saddened to learn of a traffic incident involving one of our physicians and his family,' it said.

'We are extremely grateful there were no serious injuries. We will not respond further, as this incident is under investigation.'

According to an online profile, Patel graduated from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan and has been practicing for more than a decade.
'RRR' is a fictional take on the younger days of celebrated freedom fighters, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharama Raju. (Photo: Twitter/@RRRMovie)

I saw the movie RRR on Netflix the other evening. It was everything I expected it to be. Extremely well made and lavishly mounted. The story was, of course, completely absurd and the distance from reality was of solar proportions. Its abuse of history was vulgar. The early part of the movie is set Hyderabads old Adilabad district, populated in those days by mostly Gond Adivasis.

Hyderabad, being a princely state, had no British administrators. The only British officer serving in the Nizams government was the revenue member in the Executive Council. At about the time of the movie it would have been W.V. Grigson, ICS, a man who if anything had loved the Gonds. He was the author of the masterful anthropological study The Maria Gonds of Bastar (1938), which is still the last word on them. The movie depicts a very cruel and despotic British rule where an English family shanghaies a young Gond girl to Delhi. The first part of the movie is about one of the heroes (NTR Jr), who goes to the imperial capital to rescue her.

The Nizams administration was mostly Muslim. In 1941, a report on the Civil Service revealed that of the 1,765 officers, 1,268 were Muslims, 421 were Hindus and 121 others, presumably Christians, Parsis and Sikhs. Of the officials drawing a salary of between Rs 600-1,200 per month, 59 were Muslims, 38 were "others", and a mere five were Hindus. The Nizams Hyderabad was a Muslim state imposed on a predominantly Hindu population, so if there was to be an officer out on a wild bloodthirsty shikar, the odds would have been that it would have been a Muslim. Nowhere in our history or collective memory have we had such vile and blatant cruelty by the bureaucracy. We have had bad governance, corrupt and communal officers, but cruelty of this sort is reserved for the movies.

What I find unpardonable about RRR is that it borrows two genuinely heroic personalities from our pantheon  Kumram Bheem and Seetharama Raju  and then distorts their life stories and struggles to make them the protagonists of a comic strip tale. I met a granddaughter of Kumram Bheem, the legendary Gond leader who revolted against the plains peoples rule in Nizam Osman Ali Pashas time, just last month. She lives in a small hut near the huge concrete memorial and museum dedicated to Kumram Bheem. She works as a cook in the nearby Adivasi school. I wonder if Rajamouli and his cinematic band had thought of asking Jangubais permission to so misuse her grandfathers life and personality? Forget about paying any kind of royalty!

Alluri Seetharama Raju (4 July 1897-7 May 1924) was an Andhra revolutionary, who had waged an armed campaign against the British colonial rule in India. Andhras Rajus are a small community of landed gentry, and anthropologists describe them as "higher caste of traditional warriors and rulers; the Kshatriyas". He is reported to have been born in the coastal town of Bheemunipatnam, 40 km north of Vizagapatnam in the old Madras Presidency. His father was a professional photographer. As a college student he began visiting tribal areas and was deeply affected by their condition. He became involved in opposing the British in response to the 1882 Madras Forest Act, which restricted the free movement of Adivasis in their forest habitats, and prevented them from practising their traditional form of agriculture called "podu". Rising discontent towards the British led to the Rampa Rebellion of 1922, in which Alluri played the major role as its leader. He was captured and executed by the British on May 27, 1924 at Chintapalli, now in a district that bears his name, where even today the troubles relating to the Adivasi lands continue.

Kumram Bheem (22 October 1901-27 October 1940), was a Gond Adivasi with an activist streak in him from his youth. In 1920, he killed an official of the local Velama jagirdar Laxman Rao called Siddique and fled to the traditional seat of the Gond rajas at Chandrapur. From there he fled to Assam, where he worked in the tea plantations, beginning an acquaintance with trade unionism which landed him in prison. Bheem escaped from prison and settled in the village of Bhabejhari near Jodeghat where he began organising Adivasis to fight for their rights. He coined the slogan "Jal, Jangal, Zameen". This inevitably brought him into conflict with the Nizams administration, resulting in a protracted low-intensity rebellion against the feudal set-up all through the 1930s, which in turn culminated of the Telangana rebellion of 1946. He was killed in police action in Jodeghat on October 27, 1940 at the age of 39.

Thus, even the timelines and geographies of Bheem and Raju hardly overlap. The movie was made with utter disregard to the life and times of our two heroes, the history and sociology of their times, cruelly exploits their personalities with the callous disregard of upper castes even now. The movie credits do say its a fictional work. But when you appropriate the lives and personalities of two genuine heroes for a tawdry commercial excess, it doesnt absolve the makers of distortion. They too have behaved just as badly as the British depicted in the movie. Perhaps they can make amends somewhat but committing a part of their earnings to the Adivasi cause?

What amazes me most about RRR is how a team whose movie projects white people in such cruel and vile terms, so cravenly seeks the approval of those very same white people? They managed to pick up a Golden Globe for NNN. But who awards the Golden Globes is another story. How they are awarded is an even bigger one. It will suffice to state that the New York Times, in damning expose of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), found that there were no black members in the 87-strong voting body, and that relatively few members worked full-time for notable foreign publications.

I have no comments on the quality of the song Naatu, Naatu, Naatu! which is in the running for an Oscar this year. Possibly my tastes are of a different time?
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It was one of the worst natural disasters in British history, but most people now have no idea it even happened.

The Great North Sea flood, which claimed 326 lives on land when it struck Britain's east coast on this day in 1953, prompted an overhaul of the nation's flood defences, and ultimately led to the construction of the Thames Barrier.

The set of movable barriers, operational since 1982, has been used more than 200 times to protect London - which only just emerged unscathed from the surge of 1953 - in nearly 40 years of operation.

Essex's Canvey Island, where 58 people were killed, was one of the worst hit parts of the country, with 41 dying in Felixstowe in Suffolk and another 37 dying in the village of Jaywick, also in Essex.

Parts of Kent, including Whitstable, were also hit, whilst parts of the Norfolk coast were hammered as well.

Whilst the episode has largely faded out of living memory, survivors on Canvey Island still vividly recall it, with one saying in a BBC programme about the disaster how all he could hear was 'people shouting and screaming' as water surged around them.

It was one of the worst natural disasters in British history, but most people now have no idea it even happened. Essex's Canvey Island was one of the worst affected parts of the country, with 58 people losing their lives. Above: A policeman carries a child to safety in Canvey Island

Fifteen people died in King's Lynn, Norfolk, after water levels rose ten feet higher than the 22feet that had been predicted. Above: King's Lynn residents after the flood

Residents in Whitstable are seen cautiously walking across planks from their upstairs window in the aftermath of the flooding

How the Thames Barrier works The Thames Barrier has two types of gates: Falling Radial Gates that sit above the river and Rising Sector Gates which rest on the river bed. Individual gates can be closed in ten minutes but the whole barrier takes around an house and a half to close completely. When fully raised, the barrier creates a solid steel wall that stops water flowing upstream towards the capital. The Thames Barrier can only be reopened once the water level upstream of the barrier matches the level downstream. Once a decision has been made to reopen it, a controlled amount of water is passed under the gate and up the Thames. Advertisement

The unprecedented event was caused by the combination of an unusually high spring tide and a storm that swept across the North Sea, creating a huge surge of water.

Flood defences that had been neglected since the Second World War were overwhelmed, with water sweeping some six feet above them in some places. At its peak, the storm surge was recorded at 18.4ft (5.6metres)

In Scotland, a further 19 people were killed, and the storm had an impact beyond British shores too. In the Netherlands, more than 1,800 people died, and 28 people lost their lives in Belgium.

Away from land, the ferry the MV Princess Victoria sank in the sea east of Belfast, killing 133 people, whilst the 15-man crew of fishing trawler the Michael Griffith also perished when the vessel was overwhelmed by water.

The first part of the country to be affected was the Norfolk coast, before cyclonic winds moved south towards Essex.

One survivor in Norfolk told how water first trickled in to his home, before it reached as high as nearly five feet in the space of 15 minutes.

Members of the US Air Force, posted at RAF Sculthorpe, helped to rescue residents in Hunstanton. Airman Reis Leming was awarded the George Medal after helping 27 people to safety.

However, 31 people did die in Hunstanton, including 16 US service personnel who were lodging in wooden homes.

MailOnline reader John Harrison, who remembers the disaster, told how his grandmother 'lost everything' in the flood when it hit Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast.

'At the time of the flood I was 5 years old, and the reason I can remember it so well is because my grandmother owned a boarding house on Wellington road,' he said.

'It was devastating for her, she lost everything. It was also blamed for her partial blindness afterwards.

'We as a family lived in Nottinghamshire and we moved her nearer to us in around 1954 or 55.'

Canvey Island was by far the worst hit, with the whole area deluged and 11,000 homes affected. More than 13,000 residents had to be evacuated.

Speaking in BBC Radio 4 programme Learning from the Great Tide, survivor Graham Stevens, who was aged 10 when the flood struck, said: 'I was downstairs, and I looked up to the top of the road and it was dry.

The Thames Barrier became operational in 1982 but was officially opened in 1984. It has been used more than 200 times to protect London - which only just emerged unscathed from the surge of 1953 - in nearly 40 years of operation. Above: The Queen and Prince Philip attend the opening ceremony of the barrier

An aerial view shows the extent of flooding in Canvey Island, Essex. It was the worst-hit part of the country, with 58 people losing their lives

The Queen is seen visiting American servicemen in Hunstanton with her husband Prince Philip during their tour of flooded areas

The Queen talks with survivors from the flooding in King's Lynn in Norfolk. She was said to have been 'extremely distressed and upset' by what she saw

A total of 41 people lost their lives in Felixstowe, Suffolk. Above: Flooding around Langer Road, Felixstowe on the day after the storm

Many of the homes in Canvey Island were poorly constructed, made from cheap materials such as wood. Above: Partially submerged 'pre-fab' homes are seen in Canvey Island

Survivors from the floods at Canvey Island are pictured boarding a bus to Benfleet after their ordeal

Canvey Island residents are seen arriving at a school in nearby Benfleet, after being taken there in the back of an ambulance

Residents in East Anglia are seen in the aftermath of the flooding, as a boat carries survivors - who are swaddled in blankets - to safety

Members of the military are seen using a ladder to help residents in a home in Norfolk in the aftermath of the flood

Thirty-seven people lost their lives in the village of Jaywick, in Essex. Above: A boat is seen being helped on its way, with flooded homes in the background

Wrapped in blankets, children and adults are ferried by boat through the flood waters at Jaywick, near Clacton, Essex

An aerial photograph shows the extent of the flooding in Jaywick, which was devastated by the storm in 1953

The flooding prompted this herd of cows in Foulness, Kent, seek refuge around an abandoned farm house, which had somehow just survived the flood water

Sutton-on-Sea, in Lincolnshire, was also hit by flooding. Above: The wreckage of the Beach Hotel in the village is seen surrounded by debris and flood water

In place of traffic and pedestrians, a solitary boat holds the stage in the main street of flooded Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire

Royal Air Force personnel herd sheep into a truck to save them from flooding on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent

The Thames Barrier is seen in October 2021, when it was closed for the 200th time since becoming operational in 1982

The Thames Barrier is seen under construction in 1975. The system of flood defences took nearly a decade to be built

The Thames Flood Barrier is seen under construction in 1980, two years before it became operational and started protecting London

'I turned round, looked back again and it was a bright moon, but the bright moon wasn't in the sky, it was on the ground.

'Because the water had just come in, all I was looking at was the reflection of the moon on to the water as it has come in.

'And all of a sudden, my feet were freezing and, all of a sudden... the water came through the floorboards.'

Another survivor, Rod Bishop, said: 'All I could hear was people shouting and screaming. But that has always stuck in my mind.

'Every day my father used to come back onto the island because he had a shop on the high street. And he was helping to lay people out. And he was identifying a lot of the bodies because they were mostly his customers.'

In the aftermath of the flood, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret came to visit survivors in Canvey Island, whilst the Queen - who was in her Coronation year - comforted people in Norfolk with her husband Prince Philip.

In the aftermath, Prime Minister Winston Churchill - in his second term in Downing Street after leading Britain to victory in the war - promised that 'all the resources of the state' would be made available to help.

The police, fire service, army, Royal Navy and RAF were all involved in rescuing survivors and cleaning up in the flood's aftermath.

Members of the US Air Force, posted at RAF Sculthorpe, helped to rescue residents in Hunstanton. Airman Reis Leming (pictured left in a safety suit on the day of his heroics) was awarded the George Medal after helping 27 people to safety. Right: The airman after receiving the George Medal

Away from land, the ferry the MV Princess Victoria sank in the sea east of Belfast, killing 133 people. Above: The ship

A total of 170 people were on the MV Princess Victoria when it sank. Above: Survivors are seen being brought ashore in County Down, Northern Ireland

Many of the UK's sea walls were raised to the height of the 1953 surge, while Canvey Island ended up being well protected. Walls of up to 20 feet now protect the island. Above: A stretch of sea wall in Canvey Island is seen in 2020

Canvey Island residents are seen in September 1953 - seven months after the disaster that claimed 58 lives in the town - building a sea wall

The country also saw a return of the 'blitz spirit' that had seen Britons come together to help after the devastation wrought by German bombs in the war, with neighbours banding together to help those in need.

The disaster prompted the Government to establish a departmental committee on coastal flooding. The Waverley Committee, named after its chairman, produced a report that contained a list of 26 recommendations.

They included proposals for a national warning system for flooding and the overhaul of flood defences. Many of the UK's sea walls were raised to the height of the 1953 surge, while Canvey Island ended up being well protected.

Walls of up to 20 feet now protect the island, making it a safer place to live. As a consequence, the area's population has nearly quadrupled to around 40,000 today.

One of the key questions that came out of the report was the need to defend London, which narrowly avoided being affected in 1953.

The ultimate result was the Thames Barrier, built near Woolwich in East London. Construction started in 1974 and the project was officially opened in 1984, but became operational two years earlier.

The moveable barrier is made up of 10 gates attached to 39-metre tall cofferdam piles, which are buried nearly 80 feet into the river bed.

The barrier can hold back up to 9,000 tonnes of water and - when fully raised - creates a solid steel wall preventing water flowing.

The Daily Mail's coverage on February 2, 1953 was extensive. The paper's headline that day read: 'Sea Invasion Disaster'. It added: 'Giant wall of water smashes over the East Coast, brings death and injury to hundreds'
Squalid conditions at an Evri delivery depot have been laid bare after photographs reveal piles of half-opened packages, overflowing bins of rubbish and a kitchen covered in grime.

It comes amid claims that workers at the processing centre in Slough West, Berkshire, 'smoke weed' while at work.

Images show hundreds of damaged and ripped open parcels, with their contents as well as cardboard and wrapping, strewn over the dirty warehouse floor.

The pictures reveal a 'disgusting' grime-covered bathroom which had not been cleaned in two years, whistleblowers claimed.

Photographs reveal piles of half-opened packages spilling out onto the dirty floor at the Evri depot in Slough West, Berkshire

Images show 'disgusting' toilet facilities including this one with toilet paper overflowing from the bin and spilling onto the dirty floor

Another showed a filthy urinal and overblowing bins of toilet tissues.

A source told the Sun: 'The whole thing is a mess and if anything, it's got worse since changing its name from Hermes.

'There's damaged and opened parcels which have been mistreated everywhere. It's a dump.

'The bathroom is so disgusting that you can't even use the toilet as it hasn't been cleaned in two years.

'Bosses claim their budget has been cut but really it's a lack of management. They need to hire more qualified people. It's unfair on customers.'

It comes amid allegations that employees 'smoke drugs' while at work, with Evri launching an investigation

More rubbish piling up at the Evri depot centre in Slough West, Berkshire

The source claimed that packages were piling up amid huge backlogs caused by employees turning up for work late.

Meanwhile, just one nightshift worker is said to have started at 5am to begin processing the parcels, meaning they are late to be delivered.

During the festive period, there were concerns that huge backlogs meant Christmas presents would not arrive on time.

Customers have hit out at the delivery firm, which rebranded from Hermes last year, over lost and damaged items.

The company, which has a zero-tolerance drugs policy, has launched an investigation into staff smoking cannabis, a class B substance, while at work in Slough West delivery centre.

Squalid conditions at an Evri delivery depot have been laid bare after photographs reveal piles of half-opened packages

During the festive period, there were concerns that huge backlogs meant Christmas presents would not arrive on time

Pictures emerged of staff making the roll-up joints inside the warehouse before smoking them with drivers outside.

The whistleblower added: 'Evri needs to take responsibility. These are the people who are meant to be running the show.

'I've seen employees smoking weed multiple times.

'Shamefully these people are doing drugs at work and giving customers terrible service.'

Evri said it had invested more than 130million to improve its UK service over the past two years.

A spokesman said: 'We take the issues raised very seriously and can confirm that we are currently carrying out a full investigation at our Slough West depot.'
A mother had chills down her spine after claiming to have captured a ghost with a bullet hole through its head appear 'out of thin air' in front of York's iconic castle.

Robbie Natasha Walker was on a trip to York earlier this month on 10, January, when she quickly snapped some photos of Clifford's Tower, a 13th-century castle keep in 'Britain's most haunted city'.

But when the 28-year-old was later looking through her photos back at the hotel, she had an adrenaline rush and was taken aback when she spotted what appeared to be a ghostly figure.

Eerie images captured by the HR officer reveal what appears to be a black handless figure with a hole in its head stretching out its arms before it fades and 'disappears into thin air'.

Robbie Natasha Walker quickly snapped some photos of Clifford's Tower, a 13th-century castle keep in 'Britain's most haunted city' when she spotted what appeared to be a headless figure in her images

The following day, the mother-of-one went to speak to a local historian who filled her in on the landmark's dark history - being the site of one of the worst anti-Semitic massacres of the Middle Ages.

Consequently, Robbie believes she could have snapped the ghost of a 'past protestor' killed by a bullet wound to the head.

Robbie said she can't seem to find any other justification for the peculiar figure not being a ghost, given it appears to be missing body parts and she didn't see anyone approach the tower.

Robbie, of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, said: 'I thought 'oh my God. Is this my phone? What's going on here?'.

'I was confused but was quite excited. When you watch certain ghost videos you can quite clearly see that it's been staged, and people are forever trying to capture this kind of stuff.

The mother-of-one visited the castle on a trip to York earlier this month on 10, January

 Slide me  Eerie images captured by the HR officer reveal what appears to be a black handless figure with a hole in its head stretching out its arms before it fades and 'disappears into thin air'

'But I guess I kind of felt special and excited - like I'd been ghost hunting and I'd been successful.

'I had an adrenaline rush, was quite shaky, felt chills and was a bit frightened, but also excited.

'At first glance I thought it was a figure of someone. The historian mentioned there were a lot of protests and mass killings at the tower. This sounds really morbid, but it looks like someone got shot in the head and that's the ghostly figure of them protesting.

'I believed in ghosts before this happened. I asked my fiance if he now believed in them. He said 'no, however, I wouldn't rule out if it was a ghost. It's made me think twice about it'.'

Robbie said she visits York every year and always gets a picture of the historical landmark.

Robbie said: 'I took the pictures because the clouds next to it looked cool.. I got my phone out and I have a baby, so I wasn't taking too much interest in the picture itself.

She initially thought it was protestor on the photographes until she realised the figure appeared to slowly fade away across her photographs

'I pressed the camera shutter three times, snapped them and put the phone in my pocket, that was that.

'I'd been taking pictures throughout the whole day and when we got back to the hotel I was going through them all and looked at the first picture of Clifford's Tower and it was a bit blurry but because I knew I took three I looked at the second one, and I spotted the figure.

'I showed them to my family and they were trying to find explanations for it because they don't believe in this kind of stuff or ghosts. They said 'it could have been someone popping up from underneath a bush' or a person walking around the building.

'I'm trying to justify it in my head thinking 'maybe they're right, maybe it is a person' but then I think there's just no way.

'I feel like when you compare both justifications and the opinions we had as a collective, you had my opinion who believes in ghosts and theirs who don't, I feel like based on the images alone, not the beliefs, mine are more justified.'

The following day, Robbie said she spoke to a historian who provided her with a run down of the landmark's haunting past.

It is the largest remaining part of York Castle, which was once the centre of government for the north of England. The 11th-century timber tower on top of the earth mound was burned down in 1190 after York's Jewish communitywere besieged there by a mob. Many chose to commit suicide rather than be murdered or forcibly baptised by their attackers

It's the largest remaining part of York Castle, which was once the centre of government for the north of England.

The 11th-century timber tower on top of the earth mound was burned down in 1190 after York's Jewish community, some 150 strong, were besieged there by a mob.

Many chose to commit suicide rather than be murdered or forcibly baptised by their attackers.

Robbie shared her spooky snaps online hoping to get other people's verdict on them.

Robbie said: 'I took the pictures at quite a distance, if there was a person approaching that spot they would have been seen somewhere else in the images.

'I don't think human shadows have reflections like that, if it was a person, it would be a solid figure.

'I managed to get him to disappear in the shot. In one picture, some of his body is there and some of it isn't. It's quite possible to take a picture of a moving object and it looks distorted but all the body parts are there, but he's missing a lot of his body to justify that that's a person.

'He's even missing his hands, unless his sleeves are just a bit too long for him. In the other picture he's only really got a torso and some arms.

'I can't seem to find any other justification for it [it being a ghost]. People might think that I'm nuts, and that's ok. People will agree or disagree with me, or find and answer because they don't believe, or an explanation if they do.

'I for one believe that it's certainly, based on the history of the place, and the images that I've caught, it may well be a ghostly figure.'
A grieving father 'stalked a man with a tracker for days before trying to kill him with a machete because he blamed him for his son's death', a court has heard.

Samson Price, 48, is accused of launching a 'pre-planned' attack on Patrick Brown outside a gym in Northwich, Cheshire in September 2021, ahead of the one year anniversary of his son's death.

Samson Jnr, 18, drowned in a pond in Wigan in October 2020 after taking the hallucinogenic drug LSD while at a lake with friends.

Chester Crown Court heard that the father-of-two was 'very angry' that the police had failed to prosecute Brown, who was 19 at the time, and two others for murder after Samson's death.

Samson Price (pictured in handcuffs), 48, carried out an 'eye for an eye' attack on Patrick Brown, 21, who he blamed for the death of his son Samson Jnr

Samson Price Jnr, 18, was found drowned in a lake in Wigan in October 2020, after going there with three friends including Brown

Brown, who was 20 at the time of the attack, was 'millimetres from bleeding to death' after the machete attack in Northwich, Cheshire, in September 2021

Following his death, three men were arrested on suspicion of murder after the friends had gone to a lake called Westwood Flash in Wigan to take the Class A substane.

The jury was told that Brown said they had been camping and Samson Price Jnr had started behaving strangely and had gone missing. He was later found drowned.

The jury was told that no charges were brought and police told the Price family in March 2021 that Samson's death was an accident which left the family 'very angry'.

Price is accused of lying in wait for Mr Brown outside the PureGym in Northwich after tracking him for days.

He is charged with raining five to six blows on his body in broad daylight as horrified gym users looked on.

Mr Brown, then 20, was 'millimetres from bleeding to death' but was saved by 'sheer luck' and very prompt medical treatment after gym users called the emergency services.

Price and his wife Rosanna (pictured with Samson Jnr) had 'made it clear to the police that they considered the people who had been arrested were responsible for their son's death'

Price told his wife that he considered himself to have died after his son's death (pictured Price with his son Samson Jnr)

Prosecutor Simon Mills told the court: 'This was a pre-planned attack on Mr Brown as he came out of the gym where Price had been waiting with his weapon concealed on his person.

'He came very close to achieving his aim of killing Patrick Brown. He inflicted numerous blows to his head, face, back and arms. He may well have thought that he had done enough to kill Patrick Brown.

'He ran off and remained at large for three weeks before eventually handing himself in at a police station in Wakefield, Yorkshire.

'The defendant had a motive to carry out this deadly attack. He blames Patrick Brown for the death of his son and he was angry that the police did not prosecute him over it.

'The prosecution contends that this was a case of an eye for an eye.'

Price accepted attacking Brown but denied he intended to kill him.

He has admitted grievous bodily harm with intent but has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. The plea is not accepted by the prosecution.

Samson's parents showed the 'understandable grief and raw emotion of a grieving mother and father' said prosecutor Simon Mills, in messages the couple exchanged in the weeks before the attack

Mr Mills said that Price and his wife Rosanna had 'made it clear to the police that they considered the people who had been arrested were responsible for their son's death'.

He said that the 'understandable grief and raw emotion of a grieving mother and father' were shown in messages the couple had exchanged in the weeks before the attack.

Price told his wife that he considered himself to have died after his son's death.

He wrote: 'These feelings are hardest to deal with. Nothing will bring him back. It's the senselessness, the unfairness and the injustice of it.'

His wife wrote back: 'We should be rowing and worrying about him going to all these festivals. I cannot get it into my head that he is not here and I will never hear his voice.'

Price added: 'We have nothing left to look forward to. I consider myself to have died with Samson and I honestly don't care what happens to me any more.'

His wife tried 'to pull him round' by reminding him that their daughter Atlanta needed him.

Price replied: 'I am not going to harm myself. I will most likely try to harm others. I don't think I can handle the anniversary. I can't see me coping with that. Not that.'

Price denied attempted murder. The trial continues.
Ghislaine Maxwell's brother today claimed it would be 'ludicrous' to believe anyone would have managed to have a 'grand old sex time' in the 'very, very small' bath where Prince Andrew allegedly had a sexual encounter with Virginia Giuffre.

A photograph on the front page of Saturday's Daily Telegraph showed a man and a woman lying fully clothed in a bath in the former London home of convicted child sex trafficker Ms Maxwell, wearing makeshift masks bearing the faces of the Prince and his accuser.

Today, Ian Maxwell repeated his claim that the picture proves the bath is too small to have sex in, telling Times Radio: 'I don't know what your contortions and the ability to have a grand old sex-time in a bath, but that's a very, very small tub. He's a big man. And the guy in the picture is smaller than he is.

'The girl had her back to the taps, hard. It's ludicrous to think that anybody, let alone a prince of the realm knowing allegedly that other people are in the house, are going to have to have this fantastical arrangement in this tiny little room.'

Ian Maxwell appeared on Times Radio today to suggest it was 'ludicrous' that 'a prince of the realm' would have had 'a grand old sex-time' in a 'very, very small' bath

Friends of Ms Giuffre have poured scorn on the 'bizarre' photo stunt - which is said to prove Prince Andrew's 'innocence' of alleged sex crimes against her.

The Duke's accuser has claimed that in 2001 when she was 17, he licked her toes in the bath before they had sex in the bedroom.

Proof Prince Andrew photo is not a fake Advertisement

She alleged she was forced to have sex with Andrew by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein  who died in 2019 awaiting trial for child sex trafficking offences  and his close friend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Duke has repeatedly and vehemently denied Ms Roberts's claims.

Today, Mr Maxwell insisted the photo was 'just another example' of Ms Giuffre's 'faulty memory'.

'What it does prove is the reverse of what Miss Giuffre said in her unpublished memoir, which is a court document and was released by the US court, in which she says that the bathroom had a beige marble floor and there was a Victorian tub in the centre of the room,' he said.

'There is no Victorian bath, there is no bath in the centre of any room. And for her to say that there is just wrong. Her memory is wrong, or it never happened.

'[The photograph] is designed to say, ''Wait a minute. This lady has been believed, almost without any compunction by everybody''.

'I think that the other side of the story needs to be looked at by the media properly, the allegations need to be investigated thoroughly. We only ever hear one side of the story.'

Prince Andrew with Ghislaine Maxwell during Ladies Day at Royal Ascot in 2000

A smiling Prince Andrew, 62, was photographed driving a Range Rover in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Saturday

Mr Maxwell said that Prince Andrew could take action after Ms Giuffre dropped her accusations against the lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

'He's got to take a view. Dershowitz has suggested that he should consider all legal remedies now to get his reputation back, try and get his life back on track,' he said.

'The appeal is not about Ghislaine's innocence or guilt. She's been found guilty. That is the position. I can't do anything about it. She's guilty, she's been convicted.

'She's in prison. The appeal is about judicial error, pre trial, in trial, post trial, and also the terrible egregious errors in due process. That is what my sister is appealing against.'

Mr Maxwell claimed the photograph could be one step along the way for his sister to overturn her conviction.

The comments will infuriate Ms Giuffre's camp, which has already slammed the photo 'stunt' as 'shameful'.

One source connected to her told The Mail on Sunday: If this shameful stunt is the best Maxwells side can do in defence of Prince Andrew then its laughable.

Its a disgusting attempt to discredit a victim of sexual abuse and would be risible if it were not so offensive. Plus they have their facts totally wrong. Virginia never said they had sex in the bath.

Prince Andrew allegedly slept with Ms Giuffre when she was just 17 years old on March 10, 2001

The Maxwell family say the bathtub was too small for the Duke and Ms Giuffre to engage in sexual activity (stock image)

Lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represented several victims of Epstein and Maxwells sex trafficking web, added: What a surreal, bizarre photograph. It proves nothing.

Virginia said that she and Andrew were in the bath. The photo shows that two full-sized humans can fit in the bath. Virginia said that Andrew began by playing with her feet in the bath. The photo shows that would certainly be possible.

Virginia said that she and Andrew then moved into the bedroom where the sexual activity occurred. Nothing in the photo disproves that.

Ghislaine and her supporters must be getting desperate. Instead of continuing to attack victims, she should be apologising for the pain she has caused to so many.

And lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who also represented victims of Maxwell and Epstein, said: Its absurd. If they want to know how two people can have sex in a bathtub they need to merely google it on the internet. This half-hearted attempt [to discredit Virginia] is laughable.

In a 2011 interview, Ms Giuffre claimed she and the Duke got into the bath where he started licking my toes before moving to the bedroom, a story she repeated in a 2019 interview with BBCs Panorama, saying: There was a bath and it started there and then led into the bedroom.

Ms Giuffre and lawyer David Boies are pictured in August 2019 at Federal Court in New York

In her unpublished memoir, The Billionaires Playboy Club  which she admitted was partly fictionalised  she wrote about entering the bath: We kissed and touched each other before submersing into the hot water he was adoring my young body, particularly my feet, caressing my toes and licking my arches.

After drying off they moved into a nearby bedroom for the longest ten minutes of my life.

A longtime friend of Ms Giuffre said: The memoir was never accepted into evidence by the judge because it was never presented by Virginia as a factual account of her experiences. Some of it is fictionalised.

But that is besides the point. This is an attempt at victim-shaming at its worst. How arrogant do you have to be to think a photograph like this will in any way help your case?

After the Telegraph front page on Saturday, Ms Giuffre's lawyers declined to comment but a source close to her said: This feels like a coordinated attempt to try to discredit her but the truth is the truth. Virginia has consistently told the truth about Prince Andrew and no amount of stunted-up photographs will change that.

Meanwhile, a smiling Prince Andrew, 62, was photographed driving a Range Rover in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Saturday and appeared carefree as he later rode through the castle grounds on horseback.

Last week, it emerged he has been telling friends that a mystery development will restore his disgraced reputation in the coming months, and that he intends to challenge the multi-million pound settlement he struck with Ms Giuffre last year.
Eva Green today admitted she had been 'humiliated' by the release of her foul-mouthed WhatsApps calling the crew of a doomed sci-fi movie 'evil', 'morons', 'total a***holes' and 'sh***y peasants from Hampshire'.

The former Bond Girl also spoke about her friendship with Daniel Craig and how he had said he would rather 'slash his wrists' than be 007 again - only to play the British spy once more in No Time To Die.

Ms Green told the High Court that she wanted to seize control of the script for A Patriot herself.

The actress, 42, is embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the makers of the 4.6million movie, with each side blaming the other for the production's demise in October 2019. She is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) - even though the movie was never made.

Eva Green arrives at the High Court where she is suing White Lantern Films for her $1million fee for the film A Patriot

Ms Green smiled as she entered the High Court's Rolls Building in the City of London, wearing bright red and orange sunglasses, a black velvet jacket and dark jeans and boots

Ms Green, 42, is at loggerheads with the makers of the dystopian British sci-fi project, which collapsed amid funding issues. Both sides blame each other

Giving evidence for a second day, Ms Green said that she felt 'humiliated' that her WhatsApps were being read out in court. She was asked about one message in which she called the film a 'f***ing nightmare', adding: 'We had to get out'.

Ms Green insists she did not sabotage the production of A Patriot or walk out on the film, and told the court: 'I have a very direct way of saying things.'

She added: 'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Yesterday she said the court should put her rudeness down to her 'Frenchness' - insisting she didn't mean it.

Asked about her fruity language in another message today she said: 'I'm not very good with words, Im French first of all'.

Cross-examined by Max Mallin, KC, for White Lantern, about what she meant by the 'f***ing nightmare' message, she said: 'Sometimes you say things you don't mean. You hate someone and say I'm going to kill someone, but are you really going to kill that person? No.

'There's the famous example of Daniel Craig saying, "I'd rather slash my wrists than do another Bond movie". But did he slash his wrists? No, he made another Bond movie.'

To laughter from the public gallery, Ms Green added: 'I know this story because I know Daniel Craig.'

Mr Mallin said that in the message Ms Green made it clear that she did not want to continue with A Patriot because of its executive producer, Jake Seal.

The message, which was read out in court stated: 'We have to get out as the main investor (Mr Seal) was a f***ing nightmare, truly mad.'

But Ms Green denied this, prompting the lawyer to ask her: 'Are you accustomed to simply lying in casual WhatsApp messages?'

In heated exchanges with the lawyer, Ms Green hit back: 'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Ms Green claimed that she felt 'trapped' at her involvement in A Patriot and that it was the 'craziest' situation she had experienced.

Giving evidence on the second day of her High Court hearing she said: 'It caused me immense stress, I just felt I was trapped.

'I was frustrated and confused; it was the craziest situation I've ever been involved in.'

Ms Green told the court that this was caused by the involvement of Mr Seal, whom she did not want to work with, financial problems with the film and the way the project was being run.

Bond girl Eva Green, pictured in Casino Royale with Daniel Craig, is at the High Court in a legal battle over the demise of a 4million film

Ms Green, who earlier told the court that she feared that A Patriot would be a B s**ty movie insisted that she was prepared to still act in it despite the problems.

The court was told that she offered to exchange her 810,000 fee for the script rights so that the film could still be made to the standard that she wanted.

Mr Mallin asked her: If you had done this film with Jake Seal, it would have been all over, a 20 year career finished.

Theres no way you would have done a B S**ty movie, it would have ruined your career.

The actress replied: Yes. I gave so much of my heart and soul to this project, I didnt see why I should have given the money back. It made sense to have the script back.

But she insisted: But I would have been forced to do this B s**ty movie because I would not have broken my contract.

Mr Mallin insisted that Ms Green wanted the film to fail and that she actively encouraged two senior crew members to resign in a WhatsApp message that was read out in court.

She replied: I never did anything to make it fail, they made it fail by their own incompetence. Nothing was ready, nothing was in place.

When asked to explain the meaning of the message, she said: Im not very good with words, Im French first of all. Im not as eloquent as you.

Ms Green smiled as she entered the Rolls Building just off Chancery Lane in the City of London, wearing bright red and orange sunglasses, a black velvet jacket and dark jeans and boots.

Ms Green is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) which she claims she is entitled to under a 'pay or play' clause in her contract. The movie was shut down due to funding issues in October 2019.

Yesterday she put her rudeness about the production staff of A Patriot in expletive-laden texts and emails down to her 'Frenchness'. She also apologised for 'horrible comments' calling the crew 's****y peasants from Hampshire'.

In messages used in White Lantern's claim, Ms Green is said to refer to Mr Seal as 'evil', a 'devious sociopath', 'a liar and a mad man' and 'pure vomit'. She is also said to have called production manager Terry Bird 'a f****** moron' and described the men as 'total a***holes'.

She also compared her own safety concerns about the project - including a lack of stunt training - to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Alec Baldwin's film Rust.

In the dystopian film A Patriot, Ms Green had been due to play the lead role of a soldier, and told the High Court in London that she 'fell deeply in love' with 'one of the best scripts I have ever read'.

But things turned sour, the court has heard, with White Lantern Films claiming the star breached her 810,000 contract by making unreasonable demands which undermined its efforts to produce the movie.

It has revealed messages sent by the Hollywood star about the film's producers and backers, calling them 'super weak and stupid'.

While she apologised for 'inappropriate language' and 'some horrible things' sent by email and text, giving evidence Ms Green said that this was 'my Frenchness coming out this was my emotions speaking'.

The Paris-born actress and model, who began her career in French theatre after spending time in London and Ireland, added: 'Sometimes you say things you don't actually mean, of course they are not weak and stupid.'

Another text message, sent by one of the film's producers, said that he thought Ms Green would 'rather eat tumours' than make the film with another of the producers whom she disliked. Ms Green, who was an executive producer for the project, dismissed claims from White Lantern that she sought to undermine the film's production, telling the High Court: 'My heart and soul was in making A Patriot.'

Actress Eva Green filming near Tower Bridge in October 2019

She said: 'It is one of the best scripts I have ever read. As an actor it was very exciting, it is the role of a soldier which I have not played before. It was about climate change, which is very dear to my heart.'

However, the Casino Royale star, who attended court in central London wearing a black roll-neck top with a smart moss green velvet blazer and sunglasses, revealed how she feared A Patriot may become a low-budget 'B-movie' after disagreements behind the scenes with the film's financiers and producers.

'When an actor is in a B-movie, you will be labelled as B-actor,' she told the court, adding: 'It could kill my career... I don't care about the money, I live to make good films, it is my religion.'

Mr Mallin has previously claimed that Ms Green had an 'animosity' towards a vision for the project held by Mr Seal.

In WhatsApp exchanges with her agent and the film's director, Ms Green claimed Mr Seal was planning to make a 'cheap B-movie', describing him as 'the devil' and 'evil', he said.

Mr Mallin asked Ms Green if she remembered sending a different text message suggesting that the film under Mr Seal would be a 'B-s****y-movie'.

The actress said she remembered the message. Ms Green added: 'I never wanted this to be a B-movie, but I realised more towards the end that it was going to happen.'

The actress, who played Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale and also starred in the BBC1 series The Luminaries, is suing White Lantern for her fee of $1million (810,000), which she claims she is entitled to under a 'pay or play' clause in her contract.

The term 'pay or play' is used in the film industry to refer to when an artist is paid whether or not they are called upon to perform.

White Lantern is defending the claim and bringing a countersuit.

Lawyers for Ms Green say she is being portrayed unfairly as a diva by White Lantern. Edmund Cullen KC, for Ms Green, told the court last week 'this case is designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'.

Instead, Mr Cullen insists that Ms Green bent over backwards to try to complete the project.

Detailing accommodations the actress made in order to assist the film, he listed how 'she repeatedly agreed to move back the start date, she agreed to move production from Ireland to the UK, she made repeated offers to use part of her fee to finance the project'.

The film was also due to feature The Jewel In The Crown and Game Of Thrones actor Charles Dance and As Good As It Gets star Helen Hunt. Misery star Kathy Bates was also attached to the movie at one point.

Director Dan Pringle said the proposed budget had been reduced from the 8million originally discussed with Ms Green to a lower estimate of 4.6million.

The trial continues, with Ms Green continuing to give evidence today.
The family of George Floyd will be among the mourners paying respect to Tyre Nichols at his funeral in Memphis tomorrow.

Several relatives of the Minneapolis security guard, who was murdered by police in 2020, will attend the ceremony at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, attorney Ben Crump told TMZ.

The Floyd family have already sent their condolences to the grieving relatives of Mr Nichols, who was savagely beaten to death by cops during a routine traffic stop earlier this month.

Among the mourners at what will likely be an emotionally charged service will be four White House aides, as calls grow for more officers to be criminally charged over Mr Nichols' death.

George Floyd's daughter Gianna (right) and brother Philonise (second right) are pictured at the White House in May, 2022. Relatives will be in attendance for the funeral of Tyre Nichols tomorrow

Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms and her colleague Tara Murray, senior advisor Mitch Landrieu, and Erica Loewe, the director of African American media, will travel to the service in Memphis tomorrow.

The funeral will start at 10.30am local time and a live stream will be available online.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, like he did for the funeral service of George Floyd.

An estimated 2,500 people will be in attendance with additional security services to control the crowds and the service.

Jason Turner, senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, has already been speaking out about Mr Nichols' shocking death.

He said: 'We need public safety, right? We need law enforcement to combat pervasive crime.

'Also, we don't want the people who are sworn to protect and serve us brutalizing us for a simple traffic stop, or any offense.'

Turner branded the gruesome footage of the police beating 'further proof that our city's and our nation's criminal justice systems are in dire need of change.'

In his Sunday service, he addressed the congregation with the sermon: 'Tyre Deserves Answers.

Tyre Nichols was savagely beaten to death by cops during a routine traffic stop earlier this month

White House Public Engagement Advisor Keisha Lance Bottoms will be among the officials in attendance

J. Lawrence Turner, pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, will preside over the funeral

He told Action News 5: '"What did I do?" He kept asking that over and over again.

'You need answers to heal. And accountability.'

During the service, he prayed aloud for a fair investigation into the death which has sparked protests across the country.

He said: 'We want his family to know he will not be forgotten, and the fight is not over.'

Turner is preparing for the large service tomorrow and is conscious of its political power.

He said: 'We want to give them comfort. But we also want to start what is going to be a movement to finally bring police reform to our country.'

It comes a day after the parents of Tyre Nichols accepted an invitation to attend President Biden's State of the Union address next Tuesday.

Nichols' mother and stepfather will be the guests of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is also calling for a meeting with President Biden in the wake of the 29-year-old FedEx worker's brutal beating on January 7.

Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, and chairman of the caucus, said he spoke with the family on Sunday 'to first extend our condolences to them, to let them know that we stand with them, to ask them what they want from us in this moment.'

The lawyer representing the family of Tyre Nichols, Ben Crump, has urged Congress to immediately pass police reform laws that ban chokeholds in the wake of his death.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, like he did for the funeral service of George Floyd

The parents of Tyre Nichols have accepted an invitation to attend President Biden's State of the Union address next Tuesday

Nichols, 29, died three days after he was admitted to the hospital this month following a brutal beating by five Memphis Police officers

Tyre Nichols is pictured handcuffed on the ground surrounded by cops during his violent arrest earlier this month

'Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Nichols' death,' Biden said in a statement on Friday.

The president will use his remarks before the joint session of Congress to set the tone for his agenda with two years left in his term and highlight upcoming legislative priorities.

Horsford said his caucus would be reaching out to Sen. Tim Scott, the black Republican from South Carolina who spearheaded the failed police reform negotiations last go-around.

Scott and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., could not reach agreement on a police reform package after the then-Democrat-led House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2021.

The bill, which aims to stop aggressive law enforcement tactics, passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in 2021 but stalled in the Senate. Joe Biden on Thursday called on Congress to send the legislation to his desk.

'Shame on us if we don't use his tragic death to finally get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed,' Crump told CNN's 'State of the Union.'

Crump said he and the Nichols family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to use Nichols' death to galvanize support for the act's passage.

Nichols' mother was coping with her son's death by believing he was destined to change the world, Crump said on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday.

'She believes in her heart Tyre was sent here for an assignment and that there is going to be greater good that comes from this tragedy.'

Nichols' death is the latest high-profile example of police using excessive force against black people and other minorities.

Almost a thousand of people gathered at the Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland, California, last night for protests

A BLM protester projects a 'Defund The Police' sign on to the side of the Oakland Police Department's wall last night

Crump (pictured) said he and the Nichols family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to use Nichols' death to galvanize support for the act's passage

Crump said Nichols' death should finally prompt lawmakers to act.

'It is this culture that says it doesn't matter whether the police officers are black or Hispanic or white, that it is somehow allowed for you to trample on the constitutional rights of certain citizens from certain ethnicities and certain communities,' Crump said on CNN.

Republican House of Representatives Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, appearing on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' cautioned against rushing into new legislation to create new mandates for police.

'These five individuals did not have any respect for life. And again, I don't think these five guys represent the vast, vast majority of law enforcement. But I don't know if there's anything you can do to stop the kind of evil we saw in that video,' he said.

Tyre Nichols was admitted to the hospital in critical condition after being beaten by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7. He died three days later from those injuries

All five Memphis cops were fired on January 20 and on January 26 were arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct

Five officers, all black, are charged with Nichols' murder after video captured on bodycams and a street surveillance camera showed them violently confronting Nichols on January 7.

The Memphis Police Department on Saturday disbanded the SCORPION unit to which the officers belonged, as protests took place in US cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.

Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.

The Memphis police chief, Cerelyn 'CJ' Davis, disbanded the unit on Saturday.

'It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,' she said in a statement.

Prior to the move by Davis, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said it was clear that the officers involved in the attack on Nichols violated the departments policies and training.

'The world is watching us,' Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. 'If there is any silver lining to be drawn from this very dark cloud, its that perhaps this incident can open a broader conversation about the need for police reform.'

Biden joined national civil rights leaders in similar calls to action.

'To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect,' the President said.

A GoFundMe set up for the Nichols family has already raised more than $1million in donations since it was created on Saturday.
Boris Johnson urged Brits to ignore Brexit 'gloom-mongers' on the third anniversary of the UK's EU departure - as former leading Brussels figures trolled the nation.

The former prime minister used a Twitter video to claim the rollout of the Covid vaccine proved that leaving the bloc had been worthwhile.

His intervention came as senior EU players in the Brexit saga weighed in on the landmark date.

The most left-field claim came from whacky former Belgian PM and arch federalist Guy Verhofstadt, who suggested Brexit was to blame for Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile former EU negotiator Michel Barnier suggested that the UK had seen 'no added value' from leaving. He also lauded Sir Keir Starmer as 'a European', something the Labour leader may not appreciate as he tries to keep his party happy.

Writing on Twitter this afternoon, Mr Johnson, now a backbench MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in West London, said: 'Time to turn the tables on the gloom-mongers, and exploit the benefits of Brexit. Remember that vaccine rollout! Happy Brexit Day!'

The former prime minister used a Twitter video to claim the rollout of the Covid vaccine proved that leaving the bloc had been worthwhile

Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt used the third anniversary of the UK's departure to suggest Russian autocrat Putin would not have dared to act if Britain had voted differently at the EU referendum in 2016

Mr Verhofstadt, a hardcore federalist, told the LBC radio station that Putin was trying to restore the Soviet Union and 'the only difference is that the Communist Party is replaced by his cronies'

But in a bizarre moment he added: 'A united Europe, certainly on defence matters, would make an enormous difference. I think maybe that without Brexit, maybe there was no invasion'

Earlier this week he trolled the UK on Twitter, saying it was his 'dream' for the UK and Ukraine both to join the EU within the next five years

He used a map based on polling by Focaldata and Unherd showing that in all but three of the 650 UK parliamentary constituencies a majority of voters believe Brexit was a mistake

In a social media video, he insisted the UK's coronavirus vaccination rollout was as rapid as it was because 'we'd taken back control' of the Medical Health Regulation Agency (MHRA).

'We were able to license that vaccine faster than any other European country and that gave us a crucial edge,' he said.

'So today, on Brexit Day, as we look back at that vaccine rollout, let's also look forward to all the other ways in which we can change our country and our economy for the better.'

However, the idea that Brexit allowed the UK to act independently over vaccines has been debunked, as Britain had all the independent legal right to act even when it was a member, according to Full Fact.

Mr Verhofstadt used an interview on the landmark day to suggest the Russian autocrat would not have dared act if Britain had voted differently at the EU referendum in 2016.

He told LBC radio that Putin was trying to restore the Soviet Union and 'the only difference is that the Communist Party is replaced by his cronies'.

But in a bizarre moment he added: 'A united Europe, certainly on defence matters, would make an enormous difference. I think maybe that without Brexit, maybe there was no invasion.'

No10 hit back at him this afternoon, saying he was wrong to make such a connection. A spokesman said that Britain's response to the invasion had demonstrated 'the UK's commitment to European security'.

Mr Verhofstadt is one of the main cheerleaders for the EU to have its own army. Last week he celebrated Germany's belated decision to send tanks to Ukraine by saying: 'Time to build a real EU defence with jointly procured EU weapons.'

Earlier this week he trolled the UK on Twitter, saying it was his 'dream' for the UK and Ukraine both to join the EU within the next five years.

He used a map based on polling by Focaldata and Unherd showing that in all but three of the 650 UK parliamentary constituencies a majority of voters believe Brexit was a mistake.

He told LBC: 'Yeah, my dream was that I transmitted in a tweet yesterday was to say, let's hope that Britain can rejoin and let's hope that Ukraine can join and why not within five years?

'Maybe it's a little bit optimistic concerning the UK, but my feeling is when the last time when I was in London, that for the first time in the public opinion in Britain, people understand that Brexit was a wrong choice and that it has done a lot of damage to Europe and certainly to the UK.'

The poll of 10,000 people found that only in Lincolnshire was there still majority support for Brexit - Louth and Horncastle, Boston and Skegness, and South Holland and the Deepings.

The 'benefits of Brexit' will be used to 'empower communities and businesses', Rishi Sunak pledged last night.

Ahead of the third anniversary of Britain's departure from the EU today, he promised a renewed focus on exploiting the flexibilities and freedoms offered by no longer having to follow the Brussels rule book.

Meanwhile Mr Barnier will use an LBC interview tonight to attack Brexit and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

'Nobody, even Mr Farage, has been able along these last five years to give me any proof of the added value of Brexit. The added value to be out of the union, out of the Customs Union, out of the single market. There is no added value to Brexit,' he told Andrew Marr in an interview to be broadcast this evening.

Asked about Sir Keir he added: 'I met several times Keir Starmer when he was on the side of the leader of the Labour Party, and I have a respect for him. I wrote my book; on our last meeting he seems to me that he has the capacity to be the Prime Minister of UK... And I think he's a European.

'I think that Keir Starmer as many, many politicians, even in the Tory Party, know that to face some global challenges, we have to work at a European level. Even if UK or Norway or Switzerland... we need to work as a continent to face some global challenges. Better together than alone.'

The Prime Minister, who backed the Leave campaign, said the UK had already made huge strides in harnessing the freedoms unlocked by Brexit, including the vaccine rollout and new trade deals.

'We've forged a path as an independent nation with confidence,' he added.

'We're cutting red tape for businesses, levelling up through our freeports, and designing our own, fairer farming system to protect the countryside.

'This is just the beginning of our plans and I'm determined to ensure the benefits of Brexit continue to empower communities and businesses right across the country.'

Mr Sunak has committed to reviewing more than 4,000 EU-derived laws this year and repealing those not suited to the UK's needs.

A poll published by Ipsos on Monday found 45 per cent thought Brexit was going worse than they expected, up sharply from 28 per cent in June 2021, including just over one in four (26 per cent) of those who voted Leave in the 2016 referendum.

Fewer than one in ten (9 per cent) - down six points on 2021 - said it was working out better than expected, while nearly two in five (39 per cent) said it was meeting their expectations, a seven-point drop.

Ipsos interviewed 1,000 GB adults aged 18-75 online on January 25 and 26.
A senior Tory warned Rishi Sunak not to take a 'snowflakey' approach to bullying claims today as Dominic Raab faces fresh pressure.

Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted ministers must be able to make 'reasonable' demands of civil servants and ask whether they are providing 'good service'.

The intervention came after reports a senior official has told an inquiry into Mr Raab's behaviour that he was 'very rude and abrasive'.

Mr Sunak gathered Cabinet today in the wake of Nadhim Zahawi's sacking for breaching ministerial rules over his multi-million pound tax settlement with HMRC.

There are reports a senior official has told an inquiry into Dominic Raab's (pictured today) behaviour that he was 'very rude and abrasive'

A senior Tory has warned Rishi Sunak (pictured on a visit yesterday) not to take a 'snowflakey' approach to bullying claims today as Dominic Raab faces fresh pressure

Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News ministers must be able to make 'reasonable' demands of civil servants and ask whether they are providing 'good service'

Deputy PM Mr Raab has insisted he welcomes the probe and believes he behaved properly at all times.

He received support from Jacob Rees-Mogg today, with the ex-business secretary warning that ministers must be able to challenge staff.

Mr Rees-Mogg told Sky News: 'I think we've got to be slightly careful about the bullying allegations.

'We mustn't be too snowflakey about it. People need to be able to say this job has not been done well enough and needs to be done better.

'It's a very difficult line to judge. It's not a straightforward issue in most cases. It's how did somebody react, what did somebody say, is it reasonable to demand from senior and well-paid professionals a level of good service? And then you have to judge whether that line has been overstepped. But I do worry we're getting a bit snowflakey about this.'

He said it is 'completely sensible' for Mr Raab to remain in place while under investigation.

Mr Raab is believed to be facing dozens of claims of humiliating civil servants in the workplace.

Adam Tolley KC is leading an investigation into complaints over Mr Raab's conduct.

Nadhim Zahawi was sacked by No10 on Sunday after an ethics report concluded that he had broken the ministerial code

Gillian Keegan and James Cleverly were among the ministers at Cabinet today

Mr Raab served as foreign secretary, justice secretary and deputy Prime Minister under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

One civil servant told The Times he was 'very rude and abrasive, sometimes totally randomly' and for 'arbitrary' reasons.

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior officials, slammed Mr Rees-Mogg's comments.

'Even by Rees-Mogg's standards this is outrageous,' he said. 'A former leader of the House, trivialising bullying that we know has ruined lives and careers.

'Not only should he be ashamed of himself, but his leader and party should distance themselves from this.'

Mr Sunak sacked Mr Zahawi on Sunday after revelations about his personal tax arrangements.

Mr Zahawi was fired after a report by the Prime Minister's ethics adviser concluded he had broken the ministerial code.

A replacement has yet to be named.

Mr Sunak insisted yesterday that he acted 'pretty decisively' since the tax revelations and has tried to recommit his party to 'integrity'.
Nearly 100 days after she left Downing Street as Britain's shortest-serving prime minister in history, Liz Truss is reportedly planning a political comeback.

The ex-premier made a visit to Washington DC before Christmas to attend a gathering of centre-Right figures from across the globe.

It has now emerged, following a series of private meetings while she was across the Atlantic, that the 47-year-old told US politicians she 'remained determined to rouse Britain from economic stagnation'.

According to US website Politico, Ms Truss also made it known that she did not trust her successor, Rishi Sunak, to do the job.

Liz Truss is reported to have told US politicians she 'remained determined to rouse Britain from economic stagnation'

Ms Truss was spotted in Washington in December, when she flew across the Atlantic to attend the International Democrat Union forum

The ex-PM is said to have made it known that she did not trust her successor, Rishi Sunak, to do the job

Ms Truss's time in No10 was dominated by economic turmoil in the wake of her tax-cutting 'mini-Budget', which has since been almost completely junked by Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

But while it is claimed she acknowledged 'mistakes' in the way she pushed ahead with her economic plans, Ms Truss is not said to have shied away from her low-tax agenda on her US trip.

Politico reported that Ms Truss told Kevin Hern, a member of the US House of Representatives, that she wanted to create a similar body to the Republican Study Committee - an influential group in Washington.

She expressed a wish for such a faction at Westminster to 'house all of their ideas into a collective group in order to hold the current Prime Minister accountable,' Mr Hern said.

He also revealed that Ms Truss floated the 'Conservative Growth Group' as a name.

This month, a group of two dozen MPs supportive of Ms Truss were reported to have gathered in Parliament - with the ex-PM in attendance - to form a group of the same name.

Another US political figure who spoke to Ms Truss on her December trip told Politico she expressed fears that Britain's Conservative movement could 'disappear entirely' as she warned about the Tories' electoral prospects.

Sir Jake Berry, who served as Tory chairman under Ms Truss and who accompanied her on her US trip, told the website that the party had 'failed over a significant period of time' to explain 'why we are Conservatives in a compelling way'.

Ms Truss has maintained a longer silence in Parliament after returning to the backbenches than both her immediate predecessors, Boris Johnson and Theresa May

Ms Truss's attendance at the International Democrat Union forum in Washington last month was at the invitation of its chairman, ex-Canadian PM Stephen Harper.

An ally of Ms Truss told MailOnline that she had used the visit to touch base with other centre-Right figures in a series of private meetings as she reflected on her time in No10.

Although she has remained as MP for South West Norfolk, the ex-PM has not spoken in the House of Commons since her last speech as PM.

It means she has now maintained a longer silence in Parliament after returning to the backbenches than both her immediate predecessors, Boris Johnson and Theresa May.

But the ally said, although she was not yet planning a specific intervention, that she would speak in the Commons chamber as and when an appropriate moment arose.
Security officials and rescue workers conduct an operation to clear the rubble and search for bodies at the site of Monday's suicide bombing, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. The death toll from the previous day's suicide bombing at a mosque in northwestern Pakistani rose to more than 85 on Tuesday, officials said. The assault on a Sunni Mosque inside a major police facility was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years. (Photo: AP)

A suicide blast at a mosque in Peshawar on Monday was the biggest terror incident in recent months. This one was aimed at the Pakistan establishment as the holy place lies within the heavily guarded police lines where several offices of security and counterterrorism forces are located. The restive capital of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa may have been relatively calm for a while but, as a haven for terrorists of every kind, the region has always been notorious as a hotbed of terrorist activity for nearly four decades now.

Tragic as they are in taking lives without making any distinctions, Pakistan has been witness to many such bloody bombings, including one on an army-run public school in the very area in which international fighters have gathered for years together. They came there first to fight the once Soviet-backed Afghan government and the area became more thickly populated with fighters after Imran Khan struck a peace deal allowing Pakistan Taliban fighters back in from Afghanistan. The deal, however, broke down last year.

Pakistan has paid a very heavy price for its dalliance with terror and its perpetrators as a State instrument that was used extensively across both the borders with Afghanistan as well as India. Its leaders have often pointed out to the outside world that Pakistan is also a victim of terror. But, given the background of encouragement for disruptive elements who use bombs as a weapon against civilians as well, Pakistan is far from blameless.

Police personnel nurse a grievance that, as soft targets, they suffer more though they are a force primarily dealing with civil order. It is not known yet who was behind this latest outrage in the bombing of a mosque at which around 300 persons had gathered to pray. The Pakistan Taliban, which had tried to take responsibility, backed out saying it was not in its playbook to aim at people praying. A branch of the dreaded IS  Islamic State Khorasan - operating in the region could be a suspect too.

The economy is on the brink with Pakistan desperately negotiating with the IMF to stay afloat amid dwindling foreign exchange resources and the politics is particularly polarised after Imran Khan was ousted from office. With the Taliban returning to power in Kabul in 2021 after the US pulled out, there has been a major shift in the maelstrom environment of the area. The more is the pity as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa resembles a war zone now.
He raised concerns of a nuclear alliance between Russia, China and N. Korea

NATO today raised concerns of a nuclear alliance between Russia, China and North Korea that would 'challenge the world order'.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden China to potentially invade the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

Stoltenberg said China is 'learning lessons' from Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine as he warned: 'What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow.'

The NATO chief made the comments during a trip to Japan in which he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed to strengthen ties with the West amid increasing security fears over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its growing military-cooperation with China.

NATO today raised concerns of a nuclear alliance between Russia, China and North Korea that would 'challenge the world order'. Pictured: North Korea launches a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, on November 18, 2022

The leaders also raised concerns about Russia's nuclear threats. Pictured: The launch of Russian Sarmat ballistic missile in April 2022

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands after holding a joint media briefing on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan

'The world is at a historical inflection point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II,' Stoltenberg and Kishida said in a statement.

The leaders also raised concerns about Russia's nuclear threats, joint military drills between Russia and China near Japan, and North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.

It comes after Russia yesterday warned it is on the 'verge of a direct collision with the US and NATO' and it is 'very possible' there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 due to Washington's efforts to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Moscow in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg today told reporters a Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden China at a time when it is building up its military, 'bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan'.

'The war in Ukraine demonstrates that our security is closely interconnected,' Stoltenberg said during his visit at the Iruma Air Base north of Tokyo.

'If President Putin wins in Ukraine it will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians, but it will also send a very dangerous message to authoritarian leaders all over the world because then the message will be that when they use military force they can achieve their goals,' he said. 'So the war in Ukraine matters for all of us.'

He added: 'This war is not just a European crisis, but the challenge to the world order.

'Beijing is watching closely, and learning lessons that may influence its future decisions. What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow.'

Over the weekend, Stoltenberg gave similar warnings about rising tension with China during a visit to South Korea. It was here that he urged Seoul to increase military support to Ukraine.

While the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation groups 30 countries in Europe and North America, Stoltenberg has said its members are affected by global threats.

Japan, already a close ally of the United States, has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific nations as well as with Britain, Europe and NATO amid growing security threat from China and North Korea.

Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first leaders from their countries to attend a NATO summit last year, joining as observers.

A Ukrainian serviceman uses his foot to kick snow off the top of a BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle in the Donetsk region on Monday

Self-governed Taiwan's 23 million people live under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary

China has previously criticised NATO's efforts to expand its alliances in Asia. Russia, which calls its invasion of Ukraine a 'special operation', has repeatedly cast NATO's expansion as a threat to its security.

Late last year, Japan unveiled sweeping plans to beef up its defence capabilities, changes once unthinkable for a pacifist country that will make it the third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

Bolstering its co-operation with NATO in areas from maritime security and arms control to cyberspace and disinformation will further help to respond to the changing strategic environment, the statement added.

The meeting comes as Japan prepares to host the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit in May, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine is expected to be a major topic of discussion.

Kishida is considering visiting Kyiv in February to reinforce his support for Ukraine in the conflict, domestic media have said.

It comes as Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US's decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks was an 'extremely destructive step' which 'escalated' the war in Ukraine.

Ryabkov claimed Washington's apparent insistence to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Russia means that the future of the nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Moscow is in doubt.

He warned that the last remaining pillar of the treaty could therefore expire in 2026 without a replacement.

Both Russia and the United States still have vast arsenals of nuclear weapons which are currently partially limited by the 2011 New START Treaty, which in 2021 was extended until 2026.

What comes after February 4, 2026, however, is unclear, though Washington has indicated it wants to reach a follow-on agreement with Russia.

Asked if Moscow could envisage there being no nuclear arms control treaty after 2026, Ryabkov told the RIA state new agency: 'This is quite a possible scenario.'
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This is the moment brave lion cubs had to leap across a swollen river in Kenya before drying off in the sun with their mother.

The plucky youngsters lined up by the waters at the Olare Motorogi Conservancy this month.

Storms meant that the Ntiakntiak river in the conservancy bordering the Masai Mara was much fuller than usual.

The mother and her young cubs were spotted at dawn after killing a warthog.

The mother drank from the river, then jumped over to the North bank, while the cubs waited several minutes, with the mum looking on anxiously.

They can be seen growling before jumping into the water and struggling to reach the other side.

Eventually they succeeded and shook off before joining their mother for some grooming in the sunshine and going to sleep shortly afterwards.

Wildlife guide and conservationist Paul Goldstein spotted the plucky youngsters lined up by the waters this month at the Olare Motorogi Conservancy

One of the lion cubs looks determined to get to the other side to dry off

The mother is pictured bathing proudly in the sun with her cubs after completing the mission

One of the cubs is pictured drinking from the river before making the crossing

The cubs line up on the rocks with a couple of them looking less than pleased to be making the journey

One of the cubs growls at the sight of the river

The growling cub leads the way as the other lions prepare to make their way across the river

One of the cubs starts with a long jump to stay out of the water for as long as possible

A cub appears to be struggling to cross to the other side, but the end is in sight

A lion cub makes one last push to get to the rocks on the other side

The cub is half-submerged as it makes the arduous trip across the river

One of the cubs approaches the bank at the other side of the river at the Olare Motorogi Conservancy
A grieving mother whose 23-year-old son died on holiday after taking drugs has issued a plea for ecstasy to be made legal.

Keen sportsman and DJ Ben Rees, from Aberdare in South Wales, told his girlfriend 'this has been the best year' just weeks before he died after taking party drug MDMA during a trip to Germany with friends.

Ben took the powdered drug that contained a lethal substitute called PMA - that gives similar effects but is cheaper and more poisonous.

Now his heartbroken mother Nadia Rees, 59, is calling for ecstasy to be made legal so it is easier to regulate what is inside the substances.

Ben Rees, from Aberdare in South Wales, died at the age of 23 after taking a party drug

Ben is pictured here second from the left with his parents Huw and Nadia and older brother Alex

Nadia said: 'Ben's death has to try and change something so that he didn't die in vain.

'The harm that's been caused in Wales over the past year by illegal or illicit drug use, as they call it, is higher than it's ever been so the law isn't protecting the people who are using these substances.

'You and I might go to the pub, we will have a couple of drinks but we know the content of the alcohol that we are drinking. It's like a game of roulette really, isn't it.'

Nadia says her son was a sportsman and a musician who was very sociable.

A few weeks before he died he told his girlfriend: 'This has been the best year'.

Nadia says her son was a sportsman and a musician who was very sociable

A few weeks before he died he told his girlfriend: 'This has been the best year'

DJ Ben died while on holiday in Germany with a group of friends - he had taken MDMA

Nadia is now working with organisation Anyone's Child - a network of families affected by drugs who are calling for drug laws to be changed.

She added: 'I think Ben would be proud of me.'

Former undercover police officer Neil Woods believes drugs should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco.

He said all the UK deaths from MDMA he's aware of have been because the dosage is too high in the tablet or it contained a more dangerous substance.

He said: 'It's because they're dangerous that we need to regulate them'.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 4,859 deaths in Wales and England last year were related to drug poisoning - including legal drugs.

The Home Office said tackling drug misuse is a priority.

The UK Government has no plans to decriminalise harmful drugs but aims to prevent drug use in communities, support people through treatment and tackle the supply of illegal drugs.
A father of six arrested on suspicion of locking his own children in a cellar is the grandson of a notorious Nazi war criminal who established the Mauthausen concentration camp, MailOnline can reveal.

Tom Landon, 54, was held by police after he used pepper spray to attack two officials who had come to question him about the living conditions of his family.

Neighbours raised the alarm after hearing 'crying' from the cellar of the isolated building where Mr Landon lives with his wife, 40, and their three sons and three daughters, all aged under seven.

Officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of the house, which had been recently bought by Landon.

Tom Landon, 54, pictured above, spent 24 hours in police custody after officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of his house. MailOnline can now reveal he is the grandson of a notorious Nazi war criminal

Pictured: Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Himmler's second in command, takes the oath before giving evidence in his own defence at the Nuremberg trials. Tom Landon, who hit the headlines over the weekend after being held in custody for 24 hours, has admitted he is the Nazi's grandson

He was held in custody for 24 hours before being released without charge, after police stormed the house in Obritz, 60 miles north of the Austrian capital Vienna and close to the country's border with the Czech Republic.

Mr Landon - who has self-published more than 30 books and who police called a 'prepper' - has since told MailOnline the incident is all part of a 'vendetta' by the local deputy mayor Erich Greil who disagreed with the family's 'off grid' lifestyle.

He is said to be part of the Reichsburger movement, a group of right-wing extremists who believe the German empire still exists as it did prior to World War II and the current German state is insignificant.

Police raids recently busted members of the group who were planning to storm the German capitol building and overthrow the government.

Mr Landon also confirmed to MailOnline he was the grandson of notorious Nazi war criminal Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who was leader of the feared SS in Austria and later head of police in wartime Germany.

Kaltenbrunner was a committed follower of Adolf Hitler to the bitter end, and was one of the main protagonists in the Holocaust.

He established the Mauthausen concentration camp, the first of its kind in Austria and where around 90,000 people were murdered.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Mr Landon said: ' Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property?' Pictured: An underground tunnel is seen inside his property in Obritz, 60 miles north of the Austrian capital Vienna and close to the country's border with the Czech Republic

Pictured: Boxes are seen stacked inside an underground tunnel inside Mr Landon's home

According to historians, Kaltenbrunner was present at a 1940 meeting where Hitler and his fellow henchmen Josef Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler agreed all Jews incapable of heavy work should be gassed.

The Nazis went on to kill six million Jews in death camps around Europe, along with an additional 11 million people from other groups.

Leni Yahil, who wrote 'The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry 1932-1945' described how under Kaltenbrunner's command, the 'genocide of Jews picked up pace as the process of extermination was to be expedited and the concentration of the Jews in the Reich itself and the occupied countries were to be liquidated as soon as possible.'

During the summer of 1943 Kaltenbrunner was also present when 15 inmates at Mauthausen were selected to demonstrate three grim killing methods for him: killing by gunshot, hanging and gassing.

Other historians have described how he was 'committed to Nazism' until the bitter end and a fanatical Hitler loyalist.

He was eventually captured four days after World War Two ended by US soldiers hiding in a remote Austrian mountain cabin with two SS soldiers at Altahausse.

After being questioned and initially claiming he was a doctor his cover was blown after his mistress called out to him as he was led away from the building and she rushed up and kissed him.

He was convicted at the Nuremberg war trials in September 1946, aged 43, of crimes against humanity and executed by hanging - insisting at the end that he was in fact trying to end the Holocaust and he was being wrongly judged.

Pictured: The German defendants Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Walther Funk, Karl Doenitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, Fritz Sauckel Alfred Jodl, Franz von Papen, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Albert Speer, Konstantin von Neurath and Hans Fritzsche sitting during the Nuremberg Trials. Germany, November 1945

Mr Landon told MailOnline: 'Yes, it's true my grandfather was a Nazi war criminal and he was a terrible man who was punished for what he did.

'My own father was four when my grandfather was executed and I was born in 1968 so I know very little about him other than what is in history books.

'I am not responsible for his actions and the shame of the background made me change my name from Kaltenbrunner to Landon in 1995 when I was trying to become an actor.

'But even now people bring it up and claim that I am a Holocaust denier because of him but I'm not as my maternal grandmother was Jewish.'

In 2001, a Dutch holidaymaker found Kaltenbrunner's Nazi security seal in a lake in the Austrian alps where it has been thrown as he escaped the Allies.

Mr Landon  who has written more than 30 books critical of his country's government  this week invited MailOnline inside the six properties he has bought and which he intended to renovate and give one to each child when they were older.

'This has been very traumatic for my wife and children and it's because people like the deputy mayor have been sticking their noses in where they don't need to be,' the father, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, said.

'My family is terrified, they won't come back to the house where we lived for nearly a year because they are scared the police may return. Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property?

'And all because the deputy mayor doesn't like our chosen lifestyle and wants us out. Do you really think I would be free if I had been keeping my young children in a cellar?'

Mr Landon, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, has written more than 30 books critical of his country's government

Mr Landon said: 'I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves'

Mr Landon dismissed reports in local media that his family were British, insisting his wife was German and the children Austrian

While police marked the outside of each of the properties with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future investigation on child cruelty, the case is expected to be dropped by local prosecutors.

'I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here, and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves,' he told MailOnline.

'I saw two men outside looking at my property and they were shouting at me to come out  one said 'We have reason to believe you have children in here and they are unsafe and not going to school'.

'I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were teaching them at home, and it was none of their business how we chose to live.

'But they refused to go away and they started to come in and that's when I used the spray, they ran away over the field and then a few minutes later the police were breaking down my door.

'The children were terrified and my wife was in tears and all for nothing, our quiet simple life here is ruined now by busy bodies who have no business interfering.

'They used a special team of policemen to search my house because they thought I had booby traps and explosives here  they were dressed like Robocop with body armour and it was all so unnecessary.'

During the interview Mr Landon's wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses to the children who could be heard laughing in the background.

The 54-year-old explained his children were terrified and his wife was in tears when the police raided his property

Mr Landon claimed the police used a special team to search the house because they thought he had booby traps and explosives throughout the premises

Boxes of toys were neatly placed along the walls and down stairs in the cellar, dozens of dust-covered bottles of wine were piled up in alcoves, as were plastic crates containing tinned food, nappies and medical supplies

Inviting MailOnline inside the house where the children were living he pointed out a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement cellar where he told them to hide as police broke down the door to his home.

Boxes of toys were neatly arranged along the walls and down stairs in the cellar, dozens of dust-covered bottles of wine were piled up in alcoves, as were plastic crates containing tinned food, nappies and medical supplies.

When told by MailOnline this was why police had described him as a 'prepper'  a person who prepares for a 'major disaster or cataclysmic event'  Mr Landon laughed and said: 'I didn't even know what that meant when they told me.

'Once they explained it I said I was just a family man and a good father who liked to make sure I had everything my children needed, and as for the wine you can help yourself, I don't drink.'

Mr Landon invited MailOnline inside the house where the children were living and pointed out a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement cellar where he told them to hide as police broke down the door to his home

Mr Landon said: 'I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were teaching them at home, and it was none of their business how we choose to live'

Mr Landon dismissed reports that weapons had been found, insisting they were air pistols and a deactivated World War Two gun

During his interview Mr Landon's wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses to the children who could be heard laughing in the background

Mr Landon also dismissed reports that weapons had been found, insisting they were air pistols and a deactivated World War Two gun, adding:' Those guns they found wouldn't hurt anyone.'

He added: 'We chose not to register the children but they are all mine and now we will have to go to Vienna to take DNA tests to prove they are ours. If the authorities were so concerned why have they let the children come back to us?

'I bought these six properties for the children and I wanted us all to live together when they were older but now this plan has been ruined because the deputy mayor didn't want us here.

'I think I will lose 120,000 Euros now because my wife and children don't want to come back here but I will try and get some money back by suing the authorities for what they have done to us.

'I have been accused of being the new Josef Fritzl but it couldn't be further from the truth. I am not an enemy of the state, I am a philanthropist and above all a loving father.'

MailOnline has approached the deputy mayor Mr Greil but he said he was unable to comment as he was involved in local elections.

The Lower Austrian police and local prosecutor were both unavailable for comment.

Pictured: A camera watching the cellar on a road where it is believed Tom Landon had brought six children

Austrian officials were tipped off about Mr Landon's supposedly erratic behaviour by worried neighbours and on Thursday, and attempted to question him - but it is alleged that he reacted violently and attacked them.

Local mayor Erich Greil said: 'There are cameras all over the outside of the buildings where he and his family and below are a series of wine cellars where it is said they were living. Neighbours became worried because they heard children's voices and so the police and social services were called.

'He hasn't been here for very long and he said the building was bought by a British company. He said he had lived in England for a few years before moving to Obritz.'

Mr Greil also told local Austrian media that Landon had 'wanted a cellar for each child' and police are now tracing to records to find details on the children who were not registered in Austria.

A police source told MailOnline:'The man has been questioned and has now been released. Now with Interpol we are working to identify the children who we believe may have been born in the UK.

'The man and his wife, who is British, had certainly lived in the UK and had connections there. The children have been taken into the care of local authorities temporarily. The prosecutor has also been informed as the man attacked officers with pepper spray and he faces charges for that.'

Titles of Mr Landon's books include Red Sow, Dirty Justice, The Judas Principle and The Destructive Effect of Information Technology on Human Intellectual Development.

Checks by MailOnline over the weekend revealed Mr Landon to be the director of several companies based in London and involved in information technology and book and software publishing.

He has also written a musical about the Austrian rock star Falco  known for his 1985 hit Rock Me Amadeus  and who died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.

There is no suggestion any of the children were sexually abused, but the investigation has recalled the infamous case of Josef Fritzl, 87, who was jailed for life in 2009 after keeping his daughter Elizabeth in a cellar for 24 years.
Millions of Australians may be told to get a fifth Covid jab, despite Anthony Albanese's government saying in November it will not be necessary.

Vaccine experts have called for a third booster to be delivered at the same times as the flu jab in April and May, before the virus is expected to be at it's infection peak.

Professor Robert Booy, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney, said the effectiveness of the last booster shot the elderly and immunocompromised had six months ago is now 'wearing off'.

Millions of Australians may be told to get a fifth Covid jab, despite Anthony Albanese's government saying in November it will not be necessary (stock image)

'I think it's pretty straightforward, to be honest. We've got winter coming. We've got waning immunity against Omicron,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

'We've got vulnerable people who haven't had a booster for six months and a minimum once a year booster is appropriate at the moment that could be delivered in April May at the same time as flu jabs are being rolled out,' he said.

'It's not exactly rocket science to have a commercial availability for those who want to pay. Just as long as that those who are vulnerable get it for free,'

Professor Booy's call for the vaccine to be free for those over 65 people with multiple medical problems, disabilities and indigenous Australians has been backed by other academics, including University of Queensland's vaccine expert Professor Paul Griffin.

However, in November Health Minister Mark Butler said The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) decided not to recommend fifth dose after 'considering international evidence as well as the local data around.'

The ATAGI noted that severe disease and death during a recent wave of the virus in Singapore was very rare for people who had had at least two doses of a Covid shot.

Vaccine experts have called for a third booster to be delivered at the same times as the flu jab in April and May, before the virus is expected to be at it's infection peak (a shopper is pictured during the 2021 Covid pandemic in Sydney)

Professor Robert Booy (pictured), an infectious diseases expert is urging a third booster to be offered from April. In November Health Minister Mark Butler said ATAGI decided not to recommend fifth dose

'At this point in time, they have said they anticipate new booster recommendations being made in early 2023 in preparation for the southern hemisphere winter,' Mr Butler said at the time.

There has been an average of 6500 Covid cases per day recorded in Australia during January.

This is a fall from the 15,000 infections reported in December.

ATAGI had initially recommended against getting a fifth Covid-19 vaccine shot last November.

But that advice was provided after evidence emerged from Singapore that a fifth shot had a 'trivial effect' on virus transmission in the country.

The evidence also showed that serious illness or death was rare amongst vaccinated people.
A human rights lawyer has prompted outrage after accusing Number 10 of using a 'racial trope' to defend itself over a UN report that called Britain racist.

Dominique Day chaired a working group of experts on people of African descent which said there had been a failure to tackle 'systemic' racism in the UK. The government 'strongly' rejected most of its findings and said the report presented a 'superficial analysis' of complex issues.

In response, the American attorney claimed the word 'superficial' was an 'upgrade' from 'lazy' - which she said was used in one meeting during her 10-day fact-finding trip - and called it a 'familiar racial trope'.

But former Cabinet minister Shailesh Vara, whose family moved to Britain from Uganda in the 1960s, told MailOnline the Downing Street response was 'not a trope in any way'.

Dominique Day chaired a working group of experts on people of African descent which said there had been a failure to tackle 'systemic' racism in the UK

In response, the American attorney claimed the word 'superficial' was an 'upgrade' from 'lazy'

'A 10-day tour around England is hardly a proper way to truly understand the situation. Of course it is superficial analysis, it is not a trope in any way,' the Tory MP said.

'The UN report doesn't reflect the UK as it is. The fact that so many people from across the world want to come and live here sends out a powerful message and speaks volumes to rebut the UN analysis.'

Ms Day is chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which visited the UK last week to discover evidence of 'racism, xenophobia and Afrophobia'.

She later tweeted: 'When the UK gov't called our 20-pg PRELIMINARY findings superficial (upgrade from ''lazy'' used in one mtg), the familiar racial trope recalled the surreality of confronting anti-Blackness bodied as I am.'

The UN group visited London, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester, meeting police and government officials.

Its members also had a 'robust' discussion with Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, an anti-woke Tory 'rising star' who was born in Nigeria and is touted as a future Prime Minister.

Former Cabinet minister Shailesh Vara, whose family moved to Britain from Uganda in the 1960s, told MailOnline the Downing Street response was 'not a trope in any way'

After the visit, it wrote to the government to express 'very extreme concern' about the failure to address 'structural, institutional and systemic racism' against black people in Britain.

The group called for an immediate and unconditional moratorium on the use of joint enterprise laws by prosecutions and the use of strip searches by police during stop and searches.

'We have serious concerns about impunity and the failure to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, deaths in police custody, 'joint enterprise' convictions and the dehumanising nature of the stop and (strip) search,' it said in a statement.

In preliminary findings, it also claimed that austerity measures had exacerbated racism and racial discrimination for black people.

Speaking at a press conference in London on Friday, Ms Day said: 'I've never visited a country before where there is a culture of fear pervading black communities  relating to a range of asylum, residency, policing issues.

'An entire community experiences constant and ongoing human rights violations as a routine and normalised part of daily life.'

The UN group has a 'robust' discussion with Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, an 'anti-woke' Tory 'rising star' who was born in Nigeria and is touted as a future Prime Minister

A Government spokesman said: 'We strongly reject most of these findings. The report wrongly views people of African descent as a single homogeneous group and presents a superficial analysis of complex issues that fails to look at all possible causes of disparities, not just race.

'We are proud that the UK is an open, tolerant and welcoming country but this hard-earned global reputation is not properly reflected in this report. We are not complacent and recognise some people experience racism in Britain, but we are very clear this has no place in our society and must be rooted out.

'The UK government has made great strides in addressing racial and ethnic disparities, most recently with our ground-breaking Inclusive Britain strategy, which is focussed on closing outcome gaps between people from different ethnic backgrounds. Instead of sowing division we must celebrate the fact that this country strives to give everybody, from every community, in every corner of the UK, the opportunity to thrive and succeed.'

Prior to the group's visit to Britain, a senior Government source pointed out the UN group had called on the Government to reject a previous study by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities which found there was no evidence of institutional racism in the UK.

It had accused the report authors of 'normalising white supremacy'.

The source said: 'It would be great if this UN working group noted the great strides the UK has made in addressing racial and ethnic disparities, most recently with the ground-breaking Inclusive Britain strategy.

'However the previous record of this working group with other countries doesn't leave us with much hope.'
A pub is set to become a hit with plant-based diners after launching what is believed to be Britain's first vegan carvery.

The owners of The Barn in the village of Willey, Warwickshire say visitors are flocking from across the country to try their plant-based Sunday roast.

Landlords Sarah Goodchild and Ben Stead-Davis, both 34, have been serving the 13-item roast dinner at their establishment throughout January.

The meat-free meal has already proved so popular with hungry vegans that people have been travelling hundreds of miles from as far as Wales and Stoke to try the food.

The Barn pub in Warwickshire claims to have the first entirely plant-based vegan carvery in the UK, and perhaps the world

The meal has proved a hit with vegans and vegetarians, and comes with a choice of tofu, Seitan (pictured) or a nut roast

The 14.95 meal features a choice of 'Tofurky' (Tofu turkey), Seitan, nut roast and plant-based Lincolnshire sausages with all the usual trimmings.

Sides include vegan Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, maple glazed parsnips, carrots, mash, roast cabbage, creamy leeks, stuffing and a red wine gravy.

The vegan couple believe the plant-based carvery at their quaint village pub and restaurant is the only one of its kind in Britain, and possibly the world.

However, their decision to go completely meat-free has received a mixed response from some customers who enjoy the more traditional beef, lamb and turkey combo.

Father-of-one Ben, who is co-owner and also head chef, said: 'We are proud to say we are the only restaurant in the UK and even maybe the world doing what we are.

'There are places who will offer vegan alternatives on their Sunday lunch menu - but we don't believe anywhere else is serving a vegan carvery like ours - including vegan restaurants.

'The support we have received has been incredible and for the next few Sundays, our carvery is fully booked.

'On Sunday we had people say they had travelled hours to come and have one of our roasts.

'Now that the whole restaurant is going vegan, I hope we can keep this support.

'We will do lots of things to keep the menu ever-changing and interesting.

The vegan meal has been so popular The Barn pub has booked up its Sunday roasts for the next three weeks

Customers have travelled from as far as Wales and Stoke to try the plant-based carvery

Partners Sarah Goodchild and Ben Stead-Davis, both 34, started working at the pub in 2017 and bought it over in September

'As a chef, I find being vegan easy as I can use my brain to think of something delicious to make.

'You just have to be open-minded, and you can make some great vegan dishes.

'I think people worry about where they are going to get their protein from but what people forget is that beans are very high in protein and tofu actually has more protein in it than steak.'

Partners Ms Goodchild and Mr Stead-Davis began working at the pub in 2017, and took over the business in September.

The pair expanded the plant-based options on the menu and trialled a vegan roast in November which proved a success with customers before launching their vegan Sunday carvery in 'Veganuary'.

The couple have now decided to ditch all meat and dairy products and brand The Barn as an entirely vegan pub.

Co-owner Ms Goodchild said she had been 'overwhelmed' with the support their vegan carvery had received so far.

The mother-of-one said: 'My partner and I took this restaurant on in September and have since been slowly introducing more and more vegan items on to what has always been a very meat-based menu.

Vegan Adam Smith, 25, (right) said: 'It's good to have places available that accommodate us'

Melanie Kidd-White, 70, from Rugby, visited The Barn for a vegan roast last weekend. She said: 'I was really excited as I had never been to a fully vegan carvery'

The Barn has decided to ditch all meat and dairy products and brand the pub as entirely vegan

'We are finding our little restaurant is becoming increasingly popular among the vegan community and we would like to ask for a little more support to help us succeed as the UK's first fully-vegan carvery.

'Every week we serve up homemade, plant-based roasts along with Yorkshires, cauliflower cheese and all of the trimmings - all vegan.

'Up until now though we've still had to offer meat as well, but this has been served up in the kitchen, out of sight of the customers.

'We have decided that now is the time to try and ditch the meat entirely.'

The pub's vegan Sunday roast is fully booked for the next three weeks, and expected to serve more than 130 guests this Sunday.

Melanie Kidd-White, 70, from Rugby, visited The Barn for a vegan roast last weekend. She said: 'I was really excited as I had never been to a fully vegan carvery.

'I have been to other carveries like Toby Carvery where they offer vegan options but you still have to look at all the meat joints when you go up.

'I absolutely loved the Seitan. I've had Seitan before and not particularly liked it but the one here today is excellent and a nice alternative to meat.

'I've been vegan for 18 years and vegetarian a lot longer.

'I think the Toby Carvery is a bit cheaper but vegan food is not mass produced so I think you would expect it to be more expensive.

'Being a vegan has got a lot better. When I first became a vegan, it was hard to eat out and food was never an enjoyment but now it is.'

Another customer Adam Smith, 25, a software engineer, added: 'It's good to have places available that accommodate us.

'My family has always been vegetarian, and I just transitioned into veganism over the years.

'Most places you'll go will have one or two vegan options on the menu, but at The Barn there are so many options which is why we have decided to come and support this place.'

However, one would-be local customer said he was put off by the lack of the meat on the menu and would not return.

Daniel Lawley, 37, of Rugby, said: 'You can't have a carvery without any meat. It's not a proper carvery then.

'This just puts me off going there again. I'm all for vegans having options but enforcing their lifestyle on others discriminates against us meat lovers.'

Others took to social media, where Rich Davidson commented: 'Carvery is meat... stop this ridiculous charade.

'Don't eat meat fine, stop calling veg after animal parts, and trying to make veg taste like meat.'

And Ben Taylor added: 'A village called Willey going meat free, you've got to laugh.

'The Sunday carvery is a staple of British cuisine, and now the vegans are taking that away too? Is nothing sacred anymore!?'
A controversial CCTV plan in a quiet Adelaide suburb has been given the green light despite sparking fierce protests.

The council for Salisbury, in Adelaide's north, is attempting to introduce a 'Smart Cities' program which would see more surveillance cameras installed in the area.

The technology designed to detect people parking and using pedestrian services was slammed by demonstrators who claim it would lead to 'Orwellian' facial recognition technology being used in the area.

However, the council insists that there is no facial recognition tech being used and the extra CCTV cameras were to keep 'the community safe'.

The proposal was approved on Tuesday, despite close to 100 protesters demonstrating outside

Pictured: Protesters are from the No Smart Cities Action Group. The group delivered tens of thousands leaflets throughout Salisbury to criticise the plan

The final vote on the plan was set to take place on Monday but a blackout forced the Council to reschedule to Tuesday.

The meeting went ahead despite up to 100 angry protesters rom the No Smart Cities Action Group demonstrating outside.

The group delivered tens of thousands leaflets throughout Salisbury to criticise the plan, which it said was like an 'open-air prison' without privacy.

There had been fears that Monday's meeting could be stormed by the protesters, in scenes reminiscent of the chaos on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 6 when Donald Trump supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building.

Its website previously called for a 'massive presence' at the Salisbury Council protest.

One of the protest members, Matilda Bawden, is also the mother a councillor and bizarrely claimed that the local government body had been 'infiltrated' by the World Economic Forum, though she denied allegations she was a conspiracy theorist.

Her daughter and serving councillor Grace previously criticised the plan.

'These technologies, the smart technologies, have a capability for facial recognition,' she said.

'As long as there's a capability for it, it can be used at any time. We don't have policy in place; that is the point of council  to put in a policy to protect the public.'

There had been fears that Monday's meeting could be stormed by the protesters, in scenes reminiscent of the chaos on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 6

Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge (pictured) said she was disappointed by the spread of misinformation about the plan

According to ABC, local resident Alvin Warren also criticised the plan.

'One of my concerns is the financial burden that is going to be placed onto residents for the implementation of this system and its continuing annual maintenance,' he said.

'We are looking at the data records of this stuff, where is it going to be stored? Is it going to be onshore, is it going to be offshore, who's going to get access to this stuff?'

Despite misgivings, the proposal was passed with all but two councillors expressing their disapproval.

The council also ruled out the use of facial recognition technology.

Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge said she was disappointed by the spread of misinformation about the plan.

'It's about looking after the community the best we can,' she said.

'I think it's sad that 52,000 households which is 150,000 people were given something and they actually believed it even though it was signed, there's no phone number to ring to find out whether it was true or not.

'It scared a lot of people and I think that's so sad, a lot of elderly people are frightened.'
A YouTuber who described himself as the 'foremost expert in penis enlargement' has died suddenly aged 34 in mysterious circumstances, sparking a police probe.

Laith Abdallah Algaz, better known as Leo Rex, was discovered by cops in his ransacked Pattaya apartment Monday.

The health vlogger, whose YouTube channel was called Leo and Longevity, was found naked apart from a black shirt, lying face down with blood leaking from his mouth and nose and a bruise on his left eye, police said.

Laith's clothes had been scattered everywhere and the shelves and toilet in the bathroom had been destroyed in an apparent raid, officers added.

Laith Abdallah Algaz, better known as Leo Rex, has been found dead aged 34 in a ransacked Thai apartment. His YouTube channel was called Leo and Longevity

The influencer, from Colorado, was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived.

Officers said they discovered various drugs, including anxiety tablets, sleeping pills, steroids, cannabis and antidepressants at the scene.

Laith's friend, American national Charles Anthony Hughes, 40, had visited the house after the YouTuber failed to answer his calls.

Upon opening the door he was shocked to find Laith already lifeless, and frantically called the police.

Charles said Laith would often stay at home using his computer while taking cannabis.

The influencer's YouTube channel Leo and Longevity had 123,000 subscribers. He often posted about exercise and food supplements.

The health vlogger was found naked apart from a black shirt, lying face down with blood leaking from his mouth and nose with a bruise on his left eye, police said

The influencer, from Colorado, was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived

His most viewed videos were about penis enlargement.

In the video, he describes how he used a system of pumping and weights to extend the length to his genitals.

Other than bizarre sexual advice, Laith's content included videos on steroids, bodybuilding and bogus health information.

Friend Aicha Humera Rattanaphan, 25, said: 'The dead body was found by his friends after they were unable to contact him. The door was locked so they used the spare key to get inside before finding the body.

'He lived alone in this room. He didn't have many visitors.'

Police Captain Sombat Kaewmulsuk said officers were checking CCTV and interviewing potential suspects.

Officers said they discovered various drugs, including anxiety tables, sleeping pills, steroids, cannabis, and antidepressants

He said: 'We will be interrogating the victim's friends, and a woman who had stayed with him before he died.

'We urge the public not to jump to any conclusions until a complete examination has been done.'

Police Captain Sombat said today that foul play had not been ruled out of their investigation.

He said: 'The room looked like there had been a disturbance so it's possible somebody else was with him before he died or the victim was distressed in some way.'

Laith's body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem examination.

The US Embassy in Bangkok was also informed of their countryman's death in order for his relatives to be contacted.
A children's author is fighting a court battle with retail giant John Lewis over claims it pinched her idea about a lonely, fire-sneezing dragon for its iconic Christmas ad campaign.

Fay Evans is suing over John Lewis Plc's 2019 Christmas advert campaign, featuring a clumsy young dragon said to be 'very similar' to the hero of her own book, 'Fred the Fire-sneezing Dragon'.

Under the spotlight in the High Court clash are the Yuletide ad and its 'spin-off' book 'Edgar the Excitable Dragon,' which was published by John Lewis.

Ms Evans, who is claiming damages for breach of copyright, had self-published her own dragon-themed illustrated book in 2017 and insists there were 'striking similarities' between her creation and the John Lewis dragon.

Fay Evans, 49, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, released the self-published picture book Fred the Fire-Sneezing Dragon in September 2017

She claims the 2019 Christmas campaign advert bears a 'striking similarity' to her book about a fire-breathing dragon

Both Fred and Edgar begin their stories as sad, lonely dragons, who annoy humans by torching trees and melting children's snowmen, only to end up making friends by cooking meals using their fiery breath.

But lawyers for John Lewis say her case is 'misconceived' and that she had released her book in 2017, a year after its creatives began pitching ideas for a 'lonely dragon' advert.

Her case hinges around proving that those behind the advert had 'access' to Fred the Dragon before they started brainstorming ideas, said John Lewis barrister Michael Hicks.

'But the defendants' evidence is that those responsible for the Christmas ad and Excitable Edgar did not see or even know of the existence of Fred the Fire-sneezing Dragon at the time,' he said.

'Therefore, they could not have copied anything from Fred the Fire-sneezing Dragon.'

Her case hinges around proving that those behind the advert had 'access' to Fred the Dragon before they started brainstorming ideas, said John Lewis barrister Michael Hicks

John Lewis said it will 'robustly' defend itself against the claims, saying the concept for their advert was presented to them in early 2016 - a year and seven months before Ms Evans published her book

The High Court battle began in London this week, with Ms Evans' barrister, Kendal Watkinson, sketching out a series of alleged similarities, which she claimed were evidence of copying.

Both creatures are presented as 'cute and loveable', explained Ms Watkinson, although adding: 'but they are depicted as being sad and forlorn at the start due to the fact that they all accidentally emit fire, which is something they are unable to control'.

'The dragons in issue are lone dragons integrated in human society, but they irritate the humans due to their uncontrollable fiery emissions.'

Each storyline shared 'various destructive fire-breathing incidents', said Ms Watkinson, including the demolition of a snowman built by children and trees being scorched.

And each plotline wrapped up with the dragons in question using their flame breath to cook food for grateful humans, with Edgar the Dragon firing up a Christmas pudding, she told Judge Melissa Clarke.

'There is a constructive fire-breathing incident at the end, in which the setting is a gathering of people eating around a table and involves the dragon in issue cooking food for the people with his fiery emissions, much to their delight,' she said.

The John Lewis ad - produced in partnership with Waitrose - depicts Edgar's troubles as he accidentally melts an ice rink and sets fire to a Christmas tree.

He feels shunned by humans due to his fire-breathing accidents, but he and the local villagers finally hit it off when he uses his incendiary powers to cook up the festive pudding.

Ms Evans, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, says she was 'gobsmacked' when she first saw the disputed advert in 2019, commenting in an earlier interview: 'I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing unfold before me'.

After the ad's launch, she was 'inundated with messages expressing shock over the similarities between the claimant's book and the Christmas advert', her barrister also explained.

The John Lewis advert, produced in partnership with sister company Waitrose, follows Edgar as his excitement about festivities in his village sees him accidentally melt the ice-rink, reduce a snowman to a puddle and set fire to a Christmas tree

Ms Watkinson said the advert and 'Excitable Edgar' were 'not alleged to be an exact reproduction of the whole or part of Ms Evans' book'.

The alleged similarities were at 'various levels of generality', she said, but claimed that John Lewis 'have copied elements of the expression of intellectual creation contained in Ms Evans' book'.

But Mr Hicks, for John Lewis, took issue with claims of any 'striking similarities' between the two friendly monsters, adding that many other authors have dreamt up similar plot lines involving lonely outcast dragons.

'She seems to ignore the existence of commonplace perceptions as to what dragons look like or that the Christmas ad and Excitable Edgar need to have a child-friendly appearance,' he argued.

Edgar finally shuts himself away in despair, but his friend Ava encourages him to rejoin the village with the gift of a Christmas pudding, which allows him to put his fire to perfect use

'Furthermore, others have had the idea of a story about a dragon that for one reason or another can't control its fire.'

On top of everything else, there was no reason for John Lewis or the ad agency it used to borrow from Ms Evans, as they deployed their own teams of award-winning creatives, said the barrister.

'Her case faces the significant problem that there is no rational reason why the defendants would want or need to copy anything of hers,' added Mr Hicks.

'Although Ms Evans' claim is misconceived, she has lost no opportunity to publicise her complaint, to garner publicity for herself as an author and her book on the back of her claim and to attack the defendants,' he added.

Ms Evans says she produced the first draft of her rhyming dragon story in 2015, with illustrations by Lisa Wilson.

Her book was performed live for the first time at a networking event in January 2017, and offered for sale at its official launch in September 2017.

During this time, she also did live readings at 75 primary schools across England, drawing in a total audience of around 9,000.

Ms Evans is suing for damages, but the size of the payout she is seeking has not been disclosed.

The trial continues.
Clouded leopard Nova was found hours after she first vanished on January 13

Police are investigating all three instances of missing or harmed animals

Two monkeys are the latest animals to go missing in mysterious circumstances at Dallas Zoo after a string of bizarre incidents.

Police are investigating after two emperor tamarin monkeys were 'deliberately' taken from their enclosure  with authorities suspecting that the fences were cut in order to take the primates.

No arrests have been made in connection with the missing monkeys, and police are refusing to say if the incident is linked to the death of an endangered vulture and a clouded leopard going missing.

The Zoo was closed on January 13 for a day after the big cat called Nova went missing and was eventually found near her habitat.

Police are investigating after two emperor tamarin monkeys were 'deliberately' taken from their enclosure

A string of 'unusual' incidents at the Zoo over the past two weeks spawned a third police probe after what appears to be a campaign against the zoo

Police said that a tool had been used to cut an opening in its fencing, as well as in an enclosure of langur monkeys  though none escaped.

On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be 'natural.'

Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson said the vulture had 'a wound', and that the 'circumstances of the death are unusual'.

Dallas Police Department was again alerted, with the zoo admitting they contacted authorities because of 'recent incidents'.

In a statement referring to the missing monkeys, the zoo added: 'Emperor tamarin monkeys would likely stay close to home - the Zoo searched near their habitat and across Zoo grounds and did not locate them.

'It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised. Based on the Dallas Police Department's initial assessment, they have reason to believe the tamarins were taken.'

The search for missing clouded leopard Nova shut down the Dallas Zoo as police helped search for the animal that officials described as not dangerous

Zoo officials discovered after Nova's escape that her habitat had been cut - along with that of a langur monkey enclosure on January 13

On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be 'natural.'

After the death of Pin, the vulture, the zoo added that they had added additional cameras throughout the Zoo and increased onsite security patrols.

They said that they would continue to 'expand' safety and security measures' to 'keep animals and staff safe'.

Nova, the clouded leopard, was discovered to be missing by staff  speaking a big cat hunt on the property.

Officials initially feared the rare beast could be out in the community but were unsure whether she was stolen or not.

They earlier said they believed the leopard - who is up to 25lbs - was not dangerous and originally thought she was hiding on the site, a theory that proved correct.

However, Dallas Police are continuing to investigate the incident, with Nova appearing to also have her enclosure cut open.

Authorities suspect that the fences were cut to take the primates deliberately after the string of incidents

Police cars outside the Dallas Zoo as workers as cops hunted for the missing cloud leopard earlier this month

The zoo also boasts lions, tigers, and cheetahs among its predators, as well as elephants and crocodiles, which could cause a stir if they escape.

Novas enclosure is right next to where the monkeys have been taken from, in the north of the zoo, while the vulture was killed in the Wilds of Africa exhibit.

Ed Hansen, chief executive of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, said he could not recall a zoo facing similar incidents with such frequency.

'It appears that somebody really has an issue with the Dallas Zoo,' Hansen said.

Hansen, who described the Dallas Zoo's reputation as 'excellent' within the industry, said accredited zoos have double-perimeter fencing and that a zoo as large as Dallas' would have a security patrol.

Animals have escaped enclosures from the Dallas Zoo before.

Most notably, a 340-pound (154-kilogram) gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall in 2004 and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.

The Dallas Zoo has asked for aid from the local police department in investigating the death of one of its vultures - an occurrence deemed 'suspicious' by officials
He is already serving life sentence for raping another devotee, who was 16

An Indian spiritual guru with millions of followers was today jailed for life after he was convicted of raping one of his devotees who he kept prisoner for five years.

Asaram Bapu, 81, was yesterday found guilty of sexually abusing the woman several times between 2001 and 2006 at his monastery in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Today, a court in Gandhinager sentenced Asaram to life in prison and ordered the self-styled guru to pay a fine of 23,000 rupees (228) and also 50,000 rupees (496) as compensation to the victim.

Asaram is already serving a life sentence after he was convicted of raping another devotee, who was 16 at the time, at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2018.

Asaram Bapu was today jailed for life after he raped one of his devotees who he kept prisoner for five years. Pictured: Asaram in 2016 outside court

The guru raped the 16-year-old while her parents waited outside his room chanting prayers as he 'cured' her. He threatened to kill the girl's parents if she told anyone.

In the latest case, a woman told police in 2013 that Asaram raped her several times at his ashram in the city of Motera where he kept her prisoner for five years before she managed to escape.

Today, Asaram, who has millions of followers and more than 400 ashrams in India, was convicted of the woman's rape and wrongful detention.

In 2019, Asaram's son Narayan Sai was sentenced to life in prison for raping and illegally confining the same woman's younger sister.

The woman came forward in 2013 to report the rape to police after Asaram was arrested in a separate case of sexual assault.

Asaram Bapu, 81, (pictured in 2013) was found guilty of sexually abusing the woman several times between 2001 and 2006 at his monastary in the western Indian state of Gujarat

In that separate case, two of Asaram's followers accused him of raping their 16-year-old daughter.

They said the guru had forced the daughter to perform sex acts on him in his ashram in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and threatened to kill her family if she told them of the abuse.

Asaram was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for raping the teenager in 2013.

He has been at the centre of a series of controversies over the years.

In 2013, he sparked outrage after he said that Jyoti Singh, who was gang-raped by six men on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 before dying of her injuries, was partly responsible for her own attack.

Asaram said the 23-year-old medical student, whose gang-rape sent shockwaves through India, was as 'guilty as her rapists'.

He added that she should have been more friendly to her attackers if she wanted to preserve her own life.

'The victim is as guilty as her rapists,' he said at the time. 'She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop.'
The Princess of Wales brushed off being wolf-whistled as she visited Yorkshire today.

Kate appeared to hear the distinctive two-note greeting as she waved and smiled to crowds who gathered at Leeds Kirkgate Market to see her.

The wolf-whistle appeared to register with the future queen but she politely ignored it and kept walking past the stalls to the launch of her new early years campaign.

The royal did not seem offended, but the incident came just weeks after it emerged that wolf-whistling could be made illegal under a new offence of harassing people in the street - with sentences of up to two years in prison.

This is the moment the Princess of Wales heard a wolf whistle aimed at her today in Leeds

Kate continued to talk to the official on her left but appeared to hear the cat-call

The Princess of Wales in Kirkgate Market in Leeds, West Yorkshire, for the launch of the Shaping Us campaign

The Princess of Wales pictured touring the iconic market in Leeds this morning. She wore a longline green coat, dark brown suede boots and a cream dress

Poll SHOULD WOLF-WHISTLING BE MADE ILLEGAL IN THE UK? Yes No SHOULD WOLF-WHISTLING BE MADE ILLEGAL IN THE UK? Yes 501 votes

No 1747 votes Now share your opinion





Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the move as she insisted perpetrators who stop women feeling 'safe' will face the 'consequences they deserve'.

She then spoke to market vendors to mark the launch of her Shaping Us project aimed at highlighting the significance of the formative years of a child's life.

The long-term initiative, launched on Tuesday by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, is said to be Kate's 'life's work', which she hopes will influence attitudes towards children in the early years period of their lives.

Later the princess will join a discussion with market sellers and local people to hear about their experiences of early childhood.

Ministers' crackdown on street harassment The Home Secretary announced at the end of last year that she would be introducing harassing people in the street as an offence - with sentences of up to two years in prison. Suella Braverman unveiled the move as she insisted perpetrators who stop women feeling 'safe' will face the 'consequences they deserve'. The change is expected to come into force later this year year, after a consultation that found overwhelming support. It will cover behaviour or 'gestures' that deliberately harass, alarm, or distresses someone a public space on the basis of their sex. This will include catcalling and stalking, however Home Office minister Sarah Dines clarified that behaviour such as 'low-level' wolf-whistling would not necessarily meet the threshold for the new offence. Advertisement

The Princess chose to visit Leeds today as part of the city's ongoing ambition to become the best place in the UK for young people and children to grow up in.

In 2012, the city launched Child Friendly Leeds with the belief that by investing in and supporting children, young people and their families, the whole city will see immediate and longer-term social and economic benefits.

Leeds City Council, working with partners to deliver enrichment programmes to improve outcomes, has seen a safe reduction in the number of youngsters being taken into care, more teenagers going into education, employment and training, and better school attendance.

Leeds Kirkgate Market opened in 1857 and is home to hundreds of local independent businesses covering everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, butchers, and fishmongers, to a Community Library, cookery school and Volunteer Centre.

During the BAFTA screening last night, the Princess of Wales described the Shaping Us programme as her 'life's work'.

It will 'explore in more depth the importance of a child's social and emotional world' and the significance of relationships, 'surroundings and experiences'.

Earlier today, the Princess appeared in a new video which was shared on her official social media pages, donning a smart green blazer with a black scoop neck top underneath.

She said: 'Our early childhood, the time from pregnancy to the age of five, fundamentally shapes the rest of our lives.

The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she spoke with staff at Kirkgate Market. She paired her cream dress with an emerald green Alexander McQueen coat and gold hoop earrings

The Princess of Wales laughed as she waved to royal fans during her tour of the Leeds Kirkgate Market

Kate pictured waving to the crowds after her tour of Kirkgate Market in Leeds, West Yorkshire this morning

The Princess of Wales styled her hair in a bouncy blow-dry and opted for a brown smokey eye for this afternoon's engagement

The Princess of Wales speak with vendors who have worked at the market for over 30 years and members of the public about their reflections on the film

The Princess of Wales pictured waving to a young royal fan ahead of the launch of her new campaign, which focuses on the early childhood years

As she toured around the iconic market, the Princess politely ignored a wolf whistle from a royal fan

The royal mother-of-three spoke with a young royal fan and their mother as they toured the market in Leeds

The mother-of-three opted for minimal jewellery and styled her hair in a bouncy blow-dry for today's engagements marking the launch of her new campaign

The Princess of Wales matched her emerald tailored coat with an old favourite suede handbag by Manu Atelier

The Princess of Wales pictured arriving at Kirkgate Market in Leeds this morning. She politely ignored a wolf whistle from an adoring royal fan

The Princess of Wales teamed her emerald coat with a pair of dark brown suede boots as she arrived at Kirkgate Market in Leeds this morning

The Princess of Wales was elegant in an emerald blazer today as she appeared in a new video to launch her new campaign to shine a spotlight on the crucial 'early years' of childhood

The project, which is launching today, is a long-term project of the Princess's, beginning with how a child develops and the importance of the formative years

Last night, Kate made a stylish splash in a red trouser suit as she launched the campaign in London, where she called it her 'life's work'

Kate, who was accompanied by her husband, Prince William , looked effortlessly elegant in her Studio 54-inspired suit with flared trousers, vertiginous heels and chandelier -style earrings

'But as a society we currently focus much more of our time and energy on later life.'

Kate explained she is now launching the Shaping Us campaign, adding: 'To raise awareness of the life changing impact we can have, when we build a supportive, nurturing world around children and those who care for them.

'By focusing our collective time, energy and resources on these most preventative years, we can make a huge difference to the physical and mental health and happiness of generations to come.

In the clip, the royal swept her hair into a bouncy blow dry style, tucking part of it behind her shoulder.

Introducing the film last night at a BAFTA screening, the Princess said: 'The campaign is fundamentally about shining a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes the adults we become.

'During this time we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. And it is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live.

'This is why it is essential, to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years, but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.'
Democrats are now going after Joe Biden as the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to 'stonewall' the Senate Intelligence Committee from reviewing classified documents found at Biden, Donald Trump and Mike Pence's homes.

While the Biden administration was anticipating the slew of House Republican probes, it was not prepared for the Democrat-controlled Senate to also target the White House.

The DOJ sent a letter to the Senate panel over the weekend trying to make nice with Senate Democrats, but Intelligence Chairman Sen. Mark Warner said the communication isn't enough to satisfy the committee.

'I appreciate the communication,' Warner told Punchbowl News on Monday night. 'But the subject of the communication doesn't give me clarity on how and when we're going to be able to fulfill our obligation.'

Democrats in the Senate are now at war with President Joe Biden's administration as the Justice Department continues to 'stonewall' the Senate Intelligence Committee from viewing the classified documents found at his residence

The U.S. senator from Virginia also said that he has been pushing the Biden administration for months to provide a briefing and damage assessment  even saying that he has made these requests with the caveat that no information be shared that would compromise ongoing criminal probes.

Biden shrugged off a question about whether he would testify in his classified documents investigation if the special counsel asked him.

'Oh, I don't even know about the special counsel,' he told reporters at the White House with a dismissive wave.

Special counsel Robert Hur, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland on January 12, will begin this week his probe into how and why Biden had documents with classified markings in his possession.

DOJ legislative affairs chief Carlos Uriarte sent the letter promising to cooperate and work closely with the Director of National Intelligence to respond to the Senate Intelligence Committee's request 'without harming the ongoing special counsel investigations.'

The Senate Intelligence Committee's main role is to provide oversight of the U.S. intelligence community. This 'obligation,' as Warner puts it, is usually a routine and nonpartisan issue on Capitol Hill.

Democrats have joined Republicans on the panel demanding they are able to review the classified documents found in recent months at the homes of President Biden, former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Senator Marco Rubio, the Senate committee's top Republican, said the DOJ letter was 'ridiculous.'

GOP Senator Marco Rubio (right) and Democrat Mark Warner (left) had a joint interview Sunday to discuss the Biden classified documents scandal, among other issues at the top of the Intelligence Committee's to-do list

Biden waved off questioned Monday when asked if he would testify before the in his classified documents investigation if the special counsel asked him. 'Oh, I don't even know about the special counsel,' he told reporters at the White House

'We're not going to sit around here for weeks getting the Heisman from these guys,' the Florida lawmaker said.

Rubio claimed that the committee likely already has access to the information from the documents and said his patience is wearing thin with Biden's DOJ.

Warner and Rubio first asked for a briefing and damage assessment from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines' office in August  just days after the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

They are livid that they were put off for more than five months now.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said 'the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand'

Rubio, the Intelligence panel's ranking member, lamented that even the press have seen more of Biden's classified documents than his Senate Committee

Senator Ron Wyden, a senior Democratic member of the Intel Committee, said the letter is a 'complete non-starter' and an attempt to 'stonewall' the panel.

'Just from a counter-intelligence standpoint  one of the most important aspects of national security  you've got to be able to see the documents,' Wyden told Punchbowl. 'This is not a close call.'

Republicans have threatened to block nominees and legislative action if the Biden administration continues this tactic.

However, Democrats, who are getting increasingly impatient with the Biden administration, will make the final call on how to proceed since they control the upper chamber.

'We have a right as overseers to see [the documents],' Rubio said. 'And if we don't get it and they're keeping us from doing our jobs, then we'll have to take appropriate measures.'

'As of now, we're hoping to find a resolution that doesn't lead to that. But sometimes it doesn't work out that way and you gotta do stuff,' he added. 'I don't want to do stuff. But we will do stuff.'

Both Warner and Rubio are furious that even the press has more information about the documents than their panel.

At least 25-30 documents with classified documents were found at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home and at his think tank in Washington, D.C.

Some documents were found in boxes in Biden's garage at his Delaware residence

In a joint interview, Warner said 'the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand.'

'There isn't a day that goes by that there isn't some media report about what was found where, what some sort of characterization of the material in the press,' Rubio detailed. 'I just saw one this morning again.'

'So somehow, the only people who are not allowed to know what was in there are congressional oversight committees,' the Florida Republican senator added.

'But apparently, the media leaks out of the DOJ are unimpeded in terms of characterizing the nature of some of the materials that were found, plus whatever the individuals involved are telling the media. So it's an untenable situation that I think has to be resolved.'

Rubio called it 'absurd' in the pre-recorded sit-down interview with CBS's Margaret Brennan, which aired on Face the Nation on Sunday morning.

Warner, for his part, said the argument that the material may be too old to matter since it stems from Biden's time as a U.S. senator 'doesn't hold water.'

In fact, the Virginia senator noted that it's further proof that there is an issue within the Senate with classified documents making their way outside Congress.

Former President Donald Trump is also under special counsel following allegation of mishandling classified information

Discovery comes just a few months after hundreds of classified materials were found in an FBI raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida

Even former Vice President Mike Pence found classified documents in his Indiana home

Since the Senate is still Democrat-controlled, Rubio serves as the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Warner is the chairman.

Both leaders want to see the 300 documents with classified markings found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as the few dozen found at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and at his Washington, D.C. offices of his think tank the Penn Biden Center.

'This committee has had a long bipartisan history of doing its job,' Warner noted while sitting beside Rubio. 'And our job here is intelligence oversight.'

'The Justice Department has had the Trump documents about six months, the Biden documents about three months, our job is not to figure out if somebody mishandled those, our job is to make sure there's not an intelligence compromise,' he noted.

Around 25-30 documents with classified markings were found by Biden's attorneys at the president's Wilmington home and his think tank offices in D.C. over the last few months. They were turned over to the Justice Department starting in November, but were not revealed to the public until January  well after the 2022 midterm elections.

The discovery of the documents came after hundreds were found at Trump's Florida residence in an FBI raid in August were thousands of documents and materials were seized.

Former Vice President Mike Pence also disclosed that such materials were found at his Indiana home.

The recent revelations have led to whispers among the National Archives that they might require searches of all living former presidents and vice presidents.

Those in the intelligence community, however, note the bigger problem that the discovery could indicate with politicians at all levels of government being able to take documents with classified markings out of secure locations.
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine was involved in a furious clash today after she praised Nicola Sturgeon amid the row over transgender prisoners in Scotland.

The Edinburgh West MP used a TV interview to claim the Scottish First Minister was 'doing a good thing' by ordering a review of the management of transgender prisoners.

But, challenging the politician, TalkTV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer insisted it was not a 'complicated issue'.

'You don't need to do a risk assessment - look down his pants,' the broadcaster told Ms Jardine in a heated exchange.

Ms Sturgeon has come under severe pressure over the cases of two transgender prisoners - Tiffany Scott and Isla Bryson.

Christine Jardine used a TalkTV interview to claim Nicola Sturgeon was 'doing a good thing' by ordering a review of the management of transgender prisoners

The Scottish First Minister has come under severe pressure over the cases of two transgender prisoners - Tiffany Scott and Isla Bryson

It was recently reported how Scott (right), who had been convicted of stalking a 13-year-old girl before her transition, was due to be sent to a female unit. This came days after Bryson (left) was revealed to have been held at Cornton Vale women's prison while awaiting sentencing for raping two women while she was a man

It was recently reported how Scott, who had been convicted of stalking a 13-year-old girl before her transition, was due to be sent to a female unit.

This came days after Bryson was revealed to have been held at Cornton Vale women's prison while awaiting sentencing for raping two women while she was a man.

Amid an outrage over the two cases, Ms Sturgeon has been forced to prohibit any newly convicted transgender person with a history of violence against women from being placed in a female prison.

Her Scottish Government has also put a halt on any transgender prisoner with a history of violence against women from being moved from a male to a female prison.

These measures will be in place until an 'urgent' review of the Bryson case and a wider review of the management of transgender prisoners are completed.

Ms Sturgeon's SNP-led administration in Edinburgh has taken the action amid a broader row over controversial gender identity reforms in Scotland.

These are set to be blocked by Westminster, despite being passed by the Scottish Parliament last month.

Referring to the measures on transgender prisoners announced by the Scottish Government on Sunday, Ms Jardine told TalkTV: 'Women are in women's prisons, men are in men's prisons.

'What we have in Scotland, the issue is about the risk assessment of all sexually violent and violent prisoners and that is what Nicola Sturgeon has looked at and called for a review.

'And I think that's a good thing that she's reviewing the risk assessment because I know that there are genuine concerns that people have and these concerns need to be addressed.'

But, taking issue with the MP's comments, presenter Hartley-Brewer said: 'You don't need to do a risk assessment - look down his pants, "oh look, he's a man, he doesn't go in a prison cell with a woman". It's not complicated.'

In her reply, Ms Jardine added: 'You missed the fact that I actually said Nicola Sturgeon was doing a good thing.

'I thought you would think that was the strangest thing you have ever heard.

'But Nicola has called for a review of the risk assessment - what you're talk about is the risk.

'The risk of putting a sexually violent trans woman in with other women.

'That is the risk assessment and that is what they are looking at. You cannot get away from the fact they are trying to address concerns, genuine concerns.'
Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, while off to a lackluster start for the bombastic former president, is reportedly winning more support on Capitol Hill.

Freshman Republican Senators JD Vance of Ohio and Eric Schmitt of Missouri are backing Trump's third White House bid after his support helped them over the line last November, according to Politico.

Schmitt told the outlet that the 'popular' Trump has his 'support' in 2024.

'Hes been somebody thats gotten the support of Missourians by big margins a couple times,' he said.

Vance is reportedly telling people in his circle that he'll roll out an endorsement of the former commander-in-chief at some point as well.

Donald Trump's campaign has been slow to gain momentum so far, something Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville reportedly suggested was by design

Trump had caused some confusion during Schmitt's 2022 Republican primary when he dropped an endorsement for 'Eric' - the name of both GOP candidates in the race.

But he later made a video in October declaring that Schmitt had his 'complete and total endorsement' in the looming Senate race to replace retired GOP Sen. Roy Blunt.

Vance, who was also competing in an open race to replace an outgoing longtime lawmaker, got Trump's backing much earlier.

It helped push him over the line in a crowded seven-way primary.

He paid tribute to Trump in May when he won that race, telling supporters, 'Thanks to the president for everything, for endorsing me.'

But the former leader's name was absent from his victory speech after he defeated Democratic House Rep. Tim Ryan - though Vance thanked Trump for his help in subsequent statements.

JD Vance of Ohio (right) and Eric Schmitt of Missouri (left) are the two latest Republican senators reportedly getting behind Trump

With their reported endorsements of Trump, Vance and Schmitt join two other GOP senators in supporting his 2024 campaign.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham eagerly threw his support behind Trump on Saturday, when the former president held one of his first official campaign events in his state.

He defended his decision during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night.

'I'm for Donald Trump because I know what I'm going to get. We need somebody that, on day one, can get this country back on track,' Graham said.

'That can secure our border and bring order out of chaos. Somebody that the Russians and the Chinese fear. Somebody that can take the fight to the terrorists.'

But others, particularly within Senate GOP leadership, have been less eager to embrace Trump.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune of Nebraska, the No. 2 to Trump's Republican arch-rival Mitch McConnell, reportedly told Politico that he expects 'alternatives' to Trump to emerge.

Alabama Sen. Tuberville, who also endorsed Trump, suggested the campaign's slow initial burn was part of the former president's plan.

He reportedly said Trump told him: 'Were gonna do small ones early and kind of build our momentum, build our teams in each state.'

But on the topic of Trump's high-level endorsements, he reportedly conceded: 'Im gonna be disappointed in the summertime if we dont have more.'

'Right now, its no big concern,' Tuberville added.
Brewdog boss James Watt has announced he has been diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The chief executive of Britain's biggest craft brewer said he sought specialist help after he was described as 'semi-autistic' in the wake of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards staff.

The 40-year-old has been diagnosed with ADHD - which causes people to be restless and impulsive - and Asperger syndrome, a form of autism.

Watt has been at the centre of a string of misconduct accusations in recent years after being accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women at work and abuse of power.

Brewdog boss James Watt has announced he has been diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Brewdog, Britain's biggest craft brewer, has been valued at more than 1 billion and was founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who were at school together in Aberdeenshire

Revealing the diagnosis, he said the conditions make it difficult for him to read social cues and express empathy.

Watt said he will continue to work with medical experts to develop coping strategies to allow him to manage his conditions while still leading the Aberdeenshire-based company.

He said: 'Working with the specialist was really eye opening and after a series of consultations and tests I was diagnosed not only with High Functioning Aspergers (which is on the autism spectrum) but also ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

'As a CEO and business leader I am far from alone in being on the autism spectrum - Elon Musk has Asperger's.

'The diagnosis gives the me opportunity to continue working with an amazing specialist on fully understanding the implications of my own neurodiversity and specifically on working hard on the associated blind spots (such as reading social cues or expressing empathy) whilst sharpening the gifts that also come with autism and ADHD such as focus, creativity and analysis.

'Understanding the condition also means I can build practices into my daily life which help me better manage occasions, settings and experiences that I may find more challenging than others.

'I am still in the early stages of my journey here and I intend to continue sharing thoughts and insights that may help other neurodiverse business leaders and entrepreneurs on their journeys too.

'I am confident that working with fantastic specialists I can work within the confines of ASD and ADHD to continue to improve how I approach the leadership of BrewDog as well as how I approach life overall.'

A spotlight has been thrown on ADHD this month after comedian Johnny Vegas, 52, became the latest in a wave of celebrities to announce they have been diagnosed with ADHD.

Others include comedian Rory Bremner, chef Heston Blumental and TV presenters Ant McPartlin and Sue Perkins.

Watt said he had always thought of himself as an 'odd fish' who was uncomfortable in social settings and preferred being alone.

He put his behaviour down to having an analytical brain and did not seek help until last year when he decided to get assessed.

He added: 'I have always struggled with anything emotional and I am terrible with social cues. I have always needed significant amounts of time by myself to be able to function well as a human.

'I would often be more terrified in simple social settings than I would be facing huge storms in my days on the high seas of the north Atlantic.

I have always accepted these character imperfections and viewed them as a kind of trade off with other characteristics - my analytical ability, my work ethic and my ability to focus on tasks like a demented mother f***er.

'It's just how I am' is pretty much what I always thought.'

It comes after more than 15 ex-staff previously spoke out against Mr Watt with some claiming he made female bartenders feel 'uncomfortable' and 'powerless'.

They were even advised by colleagues on how to avoid unwelcome attention from Mr Watt, according to an investigation by BBC Scotland's Disclosure programme.

Watt previously told Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO podcast that he 'pushed people too far'

BrewDog's Old Street outlet in east London (pictured)

Katelynn Ising, who worked at a BrewDog bar in Ohio, US, said female staff would dress down when they knew Mr Watt would be in their bars.

She said: 'We would make a point to warn new girls... like, 'Hey, just so you know, James Watt's coming to town. Just kind of, like, leave after your shift, don't really hang around [and] don't always do your hair and make-up that day, like don't catch his attention'.'

Other former staff claim Mr Watt was witnessed by staff kissing an intoxicated customer on a roof terrace at another US bar.

Mr Watt has said the allegations are false and denies behaving inappropriately.

Last year, some of Watts' disgruntled former employees shared a scathing open letter slamming the company for its 'toxic attitudes' and accusing it of fostering a 'culture of fear' among staff.

Penned by a group called 'Punks With Purpose', the letter featured a list of 63 names of people who used to work for the firm, and takes aim at the Scotland-based brewery's founders James Watt and Martin Dickie.

It claimed the company is 'built on a cult of personality' and alleged that it left some staff feeling 'burnt out, afraid and miserable', adding that 'a significant number of people have admitted they have suffered mental illness' as a result of working there.

Writing collectively as a group called 'Punks With Purpose', the letter featured a list of names of people who used to work for the firm, and takes aim at the Scotland-based brewery's founders

It went so far as to claim being treated like a human being 'was sadly not always a given' for those employed by BrewDog - trashing the image of the hipster company which offers 'pawternity leave' if a staff member gets a dog and pays employees 500 to quit if they don't feel they're a good fit.

At the time, Mr Watt subsequently issued an 'update' on the Punks With Purpose open letter, describing it as 'so upsetting, but so important'.

He said: 'Our focus now is not on contradicting or contesting the details of that letter, but to listen, learn and act.'

Brewdog, which has been valued at more than 1 billion, was founded by Watt and Martin Dickie, who were at school together in Aberdeenshire.

They started the firm in 2007 with a bank loan and a grant from the Prince's Trust because they could not find anything they wanted to drink.

After receiving criticism for its marketing campaigns and work environment, it has since sought to overhaul its culture by introducing a shared profit scheme, three company-wide employee representative groups, a diversity forum, a confidential ethics hotline, and increasing investment in learning and development.
A Russian-born former dominatrix accused of trying to kill her doppelganger with a cheesecake laced with poison as part of an identity theft plot appears to have shrugged off the accusations with a smile in court.

Viktoria Nasyrova, 45, has a twisted past which has become media fodder - as stories of running from the law after the murder of a woman in Russia in 2014 emerged among accusations of targeting men on dating websites, drugging and robbing them.

Her crime spree came to a charging halt, however, after she was tracked down by a private detective employed by the daughter of the woman she's believed to have killed in Russia.

The 45-year-old is now again before the courts, appearing at the Queen's Supreme Court on Monday for opening statements in which it's been alleged that she left a trail of DNA evidence and spoke of the accusations in several jailhouse interviews.

Russian-born former dominatrix, Viktoria Nasyrova, is accused of trying to kill her doppelganger with a cheesecake laced with poison as part of an identity theft plot and appeared to shrug off the accusations with a smile in court

Prosecutors said these media interviews, which took place in the wake of her arrest, are likely to be a focus in the trial, and if convicted of her crimes, could see Nasyrova face up to 25 years in prison.

The Russian fugitive, once lived a glamorous lifestyle, and was known for having a taste for the finer things in life including diamonds and furs.

Nasyrova was arrested in May of 2016 for stealing two furs worth $532 from a Century 21, but wasn't flagged as an international fugitive at the time.

A gruesome murder charge hung over the 45-year-old who is said to have fled to New York following the brutal slaying of her neighbor in 2014, Alla Alekseenko, 54.

Assistant District Attorney Konstantinos Litourgis painted a picture to jurors on Monday of what they could expect to learn throughout the trial, although her sordid past crimes in Russia did not appear to make the cut, according to Fox News.

'The DNA that was on that container belongs to Viktoria Nasyrova,' Litourgis said in his opening statements.

'So, on top of everything you're going to hear from civilian witnesses, you're going to learn that there's a cheesecake container that had [tranquilizer] Phenazepam in it and also had the defendant's DNA on it.'

Litourgis continued, referring to the alleged victim Olga Tsvyk, that Nasyrova has been specifically asked about the crimes, and appeared to show no remorse.

'She was asked this specific question: 'There is a woman named Olga who looks a lot like you who said that you poisoned her with a piece of cheesecake in order to steal her identity,''Litourgis said.

'You know what this defendant did when she was asked that question? She smiled. And you know what her answer was? 'I can tell you I know this person. I know who you mean. I did not force her to eat the cheesecake.'

'This is not a joke. It's not just a story. It's not an accident and it's not a mistake. This defendant intended to kill this woman and steal her identity.'

Nasyrova appeared in a black turtleneck top, glasses with her hair pulled back into a ponytail during the court appearance

For the most part, the 45-year-old kept a fairly neutral disposition, but appears to be smiling and speaking to someone behind her in photos that were taken on the day

Nasyrova appeared in a black turtleneck top, glasses with her hair pulled back into a ponytail during the court appearance.

For the most part, the 45-year-old kept a fairly neutral disposition, but appears to be smiling and speaking to someone behind her in photos that were taken on the day.

Tsvyk, an eyelash stylist, also testified on Monday telling the court that Nasyrova had arrived at her home in Forest Hills, Queens, August 2016 in desperate need of her services.

Nasyrova had been a client for six months before the attack, and bizarrely trekked to the Queens salon despite living in Brooklyn.

'She told me, 'I'm right now in Brooklyn. I want to bring you some famous cheesecake from a famous bakery.' I told her, Viktoria, that's not needed, just come over,' Tsvyk said.

After arriving at her home, Nasyrova ate two slices of cheesecake offering a third slice, that prosecutors say had been laced with Russian tranquilizer Phenazepan, to Tsvyk.

Tsvyk told the court that she started to feel sick about 20 minutes after eating the cake.

'I started to look to lie down on the bed,' Tsvyk told the jury.

Assistant District Attorney Konstantinos Litourgis painted a picture to jurors on Monday of what they could expect to learn throughout the trial saying the 45-year-old left a mess of DNA evidence behind

Prosecutors claimed that Nasyrova then stole Tsvyk's passport, cash and other belongings and tried to make the incident appear to look like a suicide

'I started to look for a pillow. I was realizing that I was losing consciousness and I said to her, 'Vika, I'm feeling really bad.' I started feeling very nauseous. I wanted to vomit. I started to vomit right by my bed onto the floor.

Prosecutors claimed that Nasyrova then stole Tsvyk's passport, cash and other belongings and tried to make the incident appear to look like a suicide by scattering pills around the victim's body.

'Everything was done in this case very carefully and very methodically by this defendant not only did she poison Olga in order to impersonate her she also staged her bedroom to make it look like suicide,' Litourgis said.

Tsvyk similarly wore a black turtle neck, her hair out, and appeared relieved to be leaving the courtroom as she briskly walked to the elevators among a throng of reporters.

When asked how she had been feeling following her statements, she replied softly, 'not good.'

A mess of DNA evidence appeared to have been left on the cheesecake box according to Litourgis who added that this and additional evidence proves that she tried to kill Tsvyk.

The prosecution said they plan to call another witness during the trial, who claims that Nasyrova had drugged him after they met on a Russian dating site in 2016.

Litourgis said that the man ate fish and vegetables cooked by the 45-year-old and woke up in hospital three days later.

Tsvyk similarly wore a black turtle neck, her hair out, and appeared relieved to be leaving the courtroom as she briskly walked to the elevators among a throng of reporters

When asked how she had been feeling following her statements, she replied softly, 'not good'

'His symptoms almost mirrored that of Olga's,' Litourgis said, noting that the man's watch and cash had been stolen.

Nasyrova's attorney, Christopher Hoyt, told jurors that the current case wasn't as 'open and shut' as prosecutors have claimed.

In 2019, Nasyrova pleaded guilty in a separate case in which she had been charged with attempted larceny in Brooklyn Supreme Court, following other allegations that she had drugged and robbed men that she met on dating apps.

But the most notorious of her alleged crimes took place before she reached the United States.

Alekseenko remains were found burned and buried two miles from her home in Krasnodar, in southern Russia.

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed images of the victim's body in the front seat of Nasyrova's car by traffic cameras in 2017, investigators at the time saying, money was the motive for the heartless homicide.

Nasyrova fled to America and began a new life as masseuse with 'experience in upscale spas and beauty salons,' according to an ad for 'quality massage at home' she posted shortly after arriving in the Big Apple.

It's been reported she was allegedly able to escape Russia by having sex with a local police officer. Interpol then issued a red notice for her arrest for murder.

Police said Nasyrova enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of diamonds and furs, paid for by the men she lured into her life. A dark picture of her past has been painted since her arrest

Stories of running from the law after the murder of a woman in Russia in 2014 among accusations of targeting men on dating websites, drugging and robbing them, also emerged about Nasyrova

But, her sordid past was to follow her, when Alekseenko's horrified daughter learned that the wanted Russian beauty was now living just miles away from her in Brooklyn.

The victim's daughter, Nadezda Ford, said she got a text message from her missing mother shortly her disappearance, saying 'Sweetie, don't worry about me, I'll notify you about where I am soon enough.'

Herman Weisberg, a retired NYPD detective, had been approached by Alekseenko's daughter, after the horrified woman learned that her mother's suspected killer was living near her

The message came after traffic camera footage appeared to show her mother's lifeless body in passenger's seat of Nasyrova's car on the day that she disappeared, October 5, 2014.

Alekseenko's body was found months later, badly burned and reduced to a skull and a few bones identifiable only through dental records.

Investigators found $17,000 in cash and jewelry missing from the her home.

By November of 2014, Nasyrova had slipped out of Russia, despite a warrant out for her arrest on Interpol.

A private detective in New York played a key role in bringing Nasyrova to justice.

Herman Weisberg, a retired NYPD detective, had been approached by Ford after the horrified woman learned that her mother's suspected killer was living near her.

A gruesome murder charge hung over the 45-year-old who is said to have fled to New York following the brutal slaying of her neighbor in 2014, Alla Alekseenko, 54

Alekseenko's body was found months later, badly burned and reduced to a skull and a few bones identifiable only through dental records

'A Good Samaritan who knew the daughter of the murdered Russian woman got in touch with me and told me the story,' Weisberg told DailyMail.com at the time.

'She offered to pay whatever cost for me to track her down and bring her to justice.'

Ford 'was living in fear of this woman,' and had already moved once and was heartbroken over the loss of her mother,' said Weisberg.

The intrepid detective discovered that Nasyrova was still regularly using Facebook under a different name, and found her secret profile.

'After poring over pictures I realized the stitching on the leather car seat in one of her selfies was unique to a high-end Chrysler. I then had my surveillance team scour Sheepshead Bay until we found the vehicle,' he said.

The team found the vehicle, a Chrysler 300, and began a stakeout. Weisberg's discovery paid off - they'd located the mysterious fugitive.

On top of the Russia murder, Nasyrova was also wanted by NYPD on suspicion of drugging and robbing at least three men she met via a New York dating website.

The Russian fugitive, once lived a glamorous lifestyle, and was known for having a taste for the finer things in life including diamonds and furs. Nasyrova was arrested in May of 2016 for stealing two furs worth $532 from a Century 21

Nasyrova fled to America and began a new life. It's been reported she was allegedly able to escape Russia by having sex with a local police officer. Interpol then issued a red notice for her arrest for murder

NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce said: 'She's a con artist who meets people online through a dating site and then drugs them at some point, and takes their property from them and flees'.

She was arrested by the NYPD Warrant Squad on an open warrant for the alleged seduction robberies after Weisberg alerted investigators to her location, since Russia doesn't have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

'She embarked on a life of crime here, and we don't have the whole story yet. We only have bits and pieces', Boyce added.

'What's incredible is that Nasyrova wasn't living like she was on the lam  we pictured her out shopping for a 50-inch widescreen TV,' said Weisberg.

'We think she was empowered by her previous arrest for shoplifting, which didn't pick up the fact she wanted by Interpol for this murder.'

'It would have made her feel like she had slipped the net,' said Weisberg. 'Not now.'

A trial into the fresh crime allegations continues.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied claims that a Brooklyn shelter set up to house at least 1,000 male migrants is a prison, nearly a dozen of whom have refused to be to leave the hotel they have been living in for the past few months.

Several of these migrants  who were bused up to New York City from Texas  told DailyMail.com they thought the shelter set up at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood resembled a 'jail.'

'Left-wing activists' have now helped those refusing to leave the $450-a-night Watson Hotel in Brooklyn by setting up tents on the sidewalk.

But in a new public service announcement, Eric Adams tries to show off some of the amenities of the shelter at the Brooklyn terminal as he poses with a Venezuelan migrant named Wilson, who thanks New York City for its efforts.

Some asylum seekers are refusing to leave the Watson Hotel in Brooklyn under Mayor Eric Adams' plan to relocate migrants to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

In a tweet Monday night, the New York City mayor touted the city's efforts to accommodate the migrants

In the video posted to Twitter, Eric Adams says the migrants in New York City are trying to live the American Dream, as he boasts about the city and state's efforts to accommodate the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent months.

He also showed off some of the amenities at the shelter, including a ping pong table and a buffet.

'It doesn't matter if it's Ellis Island or the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal or it's any of our ports,' the mayor began. 'It's all rooted in the American Dream. You pursue the dream here.'

He then went on to say: 'I just had to come here when I started hearing all the rumors about "it was cold," my brother got shorts on, it's warm inside' pointing to Wilson wearing shorts as he chuckles, 'about the food not being here.

'You know, healthy food is present. Even the snacks are healthy,' Adams said as he held up an orange.

'We just need to stop the anxiety,' the 62-year-old New York City mayor told the public, claiming he has spoken to several of the migrants who have said '"We want to come here, we want to work, we want to pursue the American Dream. We're thankful to the people of New York City."

'I heard that over and over again.'

Adams then used the opportunity to tout the city and state's efforts to accommodate the influx of migrants from Latin America, saying: 'We are doing our job. We need the national government and Congress to do their job.

'This is how you get through a crisis, together.'

He added in a tweet: 'The asylum seeker crisis is a national problem that needs a national solution.

'New York City is proud to have welcomed tens of thousands of asylum seekers and given them shelter, food and resources. But we can't do this alone.'

In a public service announcement, Mayor Eric Adams said the migrants are trying to live the American Dream

He insisted in the video posted to Twitter that there is healthy food, holding up an orange

The mayor's video also showed off a buffet at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook

Other accommodations set up for the migrants are a ping pong table

The video came as Brooklyn residents and mutual aid organizations descended on the area outside the Wilson Hotel to provide the migrants with tents, clothes, and food.

They used Twitter to fundraise, writing, 'PULL UP, SUPPORT ASYLUM SEEKERS,' and telling activists to send money to a specific account.

The funds, they said 'will go to tents, food, warm clothing, and supplies to keep everyone warm as they keep each other safe.'

As Andy Ngo, editor of The Post Millennial claimed: 'Overnight, dozens of male migrants refused to be transferred to a shelter in Brooklyn after being put up in a midtown Manhattan hotel paid by taxpayers.

'Far-left activists swarmed the area, providing the men with material to build an encampment.'

Tents lined the sidewalk outside the Wilson Hotel on Monday as migrants refused to leave

Some male asylum seekers were seen keeping warm by wrapping themselves in blankets and sleeping bags

Some of the migrants camped out in sleeping bags when they refused to leave

The migrants have voiced concerns non-optimal conditions at the pop-up facility, which some Monday likened to a jail

A sign on a pole describes how the migrants 'need help, please' and need a place to sleep

Under Adams' plan for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal  which is set near the southern end of the East River between Brooklyn and Governors Island  1,000 male migrants who have been shacked up at the Wilson Hotel free of charge would be relocated to the shelter.

Announcing his intentions, Adams said his office planned to replace the displaced single male migrants with the families - many of whom are already being put up at the $700-a-night hotel in Hell's Kitchen.

He had given those staying at the Watson a deadline to move out by Monday, saying the men will be replaced by asylum-seeking families.

That spurred several migrants to take up residence outside the building Sunday night in protest of the mayor's declaration - with many outright refusing to relocate, citing privacy concerns and non-optimal conditions at the pop-up facility.

By Monday, as several found themselves locked out of their respective rooms at the Watson, the predominantly Latin American procession remained, setting up camp directly outside the luxury building in direct defiance of Adams' order.

Photographs taken Monday morning showed dozens of tents lining the sidewalk on 57th street directly outside the hotel, while some male asylum seekers were seen keeping warm by wrapping themselves in blankets and sleeping bags.

They were reportedly removed from their rooms one by one, with others returning to their rooms Monday telling reporters they were not being allowed back into their rooms to retrieve their belongings.

Migrants grab donated supplies while camping out in front of the Watson after being evicted

The single mom said that the group of displaced men grew even more disruptive by morning, after local residents gifted them tents and tables full of food as they refused to relocate.

The outdoor encampment then surfaced sometime before 4am, spurring officers from the NYPD to arrive on the scene just a few hours later.

The displaced asylum seekers could be seen protesting their prospective transfer to the cruise terminal - which, unlike the Watson, offers migrants only a single, army-style cot as opposed to an actual bed - by painting a massive banner to be hung on the scaffolding outside the Watson Hotel.

'Hogares permanentes!' a spray-painted message read, translating to 'Permanent homes.'

The call for alternative housing was accompanied by another demand, this one written in English, that besieged New York officials to 'cancel rent.'

The photos show a mass of roughly 1,000 of cot-style beds, all in close proximity to one another

A photo provided by one of the migrants shows rows of beds set up at the terminal

Speaking to DailyMail.com outside the Watson Monday, one of the migrants, 32-year-old Labrador, lamented his and others' situation but remained adamant that he would not relocate to the Brooklyn shelter, comparing it to jail.

They want to take us to a place like a jail,' said Labrador, who is from Venezuela and served in the country's Special Forces.

'They dont show us the real pictures and video but I have them and will show everybody,' the migrant said, producing photos that have been circulating on social media showing the interior shelter.

The photos show a mass of roughly 1,000 cot-style beds, all in close proximity to one another.

'The cots are lined up next to each other,' the asylum seeker pointed out, before complaining that he and others 'have to cross the street to take a shower.'

He then asked, 'How can they let us live like this?' referring to Adams and other city officials. 'We want answers,' he said. 'The city needs to send people to talk to us. We will sleep right here again tonight.'

Erika Quintero, a single mom who lives across the street from the encampment with her young son, told DailyMail.com she's been forced to carry pepper spray just to make it through the rowdy mass to her building, producing the cannister as proof

The outdoor encampment surfaced sometime before 4am, spurring officers from the NYPD to arrive on the scene just a few hours later. As of Monday afternoon, several officers remained at the scene The Watson, seemingly to monitor the situation

But the migrants' presence has already made some in the area anxious, with a single mother saying she now feels the need to carry pepper spray when she walks home.

Erika Quintero, who lives across the street from the tent-laden encampment on West 57th street, told DailyMail.com that the migrants have already been 'disruptive' in the few hours since they set up camp.

Last night there was so much noise,' said Quintero, who lives alone with her 9-year-old son in the residential building.

Speaking to DailyMail.com just a few feet from the mass of migrants - who are all men - she said that she and her son have lived at the residential building for years, during which time she and her family were subjected to the hordes of homeless who had been housed at the hotel during the pandemic, in another effort from Adams.

Revealing that her husband passed away just six months ago, the single mom said that the group of displaced men grew even more disruptive by the morning after local residents gifted them tents and tables full of food as they refused to relocate.

'Loud music, people screaming,' she said. 'My son was trying to take a class on zoom. Its very frightening.'

Others in the neighborhood also told DailyMail.com that members of the camp have been seen cat-calling female citizens while smoking marijuana and drinking beer.

'Look at me I am carrying pepper spray,' Quintera said, producing a canister from her purse as proof. She proceeded to question the city's handling of the ongoing migrant issue, as well as Adams' offices' apparent hesitance to break up the procession.

'Why is the city doing this to us?' the frustrated mother asked.

The asylum seekers said that they are hoping their noncompliance spurs Adams to reconsider his offices plan to relocate them to the Red Hook ferry terminal (pictured), citing non-ideal living conditions at the somewhat isolated facility

The new shelter at the terminal, meanwhile, is somewhat isolated, far away from accessible medical care and opportunities to work - one of the many concerns voiced Monday by the migrants who spoke to DailyMail.com.

As City Council member Gail Brewer explained 'almost 100 percent of the migrants who were at the hotel are working as dishwashers or doing deliveries,' and are unhappy that they will now 'have to come to Manhattan from Red Hook.'

'It's a long way,' she said. 'It's about a 20-minute walk to the subway. It's near the ferry boat and there is a bus, but I'm not sure how long.

When asked what the city's plans are to address the migrants who refuse to relocate and plan to continue to sleep on the street, she responded, 'I don't know the answer to that.'

She added that the migrants most likely will be in the Red Hook shelter until April, about the time when cruise ships first start to arrive.
Alex Murdaugh's defense this morning grilled the cop who claimed he heard the legal scion saying, 'I did him so bad', three days after the murder of his wife and son.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin ripped special agent Jeff Croft over why - if he heard a statement which sounded like a confession - 'you never followed up on that?'

Griffin even played the audio back to jurors at 1/3 speed and claimed that the cop had actually misheard his client say: 'They did him so bad.'

'Why didn't you ask him right then and there, when he said "I did him so bad", why didn't you ask him, "What did you mean by that, Alex?"'

Croft claimed he 'made a mental note of it' but Griffin told jurors that in a subsequent interview the detective never asked Murdaugh to clarify what he meant.

Murdaugh, 54, yesterday shook his head defiantly and told his legal team, 'I did not say that,' as Croft told the prosecutor what he heard.

The disgraced attorney is accused of shooting his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, at their 1,700-acre hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021.

Scroll down for video.

Alex Murdaugh pictured with his wife Maggie and their two sons Paul (left) and Buster

Cross-examining Croft this morning on the 'I did him so bad' interview, Griffin continually asked him why - if Murdaugh was so central to the investigation - such a 'significant statement' did not attract an immediate response from investigators.

Croft replied: 'It was early in the investigation, it was more of an information gathering interview and we did not at that particular time have any evidence to challenge anything that Alex would have told us.'

TIMELINE: NIGHT OF THE KILLINGS Alex Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, at the family's hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina, on the night of June 7, 2021. Here are the key events in the timeline laid out by prosecutors: At 7.56pm, Paul sent a Snapchat video to friends showing the 22-year-old riding around the estate with his father. At 8.15pm, Murdaugh's wife Maggie arrived home and the trio ate dinner together. Autopsies showed similar stomach contents in Maggie and Paul. About 8.30pm, Paul's phone starts moving towards the kennels. Then at 8.44pm, a second video taken by Paul at the kennels - soon to become a murder scene - allegedly proves that Maggie, Paul and Alex were together. At 8.49pm, the prosecution say Paul's phone locked and went silent forever, never to send another text or make another call. Between 9pm and 9.30pm, Paul and Maggie were killed - according to the coroner. At 9.06pm, Murdaugh's car is fired up. The alleged killer said he went to go visit his mother, who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease, in Almeda - around a 15-minute drive. At 10.07pm, Murdaugh called 911 claiming he had arrived home a to find his wife and son shot dead. Advertisement

But Griffin stated 'you never followed up on that', telling jurors that in a subsequent police interview on August 11 it was never raised by Croft or his colleagues.

In fact, during the June 10 interview with Croft and another agent, they go on to discuss funeral arrangements with an Agent Owens appearing to sympathize with Murdaugh over media intrusion.

'[Murdaugh] just said "I did him so bad", and the response to that was 'they [the media] don't deserve to be there'', Griffin said.

In a final salvo, the defense played the recording at 1/3 speed, stressing that Croft must have misheard their client.

'Did you hear 'they' then?' Griffin asked.

But Croft said: 'No sir, I did not.'

Griffin began questioning Croft this morning on the evidence he gave about weapons and ammunition seized from the Murdaugh estate, known as Moselle.

Griffin asked: 'Have you ever found the murder weapons to your knowledge?'

'Not that I am aware of,' the cop replied.

Griffin questioned Croft about whether any steel shot shotgun ammunition - 'the shot that blew Paul's head off' - was recovered from Moselle.

Croft confirmed that he found no steel shot during his search of the estate on June 8 or afterwards.

Alex Murdaugh's firearms dealer cousin John Bedingfield later took the witness stand and described the legal scion's relationship with his sons as 'always good.'

Murdaugh had gone to Bedingfield for guns for his sons for Christmas in 2016, paying $9,188 for two .300 Blackout rifles.

The patriarch went to his cousin again in April 2018 about a third .300 Blackout rifle because Paul had lost his. This time the new gun set him back $875, because it did not have a thermal scope or suppressor.

It was Paul's mother Maggie who picked up the guns when they were ready.

PAUL'S FRIEND ROGAN GIBSON'S LAST TEXTS TO MAGGIE AND PAUL: Gibson texted Paul about his dog who was being cared for at the Murdaugh kennels at 8.49pm following a conversion they had on the phone. That message went unanswered. Gibson then messaged Maggie at 9.34pm, saying: 'Tell Paul to call me'

Murdaugh weeps inside a detective's car during his second police interview on June 10 - three days after the killing

Overhead view of the hangar and kennels at Moselle where Maggie and Paul were shot dead

The prosecution began discussion of cell phone data this afternoon, starting with analysis of Maggie's phone.

It showed calls throughout the evening of June 7, including one at 9.04pm which went to voicemail.

Murdaugh told cops he tried calling his wife before he drove to his mother's home. His car was fired up at 9.06pm.

Lt Brett Dove, who assessed the cell phones, told jurors that Maggie had five missed calls from Alex, a missed call from Buster and two from John Marvin.

On Monday, jurors heard Murdaugh's second interview with cops. The first time he was questioned was on the night of the murders when he broke down in sobs and described in harrowing detail how he saw his son's brains.

Murdaugh's sole surviving son Buster, 25, arrived at court Tuesday - as he has throughout the trial - with his girlfriend Brooklynn White, Alex's brother John Marvin and their sister Lynn.

Buster - who was staying at his girlfriend's near Charlotte at the time of the killings - is on the defense witness list, as is John Marvin who Murdaugh called on the night of the murders.

Murdaugh arrives at court Tuesday with his jacket draped over his handcuffed wrists on day seven of his trial at Colleton County Court in South Carolina

State Law Enforcement Division agent Jeff Croft holds a .300 Blackout rifle in court Tuesday. Defense attorney Jim Griffin asked: 'Have you ever found the murder weapons to your knowledge?' 'Not that I am aware of,' the cop replied.

Monday started with cross-examination of another state agent who testified at length about evidence collected from the Murdaugh home and property.

Similarly to the previous days of testimony, officers and crime scene technicians presented evidence to the jury that investigators will likely later explain in more detail. Prosecutors described their case as a puzzle in last week's opening statement.

While cross-examining witnesses, though, defense attorneys have asked questions suggesting the metaphorical puzzle pieces either aren't clear or prosecutors aren't putting them all on the table.

State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) special agent Melinda Worley testified Friday about photographs of the bodies, shotgun pellets and DNA swabs from the scene as well as clothes and fingernail clippings from the autopsies.

In Monday's cross-examination, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian honed in on several items, including identifying footprints, one of Worley's specialties. She told him one of the footprints in blood near where Murdaugh's son was shot came from a deputy.

'Is that the preservation of the scene that your standards require?' Harpootlian asked.

'Not exactly, no,' Worley responded.

Buster Murdaugh (right), his girlfriend Brooklynn White (black mac), Alex's brother John Marvin behind with his wife Liz

Buster in court and Alex's sister Lynn

Harpootlian also had Worley come off the stand and work on a rough diagram of the angles of the shots fired at Paul and Maggie, pointing out a significant disparity between the directions the shots at each victim came from.

Worley said that can happen when a shooter is moving.

'One explanation would be movement. One explanation would be two shooters,' Harpootlian said.

Murdaugh continued to rock and dab his eyes during more graphic testimony, including when Harpootlian showed a photo of his wife's body to ask Worley if there could have been a shoeprint on his wife's calf that was not formally documented as the scene was examined.

Worley said she could not be certain.

Croft was one of the chief agents investigating the double killings and also testified about guns, ammunition, and fired casings gathered from the Murdaugh home after the killings, showing at least four different shotguns and rifles to the jury and testifying that the Murdaughs kept the weapons loaded in their gun room.

NIGHT OF THE MURDER: Murdaugh in a clean white t-shirt speaking to the first officer on the scene on the night of the murders

WHERE MAGGIE DIED: A pool of blood is seen outside the kennels near the doghouse where Maggie Murdaugh was shot dead with two AR bullets to the head

WHERE PAUL DIED: Blood spatters on the floor inside the storage room at the kennels where Paul Murdaugh was shot dead. He was killed with a shot to the chest and a second to the head. Two shotgun shells were recovered by cops - two 12-gauge shells, two different brands - one Federal, the other Winchester

MURDAUGH GUN CABINET: During his interview with cops, Murdaugh said that there were probably 25 guns on the estate. He said that in addition to the camo shotgun officers took off him when they arrived there were 'all kinds of rifles.' He added: 'I mean you name 'em, we have 'em'

MURDER SCENE: Paul's body lies outside the storage room, while Maggie lies just outside the kennels by the doghouse

In his second police interview, Murdaugh told Croft that his son was unfocused and would stay with family and friends across the state, leaving his possessions behind instead of bringing them home.

'He did that with clothes, he did that with guns he did that with my boats,' Murdaugh said.

Prosecutors in their opening statement said the guns that killed Paul and Maggie have not been found, but markings on casings found around the home that may have been used for target practice matched casings found at the scene.

The trial is taking place at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, a sleepy, rural town 50 miles west of Charleston in a low-lying region of South Carolina over which the Murdaugh family has wielded immense judicial and political power.

Indeed, in the courtroom where Murdaugh faces judgment a portrait of his late grandfather - legendary longtime 14th Circuit Solicitor Buster Murdaugh Jr. - had hung on the wall before it was removed ahead of the trial.

Prosecutors have said Murdaugh killed his wife and child to generate sympathy and distract from his financial crimes, an alleged motive that Murdaugh's lawyers have argued doesn't make sense.

The defense theory is that somebody killed Paul and Maggie in revenge for the boating accident in February 2019 that left 19-year-old Mallory Beach (pictured) dead.

The defense theory is that somebody else killed Murdaugh's wife and son in revenge for a boat crash (the Murdaugh boat Sea Hunt is pictured) during which Paul had been driving under the influence, killing a 19-year-old woman, in February 2019

Bottles and cans of beer found aboard the boat which Paul Murdaugh was driving under the influence

But he has adamantly insisted from the moment he found the bodies of his wife and youngest son shot multiple times that he was not the killer.

Following the murder trial, Murdaugh will have to face more than 100 additional criminal charges, ranging from drug trafficking to allegations that he stole nearly $9 million from clients and other attorneys.

Prosecutors say Murdaugh lured his wife and son to their 1,700-acre hunting lodge and shot them dead.

The state also claims that his life was spiraling out of control amid years of opioid addiction and ballooning debts.

Murdaugh pleaded not guilty in June, and the blockbuster trial is expected to include wild allegations of dark family secrets, financial ruin and hedonistic excess.

In total, over 220 people could testify against Murdaugh in the trial.

Murdaugh claimed he had been visiting his elderly mother who suffers from Alzheimer's and arrived home to find Maggie and Paul dead near the estate's dog kennels
he vanished from her Gold Coast home two days earlier

Wendy Sleeman was found dead in the boot of her car

QLD man Slade Murdok has been charged with matricide

The man charged with the murder of his mother, remembered by her family as clever and caring, is struggling to understand what is happening, his lawyer says.

Slade Murdok, 30, has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of his mother Wendy Sleeman, who disappeared from her Gold Coast home on January 25.

The 61-year-old's body was found in the boot of her car parked in a Brisbane unit block two days later.

Mr Murdok was arrested the day before her body was found and charged with a number of offences, including kidnapping. On Tuesday, he was charged with her murder.

Slade Murdok's lawyer Rodney Keyte (pictured) told reporters his client is struggling behind bars

Wendy Sleeman (pictured), 61, disappeared from her Gold Coast home on January 25

'He's going through his own struggles and being charged with matricide; he's trying to figure this all out in his head,' lawyer Rodney Keyte told reporters outside court in Brisbane on Tuesday.

'It's going to take a long time for him to process that information, as it would anyone.'

Mr Murdok has spent the past six days in the Brisbane watch house after he was refused bail last week.

Mr Keyte said Mr Murdok has asked him to look at whether a second application for bail could be submitted in the Supreme Court.

'I have received instructions and we're going through those instructions at this stage,' he said.

'This is very early stages; his instructions to me is that he has not had any participation or knowledge of this incident.'

Mr Keyte appeared before Brisbane Magistrates Court on his client's behalf on Tuesday to request a delay in him providing DNA swabs and fingerprints.

'He's (taken) injury to his hand which is making him struggle to give his fingerprints,' Mr Keyte told the court.

(The request is) one that would enable him to not give a fingerprint until his hand has healed, but I advised him I don't think the court can do (that).'

The request was denied.

Mr Murdok also faces charges of unlawful stalking, burglary, assault occasioning bodily harm, kidnapping, attempted arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The body of Ms Sleeman was discovered in the boot of her own car parked in a Brisbane unit block (pictured, the location of where Ms Sleeman's body was found)

Murdok was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and charged over his mother's disappearance

Ms Sleeman's brother and sister have asked people to remember her as gentle, funny and caring.

They described Ms Sleeman as a clever woman, with a strong love for labradors, and asked that those who wished to make donations in her memory do so to the Labrador Retriever Club of Queensland.

Mike Sleeman and Meg Sleeman have thanked police for their efforts in the murder investigation.

'We acknowledge the tireless work of the Burleigh Heads CIB in this case,' the pair said in a statement.

'We can now lay our beloved sister to rest. We are profoundly saddened by Wendy's death.

'In accordance with Wendy's wishes, there will be no funeral service.

'We will miss our beloved sister forever and ask for you to respect our privacy at this terrible time.'

Ms Sleeman's brother and sister have asked people to remember her as gentle, funny and caring

Police noticed a blue Honda Jazz speeding away from Ms Sleeman's home, that was allegedly driven by her son, when they arrived in response to her report of a potential break-in

Speaking at a media conference on Tuesday afternoon, regional crime coordiantor Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith said it appeared Ms Sleeman had been subjected to traumatic violence but said providing further details would be unfair to her family.

He said Queensland Police had a strong case against Mr Murdok, who has been 'maintaining his right to silence' during investigations.

'We've found some physical evidence, electronic evidence and other evidence,' Superintendent Smith said.

The matter has been adjourned to Southport Magistrates Court for committal mention on February 14.

Police allege pools of blood were found in Ms Sleeman's Elanora home.

Emergency crews were called to Ms Sleeman's Gold Coast home at 3.30pm on Tuesday after she reported a potential break-in.

Officers believe Ms Sleeman may have been inside a blue Honda Jazz that sped away from her home as police arrived.

Police are now searching for a white Ford Laser, which they believe was used by Mr Murdok to travel to the Gold Coast and kidnap her.

Officers are appealing to members of the public who may have seen the vehicle with a registration plate of 483ZPG to alert authorities.
A Hawaii family was given a rude awakening over the weekend when a massive boulder crashed through their $1 million home, narrowly missing a woman inside.

Caroline Sasaki, 65, was getting ready to watch TV before bed at around midnight Saturday when the 5-foot by 5-foot rock flew down a nearby hill, plowed through a concrete wall and car before landing in her Palolo home.

While Caroline was miraculously unscathed, the giant boulder left a trail of damage in its wake after it crashed through the second story of the home before eventually stopping in a bedroom.

'If I took one more step, I probably wouldn't be here,' she told KITV4.

Hawaii woman Caroline Sasaki narrowly missed a runaway boulder as it plowed through her family home just before midnight on Saturday

The Palolo home was left with a gaping hole and considerable damage after the rock flew down a nearby hill and crashed into the second floor

Following her close shave, the 65-year-old said: 'If I took one more step, I probably wouldn't be here'

'All I heard was the boom when the glass cracked on the sliding glass door, so then I backed up and I guess it passed right through'.

Sasaki revealed that the close shave came just a week after her family moved into the newly built $1 million Hawaii property, which now features a gaping hole across its second floor.

She added that she suffers from a bad leg, which may have actually helped her avoid the boulder's path as she can only walk slowly.

Following her brush with death, Sasaki admitted that the runaway boulder moved so quickly she barely even saw it.

She told Hawaii News Now: 'Apparently the boulder passed right in front of me, which I didn't know, as I didn't see it.

'All I heard was a boom, and then somebody asking me if I was okay.'

A steep hill near the home in Palolo, Hawaii has undergone drastic changes in recent years, and locals believe construction work may be to blame for dislodging the massive boulder

It is unclear what exactly caused the giant boulder to break free, but locals are pointing the finger at a nearby construction project on the hill outside their home.

Sasaki told KHON2: 'I was in fear of this happening, from when they started (the project).

'We have lived in this same location. We just knocked down the old house and rebuilt it, and it's never happened before. Heavy rain and hurricane warnings, nothing.

The massive 5-foot by 5-foot boulder plowed through a concrete wall and damaged a car before eventually coming to rest in a second floor bedroom

Sasaki said she has lived in the area for a long time, but has never encountered anything like the destruction until construction work began on a nearby hill

Shocking footage of the incident shows the giant boulder barely missing the 65-year-old woman, who said after that she is lucky to have been left unscathed

'No rocks ever came down. We've had some issues with them carving the mountain, and I don't know if that's the cause.

'Department of permitting and planning, the Department of Emergency Management, the mayor, the councilman, they should all get involved because peoples lives are at stake,'.

Another resident also reportedly suffered a similar incident recently, as a smaller rock roughly 2-feet by 2-feet also crashed into the home of one of Sasaki's neighbors.

However, the construction development's owner Binging Li believes his project is not to blame for the damage.

He said: 'Not at all, this is from way above, I looked at one of those rocks about 50 feet away from on top of the property and landed over there and then made its way down here.

'So it hit one of the cables that was supposed to stop it and the cable snapped. That took a lot of energy away otherwise this damage would be way more.'

Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, Director of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP), also responded to claims the development is to blame.

They said: 'The neighboring landowner submitted applications to the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) for demolition, grading and building permits for a proposed two-story, two-family detached residence.

'DPP reviewed those applications, including the plans, scope of work and compliance with pertinent codes and ordinances.

'As a result of the recent rock fall event, DPP sent out inspectors to determine whether the developer exceeded the permitted scope of work and plans, and complied with all codes and ordinances.

'DPPs investigation is ongoing, and the city is unable to determine any wrongdoing by the developer at this time.

'It would be irresponsible and premature to point any fingers at any particular party, landowner or event without knowing the full details of what has occurred.

'We will provide more details as they develop.'
Actor and funnyman D.L Hughley has insinuated that he believes the five cops charged over Tyre Nichols' death were arrested so quickly because they are black.

Memphis officers Justin Smith, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean were charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression over Nichols' death.

Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has said an unspecified number of officers remain under investigation for policy infractions stemming from the arrest of Nichols - who was treated like a 'human pinata' on January 7.

One white officer Preston Hemphill was just suspended with pay - and has so far been spared the criminal charges filed against his five police colleagues.

Filling in for recently departed Trevor Noah, Hughley hosted The Daily Show last night and heavily implied that the reason the five cops were charged so quickly is because of their skin color.

Comedian D.L Hughley, who was hosting The Daily Show last night, implied that the African American community were not shocked to see the five Memphis cops arrested and charged so quickly because they are black

Nichols can be seen wrestling with the two officers, who demand he lies down in the clip. He was beaten by the officers after a traffic stop on January 7, and died three days later in hospital. His death has sent shockwaves throughout the US, however comedian D.L Hughley implied that for black people, the actions of the police were not so shocking

Five officers were fired on January 20 before being arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct on January 26. From top left to right: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III. Bottom row from left: Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith

Preston Hemphill has been suspended with pay pending a hearing, but was spared criminal charges. Many, including lawyers defending the Nichols family, believe that the white officer received special treatment while the five black cops were charged over Nichols' death

Speaking about the clip, he said: 'You know who wasnt shocked by that? Black people. It's pretty commonplace for us...it's hard to be shocked.

'I can tell you what I did find shocking, how fast those cops got arrested. They got arrested so fast they didn't even give us time to riot. These cops got arrested so fast, I have to wonder, why?'

As he looked at the five black men on screen, he sarcastically added: 'There's something about them that looks fast-arrest worthy. I can't put my finger on it, but I want to arrest them myself.'

The comedian continued talking about the 71 different orders that the cops barked at Nichols while he was being beaten - including shouting at him to 'get on the ground' when he already was.

And he compared how the brutal beating of a black man at the hands of the police was so expected that being 'shocked' would be just like 'watching a porno and going "he's going to stick it in where?"'

Tyre Nichols, 29, was brutally beaten like a 'human pinata' by five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers , who were all African American, on January 7 and died three days later in the hospital from kidney failure and cardiac arrest

In the horrific clip of Nichols' arrest, white officer Hemphill is seen 'violently pulling Nichols from his car while hitting him on the ground with a taser, later saying, "I hope they stomp his a**" after Nichols ran away', the family's lawyers said.

Hemphill - who is yet to be charged for his involvement - then said on the radio to a dispatcher, 'Taser was deployed,' later telling another officer later, 'One of the prongs hit the b*****d.'

The officer was not present at the second scene where Nichols was brutally punched, kicked and beaten while lying defenseless on the floor.

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers who are defending the Nichols family, slammed the police for appearing to give Hemphill special treatment, the only white officer involved.

Timeline of medical aid for Nichols 8.36pm: The police beating concludes and Nichols is in handcuffs. 8.41pm: Paramedics arrive on the scene. 8.47pm: Paramedic asks Nichols what drugs he took. Nichols is unable to speak and gurgles in response. For another 10 minutes they stand by as he twitches on the pavement. 8.57pm: Paramedics begin rendering some kind of aid, appearing to bandage Nichols. 9pm: Ambulance arrives to transport Nichols Advertisement

They said in a joint statement yesterday: 'The news today from Memphis officials that officer Preston Hemphill was reportedly relieved of duty weeks ago, but not yet terminated or charged is extremely disappointing.

'Why is his identity and the role he played in Tyre's death just now coming to light?

'We have asked from the beginning that the Memphis Police Department be transparent with the family and the community  this news seems to indicate that they haven't risen to the occasion.

'It certainly begs the question why the white officer involved in this brutal attack was shielded and protected from the public eye, and to date, from sufficient discipline and accountability.'

A seventh officer who was not immediately identified has also been relieved of duty without pay, the police department said.

Meanwhile, three members of the Memphis Fire Department who responded to the fatal police confrontation were also dismissed on Monday after investigators found he was beaten and left handcuffed on the ground without medical attention for nearly 15 minutes.

According to a fire department statement, emergency medical technicians Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge failed to assess Nichols' condition when they arrived, while fire Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker, who drove them to the scene, remained in her vehicle.

An internal review of their conduct found that all three fire department employees 'violated numerous (fire department) policies and protocols,' the agency said in a statement issued by Fire Chief Gina Sweat.

According to a fire department timeline of its response to an incident originally dispatched as 'a person pepper sprayed,' Long and Sandridge 'failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment' when they reached Nichols at 8.41pm, minutes after the beating.

The beating of Nichols was caught on camera - showing the gang of officers beat, kick, and hit the black man as he dipped in and out of consciousness on the floor

Instead, after an initial 'interaction' with Nichols, the two EMTs called for an ambulance team, who arrived on the scene at 8.55pm and 'initiated patient care,' the fire department said in its statement. Nichols was transported to a hospital a short time later.

The 'actions or inactions' of Long, Sandridge and Whitaker 'on the scene that night to not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department,' Sweat said.

In addition to the police officers and three fire department personnel implicated in the Nichols encounter, two Shelby County Sheriff's deputies have also been relieved of duty pending an internal review, Sheriff Floyd Bonner said last Friday, after the video was released.

The Shelby County district attorney's investigation is examining the roles played by all individuals involved in the Nichols traffic stop and its immediate aftermath, including Hemphill Memphis Fire Department personnel and 'those responsible for documenting the incident,' the office said in a statement.

The specialized Scorpion police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with murder in the case was disbanded on Saturday by the city.

Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker was also fired on Monday night: She remained in the fire truck when they arrived on scene
Britain says it will refuse a request from Ukraine for advanced fighter jets with which it can battle Russia, saying it is not 'practical'.

No10 said today it was not planning to send RAF Typhoon or F-35 fighters to Volodymyr Zelensky's forces because it would take too long to train pilots to fly them.

The Ukrainian air force is currently equipped with Soviet-era Russian fighters, mainly the Mig-29, which first flew in 1977.

But President Zelensky is seeking newer western fighter jets that can reach speeds of more than 1,200mph - adding to nearly $30billion in military and security assistance since Russia's invasion on February 24.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman said today it was 'not currently practical' to send RAF jets.

No10 today said it was not planning to send RAF Typhoon or F-35 fighters (above) to Volodymyr Zelensky's forces because it would take too long to train pilots to fly them

'The UK's Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,' he said

'Obviously we will continue to provide and accelerate our military support to Ukraine and listen carefully to their requests.'

Pentagon officials want to send American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to fight Putin, after Zelensky's army secured tanks from Germany and the US.

The contentious discussion on whether to send the jets to Ukraine has been ongoing as the Biden administration, which has so far rebuffed Kyiv's requests, must approve the transfers.

Deputy national security adviser Jonathan J Finer claimed this week that while there was no set decision the possibility was not off the table - but top brass are said to be keen.

Any such donation of F-16s would further infuriate Vladimir Putin, and likely inflame the badly damaged relationship between Russia and the West.

President Emmanuel Macron has said France does not exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step might be taken.

France has sent Ukraine air defence systems, rocket launcher units, cannons and other military equipment and has pledged to send armoured surveillance and combat vehicles, but has stopped short of sending battle tanks or heavier weaponry.

Asked at a news conference in The Hague on Monday whether France was considering sending warplanes, Mr Macron said 'nothing is excluded' as long as certain conditions are met.

After completing a review, the Prime Minister told his Cabinet on Tuesday that a 'prolonged stalemate' in the war in Ukraine 'would only benefit Russia' and President Vladimir Putin, according to No10.

He said they must seize an 'opportunity to accelerate UK support' to give Ukraine 'the best chance of success and make the most of the window of opportunity where Russian forces were on the back foot'.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace shared US estimates that 180,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured in the year-long invasion. That is compared to around 15,000 killed during the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

The Ukrainian air force is currently equipped with Soviet-era Russian fighters, mainly the Mig-29, which first flew in 1977

The Kremlin has also lost two-thirds of its tanks, Mr Wallace said, according to Downing Street's account of the Cabinet meeting.

A national security official said Russian forces are suffering from equipment and munition shortages and have seen 'significant attrition among some of their most capable fighting forces and officer corps'.

Other Western officials were more cautious in their casualty estimates, suggesting both sides have lost more than 100,000 killed and wounded - with the Russians sustaining a higher proportion of fatalities.

'The Russians have been attacking and that means they have suffered more fatalities than the Ukrainians have,' one official said.

The Prime Minister said his new strategy will be accompanied by 'greater diplomatic efforts and planning work' with Ukraine 'on how to rebuild' once the conflict is over.

But it does not include sending the advanced fighter jets Kyiv is demanding, which No10 said was not discussed at Cabinet.
Paris-born actress Eva Green has prompted outrage in her native France after blaming a series of insults directed at film producers on her 'Frenchness'.

The former Bond girl, 42, is embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the makers of the 4.6million movie 'A Patriot', with each side blaming the other for the production's demise in October 2019. She is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) - even though the movie was never made.

When several of her vitriolic WhatsApp messages about the film's director, producers and production staff were read out before the court, Green retorted: 'I have a very direct way of saying things... It's my Frenchness coming out sometimes.'

Her declaration that her unpleasant messages - in which she referred to production crewmembers as 'sh***y peasants' and called a production manager 'a moron' and a 'complete a***hole' - were down to her French roots angered many of her compatriots.

French actress Eva Green arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, 31 January 2023

Green was pictured yesterday arriving at the Rolls Building, London, for her High Court legal action over payment for a shuttered film project. She later blamed a series of insulting messages about various members of the film crew on her 'Frenchness'

'The worst excuse in the world. It's like people who justify their faults based on their star sign,' one person quipped.

'I am French and do not insult anyone publicly! This is down to respect and education! Sorry Marlene Jobert (Green's mother)...' said another disgruntled French user.

'Thanks for the international image,' added Frederic Says from Radio France.

Other enraged users piled vile insults on Green, with one promptly asking that she in turn excuse their 'French side'.

Green today admitted she had been 'humiliated' by the release of her foul-mouthed WhatsApp messages, and also spoke about her friendship with Daniel Craig.

She pointed out that people often say things they don't mean, citing Craig's onetime assertion that he would rather 'slash his wrists' than be 007 again.

The British star, 54, made the comment in a 2015 interview after breaking a leg filming his penultimate 007 movie Spectre.

Mr Craig later accepted he appeared 'ungrateful' but said the remark was made in jest.

Craig went on to play the British spy once more in No Time To Die, completing a run of five films.

Green insists she did not sabotage the production of A Patriot or walk out on the film, and told the court: 'I have a very direct way of saying things.

'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Green's assertion that her 'Frenchness' was to blame for her vitriolic messages enraged many of her countrymen (these tweets have been translated from French)

Eva Green arrives at the Rolls Building on January 31, 2023 in London, England

Green insists she did not sabotage the production of A Patriot or walk out on the film, and told the court: 'I have a very direct way of saying things.

'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Cross-examined by Max Mallin, KC, for White Lantern, about one message in which she called her experience of working on the film a 'f***ing nightmare', she said: 'Sometimes you say things you don't mean. You hate someone and say I'm going to kill someone, but are you really going to kill that person? No.

'There's the famous example of Daniel Craig saying, 'I'd rather slash my wrists than do another Bond movie'. But did he slash his wrists? No, he made another Bond movie.'

To laughter from the public gallery, Green added: 'I know this story because I know Daniel Craig.'

French actor Eva Green (R) departs the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, 30 January 2023 alongside her lawyer Edmund Cullen. Green is suing White Lantern Films production company over unpaid salary which she claims was due for the film 'A Patriot' after the movie was eventually cancelled

Green's barrister Edmund Cullen KC (pictured left behind Green) said that the legal battle was 'designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'

At the start of the trial on Thursday, Mallin claimed that Green had an 'animosity' towards a vision for the film held by one of the film's executive producers, Jake Seal.

The barrister said that in exchanges with her agent and the film's director, Green also branded production manager Terry Bird as a 'f****** moron', and local crew members as 'sh***y peasants... from Hampshire'.

However, Green's barrister Edmund Cullen KC said that the legal battle was 'designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'.

Cullen later said that the messages 'must be seen in context' of negotiations over buying the rights to the script.

Green earlier claimed she had hoped it would be possible for her to acquire the script rights  in return for her forgoing her fee  so the film could be made elsewhere with a different team.

But she said she knew she would have no choice but to go ahead with the film otherwise.

Describing the film as a 'passion project', Cullen said the actress 'bent over backwards' to make the film but 'the financial plan was never going to work'.

Green also alleged the production team were cutting corners, including on stunt training, prompting her to draw comparisons to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year on the set of Alec Baldwin film Rust.

Green told the court in London that producer Seal had cut down her stunt training for the film - where she was set to play a soldier - from four weeks to five days.

Actress Eva Green filming near Tower Bridge in October 2019

Giving evidence, Ms Green referred to a fatal shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin's film Rust (right), in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (left) lost her life

'You can't make a quality film by cutting corners,' Green said.

She continued: 'You look at what happened with Alec Baldwin on the movie Rust, the producers were cutting corners, no safety measures and a young woman got killed.'

In her written evidence to the court, Green said no personal training or stunt training was arranged for her, despite her efforts to follow this up with the production team.

She also said she 'fell in love' with the film, in which she was cast as soldier Kate Jones, after reading writer and director Dan Pringle's 'brave and daring' script.

She said in her witness statement: 'As I have said repeatedly, I fell deeply in love with this project - not only the role, but also the message of the film.

'I couldn't imagine abandoning the film, as it would have been like abandoning my baby.

'It still feels that way.'

The actress denied the allegations that she was not prepared to go ahead with the project, saying: 'In the 20 years that I have been making films, I have never broken a contract or even missed one day of shooting.'
A transgender social media influencer arrested for the brutal stabbing death of her father last month committed the murder following an argument over a laptop, prosecutors have revealed in court.

The Monday hearing saw Nikki Secondino, a 22-year-old Instagram model from New York, sent back to Rikers Island where she has been held without bail since killing 61-year-old Carlo Secondino late last year.

Along with the fatal attack on her father, Secondino is also accused of critically stabbing her 19-year-old sister Liana in the back, head, and stomach sometime before 6am on December 29.

A six-count indictment unsealed during Monday's hearing now reveals that Secondino not only stabbed her dad, but bludgeoned him to death as he slept on a couch in the family's Brooklyn home.

She initially claimed two men broke into their home and committed the horrific crime - before confessing she was the one responsible.

Nikki Secondino, the transgender daughter of Carlo Secondino, is seen in an Instagram photo

The December 29 incident saw Secondino kill her father Carlo, 61, and critically wound her sister, 19-year-old Liana, who is currently undergoing rehab at Maimonides Hospital

The heinous acts, prosecutors wrote, stemmed from an argument the influencer had with her father over a laptop prior to Secondino's stabbing spree.

'This defendant is charged with brutally killing her own father and then stabbing her younger sister, allegedly following an argument over a laptop,' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

'My office will vigorously prosecute this horrific case and seek justice for the victims.'

Prosecutors kept mum on the exact details of the argument, but proceeded to provide gut-wrenching new details on the sordid case.

Police had initially suspected the incident was connected to a home invasion, due to an account provided by Secondino at the time.

Secondino, who has amassed almost 16,000 followers on Instagram, was seen smiling at reporters following her December arrest

Secondino claimed that two men broke into the Bensonhurst home demanding money from a safe, before fatally attacking her father and stabbing her sister. She also claimed the pair sexually assaulted her.

However, investigators in Monday's indictment wrote that Secondino - who was at first hospitalized but later arrested - fabricated the story as a ruse to shift blame away from her.

Prosecutors wrote how Secondino first ran outside to meet cops that she herself had called to the scene.

Secondino had a successful career as a social media influencer, with several paid partnerships

The crime took place on 17th Avenue near 82nd Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (pictured)

At first, she was hospitalized, but officers wrote that she was soon put into custody.

Following her arrest, Secondino was interrogated, and soon admitted that she had lied. She proceeded to offer detectives a disturbing confession, in which she admitted to wanting her family dead following the argument.

'I came out of the bedroom, and I saw my father sitting on [the] couch sleeping, and I bashed [his] head in with [a] hammer,' she allegedly told investigators during the December sitdown.

'I grabbed my favorite German steel knife and stabbed the s**t out of him,' she said, according to the complaint.

Carlo (pictured) reportedly supported his daughter, who began to transition when she was just five years old. He was pronounced dead at the scene, after being bludgeoned with a hammer and stabbed with his eldest daughter's 'favorite German steel knife'

Liana, who just turned 20, was left with 'multiple' stab wound on her body, hands and face, prosecutors wrote in the indictment. She required surgery but survived. Prosecutors wrote it was her account that helped them discern the story her sister initially told them had been a lie

'My sister came out of her bedroom and tried to stop me,' she added of Liana, who had recently started school at Leigh University in Pennsylvania. 'I stabbed her in the back, head and stomach. I wanted them dead,' she said.

The sister was left with 'multiple' stab wound on her body, hands and face, prosecutors wrote in the indictment. She required life-saving surgery but survived.

Prosecutors wrote that it was her account, delivered from her bed at Maimonides Hospital, that helped them discern that the story her sister initially told them had been a fabrication.

When cops arrived at the scene around 5.30am, officials wrote that a wounded Liana was the first to meet the arriving officers.

Still conscious and spewing blood, according to the complaint, the then teen - who was days away from her 20th birthday - told police: 'My sister stabbed me.'

Heartbreakingly, she went on to add: 'Have you seen my dad?'

Carlo, meanwhile, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had supported his daughter and her transgender journey, Secondino said in a interview with the United We Rant podcast in 2020.

Secondino initially tried to cover up the alleged crime as a home invasion, calling 911 to report a break-in

The unsealed indictment went on to note that cops soon became suspicious of Secondino, upon noting the absence of a safe in the home and the lack of serious wounds on the fashion influencer, who had a successful career on social media and several paid partnerships with multiple fashion and beauty brands.

They would later take her into custody following a brief hospitalization, and manage to garner a confession.

Prosecutors further revealed that police had been called to the household multiple times in the past, with the most recent incident coming this past September.

Police sources said that cops called to the house heard that Carlo slapped Secondino. Friends of the family, meanwhile, said that the suspect was lazy and had often frustrated her father, who wanted her to get a more conventional job.

Two months earlier, cops were called to the residence after Carlo allegedly threatened to kill Liana. In a separate incident that same months, Liana was charged with assault and criminal mischief for ripping off her family's living room blinds during a fight with Secondino.

The incident saw the influencer - who sports several sultry pics on her social media accounts - file a temporary order of protection against her family. At the time, Secondino told police that her father was in 'the mob.'

A judge who signed off on the order later said that Carlo was not believed to be connected to the Mafia.

With her next hearing slated for April, Secondino is facing charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the incident, which could carry 50 years to life in prison.

Liana, meanwhile, remains hospitalized, and is currently undergoing rehab after a successful surgery. Friends have raised more than $100,000 for the college sophomore to help with her recovery.
Britons already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis are being warned to brace themselves for a fresh financial blow amid fears fuel prices could soon balloon.

Soaring oil prices have already seen the cost of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts start to creep up this week.

The average price of a litre of petrol on Monday was 148.8p - up from 148.4p the week before, figures from data firm Experian have shown.

Although this is still considerably lower than the record high of 191.5p in July 2022, industry bosses have predicted fuel costs could soon rocket further, driven by a surge of demand in China when the country reopens after its latest wave of Covid.

Fuel prices are already on the rise. But industry officials have warned they could balloon even further amid fears soaring demand in China, when it reopens after its latest Covid outbreak, could drive up prices. Pictured are drivers at a Tesco petrol station in Slough on January 15

The RAC said the 'slight rise' in the average cost of petrol that's already hit forecourts had been caused by smaller retailers 'passing on increased costs' when bringing in new supply.

Simon Williams, fuel spokesman for the RAC, added there had been 'no indications' supermarkets had upped their prices - yet.

'We hope this will remain the case, but drivers are likely to see pump prices rise gradually this year as oil is predicted to be go up due to growing demand from China as it reopens after its Covid restrictions,' he said.

'But while the price of petrol has clearly bottomed out, diesel is still too expensive based on its wholesale cost.'

Diesel averaged 170.4p a litre on Monday, having fallen to 170.3p on Wednesday and Thursday last week. It hit a record of 199.1p last July.

Oil had dropped below 78 US dollars (63.33) a barrel at the start of January but was valued at 86-88 US dollars (69.83-71.45) last week, sparking rises in the wholesale cost of fuel.

AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: 'After a fall of close to 43p a litre since the summer record, drivers feared that a rebound in petrol prices would eventually happen.

'So far, pump price averages have risen only slightly.

Fuel prices pictured at a petrol station in Ickenham, London, on January 21

'But today's price is only 0.9p below the average price at the start of the Ukraine war on February 24 when pump prices surged.'

A report by competition watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority published in December said drivers were the victim of 'rocket and feather' pricing - when pump prices quickly reflect rising wholesale costs but are slow to fall when costs drop - in 2022.

News of the latest price rise comes as a group of 30 MPs today backed calls to introduce a new 'pump pricing watchdog' to tackle soaring fuel costs.

The project, coordinated by Tory MP Jonathan Gullis and Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, is calling on Business Minister Grant Shapps to take action.

Craig Mackinlay MP and chairman of the Fair Fuel all-party parliamentary group said motorists were being 'fleeced by the fuel retailers'.

While Howard Cox, Founder of FairFuelUK, added: 'We should be seeing fuel price signposts across the country, at least 10-20p per litre lower for petrol and diesel. The fact they are not, shows just how greedy the fuel supply chain continues to be.'
California's controversial reparations panel is pushing for the state's legislature to close ten prisons, in addition to ensuring current inmates also receive fair wages and be eligible to vote.

It was earlier reported that the panel was seeking to pass laws creating a wealth tax, mansion tax and/or a property tax in order to fund the billion dollar reparations. The purported figure being mentioned per person is $223,000.

At their meeting in San Diego this weekend, where expert members of the public testified about various issues including prison reform, the panel preliminary approved recommending that ten prisons be shuddered while debating what should be done with the sites.

California state prisons house some of the most notorious prisoners in the country, including serial killers and lifelong gang members.

The savings made from closing the prisons will be used to fund the work of the new government agency being set up to dispense the reparations, the California American Freedman Affairs Agency.

The group has recommended more cushy treatment for current inmates, that includes eliminating certain types of punishment and paying them more money for work done while incarcerated.

The panel's report recommended removing the right to cancel visits as a form of punishment. The report also recommended developing safe spaces for prisoners to spend time with their children 'in non-institutional, non-punitive setting.'

The report wants to allow inmates to be able to choose what programs and jobs they undertake while in prison as well as providing more funding for educational opportunities for prisoners.

The names and locations of the prisons was not established in the report. California has 34 active state prisons.

A speaker at the weekend's meeting claimed that black people are not being 'rehabilitated' in California's prisons

An activist who spoke about the prison system told the panel: 'There's no way we are getting rehabilitated in these jails today and I heard you guys say: "Let's train 'em better...," No, no, no.'

He continued: 'If you guys want to be serious about reparations, let the last for first on this one...I lost one brother in 2011 in the penitentiary. He died from a staph infection. Four years ago, my older brother got sentenced to 27 years to life for manslaughter which only carries up to 11 years.

'They still doing it to us today! Let's stop this.'

The task force has yet to establish the amount of money that will be dispensed nor have they established what pre-requisites recipients will have to meet. At the most recent meeting, a California residency was mooted as the only pre-requisite.

Task force member, Cheryl Grills, said this past weekend: 'We want to be as inclusive as possible, because the harm is everywhere. Its omnipresent and it touches all Black folks.'

Kamilah V. Moore, the taskforce chairperson, said that the panel may support allowing those who were 'harmed' in California but moved to another state subsequently to apply.

The only states in the union that currently allows inmates to vote are Maine and Vermont, which counts socialist Senator Bernie Sanders among its representatives.

According to the Vera Institute of Justice, 28 percent of California's 90,000 inmates are black while 20 percent of those in county jails are also black.

Career criminal Marion Suge Knight, left, founder of Death Row Records, is not due for parole until 2034. Vile pedophile and killer Marcus Wesson, right, is on death row after being found guilty of killing nine of his children

Killers such as the infamous Golden State Killer could be about to receive more money for prison work

Other recommendations included giving the right to vote to inmates, allowing inmates to paid at a fair-market rate for work done while in prison, eliminating the death penalty, more college scholarships for black high school graduates and making zero-interest loans available for black-owned businesses.

The task force also voted to extend their work until July 2024, the group was originally supposed to wrap up their efforts in July of this year.

Speaking to California Black Media, Moore said: 'The task force supports, in spirit, the extension of the life of the task force, by another year, July 1, 2024, for implementation purpose only.

'We do not authorize or write legislation, but all agreed as a task force the idea of continuing this work to ensure that reparations become a reality in California.'

Among the inmates who could be afforded the right to vote, include Death Row Records founder and career criminal criminal Marion 'Suge' Knight or Marcus Wesson, who is on death row after being convicted of murdering nine of his children in addition to 14 counts of rape as well as Chester Turner, who was convicted of murdering 10 women in 2014,and Michael Hughes, who killed at least ten women in the early 90s.

The reparations committee held a meeting that lasted for over 15 hours over a two day period this weekend

California's notorious San Quentin prison where some of the state's most notorious inmates are housed

In 2022, the committee made the controversial decision to limit reparations to descendants of Black people in the United States as of the 19th century, either as freed or enslaved people.

In September, economists started listing preliminary estimates for what could be owed by the state as a result of discriminatory policies. But they said they need more data to come up with more complete figures.

Moore said at the time that he group had not decided on any dollar amounts or what form reparations could take, nor where the money would come from.

Calls for reparations to compensate black Americans for the damage caused by slavery are nothing new, but left-leaning states and cities have recently run into problems when they have tried to put those ideas into practice.

Many proposals have been controversial, with questions about who gets paid, how much and by whom proving divisive.

The other the suggestion brought up at the California reparations task force meeting on Friday were proposals to tax the rich, such as through a state estate tax or a mansion tax; incentivizing wealthy people to help fund reparations by providing tax breaks; or helping all taxpayers below the median wealth line by means of a tax credit, MarketWatch reports.

Their suggestions were all based on the notion that current United States tax code favors the wealthy  who they say are more likely to be white.

'Our tax laws as written have a disparate impact,' Dorothy Brown, a tax professor at Georgetown Law and author of the book The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans & How We Can Fix It testified.

Kamilah V. Moore, the taskforce chairperson, said that the panel may support allowing those who were 'harmed' in California but moved to another state subsequently to apply

'Black people are likely to pay higher taxes' she said, because they are less likely to gain access to the same tax breaks as their white peers.

She said the best idea to fund reparations would be 'a wealth tax credit applicable to all taxpayers in households with below-median wealth.

'Given the racial wealth disparity, this will result in a disproportionate percentage of black households receiving the credit,' she said.

Two estate planners, meanwhile, introduced the idea of taxing 'swollen' wealth to replace what they called 'stolen' wealth.

Sarah Moore Johnson and Raymond Odom claimed that the racial wealth gap widened after 1981, when then-President Reagan implemented the largest tax cut in American history.

The two cited Federal Reserve data from 2019 that showed the average white household had $812,000 more than the average black household.

They proposed creating a state estate tax, a mansion tax or a graduated-property tax  although they noted it may not be possible in California, because Proposition 13 taxes properties based on their value when they were sold.

Moore Johnson and Odom even proposed a tax on the 'metaverse.'

And in her testimony, Moore Johnson, a founding partner at Washington DC-based Birchstone Moore, also proposed implementing a reparations tax fund that could receive charitable donations.
House Republicans are scrambling to figure out a way to kick Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee after several GOP members said they'd vote against the move if there was a floor vote.

The Washington Times reported Monday that a 'backdoor' strategy is being explored - such as having only House Foreign Affairs Committee members take a vote, if the House Rules Committee determines such a move is suitable.

Democrats, however, could push to reverse the committee's action with their own floor vote, however House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could block such a motion.

Over the weekend, Omar continued to defend herself for past comments she made about Israel, which were branded as anti-Semitic - the justification Republicans are using to potentially give her the boot from the prominent committee assignment.

'I certainly did not or was not aware that the word 'hypnotized' was a trope,' the Minnesota progressive said on CNN. 'I wasn't aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has been a very enlightening part of this journey.'

House Republicans are scrambling to figure out a way to kick Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee after several Republicans said they'd vote against the move if there was a floor vote

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remained determined to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee, however it looked like he might not have the votes to do it with a full floor vote

During a press conference last week, Omar also pointed out that the comments were made in the early weeks of her Congressional tenure - in 2019 - and she's since apologized.

'I have addressed it, I've apologized. It's been two and a half terms ago,' Omar said.

McCarthy remained determined, however, to boot her from the committee.

'Now Congresswoman Omar, the thing she has said, as a member of Congress, she said, people only love Israel for the Benjamins. She said on 9/11, 'Something happened here.' She equated the U.S. military and the Israeli security forces equal to Hamas are even going further, and claiming it to others inside the Middle East,' McCarty told The Washington Times.

But it looks more and more likely he doesn't have the votes.

Republican Reps. Nancy Mace, Victoria Spartz and Ken Buck have all indicated they'll vote against removing Omar.

'I think that we should not engage in this tit-for-tat,' Buck said on Meet the Press NOW Friday. 'I am opposed to the selection or the removal of Congresswoman Omar from [the] committee.'

Additionally, Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who practically derailed McCarthy's speakership bid, said he was 'undecided' in a TV interview Monday night.

'The reason I think a lot of Republicans want to kick Ilhan Omar off of the Foreign Affairs Committee is because they don't like what she has to say,' Gaetz said, adding that this was not a good enough reason.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, kicked off committees herself last Congress for comments she made, said that some of her colleagues shared 'First Amendment concerns.'

'This is actually a national security issue,' Greene said.

When pressed by DailyMail.com to define her national security concerns, Greene explained: 'If she has those types of views towards our ally Israel thats a big, big problem.'

Majority Leader Steve Scalise noted to reporters that Omar was being removed for comments she made in Congress, while Democrats last Congress removed stripped Greene of her committees for comments made before she took office.

'Even if Omar were to be removed from the foreign affairs committee, she'd still be allowed to serve on other committees. So a lot of these big differences,' Scalise, R-La., explained, adding that Omar herself voted to remove Greene from committees.

McCarthy also won't have the vote of Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican who recently fell off a ladder cutting trees at his home and is recovering from multiple injuries.

As part of Republicans' anti-COVID protocols sentiment, the new House GOP majority voted as part of their rules package to end proxy voting and allowing members to participate in committee meetings via Zoom.

Last week, McCarthy unilaterally removed Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee, a move that didn't need a full House vote.
This is the moment passengers screamed in terror as a plane was hit by extreme turbulence while flying over China.

Air China flight CA8524, travelling from Xi'an to Wenzhou, encountered strong air currents while flying at high altitude.

In footage taken during the flight, passengers' cries can be heard in the cabin as the plane shakes.

One traveller told local media that he could see the plane wings vibrating as the plane bumped up and down.

Air China flight CA8524, travelling from Xi'an to Wenzhou, encountered strong air currents while flying at a high altitude

Air China said an investigation showed that the plane experienced short-term turbulence due to strong air currents, according to local media.

The company said the plane crew dealt with the situation efficiently and according to the procedures, which prevented further incidents during the flight.

They said that with the cooperation of the passengers, the flight landed normally at Wenzhou Longwan Airport.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.

A passenger told local media that he could see the plane wings vibrating as the plane bumped up and down

Air China said that it will continue its mission to deliver safe and efficient services.

The video gained a lot of comments on Douyin, a video-sharing platform in China.

One user wrote: 'You suddenly turned your phone sideways, I thought it was going to turn over.'

Another said: 'In this situation, don't be nervous, take a deep breath, calm your mind, don't think wildly, and bite your ID card in your mouth.'

Turbulence is a sudden and sometimes violent change in airflow.

Irregular motions in the atmosphere create air currents that can cause passengers to experience bumps during a flight.
Security Council extends mandate of UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

Xinhua) 10:25, January 31, 2023

Representatives vote on a draft resolution during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 30, 2023. The Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for 12 months, till Jan. 31, 2024. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for 12 months, till Jan. 31, 2024.

Resolution 2674, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, approves an extension of 12 months for the first time instead of the past practice of six-month renewals.

The resolution affirms the Security Council's intention to continue to closely monitor the situation in Cyprus and its readiness to review the implementation of this resolution after six months and to consider any adjustments or other actions as necessary.

The resolution expresses the Security Council's serious concern and alarm at the continued violations of the military status quo along the cease-fire lines and urges the sides and all involved parties to respect UNFICYP's mandated authority in, and delineation of, the buffer zone.

It urgently calls on both sides to respect the integrity and inviolability of the buffer zone, to remove all unauthorized constructions and to prevent unauthorized military or civilian activities within and along the cease-fire lines.

It stresses that UNFICYP's mandated authority extends throughout Cyprus, calls on all parties to continue to cooperate with UNFICYP and strongly urges full respect for UNFICYP's freedom of movement throughout Cyprus and the cessation of all restrictions on the mission's movement and access.

The resolution deeply regrets the lack of progress on an effective mechanism for direct military contacts between the sides and the relevant involved parties, and urges flexibility and engagement by the sides and the relevant involved parties to develop a suitably acceptable proposal on the establishment of such a mechanism and its timely implementation.

It calls on the sides to reduce existing barriers to intercommunal contact, emphasizes the importance of effective communication for risk mitigation and trust building between the communities, and urges the sides to agree and implement further confidence-building measures that can contribute to a conducive environment for settlement.

The resolution fully supports the UN secretary-general's ongoing engagement with the sides and encourages further rounds of informal talks and reiterates the importance of the sides and all involved participants approaching this process in the spirit of openness, flexibility and compromise and showing the necessary political will and commitment to freely negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement under UN auspices. It continues to urge the sides to engage actively and without further delay with the secretary-general and his team to this end, and further urges the sides to reach an agreement regarding the proposal of the secretary-general to appoint a UN envoy for Cyprus.

After independence in 1960, the tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots increased. UNFICYP was set up by the UN Security Council in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the two sides.

Turkish troops occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974 in reaction to a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots, splitting the country into two. The Security Council mandated the force to perform additional functions after 1974.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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.
A man has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and her friend by slitting their throats in separate attacks within weeks of being released from jail.

'Warped and angry' Lee Peacock, 50, has been found guilty of murdering Sharon Pickles, 46, and Clinton Ashmore, 59, in separate attacks in Westminster over two days.

He killed Ms Pickles before wrapping her body in a duvet and hiding it under the bed at her home in August 2021. Peacock then went to the home of Mr Ashmore and slit his throat too.

He claimed Mr Ashmore was part of a gang he blamed for exploiting Ms Pickles while he was in jail by selling her drugs.

The Old Bailey heard Peacock was out to 'punish' his partner and her friend during a two-day violent spree.

The self-confessed burglar and thief turned the 4cm-long knife on himself when police tracked him down to a houseboat on the Grand Union Canal after a five-day manhunt.

Lee Peacock has been found guilty at the Old Bailey of the double murder of his girlfriend and an associate

Lee Peacock has been on trial over the murders of Sharon Pickles, left, and Clinton Ashmore, right, at separate addresses in central London, hours apart, last August

Peacock, who had only been released from prison on June 4, 2021, admitted killing the pair who he claimed were having a relationship while he was in jail, but denied it was murder.

He claimed the death of his 'other half' was a 'pure accident' and that Mr Ashmore 'went mental' and punched him in the head after Peacock confessed to killing Ms Pickles.

A jury retired at the Old Bailey on Tuesday and deliberated for two hours and 20 minutes to find Peacock guilty of the double murder.

Five members of the victims' families celebrated and cried as the verdicts were delivered, while Peacock showed no emotion.

Ms Pickles' father David Pickles said in a victim impact statement that losing his daughter had had a devastating effect on him, only two years after the death of his wife in 2019.

He said: 'It left me numb, I have found it impossible to celebrate birthdays or even Christmas because my daughter wasn't at rest and had no peace.

'It doesn't feel real that Sharon is gone, I miss her more than words can describe.'

Her brother Robert Pickles said: 'When details started emerging about Sharon's death I couldn't comprehend what had happened.

'The last 17 months have taken a toll mentally and psychically. The hardest part was listening to someone trying to excuse and justify their actions.' Ms Pickles left behind a daughter.

Mr Ashmore's sister Claire Ashmore said: 'Clint had a great life and met people from all over the world.

'We loved him dearly. No words can share the pain caused, our world is shattered and changed forever.

'We had to tell our elderly frail mother her son had been killed, the worst news to tell a parent. We had to watch her bury her first-born son.

'Souls like Clint are rare, the kindest soul ever, he was not only our brother but our friend, someone who shone brightly in this world and his life was cruelly put out by someone who gave no thought or care for his actions.'

Jurors viewed CCTV images of Peacock - it shows Lee Peacock at North Wembley Station on the evening of August 19

The last sighting of Sharon Pickles before she was found dead at her flat in Marylebone. Image released by the Met Police

Peacock had previously told jurors: 'I know I'm not a monster. I never wanted to harm my partner. Clinton, I'm sorry but he caused it.

'He moved in on my woman and then told me that he did and with a rain of punches.'

He had an appalling criminal record for multiple burglaries and thefts before he even met Ms Pickles in 2004.

Peacock told jurors he came from a good family in Hertfordshire and went to school in St Albans.

But he started smoking cannabis when he was 14, before progressing to LSD, Ecstasy, MDMA, cocaine and eventually crack.

He was released from prison just two months before the killings but said: 'I've never been violent up until what happened, I wasn't even violent in the 15 years I'd been with her.

'Obviously for chunks I was in jail, but she was my princess, not a hair on her head would ever get hurt, by me, or if I was around.'

Ed Brown, KC, prosecuting, said Peacock murdered Ms Pickles when she laughed at him and said he did not have the courage to kill anyone.

In the days before the incident Ms Pickles had texted Peacock and said: 'I'm done with you... leave me alone. It's evil what you're doing to me... we both know it's over... you're wicked.'

Ms Pickles sent another message which read: 'Do not come in this house, put the key on the table outside and leave me alone you two-faced piece of s***.'

On August 18, Peacock texted family to say he was in 'serious trouble' adding: 'My time on this earth is very limited.'

He said: 'After this conversation with me you will never hear from me again... I will never be released from prison.

'My hand has been forced after what he did last night.'

On the evening of August 19, 2021, Peacock's father alerted police that his son had visited him and confessed to being a killer.

Jurors heard he had turned up at the property with Ms Pickles' kitten in his rucksack.

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley said: 'Lee Peacock had recently been released from prison and was determined to blame others for his partner, Sharon, having moved on with her life while he was incarcerated. He was ruthless, murderous and had decided he was going to kill people.

'Peacock is a violent and murderous individual who has taken the lives of two people for no better reason than satisfying his own craving for violence.

'His not guilty plea meant that the families of the victims had to endure the anguish of hearing the horrific details of his offences in court. My thoughts are with them all today.'

Mr Justice Murray adjourned sentencing until Wednesday morning.
Furious parents revealed today they still don't know if their children's schools will be shut tomorrow because of the teachers' strike - with some claiming they won't be told until the morning.

The UK faces the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade as teachers join walkouts from university staff, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards.

However, not every school in England and Wales will be closing completely as a result of the strikes and a number are yet to communicate with parents and guardians.

The confusion has left families frustrated - with many now unsure whether they need to change their own working or childcare arrangements.

The UK faces the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade tomorrow as teachers join walkouts from university staff, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards. Pictured: Teachers on the picket line in Scotland last week

Have you been left in limbo ahead of the strikes tomorrow? Email: tom.pyman@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

One social media user wrote: 'My granddaughter's school said they would inform people Wednesday morning whether the school or a particular class is open or not. That's not good enough. If there's a doubt about whether it can open or not, err on the side of not.'

Another said: 'What is irresponsible is my grandchildren's school will not confirm if they are officially closed until the actual morning of the strike. How does that work?'

A third added: 'My niece's school won't commit til tomorrow morning because they're only worried - nay obsessed - with their attendance record. They're not in the dark. They just think attendance records come above everything else. Strikes. Illness. It's mad.'

A fourth said: 'Eldest's school sent out an email saying they would be shut, 'pre-recorded subject videos' provided. Youngest's will make decision on whether they are open around 7.30(!!) tomorrow morning.

'I don't understand what's taking them so long, they must know how many teachers are in the specific union taking action. I'm lucky as childcare won't be an issue but for people who work that's just unfair.'

It comes as it emerged today that tens of thousands more teachers have joined the country's largest education union to take part in tomorrow's strikes.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said ministers should be concerned about the 40,000 new sign-ups to the union since the teacher strikes were announced a fortnight ago.

He said the new members, of which the vast majority are teachers, are joining the union 'because they want to be part of the action'.

The NEU also today urged children to make banners and snack boxes for their teachers taking part in tomorrow's action.

Mr Courtney said: 'That's a very big conscious decision to make, to join us at this moment. If I was the Government, I'd be worried about that.'

READ MORE: Now union barons drag children into strike row as they urge them to make snack boxes for teachers while millions of parents scramble to arrange childcare The National Education Union has shared one image of a schoolgirl holding a 'my teacher is worth more' placard with food for teachers going on strike Advertisement

Downing Street has conceded that Wednesday's mass strike action will be 'very difficult' for the public.

Walkouts by teacher members of the NEU in England and Wales, which threaten disruption to 23,000 schools, are the first of seven days of strikes by the union in February and March amid a pay dispute.

Some parents will be forced to work from home and take leave to look after younger children on Wednesday.

Jonathan Broadbery, director of policy at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), has warned that the strike could have 'quite a serious knock-on effect' for nurseries as staff may struggle to find childcare.

But Mr Courtney said parents have been largely supportive of the strikes - with some expected to join demonstrations on Wednesday - as they can see 'schools have been run down' and have teacher shortages.

He added: 'It's a strike against disruption in education. We want the strike to be effective because we want to concentrate the Government's mind on solving the issue.'

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan met the general secretaries of unions representing teachers and headteachers on Monday, but the talks failed to find a resolution.

Some 300,000 teachers and support staff were asked to vote in the NEU ballot - and more than 127,000 teacher members in England and Wales backed strike action.

In addition, new sign-ups to the NEU have nearly doubled in a week, from 22,000 on Tuesday last week to 40,000.

Mr Courtney said: 'I think it will be very likely that all the yes voters and all the new joiners will take action, but that more will take action. Some of the no voters and some of the non-voters will take action as well.'

Kevin Courtney (left) and Mary Bousted, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union speak to the media outside the Department of Education in London yesterday

READ MORE: List of schools closing in England and Wales because of teacher strikes with walkout set to hit up to 4.5million pupils tomorrow Teachers gathering to strike in Scotland last week, with their counterparts in England and Wales set to do the same tomorrow Advertisement

The NASUWT teachers' union failed to achieve the 50% ballot turnout required by law for its members to go out on strike over pay in England, but it is advising members not to cover the work of NEU members who are striking.

In a message to parents on Wednesday, Mr Courtney said: 'The strike will disrupt their child's education and we regret that, and it will disrupt their home life and their work life and we regret that.

'We sincerely regret it, but we're pointing to disruption that is happening every day in schools. If we don't persuade Government to invest in education that disruption just carries on.'

The NEU is required by law to provide schools with the number of members that it is calling on to take strike action in each workplace, but the union does not have to provide the names of members.

Headteachers and academy trust bosses are unlikely to know about any extra staff who have joined the NEU in order to strike since the results were announced just over two weeks ago.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'School leaders will not necessarily know who is going to be available for work until the day itself.'

He said heads 'are prioritising in their planning students who are taking vocational exams scheduled that day and mock exams in preparation for GCSEs and A-levels, as well as vulnerable students, while for other students there is likely to be a mixture of on-site provision and learning from home'.

Seamus Murphy, the CEO of Turner Schools, which runs five schools in Folkestone, said three of the schools will not have all year groups in on Wednesday due to the strike action.

Pupils in years 3, 4 and 5 at one of the primary schools will be at home unless they are children of key workers or vulnerable, and in the two secondary schools years 8, 9 and 10 will have online learning.

Mr Murphy told PA: 'There's a real challenge here for the Government and I recognise the climate they're in and the economic circumstances, and obviously from a personal point of view I am concerned about the level of disruption to children's learning.

'But actually our longer term challenge is around recruiting staff who want to join and stay in a profession which is challenging.'
Leaders in the northeast United States are warning of persistent crossings over the Canadian border as migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador and Romania traverse the snow in sub-freezing temperatures.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, assured that state and local officials can deal with the influx of migrants at the northern border without the help of President Joe Biden's administration.

Meanwhile, Republican Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas is scheduled to meet with White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice on Wednesday to discuss border security in the southwest, according to Politico.

Northern leaders are warning of increased crossings over the Canadian border into the U.S. in sub-freezing and harsh winter conditions

Migrants from South America, Central America and Europe are flying to Canada and crossing illegally onto private property in the U.S. Images captured by Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia for the Swanton Sector posted security images of migrants crossing in 26-29 degree conditions with persisting snow

It comes as the administration continues to face backlash for failing to successfully address the southern border crisis and massive influx of migration since Biden took office in January 2021.

Much of the attention has remained in the south where thousands of migrants cross daily, but the northern sectors are bringing awareness to migrants crossing in some of the harshest winter conditions.

Sununu explained that migrants are now flying to Canada and crossing the border in the north into private land in the U.S.

'I tell you that, everything from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, over the past year, increased border crossing in New York and Vermont and making their way to New Hampshire,' Sununu noted to Fox News in a Tuesday morning interview.

The sector covering New York, Vermont and New Hampshire saw a 173 percent increase in migrant apprehensions and encounters at the end of 2022 compared to a year earlier.

'My job is to make sure New Hampshire doesn't become a corridor,' Sununu said.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said Tuesday that local and state officials and leaders can address the migration crisis without the help of the Biden administration

In the last three days, 29 migrants were apprehended in the northeast border area coming from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador and Romania

Trudging through the snow, these migrants flew from their home countries to Canada to cross into northeastern states like New York, Vermont and New Hampshire

The New Hampshire governor added while federal agents are 'doing a great job' they are limited by the 'pull-back on resources from the federal government.'

'For a decade, New Hampshire had local law enforcement to partner with them to assist in illegal border crossings, that personnel has been pulled back. We've asked for more funding and it has been pulled back,' he added.

'We are taking our own steps to protect the border.'

Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia for the Swanton Sector in Vermont posted security camera images of migrants wearing large parkas and lugging bags through the snow in 20-degree temperatures.

Garcia noted that in the span of three days, agents apprehended 29 migrants from Central America, South America and Europe.

All four images were distorted by persisting snow, and one showed a single migrant dragging a roller suitcase through the snow, unable to wheel it on the terrain.

'Undeterred by hazardous weather: despite recent snowstorms, illegal border crossings have continued into the harshest #NorthCountry months,' Garcia tweeted with the images.

Temperatures are sub-freezing as migrants are seen in parkas crossing into the northern U.S.

'Over the past 72 hours, our #BorderPatrol Agents braved the weather & apprehended 29 subjects from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, & Romania.'

While lawmakers have called on the Biden administration to intervene in the migration crisis, Governor Sununu is saying that state and local leaders and officials can take moves to address the issue independently.

'Engaging with ICE delegation agreements and basically saying if you don't have resources, empower us and our state police and sheriffs to patrol the border,' he said.

Sununu told Fox that the border issues shouldn't fall to the National Guard to address.

'This is not a National Guard issue, it is lack of human resources we can help provide,' he said, adding that the issues should be addressed by local police departments, sheriffs and state police.

'We can fund opportunities and that is where we're going to go,' he said.

'We'll do our part and hopefully Vermont and New York follow suit. You reported yesterday 40,000 northern border crossings in the last quarter. There are pathways to make up for the federal government failing.'

'Hope we can be an example.'
President Biden is planning to press Speaker Kevin McCarthy to offer a solid commitment that the U.S. would not default on its debt obligations and turn up the heat on Republicans to release their own budget.

A memo, circulated ahead of Biden's Wednesday meeting with the California Republican, said the president will put two questions to McCarthy, one asking him to 'commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its financial obligations.'

The second question asks McCarthy for a solid date when the public can expect his budget plan. Biden is expected to release his own on March 9.

Biden's budget is due in early February, but presidents often blow through that deadline.

Republicans shot back that their budget would be released by their April deadline, unlike the White House's.

GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise knocked Biden for refusing to negotiate on the debt ceiling.

President Biden is planning to press Speaker Kevin McCarthy to offer a solid commitment that the U.S. would not default on its debt obligations

'He just wants to spend more money - said he wouldn't even have a conversation with Speaker McCarthy,' Scalise said in a news conference. 'That's an untenable position. It's a recklessly irresponsible position for President Biden to take. '

In an interview Sunday McCarthy already dismissed the idea of a debt default.

'We're not going to default,' McCarthy said on 'Face the Nation' on CBS. 'This won't come to fruition until sometime in June.'

'There will not be a default,' McCarthy added. 'But what is really irresponsible is what the Democrats are doing right now, saying we just raise the limit.'

The U.S. hit its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion weeks ago and the Treasury said it adopted 'extraordinary measures' that would keep the government functioning until June.

In an interview Sunday McCarthy already dismissed the idea of a debt default. 'We're not going to default,' McCarthy said on 'Face the Nation' on CBS

Biden and House Republicans remain at an impasse as the White House says it will not negotiate on spending cuts and will only accept a clean debt limit raise. Republicans say they will only agree to raise the debt ceiling if they can rein in spending.

'Any serious conversation about economic and fiscal policy needs to start with a clear understanding of the participants' goals and proposals,' National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote in a memo. 'Speaker McCarthy and his Caucus need to transparently lay out to the American people their fiscal and economic proposals in the normal budget process.'

The memo also cites comments from former Presidents Trump and Reagan and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

Meanwhile the U.S. plans to borrow $932 billion during the first quarter of January 2023, while Treasury officials warn even a looming debt ceiling battle can preemptively damage the economy.

'Even just the threat that the U.S. government might fail to meet its obligations may cause severe harm to the economy by eroding household and business confidence, injecting volatility into financial markets, and raising the cost of capital  among other negative impacts,' Ben Harris, Treasury's assistant secretary for economic policy, said in a statement.

McCarthy laid out his hopes for his meeting with Biden on CBS on Sunday: 'I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward to put us on a path to balance  and at the same time not put any of our debt in jeopardy
The defense lawyer for a Texas man accused of murdering his DJ girlfriend in Colombia has resigned from the case because his life has been threatened - while the court interpreter also stepped down over inaccurate translations.

Martin Riascos, who has been representing American John Poulos, 35, made the shocking request to resign prior to the start of Tuesday's hearing in Bogota.

Riascos said the threats began shortly after Poulos was formally charged by the prosecution for killing Valentina Trespalacios, 23, whose body was found inside a suitcase after he allegedly tossed it into a dumpster on January 22 and fled to Panama the same day.

'Since last Wednesday, January 25, 2023, on my social networks, in person, by phone calls and by all means, I have received threats,' Riascos told the judge. 'So much so that I have decided not to answer my phone or open messages from unknown people.'

Poulos also told the judge that he 'would like to change interpreters' after the court's appointed translator, Martha Morales, struggled to accurately perform her role, stumbling on legal terms and mispronouncing words - a problem which could nullify the case.

Martin Riascos (pictured) appeared during Tuesday's hearing and announced he would no longer be the attorney representing John Poulos because he had received death threats

An autopsy report showed that Colombian DJ Valentina Trespalacios was strangled and beaten

John Poulos (center) is facing charges of femicide and concealment of evidence in connection to the death of his Colombian DJ girlfriend, Valentina Trespalacios, whose body he allegedly stuffed in a suitcase and abandoned in a dumpster January 22 after beating and strangling her

On Tuesday, lawyer Riascos said: 'Ironically, I asked for security only for who up to that moment was my client, but neither the judiciary nor anyone else thought about all the problems that all this was causing me and my personal life.'

Riascos added that Poulos had also asked him to step down as his representative. Defense attorney Juan Fallas has now taken over his legal representation.

According to Riascos, Poulos' decision drop him as his lawyer was not a ploy from the accused said to delay the proceedings.

Poulos is facing aggravated femicide and concealment of evidence charges in a case that has shocked the South American nation.

John Poulos (center) attended Tuesday's hearing, which was adjourned to Wednesday after court appointed interpreter Martha Morales (right) quit. Juan Fallas (left) was introduced Tuesday as Poulos' new attorney after Martin Riascos stepped down due to death threats

Interpreter Martha Morales has encountered problems with the simultaneous translations for all parties involved during the first two hearings because Poulos is not fluent in Spanish.

Her role was to provide translations for the judge, prosecution and for the attorney's representing Poulos and Trespalacios.

But in both live hearings viewed online by DailyMail.com, it was clear that Morales has been unable to provide an accurate translation. On multiple occasions she has taken long pauses to gather her thoughts, often fumbling the legal terms, and has constantly mispronounced words.

There have been several instances where she asked the judge to stop because she did not know how to properly translate.

Attorney Ricardo Burgos told Caracol TV on Monday that he feared that Morales' inability to translate could hinder the case going forward.

He slammed the court for pausing the hearings several times to provide Poulos a summary of that has just been said despite Morales' translations.

'The Supreme Court of Justice has established that translations to a person must be comprehensive and that this clearly violates constitutional rights and that it nullifies everything from the moment they happened,' he said.

Valentina Trespalacios (pictured), a DJ in Bogota, Colombia, was allegedly murdered by her Texas boyfriend, John Poulos. Her body was found in a suitcase that was tossed into a dumpster allegedly by Poulos on January 22, the same day he purchased a flight to flee from Colombia to Panama

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan with Ashley Poulos (left), Jackson Poulos (center) and John Poulos (right) in 2018

A homeless man was searching through a waste container in the Bogota neighborhood of Los Cambulos when he discovered the suitcase with Valentina Trespalacios' body on January 22

During Friday's hearing John Poulos (center) sat alongside his former lawyer Martin Riascos (left) and the court appointed interpreter, Martha Morales (right)

Poulos, the father of one boy and two girls in the United States, declined to plea guilty to one count of aggravated femicide and another of concealment evidence of a crime scene during last Friday's hearing.

'I am aware of my decision, and do not accept the charges,' he said.

Poulos, who was planning on marrying Trespalacios and living in Colombia full time, arrived in Colombia on January 19 and met the following day with the electronic music DJ.

One of the mugshots of John Poulos shows that he has a large scratch on the left side of his face, perhaps a sign that his girlfriend, Valentina Trespalacios, fought for her life before she was killed

Colombian electronic music DJ Valentina Trespalacios was found dead in a dumpster on January 22

Video footage showed Poulos pushing a supermarket cart containing the suitcase in which he reportedly concealed Trespalacios' body the morning of January 22.

He was seen placing the suitcase into the trunk of a Volkswagen Voyager in the garage of the Bogota north side apartment building and then driving away.

He drove to the south side of Bogota, where he tossed the luggage bag inside a dumpster next to a park, and drove towards El Dorado International Airport.

Lead prosecutor Daniel Gomez said that Poulos threw away Trespalacios' cellphone at the airport.

Poulos' plan to avoid capture included the additional cash purchase of two airplane tickets, one from Panama City to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to throw off the Colombian National Police's international manhunt and a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, where he would connect to a plane to Montenegro, where there is no extradition treaty with Colombia.

Panamanian immigration agents and the Interpol arrested him January 24 night at Tocumen International Airport moments before he was about to board Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.

Poulos told authorities in Panama that the defunct Medellin Cartel was behind Trespalacios' murder and wanted to kill him.
The Long Island liar, Rep. George Santos, told his Republican colleagues Tuesday morning that he will recuse himself from House committees, as the fallout from his fabricated biography continues.

'He just felt like there was so much drama really over the situation, and especially what we're doing to work to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee,' fellow Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, told reporters upon leaving the meeting.

'But Mr. Santos' statement in there was just saying that he spoke with Speaker McCarthy and made this decision on his own.'

Santos announced in a GOP conference meeting that he would be stepping down from his assignments on the Science and Small Business committees, reportedly telling his colleagues that he felt he was a 'distraction.'

The Long Island liar, Rep. George Santos, told his Republican colleagues Tuesday morning that he will recuse himself from House committees after he fabricated a large part of his biography

Santos has been under fire since December, after reports emerged that he had lied on his campaign website about where he attended college, and that he had worked for high-powered financial institutions including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

His carefully constructed back story unraveled from there, including reports that he had been a drag queen in Brazil - claims he denied.

Polling from Newsday and Siena College showed that 78 percent of Santos' New York constituents now believe he should resign.

While lawmakers can be expelled from Congress, the more typical punishment for members behaving badly has been to strip them of their committee assignments.

During the last Congress, Democrats voted to remove Greene and Paul Gosar from committees after their social media posts showed violence against Democratic members including then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

As the new GOP-led Congress kicks off, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally removed Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.

He justified the action by saying that Schiff, the former chairman of the Intelligence Committee, had lied about Russiagate and Hunter Biden's laptop, while he pointed to Swalwell's entanglement with an alleged Chinese spy.

Schiff said he was being punished for his role in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment.

The Republicans are also trying to push Omar, one of the members of the so-called progressive 'squad,' from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over past comments she made about Israel that were widely interpreted to be anti-Semitic.

In all three cases, Democrats said it was hypocritical to go after their members and allow Santos to serve on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Small Business.

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who endorsed and fundraised for Santos, was asked Tuesday morning whether she regretted that decision.

The New York congresswoman noted that Santos had voluntarily removed himself from committees while he 'goes through this process' but would not say whether she had regrets.

'Ultimately, voters make this decision about who they elect to Congress,' Stefanik told reporters.

Pressed on whether he should resign, she said again: 'This process is going to play itself out.'

'Ultimately voters are going to make a decision.'
A group of California police officers shot and killed a double amputee on Thursday as he tried to run away from them on his stumps after jumping out of his wheelchair.

The three cops from Huntington Park Police Department were filmed firing at least eight shots at Anthony Lowe Jr., a 36-year-old father-of-two.

His family say he lost the lower halves of his legs recently after an altercation with police in Texas.

Lowe Jr. had just stabbed someone unprovoked, according to the police department, and was trying to run away from two officers on Thursday.

First, they tried to Tase him, chasing him as he ran down the sidewalk, away from the wheelchair he had leaped from.

The three cops from Huntington Park Policed Department were filmed firing at least eight shots at Anthony Lowe Jr., a 36-year-old father-of-two

Lowe jumped out of his wheelchair and was trying to flee the officers when they opened fire

Lowe Jr is shown lying on the sidewalk after being shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene

Lowe, 36, lost his legs recently, according to his family. They say he was murdered

He turned and tried to hurry away from them, clutching a large butcher's knife in one hand.

A second police car arrived, from which a third cop emerged. Within 15 seconds of the third officer arriving, they fired multiple shots, shooting Lowe in the upper torso.

Once he was on the ground lying on his stomach, they placed him in handcuffs.

'The suspect was tased at least twice by Huntington Park Officers but the deployment of the taser was ineffective.

'The suspect attempted to throw the butcher knife at the officers again, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred,' the LA County Sheriff's Office release said.

Lowe Jr. later died at the scene. His family is now demanding answers from the police department.

The officers involved have not yet been named.

Lowe Jr. was carrying a large knife which the cops say he had just used to stab someone. After failing to subdue him with their Tasers, the officers said they feared he was going to throw the knife at them

A different view of the incident shows Lowe Jr. on the ground as the third officer arrived. He was clutching a large 'butcher's knife', which the cops say he threatened to 'throw' at them

Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the LA County Sheriff's Office said the cops involved had been placed on leave 'for a few days' but that no official disciplinary action had been taken.

The LA County Sheriff's Office is now investigating the incident, which comes three weeks after unarmed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by a different group of police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

'They murdered my son, in a wheelchair with no legs. They do need to do something about it,' his mother, Dorothy Lowe, said at a press conference on Sunday.

The family told The LA Times that he lost the lower half of his legs recently following a different altercation with police in Texas.

He had been living with his mother as a result of the injury.

On the day of his death, she says he'd told her he was going to McDonald's.

It's unclear who he is alleged to have stabbed, or what that person's condition is now.

Family and friends of Anthony Lowe Jr hold a news conference to demand an investigation into his death outside of the Huntington Park Police Department in Huntington Park, California
Footage has captured a chimp hurling a bottle through the air at a zoo in south China, hitting the girl who was filming.

The video shows the chimpanzee in his enclosure at Nanning Zoo shortly before the attack jumping up and down before throwing the item.

The girl's mother said she had been enjoying the zoo visit until the mineral water bottle thrown by the chimp caused an injury to her daughter's eye.

The girl, whose age is unknown but is said to be minor, reportedly started bleeding from the blow, although there was no further update on her condition.

The video shows the chimpanzee in his enclosure at Nanning Zoo shortly before the attack jumping up and down before throwing the item. The girl's mother, who was not named, said he had been enjoying the zoo visit until incident, which caused an injury to her daughter's eye by the mineral water bottle thrown by the chimp

The phone screen broke when the camera fell to the ground, according to local media.

Nanning Zoo told local media they are investigating the case and cannot comment before the report is finished.

The incident caused a heated debate on social media, with some accusing the tourists of tormenting the ape.

Others said the creature posed a threat to humans and asked for him to be locked up.

Recently, another incident was recorded with an ape in the same zoo.

The incident caused a heated debate on social media, with some accusing the tourists of tormenting the ape. Others said the creature posed a threat to humans and asked for him to be locked up

The girl, whose age is unknown but is said to be minor, reportedly started bleeding from the blow, although there was no further update on her condition. The phone screen broke when the camera fell to the ground, according to local media

As a woman stood outside the safety fence, the ape hurled mud bombs at her as she walked around the perimeter.

He missed, but footage shows that he caught someone else who did not duck in time.

The woman, named Ms Tan in local media, said the ape seemed to follow her around the enclosure.

Eventually, believing she was safe behind the wall, she started filming a selfie with the ape in the background.

However, she had to hide under the wall and almost got struck again.
Dr. Dale Caldwell said that there was 'no indication' that the 29-year-old woman was not in fact a 15-year-old teenager based on her appearance

The President of a Board of Education in New Jersey has defended their failed vetting of a woman who snuck into class for four days and pretended to be a high school student.

Hyejeong Shin, 29, was arrested after New Brunswick High School discovered her true age. But during the stint, she took part in lessons, exchanged phone numbers with teenagers, and spoke with guidance counselors.

She was posing as a 15-year-old girl - when in fact she was a Rutgers University graduate who fabricated her birth certificate to enroll as a high schooler.

Despite teenagers who came into contact with Shin revealing their discomfort with the situation and questioning their safety, the Board's President Dr. Dale Caldwell stood by their lack of prior vetting.

Caldwell said that there was 'no indication' that the 29-year-old woman was not in fact a teenager, as she 'didn't look like a grandmother.'

Neither police nor school officials have said if Shin has explained why she wanted to enroll in high school.

Hyejeong Shin, 29, was arrested after after New Brunswick High School discovered her true age. She was pretending to be a 15-year-old and frauded her birth certificate to get in, cops say

Dr. Dale Caldwell, New Brunswick's Board of Education President, said there were not physical factors that alerted people to think that the fake student was in fact aged 29

Hyejeong Shin, 29, was arrested last week after attending classes at New Brunswick High School for four days before her true age was discovered, officials said

He added that you 'can't make judgements' about people's age or deny people the opportunity to sign up.

Dr. Dale Caldwell told TAPinto: 'It wasn't like you could look at her and she looked like a grandmother. So, there really was no indication.

'Some of the students said, "Well, you should start looking at people."

'Well, my dad marched in the Civil Rights Movement to fight that thing that people look at you because you're Black or you're short or you're tall or you're old and make judgments of you.

'You can't do that. There's some kids in the school who look very, very old, but some kids look very, very young.'

According to reports, Shin was a political science major and also studied Chinese during college. DailyMail.com has reached out to Rutgers for comment.

Officials said Hyejeong Shin, 29, fraudulently enrolled in high school

Caldwell added: 'Its import to remember that public schools are for the public. We cannot deny anyone the chance to sign up, but we have to make sure they are legit, theyre telling the truth.

'So we actually did that process incredibly in four days.'

New Brunswick Police Department clarified: 'Although a school district might request documents such as a birth certificate to verify a childs age, a school district may not prevent or discourage a child, including an unaccompanied child, from enrolling in or attending school because he or she lacks a birth certificate or has records that indicate a foreign place of birth, such as a foreign birth certificate.'

Officials said Shin attended classes at New Brunswick High School (above) for four days before her true age was discovered

Some of the students who encountered the 29-year-old at the school previously told CBS News they got text messages from the woman asking to hang out, making them fear she had ill designs.

'Some of the girls I know, the girl did ask them to hang out at Commercial Avenue, but they never showed up, and she started acting weird with them,' one student said. 'It's scary because you never know what could happen.'

New Brunswick Public School District Superintendent Aubrey Johnson said at a school board meeting that Shin attended several class for four days before the scheme unraveled.

'By filing false documents, an adult female posing as a student was able to be enrolled in our high school,' Johnson said at the meeting, according to a video posted by New Brunswick Today.

Shin was charged with one count of providing a false government document with the intent to verify one's identity or age, after police said she provided a false birth certificate.

'I was in class with this woman, and talked to her, walked her from point A to point B, and never expected this to happen,' one student, Tatianna (center), told New Brunswick Today

But much about the case remains unclear, including the date of Shin's arrest and her current custody status.

Superintendent Johnson said that much of the woman's time during the four days she was enrolled was spent with guidance counselors, who were attempting to learn more about her background and needs.

But he added that she had attended at least three classes, and several students spoke out about interactions they'd had with Shin during her fraudulent enrollment.

'I was in class with this woman, and talked to her, walked her from point A to point B, and never expected this to happen,' one student, Tatianna, told New Brunswick Today.

'Not knowing she was a 29-year-old woman makes me question how safe I am in this building,' the student added, saying she had given her phone number to Shin and now feels 'taken advantage of.'

Shin reportedly told school officials that she was 15, but raised suspicion when she was unclear about the identity of her her legal guardians.

The scheme is said to have unraveled when Shin tried to sign herself out for the day, but was prevented from doing so as a minor. Frustrated, Shin allegedly revealed that she is actually 29.

Shin's current custody status is unclear, and it was not immediately clear whether she had an attorney to speak on her behalf.
It was the beleaguered stationery giant that struggled to compete with wallet-friendly rivals and had been blasted for 'going woke' by customers.

And now, almost 55 years since its first store opened in Kensington, London, Paperchase looks set to become the latest victim of Britain's high street implosion.

The company was brought today by Tesco, hours after Paperchase announced it had fallen into administration following years of plummeting sales and soaring costs.

But the purchase looks unlikely to save any of the company's 106 shops, which aren't included in the takeover - with 800 jobs now in the firing line.

High street stationery chain Paperchase has fallen into administration, risking 820 jobs

Tesco said it had bought the Paperchase brand and intellectual property, with new products expected to rollout in its stores in the UK. But the grocer had no interest in buying the brick and mortar assets, which look set to be axed.

Fears High Street faces ANOTHER bloodbath after mass closures in 2008 and 2020 as firms struggle to cope with soaring bills and slump in sales because of cost of living crisis Advertisement

The deal came after Paperchase was unable to find a buyer for the whole business after putting itself up for sale several weeks ago.

Founded in 1968 by art students Judith Cash and Eddie Pond, the firm has been struggling for years, going through a form of insolvency proceedings four years ago to cut stores and hack back costs.

It was then bought out of administration in 2021 during the pandemic in a rescue deal that saw around 500 jobs axed.

As well as the firm's financial difficulties, Paperchase has also seen itself embroiled in a series of public rows in recent years.

In 2017 it enraged customers after caving into demands from an anti-press freedom group to not advertise in the Daily Mail.

Social media users moaned over the one-off advert, with left-wing Stop Funding Hate leading demands to boycott the stationery business.

Bowing to online pressure at the time, Paperchase took to Twitter and declared: 'Weve listened to you about this weekends newspaper promotion.

'We now know we were wrong to do this - were truly sorry and we wont ever do it again.

'Thanks for telling us what you really think and we apologise if we have let you down on this one. Lesson learnt.'

But the move was met with a furious backlash at the time, and branded as 'bloody absurd' by journalists, with Piers Morgan tweeting: 'I hope @FromPaperchase understand that British people dont like snivelling little cowards who let themselves get bullied into virtue-signalling bulls**t. Ill buy my cards from @ClintonsTweet in future.'

And with Tuesday's announcement that the Paperchase had now collapsed into administration, people took to social media to mock the firm, saying: 'Go woke, you go broke'.

Paperchase ignited fury after bowing to pressure from left-wing anti-press groups to not advertise with the Daily Mail

More recently, the high street store had faced mounting criticism from artists for allegedly not paying for designs.

Angela Chick, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, claims she was left more than 22,000 out of pocket after Paperchase stopped paying its invoices for her designs.

She started supplying the firm in 2020 and said her hand-drawn cards had proved a hit, having previously sold at the likes of Selfridges, Next and House of Fraser.

But the small business owner claimed that multiple emails to the Paperchase, demanding payment, went unanswered.

Then news broke in January 2021 that the company was going into administration.

Speaking to The Guardian in May 2022, Angela said the whole ordeal had been 'immensely stressful'.

'I was going through this, and having people sending me photos of my cards still in their stores that were available for sale. It was like, "Hang on a minute. Somebodys making money off these, but I havent".'

'Most customers have no idea,' she added. 'Nothing changes in the shops; its still the same Paperchase.'

Paperchase is the latest victim to be wiped from Britain's high street. Pictured is a store logo in London on January 31, 2023

Angela was part of a group of artists from across the UK demanding for increased protection for small firms after they were hit by the collapse of Paperchase in 2021.

Some were initially offered a proportion of the cash they had lost as a 'goodwill gesture' by the firm - 15 per cent in Angela's case. But the small business owner claimed this offer was on the condition of them working with the new owners.

'I couldnt risk that happening again, so I refused,' she added. 'I was thinking Id just hold out because I might end up getting something. But I was very wrong about that.'

At the time, Paperchase said: 'The cumulative effects of lockdown one, lockdown two - at the start of the Christmas shopping period - and now the current restrictions have put unbearable strain on retail businesses across the country.'

At the same time, the company was competing with the rise of wallet-friendly firms like Card Factory, which claimed to be the largest card retailer by volume in the UK in 2021.

Card Factory said it had managed to 'bounce back' following pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 when non-essential shops were shut.

While Paperchase admitted it had struggled to recover after the pandemic.

Paperchase's demise is yet another blow to Britain's high street, which has faced a punishing few years, following the likes of Joules, Debenhams, Monsoon and the Arcadia Group in shutting up shop for good.

Department stores used to be commonplace on high streets but in recent years they have been moving away from the centres of towns and cities

The number of tattoo parlours and piercing studios on High Streets has increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic

Since the Covid pandemic forced businesses to close in March 2020, Britain's main shopping hubs have become increasingly dominated by hairdressers, tattoo parlours and cafes.

While the likes of department stores, clothes shops and banks have seen significant drops in numbers following the two years of lockdowns and trading restrictions.

The changing composition of Britain's High Street's was revealed in analysis by the BBC in December based on data from Ordnance Survey.

Between March 2022 and March 2020 there was a decrease of 9,300 retail outlets as shoppers decided to use online stores.

Paperchase: growing from a dream by a pair of art students to a British high street giant Paperchase opened its first store in Kensington, London, in 1968. It enjoyed years of success, opening concessions at Selfridges, Next and House of Fraser as well as in train stations such as London Euston. 1968 The very first Paperchase store open in Kensington, London. 1988 Paperchase opened its first 'stationery-at-the-station' store at London Euston. 2008 The first Paperchase in the Middle East opens. 2010 Paperchase launched their website. 2013 Paperchase opened their 100th standalone store, as well as its third flagship store in Glasgow. 2015 Paperchase opened its first London Underground store. 2020 Ireland's first standalone Paperchase store open in Dundrum, Dublin. 2021 Paperchase collapses into administration with PwC. Advertisement

The data also shows that Britain's High Streets are becoming places where people do things rather than buy things - as highlighted by a large rise in the number beauty salons and cafes.

The number of clothes shops operating in Britain is down 4,300 since March 2020 and there are more than 800 fewer High Street banks.

But there are 350 more tattoo studios, 700 more pubs and bars, 2,000 more cafes or tea rooms and 4,600 more fast-food outlets.

Before being bought by Tesco, Paperchase had appointed administrators from Begbies Traynor to oversee the insolvency process.

The administrators said: 'On January 31, Mark Fry, Kirstie Provan and Gary Shankland, of Begbies Traynor, were appointed as joint administrators of Aspen Phoenix Newco Limited, which trades as Paperchase.

'Unfortunately, despite a comprehensive sales process, no viable offers were received for the company, or its business and assets, on a going concern basis.

'However, there has been significant interest in the Paperchase brand and attendant intellectual property.

'The joint administrators will continue trading the company's operations in the short term, with all stores remaining open and trading as normal.'

Speaking after announcing it had Tesco had bought the intellectual rights to the company, Jan Marchant, managing director of home and clothing the grocer, said: 'Paperchase is a well-loved brand by so many, and we're proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK.

'We have been building out plans to bring more brands and inspiration to the ranges we currently offer, and this will help us to take those plans further.

'We look forward to sharing more with our customers in due course.'

In January 2021 the Paperchase went into administration with PwC and was sold weeks later in a pre-pack deal, saving around 1,000 jobs when newly formed company Aspen Phoenix Newco took control of the firm.

But the company was then sold again in August last year to a private investment firm led by the retail investor Steve Curtis.

Begbies said it would continue to 'monitor trading' in Paperchase's stores and provide further updates on the business's future soon.
A Government minister has refused to tell MPs whether she has a smart speaker in her own home as she cited 'cyber security' reasons.

Julia Lopez, a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, insisted she would not 'divulge' what devices she has personally.

It came as she quizzed about Government efforts to ensure smart and connected technology is safe and secure for households.

Ms Lopez warned that 'any device' connected to the internet 'creates a level of risk'.

But, despite refusing to say if she had a smart speaker herself, she dismissed any suggestion ministers had been told by security chiefs not to use them.

Julia Lopez, a minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, insisted she would not 'divulge' what devices she has personally

Despite refusing to say if she had a smart speaker - such as an Amazon Echo (pictured) - herself, Ms Lopez dismissed any suggestion ministers had been told not to use them

In November, the Government announced restrictions on the use of Chinese-made security cameras in 'sensitive' areas amid fears about snooping via devices connected to Whitehall networks.

Appearing before House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee this morning, Ms Lopez was asked if the National Cyber Security Centre had advised ministers not to use smart speakers.

'On a personal level? I've never been told don't have a smart speaker,' she said.

Quizzed on whether she had a smart speaker herself, Ms Lopez then replied: 'I wouldnt divulge my security arrangements for my personal life and I dont think I should divulge exactly which devices I have in my home just as a sort of cyber security measure.

'I'm not the best when it comes to connected tech, I have to admit. But I think that's just because I question the use of it in my life, rather than anything else.'

She added: 'Is it ever wise for a politician to declare what is in their house, how they are secured, and so on? Probably not.'

In response to the minister, Tory committee chair Damian Green said: 'I would hate to be putting your security at risk.

'Im not sure, frankly, whether you have got a smart speaker or not does that.'

Ms Lopez was later pressed on what the risks to households were from smart devices and connected technology.

'Any device connected to the internet creates a level of risk to your overall network,' she said.

'There are a range of security risks that can come from internet-connected devices and it's for us as a Department to try and mitigate some of those risks.'

In March last year, a separate committee of MPs looking at proposed new laws on connected technology heard from a cybersecurity expert who revealed she would not 'trust' a smart speaker, such as an Amazon Alexa, in her own home.

'I do not trust them. There we go. I will not have one, because I do not trust it,' said Professor Madeline Carr, of University College London.
Eva Green today insisted the crew on her doomed sci-fi film 'made it fail by their own incompetence' and again blamed her foul-mouthed WhatsApps about colleagues on being French.

The former Bond Girl is embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the makers of climate change thriller A Patriot, with each side blaming the other for the production's demise in October 2019. She is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) - even though the movie was never made.

Ms Green, 42, told the High Court yesterday that her 'Frenchness' was to blame for abusive messages she sent branding bosses of the 4.6million movie 'weak and stupid'.

The actress then doubled-down during today's hearing when it was put to her that she wanted the film to fail and actively encouraged two senior crew members to resign in a WhatsApp message that was read out in court.

Eva Green departs the Rolls Building, London, where she is suing production company White Lantern Films, over payment for the shuttered British film project A Patriot

Eva Green arrives at the High Court where she is suing White Lantern Films for her $1million fee for the film A Patriot

She replied: 'I never did anything to make it fail, they made it fail by their own incompetence. Nothing was ready, nothing was in place.'

When asked to explain the meaning of the WhatsApp message, she said: 'I'm not very good with words, I'm French first of all. I'm not as eloquent as you.'

The court heard earlier how she had wanted to seize control of the script for A Patriot herself.

Ms Green, who claimed she feared the picture would be a 'B s**ty movie', insisted today that she was prepared to still act in it despite the problems.

The court was told that she offered to exchange her 810,000 fee for the script rights so that the film could still be made to the standard that she wanted.

Mr Mallin said that in the message Ms Green made it clear that she did not want to continue with A Patriot because of its executive producer, Jake Seal.

Mr Mallin asked her: 'If you had done this film with Jake Seal, it would have been all over, a 20 year career finished.

'There's no way you would have done a B S**ty movie, it would have ruined your career.'

The actress replied: 'Yes. I gave so much of my heart and soul to this project, I didn't see why I should have given the money back. It made sense to have the script back.'

But she insisted: 'But I would have been forced to do this B s**ty movie because I would not have broken my contract.'

Ms Green had earlier said that she felt 'humiliated' that her WhatsApps were being read out in court. She was asked about one message in which she called the film a 'f***ing nightmare', adding: 'We had to get out'.

The Casino Royale star insists she did not sabotage the production or walk out on the film, and told the court: 'I have a very direct way of saying things.'

Ms Green, 42, is at loggerheads with the makers of the dystopian British sci-fi project, which collapsed amid funding issues. Both sides blame each other

She added: 'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Cross-examined by Max Mallin, KC, for White Lantern, about what she meant by the 'f***ing nightmare' message, she said: 'Sometimes you say things you don't mean. You hate someone and say I'm going to kill someone, but are you really going to kill that person? No.

'There's the famous example of Daniel Craig saying, 'I'd rather slash my wrists than do another Bond movie'. But did he slash his wrists? No, he made another Bond movie.'

To laughter from the public gallery, Ms Green added: 'I know this story because I know Daniel Craig.'

Mr Mallin said that in the message Ms Green made it clear that she did not want to continue with A Patriot because of its executive producer, Jake Seal.

The message, which was read out in court stated: 'We have to get out as the main investor (Mr Seal) was a f***ing nightmare, truly mad.'

But Ms Green denied this, prompting the lawyer to ask her: 'Are you accustomed to simply lying in casual WhatsApp messages?'

In heated exchanges with the lawyer, Ms Green hit back: 'I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It's already very humiliating.'

Ms Green claimed that she felt 'trapped' at her involvement in A Patriot and that it was the 'craziest' situation she had experienced.

Giving evidence on the second day of her High Court hearing she said: 'It caused me immense stress, I just felt I was trapped.

'I was frustrated and confused; it was the craziest situation I've ever been involved in.'

Ms Green told the court that this was caused by the involvement of Mr Seal, whom she did not want to work with, financial problems with the film and the way the project was being run.

Bond girl Eva Green, pictured in Casino Royale with Daniel Craig, is at the High Court in a legal battle over the demise of a 4million film

Ms Green smiled as she entered the Rolls Building just off Chancery Lane in the City of London, wearing bright red and orange sunglasses, a black velvet jacket and dark jeans and boots.

Ms Green is suing White Lantern Films for her fee of $1million (810,000) which she claims she is entitled to under a 'pay or play' clause in her contract. The movie was shut down due to funding issues in October 2019.

Yesterday she put her rudeness about the production staff of A Patriot in expletive-laden texts and emails down to her 'Frenchness'. She also apologised for 'horrible comments' calling the crew 's****y peasants from Hampshire'.

In messages used in White Lantern's claim, Ms Green is said to refer to Mr Seal as 'evil', a 'devious sociopath', 'a liar and a mad man' and 'pure vomit'. She is also said to have called production manager Terry Bird 'a f****** moron' and described the men as 'total a***holes'.

She also compared her own safety concerns about the project - including a lack of stunt training - to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Alec Baldwin's film Rust.

In the dystopian film A Patriot, Ms Green had been due to play the lead role of a soldier, and told the High Court in London that she 'fell deeply in love' with 'one of the best scripts I have ever read'.

But things turned sour, the court has heard, with White Lantern Films claiming the star breached her 810,000 contract by making unreasonable demands which undermined its efforts to produce the movie.

It has revealed messages sent by the Hollywood star about the film's producers and backers, calling them 'super weak and stupid'.

While she apologised for 'inappropriate language' and 'some horrible things' sent by email and text, giving evidence Ms Green said that this was 'my Frenchness coming out this was my emotions speaking'.

The Paris-born actress and model, who began her career in French theatre after spending time in London and Ireland, added: 'Sometimes you say things you don't actually mean, of course they are not weak and stupid.'

Another text message, sent by one of the film's producers, said that he thought Ms Green would 'rather eat tumours' than make the film with another of the producers whom she disliked. Ms Green, who was an executive producer for the project, dismissed claims from White Lantern that she sought to undermine the film's production, telling the High Court: 'My heart and soul was in making A Patriot.'

Actress Eva Green filming near Tower Bridge in October 2019

She said: 'It is one of the best scripts I have ever read. As an actor it was very exciting, it is the role of a soldier which I have not played before. It was about climate change, which is very dear to my heart.'

However, the Casino Royale star, who attended court in central London wearing a black roll-neck top with a smart moss green velvet blazer and sunglasses, revealed how she feared A Patriot may become a low-budget 'B-movie' after disagreements behind the scenes with the film's financiers and producers.

'When an actor is in a B-movie, you will be labelled as B-actor,' she told the court, adding: 'It could kill my career... I don't care about the money, I live to make good films, it is my religion.'

Mr Mallin has previously claimed that Ms Green had an 'animosity' towards a vision for the project held by Mr Seal.

In WhatsApp exchanges with her agent and the film's director, Ms Green claimed Mr Seal was planning to make a 'cheap B-movie', describing him as 'the devil' and 'evil', he said.

Mr Mallin asked Ms Green if she remembered sending a different text message suggesting that the film under Mr Seal would be a 'B-s****y-movie'.

The actress said she remembered the message. Ms Green added: 'I never wanted this to be a B-movie, but I realised more towards the end that it was going to happen.'

The actress, who played Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale and also starred in the BBC1 series The Luminaries, is suing White Lantern for her fee of $1million (810,000), which she claims she is entitled to under a 'pay or play' clause in her contract.

The term 'pay or play' is used in the film industry to refer to when an artist is paid whether or not they are called upon to perform.

White Lantern is defending the claim and bringing a countersuit.

Lawyers for Ms Green say she is being portrayed unfairly as a diva by White Lantern. Edmund Cullen KC, for Ms Green, told the court last week 'this case is designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'.

Instead, Mr Cullen insists that Ms Green bent over backwards to try to complete the project.

Detailing accommodations the actress made in order to assist the film, he listed how 'she repeatedly agreed to move back the start date, she agreed to move production from Ireland to the UK, she made repeated offers to use part of her fee to finance the project'.

The film was also due to feature The Jewel In The Crown and Game Of Thrones actor Charles Dance and As Good As It Gets star Helen Hunt. Misery star Kathy Bates was also attached to the movie at one point.

Director Dan Pringle said the proposed budget had been reduced from the 8million originally discussed with Ms Green to a lower estimate of 4.6million.

The trial continues.
A British tourist had part of her finger bitten off by a Russian woman after an argument broke out over a beanbag on a beach in Thailand.

The 42-year-old victim, identified by German media as Angelina H, was attacked by the Russian tourist while she was on holiday on Ko Phangan Island.

The pair had argued over whether Angelina could use a free beanbag on the beach when the Russian woman, identified as Vavara G., 32, grabbed the Briton's hand and bit the tip of her middle finger off.

Angelina's friend, former German fencer Monika Sozanska, 39, was with her at the time and watched the attack unfold, describing it as 'like something out of a horror movie'.

The British tourist had part of her finger bitten off by a Russian woman after an argument broke out over a beanbag on a beach in Thailand

The 42-year-old victim, identified by German media as Angelina H, was attacked by the Russian tourist while she was on holiday on Ko Phangan Island

Sozanska said she and Angelina had been looking for a free spot at a beach on the Thai island when they found an empty bean bag chair next to a nearby couple.

Sozanska, who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, told Bild newspaper: 'It was 1.30pm on Saturday when we and Angelina's dog were looking for a spot at the beach club 'Koh Raham' to enjoy a fresh coconut.

'Then we noticed a vacant beanbag next to a young couple.'

She said the situation escalated when Vavara G. dismissed Angelina's request to use the bean bag. Angelina was only allowed to take the bean bag with her after a waiter intervened.

Sozanska explained that Vavara G. then ran at Angelina and attacked both her and her dog before the Briton fought back.

Sozanska said: 'Angelina hit her in the forehead. The woman disappeared briefly, only to come back angrier.'

'She grabbed Angelina's hand and bit it. Then she spat out the bitten phalanx and smiled. The blood just splattered. It was like something out of a horror movie.'

Angelina's friend, former German fencer Monika Sozanska, 39 (pictured), was with her at the time and watched the attack unfold, describing it as 'like something out of a horror movie'

The pair had argued over whether Angelina could use a free beanbag on the beach when the Russian woman, identified as Vavara G., 32, (pictured) grabbed the Briton's hand and bit the tip of her middle finger off.

While Sozanska was trying to dig the fingertip out of the sand and comfort her petrified friend in the meantime, Vavara G. and her partner, who has not been named, attempted to escape but they were immediately caught by police who were nearby.

Vavara G. only had a photo of her passport with her so police officers told her to bring her documents from her hotel to a local station. But the couple had already fled away by plane to neighbouring Malaysia.

Angelina was was rushed to a hospital on the neighbouring island of Koh Samui, but was soon flown to Britain for reattachment surgery.

Monika said: 'The doctors are now trying to save the finger and avoid amputation using a special procedure called wrapping.'

Dentistry professor Florian Beuer, 48, from the University Hospital of Charite in Berlin explained that humans transmit less force with their front teeth in contrast to their side ones.

He then suspected that biting off the fingertip must have been painful for the Russian woman as well. Beuer said: 'Our teeth are not designed for such forces.'
The opening of a new terminal in New York's Grand Central station last week was marred after a stone plaque featuring a quote from the artist Georgia O'Keeffe was found to include a misspelling of her name.

City officials that oversaw the construction of the hugely delayed LIRR terminal apologized for the mistake and assured New Yorkers a new plaque is in the works.

'One can't paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt,' read the plaque, which attributed the 1928 quote not to O'Keeffe but to 'O'Keefe'.

The Long Island Rail Road terminal was finally unveiled last Wednesday after more than a decade of delays and a total cost of around $11billion - more than thrice initial forecasts. It became the costliest rail project in the world, by mile of track installed.

The opening of a new terminal in Grand Central station was marred after a stone plaque featuring a typo misspelling the name of artist Georgia O'Keeffe was unveiled. O'Keeffe is spelled with two Fs, not one

O'Keeffe was an American painter famous for creating close-up depictions of flowers and Manhattan skyscapes

'We clearly f-ed this one up and it's being fixed,' Tim Minton, a spokesperson for the MTA, told Bloomberg.

O'Keeffe was an American painter famous for creating close-up depictions of flowers and Manhattan skyscapes. The plaque in Grand Central notes beneath the quote that it was made in 'reaction to criticism of her skyscraper series of paintings'.

The Georgia O'Keeffe museum, based in New Mexico, where she eventually died in 1986, was quick to point out the mishap, sharing news of the misspelling on Instagram, saying: 'Don't take spell check for granite!'

The artist's quote appeared etched into a stone concourse wall in the new terminal, alongside other quotes from New York City greats including Toni Morrison and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The opening on January 25 was attended by Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA chairman Janno Lieber. On the day a train began its inaugural journey into the new terminal from Queens, stopping 21 minutes later in Grand Central on the east side of Manhattan.

Historically the Long Island Rail Road train would not stop until Pennsylvania Station on the west side.

Initially service to the new terminal, officially named Grand Central Madison, will only be available from the LIRR station in Jamaica in Queens, with trains running to and fro every half an hour. Full service to Long Island will not be rolled out for at least three weeks, officials said.

Construction on the tunnel providing access to the east side began back in 2001, and it was initially estimated the project would be completed in 2009

Historically the Long Island Rail Road train would not stop until Pennsylvania Station on the west side of Manhattan

The new terminal attached to New York's Grand Central station (pictured) did not pass a spell check. The new terminal, officially named Grand Central Madison, will only have service initially from the LIRR station in Jamaica in Queens

Construction on the East Side Access project began back in 2001, and it was initially estimated to be completed in 2009. Hochul celebrated the occasion last week, which she had previously promised would take place in December.

'This has been a phenomenal, phenomenal accomplishment,' she said during a press conference on the day. 'There were so many roadblocks and challenges and detours along the way,' she added, acknowledging the ten-year delay.

'I'm literally talking about something that started under eight of my predecessor governors,' she added. 'People lived and died never seeing this come to fruition, until now, until this very moment.'

Tracks, which connect to tunnels under the East River were started in the 1960s but left unfinished for decades, according to the New York Times.

Edward Hand, 66, of Brentwood in Long Island attended the opening last week. 'I'm excited to ride the train. I've always been a train buff,' he told the Times. 'But as I've always said, it was proposed 50 years ago and it's 50 years late.'
Russia on Tuesday claimed it had made major advances in Ukraine and captured a village on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut, which has been the focus of some of the fiercest fighting since the war began.

Moscow, which is attempting to surround the city in a big push for what would be its biggest prize in Ukraine since last summer, claimed it had captured the village of Blahodatne. Kyiv said it had been able to repel an attack on a nearby main road.

It came three days after the head of Russia's Wagner Group said the mercenary force had seized the village in an attack Kyiv said it had repelled.

The claim came as both the UK and the US expressed their reluctance to send Kyiv fighter jets, amid fears that doing so would result in Russia dramatically escalating the war, and as Ukraine said it expected the delivery of between 120 and 140 tanks.

Russia on Tuesday claimed it had made major advances in Ukraine and captured the village of Blahodatne on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut. Pictured: Ukrainian BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles drive in a convoy down an icy road in the Donetsk region on January 30, 2023

Both the UK and the US expressed their reluctance to send Kyiv fighter jets, amid fears that doing so would result in Russia dramatically escalating the war. Pictured: A F-16 fighter jet launches a missile (file photo)

Britain said on Tuesday that it would not supply Ukraine with its RAF Typhoon and F-35 fighters because it would take too long to train the country's pilots, while US President Joe Biden ruled out sending F-16 fighters on Monday.

France said later on Tuesday that it had discussed training Ukrainian fighter pilots to fly French fighter jets, but no decision had been taken yet. Poland also refused to rule out the possibility of sending F-16s to its embattled neighbour.

As Kyiv has pushed for the supply of more western weaponry, Moscow and the Wagner mercenary group has made clear, if gradual, advances around Bakhmut - notably capturing the salt-mining town of Soledar to the city's north.

Were Putin's armies to force Ukraine to withdraw from the city that once held 75,000 people, it would be Moscow's first big prize since it took the similarly-sized cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in July.

Blahodatne, which sits on one of the main roads into Bakhmut, about 3 miles north, was captured with the help of aerial support, Moscow's defence ministry said.

But while Russia claimed it had taken the town, Ukraine said Russian troops had been unable to cut off the road leading from the town Chasiv Yar to Bakhmut.

'Russian troops could not cut off the road which is used for supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian army in Bakhmut is supplied with everything necessary,' military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty said in televised comments.

He said Bakhmut remained one of the main focuses of Russian attacks, including artillery strikes and infantry assaults.

During the fighting for Bakhmut, two civilians, a boy and a 70 year-old-man, were killed in a Russian artillery attack on Tuesday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Four others were wounded in the attack, he said.

Separately, a large Russian force has launched an assault against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar this week, further south along the same eastern front.

Russian officials have claimed to have gained a foothold there, while Kyiv says it has largely repelled that attack so far.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said the Russian force in the new Vuhledar assault was at least the size of a brigade, a unit typically comprising several thousand troops.

The Russians had advanced hundreds of metres across a river toward Vuhledar and could make more localised gains there, the ministry said in an unusually detailed daily intelligence update.

It said the assault on Vuhledar was unlikely to lead to a significant breakthrough, but could be intended to draw Ukrainian effort away from defending Bakhmut.

As Kyiv has pushed for the supply of more western weaponry, Moscow and the Wagner mercenary group has made clear, if gradual, advances around Bakhmut - notably capturing the salt-mining town of Soledar to the city's north. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers return from the front line in Bakhmut, Ukraine on January 29, 2023

Despite weeks of intense trench warfare that both sides have compared to a meat grinder, frontlines in eastern Ukraine had largely been frozen in place since November after Kyiv recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022.

But momentum has lately swung back towards Russia, making substantial gains for the first time since the middle of last year.

Military experts say Moscow appears determined to push forward in the coming months before Kyiv receives hundreds of newly pledged Western tanks and armoured vehicles for a counter-attack to recapture occupied territory this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia's assault in the east as an attempt to exact 'revenge' for earlier losses.

'And I think that they will not be able to provide their society with any convincing positive result in the offensive. I am confident in our army. We will stop them all, little by little, destroy them and prepare our big counteroffensive,' he said on Monday.

Kyiv says the Russian assaults of recent weeks have come at huge cost, initially mostly relying on Wagner mercenaries, including thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons and sent into battle in waves with little training or equipment.

But Russia's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists late last year means Moscow has now been able to reconstitute regular military units exhausted or depleted earlier in the war.

Western military experts say Bakhmut is not by itself of major strategic importance.

But it is is one of just a handful of substantial cities in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region that are still under Ukrainian control, and Moscow now says capturing the full Donbas is a main objective of the 'special military operation'.

A Ukrainian serviceman looks through a blown-out wall, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine January 27, 2023. The city has seen weeks of intense trench warfare that both sides have compared to a meat grinder

Since winning the Western pledge for tanks after months of lobbying, Kyiv has pressed on with further requests for arms, including calls for jet fighters such as U.S. F-16s. Neither side has been able to secure control of the skies over Ukraine.

The West has so far refused to send weapons that could be used to attack deep inside Russia, a line countries still seem unwilling to cross.

US President Joe Biden responded with a flat 'No' when asked by reporters at the White House on Monday if Washington would send F-16s.

Still, Ukraine has held out hope. Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was due in Paris on Tuesday to meet President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters in The Hague on Monday that 'nothing is excluded' when it comes to military assistance.

Macron said any move to send jets would depend on factors including the need to avoid escalation and assurances the aircraft would not 'touch Russian soil'.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out a possible supply of F-16s to neighbouring Ukraine, in response to a question from a reporter before Biden spoke.

Morawiecki said in remarks posted on his website that any such transfer would take place 'in complete coordination' with NATO. Poland has long pushed for more aggressive military support for Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Tuesday London did not believe its own jets would be useful.

'The UK's ... fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,' the spokesperson told reporters.

A wreckage of a far car is seen under a pile of debris in Bakhmut, Ukraine on January 28, 2023

Meanwhile, Ukraine said on Tuesday it is expecting to receive between 120 and 140 heavy tanks after its Western allies agreed to supply Kyiv.

The number is less than half of what Kyiv has said it needs, with Ukraine's commander in chief saying last year that his military would require 300 tanks - along with hundreds more pieces of equipment - to win the war in a matter of months.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the 120 to 140 modern battle tanks would be made up of three different Western models: the German-made Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2, and the Ameircan M1 Abrams.

Kyiv is also hoping to be sent the French-made Leclerc tanks as well.

Speaking on Tuesday, Kuleba said twelve countries have so far agreed to send tanks to help Ukraine in its fight against Vladimir Putin's invaders.

Intelligence suggests the Kremlin is plotting another major offensive with the goal of capturing Kyiv and overthrowing the government in the Spring, and could coincide with February 24, which will mark the one year anniversary of Putin's 2022 invasion.

'Ukraine's armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 modern Western tanks,' Kuleba told reporters, describing the figure as the 'first wave of contributions.'

'These are Leopard 2, Challenger 2, M1 Abrams,' Kuleba said, without specifying a timeline for the deliveries. 'We are very much counting on the Leclerc, too,' he said, referring to the French battle tank.

Ukraine's most senior diplomat also said that Kyiv was in negotiations to receive Western fighter jets and long-range missiles.

'These are not weapons of escalation,' he said. 'These are weapons of defence and deterrence of the aggressor.'

After weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the US and Germany announced last week the deliveries of their heavy Abrams and Leopard tanks to Ukraine, a step seen as a breakthrough in efforts to support Ukraine.

Speaking in December, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces Valery Zaluzhny said to 'get to the lines' by February 23 (in other words, for the Ukrainian military to retake all the territory held by Ukraine before the invasion) Kyiv would need 300 tanks as well as 600 to 700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers.
Wife killer Russell Causley who refused to reveal where he hid his victim's body nearly four decades ago will be released from jail after the murderer became the first prisoner to receive a public parole hearing.

He made UK legal history last year when he became the first prisoner to face a public parole hearing.

Causley was handed a life sentence for killing Carole Packman, who disappeared in 1985, a year after he moved his lover into the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Earlier this month the Parole Board said he was suitable to be released from prison again.

Russell Causley became the first prisoner to face a public parole hearing and was handed a life sentence for killing Carole Packman (pictured left)

The murderer never revealed where he hid his wife's body after murdering her

At the time, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab - who described Causley as a 'calculated killer' who 'callously prolonged the suffering' of Ms Packman's loved ones by 'refusing to reveal the whereabouts of her body' - said he was 'carefully' considering whether to appeal against the decision.

On Tuesday the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed it would not ask the Parole Board to reconsider the ruling because there were no grounds to do so.

A MoJ spokeswoman said: 'We have thoroughly examined the Parole Board's decision but detailed legal advice concluded there were no grounds to ask them to reconsider their decision.

'We know this will be incredibly difficult for Carole Packman's family, but Russell Causley will be under close supervision for the rest of his life and can be recalled to prison if he breaches the strict conditions of his release.

Carole Packman disappeared in 1985, a year after he moved his lover into the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset

Ms Packman's daughter Samantha Gillingham (pictured above), from Northamptonshire, previously said she was 'disappointed' by the decision to free him again and branded the parole process a 'tick-box exercise'

What happened to Carole Packman? Carole Packman disappeared in 1985, a year after Causley moved his lover into their home in Bournemouth Carole Packman disappeared from her family home in Bournemouth in 1985. Her daughter Sam Gillingham, then 16, came home from school to find a note, supposedly from her mother, along with her wedding ring. The letter said that she was leaving their family. The year before, Causley moved his lover Patricia Causley into the house and later changed his surname to hers. It was not until 10 years later, when Causley was jailed for two years for trying to fake his death in a boating accident that he was found guilty of her murder. He allegedly made a jail cell confession, telling of the 'perfect' murder of his 'b**** wife'. Police reopened their investigation into his wife's disappearance. Causley was convicted of murder in 1996, but it was quashed in 2003. In 2004, he was found guilty at a retrial after his sister said she had heard him admit the killing. Now aged 79, he was the first killer in British legal history to be found guilty without his victim's body ever being found. Advertisement

'Our parole reforms will stand up for the rights of victims in cases like this, making public safety the overriding factor in parole decisions and adding a ministerial veto on release of the most serious offenders.'

The Justice Secretary can only challenge Parole Board decisions if there is an error of law or if there is evidence the process has been followed incorrectly, the same threshold as for judicial reviews.

Causley and Ms Packman's daughter Samantha Gillingham, from Northamptonshire, previously said she was 'disappointed' by the decision to free him again and branded the parole process a 'tick-box exercise', adding: 'There's nothing that I can do about it ... We still don't know where my mother is.'

She still hopes meet her father, after decades of asking to confront him about her mother's disappearance.

The Parole Board said reviews are carried out 'thoroughly and with extreme care' and protecting the public was the 'number one priority'.

Causley will be subject to 'strict' licence conditions, including being required to live at a certain address as well as facing restrictions on his movements, activities and who he contacts.

He was freed from prison in 2020 after his sixth parole review and spending more than 23 years behind bars for the murder.

However Causley was sent back to jail in November last year for breaching his licence conditions, the public hearing was told.

He failed to answer a phone call from his probation officer and disappearing from his bail hostel overnight without his phone or wallet.

The hearing, which took place in a prison, began with relatives, members of the public and journalists allowed to watch the proceedings on a live videolink from the Parole Board's offices in Canary Wharf, London.

Causley's behaviour was said by a member of prison staff to have been 'exemplary' since he has been back in jail.

Asked about the period during which he was released from prison in late 2020, he said that he got on well with staff at the hostel where he was living and viewed them 'more as friends', but 'could have had a better rapport' with his probation officer.

He spent his time reading, doing crosswords, walking and shopping, Causley told the panel.

In the report documenting his release decision, the Parole Board Decision Summary stated: 'The panel was mindful of Mr Causleys capacity to lie, deceive and manipulate, and was not entirely convinced by his explanations for his intentions and conduct that day after he left the designated accommodation.'
Ron DeSantis brushed off criticism from Donald Trump, claiming the 'verdict has been rendered' that his leadership, especially his Covid-19 response, is popular with the people who voted to reelect him.

Trump repeated his new nickname for DeSantis  'DeSanctimonious'  in Truth Social posts on Monday, after saying Saturday it would be disloyal if the GOP governor made a bid for the White House in 2024.

The former president also claimed DeSantis' team is trying to rewrite history on the coronavirus response, and slammed him for keeping Florida's shutdown longer than other states.

But the Florida governor was unruffled at a press conference on higher education Tuesday, saying, in response to Trump's comments: 'I roll out of bed, I have people attacking from all angles, It's been happening for many, many years.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brushed off recent criticism from Donald Trump, who has called him 'disloyal', employing the new moniker 'DeSanctimonious'

Donald Trump is ramping up attacks against DeSantis as he appears increasingly nervous that the popular Republican leader will launch his own presidential campaign. Pictured: Trump speaks from South Carolina for the first day of high-profile campaigning on the 2024 trail

He added: 'If you look at the good thing about it though, is like if you take a crisis situation like Covid, the good thing about it is when you're an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions, you've got to steer that ship.

'And the good thing is that the people are able to render a judgment on that, whether they reelect you or not.

'So I would say, that verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida,' DeSantis concluded, referring to his massive reelection victory in the 2022 midterms.

DeSantis earned the ire of Trump after his increasingly popular policies in Florida led to national notoriety and whispers that he could seek a White House bid.

The former president - whose 2024 campaign is gaining more support after a lackluster start - lambasted Florida's governor as 'Ron DeSanctimonious' on Sunday night, punctuating the end of a weekend that saw Trump go in hard against his potential 2024 Republican rival.

DeSantis only earned his spot in the governor's mansion in 2018 after Trump swooped into the neck-and-neck race. The endorsement saw DeSantis jump in the polls by double-digits.

On Saturday, Trump branded DeSantis as 'very disloyal' for reportedly considering a run for the White House.

'Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me,' he told reporters aboard his plane on Saturday, en route to South Carolina for a campaign event.

'So then when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal,' the ex-president lamented.

Trump kicked off his 2024 bid with stops in early primary contest states of New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.

As Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid on Saturday, he took a jab at DeSantis by claiming it would be 'very disloyal' if he launched a White House primary bid against him

He also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the Covid-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not, claiming the governor and his team are 'trying to rewrite history.'

In a pair of posts on his Truth Social app, Trump wheeled out the 'DeSanctimonious' nickname twice as he accused DeSantis of being a 'globalist' and having 'shut down Florida and its beaches' during the pandemic.

His return to using the moniker is a sign that the ex-president is ready for all-out political warfare against his rival. DeSantis has not formally declared a White House bid, but his refusal to rule one out has infuriated Trump.

Trump first used the 'Ron DeSanctimonious' line during a rally in Pennsylvania just three days before the midterm elections - and was promptly criticized by top Republicans for attacking the governor on the eve of his re-election bid.

He initially backed off, and even encouraged people to vote for DeSantis the next day, before steadily upping his attacks once again.

In the first of two posts on Sunday night, Trump issued rare praise for the media over press coverage of his first two campaign events, which took place in New Hampshire and then South Carolina on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane that day, he issued a public warning to DeSantis that it would be 'disloyal' for him to run in 2024.

He wrote on Truth Social hours later: 'The revelations about Ron DeSanctimonious doing FAR WORSE than many other Republican governors, including that he unapologetically shut down Florida and its beaches, was interesting, indeed.

Trump added, referring to himself in the third person: 'DJT leading BIG!!!'

In the second post, made just after midnight on Monday, Trump went on a bizarre tangent against conservative group Club For Growth - and somehow, DeSantis was caught up in the mix.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' refusal to rule out a White House bid thus far has infuriated the former president, who was the first Republican to throw his hat in the ring for 2024

The influential organization has been at odds with Trump since the 2022 midterm season, when it clashed with him on two high-profile Republican Senate primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

It also undercut his November 15 presidential announcement by releasing an early 2024 poll the day before that which showed Trump losing to DeSantis.

'The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I have been taking to the cleaners for years. We worked together for a period, but they couldn't get away from China, Europe, Asia, and part's unknown,' Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Monday morning.

'They know I won't play that game, I am America First all the way. That's the ONLY way we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

'Ron DeSanctimonious, who I made Governor in BOTH the Primary & the General, is also a Globalist, & so are his donors.'

He also tried to link DeSantis to Jeb Bush, the former Republican governor of Florida who Trump soundly defeated for the GOP nomination in 2024 - despite the former's place in one of America's foremost political dynasties.

In his first of two Truth Social posts wheeling out his 'Ron DeSanctimonious' line, Trump accused the Florida governor of shutting down his state during the pandemic

In the second post, Trump also took aim at conservative group Club For Growth

DeSantis has so far been unwilling to take on Trump in public, a strategy that's appeared to pay off for him up until now.

He's seen his GOP star rise throughout the Biden administration with his vocal opposition to the president's progressive policies.

He's also made a name for himself with Trump's MAGA base by wading into the culture wars with LGBTQ-targeted legislation and taking on Critical Race Theory in schools.

But through it all, DeSantis has repeatedly insisted that his focus is on Florida, when asked about his 2024 ambitions. It's done little to quell the buzz, especially among fellow Republicans.

'Obviously, DeSantis and Trump are the two candidates, right, whether he's declared or not,' New Hampshire's GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.
More than 400 inmates in Alabama, including rapists and murderers, will be released from prisons early after a new law allowed them to finish sentences under supervision.

Prisoners being housed at correctional facilities across the state will be freed as early as January 31 after a bill was passed by state legislature in 2021 in a bid to ease overcrowding.

A total of 412 incarcerated people - some of who committed violent, heinous crimes as appalling as raping minors and murdering family members - will be fitted with an ankle monitor as part of their release terms.

On the list of inmates set to be freed, seen by DailyMail.com, there are 29 murderers and 21 rapists. Many will be leaving prison a whole year before their sentence is up.

The freed inmates will be transported to local bus stations after leaving prison with no phones or money, and authorities have already warned law enforcement agents to be prepared for overcrowding at popular stops.

Hollis (left) was jailed in 1999 for murdering his wife Mitzi Loretta Hollis, 33, in 1998. Jimmy Don Rodgers (right) was 29-years-old when he ran over and killed cyclist Kenneth Kiefer near Scottsboro, Alabama, in September 2003

Gary Lou Mims (left) was jailed for sodomizing and raping a teenage girl multiple times in 2007. Kenneth Dwight Sylvester Jr (right) took a manslaughter plea deal after admitting to killing Donnie Gise in Florence, Alabama. He beat her to death in January 2008.

Among those benefitting from the new law is Charles Dewayne Hollis.

He was jailed in 1999 for murdering his wife Mitzi Loretta Hollis, 33, in 1998. He killed her after just one month into married life, and buried her body in a shallow grave in Lamar County, Alabama.

Wife murderer Hollis was meant to serve another six months in jail.

Another inmate on the list to be released is Cartravious Collins. He shot four people, killing one, when he was just aged 15. He was jailed in 2009 for one count of manslaughter and three counts of assault.

Jywan Moss is grandson of former Auburn City Councilman Arthur Dowdell - and he was jailed for rape in 2013. The sexual assault happened at the politician's home while he was away. Moss was aged 18, and the female victim was 15-years-old.

Moss was sentenced in 2016 for six months, but then was re-sentenced for second-degree rape in 2020 for 10 years, and for criminal possession of a forged instrument for two years. It's unclear if he will be released in regards to the latest count of rape.

Another released prisoner will be Jimmy Don Rodgers, who was convicted and jailed for manslaughter in 2005 after he mowed down a cyclist while he was under the influence.

He was 29-years-old when he killed cyclist Kenneth Kiefer near Scottsboro, Alabama, in September 2003. He's now served 19 years in prison, and was denied parole in 2021.

Angela Gay Dearman was jailed for murder in 2006 after she killed her son's karate instructor Wilburn King in September 2003 in Decatur, Alabama. King was found dead in his office, with a shotgun wound in his chest. He had worked at the karate studio for two decades.

Dearman has at least eight months left on her 20-year murder sentence.

Bruce Anthony Newburn (left) was jailed for 10 years for sending obscene material to a child and for 'electronic solicitation of a child' in 2011. His parole was denied in 2021, after being sent to prison in 2018 for the crimes. Angela Gay Dearman (right) shot and killed her son's karate instructor Wilburn King in September 2003 in Decatur, Alabama

Jywan Moss: The grandson of Auburn City Councilman Arthur Dowdell was jailed for rape in 2013. The sexual assault happened at the politician's home while he was away. Moss was 18, and the female victim was 15-years-old. He was being held in a Lee County, Alabama jail

Cartravious Collins shot four people, killing one, when he was just aged 15

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Everette Johnson, Alabama State FOP President, said that the mass release has created a sense of 'danger' in the community.

He said: 'We face a dangerous time here in the state of Alabama with the implementation of Act 2021-549. This bill allows inmates to be released into our communities while being electronically supervised by Pardons and Paroles.

'The bill does not stipulate the eligibility for early release other than for sex offenders of children. It is solely based on time served.

'There are many of these released inmates that were convicted of violent felonies, yet that does not seem to be standard for continued incarceration. Many of the victims of these violent offenders have not been notified of the early release which is supposed to be done based on this law.

'We all want safe communities and homes. We also want to ensure that victims of crime receive justice, especially if they are victims of violent crimes.'

In Alabama, just 10 percent of inmates who qualified for consideration in the last year were granted parole - and Governor Ivey recently tightened restrictions making it even harder for prisoners to fit the criteria.

Garvis Snedecor was imprisoned on two counts of murder, and two of attempted murder in 2005

John Hamm and Cam Ward are being sued by Attorney General Steve Marshall over the early release of the prisoners

Bus stations in Montgomery, Mobile and Birmingham were filled with the released criminals today - who may be 'waiting for some time' depending on bus schedules.

Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Director Cam Ward confirmed that on Tuesday, 92 prisoners were released - as the hundreds of others still need to have their victims notified.

The notice sent this morning was 'to ensure law enforcement agencies in these areas are aware' the inmates 'may necessarily congregate in these areas.'

In the statement, Ward also added: 'The law was passed in 2021 and we will follow it as it is written. We did not advocate for it, but until we are told otherwise by a judge, we will enforce the law as written.'

The change to the law was recommended by a criminal justice policy group in 2020 - and notably when the bill passed House by a vote of 77-23, it was Republican lawmakers who cast all the no votes.

All of those who will be released as part of the law change had three to 12 months left of their sentence to serve.

The law was passed and touted as a public safety measure designed to make sure inmates are monitored when they leave prison.

William Brent Sigler: Prison records say that he was in jail for second-degree rape, but this registered sex offender was charged with the murder of his wife Angela Lee Sigler in April 2020. He is now on the release list for his rape charge - while he awaits trial for allegedly killing his wife

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (pictured) lodged a lawsuit following the mass release of prisoners on January 31, 2023

And lawmakers have said the reforms are generally part of a solution to solve Alabama's problems with overcrowding and understaffed prisons, reports AL.com.

In response to the move, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit against two heads of Alabama's prison bureau late last night.

Marshall filed against Cam Ward, Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, and John Hamm, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner over the early release of the criminals.

The suit said the complaint 'seeks to prevent the early release of inmates currently in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) to the supervision of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) until such time as (Hamm) provides the statutorily-required notice to the inmates' victims.'

According to the Attorney General, victims of the inmates who are scheduled to be released on January 31 have not been notified.

Attorney General Marshall was a vocal opponent of the bill in 2021: 'This bill mandates the early release of dangerous individuals with only the possibility of electronic monitoring and without the assurance of other resources necessary to safely supervise those initially released.'
This will be the staunch antivaxxer's second appearance on the show since 2021

Lindell is back on the proviso he does an interview from an arcade claw machine

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he's prepared to be humiliated on Jimmy Kimmel tonight adding that what he has to say, in his second appearance, will 'help save the country.'

Lindell, who is a staunch antivaxxer, boarded a private plane from Minnesota on Monday night and even took a COVID test - determined to make the interview where he will argue once again that Trump's election was stolen.

Kimmel made the announcement on Monday night, saying that the Trumpworld figure had 'repeatedly asked to return' and granted him his wish on the proviso he does the interview from a giant claw machine - typically found in arcades.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, Lindell said he looks forward to being placed inside the claw machine adding that it's likely safer inside with 'everybody shedding.'

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he's prepared to be humiliated on Jimmy Kimmel tonight adding that what he has to say in his second appearance on the show since 2021 will 'help save the country'

'He said I can come, but I got to go in the claw game because I'm not vaccinated,' Lindell told the Daily Beast.

'I am trying to save our country,' he added and said he'd be 'safer in the claw game with everybody shedding, right?'

'Shedding' is an unproven theory often touted by the far right centered around the belief that those with the COVID-19 vaccine could infect others with a live virus.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: 'None of the vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. contain a live virus.'

Kimmel told viewers seeing Lindell do an interview from inside a giant claw machine, which has featured actress Kristen Bell stuck inside for previous skits, would be a good way to start the show's 21st year on air.

'I said if you get in one those, I'll do the interview, and good news, it looks like it's happening tomorrow night,' he said.

'I've finally found my purpose.'

Kimmel made the announcement on Monday night, saying that the Trumpworld figure had 'repeatedly asked to return'

He granted Lindell his wish under the proviso he does the interview from a claw machine, typically found in arcades, and previously used on the show in a skit with Kristen Bell

In exchange for taking a dive into the claw machine Lindell said that he told the comedian he wouldn't call him 'Kimmbel anymore, I would take the 'B' out and call him Kimmel.'

When speaking to the Daily Beast Lindell added that he anticipates it could be a 'humiliating' experience but isn't worried.

'Sure, it is. But I am willing to be humiliated to help save our country,' he said.

'I don't know how big it is,' Lindell said about the possibility of the experience being claustrophobic 'It could be' he finished.

Lindell was also required to take a COVID test to get on the late-night show to which he said, '100 percent I am going to do that.'

This will be Lindell's second appearance on the show after making a cameo in April 2021.

This will be Lindell's second appearance on the show after making a cameo in April 2021

The interview quickly descended into accusations of wrongdoing in the 2020 election, Lindell insisting he has evidence to prove his theory pointing to allegations about Dominion Voting machines

The interview quickly descended into accusations of wrongdoing in the 2020 election, Lindell insisting he has evidence to prove his theory pointing to allegations about Dominion Voting machines.

The right-wing businessman was being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for pushing Trump's claims that the company's machines, which were used throughout the country on Election Day 2020, were rigged in favor of President Joe Biden.

In October last year, the Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch bid by Lindell, who is among former U.S. President Donald Trump's most loyal 2020 election deniers, to fend off a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit.

In its decision on Lindell, the Supreme Court is deferring to a lower court decision that allowed the lawsuit to proceed made in August 2021.

Last year Lindell rejoined Twitter more than one year after he was banned from the site for promoting election misinformation

The right-wing businessman was being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for pushing Trump's claims that the company's machines, which were used throughout the country on Election Day 2020, were rigged in favor of President Joe Biden

Dominion sued Lindell in February 2021, and lodged similar lawsuits against former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

Lindell has been embroiled in controversy over his outspoken rants on politics and business.

Early last year, he rejoined Twitter more than one year after he was banned from the site for promoting election misinformation.

But the businessman was quickly suspended again just a few hours later when social media bosses realized he had rejoined.

Lindell was banned from Twitter in late January 2021 for promoting unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election results were fraudulent.

The social media company said at the time those tweets violated its civic integrity policy it implemented in September 2020 to fight disinformation online.
No time to visit NYC's migrants, Joe?

President Joe Biden flew into New York City on Tuesday to tout a $292 million mega grant that will be used to help build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, but didn't find the time to drive-by or acknowledge NYC's burgeoning migrant housing crisis in midtown Manhattan - a mere 10-minute car ride away.

With temperatures near freezing, scores of migrants have set up pop-up tents on the sidewalk outside the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan to protest being relocated to a Brooklyn shelter - a symptom of a much bigger problem facing NYC as the flow of migrants overwhelms city resources.

Biden was joined by the state's Democratic political powerhouse consortium: Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Gov. Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, amongst others,

The money is part of $1.2 billion in mega grants being awarded under the 2021 infrastructure law. The yearslong modernization of the Hudson project started in 2013 but stalled as Trump all but blocked Schumer over funding for the project in exchange for his support for his wall at the southern border - something that Schumer refused to do.

President Joe Biden speaks about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide funding for the Hudson River Tunnel project, at the West Side Rail Yard in New York City on January 31, 2023.

Only a 10-minute car ride away from Hudson Yards, President Biden did not take the opportunity to drive past the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan where a migrant crisis is unfolding

Biden is greeted by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., as he arrives to speak at the construction site of the Hudson Tunnel Project in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023

The current Hudson Tunnel Project is to repair 113-year old infrastructure which goes under the Hudson River was completed in 1910. In addition to age, the tunnels were damaged by saltwater during Hurricane Sandy in 2012

The Senate Majority Leader took aim at Trump for 'sabotaging' the long-running Gateway Program. 'The former president was shoveling you know what,' said Schumer with a wry smile.

Biden's recent trips along the East Coast corridor amount to a form of counterprogramming to the new House Republican majority as GOP lawmakers seek deep spending cuts in exchange for lifting the government's legal borrowing limit, saying that federal expenditures are hurting growth and that the budget should be balanced.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden are scheduled to officially meet at the White House on Wednesday to talk about the looming debt ceiling. The freshly minted Republican Speaker will press his case for spending cuts even though White House officials say Biden won't negotiate over the need to increase the federal debt limit.

'I don't think there's anyone in America who doesn't agree that there's some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate,' McCarthy told CBS News on Sunday.

Mitch Landrieu, the White House senior adviser responsible for coordinating implementation of the infrastructure law, told reporters on Tuesday that if Republicans are looking to 'take away money from projects, they ought to, I think, identify which projects they don't want.'

'And then you can have that discussion with the American people,' Landrieu added.

President Biden (middle) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (right) arrive at Wall St Heliport in New York City flanked by NYPD and Secret Service.

The immigrants, mostly from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, had been living in the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan until recently, when they were told to leave the temporary shelter.

NYC is trying to move some of them from the Watson Hotel in Manhattan to a new shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, but many of the men gathered outside the hotel said they wouldn't leave. The city sent MTA buses, but many of the people said they wouldn't board them, adding they were concerned about the conditions at the new shelter.

To some in the Biden administration, the Hudson Tunnel Project demonstrates what could be lost if spending cuts are put into place. In total, the construction is projected to result in 72,000 jobs, according to the White House.

The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel already carrying about 200,000 weekday passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, a long-delayed upgrade after decades in which the government underfunded infrastructure.

'We cannot lead the world in this century if we depend on infrastructure from early in the last one,' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The grant would be used to help complete the concrete casing for an additional rail tunnel beneath the river, preserving a right of way for the eventual tunnel. In total, the project is expected to cost $16 billion and help ease a bottleneck for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers going through New York City.

Biden made the case the project is critical far beyond greater New York.

'If this line shuts down for just one day it would cost our economy $100 million,' Biden said. 'And the current Hudson River rail tunnel can be a major chokepoint.'

Other projects to receive mega grants include the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Kentucky and Ohio; the Calcasieu River Bridge replacement in Louisiana; a commuter rail in Illinois; the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina; a transit and highway plan in California; and roadways in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

Not everyone has been pleased by the mega grant program. Some Republican lawmakers in Arizona say it gave preference to mass transit and repair projects over expansion and new construction.

Schumer criticized Trump for slowing the project during his term as he feuded with the Democrats.

'Get on the Joe Biden Express now because we are not stopping,' Schumer said. 'For four years, the former president was shoveling you know what and now we're going to put real shovels in the ground, wielded by real American workers.'
A trio of winter storms moved toward the country's center on Sunday, generating travel concerns for the rest of the week as the Upper Midwest is trapped in the bitter cold and wind chills that could reach negative 50 degrees.

The weather forecasting company predicted three storms would bring ice and snow from Sunday to Thursday. Saturation from the Gulf of Mexico and cooler air moving south will feed the storms, according to USA Today.

AccuWeather predicts that the rain will be steady for many days during the US winter weather in specific locations.

Senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, "cold air will plunge" deep down south to set up a "weather battle zone" for most of the week. He noted that a glaze of ice might make driving hazardous from eastern Oklahoma through northwest Arkansas and southern Missouri during the winter weather alert.

The US winter weather may be extreme in specific locations per winter weather alert. Forecasters from the National Weather Service office in Pocatello, Idaho, have warned that Sunday's highs could not even make it beyond -10 degrees Fahrenheit.

No matter how small, Icy patches pose a serious threat to drivers and pedestrians. A quarter-inch of ice is crucial during ice storms, per Fox Weather.

Read Also: US Debt Ceiling Update

This Week's Weather Predictions

Memphis, Tennessee, and the neighboring regions in Arkansas and Mississippi will be under an ice storm warning beginning Monday evening.

Potentially hazardous winter weather is anticipated for a wide swath of the US today through at least mid-week. Check for the latest at https://t.co/VyWINDkBnn and ensure that you and your family are #WeatherReady pic.twitter.com/fMRkCtvHXr  National Weather Service (@NWS) January 30, 2023

With the alert in effect until Wednesday afternoon, travel may be "nearly impossible," according to the advisory.

Austin, Dallas, and Oklahoma City are under winter weather warnings until Wednesday as freezing precipitation continues through Tuesday, according to a CNN weather report.

Heavy rain and flash flooding worries grow in eastern Texas by Tuesday, with a slight danger of heavy rainfall from eastern Texas to northwest Louisiana Wednesday during the US winter weather.

Related Article: James Webb Space Telescope's Latest Discovery

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It was a fairytale day fit for the pages of Vogue - with a side of Hollywood family drama.

But in addition to her wedding dress spat with mother-in-law Victoria Beckham, there was all sorts of trouble brewing behind the scenes of Nicola Peltz's Palm Beach wedding to Brooklyn Beckham.

Nicola, the 28-year-old daughter of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, went through three different sets of wedding planners, two of whom failed to meet the 'scale' of her plans.

There was a last-minute scramble to book musicians, and a 'day of reckoning' with one event designer who was reduced to tears by the stress of the project.

Those new details emerged yesterday - along with texts written by Nicola to one of the planners - in a lawsuit filed by her father, a punchy and tenacious businessman who is vying for a seat on the board of Disney.

He is suing Nicole Braghin, the tearful party planner, and her partner, Arianna Grijalba, claiming they are refusing to refund him the $159,000 deposit he gave them.

Nicola Peltz with Brooklyn Beckham during their wedding weekend in Palm Beach in April

Peltz and his wife Claudia made contact with Braghin and Grijalba through their firm, Plan Design Events, in March 2022, after getting rid of their first planner, celebrity-adored Preston Bailey.

It's unclear why exactly Bailey wasn't fit for the job.

In his legal filing, Peltz, 80, says Bailey encountered 'challenges' while planning the enormous event, which took place at the family estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 9 and reportedly cost around $3.5million.

'The guest list included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who travelled from all around the globe to attend

Bailey, who planned Ivanka Trump's wedding to Jared Kushner, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries about why he stood down.

The Peltz family had grand plans for the three-day extravaganza for their daughter, who they describe as a 'world-famous actress'.

'Nicola is a world-famous actress who has starred in blockbuster movies and television shows, including, among others, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bates Motel and The Last Airbender.

'The guest list included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who travelled from all around the globe to attend,' the lawsuit reads.

On March 1, 2022 - six weeks before the wedding - the Peltz family had hoped Braghin and Grijalba would be able to pick up where Bailey left off.

But nine days later, after forking out a $159,000 deposit, they decided not to move forward with the pair, who they said couldn't handle the VIP guestlist.

'The celebrity of the wedding couple combined with the anticipated attendance of many high-profile guests required that the wedding planner have the expertise and staffing to plan, coordinate and execute a wedding event of the expected caliber and complexity,' Nelson's lawyers say in the lawsuit.

The issue now at hand is the deposit, which Peltz sued for in Miami this week.

In the process of trying to get his money back, he has revealed some of the intimate details of the star-studded event.

He included screenshots of a group text between him, the planners and Nicola.

Wedding planner #1: Preston Bailey, the designer to the stars who planned Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's wedding

Wedding planners #2: Arianna Grijalba and Nicole Braghin were contacted by the Peltz family in March 2022, six weeks before the wedding. They worked for the Peltz family for nine days before being told they weren't up to scratch

Wedding planner #3: Michelle Ragos got the job done in the end - but charged the Peltz family an escalated fee because of the tight turn-around

In some, Nicola told the planners she was 'tired of catching' their repeated mistakes.

In an exchange about F1 star Lewis Hamilton, who the couple had invited to the bash, Nicola wrote: 'Lewis Hamilton did NOT RSVP. So explain why his names on the list please.

'We spoke to him. He can't come so explain why you said he rsvpd yes,' she demanded in one text.

The wedding planner tried to explain that she wasn't familiar with the virtual guest list and needed more time to get to grips with the technology.

'I need time to do this. I'm going to take a moment to learn the app and send you the information, | hate looking like a fool but | hate the most not giving you what you need ASAP. I will be back soon,' she said.

Nicola appears to be getting frustrated with the wedding planners as her message - in the blue bubbles - say: 'Lewis Hamilton did NOT RSVP. So explain why his names on the list please. We spoke to him. He can't come so explain why you said he rsvpd yes.'

The planner then responded - in the gray bubbles - saying: 'I need time to do this. I'm going to take a moment to learn the app and send you the information, | hate looking like a fool but | hate the most not giving you what you need ASAP. I will be back soon.'

Texts between Nicola, Nelson and the wedding planners reveal Nicola's frustration that they couldn't manage the RVSP list

The text chain shows Adrianna sharing a tally of guests for the welcome party, the wedding and the wedding brunch as well as a list of non-attendees

Nicola, 28, shot back: 'That's not true. He didn't rsvp AT ALL.'

In his lawsuit, Peltz also makes the suggestion that the wedding planners were abusing alcohol.

'References to alcohol use and possible abuse were not unusual,' his attorneys wrote in their lawsuit.

In one message sent around a week before the RSVP conversation, Arianna posted in the chat that she was 'going for a tequila before her head exploded', to which Nicola replied: 'Yes queen!!!!'

In a separate conversation around a week before the chat about Lewis Hamilton, Arianna said that she was 'going for a tequila before her head exploded', to which Nicola replied: 'Yes queen!!!!'

The Peltz family say the pair of wedding planners oversold their abilities, promising them they could handle the event - which was the 'opportunity of a lifetime'.

'Peltz had presented them with the opportunity of a lifetime  to have their names associated with the wedding of two world-famous celebrities, which would undoubtedly propel PDE into wedding planning stardom.

'In reality, however, it later became clear that PDE viewed this is as an opportunity to take advantage of Peltz by making material misrepresentations on both their website and in person regarding their experience, expertise, and capability of planning the wedding,' his attorneys wrote.

On March 4 - what Peltz's attorneys describe as the 'day of reckoning', he called the pair to let them know they'd lost the gig.

'Peltz had presented them with the opportunity of a lifetime  to have their names associated with the wedding of two world-famous celebrities, which would undoubtedly propel PDE into wedding planning stardom' the lawsuit reads, referring to Nicola as a 'world-famous actress'

David and Victoria Beckham at Brooklyn and Nicola's wedding in Palm Beach in April last year

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his family also attended the star-studded wedding

'During their nine days of negotiations, PDE failed to book a single new wedding vendor, failed to finalize the terms of any agreements with any of the vendors that had previously been selected by Peltz and his family and failed to attend previously scheduled meetings with Peltz.

Nelson Peltz with son-in-law Brooklyn

'Admitting that they lacked the skills to perform as promised, PDE recommended hiring an additional wedding planner.'

Two days later, they begged Nelson and his wife Claudia not to spread negative gossip about them, writing in an email: 'In order to avoid negative gossip, we would appreciate that in the case you are asked to comment on our departure, that your answer reflects the work and good attitude we put into the process, and no professional reason for our detachment.

'We will say: we are under NDA and cannot comment. This keeps us both in a very good place.

'We really wish you and the family a fantastic event... we are sure as you even said that our paths will cross in the future as I truly feel we had a great connection with you and Claudia.'

The family ended up hiring Michelle Rago of Michelle Rago Destinations, who pulled the event off seamlessly.

But because of the tight time frame, Peltz claims he had to pay Rago a 'substantially higher fee than what the Rago Destinations would have charged under normal circumstances'.

He says he asked for his deposit back from Planned Design Events multiple times in the following weeks, but that they refused to return it.

Peltz is also suing the pair for legal fees.
Investigators from the FBI searched the office that President Biden used to maintain at a DC think tank  days after his own lawyer identified classified material there, it was revealed Tuesday.

The White House and the Justice Department did not disclose the search, which was reported by CBS News, despite the White House's claim of 'transparency' over the rolling discoveries of classified material.

It was not immediately known if any additional documents marked classified were uncovered during the search, which took place in mid-November.

On November 2, days before the mid-term elections, a Biden attorney discovered 10 documents marked 'classified,' then contacted the National Archives, which alerted the Justice Department.

News of the FBI search comes as the Biden administration faces new pressure from Democrats to disclose the contents of classified material found at his home and office.

Investigators from the FBI searched the Penn Biden office for classified material back in November, it was revealed Tuesday

A January 14 statement from Biden lawyer Bob Bauer did not acknowledge the government search, only flagging the government's 'inquiry, including taking possession of any documents and reviewing any surrounding material for further review and context.'

A January 12 statement by White House counsel Richard Sauber noted that the president's lawyers and DOJ were 'coordinating closely' in the search of the president's Wilmington home.

'Following the discovery of government documents at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022, and coordinating closely with the Department of Justice, the President's lawyers have searched the President's Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, residences  the other locations where files from his Vice-Presidential office might have been shipped in the course of the 2017 transition, Sauber said in a statement. That search turned up classified materials in a garage and one in an adjacent room.

On Friday, January 20, the FBI searched Biden's Wilmington home, uncovering additional classified material.

Top Republicans have called on the government to search the president's Rehoboth, Delaware, beach house, where Biden's team says no classified documents were uncovered in its own search.

The White House had fielded questions last week about whether such a search might happen this past weekend, when Biden was at Camp David and in Wilmington, but there are no indications it happened.

'There has not been a limit of transparency,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month during a particularly feisty White House press briefing.

The repeated disclosures come after months of reporting on Donald Trump's own resistance to government demands to return documents  and the FBI's discovery under a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago of hundreds of documents marked 'classified.'

The search at the Penn Biden center in Washington, D.C. came days after the initial document discovery

The FBI carried out a search of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home, where classified materials were discovered in a garage and private library

The same garage is home to Biden's classic Corvette Stingray  along with some boxes and a lampshade

The news broke as Biden visited New York to tout infrastructure improvements

The president has faced repeated questions about the documents, sometimes scolding reporters, sometimes defending his conduct

Former Barack Obama advisor David Axelrod is among prominent Democrats who have called out the Biden White House for insufficient transparency, in an op-ed where he faulted the team for violating a mantra of crisis communications to 'fully disclose all the facts' as quickly as possible.

Bauer's statement following the Wilmington search this month made clear that the Justice Department took part in the search.

DOJ 'took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President's service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President,' Bauer said in a statement at the time. He said investigators also took handwritten notes from Biden's time as vice president.
The walls may finally be closing in on America's favorite, newly elected fabulist - George Santos.

Just last week, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged to remove the freshman representative from Congressional committees if an ethics investigation finds he broke the law. But on Tuesday, the disgraced Long Island delegate saved McCarthy the trouble.

He voluntarily resigned his committee posts, after reportedly telling GOP members behind closed doors that he felt that he'd become a 'distraction.'

He's now the focus of New York State and federal prosecutors and complaints to the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics committee, to name a few. Then last week, Santos made a series of bizarre amendments to his own sworn campaign finance records.

So, could this truly be the beginning of the end?

He is a man who campaigned for Congress as the 'full embodiment of the American Dream,' and the few who glanced through official biography could fault that description. There was something for everyone in his endlessly fascinating and impressive life story.

He was blisteringly high-achieving: the son of Brazilian immigrants who went to a public college in New York via one of the city's brainiest private schools, earned an MBA and then had a lucrative Wall Street career working for two of the financial industry's most illustrious names.

There was the stuff that tugged at the heartstrings - his equally impressive mother had been killed in the 9/11 terror attacks while working in her office in the south tower of the World Trade Center. His grandparents had survived the Holocaust and fled persecution during WWII.

And, in case anyone was thinking he was playing down his homosexuality, he pointed out that he'd lost four employees in the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando's gay Pulse nightclub.

The walls may finally be closing in on America's favorite, newly elected fabulist - George Santos.

The list went on and on. Was there anything missing in this litany of likeability? Truly, he was one of the world's most interesting men.

Except, there was one title that he would not claim  being a Brazilian cross dresser.

'I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys,' he told reporters on Saturday, after pictures emerged showing a glamorous young man in a sparkling red dress bearing a remarkable resemblance to him. 'I was young and I had fun at a festival,' he continued, sounding far less categorical. 'Sue me for having a life'

Well, someone may sue or worse.

DailyMail.com can now reveal the full devastating dossier of George Santos' deceits from his early life in the Niteroi, Brazil drag scene to his curious campaign financing...

EARLY, GENDER-FLUID LIFE

George Santos is probably 34 years old and was probably born and brought up in New York  that much at least appears to be true.

His name is more of a mystery.

Many of those familiar with Santos know him as Anthony Devolder (a combination of his middle name and his mother's maiden name) or any combination of George, Anthony, Santos and Devolder. A veteran of the Brazilian drag scene says she knew him as 'Kitara Ravache.'

Santos has dismissed claims that from his late teens he was a drag queen in Niteroi, a city near Rio de Janeiro, but this jaw-dropping allegation has legs. Politico discovered a Wikipedia page accessed by a user named Anthony Devolder, in which someone wrote that Devolder 'started his 'stage' life at age 17 as a gay night club DRAG QUEEN and with that won several GAY 'BEAUTY PAGENTS.'

It could just be someone else other than Santos who created the biography but it's unlikely. They would had to have used the same alias and same biographical details as him a dozen years ago, all for a page nobody was likely to see anyway.

In fact, it tallies with the testimony of another drag queen, named Eula Rochard, who appeared in a photo next to 'Kitara' and has said that Santos never really had what it took to be a professional performer.

Santos' sudden international notoriety has also attracted the attention of Brazilian police, who say they want to resurrect fraud charges against him dating back to 2008.

Another drag queen, named Eula Rochard, appeared in a photo next to 'Kitara' and has said that Santos never really had what it took to be a professional performer.

He would have been around 19 years old at time. According to police, Santos confessed to forging signatures in a stolen check book that was in his mother's possession but had belonged to a dead man.

Then Santos reportedly disappeared forcing authorities to suspend the investigation.

SCHOOL DAZE

He didn't go to the smart, $59,800-a-year, Horace Mann School in the Bronx, Baruch College in New York City or New York University's Stern School of Business, as he claimed. He later admitted to these lies, explaining them as 'a little bit of fluff' on his resume.

Like many of his responses to revelations about his mendacity, his initial flat denials gradually morph into admissions.

This invented educational background may help explain why he was able to boast a couple of years ago that he has no student debt, while decrying the state of today's young people.

'I hate looking at youth today and seeing them sitting on their behinds and acting like, 'Ugh, this is so hard,' he said on a 2020 podcast. 'I put myself through college and got an MBA from NYU and I have zero debt,' claiming that his parents helped him when they could, but they were struggling with bankruptcy.

He didn't go to the smart, $59,800-a-year, Horace Mann School in the Bronx (above), Baruch College in New York City or New York University's Stern School of Business, as he claimed.

Reporters have not been able to locate any such bankruptcy records.

Santos said he actually got into Baruch on a volleyball scholarship and embellished this impressive story by relating how his team - on which he was a star player - went on to 'slay' Harvard and Yale, and how he 'sacrificed' his knees for the sport and needed to get them replaced.

Whether his knees are man-made or not remains to be proven, but certainly his academic pedigree is artificial.

FAMILY LIES

Santos said his mother, Fatima Devolder, was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 - a claim he didn't take back even as he amended his biography following other revelations of lying. She didn't die there (that, after all, would have been easy to check) but was killed by cancer 'a few years later', he says.

In fact, she wasn't even in New York on 9/11 as she'd lost her green card and was stuck in Brazil. Records show she died in 2016.

And neither was his mother the 'the first female executive at a major financial institution' that he claimed. According to the New York Times, she described herself on immigration papers as 'a housekeeper and home aide'.

Santos said his mother, Fatima Devolder (right), was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 - a claim he didn't take back even as he amended his biography following other revelations of lying.

Nor were his grandparents Hungarian Jews who came as refugees to the US after surviving the Holocaust. This is likely to be remembered as one of his most shameless lies as his grandparents were born in Brazil which, noted sceptics, made it very unlikely they fell foul of the Nazis.

Santos also publicly described himself in campaign literature as a 'proud America Jew' and, on his election last November, proclaimed that his election meant that 'now there will be three' Jewish Republican members of Congress'.

He subsequently insisted he'd actually never claimed to be Jewish and was Catholic, adding: 'Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was 'Jew-ish'.' Everybody, he complained, 'wants to nitpick me'.

Finally, Santos claimed that his family held an impressive-sounding real estate portfolio of 13 properties.

But his grand boasts of a property empire contrast sharply with his far less glamorous residential reality: he's twice - in 2015 and 2017 - been evicted from homes in Queens for not paying rent.

He has not provided any evidence of the 13 properties and even his claim that he was mugged on his way to pay back rent to a landlord during one of the eviction cases was fictitious.

TANGLED LOVELIFE

Was his homosexuality - which no secret to those who knew him - another facet of Santos he wanted to hide?

Friends in New York were shocked in 2012 when he said he was returning to Brazil to marry a woman. Her name was Uadla and Santos would introduce her as a friend although court records show they divorced in 2019.

He might well have passed her off as just a friend because in 2014 he invited friends to celebrate his engagement to a man.

'Good evening everyone! As you all may already know Pedro and I have decided to join our toothbrushes! ' he wrote in a 2014 Facebook 'engagement dinner' invitation. 'Lol and a very few friends have been selected to share this special moment with us!'

WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING

His work experience as laid out on his resume, sadly, was also not nearly so star-studded. He said he worked for both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup - but he didn't.

In 2011, he was working not on Wall Street but in a call center in a remote corner of Queens, New York. A colleague, Barbara Hurdas, remembers him boasting about coming from a rich family in Nantucket but wondered, why then, he was working with her for $12 an hour. In one of his many hilariously phrased clarifications, he admitted saying he worked for the two financial giants had been a 'poor choice of words'.

His work experience as laid out on his resume, sadly, was also not nearly so star-studded. He said he worked for both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup - but he didn't.

A veteran of the Brazilian drag scene says she knew Santos as 'Kitara Ravache.'

But he did have ties to Harbor City Capital, a Florida-based investment firm where he went to work in 2020. Unfortunately for his resume, that business now stands accused by the SEC of running a Ponzi scheme. Santos insists he wasn't involved in it and he isn't mentioned in the SEC case.

Former friends say Santos didn't limit his career ambitions - and fantasies - to finance, telling them he was a model and was going to be in Vogue, or that he was a reporter for a Brazilian TV station.

THE BIG LIE CAMPAIGNS

Santos turned his attentions to politics in 2018, offering to volunteer for a far-right activist in Queens who was running for state office.

Aides told New York magazine he was ineffectual, doing little to help other than be affable and enthusiastic. Others were unimpressed with him but not Santos - the following year he started telling Republican officials in Queens that he wanted to challenge Democrat Congressman Tom Suozzi, despite his having won by a convincing margin of 18 points in 2018.

He lost in 2020 by nearly 50,000 votes, which - of course - he then decried as the result of electoral fraud at  where else - President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally that immediately preceded the January 6th storming of the Capitol. Santos later insisted that while Trump was at 'full awesomeness' at the rally, he didn't follow the mob into the Capitol.

As if Santos' exaggerated past wasn't enough, he padded his resume with phony and possibility fraudulent philanthropy.

He lost in 2020 by nearly 50,000 votes, which - of course - he then decried as the result of electoral fraud at  where else - President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally.

New York is a city of pet owners and Santos had something for them too. His family-owned businesses apparently included an animal rescue charity that had saved more than 2,500 dogs and cats. Santos has claimed that Friends of Pets United is a tax-exempt organization, but the IRS has found no record of this.

However, two New Jersey veterans say Santos promised in 2016 to raise money for life-serving surgery for a service dog, only to run off with the cash. Richard Osthoff and Michael Boll, a retired police sergeant, say Santos - using the name Anthony Devolder - closed the GoFundMe fund for ailing pit mix Sapphire when it reached $3,000.

Mr Osthoff, a disabled vet who relied on Sapphire for support while living in a tent inside an abandoned chicken coop, said that when they caught up with Santos, he claimed the dog, who had a stomach tumor, hadn't been suitable for surgery so he was going to use the money to help other animals. Sapphire had to be put down.

SECOND CHANCE AT STARDOM

His 2022 Democrat opponent Robert Zimmerman has claimed his campaign unearthed various 'red flags' about Santos soon after he announced his second bid for Congress in June 2022, but it didn't have the time or resources to investigate properly. Regardless, and not surprisingly, the Santos campaign did a good job of raising new questions on its own.

Last September, as a congressional candidate, he filed his personal financial disclosure report, claiming his assets were worth as much as $11 million - a huge increase on his 2020 campaign, as was his stated earnings, up from $60,000 to $1 million. He claimed it all came from the 'Devolder Organization', a company he owned and which worked as a middle man between 'high-net-worth individuals' he knew who wanted to sell valuable possessions (he mentioned a $20 million super yacht as an example). He hasn't identified any of its clients.

A watchdog group, the Campaign Legal Center, has complained to the Federal Election Commission, saying the Devolder Organization had lent Santos's campaign $700,000. It suggested that 'unknown persons provided money to Santos disguised as income' from his company.

Documents that Santos filed to Federal Election Commission on Tuesday show that he is now amending his sworn declaration  and is longer claiming that two loans of $500,000 and $125,000 to his campaign came from his personal funds.

Richard Osthoff (above) and Michael Boll, a retired police sergeant, say Santos - using the name Anthony Devolder - closed the GoFundMe fund for ailing pit mix Sapphire when it reached $3,000.

The source of the half-a-million dollar has not yet been disclosed.

A top elections lawyer told the New York Times, 'If the candidate's personal wealth wasn't the source of the loan, then what was?... If a bank wasn't the source of the funds, then the only alternatives are illegal sources.'

In 2022, the Santos campaign spent more than $40,000 on air travel - way more than the usual - as well as $30,000 on hotels across the US and $14,000 on car services.

The campaign also forked out $11,000 to rent a house in suburban Huntington, Long Island, on the grounds it was to accommodate staff. But neighbors claim they saw the great man himself living there. And that is illegal under rules banning candidates spending campaign money on personal expenses.

It's also emerged that scores of campaign expenditures were listed in disclosure forms at $199.99, just below the $200 threshold where receipts are required. This is now the focus of a complaint filed to the FEC.

Santos has also landed in trouble for some of his recent fund-raising ideas.

For donors willing to pay $100 to $500, he offered a bus trip to Washington, followed by lunch, his 'swearing-in ceremony' and a tour of the 'Capitol grounds'. The latter appears not to be the actual Capitol building itself but the public - and freely accessible - space surrounding it.

Experts say the invitation, while unusual, didn't necessarily constitute a violation as it didn't specify the money was for a paid 'tour' and not, additionally, of the Capitol itself, which would potentially breach ethics rules.

It's now emerged that he told a Brazilian podcast last month that he survived an assassination attempt, something he's oddly never mentioned until now. Ditto his accompanying claim that he was once mugged on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and had the shoes stolen off his feet, while bystanders watched.

HOUSE OF CARDS CRUMBLE

As it was, Santos' epic house of cards didn't start to tumble until the New York Times claimed in mid-December that he'd lied about his resume. His lawyer dismissed the story as 'defamatory' and a smear campaign by the left-wing paper. A week after the Times story came out, Santos conceded that he may have embellished his resume and that he was sorry although he insisted, he hadn't committed any crimes.

Of course, many politicians are caught out for being a little creative in their resumes - an over-burnished record of academic or business excellence here, a strangely omitted career faux-pas there - but Santos' reinvention of himself is utterly wholesale and almost comically shameless.

Santos' epic house of cards didn't start to tumble until the New York Times claimed in mid-December that he'd lied about his resume.

He has even managed the seemingly impossible by distracting attention from the far more significant scandal over President Biden's growing collection of home-stored top-secret documents.

Aware of how much damage he's doing to their party, six Republican congressmen in New York have called for him to resign as did a majority of New York voters in a new Siena poll. Even party leaders, desperate to hold on to a narrow majority in the House, now appear to be coming around to the reality of the question: how long can the charade continue?

After winning his New York seat in November, Santos was asked why he thought he'd won and he pointed to Jewish voters. 'We're fed up with being lied to.'

Priceless.
Olivia was let out of her 8 by 8 foot room only to do chores for the family and the abuse had been reported to school counselors by one of her adopted siblings

Olivia Atkocaitis, 19, claims Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis, kept her in a 'dungeon, forced her to use a toilet as a bucket, and treated her like a slave'

A Chinese-born teen is suing her adoptive parents and several New Hampshire government agencies over years of abuse she suffered in their home

A Chinese-born woman has filed a lawsuit against New Hampshire government agencies and her adoptive parents claiming they used her as a slave and subjected her to confinement and abuse for years.

The lawsuit was filed in New Boston, New Hampshire, last week and names Olivia Atkocaitis, 19, as the plaintiff and her parents, Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis, as the defendants.

Olivia was kept in a 'dungeon' and beaten, starved, and forced to work for years, according to the 70-page lawsuit which also names the New Boston police, a nonprofit Massachusetts adoption agency, and the local school district.

This is the 8-by-8 foot room Olivia Atkocaitis was kept in inside the home's 'dungeon'

Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis were arrested in 2018 on abuse charges

Olivia's suit claims the agencies cited ignored her situation even after one of her siblings, one of the Atkocaitis' biological children, reported the abuse in the home.

In 2011, one of the couple's teenagers told a school counselor Olivia - who was eight at the time - had been whipped, starved, and pushed down the stairs.

Olivia, the suit states, was the only child not permitted to go to school.

Police were sent to the home and photographed the 8-by-8 foot room where the girl was kept and the incident was reported to the Division for Children, Youth and Families.

The couple's teenager was removed from the house but Olivia remained.

'It did not offer the same protections to Olivia, a younger child, a girl, a racial and ethnic minority, even after Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis admitted to police that they had locked her in a basement dungeon,' the lawsuit reads.

Denise Atkocatis in a Facebook photo

Thomas and Denise were initially arrested and charged in 2018 after Olivia escaped.

At the time, authorities said the New England couple locked the girl in the 'dungeon' room that was rigged with an alarm if she tried to escape.

The small room had less than 100 square feet and one window that was covered with chicken-wire mesh.

Olivia was let out only to do chores for the family, including caring for the animals on the property and cleaning their manure.

The girl was permitted to attend school for only one day and was forced to use a bucket as a toilet, a fact that her siblings told school officials.

'When Olivia attempted to escape, as she did repeatedly as a child, local police hunted her down, reprimanded her for escaping, and returned her to servitude. During her last effort at escape, the police used dogs to track her,' the suit states.

This is the New Boston, New Hampshire home where the alleged atrocities took place

The lawsuit, filed by Michael Lewis on behalf of Olivia, alleges the girl's 13th Amendment rights were denied inside the New Hampshire home.

The 13th Amendment was passed in 1865 and is most closely associated with the Emancipation Proclamation and the abolishment of slavery.

'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,' the Amendment states.

It was this verbiage that led Lewis to file the suit.

'In my view, the state permitted slavery to exist in its jurisdiction, and the state did nothing about this,' said the attorney.

The suit, filed Monday in the Merrimack County Superior Court, also alleges racism from the agencies listed.

In 2018, Denise pleaded guilty to a felony criminal restraint and managed to avoid prison time.

Thomas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment and received a minimal jail sentence, the lawsuit states.

Thomas purportedly moved to Maine while Denise moved to Georgia and their family home where the alleged atrocities took place was sold in October 2019.

In the new suit filed by Olivia and her attorney, the pair blames Wide Horizons for Children who placed her in their care.

Olivia was kept in a 'dungeon' and only allowed out to do the family's chores

Before she had been placed in the home, officials had been told by one of the Atkocaitis' biological children that their father had beaten them with a belt.

Wide Horizons did report this to the Division for Children, Youth, and Families, the suit claims, but the agency never investigated.

After Olivia had been given to the Atkocaitises, the family was noted as 'devoted to their children, and they are raising them in a loving, Christian home, where each child is thriving,' in a post-placement investigation.

Olivia's lawsuit is one of many filed in recent years claiming neglect by the Division of Children, Youth, and Families.

'We are reviewing the filing and will respond as appropriate in court in the ordinary course of litigation,' said Michael Garrity, a spokesman for Attorney General John Formella, in an email to local media.
He will face trial along with his wife, daughter and a doctor at the Old Bailey

Nigeria's former deputy senate president and his wife appeared in court on Tuesday ahead of their trial for conspiracy to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old with a view to exploitation for organ harvesting.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, appeared at the Old Bailey court wearing a grey tracksuit top, speaking only to say 'Yes, miss' when asked to confirm his name.

He is accused along with his wife Beatrice, daughter Sonia and a doctor of bringing a 21-year-old man from Nigeria to have his kidney removed.

Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly planned to have a kidney removed from the man so that it could be given to Sonia.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, is accused along with his wife Beatrice, daughter Sonia and a doctor of bringing a 21-year-old man from Nigeria to have his kidney removed

Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly planned to have a kidney removed from the man so that it could be given to Sonia (pictured together)

She was unable to attend court as she is currently in hospital with an unspecified condition.

Her defence team have also submitted a psychological report, claiming she is not fit to stand trial.

The court adjourned soon after convening in order for prosecutors to read the report.

The accuser is said to have raised the alarm after refusing to consent to the procedure, following preliminary tests at a north London hospital.

Charges were brought after the man went to the police. The Ekweremadus were arrested in June last year at London's Heathrow airport after flying into the UK.

Beatrice and Sonia (pictured) were both granted bail, while it has been refused for Ike

Another man, Obinna Obeta, a 50-year-old doctor from south London, was arrested at a later date.

The trial has been brought forward from a planned date in May.

Ekweremadu is a senator for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for Enugu state in southeast Nigeria.

The Ekweremadus and the doctor are accused of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, under UK legislation on modern slavery.

The offence is alleged to have taken place between August 2021 and May 2022.

Ike Ekweremadu had his bail plea rejected. Obeta was also detained. Beatrice and Sonia Ekweremadu are on conditional bail.

Beatrice, dressed all in black, sat next to her husband in the dock during the brief session on Tuesday morning.
It came less than a day after she spoke out about the charges for the first time

Hilaria Baldwin took to social media Tuesday to thank supporters of her embattled husband as he is set to be charged with involuntary manslaughter today - more than a year after the accidental shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

The impassioned post featured a photo of 64-year-old Alec with the couple's seven school-aged kids, and accompanied with a heartfelt caption that hailed the A-lister for his parenting.

It came less than a day after the 39-year-old model addressed the charges against her husband for the first time, nearly two weeks they were announced by the Santa Fe District Attorney's Office.

The couple has managed to keep a low profile since, only venturing out of their Manhattan apartment a handful of times.

The impassioned post featured a photo of 64-year-old Alec with the couple's seven school-aged kids, and accompanied with a heartfelt caption that hailed the A-lister for his parenting

'I hope you understand how much your support and kindness to Alec and our children mean,' the post began, before going on to thank Baldwin himself.

The couple were seen departing the Lower Manhattan luxury building on Tuesday - the same day the actor is expected to be formally slapped with the manslaughter charge - which could see the 30 Rock star put behind bars for five years.

Hours later, Hilaria - who is also a yoga-instructor, activist, and podcaster - posted to Instagram to express her gratitude towards those still in her husband's corner.

'I hope you understand how much your support and kindness to Alec and our children mean,' the post began, before going on to thank Baldwin for attempting to keep a brave face in front of his family.

'Thank you for being our community and our village,' Hilaria wrote, before going on to call Hutchins' 2021 death a 'tragedy.'

'You are helping us to be stronger parents and partners during this unimaginable time,' she wrote. 'Please know that I hear all of your outspoken words and each and every one of you reminds me daily that there is kindness in the world and we are not alone.'

The actor was seen departing the Lower Manhattan luxury building on Tuesday - the same day the actor is expected to be formally slapped with the manslaughter charge

The couple has managed to keep a low profile since the charges were announced by the Santa Fe DA's Office, only venturing out of their Manhattan apartment a handful of times. They were photographed Tuesday leaving the luxury building just a few hours before Hilaria's post

Hilaria's post surfaced just a few hours before charges against the actor are expected to be formally filed, and shortly after the pair were photographed leaving their home on Tuesday morning.

Baldwin, who stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and a further fire enhancement charge for Hutchins' accidental death on the Santa Fe set of his film Rust, appeared worse for wear ahead of the anticipated filing.

Looking somber, the actor appeared to ignore camera crews as he and Hilaria exited the building and entered the family's SUV.

Baldwin, who stands accused of involuntary manslaughter and a further fire enhancement charge for Hutchins' accidental death, appeared worse for wear ahead of the anticipated filing

Once the charges are filed later the today, Baldwin reportedly could face trial as soon as this year.

The sighting comes as the star has kept a low profile the past few days, in the wake of Santa Fe DA Mary Carmack-Altwies's decision to pursue a criminal case against the actor.

'He doesn't actually have to touch each projectile, each piece of ammunition', Santa Fe County's district attorney said upon announcing the charges against the actor in January 19.

'He has an absolute duty to know that what is in the gun that is being placed in his hand is safe.'

Baldwin and Hutchins on the set of Rust last year. He maintains he never pulled the trigger

The saga surrounding Hutchins' wrongful death stems from an incident during filming for the film on the outskirts of Santa Fe, where Baldwin accidentally shot both Hutchins and Director Joel Souza with a single bullet.

Baldwin had been practicing drawing a revolver from his holster when a round was fired and pierced Souza's shoulder after traveling through Hutchins' chest.

The actor insisted during an interview with police that he had been told the gun was 'cold' when it was handed to him and, crucially, that he did not pull the trigger.

Baldwin has refuted an FBI report which claims he must have pulled the trigger for the gun to fire.

The District Attorney's office, which is similarly charging the armorer on set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, remained confident it could prosecute both Baldwin and the 25-year-old film staffer.

Since the announcement on Thursday, Baldwin has made himself scarce. Last week, he seen going into an office building in New York, where he tried to cover his face with letters after emerging from the vehicle

Both face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted. The manslaughter charges carry a maximum 18-month sentence and the firearm enhancement clause behind bars for an additional three-and-a-half years.

Since the announcement, Baldwin has made himself scarce - only appearing every few days to make a panicked dash to a car from his apartment, where he lives with Hilaria and their seven children - Carmen, 9, Rafael, 7, Leonardo, 6, Romeo, 4, Eduardo, 2, Lucia, 1, and 3-month-old Ilaria.

Last week, he seen going into an office building in New York, where he tried to cover his face with letters after emerging from the vehicle.

Hilaria, meanwhile, has looked markedly more unbothered during the sightings, stopping to pose for photos and even smiling at reporters.

Hilaria holds an umbrella and wears sunglasses as she's spotted standing next to a black SUV as Alec hoists himself inside

On Monday the model offered a first glimpse into her mindset the past several days, opening up during a taping of her podcast Witches Anonymous, where admitted she doesn't 'feel so strong' since learning that her husband would face charges

That said, on Monday, in anticipation of Tuesday's formal filing, the model offered a first glimpse into her mindset the past several days, opening up during a taping of her podcast Witches Anonymous, where admitted she doesn't 'feel so strong' since learning that her husband would face charges.

She conceded during the taping: 'It's been an emotional time for my family. And I do so want to express to you how grateful I am for your support and your kindness and your reason.

'Quite honestly, without it, we would crumble. So, thank you so much for being our rock right now because I don't feel so strong.'

Dave Halls, meanwhile, the unreleased film's Assistant Director who handed Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins, avoided jail time after reaching an 11-th hour plea deal with New Mexico prosecutors, which saw him plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Several lawsuits have been filed in civil court including one filed by Hutchins' widower, Matthew Hutchins, against Baldwin and the rest of the production, this time in California.

As part of the behind-closed-doors agreement, Matthew will now serve as a producer on the film, once it resumes production later this year.
The two smeared vegan cakes topped with shaving foam in the waxwork's face

Two Just Stop Oil protesters must pay Madame Tussauds 3,500 in compensation after smearing vegan chocolate cakes in the face of a waxwork of King Charles.

Eilidh McFadden, 20, and Tom Johnson, 29, were found guilty of criminal damage on Tuesday after Westminster Magistrates' Court heard they targeted the model 'in the manner of a slapstick comedy using custard pies'.

The activists slapped the cakes, which were topped with shaving foam, in the model's face, before quoting Charles's own words on climate change on October 24 last year.

His waxwork needed to be repainted after the substances were cleaned off following the stunt at the popular London tourist destination, while its jacket, shirt and bow tie needed to be dry-cleaned.

Eilidh McFadden (second left), 20, and Tom Johnson (second right), 29, were found guilty of criminal damage on Tuesday after they slapped cakes topped with shaving foam in the face of the waxwork of King Charles on October 24 last year

The model, along with those of the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales - which can cost between 75,000 and 200,000 to make - were removed from display until the following morning.

McFadden and Johnson denied causing 3,500 of criminal damage, with the costs said to have been incurred by the repainting, as well as the cleaning of clothes and real hair wigs of the waxworks, and the royal set, including a red throne.

The court heard some staff had to work an extra five hours, while admission was halted for almost an hour, which could have prevented up to 900 people entering during the busy half-term holiday.

Johnson said they had rejected the idea of using hot soup, while McFadden told the court she had practised the cake stunt with another person.

Eilidh McFadden (right) and Tom Johnson (left) denied causing 3,500 of criminal damage. Pictured: the pair at Westminster Magistrates Court January 31, 2023

'The substance was carefully chosen to inflict as little damage as possible,' said Johnson.

McFadden added: 'Shaving foam on a waxwork is nothing compared to the damage we see from the climate crisis.'

However, prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said: 'Your actions have done nothing whatsoever to help those persons effected by climate change, have they?'

He added: 'Putting a custard pie on a waxwork model of King Charles is not going to convince anyone about climate change, it is a totally trivial action.'

District Judge Neeta Minhas convicted them of causing 3,500 of criminal damage, telling the pair she was satisfied the damage was 'significant' and 'not minor or temporary'.

'If the damage is significant, even within a peaceful protest, it would not be disproportionate to have a conviction and I find you both guilty,' she said.

The judge gave self-employed artist Johnson, who has no previous convictions, a 12-month conditional discharge but ordered him to pay 1,750 compensation and 250 costs.

The activists slapped the cakes, which were topped with shaving foam, in the model's face, before quoting Charles's own words on climate change on October 24 last year

The King's waxwork needed to be repainted after the substances were cleaned off following the stunt at the popular London tourist destination, while its jacket, shirt and bow tie needed to be dry-cleaned

McFadden, who has three previous convictions for aggravated trespass, was ordered to pay the same amount of compensation and costs, and handed a 12-month community order, including 80 hours of unpaid work.

Opening the case, Mr Bryan said: 'Mr Johnson and Ms McFadden, like thousands of others, went into and made their way through the room in which models of the royal family were on display - four figures including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate.

'However, Mr Johnson and Ms McFadden weren't there simply to enjoy the display and take some photos for their friends, they were climate protesters from Just Stop Oil.

'They removed their outer clothing to reveal Just Stop Oil T-shirts they were wearing underneath.

'They took out a cake, topped with some sort of foam and each in turn slapped the cake into the face of the model of King Charles rather in the manner of a slapstick comedy using custard pies.'
A couple left their baby at an Israeli airport check-in while attempting to board a Ryanair flight after refusing to buy a ticket for the child.

Two parents with Belgian passports were detained by police after leaving their baby at the check-in at the Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The couple attempted to board a Ryanair flight from Tel Aviv to Brussels, but they didn't have a ticket for their baby.

They refused to pay for one and seemed to have left their baby in the stroller as they walked to passport control.

Two parents with Belgian passports were detained by police after leaving their baby at the check-in at the Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv

Airport staff noticed what had happened and contacted the police, who found the parents and took them in for questioning.

The manager of the Ryanair desk said everyone was in shock and told the Jerusalem Post: 'We've never seen anything like this. We couldn't believe what we were seeing.'

According to the Israel Airports Authority, what happened was that the couple arrived late to Terminal 1 after the check-in counter was closed.

They wanted to go through to deal with security and simply left their baby on the conveyor belt at the area.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will make his first public speech since leaving office in Miami on Friday.

Details emerged a day after his lawyer said Bolsonaro had applied for a new US visa to stay in the country for another six months, even as investigators at home probe any role he may have played in violent protests that erupted in his country's capital earlier this month.

He will be introduced by conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Friday evening, deliver a speech and then sit for a question and answer session, according to an organizer.

Bolsonaro has kept a low profile since arriving in Florida at the end of last year. In the meantime President Joe Biden has come under increasing pressure to send the populist leader and ally of Donald Trump back to Brazil.

Jair Bolsonaro has been staying in Florida since flying out of Brazil. On Friday, his lawyer applied for a new visa that would allow him to stay for another six months

Bolsonaro will deliver a speech on Friday with an introduction by Charlie Kirk

It means his words will be parsed for any thoughts on the violence that erupted on Jan. 8 when his supporters went on the rampage, claiming the election was stolen.

They attacked congress, the supreme court and presidential palace  triggering immediate comparisons with the way Trump supporters ransacked the U.S. Congress two years earlier, and calls for Bolsonaro to be sent home.

It ended a period of calm, while he lived in a quiet Orlando suburb.

He left Brazil for Florida on Dec. 30, days before his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was due to be inaugurated.

Since then supporters have gathered outside the villa where he is staying and occasional sightings, such as a KFC visit, have gone viral.

Bolsonaro will be introduced by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Miami on Friday

Democrats are heaping pressure on President Joe Biden, saying the U.S. cannot become a 'refuge' for Bolsonaro or other Brazilian officials trying to flee investigations at home

On Friday, he applied for a new visa that would allow him to stay in the U.S. for another six months, according to his lawyer.

'I think Florida will be his temporary home away from home,' Alexandre Felipe Alexandre, founder of AG Immigration, told the Financial Times.

'Right now, with his situation, I think he needs a little stability.'

Bolsonaro was president when he arrived in Florida and had been travelling on an A-1 visa used by diplomats and heads of state.

But it expired when he left office, giving him 30 days to obtain a new visa or leave.

In the meantime, the Biden administration has come under pressure not to allow him to stay.

Dozens of House Democrats wrote to the White House urging officials to examine Bolsonaro's status and revoke his visa if necessary.

Supporters of Bolsonaro clashed with police on Jan. 8 in the capital Brasilia

The violent protests immediately provoked comparisons with Donald Trump, Bolsonaro's close populist ally, and the way his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol two years earlier

Bolsonaro poses for photos with his supporters outside the home he is staying in at Encore resort at Reunion on January 22, 2023 in Kissimmee, Florida

It also urged the administration to cooperate with investigations in Brazil over the Jan. 8 violence.

'We must not allow Mr Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian officials to take refuge in the United States to escape justice for any crimes they may have committed when in office,' said the letter, signed by 46 lawmakers.

The State Department has said repeatedly its policy is not to discuss specific visa cases.

Brazilian authorities have moved aggressively against the rioters, making more than 1000 arrests in the days after the violence.

The country's supreme court also said it would investigate Bolsonaro's role in inspiring the mob.

One of its justices said Bolsonaro had questions to answer for questioning the country's electoral system and his attacks on the nation's institutions.

At the time, the former president's lawyer said: 'President Jair Bolsonaro vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and depredation of public property committed by those infiltrating the demonstration.

'He has never had any relationship with or participation in these spontaneous social movements carried out by the population.'
The pharmaceutical company producing the arthritis drug Humira made billions off patients and taxpayers by tying up competitors in lawsuits for years after its patent was due to expire in 2016.

Drug company AbbVie raked in at least $114billion over the last seven years by setting up a complex series of patents around Humira, and suing any competitors that tried to enter the market with knockoffs known as biosimilars.

Prices were expected to drop significantly for patients in 2016, but using its patent tactics AbbVie managed to raise prices by 60 percent, costing some users up to $80,000 per year.

Relief could finally be in sight as next week the first biosimilar of the drug is due to hit the market - Amjevita from Amgen, first approved to enter the market nearly seven years ago - with a wave of other brands that have spent years tied up by AbbVie's efforts coming close behind.

Some experts have cautioned patients not to expect significant changes, explaining price cuts might only benefit insurance companies and middlemen and leave patients with minimal discounts.

Offices for the drug company AbbVie located in Mettawa, Illinois

Humira treats rheumatoid arthritis, along with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and a number of other autoimmune conditions. It is also used to treat psoriasis

Humira was first approved for use in 2002 as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Since then, it has been used to treat Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and a number of other autoimmune conditions. It is also used to treat psoriasis and other skin conditions.

AbbVie has raised the price on Humira 30 times since it entered the market, and made at least $208billion, according to The New York Times - more than half of that was made since 2016.

That year AbbVie's patent on the drug expired, and biosimilars - drugs with similar effects but different processes and ingredients - were due to enter the market reduce prices for patients.

AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez blamed the Medicare system for shackling customers with exorbitant prices

A syringe of Humira. It was first approved for use in 2002

But AbbVie applied for a litany of patents - at least 311, 165 of which were granted - surrounding Humira's processes and formulas in an effort to extend patent protections.

Whenever a biosimilar attempted to enter the market after 2016, AbbVie bombarded the companies with lawsuits and allegations that their patents had been violated.

Since 2016, AbbVie settled lawsuits with at least 10 biosimilar companies, according to The Times, each of which agreed not to enter the market until 2023.

Operating with near impunity, AbbVie jacked its prices up on customers who desperately turned to Medicare for help, in turn saddling taxpayers with the cost.

One study found that between 2016 and 2019 Medicare paid $2.2billion more than it would have had biosimilars made it to market in 2016 as they were supposed to.

Since 2016, AbbVie settled lawsuits with at least 10 biosimilar companies, according to The Times, each of which agreed not to enter the market until 2023.

Humira can cost some patients up to $80,000 per year

AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez. Executive at the company have openly spoken about using the patent system to keep competitors out

AbbVie executive Bill Chase openly admitted to manipulating patents to control the market during a conference in 2014, saying the company used patents to 'make it more difficult for a biosimilar to follow behind.'

The company has previously said its methods operate perfectly within the law, and Federal Courts have routinely upheld challenges to the company's tactics.

Testifying before a congressional committee investigating drug pricing in 2021, AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez blamed the Medicare system for shackling customers with exorbitant prices.

Countless other drug companies - including AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen and Merck - have also fortified their positions with patents, but experts said AbbVie's methods with Humira helped pave the way.

'Humira is the poster child for many of the biggest concerns with the pharmaceutical industry,' drug pricing expert from Washington University, Rachel Sachs, told The Times. 'AbbVie and Humira showed other companies what it was possible to do.'

Despite biosimilars finally entering the market next week, AbbVie is poised to continue profiting off its tactics, as many of the companies it settled with in recent years agreed to pay royalties to the company which could be as high as 10 percent of net sales.

Experts have cautioned that patients may not see much of the discounts from biosimilar drugs, pointing out that they will likely be given to insurers and employers to lower medical costs, and not passed on to patients.

'The bottom line is its feasible that even if prices for Humira and biosimilars go down, this could be in the form of higher rebates to PBMs rather than actual lower prices that are passed onto patients,' said Benjamin Rome, a Harvard Medical School drug pricing researcher.
A sixth Memphis police officer was relieved from duty amid shocking developments related to the death of Tyre Nichols. He was arrested for reckless driving and later lost his life due to injuries he sustained from the encounter with law enforcement personnel.

Now, widespread protests urging for justice come as many are demanding more criminal charges against police officers involved, and there are calls for nationwide police reform. In a statement on Monday, Memphis police Maj. Karen Rudolph said that the sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, was relieved of duty along with the other personnel.

Sixth Officer Involved in Tyre Nichols' Death

Separately, Memphis police spokesperson Kimberly Elder said that Hemphill had been placed on administrative leave since the beginning of the investigation into Nichols' death. However, she declined to say if the officer was being paid or if other officers were placed on leave.

Thanks to body camera footage, it was found that Hemphill used a taser stun gun on the victim while being heard saying, "One of them prongs hit the bastard." Afterward, the officer could be heard telling one of his colleagues at the scene, "I hope they stomp his ass," as per CNN.

The other five police officers have already been fired and charged with criminal activity, including second-degree murder in relation to the beating death of the Black man. On the other hand, Hemphill has not been charged because his attorney, Lee Gerald, said he was not present at the scene of the second part of the incident, which escalated into a beating of Nichols.

Meanwhile, attorneys representing Nichols' family have begun to wonder why authorities were quick to fire five Black police officers and charge them with murder but stayed relatively quiet about Hemphill, who is white, and his involvement in the encounter.

In a Monday statement, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing the victim's family, questioned why it had taken so long for Hemphill's role in the incident to come to light. They said it begs the question of why the white officer was shielded and protected from the public eye.

Read Also: Memphis Police Chief Abolishes 'Scorpion Unit'

Ongoing Investigation

Gerald said that under departmental regulations, Hemphill activated his body cam but was never present at the second scene and was cooperating with officials in the investigation. On the other hand, Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, said on Friday that every active police officer in the case should be charged, according to ABC News.

Steve Mulroy, the Shelby County district attorney, said that the investigation is still ongoing and noted that more charges could be filed in the near future. The DA's office said that they were looking at all the people involved in the incident leading up to, during, and after the beating of Nichols.

The five other police officers involved in the death of Nichols were previously identified as; Tarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, and Desmond Mills Jr. They have all been charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault-acting in concert, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of misconduct, and one count of official oppression, said NPR.

Related Article: Memphis Police Makes Key Change Following Tyre Nichols Death

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 2,000-pound white rhinoceros has been shot and killed at a Florida safari park after it 'aggressively' escaped from its enclosure - staff claiming it could have 'killed other animals.'

Bodycam footage in the moments after the shooting shows Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park general manager Jordan Munns explaining that the behavior of the rhino indicated it was going to cause harm to other animals, forcing staff to stop it.

'The way he was acting inside the pen, he was going to burn through a couple animals, kill them, and then get out, and there was no chance we're going have that,' he said.

The three-year-old mammal was killed in September last year, a day before it was brought to the park for its scheduled debut of their new rhino exhibit.

Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in.

A 2,000-pound white rhinoceros calf has been shot and killed at a Florida safari park after it 'aggressively' escaped from its enclosure - staff claiming it could have 'killed other animals'

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a report obtained by News 6 that they'd received an anonymous tip about the shooting which launched a probe into the incident.

Munns said the next morning, he and other staff members watched as the animal worked to escape from its secondary enclosure, once free, it ran into a grove of cypress trees inside the park.

'We were so close to catching him that we didn't want to shoot him right on the spot, but I said if four feet touch the ground on the other side of this wire, he's done,' Munns was heard telling investigators.

'We came up flying up here, he was still maybe 10 or 12 trees in, and we started shooting.'

Munns said that staff used 'the biggest guns' they had and that they had 'three guns going at one time.'

While the calf had been only three, it took about 15 rounds and three different calibers to finally kill the rare animal.

'Out of fear that a helicopter might spot the rhino, they dug a hole, placed the rhino in it and covered it most of the way, leaving a portion of the head exposed for us to observe upon our arrival,' FWC investigators wrote.

'We did everything we could to not have to kill this animal,' Munns was heard telling investigators.

'[But] that's what it came down to.'

There are currently only 18,000 white rhinos in existence, according to the World Wildlife Federation and they're considered 'near threatened' and the only rhino species not classified as 'endangered.'

Bodycam footage in the moment after the shooting shows Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park general manager Jordan Munns explaining that the behavior of the rhino indicated it was going to cause harm to other animals, forcing staff to stop it

Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in

In comments of a Facebook post made by Wild Florida, most users appeared to be understanding of the decision but some were disgusted given how close the animal is to extinction.

One user said: 'This is an endangered animal. One that is practically blind (yes. White rhinos can't see very far in front of them) and poses little threat to people and other animals.

'With the proper enclosures and procedures this shouldn't have happened. As a zoo it's your responsibility to ensure the safety of the animals and visitors. And both seemed to have been compromised.'

Another user said, boycotting the park: 'I am disturbed by this entire situation. The rhino had been in the park approximately 24 hours, so was most likely anxious.

'With time and a better enclosure, he might have settled. The optics are bad. It appears he was hunted down and shot. Is this 'humanely euthanized'? Was a veterinarian consulted to consider options like sedation? Could he have been transferred to a zoo or wildlife park equipped to handle him?

'There are only 18,000 white rhinos left in the world. They are a threatened species. I have been to Wild Florida, and enjoyed it. I will not return.'

Meanwhile some questioned why tranquillizers weren't considered before killing the animal, a similar sentiment which emerged when beloved 400-pound Gorilla, Harambe was shot and killed in 2016.

A user said: 'No tranquilizer guns? No safety protocol put in place before this animal was brought in? Disgusting failure to uphold your responsibility to these creatures.'

The FWC determined that no state law had been violated but urged Munns to report the incident to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Federal Animal Welfare Act.

'Our rules don't prohibit you from doing what you did,' an FWC investigator was heard saying in the body worn camera footage.

'So, from a lethal take of the animal from a public safety point-of-view, the FWC rules don't prohibit that.'

Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in. Here is a photo the FWC took showing the exposed head of the dead beast

Wild Florida has received an official warning from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in relation to a separate incident in March last year involving the escape of four Aoudads, or Barbary Sheep

News 6 discovered that Wild Florida has received an official warning from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in relation to a separate incident in March last year.

An inspector told the outlet that the escape of four Aoudads, or Barbary Sheep, were the reason.

'In January 2020, seven Aoudads were released onto the facility's property without closing the appropriate gates,' the report obtained by News 6 read.

'Four Aoudads managed to escape; two were killed by hunters and two were eventually killed by the licensee after chemical immobilization attempts failed.'

The official warning stated: 'If APHIS obtains evidence of any future violation of these federal regulations, APHIS may pursue civil penalties, criminal prosecution, or other sanctions for this alleged violation(s) and for any future violation(s).'

The USDA told News 6 that Wild Florida were inspected in Dec 2022, but a spokesperson did not confirm whether an investigation into the rhino shooting had taken place.

In a statement posted online Wild Florida wrote: 'For more than 12 years, Wild Florida's mission has been to provide an unforgettable Everglades experience that promotes a connection with animals while inspiring education and conservation.'

'Unfortunately, we are sometimes faced with unforeseen situations and circumstances that require an immediate response to ensure the continued safety of visitors, staff, neighbors, and, most importantly, animals in our care.

It comes years after beloved 400-pound Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla, Harambe, was fatally shot after a four-year-old boy crawled past the railing of his enclosure and fell 15ft into the gorilla exhibit moat

The public mourned Harambe, who many believed had been 'acting protecting' the young boy, the zoo director at the time confirming that the boy was not under attack

'In September 2022, a new rhino began to pose an imminent danger to the park at large, and after consultation with leadership and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) guidelines, we made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the animal.

'As an organization, Wild Florida will continue providing the best care for our animal family and promote the importance of conservation through our educational programs.'

DailyMail have contacted Wild Florida, FWC and USDA for comment.

It comes years after beloved 400-pound Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla, Harambe, was fatally shot after a four-year-old boy crawled past the railing of his enclosure and fell 15ft into the gorilla exhibit moat.

The public mourned Harambe, who many believed had been 'acting protecting' the young boy, the zoo director at the time confirming that the boy was not under attack.

Video of the incident emerged showing the boy reaching for Harambe's arm the pair briefly holding hands.

Many have blamed the boy's parents for 17-year-old Harambe's death and the Zoo's director commenting at the time that tranquilizer would have taken too long with the possibility of agitating the animal even more.
Assouline was boarding a plane last February when she fell from her wheelchair

Gaby Assouline, 25, died after fighting for her life in hospital for 11 months

A disabled woman has died eleven months after falling from her wheelchair while boarding a Southwest Airlines plane. Her family say she was refused proper help by airline staff.

Gaby Assouline, 25, was boarding a flight from Fort Lauderdale Airport in February 2022 when her family say her electric wheelchair hit a junction in the jet bridge which caused her to be thrown from the chair.

Assouline landed on her head which broke her neck and damaged her spinal cord, paralyzing her from the neck down and leaving her unable to speak.

After battling for her life in hospital for the last 11 months, her family have revealed she died this month.

'It's with a heavy heart and profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our precious daughter and sister Gabrielle on Sunday, January 22,' they said.

Gaby Assouline, 25, has died eleven months after falling from her wheelchair while boarding a Southwest Airlines plane

Assouline suffered a spinal cord injury and was left paralyzed after being ejected from a wheelchair while boarding a Southwest flight on February 25 in Florida

'Gaby's life was tragically interrupted 11 months ago but she put up the greatest fight with grace, friends, laughter and the strong belief that she would leave the hospital and come home very soon,' they wrote in a GoFundMe page.

'Unfortunately, complications robbed Gaby of that ending.'

In a lawsuit filed in March, Assouline's family alleged that Southwest Airlines and its contractor were careless and refused to provide her with proper help while boarding the plane.

The airline addressed Assouline's death, saying in a statement: 'Southwest offers its sincere condolences to Ms. Assouline's family, friends and all whose lives she touched.'

'We have a more than 51-year commitment to caring for our People and Customers and remain engaged with the parties involved,' it added.

Gaby Assouline was diagnosed with a genetic disorder at 12 that made it difficult to walk long distances but otherwise allowed her to be highly functional

In a lawsuit filed in March, Assouline's family alleged that Southwest Airlines and its contractor were careless and refused to provide her with proper help while boarding the plane

The accident last February left Assouline unable to speak due to her paralysis. Her parents explained that they were learning to read her lips

Assouline was diagnosed with a genetic disorder at 12 that made it difficult for her to walk long distances. She was boarding the plane to visit her sister in Denver when the accident occurred last February.

As she was traveling along the jet bridge something caused her to be 'thrown' from the wheelchair, according to the lawsuit.

'We believe something in that jet bridge caused her to be ejected,' Robert Solomon, the family's attorney, told Local 10 News.

Her death came just two weeks after her father Felix wrote on the GoFundMe page that her condition was worsening.

'Now more than ever, Gaby needs our prayers like never before. We were given some heart wrenching news about her condition that we never expected,' he said on January 9.

Assouline's mother said that despite her daughter's genetic disorder, which is called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), it never stopped her from living her life

Assouline's mother said the last time she saw her daughter before the accident was when she dropped her off at the gate to board the plane

'She's a prisoner in her own body,' Solomon told CBS News after the accident. 'I mean it's, you see her, she's with it, she understands, but she's just literally sitting there fighting for her life. It really rips your heart out.'

'That's why I told the family, I said, 'We'll do everything in our power to get you guys justice.' Because there's no plausible explanation that you drop your child off at an airport, you take them all the way to the gate, and then you get a phone call that your child fell and broke their neck.'

Assouline's mother Sandra told Local 10 that the last time she saw her daughter before the accident was when she dropped her off at the gate, which she was able to do with a pass.

'The next thing I got was a call from BSO (Broward County officer on the scene) [saying] my daughter was involved in an accident and she broke her neck,' she said.

Assouline's parents explained in the post that due to her paralysis and inability to speak they were learning to read her lips. 'It's unfathomable; I just think about it,' said her father Felix.

Assouline's mother said on the fundraising site that despite her daughter's genetic disorder, which is called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), she always lived her life to the fullest.

'Gaby is a fighter,' Sandra wrote of her daughter as she was in hospital. 'She is smart, passionate, hilarious, creative, and so resilient. She makes everyone around her better, simply by being her witty, brilliant self. She is taking online college classes, and is an advocate for making life more accessible for people with disabilities.'
A man confessed to a police officer searching for a missing woman and her child that he killed the 25-year-old, a court has heard.

Andrew Innes was accused at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday of murdering Bennylyn Burke and Jellica Burke, two, at a house in Dundee, Scotland, between February 20 and March 5, 2021.

The court heard PC Gavin Burns was sent to the house after the pair had been reported missing and Innes, 52, told him: 'I killed her (Bennylyn). She's under the floor. We got into a fight and I killed her.'

The trial was told Innes admits killing the pair, but denies murdering them and has lodged a special defence to the murder charges of absence of responsibility and diminished responsibility.

Bennylyn Burke, 25, originally from the Philippines, and her daughter Jellica, two, died at a house in Dundee, Angus, Scotland, between February 20 and March 5, 2021

Giving evidence, Jellica's father, Lexington Burke, 65, said he reported the pair missing.

He met Ms Burke, originally from the Philippines, online in 2015 and they were married in 2018.

Mr Burke told the court their relationship encountered difficulty and there was a court order stipulating when he could see Jellica.

When she went missing, and after fruitless attempts to contact her, he alerted the authorities.

Avon and Somerset Police tracked down the only car which had travelled between Bristol and Dundee, and Pc Burns was sent to the registered keeper's address of Troon Avenue in the hunt for them.

At the address was the car and a small skip with debris and mattresses inside, PC Burns, speaking via a remote link, told Advocate Depute Alex Prentice.

After speaking to Innes on the doorstep, they entered the home which Pc Burns told the court was in a 'state of disarray' and looked as if it was being renovated.

Giving evidence, Jellica's father, Lexington Burke (pictured), 65, said he reported the pair missing. He met Ms Burke, originally from the Philippines, online in 2015 and they were married in 2018

In the kitchen, under which the bodies of Ms Burke and Jellica would later be discovered, the police officer said he saw concrete.

Pc Burns said when he started taking notes, Innes told him Ms Burke was under the kitchen floor and that he killed her following a fight.

The court was told Innes started to ask what the jail term for murder was but then said: 'It wasn't pre-meditated.'

In the joint minutes, a document which states agreed facts in the case, it was revealed Innes met the woman on an online dating app in 2021 and drove her from Bristol to Dundee on February 18 that year.

The document states he stabbed Ms Burke and hit her head with a knife handle and a hammer.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Ms Burke, who weighed 5st 7lb, suffered a single stab wound to her chest, as well as head injuries, with pathologists having said the combined effects of internal bleeding and the injuries to her head caused her death.

The toddler was asphyxiated by means unknown, the court was told, with a post-mortem examination revealing that there had been pressure on the girl's mouth and neck.

The court was told Innes wrapped a rubble bag, blanket and tarpaulin around the head of Ms Burke and hid her beneath the kitchen floor.

The court was told he also put the body of the two-year-old under the floor.

Innes, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2021, was also diagnosed with having autism spectrum disorder.

The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, continues.
Lying New York Congressman George Santos was spotted brimming with excitement after being quizzed on the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

After chasing the embattled rep through the corridors of the Capitol, one keen TikTok user quickly grabbed his attention by asking: 'Who do you think is going to win Drag Race this season?'

Santos, who has previously denied accusations he used to be a drag queen, appeared visibly elated to be asked about the show - which sees drag queens compete to win a cash prize of up to $150,000.

Despite admitting he hadn't found the time to watch it, the 34-year-old then added: 'I said THIS season, I haven't watched yet.'

Embattled congressman George Santos visibly lit up after he was quizzed about his favorite to win this season's RuPaul's Drag Race

The Republican congressman has previously denied claims he used to be a drag queen. Santos is allegedly pictured here in a photograph of him dressed in drag, when he went by the name 'Kitara'

Although he appeared relaxed in the halls of the Capitol, there are many who feel his days in office may be numbered following a string of scandals that have upended his weeks-long career.

One such scandal came after acquaintances of the GOP congressman claimed he performed as a drag queen in Brazil over a decade ago.

After denying the accusations, he was quickly caught in yet another lie when a video emerged hours later that purported to show Santos in drag in 2005.

In the clip, Santos responds to a question about whether he did 'presentations' by listing off venues prominent for hosting drag shows.

'Im doing a presentation at 1140 in Jacarepagua, in Cascadura at Egito place,' he said according to a DailyMail.com translation of the report.

'Ive already done one at Cabana Casa Nova, at Gloria (downtown) and at Le boy in Copacabana.'

Lying New York Congressman George Santos was spotted lighting up after being quizzed on the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race

Santos is facing growing pressure to resign after being caught out in numerous lies about his past since he was elected

In the clip Santos goes on to praise the LGBTQ event as 'very organized.'

'I liked it,' he added.

After the footage came to light, he told the Post that it was: 'Absolutely false and just another bit of nonsense from the pile on effect Im dealing with.'

Associates who claim to have known Santos from his drag queen days also say he performed as a character named Kitara back in 2008.

Santos was later identified in a 15-year-old photo depicting two drag queens that appears to show him as Kitara.

A Brazilian drag queen named Eula Rochard told independent journalist Marisa Kabas that she was the other person in the photo and named Santos, now 34, as her friend alongside her.

Rochard described Santos as having an 'outgrown sense of grandeur' and said he lied frequently, in an interview with NBC News.

The congressman has slammed the claims as 'false' and alleged that the media is chasing 'outrageous' stories about him.

The GOP congressman has faced growing calls for his resignation, with an overwhelming 78 percent of his constituents wanting him out of office according to a recent poll

Santos has slammed the media for chasing 'outrageous' stories about him following a string of scandals

Santos' approval rating among his Long Island constituents has plummeted, with a recent poll finding that a mammoth 78 percent want him to resign.

And on Tuesday he told his Republican colleagues he will recuse himself from his House committee assignments, feeling that he had become a 'distraction'.

As the fallout from his fabricated biography continues to unravel his time in office, some see Santos' most egregious offence as an allegation that he stole more than $3,000 from a fundraiser for a disabled veterans' dying dog.

A report earlier this month on local news site Patch revealed bombshell claims from disabled veteran Richard Ostoff, who claims Santos swindled him out of thousands intended for his sick dog Sapphire.

After attempting to save his pet, Ostoff says he was connected with a man named 'Anthony Devolder' who ran a pet charity named Friends of Pets United.

However, the charity turned out to never truly exist, and was revealed as one of the GOP congressman's alleged scams last month by the New York Times.

Santos has been filmed introducing himself using the alias and admits it's a name he's gone by - with texts shared by Ostoff showing a series of bizarre exchanges he had with 'Devolder' appearing to lead him on before abruptly saying Sapphire was not fit for funding.

Despite successfully raising the funds for the dog's surgery, Santos then reportedly deleted the fundraiser before disappearing with the money.

Ostoff accused the GOP freshman of leading to his dog's death because the delay led to her tumor rapidly growing, with the pooch eventually passing away a few months after the scam.
COP CLAIMS MURDAUGH SAID: 'I DID HIM SO BAD'

In his second interview with cops on June 10, 2021 - three days after the killings - Murdaugh was asked about the 'traumatic picture' he encountered on finding Maggie and Paul.

Jurors on Monday were played the audio in which Murdaugh can be heard saying: 'It's just so bad, I did him so bad'.

Prosecutor Waters paused the video to ask special agent Jeff Croft to clarify what Murdaugh said. Croft repeated: 'It's just so bad, I did him so bad.'

But Murdaugh shook his head defiantly in court as he reacted to Croft's interpretation of the audio and appeared to tell his lawyers: 'I did not say that.'

However, his legal team did not object and the recording continued to play.

Detectives at the time did not seize on the alleged admission as Murdaugh continued to tell them of Paul: 'He was such a good boy too'.

MURDAUGH TELLS COPS ABOUT BOAT ACCIDENT

Murdaugh told 911 about Paul's boat accident claiming that his son had 'been threatened for months.'

The first cop to arrive said Murdaugh 'immediately started telling' him about the February 2019 accident that left 19-year-old Mallory Beach dead.

'I know that's what this is,' he said.

At the time of Paul's death, the 22-year-old was facing trial for driving under the influence in the boat crash.

The defense theory is that somebody killed Maggie and Paul Murdaugh as revenge for the accident.

Prosecutors claim Murdaugh deliberately made the comments to divert suspicion away from himself.

MURDAUGH DID NOT CRY

The first responders so far have all agreed that Murdaugh was not crying.

Although he appeared and sounded upset, police officers and firemen have stated that there were no tears in the attorney's eyes.

Murdaugh's demeanor will play a central role in the case. Prosecutor Creighton Waters told jurors on the opening day to watch the body worn footage 'closely.'

'Watch those closely. Watch his expressions. Listen to what he's saying and what he's not saying,' Waters said.

Murdaugh sounded lucid throughout his dealings with officers that night, even greeting one by saying: 'How ya doin?'

The defense has argued that Murdaugh was distraught after the killings and had just hours before been having a 'bonding experience' with his son as captured in a Snapchat video taken by Paul with his father.

NO VISIBLE BLOOD ON MURDAUGH - BUT T-SHIRT REVEALS TRACES

Murdaugh had no visible blood on his white t-shirt, first responders have told the court.

Police described seeing pools of blood under the bodies of Maggie and Paul.

His defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, described to jurors how Paul's head 'literally exploded ... like a watermelon.'

Murdaugh earlier told 911 he had checked his wife and son's pulses - but when cops arrived they saw no blood on him.

Jurors heard Friday from Detective Laura Rutland who said Murdaugh was 'clean' from head to toe. Rutland added that it looked like Murdaugh had changed following the murders, noting that she found it odd the defendant was sweating but his clothes were 'dry.'

Later, forensic expert Melinda Worley said Murdaugh's white t-shirt and khaki shorts reacted positive to a test for blood.

However, she admitted that the test can also be triggered by bleach and rust.

GRUESOME GUN WOUNDS OF MAGGIE AND PAUL

Horrifying body cam footage of the 'butchered' bodies of Maggie and Paul has been played to jurors.

The 12 men and women have covered their mouths at times while Murdaugh has hunched forward to weep.

Fire chief Barry McRoy told the court that when he arrived Paul's 'brains were down by his ankles' and that he checked neither victim because 'both had injuries that were incompatible with life.'

The defense argue that given the brutality of these execution-style killings, it is simply 'not believable' that Murdaugh - a 'loving' husband and father - could have carried them out.

DEFENSE SUGGESTS TWO SHOOTERS KILLED MAGGIE AND PAUL

Harpootlian claimed on Monday that 'one reasonable explanation' for the distance between the shots that killed Paul and Maggie was that there were two shooters.

'There are two people there, there are two guns there, one's a shotgun, one's an AR,' he told the court.

Harpootlian suggested that Paul could have been shot by one perpetrator, while another who was acting as 'the lookout' was surprised by Maggie.

Worley looked bemused, saying 'I wasn't there,' before agreeing with Harpootlian that his theory could be 'one explanation' - not 'the explanation.'

FOOTPRINTS AND TIRE TRACKS 'NOT PRESERVED'

Murdaugh's defense team have attacked several first responders already over their failure to preserve footprints and tire tracks found at the scene.

Sgt. Daniel Greene even noted there were multiple tire tracks in the wet grass which were incompatible with the number of vehicles at the property.

He said he did not inform SLED (state law enforcement) about the evidence because it was 'not part of my job description'.

Harpootlian tore into Greene for failing to take photographs and put anything on his feet to preserve the blood and brains spattered on the ground.

He later ripped another officer for the same reason, telling him: 'You don't know what you're doing.'

Despite his failure to preserve evidence, Greene told the attorney he was 'not aware' of any evidence being destroyed or contaminated.

MURDAUGH'S CELL PHONE DATA

In the body-worn footage, Murdaugh is heard telling the first cop on the scene that he head been visiting his mother with late stage Alzheimer's.

He said Maggie and Paul had been at the kennels when he left.

But Waters told jurors that data from 'cell phones are going to show otherwise.'

The prosecution say that the timeline established by phone pings places Murdaugh at the property when his wife and son were killed.

The prosecutor stressed that phone records will be critical in the case and the jury will hear that the Murdaughs were 'prolific' cell phone users.

MURDAUGH SOBS AS HE TELLS DETECTIVES HIS WIFE MAGGIE WAS 'A WONDERFUL GIRL'

Murdaugh's second police interview on June 10, 2021 - three days after the killings - was played to jurors Monday.

In it Murdaugh broke down in sobs as he described Maggie as 'a wonderful girl, wonderful wife, great mother'.

Murdaugh told cops 'she always said it was her job to take care of me and the boys, she did everything, she did absolutely everything.'

He said their relationship was 'as good as it could be' and arguments between the pair were rare - but when they would clash it was over the amount of time they spent with her family.

Murdaugh said he and the boys would rather stay at their home than visit his in-laws.

Asked about times of friction in his relationship with Paul, Murdaugh said that he would sometimes have to discipline his son over 'irresponsibility.'

Paul had a tendency to have his belongings 'strung out' everywhere, including clothes and guns.

'He would leave anything anywhere, and it was not unusual for there to be guns out there,' he said.

Murdaugh said his son would go visit friends without packing because he had clothes left everywhere.

AMMUNITION FOUND AT MURDAUGH PROPERTY MATCHES THAT USED TO KILL MAGGIE AND PAUL

SLED agent Jeff Croft was called to the stand where he held aloft an AR-15-style rifle and two 12-guage shotguns recovered from Murdaugh's formidable collection.

The guns are not alleged to have been used in the killings - no murder weapons have ever been identified - but the types of ammunition discovered with the guns corresponds to the shells and rounds by Paul and Maggie's bodies.

The ammunition contained in the rifle - Sellier & Bellot .300 AAC BLK - was the same type used to kill Maggie, Croft told jurors.

The agent also described finding 12-gauge ammo boxes at the home - among them, Federal and Winchester, the same brands as the two shells found near Paul's body.

The defense objected to the evidence, arguing that showing the series of weaponry to jurors was prejudicial to their client.

'There's no evidence linking these guns to the crime,' Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin said.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters argued that they were showing how the search for weapons was conducted and how the weapons were tested thoroughly.

Judge Clifton Newman sided with the state and overruled the objections.

GUN RESIDUE ON SEATBELT OF MURDAUGH'S CAR

In his opening, Waters said gunshot residue was found on the seatbelt of Murdaugh's car, as well as on a raincoat discovered at his mother's home.

Murdaugh says he arrived home to find his wife and son shot dead after visiting his elderly mother, who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's.

However, Murdaugh was in possession of a shotgun when police arrived - which he said he had grabbed from the house because he feared the killers were still 'out there.'

In earlier court filings, the defense argued the amount of residue found was 'inconsistent' with the prosecution theory that Paul was shot at close range.

The defense say that the prosecution relies solely on circumstantial evidence.

In his opening, Harpootlian told jurors: 'There's no direct evidence. There's no eyewitnesses. There's nothing on camera. There's no fingerprints. There's no forensics tying him to the crime. None.'
New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have unveiled their plans for a revamped and newly unified DC Universe of films and television series.

Dubbed 'Chapter 1' of a planned decade-long DCU storyline, the slate included a new Superman film in 2025 that won't star Henry Cavill, a Batman movie that won't star Robert Pattinson, and a Swamp Thing origin film.

In all, Gunn and Safran laid out plans for five new films and five new TV series in a presentation Tuesday, outlining their bid to bring cohesion and fresh creativity to the DCU after years of fitful success and some much-maligned duds.

Last year, Warner Bros axed its $90 million Batgirl movie, starring Leslie Grace, with Gunn and Safran calling the decision 'bold' because it was 'not releasable'.

'It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace, it was built for the small screen,' Safran told Variety.

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU slate will launch with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025, described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing

Last year, Warner Bros axed its $190 million Batgirl movi , starring Leslie Grace, with Gunn and Safran calling the decision 'bold' because it was 'not releasable'. 'It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace, it was built for the small screen,' Safran said

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn (above) and Peter Safran have unveiled their plans for a revamped and newly unified DC Universe of films and television series

'The history of DC is pretty messed up,' said Gunn, who previously directed the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies for rival Marvel Studios, and was tapped last year to revamp DC Studios alongside veteran producer Safran.

'We're going to promise that everything from our first project forward is going to be unified,' he added.

New DC Universe slate Creature Commandos: Animated series currently in production. Waller: TV series staring Viola Davis as director of the Suicide Squad. Superman: Legacy: Film set for release July 11, 2025. Superman's casting has not been announced, but Gunn said Henry Cavill will not star. Lanterns: Series featuring multiple Green Lanterns, described as similar to the show True Detectives. The Authority: Movie about an ensemble of superheroes with extreme methods. Paradise Lost: Series set on the island of Wonder Woman's birth, Themyscira The Brave and the Bold: Batman movie reboot, featuring Bruce Wayne's son with supervillain Talia al-Ghul as Robin. Booster Gold: TV series based on little-known character from the 1980s. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: Movie featuring a 'much more hardcore' Supergirl. Swamp Thing: Horror film on the origins of Swamp Thing. Advertisement

The first chapter of the new DCU, dubbed 'Gods and Monsters,' uses some of the DC Universe's best-known super heroes to introduce audiences to a new generation of characters. Gunn said he worked with a team of five writers to sketch out one connected story.

The first phase will launch after several inherited projects that are set to debut in the next two years - including The Flash, with Ezra Miller, which Gunn said 'resets the entire DC Universe'.

Gunn remained cryptic about Miller's future in the DCU following the actor's guilty plea in a criminal trespassing case earlier this month, saying there is 'nothing that prohibits' any previously cast actors from reprising their roles in the new universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Gunn and Safran's DCU slate will launch with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025, which Gunn is writing, and is described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.

No casting has yet been announced, though Henry Cavill has departed the role despite a recent cameo in 2022's Black Adam - a sequel to which also isn't part of Gunn and Safran's plans despite Dwayne Johnson's impassioned lobbying.

Gunn insisted that Cavill 'was never cast' in the film.

'For me, it's about, Who do I want to cast as Superman, and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast? And for me, for this story, it isn't Henry,' he told The Hollywood Reporter.

'I like Henry, I think he's a great guy. I think he's getting d****d around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons.'

An uncast in-universe Batman film is also coming at an unknown date: The Brave and the Bold, a Batman and Robin tale inspired by Grant Morrison's comic series, focused on Batman's son with supervillain Talia al-Ghul as Robin.

Another planned film is The Authority, about an ensemble of superheroes with extreme methods.

Also coming is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, based on Tom King's comics, and a big-screen standalone for the Swamp Thing.

Television plans include Lanterns, an eight-hour detective series, scheduled to stream on HBO Max.

Other TV projects include Waller, with Viola Davis reprising her Suicide Squad role as Amanda Waller, and Paradise Lost, the origin story of Themyscira, the island where Wonder Woman was born.

The DCU reboot also includes an animated television series, Creature Commandos, in which Waller, also voiced by Davis, forms a black ops team out of monstrous prisoners, is in production.

An uncast in-universe Batman film is also coming at an unknown date: The Brave and the Bold, a Batman and Robin tale focused on Batman's son with supervillain Talia al-Ghul as Robin

Television plans include Lanterns, an eight-hour live action detective series featuring multiple Green Lanterns, scheduled to stream on HBO Max

Another planned film is The Authority, about an ensemble of superheroes with extreme methods

At the same time, the studio will release stories that fall outside this central DC Universe narrative, dubbed DC Elseworlds, as with the comic books. One example is Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to the 2019 Oscar-nominated drama.

Robert Pattinson's Batman will also return in Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II, opening October 3, 2025 -- another Elseworlds film outside the main continuity.

Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates also is working on a script for a Superman project in which a black actor portrays the man of steel, as a DC Elseworlds project.

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav is hoping to reap the financial rewards of a reinvigorated DC franchise.

The media company's shares have fallen 43 percent in the past year as the company aims to deliver $3 billion in savings from combining Warner Media and Discovery Communications.

'The stakes are enormous,' said Safran, who has produced two 'Aquaman' films and two 'Shazam' movies. 'It's a brand that was in somewhat chaos, and it's an opportunity to build an extraordinary stand-alone studio.'

Live-action shows for HBO Max include Waller starring Viola Davis (left) returning as Suicide Squad mastermind Amanda Waller (right, from the comic books)

Swamp Thing will get a big-screen standalone horror film as part of the first phase

While Marvel has become the highest-grossing film franchise in history, DC Studios has had mixed results.

A dark 'Joker' film became an Oscar nominee and billion-dollar hit, but 'Black Adam' and 'Justice League' struggled to generate superhero-sized returns.

Four DC film projects that were completed before Gunn and Safran took over the studio will be released to theaters this year: Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Zaslav cut some costs by scrapping plans for a third Wonder Woman film and a $190 million Batgirl movie that was headed to streaming. The movie division also has cut jobs in marketing and distribution.

Safran said the film had 'a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera' but it was 'not releasable'.

'I actually think that Zaslav and the team made a very bold and courageous decision to cancel it because it would have hurt DC. It would have hurt those people involved,' he told Variety.

'It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace, it was built for the small screen. So, again, I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it.'

'We didn't fire him!' DC Studios bosses deny booting Henry Cavill as Superman and claim he 'was never cast' and was 'd****d around' with false promises before they took over

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have defended their decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman as they reboot the DC Universe with a new over-arching storyline.

'We didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast,' said Gunn during a presentation to reporters announcing plans for five new DCU films and five new TV series, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Cavill, who was widely expected to return as the man of steel after appearing in a credits teaser for Black Adam in October, last month announced the 'sad news' that Gunn and Safran did not plan to bring him back.

Gunn explained: 'For me, it's about who do I want to cast as Superman and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast. And for me, for this story, it isn't Henry.'

'I like Henry, I think he's a great guy. I think he's getting d****d around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons,' he added.

'We didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast,' said DC Studios boss James Gunn of the decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman in their DCU reboot

Cavill's shock announcement in December that he would 'not be returning as Superman' was one of many signs that Gunn and Safran planned major shakeups to the DC franchise.

Following the merger that created new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in April, DC's $90 million Batgirl movie was scrapped in the final stages of production, and plans for Wonder Woman 3 were cast aside last month.

Gunn is the writer-director who made the Guardians of the Galaxy household names for Marvel and revived The Suicide Squad for DC, before signing on to revamp DC Studios last year.

Safran has produced many films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including Gunn's The Suicide Squad as well as Aquaman, Shazam and the horror films in The Conjuring universe.

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn (left) and Peter Safran (right) have defended their decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman as they reboot the DC Universe

In their announcement on Tuesday, Gunn and Safran laid out their vision for the first phase of a planned decade-long DCU storyline, which they dubbed 'Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.'

The first film of the new phase will be Superman: Legacy, tentatively set for release on July 11, 2025.

Gunn is writing the Superman movie, which is described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.

No casting decisions have been announced, aside from the exclusion of Cavill, a well-liked actor who starred as the man of steel in three DC films prior to the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery last year.

Gunn remained cryptic about Ezra Miller's future in the DCU following the actor's guilty plea in a criminal trespassing case earlier this month

The first phase of the DCU will launch after several inherited projects that are set to debut in the next two years - including The Flash, with Ezra Miller, which Gunn said 'resets the entire DC Universe'.

Gunn remained cryptic about Miller's future in the DCU following the actor's guilty plea in a criminal trespassing case earlier this month, saying there is 'nothing that prohibits' any previously cast actors from reprising their roles in the new universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Safran said that following Miller's involvement in a series of criminal investigations and scandals, studio executives are focused on supporting the actor, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

'Ezra is completely committed to their recovery. We are fully supportive of that journey they are on right now,' said Safran.

'When the time is right, when they are ready to have that discussion, we will all figure out what the best path forward. But right now, they are completely focused on their recovery. And in our conversation with them, in the last couple of months, it feels like they are making enormous progress,' he added.
Firebrand GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Tuesday downplayed the gruesome killing of Tyre Nichols while suggesting a probe into the death of January 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt, in her first committee appearance since House Democrats stripped her of her assignments in the last Congress.

Speaking at a House Oversight Committee hearing today - one of two powerful panels she scored seats on this month - Greene called on its chair Rep. James Comer of Kentucky to probe 'civil rights abuses' of people jailed for storming the US Capitol in 2021.

Meanwhile she denounced Nichols' police killing as 'tragic' but pointed out that Memphis, the city he died in, is 'Democrat-controlled.'

Greene also denied that racism played a role in the 29-year-old's death because the five officers charged in the matter were black.

'I watched the video and it was tragic and extremely difficult to watch,' the congresswoman said.

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made her first public committee appearance of the 118th Congress on Tuesday

'I would also like to point out that that city is Democrat-controlled, and the five officers who have been arrested and charged are black, and I think that this isnt an issue of racism or anything like that.'

She added, 'I think that the judge and the jury and the trial needs to work out what happened there.'

Greene then pointed out that Babbitt's mother was sitting in the committee room.

Babbitt was killed while at the front of a mob trying to break into the Speaker's Lobby of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

She was shot by a police officer while trying to climb through broken glass just feet away from where lawmakers were fleeing the chamber.

The Air Force veteran was a fierce supporter of Donald Trump's, and have become a martyr of sorts for the hardline right and members of the former president's orbit who have since sought to downplay the riot.

'Theres a woman in this room whose daughter was murdered on January 6. Ashli Babbitt. And Ashli Babbitt has - theres never been a trial. As a matter of fact, no one has cared about the person that shot and killed her,' Greene said.

She claimed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols' death as result of being brutally beaten by Memphis police was not about race because the five officers charged with his death are black

MTG suggested she'd want this Congress to look into the death of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt on January 6, 2021, as well as 'civil rights abuses' of others who have been jailed for storming the Capitol that day

Insurrectionists loyal to then-President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The officer who shot Babbitt was cleared of wrongdoing by an internal US Capitol Police investigation.

Greene signaled she wanted to look further into it when she stated, 'no one in this Congress has really addressed that issue.'

She went on to repeat her previous denunciations of the treatment of those Trump supporters who have been charged and jailed for illegally entering the Capitol complex that day.

'I believe that there are many people that came into the Capitol on January 6 whose civil rights and liberties are being violated heavily,' Greene said.

'And this committee will, I hope, Mr. Chairman, look into those civil rights abuses, because theyre happening in a jail right here in this city.'

It's an explosive start to Greene's tenure on the Oversight Committee as well as the Homeland Security Committee.

She got the two valuable assignments after being instrumental in helping House Speaker Kevin McCarthy win the gavel through 15 grueling rounds of voting.

House Democrats had stripped her of her committee assignments on the Education and Labor panels in early 2021, over her inflammatory social media presence before coming to Capitol Hill.

She had promoted 'false flag' conspiracy theories about school shootings and promoted posts calling for the death of prominent Democrats.

That vote had fallen largely on party lines, 230 to 199, with 11 House Republicans voting with Democrats to demote Greene.
Coles has announced major changes to its national trading hours, with the delis at some stores set to close even earlier.

Some deli counters will now close at 8pm, even if the store itself is open later.

'We know that most of our customers prefer to shop at our delis before 8pm,' a Coles spokesman said.

'As a result, we are tailoring the opening hours of some of our delis to when our customers shop the most.

'Customers will still be able to buy their deli favourites including sliced meats, cheeses and antipasto as part of our convenient pre-packaged range often located near the deli department.

Coles has announced changes to its deli opening times at some stores

'Customers are urged to check with their local store if they are unsure of their deli opening hours.'

It comes just months after the supermarket giant's rival Woolworths made a similar move.

In August, a Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that all Fresh Service delis would now be trading from 7am to 8pm every day of the week.

The seafood and meat counters will trade from 9.30am to 7pm during the week, and 9am to 7pm on weekends.

'We've made a change to the trading hours of our fresh service counters nationwide, due to a shift in customer shopping behaviour. This includes our meat, seafood and deli counters,' the spokesperson said.
It is believed a suspect cut through the fences surrounding the monkeys following a similar incident with a snow leopard at the zoo earlier this month

Authorities say he might have information about the theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys , but is not currently a suspect

Dallas cops are searching for a man caught snacking on a bag of Doritos as they continue to investigate a string of mysterious incidents at the local zoo.

Authorities asked the public in a tweet Tuesday afternoon to help identify the man caught on surveillance footage in a dark blue sweatshirt, dark pants, and a beanie.

He was apparently seen eating the Doritos at around the same time two emperor tamarin monkeys were 'deliberately' taken from their enclosure Sunday.

But officers told TMZ he is not currently a suspect in their theft, in which police believe someone cut through the fences surrounding the monkeys in order to take the primates.

It remains unclear whether the incident is linked to the death of an endangered vulture at the zoo and a clouded leopard that also escaped its enclosure.

Dallas police are searching for this man believed to be in the area when two monkeys were stolen from the zoo on Sunday

Police are investigating after two emperor tamarin monkeys were 'deliberately' taken from their enclosure on Sunday

Authorities have said the man is not currently a suspect, but may have information

The string of mysterious incidents at the Dallas Zoo began on January 13, when police say someone cut an opening in the fencing around a snow leopard's habitat, as well as in an enclosure of langur monkeys  though none escaped.

The snow leopard, Nova, was later found near her habitat.

Then on January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be 'natural.'

Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson said the vulture had 'a wound,' and that the 'circumstances of the death are unusual.'

Dallas police were again alerted to the scene on Monday after discovering the emperor tamarin monkeys missing, with zoo officials admitting they contacted authorities because of 'recent incidents.'

Zoo officials added in a statement: 'Emperor tamarin monkeys would likely stay close to home - the zoo searched near their habitat and across zoo grounds and did not locate them.

'It was clear the habitat had been intentionally compromised. Based on the Dallas Police Department's initial assessment, they have reason to believe the tamarins were taken.'

They noted that, following Pin's mysterious death, they added more security cameras and increased onsite security patrols.

Zoo officials now say they will continue to 'expand' safety and security measures' to 'keep animals and staff safe.'

A search for missing clouded leopard Nova (pictured) shut down the Dallas Zoo on January 13 as police helped search for the animal. Authorities now believe her fence enclosure was cut open

On January 21, a 35-year-old endangered vulture named Pin was found dead, with the zoo issuing a statement saying that its death did not appear to be 'natural'

Police were again called to the scene of the Dallas Zoo on Monday to investigate the disappearance of the two emperor tamarin monkeys

Nova, the clouded leopard, was discovered to be missing by staff  speaking of a big cat hunt on the property.

Officials initially feared the rare beast could be out in the community but were unsure whether she was stolen or not.

They earlier said they believed the leopard - who is up to 25lbs - was not dangerous and originally thought she was hiding on the site, a theory that proved correct.

However, Dallas Police are continuing to investigate the incident, with Nova appearing to also have her enclosure cut open.

Her enclosure sits right next to where the monkeys have been taken from, in the north of the zoo, while the vulture was killed in the Wilds of Africa exhibit.

Police cars are pictured outside the Dallas Zoo as workers as cops hunted for the missing cloud leopard earlier this month

Officials initially feared the rare leopard could be out in the community but were unsure whether she was stolen or not. She was later found near her enclosure

Ed Hansen, chief executive of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, said he could not recall a zoo facing similar incidents with such frequency.

'It appears that somebody really has an issue with the Dallas Zoo,' Hansen said.

Hansen, who described the Dallas Zoo's reputation as 'excellent' within the industry, said accredited zoos have double-perimeter fencing and that a zoo as large as Dallas' would have a security patrol.

But animals have escaped enclosures from the Dallas Zoo before.

Most notably, a 340-pound gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall in 2004 and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.

Anyone with information about the Doritos' eater's identity or whereabouts is encouraged to call (214) 671 -4509.
More than 80 firefighters battled a blaze in Melbourne after a Supercheap Auto burst into flames.

About 25 fire trucks rushed to the Epping Homemaker Centre, in the city's north, in response to a fire at the car supply store at about 5 am on Wednesday.

Firefighters were still working to put out the blaze at 7 am, with authorities warning people living and driving in the area to close their windows due to toxic smoke.

People who are particularly sensitive to smoke were advised to turn off their heating and cooling systems.

A fire at a Supercheap Auto store in Epping, Melbourne, has been burning for two hours (pictured, firefighters at the scene early Wednesday morning)

More than 80 firefighters battled against the fire, which started at about 5 am on Wednesday (pictured, the store's burnt front)

Units from Fire Rescue Victoria and the state's Country Fire Authority attended the scene.

The fire caused significant traffic delays and motorists were advised to avoid the area by using Edgar Rd or Dalton Rd.

Roadblocks around the intersection of High St and Cooper St remained in place at 8.30 am.

Fire and Rescue Victoria said a 'second hand goods retailer' was also alight.

Vic Emergency declared the fire 'under control' shortly before 8.30 am.

More to come.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Israel and meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, urging calm with Palestine amid rising violence in recent weeks.

The United States official on Monday spoke with Netanyahu of an enduring bond between their two countries despite a deepening conflict that puts that unity under pressure. Blinken, during his remarks, pleaded with Israelis and Palestinians to stop a long-running cycle of retribution.

Antony Blinken's Israel Visit

The American official's request comes after months of elevated violence that exploded recently with a bloody Israeli military raid conducted in the West Bank and terrorist attacks within Jerusalem that left more than 20 people dead.

Furthermore, Israel has been facing mass protests as roughly 100,000 demonstrators attended in Tel Aviv on Saturday. People of the nation who oppose a re-elected Netanyahu and his objective of gaining more political control over the country's judiciary have joined the protests.

The situation warns of a potential right-wing threat to Israel's democratic foundations, something the Biden administration is also concerned about. Last month, the new Israeli coalition was formed and was viewed as the most right-wing and religious in the country's history, as per the New York Times.

Blinken nodded to the disagreements during his one-on-one talk with the Israeli prime minister after expressing the United States "steadfast support" for Israel. The American official reiterated his country's support for a two-state solution with the Palestinians. It is a goal now seen as more distant than ever under Netanyahu's governance.

The Israeli prime minister's current coalition government was established with the support of ultranationalist figures with hard-line positions toward Palestinian rights. They also encouraged increased Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

The US secretary of state also spoke about the importance of "core democratic principles and institutions." It was an apparent reference to the proposed judicial changes of the Netanyahu coalition. He also reminded the prime minister of the value of governing by consensus.

Read Also: Ukraine Renews Calls for Weapons Assistance

Rising Violence in Palestine

Blinken's visit to Israel, which has been in the works for the past few weeks, came as both Palestinians and Israelis suffered bloodshed in recent days, resulting in fears that the situation could go out of control, according to CNN.

On Thursday, the deadliest day for Palestinians in the last two years was observed in the occupied West Bank. That incident was followed by a shooting near a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night, which Israeli officials considered one of its worst terror attacks in past years.

Blinken's visit to Israel was expected to be controversial because it was the secretary of state's first visit to the country since Netanyahu's re-election. The American official now carries the burden of trying to cool rising tensions between Israel and Palestine.

However, despite the secretary of state's visit and urging for calm between Israel and Palestine, he did not offer any solution to calm the violence. Furthermore, it was not immediately clear from his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu if the Biden administration would propose any such ideas, said the Associated Press.

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A 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being stabbed in the abdomen and leg outside a school.

Police were called to Clarkes Lane, which is on the same road as The Phoenix Collegiate, West Bromwich, at about 2.30pm today, January 31.

The teenager's injuries are not thought to be life-changing or life-threatening, police said.

No one has been arrested yet.

Police were called to Clarkes Lane (pictured), which is on the same road as The Phoenix Collegiate, West Bromwich, at about 2.30pm today, January 31

Locals reported seeing police, paramedics and a helicopter outside the school after the incident.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: 'We are investigating after a boy was stabbed in West Bromwich.

'Officers were called to Clarkes Lane shortly after 2.30pm today.

'A 15-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being stabbed in the abdomen and leg. His injuries are not considered life-changing or life-threatening.

'Enquiries are now ongoing to identify suspects.

'Anyone with information can get in touch via Live Chat on our website or via 101 quoting incident 20/109913/23.

'Alternatively, information can be passed on confidentially to Crimestoppers.'
A group representing more than 2,000 rabbis are affirming their support for keeping Representative Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee as a 'step' toward snuffing out antisemitic speech in the US.

In a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the rabbis wrote requesting the House 'follow through' on Republicans' pledge to remove the Minnesota Democrat from the committee on which she currently serves.

The communication from the Coalition for Jewish Values comes as some GOP members of the House have expressed they would not back McCarthy's plans to strip Omar of her panel assignment.

'This is not a political matter, but one of moral conscience, and a necessary step to quell the rising tide of antisemitic speech and violence now impacting Jewish communities across America,' the group wrote in Monday's letter.

A group of more than 2,000 rabbis are demanding House Republicans follow through on Speaker Kevin McCarthy's efforts to boot Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) off of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee

The letter, signed by the group's President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld and Managing Director Rabbi Yaakov Menken, noted that they have sent three other letters to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the 117th Congress, which went ignored.

House Republicans are scrambling to figure out a way to kick the progressive representative off of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, considering several GOP members said they'd vote against the move if it comes to the floor for a vote.

Coalition for Jewish Values President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld sent a fourth letter to Congress urging the removal of Omar to help 'quell the rising tide of antisemitic speech and violence'

The Washington Times reported Monday that a 'backdoor' strategy is being explored - such as having only House Foreign Affairs Committee members take a vote, if the House Rules Committee determines such a move is suitable.

Democrats could push to reverse the committee's action with their own floor vote, however House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could block such a motion.

Over the weekend, Omar continued to defend herself for past comments she made about Israel, which were branded as anti-Semitic - the justification Republicans are using to potentially give her the boot from the prominent committee assignment.

'I certainly did not or was not aware that the word "hypnotized" was a trope,' the Minnesota progressive said on CNN. 'I wasn't aware of the fact that there are tropes about Jews and money. That has been a very enlightening part of this journey.'

During a press conference last week, Omar also pointed out that the comments were made in the early weeks of her Congressional tenure - in 2019 - and she's since apologized.

'I have addressed it, I've apologized. It's been two and a half terms ago,' Omar said.

The letter sent Monday comes after the group sent three letters to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the 117th Congress, which they said went ignored

McCarthy remained determined, however, to boot her from the committee.

'Now Congresswoman Omar, the thing she has said, as a member of Congress, she said, people only love Israel for the Benjamins. She said on 9/11, "Something happened here." She equated the U.S. military and the Israeli security forces equal to Hamas are even going further, and claiming it to others inside the Middle East,' McCarthy told The Washington Times.

But it looks more and more likely he doesn't have the votes.

Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Ken Buck of Colorado have all indicated they'll vote against removing Omar.

'I think that we should not engage in this tit-for-tat,' Buck said on Meet the Press NOW Friday. 'I am opposed to the selection or the removal of Congresswoman Omar from [the] committee.'

Additionally, Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who practically derailed McCarthy's speakership bid, said he was 'undecided' in a TV interview Monday night.

'The reason I think a lot of Republicans want to kick Ilhan Omar off of the Foreign Affairs Committee is because they don't like what she has to say,' Gaetz said, adding that this was not a good enough reason.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remained determined to remove Omar. But House Republicans are scrambling to figure out a way to do this after several GOP lawmakers said they'd vote against the move if there was a floor vote

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, kicked off committees herself last Congress for comments she made, said that some of her colleagues shared 'First Amendment concerns.'

'This is actually a national security issue,' Greene said.

When pressed by DailyMail.com to define her national security concerns, Greene explained: 'If she has those types of views towards our ally Israel that's a big, big problem.'

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana noted to reporters that Omar was being removed for comments she made in Congress, while Democrats last Congress removed stripped Greene of her committees for comments made before she took office.

'Even if Omar were to be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee, she'd still be allowed to serve on other committees. So, a lot of these big differences,' Scalise, R-La., explained, adding that Omar herself voted to remove Greene from committees.

McCarthy also won't have the vote of Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican who recently fell off a ladder cutting trees at his home and is recovering from multiple injuries.

As part of Republicans' anti-COVID protocols sentiment, the new House GOP majority voted to end proxy voting and allowing members to participate in committee meetings via Zoom.

Last week, McCarthy unilaterally removed California Democrats Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee, a move that didn't need a full House vote.
Alec Baldwin was formally charged Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter for shooting dead Halyna Hutchins on the set of their movie Rust in October 2021.

Prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stated he was 'distracted' during firearm training and shortly after the incident admitted to officers he had fired the weapon - something he would later vehemently deny.

Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe district attorney, reported that the Oscar-nominated actor and producer of the film was not present for firearms training prior to the start of filming - and when an hour-long training session was scheduled, he appeared uninterested and was on his cell phone.

Her team found 'reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol', noting that Hutchins was killed during an unscheduled rehearsal, during which the standard two safety checks were not carried out, and for which a plastic gun should have been used.

'Today we have taken another important step in securing justice for Halyna Hutchins,' said Carmack-Altwies in a statement. 'In New Mexico, no one is above the law and justice will be served.'

Baldwin, pictured on Tuesday outside his New York City home, has vowed to fight the charges

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter

Baldwin has vowed to fight the charges. He has stated repeatedly he never pulled the trigger, and said it was a tragic accident - emphasizing that he relied on the firearms experts hired to be on set.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has also been charged.

Among the papers filed on Tuesday is a ten-page probable cause affidavit - divided into two sections. One notes Baldwin's actions as the lead actor, and another explores his role as the film's primary producer.

Prosecutors note that Baldwin was absent from an initial firearms training session.

Gutierrez-Reed set up an hour-long subsequent session for Baldwin, but they only completed 30 minutes.

'According to Reed, Baldwin was distracted and talking on his cell phone to his family during the training,' the prosecutors stated.

The affidavit claims Baldwin gave 'inconsistent accounts' about how the shooting happened - first telling police he 'fired' the gun, then insisting he did not pull the trigger.

Prosecutors state that 'photos and videos clearly show Baldwin, multiple times, with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger.'

They add: 'Baldwin approached responding deputies on the day of the shooting, wanting to talk to them because he was the one who 'fired' the gun.'

Among the documents filed with the court on Tuesday are a ten-page probable cause affidavit that describes Baldwin putting his finger 'inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger' on the day of the shooting, and moments beforehand

Baldwin and his wife Hilaria in New York City on Tuesday. He will not have to travel to New Mexico for his first court appearance

Hilaria Baldwin wrote on Instagram: 'I hope you understand how much your support and kindness to Alec and our children mean,' before going on to thank Baldwin himself

The impassioned post featured a photo of 64-year-old Alec with the couple's seven school-aged kids, and accompanied with a heartfelt caption that hailed the A-lister for his parenting

They state: 'Photo and video evidence from inside the church on the day of the shooting show some of the rehearsal up to and including moments before the shooting.

'The photos and videos clearly show Baldwin multiple times with his finger inside of the trigger guard and on the trigger, while manipulating the hammer and while drawing, pointing and holstering the revolver.

'Baldwin knew the first rule of gun safety is to never point a gun at someone you don't intend on shooting,' the document continues.

Baldwin claimed in interviews after the shooting that he did not pull the trigger.

He believes the fault lies with the armorer, who he says should have checked the gun was safe before it was handed to him.

Yet the probable cause statement against Baldwin referred to the FBI's previous analysis of the firearm, which 'clearly showed that the weapon could not 'accidentally fire.'

The document also said Baldwin failed to demand 'at least two (2) safety checks between the armorer and himself' prior to the shooting.

Prosecutors said: 'If Baldwin had not pointed the gun at Hutchins and Souza, this tragedy would not have occurred.

'This reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting.'

Halyna Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed on the movie set on October 21

Baldwin's attorney said the decision to charge his client was deeply misguided.

Speaking earlier this month, when the charges were announced, he said: 'This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.

'Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun  or anywhere on the movie set.

'He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.'

SAG-AFTRA, an organization that represents approximately 160,000 actors and other professional entertainers, also objected to the charges.

'The death of Halyna Hutchins is a tragedy, and all the more so because of its preventable nature. It is not a failure of duty or a criminal act on the part of any performer,' the group said in a statement.

'The prosecutor's contention that an actor has a duty to ensure the functional and mechanical operation of a firearm on a production set is wrong and uninformed.

'An actor's job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for their use under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm.

'In addition, the employer is always responsible for providing a safe work environment at all times, including hiring and supervising the work of professionals trained in weapons.'

Mickey Rourke, 70, was among those who sprung to Baldwin's defense, insisting he should not have been charged.

Mickey Rourke (left) insisted Alec Baldwin (right) should not be charged over the October 2021 shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins

Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old married mother of a young son, died in hospital in New Mexico after the accidental shooting

Rourke, who appeared on Baldwin's podcast in 2016, said it was wrong to prosecute the Oscar-nominated actor.

'I usually never put my 2 cents in about what happens on someone's movie set,' he wrote on Instagram.

'It's a terrible tragedy what happened to a cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

'But no way in hell actor Alec Baldwin should be charged with any negligence whatsoever.'

Rourke claimed it was wrong to expect Baldwin to manage the gun safety aspects of the set.

The gun from the set of Rust, which was accidentally fired, killing Hutchins

She was shot just moments after the crew entered a church set to rehearse a scene (above)

Alec Baldwin is seen on October 21, 2021, after speaking to investigators about the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin's phone is now being sought by the team probing Hutchins's death

A devastated Baldwin is pictured bent over outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office after speaking to investigators

'Most actors don't know anything about guns especially if they didn't grow up around them,' he continued.

Poll Do you agree with Mickey Rourke that actors aren't responsible for weapons handed to them on set? Yes No Do you agree with Mickey Rourke that actors aren't responsible for weapons handed to them on set? Yes 458 votes

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'Alec didn't bring the gun to the set from his house or his car, when weapons are involved on a movie set, the guns are supposed to he handled only by the 'weapon armor'.

'In some cases the 1st AD might pass a gun to an actor, but most of the time the gun is handed to the actor directly by the 'gun armor'.

'There's what 'armor's job is on the set. To have an expert around any type of dangerous weapon.'

Rourke said actors could then either 'dry fire the gun' or check the barrel themselves.

He said the decision to charge Baldwin was 'terribly wrong.'

'I am sure Alec is already suffering enough over what happened. But to lay a blame on him is terribly terribly wrong.'

The set of Rust, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside of Santa Fe

Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (center) died after being shot by Baldwin during a rehearsal on October 21, 2021 in New Mexico

An aerial view of the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, where the movie was being filmed

Alec Baldwin, 63, spoke to George Stephanopoulos for an interview which aired in December 2021

Baldwin in December 2021 gave a televised interview to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, and insisted he was not responsible for Hutchins' death.

He said that the gun just 'went off' while in his hands.

'I let go of the hammer, bang. The gun goes off. Everyone is horrified. They're shocked. It's loud,' he said.

He also revealed he didn't know she'd died until hours later at the end of his police interview, when he was photographed in the sheriff's parking lot in Santa Fe.

And he said that he had been told by people 'in the know' that it was 'highly unlikely' he would face criminal charges.

'Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who it is, but it's not me,' he said.

'Honest to God, if I thought I was responsible I might have killed myself. And I don't say that lightly.'
The mayor of an outback town in the grips of a violent crime wave has said the most important point of action is to get youths off the streets.

Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has recently descended into chaos with locals now spotting people strolling down the streets armed with machetes and knives in broad daylight.

Mayor Matt Paterson said the problem had become so severe that residents were now afraid to go to sleep in fear of intruders breaking into their homes in the middle of the night.

The Prime Minister recently made a short visit to the town where he announced $48.8million in funding would go towards programs to address the crime issue over the next two years.

Alcohol restrictions were also implemented but Mr Paterson said booze was just one of the many problems Alice Springs was facing.

'There is so much anti-social behaviour and domestic violence going on in our community that it really needs to be on a national stage,' he told The Today Show on Wednesday.

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson said alcohol was just one of the problems the outback town was facing

Mr Paterson said as many as 80 children could be roaming around the streets on any night.

'That's the reality because for these kids it's safer for them to be on the streets than at home,' he said.

'So we need to start having conversations around why these kids are there and where do we take them because the longer we leave these kids on the street, the longer we're setting them up for failure.'

The mayor said he would be looking into a report made at the request of Anthony Albanese that was being handed down on Wednesday.

Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has recently descended into chaos with locals now afraid to go to sleep in fear of home intruders

The Prime Minister recently made a short visit to the town where he announced new alcohol restrictions

As many as 3,000 locals - 10 per cent of the town's population - turned out to a community meeting on Tuesday to discuss the escalating crime wave.

'That's a town at breaking point,' Mr Paterson said.

'We can't continue to live the way we're living and feel like prisoners in our own home.

'It's getting awfully difficult to live here. You get people who are scared to go to bed at night because they're not sure what's going to happen while they're asleep.'

Another issue the mayor pointed to was the lack of police, adding that health services were also pushed to their limits.

Following Mr Albanese's visit to the town, booze restrictions now include a ban on takeaway alcohol sales on Monday and Tuesday as well as limits on bottle shop opening hours.

Fury had erupted when the town's grog ban was controversially lifted in July last year, further impacting an already suffering town.

On Monday afternoon a teenager was set on upon by axe-wielding youths in a horrific broad daylight attack.

The 16-year-old boy was walking in the Alice Springs suburb of Braitling when three young people attacked him.

'They have an axe and hit him multiple times in his face, stomach, leg and other parts of his body,' his mother Namfon Fon wrote on Facebook.

Alice Springs police have confirmed to Daily Mail Australia a teenage boy who allegedly struck Ms Fon's son with 'an edged weapon' has since been arrested.

Disturbing video of the assault obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows three young males  one wielding an axe or hatchet  laying into the teenager, hitting and kicking him as he cowers in a park.

Ms Fon said 'luckily' her son did not appear to have been cut by the axe's blade, but that he ended up in hospital after police and paramedics arrived.

He has since been discharged.
The mugshot of a California doctor accused of trying to kill his wife and children by driving off a 250-foot cliff has been released, one day after he appeared in court for the first time.

Dharmesh Patel, 42, was booked into San Mateo County's Maguire Correctional Facility and is facing first-degree attempted murder and child abuse charges.

He appeared disheveled wearing a red shirt with a bloody eye in a new mugshot from the prison, where he is being held without bail.

Prosecutors say Patel intentionally drove his Tesla off the deadly Devil's Side Cliff in California, with his wife allegedly telling paramedics: 'He tried to kill us.'

Dharmesh Patel, 42, was booked in the San Mateo County's Maguire Correctional Facility as he faces first degree attempted murder and child abuse charges

His wife allegedly told paramedics he intentionally drove their car off a cliff in California with the whole family inside

Patel, who works as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena, was transferred Monday to the San Mateo jail after he spent three weeks in a local hospital, having been seriously injured in the crash.

He is accused of intentionally driving his white Tesla Model Y off a cliff known as Devil's Slide near San Francisco on Monday, during a trip north.

Prosecutors point to comments made by his wife, who remains hospitalized. She allegedly told paramedics 'he intentionally tried to kill us' after they rappelled down the steep cliff to rescue the family.

'She said very simply this was not an accident. We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,' San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Patel was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators 'developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,' the agency said.

But Wagstaffe said his office is still trying to determine why Patel drove off the cliff, noting that Patel has not spoken to investigators since the January 2 crash.

'We're looking into what led up to this. Was there depression or anything else?' Wagstaffe said. 'It wasn't just that he was trying to kill them, he was trying to kill himself too.'

Last week, prosecutors were seeking to rule out the possibility the car's brakes had malfunctioned.

Speculation that Tesla may have been in self-driving mode was also ruled out.

'Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him not being able to stop the vehicle?' Wagstaffe said to the LA Times. 'We're having the car looked at from top to bottom'.

He noted, though, that the DA's office is still in the early stages of its investigation.

Sheriff's deputies work to free the car after the family was airlifted to safety on January 2

The wreckage of the Tesla is pictured at the bottom of the cliff

The car was traveling northbound on Highway 1 near San Francisco at around 10am on Monday, January 2 when it plummeted off the side of the Devil's Side cliff

Troopers were dispatched at around 10am on January 2 to reports that a vehicle had veered off the cliff on Highway 1, around 20 miles south of San Francisco. The steep, rocky, winding coastal area is known as Devil's Slide.

Fire Chief Brian Pottenger told reporters: 'We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle.'

The car was initially said to have flipped multiple times. However, experts have since raised doubts, arguing the heavy batteries located in the floor of the Tesla would have stopped it from rolling.

There was no guardrail at the spot where the sedan went off the cliff, officials said.

Patel was seen driving at speed northbound on Highway 1 and he is speculated to have performed a sharp turn before reaching the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which is where the Tesla veered off the road, first onto a dirt area and then down the cliff.

Robin Johnson, who called 911 after seeing the crash, recalled: 'Wow, he's driving extremely fast to take that exit. You're not even supposed to be going up that way.

'And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car just go over the edge and straight down.'

The huge drop from the highway to the scene of the crash. The family members were airlifted to safety

Rescue teams had to abseil down the side of the cliff while others used helicopters to try to reach the family

About 30 to 50 rescuers arrived at the scene, where it was initially assumed that anyone in the car must have been dead.

A helicopter and specialist teams were required to rappel down the cliff to the car. It was not until hours later that rescue teams discovered the four family members conscious and alert in the car.

The children were pulled out first, through a back window, and hauled up the cliff by hand in a rescue basket using a pulley.

The doctor and his wife were more seriously injured and had to be hoisted out by helicopter and were then flown directly to the hospital.

Neighbors expressed their shock after learning the allegations against Patel, describing their family as 'idyllic'.

Roger Newmark, who lives several doors down from the family on a leafy Pasadena street, told CBS: 'They're the sweetest couple and they have the greatest two little kids.'

The hospital where Patel works as a radiologist also released a statement after the crash.

'Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is deeply saddened to learn of a traffic incident involving one of our physicians and his family,' it said.

'We are extremely grateful there were no serious injuries. We will not respond further, as this incident is under investigation.'

According to an online profile, Patel graduated from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan and has been practicing for more than a decade.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday, but his lawyer asked for a delay until February 9, which a judge granted.
A number of Senate Republicans are urging President Biden to rethink swatting away at Ukraine's request for F-16 fighter jets.

Sen. John Cornyn suggested the Biden administration should not take the warplanes off the tables.

'I think this is something we ought to consider carefully,' he told DailyMail.com.

'We ought to be supplying the Ukrainians with anything they can effectively use to defeat the Russian invasion,' the Texas Republican added. 'The administration has been a little slow to provide them what they need.'

He said the U.S. shouldn't worry about upsetting Russia.

'The Russians, they claim that these moves are "escalatory" for over a year now, everything we do. At some point we have to realize they're just kind of bluffing.'

Asked on Monday if the U.S. would send over the warplanes Kyiv is pushing hard to receive, Biden answered with a simple 'no.'

On Tuesday Biden said he was 'going to talk' to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Ukraine's latest request for sophisticated weapons, after just last week agreeing to send 31 Abrams tanks he once said could result in World War III.

Ukraine said it would continue lobbying for the planes, noting the U.S. had said no to providing other weapons such as tanks before relenting over time.

'All types of assistance at the beginning went through the 'no' stage. This means 'no' as of today,' said Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister.

Biden also said 'I'm not sure' when asked if he would take a trip to Europe next month to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24.

Biden did say he'd visit Ukraine-adjacent Poland, but he didn't know when.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was at the front of the push to send F-16s to Ukraine, tweeted that Biden's comment marked 'another example of not seizing the moment.'

On Tuesday Ukraine's Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnaht was quoted by Ukrainian outlet as saying that Kyiv needs up to 200 multi-role fighter jets - such as F-16s - to defend its skies.

A number of Senate Republicans are urging President Biden to put the breaks on taking Ukraine's request for F-16 fighter jets off the table

He said that Russia's warplanes currently outnumbered Ukraine's by five or six to one.

Last week, before Biden's remarks deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said in an interview with MSNBC the U.S. would be discussing fighter jets 'very carefully' with Kyiv and its allies.

'We have not ruled in or out any specific systems,' he said.

Asked about Biden's ruling out the fighter jets, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told DailyMail.com: 'I think it would be ill-advised to leave that off the table for a future possible move.'

He added that senators had not gotten a briefing yet after the U.S.'s about-face on tanks and other offensive weapons, but he questioned what comes next in the 'appropriate sequence' of aiding Ukraine to win the war.

'We've got a lot of things moving over there we're talking about tanks, we're talking about armored personnel carriers, plussing up some of the missile defense systems, HIMARS, patriots,' said Tillis. 'I generally think we need to keep the discussion going but the question is based on best military advice from our Department of Defense on what is the appropriate order and timing to have the best impact.'

Sen. Josh Hawley, who has been vocal about wanting the U.S. to focus less on Ukraine and more on China, told DailyMail.com of Biden taking F-16s off the table: 'I have no earthly idea what his policy is.'

Hawley decried that the U.S. had agreed to send the Abrams tanks - acquiescing to Germany's insistence that it not be the only Western country to commit to providing tanks.

In the weeks leading up to the announcement on U.S. tanks, Biden had pleaded with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to free up the nation's Leopard 2 tanks for shipment to Ukraine.

Kyiv's forces were convinced that if Western tanks weren't on the front lines come spring, Ukraine would be unable to fight off the coming Russian offensive and launch one of their own.

Germany did not want to bear the brunt of Russia's ire by becoming the first to offer Ukraine the major new weapons system.

Biden's announcement of the Abrams tanks came in tandem with the announcement Germany would send 14 Leopard 2 Tanks. The US is also providing 500 armored vehicles as part of the package.

Almost one year ago Biden said sending in tanks would cause World War III.

'The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand  that's called World War III, okay? Let's get it straight here, guys,' he said last March. 'We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine.'

'Our message to the Germans above all and the Europeans generally ought to be: You need to take the lead in Europe and we'll take the lead with China,' said Hawley.

'The Biden administration is sending a message that we'll be on the hook for the lead in Ukraine's defense, we'll be on the hook for what's to come in the proxy war with Russia and the Europeans can sit back. So it is such an array of mixed messages.'

Sen. Marco Rubio, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned whether it would be effective to use F-16s in Ukraine given the 'range and reach' of Russian anti-aircraft systems, and whether Ukrainian pilots could be trained to use them quickly.

'Bigger problem here is no one can tell you what the plan is the long-term plan for Ukraine,' he told DailyMail.com.

'Part of that plan would tell you what you need and what you don't need.'
Two Memphis brothers say that Emmit Martin III, one of the cops accused of beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols to death in the city, pulled a gun on them after he found the pair smoking pot while armed, the officer told one of them: 'I'll blow your face off.'

Brothers Demarius Hervey, 27, and Glenn Harris, 24, made their claims in a new interview with NBC News, days after the shocking video was released showing Martin and four other officers viciously assaulting Nichols following a traffic stop on January 7.

Nichols was hospitalized and died on January 10. Martin has been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in relation to Nichols' death alongside Desmond Mills Jr., Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.

A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, has been relieved of a duty in relation to the incident.

Brothers Demarius Hervey, 27, and Glenn Harris, 24, went to a lawyer about the incident but were told that internal affairs would likely not take any action

Officer Emmitt Martin III has been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in relation to Nichols' death alongside Desmond Mills Jr., Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith

Hervey and Harris say that they were smoking pot and were in possession of a legal firearm when they found themselves surrounded by Memphis cops at a gas station in August 2020.

Panicked, Hervey and Harris said that they jumped into Harris' car and took off. The chase lasted for around two miles until Harris crashed. When he got out and attempted to flee again, that's when he found himself tackled to the ground by Martin, 30.

The pair's mother, Stacy Harris, confirmed the brother's version of events, adding that all of her sons have had run-ins with the law.

Their attorney, Arthur Horne, told NBC that a few days after the run-in, he told Harris that he could make a complaint to internal affairs but it's unlikely any action would be taken.

Tyre Nichols succumbed to injuries sustained during the vicious assault on January 7

In the wake of the release of the Nichols' video, Horne said that they family were unsure if they were going to follow-up with a formal complaint.

In 2020, Harris was accused of driving under the influence, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident and evading arrest.

Hervey did not face charges but NBC News reports that officers did find a baggie of marijuana on his person.

The network, quoting from the complaint, said that Harris 'had over $2960 dollars on his person' as well as a gun with 15 rounds.

Speaking about Martin, Harris said: 'He was in the wrong, he wasnt supposed to pull a gun on me.'

The damage from the car chase that Harris led the police on in August 2020

Greg Harris was later charged with having a gun while under the influence

A WMC report from the time said that the incident occurred around 1:00 am on a Sunday morning.

The report said that: 'The crash sent several decorative planters flying down the road.' It also mentions that Harris was charged with having a gun while under the influence.

Martin had been with the Memphis Police Department since March 2018. His lawyer William Massey, has said that his client intends to plead not guilty.

Massey told reporters: 'No one out there that night intended for Tyre Nichols to die. No one. No one.'

He added: 'I would just imagine police officers have a very difficult and dangerous job, and sometimes a thankless job. And it's probably one of their worst fears that something like this would happen on their watch.'

Video of the beating, which was released publicly last week, shows that many more people failed to help Nichols beyond the five officers charged in his death.

All five cops were fired on January 20 and on January 26 were arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct

Six officers were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in high-crime areas. Other Memphis residents who say they also were 'brutalized' by officers in the unit will speak, according to a statement from Crump.

Police Chief Cerelyn 'CJ' Davis said after the videos release that the unit has been disbanded.

Nichols death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted violent and sometimes deadly encounters.

Memphis Police Department officers used a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during the nighttime arrest.

Video shows Nichols running away from officers toward his house after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving.

The video footage released Friday shows the 29-year-old father calling for his mother and struggling with his injuries as he sits helpless on the pavement.

The five officers chatted and milled about for several minutes as Nichols remained on the ground, but other authorities were on the scene. Two Shelby County sheriffs deputies also have been suspended without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Crump (pictured) said he and the Nichols family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to use Nichols' death to galvanize support for the act's passage

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of Nichols, have accepted an invitation to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address from Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, who is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to Vincent Evans, a spokesperson for the group of Black lawmakers.

Horsford told MSNBC Tuesday: 'I have invited the Nichols family as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus so they will be there on that day to hear from the president and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to hear how we will finally take action to keep our communities safe.'
A three-vehicle crash in regional Victoria has left a man dead and a young child in a critical condition.

The three cars collided on the intersection between Traralgon-Maffra Road and Farmers Road in Glengarry, Gippsland, at 3:49pm on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old driver, a man from Glengarry, died at the scene while his passenger, a six-year-old boy, was airlifted to The Royal Childrens Hospital in Melbourne.

He is in a critical condition with upper body injuries.

A three-car crash in Glengarry (above) killed a 35-year-old man and critically injured a six-year-old boy

A second driver, a 22-year-old man from nearby Traralgon, was taken to Traralgon Public Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

He is assisting in police inquiries.

The four people inside the third vehicle were not injured in the crash.

Victoria Police officers from the Major Collision Investigation Unit attended the scene.

'The exact cause of the collision is yet to be determined and the investigation is ongoing,' police said in a statement.

Anyone who witnessed or has dashcam footage of the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Australia's Foreign Minister has urged the United Kingdom to confront its colonial past in the Indo-Pacific as Britain pushes ahead with a tilt towards the region.

Penny Wong also warned that all nations must work to prevent a 'catastrophic' war in the region, which she said was becoming 'more dangerous and volatile'.

Ms Wong and the Defence Minister, Richard Marles are in the UK for strategic talks with their British counterparts James Cleverly and Ben Wallace.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong (pictured) has urged the UK to confront its colonial past in the Indo-Pacific

In a speech at King's College in London, Ms Wong highlighted the deep links between Australia and the UK, saying many Australians continued to also think of themselves as British after federation in 1901.

'But as the nature of our nations, our regions and indeed our world has changed, so too has the character of our relationship,' Ms Wong said.

'Today, as a modern, multicultural country - home to people of more than 300 ancestries and the oldest continuing culture on Earth - Australia sees itself as being in the Indo-Pacific, and being of the Indo-Pacific.'

Ms Wong welcomed the UK's increased involvement in the Indo-Pacific, saying it recognised a war in the region would have impacts across the world.

'If conflict were to break out in the Indo-Pacific, it would be catastrophic - for our people and our prosperity.'

Defence Minister Richard Marles (pictured) said 'We want to see a Great Britain which is engaged in our region'

She added that it was 'up to all countries to ask ourselves how can we each use our national power, our influence, our networks, our capabilities, to avert catastrophic conflict'.

'I have put Australia's view on this directly to my Chinese counterpart, when I made the first Australian ministerial visit to China in three years just before Christmas,' said Ms Wong.

Her travels in the region 'rendered crystal clear that one of the most important ways our countries can modernise our relationships is in the story we tell the world about who we are,' she said.

The senator also pointed to her personal history as a descendant of British colonists in Australia and Chinese immigrants to modern-day Malaysia.

'(That) other side of my family had a very different experience of British colonisation,' she said.

Australian ministers Penny Wong (left) and Richard Marles (right) are in the UK for strategic talks with their British counterparts James Cleverly and Ben Wallace

Ms Wong said many people from the same Chinese clans as her father laboured in tin mines and plantations for the British North Borneo company, while others - including her grandmother - worked as domestic servants for British colonists.

'Such stories can sometimes feel uncomfortable - for those whose stories they are, and for those who hear them,' she said.

'It gives us the opportunity to find more common ground than if we stayed sheltered in narrower versions of our countries' histories.'

The Foreign Minister added that Australia had not always listened to the countries of south-east Asia and the Pacific as carefully as it could have, but the government was working to change that.

She said she had visited 24 Indo-Pacific countries in her first six months in office and that the government was taking an approach 'that puts listening above lecturing'.

Ms Wong said Australia was looking for common ground with neighbouring nations on issues such as food security, economic development, climate and infrastructure.

She said helping countries tackle poverty was 'the right thing to do' and would also increase security because 'stability and prosperity are mutually reinforcing'.

Understanding the past brought the opportunity to find more common ground than if 'we stayed sheltered in narrower versions of our countries' histories,' Ms Wong added.

Mr Marles said the Foreign Minister was making the critical point that acknowledging the past allowed for deeper relationships.

'It's really important for all countries to think about their past in terms of that providing a gateway for meaningful engagement in the future,' he told ABC TV.

'We want to see a Great Britain which is engaged in our region and they certainly seek to be that, because if Britain is engaged in the Indo-Pacific it will help provide stability ... and that's really important.'
An SUV was seen lodged in the side of a two-story house after being catapulted several feet in the air Sunday night.

The unusual scene was photographed by several passersby on the usually quiet stretch of road in Hyattsville, Maryland, with one social media user calling it the 'craziest' he had ever witnessed.

Footage filmed moments after the accident, which occurred just before 8:30pm, shows firefighters assessing the damage as well as the structural integrity of the savaged home.

It further shows how the 3,500-lb. Honda CR-V was left wedged in the domicile completely upside down, and the massive hole left behind once removed.

Thankfully, police said, the house was unoccupied at the time - but perhaps most surprisingly, the car's driver managed to walk away unscathed.

Scroll down for video:

A full-size SUV was seen lodged in the side of two-story house after being catapulted several feet in the air Sunday night, leaving residents in Hyattsville, Maryland, awestruck

The 3,500-lb. vehicle was left wedged in the domicile completely upside down, and left a massive hole behind once removed

Were at the 6900 block of Riggs Road in Chillum, Md., where a car smashed through a home. You can see its upside down. Video courtesy of Felix Osorio: pic.twitter.com/S0G6g8KvwB  Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) January 30, 2023

'CAR DRIVES UP HILL & FLIES *INTO* HOUSE UPSIDE DOWN,' the tweet from Christian Flores, a journalism student called to the house on Riggs Road, read.

'Amazingly, occupant was able to self-extricate,' he went on to reveal.

'He drove up a hill, got some air-time, and ended up inside of a house. Craziest scene I've been on.'

Flores was among several citizens to flock to house Sunday night to lay witness to the awe-inspiring scene, which left a massive hole in the home, and somehow no one injured.

The motorist, police said, was able to exit the vehicle without assistance, finding himself inside the empty house after the scary crash

First responders who arrived on the scene just after 8:30 pm were then tasked with removing the car, after the driver had already managed to exit it on his own accord.

According to Flores, the motorist, who was not named, told authorities that he had only been driving 40 miles per hour, and somehow lost control of the vehicle as it made its way up a hill before hitting the impacted house.

After roughly two hours, officers managed to remove the careened car, leaving behind the massive hole.

Police have since cleared the scene, but some images of the aftermath: pic.twitter.com/6rymVL0FYA  Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) January 30, 2023

A tweet from the The Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department, posted at 10:12 pm, said that the department and other first-responders had initiated a collapse investigation amid concerns over the home's structural integrity.

The original tweet from Flores covering the scene has since been retweeted nearly 500 times.

Flores, who also works as a reporter for ABC-affiliate 7News, managed to document firefighters' struggle to remove the obstruction from the vacant home, using a crane to pull it on a flat bed,

The unusual scene was photographed by several passersby on the usually quiet stretch of road in Hyattsville, Maryland, with one social media user calling it the 'craziest' he had ever seen

Despite police successfully clearing the scene, the crash's devastating aftermath remained - with images snapped by Flores and other citizens showing strewn debris, the homes devastated back porch, and, of course, the SUV-sized hole.

Prince George's County have yet to confirm whether or not the home belongs to anyone, or if the unnamed driver will be deemed responsible for the damages.

The motorist, police said, was able to exit the vehicle without assistance, after finding himself inside the empty house inside the crashed car.

Police in Prince George's County confirmed the driver did not receive 'any serious injuries.' The department said that it is currently investigating the incident.
A grand jury is set to review the evidence presented by Manhattan prosecutors on Monday regarding former United States President Donald Trump's alleged hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an extramarital affair.

The payments were allegedly made during the Republican businessman's 2016 presidential campaign, said people familiar with the matter. The development will bring prosecutors one step closer to potentially filing criminal charges against the former president, marking a significant escalation in the case.

Trump's Hush-Money Payment to Stormy Daniels

The entire situation between Trump and Daniels began in 2018 after a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal that claimed Michale Cohen, who was previously a long-time attorney for Trump, made a $130,000 payment to Daniels a month before the 2016 election to keep her silent about the former president's alleged affair.

Later, Cohen admitted that he made the payments to the adult film actress in violation of campaign finance laws. Authorities also sentenced him to three years in federal prison. On the other hand, Trump has denied that he directed his former attorney to pay Daniels off, saying that the payments did not come from his campaign, as per Yahoo News.

Another report by the New York Times said that one of the witnesses in the incident, former National Enquirer published David Pecker, was seen entering the Manhattan building where the grand jury had assembled on Monday.

Pecker's tabloid was responsible for helping broker the deal with Daniels. He received immunity in 2018 in exchange for testifying about the former president's knowledge regarding the payments to the adult film star.

Furthermore, prosecutors have been in contact with several individuals who worked on Trump's 2016 campaign, said sources. The hush-money case is only one of the many criminal cases the former president faces.

Read Also: Tyre Nichols Death Gets Shocking Development

A Slew of Criminal Investigations

Prosecutors are now preparing to reconstruct the events related to the payments for grand jurors to review. According to the New York Times, they are also seeking to interview several witnesses, including Dylan Howard, the tabloid's former editor, and two employees from the former president's company.

Despite the accusations, a conviction of the former president is not set in stone because the case is based on proving that Trump and his company falsified records to hide the payments days before the 2016 elections. Furthermore, it is a low-level felony charge that would be hinged on a largely untested legal theory.

However, the latest development in the case comes as the former president is already moving forward with his 2024 campaign run. It also comes as a district attorney in Georgia could seek to indict Trump for his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 loss in the state.

The Trump Organization was also convicted of criminal tax fraud and other offenses late last year. Furthermore, District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is pursuing an inquiry related to potential insurance fraud by the company.

On the other hand, the former president has denied any wrongdoing and argued that the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office and a lawyer for the former president, Ronald Fischetti, declined to comment on the matter, said the Wall Street Journal.

Related Article: Trump Kicks Off 2024 Campaign Run

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have defended their decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman as they reboot the DC Universe with a new over-arching storyline.

'We didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast,' said Gunn during a presentation to reporters announcing plans for five new DCU films and five new TV series, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Cavill, who was widely expected to return as the man of steel after appearing in a credits teaser for Black Adam in October, last month announced the 'sad news' that Gunn and Safran did not plan to bring him back.

Gunn explained: 'For me, it's about who do I want to cast as Superman and who do the filmmakers we have want to cast. And for me, for this story, it isn't Henry.'

'I like Henry, I think he's a great guy. I think he's getting d****d around by a lot of people, including the former regime at this company. But this Superman is not Henry, for a number of reasons,' he added.

'We didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast,' said DC Studios boss James Gunn of the decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman in their DCU reboot

Cavill's shock announcement in December that he would 'not be returning as Superman' was one of many signs that Gunn and Safran planned major shakeups to the DC franchise.

Following the merger that created new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in April, DC's $90 million Batgirl movie was scrapped in the final stages of production, and plans for Wonder Woman 3 were cast aside last month.

Gunn is the writer-director who made the Guardians of the Galaxy household names for Marvel and revived The Suicide Squad for DC, before signing on to revamp DC Studios last year.

Safran has produced many films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including Gunn's The Suicide Squad as well as Aquaman, Shazam and the horror films in The Conjuring universe.

In their announcement on Tuesday, Gunn and Safran laid out their vision for the first phase of a planned decade-long DCU storyline, which they dubbed 'Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.'

The first film of the new phase will be Superman: Legacy, tentatively set for release on July 11, 2025.

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn (left) and Peter Safran (right) have defended their decision not to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman as they reboot the DC Universe

Gunn remained cryptic about Ezra Miller's future in the DCU following the actor's guilty plea in a criminal trespassing case earlier this month

Gunn is writing the Superman movie, which is described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.

No casting decisions have been announced, aside from the exclusion of Cavill, a well-liked actor who starred as the man of steel in three DC films prior to the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery last year.

The first phase of the DCU will launch after several inherited projects that are set to debut in the next two years - including The Flash, with Ezra Miller, which Gunn said 'resets the entire DC Universe'.

Gunn remained cryptic about Miller's future in the DCU following the actor's guilty plea in a criminal trespassing case earlier this month, saying there is 'nothing that prohibits' any previously cast actors from reprising their roles in the new universe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Safran said that following Miller's involvement in a series of criminal investigations and scandals, studio executives are focused on supporting the actor, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

'Ezra is completely committed to their recovery. We are fully supportive of that journey they are on right now,' said Safran.

'When the time is right, when they are ready to have that discussion, we will all figure out what the best path forward. But right now, they are completely focused on their recovery. And in our conversation with them, in the last couple of months, it feels like they are making enormous progress,' he added.

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU slate will launch with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025, described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing

Following the 2025 Superman movie, an uncast in-universe Batman film is also coming at an unknown date: The Brave and the Bold.

It is billed a Batman and Robin tale inspired by Grant Morrison's comic series, focused on Damian Wayne, Batman's son with supervillain Talia al-Ghul, as Robin.

Another planned film is The Authority, about an ensemble of superheroes who protect the planet with extreme methods.

Also coming is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, based on Tom King's comics, and a big-screen standalone for the Swamp Thing.

Television plans include Lanterns, an eight-hour detective series, scheduled to stream on HBO Max.

Other TV projects include Waller, with Viola Davis reprising her Suicide Squad role as Amanda Waller, and Paradise Lost, the origin story of Themyscira, the island where Wonder Woman was born.

New DC Studios bosses James Gunn (above) and Peter Safran have unveiled their plans for a revamped and newly unified DC Universe of films and television series

An uncast in-universe Batman film is also coming at an unknown date: The Brave and the Bold, a Batman and Robin tale focused on Batman's son with supervillain Talia al-Ghul as Robin

The DCU reboot also includes an animated television series, Creature Commandos, in which Waller forms a black ops team out of monstrous prisoners, is in production.

At the same time, the studio will release stories that fall outside this central DC Universe narrative, dubbed DC Elseworlds, as with the comic books. One example is Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to the 2019 Oscar-nominated drama.

Robert Pattinson's Batman will also return in Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II, opening October 3, 2025 -- another Elseworlds film outside the main continuity.

Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates also is working on a script for a Superman project in which a black actor portrays the man of steel, as a DC Elseworlds project.

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav is hoping to reap the financial rewards of a reinvigorated DC franchise.

The media company's shares have fallen 43 percent in the past year as the company aims to deliver $3 billion in savings from combining Warner Media and Discovery Communications.

'The stakes are enormous,' said Safran, who has produced two 'Aquaman' films and two 'Shazam' movies. 'It's a brand that was in somewhat chaos, and it's an opportunity to build an extraordinary stand-alone studio.'
A man has been clocked driving at 253km/h on a major highway - when cops discovered he was a learner driver.

Officers were doing speed checks on the North-South Motorway at Waterloo Corner in Adelaide's north when a 2009 black Holden ute rocketed past on Monday.

The 20-year-old man behind the wheel was allegedly driving 143km/h over the speed limit.

Police caught up with the 20 year old after his vehicle suffered mechanical failure and discovered the motorist was a learner driver (pictured, the black Holden ute he allegedly drove)

He had been driving 143km/h over the speed limit and was driving with a passenger who also did not have their full licence

Police caught up with the Smithfield man after his vehicle suffered mechanical failure and discovered the motorist was an L-plater.

The man allegedly clocked the highest speed ever recorded on South Australian roads while in a 110km/h zone.

He allegedly tested positive for drugs. The sample was sent to Forensic Science SA for more analysis.

The learner driver was reported for aggravated extreme speed, driving in a dangerous manner, breaching his learner's permit, and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.

He lost his licence on the spot for 12 months and his vehicle was impounded for 28 days - he will appear in court at a later date.
Ministers are considering putting a cancer warning on all breast implants a decade after women had a cocktail of chemicals intended for mattresses put into their bodies.

Experts and MPs are calling for tighter regulation and better support after the PIP faulty breast implant scandal left women  including breast cancer survivors  suffering and dying in silence.

Health minister Maria Caulfield pledged on Monday to consider a so-called black-box warning on breast implant packaging like in the US.

She said women need to be informed that any breast implant has the potential to cause a very rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma called breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Horror experience: Yvonne Murphy (pictured) said the years of anxiety and health issues that followed getting PIP implants in 2008 was 'the worst experience of my life'

It came during a debate on the faulty breast implant scandal which saw 47,000 British women given ticking time bomb implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP).

'They gave me years of health problems' Mother of four Yvonne Murphy was given PIP implants in 2008. The 47-year-old said the years of anxiety and health issues that followed had been the worst experience of my life. When the scandal surfaced she tried to have them removed, but the private company who put them in  Hospital Medical Group  told her shed have to pay 3,500 for replacements. Ms Murphy, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, said: I remember the first year of it all breaking in the news [2010]  I wasnt sleeping, I wasnt eating. I still had the implants in and I had no clue what they were doing to me. She turned to the NHS and had them taken out in August 2012, but by then a lump had formed in her lymph node and she had to have emergency surgery. Ms Murphy said it took a year for doctors to say that the lump had been caused by silicone leaking from the implant in her medical notes. Since, she has had four cancer scares and has been registered disabled with pain condition fibromyalgia. She believes her continuing problems are linked to the PIP implants, but says doctors refuse to confirm it. Advertisement

PIP implants were outlawed in 2010 when they were revealed to be made with substandard silicone and up to six times more likely to rupture.

Victims of the scandal have reported a wide range of serious side-effects as experts say they are linked to a raft of health problems including the new form of cancer.

Co-founder of the PIP Action Campaign Jan Spivey, 61, was given the implants as part of reconstructive surgery after breast cancer.

She said: I thought the reconstruction would be part of the procedure to save my life  I didnt think that I would be looking at eight additional surgeries relating to my PIP implant, and then in my last surgery I would be facing massive internal bleeding requiring another emergency surgery and suffer a pulmonary embolism that nearly killed me.

Dr Henry Dijkman, who has studied the impacts of a wide range of silicone implants, said: We know that there are between 50 to 80 symptoms because silicone is toxic and can really trigger the immune system.

Cancer is the most severe symptom. Silicone creates stress to the cell and when a cell has a lot of stress, it can lead to mutations, and then eventually you can get cancer.

Anyone with a PIP implant can officially apply to have it removed by the NHS, but Labour MP Fleur Anderson said: Many applications have been turned down, leaving women with a ticking time bomb in their body.

They are unable to afford to get their implants removed privately, are worried that they will rupture further, and are experiencing clear side-effects.

The MHRA acknowledged the risk of cancer for all breast implants but said PIP implants are not at greater risk than any other.

Since 2012 Ms Murphy has had four cancer scares and has been registered disabled with pain condition fibromyalgia

A spokesman said: PIP implants do have a higher risk of rupture which may lead to unpleasant symptoms, but ruptured implants do not pose a serious health risk. We continue to monitor the safety of all breast implants, including PIP breast implants.

We continually review adverse events reported to us, as well as published literature and other data sources, to determine if reports may indicate any increased or previously unrecognised risks.

If further risks are identified, we will take appropriate action to ensure these are communicated to patients so they can make informed choices.

If you are a patient or healthcare professional, please report any issues associated with PIP implants to us so we can continue to monitor these closely.
The Queen suggested that Prince Andrew devote himself to charitable work as a route back to public life, sources have revealed.

Friends of the duke claimed the late monarch believed her son might be able to pursue a Profumo-style path to redemption through low-key good deeds.

This was a reference to disgraced minister John Profumo who devoted himself to charity work after being forced to step down from government in the 1960s over his affair with Christine Keeler.

Although the idea of Andrew undertaking voluntary work has been raised publicly before, it is the first suggestion Queen Elizabeth was supportive of the idea.

The Queen suggested that Prince Andrew devote himself to charitable work as a route back to public life, sources have revealed

Friends of the Duke of York (pictured driving at Windsor Castle) claimed the late monarch believed her son might be able to pursue a  Profumo-style path to redemption

Andrews mother suggested the route forward was taking on a charitable cause, a source told The Independent.

Other members of the family agreed and saw it as his only way to rehabilitation.

The prince is not believed to have taken up any charity role in recent years.

His critics have asked whether organisations would want to be involved with him in the wake of the Epstein scandal and his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, a known victim of the US paedophile, who also accused the prince of sexual assault.

He has vehemently denied the allegation and stressed there was no admission of liability as part of their multi-million pound settlement.

Despite publicly stripping her so-called favourite son of his patronages and barring him from using his HRH title officially, the Queen was known to be sympathetic to his situation.

It was reported that she helped the duke pay the settlement before she died.

Andrew is now said to be considering his legal options after Mrs Giuffre dropped a similar sex abuse case against high-profile US lawyer Alan Dershowitz, saying she may have been mistaken in accusing him.

Critics have asked whether organisations would want to be involved with Prince Andrew in the wake of the Epstein scandal and his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre (pictured together in 2001, with Ghislaine Maxwell)

Although the idea of Andrew undertaking voluntary work has been raised publicly before, it is the first suggestion Queen Elizabeth II was supportive of the idea

Disgraced minister John Profumo who devoted himself to charity work after being forced to step down from government in the 1960s over his affair with Christine Keeler

Friends say Andrew cuts a lonely figure at Royal Lodge, the Windsor home he shares with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

He is said to hold out hope of a return to royal duties if he is able to overturn the US settlement  but the Mail revealed at the weekend that this was considered wishful thinking at Buckingham Palace, regardless of the outcome.

Meanwhile, the Queen Consort undertook her first engagement as the new Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. She replaced her brother-in-law Andrew after he was stripped of his public duties.

Yesterday Camilla, 75, visited the battalion at Lille Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire.

She presented medals to ten soldiers, who had been picked for their exceptional service in Iraq last year, as well as two being honoured for length of service.
She announced her estrangement to Nick Fox three years ago, aged 89

Fay Weldon's estranged third husband, who she accused of 'coercive control' did not attend her funeral yesterday.

The author dramatically announced her estrangement from Nick Fox three years ago, aged 89, also accusing him of 'financial mismanagement'.

He strongly denied this, calling the allegations 'a calumny'.

Fox, who is 15 years Fay's junior, said that he heard 'nothing' from her family about the ceremony.

'They have not told me about any funeral. They did not even bother to tell me when she died,' he said.

Author Fay Weldon, known for works including The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil and Praxis, died aged 91 on January 4

Her third husband, Nick Fox, who she accused of 'coercive control and financial mismanagement', did not attend the funeral

Retired parish priest  and former 1980s The Communards star  the Rev Richard Coles conducted the committal.

The setting  a Northamptonshire crematorium  might have dismayed many, but not Fay.

'It was sandwiched between a solar-panel farm and a high-security prison,' reflects one mourner. 'She'd have loved it.'

While Fox, who divorced from Weldon last summer, adds that he learned of her death from a friend who considered it 'unspeakable' that he had been kept in ignorance.

'It's just as well that he wasn't there,' explains one of the 150 or so of Fay's family and friends who gathered at Nene Valley crematorium. 'I think they would have lynched him.'

Instead, the service was as intense and moving as Fay would have wished it. 'She was a committed Christian. Richard [Coles] gave her communion both at her son Nic's house and in the nursing home where she died.'

It was at Nic's house, too, that Fay's inimitable life was celebrated afterwards  with abundant champagne.

Author Fay Weldon has died aged 91

The novelist, playwright and screenwriter's body of work includes more than 30 novels - as well as short stories and plays written for television, radio and the stage including ITV's popular drama Upstairs, Downstairs and the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Following her death a family statement said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Fay Weldon (CBE), author, essayist and playwright. She died peacefully this morning January 4, 2023.'

The writer previously told her readers in a statement posted on her website that she had been admitted to hospital with a broken bone in her back and then with a stroke.

Fay Weldon pictured with her son Nick Weldon and grandson Felix Weldon in 1998

A family statement said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Fay Weldon (CBE), author, essayist and playwright. She died peacefully this morning January 4, 2023'

Author Jenny Colgan led tributes, describing Weldon as 'formidable, fierce and wonderful

Author Jenny Colgan led tributes, describing Weldon as 'formidable, fierce and wonderful'.

Chocolat author Joanne Harris tweeted: 'RIP Fay Weldon: what a loss, and what a remarkable woman.'

The Rev Richard Coles also revealed he took her Holy Communion as he remembered the late author, writing on Twitter: 'So sorry to see news of the death of #FayWeldon.

'I started out as an admirer of her fiction and I ended up taking her Holy Communion. She was amazing. May she rest in peace.'

The novelist, playwright and screenwriter's body of work includes more than 30 novels including The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil

Born in Britain in September 1931, Weldon was brought up in New Zealand and returned to the UK as a child. She went on to read economics and psychology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and later received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 1990.

Weldon worked briefly for the Foreign Office in London and as a journalist before moving to work as an advertising copywriter.

She left this career to focus on her writing and published her first novel, The Fat Woman's Joke, in 1967.

Alongside her prolific novel career, she also wrote children's books, non-fiction books and newspaper articles.

She was also one of the writers on the popular drama series Upstairs, Downstairs which ran from 1971 to 1975, receiving an award from the Writers Guild of America for the show's first episode.

Much of her fiction explores issues surrounding women's relationships with men, children, parents and each other, including the novels Down Among The Women (1971) and Female Friends (1975).

Her 1978 novel Praxis was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction and she later chaired the judges' panel for the prestigious award in 1983.

A post on the Booker Prizes Twitter account said they were 'saddened' to hear the news as they recalled how she had 'delivered one of the most memorable speeches in Booker history' during her time as a judge for the award.

She published a memoir called Auto Da Fay in 2002 when she was 70.
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Police used tear gas and baton charges to beat back pension reform protestors by the Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris today.

The ugly scenes followed a day of strikes and street demonstrations which saw more than 1.2 million mobilise on Tuesday.

'A Paris march involving hundreds of thousands was peaceful, right until the very end when there were disturbances,' said a local police spokesman.

Referring to the national monument where Napoleon is buried, the spokesman added: 'Stones were thrown at officers around Les Invalides, before order was restored in the early evening.'

Tens of thousands of people march against the pension reforms on January 31, 2023 in Paris, France

Protesters run for tear gas as clashes erupt between police forces and protesters during a march against the pension reforms on January 31, 2023 in Paris, France

French riot police use tear gas during clashes on the demonstration against French government's plan to raise the legal retirement age in Paris, France on January 31, 2023

It followed Interior Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin accusing 'champagne socialists' of opposing pension reform.

He said 11,000 police were mobilised, as just over 1.2 million showed their opposition to raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Multiple train and metro lines shut down, along with schools, colleges, medical centres, and other public services.

In a controversial interview published in Le Parisien newspaper, Mr Darmanin said many of those taking part wanted 'a society without work, without effort'.

He said they were 'champagne socialists' who wanted to 'screw up the country' as it struggled to compete in the global economy.

Under new government proposals being considered by the Paris parliament, people will have to work two years longer to achieve a full pension.

This has been hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as vital to safeguard France's hugely expensive system.

He has welcomed 'democratic protest' but said any rioting would be met with 'the full force of the law'.

His pension reform ideas have proved deeply unpopular, with 68% saying they are opposed to it, according to an IFOP poll published this month.

Protesters gather at Place d'Italie square for a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

A protester holds red flares near the Invalides during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a day of national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

A protester tries to kick a fuming tear gas pellet during a demonstration on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

A man is detained by riot police officers during a demonstration against plans to push back France's retirement age, Paris, France, January 31, 2023

Police detain a protester during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

French police face off with protesters amid clashes near the Invalides during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

French police face off with protesters amid clashes near the Invalides during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

All the country's unions have condemned the measure, as have the Left-wing and Far-right opposition parties in the National Assembly.

Mr Macron's Renaissance party does not have a parliamentary majority, so has to rely on the support of around 60 MPs from the conservative Republicans party to get his pension reforms through.

With the parliamentary process taking months, Mr Macron faces a rolling campaign of opposition.

Most other European countries have taken steps to raise the official retirement age, which in Britain is currently 66.

President Macron made an earlier attempt to reform the system in 2019, but scrapped it because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

This is the seventh attempted pension reform in France since Socialist president Francois Mitterrand cut the retirement age to 60 in 1982.

Every subsequent attempt to reverse that change has led to mass opposition on the street.

In 2010, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy raised the retirement age to 62, despite weeks of mass protests.

Protestors end the demonstration against plans to push back France's retirement age, at the Invalides monument in Paris, January 31, 2023

French riot police stand in front of protesters with umbrellas as clashes erupt during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

Protesters clash with police on the Place Vauban during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

A protester is detained by police during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

Police clash with protesters on the Place Vauban near the Hotel de Invalides at a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

Protestors hold union flags and smoke flares during a demonstration as part of a nationwide day of strikes and rallies for the second time in a month, Nice, southeastern France, January 31, 2023

Masked protesters react during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a day of national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

The protesters have vowed to take to the streets as often as needed for the government to back down.

'We won't drive until we're 64!' bus driver Isabelle Texier said at a protest in Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast.

'For the president, it's easy. He sits in a chair... he can work until he's 70, even,' she said, adding: 'We can't ask roof layers to work until 64, it's not possible.'

'This is about more than pensions, it is about what kind of society we want,' 59-year-old university professor Martine Beugnetsa said.

Opinion polls show a substantial majority of the French oppose the reform, but Macron intends to stand his ground. The reform was 'vital' to ensure the viability of the pension system, he said on Monday.

Some felt resigned amid bargaining between Macron's ruling alliance and conservative opponents who are more open to pension reform than the left.

'There's no point in going on strike. This bill will be adopted in any case,' said 34-year-old Matthieu Jacquot, who works in the luxury sector.

The pension system reform would yield an additional 17.7 billion euros (15.5 billion) in annual pension contributions, according to Labour Ministry estimates.

Unions say there are other ways to raise revenue, such as taxing the super rich or asking employers or well-off pensioners to contribute more.

French police face off with protesters amid clashes near the Invalides during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

A protester kicks a tear gas canister during clashes with police on the Place Vauban at a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

French riot police push back protesters as clashes erupt during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

Protesters gather at Place d'Italie square for a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

A protester faces French riot police during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

Protesters demonstrate on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

Protesters light flares and throw fireworks to riot police as clashes erupt during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

French police fire tear gas during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Paris on January 31, 2023

Protesters take pictures of a broken street furniture during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris as part of a day of national strike and protests in France, January 31, 2023

The government made some concessions while drafting the legislation. Macron had originally wanted the retirement age to be set at 65, while the government is also promising a minimum pension of 1,200 euros a month.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said the 64 threshold is 'non-negotiable', but the government is exploring ways to offset some of the impact, particularly on women.

France has the lowest qualifying age for a state pension among major European economies.

The government has said the changes are necessary to guarantee the future financing of the pension system, which is forecast to tip into deficit in the next few years.

But opponents point out that the system is not in trouble, insisting pension spending is not out of control.

French riot police push back protesters during clashes on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023

Protesters took place across France on Tuesday, from Montpellier (left) to Nantes (right)

French riot police push back protesters as clashes erupt during a rally on a second day of nationwide strikes and protests over the government's proposed pension reform, in Nantes on January 31, 2023
The White House continued to defend its transparency and responsiveness on Tuesday  even amid the latest drip-drip revelation that the FBI had searched President Biden's former think tank office back in November.

That government search came days after Biden's lawyer discovered material marked classified inside his Penn Biden office in Washington, D.C. back on Nov. 2  although his team didn't reveal the information for six weeks.

'We have released multiple statements from the White House and President Biden's personal attorney has released multiple statements over the last month walking through the process and agreeing to be fully, fully cooperative with the Justice Department,' White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield told CNN Tuesday.

'This is a a process that plays out we are responsive to the Justice Department's requests. We have been clear from the outset that the President will cooperate with every request the Justice Department has, and we've put out multiple statements.

'We have released multiple statements,' White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said Tuesday when pressed on the latest document disclosure  that the FBI had searched President Biden's former office back in November

CNN host Victor Blackwell asked the longtime Biden advisor about the 'trickle of disclosure'  and why he was bringing the information to her instead of the other way around  following information that was available to insiders back in November.

Asked on camera if any additional documents were discovered in the search, Bedingfield responded: 'That's not something I can comment on from here,' and referred the matter to the Justice Department.

A source told the network all of the classified material that Biden's team had discovered had already been handed over by the time of the FBI search.

That search was voluntary, and did not take place under a search warrant.

The defense was only the latest time the White House invoked its own transparency even while being questioned about new information related to the discovery of classified information in Biden's realm  first at his office, then at his Wilmington home, and then additional discoveries of material at the home following an FBI search.

DOJ has not responded to inquiries about the matter, but its own teams have uncovered additional materials that were not picked up in initial searches.

CNN host Vicktor Blackwell pressed the longtime Biden advisor about the 'trickle of disclosure' in the wake of the new reports

The FBI search in November came days after Biden's own lawyer identified classified material there, it was revealed Tuesday, in a new detail revealed by CBS News that the White House did not disclose at the time.

It was not immediately known if any additional documents marked classified were uncovered during the search, which took place in mid-November  with an exact date still not clear late Tuesday.

On November 2, days before the mid-term elections, a Biden attorney discovered 10 documents marked 'classified,' then contacted the National Archives, which alerted the Justice Department.

News of the FBI search comes as the Biden administration faces new pressure from Democrats to disclose the contents of classified material found at his home and office.

Investigators from the FBI searched the Penn Biden office for classified material back in November, it was revealed Tuesday

A January 14 statement from Biden lawyer Bob Bauer did not acknowledge the government search, only flagging the government's 'inquiry, including taking possession of any documents and reviewing any surrounding material for further review and context.'

A January 12 statement by White House counsel Richard Sauber noted that the president's lawyers and DOJ were 'coordinating closely' in the search of the president's Wilmington home.

'Following the discovery of government documents at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022, and coordinating closely with the Department of Justice, the President's lawyers have searched the President's Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, residences  the other locations where files from his Vice-Presidential office might have been shipped in the course of the 2017 transition, Sauber said in a statement. That search turned up classified materials in a garage and one in an adjacent room.

On Friday, January 20, the FBI searched Biden's Wilmington home, uncovering additional classified material.

Top Republicans have called on the government to search the president's Rehoboth, Delaware, beach house, where Biden's team says no classified documents were uncovered in its own search.

The White House had fielded questions last week about whether such a search might happen this past weekend, when Biden was at Camp David and in Wilmington, but there are no indications it happened.

'There has not been a limit of transparency,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month during a particularly feisty White House press briefing.

The repeated disclosures come after months of reporting on Donald Trump's own resistance to government demands to return documents  and the FBI's discovery under a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago of hundreds of documents marked 'classified.'

The search at the Penn Biden center in Washington, D.C. came days after the initial document discovery

The FBI carried out a search of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home, where classified materials were discovered in a garage and private library

The same garage is home to Biden's classic Corvette Stingray  along with some boxes and a lampshade

The news broke as Biden visited New York to tout infrastructure improvements

The president has faced repeated questions about the documents, sometimes scolding reporters, sometimes defending his conduct

Former Barack Obama advisor David Axelrod is among prominent Democrats who have called out the Biden White House for insufficient transparency, in an op-ed where he faulted the team for violating a mantra of crisis communications to 'fully disclose all the facts' as quickly as possible.

Bauer's statement following the Wilmington search this month made clear that the Justice Department took part in the search.

DOJ 'took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President's service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President,' Bauer said in a statement at the time. He said investigators also took handwritten notes from Biden's time as vice president.
Protesters have tied colourful ribbons down the side of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral as a demonstration against abuse by the clergy, as Cardinal George Pell's body is brought there to lie in state.

The 81-year-old former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney died in a Rome hospital last month from heart complications following hip surgery and was given a traditional cardinal's funeral by the Vatican at St Peter's Basilica.

His body has been returned to Sydney for burial and a solemn reception will begin on Wednesday morning with two masses, followed by a vigil later in the day, with mourners invited to pay their respects.

A masked protester ties ribbons on the fence of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral as part of a protest against abuse by the clergy

A requiem mass celebrated by Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher will take place on Thursday before the cardinal is buried in a private ceremony at St Mary's crypt.

However, a gay rights protest is also expected across the road, with police planning to ask a judge on Wednesday to ban the demonstration.

Thousands of mourners are expected to attend the mass and screens will be erected in the cathedral forecourt to accommodate them.

Cardinal Pell was the Vatican's top finance minister before leaving Rome in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne for child sexual abuse offences.

The following year, he was convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral while archbishop in 1996.

He maintained his innocence and in 2020 his convictions were quashed by the High Court.

Yet for child sexual abuse survivors and supporters, Pell's legacy is one of shame and institutional cover-up.

A support group for clergy abuse survivors, Loud Fence, has been tying colourful ribbons around the cathedral's fence as a symbol of solidarity and claims they have been repeatedly taken down by church staff.

Paul Auchettl, whose brother was a victim of clerical abuse by a priest under the leadership of Cardinal Pell in Ballarat during the 1970s, is vowing to continue tying memorial ribbons to the fence.

Mr Auchettl's brother ended his life some 25 years ago.

A hearse which is set to bring Cardinal Pell's body to the scene of the church, above

Cardinal George Pell died aged 81 last month following complications from hip surgery

'There are so many who are too angry to be here. We are here because those who are dead can't be here,' he told AAP.

'They are so full of shame, their families hold a painful history'.

Mr Auchettl's says the church has left victims and their families in a 'spiritual wasteland'.

AAP contacted the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney for comment.

Sydney-based LGBTQI group Community Action for Rainbow Rights said it was still going ahead with a peaceful march on Thursday morning timed with the funeral, despite police seeking a court order to prevent it.

'We need everybody to come out and protest on Thursday. We can't let the police get away with denying us our right to protest,' the group said on its Facebook page.

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Nearly 700 convictions for murder given to criminals on probation since 2010

Three murders or serious sex crimes are committed every week by offenders on probation.

Nearly 700 convictions for murder have been handed to criminals who were on probation since 2010  an average of one a week.

And a further 950 convictions for rape, attempted rape or serious sex assaults  including attacks on young children  have been secured against known offenders in that time.

The figures were revealed as a warped and angry killer was yesterday found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and an associate within weeks of being released from jail.

A review published last week found a series of failures in the way probation teams handled violent thug Jordan McSweeney (pictured), who went on to murder Zara Aleena

Similar disturbing failures were highlighted in another inquiry, published two weeks ago, into the handling of killer rapist Damien Bendall (pictured)

The Labour Party, which obtained the crime figures, said the data showed the probation service was in chaos. It blamed the Government for failing to invest in the system.

In total, there were 3,219 serious further offences committed by known criminals on probation in England and Wales between 2010-11 and 2020-21.

Some will have been committed by offenders who were on licence after previously committing other serious crimes, while others were deemed to be lower-risk offenders.

The convictions included kidnapping, attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life. In all, there has been an average of six serious further offences a week committed by criminals on probation over the 11-year period.

Labour justice spokesman Steve Reed said: Murderers and rapists must not be left to roam the streets and prey on new victims. Thirteen years of Conservative mismanagement has left our probation services in chaos... The service has been left facing a shortage of staff, unmanageable workloads, and morale is at rock bottom.

It comes after a review published last week found a series of failures in the way probation teams handled violent thug Jordan McSweeney, who went on to murder Zara Aleena.

Freed to slash pair's throats By Daily Mail Reporter A warped killer was yesterday convicted of murdering his girlfriend and a man within weeks of being released from jail. Lee Peacock, 50, cut the throats of his partner Sharon Pickles, 46, and Clinton Ashmore, 59, during a violent two-day spree in west London in August 2021, the Old Bailey heard. The burglar, from Westminster, tried to turn his knife on himself when police tracked him down to a houseboat on the Grand Union Canal after a five-day manhunt. Prosecutor Edward Brown KC said the killings happened while Peacock was out on licence. The defendant had a background of drugs and a significant criminal history, although it was not consistent with a history of offences of violence, the prosecutor said. Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley said Peacock was determined to blame others for his partners decision to move on with her life while he was in jail. He is due to be sentenced this morning. Lee Peacock, 50, cut the throats of his partner Sharon Pickles, 46, and Clinton Ashmore, 59 Advertisement

McSweeney should have been recalled to prison six days before the attack but delays meant he was roaming the streets free to kill the 35-year-old aspiring lawyer.

Similar disturbing failures were highlighted in another inquiry, published two weeks ago, into the handling of killer rapist Damien Bendall.

Errors by probation officers meant Bendall was left free to murder his pregnant partner Terri Harris and three children  her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Laceys friend Connie Gent, 11.

Both McSweeney and Bendall had been wrongly categorised as medium risk rather than high risk.

It came as a whistleblower last night claimed probation officers are under organisational pressure to allocate lower risk ratings to offenders.

The anonymous source told Channel 4 News: The more complex and riskier cases, the more resources allocated to it.

There is some organisational pressure to lower the risk rating because you can pass more cases on to a person if they are less resource heavy.

The senior civil servant at the Ministry of Justice, Antonia Romeo, told MPs yesterday she wanted to ensure that were completely learning lessons from everything that has happened so that these appalling crimes dont happen again.

The permanent secretary told the Commons justice select committee she was profoundly sorry for the errors in the McSweeney and Bendall cases.

Amy Rees, director general of HM Prison and Probation Service, said both cases had been allocated to an inexperienced probation officer.

Labour said there was a sharp increase in serious further offence convictions following the botched probation privatisation in 2014. It was renationalised in 2019.

A Conservative source said: If the Labour Party were serious about locking up violent criminals, then they would have voted for our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. Labour have put politics before tackling crime  they have consistently voted for weaker jail sentences, fewer powers for the police and less money for our brave police.

The Government is investing an extra 155million in probation, including the recruitment of 4,000 probation officers, and has outlined plans to overhaul the parole system.
The West must ignore Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats, a top advisor to Ukraine's President Zelensky has said.

The Kremlin claimed that it would resort to nuclear conflict if Europe and the US increased their supply of weapons and machinery to Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Zelensky, told The Times: 'Putin is not ready to press the red button' as Russia understands the consequences of doing so.

This comes after the announcement from military chiefs that some 180,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of the war in Ukraine - a far higher estimate than previously thought.

The West must ignore Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats, a top advisor to Ukraine's President Zelensky has said. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, January 30, 2023

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia, October 26, 2022

Mykhailo Podolyak told The Times: 'Any use of nuclear weapons, even tactical ones, will lead to the inevitable death of most of the Russian political elite. They understand this very well.'

Podolyak said that Russia understands the consequences if it were to launch a nuclear strike, whether on Ukraine or any Western ally. He said Moscow understands it would face 'immediate retribution' as other nuclear powers have sent a very 'clear warning'.

As western countries committed to sending weapons including tanks to Ukraine, Vyacheslav Volodin, a political ally of Putin and the speaker of the Russian parliament, said the west was risking a 'terrible war'.

Western countries last week announced they would send dozens of sophisticated tanks to Ukraine, including pledges from the US, Germany, and UK.

Volodin said last week: 'Foreign politicians making such decisions need to understand that this could end in a global tragedy that will destroy their countries.'

Former Russian Prime Minister and President Dmitry Medvedev - who is now the deputy chairman of Russia's national security council - also warned that Moscow could use nuclear weapons if its military was defeated in Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak told The Times: 'Any use of nuclear weapons, even tactical ones, will lead to the inevitable death of most of the Russian political elite. They understand this very well'

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Zelensky, told The Times: 'Putin is not ready to press the red button' as Russia understands the consequences of doing so

Russia recently tested its nuclear capabilities with a test on its hypersonic Zircon missile in the Atlantic ocean earlier this month.

Zelensky's advisor told The Times: 'The Russian political elite wants to frighten other countries but at the same time they want to have a guaranteed life of luxury.

'I would recommend paying less attention to the comments of people like Volodin and Medvedev. Their aim is to sow panic in Europe.'

This comes after it was estimated by military chiefs that up to 180,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The estimate from the Norwegian army is far higher than previously thought.

Top US general Mark Milley suggested the toll was around 100,000 last November. It is unclear how many troops Ukraine has lost since the country was invaded on February 24, 2022. Both sides have a policy of not disclosing losses.

Vladimir Putin's army is currently making a desperate bid to seize territory before more than 300 Western tanks reach the war zone in Ukraine.

Up to 180,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the start of the war in Ukraine, military chiefs have claimed

Top US general Mark Milley suggested the Russian army toll was around 100,000 last November

Western officials said Russia was attempting to replace lost troops with hundreds of thousands of reservists and a partial mobilisation of civilians, including convicts. They admitted Russia was making 'creeping gains' in eastern Ukraine but insisted Kremlin forces are not large enough to make a strategic breakthrough.

Putin's partial mobilisation has 'semi-stabilised' Russia's frontline, which is making progress again after months of retreats and stalling.

An official said: 'Russia has achieved some tactical successes but this is a 'sideshow of a sideshow'. Russia has greater mass [than Ukraine] but it is unlikely the reservists brought to the frontline have formed into cohesive groups. Russia is attempting to gain momentum but its forces are falling short of the strategic tasks set for them.'

The official predicted that the 'grinding conflict' is likely to continue through this year.

On the influx of Western tanks, they said: 'Russia is aware of timescales.' Ukraine is on a defensive footing at the moment as it waits for the tanks.

Vladimir Putin's army is currently making a desperate bid to seize territory before more than 300 Western tanks reach the war zone in Ukraine

Most will be German-made Leopard 2s following a landmark decision by Berlin to send tanks and lift export restrictions affecting Nato allies.

Other tanks include 14 Challenger 2s from Britain and 31 M1 Abrams from the US.

Ukrainian crews started training in the UK this week. The troops, accompanied by the British tanks, will return to the country in late March. They are already skilled tank drivers but must adapt to the specific requirements of the Challenger 2.

In recent weeks Russian forces have captured towns in Donetsk province. Their aim is to secure the strategically significant city of Bakhmut.

Before the invasion it had a population of 70,000. But civilians have fled from the city as Russian forces have closed in.

Ukraine may be required to withdraw from Bakhmut  a move which would represent a major blow to the country's morale.

A Western official said: 'Bakhmut is totemic in the public narrative, which puts both sides under pressure. But military judgment will have to be exercised.

'We are not going to speculate on the outcome. In the past Ukraine has been wise in choosing timing of withdrawals when they redrew their defensive lines. There will be exchanges of territory and the conflict is not going to end soon.'
Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened his life with a missile strike following criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson said that the Russian strongman noted that such an act would "only take a minute" and was made after the former UK prime minister warned that the war between Russia and Ukraine would be an "utter catastrophe."

Putin's Missile Threat Against Johnson

The claim was made during a BBC documentary focusing on the Russian president's interactions with several world leaders in the last few years. In response to the allegations, a spokesman for the Kremlin said that Johnson's assertions were lies.

The former UK prime minister previously warned Putin that moving forward with an invasion of Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and the deployment of more NATO troops along Russia's borders.

Furthermore, Johnson attempted to deter the Russian military's action by telling the Russian president that Ukraine would not join the global military alliance "for the foreseeable future." However, he noted that at one point, Putin threatened him, as per BBC.

The former prime minister added that based on Putin's relaxed tone and his alleged detachment, he was only playing along with Johnson's attempts at negotiations. He said the Russian president had been "very familiar" during their call.

There is no definitive way to verify whether or not Putin's threat to launch a missile strike at Johnson was genuine. However, with Russia's previous attacks on the UK, the most recent being in 2018 in Salisbury, any threat from the Russian president is something that the former UK prime minister would take seriously.

Putin's spokesman said that Johnson's claim was either a deliberate falsehood, which begs the question of why he lied, or was not a deliberate lie. This means he needed help understanding what the Russian president was trying to tell him.

Johnson has become one of the most impassioned Western supporters of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The documentary where the UK official made the remarks charted the growing division between Putin and the West several years before the invasion, according to France24.

Read Also: Ukraine Renews Requests for Weapons

Johnson's Support of Ukraine

Furthermore, it features Zelensky reflecting on his ambitions, which were pushed back when he tried to have Ukraine join NATO before Russia's military operation. He questioned world leaders that if they knew, for a fact, that Moscow would attack Ukraine, why they would not give the country a way to fight back.

In the decades before Russia invaded Ukraine, relations between Moscow and London have continued to sink to their lowest level. This has been due to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in 2018. The former UK prime minister sought to position London as Kyiv's top ally among Western nations. While in office, Johnson visited Ukraine multiple times and called Zelensky quite frequently, said Rappler.

In the documentary, Johnson also said that he told Putin that further escalation of relations between Russia and Ukraine would only lead to additional support for Kyiv from Western states. This means that there would be more NATO involvement instead of less, as Moscow wanted.

Related Article: Antony Blinken Visits Israel Amid Rising Violence

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Canberra will continue to pursue peace in the Indo-Pacific after a top US general warned Western allies will need to use all possible measures to avoid a war with China.

Marine Corps Commandant David Berger said Washington and Canberra would need 'everything in the cupboard to prevent a conflict'.

'We can't slow down, we can't back off, we can't get comfortable,' he told an Australian Strategic Policy Institute briefing.

'The risk then is the other side moves a half step and we've lost the deterrent value that we're after in the first place.'

Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia will try to avoid war with China through diplomacy but will continue to build up an arsenal for deterrence

His comments come after a four-star US Air Force general wrote a memo warning of an all-out war with China within the next two years.

The Pentagon sought to distance itself from the comments, saying they didn't reflect the department's view.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia would continue to pursue a reduction in tensions and a path to peace in the region.

'Specifically in respect of Taiwan, what that means is that we stand for the proposition that there should be no alteration to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,' he told ABC radio.

'The starting point of that is to make sure that we are active in our diplomacy and that's what we've been doing.

'But it's also about making sure that we get the hard power equation right from an Australian point of view, and we're doing that as well.'

The government is poised to announce its choice of a US- or British-designed nuclear-powered submarine as part of the trilateral AUKUS agreement between the three nations.

The pathway to receiving the submarines and a plan for plugging interim capability gaps will be made public in March.

Mr Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are meeting with their counterparts in London, where the future of the AUKUS alliance will be on the agenda.

The pair will also meet with new prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr Marles said Australia welcomed a greater presence from Great Britain in the Indo-Pacific, adding it would be important for stability in the region.

He also hosed down speculation the submarine delivery timeline would be delayed after the US suddenly shut down four repair docks for maintenance.

'We certainly understand the size of the challenge for all three countries and there is an ambitious timeline that will be articulated when this announcement is made,' he told Nine's Today program.

Mr Marles is due to meet with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin later this week.
President Joe Biden answered a question on ending the three-year COVID emergencies by grabbing a reporter's hand and squeezing himself underneath her umbrella on Tuesday.

Before boarding a flight to New York, the 80-year-old walked over to NBC News' Chief White House Correspondent Kristen Welker when she asked: 'What's behind your decision to end the COVID emergency?'

She was referring to the move announced Monday night to draw down two COVID national emergencies by May 11, more than three years after they were first announced under Donald Trump.

In the bizarre encounter, a smiling Biden moved underneath the umbrella and told her: 'The COVID emergency ends when the Supreme Court ends it'.

It was a gesture once unthinkable during the height of the pandemic at the White House when social distancing and mask-wearing were strictly enforced.

Two policies enacted under COVID emergencies are in limbo as they are considered by the Supreme Court.

Title 42, which lets border officials turn migrants away, will be considered in the coming months and the Biden's massive student loan forgiveness plan is also in flux.

President Joe Biden answered a question on ending the three-year COVID emergencies by grabbing a reporter's hand and squeezing himself underneath her umbrella on Tuesday

Before boarding his flight to New York, the 80-year-old walked over to NBC News' Chief White House Correspondent Kristen Walker when she asked: 'What's behind your decision to end the COVID emergency?'

The smiling Biden moved underneath the umbrella and told her: 'The COVID emergency ends when the Supreme Court ends it'

Republicans are calling for an end to the restrictions now, but the White House wants the emergencies to wind down so plans can be put in place.

After the encounter with the press, Biden flew to the Big Apple to tout a $292 million mega grant that will be used to help build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, but didn't find the time to drive-by or acknowledge NYC's burgeoning migrant housing crisis in midtown Manhattan - a mere 10-minute car ride away.

With temperatures near freezing, scores of migrants have set up pop-up tents on the sidewalk outside the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan to protest being relocated to a Brooklyn shelter - a symptom of a much bigger problem facing NYC as the flow of migrants overwhelms city resources.

Biden was joined by the state's Democratic political powerhouse consortium: Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Gov. Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, amongst others,

The money is part of $1.2 billion in mega grants being awarded under the 2021 infrastructure law. The yearslong modernization of the Hudson project started in 2013 but stalled as Trump all but blocked Schumer over funding for the project in exchange for his support for his wall at the southern border - something that Schumer refused to do.

President Joe Biden speaks about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide funding for the Hudson River Tunnel project, at the West Side Rail Yard in New York City on January 31, 2023.

Only a 10-minute car ride away from Hudson Yards, President Biden did not take the opportunity to drive past the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan where a migrant crisis is unfolding

Biden is greeted by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., as he arrives to speak at the construction site of the Hudson Tunnel Project in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023

The current Hudson Tunnel Project is to repair 113-year old infrastructure which goes under the Hudson River was completed in 1910. In addition to age, the tunnels were damaged by saltwater during Hurricane Sandy in 2012

The Senate Majority Leader took aim at Trump for 'sabotaging' the long-running Gateway Program. 'The former president was shoveling you know what,' said Schumer with a wry smile.

Biden's recent trips along the East Coast corridor amount to a form of counterprogramming to the new House Republican majority as GOP lawmakers seek deep spending cuts in exchange for lifting the government's legal borrowing limit, saying that federal expenditures are hurting growth and that the budget should be balanced.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden are scheduled to officially meet at the White House on Wednesday to talk about the looming debt ceiling. The freshly minted Republican Speaker will press his case for spending cuts even though White House officials say Biden won't negotiate over the need to increase the federal debt limit.

'I don't think there's anyone in America who doesn't agree that there's some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate,' McCarthy told CBS News on Sunday.

Mitch Landrieu, the White House senior adviser responsible for coordinating implementation of the infrastructure law, told reporters on Tuesday that if Republicans are looking to 'take away money from projects, they ought to, I think, identify which projects they don't want.'

'And then you can have that discussion with the American people,' Landrieu added.

President Biden (middle) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (right) arrive at Wall St Heliport in New York City flanked by NYPD and Secret Service.

The immigrants, mostly from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, had been living in the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan until recently, when they were told to leave the temporary shelter.

NYC is trying to move some of them from the Watson Hotel in Manhattan to a new shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, but many of the men gathered outside the hotel said they wouldn't leave. The city sent MTA buses, but many of the people said they wouldn't board them, adding they were concerned about the conditions at the new shelter.

To some in the Biden administration, the Hudson Tunnel Project demonstrates what could be lost if spending cuts are put into place. In total, the construction is projected to result in 72,000 jobs, according to the White House.

The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel already carrying about 200,000 weekday passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, a long-delayed upgrade after decades in which the government underfunded infrastructure.

'We cannot lead the world in this century if we depend on infrastructure from early in the last one,' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The grant would be used to help complete the concrete casing for an additional rail tunnel beneath the river, preserving a right of way for the eventual tunnel. In total, the project is expected to cost $16 billion and help ease a bottleneck for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers going through New York City.

Biden made the case the project is critical far beyond greater New York.

'If this line shuts down for just one day it would cost our economy $100 million,' Biden said. 'And the current Hudson River rail tunnel can be a major chokepoint.'

Other projects to receive mega grants include the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Kentucky and Ohio; the Calcasieu River Bridge replacement in Louisiana; a commuter rail in Illinois; the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina; a transit and highway plan in California; and roadways in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

Not everyone has been pleased by the mega grant program. Some Republican lawmakers in Arizona say it gave preference to mass transit and repair projects over expansion and new construction.

Schumer criticized Trump for slowing the project during his term as he feuded with the Democrats.

'Get on the Joe Biden Express now because we are not stopping,' Schumer said. 'For four years, the former president was shoveling you know what and now we're going to put real shovels in the ground, wielded by real American workers.'
The trick is to try and force votes and I'm gonna try to do that,' he said

'Both parties - they hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it,' he told DailyMail.com. 'Mark my words: they'll try to never bring an up or down vote on it'

Hawley, a Republican, reintroduced a bill to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning and trading stocks - the Pelosi Act

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley predicted his colleagues would try to stonewall his congressional stock trading ban so they don't have to answer to the public when it's revealed they don't want to stop getting rich off day trading while they're privy to market-moving knowledge in Congress.

Hawley, a Republican, reintroduced a bill to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning and trading stocks, and used the name of his legislation to troll former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A stock trading ban has had bipartisan support - and quiet opposition - in both parties in both chambers. Hawley said he 'hopes' his legislation will come up for a vote this Congress, but 'the dirty secret here is that members of Congress hate this, they hate this bill.'

'Both parties - they hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it,' he told DailyMail.com after the Senate GOP caucus lunch on Capitol Hill.

'Mark my words: they'll try to never bring an up or down vote on it.'

'They don't want to vote on it because if they vote on it they have to explain their position, they do not want to do that.'

Hawley predicted there would be lots of legislative 'maneuvering' to avoid marking up the bill and putting it up for a vote. 'The trick is to try and force votes and I'm gonna try to do that,' he said.

The Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act would give members and their spouses six months after first assuming office to divest any holdings or put them in a blind trust - mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and Treasury bonds would still be allowed.

Any members found in violation of the bill would have to 'return their profits to American taxpayers.'

Two years after the bill was signed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) would conduct an audit of members' compliance.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley reintroduced a bill to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning and trading stocks, and used the name of his legislation to troll former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

'Members of Congress and their spouses shouldn't be using their position to get rich on the stock market,' Hawley tweeted as he announced the bill.

Also on Tuesday Hawley announced he would introduce legislation likely to be less popular with the American public - a bill that would ban TikTok nationwide.

The GOP senator previously introduced stock ban legislation under a different name last Congress.

Pelosi came under fire for her husband Paul's prolific stock trading throughout her time leading Democrats in the House. In July Paul unscrupulously purchased $5 million in semiconductor chip stock days before a House vote that handed $52 billion to semiconductor producers. He sold the shares at a loss to avoid 'misinformation' - or the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The Pelosis have a combined net worth of around $46 million.

The former speaker has long maintained that she doesn't discuss stocks with her husband. But video footage from Pelosi's daughter's documentary on the former speaker highlighted just how often Paul is in the room while Pelosi is conducting business by phone.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long maintained that she doesn't discuss stocks with her husband

Banning congressional stock trades has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill - last Congress there were a number of bills introduced in both the House and Senate.

Pelosi came under fire for at first saying lawmakers should be able to 'participate in the free market' before nominally supporting a stock ban.

Many Americans had hoped to see stock ban legislation last Congress after reports revealed hundreds of lawmakers regularly trade stocks directly related to their work in Congress.

In September Pelosi backed a bill to ban congressional stock trades that some government reform advocates said didn't go far enough. She and other Democratic leaders failed to bring a ban up for a vote on the House floor.

Nearly 100 House members bought or sold financial assets that intersected with the work of the committees they sit on, according to a New York Times report from September.

Of the 435 House members, 183 traded stocks through themselves or their immediate family members from 2019 to 2021. At least 97 bought or sold stocks, bonds or other financial assets through themselves or their spouses that directly intersected with their congressional work.

The trades that intersect with committee work are split evenly on partisan lines - 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

Since 2012, Congress members have been bound by the STOCK Act which requires they report stock transactions of $1,000 or more by themselves or their family members within 45 days. Members of Congress are also supposed to be confined by insider trading laws.
As Harry confirms he will attend historic event alone, FEMAIL reveals the royals he may spend time with (and he won't be seeing any of his other pals!)
The dodo is one of the most famous extinct creatures on the planet  but is there a chance it could be brought back to life?

Well, with advances in science and thanks to the first successful sequencing of the flightless bird's entire genome last year, experts think that's a possibility.

US startup Colossal Biosciences, based in Dallas, Texas, has just revealed plans to 'de-extinct' the dodo more than 350 years after it was wiped out from the island of Mauritius in the 17th century.

The company will inject $150 million (121 million) into the new project, which will go hand-in-hand with previously announced ventures to bring back the extinct woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger.

Reborn? Scientists have launched a project to bring back the dodo using stem cell technology

How will it be done? This graphic explains what scientists will need to do to achieve the feat

WHY DID THE DODO GO EXTINCT? Little is known about the life of the dodo, despite the notoriety that comes with being one of the world's most famous extinct species in history. The bird gets its name from the Portuguese word for 'fool' after colonialists mocked its apparent lack of fear of human hunters. The 3ft (one metre) tall bird was wiped out by visiting sailors and the dogs, cats, pigs and monkeys they brought to the island in the 17th century. Because the species lived in isolation on Mauritius for hundreds of years, the bird was fearless, and its inability to fly made it easy prey. Its last confirmed sighting was in 1662 after Dutch sailors first spotted the species just 64 years earlier in 1598. As it had evolved without any predators, it survived in bliss for centuries. The arrival of human settlers to the islands meant that its numbers rapidly diminished as it was eaten by the new species invading its habitat - humans. Sailors and settlers ravaged the docile bird and it went from a successful animal occupying an environmental niche with no predators to extinct in a single lifetime. Advertisement

To achieve the feat, scientists first had to sequence the dodo's entire genome from bone specimens and other fragments, which has now been done.

Next, they will have to gene-edit the skin cell of a close living relative, which in the dodo's case is the Nicobar pigeon, so that its genome matches that of the extinct bird.

This genetically-altered cell then has to be used to create an embryo  in the same way as Dolly the Sheep in 1996  and brought to term in a living surrogate mother.

Scientists hope that the chick that hatches will resemble something between the Nicobar pigeon and the dodo.

They're aiming for it to be born within the next six years.

However, the expert leading the dodo de-extinction project  paleogeneticist Beth Shapiro  cautioned that it would not be easy to recreate a 'living, breathing, actual animal' in the form of the 3ft (one metre) tall bird.

It was her team that sequenced the bird's entire genome for the first time in March 2022, having spent years struggling to find well enough preserved DNA.

'Mammals are simpler,' said Professor Shapiro, of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

'If I have a cell and it's living in a dish in the lab and I edit it so that it has a bit of Dodo DNA, how do I then transform that cell into a whole living, breathing, actual animal?

'The way we can do this is to clone it, the same approach that was used to create Dolly the Sheep, but we don't know how to do that with birds because of the intricacies of their reproductive pathways.'

She added: 'So there needs to be another approach for birds and this is one really fundamental technological hurdle in de-extinction.

'There are groups working on different approaches for doing that and I have little doubt that we are going to get there but it is an additional hurdle for birds that we don't have for mammals.'

The dodo gets its name from the Portuguese word for 'fool', after colonialists mocked its apparent lack of fear of human hunters.

It also became prey for cats, dogs and pigs that had been brought with sailors exploring the Indian Ocean.

Because the species lived in isolation on Mauritius for hundreds of years, the bird was fearless, and its inability to fly made it easy prey.

Its last confirmed sighting was in 1662 after Dutch sailors first spotted the species just 64 years earlier in 1598.

US startup Colossal Biosciences, based in Dallas, Texas, has just announced plans to 'de-extinction' the flightless bird more than 350 years after it was wiped out in the 17th century

However, the expert leading the dodo de-extinction project  paleogeneticist Beth Shapiro (pictured left)  cautioned that it would not be easy to recreate a 'living, breathing, actual animal' in the form of the flightless bird. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal is right

Since launching in September 2021, Colossal Biosciences has raised a total of $225 million (181 million) in funding to support its initiatives.

Professor Shapiro, who is also the company's lead paleogeneticist, said: 'The dodo is a prime example of a species that became extinct because we  people  made it impossible for them to survive in their native habitat.

'Having focused on genetic advancements in ancient DNA for my entire career and as the first to fully sequence the dodo's genome, I am thrilled to collaborate with Colossal and the people of Mauritius on the de-extinction and eventual re-wilding of the dodo.

'I particularly look forward to furthering genetic rescue tools focused on birds and avian conservation.'

It was Professor Shapiro's team that sequenced the bird's entire genome for the first time in March 2022, having spent years struggling to find well enough preserved DNA

History: The dodo gets its name from the Portuguese word for 'fool', after colonialists mocked its apparent lack of fear of human hunters

HOW WAS DOLLY THE SHEEP CREATED? Dolly was the only surviving lamb from 277 cloning attempts and was created from a mammary cell taken from a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep. She was created in 1996 at a laboratory in Edinburgh using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The pioneering technique involved transferring the nucleus of an adult cell into an unfertilised egg cell whose own nucleus had been removed. An electric shock stimulated the hybrid cell to begin dividing and generate an embryo, which was then implanted into the womb of a surrogate mother. Dolly was the first successfully produced clone from a cell taken from an adult mammal. Dolly's creation showed that genes in the nucleus of a mature cell are still able to revert back to an embryonic totipotent state - meaning the cell can divide to produce all of the difference cells in an animal. Advertisement

Colossal today revealed it had received $150 million (121 million) in funding which the company said was enabling it to launch its Avian Genomics Group.

'This will pursue the de-extinction of the iconic Dodo, a bird species that was wiped out of its native ecosystem, Mauritius, as a direct result of human settlement and ecosystem competition in 1662,' the firm added.

'The World Wildlife Fund found that in the last 50 years, Earth's wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69 per cent at the hands of mankind,' said Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal.

'By gathering the smartest minds across investing, genomics, conservation and synthetic biology, we have the opportunity to reverse human-inflicted biodiversity loss while developing technologies for both conservation and human healthcare.

'We are honoured to be backed by a dedicated and diverse group of investors and are excited to work to bring additional species back to the planet.'

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the world's bird population has declined by more than three billion in the last 50 years.

The IUCN Red List also now categorises more than 400 bird species as either extinct, extinct in the wild, or critically endangered.

Colossal said it was on a mission to 'reverse these staggering statistics through genetic rescue techniques and its de-extinction toolkit'.

The company's latest announcement comes less than a year and a half after it announced plans to de-extinct two other famous species: the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger.

The latter, also known as the tyhlacine, roamed the Earth for millions of years before being wiped out by human hunting in the 1930s.

Once ranging throughout Australia and New Guinea, the Tasmanian tiger disappeared from the mainland around 3,000 years ago.

It has long been thought that this was due to competition with humans and dogs.

The remaining population  isolated on the island of Tasmania  was hunted to extinction in the early 20th century and the last known individual died at Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Woolly mammoths, meanwhile, could be brought back from extinction within six years in the form of elephantmammoth hybrids, the company has suggested.

To bring the dodo back to life, scientists would have to edit the DNA of a living relative. In the dodo's case, its closest relative is the Nicobar pigeon (pictured)

There has been a lot of excitement that woolly mammoths could also be created in the lab

Colossal Biosciences, a startup based in Dallas, Texas, has announced plans to start the 'de-extinction' of the species, using stem cell technology

Having once lived across much of Europe, North America and northern Asia, the iconic Ice Age species went into a terminal decline some 10,000 years ago.

The demise of the creatures  which could grow to some 1112 feet tall and weigh up to 6 tonnes  has been linked to warming climates and hunting by our ancestors.

Colossal plans on using mammoth DNA that has been frozen in ice for thousands of years and combining it with modern-day genetic material from Asian elephants in order to create a hybrid animal that most closely resembles the extinct creature.

Its team of scientists claim that introducing the hybrids into the Arctic steppe might help to restore the degraded habitat and fight some of the impacts of climate change.

In particular, they argued, the elephantmammoth mixes would knock down trees, thereby helping to restore Arctic grasslands  which keeps the ground cool.
A 35-foot humpback whale that washed ashore on Monday morning on a New York beach has died.

The male whale, discovered by locals at Lido Beach West Town Park in Hempstead on Long Island was one of 10 cetaceans that washed ashore over the past two months along the shores of New York and New Jersey.

Officials said it was still alive when found but sadly perished a short time later.

Crews were forced to deploy a heavy crane to pull the huge animal, estimated to weigh around 32 tons, from the water so it would not be washed back out to sea.

The animal showed no obvious signs of trauma, and federal authorities are scheduled to perform a necropsy Tuesday to determine the cause of death.

A man walks past a dead male humpback whale on Lido Beach in Hempstead, Long Island, New York

A dead male humpback whale that, according to town officials, washed ashore overnight on Long Island's south-facing shore

In a picture taken with a drone, emergency crews try to determine how to handle the carcass of a humpback whale that washed up on shore in Lido Beach, New York, USA, 30 January 2023

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is responsible for the nation's oceans and fisheries, said 19 humpback whales were stranded last year along the U.S. Atlantic coast.

During the first month of this year, there have already been seven of the whales beached from Maine to Florida.

But the town of Hempstead hasn't seen one in several years, Town Supervisor Don Clavin told News 12.

'This is by far the largest,' he said. 'The crews that have been here for almost two decades have never seen a whale this size.'

He later added: 'It's 35-feet-long. Just pulling it up on the shore, we had to bring in a heavy crane and the wires were snapping because of the tonnage required to bring it to higher ground.'

View of a dead male humpback whale that, according to town officials, washed ashore overnight on Long Island's south facing shore in Lido Beach, New York, U.S., January 30, 2023

There have been seven whale deaths in the last few weeks on the beaches of New York and neighboring New Jersey

Humpback whales live in oceans around the world but travel incredible distances every year, conducting one of the largest migrations of any mammal on the planet.

Some populations swim 5,000 miles from tropical breeding grounds to colder, plentiful feeding grounds - this is why it is difficult to estimate population size, according to the NOAA.

Of the 14 distinct populations, 12 are estimated to number more than 2,000 humpback whales each, and two are estimated to number fewer than 2,000.

Some populations (such as those off eastern and western Australia) are believed to number in excess of 20,000 animalsa remarkable recovery given that the same populations were almost eradicated by whaling almost sixty years ago.

By contrast, the smallest known population is one which inhabits the Arabian Sea year round, and may number as few as 80 individuals.

No one really knows why whales beach themselves, or why so many whales are washing up on the shores of the East Coast, but there are several theories as to why the animals may end up on the shoreline.

The whale was estimated to weigh around 32 tons

A dead male humpback whale that, according to town officials, washed ashore overnight, is pictured on Long Island's south facing shore in Lido Beach, New York, U.S., January 30, 2023

A U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) officer walks past a dead male humpback whale

Humpback whales live in oceans around the world. They travel incredible distances every year and have one of the longest migrations of any mammal on the planet

Individual cases are typically put down to sickness or injury where a whale is unable to prevent drifting into shore or actively seeks the shoreline.

Navigational errors can also befall older whales or those in unfamiliar territory, as gently sloping coastlines and food-rich ocean currents close to shore confuse the animals and lead them too close to the beach.

But human interference is often cited as the primary reason for beachings.

Shipping and military sonar interference can disrupt the animal's ability to communicate and navigate, causing distress, disorientation, and even decompression sickness as they swim to the surface.

Other threats to humpback whales include a decline in food like Krill due to a combination of climate change and industrial-scale fishing.

Humpback whales can also become entangled by many different gear types including moorings, traps, pots, or gill nets.

Once entangled, if they are unable to move the gear, the whale may drag and swim with attached gear for long distances, ultimately resulting in fatigue, compromised feeding ability, or severe injury.
A large comet that scientists think may have come from another solar system is currently streaking towards our sun.

The 'alien' space rock, which at 3.7 miles (six kilometres) wide is the size of Mount Kilimanjaro, was first spotted in 1986 with the help of a homemade cardboard telescope.

Fast forward nearly 40 years and 96P/Machholz 1 is about to make its closest approach to the sun in more than half a decade today (Tuesday), having zipped inside the orbit of Mercury.

Experts think it may have been sent on a peculiar orbit after being ejected from its original solar system by the gravity of a giant exoplanet.

Unusual: A large comet called 96P/Machholz 1 (pictured) that scientists think may have come from another solar system is currently streaking towards our sun

HOW OFTEN DOES 96P/MACHHOLZ 1 APPROACH THE SUN? Machholz 1 has been able to make five close passes to the sun since it was discovered in 1986. It was spotted by the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. Its next perihelion will be in 2028. Advertisement

A long time later it could have had its trajectory bent following a run-in with Jupiter, astronomers have suggested, which in turn ensnared it around our star.

The comet is also unusual because it is low in carbon and contains less than 1.5 per cent of the expected levels of the chemical cyanogen, analysis has revealed, leading scientists to conclude that it could have come from another solar system.

Experts now hope to be able to unlock more of the space rock's secrets as it makes its way towards our star once again.

It is currently being monitored by the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which also kept an eye out when the comet made its perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017.

'96P is a very atypical comet, both in composition and in behaviour, so we never know exactly what we might see,' Karl Battams, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC, told spaceweather.com.

A comet known as 96P/Machholz 1 was briefly captured in October 2017 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), before disappearing again five days later

'Hopefully we can get some beautiful science out of this and share [it] with everyone as soon as we can.'

The comet will make its nearest approach to the sun in five years today (Tuesday), when it will be three times closer than Mercury.

One of the many fascinating things about Machholz 1 is how its size allows it to survive.

Most comets heading in the direction of the sun tend to be smaller than 32 feet (10 metres) wide, meaning they burn up as they approach.

But the enormous Machholz 1 is protected from being fully evaporated, so has been able to make five close passes since it was discovered in 1986.

Keeping a close eye: The comet is currently being monitored by the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft (pictured), which also watched the comet make its perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017

It was spotted nearly 40 years ago by American amateur astronomer Don Machholz, who is credited with the visual discovery of 12 comets that bear his name.

The Virginia native died in August last year at the age of 69, having spent more than 9,000 hours comet hunting during a career spanning over half a century.

If the space rock is not alien in origin  as in it didn't come from another solar system  then scientists say it could have had its cyanogen blasted off by repeat journeys around the sun.

According to NASA, Machholz 1 is the SOHO spacecraft's 'most frequent cometary visitor'.

The probe has spotted more than 3,000 comets since its launch in 1995, although its primary mission is to observe the sun for coronal mass ejections or solar flares that can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth.
Is there anything more adorable than a picture of two baby porcupines?

Well yes actually, the fact that they're known as porcupettes.

The pair, one male and one female, were born at London Zoo earlier this month to parents Hettie and Henning and spent their first couple of weeks snuggling up to their mum in a cosy indoor den.

Your next question might be: 'Isn't it rather painful for a porcupine to give birth, given the spikes and everything?'

So cute: Two baby porcupines - named Hector and Hinata - were born at London Zoo earlier this month

Keeping warm: The pair spent their first couple of weeks snuggling up to their mum in a cosy indoor den

What are Cape porcupines? Cape porcupines are nocturnal rodents, native to central and southern Africa. They are the largest of all the porcupine species and Africa's second largest rodent, with adults capable of weighing up to 33lbs (15kg). Their quills measure up to 17 inches (45cm)  the same length as a rounders bat. As expert foragers and diggers, the animals are considered 'ecosystem engineers' but are increasingly under threat because of habitat destruction and hunting. Advertisement

Not to worry, zookeeper Veronica Heldt can allay those fears.

She said: 'Thankfully for mum Hettie, baby porcupines are born with short, soft quills that harden at about one week of age, so labour wasn't as painful as people might imagine!'

Heldt, who discovered the 'spiky bundles of joy' after monitoring the zoo's 'porcupine-cam', added: 'Our new arrivals are developing really well.

'Although they're only two weeks old, the nocturnal little ones are already confidently exploring their surroundings and bonding well with their new family.

'We've named the precious pair Hector and Hinata; all the porcupines in the family have names starting with the letter 'H' so Hector and Hinata join parents Hettie and Henning, nine-month-old Hershey and five-month-old Henry.'

The porcupettes have already had their first health check from the zoo's vet team and currently weigh a healthy 1lb 7oz (660g) and 1lb 10oz (750g) respectively.

Cape porcupines are nocturnal rodents, native to central and southern Africa.

They are the largest of all the porcupine species and Africa's second largest rodent, with adults capable of weighing up to 33lbs (15kg).

The porcupettes have already had their first health check from the zoo's vet team and currently weigh a healthy 1lb 7oz (660g) and 1lb 10oz (750g) respectively

Cape porcupines are nocturnal rodents, native to central and southern Africa. As expert foragers and diggers, the animals are considered 'ecosystem engineers' but are increasingly under threat because of habitat destruction and hunting

Their quills measure up to 17 inches (45cm)  the same length as a rounders bat.

As expert foragers and diggers, the animals are considered 'ecosystem engineers' but are increasingly under threat because of habitat destruction and hunting.

As well as working to protect threatened species around the world, scientists and conservationists from the Zoological Society of London  the conservation charity behind London Zoo work with communities to protect and preserve healthy ecosystems.
But he was only shown a yellow card for his rash and poorly-timed challenge

Liverpool's Fabinho should have received a red card for his ugly challenge from behind on Brighton's Evan Ferguson, the refereeing body have admitted following outrage from fans that the tackle went unpunished.

Referee David Coote did not dismiss Fabinho in real time after he sunk his studs into Ferguson during Sunday's FA Cup tie at the Amex Stadium, while VAR Neil Swarbrick did not correct the call from Stockley Park.

The PGMOL have now accepted that was an error with new refereeing chief Howard Webb feeling it is important for the organisation to take a transparent approach when major mistakes such as this are made.

Fabinho (floor) hacked Ferguson (left) down from behind in Sunday's FA Cup clash with Brighton

Fans and pundits believe Fabinho was lucky to keep his place on the pitch after his poor tackle

It is felt by Webb that there was enough evidence for Swarbrick to recommend a pitch-side review by Coote, who most likely would have sent off Fabinho upon second viewing of the incident.

PGMOL sources say they want to make it clear that this type of challenge should result in a red.

Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton could not believe Fabinho escaped a dismissal on Sunday, saying: 'The guilt was written all over his face.

Referee David Coote only showed the Brazilian a yellow card for his rash challenge

Fabinho (red) quickly protested his innocence after his challenge on Evan Ferguson

'The sending off for Sheffield United's Daniel Jebbison  for next to nothing  against Wrexham made this one even worse.'

Brighton won regardless of Liverpool keeping 11 men on the pitch with Kaoru Mitoma scoring a stoppage-time winner.
COVID-19 was found to be a leading cause of death among children despite having a relatively low mortality rate. The coronavirus was observed to be the underlying cause of death for more than 940,000 people in the United States.

This includes 1,300 deaths among children and young people aged 19 years and below. It has, until now, been a mystery how the burden of deaths from the disease compared with other leading causes of death in the same age group.

COVID-19 is a Leading Cause of Child Deaths

Researchers at the University of Oxford's Department of Computer Science conducted a study that investigated this using data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) databases. The team published the results of their research in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Key findings of the study period from Aug. 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, include COVID-19 ranking eighth among causes of death for children and young people aged 19 and younger. It was also found to be fifth among all disease-related causes of death and first in deaths caused by infectious or respiratory diseases, as per News Medical.

The team also found the coronavirus to be the cause of 2% of deaths in children and young people. It had an overall death rate of 1.0 per 100,000 of the population aged 19 and below. This was dwarfed by the leading cause, perinatal conditions, which had an overall death rate of 12.7 per 100,000. However, COVID-19 ranked ahead of both influenza and pneumonia, which combined only to have a 0.6 per 100,000 death rate.

Similar to other diseases, the researchers found that COVID-19 deaths followed a U-shaped pattern across the age group. The numbers were the highest in infants younger than one year, with a rate of 4.3 per 100,000, second highest in those aged 15 to 19, with a rate of 1.8 per 100,000; and lowest among kids aged five to nine, with a rate of 0.4 per 100,000.

The team also discovered that COVID-19 deaths among children and young people were higher when the Delta and Omicron variants were the dominant strains. This likely reflects the higher number of infected people during these waves.

Read Also: FDA Proposes Change in Vaccination Strategy

Relatively Low Mortality Rate

While the coronavirus is known to amplify the impacts of other diseases, such as influenza and pneumonia, the team focused their study on deaths directly caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to Eureka Alert.

Despite these numbers, when compared to other age groups, the team found a substantially lower overall risk of death from COVID-19 in children and young people. The researchers suggest that the results show that public health measures, such as vaccinations, staying home, and ventilation, play an essential role in reducing disease transmission and mitigating severe illness among the younger population.

The chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, Dr. Sean O'Leary, said that pediatric deaths are rare. He added that it was something that the team did not expect to happen but noted that it was uniquely tragic, said CNN.

Related Article: COVID-19 Boosters Reduce Transmission Chances

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They turned their attention to him after their 70m bid for Caicedo was rejected

Arsenal have agreed terms with Chelsea over a deal for Jorginho after focusing all of their attention on the Italian international after accepting Brighton's resistance to selling Moises Caicedo.

Arsenal were eager to sign Caicedo, but saw their 70million bid rejected - having previously tabled an offer of 60million on Friday and then 65m plus a further 5m in add-ons on Sunday.

Therefore, Arsenal decided to turn their attention to Jorginho and Sportsmail can now reveal that the Gunners have agreed to sign the 31-year-old on an 18 month-deal worth 12million.

Arsenal have agreed terms with Chelsea over a deal for Italian midfielder Jorginho (above)

Mikel Arteta has been desperate to add a midfielder to his ranks during the January transfer window as both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are currently out injured.

Sportsmail previously reported how Arsenal had been deliberating over whether they should make a third offer for Caicedo amid fears they could damage their relationship with Brighton.

The Gunners decided to accept Brighton 's resistance to selling Moises Caicedo (above)

Mikel Arteta has been desperate to add a midfielder to his ranks during the January transfer window as both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are currently out injured

Arsenal believe they have a good relationship with Brighton - having successfully signed Ben White from the Amex Stadium in deal worth 50million - and didn't want to jeopardise it.

Therefore, they turned their attention to Jorginho as Chelsea were open to selling the 31-year-old as his contract at the club was set to expire this summer and the potential arrival of Enzo Fernandez would push him further out of the picture.

Jorginho arrived at Stamford Bridge from Napoli in 2018, signing a deal worth 50m. He went on feature 213 times for club, score 29 goals and register nine assists.

However, the 31-year-old has struggled for form recently - with the Blues currently sitting 10th in the Premier League table.

Chelsea were open to selling Jorginho as his contract at the club was set to expire this summer and the potential arrival of Enzo Fernandez would push him further out of the picture

Therefore, Todd Boehly has decided to change things up and invest in several new players during the January window. He has brought in the likes of Joao Felix, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Noni Madueke, Benoit Badiashile and Mykhaylo Mudryk.

Chelsea are also looking to secure the services of Fernandez before the January window closes this evening.
Jorginho's shock deadline day move from Chelsea to Arsenal may have come as a surprise to many, but none more so than Blues defender Marc Cucurella, who was left dumbfounded by the news during an interview on Tuesday.

The Gunners announced the signing of Jorginho for 12m on Tuesday evening, with the Italian joining the club on an 18-month deal.

Arsenal had initially hoped to lure Brighton starlet Moises Caicedo to the Emirates on deadline day, having tabled a 70m offer to the Seagulls on Monday, but swiftly changed course to recruit the experienced Italian.

Chelsea's Marc Cucurella could not hide his shock after hearing of Jorginho's switch to Arsenal

Marc Cucurella's reaction when we told him Jorginho was joining Arsenal  pic.twitter.com/9j4zIte2Wx  GOAL (@goal) January 31, 2023

Despite reading reports of Jorginho's move on Monday, Cucurella was completely taken aback by the transfer news during an interview on deadline day.

The Spanish star, who joined Chelsea from Brighton last summer, was asked which team-mate was the 'smartest' within Graham Potter's squad - and his answer prompted a wholesome moment on camera.

Jorginho's agent leaked a image of the Italian posing in an Arsenal shirt for the first time on deadline day, confirming the surprise move

'The smartest player in the squad is Jorginho, 100 per cent,' the left-back told GOAL for a forthcoming episode of their Simply the Best series.

His response was quickly met by murmurs off-camera, before the interviewers informed him that Jorginho was no longer part of the club.

Cucurella was subsequently told that Jorginho had travelled to Arsenal for his medical and that there were already leaked photographs of him in a Gunners jersey on Instagram.

'I read it yesterday, but no,' the Spaniard replied with a dumbfounded expression, before laughing at the shock deadline day move.

While Arsenal and Chelsea fans speculated the credibility of the transfer story, the midfielder posed for photographs in his new colours alongside his agent Joao Santos.

The image was later leaked by the agent on deadline day and it all-but confirmed Jorginho's switch to the Emirates, marking one of the stories of the window.

The picture also showcases Jorginho in tracksuits wearing kit No 20, suggesting that the playmaker will inherit the jersey last worn by left-back Nuno Tavares, who is on loan with Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
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Take an eye-opening world tour, courtesy of incredible images by some of the best photographers around.

Their astounding work, said to 'present a diverse and glorious view of life on our planet', has deservedly been honoured in the 2022 global Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) contest.

This year, almost 20,000 images were submitted by amateur and professional photographers from 154 countries. Among the prize winners, there's a heartwarming picture of a pair of polar bears embracing in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, a transfixing image of a cloud passing over 'snow monsters' - snow-covered trees - in Japan, and a shot of a cluster of penguin chicks hiding from predators in Antarctica.

However, it's the work of Slovenian photographer Matjaz Krivic that has truly captivated the judges, earning him the title of Travel Photographer of the Year. His winning portfolio comprises poignant photographs of the two last remaining northern white rhinos in the world, as well as extraordinary pictures of a volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands.

TPOTY founder Chris Coe said: 'Our latest winners form a fascinating collection of images. From the intensely powerful to the exquisitely subtle, sensitive and beautiful, they reach every corner of the world and cover every facet of travelling with a camera. Conservation and sustainability permeate the collection and illustrate the role that photography can play in creating awareness of the issues facing our planet.'

The winning shots can all be viewed in the online winners gallery at tpoty.com. And the photos will go on display outside in Arnos Vale, Bristol, between the Royal Photographic Society and the Martin Parr Foundation between May 1 and May 31. Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel's pick of the winners - with work by gold medal winner Krivic at the very bottom...

The overall winner of the 'People's Choice' award and highly commended in the Water category, this fascinating picture by French photographer Romain Miot of a salt caravan  a herd of camels ferrying salt across the desert - was captured in the Sahara Desert in Mauritania. Miot says: No roads lead to this place, so we navigated by compass. Hundreds of dromedaries [a type of camel] and their masters were present on this desert plain where nothing lives. Two wells had been dug to water the camels before the caravan left for Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso to sell the salt. Reflecting on how the photo turned out, he says: When I returned from the trip, I realised that this image of a camel owner ordering the dromedaries looked like a conductor with an orchestra

A special mention in the Deserts to Rainforests category goes to this stunning photograph of Mount Zao, which lies between the Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures in Japan. Describing the photograph, native photographer Kazuaki Koseki says: A rare lenticular cloud  said to be the sign of bad weather  looms over the snow monsters, the snow-covered trees, on Mount Zao as night approaches

British photographer John Seager turned his camera on the Cone of Arita, a peak formed by salt and black lava in Argentinas Salar de Arizaro salt flats, for this mesmerising photograph. He describes the Cone of Arita as a spectacular' geological formation that seems to be lost in the vast desert of the salt flats. He adds: Using a drone, I was able to capture the magnificent shadow of Arita on this beautiful, cloudless evening. The shot earns the gold medal in the single image section of the Deserts to Rainforests category

A snowy owl flies through falling snow in Connecticut in this spellbinding shot by Yaron Schmid, who says: After watching her for a few hours from a safe distance, she finally flew into the snowstorm.' The U.S photographer describes the picture  the recipient of a special mention in the Blue Planet, Green Planet category - as his dream shot

Earning a special mention in the Blue Planet, Green Planet category, this photograph shows Adelie penguin chicks finding refuge in an intricate tunnel system formed in icebergs in Antarctica. Australian photographer Scott Portelli explains: Using these passageways to avoid predators, they group together for safety. Leopard seals patrol the surrounding waters, while skuas [predatory seabirds] survey the vulnerable chicks from above

This beautiful photograph by Katy Gomez depicts a child of the Baka community in a jungle in southeast Cameroon. Describing this shot, which receives a special mention in the Cultures category, Gomez says: A diminutive, graceful figure appears from the jungle, a faint accent of colour in a vanishing world. She continues: For thousands of years Baka pygmies have lived in harmony with magnificent jungles in southeast Cameroon, but within a generation, much of their unique lifestyle will be gone forever due to deforestation and industrial interests'

This majestic photograph of Japans Sogi Falls was captured on a day when temperatures dipped below freezing point, Singaporean photographer Weizhong Deng reveals. He says: I was initially disappointed to see the entire [waterfall] covered with a thick mist upon arriving before dawn fortunately, when the sun rose, it lit up the falls beautifully and cleared away some of the mist. The picture is commended in the Water category

This powerful shot by Polish photographer Artur Stankiewicz received a special mention in the 'Art of Monochrome' category. It shows wildebeest crossing the Mara river in northern Serengeti in Tanzania in truly dramatic style, kicking up a massive dust cloud as they rush into the water

LEFT: A chimpanzee on Cameroons Pongo-Songo island is the subject of this hypnotising photograph by Spanish photographer Quim Fabregas Elias. He says: Chimpanzees in Cameroon are under constant threat from poaching for bush meat, by deforestation and by the trafficking of the babies. Pongo-Songo island is a sanctuary on the Sanaga river, managed by [conservation group] Papaye International, France, where rescued injured and orphaned chimpanzees are able to roam freely and safely in their natural habitat. The picture received a special mention in the Art of Monochrome category. RIGHT: This arresting picture by Chinese photographer Cui Zhoufan shows a horse in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang that has become panicked by a 'fierce gale' ripping through the landscape. Impressed, the judges have awarded the picture a special mention in the Art of Monochrome category

Bagging a special mention in the Art of Monochrome category, this picture shows a distinctive water feature at Dubai's Expo 2020 event, an exhibition that featured immersive displays. Indian photographer Shyjith Onden Cheriyath, who was behind the lens, explains: From the start of Expo 2020 Dubai, this unique water feature became one of the biggest attractions. Visitors stop off to dip their feet in the waterfall that crashes to the ground before disappearing into the stone. The water also dances to music as people frolic in the tumbling stream below

Taken by U.S photographer Dana Allen, this shot - a beetles eye view - homes in on the legs of an African elephant among a herd in Zimbabwes Hwange National Park. The picture is part of a portfolio of work that has been named a runner-up in the Art of Monochrome category

Israeli photographer Roie Galitz was behind the camera for this emotive shot of two polar bears embracing. Titled White Wedding, it was captured on the Van Mijenfjorden fjord in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Galitz says: During this honeymoon, a blizzard and a whiteout made it very difficult for humans, but the polar bear couple didnt seem to care. The picture is part of a series that snapped up the top prize in the Art of Monochrome category

This striking shot of a heron with its lunch, snared on Kenyas Masai Mara National Reserve, has made Rohan Shah a runner-up for the Young Travel Photographer of the Year 14 and Under award. Shah, 14, explains: The grey heron managed to get hold of a very slimy skink [a type of lizard], by piercing the creatures head. The heron flew away, showing off its large wingspan

This atmospheric photograph helped 18-year-old British photographer Cal Cole earn a runner-up accolade for the Young Travel Photographer of the Year 15 to 18 Years award. I feel the contrast between nature and urban is very interesting, Cole says of the image, taken on a foggy evening in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, in woodland that lies next to a busy junction

Behold one of the pictures that won Matjaz Krivic the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2022. Captured in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Nanyuki, Kenya, the poignant shot shows Najin, one of the last two northern white rhinos left in the world, resting in the heat of the afternoon with her caretaker Zachary Mutai. Krivic explains: The northern white rhino is all but extinct. The two last males died several years ago. The two females are still with us, but [theyre] too feeble to bear babies. The photographer explains that the rhinos' eggs are now being artificially fertilised by sperm from the late male northern white rhinos. This is done in hopes that surrogate rhinos from another subspecies can carry the northern white back from the brink
After nearly a decade, an abandoned UK airport is set to reopen with bosses aiming to offer budget passenger flights to Europe.

Manston Airport, which served as a home to the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the World Wars, is undergoing renovations with hopes of reopening in 2026.

The estimated 500million could result in affordable flights from Kent to holiday hotspots including the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus and Malta, The Sun reported.

Airport owners RiverOak Strategic Partners want the facility to initially open as a cargo airport, operating five flights per day. If the project proves profitable, owners would like to offer passenger routes by 2028.

After nearly a decade, abandoned Manston Airport is set to reopen with bosses aiming to offer budget passenger flights to Europe

The estimated 500million could result in affordable flights from Kent to holiday hotspots including the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus and Malta

Manston will undergo a 'huge renovation' before it is operational again.

As the facility has received few updates since the RAF left in 1999, officials need to update the airport's terminals and runways.

Crews will also need to demolish existing buildings and create new roads that are better equipped to deal with high-volume traffic.

While the airport is years away from offering passenger flights, bosses are said to be in talks budget airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air.

Dutch company KLM could also be one of the carriers to return to the facility, records indicate.

MailOnline has approached RiverOak Strategic Partners for comment.

Manston Airport, which served as a home to the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the World Wars, is undergoing renovations with hopes of reopening in 2026

Airport owners RiverOak Strategic Partners want the facility to initially open as a cargo airport, operating five flights per day. If the project proves profitable, owners would like to offer passenger routes by 2028

READ MORE: Whether you're a frugal family, a canny couple or a savvy solo traveller, here's how to save money on your next holiday Views for days: The glorious Ocean Hill, in Gran Canaria, offers different board options Advertisement

The airport, historically known as RAF Manston, was first used in 1916 during World War I. The facility was utilised again during the Second World War due to its proximity to the English Channel.

Almost destroyed and littered with unexploded bombs, Manston suffered some of the worst bombing of any airfield in the 1940s, during the Battle of Britain, and has a rich history of flight.

It was regularly used by badly-damaged aeroplanes because it was so close to the front-line and had a long runway, becoming an emergency landing ground for bomber crews on the east coast.

There have been persistent rumours of a mutiny at Manston during the Battle of Britain, with claims that ground crew were so angered by constant attacks on the airfield that they lost their morale.

It has been suggested that the men refused to come out of their air raid shelter, and only emerged when threatened by an officer with a gun. However, claims of any mutiny have never been proven.

The airport also served as the site where Dambusters ace Sir Barnes Wallace carried out tests on the revolutionary bouncing bomb during World War II.

Most recently, the site has been used as a filming location and was featured last year in Sam Mendes' Empire of Light.
Serial killer Stephen Reid will put himself under even more pressure on Coronation Street next week, as he plots a secret business deal behind Carla Connor's back.

In upcoming scenes, Stephen joins forces with Sarah Platt and Michael Bailey to bring in a slew of new clients, even asking Beth Tinker to work through the night to make up some samples.

But, Stephen struggles to hide his deal from Carla when she nearly spots the client in the factory... will she realise what he's been up to.

SPOILER: Serial killer Stephen Reid will put himself under even more pressure on Coronation Street next week, as he plots a secret business deal behind Carla Connor's back

Stephen (Todd Boyce) has been desperate to boost his earnings in recent weeks after killing Teddy Thompkins (Grant Burgin) and his son Leo (Joe Frost) to hide his mounting debts.

And next week, Michael (Ryan Russell) and Sarah (Tina O'Brien) agree they need to think big with their designs and bombard all of the retailers on Stephen's list.

However, it appears that Sarah's workload could spark tension in her relationship with Adam, as she turns down their dinner plans.

Cashing in: In upcoming scenes, Stephen joins forces with Sarah Platt and Michael Bailey to bring in new clients, even asking Beth Tinker to work through the night to make up samples

At odds: Sarah's focus on work begins to cause tension in her marriage to husband Adam, admitting that now isn't the right time to try for a baby

Joining forces: Having spent all night working on samples, Beth admits to Michael that her machine has jammed, and if Carla sees it she'll realise she's been moonlighting.

Admitting she needs to work late again as they're trying to win a big contract, Adam (Samuel Robertson) tells her that they need to make time to talk about having a baby.

Sarah admits that now isn't the right time to be thinking about a baby, and in the factory she watches as Beth (Lisa George) works away on new samples.

Having spent all night working on them, Beth admits to Michael that her machine has jammed, and if Carla (Alison King) sees it she'll realise she's been moonlighting.

Oops! Their secret plans are nearly exposed when Carla arrives at the factory

Sarah and Michael meet up with Rufus from Donahues and show him their samples, while Stephen shows him around the factory.

However, his cover is nearly blown when Carla returns and Stephen quickly steers Rufus away.

In the bistro, Rufus quizzes Stephen, who hastily makes out that Carla is his PA.

Deal! Sarah and Michael meet up with Rufus from Donahues and show him their samples, while Stephen shows him around the factory

The trio's plans work as Rufus announces that he'd like the exclusive rights to their products.

Peter (Chris Gascoyne) proceeds to give him a lift in his taxi and is surprised when Rufus explains that he's here to do a deal with the factory.

In The Bistro, Sarah, Michael and Stephen raise a toast to their new successful business... but when Peter reveals that he gave Rufus a lift and apparently he's doing a deal with the factory, will Carla realise what Stephen was up to?

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Lola Pearce will finally learn the identity of her long-lost mother in next week's EastEnders - but their reunion is far from harmonious.

In upcoming scenes, the cancer-stricken mum will be called to daughter Lexi's school after reports that an unknown adult had attacked Lexi's school friend Maisie for picking on her about Lola's poor health.

But Lola is soon in for a shock when she eventually learns the truth about Emma, while a shock revelation from her mother's past threatens scupper their relationship.

The truth is out: Lola Pearce will finally learn the identity of her long-lost mother in next week's EastEnders - but their reunion is far from harmonious

As she heads to the school amid the news of Maisie's attack, Lola (Danielle Harold) fears her online presence amid her vlog may be to blame, with the hairdresser then beginning to worry for her and her family's safety.

However, later at the salon, her world is turned upside down when she learns the true identity of her client 'Nicole'.

Later, Lola gets checked over by a doctor after Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Jay (Jamie Borthwick) grow concerned when she's left overcome with emotion and weak from her gruelling treatment.

Drama: Lola is soon in for a shock when she eventually learns the truth about Emma, while a shock revelation from her mother's past threatens scupper her relationship with her mother

However, with emotions still high, things are not helped when an unwelcome visitor in the form of Emma (Patsy Kensit) arrives at the doorstep.

But as Lola goes on to make a shock discovery about her mum's past, will the bombshell put the breaks on the women forming a relationship?

Later in the week, Lola agrees to meet Emma for lunch and brings along a reluctant Jay who has reservations about the meeting.

However, it soon becomes clear that Emma is keen to make up for lost time amid her daughter's terminal cancer battle.

Trouble: In upcoming scenes, the cancer-stricken mum will be called to daughter Lexi's school after reports that an unknown adult had attacked Lexi's school friend Maisie for picking on her about Lola's poor health

Revealed: However, later at the salon, her world is turned upside down when she learns the true identity of her client 'Nicole'

As the two take a trip down memory lane and start to bond over old photographs, Lola loses track of time and almost misses Lexi's (Isabella brown) school presentation.

Following a chat with Billy and Jay, Lola comes to the conclusion that she is spreading herself too thin and decides to take a step back, scaling down the time she spends with Emma.

Will the mother and daughter be able to get back on track before it's too late?

EastEnders airs on Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Business is booming for billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes and the Merivale tycoon treated his hard-working staff members to the party of the year on Monday night.

Hemmes, who is estimated to be worth $1.06billion, threw a raucous rave at his Sydney CBD club The Ivy to celebrate a successful 2022.

Dressed in a silver boiler suit for the space-themed bash, the 50-year-old was joined by his stunning model girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel, 26.

Justin Hemmes threw a raucous rave for his staff members at his Sydney club The Ivy with girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel on Monday

Dressed in a silver boiler suit for the space-themed bash, the 50-year-old was joined by his stunning model girlfriend, 26

The blonde bombshell took centre stage in a racy $ 1,390.00 hologram sequin cross over jumpsuit as she danced alongside other scantily-clad partygoers, including a topless woman wearing pasties and man in silver latex mini shorts.

Madeline's futuristic outfit was completed with rose-tinted sunglasses, giant heart earrings and a Prada cross-body bag.

Meanwhile, Hemmes wore a silver spacesuit with a wolf motif on the back and also covered his eyes with giant mirrored sunglasses.

Justin's huge parties for his staff have become folklore at Merivale, and are traditionally held at the end of January after the Christmas period when the hospitality industry is quieter

Madeline (far right) took centre stage in a racy $ 1,390.00 hologram sequin cross over jumpsuit as she danced alongside other scantily-clad party goers

The couple and his staff enjoyed free-flowing drinks and food all night long as they enjoyed techno and old school house music courtesy of several Merivale DJs.

Justin's huge parties for his staff have become folklore at Merivale, and are traditionally held at the end of January after the Christmas period when the hospitality industry is quieter.

At one point, Justin was seen dancing on stage inside the club as his staff fist pumped the air around him.

The billionaire's sister Bettina also attended the event, wearing a gold sparkly jacket as she proudly embraced her brother.

Meanwhile, Hemmes wore a silver spacesuit with a wolf motif on the back and also covered his eyes with giant mirrored sunglasses

Madeline showed off some sideboob in her Ava Meridian Nebula jumpsuit teamed with a chic Prada handbag

The couple shared a giggle with the man dressed in a robot on Sydney's busy George St as they arrived for the bash

Justin returned to the stage later in the evening to thank his staff for the 'best year of his life'.

'I am so grateful to you all and I want you to have the best night tonight. Look around, this is electric, it is magic, and it is all because of you guys. So thank you for the best year of my life and here is to a better year ahead!' he said to rousing applause.

While it's not known exactly how long they've been dating, Justin and Madeline have been publicly together for about three years.

Madeline previously hinted they'd known each other for much longer.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald in October 2020, she said they had actually met two years before reports emerged of their relationship.

'We have known each other for two years and met when I was modelling in Singapore,' she said at the time.

Madeline and his staff enjoyed free-flowing drinks and food all night long as they enjoyed techno and old school house beats courtesy of several Merivale DJs

The billionaire's sister Bettina also attended the event, wearing a gold sparkly jacket as she embraced her brother

It was also reported that Madeline was living in a penthouse apartment owned by Justin in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee.

The Aussie couple often show of their lavish lifestyle on Instagram, posting photos while on private jets and yachts.

Justin made his debut on the Financial Review Rich List in 2018 with an estimated net worth of $951million.

Spacesuits and black latex appeared to be the preferred dress code on the night

At one point, Justin was seen dancing on stage as his staff fist pumped the air around him

In 2021, the pub baron's net worth grew to $1.2billion, making him the 97th richest person in Australia.

He is now worth around $1.06 billion.

The billionaire businessman owns a string of lucrative pubs and establishments across the country, including the Lorne Hotel on Victoria's Great Ocean Road, along with The Quarterdeck, The Inlet and The Whale Inn.

Justin returned to the stage to thank his staff for the 'best year of his life'
Australian Survivor has sparked outrage among viewers over a questionable comment from one of this season's contestants.

On Monday's premiere of Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains, wildlife filmmaker Rogue Rubin told her Florida-born tribemate Nina Twine, who is black, that she was 'more African-American' than her, leading to furious backlash on Twitter.

Rogue, who is based in Melbourne and the U.S., was born in Cape Town to a Zimbabwean mother and South African father - meaning she is technically African and American - but her background was not explained on the show.

Australian Survivor sparked backlash on social media after South African-born contestant Rogue Rubin told American-born Nina Twine, who is black, that she was 'more African-American' than her

As most viewers were unaware of Rogue's background, her comment caused a stir on social media and enraged Nina's mother, Survivor legend Sandra Diaz-Twine.

'Feeling for Nina. She's already playing on a cast with little diversity, as the only black person, let alone the only non-Australian, only to have Rogue offensively undermine her identity from the very beginning,' one viewer tweeted.

'I'm shocked Rogue said that to Nina!' exclaimed another, while one fan said: 'I feel like shes being dramatic and saying/asking controversial things to get air time or to get popular with the audience?'

Nina is the daughter of Survivor legend Sandra Diaz-Twine (pictured together)

Nina's mother had the harshest response to the remark, blasting Rogue in a fiery tweet and Instagram post.

'Rogue b***h, this is outrageous. How are you so ignorant! Didn't you say you had a sense of right and wrong?' Sandra raged.

'B***h please. Adios, mate,' she added.

The incident took place while the Heroes tribe were building their campsite.

Rogue, who is based in Melbourne, was born in Cape Town to a Zimbabwean mother and South African father, but her background was not explained on the show

After Nina explained she was from the U.S. east coast, an unimpressed Rogue replied: 'Because I live there half the time I don't need you to explain it like I'm an idiot.'

Seemingly stunned, Nina responded 'gotcha', but Rogue continued talking.

'I work in the U.S. all the time. I'm more African-American than you are, you need to understand that,' Rogue said.

'Because I'm from Africa.'

Nina's mother had the harshest response to the scandal, blasting Rogue in a fiery tweet

Nina laughed awkwardly but appeared to brush off the comment and continued working on the camp.

Rogue is a well-regarded wildlife filmmaker best known for her documentary Lion Spy, in which she went undercover with trophy hunters in Africa.

Since the episode aired, Rogue has removed all mention of Australian Survivor from her Instagram account and turned off comments.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Rogue Rubin and Channel 10 for comment.
The Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpinstarring series Three Women will no longer air on Showtime  despite having been completed.

The network opted to no longer air the series following a reshuffling that will see it renamed Paramount+ with Showtime for both the television channel and the streaming service, according to Deadline on Monday.

The show has since been shopped around to other networks and streamers, and at least one offer has reportedly been made to take over the show.

The reshuffling with Paramount+ has also led to the cancellation of two other Showtimes series, the vampire drama Let The Right One In and the American Gigolo reboot starring Jon Bernthal.

Canceled in advance: Three Women, which stars Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin, will no longer air at Showtime  despite being completed  after the network announced it was rebranding as Paramount+ with Showtime, according to Deadline; Woodley see in April 2022

Both shows had only aired a single season on the premium cable network.

Three Women was based on the 2019 non-fiction book of the same name Lisa Taddeo  and unrelated to the classic Robert Altman film 3 Women (1977), starring Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek.

Woodley, 31, stars as Gia, a stand-in for the author who travels across the US to interview three women who sexual and emotional lives have caused them significant turmoil.

Gilpin plays Lina, a homemaker living in suburban Indiana who upends her emotionally inert marriage by carrying on an affair.

True to life: Three Women was based on the 2019 non-fiction book of the same name Lisa Taddeo. Woodley stars as a version of the author who interview three women in the US whose sexual experiences upended their lives, including Gilpin (pictured in April 2022)

Leading ladies: Gilpin plays an Indiana housewife who shakes up her marriage with an affair, while DeWanda Wise (pictured) plays a woman in an open marriage; seen in May 2022

DeWanda Wise stars as Sloane, is a seemingly happy women in an open marriage with Richard (Blair Underwod). He likes to watch her have sex with other men, but two strangers who enter their relationship threaten to upend it.

Rounding out the eponymous Three Women is Maggie, played by Gabrielle Creevy. She plays a student who is thrown into turmoil after she accuses her English teacher of engaging in an inappropriate relationship.

Despite releasing a teaser trailer for the series, Showtime has opted to drop it, leaving another entity the chance to pick it up.

It is also reportedly shopping around Let The Right One In and American Gigolo in the hopes that another network would buy the properties.

Dramatic: Rounding out the eponymous Three Women is Maggie, played by Gabrielle Creevy. She plays a student who is thrown into turmoil after she accuses her English teacher of engaging in an inappropriate relationship

Moving on: Showtime had already released a teaser, but it is letting the show be shopped around to other networks to make it a tax write-off. One network has reportedly made an offer

Three Women is executive produced by the author Taddeo, along with showrunner Laura Eason, Kathy Ciric and the actress Emmy Rossum, who is not part of the cast.

The first two episodes had been directed by Louise Friedberg, who is also executive producing.

Showtime seems to be following in the footsteps of Warner Bros. Discovery, which canceled a bevy of new shows to cut costs for its streaming service HBO Max, along with removing several preexisting shows and films from the streamer for tax write-offs.

Deadline notes that the futures of other Showtimes series Ziwe and I Love That for You.

The former, a talk show starring the comedian Ziwe Fumudoh as she attempts to make viral clips while grilling her guests, is seeking out potential buyers informally, suggesting its future may not be secure.

I Love That for You stars former Saturday Night Live actress Vanessa Bayer as a home shopping show host who lies that her childhood cancer has returned in order to hold on to her job.

Cutting costs: Showtime is following in the footsteps of Warner Bros. Discovery, which canceled a bevy of new shows to cut costs for its streaming service HBO Max, along with removing several preexisting shows and films from the streamer; Woodley seen in April 2022
Timothee Chalamet expresses his desire to score his own AppleTV+ show or film in his latest Call Me With Timothee Chalamet campaign with the streaming service.

While a private chef prepared him a meal in the commercial, the Oscar nominee, 27, can be seen scrolling on an iPad while browsing through the streaming service.

'Alright Apple, you clearly have taste,' he says wistfully of their impressive casting. 'Chris Evans, Jen [Aniston] and Reese [Witherspoon], Maya Rudolph...'

Wistful: Timothee Chalamet expresses his desire to score his own AppleTV+ show or film in his latest Call Me With Timothee Chalamet campaign with the streaming service

He goes on to marvel at how 'sick' it is that Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Gary Oldman all have AppleTV+ programs.

'But it does feel like youre missing someone,' the Little Women star stated as he stared at a portrait of himself. 'Come on Apple. Let's talk.'

Over the past few months, Chalamet has been busy getting preparing to portray the legendary Bob Dylan in an upcoming biopic, titled Going Electric, which is still in the works.

Dreaming: While a private chef prepared him a meal in the commercial, the Oscar nominee, 27, can be seen scrolling on an iPad while browsing through the streaming service

'Alright Apple, you clearly have taste,' he says wistfully. 'Chris Evans, Jen [Aniston] and Reese [Witherspoon], Maya Rudolph...'

Ready for his next project: He goes on to marvel at how 'sick' it is that Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and Gary Oldman all have AppleTV+ programs

'But it does feel like youre missing someone,' the Little Women star stated as he stared at a portrait of himself, alluding to himself. 'Come on Apple. Let's talk'

'I havent stopped preparing, which has been one of the greatest gifts for me,' he told Variety in November.

The performer continued: 'Its been a wonderful experience getting to dive into that world, whether we get to make it or not,' he continued.

Chalamet added: 'But without giving anything away  because I dont want to beat anyone to the punch, and obviously things have to come together officially  the winds that are blowing are blowing in a very positive direction.'

Demanding schedule: Chalamet has been busy getting ready to portray the legendary Bob Dylan in an upcoming biopic, titled Going Electric, which is still in the works

'I havent stopped preparing, which has been one of the greatest gifts for me,' he told Variety in November

More to come: Before his casting, the New York native had already been honing his singing voice for his role in the upcoming movie musical Wonka

Before his casting, the New York native had already been honing his singing voice for his role in the upcoming movie musical Wonka.

Though specifics of the film aren't out yet, the movie will reportedly follow 'a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures,' according to the film's IMDb page.

Wonka, based on the famed Roald Dahl character of the same name, is set for release in December of this year.

Early adventures: Though specifics of the film aren't out yet, the movie will reportedly follow 'a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures,' according to the film's IMDb page (Chalamet pictured 2021)

Reprisal: Chalamet has one other film in post-production, Dune: Part Two, in which he will reprise his role as Paul Atreides

The Beautiful Boy actor will headline the film alongside Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, comedian Keegan-Michael Key and Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson.

Chalamet has one other film in post-production, Dune: Part Two, in which he will reprise his role as Paul Atreides.

The first film was a commercial and critical success, grossing more than $400 million worldwide and taking home 10-Oscar nominations and winning six of the awards.
The death toll from the Pakistan mosque attack in the nation's northwest climbed to 88 on Tuesday. One of the bloodiest assaults on Pakistani security personnel in recent years occurred at a Sunni mosque within a large police complex.

Pakistani police reported that the bomber detonated his explosives vest on Monday morning as more than 300 people were worshipping during the Pakistan mosque attack in Peshawar, and more were on their way. The bomb destroyed part of the mosque's roof and killed and injured hundreds, per AP News.

Police officer Zafar Khan said that the remaining roof collapsed, hurting several more people in the Pakistan mosque attack. For the remaining worshipers, rescuers had to dig through piles of rubble.

Mohammad Asim, a spokesperson for a government hospital in Peshawar, said that some seriously wounded victims had passed away overnight and early Tuesday. He added that several of the deceased in the Pakistan mosque attack were law enforcement officers. Over 150 people were injured in the Pakistan bombing in 2023 as well.

Read Also: COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Rescue Efforts Continues

The head rescue official, Bilal Faizi, said Tuesday that rescue crews were still working at the location because additional individuals are thought to be trapped within. People from all around the city and beyond were dispersing to various cemeteries to bury the deceased.

The umbrella group known as the Taliban in Pakistan, which includes Sunni and sectarian rebel outfits, has denied any involvement in the Pakistan bombing in 2023, according to an earlier report from HNGN.

Snipers were posted on key government buildings in the capital of Islamabad, and security was stepped up at all entrances.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Pakistan bombing in 2023 and said anybody who targets Muslims when they are in prayer has no connection to Islam, per Reuters.

In the 1980s, Peshawar served as an important base of operations for local and foreign rebels waging war against the Soviet-backed Afghan government on the other side of the border. Numerous Afghans fled to the city as well, according to the New York Times.

Related Article: Ukraine Wants Faster Weapons Delivery

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Andy Lee says he is 'interested' in appearing on OnlyFans.

The 41-year-old funnyman made the shock admission after an Irish porn star, also called Andy Lee, suggested they co-star on the adults-only platform.

The Irishman, who stars in the Stan reality series My Massive C**k, recently described his Aussie namesake as 'handsome'.

Andy Lee (pictured) has revealed he would like to appear on OnlyFans. The 41-year-old funnyman made the shock admission after an Irish porn-star, also called Andy Lee, suggested they co-star on the adults-only platform

The Hundred star told Nine.com. he thought the offer to appear on the porn platform was 'awesome'.

'I feel pretty intimidated, because I hear that hes got a very large appendage, but thats all right,' Andy said of the Irish plumber.

'Get me on a good day  and tell him Im interested. No problems at all.'

The Irish Andy Lee, who reputedly has a penis that measures, 10.5 inches (266.7mm), made the proposal during the podcast I've Got News for You in January.

The Irishman, who stars in the Stan reality series My Massive C**k, recently described his Aussie namesake as 'handsome' reports Nine.com Pictured: Irish plumber Andy Lee

He said he first became aware of the Hamish and Andy star after googling himself, and the Aussie, 'popped up' in his search.

'Fingers crossed (we can film together). Im up for anything,' the 33-year-old said in the podcast.

It follows after rumours surfaced that the Aussie comedy star has wed his beautiful long-term girlfriend Rebecca Harding.

The Dublin-born celebrity said he first became aware of the Hamish and Andy star after googling himself, and the Aussie, 'popped up' in his search.

The talk began of the secret nuptials last August after Andy shared pics of the couple taken during a romantic getaway in Paris

One of the Instagram snaps featured the loved-up pair posing for at sunset in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Some followers were quick to suggest they had tied the knot because Andy had his left hand in tucked in his pocket, while others speculated there was proposal or one was imminent.

The couple have been together since 2014, but didn't go public with their romance until January the following year.
Bruno Tonioli reportedly threw Britain's Got Talent auditions into chaos when he pressed his Golden Buzzer twice before admitting he'd never watched the show.

The former Strictly judge, 67, has joined the panel of the ITV talent competition for as a replacement for comedian David Walliams, 51, who left after he made 'disrespectful' comments about contestants from previous series.

Professional dancer Bruno apparently did not realise that the Golden Buzzer, which automatically sends auditionees through to the live finals when pressed, could only be used once, and reacted when the audience began cheering for an impressive act.

Blunder: Bruno Tonioli, 67, reportedly threw Britain's Got Talent auditions into chaos when he pressed his Golden Buzzer for the second time before admitting he'd never watched the show

Producers are said to have panicked after they were left with a decision of whether to send the hopeful through or cancel Bruno's second buzz.

A source told The Sun: 'It was madness. The buzzer worked but there was no glitter in the cannon above the stage as it had already been used up.

'A producer raced over to try to tell Bruno he couldnt do that.

Strike a pose: The former Strictly Come Dancing judge has joined the panel of the ITV variety talent competition for the upcoming series (L-R: Judges Bruno, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell)

'Then there were discussions with the top execs and Simon [Cowell], who had his head in his hands.'

The source said Bruno then admitted he had never actually watched Britain's Got Talent before, claiming he did not want to be influenced by the judging styles from previous series.

Luckily, the audience saw the funny side and Bruno is remaining on the panel as the new big money signing.

Mishap: Professional dancer Bruno did not realise that the Golden Buzzer, which automatically sends auditionees through to the live finals when pressed, could only be used once

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Britain's Got Talent for comment.

Meanwhile, it has also been claimed Bruno is getting so excited during the auditions that he has been repeatedly jumping out his seat, causing the camera operators at the London Palladium to be on high alert as they anticipate his moves in a bid to keep him in frame.

A source told the Mirror: 'Bruno is a firecracker and constantly jumping up and down. The crowd loves it, Simon loves it... but the camera operators, less so.

Decisions: Producers are said to have panicked after they were left with a decision of whether to send the hopeful through or cancel Bruno's second buzz

'It's an undertaking keeping up with him. He's up and down like a yo-yo.'

The twinkle-toed star is reportedly being paid 850,000 after David stepped down from his role as judge.

His arrival on the panel is said to have caused controversy as he demanded a higher salary than the female judges, Amanda Holden, 51, and Alesha Dixon, 44.

However, Bruno told The Sun he has no idea what Amanda and Alesha are paid.

It comes after Bruno offered his sympathy to comedian Alan Carr  who had been approached about joining the show but lost out at the last moment.

Bruno, a friend of Simon Cowells for three decades, broke off from filming at the London Palladium last week to shrug: 'Thats showbusiness.'

All askew: A source told The Sun : 'It was madness. The buzzer worked but there was no glitter in the cannon above the stage as it had already been used up'

Asked if it would be awkward when he next meets Alan socially, he said: 'Not at all. I havent had a clue about his negotiations.

'I love Alan and I know him, he is a very nice guy. I didnt know the situation with him, nothing was announced, and thats showbusiness. This was down to ITV.'

He continued: 'I was away (on holiday, before the offer was made). Hes a professional, he knows how things go.'

Gesture: Bruno was drafted onto the panel to replace David Walliams, who quit after ten years on BGT after he made disrespectful comments about contestants

Bruno joined the show on a reported salary of 850,000 after being offered the job only 11 days before filming began.

He said: 'I was in St Lucia over Christmas and I had a text from Simons girlfriend Lauren saying, "We should get together  we are in Barbados." I thought well, that would be quite hard to do. I had no idea that this job was around.

'Then I arrived in London on the 9th of January and my agent had a call from ITV, and I had no idea what it was about. The agent said, "Oh its something very big" and I thought, "Thats good." Then I had a meeting on the 13th of January with ITV and I thought great, this is fantastic.

'I have known Simon forever, I know that the show is right up my street. There were no long negotiations, I just said, "Yes, I want to do it." It happened so fast that I have practically nothing to wear. I am going to have to go shopping next week when I get to Manchester, I must make Simon pay.'

Filming the show started on Tuesday last week. Bruno was drafted in to replace David, who quit after 10 years following allegations that he had made disparaging remarks about some contestants which had been picked up by a microphone.

Bruno said: 'David was the first person that sent me a text and a fantastic bottle of wine. Hes a very good friend.'
Candice Swanepoel flashed her toned midriff sporting a corset-inspired top and comfy sweatpants in a clip she uploaded onto her Instagram stories on Monday.

The talented supermodel, 34, showed off her stunning physique as she filmed herself through the reflection of a mirror in what appeared to be her bedroom.

The mother of two, who recently flaunted her voluminous blonde locks in a previous sultry post, additionally showcased her slim frame in a separate snap wearing a red bikini as she soaked up the sun at a tropical location.

Stunning: Candice Swanepoel, 34, showed off her toned midriff in a new clip she uploaded onto her Instagram stories on Monday

The former Victoria's Secret Angel could be seen holding up her smartphone that was protected with a lavender-colored case.

She donned a taupe, sculpted Alo Yoga top that showcased her toned midriff, which is priced at $64, according to the fitness brand's official website.

Candice paired the top with comfortable, cream-colored sweatpants that contained an elastic waist and adjustable drawstrings.

During the short video, the supermodel flaunted a few of her favorite poses while giving her 18.8 million followers a close-up glimpse of the top along with her slim physique.

The South African-born star opted to not add any lengthy captions to the reel, and instead simply tagged the Alo brand on the bottom right corner.

Toned physique: The supermodel donned a taupe, sculpted Alo top that showcased her toned midriff, which is priced at $64, according to the fitness brand's official website

She seemingly filmed the clip in a bedroom, with a bed neatly made behind her along with eye-catching, decorative pieces placed on the wall.

Her blonde locks were parted to the side, and effortlessly flowed past her shoulders in light, natural waves.

Candice, who began professionally working in the modeling industry at 15, opted for minimalistic accessories to complete her casual ensemble, and added an assortment of dainty, gold rings on a few of her fingers for a flashy touch.

The Tropic Of C swimwear founder chose to not add any other pieces of jewelry as she modeled the Alo top.

The blonde bombshell is no stranger to the popular fitness company, and recently partnered with the brand with her own line last year in June to create a special collection.

She can also be seen in a few training videos for Alo Moves, a platform from Alo Yoga that offers an assortment of different classes, such as pilates and meditation, with professional instructors.

Close with the brand: The blonde bombshell is no stranger to Alo, and recently partnered with the brand with her swimwear line last year in June to create a special collection

Wow! Also on Monday, Candice shared a breathtaking photo of herself as she lounged in a skimpy, red bikini at a tropical destination

Candice also shared a sultry snap of herself wearing a two-piece swimsuit in a photo she additionally uploaded onto her Instagram stories on Monday.

The supermodel could be see wearing a red bikini top that contained thin fabric that wrapped down towards her midriff for a fashionable touch.

She added a pair of matching, red drawstring bikini bottoms and flaunted the look as she rested on a large, wooden porch in the warm, tropical temperatures.

Her head was tilted back as she soaked up the sun, causing her long locks to cascade down behind her.

The mother of two posed in front of a wooden bungalow that contained a straw-covered rood while surrounded by numerous palm trees that filtered the sun's bright rays.

Beautiful: The supermodel recently showed off her curly blonde locks in a recent post on her main Instagram page

Importance of family: The South African-born star shares sons, Ariel and Anaca, with ex-fiance and fellow model, Hermann Nicoli

The model has been busy not just working with her own brand, but also made appearances in recent campaigns, such as Hugo Boss, which starred other celebrities including Gigi Hadid and new mom, Paris Hilton.

When opening up about the motivation to launch Tropic Of C, Candice told Forbes in a past interview, 'Sustainability is a key part of my lifestyle.'

'I think coming from Africa and growing up with such a strong level of nature, its where I get inspiration,' and admitted that the company initially began as just 'a creative outlet' for the beauty.

The star keeps up with a fitness routine to achieve her toned frame, and told E! News that she enjoys using 'ankle weights' and doing squats. She also shares videos to her fans of herself practicing yoga.

Along with being active in the fashion and modeling industry, Candice also puts her main focus on family. She shares sons, Anaca, 6, and four-year-old Ariel, with ex-fiance and fellow model, Hermann Nicoli.

The two had officially announced their engagement in 2015, but opted to go their separate ways in 2018, while still maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship. In September 2022, the supermodel was briefly linked to Kanye West.

Successful career: The talented entrepreneur began working professionally in the modeling industry at the age of 15 after being scouted
Pedro Pascal cut a casual figure in a leather jacket as he headed back to his hotel in New York City on Monday - after The Last Of Us was renewed for season two,

The 47-year-old actor paired his jacket with black denim jeans, leather shoes and shades as he strolled - amid the recent success of the post-apocalyptic drama series, that is based on the video game of the same name.

The critically-acclaimed HBO show - that released its third episode of the first season on Sunday - has been such a hit so far that it was renewed for season two after only two episodes.

Spotted: Pedro Pascal cut a casual figure in a leather jacket as he headed back to his hotel in New York City on Monday - after The Last Of Us was renewed for season two

The debut episode of The Last Of Us - premiered on January 15.

Since then, the video game adaptation has become the second most-watched HBO series debut in a decade.

The post-apocalyptic drama has drawn in 22 million viewers so far, falling second place to the House Of The Dragon's historic debut with 9.986 million viewers last August.

According to the synopsis, the series retells the beloved story of Joel - played by Pascal - and Ellie - played by Bella Ramsey.

Accessories: The star cut a typically dashing figure as he walked in the Big Apple

Renewed for season two: The critically-acclaimed HBO show - that released its third episode of the first season on Sunday - has been such a hit so far that it was renewed for season two after only two episodes

Successful premiere: The debut episode of his latest project - The Last Of Us - premiered on January 15 and has drawn in 22 million viewers so far, becoming the second most-watched HBO series debut in a decade

The show tells the story of the pair bonding and attempting to survive after a zombie outbreak erupted in America 20 years prior to them crossing paths.

The Last Of Us also stars Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Gabriel Luna, Ashley Johnson, Nick Offerman, and Storm Reid.

So far, the series has scored 96 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sophie Turner was the epitome of a proud wife as she snapped photos of her husband Joe Jonas while his band, The Jonas Brothers, received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday.

The 26-year-old Game of Thrones star beamed while taking photos of her other half, 33, and his brothers Nick, 30, and Kevin, 35, during the ceremony.

Sophie looked incredible in a red hot co-ord, featuring a fitted cropped blazer with a a floral ruffle on the right shoulder, and form-fitting red pants.

Proud! Sophie Turner was a proud wife as she snapped photos of her husband Joe Jonas while his band, The Jonas Brothers, received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday

The English actress paired the outfit with red heels and wore her auburn tresses parted in the middle and styled straight.

As for glam she drew attention to her magnetic eyes with black mascara and wore nude lipstick on her pout.

Sophie and the musician have been married since 2019 and share two children: daughter Willa, two, and another little girl, who they welcomed in July, but have yet to reveal her name.

Honored: The 26-year-old Game of Thrones star beamed while taking photos of her other half, 33, and his brothers Nick, 30, and Kevin, 35, during the ceremony

Her beau: The stylish star proudly posed next to her husband at the event

The couple opted not to bring them to the event.

The Jonas Brothers were inundated with applause and support while receiving their star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame as their respective wives and children watched.

Nick Jonas' wife, Priyanka Chopra, 40, brought their one-year-old daughter Malti Marie, who sat on her lap during the ceremony.

Red hot! Sophie looked incredible in a red hot co-ord, featuring a fitted cropped blazer with a a floral ruffle on the right shoulder, and form-fitting red pants

Magnetic: As for glam she drew attention to her magnetic eyes with black mascara and wore nude lipstick on her pout

Coordinated look: The English actress paired the outfit with red heels and wore her auburn tresses parted in the middle and styled straight

It marked the first time the lovebirds have allowed their baby girl's face to be seen on a public outing, following her premature birth and 100 days in the NICU.

For her world debut, the couple's daughter wore a beige tweed jacket and matching skirt as well as a white floral headband.

Meanwhile her mother sported a a dark brown dress, gold hoop earrings and hair styled in loose waves.

All the wives: Sophie sat in-between Nick Jonas' wife, Priyanka Chopra, 40, and their one-year-old daughter Malti Marie, and Kevin's wife Danielle, and their two daughters Valentina, six, and Alena, eight

First time: It marked the first time Priyanka and Nick have allowed their baby girl's face to be seen on a public outing, following her premature birth and 100 days in the NICU

Proud wives: Sophie and Priyanka proudly watched their spouses receive one of Tinseltown's highest honors

Laughing it up: The ladies laughed it up together

Nick looked dapper in a beige suit as he posed with his older siblings, Joe and Kevin, with their hands touching their star in front of the Live Nation Building.

Kevin and his wife Danielle also brought their two daughters Valentina, six, and Alena, eight, for the special occasion.

During the ceremony, the brothers also teased the release of their next record, titled The Album, which will be coming out on May 5.

Following the celebrations, Sophie took to her Instagram Stories in a new outfit as she shared a snap of her and Joe in what appeared to be a bathroom.

She looked chic in a fuzzy brown sweater and white pants, while Joe sported a brown corduroy jacket and a grey T-shirt.

All together! Sophie and the musician have been married since 2019 and share two children together, though they opted not to bring them to the event

Exited fans: Fans waited outside at the star ceremony cheering the Jonas Brothers on

The night before the celebration, the Jonas Brothers enjoyed dinner at E. Baldi Restaurant in Beverly Hills with their loved ones.

Less than 24 hours before the siblings were honored with one of Tinseltown's highest honors in front of the Live Nation Building, Joe was seen arriving with his wife Sophie to the celebrity hotspot, known for their upscale Italian food.

Their latest sighting comes ahead of their latest career milestone, which entails receiving the 2,745th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Upon receiving the news, Nick told Variety: 'At first, it was shock...we got on FaceTime with the whole family and tried to digest it.'

'So often, people have their business life separate from their family life, but we get to share it all,' he added.
Brad Pitt was again hard at work filming his upcoming thriller film Wolves in New York City's Chinatown on Monday.

The 59-year-old A-lister was spotted during some downtime on a public street as he gave fans a treat by signing some memorabilia.

George Clooney  who has been pictured filming several recent nighttime scenes with him joined Pitt on set and they were filmed chasing a co-star in a stunt car.

Night shoot: Brad Pitt, 59, was spotted on Monday filming a scene from his upcoming thriller Wolves in New York City wearing a bright orange puffer jacket

Pitt stood out in the night thanks to his puffy down coat and its lustrous orange sheen.

Brad was layered up, wearing a red button-up jacket and a yellow graphic shirt as well.

He also wore casual acid wash jeans and brilliant white sneakers while carrying a red cloth bag slung over his shoulder and wearing a vibrant green beanie.

The Ocean's Eleven star looked cool in a set of amber-tinted aviator sunglasses, and he sported a well-maintained salt-and-pepper goatee.

Together again: George Clooney joined Brad on set and they both wore back leather jackets

Good times: The Hollywood stars smiled as they got together on the set

Cracking up: George and Brad shared a laugh while filming in New York City

Brad later changed outfits and wore a matching black leather jacket while sitting in the passenger seat of a stunt car with George behind the wheel.

They smiled while working together as they filmed a chase scene in which they pursued actor Austin Graham who fled from them wearing only his underwear.

George and Brad were photographed laughing several times as they clearly enjoyed filming with each other.

In pursuit: Brad was in the passenger while George was behind the wheel of a stunt car

Underwear only: Austin Graham ran away in his underwear while being pursued by Brad and George during filming in Chinatown

He could be seen showing off a winning smile on set, before he wandered over to a crowd of on-lookers to sign items, including a DVD of his 1999 classic Fight Club.

Few details have been released about Wolves, but Pitt and Clooney star as 'two lone wolf fixers' who discover they have been hired to take care of the same job, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film is directed by Jon Watts, who previously helmed all of the Tom Hollandstarring Spider-Man films.

Similar styles: The actors wore similar outfits including grey pants and black shoes

Stunt car: A stunt car was used while filming the chase scene in Chinatown

Funny stuff: The actors were spotted laughing together several times

Bright jacket: Brad was hard to miss earlier in his orange puffer jacket

Staying toasty: He layered up with red button-up jacket and a yellow graphic T-shirt underneath his puffer jacket

Casual: The Ocean's Eleven star also wore jeans, brilliant white sneakers and a green beanie, along with aviator sunglasses

Wolves was a high-profile acquisition by Apple TV+, after it set off a bidding war among major studios and streamers due to its in-demand stars and director.

The actress Amy Ryan is the only other member of the cast who has so far been announced.

The upcoming film is the first time Pitt and Clooney have starred together in a film since the 2008 Coen brothers comedy thriller Burn After Reading, which came just a year after they appeared in 2007's Ocean's Thirteen.

Dramatic: Few details have been released about Wolves, but Pitt and Clooney star as 'two lone wolf fixers' who discover they have been hired to take care of the same job, according to The Hollywood Reporter

Journeyman: The film is directed by Jon Watts, who previously helmed all of the Tom Hollandstarring Spider-Man movies

Giving them a treat: Pitt was gracious to his fans and stopped to sign some memorabilia during his downtime

Short and sweet: At one point, Pitt removed his hat to reveal his short, blond-highlighted hair

Pitt is getting back to work after he was snubbed for an Oscar nomination for his Hollywood epic Babylon, which details the industry's transition from silent to sound films.

He played a silent film heartthrob who struggled to acclimate to changing tastes as filmgoers began to crave a younger generation of stars.

The actor and producer also got some bad news on the personal front after his ex-wife Angelina Jolie received a bundle of 100 pages of documents from the FBI.

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The documents were 'reprocessed and released' to her after being part of a report on a reported altercation she and Pitt had on a plane.

Pitt allegedly poured wine and beer over his then-wife, and he allegedly assaulted her and their family members, a claim he has denied.

Jolie has been trying to make details from the incident public amid her ongoing battle with her ex over a French vineyard the co-owned during their marriage.
Freya Aspinall showed off her sensational sense of style as she stepped out wearing a 517 multi-coloured cashmere jumper in London this month.

The 19-year-old daughter of wildlife park heir Damian Aspinall and model Donna Air ensured she caught the eye of onlookers as she wore the funky-patterned item by The Elder Statesman.

She also wore a Chanel pendant necklace and a pair of trainers by the label Off-White cost around 1,000.

In style: Freya Aspinall, 19, showed off her sensational sense of style as she stepped out wearing a 517 multi-coloured cashmere jumper in London this month

She completed her look by wearing a pair of black denim jeans while she carried a cream Fendi bag on her shoulder.

Freya wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty features as she carried a cup of coffee and her phone in her hand.

She accessorised with a pair of gold pendulum earrings to match the chain that hung around her neck.

Strike a pose: Freya is the daughter of wildlife park heir Damian Aspinall and model Donna Air (Freya, left, and Donna, right, pictured in 2019)

Having grown up at her fathers wildlife parks in Kent, where she befriended giraffes and cheetahs, Freya became the youngest model at Storm, the agency that discovered Kate Moss, at the age of 15.

Last summer she shared an Instagram photo of her pet lion Azi nibbling her arm.

Freya says she has a close bond with the one-year-old after following her father into conservation work.

Fashion focus: Freya ensured she caught the eye of onlookers as she wore the funky-patterned jumper by The Elder Statesman

Beauty: Freya wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty features as she carried a cup of coffee and her phone in her hand

'We had to hand-raise Azi because his mother rejected him,' she said. 'From this, I was able to develop a completely natural relationship with him. No training, no taming. Pure love and trust.'

Freya is the only daughter of Damian and Donna, was just 21 when she met and fell in love with the multimillionaire, who was 40 at the time.

They were introduced at a dinner party in 2000 by their mutual friend, former It Girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, and went on to have a seven year relationship.

In the detail: Freya carried a cream Fendi bag on her shoulder and wore a Chanel pendant necklace

Stepping out: She wore a pair of trainers by the label Off-White cost around 1,000 as she ventured out in the UK capital

The couple famously hit the headlines when Freya was a baby, announcing they were planning to place their daughter in a gorilla enclosure at Damian's animal park and allow her to be carried off by the female of the group.

It was a ritual Damian had carried out with his first two daughters, Tansy, 33, and Clary, 30, from his 15-year marriage to Louise Sebag-Montefiore.

Damian has carried on the legacy of his late father John Aspinall who encouraged close contact between animals and keepers at Kent park Howletts and its sister site Port Lympne.

Wild behaviour: Freya, who spent her childhood at her father Damian's wildlife parks, shared an Instagram photo of her pet lion Azi nibbling her arm last summer

Damian's dad John bought Howletts with his gambling winnings in 1956 and moved his family there from central London.

Following his father's death, Damian has has managed the parks through the John Aspinall Foundation, a charity named for his father.

Now Freya has entered the family business, with Damian and Donna backing their daughter's decision to drop out of school and follow him into conservation.

Freya recently took part in a rewilding mission in the Congo and Damian made her the star of his documentary Freya & The Gorillas: An Incredible Rewilding Journey.

Established in 1989, the Aspinall Foundation's gorilla orphanage was the first of its kind in the world, and has rescued over 80 gorillas since then.

The Foundation has also reintroduced over 70 gorillas back into the wild, including 26 that were raised in its two parts, Port Lympne and Howletts.
Gwyneth Paltrow served as her own best advertisement as she modeled outfits for her lifestyle brand Goop on Monday on social media.

The 50-year-old Oscar-winning actress delivered a 'cool-girl' look in $650 pleated pants in a post shared with her lifestyle brand's roughly 1.7 million followers on Instagram.

'Pinstripes get a cool-girl rebrand. From work to weekend, these high-waisted trousers pair well with button-downs, T-shirts, sweaters, whatever,' the caption read.

Social media: Gwyneth Paltrow served as her own best advertisement as she modeled outfits for lifestyle brand Goop on Monday on social media

Gwyneth had her white button-down shirt mostly open as she posed with her left hand on her hip.

She had her blonde hair parted down the middle and down below her shoulders with waving wisps framing her flawless complexion.

Gwyneth took a seat for another Goop post on Monday as she modeled a different outfit with her lean legs on display.

'See you at Pilates. Wear this jacket on your way to or from a workoutthe plush fleece is like a nice, warm hug,' the caption read.

Fleece sweater: The 50-year-old actress took a seat for another Goop post on Monday as she modeled a different outfit with her lean legs on display

The Los Angeles native in the photo sat cross-legged in a black crop top and matching shorts and beamed while wearing the black $625 bomber jacket.

Gwyneth also looked leggy in a plain cable-knit sweater in a post on Sunday by Goop on Instagram.

'File under: winter whites. This creamy knit is finished with subtle details, like gently sculpted sleeves and navy seams,' the caption read.

Cable-knit sweater: Gwyneth also looked leggy in a plain cable-knit sweater in a post on Sunday by Goop on Instagram

Lifestyle brand: Gwyneth, shown earlier this month on Shark Tank, has been modeling looks lately for her lifestyle brand's roughly 1.7 million followers on Instagram

The blonde beauty looked radiant as she posed in the jumper while sporting a pair of scrunched-up white socks with tan slippers and white shorts.

Gwyneth started Goop in 2008 as a weekly newsletter and it has since developed into an internationally recognized brand.

The Shakespeare In Love star has been married since 2018 to Hollywood producer Brad Falchuk, 51.

Gwyneth has 18-year-old daughter Apple and 16-year-old son Moses with ex-husband Chris Martin, 45.
Lea Michele wowed in a navy ensemble at the world premiere of horror film Knock At The Cabin, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Monday.

The Glee actress, 36, showed a hint of her toned midriff in a plunging button-up navy top, which she paired with a matching full body skirt.

The Broadway star finalized the stylish look with a pair of black heels featuring a crystal-adorned strap.

Sensational: Lea Michele wowed in a navy ensemble as she arrived to the world premiere of Knock At The Cabin held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Monday

The Scream Queens beauty  whose best friend Jonathan Groff stars in the film as Eric  wore her dark tresses parted in the middle and slicked back into a ponytail.

As for glam, Lea wore dark blue eyeshadow that matched her stylish ensemble.

Lea  who currently stars as Fanny Brice in the musical revival of Funny Girl on Broadway  sparkled up her look with two diamond stud earrings.

Lovely: The Glee actress, 36, showed a hint of her toned midriff in a plunging button-up navy top, which she paired with a matching full body skirt

Elegant: The Scream Queens beauty  whose best friend Jonathan Groff stars in the film as Eric  wore her dark tresses parted in the middle and slicked back into a ponytail

Magnetic: As for glam, Lea wore dark blue eyeshadow that matched her stylish ensemble

Abby Quinn, 26  who plays Ardiane in the horror flick  showed off her toned legs in a black mini dress, which she teamed with platform heels.

The top portion of her dress featured a high neck and stylish puffed out sleeves.

The star wore her dark tresses pinned up, with a few curled strands left to frame her face.

Head turner: Nikki Amuka-Bird, 46, had all eyes on her as she stunned in a plunging sparkly green gown that clung to her spectacular physique

Exquisite: The Nigerian-born British actress  who plays Sabrina in the film  wore her black tresses parted in the middle and lightly curled in beach waves

If you've got it! Abby Quinn, 26, showed off her toned legs in a black mini dress, while Krystal Joy Brown, 36, was elegant in a chic black coat over a button-up black dress

Nikki Amuka-Bird, 46, had all eyes on her as she stunned in a plunging sparkly green gown that clung to her spectacular physique.

The Nigerian-born British actress  who plays Sabrina in the film  wore her black tresses parted in the middle and lightly curled in beach waves.

The beauty opted for delicate makeup, wearing just a touch of mascara and gloss.

Leading man: The film's leading man Dave Bautista, 54, looked handsome as ever in a black button-up with frilly details

Handsome: The actor and retired wrestler  who plays Leonard in the film  finished off his look with black pants and matching boots with a silver buckle

Adorable! He was also seen posing with his youngest co-star nine-year-old Kristen Cui (who plays Wen in the movie)

Krystal Joy Brown, 36, was elegant in a chic black coat over a button-up black dress, which she paired with a sizable black Chanel bag.

The film's leading man Dave Bautista, 54, looked handsome as ever in a black button-up with frilly details.

The actor and retired wrestler  who plays Leonard in the film  finished off his look with black pants and matching boots with a silver buckle.

Little lady: Kristen was the picture of elegance in a bright red dress with a bow, which she paired with sparkling red shoes

Too cute: She was also seen posing with the film's other leading men: Ben Aldridge, 37, who was seen holding her up in his arms, and Jonathan Groff, 37

He was also seen posing with his youngest co-star nine-year-old Kristen Cui (who plays Wen in the movie).

Kristen was the picture of elegance in a bright red dress with a bow, which she paired with sparkling red shoes.

She was also seen posing with the film's other leading men: Ben Aldridge, 37, who was seen holding her up in his arms, and Jonathan Groff, 37.

The director: Also at the premiere was writer and director M. Night Shyamalan, 52, who was joined by his wife Bhavna Vaswani

Dapper: The Unbreakable director looked dapper in a navy suit with a red tie

Stylish family: He was also joined by his stylish daughters

Aldridge looked cool as ever in a leather suit, while Groff opted for a plaid one.

Also at the premiere was writer and director M. Night Shyamalan, 52, who was joined by his wife Bhavna Vaswani as well as their daughters.

The Unbreakable director looked dapper in a navy suit with a red tie. Meanwhile his wife  to whom he's been married since 1993  was chic in a white gown and black heels.

Shyamalan and the cast were seen posing together at the premiere along with producer Ashwin Rajan.

All together! The cast posed together at the premiere along with producer Ashwin Rajan (L)

The synopsis of the film reads: 'While vacationing at a remote cabin, a family of three is suddenly held hostage by four strangers, who demand they sacrifice one of their own to avert the apocalypse.'

It is based on 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay.

The movie  which also stars Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, 34  is set to be released on February 3, 2023.
Actress Nina Dobrev celebrated her 34th birthday in early January, though she kept the party going all month long with some of her celebrity friends.

The Vampire Diaries star took to Instagram on Monday, sharing snaps from a beach birthday bash with boyfriend Shaun White.

She was also seen with friends Julianne Hough, Abigail Spencer and Adam DeVine, which comes after a birthday month trip to Antarctica with White and friends Zoey Deutch and Jared Leto.

Birthday: Actress Nina Dobrev celebrated her 34th birthday in early January, though she kept the party going all month long with some of her celebrity friends

Boyfriend: The Vampire Diaries star took to Instagram on Monday, sharing snaps from a beach birthday bash with boyfriend Shaun White

Dobrev captioned the snaps, 'birthday birthday month and while it wasn't clear where the celebration was held, Abigail Spencer hinted in a comment that it happened somewhere in Indonesia.

'Birthday liiife! #IndoNINA forever. Lets go,' Spencer said in a comment on Dobrev's post.

The first photo featured Dobrev in a little black dress with the sign for her 34th birthday party seen in the background.

Birthday: Dobrev captioned the snaps, 'birthday birthday month and while it wasn't clear where the celebration was held, Abigail Spencer hinted in a comment that it happened somewhere in Indonesia

She also shared a beachfront snap with actor Tyler Lain, photographer Samantha Dutton, Hough and artist Thomas Dutton.

The actress also shared another snap of her beachfront birthday celebration site and a beach snap with Spencer and Hough.

Dobrev also shared another snap on a boat with Ash Dragon and another beachfront snap with Dobrev, Dragon and another friend, Kara Masterson.

Snap: She also shared a beachfront snap with actor Tyler Lain, photographer Samantha Dutton, Hough and artist Thomas Dutton

Friends: Dobrev also shared another snap on a boat with Ash Dragon and another beachfront snap with Dobrev, Dragon and another friend, Kara Masterson

She also shared a brief video of her boyfriend Shaun White presenting her with a birthday cake as her friends all sang Happy Birthday around her.

The final snap of the post featured Adam DeVine and Chloe Bridges.

Hough added in a caption, 'Love celebrating you' while Bridges added, 'Had the time of my life for your birthday month. love celebrating you.'

Video: She also shared a brief video of her boyfriend Shaun White presenting her with a birthday cake as her friends all sang Happy Birthday around her

Final: The final snap of the post featured Adam DeVine and Chloe Bridges

Dobrev has a number of projects in various stages of production, including The Out-Laws, expected later this year with Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin and Adam Devine.

She also has The Bricklayer in post-production, starring alongside Aaron Eckhart, Tim Blake Nelson and Clifton Collins Jr.

The actress also has films Reunion with Jamie Cheung, Chace Crawford and Lil Rel Howrey and Sick Girl with Wendi McLendon-Covey in post-production.

Watch The Vampire Diaries available now only on Stan in Australia.

Projects: Dobrev has a number of projects in various stages of production, including The Out-Laws, expected later this year with Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin and Adam Devine
President Joe Biden will unveil a $292 million mega grant to construct a rail tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New York and New Jersey as part of his campaign to contrast his economic agenda with Republicans.

The funding comes from the $1.2 billion in mega grants that the 2021 infrastructure legislation will distribute.

After visiting Baltimore on Monday to promote the replacement of an outdated train tunnel, the Democratic president traveled to New York City to guarantee that infrastructure investment would increase economic development and generate blue-collar employment, per AP News.

The two visits of Joe Biden represent a type of oppositional programming to the newly elected House Republican majority. Federal spending is a drag on economic development, according to Republican legislators, who are demanding drastic cutbacks in return for raising the government's legal borrowing limit.

Read Also: Pakistan Bombing Update

The White House has said that the approximately $300 million in government money for the long-delayed Hudson River Tunnel would help finish a crucial early phase of the project with a $292 million mega grant, per The New York Post.

According to a White House information sheet, the funding will go to Amtrak and be used in part to build the last segment of concrete casing that would safeguard the future right-of-way for the new passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River in New York City.

McCarthy To Face Biden

In related news, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he and President Joe Biden will meet at the White House on Wednesday to talk about raising the debt ceiling and how Republicans feel about the budget, which includes the $292 million mega grant.

McCarthy noted that he wants to "find a sensible and responsible approach" where the US government could increase the debt limit but "take control of this runaway spending," according to CBS News.

The speaker blasted Democrats for boosting expenditure and said the US "can't continue down" this road."

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Salma Hayek was dressed to the nines when she arrived at the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio near the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Monday.

The 56-year-old actress looked youthful and classy in a sleek black suit as she walked up during a brief break in the day's rain.

She was there to promote her upcoming dramedy Magic Mike's Last Dance, the final film in the stripper trilogy starring Channing Tatum.

Looking classy: Salma Hayek, 56, was dressed to the nines in a suit as she arrived for a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday in Hollywood

Salma, a noted animal lover, was joined at the taping by her beloved dog Lobito, who walked in by her side.

Salma added a touch of intrigue to her otherwise-traditional suit with a cropped black blazer, which she wore with casually upturned sleeve cuffs.

She paired it with slightly flared slacks that nearly reached to the ground, almost swallowing up her black platform heels.

Bright sight: The actress looked youthful and classy in a sleek black suit as she walked up during a brief break in the day's rain

Beloved pooch: Salma, a noted animal lover, was joined at the taping by her beloved dog Lobito, who walked in by her side

She added a splash of color to her stately look with a vibrant pink blouse, and she looked cool in a set of black cat-eye sunglasses that were framed by her wavy brunette locks, which she parted down the middle.

A member of Salma's entourage was seen handling her white dog Lobito's collar as the Frida star put out a calming hand for it sniff.

Once pacified, the dog strolled in to the studio by her side.

Taking it easy: A member of Salma's entourage was seen handling Lobito's collar as the Frida star put out a calming hand for it sniff

Part of her entourage: Once pacified, the dog strolled in to the studio by her side

Arriving: The beauty was escorted inside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood

The noted animal lover has long been open about her massive collection of pets, and earlier this month she got a special treat when she had a run-in with a raccoon at a friend's birthday party.

After spotting the furry party crasher, Salma decided to offer it a slice of cheese pizza, which it snatched up in its little paws.

The Mexican-born beauty has also has less traditional pets, including a cute rescue owl.

Stylish: Salma added a touch of intrigue to her otherwise-traditional suit with a cropped black blazer, which she wore with casually upturned sleeve cuffs

Pretty in pink: She added a splash of color to her stately look with a vibrant pink blouse

Fans: A number of fans lined up by the fence as they attempted to get the star's autograph

Beloved: They held posters featuring Salma in a number of different roles, including her portrayal of iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo

Close encounter! Salma has long been open about her massive collection of pets, and earlier this month she got a special treat when she had a run-in with a raccoon at a friend's party

Success! After spotting the furry party crasher, Salma decided to offer it a slice of cheese pizza, which it snatched up in its little paws

Salma was dropping by Jimmy Kimmel's talk show to promote Magic Mike's Last Dance, which sees her starring opposite Channing Tatum.

The final film, which sees original director Steven Soderbergh returning, finds the eponymous male stripper heading to London to put on a stage show inspired by his life experiences, which mirror's the Magic Mike Live show, in turn inspired by the films.

The latest movie is again written by Channing's friend and collaborator Reid Carolin, who used Channing's own experiences as a stripper earlier in his life to help write the original Magic Mike.
Pip Edwards has well and truly moved on after the very public brawl between her ex-boyfriend Michael Clarke and Jade Yarbrough over allegations he cheated on his current girlfriend with the P.E Nation designer.

The streetwear queen, 42, proved to be in the best shape of her life as she attended the opening of a new Pilates studio in Bondi Beach.

Pip showcased her six-pack abs and bronzed legs in zebra-print activewear from her own label.

Pip Edwards, 42, (pictured) flaunted her revenge body in a skimpy bralette and shorts on Tuesday, after that headline-making Noosa brawl involving ex Michael Clarke

The bronzed beauty did a number of poses as she leaned against Pilates equipment before doing a number of stretches in the studio.

Pip wore her cropped blonde tresses in a low ponytail and opted for minimal makeup for the challenging workout.

It comes after Pip was embroiled in her ex-boyfriend Michael Clarke's scandal involving a filmed brawl in Noosa.

The streetwear queen proved to be in the best shape of her life as she donned skintight activewear and hit a Pilates studio in Bondi

Pip broke her silence about the altercation to the Herald Sun at the Australian Open on Saturday saying the scandal was off her mind.

'It is definitely not my circus and I would like to say the carnival is over,' Edwards told the publication about the headline-making scandal.

'The carnival is over and to be honest the focus for me is on the global expansion of P.E. Nation. The carnival is done.'

Pip showcased her toned tummy and bronzed limbs in the zebra-print activewear which consisted of a bralette and shorts

Pip was dragged into the public stoush between her ex Michael and his girlfriend Jade which also involved Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine.

Extraordinary footage emerged earlier this month of a heated exchange between the couple while they were on holiday in Noosa, Queensland.

In the video, which was filmed by an onlooker on January 10 and sold to The Daily Telegraph for a reported $10,000, Jade accused the former Test captain of cheating on her with his former flame Pip on December 17.

Pip wore her cropped blonde tresses in a low ponytail and opted for minimal makeup for the challenging workout

Others in the group, including Karl, his wife Jasmine - Jade's older sister - and celebrity accountant Anthony Bell, tried to defuse the fracas.

The dramatic footage showed a shirtless Michael being screamed at and slapped by his hysterical girlfriend.

'I'm wrong? I'm f**king wrong! You're a f**king liar. I can see everything. You called her,' Jade screams.

Edwards was dragged into the public stoush between her ex Michael Clarke (left) and his girlfriend Jade Yarbrough (right) which also involved Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine

Michael tries to reassure Jade he didn't cheat on her and swears on his young daughter Kelsey Lee's life he was with Bell on the night in question last month.

'Baby you're wrong, you're wrong,' he insists.

'Baby, baby, Belly was at the house. I swear on my life, I swear at my life That's not true, it's not true.'

In the video, which was filmed by an onlooker on January 10 and sold to The Daily Telegraph for a reported $10,000, Yarbrough accused the former Test captain of cheating on her with his former flame Edwards on December 17

But Jade doesn't believe his protests and claims she spoke to Edwards.

'You're f**king lying to me. You are a piece of s**t. I just spoke to her. What is wrong with you?' she screams.

Michael replies: 'It's not true, it's not true.'

Pip has since been at a number of high-profile events including the Australian Open

Karl's wife Jasmine eventually steps in, grabs her distressed sister by the arm and walks her away.

'Get away with Karl, go with Karl,' Jasmine says as he unleashes his fury on Stefanovic.

'Karlos, I can tell you now c**t, don't you f**king walk away. She can, she can punch me, but you, you c**t,' Michael says.

This comment sparks fury from Jade, who defends her brother-in-law before slapping Michael in the face.

'You piece of s**t, don't you f**king speak to him,' she yells.

Bell is heard telling the couple to stop, which falls on deaf ears.

'Go, hit me hit me do it again, you're wrong, you're f**king wrong,' Michael tells his girlfriend.

Jade screams: 'Oh am I wrong? You f**ked her [Edwards] on December 17, you f**ked her you're a f**king dog I'm going to show her every f**king message you ever f**king sent me.'

She then makes reference to a text she saw on Michael's phone inviting Pip to come to India with him.

'Oh yeah, 'You're the love of my life Pip, come to India,'' Jade snarls.

Michael responds: 'Don't ever talk to me again.'

The two-minute clip ends with Jasmine and Bell separating the feuding couple.

'Stop, Jade, stop,' Jasmine pleads, to which Bell adds: 'Let it go Jade.'
Married At First Sight kicked off season 10 with a shocking premiere on Monday night as Harrison Boon's secret girlfriend was revealed.

Now a casting producer has gone live on radio to spill all the secrets of the matchmaking show as she warns people not to sign up for it.

Speaking on 2DayFM's Hughesy, Ed & Erin on Tuesday, former crew member Maddie revealed she would go bar hopping in Sydney to find attractive singles for the series.

Married At First Sight kicked off season 10 with a shocking premiere on Monday night as Harrison Boon's (pictured) secret girlfriend was revealed

'I had this clipboard with me and I'd walk into a bar,' she told hosts Dave Hughes and Erin Molan.

'People thought I was hitting on them as well. I'd go up to these good looking blokes and people thought I was literally hitting on them.

'And then they'd be really disappointed because I'd whip out a clipboard.'

Now a casting producer has gone live on radio to spill all the secrets of the matchmaking show as she warns people not to sign up for it. (Pictured: radio presenter Dave Hughes)

Hughesy went on to ask if Maddie 'felt sorry' for Boon's bride Bronte Schofield after she was blindsided by her new beau's scandal.

She said: 'I'm not working as a caster anymore. So if I had to give anyone advice, I probably wouldn't go on the show.

'There is always the risk that you're going to end up with someone a bit dodgy.'

Speaking on 2DayFM's Hughesy, Ed & Erin (all pictured) on Tuesday, former crew member Maddie revealed she would go bar hopping in Sydney to find attractive singles for the series

It comes after Schofield was pulled aside at her wedding reception on Monday night's episode as her BFF Jessica Tomlinson warned her Boon had been dating her friend just days before filming his TV wedding.

Daily Mail Australia revealed on Tuesday the 'other woman' in question is 21-year-old Abby Miller, who starred on this year's season of The Bachelors.

Sources close to Boon say the whole thing has been 'blown out of proportion', with Miller just one of many women he was chatting to on dating apps in the lead-up to filming MAFS last year.

It comes after Schofield (right) was pulled aside at her wedding reception on Monday night's episode as her BFF Jessica Tomlinson warned her Boon had been dating her friend just days before filming his TV wedding

'The whole thing was blown out of proportion,' one insider told Daily Mail Australia.

'Jess wanted her five minutes of fame and exaggerated the nature of Harrison's relationship with Abby just to get time in front of the camera. Harrison and Abby knew each other for no more than a month and a half.'

The pair went on a few dates, the source added, but there was 'nothing serious' about their relationship, and Boon 'certainly didn't promise to wait for her'.
Lisa Marie Presley reportedly wanted her children to have access to her trust and wanted her oldest daughter Riley Keough to manage it, a close friend claims.

'Lisa's intent was very clear,' the friend said while speaking to People on Monday. 'Lisa really didn't feel that [mother] Priscilla Presley was doing anything in her best interest.'

The latest claim comes as Lisa's mother Priscilla, 77, is challenging a 2016 revision to her will that removed her and Lisa's former business manager Barry Siegel as mangers of her trust and replacing them with Riley, 33.

The family controversy follows Presley's tragic death on January 12 at age 54, after she went into cardiac arrest at home and had to be rushed to a hospital after CPR was performed.

Speaking up: A friend of Lisa Marie Presley claimed to People on Monday that she intended her daughter Riley Keough, 33, to take over her trust after she had a falling out with her mother Priscilla Presley; Lisa and Riley seen in 2017

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Riley Keough and Priscilla Presley.

According to Priscilla's petition, obtained by People, Lisa had a living will dating back to 1993, which was amended in 2010 to make Priscilla and Siegel co-trustees.

But following Lisa's death, her mother learned of an initial amendment from 2016 that removed her and Siegel and trustees and replaced them with Riley and her brother Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020.

Lisa's wishes for trustees don't appear to have been updated following her son's death.

In Priscilla's petition, she claims there are 'many issues surrounding the authenticity and validity' of the 2016 will amendment.

Fighting back: Priscilla is challenging a 2016 will amendment removing her as trustee. She says the signature isn't valid and claims she wasn't notified, as required by the trust. She also says the amendment wasn't witnessed or notarized; Priscilla and Lisa seen in 2008

According to her, she should have been informed that she was being removed as co-trustee, 'as required by the express terms of the Trust,' but she says she was never informed.

The ex-wife of Elvis Presley also claims that her daughter's signature on the 2016 amendment was 'inconsistent' with previous signatures, and she says there also was not a witness listed, nor a notary present.

She says the 2010 amendment listing her as a co-trustee is still 'the authoritative and controlling document.'

Although the friend doesn't appear to vouch for the authenticity of the 2016 amendment, they claim that it was in line with Lisa's wishes at the time, as she had allegedly had a major falling out with her mother.

They say that as of 2016, she 'did not have a relationship' with her mother, though the two appear to have patched things up to a degree after appearing at several events and award ceremonies to promote Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, which stars Austin Butler as the legendary rocker.

Bad blood: Part of Lisa's falling out with Priscilla was due to her mother continuing to have a relationship with her ex-husband Michael Lockwood (pictured) against her wishes, the friend claimed; seen in 2013

One sticking point was allegedly Priscilla's insistence on continuing to have a relationship with Lisa's ex-husband Michael Lockwood following their 2016 split. The divorce was finalized in 2021.

Lockwood apparently was not invited to Lisa's funeral, but Priscilla  who shares an agent with him  managed to get him into the ceremony, her friend says.

In 2017, Lisa had accused her ex of having inappropriate images of children on his compute amid their custody battle.

Although police investigated and examined dozens of electronic devices, no criminal charges were filed and the investigation was ultimately dropped.

Lisa's friend said Lisa's will amendment was part of her desire to live 'her life authentically.'

'She wouldn't remain quiet when she was being taken advantage of,' they continued. 'At the end of the day, these are her wishes, and there's no question as to what her wishes were. No one's going to be able to reinvent the last seven or eight years and say no, no, no.'

Honoring her wishes: 'At the end of the day, these are her wishes, and there's no question as to what her wishes were,' the friend said. 'No one's going to be able to reinvent the last seven or eight years and say no, no, no'; seen in 2012

It wasn't just personal issues that led her to want to change the trust, as Lisa's friend said she 'had a major issue' with how it was run under her mother and Siegel's watch.

In 2018, she sued Siegel, claiming that his mismanagement led her trust to shrink from $100 million to just $14,000. However, he claimed that the loss in funds was due to her extravagant spending.

'There's substantial documentation that basically Lisa was the only trustee,' her friend claims. 'Priscilla did not participate in anything, as [Siegel also] hadn't for years before At the end of the day, a trustee is supposed to have limited power  they're supposed to not be able to do anything bad or stupid. No one can argue that Riley being the trustee is going to not be to the benefit of the twins.'
Elsa Pataky has shared a number of clips showing Africa's majestic animals while on a safari in Kenya.

The actress, 46, who is currently on safari with megastar husband Chris Hemsworth, 39, showed herself in an open top 4WD.

The couple were joined by their children, daughter India, 10, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, eight, for the animal adventure.

Elsa Pataky shared intimate moments with husband Chris Hemsworth on Tuesday as they enjoyed a safari in Kenya. Both pictured

The family were clearly in awe of the animals as they looked at elephants, hippos, giraffes and lion cubs on the trip.

Elsa and Chris are obvious animal lovers with the family getting up close and personal with the creatures.

In one clip, the family watch a herd of elephants roaming around the grasslands before going on to watch hippos soaking in water

In one clip, the family watch a herd of elephants roaming around the grasslands before going on to watch hippos soaking in water.

Elsa then showed herself getting a kiss from a giraffe.

The last clip showed lion cubs yawning as they rested on a tree branch.

Chris showed himself throwing a spear during the safari

Elsa then showed herself getting a kiss from a giraffe

The last clip showed lion cubs yawning as they rested on a tree branch

It comes just days after the family went horse-riding along the African plains, spotting Zebra as they rode together.

Last week the family shared even more images from their trip, including one in which the 39-year-old actor Chris showed off his muscles in a tank top as he posed in a field with some handsome camels.

Further photos showed Elsa holding onto a baby goat and beaming as she wore a sun hat.

Chris and Elsa were seen horseback riding just days ago. Both pictured

Last week the family shared even more images from their trip, including one in which the 39-year-old actor showed off his muscles in a tank top as he posed in a field with some camels

The famous family also shared images of the gorgeous plains and wild animals they encountered on their adventure.

Chris wrote in his caption: 'One of the most memorable trips to Kenya my family and I have ever had.'

It's the second luxurious trip the clan have taken in recent weeks, having returned from a vacation to Fiji earlier this month.

Chris wrote in his caption: 'One of the most memorable trips to Kenya my family and I have ever had'

The Hollywood power couple spent their days surfing and soaking up the sun at a luxury resort on Tavarua, Fiji as they celebrated Christmas with their loved ones.

For an eye-watering $6,000 per person for seven nights, the actors and their family had the run of beachside villas on a 29-acre heart-shaped tropical getaway.

For the couple and their three children, a week-long getaway could come to as much as a whopping $30,000.
Shemar Moore and his girlfriend proudly shared more snaps of their new baby daughter Frankie on their respective Instagram accounts Monday.

Moore shares his daughter with Jesiree Dizon, who posted a six-image carousel featuring several close-up shots of the newborn in a pink onesie with a large bow on her head.

Dizon posed with her new baby swaddled in a blanket on her chest as she took selfies in the hospital.

Proud mom: Shemar Moore and his girlfriend Jesiree Dizon shared images of their new baby daughter Frankie on their respective Instagram accounts Monday

Cutie! Dizon posted several images of the newborn in a onesie with a large bow on her head

The new mother captioned her post, 'I shall call her squishy and she shall be mine and she shall be my squishy. Frankie Melelina Kapule Moore. 01/24/2023 @ 3:38pm 7lbs 1oz & 20in of LOVE.'

She continued, 'Daddy with the win picking her coming home outfit  OBSESSED.'

The model kissed Frankie's forehead in an intimate image that marked her first post since the newborn's arrival.

The 52-year-old S.W.A.T. star wore a black beanie with 'Baby Girl' embroidered across the front as he lovingly cradled his little girl with the caption 'Baby Girl Frankie n Daddy!!!'

Proud dad: The 52-year-old S.W.A.T. star cradled his baby girl with the caption 'Baby Girl Frankie n Daddy!!!'

Hospital glam: Jesiree appeared photo ready with smokey eyes and makeup as she held her baby girl in the hospital

So cute: The proud mom captioned the post, 'I shall call her squishy and she shall be mine and she shall be my squishy. Frankie Melelina Kapule Moore. 01/24/2023 @ 3:38 pm. 7 lbs 1 oz & 20 in of LOVE. Daddy with the win picking her coming home outfit OBSESSED

On Tuesday, Moore announced that Jesiree had given birth to their first child.

On Wednesday, Moore posted a photo of himself holding Frankie, who was swaddled in a blanket and appeared to be snoozing peacefully in his arms.

In his enthused caption, he wrote that the little girl was 'Already THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!' while bragging, 'Im a Girl Daddy!!!!'

Although Frankie is Moore's first child with Dizon, she also has a five-year-old daughter named Charli from her relationship with the actor Stephen Bishop, as well as a son named Kaiden from another relationship.

First look: Shemar shared the first photo of Frankie on Wednesday, a day after he confirmed her birth

Over the moon: He wrote that the little girl was 'Already THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!' while bragging, 'Im a Girl Daddy!!!!' and noting how happy his later mother would be 'in heaven'; seen in 2019

The Criminal Minds actor revealed on The Jennifer Hudson Show earlier this month that he 'is about to be a daddy' and that he had began to worry 'that ship had sailed' on being a parent.

He said that the due date was around the third anniversary of his mother's death on February 8, 2020.

He said: 'On February 8th, I'm gonna make one of her dreams come true because in real life, Shemar Moore is about to be a daddy,' which prompted the audience to cheer.

Daddy! Last month while appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Shemar revealed he was going to be a father

TV star: Moore is best known for his 19942005 stint on the Young And The Restless and appearing on Criminal Minds from 2006 to 2016. He has led S.W.A.T. (pictured) since 2017

'Congratulations!' Hudson told him. 'That's news! And your mama is gonna be so proud, smiling at you from heaven.'

Moore then said: 'I'm sorry she can't be here. I was worried for a while that maybe that ship had sailed'

Despite feeling that his life is already 'pretty grand,' Moore predicted fatherhood will be 'the best' experience.

Moore shared a sweet video from his gender reveal party in which he learned he would be having a little girl as a helicopter released pink smoke.

His loved ones clapped and he beamed with joy while holding up a 'Girl dad' t-shirt.

Overjoyed: His loved ones clapped and he beamed with joy while holding up a 'Girl dad' t-shirt

Making memories: The pair learned they would be having a little girl as a helicopter released pink smoke

Happy parents: Moore celebrated when he saw the pink smoke

In 2016, the star revealed he stepped away from Criminal Minds and his beloved character Derek Morgan to focus on his family.

'I need balance in my life. I love what I do for a living, I love it from action to cut, but I also want to walk my dogs, travel, get married, have kids. I want balance, and it's hard to do with the schedule that we have,' he told TV Line, at the time.

The hunk has done his best to push through a challenging three years, which included the devastating loss of his mother and battling COVID-19.
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Pamela Anderson was ever the blonde bombshell at the glitzy Los Angeles premiere of her tell-all Netflix documentary Pamela: A Love Story on Monday.

The Baywatch star, 55, showed off her incredible form and toned arms in a red hot floor-length gown that clung to her famous figure.

The actress was also joined by her sons Brandon Thomas, 26, and Dylan Lee, 25, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee, 60.

Blonde bombshell! Pamela Anderson was ever the blonde bombshell at the glitzy Los Angeles premiere of her tell-all Netflix documentary Pamela: A Love Story on Monday

Iconic red: The superstar rose to fame as lifeguard CJ Parker on TV series Baywatch, where she wore her iconic red one-piece swimsuit; Pictured in a 1992 still from Baywatch

It was only fitting for the superstar to don red at the event, as she rose to fame playing lifeguard CJ Parker on 1992 TV series Baywatch, where she wore an iconic red one-piece swimsuit.

The Canadian star wore her blonde tresses in a voluminous updo, with a few strands framing her face.

She accessorized the red carpet ensemble with dangling silver earrings.

Red hot: The Baywatch star, 55, showed off her incredible form and toned arms in a red hot floor-length gown that clung to her famous figure

All red: Going for an all-red look, the Playboy beauty sported strappy red heels for the occasion

Glam gal: As for glam, the model drew attention to her mesmerizing blue eyes with dark eyeliner, and wore pink gloss on her pout

As for glam, the model drew attention to her mesmerizing blue eyes with dark eyeliner, and wore pink gloss on her pout.

Going for an all-red look, the Playboy beauty sported strappy red heels for the occasion.

Meanwhile her son Brandon  who also served as a producer on the film  looked handsome as ever in a crisp navy suit and tie, which he paired with black dress shoes.

Gorgeous: The Canadian star wore her blonde tresses in a voluminous updo, with a few strands framing her face

Accessories: Pamela accessorized the red carpet ensemble with dangling silver earrings

Her boys: The actress was also joined by her sons Brandon Thomas, 26, and Dylan Lee, 25, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee, 60

Dapper: Her son Brandon looked handsome as ever in a crisp navy suit and tie, which he paired with black dress shoes

Smooch: The loving mom was seen giving Brandon a smooch on the cheek in front of the shutterbugs

Sweet: Her eldest son had a loving arm on her back as they posed for the cameras

Dylan sported a more edgy look, wearing a shimmering striped black tuxedo with a white shirt and black sunglasses.

The loving mom was seen giving Brandon a smooch on the cheek in front of the shutterbugs.

When he wasn't getting smooches from his mom, Brandon was joined on the red carpet by his girlfriend Lily Easton.

Solo: Her sons also took solo shots at the event, as they showed off their distinctive styles

Producer: Brandon served as a producer on the film

Proud mama: Pamela proudly posed for a number of snaps with her boys

With the director: Pamela was also joined by the director of her documentary Ryan White, 42

Class act: The duo posed together, with White sporting a classy black suit

Lily looked ravishing in a delicate black lace slip dress, which she paired with black heels and a matching clutch.

She wore her long brunette tresses parted in the middle and cascading down her shoulders.

Pamela was also joined by the director of her documentary Ryan White, 42, who wore a classy black suit.

His gal: When he wasn't getting smooches from his mom, Brandon was joined on the red carpet by his girlfriend Lily Easton

Ravishing: Lily looked ravishing in a delicate black lace slip dress, which she paired with black heels and a matching clutch

Miss Jackson! Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson, 24, turned heads in a stunning brown silk slip dress

Golden girl: Paris teamed the dress with gold platform heels and a gold sequin purse

Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson, 24, turned heads in a stunning brown silk slip dress.

The gown featured a saucy slit on the side. Paris teamed the dress with gold platform heels and a gold sequin purse.

As for makeup the young star wore a cranberry shade of lipstick and winged eyeliner.

Wow! Model Jasmine Sanders, 31, turned up the heat in a black nylon bustier-style bodysuit and matching black tights

Blondie: The blonde beauty wore her tresses in bouncy curls, and accentuated her features with nude lipstick and black eyeliner

Ample assets: The back of her tights featured a trendy rock n' roll tear

From the back: Jasmine gave the photographers plenty to work with as she showed off her sultry look from a number of angles

Model Jasmine Sanders, 31, turned up the heat in a black nylon bustier-style bodysuit and matching black tights.

The German-American fashionista opted to go all-black, wearing knee-high leather boots.

The blonde beauty wore her tresses in bouncy curls, and accentuated her features with nude lipstick and black eyeliner.

Actress Lindsey Pelas, 31, wore a flirty brown mini dress which accentuated her ample cleavage.

Va va voom! Actress Lindsey Pelas, 31, wore a flirty brown mini dress which accentuated her ample cleavage

Galactic beauty: Also present was actress Larsen Thompson, 22, who put her endless legs on display in a metallic silver one-shoulder dress

Model looks: Model Josie Canseco, 26, looked chic in a copper-toned dress, while singer Stormi Bree, 32, looked effortlessly stylish in a black velvet dress and a lavish burgundy coat

She wore her blonde curls cascading down her back, and teamed the look with glittering platform heels.

Also at the premiere was Canadian YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous, 30, who showed off her toned midriff in a cropped cheetah top and matching mini skirt.

The social media star paired the look with classy black heels. Like Pamela, Gigi wore her blonde tresses in a chic updo.

Also present was actress Larsen Thompson, 22, who put her endless legs on display in a metallic silver one-shoulder dress.

Meow! Also at the premiere was Canadian YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous, 30, who showed off her toned midriff in a cropped cheetah top and matching mini skirt

Busty: YouTube star Tana Mongeau, 24, donned a busty black velvet gown that clung to her curves

All together! Pamela was seen posing with a few people involved in her documentary; (L-R) Julia Nottingham, John Braun, Brandon, Pamela, White, Jessica Hargrave and Lisa Nishimura

Model Josie Canseco, 26, looked chic in a high-neck copper-toned dress, which she paired with black heels and gold hoops.

The star  who's the daughter of former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco  wore her blonde tresses parted in the middle and slicked into a ponytail.

Singer Stormi Bree, 32, looked effortlessly stylish in a black velvet dress over which she wore a lavish burgundy coat.

YouTube star Tana Mongeau, 24, donned a busty black velvet gown that clung to her curves.

Financial woes: Part of the new documentary deals with Anderson's financial woes. At one point her son Brandon expresses regret that she didn't make any money off her stolen sex tape, but she insisted she had no regrets because the tape was a violation

Infamous: Pamela made the home video in 1995 with Brandon and Dylan's father rocker Tommy Lee, 60, to whom she was married from 19951998; The pair pictured in 1995

Among many fascinating revelations in the documentary 'Pamela, A Love Story' was the fact that Anderson dealt with financial troubles throughout her life, despite having starred on one of the most popular shows of its time, Baywatch, as per Yahoo Entertainment.

The star revealed that she didn't have an agent when she negotiated her deal on the series, and that she turned down $5 million for her infamous stolen sex tape, which was made from home videos of her with then-husband Tommy Lee, in the '90s.

At one point her son Brandon expressed regret that she did not make any money off the stolen tape, given how much it set back her career, however she insisted she had no regrets about not monetizing the tape because it was a violation.

The famous blonde did not have a glam squad doing her makeup in the documentary, and was even pictured going to a drug store to buy hair dye.

Natural: The famous blonde did not have a glam squad doing her makeup in the documentary, and was even pictured going to a drug store to buy hair dye as per Yahoo Entertainment

Filmmaker Ryan White told the publication he was 'shocked' to learn about Anderson's financial situation.

'She was the most famous woman in the world on the most famous show in the world and she doesn't have a nest egg from from Baywatch to rely upon,' he said.

'It's shocking for how for how famous she is and how much much a part of American pop culture she's been for the last 30-something years that she had been in financial trouble that many times. It was really revealing and really humanizing,' he added.

Both Anderson's documentary and her long-awaited memoir Love, Pamela are set to be released on Tuesday.
Karina Irby has lashed out after a selfie of her bare buttocks was removed by Instagram.

The Gold Coast swimwear designer, 32, reposted the image to her Instagram Stories along with a caption.

She wrote: 'Sorry if my butt has offended you. There was a lot of controversy on this photo and you guys even got it removed.

Karina Irby (pictured) has lashed out after a selfie of her bare buttocks was removed by Instagram. The Gold Coast swimwear designer, 32, reposted the image to her Instagram Stories along with a caption

'Yes I have no pants on, but it's nothing more than what I always post. Plus I'm TRYING to show off my Pimple Patch!'

She added: 'I had a mean booty pimple last week and wanted to show it off.'

In the photo, she turned her bare bottom to the side and displayed a small unicorn sticker on one cheek.

She wrote: 'Sorry if my butt has offended you. There was a lot of controversy on this photo and you guys even got it removed'

The beauty went without bikini bottoms but appeared to have on a top in the image, which did not show her face.

The influencer recently detailed a selection of shaming comments directed at her over her decision not to have children.

'As I person who can't have kids I'm offended to hear you want to be childless. Its a blessing,' one comment read.

The blonde beauty is a bikini designer and known for her body-positive selfies

'Following to say "I told you so" when you fall pregnant,' another person chided, while one more said, 'No kids? Lol you'll change your mind!'

'It's a blessing to have children. You will understand one day,' a further comment read, with another saying, 'Kids would look so good on you! Please reconsider!'

After sharing all the comments alongside a photo of herself and her new husband, Ryan Jones, kissing, Karina wrote a heartfelt caption.

Karina said: 'The stigma around the choice to be child-free needs to be turned around. You only get one shot at this thing called life.

The influencer recently detailed a selection of shaming comments directed at her over her decision not to have children

'The more that individuals are happy about their OWN life choices, and allow others to be happy in THEIRS, will make the world a better place.'

Karina is a newlywed after exchanging vows with Ryan Jones during an idyllic island wedding on a beach in Bora Bora late last year.

The blonde beauty, who is known for her body-positive selfies, wore her favourite attire for the nuptials - a skimpy white bikini - teamed with a sarong skirt for the intimate beach ceremony.
Pierce Brosnan was spotted looking as handsome as ever while doing some grocery shopping in Malibu, California, on Monday.

The former Bond actor, 69, showed off his rugged good looks as he happily picked up some goods from the store after hitting the shops in his luxury BMW.

Pierce cut a casual figure, looking suave in a pair of dark trousers, a shirt and jacket.

That's one way to do the grocery run! Pierce Brosnan showed off his rugged good looks and looked suave in a shirt and trousers as he picked up some groceries in Malibu on Monday

He wore a navy T-shirt underneath and covered his eyes in a pair of stylish shades.

Pierce looked relaxed while out and about, happily returning a trolley to its station and carrying bags of goods to his car.

The silver fox sported a bushy beard on the day.

Stylish: He wore a navy T-shirt underneath and covered his eyes in a pair of stylish shades

It comes after the handsome star was spotted enjoying dinner at Nobu in Malibu with his family last month.

He and wife Keely Shaye also attended the GQ Men of the Year party together.

Pierce exchanged vows with Keely in his native Ireland in August 2001.

Relaxed: Pierce looked relaxed while out and about, happily returning a trolley to its station and carrying bags of goods to his car

Date night: He and wife Keely Shaye also attended the GQ Men of the Year party together recently

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.

The couple share two sons together, Dylan, 25, and Paris, 21, who 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.

Stylish arrival: Pierce hopped out of his luxury BMW to do his shopping

Grandchild number four: It's has been a happy time for the Brosnan household as Pierce celebrated the birth of his fourth grandchild shortly before the GQ event

Pierce adopted Cassandra's children Chris and Charlotte after their father Dermot Harris died in 1986.

It's has been a happy time for the Brosnan household as Pierce celebrated the birth of his fourth grandchild shortly before the GQ event.

Sharing a snap on Instagram, the four-time Bond actor revealed Jaxxon Elijah to the world.

In a short caption, Pierce said: 'Jaxxon Elijah Brosnan, born 3:06pm 11/12/22 all good blessings to you my dearest grandson, welcome.' The baby's parents are Pierce's son Sean Brosnan and daughter-in-law Sanja Banic, who together also have a seven-year-old daughter called Marley.
Chinese FM holds phone talks with Saudi counterpart

Xinhua) 10:29, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday held phone talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

During the talks, Qin said President Xi Jinping's recent presence at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, and his state visit to Saudi Arabia have scored complete success, making it a new milestone in the history of China-Saudi Arabia, China-GCC and China-Arab relations, adding that China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to implement the outcomes of the summits and promote their relations to new levels.

China highly appreciates Saudi Arabia's consistent and firm support on issues concerning China's core interests and stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to uphold non-interference in internal affairs and other basic norms of international relations, Qin noted.

He said the two sides should further expand cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, energy, infrastructure, investment, finance and high-tech, increase communication and coordination, make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, continuously strengthen the China-GCC strategic partnership and build a China-GCC free trade zone as soon as possible.

China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Saudi Arabia in regional and international affairs, jointly promote regional peace and stability, and better safeguard the common interests of the vast developing countries, Qin said.

Faisal said Saudi Arabia regards its relations with China as an important cornerstone of its foreign relations and is willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of the summits, take joint actions, deepen cooperation in various fields, promote further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and China, and safeguard the common interests of the two countries.

Saudi Arabia fully adheres to the one-China principle and firmly opposes the politicization of human rights issues, Faisal said, noting that his country is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China and jointly uphold the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
We all know that Elon Musk has been pretty reckless with his tweets, and although they caused a lot of backlashes, he rarely apologizes. In the case of Paul Pelosi regarding the attack on his own home, Musk recognized his mistake in spreading false information and was sorry for it.

Musk Regrets a Tweet

Musk published a short apology for taking part in the spread of misinformation, which claimed that there might be more to the story of the attack against Pelosi. He tweeted it along with a link that accused Nancy Pelosi's husband of being drunk and disputing with a male prostitute.

Nonetheless, I apologize  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2023

The apology came in the form of a reply to Juanita Broaddrick's tweet, insisting that the situation with men in their underwear was bizarre and that Musk should not apologize. This is the same woman who accused Bill Clinton of raping her, according to Gizmodo. The tech billionaire's regret came days after the graphic body camera footage was released. The video shows the assailant to be struggling for control over the hammer with Pelosi, which he managed to take and hit Pelosi on the head with. The attacker in question is 42-year-old David Depape. The police went in and restrained him, but not before he struck a blow in Pelosi's head, causing him to lie unconscious on the ground in his own blood. Depape has been charged with attempted murder and assault.

#EXCLUSIVE

Just released police body camera video shows moments David DePape attacked Paul Pelosi at his# San Francisco home



WARNING: VIDEO IS GRAPHIC#PaulPelosi #BREAKING@Nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/rQZriBvOCm  Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) January 27, 2023



Read Also: Nancy Pelosi's Flight to Taiwan Becomes Most Tracked Flight on Flightradar24

Backstory

Musk's infamous tweet which implied that there might be more to the story was a response to former first lady Hillary Clinton's tweet. Her post accused the Republican party and its supporters of spreading "deranged" conspiracy theories, and that it led to violent results. Although his tweet had already been deleted, others were able to take a screenshot and posted it on Twitter as well. The article that Musk included in the now-deleted tweet was published by the Santa Monica Observer, which was known for making false claims.

Elon Musk is now sharing conspiracy theory blog posts about the attack on Paul Pelosi. pic.twitter.com/XKolS7ogYd  Matt Novak (@paleofuture) October 30, 2022

The article published by SMO stated that Pelosi did not know who the man was, but said that his name was David and that he was a friend. It was also mentioned that there have been rumors for years in San Francisco that Paul Pelosi was a homosexual.

The article's publisher was already an established conspiracy theory nut based on its previous reports. Back in 2016, the publisher even claimed that Hillary Clinton had already died and that she was replaced by a body double who debated with fellow nominee Donald Trump.

An editorial from The Los Angeles Times even listed the Santa Monica Observer, which is owned by onetime City Council candidate David Ganezer, as one of those that masquerade as legitimate local newspapers, as mentioned in The New York Times.

The police released a statement saying that David Depape entered through the back door. The attacker was also said to be shouting, asking the whereabouts of Nancy Pelosi. San Francisco District attorney Brooke Jenkins said that there was no evidence that Paul Pelosi knew Depape.

Related: Elon Musk's Tweeting Habits Targeted by Tesla Investors at Trial
Rochelle Humes' daughter Alaia-Mai, 9, could barely contain her excitement on Monday night as she met the Princess of Wales during a night out at BAFTA London.

The youngster was seen squealing with joy after shaking hands with Kate Middleton at her event, which saw the royal launch the next stage of her Shaping Us campaign and was hosted by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

Alaia-Mai's TV presenter mum Rochelle, 33, shared the proud moment on her Instagram, with the star seen holding onto her girl's shoulders while smiling down at her.

Exciting: Rochelle Humes' daughter Alaia-Mai, 9, could barely contain her excitement on Monday night as she met the Princess of Wales during a night out at BAFTA London

Her husband Marvin Humes, 37 - who was at home with the couple's other two children - also uploaded the moment to his stories, remarking he was 'proud of my girls'.

Sharing a laugh, Rochelle, Alaia-Mai and Kate were also joined by beaming BBC journalist Kate Silverton, who looked lovely in a black maxi skirt and blazer.

While ever the fashion icon, Kate looked stunning in a bold red suit, while Prince William who was also present, was smart in a navy blazer and trousers.

A real life Princess! The youngster was seen squealing with joy after shaking hands with Kate Middleton at her event

Meanwhile, Rochelle was ever the radiant beauty in a chocolate satin maxi dress.

Rochelle's satin garment had a long-sleeve design and scooping neck as it fell to her ankles in a figure-accentuating style.

She teamed the number with a pair of dark court heels to match, while keeping warm with a gold-buttoned cardigan on top.

Royalty: Alaia-Mai couldn't keep the smile off her face as she greeted the royal alongside her TV star mum

The Saturday's star scooped her dark locks away into a sleek bun, while adding a pair of gorgeous pearl and gold earrings.

Alaia-Mai meanwhile looked adorable in a floral dress worn with white tights and white shoes.

Matching her mother, she also wore her dark locks in a neat bun.

Guests: Sharing a laugh, the trio were also joined by beaming BBC journalist Kate Silverton, who greeted Kate and Rochelle in a black maxi skirt and blazer

Initiative: Kate kicked off her new 'Shaping Us' initiative at the event - which will see an ambitious advertising blitz in cinemas and on billboards the length and breadth of the country - with a glitzy reception at BAFTA in London

Inside: Talking during the event, Rochelle revealed that she had brought her daughter, Alaia, to the event 'on a school night'

And Alaia-Mai was the spitting image of her mother as they grasped hands while leaving the event.

Rochelle is also mother to younger daughter Valentina Raine, five, and son Blake Hampton, two.

Talking during the event, Rochelle revealed that she had brought her daughter, Alaia, to the event 'on a school night'.

Mother-daughter outing: Meanwhile, Rochelle was ever the radiant beauty in a chocolate satin maxi dress

Glowing! The Saturday's star scooped her dark locks away into a sleek bun, while adding a pair of gorgeous pearl and gold earrings

Home time: And Alaia-Mai was the spitting image of her mother as they grasped hands while leaving the event

'There's only one reason that she's here,' she teased, looking at the Princess, 'and.it's your hair. She has the best hair, mum!'

Rochelle also spoke of being brought up by her mother, a single parent, sharing: 'She [my mother] taught me, protected me, cuddled me when I was upset and - please believe me - in equal measure corrected me when I was wrong. She taught me that anything was possible and that if you don't ask, you don't get.'

Kate kicked off her new 'Shaping Us' initiative at the event - which will see an ambitious advertising blitz in cinemas and on billboards the length and breadth of the country - with a glitzy reception at BAFTA in London.

Family: Rochelle is also mother to younger daughter Valentina Raine, five, and son Blake Hampton, two

Famous faces: While a slew of other stars were spotted leaving, with Ferne Cotton opting for an all-black ensemble with satin trousers and a long-sleeved lace blouse

Rochelle was snapped leaving the venue as she grasped her daughters hand while waiting on a car to take them home.

While a slew of other stars were spotted leaving, with Ferne Cotton opting for an all-black ensemble with satin trousers and a long-sleeved lace blouse.

Zara McDermott looked classy in a navy midi dress, layering a cream, longline coat on top.

Gorgeous: Zara McDermott looked classy in a navy midi dress, layering a cream, longline coat on top

Suave: While Professor Green donned an all-black suit for the evening

Date night! The musician was joined by fiancee Karima McAdams as they were snapped leaving the bash

Wow! The actress looked ultra glamorous in a bright satin yellow dress, with a matching cape on top
Byron Baes star Jade Kevin Foster revealed on Tuesday he is feeling extremely 'stressed' about being taken to the hospital to treat a blocked ear infection.

The reality star, 30, told his Instagram fans he started experiencing problems with his eardrums two weeks ago and the pain had not eased a fortnight later.

'I'm so stressed out right now. I'm waiting for my fiance Johnny to come take me to the hospital. The anxiety is surreal,' he told his fans.

Byron Baes star Jade Kevin Foster (pictured) revealed on Tuesday he is feeling extremely 'stressed' about being taken to the hospital to treat a blocked ear infection

He added: 'Two weeks ago it started and I had to keep popping my ears. I thought it would go away by itself.'

Jade then said he had tried taking medication but nothing worked so he made the difficult decision to visit the hospital.

Fortunately, Jade had a glass of water on hand which helped temporarily calm his nerves and he also found joking about his predicament helped.

The reality star, 30, told his Instagram fans he started experiencing problems with his eardrums two weeks ago and the pain had not eased a fortnight later

Last year, Jade went through a harrowing ordeal recently after his $154,000 BMW was stolen after a thief broke into his house.

He posted about the stressful situation on Instagram and told his fans the vehicle was a 'write off' after the heartless thief crashed it into a police car.

'The whole thing's completely f**cked. They just dumped it,' an upset Jade told his 1.2million followers.

A devastated Jade told Daily Mail Australia he heard from the police the reckless thief crashed the luxury car into some trees and a police car before running away and was on the loose.

'I'm so stressed out right now. I'm waiting for my fiance Johnny to come take me to the hospital. The anxiety is surreal,' he told his fans

Jade said he has some choice words for the criminal who destroyed his treasured possession.

'If you want nice things then get your a** up and work for them! Dont be scum and steal,' he said.

Foster found viral fame after being pictured with Kim Kardashian in 2014.

He went on to star in Netflix's Byron Baes and billed himself as 'Australia's biggest male influencer' on the reality series.

Jade then said he had tried taking medication but nothing worked so he made the difficult decision to visit the hospital
Salma Hayek gave fans a glimpse at the incredible outfit she wore at Marc Anthony's wedding to Nadia Ferreira.

The 56-year-old actress looked sensational in her Instagram snap on Monday as she modelled a plunging mint green gown.

She put her ample cleavage on display in the low-cut garment that flared out into a full skirt with layers of tulle.

Stunning: Salma Hayek looked sensational in a low cut mint gown as she gave fans a glimpse at her outfit for Marc Anthony's wedding to Nadia Ferreira on Saturday

The striking dress was adorned with silver beading that complemented her diamond bracelet and delicate earrings.

Salma completed the look by styling her glossy locks in a curly up 'do and wore a slick of scarlet lipstick on her plump pout.

She captioned the snap: 'Just before getting in the car to go celebrate the love of my friends @marcanthony and @nadiatferreira Que viva el amor [Long live love] !! Y que viva la salsa!!! [And long live the sauce] @giambattistavalliparis'.

Salma's fans went wild for the snap who rushed to compliment her, with Sharon Stone also weighing in and commenting: 'U r so pretty honey.'

Sweet: Salma's fans went wild for the snap who rushed to compliment her, with Sharon Stone also weighing in and commenting: 'U r so pretty honey'

Here comes the bride: Marc, who starred alongside Salma in the 2001 drama, In the Time of the Butterflies, married Miss Universe Nadia (pictured) in a star-studded ceremony

Marc, who starred alongside Salma in the 2001 drama, In the Time of the Butterflies, married for a fourth time on Saturday.

He exchanged vows with Miss Universe Nadia in a star-studded ceremony with guests including Marc's longtime pal David Beckham.

The 54-year-old musician and 23-year-old former pageant queen tied the knot after an eight-month engagement, with the couple hosting a swanky ceremony at the Perez Art Museum in Miami.

The bride looked beautiful in a gorgeous white lace gown by Galia Lahav which featured a stunning sheer top adorned with floral embellishments.

The wedding took place at 7:30pm on Saturday, according to a detailed report by Hola.

The publication also noted that Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez acted as the wedding officiant for the soiree, which was attended by the likes of Maluma, David, and Romeo Santos.

Additionally, other big name guests included Lin Manuel Miranda and Luis Fonsi.

The wedding was not attended by Marc's ex-wife Jennifer Lopez, her new husband Ben Affleck, nor the former couple's 14-year-old twins Emme and Max.
Phillip Schofield lost his cool during Tuesday's This Morning as he scolded a show guest for mispronouncing her words.

The presenter and his co-host Holly Willoughby had been speaking to royal expert Camilla Tominey about the King's Coronation and what to expect, when the outburst occurred.

Camilla had been explaining that King Charles III may become the first monarch in British history to be publicly anointed with holy oil at his Coronation.

Oh dear: Phillip Schofield lost his cool during Tuesday's This Morning as he scolded a show guest for mispronouncing her words

She revealed that it was set to take place in a transparent canopy in order to let the public see, but accidentally referred to the canopy as a 'canape'.

After Holly also referred to it as a canape, Phillip exploded at Camilla, throwing his head into his hands as he exclaimed: 'It's canopy! I let it go three times! It's canopy! Not canape!'

As Holly burst into hysterical laughter and quipped: 'I would prefer a canape rather than a canopy!' Phillip responded: 'He's got a canape over her head?! What?'

Outburst: The presenter and his co-host Holly Willoughby had been speaking to royal expert Camilla Tominey about the King's Coronation and what to expect, when the outburst occurred

While the group may have been struggling to report the news it has dominated headlines this week as royal fans look ahead to the Coronation on May 6.

In previous ceremonies, the most sacred part of the event - when the Archbishop of Canterbury uses holy oil to anoint the hands, breast and head of the sovereign - is not seen by the public.

In the 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a gold cloth canopy was held over her head during the most sacred and solemn aspect of the ceremony. But, in the case of King Charles III, the public may be able to glimpse this for the first time.

According to reports in the Telegraph, a transparent canopy is being made to give the new King the option of allowing the anointing to be viewed by his subjects and captured on camera for the first time.

News: Camilla had been explaining that King Charles III may become the first monarch in British history to be publicly anointed with holy oil at his Coronation

It is believed that the Royal School of Needlework has started work on the new canopy, which is traditionally carried and held over the monarch by the Barons of the Cinque Ports or Knights of the Garter.

Earlier this month, some plans for the three-day extravaganza to celebrate the crowning of the new monarch were revealed. And they are set to champion refugees, diversity and volunteering.

The dazzling celebrations are said to reflect Charles' desire to be the 'people's King' and will also give representatives from the Commonwealth and NHS workers a chance to shine, before members of the public are encouraged to spend time volunteering on the nation's extra Bank Holiday.

The celebration will give millions of Brits a day off, with tens of thousands expected to line the streets in central London to watch the ceremony - the first of its kind in more than 70 years.
Loose Women's Sophie Morgan has claimed British Airways damaged her 8,000 wheelchair while in transit and told her to 'send an email' when she complained.

Sophie, 37, suffered a T6 spinal cord injury in 2003 when she was involved in a car accident which left her paralysed aged 18.

She requires a wheelchair at all times but said she didn't get the support she needed when British Airways damaged her chair after 'wedging it in the hold' from a flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow.

'This has to stop!': Loose Women's Sophie Morgan claimed on Instagram on Tuesday that BA broke her 8,000 wheelchair in transit and told her to 'send an email' when she complained

They had attached the chair to the battery powered attachment without permission and untrained staff were unable to separate them, leaving her terrified she might be stuck without it.

When they did detach the chair from the battery, it had to be pieced back together, leaving it damaged and as she later discovered, the light was also broken.

Taking to Instagram, TV star Sophie said: 'Landed at Heathrow with a bang.

'Someone - no one took responsibility - decided to attach my wheelchair and my batec (battery-powered attachment) whilst in transit (they were checked in separately, in two parts, unattached) and they have done so a) without permission and b) COMPLETELY WRONG!!!

'Oh my God!' Sophie appeared completely distressed as she worried if she would be able to get into her chair again to get home

She said: 'It took over half an hour to "break" [the chair and battery pack] apart, all that time I had to sit on an aisle chair that was NOT safe'

Horrendous: Sophie documented her whole experience with the broken chair and was left 'literally shaking'

'It took over half an hour to "break" them apart, all that time I had to sit on an aisle chair that was NOT safe and I didnt know if I would be able to get back into my chair.

'Eventually, they broke them apart and I got back into my chair and reattached the batec but its not safe to use. I then discovered more damage.'

She said the customer service she experienced after this was completely unacceptable.

'And what was I told to do by BRITISH AIRWAYS!? Send an email via the website.

'This has GOT TO STOP. Thousands of chairs are damaged by airlines every year. Its #JustPlaneWrong.'

Sophie filmed a video which showed she was literally shaking because she was worried that she might not be able to get back into her chair which she relies on.

Shocking: Sophie was left wheelchair bound after suffering a T6 spinal cord injury in 2003 resulting in paralysis from the chest down at the age of 18

A spokesperson for British Airways told MailOnline: 'We're extremely sorry for Sophie's experience and we're investigating what happened as a matter of urgency.

'We've been in contact with Sophie to sincerely apologise and to resolve the matter with her directly.

'We carry hundreds of thousands of customers who require additional assistance each year and we work hard to provide help and support them throughout the whole journey.

'It's extremely disheartening when things go wrong, and we dont underestimate the impact this has. We're committed to ensuring we deliver a consistently good service, and we'll be working closely with Sophie and our dedicated accessibility teams to discuss how we can continue to make improvements to ensure a great flying experience for everyone.'

London-based campaigner Sophie has undergone a host of impressive projects including presenting Channel 4's TV coverage of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Appearing on Lorraine in 2021, Sophie said that while many people are 'frightened of change', she believes that her disability 'made her life' and has encouraged her to 'live properly'.

She said: 'I think people are frightened of change, they don't want it, there's a fear around it, said Sophie. 'But for me, because my change ended up giving so many positives, I sort of lean into it, I seek it out.

'I want life to be different and to be full of variety and excitement.

Remarkable: Sophie has said her disability 'made her life' and has encouraged her to 'live her life properly' - pictured on Lorraine in 2021

'I suppose I learned the hard way that the worst things that happen to you can lead to the best of life.

'It's hard for people to relate, they see my disability and think it ruins a life - but I found it to be the opposite, I think it made my life.

Sophie, whose successful television career began in 2009, says that while it was difficult adapting to her injury, it has become 'part of who she is'.

'When I had my injury there was obviously the initial adapting to it and becoming paralysed and wheelchair user at such a young age.

'There was so much to work out and figure out about my identity, who I was going to be and how I was going to make it happen', she said.

'I really didn't have much experience with disability, I was the first disabled person I had ever met, I had so much to learn and unlearn.

'But over the years it's become part of who I am and that drives me to think about how to live life properly, because I nearly lost my life, so it matters so much to me.'
Some of the nominees for the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards 2023 were announced by People on Tuesday.

The nominees fell into the categories favorite female artist, favorite male artist and favorite music group.

The ceremony will air live on March 4 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with co-hosts Charli D'Amelio and CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson.

She made the list: Some of the nominees for the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards 2023 were announced by People on Tuesday. Taylor Swift landed in best female artist; seen in 2022

New hit: Her song The Lavender Haze had been doing well on the charts

One of the top categories shared was favorite female artist.

The women in that group are Adele, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Rihanna and Taylor Swift.

The nominees for favorite male artist are Bad Bunny, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and The Weeknd.

Hit maker: The nominees for favorite male artist are Bad Bunny, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber (seen in 2021), Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and The Weeknd

Favorite music group will be awarded to one of the following nominees: 5 Seconds of Summer, Black Eyed Peas, BLACKPINK, BTS, Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, Panic! at the Disco or Paramore.

D'Amelio and Burleson announced their positions as co-hosts for the 2023 Kids' Choice Awards on Tuesday's episode of CBS Mornings.

Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards 2023 will air live across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, TVLand, CMT and MTV2 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on March 4.
Romee Strijd shared a 'realistic' picture of her tummy and said she was struggling to find the motivation to workout after giving birth to her second child in November.

The Victorias Secret Angel, 27, said she has got 'stretchmarks' and admitted she's finding it harder to become motivated because she's never been in a place where she not 'content with her body before'.

Her words came after a follower asked her how she looks so incredible after giving birth, prompting Romee to be honest about how she was feeling within herself.

And while she still looks incredible, she said she has been struggling with selfcare and trying to find time for herself with two children has been a 'challenge'.

'This is hard on me': Victorias Secret Angel Romee Strijd revealed on Instagram on Tuesday she has 'stretchmarks' and is struggling to 'motivate' herself after welcoming second child 11 weeks ago

'This is hard on me': The Victorias Secret Angel, 27, (pictured in 2018) admitted she's never been in a place where she not 'content with her body before'

Romee flashed her midriff in a cropped black long sleeve top and matching leggings as she posed for a mirror selfie in the gym.

She penned to the post: 'Today I wanna start to get back into a healthy lifestyle. My body has changed a lot after two pregnancies.

'I do have to say this is hard on me sometimes because I've never worked out from a place of not being content about my current shape and it's so much harder to motivate with this mindset.

Being honest: Romee still looks incredible but wanted to share with her followers a 'real' post about how she has been feeling

'It's so much easier to workout and eat healthy when you have to maintain instead of wanna lose weight.'

She continued: 'Also with two kids and not a lot of sleep and little selfcare time it's a challenge. But I wanna challenge myself so here we go. Motivation comes after action they say right.'

The runway star also replied to a fans comment on her Instagram Story as they asked her for her 'secrets' as they gushed over the models incredible figure.

'I got stretchmarks': The runway also replied to a fans comment on her Instagram Story as they asked her for her 'secrets' - but she admitted she has hang-ups like anyone else

Romee replied: 'I do get these comments now and then but please know this is not the case.

'It might look like it on photos but also I got stretchmarks and have a really really hard time to find motivation and it definitely doesn't come easy'.

Previously on her YouTube account Romee revealed how she was discovered, becoming an Angel in 2015.

Romee got started in the modeling biz at the plum age of 13, having been scouted on the street in Amsterdam while shopping with her mother.

At first she was reluctant to try it out, but soon came around in spite of the fact that she was still in high school and wearing braces.

Eventually, her new agent pitched her for London Fashion Week, where she modeled for Burberry, before moving on to the exclusive Prada show at Milan Fashion Week.

From there, Romee hasn't looked back, steadily gaining in popularity and appeal, now with 7.9 million followers on Instagram.

Inspiring: Romee made her debut in London Fashion Week, where she modeled for Burberry, before moving on to the exclusive Prada show at Milan Fashion Week

Romee welcomed her second child with fiance Laurens van Leeuwen on November 11 last year.

The couple also have a daughter Mint, who they welcomed in December 2020.

The supermodel gave birth to Mint after a years-long struggle with polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS.

'WE'RE HAVING A BABY ?,' she wrote when she announced her first pregnancy. '2 years ago I got diagnosed with PCOS after not getting my period for 7 years. I was devastated because being a mom and starting a family with @laurensvleeuwen is my biggest dream.. I was so scared that I would never be able to because I got told it was harder to get babies in a natural way.'

Congrats! Romee welcomed her second child with fiance Laurens van Leeuwen on November 11 last year

PCOS is a hormonal disorder, in which a woman's ovaries may develop small collections of fluid and fail to regularly release eggs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

'I think my weight was not good for my body to function properly and couldn't handle the constant traveling,' she previous said of her condition.

'I started to research natural healing for PCOS and came to the conclusion that I should do way less high intensity training, don't restrict foods, be nice to myself, and take breaks when needed.'
Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek co-star in the film Magic Mike's Last Dance.

And Channing, 42, was asked on Good Morning America if he and Salma will ever let their kids watch their movie.

'I don't think it's about letting them. You know, they're going to do what they're going to do,' Channing said.

Adding: 'Truth is truth - you can't hide whatever it is.'

The latest: Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek co-star in the film Magic Mike's Last Dance. And Channing, 42, was asked on Good Morning America if he and Salma will ever let their kids watch their movie

'My daughter's rad, so its not that I'm looking forward to it... definitely not going to be the easiest of conversations. But I think my daughter is cool,' Channing said.

'Like she's going to be like, "Yeah, this is awkward to watch, but like, this is still cool."'

Channing shares daughter Everly, nine, with ex-wife Jenna Dewan.

Salma, 56, added: 'When it's the right time, age appropriate, if she wants to see it. Of course I'll be happy and I'll be proud for her to see it and she's super smart, super, super cool and I'm sure she'll find a lot of interesting questions in it.'

Striking: 'I don't think it's about letting them. You know, they're going to do what they're going to do,' Channing said. Adding: 'Truth is truth - you can't hide whatever it is;' seen January 25, 2023 at the premiere of Magic Mike's Last Dance in Miami Beach

Salma shares daughter Valentina, 15, with husband Francois-Henri Pinault.

Channing has previously said the third installment of Magic Mike will be his last.

He played the character Mike Lane in the first Magic Mike in 2012, as well as the sequel called Magic Mike XXL in 2015.

Salma plays the character Maxandra Mendoza.

'We got really lucky that we just like each other and like kind of just figure out what to do in this scene, because those scenes, yes, they are incredibly sexy, but also they're very technical,' he said.

Ex-wife: The Step Up co-stars were married for nine years and split in 2018; seen in 2017

Daddy's girl: The father of one shared a vacation snap with Everly where he gushed 'you are my world and my heart' back in June

Adding: 'And then once you figure it out, kind of let it go and just like be with each other.'

The franchise was inspired by Channing's experience as a male stripper when he was 18 years old and living in Tampa, Florida.

Magic Mike's Last Dance is set to be released on February 10; it was directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Like mother, like daughter: Salma shares daughter Valentina, 15, with husband Francois-Henri Pinault; seen October 2021 at the premiere in Eternals in LA
She has escaped the frosty British weather by jetting off to Mexico.

And Maura Higgins has shown off her incredible figure in a string of tiny bikinis while wishing her friend a happy birthday.

The former Love Island star, 32, looked sensational as she posted slew of snaps of her and her friend Leah to her Instagram Stories.

Looking good: Maura Higgins has shown off her incredible figure in a string of tiny bikinis while wishing her friend a happy birthday

She stood hand-in-hand with her pal in a blue and yellow floral bikini that showed off her svelte waist and long legs.

Maura beamed while posing in front of the sea on the beach, her brunette tresses slicked back with seawater.

Another photo showed the reality star in another miniscule yellow two-piece, covered in blue flowers.

The former Love Island star, 32, looked sensational as she posted slew of snaps of her and her friend Leah to her Instagram Stories.

It barely contained her ample cleavage as she and Leah wrapped themselves in striped towels after a late night dip.

Last Monday, Maura displayed her washboard abs in another very skimpy bikini during a trip to the beach.

The reality star looked incredible in the floral patterned two-piece while sipping on a coconut.

Sun-kissed: Last Monday, Maura displayed her washboard abs in a very skimpy bikini during another trip to the beach

It comes after Maura had an unexpected brush with a famous face as she caught an early morning flight last Wednesday.

The former Love Island star took to her Instagram Stories to reveal that she had bumped into Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan in the airport.

She shared a smiling selfie of them both and cheekily wrote alongside the snap, 'wearing grey for Mr Grey', referring to his role as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Famous face: It comes after Maura had an unexpected meeting with Irish actor Jamie Dornan as she caught an early morning flight last Wednesday

In the picture, Irish TV personality Maura cut a sporty figure in a short-sleeved grey T-shirt and showed off her natural good looks as she went make-up free.

She swept her brunette tresses back into a ponytail with strands falling loosely around her face and flashed a huge grin as she posed with Jamie.

The Fall star Jamie kept it casual in a grey T-shirt, which he teamed with a white hoodie and black padded jacket.

He sported a well-groomed beard and styled his dark locks in a curled slicked back style as he prepared to catch his flight.
Joshua Bassett insists he is 'doing better than I ever have' after recent posts about his Christian faith and internal struggles drew concern from fans.

'For those concerned about me be sure of this: im better than i have ever been,' Joshua posted to his Instagram Stories on Sunday night, according to Billboard. 'The peace i feel is far beyond what i thought possible.'

In the post, Bassett also claimed to have had two 'first hand' encounters with Jesus Christ.

'I'm better than I have ever been': High School Musical alum Joshua Bassett insists he is 'doing better than I ever have' after fans expressed concern following his recent posts about his Christian faith and struggles over the holidays

'The experience's were richer and more vivid than anything in my entire life,' he continued. 'I look forward to speaking about it soon.

DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for Joshua for comment.

In other posts shared to his Stories, he described the signs he received from God after praying for specific messages.

'Tonight at church i prayed to God "so i will know for certain that you are Jesus, and he is the only way, please send someone to touch my back and i will shout it from the rooftops"

Sparking concern: Bassett's post about his Christian faith raised eyebrows

Candid: Joshua admitted he was 'struggling' during the holiday season last year

'moments later, two people came up behind me saying that God put it on their heart to put their hands on me and pray.

'His love is great, and my faith is certain. praise be to God forever and ever in Jesus name.'

Bassett also described how the light in his living room turned on after he asked for a sign from God.

'A few months ago I asked God to "send me a sign when i write the truth."

Bassett pictured at the premiere of Better Nate Than Ever in March 2022

'i typed "Jesus is the way" nothing happened. then i added "Jesus is the *only* way" and the light turned on in my living room.'

The posts come over a month after Bassett admitted to 'struggling' on Christmas Eve.

'Most people I know, including myself, are struggling right now. please be good to yourselves and others, reach out to support those you love, and dont be afraid to ask for help,' he tweeted.

On January 5th, he tweeted: 'Jesus Christ is the only way. His death and resurrection are historically documented.

Mixed reaction: Joshua was met with mixed reaction from fans, whom were either confused by his tweet or happy he had found the Christian faith

'turn away form hate, seek forgiveness and come home to Him.'

Joshua was met with mixed reaction from fans, whom were either confused by his tweet or happy he had found the Christian faith. Some wondered if his Twitter account had been hacked.

Bassett is very candid with fans about his personal life and challenges.

Last year, the actor described the health challenges and mental anguish he endured after facing scrutiny following the release of rumored ex Olivia Rodrigo's song Drivers License.

In 2021, he also revealed he had been sexually abused as a child.

'I experienced sexual abuse a lot in my childhood,' he told GQ. 'I didn't remember that until last year, which is pretty insane. I buried it so far.'

He also added that he experienced abuse from an older man later on during his teenage years as well. 'And when I was a teen, a much older man routinely abused me, and I wasnt able to see it for what it was at the time,' he said.

Bassett said one of his new songs, Set Me Free, helped him process his trauma and called it, 'an anthem for me and the sort of people whove held pain and power over me my whole life.'

That same year he came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
The automaking industry may be speeding too fast for public safety to catch up.

The Metro fire of Sacramento recently reported that it put out the fire from a Tesla Model S that spontaneously combusted on EB Highway 50, taking almost nine fire engines' worth of water to extinguish the flames.

Fortunately, the incident caused no casualties or injuries on both the firefighter teams that responded to it or the victim.

Tesla Model S Spontaneous Combustion Details

Crews arrived to a Tesla Model S engulfed in flames, nothing unusual prior. 2 Fire Engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck were requested to assist. Crews used jacks to access the underside to extinguish and cool the battery. Thousands of gallons were used in extinguishment. pic.twitter.com/5dIXxo9hP5  Metro Fire of Sacramento (@metrofirepio) January 29, 2023

The Metro Fire of Sacramento mentioned on its official Twitter account that the Tesla Model S in question was traveling along the freeway on EB Highway 50 when its battery suddenly caught fire. Interestingly, the Metro Fire said nothing unusual happened to the car before it spontaneously burst into flames; it had not sustained any damage before the incident.

The car's driver, however, said that they noticed heavy black smoke coming out of their car's undercarriage and eventually pulled over to safely get out of their now-burning vehicle, according to Gizmodo.

The Metro Fire then arrived at the scene and began putting out the fire using two fire engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck. Meanwhile, crews used jacks to access the car's underside to extinguish and cool the burning battery.

Read More: Apps For Dodgy Rewards Have Received 20 Million Downloads On Google Play, Reports Found

Unfortunately, due to the Tesla Model S' battery being made up of lithium-ion, they burn hotter and faster, per CNBC, and can reignite multiple times even after firefighters put out the original fire.

It took 6,000 gallons of water to put out the fire engulfing the Tesla Model S in question - almost nine times as much as what it needs to put out a fire in an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The Metro Fire also noted that the Tesla Model S' battery cells continued to combust despite being hosed down with water.

Using water to put out a lithium-ion fire may be silly to some, as TexTech Industries advises people to use a foam extinguisher containing Carbon dioxide, powder graphite, ABC dry chemical, or Sodium carbonate to extinguish them. However, Tesla mentioned in its manual that using large amounts of water is the way to go to cool down the car's battery.

Is It Dangerous To Drive Electric Vehicles?

Tesla vehicles catching fire is nothing new and are few and far in between. According to AutoinsuranceEZ, battery electric vehicles only have a 0.03% chance of spontaneously igniting compared to ICE vehicles, which have a 3.4% likelihood to catch fire.

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that only 0.01% of Teslas ever caught fire.

Because of these facts, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration rejected a petition to investigate Tesla's battery management software in 2021.

Nevertheless, Metro Fire Sacramento mentioned that modern technology must also come up with better firefighting techniques to combat lithium-ion EV battery fires efficiently.

"Modern technology evolution requires continuous advancements in modern firefighting techniques that are currently being evaluated for efficiency," Metro Fire Sacramento said.

Related Article: Elon Musk Reveals The Tesla Cybertruck Production Is Delayed Until 2024
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Ashton Kutcher admitted he was not pleased by his ex-wife Demi Moore's decision to detail their marital problems in her 2019 bombshell memoir, Inside Out, while gracing Esquire's first-ever digital cover story this month.

Despite a source previously claiming that he 'knew what was coming' in Moore's memoir, the actor, 44, stated that he was 'f**king pissed' at his former spouse, 60, for reigniting a media frenzy over his personal life.

'I'd finally gotten to a place where the press had really laid off me and [wife Mila Kunis], and my life and my family. And then the next day, [the paparazzi] are at my kids' school,' the father-of-two reflected of the renewed interest of his first marriage, following Moore's book release.

The That '70s Show alum then stopped himself mid-sentence, before concluding that he doesn't 'want to open anything up in that realm.'

During his interview, the People's Choice Award winner recalled exactly how his 'life changed' the 'moment' news broke over his relationship with Moore, who is 15 years his senior.

Angry: Ashton Kutcher admitted he was not pleased by his ex-wife Demi Moore's decision to detail their marital problems in her 2019 bombshell memoir, Inside Out, while gracing Esquire 's first-ever digital cover story this month

After they walked down the aisle in 2005, Kutcher then aged 26 became a stepfather to her three younger daughters Rumer, who was 12, Scout, then 10, and Tallulah, then eight. They are now 34, 31 and 28.

'I was twenty-six, bearing the responsibility of an eight-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a twelve-year-old,' he said of becoming a stepfather in his mid-twenties. 'That's how some teen parents must experience their twenties.'

Kutcher also reflected on Moore's devastating miscarriage during their marriage, which occurred six months into her pregnancy.

'Losing a kid that you think you're going to have, and that close to thinking you're going to have a kid, is really, really painful,' he said.

First marriage: When asked about his feelings about the book, the 44-year-old Vengeance actor stated that he was 'f**king pissed' at his former spouse, 60, for reigniting a media frenzy over his personal life; seen in 2003

'I'd finally gotten to a place where the press had really laid off me and [wife Mila Kunis], and my life and my family. And then the next day, [the paparazzi] are at my kids' school,' the father-of-two reflected of the renewed interest of his first marriage, following Moore's book release.

'I'd finally gotten to a place where the press had really laid off me and [wife Mila Kunis], and my life and my family. And then the next day, [the paparazzi] are at my kids' school,' the father-of-two reflected of the renewed interest of his first marriage, following Moore's book release

The star continued: 'Everyone deals with that in different ways. He doesn't say how he coped at the time.'

'I love kids,' Kutcher pointed out. 'I wouldn't have gotten married to a woman that had three kids if I didn't love kids. The idea of having another kid would have been incredible.' But Kutcher wouldn't change what happened. He accepts that moment. 'For whatever reason, I had to have that experience.'

After grieving the loss of their baby-to-be, Kutcher struggled with feeling like a 'failure' after their marriage ended.

Focusing on the positive: Despite the frustration, the That '70s Show alum stopped himself mid-sentence, before concluding that he doesn't 'want to open anything up in that realm'

Looking back: During his interview, the People's Choice Award winner recalled exactly how his 'life changed' the 'moment' news broke over his relationship with Moore, who is 15 years his senior

Hands full: After they walked down the aisle in 2005, Kutcher became a stepfather to her three younger daughters Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 28

'I was twenty-six, bearing the responsibility of an eight-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a twelve-year-old,' he said of becoming a stepfather in his mid-twenties. 'That's how some teen parents must experience their twenties'

Sad: Kutcher also reflected on Moore's devastating miscarriage during their marriage, which occurred six months into her pregnancy

'Losing a kid that you think you're going to have, and that close to thinking you're going to have a kid, is really, really painful,' he said

'Nothing makes you feel like a failure like divorce,' he said. 'Divorce feels like a wholesale f**king failure. You failed at marriage.'

As for his relationship with Kunis, who he wed in 2015 after three years of dating, the performer raved that 'the thing about' his wife that made their 'relationship accelerate was' how he 'always admired her.'

'Her talents, her skills, her gifts. But I knew that she didnt need me. And she knew that I didnt need her. We already knew all of each others dirt. My wife is so much cooler than me,' the SAG nominee gushed.

Dreams of fatherhood: The star continued: 'Everyone deals with that in different ways. He doesn't say how he coped at the time'

'I love kids,' Kutcher pointed out. 'I wouldn't have gotten married to a woman that had three kids if I didn't love kids. The idea of having another kid would have been incredible.' But Kutcher wouldn't change what happened. He accepts that moment. 'For whatever reason, I had to have that experience'

Tough time: After grieving the loss of their baby-to-be, Kutcher struggled with feeling like a 'failure' after their marriage ended

'Nothing makes you feel like a failure like divorce,' he said. 'Divorce feels like a wholesale f**king failure. You failed at marriage'
Cate Blanchett showed off her quirky sense of style as she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Monday.

The Australian actress, 53, stood out from the crowd as she wore a pair of red tinted glasses, with the lenses matching the colour of the frames.

She wore a chic black turtle neck jumper and a long winter coat in the same shade and carried a bag over her shoulder.

Fashion focus: Cate Blanchett, 53, showed off her quirky sense of style as she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Monday

The screen star wore her blonde hair back behind her head and opted for minimal make-up for her outing.

She was seen making her way though the terminal building after lining up with the other passengers to go through immigration and collect her luggage.

It comes after Cate faced having to take steps to protect great crested newts under eco-friendly plans to power her 5million Victorian mansion with solar energy.

On the move: She was seen making her way though the terminal building after lining up with the other passengers to go through immigration and collect her luggage

The Oscar-winning actress wants to build a bank of 90 solar panels in a field in the grounds of her remote and secluded 13-acre Sussex estate.

But there are fears that the green energy plan could have a potential adverse effect on wildlife due to the digging of two trenches to connect cables from the panels to a plant room.

The movie star, who played elf leader Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and her playwright husband Andrew Upton have commissioned an ecology report as part of the planning application to install the panels.

Eco-friendly: The Oscar-winning actress wants to build 90 solar panels in a field in the grounds of her remote and secluded 13-acre estate but may have stumbled on some problems (pictured this month)

The report recommends that they implement a series of steps to mitigate disruption caused by the installation at their home which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and surrounded by ancient woodland near Crowborough, East Sussex.

The study by consultants Ecosupport states that the couples seven bedroom villa is in an amber impact zone for great crested newts with a high potential for the protected species.

A pond in the couples grounds next to the proposed site of the panels is said to offer an excellent habitat for the rare newts while six other ponds in the area offer a good or average habitat.

The report also reveals that the area has a potential for badgers and nesting birds, meaning any works that take place have to be sympathetic to them.

Cate and her husband have agreed to apply for a special licence to allow the building work to be carried out with habitat compensation provided by the Newt Conservation Partnership.

It is an offence under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act to intentionally or recklessly disturb, harm or kill great crested newts, or damage, destroy or obstruct their breeding and resting places.
The Batman Part II now has a release date set.

The upcoming sequel, starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader, will be arriving in theaters on October 3, 2025.

The release date was confirmed by James Gunn and Peter Safran at a press event held on the Warner Brothers lot on Monday, according to Variety.

Further information on the film, including plot details, remain a secret.

He's back: The Batman Part II will be debuting in theaters on October 3, 2023

During the press conference, Gunn also confirmed they were still going forward with Matt Reeves' Batman trilogy.

'Matt is working on [The Batman  Part II], which he thinks of as a Batman Crime Saga, which also includes [The Penguin] series, and it is its own thing,' Gunn said, according to IGN.com. 'He's hard at work on that. He came in and pitched us some amazing, really cool stuff the other day. So our plan is for that to continue.'

'And Batman's not a stepchild. I mean, it's all under DC,' Safran said. 'We are fully invested in the success of the Batman, just like we are everything else.'

Warner Brothers announced last year that Pattinson would be returning to play Batman in the upcoming sequel. They also revealed Reeves would return for the sequel.

Warner Brothers announced last year that Pattinson would be returning to play Batman in the upcoming sequel

The Batman's box office success was somewhat surprising  despite the popularity of comic book heroes  as it features a much darker tone and visual style that other recent superhero film and boasts a luxurious three-hour runtime.

Critics didn't seem to mind, though, and the film currently boasts an impressive 85 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The thriller shows Batman in his second year of crime fighting, when he's still relatively unexperienced.

Robert Pattinson played the caped crusader opposite Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman

Zoe Kravitz appeared in the film as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, while Paul Dano starred as The Riddler and Colin Farrell appeared unrecognizable under prosthetics as the Penguin.

The impressive cast also featured Jeffrey Wright as Batman's police liaison James Gordon, while Andy Serkis played his loyal butler Alfred and John Turturro appeared as the gangster Carmine Falcone.

Last year Pattinson opened up about some of his fitness secrets for getting into Batman shape in a new interview with People.

The thriller shows Batman in his second year of crime fighting, when he's still relatively unexperienced

The heartthrob revealed one of his techniques was even limiting his sips of water to make his physique stand out that much more.

'I had about three months before the movie started, and then you're working out before and after work all the time,' Pattinson revealed.

'You just cut down and cut down and cut down before the couple of scenes with your shirt off, and you're counting sips of water,' the actor added.

The technique of counting water sips is used in amateur wrestling to cut down on weight, and by bodybuilders before a big show.

Hitting the gym! Last year Pattinson opened up about some of his fitness secrets for getting into Batman shape in a new interview with People

A Muscle & Fitness article recommends that, on the day of the show, a bodybuilder should just take, 'minor sips' of water before the prejudging, a technique Pattinson mirrored for his Batman look.

While he only had a few months to get into the right shape, he revealed that, 'Shame is my biggest motivator, 100%.'

When Pattinson wasn't shirtless in the movie, he was often in his iconic Batsuit, revealing that helped him connect to the character even more.

'It's funny because you read the script and you spend loads of time trying to figure out, "How can I play this character who does these sort of audacious acts?" Pattinson began.

'And the closer I got to the shoot I got more and more paranoid  you know, it feels ridiculous when you're just sitting at home in a t-shirt  and then you put it on. It's got an elemental power to it,' he added.

He continued that, while wearing the suit, 'People react to you differently, the crew reacts differently. Your entire world suddenly changes.'

And then you kind of catch this glimpse in like, the subtle reflection or a shadow on the floor and you realize that the character's just way bigger than you. It's kind of like wearing a crown or something,' Pattinson clarified.
Pamela Anderson says she did not know Tommy Lee's surname when they got married.

The former Baywatch bombshell decided to tie the knot with the Motley Crue drummer without knowing his last name or where he lived and only asked when they were on the plane from Mexico after their week-long whirlwind romance back in February 1995.

In her memoir Love, Pamela - which was released on Tuesday - the 55-year-old star wrote: 'On the flight home, I asked him what our last name was, and he said, Lee.'

What's your name? Pamela Anderson says she did not know Tommy Lee's surname when they eloped on the beach in Cancun, Mexico. They were wed from 1995 until 1998

The bride wore a white string bikini: The groom was also casual in board shorts

It's odd that she would not know his last name as he was already internationally famous as the drummer from Motley Crue. At this point, he was a household name in the rock world.

Pamela then proceeded to ask 'where he lived' to which the 60-year-old musician - with whom she went on to have two sons Dylan, now 25, and 26-year-old Brandon -replied: 'Malibu Road.'

The ex Playboy Playmate - who detailed being 'in heaven' with Tommy - spilled how her mother Carol Anderson was 'furious' that her daughter had married a stranger.

Who? The former Baywatch bombshell decided to tie the knot with the Motley Crue drummer without knowing his last name or where he lived and only asked when they were on the plane from Mexico after their week-long whirlwind romance back in February 1995. Seen in 1998

Book time: In her memoir Love, Pamela - which was released on Tuesday - the 55-year-old star wrote: 'On the flight home, I asked him what our last name was, and he said, Lee'

She wrote: 'She was furious. "Who is Tommy?" She couldn't believe I had gotten married, cried that she had always dreamed of being at her only daughter's wedding.'

Pamela called her impulsive choice to wed Tommy 'definitely out of character' but that she was 'genuinely happy' and 'lost in a sea of love' when they got married in a beach front ceremony with the blonde beauty clad only in a white bikini.

The animal and human rights activist attributes the cracks in their union that led their split due to the theft and sharing of their sex tape in 1995 - a saga that was portrayed in the Hulu series Pam + Tommy that starred Lily James and Sebastian Stan in the title roles and did not get any involvement from Pamela.

It didn't help that Tommy was arrested and jailed for six months for spousal abuse in 1998.

Her boys: Anderson with the sons she had with Lee: (L-R) Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee on Monday

Pamela wrote: 'Neither of us could forgive the other, deep down. We just weren't equipped to get through it all. I loved to see him with his boys, but the four of us together forever was only a dream.'

This comes after she named Tommy as the only man she has ever truly been in love with.

In book Love, Pamela the star spoke candidly about her doomed romance with the drummer, whom she was married to from 1995 until 1998.

Beach babe: Here the looker is seen on the beach in 1993 in California

Her other marriages were to Kid Rock from 2006 until 2007, Rick Salomon from 2007 until 2008, and then again from 2014 until 2015, and finally her bodyguard Dan Hayhurst, whom she wed in 2020 and split from in January 2022. There were reports she married 77-year-old A Star Is Born producer Jon Peters in Malibu in January 2020 for only a few days, but the actress subsequently denied it.

She said Tommy was her only real love.

'My relationship with Tommy may have been the only time I was ever truly in love,' she revealed.

However, their relationship suffered a hit when their sex tape was stolen and leaked - which Pamela suggests was the catalyst for why they ultimately split up.

So much love: In her book she gushes over the bad boy of hard rock. 'We just wanted to have babies and be together forever,' she said of her time with Motley Crue rocker Lee

'Tommy ripped Brandon off me and threw me and Dylan into a wall,' she claimed.

She called 911 and Lee was arrested. He reportedly served six months in jail for 'felony spousal abuse.'

'The divorce from Tommy was the hardest, lowest, most difficult point of my life,' Pamela wrote.

'I was crushed. I still couldn't believe that the person I loved the most was capable of what had happened that night. We were both devastated, but I had to protect my babies.'

Lee has been married since 2019 to 36-year-old actress and Vine star Brittany Furlan.
James Norton cut a casual figure as he attended the press night for new play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London on Tuesday.

The actor, 37, looked worlds away from his dastardly Happy Valley character Tommy Lee Royce as he wore a khaki coat over a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans in the same colour.

He wore a pair of brown suede boots and had a grey and black scarf hanging around his neck.

Stepping out: James Norton, 37, cut a casual figure as he attended the press night for new play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London on Tuesday

The screen star wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses as he posed casually outside the theatre with his hands in his pockets.

A trailer for the final episode of Happy Valley was released today ahead of the upcoming finale on Sunday.

The 16 second clip teases the final showdown between Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) after his daring escape from court before the police sergeant is shown breaking down in tears.

Keeping it casual: The actor looked worlds away from his dastardly Happy Valley character Tommy Lee Royce as he wore a khaki coat over a black T-shirt

Strike a pose: He wore a pair of black jeans and a pair of brown suede boots as he posed casually with his hands in his coat pocket

Famous friends: James was seen posing with fellow actor, It's A Sin star Omari Douglas, 28, outside the theatre

The end is near: A trailer for the final episode of Happy Valley has been released ahead of the finale on Sunday showing Sarah Lancashire's Catherine Cawood breaking down in tears

Villian: The 16 second clip teases the final showdown between Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) after his daring escape from court

The trailer opens with Tommy's son Ryan (Rhys Connah) being questioned by police about when he last had contact with his dangerous dad.

A series of scenes of the police moving in on Tommy follow as Catherine is heard saying 'he's still out there, he's going to be angry and he's going to be even more desperate and dangerous'.

The short clip ends with a bloodied Tommy appearing to hit somebody on the ground and a final shot of Catherine in tears.

On the run: Tommy escaped at the end of the fourth episode of this series with fans learning in Sunday's fifth instalment that he planned to run off to Marbella, with his son Ryan

Completing the look: James wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses before heading into the theatre to watch the play

Viewers tuned into the breathless penultimate episode of the BBC drama on Sunday evening as Tommy Lee Royce revealed his grand plans.

Tommy escaped at the end of the fourth episode of this series with fans learning in Sunday's fifth instalment that he planned to run off to Marbella, with his son Ryan in tow.

Viewers admitted they could barely watch the dramatic episode as everything lined up for a dramatic showdown between Tommy and Sargent Catherine, as he revealed he plans to kill her before jetting off to Spain.

Out on the town: James was joined at the Harold Pinter Theatre on Tuesday by actress Laura Haddock, 37, who wore a charcoal grey coat

Looking good: She wore a pair of black moccasins and carried a dark chocolate brown YSL bag wth her

Besties! Inside the event, Laura was seen posing alongside Jessie Ware

All stars: Elsewhere, Alexa Chung looked chic in a long grey winter coat which she tied at the waist

Fashionista: The television presenter, 39, wore a black and white polkadot scarf around her neck and carried a white handbag with her

Stunning: The star wore minimal make-up for the evening in a bid to showcase her natural beauty

Producers are said to be so desperate to keep the show's climax a secret that they have filmed five different endings.

More than six million viewers are expected to tune in on Sunday to learn how the cat-and-mouse game will be resolved.

Meanwhile, James was joined at the Harold Pinter Theatre on Tuesday by actress Laura Haddock, 37, who wore a charcoal grey coat and a pair of cropped jeans for the evening.

Here they are! Following their debut performance, stars Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman took a bow for the audience in attendance

Stellar: The pair delivered a triumphant performance for the press night of their show

Well done! The pair beamed as they took their bows following the shows

Here they are! Stars Aidan and Jenna were also in attendance for the press night's after party

Gorgeous! Jenna cut a glamorous figure in a black midi dress with an elegant gold trim as she exited the premiere's after party

Flawless: She showed off her sophisticated sense of style in a sleek black tresses with a gold hem and frilled sleeves

She wore a pair of black moccasins and carried a dark chocolate brown YSL bag wth her.

The star wore lashings of make-up and accessorised with a pair of gold hoop earrings.

Elsewhere, Alexa Chung looked chic in a long grey winter coat which she tied at the waist.

Happy: Jenna beamed as she attended the premiere after the opening night of her play

Casual: Aidan cut a dapper figure as he attended the party after taking to the stage for his play's opening performance

The television presenter, 39, wore a black and white polkadot scarf around her neck and carried a white handbag with her.

She wore a pair of skinny blue denim jeans and opted for a pair of heels to add a few inches to her stature.

The star wore minimal make-up for the evening in a bid to showcase her natural beauty.
Grayson Chrisley 'had a breakdown' when his parents were sent to prison.

The 16-year-old reality star  who is known for starring alongside his parents Todd and Julie Chrisley on the real estate reality show Chrisley Knows Best  is said to have been struggling to process things after his mother and father were sentenced to a combined 19 years in jail after being found guilty of 12 counts of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud, according to his 25-year-old sister Savannah.

'Grayson is 16 years old, [and] theres so much growth going on with him right now, and it breaks my heart to know that my parents are missing out on that,' she said on the Unlocked podcast.

Hard times: Grayson Chrisley 'had a breakdown' when his parents were sent to prison, according to his sister Savannah; seen with his father Todd Chrisley

Pumping iron: The 16-year-old is staying strong by working out at the gym; seen on Instagram

Savannah  who assumed custody of Grayson and their granddaughter Chloe after her parents went to prison - went on to add that she herself is trying to 'stand strong' amid the drama of the situation and explained that even Chloe had a certain 'anger' towards the circumstances.

She said: 'Im trying to stand strong and not break and be strong for them, so they feel comfortable enough to break down, and its tough. Chloe at ten years old is trying to process them being gone and missing her mom.'

'We were driving down the road the other day, and Chloe had so much anger towards the situation, and she just said, "Why? Theyre not bad people, they dont belong there,"' she continued.

All in the family: The Chrisley family l-r Chase Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley, Julie Chrisley, Todd Chrisley, Chloe Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley, Faye Chrisley

Brothers: Grayson, Chase and Kyle Chrisley pose in front of a brick staircase

At the beginning of January, Toddwho was sentenced to 12 years in prison reported to the minimum security Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Pensacola in Florida while Julie went to Federal Medical Center Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky to begin her seven-year sentence despite initial plans for her to be detained two hours away from her husband at FCI Marianna in Jackson County, Florida.

While in prison, Todd will be allowed up to five visitors at a time during evening visiting hours on Fridays, and during the day on weekends.

Todd and Julie were found guilty on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion and submitting false documents to banks to take out loans, reportedly more than $30 million worth, to finance their luxurious lifestyle.

Driving lesson: Todd teaches his 16-year-old son Grayson to drive on an episode of Chrisley Knows Best

Earlier this month, Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, spent one of their final days having lunch with their daughters Savannah and Chloe, son Chase and his fiancee Emmy Medders, and Todd's mother Faye.

Meanwhile, Lindsie Chrisley reached out to Georgia's Department of Revenue (GDOR), filed a report against her father with Cherokee County Sheriff's Department and gave a lengthy interview to the FBI in which she revealed allegations of harassment, physical violence and blackmail.

Lindsie alleged that her father threatened to leak a sex tape of her if she did not lie for him in first his State, and later his federal, tax and fraud cases.
Former Married At First Sight star Mishel Karen has become one of Australia's biggest and most unlikely OnlyFans stars over the last year.

But the 51-year-old grandmother has been defrauded out of her earnings from the site after being targeted in an elaborate financial trading scam that's left her emotionally devastated.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the mum-of-two said that conmen ran off with over $77,267 of her money, on top of leaving her broken-hearted after one wooed her with a fake romance.

Former Married At First Sight star Mishel Karen (pictured) has been targeted by an online scam tricked her into forking out over $77,000 of her earnings from OnlyFans

Her extended family members also lost out on the scam, including her parents who invested $80,000 in the scheme and her cousin, who poured in $15,000.

All up the family lost around $150,000.

'I feel like a really big dumb dumb, I really do,' she admitted.

'They know the person, they know your weakness and then they start playing on that.'

Mishel was originally tricked into signing up with an online brokerage, after being seduced by misleading reviews and media articles about the company.

One article she was presented with claimed that several prominent Australian celebrities, including a notable TV host, had endorsed the brokerage on television - only for Mishel to later to discover that the entire article had been fabricated to fool her.

She was also given a fake London address for the business and directed to websites that featured phony, glowing reviews of the company along with false claims touting the credibility and security of the service.

'It was a scam story that wasn't real,' she said.

'I read the article... but it was a fake story and I didn't realise.'

The 51-year-old has been working as a porn star on OnlyFans for the last year, but her bank account was bled by the scammers, who claimed to run a successful financial brokerage

Mishel was also seduced and wooed by one of the scammers, who claimed to be a suave businessman from London

Mishel says that she started to get suspicious after a few months of not seeing any financial returns, which is when the company sent out a handsome financial broker named 'Charles' to woo her into staying - and paying.

'They must've known who I was, because all of a sudden they gave me a financial broker that became a love interest,' she confessed.

'He started wooing me with chocolates and flowers.'

The love rat even convinced Mishel that they were going to meet and that he'd fly her out to London so they could be together.

'It just turned into a romance and he was getting more and more money out of me,' she lamented.

The fraudster convinced Mishel to hand over her savings with false promises that she was investing in their 'future' together - only to run off with the star's money

To keep the 51-year-old on the line, the brokerage would fabricate online stocks to make it look like Mishel was earning thousands of dollars and doubling her investment, even though in reality they were simply stealing all of her money.

'They have all the shares and you can see them buying and selling, but it's not real,' she explained.

'He'd say, "Look Mishel, invest this much more because this is for us! This is for our future".

Mishel said that Charles would speak to her 'almost every day' via Whatsapp, leading her to believe that they were romantically involved and would one day be together.

Mishel and the fraudster, known as 'Charles', would chat daily on WhatsApp and he even sent her chocolates and flowers to keep her from growing suspicious

In screenshots of their conversations provided to Daily Mail, Charles flirts with the MAFS star by promising to buy her a pony and telling her that she's beautiful.

'I am very attracted to you and I want to get to know you more,' he wrote in one message. 'This year I am flying you over to London.'

Despite the fraudulent lover claiming that he was a suave businessman based in London, Mishel revealed that he had a suspicious South African accent but she was so enamoured with him that she pushed her concerns aside.

'Maybe I should've just known,' she sighed. '

I just really didn't know. He kind of had a bit of an English accent but with a twinge of South African.'

'I am very attracted to you': The fraudster woos Mishel with compliments in screenshots of their private conversations

At one point, 'Charles' promises to buy Mishel a pony - but it was all a lie to fool the lonely grandmother into handing over more cash

The former MAFS star finally realised that something was wrong when she had to make an emergency trip to hospital following a nasty bout of pancreatitis.

'I wanted to pull out $5,000 [for medical bills] and that's when the wheels came off,' she said.

At the time, Mishel had been fooled into believing that she had more than $180,000 in her account.

She was then tricked with another story from Charles, who told her that there was an investigation going on at the company and that he was unable to access her funds.

'Maybe I should've just known,' she sighed. 'I just really didn't know. He kind of had a bit of an English accent, but with a twinge of South African'

Once Mishel finally put her foot down and tried to leave the brokerage, she was told that she'd only get her money back if she coughed up another $12,000.

'The last call I got, they said I could get my money back if I paid an additional $12,000. I just thought, "Oh my god, they don't stop!"'

After Mishel realised something was wrong she wrote some negative reviews online to warn other potential victims, only to have the reviews mysteriously vanish from the site shortly after they were published.

'They kept getting taken down,' she explained.

'I was writing back to them saying, "Why are you taking my reviews down? This is a scam!"'

The fraud didn't stop there, with the scammers infiltrating Mishel's mobile phone and computer after she gave them access via the remote desktop application AnyDesk.

She didn't know that her computer had been infiltrated until one day she logged on and saw a website open with a basket full of purchases that she'd never made.

Mishel has since reported the fraud to 'everyone', including the ACCC (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission), the police, the ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre), and her bank, but has been told that she 'probably' won't get her money back.

Despite losing a huge chunk of money and having to build her bank account back up from scratch, the single mum confessed that one of the most heartbreaking parts of the entire experience was being misled by the man who wooed her.

'The stupidest thing is that I kinda missed the guy I was having a fake relationship with,' she said.

'I missed him calling me,' she continued. 'I have to keep telling myself, "This is not real, Mishel. He didn't have those feelings." I don't know...' she trailed off.

'I just don't want somebody else to go through this. It's heartbreaking.'

Mishel has been working full time as an OnlyFans model and porn actress ever since losing her job in policy training last year for refusing to comply with vaccine mandates.

Despite losing everything and having to build her bank account back up from scratch, the single mum admits that she still misses the man who scammed her

She's also been financially supporting her daughter Eva, who she says suffered heart issues and myocarditis after being vaccinated.

Pericarditis and myocarditis have been observed in an extremely small number of people after receiving mRNA vaccines, of which Pfizer is one.

Mishel, a mother of two and grandmother of one, is older than most of her contemporaries at 51, and is also known for performing hardcore acts other OnlyFans models aren't prepared to do.

In order to stay afloat financially, the star has done everything from lesbian threesomes and a 12-person orgy to selling her used underwear to fans.

Mishel admitted that she's concerned about her financial future and the wellbeing of her family.

'I'm worried about money. I'm worried about my OnlyFans not doing so well eventually,' she said.
Pamela Anderson was spotted arriving at her book signing event at The Grove in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old Baywatch star looked chic in an all-white outfit complete with an off-white trench coat she wore over a cream, satin jumpsuit as she made her arrival.

On the same day, the blonde beauty released her autobiography titled Love, Pamela after the premiere of her tell-all documentary - Pamela: A Love Story - on Netflix.

Pamela Anderson, 55, looked chic in an all-white outfit complete with an off-white trench coat she wore over a cream, satin jumpsuit as she made her arrival at her book signing in Los Angeles on Tuesday

As she made her grand entrance, the former Playboy model looked stunning in her white ensemble.

She draped an off-white, long trench coat over her shoulders as she walked.

Underneath, she sported a white, satin jumpsuit with frills to accentuate her waist.

The Canadian native appeared effortlessly chic in oversized, cat-eye frames.

She paired the look with white, pointed-toe stiletto heels.

The Canadian native appeared effortlessly chic in oversized, cat-eye frames.

The mother-of-two styled her iconic blonde tresses with a voluminous blowout.

The mother-of-two styled her iconic blonde tresses with a voluminous blowout.

In her newest memoir, the model tells her story after the release of the Pam & Tommy series.

In an interview with Howard Stern, Anderson revealed that no one contacted her before the production and release of the Hulu show, which dramatized her marriage to Tommy Lee and the theft of their sex tape.

She also expressed disinterest in watching the show and also refused to correspond with or meet up with the leading actress Lily James.

Lady in red: Seen on Monday at the premiere of her tell-all documentary Pamela: A Love Story premiered which is now streaming on Netflix

Although the author had previously released two prior autobiographies and four novels, she wants to 'take control of the narrative' and tell the 'whole story'.

In an interview with People earlier this month, she said: 'In my case, there's been stories written and things happening, but you can't really know somebody unless you hear the whole story.'

She added, 'I hope it's empowering.'
Julie Chrisley is 'doing well' and 'going to church' as she begins her prison sentence at Kentucky's Federal Medical Center, the star's daughter Savannah revealed on Tuesday.

Julie's husband Todd, 53, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, while Julie, 50, was given a seven-year sentence, for defrauding banks of more than $30 million from fraudulent loans.

Julie's stay at the medical prison, however, is apparently not an indication that she is currently receiving any medical treatment. TMZ reported that a source close to the Chrisleys confirmed she is not in need of any medical services at this time.

Speaking on her Unlocked Podcast, Savannah, 25, said: 'My mom, shes honestly doing really well, and I know it sounds crazy for me to say that like its crazy for me to say, Alright theyre doing really well, but they are,

Keeping busy: Julie Chrisley is 'doing well' and 'going to church' as she begins her prison sentence at Kentucky's Federal Medical Center, while husband Todd is working in a prison chapel (pictured 2019)

'Shes going to church, shes working, shes playing some Spades  and when I tell you shes playing, shes running a dog on everyone.'

The star added that it makes her 'heart happy to know that my parents are OK.'

Savannah also gave an update on Todd, who is serving his time at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola in Florida.

She said: 'He is working in the chapel, which is absolutely amazing, and I could never be more proud of my dad and the man that he is. I get to hear all these peoples stories and how hes affecting their life and encouraging change.

Adding that he has encouraged his fellow inmates to 'know Jesus' - she added: 'That puts me at peace. It lets me know that they are OK. This isnt the ideal situation, but we find strength in knowing that this isnt the end.'

Update: Speaking on her Unlocked Podcast, Savannah, 25, said: 'My mom, shes honestly doing really well, and I know it sounds crazy for me to say that like its crazy for me to say, Alright theyre doing really well, but they are ; seen in 2014 in LA

'We talk to him, we email him, we get to see him, so for that, I am forever grateful' - but revealed he had experienced tough days with 'struggles.'

As well as being able to email his five children, Todd can email Julie, with Savannah saying: 'That makes me so so so happy. I spoke to my dad on the phone, and he just had tears rolling down his eyes because he got the approval to email my mom.'

She also revealed her parents have made friends in prison which 'makes the time go by quicker.'

Julie's facility is described as a medical center with a nearby minimum security prison camp, where, according to a representative of the Bureau of Prisons, Julie will be serving.

It is unclear why Julie's prison location was swapped at the last minute. She was originally supposed to serve her seven years sentence at the FCI Marianna in Florida, which would have been closer to her husband Todd's facility.

Prison: She said: 'He is working in the chapel, which is absolutely amazing, and I could never be more proud of my dad and the man that he is. I get to hear all these peoples stories and how hes affecting their life and encouraging change'

This comes after Savannah spoke about how she is dealing with her 'life falling apart' following her parents' conviction for multiple charges.

''So for those of you that are familiar with my family and have followed our lives and have also followed my podcast, you know that last week was an extremely difficult week for my family as a whole and for each of us individually,' Savannah said in the introduction to her latest episode.

'We kind of had to say goodbye to my parents for a little bit of time, for the foreseeable future,' she continued. 'And that was really, really, really tough.'

Despite the tone of her intro, Savannah kept the rest of the episode upbeat as she conducted a bubbly interview with her friend and producer Erin Dugan.

However, in the introduction, which was seemingly recorded after the interview, Savannah shared that she had not 'filmed a podcast since' recording her most recent interview on January 12, which happened to be her mother Julie's 50th birthday.

'The podcast that is going to be airing today that you're watching was filmed prior to my life falling apart, so it may seem happy-go-lucky,' she continued. 'I think it's because there was a lot of hope that was had and I wasn't faced with the reality of the situation.'

Savannah suggested that future episodes would reflect her new life after her parents began their lengthy prison sentences.

Fraudsters: Todd was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison , while Julie was given a seven-year sentence, for defrauding banks of more than $30 million from fraudulent loans, according to the Associated Press; still from Chrisley Knows Best

'So I just kind of wanted to throw this in there to address that because I know a lot of people are gonna be like, "Whoa, what is this?" And this was kind of pre-life falling apart. And now podcasts that I do going forward will be post. So I hope that kind of helps you understand things,' she said.

The Chrisley Knows Best star promised that her next episode would be a 'very intense one-on-one podcast with myself kind of giving an update on where my life's at.'

Savannah previously revealed that her parents' prison sentence is altering more than just their lives, as she will now be assuming custody of her brother Grayson, 16, and her niece Chloe, 10.

Chloe is the daughter of Todd's son Kyle Chrisley  from his marriage to ex-wife Teresa Terry  and Angela Johnson, but she was adopted by Todd and Julie in 2016.

Since they were sentenced to prison, Chloe's mother has been taking steps to regain custody of her daughter.

'I'm really looking forward to giving that update because I've seen God work in the craziest of circumstances. So until then, I hope you enjoy this week's podcast,' Savannah continued in her introduction. 'Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for supporting me, my family and Unlocked.'
Its the fairy-tale story of every Oscars  the complete outsider who comes from nowhere to challenge the big studios and stars, and show that talent can win over money and power in Hollywood.

And it became a possibility again this year when British actress Andrea Riseborough was unexpectedly nominated for her critically acclaimed but little-seen performance in To Leslie, an independent film about a single mother who becomes an alcoholic and drug addict after squandering a huge lottery win.

Yet instead of being able to bask in her remarkable success, Riseborough has been thrust centre stage in Americas increasingly bitter debate over race.

For Riseborough  the child of working-class Thatcherites from the Tyneside town of Wallsend  is unfortunate enough to have completed a shortlist for this years Best Actress Oscar with no black performer on it.

Controversy: Andrea Riseborough walks the red carpet at the 76th Venice Film Festival in 2019

And, in particular, neither Viola Davis, star of controversial historical drama The Woman King, nor Danielle Deadwyler, who plays the mother of 1950s lynching victim Emmett Till in the movie Till, made the nominations.

It has prompted accusations that the Oscars has snubbed two prominent African-American films and their stars.

An embarrassed Academy has since launched an investigation into how a low-budget film company could possibly have campaigned so successfully to get its lead actress onto the shortlist.

To Leslie  set in West Texas but shot in LA over just 19 days during the pandemic  was directed by British film-maker Michael Morris.

As the Mail went to press, the Academy was due to discuss the film over accusations that it may have broken its campaign rules.

The film made only $27,000 (around 21,800) on its release last October and, until now, had earned Riseborough little recognition. It was ignored at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, both usually seen as reliable predictors of the movies likely to win big at the Oscars.

Unlike Till and The Woman King which were backed by deep-pocketed Hollywood studios United Artists and Sony respectively, To Leslie lacked millions to spend on Oscar promotion campaigns. Michael Morris and his wife, the well-connected U.S. actress Mary McCormack, relied instead on a high-profile word-of-mouth push.

They showed the movie to their friend, shock-jock radio DJ Howard Stern, who liked it and touted it on his show.

Snub: Danielle Deadwyler as the mother of 1950s lynching victim Emmett Till in the movie Till

A celeb-backed campaign to promote the film then went into overdrive, as Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Courteney Cox and Edward Norton all hosted screenings.

Kate Winslet and Amy Adams moderated virtual Q&As with Riseborough, while Cate Blanchett mentioned her performance in her acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Awards.

After McCormack emailed friends asking them to support the movie on social media, stars including Jane Fonda, Liam Neeson, Sally Field and Geena Davis were among those who obliged.

It just knocked me sideways, enthused Paltrow. Andrea should win every award there is.

Academy membership is divided into 17 branches, with each picking the nominees in their area of expertise. With around 1,300 members in the actors branch, a nominee needs just over 200 votes to make the shortlist.

The support of high-profile white stars for 41-year-old Riseborough has hardly endeared the Oscars process to critics, who say the saga is further proof that the Academys commitment to racial diversity is just token. Ominously, the hashtag OscarsSoWhite has reappeared on Twitter.

For others, however, the expectation that black stars should feature among the nominees raises troubling questions about what should be an entirely subjective artistic judgment.

Race has become a touchstone issue for U.S. awards ceremonies.

The academys membership  whose eligibility is based on having credits in feature films  has grown dramatically over the past five years, largely in response to criticism that it was too white, male and old.

Overlooked: Viola Davis starring in the controversial historical drama The Woman King

White stars and Oscars judges are free to rally behind other white actors in the nominations process, but since the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, they risk having their motives questioned.

Furious Nigerian-American director Chinonye Chukwu did so this week after the star of her film, Till, having won both Bafta and Screen Actors Guild nominations, was ignored by the Oscars.

We . . . work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards black women, she said in an Instagram post. And yet. I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life  regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance.

Her cause was quickly taken up by others. In the Los Angeles Times, Robert Daniels, a black film critic, contrasted the surprising nomination of a white British actress in a little-seen film with the movie industrys problem with recognising black women.

What does it say that the black women who did everything the institution asks of them  luxury dinners, private academy screenings, meet-and-greets, splashy television spots and magazine profiles  are ignored when someone who did everything outside of the system is rewarded?

Daniels  like the director of Till  doesnt appear to have considered the possibility that the judges didnt believe Viola Davis (who won an Oscar for 2016 period drama Fences, and has been nominated three other times) and Danielle Deadwyler were worthy of Oscars nods.

In Daviss case, her performance was marred by another race controversy, this time over The Woman Kings failure  despite being billed as being based on powerful true events  to address the fact the African kingdom of Dahomey was as committed to slavery as European interlopers.

Rave reviews: Riseborough plays motel owner Sweeney in To Leslie, which is based on a true story of a West Texas woman who wins the lottery and squanders her fortune

Others said it was ironic critics were complaining about racial representation when this year marks the first time an Asian woman  Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh  has been nominated for Best Actress.

Some observers believe Academy bosses have only themselves to blame if some now expect black contenders to be nominated in the major categories every year.

Organisers crumbled in the face of the OscarsSoWhite campaign in 2015, when all 20 nominations in the acting categories were white. Campaigners claimed winners were overwhelmingly white because the judges were, too.

Despite studies suggesting this wasnt the case, Hollywood went full throttle on diversity.

In 2020, the Academy unveiled its Representation And Inclusion Standards Entry policy (RAISE), which insists that for a film to qualify for Best Picture, producers have to meet two of its four diversity standards.

These are designed to ensure ethnic minorities, women and the disabled are included in the film-making process, from the on-screen performers to the behind-the-camera creators.

The film world has until next years Oscars to comply with these strict new rules, which some have attacked as Orwellian.

That an immensely talented but under-acknowledged British actress should be made to suffer essentially for being the wrong colour seems deeply Orwellian, too.
People read notes left at the scene of the Oct. 27 crowd disaster in central Seoul's Itaewon, Jan. 30. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar



By Jamie Finn



How should we act when faced with tragedy? It's a question that has no right answer. For some, the only acceptable way to conduct oneself when dealing with loss is with a quiet, solemn demeanor. They believe this is the only way to show respect for those affected by the tragedy. Others, such as the organizers of the upcoming music festival named Let There Be Love, Itaewon, believe that music can also be part of our response to grief, and that now is the perfect time to come together and build a community around music.



Korea is still reeling from the devastating Halloween crowd disaster that happened last Oct. 27. The catastrophe that took the lives of at least 158 people will leave scars on this country for many, many years to come.



In the three months since, Itaewon and the surrounding neighborhoods have become a center for mourning, with a series of memorials and ceremonies taking place in the area. While an important and necessary part of the grieving process, this period of healing has had a significant impact on Itaewon, an area that relies on its lively atmosphere built on a strong sense of community. It has left local businesses, still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, in a precarious position.





An alley in central Seoul's Itaewon is deserted during lunch hour, Jan. 30. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar



Enter the organizers of Let There Be Love, Itaewon, a music festival featuring many of the country's top performers, who will perform in various venues around the area this weekend.



"Our hope is to set a new and fresh example of what remembrance and mourning can look like in Korea," says a local music promoter who goes by Yoon. She is one of the founders of Let There Be Love, Itaewon.



The inspiration for planning the event came from the response to an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 at the AO Arena in Manchester, U.K. As people were leaving the stadium, an Islamic extremist detonated a homemade bomb, killing 23. In response, Grande, along with other key figures, organized the One Love Manchester campaign, a pop concert featuring a slew of internationally renowned acts.



"We took great inspiration and influence from the One Love Manchester campaign," Yoon says. "Big names came together to spread love and hope to the community during an extremely difficult time. We hope to do the same with Let There Be Love, Itaewon! We wholly believe that it is possible to show respect for and remember those who are no longer with us through music, art and community."



The Ariana Grande concert isn't Let There Be Love, Itaewon's only connection to Manchester; the name itself is lifted from a song by the English band Oasis. "We connected deeply with the lyrics," Yoon explains. "'Who kicked a hole in the sky / So the heavens would cry over me? / Who stole the soul in a world come undone at the seams? / Let there be love, let there be love.' This message of hope and love resonated with us, and served as a catalyst for putting this event together on such a small timeline."



The event itself will take place in bars, clubs, restaurants and even stores around Itaewon and will feature some surprising names as venues. For one night only, places like Thursday Party, Bistro Mexi, Day and Night, and many more will become live music spaces. The lineup boasts almost 100 of the biggest names in Korean music as well as some of the best emerging acts. They include Leenalchi, Kim Oki Fucking Madness, Galaxy Express, Say Sue Me and loads more.





Leenalchi / Courtesy of Leenalchi



One of the reasons the organizers were able to compile such a star-studded set of acts is thanks to the positive message the festival hopes to spread. "Many of the artists were empathetic and supportive of our goals for this event," Yoon says. "We are extremely lucky to host all 99 participating acts and infinitely grateful to them for agreeing to perform on such short notice."



The seven-member team behind the event call themselves Team Itaewon. They have built up connections through their work running music venues Club FF, Pet Sounds, and Boogie Woogie as well as a live music festival in venues around Hongik University. "We are a nonprofit organization formed solely for the purpose of this campaign, comprised of music community members, Itaewon residents, Itaewon store owners, Hongdae live music venue bookers and those who simply love the idea."





Walking After U / Courtesy of Walking After U



The team came together shortly after the Itaewon disaster while reflecting on the role that music and community can have in the grieving process. "After the tragic incident, many events were canceled or postponed," Yoon says. "Not long after, we thought about different forms that mourning could take and had the idea that music and art can actually hold immense power to spread hope and healing. That's where it all started, and it spread to a small group of similar-minded people that now make up Team Itaewon."



Because of the context the event is taking place in, safety is an absolute must and Team Itaewon is taking it seriously. "We have over 120 volunteers, over the two days. They'll be checking tickets, guiding people and making sure areas don't get too crowded," Yoon says. "We are also working closely with the Yongsan District Office and local police to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Similarly to Haebangchon's Block Party Festival and Hongdae's Live Club Day, this is a ticketed event, which means we're able to control the amount of people who have access to the venues. As well as our group of volunteers, we will be posting regular updates on safety information and venue capacity on our social media."





Say Sue Me / Courtesy of Say Sue Me
Rebekah Vardy made a thinly-veiled dig at Coleen Rooney as she posted quotes from a court case on her Instagram Story on Tuesday.

The WAG, 40, shared the transcribe from when Eva Green addressed the High Court and said it 'sounds familiar'.

The former Bond girl is giving evidence in a 4million legal battle over A Patriot - a film she was set to star in before production was shut down in October 2019.

She is suing production company White Lantern Films, claiming she is entitled to her $1million (810,000) fee for the movie, despite its cancellation.

'That sounds familiar': Rebekah Vardy made a thinly-veiled dig at Coleen Rooney as she posted quotes from a court case on her Instagram Story on Tuesday

Rebekah penned on social media: 'Sounds familiar. Forget women are not meant to use bad language!!! And wait someone else saying WhatsApp messages are not gospel'

In a second post, she wrote: 'Oh that sounds familiar. Using irrelevant things to win headlines... never'

'Some people will do or say ANYTHING to deflect away from their own miserable f**king lives! Emphasis on the word "f**king" as it's so offensive.'

Tense: It comes after the WAG, 40, sensationally claimed that she was 'framed' during the Wagatha Christie affair, months after losing the high-profile court battle to Coleen

On Tuesday, Eva's barrister Edmund Cullen KC said that the legal battle was 'designed to paint my client as a diva to win headlines and damage her reputation'.

Mr Cullen later said that the messages 'must be seen in context' of negotiations over buying the rights to the script.

Describing the film as a 'passion project', Mr Cullen said the actress 'bent over backwards' to make the film but 'the financial plan was never going to work'.

Case: The WAG, 40, shared the transcribe from when Eva Green addressed the High Court and said it 'sounds familiar'

It comes after the WAG, 40, sensationally claimed that she was 'framed' during the Wagatha Christie affair, months after losing the high-profile court battle to Coleen.

Rebekah took Coleen to court for libel  and lost  after Coleen claimed in October 2019 that Rebekah's social media account was leaking stories about her to the Press.

In an interview for a discovery+ documentary, which examines both sides of the bitter court clash, she says: 'I wonder, how easy would it be to potentially set someone up in a way that makes it look like that is the only person that has seen those [leaked Instagram] posts?'

She added: 'I just find it absolutely incredible to this day that she said no one else knew about this.'

During the High Court trial, Mrs Justice Steyn said in her judgment in July that it was 'likely' that Mrs Vardy's agent Caroline Watt 'undertook the direct act' of passing on information to The Sun.

Legal battle: The former Bond girl is giving evidence in a 4million legal battle over A Patriot - a film she was set to star in before production was shut down in October 2019

The judge said: 'The evidence clearly shows in my view that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it.'

Rebecca was ordered to pay up to 1.5million towards Coleen's legal fees after losing the case, but she still continues to insist she was not the culprit.

And in the documentary series, Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Trial, Rebekah also claims that a mole is still leaking Rooney stories to The Sun  which she also says proves her innocence.

'The irony is that since I was removed as a follower, stories have been coming thick and fast about the Rooneys,' she said.

Drama! Becky took Coleen Rooney to court for libel - and lost - after Coleen (pictured with husband Wayne in May) claimed that Becky's Instagram was the source of stories being leaked to The Sun

A friend of Rebekah's said the WAG's suspicions were sparked when a story in The Sun earlier this year, which suggested that Wayne Rooney would have a 'chaperone' when he was away from Coleen working in the US.

Mother-of-five Rebekah is on pugnacious form in the documentary, giving an interview dressed head-to-toe in black leather.

At one point she snaps: 'I have zero tolerance for this bull****,' and adds: 'I just find the whole thing really ****ing bizarre.'

She was on holiday in Dubai with her husband when Coleen made the accusations on Twitter and Instagram about the leaks.

Rebekah said: 'At the time I felt physically sick. I think it must have been the biggest panic attack. I was totally shocked. What to do next? That's the million-dollar question.

Scandal: Rebekah, (left), gave her side of the story about the Wagatha trial in the docu-series

'I couldn't understand why someone would do that. Why someone would do that knowing someone's vulnerable, knowing the impact something like that is going to cause. It's going to cause a s*** storm  a massive one  and that it did.'

Referring to a fake story about a flooded basement in Coleen's new Cheshire mansion, Rebekah insisted: 'The first time I read about the flooded basement was in the Daily Mail online. I love how I get blamed for that one, incredible.

'If I had been selling stories, where are the messages saying 'give this to The Sun'? 'Make sure I get paid for this'. Where are they? There aren't any  because they don't exist.'

Court imposed a punitive charge over legal costs, with Rebekah told to pay 90 per cent of Coleen costs.

This was in part because crucial evidence had been destroyed after Mrs Watt accidentally dropped her phone in the North Sea.

Coleen's legal team has not yet produced a final costs total, but the last figure presented to court was 1,667,860. If that stays unchanged, 90 per cent of that would be 1.5million.

Mrs Justice Steyn decided on 90 per cent, acknowledging there were certain issues that justified Coleen paying for some of the case, including her weak allegation that Rebekah was one of the people behind The Suns Secret Wag gossip column which had added considerably to the work of Rebekah's lawyers.

The total amount of Rebekah's legal costs is not known, but is expected to be of a similar level to those incurred by Coleen.

The final figure may be reduced if Rebekah does not agree to pay the 90 per cent and a court later considers some costs unreasonable.
Alice Evans finally showed up at court in Los Angeles on Monday morning after previously failing to appear to answer two charges of violating a restraining order that was put in place by her estranged husband Ioan Gruffudd.

Evans, 54, appeared to have been tickled by something as she walked in through the front door of the courthouse clutching her cellphone for an arraignment.

Sporting a wide grin she could be seen laughing to herself and giggling as she hurried past waiting photographers.

Evans was supposed to have appeared at the Airport Courthouse for a scheduled arraignment last Thursday at 8:30am but neither she nor her attorney called or contacted the court to explain her absence.

It led to LA Superior Court Commissioner James Cooper to issue a referral for an arrest warrant for the 102 Dalmations star.

Details of Evans's alleged breach were not revealed but Fantastic Four actor Gruffudd filed a restraining order against her in February last year.

Alice Evans showed up to court in LA this morning after missing earlier mandatory court date appearances and facing arrest. She appeared to be laughing hard as she walked inside

Ioan Gruffudd's estranged wife was seen in court this morning after failing to appear last week

Evans appeared open-mouthed briefly as she spotted a photographer documenting her arrival

Alice Evans managed to avoid arrest after she finally showed up to the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles for her arraignment on two restraining order violations

Gruffudd, 49 was granted a restraining order against his estranged wife (right) last February. He is now dating Bianca Wallace

Gruffudd, 49, filed for divorce in March 2021  two months after Evans sensationally claimed on social media that her husband of 14 years was walking out on her and their two daughters, Ella, now 13 and nine-year-old Elsie.

She continued blasting her estranged husband online, prompting Gruffudd to seek a restraining order preventing Evans from sharing their private messages or publishing 'false public allegations' about him.

Gruffudd's request for the order was granted following Evans's online rants against him and his new girlfriend Bianca Wallace, and she is also banned from mentioning him on social media for three years.

Evans appeared open-mouthed as she passed through security, still using a cell phone despite a sign telling her not to do so

Evans was in court for allegedly violating the restraining order from her estranged husband

Evans smiled and appeared to be laughing to herself as she walked in through the front doors

Something appeared to have tickled Evans as she laughed to herself while walking into court

Evans chatted for a moment with some of the security staff inside the courthouse

The courthouse staff appeared happy to receive Evans as she walked inside on Monday

In a court filing, Gruffudd also claimed that Evans had been 'verbally abusive' and allegedly 'undermined' him in front of their two daughters

The Welsh actor filed for custody and visitation rights to see his children, Elsie, now 9, and Ella, 13. He is pictured with his estranged wife, Alice Evans, and daughters in 2018

The Welsh actor later filed for joint custody of their two daughters last July after Alice requested sole custody amid their acrimonious divorce.

As well as requesting visitation rights, he claimed in the filing that Evans had been purposely trying to cut communication between himself and the girls.

He also petitioned that the girls attend in-person therapy and reunification therapy via Zoom with him pending court-ordered mediation about custody.

Gruffudd in his filing also reiterated allegations that his estranged wife had verbally abused him during their 14-year marriage, and undermined him in front of the girls 'throughout their lives'.

'Alice made fun of my appearance often, making hair-loss comments and telling me I had "saggy-vagina eyes,"' court papers read.

He went on to claim that Evans 'has inflicted serious emotional harm on Ella and Elsie by her statements and by interfering in my relationship with them.'

In a video before the former couple's separation in January 2021, which Gruffudd presented as evidence in the filing, Evans allegedly told Ella she would be 'getting a new daddy.'

'In a FaceTime I had with the girls on March 3, Ella said Alice falsely told her that I wanted Alice to commit suicide, and that Ella probably would not have a mummy anymore,' Gruffudd wrote in the petition.

The divorce has been anything but amicable. Evans has repeatedly taken to social media to speak out about the split, and one post (pictured) accused Gruffudd of using money that should have been spent on their daughters' wellbeing on his legal case

Last August, the mother-of-two risked breaching her restraining order in a post in which she claimed she was being gaslit and being called 'fat' and 'horrible' compared to 'B' - taken to mean Ioan's new girlfriend Bianca Wallace

'Ella told me, "Daddy, this is making me very sad,' and, 'if I don't agree with her, apparently I am a bad daughter".'

Since then, Alice has risked violating her restraining order after taking to social media to post about their separation.

In an Instagram post last August she wrote: 'I'm working out to try to calm myself down because I am being GASLIT. Freaking GASLIT.

'With my kids, with the places I usually go to. Everything. I can't leave the house without being photographed and told that I am fat and horrible whereas 'B' is so slim.

She signed off: ' I cannot deal for much longer.'

A source said of the recent restrictions: 'Ioan had no choice but to up his legal fight over Alice.

Ioan now dates Bianca Wallace. He was married to Alice for 14 years before their messy split; they're now involved in a lengthy court case

The Welsh actor and his younger Australian girlfriend walked Bianca's dog in West Hollywood last month, just streets away from his former marital home, still occupied by estranged ex Alice Evans

Gruffudd starred as Mr. Fantastic in the 2005 film Fantastic Four. He claims he's had trouble getting work recently leaving him unable to afford a $745,000 mortgage on the marital home where he hasn't lived for nearly two years

'She had become increasingly volatile and seemingly intent on destroying his career with her character assassination. He hopes this will put an end to it.'

Then, in court documents, Ioan claimed that since the restraining order was put in place, Alice 'has used her social media accounts to continue to harass, threaten, and disturb the peace of both me and my girlfriend, Bianca Wallace.'

He demanded Alice should not make any posts on any social media account, 'including but not limited to Instagram and Twitter accounts, disparaging or harassing [Ioan] or the other protected person' (Wallace).

Plus, he requested Alice not to post his text messages or any other communications to the parties' children, or the children's text messages or any other communications to Gruffudd, on any social media account.

He also asked that Alice be ordered not to contact his employers or make disparaging statements about him to his employers.

Meanwhile, it seems the exes have managed to reach a deal to put their $2 million marital home in Los Angeles on the market after Ioan begged a court to enforce the sale before it's repossessed (pictured)

Meanwhile, it seems that the exes have managed to reach a deal to put their $2million marital home in Los Angeles on the market after Ioan begged a court to enforce the sale before it's repossessed.

According to court documents obtained Thursday by RadarOnline.com, the former couple will be listing the home that Alice currently lives in with their children.

Following the close of escrow, both will receive $110,000 with the remaining money being held.
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will appear before the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee in March, as lawmakers looks to scrutinize the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said on Monday.

Chew will testify before the committee on March 23, which will be his first appearance before a Congressional committee, McMorris Rodgers said in a statement.

The news comes as the House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States over national security concerns.

The CEO of the Chinese-based app TikTok will testify before Congress in March

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok Inc. has been asked to testify before Congress that his company is not a threat to national security in the U.S.

'ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data,' McMorris Rodgers said, adding that Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TikTok said on Friday 'calls for total bans of TikTok take a piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy, and online harms'.

McMorris Rodgers and other Republican lawmakers have demanded more information from TikTok, on its impact on young people amid concerns about harmful content and potential sexual exploitation of minors on the platform, the statement said.

TikTok has previously said it is focused on the safety of younger users and limits features by age. (Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Ed Osmond and Alison Williams)
An exhibition in Rome tells the story of the works of art stolen by the Nazis. Special attention is paid to the daring actions of Italian "Monuments Men" who saved thousands of works of art from illegal access.

US General Mark W. Clark reportedly said during the Allied advance into Italy in World War II: "Fighting a war in Italy is like fighting in a damn museum." Couldn't have put it better than that. Although the National Socialists had stolen art from all over Europe, Italy was particularly endangered because of its immense art treasures.

And so the task force of the "Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program" (MFAA) came to Europe with the Allied liberation troops. These were experts from 13 countries whose task it was to protect the works of art and buildings during the war and to return the works of art stolen by the Germans in the occupation zones to the respective countries after the end of the war.

But no matter how important the work of the "Monuments Men" - as they were called - was, thousands of works of art would no longer be admired in Italian museums and galleries if Italian Monuments Men had not existed before the Allies. From 1939 onwards, they did everything they could to bring their country's works of art to safety. And the exhibition "Arte Recuperata" (Recovered Art), which can be visited in Rome in the Scuderie del Quirinale until April 10, 2023, tells of them, their adventurous rescue operations and the masterpieces that they were able to bring to safety.

A total of around 100 works of art are on display, including some of inestimable value, such as one of Titian's "Danae", Luca Signorelli's "Crocifissione" (Crucifixion), Guercino's "Santa Palazia" (Holy Palazia), the "Immacolata Concezione " (Immaculate Conception) by Federico Barocci, the portrait of "Henry VIII." by Holbein, the "Battesimo Cristo" (The Baptism of Christ) by El Greco and the "Madonna di Senigallia" by Piero della Francesca.

There are also 150 photos, more than 30 historical documents and around 20 film clips. The latter, which can be seen in all the rooms, allow the visitor to experience the events almost live. For example, Hitler's visit with Benito Mussolini to the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The Fuhrer's obsession with art was well known, as was his dream of building a museum for his collection in Linz. A project that he had already commissioned from Albert Speer. If a work of art aroused Hitler's desire, he would not give up.

It was the same with the stunning marble statue of Diskobolus Lancellotti that greets the visitor. Right behind it on a red background, which gives the whole scene a special drama, a gigantography of Hitler. The statue is a copy of the bronze sculpture by the Greek sculptor Myron (c. 450 BC). Hitler is said to have been obsessed with Diskobolus. For him it represented the epitome of Aryan perfection. The fact that the statue had been under special protection since 1909 and that it was forbidden to take it abroad was no obstacle for him. For the bargain price of just five million lire, he received what he wanted. On June 9, 1938, the Diskobolus was set up in Munich's Glyptothek.

While the first part of the exhibition deals with the thefts and the black market that flourished around the works of art, the second part deals with the rescue operations carried out by the Italian museum directors, art historians and experts. In the excerpts from the Istituto Luce film archive, you can also see cloak-and-dagger operations in which the paintings were loaded onto trucks and then taken to safe hiding places. Or how churches, statues and entire towers literally disappeared behind brick walls.

One director who made a particularly valuable contribution was Pasquale Rotondi from the Marche region. It was he who, from 1939, before Italy went to war alongside Germany (June 10, 1940), identified Sassocorvaro and Carpegna as safe places in his region. Until the armistice signed by Italy on September 8, 1943, around 10,000 works of art from all over the country were stored there: the treasures from Naples' Museo di Capodimonte and those from Venice's St. Mark's Basilica.

With Italy's change of front, however, the works had to be brought to safety as quickly as possible. From the diary reports we learn that Rotondi even kept small works of art such as "La Tempesta" (The Thunderstorm) by Giorgione and Mantegna's "San Giorgio" (Saint George) hidden in his bedroom because of the Wehrmacht's raids.

The art historian Pietro Zampetti, on the other hand, commuted by bike between Modena and Bologna in the summer of 1944 to bring the works hidden in the castle of Guglia to the collection points. From there, they reached the Vatican State under "diplomatic immunity". The immunity had been negotiated with the Germans by the Vatican Secretary of State at the time, Giovanni Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI. During the war, the Nazis stole around five million works of art from across Europe. After the end of the war, a collection point was set up in Munich under the supervision of the MFAA in order to return them to the federal states.

The art expert Rodolfo Siviero, a shady figure - he first worked as a secret agent for the fascists, but changed sides during the course of the war - was commissioned by the Italian post-war government to take care of the restitution of Italian works of art. It is thanks to him that the Diskobolus Lancellotti returned in 1948. But despite the successes that Siviero was able to report, a few years ago the Italian media said that, according to Siviero's list, there were still over 1,000 stolen art objects in Germany.

The topic of looted art from the Second World War became topical again in early 2019 because Eike Schmidt, the director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, had asked the Federal Republic to return the "flower vase" by Dutchman Jan van Huysum. It was stolen by a Wehrmacht soldier in 1944 and has been in his family's possession ever since. The federal government reacted quickly to the vase, and the painting was handed over to the Uffizi that same year.

Looted art continues to be a topical issue, especially in former colonial power countries. This is also where the debate about the restitution of African art is taking place. Actually, they should also exist in Italy. But that's not the case.
Egypt has presented impressive archaeological finds in recent years, but the most recent one might top them all: a 4,300-year-old mummy adorned with gold leaf has wowed archaeologists near Cairo. The coffin is "just as the ancient Egyptians left it".

Egypt has presented new archaeological finds from the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. The more than 4,000-year-old finds at the necropolis south of Cairo are a gold-studded mummy and four tombs, including that of a "secret guardian" of the ancient Egyptian king, according to archaeologist and former Egyptian antiquities minister Sahi Hawass journalists said.

The finds are therefore from the years 2500 to 2100 BC and were assigned to the fifth and sixth pharaoh dynasty. The largest of the four tombs was built for a priest and overseer named Khnumddschedef, Hawass explained. Decorated with scenes of everyday life at the time, it was discovered in the pyramid complex of Unas, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, who reigned some 4,300 years ago.

Another tomb belonged to Meri, who, according to Hawass, served as the "secret guardian" of the pharaoh. It was a priestly title borne by a high-ranking palace official, giving him the right to perform certain religious rituals.

The third tomb, according to Hawas, was built for a priest named Messi in the pyramid complex of Pharaoh Pepi I, and the fourth belonged to a judge and scribe named Fetek. The head of Egypt's Supreme Antiquities Council, Mostafa Wasiri, said Fetek's tomb contained the "largest statues" ever discovered in the area.

The Saqqara Necropolis is a vast necropolis on the site of Egypt's former capital, Memphis. The Unesco World Heritage Site includes more than a dozen pyramids and ancient Christian Copt monasteries.

The mummy, whose discovery is now being celebrated as a sensation, was found in a limestone sarcophagus, according to Hawass. The coffin was in a 15 meter deep ditch and was sealed "just like the ancient Egyptians had left it 4,300 years ago".

Decorated with gold leaf, the mummy is the remains of a man named Hekashepes. Hawass stressed that it was one of the best-preserved mummies of a non-royal body ever found in Egypt.

Egypt has presented a large number of archaeological finds in recent years. Critics warn that this is more about media attention than sound research.

In fact, after years of political instability and the corona pandemic, Egypt, which is stuck in an economic crisis with its archaeological treasures, wants to boost tourism, which is so important for the country. By 2028, the mark of 30 million tourists per year should be reached. That is 13 million more annually than before the corona pandemic.

(This article was first published on Friday, January 27, 2023.)
Although Sars-CoV-2 has been particularly well researched compared to other viruses, many questions remain unanswered. For example, it is still not clear what long-term effects one or more infections have on the immune system. There is also disagreement among experts.

An unusually early flu wave, a strong RSV wave in children, plus many colds and bacterial infections: After the end of many corona protection measures in Germany, one can quickly get the feeling that people were not sick as often as in the past months. And now that a large number of citizens in Germany have already been infected with Sars-CoV-2 once or several times, one hears more often of a possibly longer-lasting immune deficiency after Covid-19. What's it all about?

It is worrying what we observe in people who have had several corona infections. Studies now show very clearly that those affected are often dealing with an immune deficiency whose duration we do not yet know, said Karl Lauterbach, who Federal Minister of Health, recently the "Rheinische Post". In an earlier version, which attracted some attention, he had spoken of an "immune deficiency that could no longer be cured". Lauterbach then made it clear that there was currently no question of an incurable immune deficiency - and he spoke of an error in the release of the text.

Shortly before the turn of the year, Charite virologist Christian Drosten also spoke about a feared aging of the immune system. In a "Tagesspiegel" interview, he referred to immunological findings: These suggested that the aging of the immune system in children after corona infection was much more advanced than expected. One can now ask oneself pointedly whether an unvaccinated child after infection might have the immune system of an 80-year-old at the age of 30, said Drosten.

Exactly which data Drosten and Lauterbach refer to cannot be said with absolute certainty. If you ask the Ministry of Health, you are generally referred to the Minister's Twitter profile, where he discusses studies. The findings that Drosten spoke of appear to be unpublished. A scientist who is otherwise always well informed about Covid-19 says that he has not yet seen any data on it and wants to refrain from making assessments.

Of course, some studies are already public that have to do with Sars-CoV-2 and the immune system - including long-term consequences. They were diligently shared on social media after the Lauterbach statements. Some titles sound worrying. To cite just a few examples, there is impaired immunity to fungal infections, long-term disruption of the peripheral immune system, and impaired function of certain cells.

"Unfortunately, the findings that are available are often overinterpreted," said immunologist Christine Falk from the Hannover Medical School recently in "Zeit Online". They are usually difficult or impossible to interpret for laypeople. Many observations also relate to long-Covid patients. From Falk's point of view, there is "currently no reason for most people to worry that their immune system will work less well after one or more corona infections". And she clarified that Covid-19 is also "not airborne AIDS," as some seem to have claimed. "This is nonsense."

The British immunologist Sheena Cruickshank from the University of Manchester recently explained in an article on the portal "The Conversation" that temporary changes in the immune system after an infection are normal. Even if technical details sound dramatic to laypeople, it has been shown that most people's defenses regain their equilibrium after recovery.

Even in vulnerable patients, only a small proportion remained more than six months after infection - mostly in people who were seriously ill with Covid-19 or who had other underlying health problems. Further studies are necessary for this. "For most people, however, there is no evidence of damage to the immune system after a Covid infection," Cruickshank notes.

You also have to keep other aspects in mind when considering a topic. Sars-CoV-2 is considered to be particularly well researched compared to many other viruses. "Probably no virus infection passes us by without consequences," said molecular biologist Emanuel Wyler from the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. HIV is known to be particularly damaging to the immune system - and measles essentially mean a reset of the immune system, as Wyler said. Rhinoviruses, on the other hand, which cause colds, are comparatively harmless. "The question is where Sars-CoV-2 fits into this broad spectrum and how the virus still stands out in vaccinated people compared to the many viral infections over the course of a lifetime."

Wyler also points out that a number of study results date from before the Covid 19 vaccination. What is reported in it about seriously ill people who were infected with early variants is not automatically transferrable to healthy and vaccinated 20-year-olds in the times of the omicron variant.

Immunologists have been emphasizing for months that the most recent waves of colds are primarily to be seen as catch-up effects. Because during the Corona years, other respiratory pathogens circulated less strongly. If people actually had a weakened immune system across the board, other infections would also have to increase - "such as those with atypical pathogens that do not normally make people sick," said Falk "Zeit Online".

According to the immunologist, it is still too early for an overall picture - so everything should not always be translated into a warning or the all-clear. Discussions among professionals continued, she said in the interview. Much is provisional and does not belong in the public domain.
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This photo shows a production line of POSCO, Korea's top steelmaker, in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Jan. 1. Yonhap



Korea's industrial output fell 1.6 percent on-month in December, data showed Tuesday, as the manufacturing sector remained sluggish amid weak exports.



Industrial production decreased at the widest margin in 32 months, shifting from a 0.4 percent rebound posted in November, according to the data from Statistics Korea.



The output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell 2.9 percent on-month in December, due to the sluggish performance of the automobile and electric parts sectors, which decreased 9.5 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively.



The output of the mainstay chip industry, on the other hand, rose 4.9 percent over the period, the data showed.



The latest overall decrease in the output came amid Korea's weak exports. For December, monthly exports fell 9.5 percent on-year to stand at $54.99 billion, extending the losing streak to the third consecutive month.



The data also showed that the output from the service sector declined 0.2 percent on-month in December as losses from transportation, restaurants and accommodation sectors offset gains from financial industries.



Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, moved up 1.4 percent over the period, on the back of stronger sales of semidurable goods, such as clothes.



Facility investment dropped 7.1 percent on-month in December due to the machinery and transportation equipment sectors, the data also showed.



For all of 2022, however, the country's industrial output advanced 3.3 percent on-year, with retail sales and facility investment also gathering ground.



The increase came as the output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries advanced 1.4 percent on the back of the electronic parts and chemical sectors, although the performance of the chip and automobile players remained sluggish.



The output from the service sector advanced 4.8 percent on-year in 2022, on the back of the robust performances of the accommodation, restaurant, financial and insurance sectors, it added.



Retail sales in 2022 moved up 0.2 percent on-year on the back of stronger sales of clothes and medical supplies.



Facility investment increased 3.3 percent over the period, the data added, led mainly by the machinery and transportation equipment sectors. (Yonhap)


This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Past Event - Saturday, February 25, 2023 This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Reserved Seating $25

Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra

DIVA is a hard-swinging all-female jazz orchestra who will start their 30th Anniversary tour in Beavercreek Alumni Auditorium. They have graced stages at some of the most acclaimed music venues and festivals including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and have been touring with Manhattan Transfer. This is the best weekend concert in the tri-state area for jazz lovers.

This concert is part of the Beavercreek Weekend of Jazz, February 24 & 25, 2023. Reserve tickets here.

Find more information about DIVA at divajazz.com.




Korea's imports of coffee beans hit a new record in 2022, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign of the drink's growing popularity in Asia's fourth-largest economy.







Imports of coffee beans, including both raw and roasted products, reached $1.3 billion last year, soaring 42.4 percent from $920 million posted in 2021, according to the Korea Customs Service.







In terms of volume, imports reached 200,000 tons, up 9.5 percent over the period, the agency added, enough to make 1.3 cups of coffee for all adults here daily.







By product, Korea's imports of raw beans advanced 10 percent on-year in 2022 to reach 180,000 tons, and those of roasted products gained 4.9 percent to 20,000 tons.







Brazil took up 26 percent of the raw bean imports, trailed by Vietnam with 18 percent and Colombia with 17 percent.







In terms of roasted beans, the United States accounted for 58 percent of all imports, followed by Switzerland with 14 percent and Italy with 12 percent, the data showed. (Yonhap)


British deputy high commissioner to Telangana Gareth Wynn Owen (left) and industry and commerce principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan. (By Arrangement)

HYDERABAD: In its bid to strengthen links with India, the United Kingdom has partnered with the 20th edition of BioAsia  a healthcare and life sciences event being organised by the state government.

The UK has a growing presence of prominent life sciences companies like GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, UCB and Pfizer among others.

The countrys life sciences industry is home to over 6,330 businesses that employ over 2,68,000 people, generating a turnover of 88.9 billion in 2020.

While announcing the country partner for BioAsia 2023, Jayesh Ranjan,

principal secretary (industries & commerce), said, "UK holds a phenomenal reputation for its coveted life sciences industry and its brilliance in academia and industry, coupled with the expertise it brings from its pool of centres of scientific excellence. With mutual interest, the UK and the government of Telangana will come together to share knowledge and best practices in life-sciences.

British deputy high commissioner to Telangana Gareth Wynn Owen said "There is an increasing interest from innovation centres, start-ups and universities in the UK to collaborate, invest and engage with the life sciences ecosystem in India. British companies are looking at BioAsia as an opportunity to increase partnerships with Indias growing biotech industry.

With the theme of Advancing for ONE: Shaping the next generation of

humanized healthcare, BioAsia 2023 is all set to be held here from February 24 to 26.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Monday clarified that its exposure to the Adani group of companies amounts to less than one per cent of its total funds that it manages. (PTI)

Hyderabad: State-owned insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Monday clarified that its exposure to the Adani group of companies amounts to less than one per cent of its total funds that it manages.

According to a statement issued by Indias largest institutional investor, it has purchased shares of the Adani Group for Rs 30,127 crore and its market value as on January 27 is Rs 56,142 crore.

The total funds managed (Assets Under Management) by LIC are worth over Rs 41.66 lakh crore as at September 30, 2022. As on date, LIC said its exposure to the Adani group in relation its total AUM is 0.975 per cent.

As per the statement, the credit rating of all debt securities of the Adani Group of companies held by LIC are AA and above, which is in compliance with the IRDAI investment regulations.
Tribal Welfare students are being encouraged in all domains so that they gain exposure to the latest developments in various fields. DC Image

Hyderabad: Four students of tribal welfare Gurukulam participated in Agneepath

selections and are now ready to serve the Indian Army as soldiers. B.Sc

students Maloth Javender, Banoth Ramu, Velpula Ajay of B.Sc and Intermediate

second year student Inslavath Naresh from Ashoknagar Sainik School have been selected after successfully clearing tests conducted by the army.

Tribal Welfare students are being encouraged in all domains so that they

gain exposure to the latest developments in various fields.

The admissions into these colleges are through TGUGCET and the last date to

apply for CET is February 5. The students thanked secretary D. Ronald Rose

and additional secretary V. Sarveshwar Reddy for their constant

encouragement and support.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the first day of the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and Union MoS at PMO Jitendra Singh are also seen. (Photo: PTI)

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that amidst the global economic turmoil, Indias Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of ordinary citizens and be a "ray of hope for the world". Mr Modi also said that the BJP-led NDA government has always worked with a singular aim of putting "India First" and "Citizens First" and the same spirit will be seen during the Budget Session.

Addressing the media ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament, the Prime Minister said recognised voices in the world economy were bringing positive messages from all sides. He noted that the Budget, to be presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Wednesday, will strive to fulfil the people's hopes, aspirations and also boost the hopes with which the world was looking at India.

"The ray of hope being seen by the world will glow brighter for this, I firmly believe the finance minister will make all efforts to meet these aspirations," Mr Modi said.

He also noted President Droupadi Murmu was delivering her maiden address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session. "The Presidents speech is the pride of the Constitution of India, the pride of Indias parliamentary system, and also an opportunity to respect women and the great tribal traditions of the country," Mr Modi said.

He mentioned that according to the parliamentary traditions evolved over the past six to seven decades, a parliamentarian speaking for the first time in the House, belonging to any political party, was extended respect and a conducive atmosphere is created to enhance his/her confidence.

"This is a rich and best tradition. It is the responsibility of parliamentarians to ensure that this moment of the Presidents first address to Parliament is full of enthusiasm, warmth and energy. I am sure our parliamentarians will pass this test," Mr Modi said.

"There will be arguments as well during the Budget Session and I hope that the Opposition will articulate them well by studying issues closely. The House will deliberate on the formulation of policy which will benefit the nation," the Prime Minister said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Twitter)

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said the State capital would be shifted to Visakhapatnam.

Addressing the preparatory meeting for the Global Investors Summit to be held in Visakhapatnam in March, Jagan said he would be shifting his office to the port city in the months to come.

"Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which is going to be our capital in the days to come. I myself would also be shifting over to Visakhapatnam in the months to come," he said.

Amaravati is the present capital of Andhra Pradesh.

In November last year, Jagan Mohan Reddy government repealed the controversial AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 intended to establish three capitals for the State.

The State government had proposed three capitals, Visakhapatnam (Executive capital), Amaravati (Legislative capital) and Kurnool (Judicial capital).

Jagan further said the State Government is organising the Global Investors Summit in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4 and requested the corporate community to take part in the meet and invest in the State.
The Governor said India stood as a superpower and leader in knowledge. He underlined that the New Education Policy emphasises on research, which needs increased investments. He unveiled the special issue of AIU on the occasion and uploaded 2.5 lahks Talapatras digitised by Andhra University. (Image Source: Twitter/@governorap)

VISAKHAPATNAM: Universities should take the responsibility of training leaders of modern India, observed AP Governor Biswabushan Harichandan, inaugurating the South Zone Vice Chancellor's Meet 2023 with the theme "Research and Excellence for Transformative Higher Education" organised by Andhra University, under the auspices of Association of Indian Universities (AIU) at the AU Convention Centre in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

The Governor said India stood as a superpower and leader in knowledge. It is one of the fastest developing countries. Nasscom has made it clear that India has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, with more than 80,000 start-up companies in the country in 2022.

In this context, Harichandan underlined that the New Education Policy emphasises on research, which needs increased investments. He unveiled the special issue of AIU on the occasion and uploaded 2.5 lahk's Talapatras digitised by Andhra University.

AU vice chancellor Prof. P.V.G.D. Prasada Reddy said the university is training its students as per the needs of industries. The Technology Innovation Hub established by AU has become a platform for launching 34 start-ups. Nasscom Centre of Excellence has nurtured 17 start-ups.

Skill Centre, Food Processing, Testing Incubation Centre, Pharm Testing Laboratory, Medical Genetics Research Centre, and TCBSE established with Avanti Feeds are training students to be aspiring entrepreneurs. The VC said it is a matter of pride to achieve a four-star rating from the Institute of Innovation Council (IIC) established in AU.

Association of Indian Universities president Dr. Suranjan Das said preserving indigenous knowledge is very important. He maintained that besides providing higher education in English, there is every need to provide the same in local languages too.

Higher Education Council chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy said admissions in higher education in the state have increased from 27.4 percent to 37.2 percent.

AIU secretary general Dr. Pankaj Mittal said currently, there are 924 universities as members of the AIU, which has a solid history of 98 years.

Special Chief Secretary to governor R.P. Sisodia was among those present on the occasion.
The conflict between Raj Bhavan and Pragathi Bhavan over the state Assembly's Budget Session has been finally resolved. (File image/Twitter)

HYDERABAD: The conflict between Raj Bhavan and Pragathi Bhavan over the state Assemblys Budget Session has been finally resolved after the state government filed a lunch motion on Monday in the Telangana High Court with Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan advising Governors and governments counsels to hold deliberations rather than dragging the judiciary into controversy.

The state Budget Session was scheduled to begin on February 3 but the Governor had not yet approved it, prompting the Telangana state government to file a lunch motion in the High Court. Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan took up a hearing of the lunch motion petition moved by the state government seeking a direction to Governor Dr Tamilsai Soundararajan to approve the state Budget in the Assembly and Legislative Council on February 3. Following the advice of the CJ, counsels of the Telangana government and the Raj Bhavan held discussions. After the deliberations, the court was informed that the two sides had come to an agreement and the petition could be dismissed. During the discussions, it was decided that the Governor would give customary speech during the Budget session, and the Telangana government would provide a copy of the speech.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice questioned the Telangana Advocate General on how the court could give notice to the Governor, who is the head of the Constitution in the state, and asked the AG why the judiciary was being dragged into the dispute between the government and a constitutional institution. "You (politicians and parliamentary members) accuse the judiciary of meddling in all matters and overstepping its bounds when it comes to matters pertaining to legislative and executive choices. You have consistently argued that the judiciary should be kept solely within its purview. Now, how are you asking for judicial review to issue mandamus to the Governor to do the stated duty," Ujjal Bhuyan questioned.

Senior counsel Ashok Anand appeared on behalf of the Governor despite the court not issuing notices to the Governor as a respondent to the petition filed by the Telangana government. Senior Supreme Court counsel Dushyant Dave representing the Telangana government contended that the Governor was required by the Constitution to ratify the Bills and decisions taken by the Council of Ministers. Citing several Supreme Court judgements, Dave argued that it is not to the personal satisfaction of the President or Governor to approve the decisions taken by the legislation.

During the arguments, Ashok Anand complained that the Governors chair was not being respected while arguing that the government has ignored the customary address during the Budget session last year. He also submitted to the court that the CM skipped the Republic Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan even after an invitation. On the other hand, Dushyant Dave submitted before the court that the statements against the Governor were condemnable, not just because she is the Governor but also because she is a woman.
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan will address the joint session on the first day of the state Budget.(Photo:DC)

Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday issued two notifications summoning the joint meeting of the Assembly and Legislative Council on February 3 for the Budget session. The Governor will address the joint session on the first day. The state Budget will be presented on February 6 although the BRS government is yet to make an official statement in this regard.

The Governor will be addressing the joint session after nearly two years. She last addressed the joint session on March 15, 2021. Following the rift with the Governor on various issues, the state government had done away with the customary Governor's address in 2022.

The government did this by not proroguing the House since September 2021. It considered every subsequent session to be a continuation of the previous one. This was done as the government has to convene a new session if the House is prorogued, and any new session in a new year has to commence with the customary Governor's address.

This year too, the state government had decided to begin the Budget session from February 3 without the Governor's address and even issued a notification. The Governor kept her approval pending for the presentation of the Budget, forcing the government to approach the High Court on Monday.

The government and the Governor resolved the issue amicably following the High Court's intervention. The government agreed to have the Governor's address, while Dr Soundararajan agreed to approve the Budget.
Aggrieved over land issues, a farmer tried to end his life by suicide along with his wife and three children, near Pragati Bhavan on Monday.

Hyderabad: Aggrieved over land issues, a farmer tried to end his life by suicide along with his wife and three children, near Pragati Bhavan on Monday.

The farmer has been identified as Mashamoni Ilesh, a resident of

Ibrahimpatnam. He had reportedly tried to end his life by suicide in 2019

and 2021 as well. "I was assured that the issue will be solved but nothing

has been done so far," he told Deccan Chronicle.

Ilesh said that during the Bhoodan land distribution, his family got five

acres of land which was acquired by the government in 2010. Though

compensation was awarded to his family, the then VRO, VRA, MRO, and the RDO along with public representatives fabricated documents and siphoned off his money. He had also lodged a complaint with the police but in vain.

He along with his wife and three children even took up a padayatra from

Ibrahimpatnam to Pragathi Bhavan in the past, seeking to meet the Chief

Minister and submit a memorandum, but was not allowed by the police. With

nowhere to go, Ilesh said that he decided to end his life and thus came to

Pragati Bhavan on Monday.

"We will notify Rachakonda police and Rangareddy district officials about

the incident and his grievances, and take necessary action," police said

adding no case has been registered against him.
gettyimagesbank



By Anna J. Park



Investors will be able to decide next year whether to buy the stocks of Korean companies based on the exact size of their dividend payouts, just like in major financial markets' dividend payout systems such as in the U.S. and France.



The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced Tuesday that it will take steps to overhaul the local dividend payout system to make it compatible with global standards. The FSC, in conjunction with other related entities such as the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Exchange (KRX), plans to propose revisions to the country's capital market law in the second quarter of this year, so that the dividend payout system can be changed as early as next year.



"When the country's dividend payout system is improved so that investors can make investment decisions based on dividend amounts  as is the global standard  it is expected to contribute to attracting further investments from global investors," the FSC explained. "The changed system will also make investors more conscious of dividends, which will result in corporations raising their dividend payouts."






President Droupadi Murmu addresses the joint session of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget Session on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: As part of a protest against the Centre's policies on a range of issues, including anti-farmer policies, all 16 members of the K. Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS nine in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Rajya Sabha  along with the three AAP members of the Rajya Sabha boycotted President Droupadi Murmu's customary address on the first day of Parliament's Budget Session on Tuesday.

As Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao works on stitching an alliance of Opposition parties and seeks to play a big role in national politics, the AAP, headed by Arvind Kejriwal, supported Rao in his call to boycott the speech by the President.

Both parties declared that they were boycotting the President's speech in protest of the failure of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre on all fronts, with the BRS specifically criticising the way states were treated as well as the treatment meted out to Telangana in the allocation of funds and projects. Other Opposition parties were present in the House.

The decision to boycott the address was made at the BRS Parliamentary Party meeting chaired by Chandrashekar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan on January 29. This was the first session for the BRS MPs since the TRS rebranded as BRS last December.

BRS floor leader in the Lok Sabha Nama Nageswara Rao told the media in Delhi that the BRS and the AAP were not against the President and their boycott was a protest against the Centres failures on all fronts in the last eight-and-a-half years of the BJPs rule and failure to honour the promises made to Telangana under the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.

"Both BRS and AAP are not against the President but only want to highlight the NDA government's failures through democratic protest," Nama remarked.

The BJP slammed the BRS and AAP for boycotting the President's address, saying they have "insulted" the dignity attached to the highest constitutional position and the countrys parliamentary democracy.

BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the countrys first tribal President gave her maiden speech in Parliament to mark the start of the Budget session and it was a moment to greet her. "There is a limit to political opposition and opposition parties should maintain certain norms. Some parties, namely BRS and AAP, took our parliamentary democracy to an all-time low by boycotting the President's address," he told reporters in Delhi.
Telugu Desam leader Nara Lokesh. (@naralokesh)

Anantapur: Telugu Desam leader Nara Lokesh facilitated the passage of an ambulance while he was on his Yuva Galam padayatra in Palamaner in Chittoor district Tuesday.

When Lokesh noticed the 108 ambulance struggling its way through the crowded roads, he immediately stopped his yatra and ensured the way was clear for the ambulance to pass by smoothly. The people present at the scene applauded the gesture and the viewers on the social media appreciated his action.

Addressing gatherings, Lokesh felt the YSRC government did not have sufficient knowledge about the development of the state. He visited the plaque at the Kaigal reservoir for which the foundation stone had been laid on February 21, 2019, for a project to meet the drinking water needs of those in Byreddypalli and V. Kota mandal.

He said the TD government, after laying the foundation stone for the reservoir, had also acquired land and allotted funds for its construction.

"This government, however, neglected it. It does not have any intention to meet the drinking water needs of the locals here," he said and further noticed that the condition of the roads was bad and there was no initiative to fill the potholes.

"Except for looting the state, the YSRC government does not have any idea on development," Lokesh said.

Lokesh interacted with petty traders at the local market in Kasturi Nagaram in V. Kota mandal. A fruit seller told the TD leader that his son studied B.Tech but did not get any job.

The farmers at Kommaramadugu village said that their investment for cultivation on an acre was about Rs 3 lakh while the returns were about Rs 1.5 lakh. Lokesh promised to fight for them. He felt that the farmers were suffering heavy losses in the absence of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the farm products.

The TD general secretary said that soon after the TD returns to power, special attention would be given to the problems being faced by the farmers and steps would be initiated to resolve them.
Odisha Health Minister Naba Das died after being shot at. (Image credit: Twitter/@nabadasjsg)

In a country that has had its tragic share of assassinations, including the most heinous murder of the apostle of peace the nation remembered on January 30, the killing of Odishas health and family welfare minister Naba Das on Sunday still comes as a shocker. It is not often that an armed policeman becomes an assassin though there was a precedent in Mrs Indira Gandhi being gunned down by the very people who were detailed to protect her.

As a politician and a serving minister, the senior BJD leader may have been in the right place as he went to an inaugural event on a Sunday. It was his misfortune that a sub-inspector, said to have been facing a mental health issue as serious as bipolar disorder, as revealed by a doctor who had treated him in the past as well as recently, chose that occasion to use his gun on a human target because he was unhappy with something in his professional life.

The service conditions of policemen, who draw relatively meagre salaries, has been a long running issue in a country whose people are accustomed to being granted leave for personal reasons at the drop of a hat. This matter of taking casual leave has been a perennial problem in police forces leading to many an incident of cops opening fire on colleagues or themselves.

Mental health issues are, however, a very serious matter and need far greater application of collective minds of the superiors in such forces. Medical resources are rarely used to treat people who are always on an edge when it comes to being on duty for long hours on bandobast duty and for days together. There is a need not only for greater sensitisation among the workforce but also sensitivity on the part of those in charge of such human resources.

It must be terrible for the leaders family that he should be the victim of what may not have been a planned political assassination. While grieving for him as we invariably do when a person is thought of as an innocent victim, what must not be lost sight of is the larger human problem of mental illness, to talk about which itself may have been taboo in Indian society. To be humane may come with a cost but, as a society, we have some way to go in recognising the problems of people among us and helping them.
Wounded policemen get treated at a military hospital a day after the mosque blast inside the police headquarters in Peshawar on January 31, 2023. - The toll from a mosque blast targeting police in northwestern Pakistan has risen to 83, hospital officials said January 31. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

Peshawar: The death toll from a powerful suicide bombing at a crowded Peshawar mosque in northwestern Pakistan rose to 90 on Tuesday after rescue teams retrieved more bodies from the debris, police said.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for the attack which took place inside the mosque in the high-security Police Lines area on Monday.

According to security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers when he exploded himself. Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin, the Imam of the mosque, was also killed in the blast, police said.

"Death toll of Peshawar blast has risen to ninety as rescue operation is still underway and debris of mosque is being removed," the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday.

According to the Police Control Room Peshawar, more than 200 injured were brought to the Lady Reading hospital, out of which about 100 injured are under treatment in the hospital and the rest have been discharged, the report said.

The number of fatalities rose as rescue teams retrieved more bodies from the debris of the mosque in the predawn hours of Tuesday.

Earlier, Spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said that 157 injured people were brought to the medical facility after the blast.

Bodies of 44 people were also transferred to the hospital. At the moment, around 65 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital. Some of the injured are critical, while condition of most is satisfactory, Asim said, adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officers.

Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar (CCPO) Ejaz Khan, while talking to the media, said that it was too early to say anything as many policemen are still trapped under the rubble.

"Close to 300-400 policemen usually offer prayer at the Zuhr time. If a blast has taken place inside police lines then it is a security lapse but an investigation into the matter can reveal further," said the CCPO.

Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the attack.

"I strongly condemn the heinous & cowardly blast that has taken place in Peshawar mosque. The perpetrators will be found and punished. Condolences to families who have lost an innocent member & prayers for injured. Terrorism must be buried forever," Alvi tweeted.

Shehbaz said the blast inside the mosque proves that those involved in the attack have nothing to do with Islam.

These terrorists are trying to instil fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan, he said, assuring the people that the coalition government will take strict action against those involved in the attack.

PTI Chairman and ex-premier Imran Khan also took to Twitter to condemn the suicide attack.

"Strongly condemn the terrorist suicide attack in police lines mosque Peshawar during prayers. My prayers & condolences go to victims' families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism," he wrote.

Last year, a similar attack inside a Shia mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area in the city killed 63 people.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.

The group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students. The attack sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemned.
As the 2030 deadline to transition to 500-GW non-fossil energy looms large, the Union Power Ministry on Monday asserted that the country was on path to achieve the goal, but requires investments with the transmission works for the solar projects alone expected to cost Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

During the COP26 meet in November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will have non-fossil electricity generation of 500 GW capacity by 2030.

With the present installed capacity of renewable energy estimated at 160 GW, India has a long way to go to achieve the target.

Replying to questions from mediapersons, Power Ministry secretary Alok Kumar said India has achieved similar goals earlier.

Read | China has set its sights on cornering hydrogen, another green energy market

In the 2015 Paris meet, we had pledged to achieve 40% of the power generation (installed capacity) by non-fossil fuels by 2030. We achieved it in 2022 itself. Similarly, we also pledged that we will reduce our emissions by 33% as compared to 2005 levels by 2030. We are already close to 30%, he said.

He said the government has now set a higher goal, but it requires investment.

We are aiming to achieve 42% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. If you talk of solar, we have about 61 GW at present and we are expecting close to 300 GW of installed capacity. The 500 GW transmission plan will require new investment

of Rs 2.5 lakh crore for transmission alone. We estimate that 1 MW solar energy will require Rs 4 crore, he said, adding that the country will require $10 billion by 2070 to achieve net zero.

To questions over assessment of the threat posed to the environment by the small hydro projects in the wake of the Joshimath incident, he said such projects need environment clearance.

Most of the renewable energy in India will come from solar and wind. Small hydro projects have to get clearance from the environment ministry, he said, adding that a group in the Ministry of Home Affairs was looking into the Joshimath incident comprehensively and will come up with a conclusion.
Scores of parents staged a protest on Monday outside Orchids The International School in Mahalakshmi Layout questioning the institute's affiliation status with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Recently, parents who send their children to Orchids branches at Nagarabhavi and Panathur also staged a protest. An FIR has also been filed against the Nagarabhavi branch.

Apparently, the school branch at Mahalakshmi Layout does not have CBSE affiliation and it has issued a circular informing parents that exams will be held for Classes 5 and 8 as per the state board syllabus. This caused worry among parents.

"We will write to the Department of School Education & Literacy demanding action against the management," said Yogananda B N of the RTE Students and Parents Association.

Orchids' statement

In a statement, Orchids said they are following rules and guidelines.

"All of our schools have required affiliation to operate in the state. Nine of our schools have CBSE/ICSE affiliation. Our recently opened schools are proposed to be CBSE schools in future and are undergoing the affiliation process by getting all the approvals/permissions/recognitions in place," the statement said.

"As per government regulations, all the schools have to be first affiliated to the state board to be able to apply for national/international board affiliation, and Orchids The International brand of schools have the required state board permission. The school is eligible to file CBSE registration only when grade 8 commences," the management explained.

"There are several approvals required from the education department to get state No Objection Certificate (NOC)... this is a time consuming and lengthy process. Normally, it takes three to four years for a school to formally get CBSE affiliation depending on when the school reaches grade 8," it said.

The management even claimed that the affiliation process got delayed due to the pandemic situation and that it had maintained complete transparency in the admission documentation.
The death toll from a powerful suicide bombing at a crowded Peshawar mosque in northwestern Pakistan rose to 90 on Tuesday after rescue teams retrieved more bodies from the debris, police said.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for the attack which took place inside the mosque in the high-security Police Lines area on Monday.

According to security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers when he exploded himself. Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin, the Imam of the mosque, was also killed in the blast, police said.

"Death toll of Peshawar blast has risen to ninety as rescue operation is still underway and debris of mosque is being removed," the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday.

According to the Police Control Room Peshawar, more than 200 injured were brought to the Lady Reading hospital, out of which about 100 injured are under treatment in the hospital and the rest have been discharged, the report said.

The number of fatalities rose as rescue teams retrieved more bodies from the debris of the mosque in the predawn hours of Tuesday.

Earlier, the Spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said that 157 injured people were brought to the medical facility after the blast.

Bodies of 44 people were also transferred to the hospital. At the moment, around 65 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital. Some of the injured are critical, while the condition of most is satisfactory, Asim said, adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officers.

Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar (CCPO) Ejaz Khan, while talking to the media, said that it was too early to say anything as many policemen are still trapped under the rubble.

"Close to 300-400 policemen usually offer prayer at the Zuhr time. If a blast has taken place inside police lines then it is a security lapse but an investigation into the matter can reveal further," said the CCPO.

Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the attack.

"I strongly condemn the heinous & cowardly blast that has taken place in Peshawar mosque. The perpetrators will be found and punished. Condolences to families who have lost an innocent member & prayers for injured. Terrorism must be buried forever," Alvi tweeted.

Shehbaz said the blast inside the mosque proves that those involved in the attack have nothing to do with Islam.

These terrorists are trying to instill fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan, he said, assuring the people that the coalition government will take strict action against those involved in the attack.

PTI Chairman and ex-premier Imran Khan also took to Twitter to condemn the suicide attack.

"Strongly condemn the terrorist suicide attack in police lines mosque Peshawar during prayers. My prayers & condolences go to victims' families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism," he wrote.

Last year, a similar attack inside a Shia mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area in the city killed 63 people.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.

The group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students. The attack sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemned.
Sri Lankas former President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday apologised to the country's minority Catholic community for the devastating 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed over 270 people, including 11 Indians.

Nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing more than 270 people and injuring over 500.

The bombings triggered a political storm as then President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were blamed for their inability to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence being made available.

"I say sorry to the Catholic community for something done by others, Sirisena said while addressing a political group of his Freedom Party here.

His apology came weeks after the Supreme Court on January 12 ordered him to pay SLRs 100 million as compensation to the victims. His failure to pay the victims would send him to jail on contempt of court charges.

Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president from 2015 to 2019, also said he would contest the next presidential election due in 2024.

As many as 12 petitioners, including the kin of the victims, the Catholic clergy, and the lawyers body Bar Association of Sri Lanka, had filed the fundamental rights petition against the then president for his negligence in preventing the attacks.

A presidential panel of inquiry appointed by Sirisena after the attacks ironically found the then-president guilty of his failure to prevent the attacks.

Sirisena, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge in the case filed after the panels findings.

Head of the local Catholic Church, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, continued to express his dissatisfaction over the probe in the matter, claiming that the investigation was a cover-up.

Sirisena denies the charge and blames the then defence establishment for the lapse which led to the coordinated attacks.
An Italian woman passenger was arrested and later granted bail after she allegedly created a ruckus and assaulted Vistara's cabin crew on an Abu Dhabi-Mumbai flight which landed on Monday, January 30.

The flyer, Paola Perruccio, allegedly insisted on sitting in business class despite an economy ticket. She took off some of her clothes and walked up and down the aisle in a partially naked state, according to ANI.

Sahar police, who registered a case on the airline staffs complaint on board Air Vistara flight UK 256, said the flyer, was inebriated.

The flight, which took off from Abu Dhabi at 2:03 am IST on Monday, landed in Mumbai in the early hours of January 30.

Vistara Spokesperson said, "We confirm that there was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 256 operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on 30 January 2023. In view of the continued unruly conduct and violent behaviour, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the customer."

The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers onboard of their safety and security. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent SOPs, the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival, the Vistara spokesperson added.
India and the US on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the objective of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The situation in the Indo-Pacific came up for discussion during talks between Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Victoria Nuland.

In the talks, held under the framework of annual India-US Foreign Office Consultations, the two sides covered contemporary regional developments in South Asia, Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Also Read | NSA Ajit K Doval meets Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley in U S

"The two sides reiterated their commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the objective of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region," it said in a statement.

The MEA said both sides reviewed progress made towards further consolidating the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

It said Kwatra and Nuland took stock of a number of initiatives and frameworks that reflect common strategic interests, including Quad, I2U2, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative (IPMDA).

While the Quad comprises India, the US, Australia and Japan, the members of the I2U2 are India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates.

US President Joe Biden in May last year launched the IPEF, which is an initiative aimed at deeper cooperation among like-minded countries in areas like clean energy, supply-chain resilience and digital trade.

Also Read | India-Russia ties appear strong, but appearances are deceptive

In May last year, the Quad leaders launched the IPMDA which is primarily aimed at monitoring regional waters against the backdrop of China's increasing muscle-flexing in the region.

"Both sides agreed to work together during India's ongoing G20 Presidency. They also agreed to intensify cooperation in multilateral fora and international organisations, including the UN, on global issues of mutual interest," the MEA said.

"The productive and substantive meeting enabled both sides to continue a regular dialogue that has been instrumental in enhancing mutual understanding and in identification of opportunities for further growth and enrichment of the India-US partnership," it added.
Danielle, a Korean-Australian member of K-pop girl group NewJeans / Courtesy of ADOR



'Culture has no nationality'



By Dong Sun-hwa



On Jan. 21, Danielle, a Korean-Australian member of K-pop girl group NewJeans, apologized soon after sending a message to her fans that read: "What r u bunnies (the name of the quintet's global fandom) doing for Chinese new year?"



What raised the eyebrows of numerous Korean fans was her use of the phrase, "Chinese New Year." They insisted the 17-year-old's word choice was inappropriate, as the Lunar New Year is a major holiday celebrated in many countries other than China, including Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia. Thus, the K-pop star had to issue an apology, promising she would be more careful with her words and actions in the future.



Just one day later, the British Museum  which shared a Twitter post introducing its special performances celebrating "Korean Lunar New Year" on Jan. 12  deleted it and uploaded a new post with the hashtag, "#ChineseNewYear." The first national public museum of the world is believed to have made the modification in the face of severe criticism from Chinese internet users, who accused it of "cultural appropriation."





The British Museum's Twitter post with the hashtag, "#ChineseNewYear" / Captured from Twitter



These incidents have brought up a question: What is the best way of referring to this annual holiday? According to experts, "Lunar New Year" is the least-controversial term.



"An attempt to give nationality to shared culture is not a fashion of the 21st century," Jieun Kiaer, a professor of Korean Language and Linguistics at the University of Oxford, told The Korea Times. "Such an attempt was frequently made in the preceding century, when some countries strived to show off their cultural dominance by adding their names to different cultural assets. But today, doing so can trigger political spats."



The professor added that the majority of English-speaking countries, such as the U.K., often used the phrase, "Chinese New Year" in the past due to an old habit.



"In bygone days, many English-speaking countries thought that being 'Chinese' means being 'pan-Asian,' as China was the first Asian country they encountered and actively interacted with," she said. "Since they were not exposed to other Asian cultures, they simply described Asian stuff as 'Chinese-something,' as evidenced by the cases of 'Chinese cabbage' and 'Chinese pancake.' But the term 'Chinese' is quite complex and political in reality."



However, the trend is changing thanks to social media platforms, which have provided people with a range of information about Asia, prompting them to explore its diverse aspects and hidden gems.



"Asian awareness has significantly improved and people in the West are now replacing the 'Chinese New Year' with the term the 'Lunar New Year,'" Kiaer said.



Lim Dae-geun, a professor of Chinese Cinema Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), also underscored that culture has no nationality.



"It is not completely wrong to add 'Korean' or 'Chinese' to the Lunar New Year since both countries celebrate it, but culture does not hold any nationality in essence," he said. "The concept of nationality was formed after modernization. The Lunar New Year was created before the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948 and the People's Republic of China in 1949. But today, people tend to confine culture within a specific nation, instead of relishing it together."





"Tteokguk" (sliced rice cake soup), eaten by many Koreans on New Year's Day / gettyimagesbank

A legion of Chinese online users even criticized some celebrities and institutions  including the Walt Disney Company  for using the phrase, "Lunar New Year," but Lim pointed out that this is unwise.



"If Beijing continues to claim ownership of shared culture that originated in China, it will lose the chance to further disseminate its culture, with other countries trying to break away from Chinese influence and develop their unique customs and rituals."



Although the Lunar New Year is known to have started in China's Shang Dynasty in the 14th century B.C., experts believe other countries can still claim it as their own, because they celebrate it in their distinctive styles and manners.



"In the case of Korea, the way people celebrate the Lunar New Year is different from that of Chinese, except for eating dumplings," Kiaer explained, adding that Korea has its own word "Seollal" that specifically refers to this holiday.



Korean people also eat "tteokguk" (sliced rice cake soup), perform "sebae" by bowing to elders on their knees, and play traditional games such as "yutnori." In China, people eat fish and moon-shaped rice cakes, light firecrackers and put on red outfits, which are believed to bring luck and prosperity.





Young children perform "sebae" to elders at a senior center in Seoul, Jan. 17. Korea Times file



Korea, China in cultural feud



This is not the first time that internet users in Korea and China have faced cultural clashes. They have quarreled over the roots of specific items like "kimchi" (fermented cabbage) and "hanbok" (traditional Korean dress) in recent years amid souring Korea-China ties. Most recently, Beijing has lifted its ban on short-term visas for Japanese travelers, but not for those from Korea. The suspension was imposed earlier this month, when Seoul and Tokyo tightened COVID-19 quarantine measures on the arrivals from China that lately saw a spike in the number of patients.



China, which shares traditional culture with many other Asian countries like Japan and Vietnam, has been particularly at odds with Korea, with people from these two countries exchanging harsh and hurtful words against each other.





K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music
Several Shiv Sena (UBT) workers on Tuesday protested outside the office of state housing body MHADA in Bandra here after an office space used by MLC Anil Parab was demolished in the western suburb, a police official said.

Former minister Parab, who is in the Uddhav Thackeray camp, also visited the spot amid sloganeering by his party workers, including women, against the government led by Eknath Shindes Balasahebanchi Sena and the BJP, said the official.

Dozens of protesters were detained as a large contingent of policemen stood guard outside the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) office, he said. Parab also visited the MHADA office.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya claimed on Monday that the illegal office of Parab in Bandra was razed.

Sources said Parab had been using office space on the premises of a housing society at MHADA Colony in Bandra East. The structure was recently demolished by the society.
The decision by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India with the freedom to structure courses and fees could drastically alter the higher education ecosystem.

The intention of the policy is to stem the flow of foreign universities attracting Indian students and stop the flood of foreign exchange going offshore. In 2009, an estimated 770,000 Indian students spent a whopping $28 billion to peruse education abroad.

Should India succeed in attracting foreign universities, it will have a game-changing effect on the higher education sector. First, in areas such as technology and computer science, for example, a much wider pool of talent could be trained than the current small batch of IIT students. Second, the universities will also encourage an aspect of academics that are all but missing from higher education in India  research. University research is the undervalued prize that India could win. Some of the greatest inventions happened in seminar rooms and laboratories of universities. The E-book by Stanford, the ultrasound machine discovered at the University of Glasgow, and the contraceptive pill by the University of Manchester to name just three.

Third, it will be transformative for talented teachers salaries. As things stand, private universities in India already pay a higher grade of salaries, and since they can hire and fire unlike government universities where typically a job is for life, the quality of education in some Indian private universities is already at par with if not higher than government universities. Now the pay scale of foreign universities is of a different order.

Read | Allowing foreign universities in India: Pros and cons

In the United States, an ivy league professor's salary averages Rs 1.7 crore per year. Even in a second or third-tier university, the pay scale is likely to be Rs 60 lakh a year. This will make teaching for the best teacher very lucrative indeed. It will pressure private Indian universities to pay more. Teaching as a profession that has not been seen as a high-paying one could be transformed by the entry of foreign universities, and also dent the multibillion-dollar tuition teacher market in India.

While what this policy aims to achieve is laudable, it is unlikely to change the course of the Indian exodus overnight. Three principal problems stand in the way. The first is the fact that except for oil and gas-rich West Asian success stories, overseas campuses have rarely succeeded. The Emirates has leveraged bulging current account surpluses on the back of high fuel prices to create successful foreign universities. They have attracted these universities with subsidised campus land-generous scholarships for students along with part payment of salaries and perks by the government amounting to $5 billion. They are clearly looking into the future, and know that if the ecosystem takes off higher education will leapfrog two generations in 20 years, and create a leadership class sorely needed to run their economies.

Now it is not that the Government of India cannot spend $5 billion to attract an Oxford or a Princeton. While the money is there and it also makes eminent economic sense when you see the long-term trade-off of cutting the $30 billion per year expenditure on foreign studies (growing at about 15 per cent a year), the semantics do not sit well. India already spends far too much on higher education subsidies at the cost of basic education and will find more spending for foreigners difficult to defend politically.

The second major problem is that access to the majority of Indians to foreign universities will be difficult given their fee structure. However, a bigger problem is that these foreign universities will raid Indian government universities of their best teachers and over time leave them with two choices  a mediocre staffroom, or higher fees to attract better teachers. This deals a double whammy for many Indians who depend on the State-funded education system.

The third problem is the politics of teaching. Many universities, such as Yale and Berkley, are perceived as anti-India and supporting the fifth column by the government; but, the luxury of picking and choosing your university is not Indias.

Finally, there is the issue of Indias reservations for the Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes, and the economically weaker classes. In this respect, the autonomy offered to foreign universities may include an exception from reservations.

Thus, while throwing that graduation cap fully in the air at a Cambridge on Indian soil is an idea that Indian policymakers want their citizens to experience, getting there will test India.

(Ninad D Sheth is a senior journalist)

The views expressed are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
On one side of a glass wall, three toddlers in a nursery school flattened play dough with plastic rolling pins. On the other, three old women in a nursing home tapped the pane to get their attention.

Lets say hi to the nonni, the childrens teacher said before leading them through a door that connected the two rooms.

The children stopped to play with the magnifying glass of a delighted 89-year-old woman who had been using it to read obituaries. Then the toddlers, all 2 years old, took an elevator upstairs, where nursing home residents waited to read them picture books in a small library.

Its an extraordinary thing, said one of the residents, Giacomo Scaramuzza, 100. People think we are from two different worlds, but its not true. We are in the same world. And maybe I give them something, too. There is an exchange.

Piacenzas Elderly and Children Together, an experimental project in the countrys most renowned region for childhood education and elder care, seeks to connect the vulnerable at both extremes of life. But it also puts Italys two existential challenges under one roof.

Italys population is aging and shrinking at the fastest rate in the West, forcing the country to adapt to a booming population of the elderly that puts it at the forefront of a global demographic trend that experts call the silver tsunami. But it faces a demographic double whammy, with a drastically sinking birthrate that is among the lowest in Europe. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Italy is destined to disappear unless it changes.

This month, Melonis government approved a new Pact for the Third Age, which she said would lay a foundation for health and social overhauls for Italys exploding population of old people. They represent the heart of society, and a patrimony of values, traditions and precious wisdom, said Meloni, adding that the law would prevent marginalisation and the parking of elderly in institutions.

To care for the old is to care for all of us, she said.

The overhaul essentially adopted, experts say nearly wholesale, a measure approved at the end of the previous administration of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Critically, it followed Draghis lead in wrapping the legislation into the European Union recovery fund program, which ensures that it will be enacted.

This is the acknowledgment that long-term care is a welfare policy, said Cristiano Gori, who leads the Pact for a New Welfare on the Dependent, the umbrella organisation that advocated the law.

The new law, he said, will fix a system that is a mess, streamlining and simplifying government healthcare and social services, and getting local and national government into the growing field of long-term care. At the same time, it seeks to keep aging Italians in their own homes and out of institutions. A key innovation, he said, depends on funding by the Meloni government but would give Italians a choice between unconditional cash benefits or larger in-kind contributions to be used for public care.

The main shortcoming is that there is no money, Gori said. The hope, he said, is that Melonis government, which sold itself to voters as being family, family, family, will make the program a real priority and fund it. But without more young people to join the workforce and pay into pension and welfare systems, the whole system is imperiled.

Meloni, who once ran for mayor while pregnant, is Italys first female prime minister, and throughout her career, she has made raising the countrys perennially low birth rate and helping working mothers a priority.

But critics say her Italians First opposition to immigration  she has gone so far as to warn against ethnic replacement  hurts population growth. And Melonis government, slowed by local bureaucratic snags, has already delayed a programme to build new nursery schools financed with 3 billion euros  or about $3.3 billion  in EU recovery funds.

If Italy does not get serious about encouraging young families and working women to have children, it will remain and forever be a country that gets older, said Alessandro Rosina, a leading Italian demographer and an author of Demographic History of Italy.

The combination of low employment for women, the fleeing of young professionals and families, little immigration, low birthrates and radically increased life expectancy amounted to a demographic disaster, he said.

The reality of the grey new world poses a make-or-break test for Italy, making it a laboratory for many Western countries with aging populations, some experts said.

Some of Italys regions hope to delay that demographic time bomb by prolonging the period in which older people can work, be self-sufficient and contribute, and not be a financial drain on society. The center in Piacenza has sought to invigorate them with its precious resource of children. Before Covid sealed the nursing home off, children in the centre ate and even cooked with the older residents. Now things are opening up again.

The children use walkers in the corridor as race cars, they turn a lunch cart into a pirate ship, and they play in the gym while the residents do their fitness routines. The centre has received interest from academics. It echoes the traditional Italian home, with the residents as the heads of the family, the staff as the adults and the children as the children.

In November, Meloni, who has roots in post-Fascist parties, encouraged couples to have children and businesses to hire women. She later announced a 50% increase in the baby bonus cheques parents receive a year after a birth and a 50% increase in assistance for three years to families with more than three children.

We continue to look at today, Meloni has said, not realising we wont have a tomorrow.

But despite billions of euros earmarked for nursery schools by the European Union, Italy has delayed the start date on 1,857 nurseries and 333 kindergartens, the majority in Italys poorer south. If Italy fails to start building by the latest deadline, June 2023, it risks losing the money.

Scaramuzza, the centenarian, said he hoped some of the new nurseries would also share space with nursing homes, as his does.

Not having had children or grandchildren, he said, here, I have a great number of grandchildren.
On January 5, 2023, the University Grants Commission (UGC) released the draft guidelines allowing foreign higher educational institutions (FHEIs) to set up campuses in India. The idea is not entirely new. At least three such attempts were made in 1995, 2006, and 2010. But owing to a lack of support, the proposal was shelved. Today, the idea has more takers and is almost reaching fruition because of its alignment with the National Education Policy 2020.

The UGC has invited responses to the draft guidelines. An honest deconstruction of it must reveal both the advantages and the disadvantages. Many believe the move will be a game-changer and provide a fillip to healthy competition among universities in India. But, will it be easy, given the complexities involved in the Indian higher educational ecosystem?

One must also admit that Indian universities must up their standards to compete globally. The absence of Indian universities in the top global rankings is a concern. So, will this move by the UGC help Indian students and nudge Indian universities to upgrade themselves? Or will it prove counterproductive?

Promises, a mixed bag

The draft proposes that only institutions which have secured a place within the top 500 of overall or subject-wise global rankings are eligible to apply. Given the Covid impact and loss on revenue generation, not many reputed foreign institutions may express interest unless offered a subsidy. For instance, Dubai, Qatar and Singapore governments provide substantial grants to foreign universities operating from their countries. The draft is entirely silent on this critical point.

The draft grants total freedom to FHEIs in student admission, decisions on fee structure, scholarship schemes, faculty recruitment and service conditions. The danger in granting complete freedom on fee fixation is that revenue generation could acquire undue prominence leading to more commercialisation and commodification of education which is against the tenets of NEP 2020. Indian universities are denied even half the autonomy granted to FHEIs. Without a level-playing field, strengthening Indian universities is unthinkable.

The proposal has fixed a 90-day limit for approval, perhaps to overcome the bureaucratic tangles. It is a positive step. The draft states that the approval is valid for ten years but extendable subject to fulfilling the required conditions. One such condition, for example, is to allow the Commission set up by the UGC to inspect, monitor, and review the institutions progress. But will this Commission possess expertise and resources for an unbiased assessment and intervention wherever needed?

The draft demands that degrees awarded in India should have equivalence with those awarded in the country of origin. In addition, foreign faculty recruited shall stay on the Indian campus for a reasonable period. Regarding imparting quality education or faculty qualification, there cannot be variation between the Indian campus and those in the country of origin. Many experts support these and say that FHEIs will offer world-class education at a lower cost, thereby reducing foreign exchange outflow.

Besides, through international curriculum and pedagogy, FHEIs can increase students global competencies and prepare them to face global challenges. The downside, however, is that such institutions will be exclusivist, a haven for the rich and the elite, further accentuating socioeconomic inequalities in the country.

Hence, the claim that foreign universities will increase access to higher education is tenuous. Yet another significant concern is the extent to which these institutions will focus on the local, regional, and national needs and cultures.

Impact on Indian universities

FHEIs will pose little challenge for public universities as students from disadvantaged sections would still flock to them. Adherence to the reservation system may not be a mandate for the FHEIs. However, elite private universities will be hard-hit. The difference in tuition fees between private universities and FHEIs may not be huge. For instance, the fee for a BA programme in public universities is a few thousand rupees, while it runs into a few lakhs in private universities. Who wouldnt want a foreign degree for the same fees or a little more?

In addition, the poaching of the best faculty talents is likely to increase. The lack of resources in Indian universities, poor infrastructure, unattractive pay perks, insufficient research facilities and the absence of conducive work culture may result in an exodus of capable faculty to FHEIs.

Thus, catering to the needs of a small minority of Indian students, FHEIs can further widen the educational disparity among students. The proposal acknowledges the failing standards of the current educational landscape in the country, which is essentially the governments failure. The announcement of investing 6% of the GDP in higher education remains a non-starter.

FHEIs, on their own, cannot bridge the gap. The government and the UGC must explore avenues to invest more in new and existing universities to make them globally competent.

(The author is the dean, School of Arts and Humanities, Christ (Deemed-to-be) University, Bengaluru)
Updated: February 1, 2023

The Delaware County Bureau of Elections recently completed a successful recount of votes cast during the Nov. 8, 2022 General Election, verifying the official election results reported shortly after Election Day.

The recount was undertaken as part of an agreement with a small group of residents who had filed a petition in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, seeking recounts in multiple precincts to address their concerns that the vote tallies in Delaware County were inaccurate.

During a hearing held on Nov. 22, before Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Barry Dozor, the petitioners agreed to withdraw their petitionin exchange for which the Board of Elections agreed to conduct a full recount of a single precinct of the petitioners choosing; Haverford 2-3 was their precinct of choice.

Conducted at the Bureau of Elections offices at the Union Power Plant building in Chester on Jan. 12, 2023, the recount involved seven observers representing the petitioners, eight County workers, and a party leader, and took a little over four hours to complete.

The recount was first conducted using certified tabulation equipment and then separately, was conducted by hand, allowing the observers to examine every Election Day ballot, absentee ballot, mail-in ballot, and provisional ballot from a distance of two feet.

The recount provided a 100% verification of the original vote totals for each candidate for the four races on the Haverford 2-3 ballotincluding candidates for U.S. Senate, Governor / Lieutenant Governor, the U.S. House (the 5th District), and State House (the 166th District)inclusive of every Election Day, mail-in and provisional ballot.

Everything was verified 100 percent, said Delaware County Director of Elections James Allen. Every single vote, every single contest, every single over vote, every single under vote, every single write in.

The successful recount was the latest vindication for the Delaware County Bureau of Elections, which like many election offices across the country in the wake of the 2020 General Election, has facedand wonnumerous lawsuits regarding election results. In all, The County of Delaware has prevailed in over a dozen lawsuits that have been filed in the Delaware County court system since 2020, with cases either dismissed or ruled in the Countys favor.

We have now been through six recounts with the current balloting system, two of which included hand recounts, explained Director Allen. In all of the recounts, in each and every case, the original results have been confirmedeven a mayoral contest that was decided by three votes.

In addition, risk-limiting audits of randomly selected precinctsusing manual hand counts of mail-in and/or precinct ballotsare performed after each election in Pennsylvania. These audits have successfully verified the results of each election in Delaware County since the audit process was first implemented in 2020.

These recounts really underscore not only the professional work being done by our Bureau of Elections under Jim Allen, but also the great work being done by our poll workers, said Councilwoman Christine Reuther, adding These recounts and risk-limiting audits really illustrate the accuracy of our processes and demonstrate that that our balloting system is accurate and secure.
Art aficionados have been invited to love the arts this Valentine's Day by visiting Eden Place Arts' Centre.

The Centre, which is based in Pilots' Row Community Centre in the Bogside, is launching 'Our Climate Challenge', on Tuesday, February 14, from 4pm to 6pm.

20 North West Regional College students who are currently studying the UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design are exhibiting their work from February 14 to 24. The exhibition has been organised jointly by Eden Place Arts Centre and NWRC as part of their Community Outreach Programme.

The theme of the exhibition is 'Our Climate Challenge' which is addressed by the students through a variety of media including oil on canvas, mixed media textiles and fashion.

The students come from all over the North West with some travelling daily from as far away as Omagh to attend the College.

The exhibitors range in age from 18 to over 40 with some now returning to the field of education after a break of many years.

Most have never exhibited in public before and this exhibition represents their opportunity to show their talent to a wider audience.

Last year saw more than 30 students from the course progressed to Third Level institutions across Ireland and within Britain and this work will form part of their portfolio submissions through UCAS to Universities across Britain.

The NWRC Fine Art lecturer Kathleen Doherty commented: "The quality of the art of these students is testament to the many hours of research and work that they have invested in examining the theme of Climate Change'.

Lauren Scott the students' textiles lecturer noted that "the range of approaches taken by the students highlights the breadth of imagination that these students possess".

"2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Eden Place Arts Centre bringing arts to the heart of the community and we are absolutely delighted to have our arts centre burtsting with young talent from the North West Regional College," said Judi Logue, Arts Centre Co-ordinator.

"This is a great opportunity for the young people to experience exhibiting their work outside the college.

"We are inviting everyone to come in to view this wonderful exhibition and share our love of art on this Valentines day," said Judi.
Derry City and Strabane District Council is due to meet representatives of the Housing Executive, housing associations, and the Department for Communities regarding damp and mould in social housing.

Speaking to Derry Now, Cllr Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit) said the death of two year old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale as a result of mould in his bedroom was a tragedy which should and could have been avoided.

Cllr Harkin added: "When tenants in Derry spoke out about mould and damp in their homes, People Before Profit proposed an urgent meeting of Council with landlord organisations.

"At today's meeting with representatives of the Housing Executive, housing associations and the Department for Communities, we will be pressing them on what action they are taking to deal with instances of damp and mould and what action is being taken to prevent dangerous situations from developing?

"The same message needs to go out to private landlords. Too often residents tell us they are told by landlord organisations the problem is drying clothes or the responsibility of the tenant.

"Astronomical energy prices means many families and individuals struggle to properly heat their home. Many simply can't. It's unacceptable that far too many homes are now colder and damper."

Cllr Harkin said homes that were not properly insulated and ventilated were susceptible to spreading mould and damp.

He added: "Vulnerable people, babies and children are particularly at risk from respiratory and health conditions.

"There needs to be clear accountability from housing organisations and urgent action must be taken to address mould and damp.

"Everyone should be able to live in a house that isn't covered in dangerous mould, damp or cold."
Leading local health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) will be lighting up the town red this February to mark National Heart Month and the charitys annual Red Dress Fun Run.

The Red Dress Fun Run, supported by MACE and Musgrave Marketplace, is the charitys five kilometre run or walk event which aims to raise funds and awareness for heart disease.

The event coincides with National Heart Month in February, when NICHS will be encouraging people to think about their cardiovascular health and the steps they can take towards a healthier, stronger heart, such as eating healthily and getting active.

Derry City and Strabane Council will show their support for the charity by lighting up civic buildings in red, NICHSs brand colour, tomorrow (Wednesday 1st February).

The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane Council, Councillor Sandra Duffy, said: I am pleased that the Council is supporting NI Chest Heart & Stroke by lighting up its civic buildings red.

"Sadly, four people in Northern Ireland die every day from heart disease, and coronary heart disease is the biggest single cause of premature deaths in the under 75s.

"I would encourage you all to take part in the Red Dress Fun Run event taking place during National Heart Month. It is so important that as a community we raise support and awareness to help reduce these staggering figures.

Last year the charity hosted their biggest and most successful Red Dress Fun Run to date, with just under 600 participants coming together at the event at Stormont, as well as the virtual version which saw participants taking part in their local area and raising a staggering 50,000 to help combat heart disease.

The same format remains for 2023, allowing people who cant make it to the main event to complete 5K their way during the month of February.

Tara Currie, Events and Marketing Manager at NICHS, is urging the public to sign up to the event saying: We are so grateful for the support of Councillor Sandra Duffy as we look forward to this years Red Dress Fun Run.

"Today, there are over 335,000 people living with a chest, heart or stroke condition in Northern Ireland - many of these people will live in the Derry City and Strabane area. Please support us by running, walking, dancing, skipping or wheeling 5K with us on Sunday 26th February at 11am at Stormont Estate, or, if you cant make the live event you can do 5K your way any day, or days, in February.

Red Dress Fun Run Red-y . . . (L-R) Diane, Tara, Lisa, Spider-Man and Iggy- L to R: Diane Anthony, Musgrave, Tara Currie, NICHS, Lisa Andrews, Musgrave MarketPlace, Spider-Man and Iggy the dog.

"Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the fun - even the family pooch!

The charity will once again partner with MACE for the 2023 event and is also delighted to welcome sister company Musgrave MarketPlace as a supporter. Diane Anthony from Musgrave says; MACE and Musgrave MarketPlace are both backing NICHSs call for people to dress up in red and wear their heart on their sleeve at this years event, which is set to be fantastic.

"Whether youre taking part in memory of someone you have lost to heart disease, celebrating someone who is living with a heart condition, or to prevent heart disease happening to someone in the future  sign up and join us to support this worthy cause!

Primary school pupils are also invited to join in by hosting their own fun run anytime this February. Each school that takes part will receive a certificate of thanks to show how much they raised and there is an opportunity to win some fantastic prizes.

If you have been inspired to step up to the challenge, you can sign up to the Red Dress Fun Run at www.nichs.org.uk/ RedDressFunRun. You can find out more about getting your primary school involved at www.nichs.org.uk/PSRedDressFunRun.
A man from Letterkenny has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court today charged with assaulting two doctors in Altnagelvin Hospital.

Philip Dodoo (22) of no fixed abode appeared at the court today charged with two counts of assault on two doctors on January 29 this year.

He was also charged with disorderly behaviour at the hospital, attempted criminal damage to a trolley and assaulting a police officer on the same date.

A police officer connected the accused to the charges.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said that there would be no application for bail as there was no suitable address available.

He asked the police officer were the assaults on the doctors technical ones or physical.

The officer said in one case the assault charge came from putting the doctor in fear of being assaulted after the defendant was said to have lunged towards her.

In the other case the officer said that the defendant had bumped the chest of the doctor and asked him 'what are you going to do about it?'

Mr Quigley said that there was no address for the defendant at this stage and asked the officer if an address could be found what would the attitude be towards bail.

The officer said that Dodoo had only been released from prison in the Republic and there was 'a very high risk of re-offending.'

Dodoo was remanded in custody to appear again on February 23.
The Government is facing a legal challenge over legislation designed to allow it to expedite the building of border control posts at Northern Ireland ports.

The judicial review challenge, brought by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, asserts that the statutory instrument enabling the completion of infrastructure for agri-food checks is unlawful because it treats Northern Ireland as the entry point into the European Union.

His claim states that the Northern Ireland Protocol itself asserts that Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom.

Mr Brysons legal representatives have served a pre-action letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and are expected to push for an emergency hearing in the High Court in Belfast this week.

The protocol, which was agreed by the EU and UK as a way to keep the Irish land border free-flowing post-Brexit, has created a series of new customs and regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Negotiations between London and Brussels to resolve issues with the operation of the protocol are continuing.

The devolved powersharing institutions at Stormont collapsed last year after the DUP withdrew co-operation as part of its protest against the protocol.

In the absence of devolved government, responsibility falls on Defra to construct new facilities at Northern Ireland ports to check goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Last month, the government published legislation to ensure completion of the facilities for agri-food checks.

The pre-action letter, seen by PA news agency, states that Defra has failed to consult on a matter of public significance and importance given the impact of the legislation is to treat Northern Ireland as the entry point into the European Union.

It continues: The purpose of the regulations, set out in the explanatory notes and various public statements by the Government, is to facilitate the construction of border control posts, internally within the United Kingdom.

Mr Bryson said: The relevant statutory instrument treats Northern Ireland as the entry point into the European Union territory.

This is not only a constitutional absurdity, but it is even at variance with the protocol itself which at Article 4 proclaims Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the UK.

This legal challenge will force the Government to confront the duplicity of their actions in claiming to be seeking to restore Northern Ireland to the UK, whilst at the same time, in fact laying regulations to treat Northern Ireland as part of the EU.

A Defra spokesperson said: We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings.




An airplane belonging to Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, returned to the airport that it had departed from in Hokkaido, Japan, due to an unusual noise from its engine.







The Boeing 737-800 carrying 187 passengers and six crew members returned to New Chitose Airport at 2:45 p.m. after taking off at 1:06 p.m.







Jeju Air said the Incheon-bound aircraft circled in the sky to spend fuel in order to meet the required landing weight at which a plane is permitted to land.







The passengers were taken to hotels while a safety inspection was conducted, the company said, adding that a substitute plane will depart at noon on Friday. (Yonhap)


The Foreign Secretary has said it would be probably a fair assessment to suggest that the UKs exit from the European Union has been tricky.

James Cleverly was responding to SNP MP Richard Thomson, who questioned him in the House of Commons over the impact of Brexit, exactly three years since the UKs withdrawal.

The MP for Gordon referred to the negative outlook from the International Monetary Funds latest report, before asking: Is there a single aspect of our prosperity or standing in the world that he can think of that has been enhanced in any way by the terms on which weve left?

If he is suggesting that our exit from the European Union has been tricky, I think that is probably a fair assessment The foreign secretary is pressed by @RThomsonMP on the impact of Brexit  For more Commons clips: https://t.co/dusjcjBw0h  pic.twitter.com/NJMhfbQhPW  Politics.co.uk (@Politics_co_uk) January 31, 2023

The Foreign Secretary replied: I can assure the honourable gentleman that if he is suggesting that our exit from the European Union has been tricky, I think that is probably (a) fair assessment.

Amid laughter from the Opposition benches, Mr Cleverly continued: If he thinks thats tough, imagine what extricating Scotland from one of the longest and most successful unions in human history would be like.

And I have absolutely no doubt that our good professional and strong working relationship with Maros Sefcovic and his officials and other members of the European Commission will ultimately be successful.

The Government and the European Commission have been locked in talks to resolve the dispute over post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade arrangements over the last few months.

Updating MPs on the talks, Mr Cleverly later said that having professional but discreet negotiations are the route to success.

In 2016 the British people voted to leave the EU, and 3 years ago we delivered on that historic vote. Since then, weve made huge strides in harnessing these Brexit freedoms. pic.twitter.com/t2P4QkJSWA  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 31, 2023

Mr Thomson was not the only MP to raise Brexit during questions to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) ministers, with Conservative James Sunderland suggesting it has actually helped improve the UKs image around the world.

The MP for Bracknell said: The recent Ipsos poll of 33 countries has found that people around the world are now more likely to believe that the UK is a positive influence than in 2016.

Given our fantastic soft power, given our fantastic global presence around the world, does my right honourable friend agree that Opposition claims of reputational decline may be premature?

The Foreign Secretary rebutted: I think its noteworthy that 92% of Ukrainians believe the UK has had a positive influence on world affairs, second only to Canada, that 86% of Americans have a favourable opinion of the UK  34% of Americans have a very favourable opinion of the UK, which is up 4% since Labour left power.
Hsinchu, Taiwan, Jan 31, 2023 -- Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035), a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, today announced to offer multi-site manufacturing support across all regions for ASIC customers. With its long-term close collaboration with global foundry and OSAT vendors, Faraday is able to provide customers the multi-site support to mitigate manufacturing risks due to economy, accidents, epidemics, or geopolitics.

To implement corporate sustainability, Faraday has devoted its resources and efforts to developing a robust business continuity plan (BCP). The company has successfully integrated worldwide multi-site resources, including engineers, foundries, packaging and testing partners, to overcome logistics challenges in past years. This resulting plan has received worldwide recognition from customers for its flexible supply chain management, capacity allocation, rapid response time, and risk control capabilities.

We are pleased to offer the preference manufacturing solution to our customers, said Flash Lin, chief operating officer of Faraday. By working in partnership with worldwide suppliers, we build up resilience in response to uncertainty issues and help customers to develop long-life cycle products with confidence.

About Faraday Technology Corporation

Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035) is a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, certificated to ISO 9001 and ISO 26262. The broad silicon IP portfolio includes I/O, Cell Library, Memory Compiler, ARM-compliant CPUs, LPDDR4/4X, DDR4/3, MIPI D-PHY, V-by-One, USB 3.1/2.0, 10/100 Ethernet, Giga Ethernet, SATA3/2, PCIe Gen4/3, and 28G programmable SerDes, etc. Headquartered in Taiwan, Faraday has service and support offices around the world, including the U.S., Japan and China. For more information, visit www.faraday-tech.com.






Poco X5 Pro marketing material for the global market has leaked that pretty much confirms the key features of the phone. The leak comes from Sudhanshu Ambhore who claims to have translated the details which were originally in Chinese.

Exclusive: POCO X5 Pro 5G marketing material for Global region.



-6.67", AMOLED, 120Hz Refresh Rate, 2400x1080 res, 10bit, 1920Hz PWM Dimming

-Snapdragon 778G

-108MP Main + 8MP Wide-Angle + 2MP Macro

-16MP Selfie

-5000mAh

-67W Turbo Charging with MMT tech



(1/2)#POCOX5Pro5G pic.twitter.com/O4tcs54vIY  Sudhanshu Ambhore (@Sudhanshu1414) January 31, 2023

Based on this, we have picked 5 reasons to look out for this Poco phone.

5 key Poco X5 Pro features

1. 120Hz AMOLED FHD+ display

Poco X5 Pro global variant could come with a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution, 10-bit colours, a 4500000: 1 contrast ratio, and 1920Hz PWM dimming. The display could be Dolby Vision certified too.

2. Hi-Res audio

Poco could also equip the device with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio wireless certification.

3. Snapdragon 778G

Internally, you could be getting Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset with 1 Cortex A78 clocked at 2400 MHz, 3 Cortex A78 cores running at 2200 MHz, and 4 Cortex A55 efficiency cores at 1900 MHz.

4. 108MP camera

On the rear side, Poco X5 Pro could be sporting a 108MP primary camera accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide angle, and a 2MP macro module. On the front, there could be a 16MP selfie snapper.

5. Big battery and fast charging

Keeping the phone alive could be a 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging support.

With all that, Poco X5 Pro could weigh about 181 grams and measure in at about 7.9mm in thickness.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Vi (Vodafone Idea) has introduced a new affordable 99 plan which comes with a validity of 28 days. The plan comes with a total of 200MB 4G data and calling includes a talk time of 99. Calls will be charged 2.5 paise per second. This is not an unlimited plan so there wont be unlimited calling or 100 SMS on a daily basis. The 99 plan is available on the Vi website and the Vi app.

Along with that, Vi has also opened some Vi stores for rural customers known as Digi Shops. Vi has opened almost 1,100 shops in 18 states. It is a new concept for a one-stop service point in tier 3 towns for its prepaid users. It will not only help Vi get closer to rural consumers but Vi is hoping it will increase visits to retail stores as well.

New Vi 99 plan for rural and tier 3 users

Catering to the affordability of consumers, Vi continues to take measures to offer the best in class mobile services at the most attractive price points. We invite mobile users and non-users to join the high-speed Vi network at just Rs. 99 and continue enjoying the benefits of mobile connectivity in the digital era. This will not just drive inclusivity but also enable more users to enter the digital bandwagon. said a Vodafone spokesperson on the launch of the plan.

Vi also claims that it is, the only pan-India, high-speed data network which is offering essential mobile connectivity with both voice and data services to consumers at this price point. Currently, none of the rival telecom operators like Jio and Airtel offers a plan like this.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
A bug was recently discovered by security researcher Gtm Manoz in Metas centralized system that the company created for user logins.The system was designed to align logins across apps such as Facebook and Instagram which may have allowed various hackers to turn off two-factor verification protections by having users phone numbers.The news comes to us thanks to one security researcher who hails from Nepal. He realized that the firm didnt outline any limit across attempts when users put in two-factor codes that may be used to access accounts on Metas new Accounts Center.This assists users in linking all of their accounts including those seen across Instagram and Facebook.Using just one victims phone number, the attacker enters the designated account center, puts in phone numbers, and links that number to the respective account seen on Facebook. This would further allow for the setup of the SMS code thats powered with two-factor technology.Experts deem this to be the quintessential step needed as no upper limit was present in terms of the number of attempts that anyone could make to gain access.After an attacker gets the code correct, it used the victims respective number to link their count to the one belonging to the hacker on Facebook. And if successful, this would end up causing Meta to send a new message to victims, highlighting how the 2-factor technology has been disabled.This had to do with the fact that their number ended up getting attached to another individuals account.The biggest impact over her has to do with revoking a persons SMS-based 2-FA via simple strategies like just knowing what their phone number is.At his particular point in time, attackers may try and take any victims account on Facebook into complete control by simply enabling phishing of passwords. This is provided the respective target did not have any 2FA technology enabled.Thanks to the researcher from Nepal, who located the bug at the Accounts Center of Meta in the past year, the tech giant claims to have fixed that particular bug, just a few moments later. They even set out a hefty paycheck worth $27,000 as a reward to the researcher for their great efforts in this regard and for helping the tech giant out in terms of reporting.A spokesperson for the company explained to TechCrunch that when such an attack was inevitable, Meta was still in the phase of testing out its new login systems via the likes of a small trial conducted publicly. It had not rolled out the actual feature and was waiting for the response.In the same way, the spokesperson was seen mentioning how the researchers report also made them investigate the matter further. And thats when it was found that no exploitation had taken place so far. Similarly, there was no major rise in terms of usage of those particular features that signal how no one, in particular, was actually abusing that.Read next: Android Users Beware, Deceptive Reward Apps Are Making Rounds On Google Play Store
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in the capital of the UAE, Jan. 16. Newsis



President Yoon Suk Yeol called Tuesday for unearthing innovative partnerships between Korea and the United Arab Emirates with the help of the UAE's $30 billion investment pledge.



Yoon made the remark while presiding over a meeting on ways to execute the massive investment, which UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced during their summit in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.



"The $30 billion investment by the UAE's sovereign wealth funds was a decision our brother nation the UAE made out of trust in us," he said during the meeting at the office of the Korea International Trade Association in southern Seoul.



"We must reciprocate by unearthing innovative investment partnership projects that are in line with both countries' interests," he said.



The investment is expected to be directed at Korea's high-tech industries, such as energy, nuclear power, hydrogen, solar energy and defense.



Yoon said the government will launch an investment cooperation network involving public and private entities from both countries, as well as a bilateral investment cooperation platform to facilitate discussions with the UAE on areas Korea plans to focus the investment on.



He also said the government will provide comprehensive policy and diplomatic assistance to help produce concrete results from the dozens of memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries during his state visit to the UAE.



"The government will make thorough preparations to transition our systems to global standards so that we can see immediate follow-up measures in the wake of my visit, and help businesses run with all their might and compete in the economic war," Yoon said. (Yonhap)


President calls for unity in India's march towards `Golden Age'

President of India Draupati Murmu has called for unity of purpose as all Indians strive towards making the country fully developed during this golden age or Amrit Kaalof 25 years that follow the golden centenary of independence.

This 25-year span is for all of us and for every citizen of the country to perform our duties to the utmost levels. An opportunity to build an era beckons us for which we need to work continuously with our full potential, the President said hie addressing the joint session of Parliament.

This Azadi ka Amrit Kaal assimilates the pride of thousands of years of our glorious past, the inspirations of Indian freedom struggle and Indias resolve for a golden future.

By 2047, we have to build a nation, which not only embraces its glorious past, but also encompasses every golden aspect of modernity. We have to build a Bharat, which is self-reliant and also able to fulfill its humanitarian obligations. A Bharat which has no poverty and where the middle class is also prosperous; A Bharat whose youth and women power will be at the forefront to give direction to the society and the nation, and whose youth are well ahead of time; A Bharat whose diversity is even more vivid and whose unity becomes even more unshakeable, she said.

When the country actualises this reality in 2047, it will certainly observe and assess the foundation of its grand construction. At that time, these initial moments of the Azadi ka Amrit Kaal will be viewed with a different perspective. Therefore, this time and this period of Amrit Kaal has become all the more significant.

The government, she said, started its first term with the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. With the passage of time, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka P rayas were added to it. This mantra has now become the inspiration for building a developed India. In a few months, my government will complete nine years on this Kartavya Path of development.

In almost nine years of my governments term, she said, the people of India have witnessed many positive changes for the first time. The biggest change is that today every Indian's confidence is at its peak and the world's outlook towards India has changed.

India, which once looked at others for solutions to most of its problems, is today emerging as a provider of solutions for the issues faced by the world. The government, she said, has made available basic facilities to a large segment of the population who had waited for these for decades.

The modern infrastructure that we has started coming up in the country , the digital network that India has built, the urge to get rid of the scourge of mega scams and corruption in government schemes are all inspiring even for developed countries, the Presdent stated.

Today the debate is no longer about policy paralysis, instead India is being recognised for her rapid development and the far-sightedness of her decisions. That is why, we have now become the fifth largest economy in the world, up from the 10th spot. This is the foundation which elevates the self-confidence for building a developed Bharat in the next 25 years, she added..

Invoking Lord Basaveshwara, she said: Kayakave Kailasa which means Karma is worship and Shiva is in the Karma itself. Following this path, my government is actively engaged in performing the duty of nation building. Today, she sai:

India has a government which is stable, fearless, decisive and working with lofty ambitions.

India has a government which respects the honest.

India has a government working for permanent solution of the problems of the poor and their lasting empowerment.

India has a government working at an unprecedented speed and scale.

India has a government that gives pre-eminence to public welfare by leveraging innovation and technology.

India has a government which is committed to removing every obstacle being faced by women.

There is a government in India which is committed to progress as well as the protection of nature.

India has a government that preserves heritage while also embracing modernity.

India has a government which is moving forward confidently to play its rightful role on the global stage.

The government, she said, has always kept the country's interest paramount and shown the will to completely transform the policies and strategies when required. From surgical strike to a firm crackdown on terrorism, from a befitting response to every misadventure from LoC to LAC, from abrogation of Article 370 to Triple Talaq, my government has been recognized as a decisive government.

The stable and decisive government has enabled us to deal with the biggest calamity in 100 years and the situation that arose thereafter. Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest.

Corruption, she said, is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice and the government has been in a relentless fight against corruption in the last few years. We have ensured that the honest will be honoured in the system. There is increasing social consciousness in the country that there should be no sympathy for the corrupt in the society, she pointed out.

The enactment of the Benami Property Act and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act whas helped to put in place an effective system to end the practice of favouritism and corruption in government machinery. Today there is a Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) system for tenders and government procurement, in which transactions worth more than Rupees 3 lakh crore have taken place so far, she noted

From Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, which is weeding out fake beneficiaries to launching One Nation One Ration Card, we have undertaken major enduring reforms. Over the years, the country has developed a stable and transparent regime in the form of DBT and Digital India. Today the monetary benefits of more than 300 schemes are directly reaching the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. So far, an amount of more than Rs27 lakh crore has reached millions of beneficiaries with complete transparency. The World Bank report acknowledges that it was only due to such schemes and mechanisms that India was able to prevent crores of people from falling below the poverty line during the Covid pandemic, the President stated.

The government, she said, is looking for long-term solutions rather than shortcuts, The policies are aimed at finding permanent solutions to problems and empowering the common people. Poverty eradication is no longer just a slogan, and my government is working towards empowering the poor by providing a permanent addressal to their concerns, she added.
On Wednesday 25 January, Oglaigh na h-Eireann / Defence Forces Ireland, Aiken Barracks Commemorative Committee and OC 27 Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Frank Colclough, unveiled a specially commissioned commemorative plaque to remember "All Lives Lost in Dundalk Military Barracks" during the Irish Civil War period.

The plaque was designed by Lt. Padraic Agnew and Sgt Riccardo Lucchesi, as part of the Aiken Barracks Commemorative Programme, 2022  2023. It lists the names of Pro and Anti treaty forces that were killed in action during the Battle of Dundalk Military Barracks on 14 August 1922.

The plaque also lists the name of three local Anti-Treaty soldiers, who were executed on 22 January 1923 in Dundalk Military Barracks.

The event was attended by family members of the soldiers listed on the plaque and also family members of prominent Fourth Northern Division personnel, including Mr Frank Aiken Junior, whose father was the OC of the Fourth Northern Division.

The plaque commemorates the sacrifice on both sides of Oglaigh na h-Eireann during the Civil War. The plaque also symbolises reconciliation 100 years later and the maturity of the Irish people to be able to come together and remember all lives lost.

Fr Derek Ryan from St, Josephs Church attended the ceremony, blessing a commemorative wealth and offering a prayer of reconciliation in memory of all lives lost during the Civil War.
This photo, provided by Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), shows its chief Cheong Seung-il shaking hands with Turkey's energy minister, Fatih Donmez, after submitting a preliminary proposal to take part in a project to build four nuclear power plants in the European country, Jan. 31. Yonhap



Korea's Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) said Tuesday it has submitted a preliminary proposal to Turkey to take part in a project to build four nuclear power plants in the European country.



KEPCO chief Cheong Seung-il met with Turkey's energy minister, Fatih Donmez, on Monday and presented the proposal regarding the construction of four reactors capable of providing 1,400 megawatts of electricity in the northern part of the country, according to the company.



The two sides have been in talks about the project, which is forecast to be worth about 40 trillion won ($32.55 billion), and the Turkish government in December last year asked KEPCO to submit a proposal.



The proposal includes Korea's plan on how to carry out the project and information on its nuclear power plant construction capabilities, KEPCO said.



"The two sides began discussions on the project in earnest. They will carry out a feasibility test to come up with an optimum way to push for the project," KEPCO said in a release.



Cheong has stressed that 10 nuclear reactors based on the advanced APR1400 technology have been successfully built and stably managed both at home and abroad, including those at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, and Korea is a credible business partner that meets customer nations' budgets and construction periods while ensuring safety.



Korea set a target of exporting 10 nuclear power reactors by 2030 as part of its strong push to boost the nuclear energy sector. (Yonhap)


Chinese FM holds phone talks with Argentine counterpart

Xinhua) 10:32, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday held a phone conversation with his Argentine counterpart Santiago Cafiero.

During their talks, Qin congratulated Argentina on successfully hosting the seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Noting that China and Argentina are good friends and good partners, Qin said that China is willing to work with Argentina to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, carry forward the good traditions of mutual respect, treating each other as equals, and win-win cooperation between China and Argentina, and promote greater development of China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership.

China will, as always, support Argentina in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Qin said, adding that the two sides should promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The Chinese FM noted that China's recent optimization and adjustment of pandemic prevention and control measures is a boon for enhancing communication and cooperation between China and other countries including Argentina.

China supports Argentina in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs and supports Argentina to become a member of BRICS as early as possible, Qin said.

He added that China stands ready to cooperate closely with Argentina within the framework of the United Nations and the Group of 20 to jointly promote the implementation of Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, and promote the sustainable development of the China-CELAC Forum.

Stressing that Argentina and China share similar vision of governing for the people, the Argentine FM said the two countries enjoy a brotherly relationship and bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful results.

Noting that Argentina will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China principle, Cafiero said Argentina is willing to carry out Belt and Road cooperation with China, actively promote the construction of the China-CELAC Forum, and jointly practice multilateralism.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a private-public sector meeting on follow-up measures for the United Arab Emirates' investment proposal to Korea at Korea International Trade Association in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap



President Yoon says Korea should strive to meet UAE's expectation



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Yoon Suk Yeol said the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) announcement that it will invest $30 billion in Korean companies during his recent state visit to the country is much more than a commitment, noting it is a de facto agreement that can be implemented anytime when innovative business proposals are made.



He further revealed hope that the UAE's generous investment can facilitate a "second Middle East boom" for Korean companies.



Yoon made the remarks during a public-private sector meeting on follow-up measures for the UAE's investment proposal, Tuesday. The Middle Eastern country made the proposal during Yoon's summit with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 15.



"The biggest achievement of the trip was the $30 billion investment proposal which was agreed upon in the summit and stated in the joint statement," Yoon said. "This is not just an expression of intention for cooperation, but a practical agreement that can be executed promptly like the ones that the UAE signed with the U.K. and France."



The investment is believed to be the largest national-level investment by the UAE, surpassing $12.2 billion with the U.K. and $5 billion with China.



"The UAE, our brother nation, made the decision based on its trust in us, and we should meet their expectation by exploring innovative partnership projects that serve both countries' interests," Yoon said, asking the government to launch an investment cooperation committee and the bolster private-public cooperation network.



The president said both "public and private sectors need to collect their wisdom to bring the second Middle East boom."



The Middle East boom refers to an economic boost that Korea enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s as companies, mostly building developers, won extensive construction orders from Middle Eastern countries. This became a foundation for Korea to overcome economic headwinds stemming from the oil shocks and achieve notable industrial growth.



The presidential office has said that the investment will be the first step toward the new Middle East boom and make a contribution to the country to overcome a range of economic difficulties with exports and overseas market entry.





President Yoon Suk Yeol and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pose for a photo during their summit at the latter's palace in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 15 (local time). Yonhap
EBRD and British International Investment joint financing to strengthen Banque du Caires Tier II capital growth plans

EBRD to provide further technical support to improve BDCs corporate climate governance practices

BII to provide guidance for management of environmental and social risk to enhance reputation

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and British International Investment (BII) are providing a US$ 100 million subordinated loan to Banque du Caire (BDC), one of Egypts largest banks, strengthening BDCs Tier II capital. This facility will support the growth plans of Banque du Caire and optimise its capital structure.

Providing long-term, Tier II funding will accelerate BDCs ambitious growth plans, increasing its capital and guaranteeing the availability of much-needed funds to enhance BDCs growth within various sectors of the market. With one of Egypts largest branch networks (248 branches nationwide), a market-leading position in microfinance, and a strategic push towards digital distribution channels, BDC is well placed to serve market segments that are critical for advancing financial inclusion in the country.

As part of the cooperation, the EBRD will support BDC in implementing a corporate climate governance action plan (CCGAP), helping to integrate climate change considerations into the banks corporate practices, in accordance with the principles of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Alongside this support, BII will play an integral role in shaping BDCs strategy and organisational culture by providing guidance on the management of environmental and social (E&S) risk, aiming to support BDC in managing such risks in its business operations. This will help enhance the banks reputation and improve its prospects of accessing more foreign capital to support sustained growth.

EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions Francis Malige said: The EBRD has a longstanding commitment to Egypt and its financial sector. This project deepens our partnership with BDC, building on our successful cooperation in trade and inclusion. We are delighted to develop it together with BII, to support the banks capital and resilience and to help BDC strengthen its corporate practices and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Sherine Shohdy, BII Head of Office and Coverage Director, Egypt added: Strong and resilient financial institutions play a crucial role in fostering productive private sectors and robust economies. Our partnership with the EBRD aims to strengthen BDCs capacity to support businesses that drive Egypts economic growth. BII will also offer its expertise on E&S to help BDC define a strategy and culture that will enhance the banks resilience, help attract more capital and create productive and inclusive opportunities for businesses, employees and households across Egypt for the long term.

Banque du Caires Chairman and CEO Tarek Fayed commented: The bank spares no effort to accelerate the pace of transformation towards a green economy and to achieve Egypt's 2030 vision. We are proud of the strategic partnership with the EBRD and BII, reflecting the confidence of multilateral financial institutions in Banque du Caires vision for the future.

Mr. Fayed added that Banque du Caire pays great attention to MSMEs based on the bank's leadership position in this field, explaining that this cooperation aims to inject more financing to support these sectors and support the bank's ambitious plans in the field of climate change, which effectively contributes to achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012 the Bank has invested more than 10 billion in 163 projects in the country.
EBRD President to make first visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

Bank invested 120 million in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022, 3 billion to date

In Serbia, EBRD financing reached 650 million in 2022 for a total of 8 billion to date

President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina from 31 January to 1 February and Serbia on 2-3 February. This will be her first in-person visit to both countries since taking up her post. .

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, President Renaud-Basso will meet with representatives of the new authorities, as well as the financial sector, private businesses and foreign investors, to discuss reform, further EBRD investment and policy engagement as Bosnia and Herzegovina embarks on the next steps of its European Union candidacy. She will also visit sections of the pan-European road, Corridor Vc, and ride a new trolleybus to see the improvements made to public transport services in Sarajevo, which were financed under the flagship EBRD Green Cities Programme.

In 2022, the EBRD signed a total of 120 million of new investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The last two years, in particular, saw record levels of funding, worth 424 million, to accelerate the implementation of ongoing projects. Overall, the EBRD has committed 3 billion to Bosnia and Herzegovina since it started operating there in 1996.

In Serbia, the EBRD President will meet with the authorities, local partner banks and key private-sector clients. She will visit the two landmark public-private partnership projects financed by EBRD: the Nikola Tesla Airport modernisation and the solid waste management facility at Vinca. She will also meet a group of start-ups at the ICT Hub Belgrade, a co-working centre focusing on tech innovation.

In 2022, the EBRD invested 648 million in Serbia in a record 33 projects and mobilised an additional 127 million of co-financing from other sources. This included support for large foreign direct investment projects, fast-growing local companies (such as IT solutions provider HTEC), small and medium-sized enterprises via credit lines to local partner banks, and financing for transport and environmental infrastructure and energy efficiency in buildings.

The Banks total commitments in Serbia amount to 8 billion since 2001.

Across the Western Balkans, the EBRD invested 1.29 billion in 2022, one of the Banks highest annual totals to date.
THIS year is going to be busy for BrokenCrow Theatre Company, with three productions coming up.

The Cork-based company will present the world premiere of Our Tethered Kin, a new play by Ronan FitzGibbon, who is also one of BrokenCrows six artistic directors. As well as being performed at the Everyman from February 3-4, it will be on the Peacock Stage at the Abbey in Dublin from February 9-11.

Ronan, the son of theatre practitioners Ger and Emilie FitzGibbon, says Our Tethered Kin is about the elemental drivers of human behaviour. It asks: How do we deal with the darkest corners of our minds? Its written like a classic fairytale and then adapted into a play.

It was a very challenging play to write, says Waterford-based Ronan, who commutes to Cork for rehearsals.

Its almost like two plays. In one way, its a fairytale about the relationship with the light and the dark. And the characters on stage all have what were calling beasts. They are like stage manifestations of the subconscious.

The two main characters are siblings; a girl called Aeni and a boy alled Abrafo who are found at the edge of a dark wood populated by beasts that guide the actions of man. As the siblings grow up, the cruelties of their world send them on two very different paths. Aeni seeks out a brilliant new light to illuminate the woods while Abrafo is dragged through the darkness, desperate to find a way back to his sister.

Ronan Fitzgibbon.

Ronan says that in writing this play, he was partly motivated by an interest in the conscious and the subconscious.

Its also to do with how difficult it is to have conversations with people in the last five or six years. I dont think Im alone in that experience.

" A lot of conversations that were happening with friends and family, people whom I respect, on anything cultural, social or political, descend very quickly. People want to push you into one camp or another. Youre either with me, or against me. Everything becomes very didactic.

In part, Ronan says this black and white approach to human interaction can be blamed on social media.

Its never down to just one or two things. But I certainly think that when you allow millions of people to talk to each other through writing posts, a certain amount of chaos ensues.

"Were still trying to figure out all of that nonsense. Conversations youd have in a pub at 11 oclock is where I like to argue about things. Youre allowed a certain freedom in that space to play with ideas.

BrokenCrow will stage The Settling for the Cork Midsummer Festival. By Gavin McEntee, it is about memory and guilt and their relationship with the mother and baby homes.

The other play, Found, written by Aideen Wylde, was sparked by a documentary her father made about Newfoundland.

George Hanover, who plays a farmers wife in Our Tethered Kin, says the character is complex.

Im getting to know her more and more. Its a very challenging play. The ensemble spreads to the whole creative team so its a real collaboration between sound, lighting, costumes and the cast. The story is told through movement and sparse dialogue, puppetry and music. Its very rich and visually immersive.

The plays themes include addiction, grief, light and dark, desire, greed and love. Its all there. Its quite a feast for the audience.

Performing at the Abbey is really great for BrokenCrow. Were around for about ten years now, said Ronan.

We started out as an ensemble that changed every year. In recent years, the core group has stuck together. Our Tethered Kin is actually our first show where the whole company is involved. And getting to go on a national stage will hopefully give us a very nice springboard for the rest of the year.

Arts Council funding is allowing the company to be very productive for 2023. It has been a long time coming and one of the companys goals is to extend its regional audience with plays staged in Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny as well as Cork.

As Ronan points out, theatre companies work hard for a year or two developing a play, only for it to be staged for just five nights  if theyre lucky.

The fact that the company has six artistic directors means that there is fluidity there. It doesnt put all the creative pressure on one artistic director.

George is also working on her own ambitious piece called Erik.

I set out to write a play and ended up writing a story about a seven-legged spider. I just know that it needs to be an illustrated book, an animation and a live event. This year, I have the opportunity to dive into it, to see how those three things can work in unison.

Its the kernel of a story I had when I was a child and it stayed with me. Around 2014, Graffiti Theatre Company (for which George also works) received a small bursary for writers. We were offered a space in the building to sit down and write. Thats where its coming from. Its for children aged 7-12. Im kind of drawn to childrens stories.

George is the director of Beag, the early years programme at Graffiti Theatre Company, aimed at newborn infants up to three year olds.

It keeps me nourished, says George, who is looking forward to a productive year.

The world premiere of Our Tethered Kin takes place in Cork this week, February 3 and February 4, in The Everyman, Cork.

The play run from Thursday, February 9 to 11 in The Peacock Stage at The Abbey, Dublin.
The eSentire Sean Hennessy Bursary has been awarded to Fernando Correa Borges, a Second Year IT Management student at Munster Technological University (MTU).

The Sean Hennessy Bursary was founded in 2021 as a collaboration between eSentire and the Department of Computer Science at MTU, in response to Ireland's growing cybersecurity skills shortage.

Cybersecurity has become one of the main concerns for governments and citizens. According to the most recent State of the Cyber Security Sector in Ireland report, annual cybersecurity related revenue in Ireland reached 2.1bn for 2021.

Yet, 61 per cent of organisations in Ireland have personnel-related shortfalls with an estimated 10,000 additional cybersecurity workers needed in Ireland, on top of the existing 7,300, to plug this critical skills gap.

DKANE 21/11/2022 REPRO FREE Fernando Henrique, Blackpool Photo Darragh Kane

eSentires mission is to search for and stop cyber threats before they become disrupting events.

With a centre in Barrack Square, Ballincollig, the company was recently recognised by the Technology Industry Alliance, and was shortlisted as a finalist in the Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact award category at the 2022 Tech Industry Leaders awards.

The Sean Hennessy Bursary provides financial aid that can be applied towards the recipients second, third, and fourth year at MTU. In addition to receiving 1,500 of assistance per year over their remaining three years at MTU, the recipient will also participate in a nine-month internship with eSentire throughout their third year leading into a part-time role with the firm for their fourth year.

eSentires call for entries invited applications from second year Computer Science students and the company was impressed with the strong level of interest and calibre of applicants. Five students who demonstrated a keen interest and propensity for cybersecurity were shortlisted for interviews. Fernando was selected based on his impressive interview and technical assessment results and his excellent academic transcripts.

DKANE 21/11/2022 REPRO FREE Fernando Henrique, Blackpool, Ciaran Luttrell, Megan Kearney and Sean McSweeney, Head Of Department of Computer Science Photo Darragh Kane

Dr Sean McSweeney, Head of the Department of Computer Science at MTU, who awarded the bursary to Fernando, said: "eSentire is an invaluable partner to MTU and, in particular, the Faculty of Engineering and Science. eSentires pledge to enhancing skills in the South-West region of Ireland has created an environment where our students can now engage with experts in industry and develop their careers. We look forward to a meaningful partnership that will lead us to close the skills gap in cybersecurity.
Gardai seized 600,000 worth of cannabis herb and cocaine when they stopped a motorist speeding near Mitchelstown one year ago and now he has pleaded guilty to having the drugs for sale or supply.

50-year-old Jeffrey Smith of Donomore Avenue, Killinarden, Tallaght, Dublin was arrested and charged at Fermoy Garda Station and made no reply when he was charged by Garda Peter OLoughlin a year ago.

The accused was arraigned today at the county sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

He pleaded guilty to the charge that on February 4 2022, at Kilshanny, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, he had in his possession controlled drugs named cannabis herb and cocaine for sale or supply, contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act at a time when its value exceeded 13,000.

The allegation that was made at the accused mans first court appearance was that drugs with a value of around 600,000 were in the man's possession.

Garda OLoughlin said the accused was stopped on the M8 motorway for speeding, driving at 154km in a 120km zone. There was a strong smell of cannabis and this prompted gardai to carry out a search for drugs.

Black bin liners containing 19kg of cannabis, with a street value of 380,000, were in the back of the car, and there were also 3kg of suspected cocaine in three blocks, worth 210,000, as well as mixing agent, all in black bags, Garda OLoughlin testified.

Judge Helen Boyle adjourned sentencing of the accused until February 14 at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The accused was represented by defence senior counsel Siobhan Lankford.
LORDY, its the first of February tomorrow and with it comes the promise of warmer days, new beginnings, green shoots, and all the good things that herald the traditional start of spring and )whisper it) the end of winter.

Its also St Brigids Day and next Monday we can indulge in a new bank holiday, thanks to our matron saint finally getting her very own national holiday.

In school, I made the odd St Brigids cross over the years, but to me she was just another saint in the pantheon of imaginary people who you could pray to to help you find something (St Anthony) or sort your hopeless case (St Jude) or get the Cork hurlers to win an All-Ireland (St. Finbarr?).

I never did the praying, I just heard other people suggest it as a viable solution for finding a lost wedding ring.

I had little appreciation of Brigids ancient Celtic goddess status, or how she was adopted by Christianity, until last year when the movement Herstory started campaigning for Irelands new national holiday to be in honour of Brigid.

She was considered the goddess of healing, fire, and poetry. She is associated with fertility and with domesticated animals. Over the centuries, the Celtic legends of the goddess Brigid blended with the Christian stories of St Brigid of Kildare.

Brigid has all we are looking for in a modern feminist icon - challenging the status quo, respecting the environment, and establishing and leading community movements.

She founded and ruled a double egalitarian monastery for men and women in 580 AD, smashing the glass ceiling before such architectural niceties were even invented.

She also had, if the artistic representations are anything to go by, a fantastic head of hair.

If Brigid was running for the next election in the Kildare South constituency, she would be shoe-in.

No doubt there will be attempts to co-opt Brigids trailblazing role model to try and to sell us something. Keep a cynical eye out for ads or commercial communication dressed up as a feeling, trying to hijack Brand Brigid to flog stuff.

Unlike the green beer and Made-in-China-oversized-leprechaun-hats paddywhackery that has become associated with St Patricks Day in March, I hope our February bank holiday becomes a day to recognise positive feminine power, embrace new beginnings, and up efforts to create the truly egalitarian society that Brigid started to build a millennium ago.

CAO deadline

For many homes around the city and county, Brigid and the first of February will have no significance. Instead the date will be circled red on the fridge calendar with the words CAO deadline underlined twice.

Its the day for sixth year students to decide what courses they are choosing at third level, therefore determining the rest of their entire lives!

Of course, most people over 21 have an appreciation that the Leaving Cert and third level education is not the be all and end all when it comes to determining your future, but when youre in the thick of being 18 or 19 and are contemplating life beyond June, 2023, it can be pretty daunting for some.

Its more than two decades since I filled in a CAO form and its mad that almost the exact same system exists at measuring a narrow field of academic achievement.

Its important to remember at these heightened times that not everyone needs a university degree.

We will always need a steady stream of engineers, scientists, doctors and third level graduates to fuel the smart economy, but what the country really needs right now, and into the future, is do-ers. Block layers, electricians, plumbers and builders are the steel-toed boots on the ground that we need to build our way out of the housing crisis and into a sustainable, decarbonised world.

While its great to graduate with a computer science degree and go and work in a transnational tech company earning a generous wage and playing pool at lunchtime in a brightly decorated office, the people who are really going to transform Ireland and make it a better place for all, are those unafraid of hard work, willing and able to get their hands dirty.

There is a skills shortage across Ireland in nearly every sector from bar staff to mechanical engineers to nurses. A whole host of tradespeople and skilled workers are desperately needed to get on with retrofitting and constructing homes and building the infrastructure that is going to allow us to break free from fossil fuels.

Last week, it was revealed that the Housing Commission, established by the government itself to examine housing policy, thinks Ireland needs to build approximately 62,000 houses a year up to 2050.

The Irish population is going to continue to grow, refugees from conflict zones and countries severely affected by climate change are going to continue to arrive.

The United Nations says that extreme weather events are already causing more than 20 million people to move each year. As places around the world become uninhabitable, we are going to need houses for a lot of people.

The government has launched Generation Apprenticeship in an effort to get school leavers, older learners, career changers, women and men with diverse backgrounds, talents and abilities to develop the skills that Ireland needs.

There are lots of meaningful jobs that will make the world a better place that dont require 500 points in the Leaving Cert, and I hope the sixth years of Ireland remember that tomorrow when they fill in their CAO form.
Club and pub residencies used to be the heart and soul of the DJ scene here, and though they are rarely weekly any more, theres still a few long term music parties happening in Cork. The likes of Revelation Sound, Go Deep, Vinyl Below, Sunday Times and even my own Jam night, (which still runs sporadically), have survived numerous venue changes and still do parties, and there are others too, that have run for many years. One such party is Not How, When!, and they have a big party happening in the Pav.

Originally starting downstairs in the Pavilion in 2008, Not How, When has also been hosted by venues such as the Kino, The Triskel, Gulpd and Crack Jennys over the years. They have now come full circle back to the original Careys Lane venue, which is under new ownership after a new fit out by Benny McCabe. The three DJs and vinyl collectors involved are all long time passionate music stalwarts of the cork music scene, and Sonny Emerald, Flukey and JL Razza have also taken their night to numerous other venues and parties around Ireland, including Onla and the Bierhaus in Galway, Backwards Limerick, Hang Dai in Dublin and Vantasival too. Theyve also done Red Light radio Amsterdam and shows at the Dynamic Range in that City.

International guests at Not How When have included Tako Reyenga (Music from Memory), Andi Hanley (Body and Soul New York), Balearic Mike, Lewis Copeland (Vinyl Junkies London), Abel Nagengast, Jan Schulte and Phil Mison. Their weekender is free and runs Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend upstairs in the Pav. Starting at 9pm each night, the Not How When crew once again welcome back Abel Nagengast for his third visit to Cork. He was the co-founder of one of the worlds best record shops, Red Light Records in Amsterdam, and he is also co-founded the brilliant Music from Memory label. Hes done some great edits in his time and he currently co runs the acclaimed Surfing in Kansas label.

The Sunday evening continues with another big treat for music fans, as Satoshi Yamamura joins the Not How When crew for another long music session. Satoshi is a DJ whos record collection is a diggers paradise; an oasis of rare releases, unfamiliar artists and dusty grooves nearly lost to the world. Expect an eclectic mix of music that may include boogie, wave, snyth pop, disco and jazz fusion plus lots more. Satoshi works in the acclaimed Rush Hour records in Amsterdam and is a regular on the festival circuit in the Netherlands, playing Lente Kabinet and Strange Sounds from Beyond.

The Not How When! weekender is a welcome throwback to time when many of Corks best music gathering used to happen on the long weekends. Things have changed but maybe this newly introduced February Bank holiday weekend will inject some positivity into a club scene that is trying to get off the ground post pandemic. There seems to be a lot of good techno activity and in fairness theres a good few passionate DJs and promoters trying their best to get other nights off the ground too.

Obviously, things were much easier in the 90s and weekenders in Sir Henrys and in venues like the Metropole with Telefunkin were commonplace. The festival scene wasnt as established back then, and clubs were much more dominant than late bars, which came in during the Celtic Tiger. In the early 2000s things changed a little and I noticed that much more people started picking and choosing the nights they went out to more carefully. These days a Bank Holiday Sunday doesnt necessarily equate with a busy Saturday but things may change and its good to see so many people still trying to run parties. Theres lots of passionate music fans in Cork still.

A quick mention for two other parties that are taking place in Cork. On February 12th the annual Gala events Valentines Ball takes place in Vienna Woods hotel, and Ill be taking care of the music. A black and white tie event, this event is always a big celebration of multiculturalism (and romance!) in Cork, and it will be hosted by Amanda Neri. Tonight Irelands r&b and soul star Erica Cody does a free show in Cyprus Avenue in association with Corks RedFM, and tickets can be got by registering in advance on Eventbrite.




The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held a meeting Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, the Seoul foreign ministry said.







Kim Gunn, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, at the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul and exchanged views on the security situation surrounding Pyongyang.







The two sides stressed the importance of South Korea-Japan bilateral cooperation, as well as trilateral cooperation involving the United States, in countering the North's threats. They also agreed to further strengthen communication to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.







After their meeting, Tokyo's foreign ministry also said the envoys shared the view that North Korea's missile provocations pose a clear and serious challenge to the international community. (Yonhap)


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United Arab Emirates' Minister of State and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and U.S. Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. KARIM SAHIB / AFP / Getty Images

The decision of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)s to name Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) chief Sultan Al Jaber to preside over this years COP28 Climate Change Conference was controversial from the start.

Now, nearly 30 U.S. lawmakers are urging Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to urge the UAE to change its mind.

We are writing to urge you to push the United Arab Emirates to withdraw the appointment of Sultan Al Jaber, head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, as President-designate of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] Conference of Parties 28 (COP 28), the letter begins. The decision to name the chief executive of one of the worlds largest oil and gas companies as president of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference risks jeopardizing climate progress from successive U.N. Climate Conferences. To help ensure that COP 28 is a serious and productive climate summit, we believe the United States should urge the United Arab Emirates to name a different lead for COP 28 or, at a minimum, seek assurances that it will promote an ambitious COP 28 aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings and take concrete steps to demonstrate domestic and regional leadership toward this end.

Appointing someone with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry to lead COP28 undermines the very essence of this conference and our work to combat climate change.

We must get Big Oils thumb off the scale if we want to make meaningful progress. https://t.co/0Qu2YM7HkM  Rep. Jared Huffman (@RepHuffman) January 30, 2023

The letter effort was spearheaded by U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02) and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and submitted to Kerry on Friday. Including Huffman and Whitehouse, a total of 27 lawmakers signed the document including Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Adam Schiff (CA-30).

It is unclear what effect the letter might have. Kerry has more than once supported the UAEs decision to name Al Jaber as president of the COP28 talks, which are scheduled to begin in Dubai on November 30, according to POLITICO.

I think that Dr. Sultan al-Jaber is a terrific choice because he is the head of the company. That company knows it needs to transition, Kerry told The Associated Press. He knows  and the leadership of the UAE is committed to transitioning.

A COP28 spokesperson who had not yet read the letter also noted to POLITICO that Al Jaber had also founded a renewable energy company called Masdar. They described him as a diplomat, minister, and business leader across the energy and renewables industry.

Kerry has separately said that it was a positive thing to have a major oil-producing country host a COP meeting.

Its so important that you have an oil and gas producing nation step up and say we understand the challenge of the climate crisis, he said, as Reuters reported.

However, the UAE has not explained how it plans to reach its goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 while Abu Dhabi also plans to boost crude oil production from four to five million barrels a day, The Associated Press observed.

Al Jabers appointment also comes after climate activists have already expressed concerns over the number of fossil fuel lobbyists at previous COPs. At COP26 in the UK, there were more than 500 industry representatives, a larger total than any one countrys delegation. At COP27 in Egypt, that number had gone up by more than 25 percent to at least 636.

The letter writers also urged Kerry to push for reforms addressing the presence of lobbyists at COPs. They suggested that every company participating should share an audited political influencing statement documenting all climate and energy-related lobbying, campaign donations or trade association funding.

COPs should not provide a stage for greenwashing, the legislators wrote. They should be convenings for serious climate actors and actions. Such commonsense reforms to help restore public faith in the COP process will obviously be impossible with an oil company executive at the helm. Some sign that there will be adequate disclosure of often-clandestine fossil fuel influence surrounding this COP will go a long way, as you saw the reaction to the visible fossil fuel lobbying presence in Egypt.

The letter came the day after a similar effort from Kick Big Polluters Out network, addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, as Common Dreams reported.

There is no honor in appointing a fossil fuel executive who profits immensely off of fueling the climate crisis to oversee the global response to climate change, the letter, signed by more than 450 organizations, read. That such a move could ever be seen to be legitimate amidst an intensifying climate crisis where millions of lives and ecosystems are on the line exemplifies just how insidious Big Polluters stranglehold over climate policy is.




New animal health bill in Gambia to address shortfalls in dealing with animal diseases

A bill, known as the Animal Health Bill 2020, was recently presented in The Gambia to the country's Joint Committee on Agriculture and Health of the National Assembly for review.

The presentation was delivered by the West Africa Livestock Innovation Center (WALIC) and the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).

Dr.Demba Trawelleh, deputy director of NARI, said the Veterinary Services (VS) of The Gambia, which is mandated to prevent and control livestock diseases in the country's national herds and other health-related matters, has been "struggling to meet its functions, within the confines of the other obsolete Diseases of Animals Act, 1944".

According to Dr. Trawalleh, the act has become obsolete in the face of a rapidly changing world, in terms of priority needs, climate change and meeting food safety, food security and compliance with international standards.

The animal health bill is out to address these uncertainties and future developments in an adequate way, Dr. Trawalleh told the committee, adding that it also underpins an extensive review of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1944, considering complex interactions between socio-economic factors, political developments, climate change and the global context with the objective of producing a new robust version in the face of a changing livestock sub-sector and climate.

The advocated Animal Health Bill, 2020, currently being reviewed by NAMs, has a holistic approach to disease control, food safety, international trade in livestock, farmer compensation and regulation of the importation, production and composition of livestock drugs and feed.

Dr. Trawalleh said: "The bill, if enacted and its provisions properly implemented, will improve both animal and human health, increase our national herd population and enable the sub-sector generate the much-needed foreign currency from the sale of livestock and livestock products beyond our borders."

Dr. Trawalleh added that Botswana and Namibia are among thefew countries in Africa that have free access to the European market for their livestock and livestock products, mainly because of the animal health policies pursued by their respective governments.

- The Point
The library section of RAS Korea's office in Daehangno, Seoul / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile



By Steven L. Shields



Libraries are filled with books that have become "lost" to readers and researchers. There are so many books and so little time to find them. Card cataloging systems of the past do not provide enough information about a book to indicate to a researcher whether it might have value to their work.



Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea member Ryan Berkebile, a longtime urban explorer studying for a master's degree in digital humanities, is interning at the RAS office in Seoul. While RAS Korea has been working on digitalizing archival documents, books and monographs, journals, photographic images and so forth, Berkebile is helping RAS Korea set up platforms where the information can be accessed electronically. His projects include developing archival websites that will provide easy access to RAS Korea's archival documents, photographic images and library.



In the few weeks since Berkebile began his internship, he's uncovered dozens of gems in our library. While the books have been in the catalog and filed by call numbers, with more than 3,000 volumes (and growing) RAS Korea's members and friends are unaware of many of the books. Hundreds of books in the collection were published before most of the current members were alive. Hundreds more had a limited publication and were never for sale to the public. Indeed, "lost" books.





One example of the rich Korean folk art heritage that resides within the covers of hundreds of books in the RAS Korea library. / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile



Berkebile has set up an Instagram account for the RAS Library (@raskb_library ), where he shares some of his newly discovered treasures. Photos from the RAS Korea collection are being shared with viewers to encourage further study, make the general public aware of the RAS digital resources and encourage a site visit to the RAS Korea library.





"Korean Sketches" is perhaps one of James Scarth Gale's most important books in which the colors of Korea's history, culture and people are expressed skillfully by a masterful scholar and storyteller. / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile



The digital age began decades ago, but the "digital humanities" field is relatively new. Most readers would understand the basics of digitalization and computer science. At the same time, humanities is a time-honored discipline that catches up with sociology, anthropology, history and more. Most universities require all students to have basic credits in the humanities. While content remains unchanged, the digital age brings new media and technology that can enhance other disciplines.



Digital humanities is at the intersection of computing and the disciplines of the humanities. It is a means to process information from a variety of sources, using the computing capabilities of chips and switches, if you will, to more accurately and efficiently collate data to further the study and understanding of human existence. More than mere digitalization of printed materials, manuscripts, photographs and artworks, digital humanities tools allow the researcher or scientist to collect, collate and extrapolate data to enhance the narrative explanations of the discipline.



The area of digital humanities provides a broad means of disseminating source documents, research, and ongoing studies. Projects in digital humanities begin with the digitalization of source materials, of course, but can also include the production or publication of digital works, such as books that would formerly have been printed on paper. Most agree, though, that there will always be an aesthetic value for books and material media; digitalization can breathe new life into books that are scarce and inaccessible to most.



Digital humanities brings the tools of computing to the task of finding such resources. With digitalized media, universal word searches replace indexes at a comprehensive level. Digitalized books and documents, even photographic images and works of art, are easily accessed, regardless of the fragile nature of the original copy, which requires special handling.





Ha Tae-heung's multi-volume series on Korea's history and culture. The illustrations inside his books are beautiful representations of post-Korean War book publishing in Seoul. / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile



Among some of the many treasures rediscovered by Berkebile is a book series that was important to me in my early exposure to Korea. Professor Ha Tae-heung published these through Yonsei University Press in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is a mini-library of 10 volumes covering most facets of Korea's history and culture. The books are long out of print but have value for a researcher looking at how Koreans saw their nation and how they couched the English-language imaging of the past. Berkebile comments, "each one has beautiful illustrations[Ha's] books are quite fascinating in their mixture of incorrect/misleading information and the beautiful presentation." Some of the copies of Ha's books are inscribed by the author.



Two books of interest that I have never seen are a 1954 publication, "Syngman Rhee, the man behind the myth," followed a few years later by a somewhat companion book, "The fall of Syngman Rhee."





The 1954 book promoting Syngman Rhee with a few notecards found inside / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile



Not long after is the little-known 1962 publication, "Korea Moves Ahead," published by the Korean government. This book features an inspirational message from "acting president" Park Chung-hee. For two years, 1961-63, Park led the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction. Park wasn't elected president until 1963. He had moved into the vacuum of power when the Chang Myon government, following the ouster of Syngman Rhee, failed in its attempts to form a parliamentary government. Park became acting president following the spring 1962 resignation of Yun Posun, who had been president since 1960.





The library section of RAS Korea's office in Daehangno, Seoul / Courtesy of Ryan Berkebile
Manxman's delivery date delayed

Testing carried out by Manxmans builders during routine sea trials revealed a significant problem in the vessels systems.

Additional work will be required to ensure Manxman is up to the rigorous specification set out by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

The works will be carried out by the contractors and shipyard that the Steam Packet Company has engaged to build the vessel. This will be followed by further sea trials.

These additional works will have an impact on the delivery timeline of the vessel to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in South Korea and subsequently its arrival in Manx waters.

There will be no impact on existing or future bookings, all sailings will be carried out by the existing vessels in the Companys fleet.
The European Union is eager to crack down on Big Tech's alleged privacy abuses, but the reliance on individual countries to enforce General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules has led to lengthy cases with punishments that are frequently modest. There will soon be pressure to act decisively, however. The European Commission will now require that EU nations share overviews of "large-scale" GDPR investigations every two months. This includes "key procedural steps" and actions taken  national regulators will have to show they're moving forward.

The tougher approach comes after the EU Ombudsman recommended closer monitoring of Big Tech cases that fall under the Irish Data Protection Commission, which regulates Meta and other industry giants. The rights group Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) made a complaint to the Ombudsman accusing Ireland's commission of being too slow and lenient against privacy violations. Just weeks ago, Europe's Data Protection Board forced Ireland to raise a data processing fine against Meta from 28 million to 390 million ($30.4 million to $423.3 million).

As Bloomberg observes, the European Commission is already issuing reports every two years on the overall status of GDPR enforcement. However, it hasn't conducted thorough, frequent reviews of individual countries' privacy regulators. This new requirement will theoretically hold all EU member states accountable if they delay investigations or don't apply the law when necessary. This could include legal repercussions at the European Court of Justice.

Critics might not be happy with the transparency. Ireland and other nations will share their progress on a "strictly confidential basis," according to the Commission. The public might not know if a regulator is mishandling a case unless the EU takes visible action in response. Nonetheless, this may encourage Meta, Amazon, Google and other tech heavyweights to take European privacy laws more seriously  they may see quicker investigations and stiffer fines.
OpenAI's new tool may help you identify text written by ChatGPT But it can mislabel both AI-generated and human-written text.

OpenAI has released a tool to help you determine whether text was more likely written by a human or AI. However, the ChatGPT maker warns that its equivalent of Blade Runners Voight-Kampff test can also get it wrong.

The tool includes a box where you can paste text thats at least 1,000 characters long. It will then spit out a verdict, like The classifier considers the text to be very unlikely AI-generated or The classifier considers the text to be possibly AI-generated.

I tested it by prompting ChatGPT to write an essay about the migratory patterns of birds, which the detection tool then described as possibly AI-generated. Meanwhile, it rated several human-written articles as very unlikely AI-generated. So although the tool could raise false flags in either direction, my (tiny sample size) test suggests at least a degree of accuracy. Still, OpenAI cautions not to use the tool alone to determine contents authenticity; it also works best with text of 1,000 words or longer.

The startup has faced pressure from educators after the November release of its ChatGPT tool, which produces AI-written content that can sometimes pass for human writing. The natural-language model can create essays in seconds based on simple text prompts  even passing a graduate business and law exam  while providing students with a tempting new cheating opportunity. As a result, New York public schools banned the bot from their WiFi networks and school devices.

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OpenAI

While ChatGPTs arrival has been a buzzed-about topic of late, even extending into media outlets eager to automate SEO-friendly articles, the bot is big business for OpenAI. The company reportedly secured a $10 billion investment earlier this month from Microsoft, which plans to integrate it into Bing and Office 365. OpenAI allegedly discussed selling shares at a $29 billion valuation late last year, which would make it one of the most valuable US startups.

Although ChatGPT is currently the best publicly available natural language AI model, Google, Baidu and others are working on competitors. Googles LaMDA is convincing enough that one former researcher threw away his job with the search giant last year by claiming the chatbot is sentient. (The human tendency to project feelings and consciousness onto algorithms is a concept well likely hear much about in the coming years.) Google has only released extremely constricted versions of its chatbot in a beta, presumably out of ethical concerns. With the genie out of the bottle, it will be interesting to see how long that restraint lasts.
EU wind and solar energy production overtook gas last year A report from UK clean-energy think tank Ember projects the gap to widen.

Energy generated from solar and wind power reportedly overtook natural gas in the European Union (EU) for the first time last year. The data comes from UK clean-energy think tank Ember (via Bloomberg), which projects the gap to grow.

Solar and wind energy rose to an all-time high of 22 percent of the EUs 2022 electricity use. Meanwhile, Ember projects fossil-fuel generation to drop by 20 percent this year  with gas falling the fastest.

The shifts stem largely from reducing reliance on gas and coal after Russia invaded Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered the cutoff of natural gas exports to the EU as retaliation for Western sanctions. Ember says the resulting high costs helped lower energy demand by around eight percent in Q4 2022 compared to the same quarter the previous year.

There is now a focus on rapidly cutting gas demand  at the same time as phasing out coal, the report said. This means a massive scale-up in clean energy is on its way. It expects nuclear power to remain flat in 2023, with a planned phase-out of German nuclear reactors canceling out a ramp-up from France. However, it projects hydropower to rise by around 40 terawatt-hours this year following a severe drought in 2022.
The US government is reportedly cracking down harder on exports to Huawei The expanded restrictions are a move towards a total export ban, according to 'Financial Times.'

The United States government has reportedly stopped issuing licenses that allow companies in the country to export to Huawei, according to The Financial Times. If you'll recall, the Trump administration added the company to the "entity list," making it ineligible from receiving exports from the US without a license. The US commerce department issued some companies like Qualcomm licenses to provide Huawei with American tech unrelated to 5G networks since then  Qualcomm, for instance, supplies Huawei with 4G chips for smartphones. But the government is reportedly looking to impose a total ban on the sale of American tech to the Chinese firm, and this expanded restriction is a step towards making that happen.

The US government adds companies to the entity list if it believes they are involved in or "pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in, activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States." It has previously accused Huawei of having deep ties with the Chinese government and warned allies that the 5G equipment it makes could be used to spy on other countries and companies. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusation.

It's not entirely clear why the US government is moving towards a total ban, if this report is indeed true, but the Biden administration seems to be taking a tougher stance on China compared to its predecessor. Last year, it introduced new rules that prohibit the export of powerful semiconductors that could be repurposed for military use, as well as chipmaking equipment, to China and Russia. One possible reason is that Huawei, The Times says, is backing projects that aim to build a semiconductor supply chain in its country that doesn't rely on imports. A former CIA official also told the publication that the government is probably looking to expand the existing export ban, because Huawei is a totally different company from when it was added to the entity list.

Huawei's focus back then was on 5G technology, but it has since changed gears to prioritize its enterprise and government businesses, including a cloud service, to survive the trade ban. Being added to the blacklist had a huge impact on Huawei's revenues in 2021, but company executive Eric Xu said the manufacturer was able to pull itself "out of crisis mode" in 2022 and expects to go back to "business as usual" this year. A total ban could very well put Huawei back into crisis mode, and it would likely affect the revenues of its US suppliers, as well. That said, the Chinese company might have some time to prepare, depending on when the export licenses that had already been issued will expire.

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A commerce department spokesperson didn't confirm whether it has truly stopped issuing licenses to American firms, telling The Times that it "continually assess[es] its policies and regulations." A source told Reuters, however, that US officials are in the midst of crafting new policies that would prohibit shipments to Huawei below the 5G level. The new restrictions would reportedly cover products and components related to 4G, WiFi 6 and 7, AI, as well as cloud and high-performance computing.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin walks to board a helicopter upon his arrival at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Jan. 30. AP-Yonhap



U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Tuesday that if an adversary challenges South Korea or the United States, it would be challenging the two countries' "alliance as a whole," reaffirming America's "ironclad" security commitment to the Asian ally.



Austin issued the warning in an exclusive contribution piece to Yonhap News Agency, as he plans to hold talks with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in Seoul later in the day to discuss deterrence against evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.



"This commitment includes U.S. conventional, nuclear and missile-defense capabilities, as well as the forward presence of 28,500 U.S. uniformed personnel (in Korea)," the secretary said in the piece titled "The Alliance Stands Ready."



He added, "So our adversaries and competitors know that if they challenge one of us, they are challenging the U.S.-ROK alliance as a whole." ROK stands for the South's official name, the Republic of Korea.



His remarks came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un raised the need for an "exponential" increase in his country's nuclear arsenal and named the South an "undoubted" enemy during a key ruling party gathering held in December.



Touching on the purpose of his visit, Austin sketched out plans to deepen cooperation and discuss the mutual security challenges. "I am also here to reaffirm that the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the ROK is ironclad," he said.



Austin characterized the Seoul-Washington partnership as "one of the most capable, interoperable and adaptable alliances in history" and highlighted the allies' "determination" to confront the North Korean challenge.






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Weather Alert

...National Weather Service Cold Water Safety Message... ...Please check with state and local authorities regarding guidelines for allowed activities... * Very warm air temperatures today in the mid and upper 70s are expected. This may cause people to underestimate the dangers of the cold water temperatures which are currently only in the 40s across Lake Champlain, and in the 30s and 40s in the regions' smaller lakes and rivers. * The cold water temperatures can quickly cause hypothermia to anyone immersed in the water. According to the US Coast Guard, when the water temperatures are below 50 degrees, the chance of immediate incapacitation due to cold shock is extremely high. Anyone on small boats, canoes or kayaks should plan accordingly if recreating this weekend and use extreme caution to avoid this threat. Paddle smart from the start and always wear your life jacket!
Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, pitches his Senate Bill 176, which would change the makeup of interim committees, to the Senate State Administration Committee on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

Republicans in the Montana Legislature  where they currently hold a supermajority  want to change the makeup of interim legislative committees so the majority party has more power, which they say would simply reflect the will of voters.

Senate Bill 176, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, would make it so four-member interim committees would be comprised of three members of the majority party and one from the minority party. Larger committees would also have to reflect the composition of the legislature.

If committee composition during a legislative session is weighted by election results, then the interim committee should as well, Regier said. Democracy should not end at sine die.

Currently, interim committees are made up of an even number of Republicans and Democrats. But Regier said his bill would better reflect the results of the last election and give the minority party  currently Democrats  a better opportunity to spread lawmakers across interim committees so they are not overtasked.

The measure would apply to 13 different interim committees, Regier told the Senate State Administration Committee at the bills first hearing Monday.

Regier ran a similar bill in the 2021 session that died on a 22-28 vote in the Senate. He said he had taken administrative committees out of this years bill in hopes that it will clear the hurdle he said sank it two years ago.

Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, told reporters Monday morning he was supportive of the measure.

He said he felt the changes would still allow for bipartisanship, but would help get lawmakers better on track in terms of drafting bills that would run during the next session.

Regier said after the hearing the changes would also stop the minority party from blocking movement during the interim, like selecting a committee chair, because he believed having a weighted committee would lead to fewer tied votes.

One opponent was the only other person aside from Regier who testified on the bill at Mondays hearing  Anne Hedges, the director of policy and legislative affairs for the Montana Environmental Information Center.

I just dont hear anyone these days saying we need more partisanship in our politics, she told the committee.

She said she believes interim committees are different from the legislative session  more of a time to mull over ideas, explore different angles and see what works and what doesnt than in legislative sessions, where the majority rules.

She said the bill was making the interim committees ones where the majority party wouldnt even need to listen to the minority members, a disservice to the state.

I just think that this is not the right direction to be taking the state, Hedges said.

Regier said amendments that have been introduced came from Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls.

Should the committee choose to adopt the amendments when it takes executive action, the measure would allow for the majority in the interim to vote to request four bills for the next session without any votes from the minority party. There would still be an unlimited number of bills they could vote to request on a bipartisan basis.

Regier said after the hearing that having four bills that could come solely from members of one party would allow them to prioritize certain things without interference from the minority party.

You dont want to turn it into a bill mill where theyre throwing out a lot, he said.

The post Bill would give majority party more power on Montana interim committees appeared first on Daily Montanan.
Defra has announced a five-year delivery plan to improve the the environment, which includes incentivising most farmers to adopt nature-friendly practices on at least 10 to 15% of their land by 2030.

The government has today published its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, which includes actions to "halt and then reverse the decline in nature".

The England-only plan, which is required under the Environment Act, will be officially unveiled by Defra Secretary Therese Coffey during a keynote speech on Tuesday morning (31 January).

For the farming industry, the plan requires 65 to 80% of farmers to adopt nature friendly farming practices on at least 10-15% of their land by 2030.

They will also be supported to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2037 and 45,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2050.

Ammonia emissions will be reduced through incentives in the UK's post-Brexit farming schemes, Defra says, while expanding environmental permitting condition to dairy and intensive beef farms.

Government will also create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves and 19 further Nature Recovery Projects.

Speaking before her speech, Ms Coffey said the improvement plan sets out how the government sought to improve the environment in the UK and around the world.

"Nature is vital for our survival, crucial to our food security, clean air, and clean water as well as health and well-being benefits," she said.

"We are transforming financial support for farmers and landowners to prioritise improving the environment, we are stepping up on tree planting, we have cleaner air, we have put a spotlight on water quality."

Natural England chair Tony Juniper called the Environmental Improvement Plan "broad, most welcome and important".

"We are facing into a series of environmental challenges that are very serious, pressing and which are connected to one another.

"If we are to take effective action then we will need an ambitious and integrated plan that is geared up to meeting some very challenging targets."

What are the other commitments in the plan?

Other new environmental commitments set out today include:

 A multi-million pound 'species survival fund' to protect the UK's rarest species  from hedgehogs to red squirrels.

 10 actions on water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including reviewing building regulations and other legislation

 Restoring 400 miles of river through the first round of Landscape Recovery projects and establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands along Englands rivers

 Challenging councils to improve air quality more quickly by assessing their performance and use of existing powers

 Improving the way air quality information is communicated with the public.

 Making it easier for people to minimise their waste, including a new set of interim targets for 2028 to reduce different types of waste


By Kang Seung-woo



Four Korean American members of U.S. Congress have introduced a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the late Col. Kim Young-oak for his extraordinary heroism, leadership and humanitarianism.





Kim Young-oak / Yonhap
Cambodia and South Korea recently agreed to enhance bilateral trade and investment by maximising their free trade agreement (FTA) that came into force a month earlier, according to the latters industry ministry. The development came at a business and investment forum in Seoul attended by South Korean trade minister Ahn Duk-geun and Cambodias commerce minister Pan Sorasak.

The bilateral agreement laid the groundwork for the expansion of bilateral trade in a wide range of fields from textile and clothing to cars and machinery, and to agro and fishery food, Ahn said during the forum.

The two nations will be able to further strengthen cooperation on digital economy, clean energy and various other sectors to help advance Cambodias industrial structure, and to jointly achieve net-zero goals, he said.

Cambodia and South Korea have agreed to enhance bilateral trade and investment by maximising their free trade deal that came into force a month earlier, according to the latter's industry ministry. The development came at a business and investment forum in Seoul attended by South Korean trade minister Ahn Duk-geun and Cambodian commerce minister Pan Sorasak.

South Korea will support Cambodias technology development through official development assistance programmes, Ahnwas quoted as saying by a news agency.

The FTA, which took effect on December 1 last year, calls for a higher level of market opening than the existing South Korea-ASEAN FTA and the multilateral trade pact of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ministry said.

Bilateral trade was worth $1.05 billion last year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Who doesnt love a good mystery movie? Bollywood has especially excelled in this genre in these past few years and has been nominated for some precious awards. Since OTT platforms have become our source of watching movies we have seen some great ones, and there is a list of such iconic mystery movies which will get you glued to your television screens. So if you love the feeling of dark reveals, twists and turns and unmissable drama, then weve got you covered. Here is a list of top Bollywood mystery movies that you need to watch if you havent already.

1. Talvar

2. Ugly

3. Dobaaraa

4. Manorama Six Feet Under

5. Kahani (2012)

Shruti Tandon, a 14-year-old girl, is brutally murdered in her bedroom. The body of Khempal, the family's domestic helper, is discovered the following day on the terrace. Ramesh and Nutan Tandon, who are portrayed by Neeraj Kabi and Konkona Sen Sharma, do not have time to mourn their daughter's passing because they are soon involved in a situation where the father is being investigated for her murder. Did her father actually kill her? The sensational 2008 double murder case involving Arushi Talwar and their domestic helper Hemraj in Noida inspired the plot of Talvar. Talvar is a compelling and intensely unsettling movie, in large part because of the nature of the crime but also because of the realistic narration that avoids unnecessary melodrama.The gritty thriller Ugly by Anurag Kashyap is filled with strong feelings. The movie Ugly is about an awful event (a kidnapping of a child), awful people, who turn out to be even worse than they first appeared to be, and an even worse outcome than the beginning. The start of the film occurs when ten-year-old Kali (Anshika Shrivastava) is given to her loser aspiring actor father Rahul by her depressed and distraught mother Shalini (Tejaswini Kolhapure) (Rahul Bhatt). When her father is collecting a potential script from his cunning agent Chaitanya, Kali vanishes (Vineet Singh). The cast includes everyone from the most despicable street panhandlers to Shalini's second husband, the strong local police chief Shoumik (Ronit Roy). Rahul and Shoumik have a history of animosity, and Shoumik will stop at nothing to exact revenge.Dobaaraa is an official remake of the 2018 Spanish film Mirage. Twelve-year-old Anay is using his camcorder to make a home movie for his absent father as a geomagnetic storm rages over Pune. He hears a fight start in the house next door, and as he goes to investigate, he is killed in a car accident. Antara moves into the home with her husband and young daughter 25 years later. The family is curious about the boy who once lived in their home after finding Anay's old television and camcorder. When a new storm threatens the home, Antara looks at the TV screen and recognises young Anay on the night that he will perish. They can still communicate with one another after all these years. 2:12 has passed, and what she tells him will affect both of their futures.Navdeep Singh co-wrote and directed the Indian thriller Manorama Six Feet Under, which was influenced by the contentious Roman Polanski neo-noir classic Chinatown (1974). Rajasthan-based Satyaveer Singh Randhawa, his wife Nimmi, and their son Raju lead middle-class lives while Satyaveer serves as a Junior Engineer for the Lahkot Municipality's Public Works Department. The area is experiencing drought and high temperatures, and the local irrigation minister, P.P. Rathore, has made bold commitments to divert water from Punjab and Haryana via a canal that is being built on a contentious site. Additionally, Satyeveer wrote the fictional book Manorama, which only sold about 200 copies. He was so appalled by this that he chose not to even keep a copy for his personal library. Even worse, he accepts a motorbike from Seema Constructions in exchange for bribe money, is caught, and is suspended while an investigation is ongoing. Now without a job, Manorama Rathore, the wife of the irrigation minister, approaches him and offers him 20,000 rupees to gather proof that her husband is having an extramarital affair. Unaware that he will soon be sucked into a web of lies and deceit, Satyaveer accepts this offer.

Kahani directed by Sujoy Ghosh is one of the finest mystery thrillers we have seen. Starring Vidya Balan, the film revolves around Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) a pregnant woman from London who comes to Kolkata in the festive season to look for her missing husband. As she continues her search, she comes across many clues and people who may or may not be involved in her husbands case. Apart from Vidya Balan's terrific performance and the brilliant script, what made this movie even more interesting was the performance of the rest of the cast members. Till the end youll be guessing all the possibilities. So if you havent watched this film youre missing out on a masterpiece.

6. Talaash (2012)

Talaash starring Amir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Rani Mukherji, directed by Reema Kagti, is a full package. With mind blowing plot, great performance and catchy tunes, the film revolves around Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Amir Khan) who is a cop, investigating a murder case of a popular actor Armaan Kapoor (Vivaan Bhatena). Upon investigating he comes across Rosie (Kareena Kapoor) a red-light area worker who adds mystery to the film. The storyline of this film is so good it will keep you holding to your seats throughout. This film will surely be worth your time if you are looking for something to binge on.

7. Drishyam (2015)

Originally adapted by the Malayalam blockbuster with the same title, Drishyam starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kappor and Ishita Dutta, the story revolves around Vijay (Ajay Devgn) and his family who live a simple happy life until they become the prime suspect in a missing case of Sameer Deshmukh (Risabh Chaddha) the son of IG, Meera Deshmukh (Tabu). The story further shows how Vijay and his family deal with this situation. The movie surely shows how good of an actor Ajay Devgn is, and how much worthy he is of all the praises he got for his performance in this film.

8. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (2015)

Directed by Dibakar Banerjee, starring the late Sushant Singh Rajput, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is based on one of the first detective stories created by bestseller Bengali writer Saradindu Bandyopadhyay. The film is set in the 1940s during the Second World War, which follows the first case of Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant Singh Rajput). Fresh out of college, he agrees to investigate the disappearance of Bhuvan, a chemist. While investigating he discovers that Bhuvans case is linked to a much bigger conspiracy. As many people say this film is Bollywoods Sherlock, the makers have nailed it with the story, screenplay and performance.

9. Andhadhun (2018)

One of the best mystery thrillers ever made, Andhadhun starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and tabu is an all-in-one. The film revolves around Akash (Ayushmann Khurrana) a blind pianist who accidentally bumps into Sophie (Radhika Apte), upon finding out that he is a pianist she takes him to her fathers restaurant and offers Akash a job. Akash then gets invited to an actors residence for a private concert. Upon reaching the actors house there is a shocking surprise waiting for him. This film is so unpredictable, that you wont be able to guess whats coming next, and that is exactly what the audience loved about it.

10. Badla (2019)

Filled with crazy twists and turns, Badla starring Tapsee Pannu, Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh, this film is one of the best mystery thrillers. The film revolves around Naina Sethi (Tapsee Pannu), a businesswoman who gets accused of killing her lover Arjun (Tony Luke). As the story unravels, we get to see every shade of the characters in the film. And we bet you wont be able to guess if Naina Sethi (Tapsee Pannu) is actually the culprit or not. Not just the main leads, but even the supporting characters of this film left an impacting performance.

11. Raat Akeli Hai (2020)

Raat Akeli Hai directed by Honey Trehan, and starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte is a nail-biting murder mystery. The film revolves around Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who is investigating the murder of an aged and rich politician who is found dead on his wedding night to Radha (Radhika Apte) a young girl. As Jatil Yadav continues his investigation he dives deep into a much darker unresolved case that puts him at risk. This film is so engaging that it will keep you hooked from the start to the very end. And a special mention to the entire cast of this film, they did a brilliant job. So if youre into dark crime movies then Raat Akeli Hai is the one for you.

12. Haseen Dillruba (2021)

Released on the popular OTT platform Netflix this film is one of the latest mystery movies, Haseen Dilruba starring Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane is the perfect murder mystery. The story revolves around Rishabh Saxena (Rishu), who is killed in an explosion in his house, on investigating the cops find that it is a murder and the prime suspect is his wife Rani Kashyap (Taapsee Pannu). The story then goes around how Rani deals with the police and frames her story. Haseen Dillruba has romance, affairs, dark characters and murder, which makes it a perfect combination for a masterpiece. The entire cast did a fantastic job in the film, but Vikrant Massey just stole the show with his amazing acting skills.

13. The Fame Game (2022)

Not only did it mark the comeback of Madhuri Dixit, but the OTT platform welcomed her with open arms with this interesting thriller titled The Fame Game. Quite realistically embodying the role of a superstar, Madhuri played the role of Anamika Khanna who despite all the fame has a life filled with turmoil and struggles as she tries to lead a happy family life. She tries her best to be the best mother and wife, however, life has other plans for her. The interesting part of the storyline begins when she goes mysteriously missing and her family members are forced to take help from the police to find her whereabouts. This OTT show was trending in no time and had fans hooked to their screens. Madhuri Dixit's portrayal of a glamorous star was played to perfection and got her many words of appreciation.

14. Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (2022)

Another bone-chilling thriller series that features some of the best OTT stars on the block right now. Shweta Tripathi has already wowed audiences with her brilliant performance in Mirzapur and Tahir Raj Bhasin has had some back-to-back OTT successes this year out of which Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein was one of them that got both critical and commercial success. The show also put Anchal Singh on the map who plays one of the leads in the series. The show revolves around a politician's daughter played by Anchal who would cross all boundaries to get the love of her life which is portrayed by Tahir. The show craftily depicts how power can enable all kinds of crimes. The show builds upon the mystery as Tahir navigates through his struggles to get rid of her as he is already in love with someone else. This dark and twisty tale was so well-received that it got renewed for Season 2 right after its first season.

Thrillers are one of the most binge-watched genres on OTT platforms. The intriguing storylines and captivating performances are sure to keep you hooked to your screens. Here is a roundup of some of the favourite films and shows from this genre that topped our list.

Read More - Best Hollywood Action Movies Dubbed In Hindi
Uttar Pradesh Tourism, in association with Worldwide Media, organised The International Travel Writers Conclave in Varanasi last month





The International Travel Writers Conclave, an exceptionally-curated experience with international and national travel journalists, bloggers, vloggers and photographers exploring the heritage city of Varanasi and its nearby attractions, was organised by Uttar Pradesh Tourism, in association with Worldwide Media.





Among the media persons were travel and lifestyle bloggers Lakshmi Sharath, Indrani Ghose, Priyanshu Kumar, Ambica Gulati, Sanjay Kumar, Abhinav Singh, Pamela Mukherjee, Ragini Puri, Kalyan Chatterjee, Vaishali Mihir Shah and Mihir Velji Shah, travel photographer Ajay Sood, Prashant Kumar Jain of NBT Delhi, and C J Rajeeva, Sadanada Hegde, Kenche Gowda and N Nagappa of Vijay Karnataka. Joining them were Gayrat Majid  Deputy Chairman of the Union of Writers of the Republic of Uzbekistan; and Sirojiddin Raupov, Norkobil Jalilove and Abdirasul Jumakulov, all members of the Writers Union of the Republic of Uzbekistan. They were escorted on their journey of discovery by Preeti Srivastava, Deputy Director  Varanasi Tourism.





Kashi, the oldest living city in the world, is not just a centre of culture but also of learning and spiritualism. It gives possibility of all inclusive tourism and holds immense appeal for tourists from all walks of life  Kaushal Raj Sharma (IAS), Commissioner, Varanasi Division



The conclave was anchored around the sacred site of Varanasi. Also called Banaras or Kashi, Varanasi is one of Hinduisms holiest cities and one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. The waters of the River Ganges, central to all life and living in Varanasi, are said to wash away all your sins. Varanasi is famous for its numerous

(stepped banks), boat rides on the holy river, and the evening prayers (

) with thousands of oil lamps along the bank

.

ghatsaarti(above)

DAY 1

The four-day exploration began on December 9, 2022. On this day, the journalists, bloggers and photographers had the opportunity to visit some of the iconic spots of Varanasi such as Namo Ghat (above) and Ravidas Ghat by evening. Following a ride on the River Ganga, they ended the day with a mesmerising cultural performance at the restored heritage Brijrama Palace.

DAY 2

On Day 2, the media persons immersed themselves in the spirituality of Varanasi; they began the day with the early morning Ganga aarti and were treated to a stunning sunrise over the river. They experienced the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor (main image) which connects the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple (above) to the ghats along the River Ganga, an initiative that enables pilgrims and devotees to reach the temple easily from the ghats, and to marvel at the many ancient temples that were discovered along the way, and have now been restored.

Then it was on to discover the intricacies of the

weaving tradition in Varanasi

, and interact with the artisans whose families have been creating iconic Banarasi silk for generations.

By

evening, the group visited Sarnath (above), one of the most revered Buddhist pilgrimage centres in the world, just 10 kilometres from Varanasi

That night, dinner at Om Vilas Benares was elevated by a performance by Kathak dancer Rudra Shankar Mishra.

DAY 3

December 11 brought the participants unexpected treasures. After a delicious breakfast, they travelled to the massive Chunar Fort (above) an easy 40 kilometres from Varanasi. Set 280 feet high on a hillock overlooking the River Ganga, and offering great views of the river and the banks opposite, the fort is believed to have been constructed by Raja Vikramaditya of Ujjain circa 56 BC for his brother Bhartrihari who was seeking to seclude himself on a spiritual quest. It hosts a variety of interesting structures within, including a darbar hall, a jharokha in the Hindu style but with Mughal inscriptions, the Rani Kuan (queens bathing well) reached by a tunnel with five turns, the Kaal Kothri (an underground incarceration chamber said to have been reserved exclusively for royalty, which once famously held Humayun), the storied Sonwa Mandap and the Jivant Samadhi Sthal of Bharthari.

After lunch, the group moved to the stunning Rajdari and Devdari waterfalls (above) within the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary, and were privileged to see prehistoric cave art at Aurwatand.



As night fell, they returned to Varanasi for the aarti at Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

DAY 4

December 12, the fourth day of the conclave, was a formal interaction at Hotel Ramada in Varanasi. District Magistrate of Varanasi S Rajalingam graced the event as Chief Guest and formally lit the ceremonial lamp alongside Pravin Kumar, Resident Editor, Times of India Lucknow; Celebrity Chef Pankaj Bhadouria and Preeti Srivastava, Deputy Director, Varanasi Tourism. Two panel discussions followed.

The tourism industry involves the community and boosts the local economy. It is a win-win situation for all...  S Rajalingam, District Magistrate, Varanasi

The first, entitled Adding To The Basket Of Choice explored how the innate diversity in Uttar Pradeshs tourism canvas and its untapped potential can add new products to the traditional visitor experiences to be found in destinations such as Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow or Jhansi. Panellists included Preeti Srivastava; Pravin Rana, Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism, Banaras Hindu University; and Ajay Sood, travel photographer and writer. The session was moderated by Shailvi Sharda from Times of India Lucknow.

Acclaimed national and international writers, bloggers and photographers got the opportunity to discover both known and little-explored facets of the culture and history of our state. Through these medias perspectives, travel enthusiasts the world over will, once again, get a chance to explore places unexplored and enjoy stories untold, thus helping the states tourism sector reach a new benchmark.  Preeti Srivastava, Deputy Director, Varanasi Tourism

Also moderated by Shailvi, the second discussion on Craft, Cuisine and Culture had Isha Duhan  DM, Chandauli District; Lakshmi Sharath  writer, blogger and media professional; Celebrity Chef Pankaj Bhadouria, Priyanshu Kumar  textile designer and digital content creator, and Shyam Singh, travel coordinator, as panellists discussing Uttar Pradeshs unique cultural offerings for the visitor.



After a feedback session with the participants and a scrumptious lunch, the uniquely-crafted International Travel Writers Conclave 2022 drew to a close.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are December figures for unemployment, industrial production, retail sales and housing starts, plus January results for its household confidence index. The jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 2.5 percent, while the jobs-to-applicant ratio is expected to tick up to 1.36 from 1.35. Industrial production is expected to slip 1.2 percent on month after adding 0.2 percent in November. Retail sales are tipped to rise 3.0 percent on year, up from 2.5 percent in the previous month. Housing starts are tipped to add 0.5 percent on year after sinking 1.4 percent in November. The household confidence index is pegged at 30.5, up marginally from 30.3 in December. Australia will see December data for housing credit, private sector credit and retail sales. In November, housing credit was up 0.4 percent on month, private sector credit added 0.5 percent on month and retail sales rose 1.4 percent. South Korea will provide December numbers for industrial production and retail sales. Industrial production is expected to fall 0.2 percent on month and 5.1 percent on year after adding 0.4 percent on month and shedding 3.7 percent on year in November. Retail sales were down 1.8 percent on month in November. Taiwan will release December figures for export orders, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 11.2 percent on year following the 23.4 percent contraction in November. Thailand will see December results for imports, exports, trade balance and current account. In November, imports were up 8.2 percent on year and exports were down an annual 5.5 percent for a trade surplus of $0.50 billion. The current account showed a deficit of $0.400 billion. Copyright(c) 2023 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.
Zurich, Switzerland--(Newsfile Corp. - January 30, 2023) - Freename has launched the Web3 Browser Extension, available for Google Chrome, Mozilla and Brave: users can now navigate the internet with Web3 domains. Once installed in one click, the extension offers different Web3 features: first of all it allows users to surf the internet with Freename domains. In simple terms, with the plugin users can redirect Web3 domains to specific traditional websites, such as personal branding pages, companies' websites, social media profiles and so on. This is a fundamental step in the Web3 world because it increases the spectrum of applications for blockchain-based domains, linking them directly to the traditional Internet world. Users just have to install the extension, access the management panel of their Freename domain and indicate the page url to which they want to redirect it: as simple as that. Then, to browse the domain, just type it through the "browse" button in the extension or through the navigation bar of the browser with "http://" as prefix.





Freename launches Web3 Browser Extension

Web3 and Web2: Freename's ecosystem is the link. The browser extension offers additional functions to Web3 domains users. For instance, the "Browser" button allows users to search and purchase domains and TLDs directly on the Freename site and the "Web3 WHOIS" button provides access to the first and only Web3 WHOIS on the market. This is a unique place where users can find the domains behind any wallet's address and find the wallet addresses behind any minted domains. Currently it queries wallets, domains and TLDs from Freename, Unstoppable Domains and the ENS registry. Two major features will soon be available, as can be guessed from the extension's screenshot. "Send tokens" is the feature that allows tokens to be sent and received to specific wallet addresses through Web3 domains. "Send Web3 emails" is the feature that allows to send blockchain-based emails and messages through Freename domains. The Swiss company will soon make further announcements regarding the official releases of both features.

Freename's Web3 ecosystem is on the one hand increasingly integrated into the Web2 world and its uses, and on the other hand has a number of vertical functionalities in the Web3 world that make it concretely usable for the tangible needs of users, such as sending an email or surfing a website.





Freename Browser Extension features

About Freename: Freename is the leading Web3 TLDs and Domains platform where users can register and mint their own Web3 TLDs and Domains. Furthermore, on Freename, users can trademark their Web3 TLDs and Domains to protect their own Web3 Identity worldwide.

Mattia Martone

press@freename.io

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152880
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 30, 2023 / Sappi's never-ending quest to find new ways to extract value from trees has resulted in unique applications for our Valida line of products, ranging from Sappi's own papermaking to foods and cosmetics, and even as an additive in concrete.

Now Sappi has found another novel application for Valida: protecting fruit tree buds from frost damage.

The US produces more than 15 million tons of deciduous fruit crops, including cherries, peaches, and apples, valued at more than $11 billion annually.* Frost damage happens in the early spring, when the fruit buds are just starting to form-a sudden drop in overnight temperature can cause significant damage.

By spraying the trees with a thin layer of Valida, the buds are protected from sporadic temperature drops and potential frost damage. After the buds are more developed and temperatures rise, the naturalcellulose Valida can be harmlessly washed away.

Use of natural, renewable Valida represents a more environmentally friendly method for controlling temperature exposure for farmers.

Valida products are micro- and nanofibrillated cellulose that are manufactured in the Sappi pilot facility in the Netherlands. Valida is made by further processing the cellulose fibers that are commonly used in paper, breaking them down into even smaller components.

The resultant natural material is a pulp that has unique strength and flow properties with the consistency of peanut butter; apply some shear to help the pulp flow.

Sappi collaborated with Washington State University, which developed the spray formula using Valida and conducted a trial in a commercial fruit orchard. The initial work proved successful when the Valida-coated trees showed increased yields per acre compared with uncoated trees.

As a result of this promising work, Dr. Qi Wang, SNA Technology Platform Director, applied for funding from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and Sappi was awarded a development grant to continue the work.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Sappi North America on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Sappi North America

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/sappi-north-america

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Sappi North America

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737342/Valida-Provides-Natural-Renewable-Environmentally-Friendly-Protection-for-Fruit-Trees
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 30, 2023) - EDM Resources Inc. (TSXV: EDM) ("EDM" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following update on the Company's activities.

The Company's President and CEO, Mr. Mark Haywood, commented: "EDM has completed its Scotia Mine start-up plan which includes updated capital and operating costs, commodity pricing, foreign exchange rates, and other key project variable forecasts. EDM is working closely with its Offtake Partner, contractors and consultants to implement the start-up plan this year.

"Additionally, the Company announces that our long-term director, Christopher Hopkins, has resigned for personal health reasons. Chris has been an integral part of the EDM Board for the last six years, and was our interim CFO for the last six months whilst we undertook our executive search for a full-time CFO. For his many contributions to EDM, on behalf of the Board and Management, we wish him all the best in his recovery and future endeavors."

Corporate Update:

The Company has completed its internal updates of the Scotia Mine's economics with its offtake partner, IXM S.A., and anticipates that certain conditions of the credit agreement announced on 29 th June 2022 may be amended to enable the Company to lock in a development timeline.

The internal update of the Scotia Mine's economics includes a number of capital cost reductions, operational costs improvements, and significant operational health and safety improvements. These improvements are to be submitted to the Nova Scotia regulators for approval before start-up.

The Company is working closely with its insurers to complete the environmental surety bonding process, which would enable the release of most of the Company's CDN$3 million cash bond with the Nova Scotia Government.

EDM is currently negotiating agreements with a number of contractors and suppliers for the major contract work, planned at the Scotia Mine for 2023.

Based upon the current start-up plans and approval forecasts, the Scotia Mine is expected to commence commercial production in Q4 of 2023.

EDM has been actively engaging with the investment community, and will be presenting at the Red Cloud pre-PDAC 2023 Mining Showcase on March 2, 2023.

EDM will be exhibiting at the 2023 PDAC Conference from March 2 to March 5, 2023. We welcome all shareholders and interested parties to visit us at booth #3129 over the 4 days course of the Conference.

The Scotia Mine has commenced recruitment for a General Manager and a Mill Superintendent. Suitably qualified candidates are encouraged to review the job postings on our Careers Web page and contact our HR personnel at the mine site at HR@ScotiaMine.ca.

About EDM Resources Inc.

EDM is a Canadian exploration and mining company that has full ownership of the Scotia Mine and related facilities near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, EDM also holds several prospective exploration licenses near its Scotia Mine and in the surrounding regions of Nova Scotia.

The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EDM". For more information, please contact:

Mark Haywood - President & Chief Executive Officer

Simion Candrea - Vice President

Head Office - Purdy's Wharf, 1959 Upper Water Street, Suite 1301, Nova Scotia, B3J 3N2, Canada

Telephone +1 (902) 482 4481

Facsimile +1 (902) 422 2388

Email & Web info@EDMresources.com & www.EDMresources.com

The Company's corporate filings and technical reports can be viewed on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Further information on EDM is also available on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EDMresources.inc, Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/EDMresources and LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/EDMresources.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "should", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, potential mineralization, exploration and development results, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from EDM's expectations include, among others, the degree to which mineral resource and reserve estimates are reflective of actual mineral resources and reserves, the degree to which factors are present which would make a mineral deposit commercially viable, the price of zinc, lead and gypsum, uncertainties relating to availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, risks related to international operations, the actual results of current exploration activities, delays in the development of projects, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future prices of metals, ability to predict or counteract potential impact of COVID-19 coronavirus on factors relevant to the Company's business, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in EDM's management's discussion and analysis of the Company's annual financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2021. Although EDM has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results to be not as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152997
"Q4 2022 just finished and the results achieved are once more impressive. At Group level 2022 Revenues reach 165 million, perfectly in line with the upward revised guidance and expectations to achieve over 5x our 2021 revenues1, commented Carlalberto Guglielminotti, CEO of NHOA Group. "Energy Storage recorded outstanding results, confirming once again to be the growth engine of the Group, with over 300 million of backlog, 1.4GWh under development and over 1 billion pipeline, giving full visibility towards 2023 growth while balancing out the temporary slowdown that the Global Business Line e-Mobility is facing.

Atlante, at year end, counted already more than 2,000 points of charge online and under construction and a pipeline of new sites of over 2,700. Moreover, thanks to the recent acquisition in Italy, Atlante can now count on an even more capillary-spread network, reaching the most strategic areas of Southern Europe".

As a result of these outstanding achievements at Group level, in 2023 NHOA expects:

Revenues at Group level ranging from 220 to 280 million,

Energy Storage generating EBITDA between 5 and 10 million,

Atlante pushing the development of its network even further, reaching over 3,000 points of charge online and under construction by the end of 2023

Regulatory News:

NHOA (NHOA.PA, formerly Engie EPS) is pleased to release the unaudited Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update containing the performance indicators as of 31 December 2022.

2021 2022 Notes Data in FY 2021

(as restated) Q3 2022

(as restated) FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021

(as restated) Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 Consolidated Sales[1][5] m 30,2 99,8 165,7 449% Consolidated Cash and Credit Lines available for withdrawal[2] (1) m 151,0 113,4* 74,7 -34% includes the impact of the conversion of a USD30 million cash credit line into a dedicated bond facility to support the growth in energy storage contracts portfolio BY GLOBAL BUSINESS LINE Notes Data in FY 2021 Q3 2022 FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021 Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 STORAGE Sales[1] m 15,9 88,4 153,6 +868% Backlog[3] (2) m 193 152 301 +98% 12-month Order Intake (3) m 208 223 244 +9% Online Capacity MW 188 201 209 +4% Projects Under Development [4] (4) MWh 720 776 1.384 +78% Pipeline (5) m 764 984 1.043 +6% Projects in which NHOA is shortlisted 4 4 3 _____________________________ 1 Please see below for the details of restated revenues for Fiscal Year 2021, Q1 2022, H1 2022 and first nine months 2022. Notes Data in FY 2021

(as restated) Q3 2022

(as restated) FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021

(as restated) Var% vs

30 Sept

2022

(as restated) e-MOBILITY Gross Sales including intercompany (Atlante) [1][5] (6) m 14,6 11,2 18,8 +29% Sales[1][5] m 14,4 7,2 11,4 -21% Manufacturing Capacity PoC 2.250/week 2.750/week 2.750/week Notes Data in FY 2021 Q3 2022 FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021 Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 INFRASTRUCTURE Sales[1] (7) m N/A N/A 0,6 Utilization Rate (8) N/A N/A N/A Sites Microgrids online and under construction 22 119 554 +435 Fastcharging PoC online and under construction 760 1302 2088 +786 V2G Microgrid Capacity online and under construction MW 31 33 33 EV based stationary storage equivalent [4] (9) MWh 32 34 31 -7% Pipeline of New Sites under assessment (10) 835 1953 2734 +781 of which under development (11) 69 412 569 +157 [1] Sales refers to Revenues Other Income. Q4 2022 Sales refers to (unaudited) Revenues Other Income as at 31 Dec 2022 [2] Including cash deposits and cash collateral to guarantee securities on projects in execution [3] Figures published until 4 October 2021 also include e-MOBILITY Backlog. Starting from the release of Q3 2021 Trading and Operational Update, Backlog is communicated only for Global Business Line Storage. [4] FY 2021 and Q1 2022 figures updated on a Like for Like basis. 5,6MWh previously included in the NHOA Energy on "Projects Under Development" reclassified on Atlante "EV based stationary storage equivalent". Please also refer to notes (4) (9) [5] Please note that Consolidated Sales at Group level and Sales at the Global Business Line e-Mobility level include the restatement of 2.7 million for FY2021 and 4.1 million for Q3 2022, to reflect the correction of errors in the recognition of revenues by the Global Business Line e-Mobility for Fiscal Year 2021 and in the first nine months of FY2022

Notes to the Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update

(1) Cash and Credit Lines available for withdrawal represents the cash in the bank accounts of NHOA, including cash deposits, coupled with the cash credit facilities approved and not withdrawn and still available as of the relevant reporting date. A portion of the liquid assets serves as cash collateral to guarantee securities on projects in execution.

(2) Backlog means the estimated revenues and other income attributable to (i) purchase orders received, contracts signed and projects awarded (representing 100% of Backlog as of the date hereof), and (ii) Project Development contracts associated with a Power Purchase Agreement, where the agreed value is a price per kWh of electricity and an amount of MW to be installed (nil at the date hereof). When any contract or project has started its execution, the amount recognized as Backlog is computed as (A) the transaction price of the relevant purchase order, contract or project under (i) and (ii) above less (B) the amount of revenues recognized, as of the relevant reporting date, in accordance with IFRS 15 (representing the amount of transaction price allocated to the performance obligations carried out at the reporting date).

(3) 12-month order intake represents the cumulated value of new purchase orders received, contracts signed and projects awarded in the 12 months preceding the relevant reporting date.

(4) Projects Under Development is an indicator representing the capacity equivalent of Backlog, in terms of signed turnkey supply or EPC contracts and therefore excluding Project Development contracts associated with a Power Purchase Agreement, (please see Note (2) above). As of 30 June 2022, 5.6MWh related to the V2G Drosso have been reclassified to EV based stationary storage equivalent in Atlante, considering that Atlante has started the construction phase (please also refer to Note 9).

(5) Pipeline means the estimate, as of the release date, of the amount of potential projects, tenders and requests for proposal for which NHOA has decided to participate or respond. On a quarterly basis NHOA will disclose in its Trading Operational Updates the number of projects in which NHOA is officially shortlisted.

(6) Gross Sales including Intercompany (Atlante) refers to revenues recognized by the Global Business Line e-Mobility under Italian GAAP, including intercompany business transaction with Atlante, that are not included in group revenues on a consolidated basis.

(7) Sales are Not Applicable for this Trading and Operational Update, as no material sales figures are expected during the launch phase of Atlante (i.e. throughout 2022).

(8) Utilization Rate is calculated, over the reference period, as the aggregate utilization time of all PoC divided by the aggregate time of availability of the same PoC, expressed as a percentage. Utilization Rate is Not Applicable for this Trading and Operational Update, and first Utilization Rate data will be disclosed when a materiality threshold of n.10 different sites is achieved (in operation for at least 6 months).

(9) Please note that the data in MWh represents the EV based stationary storage equivalent, i.e. the maximum battery capacity of Vehicle-to-Grid services that can be delivered by the Atlante Network at the relevant reporting date and includes the portion of stationary storage coupled with fastcharging technology in any Atlante charging station or e-Mobility Hub.

(10) Pipeline of New Sites under assessment includes the total number of sites, as of the relevant reporting date, which are actively pursued after prospecting activity and following a first internal screening for high level feasibility. At this point, the full contractual documentation remains to be finalized and signed, all the required permits have not yet been awarded and construction has not started.

(11) of which under development, being a sub-category of "Pipeline of New Sites under assessment", includes sites for which a more detailed feasibility activity commences, including detailed discussions with site owners and exchange of documentation. For the sites included in the "under development" sub-category there would be a reasonable degree of confidence that they can be converted into fastcharging stations within the next six months (subject to interconnection and timely delivery of hardware).

Additional notes

Please note that up to the October 13, 2022 press release on the Q3 2022 Trading and Operational Update, the Company reported, for Global Business Line e-Mobility, the "PoC Conversion Rate" (with a break-down between "PoC/Stellantis Group EV Sales" and "PoC outside Stellantis /Total PoC"). As from Q4 2022, the Company has decided to no longer report on this KPI. This is because the Global Business Line e-Mobility collaborates with Stellantis on different levels, different final users and on different typologies of chargers, from slow to fast, there is thus no more a strong correlation between sales of charging devices (Points of Charge "PoC") and EV sales. As a result, the indicator PoC Conversion Rate does not represent anymore a valid and material KPI for the monitoring of the Global Business Line e-Mobility performance.

Restatement of Revenues

With the publication of the FY 2022 financial statement NHOA will proceed to a restatement of its revenues for Fiscal Year 2021, Q1 2022, H1 2022 and the first nine months of 2022.

This restatement (2.7 million for FY 2021 and 4.1 million for the first nine months of 2022, of which 3.2 million was eventually recognized as Q4 2022 revenues), is immaterial in the context of the achievement of the over 160 million revenue guidance for 2022. It is made to reflect the correction of errors in the recognition of revenues by the Global Business Line e-Mobility for Fiscal Year 2021 and the first nine months of 2022.

An internal investigation on the responsibilities of these accounting errors by Free2move eSolutions, the joint-venture with Stellantis, is currently ongoing with the support of specifically appointed forensic independent experts. Further details, along with the impact of this restatement on FY 2021 and H1 2022 Gross Margin, EBITDA and Net Income, as well as the new internal controls and procedures that NHOA implemented, will be disclosed with the publication of the 2022 Consolidated financial statement scheduled on March 28, 2023.

A summary of the Company's historical consolidated statement of operations, and of the impact of the restatement, is as follows:

FY 2021 Q1 2022 H1 2022 Q3 2022 Total Revenues and Other Income As published 32,9 20,9 82,2 99,8 Restated 30,2 17,6 78,1 95,7 e-Mobility Sales As published 17,1 5,2 9,1 11,3 Restated 14,4 1,9 5,1 7,2

The Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update will be illustrated in the investor conference call scheduled on 31 January 2023 at 9:00am CET. Dial-in details and presentation will be available on the corporate website nhoa.energy

NHOA

NHOA S.A. (formerly Engie EPS), global player in energy storage, e-mobility and EV fast and ultra-fast charging infrastructure, develops technologies enabling the transition towards clean energy and sustainable mobility, shaping the future of a next generation living in harmony with our planet.

Listed on Euronext Paris regulated market (NHOA.PA), NHOA forms part of the CAC Mid Small and CAC All-Tradable financial indices.

NHOA, with offices in France, Spain, United States and Australia, maintains entirely in Italy research, development and production of its technologies.

For further information, go towww.nhoa.energy

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Forward looking statement

This release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are not undertakings as to the future performance of NHOA. Although NHOA considers that such statements are based on reasonable expectations and assumptions at the date of publication of this release, they are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual performance to differ from those indicated or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation those explained or identified in the public documents filed by NHOA with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF), including those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of the NHOA 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the AMF on 6 April 2022 (under number D. 22-0251). Investors and NHOA shareholders should note that if some or all of these risks are realized they may have a significant unfavorable impact on NHOA.

These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the verbs or terms "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "may", "plans", "build- up", "under discussion" or "potential customer", "should" or "will", "projects", "backlog" or "pipeline" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and that are to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on NHOA's business operations, financial results and financial position and on the world economy. They appear throughout this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding NHOA's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, NHOA's results of business development, operations, financial position, prospects, financing strategies, expectations for product design and development, regulatory applications and approvals, reimbursement arrangements, costs of sales and market penetration. Important factors that could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from management's expectations or could affect NHOA's ability to achieve its strategic goals, include the uncertainties relating to the impact of Covid-19 on NHOA's business, operations and employees. In addition, even if the NHOA's results of operations, financial position and growth, and the development of the markets and the industry in which NHOA operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. The forward-looking statements herein speak only at the date of this announcement. NHOA does not have the obligation and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005755/en/

Contacts:

Press Office: Claudia Caracausi and Davide Bruzzese, Image Building, +39 02 89011300, nhoa@imagebuilding.it

Financial Communication and Institutional Relations: Chiara Cerri, +39 337 1484534, ir@nhoa.energy
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin shake hands during a joint press conference after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap



Pentagon chief assures NATO-style security guarantee amid growing skepticism over extended deterrence against North Korea



By Jung Min-ho



South Korea and the United States agreed to expand the size and content of their combined military drills on Tuesday to counter intensifying security threats from North Korea amid growing skepticism here over Washington's commitment to provide extended deterrence.



At a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup in Seoul, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reassured that his country's "ironclad" commitment to the Asian ally will continue to underpin their relationship.



"Our commitment to the defense of the ROK (South Korea) remains ironclad, and the United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment," the Pentagon chief said. "That includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities. Now, we have 28,500 uniformed personnel in South Korea ... This shows our unwavering commitment."



Austin said the U.S.' key strategic military assets, such as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers, will participate in their joint drills more frequently, announcing a plan to carry out a tabletop exercise organized by the allies' Deterrence Strategy Committee in February. He added there will be major joint live-fire drills before or after South Korea's Armed Forces Day (Oct. 1).



The announcement came a day after the release of a poll, conducted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, which showed more than 76 percent of South Koreans support the idea of arming the country with its own nuclear weapons  a troubling sign of the diminishing trust among South Koreans in the U.S.' security guarantee and growing fears of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.



Austin said the U.S.' goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula remains the same.



"The U.S. and the ROK are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we've long been that way," he said. "We want to make sure that no stone is left unturned."





U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup attend a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of their meeting. Joint Press Corps



Yet he refrained from mentioning the possibility of South Korea's development of its own nuclear weapons or of the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in the South  an issue that has drawn a lot of attention recently from not just the public, but also politicians here.



President Yoon Suk Yeol previously said he would not rule out the possibility of the development of South Korea's own nuclear weapons if North Korea's threats continue to increase.



Apparently aware of the skepticism that the U.S. would not take the risk of triggering a nuclear war with North Korea in the event of an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula, Austin promised to provide South Korea with a NATO-style security guarantee. He made the promise in a statement sent to Yonhap, a Korean news agency, prior to the meeting.



"If they (North Korea) challenge one of us, they are challenging the U.S.-ROK alliance as a whole," Austin said, echoing the core principle of NATO, a security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. Article 5 of its treaty states that "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."



Austin said the U.S. commitment to the alliance is "what we're all about" and not "just a slogan." That commitment, he added, has never been shaken over the past 70 years.





President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shake hands at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of presidential office
Therapy Marketing Services launches the BOOST Academy showing hypnotherapists how to attract clients using an innovative approach without expensive adverts or excessive time on social media.

London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - January 30, 2023) - Therapy Marketing Services Ltd, a leading marketing agency for hypnotherapists, has unveiled a unique marketing course called the BOOST Academy aimed at helping hypnotherapists overcome common issues such as low client numbers, high advertising costs, and discomfort with marketing and selling. The program is based on an approach refined over the last 24 months that has helped gain new clients in as little as three months, according to the team at BOOST Academy.

Therapy Marketing Services Launches BOOST Academy

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/152282_b6aca359b4b7e927_001full.jpg

CEO Jonathan Butler commented, "Many hypnotherapists, especially those just starting, have struggled to attract the clients they want. Our students have been extremely positive about this program, as it allows them to market their services effectively, authentically and comfortably while creating a sustainable flow of clients without relying on online ads or spending excessive time on social media. This programme is designed and refined by a successful hypnotherapist working closely with a leading digital marketing expert."

The program, which will be launched globally in January 2023, is designed to give hypnotherapists the tools they need to build a successful practice based on the real-world experience and knowledge of successful hypnotherapists. It will provide them with strategies to increase their clients. It shows hypnotherapists how to differentiate themselves, offer high-value service offerings that clients will value, and draw clients towards them. Participants in the program are shown how to market their services in their local area and a blueprint for becoming specialists in their field, attracting both local and international clients.

"Many hypnotherapists are uncomfortable with marketing and even less so with selling. This program, therefore, creates marketing that attracts and draws people towards the therapist without the need for 'pushy' selling. We show people how to create an environment and engagement process for clients," adds Jonathan.

Therapy Marketing Services' mission is to increase the market visibility and perceived value of hypnotherapy, allowing more clients to access the benefits of hypnotherapy. The company accelerates therapists' marketing to attract the right clients, specialise in their niche, and build a lifestyle-based business. For more details, please see: hypnosisadvertisingandmarketing.com.

Contact Info:

Name: Jonathan Butler

Email: steve.butler@therapymarketingservices.co.uk

Organization: THERAPY MARKETING SERVICES LIMITED

Address: 128 City Road, London, England EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom

Phone: +44-7812-061970

Website: https://hypnosisadvertisingandmarketing.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152282
LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It was announced today, the United Kingdom will play host of an important international gathering of literacy specialists who will come together to address the spike in illiteracy rates post pandemic.

The World Literacy Summit 2023 will be held at Oxford University, hosting around 500 literary specialists from 85 countries over three days, from April 2 to 5.

World Literacy Foundation CEO Andrew Kay said the United Kingdom is playing a central role in this international event as the latest global research, data and knowledge is shared amongst literacy practitioners and academics.

"We are delighted to announce Oxford to host the World Literacy Summit 2023 as it brings together leaders from 85 countries representing over two-thirds of the world's population, and all with a single focus - advocating, championing, and educating on the vital importance of improving literacy levels across the globe," he said.

"Today, as a community of literacy experts, we face significant challenges in the UK and other regions of the world as the early data shows a drop in literacy rates post-pandemic."

World Literacy Summit holds as the largest gathering of international literary specialist including NGO leaders, researchers, academics, government representatives and the learners themselves, while also drawing upon thousands delegates and online viewers through their webinars.

Latest research shows 70 percent of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries are unable to read and understand a simple text and more than 60 percent of children from low-income homes in the UK struggle with reading.

UK Trustee of the World Literacy Foundation, Samantha Sida said "Literacy can change everything in the life of a young person and provide a pathway to reach their full potential".

Illiteracy has a significant lifelong impact to a person and a massive cost on the economy with every 1 spent on literacy programs having a 13 percent ROI back to the economy.

Low literacy skills can impact employment, health, poverty and other social issues. When individuals learn how to read they have the power to lift themselves out of poverty, lower health care costs, sustain employment, lower incarceration rates and ultimately change their lives.

The Summit is a vital opportunity for the wider literacy community to come together, find solutions, and create a roadmap for the future.

For further details https://www.worldliteracysummit.org/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uk-to-host-global-literacy-event-301734149.html
TOKYO, Jan 31, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Mazda Motor Corporation's production and sales results for December 2022 and for January through December 2022 are summarized below.I. Production1. Domestic Production(1) December 2022Mazda's domestic production volume in December 2022 decreased 20.2% year on year due to decreased production of passenger vehicles.Domestic production of key models in December 2022CX-5:27,541 units(down 30.4% year on year)MAZDA3:8,172 units(down 15.7%)CX-9:6,700 units(down 1.9%)(2) January through December 2022Mazda's total domestic production volume in the period from January through December 2022 decreased 0.1% year on year due to decreased production of passenger vehicles.[Domestic production of key models in the period from January through December 2022]CX-5:353,926 units(up 9.6% year on year)MAZDA3:77,449 units(down 23.6%)CX-9:59,264 units(up 6.0%)2. Overseas Production(1) December 2022Mazda's overseas production volume in December 2022 increased 38.5% year on year, reflecting increased production of passenger vehicles.Overseas production of key models in December 2022CX-30:9,251 units(up 47.2% year on year)MAZDA3:6,582 units(down 0.1%)MAZDA2:4,384 units(up 40.7%)(2) January through December 2022Mazda's total overseas production volume in the period from January through December 2022 increased 5.2% year on year due to increased production of passenger vehicles.Overseas production of key models in the period from January through December 2022CX-30:121,274 units(up 3.9% year on year)MAZDA3:91,012 units(down 16.9%)MAZDA2:62,268 units(up 42.8%)II. Domestic Sales(1) December 2022Mazda's domestic sales volume in December 2022 decreased 14.0% year on year due to decreased sales of passenger vehicles.Mazda's registered vehicle market share was 4.6% (down 1.0 points year on year), with a 1.9% share of the micro-mini segment (up 0.3 points) and a 3.5% total market share (down 0.7 points).Domestic sales of key models in December 2022CX-5:1,796 units(down 44.8% year on year)MAZDA2:1,570 units(down 32.6%)CX-60:1,296 units(2) January through December 2022Mazda's domestic sales volume in the period from January through December 2022 increased 2.6% year on year due to increased sales of passenger vehicles.Mazda's registered vehicle market share was 5.1% (up 0.6 points year on year), with a 1.8% share of the micro-mini segment (down 0.1 points) and a 3.8% total market share (up 0.3 points).Domestic sales of key models in the period from January through December 2022CX-5:31,394 units(up 40.1% year on year)MAZDA2:24,448 units(down 0.9%)CX-30:16,168 units(down 16.4%)III. Exports(1) December 2022Mazda's export volume in December 2022 decreased 23.6% year on year due to decreased shipments to North America and Europe.Exports of key models in December 2022CX-5:28,474 units(down 24.7 % year on year)MAZDA3:7,200 units(down 45.1%)CX-9:6,160 units(down 33.6%)(2) January through December 2022Mazda's export volume in the period from January through December 2022 decreased 1.8% year on year due to decreased shipments to North America and Oceania.Exports of key models in the period from January through December 2022CX-5:320,126 units(up7.1% year on year)MAZDA3:62,779 units(down 30.1%)CX-9:58,723 units(up 6.0%)IV. Global Sales(1) December 2022Mazda's global sales volume in December 2022 increased 6.0% year on year due to increased sales in the U.S., Europe and other regions.Global sales of key models in December 2022CX-5:30,540 units(up 8.4% year on year)MAZDA3:15,494 units(down 13.7%)CX-30:12,716 units(down 29.0%)(2) January through December 2022Mazda's global sales volume in the period from January through December 2022 decreased 13.3% year on year due to decreased sales in the U.S., China, Europe and other regions.Global sales of key models in the period from January through December 2022CX-5:365,135 units(down 4.4% year on year)MAZDA3:173,619 units(down 26.0%)CX-30:172,057 units(down 22.7%)- Overseas production figures indicate Mazda-brand units coming off the production line (excluding CKD units).- Global production figures are the sum total of domestic and overseas production volumes.- All information in this press release is as of the date of the publicity. Any update after that is not reflected.For more information, visit https://newsroom.mazda.com/en/publicity/release/2023/202301/230130a.html.Source: mazdaCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Runner Up Company is Olemedo, Founded by a Female Mexican Immigrant Entrepreneur; UK-Based Growth Hacking Competition Focused on Revenue over Polished Pitches, Seeking a Better Way to Drive Investment

EDINBURGH, UK, Jan. 30, 2023, a UK-based Startup growth-hacking Competition which prioritises sales over pitching skills, announced today that House of Tulahas won the 6-month long competition, and was awarded the 10,000 cash prize. House of Tula founded by female Indian immigrant entrepreneur Priyansu Nath, has secured the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize and says she will use the purse to invest in online marketing, social media marketing campaigns, and bring in customers to its future crowdfunding campaigns.

"As an entrepreneur, you need to validate various hypotheses for your business. What The Startup Race competition did for the business was create a 6-month time frame to achieve this," said Priyansu Nath, founder and CEO of House of Tula. "It was the perfect time to play your cards as not only we could test the hypothesis, but every penny generated in revenue would also count towards the competition. This meant concrete insights for the business in an accelerated time."

The competition also awarded second place to Olmedoof London's founder Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur (Mexico).

"For both our first and second place winners, their mission and business success proves that 'gamifying the startup process' with a growth-hacking competition can help Startup founders overcome perfectionism, procrastination, and thus reduce the chance of failure," said James Shoemark, CEO and co-founder of The Startup Race Ltd. "When customers actually start purchasing a startup's product or service, it's not only an achievement, but also significant validation for the startup concept and value proposition."

More than 500 companies entered The 10,000 Startup Race, and the entrepreneurs became especially competitive towards the end. The Startup Race team used an FCA-regulated Open Banking data aggregation company to diligently, analyse and validate each bank transaction that reflected a sale the Startup Racers were able to achieve each week. This resulted in changing positions on the 10,000 Startup Race League Table each week and Priyanshu Nath won by having the most sales overall.

House of Tula, the winning company, is focused on personal journaling, with sustainability at its heart and as its founding principle. House of Tula was born in 2022 following the founder Priyanshu Nath's personal well-being journey in which journaling played a key role. She discovered that writing on textured paper gave her a tactile experience that digital devices failed to offer, and journals with beautiful aesthetics made her carry the journal regularly like an accessory. With this in mind, she ventured to develop a product that would be appreciated by more people like her and found that it was popular with other customers including journallers, artists and architects, who too appreciated sustainable good quality paper, beautiful designs and the lovely feel of textured paper.

Olmedo of London is an innovative clothing company founded by Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur from Mexico who studied fashion in London at the masters level in Italy at Instituto Marangoni. She blends authentic Mexican embroideries and the fusion of western inspirations, focused on creating contemporary garments for women. Olmedo wants to introduce one of the main characteristics of the luxury market; handmade process and authenticity creating collaborations with artisans and creative people in the UK.

"The 10,000 Startup Race motivated me to launch my new label with a collection of handbags made of cactus leather," said Mariely Macias Olmedo, founder of Olmedo of London. "Technical challenges, administrative tasks and design approach, can be quite challenging to put together with a very specific deadline. However, with the tools and methods that the Start Up Race supports, was approached in a successful way. We will be continue constructing our beautiful project and improving in all corresponding areas."

The Startup Race methodology capitalizes on the iconoclastic startup method, first developed by GodFather of the Lean Startup Movement - Steve Blank. In a 2013 blog post called It's Time to Play Moneyball: The Investment Readiness Level. Upon entry to the Accelerator, participants gained access to the world's best Lean Startup resources in order to validate their thinking, develop their business model and personal profile in order to attract co-founders. Other free resources on Leanstack include the Foundations and Business Model Design Playbooks and Lean Canvas & Traction Roadmap tools. The Startup Race team helps entrepreneurs incorporate their UK company and open a UK business bank account to enable them to start generating sales as soon as the competition starts. Through The Startup Race process, a number of high net-worth individuals observe how the teams perform over the course of The Race and be introduced to companies that they may consider supporting at the end of the program.

For more information on The Startup Race, please visit: WWW.TheStartupRace.com.

____

ABOUT THE STARTUP RACE

The Startup Race is an accelerator program focused on proving that entrepreneurs succeed best through sales and revenue, over perfect pitching. The program was conceived in 2014 when a young entrepreneur asked Mr. Shoemark, who was hosting a League of Entrepreneurs Meetup at the time, if and how the startup process could be gamified. Mr. Shoemark decided that a business competition using the Pirate Metrics.





Attachments
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - American International Group (AIG) terminated Mark Lyons from his positions as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Global Chief Actuary and Head of Portfolio Management saying that he violated his confidentiality/non-disclosure obligations to the company. According to the company, the violations were unrelated to the company's financial statements, financial reporting generally and related disclosure controls and procedures, or reserves. Mark Lyons stepped into the interim CFO role when Shane Fitzsimons went on medical leave in early January. In recognition of Lyons' contributions to AIG since he joined the company in 2018, the company entered into a settlement agreement with Lyons. The company has agreed to pay Lyons an aggregate cash amount of $7.5 million, which will be paid in two equal installments on or before each of February 15, 2023 and February 15, 2024, AIG said in a regulatory filling. Meanwhile, AIG said it appointed Sabra Purtill as its Interim Chief Financial Officer and Turab Hussain as its Interim Global Chief Actuary. Purtill previously served as Chief Investment Officer of Corebridge Financial. Prior to that, she was AIG's Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer and Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Hussain previously served as AIG's Chief Risk Officer, General Insurance. Copyright(c) 2023 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.
Technip Energies (PARIS: TE) (ISIN:NL0014559478) has been awarded a contract for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen project for ExxonMobil in Baytown, Texas, USA.

The integrated complex will produce approximately one billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen per day and capture more than 98%, or around 7 million metric tons per year of the associated CO2 emissions, making it the largest project of its kind in the world. Technip Energies has strong experience in blue hydrogen projects which remove carbon and replace natural gas or other higher-carbon fuels with low-carbon hydrogen to support decarbonization. As a result, Scope 1 and 2 emissions from Baytown complex can be reduced by up to 30%.

Loic Chapuis, SVP Gas and Low-Carbon Energies of Technip Energies, commented "We are very excited to be engaged with ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions to help design their low-carbon hydrogen production facility. We are committed to advancing the energy transition and this project will be a hallmark in contributing to the decarbonization of existing facilities and capturing significant volumes of carbon emissions."

To know more about Gas and Low-Carbon Energies: Technip Energies is a provider of consulting, engineering services and technologies for the gas and low-carbon market.

To learn more about our Decarbonization capabilities, please go to https://www.technipenergies.com.

About Technip Energies

Technip Energies is a leading Engineering Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering.

Operating in 34 countries, our 15,000 people are fully committed to bringing our client's innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow.

Technip Energies is listed on Euronext Paris with American depositary receipts ("ADRs") traded over-the-counter in the United States. For further information: www.technipenergies.com.

Important Information for Investors and Securityholders

Forward-Looking Statement

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements usually relate to future events and anticipated revenues, earnings, cash flows or other aspects of Technip Energies' operations or operating results. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could," "may," "estimate," "outlook," and similar expressions, including the negative thereof. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on Technip Energies' current expectations, beliefs and assumptions concerning future developments and business conditions and their potential effect on Technip Energies. While Technip Energies believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting Technip Energies will be those that Technip Energies anticipates.

All of Technip Energies' forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties (some of which are significant or beyond Technip Energies' control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from Technip Energies' historical experience and Technip Energies' present expectations or projections. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For information regarding known material factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results, please see Technip Energies' risk factors set forth in Technip Energies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which include amendment no. 4 to Technip Energies' registration statement on Form F-1 filed on February 11, 2021.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Technip Energies undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005662/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Phil Lindsay

Vice-President Investor Relations

Tel: +44 20 7585 5051

Email: Phillip Lindsay

Media relations

Stella Fumey

Director Press Relations Digital Communications

Tel: +33 (1) 85 67 40 95

Email: Stella Fumey

Jason Hyonne

Press Relations Social Media Lead

Tel: +33 1 47 78 22 89

Email: Jason Hyonne
TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BOXX Insurance, the Toronto headquartered insurtech that combines cyber insurance and security, announced a US$14.4 million Series B funding round, bringing the total amount raised from investors to US$24.5 million in the last 16 months. The latest investment was led by global giant, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd (Zurich).





BOXX also today announced that its business met its combined goal to grow 10x in the last 24 months whilst continuing to outperform its underwriting targets. Over 250,000 individuals and 10,000 businesses are protected by BOXX.

"Our goal was always to help our customers stay ahead of cyber threats in addition to being there to help them respond and recover from an incident," said BOXX Co-founder and CEO Vishal Kundi. "We've been making a lot of headway with this and additional category expansion."

In October, BOXX acquired Cyber security platform Templarbit and has begun the integration of its threat intelligence software into its product suite and underwriting framework.

Over the course of 2022, the company launched its Hackbusters Incident Response, virtual CISO service for businesses, a new mobile app solution for consumers, in addition to testing a number of new security-based initiatives.

"We're not only seeing more of our existing cyber insurance customers adding our security products, but also seeing new customers coming in attracted by our latest security products and services," Kundi said.





BOXX's mission to make the world a digitally safer place has led to its presence expanding across North America and other selected markets poised for growth. BOXX increased its staff from 5 to 36 in the last year.

In addition to expanding its go-to-market team and adding new products, BOXX has also implemented upgrades to its underwriting platform and tools including third party integrations.

"We've seen how difficult it is to build cyber insurance solutions for the small business and consumer segments - it is costly and requires deep technical expertise to stay ahead. BOXX addresses these challenges unambiguously, affordably, and with a genuine understanding of what customers and their risk advisors need," said Jack Howell, CEO of Zurich Global Ventures. "Helping customers with innovative digital solutions and embedding them into the customer journey, is critical. It's impressive to see the simplicity in how BOXX is tackling such a complex global challenge."

About BOXX Insurance

BOXX Insurance Inc. helps businesses, individuals and families insure and defend against cyber threats. BOXX Insurance Inc. is privately-held with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. BOXX's vision is to help businesses, individuals and families stay ahead of, respond to and recover from cyber threats, putting their digital safety first. For further information, please visit www.boxxinsurance.com





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Media Contact: alex.tomaszewski@boxxinsurance.com

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CALGARY, AB, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- British Canadian Entrepreneur & Founder, Jay Rasik Modi has been nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year award, presented by Google and the Canadian National Business Awards for 2022.

"Thank you to Google and the Canadian National Business Awards. Growing a business in the past few years has not been easy given the global pandemic and economic conditions, so I am ever grateful for the recognition and am happy to accept the nomination," says Jay.

Jay has been an entrepreneur since before his teens. Having borrowed money from his father to start his very first commercial business in 2000, manufacturing organic pasta well ahead of the Organic food movement. From there Jay dabbled into real estate, "fixing and flipping" small homes. Jay subsequently dropped out of the University of Calgary after attending for 6 months and went on to create a successful real estate business, until 2010 when he expanded the asset management side of his skill set and focused on that industry, raising funds to purchase mortgage-backed securities. During that time Jay also established offices in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA, and was the Executive Producer of twelve movies, some of which became highly popular and are currently streamed on Netflix. Fast forward to today, Jay has invested in and helped build many of Canada's top performing Financial Technology (FinTech) Platforms and continues to stay focused on the FinTech space where he sees massive growth and opportunity over the next few years.

"The opportunity in FinTech is as big as it ever was," says Jay. "With the onset of Artificial Intelligence, the outsourcing of employees and the pace at which paid media and organic SEO can be ranked, the opportunity for Tech companies to position themselves correctly is endless. I see a decade or more of intense and focused growth potential at the very least for tech-based firms. Beyond that I will leave to your imagination, but Tech doesn't stop, and it will continue to evolve and revolutionize the way we all do business, and the way consumers interact with companies and each other," says Jay.

About Jay Modi

Born in London, United Kingdom, Jay Rasik Modi moved to Canada in 1998. He attended Western Canada High School in Calgary, Canada, and subsequently went onto the University of Calgary. Jay started his first business, a household goods trading company, while he was in high school and went on to creating an Organic Pasta Company. Jay then launched a real estate company which subsequently took off and was very successful. Jay made the decision to focus on that business, and not to complete his degree, which he cites as one of the best decisions he ever made. That decision blazed a path forward and led to Jay now having more than 20 years of business experience under his belt within various business sectors. Jay has been involved in Foods Manufacturing, Asset Management, Movie Production, Real Estate and now focuses heavily on the FinTech and Technology Industries.

About The Canadian National Business Awards



The Canadian National Business Awards are designed to recognize and applaud the contribution that business owners provide to Canada's economy. Canadian entrepreneurs are more than just business owners of a successful company, they are the innovators of our country. Through their flourishing businesses, they push our economy to the next level and are what our communities are structured on. The business awards represent excellence and accomplishment for entrepreneurs because it recognizes and validates all the hard work, they have put into making a successful business. The awards also represent several opportunities for businesses, including increasing their credibility to investors and customers. When an entrepreneur takes home a business award, it solidifies their reputation - enhancing trustworthiness in the eyes of others.

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Proprietary "Exosphere" Approach To Enhance Exploration at Nisk Mining Project

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2022 / Power Nickel Inc. (the "Company" or "Power Nickel") (TSX-V:PNPN)(OTCQB:CMETF)(Frankfurt:IVVI)

Power Nickel, a Canadian metal exploration company, has announced a partnership with Australian-based Fleet Space Technologies, a developer and operator of a constellation of microsatellites that delivers universal connectivity across the globe, including the exploration of Nickel ore deposits at its NISK project. Power Nickel, which specializes in the exploration of high-potential nickel, copper, gold, and other battery metal prospects in Canada and Chile, will use innovative sound mapping technology from Fleet Space to locate additional high-grade nickel sulfide deposits with a greater level of accuracy.

Called "ExoSphere," a rapid mineral exploration solution, Fleet Space mapping technology has already delivered promising results in exploration projects for high-grade nickel in Michigan and Minnesota. The satellite-enabled earth scanning technique is called Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT). Battery-powered devices known as 'Geodes', which can be transported by hand, are used to capture background vibrations from natural and man-made sources. The data can be used to develop a full 3D visualization of the subsurface down to 2 km depth. Fleet's Geodes are up to 10x more sensitive than existing nodal geophones, leading to better accuracy and depth of results. The exploration team can get a clear, rich image of what resources may be below ground in a period that can be as short as four days. These can be easily shared and viewed from anywhere in the world in near real-time. The data thus obtained is processed rapidly and transmitted from anywhere in the world through Fleet's constellation of low-earth orbit satellites, which were recently launched by Elon Musk's company, SpaceX.

Historically nickel sulfide deposits are located in the form of pods in a geographic area. It is expected that the nickel ore deposits at NISK are also in the form of such pods. Currently, Power Nickel is exploring 1 square kilometer of its 45 square kilometer land package. Using Fleet Space's earth scanning technology, Power Nickel hopes to optimize its chances of finding additional deposits and increase its drilling accuracy as part of a well-developed drilling program. Another benefit that the use of the technology offers is that due to its higher level of accuracy in detecting nickel ore deposits, it can decrease land disturbance in the exploration stage.

Power Nickel, the company's flagship NISK project, has high-grade nickel sulfide deposits that have the potential to be among the most low-cost and environmentally-friendly sources of high-grade nickel in the world. This is due to several factors: the mine's proximity to a hydropower facility, established infrastructure, and shallow mineral depth. Indonesia's recent ban on export of nickel is likely to have a major impact on the supply chain for critical products like electric vehicles and rocket engines. This points to the urgent need for countries like Canada and the US to become self-reliant with regard to nickel supplies in light of the growing demand for vehicles running on clean energy.

Commenting on the partnership, Terry Lynch, the CEO of Power Nickel said, "While we are having excellent success drilling at Nisk as evidenced by our recent drill results. We are looking for lots more drill cores like this. A sampling of core from hole 23 that we completed last week.

"Fleet Space Technologies has already successfully used this technology in Australia and now in Minnesota. By using this advanced seismic tomography approach in combination with our in-house methods, we hope to increase our chances of finding more nickel ore pods at a faster rate. The two main advantages this technology offers are that we can now explore our 45-square-kilometer land package in a fraction of the time we need using traditional ground-based methods. The second advantage is that with this data, we can drill fewer meters but with increased impact. Use of this technology aligns well with our goal of making nickel mining cleaner, faster, and more environmentally friendly right from the exploration phase."

Fleet Space founder Flavia Tata Nardini said, "We're delighted to see ExoSphere deployed in Canada for the first time, building on our success in the US and elsewhere around the world. As well as great technology and commercial partnership, this is a real meeting of minds. We both understand the urgent need to accelerate the discovery process for these vital minerals, but we're also equally committed to minimizing their environmental impact. Power Nickel is precisely the kind of forward-thinking, responsible enterprise ExoSphere was designed for: it's great to be working with them on this project."

Qualified Person

Kenneth Williamson, Geo, M.Sc. from 3DGeo Solution Inc and consultant to Power Nickel, is the independent qualified person who has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

About Power Nickel Inc.

Power Nickel is a Canadian junior exploration company focusing on high-potential copper, gold, and battery metal prospects in Canada and Chile.

On February 1, 2021, Power Nickel (then called Chilean Metals) completed the acquisition of its option to acquire up to 80% of the Nisk project from Critical Elements Lithium Corp. (CRE:TSXV)

The NISK property comprises a large land position (20 kilometers of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts. Power Nickel is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel-copper PGE mineralization Ni 43- 101 resource with a series of drill programs designed to test the initial Nisk discovery zone and to explore the land package for adjacent potential Nickel deposits.

Highlights

Recent assay results from the current drill program at the Nisk deposit continue to return high-grade Ni-Cu- Co sulfide and PGE mineralization.

Significant results from this batch of assays include:

40.3m @ 0.88% Ni, 0.56% Cu, 0.06% Co, 1.64 ppm Pd and 0.15 ppm Pt (PN-22-009)

Including:

25.86m @ 1.17% Ni, 0.80% Cu, 0.08% Co, 1.46 ppm Pd and 0.23 ppm Pt

Power Nickel announced on June 8th, 2021, that an agreement has been made to complete the 100% acquisition of its Golden Ivan project in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle has reported mineral resources (past production and current resources) in a total of 130 million ounces of gold, 800 million ounces of silver, and 40 billion pounds of copper.(Resource World) This property hosts two known mineral showings (Gold ore and Magee), and a portion of the past-producing Silverado mine, which was reportedly exploited between 1921 and 1939. These mineral showings are described as polymetallic veins containing quantities of silver, lead, zinc, plus/minus gold, and plus/minus copper.

Power Nickel is also 100 percent owner of five properties comprising over 50,000 acres strategically located in the prolific iron-oxide-copper-gold belt of northern Chile. It also owns a 3-per-cent NSR royalty interest on any future production from the Copaquire copper-molybdenum deposit, which was sold to a subsidiary of Teck Resources Inc. Under the terms of the sale agreement, Teck has the right to acquire one-third of the 3-per-cent NSR for $ 3 million at any time. The Copaquire property borders Teck's producing Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile's first region.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Terry Lynch, CEO

647-448-8044, terry@powernickel.com

Power Nickel Inc.

The Canadian Venture Building

82 Richmond St East, Suite 202

Toronto, ON

Media Contact

Name: Terry Lynch

Email: terry@powernickel.com

Website: www.powernickel.com

About Fleet Space Technologies

Fleet Space Technologies is Australia's leading space company. It is headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, the centre of the country's rapidly growing space industry. Fleet also has a global presence including a US HQ in Houston, Texas, the home of NASA. Fleet is rapidly expanding its satellite constellation to provide limitless data and global reach to realize the potential of millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking " concerning the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicates", "opportunity", "possible" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its planned activities at the NISK Property and for general working capital purposes; the timing and costs of future activities on the Company's properties; maintaining its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration and mining operations; future prices of metals; changes in general economic conditions; accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates; the potential for new discoveries; the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

SOURCE: Power Nickel Inc.

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POOLE, England, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Codestone Group, the leading SAP, Microsoft & CCH Tagetik cloud technology consulting firm, announced the appointment of Mark Ames as its Chief Operating Officer. This is part of a series of high-profile Codestone Board appointments to drive Codestone's strategic priorities as it continues to grow, following private equity-backing from FPE Capital.

With over 15 years of experience in software development and further eight years in infrastructure management, most recently working for the past four years as the COO on physical networking infrastructure for ISG Tech, Mark will be instrumental in helping Codestone accelerate growth, strengthen collaboration and scale expertise across its ERP, EPM, BI & Analytics, Cloud IT and Managed Services business.

He previously led Software Development for Atos and was UK Infrastructure Management Service Line Director for global organisation Sopra Steria. Additionally, he was Head of ICT Applications for Birmingham City Council in a large joint venture with Capita, to deliver the Council's digital transformation including designing and building a brand new 90-seat offshore SAP technical delivery centre in Pune, India.

2023 is set to be an exciting period for Codestone Group since acquiring Clarivos in May 2022 and DSCallards in October 2022. The combined 75 years of business technology experience will deliver a product range built around customer need and is designed to enable SMEs and midsize to large enterprises to grow and be future-ready.

Codestone co-founder and CEO, Jeremy Bucknell says, "We have ambitious growth plans and the Leadership team's collective expertise sets us apart in our sector. I've been excited to see how combining innovation with expertise is already proving a great platform for future developments. I am delighted that Mark has taken up the role of COO and know his decades of experience in scaling businesses, high performance team development and deep knowledge and understanding of the industry will play a key part in supporting the Group to deliver our ambitions."

As the business technology industry continues to innovate, Codestone has taken a leading role in helping UK companies of all sizes to define how to create and operate in systems that allow for better insights and analytics to make the right decisions and increase employee collaboration and effectiveness, reach key objectives more easily across multiple departments, and save time and money in the long run.

"I am thrilled to join the leadership team of a demonstrated growth company with an award-winning culture and a leading cloud business technology business," said Mark Ames, commenting on his new role. "I look forward to bringing my experience to this new position, as Codestone continues to create more value for its customers, employees, and SAP, Microsoft and CCH Tagetik partners in the complex business technology environment in which we operate."

For over 25 years, the Codestone Group has consistently pioneered modern ERP and cloud database technologies. Today, it is equity backed by FPE Capital and offers award-winning Cloud business technology consulting and delivery of SAP ERP, EPM, Financial Management and Advanced Analytics alongside CCH Tagetik CPM and Microsoft Cloud IT solutions to growing SME, mid-market and large enterprises across the UK. With a combined 700+ customers, it is an SAP Partner of the Year for SAP Business ByDesign and SAP Business One in the UK and EMEA North, CCH Tagetik Platinum Partner, and Microsoft Gold Partner. Delivering next-level cloud transformation projects with a beyond go live approach, Codestone has a 24x7x365 client-first professional services approach and best-in-class managed services offering. For more information, please visit https://www.codestone.net/

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Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, arrives at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from Thailand, Jan. 17. Yonhap



An arrested underwear tycoon allegedly said he delivered $8 million to North Korea in 2019 to help promote Gyeonggi Province's smart farm project and then Gov. Lee Jae-myung's visit to the North, informed officials said Tuesday.



Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, who was nabbed in Thailand in early January after months on the run, reportedly made the controversial remarks during questioning by prosecutors in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul.



The Suwon District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim on Jan. 20 on multiple charges, including embezzlement, bribery and the illegal transfer of cash to North Korea.



Previously, Kim told prosecutors that he only handed a total of over $5 million to North Korea on two occasions in 2019 to pursue economic cooperation rights involving the North.



As the prosecution presented other related documents, however, the underwear tycoon reportedly disclosed an additional remittance of $3 million to Pyongyang and the reasons for the cash payment, the officials said.



Kim allegedly said that $5 million was delivered in connection with Gyeonggi Province's smart farm project in North Korea and the additional $3 million was intended to facilitate Lee's visit to the North.



Based on Kim's alleged remarks, prosecutors are expected to widen their investigation into why Kim and Ssangbangwool Group handed over the large amount of money to North Korea on behalf of Gyeonggi Province.



In addition, they are expected to look into whether Lee, now the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, was aware of the cash remittance to the North.



Lee served as the Gyeonggi governor from 2018 to 2021. The province's bid for a smart farm cooperation project in North Korea began in 2018.





Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Jan. 30. Yonhap
Marula Mining PLC

("Marula'' or the "Company")

31 January 2023

Investment and Co-Development Partnership with Q Global Commodities Group

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) an African focused mining and development company, announces that further to the announcement made on 5 January 2023, the Company has signed a conditional Subscription Agreement, and is finalising a Co-Development Agreement and Relationship Agreement (together the "Investment Agreements") with K2020273872 (South Africa) Proprietary Limited (the "Subscriber"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Q Global Commodities Group ("Q Global"), one of South Africa's leading independent commodity, mining, logistics and investment funds.

Under the terms of the Investment Agreements, it is proposed that Q Global will subscribe for up to 3.75 million through the issue of up to 100,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.01 pence each ("Ordinary Share") in the Company at a price of 3.75 pence per new Ordinary Share through a staged equity investment across five equal tranches of 0.75 million.

Q Global will also provide broad technical, financial and strategic support to the Company as it seeks to accelerate its battery metals focused strategy in Africa and participate directly through the co-development of projects secured and identified by the Company.

As part of the Investment Agreements, it is proposed that Mr Quinton van der Burgh, Q Global's CEO and one of South Africa's leading mining entrepreneurs, will be appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, subject to completion of all normal regulatory approvals and proposed dual listing of its shares to trading on AIM, the market operated by the London Stock Exchange Group plc.

The Investment Agreements are conditional upon, amongst other things, a Rule 9 Waiver being obtained in accordance with the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers and shareholder approval at a forthcoming general meeting ("General Meeting") of the Company.

Investment Agreements

The Company has signed a Subscription Agreement, Co-Development Agreement and Relationship Agreement with the Subscriber, a wholly owned subsidiary of Q Global, prior to the initial subscription.

Under the terms of the Subscription Agreement, a subscription of up to 3.75 million through the issue of up to 100,000,000 new Ordinary Shares in the Company at a price of 3.75 pence per new Ordinary Share is to be made through a staged equity investment across five equal tranches.

The initial tranche of 0.75 million has already been advanced by Q Global to lawyers in South Africa and is to be released upon receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals in South Africa and the UK.

The four other tranches will be advanced upon each of the following milestones being met:

Commencement of resource definition drilling at the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine

Commencement of resource and exploration drilling at the Kinusi Project and Bagamoyo Graphite Project in Tanzania

Receipt of the initial resource drilling results at the Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine to Q Global's satisfaction

Receipt of the initial resource drilling results at the Kinsui Project and the Bagamoyo Graphite Project to Q Global's satisfaction

In addition to the Subscription Agreement, the Company is finalising a Co-Development Agreement and Relationship Agreement with K2020273872 (South Africa) Proprietary Limited with both agreements expected to be signed shortly.

The Co-Development Agreement sets out the broad technical and strategic support that is to be provided to the Company by Q Global to allow the accelerated development of its current portfolio of mining projects in Africa. The Co-Development Agreement further provides the opportunity for Q Global to participate directly through the co-development of the Company's current projects and new projects identified by the Company.

The Relationship Agreement sets out the terms of the relationship between Q Global, the Company and the Company's AQSE Corporate Adviser. Under the Relationship Agreement, among other things, Q Global undertakes to act for the benefit of the shareholders of the Company as a whole, to conduct transactions between itself and the Company on an arms-length basis and to not unduly or improperly influence the running of the Company.

Rule 9 Waiver

The Subscription Agreement is conditional upon, amongst other things, a Rule 9 Waiver being obtained in accordance with the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers and shareholder approval at a forthcoming general meeting ("General Meeting") of the Company.

At the General Meeting, a resolution will be proposed to approve the waiver by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers of the obligation which would otherwise apply to the Subscriber to make a general offer under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code resulting from the voting rights in the Company acquired as a result of the subscription.

A further announcement will be made in due course.

Nominated Director

In recognition of the Investment Agreements and substantial shareholding that Q Global will hold in the Company, Q Global shall have the right, effective from the time at which Q Global controls a minimum of 20% of the Ordinary Shares in the Company, to nominate two persons for appointment as Chairman and as non-executive Director on the Board. This right shall continue for so long as Q Global holds 20% or more interest in the voting rights in the share capital of the Company, and the appointment of any such nominee is subject only to approval by the Company's AQSE corporate adviser, in accordance with its obligations under the AQSE Access Rulebook.

In accordance with this, Mr Quinton van der Burgh, Q Global's CEO is proposed to be appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Directors of Marula are responsible for the contents of this announcement. This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of UK Market Abuse Regulation.

Jason Brewer, Marula Mining PLC CEO said:

"I am delighted to see Marula Mining continuing to strengthen its partnerships and this partnership with Q Global is transformative and meanswe can accelerate and further develop the assets we have and invest in further assets that we have identified, as part of our strategy.

"I believe the investment by Q Global effectively removes funding risk from advancing our projects and allows us to move quickly and start to realise the full potential of our current and future projects. We can accelerate all our projects, from completion of resource drilling through to mine site development with thebroad technical, financial and strategic supportfrom Q Global and Quinton.

"We believe this partnership has many synergies, one of note is our alignment on all things ESG related. Q Global share the same vision as us as we continue delivering our strategy of investing in and developing green transition metal mining assets across Africa.

"Under Quinton's leadership, Q Global has established itself as one of South Africa'sleading mining and metals investment funds and with global networks in mining finance and the marketing and sales of commodities. To be in partnership with such a group is a major milestone for the Company and one I believe will be of significant value to its shareholders.

"With Q Global and Quinton, we now have the ability to implement our exploration plans, resource drilling programs, feasibility studies and development work across our projects. Through strengthened financial and marketing relationships, I believe we can now look to establish Marula as aprofitable producer of critical metals and commodities that are of increasing strategic importance to modern technologies and the global economy."

Quinton van der Burgh,Q Global Commodities CEO said:

"With over 19 years' mining experience, I believe I can add a lot of value to Marula.

"I have developed over 47 projects to mining stage, have run two large-scale mining companies and currently have 9 mines under my management. Q Global has the network to open international partners for sales and marketing and we intend to fund the Company through the Investment Agreements to realise the value of the assets.

"We want to ensure that Marula continues to grow and provide positive returns for shareholders. After careful due diligence, we believe Marula has potential and we intend to assist the Company in meeting its growth targets.

"Renewables are a very exciting space to be moving into and it's through joint ventures that Q Global is able to do so, whilst at the same time expanding our commodities portfolio."

About Q Global

Q Global has established itself as one of South Africa's leading independent commodity, logistics and investment funds. Through equitable partnerships and acquisitions, Q Global has expanded its operations by acquiring strategic resources to supplement its current operations while developing new projects.

The wellbeing of the communities surrounding our mines is always of paramount importance to Q Global. Q Global make sure to upskill our community members and provide better infrastructure such as access to clean drinking water in their communities. Hence compliance with applicable legislation is a top priority in all areas of Q Global operations in its efforts to minimise its operations impact on life and the environment.

About Marula Mining

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU) is an African focused battery metals investment and exploration company and has interests in several high value mine projects in Africa; Blesberg Lithium and Tantalum Mine in South Africa, Nkombwa Hill Project in Zambia and Kinusi Copper mine and Bagamoyo Graphite Project in Tanzania. As we advance operations at these battery metals focused projects, Marula will continue to build and expand its interests in other high-quality projects in Africa.

Marula's strategy is to identify and invest in advanced and high-value mining projects throughout East, Central and Southern Africa that the Directors believe would deliver returns for its shareholders. The Board and management team aims to establish Marula as a socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable, and profitable producer of critical metals and commodities that are of increasingly strategic importance to modern technologies and the global economy.

Marula's shares are traded on the AQUIS Stock Exchange (AQSE), Marula is exploring opportunities to admit its shares to trading on AIM, the market operated by the London Stock Exchange Group plc, and Kenya's Nairobi Securities Exchange.

For enquiries contact:

Marula Mining PLC

Jason Brewer,

Chief Executive Officer



Faith Kinyanjui Mumbi

Investor Relations



Email: jason@marulamining.com



Email: info@marulamining.com

AQSE Corporate Adviser

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP,

Liam Murray / Ludovico Lazzaretti +44 (0)20 7213 0880 Broker

OvalX,

Tom Curran / Thomas Smith +44 (0) 20 7392 1568 Financial PR and IR

BlytheRay

Tim Blythe / Megan Ray +44 (0)20 7138 3204

Caution:

Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identi?ed by their use of terms and phrases such as 'believe', 'could', "should" 'envisage', 'estimate', 'intend', 'may', 'plan', 'potentially', "expect", 'will' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements re?ect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.
ABU DHABI, UAE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LONGi has announced that its participation at the 2023 edition of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi saw the signing of several distribution agreements, totalling 500MW, for its new Hi-MO 6 product with regional partners including Power N Sun, Nanosun, AGS, Power City and Noon, as well as other partners from Africa and Central Asia.





The Hi-MO 6 product family is based on LONGi's proprietary HPBC cell technology, a new generation high-efficiency technology that uses a front-side busbar-free design. As a result of adjusting the cell's internal structure, HPBC can enhance its light absorption and photoelectric conversion capabilities, significantly increasing the module's power output.

'LONGi is dedicated to offering customer-focused products and solutions. We believe that Hi-MO 6 modules will help us to address the diverse demands of our clients, while also creating a unique green energy experience,' commented Jia Chao, LONGi President for the MEA and CA regions. 'We are delighted to further extend our reach in the Middle East with the leading distributors as our partners. As the region seeks to meet its renewable energy goals, demand for more efficient PV technology has increased. LONGi is eager to work with its partners to accelerate the Middle East's transition to clean energy with more innovative and high-efficiency PV solutions, addressing climate change challenges in the pursuit of a zero-carbon future.'

About LONGi

Founded in 2000, LONGi is committed to being the world's leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation.

Under its mission of 'making the best of solar energy to build a green world', LONGi has dedicated itself to technology innovation and established five business sectors, covering mono silicon wafers cells and modules, commercial & industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions and hydrogen equipment. The company has honed its capabilities to provide green energy and has more recently, also embraced green hydrogen products and solutions to support global zero carbon development. www.longi.com





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These ISO certifications build on a long list of security accreditations for the company, as privacy and security are at the core of Pexip's strategy and culture.

OSLO, Norway, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pexip, a global video technology company, today announced that it has renewed the Information Security Management System standard ISO/IEC 27001:2013, in addition to the addendums to this standard, ISO/IEC 27017:2015 and ISO/IEC 27018:2019. Pexip was also granted certification for ISO/IEC 27701:2019, a privacy extension to ISO 27001, as part of this review.

Pexip obtained the ISO 27001 certification three years ago, awarded to companies who meet rigorous standards around information security and data protection. The newer ISO 27701 certification requires companies to implement, maintain, and continually improve a Privacy Information Management System.

"The renewal and extension of this certification is the result of our meticulous focus on privacy and security," says Geir Aasen, Chief Information Security Officer, Pexip. "We are proud to be one of the best-in-class when it comes to meeting high data protection standards, as this accountability is essential for our customers. Protecting their confidential and sensitive information is our top priority."

Pexip was reviewed and granted the ISO standards by international certification body DNV. The addendums to ISO 27001 and the ISO 27701 standards include an assessment of how the company protects data in its cloud services, as well as how it handles personal data.

"We believe in continually holding ourselves to high standards. The ISO validation builds on our other certifications such as FIPS 140-2, CSA STAR Level 1, and Certification de Securite de Premier Niveau (CSPN), as well as Pexip's ability to enable compliance with HIPAA, Section 508, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We will continue to push ourselves to develop and improve our privacy and security practices, in the best interests of our customers," says Aasen.

About the ISO standards

ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is the most recognized international standard for Information Security Management systems. It means that an organization takes a comprehensive approach to information security and meets its lawful obligations, such as GDPR.

is the most recognized international standard for Information Security Management systems. It means that an organization takes a comprehensive approach to information security and meets its lawful obligations, such as GDPR. ISO/IEC 27017:2015 is an addendum to ISO/IEC 27001 that covers the company's practice for information security controls for cloud services.

is an addendum to ISO/IEC 27001 that covers the company's practice for information security controls for cloud services. ISO/IEC 27018:2019 is an addendum to ISO/IEC 27001 that covers the company's practice for protecting personally identifiable information in cloud services.

is an addendum to ISO/IEC 27001 that covers the company's practice for protecting personally identifiable information in cloud services. ISO/IEC 27701:2019 is an extension to ISO/IEC 27001 that covers privacy information management within the organization.

As part of the process, Pexip also extended its ISO 27001 certification to its Belgium business unit, which develops and manages the Pexip Engage solution. To learn more about Pexip's privacy and security practices, please visit pexip.com/security.

CONTACT:

Patricia Auseth

Chief Marketing Officer

Patricia.auseth@pexip.com

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NETANYA, Israel, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jungo (TASE: JNGO), a global supplier of in-cabin sensing AI software, and one of the leading companies in the DMS industry, launches a new platform for VuDrive, a camera-based driver monitoring solution. This complete aftermarket solution is designed for fleets, TSPs and insurance companies to prevent accidents and reduce insurance costs.

VuDrive provides fleets with real time alerts on risky drivers (such as drowsiness, distraction or phone use) and road events. The system also enables viewing complete safety information and driver scoring, both aggregated and per event, which includes real-time all driver notifications, video clip recordings of both the cabin interior and the road. This enables fleets to identify and improve risky drivers, and prevent potential accidents and help reduce insurance costs.

The new cloud-based VuDrive system launched today is an updated version of the existing product and offers a monthly subscription basis for each vehicle in the SAAS model. The dual-camera is equipped with a number of sensors that are able to track and monitor aggressive driving events, for example sharp turns of the vehicle, compare driver scores over a period of time, receive real time analysis of the vehicle, including the location of the vehicle from anywhere in the world, analyze the safety incidents experienced by the drivers while driving and receive daily reports.

The algorithm developed by Jungo is based on AI and is an end-to-end AI video telematics solution for driver safety, where the fleet manager can receive full video documentation of each event in cloud services and statistics of the vehicle events. The new dashboards have been redesigned making it easy to navigate and user-friendly. The dashboard includes a map that provides exact locations of the vehicles, driver scoring and other parameters that record the quality of driving in real time.

The new VuDrive platform has already been installed among all of Jungo's customers worldwide, including the US, Singapore, Europe and Israel.

Today Jungo is at the forefront of providing video-based telematics solutions. Jungo's VuDrive system adds significant value to fleets with real-time alerting, identifying and improving the driving of problematic drivers, investigating and reducing accidents' said Opher Suhami, CEO at Jungo. "Our cameras installed in vehicles together with the VuDrive.net fleet management system provide the fleet manager with the ability to use all the information in an easy and accessible way, improving the safety of the fleet".

About Jungo

Jungo is recognised as a global supplier of in-cabin sensing AI software, and is a leading supplier in the DMS industry. With its flagship product, CoDriver, a complete AI software stack, enabling OEMs, Tier-1s, aftermarket manufacturers and fleet technology suppliers to quickly embed accurate, robust, cost effective and compute-friendly driver monitoring and passenger sensing capabilities.

Jungo is a public company, and has been trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) since July 2021. Learn more: www.jungo.com

Contact :

Leora Schwartz

Marketing Manager

leora@jungo.com

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The highly anticipated QX Pro series features industry-leading touch and inking and an intuitive walk-up-and-use embedded experience for the modern hybrid workplace

SMART also announces partnership and integration with Crestron - making SMART displays the first and only interactive display currently on the market certified with Crestron's latest Control and Remote Management Technology

SMART is announcing another new partnership with Logitech, providing customers a comprehensive Microsoft Teams meeting solution with SMART Displays and Logitech cameras

CALGARY, AB, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech pioneers and world leaders in collaborative technology SMART Technologies are announcing today at ISE the launch of an all-new interactive display for the business market, the SMART Board QX Pro interactive display.

The QX Pro series, designed specifically for the needs of business customers in today's hybrid environments, brings a wave of new and exciting features designed for powerful simplicity. It joins the industry-leading line-up of SMART displays as the only interactive displays that allow multiple users to freely write, erase, and gesture at the same time over any application.

Alongside the release of an all-new lineup of interactive displays for the business market, SMART has also today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Crestron Electronics , a global leader in workplace collaboration technology. SMART displays are the first and only interactive displays currently certified for Crestron XiO Cloud technology operations management platform and Crestron's 2nd Generation Crestron Connected. Together, SMART and Crestron bring intuitive collaboration and interactivity to Crestron meeting rooms without sacrificing operational efficiency. This means that as an industry first, certified SMART Board interactive displays with iQ and Crestron Connected offer customers one analytics engine for all devices for comprehensive device management capabilities.

Responding to the partnership, Director of Technology Partnerships, Bob Bavolacco said: "Crestron and SMART devices have been used in similar environments for some time without seamless and compatible device management. That has all changed now with this fantastic partnership. Users will benefit from a greatly improved experience that provides one analytics system for increased productivity and increased efficiency.

The QX Pro series meets the high-quality video conferencing needs of the hybrid business market with a 4K UHD wide-angle camera, an integrated microphone array, and a speaker bar. SMART is also pleased to announce a new integration partnership with Logitech to seamlessly and reliably offer complete video conferencing solutions that help hybrid workplaces improve engagement and collaboration. Together, Microsoft Teams-certified Logitech cameras and SMART Pro series interactive displays offer customers a comprehensive Microsoft Teams meeting solution. SMART Pro series solutions are fully compatible with Logitech conference and UVC cameras including Logitech Rally Bar mini, Logitech MeetUp, Logitech Brio, and Logitech C930e and C920e. This fully tested interoperability provides peace of mind for hybrid and remote teams to avoid tech interruptions and malfunctions

CEO of SMART Technologies, Nicholas Svensson, said about the partnership: "It's a proud day for SMART Technologies as we announce an industry-first partnership with AV giant Crestron and a new integration partnership with innovative industry leader Logitech. Each of our companies strive to provide greater, truly collaborative experiences for all our users, and we provide even more powerful experiences when we work together. Between these new partnerships and incredible new displays designed to enhance true collaboration, I am excited about supporting corporate customers across the globe."

Key feature list:

iQ Pro embedded computing, designed exclusively for businesses and offering a true walk-up and use experience, even for a first-time user

Professional-grade 4K UHD display comes with an included wide-angle 4K UHD camera to support rich, immersive visual experiences

UHD display comes with an included wide-angle UHD camera to support rich, immersive visual experiences Integrated 8-element, linear microphone array for an equitable meeting experience

Integrated sound bar with 40W speakers and 15W subwoofer for crystal clear audio

Optically bonded glass that delivers the most natural touch and inking experience, as well as improved 4K image quality when used in bright meeting spaces or other challenging lighting conditions

image quality when used in bright meeting spaces or other challenging lighting conditions Pressure inking, palm rejection, and enhanced touch for a pen-on-paper writing experience

Compatible with UC conference calling software including Microsoft Teams Room , Zoom , Google Meet , and Cisco WebEX .

, Zoom , Google Meet , and Cisco WebEX . Integrated NFC reader supporting CCID-enabled cards for an effortless, secure login

Built-in Wi-Fi 6 for greater connectivity

Environmental and air quality sensors to promote a healthy workplace

The SMART team is on-site this week at ISE, the world's leading AV and systems integration exhibition, to unveil the product and give in-depth demonstrations of how the QX Pro series stands out from the crowd with its industry-leading walk-up-and-use touch and ink, the most intuitive experience that fits existing workflows and features to elevate productivity. Additionally, all of SMART's brand-new lineup of displays for business are on-site and available for a detailed demonstration on the show floor and in the neighbouring SMART VIP Suite.

For all further information about SMART's latest releases and products please visit smarttech.com/business , and for those attending ISE in Barcelona, you can find SMARTs stand at 2Q210 and more details about their show presence here .

About SMART Technologies ULC

SMART is a world leader in education technology, providing interconnected solutions to help every person discover and develop the greatness within them. The first SMART Board launched in 1991, and has continued to innovate through SMART Notebook, the world's most popular collaborative learning software, and through Lumio, the award-winning cloud-based learning software. With a full range of products used by millions of educators and students around the world, SMART creates connections that matter. To learn more, visit smarttech.com.

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GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market is in the growing stage, The growth of Thailand's logistics sector is also being supported by booming exports with automotive, agribusiness, chemicals and electronics being in-demand industries at the moment.





Increase in international shipment is expected in 2026F compared 2021. Consumers are increasingly turning to cross-border e-commerce as per capita incomes rise and access to international brands increases.

AI and a horde of other devices like drones, electric vehicles, automated systems, high-tech security and efficient management systems have made the processes much easier for logistics companies as well as their clients .

Companies in the ecommerce segment are battling against each other to acquire and retain clients, expand geographical presence, expand service offering and improve unit economics to increase margins.

Technology advancement: This helps to boost E-Commerce is easier and more secure digital payment options can make the online shopping experience more convenient for both customer and merchant online payments also allow for more flexible delivery arrangements like the living parcel to lockers since and consumer does not need to be present to make the payment.

Internet-Savvy Consumers Comfortable with making Online Purchases: Given Thailand's mobile phone penetration rate of 98% and smartphone penetration at 71% in 2021, it is no surprise that smartphone users dominate E-Commerce activities. ETDA notes that generation why those were now around 17 to 36 years old spent the most of the time online last year especially on Facebook Instagram Twitter in Pantip from where the make all their transactions.

Platform Integration: E-Commerce platforms face a major challenge in integrating a critical mass of multiple user bases, i.e. sellers and buyers. Often, a platforms perceived value rests largely on this factor. High delivery failure rates due to lack of order and delivery consolidation between retailers.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Change in Consumption Pattern of Consumers, Government Initiatives and Innovation of Advanced Technologies" by Ken Research observed that Thailand E-commerce Logistics Market is in the growing phase. Technology will have a huge role to play in the sector as applications and AI, horde of other devices like drones, electric vehicles, automated systems, high-tech security are some of the factors that will contributed to the Thailand E-commerce Logistics Market growth over the period of 2021-2026F. It is expected that Thailand E-commerce Logistics Market will grow at a CAGR of 9.5% for the above forecasted period.

Key Segments Covered in the report:-

Thailand E-commerce Logistics Market

By Delivery by shipment

Same Day

Next Day

Two day

By International and domestic by shipment

Domestic

International

By Mode of Payment by shipment

Cash

Online

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By Shipment Weight by shipment

0 -1 Kg

Greater than 6 Kg

3 - 6 Kg

1 - 3 Kg

By Age Distribution by shipment

(17 - 36 Years)

(37 - 50 Years)

(51 and above)

By E-Commerce Value by shipment

B2G

B2B

B2C

By Booking Mode by shipment

Online

Offline

By Product Category by Revenues

Mobile & Electronics

Fashion

Beauty

Lifestyle & Hobby

Health & Wellness

Home & Living

Toys

Mom & Baby

Automotives

Sports

Others

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Key Target Audience:-

E-Commerce Companies aiming to establish in Thailand

Thailand E-Commerce logistics industries

E-Commerce logistics industries Government Bodies & Regulating Authorities

E-Commerce Industry

Logistics industry

Shipping company

Warehousing Companies

E-Commerce users

Industry Associations

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2017-2021

2017-2021 Base Period: 2021

2021 Forecast Period: 2022-2026F

Companies Covered:-

Kerry Express

Lazada Logistics

J&T Express

Flash Express

Eleven Street

Tarad

Weloveshopping

Look Si

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Ecosystem of major entities in Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Overview of Thailand logistics infrastructure and dependent market

logistics infrastructure and dependent market Market overview & genesis

Logistics business model

Value chain analysis e-commerce logistics

Thailand E-commerce Logistics Market Size, 2019 - 2022

Segmentation by type of shipment and type of company on the basis of revenue

Segmentation by mode of shipment & delivery period on the basis of revenue

Segmentation by modes of payment & type of product on the basis of revenue

Factors influencing partnership decision with logistics provider

Cost component analysis for logistics provider

SWOT analysis of Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Trends & development of Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Growth driver of Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Issues and challenges of Thailand e-commerce and e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce and e-commerce logistics market Government regulations for Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Impact of covid-19 on Thailand e-commerce and e-commerce logistics

e-commerce and e-commerce logistics Key elements of the recovery phase for companies from pandemic

Cross-comparison of major players in Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Brand awareness

Strength & weakness of major players in Thailand e-commerce logistics market

e-commerce logistics market Future Outlook

Analyst recommendation

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

Germany E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Rising Online Population, Technological Advancements and Demand for Sustainable Deliveries

Germany's E-Commerce Logistics market is expected to register a positive CAGR during 2021-2026F owing to an increase in the competition and customer expectations. Various technological advancements related to IoT, AI, and LiDAR are expected to drive the market in logistics where it will reduce human intervention and help in cost saving in logistics companies. The market for Standard Delivery is expected to lead in the coming future due to the fact that express deliveries are expensive compared to standard deliveries, however, there will be a growth in terms of express deliveries owing to the fact that companies will offer cost-effective express deliveries.

KSA E-Commerce Logistics and Warehouse Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

Over the forecast period, KSA E-commerce logistics market is expected to drive up the demand because of expected surge in internet penetration, especially its exposure to the youth. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a shift from offline sales to online sales, which is expected to ensure substantial growth in the future as well. The e-commerce logistics market in the country is expected to grow on the back of new technologies such as Automation, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things, which will be explored to increase efficiency, improve customer experience and enhance service quality.

South Korea E-commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

The South Korea E-Commerce Logistics Market witnessed significant growth during the period 2018-2021, owing to the consistently increasing digitalization process in the country. In the coming years, higher smartphones penetration rate, better internet connectivity as well as vision 2030 of South Korea will play an important role in increasing the reach of E-commerce last-mile shipments all across the country. It is expected that the growing e-commerce sector will create opportunities in intracity logistics eventually since South Korea has a well-developed transportation system. So, the orders can be delivered easily from one place to another.

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026- Driven by rapid integration of automation technology & changing consumer shopping habits

Australia Ecommerce Logistics Market is Expected to grow with a high CAGR, between 2021-2026F, one of the major determinants for the surging growth in the coming years is the Growing Count of Logistics Startup, Burgeoning Demand for Last-mile Delivery Service, Trucking Services through Online Marketplace, Rising Demand of Door-to-door Parcel Pickup & Delivery Services and the augmenting use of EVs for Transportation. Higher digitization and the usage of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is making easier and helping in assessing the different possibilities of E-Commerce Logistics Market, and others areas, such as Drop Shipping, Quick commerce, sustainable packaging material etc, which has flourished the Australia Ecommerce Logistics Market.

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Ankur Gupta, Director Strategy and Growth

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+91-9015378249

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/e-commerce-orders-and-deliveries-are-expected-to-generate-1-2-billion-in-revenue-by-2026f-owing-to-an-increase-in-the-number-of-online-customers-and-the-entry-of-large-retailers-in-thailand-ken-research-301734487.html
OpenSynergy's VIRTIO-based automotive platform paves the way toward Cloud-Native Development

BERLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenSynergy announces that its automotive virtual platform, COQOS Hypervisor SDK, enables seamless deployment of complex software systems including several virtual machines running different operating systems in the cloud to the automotive edge. Thanks to a wide range of devices based on the open standard VIRTIO included on the virtual platform, it is possible to run software developed in the cloud on the automotive edge without modification. This will be on display on a demonstrator at embedded world. The trade fair will take place from March 14-16 in Nuremberg (Germany). Details of the exhibition will be announced at a later date.

Traditionally OEMs and their suppliers have developed software on automotive-specific and difficult-to-source compute hardware in early development stages and then migrated to expensive prototype vehicles as SoP (start of production) approached. Making that hardware and vehicles available to software teams distributed across the globe is nearly impossible. The current shortage of chips has only exacerbated the problem.

Cloud development is an effective solution for the automotive industry. Especially when it is supported by the open standard VIRTIO. As an active member of the OASIS Open consortium maintaining this standard, OpenSynergy has worked to expand the scope of the open standards in the automotive domain. There are missing automotive-specific VIRTIO devices, so OpenSynergy is working within the OASIS consortium to close the gap.

Due to this commitment, OpenSynergy provides an automotive virtual platform including a large of number devices, which adhere to the latest version of the VIRTIO specification. OpenSynergy thereby opens up the possibility to coherently transfer software systems of any complexity to the cloud, where the entire system can be developed and configured. Even the integration of different software components - i.e., both the operating systems and the applications running within them - with very different requirements for safety and real-time behavior - can be integrated and individually updated in the cloud without the risk of the components interfering with each other or losing their functional safety properties.

For the first time ever, OEMs and Tier-1s can now go way beyond the typical application development offering in the Cloud and are free to develop on multiple OSes simultaneously - even operating systems that have not been specifically ported to run virtualized in the Cloud.

For example, OpenSynergy's solution allows a cockpit controller to be fully integrated into the cloud, comprised of an instrument cluster on a Linux operating system in one of the virtual machines, and an infotainment system running in another virtual machine. Due to OpenSynergy's VIRTIO devices, integrators can seamlessly move the entire system from the cloud to the edge instead of individual parts ported specifically to run in the cloud.

The key factor for developing software in the cloud is the parity between cloud-based development environments and the vehicle environment. Virtualization based on open standards, such as VIRTIO, enables easy portability of any software system from the cloud to the edge. Here, the operating systems use virtual drivers that are standardized and therefore independent of the hypervisor as well as the underlying hardware, which can even be a cloud server.

Isaac Trefz, Product Manager for OpenSynergy's COQOS HV SDK, says, "Arming our customers with our OpenSynergy virtualization products incl. the best-in-class VIRTIO implementation in the cloud is a game changer for all embedded developers as they will have easy access and scale available at their fingertips. With our trusted, leading industry-leading VIRTIO device implementation, we're confident the potential for efficiencies and cost savings will resonate across the automotive industry."

The operating systems to be deployed simply have to support the VIRTIO standard, which is widely used in the enterprise computing domain and supported by many operating systems, including all which use a Linux kernel. There is no need to have an extra "cloud" port for each operating system used in the system for development purposes only. You can simply use the same exact VIRTIO-based operating system in the cloud as you use on the automotive edge.

Manufacturers developing their automotive software products in the cloud, benefit from access to nearly unlimited computing power. This allows testing and validation on a massive scale on an almost limitless amount of "virtual targets". This is why cloud development will empower Software-Defined-Architectures (SDA), which makes software and features the starting point for development: First, developers design an architecture that includes all the desired functions of a system, without considering any hardware constraints or porting efforts. Only after the software design has been created, do manufacturers decide which hardware to use. The Software Defined Architecture approach provides freedom of choice in hardware and in software components. Already in use in data centers, cloud development will transfer this approach now to the automotive industry.

About OpenSynergy

OpenSynergy provides embedded software products for the next generation of vehicles. Its hypervisor and communication products pave the way for an integrated driving experience.

The automotive virtual platform COQOS Hypervisor SDK integrates a mix of real-time applications and open source solutions on powerful domain controllers. It supports a large bundle of features corresponding to the virtualization standard VIRTIO, creating maximum flexibility: guest operating systems can be used and reused on different Systems on Chips.

The automotive leading Bluetooth stack Blue SDK is one of OpenSynergy's communications platforms. It is the reference Bluetooth implementation for many OEMs around the world.

OpenSynergy further provides complimentary Automotive-Grade software components tailored for the AndroidTM Open Source Project (AOSP) to boost Android's adoption in the automotive domain.

OpenSynergy also provides engineering services to support the customization of its products.

Read more on www.opensynergy.com

Contact: OpenSynergy GmbH Sabine Mutumba

Director of Marketing Rotherstr. 20 D-10245 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0)30.60 98 540-41Email: marketing@opensynergy.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/enabling-cloud-to-vehicle-edge-parity-through-virtio-301734499.html
Burgeoning Demand for Last-mile Delivery Services: To fulfil the need for instant gratification via efficient delivery of goods to consumers has propagated the demand for last mile delivery services.

Multitude of Payment Options: Advent of BNPL, payment wallet, short-term credit lines, and others have stimulated the e-commerce growth. Subsequently, propagating logistics business.

Technological Advances: Integration of AI, warehouse automation systems, analytics, etc., have helped logistic players to predict demand and forecast supply.

GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising Demand of Door-to-door Parcel Pickup & Delivery Services: In door-to-door parcel pickup-up & delivery, the logistic provider is involved in every stage of delivery, from packaging, sorting, custom clearance, handling until final delivery point. Service providers offer the option of same day, overnight delivery, domestic or International, documentation, safe transfers, etc. Sendel is a key service provider, while other emerging players are forming partnerships to maximize their reach. Zoom2U formed agreement with Greyhound Australia to utilize Greyhound buses to move parcels across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.





Trucking Services through Online Marketplace: Numerous online truck aggregating service providers, such as Ofload, Shippit, FreightExchange, Loadshift, among others are bridging gap between truck owners and load generators (end-users). Users can book full truck load, on-demand services, refrigerated freight, palletization, shipment tracking, and many more.

Government Initiatives: Australian government is expected to bring regulatory framework for cryptocurrency (Bitcoins), digital wallets (Google pay, Apple pay), and buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers (Afterpay). It would bring standardization in digital payments methods, after which more businesses would utilize the services. In 2022, talks with the Indian government to sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA), comprising digital trade and foster bilateral trade b/w Australia & India. This would accelerate demand for goods & thereby require sophisticated logistics support.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026- Driven by rapid integration of automation technology & changing consumer shopping habits" by Ken Research observed that Australia E-commerce Logistic Market is in the Growing Phase as the Rising demand for Door Step Delivery, Increase in Digitisation, reducing cost of packaging and Government Initiatives, these are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. The Australia E-commerce Logistics Market is expected to see high growth rate over the forecasted period 2022-2026F.

Key Segments Covered:-

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market (Revenue, Shipment, Average Cost and No of Orders and more)

By Type of Shipment (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Domestic shipments

International shipments

By Time Duration (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Same Day

2-4 Days

More than 4 days

By Delivery Area (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Interstate

Intrastate

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

By Delivery Area (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Intercity

Intracity

By Mode of transport (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Ground

Air & Sea

By Payment Method (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Cash On Delivery

Online Payment

By Orders (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Accepted Orders

Rejected Orders

Key Target Audience

E-commerce Companies

Third Party Logistics Companies

Potential Market Entrants

E - Retailers

Integrates Logistics Companies

Logistics/Supply Chain Industry Associations

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2016-2020

2016-2020 Base Year: 2021

2021 Forecast Period: 2022- 2026F

Companies Covered:-

Australia Post

DHL

FedEx

Linfox

Toll group

DB Schenker

Couriers Please

UPS

Mainfreight

Aramex

DTDC

E-store logistics

StarTrack

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Socio-Economic Outlook of Australia

Internet Penetration of Australia

Overview of Retail Purchases and Categories of Online Shoppers in Australia

Demand Infrastructure- Ecosystem of Major E-Commerce Players and Sellers

Global Retail Industry Compared to Australian Market

Australia E-commerce Logistics Market Size, 2016-2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Domestic/ International Shipments, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Time Duration, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Delivery Area and Ground or Air and Sea Transport, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Payment Method and Accepted and Returned Orders, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Growth Drivers

SWOT Analysis of the industry

Trends and Developments in the Industry

Issues and challenges in the industry

Several Technological Disruptions in Australia E-commerce Logistics Industry

E-commerce Logistics Industry Key Challenges for E-Commerce Logistics Providers in Australia

Challenges for E-Commerce Players in Australia

Government Rules and Regulations in Australia E-Commerce Market

E-Commerce Market Government initiatives in the industry

Impact of Covid-19 on Australia's E-commerce Logistics

E-commerce Logistics Snapshot of E-commerce Warehousing

Demand Analysis

Cross Comparison- Major Online E-Commerce Players

Competitive Landscape Basis Major Ecommerce Logistic Players in Australia

Cross Comparison of major Ecommerce Logistic Companies on the basis of Business Landscape

Recent Mergers and Acquisitions in E-commerce Logistics Market in Australia

Investment Analysis of Logistics Tech Startups

Future Outlook

Analyst Recommendations

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook 2026F- Driven by Change in Consumption Pattern of Consumers, Government Initiatives and Innovation of Advanced Technologies

According to Ken Research estimates, the Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market- E-Commerce Orders and Deliveries are growing at a CAGR of 9.5% (2021-2026F) with Increasing Number of online shoppers and entrance of major retailers in Thailand. Technology will have a huge role to play in the sector as applications. AI and a horde of other devices like drones, electric vehicles, automated systems, high-tech security and efficient management systems have made the processes much easier for logistics companies as well as their clients.

KSA E-Commerce Logistics and Warehouse Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

Over the forecast period, KSA E-commerce logistics market is expected to drive up the demand because of expected surge in internet penetration, especially its exposure to the youth. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a shift from offline sales to online sales, which is expected to ensure substantial growth in the future as well. The e-commerce logistics market in the country is expected to grow on the back of new technologies such as Automation, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things, which will be explored to increase efficiency, improve customer experience and enhance service quality.

South Korea E-commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

The South Korea E-Commerce Logistics Market witnessed significant growth during the period 2018-2021, owing to the consistently increasing digitalization process in the country. In the coming years, higher smartphones penetration rate, better internet connectivity as well as vision 2030 of South Korea will play an important role in increasing the reach of E-commerce last-mile shipments all across the country. It is expected that the growing e-commerce sector will create opportunities in intracity logistics eventually since South Korea has a well-developed transportation system. So, the orders can be delivered easily from one place to another.

USA E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026- Driven by Increase in Cross-Border E-Commerce Activities along with Same Day Delivery and Technological Innovations

According to Ken Research estimates, the USA E-Commerce Logistics Market - The USA E-Commerce Logistics Market has grown at a CAGR of 33% over the last three years due to an increase in cross-border e-commerce activities and technological and logistic innovations like Same day delivery. Same day delivery has increased between 2020-2021 in United States. 24 percent of U.S. online shoppers opted for same-day delivery for purchases from pure online merchants in 2020. As of February 2021, the percentage increased to 36 percent. Increase in cross-border e-commerce activity drives the growth of the e-commerce logistics market in USA. Rising per capita incomes and increasing access to foreign brands are favoring cross-border e-commerce.

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Contact Us:-

Ken Research Private Limited

Ankur Gupta, Director Strategy and Growth

Ankur@kenresearch.com

+91-9015378249

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/australia-e-commerce-logistics-market-is-expected-to-generate-usd--10-bn-by-2026f-owning-to-rising-demand-of-door-step-delivery-increasing-digitisation-reducing-cost-of-packaging-along-with-favorable-government-initiatives-ken-301734515.html


NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - A U.S. appeals court has rejected Johnson & Johnson's bankruptcy move, saying that it can't escape from nearly 40,000 lawsuits filed by women who claimed to have developed ovarian cancer after using its asbestos contained talcum powder products.



J&J, which already withdrew its talc-based baby powder, is now required to defend itself against these thousands of ovarian cancer claims. Johnson & Johnson shares lost nearly 4 percent on Monday's regular trading following the court ruling.



J&J's move involved creating a unit to take up the liabilities and then file for bankruptcy protection.



Bllomberg reported that a three-judge panel in Philadelphia sided with cancer victims, noting that the drug major incorrectly put its specially created talc subsidiary, LTL Management, under court protection to block juries from hearing the lawsuits.



The case opened back in 2014 when Mississippi sued the company arguing that its talcum powder has carcinogenic substances in the product that leads to ovarian cancer in women.



A Missouri jury in 2018 awarded $4.7 billion fine to the company after 22 women blamed it for using asbestos in their talcum powders and baby products, which has led to their ovarian cancer. A Missouri appeals court in June 2020 reduced the damages award to about $2.12 billion.



Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson, which currently has about $424 billion market capitalization, in 2021 created a talc shell company known as LTL Management using a Texas law, and transferred its thousands of lawsuits and jury verdicts and filed for bankruptcy.



Later, a New Jersey bankruptcy court upheld its bankruptcy claims to handle the talcum powder cases, noting that LTL Management was right in the chapter 11 filing.



In a statement, Nachawati Law Group, which represents numerous women petitioners who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, now noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that LTL is 'highly solvent' and not entitled to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy because J&J had provided it with a $60 billion funding safety net to meet its talc liabilities.



Judge Thomas Ambro, writing for the appellate panel, said that injured claimants' rights to a jury trial should be 'disrupted only when necessary.'



Nachawati noted that J&J can now be held accountable for its failure to warn consumers about known cancer risks associated with talc-based products like Johnson's Baby Powder.



A successful bankruptcy move would have allowed a profitable corporation to use bankruptcy law to avoid accountability in the civil justice system. However, with thousands of lawsuits set to resume, the law firm projects J&J's liability to exceed the $60 billion it had set aside for the LTL bankruptcy.



J&J, which continues to claim that the talc was not harmful, reportedly expected earlier that the litigation would cost it around $190 billion.



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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.
Vice-chairman of the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Chung Seung-yun speaks during his inauguration held in the Sejong Government Complex, Monday. Courtesy of the ACRC



By Lee Yeon-woo



Chung Seung-yun, a prosecutor-turned-professor of law at Pusan National University, started his first day as vice-chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), Tuesday, with an apology to the public for his past controversial choice of words.



"I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the members of ACRC," Chung said during his inauguration. "I believe that quite a few members would have worried about media reports regarding my appointment," Chung continued.



"Now as I start my new position as the vice-chairman, I'm concerned whether I can successfully meet the expectations of the public and the members of ACRC," Chung said.



Chung was at the center of a controversy last February when the presidential campaign team unveiled reform measures aimed at the police force. He was then in charge of judiciary and police reform.



In a document about the Yoon Suk Yeol government's plan to reform the police, the committee used the term "Ottoke" to refer to some female police officers who irresponsibly and incompetently uttered nothing but the phrase without action toward the criminal at a crime scene. The Korean phrase "Ottoke?" means "What am I supposed to do?" It was first used in online communities to negatively depict indecisive women.



Chung mentioned a case from 2021 in which two police officers  one male, one female  fled an active crime scene, leaving behind a victim while the attacker brandished a knife. He wrote, "Even before the aforementioned case happened, there were criticisms that police officers just say 'Ottoke?' and walk away from crimes as they are occurring."



Facing a backlash from women's rights activists, Chung stepped down from the post. But about a month later, he rejoined the presidential transition committee after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office.



The controversy surrounding Chung resurfaced when he was nominated for vice chairman of the ACRC last Friday.



"We know how much President Yoon values him, but it doesn't make sense to appoint a man who is full of misogyny to the vice-chairman of ACRC," Rep. Lee Soo-jin, a spokesperson of Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said during the briefing at the National Assembly last Friday.



"I am concerned whether he will only amplify gender conflicts, not protect the public's civil rights," Lee added.



The presidential office responded that the remarks "sprang from a mistake while explaining a policy during the campaign," and did not "cause a problem" for public service.



Chung said he did not know the term had a misogynistic connotation.



"I searched for cases in which police officers avoided crime scenes. Among the results, there was the expression 'Ottoke?' in the most well-known case. I didn't make it up. I just copied the expression used online," Chung said.



"My daughter is a college student and she said she didn't know that the term was derogatory to women  My father also started his career as an entry-level police officer and retired as an inspector. So I understand the struggle of a low-ranking police officer," Chung added, asserting his innocence.


NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT group, announced today the immediate launch of the renewed SkyWay software development kit (SDK). The new SkyWay SDK makes it easier than ever to implement real-time voice, video and data communication for applications and websites.

People interested planning or developing online communication services may apply to attend a free webinar in person (50 people) or online (100 people) to learn about the renewed SkyWay SDK at NTT Communications' Tokyo headquarters from 3:00pm (JST) on February 23.

Simple to use and supported with extensive documentation, SkyWay does not require special technical skills or knowledge of voice/video communication or constructing servers, and can be used for a wide range of applications, such as online lessons, IoT and robots. To date, SkyWay has been deployed for the development of more than 20,000 services.

SkyWay is suitable for diverse call formats including voice and video, one-to-one and group calls, and video communication while sharing screens. It also is a multiplatform SDK for developing communication services suited to specific industries and business categories. SkyWay assures high-quality real-time communication, as evidenced by its service uptime rate of 99.96% in fiscal 2021. It also achieves high-quality overseas calls by setting up servers to relay communications to/from Asia, North America and Europe.1 What's more, SkyWay may be used at no charge for service verification and development until the users service is actually launched. Furthermore, fees are adjusted to the scale of service and billing is implemented on a pay-as-you-go billing basis.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online communication has rapidly diversified and now commonly includes events involving dozens of people as well as communication robots. In response, NTT Com decided to upgrade SkyWay's architecture and release it as a new service with enhanced functions for increased versatility, including:

More simultaneous callers (expanded from 20 to 100 max.)

Terminal load reduction according to end-user environment (simulcasting 2 and API for flexible media transmission/reception, such as only specific video/audio)

and API for flexible media transmission/reception, such as only specific video/audio) Authentication and authorization for controlling transmission of video/audio to each end user

The following are two examples of SkyWay's expanded functionality.

1. Virtual office

SkyWay can be used to create a system for an office-wide presentation reaching up to 100 people, with simulcasting allowing people to receive audio/video suitably adjusted to each user, such as low-resolution video to reduce system and battery load for mobile devices or terminals with low processing power. Also, participation can be controlled for private conferences.

2. Remote work support

SkyWay also can be used to create a system that allows a supervisor to remotely instruct multiple people at a worksite, using video for detailed directions and only audio if simple verbal directions are sufficient. Selective use of video and/or audio enables the system to reach many people with minimum load.

Service applications will be accepted from January 31. For details, please visit the website or contact a NTT Com sales representative, and for service rates, please see here. (Partially in Japanese only)

Looking ahead, NTT Com expects to further upgrade SkyWay by expanding the scale of voice and video calls, enhancing data communications for synchronization of more people, and supporting gaming platforms for live streaming and the metaverse. In addition, voice and video call experiences will be improved. Also, new SkyWay functions for measuring quality and analyzing problems will increasingly upgrade video and voice in diverse environments. Going forward, NTT Com will continue to develop SkyWay-related business to support the further evolution of real-time communication and its easy implementation by nonexperts in a world where people communicate meaningfully through the power of digital technology.

For more information about SkyWay, please visit here.

1 Technology that enables a terminal to select the most appropriate relay device in order to minimize delay between terminals (granted patent No. 6254620).

2 Technology for transmitting the same video to different terminals using different bitrates, such as low-resolution to mobile devices with limited processing power and bandwidth and high-resolution to PCs.

About NTT Communications

NTT Communications solves global technology challenges by helping enterprises utilize managed IT-infrastructure solutions to overcome complexity and risk in their IT environments. These solutions are backed by our worldwide infrastructure, including industry-leading, global tier-1 public and private networks reaching over 190 countries/regions, and more than 500,000m2 of the world's most advanced data-center facilities. As the core provider of the DOCOMO group's enterprise-business services and solutions, we create value by providing global-scale support for restructuring in industry and society, new workstyles and digital transformation in communities. Together with NTT Ltd., NTT Data and NTT DOCOMO, we are the NTT Group.

www.ntt.com Twitter@NTT Com Facebook@NTT Com

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Contacts:

For more information

SkyWay Promotion Office

Platform Service Division

NTT Communications Corporation

E-mail: skyway@ntt.com
SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindray, a global leading medical device solutions provider, today announces the launch of next-generation BeneHeart series defibrillators, the BeneHeart D60 and D30. The new BeneHeart defibrillators aim to raise the standards for resuscitation with superior reliability, expert comprehensive diagnosis and monitoring tools, and introduce a whole-process quality improvement solution for both in-hospital and pre-hospital rescue.





"Defibrillators play a critical role in reducing all-cause mortality and emergencies. We believe that through upgrading first-aid diagnosis and treatment tools and introducing comprehensive rescue quality improvement schemes, we can ensure that prompt, correct, and high-quality medical interventions are implemented to save patients' lives and improve their quality of life," said Mark Sun, General Manager of Mindray International PMLS Sales & Marketing.

Unveiled at Arab Health 2023 in Dubai, the next-generation BeneHeart series defibrillators feature several upgrades that elevate ease of use and reliability to a new level. The high-definition capacitive large screen supports simple gesture control for increased operational efficiency, with physical knobs and buttons still available for crucial operations. Weighing only 4.2kg with the battery, the new defibrillators come with a water-/dust-proof and drop-protection design and can operate in temperatures ranging from -20C to 55C, ensuring durable support in high-intensity emergency environments.

Equipped with the patented QShock and filtered ECG analysis technologies that shorten the charging and interruption time for faster defibrillation, the new BeneHeart D60 and D30 offer a comprehensive CPR evaluation system to monitor real-time CPR performance, from both operational process and effect, providing instant feedback for clinicians.

The new BeneHeart defibrillators also come with structured debriefing protocols that support automatic rescue data recording and uploading to help improve resuscitation teams' performance in the long run, as well as single and multi-person training modes that support hands-on CPR and defibrillator operation. All these technologies and features reflect Mindray's brand-new 'Rescue Triangle' concept of all-round resuscitation quality improvement covering the whole clinical process from resuscitation to debriefing and training.

The Mindray BeneHeart D60 is more than just a defibrillator; its multiple diagnosis and analysis functions make it an ideal solution for complex pre-hospital environments. The model offers professional 12-lead ECG analysis functions with intelligent assistance to help efficiently diagnose chest pain conditions and identify myocardial infarction locations, and a 6-channel recorder generating real-time ECG reports. Its point-of-care ultrasound function enables accurate and confident decision-making by providing step-by-step trauma identification tools, operation guides, and reference images. These diagnosis reports can be sent remotely to the target hospital with one click, allowing for advanced treatment planning to save the lives of critically ill patients.

"Emergency care demands no less than the highest requirement of efficiency and effectiveness to save a patient's life. With the new BeneHeart defibrillation solution, a combination of diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment solutions for emergencies, we aim to unlock the full potential to help clinicians quickly and confidently navigate the difficult situations they encounter," added Sun.

Contact person: Rita Wang

Email address: intl-marcom@mindray.com

Phone#: +86 755 81888775

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mindray-unveils-next-generation-beneheart-defibrillation-solutions-to-raise-standards-for-resuscitation-301725675.html
GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is highly consolidated with 4 players - Equinix, Vantage Data Center, CyrusOne and Iron Mountain. These are the major hyperscale data center companies contributing 45% of market share in Germany catering to IT, BFSI and Telecom industry.





The 5G and 6G technology will push the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Germany market.

Primary demand drivers for Hyperscale Data Center services in Germany are industries such as Cloud, followed by Telecom, 5G Deployment, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The industry is moving towards variety of technological advancement related to IoT and AI. These technologies ensure growth in terms of competitiveness and better customer services.

Current Market Positioning: The number of people connecting to the internet is continuing to drive demand for data-center-based compute and connectivity. Companies choose to "rent" server space from a cloud provider, which is eventually kept in a data centre, rather than investing in real hardware.

Energy Efficiency: It is a key component that drives the hyperscale data center market, as all businesses strive to improve their total energy efficiency. Organizations seek data centers that use the least amount of energy while having the least impact on the environment. The drive to save money on power rises the demand for energy-efficient hyperscale data centers. In data centers, high-density blade servers, and storage systems provide higher computation capability per Watt of energy consumption.

Increasing Investments: The rising number of smart hospitals in Germany owing to rising investments in digital healthcare infrastructure in the country. Smart hospitals accelerate patient's journey and increase operational efficiency. Increasing investments in communication and technology is also boosting the market growth in Germany.

Internet of Things devices: The increase in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the various industries is speculated to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. Growing AI adoptions also boosts the growth of Hyperscale Data Centers.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication- "Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions" by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential of the hyperscale data center market in Germany. Growing volume of big data and Low costs to enterprises are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecasted period 2022P-2027F.

Key Segments Covered

Segmentation By End Users

Enterprises

Cloud Providers

Segmentation By Industry Users

Technology

BFSI

Telecom

Healthcare

others

Segmentation By Type of Solutions provided

Storage

Network

Server

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

Key Target Audience

Data Centers Service Providers

Telecom Companies

Governments

Cloud Providers

Information Technology Companies

Telecommunication Service Providers

Enterprises

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2017-2022P

2017-2022P Base Year: 2022P

2022P Forecast Period: 2022P-2027F

Companies Covered:-

Supply Side Companies

Vantage Data Center

CyrusOne

Equinix

Iron Mountain

Cloud HQ

Stack infrastructure

Interxion

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Demand Side Companies

Amazon web services

Oracle

IBM

Microsoft

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Executive Summary

Country Overview of Germany

Market Overview of Hyperscale Data Center in Germany

Market Size of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P

on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P Market Segmentation of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany , 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

, 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided) Industry analysis

Growth Drivers of Hyperscale Data Center Market

Government Rules and Regulations in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Issues and Challenges and Trends in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market TAM, SAM, SOM of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Demand Analysis of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Competitive Landscape

Value Chain Analysis

Market Segmentations; Competition; Future Market Size, 2027)

Competition Landscape

Cross Comparison of Major Companies on the basis of Data Centers, Location, Employees, Revenue and Certifications

Strengths and Weakness of Major Players in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Future Outlook and Projections, 2022P-2027F

Future Market Segmentation (By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

Analyst Recommendations

Research methodology

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

South Africa Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027 - Driven by the Growing Adoption of Remote Work and Surging Demand of Cloud Computing Solutions

South Africa Hyperscale Data Centers Market is Expected to grow at a CAGR in double digits between 2022 and 2027E, one of the major determinants for the surging growth in coming years is attributed to the favourable government rules & regulations, formulated to support domestic and foreign investments in data and cloud infrastructure. Increased awareness on environmental impacts and government's aim to limit carbon footprints in upcoming years, will result in businesses adapting to a strategy to utilize least amount of energy. Teraco offering clients a global data center platform designed to enable digital businesses to scale within a highly connected data community across six Continents.

USA Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions

According to Ken Research estimates, Hyperscale data center market in USA generated a revenue of USD ~ Billion in 2022, expanding at a CAGR of ~14% in between 2017 and 2022. The surging growth is attributed to the increasing usage of internet, popularity of smart homes, wearables, trend of automation across industries, etc. The growth of Big Data; data coming from a number of sources that needs to be stored, processed and analysed to make informed business decisions in each and every industry. The drive to lessen energy consumption will act as a catalyst for the increased demand of energy efficient hyper-scale data centers in coming years.

Morocco Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Demand for Low Cost Data Centers along with Higher Capacity is expected to grow in the near future

Morocco's Data Center market is projected to witness a CAGR of 8.1% between 2022 to 2027F. This is majorly due to increasing reliance on technology, rising investment to expand capacity, digital transformation, and an increase in government initiatives. The market is expected to increase due to trends of a rising middle class in the country and accelerated urbanization. Moreover, e-Commerce has great potential in Morocco due to a willingness to make online payments or through a mobile money account. The data center market in Morocco is expected to grow because Morocco will be linked to the Mediterranean's longest giant submarine cable system called "Medusa" by early 2025. It will connect nine countries in North Africa and Southern Europe which provide access to telecommunication infrastructure that is crucial for developing the digital ecosystem in North African countries by 2024 and 2025.

Philippines Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by investment from the global players and the transition from colocation to hyperscale with high internet penetration

According to Ken Research estimates, the Philippines Data Center Market - which grew from approximately USD ~0.2 Bn in 2018 to approximately USD ~0.3 Bn in 2022 - is forecasted to grow further into USD ~0.6 Bn opportunity by 2027F, owing to the new government policies, rapid digitalization and cloud adoption. Roll out of 5G and increasing young population using the internet, Digital and instant payments and the demand for domestic data storages will drive the BFSI and IT/ITes share. The rising demand for decreased latency in data transfers and improved connectivity amid the increasing adoption of smart devices is likely to boost the demand for retail colocation data centers.

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Contact Us:-

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Ankur Gupta, Director Strategy and Growth

Ankur@kenresearch.com

+91-9015378249

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hyperscale-data-center-industry-in-germany-is-expected-to-reach-usd-2-bn-in-2027f-owing-to-the-growing-ai-adoptions-and-internet-of-things-devices-ken-research-301734548.html
Catapult Organization is proud to introduce Catapult Crown, the first investment platform to exclusively focus on dental startups.

Delray Beach, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Catapult Organization, a leader in the dental industry, announced today Catapult Crown, a partnership between Catapult Organization's leading dentists and experienced investors who have come together to create a way to democratize investing. The platform places the dental community in the driver's seat by allowing them to choose which companies to invest in.

Catapult Crown is a division of Catapult Organization, the parent company of Catapult Education. Catapult Education has provided continuing education ("CE") to tens of thousands of dentists in the United States over the past two decades. Furthermore, Catapult Education has evaluated dental products for the past 20 years. Catapult Crown and its investment professionals are leveraging that experience to select cutting-edge startups in the dental industry for participation on the Catapult Crown platform.

"Who better to invest in the future of dentistry than those who operate within it each and every day?" asks Dr. Lou Graham, Founder, Director, and CEO of Catapult Crown. "The decades of experience within the dental industry have provided us with the vantage point to identify, diligence, and present promising startups that aim to solve dentistry's biggest problems."

Utilizing a global panel of dental experts and an executive team composed of legal, IP, and business analysis experts, the Catapult Crown investment due diligence process begins with a dental panel review. It then takes a deep dive into the business metrics, leadership abilities, intellectual property and other legal considerations. Finally, a group meeting takes place to determine if the company meets all criteria for placement on the Catapult Crown investment platform. With over 100,000 subscribers between Catapult Organization's LMS and its YouTube channel, the selected opportunities gain immediate exposure to those in the dental industry.

Once the product, service, or technology is ready to enter the marketplace, Catapult Crown's coordination with Catapult Education, its associated education partners, and the initial dental investors (champions of the product) brings the potential of immediate awareness and sales for the selected start-up. Lastly, featured companies can leverage Catapult Organization's strong industry presence and relationships, paving the way for strategic partnerships with manufacturers and distributors.

Saul Kaplan, one of the founders and the MD for Europe, Middle East, and Asia (EMEA) for Catapult Crown, said, "I'm excited that the platform equalizes investing to allow for the entire dental community to have the opportunity to potentially own a portion of a dental startup that aims to revolutionize the dental sector."

There is no fee to sign up to the platform and view the investment opportunities, although investors must meet specific eligibility criteria. Community members can choose to invest from $10,000 upwards in any of the opportunities.

Catapult Crown has partnered with Carta, which performs the administrator role, and the dental community will use its trusted services to complete paperwork and execute all investments.

About Catapult Organization

From industry-leading CE to group purchasing, product reviews, and investment opportunities, Catapult Organization aims to positively and profoundly impact all aspects of the dental industry.

For more details on Catapult Organization, please visit www.catapulteducation.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel @catapulteducation.

To sign up for the platform, please visit www.catapultcrown.com.

Please direct inquiries to hello@catapultcrown.com.

Disclosures:

Nothing herein should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security offered by Catapult Crown or any third party, nor shall there by any sale of any securities in any state, country or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state, country of jurisdiction. Any such offer of solicitation to invest in any security would be made through a confidential private offering memorandum and related transaction, offering and governance documents, which will contain material information not included herein regarding, among other things, information with respect to fees and expenses, investment risks and potential conflicts of interest. Factual statements regarding Catapult Crown, its products or services, are made as of the date stated and are subject to change without notice. You are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, investment strategy, security or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance. Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and Catapult Crown's fees and expenses. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors and users should consult with licensed legal professionals and investment advisors for any legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice before considering an investment.

Media Contact

Name: Alyssa Nugent

Company Name: Catapult Organization

Email: alyssa@catapultorganization.com

Website: https://www.catapultcrown.com

Address 1: 1615 NW 4th Ave.

City: Delray Beach

State: FL

Country: United States



To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152841
EQS-News: Linde plc / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Linde to Increase Green Hydrogen Production in California



31.01.2023 / 11:59 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Linde to Increase Green Hydrogen Production in California

Woking, UK, January 31, 2023 - Linde (NYSE:LIN; FWB:LIN) announced today plans to increase its green hydrogen production capacity in Ontario, California, in response to growing demand from the mobility market.

Linde will build, own and operate the first of several planned five-megawatt PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyzers to increase its hydrogen capacity. Following this initial investment, the new electrolyzer together with the existing plant will produce enough green hydrogen to avoid up to 75,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year. Expected to start up in the second half of 2024, the new electrolyzer is one of several green hydrogen projects Linde is planning across the United States.

"We continue to see growing demand for green hydrogen as decarbonization in the mobility sector becomes a reality," said Marcos Cuevas, Vice President West Region, Linde. "As the largest liquid hydrogen producer in the U.S., we are proud to leverage our technology and expertise to help California achieve its ambitious climate goals."

As one of the world's leading industrial gases and engineering companies, Linde is playing a key role in the clean energy transition. The company is actively helping its customers to decarbonize their operations with the latest hydrogen technologies through its world-class engineering organization, key alliances and ventures. Growing its established hydrogen business across the value chain, Linde is implementing clean hydrogen projects across a range of applications and industries.

About Linde

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2021 sales of $31 billion (26 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.

The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com



Contacts:



Investor Relations

Juan Pelaez

Phone: +1 203 837 2213

Email: juan.pelaez@linde.com Media Relations

Anna Davies

Phone: +44 1483 244705

Email: anna.davies@linde.com



31.01.2023 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


48,842m infill/extensional/condemnation drilling program completed

Feasibility Study completion expected May 2023

23,000m step-out exploration program to begin shortly

Monte do Carmo property still considered in "Discovery" phase

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Cerrado Gold Inc. (TSXV:CERT)(OTCQX:CRDOF) ("Cerrado" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional results from its 2022/23 infill/extensional drill program for the completion of its Feasibility Study expected by the end of May at its Monte Do Carmo Project located in Tocantins State, Brazil ("MDC").

The 2022/23 drill program has successfully upgraded the bulk of the known resources into Measured and Indicated categories, targeted new extensional zones and condemned areas for project infrastructure in support of the ongoing Feasibility Study. The final hole as part of this program was completed last week. Full assay results from the program are expected to be completed in February.

The Company is now finalizing plans for the 2023 exploration program which will be designed to test numerous targets along a 30km stretch of known mineralization within the Monte Do Carmo property. While moving towards production, the Monte do Carmo property is still considered to be under explored and in the "Discovery" phase with potential for significant new deposits.

The Company is currently reporting assay results from 17 drill holes, totaling 4,913m (see Tables 1 & 2) completed from October to December 2022. As of January 16, 2022, a total of 193 drill holes, totaling 48,842m have been completed as part of the program started in early 2022, including 157 holes at Serra Alta: and 36 holes in the satellite exploration areas.

Drill Hole Highlights (All composites are reported as true thickness):

Serra Alta (Infill)

FSA-308

11m at 5.39 g/t Au from 3m Including 4m at 11.91 g/t Au from 7m

39m at 1.46 g/t Au from 101m Including 2m at 10.19 g/t Au from 43m



FSA-286

25m at 19.01g/t Au from 443.18m Including 3m at 178.46 g/t Au from 446m



FSA-309

91m at 2.09g/t Au from 66m Including 7m at 19.09 g/t Au from 110m



Mark Brennan, CEO and Co-Chairman commented, "The infill program at Serra Alta has been extremely successful in converting the majority of known resources for the pending feasibility study, as well as having identified several extensional zones, namely Gogo do Onca, E2 and the new and very promising Northeast zone."

He continued, "While work continues to focus on delivering the Feasibility Study, we are very excited to be in the final stages of planning an aggressive new exploration program for 2023 at Monte do Carmo. There are a substantial number of gold showings and targets on the property that have not yet been drill tested where we see the potential for future discoveries similar to Serra Alta. We remain convinced of the district scale potential at Monte Do Carmo."

East Zone

Drill holes FSA-286, FSA-307, FSA-309, FSA-311, FSA-313, FSA-315, FSA-316, FSA-317, FSA-318, FSA-319 were collared in the East Zone. The best reported intercepts in the East Zone correspond to hole FSA-286 that intercepted a notable discrete sheer quartz vein that reported 3m at 178.46 g/t Au from 446m (including 1 m at 412 g/t). The shear vein has a Northwest orientation.

This intercept defines an interesting zone of coalescence of at least 3 fertile structures, including the mentioned shear zone, the East Zone/E2 general trend of extensional veins (North-South) and the main E3 Porphyritic Dyke orientation (West/Northwest). Cerrado considers that conceptually these intersection zones may represent second order control of higher-grade trends.

Hole FSA-309 is also outstanding. Shallow dipping drilling targeted the granite in proximity to the volcanic intrusive contact intercepting 91m at 2.09g/t Au from 66m, including 7m at 19.09 g/t Au from 110m. Results confirm the significance of the contact zone in terms of extending the continuity and lateral extent of the mineralization and consolidate a well-endowed area on the northern edge of the east zone.

Pit Norte

Drill Holes FSA-308, FSA-310 and FSA 320 were collared in Pit Norte. The best intercept comes from hole FSA-308, collared in the central part of the zone. FDS-308 intercepted 11m at 5.39 g/t Au from 3m, including 4m at 11.91 g/t Au from 7m; and 39m at 1.46 g/t Au from 101m, including 2m at 10.19 g/t Au from 43m. This shallow intercept confirms the low strip in this segment of the Pit which is expected to be exploited during the early phases of mining.

East 3 (E3)

Drill Hole FSA-306 targeted the recently discovered E3 zone. Mineralization in E3 relates to the occurrence of a granitic porphyry dyke with a general West/Northwest direction, that provides a permissive host rock and fluid conduits to upper stratigraphic levels. Holes have been drilled in different directions to better constrain the geometry and extent of the dyke. The best intercept in E3 reported today is from hole FSA-305 that crosses 3m (apparent width) at 2.14 g/t. E3 remains open both along strike and down dip.

Figure 1. Reported and Ongoing Drill Hole Locations

Figure 2. Select Highlighted Cross Sections of Reported Holes

East Zone

E3

Pit Norte

* Scales vary by section

Table 1. Drill Hole Collar Table

Sector Hole number UTM N

m UTM E

m Elevation

m Depth

m Azimuth Dip Pit Norte FSA-308 8810040 820461 473 210.0 125.00 -15.74 Pit Norte FSA-310 8810069 820502 505 285.6 121.69 -33.78 Pit Norte FSA-320 8810066 820504 505 210.3 140.00 -20.28 East Zone FSA-286 8810545 820676 661 573.9 100.75 -41.16 East Zone FSA-307 8810721 820466 567 170.7 95.00 -15.13 East Zone FSA-309 8810565 820510 571 180.3 75.00 -15.40 East Zone FSA-311 8810564 820510 571 150.6 95.00 -15.74 East Zone FSA-313 8810763 820420 556 164.9 80.00 -19.60 East Zone FSA-315 8810604 820440 552 201.6 80.00 -19.98 East Zone FSA-316 8810722 820465 567 114.8 70.00 -15.22 East Zone FSA-317 8810401 820670 668 340.3 92.64 -54.72 East Zone FSA-318 8810647 820444 569 170.5 75.00 -25.06 East Zone FSA-319 8810249 820343 512 132.2 120.00 -25.39 East 3 FSA-305 8810670 820858 661 565.4 118.92 -50.33 East 3 FSA-306 8810269 821359 698 550.0 314.80 -49.76 East 3 FSA-312 8810699 820891 666 687.9 110.56 -50.39 Gogo da Onca FGO-031 8811023 820556 538 204.5 145.00 -29.46

*Collar coordinates by GNSS TP-20 UTM Coordinates, Datum: SAD69 / zone 22S.

*Azimuth Set by compass

*Dip and drill hole trajectory by SPT (Stockholm Precision Tools) GyroMaster

Table 2. Drill Hole Composites

DDH From To LENGTH (m) Width (m) Au (g/t) Serra Alta Pit Norte FSA-308 3.24 14.12 10.88 10.62 5.39 FSA-308 includes 6.55 10.89 4.34 4.24 11.91 FSA-308 and 58.13 59.35 1.22 1.19 1.11 FSA-308 and 74.13 75.22 1.09 1.06 0.31 FSA-308 and 86.19 92.65 6.46 6.31 0.68 FSA-308 and 101.54 141.77 40.23 39.27 1.46 FSA-308 includes 119.62 121.84 2.22 2.17 10.58 FSA-308 includes 128.62 131.95 3.33 3.25 5.99 FSA-308 and 151.34 165.80 14.46 14.12 0.40 FSA-310 76.06 80.05 3.99 3.56 0.56 FSA-310 and 84.16 88.18 4.02 3.59 1.83 FSA-310 Includes 87.16 88.18 1.02 0.91 6.27 FSA-310 and 101.31 121.98 20.67 18.44 1.05 FSA-310 Includes 103.32 105.31 1.99 1.78 5.86 FSA-310 and 126.05 127.10 1.05 0.94 0.49 FSA-310 and 131.10 140.35 9.25 8.25 1.42 FSA-310 Includes 134.10 136.26 2.16 1.93 3.99 FSA-310 and 144.13 150.26 6.13 5.47 1.04 FSA-310 and 155.38 183.35 27.97 24.95 1.32 FSA-310 Includes 160.93 161.93 1.00 0.89 18.40 FSA-310 Includes 164.89 165.83 0.94 0.84 7.36 FSA-310 and 190.85 191.88 1.03 0.92 0.73 FSA-310 and 258.57 261.65 3.08 2.75 1.62 FSA-310 and 265.80 267.93 2.13 1.90 1.89 FSA-320 No significant values Serra Alta - East Zone FSA-286 179.30 180.27 0.97 0.95 0.96 FSA-286 and 186.55 203.88 17.33 17.03 1.04 FSA-286 and 222.79 223.82 1.03 1.01 1.17 FSA-286 and 230.70 235.82 5.12 5.03 1.24 FSA-286 and 250.63 251.71 1.08 1.06 0.63 FSA-286 and 262.57 280.51 17.94 17.63 0.75 FSA-286 and 290.20 291.25 1.05 1.03 0.55 FSA-286 and 305.14 312.40 7.26 7.13 1.30 FSA-286 and 315.65 316.68 1.03 1.01 0.54 FSA-286 and 347.49 348.54 1.05 1.03 0.63 FSA-286 and 363.12 364.19 1.07 1.05 0.43 FSA-286 and 376.14 382.92 6.78 6.66 0.43 FSA-286 and 392.80 393.92 1.12 1.10 0.30 FSA-286 and 402.61 403.72 1.11 1.09 0.55 FSA-286 and 410.21 417.40 7.19 7.07 0.33 FSA-286 and 443.18 468.21 25.03 24.60 19.01 FSA-286 includes 446.42 449.15 2.73 2.68 148.46 FSA-286 includes 452.90 455.69 2.79 2.74 22.99 FSA-286 and 481.60 485.75 4.15 4.08 0.98 FSA-286 and 491.15 497.43 6.28 6.17 0.42 FSA-286 and 500.62 501.71 1.09 1.07 0.44 FSA-286 and 515.36 516.40 1.04 1.02 1.89 FSA-307 82.21 83.22 1.01 1.01 0.35 FSA-307 and 91.54 92.60 1.06 1.06 0.34 FSA-307 and 95.84 96.88 1.04 1.04 0.30 FSA-307 and 101.07 107.22 6.15 6.15 0.66 FSA-309 34.00 46.93 12.93 12.20 0.51 FSA-309 and 52.97 56.88 3.91 3.69 0.39 FSA-309 and 65.91 162.15 96.24 90.81 2.09 FSA-309 Includes 83.06 85.12 2.06 1.94 8.50 FSA-309 Includes 109.68 116.87 7.19 6.78 19.09 FSA-309 Includes 134.26 137.40 3.14 2.96 2.26 FSA-309 Includes 161.13 162.15 1.02 0.96 3.86 FSA-311 35.18 49.82 14.64 14.48 0.85 FSA-311 includes 38.50 39.58 1.08 1.07 3.63 FSA-311 includes 44.37 45.54 1.17 1.16 3.69 FSA-311 and 52.94 53.97 1.03 1.02 1.81 FSA-311 and 57.17 58.24 1.07 1.06 0.80 FSA-311 and 68.00 69.04 1.04 1.03 0.41 FSA-311 and 73.15 74.15 1.00 0.99 2.49 FSA-311 and 81.20 82.22 1.02 1.01 1.58 FSA-311 and 85.26 90.39 5.13 5.07 1.44 FSA-311 and 94.52 104.71 10.19 10.08 1.63 FSA-311 includes 96.51 98.62 2.11 2.09 4.99 FSA-311 and 113.93 118.04 4.11 4.06 1.49 FSA-311 includes 113.93 114.95 1.02 1.01 5.22 FSA-311 and 122.18 133.40 11.22 11.09 1.58 FSA-311 includes 130.35 133.40 3.05 3.02 3.64 FSA-311 and 140.44 148.52 8.08 7.99 1.36 FSA-313 No significant values FSA-315 95.10 96.06 0.96 0.92 0.53 FSA-315 and 110.07 111.06 0.99 0.95 0.67 FSA-315 and 132.60 133.62 1.02 0.98 0.38 FSA-316 No significant values FSA-317 207.17 219.47 12.30 11.93 0.85 FSA-317 Includes 207.17 208.09 0.92 0.89 3.99 FSA-317 Includes 213.41 214.41 1.00 0.97 2.46 FSA-317 Includes 218.46 219.47 1.01 0.98 2.37 FSA-317 and 223.39 226.14 2.75 2.67 0.24 FSA-317 and 272.38 273.42 1.04 1.01 0.41 FSA-317 and 314.11 318.26 4.15 4.02 0.59 FSA-317 and 323.47 329.70 6.23 6.04 0.64 FSA-317 Includes 324.49 325.56 1.07 1.04 2.77 FSA-318 13.43 18.00 4.57 4.51 0.33 FSA-318 and 35.00 36.04 1.04 1.03 0.70 FSA-318 and 45.43 47.54 2.11 2.08 0.32 FSA-318 and 60.88 61.89 1.01 1.00 0.83 FSA-318 and 86.69 87.72 1.03 1.02 0.50 FSA-318 and 96.90 97.90 1.00 0.99 0.34 FSA-318 and 134.87 135.90 1.03 1.02 0.56 FSA-318 and 142.15 145.14 2.99 2.95 0.59 FSA-319 39.15 40.34 1.19 1.19 0.40 FSA-319 and 44.60 45.61 1.01 1.01 0.31 FSA-319 and 51.91 62.03 10.12 10.12 0.33 FSA-319 and 72.35 73.40 1.05 1.05 0.32 FSA-319 and 80.75 82.79 2.04 2.04 0.44 FSA-319 and 101.38 102.60 1.22 1.22 0.31 Serra Alta - E3 FSA-305 461.02 461.92 0.90 - 0.91 FSA-305 and 478.95 482.33 3.38 - 2.14 FSA-305 Includes 478.95 479.77 0.82 - 6.75 FSA-306 482.98 485.11 2.13 - 0.50 FSA-306 and 508.87 511.71 2.84 - 2.02 FSA-306 Includes 509.69 510.64 0.95 - 5.10 FSA-312 No significant values Gogo da Onca FGO-031 71.21 73.22 2.01 1.42 0.59 FGO-031 and 80.08 81.11 1.03 0.73 0.54 FGO-031 and 126.40 129.78 3.38 2.38 0.45 FGO-031 and 136.06 141.45 5.39 3.80 0.37 FGO-031 and 145.15 146.28 1.13 0.80 0.40 FGO-031 and 154.33 157.77 3.44 2.42 0.37 >10m x g/t >30m x g/t

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Analytical work was carried out by ALS international lab (ALS). MDC send half core samples for sample preparation to the lab. The facilities of the prep lab are located in Goiania, Brazil 835 km from the MDC project and alternatively in Belo Horizonte, Brazil 1,110 Km from the MDC project. MDC sends out samples to ALS international labs (ALS) with the prep lab located in Goiania or alternatively in Belo Horizonte. ALS lab sends the prepared aliquots for analytical assay to their lab in Lima, Peru where the prepared samples are systematically analyzed for gold (ppm) by fire assay (Au-AA24) or gold (ppm) by metallic screen (Au-SCR24). Randomly the ICP (Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) is done for trace elements in 4 acids (hydrofluoric, perchloric, nitric and hydrochloric) digestion (ME-MS-61). ALS has routine quality control procedures which ensure that every batch of samples includes three sample repeats and at least two commercial standards and two blanks. Cerrado uses standard QA/QC procedures, inserting reference standards and blanks, for the drilling program. The Reference material used are from CDN Resource Laboratories Ltd., ITAK (Instituto de Tecnologia August Kekule Ltda. And OREAS).

Review of Technical Information

The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Sergio Gelcich, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for Cerrado Gold Inc., who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

Mark Brennan David Ball CEO and Co Chairman Vice President, Corporate Development Tel: +1-647-796-0023 Tel: +1-647-796-0068 mbrennan@cerradogold.com dball@cerradogold.com

About Cerrado

Cerrado is a Toronto based gold production, development and exploration company focused on gold projects in the Americas. The Company is the 100% owner of both the producing Minera Don Nicolas mine in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, and the highly prospective development project, Monte Do Carmo located in Tocantins State, Brazil.

At Minera Don Nicolas, Cerrado is maximising asset value through further operation optimization and continued production growth. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package.

At Monte Do Carmo, Cerrado is rapidly advancing the Serra Alta deposit through Feasibility and production. The Serra Alta deposit Indicated Resources of 541 kozs of contained gold and Inferred Resources of 780 kozs of contained gold. The Preliminary Economic Assessment demonstrates robust economics as well as the potential to be one of the industry's lowest cost producers. Cerrado also holds an extensive and highly prospective 82,542 ha land package at Monte Do Carmo.

For more information about Cerrado please visit our website at: www.cerradogold.com.

Disclaimer

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation, all statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the business and operations of Cerrado. In making the forward- looking statements contained in this press release, Cerrado has made certain assumptions, including, but not limited to the expected timing to complete the Feasibility Study at MDC, the exploration potential and scale of MDC and conversion of resources from inferred to indicated. Although Cerrado believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Cerrado disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

SOURCE: Cerrado Gold Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737353/Cerrado-Gold-Completes-Feasibility-Infill-Drill-Program-and-Is-Finalizing-Plans-for-an-Aggressive-Exploration-Program-at-Its-Monte-Do-Carmo-Project-in-Brazil
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY) (OTCQX:CPPKF) is pleased to announce the results from two drill holes at its Copper Creek Project, located in Arizona, U.S. ("Copper Creek").

Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "The continued success of our Phase II drill program is extremely encouraging as it confirms our view that there is significant upside to the existing Mineral Resource Estimate. This high-grade drill hole demonstrates the potential to grow the open pit mineralization at Copper Creek."

Highlights

Intersected 33.77 metres ("m") at 3.43% copper and 2.53 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver from 38.10 m at the Copper Knight breccia in drill hole FCD-22-016 (Table 1, Figures 1, 2).

and 2.53 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver from 38.10 m at the Copper Knight breccia in drill hole FCD-22-016 (Table 1, Figures 1, 2). This interval is within a longer intersection of 65.20 m at 1.88% copper and 1.56 g/t silver from 38.10 m .

and 1.56 g/t silver from 38.10 m The Copper Knight breccia is part of a cluster of mineralized breccias, which includes Copper Giant, Copper Prince, and Copper Duchess (Figure 1).

Drill hole FCD-22-016 was collared north of Copper Knight and drilled to the southeast, closing a gap in historical drilling. The high-grade mineralization is located at the contact between granodiorite porphyry and hydrothermal breccia, where there is increased permeability. Mineralization remains open at depth.

Figure 1: Plan View Showing Drill Holes Reported in this News Release

Note: The open pit shell is based on constraints used in the MRE as presented in the report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Mineral Resource Estimate Copper Creek Project, Arizona" dated August 18, 2022 (the "Technical Report").

Figure 2: Cross Section Showing Drill Hole FCD-22-016

Drill hole FCD-22-011 was collared at the Glory Hole breccia and drilled to the west where previous drill coverage is low. No mineralized intervals of more than 5 m length were identified in this hole. The first 30 m of the drill hole intersected breccia and a leached cap characterized by iron oxides after sulphides, but no significant copper mineralization. Two consecutive samples from 63.36 to 67.70 m yielded 0.29% and 0.41% copper, respectively, and a single 2-metre-wide sample with 1.14 g/t silver and 0.21% copper is present at 210.75 m. These results suggest that the mineral system remains open at depth and to the west of the Glory Hole breccia.

Table 1: Selected Drill Results from Copper Creek

Drill Hole ID From To Length Cu Mo Au Ag (m) (m) (m) (%) (ppm) (g/t) (g/t) FCD-22-016 38.10 103.30 65.20 1.88 17 0.02 1.56 Including 38.10 71.87 33.77 3.43 11 0.04 2.53 FCD-22-011 No significant assay results

Notes: All intercepts are reported as downhole drill widths.

Table 2: Collar Locations from the Drill Holes Reported Herein

Drill Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Target Depth Depth (m) () () (ft) (m) FCD-22-016 548152 3624588 1276 160 -68 Copper Knight 566.0 185.44 FCD-22-011 547733 3624785 1285 255 -45 Glory Hole 783.0 256.64 Total 1,349.0 442.08

Note: Coordinates are given as World Geodetic System 84, Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 12 north (WGS84, UTM12N).

Next Steps

Phase II drilling continues and is focussed on three objectives:

Reconnaissance drilling on new targets;

Expanding the MRE; and

Better delineating high-grade mineralized zones.

Fourteen drill holes have been completed and the results for three drill holes have been released to date. The assay results for additional completed drill holes will be released as they are received, analyzed and confirmed by the Company.

Sampling Methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Control and Quality Assurance

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the Company's geologists and the chain of custody from Copper Creek to the independent sample preparation facility, ALS Laboratories in Tucson, AZ, was continuously monitored. The samples were taken as  core, over 2 m core length. Samples were crushed, pulverized and sample pulps were analyzed using industry standard analytical methods including a 4-Acid ICP-MS multielement package and an ICP-AES method for high-grade copper samples. Gold was analyzed on a 30 g aliquot by fire assay with an ICP-AES finish. A certified reference sample was inserted every 20th sample. Coarse blanks were inserted every 20th sample. Approximately 5% of the core samples were cut into  core and submitted as field duplicates. On top of internal QA-QC protocol, additional blanks, reference materials and duplicates were inserted by the analytical laboratory according to their procedure. Data verification of the analytical results included a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to ensure accurate and verifiable results.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Faraday's VP Exploration, Dr. Thomas Bissig, P. Geo., who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Faraday Copper

Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing its flagship copper project in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the TSX under the symbol "FDY".

For additional information please contact:

Stacey Pavlova, CFA

Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications

Faraday Copper Corp.

E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com

Website: www.faradaycopper.com

To receive news releases by e-mail, please register using the Faraday website at www.faradaycopper.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the exploration potential of the Copper Creek property.

Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This news release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this news release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737298/Faraday-Copper-Reports-3377-metres-at-343-Copper-within-6520-meters-at-188-Copper-at-Copper-Creek-in-Arizona
EQS Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Law amendment of securities according to  50 Para. 1, No. 1 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act]

Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement on Results of Implementation of Share Repurchase Through Centralized Bidding Transactions



31.01.2023 / 12:15 CET/CEST

Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 1 WpHG transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG



Announcement on Results of Implementation of Share Repurchase Through Centralized Bidding Transactions

Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hong Kong, 31 January 2023 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) today published an announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and applicable PRC laws in relation to the results of the implementation of share repurchase through centralized bidding transactions.

The announcement is fully available at:

https://smart-home.haier.com/en/dggg/P020230131648064112131.pdf?appdesc=Announcement%20on%20the%20Results%20of%20the%20Implementation%20of%20Share%20Repurchase%20Through%20Centralized%20Bidding%20Transactions



IR Contact:

Haier Smart Home Hong Kong

T: +852 2169 0000

Email: ir@haier.hk

Press Contact:

CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH

Sara Pinto

Sven Pauly

pi@crossalliance.de

T: +49 (0) 89 1250903 35



About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.:

Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience.

31.01.2023 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hexaware Technologies announced today that it has expanded its membership in the SAP PartnerEdge program to include the Sell track, with the goal of selling many SAP products, including RISE with SAP. This is in addition to its existing participation in the Service track. Participation in the Sell track will help Hexaware accelerate the sales cycle and deliver more comprehensive SAP portfolio solutions, in a flexible model that will help transform business outcomes.





"Expanding our SAP partnership to the Sell track is a natural next step to continue to accelerate our clients' business transformations leveraging SAP solutions and our Triadic+ platform," said Kamal Maggon, Corporate Vice President - Hexaware Technologies. "This expanded partnership reinforces our continuous investments in innovations, solution accelerators, digital automations, and a strong focus on customer business outcomes."

Hexaware will continue to help businesses that use SAP solutions in their business modernization and landscape transformation journeys with design, implementation, and integration of SAP solutions; optimizing business processes; and providing strategic business consultation. As an SAP partner, Hexaware will take an active part in deploying the intelligent enterprise and collaborative SaaS solutions.

Hexaware Technologies is a partner in the SAP PartnerEdge program. The SAP PartnerEdge program provides the enablement tools, benefits, and support to facilitate building high-quality, disruptive applications focused on specific business needs - quickly and cost-effectively.

About Hexaware

Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company. Our 30,000 Hexawarians are driven by our purpose; to create smiles through great people and technology. With 54 offices in 19 countries, we empower enterprises to realize digital transformation at scale and speed by partnering with them to build, modernize, run, and optimize their IT landscapes. We put people first in everything we do and seek to improve people's lives by collaborating with our stakeholders to build a better, more sustainable tomorrow.

Learn more about Hexaware at https://www.hexaware.com.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530945/Hexaware.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hexaware-expands-its-membership-in-sap-partneredge-program-to-include-sell-track-301734326.html
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - General Motors Co. (GM) said that the company and Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC, LAC.TO) will jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, which is the largest known source of lithium in the United States. As per the deal, GM will make a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas. Lithium Americas estimates the lithium extracted and processed from the project can support production of up to 1 million EVs per year. Lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass will be used in GM's proprietary Ultium battery cells. Lithium is a key material in lithium-ion batteries and stands up well to repeated charging and discharging, delivers higher energy density. Production at Thacker Pass is projected to begin in the second half of 2026. GM will receive exclusive access to Phase 1 production through a binding supply agreement and has the right of first offer on Phase 2 production. Lithium Americas expects Thacker Pass to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations. Copyright(c) 2023 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.




The ruling People Power Party (PPP) will hold a primary to pick final candidates to become the new party leader before the national convention in March, the party's election committee said Tuesday.







The party will pick the top four candidates for the leadership race through a vote of paying party members by Feb. 10 and hold a national convention on March 8 to elect a new leader.







It will hold a runoff if none of the final candidates wins a majority and announce the results on March 12.







Four sitting lawmakers  Reps. Kim Gi-hyeon, Ahn Cheol-soo, Cho Kyoung-tae and Yoon Sang-hyun  as well as former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Kang Sin-eop, an attorney and former head of first lady Kim Keon Hee's fan club, have declared bids for the PPP chairmanship until now.







A Realmeter poll showed last week Kim is leading the race, with Ahn closely trailing behind. (Yonhap)


Digitally-enabled Executive Risks products help protect businesses from fast-moving risks; make customizing management liability coverage easier and quicker for brokers

Coalition, the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, today announced the addition of Crime and Fiduciary Liability Insurance coverage provided through a collaboration with Zurich American Insurance Company to protect small businesses. Adding Crime and Fiduciary Liability to Coalition's Executive Risks product lines makes it easier than ever for brokers to quote and bind via Coalition's streamlined digital application process, all for protection from a wider range of risks.

"Today's crime and fiduciary liability threats are digital, fast-moving, and potentially devastating for any business. Like cyber incidents, these risks can be triggered by internal or external threats, including theft, negligence, and human error," said Patrick Mitchell, Coalition's Head of Executive Risks. "With Coalition's Active Insurance approach, brokers can take proactive steps to help small businesses identify and mitigate risks related to losses tied to fiduciary liability and crime exposures."

Coalition's Executive Risks products, including its existing Directors Officers Liability (D&O) Insurance and Employment Practice Liability (EPL) coverage, make it easier than ever for brokers to customize products. Coalition provides brokers with a risk assessment alongside every quote to facilitate risk management conversations with every client. The company's flexible approach allows brokers to customize coverages to address specific crime and fiduciary liability risks-in addition to the policy limits and retentions.

"Coalition's industry-leading turnaround time for generating quotes is one of the principal reasons for our high success rate binding new business," continued Mitchell. "Our risk engineers are incredibly responsive and focused on extending our mission to protect the unprotected. I am thrilled with our progress and efforts to continue growing Coalition's Executive Risks offering."

Coalition's new Crime Insurance is designed to help protect organizations from criminal activity both externally (via third parties) and internally (via their own employees). Even as cybercriminals and their tactics become more complex, most cyber and cybercrime attacks are still executed via social engineering.

Negligence and mismanagement of benefits plans can lead to fiduciary liability claims. Coalition's new Fiduciary Liability Insurance helps businesses manage their risks related to their employee benefits plans. New policies may include excessive fee coverage, settlor coverage, and a comprehensive list of covered civil penalties.

To learn more about Coalition's Executive Risks Insurance, please visit: coalitioninc.com/executive-risks-insurance.

Coalition Insurance Solutions Inc. ("CIS") is a licensed insurance producer with its principal place of business in San Francisco, CA (Cal. license #0L76155). CIS' Crime and Fiduciary Liability Insurance coverage is provided through a collaboration with Zurich American Insurance Company, located at 1299 Zurich Way, Schaumburg, IL 60196 (NAIC 16535). Insurance products offered through CIS may not be available in all states. CIS may receive compensation from an insurer or other intermediary in connection with the sale of insurance. All decisions regarding any insurance products referenced herein, including approval for coverage, premium, commission, and fees, will be made solely by the insurer underwriting the insurance under the insurer's then-current criteria. All insurance products are governed by the terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions set forth in the applicable insurance policy. Please see a copy of your policy for the full terms, conditions, and exclusions. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Coalition and the Coalition logo are trademarks of Coalition, Inc. or its affiliates.

About Coalition

Coalition is the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes. By combining comprehensive insurance coverage and cybersecurity tools, Coalition helps businesses manage and mitigate digital risks. Coalition offers its Active Insurance products in the U.S., U.K., and Canada through relationships with leading global insurers, including Arch Insurance North America, Allianz, Ascot Group, Lloyd's of London, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Vantage, and management liability coverage through Zurich American Insurance Company. Its security products are available to organizations worldwide. Coalition's Active Risk Platform provides automated security alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance, and cybersecurity tools to help businesses remain resilient in the face of cyber attacks. Headquartered in San Francisco, Coalition is a distributed company with a global workforce that collaborates digitally and in office hubs.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005479/en/

Contacts:

Marisa Graves

Communications at Coalition

press@coalitioninc.com
Children worldwide call on leaders to make good on promises of universal education in ground-breaking campaign from Education Cannot Wait.

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Through an innovative campaign delivered by the UN's global fund for education in emergencies, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), girls and boys worldwide are sharing "Postcards from the Edge" to call on world leaders to make good on promises to ensure education for all by 2030 as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.





"They are inspiring testaments to the amazing power of education to transform lives. We must listen to the world's children. They deserve their human right to an education," said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lucas*, a 14-year-old refugee from the Central African Republic recounts the story of seeing his mother murdered and his village burnt to the ground.

Through a multi-year resilience programme delivered by UNHCR with funding from ECW, the boy is now back in school and dreams one day of becoming a doctor.

In his postcard, Lucas makes an impassioned plea for world leaders "to think of us refugee children and provide funding to let us finish our studies."

Several letters were submitted from girls and boys in Afghanistan. With new rules banning girls from education and stripping women of their human rights, it is not clear if Zehab* from the Uruzgan Province will be able to continue her education. But for now, she is still able to attend a non-formal community-based learning programme.

"I want to get education and become a well-known doctor. But I am wondering that I might not achieve my dreams, as girls are not allowed to attend schools in Afghanistan," she says in her postcard. "I call on the world leaders to help us and give us the opportunity to learn and lead our future."

Worldwide 222 million girls and boys like Zehab and Lucas are having their futures ripped from them by the converging impacts of conflict, climate change, forced displacement and other protracted crises.

Leaders across the globe will come together at the Education Cannot Wait High-Level Financing Conference on February 16 and 17 in Geneva, Switzerland. Throughout the event, youth advocates and global champions will read the Postcards from the Edge to ensure the voice of the world's most vulnerable children are heard.

*Names have been changed for privacy purposes.





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Innovative offering combines signals-based approach, rules-based logic and advanced data analytics with customizable technology for targeted, efficient results

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eventus, a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, today announced the broad introduction of Validus AML (VAML), a new end-to-end anti-money laundering (AML) platform aimed at helping firms in both the traditional finance and digital asset space combat financial crime. The new cloud-based Validus AML (VAML) offering uniquely combines a signals-based approach to behavior detection, rules-based logic and advanced data analytics to deliver a comprehensive solution producing significant efficiencies and adaptability for a changing regulatory landscape.





The product introduction represents Eventus' first major expansion into a new sector of surveillance, complementing its widely used Validus platform for trade surveillance, risk monitoring and algorithmic monitoring. While Validus has always provided transaction monitoring capabilities as part of trade surveillance, VAML will offer a full spectrum of powerful detection, workflow and case management tools for current and new clients, enabling them to reduce financial and regulatory risk, identify a range of illicit financial behaviors and further streamline their use of external vendors on critical compliance functions. Enhancements to functionality will be rolled out in phases throughout the course of the year.

Eventus CEO Travis Schwab said: "Firms operating in traditional financial markets and digital assets alike are facing greater challenges than ever to protect themselves from those presenting a risk to their businesses and reputations, along with their standing with government regulators. Validus AML reimagines what an anti-money laundering program can do, reflecting a paradigm shift from traditional alert-focused solutions and taking the burden off compliance teams. We're excited to introduce our flexible new solution, offering the ability to easily adapt to increasingly complex local, regional and global AML regulatory requirements and to keep pace with evolving business risk across geographies, business lines and client profiles."

VAML is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution combining transaction monitoring, behavioral analytics and sanctions monitoring in a single, scalable and easily configurable platform that enables users to reduce the risk of fines and reputational damage while saving time and resources, focusing on only genuinely suspicious activity. Traditional AML platforms generate an alert for each suspicious event, which requires regulatory and compliance staff to stitch them together for a complete picture of activity from any given customer or entity. VAML's signals-based technology and flexible approach to AML behavior modeling facilitates the aggregation of multiple events into a single "scenario model," dramatically reducing false-positive alerts and producing highly effective, targeted results. VAML also maintains a customer activity profile based on historical client behaviors and transactions, with the ability to generate signals when customer activity deviates from historical patterns, contributing to the sophistication of the scenario models.

Clients will be able to onboard almost any source of customer transaction and trade data from their own systems and third-party providers - along with continuously updated government watchlists - in a "low-touch" fashion through the modular new platform, with out-of-the box connectivity to the Validus trade surveillance platform. VAML gives clients a visual data layer to extract, transform and load any type of data which, when combined with the client data, enriches Know Your Customer (KYC), customer lifecycle and ongoing transaction monitoring activities.

About Eventus

Eventus is a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions. Its powerful, award-winning Validus platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate across equities, options, futures, foreign exchange (FX), fixed income and digital asset markets. Validus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments of tier-1 banks, broker-dealers, futures commission merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading groups, market centers, buy-side institutions, energy and commodity trading firms, and regulators. The company's rapidly growing client base relies on Validus and Eventus' responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. For more, visit www.eventus.com .

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WESTCHESTER, Ill., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ingredion Incorporated (https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/) (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to the food and beverage industry, today announced that it has been named to the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (https://www.bloomberg.com/gei/) (GEI), marking its sixth consecutive year on the list. The Company is one of 484 companies across 45 countries and regions to join the GEI, a modified market capitalization-weighted index developed to gauge the performance of public companies dedicated to reporting gender-related data. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.



"Being included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for six consecutive years is incredibly rewarding and underscores our commitment and focus on creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace," said Jim Zallie (https://www.ingredionincorporated.com/AboutUs/executiveleadershipteam/Zallie.html), Ingredion's president and chief executive officer. "Our purpose and values continue to guide us toward building and sustaining a supportive culture for female talent where everyone can reach their full potential. Building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive culture is an important driver of our growth culture that is focused on being customer preferred by enabling consumer-preferred innovation for shared value creation."

"Congratulations to the companies that are included in the 2023 GEI," said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg and founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. "We continue to see an increase in both interest and membership globally, reflecting a shared goal of transparency in gender-related metrics."

The Company submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg, in collaboration with subject matter experts globally. Those included on this year's index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

Both the survey and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. Bloomberg collected this data for reference purposes only. The index is not ranked. While all public companies are encouraged to disclose supplemental gender data for their company's investment profile on the Bloomberg Terminal, those that have a market capitalization of USD1 billion are eligible for inclusion in the Index.

About Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR) headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in more than 120 countries. With 2021 annual net sales of nearly $7 billion, the Company turns grains, fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets. With Ingredion Idea Labs?innovation centers around the world and approximately 12,000 employees, the Company co-creates with customers and fulfills its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature, and technology together to make life better. Visit ingredion.com (https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/) for more information and the latest Company news.

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company's strength - delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately - is the core of Bloomberg Professional Services (https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/). For more information, visit www.bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/) or request a demo (http://www.bloomberg.com/professional/request-demo/?utm_source=bbg-pr&bbgsum=dg-ws-core-pr).

CONTACT:

Investors: Noah Weiss, 773-896-5242

Media: Becca Hary, 708-551-2602
The approval allows Eyenuk's AI eye screening system, already approved for detection of diabetic retinopathy, to aid millions of additional patients at risk for vision loss

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023, a global artificial intelligence (AI) digital health company, and the leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening and AI Predictive Biomarkers, has been approved to market its EyeArt AI eye screening system in the European Union for the new uses of detecting age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucomatous optic nerve damage (a sign of glaucoma).

The EyeArt AI system (version 3.0) has been granted a new European Commission (EC) certification as a Class IIb medical device under the EU's Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 ("MDR") and is intended to detect signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (including diabetic macular edema), AMD, and glaucomatous optic nerve damage in patients at risk of vision loss using computerized analysis of images of the retina. The EyeArt AI system was previously approved in the EU for the detection of DR including diabetic macular edema.

This EC Certification makes the EyeArt AI system the first and only autonomous AI solution with Class IIb MDR CE marking for the automated detection of all three eye diseases and will allow Eyenuk customers in the EU to detect the diseases in a single exam using the same set of retinal images. The EyeArt AI system is also the first and only system that is both CE Marked for the detection of the three diseases as well as FDA-cleared in the United States for the detection of DR, the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults.

The EyeArt AI system greatly expands the availability of vision-saving eye screenings by making automated AI diagnosis and coordination of care possible in primary care medical practices without the need for a specialist's review. The system is integrated with retinal imaging cameras and can be operated by clinical support staff to generate a detailed screening report in less than 30 seconds. In regions with limited access to ophthalmologists, its ability to detect multiple eye diseases with a single exam can help reduce vision loss from these blinding eye diseases.

Malavika Bhaskaranand, Head of Regulatory and Clinical Affairs at Eyenuk, commented, "Achieving MDR certification is a major milestone for Eyenuk and a result of our early adaptation to the more stringent requirements of the new regulation. It reaffirms the strong results from rigorous clinical validation of the EyeArt AI system."

Kaushal Solanki, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Eyenuk, commented, "This EC certification multiplies our impact in two ways. First, our autonomous AI can now help many more patients at risk of vision loss - the population at risk of AMD and glaucoma, particularly seniors, in addition to people with diabetes. Second, our AI system can now provide a more comprehensive report for each patient with detection results for three diseases compared to just one previously."

Solanki continued, "DR, AMD, and glaucoma are all asymptomatic in their early stages. The high sensitivity of the EyeArt AI system, and its ability to be delivered without a specialist, makes it easier to catch the diseases early and to take preventative measures to protect the vision of these patients. We look forward to the opportunity to forge new partnerships with world-class hospitals and healthcare institutions in Europe to help preserve the eyesight of millions across the continent with these diseases."

EC Certification Caps Year of Breakthroughs for Eyenuk

The EC Certification of the EyeArt AI system caps a year of significant clinical and business milestones for Eyenuk. The company's accomplishments in 2022 included:

Securing $26 million in a Series A financing round, bringing the company's total funding to over $43 million

Reaching the new milestone of 70,000 patients screened using the EyeArt AI system globally since its FDA clearance in August 2020, by far the most screenings by any FDA-cleared autonomous AI system

Growing the number of locations using the EyeArt AI system to more than 200 in 18 countries and throughout the US

Publication of a major peer-reviewed study (https://www.ophthalmologyscience.org/article/S2666-9145(22)00117-8/fulltext) finding that the EyeArt AI system is far more sensitive in identifying referable DR than dilated eye exams by ophthalmologists and retina specialists

Winning Juniper Research's Future Digital Health award for the "Best Digital Diagnostics Solution"

Being named a finalist for the UCSF Digital Health Award

About Eyenuk, Inc.

Eyenuk, Inc. is a global artificial intelligence, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About the EyeArt AI System

The EyeArtAI system provides fully autonomous screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and glaucomatous optic nerve damage, including retinal imaging, based on international clinical standards and immediate reporting, in a single office visit during a patient's regular exam. Once the patient's fundus images have been captured and submitted to the EyeArt AI System, the detection results are available in a PDF report in less than 30 seconds.

The EyeArt AI system was developed with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is validated by the U.K. National Health Service. The EyeArt AI system has CE marking as a class IIb medical device in the European Union under the EU's Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 ("MDR") for the detection of DR, AMD, and glaucomatous optic nerve damage. Additionally, the system has U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance and a Health Canada license for autonomous detection of DR. It is designed to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliant.

The EyeArt AI system is reimbursable by government and private payors in the U.S. under the Category 1 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 92229.

Learn more about the EyeArtAI System by watching this video.

Media Inquiries:

Todd Stein

510-417-0612

Todd@toddsteincommunications.com




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Company") is pleased to update investors on the final results of the Phase 2 diamond drilling programme at its advanced Rodruin gold exploration project, located in the Company's 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat" or the "Concession"), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Highlights:

Diamond drilling was completed at Rodruin on December 10, 2022, with a total of 9,073 metres drilled from 85 holes. The results are now available for the final 16 holes, ROD-118 to ROD-133;

8 drill holes were completed in the Aladdin's Hill and Aladdin's Hill NE areas, with results including 4.39 g/t Au and 4.5 g/t Ag over an interval of 11.85m from 29.45m downhole depth (ROD-120) and 3.72 g/t Au and 5.8 g/t Ag over 5.5m from 26.3m (ROD-122), both associated with oxidised phyllic alteration zones;

from 29.45m downhole depth (ROD-120) and from 26.3m (ROD-122), both associated with oxidised phyllic alteration zones; Mineralisation associated with gossanous carbonates at Aladdin's Hill returned intervals of 63.2m grading 0.69 g/t Au and 6.6 g/t Ag (ROD-123) and 18.7m grading 1.27 g/t Au and 6.5 g/t Ag (ROD-124), both from surface. ROD-124 also returned an intersection of 41.6m grading 4.36% Zn and 0.29 g/t Au from 74.7m;

(ROD-123) and (ROD-124), both from surface. ROD-124 also returned an intersection of from 74.7m; A further 8 holes were drilled at the Central Buttress Zone, the GF Zone and the South and North Ridges which returned mineralised intersections including 3.14 g/t Au and 4.2 g/t Ag over an interval of 8.6m from surface (ROD-128) at the GF Zone, and 0.77 g/t Au and 7.0 g/t Ag over an interval of 27.5m, also from surface (ROD-127), at the Central Buttress Zone.

"We have now received the final assays from the Rodruin Phase 2 diamond drilling, and are pleased to be able to announce another solid set of drill results. The final results have been forwarded on to our MRE consultants, Cube Consulting, and they can now get properly started on block modelling the Rodruin deposit" said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. "We are very happy with the results from the Phase 2 diamond drilling programme at Rodruin, with virtually every single hole in the programme intersecting mineralisation. We believe that we now have a sufficient drill density to meet the primary objective of the programme which was to enable us to delineate a maiden oxide mineral resource at Rodruin, which we expect to be readily amenable to exploitation using very low strip ratio open pit mining methods, and will enable us to secure the mining licence at Abu Marawat. But more than that we have really flagged up the future potential of the Rodruin deposit with some very impressive sulphide intercepts. The metallurgical samples collected from both Rodruin and Hamama were forwarded to Wardell Armstrong International in the UK before the New Year, and the test work programmes are proceeding well, with encouraging preliminary results. Our immediate focus in the field is now on the short additional drilling programme which started at Hamama in mid-January with a view to adding potential incremental oxide resources at Hamama East, as we work towards maiden and revised mineral resource estimates and delineating "commercial discoveries" at Rodruin and Hamama by mid-2023. We have also started further mapping and sampling programmes on some of our excellent regional targets including Abu Gaharish, Semna and Bohlog, in advance of new RC drilling programmes on these prospects, which we plan to start after Ramadan. So Aton continues to move ahead simultaneously on numerous fronts, as we look to secure the mining licence at Abu Marawat later this year, and to finally start to realise the enormous potential of the Concession for our shareholders, and all our stakeholders in Egypt."

Rodruin diamond drilling programme

The Rodruin prospect was discovered in December 2017 by Aton geologists (see news release dated December 14, 2017), and is located approximately 18km east of the Company's Hamama West mineral deposit (Figure 1). A 50 hole Phase 1 reverse circulation percussion ("RC") drilling programme was undertaken at Rodruin in 2018.

Figure 1: Geology plan of the Abu Marawat Concession showing the location of the Rodruin project

The Phase 2 diamond drilling programme commenced in November 2021, and oxide zone results reported to date include 88.25m grading 1.74 g/t Au and 9.7 g/t Ag, from 25.75m (hole ROD-055, see news release dated March 1, 2022), and 129.5m grading 1.00 g/t Au and 8.8 g/t Ag, over the entire length of hole ROD-056 from its collar (see news release dated March 7, 2022). Deeper sulphide mineralisation in the Aladdin's Hill NE area has returned intersections including 88.6m grading 5.76 g/t Au, 42.0 g/t Ag, 0.31% Cu and 2.40% Zn (hole ROD-071, see news release dated May 10, 2022), and 36.9m grading 7.04 g/t Au, 47.2 g/t Ag, 0.63% Cu and 7.18% Zn (ROD-075, see news release dated June 1, 2022). The final hole, ROD-133, was completed on December 10, 2022, with a total of 9,073.2 metres drilled. The rig has now been deployed to the Hamama project, where it re-started drilling on January 13, 2023.

The now completed Rodruin diamond drilling programme was designed with the specific objective of delineating and establishing a maiden mineral resource estimate ("MRE") at Rodruin. The main focus of the drilling has been to delineate potential oxide resources, which will be included in the Company's submission to the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority ("EMRA") in support of "commercial discoveries" at both Rodruin and Hamama. This submission is scheduled for mid-2023, and is part of the process laid out in the Abu Marawat Concession Agreement, and which is anticipated will lead to the issuance of an exploitation licence at Abu Marawat, covering both the Rodruin and Hamama deposits.

Discussion of results

Results are now available for the final 16 drill holes, ROD-118 to ROD-133. The rig was converted back to its horizontal configuration, and all holes were drilled horizontally or at shallow angles to test potential near surface oxide mineralisation. These holes were drilled at the Aladdin's Hill ("AH"), Aladdin's Hill NE ("AHNE"), Central Buttress Zone ("CBZ"), South Ridge and GF Zone ("GFZ") areas, with one hole also drilled on the North Ridge. The collar co-ordinates of these holes are provided in Table 1 below, and details of all mineralised intersections are provided in Appendix A.

Hole ID Collar co-ordinates 1 Dip 2 Grid azimuth 2 EOH depth (m) Comments X Y Z ROD-118 552403.3 2913048.3 761.9 1.0 183.8 76.2 Aladdin's Hill NE (oxides) ROD-119 553051.6 2912873.1 691.2 -0.6 360.1 185.5 North Ridge (oxides) ROD-120 552410.5 2913048.3 761.4 -9.2 165.1 65.8 Aladdin's Hill NE (oxides) ROD-121 552403.4 2913048.5 760.5 -29.9 180.1 61.1 Aladdin's Hill NE (oxides) ROD-122 552298.0 2912953.5 754.9 0.1 363.0 174.2 Aladdin's Hill (oxides) ROD-123 552275.6 2912978.2 755.5 -0.4 361.4 92.9 Aladdin's Hill (oxides) ROD-124 552275.5 2912977.5 754.6 -29.9 361.8 145.4 Aladdin's Hill (oxides) ROD-125 552493.7 2912894.9 795.4 -9.9 10.4 84.0 South Ridge (oxides) ROD-126 552705.6 2912858.3 764.5 -0.8 287.0 137.4 CBZ / South Ridge (oxides) ROD-127 552688.3 2912902.5 767.0 0.5 275.2 147.2 CBZ / South Ridge (oxides) ROD-128 552795.0 2912775.2 743.7 -0.2 207.8 89.7 Upper GF Zone (oxides) ROD-129 552447.0 2913024.0 762.1 0.0 168.7 64.6 Aladdin's Hill NE (oxides) ROD-130 552398.9 2913051.6 761.0 -15.6 265.1 61.5 Aladdin's Hill NE (oxides) ROD-131 552775.7 2912917.5 702.2 -2.2 158.9 115.5 GF Zone (oxides) ROD-132 552823.7 2912864.6 688.0 0.0 307.8 93.5 GF Zone (oxides) ROD-133 552823.1 2912860.2 688.2 -1.1 257.0 47.8 GF Zone (oxides) Notes: Collar co-ordinates surveyed by Leica TCRA1203+ R1000 Robotic total station Collar surveys of drill holes undertaken at c. 5-6m depth, using Reflex EZ-Trac survey tool All co-ordinates are UTM (WGS84) Zone 36R

Table 1: Collar details of diamond drill holes ROD-118 to ROD-133

Aladdin's Hill area

3 drill holes were completed from the south side of Aladdin's Hill (ROD-122 to ROD-124, see Figure 2), and a further 5 at AHNE (ROD-118, ROD-120, ROD-121, ROD-129 and ROD-130). A single hole (ROD-125) tested the South Ridge, with all holes intersecting surface or near-surface mineralisation.

ROD-122 returned a mineralised intersection of 5.5m grading 3.72 g/t Au and 5.8 g/t Ag from 26.3m downhole depth, where the wedge of phyllic-hosted mineralisation at AH pinches out at its western extent (Figure 2). To the west of ROD-122, in an area that had not previously been drilled, both holes ROD-123 and ROD-124 returned broad zones of Au and Au-Zn oxide mineralisation, associated with gossanous carbonates, with ROD-123 intersecting 63.2m grading 0.69 g/t Au and 6.6 g/t Ag and ROD-124 intersecting 18.7m grading 1.27 g/t Au and 6.5 g/t Ag, both from surface. ROD-124 also returned a further intersection of 1.69 g/t Au and 11.1 g/t Ag over an interval of 9.1m from 52.7m, as well as a zone of oxide Zn-Au mineralisation which returned 4.36% Zn and 0.29 g/t Au over an interval of 41.6m from 74.7m depth.

Figure 2: Aladdin's Hill area - geology and drill hole collar plan

At Aladdin's Hill NE hole ROD-120 returned 4.39 g/t Au and 4.5 g/t Ag over an interval of 11.85m from 29.45m depth, associated with a zone of phyllic-hosted mineralisation, possibly an extension of the higher grade phyllic-hosted mineralisation exposed at surface at AH. Hole ROD-129 returned 2.66 g/t Au and 7.2 g/t Ag over an interval of 5.25m from 5.15m depth, associated with the Upper Thrust structure. The other holes at AHNE all intercepted lower grade mineralisation associated with gossanous carbonates, including 0.47 g/t Au and 5.7 g/t Ag over an interval of 52.95m from surface (hole ROD-130). ROD-125, drilled under unmineralised carbonates outcropping at surface on the western end of the South Ridge, returned 1.46 g/t Au and 3.6 /t Ag over an interval of 4.33mfrom 57.37m depth.

Central Buttress Zone

2 holes were drilled across the CBZ, ROD-126 and ROD-127, to test for potential gossanous carbonate hosted mineralisation (Figure 3). Both holes intersected oxide mineralisation, associated with voids and cavities, probably due to ancient mine workings. Hole ROD-127 returned 0.77 g/t Au and 7.0 g/t Ag over an interval of 27.5m from surface, and ROD-126 returned 0.85 g/t Au and 4.8 g/t Ag over an interval of 19.8m from 19.4m depth.

Figure 3: Central Buttress / GF Zone area - geology and drill hole collar plan

GF Zone

A further 4 holes were drilled to test the lower grade gossanous carbonate-hosted mineralisation at the GFZ, holes ROD-128 and ROD-131 to ROD-133 (Figure 3). Hole ROD-128 returned 3.14 g/t Au and 4.2 g/t Ag over an interval of 8.6m from surface at the upper, southern margin of the GFZ. Holes ROD-131 and ROD-132 returned wide intersections of lower grade mineralisation at its lower, northern margin, in line with expectations, including 0.41 g/t Au and 6.5 g/t Ag over an interval of 76.2m from surface in hole ROD-131.

North Ridge area

One hole was drilled on the North Ridge, ROD-119 (Figure 4), which returned weak mineralisation in 2 narrow zones, possibly associated with the ancient Death Slots and Summit Veins workings, specifically 0.75 g/t Au and 12.2 g/t Ag over a 6.0m interval from 63.5m depth, possibly representing the down-dip extension of the Summit Veins surface workings, and 0.86 g/t Au and 8.4 g/t Ag over a 1.8m interval from 151.4m depth.

Figure 4: North Ridge / GF Zone area - geology and drill hole collar plan

Sample processing and analytical procedures

Drill core was logged by Aton geologists, and marked up for cutting and sampling at the Rodruin core farm. Samples were typically selected over nominal 1m intervals, but as determined by the logged lithologies. The core was half-cut by Aton staff at the onsite Rodruin sample preparation facility.

The split half-core samples were collected and bagged up in cloth bags, weighed and crushed to -4mm onsite, and split to a nominal c. 250-500g sample size. The coarse crushed reject samples are retained onsite at the Rodruin sample prep facility.

QAQC samples are inserted at a rate of approximately 1 certified reference material (or "standard" sample) every 30 samples, 1 blank sample every 15 samples, and 1 duplicate split sample every 15 samples.

The c. 250-500g dried, crushed and split samples were shipped to ALS Minerals sample preparation laboratory at Marsa Alam, Egypt where they were pulverised to a size fraction of better than 85% passing 75 microns. From this pulverised material a further sub-sample was split off with a nominal c. 50g size, which was shipped on to ALS Minerals at Rosia Montana, Romania for analysis.

Samples were analysed for gold by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy ("AAS") finish (analytical code Au-AA23), and for silver, copper, lead and zinc using an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish (analytical code AA45). Any high grade gold samples (>10 g/t Au) were re-analysed using analytical code Au-GRA21 (also fire assay, but with a gravimetric finish). Any high grade Ag and base metal samples (Ag >100 g/t, and Cu, Pb and Zn >10,000ppm or >1%) were re-analysed using the ore grade technique AA46 (also an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish).

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

TONNO VAHK

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix A - Drilling Intersections

Hole ID Intersection (m) 1 Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Comments From To Interval ROD-118 0.00 17.30 17.30 0.42 5.3 0.01 0.00 0.14 AHNE oxides 34.10 51.50 17.40 0.48 9.3 0.03 0.00 0.41 ROD-119 63.50 69.50 6.00 0.75 12.2 0.10 0.13 0.21 Summit Veins zone? 151.40 153.20 1.80 0.86 8.4 0.19 0.05 3.46 Death Slots zone? ROD-120 0.00 14.00 14.00 0.30 4.7 0.02 0.02 0.35 AHNE oxides 29.45 41.30 11.85 4.39 4.5 0.18 0.15 0.30 ROD-121 0.00 19.40 19.40 0.33 3.3 0.01 0.00 0.13 AHNE oxides 34.40 40.50 6.10 1.86 5.3 0.14 0.10 4.88 ROD-122 26.30 31.80 5.50 3.72 5.8 0.14 0.09 0.99 Aladdin's Hill oxides ROD-123 0.00 63.20 63.20 0.69 6.6 0.02 0.01 0.66 Aladdin's Hill oxides - includes 3.4m of ancient mining voids/cavities ROD-124 0.00 18.70 18.70 1.37 6.5 0.17 0.00 8.42 Aladdin's Hill oxides - includes 5.0m of ancient mining voids/cavities 52.70 61.80 9.10 1.69 11.5 0.27 0.07 0.94 74.70 116.30 41.60 0.29 4.2 0.19 0.01 4.36 incl. 74.70 77.60 2.90 0.12 9.9 0.32 0.03 8.05 ZnOx-rich narrow shear and incl. 78.40 85.15 6.75 1.03 9.2 0.15 0.01 0.41 and incl. 86.70 116.30 29.60 0.15 2.8 0.20 0.01 5.23 ZnOx-rich carbonates ROD-125 38.40 45.10 6.70 0.33 1.2 0.01 0.00 0.04 South Ridge oxides 57.37 61.70 4.33 1.46 3.6 0.01 0.01 0.04 ROD-126 19.40 39.20 19.80 0.85 4.8 0.01 0.01 0.18 CBZ oxides - includes 5.3m of ancient mining voids/cavities 85.70 93.90 8.20 0.34 8.0 0.00 0.00 0.09 ROD-127 0.00 27.50 27.50 0.77 7.0 0.02 0.00 0.15 CBZ oxides - includes 2.45m of ancient mining voids/cavities 49.20 59.50 10.30 0.31 7.0 0.00 0.00 0.02 71.20 83.09 11.89 0.30 3.7 0.00 0.00 0.05 ROD-128 0.00 8.60 8.60 3.14 4.2 0.05 0.01 1.72 Upper GFZ 17.50 22.15 4.65 0.45 4.3 0.07 0.00 0.11 ROD-129 5.15 10.40 5.25 2.66 7.2 0.11 0.09 1.26 AHNE oxides ROD-130 0.00 52.95 52.95 0.47 5.7 0.01 0.00 0.11 AHNE oxides ROD-131 0.00 76.20 76.20 0.41 6.5 0.01 0.01 0.14 GFZ incl. 0.00 37.80 37.80 0.51 8.4 0.01 0.02 0.23 98.60 101.70 3.10 0.90 4.8 0.03 0.00 0.07 ROD-132 19.40 73.50 54.10 0.34 5.2 0.01 0.01 0.09 GFZ incl. 26.00 62.60 36.60 0.39 4.2 0.01 0.00 0.08 ROD-133 - - - - - - - - GFZ (NSA >0.39 g/t Au) Notes: Intersections calculated at a nominal cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au in runs of continuous mineralisation Zones of poor (or no) recovery through ancient mining voids/workings were not sampled, and allocated zero grade

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / RooGold Inc. (CSE:ROO)(OTC PINK:JNCCF)(Frankfurt:5VHA) ("RooGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that in its renewed focus to systematically advance its portfolio of highly prospective precious metals exploration properties in Australia, the Company has appointed Mr. Efdal Olcer as its new Vice President of Exploration.

Mr. Olcer is an exploration geologist with nearly 20 years of international mining and exploration experience spanning across Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, including as VP Exploration for Zodiac Gold, Chief Geologist for Summa Gold and Exploration Manager for MNG Gold. Previously, he also held senior geologist positions for KEFI Minerals, Asia Minor Mining Inc. and Stratex Exploration PLC.

Mr. Olcer holds a B.Sc. Degree in Geological Engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. He has extensive exploration and project development experience working in diverse geological settings, including Archean greenstone belts, porphyry and epithermal deposits, and orogenic systems. Under his leadership, several greenfield and brownfield discoveries have been converted into profitable mining operations.

Mr. Olcer is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, the Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, Geological Society of London and the Turkish Association of Economic Geologists.

Interim CEO and Director of RooGold, Vishal Gupta states, "Efdal's expertise in orogenic precious metals systems will be invaluable in helping progress the Company's Australian property portfolio with a renewed focus on targeted exploration and resource delineation. He has a proven track record of playing an instrumental role in advancing discovery-stage projects to production through his career. As we start to plan next steps for certain core properties in our portfolio, we are delighted to have Efdal join our senior leadership team to help with the process."

Operational Update

RooGold's portfolio of 13 high-grade potential precious metals properies was originally created with the primary objective of selecting the most lucrative of these properties as "core" assets based on initial geological mapping, prospect sampling and ease of surface access. The Company is pleased to announce that based on the results of the initial work completed by its exploration team over the last few months, Arthurs Seat and Castle Rag have now been designated as the Company's core assets in New South Wales, Australia.

Arthurs Seat

The Arthurs Seat property is 42 sq km in area and located ~40 km from the regional town of Inverell. Mineralization targets include both orogenic and intrusive-related silver (Ag), gold (Au) and antimony (Sb). The two key prospects include the Murray & Co Mine (Ag/Au/Sb) and McDonalds Prospects (Ag/Sb). Highest historic mine dump samples returned 750 g/t Ag and 11.6% Sb at Arthurs Seat property, which was lightly mined for Sb. Rock chip sampling results at Murray & Co Mine returned up to 6.27 g/t Au and 1725 g/t Ag and 1.1% Cu. Rock chips at McDonalds returned up to 12.5% Sb.

The Company has established an excellent relationship with surface-rights owners in key areas of this property with ready access. Results from RooGold's prospect sampling has demonstrated potential for high-grade gold and silver mineralization within a broad low-grade silver geochemical halo. Mapping by RooGold has revealed new E-W faults and E-W quartz veins that show potential high-grade stibnite mineralization.

Castle Rag

Castle Rag is 126 sq km in area and is located an hour's drive east of the Arthurs Seat property described above. Castle Rag contains 34 historic mines and prospects, including 12 silver, two gold, and numerous molybdenum, bismuth, tungsten and tin prospects. The geology is dominated by Late Permian to Triassic intrusive leucomonzogranites and extrusive volcanics. The highly mineralized Mole Leucogranite is interpreted to underly the Castle Rag group of prospects. There are two high priority targets: the Castle Rag Group (Ag, Zn, Pb) and the 4 Mile Group (Au, Ag, Mo, Bi) of prospects.

The Castle Rag Group consists of eight prospects, seven of which are silver-base metal intrusion-related vein deposits. Production at the historic Castle Rag Mine is estimated at 4,000 tonnes at average grades of 1,200 g/t Ag and >20% Pb. These prospects remain significantly under-explored, with only three holes drilled at the Castle Rag Mine for a total of 159m in 1985.

The 4 Mile Group target contains gold, silver and molybdenum mineralized granite/rhyolite contact, forming a highly prospective 5km long, untested intrusive related gold exploration target. No systematic gold exploration or drilling has been conducted along this trend. Limited past surface exploration has returned grades of up to 612 g/t Ag, 5.5% Pb, 3.35 g/t Au and >1.5% Mo in rock chip samples.

NI 43-101 Technical Reports Completed

The Company is also pleased to announce that NI 43-101 technical reports have been completed for the Arthurs Seat and Gold Star properties by independent Qualified Persons (QP's) pursuant to the criteria established under National Instrument 43-101 and are available at www.sedar.com. The technical reports highlight the high prospectivity of these properties, and also provide a road-map for the next stage of targeted exploration.

The scientific and technical information disclosed in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Vishal Gupta, the Company's interim President & CEO. Mr. Gupta is a P.Geo. registered with the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (PGO), and a "qualified person" as defined under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About RooGold Inc.

RooGold is a Canadian junior mineral exploration issuer which is uniquely positioned to be a dominant player in New South Wales, Australia, through a growth strategy focused on the consolidation and exploration of high potential, mineralized precious metals properties in this prolific region of Australia. RooGold commands a portfolio of 13 high-grade potential gold (9) and silver (4) concessions that cover 1,380 km2, and collectively include 137 historic mines and prospects.

For further information please contact:

Ryan Bilodeau

(416) 910-1440

info@roogoldinc.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains 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. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: the success related to any future exploration or development programs and potential economic returns. 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 operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include; success of the Company's projects; prices for gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in gold prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation; operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mineral exploration; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; legal restrictions relating to mineral exploration; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; the availability of additional capital; title matters and the additional risks identified in our filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR (available at www.sedar.com). 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. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: RooGold Inc.

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Hispania Resources Inc. (TSXV: ESPN) ("Hispania" or the "Company") wishes to inform shareholders that it is preparing for the exploration program to be carried out at Las Herrerias ("Las Herrerias"), on the Puebla de la Reina property, located in Extremadura, Spain. Management will be onsite in early February to meet with its geological team to review and visit local geological areas of interest on the property identified by the work carried out in 2021/22 by the company.

While in the region, company management will be meeting with additional firms that carry out geophysical and diamond drilling activities, with the objective of determining timing and scope for the upcoming work at Las Herrerias. Further, management intends to again meet with the regional Ministry and politicians, including the Mayor of Puebla de la Reina, as they did in July, 2022, to ensure all local stakeholders needs are met.

"We are looking forward to returning to site, and working with our local team, as well as local drilling firms, to have additional resource work completed on site, and look at the additional areas of interest noted by our local geological team that had not previously been investigated by the two previous property owners. In addition, we are keen to ensure that all governmental and environmental objectives of Hispania are being met in conjunction with local stakeholders, including the Mayor of Puebla de la Reina, Ms Ana Maria Redondo, who we continue to consult and work with", noted Norman Brewster, Chief Executive Officer.

The area at Puebla de la Reina is a pre-identified high grade copper and zinc area. We believe the new zones to the west may offer additional similar opportunities. With the increased price both of copper and zinc, as well as improved technology for metal extraction, the Company believes there may be value in these previously unexplored areas. Some of these new and additional areas, as well as continued areas of interest and findings to date are noted in the Exhibits below.

Image 1: Hispania Directors Norman Brewster, Rahim Allani and Eduardo Olarte with Mayor of Puebla de la Reina, Ms Ana Maria Redondo, July 2022.

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Image 2: Map of Las Herrerias, PBR property, showing areas that are considered to be geologically interesting and were selected for initial groundworks consisting of geophysics (electromagnetics) which were contracted to the firm Genostica, of Huelva, Spain.

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Image 3: This image depicts area lying to the west of Puebla de la Reina and shows the results of the geophysical program. The maroon symbols represent strong conductive anomalies which represent new areas of investigation, and will be further investigated initially with geophysics, ground trenching, and rock sampling where practical. Interesting results will be followed up with diamond drilling.

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Image 4: This image represents the area around the village of Puebla de la Reina. The open area in the centre is the local of the existing historical resource on the property (500,000 tonnes at 11.5% Zn, 1.6% Cu, and 1.2% Pb and 32 gpt/Au Outukumpu 1999-2001). The symbols represent the electromagnetic responses with the maroon responses being strong anomalous conductors. Additional work is warranted which will consist of geophysics, ground trenching, and sampling where practical. Interesting results from this work will be followed by diamond drilling.

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About Hispania Resources Inc.

Hispania Resources Inc is a mineral exploration company focused on mining opportunities in Spain. Hispania is currently focused on developing the long-term mining potential of its core asset, the Zinc, Copper, Lead enriched Puebla de la Reina ("PBR") property in the low-risk and historic mining district of Extremadura in Southwest Spain. The PBR property covers an area of 90 km2. Hispania, through its subsidiary, La Joya, has entered into a purchase agreement with Auplata S.A. to acquire a 100% interest in the PBR property. The management of Hispania contains industry veterans who have more than 120 years of mineral exploration and production experience in multiple jurisdictions and have successfully managed multiple international mining companies. This includes in Spain, where some of the team was responsible for the founding and building of Iberian Resources, with the continued support of the local and regional governments, including the well-developed and sophisticated transportation and mining infrastructure.

For more information on Hispania Resources Inc., visit: http://HispaniaResources.com/.

Contact Information

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

Norman Brewster - Chief Executive Officer

Norm@HispaniaResources.com

(416) 970-3223

Rahim Allani - Director

Rahim@HispaniaResources.com

(416) 457-0549

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information can be identified by words such as: "intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking information include, among others, the expected commencement of work on the PBR project, the expected meetings with local drilling firms, as well as information relating to Hispania. Although Hispania believes that, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Hispania can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risk that the future plans of Hispania may differ from those that currently are contemplated Additional risks include those disclosed in the Filing Statement, which are incorporate herein by reference and are available through SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward- looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law.

This news release is not an offer of the securities for sale in the United States. The securities described in this news release have not been registered under the

U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended) absent registration or an exemption from registration. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which where such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.

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Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Thunder Gold Corp (TSXV: TGOL) (FSE: Z25) (OTC Pink: TNMLF) (formerly White Metal Resources Corp) ("Thunder Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a 4,000-metre diamond drill program at the Tower Mountain Gold Property, located 50-km west of Thunder Bay, ON.

Recent highlights include:

4.0 km 2 Induced Polarization ("IP") survey completed, interpretation in progress with results expected mid-February, 2023;

Preliminary inversions of the North and East survey blocks indicate chargeable anomalies similar to those observed to be coincident with the Bench, Ellen and A targets to the west;

4,000-metre drill contract awarded, estimate mid-February, 2023 start date. All in costs estimated at less than $250 / metre;

Phase One drilling focused on the undrilled, core chargeable response that sits north of the Bench and west of the A and Ellen targets;

Remainder of the planned Phase One program shall test prioritized geophysical targets to the North, East and South of the Tower Mountain Intrusion Complex ("TMIC");

Abitibi Geophysics (Val d'Or, QC), have completed the previously announced 4.0 km2 Distributed Array ("DasVision") Induced Polarization ("IP") survey, expanding the IP footprint to the north, east and south of the TMIC, interpreted to be the potential source of gold mineralization at Tower Mountain.

The Company is pleased to announce that it plans to resume diamond drilling at Tower Mountain in February, 2023. A fully-funded, Phase One drill program totaling 4,000-metres is currently being finalized.

The Company's main objectives for 2023 are:

extend the limits of known mineralization through step out drilling; demonstrate potential for discovery of higher-grade gold mineralization; and demonstrate potential for additional mineralization elsewhere within the assembled claim package.

Wes Hanson P.Geo., CEO of Thunder Gold, notes: "We believe Tower Mountain offers a unique opportunity to define a large tonnage-low grade gold resource adjacent to the Trans Canada highway less than 50 kilometres from the city of Thunder Bay, ON. and that is what we intend to demonstrate with our Phase One drill program.

"Our compilation work indicates gold mineralization is agnostic relative to alteration and rock type, occurring in both the intrusive suite as well as the host volcanics. No evidence of shearing, faulting or folding has been observed but significant evidence of brittle deformation is present, particularly in the host volcanics which appear micro-fractured in many locations based on ongoing petrographic work. Sulphide content remains the best indicator of gold mineralization, demonstrating a direct correlation. Our compilation work to date suggests excellent correlation between observed pyrite, IP chargeability and gold, particularly at the Bench, A, Ellen and 110 zones where 85 drill holes establish this relationship. These holes all lie within a broad, 20 mV/V chargeable response ( Ref. Figure 1.0 - green contour ) that in itself offers a compelling exploration target as the majority of this chargeable response is not adequately drill-tested.

"I am more anxious to test the higher chargeable response (+40 mV/V - red contour, Figure 1.0) as this response has been tested by a meager five (5) holes to date, all of which are localized in the southeast corner of the chargeable target. More than 95% of this chargeable response is undrilled. The five holes that have tested this chargeable response returned higher average grades (3x) (Ref. Table 1.0) and are (4x) more likely to contain intervals above the target 0.30 g/t cut-off grade (Ref. Figure 2.0).

"The +40 mV/V response is elongated along a N-S axis, extending over 500 metres and measuring 200 metres in width. The DasVision IP suggests depth continuity of over 400 metres from surface. While the data set within the +40 mV/V chargeable response is small, it certainly suggests that it is a compelling exploration target, offering the potential to rapidly establish a maiden mineral resource with the added benefit of reduced exploration costs given the fact that existing trail and road access is already in place. Our 2023 Phase One program shall test this core response with a series of 100-metre spaced drill sections along the interpreted length of the chargeable response, moving from south to north. The target area falls within our existing approved exploration permits allowing access once the drilling contractor mobilizes to site. We estimate an all-in drilling cost of $250 per metre."

Compilation Overview

Gold mineralization is confirmed to occur throughout the host volcanic-volcanoclastic sequence as well as within certain phases of the TMIC. Alteration is difficult to quantify visually and review of the geochemical data is ongoing. To date, the best correlation to gold grade is sulphide content which suggests a 1:1 relationship.

Two independent geophysical consultants have completed inversions of the 2021 IP dataset. The results are essentially identical with both interpretations highlighting a large, strong IP chargeable response located adjacent to the Bench target and extending in a northerly direction to the east of the UV deposit (Ref. Figure 1.0). The Company believes that the chargeable anomalies correlate to increased pyrite content which, in turn, correlates to elevated gold grade. This can be observed along the southwestern boundary of the TMIC where drilling has returned anomalous gold grades at the Bench, Ellen, A and 110 targets, all of which lie within a 20 mV/V chargeable response. Eighty-five (85) drill holes totalling 16,528 metres currently define the four targets. The Bench, Ellen and A targets all lie immediately adjacent to and just outside the 40 mV/V chargeable response. To date, only parts of five holes penetrate the 40 mV/V response, all of which are attributed as Bench drill holes, located in the southwestern corner of the chargeable feature. Table 1.0 summarizes the drilled intercepts for these five holes by cut-off grade. Figure 2.0 compares gold grades at various cut-off grades extracted from the 20 and 40 mV/V chargeable anomalies.

Table 1 - Summary Results of the Bench Drill Holes

within 40 mV/V Chargeability Anomaly by Cut-off Grade

Hole ID Cut-off Grade From To Interval Average Grade

(Au (g/t) (metres) (metres) (metres) (Au (g/t) 83818 0.3 198.30 246.00 47.70 0.58

0.5 229.00 246.00 17.00 0.81 TM21-106 0.3 171.50 230.00 58.50 1.01

0.5 186.50 200.00 13.50 1.65

0.5 213.50 230.00 16.50 1.65 TM21-120 0.3 186.50 341.00 154.50 0.81

0.5 186.50 239.00 52.50 1.26

0.5 222.50 239.00 16.50 2.68

0.5 251.00 258.50 7.50 0.90

0.5 267.50 299.00 31.50 0.89 TM22-134 0.3 182.00 369.50 187.50 0.55

0.5 195.50 233.00 37.50 0.95

0.5 258.50 270.50 12.00 1.40

0.5 339.50 369.50 30.00 0.71 TM22-135 0.3 155.00 389.00 234.00 0.76

0.5 155.00 174.50 19.50 1.83

0.5 197.00 209.00 12.00 0.89

0.5 239.00 245.00 6.00 1.13

0.5 264.50 281.00 16.50 0.93

0.5 326.00 389.00 63.00 0.94

FIGURE 1 - Tower Mountain Regional Geology, 2021 Chargeability Contours w/ Drill Holes



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FIGURE 2 - Statistical Summary - Gold Grade by Chargeability Strength at Various Cut-off Grades



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Corporate

The Company also announces that it has granted 4,600,000 options at a $0.05 strike price to Officers, Directors and Consultants effective January 30, 2023. The options have a 12-month term.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Diamond drilling utilizes NQ diameter tooling. The core is received at the on-site logging facility where it is, photographed, logged for geotechnical and geological data and subjected to other physical tests including magnetic susceptibility analysis. Samples are identified, recorded, split by wet diamond saw, and half the core is sent for assay with the remaining half stored on site. A standard sample length of 1.5 meters is employed. Certified standards and blanks are randomly inserted into the sample stream and constitute approximately 5-10% of the sample stream. Samples are shipped to the Activation Laboratories Ltd. facility in Thunder Bay, ON where sample preparation and analyses are completed. All samples are analyzed for gold using a 30-gram lead collection fire assay fusion with an atomic adsorption finish.

About the Tower Mountain Gold Property

The Tower Mountain Gold Property is located 5-km off the Trans-Canada highway, 50-km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The property lies within the late Archean Shebandowan greenstone belt, an emerging gold district in northwestern Ontario. The property consists of unpatented and patented lands totalling 1,968 ha. Exploration to date suggests the property offers a large gold endowment. Gold mineralization is widespread, and diamond drilling has identified low-grade gold mineralization extending outward for at least 500-meters from a central alkalic intrusion known as the Tower Mountain Intrusive Complex. Drilling has established persistent gold grades from 0.1 to 1.0 g/t along a 1,500-meter-long x 500-meter wide x 500-meter deep block of volcanic-volcanoclastic rocks immediately west and adjacent to the central alkalic intrusion. The remaining 6,000 meters of strike length surrounding the intrusion are untested. Tower Mountain shows many of the classic indicators of being an Intrusion Related Gold Deposit, which is a highly desirable exploration target.

About Thunder Gold Corp.

Thunder Gold Corporation, formerly White Metal Resources. is a junior exploration company focused on gold discovery in Canada. For more information about the Company please visit www.thundergoldcorp.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Wes Hanson, President and CEO

For further information contact:

Wes Hanson, CEO

(647) 202-7686

whanson@thundergoldcorp.com

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to the gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153000
Provides Corporate Updates

Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - The Tinley Beverage Company Inc. (CSE: TNY) (OTCQB: TNYBF) ("Tinley's" or the "Company") is pleased to provide updates on Company initiatives aimed to achieve revenue growth through the expansion of the Tinley's and Beckett's brands.

Tinley's product development team has commenced reformulation of select Tinley's products to include higher THC potency and new package formats. "In California, we see a preference in the dispensary channel for high THC potency beverages. By increasing the potency of our beverages in high-demand package formats, we plan to unlock revenue from this segment of the market," said Teddy Zittell, Tinley's CEO. Tinley's will also be officially re-launching home delivery of its beverages in California to address the largely untapped segment of California consumers who don't shop in dispensaries. The direct-to-consumer delivery of Tinley's cannabis beverages will be a collaboration between the Company and its cannabis brand distribution partner, Sulo Distro, and Grass Door, a leader in direct-to-consumer delivery of cannabis products.

"We believe home delivery customers, many of whom are new to the category, will respond favourably to our current lineup of Tinley's micro-dosed beverages, all of which are all low-calorie, low-carbohydrate and gluten-free," Mr. Zittell explained. "Through our management services agreement with Blaze Life Holding LLC ("BLH") and its subsidiary ILLA Canna LLC, we have locked in lower production costs for our own Tinley's brand and structured a continued revenue opportunity from current contract packing clients. We will now focus on driving increased revenue growth by building on our own brand," Mr. Zittell added.

Beckett's '27 & Beckett's Tonics (USA)

The Beckett's relaunch at Total Wine & More, strategically timed with Dry January, has seen rapid and unprecedented sales across their more than 200 stores spanning 27 states. In response to Beckett's products being so well received by customers, Total Wine & More has reordered Beckett's products, and the Company has commenced production to satisfy this order. Additionally, the Company is actively pursuing expansion to other retail networks, distribution groups and channels, including on-premise. Store tests, which include product demonstrations and sampling, have been conducted at select H-E-B supermarket locations in Texas.

Becketts '27 & Becketts Classics (Canada)

The Company plans to relaunch Becketts brands in Canada starting in Ontario in Q2 2023. Based on consumer and retailer feedback for Becketts Classics (Beckett's Tonics in the USA) ready-to-drink ("RTD") sparkling beverages, the products will now be packed in sleek 355ml aluminum cans. The Company has identified an Ontario based co-packer to produce these cans with the new recipes developed as part of the Company's overall product reformulation in 2022. This work was done by a leading international flavour company with experience in both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The RTD's are now intended to more accurately reflect the flavour profile of their beverage alcohol references.

For the Becketts '27 product line, the reformulation reduced the stevia aftertaste and more closely matches the target spirit or liqueur profile. The Company is in advanced stage negotiations with two potential Ontario-based co-packers who can produce in 375ml multi-serve cork-finish bottles. The Company is concurrently evaluating alternative routes to key markets across Canada with a range of distributor and broker options focused both on the mainstream and specialty grocery business and the beverage alcohol channel.

Tinley's Beverages (Canada)

In Canada, Tinley's product development team is continuing to evaluate new beverage options that are better suited for Canadian consumers and Canadian regulations. To this end, the Company is in the process of working on the re-introduction of new ready to serve beverages with a 10mg THC potency and infused with other novel cannabinoids, such as CBG. "We see the new Tinley's Classics ready-to-drink cannabis 'mocktails' as a product that will be well received by Canadian consumers," commented Mr. Zittell. "However, the long process in Canada of getting cannabis drinks from the development stage into the hands of consumers remains challenging for all cannabis beverage brands in Canada, including Tinley's," added Mr. Zittell.

Grant of Stock Options

Tinley's also announces the grant of stock options to purchase up to 1,800,000 common shares in the capital of the Company to certain directors and consultants of the Company in accordance with the terms of the Company's stock option plan. The stock options will be exercisable at a price of $0.10 per common share for a period of five years from the date of grant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are not historical facts but instead include financial projections and estimates, statements regarding plans, goals, objectives and intentions, statements regarding the Company's expectations with respect to its future business and operations, management's expectations regarding growth and phrases containing words such as "ongoing", "estimates", "expects", "anticipates", or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results, or that events or conditions "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referring to future events or results. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to variations in the Company's business plan and model in the future, the timing of the relaunch of the Company's home delivery operations in California and relaunch of the Becketts brand in Canada and impacts of the Company's management services agreement with BLH. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by law. Products, formulations, and timelines outlined herein are subject to change at any time.

For further information, please contact:

The Tinley Beverage Company Inc.

Teddy Zittell - (310) 507-9146

CSE:TNY; OTC:TNYBF relations@drinktinley.com

Twitter: @drinktinleys and @drinkbecketts

Instagram: @drinktinleys and @drinkbecketts

www.drinktinley.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153023




North Korea has notified diplomatic missions in Pyongyang of its move to lift a five-day lockdown in the capital area imposed due to rising cases of seasonal respiratory diseases, according to Russia's embassy in the North on Monday.







On its official Facebook account, the embassy has uploaded an image of an official letter sent by the North's foreign ministry on the country's decision to end the "special" quarantine mandate starting Monday.







"We express our deep gratitude to the foreign diplomatic corps for faithfully implementing the latest strong quarantine measures," the letter read.







North Korea earlier notified diplomatic missions in the capital of its decision to designate a five-day special quarantine period, effective until Sunday and subject to an extension by three days, depending on virus situations.







The North cited an increase in patients with seasonal flu and other respiratory diseases as the reason for its decision, but fell short of mentioning COVID-19 cases.







North Korea had advised diplomatic missions to make their staff members refrain from going outside and using vehicles as much as possible. It also recommended they "voluntarily" check body temperatures four times a day and report the results to a designated hospital.







North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory against the COVID-19 crisis in August last year after the country reported its first case in May. Outside experts raised doubts about his claim, given the country's low vaccination rate and poor health care system. (Yonhap)


MONTREAL, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier Inc. ("Bombardier" or the "Corporation") today announced certain matters with respect to its cash tender offer previously announced on January 17, 2023 (the "Tender Offer") to purchase for cash up to $354,000,000 aggregate principal amount (exclusive of Accrued Interest, and as such aggregate principal amount may be increased or decreased by the Corporation, the "Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount") of its outstanding 7.50% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "Notes"), subject to possible proration and other terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase (as defined below). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Offer to Purchase dated January 17, 2023 (as amended by the Corporation's press release titled "Bombardier Increases the Maximum Amount Sought Under its Cash Tender Offer Previously Announced Today" dated January 17, 2023, the "Offer to Purchase") with respect to the Tender Offer.

As of the Early Tender Date for the Tender Offer, US$258,435,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes (22.69%) were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn.

All Notes that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or before the Early Tender Date will be accepted for purchase by Bombardier on the Early Settlement Date. All such Notes that have been accepted will be settled on the Early Settlement Date in accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer as set forth in the Offer to Purchase. Bombardier expects such Early Settlement Date to be February 1, 2023.

Except as expressly set forth herein, the terms and conditions with respect to the Tender Offer are as set forth in the Offer to Purchase, subject to the Corporation's right to further waive, amend or terminate any provisions of the Tender Offer, in the Corporation's sole and absolute discretion.

The obligation of the Corporation to accept for purchase, and to pay for, Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer is subject to, and conditioned upon, the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as set forth in the Offer to Purchase, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Corporation.

None of Bombardier, the trustees for the Notes, the agents under the respective indentures for the Notes, the dealer managers, the information and tender agent, any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates or any of its or their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives makes any recommendation to Holders as to whether or not to tender all or any portion of their Notes, and none of the foregoing has authorized any person to make any such recommendation. Holders must decide whether to tender Notes, and if tendering, the amount of Notes to tender.

All of the Notes are held in book-entry form. If you hold Notes through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee, you must contact such broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee if you wish to tender Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. You should check with such broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee to determine whether they will charge you a fee for tendering Notes on your behalf. You should also confirm with the broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee any deadlines by which you must provide your tender instructions, because the relevant deadline set by such nominee may be earlier than the deadlines set forth in the Offer to Purchase.

Bombardier has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC to serve as the dealer managers for the Tender Offer. Bombardier has retained Global Bondholder Services Corporation to act as the information and tender agent in respect of the Tender Offer.

For additional information regarding the terms of the Tender Offer, please contact Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC or RBC Capital Markets, LLC at their respective telephone numbers set forth on the back cover page of the Offer to Purchase. Copies of the Offer to Purchase may be obtained at https://www.gbsc-usa.com/bombardier/or by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation at.

This notice does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, the Notes or any other securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this notice nor any part of it, nor the fact of its release, shall form the basis of, or be relied on or in connection with, any contract therefor. The Tender Offer is made only by and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Offer to Purchase and the information in this notice is qualified by reference to the Offer to Purchase. None of the Corporation, the dealer managers or the information and tender agent makes any recommendations as to whether Holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer.

This announcementdoes notconstitute an offertobuy orthesolicitationof an offer tosellany securities in any jurisdiction or in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Tender Offer to be made by a licensedbrokerordealer,theTenderOfferwillbedeemedtobemadebythedealermanagersoroneor more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Bytheirnature,forward-lookingstatementsrequireustomakeassumptionsandaresubject toimportant knownandunknownrisksanduncertainties,whichmaycauseouractualresultsinfutureperiodstodiffer materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties, and the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Offer to Purchase.

Forinformation
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Magna Terra Minerals Inc. (the "Company" or "Magna Terra") (TSX-V:MTT) is pleased to announce through its 100% owned Argentine subsidiary Atala Resources S.A. ("Atala") that Oroplata S.A. ("Oroplata"), a subsidiary of Newmont Corporation ("Newmont"), has completed an initial exploration program on the Boleadora Project. The Boleadora Project ("Boleadora") is a large greenfields exploration land package (~55,000 hectares) encompassing 12 individual Manifestacion de Descubrimientos or exploration licenses situated 17 kilometres southeast of Newmont's Cerro Negro mine area in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina (Figure 1).

According to Newmont geologists, Boleadora is underlain by extensive Jurassic volcanic sequences that include welded pumice crystal-rich rhyolitic ignimbrites cut by bimodal subvolcanic domes. Main structural trends include northwest, north-northwest, and east-west corridors with chalcedonic and opaline silica veins with massive textures up to one-metre wide and silica sinter up to 50 metre by 50 metre exposures that might correspond to shallower levels of low-sulphidation epithermal system (Figure 2). This geology is favourable for hosting low-sulphidation epithermal gold mineralization.

As part of the exploration program, Oroplata recently collected 134 drainage samples covering main geological areas and collection of 51 rock grab samples* in areas of hyperspectral anomalies (Figure 3). Samples were delivered to Caleta Olivia - ALS prep facilities in Santa Cruz. Analytical results are pending for these samples.

Also, hyperspectral measurements will be taken at the lab to refine current spectral responses and products.

During fieldwork, Newmont geologists, recognized at least two new target areas (Targets A and B) at the northern edge of the property (Figure 3) that host associated silica structures with crackle breccia channels following the main structural corridors with subtle favorable hyperspectral responses.

Project Highlights

Large land package comprising ~55,000 hectares;

17 kilometres along strike from Newmont's Cerro Negro Mine;

Geological environment with potential to host low-sulphidation epithermal gold deposits;

Recognition by Newmont geologists of two target areas for follow-up exploration; and

Assays are pending and expected later in the first quarter of 2023.

* Note: "grab and float samples" are selected samples and are not necessarily indicative of mineralization that may be hosted on the property.

"We are very pleased that Newmont has completed this exploration field program at Boleadora. Their initial work supports the existence of a geological environment that is favourable for hosting low-sulphidation epithermal gold deposits in north-northwest structural control along strike from Cerro Negro, including two new areas that host silica structures and crackle breccia. We look forward to further results from Newmont's exploration efforts and are pleased with their advancement of the project to date. The trend associated with the north-northwest structural control that is an important geological feature to mineralization at Cerro Negro continues well into the Boleadora project area. The potential to delineate mineralization along this trend and identify additional similar structures within the Boleadora property is what attracted Newmont to Boleadora; that along with its close proximity to the existing infrastructure at Cerro Negro. With the geological knowledge Newmont has gained through exploring and mining Cerro Negro, we are confident that the application of this knowledge and their proven exploration techniques will add significant value to the Boleadora Project, and ensure that it is advanced in the near term."

~ Lew Lawrick, President and CEO, Magna Terra Minerals Inc.

Figure 1: Location of Magna Terra exploration Projects in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

Figure 2: Boleadora generalized geology with structural interpretation at district scale (courtesy Newmont).

Figure 3: Left: Total samples taken at Boleadora and Targets A & B locations. Right top and bottom: silica alteration and crackle breccia showings in these areas.

Boleadora Purchase Agreement

Magna Terra entered into a Purchase Agreement with Oroplata (Newmont) (see press release dated June 9, 2020) that will pay Magna Terra (Atala) US$1 million as follows: US$25,000 on signing and six installments totalling US$975,000 payable (US$75,000 paid) within six years from the date of the Agreement. In addition, Newmont (Oroplata) has granted a 2% NSR to Magna Terra (Atala) on the Boleadora package. The royalty can be reduced to 1% by payment of US$2.5 million by Oroplata to Atala at anytime, and the gross royalty payable is capped at US$20 million.

Qualified Person

This news release has been reviewed and approved by David A. Copeland, P. Geo., Chief Geologist with Signal Gold Inc., a "Qualified Person", under National Instrument 43-101 - Standard for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Magna Terra

Magna Terra Minerals Inc. is a precious metals focused exploration company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Magna Terra owns two district-scale, resource stage gold exploration projects in the top-tier mining jurisdictions of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Further, the Company maintains a significant exploration portfolio in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina which includes its precious metals discovery on its Luna Roja Project, as well as an extensive portfolio of district scale drill ready projects available for option or joint venture.

Forward Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian legislation. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including, without limitation, the ability of the Company to file a report that complies with Regulation 43-101. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable and reflect expectations of future developments and other factors which management believes to be reasonable and relevant, the Company 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, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, and the ability of the author of the Technical Reports to finalize same.

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 information. Such risks and other factors include the inability of the Company to execute its proposed business plans, and carry out planned future activities. Other factors may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company, including general economic, market or business conditions, future prices of gold, changes in the financial markets and in the demand for precious metals, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the mineral exploration industry, and the Company's investment and operation in the mineral exploration sector, as well as the risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements.

These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Magna Terra Minerals Inc.

Lewis Lawrick

President and CEO, Director

647-478-5307

Email: info@magnaterraminerals.com

Website: www.magnaterraminerals.com

SOURCE: Magna Terra Minerals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737290/Magna-Terra-Announces-Exploration-Update-On-The-Boleadora-Project
With one-year mark of the war in Ukraine fast approaching, the Romanian Red Cross turned to UiPath to aid in humanitarian and human rights catastrophe

UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, today announced that it has supported the Romanian Red Cross (RRC) in digitizing and automating the reporting of donations collected by the organization for the benefit of Ukrainian refugees in Romania. The RRC, a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and education inside Romania.

The war in Ukraine has created the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The RRC's heightened reporting needs immediately strained their staff and digital infrastructure, which is designed to sustain an annual, centralized reporting cycle. As a result, the RRC's Bucharest headquarters struggled to obtain reliable data fast from its 47 regional centers collecting donations in support of Ukrainian refugees in Romania. This hampered the RRC's external reporting capabilities, such as regularly sharing an overview of the donations collected with the Romanian Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), an agency coordinating emergency responses, as part of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At the height of the humanitarian crisis, the RRC leveraged the UiPath Business Automation Platform for good, building closer connections with both the individuals it helps and the volunteers that are critical to its operations. The project initiated as a mission-critical response to the deepening humanitarian crisis has enabled the RRC to become more agile and efficient and has empowered its leadership with real-time access to vital data, including how funds donated are being used in their response.

"As the humanitarian crisis deepened, the Romanian Red Cross joined in the first line of response in supporting Ukrainian refugees in Romania," said RRC Director Ioan-Silviu Lefter. "We needed to provide insight to the Romanian authorities on the donations and help we were providing to Ukrainian refugees. At the outset, we were faced with a lot of manual reporting, which impacted data accuracy and availability. The UiPath Business Automation Platform allowed us to focus on what matters most: providing vital support for millions of refugees."

From pencil to paper to using software robots

To move from manual reporting to an automated and streamlined process, the RRC was supported by a team of UiPath citizen developers to map, streamline, and ready the reporting process for automation.

The first software robot deployed at RRC was tasked with generating reporting templates for each of the 47 regional RRC centers at regular intervals, while ensuring that they correspond to the global reporting needs of the RRC. A second software robot was trained to collect reports from each regional center and centralize the data in one master report. The software robots have significantly reduced the amount of manual input and have allowed RRC to dedicate attention to supporting those affected by the humanitarian crisis.

Automation delivers faster direct aid

After deploying UiPath, RRC staff was able to source reliable data at speed, supporting the organization's internal and external reporting needs, enabling decision-making processes, and enhancing its fundraising capabilities. The RRC reported the following business outcomes:

Increased data accuracy and reliability: Automation has helped eliminate human error and provided staff throughout the RRC's regional centers with a streamlined and standard template for reporting.

Automation has helped eliminate human error and provided staff throughout the RRC's regional centers with a streamlined and standard template for reporting. Significantly reduced time spent on reporting: Time spent by the project manager centralizing data for external reporting to DSU dropped from 8-12 hours to 30 minutes per report.

Time spent by the project manager centralizing data for external reporting to DSU dropped from 8-12 hours to 30 minutes per report. Fast access to consolidated data to support decision-making : Availability of consolidated data supported RRC's leadership's decision-making process and fostered collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), currently on a mission to Romania.

: Availability of consolidated data supported RRC's leadership's decision-making process and fostered collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), currently on a mission to Romania. Enhanced transparency and credibility : Access to reliable and recent centralized data, which could be shared with potential donors in real time, boosted the RRC's fundraising efforts to the benefit of Ukrainian refugees.

: Access to reliable and recent centralized data, which could be shared with potential donors in real time, boosted the RRC's fundraising efforts to the benefit of Ukrainian refugees. Better measurement and visibility over volunteers' time: The automated reporting process became a framework for the RRC to quantify the time spent by volunteers on tasks.

"Thanks to our partnership with UiPath, we were able to provide standardized reporting across our regional centers and provide more up-to-date information to key stakeholders. Our staff was empowered to dedicate more time to vital work in helping refugees than using pen and paper to track donations," continued Lefter.

"The unjust war in Ukraine impacted millions of lives and plunged us all into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. We strongly believe in the power of automation to support organizations facing crises, helping to relieve their staff and empowering them to carry out their mission," said Daniel Dines, UiPath Co-Founder and Co-CEO.

About UiPath

UiPath has a vision to deliver the Fully Automated Enterprise, one where companies use automation to unlock their greatest potential. UiPath offers an end-to-end platform for automation, combining the leading Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities that enable every organization to rapidly scale digital business operations.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005048/en/

Contacts:

Media

Janne Virtanen

pr@uipath.com

Investor Relations

Kelsey Turcotte

investor.relations@uipath.com
Rebranding celebrates 10 years of growth and a renewal of product and service offering

Name change is part of comprehensive rebranding, with new website, logo and tagline

Starting on Monday, 30 January, traffic will redirect to the new www.ttrdata.com domain

MADRID, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Transactional Track Record (TTR), a robust and intuitive platform delivering unrivaled transactional data and actionable intelligence on entities based in Latin America and Iberia, is pleased to announce the relaunch of its core suite of products and services under the new TTR Data brand identity.

The launch of the TTR Data brand is the culmination of a comprehensive rebranding exercise that reflects the company's renewed commitment to providing the highest quality data and business intelligence, empowering clients to seize opportunities and make informed decisions.

The new TTR Data brand reflects the growth and evolution of the company over its 10-year history, from a data gathering and analysis site, to a state-of-the-art platform tracking M&A, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Capital Markets and corporate information across Latin America and Iberia in real time.

Starting today, Internet traffic to our legacy site will automatically redirect to the new www.ttrdata.com domain. The company's new branding will appear in all new TTR reports, emails, blog posts, on social media platforms, and in the press, alongside the new tagline, TTR Data. Now you know.

The new TTR Data brand identity has been painstakingly designed to highlight 10 years of achievement in providing the most comprehensive transactional data and business intelligence platform covering entities based in Latin America and Iberia, commented Co-founder and CEO Pedro Trinite.

"The evolution of our brand reflects a fresh identity and our renewed commitment to deliver our core value proposition: turning granularity into insight," Trinite added.

Read more about the new TTR Data brand identity at the following link:

https://www.ttrdata.com/en/ttrdata-rebrand/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/transactional-track-record-ttr-is-now-ttr-data-301734581.html
Company Combines Best-in-Class Capabilities and Workflow Tools to Help Customers Manage Growth, Innovation and Compliance

Trulioo has launched an industry-defining global identity platform for person and business verification. The Trulioo platform showcases the company's expertise and innovation in helping businesses worldwide build trusted user experiences while achieving regulatory compliance and optimizing growth.

Trulioo continues to evolve its identity verification capabilities by combining a full suite of global person and business verification solutions with no-code workflow building, low-code integrations and more, all in one platform. With one contract Trulioo customers can access personally identifiable information matching, Identity Document Verification, Utility Data for proof of address, Business Verification for in-depth person-of-significant-control and ultimate-beneficial-owner verification, watchlist screening and ongoing monitoring, and anti-fraud capabilities.

"Trulioo is the identity platform businesses turn to in order to solve the inherent complexity in onboarding customers globally," said Steve Munford, Trulioo CEO. "We enable businesses to offer their goods and services in nearly every country in the world and remain compliant. We provide our customers with industry-leading capabilities backed by best-in-class customer success so they can focus on their business and customers."

Combating Digital Distrust and Fraud

The surge in online shopping, mobile payments and digital currencies in recent years presents opportunities for innovation and growth. But it also poses challenges for businesses to mitigate fraud and meet evolving regulations such as Know Your Customer, Know Your Business and Anti-Money Laundering requirements around the world.

"The identity and regulatory worlds are complex, especially for businesses who are multi-national," says David Mattei, Strategic Advisor at Aite-Novarica Group. "Meeting KYC, KYB, and AML requirements across multiple countries, numerous identity data sources, and country-specific regulatory environments is a significant challenge. On top of that, companies need customizable workflows to deploy these types of solutions within their ecosystems. A solution that combines identity verification and compliance on a global scale while also being client-configurable is a much-needed capability in the industry."

One Platform. One Contract. One Unified Experience for Trulioo Customers.

With one platform and one contract, companies can deliver streamlined onboarding and create intuitive user experiences that build trust and inclusivity. Trulioo leverages extensive expertise, customizable identity verification workflows and comprehensive global data sources to empower customers to take their business anywhere in the world.

In addition to global person and business verification services, Trulioo delivers:

The Trulioo Portal, providing single sign-on access to all verification services, no-code and low-code integration methods, auditable reporting and performance analytics

Workflow Studio, a no-code workflow builder allowing users to rapidly build, configure and deploy logic-driven identity workflows

API Direct, providing the option to connect any Trulioo service to an existing system through a single low-code API

Connection to third-party applications and first-party, external data sources

Navigator, an online education hub making solution and industry expertise accessible with guided workshops and training for best practices

White-glove service and ongoing support from trusted experts, including data source research and process optimization

"We built a platform that solves for the numerous identity verification challenges global enterprises face every day," said Michael Ramsbacker, Trulioo chief product officer. "Trulioo is the only company that delivers an integrated, high-performance platform with comprehensive capabilities, out-of-the-box processes and models, easy no-code configurability, and the ability to customize and amend functionality. We are giving our customers the power to create verification workflows that best meet their needs with just one contract and in one intuitive platform."

The Trulioo platform launch marks an important milestone for the company. In less than two years, the Vancouver-based Trulioo has nearly doubled its staffing to 430 employees, assembled an impressive executive leadership team of industry experts, expanded into new vertical markets and broadened its corporate footprint to the United States, Ireland, Denmark, Romania and Singapore. In June 2021, Trulioo secured $394 million in Series D funding, led by TCV, one of the world's largest growth equity firms. Additional investors include Goldman Sachs, American Express, Citi Ventures and Blumberg Capital.

Trulioo has created a platform that simplifies regulatory compliance across industries while enhancing the customer experience and building trust. For more information, visit www.trulioo.com.

About Trulioo

Trulioo is dedicated to verifying the identity of anyone and any business around the world. The company's identity platform drives global growth for organizations by helping them navigate the challenges of compliance and providing real-time verification of more than 5 billion people and 300 million businesses worldwide. By leveraging world-class technology designed to make identity verification faster and more efficient, Trulioo is opening the door to the digital economy for everyone on the planet.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005070/en/

Contacts:

Media:

Jennifer Schenberg

PenVine for Trulioo

917-445-4454

jennifer@penvine.com

Or

Alison Gallagher

media@trulioo.com
Threat report breaks down the biggest attack trends of 2022 and shares predictions for the year ahead

Expel, the security operations provider that aims to make security easy to understand, use and improve, today released Great eXpeltations 2023: Cybersecurity trends and predictions, its annual report that outlines some of the most significant threats and attack trends from 2022. Compiled using aggregated data from the Expel security operations center (SOC), the report provides insights and statistics on the most significant cybersecurity threats Expel customers faced, actionable recommendations on how organizations can protect themselves, and predictions on what to expect in the year ahead.

"The trends and data we saw in 2022 showed that identity fraud-in the many different forms it can take-were a top concern for our customers," said Ben Brigida, director, SOC operations at Expel. "However, we also observed a 70% increase in cloud incidents. Cybercriminals continue to evolve their tactics. We hope the Great eXpeltations report helps defenders stay on top of the attack trends that can impact their businesses, as well as minimize risk in the year ahead."

Here are some highlights from the report:

Identity threats: Business email compromise (BEC) remained the top threat to our customers, representing 50% of all incidents (consistent with findings from 2021). Fifty-three percent of all organizations experienced at least one BEC attempt.

Business email compromise (BEC) remained the top threat to our customers, representing 50% of all incidents (consistent with findings from 2021). Fifty-three percent of all organizations experienced at least one BEC attempt. Cloud security: Cloud incidents increased 70% compared to 2021. Threat actors started moving away from authenticating via legacy protocols to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) in Microsoft 365. Instead, they adopted frameworks such as Evilginx2, facilitating adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing attacks to steal login credentials and session cookies for initial access and MFA bypass.

Cloud incidents increased 70% compared to 2021. Threat actors started moving away from authenticating via legacy protocols to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) in Microsoft 365. Instead, they adopted frameworks such as Evilginx2, facilitating adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing attacks to steal login credentials and session cookies for initial access and MFA bypass. Ransomware: Eleven percent of incidents could have resulted in deployment of ransomware had we not intervened-a seven percentage point increase compared to 2021. As Microsoft continues making it easier for organizations to block macros in files downloaded from the internet, ransomware threat groups and their affiliates are abandoning their use of visual basic for application (VBA) macros and Excel 4.0 macros to gain initial entry to Windows-based environments. Instead, ransomware operators opt to use disk image (ISO), short-cut (LNK), and HTML application (HTA) files to gain initial entry.

Eleven percent of incidents could have resulted in deployment of ransomware had we not intervened-a seven percentage point increase compared to 2021. As Microsoft continues making it easier for organizations to block macros in files downloaded from the internet, ransomware threat groups and their affiliates are abandoning their use of visual basic for application (VBA) macros and Excel 4.0 macros to gain initial entry to Windows-based environments. Instead, ransomware operators opt to use disk image (ISO), short-cut (LNK), and HTML application (HTA) files to gain initial entry. Phishing: Eighty-eight percent of malicious email submissions were credential harvesters. Credential theft via phishing continues to grow with identity the main focus of today's attacks.

For each of these attack trends, Expel's SOC leadership team shares what they observed in 2022, how to detect and prepare for these threats, and what to expect for 2023.

Download Great eXpeltations 2023: Cybersecurity trends and predictions to learn more.

About Expel

Expel helps companies of all shapes and sizes minimize business risk. Our technology and people work together to make sense of security signals-with your business in mind-to detect, understand, and fix issues fast. Powered by our security operations platform, Expel offers managed detection and response (MDR), remediation, phishing, and threat hunting. For more information, visit our website, check out our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005374/en/

Contacts:

Loren Guertin

expel@matternow.com

Matter Communications on behalf of Expel
Governor Sununu to attend the OSRAM SYLVANIA job fair on February 1 at 11:00 a.m.

HILLSBORO, NH / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / OSRAM SYLVANIA, Inc. (OSI), the leader in automotive lighting solutions for the automotive aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), is making a multi-million dollar investment in its Hillsboro plant and employees. Governor Chris Sununu will visit a job fair at the Hillsboro plant on Wednesday, February 1 at 11:00 a.m. OSRAM SYLVANIA plans to employ between 75-100 new workers to support their expanded operations. Future job fairs are being planned for the first Wednesday of every month to help grow the team.

The investment in the plant will enhance production and distribution operations in response to supply chain challenges while setting up the plant for future growth. As the only major automotive lighting manufacturer operating in the United States, OSI is continuing to build on their over 70-year partnership with the community of Hillsboro and surrounding areas.

"In response to significant supply chain challenges, OSRAM SYLVANIA is leveraging our strong workforce and innovative technology to optimize our operations right here in Hillsboro, and we're pleased that Governor Sununu will be joining us for our job fair to recruit new team members," says Mark Savoy, U.S. and Canada CEO for OSRAM SYLVANIA's North American business. "Our retail customer partners will benefit from significantly increased reliability while we continue to strengthen our investment in and relationship with the community and surrounding areas."

Daily, OSRAM SYLVANIA's Hillsboro plant manufactures hundreds of thousands of SYLVANIA branded light bulbs destined for consumer sales through auto supply outlets across the country. While improvements, including streamlined production methods using lean manufacturing best practices, were already underway, the team turned to SYLVANIA's long history of innovation for further inspiration. Investing in a strategic plant reconfiguration plan and capitalizing on its strong workforce will drive even greater improvements and further raise the New Hampshire plant's position as a world-class technology company.

"In my nearly twenty years with SYLVANIA, two things have been constant: the company's dedication to excellence and its strong commitment to our people," says Hillsboro plant manager Jim Faulhaber. "There is a reason our plant has thrived here for over a half century and generations have viewed us as an employer of choice. We not only offer great benefits, we also offer a career path forward for every team member."

For more information about career opportunities at OSRAM SYLVANIA, visit osram.com and search "Hillsboro" on the careers page.

ABOUT OSRAM SYLVANIA

SYLVANIA is a trademark of OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc., the U.S. headquarters of OSRAM, and is the #1 aftermarket automotive lighting brand in the USA* As a global company with a history dating back 110 years and businesses around the world, OSRAM's innovation, ingenuity, reliability, and commitment to aftermarket solutions represent a winning combination for our partners and our consumers. As a member of the OSRAM family, SYLVANIA's integrated in-house skills allow for the development of products from research and design to engineering and manufacturing. SYLVANIA's long history of delivering innovative aftermarket solutions continues to drive its mission to create a more connected road for everyone.

*The NPD Group/U.S. Retail Tracking Service, April 30, 2022.

To learn more, visit our website .

# # #

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Erin O'Malley, Director of Marketing at 603-289-3489 or email her at erin.omalley@ams-osram.com .

SOURCE: OSRAM SYLVANIA

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737312/OSRAM-SYLVANIA-Makes-Multi-Million-Dollar-Investment-in-Hillsboro-NH-Plant
Gloria B. Herndon to chair group of distinguished leaders in business and politics

Establishment of Strategic Advisory Board provides renowned leadership and business development expertise in Africa and the Middle East as Visium introduces its proprietary technologies throughout the Region

FAIRFAX, VA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Visium Technologies, Inc, ("Visium" or the "Company") (OTC PINK:VISM), a global cybersecurity and analytics company, announced today the formation of its Africa Business Development Advisory Board, and the appointments of Dr. Gloria B. Herndon, Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Ambassador Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Ambassador Joseph Huggins, and Bizuayehu Admasuu as its inaugural members.

Mark Lucky, Chief Executive Officer of Visium Technologies, commented, "The establishment of our Africa Business Development Advisory Board is an exciting development for the Company. As we continue to pursue significant opportunities for our TruContext technology platform, it is important that we have strategic guidance from individuals with a diverse background of expertise to support our initiatives in Africa. Drs. Herndon and Zerbo, along with Ambassador Spio-Garbrah, Mr. Admasuu, and Ambassador Huggins bring significant experience, expertise, and key relationships in their respective fields that we are confident will advance our strategy in the Middle East and Africa, by building our revenue base, and by supporting the digital transformation of these regions. We are honored to have this group of business veterans working with us".

Mr. Lucky continued, "Growth in the African tech ecosystem is accelerating and we are positioned to benefit from this exponential growth. Africa's tech ecosystem is projected to grow from an estimated $115 billion in 2022 to $712 billion by 2050, according to Endeavor Nigeria. At the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in December 2022 in Washington, DC, as part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, President Biden announced the launch of a new "Digital Transformation with Africa" (DTA) initiative. This initiative plans to invest over $350 million and facilitate over $450 million in financing for Africa to support the African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy. The transformation of Africa's digital ecosystem represents a significant market opportunity for Visium, in both the commercial and government sectors. The Africa Business Development Advisory Board is providing the guidance for Visium to successfully develop these markets".

Dr. Gloria B Herndon, Chairperson

CEO of GBGroup Global, with over 50 years of successful diplomatic and business experience on the African Continent, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.Dr. Herndon has served on boards with The Smithsonian, Corporate Advisory Board of Office Depot, former American Express board member, National HeadStart Associations, NAFEO, American Association of Community College, Association of Community College Trustee and US Angola Chamber of CommerceDr Herndon attended Southern Illinois University, earned a Masters and a PhdD in International Economics and Law from Johns Hopkins University, where she was also recognized as a Rockefeller Fellow and also worked at the Brookings Institute, and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Dr. Lassina Zerbo

Served as Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, and the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso. Dr. Zerbo was the Co-chair of the Global Agenda Council (GAC) on Nuclear Security for the World Economic Forum.

PhD in Geophysics from the Universite de Paris XI, France.

Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah

Founder and Chairman of African Business Communication, established in 1995.

He is the former Minister for Trade and Industry of Ghana. He was formerly Minister of Communications, Minister of Education and Acting Minister of Mines & Energy. He also previously served as Ghana's ambassador to the United States and Mexico.

He is a former CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) based in London. Spio-Garbrah is Chairman of the African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE), based in Ghana. He has also been a Chairman/CEO of several Pan-African non-governmental organizations, CEO of a church, and has held senior positions in the world of banking and financial services. He serves as chairman for Solarfi, a renewable energy company.

Ambassador Joseph Huggins

Former U.S. Ambassador to Botswana and served at U.S. embassies in Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, and Togo. He served as the U.S. State Department's Special Representative to the Southern Africa Development Community, composed of 14 countries in southern Africa.

After retiring from U.S. Government service in 2006, Mr. Huggins established the Consulting firm, The Huggins Group, LLC (THG). The firm provides Strategic Advice and Intelligence Research to U.S. companies interested in trade and investment opportunities in Africa and the Middle East.

Mr. Bizuayehu Admasuu

With a focus on the African, UAE, and Indian markets, Mr. Admasuu has built a reputation as a trusted advisor and partner for companies looking to expand and thrive in these regions.

His firm is a leading business development consultancy in Africa, UAE and India, assisting businesses in creating partnerships, identifying new business opportunities and building lasting relationships with key stakeholders.

About Visium Technologies, Inc.

Visium Technologies (OTC PINK:VISM) is a cyber security solutions provider that uses graph database technology to deliver an analytics-driven, risk-based approach to cybersecurity that provides context to data so that users can make intelligent decisions in real time. Built for the US Army Cyber Command by MITRE Corporation (CyGraph), and then further developed by Visium, our world class TruContextTM technology provides visualization, advanced cyber monitoring intelligence, data modeling, analytics and automation to help reduce risk, simplify cyber security and deliver better security outcomes. TruContextTM plugs the gaps left by other security tools.

For more information please visit www.visiumtechnologies.com and our YouTube Channel.

Safe Harbor Statement: Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release includes forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views with respect to future events and performance. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project" and similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Investors should be cautious in relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, whether the reverse stock split will be beneficial to the Company and its shareholders, any inability to meet the NYSE American continued listing standards in the future for any reason, and those other factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any responsibility to update forward-looking statements is expressly disclaimed.

CONTACT:

Visium Technologies, Inc.

Corporate: Mark Lucky, Chief Executive Officer

mlucky@visiumtechnologies.com

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram

Twitter | Instagram

Corporate Office:

4094 Majestic Lane Suite 360

Fairfax, VA 22033

Phone: 703-273-0383

SOURCE: Visium Technologies, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737316/Visium-Technologies-Announces-Africa-Business-Development-Advisory-Board
Concrete professionals kicked off the year with the highly-attended event focusing on first-ever product innovations, environmental impact and raising record-breaking auction funds for educational programs

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Informa Markets' World of Concrete, the world's largest tradeshow fostering the growing concrete and masonry construction industries, concluded its 49th annual event held this past week at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). With 48,009 registered professionals, heavy foot traffic on the show floor and over 120 countries in attendance, the World of Concrete further solidifies itself as the critical meeting place for industry advancement.

"The 2023 edition of World of Concrete far exceeded our expectations. The crowded show floor and packed educational sessions prove how essential meeting face to face is, that it remains important now more than ever to have a space to connect, to learn, to share across the concrete, masonry and construction industries as a vital contributor to our economy," says Jackie James, Vice President, World of Concrete. "In-person attendance is on its way back to pre-pandemic levels and the World of Concrete event leads global trends in construction."

World of Concrete took more than 587,000 net square footage (NSF) of the convention center, with both indoor and outdoor spaces full of product displays, demonstrations and competitions. Notable highlights included unveiling of exciting new innovations, such as the first ever Mobile 3D Robotic Concrete Printer and AI Site Map Printer, top of the line work trucks with electric batteries and aerodynamic improvements, and the widest range of original manufactured equipment from excavators to wireless concrete sensors, AI-based platforms and modern materials like the eco-driven Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.

Returning for the 18th consecutive year, The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program held its Silent & Live Auctions, generating a record-breaking fund of more than $2.1 million. Live auction and online donations fueled the grant for the program designed to prepare students for the concrete workforce early in their careers. The CIM program provides students with a Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management, a business program specifically developed for the concrete industry. The proceeds from the 2023 CIM Auction will benefit the CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) and support the current CIM programs at Middle Tennessee State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Texas State University, California State University - Chico, South Dakota State University, the Executive MBA program, as well as help fund scholarships. World of Concrete has also donated $15,000 to the CIM Education Program for the second consecutive year.

The highly anticipated 2023 edition of the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 competition was also held on Wednesday, January 18. The winner, mason Michael Schlund, a Wisconsin native and his tender, Arron Kowalski, laid 759 bricks in one hour, and Schlund was crowned "World's Best Bricklayer" leaving with a new Ford F250 4x4 Super Duty truck, an Essick Pro12 Mixer, and more than $15,000 in cash and prizes. Scott Tuttle, mason, and Brian Tuttle, tender, took second place with 716 bricks in one hour. Brian is a former World Champion and winner of SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, making Brian and Scott Tuttle among the most experienced competitors in this year's field. The event's second most coveted award, the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, went to mason Mario Hernandez and mason tender Gerson Lux, who built "the most sellable wall."

This year World of Concrete also offered more than 160 technical sessions, including hands-on training, safety expertise and business development. Noted new additions to the 2023 education program were eight concrete basics and leadership courses presented in Spanish, a revamped three-hour comprehensive concrete repair track, and new workshops focusing specifically on women in construction.

"Over 300,000 concrete contractors are employed in the United States and represent the backbone of the American and international workforce, says Kevin Thornton, SVP of Construction, Informa Markets. "World of Concrete is proud to support laborers in education and connection providing opportunity to advance the industry toward enhanced sustainability, efficiency and safety, and continuing growth."

World of Concrete will return in 2024 for its 50th Anniversary, slated for January 23-25; Education January 22-25 in Las Vegas. To find more information on this event visit www.worldofconcrete.com

--

About World of Concrete

World of Concrete is the industry's ONLY annual international event dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry construction industries. Featuring indoor and outdoor exhibits with the industry's leading suppliers showcasing innovative products and technologies, exciting demonstrations and competitions, and a world-class education program. Visit www.worldofconcrete.com for details.

Follow World of Concrete on social at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and YouTube for the most up to date information on the 2024 expo.

About Informa Markets

Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. We provide marketplace participants around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face-to-face exhibitions, targeted digital services and actionable data solutions. We connect buyers and sellers across more than a dozen global verticals, including Pharmaceuticals, Food, Medical Technology and Infrastructure. As the world's leading market-making company, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

Contacts

Informa Markets Infrastructure and Construction PR

IC.PR@informa.com

SOURCE: Informa Markets

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737295/World-of-Concrete-Returns-with-Strong-Attendance-Pushing-the-Boundaries-to-Pre-Pandemic-Levels
TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (CSE:SKUR)(OTCQX:SWISF)(FRA:GDT0) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), a leading Swiss hosted secure and private communications platform, is pleased announce that it is preparing the launch its anticipated non-big tech, Swiss hosted privacy VPN solution, SekurVPN.

In the past year, Sekur has had a multitude of requests from its existing users base for the creation of a private non-big tech VPN solution. The Company has been working on this solution for some time now, and has aquired all the servers for the encryption processing and hosting of SekurVPN in its Swiss data centers. Sekur has already completed the Mac client and the iOS application, and is on track for completing SekurVPNs Android application early in February. SekurVPN is expected to launch globally by the first week of April 2023, at the latest, with its existing three versions, Mac, iOS and Android, with Windows system launch soon after.

The Company will first launch the website www.sekurvpn.com in the next few weeks, in order to take pre-registrations for SekurVPN. SekurVPN is planned to be priced at US$7/month/user and US$70/year/user for the service. However, a special launch price of US$28/year for the next 2 years will be offered to the first 5,000 people registering to the service. This represents a 60% to the yearly price, which already offers 2 months free usage.

SekurVPN is meant for privacy enthousiasts and users wanting to mask their IP address from hackers. An example would be users going to their e-banking or shopping online, using their emails, and wanting to have full privacy and protection from hackers hyjacking their location and signal. The service is not meant for streaming media such as on demand or e-gaming. The Company will guarantee proper speed high encryption for normal privacy usage and regular email and web surfing.

Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We have listened to our customers and are very excited to announce the launch of SekurVPN for late March 2023. We have high hopes for the success of SekurVPN, due to its highly private nature, since it does not use any big tech computing or hosting and offers only Swiss IPs. Our prime directive is to provide private and secure communications for everyone, and, as we are not connected to any Big Tech platform, we offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications without any data mining, through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland. We look forward to continuing to offer true data privacy to all individuals and their businesses and protect their intellectual property, and their privacy, from data miners and malicious hackers."

Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur 's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications from cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called "Chat-By-Invites". This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, finance, insurance, medical, government, energy, manufacturing, trade and pharmaceutical sectors.

SekurMessenger also eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including Sekur's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About Sekur Private Data Ltd.

Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure and private communications. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messengers, and secure communication tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its own website at https://www.sekur.com, and approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.

On behalf of Management

SEKUR PRIVATE DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@sekurprivatedata.com

For more information, please contact Sekur Private Data at corporate@sekurprivatedata.com or visit us at https://www.sekurprivatedata.com

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com .

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. Sekur cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Sekur's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Sekur's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Sekur undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Sekur Private Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737383/Sekur-Private-Data-Ltd-Readies-to-Launch-SekurVPN-Its-Swiss-non-Big-Tech-Hosted-Encrypted-Privacy-VPN-Solution
Russian, Pakistani FMs discuss energy cooperation

Xinhua) 10:34, January 31, 2023

MOSCOW, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met Monday in Moscow to discuss cooperation in the energy sector.

"Particular attention was paid to the promising area of energy, including the supply of hydrocarbons and the construction of the Pakistan Stream natural gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore, our flagship project," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Zardari.

The negotiations on the construction of the Pakistan Stream pipeline have entered "an advanced stage" and further progress will be made "in the very near future," Lavrov told reporters.

At the briefing, Zardari expressed the hope that cooperation with Russia will help mitigate Pakistan's energy problems.

During Zardari's first visit to Russia since he took office in April last year, both sides also discussed joint fight against terrorism, plans to deepen humanitarian, cultural and educational ties, the situation in Afghanistan and the Ukraine crisis.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a joint news conference with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 10. Reuters-Yonhap



North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday highlighted the importance of the United States' extended deterrence for South Korea, saying it has an "extremely important task" amid Pyongyang's growing nuclear threats.



Stoltenberg made the remarks during an event in Seoul hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, responding to a question on the sensitive issue of whether Seoul needs a nuclear-sharing policy with the U.S., akin to NATO's Nuclear Planning Group.



"I think it's important to understand that what we call extended deterrence, meaning that NATO allies and also some NATO partners, like South Korea, they don't have their own nuclear weapons but are covered by the nuclear deterrence that the United States provides. That is where to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons," he said.






The first randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind clinical study of Steriwave nasal photodisinfection in 75 predominantly vaccinated COVID-19 patients has been published.

The study, published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology,1 met its primary endpoint, with a highly significant decrease in viral infectivity recorded as early as two days after treatment (p<0.0001). By contrast, patients in the placebo control arm, who underwent simulated treatment without the active components being applied, were non-responsive (p=0.24). No serious adverse events were reported.

Steriwave therapy also significantly improved the immune-protective status of treated patients, as measured by PCR testing one week after treatment (over six times fewer PCR-positive patients compared to controls). These results were paralleled by significant improvement in the patient-reported symptoms of chest tightness and headache.

The study was conducted at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra, a tertiary teaching hospital in Pamplona, Spain during the highly contagious sixth Omicron outbreak in late 2021 and early 2022. Over 90% of the patients recruited into the study were fully vaccinated.

Read more.

About Ondine Biomedical Inc.

Ondine Biomedical Inc. is a Canadian life sciences company innovating in the field of photodisinfection therapies. Ondine has developed a patented, painless, rapid, photodisinfection technology platform which can be used in the development of prevention and treatment therapies for a broad-spectrum of pathogens -including bacterial, viral, and fungal species, multidrug-resistant strains, and emerging threats such as the virulent hospital microbe, Candida auris. Ondine Biomedical Inc. has seven products under various stages of development.

About the Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

With over 3,000 professionals working exclusively at its headquarters in Pamplona and Madrid, the Clinica Universidad de Navarra is a leading research hospital in Spain in the field of personalised medicine. The Clinic is recognized for both its teaching and research work, as well as the prestige of its professionals and the diagnosis and treatment of highly complex pathologies. The Clinica Universidad de Navarra is a world-class hospital characterised by diagnostic speed and precision, multidisciplinary faculty, and acquisition of the latest technologies offering care across 48 different medical and surgical specialties.

1 Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology25 January 2023, Sec. Virus and Host, Volume 13.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005684/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Simon Vane Percy

Telephone: +44 (0)7710005910

Email: simon@vanepercy.com amanda@vanepercy.com
31 January 2023

TWENTYFOUR SELECT MONTHLY INCOME FUND LIMITED

(the "Company")

(a non-cellular company limited by shares incorporated in the Island of Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey) Law 2008, as amended, with registered number 57985 and registered as a Registered Closed-ended Collective Investment Scheme with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Legal entity identifier: 549300P9Q5O2B3RDNF78)

Directorate Changes

31 January 2023

The Company announces the appointment of Wendy Dorey as an independent Non-Executive Director of the Company and the resignation of Mr Ian Martin who has been a Director for almost nine years. Both with effect from 1 February 2023.

The Board wishes to thank Mr Martin for all his hard work and valued contribution to the Board and to the Company during his tenure and welcomes Mrs Dorey to the Board.

Mrs Dorey is an experienced professional in the financial services industry, with key competencies in business strategy, financial regulation, risk management and investment marketing and distribution. She is currently a Director of Dorey Financial Modelling Limited, an investment consulting company, a Commissioner for the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, a Non-Executive Director for Schroders (CI) Limited and a Non-Executive director for Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund Limited.

Mrs Dorey has over 20 years' industry experience working for asset managers, pension consultants and retail banks in the UK, Guernsey and France. She has worked for a number of leading asset managers: BNY Mellon, M&G Asset Management, Friends Ivory & Sime and Robert Fleming/Save & Prosper. She has also consulted to the Defined Contribution Consulting arm of the Punter Southall Group, and obtained retail banking experience at Lloyds Bank and Le Credit Lyonnais. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and qualified as a Chartered Director in 2020. She is also currently Chair of the Guernsey Branch of the Institute of Directors.

There are no disclosures to be made in respect of LR 9.6.13 (2-6). All of Mrs Dorey's current directorships in publicly quoted companies and in the past five years are noted below as required by LR 9.6.13 (1).

Directorships current

 Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund Limited

Directorships in previous 5 years

 None

For further information, please contact:

Numis Securities Limited:

Hugh Jonathan +44 (0)20 7260 1000

Nathan Brown
New Technology And Patent Filings To Detect Safety and Consent Violations In Psychedelic Therapy Sessions While Maintaining Client Privacy.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Radix Motion, a fully-owned technology subsidiary of Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTCQB: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws, is pleased to announce that further to its press release dated December 6, 2022, the Company is expanding its patent portfolio with a new application on the use of human movement data to increase safety in psychedelic therapy sessions while maintaining client privacy.

The new patent application covers Radix Motion's new technology on the use of real-time analysis of human movement data to identify the position and body movement of a psychedelic facilitator or therapist to detect if a potential violation is occurring and activate real time alerts and safety measures. This technology does not require sending or storing any video information and helps to protect patient privacy.

With this new technology, Radix Motion is leading the way in creating safer and more private psychedelic therapy sessions for clients.

The new patent application was filed in the U.S. as a "continuation-in-part" (CIP) application that also consolidates the disclosures of Radix Motion's previously published Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application and its pending provisional application on biomarker-augmented therapy.

As all PCT claims around the use of 3D movement data in psychedelic therapy were found novel and inventive in an International Preliminary Report on Patentability, the next step will be to request "fast-track" examination under the "Patent Prosecution Highway" (PPH). As PPH applications generally enjoy higher allowance rates, it is hoped this will lead to an issued patent in the U.S. and in other PPH jurisdictions where a PPH request is granted.

Besides the U.S. filing, the PCT was also entered as a national stage application in Canada, and Radix Motion has a month to decide to enter the PCT elsewhere, including in Europe and Australia.

"Clients in psychedelic sessions are in especially vulnerable states, and unfortunately there are known cases of abuse, even in clinical trials, that could have benefited from real time analysis of the data instead of learning about the unfortunate cases after the fact via video recordings," said Sarah Hashkes, CEO of Radix Motion. "We hope our our expertise around movement data analysis and use of AI will be an important tool that clinics, therapists and clinical research coordinators find as an invaluable asset to help keep clients safe from potentially predatory acts, while also protecting their privacy," added Sarah.

"The 'bypass' CIP strategy was the most cost-effective way to consolidate Radix Motion's inventions across different applications, while at the same time adding its new safety technology to expand them," said Graham Pechenik, a registered patent attorney and the founder of Calyx Law, and Red Light Holland's senior advisor.

"We are excited to continue to work with Sarah and the team at Radix Motion to bring their foundational 3D movement data technology closer to being patented, while also building upon it with new technology that can improve the safety of psychedelic services," Graham explained. "We appreciate the opportunity to protect Radix Motion's inventions, in ways that are aligned with its goal of ethical IP and its core value of protecting user's privacy."

"Radix Motion's embodied technology is aimed towards creating technological infrastructure for the growing psychedelic ecosystem to help ensure best practices around psychedelics as a tool for growth. As a company we've always wanted to contribute to positive change and this is just another example of that," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "Candidly, we are also hoping it's another revenue stream for Red Light Holland as it's a technology we believe is broadly applicable and expect to license or sell which is why we are grateful for the expertise of patent lawyer Graham Pechenik and the team at Calyx Law who are working towards ensuring our investment is protected."

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as such term is defined in the CSE policies) has reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

About Radix Motion

Radix Motion is a technology company founded in Silicon Valley focused on building immersive and embodied technology for health and wellness. Amongst their products are Meu, an AR/VR interactive hologram messenger, iMicroapp a microdosing app that also measures poses, Wisdom VR, an interactive education that explains what psychedelics do to the brain and more.

About Red Light Holland

Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws.

For additional information, please contact:

Todd Shapiro

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Tel: 647-643-TRIP (8747)

Email: todd@redlight.co

Website: www.RedLight.co

Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events.

The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's performance, business objectives and milestones and the anticipated timing of, and costs in connection with, the execution or achievement of such objectives and milestones; the Company's intention to devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections in Canada, U.S., and other jurisdictions; the Company and Radix Motion being eligible to utilize fast-track examination offered by the Patent Prosecution Highway in the U.S., Canada, and other participating patent offices; the potential benefits of psychedelic usage data; and Radix Motion's technology will help it lead the way by being an invaluable asset by improving the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

Forward-looking information in this press release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: current and future members of management will abide by the Company's business objectives and strategies from time to time established by the Company; the Company will achieve the performance, meet their business objectives and milestones in their anticipated time and within the anticipated cost; the Company will retain and supplement its board of directors and management, or otherwise engage consultants and advisors having knowledge of the industries (or segments thereof) within which the Company may from time to time participate; the Company will have sufficient working capital and the ability to obtain the financing required in order to develop and continue its business, brands and operations; the Company will continue to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled consultants and/or employees, as the case may be; no adverse changes will be made to the regulatory framework governing psychedelics, taxes and all other applicable matters in the jurisdictions in which the Company conducts business and any other jurisdiction in which the Company may conduct business in the future; the Company will be able to generate cash flow from operations, including, where applicable, distribution and sale of mushrooms and mushroom products; the Company will be able to execute on its business strategy as anticipated; the Company will be able to meet the requirements necessary to obtain and/or maintain authorizations required to conduct the business; general economic, financial, market, regulatory, and political conditions, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, will not negatively affect the Company or its business; the Company will be able to successfully compete in the psychedelic industries; the Company will be able to effectively manage anticipated and unanticipated costs; the Company will be able to conduct its operations in a safe, efficient and effective manner; general market conditions will be favorable with respect to the Company's future plans and goals; the Company will be able to utilize fast-track examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway in the United States, Canada and other participating patent offices; the Company will combine psychedelic usage data with technology; the Company will customize treatments and interventions, resulting in increased benefits of its technology; the Company will obtain its patent upon the terms outlined herein; the Company will devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections and developing and implementing standard operating procedures; and Radix Motion's technology will help it lead the way by being an invaluable asset by improving the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the Company's inability to attract and retain qualified members of management to grow the Company's business, brands and its operations; unanticipated changes in economic and market conditions (including changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic) or in applicable laws; the impact of the publications of inaccurate or unfavourable research by securities analysts or other third parties; unanticipated changes in the psychedelic industries in the jurisdictions within which the Company may from time to time conduct its business and operations, including the Company's inability to respond or adapt to such changes; the Company's inability to secure or maintain favourable lease arrangements or the required authorizations necessary to conduct the business and operations and meet its targets; the Company's inability to effectively manage unanticipated costs and expenses, including costs and expenses associated with product recalls and judicial or administrative proceedings against the Company; risk that the Company will be unable to provide affordable and equitable access adult access to naturally occurring psilocybin; risk that the Company will not be eligible for fast-track examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway in the United States, Canada and other participating patent offices; risk that the Company will be unable to combine psychedelic usage data with technology; risk that the Company will be unable to devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections and developing and implementing standard operating procedures; and risk that its patent application will be denied in whole or in part; and Radix Motion's technology's inability to improve the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153040
Layton, Utah--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Utah-based mold removal and odor remediation expert, Pure Maintenance, announces its milestones for 2023 with an achievement of removing mold from a quarter of a billion square feet across the globe. Pure Maintenance specializes in eradicating mold from both the surface and air using its unique VaPure System, powered by its patented and innovative dry fog technology. Within a short span of time, the company has established more than 170 branches worldwide. While celebrating its achievements, Pure Maintenance emphasizes its aim to serve more clients, by expanding its branches, with affordable and demolition-free air quality maintenance and mold remediation.

In the year 2022 alone, the company has successfully treated a large volume of the area across the world, which amounts to almost 250 million square feet with its mold remediation technology. This also means that Pure Maintenance has saved several home-owners from intrusive demolition projects due to mold infestation. The reason is, the mold remediation technology developed and used by the company doesn't require the facilities to be destroyed. In addition, Pure Maintenance cleans the entire building, considering the potential spread of pathogens through the air to other areas in the same building, instead of just focusing on the area of infection.

Another milestone achieved by the company is the opening of 6 new international offices, including its second branch in Western Australia being the latest. The new branch in Australia is its 170th office and the company achieved this milestone within a short period of three years. Commenting on the achievements and growth of the company, Brandon Adams, the CEO of Pure Maintenance said, " We opened a new location every 3 weeks last year. Our plan is to open a new office every 2 weeks this year."

Another milestone the company is aiming to achieve is to develop an air quality monitoring system. The company is already partnering with another entity in developing a system that can monitor the airborne concentration of infectious products in real time. The aim is to make the process more science-based, rather than based on manual assessments.

About Pure Maintenance

Pure Maintenance is headquartered in Layton, Utah, United States, and was established in 2003. The company specializes in Mold Abatement, Mold Remediation, Mold inspection, Mold removal, Odor Remediation, and Disinfection Services. The services provided by the company are available across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Media contact

Name: Nez Iskandrani

Email: nez@puremaintenance.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153039
Japan's first commercial certificate authority incorporating Quantinuum's Quantum Origin solution to strengthen security protections for IoT devices against current and future threats

CAMBRIDGE, England and BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantinuum, the world's leading integrated quantum computing company, today announced that Cybertrust Japan Co., Ltd., Japan's leading certificate authority, has integrated its Quantum Origin quantum-computing-hardened private keys into a new certificate issuance and distribution platform for IoT devices to ensure secure communications now and into the future.

Cybertrust Japan's new authentication infrastructure for high-speed, high-volume certificate issuance and distribution for large volumes of IoT devices includes the NIST-selected post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms. The certificate authority is further protecting devices from current and advancing threats by incorporating Quantinuum's Quantum Origin solution, the only cryptographic solution that leverages the power of quantum computers to generate quantum-computing-hardened keys.

"Integrating Quantum Origin assures our customers that they can build innovative IoT-based solutions on a platform they can trust to deliver speed and higher security, including post-quantum algorithms support. As a result, customers and partners can use and sell our certification services securely for the long term," said Yasutoshi Magara, President & CEO of Cybertrust Japan. "We would like to promote activities aimed at realizing a safe and secure society together with Quantinuum."

IoT devices typically use certificates to authenticate their connection to other devices or networks to prove that they are trusted devices. The challenge when providing and managing certificates across these devices is complex because of the volume of devices trying to connect to networks and the need to provide fast access to data. Security measures need to be robust while also enabling real-time communications.

"Cybertrust Japan and Quantinuum have shown that an advanced quantum-computing-based solution like Quantum Origin can be seamlessly integrated into authentication infrastructure to strengthen key and certificate generation. Cybertrust Japan is the first certification provider in the world to support quantum-computing-hardened keys using Quantum Origin," said Duncan Jones, Head of Cybersecurity at Quantinuum. "As the use of IoT devices grows, companies must ensure that their devices have state-of-the-art protection against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks that threaten their most valuable assets and data. Quantum Origin is the world's only solution that provides encryption keys generated by quantum computers giving customers an unrivalled ability to strengthen existing security measures and reduce their risk of exposure from advanced encryption-based attacks."

Cybertrust Japan's Secure IoT Platform protects end devices through the entire product lifecycle from semiconductor design to the implementation of the devices to the ultimate disposal of the devices. The Secure IoT Platform creates security certificates for the manufacturing process to protect the hardware, to make the manufacturing process traceable and to provide a long-term defect warranty. The product also includes a management platform for the devices to allow secure OS and software updates in addition to securing the data created and transmitted by the devices.

About Cybertrust Japan

As Japan's first commercial certificate authority, Cybertrust Japan provides authentication and security services as well as Linux/OSS services for on-premise, cloud and embedded domains by applying MIRACLE LINUX kernel technology and open source software (OSS) knowledge. Combining these technologies and deep security expertise, the company also promotes services that support the reliability of customer services by proving the correctness of "people, tangible things and intangible things" for IoT and other cutting-edge fields. Cybertrust Japan is committed to realizing a safe and secure society with highly specialized and neutral technologies for IT infrastructure.

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is the world's largest integrated quantum computing company, formed by the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions' world leading hardware and Cambridge Quantum's class leading middleware and applications. Science led and enterprise driven, Quantinuum accelerates quantum computing and the development of applications across chemistry, cybersecurity, finance, and optimization. Its focus is to create scalable and commercial quantum solutions to solve the world's most pressing problems, in fields such as energy, logistics, climate change, and health. The company employs over 480 people including 350 scientists, at nine sites in the US, Europe, and Japan.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cybertrust-japan-integrates-quantum-computing-hardened-private-keys-from-quantinuum-into-new-iot-authentication-platform-301733959.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a new white paper this month that details 10 action pillars to help shape manufacturers' strategic engagement with supply chain and operating officers to encourage business collaboration in achieving net zero. The "No-Excuse" Framework to Accelerate the Path to Net-Zero Manufacturing and Value Chains is the first output of WEF's Industry Net Zero Accelerator, an initiative aiming to raise awareness of the necessity for companies to seek "systemic collaboration across and between value chains" on their path towards achieving net-zero emissions.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) is collaborating with Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy (Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge), Capgemini, Siemens, and other advanced manufacturing companies on the WEF initiative. On January 17, Moret and other members of the WEF Industry Net Zero Accelerator Initiative shared insights from the white paper in a panel discussion held during WEF's annual summit in Davos, Switzerland. One key topic for the panelists was how systemic collaboration with suppliers and industrial partners can be leveraged to achieve progress on corporate net zero commitments.

Download the full white paper

Rockwell Automation was among the contributors to a new WEF white paper on Net Zero Manufacturing published in January 2023.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Rockwell Automation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Rockwell Automation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/rockwell-automation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Rockwell Automation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737424/Achieving-Net-Zero-Emissions-White-Paper-Details-10-Pillar-Framework-for-Success
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Launched in 2016, S&P Gallery is a leading art advisory service and online e-commerce art platform for novice and experienced art collectors, art lovers, and individuals looking for the perfect artwork to decorate their homes.

S&P Gallery has a sister company, Zeno, which is a publishing house and wholesale fine arts supplier that specialises in limited edition prints and selling to galleries all over the world. Zeno's goal is to connect galleries with artists, giving artists a platform to sell their work and helping galleries find up-and-coming, established, and blue-chip artists.

This year, S&P Gallery plans to expand by opening 12 new galleries in the UK, 1 gallery in the United States, and 1 gallery in France, while its publishing house, Zeno, plans to supply art to 100 galleries all over the world.

Luke Sparkes, CEO of S&P Gallery, states, "traditionally, the art market is one of the world's best-kept secrets. One used to have to be incredibly rich with the right connections to be in the art market. What makes Smith & Partner unique is that we welcome investment at any level. Our publishing house Zeno creates limited edition prints which allow people to get on board at a slightly easier entry level."

A Bespoke, Personalised Service

S&P Gallery provides a bespoke personalised service for each artist, which includes a face-to-face meeting, creating and delivering a marketing strategy, and producing video content for artists' social media platforms to help promote and nurture their growth. You can Follow S&P Gallery London on Instagram to take a look at its latest artists and their work.

Additionally, S&P Gallery offers an accessible 360-degree service to anyone looking to buy a piece of art or invest at any level. With 900+ art investment clients globally, the gallery's in-house team studies art market trends, demand, history of artwork sales, and auction prices.

The gallery has two state-of-the-art storage facilities for protecting artworks. The first facility is in Switzerland, which insures artwork, transportation costs are recovered, and the facility cost is free from VAT tax. The second storage facility is in Martin Speed, Vauxhall, which is across the M16 building in London, England.

S&P Gallery's goal is to educate interested individuals about art, whether a buyer wants a an original or print. The gallery works with a number of top NFT artists, including Miss Aniela, Jeremy Jones, Johnny Popkess, Bjorn Persson, NOEL, Alexander Lee Reagan, Kevin T Kelly, and Daniela Raytchev. They also sell limited edition prints from Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Andy Warhol. For further information on S&P Gallery's latest artists and artwork collection, you can Follow S&P Gallery London on Twitter.

About S&P Gallery

S&P Gallery is an online art gallery with a physical space in South Kensington, London; specialising in original artworks and limited-edition prints; offering exclusive access to artworks from emerging and established artists as well as a range of blue-chip artworks.

Its team of expert art advisors carefully study the art market, closely observe trends and keep an eye on art performance indicators in order to make the most of the potential future profitability of the artwork in the gallery's catalogue.

More information

To find out more about S&P Gallery and to view its current lists of artists and artwork, please visit their website at https://spgallery.co.uk/.

https://thenewsfront.com/london-based-art-investment-firm-sp-gallery-to-expand-across-the-uk-united-states-and-france/

###

Contact Information

S&P Gallery

58 Gloucester Rd

South Kensington

London SW7 4QT

United Kingdom

020 4531 8796

https://thenewsfront.com/organisation/sp-gallery/

SOURCE: S&P Gallery

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737414/London-Based-Art-Investment-Firm-SP-Gallery-To-Expand-Across-The-UK-United-States-And-France
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB: BLGO), a company that invents, develops, and commercializes innovative technologies in the cleantech space, including for PFAS contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and VOC control, air quality control, and infection control. President and CEO of the company, Dennis P. Calvert, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly for an interview.

Jolly began by commenting on BioLargo's 125% increase in revenues in 2022 compared to 2021, and asked about the catalysts for this increase. Calvert explained that among the company's portfolio of proprietary life sciences technologies is its disruptive odor control technology that is experiencing dramatic revenue growth due in large part to the success of a consumer product goods partnership (www.pooph.com) that has launched a pet odor product that is enjoying growing success in online sales and in retailers like Walmart.

He added, "The [company's] engineering group itself is also finding significance in customer adoption for their services, so it has been the combination of both," shared Calvert. "As our overhead stays relatively fixed, all of a sudden we have cash flow, and that is a great thing for BioLargo."

"The key is the adoption of products and services that can scale, and that is what we're witnessing."

"Could you give us an update on your PFAS treatment technology?" asked Jolly. "Basically, the machine creates an electric field and as the water flows through the machine, the PFAS is drawn to its opposite charge," explained Calvert. "[The PFAS] is collected to extract it and take it out of the water," he added. "It is able to create a non-detect status, which means it can take it all out," said Calvert, adding that BioLargo secured its first customer for PFAS mitigation services in August 2022.

"What are you most excited about for 2023?" asked Jolly. "We're looking forward to selling more of our products and services."

To hear Dennis Calvert's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8239346-biolargo-inc-discusses-125-revenue-increase-for-2022-with-the-stock-day-podcast.

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/.

About BioLargo, Inc.

BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB: BLGO) is a cleantech and life sciences innovator and engineering services solution provider. Our core products address PFAS contamination, achieve advanced water and wastewater treatment, control odor and VOCs, improve air quality, and control infections and infectious disease. Our approach is to invent or acquire novel technologies, develop them into product offerings, and extend their commercial reach through licensing and channel partnerships to maximize their impact. See our website at www.BioLargo.com.

Contact Information

Dennis P. Calvert

President and CEO, BioLargo, Inc.

888-400-2863

Safe Harbor Act

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about BioLargo's (the "Company") expectations regarding anticipated revenue and plans for future operations, and may be identified by words such as "we believe". These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price; the effect of global and regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent introductions and transitions of products and services, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's filings with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153041
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) Tuesday announced a new joint venture Blue Blade Energy with Tallgrass and Green Plains Inc. to develop and commercialize ethanol-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel or SAF technology. If the technology is successful, Blue Blade is expected to proceed with the construction of a pilot facility in 2024 and a full-scale facility by 2028. The agreement envisages providing ethanol-based fuel to fly more than 50,000 flights annually between United's hub airports in Chicago and Denver. As the Sustainable Aviation Fuel technology uses non-petroleum feedstock, it will be a low-carbon alternative to traditional jet fuel that offers up to 85 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. As per the agreement, Tallgrass will manage the research and development of the technology, including pilot plant development, and will manage the construction of the production facility. Green Plains will supply the low-carbon ethanol feedstock. United Airlines will assist with the technology development, fuel certification, and into-wing logistics. Further Green Plains has agreed to purchase up to 2.7 billion gallons of SAF. Copyright(c) 2023 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.
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Envision Pharma Group (Envision) today announced the appointment of two senior executives while further expanding its global focus on M&A, technology-enabled solutions, and strategic consulting for the life sciences industry.

Dominic "Nick" Marasco has joined as Chief Commercial Officer of Envision Pharma Group, and member of the Executive Leadership Team. Nick is an experienced global commercial leader with nearly 30 years of pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industry experience. Having held several C-suite positions, he has a proven track record of successfully launching and growing products and solutions with a focus on driving profitable revenue growth, building, and leading high-performing commercial organizations.

Nick will lead the development of Envision's commercial-to-customer strategy while identifying new pathways to progression, with a focus on continuing its revenue growth and expanding its customer reach and solutions. He will help develop, lead, and reinforce Envision's position as a technology-enabled commercialization, data analytics, and integrated medical capabilities and solutions company. Another key part of his role is to implement a coordinated and integrated sales structure across Envision to reinforce its technology-enabled positioning.

Before joining Envision, Nick served as Chief Commercial Officer of BioAgilytix, supporting three buyer-side acquisitions and integrations, as well as one sell-side sale of BioAgilytix to new private equity owners. Prior to BioAgilytix, he served as Executive Vice President, Global Business Development, Commercial at Syneos Health, where he led the overall strategic direction of the global business development team for the commercial division, both in the US and internationally.

Nick was also previously Head of US Sales for the Neuroscience Business Unit at Amgen, and prior to that Global Commercial Head, Amgen Biosimilars. He has also held executive-level commercial and business development positions at Sandoz Biopharmaceuticals (a Novartis company) and IQVIA (formerly Quintiles).

Nick shares, "It is a distinct pleasure to join both Meg Heim and the entire team at Envision Pharma Group. Envision is a company that is experiencing phenomenal growth and high customer engagement and loyalty across each of the pillars of the organization and has continued to realize the growing demand of customer needs and advisory services. Even better, Envision has excelled at progressive innovation via services and technology to achieve a comprehensive solutions-oriented service platform. I am excited to join this dynamic team."

Gregory "Greg" Carpenter joins Envision Pharma Group as Chief of Staff, CEO, and member of the Executive Leadership Team and brings with him a wealth of global experience and expertise.

Greg has held several leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry and positions spanning sales, marketing, medical, and transformation. His expertise covers areas of communications, strategic planning and implementation, coalition and consensus-building leadership development, omnichannel marketing, and change management.

Before joining Envision, Greg's most recent role was leading a go-to-market transformation for the Sanofi US General Medicines team that included building an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) solution, and helping the organization understand and embrace omnichannel marketing.

Greg says, "I am delighted to join Envision Pharma Group and help carry out our mission of improving lives through a compelling combination of technology and services to enable clients to better serve patients. Through our expertise in scientific and commercialization strategy and solutions, medical affairs, and AI-driven technology solutions, Envision is helping our customers to excel in a rapidly changing healthcare environment."

Meg Heim, Chief Executive Officer of Envision Pharma Group, adds, "I am so excited to welcome Nick and Greg to the Envision team. These new positions are critical to the fulfillment of our business expansion, mission, as well as being a commitment to our vision that enables us to execute upon our strategic plans."

About Envision Pharma Group

Founded in 2001, Envision Pharma Group is a global, technology-enabled commercialization, integrated medical capabilities and solutions, and HEOR data analytics, partner to the life-science industry. As a leading provider of evidence-based scientific communication services and industry-leading technology solutions, and strategic consulting that have applicability across the full pharmaceutical industry spectrum and related functional responsibility, Envision provides solutions to over 200 pharma and biotech companies, including 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Learn more at www.envisionpharmagroup.com.

Contact Information:

Colleen Carter

Communications

colleen.carter@envisionpharma.com

1 (203) 480 0080



This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.
President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during the latter's visit to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of presidential office



Security grouping becoming conspicuous in Northeast Asia



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea criticized North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Seoul, calling it a prelude to war and an attempt to create an Asian version of NATO.



The condemnation was the latest in a series of hostile statements by Pyongyang against the U.S. decision to deliver tanks to Ukraine to assist Kyiv's war with Russia, showing that the North is seeking to benefit from the China-Russia bloc's confrontation against the trilateral security group of South Korea, Japan and the U.S.



The North's official Korean Central News Agency, Monday, carried an article by Kim Tong-myong, a researcher at the North's association of international relations, which claimed that the NATO chief's trips to Seoul and Tokyo are "a prelude to war and confrontational behavior" bringing the "flame of a new Cold War to the Asia-Pacific region."



The researcher condemned Stoltenberg as the head of the military organization that turned Ukraine into a "theater of proxy war" and said "his arrival in the Asia-Pacific region, which is out of his operational scope, is raising concerns."



Stoltenberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day visit, seeking to boost NATO's relations with Asian partners including South Korea and Japan.



The NATO chief was invited to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday and discussed expanded cooperation between the two sides in digital and emerging technologies, climate change and defense industries.



During the meeting, Yoon asked Stoltenberg and NATO to play "active roles" to deter North Korea's "reckless provocations."



Stoltenberg promised to bolster South Korea-NATO cooperation and lauded the expanding defense industry cooperation between the two sides. The NATO chief invited the South Korean leader to attend July's NATO Summit in Lithuania, and Yoon replied that he will consider it.



The North Korean researcher added that the Ukraine war is entering a new crisis following the U.S.' decision to deliver tanks to Kyiv, and that it is obvious that the NATO chief will coerce South Korea and Japan by talking about Chinese threats in order to call for the necessity of an Asian version of NATO, as well as putting pressure on them to provide weapons to Ukraine.





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Vladivostok in this April 25, 2019, file photo. Yonhap
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ)(HK:1878) ("SouthGobi" or the "Company") This announcement is made by the Company pursuant to Rule 13.09 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities ("Listing Rules") on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, paragraphs 3.20 and 3.42 of the Guidance Letter HKEX-GL-112-22 ("Guidance Letter") and the Inside Information Provisions under Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the laws of Hong Kong).

Reference is made to the announcements of the Company dated April 21, 2022, July 29, 2022 ("July 29 Announcement"), September 15, 2022, November 23, 2022, and December 30, 2022 (Hong Kong time) in respect of the Delisting from the TSX and the NEX Listing Application following which the Company will become primary listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (collectively, "Announcements"). Unless otherwise specified, capitalized terms used in the Announcements shall have the same meanings when used herein.

MIGRATION EXCHANGE NOTICE

1.1 Introduction

The Board wishes to inform the market that on January 20, 2023 (Hong Kong time), the Company received a written notice from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ("Migration Exchange Notice") of its decision that the majority of trading in the Company's Shares has migrated to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's markets ("Migration") on a permanent basis as more than 55% of the Company's total worldwide trading volume took place on such markets over the most recent financial year under Note 1 to Listing Rule 19C.13. Approximately 89.6% of the total worldwide trading volume, by dollar value, of the Shares over the Company's financial year ended 31 December 2022, took place on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's markets.

1.2 Migration Grace Period

Note 2 to the Listing Rule 19C.13 provides the Company with a grace period of 12 months to comply with the applicable Listing Rules ("Migration Grace Period"). The Migration Grace Period will end at midnight on the first anniversary of the date of Migration Exchange Notice ("Migration Exchange Notice Date"). The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will regard the Company as having dual primary (rather than secondary) listing status on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange upon the expiry ("Expiry") of the Migration Grace Period, i.e., January 20, 2024 (Hong Kong time).

For the avoidance of doubt, the Migration Grace Period is conditional on the continued primary listing of the Company on the Recognised Stock Exchange of its primary listing (i.e., the TSX). If this condition is not fulfilled, the Company will be regarded as having delisted from its primary listing on the Recognised Stock Exchange for the purpose of Listing Rule 19C.13A and become primary listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Consequently, Listing Rules 19C.11, 19C.11A, 19C.11B, and 19C.11C (as applicable) will no longer apply to the Company. As disclosed in the Announcements, the Company is preparing for the voluntary delisting from the TSX and subsequent listing of its Shares on the NEX division of the TSX-V through the NEX Listing Application, which will constitute a delisting from its Recognised Stock Exchange of primary listing (i.e., the TSX) upon the Effective Date. Please refer to the Announcements and the section headed "2. Update on Listing Application in Canada" in this announcement for further details and the latest status of the Delisting and the NEX Listing Application. Therefore, upon the Expiry (in respect of the Migration) or the Effective Date (in respect of the Delisting), whichever is earlier, the Company shall fully comply with the Listing Rules requirements applicable to a primary listed issuer, unless otherwise being exempted or waived by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Company acknowledged that it shall provide the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with an updated report, on a monthly basis, on its progress towards compliance with the Listing Rules which will apply to the Company at the end of the Migration Grace Period. The Company also acknowledged that it shall publish an announcement upon Expiry, stating the end of the Migration Grace Period, together with the details required under paragraph 3.21 of the Guidance Letter.

1.3 Compliance with and Waivers from the Listing Rules

Upon Expiry, it is expected that the Company will be able to comply with all the relevant Listing Rules applicable to a dual primary listed issuer, including the Listing Rules on which the Existing Waivers (as disclosed in the section headed "1.4 Impact of Migration and the Way Forward" in this announcement) apply, which are nonetheless expected to be withdrawn or will no longer be applicable upon Expiry, unless otherwise separately waived or exempted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Company intends that, save as the Company's waiver applications on "two-way" voting under Listing Rule 13.38 and on certain continuing connected transaction requirements under Listing Rules 14A.36 and 14A.53 in respect of the continuing connected transactions pursuant to the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement entered into originally with CIC (through Fullbloom) and later with the Fund following the Completion, as detailed in the July 29 Announcement ("Waiver Applications"), it has taken and will take all reasonable and prudent steps to comply with all the relevant Listing Rules applicable to the Company following Expiry or the Effective date, whichever is earlier, by making all necessary Arrangements to effectuate the Migration or the Delisting, as obliged by the applicable Listing Rules requirements. For further details of the Arrangements and the Waiver Applications, please refer to the July 29 Announcement. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange may or may not grant such waivers pursuant to the Waiver Applications.

Pursuant to Note 3 to the Listing Rule 19C.13, any continuing transaction of the Company in place as at the Migration Exchange Notice Date will continue to be exempted from the applicable rules set out in Listing Rule 19C.11 for a period of three years from the Migration Exchange Notice Date. However, if such transaction is subsequently amended or renewed before the expiry of the aforementioned three-year period, the Company must comply with the relevant requirements under the rules at such time. For the avoidance of doubt, this exemption does not apply to any other circumstances unless otherwise stated in the Listing Rules. Additionally, in the event of the Delisting, such exemption will no longer apply to the Company upon the Effective Date.

1.4 Impact of Migration and the Way Forward

The Company is continuously assessing the legal, financial, and operational impact of the Migration to the Company. As of the date of this announcement, the Company believes the Migration will not bring about any material impact to Shareholders and potential investors trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Migration Exchange Notice states that the stock marker "S" in the Company's stock short name will be dis-applied only when the Company is able to fully comply with all the relevant Listing Rules applicable to a dual primary listed issuer. The stock marker "S" continues to apply until Expiry, provided that the Company is in compliance with all the relevant Listing Rules applicable to a dual primary listed issuer. In the event the Company is unable to implement all necessary changes to its corporate and organisational structure in order to comply with the corporate governance requirements in the Listing Rules and/ or put in place an internal control system to enable itself to fully comply with an applicable Listing Rule (and, if applicable, where no waiver has been granted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) upon Expiry, the stock marker "S" shall remain in the Company's stock short name and can only be removed after all rectification measures have been carried out and the Company is fully compliant with all applicable Listing Rules. The Company will also disclose details of such breaches of the Listing Rules, the progress of the rectification, and the amount of time needed for full compliance with the specific Listing Rules. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange may also consider pursuing disciplinary actions in respect of any non-compliance with the relevant Listing Rules.

In addition, in the event that the Company is unable to fully comply with an applicable Listing Rules upon Expiry (save for any continuing transaction that will continue to be exempted pursuant to Note 3 to Listing Rule 19C.13), the Hong Kong Stock Exchange may, on a case by case basis, exercise its discretion to extend the grace period, suspend trading of the Shares or impose other measures as it considers necessary for the protection of the investors and the maintenance of an orderly market. If any extended grace period has been granted under a time-relief waiver, the Company shall publish an announcement upon the grant and the expiry of such extended grace period, informing the Shareholders and the investors of the status of compliance.

For the avoidance of doubt, notwithstanding the receipt of the Migration Exchange Notice, save as otherwise specified in the Guidance Letter, the Company will continue to be entitled to the Existing Waivers prior to Expiry (in respect of the Migration) or the Effective Date (in respect of the Delisting), whichever is earlier. Such Existing Waivers include, among others, the following specific waivers granted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, exemption and ruling granted by the SFC, on an individual basis:

Rules Subject matter Rule 13.09(2) of the Listing Rules General obligation of disclosure Rules 13.11 to 13.22 of the Listing Rules Advances to entities and financing arrangements etc. Rule 13.28(7) of the Listing Rules Disclosure of identities of placees Rule 13.38 of the Listing Rules Notice of a meeting of holders of listed securities and proxy forms Rule 13.39(4) to (5) of the Listing Rules Voting by poll and poll results announcement Rule 13.44 of the Listing Rules Voting by directors with material interests on board resolutions Rules 13.46(2) and 13.48 of the Listing Rules Distribution of annual and interim reports Chapter 14 and Chapter 14A of the Listing Rules Notifiable and connected transactions Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules Share option schemes Part XV of the SFO Disclosure of interests under Part XV of the SFO

For further details of the Existing Waivers, please refer to the July 29 Announcement. The Existing Waivers will be withdrawn upon Expiry (in respect of the Migration) or the Effective Date (in respect of the Delisting), whichever is earlier, and the Company is expected to fully comply with the relevant Listing Rules and provisions of the SFO accordingly. The Company has been observing the Codes as approved by the SFC (as amended from time to time) since June 2014 when the Takeovers and Mergers Panel issued a ruling that the Company should be considered a "public company in Hong Kong" within the meaning of the Codes. Please refer to the Panel Discussion published by the Takeovers and Mergers Panel on June 30, 2014, for further details.

2. UPDATE ON LISTING APPLICATION IN CANADA

2.1 Update on the Effective Date of Delisting

As disclosed in the Announcements, the Company's NEX Listing Application is subject to review (which involves, among other things, customary due diligence work) and approval from the NEX. The Company wishes to update its Shareholders and investors that as the Delisting shall be subject to obtaining approvals from the TSX and NEX in connection with NEX Listing Application, the anticipated Effective Date is thus postponed to the end of February 2023 instead of the end of January 2023.

The Company will provide further updates once further information is available. The Company's common shares will remain listed on the TSX while the NEX Listing Application is under review by the NEX.

There may exist specific uncertainties as to whether and when the Delisting will proceed. Shareholders who have any queries about the implications of the Delisting are advised to obtain appropriate professional advice. Shareholders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company.

The Company will closely monitor the development of the aforesaid matters and keep the Shareholders and potential investors informed of any material development in connection with the above matters by way of periodic announcements and/or further announcement(s) as and when appropriate.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute, or form part of, any invitation or offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for any of our securities. Shareholders and potential investors should exercise caution when dealing in our securities.

If there is any inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese version, the English version shall prevail.

About SouthGobi

SouthGobi, listed on the Toronto and Hong Kong stock exchanges, owns and operates its flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia. It also holds the mining licences of its other metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in South Gobi region of Mongolia. SouthGobi produces and sells coal to customers in China.

Contact:

Investor Relations

Office: +852 2156 1438 (Hong Kong)

+1 604 762 6783 (Canada)

Email: info@southgobi.com

Website: www.southgobi.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included in this press release that is not current or historical factual information constitutes forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including information regarding including the Company's continued listing on the TSX while the NEX Application is under review by the NEX, the grant of waivers by the HKEX pursuant to the Waiver Applications, the ability of the Company to comply with all the relevant Listing Rules applicable to a dual primary listed issuer and the anticipated Effective Date of the listing of the Company's common shares on the NEX, respectively. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "could", "should", "seek", "likely", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions including, among other things, the ability of the Company to satisfy the HKEX's primary listing requirements, the ability of the Company to satisfy the NEX's listing requirements and the NEX approving the Company's NEX Listing Application and other similar factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from what the Company currently expects. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue importance on forward-looking statements, which speaks only as of the date of this disclosure, and not to rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it is under no obligation and does not undertake to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, further events or otherwise at any particular time, except as required by law. Additional information concerning factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those in such forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: SouthGobi Resources Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737396/1-Inside-Information-and-Announcement-Pursuant-to-Rule-1309-Of-the-Listing-Rules-in-Relation-to-Migration-Exchange-Notice-And-2-Update-on-Listing-Application-in-Canada
PITTSBURGH, PA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Today, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn"), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced a data integration partnership with YouTube for podcasters. Specifically, Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, the industry's premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters, is now connected with YouTube, the fastest-growing podcast listening platform, to feed real-time, IAB-compliant data into its marketplace. This connection enables Libsyn podcasters, brands, and advertisers to gain streamlined access to accurate insights on podcast downloads from YouTube.

Video podcasts are on the rise with nearly six in ten (57%) listeners saying they prefer podcasts with video, according to a recent Signal Hill Insights study. YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for podcasts, with a vast global audience of over two billion active users. Publishing in multi-format (audio and video) and multi-channel (podcast and YouTube) helps podcasters expand their reach and build their community while increasing monetization opportunities. The multi-format and multi-channel approach is also opening a number of opportunities for advertisers to reach highly engaged and diverse audiences.

"Podcasters are increasingly uploading their shows to YouTube as both a distribution and marketing channel and AdvertiseCast is continuing to offer richer data and insights on campaign performance for brand partners," said Anthony Savelli, SVP of Sales for AdvertiseCast. "YouTube is one of the most popular podcast listening platforms in the U.S. and usage share has steadily grown from 14% in 2019 to 24.2% in 2022. Libsyn was the first hosting company to support publishing podcasts to YouTube and this data integration furthers our commitment to the multi-channel approach and will provide better transparency to brands and advertisers."

In addition to bringing IAB-compliant data into the AdvertiseCast marketplace, Libsyn has also made improvements to the workflow for publishing podcasts to YouTube. IAB-complaint stats for YouTube are also available to podcasters hosting on the Libsyn platform that have not yet chosen to monetize through the AdvertiseCast marketplace.

The companies anticipate further announcements to help podcasters improve and expand reach and assist advertisers with improved transparency into the value of podcasting.

About Liberated Syndication

Founded in 2004, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn") is the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers to host, distribute, monetize, amplify, and measure their audio content. In 2021, the Company hosted over 75,000 shows with 5.8 million podcast episodes and delivered over 6 billion downloads to listeners globally. Libsyn's AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns on over 3,000 shows. Based in Munich, Germany, Libsyn's Julep Media platform is the leading podcasting hosting platform and advertising marketplace in Europe. Libsyn also powers podcast membership platform, Glow, and web hosting platform, Pair Networks. Visit libsyn.com or investor.libsyn.com for more company information.

Media Contacts:

Ray Yeung + Nancy Zakhary | ray@relev8.co+ nancy@relev8.co

SOURCE: Liberated Syndication, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737427/Libsyn-Announces-Partnership-with-YouTube-to-Deliver-Real-Time-Metrics-for-Podcast-Advertisers
Company's New Name: Bridge Business Credit

New brand signifies company's growth beyond Great Lakes region

TROY, MI / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Great Lakes Business Credit, one of the nation's fastest-growing alternative commercial finance companies, has announced a rebranding, with the new name of Bridge Business Credit. Under its new name, the Bridge Business Credit team of experienced financial professionals will serve operating companies located throughout the Central and Eastern U.S. time zones.

Bridge Business Credit offers creative, nimble, and flexible loan structures for businesses with potential that cannot obtain or maintain conventional financing to assure continued operation and future success. The company is focused exclusively on providing business loan commitments ranging from $500,000 to $6 million.

As a privately held non-bank, BBC offers one of the widest and most accessible arrays of alternative financing resources in the industry. Bridge Business Credit has already provided more than $500 million in asset-based lending solutions, helping save companies by retaining their employees and providing growth capital.

A major advantage for Bridge Business Credit is its ability to close and fund loan commitments within 21 to 30 days of proposal acceptance - much quicker than competitors. BBC has its own field examination team on staff, not needing to rely on third party sources for loan processing. Moreover, BBC does not have termination or prepayment penalties as a borrower migrates to conventional financing as soon as possible.

Rhett B. Rowe, CEO, Bridge Business Credit

"Our new name both describes our services of providing interim 'bridge' financing and furthers our growth path to expand our financing capabilities to more businesses seeking to regain financial stability and return to conventional financing," according to Bridge Business Credit CEO Rhett B. Rowe. "Bridge Business Credit, strengthened by a major recapitalization and its highly qualified team, is now more than ever strategically positioned to provide businesses the help they need in this extremely challenging economy."

Bridge Business Credit plans to showcase its new brand identity at the Turnaround Management Association's (TMA) Distressed Investing Conference in Las Vegas which starts Jan. 31, 2023, and at numerous other financial industry events in the coming months.

About Bridge Business Credit: Located in Troy, Michigan, Bridge Business Credit (formerly Great Lakes Business Credit) was established in 2002. Its experienced team of dedicated financial professionals serve companies with potential that are unable to obtain conventional financing. By working to understand their client's business, Bridge structures flexible financing with asset-based lines of credit. Eligible collateral categories include accounts receivable; inventory; machinery and equipment; as well as owner-occupied commercial real estate. Learn more at www.bridgebusinesscredit.com or by calling (248) 733-0300.

SOURCE: Bridge Business Credit

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/736990/With-Expansion-Great-Lakes-Business-Credit-Rebrands
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Bloomberg:

New York Harbor is cleaner and healthier than it has been in many years and the recent sightings of dolphins and whales are good indicators of the renewed health of New York City's waterways. Among the many reasons for these improvements are the local community organizations working to protect and restore our ecosystem of rivers, estuaries, and wetlands that support diverse wildlife in our waters and help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Bloomberg partners with a number of nonprofits around the world to support our environment through local action, including New York Restoration Project (NYRP).

Sherman Creek Park, a once illegal dumping ground along the Harlem River is now one of the few thriving wetlands in New York City, thanks to the intervention of the team at NYRP alongside groups of volunteers. Wetlands are crucial in the fight against climate change as it is estimated that they can sequester ten times more carbon than tropical forests. For decades, wetlands had disappeared dramatically in New York with only about 10 percent of its historic freshwater wetlands remaining, according to the Natural Areas Conservancy. At the heart of NYRP's wetlands restoration work was the immediate threat of climate change-induced erosion taking over parkland in the neighborhood.

NYRP introduced an ecosystem-based solution called a living shoreline in 2020 consisting of an artificial oyster reef with specialized concrete blocks called Oyster Castles and native plantings to build a new habitat. This unique solution slows water levels and allows the water to deposit sediment naturally. To support the habitat, NYRP enlisted hundreds of local community and corporate volunteers to help remove nearly 25,000 pounds of trash and 17,280 pounds of compostable materials. Volunteers also planted dozens of native shrubs and ground cover.

"Building a resilient shoreline that will improve the park and habitat for years to come has been an incredible experience. We could not have done it without Bloomberg and we think it's a great example of how to adapt more of NYC's shoreline in the years to come," said Jason Smith, NYRP's Director of Northern Manhattan Parks.

In the spring of 2022, Bloomberg employees helped plant 3,000 spartina grass plugs as part of ongoing conservation efforts to protect the park and restore the wetlands. These native marsh grasses, alongside the adjoining artificial oyster reef, are seeing positive changes and growth that are encouraging for the community. There's an increase in blue crabs and snapping turtles in the area. Bloomberg employees will continue to lend a hand by helping remove invasive plants and clear the shoreline of debris to help NYRP continue their incredible transformation of one of Manhattan's last remaining wetlands. Today, Sherman Creek Park and the Living Shoreline serve as an outdoor classroom welcoming hundreds of visitors from the surrounding community including local schools in Washington Heights.

Around the world, Bloomberg employees helped support wetlands by volunteering locally with a diverse range of nonprofit partners doing incredible work to protect our waterways, parks, communities, and planet. In California, we joined the Friends of Ballona Wetlands to help revitalize the last coastal wetland in Los Angeles - Ballona Creek. We also partnered with Save the Bay to clean up the wetlands along the Martin Luther King, Jr Shoreline in Oakland. Employees in Washington DC joined the Anacostia Watershed Society for a Wetland Restoration Workday in the wetlands of Kingman Island. In Baltimore, we teamed up with the Living Classrooms Foundation at the East Harbor Campus. In Miami, we joined the 40th Anniversary Baynanza Cleanup in Biscayne Bay, and in Brazil, we joined our environmental partner Limpa Brasil in Sao Paulo. Employees in Asia also helped maintain the Pulau Ubin mangrove in Singapore, the Arakawa wetlands in Tokyo, the wetlands in Nanji Hangang Park in Seoul, and the Pak Nai wetland area in Hong Kong. In addition, employees in Sydney volunteered at Duck Pond at Centennial Parklands, in London at the Perivale Meadow Wetlands in London, and in Dubai at the Ajman Al Zorah mangrove. Throughout all of these projects, employees helped remove invasive phragmites plants and other invasive species, as well as debris that would otherwise end up in the wetlands, on our beaches, and in the ocean. In many cases, we also helped plant native wetland grass and plants to help grow and revitalize the native habitat.

Volunteering locally to support the organizations around the world working to maintain and restore coastal wetlands is just one important piece to achieving a cleaner and safer planet for future generations.

At Bloomberg, we're tackling the climate crisis from every angle. Find out more about how Bloomberg Philanthropies is working to fight climate change around the world by turbocharging the clean energy transition, protecting the ocean, and supporting sustainable cities.

Wetlands at Sherman Creek Park - Before and after successful establishment and growth of marsh grass plantings. Photo Credit: Craig Warga (L), Ben Hider - benhiderimages.com (R)



View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bloomberg on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Bloomberg

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bloomberg

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Bloomberg

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737425/Vanishing-No-More-Restoring-a-Dying-New-York-Wetland-With-Community-Volunteering
STEINBACH, MB, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RocketRez, a leading ticketing and business operations software platform powering mid-market tours and attractions, today announced the close of a US$15 million Series B funding round with Level Equity, a New York City-based growth investor focused on best-in-class software pioneers. Charles Chen from Level Equity will join the RocketRez Board of Directors as part of this transaction, joining Blueprint Equity from its previous funding round.

With this funding, RocketRez will accelerate its ability to provide incredible end-to-end guest experiences in new market verticals, and extend the capabilities for leading tours and attractions already in its portfolio such as Maui Ocean Center, Xtreme Xperience, Aquarium of the Bay, and Governors Island. Beyond engineering and software development, this new investment will enable RocketRez to continue adding key leadership positions and expand its sales capabilities as it looks to new vertical markets and geographies. RocketRez will also continue to develop its partnerships and integrations.

Overcoming economic challenges builds confidence among investors

Over the past two years, and during the global COVID-19 pandemic, RocketRez more than doubled its growth including its portfolio of clients, dollars transacted through its platform, employee count, and geographic reach. This acceleration in growth when the travel and tourism industry was facing existential challenges caught the attention of Level Equity.

Together, RocketRez and Level Equity will bring data-focused enterprise-level ticketing and business intelligence to mid-market tours and attractions. As tours and attractions transition from legacy technology toward digital maturity, RocketRez enables operators to leverage data from every touchpoint along the customer journey to enhance their on-site guest experience.

"We believe in RocketRez's vision and their high-growth potential as demonstrated by the marquee clients they've onboarded and retained during these challenging times," said Charles Chen, Partner at Level Equity. "Global tourist attractions have weathered the storm in part due to the innovative solutions provided by RocketRez. They understand that technology and data are what will power their vision for the ultimate guest experience."

Funding will enable more innovative guest experiences driven by customer data

"The ability to capture data from multiple digital touchpoints gives operators more robust insights into customer behavior that cannot be achieved with disconnected sets of technology services," said RocketRez CEO John Pendergrast. "Level Equity's investment into RocketRez will help us accelerate more fulsome digital solutions that will deliver even better guest experiences for our customers and will enable us to expand our geographic reach."

"Online and on-site ticket purchases, mobile ticket scanning, retail and food and beverage purchases, email and SMS communication, and various other interactions are all part of a single customer journey. With that information, an operator can make faster, smarter decisions about how to deliver a better guest experience, based on each visitor's preferences. Large operators have built their own platforms but for mid-market operators they need to buy an all-in-one software platform and that's what RocketRez delivers," continued Pendergrast.

RocketRez is an all-in-one ticketing and operations platform geared toward mid-market tours and attractions with revenues of $2 million to $200 million which includes functionality for online and on-site ticketing through ecommerce, Point-of-Sale and contactless kiosk channels, revenue management, business intelligence, customer management as well as retail and food and beverage sales. It also includes partnerships with industry leading services for payments, hardware, channel management and peripheral software services that add value to the platform and customers.

About RocketRez

RocketRez powers mid-market tours and attractions and enables data-driven guest experiences with an all-in-one cloud ticketing and operations software platform. RocketRez maintains its company headquarters in Canada, where its engineering, operations, and marketing teams are based, and has a distributed salesforce throughout North America and expanding into Europe. RocketRez primarily serves mid-market clients in several key industries: boat tours and ferries, zoos and aquariums, attractions and theme parks, and museums and galleries. For more information about RocketRez, visit www.rocketrez.com.

About Level Equity

Level Equity is a private investment firm focused on providing capital to rapidly growing software and technology-driven businesses. Level provides long term capital across all transaction types in support of continued growth. The firm has raised $3.0 billion in committed capital, has backed over 100 companies since inception, and has offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Greenwich, CT. For more information about Level Equity, visit www.levelequity.com .

Sarah Coombs for RocketRez, 416-729-8550, scprcanada@gmail.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/rocketrez-raises-us15-million-to-power-the-future-of-guest-experience-at-tours-and-attractions-301734838.html
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - The Finnish IQ testing specialist, Wiqtcom, is pleased to announce the launch of a new IQ test that has been scientifically designed to open up IQ testing and improve the intelligence of people worldwide.









The Finnish IQ testing specialist, Wiqtcom, has announced the launch of a new IQ test



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Wiqtcom achieved significant international attention when the company used its own data and published a list ranking the most intelligent countries in the world in 2022.

The new test is free for all users, no matter their background or location, and can help them understand how to train their minds to improve their IQ. Thirty multiple-choice questions are presented for the test taker to answer. With no time limit and a commitment to providing a culture-fair experience (meaning no prior knowledge or academic ability is required to test your innate intelligence), test takers can instantly see how well they performed.





Figure: Which figure is the odd one out?

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Using logic to boost your intelligence

Unlike other tests, this new test aims to show people the logic behind any questions that they got wrong, along with explanations for why certain answers were correct. This helps people to understand how IQ tests work and can give them insight into the type of questions that are likely to appear on Mensa-level tests.

This is critical for test takers who intend to attempt to join any high-IQ society. By understanding the logical process behind these questions, test takers can hone their reasoning skills and improve their total IQ with scientifically proven methods.

Expanding educational horizons

Several IQ tests are available on the https://www.worldwide-iq-test.com website, including a paid option that delivers validated results and an exact IQ score. As part of Wiqtcom's commitment to continual self-improvement, an Academic Cooperation program is available to enable educational facilities to analyze students' ability with an accurate IQ test at no cost.

More about this program can be found at https://www.worldwide-iq-test.com/academic-cooperation.

For those with short on time: Quick IQ Test

A five-question Quick IQ test is also available for those who are short on time but want to get an idea of how their intelligence stacks up.





Figure: Which figure logically belongs in the empty box of the grid?

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Wiqtcom invites everybody from around the world to take its tests, use its scientific methods to improve intelligence, and then retry the tests. Wiqtcom believes that everyone has the potential to become more intelligent with the right tools and motivation.

Wiqtcom, the company behind the new IQ test

Wiqtcom Inc. is a Finnish organization that has been testing intelligence around the world since 2019. The company believes in transparency and wants to share data and knowledge on intelligence and encourage the development of intelligence and healthy lifestyles for individuals.

The company's mission is to democratize intelligence, and with that in mind, the online IQ tests have been designed. It is open to anyone from any background or location and allows them to challenge themselves and work on improving their own mental abilities.

Please visit here for more information.

Contact:

Mikko Raassina

support@worldwide-iq-test.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152701
New SaaS solution makes finding knowledge and expertise in the digital workplace effortless

Sinequa's Workplace Search is an advanced, turnkey solution that helps companies solve their ever-growing information findability challenges.

Built on decades of research and product development, Sinequa's advanced search capabilities are uniquely designed for the workplace. They optimize the all-important employee experience, empowering the workforce to achieve more, duplicate less, and make better decisions every day.

Leading organizations are reimagining employee productivity and collaboration with Workplace Search. In Q4 2022, Sinequa began a partnership with a leading financial advisory and asset management firm, which now uses Sinequa as a core component of its digital workplace strategy.

Today, Sinequa announces Workplace Search, a solution that equips employees with fast, effortless retrieval of company knowledge. Sinequa already works with the world's largest organizations that understand the importance of company knowledge. Now, organizations of all sizes can leverage the power of Sinequa to bring business-critical knowledge straight to their employees, improving employee productivity and collaboration like never before. Sinequa's Workplace Search enables organizations to rapidly deliver relevant knowledge to their workforce so they can do their best work securely and at scale.

Employees today are drowning in tools. According to a recent study by Forrester, organizations use an average 367 different software tools, creating data silos and disrupting processes between teams. As a result, employees spend 25 percent of their time searching for information instead of focusing on their jobs.

"Organizations can no longer rely on siloed applications and their embedded basic keyword search. Workplace Search leverages the latest large language technology to understand users' natural language and deliver unmatched relevance and performance. Knowledge-driven organizations can now equip their employees with ubiquitous, consumer-grade search experiences across information silos," said Adrien Gabeur, VP, of Cloud SaaS at Sinequa.

Hosted and optimized on Microsoft Azure the preferred partner's cloud platform Workplace Search is an advanced, turnkey product that helps companies solve their ever-growing information findability challenges. Sinequa quickly connects to any content sources for a single, secure search application that makes finding information effortless. Advanced capabilities such as natural language processing (NLP) and understanding (NLU) make Workplace Search the most capable search solution for the workplace. Employees can achieve more, duplicate less, and make better daily decisions with Workplace Search.

"Finding knowledge that lives within an organization's siloed systems is a growing problem. Not only does it directly impact employee productivity, but revenue and customer outcomes. With Workplace Search, Sinequa has the potential to address the rapidly evolving needs of the workplace with advanced relevance and scalability," said Hayley Sutherland, Research Manager, Knowledge Discovery Conversational AI, IDC.

Reimagine the employee experience with Workplace Search

Workplace Search includes highly configurable features out of the box to power the search experience. As a SaaS-based solution with industry-certified security mechanisms, it's easy to get started and process high volumes of data, and delivers the most relevant search experiences through unique capabilities built for a new era of work. These capabilities include:

Relevance from day one

Over the years, Sinequa has advanced its relevance capabilities for the best search experiences. In addition to cutting-edge NLP on which the search experience is based, Workplace Search also embarks state-of-the-art Neural Search capabilities that further enhance search relevance.

Actionable insights

Unique and intuitive features like Presentation Builder, the ability to locate individual slides within a presentation, and the ability to directly preview documents within the search results, ensure employees can quickly surface actionable insights. Document Navigator provides quick access to key information, automatically highlighting relevant keywords and passages within the document, with no format or size limitations.

Real-time collaboration

Today, collaboration requires employees to know who has the knowledge and expertise they're looking for and exactly where to find it. Workplace Search enables employees to find experts on topics relevant to their search, view their related work, and collaborate by quickly starting a chat and sharing information.

Sinequa Workplace Search is available now. For more information, visit https://www.sinequa.com/products/sinequa-search-cloud-as-a-service/workplace-search/

About Sinequa

Sinequa enables organizations of all sizes to put their content to work through the Sinequa Search Cloud. Customers trust the Search Cloud to connect, organize, and enrich all their content, learn from employee interactions, and present contextually relevant information with every search. Employees are empowered with the knowledge, expertise, and insights needed to make fast, informed decisions. Sinequa helps customers accelerate innovation, reduce duplicate work, foster real-time collaboration, and increase productivity. For more information, visit www.sinequa.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005600/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

North America

Heather Racicot

Sinequa@resonancecrowd.com

+1 360-632-5616



UK

Jon Burch

Sinequa@resonancecrowd.com

0208 819 3170
LinkedIn now offers free and discounted resources to nonprofit organizations across the globe through LinkedIn for Nonprofits

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, launched a free online Resource Hub for nonprofits through their LinkedIn for Nonprofits program to help nonprofits make the best use of the LinkedIn platform - including how to use LinkedIn Live and Events, newsletters, articles, Groups, and more. The Resource Hub, which is offered today in English, French, German, and Spanish, is the first free resource of this caliber ever created to help the nonprofit community further their mission on LinkedIn.





"As a company dedicated to helping create equitable access to opportunity, knowledge and ideas, LinkedIn for Nonprofits helps nonprofit organizations advance their missions and increase their impact through our LinkedIn platform," said Meg Garlinghouse, VP of Social Impact at LinkedIn. "We are taking big steps to reduce barriers to entry that nonprofits might have. And once they are on the platform, providing them with the resources to fully use all of LinkedIn's capabilities and amplify their voice and reach on LinkedIn."

According to LinkedIn research, only 19% of nonprofits on LinkedIn feel confident they're using the platform to its full potential. Many of these organizations lack the resources to make the most of LinkedIn without support. This fact led to the creation of LinkedIn for Nonprofits, which, since its launch in 2013, has grown to support hundreds of thousands of nonprofit professionals in over 200 countries. This includes discounted and donated products across LinkedIn's Talent, Fundraising, and Learning suites, a dedicated support team, and access to a community of nonprofits around the globe.

"LinkedIn has been our secret weapon in the fight for social good," said Shelton Banks, CEO @ re:WORK TRAINING. "Between their sales solutions and dedicated nonprofit support team, we've been able to recruit an army of volunteers and mobilize a force of donors. We're thrilled to see LinkedIn launching a Resource Hub for nonprofits and can't wait to see the impact it will have on the sector."

As of today, to supplement the 50% discount on LinkedIn product offerings, the LinkedIn for Nonprofits Resource Hub will be the destination for global nonprofit professionals to access free online resources, including a collection of guides and best practices. The Resource Hub will also include custom support through live webinars and "Ask-Me-Anything" sessions, in partnership with LinkedIn's Member and Customer Success team, to answer individual questions from nonprofit professionals in real time and help nonprofit organizations to build their brand and grow their impact using LinkedIn. All content will be tailored to address the concerns nonprofits care about most, including fundraising and attracting talent, volunteers, and donors.

A new 2023 LinkedIn survey of nonprofit professionals around the world revealed that finding new donors is the most common challenge nonprofit professionals are currently facing when it comes to fundraising. Over 63% of nonprofit professionals agree they've used LinkedIn to successfully connect with a potential donor, and 64% agree the people they want to connect with to raise money for their organization are on LinkedIn.

"LinkedIn believes that successful nonprofits are built on a foundation of active communities and the bedrock of every successful organization is the people supporting it - its talent, donors, volunteers, program participants, and supporters, who form a powerful network of impact," said Ariana Younai, Head of LinkedIn for Nonprofits. "That's why we started LinkedIn for Nonprofits - to help nonprofits make more of the connections they need at scale, so that they can achieve their goals. The launch of our new Resource Hub is another step we are taking to make this a reality."

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn connects the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful, and transforms the way companies hire, market, sell, and learn. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. LinkedIn has 900+ million members and has offices around the globe.

About LinkedIn for Nonprofits

LinkedIn for Nonprofits offers nonprofit organizations access to free online resources, ways to connect with the nonprofit community, and the ability to purchase discounted LinkedIn products so they can drive their missions forward. This is done by 1) educating nonprofit professionals on LinkedIn and its products through free resources, educational events, and a dedicated support team, 2) offering a significant discount on LinkedIn Talent, Learning, and Fundraising products to eligible organizations, and 3) nurturing the global nonprofit community on LinkedIn through nonprofit-specific content, Groups, and LinkedIn Live events.

Media Contact:

Simone Bell

simobell@linkedin.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/linkedin-for-nonprofits-launches-free-linkedin-resource-hub-for-nonprofits-301734284.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Comcast Corporation

Last year was full of hard work and dedication from my colleagues and our community partners to close the digital divide. I'm grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with people across the country who are passionate about an issue that's persisted since I worked in the Clinton Administration. To close out my "digital equity tour" of 2022, I had the privilege of traveling to the great city of Atlanta to spend time with many of the city's outstanding leaders and welcoming citizens.

Striking Stories

One of my favorite things about traveling is connecting with people whose lives are being changed through our digital equity efforts. Atlanta had no shortage of these inspiring stories.

I met Shanard at a Digital Equity Summit, hosted by Inspiredu, a nonprofit that drives digital inclusion and literacy for Georgia families, communities, and schools. Shanard had recently been released from prison after having been incarcerated for more than 20 years. At first, he tried to succeed in his reentry journey without access to the Internet. But because the outside world had changed so much during his decades behind bars, he struggled.

Early in 2022, Inspiredu helped Shanard enroll in Comcast's Internet Essentials program, which now provides free Internet service for millions when combined with the vouchers made available under the Federal Government's Affordable Connectivity Program. It was a big deal for him, because it was the first time in his life that he has home-based Internet access. Shanard described his newfound access to me as a "game-changer" in his life's prospects. Through the Internet, he has already obtained three educational certifications and even started his own home inspections company.

During the summit, I also participated in a fireside chat with Richard Hicks, President and CEO of Inspiredu. We discussed the importance of home-based broadband adoption, digital literacy, and digitally centered workforce development programs. We also talked about digital navigators, who are trusted individuals in the community who can help people get online and teach them digital skills. They can make a big difference in helping people, like Shanard, overcome some of the challenges of signing up for Internet service and the ACP. And we discussed how signing up isn't all that's to it; the magic of Internet access comes when people make the most of what the Internet has to offer.

Attendees to the summit also heard from local community organizations as well. Representatives from Atlanta-based nonprofits TechBridge, Urban League of Greater Atlanta, Westside Works, and Advocates for Kids all shared impactful stories about their efforts to increase digital adoption in the community one family at a time.

Sarah Winograd-Babayueski, Program Manager at Advocates for Children, shared an especially powerful story about a mother of two her organization is helping to get back on her feet. Hard times forced this mom and her kids to live in their car and in temporary motel housing. Despite all those harsh challenges, the family's high school-aged daughter still somehow had the fortitude to complete her ACTs so she could apply for college. Sarah, and Advocates for Children, are currently working on finding permanent housing for the mom and her two children. On behalf of Comcast, I donated a free laptop to this family, and we also pledged to help them apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program once they're established in a home.

Dynamic Devices

Speaking of free laptops, my trip to Atlanta wouldn't have been complete without a special holiday surprise! At KIPP Vision Primary and Academy School, we announced that all 500 students from grades three to seven were receiving free laptops courtesy of Comcast. Before the pandemic started, the students at KIPP Vision were ranked at the top of their district for academic achievement. However, since schools were shut down and the students were all sent home during the pandemic, many fell behind because they lacked the tools and technology necessary for remote learning. And, the school itself subsequently fell in its academic rankings. But now, with their new laptops, all those students can get online at home to do their homework and make up for some of the learning loss that they experienced.

At KIPP Vision, I also had the opportunity to meet Muhammad Yungai, a mural artist and parent of two KIPP alumni. He was so inspired by the learning environment KIPP Public Schools has created, that he decided to "give back" by designing striking murals in KIPP schools across the Atlanta area. His images help foster a culture of pride, a sense of belonging, and a dash of style. For example, in one of the hallways we toured, Muhammed had painted book spines to inspire children to grow up with a love of reading. He also painted portraits of students throughout the building so they could see themselves as the special children they are.

Giving Back

As a child, knowing you are valued and that your future matters to others can greatly impact your confidence and success throughout life. Growing up in Baltimore in the 1960's and 1970's, I faced challenges and experienced disparities comparable to other Black males of my generation, and even today. I was blessed by parents who refused to allow me to surrender to the obstacles. And, just as importantly, my mom and dad instilled in me the responsibility to give back and reach back. I've had unbelievable opportunities within my professional and personal life, but I'm always mindful about where I came from and how I can help create impactful change for others.

This personal mission is what drives my passion to expand digital equity for all, so everyone can use their individual talents to change their lives for the better. I know that closing the digital divide carries with it the capacity to close other divides as well - housing, educational gaps, economic and work skill disparities, food insecurity, health care inequities, and so much more.

I'm so proud of the work we at Comcast accomplished last year, and over the last decade. I look forward to 2023 and beyond as we travel to more cities and support more community partners in helping to get as many people connected to the Internet as possible so everyone can enjoy their own future of UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES!

Broderick Johnson is Executive Vice President, Public Policy & Executive Vice President, Digital Equity

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Comcast Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Comcast Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/comcast-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Comcast Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737448/Empowering-Atlanta-and-Beyond-To-Reach-Unlimited-Possibilities


By Cho KyooHong



On Jan. 9, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported to President Yoon Suk Yeol concerning its 2023 plan, of which the main tasks include leaping forward as a leading country in the field of biohealth through human resource cultivation, deregulation and export support.



Noting that a large number of quality jobs can be created as the biohealth industry grows, President Yoon called for strong support from the government for domestic enterprises to be up to global standards, which requires a tax benefit corresponding to that of the semiconductor sector, capacity development and a solid industrial ecosystem.



The global pharmaceutical and medical device markets are valued at roughly 1,400 trillion won and 600 trillion won, respectively. The emerging digital healthcare market is projected to reach 700 trillion won by 2027, which is equivalent to the Republic of Korea's top export industry, the semiconductor industry. As such, the global healthcare market presents a great opportunity we must take advantage of.





Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / TriplePundit

Originally published by TriplePundit

The apparel industry is well known for extensive supply chains, often with a reputation for unsustainable practices. While many apparel companies are just now making efforts to implement sustainability into their business models, HanesBrands says it has for decades been a sustainability leader in the industry. Unlike other companies in the sector, HanesBrands is in a unique position to implement extensive sustainable practices - due largely in part to a majority ownership of its supply chain.

Approximately 70 percent of HanesBrands' total unit volume comes from facilities owned or controlled by the company directly. The breadth of this ownership means that the company has the opportunity and responsibility to implement direct and meaningful change.

Through a focus on energy and resource efficiencies and investments in biomass renewable energy to fuel textile mills in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, HanesBrands has reduced energy usage by 33 percent and Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent since 2007, with 48 percent of the company's energy now being sourced from renewables worldwide. Water efficiency projects have resulted in a 36 percent percent reduction in water use since 2007, which in turn has fueled a further reduction in energy consumption.

These significant investments in energy and manufacturing facility infrastructure have helped to significantly move the needle on the company's sustainability goals. The impact of HanesBrands' majority supply chain ownership has also laid the foundation for direct and immediate impact to the business. So why did the company invest so heavily in these projects? "First and foremost, it generated really significant cost savings to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Because we own these assets, we have been the direct beneficiary our invested capital dollar, said Chris Fox, HanesBrands's chief sustainability officer.

HanesBrands' unique supply chain ownership ensures that the company's sustainability strategy extends beyond stakeholder engagement as a means of corporate responsibility. Direct control of these facilities means that sustainability can be integrated directly into the company's business model and ultimately its bottom line.

While the majority of HanesBrands' supply chain lies under its direct control, the company says the remaining 30 percent is not immune to the scrutiny of its sustainability vision. From the responsible sourcing of cotton, 61 percent of which is grown in the United States, to the preference of land and sea transportation in lieu of air as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to the company's work with third-party groups such as the Fair Labor Association, HanesBrands says its entire supply chain is assessed through the lens of sustainability.

The final piece of HanesBrands' supply chain - consumer use - is one where the company is proactively reaching out to consumers, primarily through active awareness-building. "Convincing the consumer to wash in cold water, for example - there is no greater impact that any of us can have on carbon emissions generated to make and care for apparel," Fox said. "Hanes has teamed up with Tide to educate consumers about the small steps we all can take, like washing clothes in cold water. About half of the total greenhouse gas emissions generated over the life cycle of apparel comes from heating water in the laundry room."

On a broader scale, HanesBrands understands that innovations in supply chain sustainability extend beyond the bottom line. With the advantages of its significant market share, majority supply chain ownership and affordable products, HanesBrands' business model not only brings necessary innovations to the apparel industry, but also allows consumers to vote with their dollar and purchase affordable products that support future innovations in sustainable apparel supply chains.

"Our model is bringing sustainability to the masses. It is sustainability at a much more affordable price point," Fox said. "Through our efforts, we want the consumer to be able to know and trust that they are buying truly sustainable products because of the breadth of our overall sustainability processes and program - and that it really can be affordable. Sustainability can be affordable for everybody."

HanesBrands has a significant advantage in implementing sustainability within its supply chain. While most other companies in the apparel industry do not have this level of direct and immediate impact, HanesBrands' initiatives can serve as a lesson to the sector that investment in innovation, resource efficiency, and consumer awareness are more than the bastion of corporate sustainability reports. Sustainability as value can help shape the company ethos, but utilization of sustainability as a business model ensures lasting and industry-wide change.

This article series is sponsored by HanesBrands and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Images courtesy of HanesBrands





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from TriplePundit on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: TriplePundit

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/triplepundit

Email: info@3blmedia.com

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View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737450/The-Sustainability-Advantages-of-a-Majority-Owned-Supply-Chain-in-the-Apparel-Industry
McKinnon Legal, a family law firm based in Miramar, Florida, is pleased to announce that it is now offering divorce and mediation services to same-sex couples in the South Florida region, including Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida.

Miramar, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - McKinnon Legal, a family law firm based in Miramar, Florida, is pleased to announce that it is now offering divorce and mediation services to same-sex couples in the South Florida region. The firm has extensive experience handling the unique legal issues that may arise in these cases and is committed to providing supportive and compassionate representation to its clients.

"McKinnon Legal seeks to understand the challenges that same-sex couples may face when going through a divorce," said a spokesperson for the South Florida Family Law Firm. "That's why they work closely with their clients to find personalized solutions that meet their individual needs and goals, and provide them with the highest level of legal representation."

McKinnon Legal Miami-Dade Same-Sex Divorce & Mediation, Asset Division Attorneys

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The firm's website, https://mckinnon-legal.com/miramar-divorce-lawyer/same-sex/, offers information on the divorce process for same-sex couples in Florida, as well as the rights and protections available to them under state law. In addition to divorce and mediation services, McKinnon Legal also provides assistance with a variety of other family law matters, including child custody and support.

Some of the unique challenges of the dissolution of marriage for same-sex couples which can have unique complications compared similar marriages of heterosexual couples can include:

Legal recognition: In some states, same-sex marriage may not be legally recognized, which can make it difficult for couples to obtain a same-sex divorce.

Division and Equitable distribution of marital assets: In cases where a couple has been together for a long time, they may have accumulated a significant amount of joint assets. Dividing these assets fairly can be challenging, particularly if the couple lives in a state that does not have clear guidelines for the division of assets in same-sex divorce cases. Many divorce attorneys are not equipped to handle the unique challenges that come from same-sex couple unions that dissolve, in part because there is often unclear guidelines as to which partner - if either - is owed anything like permanent alimony.

Child custody: If a same-sex couple has minor children, determining custody, parental rights, and visitation arrangements can be complex. In some cases, one partner may not be recognized as a legal parent, which can make it difficult for them to assert their rights to custody or visitation, a unique challenge in gay marriages.

Health insurance: If a couple has been covered under one partner's health insurance, the divorce process may involve figuring out how to obtain coverage for both partners.

Pension and retirement benefits: Dividing pension and retirement benefits can be complicated in any divorce case, but it can be particularly challenging for same-sex couples in states that do not recognize their marriages.

Social stigma: Some same-sex couples may face discrimination or stigma during the divorce process, which can be emotionally difficult to navigate.

These are just a few of the challenges that same-sex couples may face when getting a divorce. It is important for couples to seek the guidance of a knowledgeable and experienced family law attorney who can help them navigate these challenges and protect their rights.

Recently, Christina McKinnon, founder of McKinnon Legal, appeared on The Attorney Post Podcast to discuss her practice and her approach to family law in South Florida. During the interview, Christina spoke about the importance of understanding her clients' needs and goals, and working with them to find personalized solutions to their legal issues. She also emphasized the importance of compassionate and understanding representation for clients going through the often-difficult process of divorce and child custody matters.

In addition to discussing her practice and approach to family law, Christina also shared insights on the current state of the legal industry in South Florida and the challenges and opportunities that lawyers in the region are facing. Overall, it was a valuable and informative discussion that provided valuable insights into the world of family law in South Florida.

McKinnon Legal serves clients in the Miami-Dade County area and throughout South Florida, including cities such as Miami, Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. McKinnon Legal's South Florida office can be reached via their website or by calling (305) 416-0045.

Contact Info:

Name: Christine McKinnon

Email: christina@mckinnon-legal.com

Organization: McKinnon Legal

Address: 2750 SW 145th Avenue Suite 106, Miramar, FL 33027, United States

Website: https://McKinnon-Legal.com

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The orthopedic digit implants market is predicted to grow positively due to the growing geriatric population and rising prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally, the growing number of orthopedic conditions will drive the growth of the orthopedic digit implants market

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Insights report provides the current and forecast market analysis, individual leading orthopedic digit implants companies' market shares, challenges, orthopedic digit implants market drivers, barriers, and trends, and key orthopedic digit implants companies in the market.





Key Takeaways from the Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Report

As per DelveInsight estimates, North America is anticipated to dominate the global orthopedic digit implants market during the forecast period.

is anticipated to dominate the global orthopedic digit implants market during the forecast period. Notable orthopedic digit implants companies such as Acumed LLC, Integra LifeSciences Corporation, Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Arthrex, Inc., VILEX, LLC, Merete GmbH, Anika Therapeutics, Inc., Advin Health Care, Bond Well Ortho Products., Zimmer Biomet., Teijin Nakashima Medical Co., Ltd., Safe Orthopaedics, ArthroCare Corporation, and several others are currently operating in the orthopedic digit implants market.

and several others are currently operating in the orthopedic digit implants market. On January 10, 2023 , Arthrex, a global leader in minimally invasive surgical technology, announced its ACL TightRope implant had received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pediatric indications.

a global leader in minimally invasive surgical technology, announced its ACL TightRope implant had received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pediatric indications. In December 2022 , Oxford Performance Materials, Inc. , an industry leader in advanced polymer science, coating technologies, and 3D-printed biomedical devices is collaborating with Jajal Medical, a leader in 3D visualization and digital planning, to provide a fully integrated solution for patients with major bone defects who require customized orthopedic implants.

, an industry leader in advanced polymer science, coating technologies, and 3D-printed biomedical devices is collaborating with Jajal Medical, a leader in 3D visualization and digital planning, to provide a fully integrated solution for patients with major bone defects who require customized orthopedic implants. In December 2022 , Canary Medical , a medical data company focused on developing and commercializing its patented implantable sensor technology and complementary data and analytics ecosystem, announced the release of Canary Quantiles Recovery Curves, its first orthopedic analytic module.

, a medical data company focused on developing and commercializing its patented implantable sensor technology and complementary data and analytics ecosystem, announced the release of Canary Quantiles Recovery Curves, its first orthopedic analytic module. In February 2022 , Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, Medical Devices Companies announced that DePuy Synthes, the Orthopaedics Company of Johnson & Johnson, had acquired CrossRoads Extremity Systems, a Tennessee -based foot and ankle company that provides a broad range of procedure-specific, sterile-packed implants and instrumentation systems cleared for lower extremity indications.

To read more about the latest highlights related to the orthopedic digit implants market, get a snapshot of the key highlights entailed in the Global Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Report

Orthopedic Digit Implants Overview

An orthopedic digit implant is a docile medical device made of biocompatible materials such as titanium or stainless steel, with a plastic coating that functions as artificial cartilage. These implants are used to replace missing or damaged bones in small joint segments such as the knee, ankles, toes, elbow, and fingers. The main factors driving the growth of the orthopedic digit implants market are an increase in orthopedic disease cases and an increase in the global geriatric population. Orthopedic digit implants on the market include intramedullary toe implants, hemi phalangeal implants, metacarpal joint implants, and scaphoid bone implants.

Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Insights

North America is expected to account for a sizable portion of the global orthopedic digit implants market. The region's growing geriatric population and rising prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis will drive up demand for orthopedic digit implants in North America, driving up overall orthopedic digit implants market growth. Furthermore, growing awareness and demand for minimally invasive surgeries will drive overall orthopedic digit implants market growth in North America.

Additionally, due to the region's strong economic position and well-developed healthcare infrastructure, the orthopedic digit implants market in the region will grow during the forecast period (2022-2027). Moreover, the product launch in the region will tend to increase the orthopedic digit implants market growth. For instance, on January 10, 2023, Arthrex, a global leader in minimally invasive surgical technology, announced its ACL TightRope implant had received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pediatric indications.

To know more about why North America is leading the market growth in the orthopedic digit implants market, get a snapshot of the Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Outlook

Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Dynamics

The orthopedic digit implants market is experiencing increased product demand for a variety of reasons. The increasing prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis around the world is expected to boost the orthopedic digit implants market. Furthermore, the growing number of geriatric patients will increase the demand for orthopedic digit implants, as geriatric people are more prone to orthopedic disorders.

However, stringent regulatory approvals and hypersensitivity, implant displacement, infections after surgery, and implant toxicity may impede the growth of the orthopedic digit implants market.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a minor impact on the orthopedic digit implants market. There was a significant shortage at the start of the disease, which was attributed to the imposition of stringent lockdowns to prevent the virus from spreading. Compared to patients suffering from coronavirus, hospital admissions for rheumatoid arthritis, orthopedic disorders, and other chronic disorders were not prioritized. Some types of medical devices were no longer manufactured. Furthermore, during the pandemic, surgeries were temporarily halted. The physician has either postponed or canceled the semi-urgent and elective cases to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, the orthopedic digit implants market has gained traction with the vaccination of the masses and the resumption of resources and raw materials.

Get a sneak peek at the orthopedic digit implants market dynamics @ Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Dynamics Analysis

Report Metrics Details Coverage Global Study Period 2019-2027 Base Year 2021 Orthopedic Digit Implants Market CAGR ~7% Projected Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Size by 2027 USD 134.53 Million Key Orthopedic Digit Implants Companies Acumed LLC, Integra LifeSciences Corporation, Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Arthrex, Inc., VILEX, LLC, Merete GmbH, Anika Therapeutics, Inc., Advin Health Care, Bond Well Ortho Products., Zimmer Biomet., Teijin Nakashima Medical Co., Ltd., Safe Orthopaedics, ArthroCare Corporation, among others

Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Assessment

Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation By Product Type: Meta Tarsal Joint Implants, Meta Carpal Joint Implants, Toe Intramedullary Digit Implants, Scophoid Bone Digit Implants, and Hemiphalangeal Digit Implants

Meta Tarsal Joint Implants, Meta Carpal Joint Implants, Toe Intramedullary Digit Implants, Scophoid Bone Digit Implants, and Hemiphalangeal Digit Implants

Market Segmentation By Material Type: Pyrocarbon, Titanium, Ninitol, and Others

Pyrocarbon, Titanium, Ninitol, and Others

Market Segmentation By End User: Hospitals, Speciality Orthopedic Clinics, and Others

Hospitals, Speciality Orthopedic Clinics, and Others

Market Segmentation By Geography : North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and Rest of World

: , , , and Rest of World Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Product Profiles, Case Studies, KOL's Views, Analyst's View

Which MedTech key players in the orthopedic digit implants market are set to emerge as the trendsetter explore @ Orthopedic Digit Implants Companies

Table of Contents

1 Report Introduction 2 Executive summary 3 Regulatory and Patent Analysis 4 Key Factors Analysis 5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 6 COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Orthopedic Digit Implants Market 7 Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Layout 8 Global Company Share Analysis - Key 3-5 Companies 9 Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Company and Product Profiles 10 Project Approach 11 About DelveInsight

Interested in knowing the orthopedic digit implants market by 2027? Click to get a snapshot of the Orthopedic Digit Implants Market Trends

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-global-orthopedic-digit-implants-market-to-observe-impressive-growth-at-a-cagr-of-7-by-2027--delveinsight-301734305.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / By Meryl Richards, Ceres Director, Food and Forests

There is much discussion around what a just transition looks like in sectors such as energy and industry, but one that has received less consideration is the food and agriculture sector - where it is a critical issue.



Responsible for approximately one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the food sector is a critical player in the transition to a lower emissions economy, as well as acutely exposed to the impacts of climate change. Under increased pressure from consumers and investors to address these risks, more companies are announcing their climate transition plans, including many leaders in the food and agriculture sector.

In creating their climate transition plans, food companies must address risks to the most critical actors in the sector: farmers and farmworkers. A just transition means supporting farmers and farmworkers in the transition to lower emissions modes of production, along with addressing the physical impacts of climate change

Not only does their work underpin the sector's supply chain, but these individuals will have ultimate responsibility for making the necessary changes to protect our food system from climate change and reduce emissions from agricultural production. By supporting them in doing so, companies can help create agricultural production models that are more sustainable, regenerative, and profitable than the current one.

Building on Ceres Roadmap 2030 and the CA100+ Just Transition indicator, a new report from Ceres discusses the importance of ensuring the climate transition in the food and agricultural sector is fair and equitable for farmers and farmworkers. Climate Transition Plans in the U.S. Food Sector: Addressing Risks to Farmers and Farmworkers outlines the business case for assessing and tackling risks impacts to these groups and offers guidance to companies and investors on what effective just and inclusive transition plans should include.

The business case for addressing risks to farmers and farmworkers

Food companies must understand and address the impacts of both climate change and the transition to lower emission production methods on farmers and farmworkers because they pose significant business risks that could destabilize entire supply chains.

Climate change is creating dangerous heat conditions for farmers and farmworkers. In the U.S., for instance, extreme heat already threatens the health of farmworkers and exacerbates labor shortages, with temperatures regularly exceeding 100F during the labor-intensive harvest season in the West and South. Farmers and farmworkers in the Global South face similar risks, made more severe by the predicted intensity of climate impacts and existing conditions such as poverty and food insecurity.

Increased heat and precipitation changes - along with catastrophic storms - are also already reducing agricultural yields and causing geographic shifts in crop production. Such impacts have the potential to disrupt supply chains as well as put economic strain on farmers and rural communities, with more severe impacts for BIPOC and smallholder farmers.

Meanwhile, technologies that can help increase resilience and reduce emissions, such as precision agriculture to reduce fertilizer-induced emissions or feed additives to tackle enteric methane, have the potential to create new jobs but also require initial or ongoing investments on-farm. The shift to less emission-intensive sourcing may reinforce inequalities by privileging wealthier farmers who have the resources to manage the costs and potential risk of new technologies. Such a shift has the potential to exclude groups disadvantaged by racism or discrimination, such as BIPOC and Indigenous farmers, women, and those without secure land tenure.

What companies can do to ensure a just and inclusive transition

The transition to more resilient and lower-emissions modes of production can bring new business opportunities, but companies need to support farmers and farmworkers to fully realize those benefits. The report explains concrete actions that companies can take to help craft climate transition plans that are equitable and inclusive.

Companies can start by understanding and acknowledging addressing risks to farmers and farmworkers within their supply chain and committing to addressing them. If companies do not have a human rights policy, they should develop one in line with the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. That policy should be complemented by formal recognition of the unique challenges that climate change poses for farmers and farmworkers and the potential effects of the company's transition strategy on those groups and a commitment to reduce emissions in line with recognized just transition principles.

In developing transition plans, companies should include plans to address climate risks to farmers and farmworkers. Components of such plans may include strategies to share the cost of the transition to climate smart practices by providing financial and technical assistance and retaining, upskilling, or compensating affected workers. Companies should also support policy and regulations that support farmers and farmworkers in improving the resilience of agricultural systems and reducing agricultural GHG emissions, as well as legislation that protects farmworkers from dangerous conditions.

Importantly, a just transition requires both fair outcomes and fair process. Plans must be developed in consultation with affected suppliers, workers, and communities in order for companies to fully understand both the opportunities and challenges of the transition and how to mitigate the potential risks.

Finally, companies should develop clear key performance indicators to track progress on their just transition commitments and disclose regularly against those indicators.

While the food and agriculture sector urgently need transformation, companies must ensure that climate transition plans are just and equitable for all its stakeholders, especially the ones who the sector most depends on. By taking these actions, companies can help generate the most benefits - both as a corporation and for the farmers and farmworkers in their supply chains.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ceres on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Ceres

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/ceres

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Ceres

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737457/What-Companies-and-Investors-Need-to-Know-about-a-Just-Climate-Transition-in-the-Food-Sector
The new Ion8 OneTouch 2.0 Evo water bottle has received the highly prestigious GOOD DESIGN Award in 2022.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005828/en/

New OneTouch 2.0 Evo (Photo: Business Wire)

Keeping in line with their current OneTouch water bottle, OneTouch 2.0 Evo maintains Ion8's unique one-handed opening with one simple click and smooth flow for safe, spill-free enjoyment.

In addition the new OneTouch Evo includes a triple lock system for peace of mind when using the bottle on-the-go.

Paired with a full-flip hygiene spout cover the Ion8 OneTouch 2.0 Evo is 100% leakproof in transit, cup holder friendly, and includes a clip-away carry handle.

With the added features of being both dishwasher safe and easy to clean, the Evo is odour resistant for fresh flavours all day.

Made with recyclable BPA Free carbon neutral bio-plastics made with plants, or endlessly recyclable stainless steel, the Evo are sustainable, reusable, carbon neutral, and stay true to climate friendly ethos of Ion8.

The simple elegance of the Ion8 OneTouch 2.0 Evo allows for a stylish and timeless look with the most advanced design technology created by Ion8 yet.

OneTouch 2.0 Evo will be available from February 2023.

About GOOD DESIGN

GOOD DESIGN is an international symbol of a company's firm commitment to innovation and superior design embodiment. Materials and products are kept in the Museum's Permanent Design Collection and frequently exhibited in the United States and abroad.

The emphasis of the GOOD DESIGN program is on quality design of the highest form, function, and aesthetics a standard beyond ordinary consumer products and graphics, and forwards the ideals of a design process that embodies product excellence and endurance and strong public identity.

For more than 70 years, designers and manufacturers across fifty nations are honoured for their singular achievements in producing hallmarks of contemporary design.

Subsequently, honouring both products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing that have chartered new directions and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace.

The Chicago Athenaeum continues the organization of the program to create a revived awareness about contemporary design.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005828/en/

Contacts:

Contact Person: Debbie Wann

Email: debbie@aydya.co.uk
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / On Monday, January 16, 2022, over 1,000 Georgia Power employees and their loved ones volunteered in more than 30 service projects throughout the state, which has been noted as the largest volunteer turnout to date.

Through partnerships with Hands On Atlanta, United Way, along with local churches and food pantries, employees spent the day serving their communities.

"We're really excited about what we've got going on this year," said J.D. Wilson, president of the general office chapter of the Georgia Power Citizens, the company's employee volunteer organization. "At the core of our company, we want to make sure our communities are better because we are engaged in them. That starts with volunteering and taking part in events that make life better for our neighbors."

Employee volunteerism in communities around the state has long been a hallmark of Georgia Power, going back at least a century, and is recognized in its longstanding motto, "A Citizen Wherever We Serve."

In 2022, Georgia Power employees reported over 42,000 hours of community outreach. To learn more about the company's commitment to the future of Georgia, visit www.georgiapower.com/community.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Southern Company on 3blmedia.com.



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Spokesperson: Southern Company

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SOURCE: Southern Company

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737461/Georgia-Power-Celebrates-MLK-Day-as-a-Day-On-With-Largest-Volunteer-Response-on-Record
Regulatory News:

The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Shareholders of Targetspot SA (Paris:ALTGS) (Brussels:ALTGS) held on 31 January 2023 approved the change in the company name to Llama Group SA.

The new name opens a new chapter in the history of the company, which has refocused on the Winamp entity and its three brands (Winamp, Jamendo and Bridger) following the sale of the Targetspot-Shoutcast digital audio business to Azerion, the transaction having been finalised on 23 December 2022.

The change in name is accompanied by a new stock market identity. Listed on Euronext Growth in Paris and Brussels, the ticker of the Llama Group share will be ALLAM (previously ALTGS), effective no later than the start of trading on 3 February 2023. The share keeps its current ISIN (BE0974334667).

It also remains eligible for the PEA-PME small caps equity savings plan.

NEXT EVENT

Annual results

26 april 2023 after market close

About Llama Group

Llama Group is a leader and pioneer in digital music. With an extensive know-how covering many sectors of its business, the group owns the iconic music platform Winamp, the copyright management company Bridger and the music licensing company Jamendo. Llama Group aims to build the future of the music industry by continuously investing in the robustness and range of innovative solutions, as well as in the talent and capabilities of music-loving people. The group lives by the values of its companies: empowerment, access, simplicity, and fairness.

At its core, Winamp has always stood for empowerment and the love of music. Winamp envisions a world where artists and fans are connected like never before through a cutting-edge music platform. Bridger's mission is to support songwriters by offering them an innovative and easy solution for online copyright collection. And finally, Jamendo allows additional revenue streams to independent artists through licensing. The Llama Group has a strong international footprint and all of its brands operate globally.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005879/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Marianne Py

mpy@actifin.fr

Media Relations

Isabelle Dray

idray@actifin.fr
Ghent, Belgium, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Press release - regulated information



Biotalys NV, today announces that 10,000 new shares were issued on 18 January 2023 as a result of the exercise of subscription rights under the Company's long term incentive plan.

In view hereof, and in accordance with article 15 of the Belgian Act of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of major shareholdings (the "Belgian Act"), the outstanding share capital and outstanding voting securities of the Company can be summarised as follows:

Share capital: EUR 44,564,320.02

Total number of securities carrying voting rights: 30,959,454 (all ordinary shares)

Total number of voting rights (= denominator): 30,959,454 (all relating to ordinary shares)

Number of rights to subscribe for securities carrying voting rights not yet issued: 2,162,109 "ESOP Warrants", entitling their holders to subscribe for a total number of 2,162,109 profit certificates which will, if and when issued, automatically convert into a total number of maximum 1,081,052 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares) 700,252 "ESOP IV Warrants", entitling their holders to subscribe for a total number of maximum 700,252 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares). Under ESOP IV an additional number of 1,021,407 ESOP IV Warrants are still available for future grants. 6,500 share units, awarded in aggregate to the independent directors of the Company in the framework of its remuneration policy. Each share unit contains the obligation - subject to vesting of all share units - to subscribe to one new share of the Company at an issue price of one EUR per share-unit. Cash settlement is possible. The conditions of the share units are described in the remuneration policy of the Company.

The Company has no outstanding convertible bonds or non-voting shares.

Pursuant to the Belgian Act, a notification to the Company and the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is required by all natural and legal persons in each case where the percentage of voting rights attached to the securities held by such persons in the Company reaches, exceeds or falls below the threshold of 5%, 10%, and every subsequent multiple of 5%, of the total number of voting rights in the Company.

For further information, please contact:

Toon Musschoot, Head Investor Relations & Communication

T: +32 (0)9 274 54 00

E: Toon.Musschoot@biotalys.com

About Biotalys

Biotalys is an Agricultural Technology.

Attachments
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

For immediate release

31 January 2023

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 872.10 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 14,059,887; 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 210,931,416.

The figure of 210,931,416 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
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Bath & Body Works

Perfumer Michael R. Carby has created some of Bath & Body Works' most-loved fragrances and is a mentor to others in the industry.

Perfumer Michael R. Carby has created some of Bath & Body Works' most-loved fragrances, including Cactus Blossom, Sun Washed Citrus, Eucalyptus Rain and Beach Weather. In honor of Black History Month, we're highlighting Carby, his inspirations and his innovative work in this field.

Carby is a perfumer at the Givaudan fragrance house, a key Bath & Body Works partner. His work resonates around the globe, in the universal language of fragrance.

How did you get started?

I first joined the fragrance industry in 1993 working as an analytical chemist for the Egyptian company, KATO Flavors & Fragrances. My primary responsibilities were to analyze the molecular constitution of essential oils and fragrances. Through my curiosity and a newfound passion for the creative side of the industry, I began working more and more on creative fragrance development and grew to love perfumery.

Was there anyone who helped you along the way?

There have been several wonderful individuals who have structured my career. Ultimately, Givaudan President and CEO Gilles Andrier and his wife Master Perfumer Daniela Andrier granted me the opportunity to join the creative sector of our organization. The belief and trust extended was not only exhilarating but heartfelt. I consider Mr. and Mrs. Andrier true pioneers of diversity in the field.

Outside of the work you've done with Bath & Body Works, you've been instrumental in some fun, noteworthy products like working with the artist Drake on his signature scent. What do you love most about what you do?

It has been said, "When your fragrance is mentioned in a rap song, you have truly created something special." For me, the creative process is a dance between an empirical science and the subjectivity of art. It's amazing to see certain fragrances grow, from something personal, to becoming a movement. I most enjoy evaluating ingredients, accords and fragrances with the individuals who have asked for my mentorship.

You share that your background in Jamaica helped open a new world for you. Can you share more?

I was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, an industrial city in the English Midlands famous for its pottery and bone china. My parents first introduced my older brother, sister and I to their homeland in Jamaica in 1977. Comparing the steel and concrete of an industrialized European nation, the cow fields soaked with chimney soot and hard rain, to a Caribbean rainforest filled with lush fruits and mosquitoes was quite a life-changing experience.

Can you share anything with us about your unique approach to fragrance development?

My strategies for development may differ from others due to my unique journey through the industry, navigating the scientific principles of fragrance chemistry while superimposing an interpretation of olfactory beauty and perfection. I was not classically trained but was surrounded with essential oils and ingredients from every corner of the world. I would never compare my creative prowess to the late and great Jimi Hendrix, but sometimes an individual is able to synthesize a harmonic pattern with only an instrument, devoid of sheet music and formal instruction. Risk-taking and passion-sharing might best describe the end product of my creative agenda.

Having a mentor was an important part of helping you get where you are today. How important is mentoring the next generation of fragrancers to you?

Mentorship is a partnership - the sharing of thoughts and ideas amongst individuals who might not always define the characteristics and descriptions of scent similarly. I often tease those who I mentor that I am learning more from them than they could possibly learn from me. Each generation has to be given the guidance and opportunity to express their creativity based upon the experience of a good mentor and the freedom to evolve.

What do you hope for the future of your field?

I hope to see growth within our industry - an industry where the beauty of each creation and creator is reflective of the diversity of ingredients which when blended brings joy and happiness to each and every soul. I hope to be an ambassador of this purpose and continue to evolve a fragrance culture with the young and soon-to-be superstars of the industry.

Bath & Body Works is committed to developing the next generation of perfumers. We're proud to support the American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholars Program which awards renewable scholarships to undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups majoring in chemistry-related disciplines. The Bath & Body Works Foundation is donating $170,000 to support the ACS Scholars Program's mission and help open doors for the next generation of chemists to pursue perfumery or wherever their passion for chemistry takes them.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bath & Body Works on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Bath & Body Works

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bath-body-works

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Bath & Body Works

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737487/Bath-Body-Works-Celebrates-Perfumer-Michael-R-Carby-During-Black-History-Month
At North Port inside Port of Busan, about 10,000 fans of BTS gather to watch the K-pop band's concert streaming live from Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Oct. 15, 2022. North Port, the city's up-and-coming urban space, will be the center of the city's presentation for a Bureau International des Expositions delegation visiting in April. Yonhap



City seeks to capitalize on North Port's attractiveness, citizens' passion



By Ko Dong-hwan



The mayor of Busan expressed confidence that Korea's second-largest city will secure the lead in the race to host World Expo 2030 by impressing a delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) due to arrive in April. Mayor Park Heong-joon intends to highlight the southern port city's uniqueness during the BIE's planned visit to assess the feasibility of the bid.



He plans to make the North Port redevelopment project, a new urban space being created inside the Port of Busan, the centerpiece of the city's expo bid presentation.



The mayor said the southern port city's strategic location in Northeast Asia and its ongoing urban rejuvenation process are its major strengths.



"Various public transport routes and convenient access make North Port a good focal point to appeal to the BIE," the mayor told The Korea Times, Thursday. "And we will stress that all Busan residents are rooting for the bid from their hearts. Such grassroots spirit constitutes the essence of realizing the true value of an expo."









North Port is where the Port of Busan  one of the 10 busiest container ports in the world that transported 425 million tons of goods in 2022 alone  took its first steps, starting in 1876. Then the rest, of what is now a gigantic shipyard, gradually expanded, while North Port went on losing its significance as a harbor while increasingly becoming the city's experimental urban space.



Now, residential apartments are creating a new skyline, while the city government is redeveloping the area as a new culture, business and leisure hub. A new opera house is under construction, with completion scheduled for 2025.



Also, BTS' concert at Busan Asiad Main Stadium last October was live-streamed via a giant screen set up at the old shipyard in front of 10,000 fans and watched from across the world.



The intergovernmental organization for the expo, which has 170 member states, is expected to dispatch eight envoys, including Secretary General Dimitri Kerkentzes, officials from the headquarters in Paris and representatives from member states, which has yet to decide which city to vote for  Busan, Riyadh, Rome and Odesa. After visiting Seoul first, the envoys are then expected to stay in Busan from April 4-6.





Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon speaks during an interview with The Korea Times, June 26, at his office in Busan Metropolitan City Hall. Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) flew a new survivable Air-Launched Effect (ALE) for the first time as part of a flight demonstration based out of the Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, on Dec. 8, 2022. The ALE, known as Eaglet, was launched from a U.S. Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The Eaglet flight was jointly funded by GA-ASI and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC).

"The first flight of the Eaglet was an important milestone for the GA-ASI/U.S. Army team," said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. "Eaglet is intended to be a low-cost, survivable UAS with the versatility to be launched from a Gray Eagle, rotary-wing aircraft, or ground vehicles. It enables extended reach of sensors and increased lethality while providing survivability for manned aircraft."

Eaglet fits into the 'ALE Large' category, which encompasses larger, more powerful sensors or payloads. Because of its design, Eaglet is capable of carrying a diverse range of payloads in support of multiple Army missions.

Eaglet design extends battlefield options for commanders while reducing their decision cycles. Gray Eagle can carry Eaglet for thousands of kilometers before launching it while being controlled through unmanned-unmanned teaming or as a component of advanced teaming command and control concepts.

Eaglet can work in concert with other long-range payloads carried by Gray Eagles, helicopters, or other platforms to support deep sensing in Multi-Domain Operations.

With this successful flight of the Eaglet, GA-ASI will work with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to feature it in other exercises to further determine its potential. The Eaglet is the newest entry into GA-ASI's Evolution Series of advanced UAS concepts.

About GA-ASI

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc..

Avenger, Lynx, Predator, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

# # #

Contact Information:

GA-ASI Media Relations

GA-ASI Media Relations

asi-mediarelations@ga-asi.com

+1 (858) 524-8101



Sharyn Nerenberg

Media Contact, Hughes Network Systems

sharyn.nerenberg@hughes.com

(301) 428-7124



Susan Ong

External Communications, SES

suzanne.ong@ses.com

+352 710 725 500



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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Noram Lithium, Western Metallica, Palamina Corp, Trillion Energy, ARway and Eloro Resources 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.

Noram Lithium Corp (TSXV:NRM) announces significant increase in its estimated mineral resources at the Zeus Lithium Project

Noram Lithium (NRM) announced a significant increase in its estimated mineral resources at the Zeus Lithium Project in Nevada. The company reports an increase of 190 per cent in Measured and Indicated lithium carbonate equivalent Resources from the August 2021 MRE. CEO Greg McCunn sat down with Sabrina Cuthbert to discuss the news.

For the full interview with Greg McCunn and to learn about Noram Lithium, click here.

Western Metallica Resources (TSXV:WMS) announces drill program updates

Western Metallica Resources (WMS) released updates from its various mineral projects in Spain. The Penedela Project saw a total of 2,236 metres drilled across 12 holes from 2020 to 2022, to a maximum depth of 335.6 metres. Greg Duras, CEO of Western Metallica Resources, sat down with Sabrina Cuthbert to discuss the company's plans.

For the full interview with Greg Duras and to learn about Western Metallica Resources, click here.

Palamina (TSXV:PA) encounters surface and underground gold at Usicayos

Palamina (PA) has returned 5.1 g/t gold over 4 m (surface) and 15.4 g/t gold over 2.7 m (underground) from its Usicayos Gold Project in Peru. The results stem from the second field program in the Sol de Oro Zone completed in December 2022. President and CEO Andrew Thomson spoke with Sabrina Cuthbert about the new gold results and future exploration.

For the full interview with Andrew Thomson and to learn about Palamina, click here.

Trillion Energy (CSE:TCF) to commence 3D seismic reprocessing project for SASB

Trillion Energy has announced the commencement of its 3D seismic reprocessing project for SASB. The new seismic model will provide a more accurate mapping of individual gas reservoir units, provide better imaging of the gas trapping faults and superior structural maps. The model will identify and define stratigraphic exploration gas prospects (to which there are many on SASB), but which have never been drilled.

For the full interview with Arthur Halleran and to learn about Trillion Energy, click here.

ARway Corp (CSE:ARWY) announces major upgrades to its spatial computing wayfinding platform

ARway (ARWY) has launched major upgrades to its spatial computing wayfinding platform. Upgrades include spatial video content, full occlusion, and enhancements to the user experience of the ARway Creator Portal. Evan Gappelberg, CEO of ARway, sat down with Sabrina Cuthbert to discuss the news.

For the full interview with Evan Gappelberg and to learn about ARway, click here.

Eloro Resources (TSXV:ELO) provides exploration updates from the Iska Iska Project

Eloro Resources Ltd. (ELO) announced assay results from additional diamond drill holes from the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in southern Bolivia. The Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a royalty-free property located in southern Bolivia. Bill Pearson, Executive VP of Exploration, provided Sabrina Cuthbert with exploration updates.

For the full interview with Bill Pearson and to learn about Eloro Resources Ltd., 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.

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View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737530/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interviews-with-Noram-Lithium-Western-Metallica-Palamina-Corp-Trillion-Energy-ARway-and-Eloro-Resources-Discussing-Their-Latest-News
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) today announced that it has been included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the third year running. With an overall score of 80.6%, surpassing the index average score of 73%, PMI joins an A-list of global companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing equality in the workplace.

"Achieving gender balance at all levels of the company is one of our top priorities, and I am delighted that our efforts are recognized again in this year's index," commented Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer at PMI. "While we are making significant progress, we know we need to keep our foot on the acceleration pedal. An inclusive workplace that leverages the full talents of both women and men is crucial to our smoke-free vision, making our organization more innovative, resourceful, and engaged."

In 2022, PMI achieved its target of ensuring at least 40% female representation in managerial roles and announced a new target to achieve 35% of women in senior roles by the end of 2025. Other initiatives to further gender equality at PMI include the following.

Becoming the first EQUAL-SALARY globally certified company (March 2019) and the first company to be re-certified (April 2022), confirming equal pay for equal work for women and men everywhere PMI operates (90+ countries).

Addressing gender bias in talent assessments-including in recruitment, performance management, and opportunities for promotion.

Evolving how businesses measure inclusion. PMI sponsored pioneering research by the IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, published in 2022, on how inclusion is measured and how this should evolve to drive impact. We are now piloting a new way to measure inclusion within PMI.

Introduction of global inclusive parental leave guidelines (2021).

Launching an employee resource group for women, to provide a supportive place to inspire and empower women to advance their skills, expand their network, and unlock their full potential.

Celebrating the talents of women by launching a women-in-leadership program to support females in leadership positions.

The 2023 Bloomberg GEI comprises 485 companies from 45 countries and regions. GEI is a modified market capitalization-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting. It measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. Companies included on this year's index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

"Congratulations to the companies that are included in the 2023 GEI," said Peter T. Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg and founding chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. "We continue to see an increase in both interest and membership globally, reflecting a shared goal of transparency in gender-related metrics."

PMI submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg, in collaboration with subject matter experts globally.

About the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI)

Companies submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg, in collaboration with subject matter experts globally. Those included on this year's index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

Both the survey and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. Bloomberg collected this data for reference purposes only. The index is not ranked. While all public companies are encouraged to disclose supplemental gender data for their company's investment profile on the Bloomberg Terminal, those that have a market capitalization of USD 1 billion are eligible for inclusion in the index. For more information on the GEI and how to submit information for next year's index, visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/gei. Bloomberg clients can access the GEI at {BGEI Index DES

For more information on Bloomberg's sustainable finance solutions, including the GEI, please visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/sustainable-finance/.

Bloomberg media contact: GEIComms@bloomberg.net

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products, which are sold in markets outside the U.S. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than USD 9 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate, and commercialize innovative smoke-free products for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, with the goal of completely ending the sale of cigarettes. This includes the building of world-class scientific assessment capabilities, notably in the areas of pre-clinical systems toxicology, clinical and behavioral research, as well as post-market studies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the marketing of versions of PMI's IQOS Platform 1 devices and consumables as modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs), finding that exposure modification orders for these products are appropriate to promote the public health. As of September 30, 2022, excluding Russia and Ukraine, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 70 markets, and PMI estimates that approximately 13.5 million adults around the world had already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. With a strong foundation and significant expertise in life sciences, in February 2021, PMI announced its ambition to expand into wellness and healthcare areas and deliver innovative products and solutions that aim to address unmet consumer and patient needs. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

About Bloomberg

For more information on Bloomberg's sustainable finance solutions, including the GEI, please visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/sustainable-finance/.

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision- makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people, and ideas. The company's strength-delivering data, news, and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately-is the core of Bloomberg Professional Services. For more information, visit www.bloomberg.com or request a demo.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005849/en/

Contacts:

Philip Morris International

David Fraser

T. +41 (0)58 242 4500

E. david.fraser@pmi.com
abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund ("ASGI")

abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. ("FAX")

PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / The above-noted abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds (the "Funds" or individually the "Fund"), today announced that the Funds paid the distributions noted in the table below on January 31, 2023, on a per share basis to all shareholders of record as of January 24, 2023 (ex-dividend date January 23, 2023).

Ticker Exchange Fund Amount ASGI NYSE abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund $ 0.1200 FAX NYSE American abrdn Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. $ 0.0275

Each Fund has adopted a distribution policy to provide investors with a stable distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital.

Under applicable U.S. tax rules, the amount and character of distributable income for each Fund's fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related rules, the Funds may be required to indicate to shareholders the estimated source of certain distributions to shareholders.

The following tables set forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distributions for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the rules adopted thereunder. The tables have been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The tables include estimated amounts and percentages for the current distributions paid this month as well as for the cumulative distributions paid relating to fiscal year to date, from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated compositions of the distributions may vary because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies.

Each Fund's estimated sources of the current distribution paid this month and for its current fiscal year to date are as follows:

Estimated Amounts of Current Distribution per Share Fund* Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $0.1200 $0.0132 11% - - $0.1068 89% - - FAX $0.0275 $0.0143 52% - - - - $0.0132 48%

Estimated Amounts of Fiscal Year* to Date Cumulative Distributions per Share Fund Distribution Amount Net Investment Income Net Realized Short-Term Gains ** Net Realized Long-Term Gains Return of Capital ASGI $0.4800 $0.0528 11% - - $0.4272 89% - - FAX $0.0825 $0.0429 52% - - - - $0.0396 48%

* ASGI has a 9/30 fiscal year end; FAX has a 10/31 fiscal year end.

**includes currency gains

Where the estimated amounts above show a portion of the distribution to be a "Return of Capital," it means that Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in a Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions for the current year will only be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. After the end of each calendar year, a Form 1099-DIV will be sent to shareholders for the prior calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The following table provides the Funds' total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Funds' annualized and cumulative distribution rates.

Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information Fund Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 12/31/2022 Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV Cumulative Total Return on NAV Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV ASGI 7.52%3 7.07% 10.78% 1.77% FAX -2.13% 10.58% 11.70% 1.76%

1 Return data is net of all Fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan.

2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of December 31, 2022.

3 The Fund launched within the past 5 years; the performance and distribution rate information presented reflects data from inception (July 29, 2020) through December 31, 2022.

Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about a Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy").

While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market.

Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Funds may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Funds during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Funds, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received.

The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. Each Fund's Board has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances.

Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

In the United States, abrdn is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: abrdn Inc., Aberdeen Asset Managers Ltd., abrdn Australia Limited, abrdn Asia Limited, Aberdeen Capital Management, LLC, abrdn ETFs Advisors LLC and Aberdeen Standard Alternative Funds Limited.

Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. A Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

If you If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact Investor.Relations@abrdn.com

https://www.abrdn.com/en-us/cefinvestorcenter

For More Information Contact:

abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds

Investor Relations

1-800-522-5465

Investor.Relations@abrdn.com

SOURCE: abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/737521/abrdn-US-Closed-End-Funds-Announce-Distribution-Payment-Details
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - High Fusion Inc. (CSE: FUZN) ("High Fusion" or the "Company") announces the replacement of one of its directors.

Effective immediately, Aaron Johnson has resigned his position as director of the Company. The board position will be replaced by Mr. Ross Mitgang. Ross currently serves as controller of Plaza Capital, a boutique merchant banking and advisory firm and is a director on several public and private companies.

"We would like to thank Aaron for his guidance and support over the past five years and we welcome Ross to the Board," said John Durfy, CEO of High Fusion.

About High Fusion Inc.

High Fusion Inc. (formerly Nutritional High International Inc.) is focused on developing and manufacturing branded products in the cannabis industry with a specific focus on flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles and oil extracts for medical and adult recreational use. The Company operates and controls licenses in California and Colorado.

High Fusion has manufacturing, retail and grow operations in California through its acquisition of the business of OutCo Labs Inc. The Company's brand portfolio includes the OutCo and Thrive brands.

For updates on the Company's activities and highlights of the Company's press releases and other media coverage, please visit www.high-fusion.com.

For further information, please contact:

High Fusion Inc.

Robert Wilson, Chief Financial Officer

416-666-4005

Email: rwilson@nutritionalhigh.com

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR OTC MARKETS GROUP INC., NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the ability of the Company to successfully execute its business plans; legal changes relating to the cannabis and psychedelic industries proceeding as anticipated; and the Company's continued response and ability to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic being consistent with, or better than, its ability and response to date.

The Company's securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act, absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market prices for securities; the actual results of the Company's future operations; competition; changes in legislation affecting the Company; obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals including acquiring and renewing U.S. state, local or other licenses, the uncertainty of existing protection from U.S. federal or other prosecution, regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. state-law legalization, market and general economic conditions of the cannabis sector or otherwise; the timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals; risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including various recommendations, orders and measures of governmental authorities to try to limit the pandemic, including travel restrictions, border closures, non-essential business closures, service disruptions, quarantines, self-isolations, shelters-in-place and social distancing, disruptions to markets, economic activity, financing, supply chains and sales channels, and a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession; and a deterioration of financial markets that could limit the Company's ability to obtain external financing.

A description of additional risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153103
Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas, TX-based de-extinction company, raised $150M in Series B funding.

The round was led by United States Innovative Technology Fund, with participation from Breyer Capital, WestRiver Group, Bob Nelsen, Animal Capital, Victor Vescovo, In-Q-Tel, Animoca Brands, Peak 6, BOLD Capital, and Jazz Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to advance genetic engineering and pioneer new software, wetware and hardware solutions, all of which have applications to de-extinction, conservation and human healthcare.

Founded by technology and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm and George Church, Colossal creates technologies for species restoration, critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth. As part of its Series B, the company has also announced the launch of its Avian Genomics Group, which will pursue the de-extinction of the iconic Dodo, a bird species that was wiped out of its native ecosystem, Mauritius, as a direct result of human settlement and ecosystem competition in 1662.

The Woolly Mammoth de-extinction team now includes over 40 talented scientists and three laboratories to innovate across computational biology, cell and genome engineering, stem cell biology, embryology, protein engineering and assisted reproductive technologies. The Colossal Thylacine team consists of 30 dedicated scientists.

FinSMEs

31/01/2023
CropX Technologies, a Napa, CA-based provider of digital solutions for agronomic farm management, acquired Tule Technologies, a precision irrigation company based in California.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

This acquisition brings new data capture technologies to the CropX Agronomic Farm Management System and expands its market in California drip-irrigated specialty crops. Effective immediately, all Tule employees will join CropX, adding expansive on-farm and client service expertise in the specialty crop and drip irrigation space, as well as technology talent to CropXs growing global team.

Founded in 2014 with backing from Y-Combinator and others, and led by CEO Dr. Tom Shapland, Tule Technologies combines proprietary technology, agronomic expertise, and artificial intelligence to provide farmers with irrigation decision support solutions. Their in-field sensor, developed at the University of California, Davis, measures Actual Evapotranspiration (i.e., the water use of a farm field). The companys customers include the winemakers who tend to coastal Californias most prized vineyards to the agronomists who farm thousands of acres of tree crops in Californias inland valleys. combines proprietary technology, agronomic expertise, and artificial intelligence to provide farmers with irrigation decision support solutions.

Led by CEO Tomer Tzach, CropX provides a system that offers its users real-time mobile and desktop insights and advice on irrigation, disease control, nutrient management and more, based on above-ground crop sensing data and below-ground soil monitoring. Tule brings a complementary new mode of data collection from above the plant canopy that precisely determines crop water use, which will enhance CropXs artificial intelligence predictions, recommendations, and automations, and add to its solutions for drip-irrigated specialty crops such as tree-nuts and vineyards.

This is the fourth acquisition CropX has made since 2020 and the second US-based company. They acquired Nebraska-based CropMetrics in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, New Zealand-based Regen in Q4 of 2020, and Netherlands-based Dacom Farm Intelligence in Q3 2021.

FinSMEs

31/01/2023
Hyperplan, a Paris, France-based agtech company which specializes in satellite and meteorological data, raised 4.1M in funding.

The round was led by Demeters Agrinnovation fund, BNP Paribas Developpement, Polytechnique Ventures, PeakBridge, Techmind and Unilis Agtech.

The company intends to us the funds for the deployment of its collaborative culture monitoring platform to all crops, including vegetables, sugar crops, root crops and vines.

Founded in June 2021 and led by Jean-Baptiste Kopecky, Victor Lamendin and Ruben Sabah, Hyperplan is a SaaS company whose mission is to help industrial companies cope with the growing volatility of crop production. Its technology, based on satellite and meteorological data, allows its customers to anticipate crop production and improve their commercial or industrial operational decisions in terms of economic efficiency, reduction of CO2 intensity and reduction food losses.

FinSMEs

31/01/2023
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is greeted by military officers upon his arrival at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. AP-Yonhap



Containing China's rise also expected to be high on agenda



By Kang Seung-woo



The U.S. defense chief is expected to use a meeting with his South Korean counterpart as an opportunity to assure Seoul of Washington's extended deterrence commitment against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats.



In addition, how to contain a rising China is likely to be high on the agenda as well amid the current geostrategic competition between Washington and Beijing that is developing into a new Cold War.



U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in South Korea, Monday, for his talks with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, scheduled for Tuesday.



"Austin is anticipated to talk about the U.S.' plan to strengthen its commitment to South Korea against North Korea's nuclear threats," said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher of the Korea Institute for National Unification.






On 25 January, Chinese Ambassador to the UK H.E. Zheng Zeguang sent a congratulatory letter to In Conversation with the Bridge Builders, an event held by CGTN Europe. In the letter, Ambassador Zheng extended congratulations on the successful holding of the event, and emphasised that cooperation serves the fundamental interests of both the Chinese and British people and meets the trend of the times. Only by following the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation can China-UK relations move forward smoothly. In the new year, the Chinese side will proceed from the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and work with visionary people from all walks of life in the UK to remove disruption and obstacles in the icebreaking spirit. Through dialogue and cooperation, we will advance China-UK relations along the right track. The full text of the congratulatory letter is as follows:

As we celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit, CGTN Europes holding of the In Conversation with the Bridge Builders event is truly meaningful that adds to the festivities of the New Year. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, I would like to extend warm congratulations to CGTN Europe for its successful special series To the Future Together featuring bridge builders of friendship between China and the UK. I would also like to extend New Years greetings from the bottom of my heart to Chinese and British friends attending this event.

On 26 January 2022, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the Icebreakers 2022 Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the 48 Group Club. In his message, President Xi fully acknowledged the first generation of icebreakers in the 1950s represented by Mr Jack Perry for their historical contributions to China-UK relations and encouraged visionary people and entrepreneurs in both countries to carry forward the icebreaking spirit to promote the China-UK friendship in the new era. President Xis message has greatly inspired people from all walks of life in our two countries who care about and support the growth of China-UK relations.

The 20-episode special series To the Future Together run by CGTN Europe present in a vivid way the stories of 20 bridge builders. Their extraordinary stories are deeply touching and inspiring and their contributions to the China-UK friendship deserve our respect. Over the past half century, it was because of the hard work of Mr Jack Perry and the other icebreakers like him that China-UK relations continued growing despite ups and downs; on the journey ahead, for China-UK relations to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward, we need more bridge builders of the new era to brave difficulties and carry on the friendship.

Cooperation serves the fundamental interests of both the Chinese and British people and meets the trend of the times. Only by following the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation can China-UK relations move forward smoothly. In the new year, the Chinese side will proceed from the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and work with visionary people from all walks of life in the UK to remove disruption and obstacles in the icebreaking spirit. Through dialogue and cooperation, we will advance China-UK relations along the right track.

To conclude, I wish the In Conversation with the Bridge Builders event a full success and I wish you all a happy Chinese New Year.

*****

This special event was organized by CGTN Europe. Its the culmination of their Bridge Builders multi-media series launched in 2022 to mark 50 years of the ambassadorial relationship between China and the UK. In attendance were Stephen Perry, son of Jack Perry, one of the first-generation icebreakers, Frank Slevin, Chair of the UK National Committee on China, and John McLean, board member of the China-Britain Business Council, as well as members of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and the London Chinatown Chinese Association, the bridge builders themselves, and representatives from media organizations and various other fields from both China and the UK.
Samsung has reported its earnings for Q4 2022 that ended December 31, 2022 in which the company posted 70.46 trillion won ($57.2 billion approx.) consolidated revenue, down 7.97% YoY. It made an operating profit of 4.31 trillion won ($3.5 billion approx.), down 68.92% YoY, its lowest in 8 years.

This is due to weak demand amid a global economic slowdown, said the company. Earnings at the Memory Business decreased sharply as prices fell, and the System LSI Business also saw a decline in earnings as sales of key products.

However, the Foundry Business posted a new record for quarterly revenue while profit increased year-on-year on the back of advanced node capacity expansion as well as customer base and application area diversification.

For the whole of 2022, it posted 302.23 trillion won ($245.4 billion approx.) consolidated revenue, up 8.09% YoY. It made an operating profit of 43.38 trillion won ($35.22 billion approx.), down 15.97% YoY.

Samsung MX (Mobile eXperience) in Q4 2022

The MX and Networks businesses posted 26.90 trillion won in consolidated revenue, down 7% YoY. The division posted 1.70 trillion won in operating profit, down 36% YoY and down 47.5% QoQ.

Revenue and profit at the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business declined amid weak demand in the mid- to low-end segments, while the Networks Business posted an increase in revenue, led by domestic demand for 5G installations and expansion in overseas businesses.

The impact of the decline in sales of mass-market smartphones was greater than previously expected, while flagship sales held up well relative to market projections, said Samsung.

Samsung MX Q1 2023

In the first quarter, Samsung expects a sequential decrease in market demand across all smartphone segments, amid continuous macroeconomic uncertainties.

The company plans to expand flagship product sales with the successful launch of its new Galaxy S23 series, equipped with an enhanced camera and gaming functionalities, among others.

Samsung said that it will also continue to enhance its Galaxy ecosystem products, consisting of PCs, tablets and wearables, while maintaining its focus on effective resource management for solid profitability.

In 2023, the company expects smartphone market demand to contract due to persistent macroeconomic conditions. Mass-market models are expected to be impacted the most, while consumer demand for premium smartphones and tablets is projected to stay relatively solid.

The MX Business plans to achieve strong sales and solid profitability by strengthening the competitiveness of its premium flagship products. For the mass-market segment, the company plans to collaborate with mobile carriers on various sales programs, including those aimed at expanding the 5G smartphone user base.

Source
Apple has started exporting an AirPods component from India to China and Vietnam, reports Bloomberg. This adds to Apples strategy of diversifying production across India and several other countries.

According to the report, Jabil, a US-based company with a manufacturing facility in Pune, has begun exporting AirPods enclosures (or plastic bodies) to China and Vietnam. This is an encouraging sign, and we are seeing the production of AirPods-related parts for the first time.

As Luxshare Precision Industry has received government approval, we may soon hear about the production of AirPods in India. Luxshare Precision was one of many Chinese suppliers to be granted permission to increase production through joint ventures with Indian partners.

Apple product manufacturing in India has significantly increased the countrys exports. As previously reported, Apple has surpassed Samsung to become the leading mobile phone exporter, with December exports totaling $1 billion.

Based on earlier reports, Apple is expected to move some AirPods, Beats production to India to grow its industrial footprint. Based on a J.P. Morgan report from September, Apple is said to be planning to move manufacturing of 25% of all iPhones to India by 2025.

Source
A photo showing North Korea's missile launch is displayed at the Unification Observation Post in Paju near the inter-Korean border, Jan. 27. More than 76 percent of people in South Korea support the idea of arming their country with nuclear weapons to counter growing security threats from North Korea, a new study showed Monday. AP-Yonhap



Survey suggests widespread skepticism over denuclearization of North Korea



By Jung Min-ho



Over 76 percent of people in South Korea support the idea of arming their country with its own nuclear weapons to counter growing security threats from North Korea, a new study showed.



According to the results of a survey released Monday by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, a think tank, 60.7 percent of the respondents said they believe their country is somewhat in need of developing its own nuclear weapons, while 15.9 percent said it is very much in need.



Only 3.1 percent said the country is in no need of such weapons, while 20.3 percent said the need is low.



The level of approval measured for nuclear weapons is higher than the numbers shown in other studies in recent years, including a survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (71 percent) and another one by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies (70.2 percent).



The latest research conducted by Gallup Korea between Nov. 28 and Dec. 26, based on one-on-one interviews with 1,000 people, shows that there is widespread skepticism over the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.



While 56.4 percent of respondents said they think the denuclearization of North Korea is impossible, 21.2 percent said it is nearly impossible. Only 1.9 percent said it is very likely.





Graphic by Cho Sang-won



Intelligence agencies in Seoul and Washington say North Korea has completed preparations for its first nuclear weapons test since 2017. Nearly 79 percent of the respondents said they believe the North will proceed with the test.



In recent years, North Korea stepped up efforts to develop long-range nuclear weapons to undermine joint U.S.-South Korean defense systems. Asked whether they think the U.S. would be willing to take the risk of a nuclear war with the North to protect the South, 51.3 percent of respondents said that they somewhat or strongly believe so.



The study also shows a high approval rating of 71.9 percent for trilateral security cooperation (with the U.S. and Japan). This comes despite more than half of the respondents seeing Japan unfavorably, possibly due to diplomatic friction over the renewed wartime forced labor issue that occurred during Japan's colonial rule over the peninsula (1910-45).





Park In-kook, president of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, speaks during a media conference at the Press Center in central Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Students wearing face masks attend a class at an elementary school in Seoul, Jan. 30. Yonhap



Most people in cafes, offices and schools in Seoul kept wearing their face masks Monday, the first day of the lifting of a mandate for indoor places.



Starting midnight, the government lifted most mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules after more than two years, except at hospitals, pharmacies and on public transportation.



The scrapping of the last remaining pandemic restriction came as the daily caseload has continued to decline. On Monday, the country reported 7,416 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest level in about seven months.



Like most other people, Kim Yoo-jeong is excited the Omicron variant is on decline. Yet, she is not yet ready to let her guard down.









"I am sure that the government decided to revise the rule as it is certain about managing the virus situation. But I still want to wear the mask for the sake of myself," Kim said as she was waiting in line for her latte at a Starbucks store in Seoul's Seocho district.



Just like previous days, most of the people in the store masked up while waiting, except for when they were drinking or eating.





People wearing masks get off at Gwanghwmun Station in central Seoul, Jan. 30. Yonhap
A platform at Sindorim Station on Seoul Metro Lines 1 and 2 is crowded with morning commuters wearing masks, Monday. Most people on subway platforms were seen wearing masks despite the relaxation of the indoor mask mandate. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-suk



By Lee Hyo-jin



Monday marked the first day of the drastic easing of Korea's indoor mask mandate after it was enforced nationwide in October 2020. Starting midnight, wearing a mask in most indoor facilities has become optional with a few exemptions.



People are no longer legally obliged to wear masks indoors, except at hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, welfare centers for people with disabilities, and public transportation. Masks are now optional at subway platforms, train stations, bus terminals and airports.



Despite the eased rule, however, most people at subway platforms and gyms seemed reluctant to bid farewell to their years-long habit of wearing masks.



Almost all subway users seen in the morning on the platforms at Sindorim Station on Seoul Metro Lines 1 and 2 were masked up. Even though notices were attached inside stations and platforms that the indoor mask mandate has been lifted, few were eager to take them off.



"I know the mask mandate has been removed, but I didn't think about taking it off because I'm so used to it. And I don't want to stand out among others. I feel I might get unwanted attention if I don't cover my face," Byun Jeong-yoon, a college student, told The Korea Times as she waited for the train to arrive on Line 2.



Not everyone seemed to have heard the news of the lifting of the mask requirement.









A woman in her 70s who wished to stay anonymous said, "I didn't know that I can take the mask off. But I will wear it anyway. The weather is cold and I haven't been infected with the virus yet, so I'm still cautious."



A man in his 60s surnamed Hwang was one of the very few people to be seen without a face covering. He was wearing the mask around his chin.



"I saw it on the news this morning that we're allowed to take it off on subway platforms. I hope we can remove it inside the trains, too. I don't see the point of wearing it on the train when people can freely mingle without masks at restaurants and bars," he said.



Contrary to anticipation that gym-goers would be the first ones to embrace the lifting of the mask mandate, Monday morning was not very different from previous days, according to a 39-year-old gym owner in Yangcheon District identified only by his surname Eom.



"About twenty people came this morning, but only one of them was unmasked. I guess people feel awkward to take their masks off all of a sudden. It may take a few days for all of us to get used to the new rule," he said, adding that he will also keep on wearing a mask for the time being.



The lifting of the mask mandate came as Korea has been steadily seeing a downward trend in infections in the past several weeks. The country reported the lowest tally in seven months for Sunday with 7,416 new cases, raising the aggregate total to 30,157,017, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).





Children at a kindergarten in Gwangju smile on Monday, the first day when the easing of the indoor mask mandate came into effect. Yonhap
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a press conference at Seoul City Hall, Monday. Yonhap



Mayor Oh Se-hoon blames former Moon government for surging energy bills, blasts disability group that staged subway protests for disrupting law and order



By Ko Dong-hwan



Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been on the offensive over several issues that are dividing the nation. Regarding the rising energy bills that put an extra financial burden on citizens, Oh pointed his finger at the previous Moon Jae-in government as a source of the problem and declared the Moon government's reckless policy to phase out nuclear power plants responsible for the disaster.



In a sarcastic comment, Mayor Oh said the controversial left-wing radio host who left TBS last year sweated a lot to side with the liberal opposition party and serve its interests.



He made the divisive remarks during a press conference at City Hall on Monday as an extensive range of commodities  from utility bills to public transit fares and snacks  are poised for price hikes this year.



The earliest and most widespread sign of the price hikes came with energy bills. Members of the public across the country have reported they were shocked to find their monthly bills from last month nearly doubled. Many local reports said people have been hit with "heating bill bombs out of the blue."



One of the reasons for the price hike was the particularly cold weather this winter compared to previous years, which drove up demand for heating. But according to the mayor, another reason is the country's flawed energy policies, particularly for nuclear power.



"There are structural problems surrounding the rising heating bills, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which affects Russia's gas exports)," the mayor said. "But before that, anti-nuclear policies from the previous Moon Jae-in administration capsized the country's nuclear power production industry from profiting with a comfortable net gain to recording a great net loss. It killed the buffer zone between energy policies and how they affect people's bills, resulting in consumers directly suffering from the turbulence in the country's power generation and distribution via their utilities bills."





Commuters crowd the subway platform inside Gwanghwamun Station, Nov. 24, 2022. Subway fares throughout the country are expected to rise this year alongside other market costs. Newsis



The country's energy policies took a sharp turn when the administration transitioned from Moon to Yoon Suk Yeol last May, as the new leadership proclaimed it would revive the country's nuclear industry that was bridled by the previous administration. Despite protests from environmental activists and local residents near nuclear reactors against Yoon's pro-nuclear policies, the president has been lauding the energy's comparative affordability and the country's reactor construction technologies that have enabled lucrative reactor construction projects.



"Even setting aside the previous administration's misjudgment, the present administration should recalibrate the country's current situation and come up with a new energy policy draft," the mayor said. "The city government will then discuss with the central government about introducing new medium- to long-term energy policies."



As to the city's plan to raise public bus and subway fares by up to 400 won ($0.33), the mayor again pointed to the central authority during Monday's press conference. He said the Ministry of Economy and Finance had declined to budget enough for Seoul City to maintain its welfare service allowing residents aged 65 or older to ride the city's subway system free of charge. The mayor criticized the ministry, Monday, saying its decision ignored the "valuable agreement reached" between the conservative ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to preserve the service dubbed the city's "public service obligation."



The free subway service for elderly people, however, has been blamed for keeping Seoul Metro, the city's subway operator, underperforming for years and running at a net loss. Last year, the city-run company recorded a net loss of over 1 trillion won ($814 million).



Under the hike, the city's bus rate will increase from 1,200 won to 1,600 won and the subway rate from 1,250 to 1,650 won.



"First, let me tell you that even by raising the fares by 400 won, it's still far from offsetting the operators' fuel costs," the mayor said.





Kim Ou-joon speaks during his YouTube show on Jan. 17 that is a spinoff from TBS' "News Factory." He launched the show after being dropped from TBS last year. Screenshot from YouTube
Visiongain has published a new report entitled Asia-Pacific Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) 2023-2033. It includes profiles of Asia-Pacific Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Market Segment by Type, (Nearshore, Offsource, Onshore) Market Segment by Service, (Voice Processing, Telemarketing Services, Visualization Services, Other Services) Market Segment by Application, (Customer Care & Demonstrations, Sales & Marketing, Finance & Accounting, Human Resource & Development, Other Application) Market Segment by End-User, (IT & Telecom, BFSI, Healthcare Sector, Manufacturing Sector, Retail & E-Commerce, Other End-User) Market Segment by Region, (Southern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, Eastern Asia, Western Asia, Central Asia) plus COVID-19 Impact Analysis and Recovery Pattern Analysis (V-shaped, W-shaped, U-shaped, L-shaped), Profiles of Leading Companies, Region and Country.

The Asia-Pacific business process outsourcing (BPO) market was valued at US$68.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period 2023-2033.

An Increase In The Use of BPO Services by Start-ups

Facts have caught up with practices, and business process outsourcing helps start-ups flourish globally (BPO). The idea that BPO is exclusively appropriate for big, established businesses is no longer true. Businesses of all shapes and sizes profit from the new development. Outsourcing, which several start-ups are hesitant to use, could be one such answer. However, a dynamic assessment of a company could reveal a need for cost-cutting, the addition of essential human resources, or the support of specific business processes that lack the requisite infrastructure. The idea that BPO is exclusively appropriate for big, established businesses is no longer true. Businesses of all shapes and sizes profit from the new development. In a 2018 Clutch survey, 37% of small businesses reported outsourcing at least one key business operation, while 52% said they planned to do so the following year. Growth and scaling must be a top strategic priority if you want to achieve the desired unicorn status (worth above $1 billion).

Download Exclusive Sample of Report

https://www.visiongain.com/report/asia-pacific-bpo-market-2023/#download_sampe_div

How has COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on the Asia-Pacific Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Market?

Nearly every industry has been negatively impacted by the COVID19 problem, which has resulted in supply chains being disrupted, nationwide lockdowns, and organisations considering the idea of long-term or even permanent remote working. In the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, contact centre employees take millions of calls daily while working from various places. China was the first nation to request that these individuals work remotely in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, and other nations soon followed. The longevity of these workers depends on a variety of factors, including their capacity for change and willingness to collaborate across functional lines.

According to a recent survey, the COVID-19 epidemic may be affecting our ability to sleep. Since the pandemic began, 70% of people have reported experiencing one or more new sleep difficulties. World Sleep Day raises awareness of the need of sleep for physical and mental health. 13,000 persons in 13 nations were polled for the study by Royal Philips, which examined attitudes, views, and sleeping habits. People all over the world are aware that they are not getting enough sleep, and for some, the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on their sleep.

How will this Report Benefit you?

Visiongains 302-page report provides 157 tables and 158 charts/graphs. Our new study is suitable for anyone requiring commercial, in-depth analyses for the Asia-Pacific business process outsourcing (BPO) market, along with detailed segment analysis in the market. Our new study will help you evaluate the overall regional market for Asia-Pacific Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Get financial analysis of the overall market and different segments including type, service, application, end-user and company size and capture higher market share. We believe that there are strong opportunities in this fast-growing Asia-Pacific business process outsourcing (BPO) market. See how to use the existing and upcoming opportunities in this market to gain revenue benefits in the near future. Moreover, the report will help you to improve your strategic decision-making, allowing you to frame growth strategies, reinforce the analysis of other market players, and maximise the productivity of the company.

What are the Current Market Drivers?

Growing Demand for Cost-Effective Solutions

Companies in the Asia-Pacific region are looking for cost-effective solutions to reduce their operational costs. Business process outsourcing (BPO) services provide a cost-effective way to outsource non-core business functions such as customer service, human resources, and finance.

Increasing Adoption of Digital Technologies

The adoption of digital technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing is driving the growth of BPO services in the Asia-Pacific region. These technologies enable BPO providers to offer more efficient and effective services to their clients.

Download Exclusive Sample of Report

https://www.visiongain.com/report/asia-pacific-bpo-market-2023/#download_sampe_div

Where are the Market Opportunities?

Growing Skilled Labour Force in the Region

The Asia-Pacific region has a large pool of skilled labour, particularly in countries such as India, the Philippines, and China. This skilled labour force is a major driver of the BPO market in the region.

Growing Outsourcing Trend and Government Initiatives

Companies in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly outsourcing their non-core business functions to focus on their core competencies. This trend is driving the growth of the BPO market in the region. Governments in the Asia-Pacific region are promoting the BPO industry through initiatives such as tax incentives, subsidies, and infrastructure development. This is encouraging more companies to invest in BPO services.

Competitive Landscape

The Economic growth in this region is a driving factor for the growth of the BPO market as the companies are expanding and looking for cost-effective solutions to operate their business. The major players operating in the Asia-Pacific business process outsourcing (BPO) market are Accenture Plc, IBM Corporation, Cognizant, Capgemini SE, Infosys Limited, ADP Inc., Amdocs, CBRE Group, Inc., Concentrix Corporation, HCL Technologies Limited. These major players operating in this market have adopted various strategies comprising M&A, investment in R&D, collaborations, partnerships, regional business expansion, and new product launch.

Recent Developments

02 Dec 2022, Fiftyfive5, a customer insights and advisory firm, has been acquired by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). Accenture Song's (formerly Accenture Interactive) ability to help clients tap data insights and performance marketing to accelerate growth and innovation across Australia and New Zealand will be strengthened as a result of the move.

07 Dec 2022, IBM signed an agreement to acquire Octo, a U.S.-based provider of IT modernization and digital transformation services to the federal government, including defence, health, and civilian agencies. The acquisition of Octo by IBM creates one of the federal government's largest digital transformation partners.

To access the data contained in this document please email oliver.davison@visiongain.com

To find more Visiongain research reports on the IT sector, click on the following links:

Do you have any custom requirements we can help you with? Any need for a specific country, geo region, market segment or specific company information? Contact us today, we can discuss your needs and see how we can help: oliver.davison@visiongain.com

About Visiongain

Visiongain is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative independent market intelligence providers around, the company publishes hundreds of market research reports which it adds to its extensive portfolio each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis across 18 industries worldwide. The reports, which cover 10-year forecasts, are hundreds of pages long, with in-depth market analysis and valuable competitive intelligence data. Visiongain works across a range of vertical markets with a lot of synergies. These markets include automotive, aviation, chemicals, cyber, defence, energy, food & drink, materials, packaging, pharmaceutical and utilities sectors. Our customised and syndicated market research reports offer a bespoke piece of market intelligence customised to your very own business needs.

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LOS ANGELES, CA, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire  WPF Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: WPFHD), announces today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Vezbi, Inc (Vezbi) for 265,000,000 common shares of WPF Holdings. At closing, the shareholders of Vezbi will be issued 10 common shares of WPF Holdings in exchange for 1 common share of Vezbi. The share exchange is based on Vezbis last funding round.

A Form 10 and S-1 registration statement (for the new shares issued) will be filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for uplisting onto a national exchange. Additionally, WPF Holdings will be changing its name and applying for a new trading symbol after becoming a fully reporting company with the SEC.

Vezbi is a community-driven Super App designed to organize and consolidate all facets of life in one centralized application. What makes Vezbi so unique is its commitment to no algorithms, no anonymity, and no data selling. As accountability is the emphasis of the app, Vezbi believes that it is the first true Super App in the United States, and will become a platform which will minimize fake reviews, fake news and online bullying.

Current features within the app include: Tasks, Events, Messaging, Micro-Vlogs, SnipBits, Communities, Intercom, The Vezbi Marketplace, Shop Now, FAVR, and Micro-Apps. Vezbi will continue to develop its technology under WFP Holdings (i.e. user verification, rating systems, payments, etc) while focusing on increasing market share (domestic and international).

About WPF Holdings

WPF Holdings is a technology holdings company, focusing on new and cutting edge applications and projects that focus on small and mid-sized businesses to empower businesses to take full advantage of the opportunities that the digital world has to offer.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition pricing, government regulation, and other risks described in statements filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such forward-looking statements whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements that may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

CONTACT

WFP Holdings, Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: info@wpf-holdings.com

Vezbi, Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: investors@vezbi.com




BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hungary is known for its culture, fine gastronomy, old-world wines, natural beauty, and new attractions. With multiple hotel investments in the pipeline, including a W and two renowned international hotel brands, voco, and Vignette Collection, the Hungarian hotel offering grows more luxurious in 2023.

"Budapest experienced an invigorating rebound in 2022," explains Ivan Ljubinkovic, Head of Business Development at Visit Hungary. "The many developments underway today will continue enticing travelers worldwide to live the treasure of our destination."

HOTEL NEWS

W Budapest Hotel, Marriott group - Andrassy Avenue, Budapest (Opening 2023)

W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International, debuts the iconic W Hotels brand in Hungary, opening W Budapest. Housed in the Drechsler Palace, a UNESCO Heritage site, W Budapest will feature 151 rooms, including 45 suites and one Extreme WOW, the brand's lux-take on the Presidential Suite.

Dorothea Hotel, Autograph Collection, Marriott group - Vorosmarty Square, Budapest (Opening July 2023)

The newly constructed Dorothea Hotel Autograph Collection opens in July 2023 in central Budapest. Set among three connected historical buildings, Lissoni's architecture and sophisticated interior design features 216 rooms, including 50 suites, and four food & beverage outlets. Additionally, the property will house a sky restaurant, a wellness area with a spa, and business premises.

Verno House - Szabadsag Street, Budapest (Opened Late 2022)

In addition to new hotels, Budapest celebrated the opening of the boutique Verno House in December 2022, a 50-key property located in the city center close to the U.S. embassy and the liberty square.

Verno House is a meeting point for travelers and locals alike, allowing a deeper understanding of the city's spirit. It evokes the idea, born in 19th century Budapest, where one can truly appreciate all the modern attributes of a city, with a nurturing, natural environment to escape to from time to time. It offers an exquisite wellness space, thoughtfully designed to be an essential component, thus pampering the body and soul.

For more information, visit www.visithungary.com.

Images

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About Hungarian Tourism Agency

The Hungarian Tourism Agency is the governmental organization responsible for the development and public administration of tourism in Hungary.

Contact Information:

Maria Alejandra Silva

maria.silva@newlink-group.com



This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.
EDINBURGH, UK, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Startup Race, a UK-based Startup growth-hacking Competition which prioritises sales over pitching skills, announced today that House of Tula has won the 6-month long competition, and was awarded the 10,000 cash prize. House of Tula founded by female Indian immigrant entrepreneur Priyansu Nath, has secured the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize and says she will use the purse to invest in online marketing, social media marketing campaigns, and bring in customers to its future crowdfunding campaigns.

As an entrepreneur, you need to validate various hypotheses for your business. What The Startup Race competition did for the business was create a 6-month time frame to achieve this, said Priyansu Nath, founder and CEO of House of Tula. It was the perfect time to play your cards as not only we could test the hypothesis, but every penny generated in revenue would also count towards the competition. This meant concrete insights for the business in an accelerated time.

The competition also awarded second place to Olmedo of Londons founder Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur (Mexico).

For both our first and second place winners, their mission and business success proves that gamifying the startup process with a growth-hacking competition can help Startup founders overcome perfectionism, procrastination, and thus reduce the chance of failure, said James Shoemark, CEO and co-founder of The Startup Race Ltd. When customers actually start purchasing a startups product or service, its not only an achievement, but also significant validation for the startup concept and value proposition.

More than 500 companies entered The 10,000 Startup Race, and the entrepreneurs became especially competitive towards the end. The Startup Race team used an FCA-regulated Open Banking data aggregation company to diligently, analyse and validate each bank transaction that reflected a sale the Startup Racers were able to achieve each week. This resulted in changing positions on the 10,000 Startup Race League Table each week and Priyanshu Nath won by having the most sales overall.

House of Tula, the winning company, is focused on personal journaling, with sustainability at its heart and as its founding principle. House of Tula was born in 2022 following the founder Priyanshu Nath's personal well-being journey in which journaling played a key role. She discovered that writing on textured paper gave her a tactile experience that digital devices failed to offer, and journals with beautiful aesthetics made her carry the journal regularly like an accessory. With this in mind, she ventured to develop a product that would be appreciated by more people like her and found that it was popular with other customers including journallers, artists and architects, who too appreciated sustainable good quality paper, beautiful designs and the lovely feel of textured paper.

Olmedo of London is an innovative clothing company founded by Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur from Mexico who studied fashion in London at the masters level in Italy at Instituto Marangoni. She blends authentic Mexican embroideries and the fusion of western inspirations, focused on creating contemporary garments for women. Olmedo wants to introduce one of the main characteristics of the luxury market; handmade process and authenticity creating collaborations with artisans and creative people in the UK.

The 10,000 Startup Race motivated me to launch my new label with a collection of handbags made of cactus leather, said Mariely Macias Olmedo, founder of Olmedo of London. Technical challenges, administrative tasks and design approach, can be quite challenging to put together with a very specific deadline. However, with the tools and methods that the Start Up Race supports, was approached in a successful way. We will be continue constructing our beautiful project and improving in all corresponding areas.

The Startup Race methodology capitalizes on the iconoclastic startup method, first developed by GodFather of the Lean Startup Movement - Steve Blank. In a 2013 blog post called Its Time to Play Moneyball: The Investment Readiness Level. Upon entry to the Accelerator, participants gained access to the worlds best Lean Startup resources in order to validate their thinking, develop their business model and personal profile in order to attract co-founders. Other free resources on Leanstack include the Foundations and Business Model Design Playbooks and Lean Canvas & Traction Roadmap tools. The Startup Race team helps entrepreneurs incorporate their UK company and open a UK business bank account to enable them to start generating sales as soon as the competition starts. Through The Startup Race process, a number of high net-worth individuals observe how the teams perform over the course of The Race and be introduced to companies that they may consider supporting at the end of the program.

For more information on The Startup Race, please visit: WWW.TheStartupRace.com.

____

ABOUT THE STARTUP RACE

The Startup Race is an accelerator program focused on proving that entrepreneurs succeed best through sales and revenue, over perfect pitching. The program was conceived in 2014 when a young entrepreneur asked Mr. Shoemark, who was hosting a League of Entrepreneurs Meetup at the time, if and how the startup process could be gamified. Mr. Shoemark decided that a business competition using the Pirate Metrics (AARRR as popularised by Dave McLure) could be the answer. He soon teamed up with Michael Clouser, a former Silicon Valley venture capitalist (Dot Edu Ventures) who directed the Edinburgh-Stanford Link at the University of Edinburgh. Michael is also an entrepreneurship professor and earned his BS/MBA from Cornell University, and researched on the MSc/PhD at the University of Edinburgh. The team also partnered with Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs,investors and students as partners in order to help fuel fast-growth startups in the UK and around the world. For more information on The Startup Race, please visit: WWW.TheStartupRace.com.





Attachments
NEWARK, Del, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Europe dog dewormers market was estimated to be worth US$ 427.49 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.67% from 2023 to 2033. By 2033, the Europe dog dewormers market to be worth US$ 1,178.20 million.



Expanding Market Due to Increased Dog Healthcare Expenditures

A few of the key factors influencing the market expansion include rising healthcare costs for dogs and the increasing use of e-commerce platforms to purchase pet goods. The rising occurrences of worm infections, improvements in dewormers, and the rising frequency of animal diseases are all contributing to the Europe dog dewormers market growth. These trends, along with some additional elements including concern for animal health and active government backing, are anticipated to positively fuel the market growth.

Get a Sample Copy of the Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-16594

Dog Dewormers Have Some Side Effects that May Constrain the Potential Market

The main things that can inhibit the Europe dog dewormers market growth are the negative effects of dog dewormers and the strict government requirements for the approval procedure of dog dewormers.

In Europe, the Dog Dewormer Market had a Growth Spurt.

The pandemic's spread paralyzed the area, impacting practically every region of Europe's research and development, medical supplies, and veterinary services. European nations like Germany, the United Kingdom, and Russia among others announced a total lockdown to stop the spread after the WHO declared the disease to be pandemic due to its broad nature. The animal healthcare sector has suffered as a result, much like numerous other industries.

Decreased veterinary clinic admission rates and supply chain disruptions for dewormer medicines are just a couple of the market effects of the pandemic. The market for dog dewormers in Europe recovered growth in late 2020 thanks to e-commerce channels, and the restart of veterinary services.

Key Takeaways

The distribution channel category for the veterinary clinics may account for a sizeable revenue share of 39% in the Europe dog dewormers market during the anticipated term.

E-commerce is expected to experience a significant growth rate of 11.08% over the forecasted period in the distribution channel category.

With a share of almost 14% during the projected period, the United Kingdom is expected to dominate.

Due to the existence of significant market participants, Germany had a remarkable revenue share over the forecast period at over 15.0%.

Norway's market is expected to develop at a quick rate throughout the forecast period.



For any Queries Linked with the Report, Ask an Analyst@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-16594

Competitive Landscape

Fairly fierce competition exists in the Europe dog dewormers market. The prominent market players include Merck & Co., Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Ceva, Sava Healthcare, Beaphar, and Bob Martin, among others.

To acquire a competitive advantage over one another, these players engage in acquisitions, the introduction of new products, partnerships, and collaborations.

Recent Development

Approval



Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH declared in January 2021 that NexGard medicines, which are used as antiparasitics in dogs and cats, have received marketing authorization approval in Europe. European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Commission approved the request.

Acquisition to boost their pipeline-building efforts



In 2021, Dechra Pharmaceuticals boosted its pipeline activities by acquiring Mirataz, Osumia, and 15% of Medical Ethics.

Launch to treat stomach and lungworms, and other worms



In April 2019, Taurador, a dewormer for a topical treatment to treat lungworms, gastrointestinal roundworms, warbles, and other worms in cattle, was introduced by Norbrook Laboratories Ltd.

Click on the Below Link to Buy this Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/16594

Key Segments

By Distribution Channel:

Veterinary Clinics

Retail/Pet Stores

E-commerce



By Country:

Germany

Italy

Spain

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Czech

Hungary

Poland

Ireland

The United Kingdom

France

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Rest of Europe

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Europe Dog Dewormers Marke

1.1. Europe Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

Browse full Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/europe-dog-dewormers-market

Have a Look at Related Research Reports on Consumer Product

Large Breed Dog Food Market Outlook: Pet parenting is booming around the world, as a mounting number of millennials are showing an inclination towards considering adopting pets as important as having children

Cat & Dog Food Toppers Market Size: The global cat & dog food toppers market is estimated at US$ 8,086.0 Million in 2022 and is projected to reach US$ 18,611.7 Million by 2032

Dog Collars, Leashes & Harnesses Market Share: The global dog collars, leashes & harnesses market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 5,432.5 Million in 2022

Dog Gates, Doors & Pens Market Sales: Future Market Insights (FMI) in its latest study has projected the global Dog Gates, Doors, & Pens Market to reach US$ 4.9 Billion in 2021

Dog Food Toppers Market Growth: The dog food toppers market is estimated to reach US$ 5,157.1 Million in 2022 and it is projected to reach US$ 11,910.9 Million by 2032

About Future Market Insights, Inc.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

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FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnerVenue, the first company to bring metal-hydrogen batteries capable of more than 30,000 cycles to the clean energy revolution, today announced the appointment of Dr. Kim Gupta as Chief Supply Officer. Gupta adds significant energy industry experience to EnerVenue. He will lead all facets of the companys supply chain management, including materials procurement and logistics.



Gupta joins EnerVenue from Bloom Energy, a leading worldwide manufacturer of solid-oxide fuel cells for the distributed generation of electricity and hydrogen. For the past 11 years, he served as Vice President of Strategic Sourcing for the San Jose-headquartered firm. Gupta was instrumental in developing and expanding Bloom Energys global supply base, leading a team that transformed the company away from being supply-constrained. During his tenure, he also reduced material costs for Blooms fuel cell system by more than 50% and worked with a worldwide network of suppliers enabling $100M+ investments to feed Blooms supply requirements.

Prior to Bloom, Gupta spent two decades at Intel, where he managed a critical supply line for the companys manufacturing sites. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Stanford University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

With its unique, proven, and advantageous solution for safe and long-lasting energy storage, the business case for EnerVenues batteries is clear, said Kim Gupta, Chief Supply Officer, EnerVenue. The companys growth over the past two years has been incredible. With a clear commitment to scale through its production agreements and an upcoming gigafactory, Im thrilled to assist EnerVenue through its next stage of growth.

As we quickly scale manufacturing to stay ahead of the market demand for our battery systems, ensuring supply chain continuity and success is critical, said Jorg Heinemann, CEO, EnerVenue. Kim brings us the exact experience and acumen we are looking for, and his leadership will better enable us to achieve our aggressive growth goals. We welcome Kim to the EnerVenue team.

EnerVenue continues to expand and advance its metal-hydrogen batteries. The company recently announced the launch of Energy Storage Vessels (ESVs), which deliver EnerVenues battery technology in more scalable and customizable large-format battery configurations.

About EnerVenue

EnerVenue builds simple, safe, and cost-efficient energy storage solutions for the clean energy revolution. Based on technology proven over decades under the most extreme conditions, EnerVenue batteries are refined and scaled for large renewable energy integration applications. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Contact

Kyle Peterson

kyle@clementpeterson.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fe488b47-d088-438e-ae43-3b8caed45a8b




ITHACA, NY, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SimpliFed, the telehealth platform dedicated to infant nutrition and parental support, announced today that in addition to serving TRICARE beneficiaries, it is now in-network for Aetnas commercial health plans. This includes Aetnas Federal Employee Health Benefit Program, full and partially insured plans, as well as self-funded plans administered by companies that leverage the expansive Aetna HMO, PPO, EPO, POS, First Health and Meritain networks. SimpliFeds lactation and baby feeding support services are available without prior authorization or cost sharing (typically for up to 6 visits) for Aetna commercial members.

SimpliFed allows organizations to provide their employees with the support they need to have a successful baby feeding experience, said Andrea Ippolito, CEO of SimpliFed. Now, more than ever, it is important to support women in the workforce. These services make such a big difference when preparing for return from parental leave and managing baby feeding while working. We center care on parents and families, make it accessible and convenient with text support and telehealth appointments, and improve maternal and child health outcomes by ensuring every parent feels good about how they feed their baby.

Companies with lactation programs have employee retention rates between 83% and 94% after maternity leave, compared to the national average of just 59%. SimpliFed partners with employers and health plans to improve access to breastfeeding and baby feeding support starting in pregnancy, at no cost to families. These services are vital to the health of parents and babies and are mandated under the Affordable Care Act. SimpliFed helps employees form a plan before they head out on parental leave and provides ongoing support to manage the many twists and turns throughout the baby feeding journey. SimpliFed contracts with several national commercial, TRICARE and state Medicaid plans.

Many Aetna commercial plan members are eligible to access virtual appointments with SimpliFeds network of lactation consultants and baby feeding experts starting in pregnancy and throughout the baby feeding journey, at no cost to them for up to 6 visits (coverage may vary). Parents can schedule an appointment by texting BABY to 888-458-1364 or visiting www.SimpliFed.com.

ABOUT SIMPLIFED

SimpliFed provides judgment-free, virtual breastfeeding and baby feeding support to parents on their baby feeding journeys. Parents connect with its network of baby feeding experts from the comfort and safety of home via SimpliFeds secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform. SimpliFeds mission is to create a new model for optimal feeding by building trusted relationships with parents, partnering with healthcare payers and providers, and shifting policy, practice, and narratives to drive health and economic equity, starting with babys first foods. More information can be found at: https://www.simplifed.com/.

Attachments
Russia warns new U.S. ambassador of consequences of confrontational policy

Xinhua) 10:38, January 31, 2023

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (L) shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy in Moscow on Jan. 30, 2023. (Russian Foreign Ministry photo)

Sworn in on Jan. 9, Tracy is the first woman to occupy the post of U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

MOSCOW, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday met with new U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who presented copies of her credentials.

During the conversation with Tracy on the sharply worsened Russia-U.S. relations, Ryabkov pointed out the counterproductiveness of Washington's confrontational policy, which is "fraught with serious negative consequences," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian side hopes that the U.S. envoy will strictly abide by Russian laws, observe norms and customs, adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the host country.

Sworn in on Jan. 9, Tracy is the first woman to occupy the post of U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

"Ambassador Tracy begins her tenure in Moscow focused on maintaining dialogue between our capitals at a time of unprecedented tension," the U.S. embassy said in a press release on Monday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)




President Yoon Suk Yeol met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday in Seoul and discussed ways to beef up security ties and extended deterrence against North Korea, the presidential office said.







Austin arrived in Seoul the previous day on a regional swing that will also take him to the Philippines. Earlier Tuesday, he held talks with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup.







During the meeting at the presidential office, Yoon called for U.S. commitment of an "effective and strong" extended deterrence to cope with North Korea's growing nuclear threats.







"We ask for consultations between South Korea and the United States to come up with an effective and strong extended deterrence system that can dispel South Korean people's concern about North Korea's evolving nuclear threats," Yoon was quoted as saying by presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.







Yoon also emphasized the need for effective Seoul-Washington joint drills, in light of the changing environment, for defense of the peninsula. (Yonhap)


Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Today's U.S. Electric Power Industry, Renewable Energy, ISO Markets, and Power Transactions" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.





If you want to truly understandthe U.S. electric power industry, this course is for you.

This in-depth program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry; the many industry topics listed below; and how PPAs and other power transactions are done.

Each part of this complex industry will be explained piece-by-piece, and then the pieces will be integrated so that you will leave the seminar with an understanding of "how it all fits together."

What You Will Learn

The structure and function of the electric service system, its terminology and units, and the properties of electricity.

How the North American power grid is structured and how it operates; how the major sources of electric generation work ( coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewables ) and the issues they face; how control areas, spinning reserves, AGC and economic dispatch works.

Who the key players in the industry are, and why the industry is so difficult to restructure.

The differences between cost-of-service regulation, open access markets, ISOs, transcos, ITCs, RTOs, and ICTs.

What the "smart grid" is, a summary of the different business models being tested, a discussion of the key issues and and how the smart grid is likely to develop.

The major issues facing wind energy, solar and other renewables and how these generation sources relate to the proposed buildout of the backbone power grid.

How ISO Day-Ahead auction markets operate, or will operate, in PJM, New York, Texas, California and other markets; what locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why it is important; how LMP is applied in the ISO markets, and why FTRs, TCCs, CRRs, TLRs, RPM and forward capacity markets are important concepts to understand. (The seminars presented at the Houston and California locations will discuss the Texas and California/Western Power markets respectively. Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. seminars will focus on PJM, MISO and the New York ISO.)

The structure and characteristics of the bilateral spot and forward wholesale power markets.

The terminology, concepts and mechanics of bulk power trading, and the difference between physical, scheduled and contract path power flows.

Why open access retail electricity markets may finally now develop.

The basics of executing a wholesale power transaction - including common contract language and what NERC tags are.

What "sellers choice is", and how forward "daisy chains" form at virtual trading hubs.

How to financially trade physical power with financial bookouts.

An overview of the three different types of forward electricity markets: physical, over-the-counter financial and NYMEX futures.

The basics of the NYMEX electricity futures contract, and how it can be used to hedge electricity price risk

An introduction to electricity swaps and Cfds and how these relate to ISO financial transmission rights.

The definition of heat rates, spark spreads, dark spreads and heat-rate-linked power transactions.





Who Should Attend:





Among those who will benefit from this seminar include energy and electric power executives; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators; engineers; and corporate planners. Types of companies that typically attend this program include energy producers and marketers; utilities; banks & financial houses; industrial companies; accounting, consulting & law firms; municipal utilities; government regulators and electric generators.





Key Topics Covered:





The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc

An overview of the electric service system, and how it works

The pros and cons of different sources of electric generation ( coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewables ), and how they work.

The structure and function of the North American power grid.

Who the various industry participants are and their roles.

Why restructuring today's power markets is such a complicated task.

How control areas function, what spinning reserves are, and how the lights are kept on.

A summary of FERC Orders 888, 889, & 2000

The difference between ISOs, ITCs, Transcos and RTOs.

What TLRs, ATC, OASIS, pancaking rates, shrinkage, economic dispatch and other terms mean.

What locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) is and why it's used

What the "smart grid" is, a summary of the different business models being tested, a discussion of the key issues and and how the smart grid is likely to develop.

The major issues facing wind energy, solar and other renwables and how these generation sources relate to the proposed buildout of the backbone power grid.

The difference between auction and bilateral bulk power markets and the pros & cons of each

The fundamentals of the PJM, MISO, ERCOT or California wholesale market (Depending on seminar location) and the role of LMP

How the PJM/MISO/ERCOT/California two-settlement energy and Day-Ahead markets operate, or will operate.

The meaning of the terms "RPM" and "Forward Capacity Markets " and why this issue is important.

A summary of the key issues of today and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the smart grid, renewable energy and the building of new transmission lines..

The pros & cons of PJM's RPM generation capacity planning proposal versus MISO's energy-only market-based approach.

What PJM FTRs are; their equivalent names in other ISOs, and how and why these financial instruments are used.

An overview of the similarities and differences between the PJM, New York, New England, MISO, ERCOT and/or California markets. (Depending on seminar location)

The fundamentals of bilateral bulk power trading units and terminology.

The three different types of wholesale forward power markets.

Common contract language used for bilateral power transactions.

What OASIS & NERC tags are.

How power marketers and traders use "sellers choice" to buy and sell forward power at "virtual hubs" across North America.





Speakers:



John Adamiak

President

PGS Energy Training



John Adamiak is President and Founder of PGS Energy Training and an expert in energy derivatives and electric power markets. Mr. Adamiak is a well-known and highly effective seminar presenter who has over 20 years experience in the natural gas and electric power industries. His background includes 15 years as a seminar instructor, 9 years of energy transaction experience, and 6 years of strategic planning and venture capital activities. John's academic background includes an M.B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.







For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1uvudp

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Selbyville, Delaware, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The biopsy devices market value is poised to cross USD 4.5 billion by 2032, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights Inc.

Lifestyle changes and the growing prevalence of cancer are among the key factors bolstering the adoption of biopsy equipment and supplies for early disease diagnosis. Based on the International Association of Research on Cancers report, lung cancer accounts for nearly 11.4% of all cancer diagnoses across the globe. Since early detection can help improve lung cancer recovery rates, the use of biopsy devices will surge. Other risk factors including exposure to harmful chemicals and pollutants will contribute to the cancer burden and in consequence, stimulate product demand.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/731







Biopsy procedure requires high technical expertise in equipment handling and interpreting results. The lack of skilled healthcare professionals may hinder industry growth to a certain extent, considering the complexity of the procedure. For instance, in Europe, the shortage of healthcare professionals is likely to reach nearly 4.1 million in 2030. Concerns regarding accurate diagnosis from inadequately trained healthcare providers have also increased, thereby asserting a negative impact on biopsy medical device market progress.

High operational speed and other unique properties fuel needle biopsy equipment adoption

Biopsy devices market from the biopsy needles product segment to depict over 4.5% CAGR by 2032. Compared to surgical biopsy, the needle biopsy procedure is less intrusive, less expensive, and is associated with rapid operational speed. This product is also effective in the treatment of patients with benign lesions through surgery. Needle biopsy, however, carries a risk of infection and bleeding at the insertion site, which may create roadblocks to its development to some extent.

Browse key industry insights spread across 189 pages with 219 market data tables & 11 figures & charts from the report, Biopsy Devices Market Size By Product (Biopsy Guidance Systems [Manual, Robotic], Needle Based Biopsy Guns [Vacuum-Assisted, Fine Needle, Core Needle] Biopsy Devices [Disposable, Reusable], Biopsy Forceps [General Biopsy, Hot Biopsy]), By End-use (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers), Regional Outlook, Industry Analysis Report, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2023  2032 in detail along with the table of contents:

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/biopsy-devices-market



Availability of advanced devices and reimbursement policies spur biopsy device demand in hospitals

The hospitals segment held over 68% of the biopsy devices market share in 2022, as a result of the extensive availability of innovative healthcare devices and reimbursement policies. According to the coding and reimbursement guide from Hologic, in 2021, the National Average Medicare rate for breast biopsy procedures with breast localization device placement accounted for around USD 1,400 in hospitals. These factors will boost the number of surgical operations conducted in hospitals and in turn, augment the use of biopsy medical equipment.

Europe to emerge as a lucrative revenue hub for biopsy device manufacturers

Europe biopsy devices market to exceed USD 950 million by 2032, due to the growing burden of cancer. European countries with the highest rate of this disease incidence include Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Furthermore, the increasing elderly population susceptible to chronic disease will encourage regional healthcare professionals to use biopsy devices for cancer diagnosis, fostering regional market development.

Secure a copy of the premium research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/securecheckout/paymenta/731?gmpaycod=sugmp



Product range expansion initiatives to strengthen the global industry outlook

Some of the key players profiled in the report include Boston Scientific Corporation, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Hologic Inc., Inc, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Cook Group Incorporated, Devicor Medical Products, Inc. (Danaher Corporation), and INRAD Inc, among others.

Browse Our Reports Store - GMIPulse @ https://www.gminsights.com/gmipulse

About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.
Ottawa, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Precedence Research, the global palm oil market size was estimated at USD 67.91 billion in 2022. Palm oil is a form of nutritious vegetable oil obtained from palm oil plantations. It is the oldest continually oil crop plantation, with a yield of 5-10 times that of other major vegetable oil sources per hectare. It contains a variety of essential nutrients, cholesterol-free, easily digestible, and high in phytonutrients and Vitamin A. It has a longer shelf life and costs less than other vegetable oils on the market.



Palm oil is used in a wide range of industries, including food and beverages, skincare, healthcare, biofuel and energy, and others. Palm oils are used by food makers because they are simpler to stabilize and maintain flavor and consistency in processed meals.

Ask here for sample pages of report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/2578

Palm oil can be utilized as a crude oil as well as refined oil. Palm oil has a bright orange color in its crude form because it is produced from the orange pulp of the fruit of the oil palm tree. Only around a fourth of the world's palm oil and palm kernel oil are used as crude oil. Under normal temperatures, crude palm oil is frequently used in household cooking in Southeast Asia, Africa, and parts of Brazil as a liquid oil.

Key Insights:

Asia-Pacific market has generated 72% revenue share in 2022.

Based on nature, the conventional segment has held revenue share of over 98% in 2022.

Based on product type, the fractionated palm oil segment has held 40% revenue share in 2022.

Based on end user, food and beverages segment has captured 66% revenue share in 2022.

Regional snapshots

The biggest market share was held by the Asia-Pacific in the palm oil market during the forecast period. The market for palm oil in Asia-Pacific is predicted to rise rapidly because of the rising demand for food and beverages by individuals and the increasing sale of packaged foods.

Additionally, the innovation and R&D carried out for the production of a clean and organic product with the presence of significant palm oil companies in the region will create new growth potential. The popularity of palm oil will increase across Asia-Pacific due to an increase in the availability of the product at an economical price and a rise in awareness of the health benefit among parents, which is increasing sales and fueling the market growth.

Report Highlights

On the basis of nature , palm oil is segmented into organic and conventional. In 2022, the conventional segment had the biggest revenue share of the market. This is owing to the low cost and widespread availability of traditional palm oil on the market. Since synthetic pesticides increase yield, conventional oil palm farms are a significant source of cash for small and medium-sized farmers. Conventional palm oil is more widespread in low-income nations with a big populace.

, palm oil is segmented into organic and conventional. In 2022, the conventional segment had the biggest revenue share of the market. This is owing to the low cost and widespread availability of traditional palm oil on the market. Since synthetic pesticides increase yield, conventional oil palm farms are a significant source of cash for small and medium-sized farmers. Conventional palm oil is more widespread in low-income nations with a big populace. On the basis of product type , palm oil is segmented into CPO, RBD palm oil, palm kernel oil, and fractionated palm oil. In 2022, the fractionated palm oil category grabbed the largest revenue share of the market. This is because the product is easily accessible at a reasonable price. It is especially popular in low-income countries since it is readily accessible and affordably priced. The product's component nature permits it to be more cost-effective to create in large quantities.

, palm oil is segmented into CPO, RBD palm oil, palm kernel oil, and fractionated palm oil. In 2022, the fractionated palm oil category grabbed the largest revenue share of the market. This is because the product is easily accessible at a reasonable price. It is especially popular in low-income countries since it is readily accessible and affordably priced. The product's component nature permits it to be more cost-effective to create in large quantities. On the basis of end user, it is divided into food & beverages, personal care & cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, biofuel & energy, and others. Food and beverages will have the greatest revenue share in the industry in 2022. Its substantial share is attributed to the growing use of palm oil as a raw component for manufacturing different types of food and beverages. The rise in the worldwide population and growing sales of packaged and processed foods have also affected global product growth improving market growth in global territories.





Recent developments

In June 2021, Cargill, Incorporated, a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware announced to development of a new palm oil refinery in Lampung Indonesia.





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Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2032 USD 106.3 Billion CAGR 4.58% from 2023 to 2032 Asia Pacific Revenue Share 72% Food & Beverages Segment Share 66% Conventional Segment Share 98% Key Players Archer Daniels Midland, Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, IOI Corporation Berhad, Wilmar International Ltd., United Plantations Berhad, Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad, IJM Corporation Berhad, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, Tbk, Univanich Palm Oil Public Company Ltd., PT. Bakrie Sumatera Plantations tbk, PT Sampoerna Agro, Agropalma S.A., Boustead Holdings Berhad, Fuji Vegetable Oil, Inc., Asian Agri, New Britain Palm Oil Limited and Others





Market Dynamics

Drivers

In the modern era, countries are developing, and consumers are adapting to their hectic and busy schedules. The adaptation of the schedules is changing the eating habits of consumers. The shift from homemade foods to the foods offered in bakeries and confectionery is increasing. A change in lifestyle, changing eating habits, and a rise in disposable income are encouraging consumers to opt for ready-made meals from bakeries, confectionery, and fast-food joints. Increasing sales and reducing preparation time are pushing bakeries to employ palm oil in food preparation.

On the other hand, consumers have realized the benefits offered by the use of palm oil in preparing food products. The realization in consumers is encouraging them to opt and use palm oil in their homes for preparing their favorite delicacy.

Restraints

Functional meals and beverages with functional nutrients complement many health advantages as well as the essential nutritional content of the product. Amino acids, vitamins, minerals, protein, fatty acids, and prebiotics are included in these nutrients. Due to the growing awareness of the area of consumer health, functional products have become more and more important in recent years. Increasing product development and innovation activities are attracting consumers to opt for functional foods and beverages. In recent years consumers have shifted from bakeries and confectionery to functional meals and drinks, affecting demand and sales of palm oil. The sales drop is preventing the palm oil market's expansion.

Opportunities

The introduction of clean label packaging of palm oil products is expected to entice the consumers interest and encourage them to go for palm oil products.

Challenges

The challenge in maintaining sustainability is expected as a major challenge for the palm oil market. The palm plantation requires fire to clean the plantation and also needs deforestation to clear the plantation, which have created a challenging situation for the palm oil market. Also, the negative effect on health after COVID-19 has reduced the demand for the palm oil market.

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Market Segmentation

By Nature

Organic

Conventional

By Product Type

CPO

RBD Palm Oil

Palm Kernel Oil

Fractionated Palm Oil

By End User

Food & Beverages

Personal Care & Cosmetics

Pharmaceuticals

Biofuel & Energy

Others





By Geography

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

The Middle East and Africa





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CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canacol Energy Ltd. ("Canacol" or the "Corporation") (TSX:CNE) (OTCQX:CNNEF) (BVC:CNEC) is pleased to announce that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has accepted the Corporations notice to conduct a normal course issuer bid (NCIB) in accordance with the rules of the TSX. 



As approved by the TSX, the Corporation is authorized to purchase up to 1,971,950 common shares, representing approximately 10% of the public float of Canacol, being 19,719,500 common shares as of January 19, 2023. As of January 19, 2023, there were 34,111,487 common shares outstanding. The maximum number of common shares that Canacol may purchase on any given day is 13,095 common shares, which is 25% of the Corporations average daily trading volume on the TSX for the six months ended December 30, 2022 of 52,383 common shares (on a post-Consolidation (as defined below) basis). Canacol may also make one weekly block repurchase which exceeds the daily limit subject to prescribed rules. The Corporation has appointed Eight Capital as its broker to conduct the NCIB transactions.

The Corporation is authorized to make purchases during the period from February 2, 2023 to February 1, 2024, or until such earlier time as the NCIB is completed or terminated at the option of the Corporation. Any common shares the Corporation purchases under the NCIB will be purchased on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and/or alternative trading systems in Canada, at the prevailing market price at the time of the transaction. All common shares acquired under the NCIB will be cancelled. The funds to purchase the common shares will be provided by working capital of the Corporation.

The Corporation's previous NCIB expired on December 23, 2022 and the Corporation completed a consolidation of its common shares on the basis of five (5) existing pre-consolidation shares for every one (1) post-consolidation share (the "Consolidation") on January 17, 2023. Under the previous NCIB, the Corporation obtained the approval of the TSX to purchase up to 10,513,661 pre-Consolidation common shares, which represented 10% of the Corporation's public float at the time of approval. The Corporation purchased on the open market and cancelled an aggregate total of 5,609,332 pre-Consolidation common shares at a weighted average price of $3.10 per pre-Consolidation common share under the previous NCIB.

Canacol has also entered into an automatic share purchase plan (ASPP) with its designated broker. The ASPP is intended to allow for the purchase of common shares under the NCIB at times when the Corporation may not ordinarily be permitted to purchase common shares due to regulatory restrictions and customary self-imposed blackout periods.

Pursuant to the ASPP, the designated broker may purchase common shares until the expiry of the NCIB on February 1, 2024. Such purchases will be determined by the broker at its sole discretion based on the purchasing parameters set out by the Corporation in accordance with the rules of the TSX, applicable securities laws and the terms of the ASPP. The ASPP has been pre-cleared by the TSX and will be effective on the date of the NCIB. The ASPP will terminate on the earlier of the date on which: (i) the NCIB expires; (ii) the maximum number of common shares have been purchased under the ASPP; and (iii) the Corporation terminates the ASPP in accordance with its terms.

Outside of the ASPP, common shares may continue to be purchased under the NCIB based on managements discretion, in compliance with the rules of the TSX and applicable securities laws. All purchases made under the ASPP will be included in the number of common shares available for purchase under the NCIB.

The Corporation believes that from time to time the market price of its common shares may not reflect their underlying value and that, at such times, the purchase of common shares for cancellation will increase the proportionate interest of, and be advantageous to, all remaining shareholders. In addition, the purchases by Canacol under the NCIB may increase liquidity to shareholders wishing to sell their common shares.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell securities, nor is it a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, in any jurisdiction. All sales will be made through registered securities dealers in jurisdictions where the offering has been qualified for distribution. The securities offered are not, and will not be, registered under the securities laws of the United States of America, nor any state thereof and may not be sold in the United States of America absent registration in the United States or the availability of an exemption from such registration.

About Canacol

Canacol is a natural gas exploration and production company with operations focused in Colombia. The Corporation's common stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the OTCQX in the United States of America, and the Colombia Stock Exchange under ticker symbol CNE, CNNEF, and CNE.C, respectively.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "target", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, including without limitation statements relating to the expected effective date of the Consolidation. 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 and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Corporation assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law.
CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BetterWork Media Group (BMG), a media company dedicated to connecting, supporting and empowering workforce communities of C-suite and senior-level practitioners, executives, scholars, consultants and solutions providers in corporate learning and talent management, announced recently the launch of its first membership program, now available via its two leading brands, Chief Learning Officer and Talent Management.

Members gain access to a slew of exclusive offerings, including the member-exclusive biannual print magazine (returning June of 2023), special pricing, discounts, and early access to event details and registrations, award applications and proprietary content.

"The launch of this membership program signals the beginning of many new and exciting initiatives BMG has planned for this year and those to come," said Lauren Lynch-Wilbur, co-founder and co-chief executive officer for BetterWork Media Group. "My colleagues and I are so thrilled to be able to provide learning and talent executives with even more tools for enhancing their professional development experience, while simultaneously delivering on one of our biggest goals to date."

More member-exclusive offerings are expected to be announced later this year. Learn more about BMG's membership packages.

BMG celebrates its second business anniversary with the launch of this program.

###

About BetterWork Media Group

BetterWork Media Group manages Chief Learning Officer and Talent Management, serving workforce communities of C-suite and senior-level practitioners, executives, scholars, consultants and solution providers in corporate learning and talent management. BetterWork Media Group provides a unique platform to connect, support and empower workplace communities via award-winning content, research, events, webinars and digital media. BMG's founders have more than 70 years of collective experience in the media industry.

About Chief Learning Officer

Chief Learning Officer is dedicated to serving as a platform and vehicle for C-suite and senior-level learning and development professionals to connect and advance in the profession and their personal careers. We are by CLOs, for CLOs.

About Talent Management

Talent Management is dedicated to providing in-depth information and programming for senior-level talent and HR professionals who champion organizational culture and drive the design, development and execution of talent management programs.

Contact Information:

Taylar Ramsey-Thompson

Contract Marketing & Events

taylar@taylarthompsonevents.com



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Image 1: BMG Membership





BMG Membership









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LONDON and EDINBURGH, Scotland and NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brand Advance SSP , the leading diversity media ad tech platform, today announced a global partnership with purpose-led ad platform Good-Loop that enables advertisers to measure the carbon footprint of their digital campaigns.



The partnership will see Good-Loops proprietary green media technology utilised across Brand Advance SSP campaigns, allowing brands and agencies to reach diverse audiences all around the world using climate-friendly advertising.

Using Good-Loops Green Ad Tag, Brand Advance SSP customers will be able to monitor in real time the carbon emissions generated by their online ad campaigns, helping them to reduce the environmental impact of their digital advertising.

Advertising adds 32% to an individuals carbon footprint, according to a recent study by Purpose Disruptors , with the electricity required to power the digital ad ecosystem a major contributor to Adlands substantial carbon footprint. The average online ad campaign emits 5.4 tonnes of carbon (source: Good-Loop)  almost half what an average UK consumer and a third of what a US consumer produces in a year.

Christopher Kenna, CEO North America and founder of Brand Advance Group, said: Sometimes in life you need to put your money where your mouth is if you're going to leave a better world for your own children. At Brand Advance Group, we pride ourselves on the global audiences we offer to our clients, but can now add our focus on getting as close to Net Zero as possible. Our clients can view all the results within the Community Impact Index on our proprietary Cultural Intelligence platform, where they can monitor all their campaigns' carbon footprints and action taken to offset them.

It's no surprise the very communities Brand Advance Group help clients reach are disproportionately affected by climate change and therefore it's very much in all our interest to ensure we combat this in every way possible. Were proud to partner with Good-Loop, and alongside being members of the Conscious Ad NetWork (CAN), are keen to do everything we possibly can to decarbonise digital advertising.

Good-Loop CEO and founder Amy Williams said: Good-Loop and Brand Advance Group were already united by a shared vision to build a better, more equal, more positive and more responsible advertising industry.

The reality is, we cannot build a truly inclusive ad industry without also addressing our environmental responsibility and no single organisation can hope to turn the tide alone. But together, with this new partnership in place, our shared vision has become a shared endeavour and our two organisations present a pretty unstoppable force for change.

Good-Loop, a Certified B Corporation, is on a mission to develop solutions that move the industry towards positive, climate-friendly advertising.

The companys green media technology can be appended to any digital campaign and helps advertisers track and reduce the end-to-end carbon emissions generated by their digital ads. It detects data transmission in real-time, allowing for variations in territory, device, bandwidth usage and time of day.

Brand Advance SSPs unique set of solutions help brands to engage digitally (desktop, tablet, mobile,CTV, OOH and in-app) across all tiers of diversity-focussed publishers and minority owned and operated platforms around the world.

To find out more about Brand Advance Group, visit https://wearebrandadvance.com/

To learn more about Good-Loop, visit https://good-loop.com

Media Contacts

David Waterhouse

Global Communications Director, Good-Loop

Email: david@good-loop.com

Dean Evans

Brand Advance Group

Email: dean.evans @brandadvance.co.uk

For Quote or Interview

Christopher Kenna (CEO North America) - christopher.kenna@badiversitymedia.com

Deborah Gbadamosi (CEO EMEA) - deborah.gbadamosi@brandadvance.co.uk

About Good-Loop

Good-Loop is a purpose-led advertising platform on a mission to make advertising better for consumers, brands and the planet. The B Corps-certified company builds turnkey products for advertisers to do good at scale. Good-Loops carbon-neutral advertising formats drive engagement by converting peoples attention into donations for good causes around the world. The companys proprietary Green Media Technology also enables advertisers to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of their digital advertising. The company, which has offices in London, Edinburgh and New York, is on a mission to make the connection between brands and consumers more meaningful by delivering respectful ads that bring real social and environmental impact, while also driving significant business and brand uplifts for advertisers. The company has raised more than $6M for charities such as Save the Children, WaterAid, Make-A-Wish, the NSPCC and WWF. Clients include LOreal, Nike, Unilever, Levis, Adidas, Volvo and Mondelez.

About Brand Advance Group

The Brand Advance Group is a global, multi-channel diversity media network. We help brands reach diverse audiences across the globe with authenticity. Authenticity is key, which is why our teams represent the audiences we aggregate through the network, across all channels. From strategy, to idea, to execution, our diversity network provides a springboard for our clients to reach, engage and commercialise many community audiences. All the while, putting money back into these communities through the publisher initiatives we work closely with.
WAUKEE, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Advisor Solutions (Myriad), a long-established, full-service business advisory firm, today announced that Chief Operating Officer, Danielle White (White) has as of Jan. 1, 2023, been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. White takes the helm at a very exciting time as Myriad heads toward its fifteenth anniversary and will, in the coming year, be breaking ground in the Des Moines suburban area to accommodate the company's new office building and staff expansion.

"This growth would not be possible without the continued enthusiastic response of our clients, and they remain our top priority," White said. "Leigh White and the Myriad team have built an impressive reputation over the last 13 years, and I am tremendously excited to build on that. I anticipate explosive growth for our firm as we deepen bench-strength and expand our operational support and business solutions well into the future. All of this is being done in order to provide our clients with the exceptional care and attention they have come to expect and value. We are a white-glove firm and our clients deserve our very best."

IOWA ROOTS, NATIONAL FOCUS

Myriad is an Iowa-based firm, founded in 2009. Leigh White (Mrs. White) has served as its CEO and President for the past 13 years. She will remain a vital part of the firm, transitioning into Chief Technology Officer and Chairman. Daughter Danielle White has been with the firm since inception. As COO, she has used her experience in the financial services industry and business arena to lead a team of approximately 60 as they seek to provide a broad array of all-encompassing, premier solutions for small business owners who, like Myriad, are always seeking to become more efficient, effective, and profitable. She will now assume CEO-level responsibilities as a part of a multi-year leadership succession plan.

"This growth would not be possible without the continued enthusiastic response of our clients, and they remain our top priority."

Danielle White, CEO

Myriad Advisor Solutions



Myriad is dedicated to educating and empowering small business owners across the nation, helping them to achieve their goals by alleviating the operational demands and challenges that new and growing businesses invariably face. While the company's focus has been primarily focused on supporting breakaway brokers as they move toward independence and independent financial advisors as they seek to scale and grow, Myriad also works with a short list of other types of businesses on an individual needs-and-interests basis.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

In addition to her responsibilities at Myriad, White is a proud member of The Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants, a think tank designed to share best practices for businesses, in order to continually enhance the client experience. She is also heavily involved with Entrepreneur's Organization (EO Iowa Chapter). Through these and other outlets, she is able to hone and provide a wide breadth of knowledge in business operations: everything from technology and marketing to human resources and telecommunications, all in an effort to help small business owners and breakaway financial advisors succeed in uncertain markets and an ever-changing business landscape.

"I am extremely proud - both as a mother and a business mentor - to see Danielle's skill and abilities blossom in such a profound and beautiful way," said Mrs. White. "During the last few years, I had several family members pass away and as a result, I had to step back from my work responsibilities to a degree. Every business owner hopes that their company has the leadership to weather any storm. Danielle stepped in and led this firm without missing a beat. She did everything and more than anyone could have asked for during this time. That is why I know she is more than ready to lead our company forward. I am transitioning into a more focused role in order to steer our technology solutions and product development into the future. This shift will allow me to leverage my background and passion for business."

ABOUT MYRIAD ADVISOR SOLUTIONS

Established in 2009, this full-service business advisory and solutions firm has been dedicated to its mission of empowering small business owners to achieve their goals by alleviating the operational demands and challenges which growing businesses invariably face. While its focus has primarily been helping breakaway brokers go independent and independent financial advisors reach new levels of success, Myriad Advisor Solutions (Myriad) also works with other types of privately-held businesses on an individual needs-and-interests basis, providing these developing companies with all-encompassing business solutions, operational guidance, and technical support. The company has assisted in launching over 9,500 successful businesses with more than 3,200 locations established nationwide. As a part of that work, Myriad has configured and managed over 5,000 technology networks. It is the umbrella company for two subsidiary firms: Continuum (which deals with human resources, benefits, payroll, insurance, etc.) and Communications Experts (which specializes in providing services related to the telecommunications industry). CEO Danielle White has been employed by the company since its inception. Leigh White, who served as CEO and President, now works on product development and remains on the leadership team. To learn more, please visit MyriadAS.com.

Media Contact:

Grace Vogelzang

Impact Communications, Inc.

913-649-5009

GraceVogelzang@ImpactCommunications.org

Contact Information:

Grace Vogelzang

Impact Communications, Inc.

gracevogelzang@impactcommunications.org

(913) 649-5009



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Image 1: Myriad Advisor Solutions Announces New CEO





COO Danielle White takes the helm as part of multi-year leadership succession plan









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TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SYSPRO, a leading supplier of ERP software for manufacturers and distributors, today announced that Phoenix Systems has been awarded SYSPRO Canada's Partner of the Year for 2022. SYSPRO recognizes top-performing partners for their outstanding contribution to new account acquisition, customer satisfaction and revenue generation through this annual award.



Phoenix Systems is a leading ERP software reseller headquartered in Canada and has been a SYSPRO partner for over three decades.

"We are pleased to announce Phoenix Systems as our Partner of the Year for 2022," said Dexter Ang, VP Sales, SYSPRO Canada. "Over the years, their expertise, professionalism, and dedication to customer service have consistently allowed them to deliver exceptional value to SYSPRO customers. We look forward to continuing to work with Phoenix Systems and seeing the success of our mutual customers."

"We are incredibly honoured to receive this honour from SYSPRO Canada," said Daniel OToole, President of Phoenix Systems. "Winning this award is a true reflection of the hard work and dedication of our team. It is a recognition of our commitment to delivering the best possible service and support to our SYSPRO customers, and we are grateful for this acknowledgement of our efforts."

With SYSPRO ERP, Phoenix Systems has played a vital role in digitalizing operations of various Canadian manufacturers and distributors who were using legacy and other ERP systems, modernizing their operations and enabling them to be more agile in the face of changing conditions. Phoenix Systems had a very successful year and exceeded their annual growth targets.

About Phoenix Systems

Phoenix Systems is a privately owned ERP software service and solution provider headquartered in Canada. As a North American owned and operated company with a history of long-standing relationships, they are a recognized leader in service. With over 40 years of ERP related experience, they have a proven track record of delivering effective and affordable business-critical solutions as a certified value-added solution provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, WMS, CRM, Electronic Document Publication, Barcoding/Data Collection, Quality Management, Business Intelligence, E-Commerce, Unified Communications (UC), and Cloud solutions.

They offer a range of value-added managed IT services for companies with diverse technology needs, in addition to their core offerings of extendible ERP software packages that consolidate accounting, manufacturing, and distribution processes for various industries.

For more details, please visit pho-sys.com

About SYSPRO

SYSPRO is a leading, global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provider specializing in key manufacturing and distribution industries. For over 40 years, SYSPROs team of specialists have continued to address unique industry needs and enable customers to easily adapt and grow. The solution is scalable and can be deployed in the cloud, on-premise, or both, and accessed via the web on any device to provide customers with choice and flexibility.

SYSPRO remains focused on the success of partners and customers. Our evolving solutions are aligned with industry trends to leverage emerging technology that will enable partners and customers in securing a digital future.

With more than 15,000 licensed companies in over 60 countries across six continents  SYSPRO offers guidance and support every step of the way as a trusted advisor.

For more information, please visit syspro.com




Charlotte, North Carolina, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), the eighth largest accounting firm in the United States, announced it is again officially Great Place to Work-Certified. The certification became active January 2023, following a CLA employee survey and an in-depth culture submission.

CLA also was named a Great Place to Work in 2022.

At CLA, we believe our culture is a competitive advantage, said Jen Leary, CLA CEO. Our culture is a priority for all of us and weve taken huge steps forward to pour into our CLA family through active listening, celebrations, creating meaningful connections with each other and in our communities, and building out an ever-expansive wellness portfolio to advance our physical, financial, social, and emotional well-being. We are honored to see how these efforts were recognized in our employees naming CLA a great place to work.

CLAs 2023 score is 87%, which is 30 points higher than the average of other U.S. companies, according to Great Place to Work.

In 2022, we saw our CLA family grow by a record-breaking 11%. This growth reflects rising engagement levels of our CLA family, our steady rise in retention, and the growing way more people in this industry view CLA as a destination for their inspired career, said Cathy Clarke, CLA chief culture officer. CLAs workforce is resilient because our people embrace their individual interests and grow through new experiences.

In 2022, CLA moved up its primary compensation and advancement season by four months. The firm also increased the number of employee listening sessions and several wellness benefits, including new and/or increased benefits for mental health, expanded family forming benefits, greater support for working families that have parental and/or elder-care accountabilities, and even expanding the stipend available for people to make individualized wellness choices.

CLAs 2023 survey results show positive progress. Compared to the 2022 survey, every measurement area showed growth.

A Great Place to Work Certification demonstrates to the market that you are an employer of choice while also helping you continuously build your culture by using reporting, analysis, and next steps.

Visit CLAconnect.com/careers to explore CLAs family culture, wellness, and inspired career approach, or to find career opportunities.

About CLA

CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. With more than 8,500 people, nearly 130 U.S. locations, and a global vision, we promise to know you and help you. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) (Lithium Americas or the Company) today announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement (Purchase Agreement) with General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) (GM) pursuant to which GM will make a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas (the Transaction). In connection with the Transaction, the Company has provided an update on the construction plan for the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada (Thacker Pass or the Project), including the release of an independent National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) feasibility study (Feasibility Study).

Further details on the Transaction are reported in a joint release issued today by the Company and GM. All figures presented are in U.S. Dollars.

TRANSACTION HIGHLIGHTS:

The largest-ever investment by an automaker to produce battery raw materials, with GM to become Lithium Americas largest shareholder.

Lithium Americas to receive $650 million equity investment from GM consisting of: $320 million first tranche investment for common shares representing 9.999% of Lithium Americas before separation; and $330 million second tranche investment, contemplated to be invested in the Companys U.S. business following the separation of its U.S. and Argentine businesses (the  Separation ).

After the first tranche investment, GM will receive exclusive access to Phase 1 production through a binding supply agreement and a Right of First Offer ( ROFO ) on Phase 2 production.

) on Phase 2 production. Investment supports the development of Thacker Pass, the largest known lithium resource in the U.S. Project estimated to supply lithium needed for up to one million electric vehicles ( EVs ) per year.

Investment also supports the Companys previously announced Separation by creating the foundation for an independent U.S. business focused on Thacker Pass and a North American lithium supply chain (Lithium Americas (NewCo)).

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:

Advancing Thacker Pass construction plan targeting 80,000 tonnes per annum ( tpa ) of battery-quality lithium carbonate ( Li 2 CO 3 ) production capacity in two phases of 40,000 tpa, respectively ( Phase 1  and  Phase 2 ). Phase 1 production expected to commence in the second half of 2026.

) of battery-quality lithium carbonate ( ) production capacity in two phases of 40,000 tpa, respectively (  and  ). Project life of 40 years ( LOM ) utilizing less than 25% of the current measured and indicated ( M&I ) mineral resource estimate. Proven and probable mineral reserves of 3.7 million tonnes ( Mt ) lithium carbonate equivalent ( LCE ) at an average grade of 3,160 parts per million lithium ( ppm Li ). M&I mineral resource estimate of 16.1 Mt LCE at an average grade of 2,070 ppm Li.

) utilizing less than 25% of the current measured and indicated ( ) mineral resource estimate. $5.7 billion net present value ( NPV ) at 8% discount and 21.4% internal rate of return ( IRR ), after-tax when using a price assumption of $24,000 per tonne ( / t ) of Li 2 CO 3 .

) at 8% discount and 21.4% internal rate of return ( ), after-tax when using a price assumption of $24,000 per tonne ( ) of Li CO . Phase 1 and Phase 2 capital cost estimates of $2.27 billion and $1.73 billion, respectively, are based on cost estimates from Q3 2022 and include a 13.1% contingency.

Awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management ( EPCM ) contract for the construction of Thacker Pass to Bechtel Corporation.

) contract for the construction of Thacker Pass to Bechtel Corporation. Thacker Pass is expected to create 1,000 jobs during construction and 500 jobs during operations.



TRANSACTION DETAILS

STRATEGIC INVESTMENT

GM has agreed to make an aggregate investment of $650 million in two tranches. In tranche 1, GM will acquire 15.0 million common shares of Lithium Americas (each, a LAC Share) at a price of $21.34 per share (the Tranche 1 Subscription Price), for gross proceeds of $320 million (Tranche 1). The funds from Tranche 1 will be held in escrow until certain conditions are met, as discussed in the Transaction Terms section below. If those conditions are met, the funds will be released to the Company and GM will own a 9.999% equity interest in Lithium Americas. Lithium Americas anticipates that the escrow release will occur by mid-2023.

Following the Separation and the satisfaction of certain conditions, GM has agreed to subscribe for shares of Lithium Americas (NewCo) at the then market price on the date of subscription, subject to a cap of 130% of the Tranche 1 Subscription Price (adjusted for the Separation) in an amount equal to $330 million (Tranche 2).

Lithium Americas has agreed to use the proceeds from the Transaction for the development of Thacker Pass.

OFFTAKE & INVESTOR RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Lithium Americas has entered into an agreement to supply GM with lithium carbonate production from Phase 1 of Thacker Pass (the Offtake Agreement) in connection with the escrow release of the Tranche 1 investment. The price within the Offtake Agreement will be based on an agreed upon price formula linked to prevailing market prices. The term of the Offtake Agreement will be 10 years from the commencement of Phase 1 production, with the option for GM to extend by an additional five years. GM will also have a ROFO on the offtake of Thacker Pass Phase 2 production.

As part of the Transaction, Lithium Americas and GM will enter into an investor rights agreement (the Investor Rights Agreement). GM will be required to lock-up their securities until the later of (i) one year after the Separation, or (ii) the earlier of (i) six months after the closing of Tranche 2, or (ii) the date Tranche 2 is not completed in accordance with its terms, provided that the foregoing lock-up restriction will not apply if the Separation does not occur (such date being the Lock-up Outside Date). The Investor Rights Agreement also provides among other things, for GM to be entitled to the following:

If (i) following the closing of Tranche 1 and prior to the completion or termination of Tranche 2, GM owns any issued and outstanding LAC Shares, or (ii) following the completion or termination of Tranche 2, GM owns 10% or more of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares  the right to nominate an individual to serve on the Board of Directors of Lithium Americas;

If (i) following the closing of Tranche 1 and prior to the completion or termination of Tranche 2, GM owns any issued and outstanding LAC Shares, or (ii) following the completion or termination of Tranche 2, GM owns (i) 10% or more of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares or (ii) own 5% or more of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares and is a party to the Offtake Agreement (or a similar agreement with Lithium Americas) and does not have a nominee on the board of directors of Lithium Americas  the right to have a nonvoting observer attend all Lithium Americas board meetings; and

Until the later of: (i) the Lock-up Outside Date, and (ii) the date on which GM ceases to either (i) own 10% or more of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares, or (ii) owns 5% or more of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares and be a party to the Offtake Agreement (or a similar agreement with Lithium Americas)  the right to participate in any subsequent issuances of Lithium Americas securities to top-up its pro rata ownership of Lithium Americas.



In addition, GM will be subject to a standstill limitation whereby it will not be able to increase its holdings beyond 20% of the issued and outstanding LAC Shares until a period that is the earlier of (i) five years following the effective date of the Investor Rights Agreement, and (ii) one year following the date of the commencement of commercial production for Phase 1 (the Phase 1 Effective Date) as outlined in the Offtake Agreement.

U.S. DOE ATVM LOAN

As previously announced in April 2022, the Company submitted a formal application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the funding of Thacker Pass through the DOEs Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM) designed to provide loans for facilities located in the U.S. for the manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles and qualifying components used in those vehicles. Lithium Americas believes that the specific terms of this investment and Offtake Agreement both demonstrate the Companys commitment to supply lithium to U.S. domestic EV production in alignment with the principles of the ATVM and position the Company as a model candidate to receive the maximum potential benefit of the ATVM program. The proceeds from the DOEs ATVM loan are expected to contribute a significant portion of the initial capital costs for Thacker Pass Phase 1.

TRANSACTION TERMS

Tranche 1 of the transaction will be structured through the initial issuance of 15,002,243 subscription receipts to GM, whereby each subscription receipt will, upon satisfaction of escrow release conditions, convert into one common share and 79.26% of a Tranche 2 Alternative Exercise Warrant (Tranche 2 AEW), with a Tranche 2 AEW exercisable into a common share at a price of $27.74 for a term of 36 months. The conversion of the subscription receipts will result in the issuance of all shares issuable for the Tranche 1 Investment and, through the shares issuable upon exercise of the Tranche 2 AEW, the allocation of all shares issuable under the Tranche 2 subscription. The escrow release conditions for the subscription receipts include delivery of a ruling under the Thacker Pass Record of Decision (ROD) appeal that does not result in vacatur of the ROD, and conditions related to water rights transfer for Thacker Pass among other customary closing conditions. Upon satisfaction of the escrow release conditions and the issuance of the Tranche 1 shares, the parties will execute and deliver the Offtake Agreement and the Investor Rights Agreement.

The parties will implement Tranche 2 either through the exercise of the Tranche 2 AEW or a purchase of shares under a second tranche subscription agreement (which would result in the automatic termination of the Tranche 2 AEW) that provides for the purchase $329,852,134.38 of shares of the Company at prevailing market price, to a maximum of $$27.74 per share (adjusted for the separation, if applicable). To the extent that GM completes an investment under one subscription alternative (either the Tranche 2 subscription agreement or the Tranche 2 AEW), the Common Shares will cease to be issuable under the other agreement. In addition to other closing conditions, Tranche 2 will be subject to a condition that the Company secure sufficient funding to complete the development of Phase 1 of the Thacker Pass Project as set out in the Feasibility Study.

Completion of the Transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX and NYSE, and other customary closing conditions.

A copy of the Purchase Agreement, the Offtake Agreement and the Investor Rights Agreement will be available on the Companys page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.edgar.com.

ADVISORS AND COUNSEL

BMO Capital Markets served as financial advisor, and Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Dorsey & Whitney LLP and McCarthy Tetrault LLP served as legal counsel to Lithium Americas.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to GM. Mayer Brown LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP served as legal counsel to GM.

SEPARATION UPDATE

On November 3, 2022, the Company announced that it intended to advance a reorganization that will result in the separation of its U.S. and Argentine business units into two independent public companies. The Company continues to advance the execution plan for the Separation, targeting completion in Q3 2023.

For more details about the Separation, please refer to Lithium Americas press release on November 3, 2022.

PROJECT UPDATE

Thacker Pass Feasibility Study results reflect operational and process improvements, including increased extraction rates from an optimized mine plan through new ore control strategy, an increase in sulfuric acid utilization by targeting illite clay with greater potential for increasing lithium extraction per tonne of sulfuric acid and increased crystallization steps to further remove magnesium impurities.

Other process and design improvements were made to further minimize the Projects environmental impact, including, increased capacity to 80,000 tpa within approximately the same mining footprint as the permitted pit boundary and without increasing the size of the sulfuric acid plant, additional beneficiation and neutralization circuits to increase the neutrality of filter pressed tailings and implementing a tail gas scrubber utilizing a neutralization solution in the sulfuric acid plant to minimize emissions and reduce impacts to ambient air quality.

FEASIBILITY STUDY SUMMARY1

Scenarios Year 1-25 40 Years LOM Design production capacity 80,000 tpa Li 2 CO 3 (Phase 1 - 40,000 tpa) Mining method Continuous open-pit mining Processing method Sulfuric acid leaching Mineral reserves 3.7 Mt LCE at a grade of 3,160 ppm Li Period 25 years 40 years Lithium carbonate price2 $24,000 / t Li 2 CO 3 Initial capital costs  Phase 1 $2,268 million Initial capital costs  Phase 2 $1,728 million Sustaining capital costs $628 million $1,510 million Operating Costs (average) $6,743 / t $7,198 / t Average Annual EBITDA (per year) $1,176 million $1,094 million After-tax NPV @ 8% Discount Rate $4,950 million $5,727 million After-tax IRR 21.2 % 21.4 %

CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE

Phase 1 will consist of a single sulfuric acid plant with a nominal production rate of 3,000 tonnes per day (tpd) sulfuric acid. Phase 2 construction will begin upon completion of Phase 1, with the addition of a second sulfuric acid plant with an additional nominal production rate of 3,000 tpd.

Total designed capacity of 80,000 tpa Li 2 CO 3 production upon completion of both Phase 1 and Phase 2. Actual production varies by year with anticipated average production of approximately 70,000 tpa Li 2 CO 3 in the first 25 years and approximately 67,000 tpa over LOM, including ramp up of Phase 1 and Phase 2.





The Company continues to prepare for construction while we await a ruling for the appeal of the issuance of the ROD following a hearing held by the US District Court, District of Nevada (Federal Court) on January 5, 2023. During the hearing, plaintiffs and the Company addressed final questions, the Federal Court reaffirmed no additional hearings or briefings are required and they expect to issue a decision in the next couple months.

CAPITAL COST ESTIMATE

The initial capital cost estimate covers early-works, mine development, mining, the process plant, the off-site transload facility, commissioning and all associated infrastructure.

The capital cost estimates include a 13.1% contingency. The Phase 2 estimate is derived from the Phase 1 estimate and the lower Phase 2 estimated capital costs are a result of mine development, infrastructure and transload facility synergies.

Initial Capital Costs ($ millions) Phase 1 Costs Phase 2 Costs Mine $ 58 $ 30 Process Plant and Infrastructure $ 1,963 $ 1,582 Offsite  Transload Facility $ 78 $ 31 Owner's Costs $ 169 $ 86 Total Initial Capital Costs $ 2,268 $ 1,729

In addition to the initial capital costs, $50 million in mining equipment cost will be repaid to the mining contractor over the first five years of production.

Sustaining capital costs include replacement costs for mining equipment, process plant equipment, and expansions of storage facilities and infrastructure.

OPERATING COST ESTIMATE

Operating costs in each area include labor, maintenance materials and supplies, raw materials, and outside services, among others. Reagents account for approximately 63% of LOM total operating costs for the process plant and the sulfuric acid plant. Primary reagents include liquid sulfur, limestone, soda ash, flocculant and quicklime.

Year 1-25 40 Years LOM $ per tonne Li 2 CO 3 % of Total $ per tonne Li 2 CO 3 % of Total Mine $ 1,026 15 % $ 1,144 16 % Lithium Process Plant $ 3,088 46 % $ 3,213 45 % Liquid Sulfuric Acid Plant $ 2,424 36 % $ 2,627 36 % General & Administrative $ 205 3 % $ 215 3 % Total Operating Costs $ 6,743 100 % $ 7,198 100 %

MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE

Thacker Pass Mineral Resource Estimate as of November 2, 2022

Category Tonnage

(Mt) Average Li

(ppm) Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (Mt) Measured 534.7 2,450 7.0 Indicated 922.5 1,850 9.1 Total Measured & Indicated 1,457.2 2,070 16.1 Inferred 297.2 1,870 3.0

Notes for the November 2, 2022 Mineral Resource:

The Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of and approved disclosure for the estimate is Benson Chow, P.G., SME-RM. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral Resources are inclusive of 217.3 million metric tonnes (Mt) of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are reported using an economic break-even formula: Operating Cost per Resource Tonne/Price per Recovered Tonne Lithium * 10^6 = ppm Li Cutoff. Operating Cost per Resource Tonne = US$88.50, Price per Recovered Tonne Lithium is estimated: (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) Price * 5.323 *(1  Royalties) * Recovery. Variables are LCE Price = US$22,000/tonne Li 2 CO 3 , Royalties = 1.75% and Recovery = 73.5%. Presented at a cutoff grade of 1,047 ppm Li. A resource constraining pit shell has been derived from performing a pit optimization estimation using Vulcan software. The conversion factor for lithium to LCE is 5.323. Applied density for the mineralization is 1.79 t/m3. Measured Mineral Resources are in blocks estimated using at least six drill holes and eighteen samples within a 262 m search radius in the horizontal plane and 5 m in the vertical direction; Indicated Mineral Resources are in blocks estimated using at least two drill holes and six to eighteen samples within a 483 m search radius in the horizontal plane and 5 m in the vertical direction; and Inferred Mineral Resources are blocks estimated with at least two drill holes and three to six samples within a search radius of 722 m in the horizontal plane and 5 m in the vertical plane. Tonnages and grades have been rounded to accuracy levels deemed appropriate by the QP. Summation errors due to rounding may exist.





MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATE

Thacker Pass Mineral Reserve Estimate as of November 2, 2022

Category Tonnage

(Mt) Average Li

(ppm) Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (Mt) Proven 192.9 3,180 3.3 Probable 24.4 3,010 0.4 Total Proven and Probable 217.3 3,160 3.7

Notes for the November 2, 2022 Mineral Reserve:

The Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of and approved disclosure for the estimate is Kevin Bahe, P.E., SME-RM. Mineral Reserves have been converted from measured and indicated Mineral Resources within the feasibility study and have demonstrated economic viability. Reserves presented at an 85% maximum ash content and 1.533 kilogram of lithium recovered per run of mine feed cutoff grade. A sales price of $5,400 US$/t of Li 2 CO 3 was utilized in the pit optimization resulting in the generation of the reserve pit shell in 2019. Overall slope of 27 degrees was applied. For bedrock material pit slope was set at 47 degrees. Mining and processing cost of $57.80 per tonne of ROM feed, a processing recovery factor of 84%, and royalty cost of 1.75% were additional inputs into the pit optimization. A LOM plan was developed based on equipment selection, equipment rates, labor rates, and plant feed and reagent parameters. All Mineral Reserves are within the LOM plan. The LOM plan is the basis for the economic assessment within the NI 43-101 technical report titled Feasibility Study, National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Thacker Pass Project Humboldt County, Nevada, USA with an effective date of November 2, 2022 (the Technical Report), which is used to show economic viability of the Mineral Reserves. Applied density for the ore is 1.79 t/m3. Lithium Carbonate Equivalent is based on in-situ LCE tonnes with 95% recovery factor. Tonnages and grades have been rounded to accuracy levels deemed appropriate by the QP. Summation errors due to rounding may exist. The reference point at which the Mineral Reserves are defined is at the point where the ore is delivered to the run-of-mine feeder.

Please refer to the Technical Report for full details on the geology, mining, processing and infrastructure of Thacker Pass.

MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATE METHODOLOGY

The Mineral Reserves estimate in the Technical Report is based on current knowledge, engineering constraints and permit status. A qualified person, as defined under NI 43-101 (QP), has reviewed and verified the Mineral Reserve estimate (the Mineral Reserves QP), and is of the opinion that the methodology for estimation of Mineral Reserves in the Technical Report is in general accordance with the 2019 CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines, and using the definitions in 2014 CIM Definition Standards for the classification of Mineral Reserves. Large changes in the market pricing, commodity price assumptions, material density factor assumptions, future geotechnical evaluations, cost estimates or metallurgical recovery could affect the pit optimization parameters and therefore the cutoff grades and estimates of Mineral Reserves.

MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE METHODOLOGY

A QP has reviewed and verified the Mineral Resources estimate (the Mineral Resources QP) and is of the opinion that the Mineral Resource estimation methodology is in general accordance with the 2019 CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines and uses the definitions in 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves for the classification of Mineral Resources. Potential risk factors that could affect the Mineral Resource estimates include but are not limited to large changes in the market pricing, commodity price assumptions, material density factor assumptions, future geotechnical evaluations, metallurgical recovery assumptions, mining and processing cost assumptions, and other cost estimates could affect the pit optimization parameters and therefore the cutoff grades and Mineral Resource estimates.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL

MINERAL RESOURCES

Sample names, certificate identifications, and run identifications were cross referenced with the laboratory certificates and sample assay datasheet for spot checking and verification of data. No data anomalies were discovered during this check.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) methodology utilized by Lithium Americas and results of these checks were discussed between Lithium Americas geologists and the Mineral Resources QP.

Geologic logs, Access databases, and Excel spreadsheets were provided to the Mineral Resources QP for cross validation with the Excel lithological description file. Spot checks between Excel lithological description sheets were performed against the source data with no inconsistencies found with the geologic unit descriptions.

Verification of the block model was performed by the creation of a geostatistical model and the review of its various outputs. Histograms, HERCO grade tonnage curves, and swath plots were created and analyzed to validate the accuracy of the block model.

Based on the various reviews, validation exercises and remedies outlined above, the Mineral Resources QP concluded that the data is adequate for use for Mineral Resource estimation.

MINERAL RESERVES

The Mineral Reserves QP reviewed the following as part of the mine planning, cost model and Mineral Reserves data verification.

Geotechnical: slope stability study completed by BARR Engineering in 2019 was reviewed.

Mining Method: open-pit mining with limited blasting has been reviewed and assessed with geotechnical reports.

Pit Optimization: the pit limits were established based on the Environmental Impact Statement pit extents and physical features. The final pit shell was verified to provide a positive economic value.

Mine Design: ramp, bench and face angle parameters were validated by geotechnical reports.

Production Schedule: the production schedule was validated based on reasonability.

Labor and Equipment: estimations for equipment sizes, capacity, availability and utilization were reviewed for reasonability.

Economic Model: model was reviewed and demonstrated economic viability for the project.

Facilities and Materials: facilities and materials located within the reserve pit boundary will be re-located when access to those areas are required during mining.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been derived from the Technical Report and has been reviewed and approved by Rene LeBlanc, RM-SME, Chief Technical Officer of the Company, a QP as defined under NI 43-101.

Further information about Thacker Pass, including a description of the key assumptions, parameters, sampling methods, data verification and QA/QC programs, methods relating to Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and factors that may affect those estimates are contained in the Technical Report which will be made available under the Companys profile on SEDAR and on the Companys website.

Other than as described in the Companys continuous disclosure documents, there are no known legal, political, environmental or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources at this point in time.

NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 DISCLOSURE

A NI 43-101 Technical Report will be prepared on the results of the updated Feasibility Study by the Qualified Persons and will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.

Readers are cautioned that the conclusions, projections and estimates set out in this news release are subject to important qualifications, assumptions and exclusions, all of which will be detailed in the Technical Report. To fully understand the summary information set out above, the Technical Report that will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com should be read in its entirety.

CONFERENCE CALL

Lithium Americas will host a conference call for analysts and investors on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 10:00 am ET, followed by a question-and-answer session.

To register for the webcast, link here: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/888987622.

To register for the dial-in numbers, link here: https://conferencingportals.com/event/PTZkmgFQ.

A replay of the webcast will be available until January 30, 2024 at the link above and a transcript will also be available at www.lithiumamericas.com.

ABOUT LITHIUM AMERICAS

Lithium Americas is focused on advancing lithium projects in Argentina and the United States to production. In Argentina, Cauchari-Olaroz is advancing towards first production and Pastos Grandes represents regional growth. In the U.S., Thacker Pass has received its ROD and is advancing towards construction. The Company trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol LAC.



For further information contact:

Investor Relations

Telephone: 778-656-5820

Email: ir@lithiumamericas.com

Website: www.lithiumamericas.com

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains certain forward-looking information, including information with respect to the anticipated use of proceeds from the Transaction, the rights to be provided to GM and the restrictions imposed on GM pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement and the Offtake Agreement, the ability to obtain regulatory approval for the Transaction including a favorable ROD and the ability of GM and Lithium Americas to meet the other closing conditions of the Transaction. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking information as that term is defined in National Instrument 51-102 (NI 51-102) of the Canadian Securities Administrators (collectively, forward-looking information). Forward-looking information is frequently, but not always, identified by words such as plans, 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. In stating the forward-looking information herein, Lithium Americas has applied certain material assumptions including, but not limited to, the assumption that general business conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner.

Forward-looking information involves information about the future and is inherently uncertain, and actual results, performance or achievements of Lithium Americas and its subsidiaries may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks involved in fluctuations in lithium and other commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in information released by Lithium Americas and filed with the applicable regulatory agencies.

Lithium Americas forward-looking information is based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date such information is posted, and Lithium Americas does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

This news release also contains forward-looking information related to the mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates for the Thacker Pass Deposit and the information in this news release should be qualified in its entirety based on the information in the Technical Report. The material factors that could cause actual results to differ from the conclusions, estimates, designs, forecasts or projections include geological modeling, grade interpolations, lithium price estimates, mining cost estimates, mine design parameters, and final pit shell limits such as more detailed exploration drilling or final pit slope angle.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This news release includes disclosure of certain non-GAAP financial measures, including expected average annual EBITDA with respect to the results of the Feasibility Study for Thacker Pass presented in this news release. Such measures have no standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers. The Company believes that these measures provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the prospects of the Company and, in particular, Thacker Pass. As Thacker Pass is not in production, the prospective non-GAAP financial measures presented may not be reconciled to the nearest comparable measure under IFRS and the equivalent historical non-GAAP financial measure for the prospective non-GAAP financial measure discussed herein is nil$.

__________________________

1 The economic analysis is based on Q3 2022 pricing for capital and operating costs.

2 Based on Q3 2022 long-term lithium carbonate price outlook from a leading industry market consultant.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/14b7003d-427a-4b0b-932b-c2e9208c1c6c


More openness toward migrant workers needed



South Korea has been pressured to find a proper solution to the rapidly decreasing population amid persistent low births and fast aging. It has poured some 280 trillion won ($22.7 billion) into propping up the birth rate over the past 15 years. Yet such efforts largely fell flat, with the total fertility rate (the total number of offspring born to the average woman during her lifetime) reaching only 0.81 in 2021, the world's lowest level.



As a highly feasible remedy for the ever-serious demographic problem, there are growing voices calling for more generous and open immigration policies. Given this, albeit belated, it is encouraging the Yoon Suk Yeol administration unveiled a plan to install an agency in charge of immigration affairs sometime in the first half of this year.



Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon told the president in a briefing Thursday that the envisaged apparatus will play the role of a control tower for diverse immigration policies. The ministry formed a taskforce team last November to discuss how to handle the issues of immigration covering arrivals and departures, expats and refugees. Experts from various sectors of society took part in the discussion and agreed on the need to speed up efforts to establish the immigration office soon. The plan has made little progress despite much talks.



The effects of the possible setup of an immigration agency will be practical and immediate. For instance, the population-related policies have so far been dispersed in many ministries, making it difficult to push for a related agenda effectively. But the new office will be able to coordinate overlapped policies such as budget plans to efficiently implement relevant measures at the pan-government level.



Yet such efficiency may be minimal compared to the huge impact the new policies will have on the nation. New migration policies have been essential to the national survival in view of the fast depletion of the population, mainly in rural areas, with no viable clues to the chronic low birth problem.



The ministry is seeking to mitigate the requirements for ethnic Koreans to get jobs here, while providing those equipped with basic qualifications, such as scholastic background, with more opportunities to allow permanent stay. Due to low fertility paired with rapid aging, South Korea's economic size will likely dwindle to the world's 15th in 30 years, according to Goldman Sachs, a U.S.-based global investment bank.



The bank, in its global economic outlook released on Jan. 6, forecast Korea to register 0.8 percent growth in 2040. The growth will continue to fall in the negative territories of 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent in the 2060s and 2070s, respectively. It projected Korea to be the only nation of 34 advanced countries to see its economy contract.



The previous governments discussed the issue of an immigration agency but to no particular avail due to fears that more migrants would take away jobs from Korean nationals coupled with concerns about a possible rise in crime by foreigners. Now it is time to totally change our viewpoint. In fact, foreign workers have long been the major workforce in many local provinces.



We need to ponder how to induce global high-quality human resources beyond the need to fill the shortage in work sites. We should learn from the cases of Japan, Taiwan and China which have been rushing to expand immigration-related organizations and budgets.



According to data released by Statistics Korea, the number of migrant workers here continued to increase, reaching 840,000 last month. And the number will likely increase further this year as the government is poised to ease the visa issuance requirements for jobseekers. What is urgent at this time is our discriminatory and antagonistic attitudes toward migrant workers, which we should cast away immediately.




ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland and Labrador, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vulcan Minerals Inc. (the Company - Vulcan TSX-V: VUL), is pleased to announce that Atlas Salt Inc. (TSXV: SALT), a related company, has released the results from a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of its Great Atlantic salt deposit in Western Newfoundland completed by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. The complete copy of the Atlas Salt news release can be found here https://atlassalt.com/news providing full context for the highlights below.



Highlights:

Robust economic valuation based on a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $909 million at an 8% discount rate as per a 30 year cash flow model at a production rate of 2.5 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) yielding an Internal Rate of Return of 22%





Low cost production  utilizing a Q4 cost basis of $23.81 per tonne FOB





Mining infrastructure designed to increase production up to 4 Mtpa plus recognition that mineral resources are available for a much longer mine life





Indicated Mineral Resource of 187 million tonnes (Mt) at 96.4 % NaCl, plus Inferred Mineral Resource of 999 Mt at 95.6 % NaCl





Project designed to utilize electricity as the environmentally friendly energy source





Access to the underground deposit through dual declines allowing for production scalability and economic efficiencies



Economic Summary:

Table 1:Summary of Economic Outcomes  Initial 30 Year Production Plan at 2.5 Mtpa

Metric Units Value Pre-Tax Payback Period yrs 4.2 Pre-Tax IRR % 22.1% Pre-tax NPV at 5% discounting C$ '000 1,627,736 Pre-tax NPV at 8% discounting C$ '000 909,338 Pre-tax NPV at 10% discounting C$ '000 620,247 Post-Tax Payback Period yrs 5.0 Post-tax IRR % 17.3 Post-tax NPV at 5% discounting C$ '000 920,320 Post-tax NPV at 8% discounting C$ '000 481,900 Post-tax NPV at 10% discounting C$ '000 304,935

Vulcan retains a 3% net production royalty on the mineral licences it transferred to Atlas Salt (formerly Red Moon Resources Inc.) upon spinout of Atlas Salt from the company in 2012, which includes the Great Atlantic Salt project. Vulcan also owns 28,891,000 shares (31.2% of the outstanding shares) in Atlas Salt Inc.

Patrick Laracy, President commented The PEA evaluation is very impressive. It is gratifying to have this independent PEA confirm the projects compelling commercial merits. When considering production rates greater than 2.5 Mtpa and a mine life beyond 30 years, significant additional valuation upside is present. I look forward to the finalization of the feasibility study and the development of this project. Projects of this nature have the potential to be in production in excess of 50 years based on comparable salt mines in North America with all the attendant economic benefits.

About Vulcan

Vulcan Minerals is a precious and base metals exploration company based in St. John's NL, with strategic land positions in multiple active Newfoundland gold exploration and development belts. The Company has leveraged its exploration exposure in most of this land position through equity ownership of other explorers obtained by way of option and royalty agreements. It also holds 31.2% of the outstanding shares in Atlas Salt. Atlas Salt is carrying out a feasibility analysis on its Great Atlantic salt deposit in western Newfoundland strategically located in the robust road de-icing market of eastern North America.

Patrick J. Laracy, P. Geo. President, is the qualified person responsible for the technical contents of this news release as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

We seek safe harbour.

For information please contact:

Patrick J. Laracy, P.Geo.

President

(709) 754-3186

info@vulcanminerals.ca

www.vulcanminerals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider, (as the term is defined in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results will, may, could, or should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion, delivery and timing of the referenced assessments and analysis and assumptions related thereto including access to existing infrastructure. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, technical, economic, and competitive 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 timing, completion and delivery of the referenced assessments and analysis. 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.
LEWISBURG, Pa., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Playworld, a leading commercial playground equipment manufacturer, today announced that Quito (pronounced KEE-toe), its new freestanding net climber, was named a winner of a prestigious GOOD DESIGN Award.



Presented by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the GOOD DESIGN Awards program has honored the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world since its 1950 inception.

The daring climber, inspired by Quito, Ecuador, the worlds second-highest capital city and the closest to the equator, is a towering 15.54 feet (4,74m) tall, allowing kids to climb, balance, and teeter their way in, over, and through the structure. With multiple points of entry, Quito includes an easy passage to the center core, as well as a cozy space underneath.

Our extraordinary Playworld design team crafted the Quito climber to be visually spectacular and broadly inclusive, welcoming thrill seekers and the less adventurous alike, said David Sheedy, vice president of global sales for Playworld. We are thrilled with the reception Quito has thus far received, honored to receive this noteworthy recognition by the GOOD DESIGN Awards, and proud beyond measure of our wonderful designers. This award is for them.

Quito includes bells at the top and ground levels that provide an opportunity for social game play for all types of playground adventurers. Users can hang out inside its suspended core, which offers a sense of enclosure, a sensory bell, and colorful triangle windows. The core interior's triangle roof is reachable by scrambling higher, offering an increase in climbing challenge.

Quito is available as a standalone product or in conjunction with Playworlds Mighty Descent, an 8-foot-tall (2,43m), extra-wide, innovative slide that allows multiple children to revel in the joy of sliding together. Mighty Descent is the first of its magnitude and the largest one-piece rotomolded slide in the world. Its large enough for the entire family!

The GOOD DESIGN program emphasizes quality design of the highest form, function, and aesthetics. Founded in Chicago by the former MoMA curator Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., together with such pioneers in modern design as Charles and Ray Eames, Russel Wright, George Nelson and Eero Saarinen, GOOD DESIGN honors the achievements of the best industrial and graphic designers and world manufacturers for their pursuit of extraordinary design excellence. Every year, designers and manufacturers from approximately 50 nations are honored for their singular achievements in producing hallmarks of contemporary design.

To learn more about Quito, visit Playworld.com/Quito.

About Playworld

Playworld exists to unite communities through innovative and authentic play, creating equal play opportunities for all. A division of PlayPower, Inc., Playworld dedicates itself to craftsmanship, innovation and inclusive design, instilling optimism that unites communities on common ground - the playground. To learn more, visit Playworld.com.

Media contact:

Jennifer Leckstrom

RoseComm for Playworld

jleckstrom@rosecomm.com

215-681-0770

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/de8dcb25-282a-408b-94c1-467eb9dc7230
Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: Analysis By End User (Adult & Pediatric), By Composition (Mono & Combination), By Region (The US, China, EU+UK, Japan & ROW), Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market was valued at US$2.23 billion in 2021, and is predicted to grow to US$3.04 billion in 2027.

The hepatitis B vaccine is an effective way to prevent infection with the hepatitis B virus. Vaccination is the core component of hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevention and a key intervention in the World Health Organization's (WHO) efforts to eradicate hepatitis B by 2030.

Following the approval of the first hepatitis B vaccine in 1981, there has been significant progress in hepatitis B vaccines. Furthermore, vaccine recommendations have evolved over several decades, culminating in the recommendation for universal hepatitis B immunization for all people under the age of 60. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.28% over the projected period of 2022-2027.

Market Segmentation Analysis:

The combination vaccines segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecasted period, due to its properties of protection against multiple causal agents. The combination vaccine also reduces the cost of packaging for individual vaccines, which would contribute to the segment market growth. For example, the Twinrix combination vaccine can protect against both hepatitis B and hepatitis A.

In the report, the global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market is divided into five regions: The US, China, Europen Union, Japan, and ROW. The US accounted for the maximum share of the global market in 2021. The hepatitis B vaccine market in the US is a significant market, with a high demand for the vaccine due to the ongoing threat of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

The market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of HBV, government initiatives and policies to promote vaccination, technological advances in vaccine production, and increasing healthcare expenditure.

There are several manufacturers of the HBV vaccine in the US, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Inc., and more. These manufacturers offer a range of HBV vaccines, including monovalent (mono-HBV) vaccines and combination (combo-HBV) vaccines. The specific vaccines available and their prices may vary depending on the manufacturer and the distribution channel.

European Union and the UK market is expected to expand significantly during the forecast period. Various reasons such as improved healthcare infrastructure, an active government drive to track HBV, and a well-established reimbursement system for hospitals, are expected to drive the growth of the market in European Union.

In addition, Public Health England is constantly updating the country's HBV infection burden, relating it to economic burden, statistical modelling, and estimating vaccination cost-effectiveness. These types of studies are also expected to propel the growth of the market in EU. Furthermore, the market's growth is projected to be influenced by ongoing technological advancements, greater accessibility, and rising disposable income.

The favorable environment for new vaccines, as well as government legislation, are foreseen to assist the market's growth. Companies would adjust to changing market conditions and tailor their business plans and practices to aid in the growth of the HBV vaccination in the region.

Market Dynamics:

Growth Drivers: One of the key drivers of the market's expansion is the increasing geriatric population. The demand for hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine may increase as the population ages, as the risk of HBV infection and complications increases with age. Older people are more likely to have underlying health conditions that may increase their risk of HBV infection and complications.

Older people may also be more likely to have certain behaviors or exposures that increase their risk of HBV infection. Other significant growth factors of the market include, rising prevalence of hepatitis B virus, rapid urbanization, increasing healthcare expenditure, growing instances of HBV among infants and increase in liver cancer and cirrhosis deaths due to HBV.

Challenges: However, some challenges are impeding the growth of the market such as high cost of vaccine development and inequitable access to vaccines. Inequitable access to vaccines have been observed and is a critical issue in the market, particularly in impoverished areas where awareness programs and initiatives have either failed to permeate or have not penetrated sufficiently. Furthermore, the development and distribution of HBV vaccines and antibodies in deprived areas is unequal, which is considered as a stumbling block to the market's growth.

Trends: The market is projected to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period, due to use of AI in vaccine and drug design, technological advancements in vaccine administration and favorable government initiatives and policies. Government initiatives are considered the most important trend for the growth of the vaccine market.

For instance, The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), founded in early 2000 with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and now supported by a number of partners, has played an important role in promoting universal hepatitis B vaccination in low and middle-income countries.

Competitive Landscape:

Global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market is moderately concentrated, with increasing acquisitions, collaboration, and product launches. Past decades have seen rise in studies on characteristics of anti-HBs antibodies, pertaining to neonates, infants, adults, and immune suppressed patients.

Due to the concentration of key players in developed regions, regional partnerships and distribution agreements have become major strategic initiatives for a number of key players. Numerous new entrants and established players also eye potential avenues in chronic HBV infected patients and intend to conduct more research on therapeutic vaccination.

In March 2022, VBI Vaccines Inc. received the US Food and Drug Administration approval for the only 3-antigen HBV vaccine for adults in the US, PreHevbrio for hepatitis B.

Top players have been trying to incorporate the results of multicenter studies in a bid to improve response to HBV vaccination, with a direct focus on HBV mutants.

Key Metrics

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 124 Forecast Period 2022 - 2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $2.35 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $3.04 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.3% Regions Covered Global

Market Dynamics

Growth Drivers

Rapid Urbanization

Increasing Geriatric Population

Increasing Healthcare Expenditure

Growing Instances of HBV Among Infants

Increase in Liver Cancer and Cirrhosis Deaths due to HBV

Rising Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus

Challenges

High Cost of Vaccine Development

Inequitable Access to Vaccines

Market Trends

Use of AI in Vaccine and Drug Design

Technological Advancements in Vaccine Administration

Favorable Government Initiatives and Policies

Global Market Analysis

Global Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: An Analysis

An Overview

Value

End User (Adult & Pediatric)

Region (The US, China, EU+UK, Japan, and Rest of the World (ROW))

End User Analysis

An Overview

Adult Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Value

Adult Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Composition (Mono Vaccine & Combination Vaccine)

Pediatric Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Value

Global Adult Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: Composition Analysis

An Overview

Mono Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market by Value

Adult Combination Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market by Value

The key players in the global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market are:

GlaxoSmithKline

Merck & Co., Inc.

Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd.

Cyrus Poonawalla Group (Serum Institute of India Pvt.)

Dynavax Technologies Corporation

Sanofi

VBI Vaccines Inc.

Meiji Group (KM Biologics)

LG Chem Ltd.

Indian Immunologicals Limited

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x92u3r-hepatitis?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Highly authentic works factory prototype powered by its original engine leads Broad Arrows inaugural Amelia Auction on March 4 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

Raced at the 1968 Sebring 12 Hours and the outright winner of the 1968 Targa Florio in the hands of Vic Elford and Umberto Maglioli, the 907 K also saw Porsche factory drivers Ludovico Scarfiotti, Joe Buzzetta, and Rolf Stommelen at the wheel.



Single-day auction set for March 4 marks the inaugural year for Broad Arrow as the official auction house of The Amelia. Learn more at broadarrowauctions.com.

GROSSE POINTE, Michigan, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Broad Arrow Auctions, a Hagerty (NYSE: HGTY) company, is honored to announce the addition of a 1968 Porsche 907 K, the world-famous overall winner of the 1968 Targa Florio, to its inaugural Amelia Auction on March 4, the official auction of The Amelia.

Chassis no. 907 025s victory at the 1968 Targa Florio is a legendary tale in a season that saw Quick Vic Elford at the top of his game. After first contesting the 1968 Sebring 12 Hours in the hands of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Joe Buzzetta, Porsche System Engineering paired the 907 with Elford and Umberto Maglioli for the Targa Florio. Elford qualified on pole, putting them both in prime position to capitalize on the speed of the Porsche. After several initial setbacks and incredible assistance from race-mad locals, Umberto would return the car to fourth position before Elford would set three successive lap records.

With a half-lap to go, 907 025 passed Alfas leading Tipo 33/2 and extended that lead to over three minutes at the finish, lopping nearly 10 minutes off the previous overall best race time. No season in Elfords career matched his 1968 performance and no race in 1968 equaled his win at the Targa Florio in 907 025, a moment immortalized in the famous Porsche victory poster that year.

The Targa Florio win would be the 907s crowning achievement as well as its final entrance by Porsche System Engineering. It was sold to Siegfried Lang and campaigned by his Valvoline Racing Team for 1969. Lang and the 907 saw first-place finishes in a number of hillclimb events throughout the European Alps in 1969 and 1970 before his untimely death.

The 907 eventually landed in the world-class Porsche collection of Dr. Julio Palmaz, who, in 2000, entrusted the car to Patrick Scalli of Porsche Prototype Racing Cars for a restoration back to its original Targa Florio configuration. Simultaneously, the original numbered engine was placed in the experienced hands of Gustav Nitsche, who rebuilt the Typ 771/1 magnesium case 2.2-liter air-cooled 270-hp flat-eight engine to original specifications, as it appears today. Under Dr. Palmazs stewardship, the 907 was twice a winner at the Amelia Island Concours dElegance, in 2007 in the Targa Florio Class, and later in 2012 as the winner of the Corporate Award for the Best Example of Race Car Engineering.

The 907 K has been with its current owner since 2015 and today is in very similar condition to when it left Scallis workshop just over 20 years ago, a testament to the quality of the restoration and the care it has received ever since (Est. $4,500,000 - $5,500,000).

Broad Arrow Auctions Senior Car Specialist David Swig comments, The opportunity to find and potentially acquire a Targa Florio-winning Porsche, let alone an example attached to such notable Porsche lore, is nearly unheard of. I can think of no setting more fitting than The Amelia weekend at which to offer one of the most world-famous Porsche prototype racers of the 1960s  a truly significant piece of motorsport history.

Additional highlights from the revered German marque set for Broad Arrows Amelia Auction include:

1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S Flachbau , an exceptionally low-mileage, matching numbers example of just 39 X85 versions of the 964 Turbo sold in the U.S., representing the pinnacle of 964 design and power (Est. $1,150,000 - $1,350,000);

, an exceptionally low-mileage, matching numbers example of just 39 X85 versions of the 964 Turbo sold in the U.S., representing the pinnacle of 964 design and power (Est. $1,150,000 - $1,350,000); 2011 Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 , a low-mileage, highly optioned example of the last manual transmission 911 GT3 RS and the ultimate expression of the flat-six Metzger engine design (Est. $650,000 - $700,000);

, a low-mileage, highly optioned example of the last manual transmission 911 GT3 RS and the ultimate expression of the flat-six Metzger engine design (Est. $650,000 - $700,000); 2016 Porsche 911 R , a low-mileage, two-owners-from-new example boasting the incredible combination of GT3 RS engine, six-speed GT Sport manual transmission, and wingless 911 silhouette (Est. $475,000 - $525,000);

, a low-mileage, two-owners-from-new example boasting the incredible combination of GT3 RS engine, six-speed GT Sport manual transmission, and wingless 911 silhouette (Est. $475,000 - $525,000); 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster , a wonderfully restored second-year Speedster well suited for period-specific events and touring, just as Porsche intended (Est. $320,000 - $360,000);



, a wonderfully restored second-year Speedster well suited for period-specific events and touring, just as Porsche intended (Est. $320,000 - $360,000); 1979 Porsche 911 SC Almeras Freres Eminence Rally Tribute , a faithful tribute to the Almeras Brothers 1982 Rallye Monte Carlo entry piloted by Bjorn Waldegard. Built on a 1979 911 SC with period-correct exterior modifications and prepared for future historic events (Est. $300,000 - $400,000);

, a faithful tribute to the Almeras Brothers 1982 Rallye Monte Carlo entry piloted by Bjorn Waldegard. Built on a 1979 911 SC with period-correct exterior modifications and prepared for future historic events (Est. $300,000 - $400,000); 1995 Porsche 911 Cup 3.8 , a rare factory car complete with its matching numbers engine, ordered by Bridgestone Tire Company to promote the S-02 tire. The Cup car was maintained by Rohr Racing throughout 1995 and entrusted to Hurley Haywood and David Murry for hot laps at IndyCar events that year (Est. $250,000 - $300,000);



, a rare factory car complete with its matching numbers engine, ordered by Bridgestone Tire Company to promote the S-02 tire. The Cup car was maintained by Rohr Racing throughout 1995 and entrusted to Hurley Haywood and David Murry for hot laps at IndyCar events that year (Est. $250,000 - $300,000); 1996 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, a well-preserved, Japanese market example of the ultimate road-going, naturally aspirated, air-cooled 993 variant (Est. $325,000 - $400,000).



Broad Arrows debut as the official auction of The Amelia will kickstart the companys 2023 calendar on March 4 at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The Amelia Auction will feature more than 100 exceptional collector cars ranging from pre-War American and European classics to motorsport icons and modern supercars. Event information and bidder registration are available at broadarrowauctions.com.

Porsche enthusiasts will want to stick around for The Amelia Concours dElegance on Sunday, March 5. Featured classes for the 28th annual event include Porsche Fiberglass Racing Spyders, Porsche Carrera 2.7 and Porsche 959. For additional information and to purchase tickets for The Amelia 2023 honoring NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon visit AmeliaConcours.com.

###



About Broad Arrow Group, a Hagerty Company

Broad Arrow Group, a Hagerty (NYSE: HGTY) company, is an advisor, market maker, and financier for car collectors with a commitment to integrity, trust, and innovation. Broad Arrow Group operates Broad Arrow Auctions, Broad Arrow Capital, and Collectors Garage and is headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Learn more at broadarrowgroup.com.

Photo credits:

The 1968 Porsche 907 K, chassis no. 907 025, set to star at Broad Arrows inaugural Amelia Auction (Credit - Robin Adams  2023 Courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions). Vic Elford, #224, 1st OA. 1968 Targa Florio 5 May 1968 (Courtesy of Revs Institute; Eric della Faille Photograph Collection). The original, matching numbers engine pictured within the 1968 Porsche 907 K set for Broad Arrows Amelia Auction (Credit - Robin Adams  2023 Courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions). Another view of the Targa Florio-winning 1968 Porsche 907 K to be offered at Broad Arrows Amelia Auction (Credit - Robin Adams  2023 Courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect our current intentions, expectations, or beliefs regarding the business. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and may be outside of our control. Some of the factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by our forward-looking statements include: (i) our ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the subject of this press release; (ii) our ability to compete effectively within our industry and attract and retain members; and (iii) the other risks and uncertainties listed in our Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 24, 2022. This press release should be read in conjunction with the information included in our other press releases, reports and other filings with the SEC. Understanding the information contained in those filings is important in order to fully understand our reported financial results and our business outlook for future periods. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Green Hospitals Trends and Technologies: Global Market Outlook" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

In this report, the market has been segmented based on product and geography. The report provides an overview of the global green hospital market and analyzes market trends. Numerous case studies have been added to various section of the report. Market values have been estimated based on the total revenue of the individual product segments.

The concept of green building has existed for a long time. The need for green hospitals came into existence with the growing awareness of climate change and the monitoring of hospital activity. Green hospitals provide care for patients without harming the environment through their activities.



The number of hospitals moving toward sustainability is on a rise. International nonprofit organizations are helping hospitals to achieve their goals of zero emission. Healthcare without harm is at the forefront of the global green hospital movement. Local organizations are also playing vital roles in pushing the momentum for green hospitals.



Hospitals are under pressure to decrease the operating margins and to provide better quality services. The costs of energy are rising at high rates, along with the cost of water supplies and of waste disposal. It is therefore imperative for hospitals to implement more energy-efficient solutions and lighting to reduce energy bills. Hospitals must better utilize and monitor their existing facilities to get the maximum output. Using recyclable products and autoclaves to sterilize multi-use products can be a great way to reduce waste and improve costs.



The major challenges while implementing green solutions include the high initial cost of technology. The high initial investments and the delayed returns of green solutions are major drawbacks affecting their implementation. The need for trained manpower is another major challenge affecting market growth.

The green hospitals market includes numerous companies offering various services. No single company offers all required solutions. Companies operate in different sectors, and thus it was not possible for this report to provide a competitive landscape.

Report Includes

A brief general outlook of the global market for green hospitals and related technologies

Analyses of the global market trends, with historic market revenue data for 2020 and 2021, estimates for 2022, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2027

Understanding the components of the green hospital, the ways and means to achieve green hospitals, and exploring possibilities for countering the grave environmental challenges/concerns

Highlights of emerging technology trends, opportunities and gaps estimating current and future demand for green hospitals, and identification of the regions and countries involved in market developments

Estimation of the actual market size and revenue forecast for green hospitals market in USD millions, and its corresponding market share analysis by product type and region

In-depth information (facts and figures) concerning major market dynamics, technology adaptations, industry regulations, latest developments, and the impact of COVID-19 on green hospitals

Review of the green hospital-related case studies and overview of green hospital dimensions such as environmental leadership and management, water management etc.

Identification of the various associations involved in the modern healthcare sector, and a look at the institutions pioneering this change

Company profiles of the market leading participants

Key Metrics

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 56 Forecast Period 2022 - 2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $10.5 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $14 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.1% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Market Outlook

1.1 Market Snapshot

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Market Overview

3.1 Introduction

3.2 History of Green Hospitals

3.3 Definition

3.4 Market Dynamics

3.4.1 Market Drivers

3.4.2 Market Restraints

3.4.3 Market Opportunities

Chapter 4 Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Green Hospitals

4.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Green Hospitals

4.2 Positive Effect of Covid-19 on the Environment

4.2.1 Reduction in Water Pollution

4.3 Negative Effects of Covid-19

4.3.1 Increase in the Generation of Biomedical Waste

4.3.2 Impact on Hospital Workforce

4.3.3 Impact on Hospitals

Chapter 5 Measures Needed for Green Hospitals

5.1 Steps for Green Hospitals

5.1.1 Leadership

5.1.2 Constructions Sites

5.1.3 Energy Utilization

5.1.4 Waste Management

5.1.5 Food

5.1.6 Water

5.1.7 Green Housekeeping

5.1.8 Procurement of Materials and Resources

Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by Product

6.1 Global Green Hospital Market Size, by Product

6.1.1 Waste Management

6.1.2 Light-Emitting Diode Systems

6.1.3 Autoclaves

Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by Region

7.1 Global Green Hospital Market Size, by Region

7.1.1 North America

7.1.2 Europe

7.1.3 Asia-Pacific

7.1.4 Rest of the World

Chapter 8 Company Profiles

8.1 Lighting Companies

Eaton Corp.

Philips Lighting (Signify Holding)

8.2 Waste Management Companies

Daniels Health

Stericycle

Waste Management Inc.

8.3 Autoclave Manufacturers

Celitron

Tuttnauer B.V.

Chapter 9 Project Scope and Methodology

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tlej04-hospitals?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Reston, Virginia, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) and Intuit, Inc. announced the launch of the Intuit Spring Social Innovation Challenge, a nationwide competition that encourages young entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions to pressing social and environmental issues.

The challenge is open to all FBLA High School members across the United States and Canada and spurs participants to think creatively and critically about how they can use technology to solve important problems in their communities. The spring competition asks students to come up with a project to help make their school more sustainable.

We are excited to continue to partner with Intuit, providing FBLA members with this wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents, skills, and innovative ideas, said Alexander T. Graham, FBLA President & CEO. The Intuit Social Innovation Challenge is aligned with our mission of developing community-minded business leaders who will make a real difference in the world and lead with a cause.

The top three teams will receive educational scholarships and mentorship from Intuit experts to help them bring their ideas to life. Members of the first-place team will receive $5,000 each. The second-place and third-place team members will each receive $3,000 and $2,000, respectively.

The fall competition attracted more than 300 high schools, and FBLA students won first place and third places. The first-place team included Neal Karani, Shaomin Kee, Adithya Ravichandran, and Vineeth Sendilraj from Lambert High School in Suwanee, Georgia. The third-place winners were Shriya Patel, Jai Desai, Riva Babaria, and Kristy Garcia from Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.

At Intuit, we believe that young people have the creativity and resourcefulness to change the world for the better, and we are committed to supporting them, said Intuit Strategic Partners Manager Teymour Ashkan. The Intuit Social Innovation Challenge is a great way for Intuit to walk the walk and equip the next generation of leaders with the skills to address societys greatest challenge: climate change.

To learn more about the Intuit Social Innovation Challenge and apply by the March 6 deadline, please visit the FBLA website.

About FBLA

Future Business Leaders of America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with active middle school, high school, and college chapters worldwide. Its mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. The association is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.fbla.org.

About Intuit

Intuit, Inc. is a leading provider of financial management and tax preparation software for individuals, small businesses, and accountants. The company's mission is to power prosperity around the world by creating products and services that simplify people's financial lives.
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a case study published on Salad.com, Numenta's optimized AI technologies attained 10x more inferences per dollar when deployed to Salad's distributed cloud, setting a new price performance standard for BERT transformers.

"It's incredibly validating for our team to see Salad Container Engine outperform conventional data center services at such an affordable rate," said Bob Miles, CEO of Salad.

The study's methodology saw core technologies of Numenta's proprietary AI platform deployed as stateless container workloads on different types of cloud infrastructure. In order to generate benchmark comparisons against AWS infrastructure, Numenta engineers were granted beta access to a deployment toolkit for Salad's fully managed orchestration platform.

Based on over 20 years of neuroscience research, Numenta solutions introduce novel architecture, data structures, and algorithms that deliver dramatic acceleration on inference tasks and minimize the overall resource usage of intelligent systems.

"By building technology based on the efficient principles and structures in the brain, we can overcome today's deep learning performance challenges and unlock new AI capabilities," said Christy Maver, Vice President of Marketing at Numenta.

With the global market value of AI/ML applications projected to exceed $136B this year and a tectonic shift towards computationally expensive use cases such as generative AI, Salad is poised to provide affordable GPU access and an infinitely scalable compute supply to AI innovators. The company hopes that Salad Container Engine will provide affordable alternatives in a marketplace where 81% of IT teams cite rising infrastructure costs as a critical concern.

"To combat the growing cost of hyperscale cloud services, Salad will securely and sustainably distribute applications across the world's largest pool of compute resources," said Miles.

Teams interested in using Salad Container Engine may apply for early beta access by following Salad's onboarding documentation. Those interested in using Numenta technology can apply to their Private Beta Program at numenta.com/private-beta-program.

Contact Information:

Keith Cagney

Brand Editor

keith@salad.com



Related Files

Case-Study_-Salad-x-Numenta-v11.pdf

Related Images











Image 1: Price Performance





A table illustrating the price-performance improvements of Numenta technology on Salad infrastructure.









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Industrial IoT Market by Component, Industry Verticals and Geography - Global Forecasts to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The research report titled provides in-depth analysis of Industrial IoT market across five major geographies and emphasizes on the current market trends, market sizes, market shares, recent developments, and forecasts till 2029.



The global Industrial IoT market is expected to reach $276.79 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 16.0% during the forecast period of 2022-2029.



Rising investment towards Industry 4.0, government encouragement to promote industrial automation, and high productivity & efficiency requirement are the major factors driving the growth of this market. Additionally, industrial IoT for predictive maintenance and an increase in the number of data centers are expected to offer significant opportunities for market growth. However, the lack of standardization and high capital & operating expense can restrain the growth of this market up to a certain extent.



Based on component, the market is segmented into hardware, platform, services, and connectivity. In 2022, the hardware segment is expected to account for the largest market share of the Industrial IoT market. Factors such as consistent engagement of the industrial sector in improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) through better access to information from real-time solutions attribute to the growth of this segment. However, the platform segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rising adoption of industrial IoT platforms by the various industry verticals to improve operational efficiency, along with the growing need for superior monitoring technologies, is driving the growth of this segment.



Based on industry vertical, the market is segmented into agriculture, manufacturing, retail, energy & utility, oil & gas, aerospace, transportation & logistics, telecom, and other industry verticals. In 2022, the manufacturing segment is expected to account for the largest market share of the overall Industrial IoT market and is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of this segment is attributed to the growing need for centralized monitoring and predictive maintenance of assets, increasing smart factories, the advent of Industry 4.0, and the increasing adoption of autonomous robots for industrial automation.

With the increasing number of networked sensors across production and supply chains, manufacturers are entering a new generation of systems that enable automatic and real-time interactions among machines, systems, assets, and things. The pervasiveness of connected devices is ?nding applicability across multiple segments of the manufacturing and supply chain throughout the value chain.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Rising Investments in Industry 4.0 Technologies

Government Initiatives to Promote Industrial Automation

Growing Need to Improve Productivity and Efficiency

Market Restraints

Lack of Standardization

High Capital & Open Requirements

Market Opportunities

Use of Industrial IoT for Predictive Maintenance

Proliferation of Data Centers

Market Challenges

Vulnerability Issues with IoT Devices

Lack of Skilled Professionals

Technology Trends

Rising Popularity of IIoT Digital Twins

Emergence of Edge Computing

Industry Trends

Rising Adoption of Smart Manufacturing-as-a-Service

Scope of the Report:



Global Industrial IoT Market, by Component

Hardware

Network Components

Sensors & Actuators

Others

Platform

Services

Professional Services

Managed Services

Connectivity

Global Industrial IoT Market, by Industry vertical

Agriculture

Precision Farming

Livestock Monitoring

Smart Greenhouse

Fish Farming

Smart Irrigation

Manufacturing

Surveillance & Safety

Quality Management

Resource Optimization

Inventory & Warehouse Management

Machine Inspection & Maintenance

Production Planning

Energy Management

Smart Robotics

Retail

Operations Management

Asset Management

Customer Experience Management

Energy & Utility

Predictive Maintenance

Remote Monitoring

Worker Safety & Security

Distribution Management

Asset Management

Oil & Gas

Predictive Maintenance

Remote Monitoring

Worker Safety & Security

Distribution Management

Asset Management

Aerospace/Airline

Performance Management

Energy Management

Predictive Maintenance

Passenger Experience Management

Transportation & Logistics

Smart Ticketing & Toll

Parking Management

Traffic Management

Passenger Information

Freight Information

Telematics

Others

Telecom

Asset Management

Remote Monitoring

Others

Other Industry Verticals

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Market Insights



5. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Industrial IoT Market



6. Global Industrial IoT Market, by Component



7. Global Industrial IoT Market, by Industry Vertical



8. Industrial IoT Market, by Geography



9. Competitive Landscape



10. Company Profiles (Business Overview, Financial Overview, Product Portfolio, Strategic Developments)



11. Appendix



Companies Mentioned

ABB Ltd.

The General Electric Company

Emerson Electric Co.

Intel Corporation

Cisco Systems Inc.

SAP SE

IBM Corporation

Honeywell International Inc.

Amazon Web Services Inc.

Siemens AG

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd

Rockwell Automation Inc.

PTC Inc.

Dassault Systemes SE

Robert Bosch GmbH

KUKA AG

Microsoft Corporation

Schneider Electric SE

Advantech Co. Ltd.

C3.ai Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/u5kyal-iot?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Nashville, Tenn, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LBMC, one of the Southeasts largest advisory and business consulting firms, has been named to the newly released Inc. 2022 Best in Business list in the Management Consulting category for the Community Development Area of Impact. Now in its third year, Inc.s Best in Business Awards honor companies that have made an extraordinary impact in their fields and on society.

The list, which can be found in the Winter issue of Inc. magazine, recognizes the most dynamic companies that have had an outstanding influence on their communities, their industries, the environment, or society as a whole. LBMC was selected from a highly competitive pool of thousands of applicants and named one of five in the community development area of impact.

We are honored to be recognized as an Inc. Best in Business in the Community Development area of impact, said Jeff Drummonds, LBMCs CEO. We owe this outstanding distinction to our team members, who go above and beyond to give back to our clients, peers, and communities year in and year out. I am proud to be part of a firm whose culture is fundamentally tied to empowering and uplifting the communities where we work, live and serve. Congratulations to our team members for this Inc. magazine recognition.

Inc. magazine is dedicated to showcasing Americas most dynamic businesses and the great things they do. The Best in Business awards shine a light on those that have gone above and beyond their original mission to make a social, environmental or economic impact, benefiting those around them, said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

Rather than relying on quantitative criteria tied to sales or funding, Inc.s editors reviewed the companies achievements over the past year and noted how they made a positive difference in the world. They then selected honorees in 55 different categories  from advertising to sustainability to retail, and more  and in age-based, revenue-based, size-based, and impact-based categories. The applicant pool was extremely competitive  a huge success for the 241 honored in the lists third year. Honorees for gold, silver, bronze, and general excellence across industries and categories are featured online at inc.com/best-in-business.

About LBMC

LBMC is a 2023 Forbes Top Recommended Firm, one of the Southeasts largest accounting and business consulting firms and a Top 35 firm in the nation serving approximately 10,000 clients with diverse needs across a spectrum of industries. LBMC has more than 750 employees, with offices in Chattanooga, Nashville (Brentwood), and Knoxville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1984 as a traditional accounting firm, LBMC today offers a broad range of advisory and business consulting needs for its client base. LBMC is an industry leader in financial, human resources, technology, information security and wealth advisory services for businesses and individuals. For more information, visit www.lbmc.com.

About INC.

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

Attachment
HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BAIMEI, a rising skincare brand and manufacturer, has officially released its Face Roller & Gua Sha sets for 3 years. The up-and-coming player in the skincare industry has already achieved substantial success on social media, with thousands of views and comments across Instagram and TikTok. Committed to providing at-home, user-friendly skincare goods for daily use, BAIMEI's latest releases make perfect gifts for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or any other special occasion.

Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese practice involving a press-stroke treatment of the skin. According to a study by the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, the practice has been found to up-regulate the innate and adaptive immune functions of the skin and boost the response against intradermal antigens.

Aside from being great gift ideas, BAIMEI's Face Roller and Gua Sha sets are designed to reduce facial puffiness and muscle tension. The trending beauty brand specializes in providing customers with the best self-care essentials to pamper and relax during peaceful Gua Sha sessions.

"Whether you are buying a last-minute Valentine's Day Gift or just want to utilize the best tools for facial relaxation, our products will provide you with a calming experience that can't be beaten by any other set on the market today," said Lucy, Marketing Manager at BAIMEI.

The brand also plans to launch a new line of face coolers in the coming months.

To check out BAIMEI's growing product line and learn more about their Face Roller and Gua Sha sets, visit their official Amazon store at https://www.amazon.com/baimei.

About BAIMEI

BAIMEI is committed to providing at-home user-friendly skincare goods that are perfect for personal use and gifts for daily life that empower people to feel beautiful. Their story begins with a single piece of jade, rooted in Benevolence, Morality, and Truth. Baimei takes a modern approach to self-care that's deep-rooted in traditional techniques to help people find the right tools that can bring comfort and peace into life. Find BAIMEI on Amazon, see more BAIMEI on Instagram @baimeiofficial and TikTok @baimei.beauty.

Contact Information:

BAIMEI Customer Service

baimeiservice@gmail.com



Related Images











Image 1: Baimei face rollers products









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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An upper-class family in the late 19th or early 20th century Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



Korea, in the early months of 1885, was in turmoil. A failed coup attempt in December 1884 resulted in large numbers of Japanese and Chinese soldiers being encamped in Seoul and the surrounding region  a conflict between these two countries on Korean soil was a real possibility. Blood was being spilled in the streets by the Korean authorities. Rebels were executed and their bodies left as graphic warnings to the public. It doesn't challenge the imagination to assume that many Koreans hoped the Lunar New Year (Feb. 15 that year) would bring desperately needed change and peace.



In his diary, Horace N. Allen, an American missionary and doctor, described the events surrounding the Lunar New Year holiday in 1885. Some of his observations were rather benign: "Just now the people are busy flying kites. Men and boys devote their time to this amusement and seem happy." Some of his other remarks were more caustic: "[The] city has put on a holiday attire  If a collection of decayed straw stacks could be capable of such an act."





A small hardware shop in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection

Just prior to the holiday, barter was unrestricted in the market (various guilds usually controlled it) and "all persons may sell whatever they have to offer. Consequently the big street is lined with markets most conspicuous among the good are the lots of brass work grouped together and brightly gleaming in the sun."



The brass items  mainly candlesticks, spoons, chopsticks, bowls, basins and spittoons  were "all nicely done but quite expensive." But the high prices weren't confined to brass goods. Cotton, a staple lining for Korean clothing, cost 50 cents a pound (450 grams)  an outrageous price when compared to the prices (12 cents to 15 cents) in the northern states of the U.S. In the Korean market, silk sold for 40 cents a yard (90 centimeters) and was of poorer quality than the "sleazy summer silks" sold in the United States for 30 cents a yard.



The vegetables on sale were "a coarse tough lettuce" and "a hybrid between a radish and a turnip." Chickens and fish were sold for 20 cents each and beef, "enough for two dishes of soup," for 10 cents. Its origin was "usually a worn out bull who has happened to die or injure himself."



Perhaps the most expensive aspect of living in Seoul  at least for Allen  was keeping his house warm.



"Wood is expensive, it takes one horse load to warm one kan [a Korean measurement of space between two pillars] for a day. This costs 30c and a house costs $1.00 a day at least to be kept warm. The poor steal their wood, burn manure straw etc."



Exasperated by the rising prices, Allen added, "It is a wonder how these people live."





Wood merchants in Seoul in the late 19th or early 20th century Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection



The common people were not the only ones preparing for the event. A Korean official from the palace asked Allen for some hair oil for the king. Apparently, the official had first visited the American Legation but George C. Foulk  the American representative  couldn't provide any and suggested the official ask Allen.



"I had nothing but some common sweet oil," Allen wrote, but the Korean official "thought that would do well if I could flavor it. I had only cinnamon and peppermint oils. He fancied the peppermint and I put it in liberally. He went off happy and the Palace will be duly stunk up for the New Year, [with] a stink new to the [noses of the court]."



On New Year's Day, Allen and his wife, Fannie, decided to take advantage of the unusually quiet afternoon by walking down the city's main street to examine "the big curfew bell" at Jongno. He was impressed with the "bright clean gowns" of the people and delighted that the shops were all closed  business suspended for the holiday.



Despite the festive atmosphere, there was an underlying fear amongst the handful of Westerners living in Seoul  a fear that the Korean government also shared. When Allen and his wife walked to the bell, they were accompanied by six soldiers who were tasked with keeping "the crowd well back" from the Americans. Fortunately, there was no trouble that day, but there were scares over the next couple of weeks.



One night, Allen and his small family heard a loud commotion coming from the streets  the sound of people shouting. He feared that it might be one of the greatest banes to the city's residents, a fire or, in light of recent events (even though he doesn't say it in his diary), another coup attempt.





Selling vegetables in the market in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection
WORCESTER, Mass., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AdCare Hospital counselor Don Johnson, CADC-II, LADC-I, has received the Counselor of the Year award from the Massachusetts Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors. From 2006 to 2020, Johnson worked as a rehab counselor for AdCare Hospital. Though he currently works with AdCare Hospitals transportation department, he still maintains a private counseling practice. MAADAC honored Johnson with the prestigious 2022 Counselor of the Year award at the associations virtual annual meeting and training on January 27, 2023.



Prior to joining AdCare, Johnson worked for the Salvation Army, Veterans Inc., and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, retiring as a captain after 22 years of service. While working for Mass DOC, he volunteered for a month in Albania and Kosovo with the Balkan Mission Outreach, a Christian aid organization. His work was multi-faceted and encompassed delivering aid during the 1997 Albanian Civil War and into Kosovo in early summer 1999, as well as work in a refugee camp, and village medical clinics with his wife, Jane, who is a registered nurse. Johnson spent two years in Albania and returned for subsequent stays in 2006, 2007, and 2014. He also earned his masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA, laying the groundwork for his second career counseling individuals battling addiction.

While a counselor at AdCare, Johnson completed the Addiction Counselor Education Program and achieved certification as an alcohol and drug counselor (CADC-II) and licensure as an alcohol and drug counselor (LADC-I).

AdCare Hospital and its parent company, American Addiction Centers, a leading treatment provider with nine centers nationwide, are committed to helping people achieve recovery and live healthier lives. Located in the heart of New England, AdCare provides hospital-based care in Worcester, MA; detoxification and transformative residential treatment in North Kingstown, RI; and comprehensive outpatient/telehealth services throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Contact: Mary Beth Papcsy Media Relations AdCare Hospital 107 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA 508-799-9000, ext. 4058 MPapcsy@contactaac.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d154e7c1-9206-4ab1-b629-e7d7c20afd5b






Calgary, Alberta, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bow Valley College is honoured to be named one of Albertas Top 75 Employers in 2023. The annual competition recognizes Alberta employers providing an outstanding place to work by going beyond expectations and offering services, opportunities, and experiences that promote a positive atmosphere.

We are proud to receive this award following a year that challenged all our employees to find creative and innovative ways to excel online and in person, says Suzie Johnson, Vice President, People, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Our employees demonstrated that we could achieve great things through resilience, commitment, and pride.

Bow Valley College was selected as one of Albertas Top Employers for several initiatives, including its defined benefit pension plan, vacation benefits, and culture of continuous learning.

The College starts new employees with three weeks of paid vacation and offers additional time off between the Christmas and New Years holidays. It provides a staff development fund to encourage employees to expand their knowledge and interests through personal or professional learning.

In promoting and living our values, we encouraged employees to pursue opportunities of lifelong learning on and off the job, says Johnson. This development fund recognizes their contributions and invests in their careers and overall well-being.

Some other initiatives that make Bow Valley College a positive place to work include its Staff Development and Faculty Development processes, which encourage employees to lead the performance review process. A flexible environment features hybrid work, high-tech meeting spaces, and meeting-free Focus Fridays.

Last year, the College launched an Indigenous Awareness training course for all employees as part of its commitment to reconciliation. The College prioritizes mental health and well-being through various services, including an employee and family assistance program, free access to the headversity app, and Healthy Workplace Committee workshops.

This years winners have struck a balance between the practical and progressive, incorporating flexibility where possible and ensuring they remain ahead of the curve when it comes to meeting the expectations of todays job-seeker, says Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp.

Bow Valley College employs nearly 1,200 full- and part-time and casual employees. The Colleges main campus is conveniently located in downtown Calgary with public transit at its doorstep. It is close to numerous amenities, including retail, arts, and cultural activities, and a network of pathways along the river. We are proud to be a regional post-secondary institution, allowing employees to work in their community. Bow Valley College has campuses in Okotoks, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Banff.

-30-

About Bow Valley College

Calgary and regions only Comprehensive Community College  with 14,000 full- and part-time students, Bow Valley College helps Open Doors  Open Minds to in-demand jobs in Calgary, Alberta, and Canada. Our graduates contribute to the digital economy, careers in business, TV & film production, and serve on the frontlines of healthcare and social services. Bow Valley College invests in virtual reality (VR), Work Integrated Learning (WIL), micro-credentials, and foundational opportunities.
Salt Lake City, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Salt Lake City, Utah -

Salt Lake City, UT  Standard Optical is excited to celebrate LASIK and cataract surgeon Dr. Terrence Spencers one-year anniversary of joining the practice in November. In addition, Terrence Spencer, M.D. has completed more than 25,000 surgeries throughout his career.

Dr. Spencer is such a talented ophthalmologist, said Dr. Aaron Schubach, owner and CEO of Standard Optical. Performing more than 25,000 surgeries is an incredible feat, and we want to celebrate not only his professional success, but also how much hes helped improve the lives of our patients. Dr. Spencer never stops learning; hes always keeping up with the latest technology and innovations in the field, and were constantly impressed by his commitment. The people of Utah deserve the best, and he delivers every time.

Dr. Spencer completed his Doctor of Medicine and ophthalmology residency at the University of Utah. He specializes in cataract and refractive surgery, and has a reputation for being the go-to surgeon for specialty intraocular lens procedures.

As a surgeon, I get to do what I love every day, said Dr. Spencer. Correcting peoples vision and seeing the joyous look on their faces when they realize they can see clearly is a wonderful thing. It feels amazing to be able to give that to people. I love working with the team at Standard Optical  they have such deep roots in Utah, and they are consistently leaders in the industry. Reaching this milestone during my time at Standard Optical is something Im proud of, and I look forward to performing many more surgeries in the future.

Standard Optical is known in the industry for its constant self-improvement, including as one of the first practices nationwide to use implantable contact lenses (ICL) as a LASIK surgery alternative. Dr. Spencers anniversary and surgery milestones reflect the practices continued commitment to provide expert, high quality eye care for their patients in Utah.

Standard Optical is open for appointments for both new and existing patients at any of their 21 locations throughout the state.

About Standard Optical

Standard Optical is over 100 years old and is one of Utahs leading optical practices, specializing in providing convenient, one-stop-shop ophthalmic care. Each of their locations also feature a large selection of eyewear along with a family-oriented atmosphere. For more information, visit www.standardoptical.net.

###

For more information about Standard Optical - West Valley Eye Doctor, contact the company here:



Standard Optical - West Valley Eye Doctor

Aaron Schubach

(801) 214-0310

aaron@standardoptical.net

1901 Parkway Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Carrollton, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carrollton, Texas -

TX based ArtResin would like to reach out to all artists who may be looking for quality resin tints. They have a collection of premium resin tints that are used to color and create stunning effects at resin art projects. The resins come in different colors and sizes and can be used for a wide variety of projects. ArtResin is quickly becoming the preferred supplier of resin colorant products for the community at large, due in part to their wide collection and commitment to providing excellent quality. They invite artists to browse their collection of resin products on the ArtResin online store to find the right resin colorant and epoxy resin pigment for all the creative projects they are working on.



Dreaming of the brightest and boldest colors for your resin art? Look no further than ResinTint, says the company. From metallics to neons and solid tints, ResinTint has everything you need to elevate the beauty of your resin art projects. ResinTints vibrant colorants and pigments are perfect for crafting resin geodes, jewelry making, petri art, river tables, ocean art, colorful coasters, resin flow art and many more home decor items made from epoxy resin. ResinTint colorants were designed to work perfectly with ArtResin, our high quality, crystal-clear and non-toxic epoxy resin and hardener. Color tints are available in pink, orange, yellow, green, red, purple, black and blue for richly saturated hues that can be mixed with our white, neon and metallic colorants to create your own custom color blends and dyes. Whatever you need to kickstart your epoxy resin creations, weve got you covered!



The resin tints come in easy-to-use squeeze bottles that allow the artist a greater degree of control over how much tint they add. ResinTint colorants are highly concentrated, meaning that even a very small amount goes a long way. An artist need not add a large amount to achieve great results, and this is what makes ResinTint one of the most cost effective resin tint options available on the market. Their colorants are also non-toxic, non-flammable and generally very safe for home use, so artists are free to pursue their creative passions without worrying about their safety.



ArtResin began when David and Rebecca, the founders, discovered their love of resin. They both developed a strong passion for resin around the same time but could not find resin products that met all their needs. As such, they set out to create their own: ArtResin, a clear and safe resin product that is easy and safe to use. Their products are now available for artists everywhere to enjoy, and there are a number of videos on their YouTube channel explaining how the resins can be utilized.



A number of customers have left excellent reviews of ArtResins products. One glowing review says, This is the first time I have ever worked with Resin. It was so easy, and it came out great! My second try was more challenging as a bubble appeared overnight  so I had to sand and re-resin  but again, it looks great! Love the product. Great instructional videos and Q&As. Also love the art resin torch. Super easy to use.



Another five-star review states, The best thing about this resin is that it is safe! No VOCs mean that I can work with it and not worry about hurting my pets or myself. Art resin has a long work time but this work time shortens with age. This means that your old resin will cure quicker than your newer resin. I only buy my art resin from here, because even though Amazon might be able to deliver the resin sooner, I can't be sure of the freshness. As far as I can tell, this resin does not get hot either, so I'm not scared that my trash will burst into flames! Honestly, this is a fantastic product, and I refuse to use anything else.



Visit ArtResins Pinterest for examples of some of the art that has been produced using their resin. More information can be found on the companys website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF_ipaBaC9E

###

For more information about ArtResin, contact the company here:



ArtResin

Rebecca Zak

(877) 401-4001

info@artresin.com

2300 Apollo Circle

Carrollton, TX 75006
Manchester, UK, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After the huge success of $GULF, GULF Software & Technology is launching GULF CRYPTO BANK, a one-of-a-kind project, an integrated banking system in which you can work in Fiat currencies as well as digital currencies.





Opening an account will be easy and accessible with a friendly user dashboard, from which users can withdraw, deposit, swap, do external and internal transfers immediately, securely and with minimal fees. Users will also be provided with a visa or mastercard that can be used at any ATM or online. Another noteworthy feature is the ability to withdraw your crypto assets to any external wallet by creating a wallet inside your bank account.

The Bank will also offer personal and corporate loans based on the Islamic laws.

Also, another opportunity to earn extra income is available for all active users through a referral program. Each user can obtain his or her own link for registration on which they will earn additional income from each person registering using their link and from each transaction performed by the latter, they will earn a fraction of the fees. The earnings will be added immediately to the users account balance.

In a nutshell, the Bank is not only providing total financial freedom and boundless power, but it is also offering the chance for its users to earn passive income with minimal efforts; all it takes is for the users to work on his network and share his or her referral link.

Expert Talk, one more feature out of many, is a hub in which any user of the Bank can publish articles, analyses, and recommendations about the crypto world. The material can be published in written or filmed format. This forum will offer the publisher high exposure and a chance to publish on social media platforms.

The bank will be widely spread with numerous offices, sales points and a huge agents network which will increase the ease of its accessibility and efficiency.

Currently the bank is preparing to launch very soon its public sales of shares on the day of its participation in the first Arab Summit for Crypto as a Diamond Sponsor and Partner in the event happening on February 15th in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the presence of governmental authorities, elite businessmen, entrepreneurs, and investors. The company is offering 49% as shares whereas 1 Share is equal to 1 $GULF. The 51% remainder is acquired by the developing company.

Each investor will be considered as a partner in the bank and will be offered an investor account on the dashboard from which he can follow up the banks daily transactions since he or she will be receiving dividends daily to their accounts balances of each transaction according to their percentage share.

It is important to note that the Bank will be registered and licensed in more than one country and is planned to be listed on the stock exchange in the future.

The vision behind GULF CRYPTO BANK was established to fill the gaps and the discrepancies present in the current financial systems and to unfold a new system with better value and opportunities to its users. This is why we are here to recognize this project as one of the Top 10 Prominent Projects in the Arab World that will offer a new vision to the ecosystem and the Web3 development.

https://gulfcryptobankshares.com/


Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volt Carbon Technologies Inc. (Volt Carbon or the Company) (TSX-V: VCT) (OTCQB: TORVF) is pleased to announce the acquisition by staking of a 100% owned Abamasagi Lake Lithium Project, (the "Project") located northwest of Nakina, Ontario, Canada. The mining claims were registered directly by Volt Carbon.



The staking was completed following a detailed review of several publicly available Ontario Government geological databases and publications. A total of 150 Mining Claim cells were registered by electronic staking through the Ontario Mining Lands Administration System portal, covering a total area of 3100 hectares. A map showing Volt Carbons mining claims is overlaid on top of the map provided by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development (the OMND) publication Recommendations for Exploration 2021-20221 and is shown in Figure 1 below. Target area 6 was recommended by the OMND publication as a grassroots exploration property for lithium based on lake sediment anomalies. The area outlined in red and was staked by Volt Carbon. The map provided by the OMND publication showed 98th percentile deep sediment samplings of lithium and cesium anomalies in Abamasagi Lake near the areas staked by Volt Carbon.

Fig. 1: Plan Map of Volt Carbons Abamasagi Lake Lithium Project (red outline).





Please select link to view image

The staked property lies within the English River Subprovince and north of the contact with the Caribou Lake greenstone belt and is centred on Abamasagi Lake. In close proximity to this location (Stott et al. 2002)3. Breaks et al. (2006)2, noted that near the Abamasagi Lake Road in the vicinity of its junction with the Anaconda Road, a well-exposed, clean, glacially polished outcrop of garnet-biotite-muscovite pegmatitic leucogranite was observed at 02-FWB-54 (UTM 490691E 5591192N, NAD83, Zone 16). Fertile peraluminous granite units are well exposed on glacially polished surfaces at this locality.

Breaks et al. (2006)2, noted that the bulk composition of a green muscovite ( 02-FWB-54-02) revealed levels of elements indicative of a fertile pegmatitic granite system and, particularly the elevated tantalum (63 ppm Ta), the potential for the presence of beryl-type pegmatites. In addition, the publication recommended that the area be prospected for potential rare-element mineralization.

With the addition of these mining claims, Volt Carbon has added mineral claims with potential critical rare earth minerals that could be used to build lithium ion batteries at its Solid Ultrabattery plant in Guelph, Ontario. The new mining claims are within 200km northwest of its Manitouwadge Graphite Project. The close proximity of the two properties will enable the Company to better manage and combine its exploration resources. The Company plans to further explore the property in 2023.

Qualified Person

Christian Derosier, P.Geo., PhD., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and acting on behalf of Volt Carbon. Dr. Derosier has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Volt Carbon Technologies

Volt Carbon is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation, with holdings in mining claims in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. For the latest information on Volt Carbons properties and news please refer to the website www.voltcarbontech.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Volt Carbon Technologies Inc.

V-Bond Lee, P. Eng.

CEO, President, Chairman of the Board and Director

Information Contact :

Email: info@voltcarbontech.com

Tel: (647-546-7049)

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.

References

1, Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry Recommendations for Exploration 2021-2022,

2, Breaks, F.W., Selway, J.B. and Tindle, 2006. Fertile and peraluminous granites and related rare element mineralization in pegmatites, north-central and northeastern Superior Province, Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6195, 143p.

3, Stott, G.M., Davis, D.W., Parker, J.R. Straub, K.H. and Tomlinson, K.Y. 2002. Geology and tectonostratigraphic assemblages, eastern Wabigoon Subprovince, Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Preliminary Map P.3449, or Geological Survey of Canada Open File 4285, scale 1:250 000.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Volts business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, intends budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates 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.

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. Although Volt believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements include statements with respect to: (i) the potential presence of beryl-type pegmatites and rare-element mineralization at the Project; (ii) the potential use of any rare-element minerals from the Project in the lithium ion batteries built at the Companys Solid Ultrabattery plant in Guelph, Ontario; (iii) the expectation that the close proximity of the two properties will enable the Company to better manage and combine its exploration resources; and (iv) the Companys plan to further explore the Project in 2023. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Volt assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation.
There will be one daily flight to Houston. The destination will continue to be served from AICM.

Aeromexico continues to be the largest airline operating from AIFA, connecting the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico with 9 destinations through more than 220 arrival and departure operations per week.

Mexico City, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Mexico City, January 31, 2023.- Mexican and US authorities granted Aeromexico the necessary authorizations to initiate direct flights from Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. As a result, Aeromexico is excited to grow our position as the airline with the most connectivity to and from the center of Mexico.

This route will commence operations on May 1, 2023, with one daily flight on Embraer 190 aircraft along with the flights already scheduled to Houston from the Mexico City International Airport (AICM). Tickets will be available for sale through the airline's official channels in the upcoming days.

This will be the ninth destination Aeromexico serves from AIFA, and the first route to connect this airport with the United States. This flight will allow our customers to travel from Mexico City and any of the 8 domestic destinations which Aeromexico serves from AIFA (Acapulco, Cancun, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Merida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, and Veracruz) to the United States of America, increasing connectivity between the two countries.

After a regulatory assessment and an evaluation of current conditions, US and Mexican authorities approved this route considering that AIFA also serves the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico.

Aeromexico is working closely with the Mexican aviation authorities to recover Category 1 aviation status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).

Aeromexico reaffirms its commitment to expand its network between Mexico and the United States with 22 routes, the best fleet, unrivaled service, and the highest safety standards in the industry.

-oo0oo-

About Grupo Aeromexico

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. is a holding company whose subsidiaries are engaged in commercial aviation in Mexico and the promotion of passenger loyalty programs. Aeromexico, Mexicos global airline has its main hub at Mexico City International Airport. Its destinations network features the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Asia, and Europe. The Group's operating fleet is comprised of Boeing 787 and 737 jet airliners and Embraer 190 models. Aeromexico is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, which celebrated its 21st anniversary, and serves 170 countries with its 18 SkyTeam airline partners. Aeromexico created and implemented a Health and Sanitization Management System (HSMS) to protect its customers and employees at all steps of its operations.
Portland, OR, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For a fourth year, Black Rock Coffee Bar, a national boutique coffee chain, is partnering with JoyRx, the mission delivery of Children's Cancer Association, to help bring joy to kids and teens around the United States who are facing pediatric cancer or other serious illness.

On February 3, 2023, Black Rock Coffee Bar is holding a "Give Back Day" at more than 100 of its stores across the U.S. to benefit the nonprofits JoyRx Music program, which draws on the universal power of music to create transformational moments for kids and teens in treatment. All day on February 3rd, Black Rock Coffee Bar will contribute 100% of the sales from its purple-themed drink  the Blue Raspberry & Strawberry Fuel. This delicious beverage was created exclusively by Black Rock Coffee Bar to align with JoyRxs passion for purple. For convenience, customers can also choose to donate through a QR code at point of purchase or directly at the window or cash register at each Black Rock location.

It was an easy decision to continue to support Childrens Cancer Association and its JoyRx Music program, said Jeff Hernandez, Co-Founder and Exec. Chairman of Black Rock Coffee Bar. Our partnership with this great organization is a purposeful experience for every single barista in each of our Black Rock Coffee Bar stores. It falls in line with our mission to serve our communities with positivity, grace and meaning.

Proceeds from the sales of the $3.00 Blue Raspberry & Strawberry Fuel drinks will help fund the JoyRx Music program, which is always free for families and provided by trained JoyRx Music specialists. Each in-person or digital-live session engages hospitalized kids and teens of all ages and diagnoses to choose the music medicine experience that best fits their needs. Both modes of delivery empower children with the option to watch a live music session, request a song, sing along, or engage in music lessons with instruments from the JoyRx music cart.

Black Rock Coffee Bar is a top national partner for us in helping transform the pediatric healthcare experience for children and teens across the nation, said Danielle York, CEO of JoyRx | Childrens Cancer Association. With Black Rocks continued support, weve been able to expand our JoyRx Music offering to 32 pediatric healthcare facilities spanning the U.S., providing nearly 100,000 joyful music interactions to over 21,000 children last year. Thanks to Black Rocks partnership, we will be able to increase the number of kids, teens, and families we serve throughout the country.

Visit www.JoyRx.org/BlackRock to participate in Black Rocks Give Back Day initiative.

About Black Rock Coffee Bar

Black Rock Coffee Bar is a national boutique coffee shop that is known for its premium-roasted coffees, teas, smoothies, and flavorful blended energy drinks. Founded as a family-owned and operated business in Oregon in 2008, Black Rock Coffee Bar has grown to more than 100 retail locations in seven states. The Black Rock culture prides itself on not only being a positive force for the communities it serves, but also for the team members that fuel their locations day in and day out. An important aspect of their team mission is to recognize those that go above and beyond by displaying the 4Gs of Black Rock  grit, growth, gratitude and grace. For more information, visit https://br.coffee/

About JoyRx

JoyRx, the mission delivery of Childrens Cancer Association, envisions a human-centered healthcare environment where JoyRx lives withing the standard of pediatric care. Since 1995, JoyRx has been transforming the pediatric healthcare experience by delivering customized, no-cost, Joy-based programs to kids and teens to improve their emotional health, elevate mood, and increase resiliency. JoyRx Music, JoyRx Mentorship, and JoyRx Nature programs empower seriously ill youth to positively shift their emotional state during the stressful and painful experiences related to fighting life-threatening illness and extended hospitalizations. See JoyRx in action at JoyRx.org.

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Vancouver, B.C., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The completion of the transaction is anticipated to create the worlds first publicly-listed pharmaceutical and narcotics investment company aimed at creating a global powerhouse positioned to take advantage of the rapidly growing safe supply narcotic sector and entire eco-system.

Having a publicly listed vehicle will provide Safe Supply with robust financial resources to fund its ambitious growth program.

Opportunity to establish a strategic foothold in the burgeoning British Columbia sector today and leadership position in the anticipated global roll-out including other provinces in Canada, Europe and the USA.

Safe Supply has a robust portfolio of investment targets which positions it as the pre-eminent market leader with portfolio companies operating in all parts of the safe supply value chain from importation and distribution to laboratories and clinics.

Safe Supply has a world-class management team, advisory board, investors and partners who have institutionalized other nascent sectors over the last decade including cannabis and psychedelics with best-in class industry knowledge.

Pursuant to the terms of the Letter of Intent with Safe Supply, Origin is prepared to lend up to $500,000 as interim financing to allow Safe Supply to execute upon its business plan.

Origin Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (CSE:ORIG) (the Company or Origin) announces that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent dated January 31, 2023 (the LOI) with Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd. (Safe Supply) pursuant to which the Company will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities in the capital of Safe Supply by way of a business combination transaction (the Transaction).

Governments around the world have signaled a significant change in attitudes towards narcotics and safe supply in recent years following a healthcare crisis relating to supply of toxic narcotics containing fentanyl and other harmful un-traceable compounds, along with deaths from fentanyl overdoses. Health Canada and British Columbias provincial governments movement to decriminalize certain schedule 1 narcotics today marks the historic third and the final wave of de-scheduling in Canada in their ground-breaking movement to fight the healthcare crisis. The safe supply of cannabis and legalization started in 2013 in Canada. Following the success of cannabis legalization, in 2019 the Canadian government launched the second wave of de-scheduling narcotics with psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy. This third and final wave of de-scheduling marks a monumental period for the country and presents a unique opportunity for investors and commercial operators to work with the Canadian government to advance their efforts.

Upon closing of the Private Placement (as defined below), the Resulting Issuer (as defined below) will have more than $6 million in cash to execute upon its business plan. Pursuant to the terms of the LOI and other terms to be agreed, Origin has agreed to lend up to $500,000 as interim financing to Safe Supply to allow Safe Supply to execute on near term business objectives.

Acquisition Terms

The parties intend to enter into a definitive agreement in respect of the Transaction (the Definitive Agreement) by no later than February 28, 2023, or such other date as may be agreed to by Safe Supply and the Company.

It is currently anticipated that the Transaction will be effected by way of a three-cornered amalgamation pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) involving Safe Supply and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, or some other similar form of transaction including a share exchange which will constitute a reverse-takeover of the Company by Safe Supply. The resulting issuer that will exist upon completion of the Transaction (the Resulting Issuer) will change its business to that of Safe Supply. The Transaction is an arms length transaction and is expected to close in early spring 2023.

If the Transaction is completed, it is anticipated that the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer shall be reconstituted to consist of such directors as Safe Supply and the Company shall determine, and certain officers of the Company shall resign and be replaced with officers appointed by the new board of directors.

The completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other items: (i) the entering into of the Definitive Agreement; (ii) the consolidation of the Companys existing share capital on a 4-for-1 basis or such other basis as mutually determined by Safe Supply and the Company (the Consolidation); (iii) the Company changing its name to Safe Supply Streaming Co Ltd. or such other mutually determined name; (iv) completion of the Private Placement (as defined below); (v) the entering into by Safe Supply of certain letters of intent with respect to streaming opportunities; (vi) receipt of all required shareholder, regulatory and third-party consents, including approval of the Transaction by the Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE); and (vii) the listing of the shares of the Resulting Issuer (Resulting Issuer Shares) on the CSE.

Pursuant to the Transaction, all outstanding securities of Safe Supply will be exchanged by the holders thereof for identical securities of the Resulting Issuer on a post-Consolidation one-for-one basis.

Upon entering into the Definitive Agreement in respect of the Transaction, the Company intends to issue a further press release which will disclose the further details relating to the Transaction and the Resulting Issuer.

Trading of Origin s common shares has been halted as a result of the announcement of the Transaction and will remain halted pending the review of the Transaction by the CSE and satisfaction of conditions of the CSE for resumption. The Company expects that trading will not resume prior to the closing of the Transaction.

Equity Financing

Pursuant to the LOI, Safe Supply will complete an arms length equity financing on terms satisfactory to the Company of at least $3 million and no greater than $4 million subscription receipts ultimately exchangeable into Resulting Issuer Shares (the Private Placement). The proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to fund working capital and general corporate purposes, including potential streaming investments.

Further Information



There can be no assurance that the Transaction or the Private Placement will be completed as proposed, or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular and/or listing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

None of the securities to be issued in connection with the Transaction or the Private Placement have been, or will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to any U.S. Person (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation would be unlawful, including the United States.

All information contained in this press release with respect to Safe Supply, its business, the market in which it operates and the Private Placement was supplied by Safe Supply for inclusion herein. The Company has not conducted due diligence on the information provided and does not assume any responsibly for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

About Origin Therapeutics

Origin is an investment issuer that has historically focused on making equity investments in psychedelics-industry-related companies to provide investors with diverse exposure to the sector. On December 8, 2022, the Company announced that its board of directors had initiated a review process to consider, review and evaluate strategic alternatives for the Company.

About Safe Supply

Safe Supply is a pharmaceutical streaming / investment company tackling the global safe supply eco-system. Backed by a world class management team with expertise in the narcotics industry, Safe Supply has a portfolio of potential letters of intent for investments across the value chain from narcotics licenses to laboratories to clinics and more. Safe Supply will offer investors a diversified platform to participate in this burgeoning sector and benefit from a portfolio of companies that have been handpicked and vetted by our renowned management team and advisory partners. Our goal is to be the first mover and global champion in this sector with a strong balance sheet to move quickly to establish attractive investments across the value chain.

Learn more at www.safesupplystreaming.com and follow the Company on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Instagram .

For Further Information:

Michael Galego

Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director

Origin Therapeutics Holdings Inc.

www.originpsychedelics.com

info@originpsychedelics.com

(604) 416-4099

Bill Panagiotakopoulos

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd.

www.safesupplystreaming.com

bill@safesupplystreaming.com

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

Certain statements in this news release related to the Company are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature, including but not limited to the express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the intention of Origin and Safe Supply to complete the Transaction and the Private Placement. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, there is no guarantee that the parties will successfully enter into the Definitive Agreement or complete the Transaction or Private Placement contemplated herein, that Origin will obtain any of the required shareholder or regulatory approvals, including the listing of the Resulting Issuer Shares on the CSE. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as may, should, could, intend, estimate, plan, anticipate, expect, believe, will or continue, or the negative thereof or similar variations. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Companys and Safe Supplys plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including but not limited to adverse market conditions and risks inherent in the Companys and Safe Supplys business in general. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this press release. Except as required by applicable law, the Company and Safe Supply do not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
PERTH, Australia, Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Techforce, a privately owned recruitment and workforce management company supplying qualified employees for a range of positions, including rigger jobs and mining chef jobs, FIFO is a popular working arrangement in the mining, construction, oil and gas industries. While FIFO can be a great opportunity offering many benefits, being away from home and family for long periods of time can impact an individual's lifestyle and isn't suited to everyone. Here, Techforce shares everything to know about the benefits and challenges of FIFO work.

FIFO workers are usually required to work long hours with very little downtime, explains Techforce. Common roster arrangements include seven days on followed by seven days off or 14 days on followed by 14 days off. The pay for FIFO work is usually significantly higher than average to make up for the inconvenience of being away from home and the long hours required. Each site will have different conditions, allowances, salaries, travel conditions and recreational facilities. As most FIFO sites are isolated, there may be little or no opportunity to go anywhere outside of the camp site.

Techforce points out some key benefits of FIFO work include the flexibility to work in different locations without the requirement to relocate permanently, the ability to keep work life and personal life completely separate, exposure to exciting industries and diverse people with endless career growth opportunities and the ability to relax and enjoy time with family and friends during days off.

FIFO work is not without challenges and Techforce says workers can often feel isolated as they will likely miss out on many significant milestones and events back home due to the nature of living away. Being away for long periods of time can also put a strain on relationships. Additionally, the long rosters and hours can leave some feeling fatigued and burnt out.

Techforce says while FIFO work is not suited for everyone, it can be an extremely rewarding and worthwhile career choice for the right person.

To discover more about available opportunities, such as FIFO chef jobs Perth-wide as well as other positions, including chef jobs and more, contact Techforce.

Contact Information:

Techforce Personnel

Marketing Manager

recruitment@techforce.com.au

(08) 6363 7040



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Hyehwamun (Northeast Gate) in the late 19th or early 20th centuries / Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



In Korea, 1898 began with change and trepidation. December the last year had been brutally cold but the first week of January was pleasantly mild. There was the promise of prosperity. The rice prices, which had been extremely high due to the failure of the crops in the capital region the previous year, continued to fall as more shipments of rice arrived. There were probably some who believed that supernatural forces were responsible for this change of fate.



In the vicinity of Beol-ri, a village that's now known as northeastern Seoul's Beon-dong, a hunter killed a white pheasant. He was convinced that it was an "omen of great prosperity for the nation" and so he took it to the palace so that it could be served to the royal family. The gift was accepted but it is not clear if the Korean monarch partook in any of the "omen(s)."



Clearly, for those who believe in portents and omens, this was no coincidence. Beol-ri was so named because of the large number of plum trees that grew in its vicinity. The Independent (a newspaper published in Seoul) translated Beol-ri as "cutting down plum trees," and then provided its readers with a legend of the founding of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.



"As the (918-1392 Goryeo) dynasty was drawing near to its close a prophesy passed from mouth to mouth that the man destined to overthrow the then royal family was to be named Yi (Plum Tree) and that he would establish his capital near the place where the trees flourish. The kings of (Goryeo) were very much disturbed and hearing that the hateful trees flourished near Hanyang (the old name for Seoul) ordered that they should be cut down. But, according to the story, the trees would not be downed. The more cut down, the more they spread. This prophecy was ultimately fulfilled when the present dynasty was founded by a general named (Yi Seong-gye  his imperial title is King Taejo)."





Korean prisoners in cangues in the late 19th or early 20th century / Robert Neff Collection



This was not the only hint of the supernatural. In the middle of January, The Independent reported that Yi Yu-in was appointed the new minister of law. The article noted that Yi was from the Gyeongsang region and was of "humble origin," but "his ability of fortune-telling brought him up to Seoul some years ago," where "he soon became a high official in the Government." Prior to the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, he had served as governor of Seoul, but once hostilities broke out, he returned to his home province "and remained quiet." But the call of politics (and perhaps something from beyond) compelled him to return to Seoul in 1897, where he regained some of his influence.



The editor added, "We trust that he will administer the judiciary department of the Government with prophetic wisdom and foresight."



There were many travesties of law in need of his wisdom and oversight.





A soldier of the late 19th century / Robert Neff Collection

On Jan. 3, a policeman named Tai Changyup broke into a house in an effort to steal an iron boiler. He was caught red-handed and taken to the local police station, where he confessed that he had committed the act because he was hungry and had no money to buy rice.



But some other government employees apparently had enough money to get into trouble.



A lieutenant in the Korean army went into "a disreputable house" to enjoy a little drinking and female companionship. To his displeasure, another guest was "monopolizing the society of inmates of the house." The officer was made even unhappier when he discovered his competition was a soldier from his own company  he promptly ordered his subordinate to leave but the order was refused. The soldier told his superior that he was compelled to obey in the barracks but not in this establishment.



"The officer struck the soldier with his fist. The half-drunken soldier caught the officer by the collar and dragged him out of the house and gave him a sound thrashing. The groaning of the beaten man attracted a passing policeman who found the officer prostrated in the gutter without a hat and his uniform was covered with blood. The policeman arrested both the officer and his assailant and sent them to the War Office for investigation. The officer begged authorities not to make public the occurrence, and the War Office officials refused to give the name of both the victor and the vanquished."



There were also injustices heaped upon the general public. In Fusan (modern Busan), "an aged unoffending mother should be taken to the magistrate's office, stripped of her clothing, and severely beaten for the misdemeanors of an unworthy son." According to a writer from that port, he understood that Korea "has long sanctioned the punishment of innocent members of the family for the guilty," but in his opinion, this was "simply an act of barbaric injustice against which the common conscious revolts..." He asked that an investigation be conducted and the perpetrator severely punished. Whether this was done or not is unknown. By the end of September, Justice Minister Yi was having his own legal problems and was sentenced to a prison term of 10 years. He did not serve out the full sentence, as the fickleness of Korean politics soon reinstated him.



Not all justice was administered by government officials.



In the middle of January, a Western resident of Jemulpo (modern Incheon) and a frequent contributor to The Independent described an incident that took place in that port.



He saw a large crowd of intoxicated men gathered in the street near the hotel. There was a great deal of "vociferous conversation" that soon evolved into a physical assault. A large man seized a "prostrate man on the ground by the long and luxuriant locks of hair and dragged him away with a fierce and unkind expression." Thinking the man was to be killed, the foreigner thought to interfere but suddenly recalled "several experiences on kindred occasions," and thought it best to inquire as to the reasons for the assault. From a fellow spectator, he learned:



"The man owning the hair was a son-in-law. The man with a grip on the hair was his father-in-law. The son-in-law had induced his wife to take up her abode with her father temporarily and as times were hard he had left her there permanently and no longer called to see her even on her afternoons at home ... The father-in-law had stood this undutiful conduct as long as he could and then came in search of the recalcitrant. He had tried to induce him to come peaceably and to at least call on his wife but he was too mean to do it. And finding entreaty, exhortation and expostulation in vain he had resorted to the hair of the head. He was determined that his daughter should see her husband if he had to drag him to her feet by the hair of the head, and that was what it had come to. And the last I saw was the husband bumping over the ground on his way to see his wife, with the assistance of an earnest and muscular father-in-law."





Jemulpo harbor in the early 20th century, where visits by navies with several ships often caused consternation in the capital. / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection
STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) announced today that the ultra-deepwater drillship, Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2, has been awarded a 910-day contract by a national oil company for work offshore Brazil. The estimated backlog of $392 million excludes a mobilization fee of 90 times the contract dayrate.



The new contract is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2023.

About Transocean

Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services, and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.

Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 38 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 28 ultra-deepwater floaters and 10 harsh environment floaters. In addition, Transocean is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship and holds a partial ownership interest in a company that is constructing another ultra-deepwater drillship.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements described herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements could contain words such as "possible," "intend," "will," "if," "expect," or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, actual results could differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, estimated duration of customer contracts, contract dayrate amounts, future contract commencement dates and locations, planned shipyard projects and other out-of-service time, sales of drilling units, timing of the companys newbuild deliveries, operating hazards and delays, risks associated with international operations, actions by customers and other third parties, the fluctuation of current and future prices of oil and gas, the global and regional supply and demand for oil and gas, the intention to scrap certain drilling rigs, the success of our business following prior acquisitions, the effects of the spread of and mitigation efforts by governments, businesses and individuals related to contagious illnesses, such as COVID-19, and other factors, including those and other risks discussed in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and in the company's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC's website at: www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize (or the other consequences of such a development worsen), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur, or which we become aware of, after the date hereof, except as otherwise may be required by law. All non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations to the most comparative GAAP measure are displayed in quantitative schedules on the companys website at: www.deepwater.com.

This press release, or referenced documents, do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and do not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of Transocean and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of Transocean.

Analyst Contact:

Alison Johnson

+1 713-232-7214

Media Contact:

Pam Easton

+1 713-232-7647
English French

REGULATORY RELEASE

KLEPIERRE TERMINATES ITS EXISTING LIQUIDITY AGREEMENT AND ENTERS INTO A NEW LIQUIDITY AGREEMENT

Paris, January 31, 2023

KLEPIERRE TERMINATES ITS EXISTING LIQUIDITY AGREEMENT

Klepierre SA (ISIN FR0000121964) announces that, as of January 31, 2023, it has terminated the liquidity agreement for its shares listed on Euronext Paris, entered into with Rothschild Martin Maurel on February 1, 2019. This follows Klepierre SA's decision to change its investment services provider for the optimization of its shares liquidity and the management its liquidity agreement.

As of January 31, 2023, when the termination came into effect, the liquidity account held:

Number of Klepierre shares: 0 Klepierre SA shares;

Cash balance: 10,738,920.93 euros.

In the most recent interim statement at December 31, 2022, the liquidity account broke down as follows:

Available resources at December 31, 2022: 0 Klepierre SA share and 10,731,679.00;





Number of buy-side transactions in second-half 2022: 4,619;

Number of sell-side transactions in second-half 2022: 5,363;

Volume traded buy-side in second-half 2022: 1,217,464 shares for 24,881,044.46;

Volume traded sell-side in second-half 2022: 1,247,464 shares for 25,461,380.60.

KLEPIERRE ENTERS INTO A NEW LIQUIDITY AGREEMENT

Klepierre announces that, as of February 1st, 2023, it has entered into a liquidity agreement with Kepler-Cheuvreux, in accordance with Articles L. 225-209 et seq. of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) and AMF Decision No. 2021-01 of June 22, 2021 renewing the introduction of liquidity agreements for equity securities as an accepted market practice (the AMF Decision) and all other provisions referred to therein.

This liquidity agreement has been entered into for a period of one year, renewable by tacit agreement. Its purpose is to promote the liquidity of Klepierre SA shares (ISIN FR0000121964) on Euronext Paris.

For the purposes of this agreement, the liquidity account now holds:

Number of Klepierre shares: 0 Klepierre SA shares;

Cash balance: 15,000,000.00 euros.

Pursuant to the terms of the liquidity agreement entered into with Kepler Cheuvreux, said agreement may be suspended in the following situations or conditions:

The conditions referred to in Article 5 of the AMF Decision;

At the request of Klepierre SA for any specified period.

The agreement may be terminated under the following conditions:

By Klepierre SA, at any time, without notice;

By Kepler Cheuvreux, subject to 30 days notice.

INVESTOR RELATIONS

CONTACTS

Paul Logerot, Group Head of IR and Financial Communication

+33 (0)7 50 66 05 63  paul.logerot@klepierre.com

Tanguy Phelippeau, IR Officer

+33 (0)7 72 09 29 57  tanguy.phelippeau@klepierre.com

ABOUT KLEPIERRE

Klepierre is the European leader in shopping malls, combining property development and asset management skills. The Companys portfolio is valued at 20.6 billion at June 30, 2022, and comprises large shopping centers in more than 10 countries in Continental Europe which together host hundreds of millions of visitors per year. Klepierre holds a controlling stake in Steen & Strm (56.1%), Scandinavias number one shopping center owner and manager. Klepierre is a French REIT (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris and is included in the CAC Next 20 and EPRA Euro Zone Indexes. It is also included in ethical indexes, such as MSCI Europe ESG Leaders, FTSE4Good, Euronext Vigeo Europe 120, and features in CDPs A-list. These distinctions underscore the Groups commitment to a proactive sustainable development policy and its global leadership in the fight against climate change.

For more information, please visit the newsroom on our website: www.klepierre.com

Attachment
Chai Seh-lynn, center, is co-author with North Korean refugee Park Ji-hyun of the book, "The Hard Road Out: One Woman's Escape From North Korea." Chai is pictured here at the Freedom Speakers International office with Casey Lartigue Jr., co-author with North Korean refugee Han Song-mi of the book "Greenlight to Freedom," and FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo. Courtesy of Casey Lartigue



By Chai Seh-lynn



If you want to write a book and it is the two of you writing it, you have to work together a lot, share a lot. It is challenging, especially when one is from North Korea, the other from South Korea.



I met Park Ji-hyun, a North Korean refugee for the first time in 2014 in the United Kingdom when Amnesty International hired me to interview her for a documentary. I spent an entire day asking her questions and listening to her answers. As I was processing all the information, I could tell it was creating confusions in my head, picturing the sufferings in North Korea, feeling the empathy for this woman, and at the same time sensing my anti-communism education instinctively kicking in, projecting Ji-hyun growing red horns on her head.



This discomfort I experienced exists, in my opinion, suppressed and deeply rooted, in every single South Korean. If it was not for writing this book, I would have never addressed it myself. I would have just kept ignoring North Korea, as if it was a different country. Like all humans, I too like the comfort of repetition, accumulation of similar actions, as it gives me a sense of security. The encounter with Ji-hyun, however, shook it all up and that state of being out of balance made me realize it was time for me to write. Time to write about her, the human being, with all her emotions and memories. That is what people do, when they write in French. "An event is not complete unless written," said the 2022 Nobel Prize winner Annie Arnaud.



The three things that we had in common  a Korean heritage, the fact that we were women and the fact that we were missing home  allowed to me engage her in conversation. The writer in me wanted to give Ji-hyun the home that she had buried in the deepest part of herself, by talking about her childhood. For her, remembering was painful, difficult, almost impossible, but I knew that exercise would bring her back to life.



As for me, growing up, we never talked about North Korea at home. My friends tell me they never talk about it either. An eclipse in our life. I wrote this book as a duty of unfolding that eclipse, as if I had to redeem myself from the guilt of living with a forgotten past. Don't we exist as individuals because a country exists?



The encounter of two perspectives, two cultures, two subjectivities, two interpretationsAs we know, there are always two sides to every story, and the reality is extremely more complex than it looks. Unless you meet and talk, you cannot resolve differences. You have to deconstruct yourself first, then soak yourself in the other person's skin, and only then will you be able to reconstruct yourself with a different mindset. By writing this book together, Ji-hyun and I did not achieve the big reunification, but we certainly made a "micro-reunification." A truly cathartic experience for both of us.





Chai Seh-lynn is co-author with Park Ji-hyun of the book, "The Hard Road Out: One Woman's Escape From North Korea."





Chai Seh-lynn is co-author with North Korean refugee Park Ji-hyun of the book, "The Hard Road Out: One Woman's Escape From North Korea." Courtesy of Casey Lartigue Jr.
Courtesy of Jet Dela Cruz



By David Tizzard




Domestic Debt Exchange Programme: Some insurance companies delay sign up?

Charles Benoni Okine Business News Jan - 31 - 2023 , 13:46

Some individual insurance companies are hesitant to sign on to the government Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) even though the larger association reached an arrangement with the government last week, with today being the deadline.

Information reaching Graphic Business at the time of going to press, indicated that much as the association agreed to the terms of the DDEP, the final decision to participate rests solely on the approval of the boards and shareholders of the individual companies.

It is not immediately clear what this latest development means to the implementation of the DDEP.

Sources told Graphic Business that the deadline for the programme was too short because the final agreement to participate in the DDEP needed to go through some rigorous processes before a final decision was taken.

The source said, for instance, that most of the insurance companies were foreign-owned and listed on the stock exchange in their respective countries.

Any decision for the company to participate in this DDEP must be done with the approval of shareholders.

The companies need to call an emergency annual general meeting and table the issues for approval by the shareholders before a decision can be take, the source said.

It also noted that those that are not listed have to go through their boards, a process that cannot take just a few days to complete.

The source said while the association agreed to the terms, there was a caveat just as agreed with the banks that participation in the DDEP is absolutely voluntary.

Meanwhile, the government is racing against time to close the deal by today, January 31, after it had postponed the exercise on a couple of occasions to allow for broader consultations with stakeholders.

So far three groups have signed onto the deal in principle. They are the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) and the Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA).

Background

The government agreed with the banks to pay five per cent coupon (interest) on bonds for this year.

It will also pay a single coupon of nine per cent on the 12 new bonds it proposes to issue to domestic bondholders who tender their old bonds.

The government and the banks also agreed on the removal or amendment of all clauses in the Exchange Memorandum that empowered the Republic to, at its sole discretion, vary the terms of the exchange.

The parties issued the statement after a crunch meeting on Monday, January, 23, 2023 to negotiate new designs and concessions to make it easier for banks to participate in the voluntary DDEP.

The bankers association also asked the government to provide clarity on the operational framework and terms of access to the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF).

The fund is expected to help fund managers, banks, insurance companies and the likes with cash flow to meet their obligations as they fall due, in view of the cash flow challenges the debt exchange programme would bring upon the participating institutions.

The programme deadline is today.

Context

Even though bond coupons are usually paid in two installments, under the DDEP, the government proposed to pay no interest for this year.

However, bonds maturing from 2024 will receive five per cent coupon in 2024 and thereafter between nine per cent and 10.65 per cent.
South Africa urges MTN & GRA to resolve tax dispute

Kweku Zurek Business News Jan - 31 - 2023 , 12:58

The South African government has urged mobile operator MTN Group and the Ghana Revenue Authority to work closely to resolve a GH8,209,603,842.14 (US $773 million) tax dispute.

South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor last Friday encouraged MTN to work closely with the authorities in Ghana to devise a solution.

A media statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said the South African Government is committed to promoting increased investment in Ghana.

"The Minister calls on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution to these reported challenges," the statement said.

"Our common destiny as outlined in the Agenda 2063 aspirations, depends on a win-win intra-African collaboration and cooperation".

South Africa is one of the largest foreign direct investors in Ghana, mainly in mining, communication, beverages, retail and franchising.

Dispute

Scancom PLC, owners of MTN Ghana has pushed back on an alleged tax infringement placed on the company by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between 2014 and 2018.

The telecommunications company says it is a tax-compliant corporate citizen and the tax liability notice of GH8,209,603,842.14 (US$773 million) issued against it by the GRA is unacceptable.

The assessment of GH8,209,603,842.14 includes penalties and interest charges.

In this regard, from the base component of the Assessment (that is, excluding penalties and interest), on MTN Ghanas analysis, the GRA infers that MTN Ghana under-declared its revenue by more than approximately 30 per cent over the 5-year period - 2014 to 2018.

Related: MTN Ghana disputes GH8billion tax liability
South Birim Rural Bank donates to Akyem Swedru SHS

Samuel Kyei-Boateng, Akyem Swedru Business News Jan - 31 - 2023 , 16:05

The South Birim Rural Bank has donated GH10,000 to the Akyem Swedru Senior High School (AKISS) for the renovation of its classroom and dormitory blocks.

The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the bank, Bernadette Addo-Danqua, who made the presentation last Friday, said the gesture was in response to an appeal made by the management of the school to the bank at the school's 52nd anniversary celebration to assist in the development of the institution.

She advised the school's management to utilise the money for the intended purpose in order to continue to receive more assistance from the financial institution.

Mrs Addo-Danqua urged the students to eschew arrogance and attach special importance to their education for them to become responsible future leaders to assist in the development of their community in particular and the nation at large.

She admonished them to eschew the consumption of narcotic drugs, which could negatively affect their education and health.

The board chairperson enjoined the students to be law abiding and be respectful to the school authorities and the elderly in society, stressing that they should refrain from get-rich-quick attitudes at the expense of their education.

She said the donation to AKISS was the second in five months that the bank had assisted a senior high school in its catchment area.

According to her, the bank in September 24, 2022 donated GH10,000 to the Oda Senior High School for the rehabilitation of the girls' dormitory block whose roof was ripped off by a severe rainstorm in early 2022.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank, Gladys Okyere, also admonished the students to study very hard for them to become important intellectuals in future.

The Assistant Headmistresses of Administration and Academic, Sophia Anku and Lydia Achiaa ,respectively, who jointly received the money, were grateful to the bank for the gesture and promised to use it for the intended purpose.

They seized the opportunity to appeal to the government, well-to-do individuals and non-governmental organisations to help improve infrastructure in the school.
Vodafone Ghana adjudged Top Employer for 2023

Business Desk Report Business News Jan - 31 - 2023 , 11:54

The Top Employers Institute, has adjudged Vodafone Ghana as a Top Employer for Ghana and Africa.

The Institute recognized Vodafone Ghana as a Top Employer in Ghana five years ago and in the four subsequent years thereafter as Top Employer in Ghana and Africa.

A release issued in Accra yesterday day, Each year, the Top Employers Institute identifies organisations that put their people first through exceptional HR policies.

The Institute's certification programme is based on the results of the HR Best Practices Survey, which covers six HR domains and 20 topics, including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity and Inclusion, and Wellbeing.

The Chief Executive Officer of Top Employers Institute, David Plink said, Uncertain economic times bring out the best in people and organisations. And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year: exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2023.

These employers have always demonstrated that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enhance the world of work. We are proud to announce and celebrate this year's group of leading people-oriented employers; the Top Employers 2023.

The Director of Human Resources, Vodafone Ghana, Hannah Ashiokai Akrong, said the company is honoured to be recognised as a Top Employer for Ghana and Africa, 2023 by Top Employers Institute.

It is a testament to our commitment to create a positive and inclusive working environment for our employees. We believe that investing in our people is not only the right thing to do, but it also drives the success of our organisation.

She said the remarkable achievement re-affirms Vodafone as a leader in exceptional HR policies and outstanding working conditions and highlights the organisation's dedication to a better world of work through excellent people practices, even during uncertain economic times.
POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, fourth from right, talks with Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan, fourth from left, at POSCO Center in Seoul, Monday. After seeing POSCO Group's exhibition on its hydrogen value chain, they discussed ways for the Korean conglomerate and the Australian state to strengthen their partnership in renewable energy and rechargeable battery materials sectors. Courtesy of POSCO Group
Daily Graphic Editorials

Lets sustain educational intervention programmes

Daily Graphic Editorials Jan - 31 - 2023 , 12:24

The fact that education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility is not questionable.

This is because education is a leveller and the only way to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

Therefore, for a country to achieve total progress, it is important that attention is focused on the development of its human capital and this can only be done with a solid education footing.

In Ghana, a number of interventions have been put in place to ensure that education is accessible to every child of school age.

Interventions such as the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE), School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant and the Free Senior High School are typical moves to make education accessible to all.

Therefore, Daily Graphic believes that any move or effort towards improving education is a welcome one worthy of support and we are committed to that.

It is in the light of this that the Daily Graphic supports the decision of the United Nations General Assembly to set aside January 24, as the International Day of Education is in the right direction.

The day aims at generating debate around how to strengthen education as a public endeavour and a common good.

It is also in recognition of the central role education plays in building sustainable and resilient societies, as well as in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The day further seeks to steer the digital transformation, support teachers, safeguard the planet and unlock the potential in every person to contribute to our collective well-being and a shared home.

Five years down the line since the institution of the day, a number of civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations in the education space have been playing crucial roles of holding duty bearers to deliver on their mandate towards achieving the SDG Four.

The Daily Graphic commends these CSOs and other organisations for their watchdog role and urges the government to see their role as complementary and not an antagonistic one.

Admittedly, the Free SHS programme is a great intervention to increasing access to potential students who would otherwise have missed out of the opportunity to attain secondary education.

Unfortunately, even though we have less than 10 years to attain the SDGs, we still have a long way to go in terms of access and quality of education.

In the country, currently, there are still schools under trees, schools without furniture, a shortfall of teachers in the rural areas, arrears on Capitation grant, among others, which are potential indicators that can affect the quality of education and be a barrier to attaining the SDGs.

These issues are particularly pronounced at the basic level within the public sector, where, ironically, we have the full control of the government.

The shortfall of infrastructure in schools no doubt is a great disincentive for teachers, who are key stakeholders in the development of the human capital enterprise.

It is a fact that some teachers decline postings to some rural areas because of some of these challenges and that has led to the shortfall of teachers in those communities, while in the urban areas there are more than enough teachers.

This is why the Daily Graphic calls for a deliberate action by the government to prioritise more investment into education, especially at the basic level to ensure a sound footing as the children progress on the academic ladder.

We believe that incentive packages can be put in place to motivate those who accept posting to the rural areas to ensure that those children are not disadvantaged unnecessarily.

For Ghana to be able to give its children a sound footing in education, it is important that all the interventions that have been put in place are sustained and, in some cases, improved upon.

As we join the rest of the UN family to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the International Day of Education, the Daily Graphic urges the government to continue to do more in terms of access and the quality of education it offers its children in preparing them for the future.

Surely, the level of preparation of todays children will determine the kind of leaders we have tomorrow.

This is only possible if we give our children a solid foundation in education to enable them to rub shoulders with their counterparts anywhere in the world.
Amending the Constitution we don't deserve

Ace Anan Ankomah Opinion Jan - 31 - 2023 , 20:48

The framers of the Fourth Republican Constitution did not get much wrong.

They delivered to us, under the circumstances, a document that was considerably forward-looking and certainly workable. However, the framers made two basic mistakes: (i) they gambled on us being a reasonable people, and (ii) they completely failed to anticipate how incredibly, extremely, and debilitatingly partisan we would become.

The result is that instead of following the Constitution, we have perfected the art of being smart in dribbling around and distorting its provisions. When faced with the mess that we have created, we adopt the typical strawman stance, and blame the document for the mess. So, right now, the excuse for all our failures is that the Constitution does not work, and that we should amend it.

I agree that certain provisions of the Constitution need to be looked at, simply because with the passage of time, there is the need for new thinking and some tweaking of its provisions. My position however is that this document is WORKABLE. We can live with this Constitution for a very long time, if we respect and follow the provisions, until we are able to amend it. But the Constitution is NOT the reason why we are how, what and where we are.

I have, literally, tens of examples, but permit me to illustrate and expand my point with just a few of them.

I. PARLIAMENT

The framers of the Constitution imposed at least two mandatory, legislative obligations on Parliament. One, under article 22(2) is that Parliament shall, AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE AFTER THE COMING INTO FORCE OF THIS CONSTITUTION, enact legislation regulating the property rights of spouses [my emphasis.] More than three decades later, our Parliament has not complied with this, apart from some minor provisions relating to land, which were smuggled into the new Land Act. Two, under article 181(5), Parliament was to make necessary modifications to the loan approval regime under article 181, to apply to international business and economic transactions that the government is a party to. To date, NOTHING. And so, there have been cases where the government has entered into such transactions, breached them and then attempted to set up its own failure to present the transaction to parliament as its defence. We have been embarrassed both in our courts and at international arbitral tribunals over these. STILL NOTHING.

The result is that Parliament has abdicated its responsibilities in these matters and ceded its legislative function to the Supreme Court. And because nature abhors vacuums the Supreme Court has accepted the challenge and is gleefully engaged in judicial legislation and amendment of its own legislation on the matter, based on the accident of litigation. Thus, in cases such as MENSAH, BOAFO, QUARSON, ARTHUR and ADJEI, the Supreme Court has imposed and then amended grounds for sharing property between spouses. And in cases such as FAROE ATLANTIC and BALKAN, the Supreme Court has legislated on which transactions require parliamentary approval and which do not, while literally been begging to do what the Constitution expects of it. In BALKAN, an obviously exasperated Date-Bah JSC, after answering what he called the argumentum ad absurdum propounded by defendants counsel, implying the word major into the provisions, and then laying down an interim but non-conclusive test, then said It is therefore imperative that Parliament takes up early the challenge of framing the modifications to article 181 needed to give greater certainty and clarity as to what categories of international business or economic transactions to which the Government is a party come within the ambit of article 181(5). That was on 16 May 2012. We will soon celebrate the 11th birthday of this imperative pronouncement. Still NOTHING.

So, what do we do? Lets amend the Constitution! To say what?

II. CONSTITUTIONALLY-INDEPENDENT BODIES

Yes, we have a very powerful presidency, and taking away a little of its powers might help. In 1969, we sought to whittle the powers of the president by, among others, identifying areas of governance where we do not want any political interference, and then creating bodies or offices that would be completely independent of the executive and the legislature, subject only to the Constitution and the Courts. Over the years and in subsequent constitutions, we have maintained and added to these bodies: Electoral Commission, Auditor-General, CHRAJ, NCCE, Media Commission, and to some extent, the Lands Commission. These, I would argue, have the same level and quality of independence as the judiciary.

Yet, we have sat down for their independence to be completely eroded by the Executive and Parliament. The most affected is the Auditor-General, which has now been effectively demoted to a simple agency of government. Parliament is claiming a supervisory role over the Auditor-General, and its leaders protest loudly against the decision of the Supreme Court in OCCUPYGHANA v ATTORNEY-GENERAL, which asserted the independent powers of the Auditor-General to disallow and surcharge. As we speak, the powers of the Auditor-General to disallow and surcharge are effectively clipped.

And it is not only the Executive and Parliament that are to be blamed. Largely, the people who have been appointed to that office have shown precious little to no fortitude in asserting their independence. The only one who tried to do so, was then conveniently branded a holiday-dodger, then a foreigner and then an age-cheat, and was finally hounded out of office, with nary a whimper, whinge or whine of protest from either Parliament or the opposition parties. Civil Society organisations that rushed to court in protest are still waiting for a date to be set for judgment. Any successor to that office will become compliant, because he who does not know deaths looks, should observe sleep. It beggars belief that instead of ensuring that the independence of these bodies are respected and protected so that they can do their work efficiently and effectively, we want to amend the Constitution!

III. STATUTORY GERRYMANDERING

The Constitution seeks to ensure that only the Electoral Commission can create constituencies. It lays down both the period and substantive considerations for doing so, so that Ghana would be protected from the rampant, partisan gerrymandering that occurs in places like the United States. But the political class cleverly provided in statute (inferior law) that no person can belong to two district assemblies. Smart. And so, getting to the constitutional 7-year cycle, the Executive and Legislature may simply create districts so that some MPs become members of more than one assembly. Then the EC is forced to create separate constituencies to accommodate this. In spite of the framers good intentions, Ghana has become the gerrymanderers delight. And the answer? Amend the Constitution. To say what?

IV. ARTICLE 71

We debate the gravy and cream that article 71 has become. Yes, it provides for payment of end-of-service benefits. But where does it provide for the fantastic sums that are always decided literally on the midnight of every presidential and parliamentary term? The political class has, once again, cleverly conspired to postpone the determination of their conditions of employment to the very end of the term. Then the Committee is set up, which then is forced to consider the emoluments, taking into consideration the economic conditions at the end of the term and not the start. The Committees then recommend huge emoluments, which are then applied retrospectively so that the beneficiaries take home huge sums of money as a mix of back pay and ex gratia. We have sat down to allow such shenanigans to go on for 3 decades and instead of simply stopping it, and we want the Constitution amended.

V. NUMBER OF SUPREME COURT JUDGES

Should we provide a number-cap for the number of judges we appoint to the Supreme Court? The supposed answer is yes, to stop a president from appointing 5,000 SC judges.

But wait a minute. Has anyone taken the time or made the effort to check the volume of work that those judges do? For the longest time they had no legal assistance. These ladies and gentlemen read the fat volumes of case bundles by themselves, did their own legal research, drafted their own legal opinions and read them. I remember being in the SC and seeing a judge read his judgment written in his hand, from a brown Ghana Schools exercise book with the Ghana map at the back for good measure. Meanwhile our SC has several jurisdictions (appellate, original, supervisory, special, etc), each of which continuously churns out cases. And they must hear them all, because unlike the US Supreme Court, they dont have the luxury of choosing which cases they will hear or not hear. Worse, we demand from them a Rolls-Royce-quality service and provide for them a tricycle budget!

Where is the research to show that with the volume of work, we need a limit on the numbers? What if we amended to provide a cap and then found that they are overworked? Then we amend again to change the cap? The framers, it appears to me, had hoped that Parliament would reasonably use it approval powers to stop a president who seeks to pack the court for no reason. Parliament, I would argue, may refuse to approve appointments if it believes that they are superfluous or unnecessary, considering factors such as the volume of work. We should have the statistics: How many cases have been filed over the past 30 years? How many have been determined at both interlocutory and final stages? What is the average turn-around time of a case before the SC? How many pages of judgments have been written? What critical number of judges do we need there to ensure proper delivery of justice at that level? I have heard it said that what you measure is what you get. What you cant, wont or dont measure, is lost. Parliament is entitled to demand from the President and Judicial Council, evidence that judges that are being appointed are necessary. On this, Parliament has failed again, and abdicated the gatekeeping role that the framers gave to them. We have not measured the volume of work, but we want to AMEND THE CONSTITUTION!

VI. AMEND?

Yes, the Constitution provides for amendment. Non-entrenched clauses require a super-majority of Parliament (two-thirds) to enact. Entrenched clauses require 40% of the voter population voting, 75% of whom must vote yes. That is almost impossible to pull off right now because of how evenly divided the leading parties are, and how intractably partisan they are. So, the constitutional review process went south when power changed hands. The attempt to elect DCEs and stop the joke of non-partisan district level elections went pear-shaped because the parties couldnt be of one mind. The only successful amendments were in 1996, because there was virtually no opposition in that Parliament because of the boycott, and consequently the ruling party had more than the super majority. And among the key amendments made in 1996 were securing gratuities for MPs, securing two-year contract extensions for retired public servants, and removing the Vice President as the chair of some security services!

I could cite several other examples of ways in which we have conspired to ignore or dribble the Constitution. Of course, some parts need amendment. But for the most part, what is required is simple common sense (unless, of course, common sense is overrated in these parts) and a desire to be more proactive in how we apply the document. We have conspired to weaken this workable document. Yet, it has been the longest lasting constitution in our history. Yes, it requires tweaks. But we definitely can work with this until we summon the partisan unanimity to amend it. PIPE DREAM!

No Constitution can defend itself. Neither the paper nor the black letters on it can rise up and whip us into line. We must respect it and do our best to protect and defend it. The framers gave us a good document that we have shown we have shown we dont deserve. So, by all means, lets amend it, so we deserve it less. Methinks the first amendment required is the amendment of the Ghanaian. If we cant work with this document, we will fail even a constitution that is drafted from heaven and delivered to us by fire and by thunder, and etched in gold on tablets of stone.

They call me Ace.
4 jailed 20 years for stealing GH1m from Best Point Savings and Loans

GNA Jan - 31 - 2023 , 14:44

Four persons involved in the syphoning of GH1,262,496.66 from Best Point Savings and Loans Limited have been sentenced to a total jail term of 20 years.

This is after an Accra Circuit Court found them guilty. The four broke down in tears after the sentence, with some relatives also unable to control their tears and reached for the convicts hands before they were escorted out of the courtroom.

Silas Adjei, former IT Officer of the Company was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court presided over by Justice Malike Wornya, a High Court Judge who sat with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court Judge.

Kwadwo Kudekor, a Supporting Officer of the Company, was also sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Patience Adjei, sister of Silas and a mobile vendor and James Afadzie, a trader, are to serve five years imprisonment each. Silas and Kudekor were charged with conspiracy and stealing. Silas was additionally charged with unauthorised interference with electronic record and money laundering.

Patience and Afadzie were held for abetment of crime and dishonestly receiving monies stolen by Silas. Silas is said to have acquired over 18 vehicles and other properties.

The prosecution, led by Mr Richard Gyambiby, a Senior State Attorney, said the complainant was Best Point Savings and Loans Limited.

The prosecution said Patience was the sister of Silas and Afadzie, the husband of Patience. The State said in January 2014, the Company started operating with a banking software known as Bankers Realm, which was purchased from Kenya.

The State said in the course of operations, it was realised that the Company's system had some challenges, so management decided to acquire and migrate on to a new system.

The prosecution said at the end of 2015 financial year, the Company started migrating from the Bankers Realm software to a new one known as X100 format.

It said having run a successful conversion test in December 2015, another conversion test with an updated database was converted for staff training in January 2016.

The prosecution said another database was also converted for user acceptance test on the new software. It said after all the tests had been completed a final database known as Go Live purposes was also converted on March 18, 2016.

The prosecution said during the final conversion, while the data was being validated, some discrepancies between the old and the new software were detected. It said the validation also revealed that there was a transaction amounting to GH1,262,496.66.

The prosecution told the court that a Kenyan consultant was employed to help investigate the course of the discrepancies and he found out that the system had been tampered with.

That was also corroborated by the software engineers of Global Union System, another company.

The prosecution held that the transactions were similar in nature and emanated from four different accounts.

It said the different accounts were in the names of Patience and Afadzie, one Asante Seth, aka Precious Havor and Theophilus Aboagye, aka Dennis Amankwa, all friends of Silas, who are at large.

The prosecution said investigations showed that Silas had fictitiously and unlawfully credited the accounts with various sums of money and deleted the transactions from the final database for migration onto the new system of the Company.

According to the prosecution, it was discovered that the narration of those transactions had been changed into interest accrued and same had been made to look like the transaction had been done automatically by the system and all its trait details had been deleted.

It said Silas had resigned from the Company during the final stages of migration just when the discrepancies were discovered.

During investigations, the prosecution said Kudekor had on several occasions checked and performed transactions on the four different accounts with two of the names on the accounts having different pictures.

The prosecution told the court that the matter was reported to the Police and on May 3, 2016, Silas was arrested at Pokuase.

It said a passport, DVLA documents on 18 vehicles, and a laptop, among others, were retrieved during a search.

The prosecution said documents of three vehicles in the name of Silass wife were also found.

The prosecution said while in custody, investigations revealed that two Policemen aided Silas to disinvest and cash GH195,233.72 he had invested with Ideal Finance.

It said on July 26, 2016, Kudekor was also arrested.

Source: GNA
Agradaa's lawyer granted bail

Justice Agbenorsi Jan - 31 - 2023 , 07:04

An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to Agradaas lawyer, Theophilus Donkor, who had been charged for verbally assaulting police officers who were in the process of arresting Agradaa.

This was after Mr Donkor had pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault on a public officer and offensive conduct conducive to the breach of peace.

He was granted a self-recognisance bail by the court presided over by Rosemond Baah Tosu.

The two parties were asked to consider resolving their case outside the court.

Mr Donkor is, however, to reappear on February 27, 2023.

Filing of motion

Meanwhile, the lawyer has filed a motion challenging the authority of the police who arrested him.

He is arguing that personnel from the Cantonments Police Station who arrested him did not have the authority to do so because the alleged crime was committed around the Accra Metropolitan Assembly area, a jurisdiction outside the operations of the Cantonments Police Division.

Agradaas latest arrest

Police sources have confirmed that the Founder of Heaven Way Champion International Ministry, Patricia Asieduaa Koranteng (Agradaa), was re-arrested at the forecourt of the Accra Circuit Court by officers of the Ghana Police Service when she appeared in one of her cases.

Information available indicates that the arrest is related to a case she had with a pastor by name Appiah Biblical.

Agradaa is currently before two circuit courts in Accra on counts of defrauding by false pretences and charlatanic advertisement in the media.
Data Protection Commission to audit companies, institutions

Juliet Akyaa Safo Jan - 31 - 2023 , 08:33

The Data Protection Commission says it will this year focus on enforcing and auditing companies who have registered with the commission.



The Executive Director of the commission, Patricia Adusei-Poku, explained that the move was to ensure that the registered companies were complying with the Data Protection Act 2012 Act 843, which sought to protect personal data.

She said the commission had already received a dedicated prosecutor to prosecute defaulting companies.

We have also requested for a fast-track court to facilitate the prosecution of defaulters, she noted.

Celebration

Ms Adusei-Poku was speaking at the opening ceremony of a week-long celebration to mark the Data Protection Day in Kumasi.

It was dubbed: 'Data Governance for a safe digitised space.

The Data Protection Week is observed from January 24 to January 28 each year to raise awareness and promote data protection best practices.

It is also intended to promote events and activities that encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations, and create dialogues among stakeholders interested in advancing data protection.

This year's week-long activities included a nationwide awareness campaign and free sector-based webinars for health, academia, security and finance.

It also includes a free in-person session with chief executive officers at a breakfast meeting today at the Lancaster Accra  formerly Golden Tulip Hotel.

Ms Adusei-Poku urged business owners to join in the activities to understand the Data Protection Act and its implications on their daily business activities.

She also entreated them to register with the commission to avoid being put on the active list of non-compliant institutions awaiting prosecution.

We are educating the public to access the Data Protection Commission and to know how to protect data.

Section 28 says anyone who takes data should ensure that they use appropriate technologies and organisational measures to secure personal data, she said.

Compliance

In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, hinted that the year would see the enforcement of the Data Protection Act, particularly on the side of compliance to put non-compliant organisations under the radar.

She further noted that the commission had put together a three to five-year strategy document to give Ghana a real time framework for data governance under the Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843) to fit Ghanas agenda of building a safe digitised space.

A Senior Lecturer of the School of Business of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Rosemary Coffie, commended the Commission for efforts to ensure that data protection was added to the schools curriculum to build knowledge at the early stages.

Officials from the Cyber Security Authority, National Communications Authority and the National Data Centre were in attendance.
ECG owes Bui Power over $600m - PAC urges quick recovery

Emmanuel Bonney & Dickson Worlanyo Dotse Jan - 31 - 2023 , 06:28

The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has been advised to expedite its rate of recovering a $614, 373,274.36 debt owed it by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

This is because the money owed the power generator has been indicated to be adversely affecting its ability to operate effectively and deliver on its mandate.

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, gave the advice when the Ministry of Energy and its agencies took their turn before the committee to answer queries raised by the Auditor General for the year 2022.

The indebtedness will not go out completely at any point in time, it will continue because every day there is production, sale and repayment by the buyer, so what is more important is the rate at which the debt is being recovered, he stressed.

Infractions

According to the report, the ECG owed the authority $386 million as at the end of December 31, 2019, which increased to $614, 373,274.36 by the end of 2022.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BPA, Kofi Dzamesi, explained that the authority was not gaining any receivables from the ECG despite trying its best to generate more power for the country.

He added that last year, the BPA generated more power than any year in the history of the authority since it was commissioned.

We generated about 1,540 gigawatts and our profit margin for last year should be hitting around $70 million, yet we are not getting anything, he lamented.

Recommendation

The PAC Chairman equally urged the Ministry of Finance to take more steps to ensure that all government agencies settled the debts they owed one another.

They should ensure that at least, they settle some of the debt the ECG owes other agencies like Bui and VRA because they buy the power from these two sources, he said.

The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also recommended that steps should be taken to ensure the ECG was financially viable as it continued to deal with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Charging in dollars

Dr Avedzi also urged agencies in the energy sector as well as other government agencies to refrain from charging their fees in foreign currencies, particularly, the United States dollars.

Our currency is Ghana Cedi, ECG will sell the power and collect cedis and they will now go chasing to buy dollars in order to pay, he said.
Ghana, TradeMark Africa sign pact to enhance trade infrastructure

Maclean Kwofi Jan - 31 - 2023 , 10:05

Ghana has secured funding and technical support to improve the countrys international trade infrastructure and boost business competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The support will enable the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) to develop trading infrastructure across the various borders in the country.

MoTI, through the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, last Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TradeMark Africa (TMA), a trade facilitation firm, to start enhancing the performance of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor to support intra-African trade.

A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, signed on behalf of the Coordination Office, while the Board Chairman of TradeMark Africa, Erastus Mwencha, signed for the trade facilitation firm.

The signing ceremony also served as the official launch of the operations of TradeMark Africa in the country.

Collaboration

Addressing the event at Peduase in the Eastern Region, the caretaker Minister of Trade and Industry, Samuel Abu Jinapor, expressed satisfaction with the agreement, saying that it would pave the way for the two partners to collaborate to improve trade in Ghana.

He explained that AfCFTA had placed a historic responsibility on respective governments in Africa to ensure the success of the initiative, stressing that Ghana had secured technical and funding support to implement its joint border post projects.

He said the MoU captured the vision of African leaders and the aspiration of their citizens for the transformation of the continent as expressed in the African Unions Agenda 2063.

He said the TradeMark Africa initiative was uniquely designed to ensure better custom operations and facilitation of trade, especially for the countrys trade corridors.

He noted that it was necessary to establish a functional joint border post that bridged the language barrier between Ghana and its Francophone neighbours.

He added that the government was committed to work closely with TradeMark Africa to deploy solutions that could transform the countrys transit corridors, especially the Noepe-Akanu joint border post, into a modern trade facilitation centre.

Intervention

The Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, said it was exciting that TradeMark Africa was an African firm providing solutions to improve intra-African trade.

He said 15 years before the establishment of TradeMark Africa, it took 28 steps and between 12-15 days for goods to transit from Port of Mombasa in Kenya to Kampala in Uganda.

However, he said, currently it took a step and less than three days for goods to transit between the same distance, thanks to specific interventions and customs procedures by TradeMark Africa.

He said it was also possible for goods to transit from Abidjan to Lagos in just a day.

I am very happy that TradeMark Africa is here in Accra to complement the efforts of the AfCFTA Secretariat and ECOWAS because about 70 per cent of trade in the West African sub-region is within the Abidjan-Lagos corridor, he said.

Programming

Mr Mwencha stated that the launch of the trade facilitation firm followed a successful rebranding from the previous TradeMark East Africa to now TradeMark Africa.

He said with a continental approach, TradeMark Africa now offered an important opportunity to expand its impactful programming progressively, while supporting the aspirations of AfCFTA to unleash the impact of free trade in high value products.

Our key aim remains trade facilitation, just like we have always done in the last 12 years in the east of Africa where we were founded and have had great milestones in our programmes, he added.
Make minerals fund beneficial to mining communities - Jinapor

Timothy Ngnenbe Jan - 31 - 2023 , 10:22

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has asked managers of the Minerals Development Fund (MDF) to judiciously utilise resources accruing to the fund for the benefit of mining communities.

He said the mandate of MDF was crucial and consequential to the government's quest to make mining beneficial to citizens.

"Failure to live up to your mandate of providing for the welfare of residents of mining communities have dire consequences as it can lead to upheavals, as evidenced from other mining countries in Africa," the minister added.

The MDF was set up to provide development projects in mining communities that have been negatively impacted by mining activities.

It derives its funds from 20 per cent of mineral royalty received from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), holders of mining leases, money approved by Parliament for the fund, grants, donations, gifts, as well as money that accrues to the fund from investments made by the MDF Board.

Visit

Mr Jinapor, who paid a working visit to the MDF office in Accra yesterday, said although the administrators had done well in terms of providing infrastructure in mining communities, more work needed to be done.

For instance, he said, given the negative impact of illegal mining activities on residents of mining communities, it was important for the MDF to provide alternative livelihoods to the people.

According to the minister, provision of sustainable alternative livelihoods was important since it would help address illegal mining activities.

MDF investments

In March, last year, the Administrator of the MDF, Dr Norris Hammah, told the Daily Graphic that the Fund's Secretariat had disbursed over GH500m to beneficiaries since 2017.

He said the funds were mainly channelled into education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture and other sectors at mining communities.

According to Dr Hammah, the fund was set up by the Minerals Development Fund Act, 2016 (Act 912) to provide financial resources for the direct benefit of mining communities, institutions responsible for the development of the mining sector, as well as traditional and local government authorities.

He, however, said some teething challenges had made it difficult to consolidate the gains made, adding that out of all the revenue streams provided under Act 912, the 20 per cent mineral royalties had been the only regular source of inflow into the fund.

Dr Hammah also said that the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947), which capped the only revenue source to the fund had drastically reduced the flow of funds, thus making it difficult to execute development projects.

He, however, told the visiting minister that his outfit had put in place a strategic plan to make its impact felt more in mining communities this year.

While commending the minister for ensuring that the MDF got a permanent secretariat, he also appealed for more support to help his outfit deliver on its mandate.
Koh Jean, chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government, speaks during a press conference at the Korea Press Center building in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul



By Baek Byung-yeul



The government is working on providing an integrated government system that minimizes paperwork for government services, according to the head of the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government, Tuesday.



"Our goal is to ensure that people do not submit documents. It is the fault of the government system that government agencies demand so much paperwork from people," Koh Jean, chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government, said during a press conference in Seoul.



"If agencies need information, they can exchange it between themselves. We will create a government system where various agencies can share information in the future," Koh added.



The committee was launched in September as part of President Yoon Suk Yeol's pledges to provide administrational services based on artificial intelligence (AI) and scientific data.



Koh, who was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the committee, said he told the president that the committee would need at least six months to come up with visible plans.



"Last September, I asked the president to give time until March. I promised him that we will come up with a vision jointly made by committee members from both the government side and the private side," Koh said adding "we will present our roadmap to the public in March."



To give a hint about its roadmap, Koh cited the disclosure of public data to help people establish their small businesses more easily.



"The committee aims to release government data to support people who want to launch their businesses. People will even have access to the information on analysis data of commercial districts," he said.



The committee is comprised of six subcommittees  AI and data; infrastructure; service; innovating approaches to work; industry ecosystem and information protection. During the past five months, they met over 100 times. About 140 tasks were initially brought up and the selection process is underway in consideration of its feasibility.



Speaking about obstacles, Koh said that establishing legal limits for data sharing between government agencies is something that the committee must address.



"We are placing importance on utilizing and sharing data between agencies. We are trying to improve the legal system so that the agencies can easily share data," he said.


'Policeman' allegedly tases man to death at West Hills Mall

Enoch Darfah Frimpong and Emmanuel Bonney Jan - 31 - 2023 , 19:02

His name is Shadrach Arloo, 32, and was scheduled to travel to Germany on Tuesday, but 24-hours before that journey, he had an encounter with some persons, said to be policemen that resulted in his death.

Shadrach Arloo was allegedly beaten to death by one of the said policemen, assisted by suspected private security guards around the West Hills Mall area in Accra.

It happened on Monday afternoon around the West Hills Mall area (January 30, 2023).

His sister, Perpetual Didier, a gospel musician told Graphic Online that, Shadrach had gone to the mall for shopping.

He had gone to buy some items he was expected to carry along to Germany for his elder sister - this sister had facilitated his documentation and travel.

On his way out of the mall premises, he was reportedly confronted by the said policemen numbering about four and the private guards.

The policemen are said to have demanded that he hands over his luggage for a search.

He rejected and insisted he was not going to do so.

His explanation, according to eyewitnesses was that he suspected that the police can plant something in it to incriminate him.

According to the sister, the eyewitnesses have told the family that, Shadrach insisted that if they really wanted to search his bag, he was ready to go with them to the nearest police station for that purpose.

This resulted in an altercation, during which Shadrach was reportedly beaten and tased, resulting in his death.

The case has since been reported at the SCC Police station and the body has been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue in Accra.

According to Perpetual, Shadrach had concluded all his documentation and was scheduled to travel to Germany on Tuesday (January 31, 2023) to join his sister.

Meanwhile, Perpetual has told Graphic Online that, the said policeman has denied being the one who tased Shadrach and that he claimed it was the private security guards who used the taser.

The incident, she claims had gotten to the attention of the Inspector General of Police, who has already contacted the family.

Police statement

The police in a press statement issued Tuesday night (Jan 31, 2023) said the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) has commenced an investigation into the allegation and has contacted Perpetual Didier to assist with the investigation.

"We would like to assure the public of a thorough investigation into the matter," a statement signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Victor K. Dosoo for the Director of Police Public Affairs said.

It said the police's attention was drawn to the video of Perpetual Didier on social media in which she alleged that a police officer has caused the death of her brother.

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UBA rewards 2022 National Essay Competition winners

Maclean Kwofi Jan - 31 - 2023 , 08:15

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana has presented a $10,000 educational grant to three winners in its 2022 National Essay Competition in Accra.



The ultimate winner, Genevieve Budu of the Ghana International School, took home $5000 while Kenrich Nii Nakai Nettey from the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) and Cecilia Akye from the Methodist Girls High School, Mamfe, who emerged second and third respectively received $3000 and $2,000.

In addition, all 10 finalists received medals and certificates of participation along with laptops and other UBA-branded items.

It was made possible through the UBA Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of the bank with a commitment to the socio-economic betterment of communities.

The Managing Director (MD) of UBA Ghana, Chris Ofikulu, in a statement issued by the bank, stated that the foundation believed that the future of Africa lay in its youths.

For this reason, he said the foundation had spent huge sums of money to actively facilitate educational projects and bridge the literacy gap on a Pan-African scale.

He said the National Essay Competition of the bank had grown to be one of the best initiatives that allowed every student in senior high school (SHS) to exhibit their cognitive skills and potential while developing a positive work ethic with problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

The competition is one of our stunning initiatives to which we will forever pledge our full commitment, he said.

Congratulations

The Director in charge of General Administration at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Catherine Agyapomaa Appiah Pinkrah, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, congratulated all the finalists and commended UBA for its immense contributions to the countrys education and commitment to enhance the writing skills of the youth.

GES pledge

The Programme Officer of the Schools and Instructions Division at the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ajuba Amihere Adu-Tutu, said the GES would continue to support the UBA essay competition as the importance of essay writing could not be downplayed in education.

Gratitude

The ultimate winner of the National Essay Competition 2022, Genevieve Budu, expressed gratitude to the entire team at UBA for organising the competition.

The event was attended by the management of UBA Ghana, heads and representatives of participating schools, representatives from GES and the MoE.

The 10 finalists were selected from more than 400 entries.
WHO commends Ghana for eliminating sleeping sickness-As world marks NTDs Day

Doreen Andoh Jan - 31 - 2023 , 08:59

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Ghana for eliminating sleeping sickness, one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The elimination of the disease, also known as Human African Trypanosomiasis, brings to three the number of NTDs eliminated in the country.

The other two are Guinea worm, which was eliminated in 2015, and trachoma, eliminated in 2018.

The Country Representative of WHO, Dr Francis Kasolo, conveyed the commendation of the global body at the country-level commemoration of this years World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, yesterday.

He said the day aimed to mobilise political will and secure commitments to eliminate NTDs in line with the global NTD roadmap 2021-2030.

For effective control and elimination of the NTDs that are endemic in the country, there needs to be improved healthcare services operating in an efficient health system with well-managed supply chain management which ensures universal access to quality assured medicines.

Background

NTDs are a group of 20 infections and parasitic diseases that are widespread in the worlds poorest, remote and urban areas, where water safety, sanitation and access to health care are substandard.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) data show that 14 out the 20 were endemic in the country, with cases in all regions.

The 14 NTDs in the country include elephantiasis, lymphatic filariasis, yaws, bilharzia, buruli ulcer, leprosy, snake bites, intestinal worms, trachoma, which has now been eliminated.

NTDs cause blindness, excessive and abnormal swelling of the limbs and other body parts as well as skin rashes and thickening.

Marked every January 30, this years commemoration was on the theme: "Act now.

Act together.

Invest in Neglected Tropical Diseases."

The day is marked to create more awareness and garner the needed financial, technical and support for management and eradication of NTDs.

WHO said NTDs were preventable and treatable when detected early and when people used clean water, handled food well, practised good hygiene and reduced environmental risks.

It said those diseases were neglected because they were almost absent from the global health agenda, receive little funding and were associated with stigma and social exclusion.

Confront inequalities

WHO is calling on all, especially leaders and communities, to confront the inequalities that drive NTDs and to make bold, sustainable investments to free the worlds most vulnerable communities affected by NTDs from a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.

The Interagency Country Coordinating Committee (ICCC) is encouraged to continue advocacy and engagement with other sectors such as finance, education, agriculture, water supply, sanitation and environment to address cross-cutting issues in the elimination of NTDs, Dr Kasolo said.

He commended the countrys funding partners who had continuously supported the fight against NTDs and also urged the government to allocate adequate resources for NTDs prevention, control elimination and eradication.

Public education

The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Anthony Ofosu, underscored the critical role of public education, such as the commemoration, in managing and eliminating NTDs.

He said the NTD programme and partners had been working tirelessly to make great gains in the elimination of the diseases in the country.

Suffice it to say that GHS needs to maximise the partnership with other governmental and non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and partners in-country and work together for the advancement of the control and elimination of NTDs, Dr Ofosu stated.

He said the inter-sectorial collaboration should maximise resources, enhance efficiency and lead to cross-organisational fertilisation.

Stigma and prevention

The Manager of the NTDs Programme, Dr Kofi Asemanyi-Mensah, asked the public to desist from stigmatising affected persons because that deterred them from coming out to seek medical care.

In his presentation, he provided evidence to the effect that NTDs were purely health conditions that were curable and preventable.

Dr Asemanyi-Mensah, therefore, urged the public to adhere to preventive measures such as keeping clean environments, avoiding open defecation, using insecticide treated mosquito nets, washing hands often under running water, among others.

By controlling environmental factors that invite NTDs, people can reduce their risk.

For instance, eliminating areas of stagnant water, where mosquitoes like to breed, will reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, or sleeping under a treated bed net will reduce the risk of diseases carried by flies that circulate at night, he stated.

The Ambassador for the National NTDs Campaign, Rev. Joyce Aryee, appealed to the people to adhere strictly to basic sanitary principles to help eradicate NTDs.
Monkeypox claims 4 lives, 116 local cases recorded

GNA Health Jan - 31 - 2023 , 06:41

Ghana has recorded four deaths, with 116 confirmed cases of the monkeypox disease in 14 of the 16 regions as of the close of 2022.

Two deaths were recorded in Upper East, and one each in the Greater Accra and Central regions.

The Savannah and Ahafo regions did not record any cases, Dr Farida Abdulai, the Deputy Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS), disclosed during a community stakeholder engagement at Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

The event was organised by the GHS, in collaboration with the USAID Breakthrough Action-Ghana Programme, to educate the public on measures to overcome the disease.

Dr Abdulai said monkeypox could affect anyone despite the age, disclosing that a 13-day-old baby died of it.

More than half of the confirmed cases were, however, aged between 16 and 39 years.

In August 2022, monkeypox was renamed Mpox to stem stigmatisation.

The virus spreads through respiratory droplets and close contact with the rashes of an infected person.

Experts

Medical experts say the symptoms include acute fever with a body temperature of more than 38 degrees celsius, coughing, cold, backache, sore throat, weakness and rashes.

Therefore, seek immediate medical attention anytime you experience these symptoms, Dr Abdulai said, stressing that a free lab test would be run to determine whether one had the infection or not.

She said alcohol intake or sea bathing were unproven treatment for the disease, stressing that those were myths without known scientific basis.

Those are not the remedy for the sickness. Rather, seek proper healthcare services, she stated.
Alan is a Man of Integrity - Rev. Ampiah-Kwofi

Graphic.com.gh Politics Jan - 30 - 2023 , 19:44

The General Overseer of the Global Revival Ministries, Rev. Dr. Robert Ampiah-Kwofi has described the immediate past Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen as a man with integrity.

According to the man of God, Kyeremanten's integrity makes him a rare industry player.

Addressing congregants in Accra at a thanksgiving service, Rev Ampiah Kwofi heaped kind words on the former Trade and Industry Minister.

"I am struck by the fact that Alan Kyerematen has served under former President J.A. Kufuor and President Akufo-Addo, he has served under different leadership and yet I havent heard a bad thing about him.

"If your enemies have nothing against you, then you are a man of integrity, " Rev. Ampiah Kwofi told the stakeholders present.

Mr Kyerematen is the longest serving Trade and Industry Minister with over 10 years of experience in the industrial space.

He has declared his intention to contest in the upcoming NPP presidential primary slated for the last quarter of 2023 and has hit the ground running with his campaign.
Gold for Oil deal needs parliamentary scrutiny - John Mahama

Daily Graphic Politics Jan - 31 - 2023 , 06:59

Former President John Dramani Mahama, has called on the government to immediately put before Parliament, the Gold for Oil agreement for parliamentary scrutiny and approval.

He said putting before Parliament the gold oil swap deal was the most appropriate thing to do since the deal was an international financial transaction.

According to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana international financial transactions require the approval of Parliament, it does not matter that the Gold for Oil deal is a barter trade, he said

Mr Mahama was speaking at a forum in London attended by members of the UK & Ireland Chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Barter trade

President Mahama cited the Sinohydro agreement that exchanges the countrys bauxite for infrastructure development by China as a classic example of barter trade.

He further explained that if the Sinohydro agreement was a barter deal and went to Parliament for approval because it was an international financial transaction, why not the current deal in which Ghanas gold was being exchanged for oil.

The former President noted that the deal was currently shrouded in complete secrecy since only government officials, who were involved in the transaction, knew the details, describing the development as unacceptable.

There is a complete lack of transparency about the transaction, and that is one of the major problems with this government. They hide everything and do as they please, he noted.

Mr Mahama explained that with parliamentary scrutiny, Ghanaians would have value for money in the gold for oil deal.

He said such scrutiny would also help the public to know the beneficial owners behind the transaction.
Alan Kyerematen formally informs Asantehene of presidential bid

Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor Politics Jan - 31 - 2023 , 06:56

An aspiring flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen formally informed, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of his intention to contest the flagbearership of the NPP.

The immediate past Minister of Trade and Industry was at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region yesterday to also seek for his blessing as he pursued his ambition to become the presidential candidate of the NPP.

The courtesy call on the Asantehene forms part of activities marking Mr Kyerematen homecoming to the Ashanti Region.

Mr Kyerematen also received a rousing welcome from his teeming supporters on his arrival in the region.

Homecoming

Addressing the Asantehene, his chiefs and elders at the Manhyia Palace, Mr Kyerematen said as a son of the land, he deemed it appropriate to come home and to meet all the stakeholders to sell his vision to them and get their support to embark on his journey.

He also said the Ashanti Region was the heartbeat of the NPP and Manhyia Palace was where it all started from, so it was just right that he came to where the seed of the party was sown to seek the blessing of the elders.

He told the Asantehene and his elders that he was only going to continue the good works started by his father, Dr Alex Atta Yaw Kyerematen, who was the first Director of the Kumasi Centre for National Culture.

He said while serving in government, he got the approval of the President to initiate a lot of policies that were changing the lives of the many Ghanaians.

Prominent among them was the One District, One Factory initiative, which saw as many as 296 factories being established across the nation with the Ashanti Region having 47 of such factories.

With the support of the World Bank, he said the Ashanti Region would soon host the biggest industrial park and economic zone in Ejisu to provide jobs for people in the region and Ghana in general.

He called for the support of all and sundry, particularly party delegates, to enable him to win the flagbearer position and lead the party in the next general election as presidential candidate of the NPP.

Alan Kyerematen (right), responding to cheers, after exchanging pleasantries with the Asantehene

Blessing

The Asantehene asked Mr Kyerematen to continue to let his good upbringing guide him in his work to continue to perform well in all his endeavours and his works would be what people would use to judge him.

According to the Asantehene, leaders were elected by God and if it has not been ordained by God, one can never become a leader.

As such, he assured him of both his personal support and that of the Golden Stool in his endeavours and was hopeful that he would find favour with the delegates to elect him as the flagbearer of the party.

Floodgate

The Asantehene said he was aware that his visit would open the floodgate for other candidates to also come to seek his blessing for the contest.

According to the Asantehene, his wish was for the best candidate with the interest of the country at heart to win the slot and guide the party to the elections in December 2024.

Guidance

Otumfuo pledged his readiness and availability to offer advice and guidance whenever called upon to.

He advised the presidential candidate hopeful to sell himself to the people by telling them about his plans and vision for the country and not for the NPP alone.
Israel-based EVR Motors has signed an agreement with RSB Group, one of Indias Tier-1 automotive suppliers. The agreement with RSB is EVRs fourth commercial agreement in India signed during the past eight months. Other agreements are in place with Badve Group, Napino, and, most recently, EKA Mobility.

Each of the partners is in various phases of setting up production lines to provide electric motors based on EVRs proprietary electric motor topology. As a result, EVRs electric motors, are expected to be supplied to vehicle manufacturers in multiple categories from the second half of 2023.

Both the RSB Group and EKA Mobility agreements see EVR developing electric motors for Light Commercial Vehicles using its Trapezoidal Stator RFPM (TS-RFPM) topology. This signifies EVRs entry into the passenger vehicle, light commercial vehicle, and e-bus sectors, expanding from its initial markets in the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler segments.





EVR 230mm electric motor

EVR is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary, EVR India, to serve the organizations growing customer base in the country. EVR India will manufacture electric motor coils, a patented key component of EVRs electric motor topology, for the companys partners in India and globally.

EVR India will include a team of about 30 people for engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, and customer support. EVR India will provide partners with a low-risk, cost-effective supply of critical motor parts to simplify their production setup and create improved economies of scale.

The company has appointed Sajal Kishore as managing director of EVR India. Kishore has been instrumental in formulating and executing EVRs India business strategy and has previously held key corporate positions in prominent automotive companies in India.

EVRs electric motor product line now comprises four motor families, from 3KW to 135KW. EVRs first motors were designed for 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers and are suited for a wide range of additional applications. The recent expansion of its motor line allows EVR to enter high demand segments such as passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and e-buses. Compared to standard motors, EVRs electric motors are 30%-50% lighter and smaller, cost significantly less and can be tailored to user requirements.

Over the last year, EVR was granted ten patents for its new technology, and more patents are expected.

EVR has recently demonstrated its electric motors with several vehicle manufacturers in India, Japan, and Europe. The company showcased at the 16th Auto Expo 2023 exhibition at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, India, earlier this month.

Founded in 1975, RSB Group is a global Tier-1 automotive supplier, which operates 13 manufacturing plants: 11 in India, one in the US, and one in Mexico. The company is producing shafts, gears, gear boxes, axles, 5th wheel coupling & machined products for engines, automotive components, and construction equipment. RSBs customers include Renault Nissan, Daimler India, Volvo Eicher, FIAT, TATA Motors, John Deere, and Ashok Leyland.
General Motors and Lithium Americas will jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, which is the largest known source of lithium in the United States and the third-largest in the world. (Earlier post.)

Under the agreement, GM will make a $650-million equity investment in Lithium Americas, which represents the largest-yet investment by an automaker to produce battery raw materials. Lithium Americas estimates the lithium extracted and processed from the project can support production of up to 1 million EVs per year.

Lithium carbonate from Thacker Pass will be used in GMs proprietary Ultium battery cells. GM is launching a broad portfolio of trucks, SUVs, luxury vehicles and light commercial vehicles using the Ultium Platform, including the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and SUV, GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac LYRIQ, Cadillac CELESTIQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Equinox EV, BrightDrop Zevo 400 and BrightDrop Zevo 600.

GM has secured all the battery material we need to build more than 1 million EVs annually in North America in 2025 and our future production will increasingly draw from domestic resources like the site in Nevada were developing with Lithium Americas. Direct sourcing critical EV raw materials and components from suppliers in North America and free-trade-agreement countries helps make our supply chain more secure, helps us manage cell costs, and creates jobs. GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra

The agreement with GM is a major milestone in moving Thacker Pass toward production, while setting a foundation for the separation of our U.S. and Argentine businesses. This relationship underscores our commitment to develop a sustainable domestic lithium supply chain for electric vehicles. We are pleased to have GM as our largest investor, and we look forward to working together to accelerate the energy transition while spurring job creation and economic growth in America. Lithium Americas President and CEO Jonathan Evans

GMs investment will be split between two tranches.

Tranche 1: GM to purchase 15.0 million shares of Lithium Americas at a price of $21.34 per share, representing a total investment amount of $320 million and 9.999% ownership. The funds for the first tranche will be held in escrow until certain conditions are met, including the outcome of the Record of Decision ruling currently pending in US District Court. If those conditions are met, the funds will be released and GM will become a shareholder in Lithium Americas. The escrow release is expected to occur no later than the end of 2023.

Tranche 2: GM to invest $330 million into Lithium Americas. The second tranche investment is expected to be made into Lithium Americas US-focused lithium business following the separation of its US and Argentina businesses and is contingent on similar conditions, including Lithium Americas securing sufficient capital to fund the development expenditures to support Thacker Pass.





Production at Thacker Pass is projected to begin in the second half of 2026. In connection with the closing of the first tranche investment, GM will receive exclusive access to Phase 1 production through a binding supply agreement (100% of 40 ktpa capacity) and has the right of first offer on Phase 2 production. Lithium Americas expects Thacker Pass to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations.





GM has announced four US cell plants with annual capacity of 160 GWh, including the Ultium Cells joint venture plant with LG Energy Solution in Warren, Ohio, which is in production, and additional JV sites in Spring Hill, Tennessee and Lansing, Michigan that are scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The first three Ultium Cells plants are expected to create 6,000 jobs in construction and 5,000 in operations.

GM is currently building EVs in two Michigan plants, one Tennessee plant and one Ontario plant, and its suppliers are investing to create a robust North America-focused supply chain for EV raw materials, processed material and components, with major projects under way in California, Texas, Ohio and Quebec.
The EU project HyInHeat is researching the use of hydrogen in the aluminum and steel industry. The EU is contributing 17.7 million in funding to the 24-million project. The main objective of HyInHeat is the integration of hydrogen as fuel for high-temperature heating processes in the energy-intensive industries. While some of the equipment is already presented as hydrogen-ready, the integration of hydrogen combustion in heating processes still needs adoption and redesign of infrastructure, equipment and the process itself.

HyInHeat realizes the implementation of efficient hydrogen combustion systems to decarbonize heating and melting processes of the aluminum and steel sectors, covering almost their complete process chains. To reach this overarching objective within the project, furnace and equipment such as burners or measurement and control technology but also infrastructure is redesigned, modified and implemented in eight demonstrators at technical centres and industrial plants.

Besides hydrogen-air heating, oxygen-enriched combustion and hydrogen-oxyfuel heating is being implemented to boost energy efficiency and to decrease the future hydrogen fuel demand of the processes. This might result in a total redesign of the heating process itself which will be supported by simulation methods enhancing digitalization along the value chain.





The Department for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering (IOB) at RWTH Aachen University is researching the efficient and clean combustion of hydrogen for the aluminum and steel industry in the EU project HyInHeat alongside 30 partners from twelve countries.

Since critical production processes are being converted, it is a fundamental requirement to maintain product quality and yield. Priority is also given to the refractory lining to prove sustainability.

From an environmental perspective, new concepts for NO x emission measurement in hydrogen combustion off-gas are being developed. Material flow analysis and life cycle analysis methods will support the comprehensive cross-sectorial evaluation, which allows the determination of the potential for the implementation of hydrogen heating processes in energy intensive industry.

The project, which will run until the end of 2026 with 30 partners from 12 countries, is being coordinated by the Department for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering (IOB) at RWTH Aachen University. The University's Institute of Mineral Engineering (GHI) and the Institute for Combustion Technology (ITV) are also involved.
Samsung Display showcases OLEDs for smartphones that have peak brightness greater than 2,000 nits at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 5. Courtesy of Samsung Display



By Baek Byung-yeul



Samsung Display is increasing its efforts to protect its patented organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technologies, aiming to contain its Chinese rivals at a time when OLEDs are increasingly used not only in smartphones but also in other devices such as tablet PCs and laptops, according to industry sources, Thursday.



The display arm of Samsung Electronics recently filed lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) against smartphone parts wholesale suppliers in the United States such as Apt-Ability, MobileSentrix, Captain Mobile Parts and DFW Imports, claiming that they have supplied phone repair shops with replacement displays for Samsung's Galaxy phones and Apple's iPhones.



Samsung Display requested the U.S. agency to investigate these suppliers and ban the wholesalers from importing displays that allegedly infringe its patented technologies, such as Diamond Pixel technology.



An industry source said the displays the suppliers imported are made by Chinese display makers that use Samsung Display's patents without authorization.



"It is estimated that the displays for smartphone repairs are mostly produced by Chinese companies," the source said.



The company cited Section 337 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 that declares the infringement of a U.S. patent, copyright, registered trademark or mask work to be an unlawful practice in import trade.



Samsung Display's move can be interpreted as an attempt to protect its intellectual property from Chinese manufacturers' infringements.



In a conference call in the first quarter of 2022, the company said it "will make every effort to protect our OLED technology."





An image captured from a YouTube video promoting Samsung Display's patented Diamond Pixel technology / Courtesy of Samsung Display
Manu Kumar Jain left Xiaomi, revealed the now-former executive on Twitter. He served the tech company for 9 years and played an integral role in Xiaomis rise in India as a leader of the company's operations in the Asian country.

In a long letter, Jain revealed he would take some time off before taking on his new professional challenge, ideally in a new industry.

Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi Global VP

Manu Kumar Jain vacated his position as Global VP at Xiaomi, although his name was lately linked with breaching Indias foreign exchange laws. Indias Enforcement Directorate is looking into the relationship between the Chinese company and its Indian division and royalty payments flowing both ways, and the now-former executive operated from Dubai in the past few years.

During Jains time at Xiaomi India, the company became the top smartphone brand without spending any advertising money, the executive added. The branchs expansion generated more than 50,000 jobs, and 100% of smartphones and Smart TVs were Made in India, another campaign Jain took credit for.



Manu Kumar Jain's letter

Key Xiaomi executives like Alvin Tse, Global VP, and Hugo Barra, former Director at Xiaomi, congratulated Jain and showered him with pleasantries, wishing him the best in his future endeavors.

Source
In 2019 the US placed Huawei on a trade blacklist, which meant that US companies required a special license to continue trading. Licenses were granted to the likes of AMD, Intel and Qualcomm, the latter was allowed to ship 4G-only chipsets (which we have seen in recent Huawei P and Mate series models).

Licenses continued to be granted during the early days of President Bidens administration, but insiders now say that the US is looking to expand the list of banned items.

The new additions are said to include 4G tech, Wi-Fi 6 and 7, tech related to artificial intelligence as well as high-performance and cloud computing. New licenses for 4G items are already being denied, according to one insider.

As for old licenses, one tech expert said that the Commerce Department is looking to revoke all old licenses. And even if it doesnt do it explicitly, those licenses will eventually expire.

Back in October, Biden introduced new export controls on equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, the restrictions applied to tech for nodes more advanced than 14nm and in some cases even 16nm. Japan and the Netherlands are joining the US efforts and will ban its homegrown companies from exporting equipment to China, claimed a Bloomberg report from a few days ago. These restrictions aim to stifle the growth of Chinas domestic semiconductor industry. Huawei already confirmed that Kirin is not coming back, this year at least, since the company can't find a foundry that doesn't use US-based tech.

Huawei was best known for its smartphones and networking equipment, but the company has had to adapt. It has moved into cloud computing, for example, a business that may soon become a target to US sanctions.

Huawei experienced a sharp drop in revenue in 2021 when the trade restrictions started to take effect (its revenue dropped by a third). However, it has been relatively stable since and in December 2022 it posted an overall revenue of $91.53 billion.

The US Commerce Department did not comment on specifics of future trade export bans.

Source
Sony is preparing to launch its second generation VR headset on February 22 and an important part of those preparations is announcing that the PlayStation 5 supply issues are finally over.

Fans in the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg can pick up a PS5 online from direct.playstation.com, which also offers games and accessories like the newly launched DualSense Edge controller.

This site also has pre-orders for the PSVR2 headset and the Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle. Of course, the PlayStaion is available through select retailers as well.



PS5  DualSense Edge  PSVR2

The PS5 launched in late 2020 and came with a warning of limited supplies. The issues persisted in 2021 with no signs of clearing up in 2022. Sony even had to reduce production because it was having trouble with component supplies and logistics, so the problems did indeed continue into 2022.

But all that is in the past now, Sony welcomes the new year with with increased supply of PS5 consoles. And a new ad campaign dubbed Live from PS5  a faux news broadcast that shows fan favorite virtual heroes entering the real world. The first clip is below, you can follow PlayStations social media accounts as well as this page for more.

Square Enix already released Forspoken on PS5 and PC and there are plenty more games to come in 2023  some new titles, some remakes and some expansions. Here's a preview:

Going back to the PlayStation VR2, the headset (with two controllers) costs $550 / 600 / 530 / 75,000. A couple of weeks ago Sony announced 13 more games with VR support, bringing the total to over 30.

The PSVR2 pre-order campaign has been live since November, so Sony has a good estimate of how the new headset will be welcomed by gamers - and it looks like the news isn't as good as the company had hoped. Bloomberg reports that Sony has cut the production target for this quarter to 1 million units.

It seems that the company expects things to slow down after the initial inrush of orders with the shipping target for the April 2023 to March 2024 set to just 1.5 million units. The high cost may have deterred consumers - the digital PS5 is $400, the disc version is $500, so the PSVR2 costs more than the console itself.

Source | Via
The governor's fiscal year 2024 budget calls for increasing government of Guam employee pay by $23 million, hiring 110 public safety workers and continuing to invest in a new financial management system, according to a news release from Adelup.

The budget is $69.1 million higher than this year, but the governor's office said the projections are in line with revenue collection trends in recent years.

The $23 million General Pay Plan, approved by the governor this week, reflects a comprehensive review of pay across various disciplines and professions, according to the news release.

Some of the pay scales have not been updated since 2014.

Our islands hard-working employees have waited too long to receive these adjustments, which will ensure our public servants receive comparable compensation with their private sector counterparts and enable these employees to continue in public service without requiring them to sacrifice their families standard of living, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in the release.

The budget also calls for beefing up public safety on Guam, by hiring 40 police officers, 20 correction officers, 30 customs and quarantine officers and 20 firefighters.

That's in addition to the nearly 100 public safety recruitments currently in progress.

Stronger public safety starts with a stronger police presence in all our villages, stronger law enforcement at our borders, and stronger emergency response across the board, the governor said.

Another $11 million will go toward the second payment for a new financial management information system, which will improve the Department of Administration's cash management and transparency.

The budget is based "on months of data clearly demonstrating Guam's resiliency and recovery from COVID-19" the announcement from Adelup stated. "This administration eliminated the general fund deficit during its first term and created millions in surpluses in the last two fiscal years."

Collections for the General Fund and special funds -- notably the Tourist Attraction Fund -- have been above projected levels.
China-made Tesla Model 3s are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, Jan. 7, 2020. Reuters-Yonhap



Supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 drive Samsung, LGES, Hyundai Motor toward 'lighthouse manufacturing'



By Kim Yoo-chul



The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for manufacturers in global supply chain systems to embrace significant challenges. Korean conglomerates like Samsung, LG and SK also had to adjust to the crisis by revamping their supply chains and embracing more innovative manufacturing processes.



Steps taken by advanced and emerging economies to control their coronavirus infection spikes resulted in national lockdowns and temporary halts in the flow of raw materials and subsidiary products, disrupting manufacturing processes.



The pandemic itself didn't necessarily bring about any new challenges in supply chains; in some business areas it merely shone a light on earlier unseen vulnerabilities, including increased inventory levels due to closures and resultant profit losses. Executives at Korea's leading exporters noted that the pandemic accelerated the identification of problems that already existed in supply chains.







Sources and executives at Samsung, LG and SK groups' technology units told The Korea Times that COVID-19 forced them to make their supply chain strategies more sustainable, resilient and even collaborative with key stakeholders such as suppliers and customers.



"Companies usually scale back their investments in a crisis, however, during the pandemic, Samsung didn't stop investing in technology improvements, highlighting the company's focus on the value of a digitally connected supply chain to help the firm respond quickly to volatile supply and demand situations," an official at one the conglomerates said.



Last year, Samsung Electronics, the world's top manufacturer of TVs, smartphones and memory chips, said it planned to spend 450 trillion won on "focus areas," specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and application semiconductors. Company representatives said Samsung is also working on advanced robots and AI.



In January, Samsung invested $46 million in domestic robot maker Rainbow Robotics. This move, which gave it a 10.3 percent stake in the firm, was seen as showing its commitment towards advancing supply chain technologies such as AI, data analytics, and robotic process automation and control towers, while retaining its current staffing system. "Maintaining a high-performing supply chain in terms of both efficiency and visibility has become a competitive necessity," another company official said.



Transitional path, Foxconn model



However, officials at the country's leading exporters said while they have no questions about the necessity of updating supply chains for resilience and operational excellence, it's highly unlikely that manufacturers will see any visible progress in the smart factory concept in the near future.





A woman holds a Google Pixel 4 phone during a Google product launch event in New York City, in this Oct. 15, 2019, file photo. AFP-Yonhap



"Data acquisition and analysis, and factory automation are required for a smart factory because it is more about a high level of customization and how factories operate," said Jeong Hong-beom, an executive in charge of handling smart factory-oriented strategies at Hyundai Motor, the country's top carmaker. Crucial to a smart factory is the technology that makes data collection possible, which includes sensors, motors and robotics on actual production and assembly lines.



Because the basic structure of a smart factory includes the integration of information, communication and production technologies, with the potential for integration across manufacturing supply chains made possible via the internet-of-things (IoT), a presidential aide handling industrial policies under the former Moon Jae-in administration said it should be possible for Korean firms to pursue hybrid models according to different production bases as part of efforts to initiate smart factories.



"Simply put, smart factories require a shift in mindset because they are about data management and not just factory automation. Smart factory initiatives are complex to execute and require the backing of employees and business units. Such initiatives could also face resistance to change and cause confusion inside an organization. Given the regulatory risk in terms of data transparency, auditability and labor-centric business structures, Korean manufacturers will remain in the early stages of this for a considerable period of time," the unnamed aide said.



LG Energy Solution (LGES), for example, has recently created a chief data officer (CDO) position, as part of efforts to establish a data-driven smart factory structure. A spokesman at the top battery supplier for Tesla, said it is still in the process of hiring specialists, and classifying data for specific purposes. As a long-term strategy, the spokesman said LGES aims to get potential clients to think more about smart manufacturing utilizing robotics, data analytics and AI.



Min Kyeong-do, an executive at Gaon Partners, a consulting company, said what is happening inside Taiwan's Foxconn is worth watching for Korean manufacturers, which have substantial overseas exposure, as the world's top maker of electronic components is taking steps to build data-driven lighthouse manufacturing networks in the wake of supply chain disruptions.





The Apple logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, Oct. 16, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap
More medical specialists will be coming to Guam after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority and St. Lukes Medical Center in the Philippines on Tuesday at the Guam Museum.

Im excited about this agreement because it gives us more inroads into providing specialty care, medical care and nursing, said Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.

She said specialists in gastroenterology, neonatal intensive care, cardiac care, womens health and pediatric health are in demand.

Dr. Dennis Serrano from St. Lukes Medical Center said that Guam Memorial Hospital and other health care providers on island have the facilities and medical equipment to provide services, but they lack doctors and staff in these fields.

St. Lukes Medical Center President and CEO Dr. Arturo Dela Pena said this agreement will not only bring more doctors and nurses to Guam, but will also make it easier for patients to come to the Philippines.

The memorandum of understanding reduces the amount of paperwork required and streamlines travel plans, medical provider information and payment to provide better quality care, said Serrano.

Dr. Joleen Aguon, GMHA associate administrator of medical services, said in the past there have been challenges with traveling on commercial flights and arranging intensive care between Guam and St. Lukes Medical Center.

To create the pathway to get to St. Lukes was a little challenging, so to have this MOU in place to collaborate between the U.S. and the Philippines is groundbreaking for us and our patient care, said Aguon.

The partnership also includes collaboration on educational activities such as lectures, seminars and annual joint conferences in the Philippines.
Guam Visitors Bureau board chairman Milton Morinaga called for a special board meeting Tuesday afternoon after an eight-month pause and amid a still sluggish tourism industry, but a clash of opinions, a lack of quorum and heated exchanges over the status of two board members stopped the meeting from further proceeding.

GVB President Carl Gutierrez and Sen. Telo Taitague took turns telling Morinaga and other board members that the board didnt have a quorum, so it wouldnt be able to take any official action.

They said that included a motion to elect Akihiro Tani of Fish Eye Marine Park and George Chiu of Tan Holdings to fill the positions vacated by Charles Bell and Stephen Gatewood.

They said the two board member selections were void because they were made without prior public notice, in violation of the Open Government Act, and any further action on them would be another illegal act.

GVB counsel Joe McDonald, along with Gutierrez and Taitague, recommended that the board seek the Office of the Attorney Generals opinion on Tani and Chius status before calling a board meeting.

Gutierrez also said Morinaga was proceeding with the board meeting illegally, to which the board chairman said its not illegal in his opinion. Chiu and others said its the chairmans prerogative to proceed with the meeting.

Mongmong-Toto-Maite Mayor Rudy Paco, mayors council representative to the board, couldnt be reached to attend the meeting.

Pacos attendance could have given the board the minimum eight members to meet a quorum for a meeting.

Heated exchange

Gutierrez, Taitague, Chiu and others engaged in a back-and-forth discussion marked at times by harsh words, talking over each other, and banging on the table to make a point.

Board member Sam Shinohara, of United Airlines, asked that officials keep it professional.

Gutierrez used the words damn thing before slapping his hand against the table in front of Morinaga.

Morinaga said, Please do not yell at me.

The board chairman repeatedly asked people to try to contact Paco.

Gutierrez told Morinaga that it was his problem as chairman that members were not present.

Shinohara, who participated by phone, shared his frustration with whats been happening within GVB since early 2022.

It is really frustrating for me on my end. Its been eight months since this board has convened. The tourism industry is ... not anywhere recovered, he said. And you know, I just think its shameful that this group cant find a way to work together and figure out how we can collaborate to get things done.

GVB board member Sonny Ada had the same sentiment after the exchanges.

I just think were trying to help this industry. My God, were getting muddled in this stuff. Lets have a meeting, lets work together, lets get the membership involved like it always has in 40-plus years and move to improve the arrivals on island. Period, Ada said.

GVB management earlier said Ada resigned from the board. A notice about Tuesdays meeting also indicated Morinagas resignation and the installment of a newly elected chairman, which both didnt happen at the meeting.

But Morinaga announced that the board members present on Tuesday included him, Ada, Shinohara, Jeff Jones, Ho Eun, Ben Ferguson and new member Mary Rhodes.

Morinaga said Paco did confirm the previous day that he was attending via phone.

Speaker Therese Terlajes office, right after the board meeting, confirmed the Jan. 31 appointments of three individuals to serve as legislative directors and alternate director on the GVB board: Rhodes and Ho Eun as legislative directors, and Laura Nelson Cepeda as an alternate director.

Some at the GVB board meeting asked whether their appointments still need further action from the Legislature.

Questions remainGVBs leadership woes continue while Guams tourism is still a fraction of what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Korean arrivals to Guam are still at 50% of what they were prior to the pandemic, while Japan arrivals are still at about 12% of their pre-COVID-19 levels.

The agency tasked to oversee the tourism industry is still embroiled in a leadership battle between Gutierrez and board members.

GVB management earlier said the board does not have a quorum of at least eight members because it only has six members.

The board is supposed to have 12 members. The agency has so far not received new appointees from Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, while the speakers appointments were made prior on the same day of the planned special board meeting.

A GVB general membership meeting on Jan. 10 was cut short when there was no quorum to be able to elect new members to the board. There are four nominees awaiting the GVB general memberships vote.

A quorum was also needed to approve the proposed third amendment to GVB bylaws, which includes a new provision that essentially removes the board from making decisions related to GVBs annual multi-million budget.

On hold

Morinaga, managing director of PHR Ken Micronesia Inc., which is Japan-based Ken Corp.s holding company for several hotels on Guam, has been the GVB board chairman for most of the COVID-19 pandemic but the board has not met since May 2022.

Under Morinaga, the board voted to suspend all meetings until the bylaws are reviewed, following Gutierrezs series of accusations starting in early 2022 against board members, including allegations of violations of the Open Government Act and of unethically voting for GVB programs that benefit their businesses.

At the Tuesday meeting, Gutierrez said these issues came about after the review of GVB bylaws, and efforts to align them with the law that created GVB.

Gutierrez also said its Morinagas responsibility to inform board members whether theyre still on the board or not, based on the GVB counsels opinion.

Chiu said he didnt get a notice that he was off the board, when Ada asked. Ada invited him to sit at the board table.

No, Gutierrez said, as he pointed to Morinaga while saying, He got the notice. Its his responsibility to tell him that the legal opinion is that youre off the board. He doesnt want to inform anybody.

Gutierrez continued to address Morinaga: Youre just exaggerating the situation. You came in here to resign from GVB under that guise.
Creative production company Project: Inspire is launching Inspire 101, a series of after-school programs for students who want to learn the ins and outs of two prominent creative avenues on Guam.

Programs

Students can apply now to the companys songwriting program hosted by Straight Up Music or dance program hosted by Guam Dance Community.

Elementary, middle and high school students in the dance program will get a chance to study different genres, including hip-hop, contemporary, freestyle and jazz. Guam Dance Communitys Jazztin Alis, a Guam-raised dancer and performing artist and dance teacher of the Philippines, and Isabelle Bella Lanada, a leading officer of Guam Dance Community and seasoned dancer will be instructing the five-month program.

Online personality, songwriter and Project: Inspire audio engineer Jed Antonio, along with surprise guest instructors, will teach middle and high school students writing techniques, proper terminology, music production and performance skills in the 16-week songwriting program.

Being an artist in 2023, you have to understand that you have to wear multiple hats. You cant just be the producer, you cant just be the songwriter, you cant just be the marketer. ... you have to wear multiple hats, said Antonio.

But Antonio, a 12-year industry vet whos opened for artists like Jhene Aiko, the late PNB Rock and E 40, and just last year worked with K-pop girl group TWICE, puts an emphasis on helping students discover their individual creative process.

Its about finding their voice. That is my main goal for this program, said Antonio, calling this one of his biggest hurdles as an artist.

By the end of the program, songwriting students will have worked together to write and produce songs that comprise a collective EP.

More information

Classes are set to begin on Feb. 20 for dance and Feb. 21 for songwriting. For information on tuition and fees, scheduling and application deadlines visit projectinspire.co. A free trial will be offered to dance students for the first week between Feb. 20-24.

For questions about the dance program email dance@projectinspire.co or call 671-787-4370.

For questions about the songwriting program email freeflow@projectinspire.co or call 671-486-0707.
Theres ongoing harm caused by the militarys operation of an open detonation range at Tarague Beach, lawyers for Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian are arguing before a federal appeals court.

The activist group had a lawsuit seeking the shutdown of the Air Forces open detonation and open burn ranges at Tarague dismissed by District Court of Guam Chief Justice Frances Tydingco-Gatewood late last year. They are now asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse the decision.

Prutehi Litekyan previously asked the court to order the Air Force to stop disposing of waste at Tarague until an environmental analysis was completed.

Tydingco-Gatewood ruled that Prutehi Litekyans members werent being harmed because the military was only reapplying for a permit to operate the ranges, which have been in use since the 1980s.

She found federal law didnt require the Air Force to conduct additional environmental analysis, because the Guam Environmental Protection Agency was already reviewing the permit for the ranges.

Members of Prutehi Litekyan are suffering cultural, spiritual, scientific, recreational, aesthetic, economic and other harm, from the operation of the Tarague disposal ranges, arguments submitted on Jan. 26 state.

The Air Force is able to continue detonations at Tarague because it reapplied for a permit with Guam EPA, meaning the permit application is causing harm, filings state.

Without the permit renewal application, all (open burn and open detonation) operations under the 2018 permit would have had to cease on September 3, 2021, when the permit was set to expire.

Tydingco-Gatewoods ruling that the Air Force did not have to complete an environmental analysis of the ranges under the National Environmental Policy Act was unprecedented, the appellants argue.

The district court improperly substituted its policy preferences for Congresss, filings state, when Tydingco-Gatewood exempted the military from environmental analysis.

The judge found it would be redundant to have the Air Force conduct an analysis under NEPA when Guam EPA was reviewing their case.

Joint Region Marinas and Andersen Air Force Base officials have previously asserted that open detonation is the safest way to dispose of World War II-era munitions found on Guam, and that the Tarague ranges have undergone environmental impact analysis.

Open burning of hazardous was recently banned outright through Public Law 36-139, passed in December. Most forms of hazardous waste detonation were also banned though, unearthed ordnance from World War II is still permitted.

Even with the ban in place, Prutehi Litekyans members have stated they will continue with the lawsuit in the hopes of having the Air Force relocate the detonation range at Tarague.
Peter J. Santos is an attorney and was a 2022 write-in candidate for the attorney general of Guam.
Our View: We don't want to be like the nations that practice caning as judicial punishment
Lee Webber is the former publisher of the Pacific Daily News, Honolulu Advertiser, president of Gannett Pacific and Asia area manager for USA Today international.
South Africa: Institutions urged to register NSFAS students without upfront registration fee

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has called on all higher learning institutions to allow National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students to register without paying an upfront registration fee, while the scheme is finalising the upfront payment schedule.

Nzimande made the call during a media briefing on NSFASs state of readiness for the 2023 academic year in Pretoria on Tuesday.

The NSFAS budget for the current financial year is projected to be R47 billion to fund approximately 900 000 NSFAS beneficiaries, a 7% increase in the number of students qualifying for NSFAS bursaries as compared to the 2022 financial year.

Out of these qualifying students, over 60% of undergraduate students in our public university system receive support from NSFAS and well over 90% of students in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

On confirmation of the 2023 academic year allowances, an inflated linked increase of 5% on all allowances, other than the living allowance, has been effected for our universities, Nzimande said.

The Minister announced that students at universities which provide accommodation and catering will receive a R5 460 learning material allowance and an accommodation allowance capped at R61 500.

Students at university-managed, self-catering institutions will receive an allowance for learning materials to the value of R5 460, R16 500 per annum living allowance and accommodation allowance capped at R45 000.

The Minister announced that the living allowance increment across the board will be R1 650 per month, which is 10% increment as compared to the 2022 figure.

Living with relatives (not in private accommodation) students will receive a learning materials allowance of R5 460 and R16 500 per annum living allowance. Private off-campus accredited accommodation students will receive a learning materials allowance of R5 460, R16 500 per annum living allowance and an accommodation allowance capped at R45 000, Nzimande said.

For TVET colleges that are own catered, Nzimande said residences will only receive an accommodation allowance to the value of R54 045 per annum, while college managed own and leased self-catered accommodation will for the first time receive a living allowance of R6000, personal care allowance of R3 045 and a maximum of R45 000 plus living allowance paid to TVET college.

TVET students in private accommodation will receive a R6000 living allowance, R3 045 personal care allowance and R45 000 per annum accommodation allowance.

TVET students residing less than 10km from the college, will receive a R6 000 living allowance, R3 045 personal care allowance and R7 718 travel allowance, the Minister explained.

All allowances - apart from the living allowance increase - are in line with the 2023 NSFAS eligibility criteria and conditions for financial aid already published and shared with institutions.

Nzimande advised unsuccessful applicants to appeal NSFAS decisions by submitting the relevant supporting documents between 20 January 2023 and 20 February 2023.

NSFAS application close

Meanwhile, NSFAS applications for funding for the 2023 academic year, which opened on 28 September 2022, will officially close at midnight.

NSFAS has advised students who have applied for funding to log onto their myNSFAS accounts to track their applications.

Applicants can access their application updates on WhatsApp at 078 519 8006 or dial *120*67327 to track their 2023 application status.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Technology drives development of Chinese string musical instrument in Yangzhou

10:41, January 31, 2023 By Wang Jue ( People's Daily

Yangzhou, a city in east China's Jiangsu province, known as "capital of guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither)," is seeing thriving development of the musical instrument manufacturing industry, frequent guzheng-playing competitions, as well as vibrant exchange and training activities of the ancient Chinese musical instrument.

Over the recent years, the city has been leveraging technology for better development of the guzheng manufacturing sector.

A woman plays electric guzheng in an exhibition hall of musical instruments in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. (People's Daily Online/Feng Jiangjiang)

Xiong Liqun, honorary president of the Yangzhou City Guzheng Association, has developed an electric guzheng. Different from traditional models, the electric one is made of environment-friendly composite materials, which makes the instrument lighter and more portable.

Besides, the electric guzheng comes with a worm drive tuning device that makes tuning much easier. In addition, the instrument can be connected to earphones and speakers to avoid disturbing neighbors while playing and to ensure clear sound in big classrooms.

Xiong has not only redesigned the appearance of guzheng but also developed an artificial intelligence teaching system that makes guzheng teaching convenient, interesting, and more efficient.

Jia Hongliu, a guzheng manufacturer from Yangzhou's 486 Intangible Cultural Heritage Center, has also invented an intelligent teaching support system, which can recognize and rate guzheng sound quality, finger exercise, and playing posture. It supports guzheng teaching with interactive projection, as well as audio and video materials, and enables tuning through smart string recognition and projection calibration technologies.

Leng Bunian, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage item guzheng, carves surface decorations on a guzheng in Yiling township, Jiangdu district, Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. (People's Daily Online/Yu Xing)

"We hope to make breakthroughs in guzheng teaching with the latest technologies, so as to better popularize the instrument," said Jia.

After some 40 years of development, Yangzhou now stands as the largest guzheng manufacturing base and cultural base in China.

Li Tongzhi, president of the Yangzhou City Guzheng Association, told People's Daily that Yangzhou is home to over 280 enterprises engaged in the guzheng industry. Each year, the city produces around 650,000 sets of guzheng, 65,000 sets of guqin, another type of plucked string Chinese musical instrument, and more than a million sets of guqin and guzheng accessories.

About 20 of these enterprises boast annual income of 10 million yuan ($1.48 million), and three rank among the top 50 musical instrument makers in China.

Photo shows the 486 Intangible Cultural Heritage Center in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. (Photo from Yangzhou Daily)

Relevant industries are prospering in the city because of the sound development of guzheng manufacturing. At present, there are more than 80 enterprises in Yangzhou involved in the making of guzheng accessories, such as radens, jade, cases, stands, strings, and hardware. Besides, the city receives over 100,000 tourists attending guzheng activities on an annual basis, which has facilitated consumption in catering, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, culture, and training. According to incomplete statistics, more than 25,000 people in Yangzhou are engaged in the guzheng industry.

Yangzhou is home to more than 100 guzheng training facilities and millions of guzheng learners. It has launched a campaign that encourages every elementary and middle school in the city to open extracurricular courses about intangible cultural heritage items, such as guzheng, guqin, Yangzhou opera, oral performing arts, and puppetry. The campaign helps introduce guzheng to more people and will lay a solid foundation for the future development of the instrument.

It is culture and craftsmanship that vitalize Yangzhou's guzheng manufacturing, and now technology is leading the traditional Chinese musical instrument to a brighter future. The guzheng industry of Yangzhou is bound to see further improvement as it is inherited, popularized, and expands its influence both in China and in the rest of the world.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)




POSCO Chemical said Monday it has signed a largest-ever long-term contract to supply a key component used in electric vehicle (EV) battery cells to Samsung SDI.







POSCO Chemical will supply high-nickel cathodes, consisting of lithium, nickel, cobalt and aluminum, to Samsung SDI, for a 10-year period starting this year for 40 trillion won ($32.5 billion), the chemical unit of steel giant POSCO Holdings said.







Cathodes are a core component that determine the power of EV battery cells. They account for more than 40 percent of a battery's production cost.







POSCO Chemical has been expanding its battery materials business since its advance into the sector in 2012. It touts itself as one of a few companies capable of producing both cathodes and anodes for EV batteries.







The latest agreement follows the 13.7 trillion-won cathodes supply deal POSCO Chemical clinched in July last year with Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors.







POSCO Chemical has bagged more than 21 trillion won worth of cathodes supply orders from Ultium Cells.







POSCO Chemical began commercial operations at its cathode plant in Korea's southwestern city of Gwangyang, which has an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons.







It plans to complete the construction of its cathode plant in Pohang, a southeastern industrial city in Korea, within this year and is on track for the completion of a high-nickel cathode plant in Canada next year under its own joint venture with GM. (Yonhap)


Published on 2023/01/30 | Source

Actors Kim Jae-young and Yoon So-hee will meet as the male and female main characters in the audio drama "Sometimes - For Sale Because I Broke Up".

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On the 19th, the production company STUDIO X+U said it has cast Kim Jae-young and Yoon So-hee as the main characters of the first episode of the audio drama "Sometimes - For Sale Because I Broke Up".

"Sometimes - For Sale Because I Broke Up" is the story of a fling between Lee Joo-ah and Lee Joon-pyo, who meet as sellers and buyers at a used market. Lee Joo-ah meets Lee Joon-pyo to purchase a limited edition couple bracelet. She is placed in a situation where she witnesses her boyfriend's affair at the place of the deal. Lee Joon-pyo has experienced something similar, so he starts to care about Lee Joo-ah without realizing it.

Actor Kim Jae-young plays the role of promising IT developer Lee Joon-pyo. He is the highest-paid talent in the industry, but he is suffering from the aftermath of a breakup and burnout after breaking up with his girlfriend who he dated for three years half a year ago. Lee Joon-pyo meets Lee Joo-ah while organizing his ex-girlfriend's items, and he undergoes changes in his daily life.

Yoon So-hee plays the role of web novel writer Lee Joo-ah. Her life motto is "Let's not be a burden! Let's not be embarrassed". She is devoted enough to get a limited edition bracelet for her boyfriend, but she witnesses her boyfriend's affair and goes through a breakup. Yoon So-hee, who hates being a burden to others, is in pain because she can't even tell her friend about her difficulties. She gradually opens her heart to Lee Joon-pyo, who asks her if she is okay.

It will be released on the 30th.
Customers shop for makeup items at a cosmetics store in Seoul on June 9, 2022. Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



Department stores and other retailers are organizing various promotional events to boost sales of beauty products to capitalize on the government's decision to lift the indoor mask mandate on Monday, according to industry officials Sunday.



Lotte Department Store is preparing hands-on events under the theme of Blooming Beauty Week scheduled for next month  expecting increased demand for cosmetic products being purchased.



Thirty-seven brands including AmorePacific, Mac, Bobby Brown and Shiseido will participate in the promotional event, which will be held for 10 days from Feb. 3.



"We have prepared various hands-on events for consumers to come and experience makeup items, which they have to see and experience before buying them," a Lotte Shopping official said. "There will be makeup shows and makeup experience time for visitors. We will also introduce exclusive beauty products from each brand that are being offered during our promotional period."



Shinsegae Department Store is also hosting Shinsegae Cosmetics Fair from Feb. 2 to Feb. 19, which will see 70 cosmetics brands participating, including Estee Lauder, Sulwhasoo and Yves Saint Laurent.



The company will give out discount coupons to its membership customers who purchase certain amounts of cosmetics goods on its online shopping platform. Those who pay with Shinsegae affiliate credit cards and earn mileage points can later use them as cash.



Hyundai Department Store is holding a makeup show and pop-up event with international cosmetics brand NARS at The Hyundai Seoul from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4. The following week, the retailer will also hold a pop-up event with Dior cosmetics.



The three retailers have already enjoyed soaring sales in the cosmetics category.



Lotte said its revenue for color cosmetics increased 25 percent, year-on-year, from Jan. 2 to Jan 20. After the Lunar New Year, its sales in the same sector skyrocketed 40 percent in only four days.



"After the government revealed its plan to lift the quarantine measure requiring people to no longer wear face masks, from Jan. 30, we saw an instant increase in sales of color cosmetics products," a Lotte Shopping official said.



Shinsegae and Hyundai also saw their makeup sales increase by 21.6 percent and 25.8 percent, respectively, from Jan. 2 to Jan. 20.




Roberto Rempel, president and CEO of GM Korea, speaks during a press conference at the Conrad Seoul hotel, Monday. Courtesy of GM Korea



By Baek Byung-yeul



General Motors will introduce six new cars and new electric vehicles (EV) and intensify customer services here to get closer to Korean consumers, the CEO of its Korean unit said Monday.



"We are planning to launch six new vehicles in Korea right within the six months," Roberto Rempel, president and CEO of GM Korea, said during a press conference in Seoul. "We also target to launch more vehicles in 2024. These vehicles will reshape customer perception."



The company will soon unveil its new crossover utility vehicle (CUV), the Chevrolet Trax Crossover. The company will produce the new CUVs at its plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and export them to the global market, especially the North American market.





Roberto Rempel, third from left, president and CEO of GM Korea, poses with officials of the U.S. carmaker's Korean unit during a press conference at the Conrad Seoul hotel, Monday. Courtesy of GM Korea
Henderson County Business DISH ON DINING: Breedloves rebrands as Queen Bs Marketplace Mike and Jenny Breedlove drew a loyal following when they opened their sandwich shop at 316 Chadwick Avenue. They expanded the menu, the specials and the hours, all until they fell victim to the volatile labor market. Read Story 

Henderson County News DISH ON DINING: Coffee shop reopens under new ownership Patrons of Appalachian Coffee Co. on Fifth Avenue West were disappointed when the cafe and sandwich shop abruptly closed a few months ago. Read Story 
JOHN HOWELL has refused to confirm whether he will stand at the next general election amid speculation that his predecessor could make a return to the constituency.

The Henley MP said he would make a decision at a later date after reports that former prime minister Boris Johnson has been house-hunting in the area and looking at schools.

It has been claimed that Mr Johnson, who served as Henley MP from 2001 to 2008, could return as he wants a safe seat at the election, which is expected to be held next year.

At the last election in 2019, Mr Johnson won the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat with a majority of 7,210 while in the Henley constituency Mr Howell was 14,053 votes ahead of his nearest rival. Mr Howell is understood to have told local Conservative party members privately that he is yet to make up his mind on whether to run again.

I am not commenting at the moment, he said. It will be a decision that I make at a later date.

Asked whether Mr Johnson could come back if he did stand down, he said: I sincerely hope not.

Mr Johnsons spokesperson said that he had already confirmed that he would be standing in Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the election.

Meanwhile, Mr Howell criticised environmental campaigners who have unveiled mock blue plaques to honour MPs who voted against proposed tougher laws on the dumping of raw sewage in Britains waterways.

A spoof plaque with his name on has appeared on the bridge between Goring and Streatley with the note: Voted to block a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage in our rivers and seas. 20th Oct 2021.

Mr Howell said: I think, first of all, how ignorant they are as it fails to recognise that we are the only government to have held water companies to account on sewage discharges.

This is not something that has started in the past year or so, it has been going on since before privatisation.

The amount of money needed to get rid of that problem would be astronomical so there needs to be a process in place to tackle it.

I think people need to look carefully at the situation and to issue an apology.

Last week, Mr Howell had a paper endorsed by the Council of Europe which aims to create a new instrument to prevent environmental damage during armed conflicts.

He said: I was in Strasbourg when I was amazingly successful in getting my paper to introduce a new crime of ecocide unanimously approved. It came about as I was the rapporteur on this particular topic and it looks at the situation right across Europe, not just in places like Ukraine, but elsewhere where someone could launch a nuclear strike.

It will be an international treaty but there is a long way to go to finalise the terms.

What it will do is to make it an offence so we can have a go at someone who launches an attack on particular ground with chemical weapons and take them to international court.

It is a very good way of ensuring you can get accountability of protecting the environment, the same way you can get accountability for targeting individuals. I have been working on it for about a year, with the help of some of my civil servants, and this is the result.

It has now been picked up by the Icelandic prime minister to be put forward to a summit in May.
People buy bakery products at Paris Baguette's new store in Red Bank in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Sunday. Courtesy of SPC



By Kim Jae-heun



SPC has opened its 120th Paris Baguette store in the United States as Korea's largest bakery brand expands its presence in the world's largest economy, company officials said Monday.



The firm operates 20 stores directly through its U.S. subsidiary, and individuals and corporations run the remaining 100 stores under franchise agreements.



The latest Paris Baguette franchise store opened in Red Bank in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which is a commercial district that doesn't see many tourists. This is meaningful as Paris Baguette is gaining popularity among town locals and not only because Koreans visit the store or live there.



"Opening our 100th U.S. franchise Paris Baguette store in Red Bank is meaningful in terms of our global business expansion. We will further advance into the Canadian market and complete the construction of a global manufacturing facility in Malaysia this year to boost our business worldwide," an SPC official said.



SPC plans to sign 160 additional franchise contracts and aims to introduce 1,000 stores across the United States in 2023.



About 85 percent of Paris Baguette stores in the U.S. are operated by local franchisees.



The bakery-cafe brand has gained recognition among locals, in Manhattan, Midtown, the Upper West Side in New York and downtown Los Angeles.



SPC plans to open more stores in new areas such as North Carolina, Colorado, Maryland, Washington, Minnesota, Tennessee and Hawaii.



Meanwhile, Paris Baguette has stood out in the U.S. bakery industry since it first entered the local market in 2005. Last year, the bakery brand ranked 25th among the best franchise brands evaluated by the US-based magazine Franchise Times. It is the highest ranking achieved by a Korean brand so far.



SPC also opened two Paris Baguette stores in England, three in France and plans to open the very first one in Canada. Currently, the company has 450 stores in nine countries including China, Vietnam and Singapore.


U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Jan. 30, in Jerusalem.



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Monday for "urgent steps" to calm spiraling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after high-level talks in Jerusalem.



Blinken travelled to Jerusalem on the second leg of his Middle East tour, after meeting Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and foreign minister in Cairo.



Israel is reeling from an attack Friday that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in annexed east Jerusalem, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the occupied West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.



Following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken urged "all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to deescalate".



"We want to make sure that there's an environment in which we can, I hope, at some point, create the conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," he said.



In the latest bloodshed, Israeli troops Monday killed a Palestinian driver in the West Bank, with the army saying the car had hit a soldier's leg before speeding off.



Since the start of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children  including attackers, militants and civilians.



Over the same period six Israeli civilians, including a child and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed. All were shot dead in the attack Friday outside the synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement.



'Dangerous developments'



The United States has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy, and Egypt, which has relations with Israel, has long served as a mediator in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.



Following what Blinken described as "very candid" discussion with Netanyahu, the top U.S. diplomat met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and President Isaac Herzog.



Blinken, whose long-planned visit has taken on a new urgency amid the spiraling violence, will also travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.



The fatal east Jerusalem shooting was preceded by the Israeli forces' deadliest operation in the West Bank in years, killing 10 people Thursday in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp. Israel said its forces targeted Islamic Jihad operatives.



The military later hit sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.



The Islamist group said Blinken's visit "emphasizes the absolute support and partnership with the (Israeli) occupation".



Netanyahu's cabinet has moved to punish "the families of terrorists that support terrorism" with home demolitions and other measures.



His government is also planning to rescind the rights to social security benefits of attackers' relatives, and steps to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms.





U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Jan. 30, in Jerusalem. AP-Yonhap
People and rescue workers gather to look for survivors under a collapsed roof, after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan Jan. 30. Reuters-Yonhap



A suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse and killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 150 others, officials said.



Most of the casualties were police officers. It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters in the northwestern city of Peshawar and is itself located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.



Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.



But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places, adding that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTP's policy. His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.



''The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,'' tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar and vowed ''stern action'' against those behind the bombing. He expressed his condolences to families of the victims, saying their pain ''cannot be described in words.''



Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.



Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the country's military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Security officials said Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout in the northwest near the Afghan border.



The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.



Monday's assault on a Sunni mosque inside the police facility was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.



More than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many were injured when the roof came down, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.



Meena Gul, who was in the mosque when the bomb went off, said he doesn't know how he survived unhurt. The 38-year-old police officer said he heard cries and screams after the blast.



Mohammad Asim, a spokesman at the main government hospital in Peshawar, put the death toll at 59, with 157 others wounded. Police official Siddique Khan said the bomber blew himself up while among the worshippers.



Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers and arrangements to bury the rest were being made. Coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag their bodies were later handed over to relatives for burials.



Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence, and the city has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.





Rescue workers look for survivors under a collapsed roof, after a suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan Jan. 30. Reuters-Yonhap
A person stands by a sign of Huawei during World Artificial Intelligence Conference, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, Sept. 1, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter.



Huawei has faced U.S. export restrictions around items for 5G and other technologies for several years, but officials in the U.S. Department of Commerce have granted licenses for some American firms to sell certain goods and technologies to the company. Qualcomm in 2020 received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei.



A Commerce Department spokesperson said officials "continually assess our policies and regulations" but do not comment on talks with specific companies. Huawei and Qualcomm declined to comment. Bloomberg and the Financial Times earlier reported the move.



One person familiar with the matter said U.S. officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, Wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.



Another person said the move was expected to reflect the Biden administration's tightening of policy on Huawei over the past year. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5g, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. Toward the end of the Trump administration and early in the Biden administration, officials had still granted licenses for items specific to 4G applications.



American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses. Officials continued to tighten the controls to cut off Huawei's ability to buy or design the semiconductor chips that power most of its products.



But U.S. officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products. For example, suppliers to Huawei got licenses worth $61 billion to sell to the telecoms equipment giant from April through November 2021.



In December, Huawei said its overall revenue was about $91.53 billion, down only slightly from 2021 when U.S. sanctions caused its sales to fall by nearly a third. (Reuters)




Mint House at Metro St. Petersburg Will Open Its Doors In Spring 2023, Marking The Third Florida Location For The Tech-First Hospitality Brand.

Mint House , the premier tech-enabled residential hospitality brand offering spacious, high end apartment-style accommodations across the U.S., announced today the impending opening of Mint House at Metro St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida in Spring 2023. The newly constructed residential hospitality property - fully operated by Mint House - will offer 100 apartment-style hospitality units in the thriving EDGE district downtown. The transaction marks the third Florida location for the next-gen hospitality brand (which is currently operating two locations in Miami) and the first on the gulf coast.

Mint House at Metro St. Petersburg will offer luxurious amenities for guests staying a night or for multiple weeks, and will include a resort-style pool, wellness-focused fitness center, bicycle rental program and valet parking, plus direct access to the EDGE District's Main Street, St. Petersburg's hottest neighborhood for shopping, dining, nightlife and art. Each apartment-style hospitality unit will be equipped with a full kitchen, living and dining areas, and ample workspace.

In addition to offering tech-first spaces to work, stay and play, Mint House at Metro St. Petersburg will offer Mint House's signature Stock Your Stay program, allowing guests to pre-stock their apartment with groceries prior to arrival. Both properties will also participate in Mint House's subscription Mint Pass program, offering frequent travelers perks, and each create less CO2 emissions than a traditional hotel with smart thermostats, as well as zero soap and plastic waste.

Today, Mint House has more than 25 artfully designed, tech-first properties in more than 16 major U.S. cities including New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Austin and Nashville, with recent openings in Scottsdale, Dallas and Birmingham.

Hotel website
HVS is pleased to announce that Larson Moye has joined the fast-growing Brokerage & Advisory division of HVS, the only global consulting firm focused exclusively on the hospitality industry.

Larson Moye is joining as a Senior Associate for the HVS Americas Brokerage & Advisory division and specializes in the acquisition and disposition of hotels across Colorado. Larson's knowledge of current market conditions, his broad network of hotel owners, and his expertise in transaction management create positive results for his clients. He is committed to working with clients in a collaborative and transparent manner to assist them in achieving their investment goals. Larson is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans and is a licensed real estate sales agent in Texas.
Transitioning from his most recent role of Regional Vice President and General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest, with six cities on four continents on his Four Seasons resume, Yves Giacometti is looking forward to his appointment as Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, overseeing a number of properties, in addition to a pipeline of hotels and resorts coming up.

For Giacometti, the move to Cairo was a dream come true - especially Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, an iconic landmark on the banks of the river Nile, that with its architectural expression establishes a strong skyline image in the bustling city. The award-winning Hotel taps into the Egyptians' passion for luxury, with contemporary interiors featuring one of the largest collections and masterpieces of local Egyptian art. The Hotel boasts an impressive 365 rooms and suites, most with private terraces overlooking the Nile, authentic culinary creativity with a team of expert chefs, nine dining options serving anything from authentic Chinese and Egyptian cuisine to Italian coastal and Mediterranean cuisine, an acclaimed Spa and diverse banquet and meeting spaces.

In 2025, Four Seasons commitment in Egypt includes the opening of Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences New Cairo Capital at Madinaty, set on 185 hectares (460 acres) that will be a captivating destination for those who wish to visit the ancient metropolis of Cairo and effortlessly explore the modern extension of the iconic capital city. The Hotel will feature 346 rooms and suites, while the Private Residences will be comprised of 107 villas and 80 luxury residences.

Close to Giacometti's heart is the highly anticipated Four Seasons Hotel Luxor in one of the country's most storied destinations; this impressively historic city acts as an open-air museum with some of Egypt's finest artifacts on grand display throughout. The Hotel will include 200 guest rooms and suites, each with views of the Nile River, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and will be located just south of the highly acclaimed Luxor Temple, which dates back to 1400 BC.

Throwing himself into local culture upon arriving to a new city, Giacometti, who has a deep appreciation for foreign culture and traditions arrived with his family, wife Lorena and four-year-old son Mateo who are elated to be in Cairo.
A familiar face with an additional new responsibility: Stefan Frank, who as Senior Director Operations is already in charge of Deutsche Hospitality's Rhine-Main/Belgium cluster of 13 hotels, will also have direct responsibility for the flagship hotel of the brand family as of January 01, 2023. Previously, Stefan Frank had led the Steigenberger Airport Hotel in Frankfurt am Main as General Manager until April 2021.

Stefan began his professional career in finance at InterContinental Hotels in Hamburg and Frankfurt as well as at the Forum Hotel Hamburg. In 2003, he oversaw the opening of the InterContinental Cologne as Deputy Director before moving to InterContinental Frankfurt as Resident Manager. During the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Stefan was part of the management team for the entire Olympic Village with 7,000 athletes and support staff. Back in the international hotel industry, he took over General Manager andArea General Manager positions of IHG's luxury brand at Intercontinental Hotels in Moscow, Sofia, Kiev and Bucharest.

The Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof opened in 1876 and is in the heart of Frankfurt's banking district and historic Old Town. The sightseeing hotspots Maintower, Romer and St. Paul's Church are just steps away. The iconic hotel has 261 guest rooms and 42 suites, as well as a newly designed event space that is one of the most exclusive in the city. Furthermore, the renowned restaurant Oscar's and the famous Autorenbar are part of the hotel's portfolio.
The Villa Group Beach Resorts & Spas is pleased to announce the appointment of John Paul Kirwan to Vice President of Operations. Kirwan is eager to elevate The Villa Group's vacation experience and services to the highest hospitality standards.

With over 35 years of creating dream vacation experiences for families, The Villa Group Beach Resorts & Spas continue to receive accolades and awards year after year due to its position as a top collection of all-inclusive luxury resorts in Mexico, while also attracting the best talent. As the new Vice President of Operations. Kirwan brings more than two decades of experience managing hotels and resorts of various categories and sizes.

Kirwan launched his hospitality career in management as a Commissary Manager at Royal Resorts in Cancun, Mexico. Throughout his career, he continued to expand his portfolio and expertise in the development of financial strategies, management, marketing, hotel projects, crisis management, and calculation of hotel projects, as well as design and implementation of operation manuals, among other focuses.

From his more than 20 years of experience in managerial positions, Kirwan has garnered valuable leadership skills and has guided several luxury hospitality brands to success. In his last two positions, Kirwan was the Director of Resort Operations, where he managed a 16-hotel brand, and later held the position of Project Manager, working with over a thousand employees.

As the Vice President of Operations, Kirwan hopes to leverage his extensive experience and expertise in collaboration with his new team to create innovative initiatives and strategies that will significantly increase the value of The Villa Group brand. His goal is to ensure that the highest standards of hospitality continue to be maintained. Kirwan is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Cabos Hotel Association, as he is invested in the development of himself and others around him.
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas - Texas' first and Dallas' only five-star hotel is proud to announce the appointment of Brian Booth as Director of Sales and Marketing, adding to its exceptional team of industry-leading talent. In his new role, Booth will develop and implement sales initiatives and marketing strategies to support the luxury property's continued growth while delivering unparalleled levels of distinguished service.

Booth joins The Ritz-Carlton team with more than 20 years of industry experience in sales, marketing, and operations, bringing proven excellence in hospitality market-share growth, increasing profitability, and achieving superior results. During his tenure with the Hyatt Corporation, Booth served as the Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for its portfolio of all-inclusive brands, and prior to that, held Regional Vice President positions for the Southern and Central regions, respectively. Booth received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as well as Executive Education in Strategic Sales Management from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and Executive Education in Design Thinking from the Stanford School at Stanford University.
PITTSBURGH - Business at the Mountain Lodge Telluride is simply sensational, especially since the slope-side sanctuary built for adventure seekers transitioned its back-office accounting solution to PVNG by Aptech. With business on a steady incline, the property needed an accounting system that streamlined data entry  especially when it comes to uploading payroll for its large seasonal workforce. PVNG gave Mountain Lodge Telluride the lift it was looking for.

One of the biggest benefits of PVNG is the ability to upload journal entries. This comes in handy for the large income journal and payroll. Before, we were not set up to receive a direct file from Paylocity for the payroll entries. That meant we had to go into the General Ledger and enter each line item one at a time for each employee. However, with PVNG, we can export this information into a .CSV file which then uploads into PVNG so no line-by-line items have to be keyed in. This is a huge time savings, and it also removes the possibility for human error. Now in busy season, efficiency is key, and thats exactly what we get with PVNG. Huascar (Rick) Gomez, chief financial officer, Mountain Lodge Telluride

PVNG is a game-changer in the world of hotel accounting. It features Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, Statistics, Financials, and Bank Reconciliation modules, along with web browser navigation to upload the hotel data remotely. PVNG also contains OCR invoice processing, a myriad of payment options, drill-down capabilities in financial statements and reports, and the ability to handle single or multi-property accounting. It can also be deployed as a hosted service.

Mountain Lodge Telluride delivers an authentic Western alpine experience, with guests choosing between hotel-like lodge rooms and one-, two-, and three-room suites, and condominiums or luxury log cabins with ski-in/ski-out accommodations. Amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, ski rental at onsite with Christy Sports, ski lockers and storage, electric car charging stations, multilingual staff, outdoor heated pool & hot tubs, fitness center and steam room, The View restaurant, meeting and event facilities, concierge services and more.

We are delighted that Mountain Lodge Telluride is having such a tremendous experience with PVNG. Seasonal operations like Mountain Lodge Telluride need to be able to rely on their accounting solution to ensure all financials  such as payroll, invoice entries, revenue reports, and account inquiries  are being processed quickly and correctly and without downtime. PVNG streamlines common daily procedures and makes them user-intuitive, allowing operators to accomplish daily accounting requirements with a minimum number of steps. Plus, our hospitality-specific formulas, like RevPAR, Occupancy, and ADR, can be accessed with greater flexibility and drill down  something Aptech customers need and appreciate as travelers and profits return. Cam Troutman, Aptech vice president

For more information on PVNG by Aptech, visit http://www.aptech-inc.com.

About Aptech Computer Systems Inc.

Aptech Computer Systems, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only provider of a fully integrated enterprise accounting, business intelligence and planning ecosystem to the hospitality industry. All clients are companies like yours, which own or manage hotels. Its solutions help customers at both the corporate and property levels understand their financial and operational data for faster goal achievement. The company is renowned for introducing business intelligence into the hotel industry and offers a solid resource of hospitality professionals. Aptech is an IBM Software Value Plus partner and Premier Solution Provider, as well as a Prophix Premier Business Partner. Incorporated in 1970, Aptechs state-of-the-art back office, true business intelligence and enterprise planning solutions are 100% hotel specific. Solutions include PVNG, Execuvue and Targetvue. Clients comprise over 3,500 properties  including large chains, multiple-property management companies and single-site hotels. Execuvue is registered to Aptech Computer Systems Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective holders. For more information, please visit www.aptech-inc.com.

Barbara Worcester

+1 440 930 5770
BentallGreenOak to Acquire Landmark Hotel Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka

Canada-based fund manager BentallGreenOak (BGO) is set to acquire the 1,039-key Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka at an undisclosed price which is believed to be at least JPY50 billion. BGO has signed an agreement with Japan-based hospitality firm The Royal Hotel, Ltd. to purchase its flagship property in a deal that would also include UK-based hospitality operator IHG Hotels & Resorts. The property is located within the Kita Ward and occupies an 11-acre plot on an island in the Dojima River, just west of Osakas central business district and a 10-minute drive southwest of Osaka Station. The Rihga Royal Hotel comprises of 18 restaurants, 56 ballrooms, banquet halls and a large conference facility. The property which opened in 1935, will be rebranded as IHGs high-end Vignette Collection and is slated to open by 2025. After acquiring the asset at the equivalent of JPY48 million per key, BGO plans to spend an additional JPY13.5 billion on renovations. Furthermore, BGO will also be acquiring a 33% stake in The Royal Hotel, Ltd., becoming its largest shareholder.

Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corporation Acquired UAN Kanazawa for JPY20.5 Billion

Japan Hotel REIT Advisors, Co., Ltd., the asset management company of Japan-based Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corporation has resolved to acquire UAN Kanazawa from Japan-based GK Esquilino Investment for JPY20.5 billion. Situated in Kanazawa City, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, the 47-key property was opened in 2017 and was managed by Japan-based Solare Hotels and Resorts Co., Ltd.. The property has a total floor space of 2,606.85 square metres, and features a food and beverage outlet, fitness centre, a guest lounge, a launderette, and a nursing room. The hotel receives a mix of fixed rent (JPY9 million a month) and variable rent.

Laoag International Airport Secures PHP900 Million for Expansion

Philippines Department of Transportation has recently approved PHP900 million for Laoag International Airports site acquisition for its planned expansion this year. The expansion plan covers a total of 58.5 hectares, and it will expand the airports runway to 205 metres east and 170 metres west from the centre lane to accommodate larger aircrafts. Once fully completed, international and regional flights are hoped to be revived at the airport, including direct international flights between the city and Honolulu, as well as Laoag-Cebu flight. The project is aimed to enhance the connectivity and mobility of Ilocos Region, and speed up the provinces economic recovery.

Hilton Unveils New Premium Economy Brand, Spark by Hilton

US-based Hilton Worldwide has recently introduced a new value driven brand, Spark by Hilton to its portfolio. The introduction of Spark by Hilton fills an open space in the hospitality industry by creating a new premium economy lodging option to offer value, quality and consistency to guests and owners. Spark by Hilton also leverages an innovative conversion model to offer compelling investment option for owners. Currently there are more than 100 deals in various stages of development across America, and the first Spark by Hilton property is anticipated to open this year.

About HVS

HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com.
Langeweile

"Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?" Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously addressed the negative consequences of boredom, and, I must say, I agree. In the German language, specifically, the term "boredom" is perfectly represented by the word "Langeweile," which can be loosely translated as "long while." This linguistic construction, composed of "lange" (long) and "Weile" (while), reflects the assumption that boredom is characterized by a perception of time passing slowly. Let me show you this empirically. Remember when your nerdy friend invited you to sit through Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings director's cut edition*? That's langeweile.

(*Sorry, but someone had to say it).

I was looking for a job, and then I found a job (and Heaven knows I'm miserable now)

It is common to believe that langeweile should be an inherent part of any job. But should it? Sure, it may be inevitable to some extent, but it does not have to be a constant or overwhelming experience, especially if there's no added value in being miserable. Let me tell you a story: an intern working for a major global hotel chain recently admitted, in a one to one conversation during a recent hospitality conference, that he spends a significant portion of his workday compiling custom Excel reports for his general manager. This tedious and time-consuming task is not only demotivating for the intern, but it's also degrading (gee, I am sure putting all of the money and time invested in hotel school to good use!) . Sure, we all get an ego boost when our employees worship us through Excel Druidic sacrifices. Still, it's worth remembering that (most of us) are "just" hoteliers, not Norse Gods, and our main goal should be profitability and the well-being of our team/guests. Satire aside, this story serves as a reminder of the challenges many hospitality employees face every single day.

Every day is exactly the same

The intern's experience highlights the need for hotels to streamline and automate their processes, particularly those that are repetitive and time-consuming. In addition, hotels need to find ways, in an industry where employee retention can be challenging (we wrote an entire article on the topic: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4111169.html), to engage and motivate their staff. Not to mention that bored employees tend to be less productive, more likely to experience stress or disengage from their work, and more prone to errors. For example, during a recent off-the-records conversation with the General Manager of a major four-star property, I was told that his hotel experiences a six-figure financial loss per year solely due to data entry mistakes related to rates. This highlights the importance of accurate data entry in the hospitality industry, where even minor errors can have significant financial consequences. It also underscores the need for hotels to implement effective systems and processes to ensure that data is entered correctly and consistently.

We want to enable our people to spend more time with guests and focus on critical tasks. It is important to find the right balance between technology and the human touch, and we are leveraging the power of available APIs in combination with robotic process automation to make this happen. It is a great journey with enormous potential for our industry to do more with fewer team members and, at the very same time, improve the guest experience. We also firmly believe that automation will long term assist with staff retention, as removing the redundant, manual tasks leads to higher job satisfaction. Wietse Bijzeit, Group Director Technology & Business Solutions at Sircle Collection

Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate

In 1980, Steve Jobs stated in an interview for a documentary film that the computer is "the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with" and "the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds." This analogy suggests that computers (if Jobs were still alive today, he would have likely preferred the term "AI") can enhance and expand the human mind's capabilities in a similar way that bicycles facilitate the movement of the human body. This idea has become increasingly relevant in the decades since he made this statement, as technology has become an integral part of modern society and has transformed many aspects of how we work, communicate, and access information. The bicycle analogy emphasizes technology's ability to amplify the human brain's capabilities and highlights the potential for humans to interact with machines in powerful ways. That is precisely why automation has become increasingly prevalent in so many different fields. Business owners should consider the potential applications of automation in their operations and how it can improve their performance and free human staff from the monotony of tedious, repetitive tasks. Artificial and biological teams should work in symbiosis, not in rivalry.

It's not only hotel employees that would be happy to offload repetitive tasks to computer automation - guests also expect it. Guests increasingly expect mundane interactions with their reservations or stays to be self-service and completely automated, which leads to increased guest satisfaction and reduces staff involvement and workload. Michael Heinze, Chief Architect at Shiji

/smbtk

Symbiosis, as defined by Heinrich Anton de Bary, the founding father of modern mycology, refers to the "coexistence of unlike organisms." In the context of the workplace, this could refer to the relationship between humans and machines as they work together to achieve common goals. A symbiosis between humans and machines could potentially simultaneously address boredom in the workplace and improve consistency and accuracy of digital workflow. For example, machines can take on repetitive or routine tasks, freeing humans to focus on more engaging and meaningful work, leading to increased job satisfaction and employee motivation. In addition, the use of technology can facilitate collaboration and communication, which can also contribute to a more positive and enjoyable work environment. And this is where Robotic process automation (RPA) comes into the picture. A study by Forrester Consulting found that 66% of surveyed companies reported that RPA restructured existing work to allow for more human interactions, while 60% said it helped employees focus on higher-value tasks. In addition to streamlining processes and improving efficiency, RPA can also improve customer service.

The perception of the hospitality industry is often that it is a people-facing industry, but the reality is that many tasks performed within the sector today are mundane and repetitive, rather than being interpersonal and creative. This is supported by recent studies that have found that up to 69% of activities performed within the hospitality sector could be automated. Michael McCartan, Chief Growth Officer at Atomize

Right Where It Belongs

Several studies have shown a strong correlation between human interaction, the perceived value of work, and job satisfaction and performance. Human interaction in the workplace, whether with coworkers, supervisors, or clients, can provide a sense of connection and belonging that is essential for psychological well-being. In addition, the perceived value of one's work is a significant predictor of job satisfaction and performance. When individuals feel that their work is meaningful and has a positive impact, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their jobs. Now, back to the intern's story: how motivating can it be to copy/paste data into Excel PivotTables? I'd say not very. And I have a feeling the old Friedrich would agree with me. Don't you? (hint: if you don't, there's a good chance you can finish this sentence: "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness [___________] them.")

1. Automation May Not Come for Everyone's Job After All, https://www.bain.com/insights/automation-may-not-come-for-everyones-job-after-all-infographic/.

About RobosizeME

RobosizeME is a process automation specialist for the global hospitality industry, helping companies automate operational processes. RobosizeME virtual robots automate hospitality's administrative processes by updating systems for essential business data to optimise human effort in all areas of hotel operations, including reservations, front of house, back office, revenue management, group sales, engineering and meetings and events.

RobosizeME helps experienced staff to focus on guests and delivers the business cost-effectiveness and value. RobosizeME virtual robots are fully built, maintained, supported, and hosted, including the connectors to hospitality IT systems and the automation software licensing.

For more information on RobosizeME and RPA within hospitality, visit robosize.me

Stephen Burke

Founder & CEO

RobosizeME
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Japan and NATO must "remain united and firm" in the face of security threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia's war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Tokyo.







Stoltenberg, secretary general of the European and North American military alliance, warned that Beijing was keeping a close eye on developments in Ukraine and "learning lessons that may influence its future decisions".







He spoke alongside Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after the pair held talks as part of a trip to Asia by Stoltenberg aiming to boost ties with democratic allies.







"What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow. So we must remain united and firm, standing together for freedom and democracy," he said.







Stoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia.







"We highlight with concern Russia's growing military cooperation with China, including through joint operations and drills in the vicinity of Japan," they said in a joint statement. (AFP)


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McCann Gets $600K Grant for Practical Nursing Expansion

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  McCann Technical School has received a $600,000 state grant to expand its practical nursing program.

Superintendent James Brosnan announced the grant at Thursday's School Committee meeting. The funds, which become available starting July 1, come after the school received a $3,110,000 grant to construct a 5,580 square-foot HVAC facility in December.

"Great news for us that we were awarded [this]," Brosnan said. "Actually, we were the only vocational school that was awarded a grant for expanding, so we're really thrilled about that."

Some $350,000 of the grant funds will go toward new training simulators, and $250,000 to new faculty. Brosnan noted that the state is struggling with staffing for registered nurses, and grant funds were available for such an expansion to be possible.

"They were putting investment monies in, and I said, you know, just because we got one doesn't mean we can't get something else in," he said.

The new simulators, Brosnan said, will be put in McCann's space at the Berkshire Medical Center's North Adams campus. He said they should be a significant upgrade over the aging simulators used currently.

"Ours are 10, 12 years old, the science of them is just long gone. The software doesn't work; they don't work," Brosnan said.

The new faculty position will be funded by the grant for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The new instructor will allow the program to take on more students.

"If you're going to expand your student body, the biggest problem you have is finding the instructor. So now that the funding is there, we can do that for two years," Brosnan said.

Brosnan also updated on the school's planned parking expansions, which he said is currently in the design phase. He said once designs are completed, the project can go out to bid.

"We expect that to be shovel ready, good to go and start construction at the very end of June to finish those parking lots before school opens," he said.

In other business:

The committee voted on school choice for the district, voting to reject it, as it has the previous 28 years.

Principal Justin Kratz gave an update on progress with the school year. He said every student was placed in one of their top three shops, with 95 percent getting placed in their top two choices.

"I've never seen that happen. So I was pretty excited that we were able to get the kids into placements that are pretty favorable," he said.

Kratz also said this was the first year in several when they were able to hold in-person awards for Skills USA.
Turkiye stands to gain from China's Spring Festival consumption boom, experts say

Xinhua) 10:51, January 31, 2023

People enter the Kagithane station of a new metro line connecting central Istanbul and the city's new international airport in Istanbul, Turkiye, Jan. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ISTANBUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Widespread consumption during the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, reflects a dynamic Chinese economy and could rub off on Turkiye in the coming year, experts and tourism industry professionals here have said.

Mustafa Sonmez, a Turkish economist and writer, said the festival brought about a robust economic rebound. Such dynamism would "find a place in the Chinese economy, China's domestic market, and the world economy," and could make its way to Turkiye in 2023.

Robust tourism activities and an increase in consumption from the holiday season would positively affect the world economy, Baris Doster, a scholar at the Istanbul-based Marmara University, said.

Tourists visit Cappadocia region in Turkiye on Jan. 1, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

After China optimized its COVID-19 responses on Jan. 8, easing international travel, Turkiye started to see more Chinese tourists arriving, especially during the Spring Festival.

"I wish all Chinese people a year of abundance, prosperity, peace, and happiness," Hasan Eker, vice president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Irfan Karsli, head of the Istanbul-based Ligarba Travel Agency, said that tourism representatives looks forward to the arrival of Chinese tourists.

After hosting over 420,000 Chinese tourists in 2019, according to official data, Turkiye had initially projected to attract nearly one million in 2020, but such hopes were dashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, TJ Joulak, general manager of the Shangri-La Bosphorus, decorated the hotel with a sea of red lanterns, a giant wish tree and various rabbit figures of all sizes.

Sevgi Uzgen, a history teacher, visited the hotel to enjoy the New Year decorations. "I wish the year of the Rabbit could bring abundance and luck to people," Uzgen told Xinhua after taking several photos of her mother next to a rabbit statue.

"Rabbit is an adorable animal," said Betul Pakis, a designer in charge of the hotel decorations. "I hope it will bring peace to the whole world."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Paying for your ride and food orders will soon be easier and hassle-free as the countrys leading mobile wallet GCash partners with Grab Philippines, the countrys leader in transportation and deliveries.

GCash and Grab mark their milestone partnership with GCash available as a direct payment option in the Grab app by February.

(L-R) GCash Chief Marketing Officer Neil Trinidad, GCash Head of Commercial Sales and Operations Luigi Reyes, GCash Chief Commercial Officer Ren-Ren Reyes, GrabFin Philippines President Martha Elaine Borja, Head of GrabPay Philippines Cris Alcaraz, and Grab Philippines Country Marketing Head Justine Anne Aruta

The landmark partnership will give Grab users access to the easiest, most convenient, and secure cashless transactions when they add GCash as a direct payment method on the Grab app. GCash will be officially available as a mode of payment on the Grab platform by February.

Through this partnership, users can simply choose GCash as their payment method, and pay cashless for GrabCar, GrabFood, GrabMart, GrabExpress and other Grab services with just a few taps on their smartphones. Moreover, this partnership enables users to avoid transfer fees which go as high as Php50.

With this partnership, we once again realize our commitment to make the lives of Filipinos better each day by delivering a more convenient, secure, and cost-efficient way to pay for their rides and food and grocery deliveries. We look forward to this partnership and we will continuously innovate and build more partnerships that will improve the lives of the Filipinos, said GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon.

To make their cashless transactions more convenient and rewarding, customers of Grab also get to avail of GCash exclusive deals, and get special treats when they pay for their transactions using GCash.

Country Head of Grab Philippines Grace Vera Cruz shared, Grab Philippines is dedicated to empowering our stakeholders in a digital-first economy, and key to this is driving a deeper and wider cashless adoption in the country. With more Filipinos transacting via cashless means, we are accelerating our prospects of digital transformation. We look forward to collaborating with like-minded partners such as GCash on this agenda, and we are optimistic that through this partnership, we can improve the lives and livelihoods of many of our kababayans, while building a cashless, digital-first economy for all Filipinos.

Grab is Southeast Asias leading superapp for ride hailing, food delivery, and on-demand grocery delivery. It touts strong foothold in markets like the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Prior to this development, GCash and Grab have already established a strategic collaboration. Their initial partnership has provided Filipinos safe, seamless, and secure digital experience by allowing users to transfer money from their GCash wallet to their GrabPay wallet, and vice-versa.

Building on GCash and Grabs shared mission of addressing Filipinos daily needs, this partnership also helps in creating a more cash-lite and digitally driven economy.

As part of its vision of achieving Finance for All, GCash will continue to innovate and establish partnerships to offer affordable, convenient and safe services  making Filipino lives better every day and beyond, in the new normal.
This publication is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in the Indian market and includes a gu...
I first visited Taiwan in 1985. I was deputed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. My mission was to start a dialogue with the Kuomintang (KMT). I spent three days talking to various officials. The end result was the signing of an agreement where Taiwan recognised the right to self-determination of the Tibetan People. From the past official KMT records in Nanking, Tibet never paid taxes to China. This was my first contact with Taiwan.

In 1997, HH Dalai Lama made his first-ever visit to Taiwan on the invitation of then President Lee Teng Hui. President Lee took the bold step of opening the doors of Taiwan to His Holiness. The visit was most successful and changed the attitude of His Holiness towards the people of Taiwan. I recall His Holiness asking me what I thought of his visit and I pointed out that this was his first-visit ever to a Han territory. It was historical and if he was successful in Taiwan, he would be successful in mainland China. After His Holiness visit to Taiwan and after viewing its robust democracy, he recognised the Taiwan people as a separate entity.

Wonderful to stay in the country..I am a guest of the Indian Govt..I appreciate it, says Dalai Lama in Delhi as he addresses the Indian Institute of Public Administration. pic.twitter.com/pcoLarCKl7  Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 21, 2023

Later in 1997, I visited Taipei to start grassroots lobbying for Tibetan issues. On one occasion I met Taipei Mayor Chen Shui Bian who was quite upset as he was not given an audience with His Holiness during his visit. As Mayor he issued an invitation to His Holiness which His Holiness accepted when Chen Shui Bian became the President.

In a breakfast meeting with Ambassador James Lilley, then Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Hsu Shing Liang asked Ambassador Lilley if the Chinese would ever fire their missiles towards Taiwan? Ambassador Lilley turned towards me and said why dont we ask our Tibetan friend. I retorted by giving the example of the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 where they used modern weapons against us Tibetans. I have always felt the DPP were good in opposition politics but never had any idea of Chinas brutal tactics and how to defend Taiwan.

One issue which I found disturbing was national identity. In the nineties there were two distinct campsthe mainlanders and the local residents. Today this has evolved as young people in Taiwan identify themselves as Taiwanese.

After Typhoon Morakot where there was widespread death and destruction His Holiness was invited to Taiwan and the KMT Government issued him a visa on condition he did not make any political statements.

President Tsai Ing Wen, in her first term, was the only DPP President to not issue a visa to His Holiness on his request to visit Taiwan.

After thirty years in Taiwan, I admire the way democracy has become very vibrant. But I always wonder whether the Taiwan people have the will to stand up to the PRC.

One-country two-systems which was started in Tibet and failed in Hong Kong has come and gone. What is now left for the PRC is the use of brute force as they have suppressed Tibet, then Hong Kong and are now using strong arm tactics on Taiwan.

I believe Taiwan democracy will survive but the Taiwan people have to stand up for themselves first.

Also read: Dalai Lamas nephew bugles global action against China for violations in Xinjiang

(Khedroob Thondup is the nephew of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He was sent by the Dalai Lama to Beijing from 1980 till 1993 for talks where he Interacted with senior officials like Xi Zhongxun. Xi Jinpings father and and former President Hu Jintao. Views expressed are personal and exclusive to India Narrative)
A day after India raised security concerns, several ministers of the ruling Anthony Albanese government in Australia came forward on Tuesday to severely condemn the communal violence unleashed by Khalistani supporters on the streets of Melbourne over the weekend.

Australian Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles said that he was concerned while the countrys Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and MP Tim Watts stated that he was appalled to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday.

I was concerned to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday. Australia respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views. Pleased Victoria Police responded quickly and are investigating, tweeted Giles today.

I was appalled to see the violence at Fed Square in Melbourne on the weekend. People have the right to engage in peaceful protest in Australia, but there is no place for the violence or vandalism weve seen recently. Pleased Victoria Police responded quickly and are investigating, added Watts.

Australias High Commissioner to India Barry OFarrell, a former Premier of New South Wales, also took to social media, saying that he was saddened by the violence so soon after both countries celebrated diversity and unity on their respective national days.

Saddened by these scenes so soon after Australia and India celebrate diversity and unity on their respective national days. Our commitment to peaceful protest does not extend to violence, tweeted the Australian High Commissioner.

Saddened by these scenes so soon after Australia and India celebrate diversity and unity on their respective national days. Our commitment to peaceful protest does not extend to violence. @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia @dfat @VohraManpreet @HCICanberra https://t.co/XX1OvbnJYC  Barry OFarrell AO (@AusHCIndia) January 31, 2023

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com, Indian High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra called on Victoria Premier Dan Andrews on Monday to convey New Delhis deep concern with the pro-Khalistan elements stepping up their activities in Australia, engaging in violence and holding the so-called referendum in Melbourne and Sydney.

Citing Indias strong and growing bilateral relationship with Australia, Vohra discussed with Andrews the issue of stopping extremist Khalistani groups from engaging in further activities prejudicial to peace and harmony.

Canberra has already been made aware of activities/members of proscribed terrorist organisations such as the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) which are using the Australian territory for activities detrimental to the territorial integrity, security and national interest of India.

Tensions boiled over on Sunday as members of radical Sikh groups clashed with the Indian diaspora during a so-called Khalistan referendum event.

Several people were injured in the clashes as, members of pro-Khalistani groups engaged in violence and also desecrated the Indian national flag, the videos of which have now gone viral on social media.

Sundays incident follows the deeply disturbing incidents of vandalisation, including of three Hindu temples, by pro-Khalistan elements in Melbourne in recent weeks.

Stating that these incidents are clear attempts to sow hatred and division among the peaceful multi-faith and multi-cultural Indian-Australian community, the Indian High Commission had earlier raised an alarm at the frequency and impunity with which the vandals appear to be operating and their use of graffiti which glorified anti-Indian terrorists.

New Delhi has urged the Australian government to ensure the safety and security of members of the Indian community and their properties in Australia, hoping at the same time that not only the perpetrators are brought to justice but suitable action is also taken to prevent further attempts.

On Monday, the Indian Ambassador in Australia also paid respects at the sacred BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, the iconic ISKCON Krishna Temple and the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, which were defaced with anti-India graffiti earlier this month.

Visited the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, a place of worship that has always been revered by all communities and faiths. That makes its vandalization with hate-filled grafitti by pro-Khalistani elements even more condemnable. Confident that they will not succeed pic.twitter.com/cm6Ckm2FCO  Manpreet Vohra (@VohraManpreet) January 30, 2023

Vohra said he discussed the peaceful communitys concerns over recent attack by vandals, and the disturbing violence witnessed in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Indian diplomat said that the hate-filled graffiti by pro-Khalistani elements was threatening the peaceful Indian-Australian community in Melbourne and must be stopped.

Confident that they will not succeed, tweeted Vohra.

Also Read: India raises serious concern with Canada on vandalism of Hindu temple
Worlds largest crypto exchange Binance has announced that it is launching a prepaid crypto card in Brazil, which is Latin America's largest economy, as part of the crypto giant's efforts to "broaden the connection between traditional finance and crypto".



The Binance Card

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According to a statement, the Binance Card is currently in beta testing and should be widely available in the next few weeks, making Brazil the second country in Latin America to receive it after Argentina, as per Reuters report.



Brazil is one of Binance's ten-largest markets, the crypto exchange said, adding that the prepaid card will allow all new and existing Binance users in Brazil with a valid national ID to make purchases and pay bills with cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and BNB, at over 90 million Mastercard merchants worldwide, both in-store and online.

Users can enjoy a seamless transaction in which their cryptocurrencies are converted to fiat currency in real-time at the point of purchase. One of the perks includes up to 8% cashback in crypto on eligible purchases and zero fees on ATM withdrawals (although please note that third-party services and network fees may apply).

As per Binance, Binance cardholders will be able to manage their cards through the card dashboard on the Binance App and website. Users will also be able to view their transaction history and access customer support via the card dashboard.

By using the Binance Card, merchants continue to receive fiat and the users pay in any cryptocurrency they choose across 14 supported currencies.

Adoption and Innovation

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Guilherme Nazar, General Manager at Binance for Brazil says: Brazil is an extremely relevant market for Binance and we will continue to invest in new services for local users, as well as contributing to the development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the country.



Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow. We believe the Binance Card is a significant step in encouraging wider crypto use and global adoption, and the openness of Brazilians to innovation makes the country a great market for this release.

The 2022 Mastercard New Payments Index, a global survey of more than 35,000 respondents, found that Brazil is one of the top markets in crypto interest across the world: 49% of Brazilian consumers have done at least one crypto related activity in the past year in comparison with the global average of 41%.

Brazilians are eager to embrace crypto beyond an investment asset. Today is an exciting step in our crypto journey, which draws on the strengths of both our trusted global network and Binances infrastructure to support consumer choice in payments, says Marcelo Tangioni, Mastercard Country Manager, Brazil,as per Binance report.

Also Read: Binance CEO Says He's 'Poor Again' After Terra Luna Holdings Crash

Currencies and Fees

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As per Binance, Binance Card holders in Brazil will be able to pay by using 14 different currencies, including the Brazilian Real, BNB, BUSD, USDT, BTC, ETH, SANTOS, ADA, DOT, SOL, SHIB, XRP, MATIC, and LINK.

Users can select in the app or platform the preferred currencies they intend to use. Payments with BRL are zero fee (please note that third-party services and network fees may apply), while there's an applicable 0.9% conversion fee on payments using cryptocurrencies.

In addition to supporting additional cryptocurrencies, Binance plans to continue to expand the card into new markets around the world.

Also Read: How 10 Major Cryptocurrencies Have Performed In 2022

For the latest and interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here.
Hutchinson has been based in Asia over the last six years and most recently served as the general manager of the Singapore business of Hyphen Group, one of the largest fintech companies in the Greater Southeast Asia region. The other roles he held at this company include general counsel and chief of staff. He has also practiced law as an M&A lawyer, spending time at the Dublin offices of law firms William Fry and Eugene F. Collins, part of Addleshaw Goddard.
Given the general consolidation of brokers in the London market and the market share of the main players, buyers are left with very little choice at their greatest time of need, said Baird. Therefore, we are creating a new division which does not have a house view, is not limited to certain geographic markets, in order to provide more choice to cedants and to support them in managing their portfolio given the market dynamics.
News

Advantages of cow weighing and EID system and introduction of used livestock scales

A comprehensive program for livestock health suitable for operation location, size and type is essential to reduce the chance of disease and even death for livestock in any operation, and to ensure profit.

"Regular animal weighing is a highly effective early warning system for potential health concerns."

The emotional and financial impact of health problems in livestock can be enormous if they are not addressed and dealt with promptly. A comprehensive program for livestock health appropriate for the location, operation size, and type is crucial to reduce the chance of dying and disease in animals in any operation, and to ensure the profitability of any operation.

Early Warn

The routine weighing of animals is an extremely effective early warning system to identify health-related concerns that could be a concern. If other variables (eg feeding habits, etc.)) remain the same weight loss could be a clear indication of a possible health issue.

A regular weighing program in the farming operation allows health issues to be identified quickly and with greater accuracy than conventional visual checks. For instance, certain animals are more vulnerable to specific parasites than other animals. with regular weighing, these can typically be detected and treated for specific animals without the need for whole herd/flock treatments.

A timely and efficient control of sick stock minimizes cost and time of recovery and also reduces the loss of revenue (milk not being put into the vat dry stock that is not reaching weight goals).

Better Decision Making

Apart from using information about weight to track weight loss proactive programs can help in a variety of different aspects related to herd management, for instance:

Decisions about slaughter or sale - the ability to choose animals to be sold or slaughtered according to the current weight and average daily weight gain

Impact of feeding programs - measure the how successful different feeding programs are and also allows choice of the right stocks for feeding preference (i.e. get premium prices on meat, according to the target weight ranges)

The results of the breeding plan. Select your preferred genetics based upon weight gain performance

Mating preparation - make sure that the animals are in the ideal weight for optimal reproduction success. After becoming pregnant keeping livestock healthy also has positive effects in reducing the rate of abortions and increasing the ease of birth and recovery rates following birth.

Electronic Identification: cost or investment?

With the increasing world population, ensuring the safety of agriculture's output all over the world is becoming increasingly important in our ability to provide food for the world. This is why numerous governments have either already or are currently in the process of adopting traceability requirements that are mandatory, with electronic identification tags for each animal.

While it is a necessity for producers to meet the requirements, they have found ways to convert this mandatory cost to an opportunity for investment. Beyond compliance, these tags allow farmers to control their herds to a single stock unit by drastically cutting down on the amount of labor required in comparison to traditional manual recording methods.

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Advantages of used livestock scales

The used livestock scales can not only achieve automatic cluster management according to the weight data but also monitor the change and trend of animal weight, realize fine breeding, reduce workforce and improve the efficiency of daily work management; In the face of the increasing gap between meat supply and demand, we can effectively achieve incremental breeding and steadily increase benefits.

In terms of animal protection, the used livestock scales can be used to carry out ear tag wearing, medication, epidemic prevention, and treatment for animals in Baoding District to reduce the difficulty of daily work, such as management, fetal supervision, midwifery, and other work.

Typical application scenarios of used livestock scales: information management of medium and large-scale pastures and animal husbandry applications of beef cattle, cows, calves, sheep, etc.

The trend of used livestock scales

Digital smart pasture is the main trend of future pasture development. Some large animal husbandry companies have invested in and developed used livestock scales and face recognition software for animals. Through a continuous collection of animal facial data, we can observe the changes in animal health and behavior. AI recognition technology can play a huge role in wildlife protection, animal disease warning, video tracing, animal/pet loss, and other aspects. In the future, it will also be applied to smart farms to monitor the health of cattle and sheep. With the support of big data, animal husbandry enterprises can monitor the food and water intake and behavior patterns of cattle and sheep, providing a more accurate scientific basis for precision breeding.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things technology and communication technology, through the installation of intelligent terminals with sensors, such as used livestock scales, the farm environment data will be transmitted to the cloud and presented on mobile phones, tablets, computers, etc., forming a large-scale and digital management means to further guide livestock production and solve the challenges faced in practical applications.

The combination of blockchain and smart pasture will promote food safety traceability to a new stage. The decentralized, asymmetric encryption algorithm, data tamper-proof, and other features of the blockchain will better realize the traceability of food at the source level, ensure the traceability of every link of the livestock industry chain from pasture to table, and improve the service and experience for consumers.

The combination of automatic feeding, used livestock scales, and other technologies with intelligent breeding technology will accelerate the process of intelligent precision breeding. The big data of breeding environment monitoring will provide an important decision-making basis for precision breeding, such as basic information of livestock, amount of exercise, breeding information, environmental temperature, and humidity, and realize intelligent precision health management, accurate prediction of estrus, automatic supplementary feeding, pasture management, etc.

The used livestock scales is Turnkey Service Provider

Zhengzhou Bangmao Weighing Equipment Co., Ltd.(BMScales) is a high-tech application-oriented enterprise integrating solution design, innovative product development, equipment production and service. The business scope includes: check weighers and weight acquisition and analysis for monitoring product weight in the production process. The company is located in Zhengzhou City with convenient and developed transportation. The company has complete production equipment and testing equipment, strong scientific research and development, and management and service teams. The weighing and weighing equipment designed and produced has the characteristics of high accuracy, fast speed, clear interface, intuitive display, easy learning, easy operation, and durability.

Please send an email with your request to: sales@bmscales.com , and our professional sales engineer will get back to you within 48 hours.

Inquiry us
When is it safe to go back to exercise? And how do I do it? These are the most common questions mums whove recently had babies ask womens health physiotherapist Fiona Healy.

Healy works in private practice in Killarney and also gives postnatal exercise classes online with The Bump Room, a team of physiotherapists offering online and in-person support, motivation and reassurance to new and expectant mothers  its done through movement, education and advice.

Women, particularly those who were quite active pre-pregnancy, realise that after being pregnant and having a baby their body isnt what it was. Theyre trying to understand how to get back to what they were, says Healy.

Women come with a variety of birth experiences, which directly affect how soon they can resume their normal exercise. Women whove had a straightforward delivery, where everything went according to plan, will probably recover quicker than the woman who had a forceps birth, a long pushing stage or a big baby.

Pointing out that theres a 30% risk of some degree of prolapse in the first year postnatal  most commonly of the bladder  Healy says these women need support and guidance getting back to exercise.

And then theres diastasis rectus abdominis (DRA)  separation of the tummy muscles, a quite natural occurrence that happens to pretty much everybody at the end of pregnancy, says Healy. For most, it heals naturally within the first two months, but for some it lingers and they need rehab, support and strengthening of the abdominal muscles.

Other issues too can plague women in the postnatal phase, putting exercise firmly on the back burner. A 2021-published systematic review of 24 studies found that, one year post-partum, urinary incontinence was present for 32% of women. And an Australian study published last year found pelvic floor symptoms  including urinary incontinence  a substantial barrier to exercise.

Meanwhile, about 25% of all women postpartum suffer from pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and/or pregnancy-related low back pain (PLBP), according to a 2004 study.

And a Danish study (exa.mn/pelvic-girdle-pain) found 8.5% of women with PGP post-delivery still had pain two years after giving birth.

PGP can linger in 10% of women, says Healy, explaining that it commonly affects the pubic bone in front or the sacrum at the back. Its quite a sharp pain and typically activity-dependent. Women usually feel it when moving, or after moving  it can be a real barrier to getting back to exercise.

Fiona Healy: women's health physiotherapist

Free rehab

Healy wishes women in Ireland could get a proper postnatal physical check, as women in France do. Here, the six-week GP check screens the baby  and the woman for post-natal depression. In France, women get eight postnatal visits to a womens health physiotherapist  after each baby  paid for by the State. There are also free rehab classes. In the first three to six months post-birth women are well looked after.

Attending a womans health physiotherapist at the six-week mark provides an opportunity for assessment and picking up any issues. But some women get caught in what Healy calls the fog of having a newborn. Motherhood is so overwhelming and theyre often sleep-deprived.

They can lose themselves  and their connection to themselves. Some women come after their second or third baby. Usually by then theyll have a few problems stacked on top of each other.

These problems, explains Healy, will have built up gradually. Maybe it started with a bit of incontinence when they coughed or sneezed. They let that go. Then they got a bit of back pain  and let that go. By the time you meet them the back pain has developed. Theyre not engaging in any exercise. And the stress incontinence has become more severe  theyre leaking when walking.

Yet, identifying and resolving problems is vital, says Healy, because you need to be strong for motherhood. Mothers bodies need to be able to tolerate the demands of a baby. You need muscle strength. Your babys going to get heavier. You need flexibility to be able to lift a heavy baby, to lift buggies in and out of cars.

While women can start walking straightaway after the birth  or as soon as their body feels comfortable  aerobic exercise has to wait 12 weeks. So does running or any jumping-type sport. Some women take longer. If theyve had a forceps  or difficult  birth, its going to take longer, like with any injury.

Prior to the 12-week milestone, she says women need to prepare for returning to impact exercise. At the six-week stage, wed get them started on a programme that would include squats, lunges, pelvic floor strengthening. Single leg strength is really important for example.

She points out that women, who were unable to exercise during pregnancy because of nausea or pain, will need more strengthening because theyll have become deconditioned.

Rachel Fanning at home in Co. Cork with her son Fiachra.

Running on empty

Mum-of-one Rachel Fanning was surprised at how long it took her body to heal following the birth of now nine-month-old Fiachra. Particularly as shed had a straightforward pregnancy, a natural birth and no epidural. I was surprised I couldnt go back running, even after six weeks.

It was surprising how long it took for me to honour this huge thing my body had gone through. Society puts pressure on you, we want to hurry it all up  when are you going back to work  but your body needs to heal. Its the biggest thing that happens to a woman.

In her late 30s, Rachel absolutely loves running. Pre-baby I did the park run on Saturdays. I had a personal best of 22 minutes and eight seconds. Running was very important to me. It gave me energy, made me appreciate nature, got the adrenalin pumping  Id feel wonderful after it.

A teacher from Donoughmore, Co Cork, Rachel stopped running halfway through pregnancy. Some fitness instructors dont know what to say to pregnant people so they err on the side of caution. They tell you to be careful and you dont know what that is so you end up not exercising. I walked a lot through the second phase of my pregnancy and I did an online prenatal yoga class.

Eleven weeks after having Fiachra, she tried to start back running. I knew nothing about postpartum exercise or how to get back to exercising. I had a bit of incontinence. I didnt know this was a problem that could happen after having a baby. No one talks about it, so when it occurs, you dont know its a problem for anyone else.

Theres shame, embarrassment attached to incontinence, which there shouldnt  its a natural thing that can happen.

Recommended by the Bump Room to attend a womens health physiotherapist  and armed also with a GP referral  Fiona met the physiotherapist and had her problem resolved after two sessions.

She looked at my posture and showed me where I was holding onto stress  in my stomach. She showed me how to untuck my pelvic floor to relieve stress. She gave me techniques on how to hold my posture properly.

I returned gradually to running about three months ago. Im back running now, but my speeds much slower. I dont time myself anymore  I just run.

Rachel compares looking after a baby to being at a gym session. If Id known the gym would help me after having a baby, Id have said theres a point to all these squats. With a baby, youre always squatting whether you like it or not.

But no gym instructor tells you this will help in motherhood. Because everythings heavy  the prams heavy, the baby seat. Youre constantly securing the baby seat, lifting it out of the car, attaching it onto wheels  often with just one arm because youre holding the baby as well.

Rachels advice to other postpartum mums is not to feel youre being precious or dramatic by attending a womens health physiotherapist, even if everything feels OK. Its not in our culture to go but theyre the experts in this field.
A 57-year-old man was arraigned on the opening day of the county sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday and admitted sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl almost 20 years ago.

The accused man was arraigned before Judge Helen Boyle and he pleaded guilty to the single count against him that between November 1 and November 2, 2003, at a location in County Cork he sexually assaulted a named girl.

Judge Boyle was told that the injured party in the case was eight years old at the time of the crime. The defendant was 38.

The accused man opted to surrender his bail as the case was adjourned until April 25 for sentencing.

Defence barrister, Kate Aherne, said: It is a historical offence going back two decades. A guilty plea was flagged in advance in writing.

Prosecution barrister, Lilly Buckley, said that owing to particular sensitivities in the case it would be necessary to adjourn sentencing for certain arrangements to be made.

Judge Boyle ordered that the anonymity of the parties should be preserved in any coverage of the brief hearing.

Ms Buckley BL said that the issue relating to anonymity could be addressed again on the next occasion when the case comes up for sentencing.

In such cases, the injured party is given the opportunity to prepare a victim impact statement for the sentencing hearing.
Stephen Silver, who denies murdering Garda Colm Horkan but admits to his manslaughter, told gardai that the deceased tried to attack him and added: "With all that's going on with the police in this world, I shot him," a prosecution barrister told the Central Criminal Court today.

Opening Mr Silver's trial, prosecution counsel James Dwyer SC said the accused man then mentioned Black Lives Matter, which the barrister suggested may have been a reference to the murder of George Floyd in America.

Mr Dwyer also told the jury of six men and six women that an issue which they may have to consider is whether Mr Silver was "ill-disposed towards gardai" and whether that "manifested itself in his behaviour on the day he killed" Garda Horkan.

Mr Silver (46), a motorbike mechanic from Aughavard, Foxford, Co. Mayo, has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Garda Colm Horkan (49) knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, on June 17, 2020. He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The jury heard when they were being sworn in on Monday that the defence will be raising the issues of bipolar disorder and the accused having diminished responsibility due to mental health difficulties.

Prosecution case

Opening the prosecutions case on Tuesday morning, Mr Dwyer said the State takes a view on the evidence which is that Mr Silver is guilty of the crime of capital murder.

Outlining the facts of the case, the barrister said that Gda Horkan was a single man who lived with his father in Charlestown in Co. Mayo and had spent almost 25 years as a member of An Garda Siochana.

At the time Gda Horkan died, Mr Dwyer said, he had not been formally appointed as a detective but had been approved by a Superintendent to carry out detective duties. He had also been authorised to carry firearms and given permission to wear plain clothes when on duty.

The accused man Mr Silver, he said, grew up on the outskirts of Castlerea, left school after his junior certificate exams, had worked as a fitness instructor for a number of years prior to June 2020 before setting up his own business as a motorcycle mechanic in Foxford where he lived. The accused was married but had been separated three months prior to the death of Gda Horkan.

The lawyer said the evidence will be that the accused had a history of mental health difficulties and a confirmed diagnosis of bipolar disorder. He also had a number of hospital admissions mainly as a younger man.

A number of days prior to the killing, counsel said Mr Silver was in the company of an Australian woman who was visiting Ireland and had stayed in the Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport between June 15 to 17. The woman was flying out of Ireland on June 17 and Mr Silver left Dublin that morning.

Day of the shooting

Detailing the evidence that will be heard, Mr Dwyer said the accused travelled in a van to Castlerea arriving there in the early afternoon. Mr Silver spoke to a friend at a train station, who showed him videos on Facebook of a garda raid earlier that month on the home of another of the accused's friends, James Coyne.

There will be evidence, Mr Dwyer said, that Mr Silver became annoyed and went to the Knockroe estate in Castlerea to call on Mr Coyne, someone he had not met for many years. Mr Silver and Mr Coyne decided to travel together in the accused's silver van to his garage in Foxford.

En route to Foxford, Mr Silver stopped the van at Castlerea Garda Station where he got out of the vehicle and went into the public office to make a complaint to gardai about an elderly person being abused by gardai. The accused told officers he had evidence on his phone and would be taking it further.

The court will also hear evidence, the lawyer said, that Mr Silver and Mr Coyne then went to the accused's garage where Mr Coyne tried out a motorcycle. The accused told Mr Coyne: "You're a natural, you can have it". The pair returned to Castlerea at 10.30pm that evening.

The prosecution barrister went on to tell the court that the accused's van pulled up at the forecourt of Castlerea Garda Station on their way back and turned around before returning to Mr Coyne's home. When they got to the house, the men took out the motorcycle and took turns riding around a green area in the estate with no lights and no helmets.

Eleven gunshots were found to have been fired from multiple angles at Detective Garda Colm Horkan.

Mr Dwyer also indicated to the jury that some of the neighbours called gardai and one neighbour recalled he heard someone who answered the description of Mr Silver shouting: "I dare the armed squad to come down here now".

The men left the estate on foot close to midnight heading towards the centre of town to buy food. Mr Silver wanted to take the route past the garda station but instead went along Patrick Street towards the junction with Main street.

The barrister said that Gda Horkan had taken up duty that afternoon at 2pm, had his own garda-issued firearm on him and was driving an unmarked Hyundai garda patrol car. He said a neighbour had seen a car matching that description entering the Knockroe estate just before midnight, around the same time the two men had left on foot.

Shooting

Counsel said the court will hear that as the men came into the centre of Castlerea at the corner of Patrick Street and Main Street, Gda Horkan pulled up beside them, and appeared to roll down the passenger window. Mr Silver spoke to the garda at the window of the vehicle.

The barrister further stated that there would be a number of accounts from various eye-witnesses, including Mr Coyne, about what happened afterwards. Some form of exchange took place between Mr Silver and Gda Horkan with the officer getting out of the unmarked car and approaching the accused.

According to Mr Coyne, Gda Horkan told Mr Silver he was arresting him and a physical struggle developed between them, which evolved into a struggle for the firearm that the garda had on him.

Evidence will be that a shot from the gun was discharged and Gda Horkan was wounded. Mr Silver rolled away with the gun and proceeded to repeatedly shoot the officer. 15 cartridges were found at the scene and the gun was emptied.

At this stage, Mr Dwyer said two other gardai arrived at the scene in a marked garda patrol car having left the Knockroe estate. They were the first gardai on the scene and had heard the shots as they drove past before turning around and blocking the road.

One of the gardai approached Mr Silver, saw him throw the gun away and told him to lie face down. Mr Silver told gardai: "That man tried to attack me and with all that's going on with the police in the world, I shot him."

Mr Dwyer said the accused mentioned Black Lives Matter, which counsel suggested was a possible reference to the murder of George Floyd in America. Mr Silver was arrested and taken to Castlerea Garda Station.

Injuries

A garda at the scene applied CPR to Gda Horkan and was assisted by colleagues but it was quickly apparent that Gda Horkan had sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.

The officer's remains were removed to Mayo General Hospital early the following morning, where a postmortem was carried out by Dr Linda Mulligan. Eleven gunshots were found to have been fired from multiple angles, there were three entry wounds to the deceased's back. One of the wounds was a close contact wound and the majority of shots came from a distance of greater than one metre, said Mr Dwyer.

The court will also hear, the barrister indicated, that some of the exit wounds from the bullets had a short appearance which suggested Gda Horkan was on the ground when he was shot. The cumulative effect of all of these gunshot wounds, he said, meant that Gda Horkan had received massive internal injuries and multiple fractures. Dr Mulligan will give evidence that the garda suffered catastrophic injuries which were non-survivable, he said.

The court heard further evidence will be that Gda Horkan had blunt force trauma to his left eye and left temple, which had a similar configuration to the butt of the pistol and may have been caused by a blow with the butt of the gun.

Mr Silver was seen by a local GP shortly after being detained and later by a psychiatrist, who didn't conduct a formal assessment of him but was satisfied on his observations that the accused was fit to be interviewed by gardai.

Garda interviews

Another part of the prosecution case will be interviews with Mr Silver, which the jury will see and hear in due course. In his first interview, the accused said: "Then this big blue car pulled up and this lad said, 'who are you?'. He said 'I'm a guard'. He came up to me. I pushed him". The accused said he had seen a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and that he didn't know who he was.

Counsel said the accused man said he pushed Gda Horkan as he "was in my space". Mr Silver continued: "A struggle ensued, I felt him going for something. The next thing he had it out, then bang, bang. I got the gun off him and I think I shot him".

Mr Silver said he found out afterwards that Gda Horkan was dead saying: "I'm angry about it as a garda tried to kill me, is that a garda car?"

Mr Dwyer said the accused is charged with capital murder and pointed out the Oireachtas considered gardai and prison officers were deserving of special protection when acting in the course of their duty. He said the State would have to prove that Gda Horkan was acting in the course of his duty at the time, that the accused knew that and was at the least reckless at the time.

He added: "We say Gda Horkan died as a result of the actions of Mr Silver, we say those actions were unlawful in terms of the initial struggle and repeated shooting of him. We say Mr Silver had the intention to kill or cause serious injury at the time Gda Horkan died."

In addition, Mr Dwyer said despite Mr Silver's references to things like a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and an unmarked patrol car, it is the State's case that the accused knew well that Gda Horkan was a member of An Garda Siochana at the time and a member on duty.

Mr Dwyer said that an issue the jury might have to consider in the case is whether Mr Silver was ill-disposed towards An Garda Siochana and that this manifested itself in his behaviour on the day he killed the deceased.

Mental health

He went on to say that the issue of diminished responsibility may arise in the case and that the jury would be assisted by forensic psychologists. "It is suggested that Mr Silver had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and that he was suffering from a relapse at the time he was shot and the defence say this substantially diminished his responsibility.

"We disagree and say Mr Silver had significant functioning mental capacity at the time he killed Gda Horkan," said Mr Dwyer.

In summary, counsel said that the accused must prove that defence on the balance of probabilities if the State proves there was an unlawful killing.

The accused's barrister, Dominic McGinn SC, made a series of admissions on his behalf. These included that Gda Horkan died on the main street in Castlerea as a result of being shot a number of times and that his client was responsible for the shooting. He said the main issue in the case would be the state of mind of Mr Silver at the time.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Tara Burns and a jury of six men and six women. It is expected to last six weeks.
Gardai believe a white Irish male was involved in an alleged sexual assault on a woman in north Dublin  and not migrants, as has been repeatedly claimed by right-wing agitators.

The claims that male refugees or black men carried out the attack have fuelled and heightened anti-refugee protests in Finglas in recent days.

The alleged incident occurred in the early hours of last Friday, after the woman was dropped off on Cappagh Road in Finglas.

A large number of local women, along with some children, entered Finglas Garda Station after and demanded answers.

Separately, a number of prominent males have led protests that have become increasingly hostile and abusive towards gardai  with these same people threatening to evict gardai from Finglas Garda Station on Wednesday evening and to lock down main routes in the area.

These protesters have been constantly alleging that refugee men are rapists, and that they pose an extreme danger to local women and children, and have repeatedly claimed migrants were involved in Fridays alleged attack.

Some of the organisers have called on people to bring weapons, even guns, to protests.

The protests initially started over renewed attempts by the authorities to use a vacant factory in Finglas to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

A number of high-level sources have confirmed to the Irish Examiner that gardai are following a definite line of inquiry in relation to the alleged sexual offence, and that they are looking to speak to a white Irish male from outside Dublin in relation to it.

The involvement of migrants or refugees has been ruled out. A well-known convicted criminal from the area is also involved in the protests.

While gardai are eager not to give oxygen to the right-wing organisers, sources do admit that local management and frontline members are on alert, preparing for an escalation in the protests.

There is a growing fear something will spark off in a deliberate attempt to force gardai to intervene and be dragged into a physical altercation, that will then be recorded and circulated online to supporters.

Gardai issued a statement on Wednesday saying they are looking to speak to a taxi driver in relation to the alleged assault "who picked up a fare from a white man and white woman" at around 1.30am on January 27.

The passengers in the vehicle are described as being a white woman, aged in her 20s and a white man, also aged in his 20s.

As reported by the Irish Examiner last Friday, detectives are investigating if the actions of certain protestors in Finglas have "stepped over the line" into criminality, including breaches of the Public Order Act.

The Garda Representative Association local branch has called for a task force to be set up to address the issue, describing the situation as "near anarchy".
Fine Gael TD for Kerry Brendan Griffin has confirmed that he will not contest the next general election.

It was first revealed by the Irish Examiner on Friday that Mr Griffin was one of nine Fine Gael TDs who are not expected to run in the next election, in what will be a significant blow to party leader Leo Varadkar

In a letter to party members and councillors last night, Mr Griffin wrote that after much consultation with his family he will not be seeking a nomination to stand in the next general election.

The reasons for this is a straightforward one. I have two young sons and I want to be around them more for the remaining years of their childhood, he said.

Politics demands absolute commitment and is an extremely time- and attention-consuming profession.

"It is also a job that takes you away from home and loved ones for long periods of time on a regular basis.

"And when you are at home, your mind is often preoccupied with any number of issues and challenges," he added.

There has been speculation about Mr Griffin's intentions after he was overlooked for the position of chief whip during the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Griffin acknowledged Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar for having confidence in him when appointing him Minister of State for Tourism and Sport in 2017 and his subsequent appointment as deputy chief whip.

Mr Griffin is based in Castlemaine, in what is now a five-seat constituency uniting Kerry North and Kerry South. He was first elected to the Dail in 2011 after spending three years in the county council.

In an interview with Radio Kerry's Kerry Today, Mr Griffin said chief whips job would have suited him and he was disappointed not to get it.

The journey home that night after his last job as deputy chief whip to organise the election of the Taoiseach was "long, wet and lonesome" and felt like coming back to Kerry after losing the All-Ireland, he said.

The whips job would have suited me family-wise, based in Leinster House, he said.

The reality was if he accepted a junior ministry he was facing seven more years and his children would be older teenagers.

He was straight up with the Taoiseach and had an hour-long conversation with him.

Mr Griffin added that he "hated" travelling abroad as junior minister and being away from his family for 17-hour days.

Covid and being at home for three months in a row for the first time in years had shown him a different way of life, Mr Griffin said.

That taste of being at home, just being at home at night time. It really was an eye opener in terms of what the craziness of the previous three years entailed, he said.

Politics for him was never about personal ambition and he said he would not do the Taoiseachs job for the world.

Mr Griffin has no plans post politics, but stressed he had given 20 years to Fine Gael and will continue to work for the party making sure it will retain its seat in Kerry.

Meanwhile, speculation has moved to who will replace him with sitting councillors Aoife Thornton in Listowel, Patrick Connor-Scarteen in Kenmare and Bobby OConnell in Castleisland, seen as contenders.
Much has been said, and much more will be said as St Brigids Day becomes entrenched in our culture from 2023 onwards.

Books have been published, PhDs have been completed and wells have been drunk from, but the question remains  who was Brigid?

Let's look at the evidence and the lore, the myths and the miracles behind the woman and find out exactly how this holiday came to pass looking behind the curtain of the campaign that lobbied the government for such a day.

Will the real Brigid please stand up?

You could spell her name as Brigid, as this public holiday does, or you could write it as Brigit as some scholars do, or you could also refer to her as Brig or Biddy, or even Brigantia  like the pan-European Celtic Goddess.

You can equally relate to her as a pre-Christian Celtic Irish goddess, connect to her as the Christian saint, or search out the woman Brigid who walked these lands and founded a powerful church in fifth-century medieval Ireland.

Between spellings and incarnations, the choices are many, but the question remains: Was she a goddess, a made-up saint co-opted from the Celts, or a real woman?

Myths of cloaks covering the Curragh aside, theres plenty of corroborating evidence to suggest that a very powerful, and nifty woman called Brigid did exist.

Niamh Wycherley, a medieval historian at Maynooth University is the foremost authority on Brigid and her relationship with her goes way back, from taking her name at her confirmation to completing her masters on the Kildare womans hagiography  the biography of saints.

She went on to write about Brigids relics in her PhD and in her book The Cult of Relics in Early Medieval Ireland, as well as lecturing extensively about her.

Was Brigid real? It depends on the one you're asking about, but if you're asking about Brigid of Kildare there is ample evidence to say such a woman did exist, and with much power and influence.

"There is so much written about her, especially in medieval times, Brigid was such a big deal," says Ms Wycherley.

She was supposedly born in 451, less than 20 years after Patrick is thought to have come to Ireland (432).

"In the annals they record multiple dates for her birth and death," says the historian.

"But what is really clear in the annals is how powerful the church of Kildare becomes, more specifically Brigid's church of Kildare  it becomes one of the most powerful churches in Ireland, with a monastery of men and women, led by a man and a woman. And we have so few women written into the annals," says Ms Wycherley.

While dates of Brigid of Kildare's birth and death may vary, the historian says one thing is always agreed upon: "Every story concurs that Brigid founded the church, one of the biggest churches in Ireland". It was quite the "big deal".

St Brigid in willow, an artwork at the National Museum of Ireland's Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, crafted by artists Aidan Crotty and Naomi Rogers. Picture: Karen Cox

By "big deal", this isn't a case of the first woman Taoiseach in 2024, or beyond, this achievement came at a time in Ireland when women were essentially slaves, with no autonomy of their own.

Brigid lived in an Ireland where women were classified as "legally incompetent" and "senseless" in legal texts, explains the historian.

The only other people who received such classification were children under the age of 14, slaves and the "insane". To be a woman in Brigid's time was to live a life as defined by your closest male relative.

"The abbess or leader of a womens religious community was often the most notable exception to this rule.

She controlled land and negotiated deals, wielding comparatively significant influence in society.

"Female monasticism provided one of the very few routes by which a woman could achieve some social and political authority," says Ms Wycherley, and this is the role Brigid of Kildare occupied.

The historian cites another uncontested fact in history  all surviving historical sources all agree that Brigid was part of a dynasty, the Fothairt, with branches around Leinster.

Indeed, the recently rediscovered three-county Brigid's Way starts in Faughart, Co Louth.

The Fothairt dynasty of which Brigid was a part of "were fairly low key", says the historian, but still, it gave her enough sway to found and lead a church, whereas Patrick would have arrived here with no pre-existing contacts needing to negotiate entry into every townland which he came across.

Despite Brigid's connections, Ms Wycherley reckons she was a woman of resilience and resolve, going by one piece of evidence.

Medieval history shows that women who chose the Church over marriage were sometimes punished by rape, with one text claims that Brigid's "brothers were very upset that she had denied them the bride-price to which they were entitled had she married".

Having shunned marriage, Brigid established her church in Kildare, which would probably have been a small wooden building and such was her sway and influence, in the space of a century it grew to be one of the most powerful institutions on the island.

"In just over 100 years this church grew to be one of the powerful institutions in the country, how it went from zero to 100, we don't know. But no one in academia disagrees that a woman founded Kildare, and every source named her as Brigid," says Ms Wycherley.

Brigid the saint

As well as the woman Brigid, there is the saint. Facts begin to loosen and vary widely here, turning into lore and myth, although some tales have their origin in truth.

Cogitosus, an Irish monk wrote the Vita Sanctae Brigitae, (The Life of Brigid) around 650  therefore, about 200 years after her birth.

Dr Wycherley emphasises that this depiction is not to be mistaken with pure fact. It's where some of the myth around the saint emerges.

"Cogitosus's bias is clear, glorifying Kildare, 'Kildare has the most important saint', 'Kildare is great'. He is also deeply religious, he is painting Brigid as the ultimate saint, like Mary, his story is mostly to entertain, it is not a historical document," notes Ms Wycherley.

Indeed, it is in this document where St Brigid's abortion work was cited, making Brigid a patroness of the Repeal movement for some.

He details how she met "a certain woman who, after taking a vow of virginity, had lapsed through weakness into youthful desire of pleasure, and her womb swelled with child".

Brigid then, exercising the most potent strength of her ineffable faith, blessed the pregnant woman and caused what had been conceived to disappear. The woman was returned to health and to penance.

From abortionist to lesbian icon, St Brigid also featured during our marriage equality referendum. It was said a younger nun by the name of Darlughdach served as Brigids ambassador and her anam cara (soul friend). It was also said that they were so close they shared the same bed.

Ms Wycherley says however, that the idea that Brigid was a lesbian perhaps came more from misogyny than fact.

"Women were allowed to live within a community of women. The men hated all-women communities and that's where the lesbianism comes in  men were being misogynistic about what women got up to," she says.

Terminating pregnancy and being in same-sex relationships aside, there are St Brigid tales that are far easier to identify as myths.

She is often cited as working miracles from a young age, eager to feed the poor, multiple stories circulate where she gave away her family's store of butter or only meat when someone came knocking and on returning to her home the new meat and new butter reappeared.

Then there is the famous cloak story of St Brigid asking the King of Leinster for land for her church.

"Will you give me as much land as my cloak will cover?" she is said to have asked. Not thinking that would garner much square footage, Brigid had four sisters catch a corner of the cloak each and run towards each point of the compass.

The cloak miraculously grew and grew until it covered acres of land.

There are also stories of her turning water into beer and curing a child's muteness. Her long list of miracles meant she became a patroness to many, some of whom include midwives, blacksmiths, poets, sailors and female revolutionaries.

But if Brigid the saint was many things, so too was the goddess of the same name. The supposed Celtic goddess is known as a triple goddess. She was goddess of both the alchemical power of fire, and the healing power of water. For this, she is seen as the perfect yin and yang, a balance between fiery and diplomatic energies. She was also known as the goddess of poetry.

In Irish mythology, Brigid was a goddess of the Tuatha De Danann  a magical race that possessed supernatural powers, and she was a daughter of the chief of the gods, The Dagda.

Goddess Brigid is also known as the Flame of Ireland, or as the "fiery arrow" upon which to launch your greatest intentions. She is also strongly associated with Imbolc or Imbolg, which is the start of spring in the ancient Celtic calendar and mirrors the cycle of nature.

But returning to fact, Ms Wycherley says we lack the evidence to say that Celts living here ever worshipped a goddess called Brigid.

"The whole goddess thing makes medieval historians uncomfortable because we don't have historical evidence that they had an actual goddess Brigid in Ireland, but there is evidence in other places of a goddess called Brigantia.

"We can't say, 'This is how people worshipped Brigid before the saint'," says the historian.

So whether she was a saint, a real-life woman or a goddess that preceded both, our best bet, bringing all evidence to mind is that there was a trailblazing leader named Brigid who walked these lands and led our ancestors 1,500 years ago.

"To create such a massive impact in this misogynistic and restrictive society, Brigit must have been well connected, thick-skinned and defiant," says Ms Wycherley.

How did the public holiday ever come about?

There would be no St Brigid's Day without Herstory  a multi-disciplinary storytelling platform, founded in 2016, that celebrates female role-models.

And how St Brigid's Day as a public holiday came to be has tinges of the same sexism that was rife in Brigid, the church leader's, misogynistic medieval Ireland.

But Brigid aside, the idea of a public holiday arose in the autumn of 2021, to honour the lives lost during the pandemic and those who worked tirelessly on the frontlines.

In the end, two holidays were announced, a one-off day last March to mark the impact of Covid-19, and a new one  though it was not always going to be called St Brigids Day. An "Irish thanksgiving" holiday for November was a strong contender.

St Brigid crosses. Picture: Cillian Kelly

In the end, it went to a woman who walked these lands more than 1,500 years ago and who founded and led one of, if not the most, powerful institutions on the island of Ireland  the church of Kildare, during the brutal and misogynistic Middle Ages.

While St Patrick arrived in Ireland with his message of Christianity becoming our patron saint with a much-celebrated holiday, Brigid was actually of these lands, and existed around the same time.

Moreover, there is evidence of Christianity in eastern and southern parts of Ireland before Patrick ever got here.

So how did this public holiday actually get over the line?

You could say it all started with another female trailblazer, the late Josephine Hart of Mullingar, and later of London, who died in 2011.

While known in London for her 1991 international bestselling novel Damage, that sold 1m copies, the poet and Booker prize judge, her Irish home place is now a carpark.

"Herstory came about really because of Josephine Hart in Mullingar, she was bulldozed out of modern history," says Herstory founder, Melanie Lynch.

She was a local role model, an amazing writer, a bestselling author, and her house was turned into a carpark.

"Meanwhile, in 2015, the council at the same time was seriously talking about building a museum for Niall Horan.

"That's how I started Herstory, it was a real catalyst. How could this trailblazer be bulldozed out of history?" says Ms Lynch.

Local children in the area could tell me what Kim Kardashian had for breakfast but not who Josephine Hart was."

Herstory was going to just be a one-off exhibition about amazing Irish women and then Melanie would "go back to advertising and the rat race".

As part of the exhibition planning, Ms Lynch ended up sitting down with the Royal Irish Academy. Her exhibition inspired the academy to count the number of women in The Dictionary of Irish Biography (DIB). Out of 10,000 people, there were 1,000 women.

"You need to be remarkable to get into it and at the same time I was talking to children in schools they could name about five famous Irish women," says Ms Lynch.

The start of Herstory in 2016, also coincided with the 1916 centenary, and they worked to draw out all of the women involved in the Easter Rising, about which there was lots of noise.

But by 2018, when the new history curriculum for the Junior Cycle was unveiled there was no mention of any of the women uncovered.

"Within two years they were all forgotten about," says Ms Lynch, "so Herstory turned from exhibition into movement".

Some of its work in the intervening years include drawing out the role of women in the Northern Ireland peace process  an exhibition on this launches in Washington DC's Capitol Hill this month, before going on to the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.

And St Brigid's Day?

"One of our board directors Treacy O'Connor said: 'Let's go for a national public in her name'," explains Ms Lynch.

Herstory took the suggestion seriously and some of the advisers to the campaign included Fulbright scholar Ruairi McKiernan, poet Laura Murphy and former chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Ellen O'Malley Dunlop. It was 2019 and Melanie Lynch "thought it would take a decade".

"We launched the petition in 2019, it didn't get much traction, maybe 15,000 signatures, and there was lots of lobbying of politicians, I personally sat down and wrote to every politician on the island," says Ms Lynch.

Leo Varadkar tabled the idea of a new public holiday in late 2021, again just two short years after another Herstory campaign and Brigid "wasn't on the list, there was instead all this talk about Thanksgiving".

Siobhan McSweeney got behind the campaign to endorse St Brigid.

Ms Lynch said a perfect media, and social media storm, was created, with former justice and foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan writing a letter to the Irish Times endorsing Brigid and actors like Cork's Siobhan McSweeney getting behind the campaign.

On January 19, 2022, it was made official, there would be a new recurring public holiday and it would be called St Brigid's Day, falling on the first Monday of February, except where February 1, happens to fall on a Friday, in which case that Friday will be the public holiday.

It is our 10th public holiday and only one to be named after a woman.
You cant call Britain a banana republic. It would be totally wrong. Because Britain, after all, isnt a republic. Its very proud of the fact that its head of state inherited the job  although youd have to wonder if the pride isnt diminishing a bit, watching the antics of the royal family.

But still, the very fact of a royal family means that you cant stick any old tropical fruit in front of its name and hope to have an accurate descriptor. So what do you nick-name a country whose political system has been corrupted from the top, to the point where it is impossible to be anything but cynical?

A mango monarchy, thats what were looking at. What fascinates me is how should we define it  and how should we compare it to whats happening here at home?

The distinguished journalist and writer Robin Wright set out to answer the question Is America becoming a banana republic a few years ago in the New Yorker magazine. Her definitions were as good as anything Ive come across.

Over the past century, she wrote, banana republic has evolved to mean any country (with or without bananas) that has a ruthless, corrupt, or just plain loopy leader who relies on the military and destroys state institutions in an egomaniacal quest for prolonged power.

We havent seen the military deployed in the UK yet, just unremitting and endless corruption  and a couple of loopy leaders, some of whom give egomania a bad rap. So lets stick to mangos for a while.

Over the weekend, after very considerable dithering, the British Prime Minister sacked the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current Chair of the Tory Party (it carries a place in the Cabinet in the mango monarchy, that job). He sacked him after he got a report confirming that Nadhim Zahawi had broken the so-called Ministerial code, not once but seven times.

And he didnt break the code seven times one Tuesday morning. Hes been at it for the best part of two years. He knew there was an investigation into some of his dodgy tax dealings, he participated in the investigation; when he settled it, he incurred a large penalty, and he knew he had an obligation to let all that be known to the proper authorities. Not only did he pretend there was nothing going on, but he threatened journalists with libel if they ever had the temerity to report true facts.

It was like something straight out of the Ray Burke school of Dodging and Diving.

You remember Rays technique, Im sure. Stand up in the Dail, tell a bare-faced lie, declare youve drawn a line in the sand, and see what you can brazen out.

And if youre doing it while relying on a leader who doesnt want to confront you and keeps invoking due process as a way of delaying the necessary confrontation, so much the better.

In this case Zahawis Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had clearly attended a few seminars in the Bertie Ahern school of How to Avoid Political Accountability.

Or maybe they all just learned their tricks from Boris, the man who believed that if a lie could help you survive to the end of the week, sure you never know what might turn up to get you through the following week.

Johnson funds

Talking of Johnson, it has now emerged that the man he appointed as Chair of the BBC was instrumental in helping to organise a guarantor for a hefty credit facility to help fund Johnsons chaotic lifestyle. The guarantor was a Canadian billionaire called Blyth. The whole thing stank to high heaven and should have been investigated by the Cabinet Secretary. He apparently decided, since Johnson and Blyth had a family relationship, no investigation was necessary.

Family relationship? I actually laughed out loud one night when Channel 4 News traced the actual relationship. Possibly, stretching a point, fifth cousin once removed. I bet if I worked hard enough, I could find a fifth cousin once removed among the ranks of North American millionaires. Not that it would do me any good!

So what about us then? Am I the pot calling the kettle black?

Weve had our moments, thats for sure.

I will go to my grave convinced that Charles J Haughey and his cronies came as close as possible to destroying the democracy that matters to us.

We have never seen corruption like that in Ireland  and it was a spectacularly venal type of corruption because its primary purpose was to support his jumped-up lifestyle. In that sense at least, Haughey might have been the godfather to Johnson.

But we cleaned up our act. For quite a while now, the laws and structures have been in place to try to ensure that corruption wont become embedded in our politics. Theyre not strong enough yet, but theyre there and there is evidence that they work reasonably well. And there is evidence too that our politicians live by the rules.

And yet in the last fortnight or so weve had febrile excitement about Paschal Donohoes election expenses. Ive lost count of the number of times he had to parade himself in the Dail to explain his errors in election accounting. There is no doubt whatever in my mind that we are talking about errors here  errors about tiny amounts of money in election terms  and not deliberate concealment.

Dont get me wrong. If Paschal Donohoe, for example, had made a tax settlement with the Revenue while he was Minister for Finance, and had lied about it, Id be in the queue demanding his resignation. But he did nothing like that. Opposition deputies did what they have to do  and Ive no problem with that either  but it was clear from the start that none of them believed we were dealing with an act of corruption here.

And if the truth be told, I suspect every single member of Dail Eireann had the thought running through their heads, there but for the grace of God . Ive been there, and I can tell you that when you set out to be as compliant as possible with the law in relation to election expenses, youre taking on a full-time and painstaking job.

Exactly the same thing applies to Sinn Fein. Youll know Im no fan of that party, but I was a bit boggle-eyed by the stick they have had to take for forgetting to report some of their election spending. Apparently, they forgot to report it because it was in respect of bills they forgot to pay.

You'd have to say, enough already. Were not perfect, and weve never been perfect. Thereve been many times in the past when political heads needed to roll. This was no such occasion, and in fact, it made the whole of politics and political coverage look silly.

Maybe the lesson we need to learn from our next-door neighbour is that some things never change. Political corruption is never too far away. Ultimately, its the lack of openness  secrecy where theres no room for secrecy  that aways does the damage. And it was ever thus.
Burma Myanmar Junta Colonel Assassinated by Corporal: Sources

Lt-Col Kyaw Soe Aung

Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Soe Aung of the juntas Signal Training Depot was shot dead by one of his troops in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, Mandalay Region, on Sunday, according to military sources.

Lt-Col Kyaw Soe Aung was parading troops at the training depot when he was shot twice in the chest with a rifle, sources said.

It is confirmed that he was shot at close range on Sunday and he died in the hospital, said a source, citing a captain who works under Lt-Col Kyaw Soe Aung.

The colonel was appointed as the depots vice-principal while the National League for Democracy was in office and was previously based in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, the sources said.

The lance corporal responsible has been detained and the community in Pyin Oo Lwin, a military-dominated hill station, is in shock, his family said.

Some military sources said they could not make calls to personnel in Pyin Oo Lwin.

Former captain Htet Myat of the civil disobedience movement said the assassination of a commanding officer by one of his troops revealed how the military is divided and some units might not be far from mutiny.

We heard he was always bullying the lower ranks. There is no other way to deal with guys like that these days, the former captain said.

Sources said the junta leadership is worried the incident could trigger uprisings elsewhere and is attempting to suppress the news. His family has been ordered not to issue a newspaper obituary.

The situation that could lead to a huge mutiny. The incident highlights the regimes many problems. Our revolutionary groups will use it to our advantage, said a resistance fundraiser.
Burma Myanmar Security Council Statement Prompts Speculation Military Rule Will Be Extended

Regime chief Min Aung Hlaing submits his report on emergency rule to the NDSC on Tuesday. / Cincds

A key defense and security body said after a meeting Tuesday that it discussed the extraordinary situation that continues to exist in Myanmar, prompting speculation that it will exercise its power to extend the period of military rule, which technically expired on Tuesday.

A statement said the military-dominated National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) meeting was held on Tuesday and the council would make an announcement about whether military rule will be extended on Wednesday.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is an NDSC member, submitted his report on two years of military rule in the country to the council as required by the Myanmar Constitution. In his report, according to the statement, he said the countrys parallel civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and its armed wing, the Peoples Defense Force (PDF), were trying to take power by violent means.

Based on his report, the statement said, council members discussed the fact that Myanmar was still in an extraordinary situation, referring to the ongoing resistance movement against the regime.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup in February 2021. The junta seized power from the countrys democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government, announcing emergency rule on grounds of vote fraud in the 2020 general electiona claim dismissed by international election observers. The NLD won a landslide victory in the polls.

Two years on, the junta still has not been able to take control of the country as there has been nationwide armed resistance against the regime.

Under the Constitution, the NDSC may, under normal circumstances, permit two six-month extensions of emergency rule, after which Min Aung Hlaing has to hand back power to the council, which must hold an election within six months.

However, the NDSCs statement on Tuesday has raised concern among some observers that the regime intends to exploit the relevant provision in the charter to allow the council to extend military rule for another six months, arguing that circumstances are not normal.
Burma Two Years of Turmoil: Key Events Since Myanmars Coup

Protesters walk through smoke near a makeshift barricade during a crackdown by security forces on demonstrations against the military coup in Yangon in March 2021. / AFP

YANGONMyanmars military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, ousting the civilian government and arresting its de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

More than 2,800 people have since been killed in the juntas bloody crackdown on dissent, according to the UN, while thousands more have been arrested.

Here is a look back at the two years since the coup, which ended a decade-long experiment with democracy after half a century of military rule.

Pre-dawn raids

Soldiers detain Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her top allies during pre-dawn raids on Feb. 1 ahead of the opening of the new parliament.

The generals claim fraud in the November 2020 election, which Daw Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide.

Their actions spark global condemnation, from Pope Francis to US President Joe Biden, and soon the United States, European Union and others announce sanctions.

Growing crackdown

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young woman shot on Feb. 9, dies 10 days later after becoming a national symbol of opposition to the junta.

Violent crackdowns on street protests escalate, and by March 11, Amnesty International says it has documented atrocities by the junta including the use of battlefield weapons on unarmed protesters.

A day later, a UN rights expert on Myanmar accuses the military of crimes against humanity.

Deadliest day

More than 100 civilians are killed in protest crackdowns on March 27, 2021Armed Forces Day, the militarys annual show of strength. It is the deadliest day since the coup.

The next month, ousted civilian lawmakers forced into hiding announce the formation of the shadow National Unity Government.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyis trial begins

In June, more than four months after she was detained, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi goes on trial in a closed junta court.

She faces an eclectic mix of charges, including illegally importing walkie-talkies and flouting COVID-19 restrictions during the 2020 elections.

Election results canceled

In late July, the junta cancels the results of the 2020 polls, claiming more than 11 million instances of voter fraud.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi jailed

On Dec. 6, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi receives her first jail sentence  four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid-19 regulations. The sentence is then cut to two years.

Executions

In July 2022, the junta announces it has executed a former lawmaker from Daw Aung San Suu Kyis party along with a prominent activist over allegations of terrorismthe countrys first use of capital punishment in decades.

The news sparks renewed outrage. A junta spokesman later says the pair, along with two others who were executed for allegedly killing an informer, deserved many deaths.

Lavrov visits

Days later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits and says Moscow backs the juntas efforts to stabilize the country and hold elections in 2023.

Ex-ambassador arrested

In August 2022, authorities arrest former British ambassador Vicky Bowman for allegedly breaching immigration rules.

The arrest came as Britain announced new sanctions on firms it said had helped raise funds for the military during its 2017 crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

Bowman and her husband, prominent artist U Htein Lin, are later jailed for a year.

In November, they are freed in a mass amnesty, along with a Japanese journalist arrested at an anti-coup protest and an Australian former adviser to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi detained since the early days of the coup.

Air strikes

In September, at least 11 schoolchildren are killed in a junta air strike on a school in the northern Sagaing region as the military ramps up the use of its air power.

In October, air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group kill about 50 people and wound 70, according to the Kachin Independence Army, which has clashed regularly with the junta since the coup.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi trials finish

After 18 months, Daw Aung San Suu Kyis trial wraps up on Dec. 30 with a final jail term of seven years for corruption, taking her total sentence to 33 years.

The junta gives no details on whether she will be allowed to serve her sentences under house arrest.

Elections?

In January 2023, the junta gives political parties two months to re-register under a strict new electoral law in the latest sign it is planning fresh polls this year.

The United States has said any elections would be a sham. Close ally Moscow says it supports holding polls.
War Against the Junta Resistance Group Executes Myanmar Military Intelligence Officer in Kachin

Myanmar junta military intelligence officer Captain Paing Thu Soe

Resistance forces executed a Myanmar junta military intelligence officer Sunday, one day after arresting him in Mogaung Township, Kachin State, according to the Peoples Defense Force (PDF) group responsible, UG Black K.

Captain Paing Thu Soe was detained on Saturday and killed after being interrogated the following day, the resistance group said.

According to UG Black K, Capt. Paing Thu Soe, 37, was a member of the Myanmar militarys Infantry Battalion 47 based in Bhamo Township, Kachin State, and gathered information on the movements of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and newly founded PDF groups, along with other local revolutionary groups in Kachin State, by donning plain clothes and posing as a driver.

We had been watching his movements for a few weeks after finding out that he was a leading intelligence officer in this area operating under direct orders from Naypyitaw. We arrested him on a stretch of road at around 12 p.m. on Jan. 28, said a spokesperson for UG Black K.

The group said it found evidence, including military documents, during the arrest showing that the captain led intelligence operations that had resulted in the arrests of 21 PDF members. It also said the officer had admitted to raping a woman.

The Irrawaddy has not been able to independently verify the claims.

According to UG Black K, in 2021 Capt. Paing Thu Soe arrested four PDF members who had returned to Mandalay from Kachin State after receiving basic military training from the KIA. He later led a separate intelligence operation that resulted in the arrests of at least 17 other PDF fighters in 2022 who had also returned to Mandalay from Kachin.

We killed him [after the interrogation], as that was our mission objective for him, the spokesperson said.

UG Black K has been specifically targeting the militarys surveillance operations. On Jan. 24 it arrested Ko Kyaw Thu Soe, a leader of the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) in Mogaung Township who worked alongside Capt. Paing Thu Soe.

UG Black K said Ko Kyaw Thu Soe had ties not only with the military, but also with a KIA major from Hpakant Township, Kachin State, adding that the SNA was operating a drug using site near a farm that it owned.

The UG Black K spokesperson said the PDF wanted the KIA leadership to investigate its corrupt officer and take action, as such behaviour was very harmful to the revolution.

The Irrawaddy contacted KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu to ask about UG Black Ks claim, but the KIA spokesperson did not answer the phone.

Nowadays, the juntas military is increasingly using intelligence and surveillance systems to spy on the movements of the revolution. Therefore, it is very important for us to counter it and to eliminate military spies. Otherwise, all our revolutionary movements will be delayed, said the UG Black K spokesperson.

UG Black K has arrested and executed at least 17 junta military intelligence personnel and others working for them.
As a reporter, history buff and Lehigh Valley native, Ive visited nearly all of the areas museums  from America on Wheels and Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown to the National Canal and Sigal museums in Easton.

Each one, offering unique and fascinating insight, is an important community resource.

As a Bethlehem resident and son of a former Steel worker, I was especially eager to check out the new National Museum of Industrial History in south Bethlehem.

The Smithsonian affiliate, which opened Aug. 2 in the Steels former 1913 Electric Repair Shop, features exhibits relating to the once-booming business that helped build majestic skyscrapers, bridges and wartime equipment, as well as other industries, such as propane and silk.

By exploring the role of industry in Americas growth as a global power, the $7.5 million museum forges a connection between the countrys industrial past and the innovations of today and inspires the visionaries of tomorrow.

On my first visit, Glenn Koehler, the museums marketing and outreach coordinator, gave me the VIP treatment, guiding me through the 18,000-square-foot facility and provide additional information on the interactive displays and attractions.

To help you make the most of your first visit to the Lehigh Valleys newest museum, here is an account of my educational trip.

Machinery Hall

Upon entering the museums lobby, I am greeted by three primary attractions: the countrys longest commercially operated portable steam engine; an overhead crane from Milwaukees Pawling & Harnischfeger Co.; and an original Bethlehem Steel H-beam, which you can sit on in front of a wall-size reproduction of the famous Lunch Atop a Skyscraper photo.

Passing by the gift shop, which sells everything from T-shirts and engineer hats to Rosie the Riveter dolls and 3D metal model kits, Koehler and I arrive at the museums main room.

History immediately comes alive as the space showcases the buildings original brick walls, wooden ceiling beams and views of the former Carpenter & Pattern Shop next door.

The front section, known as Machinery Hall, is a representation of the then state-of-the-art technology that was on display in the original Machinery Hall at the 1876 Worlds Fair in Philadelphia.

Ten million Americans and visitors from 37 countries flocked to the Centennial Exhibition, where industrialists displayed their engines, pumps, boilers, turbines and machine-made goods.

People came from all over to show off their industrial prowess, Koehler says.

As was the case at the original Machinery Hall 140 years ago, the most prominent feature of the museums version is a mammoth Corliss steam engine.

The model at the Centennial Exhibition could produce 2,500 horsepower, providing free steam power to exhibitors, while the museums 115-ton model pumped 8 million gallons of water a day to York residents until 1956.

Most of the two dozen artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution are housed in Machinery Hall, except for a 20-foot-tall Nasmyth steam hammer in the back.

Among the ornately painted machines that helped build box-bed steam engine parts are an automatic lathe, which made bolts, and a radial arm drill press, which made steam cylinders.

The artifacts are displayed beneath line shafting, which was used heavily during the Industrial Revolution to distribute power via a system of belts, pulleys and gears.

The takeaway from this is machines making machines,' Koehler says. In this case, a slide-valve steam engine would power all of these other machines, which in turn would make gears and other equipment for another engine.

Im quickly drawn to a hand-powered flywheel, which another visitor is vigorously cranking.

The exhibit, a matter of strength and coordination, is intended to show the wide distinction between how much horsepower a human can generate versus that of the 1876 Corliss engine, which could produce more than 2,000 hp.

The highest score Ive seen is when one of the HiJinx brewers got it up to 5.2, says Koehler, after praising me for my score of 4.4.

Another highlight is the Wall of Patterns, a huge wall display of more than 30 Lehigh Valley businesses wooden patterns used to cast metal parts for machines.

Among the pieces are a bronze bushing, used by Bethlehem Steels Saucon Plant; a fire grate, used by Lehigh Valley Railroads Sayre Shops, and side posts of a slate planer, used by Bangors S. Flory Manufacturing Co.

Steel

This is the section for those wanting to learn more about Bethlehems bygone industrial might, including how iron was made at the iconic blast furnaces behind the museum. Exhibits delve deep into the world of steelmaking while providing unique perspectives from the men and women who produced plates for ships, rail for trains, rivets for bridges and much more.

There are miniature plant models, which were used to train employees and craft capital plans; a commemorative anvil, on loan from the National Canal Museum, which was made from the first steel rail rolled at the Bethlehem Iron Co.; and a Rail Evolution display, showing how rail became stronger over the decades  evolving from wrought-iron in the mid-19th century to modern steel rail in the 1920s and 30s.

Placards describe different methods of making steel, including open-hearth furnace (used in Bethlehem 1887-1969), and basic oxygen furnace (used in Bethlehem 1968-95).

The military history of steelmaking is also on display with bombs, the last piece of Class A armor rolled in the United States (made in Bethlehem in 1953) and a 37 mm anti-tank field cannon from World War I.

Im surprised and impressed to learn that Bethlehem Steel built 1,127 ships of 19 different classes during World War II.

My favorite part of the museum is an interactive world map, presented on a circular table. When you press color-coded buttons, corresponding lights are illuminated, indicating locations of various topics.

For example, you can see where Bethlehem built ships (California, Texas and Montreal); where Bethlehem controlled mineral properties (Indiana, Maryland and Washington); and where Bethlehems steel was used in prominent buildings, bridges, dams and rails (New Yorks Chrysler Building, San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge, the Panama Canal).

One of the most interesting illustrations shows the countries from which employees came. The company reported 10,500 foreign-born employees at the Bethlehem plant alone in 1918, with 58 nationalities represented. The map shows these workers hailed everywhere from China, Mexico and Russia to nearly every country in Europe.

What we like to instill in visitors is that Bethlehem Steel wasnt just here, Koehler says. There were plants all over the world and people came from all over the world to work here. All you have to do is go to the [St. Michaels] cemetery overlooking SteelStacks and youll see proof of that.

One exhibit depicts the life of a steelworker  complete with original hard hats, shift whistles, time card holders and suspended welfare baskets, where workers stored their belongings. A wall chart reveals the Steels accidents by department in 1909, with five killed in the blast furnaces  the most of any department.

Silk

Another once-prominent area industry is on display  from a century-old narrow ribbon loom, used by legendary American luxury brand Scalamandre Inc., to a film about early 20th-century silk manufacturing at Bethlehems former Laros Silk Mill.

The gallery tells the story of the Lehigh Valley silk boom, which began in the 1880s as New England and New Jersey silk manufacturers moved here for inexpensive labor.

By 1900, the Valley was the second-most-important silk-making region in the country, with 74 mills in Lehigh and Northampton counties alone.

All members of the family could work in a silk mill, including young women who operated machines that wound yarn onto bobbins.

For a period of about 10 years, there were more people working at Lehigh Valley silk mills than there were at Bethlehem Steel, Koehler says.

Im intrigued by this portion of the museum for two reasons: (1) I never learned exactly how silk is made; and (2) silk mills have been in the news recently with the conversion of Eastons Simon Silk Mill into a mixed-use facility and plans to convert Allentowns Adelaide Silk Mill into 270 apartments.

So, how exactly is silk produced?

An interactive wheel takes you through the four-step process, starting with a silkworm secreting silk to form its cocoon, which is later heated, killing the moth to keep it from ruining the silk.

One fact I found particularly interesting is that 80 moths produce 1 ounce of eggs, which lead to 40,000 worms, which lead to 100 pounds of cocoons, which lead to 9 pounds of raw silk.

Among the other highlights are a 20-pound bobbin tray that children once carried nine hours a day, and a Jacquard loom that wove luxury fabric for interior decoration at the White House for every presidential family from Hoover to Clinton.

Propane

Like the steel and silk industries, propane production also has a strong local connection.

In 1910, Allentown chemist Walter O. Snelling, while investigating a potentially explosive gas coming from a newly purchased Model T, founded the propane industry after he distilled propane and butane from natural gas.

Snelling, who held degrees from George Washington, Harvard and Yale universities, quickly realized its potential as a plentiful and convenient fuel for lighting, cooking, metal cutting and more.

Coincidentally, I toured his former Victorian mansion, including his basement laboratory, when writing about Allentowns West Park Historic House Tour a few months ago.

The museum pays tributes to Snellings accomplishments with a display of his laboratory equipment, including glass flasks and cylinders, along with photos and marketing materials of American Gasol Co., the worlds first propane company, which Snelling and his colleagues incorporated in 1911.

From the Snelling exhibit, I walk into a hot air balloon basket where you can learn how propane fuels such aircraft (first used in 1960) and experience a virtual ride. Koehler says it is the most popular of the interactive exhibits.

The balloon lights up and an educational video makes you feel as though you are soaring through the air without ever leaving the ground. For people who are even slightly scared of heights such as myself, its a great alternative to the real thing.

Another highlight is an exhibit illustrating ways the country used propane during World War II, including powering air-raid warning sirens and drying and sealing blood plasma for shipment to wounded GIs.

Voice recordings

Throughout the museum are stations where you can listen to firsthand accounts of the trades.

In the steel area, there is an original switchboard where you can hear short oral histories from former employees such as Bess King (plant facilities, late 1970s-early 1980s), who says she was a tomboy and wasnt intimidated by the fact that there was going to be a lot of guys around, and William Major (Coke Works, beginning 1973), who says he had to work harder than the next guy.

In the silk area, day-to-day struggles are recounted by former employees such as Dennis Wieder (Macungie Silk Mill, 1926-41), who says, It got to the point you thought you couldnt breathe anymore, and Anna Zuercher (17 Lehigh Valley silk mills, 1920s-30s), who says, You didnt know if youd have a job tomorrow.

You also can hear quotes from politicians and community leaders such as ArtsQuest President and CEO Kassie Hilgert, former Bethlehem Mayor Don Cunningham and former Gov. Tom Ridge regarding the industrial sites redevelopment.

[This area] has played such a vital role in the history and development of our country, the city of Bethlehem, our Lehigh Valley and our nation, Glenn Reibman, former Northampton County executive, says in one of the recordings.

ryan.kneller@mcall.com

610-820-6597

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF INDUSTRIAL HISTORY

* What: A Smithsonian affiliate dedicated to preserving Americas rich industrial heritage through exhibits on steelmaking, silk manufacturing, propane production and more.

* Where: 602 E. Second St., Bethlehem

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday

* How much: $12; $11, seniors, students and veterans (with valid ID); $9, ages 7-17; free, ages 6 and under.

* Info: 610-694-6644, nmih.org
October 27th marked the annual Tip-Off in the Forest for the Indiana State Mens and Womens Basketball teams. This event is summed up best as a way to get the players' recognition before the season begins, have a great time, and get the fans involved.
Leading Communications and Technology Event Returns to Florida for 23rd Consecutive Year

Shelton, CT  January 31, 2023  TMC today announced that ManageEngine has signed on a Silver sponsor for MSP Expo, the #TECHSUPERSHOW, being held February 14-17, 2023 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. MSP Expo is the premier conference and networking summit for MSPs. This is where MSP business owners and technology specialists share strategies to grow their managed services businesses.

Were glad to welcome ManageEngine as a Silver sponsor of MSP Expo in 2023, said Rich Tehrani, TMCs CEO. ManageEngine offers scalable, secure IT management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs). ManageEngine can help MSPs meet their clients requirements effortlessly. They are a must-see at the MSP Expo.

"We are delighted to be a part of MSP Expo, which has become one of the premier gatherings of MSP executives and business decision-makers. ManageEngine has an extensive suite of IT management solutions for MSPs that not only offer improved security but also help with the efficient handling of IT problems and achieving compliance-related goals. We look forward to interacting with MSP Expo attendees and guiding them through their IT problems," said Sekar Subramanian, regional sales director at ManageEngine.

Solution experts from ManageEngine will be available at booth 664 to interact with existing and potential customers and address their questions. Visit ManageEngine's website to learn more about how ManageEngine's various solutions can fulfill the requirements of MSPs.

About ManageEngine

ManageEngine is the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation. Established and emerging enterprises  including 9 of every 10 Fortune 100 organizations  rely on ManageEngine's real-time IT management tools to ensure optimal performance of their IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, endpoints and more. ManageEngine has offices worldwide, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, India, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Japan, China and Australia, as well as 200+ global partners to help organizations tightly align their business and IT. For more information, please visit manageengine.com, follow the company blog and get connected on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About TMC

Celebrating 50th Anniversary in 2022. Through education, industry news, live events and social influence, global buyers rely on TMC's content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. As a result, leading technology vendors turn to TMC for unparalleled branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities. Our in-person and online events deliver unmatched visibility and sales prospects for all participants. Through our custom lead generation programs, we provide clients with an ongoing stream of leads that turn into sales opportunities and build databases. Additionally, we bolster brand reputations with the millions of impressions from display advertising on our news sites and newsletters. Making TMC a 360-degree marketing solution, we offer comprehensive event and road show management services and custom content creation with expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, @tmcnet.

For more information or to register for MSP Expo, contact [email protected]. For media inquiries, contact Michelle Connolly. Companies interested in exhibiting, sponsorship or advertising packages for ITEXPO or MSP Expo should contact TMC's Joe Fabiano at 203-852-6800 x132 or Maureen Gambino at 203-852-6800 x109.

For the latest MSP Expo news, updates and information follow the event on Twitter at @MSPExpo.

Media and Analyst Contact:

Michelle Connolly

Marketing Manager

TMC

203-852-6800 x 170

[email protected]

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Edited by Erik Linask
The Australian Taxation Office has renewed and extended its agreement with Macquarie Government, part of Macquarie Telecom Group, to leverage a range of data and cyber security services.

The extended agreement will see Australian Taxation Office (ATO) benefit from Macquaries Secure Internet Gateway (SIG), 24x7x365 Security Operations Centre (SOC), sovereign data centre, hyperconverged infrastructure, and cloud services.

This will support the connection between ATOs IT environment and the internet and protect the sensitive data of Australian organisations and citizens.

Since the ATO signed an agreement in 2019, Macquarie has migrated SIG services as well as supported ATOs IT and security teams in relation to SIG.

This involved monitoring of digital events on the ATOs SIG and triage of targeted attacks by Macquaries SOC.

Macquarie Government provides SIG and other cyber security services to approximately 42% of the Federal Government based on staff headcount.

Macquaries SOC provides a full inspection of internet traffic flows, content, and images to meet ATO policies, the Governments Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) and Information Security Manual (ISM) controls, according to ATO.

Were proud to play a key role in keeping one of Australias most fundamental government agencies secure, at a time when Australians are looking for greater assurance their critical government data and the institutions that store and protect it are fully secure, said Macquarie Government managing director Aidan Tudehope (pictured above).

In growing its government cyber security capabilities, Macquarie Government has continued to invest in its infrastructure and service capabilities, including a significant focus on recruitment.

It has more than 220 security cleared engineers servicing its clients.

Macquarie Government has also expanded its sovereign data centre campus in Canberra, opening the $17 million Intellicentre 5 data centre in 2021.

In December, Macquarie Government, Australias government cyber security specialist, also became the first company in Australia to have both its cloud and data centre services Certified Strategic by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 30 January 2023.
COMPANY NEWS by CyberArk & Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre: With the ongoing cybersecurity hacks Australia has been experiencing, it is essential organisations are equipped with the knowledge and skills to be cyber resilient, particularly in the area of critical infrastructure.

CyberArk , the global leader in Identity Security, has partnered with the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre as part of its commitment to the growth and development of the Australian cybersecurity ecosystem. Through collaboration with other key companies and startups in the industry, CyberArk hopes to impact the cyber resilience of Australian businesses and to address the current talent and skills crisis, as well as bring added innovation and resilience to Australias cyber security and defence strategy.

Thomas Fikentscher, Regional Director of Australia and New Zealand, CyberArk said: As Australia and the rest of the world is faced with emerging cyber threats, especially targeted at critical infrastructure industries, it is more important than ever to foster a collaborative network of industry and emerging leaders in the sector to build stronger resilience capabilities with the right tools and knowledge for organisations to operate safely in the digital economy. Our collaboration with the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre is a great step in the right direction to drive needed innovation and also address the current talent and skills crisis. We couldnt be more thrilled to be a part of this initiative and see what we can achieve together.

The Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre facilitates the growth of Australias cyber community by championing collaboration, innovation and enterprise to thrive in the complex security threat landscape. It is part of LotFourteen, a world-class innovation district in South Australia solving complex global challenges leading to greater economic, social and cultural outcomes for all.

The Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre is committed to increasing Australias cyber security awareness, resilience and capability. As a member-based organisation, we believe collaboration can deliver greater outcomes and advancements within the cyber security ecosystem, and we are thrilled to be working with CyberArk. Our collaboration with CyberArk is one of relevance given the current skills and talent shortages and challenging threat landscape affecting all sectors of the industry, and we are excited to work together to strengthen the cyber security posture of organisations in Australia via various initiatives, said Kim Scott, Director and Chairman of the Australia Cyber Collaboration Centre.

Lot Fourteens concept was first initiated in 2015 and is now a burgeoning innovation/hi-tech precinct which has $750M federal government funding, state funding and also $400m funding from industry coming into it. It is designed to accelerate innovation, research, education and commercialisation through collaboration.
Telecom provider Orange Belgium and rival Telenet have signed acommercial 15-year wholesale agreement, which will provide access to the other partys fixed networks and cover both current hybrid fibre-coaxial and fibre-to-the-home technologies in both areas.

Orange Belgium claims the agreement will democratise multi-gigabit fixed and mobile speeds in the country.

In addition, Orange Belgium will provide Telenet with wholesale access to the hybrid fibre-coaxial network of VOO and Brutele and to its future fibre-to-the-home network in the regions of Wallonia and Brussels-Capital.

Telenet will also become a wholesale customer, which will increase network penetration and the return on modernisation investments, Orange Belgium claims.

The agreement is related to the acquisition of 75% less one share of VOO by Orange Belgium, which will require the approval of the European Commission.

With the acquisition of VOO, we have an ambitious investment plan to modernise the network and provide our customers with multi-gigabit connectivity. Telenet's network agreement will complement our ability to deliver a hybrid fibre-coax and fibre-to-the-home connectivity value proposition to our customers, wherever they live, comments Orange Belgium CEO Xavier Pichon.

We also welcome Telenet as a wholesale customer on our future VOO network. These agreements will promote competition and investments in networks on a national scale.
The US is thinking of cutting off Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor Huawei Technologies from accessing any American components, including those from Intel and Qualcomm, a report claims.

Bloomberg said some Biden administration officials were pushing for a total ban on US components reaching Huawei which has already been prevented from obtaining many American goods.

It cited "people familiar with the matter" as saying Washington was looking at adjusting its licensing policy to achieve this end, but that no final decision had been made.

The US tightened its policy on semiconductors in October last year, to restrict "the PRCs [People Republic of China's] ability to obtain advanced computing chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and manufacture advanced semiconductors".

In May 2019, while Donald Trump was in office, the US placed Huawei on its Entity List. American firms cannot sell products made in the US with more than 25% of American content to companies placed on this list, without obtaining a licence.

But Huawei was able to easily get around this restriction by getting products it needed supplied by branches of American firms located outside the US.

However, being on the Entity List entry meant Huawei was unable to continue using the proprietary version of Google's Android mobile operating system; this includes apps like Gmail, Maps, Drive, YouTube, the PlayStore and Photos.

Huawei had to confine itself to using the open-source version of Android, which has none of these apps. Google applied for an exemption to continue supplying Huawei, but did not get one. Microsoft was more successful, obtaining a waiver from the Department of Commerce to continue supplying the Shenzhen firm with its Windows operating system that Huawei uses on its laptops.

The US came back in May 2020 with further restrictions aimed at cutting off Huawei's supply of advanced semiconductors which it was getting mostly from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The additional restrictions were imposed via the Foreign Direct Product Rule that makes it necessary for any company  American or foreign  that sells American products or those made using American technology to require a permit before selling to Huawei.

In November 2020, Huawei sold its low-cost Honor smartphone business to a conglomerate of firms. Once the top smartphone vendor in China, Huawei has now fallen well behind the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and vivo.

If Huawei is blocked from getting products from Intel, that could hit its laptop business which has been able to operate without any hitches so far, given that it is able to obtain Windows from Microsoft which it uses as the operating system on these devices.

Bloomberg said the cutting off of Huawei would not mean much in material terms to US firms as the Chinese company now made up less than 1% of revenue for Qualcomm, Intel and AMD, according to its own analysis.
CASE STUDY by blueAPACHE : Originally established as Madad Pty Ltd in Brisbane in the 1920s, Sealy of Australia has grown to become a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of high-quality mattresses.

The companys journey with the Sealy brand began in 1969 when its owners travelled to the United States and negotiated to become a licensee of the American company in the Australian market. In 2000, this relationship evolved into a joint venture between the two companies that now underpins Sealys operations outside of the US.

Sealy of Australias office in Brisbane is the headquarters for a network of offices and 15 manufacturing facilities across Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. These facilities enable the company to manufacture close to their customers and offer a premium service level, consistent with the brand.

Across its broad geographic footprint, the company uses a mix of retail partners and Sealy branded stores to allow customers to experience and purchase its products.

The importance of consultative business relationships

Throughout its century-long history, Sealy of Australia has prided itself on the strong links it maintains with its business partners. The companys management believes that solid, long-term relationships underpin commercial success.

Sealy Chief Information Officer, Phil Moss, says other important factors in good business relationships are the price points involved and the value that each delivers to the company.

Unfortunately, we found that a telecommunications provider we had been working with for many years was no longer delivering on these three important points, says Moss. The technology being used was okay, however the business relationship had reached the stage where we had no choice but to look elsewhere for support.

After reviewing a range of alternatives and carefully evaluating a shortlist of prospective new partners, a decision was taken in April 2021 to commence a new partnership with blueAPACHE.

We were very impressed with blueAPACHE from the outset, says Moss. They took time to build a firm relationship with us and to understand our particular requirements. They then set about designing a networking infrastructure that met our needs both in Australia and internationally.



During this period it became clear to us that blueAPACHE had the superior business experience and technical capabilities we needed to make a positive impact to our overall IT operations. The advanced technology mix recommended when combined with the companys costs and focus on achieving results ensured we would have a winning formula for success from the outset of the deployment.

We found that blueAPACHE were also very consultative in their approach. Rather than coming with preconceived ideas of what we should deploy, they instead listened to what we needed and understood the critical role that data networks play within our business.

Moss says it is also important that the two companies continue to have a strong cultural alignment. This stems from the fact that both are Australian based and have expanded internationally.

Of all the factors at play, this alignment was key for us, he says. The senior management teams within both companies cemented strong relationships. This convinced us that, should any issues arise in the future, we would be able to have them resolved very quickly.

A staged deployment

Once planning had been completed, blueAPACHE began a staged rollout of the new network. Links were maintained with the legacy infrastructure to ensure there was no disruption to business activity and, if required, voice and data traffic could revert to the old network.

After beginning with the companys six Australian sites, Sealy worked with blueAPACHE to roll out network links to one site in New Zealand, one in the United Kingdom and ten across the Asia-Pacific region. Following rigorous testing, the completed new network went fully live in April 2022.

Moss says the works were completed during COVID lockdowns which served to complicate the rollouts, however the blueAPACHE team remained focused on the end goal of a fully functional network.

blueAPACHE was very proactive throughout the deployment and took full ownership of any issues that arose, he says. I really liked the honesty exhibited by the team. They worked together as a cohesive whole and offered as much support as we required.

Critical support for the Sealy brand and customer experiences

As well as supporting Sealys office-based staff, the new network is also critical for the companys manufacturing capabilities. This is because all mattresses are made to order with a lead time of just three days. If the network is down, this promise to customers cannot be met which means the Sealy brand would suffer.

Each time a mattress is produced, it is scanned and a unique barcoded sticker is printed and affixed to confirm it has successfully passed the companys rigorous quality assurance processes, says Moss. For this to happen, data needs to travel, in real time, between the factory and the companys headquarters in Australia. If there are any delays in this process it can lead to costly delays and disruption in the factory.

If you have no data and no sticker, you end up with an unproductive factory, double handling of pieces, and perhaps the wrong pieces delivered. This is a situation we need to avoid at all costs.

Moss says the network is also vital to other parts of the business. Staff across all locations need to access data and applications while also relying on it to provide voice communication services.

Network links also provide critical support for the companys back-office functions. Moss says that, while its the Sealy brand that gains most attention, those working in the back office are equally important for the company.

As well as our manufacturing facilities, the network supports core applications such as our ERP system and accounting applications, he says.

An expanding relationship

As well as being a partner that can manage and maintain Sealy Australias voice and data links, Moss says blueAPACHE has also shown it can add value in other ways.

They keep a close eye on the evolving technology landscape and proactively suggest new approaches and products that could support our business as we continue to grow, says Moss.

Chris Marshall, Managing Director, blueAPACHE, says the project benefitted from the fact that Sealy was able to leverage blueAPACHEs existing reference network architecture. This significantly reduced risk as the reference architecture aligns with recognised industry security frameworks.

The project also benefitted from the fact that we were able to have one team in place that worked across everything from project deployment across the network to client service and cloud layers, Marshall says..

Moss says he looks forward to a long-term working relationship with blueAPACHE. Im confident we now have in place a proactive and trusted partner that will continue to support our operations in the longer term, he concludes.
Wendi Stanford was, the prosecutor said, a woman who killed her son and almost got away with it.

But the dogged determination of two police detectives, plus forensic evidence that cracked a cold case, led to a guilty verdict more than 10 years after 2-month-old Dillon Harbins death in Allentown.

Now his mother, Wendi L. Stanford, will serve the next 15 to 30 years in a state prison.

The defendant took her sons life, said Anna-Kristie Morffi Marks, Lehigh County deputy district attorney. It was a life full of promise. It was a life barely lived.

A jury in January found Stanford, 32, guilty of third-degree murder and child endangerment. The panel found Stanford caused the babys November 2003 death by violently shaking him and hitting his head against a hard object.

Weeping and shivering in court Tuesday, Stanford continued to declare her innocence.

I am a mother who has suffered, not a violent monster, she told Judge Robert L. Steinberg. I am not a violent person and I belong home with my family. My children need me.

Stanford, who has four surviving children, was arrested in 2013 after a grand jury investigation into Dillons death.

The infant was taken off life support Nov. 11, 2003, two days after Stanford claimed he suddenly stopped breathing shortly after she put him to bed in her Walnut Street home. The case was ruled a homicide after doctors found a 4-inch fracture on the babys skull.

Though police had initially looked into the babys death in 2003, the case grew cold after Stanford and her family moved to their native Alabama.

Stanford told doctors and police that her 2-year-old daughter pushed Dillon out of a baby swing, causing him to fall on his head on a carpeted floor. Witnesses said she made a point at the hospital of loudly telling the little girl its not your fault, its not your fault.

Three doctors testified at Stanfords trial that Dillons injuries were not consistent with falling from a baby swing.

Allentown police Detective John Buckwalter investigated the babys death along with county Detective Ralph Romano. They tracked Stanford down in Alabama and brought her back to Allentown to face the charges.

Buckwalter said it continues to bother him that Stanford blamed Dillons death on her daughter. He described the girl, now in her teens, bursting into tears at her fathers Alabama home last year when he told her how Dillon actually died.

Her entire life, she thought she killed that baby. Her mother never once called her to tell her that she didnt do it, Buckwalter said. I dont think what Wendi did was natural. To put herself before the love of her child, that shows me Wendis not natural.

Romano, the county detective, told the judge he was still hopeful that Stanford would confess.

I hope today we can finally find out what happened and this kid can rest in peace, he said.

Stanfords parents, sister and husband testified on her behalf. All said she was a loving mother who would never harm a child.

Her stepmother, Karen Hooper, said Stanford was so devastated by Dillons death that she was delusional at his funeral.

It was the most horrible thing Ive ever seen. This woman had to be restrained from taking her dead infant out of the coffin, she said.

Stanfords husband, Russell Rusty Stanford, said he believes his wife was wrongly convicted. Although Morffi Marks noted the Stanfords lost custody of their own three children due to accusations of neglect and Wendi Stanfords drug use, Russell Stanford said child protection agents overreacted because he had problems with another baby mother of some of his seven other kids.

Im pretty devastated. My kids ask every day where she is. Shes suffered enough, you know, losing her child 10 years ago, he said.

As a condition of the sentence, Stanford is barred from having any unsupervised contact with children.

Her attorney, David Nicholls, said Stanford intends to appeal her conviction.

She maintains her innocence, she said she didnt kill that baby, and I have to respect that, he said.

Third-degree murder is an intentional killing with malice, but without premeditation. Morffi Marks argued that the act of shaking and striking the baby against furniture proved Stanford acted maliciously. The jury declined to find Stanford guilty of first-degree murder, sparing her a mandatory life sentence.

The maximum sentence for third-degree murder is 20 to 40 years.

Before handing down the sentence, Steinberg called the crime unthinkable and unfathomable, citing statistics on how rare it is for a parent to kill an infant.

This child was defenseless, and for whatever the motivation, you took his life, Steinberg told Stanford.

lmason@mcall.com

Twitter @LehighCourts

610-820-6506
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.
A Bucks County man admitted in federal court Wednesday that he and his wife conspired to steal nearly $1.5 million from Greek fraternities, sororities and alumni at Lehigh University.

Albert Fisher, 77, of Milford Township pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and filing false tax returns before U.S. District Joseph F. Leeson in Allentown. The seven charges carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine, according to court documents.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gallagher said the government will request a sentence at the short end of the range recommended under federal sentencing guidelines in recognition of Fishers acceptance of responsibility for the crimes. He had been scheduled to stand trial on the charges earlier this month before agreeing to plead guilty.

Leeson scheduled Fishers sentencing for Jan. 17.

Fisher was charged in April, about two years after Fraternity Management Association, the company his wife managed and where he was employed, abruptly ceased operations. His wife, Elizabeth Fisher, committed suicide in February after her husband became a target of the investigation, her attorney said, and was never charged with a crime.

The closure left hundreds of Lehigh fraternity and sorority members without meals for the last half of the spring 2014 semester. Prosecutors say university and alumni groups incurred an additional $990,000 in losses as they scrambled to provide alternative dining options for students.

The indictment detailing allegations against Fisher said the total loss to victims was at least $2.45 million.

Fraternity Management Association is now suing Elizabeth Fishers estate, Albert Fisher, the couples children, several other FMA employees and members of the organizations board of trustees. The suit in Northampton County Court claims that the Fishers, their family and employees benefitted wrongly by taking money from the company and that the board members failed to properly oversee its business.

Prosecutors say Albert and Elizabeth Fisher, who is identified as Person No. 1 in the indictment, stole from the company between 2009 and 2014 by paying themselves exorbitant salaries and using FMA accounts to pay credit card bills for luxury department stores, clothing, furniture and travel, including a cruise.

Elizabeth Fisher also authorized payments to a consulting firm, Fisher and Associates, that she created and which used the couples home as its business address. FMA was the consulting firms sole client and paid nearly $458,000, court documents say.

Albert Fisher often claimed that he had worked more hours than he had actually worked. In some months, he claimed to have worked more than 24 hours a day. In January 2012, for example, Fisher was paid for an average of 35 hours for each of the 31 days in the month, court documents say.

Elizabeth Fisher also wrote checks to make payments on Albert Fishers credit cards, including nearly $12,000 at Neiman Marcus and more than $1,700 at Saks in January 2013. In July 2013, she used the companys account to pay for a $7,900 cruise, $9,844 worth of travel, $2,000 worth of home furnishings and $1,300 more at Neiman Marcus, court documents say.

In March 2014, Elizabeth Fisher sent an email to each of the fraternities and sororities stating the company had more than $1.4 million in its accounts. The following day, she sent another email stating it was financially insolvent and would go out of business.

The company had about $2,500 remaining in its accounts, the indictment says.

Fraternity Management Association was founded in 1967 to manage food purchasing and preparation, housekeeping and financial services for Greek organizations at Lehigh.

The company had been closely associated with Lehigh, with the university collecting room and board fees for fraternity and sorority members through its bursars office. However, in 2011, Lehigh changed the relationship, no longer collecting the money and requiring Fraternity Management Association to move out of university office space.

peter.hall@mcall.com

Twitter @pahall215

610-820-6581
Following fierce public outcry, an Ohio judge on Wednesday agreed to take a second look at the 10-day jail sentence given to a 79-year-old grandmother who repeatedly violated her towns ordinance against feeding stray cats.

Nancy Segula of Garfield Heights was sentenced to jail last week following her fourth court appearance for violating a city ordinance that makes it illegal for people to feed dogs and cats that arent their own. Segula, who was first cited in 2015, admitted to feeding up to 22 felines, who she said were left to fend for themselves after her neighbor moved away.

The story touched a nerve with Lehigh Valley cat rescuers, who often find themselves caught between well-intentioned cat lovers and neighbors who consider free-roaming cats pests.

Cats dont stay on one property, so its understandable that people get upset when someone in the neighborhood is feeding cats but not getting them fixed, said Barbara Greenzweig, president of the Palmerton Cat Project, a group of volunteers who successfully petitioned Palmerton Council to ease its cat-feeding policy in the borough earlier this year.

Rules about feeding stray and feral cats vary from town to town, with cats often lumped in with wild animals such as raccoons and deer. Bethlehem, for example, doesnt have a cat-specific ordinance, but people can be cited under a public health nuisance ordinance that addresses individuals who leave out food for stray animals, said Bethlehem Health Director Kristen Wenrich.

Residents who feed stray cats in violation of the ordinance face a $100 fine for their first offense, up to $1,000 for a fourth or subsequent citation. Jail time is highly unlikely, said Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio.

I think an ordinance like the one in Ohio does more harm than good, DiLuzio said. Its better to try to educate the feeder instead of punishing them.

Cat-feeding is not addressed under any Emmaus ordinance, but residents can be fined for violating the boroughs cat at large rules, which prohibit people from allowing pet cats to roam free, said animal control officer April Schiel.

Once a resident starts feeding cats that wander onto their property, an argument could be made that they own the animals, Schiel said. That means they need to show the cats are vaccinated against rabies.

Our main concern is a rabies outbreak, Schiel said. The main complaint we hear is that cats dig up peoples flower beds.

Schiel said she tries to educate cat-feeders about low-cost trap-neuter-return ? TNR ? in which feral cats are spayed or neutered and vaccinated, then returned to the area they were trapped from. Over time, TNR is believed to reduce free-roaming cat populations.

Cat-feeding is definitely a gray area. If a person is feeding cats, they should definitely make sure those cats are fixed, Schiel said.

No one in Palmerton has been jailed for feeding stray cats, but tensions in the Carbon County borough ran high last year after a 76-year-old woman was fined $123 for feeding two feral cats who had been coming to her home for years.

Under a 2017 ordinance, residents can be cited for providing feeding stations for wild animals, including free-roaming cats. Animal control officers were alerted to the womans actions by a neighbor, and an officer took photos of paper plates with cat food on them in her yard.

The woman stopped feeding the cats, but they continued to show up for dinner. Someone snapped a photo of them waiting patiently to be fed and shared it on Facebook, sparking outrage among cat rescuers, who packed several council meetings.

In April, the two sides came to a compromise, with Palmerton Council adopting a policy that allows for the controlled feeding of feral cats, as long as plates are picked up and no food is left out overnight, without rescinding the ordinance.

Greenzweig, of the Palmerton Cat Project, said it was the good outcome. Cats who have become reliant on human caretakers can still be fed, while her group educates residents about vaccinating and sterilizing the animals.

Thats the bottom line. If you feed cats, you have to fix them, Greenzweig said.

Back in Ohio, officials in Nancy Segulas town were reeling Wednesday from the uproar over her impending jail stay. In a statement, a Garfield Heights spokesperson addressed the many phone calls to Garfield Heights police and City Hall.

It is important to note that the animal warden has received numerous complaints regarding this issue from other residents in the area of Mrs. Segulas home, dating back to early 2015. Once aware of the issue, the animal warden attempted to work with Mrs. Segula to humanely clear the area of the cats and advised her of the city ordinance prohibiting feeding strays. Mrs. Segula was also made aware of her neighbors concerns, however, she continued to feed the cats, the statement read.

Segula, who was found guilty of contempt of court for her continued cat feeding, was supposed to report to jail Aug. 11. But Municipal Court Judge Jennifer Weiler on Wednesday stayed Segulas sentence, saying she wanted to examine the case. A new court date has not yet been set.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Morning Call reporter Laurie Mason Schroeder can be reached at 610-820-6506 or lmason@mcall.com
Jerry Rivera, a senior at Freedom High School, is known for his quiet confidence and analytical mind.

Its this strategic nature that recently helped the 17-year-old secure a full-ride scholarship to Princeton University. His tuition, meals and housing will all be covered.

Ive always known about college debt since middle school, and Ive always wanted to avoid that, he said. That was the main reason why I applied to QuestBridge, because I knew that it was an opportunity. I just had to take it.

QuestBridge is a national nonprofit that connects low-income, high-achieving students with top colleges and universities. These schools provide either full scholarships or large financial aid packages to admitted participants.

Rivera said it was his goal to earn a full ride when he learned about QuestBridge through a mail flier.

He completed a college prep program with the organization before applying to schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Princeton, through the National College Match program.

My parents were supportive, they did whatever they could to help, but I knew that no one in my immediate family had experience with applying to college, he said. So it sort of felt like I was taking it all on my own, because I had to do a lot of stuff by myself.

The first in his family to attend college, Rivera found out he was admitted to the New Jersey Ivy League school in December. He plans to study either computer science or electrical engineering.

Gladys Oquendo, Riveras mother, said her son was worried about not being able to afford college. Oquendo doesnt work, and Riveras father is employed as a security guard at Wind Creek Bethlehem.

He was doing everything by himself, she said. I didnt really know what he was doing until he told me, I got in. And I said, You got in where? He opened his Chromebook, and right there, it said that he was matched with one of the colleges.

Let me tell you, I cried, she said. I cried because hes the first one. I mean, Princeton? Princeton. Its unbelievable.

Freedom High School senior Jerry Rivera sits next to his mother, Gladys Oquendo, during a ceremony celebrating Riveras being a recipient of a full scholarship to Princeton University through QuestBridge on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, at Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township.

Rivera said he applied to Princeton because the university offers a wide range of majors in the STEM fields, which are science, technology, engineering and math. He likes the flexibility this provides, and he appreciated the schools emphasis on independent work.

Rivera said hes interested in technology, electrical systems and problem-solving, but hes still weighing his options when it comes to potential majors.

As he thinks about attending Princeton next year, Rivera said hes intimidated, but also excited. He wants to focus on his work, but also become more outgoing. He sees Princeton as an opportunity to be more social and get involved in clubs.

I feel like that was my biggest regret for high school since I wasnt really active until halfway through, he said, noting the COVID-19 pandemic limited some of his social experiences when learning was online.

Its going to be hard to get used to since college is a lot different, he said. And its also going to be a bit harder because I dont have anyone to talk to about the experience.

Rivera said he hopes to connect with other QuestBridge students at Princeton to make friends and talk about college with other students who are the first in their families to go.

That opens me up to meeting people with similar situations as me, he said.

As for his time in the Lehigh Valley, Rivera grew up going to Bethlehem schools and ranks in the top 10 students in his senior class.

He has been exposed to potential engineering career options through a district vocational technical program in partnership with Lafayette College, for which he is working on building a remote control car to act as a mini-rescue vehicle.

Rivera is also part of Freedoms chess and engineering clubs, and enjoys his math and science classes, he said.

His teachers said Rivera is among the hardest-working students theyve taught.

Hes got the Kobe Bryant work ethic of math. He just works at it so hard, said Chris Bilotti, who taught Rivera pre-calculus. Theres obviously natural ability there, but his work ethic is unparalleled.

Bilotti said Rivera would often turn in work with detailed explanations, including hand-drawn copies of the graphs from his calculator work.

Jeff Young, who teaches Riveras Advanced Placement calculus class, said Rivera is always interested in understanding concepts, not just getting good grades.

And although Rivera is naturally quiet, Young said he comes out of his shell when hes working on math problems, even correcting Young on errors.

Unfortunately, Im a little notorious for making mistakes, and the class running joke is theres always a mistake, and Jerry is often the one who finds it, he said. Sometimes we call it, Jerry Math. 

John Harvey, who taught Riveras Advanced Placement physics 2 class, said hes similarly seen Rivera become more outgoing during class.

I had them work a lot in teams on some of the problem-solving, and he was a great group member, Harvey said. He would know when to take a leadership role, and when to sit back and listen.

Harvey said Rivera would playfully chastise his group when they didnt listen to him about an answer.

Hes usually very quiet, very reserved, so for him to jump out and tell his group, See, I told you I was right. You didnt listen. It was just neat, Harvey said. Hes very unassuming. Hes not boastful or arrogant about his quality of work.

Riveras modesty continued even after being admitted to an Ivy League school, one of the best in the country, Harvey said. He recalls Riveras humility when the two talked about the achievement.

He was so modest, Harvey said. I would be running around with my hair on fire, I would be so excited. And he was just very calm about it. He is undoubtedly deserving.

Morning Call reporter Jenny Roberts can be reached at 484-903-1732 and jroberts@mcall.com.
Today

Rain showers this morning with numerous thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.

Tomorrow

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 77F. Winds light and variable.
An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, 2021, ousting the civilian government and arresting its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

More than 2,800 people have since been killed in the junta's bloody crackdown on dissent, according to the United Nations, while thousands more have been arrested.

Here is a look back at the two years since the coup, which ended a decade-long experiment with democracy after half a century of military rule.

- Pre-dawn raids -

Soldiers detain Suu Kyi and her top allies during pre-dawn raids on February 1 ahead of the opening of the new parliament.

The generals claim fraud in the November 2020 election, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.

Their actions spark global condemnation, from Pope Francis to US President Joe Biden, and soon the United States, European Union and others announce sanctions.

- Growing crackdown -

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young woman shot on February 9, dies 10 days later after becoming a national symbol of opposition to the junta.

Violent crackdowns on street protests escalate, and by March 11, Amnesty International says it has documented atrocities by the junta including the use of battlefield weapons on unarmed protesters.

A day later, a UN rights expert on Myanmar accuses the military of crimes against humanity.

- Deadliest day -

More than 100 civilians are killed in protest crackdowns on March 27, 2021 -- Armed Forces Day, the military's annual show of strength. It is the deadliest day since the coup.

The next month, ousted civilian lawmakers forced into hiding announce the formation of a shadow "National Unity Government".

- Suu Kyi's trial begins -

In June, more than four months after she was detained, Suu Kyi goes on trial in a closed junta court.

She faces an eclectic mix of charges, including illegally importing walkie-talkies and flouting Covid-19 restrictions during the 2020 elections.

- Election results cancelled -

In late July, the junta cancels the results of the 2020 polls, claiming more than 11 million instances of voter fraud.

- Suu Kyi jailed -

On December 6, Suu Kyi receives her first jail sentence -- four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid-19 regulations. The sentence is then cut to two years.

- Executions -

In July 2022, the junta announces it has executed a former lawmaker from Suu Kyi's party along with a prominent activist over allegations of "terrorism" -- the country's first use of capital punishment in decades.

The news sparks renewed outrage. A junta spokesman later says the pair, along with two others who were executed for allegedly killing an informer, "deserved many deaths".

- Lavrov visits -

Days later, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visits and says Moscow backs the junta's efforts to "stabilise" the country and hold elections in 2023.

- Ex-ambassador arrested -

In August 2022, authorities arrest former British ambassador Vicky Bowman for allegedly breaching immigration rules.

The arrest came as Britain announced new sanctions on firms it said had helped raise funds for the military during its 2017 crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

Bowman and her husband, prominent artist Htein Lin, are later jailed for a year.

In November, they are freed in a mass amnesty, along with a Japanese journalist arrested at an anti-coup protest and an Australian former adviser to Suu Kyi detained since the early days of the coup.

- Air strikes -

In September, at least 11 schoolchildren are killed in a junta air strike on a school in the northern Sagaing region as the military ramps up the use of its air power.

In October, air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group kill about 50 people and wound 70, according to the Kachin Independence Army, which has clashed regularly with the junta since the coup.

- Suu Kyi trials finish -

After 18 months, Suu Kyi's trial wraps up on December 30 with a final jail term of seven years for corruption -- taking her total sentence to 33 years.

The junta gives no details on whether she will be allowed to serve her sentences under house arrest.

- Elections? -

In January 2023, the junta gives political parties two months to re-register under a strict new electoral law in the latest sign it is planning fresh polls this year.

The United States has said any elections would be a "sham". Close ally Moscow says it supports holding polls.
Lula has even created a ministry for the indigenous people in the Amazon, which is unprecedented, says Brazilian lawyer Paulo Busse. But what the President says is one thing, and whether he will have the conditions to implement what he says is a whole different issue. Our Congress is divided, and half the Congress is made up of members of the agribusiness caucus, which is against the environment and against indigenous and traditional communities rights. He will have to negotiate with them.

Busse co-wrote a "Communication" to the International Criminal Court, asking the ICC to act on possible crimes against humanity in the Brazilian Amazon. It was drawn up on behalf of a group of Brazilian and international NGOs and filed to the ICC on November 9, 2022, just as Lula was staging a comeback in elections to defeat Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (in power from 2019 to January 1, 2023), whose right-wing policies and ties to agribusiness are seen as having largely exacerbated the Amazon problem.

Its not a case against Bolsonaro

Another co-author of this Communication is British lawyer Richard Rogers of the NGO Climate Counsel. Considering how long these types of crimes have been going on and the lack of accountability through the local justice system, we feel there's evidence that the Brazilians are either unwilling or unable to deal with this issue, Rogers told Justice Info. There are many Brazilian prosecutors who are very active and very courageous, but they are attempting to deal with an individual event, such as a single murder.

He says there has never been an effort to take a bird's eye view and construct a case of crimes against humanity within the Brazilian justice system. So we feel the ICC, which has a mandate to prosecute international crimes, is better placed to look at how the crimes committed over the last decade can be tied together as part and parcel of the same policy, developed and implemented by a network of public and private sector actors, says Rogers.

And its not just about Bolsonaro, he told Justice Info. The evidence suggests that certain members of the Bolsonaro administration are key actors within the network and have been instrumental in promoting the criminal policy resulting in crimes against humanity, and so these individuals would likely be persons of interest for the ICC, he continued. But Bolsonaro is part of the system, not the system per se. Its not a case against Bolsonaro, we see this as a system crime. And it's a system that needs to be dismantled.

Murder, torture and land-grabbing

There have been over 12,000 land or water-related conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon over the past ten years, according to the Communication filed in conjunction with Greenpeace Brasil and Observatorio do Clima to the Prosecutors office at the ICC. It says it provides evidence that an organised network of politicians, civil servants, law enforcement officers, businessmen, and other criminals carried out a widespread or systematic attack against rural land users and defenders in the Amazon region.

These crimes include murder, persecution, and inhuman acts, says the Communication. The evidence shows that, from 2011 to 2021, the conflicts have resulted in 430 murders, 554 attempted murders, 2,290 death threats, 87 cases of torture, and over 100,000 expulsions or evictions. The victims are from a variety of Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities, and other vulnerable groups, whose land has been ruthlessly exploited for profit through a widespread or systematic attack against their lives and livelihoods.

Weak Brazilian justice in a very difficult region

Busse agrees that there are some courageous Brazilian prosecutors, who have taken up some cases. But, he says, we have a justice system that especially in the Amazon region is historically unable to investigate and prosecute those crimes. And it is not only lack of will, it's also lack of resources -- human resources, financial resources. The region is very difficult. For instance, the mobility in the region is controlled by organised groups. This is one of the heritages that Bolsonaro left.

What is needed now, he says, is for the State to reclaim the ground from these organised groups and give more resources to the justice system. We need a project to implement the laws that we have, that are very clear that the Brazilian State has the obligation to protect environmental defenders and traditional communities in the Amazon, he told Justice Info. He says the government also needs to put more prosecutors specialised in these environmental issues and human rights issues in the region, which basically ends up in more financial investments for the State.

Legal avenues outside the ICC

This is by no means the first NGO Communication to the ICC asking it to act on Brazil. There have been at least six others since November 2019, all targeting Bolsonaro directly. Rogers says this one is broader and less politicised. Asked if they have had a response from the ICC, he says they have had only an acknowledgement of receipt. And if the ICC doesnt take this up?

Our job is to try to persuade the ICC Prosecutor that this is a case that falls within their jurisdiction and is so serious that it should be prioritised over others, says Rogers, because the Amazon also has such an important place in the world to prevent global warming. It's either the biggest carbon sink or one of the biggest carbon emitters, depending on what you do with it.

We see this Communication as a kind of springboard to pursue various other forms of accountability, he says. Those could include accountability in the local courts, as well as targeting human rights abuses and the corrupt officials through human rights sanctions regimes, targeting businesses and financiers through anti-money laundering legislation. There is also potential civil action in Brazil or elsewhere, and possible universal jurisdiction cases in third countries for crimes against humanity.

The situation in Brazil is fragile, says Busse, especially after the arrests of Bolsonaro supporters involved in the January 8 attack on governments buildings in the capital. He says that historically we could never tackle crimes in the Amazon. I know its going to be difficult. But for the first time in history, we have a president that has put it at the centre of his agenda.
UN rights experts called Tuesday for an immediate independent probe into abuses and possible war crimes committed in Mali by government forces and Russia's Wagner group.

In a statement, the experts said that since 2021 they had received "persistent and alarming accounts" of violations committed by Malian armed forces and their allies in the Mopti area and elsewhere.

Among the abuses were "horrific executions, mass graves, acts of torture, rape and sexual violence, pillaging, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances," they said.

The experts include members of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, and the special rapporteurs on torture and on protecting rights while countering terrorism.

They are appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.

They said they were especially concerned about reports of mass executions last March at a village called Moura in central Mali.

Over several days, according to their information, "Malian forces, accompanied by military personnel believed to belong to the Wagner Group, executed several hundred people who had been rounded up."

Most of the victims were members of the Fulani, a minority, also called Peul, they said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in April last year had sounded the alarm over the bloodshed at Moura.

The group said 300 civilians had been killed in "the worst single atrocity" recorded in Mali's long-running conflict.

The UN's peacekeeping force also requested access to the site.

The UN experts said on Tuesday they had conveyed their concerns directly to Mali's government.

"We are disturbed by the apparent increased outsourcing of traditional military functions to the so-called Wagner Group in various military operations, also encompassing operations defined as counter-terrorism," they said.

"Mali must exert the utmost vigilance in prohibiting the direct participation in hostilities of all private individuals operating on its territory," they insisted.

"The use of mercenaries, mercenary-like actors and private security and military companies only exacerbates the cycle of violence and impunity prevailing in the country."

Wagner, an infamous Russian mercenary group founded in 2014, has been involved in conflicts in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East as well as Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Uited States designated it a "transnational criminal organisation", putting it in league with Italian mafia groups and Japanese and Russian organised crime.
50 Years Friendship between China and Australia: Chinatown busker Kieran Laws

People's Daily Online) 10:54, January 31, 2023

Kieran Laws, from Australia, engages in both teaching and music. He developed a strong interest in Chinese music after listening to Jay Chous songs, and spent two years in China from 2013.

Back in Australia, he began performing Jay Chous songs in Sydneys Chinatown, which was met with great acclaim. He also uses Chinese to communicate with his students and their parents of Chinese background.

Laws believes his experience in China as well as Chinese culture have had a positive impact on him, and is looking forward to his future visits to the country.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Wu Chengliang)
In saying he wants to scare the hell out of kids, Lamont McClure means it in the best way possible. Hes not an ogre, but a government leader concerned that messages about the danger of tainted street drugs might otherwise be lost on young people already awash in warnings about lifes perils.

But we dont just want to scare them, we want to educate them, the Northampton County executive said Tuesday during a news conference announcing the launch of a multimedia awareness program called Fake Is Real.

Its a paradoxical name for a straightforward problem  the growing prevalence of street drugs laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid so powerful that a dose the size of a few grains of sand can be deadly.

Officials estimate 4 out of 10 pills bought on the street  marketed by dealers as oxycodone or other drugs  contain lethal amounts of fentanyl. It is also found in heroin and cocaine.

Fentanyl-tainted drugs are just the latest unnerving facet of the opioid epidemic that, since 1999, has killed nearly 600,000 Americans through overdose.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention divides the epidemic into waves, beginning with the increase of opioid painkiller prescriptions in the 1990s and moving into a rapid increase in heroin and synthetic opioid deaths in the 2010s.

As much as we see things in television and read about this epidemic, its hard to fathom, said District Attorney Terry Houck, one of Tuesdays speakers. Its frightening, the amount of cases I see just in Northampton County. And though it is a small part of the world, its no less frightening.

The logo of Northampton Countys Fake Is Real campaign to raise awareness of the danger of fentanyl-tainted street drugs

Much of the countys counterattack on fentanyl is funded, in a roundabout way, by the pharmaceutical companies blamed for starting the epidemic by aggressively marketing opioids to physicians. Many patients prescribed pills for injuries or post-operative pain soon found themselves in thrall to substances with immense addictive power.

When they couldnt get more by prescription, they turned to the street market.

This was my wakeup call, Houck said. We received complaints about drug deliveries resulting in death that we investigated criminally, only to find that the addict was really a person who had a knee procedure a year or two prior to that and got hooked on pain medication that was prescribed.

Houck and other Pennsylvania district attorneys successfully sued Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and other drug companies.

The office received more than $2 million from its share of the settlement. Houck gave the money to the Human Services Department for measures to fight addiction, including the Fake Is Real campaign.

The county is also getting money from the states share of a $26 billion national settlement against drug companies. Spread over 18 years, it will be used to support recovery centers, improve mental health assessments and referrals, strengthen veterans services and create a mobile outreach vehicle called Hope One, which will bring programs into underserved neighborhoods.

Sarah Clark of the Easton marketing and branding firm Kudu, hired to created Fake Is Real, said it is geared toward the 13-35 age group, considered the most vulnerable to the epidemic.

The most visible element will be billboards and signs around the county, some carrying grim messages  You Dont Take Fentanyl, Fentanyl Takes You and Youll Only Be Dead Wrong Once  and directing people to the most important part of the campaign, its website, fakeisreal.org.

Its a clearinghouse of information on how to get help with drug addiction, how to share the dangers with loved ones, and how to acquire and use naloxone, a medication sold under the brand name Narcan that can reverse the effect of narcotics overdoses.

Pennsylvania has seen a 760% increase in fentanyl deaths from 2015 to 2021, said Kathleen Jiorle, administrator of the countys Drug & Alcohol Division, offering the kind of statistic that officials hope will cause users to think twice about buying street pills.

That is roughly a total of 14,000 people that have died from fentanyl since 2015, she said. We are hoping this campaign will shed a brighter light on this problem in our community.

Morning Call reporter Daniel Patrick Sheehan can be reached at 610-820-6598 or dsheehan@mcall.com.
Netflix's hit movie "20th Century Girl" earned massive popularity in 2022. Apart from topping the global chart as one of the most-watched Korean content on the platform, its lead stars also gained recognition.

With the 2023's arrival, let's know what's in store for Kim Yoo Jung, Byeon Woo Seok, Roh Yoon Seo, and Park Jung Woo after they made outstanding performances in the "20th Century Girl"!

Kim Yoo Jung

Kim Yoo Jung has long been recognized for her acting skills. From leading various dramas alongside some of the biggest stars in the industry, Kim Yoo Jung is one of today's in-demand actresses.

She marked "20th Century Girl" as her return to acting following a hiatus.

This year, she will meet the audience for the first time on stage as she makes her debut as a musical actress in "Shakespeare in Love" to run from January 28 to March 26.

The celebrity is also being courted to lead the fantasy romance drama "My Demon" where she might team up with K-heartthrob, Song Kang.

Byeon Woo Seok

Thanks to his natural charm and laudable acting, Byeon Woo Seok won the hearts of the viewers after he played the role of Poong Won Ho in "20th Century Girl." He, unsurprisingly, amassed a million followers on Instagram amid the film's popularity.

This 2023, projects are in store for the new K-heartthrob. He will star in the forthcoming movie "Soul Mate," alongside Kim Da Mi and Jeon So Nee, which is scheduled to release in March.

Byeon Woo Seok is also returning to the small screen through the series "Strong Girl Nam Soon."

Roh Yoon Seo

Before making her silver screen debut in "20th Century Girl," Roh Yoon Seo already made her appearance through tvN's healing series "Our Blues." With her back-to-back projects in 2022, the rookie continues to be relevant in the eyes of many.

She is currently starring in the healing K-drama on Netflix, "Crash Course in Romance." She plays the role of the genius and kind student Nam Hae E. Roh Yoon Seo is getting more recognition in her new drama for exhibiting a new side of her.

Roh Yoon Seo was previously courted to join Park Ji Hoon in the upcoming webtoon-based drama "Bastard." However, her agency announced that she declined the offer.

Park Jung Woo

He first met the viewers in "Hospital Playlist" season 1, which also marked his acting debut in 2020.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Byeon Woo Seok Admits His Heart Skipped A Beat in THIS '20th Century Girl' Scene Because of Kim Yoo Jung

In the same year, he starred in OCN's "Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation." Since he entered the world of showbiz, Park Jung Woo has been receiving offers to star in dramas. The young actor also appeared in "Hospital Playlist 2" and "D.P."

As of this writing, Park Jung Woo has no confirmed projects yet.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramastars.

KDramastars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
Park Bo Gum and IU's new drama "Thank You For Your Hard Work" has included two award-winning stars who will join the powerhouse cast lineup.

According to reports, Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon have confirmed to join the upcoming drama series written by Im Sang Choon of "Fight for My Way" and "When the Camellia Blooms."

Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon to play Park Bo Gum and IU's Roles in New Drama

In the highly anticipated K-drama, it follows the story of Ae Soon and Gwan Shik who were both born on Jeju Island.

The drama will focus on the duo's connection and will go back and forth between the childhood and adulthood of the two main characters.

With this, the two veteran stars will portray the older version of IU who plays Ae Soon. She dreams to become a poet despite being unable to attend school due to their family's status.

Although she was not born into a well-off family, Ae Soon has a bold character and is full of positivity.

As for Park Hae Joon, he is set to play the role of Park Bo Gum as Gwan Shik.

In the upcoming K-drama, Gwan Shik is described as someone who is very diligent and timid.

He silently loves Ae Soon and has been with her since they were little.

With the team-up between two powerhouse stars, the series is expected to increase the level of immersion as the veteran stars play adult Ae Soon and Gwan Shik.

Slated to premiere sometime this 2023, Park Bo Gum and IU's drama is directed by Kim Won Seok, of "Misaeng (Incomplete Life)," "Signal," and "My Mister."

Following the cast update, reports say that they will start production in the first half of 2023.

Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon's Drama and Movies

Apart from their upcoming team-up with IU and Park Bo Gum, Park Hae Joon and Moon So Ri have starred in a slew of notable on-screen projects.

Besides playing the role of Cha Jin Soo in "Doctor Stranger" he also played a supporting character in "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" "My Mister" and a lead role in "My Beautiful Bride."

Interestingly, he received global fame after playing the budding producer Lee Tae Oh in the hit K-drama "The World of the Married."

She plays the on-screen husband of Kim Hae Ae who portrays doctor Ji Sun Woo, but despite his almost perfect family, he had an affair with Yeo Da Kyung, played by Han So Hee.

As for Moon So Ri, starred in "The Legend," "My Life's Golden Age" and "On the Verge of Insanity."

Moreover, she is headlining the cast of the star-studded K-drama "Queen Maker" with Kim Hee Ae and Ryu Soo Young.
Fans' excitement rose up through the roof as Seol in Ah, Jang Dong Yoon and Chu Young Woo's comeback drama "Oasis" has finally released its first ever teaser!

"Oasis" is a romance drama set in the '80s; a new period drama that will deliver a great watching experience about love, youth and friendship.

'Oasis' Unveils First Teaser With Seol In Ah, Jang Dong Yoon, More

The forthcoming youth series "Oasis" starring Seol In Ah, Jang Dong Yoon and Chu Young Woo unveiled its first ever drama teaser!

On January 30, broadcast network KBS amplified the prospective viewers' excitement and released the teaser of its upcoming period romance series.

"Oasis" follows three young adults who experience all the ups and downs of life while keeping their relationship, friendship and dreams amidst the changing time of the '80s.

Seol In Ah takes on the role of Oh Jung Shin, a quirky transfer student from Seoul while Jang Dong Yoon plays the role of Lee Doo Hak, a high school student who only has himself and his friend Choi Cheol Woong, played by Chu Young Woo.

In the newly released teaser, viewers are taken back to the past as Lee Doo Hak and Choi Cheol Woong go back to school and get punished for their mischievousness.

The appearance of Oh Jung Shin, clad in her band attire, exudes ethereal and cider-like aura. Because of this, Lee Doo Hak and Choi Cheol Woong couldn't take their eyes off of her.

While the scene decorates the screen with purity and excitement, a dark shadow falls on the three youths' faces as they struggle in the societal changes and expectations that threaten the foundation of their friendship.

Attention is given to Seol In Ah, Jang Dong Yoon and Chu Young Woo, the three hottest stars of their generation, who meet for the first time through "Oasis."

'Oasis' K-drama Details and What To Expect From the Show

KBS2's upcoming period melodrama "Oasis" marks Seol In Ah, Jang Dong Yoon and Chu Young Woo's comeback work after dominating the year 2022 with their respective projects.

It also celebrates Seol In Ah and Jang Dong Yoon's reunion after six years. The two first met on the set of the hit drama "School 2017."

On the other hand, "Oasis" will be handled by renowned directors Han Hee and Yoon Sung Shik and screenwriter Jung Hyung Soo.

"Oasis" aims to bring comfort to the people who experienced, and are currently experiencing, the struggle of keeping oneself together as they are tested by time, fate and society.

In the series, the characters will be put to hurdles and are expected to endure the challenges during the major crisis in the '80s and '90s. The KBS work is set to hit the screen on March 6 at 9:50 p.m. KST! Don't miss it!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Song Joong Ki and Katy Louise Saunders once again made headlines after the Hallyu superstar announces his marriage to his girlfriend.

From wedding bells, the "Reborn Rich" star also surprised the public after he mentioned on his fan cafe that he is soon to become a father.

Now that secrets are out, reporter turned YouTuber Lee Jin Ho spills more tea about the couple's relationship.

Former Reporter Turned YouTuber Says Song Joong Ki and Wife Have Been Dating for 3 Years

As obtained by a media outlet, the former reporter revealed a surprising detail about Song Jong Ki's relationship with his new wife.

In his YouTube channel, Lee Jin Ho uploaded a video, titled "Song Joong Ki remarried! The crucial secret that the groom-to-be couldn't tell" and says that the actor and the British actress have been dating for quite some time.

He said that after the actor's agency confirmed his relationship status to the public, the South Korean heartthrob attended a dinner along with the cast of his upcoming movie "Ro Ki Wan" where he spoke about how he met Katy Louise Saunders.

"Since the rumor was new, other actors' interest naturally went to it. At dinner, Song Joong Ki showed other actors all the photos of Katy Louise Saunders on his phone," the YouTuber said.

Moroever, he also added that the cast and officials of the movie were surprised and were stunned to see how beautiful the British actress is.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Song Joong Ki's Wife Rumored to Give Birth in THIS Month + Actor's Agency Shares Wedding Updates

On the other hand, some thought that she might be a little older than Song Joong Ki.

Lee Jin Ho also added that during the team's get-together, the actor revealed that he and his now wife have been dating for almost three years.

It was after Song Joong Ki revealed how he met Katy Louise Saunders and how their relationship began.

"In fact, he told his colleagues that Katy had settled in Korea for a year and they had been seeing each other for nearly three years," the reporter-turned-YouTuber added.

As for the reason why he only revealed his relationship just now, Lee Jin Ho claimed that the actor "can't help but be swept away by rumors," adding that it felt like he is set to reveal his relationship to the public after registering the marriage.

Dispatch Says Katy Louise Saunders Has Been Living At the Song Joong Ki's Luxurious Estate

After surprising the public with bombshell news, Dispatch revealed that the couple have been living under one roof even before he confirmed the romance.

The media outlet says that the British actress went to Korea in the Spring of 2022 and stayed with Song Joong Ki at his Hannam district villa in Seoul.

With Song Joong Ki's now wife living at his place, the actor even hired an English-Korean translator to help assist Katy when he is not around and filming his movies.

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Song Joong Ki closes the month of January with a bang! The internationally-acclaimed star announced his marriage with British partner, former actress Katy Louise Sanders. Apart from that, the couple is also expecting!

But while the Hallyu scene is thrilled with the news, many avid fans of the actor remained indifferent and here's why.

Song Joong Ki Criticized Over Remarriage Announcement

Wedding bells just rang for Song Joong Ki and Katy Louise Sanders!

On January 30, the "Reborn Rich" actor announced that he has finally tied the knot with his British partner, former actress Katy Louise Saunders, much to fans' surprise.

The couple confirmed their romantic relationship in December 2022, which became a hot topic not only in the Hallyu scene but also in the overseas channels.

Song Joong Ki's remarriage brought delight to fans all over the world. His avid supporters congratulated him on his newfound love.

However, some of the fans refuse to put on a happy face for the actor.

These fans have been with Song Joong Ki since his rookie days, and celebrated with him during his romantic tryst with ex-wife Song Hye Kyo.

"My Joong Ki phase has come to an end," one fan wrote, pertaining to how Song Joong Ki allegedly left Song Hye Kyo to be targeted by the media during their divorce in 2019.

Another fan stated their disappointment, saying, "Not to be that person but I cannot watch his dramas anymore after he divorced Song Hye Kyo while she was abroad."

My Joongki phase has come to an end. I will never forget how he stayed silent when hye kyo was being slut shamed in Korea plus he divorced her while she was filming her drama abroad.  careal  (@kdchingu) January 30, 2023

its true, not to be that person but I literally cannot watch his dramas anymore after that.  dianxia  | EXO SPRING (@yooliest) January 30, 2023

You talk like you know the whole story... You will never what happened behind the screen unless they publicized it  Munch@@mel (@Beat2_Melo) January 30, 2023

However, some of the fans still defended Song Joong Ki. Some fans also mediated the online commotion as fans would never see the other side of the coin, especially when things as sensitive as marriage and divorce are never fully publicized.

Despite the surprise, fans congratulate Song Joong Ki, and wish happiness to the newly wedded couple.

On the other hand, Song Joong Ki and Katy Louise Saunders registered their marriage to the British Embassy in South Korea on January 31.

Song Joong Ki's 'Bogota,' 'Hwaran,' More

The year 2023 is certainly Song Joong Ki's best year yet!

Apart from his newfound happiness with British wife, he's also set to return with a slew of projects!

Song Joong Ki's upcoming noir film "Hwaran" is reportedly currently in its post-production process. It focuses on the stories of people who will do anything to escape reality.

However, details such as its premiere haven't been disclosed yet.

In addition to that, "Bogota: City of the Lost," which is another gravity-defying film, is also in its final process of polishing.

"Bogota: City of the Lost" depicts the stories of immigrants in Bogota, the land for the hopeless. The film also stars veterans Lee Hee Joon and Kwon Hae Hyo.

It is expected to air in the first half of 2023 so don't miss it!

ICYMI, watch Song Joong Ki in his outstanding role as a conglomerate heir in "Reborn Rich" here:

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Along the banks of Ridley Creek in Delaware County, an immigrant couple living an ordinary life on a small farm in the 1680s feared their neighbor was a cunning witch who had cast a spell on their calf.

Their fears were confirmed by Margaret Matsons rap on the door just as they were engaged in an act intended to conjure her  the boiling of the calfs heart.

To Annakey and John Coolin, immigrants of Dutch or Swedish origin, Matsons appearance was proof of her treachery. But to Matson, who denied the charges, the Coolins were the ones acting strangely, using an unorthodox way to make broth.

She begins to say that it would have been better if wed been boiling the bones of the calf. The bones! Annakey Coolin testified, incredulous at the suggestion, and loudly imitating Matsons reported cackle.

Her evidence, as well as that of three other witnesses at the trial, was not enough for the jury to find Matson guilty, though she is still known in American folklore as The Witch of Ridley Creek.

Eight years before the infamous Salem witch trials, Matson, a middle-aged Swedish immigrant living with her husband in what is now Chester, was tried in Philadelphia for witchcraft  Pennsylvanias only witch trial, according to Jill Youngken, assistant director and chief curator at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum. As a prelude to Halloween, the museum re-enacted the trial Saturday afternoon before a gallery of about 50 people.

Using actual trial transcripts, actors in period costumes spoke of thee and thy and the devils tongue. The only break with authenticity was a waxed Wicked Witch of the West overlooking the mock courtroom.

Matson, played by Lori Sweeney, stood in her own defense as neighbors accused her of causing their livestock to perish, and one woman claimed she had threatened her own daughter with a knife. Before the hullabaloo, Matson and her husband had been fairly successful farmers in the decades they lived by Ridley Creek.

Indignant, Matson said Henry Drystreets testimony  that she bewitched and sickened cattle  consisted of nothing but hearsay.

How dare you say that to me? My testimony is unimpeachable, actor Joshua Fink, playing Drystreet, retorted.

A fairly recent arrival to the colony, William Penn, portrayed by David Keehn, presided over the trial and read the jurys verdict: not guilty of witchcraft, but guilty of having the appearance of a witch. For that, Matsons husband was ordered to put down 50 pounds that would be returned after six months of good behavior.

The museum re-enacted the trial once before, nearly a decade ago, Youngken said. More frequent are its re-enactments of Salem witch trials, which usually happen in July. Thats probably why museum members such as Tom Brockel, who played a jury member in a Salem trial two years ago, did not know there was ever a witch trial in Pennsylvania.

Thats kind of the reason I was intrigued, he said.

These trials, Youngken said, should be considered cautionary tales with relevance to modern history. She drew parallels to the McCarthy era of the 1950s and the day care sex abuse hysteria of the 1980s and 90s, both involving rampant accusations that destroyed livelihoods and reputations.

We may believe we are more understanding, more tolerant, than those living in the 1600s, Youngken said. But are we?
Two people are in custody after driving recklessly on Interstate 94, losing control, then fleeing a crash scene Monday morning, according to the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department.

Sgt. David Wright said the department received a complaint at 9:39 a.m. about a reckless driver headed southbound on the interstate. A few minutes later, a deputy spotted a vehicle weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed and initially began a pursuing it.

Wright said, however, that law enforcement wasnt even close to the vehicle when it lost control as it exited I-94 at Highway C, crashing at the off-ramp. The occupants fled the scene on foot. According to a criminal complaint, the vehicle was stolen from Milwaukee.

According to a social media release by the department, one of the occupants made his way onto the interstate and was nearly struck by several vehicles before making it to the median, where deputies stopped him from going back into the traffic lane.

Both suspects were taken into custody and treated for hypothermia by Bristol Fire & Rescue.

According to the release, the incident was a multi-jurisdictional effort, with Pleasant Prairie Police officers assisting in the search for the suspects. The department also shared drone footage captured by the Wisconsin State Patrol.
Just Born has lost one of its family executives credited with automating the process used in mass-producing its iconic marshmallow chicks and bunnies.

Ira Bob Born died Sunday, the Bethlehem candy-maker known for its Peeps said Monday. He was 98.

The son of Just Born founder Sam Born, who started the company 100 years ago, and father of retired company CEO Ross Born, Bob Born was honored four years ago by Bethlehem with a day noting his role as Father of Peeps.

In 1953, Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Co., a jelly bean maker that had a side business producing shaped marshmallow candies by hand. At the time, it took about 27 hours to make the marshmallows using pastry tubes, according to a 2019 Morning Call story.

Bob Born and an engineer, Joe Truse, designed and built a machine to produce Peeps in less than six minutes. The company used the machine for Peeps-making for more than 50 years; as of four years ago, Just Born was producing 2 billion Peeps annually, or about 5.5 million a day.

Bob Borns role undoubtedly helped lead to the companys growth as one of the largest in the U.S. The National Retail Federation says consumers will spend nearly $26 billion alone for Valentines Day sweets.

Bob Born also came up with the recipe for another popular Just Born candy, Hot Tamales. The companys products include Mike and Ike fruit chews and Goldenbergs Peanut Chews.

Bob will be remembered as a tireless and passionate advocate for the candy industry and a wonderful supporter of our community, David Shaffer, company executive, said in a news release.

Shaffer said Born was instrumental in privately run Just Born reaching its 100-year milestone.

Borns father began the business in 1923, opening a small candy shop in Brooklyn. The name, Just Born, was concocted because of the freshness of the products. Sam Born and his brothers-in-laws, Jack and Irv Shaffer  Davids father and uncle  saw the business thrive, and were lured to Bethlehem in 1932. They moved the companys operations to an empty printing factory, and it grew to 600 employees, becoming a major business in the city once known as a steel town.

Bob Born graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in engineering physics. He enlisted in the Navy and served as a radar specialist and a lieutenant on a destroyer in the Pacific. Later, the Navy sent him to the University of Arizona and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate work in math and physics.

Born applied to medical school and was accepted, but while he was waiting for his classes to begin, he went to work at Just Born. He fell in love with the candy business and decided to stay.

Bob Born became Just Borns president in 1959 and held the role for more than 30 years. He spent most of his retirement in Florida, where he led a literacy program and enjoyed hobbies including photography. He was active until a few months before he died, when he had a difficult recovery after a hard fall.

He is survived by his widow, Patricia; son Ross and daughter Sara; five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. His funeral will be private.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, we hear from Alen Voskanian, a palliative care physician, who shares his personal experience with COVID-19. Dr. Voskanian reflects on the mental coping mechanisms he used to try and understand how he contracted the virus and the guilt he felt about potentially exposing his family. He also discusses the challenges of seeking medical care as a physician, including the fear of asking for help and the stigma surrounding seeking care for mental health. Dr. Voskanian ultimately learns the importance of prioritizing his own wellness and encourages other physicians to do the same.

Alen Voskanian is a palliative care physician.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, A physician in denial after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience.

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PPL said Tuesday it has fixed the issue that caused some customers to receive monthly bills shockingly higher than average and will waive late fees for January and February.

In a letter to customers, PPL Electric Utilities also said it wont shut off power to residential and small-business customers for nonpayment through March 31.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said it has begun a comprehensive investigation into circumstances surrounding unusually high bills recently received by PPL customers along with the accuracy and integrity of the Allentown utilitys billing practices.

The matter has been referred to the PUCs independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement for investigation, which enforces the state public utility code and PUC regulations, according to a news release.

PPL said while gathering data from customer meters, an unspecified technical system issue made the data temporarily unavailable in generating and displaying customer usage.

That led to excessively high estimated bills for thousands of customers, rather than bills based on actual usage. The issue involved bills sent Dec. 20 through Jan. 9.

Estimates based on historical usage may have been higher or lower than actual usage, the letter says. If this impacted you, you have either already received a corrected bill with actual usage or an adjustment on your next monthly bill to ensure you only pay for the electricity you used.

More service agents are being added to reduce long wait times for customers calling to inquire about billing.

We continue to offer payment plans and assistance programs that can help if you are struggling to pay your electric bill, the letter says. This includes self-service options that are available to you online at pplelectric.com/billhelp or by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL.

State Consumer Advocate Patrick Cicero, whose office spoke with PPL officials, said more than 795,000 customers were affected.

The higher bills came at a time when higher generation supply prices have increased most customers bills. PPLs most recent spike, which took effect Dec. 1, raised its rate to 14.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, up from 12.4 cents. The 18% increase added about $22 per month to the typical residential customers bill, according to the company.

The PUC also encourages consumers to contact PPL with concerns about the size and accuracy of their bills, and work with the utility to explore options for corrected bills, payment options and financial assistance options. Consumers who are dissatisfied with the utilitys action can contact the PUC at 800-692-7380.

In addition, the PUC said consumers who are unable to reach PPL agents or do not receive a response from PPL should notify the commission regarding that issue.

This is not the first time PPL has run afoul of a billing matter. After about 12,000 customers got wrong bills last spring, the company blamed the mix-up on a data cleanup of mailing addresses.

And the PUC approved a settlement in August 2021 after PPL improperly billed five residential customers during 2017 and 18. PPL agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and provide better procedures in its billing practices.

PPL, which delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in 29 counties, including much of the Lehigh Valley, is a subsidiary of PPL Corp. It also provides electricity and natural gas to more than 3.5 million customers in three other states: Kentucky, Rhode Island and Virginia.
A charity founded in memory of a young Kilkenny College student who passed away in a tragic riding accident has raised and donated 3,000 to equuip for mental health supports for the Irish racing industry.

Tiggys Trust is named in memory of Tiggy Hancock - a talented rider, a beloved daughter, adored sister and loyal friend - who died in 2021, aged 15. Tiggy touched the lives of so many in her short life - her golden heart, infectious fun personality and cheeky smile extended to all who knew her.

The Trust honours Tiggys memory by spreading kindness, generosity and inclusivity that was an integral part of her personality.

Tiggys Trust uses funds raised to assist young people by offering mental health support and by providing training and education to help young aspiring equestrians achieve their goals. As part of this, Tiggys young friends were asked to select charities involved with mental health projects that were close to their hearts to donate funds to.

Two of her friends, Josh Williamson and Rosie-Mae OGrady have selected equuip for their donation. The Tiggys Trust donation to equuip comes under the Young Lives Lost initiative.

Mental health supports and services are a key pillar of the work that equuip, Horse Racing Irelands education, training and people welfare department, provide to help support individuals working in the racing industry and the 3,000 donation from Tiggys Trust will go towards funding mental health support for jockeys and young people aspiring to be jockeys in Ireland.

Equuip currently have an industry assistance programme available to all working in the industry which offers 24 support, seven days a week, 365 days a year which is a free and confidential service. In addition to this they have recently appointed a People Welfare Coordinator to develop, deliver and support industry-specific mental health and physical wellbeing programmes nationally for stable and stud staff, jockeys, breeders and trainers.

Elaine Burke, equuip Manager, said: We are so honoured to be receiving this donation from Tiggys Trust, and we look forward to working with Josh and Rosie-Mae on how best to use the funds in honour of Tiggy.

Jennifer Pugh, IHRB Senior Medical Officer, said: "We are very grateful to Tiggys Trust and to Josh Williamson and Rosie-Mae OGrady for choosing the jockey population for their donation. It is clear the memory of Tiggy lives on in the lives of those she touched, and I look forward to working with Josh and Rosie-Mae with equuip to put these funds to good use in offering continued support to jockeys."
Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick, the Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, recently hosted an important engagement between the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and senior members of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) in Kilkenny.

The meeting took place in the Kilkenny County Council Chamber to discuss areas of cross-border collaboration at local government level.

During his welcome address, Cllr Fitzpatrick noted that 2023 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and emphasised the importance of cross-border relations.

The Kilkenny Cathaoirleach, who is also the AILG President, noted that it was great to engage and build upon the good working relationship between the AILG and NILGA.

Following an exchange of welcomes and introductions from both sides, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary joined the meeting remotely to offer government support for joint projects between both sides.

Following a series of detailed presentations by AILG and Kilkenny County Council, a detailed discussion took place between councillors both North and South of the island on the importance of leadership at local level and the need to promote the important role and importance of local government.

Both sides laid the groundwork for a collaborative campaign later in the year.
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When Lehigh Valley doctor Charles Harris started approving patients for medical marijuana a few years ago, most of them were dealing with chronic pain. Using cannabis helped them tremendously, he said. Patients told him their pain wasnt keeping them awake at night anymore  they could finally get a good nights sleep or at least a few hours of rest in a row.

Then, in the summer of 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Health changed its rules to allow patients to use medical marijuana for another condition: anxiety disorders.

The move, Harris later joked with friends, caused his business phone to melt.

It was a veritable tsunami of patients, Harris told Spotlight PA.

That wave spread to doctors across Pennsylvania, one of only a few states to specifically endorse cannabis as a treatment for anxiety. Anxiety disorders are now the leading reason Pennsylvanians get a medical marijuana card, a first-of-its-kind analysis of more than 1.1 million certification records obtained by Spotlight PA reveals.

The records  which the Department of Health attempted to keep secret by suing Spotlight PA in state court  offer the first comprehensive look at how a decision by former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolfs administration transformed Pennsylvanias medical marijuana program, and, in the eyes of some, made it possible for basically anyone to get a medical marijuana card.

In 2021, the most recent full year of data, doctors created more than 385,000 medical marijuana certifications  and anxiety disorders were a factor in 60% of them.

Anxiety often is the only reason a patient qualifies for medical marijuana. Health Department data show that most of the time doctors list one condition for a certification. In 2021, nearly 40% of certifications  or more than 151,000  listed anxiety disorders as the sole qualifying condition, ranking well ahead of others such as chronic pain and cancer.

But medical evidence that cannabis or its compounds help treat anxiety is limited and mixed. In fact, a major national study in 2017 noted that regular cannabis use is likely to increase the risk for developing social anxiety disorder. Medical marijuana program leaders in at least three other states have rejected it as a qualifying condition, citing the lack of scientific evidence, the potential for some doses and types of cannabis to worsen anxiety symptoms, or other unintended consequences.

Supporters of Pennsylvanias decision say it has given patients another treatment option at a time when more people are suffering from anxiety, and that it has worked for many. And they note that federal restrictions have limited cannabis research, making it harder to prove the benefits.

Still, a wide range of medical professionals  including supporters of cannabis as a treatment option for anxiety  told Spotlight PA they are concerned about the medical marijuana certification process in Pennsylvania, the Department of Healths oversight of doctors, and the information patients receive from physicians who approve them.

Harris, a retired emergency room physician, supports cannabis as a treatment option for anxiety disorders and said his patients have had impressive results. But he questions how thorough most doctors are during their medical marijuana consultations. His impression, he said, is they spend very little time with their patients.

Some patients schedule appointments with doctors through third-party certification companies  businesses that the state Department of Health says it cannot regulate. Previous Spotlight PA reporting revealed that some of these businesses make misleading or incorrect medical claims, benefit from unequal advertising rules, and allegedly tie a doctors payment to patient approvals. Their profits are often dependent on patient approvals, with some offering money-back guarantees if customers are not approved for a card.

Steven Evans, a medical marijuana physician in Berks County, said some of the stories his patients have told him about their experiences with large certification companies gave him concerns. He worries that some medical card companies and doctors arent doing enough to try to screen out people who really dont have anything wrong with them  they just want to use marijuana as a recreational drug.

I dont think that most of these telephonic services are demanding any kind of documentation that the person actually has that problem, Evans told Spotlight PA. I think thats a huge issue.

A recent Facebook post from Keystone Cannabis Coalition, a group that advocates for adult-use legalization in Pennsylvania, underscores the worries some medical providers have about the current system.

The post argued medical cannabis should be well-regulated for those with legit medical needs. But if lawmakers will not legalize marijuana, the group wrote, the medical program should act as the Underground Railroad so that people have some legal protection against the brutality of the state.

The ongoing adult-use cannabis legalization debate looms over the medical program. In recent years, two Republican state senators have come out in support of ending the prohibition  a historic step in Pennsylvania. Last fall, Democratic legislative victories in the state House gave new hope to legalization advocates.

And this year, Maryland will join two other neighbor states  New York and New Jersey  where adult-use is already legal. Its not clear whether new Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro  who supports adult-use legalization  will bring any significant changes to the medical marijuana program. When questioned by Spotlight PA this past fall and in December, Shapiros campaign and transition teams did not identify any specific changes he supports for the medical program.

For now, Pennsylvania doctors are the gatekeepers to who can legally use marijuana.

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The Department of Healths rules and enforcement give those physicians great leeway in deciding whether to issue certifications. The department adopted regulations that require medical marijuana doctors to review available health care records, but those rules do not spell out how providers should determine if records exist. The department has also stated that patients might not have records for certain conditions and certifying doctors may be the ones making the initial diagnosis.

Some medical marijuana card companies actively court clients who lack a prior diagnosis or medical records showing they have an anxiety disorder.

Elevate Holistics, which offers to serve Pennsylvania patients, features online guidance titled How to Get a Medical Card Without a Condition. The same companys website also refers to good excuses for getting a medical card and describes anxiety disorders as one of the loopholes on Pennsylvanias list of qualifying conditions.

The Wolf administration defended its enforcement of the programs rules and its actions to expand the program. But the department did not provide any formal criteria it uses when it considers whether to add a qualifying condition, and also did not clarify how it expects providers to make an anxiety disorder diagnosis.

The press office would not say what scientific research informed former Health Secretary Rachel Levines decision to add anxiety disorders as a qualifying condition, and information obtained under the states Right-to-Know Law offered limited insight into the departments decision-making.

Medical marijuana is just one of many available options for Pennsylvanians working to manage anxiety under medical guidance, spokesperson Maggi Barton said in a statement in December.

Why anxiety disorders dominate

To better understand how Pennsylvanias medical marijuana program serves hundreds of thousands of patients, Spotlight PA analyzed six years worth of data.

The records were obtained after a court battle with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which argued that releasing them would violate patient privacy protections. An attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press represented the news organization for free, and in August, Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of Spotlight PA.

Spotlight PAs analysis of the anonymized data found that in the programs early years, chronic pain was the primary driver of certifications. Certifications for chronic pain continued to rise, but not as steeply as ones for anxiety.

In 2020, the first full year anxiety could be a qualifying condition, it was listed in 51% of all certifications. By the following year, anxiety dominated  a trend that continued into 2022, according to data from the first eight months of the year.

Spotlight PA shared its findings with the department and more than 20 medical providers, patients, researchers, industry officials and other experts.

A few believed  or openly wondered whether  a significant number of patients were seeking an anxiety disorder diagnosis as a pretext for recreational use.

Anxiety disorder is  just the easiest thing you can say, Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor and addiction researcher at Stanford University, told Spotlight PA.

As long as you say those magic words, he added, then you meet the qualification. And so thats what I assume is happening in most cases.

But other experts who reviewed Spotlight PAs findings  including ones who are skeptical or critical of the idea of anxiety as a qualifying condition  did not raise that issue or actively downplayed it. For them, the explanation was relatively simple: Anxiety disorders are a common condition.

I dont think theres a story here about abuse of a government program for people to get high, said Alik Widge, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. I think theres a story here about people with anxiety who are hurting and want help.

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An estimated 31% of adults in the United States experience an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives, according to national survey data. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that occasional anxiety is normal, but when people have an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time.

Guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association say generalized anxiety disorder is marked by having some symptoms for six months.

In its response to questions from Spotlight PA, Pennsylvanias Health Department pointed to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36% to 42% from August 2020 to February 2021. However, those data were based on self-reported information from the past seven days, not a clinical diagnosis.

Spotlight PA spoke to several patients for this story, including some who did not want to be named because they feared limiting their job options.

One patient described undergoing a thorough appointment with her primary care physician for an initial certification. But when it came time to renew, which patients must do at least annually, she found a company online, paid $99, and received approval after a brief call. The doctor only asked if she was happy with the drug and if she had experienced any hallucinations, she said.

Edward Long, a 49-year-old from Blair County, said he qualified for the program because of multiple health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. He told Spotlight PA he seeks out reputable doctors who require him to provide proof of a prior diagnosis and are available for questions.

He said cannabis has allowed him to stop taking prescription medications, better manage his panic attacks and rest at night.

I dont have the nightmares, Long told Spotlight PA. Its not as hard to fall asleep because my minds not racing.

John Gavazzi, a psychologist in Cumberland County, told Spotlight PA that most of his patients who have used medical marijuana have benefited, particularly ones suffering from insomnia. The patients he works with are also continuing in therapy.

It has really helped a lot of people, Gavazzi said.

In 2016, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. At the time there were 17 qualifying conditions, including epilepsy, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe chronic pain.

Why anxiety was added

It took years of advocacy and compromises to make Pennsylvanias medical marijuana program a reality.

The state in 2016 legalized medical marijuana for patients with one of 17 qualifying conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe chronic pain. The Wolf administration later used its executive power to add six more, including opioid use disorder.

In February 2019, the states Medical Marijuana Advisory Board considered applications for several new conditions. With little discussion or debate, they approved an application for anxiety with a 5-3 vote.

The boards recommendation went to Pennsylvanias health secretary. Levine told the board she thoroughly reviewed existing research. A department resource guide obtained by Spotlight PA listed two dozen reference articles. When she approved adding anxiety disorders as a qualifying condition, she said in a July 2019 news release that marijuana should not be a first line treatment.

Medical marijuana would be medicine to assist in their treatment, but counseling and therapy is absolutely critical, and medical marijuana should not replace that, Levine said at an advisory board meeting in August 2019.

But those statements have not resulted in any Health Department regulations requiring marijuana be used along with counseling or therapy.

In 2019, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine added anxiety disorders and Tourette syndrome to the list of qualifying conditions for Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients. Levine is shown speaking during a grand opening for Keystone Canna Remedies in Bethlehem in January 2018.

Until recently, James Rochester interviewed medical marijuana patients for his work as an occupational medicine physician in Lancaster County. Many of those patients were in the medical marijuana program because of an anxiety diagnosis, he told Spotlight PA.

The vast, vast majority of them have never had a formal psychological evaluation, Rochester said.

Many patients had not tried alternative options either, Rochester said, and they often could not afford counseling. He does not oppose medical marijuana for anxiety disorders, but he thinks doctors frequently certify patients without exploring other options.

You have to develop a rapport and relationship with the patient, Rochester said. Thats really, really important. Its never going to happen in a video visit in five minutes.

The Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society, which has objected to anxiety disorders as a qualifying condition, has also raised concerns about the certification process for patients.

Theyre not really being told about all the pros and cons of using cannabis, Marina Goldman, a psychiatrist speaking on behalf of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society, told Spotlight PA.

If were using the word medical, it should be done with appropriate safeguards, she added later.

Widge, the psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota, said theres great uncertainty over whether cannabis will do more harm than good for anxiety patients.

In many ways what  is happening all around the country is this giant, uncontrolled experiment on peoples brains, he said.

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Practices may vary

It is impossible to know how all certification companies and the states more than 1,800 approved medical marijuana doctors assess patients to participate in the program.

Harris, the retired emergency room doctor from the Lehigh Valley, told Spotlight PA he spends about 40 minutes talking to patients before approving them for an initial certification. He also requires documentation from another provider to confirm an anxiety disorder diagnosis.

It can be a bit of a pain, Harris said. And it does turn some of our patients away from us.

But he said thats what it takes for him to feel comfortable with the approval. Evans, the Berks County medical marijuana doctor, told Spotlight PA he also wont certify new patients for anxiety unless they have documentation from another provider.

Whether its a psychologist or a psychiatrist, I need someone who has expertise in making this diagnosis to evaluate you and tell me that thats what youve got, Evans said.

Some medical marijuana card companies try to attract customers who havent previously been diagnosed.

Do you suffer from ANXIETY or PTSD but have NO records? the website for medical marijuana card company Releaf Specialists reads. Self-medicating and you want your card?

Bob Scherer, owner and founder of Releaf Specialists, told Spotlight PA the company uses in-house forms to determine a patients eligibility and that the doctors he contracts with can require supporting documentation. But he defended approving patients based on their statements. He said patients often have trouble accessing health records or might struggle to afford seeing another doctor.

Our physicians feel that theyre  competent enough to make that determination based off of the questions that theyre asking and the responses that theyre getting from the patients, Scherer said.

Another medical card company, Elevate Holistics, says on a company webpage that patients should not be afraid to say that you have not always had access to health care, and offers advice on getting approved if they lack records of a diagnosis. Another page on the site, which refers to good excuses for a medical card, describes qualifying conditions in several states.

Pennsylvania has a lengthy but very specific list with seemingly little chance for loopholes  but they are there, e.g., anxiety disorders and medical marijuana for chronic pain, the website reads.

When asked about the language Elevate Holistics uses on its website, company CEO Stephen Stearman acknowledged that the word loophole was a tough word and said the company would review it.

But he defended the companys language overall, saying it is meant to help patients advocate for themselves. The companys posts, he said, are designed to attract people who are asking these questions online.

Stearman said the company does not compensate doctors based on approvals  a complaint that has been levied against other medical marijuana card companies  but he would not elaborate on how doctors are paid. He said doctors follow state requirements and that patients fill out comprehensive health forms.

The doctors have all the information they need, Stearman said. And if the patients lying, then thats on the patient.

Medical marijuana should not be a first line treatment for anxiety, former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine said in 2019. But there are no health department regulations requiring marijuana to be used along with counseling or therapy.

Increasing scrutiny

There have been some calls to change the system. Some Medical Marijuana Advisory Board members in November called for greater scrutiny of advertising by third-party businesses and certifications done over the phone or on a computer. One doctor on the board specifically singled out anxiety. In a January response, the Health Department said it investigates all complaints and it expects doctors to practice ethically and responsibly.

The Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society in 2021 urged the state to mandate that medical marijuana patients receive detailed information about the risks to patients associated with marijuana use and the lack of scientific evidence for certain conditions.

A Health Department spokesperson did not provide a direct response when asked about the societys recommendation. But she said protections are in place for patients: They must be under a doctors continuing care, dispensaries have medical professionals available, and safety inserts are included with medical marijuana products.

Pennsylvanias list of qualifying conditions has remained the same since 2019. The advisory board voted in November 2021 to add chronic hepatitis to the list, but the recommendation had not received final approval as of mid-January. The board also approved a process last year to allow academic programs to apply to have conditions added exclusively for research purposes, but had not received any applications as of early January.

That research approach was not an option when William Trescher, a pediatric neurologist at Penn State Health Childrens Hospital, served on the advisory board. He is one of the members who voted against adding anxiety as a qualifying condition.

His views on marijuana are nuanced.

Trescher said that speaking personally, and not as a doctor, he supports legalizing adult-use cannabis. And he supports marijuana as a treatment for some conditions. But as a member of the advisory board, he was reluctant to have the state endorse cannabis as a medical treatment option for anxiety.

People can go out and make their decisions about using alcohol, he said. But I probably wouldnt want to be in a position of saying  OK, Im going to write a prescription. You should have a glass of wine every night because I think thats good for you. 

WHILE YOURE HERE If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
If you get sick or suffer a traumatic injury and need blood, you assume it will be there for you.

In recent years, that was a dangerous assumption to make.

The supply of donated blood reached its lowest point in a long time at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, there were no mass tragedies that inundated hospitals with seriously injured people and tested the Lehigh Valleys ability to supply large quantities of blood at once.

Supplies have rebounded somewhat as the region and nation have resumed normal activities, such as holding blood donation drives. But keeping an ample amount on hand always is a challenge.

An announcement last week by federal health authorities should help.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed relaxing restrictions on blood donations by gay men.

That should have occurred years ago.

The proposal is subject to a public comment period. If enacted, sexually active gay men in monogamous relationships would be eligible to donate blood for the first time in nearly 40 years.

They have been barred because of unfounded fears of HIV transmission that is a holdover from the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. The virus was transmitted then through transfusions. But testing and protocols have improved vastly since. All U.S. blood donations now are screened for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Restrictions on donations by gay men already have been relaxed in other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom.

Many in the medical community, including the American Medical Association, have been lobbying the FDA to change the rules. Blood banks and LGBTQ rights organizations have been fighting for changes, too.

A lot of folks want to donate blood. You want to give back to your communities. And then you get to the door and youre told because you love your husband or you love your partner you cant be part of a life-giving service. Thats bananas, Ashley Coleman, executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, told me a few weeks ago when we talked about this issue after she was introduced as the centers new leader.

Miller-Keystone Blood Center

The goal of the blood collection community is to increase the number of potential donors without compromising the safety of the blood supply, said Dr. Kip Kuttner, medical director at Miller-Keystone Blood Center, which manages the blood supply in the Lehigh Valley.

It relies on the FDA to set guidelines to guarantee that safety.

For decades, men were barred from donating blood if theyd had sex with another man since 1977.

In 2015, the lifetime ban was ended but the new rule requiring abstinence for a year still blocked many gay men from donating.

The abstinence period was rolled back to three months in 2020, as the nations blood supply plummeted amid the pandemic.

The FDAs latest proposal would change how potential donors are screened for risk factors of bloodborne diseases.

It would no longer direct questions specifically to gay men. Instead, all potential donors, regardless of their gender and sexual orientation, would be asked whether they have had new sexual partners or multiple partners in the past three months.

Anyone who says no could donate. Those who have had new or multiple partners would be asked if they had engaged in anal intercourse, which allows easier transmission of HIV, in the past three months. An answer of yes would preclude them from donating for three months.

The guidelines would acknowledge for the first time that the sexual activities of women should also be considered when protecting the nations blood supply.

Maintaining a safe and adequate supply of blood and blood products in the U.S. is paramount for the FDA, and this proposal for an individual risk assessment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, will enable us to continue using the best science to do so, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a statement Friday.

A lifetime ban would remain in place for people who have tested positive for HIV. And those taking medication to prevent HIV would continue to be prohibited from donating until three months after they finish their meds.

If youd like to submit a comment about this proposal, you can submit them at regulations.gov/docket/FDA-2015-D-1211. Predictably, the comments on the FDAs website so far are mixed.

Some are in favor. Some express homophobic views and fears based on misinformation and politics.

If those people ever suffer an illness or injury and need blood, I suspect they wont care where it came from if it saves their life.

Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun, with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Showers and thundershowers this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 51F. SSE winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Its easier to get away with breaking some laws than others.

Trying to buy a gun when youre not allowed shouldnt be one of them. But it is.

Federal authorities do gun purchase background checks for more than half the country. They seldom investigate people who falsely declare they are not prohibited from possessing a weapon due to a criminal record, mental health history or other excluding factor.

Thankfully, thats not so easy to get away with in Pennsylvania. State and local police here investigate every case.

Gun purchases in 37 states are vetted by the FBI or a combination of the FBI and state authorities. In fiscal year 2017, 112,090 purchases were denied because the National Instant Criminal Background Check System determined the buyer was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated only 12,710 of those cases and referred only 50 of them to federal prosecutors to file charges. Prosecutors pursued only a dozen cases, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Thats not protecting the public. If the law isnt being enforced, the system isnt working.

The ATF said in the report that most cases arent investigated because the agency has limited resources and because its difficult to prove someone knowingly lied on the form.

Both of those points have some merit.

The number of denied gun purchases has risen but the number of ATF agents hasnt, according to the report. And its easy to see how some people could make an honest mistake when filling out paperwork to buy a gun. They may not have been told when they were sentenced for a crime that they werent eligible to have one, and the form has a lot of fine print and legal terms that not everyone may understand.

But how do you know if someone is lying if you dont check? Some peoples backgrounds may be so dirty that it would be hard to conclude they werent trying to beat the system.

In Pennsylvania, authorities check.

Its good that they do because they recently found a convicted murderer tried to buy a gun. That person now is facing felony charges, according to the GAO report.

Pennsylvania doesnt rely on the feds and is among the states that do their own background reviews, by state police.

Since 2014, every purchase rejected by the system has been investigated by state or local police, according to the GAO report. In fiscal year 2017, they investigated 5,465 cases and filed charges against 842 people, 472 of whom were convicted.

State police told the GAO they believe investigations deter future attempts to buy a firearm.

The majority of cases are not prosecuted for the same reason the ATF cited: the difficulty of proving someone knowingly and willingly lied on the form. Most prosecutions result in guilty pleas to misdemeanor offenses, and sentences of probation and a fine, the report said. There have been occasional sentences of a year or two behind bars, for people who tried to buy a gun when they were a felon prohibited from having one.

Not every state that does its own background checks is as aggressive as Pennsylvania.

Virginia and Oregon are. But 10 others studied by the GAO  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee and Utah  said they dont investigate or prosecute any denied gun purchases because they dont have the resources or statutory authority. Some of those states take other action, though, such as seizing firearms and revoking a firearms owner identification card.

If the ATF investigates a case and concludes charges are warranted, it presents the case to the regional U.S. attorneys office. The Executive Office for United States Attorneys told the GAO the cases are difficult to prosecute and offer less value for public safety than other prosecutions.

They may be difficult to prosecute because of the need to prove intent. But they certainly could protect the public by deterring a prohibited person from trying to buy a gun again.

Federal officials told the GAO these cases are not appealing to judges and juries from a public safety standpoint, according to the report.

In todays environment thats hard to believe, but the report cited evidence.

A Pennsylvania jury refused to convict someone for trying to buy a gun despite being banned due to repeated drunken driving offenses.

The jury believed that it was a pointless prosecution for a firearms denial offense, according to the GAO report.

If authorities arent going to prosecute, they at least should fire a warning shot and let people know they did something wrong.

Pennsylvania authorities sometimes send letters letting people know they are being investigated. Sometimes only those who were not charged get a letter, explaining they could have been prosecuted.

The ATF sends warning letters in some cases, too. The GAO recommended the agency assess the use of warning notices in lieu of prosecution. The ATF agreed.

Letters would be a start. But investigations should occur first because without investigating, you never know what you might miss, such as a killer trying to buy a gun.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. walked outside his hotel room and stood at the guard rail and met his death with a single bullet to the neck. King was in Memphis, Tennessee, to lend support to Black garbage workers in their strike after two workers died in the back of a garbage truck.

On Feb. 1, 1968, Echol Cole and Robert Walker were working a garbage collection shift, and to escape the rain they rode inside the garbage compactor, which malfunctioned and crushed them. They died in terror with the trash of the community as their only company.

On Jan, 7, 2023, Tyre Nichols was on his way home from watching the sunset and he was surrounded and beaten to death by five men who were at least twice his size. In his last moments he cried out for his mother who lived a few blocks away.

Arthur H. Garrison

Cole and Walker died because there was no room for them in the garbage truck. Memphis garbage workers, then, were always Black, with the exception of their supervisors, who were white.

Memphis, at the time, did not provide its sanitation workers with uniforms, gloves or even a place to shower before they went home. They were not given these simple items because they were Black. They were not given these things, in addition to low pay, and the city did not recognize their right to be treated better. This is where the 1968 strike and King and his death enter the story.

The garbage workers held up picket signs that said I am a man. This is what King came to Memphis for and what he died supporting. The simple statement: I am a man.

The Memphis strike was part of a centuries-long march to have white America recognize this simple truth: I am a man.

Tyre Nichols had a mother and 4-year-old son who loved him and needed him. When he cried out for his mother as he knew his last moments on this earth were upon him, he could have cried out, I am a man.

As the Black skin of Cole and Walker explained how they ended up being in the garbage truck where they met their end, five Black cops brought Nichols his last day. A grown man, like George Floyd before him, met his last day on the ground crying out for his mother.

Racism in America is not the same as it was in 1723 or 1823 or 1923. And let us admit that. But, not unlike in 1723 or 1823 when Black men feared the police  either the slave patrols of the South or the slave catchers in the North  in 2023, Blacks are still the targets of policing in America. The reasons are complicated, but regardless of why, Blacks are the targets of policing.

The implicit racism in the perception of Blacks as criminals to be feared and controlled does not change because the five officers that took Nichols life were Black. Blacks being chased down by Blacks for societys purposes is not new. Many of the best slave catchers were Black.

In 2023, Nichols murder, like Floyds, has been met with public revulsion and answered with the full application of the criminal justice system upon the heads of the officers who killed him.

But those five Black officers did not wake up in the morning and say, Lets chase down a Black man and kill him. Rather, police experience and practice taught them that Nichols life was not worth protecting as they beat him in the dark. The fact that they were Black themselves is of no account. The racism in their actions, as the video shows, was in their indifference to Nichols right to walk as a free man in America.

His life ended with the same indifference that ended the life of Elijah McClain. It was in how and why they attacked him. To the police neither life had value.

The racism was in the police officers elation in what they did and their shock that they were charged as criminals for it.

The racism in America is also found in Fox News commentators asserting that these Black cops were the natural outcome of affirmative action hiring resulting from the city lowering recruitment standards.

The racism is in these same commentators asserting that the actions of these Black officers is the natural result of demands for police reform after the killing of Eric Garner.

The racism was in these Black police officers finding no incongruity between being police and beating a Black man to death.

Nichols died alone as two garbage workers did more than a half century ago. Nichols died in Memphis because those five Black officers concluded that I am a man did not apply to him.

Arthur Garrison is an associate professor of criminal justice at Kutztown University.
Rep. George Santos, pictured here on Capitol Hill on Jan. 26, told the House GOP conference behind closed doors he wants off of his two committees until his issues are resolved, three members told CNN.
He also called on CPS parents to attend upcoming school board meetings to voice their concerns.
The next step for the bill is to go to the Rules Committee. If passed in that committee, it will then be heard on the House floor.
If passed, the bill would incentivize film and television projects to shoot in the state of Missouri.

As featured on 1:58 Filmmakers show support for bill that would reinstate film tax credits in Missouri If passed, the bill would incentivize film and television projects to shoot in the state of Missouri.




Poland is not in talks to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, a deputy defence minister said Tuesday, a day after the US ruled out delivering fighter jets to the war-torn country.







"There are no official discussions on transferring F-16s at the moment," Poland's Wojciech Skurkiewicz told AFP. (AFP)


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ZIMBABWEANS must steadfastly resist Western machinations to put the country on its knees through economic sanctions that are designed to reverse the gains of independence, but instead work together and preserve the miracle that is Zimbabwe, visiting Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has said.

Addressing a press conference with President Mnangagwa at State House in Harare yesterday after jointly presiding over the signing of eight bilateral agreements between Belarus and Zimbabwe, President Lukashenko said the West is spinning a web of lies and deceit in an attempt to suppress sovereign nations.

Both Zimbabwe and Belarus are under punishing economic sanctions from Western nations led by the United States, which observers accuse of sponsoring dissent in independent countries to effect illegal regime change.

Speaking through an interpreter, President Lukashenko said Western countries are determined to suppress and silence independent countries like Zimbabwe and Belarus.

Today, the biggest countries of the world, the world powers are trying to divide the world, they are trying to suppress countries like Zimbabwe and Belarus and of course to benefit from such suppression.

Zimbabwe looks like a miracle story, it has all the mineral resources crucial for survival, that is why they will not let you live peacefully.

The reason behind the sanctions imposed on your country by America is not because you are not democratic, but because your Government made a decision not to let foreign companies cheat your country, rob your country, to put your country on its knees.

It was the decision of your country to take control of your natural resources that led Western countries, including the United States, to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe, he said.

Although Zimbabwe has weathered the illegal sanctions, Western nations have stridently tried to illegally remove the democratically elected Zanu PF Government, and with the country poised for harmonised elections this year, the stakes are yet again high as they directly and indirectly fan dissent through their proxies in oppositional forces and non-governmental organisations.

You will see Western nations trying to sow dissension among you, trying to bend you over, to put you on your knees. You should and must survive, you will survive if you stand united, if you will not let discord separate your nation over some illusory democratic values.

What you need to do is preserve peace in your country, avoid confrontation, thats how you will survive, otherwise you will once again get under colonial rule, dont let it happen, said President Lukashenko.

This year you are going to have elections and this will be a huge challenge for your nation and I hope you will be able to pass through this. Please dont trust liars, there are no miracles, good results and success and happiness can only be realised through daily hard work.

So I am hopeful that this year you will make the right choice, and by making the right choice you will be able to show the entire world that you deserve your independence and to preserve it, be very careful.

Remember only through hard work will you be able to achieve what you want to achieve, and remember there is a country in the heart of Europe, Belarus, that is always on the ready to give you a helping hand, if need be.

President Lukashenko said Belarus will help Zimbabwe all the way and will not be distracted by idle talk from Western nations that would like to foist their ideals and beliefs on a sovereign country.

There is a silver lining to the dark clouds of evil sanctions, found in new frontiers of trade and economic co-operation as epitomised by the rapidly growing trade between Zimbabwe and Belarus, relations which have in less than five years blossomed with huge rewards for local farmers and industries.

I would like to emphasise that by coming to Africa, we bring peace, science and technology. We are not using colonial style; we are not here to do that. We are bringing peace, we are here to train the specialists, to help you achieve the progress of your economies. We plan to expand our ties with Africa because the world cannot develop without Africa and the future belongs to Africa, President Lukashenko said.

On his part, President Mnangagwa said the reciprocal visit by his Belarus counterpart demonstrates the warm relations which exist between Harare and Minsk, both victims of callous Western sanctions.

On preparations for this years elections, the President said the ruling party is confident of victory in the polls that he said could be held in July.

Zimbabwe has never omitted to hold general elections when they are due, every five years we have held elections since 1980 when we got independence and the ruling party Zanu PF has been winning all these elections and we shall continue winning them.

Reiterating his Government Foreign Policy thrust of friend to all and enemy to none, the President said the door is open for anyone to be an ally with his country.

Zimbabwe is a friend to all and an enemy to none. Those who want to be our enemies, its their own fault. We want to be friends to all and enemies to none, those who choose to be anything else its their fault but this is our policy.

So we will embrace Belarus and any other countries that are willing to relate to us but not in the perception of horse and rider, no, either we are all horses or all riders. This is how we look at relations and I am very happy that from the first day I met my brother President, we have similar chemistry in terms of how to develop our respective countries on the basis of our domestic resources as well as co-operation with countries which have no intention of dominating us, said President Mnangagwa.

Over the past few years, Zimbabwe and Belarus have increased trade and co-operation with the status quo helping the country achieve food security. Herald
State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point, wants Hoosier firefighters to know if their protective equipment includes substances that may cause cancer.

House Bill 1341, sponsored by Olthoff, would mandate all firefighting gear purchased in Indiana beginning July 1, 2024, include a permanently affixed label indicating whether it contains PFAS.

PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," are used in firefighting equipment because they're heat- and moisture-resistant. But the chemicals can be absorbed through the skin, causing cancer and other health issues, studies show.

"The very equipment firefighters use to protect themselves may be causing long-term damage to their health, and they're already at a higher risk for cancer," Olthoff said.

Under her plan, PFAS could continue to be used in Indiana firefighting gear. The state-mandated label simply would let firefighters know if PFAS are in their equipment and perhaps encourage fire agencies to seek out non-PFAS options.

"We know that PFAS are in firefighting gear, so we need to do more to spread awareness about the issue and further encourage manufacturers to bring alternative options to the marketplace," Olthoff said.

Olthoff said the idea for the legislation was brought to her by a St. John volunteer firefighter. It's also supported by the Professional Firefighters of Indiana, the Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association and the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association.

The House voted 95-0 Monday to advance the measure to the Senate for a decision, likely in March or April, on sending it to the governor to be signed into law.

The 2020 General Assembly already prohibited the use of PFAS firefighting foam for training and testing purposes in most circumstances.
Roof materials and a lift wait in the parking lot outside Lakeland Jr./Sr. High School for the winter weather to break. Residents who live in rural Lakeland townships will see their tax rates increase this year, as the district bonded to take on several maintenance projects, including the high school roof.
TXT accomplished an amazing feat on Oricon with their latest mini-album "The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION."

Find out more about TXT's achievement!

TXT Becomes 1st Foreign Artist To Dominate Oricon With 7 Consecutive Albums

On January 31, Oricon has revealed their weekly album chart, which covers January 23 to 29. In the chart, it included TXT's newly released album "The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION," placing at No. 1.

Oricon also disclosed that the album has now sold a total of 185,000 copies in Japan. This feat was achieved by the group in only three days, since the album's first day release.

With their previous album "Minisode 2: Thursday's Child" having dominated Oricon charts, it marked the group as the first foreign act to top the chart with 6 consecutive albums. It was followed by their latest album "The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION."

"The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION" also entered at No. 1 on Oricon's daily album chart, due to having sold 184,971 copies in its first day of release.

This remarkable accomplishment notes that it only took TXT a single day to beat their own previous Japanese sales record in 2022.

Aside from their album's prowess on the Oricon charts, its title track "Sugar Rush Ride" also entered the Spotify Global Top Songs chart, earning its place at No. 38.

The song received so much love in Japan, it appeared on the country's iTunes Top Albums chart. In Korea, it also entered Melon's Top 100, maintaining its present position in No. 6.

The music video for "Sugar Rush Ride" was released on January 27, and currently garners 38,922,011 views in YouTube. Their fans, MOAs, were delighted to see the group appear in their majestic MV, giving good music as kickstart for 2023.

Here are their comments below:

"The truth is I'm Army and I'm not a big fan of TXT, but I appreciate their talents and the support of MOA." "This music, like other of their songs, is too good, I'm really glad for what they've achieved, I'll help by streaming! Kai is beautiful!" "I still can't believe we moas are not just a comparatively little fandom. I'm so proud of us."

Watch the MV for "Sugar Rush Ride" here!

TXT Achieves Historic Breakthrough After Debuting On Billboard Song Breaker Chart

In a previous note, TXT has made their entry to one of Billboard's charts. On March 22, 2022, Billboard revealed that TXT has debuted on their Song Breaker Chart, arriving at No. 18.

Billboard's Song Breaker Chart's aim is to distinguish the impact of artists in the music industry. This feat marked TXT as the first male K-pop artist to enter the chart, and the second K-pop group to join, following girl group TWICE.

Furthermore, TXT has also made their way on Billboard's Top Current Album Sales chart, with their album "The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE" having soared on No. 75. It has solidified its reputation as the longest-running album in the tally for 2021.

Congratulations to TXT for this new achievement!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo says no other government besides the one led by Zanu PF will ever rule in Zimbabwe.

The ruling party has been in power since 1980 when the country gained independence from Britain.

Minister Moyo said this while speaking as a guest of honour at the handover of a maternity facility in Mbembesi clinic in Insuza on Friday.

His sentiments come as the country is gearing up for 2023 harmonized elections which are set for July or August this year.

As Insuza we will never stand alone, you should join others to get development, I am here now and we will work. Many projects are going to come from the government and you shouldnt sabotage government programs, there wont be any other government that you will see in Zimbabwe besides the one that is ruling now, said Minister Moyo.

Women, if you hear your husband saying they are dreaming of a new government, you should hit them with an elbow, tell them that you have to appease the ancestors as they turn against you.

Minister Moyo said village heads should join the current wave and the ED affiliates mushrooming throughout the country.

No President will rule this country besides the one who is there under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, ask yourself this, all organizations are now for ED, if you are village head and still not under Kraal Heads for ED you are behind, councillors for ED, MPs for ED, Mapostori for ED, MaZion for ED, Young women for ED, Vendors for ED, Malayitsha for ED, Pastors for ED, Insuza for ED, everyone now belongs to ED because of his works, he has changed the Zimbabwe which you were saying wont rise again, he said.

He also claimed that under President Mnangagwas leadership, queues at banks and fuel stations have disappeared.

If you hear someone saying they were in a bank queue, know that they are lying, Mnangagwa did all this. Even the employees were earning 100 percent RTGS but for now, while we are still experiencing sanctions the employees are getting half RTGS and half United States Dollars, all this is the Presidents effort, no other President will do this, he said.

Moyo added that Insuza is not an Island and hence should imitate what other wards are doing.

Village heads, you are the ones leading people, lead them in the right direction, dont mislead them, show them where there is life and no life will be there besides the ruling President, he said.

If you see yourself supporting an aspiring president, you are lost, President Mnangagwa wont support someone who wants to remove him, when you are a leader too make sure no one removes you, if you think its okay for Mnangagwa to be removed from power, we should also remove you where you are, so let us do our corrections as Insuza and allow development from Central government in the new dispensation, said Moyo. CITE
Hanteo Music Awards 2022 has announced the event's first artists lineup!

Read here to see which artists are included in the awarding ceremony.

Hanteo Music Awards 2022 1st Artists Lineup Revealed: NCT Dream, TEMPEST, More!

On January 30, Hanteo Music Awards has unveiled the first row of artists attending the program. Various artists will be making appearances on the awarding, expecting audiences to anticipate the much-awaited ceremony

In the first lineup, the list consists of popular K-pop acts such as NCT Dream, TEMPEST, CIX, LUCY, EPEX, and WEi. Additionally, the award show will also include soloists BE'O, Jeong Dong Won, and Kim Ho Joong.

On a previous announcement, it was revealed that S.E.S. Eugene, CIX Hyunsuk, and EPEX Baeksung will take part on the program's first day.

Additionally, S.E.S. Eugene will collaborate with Shin Dong Yup as co-host on the second day. Shin Dong Yup is widely known for his effective hosting skills. The host's presence will be amplified with the idols attending the award show, as well as the ceremony's exciting segments.

Hanteo Music Awards 2022 will be held on February 10 to 11, at Jamsil Arena. Fans are expected to await further details and updates.

Hanteo Charts To Honor 30th Anniversary In Awards Show

On November 23, 2022, Hanteo has initially announced the upcoming event, Hanteo Music Awards 2022. The awards show will be held offline to gather fans who are excited to watch their favorite artists up close. It will also mark as Hanteo's first offline ceremony.

Since Hanteo played a vital role in propelling the Korean Wave, the chart has decided to commemorate its 30th anniversary in an award show format.

Hanteo is also the first music chart in Korea to affiliate with K-pop, with the mission to collect real time data in artists' releases.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Hanteo Chart Honors 30th Anniversary Through Offline Music Awards

According to Hanteo Global CEO Kwak Young Ho, the program will navigate back on Hanteo's history and its longtime affiliation with the K-pop industry. The CEO added that the show will welcome both local and international fans.

"This award ceremony will be a meaningful occasion to look back on the history of Hanteo Chart and look back on 30 years of K-pop. We will make it a place where many global fans can enjoy it together."

Hanteo Chart Reveals The Best-Selling Korean Artists From 2000 to 2020

In other news, Hanteo charts has revealed the best-selling K-pop acts from the year 2000 to 2020. The range covered sales from popular groups, transcending from one generation to another.

Check out the timeline here:

2000 - SG Wannabe (487,868 copies)

2001 - Omnibus (VA) (2,505,981 copies)

2002 - Cool (934,838 copies)

2003 - Lee Soo Young (660,429 copies)

2004 - Lee Soo Young (724,592 copies)

2005 - SG Wannabe (561,902 copies)

2006 - SG Wannabe (365,408 copies)

2007 - SG Wannabe (487,868 copies)

2008 - BIGBANG (911,898 copies)

2009 - Girls' Generation (409,674 copies)

2010 - Girls' Generation (238,789 copies)

2011 - Super Junior (349,976 copies)

2012 - Super Junior (348,053 copies)

2013 - EXO (975,230 copies)

2014 - TVXQ (273,438 copies)

2015 - EXO (1,230,710 copies)

2016 - EXO (1,394,305 copies)

2017 - BTS (1,758,109 copies)

2018 - BTS (2,602,687 copies)

2019 - BTS (3,375,919 copies)

2020 - BTS (7,226,632 copies)

Are you looking forward to the awards show? Tell us in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
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China's services activity warms up in January

Xinhua) 13:11, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's services activity logged a strong recovery in January thanks to a robust consumer market during the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

The purchasing managers' index for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 54.4 in January, up from 41.6 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below it reflects contraction.

The figure was the second highest in the past 12 months, only slightly lower than the reading of 54.7 last June.

The sub-indexes for the services and construction sectors in January stood at 54 and 56.4, respectively.

The services activity ended its six-month losing streak in January and returned to positive territory, with a sharp rebound in the business climate, senior NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

Of all 21 surveyed industries, 15 saw business expansion, with railway, aviation, postal services, financial services, and insurance in a high climate range of above 60. Retail, hotel, and catering sectors, previously hardest hit by COVID-19, also resumed expansion.

Zhao believes consumer sentiment has improved significantly and market activity has picked up.

Meanwhile, data showed the construction sector maintained relatively rapid expansion. As various government policies to promote major projects have taken effect, building enterprises have remained optimistic, Zhao said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 31 (ANI/NewsVoir): Globesecure Technologies (NSE Code - INE00WS01056) a digital transformation company in India with a focus on cyber security is in advance stage of due diligence for acquiring stake in ProTechmanize Solutions Private Limited.

The proposed acquisition of stake in this Company will enable Globesecure Technologies Limited strengthen its position in the growing digital transformation as it operates in cyber security services industry. The decision for acquisition of stake shall be subject to the due diligence completion and approval of Board of Directors.

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The current valuation of ProTechmanize solution is around 90 crores. The further details will be announced after the due diligence.

ProTechmanize Solutions Private Limited incorporated on May 21,2018 is into Cyber Security and Information Technology solutions and services. The acquisition with help GSTL for better synergy and strengthen its position in the cyber industry.

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ProTechmanize Solutions Private Limited is focused on Cyber Security and Information Technology solutions and services Company, established by professionals with a cumulative experience of over 200+ years in the field of cyber security, Information Technology, TI Security and data Center operations. They are into the same business of Globesecure Technologies Limited.

ProTechmanize solutions Private Limited team believes in providing a right set of solutions and services to their customer by tailored programs and approach.

Globesecure technologies (GST) is a nationally recognized systems and technology integrator that offers design, integration, and technical services, GST leads its clients through technology and system changes in Networking, Security, Performance, Acceleration, Monitoring, Application delivery control & Storage systems.

It has created a structure that supports customers from solution design and project implementation to training and technical support after the project is complete.

For more information, please visit www.globesecure.in.

This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, Jan 30 (PTI) The iconic jumbo B747, also called the 'Queen of the Skies', is set to fly off into history when Boeing delivers the last such plane to Atlas Air from its Everett manufacturing facility in Washington on February 1.

The US aircraft maker had rolled out the first B747-100 plane on September 30, 1968, while the first 747 entered service on launch customer Pan Am Airlines' New YorkLondon route on January 21, 1970.

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In March 1993, the aircraft maker brought out the cargo version of the plane.

However, in July 2020, after running the iconic jumbo aircraft programme for nearly 52 years, the aircraft maker announced it will end production of the 'Queen of the Skies' by the end of 2022 due to market preference.

Also Read | India To Be USD 5 Trillion Economy by Financial Year 2025-26, Says Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran.

Atlas Air was the final 747 customer with an order of four 747-8 freighters, according to Boeing.

The last B747 was rolled out from the production facility on December 6 last year.

In the 55-year period, Boeing built a total of 1,574 B747 aircraft with four engines for over 100 customers, including Air India.

Truly the passing of an era, and of a slice of our lives. The Boeing 747 is what got many like me obsessed or even infatuated with aviation. It represented freedom to travel and see the wondrous world to me as a young boy growing up in Calcutta. The most beautiful aircraft ever!, tweeted Jet Airways 2.0 CEO-Designate, Sanjiv Kapoor on the final delivery of the B747 plane.

Air India was one of the early customers for these planes, inducting the 500-seating capacity aircraft in the fleet as early as in 1971. Besides using them for commercial operations for a little over 50 years, Air India also used two of these planes for flying the VVIPsPresident, Vice President and Prime Ministerwhich were replaced with two refurbished B777s in October 2020.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation deregistered all four 747 that Air India owned, thereby finally retiring them from the fleet.

After the Tata Group regained control of Air India in January last year, the airline decided to sell off these planes in November last year.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at around 50 locations across seven states in cases related to leakage of question papers for the written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police.

In a statement, CBI mentioned that searches were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana etc in an ongoing investigation of two cases related to leakage of question papers for the written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police. During searches, incriminating documents have been recovered.

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CBI registered two cases on November 30, 2022, on the request of the Himachal Pradesh Government and further notification by the Government of India and had taken over the investigation of these cases earlier registered by the State Police on the allegations of leakage of question papers of written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police, held in March 2022.

During the investigation and scrutiny of documents, the alleged role of various middlemen based in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, etc were revealed. It was alleged that they were operating the nexus for the leakage of examination papers in an organised manner.

Also Read | Economic Survey 2022-23: Unemployment Rates Falling for Three Financial Years Through 2020-21.

Further investigation is 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)
Palghar, January 31: Four persons were killed when their car rammed into a bus on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Tuesday, police said. Two persons travelling in the luxury bus received injuries in the accident which took place at around 3.30 am near Mahalakshmi bridge on the highway, an official from Kasa police station said. Scrap Yard Near Pune Hospital Catches Fire; 19 Patients Evacuated.

Visuals From Accident Site:

Breaking: Four people died while three others got injured when the driver of a speeding high-end car smashed into a #road divider and collided head-on with a luxury bus near Kasa bridge during pre-dawn hours on Tuesday on Mumbai-Ahmedabad #Highway. https://t.co/BNhQi883dm pic.twitter.com/EiYWqLtLwR  Diwakar Sharma (@DiwakarSharmaa) January 31, 2023

The four car occupants were travelling from Gujarat to Mumbai, located about 100 km from Palghar, when their vehicle rammed into the bus from behind, the official said. Delhi Accident: Four School Buses Collide with Each Other Near Indira Gandhi Stadium, 25 Children Injured.

Maharashtra Road Accident:

All the four persons, including a woman, died on the spot, he said. The bodies were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the official said. The two injured persons were hospitalised, the police added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against a resident of Bihar in a case linked to a conspiracy hatched by a member of ISIS-- a proscribed terrorist organization-- for the propagation of the ideology and to raise funds for the organization and send the amount to his Syria based handlers through cryptocurrency channels.

Mohammad Mohsin Ahmad, a resident of Patna in Bihar, has been charge-sheeted under sections 120B and 204 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 17, 18, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The NIA filed the chargesheet in a special court in Delhi.

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The case was suo-moto registered by the NIA on June 25 last year.

Investigations have revealed that Ahmad conspired with an ISIS handler and others for the propagation of the ISIS ideology, with the ultimate objective to radicalize the Indian youth and recruit them for the outfit, said the anti-terror agency in a statement.

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Ahmad was also involved in raising funds for ISIS from the ISIS sympathizers in India and sending the collected funds to his Syria-based ISIS handlers through Crypto-currency channels, thereby supporting ISIS in furtherance of its terrorist activities, said the NIA. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 31 (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday ordered the premature retirement of three officials of the Prison Department for their alleged involvement in corruption, anti-social activities, and underperformance.

These officials conducted their duties in ways unbecoming of public servants and in violation of the established code of conduct, an official statement said.

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The exercise was conducted as part of a regular process of scrutiny of records for officials, who cross benchmarks of age/service period in terms of Article 226(2) of J&K CSRs, it said.

Out of the three, one was found involved in a serious criminal case and remained under custody for three years, besides gaining a bad public reputation while another official was found to be a habitual violator of official channels of communication and has been found guilty of sending fake and frivolous complaints, misusing RTI Act and wasting time of High Court for which he was also fined with Rs.10,000 by the Court.

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Further, one official was involved in smuggling contraband substances inside the sub-jail at Reasi, it said.

According to the recommendations of the Review Committee, the performance of these employees was found unsatisfactory and their continuation in the government service was found against the public interest, the statement said.

In the recent past, as part of its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, various employees have been dismissed from service on account of official misconduct, after rigorously following departmental proceedings against them.

Many such cases are under scrutiny with the Empowered Committees constituted for consideration of cases under Article 226(2) of J&K CSRs. Further, many employees have also been terminated from service on account of anti-national activities.

Meanwhile, the government has also initiated several measures for human resource development of its employees in Jammu and Kashmir which includes online Human Resource Management System (eHRMS), induction of officers into the prestigious Indian Administrative/ Police Service, timely DPCs for smooth career progression, updating recruitment rules, fast-tracking the recruitment process through recruiting agencies and abolishing of interviews for most of the non-gazetted vacancies referred to the Services Selection Board. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): Restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by some states may temporarily save cash flows for the state governments but obviously it postpones the problem to a future date and makes the situation somewhat unsustainable or unstable, said Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageshwaran.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, the CEA said, "We need to defer to the views of experienced former policymakers like Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who have already opined on this matter. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also expressed its concern about OPS. OPS may temporarily save cash flows for the state governments, but obviously, it postpones the problem to a future date and makes the fiscal situation unsustainable or unstable."

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"Congress-ruled states Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have restored the OPS and the demand to restore OPS is also being raised in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and some other states," he added.

Responding to a question on unemployment, the CEA said the urban unemployment rate has come down substantially from the pandemic period and we need to continue to make investments in the private sector that will necessitate more hiring.

Also Read | Jharkhand Fire: 14 Dead After Massive Blaze Engulfs Apartment in Dhanbad.

"Construction sector is coming back to life after the pandemic-related closures and restrictions on the movement of people across states etc. The Real Estate sector is getting revived and will also provide employment opportunities. If we see the data of EPFO, the registration rate is higher than the previous three years," he said.

He also informed that the government has created an e-Shram portal, which aims to connect employers and those looking for jobs.

"Employment generation is a relatively slower moving process, as compared to normal economic growth. I believe that as economic growth steadily rolls on at 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent, we will begin to see the impact on job creation because the formal economy is already creating enough jobs. We need to make sure that it diffuses even further," he added.

Nageshwaran said that GDP will accelerate further if the government focuses on some more measures.

"India's GDP growth is projected at 6 per cent by many international organizations. I projected 6.5-7 per cent for two reasons, which is very clearly brought out in the survey. One is that India's financial cycle is ready to roll compared to the last decade, and the second factor is India's public digital infrastructure is also ready to contribute to economic activity, because India's digital infrastructure is enabling formalization and financial inclusion, bringing more people into the mainstream economy," he said.

He added that if we undertake a set of reforms or policies at the union and state levels to dismantle the licensing, inspection and compliance regulatory ecosystem, our economy could grow even further.

"That ensures that Indian Education caters to 21st-century requirements provide and also if we can ensure adequate reliable power supply and if we take care of our energy security and also create a viable MSME ecosystem and continue to invest in infrastructure. These are the things that will drive our economic growth, or create opportunities for economic growth to increase the rate of growth to increase from 7-8 per cent," he said.

Talking about Current Account Deficit (CAD), the CEA said that it is a function of our imports and exports and also inward remittances from what Indians working overseas sent to India, interest income, dividend income, etc.

"What we received minus what we pay out so India's CAD is dominated by the trade deficit because we depend on external markets for essential items and that is something we need to work on from the long-term point of view. In terms of energy security, India is ahead of its target in the diversification of energy sources, moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, renewable energy composition, renewable energy and traditional energy mix," he further 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)
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): Union minister Pankaj Chaudhary on Tuesday condemned Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for challenging Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to recite a quadruplet from Ramcharitmanas in the UP Assembly.

Addressing the mediapersons on Monday, the SP chief also dared the UP CM to declare if the former (Akhilesh Yadav) belongs to the 'Shudra' community.

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"No one is against Ramcharitmanas. Since CM Adityanath is a yogi and comes from a religious background, I request him to read that quadruplet in the Assembly and tell me if I belong to Shudra community. Can he do that?" Akhilesh Yadav said while talking to mediapersons on Monday.

Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary, while talking to ANI, said that any comments on the 'Ramcharitmanas' is an attempt to gain popularity through "cheap" means.

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Amid the ongoing controversy on the holy book of Hindu culture, Pankaj Chaudhary alleged that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav 'indirectly supports' Swami Prasad Maurya and his ideology.

"Commenting on Ramcharitmanas is to gain cheap popularity. As Swami Prasad Maurya gives statements as per the ideology of the party he is in, earlier also he used to give controversial statements when he was in Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In that way, Akhilesh Yadav somehow opposed him previously but now he has been supporting him in some way," Chaudhary said.

Having said the above, Chaudhary also said that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav should consider his stand as the ongoing controversy on Ramcharitmanas has been insulting the entire Hindu society.

"If one reads the Ramcharitmanas properly, they would realise that the allegations made for Dalit abuse are fake as it is written in the holy book how Shabri offered berries to Lord Rama after tasting them," Chaudhary said accusing the Samajwadi Party for having hatred for the Dalits in their subconscious.

"No matter what they say on political battlefields, their ideology shows hatred towards them [Dalits] and this is very much evident from his statements," he added.

Meanwhile, the ruckus has continuously been increasing as Yadav also appointed Swami Prasad Maurya as the SP General Secretary yesterday.

Earlier this month, the SP leader had sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana.

Speaking to ANI, the former BJP leader had said, "I don't have any issue with Ramcharitmanas but parts of it have insulting comments and sarcasm directed at particular castes and sects. Those should be removed."

Maurya further claimed that in the Ramcharitmanas, which was composed by Tulsidas, there are words hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community.

"The government should take effective action and show sensitivity. It should see that the sentiments of any community are not hurt," he added. (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): CPI(M) Floor Leader in Rajya Sabha Elmaram Kareem, MP, on Tuesday said that the President's address to both Houses of Parliament today was very disappointing.

CPI(M) MP Kareem said that the President's speech has become nothing more than a narrative of the corporate appeasement policies of the BJP government ruling at the Centre. In the nineteen-page speech, there is no mention of the words worker or labour. It does not mention anything about the agriculture sector of India, he said.

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"It endorses the fact that the union government does not stand with the downtrodden of the country. It is sad that the problems faced by the people or the challenges the country is facing today are not part of the President's speech. It prides itself on having a stable government in the centre for two consecutive terms and turns a blind eye to unconstitutional interventions by governors destabilising the state governments," said Kareem.

CPI(M) Upper House MP from Kerala said that while thanking the people for giving a stable government in the centre for two consecutive terms, it does not see the horse-trading of the BJP, which came to power in many states of the country by subverting the people's mandate.

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"Many of the projects mentioned in the speech to praise the interventions made by the government in the fields of infrastructural development, poverty alleviation and women empowerment are actually only announcements that were not useful to the common people in any way. How can a government, which follows the policy of selling off the public sector undertakings and the country's wealth lead the country to progress?" he added

He said that the job opportunities of the educated youth are constantly being cut, the rights of the workers are being taken away one by one, and the deliberate attempts to destroy the religious harmony and unity of the country were not being mentioned here. The BJP government, which has cheated the farmers, is trying to implement policies to hand over the country's agriculture sector to corporates. Not only that the government is not ready to fulfil any of the assurances given while ending the farmers' strike, but they are also doing the exact opposite to it.

"The brief of this speech is that the central policy of providing all facilities to the country while the corporates are looting the entire wealth of the country is leading to the progress of the country. At this level, the President's speech, which turns a blind eye to the realities of our nation, is disappointing and extremely unfortunate" he added. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) There has been a steady decline in the school dropout rate and increase in enrolment both in school and higher education, the Economic Survey for 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday showed.

The gender parity has also improved in this financial year, the survey, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stated.

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"The Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) in the primary-enrolment in Class 1 to 5 as a percentage of the population in age six to 10 years  for girls as well as boys has improved during the financial year (FY)," .

This improvement has "reversed the declining trends between FY-17 and FY-19", it stated, adding that "the GER in upper-primary (enrolment in class 6 to 8 as a per cent of the population in age 11-13 years), which was stagnant between FY-17 and FY-19, improved in FY-22".

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In corresponding age groups in primary and upper-primary levels, the GER for girls is better than that of boys, the Economic Survey for 2022-23 stated.

"In FY-22, school enrolment stood at 26.5 crore children with 19.4 lakh additional children enrolled in primary to higher-secondary levels," it said.

The survey noted that the total enrolment of Children with Special Needs (CWSN) in FY-22 stands at 22.7 lakh as compared to 21.9 lakh in FY-21, an increase of 3.3 per cent.

"The enrolments increased across all levels -- primary, upper-primary, secondary, and higher-secondary, except for the pre-primary level. At the pre-primary level, enrolment reduced from 1.1 crore in FY-21 to one crore in FY-22," it said.

"During the year, about one crore children were enrolled in pre-primary, 12.2 crore in primary, 6.7 crore in upper primary, 3.9 crore in secondary and 2.9 crore in higher secondary," it said.

School dropout rates, for both boys and girls, at all levels have witnessed a steady decline in recent years.

The availability of teachers, measured by pupil-teacher ratio, an indicator which is inversely related to improvement in quality of education, has improved at all levels continuously from FY-13 to FY-22, the survey said.

From FY-13 to FY-22, it improved from 34.0 to 26.2 at the primary level, 23 to 19.6 at the upper-primary level, 30.0 to 17.6 at the secondary level and 39.0 to 27.1 at the higher-secondary level, it said.

The survey stated that the improvement in the number of schools, teachers' availability and facilities in schools is expected to help improve enrolment and reduce dropout.

"The total enrolment in higher education has increased to nearly 4.1 crore in FY-21 from 3.9 crore in FY-20. Since FY-15, there has been an increase of around 72 lakh in enrolment (21 per cent). The female enrolment has increased to two crore in FY-21 from 1.9 crore in FY-20," it stated.

"The enrolment in distance education is 45.7 lakh (with 20.9 lakh females), an increase of around seven per cent since FY-20 and 20 per cent since FY-15. The GER in higher education, based on 2011 population projections (revised), was recorded at 27.3 per cent in FY-21, which is an improvement from 25.6 in FY-20," it stated.

The GER for males increased from 24.8 in FY-20 to 26.7 in FY-21 while the GER for females has also shown an improvement from 26.4 to 27.9 during the same period, according to the survey. PTI GJS

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Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India], January 31 (ANI): Three houses were destroyed in a fire incident reported in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on Tuesday.

Officials said that the incident took place in the Rana village of the Badkot area of Uttarkashi.

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No casualty or injury to anyone was reported in the incident, they said.

The teams of police, fire squad and SDRF rushed to the spot and controlled the fire with the help of the local people.

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The exact cause of fire and amount of property lost in the incident could not be ascertained. (ANI)

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Hyderabad, Jan 31 (PTI) Ahead of the inauguration of the newly-constructed Telangana Secretariat building here on February 17, a meeting of senior state government officials on Tuesday decided to provide high-level security to the new office complex.

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Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari discussed the security arrangements relating to the complex named 'Dr B R Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat Building' and the arrangements to be made for the Formula E racing event to be held on February 11 at a high-level meeting, an official release said.

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At the meeting, a decision was taken to provide top grade security to the new Secretariat building, it said.

The complex is scheduled to be inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new Secretariat building at the existing location near Hussain Sagar Lake in June 2019.

The old Secretariat complex, which was functioning from the same location, has since been demolished. The Secretariat temporarily shifted to BRKR Bhavan in the city till the completion of the new building.

Three companies of Telangana Special Police and 300 city police personnel will be tasked with the security of the new Secretariat building, it said. Six sentry posts have been set up around the Secretariat and as many as 300 CCTV cameras have been installed to oversee the security arrangements.

A special command control room has been opened to look after the security arrangements.

The security equipment like baggage scanners, vehicle scanners, body scanners, etc., have to be kept ready. The Secretariat complex is spread over 28 acres and parking arrangements have provision to park 560 cars and more than 900 two-wheelers.

Monitoring of visitors will be done through special identity cards. Two fire engines with 34 staff along with fire safety arrangements in the Secretariat building have been made.

Special arrangements have been made for physically challenged people. Visitors will be allowed in all floors except the sixth floor, the release said.

The meeting also decided that vehicular traffic will not be allowed on Telugu Thalli flyover to Khairathabad flyover and Mint compound to I-Max from February 5 in view of the Formula E race. Public should be informed about the alternative routes, it said.

DGP Anjani Kumar, Special Chief Secretary (MAUD) Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary (IT) Jayesh Ranjan and other senior officials attended the meeting.

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New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): As the Budget Session of the Parliament began on Tuesday, President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to the joint sitting of both Houses, said that women empowerment has been at the core of all schemes introduced by the central government.

"Women empowerment has been at the core of all schemes introduced by my governemnt. Today, we are seeing the success of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao," the President said in her maiden address in Parliament.

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The President addresses members of both Houses in the Parliament's Central Hall on the first day of the budget session every year.

President Murmu further stated that the overall health of women, under the present government, has also improved more than before.

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"For the first time in the country, number of women is more than men and the health of women has also improved more than before," Murmu told the Parliament.

Quoting Kuntala Kumari Sabat, a poetess of Odia langiage about a century ago, President Murmu said that in 'Utkal Bharti' the poetess declared about 100 years ago that the woman of the country is not inferior to anybody.

"Basundhara-Tale Bharat-Ramani Nuhe Heen Nuhe Deen Amar Kirti Koti Yuge Kebhen Jagtun Nohib Leen. This she translates to- The woman of India is neither inferior nor humble compared to anyone on earth," Murmu stated.

"I feel proud to see that today our sisters and daughters are hoisting their laurels at the world level according to the dreams of Utkal Bharti," she added.

The President said that the recruitment of women has opened up in every sector, from mining to the front lines in the army.

"From Sainik Schools to Military Training Schools, our daughters are now studying and training. It is my government that has increased the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks."

She said that her government has chosen to focus on the country's heritage.

"My government has chosen the path of consolidating heritage and giving priority to development. On one side Ayodhya Dham is being developed and on the other side, a modern Parliament is being constructed. While the redevelopment of Kedarnath Dham and the development of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor and Mahakal Project are completed, simultaneously medical colleges are being made in every district," the President said in the Parliament, adding "Netaji's statue stands tall to remind our Kartavya."

This is President Murmu's first budget session speech since assuming office in July last year. Before arriving at the Parliament to address the joint session at the start of the Budget session, the President was accorded a ceremonial escort.

The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31, with the customary address by the President to a joint session which will be followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey by the Finance Minister.

The session will have 27 sittings and will continue till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers.

The session will take place in two parts with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6. (ANI)

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Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 31 (ANI): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is making planned efforts for the employment of youth, has taken an initiative before the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit (GIS).

CM Yogi has constituted a 48-member team, including 12 from the Indian Administrative Service, six each from the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service officers (all retired) and 24 educationists to acquaint the youth with the employment-oriented schemes and policies of the government.

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From February 3 to February 5, this team will communicate with the youth in different universities/colleges, answer their queries related to employment, as well as make them aware of the utility of the GIS for the youth.

In this context, CM interacted with a 48-member special team of retired officers and senior educationists in a unique programme organized at the CM's residence on Tuesday, an official statement said.

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The CM said that when they took over the responsibility of the state in the year 2017, the state's economy was pathetic. He said that they studied all aspects and then worked in mission mode to bring policy reforms and simplify the system. Efforts were made to improve the law and order situation.

The CM said that investment proposals worth Rs 4.68 lakh crore Investors Summit have been received. After this, through three groundbreaking ceremonies, we have implemented proposals worth about Rs 4 lakh crore.

CM Yogi further said that in 2017, when the bankers were called to implement the loan waiver scheme for farmers, discouraging results were received. And recently, when there was a meeting with bankers and CEOs, and MDs of financial institutions in Mumbai, people spontaneously expressed their eagerness to be helpful in the development of the state.

The CM also expressed concern over the inequality in development in Uttar Pradesh.

"Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand had seen very little development as compared to Central Uttar Pradesh and NCR until a few years ago. He said that these areas faced a crisis of migration of its youth," he added.

Policies to provide better connectivity, strong law and order and ease of doing business focusing on Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand have been implemented, said the CM. As a result, industrial units are being established in these backward areas.

"We are getting investment proposals worth lakhs of crores of rupees," he added.

Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit is being organized in Lucknow on February 10-12 to attract capital investment from the country and abroad with the aim of increasing the size of the state's economy to one trillion dollars.

The three-day summit will provide a platform for industrialists, businessmen, managers, high-level administrative officials, corporate leaders as well as intellectuals, academicians and policymakers from industry and commerce to explore business opportunities and ways for inclusive development of the state and establish partnerships.

"This three-day Global Investors Summit will pave way for the realization of the possibilities of industrialization in the state, but will also improve the standard of living of the common citizen of the state, strengthen the economy and create lakhs of new employment opportunities. Our youth will get the biggest benefit from this summit. Our youth will no longer be forced to migrate to other states for jobs and employment," CM Yogi said.

In the roadshows organized in 21 cities of 16 countries, investment proposals of more than Rs 7.12 lakh crores were received, informed the CM. Industry from all over the world has expressed enthusiasm to invest in Uttar Pradesh. This summit is going to be historic.

This time all the districts are joining in organizing the Investors Summit.

Before the main function on February 10-12, investors' conferences are being held in the districts and investment intents worth thousands of crores of rupees are being received directly by the districts. This is unprecedented for Uttar Pradesh.

"Good plans fail due to lack of awareness. Therefore, continuous dialogue and interaction between government, industry and academia are vital. For this purpose, the state government is taking the cooperation of all you experienced officers and educationists," the CM said emphasising the importance of communication.

Before the GIS begins, communication with all the youths in universities and other educational institutions is important.

"While communicating, inform them about the plans for attracting huge capital investment in UP through various policies issued by the Government. Introduce them to the schemes run by the Government of India and the State Government for the welfare of the youth. Address their curiosities so that more and more youth can be benefited from the schemes. Please guide how this summit will be useful for their bright future," informed the CM to the 48-member team.

Students should be made aware of the ambitious plans of the government by visiting universities and colleges. Retired officers and senior educationists will introduce the youth to the employment policies of the state government.

The Uttar Pradesh State government in its mission to connect youth with employment has constituted a special team of 12 retired IAS, six each IPS & IFS officers and 24 educationists. Retired officers and educationists will go to universities to introduce the youth to the vision and mission of the Chief Minister. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) CII President Sanjiv Bajaj on Tuesday suggested setting up of an export commission to widen India's overseas trade portfolio, a move which will help the country tackle external headwinds.

Bajaj made the remarks in response to the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

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"India's export is less than 2 per cent of the global share. So we have a huge opportunity over here...there are some external headwinds here. I would suggest expanding the number of sectors where India can export. Let's focus on the 'one district one product policy. Let's create an export commission," he said in reply to a question on slowing exports in the first half of the current fiscal.

An entity at the Centre with corresponding entities at the state level may help increase exports of products by up to 3 times in the next 2-4 years time and also help India diversify risk and reduce dependence on few markets, the president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

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When asked about the survey pointing out some global effects of the conflict in Ukraine, he replied, "Those are some of the fair I would say negative headwinds that exist for India and it is something that we have to keep in mind because at the end of the day we are part of the global economy."

There are several tailwinds as well for India, Bajaj said, noting India is poised to emerge as one of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the coming decade.

"We believe a large number of sectors have reached that level where they need to invest. We are now starting to see capex come in whether it is in construction or whether it is a commodity like steel and cement chemicals.

"The government has played a very strong role with public sector capex in the last few years and industry is hoping for a similar growth to be announced in the Budget tomorrow which will continue to provide the necessary tail winds," he said.

The Union Budget for 2023-24 is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam.

On the government's PLI schemes for various sectors, Bajaj said the industry is expecting more sectors to be included in the programme.

"There are 14 sectors that cover a large part where industry has capability today starting with auto and auto components. We believe there is a scope to look at, for example, newer technology...electrolysers could be another area to look at.

"We also think that eventually we are a country with a large number of people and can we tweak PLI to focus on sectors which have high employment potential so almost do like a ELI -- employment link incentive -- scheme and this could be for sectors from tourism to film and gaming because these are sectors which can employ a large number of people."

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Palghar, Jan 31 (PTI) A 45-year-old man from Boisar town in Palghar district of Maharashtra allegedly killed his 40-year-old wife by slitting her throat on a street and also attempted suicide, police said.

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Prima facie, the man suspected his wife's fidelity and attacked her with a sharp weapon. He also slashed himself.

Police personnel who rushed to the spot at around 12:30 pm found the man lying injured near the body of his wife and their two children crying.

The woman died on the spot. The injured man was rushed to a hospital, a police official said.

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New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Increasing exports to markets such as Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia are boosting the growth of the country's outbound shipments, FIEO said on Tuesday.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said the Economic Survey has rightly highlighted India's growing and diversifying merchandise trade.

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"The new diversified markets, including those of Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, have led to the increase in exports by up to 2 times," he said.

The ongoing trade negotiations with the UK, EU, Canada, and Israel will also add further impetus to our exports, he added.

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"Reducing the cost of logistics in the country, which now to the tune of 14-15 per cent, comparable to the global benchmark, will help in making our exports more competitive worldwide," Sakthivel said.

Yogesh Gupta, Regional Chairman, FIEO (Eastern Region), said the exporter fraternity is expecting fiscal support and affordable credit, from the upcoming budget.

"A need of the hour is to support exports by reducing lending rates and to restore interest equalisation rates in view of the rising cost of credit will be of great help," Gupta said.

Additional financial support to units generating additional employment in the export sector will also be an incentive for exporters.

"Special schemes for goods exported by MSME will act as a catalyst in increasing the MSME contribution to exports. Also, initiatives for ease of doing business would be a big facilitator, India should consider having its own shipping lines," he said.

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Florida, January 31: A mass shooting in a Florida city has left 10 people wounded while two in critical condition, the Lakeland Police Department announced on Monday, according to CNN. According to the police, a dark-blue, four-door sedan pulled up at the scene of the shooting, Police Department Chief Sam Taylor said.

"The vehicle slowed, did not stop, and the four windows went down. It appeared to be occupied by four shooters in the vehicle," Taylor said, adding, "They started firing from all four windows of the vehicle and shooting males on both sides." The car took off at a high speed, and police are "actively looking for that vehicle now," CNN quoted Taylor saying. Monterey Park Mass Shooting: Many Shot Dead During Chinese Lunar New Year Festivities Near Los Angeles (Watch Video).

According to ABC, the police responded to calls of a shooting at a location near Iowa Avenue North and Plum Street at 3.43 pm. All the victims were adult men between 20 and 35 years old, according to Taylor.

"We will be out most of the night trying to figure out who these individuals are in the vehicle," Taylor said. Police found certain 'quantity' of marijuana at the scene, which indicates to police that "there was a narcotic sales or sales of marijuana going on at the time," Taylor said, adding, "Whether that is significant or related to this is unknown," according to CNN. Los Angeles Mass Shooting: Three Killed, Four Injured in Gun Attack in Benedict Canyon Area; Suspect Absconding.

The chief said in his 34 years career in this department, he had never worked on a case where so many people had been shot at one time. "This is something that doesn't happen to Lakeland," he said.

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Beijing, Jan 31 (AP) China on Tuesday accused Czech President-elect Petr Pavel of challenging its hard line on national sovereignty by affirming ties with self-ruled Taiwan in a phone with the island's leader.

The call on Monday represents a symbolic breach of China's attempts to cut off the already highly restricted foreign relations of the self-governing democracy, which Beijing claims as its own territory with no right to independent diplomatic recognition.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Pavel had acted in defiance of China's repeated dissuasion and complaints" and trampled on China's red line."

China strongly opposes and deplores this and has made solemn complaints with the Czech side."

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Mao said at a daily briefing, adding that the Czech Republic should take steps to undo the negative impact of this incident so as to avoid irreparable damage to China-Czech relations."

Pavel, a retired army general, will succeed controversy-courting Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post.

Over his decade in office, Zeman has drawn criticism for his stances favouring Russia and China, authoritarian states that have strengthened relations since last year's invasion of Ukraine in a joint challenge to the U.S. and its allies.

Pavel, who ran as an independent, is a former chairman of NATO's military committee, the alliance's highest military body.

He fully endorsed the Czech Republic's military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion and stresses the importance of the country's membership in the European Union and NATO.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala responded to criticism from Beijing, saying, The policy of the Czech Republic towards China has not changed and is in line with with the policy of our allies. Czechia respects and represents its own one-China policy."

As a sovereign state, it is us who decide whom we call or whom we meet. We traditionally have good economic, educational and research relations with democratic Taiwan. It is also necessary to respect that China is an important Asian trading partner. We continue in our tradition and we are stressing the need to protect common democratic values, he wrote in a tweet.

In the call, President Tsai Ing-wen said the countries enjoy deep ties and share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, the official Central News Agency said, quoting presidential spokesperson Lin Yu-chan.

Taiwan looks forward to deepening exchanges and cooperation with the Czech Republic in key areas, including semiconductor design, talent cultivation in cutting-edge technologies, and supply chain restructuring," Lin was quoted as saying.

China in recent years has upped its threat to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary, prompting new sales of tanks and missiles to the island from key ally the U.S. and steps by Tsai's administration to extend compulsory military service and bolster the domestic defence industry.

A string of visits in recent months by foreign politicians to Taiwan, including by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and numerous politicians from the European Union, spurred displays of military might from both sides.

China has repeatedly threatened retaliation against countries seeking closer ties with Taiwan, but its attempts at intimidation have sparked a backlash in popular sentiment in Europe, Japan, the U.S. and other major economies.

China expelled Lithuania's ambassador, downgraded diplomatic ties and blocked trade with the Baltic country after it boosted relations with Taipei.

Lithuania has since closed its embassy in Beijing and opened a trade office in Taiwan.

A former Japanese colony, Taiwan separated from mainland China in 1949 amid a civil war and has never been under the control of China's ruling Communist Party.

Under relentless pressure from Beijing, Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with just 14 nations, mainly small states in the Caribbean and South Pacific, but maintains robust unofficial ties with more than 100 countries.

European politicians, some of whose nations were formally dominated by the Soviet Union, have been among the most vocal in pursuing closer relations with Taiwan. (AP)

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Athens [Greece], January 31 (ANI): Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi today held a meeting with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and exchanged views on further promoting bilateral and international cooperation.

Lekhi is currently on an official visit to Greece from January 30-31.

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"Had a very useful interaction with Greek Foreign Minister Mr. @NikosDendias. Exchanged views on further promoting bilateral and international cooperation," she said in a tweet.

Sharing details regarding his meeting with Lekhi, Nikos Dendias in a tweet stated, "On the margins of today's event on Greece - India friendship, organised by SG for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy, I met with #India Minister of State for External Affairs & Culture, @M_Lekhi."

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"Discussion focused on further strengthening Greece-India rapidly developing relations in many areas, including economy & culture migration & mobility (2/2)," Dendias said in another tweet.

During her visit to Greece, Lekhi also paid floral tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Athens. Lekhi also held a meeting with Emer John Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy.

Sharing details regarding the meeting, Lekhi in a tweet stated, "Had a productive luncheon meeting with Prof. Emer. John Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad & Public Diplomacy and his team. Shared new ideas for further strengthening India-Greece relations."

Upon arrival in Athens, Lekhi stated that she looked forward to a meaningful interaction with Greek leadership and dignitaries to review cooperation in multiple spheres.

"Arrived in Athens, one of world's oldest cities, on my first bilateral visit to Greece. Looking forward to meaningful interaction with Greek leadership and dignitaries to review cooperation in multiple spheres, " she tweeted.

According to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, Lekhi will participate in a special yoga event as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations. She will also interact with the Indian community, friends of India, academicians and Indologists. The MEA noted that her visit to Greece will bolster the ties between the two nations. "MoS's visit to Greece will further strengthen the long-standing, warm and friendly relations between the two countries and provide an opportunity to further explore new avenues of cooperation," the statement said. (ANI)

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Washington, January 31: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday participated in a Track 1.5 event hosted by the the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce, with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

The round table discussion was held on the sidelines of the official high-level dialogue of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) on Tuesday. Participating in the event on Monday were top industry representatives from both India and the US.

Doval, who arrived in Washington on Monday morning and was welcomed by Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The Indian envoy is also hosting a reception for Doval at India House and Sullivan is also likely to attend.

The official dialogue between Doval and Sullivan will take place on Tuesday afternoon. In the discussions that will be held at the White House, there would be a laser focus on aligning Washington and New Delhi's strategic, commercial and scientific approaches specifically in the field of technology.

"iCET is the next big milestone in India-US Strategic Partnership with a simple objective to take bilateral cooperation to the next level but specifically in areas of interest to India," an official familiar with the India-US deliberations told ANI.

The NSA is accompanied by a high-powered delegation. India's Principal Scientific Adviser, ISRO chairman, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, and DG of DRDO, are five high-profile members of the delegation. From the US side besides Sullivan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, NSC Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell, Senior director for national security and technology Tarun Chhabra and State Department's deputy envoy for the office of critical and emerging technologies Seth Center will be a part of the dialogue.

iCET was first mentioned in a statement after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Tokyo in 2022 on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders Summit. NSA Ajit Doval to Hold Crucial Talks with Top American Leadership.

"Through iCET, India would send a message out to the broader industry that India can be a 'trusted partner' and that the two democracies could discuss how to build a trusted partner ecosystem between US and India where there's a free flow of R&D and other information pertaining to technology specifically," the official said.

Tuesday's meeting is ought to be outcome-oriented with a clear sense of achievable action points ANI has learned.Experts say that there is a hope that both India and the United States will be able to specify priority areas of cooperation.iCET has no explicit reference to China but the Biden administration sees technology development vis-a-vis China as a zero-sum game that the US cannot lose. iCET initiative could be one way forward. "As

China makes extremely fast progress when it comes to technology and one sees an aggressive penetration from the Chinese side across the world, if not stemmed and matched by something aggressive, the world will find it as a fait accompli... So if one has to roll that progress back, then everybody else has to work together," another official told ANI.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
A police officer guides an ambulance after the suicide blast at a mosque in Peshawar. (Photo: Reuters)

Peshawar [Pakistan], January 31 (ANI): The death toll in the Peshawar's Police Lines mosque blast has risen to 100 as the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque concluded on Tuesday, Geo News reported.

The toll of injured has reached at least 221.

Also Read | Crocodile Attack: Man Collecting Crocodile's Eggs Suffers Serious Leg Injuries After Being Attacked by Giant Reptile in Australias Daly River.

According to Mohammad Asim, the spokesperson for the primary medical facility, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, approximately 100 bodies have been taken into the facility and 53 patients are being treated, as per Geo News.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in the mosque - a heavily guarded police facility at about 1 pm on Monday during Zohr prayers, forcing the roof to collapse on those praying at the time.

Also Read | Dog Attack: UK Woman Takes 8 Pet Dogs for Walking, One of Them Attacks and Kills Her.

The caretaker CM revealed that an inquiry committee had been constituted to identify those responsible for this act.

Geo News reported citing Rescue 1122's spokesperson who stated that the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque has finally concluded.

Speaking during a press conference alongside KP CM Azam Khan, Inspector-General Moazzam Jah Ansari said that about 10-12 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. He said that there has been a security lapse and investigations are underway to ascertain the facts, Geo News reported.

"We are checking one-month's CCTV footage and tracking the facilitators of the bomber," he added.

According to security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayers when he blew himself up. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier today, India condoled the loss of lives in the deadly terror attack that shook Peshawar.

Taking to Twitter, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote, "India extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims of the terror attack in Peshawar yesterday. We strongly condemn this attack, which has taken the lives of so many people." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dakshina Kannada, January 31: A 14-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide after his mother scolded him over his mobile addiction, here. The deceased was identified as Jnanesh, son of Jagadish and Vinaya.

When Jnanesh, a class 9 student, was watching mobile after coming back home from the Sacred Heart School, Vinaya scolded him for mobile addiction and asked him to put it away. Hyderabad: 17-Year-Old Boy Dies By Suicide Due To Poor Performance in Examinations.

Sad over it, the boy told his mother that he would come back after taking a bath. He went inside and hanged himself to death from a ceiling fan in his room on Monday evening. A case has been registered.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2023 04:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Agartala, January 31: Ahead of the February-16 assembly elections, Tripura Police are confronting diverse challenges - drug menace, cross border movement of intruders, law and orders, providing security to the VVIPs to over 300 election candidates.

A senior police official said that the police stepped up its state-wide vigil against the drug smuggling and seized narcotic substance valued at around Rs 4 crore and arrested several hundred drug peddlers. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: From Polling to Results and Electrical Fight Between Left Front and BJP, Know Key Facts About State Polls Held in 2018.

"The Election Commission also appreciated the efforts of the Tripura Police and the political parties also had no major complaints about the policing of the Tripura cops," the official said. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: IPFT Discussing Seat-Sharing With Both Ally BJP, Opposition TIPRA.

He said that all 32 police stations along 856 km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura are working in close coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) to prevent any illegal intruders and smuggling of drugs and contrabands. The three Election Observers, who last week visited Tripura, asked the BSF to convene meetings immediately with their counterparts to sensitise them to take a more vigilant approach considering the ensuing assembly elections in Tripura.

The three special observers are Yogendra Tripathy, retired IAS officer of Karnataka cadre; Vivek Johri, former Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh; and B. Murali Kumar, IRS officer, who was special observer in the Assembly elections of Gujarat (2022) and West Bengal (2021). From Tripura, the observers went to Meghalaya, where the Assembly elections will be held on February 27.

The police official said that besides undertaking anti-insurgency operations against the underground elements, special measures have been taken in the mixed populated and ethnic sensitive areas. The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel were deployed across the state in early January to ensure zero poll violence.

"The flag marches by the CAPF and the Tripura State Rifles have been continued since the second week of January to ensure confidence building among the political workers for campaigning and among the citizens to cast their votes freely without any fear. The security forces are deployed well before the poll process so that they get familiar with the locality. Local police should extend necessary cooperation to the CAPF," the official said.

A large number of fixed police pickets, 3320 Naka points (check gates), installation of hundreds of CCTV, round-the-clock patrolling, inter-state border meetings, preventive arrests, execution of warrants are some of the many measures that have been undertaken to ensure trouble and violence-free elections in Tripura.

Police are also conducting anti-weapon drive, holding all-party coordination meetings at the police station level to district level, supervising security measures by the district Superintendent of Police to Inspector General of police level officers. Criminals and trouble-mongers have been identified and preventive actions have been initiated against them, the official said.

Director General of Police, Amitabh Ranjan, who is personally round-the-clock monitoring the situation and security forces' steps, said: "We would ensure peaceful and violence-free elections. Our officials and personnel are always on maximum alert to deal with any situation."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2023 03:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
New Delhi, January 31: Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to address a series of rallies in Tripura on February 6 and 12 in his first political tour of the northeastern state after its assembly poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission. The BJP-ruled state is scheduled to vote for its 60-member assembly on February 16. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: From Polling to Results and Electrical Fight Between Left Front and BJP, Know Key Facts About State Polls Held in 2018.

Two other northeastern states, Nagaland and Meghalaya, will go to polls on February 27. The counting of votes for all three states is on March 2. Shah will also be holding public meetings in Nagaland and Meghalaya, and the schedule is being finalised, party sources said. Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: TMC Announces Final List of Candidates for Upcoming Polls; Check Names.

The three poll-bound northeastern states may be small in terms of their electoral size but hold larger political significance. While the BJP is pulling out all the stops to retain power in Tripura and expand its footprints in the two other states, the Congress and the Left are trying to recapture their lost influence, especially in Tripura.
Mumbai, January 31: In a shocking incident that took place in Australia, a crocodile egg collector was allegedly attacked by a crocodile. The incident took place when the 29-year-old man man was collecting eggs along Daly River in South of Darwin.

After being attacked by the reptile, the man was immediately rushed to a hospital where his condition is said to be critical. As per a report in Mirror.Co.UK, the man suffered serious leg injuries in the brutal attack. Later, the man was airlifted by a private helicopter for further treatment. Dog Attack: UK Woman Takes 8 Pet Dogs for Walking, One of Them Attacks and Kills Her.

Local police said that the man managed to free himself from the jaws of the reptile. Northern Territory Police said the man's injuries were not life-threatening and he was undergoing an emergency surgery. An official from Northern Territory Health said that the victim's condition deteriorated and he was in a critical state.

Reports suggest that the man, who is an egg collector was employed to harvest eggs. In 2018, Australia made collection of eggs legal under commercial wildlife harvesting licence however, it was subject to strict requirements. Man Uses Frying Pan to Ward Off Angry Crocodile At Northern Territory Pub in Australia; Watch Viral Video.

Reports also said that egg collectors can earn up to $30 AUD an egg while the can go on to earn $1,800 from a single nest of at least 60 eggs. The eggs are sent to crocodile farms, where they are harvested before being killed in order to make luxury leather products from crocodile's skin. The NT WorkSafe has began an investigating into the incident.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2023 06:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The actress who portrayed Wednesday Addams on the original television version of "The Addams Family" has passed away. Her daughter, Vanessa Foumberg, confirmed Lisa Loring's death. She was 64.

According to her, Loring died Saturday night at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank due to high blood pressure-related stroke complications, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"She went peacefully with both her daughters [Vanessa and Marianne] holding her hands," she said.

Loring's career took off after she was cast as Wednesday Addams, the gloomy, pigtailed matriarch of the Addams family on ABC's dark comedy, "The Addams Family."

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Lisa Loring Career

Lisa Loring, or Lisa Ann DeCinces, was born in the Marshall Islands in 1958. The DeCinces family eventually relocated to Hawaii and then Los Angeles.

She started as a child model and made her TV debut in the hit medical drama "Dr. Kildare," The Guardian noted.

She first became known for her role as Wednesday Addams, then went on to appear in "The Pruitts of Southampton" and "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." before landing a recurring role on the long-running daytime soap opera "As the World Turns."

She had roles in several slasher films of the 1980s, such as "Blood Frenzy," "Iced," and "Savage Harbor."

Meanwhile, she met her third husband, adult film actor Jerry Butler, while working as a makeup artist on the set of "Traci's Big Trick."

Loring's dissatisfaction with Butler's continued involvement in the adult film industry was the source of several high-profile arguments between the couple, which were covered extensively by the media.

By 1992, they had separated irretrievably and were officially divorced.

Lisa Loring and Wednesday Addams

Loring, cast in the sitcom "The Addams Family" in 1964, served as the model for the pale, pigtail-wearing Wednesday.

She started playing the morbid protagonist when she was only six years old until the series finale two years later.

She played Wednesday Sr. in the 1977 TV movie "The New Addams Family Halloween."

Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the 1991 and 1992 blockbuster films "The Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values," was inspired by Loring's deadpan character performance, which was based on the New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams.

Following the release of Tim Burton's comedy horror "Wednesday" on Netflix last year, Jenna Ortega said that her interpretation of the pop culture icon was also inspired by Loring, per CNN.

"I paid homage to Lisa Loring, the first Wednesday Addams. I did a little bit of her shuffle that she does," Ortega said during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in December.

Friends and fans took to social media after hearing of her passing to pay tribute.

Her friend Laurie Jacobson posted the news of her passing on Facebook, saying that she "was in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams," Variety reported.

Former "The Munsters" star Butch Patrick posted on Facebook, "Very sorry to hear of my dear friend Lisa Loring's passing. We were very close and worked together often. I know she was very weak. I was in her company just a few weeks ago. Godspeed, my friend."

READ MORE: Tom Brady Won't Be Pursued by Miami Dolphins

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Original Wednesday Addams Actress Lisa Loring Dead at 64 - From Entertainment Tonight
Sinaloa Cartel's Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta, a.k.a. "El Flaco," the drug trafficker responsible for procuring chemicals in China to send to Mexico to use in manufacturing narcotics has been sanctioned by the U.S. government. The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions for Rivera Zazueta and two other men.

According to the Treasury Department's official announcement, El Flaco was added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals list or SDN. The other two individuals sanctioned were Mexican Nelton Santiso Aguila and Guatemalan Jason Antonio Yang Lopez. They are considered to be the Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant's top associates.

The drugs that El Flaco helps the Sinaloa Cartel create and transport include fentanyl, which the Sinaloa Cartel is regarded as the top trafficker to the United States. This synthetic opioid caused over 70,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2020 alone.

El Flaco Works With a Chinese Company to Ship Materials To Make Drugs in Mexico

While the final products are illegal, many of the chemicals used to make these narcotics are legal, and the Sinaloa Cartel purchases these from China. The one who procures these materials is none other than El Flaco.

According to the Associated Press, he often works with the Chinese chemical transportation company, Shanghai Fast-Fine Chemicals. These chemicals are often falsely labeled and then shipped by the company to Mexico "for illicit fentanyl production intended for U.S. markets."

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The U.S. Treasury Department also noted that the notorious drug trafficker operates on a global scale and has nodes in various areas, including the United States, Mexico, South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

El Flaco also ships cocaine from Colombia to various countries, not just the United States. These include Spain, Italy, Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries within Europe, as well as Central America.

Who Is the Notorious Sinaloa Cartel Lieutenant, El Flaco?

Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta is a native of Culiacan, Sinaloa, which was recently attacked by elements of the infamous cartel after founder El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzman, was captured by Mexican authorities.

However, El Flaco actually works for the other Sinaloa Cartel co-founder, El Mayo Zambada. He serves as a lieutenant for the notorious drug lord and is one of his most-trusted underlings.

El Flaco also operated in Europe and worked closely with Italian criminal organizations. He was even a person of interest for "Operation Falcon," which was an investigation run by the Italian Police and it helped unravel the Sinaloa Cartel's modus operandi within the country. According to infobae, the cartel tried to bring tons of cocaine in via their Italian criminal organization partners.

The cartel mostly operated in Catania, Sicily, the main power hub of the Italian mafia. It is noted that an Italian official also helped them but through the efforts of Italy's organized Crime Investigation Group (GICO), its main anti-mafia unit, they were able to identify the Sinaloa Cartel's main operators in the city.

READ MORE: 28 Dead in Mexico After Sinaloa Cartel Members Attack

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: How Sinaloa Became Mexico's Biggest Cartel | The War on Drugs - VICE
Considering the legal troubles he will face upon returning to Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month U.S. visitor visa to remain in the United States.

Reports of the application first appeared in The Financial Times, which cited Bolsonaro's immigration attorney, Felipe Alexandre. The law firm, AG Immigration, confirmed the report when contacted by The Associated Press.

Jair Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida on December 30, a few days before his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, but a week later, thousands of Bolsonaro's rabid supporters attacked the capital and trashed the top government buildings, demanding that Lula da Silva's election be reversed.

A probe is underway to determine whether Bolsonaro incited the uprising. It is just one of several investigations into the former president that could render him ineligible to run for office again.

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Jair Bolsonaro Leaves for the U.S. While His Supporters Hold Violent Protests

Braliz's Jair Bolsonaro has expressed "regret" for the chaos but still maintains he had nothing to do with it.

Having "devoted 34 years of his life to public service," the ex-president "would like to take some time off," according to a statement released by his attorney, Felipe Alexandre, and provided to the BBC.

As a foreign diplomat or head of state, Bolsonaro entered the United States on an A-1 visa, allowing a visitor to stay for up to 30 days.

He visited the United States before his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1.

According to Alexandre of the immigration law firm AG Immigration, the former president plans to "clear his head and enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be."

According to Bolsonaro, US immigration officials received his application for a B1/B2 US visitor visa last Friday.

Following his loss in the 2022 presidential election, thousands of the former president's supporters stormed federal buildings in Brasilia on January 8.

Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized for the riots in Brazil, where demonstrators, stoked by unproven claims of election fraud, breached security and stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court.

The former right-wing leader, who has close ties to the former US president and has been dubbed the "Donald Trump of the Tropics," has been staying at the former MMA fighter Jose Aldo's Florida home.

His fans have descended on his gated community home in Kissimmee, Florida (50% of all Brazilian Americans).

Dems Urged President Joe Biden Not to "Provide Shelter" to Jair Bolsonaro

After an attack on Brazil's democratic institutions early this month that echoed the attacks on the US Capitol on January 6, dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives called on President Joe Biden not to "provide shelter" for ex-Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.

Lawmakers demanded in a letter that the Trump administration reconsider Bolsonaro's visa and revoke it if necessary and that "the Department of Justice and other relevant federal agencies hold accountable, as appropriate, any actors based in Florida who may have financed or supported the violent crimes of January 8."

Representatives Joaquin Castro, Gregory Meeks, Ruben Gallego, Jess "Chuy" Garca, and Susan Wild wrote that the United States should "cooperate fully with Brazilian authorities in investigating any role Mr. Bolsonaro or those around him played in the events of January 8," including any crimes committed by Bolsonaro while in office.

This letter arrives after Brazilian officials contacted Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the former chair of the January 6 committee, to discuss the riots in Brasilia on Sunday.

A source close to the situation told CNN that no talks have taken place yet, but that Thompson had said, if the work and report of the committee on January 6 "serves as a model for similar investigations, I will help out in any way I can."

READ MORE: Lisa Loring Death

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Brazil's Bolsonaro applies for U.S. tourist visa - From Reuters
Donald Trump's affair with porn star Stormy Daniels was one of the biggest scandals the former president has ever faced as this happened as Melania was still pregnant with Baron. Now, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is looking to present the Stormy Daniels Hush Money case to a grand jury.

According to The Guardian, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will soon be starting to present testimony about the case to a New York grand jury. It will take a look at Donald Trump's efforts to pay off Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential elections, which he won.

Manhattan prosecutors have already started contacting officials from Trump's successful 2016 campaign, and this is a sign that they want to corroborate the witness accounts. Phone records from the campaign, as well as other documents that could shed more light on the hush money payments, have also been subpoenaed.

One of the witnesses called in before the grand jury is David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid. He was the one who reportedly arranged the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Donald Trump Also Calls the Stormy Daniels Hush Money Payment Investigation a 'Witch Hunt'

The New York Grand Jury has been convened to explore the possibility of criminal charges against Trump. It is alluded to as the "next chapter" of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into the former president.

In response to the latest grand jury investigation against him, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to blast Bragg, calling him the "Radical Left Manhattan D.A." Like many of the various cases against him, he also called the grand jury "a continuation of the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time."

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He allegedly paid $130,000 to Daniels, as well as another $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. He tried buying their silence as Trump ran for president, He also denied having an affair with these women, acccording to the Associated Press.

The conviction of Trump is not a sure thing, as the case hinges on whether or not Trump falsified records to hide the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. It also relies on the statement of Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who admitted to making the payment himself and pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payment in 2018.

Donald Trump Rants About Stormy Daniels, Calls Her 'Horseface'

Aside from lambasting Manhattan DA Bragg, Trump also railed against the woman whom he allegedly had an affair with, Stormy Daniels. In his post, the former president called Daniels "Horseface" and said that the Justice Department was weaponized against him.

He then brought up his lawsuit against Daniels, which won, calling the case old news. However, Daniels' lawsuit against Trump was over a defamatory tweet against her, and this investigation is looking into whether or not Trump falsified records to hide the hush money payment to the porn star.

Daniels was forced to pay the former president $300,000 after losing the civil suit. This one, however, may lead to criminal charges against the former president, according to The Daily Mail,

Trump is once again running for the presidency, and has even started lambasting his biggest rival so far, Ron DeSantis. However, he is currently facing multiple investigations, including the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

READ MORE: Trump Lawyers Scolded by Judge

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WATCH: Book reveals why Trump wasn't charged for Stormy Daniels hush money payments - CNN
A Milenio cartel has testified in front of a U.S. jury that he paid off Mexico's former security chief Genaro Garcia Luna for help, which included U.S. government information regarding a huge drug shipment.

The Milenio cartel leader was Oscar Nava Valencia, also known as "El Lobo." He noted that the payments to Garcia Luna were also for protection at a time when Sinaloa Cartel was heading toward a drug war, according to Association Press News.

Nava Valencia said in front of jurors during Garcia Luna's federal drug trafficking trial that the latter and a high-ranking police official said "they were going to stand with us."

Defense lawyers earlier argued that the case mainly revolves around "self-interested criminals," but have not given the chance to question Nava Valencia.

El Lobo told jurors that he paid $5 million to Garcia Luna and other high-level government officials to try to free a shipping container containing 10 tons of Colombian cocaine after it was seized in the Mexican Pacific Coast port of Manzanillo in 2007.

Nava Valencia testified that despite the payout the drug traffickers did not get the narcotics back, and it even resulted in another 10-ton container being confiscated.

READ NEXT: Jalisco Cartel Boss El Mencho's Brother 'El Tony Montana' Ordered to Stand Trial

Milenio Cartel Leader Trial Testimony

Nava Valencia testified that there had been a meeting a month after the seizure of the drug shipments.

The meeting was held just outside the central Mexican city of Cuernavaca, wherein Garcia Luna said he failed to intervene as the U.S. government and Mexican marines were involved in the operation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Garcia Luna also provided a document showing that the U.S. government had knowledge about the shipment and its origins.

Nava Valencia said the report had proven that the problem came from the Colombians' end, which prompted "irritated Colombian suppliers" to back away from their demand for a $50 million reimbursement.

El Lobo also recalled the second face-to-face meeting with Garcia Luna amid the Sinaloa Cartel rift.

He noted that he and his associates paid $500,000 for a meeting with Garcia Luna and another $2.5 million when the former security chief showed up in a meeting.

During that meeting, Garcia Luna and the police officer with him promised to "stand with" the cartel, according to Nava Valencia.

Milenio Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel

Nava Valencia led the Mexican drug organization, Milenio Cartel. He then pled guilty years ago to cocaine conspiracy.

Milenio Cartel had known ties to the Sinaloa Cartel under the leadership of Joaquin Guzman, or "El Chapo."

El Chapo was extradited to the United States in January 2017, which then led to violence in Mexico due to power struggles within the organization.

El Chapo's trial also unraveled the rampant corruption, with Mexican government officials being paid by cartels for protection and information.

Sinaloa Cartel's influence stretches from New York City to Buenos Aires. The organized crime group was established in Mexicao's Sinaloa state and has operations in 17 Mexican states and over 50 countries.

READ MORE: Rafael Caro Quintero's Wife Denies Legal Battle With Guadalajara Cartel Founder Over Alimony Demand

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Bribery trial continues for ex-Mexican security official | Rush Hour - from NewsNation


A long-time ally and family friend of Mark Meadows is involved in a campaign finance scandal. Lynda Bennett, who tried to replace the former Trump White House chief of staff in Congress in 2020 but failed, allegedly accepted a contribution from a family member exceeding $25,000 in 2019.

According to charging documents filed by prosecutors, the payment seemed suspicious as the contribution was made in the name of another person. However, details about the allegation are still sparse, but Bennett is expected to enter a guilty plea.

On Monday, prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper to set a hearing for Bennett, who lost in a Republican primary campaign to Madison Cawthorn in 2020.

Politico reported that she has agreed to plead guilty to accepting an illegal campaign contribution and is expected to formally enter the plea agreement in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The report said she had already signed the paperwork. Bennett's attorney has already released a statement regarding the case and said the violation was a technical one and that the money was only a loan from a family member.

The lawyer added that her client is now looking forward to putting that past behind her.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump's Hush Money Payments to Stormy Daniels Going to a Grand Jury

How Did Lynda Bennett Break Campaign Finance Laws?

Campaign Finance Laws only allow individuals to contribute up to $2,800 to a political campaign during the primary, and another limit of $2,800 in the general elections, making it $5,600 in total.

The $25,000 contributed by a family member means the friend of Mark Meadows broke campaign finance laws.

According to the Associated Press, the documents did not identify the relative who made the $25,000 contribution. It is also unclear which campaign contributions were unlawful if one was to take a look at Bennett's campaign finance records.

It indicated that she loaned herself $80,000 at the end of 2019 but paid a portion back. When she terminated her political committee, the records showed there were no outstanding balances.

Lynda Bennett Lost to Madison Cawthorn Despite Mark Meadows' Endorsement

When Mark Meadows vacated his seat as representative of the 11th District of North Carolina, Lynda Bennett ran to replace him.

Meadows even endorsed Bennett, who was a close friend of his wife. Before running for office, she was a real estate agent, according to the Charlotte Observer.

However, she ran into stiff competition with Madison Cawthorn, who was seen as a rising star of the Republican Party at that time.

She advanced to a primary runoff with him but eventually lost the primary election despite initially having more votes than him. Cawthorn soon became Meadows' replacement in Congress.

However, despite being seen as a rising star for the Republican Party, Cawthorn soon became a pariah after he said in a podcast that many of his fellow Republican congressmen were engaging in sex parties.

He was quickly ousted from his seat after losing to Chuck Edwards in the primary election.

READ MORE: Police Officers' Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Allowed to Go Through

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: President Donald Trump Supports Lynda Bennett - From Lynda Bennett For Congress
Due to the death of an infant in her unlicensed daycare in western North Dakota, a 48-year-old woman was charged with murder on Monday.

According to the Associated Press, the Foster County State Attorney's office said Patricia Wick, of Carrington, was also charged with child abuse concerning a second boy at her unlicensed home daycare.

Emergency personnel who responded to a call found the five-month-old boy unresponsive on September 26 at Wick's home. The infant was flown to a hospital in Fargo but died on September 28.

According to the autopsy results, the baby suffered a traumatic head injury and had a cardiac arrest. His death was ruled a homicide.

Court documents showed that Wick admitted to investigators that she may have placed the boy down too hard on a blanket due to frustration with the boy that day.

When the infant began vomiting a few minutes later, she said she called the baby's mother and 911. Wick made her first court appearance, representing herself via video conference Monday, and a bail of $500,000 was set.

READ NEXT: One of the Kidnapped Twins in December Dies

What Happened During the Infant's Death?

The baby's name is not listed in any court documents. However, WDAY reported that Reed Nelson was his name.

According to court documents, the North Dakota woman also told investigators that another kid at the daycare woke up after Reed did.

Wick noted that she brought Reed into the living room and placed him on a blanket before placing the other child at a small table in the kitchen.

Court documents noted that Wick called Reed's mother after witnessing him coughing and vomiting.

Wick later admitted that she was not gentle with Reed that day because she was angry with him and may have set him down too hard.

The court documents also said that on September 26 at around 2 p.m., the Carrington Police Department and the Carrington Ambulance responded to a call about an unresponsive baby at 438 Second St. S., and a CPR was performed.

Despite being airlifted to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, the infant still died from his injuries. After the baby's death, Wick was charged with murder, abuse of a child, and operating a family child care home without a license, Grand Forks Herald reported.

Another Kid Injured Under North Dakota Woman's Care

Court records revealed that Wick also told investigators that another child had broken his arm while in her care. Wick said the six-year-old child had fallen off a swing in her backyard two weeks before the infant was injured.

Court documents further noted that the child's mother reported that Wick did not notify her or her husband after the injury.

During the child's pickup, Wick only advised that the child fell off a swing set and faked the level of the injury, In Forum reported. The mother also said that Wick never asked about her boy's well-being after the incident.

Photos from the case show that the daycare's backyard swing set was not secured to the ground and could be lifted while in use.

The Carrington Police Department is currently investigating the incident that caused the infant's death. Court documents said Wick had operated an in-home daycare with more than five children without a license.

READ MORE: Torturer Who Holds and Beats Woman Uses Dating Apps

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: I-Team Uncovers Unlicensed Daycare Dangers - From ABC Action News
Microsoft founder Bill Gates admitted in a new interview that he "shouldn't have had dinners" with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During an interview with Australia's ABC "7 .30," presenter Sarah Ferguson asked Gates if he "regrets the relationship" he had with Epstein and going against his ex-wife Melinda Gates' advice.

He then replied: "You're going way back in time. I will say for the over a hundredth time, I shouldn't have had dinners with him."

Ferguson also asked if Melinda warned him about Epstein's "way of sexually compromising people," to which the billionaire answered, "no."

Gates also denied that there was a relationship of any kind between Epstein and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

According to The Hill, Gates started meeting with Epstein in 2011 after the late sex offender was convicted of sex crimes in Florida. In 2019, he told The Wall Street Journal that he did not have a business relationship or friendship with Epstein.

Since then, Gates has repeatedly said that he regretted meeting Epstein. He told NBC's Savannah Guthrie last year that his meetings with Epstein were a "huge mistake."

READ NEXT: Bill Gates Faces Sexual Misconduct Claims After Divorce

Bill Gates' Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein

In a 2021 interview with Anderson Cooper, Bill Gates noted that he only met with Jeffrey Epstein in the hopes of raising more money to address global health issues.

According to CNN Business, the billionaire noted that he had several dinners with Epstein, hoping that what the disgraced financier said about getting billions for philanthropy for global health through contracts might emerge.

Gates added that the relationship ended when it seemed it was not "a real thing." Aside from Gates, employees of his foundation also visited Epstein's mansion several times.

In 2011, Gates emailed colleagues after his first meeting with Epstein, saying that the financier's lifestyle "is very different and kind of intriguing."

A Gates spokeswoman, Bridgitt Arnold, commented at the time that the Microsoft founder was referring to the unique decor of the Epstein residence, The New York Times reported.

Arnold clarified that it was not meant to "convey a sense of interest or approval." Gates and his foundation have promoted the well-being of young girls. Gates and Epstein met after the latter had served jail time for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Epstein then had to register as a sex offender. Arnold said Gates "regrets ever meeting with Epstein," adding that the founder of the Gates foundation recognized it as an "error in judgment."

Bill Gates' Divorce

Aside from his repeated comments of regretting ever meeting Jeffrey Epstein, there were also reports that Bill Gates' connection with the late sex offender was a contributing factor to his divorce.

Melinda Gates previously said in a CBS Mornings interview she did not like that Gates had meetings with Epstein, adding that she "made that clear to him."

She added that she met Epstein once due to curiosity about who he was and described him as "abhorrent" and "evil personified."

Melinda also opened up about Gates' alleged affair with a Microsoft employee, saying it came to the point that she could not "trust" what they had.

READ MORE: Bill Gates Turned a Blind Eye to Jeffrey Epstein's Reputation for a Nobel Peace Prize

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Bill Gates Admits He Regrets Having Dinners With Jeffrey Epstein - From Sky News Australia




Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel passed her Miss USA crown to Miss North Carolina Morgan Romano over the weekend.

According to New York Post, Gabriel, 28, crowned Romano, 24, at Auburn University on Saturday during the preliminary contest of Miss Alabama USA and Miss Alabama Teen USA.

Following her win on Saturday, Romano wrote on Instagram, "Heart full of gratitude. I'm all yours, USA."

When Texas' Gabriel won Miss USA in October, Romano became the pageant's first runner-up. Gabriel passed on her title as Miss USA to Romano after winning Miss Universe 2022 on January 14.

Romano is a chemical engineer and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She was named Miss North Carolina USA in January 2022. It was a victory that sent her to the Miss USA pageant.

Gabriel will reportedly not be able to fulfill all her obligations as Miss USA as she is currently the Miss Universe 2022, so she had to pass her Miss USA crown to Romano.

READ NEXT: Miss Universe 2023: El Salvador to Host

Rigging Allegations Plague Miss Universe 2022 and Miss USA

Many fans accused Anne Jakrajutatip, the new owner of Miss Universe, of rigging the beauty pageant for Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel, who won the Miss Universe 2022 crown over runner-up Miss Venezuela.

According to the fans, there was a conflict of interest since Jakrajutatip, the chief executive of JKN Global Group owns both the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants.

They also believed that Gabriel won the crown because this year's Miss Universe was held on U.S. soil in New Orleans.

Cheating claims heightened when Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said the crown was "stolen" from first runner-up, Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel.

This was not the first time Gabriel's victory was met with rigging allegations. Many of Gabriel's rivals in Miss USA thought that the competition was rigged to favor her, Business Insider reported.

According to Miss Missouri Mikala McGhee, many contestants felt it was the organization's plan from the beginning for Gabriel to win, regardless of who else was competing. McGhee and the other contenders left the platform after Gabriel was named Miss USA.

McGhee told Insider that they did it "to send a statement that we all had an idea of what was really going on behind the scenes," adding that they felt "disrespected and paraded around for a show."

Crystle Stewart, president of Miss USA, and her company, Miss Brand Corporation, were suspended by the Miss Universe Organization in late October, pending the outcome of an independent investigation into the rigging allegations, CNN reported.

Many Miss USA contestants cited multiple conflicts of interest between Gabriel and the pageant's national sponsors.

According to reports, two of Miss USA's national sponsors, namely Miss Academy, the pageant school owned by Stewart, and the med spa Mia Beaute, were also state sponsors for Miss Texas USA.

Both companies are based in Houston, Texas, where Gabriel lived before winning the Miss USA title. Stewart earlier denied any claims that the pageant was rigged and that she was cooperating with the investigation.

Miss Universe 2022 Official Denied Allegations Pageant Was Rigged in Favor of R'Bonney Gabriel

Amy Emmerich, CEO of the Miss Universe Organization, previously told TMZ that R'Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe 2022 crown fair and square.

Emmerich noted that an independent party handled the results. She said "one of the top four accounting firms" in the U.S. handled the results and verified the process.

According to Emmerich, R'bonney was the "rightful Miss Universe" because she was a "strong and dedicated contestant."

The Miss Universe Organization further noted that the baseless rigging allegations were absurd and only distracted the "incredible milestones our organization and the delegates experienced this weekend."

In an exclusive interview, Emily Austin, one of the judges for both preliminary and finals night, told Latin Post that the whole process of selecting Miss Universe was not rigged.

"Guys, hear it from the judge. It is so fair. There is no cheating whatsoever. The CEO did not care who we voted for. The president didn't care. The manager didn't care. Nobody cared. It was fully up to us. They chose us because they trusted our opinion," Austin said.

Gabriel earlier told Fox News that the rigging allegations were "hurtful" and "disheartening" as she put her heart and soul" into it.

"I hope people can see that. However, in this competition, I know there [are] always rumors that can start... I've been through this before because I won Miss USA. That was in the public eye and there [were] rigging allegations proven false as well," she told the outlet.

She continued: "There will always be people that try to bring you down... But being in the public eye, I think this is a great opportunity to show resiliency and to just keep moving forward... I'm focused on my end goal... on being successful and being positive in a world of negativity."

The 28-year-old fashion designer and model became the first Filipina-American to win Miss USA in October 2022 after she first became Miss Texas USA in December 2021.

R'Bonney Gabriel has also made history by becoming the first Filipina-American to win the Miss Universe competition.

READ MORE: Marc Anthony Marries Nadia Ferreira

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Officially Crowned! Morgan Romano Who Finished 1st Runner Up Is the New Miss USA 2022 - From Beauty & Brains
Two women who were allegedly trafficked to work as prostitutes in rural Ireland spent time in 11 towns across ten counties, a trial has heard.

The women spent time in Laois, Wexford, Tipperary, Roscommon, Kerry, Longford, Kildare, Westmeath, Cavan and Carlow, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial of Natalia Nogueira Da Silva and Ivanilce (Lisa) Vailones Fidelis heard on Tuesday, January 31.

The State alleges the two accused women trafficked two vulnerable Brazilian women for the purposes of exploiting them and taking advantage of their vulnerability to such an extent as to cause the trafficked person to have no real or acceptable alternative but to submit to being trafficked.

Ms Vailones Fidelis (46) of Castle Manor, Racecourse Road, Roscommon, has denied all 18 charges against her, including two counts of human trafficking, one count of organising prostitution and money laundering charges on dates between 2015 and 2020.

Ms Da Silva (32), of Cairn Hill View, Drumlish, Co Longford, has admitted 35 charges including organising prostitution, facilitating the entry into the state of an illegal person and money laundering. She has denied a single charge of human trafficking in 2019.

Detective Garda Laura Bolger showed the jury maps of various locations in rural Ireland where the two complainants are alleged to have spent time.

The court heard the first complainant is alleged to have had seven stays across six locations. The court heard she is alleged to have stayed in Portarlington, Co Laois, before going to Enniscorthy, Co Wexford; Thurles, Co Tipperary; Roscommon town, Co Roscommon; Tralee, Co Kerry; Cashel, Co Tipperary and back to Portarlington.

The court heard the second complainant is alleged to have had 14 visits across eight locations. Det Gda Bolger said this woman first went to Ballymahon in Co Longford, before going to Roscommon town, Co Roscommon; Kildare town, Co Kildare; Athlone, Co Westmeath; Ballyconnell, Co Cavan; back to Kildare town, Tullow in Co Carlow; Portarlington, Co Longford; back to Ballymahon in Co Longford; Cashel, Co Tipperary; then back to Kildare town, Roscommon town, Ballymahon, Co Longford and finally Kildare town again.

The court also heard from Philip McCabe, an immigration control officer at Dublin Airport who assessed the first complainant when she entered the country on March 31, 2019.

Mr McCabe told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that the woman handed him an invitation letter, her Brazilian passport and details of a booked flight back to Salvadore in Brazil in 11 days. She had little English, the court heard.

Mr McCabe said he rang the phone number provided on the letter and spoke to a woman called Natalia Da Silva who confirmed the woman was a friend who was coming to stay with her.

I didn't believe (the woman) was here as a genuine tourist, Mr McCabe told the court. I thought this was someone who would attempt to overstay in Ireland.

He said as a result of his suspicions, he granted the woman a visa for a shorter stay, rather than the standard 90 days. As I didn't believe she was genuine or had funds to provide for herself, I only gave her permission to stay for 12 days, Mr McCabe said.

Under cross-examination from Kenneth Fogarty SC, representing Ms Da Silva, Mr McCabe said the woman appeared nervous. He said it was possible he could have carried out a supervised departure for the woman to ensure she left the country on the dates provided. But I didn't on this occasion, he said.

The trial also heard from Elizabeth Keogh, a woman who managed a property in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, for her daughter who owned it. Ms Keogh told the court she rented out the two bedroom house in August 2018 on Daft.ie to a man who told her he was of Italian and Brazilian origin.

Ms Keogh told Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, that she phoned a reference provided by this man and was happy enough with that. She said that when she called to inspect the property in January 2019, a woman who had very little English answered the door.

Over the coming months, Ms Keogh told the court she became concerned as the blinds in the house were always drawn. When she called to the house in June, she said she met a different woman who also had limited English.

Ms Keogh told the trial that this woman put her on the phone to another woman who spoke English. This woman told her that the male tenant was away, Ms Keogh said.

I said there was a girl living in the house and she wasn't supposed to be there, Ms Keogh said. She told the trial she tried an inspection of the property before calling again where she met a third woman she had never met before.

This woman was leaving the property and had two suitcases with her, the trial heard. The trial continues before Judge Patricia Ryan and a jury.

Ms Da Silva has pleaded not guilty to one count of human trafficking a woman at an unknown location within the State, on dates between March 31, 2019 and May 18, 2019.

She has pleaded guilty in front of the jury to one count of organising prostitution at an unknown location within the State on dates between December 5, 2018 and May 18, 2019.

She has also admitted one count of facilitating the entry into the State of a person she knew to be illegal on March 31, 2019 at Dublin Airport, along with 33 counts of money laundering the proceeds of crime on dates between March 2020 and May 2021. Ms Vailones Fidelis has pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts against her.

She has denied two counts of human trafficking two women at various locations within the State on dates between December 2018 and May 2019. She has pleaded not guilty to one count of organising prostitution during the same time period.

Ms Vailones Fidelis has further pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of money laundering the proceeds of crime on dates between January 2015 and December 2020 and one count of removing proceeds of crime from the State during the same time period.
A Laois Fine Gael councillor claims that that there are an awful lot of local people living in council houses who never worked, their parents never worked and their children will never work.

Cllr Aisling Moran who represents the Graiguecullen Portarlington Municipal District, said people who are working all day are paying for others who she claimed are not genuine and living in low rent council homes.

She said that working people need to be looked after.

She also refused to withdraw the controversial remarks made during the January meeting of Laois County Council.

People are getting up at six in the morning, dropping their kids off at creche, getting back at 7pm and hardly able to see their kids. These people are working day and night and not able to afford to buy their own house. They are over the [housing income] threshold.

There are a number of people, not all, who arent working, never worked, their parents never worked, and their children will never work and theyre sitting at home, and the people who are going to work are paying for their house, their fuel allowance and everything else, it has to change.

There are people in council houses who need every bit of help they can get and they are genuine. But there are an awful lot of people who are not genuine and living in council houses. We need to look after the people who are getting up for work, she said.

Cllr Moran was elected in 2019 after her father Cllr John Moran retired his seat.

She made the remarks after she called on the council not to sell council homes to tenants who were in a position to buy them out.

Im saying that the council keep their houses. I cant understand why we are selling our housing stock and going into 20 year leases with housing bodies. In 20 years time we will have no stock, it will all be rented from approved housing bodies.

If someone is in a position to buy, then the local authority can help them purchase a house but not the one they're in, another one.

Cllr Padraig Fleming, Fianna Fail, asked Cllr Moran to withdraw her remarks, but she refused to do so.

His party colleague Cllr Paschal McEvoy said that people are not left on Jobseekers allowance for long periods but have to do courses.

I could name 20 people, Cllr Moran replied which sparked an argument between both councillors.

The Cathaoirleach Cllr Thomasina Connell told them to take it outside.

Cllr Connell went on to ask the press not to report Cllr Morans comments.

Im formally asking the press not to report that disparaging comment, appealed the Fine Gael councillor.
Ireland's former Minister for Foreign Affairs and sitting Laois Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan says its time to expel the Russian ambassador to Ireland as the war in Ukraine rumbles on.

The Government TD who is also a former Minister for Justice took to social media to express his view that the time is up for the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov.

He has zero credibility & should be formally asked to leave Ireland, said Dep Flanagan.

The comment from the TD was linked to an article about a statement published by the Russian ambassador for the annual International Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration.

Dep Flanagan, who is Chair of the Dail Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, has been a vocal Irish opponent of Russia and previously called for Vladimir Putin to be charged with war crimes.

In November 2022, the Fine Gael TD and other members of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence demanded that officials at the Russian Embassy in Ireland be expelled after Irish diplomats were thrown out of Moscow.

Time is up for the Russian ambassador to Ireland. He has zero credibility & should be formally asked to leave Ireland. https://t.co/ylu5DTEn9m  Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) January 30, 2023

In his statement, Mr Filatof accuses Ireland of supporting what he called an ultranationalist, neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. He also wrongly claimed Ireland's Taoiseach had sent happy birthday wishes to Hitler in April 1945.

The Russian embassy has since issued a correction.

The Embassy apologizes for the unintended error in the remarks, referring to the Taoiseach Eamon de Valera communication with the German government in April of 1945. In fact, indeed, the text of the remarks should read as follows:

with the Taoiseach of the time expressing his condolences on the death of Adolf Hitler in April of 1945

This technical error does not change in any way the overall point of the remarks, they said.
Hundreds of medicines used by Irish patients are currently out of stock as shortages continue.

That's according to the Medicine Shortage Index, prepared by industry experts Azure Pharmaceuticals with data made publicly available by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

Of 228 medicines currently unavailable in Ireland, 12 are reportedly listed on the World Medical Organisation's (WHO) 'critical medicines' list, including Amoxicillin and Penicillin antibiotics and a medicine used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Out-of-stock drugs reportedly include Codeine-based products like Solpadeine, Ibuprofen, as well as medicines for sleep disorders, seizures, blood pressure and diabetes, among others.

The index found a shocking 41% rise in shortages in just six weeks, with 16 additional medicines recorded as out-of-stock in the past three weeks alone.

Managing Director of Azure Pharmaceuticals, Sandra Gannon, said the scale of shortages "continues to worsen" with a considerable knock-on impact on patients and those who care for them.

She said, "Our analysis shows that since we began collecting the data in October, the number of medicine shortages has risen by 28%. There are international factors at play but yet again, we are seeing Ireland out-of-sync with other countries. Primary among these is price differential. Ireland is paying up to four times less than neighbouring countries and as a result, the medicine supply is following the money.

"There is an element of misguided hope that the end of flu season and a rise in temperatures will make medicine shortages disappear. But the evidence shows that since the end of 2019, this problem was coming. Hope has no place in policy making. It is time to meaningfully engage. Patients and pharmacists deserve no less."

She pointed to recent comments by the Executive Director of the European medicines agency (EMA), Emer Cooke, in an RTE interview.

Gannon said, "The EMA has a pan-European remit informed by international insights. For its Executive Director to therefore identify price as one of the contributory factors to medicine shortages is a highly significant moment in this debate. Price is a policy measure, not a regulatory one.

"It is premature to say the Department of Health is burying its head in the sand. But there are signs that it is adopting a stance that is contrary to prevailing opinion, its own evidence, and the actions of other countries.

"Naturally, government will want to control costs, particularly given the strains on health spending. It should and it can. The Department finds itself in a position to actually reduce costs while simultaneously addressing prices."

Gannon believes pricing must be considered as a leading factor when it comes to security of supply.

She continued: "Informed by the EU commissioned report on medicine shortages, the Department of Health could save money annually by deploying existing policy measures available to them.

"By extending the basket of prices approach to older medicines, just as we currently do for the reimbursement of new medicines, Ireland would pay the average of 14 other EU countries. This, along with other measures, would enable manufacturers to pivot and thus alleviate shortages."
Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar visited Solas Bhride Centre & Hermitages in Kildare on Friday where he gave his support for the Saint Brigids Day, Pause for Peace movement, an initiative spearheaded by IntoKildare and Solas Bhride. Pause for Peace will see the residents of County Kildare (Ireland) calling on people all around the world to stop for a minutes silence at 12.00 noon (local time) on the 1st of February 2023.

While at Solas Bhride, the Taoiseach took a spark from the Saint Brigids flame to light a special candle to mark the global call for peace. The Saint Brigids flame was symbolically relit at a justice and peace conference in Kildare Town in 1993 and has been tended by Solas Bhride for the past 30 years. The flame burns as a beacon of hope, justice, and peace for the world. He then planted an Oak tree in reference to the literal meaning of Cill Dara, 'Church of the Oak' as Saint Brigid built her church beneath an Oak tree. A new IntoKildare St. Brigid Audio Trail was also unveiled at the Taoiseachs visit.

The Taoiseach said, By pausing for peace we are asking people to come together to oppose war and to be inspired by Saint Brigid of Kildare, a peace maker, a protector of the natural world and a formidable force for justice. This year is the first time we will have a public holiday in the name of Saint Brigid on the 6th of February which formally recognises her remarkable legacy.

Dignitaries in attendance included IntoKildare Chairman, David Mongey, CEO of IntoKildare, Aine Mangan, Sr. Rita Minehan and Geraldine Moore of Solas Bhride. Also in attendance was the CE of Kildare County Council, Sonya Kavanagh, Paula OBrien, Brigid 1500 and Martin Heydon T.D.

2024 marks the 1500th year of the passing of Saint Brigid, the patron Saint of Kildare and one of three patron saints of Ireland. In preparation for this special year various activations will take place in 2023. The Pause for Peace movement is one of these special events and celebrations which formally recognises the importance of Saint Brigid from a cultural, religious, spiritual, and historical point of view. Brigid 1500 will see a whole series of celebrations and events taking place at home and abroad while 2023 will also be the first year that Ireland will celebrate the new public holiday in the beloved saints name. The new national holiday will be held on the 6th of February this year and is expected to provide a great boost for tourism to County Kildare and for the whole country.

Aine Mangan, CEO of IntoKildare said, We are very excited about Pause for Peace and want to thank the Taoiseach for his support. We are also working alongside our partners and colleagues at Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland to promote Kildare and the new public holiday all around the world. Other activations and celebrations which are being led by IntoKildare include the lighting up of the Hill of Allen and Cupidstown Hill on the eve of Saint Brigids and a host of trade missions and communications with international embassies and government departments. IntoKildare, continues to work in association with Kildare County Council to deliver a comprehensive line up of special events to celebrate Brigid 1500.

Sr. Rita Minehan of Solas Bhride said, This movement for a Pause for Peace sets the scene for marking the new national holiday. It reflects a spiritual underpinning to the day and is consonant with the value of peace which Brigid stood for in her time.

She went on the say, By pausing for peace, we send out a message that we actively oppose warfare and the proliferation of arms, which wreak havoc on human beings as well as on the natural world. This movement aims to awaken and build a spirit of global solidarity in our search for peace.

Pause for Peace will be held at 12.00 noon, Saint Brigids Day, 1st of February 2023. For more information on the various Brigid 1500 activities see www.intokildare.ie or visit www.solasbhride.ie where you will get more information on Feile Bhride, a week-long celebration of the legacy of Saint Brigid. #PauseForPeace. Insta @intokildare
Kildare students named as Intel Women in Technology and Paul Whelan Scholars. Sarah Byrne from Prosperous and studies Electronic Engineering in Maynooth University was named as one of 13 Women in Technology scholar.

Joel Kavanagh was awarded as part of the Paul Whelan memorial scholarships, the Kilcullen man studies Electronic and Computer Engineering in the University of Limerick.

17 years ago Intel in Ireland launched its Women in Technology scholarship program for the first time. Since then, the program has gone from strength to strength and continues today to form an important part of our wider commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion at every level of our company and the broader industry.

The scholarship program aims to encourage a new generation of high-achieving women to take up the challenge of a career in science and technology and to empower them by fostering educational opportunities.

The scholarship program offers a monetary grant, valued at 3,000 per annum, as well as opportunities for work placements at the Intel Leixlip and Shannon campus. Each scholar is also assigned a mentor who is an Intel employee to assist and provide advice on managing their academic career. The scholarship program

has created an invaluable link between Intel and the academic network and a number of scholars have gone on to become Intel employees.

In recent years Intel Ireland has driven a unique approach to academic partnership through our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) program. We work closely with our partners  Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Technological University Dublin, University of Limerick and Maynooth University  as well as with other universities and Institutes of Technology across Ireland to share details of this initiative and identify suitable candidates for the scholarship program.

This year scholarships were awarded by numerous business groups across Intel including Movidius, Manufacturing & Product Engineering, Corporate Services and Intel Shannon. This year we are also continuing to offer a Women in Construction scholarship awarded by our Fab Construction Enterprise Team.

A total of 13 new Women in Technology scholars were selected as follows;

Aoife OFarrell, Process and Chemical Engineering,University College. Hometown: Cork

Ariane Hannon, Engineering, Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin. Hometown: Lucan, Co. Dublin

Ciara Barry, Electronic and Software Engineering, TU Dublin. Hometown: Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin

Ciara OReilly, Mechatronic Engineering, Dublin City University. Hometown: Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

Elena O Ceidigh Hayes Engineering, Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin. Hometown: Bray, Co Wicklow

Francesca Murray, Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin. Hometown: Gorey, Co. Wexford

Grainne Lynch, Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Galway. Hometown: Dundalk, Co. Louth

Helena Enright, Eng in Electronic & Computer Eng, University of Limerick. Hometown: Clarecastle, Co. Clare

Idil Bilgic, Computer Science with data science, University College Dublin. Hometown: Belfield, Co. Dublin

Marta de la Cuadra Lozano, Computing with Data Analytics, TU Dublin. Hometown: Dublin 8

Niamh Connolly, Computer Science & Software Engineering, Maynooth University. Hometown: Monastrevin, Co. Kildare

Roisin Mitchell, Computer Science, University of Limerick. Hometown: Limerick, Co. Limerick

Sarah Byrne, Electronic Engineering, Maynooth University. Hometown: Prosperous, Co. Kildare

This new cohort of scholars join our wider scholar network which includes those who are still active scholars as they continue to pursue their studies, and those who have gone on to become alumni of the program.

Since the Intel Women in Technology scholarship program began, it has supported 152 students and a total of 1,800,000 has been invested in the initiative to date.

In addition to the Women in Technology scholarships, Intel Shannon presented Paul Whelan Memorial Scholarships which were provided to a number of students studying technology and engineering courses at the University of Limerick. This scholarship is awarded in memory of one of our employees, Paul Whelan. It endeavours to help outstanding students throughout their college course through internships and monetary support. This year Intel Shannon awarded 3 students with this prestigious award;

Niall Maede, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick. Hometown: Ardanacrusha, Co. Clare

Joel Kavanagh, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick. Hometown: Kilcullen, Co. Kildare

Sean Ruane, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Limerick. Hometown: Castlebar, Co. Mayo
The Farming for Nature (FFN) project is delighted to welcome Kildare farmer Colm Flynn to their growing Ambassador network.



Colm Flynn is a 4th generation lifelong farmer from Athy county Kildare. The land has been intensively farmed for cereal production for many years. About 7 ago, having experienced and understood the impacts of intensive tillage on the soil health, Colm decided it was time to re-evaluate his farming practices.

He is actively involved in the Danu farming project and has spent the past number of years working to rehabilitate soil using biological solutions.

Colm said, learning how to rehabilitate a commercial farm in a commercial context and find alternatives to chemical applications. Part of his involvement in the project included reintroducing grasses and multispecies swards to the farm  allowing the land to rest, building organic matter and regenerating the soil biology. The farm is currently 50% cereal production, producing spring peas, winter barley, oats and wheat. The remaining 50% is under grassland and used for silage production and cattle grazing.

Colm has always been interested in nature and wildlife. Areas of mature woodland on the farm serve as habitats for hares, foxes and badgers. He has planted an orchard on the farm, most of which is left as food for birds and insects.

There are numerous species of birds on the land including finches, mistle thrush, jackdaws, long-eared owls and barn owls. Colm continues to work hard to create a farm that is productive, economically viable and ecologically biodiverse, he said I recorded 33 species of birds come through the farm this winter. I did an audit of the plants that grow on the farm and 84 plant species were recorded  from the tiniest little flowering plant to rushes to wild orchids. I hope in a few years time that the number of plant species on the farm will have increased.

If you want to hear more from Colm and his farming practices, check out this recording of his online Q&A on November 22 2022 on the FFN website.



Now in its fifth year, Farming For Nature was set up with an aim to source, share and celebrate the stories of farmers across Ireland who manage their land in a way that sustains nature, while providing a livelihood for their family. Andrew is part of this years 15 Ambassadors that come from across Ireland and include beef, sheep, forestry, dairy, horticulture and tillage farmers who manage a wide range of very valuable habitats including species-rich grasslands and heaths, wetlands, woodlands, uplands and hedgerows. The Farming For Nature ambassador network is made up of family farms, couples, and both male and female farmers.



FFN is featuring these Ambassador farmers on a monthly basis until August 2023. Keep an eye on FFNs Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms to learn more about these wonderful farmers and the valuable work they are doing for nature on their land. FFN will work with these inspiring ambassadors to produce farm videos, podcasts, Ask the Farmer sessions, farm walks and more. Go to www.farmingfornature.ie to learn about this incredible network of Ambassador farmers and to access further information, resources and tips.



The Farming for Nature Awards are sponsored by Bord Bia and supported by a wide range of farming and conservation interests including the Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the National Rural Network.
Two Presidents Award Leaders from County Kildare were celebrated at Gaisces Recognition Awards Ceremony.

On Saturday, January 28, 2023, Gaisce  The Presidents Award held a special Award Ceremony at Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park, County Dublin, in recognition of 34 Presidents Award Leaders from all over Ireland who have graciously supported young people to achieve their potential.

This included Helen Farrell (KARE), Clare Molloy (Patrician Secondary School) from Kildare.

Gaisces Civic Merit Award honours Presidents Award Leaders (PALs) who have supported young people to take part in the Gaisce programme for more than five years.

Speaking about the Awardees, Avril Ryan, Acting CEO of Gaisce  The Presidents Award, said: "Gaisce are delighted to celebrate the work of our Presidents Award Leaders.

"Their dedication to the principles and outcomes of the Gaisce programme ensures the continued value society places upon the personal development and wellbeing of young people and their achievements, whilst also promoting Gaisces vision that young people have every opportunity to dream big and fulfil their potential."

She continued: "For many young people a Gaisce Award is often the first time they receive any recognition for their achievements.

"A Gaisce Award recognises the skills, volunteering, leadership, and other qualities of Gaisce participants, talents that may never have been discovered and honed without their participation in this unique and holistic non-formal education Award."

Retiring PALs and PALs who mentored a Gold Awardee were also celebrated and commended for supporting and encouraging young people on their Gaisce journey.

The ceremony was MCd by comedian, writer and podcaster Julie Jay, and the guest speaker at the event was author and world-renowned immunologist and Professor of Biochemistry, Professor Luke ONeill.

Avril Ryan, Helen Farrell, and Chair of Gaisce  The Presidents Award, John Cunningham. Pic by Maxwell Photography

A special message from the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins was read by Chair of Gaisce  The Presidents Award, John Cunningham.

It read: "The leadership of all of you has undoubtedly played a significant role in the success of the programme and the growth and development of the participants.

"The dedication and hard work that goes into the planning and execution of the Gaisce journey is given evidence in the distinguished achievements of the participants.

"It is with great pleasure and a sense of gratitude that I send my warmest congratulations and my sincere appreciation for your valued contribution to Gaisce."

Gaisce  The Presidents Award is a personal development programme for young people which enhances confidence and wellbeing through participation in personal, physical, community and team challenges.

Since its inception in 1985 over 300,000 young Irish people have completed a Gaisce Award, including former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh and internationally renowned Irish actor Robert Sheehan.
Nearly 100 homes have been granted planning permission at the former Odlum's Mill complex beside the Grand Canal in Sallins.

Straffan-based developers Springwood Limited have been approved to build a mid of 92 apartments.

A two-storey creche and a two-storey retail complex are also planned.

The large-scale project will have a floor area of over 10,000 square metres on a site spanning 1.6 hectares.

The estimated construction value of the development is almost 20m according to the Construction Information Services database.

Units being planned include 52 two-bed apartments, 18 three-bed apartments, seven one-bed apartments and 15 houses of mostly three-bedroom size.

There will be car parking for 125 vehicles.

The developers sought permission to demolish 11 old buildings as well as 10 grain silos.

A pedestrian/cycle path is also planned for beside the Canal.

The high-profile development site was put on the market in 2020 with a guide price of more than 1m.

The milling and packaging plant closed around ten years ago with the loss of 26 jobs.

The site just off the main street of Sallins village extends to approx. 1.49 ha (3.67 acres).

The area includes several vacant commercial buildings.
Businesses from Co. Kildare had the opportunity to meet buyers from all over the world last week as part of the Local Enterprise Showcase at Showcase 2023 in the RDS, Dublin. There were over 100 Local Enterprise Office supported businesses from across the country at the event, with four in attendance from Co. Kildare.

The Kildare companies were selected by Local Enterprise Office Kildare to take part in this years Local Enterprise Showcase and have been working closely in recent months to ensure they are in the best possible position to maximise their appearance at the event including sales technique, marketing materials and stand production.

Jackie Sweeney of Kildare Candle Barn, Designer Roisin Linnane, Laura Dempsey of PickledPomPom and Claire Malone of Imprints & Ink were all exhibiting at the Local Enterprise Showcase, which saw over 4,000 buyers from retailers across the globe attend the three-day event in Dublin, looking to secure new sales and partners for the year ahead. Upwards of 20 million in business was expected to have been transacted across the three-day event.

Kildare Candle Barn (www.kildarecandlebarn.com) produce a range of high-quality luxury candles all hand poured at a studio just outside Kildare town. They have a range of unique fragrances to suit all preferences and their distinctive rose gold tins are fully recyclable!

Roisin Linnane (www.roisinlinnane.com) is a luxury womenswear brand, selling to department stores, high-end independent boutiques and direct to customer online, both domestic and international, currently wholesale export to UK, Australia, and Asia.

Pickled PomPom (www.pickledpompom.com) create products to celebrate life's many milestones, the core of the business are their keepsake cards and prints but they have also expanded into party ware and decorative goods.

Imprints & Ink (www.imprintsandink.com) is an Irish fashion and illustration brand which creates luxury scarves and fine art prints. Drawing inspiration from Irelands beautiful native plant species, Claires designs are created from her home studio in Kildare. Each scarf captures a different threatened Irish plant and highlights the importance of its conservation.

For research purposes, LEO Kildare had in attendance 11 early-stage designer-makers. These clients are part of LEO Kildares Craft and Creative Cluster, all aspiring to exhibit at Showcase 2024. This cluster of creative designer makers is led by LEO Kildare. All creative entrepreneurs, at various stages in business are encouraged to contact our LEO office.

Dara Calleary, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment officially opened Showcase 2023 at the RDS, Dublin. The show, which marked its 47th edition this year is one of Irelands largest and most important international trade fairs. Showcase is presented on behalf of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, with support from Enterprise Ireland in promoting the trade show internationally, and the Local Enterprise Offices nationwide.

Minister Calleary said, Its great to be here and see some of the incredible products on display. Ireland is globally renowned for its craft and design, and Showcase is the international launchpad for so many Irish makers to achieve this recognition. Craft plays an integral part in Irelands economy, and I wish each maker the best of luck during Showcase.

Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise Kildare said Local Enterprise Showcase is one of the industrys largest international trade fairs where designers and craft makers provide a choice of contemporary and heritage collections, offering innovation, quality, sustainability and a distinctive point of difference to retail buyers from across the globe. Kildare Local Enterprise Office were delighted to be represented this year again by members of our Crafts & Creative cluster, the selection process was difficult as Kildare has many quality craft & creative businesses that would be well placed at Showcase.

Rosemary Steen, CEO of Design and Crafts Council Ireland said, Showcase is now in its 48th year and we were delighted to welcome buyers from Ireland and all over the world who play a vital role in creating a stage for Irish craft and design. This year 380+ exhibitors joined us to highlight and grow their businesses. I want to thank the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Office, and of course the RDS for supporting such an important event in the Irish Design and Craft calendar.

It was another strong year for Local Enterprise Showcase exhibitors as part of the Showcase Awards with several Local Enterprise Office client companies securing awards and recognition through the Showcase awards programme including the top award for 2023 for Tom King of An Gobha, supported by Local Enterprise Office Meath.

Winner of Overall Best Product was awarded to Iron St. Brigids Cross by Tom King of An Gobha Iron Works and Experience. An Gobha offers immersive and interactive experiences of traditional iron age metal forging delivered with theatre, stories, myths, and legends in Bohermeen, Co Meath. An Gobha also manufactures and sells handcrafted metal decorative objects based on ancient Celtic symbols and artefacts of the Boyne Valley, Ancient East. Tom has created the St. Brigids Cross as a work of art based around the traditional cross, with depth and with colour, to mark the new national holiday celebrating our female Patron Saint, St. Brigid.

Best Product Category Winners:

 Showcase Best Product  FASHION: Linda Wilson, Linda Wilson Knitwear

 Showcase Best Product  HOME: Kathleen Leadbetter, Jerpoint Glass Studio

 Showcase Best Product  GIFT: Serena Grimes, Snugi Babog Knitwear

 Showcase Best Product  JEWELLERY: Garrett Mallon, Garrett Mallon Jewellery

 Showcase Best Product  WELLNESS: Annarita Monaldi, Craft Around the Clock



Other Showcase Award Winners:

 The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland Design Ireland Award  Linda Wilson, Linda Wilson Knitwear

 Local Enterprise Showcase Award  Sine Dunne, Siest Sleep

 Sustainability Award - Eoin Shanley, Copperfish Lighting Company
An asylum seeker centre for single females and families has been planned for a site in North Kildare.

Speaking to the Leinster Leader, Social Democrats co-leader and TD Catherine Murphy said that she was informed about the plans for International Protection Applicants (IPAs) on Friday, January 27 last, and Kildare County Council have also been made aware of the facility.

In the document, which has been seen by the Leinster Leader, it is noted that the final capacity for the site, located at Ryevale House in Leixlip, is still being determined, but it will be for approximately 80 people.

In one section, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth says: "The resident breakdown will be for families and single females; this will not be a centre for single males."

The Department also said: "It is not possible to say with certainty what the length of stay will be having regard to the number of IPAs arriving and the scarcity of alternative accommodation.

"This remains under review but we would note that the Department has recently completed a tender process for additional accommodation."

The Department also said: "Each resident will have their own lockable bedroom, access to a common room and front door keys for 24 hour access.

"Applicants are eligible to work from six months after their arrival in Ireland.

"Most of the residents will be new arrivals."

In addition, an integration fund is available to assist in linkages to local communities.

The Department further said that:

IPAs may avail of English language classes through the ETB.

IPAS carry out resident clinics at all new and existing accommodation locations.

IPAS work with a number of NGOs who provide support to residents in the form of

clinics, and in addition there is a DCEDIY funded confidential NGO run helpline to

assist with any queries a resident may have.

clinics, and in addition there is a DCEDIY funded confidential NGO run helpline to assist with any queries a resident may have. IPAs may avail of English language classes through their local ETB.

An adult resident receives an allowance of 38.80 per week while a parent is

entitled to 29.80 to cover essentials for their child. Residents also get three

meals per day.

entitled to 29.80 to cover essentials for their child. Residents also get three meals per day. Children will attend school during the day.

IPAs have a team working to provide vulnerability assessments.

IPAs are not entitled to apply for or avail of social housing or the Housing Assistance Payment while their claim for asylum is being determined by the International Protection Office (IPO).

According to the Department, emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country: "There have been

in excess of 60 accommodation locations utilised in 2022 across 17 counties."

"These options must be considered to prevent homelessness for the unprecedented numbers of people arriving seeking international protection."
Jay Bobinac, the manager of Jigginstown Manor, a Naas-based centre for young adults coming out of homelessness has won a special recognition award for academic excellence from the Minister for Further Education, Simon Harris; the president of South East Technological University (SETU), Veronica Campbell and the Croatian ambassador to Ireland, Davor Vidis.

Jay and Allen Bobinac are twin brothers who came to Ireland in 2016 after leaving their native Croatia. When they came to Ireland, they spent a year on the streets of Dublin. On their appearance on Virgin Media's Ireland AM - Jay shared, "when we came, we slept in St. Stephen's Green, Phoenix Park. We have loads of stories; I remember one day waking up, one person was injecting drugs next to us, or we were once in Phoenix Park, and a deer woke us up."

Jay further explained what made a difference; "The exit from homelessness for us was in April of that year [2016]; we came aboard a service in town, it was a big green bus outside Cleary's clock, and there we met the chairman of Tiglin Aubrey McCarthy. We got onto the bus. We struck a connection with Aubrey, who ended up helping us loads. He got onto his managers, and he said - you have to help these guys - so Tiglin gave us Transitional Housing. That was our gateway out of homelessness."

The brothers began their educational journey by obtaining transitional housing with Tiglin, starting with fundamental courses in local colleges of further education. Jay praised the Irish system for being very inclusive and providing opportunities to get back into education. Jay further explained that their ample chance came in 2018 when Tiglin and the Institute of Technology Carlow (now South Eastern Technological University) ran a pilot degree course for those in Tiglin's care. Jay remarked, "The Head of Lifelong Learning, his name is Joe Collins, he started a degree program in tandem with Tiglin, and Joe gave us an opportunity to get onto this program, and from there, we graduated with a degree, we then did a Masters degree now we are on a par with everyone else."

Mr Bobinac has just celebrated his 26th birthday and his Masters's degree (while he is doing a second Master's degree). He also works with Tiglin running the Naas' Jigginstown Manor, aiming to improve his residents' employment, education and further accommodation options. On this, Jay commented, "I wish to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best in the new year. May you have all the things most important to you. I also want to thank all of you Kildare folk who have supported us, all those from the County Council, and people like Mayor Evie Sammon, Fintan Brett, Anne Breen, Colm Kenny, Ollie Brady, and many others. In addition, local employers have played a significant role in our success. Big shoutout to Ciaran Murray of Dawn Farms, John Clancy of IGSL, Laura Mahon of Super Valu Sallins, Pfizer and many more. And let's not forget our volunteers and friends. Huge thank you to everyone".

Tiglin enters a new year by launching an educational initiative with South Eastern Technological. This initiative will see those in Tiglin's care accessing third-level courses. Jay explained that this is similar to the opportunity he received in 2018. He explained that those in Tiglin's care could be classified as marginalised as they may not access education otherwise. This is because they are affected by lower socio-economic factors and lack of opportunity (both educational and employment-wise). Therefore, this initiative will target those without access to education, thus combating social inequalities and building social capital.

Jay finished the interview with a statement, "I hope that I am an example of what a person can achieve with the right opportunities and support. I was very fortunate to somewhat grow up within Tiglin's support network. So I am glad to play that role for those in our centre. I am very honoured to receive this tremendous honour of the award. It shows that everyone can do it, so we try to create a stable environment for your people to go through the building phase. On that same note, if anyone wishes to get involved, this can come in many ways.
A digger driver who retrieved bodies from the debris of the tragic Creeslough explosion will speak about the experience in a new TG4 series.

In the inaugural programme of 'Iniuchadh TG4 - An Craoslach', which will be broadcast next Wednesday (February 8, 2023), Henry Gallagher from Treantagh near Letterkenny in Co Donegal reveals how he was spurred on to recover the bodies by the sight of grieving relatives in his rear view mirrors.

Gallagher (47) volunteered to take part in the recovery operation following a plea for help by the Fire Brigade at the scene of the explosion.

He said, "You just see a river of high vis vests (behind me) and I know that among that, there are families waiting on news. The only way that they are going to get the news of a loved one being taken out, is for me to get in.

"I wanted them out. I would have stayed in that digger for ages after that just until I got the bodies out."

Gallagher remained in the cab of his excavator for 24 hours removing rubble from the collapsed building until the last body of ten - that of 14-year-old Leona Harper - was recovered.

The teenagers mother Donna Harper singled Mr Gallagher out for praise at her daughters funeral.

Gallagher said in an exclusive interview for the documentary: "I done what any other person would have done. The ordinary people were amazing. I mean Ive heard stories of people running in to the building, people bringing other people out of the building. They were taking people out and they were crying (and) they were screaming. Any person we took out, wasnt crying or screaming."

The documentary will investigate how locals from the Donegal village came together in the immediate aftermath of the explosion to pick through the rubble of Laffertys garage to rescue their neighbours before emergency services arrived.

Lorry driver Colin Kilpatrick from Raphoe, Co. Donegal was making a delivery in Creeslough when the explosion occurred and was among the first rescuers at the garage forecourt. He managed to help free one of the injured by using a car jack to lift concrete slabs.

People got out and people didnt get out, but what we done, worked, he said.

A total of ten people lost their lives and eight were injured in the explosion at Laffertys supermarket in Creeslough on October 7, 2022.

The dead included five-year-old Shauna Flanagan Garwe and her dad Robert Garwe, 50, Catherine O'Donnell, 39, and her son James Monaghan, 13. Leona Harper, 14, Jessica Gallagher, 24, James O'Flaherty, 48, Martin McGill, 49,Martina Martin, 49 and Hugh Kelly, 59 also lost their lives.

The Gardai are still investigating the cause of the blast, however a gas explosion remains a major line of inquiry.

The TG4 programme is the first of a new six-part monthly current affairs and investigative documentaries looking behind the headlines of major Irish news stories, and will be presented by award-winning Belfast-based investigative journalist Kevin Magee.

Speaking ahead of the air-date, Kevin said, "At the time of tragic event in Creeslough, we heard about the extraordinary bravery and courage of the first wave of rescuers, local people who ran to help their trapped neighbours before the emergency services got there.

"This programme gives the ordinary people who helped a voice and hears in their own words the extraordinary things they did, often at great danger to themselves in the face of appalling adversity.

The series airs on on Wednesday February 8, 2023 at 9.30pm and will also be available to view worldwide on the TG4 Player.
Ireland West Airport today welcomes the major announcement by Aer Lingus of a new year-round, daily service to London Heathrow Airport.

Starting March 26, Aer Lingus will operate daily flights to London Heathrow, Londons biggest and most well connected and closest airport to central London, serviced by the Heathrow Express train with a journey time of just 15 minutes to Paddington Station in Central London. This new service will provide a major boost for the airport and the region as it is the first time in the airports 37-year history that the airport will be connected to one of Europes major international airport hubs.

As well as providing a daily service to Heathrow, this connectivity means customers can enjoy seamless connections via London Heathrow Airport to North America.

The new route will boost inbound tourism to the West of Ireland. Aer Lingus aims to take advantage of the growing trend of screen tourism, which Tourism Ireland has identified as a key opportunity for 2023, with films like the Banshees of Inisherin showcasing the West of Ireland to a global audience. Todays announcement reinforces Aer Linguss commitment to Ireland West Airport Knock.

The new route will replace the current Aer Lingus service to London Gatwick, which will cease operations on 25th March 2023. Customers already booked on this route will be automatically rebooked on a same day flight.*

The times of the flights to and from London Heathrow Airport are (Please note this is subject to change and confirmation)

- Depart London Heathrow Airport at 11:05am arriving at Ireland West Airport at 12:35

- Depart Ireland West Airport at 13:05, arriving at London Heathrow Airport at 14:30
This combination of image grabs, created on January 31, 2023, from a UGC video uploaded on January 29, shows Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi dancing in front of Tehran's Azadi Tower. - / AFP

An Iranian court has handed jail sentences of over 10 years each to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran's main landmarks, activists said on Tuesday, January 31.

Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, had been arrested in early November after a video went viral of them dancing romantically in front of the capital's Azadi Tower. Haghighi did not wear a headscarf in defiance of the Islamic republic's strict rules for women, while women are also not allowed to dance in public in Iran, let alone with a man.

A revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced them each to 10 years and six months in prison, as well as bans on using the Internet and leaving Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said.

The couple, who already had a following in Tehran as popular Instagram bloggers, were convicted of "encouraging corruption and public prostitution" as well as "gathering with the intention of disrupting national security", it added.

Read more Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti released on bail after almost three weeks in jail

HRANA cited sources close to their families as saying they had been deprived of lawyers during the court proceedings, while attempts to secure their release on bail have been rejected. The group said Haghighi is now in the notorious Qarchak prison for women outside Tehran. Activists regularly condemn conditions in the facility.

Sensitive site

Iranian authorities have clamped down severely on all forms of dissent since the death in September of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the headscarf rules, sparked protests that have turned into a movement against the regime.

At least 14,000 people have been arrested, according to the United Nations, ranging from prominent celebrities, journalists and lawyers to ordinary people who took to the streets.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes In Iran, students from the prestigious Sharif University are at the forefront of the revolt

The couple's video had been hailed as a symbol of the freedoms demanded by the protest movement, with Ahmadi at one moment lifting his partner in the air as her long hair flowed behind.

One of the main icons of the Iranian capital, the gigantic and futuristic Azadi (Freedom) Tower is a place of huge sensitivity. It opened under the rule of the last shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the early 1970s when it was known as the Shahyad (In Memory of the Shah) Tower. It was renamed after the shah was ousted in 1979 with the creation of the Islamic republic. Its architect, a member of the Bahai faith which is not recognised in today's Iran, now lives in exile.

HRANA also said that young Iranian woman Armita Abbasi, whose case has prompted international concern, went on trial on Sunday after she was arrested in October over protests in the city of Karaj outside Tehran.

In November US news outlet CNN, citing leaks and an anonymous medical source, had reported she was rushed to hospital after being raped while in custody. Iranian authorities have denied the allegations.

HRANA and Iranian media on Tuesday quoted her lawyer Shahla Oroji as saying that Abbasi had been presented with charges including propaganda against the system and the court had refused to grant bail.

Read more Iran: Women political prisoners demand end to protester executions and unjust sentences

Le Monde with AFP
Vendors outside Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sunday, January 29, 2023. JEROME DELAY / AP

As Pope Francis begins his visit to the crisis-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan on Tuesday, January 31, will he spare a thought for the journey, a century and a half ago, of the explorer and brutal colonizer Henry Morton Stanley? At the beginning of the 20th century, he left the present-day DRC, which he had just bloodily conquered for the King of the Belgians, to go to Equatoria, today's South Sudan.

This is the same route, geographically speaking, that Pope Francis will take during his visit, which will last until February 5. Unlike the explorer who helped install a colonial regime of terror in the DRC, the pontiff is coming as a "pilgrim of peace" to speak to Catholics, citizens and leaders of these two nations shaken by political instability and deadly conflicts. The visit, which the Pope wanted to make because of its symbolic importance, was supposed to take place in July 2022, but was postponed at the last minute because of the Pope's health.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Is Africa the future of Catholicism (and will the next Pope be African)?

He will spend three days in Kinshasa, the capital of a country with a 45% Catholic population. During this, Francis will meet with the authorities and also with displaced persons and victims of violence from the east of the country, under attack by a hundred or so armed groups. This is also the site of a larger conflict led by a rebel movement, the M23, which the government accuses of being supported by neighboring Rwanda. Because of this unrest, the papal trip to Goma, the major city in eastern Congo, had to be canceled. In the capital of the DRC, the Pope will celebrate a mass before a million people at Ndolo airport.

The second leg of the trip will begin on February 3, to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the world's newest nation  the country was created in 2011 when Sudan was partitioned  which has been torn apart since 2013 by a long civil war.

In Central Equatoria State, where Juba is located, the Pope has planned an ecumenical visit to meet with President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, former enemies now reunited in a national unity government. He will be accompanied by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a veteran of difficult mediations in South Sudan. In this young nation, which separated from the northern Muslim majority, 60% of the population is Christian, members of various churches, with Catholicism holding a special place.

Interest in countries on the margins

Beyond the religious question, this 40th Apostolic Journey shows the Pope's diplomatic interest in marginal countries and suffering populations, rather than in the purely doctrinal questions that preoccupied his predecessor Benedict XVI.

You have 61.74% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
African immigrants in Jeddah, 2011. FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP

The announcement on December 23 that the bilateral agreement on migrant workers between Uganda and Saudi Arabia had been suspended raised fears that their contracts would be canceled. But so far, dozens of young Ugandan women in domestic workers' uniforms continue to march, daily, through Entebbe International Airport gates, despite warnings from numerous human rights organizations.

A year ago, Martha* was one of them. In the bustling center of Nateete, a neighborhood southwest of Kampala, the 21-year-old saleswoman has been working in a small phone shop since her return. "I heard stories of women who were making a lot of money in the Middle East. They could buy land or a store when they returned, and a friend convinced me to try my luck here," she said. After getting a contract as a domestic worker through a recruitment agency, she flew to Saudi Arabia in January 2022, earning 900,000 Ugandan shillings a month (about 225), much higher than the income of the majority of Ugandans, of which 42.2% lived on less than $2.15 a day in 2019, according to the World Bank.

But once she arrived at her Saudi employers' home, the long-awaited paradise turned into a nightmare. "Very often when I was cleaning, the father of the family would grab me by force, touch my chest and I would almost have to fight because he would try to push me into my room to rape me," she said. After three months, Martha filed a report with her agency and asked to move to another home or be repatriated to Uganda. "They just told me that without proof of my accusations, I couldn't leave! And since they had given my passport to my employers when I arrived, I was stuck in that house without my papers."

For several months, her family tried everything to find common ground with the recruitment agency to break the two-year contract and bring her back to Kampala. "The situation was unblocked when I gave up my salary and we paid 2.7 million Ugandan shillings (674) to the Saudi family to buy my plane ticket," said Martha, who returned to her native country in October, six months after her first report.

'There is no safety net'

Her case is painfully commonplace in the offices of Rights for Maids, an organization created in 2020 to help domestic workers in distress in the Middle East. "There is no safety net once they are there," said Janepher Nabbumba, the organization's director. "So there is a lot of abuse: mistreatment, sexual assault, overwork, refusal to let domestic workers access medical care, non-payment of wages, and so on."

The suspension of the bilateral agreement signed in 2017, which aimed to increase the Ugandan workforce in Saudi Arabia, will be effective after 60 days if no compromise is found between the two parties. Among the points for negotiation is the increase in workers' pay, the improvement of social coverage, and above all the creation of a joint technical committee between the two countries.

"This was supposed to be put in place with the initial agreement, but it never was. It would ensure compliance with the terms of the partnership and deal directly with difficult situations," said Aggrey David Kibenge, Uganda's permanent secretary at the ministry of gender, labor, and social development. According to this official, the government has also decided to strengthen the embassy in Riyadh, with attaches dealing with domestic workers' issues.

This would be a first step for Rights for Maids, but the association has pleaded for measures to go further. Among these, the transition to renewable one-year contracts  instead of two  to avoid dangerous situations being prolonged, and compliance with the right to treatment, decent rest periods and to communicate with their families. "It is also essential that workers remain in possession of their passports," said Nabbumba.

More than 120,000 departures in 2022

Cases of violence against domestic workers are regularly reported. Last August, a demonstration was organized in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in support of the family of a young domestic worker who had died two months earlier after reporting her employers' brutality, yet departures to the kingdom, the top destination for Ugandan workers in the Middle East, have increased tenfold in five years, from about 12,000 in 2018 to more than 120,000 by 2022, according to the Ugandan authorities.

"It is a very important industry for the country, not only in terms of the money sent by the workers to their families but also in terms of the revenue collected by the state from the manufacture of passports or the payment of licenses to recruitment agencies," said Kibenge. The authorities estimate that in 2021, the state collected more than 42 billion Ugandan shillings (nearly 10.5 million euros) from sending workers to the Middle East. "By going through licensed agencies, the risks [of abuse] are minimized, because we can follow the migrants' journeys," said the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, something which makes Martha grind her teeth. "Once there, we are left to face our problems alone," she said.

A few kilometers away, in the working-class neighborhood of Bunamwaya, Anita* also returned from Saudi Arabia after breaking her contract. "I worked even at night and early in the morning. I didn't even have time to sleep when Madame woke me up to give me laundry or other chores," she said. "She would insult me. One of her children would hit me." The 22-year-old changed houses several times before an accident on the stairs landed her in the hospital and she returned to Uganda. No wages were paid to her during the six months she was there.

Yet Anita is already preparing to leave. "What else can I do?" the young mother said, concerned about being able to provide for her 2-year-old daughter, "There are no jobs here, so I can only try my luck again and pray that this time I will be working for a better family."

*First names have been changed.

Lucie Mouillaud(Kampala, special correspondent) Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.
A NEW exhibition featuring childrens drawings from Ukrainian bomb shelters during the Russian invasion, has opened at the Limerick Museum.

The Ukraine Ambassador to Ireland, Ms Larysa Gerasko, travelled to the museum at Henry Street in the city centre where she performed the official opening of the Shelter exhibition.

Ms Gerasko was welcomed by Dr Matthew Potter, curator of the Limerick Museum, who thanked her for attending the ceremony and for sharing the collection of childrens drawings with the people of Limerick.

On the night, Ms Gerasko spoke of the terrible suffering that the Ukrainian nation has undergone over the past twelve months and she thanked the people of Limerick for their support.

Curated by Maurice Quillinan, Shelter is a deeply moving exhibition.

Councillor Kieran OHanlon, Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, who attended the opening of the exhibition, spoke of the similarities that Ireland has with Ukraine, due to the historic and cultural parallels between the two countries.

It is not often that an art exhibition tugs at the heartstrings in such a profound manner. Only a heart of stone could remain indifferent to these drawings produced by innocent victims of cruelty and aggression, he said.

Dr Potter is urging the people of Limerick to visit the exhibition. Limerick Museum is honoured to host Shelter, one of the most poignant and significant exhibitions that Limerick has seen for many years.

The opening of the Shelter exhibition drew a large crowd, including many from the local Ukrainian community.

The exhibition, which is open Monday to Saturday (10am to 5pm), continues until Saturday, February 4.

Admission is free.
A LIMERICK school has been named Healthy Heroes School of the Month for January 2023.

Scoil Mhuire Murroe won the title thanks to the students efforts in promoting healthy eating.

It is among hundreds of primary schools across Ireland that are participating in the Healthy Heroes Lunch Club initiative from the Irish Bread Bakers Association (IBBA) and Bord Bia, which aims to educate children on nutrition, physical activity and how to improve their lunchtime habits.

Designed by teachers and behaviour change experts, the Healthy Heroes Lunch Club gives children the opportunity to foster valuable leadership, teamwork and communication skills, all while learning to stay active and eat healthily.

Now in its ninth year, the successful programme allows both pupils and teachers to learn all about lunchtime nutrition, helping to boost childrens activity levels, all whilst having lots of fun in a non-competitive environment.

The programme involves a novel peer learning approach with sixth class students mentoring younger students on the importance of nutrition and being active.

This provides the younger children with important role models, while the older children have an opportunity to foster valuable leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.

Patricia Griffin, Teacher at Scoil Mhuire Murroe says, "We are all so proud to be the Healthy Heroes school of the month for January.

"Our students absolutely love taking part in this initiative and the enjoyment they get from talking about their healthy lunchboxes, and how they prepare their lunches is clear to see. We can see the eagerness with which the older children in particular approach the structured activities and helping younger pupils to make healthy food choices."

Sarah FitzGerald who oversees the programme on behalf of the IBBA says: "Were delighted to see that Healthy Heroes is helping to make a real difference. School lunchtime is an important opportunity to develop positive attitudes towards food choices and nutrition. Incorporating healthy eating habits from a young age and in a playful environment is a vital stepping stone to their future food habits."
THE HEAD teacher at Limerick prison has been honoured by President Michael D Higgins after she received a Gaisce award for her efforts in supporting young people to reach their full potential.

The Gaisce Recognition Award ceremony took place at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Dublin at the weekend.

One of those honoured was the Limerick-based teacher Anita Dooley who was praised for her implementation of the Gaisce programme in Limerick prison.

Anita was one of 34 Presidents Award Leaders from across the country who were honoured.

Gaisces Civic Merit Award honours Presidents Award Leaders who guide young people through the Gaisce personal development programme, which enhances confidence through participation in personal, physical, community and team challenges.

Speaking about the Awardees, Avril Ryan, Acting CEO of Gaisce said she was delighted to celebrate the work of our Presidents Award Leaders across the country.

For many young people, a Gaisce Award is often the first time they receive any recognition for their achievements. A Gaisce Award recognises volunteering and leadership skills - whilst also promoting that young people have every opportunity to dream big and fulfil their potential," she said.

During the ceremony, a special message from President Higgins was read by Chair of Gaisce John Cunningham.

The leadership of all of you has undoubtedly played a significant role in the success of the programme and the growth and development of the participants. It is with great pleasure and a sense of gratitude that I send my warmest congratulations and my sincere appreciation for your valued contribution to Gaisce.

Since the beginning of Gaisce in 1985, over 300,000 young Irish people have completed a Gaisce Award programme, thanks to leaders such as Anita in Limerick prison, inspiring students to achieve their goals.
LIMERICK'S OWN Bad Reputation Promotions has been one of the Mid-West's primary supporters of metal and alternative music acts for the last 16 years.

Established in 2007 by John Real, Ciaran Culhane and Shane Horan, the trio came together after promoting small shows in local bars of Limerick. Their goal was to promote Irish and international metal in Limerick.

Shane departed after a few years for adventures abroad, but John and Ciaran continued making waves in the underground scene, ultimately settling in Dolan's which has become their hub.

The duo works on a volunteer basis throughout the year to deliver a wide array of metal and alternative genre concerts including at their bi-annual festival  The Siege of Limerick.

The Siege of Limerick takes place in April and October annually and hosts a range of bands in a variety of subgenres of metal and alternative music from all around the nation and the globe.

It is a free event and children are welcome to attend until the curfew time - hopefully creating a new generation of fans.

It started out as a peripheral festival, something small for local bands and it grew from there to an international event that still has that community ethos, John said.

The festival, which welcomes people from all walks of life who share an interest in metal music, is run by a crew of Bad Reputation volunteers.

There are loads of international cohorts that come to the Siege now, there's a guy from Japan that comes... people from France, Germany, England...

John says he and his team have exceeded their original expectations and are proud of what the festival has come to be.

With the Siege of Limerick, I've always been a strong believer of community empowerment and values and that music is for everyone, he explained.

During the Covid-19 restrictions, the live music industry was impacted massively. Despite this, Bad Reputation remained proactive and when they had to cancel The Siege of Limerick due to lockdown restrictions, they established Siegecast - a live-streamed Siege of Limerick event with Crude Media that Bad Reputation organised as a virtual substitute to the bi-annual festival.

In 2020 and 2021, with the streamed events they ran, Bad Reputation raised over six thousand euro for charities which were chosen by the bands who featured.

Dolan's has hosted The Siege of Limerick festival and the concerts for over ten years and Bad Reputation maintains a strong relationship with the family and praises them highly.

When Bad Reputation held a concert in King John's Castle in 2019 featuring Polish black metal band Behemoth and Viking-themed melodic death metal band Amon Amarth, they were met with negative feedback including from a local councillor.

Despite this, the Dolan family supported Bad Reputation and their vision and the concert proved to be highly successful.

Even when we got some flack from very narrow-minded people on that, they backed us. John said, referring to the Dolan family.

They understand that it's an art form and art cannot be tamed. It's a testament to how professional they are in their approach to live music, hospitality and supporting Limerick. I'm forever grateful to Mick, Valerie and Neil, added John.

Speaking to John on a personal level as a fan of the music, this reporter asked about the negative stereotypes of metal music that have been rife since the dawn of the genre.

People fear what they don't understand. What I would say to people who have a negative perception of metal is: actually talk to metal fans. Realise they're human beings and not gargoyles that lurk in the shadows. It's a genre that trundles away happily as an underground music culture and its persistence and longevity if anything has to stand for something, John explained.

The Limerick metal scene is a very diverse one, according to John.

I'm sure a fair amount of people think that it's just old white men. I completely disagree, I think we have a very diverse metal scene in Limerick... and anyone that disagrees  come to a Siege. See how diverse it is.

The genre is all-encompassing, complex and creative, and Bad Reputation are proud to represent it in Limerick. The thematic scope of heavy metal goes from social equality with bands like Napalm Death  changing the world, to wizards and fantasy with bands like Dio. Heavy metal challenges the listener. It's challenging, it's abrasive, it's in your face. You have to actively engage. And that is problematic for a lot of people.

Bad Reputation hosts Cork based post-rock outfit Partholon in Dolan's this Saturday night. Tickets are available via the Dolan's website.
Hindustan Zinc is the first company among its peers to join the EV revolution, steadily switching to electric vehicles for its underground operations

The company will invest USD 1 billion for converting all diesel-run 900 odd mining vehicles to battery operated ones



In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian mining sector, Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group company, has introduced Normet Agitator SmartDrive EV, into its underground mining operations. The company will soon expand its BEV fleet with Normets Explosive Charger (CHARMEC MC 605 V SD) and Concrete Sprayer (SPRAYMEC MF 050 VC SD). Hindustan Zinc is the first company among its peers to join the EV revolution, steadily switching to electric vehicles for its underground operations. The company has set a target of converting all diesel-run 900-odd mining vehicles into battery operated ones over the next five years and has earmarked an investment of over USD 1 billion for the same.



Hindustan Zinc, together with the Finnish technology company Normet Group Oy, has inducted battery-powered service equipment and utility vehicles into underground mining to help decarbonize and improve environmental sustainability in the mining industry. Each of the Normet SmartDrive EVs are based on a modular Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) architecture that is designed to optimise energy consumption and performance in underground mining, including tunnelling applications. The SmartDrive EVs enable higher productivity, lower operating costs, and, most importantly, zero emissions. The BEVs have been inducted at the companys Sindesar Khurd (SK) Mine which is a world class silver-rich mine with state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities and best-in-class mechanisation.



Commenting on the induction of the EVs, Mr Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc, said, Our aim at Hindustan Zinc is to revolutionise underground mining, boost productivity, raise underground safety standards, and provide sustainable operations solutions. Thanks to our unwavering commitment to environmentally sustainable business and net zero emissions, we've always focused on innovative and environmentally friendly solutions. I believe the introduction of battery-electric vehicles in Hindustan Zincs underground mining operations will revolutionise the sector and mark a great step forward for India in terms of responsible mining."



Speaking on the occasion, Mr Subhasis Mohanty, Managing Director, Normet India, said, We are pleased to partner with Hindustan Zinc to solidify our ESG commitment, by bringing into reality the first of our fleet of Normet SmartDrive  BEVs in HZL underground mines. Our association has been valuable to drive common goals on sustainability and decarbonisation in the Indian mining sector, driving transformation in the underground space and building long-term value for all our stakeholders."



Hindustan Zinc will gain considerable benefits from the adoption of Normet SmartDrive EVs, including significant HSD savings and vehicle maintenance. These SmartDrive electric vehicles are powered by 90kWH lithium-ion batteries and come equipped with myriad advanced technologies such as energy recuperation technology, hydraulic dual-circuit oil-immersed brakes to provide additional braking power, etc. The vehicles also have the advantage of zero-emission in the operating environments, considerable noise and vibration reduction associated with equipment. In addition to that, BEVs comes with high-efficiency driveline and consumes less kWh/ km compared to diesel ones.



Hindustan Zinc is a pioneer in the sector, continually deploying transformational and sustainable technologies in pursuit of sustainable mining. The introduction of the EVs serves as yet another decisive step for its sustainable and smart operations goals. Hindustan Zincs abiding commitment to sustainability and environmental-friendly solutions, then, puts it on the path to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) of achieving a 0.5mn tCO2e reduction by 2025.

About Hindustan Zinc Limited



Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group Company, is one of the worlds largest and Indias only integrated producer of Zinc-Lead and Silver. The Company has its headquarters at Udaipur in the State of Rajasthan where it has its Zinc-Lead mines and smelting complexes. Hindustan Zinc is self-sufficient in power with captive thermal power plants and has ventured into green energy by setting upwind power plants. The Company is ranked 1st in Asia-Pacific for the fourth consecutive year and globally 3rd in S&P Global Corporate Responsibility Assessment in 2022 amongst Mining & Metal companies. Hindustan Zinc is a certified Water Positive Company and is the only Indian company to be recognised at the S&P Global Platts Metal Award 2022 and has won the two prestigious awards for Industry Leadership Award  Base, Precious and Specialty Metals Award and Corporate Social Responsibility Award.



The company takes pride in having some of the best-in-class people practices and employee-centric initiatives, which have certified Hindustan Zinc as  Great Place to Work 2022, Company with Great Managers 2022 by People Business and the People-first HR Excellence Award.



As a socially responsible corporate, Hindustan Zinc has been relentlessly working to improve the lives of rural and tribal people residing near its business locations. The company is amongst the Top 15 CSR Spenders in India and are currently reaching out to 1.4 million people in 234 villages out of which 184 in Rajasthan, and 34 in Uttarakhand. As a market leader, Hindustan Zinc governs about ~80% of the growing Zinc market in India.



Learn more about Hindustan Zinc on - https://www.hzlindia.com/home/ and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook , and Instagram for more updates.

Media Contact Details

Maitreyee Sankhla (Interim  Head Corporate Communications), Hindustan Zinc Limited, HZLcorpcomm@vedanta.co.in

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
Xi encourages Hungarian youths to learn more about China, become envoys of friendship

Xinhua) 14:10, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged Hungarian youths to learn more about China and become envoys of the China-Hungary friendship in a recent reply letter.

In his reply to a letter from students of the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in the Central and Eastern European country, Xi said he and his wife were glad to hear from the Hungarian students during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, and he still remembers chatting with teachers and students of the school in 2009.

Xi said he would like to give the students a thumbs-up upon hearing that the students have kept learning Chinese for a long time and are committed to making contributions to the China-Hungary friendship.

He emphasized that both China and Hungary have a long history and a splendid culture, and people of the two countries enjoy a traditional friendship and increasingly close cultural exchanges.

The students, Xi said, are welcomed to study in Chinese universities after graduation from high school, hoping that more and more Hungarian youths will love and study the Chinese language.

Xi also said that he hoped they have the opportunity to travel around the country, learn more about today's China as well as its history and culture, and strive to become envoys to carry forward and develop the China-Hungary friendship.

Founded in September 2004, the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school is the only full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese and the local language for instruction. Currently, the school has 12 grades and 20 classes with more than 530 students.

During his visit to Hungary in October 2009, Xi, who was then China's vice president, visited the school.

Before the Spring Festival, two students whose Chinese names are Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, wrote a letter to Xi and his wife, Professor Peng Liyuan, on behalf of all students in the school, conveying their New Year's greetings. In their letter, they also spoke about what it felt studying Chinese in the school for 12 years, and expressed their willingness to study in Chinese universities and contribute to the Hungary-China friendship.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
NEW DELHI : Increasing exports to markets such as Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia are boosting the growth of the country's outbound shipments, FIEO said on Tuesday.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said the Economic Survey has rightly highlighted India's growing and diversifying merchandise trade.

"The new diversified markets, including those of Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, have led to the increase in exports by up to 2 times," he said.

The ongoing trade negotiations with the UK, EU, Canada, and Israel will also add further impetus to our exports, he added.

"Reducing the cost of logistics in the country, which now to the tune of 14-15 per cent, comparable to the global benchmark, will help in making our exports more competitive worldwide," Sakthivel said.

Yogesh Gupta, Regional Chairman, FIEO (Eastern Region), said the exporter fraternity is expecting fiscal support and affordable credit, from the upcoming budget.

"A need of the hour is to support exports by reducing lending rates and to restore interest equalisation rates in view of the rising cost of credit will be of great help," Gupta said.

Additional financial support to units generating additional employment in the export sector will also be an incentive for exporters.

"Special schemes for goods exported by MSME will act as a catalyst in increasing the MSME contribution to exports. Also, initiatives for ease of doing business would be a big facilitator, India should consider having its own shipping lines," he said.
MakeMyTrip, the Nasdaq-listed travel service provider posted its highest-ever gross booking and adjusted operating profit for the December quarter, on the back of a demand surge for leisure travel and improved consumer sentiment.

It also turned profitable and reported profit of $0.2 million, compared to net loss of $9 million in the year ago. Its gross bookings grew 64.4% in constant currency from a year ago to $1.74 billion, from $1.16 billion, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.

Its revenue stood at $170.5 million for the quarter, against $115 million in Q3 FY22, while adjusted operating profit rose from $13.2 million to $19.7 million, it added.

Positive consumer sentiment and peak seasonality on the back of festivals and holidays led to improved travel demand in this quarter Strong growth across air, hotel and bus bookings reaffirms our position as a trusted travel super-app in India," MakeMyTrips co-founder and Group CEO Rajesh Magow said.

The company said its revenue from air ticketing went up from $27.4 million in the year ago to $38.4 million during the third quarter of FY23, while revenue from hotels and packages improved to $103.3 million, from $67.2 million in the period under consideration.

Bus ticket revenue jumped from $14.7 million to $19.5 million, the company said.

The reported quarter was the second high leisure travel season of the year aided by the winter and festival breaks and long weekends, Magow said at the earnings call. We leveraged demand and executed our business strategies well to get back to full recovery over pre-pandemic levels in gross booking terms, and drove operating leverage from cost optimisation initiatives of the last few years."

Trends suggest that travellers are back on all travel segments including leisure, business, pilgrimage and corporate events, and will drive growth in the coming years as well, he added. During the quarter, we strengthened our free cancellation flow within 24 hours of booking, this is again an industry-first initiative. All the innovations helped us remain the first choice for customers. We continue to maintain our leadership position and our market share in domestic air ticketing in this quarter stood at 30.3%," Magow said.

For the company, domestic air ticketing surpassed that of the pre-pandemic levels, while international air ticketing recovery was still lagging.

On the accommodation business, which includes Hotels, Packages and Homestays segment, the inventory on the platform is now comparable to pre covid levels, Magow said. This has also helped us now offer stay options over more than 2000 cities. Aided with seasonality, this quarter we sold more than 53,000 unique properties which was at par with pre-covid levels."

Homestays, he said, continue to lead the recovery in the overall accommodation category with over 10,000 properties across 640 destinations.

With business travel normalizing, the companys corporate platforms - myBiz and Q2T  are growing exceptionally, he said.

In the international businesses, the companys OTA business in GCC was growing slowly but, steadily, he said. Gross booking value grew 29.6% QoQ. redBus international business is showing robust recovery, in Malaysia, redBus has more than doubled its business in Q3 as compared to the same period pre-pandemic and emerged as a clear market leader with a 25% share of the overall market and running profitably."

He said the same playbook is being replicated in other big bus markets in emerging countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America. With this, the contribution of International to overall bus business has crossed double digits in Q3," Magow added.

Mohit Kabra, Group CFO, MakeMyTrip, said that rationalising fixed costs during the last few years and more efficient customer acquisition spends were helping the company drive bottom line gains with improving scale.

For the 9 months ended 31 December 2022, MakeMyTrips YTD Gross Bookings grew by 141% in constant currency terms and came in at $4.9 billion, while Adjusted Operating Profit came in at $51.3 million as compared to $11.2 million for same period last year, witnessing a jump of over 4.6 times.
NEW DELHI : The Adani Group has planned to implement a twin-airport strategy for Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports and the first step involves shifting of turboprop aircraft operations to Navi Mumbai airport to reduce congestion at the Mumbai international airport. The aim of the strategy is to free up runway capacity at Mumbai airport by shifting the small aircraft operations to Navi Mumbai, which is expected to commence operations by December 2024.

The conglomerate also plans to shift one major airline to Navi Mumbai International Airport from Mumbai airport. Currently, IndiGo, Vistara and Air India are among the major carriers from Mumbai airport.

Releasing gridlock by shifting one major airline to Navi Mumbai International Airport which we expect will add efficiency and economy of scale to such airline with priority allocation of slots at Navi Mumbai International Airport; and enhanced capacity is expected to help airlines to create their hub and spoke model where international traffic is supplemented by demand of extended catchment area," the conglomerate said in their latest red herring prospectus of follow-on public offering of new shares.

In February 2019, the Gautam Adani-led group won bids for six AAI airports, including Lucknow, Mangaluru, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. The group pays the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a state-owned enterprise a per-passenger charge. The group is responsible for operating, managing, and developing airports across 50 years.

The Adani Group acquired a 74% stake in Mumbais international airport in July 2021 by picking up GVK Groups 50.5% stake and a 23.5% stake from ACSA Global Ltd and Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Ltd (Bidvest). As a result, the group also get to build and operate the Navi Mumbai airport.

The Adani Group has planned to invest 8000 crore in its airports business over the next five years by utilising nearly 40% of the gross proceeds from its 20,000-crore follow-on public offering of new shares, which is being touted as the country's biggest FPO.

The conglomerate has proposed to invest 2,268.00 crore in Ahmedabad airport, 304.00 crore in Mangaluru airport, and 2,722.00 crore in Lucknow airport. The company will invest the respective amounts either directly or indirectly, by way of subscription to its equity shares, preference shares, nonconvertible debentures and, or by way of sub-ordinate debt.

The investments in the airports will be used to carry out improvement works of the terminal, airside, cargo, expansion of fuel storage and distribution system, among other areas.

The company will also use the funds for payment in part or full for principal outstanding loan of  2,448.17 crore for Adani airports holdings. The accrued interest for the loan as on 31 December, 2022 stood at 235.25 crore. The loan is a related party loan through an inter corporate deposit from Adani Properties Private Ltd and the last repayment date is currently at 31 March, 2028.

The group has plans to increase international flights to long haul western and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations destinations, aims to attract airlines to make the airports as their hubs by offering a series of incentives, such as night maintenance and airplane parking bays, and wants to develop air cargo associated infrastructure such as cargo villages, perishable pack houses and logistics parks.

We expect to generate revenue from the commercial development of property surrounding airports of approximately 650 acres. With this sizable retail space and land bank, and increasing consumer purchasing power in India, we believe there is a significant opportunity to increase non-aeronautical operations revenue per passenger," the group further said.

The Adani Group also plans to develop the land in a phased manner to cover hotels, retail establishments and office space such that our airports act as a The Destination Magnet" for customers, along with convenience offered through a super-app.

The seven operational airports run by Adani Group account for 23.7% passenger traffic in India as per December data from Airports Authority of India. In terms of freight carriage, Adani-run airports share stood at 30.7% in December.
Elon Musk asked a U.S. judge to throw out a lawsuit claiming that his delayed disclosure of a large stake in Twitter Inc defrauded shareholders who sold Twitter stock at artificially low prices because they were kept in the dark.

In the federal court case in Manhattan, investors accused Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, of waiting 11 days past a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission deadline the previous March to disclose he had bought 5% of its stock.

The shareholders said Musk saved more than $200 million by adding to his holdings - while quietly meeting with Twitter executives about his plans for the social media company - before finally revealing a 9.2% stake, cheating stock sellers and options traders out of the "true value" of their securities.

But in a Monday night filing, Musk said investors in the proposed class action had no independent right to obtain damages under the SEC disclosure rule, and could not show that all class members actually relied on his silence before trading.

Musk also noted, as had the shareholders, that he had properly disclosed his stakes in electric car maker Tesla Inc and the former SolarCity Corp at least 20 times, and even mentioned the SEC rule to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in 2018 when negotiating a possible investment in Tesla.

Despite a "laundry list" of accusations suggesting an intent to defraud, "the most compelling inference is that any failure to disclose was inadvertent," the world's second-richest person said.

The shareholders are led by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System. Katie Sinderson, one of their lawyers, declined to comment on Tuesday.

Under the SEC rule, investors must disclose within 10 days when they have acquired 5% of a company, which for Musk's Twitter investment would have been last March 24.

Twitter shares rose 27% on April 4, to $49.97 from $39.31, after Musk disclosed his 9.2% stake, which investors viewed as his vote of confidence in San Francisco-based Twitter.

The case is Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-03026.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
MUMBAI , GAUTAM ADANI : In a huge relief for billionaire Gautam Adani, institutional investors and family offices of high net worth individuals (HNIs) salvaged the 20,000 crore follow-on public offering (FPO) of Adani Enterprises Ltd, ensuring the issue was subscribed 1.12 times, up from just 0.03 times the previous day.

However, retail investors and Adani employees remained disinterested, given that shares were available for less in the secondary market.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

Apart from anchor investors, who invested 6,000 crore last week, qualified institutional buyers (QIBs)largely foreign institutional investorsand HNI family offices participated big-time for the remaining 14,000 crore.

On Monday, Abu Dhabis royal family backed International Holding Co. (IHC) said it will invest $400 million in the FPO to subscribe to 16% of the share sale.

Word on the Street was that the Adani Enterprises FPO was supported by the family offices of some of the leading industrialists in the country.

However, Mint could not independently confirm the same.

Against the 45.5 million shares on offer, institutional and non-institutional shareholders, retail, and employees bid for a total of 50.9 million shares, enabling the FPO to sail through.

Adani Enterprises shares closed at 2,975 on BSE, 3.5% above their previous days close but 4.4% below the FPO floor price of 3,112.

The share sale was priced in a range of 3,112-3,276, with a discount of 64 for retail investors.

Retail and employee interest remained dull because of the fall in prices below the floor, but interest by HNI family offices and FPIs, who bid at a premium to the market price, is likely to ensure some short-covering in the near term," said Rajesh Palviya, vice-president of Axis Securities. The negative overhang on the stocks will sharply reduce for now."

While QIB and non-institutional investors bid 1.26 times and 3.32 times above their quotas, retail investor subscription stood at 0.12 times, while that of employees was subscribed by a little over half the reserved portion.

Arun Kejriwal, the founder of investment advisory firm KRIS, said that, unlike institutional investors who have a longer-term view and stand by their commitment to invest, even if the price corrected subsequently, retail would apply only and only if" the price at application was lower than the prevailing market rate.

The success of the FPO eased the selling pressure on group stocks. However, the market cap of 10 listed Adani stocks fell by 2,160 crore on Tuesday after falling 5.7 trillion over three sessions through Monday.

Adani Green, Adani Transmission, Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cements, Adani Ports, ACC and NDTV closed 1-4% higher, the only exceptions being Adani Total Gas, Adani Wilmar and Adani Power, which remained frozen at their lower circuits of 10% and 5%.

The recovery in these stocks also eased the pressure on banking stocks such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, which caused both benchmark indicesthe Sensex and the Niftyto end marginally in the green after a turbulent session ahead of key events such as the Union budget and Fed policy outcome on Wednesday.

Jugeshinder Singh, Adani Group chief financial officer, a day earlier, said that the offer would proceed without any extension or change in issue price, despite concerns raised about the impact of Hindenburg Research allegations on the FPOs fate.

The cut-off price of the offer will be declared on Wednesday.

Hindenburg Research alleged price manipulation and accounting fraud by the group, which the latter has termed baseless and unresearched.

The Adani group is examining legal redress based on the advice of its legal team, with Hindenburg daring it to do so.
Impossible Foods Inc., the maker of meatless burgers and sausages, is preparing to cut about 20% of its staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Redwood City, California-based company currently employs about 700 workers. The new round of dismissals could reduce that amount by more than 100.

Impossible Foods also offered voluntary separation payments and benefits to employees at the end of 2022, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing private information. An internal document viewed by Bloomberg confirmed the separation packages being offered. The company previously reduced headcount in October, cutting about 6% of its workforce at the time.

Impossible Foods didnt respond to a request for comment.

Closely held Impossible Foods recently said its sales were up more than 50% in 2022 in dollar terms at US retail stores. In a September interview, Chief Executive Officer Peter McGuinness said Impossible Foods has a strong balance sheet and good cash position.

See also: Fake meats hyped burgers became another food fad

Impossible Foods has rapidly expanded to restaurants and supermarkets. Maintaining momentum will become challenging as performance of the broader plant-based meat category slips. Supermarket sales of refrigerated meat alternatives fell 15% by volume for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 1, according to market-research firm IRI, while they declined 14% in dollar terms.

In restaurants and food-service outlets, orders of plant-based burgers dropped 9% in the 12 months ended in November, according to market researcher NPD Group. Impossible Foods sells products at major restaurant chains, including White Castle, Qdoba and Burger King, which offers the Impossible Whopper.

Data from HundredX, a consumer-experience strategy firm, also suggests falling interest. The percentage of shoppers who have eaten Impossible products but say theyre less likely to eat as much going forward has risen, according to feedback collected from 1,723 consumers in the last year.

Beyond Meat Inc., a key competitor to Impossible Foods, also reduced its workforce last year amid slumping sales. The companys stock has rallied about 35% this year following an 81% plunge in 2022.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
New Delhi: Hospitality firm IHG Hotels & Resorts, which runs brands like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, InterContinental, and Staybridge Suites, is looking to open more of its brands in India as the hotels industry sees a revival in demand in FY23.

The company said the sustained economic activity and GDP growth will drive travel and tourism across the board here, and it is strengthening its focus on the Indian market on the belief that the resultant infrastructure development from the economic stability is going to result in a proliferation of hotels.

Kenneth Macpherson, IHG Hotels' chief executive officer told Mint that he is optimistic about India as the GDP growth has had an impact on the improved disposable income and the general growth in the domestic economy.

India is one of our priority markets. As we have seen in the last year or so, the demand for hotels is outstripping supply and this is a market we need to be thinking about now and double down on the investments that were making here and the plans that weve got to build India for the long term," said Macpherson.

He said the time frame for hotel project constructions from the time they are initiated, to when they are finished and when the assets open up has a longer timeframe than other markets he looks at. But he said these challenges were very similar to other high-growth markets.

In 2021, the company had told Mint that it would bring the Regent, Kimpton, Vignette Collections and Voco brands to India but so far only two Voco hotels --an upscale lifestyle brand-- have been signed here. It now has 43 hotels under five brands in the country, adding four hotels since December 2021 to its India portfolio. These two hotels will be in Jim Corbett, Uttarakhand and Gurugram.

On being asked about a slower growth rate in the region, as compared to its counterparts like Marriott, Wyndham, he said the companys growth rate from 2016 to the end of 2022 in terms of operating hotels was about 10% a year in terms of number of hotels and 11% a year in terms of number of rooms, giving it about 7500 rooms in the country.

Our desire is to bring those brands to India but we will want them to be absolutely in the right locations and markets for the right customer segment. But we feel this is a sustainable growth. As compared to our counterparts, we are actually closing the gap and are growing faster than them in terms of operating properties," he added.

According to industry estimates, India has about 1.5 lakh branded rooms in the starred hotels category.

From a performance point of view, the company said it has surpassed 2019 levels in terms of its operating performance at almost all its properties here and that the hotels are starting to see the early return of domestic corporate business and some level of international corporate traffic as well. The company expects a sharp increase in the average daily rate -- a metric used to measure a hotels rate performance -- at a faster pace than the occupancies.

We have a good growth cemented in the next three years across the brand segments with it being cemented in the mainstream essentials, the Holiday Inn family of brands," he said.
State-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) has sought government approval to raise the ceiling of investment for joint ventures from 30% of net worth to 50% as it seeks to diversify into aluminium production besides setting up a 1,200 MW joint venture power plant in Madhya Pradesh. In an interview, chairman and managing director Pramod Agrawal said the proposal has been moved for interdepartmental discussions. Edited excerpts:

Aluminium has been a major focus for CIL in terms of diversification. What are your plans?

We are looking at aluminium seriously. We initially want to invest in bauxite mining and alumina, stabilize that and then get into aluminium. If CIL keeps on investing in this space, it should also look at downstream sectors in the future.

What is the update on the proposed aluminium plant in Odisha for which you had sought expressions of interest for an equity partner?

There is a condition that we cannot invest more than 30% of equity in JVs and others. We have already breached it because CIL also gets money through its subsidiaries. When our net worth increases, their investment also increases. So, in that way that 30% mark is already breached. We are seeking permission from the government. It should significantly increase. It is due to a structural problem. We should get at least 20% above that.

Mahanadi Coalfields has announced plan to build a power plant. Will CIL or its subsidiaries set up more power plants going ahead?

We are thinking of two power plants. One at Mahanadi. Another plant in partnership with Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Co., in which we will have 50% share. Once we get the permission to raise the limit, we can invest. Capacity of the Mahanadi plant is 1,200 MW. The other plant will also have a capacity of 1,200 MW. That will happen only after government has given permission (to increase investment cap beyond 30% of net worth). CIL has given the proposal to the (coal) ministry. The inter-department consultations must be underway.

What are your plans for the coal-to-chemical segment?

Coal-to-chemical is not easy. Ammonium nitrate production may be an easy option because we consume 60-70% of the ammonium nitrate produced in the country. So, we can manufacture our own ammonium nitrate and consume it. That will de-risk us (from supply concerns). Other things we are looking at are DME (Dimethyl ether (DME) and syngas (synthesis gas); whether DME can be mixed with LPG. So, that is a good replacement and syngas, we can use for manufacturing many things, including fertilizers.

How do you see the coal crises in the past few years?

There are three factors in power supply. Coal, railway and power generation. We produced 606 mt in 2018-19, which was a significant rise. In 2019-20, it went down to 602-603 mt because in March there were problems. In 2020-21, we produced 596 mt. With the improvement in mining process, our quality is improving every year. In 2021-22, we increased coal production to 623 mt, though the first three months (April-June) were lost due to the covid crisis. In 2022-23, we tried to meet whatever ground we had lost, and the production will definitely cross 700 mt.

Will you require imports in FY24?

It may be required in the initial phase. Coal stock for power is neither depleting nor accretion is taking place. Generally, in November-January, accretion takes place. This year that has not happened. Stock of domestic coal at power plants must be in the range of 31 mt. We should reach 45 mt by end of March. So, there is a shortage of about 14 mt. Even 31 mt is one of the highest-ever. We need 14 mt more. As per the predictions, it seems accretion wont take place in February and March also. So, they are thinking of imports of 14 mt to ensure a comfortable position. During the rainy season, we should not face any crisis. (This fiscal), we had done a tender of up to 3 mt each on both the coasts, with a provision to increase it by 100%. So, it can be 6 mt each on both the sides. This time we have not been asked, but, if asked, we have contracts till June and we can go ahead to take care of 12 mt. Contracts were signed with Indonesias PT Bara Daya Energi.

What is your cash balance?

It must be at 44,000 crore (as of 30 September 2022).

How much dues will states need to pay to CIL?

Almost every state is paying barring Maharashtra. We have made an arrangement in West Bengal...that process is continuing. We should not pressurize beyond a point because they are also facing financial pressure. We are engaged with Maharashtra. Dues are around 15,500 crore.
SHAZHOU (CHINA) : For years, thousands of tourists flocked almost daily to this village in Chinas southern Hunan provincean early stronghold of the Communist forces during the countrys civil warto steep themselves in revolutionary history.

Pandemic-related travel restrictions and lockdowns over the past 12 months slowed that flow to a trickle. China moved this year to drop the curbs but the wave of Covid infections that followed has caused continued disruptions, Shazhou residents say.

The impact on the village economy is huge," said Zhu Zhongxiong, a farmer in his 80s and longtime resident of the 500-person village where many were busy preparing for this months Lunar New Year celebrations.

Public health experts and economists have been watching the situation in Chinas countryside closely around the holidays because of concerns that migrant workers returning to their rural hometowns could bring a surge in Covid cases and swamp local healthcare systems.

The chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Zunyou, sought to tamp down those concerns earlier this month, saying 80% of Chinese people had already been infected with Covid, adding that a second big wave of cases in the next few months was unlikely.

Chinas government has made narrowing the countrys urban-rural income divide a priority. In November 2020, the Communist Party said a yearslong poverty alleviation campaign had succeeded in eliminating extreme poverty nationwide.

Per capita disposable household income in rural areas grew to just over 17,000 yuan, or roughly $2,500, in 2020, compared with 9,400 yuan in 2013, the first full year in office for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The governments zero-Covid policies at first seemed to be a boon to both urban and rural Chinese, who were able to lead something close to normal lives during the first two years of the pandemic as other countries were crippled by wave after wave of infections and government-imposed restrictions.

But an explosion in Chinas use of lockdowns in response to the arrival of Omicron in early 2022 damaged the economy and helped fuel a sharp rise in youth unemployment.

China recorded GDP growth of 3% in 2022, one of the slowest paces of economic expansion since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976.

Migrants from the countryside tend to work either in factories or the service sector, which were both hit hard by Covid lockdowns.

Remittances by migrant workers to family members in rural areas fell during the pandemic, with eight out of 10 households that rely heavily on such contributions seeing an income drop of at least 10% during Chinas initial effort to eradicate the virus in 2020, according to the Asian Development Bank. It isnt known how remittance levels have changed more recently, although many migrant workers have reported continuing to struggle financially as some major cities were locked down last year.

Official data shows the gap in disposable income between rural and urban Chinese has grown by more than 2,400 yuan since the end of 2020, which was 18% quicker than the previous two-year period. Average disposable income for rural households in 2022 was the equivalent of about $3,000, compared with more than $7,200 for urban households.

Chinas top economic-planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the information office of Chinas cabinet, the State Council, didnt respond to requests for comment.

In Fengdu county, in the central region of Chongqing, most residents pointed to the economy as a greater source of anxiety than the virus. Nearly everyone The Wall Street Journal interviewed said he or she had already been infected with Covid but most reported having mild symptoms that they treated with painkillers and traditional herbal remedies.

When the virus first arrived, residents of Gao Tingmings village in Fengdu erected barriers to keep outsiders from coming in and to protect themselves from Covid-19. Mr. Gao, farming potatoes on a recent afternoon, said he no longer fears the virus and trusts the government made the right decision to scrap zero-Covid when it did, but he remains scared of accruing medical bills he cant afford.

The rural economy is tough and the cost of being admitted into an intensive-care unit is really high," Mr. Gao said.

Spending on medical services and medicines by rural Chinese grew 15% between 2019 and 2022, outpacing growth in expenditures by urban residents, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Up the road from Mr. Gaos farm, the owner of a shop selling womens clothing and cosmetics said sales were down by half recently, as many consumers had switched to buying online during the pandemic. Many of the areas brick-and-mortar stores had already closed, she said.

Its not just our store doing badly. Its everyone struggling," she said.

The subdued scene in Fengdu stood in contrast to Beijing and other major cities, where restaurants and shops have begun coming back to life, and where some better-off residents are planning overseas vacations now that the government has loosened border controls. The rural economy could also recover as increased consumption in the cities trickles down to the countryside through greater demand for migrant labor.

Mr. Xi has sought to boost nationalism in what he calls the new socialist countryside." A loudspeaker in Shazhou bellowed a patriotic tune by a childrens choir on a recent day.

Listen to the party, go along with the party," the children sang.

Many residents credited Mr. Xi and the government for hefty spending on highways and high-speed rail lines that better connect rural areas with bigger cities, where jobs are more plentiful.

Still, said one shopkeeper in rural Hunan, life in China had become more unpredictable under the current leadership.

China is a country ruled by man, not by the law," he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that it is expecting some slowdown in the Indian economy next fiscal year and projected the growth to 6.1 percent from 6.8 percent during the current fiscal ending March 31.

Growth in India is set to decline from 6.8 percent in 2022 to 6.1 percent in 2023 before picking up to 6.8 percent in 2024, with resilient domestic demand despite external headwinds," said the IMFs World Economic Outlook update.

Our growth projections actually for India are unchanged from our October Outlook. We have 6.8 percent growth for this current fiscal year, which runs until March, and then we're expecting some slowdown to 6.1 percent in fiscal year 2023. And that is largely driven by external factors," Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Chief Economist and Director, Research Department of the IMF told reporters in Washington.

The IMF on Tuesday released the January update of its World Economic Outlook, according to which the global growth is projected to fall from an estimated 3.4 percent in 2022 to 2.9 percent in 2023, then rise to 3.1 percent in 2024.

According to the World Economic Outlook update released by the IMF on Tuesday, about 84 percent of countries are expected to have lower headline (consumer price index) inflation in 2023 than in 2022.

Global inflation is set to fall from 8.8 percent in 2022 (annual average) to 6.6 percent in 2023 and 4.3 percent in 2024 -- above pre-pandemic (201719) levels of about 3.5 percent, it said.
New Delhi: India is emerging as a stable global supply chain partner, said President Draupadi Murmu in her first address to the joint sitting of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha as the Budget session began.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Union Budget 2023-24 on 1 February. The Budget session will have 27 sittings. The first part of the session will conclude on 14 February. Parliament will reconvene on 12 March for the second part of the session and continue till 6 April.

Todays world is witnessing many challenges. The relevance and efficacy of international institutions created decades ago is also being questioned. Under these circumstances, India has emerged as a country that is connecting todays divided world in some form or the other. India is today among those countries that are reinforcing the trust in the global supply chain. Therefore, today, the world is looking towards India with high hopes," she said.

President Murmus comments come at a time when geopolitical changes are propelling countries and large corporations to look for alternative supply chains to China. Indias position as a provider of global supply and value chains also gets enhanced with the country assuming the G20 presidency this year.

This year, India has assumed the presidency of an influential global group like G20. With the mantra of One Earth, One Family, One Future, India is attempting to find collective solutions to the current global challenges in collaboration with the G20 member countries. My government does not want to limit it to just one diplomatic programme. Rather, it is an opportunity to showcase Indias potential and culture, through the efforts of the entire country. Therefore, G20 meetings are being held in dozens of cities across the country throughout the year," the President added.

Her comments also highlight the importance of India as a trusted nation amid an extremely challenging global economic outlook and geopolitical instability.

US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said recently that the US will pursue friendshoring approach of deepening economic integration with trusted trading partners like India to diversify away from countries that present geopolitical and security risks to supply chains. Yellen had said that the Russia-Ukraine war-led elevated food and energy prices were making debt unsustainable for some economies and measures to ease these debt burdens need to be discussed.
NEW DELHI : Amazon on Tuesday announced that the company grew its renewable energy capacity in 2022 by 8.3 GW through 133 new projects in 11 countries.

Amazons total portfolio for renewables now is more than 20 GW. The companys purchases continue to add new wind and solar projects on the grids that power operations, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers, Amazon fulfillment centers, and physical stores around the world," Amazon said in a press release.

With the continued investments, Amazon has set a new corporate record for the most renewable energy announced by a single company in one year. It remains the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy.

These purchases also bring Amazon closer to powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025five years head of its original 2030 target. In 2022, the company announced new projects in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the U.S., and broke ground in Brazil, India, and Indonesia," it added.

With 25 new renewable energy projects secured to close out the year, the company now has 401 projects globally, including 164 wind farms and solar farms, and 237 rooftop solar projects on Amazon facilities. Once operational, Amazons global renewable energy projects are expected to generate 56,881 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy each year.

As we continue to launch new renewable energy projects around the world, were pleased to be on track to power our operations with 100% renewable energy, five years ahead of our original target," said Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS.

He added that with the 133 projects announced in 11 countries in 2022, Amazon had another record year. These projects highlight the diversity of our renewable energy sources and showcase our ability to bring new technologies to new markets and further reduce the impacts of climate change."

In 2022, Amazon announced 43 new APAC renewable energy projects representing 1,200 MW.

"In India, Amazon launched its third wind-solar hybrid project located in Karnataka representing 200MW capacity. Combined with three solar farms in Rajasthan, Amazon now has six utility-scale renewable energy projects in India, representing more than 920MW of renewable energy capacity," the company said in a press release.

"Our work with the government and industry has resulted in encouraging progress on our commitment to procure clean energy to power our operations. We closed out 2022 with 920 MW of renewable energy capacity through utility-scale projects in India," said Abhinav Singh, Director, Customer Fulfilment, Supply Chain & Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon India.

Singh added that the company is excited to play a part in helping scale corporate renewable energy procurement options in the country by facilitating industry dialogues with the government.

The new Amazon projects support India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's (MNRE) wind-solar hybrid policy, which aims to enable more such hybrid projects to efficiently utilize transmission infrastructure and land, and reduce variability in renewable generation, which improves grid stability.
American streaming platform Netflix will premiere the third season of Outer Banks, an adult drama on 23 February. The show has been produced by Jonas Pate and is created and executively produced by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke.

Viewership of international content on over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms in India has nearly doubled in 2022 as audiences took to original and dubbed versions of English, Turkish, Spanish and Korean shows and films.

Viewers have become increasingly language agnostic owing to dubbing and subtitling of international shows popular for high-quality storytelling and production, said streaming services firms. Many services also used social media influencers and Bollywood stars to market these shows in India over the past year.

According to media consulting firm Ormax, the most viewed international series this year include House of the Dragon (28.2 million) and Moon Knight (23.4 million) beating last years record of 19.3 million by Hawkeye. All three shows are on Disney+Hotstar.

Of the international series promoted in India, the top three are from established franchises and superhero genres. The most-viewed international web-series launched last year are Disney+Hotstars House of the Dragon (28.2 million) and Moon Knight (23.4 million), and The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings of Power (22 million) on Amazon Prime Video. In 2021, the highest viewership came for Hawkeye, also on Hotstar, with a viewership of 19.3 million.

From international content, English language content dominates viewership, with 65% of SVoD (subscription-led video-on-demand) audiences watching it, with or without language support, followed by Korean language content, being viewed by 30% of the SVoD audience base. The SVoD audience in India is today watching an average of 4.6 languages versus the AVoD audience which doesnt get enough dubbed content and is restricted to an average of 2.3 languages of consumption.
Adani Group: The Adani Group plans to hire one of the big six" global accounting firms to evaluate its corporate governance and audit practices following allegations of fraud by US short-seller Hindenburg, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The independent audit will be commissioned after the completion of the groups flagship Adani Enterprises Ltds 20,000 crore follow-on public offering and based on that, the legal options will be decided, the people said, requesting anonymity.

L&T: Larsen and Toubro Ltds consolidated net profit was up 24% from a year ago to 2,553 crore in the third quarter of 2022-23. Even after adjusting for one-offs, recurring net profit stood at 2,456 crore, growing 20% compared to a net profit of 2,055 crore a year ago. One-offs included an exceptional gain of 97 crore following the divestment of the mutual fund business which was however offset by one-time charges due to the remeasurement of the wholesale loan assets of the financial services segment.

Tech Mahindra: Tech Mahindra became the second large-cap IT services firm in India to report a fall in net profit in the December quarter. Its profit fell 5.3% y-o-y to 1,296.6 crore from 1,368.5 crore a year ago. Profit grew 0.9% sequentially. The third quarter has been a seasonally weak period for the IT services sector. However, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infosys, reported double-digit growth in profit. TCS and Infosys reported 11% and 13.4% growth in profit-after-tax, while midcap IT firms such as Cyient and Coforge, also saw profits rising in the high teens.

Reliance Industries: Sephora and Reliance Retail Ltd have abandoned talks to form a retail partnership for the Indian market with the French multi-brand beauty products chain deciding to continue with its existing alliance with Arvind Fashions Ltd, said two people familiar with the matter. Mint first reported last September that Reliance Retail was in advanced talks to acquire the master franchise rights for Sephora, owned by luxury goods retailer LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, for the Indian market. This would have given Reliance, Indias biggest retailer, a bigger foothold in the fast-growing domestic market for premium beauty products.

KEC International: Infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction company KEC International on Monday said it has bagged new orders worth 1,131 crore across its various businesses. The RPG group companys transmission and distribution (T&D) business has secured orders for projects in India, Africa and the Americas, it said in a statement. This includes a 220 kV & 132 kV GIS & AIS substation, transmission line and underground cabling in India; a 330 kV electrical transformer station project in Africa; supply of towers in the United States of America and large tower supply order in Mexico, secured by our subsidiary, SAE Towers.

REC: Leading infrastructure finance company REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) is a Maharatna PSU. The company has declared its Q3 earnings today along with an interim dividend for the financial year 2022-23. REC said today in a stock exchange filing that its Board of Directors has approved the declaration of 2nd interim dividend @ 3.25 per equity share of 10/- each for the financial year 2022-23 as approved in its meeting held on January 30, 2023. Further, the record date for the said interim dividend is Thursday, February 9, 2023.

BPCL: Government-owned oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of 1747.01 crore for the December quarter of the financial year 2022-23, down 36.67% from 2,758.89 crore a year ago. On a standalone basis, the companys net profit fell 31% year-on-year to 1959.58 crore during the third quarter. The revenue from operations for the nine months period April-December 2022 was Rs. 4,00,053.74 crore Vs Rs. 3,09,040.48 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year, it added.

Vodafone Idea: The company had informed earlier the stock exchanges through a regulatory filing that its Board will meet on January 31, 2023, for approving the preferential issue of optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited. The telecom operator, in the filing, said that the meeting on January 31 is to "seek approval of the shareholders" for the preferential issue. On November 21, shareholders of Vodafone Idea reportedly approved issuing OCDs worth 1,600 crore to ATC Telecom Infrastructure on a preferential basis to settle dues.

Welspun India: Textile maker Welspun India Ltd. on Monday announced a brand licencing agreement with The Walt Disney Company for Europe, the Middle East, and the Africa region. The licence will give Welspun the rights to design, develop, manufacture and distribute a complete range of home textiles products leveraging Disneys vast franchises and characters across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucas brands. Welspun India Ltd is part of the $2.3 billion Welspun Group. It manufactures home textiles such as towels and bedsheets among other products.

IIFL Finance: IIFL Finance on Monday reported a 37 per cent growth in net profit at 423 crore in the three months to December on higher advances. Total income rose 30 per cent on-year to 1,339.4 crore in the third qurter of the current fiscal, the company said in a statement. Growth in core products of gold loans and home loans stood at 25 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, the city-based company said. The microfinance book grew 55 per cent while loan against property and digital loans rose 14 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.
Earlier on Monday, a court in Gandhinagar convicted Asaram raping a Surat-based woman at an ashram in 2013.

As per details, a 16-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh's Shahajahanpur had accused Asaram of raping her at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur on the night of August 15, 2013. Following this, the self-styled godman was taken to Jodhpur Central jail from where he filed a number of bail petitions.

In November, the charge-sheet filed against Asaram and four others indicated blackmail in exchange of sexual favours.

ALSO READ: Asaram rape case verdict: Self-styled godman to be in prison till natural death

The police booked Asaram under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult the modesty of any woman) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

It is to be known that a number of the key witnesses in the case were attacked or went missing during the time Asaram was in jail. In June 2014, Asaram's doctor Amrut Prajapat was shot in Gujarat's Rajkot, while his cook Akhil Gupta and another key witness, Kripal Singh, were shot dead in 2015 in Uttar Pradesh.

Also, in 2015, two other witnesses -- Mahendra Chawala and Rahul Sachan -- were attacked on the premises of the Jodhpur court. However, both of them survived and went ahead to depose against Asaram.

Asaram was sentenced to life in prison for raping the 16-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh in April 2018. He was also awarded another 20 years in jail after being charged under two other laws.

With agency inputs.
New Delhi: Ayushman Bharat Yojana has given coverage to crores of poor people of the country and saved 80,000 crore, said President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday while addressing the joint session of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session.

President Murmu said, For instance, a major cause of poverty is illness. A serious ailment completely shatters the morale of a poor family, leaving generations in debt. To free the poor from this worry, a nationwide Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched. Under this scheme, more than 50 crore countrymen have been provided the facility of free treatment. The Ayushman Bharat Yojana has saved crores of poor from becoming poorer, preventing them from spending Rupees 80,000 crore."

About 50% of the beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme are women, she added.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AM PM-JAY) was launched in September 2018 with an objective to provide free, affordable, and accessible healthcare services to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified from the Socio-economic Caste Census of 2011 on the basis of certain deprivation and occupation-based criteria.

The flagship health scheme of the Centre is the first and only such complete mechanism in the world that provides cover of 5 lakh to 80 crore people, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday.

AB PM-JAY is implemented in alliance with state-specific health protection schemes. Accordingly, many States and Union Territories have expanded the beneficiary base to over 14 crore families.

The Economic Survey is set to be tabled soon after the Presidents address. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on 1 February.
BBC documentary on PM Modi: Russia has accused the British broadcaster of waging an information war on different fronts, not only against Moscow but also against other global centers of power pursuing an independent policy, according to the news agency PTI.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the remarks on Friday when asked about the BBC's controversial documentary. This came after the BBC released a controversial series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to reporters, Zakharova said, Our Indian friends have already made a comment on this situation. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is yet another evidence of the BBC waging an information war on different fronts - not only against Russia but also against other global centers of power pursuing an independent policy."

She said after a certain number of years, it turns out that the BBC is fighting even within the British establishment, being an instrument of the interests of some groups against others, as per PTI reports.

"It should be treated accordingly. The BBC is not an independent television and radio corporation, but a dependent one, often neglecting the basic requirements of the journalism profession," she added.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended Prime Minister Modi over the BBC documentary, asserting that he "didnt agree with the characterization" of his Indian counterpart.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea against the Centre's decision to ban the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots. The apex court today agreed to list on February 6 a PIL.

On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary "India: The Modi Question".

(With PTI inputs)
Billionaire Gautam Adani, who is the richest Indian and Asian in the world, saw his fortune decline which led to his ranking on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index slipping out of the top ten in the world's richest list.

Net worth of Gautam Adani, who is the Chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, stands at $84.4 billion while Jeff Bezos net worth rose to $124 billion, as of 31 January 2023. Bernard Arnault with $189 billion remains the richest person on the earth. Gautam Adani saw his net worth decline by $8.21 billion in the last 24 hours, and he has lost $36.1 billion year-to-date , as per the Bloomberg data.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index prepares the daily rankings of the 500 wealthiest people. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos is now the third wealthiest person in the world, while the top two richest people on the planet are Bernard Arnault of Louis Vitton and Elon Musk, who is the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter.

View Full Image List of Bloomberg Billionaires Index

Meanwhile, the selloff in Adani Group shares continued on Tuesday as Asias richest man seeks to complete a $2.5 billion equity sale by its flagship firm amid the turmoil triggered by short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Adani Total Gas Ltd. plunged by 10% daily limit to lead losses in most of the groups stocks. Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. was up about 2% in early trading in Mumbai but remained below the floor price set for its follow-on share sale. Ten of the conglomerates companies have seen about $75 billion in market value erased as the rout entered a fourth session.

Overall subscription for the equity offering, largest of its kind in India, stood at just 3% as of end Monday, signaling that demand likely took a hit due to allegations from Hindenburg Research that the Indian conglomerate used a web of companies in tax havens to inflate revenue and stock prices as debt piled up.

Thats caused some analysts following the share sale to be skeptical about whether there will be enough demand under the current terms even after a $400 million investment from International Holding Co. IHC, which is controlled by a key member of Abu Dhabis s royal family.

IHCs participation may lend some tactical sentiment support but they have been investors in the group before the FPO too," said Nitin Chanduka, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Markets will look for more clarity on the allegations before a meaningful uptick in the groups stocks," he said on the broader outlook.

Adani is seeking to execute the landmark share sale to repay some of the group companies debt just as it refutes allegations made by Hindenburg last week. The rapid decline in share prices has eroded the billionaires personal wealth and also weighed on Indias stock market, where some of his companies were the top performers last year.

*With inputs from agencies
Opposition parties will raise the issue of the Hindenburg report, BBC documentary on PM Modi, inflation, actions of governors, and caste-based economic census in the budget session that will begin today at 11 am.

At an all-party meeting, the Central government on Monday said it was willing to discuss every issue under the rules during the Budget Session of Parliament and sought the support of the Opposition in running the proceedings smoothly.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, after the meeting, said the government was willing to discuss every issue in Parliament under the rules. "We seek the Opposition's cooperation" in running the House smoothly.

During the meeting, Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, RJD's Manoj Jha, DMK, Left parties, and others raised the Adani issue and sought a discussion on it in Parliament during the session.

The US-based short seller Hindenburg Research has accused the Adani Group of wrongdoing like stock manipulation and has dismissed the allegations as "nothing but a lie".

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census at the meet. "It is necessary to know the economic status of backward castes who are lagging behind" on social and development indicators," the party said as quoted by PTI.

In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling party has joined the likes of the JD(U) and the RJD, both of which have demanded a caste census.

The Union Budget 2023 session begins on January 31. President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of theLok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Budget session will have 27 sittings which will continue till April 6.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1 in Parliament. The first part of the Budget Session will conclude on February 14, while the second session will begin on March 12 this year.
US short-seller Hindenburg Research has brought a Chinese angle and has dismissed the charge that its report on Adani Group's malfeasance was a "calculated attack" on India, saying a "fraud" cannot be obfuscated by nationalism or a bloated response that ignored key allegations.

Hindenburg has pointed out that the Adani Group has not even attempted to clarify its relationship with a Chinese national (Chang Chung-Ling), despite a plethora of linkages. It had asked in its reply What is the nature of Chang Chung-Lings relationship with the Adani Group, including his relationship with Vinod Adani?

"An entity (Gudami International) run by Chang Chung Ling (aka Lingo Chang) was said to have been part of a massive corruption scheme in the AgustaWestland Scandal, one of Indias largest and ongoing bribery scandals. The son of Chang Chung Ling is the beneficial owner of the major contractor to the Adani Group called PMC Projects, mentioned above," according to a reply by Hindenburg.

Hindenburg in its report said, In 2002, Adani Exports (later renamed Adani Enterprises) disclosed that an entity Gudami International (Gudami") was a related party, likely because it shared a director and key common shareholder with Adani Global.

Key allegations put by Hindenburg Research against Adani Group on Chang Chung-Ling

Hindenburg in its report states that Chang Chung-Lings name appears in a 2014 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) report detailing a scheme alleging that the Adani Group siphoned cash from its publicly listed companies. He served as a director of Electrogen Infra Holding Pvt. Ltd., an Adani private company that was part of a complex scheme to siphon funds out of Adani Enterprises and Adani Power, per DRI investigative records. The day he resigned as director, he was replaced by Vinod Adani.

That Gudami director/shareholder is a man named Chang Chung-Ling, who has been described in a DRI criminal investigation as a director of multiple Adani entities. [Pg. 179] Chang Chung-Ling continues to have close links and connections to Adani Group (as we detail in part 2).[17]

Chang Chung-Ling was also a director, together with Vinod Adani, in an Adani private entity based in Singapore called Adani Global Limited, per Adani Enterprises annual report. Taiwanese media reports describe Chang Chung-Ling as a key Adani shareholder and close business partner. Corporate records cited in that investigation show that Chang Chung-Ling shared the same residential address as Vinod Adani: 75, Meyer Road, #17-01, Hawaii Tower. The records were dated around 2005.

They asked a question on why a once-related party entity of Adani called Gudami International, headed by close Adani associate Chang Chung-Ling, invested heavily in one of the Monterosa funds allocated to Adani Enterprises and Adani Power. Monterosa entities continue as key Mauritius shareholders in Adani companies. What is Adanis explanation for this large, concentrated investment into Adani-listed companies by a related-party entity? What is the nature of Chang Chung-Lings relationship with the Adani Group, including his relationship with Vinod Adani?
After rainfall and snowfall in many upper regions of northern India, due to western disturbance, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said that for the next 5-6 days cold wave in North West India is an unlikely" phenomenon. The forecast came amid cold wave conditions reduced in many parts of north India on Sunday and Monday.

IMD informed that under the influence of western disturbances, many regions of north India experienced rainfall and snowfall. The weather department added that the western disturbances seem to be moved away for now.

"Two days back, there was one active western disturbance which has caused rainfall and snowfall at most places over the Himalayan regions. Even we reported 50 to 60 cm of snowfall. Even the plains of Northwest India Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh also experienced rainfall activity, and even NCR also experienced rainfall activity. Now we expect that the western disturbance has moved away," an IMD Scientist Dr. Naresh told the news agency ANI.

Mercury dropped in the Delhi-NCR region on Monday, after heavy rains in northern regions on Sunday. The temperature in the national capital was 9.9 degrees Celsius during the morning. The air quality index of the city stood at 181 which falls under the moderate category.

While explaining the weather phenomena, IMD Scientists said that as the north-westerly winds prevail at lower levels, the temperatures in North West India which are currently around 10 degrees Celsius will drop by one or two degrees. Thereafter, a fresh wave of western disturbance will cause light snowfall over the higher reaches of the Himalayas, but in the Northwest, India temperatures will rise by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius after 48 hours.

Dr. Naresh expects the temperatures to hover around a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 20 degrees Celsius, in the coming days.

(With inputs from ANI)
Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva Group managing director, who was accused for the fatal collapse of the Morbi Bridge collapse that killed 135 people in Gujarat on Tuesday surrendered in front of a Gujarat court.

Patel was named as an accused in the chargesheet filed by police on January 27. He surrendered before the court of chief judicial magistrate which had issued an arrest warrant against him.

Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi that collapsed on October 30 last year, days after its repairs.

"Jaysukh Patel surrendered before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) M J Khan which had issued an arrest warrant against him," said Dilip Agechaniya, a lawyer representing victims in the case.

In the chargesheet comprising more than 1,200 pages filed by Deputy Superintendent of Police P S Zala in the CJM's court, Patel was shown as the tenth accused. He had also moved an anticipatory bail plea fearing arrest.

On 30 October 2022 a pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi in Gujarat, India, collapsed, causing the deaths of at least 135 people and injuries to more than 180 others.

The 19th-century bridge had reopened five days earlier, in time for Diwali and the Gujarati New Year, following a lengthy closure for repairs.

On 30 October 2022, five days after reopening, the bridge collapsed at 6:40 p.m. More than five hundred people were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, far exceeding the official capacity of 125.

Security footage of the bridge showed the structure shaking violently and people holding onto cables and fencing on either side of the bridge before the walkway gave way. Images of rescue and recovery operations showed the walkway had divided at its midpoint, with some pieces still hanging from snapped cables.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal on Tuesday highlighted the importance of the electronics manufacturing value chain. He said that there are four countries that manufacture semiconductors and glass displays, while India is in the leading position to take the fifth position.

According to Vedanta chief, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mode is best in the world.

Our UPI is the best in the world. Now we must lead on the hardware side too. Building a strong base in the electronics manufacturing value chain is very important," Anil Agarwal tweeted.

Currently only 4 countries manufacture semiconductors and glass displays. India is in a leading position to become 5th country after the government announced policies in both sectors....," he added.

Our UPI is the best in the world. Now we must lead on the hardware side too. Building a strong base in the electronics manufacturing value chain is very important (1/3)  Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) January 31, 2023

I am inspired by Hon'ble @PMOIndia's vision and plan to set up both semiconductor and display fab units beginning this year. The dream is to build our own silicon valley," he further said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, a top official familiar with the development said that only one of the three semiconductor manufacturing proposals submitted to secure financial support under Indias $10 billion incentive scheme is likely to make the cut.

The Vedanta-Foxconn joint ventures $20 billion proposal in Gujarat is expected to be the first to secure government approval, while the other two, submitted by the International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC) and Singapores IGSS Ventures, lag behind, with the latter one almost out of the race.

Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta Resources inked a joint venture with the worlds leading contract manufacturer Foxconn to set up a display fabrication unit, integrated semiconductor fabrication unit, and OSAT facility with an investment of $20 billion.

Within this project, Vedanta Displays Ltd will set up a display fabrication unit with an investment of 94,500 crore, and Vedanta Semiconductors will set up an integrated semiconductor fabrication unit and OSAT facility at an investment of 60,000 crore.

Vedanta will hold 60% of the Gujarat project, with Foxconn owning the rest through Foxconn Semiconductor Group.
The Sahar Police in Mumbai arrested an Italian female passenger after she created and ruckus midair on the UK 256, Air Vistara flight which was operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai.

The female flyer Paola Perruccio from Italy was arrested after the crew members of the flight alleged that the flyer insisted on sitting in business class despite an economy ticket, assaulted the crew, took off some clothes, and walked up and down the aisle in the aircraft in a partially naked state. She was arrested by Sahar Police after the landing of the plane yesterday and was later given bail by the court.

Mumbai Police received the complaint from the cabin crew on board Air Vistara flight UK 256, where the incident occurred, after it landed in Mumbai in the early hours of Monday, 30 January. The flight took off from Abu Dhabi at 2.03 am IST on Monday.

The incident, which took place on Monday, was reported to the relevant authorities as per the standard operating procedures, while the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival, Vistara said in a statement.

A spokesperson of the Vistara airline said,"We confirm that there was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 256 operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on 30 Jan 2023. In view of the continued unruly conduct and violent behaviour, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the customer."

"The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers onboard of their safety and security. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent SOPs, the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival," the spokesperson further said. The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities as per the SOPs. Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behaviour that endangers the safety, security, and dignity of its customers and staff.

* *With agency inputs
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday addressed the joint sitting of the Parliament ahead of the Budget session. In her address, she spoke about the governments achievement in terms of accelerating poverty alleviation, focus on the middle class, women empowerment, and manufacturing sector among others.

The address comes in the backdrop of a number of state elections this year and the general elections in 2024. In her first address to a joint sitting of Parliament, the president also outlined Indias growing stature in the international community and Indias growing role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations, QUAD and the ongoing presidency of G20 for 2023.

Highlighting the governments focus on corruption and taking a jibe at previous governments, Murmu said: My government is of the firm opinion that corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice. Therefore, there has been a relentless fight against corruption in the last few years."

In the last few years, the Benami Property Act was notified with a view to create a corruption-free ecosystem. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was passed to confiscate the properties of criminals who absconded after committing economic offences. An effective system has also been put in place to end the practice of favouritism and corruption in government machinery, she said.

She also said that the government is taking steps to honour honest taxpayers.

Outlining the efforts towards women empowerment, the president said: From education to their career, my government is trying to remove all obstacles for daughters. Through efforts like the construction of separate toilets for girls in the government schools of the country or the scheme related to sanitary pads, the drop-out rate of girls has come down sharply."

She said that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has not only increased the dignity of women, it has also provided them a safe environment.

For the first time, savings accounts have been opened for the brighter future of crores of daughters across the country under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana. Many important steps have also been taken for the education of girls in the new National Education Policy."

Murmu also noted that the government has ensured recruitment of women in every sector from mining to forward posts in the army.

Our daughters are now studying and training in Sainik Schools as well as military academies. It is my government which has increased the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks."

Talking of the governments green energy push, she said that the government has increased the solar power capacity by almost 20 times in the last eight years and India currently ranks fourth in the world in renewable energy capacity.

The country has already achieved the target of making 40 percent of its electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, nine years ahead of the target. This success is going to strengthen our resolve to be Net Zero by the year 2070.

She also mentioned the national green hydrogen mission and said that it would attract investment worth lakhs of crores of rupees in India in the field of green energy. This will result in reducing our dependence on foreign countries for clean energy and also for energy security."

She said that reducing pollution in cities is also the governments top priority. Therefore, work is underway on a very large scale for electric mobility. Under the FAME scheme, more than 7,000 electric buses are being added to public transport by the central government in many cities of the country, including the capital city of Delhi."
The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa segment of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on 12 February. The initial plan was to launch the highway on February 4th, but it was postponed.

"Change in the date. Now Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji will inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the #Delhi_Mumbai_Expressway on 12th February," tweeted Gadkari.

"Change in the date"



Now Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji will inaugurate the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the #Delhi_Mumbai_Expressway on 12th February. https://t.co/RrNb9WrcHq  Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 30, 2023

Gadkari had earlier tweeted, "Going to be inaugurated by PM Shri @narendramodiJi on 4th Feb, the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the #Delhi_Mumbai_Expressway will facilitate commuters to reach Jaipur from Delhi in two hours."

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will cut the distance between Delhi and Jaipur's travel time in half, to roughly two hours.

According to the ministry, the 1,450 km long motorway is a prime example of top-notch highway construction.

The expressway will also accelerate economical exercises in two major cities.

Covering a distance of 1,450 km, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a true example of world-class highway construction.



Lessening the travel time by half, it accelerates economical exercises in two major cities.#PragatiKaHighway #GatiShakti pic.twitter.com/cfRg6EsrTo  Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) January 30, 2023

"Covering a distance of 1,450 km, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a true example of world-class highway construction. Lessening the travel time by half, accelerates economical exercises in two major cities," tweeted Gadkari.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a major expressway project being developed by the Indian government to connect the cities of Delhi and Mumbai. The expressway aims to reduce the travel time between the two cities from over 12 hours to about 12 hours, making it easier and faster for people and goods to travel between the two cities.

The project also includes several service areas and other facilities along the route to provide travelers with basic amenities and improve their overall experience. The expressway is expected to generate employment, boost economic activity and improve connectivity between Delhi and Mumbai, making it an important project for the country's infrastructure development.

(With inputs from ANI)
Visakhapatnam will be declared the new capital of Andhra Pradesh in the coming days, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said at the International Diplomatic Alliance meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

CM Reddy also stated that he will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come.

Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital in the days to come. I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come," Reddy said.

#WATCH | "Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital in the days to come. I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come": Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at International Diplomatic Alliance meet in Delhi pic.twitter.com/wANqgXC1yP  ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2023

The chief minister further announced that the state government is organizing the Global Investors Summit in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4. He invited the states to Andhra Pradesh's capital city and summit.

I request all of you to not only come over there but also put in a strong and good word to your colleagues abroad to come and visit us. See for themselves, how easy it is to do business in the state of Andhra Pradesh," he said.
Amid allegations of "unauthorised occupation" against Nobel laureate Amartya Sen by Visva-Bharati, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday handed over land-related documents to him, asserting that "no one can question him" in future.

Banerjee, who reached Bolpur in the second half of the day, visited Sen at his residence and dubbed the accusations made against him as "baseless".

The economist thanked her but said those trying to take away his home because of ideological differences" would find another way to get back at him.

The chief minister also announced that the Nobel laureate would be accorded 'Z category' security in future.

The West Bengal administration in a statement later said, "The state government has checked all old land records. It was found that Ashutosh Sen, father of Professor Sen, has been given a long-term lease of 1.38 acres and not 1.25 acres as alleged by Visva-Bharati."

The central university has been claiming that the economist has been illegally possessing 0.13 acres of land, which was repeatedly rejected by Sen.

"Allegations of land grabbing against him (Amartya Sen) are baseless. It is an attempt to tarnish his reputation. No one has the right to insult him. We won't tolerate it," Banerjee said as the economist sat beside her at his home.

The CM said her government would decide on the next course of legal action once she is back in Kolkata.

In a recent interview with PTI, the 90-year-old economist said Banerjee has the ability to be the Prime Minister, but it has not yet been established that she "can pull the forces of public dismay against the BJP in an integrated way to make it possible for her to have the leadership to put an end to the fractionalisation in India."

Visva-Bharati, in two letters in three days last week, asked Sen to immediately hand over the land he is allegedly occupying in an "unauthorised manner" at Santiniketan.

In a statement on Monday, the varsity also gave Sen two options -- "intervention of the court of law or discussion with Visva-Bharati authority".

Banerjee said, "I have been hearing baseless allegations against him for a long time... I waited as I went through the records and also asked officials to do the same. We have dug out the original land records. I will direct the district magistrate to do what is needed."

She also ordered setting up of a police camp outside Sen's residence in Birbhum.

Lashing out at varsity authorities for "trying to saffronise" the institution, the TMC boss said she has immense "respect for Visva-Bharati" but was "pained to see the central university function like an island disconnected from the rest of Bengal".

She urged the BJP and its associates to "stop humiliating the Nobel laureate, who has made Bengal and the entire country proud".

Hitting out at Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty, Banerjee said, "He is attempting to saffronise the university. He has no right to insult someone. Is he even worthy of being the VC of Visva-Bharati?"

Thanking Banerjee for her gesture, Sen said, "She had come with the land records and researched the details. It was a pleasant surprise for me. But it is quite natural for a politician to delve into the details."

When asked if he feels that the land controversy will end with Banerjee's visit, Sen replied in the negative.

"I don't think it will end here. Those trying to take away my home because of ideological differences would find another way to get back at him. I was born and brought up in a secular atmosphere and believe in secularism. Those who indulge in communal politics don't like such views preaching secularism," he told a news channel.

Banerjee's visit to Sen's residence triggered a war of words between the TMC and the BJP.

"She is trying to score political brownie points through this visit. We all know how much respect he has for intellectuals, who oppose her authoritarian style of functioning," Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said.

TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya said Banerjee had tried to correct the wrong that is being meted out to the pride of India for vested political interest.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
The Science 20 Conference, part of the G20 Conference, is currently taking place in Puducherry. Over 75 participants from G20 member nations as well as friendly countries such as India, China, and the United States are in attendance. The conference revolves around three major topics, including global comprehensive health, the promotion of clean energy for a more sustainable future, and the fusion of science and society/culture to execute science-driven solutions.

The Science 20 conference is a part of the two-day G20 gathering taking place in Puducherry, starting on Monday. It has brought together a delegation of 75 representatives from G20 member countries and friendly nations, including India, China, the US, Turkey, Sweden, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, the European Union, and England.

The conference has kicked off with speeches from Indonesia, last year's host of the G20 conference, India, this year's chair, and Brazil, which will assume the chairmanship next year. The event focuses on three central themes, such as global health and wellness, embracing clean energy for a greener future, and the integration of science, society, and culture to drive science-based solutions.

A Prohibitory Order under section 144 has been issued in the vicinity of the hotels, airports, and conference facilities used by foreign delegations. The conference site is surrounded by five levels of police security.

Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, announced on Monday that the G20 Presidency of India would host more than 200 meetings.

The BJP leader made the proclamation in Chandigarh at the first meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group (IFAWG).

During the event, Agriculture Minister Tomar expressed his pride and joy in the fact that India is hosting events as part of its G20 presidency. He stated that over 200 meetings will take place at more than 50 locations across the country, and around 200,000 representatives are expected to attend.

(With inputs from ANI)
An activist organization is asking bond investors to stop funding Adani Group unless the beleaguered Indian conglomerate unequivocally halts its coal expansion" and adopts a plan to cut carbon emissions.

In October, Billionaire Gautam Adanis group was looking to raise at least $10 billion in new debt in 2023 to help refinance high-cost borrowings and fund projects in the pipeline, Bloomberg reported in October. But its debt has come under intense scrutiny following a report by short seller Hindenburg Research, fixing investor attention in the months ahead on a string of bond interest deadlines.

Adani Group didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

SumOfUs, an activist group that runs digital campaigns intended to apply pressure to powerful corporations, sent a letter to executives at some of the largest bond buyers  including BlackRock Inc., Pacific Investment Management Co. and Invesco Ltd.  urging them not to participate in new bond deals from the group and to divest from Adani firms. Adanis empire, largely built on coal mining, has come at the cost of human rights violations and environmental destruction," they said.

The interconnected financial nature of the Adani Group makes it clear that buying debt from any subsidiary of Adani, is by extension supporting Adanis mining businesses," the activist group said in a letter signed by Nick Haines, a campaign manager at SumOfUs.

Adanis wide-ranging group was built on a bedrock of coal, and it continues to be central to his business. But the billionaire wants to recast the empire into a renewable energy giant. The conglomerate has committed to invest a total $70 billion by 2030 across its green energy value chain to become the worlds largest renewable energy producer.

Adani groups borrowing plans include issuing green bonds, whose proceeds are used to fund environmentally-friendly projects. Hindenburgs findings undermine any confidence investors could have that proceeds from the green deal would be adequately ringfenced," Toxic Bonds said in the letter reviewed by Bloomberg.

SumOfUs is a member of Toxic Bonds initiative, a network of civil society organizations that helps track and stop the trillions of dollars of risky debt financing the climate crisis.

Its inconceivable" that major Adani bondholders would touch new debt from Adani, which has been shown to flout all three pillars of ESG with coal expansion, human rights violations and now fraud, Alice Delemare, coordinator of Toxic Bonds initiative, said in an emailed response to questions on Monday.

Adanis $70 billion pledge isnt meaningful compared with Adanis rapidly growing coal operations, according to the Toxic Bond initiative.

Adani cannot claim to be committed to transition whilst planning new coal mines and thermal power projects," they wrote.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
Amid the historic population drop in China, Sichuan province, in the southwestern region, has decided to drop restrictions on unmarried people having children.

In the Sichuan region, only married couples could only register the birth of their children, that too, up to only 2 children. Birth registration certificates are required for maternity insurance benefits, children's access to social welfare policies, such as healthcare and education, etc. But from now on, all citizens in Sichuan region  including unmarried parents  can register the birth of all their children. This is a major step considering China was once extremely strict about its one child policy.

The Sichuan provincial health commission said in a statement that by scrapping the restriction on marriage, the new measures shifted the focus of birth registration to the desire and results of childbearing."

Sichuan health official said, as reported by BBC, the policy was intended to safeguard the rights of single mothers, not to encourage unmarried people to become parents. The commissions announcement said the policy would promote long-term and balanced population development."

This comes at a time when China reported a massive demographic crisis. Data from the last year showed that Chinas population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades

Apart from Sichuan, similar steps are also undertaken by provinces, such as Guangdong and Shaanxi.

China was once extremely strict about its one-child policy. But owing to the demographic crisis Beijing scrapped the highly controversial rule in 2015. But after a brief uptick in 2016, the national birth rate has continued to fall.

Policymakers further relaxed limits on births in 2021, allowing three children, and ramped up efforts to encourage larger families. And the government also introduced measures like stronger maternity leave policies and tax deductions and other perks to families. But those efforts have yet to see results.
Rescue officials on Tuesday recovered the severed head of the suspected suicide bomber who they believe blew himself up inside a mosque packed with worshippers during the afternoon prayers on Monday in the high-security zone in Pakistan's restive northwestern Peshawar city.

The death toll from the bomb blast rose to 93, with 221 people severely wounded, police officials said, even as rescue operations continued to retrieve the remaining bodies from the debris.

The powerful blast occurred inside the mosque in the Police Lines area around 1.40 pm when worshippers, which included personnel of the police, army and bomb disposal squad -- were offering the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers.

The suicide bomber who was present in the front row blew himself up, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers, officials said.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar Mohammad Aijaz Khan told Geo TV that the blast appeared to be a suicide attack and the head of the suspected bomber was recovered at the site in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

"It is possible that the attacker was already present in the Police Lines before the blast and that he may have used an official vehicle [to enter]," he was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

Khan added the exact nature of the blast will be known once the rescue operation concludes.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan on Tuesday announced a day of mourning in the province following the attack.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan in August last.

A police official said that a portion of the mosque collapsed and several people were believed to be under it.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.

The group, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students.

The attack has sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemned.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
Billionaire Elon Musk owns five companies including Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, for which he works all day long. He made a confession on his official Twitter handle, saying that he is working all day.

I work all day, then go home & play work simulator," Musk said in a tweet post.

I work all day, then go home & play work simulator  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2023

The most recent firm Elon Musk has acquired is Twitter. He had completed the $44 billion deal in last October and took over the microblogging outlet. Since then, the billionaire has made several changes like paid verification, accounts reinstatement, etc.

In addition, Twitter has also said that soon users will be able to appeal account suspensions and get their accounts evaluated under the social media platform's new criteria for reinstatement, starting from Feb 01, 2023 onwards.

According to the company, under the new criteria, Twitter accounts will only be suspended for severe or ongoing and repeat violations of the platform's policies. Severe policy violations include engaging in illegal content or activity, inciting or threatening violence or harm, and engaging in targeted harassment of other users, among others.

In December, Musk came under fire for suspending accounts of several journalists over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire's plane. He later reinstated the accounts.

Meanwhile, months after the controversial Twitter takeover by Elon Musk, the social media platforms co-founder expresses that the tech billionaire might not be the best fit for the company. Improvements to morale and content policies at the business have been reversed since the new proprietor joined the company.

Noting that Musk has literally unwound the positive changes brought in the recent year, Biz Stone told the Guardian, running social media companies is not really a win-win situation  its always tough", because 50% of the people are gonna be happy, 50% of people are gonna be upset with you".

He added, It doesnt seem like it right now, but I could be wrong." Since the Twitter takeover, Musk has been criticized for his decisions including massive lay-offs, harsh monetization strategies, reinstating previously banned account etc.
The suicide bombing that occurred Monday inside a mosque in the Police Lines neighborhood of Peshawar, Pakistan, left 72 people dead and injured 157 others, according to Geo News.

Security officials say that the suicide bomber was in the front row during the prayer when he blew himself up. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to police, the blast also resulted in the death of the mosque's Imam, Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin.

As per the Geo News, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Peshawar and received an update on the entire bombing.

It is anticipated that PM Shehbaz will visit the blast victims. He will be accompanied by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that "investigations are underway" about how the attack happened and how the terrorist entered the vicinity.

"We don't yet know where the attacker came from and how he entered," Ansari said.

The police chief further said, "There are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area."

"An emergency has been imposed at hospitals across the city and injured persons are being provided the best medical facilities," Dawn reported, citing the senior official.

The blast-related injuries are said to be in critical condition, according to reports.

During the afternoon prayers, the blast occurred in the mosque in the Police Lines neighborhood of Peshawar.

At least 120 people were inside the mosque at the time, according to an eyewitness. He stated that police officers made up the majority of the injured.

With inputs from ANI
The Republican head of a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Monday that he will pursue bipartisan legislation to better ensure the proper handling of classified documents at the White House when administrations leave office.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said it is essential to have legislation ensuring classified material is not transferred from the offices of the president and vice president to unsecured locations at the end of an administration.

The discovery of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and at other sites including President Joe Biden's Delaware home have led to the appointment of two different special counsels and raised national security fears.

Classified documents have also turned up at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.

"We have to reform the way that documents are boxed up when they leave the president's and vice president's office and follow them into the private sector," Comer told a National Press Club forum.

"Somebody needs to oversee all of the documents that are going into boxes to make sure they're not classified."

Comer said that he and Representative Jamie Raskin, the oversight panel's top Democrat, hope to have a bill in place before Biden leaves office. A Raskin spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

"We're going to work together in a bipartisan way to come up with a legislative fix prior to this administration leaving and the next information coming into office," the Kentucky Republican added.

Comer's committee is scheduled to have a transcribed interview with National Archives General Counsel Gary Stern on Tuesday. The sessions follows a Comer demand for information from the National Archives concerning documents found in Biden's possession.

The Republican, who has also sought material on the misplaced documents from the White House and Justice Department, said he wants to know if any of the documents found at Biden's home were handled by the president's son Hunter Biden, who has long been a target for Republican accusations of influence peddling.

Comer said his panel will hold the first public hearing of its investigation of Biden family business dealings on Feb. 8.

The House Oversight probe is a distraction for Biden and could cast a shadow over the Democratic president as he gears up for a possible 2024 re-election bid.

The committee will hear testimony from three former Twitter employees and the social platform's handling of information about Hunter Biden. (Reporting by David Morgan Editing by Alistair Bell)

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
The US and India are building out their partnership to share advanced defense and computing technology as the Biden administration seeks to shift New Delhi away from Russia and accelerates efforts to counter China.

Details released Tuesday of the plan, known as USIndia Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies and initially launched in May 2022, fit into Washingtons broader agenda of strengthening military, technology and supply chain links with partner countries.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the framework wont be solely driven by the geopolitical challenge China poses, but noted that Beijings aggressive military moves and economic practices have had a profound impact on the thinking in Delhi" and other capitals around the world.

The China-Russia factors are real, but so is the idea of building a deep, democratic ecosystem of high technology," Sullivan said Tuesday, previewing the partnership with reporters. So, geopolitics doesnt sit off to the side, but its not a comprehensive explanation for whats at work here."

Sullivan met with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, on Tuesday and both attended an event with executives from American and Indian tech firms and university presidents on Monday. Biden is expected to travel to India for the Group of 20 leaders summit in September and see Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Australia at a summit of the so-called Quad security partners, which includes Japan.

One area of interest for India would be domestically producing General Electric Co. jet engines, which it uses in its combat aircraft.

A proposal from General Electric is now before the US government to approve the joint-production of jet engines in the defense technology space, Sullivan said. He wouldnt speculate on how soon an announcement might come but added the countries are aiming for fast and ambitious progress."

Beyond jet engines, the initiative on critical and emerging technologies also includes cooperation on artillery systems, armored infantry vehicles and maritime security, as well as semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

Sullivan acknowledged that the partnership with India isnt without its risks, given the weapons trade between India and Russia, but he stressed that the initiative wasnt sparked by the war in Ukraine or efforts to drive a wedge between New Delhi and Moscow.

Im not going to say that facilitating the movement of India off of Russian equipment to other equipment is an irrelevant consideration  of course it is not," he said.

The teams are also seeking to cooperate on semiconductors, where India can play a role in diversification of supply chains. India is interested in growing its packaging and legacy chip manufacturing capabilities, Sullivan said.

Those efforts could also include efforts to build out and deploy an alternative to compete with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd on 5G telecommunications equipment. The White House is now considering a full ban on US firms selling equipment to Chinas Huawei, which has already been crippled by years of US national security actions.

The impediment to India having its own chips fabrication facilities is a matter of political and policy will," not lack of know-how or talent, Sullivan said.

The US effort to bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to the America largely hinges on finding a qualified workforce. One part of the strategy also includes a streamlining of the USs visa system, with the White House is working with Congress to address existing issues with H1B visas and ensure the US continues to attract science and engineering talent.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American officials will be staying in the Mideast after his departure in an effort to help Israelis and Palestinians reduce tensions following one of the deadliest months in Israel and the West Bank in years.

In this moment, the most immediate challenge is, as I said, defusing the cycle of violence that has people here, first and foremost, but around the region, deeply concerned," Blinken said, adding that restarting negotiations for a Palestinian state would have to come only after calm was restored. One step at a time."

Blinken, who headed back to Washington on Tuesday, visited Jerusalem after a deadly attack on Israelis near a Jerusalem synagogue over the weekend killed seven and an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin left nine Palestinians dead.

The top US diplomat also visited Ramallah, where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for the current bloodshed and said that Israel is being overlooked without deterrence or accountability and continues unilateral operations."

Our people will not accept the continuation of the occupation forever, and the regional security will not be strengthened by violating the sanctity of the holy sites, downplaying the dignity of the Palestinian people and ignoring their legitimate rights to freedom, dignity and independence," Abbas said.

Abbas may have been referring to former President Donald Trumps tilt toward Israel  and away from cooperation with the Palestinians  shown by steps including his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, whose eastern sector the Palestinians seek as the capital of their state.

Blinken pledged to work to re-establish the US relationship with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority. This will allow us to more effectively work toward the goal of Palestinians and Israelis enjoying equal measures of democracy, of opportunity, of dignity in the lives," he said. We believe that this can be achieved by a realization of two states."

Israel Faces Identity Crisis as Violence Rages: Balance of Power

The new right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has diminished prospects for progress toward a two-state solution, but the Biden administration continues to advocate it as the best guarantor of Israels security and stability.

Blinken met Tuesday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and underscored the US commitment to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and to deepening cooperation with Israel in the face of the fuller set of challenges Iran poses," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

The secretary of states visit coincided with speculation that Israel was behind a drone attack in Iran that the Iranian government said hit one of its ammunition depots. Israel never confirms or denies such allegations.

Upon arriving in Israel Monday, Blinken offered condolences for those killed and injured in Fridays terrorist attack outside the Jerusalem synagogue and a separate Saturday attack in Jerusalem. He condemned violence and those who celebrate it, and warned against retaliation.

Its the responsibility of everyone to take steps to calm tensions rather than inflame them, to work toward a day when people no longer feel afraid in their communities, in their homes, in their places of worship," he said. That is the only way to halt the rising tide of violence that has taken too many lives  too many Israelis, too many Palestinians."

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss Russia's war in Ukraine with Chinese officials during a Feb. 5-6 trip to China, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.

Kirby told reporters that talks on a number of issues, such as the two countries' militaries and climate change, were sidelined when China protested a visit to Taiwan last August by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Blinken will seek to get talks on these issues "restored and/or revitalized," Kirby said.

"I know he's looking forward to being able to addressing all of those issues and of course the war in Ukraine will be among those issues that we can expect the secretary to bring up while he's there," Kirby said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
US Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols, the Black motorist whose death after a beating by police shocked the nation, the White House said Tuesday.

Harris "will travel to Memphis. Tennessee to attend the funeral" on Wednesday, the White House said.

The choice of such a high-profile representative from the White House underscores the political impact from Nichols' death after a brutal beating viewed across the country through a series of video recordings.

President Joe Biden has described himself as "outraged and deeply pained" by the footage.

Memphis police said Monday that seven officers have now been suspended over the beating, which was carried out by a specialized high-crimes-area unit after a traffic stop. The unit has since been disbanded.

Harris was invited to attend the funeral services Wednesday by Nichols' mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, according to Harris's press secretary, Kirsten Allen.

Harris spoke by phone with the Wells family on Tuesday, expressing her condolences and offering her support. President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Nichols' family last week.

Harris will be joined by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the president for public engagement, and Mitch Landrieu, a White House senior advisor and infrastructure implementation coordinator, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, Allen said.

Five Black officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols' Jan. 7 beating and subsequent death. Video of the beating, which was released publicly last week, shows that many more people failed to help Nichols, who was also Black, beyond the five officers charged in his death.

Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders fired in connection with Nichols' death, officials said Monday. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, and another officer whose name wasn't released, have been suspended, police said.

Nichols' family, the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Ben Crump plan to gather Tuesday evening at the historic Mason Temple in Memphis  where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated  to speak about the latest developments in the case.

Six of the officers involved were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in high-crime areas. Other Memphis residents who say they also were "brutalized" by officers in the unit will also speak at Mason Temple, according to a statement from Crump.

Police Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said after the video's release that the unit has been disbanded.

"It's a step in the right direction, but due to the severity of the situation it's not enough," Damion Carrick, 44, said as he participated in a protest Monday evening at Shelby Farms Park. "You got a man dragged out of his car, beaten senseless, to a pulp and nobody doing nothing about it. It's heartbreaking."

Nichols' death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted violent and sometimes deadly encounters.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has survived the several vicissitudes of India-Pakistan ties. Apart from the wars the two countries fought, Pakistan has been regular in its complaints against Indian actions as an upper riparian state. There has also historically been great dissatisfaction within Jammu and Kashmir on the grounds that the Treaty directly restricted its right to use the waters  the state legislature even passed a resolution in the early 2000s calling for abandoning the Treaty and later for at least revising it. Last week, New Delhi finally served notice to Pakistan, asking for modifications as the Treaty itself allows.

What explains the Indian move?

For one, Pakistan has since 2015 been objecting to two Indian hydroelectric projects, one on the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers, without explaining to India at any of their Permanent Indus Commission meetings exactly what its reasons were. Further, after first requesting the World Bank, also a party to the Treaty, to appoint a Neutral Expert, it switched to asking for a Court of Arbitration. For its part, last year, the World Bank inexplicably decided to launch both Neutral Expert and the Court of Arbitration processes. New Delhi has argued that the two mechanisms running simultaneously create the potential for contradictory judgements and undermining the Treaty itself; its move to amend the Treaty came two days before the latter body met for the first time.

Two, the Treaty is outdated in terms of the technical specifics it covers or caters for  Indian interlocutors themselves have been arguing thus, for years.

Three, the technical and political merge in that Pakistan has become adept at using the provisions of the Treaty to delay or obstruct Indian development activities on the rivers under the purview of the IWT. The spirit of the law is, it would appear, being undermined by the letter of the law.

Four, the World Bank itself appears incompetent, partisan or both in the process, given its decision last year. Not only does New Delhi find this unacceptable, but it is also today in a stronger position to counter.

Five, and also related to Indias stronger weight and standing in international politics, is the possibility that its government is no longer minded to give Pakistan the leeway to do as it wishes. The Indian government could well be taking advantage of its neighbours domestic preoccupations, including economic crisis and major internal security concerns in both its northwest and southwest.

Naturally, this is an approach that has one eye on Indias own domestic political dynamics as much as it has on the bilateral.

Domestic politics continues to be possibly a consideration for a sixth reason. The dilution of Art 370 has not led to the degree of political capital for New Delhi in Jammu & Kashmir or Ladakh that it had imagined it would. Initiating a process of change in the provisions of the Treaty might be one way to address historical disaffection over the IWT and earn some respite from other political pressures.

However, India will have to tread carefully.

For one, while both India and Pakistan confront climate change-related issues, including melting glaciers, for the moment, it is the latter that faces the greater challenges. It is both severely water-scarce and has flood management problems, and any suggestion India is abandoning the IWT could be seen as a national security issue in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It might even serve to unite the disparate political forces and power centres in Pakistan that are otherwise at loggerheads in that political system.

For another, while India holds most of the cards as an upper riparian state on the Indus, it has to consider the consequences in its east with respect to the Brahmaputra, where it is China that holds all the advantages as an upper riparian. Data-sharing agreements on the river between India and China have been piecemeal and affected by bilateral tensions. Indias record with the IWT has, however, always been a model that allowed the rest of the world to see more clearly Chinas hegemonic use of its status as the upper riparian state. If the IWT crumbles, that is one less mirror to hold up to China.

More broadly, there is also its global image that India will need to worry about. As the worlds attention remains focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and a general consensus holds that China is the aggressor in the current tensions on the India-China boundary, New Delhi is in a geopolitical sweet spot, seen as being responsible, patient and standing up to bullies. To fail to work out the kinks in the IWT or, worse, to appear like a bully itself in the process might reverse this impression that India has developed so assiduously after much work at home and diplomacy abroad.
Carl Peis Nothing launched its first smartphone in July 2022. The company is reportedly gearing to bring the phones successor  Nothing Phone (2). According to a report, Nothing may launch the successor phone in late 2023. However, the phone may make its debut in the US first, followed by other global markets including India.

In an interview with Inverse, Nothing founder and CEO Carl Pei said that the company has decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority, hinting that the Nothing Phone (2) could be launched in the US first.

We decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority in terms of markets," Pei says. We couldn't do it earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products. Now as we're on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward," he adds.

Talking about the companys growth, Pei says We did almost 10x the revenue last year [in 2022 globally] compared to [2021]. We did more than $200 million USD last year; the first year we did something like $24 million USD. We're growing quite quickly. We shipped over a million products already."

Nothings first product  Nothing Ear (1) was introduced in 2021. It was succeeded by the companys first smartphone  Nothing Phone (1) in 2022. The smartphone is equipped with a 6.55-inch Full HD+ OLED display with 60Hz to 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. The screen is HDR10+ and comes with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on back and front. Nothing smartphone is powered by mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 778+ octa-core processor.

On the battery front, the smartphone is claimed to deliver up to 18 hours of use with every charge, and two days on standby. The phone offers fast charging and is said to charge up from 0 to 50% power in just 30 minutes of charge. Power accessories like Nothing Ear (1) with 5W reverse charge. The charging coil Glyph even lights up to indicate reverse charging is happening.
Lloydminster, AB/SK  Local historian Susan Brazeau will present the little-known history of Canada's British Home Children at the Lloydminster Museum + Archives on Saturday, February 11, 2023.

Between 1869 and 1948, over 100,000 children were sent to Canada from Great Britain under the British Home Children program. These children, ages 2 to 18, were taken from institutions such as orphanages and workhouses, and from families which experienced financial hardship. They were sent to Canada to work as indentured labourers on farms and in domestic service. Many of these children were subjected to harsh conditions and abuse, and their stories have been largely overlooked in Canadian history.

In her presentation, Susan Brazeau will share the stories of these children and their experiences in Canada. She will also discuss the ongoing efforts to recognize and commemorate their legacy.

The presentation is open to people aged 16-plus and is $5 to register. Light refreshments will be provided. To register, please visit lloydminster.ca/AlmostForgotten. For more information, contact the Lloydminster Museum + Archives at lma@lloydminster.ca or 780-874-3720.

About Susan Brazeau

Susan Brazeau is an author, historical researcher and former Lakeland College instructor with a Master of Arts in Integrated Studies. She has researched and written extensively on Canadas British Home Children and is a sought-after speaker. As a paternal granddaughter of a British home child, this topic has become a lifelong passion of Susan who has devoted her time to studies in history, social sciences, education, law and genealogy. While completing her master of arts degree, Brazeau's thesis surrounded the topic of They Were but Children; The Immigration of British Home Children to Canada. Today, Brazeau is a proud member to numerous research groups which aim to communicate the history of these people.

Quotes

Between 1869 and 1948, an estimated 100,000 impoverished British children were sent to Canada as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants. My grandmother was one. Known as 'home children', many settled in Alberta and Saskatchewan and contributed to the building of our communities. Learn the story of this little known era of Canadian history. Susan Hillman Brazeau, BA, MA-IS

"Learning about the history of 'Canada's British Home Children' is crucial in understanding our past and ensuring that their sacrifices and contributions are never forgotten. Its our responsibility to remember and honour these children's lives and recognize their impact on our country. Jenna Berild-Cleary, Museum Programmer, Lloydminster Museum + Archives
Food Truck Fridays is celebrating one-year with a Mardi Gras-theme and expansion of the popular event
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Ireland West Airport has today welcomed the major announcement by Aer Lingus of a new year-round, daily service to London Heathrow Airport.

Starting March 26, Aer Lingus will operate daily flights to London Heathrow, Londons biggest and most well connected and closest airport to central London, serviced by the Heathrow Express train with a journey time of just 15 minutes to Paddington Station in Central London.

This new service will provide a major boost for the airport and the region as it is the first time in the airports 37-year history that the airport will be connected to one of Europes major international airport hubs.

As well as providing a daily service to Heathrow, this connectivity means customers can enjoy seamless connections via London Heathrow Airport to North America.

The new route will boost inbound tourism to the West of Ireland. Aer Lingus aims to take advantage of the growing trend of screen tourism, which Tourism Ireland has identified as a key opportunity for 2023, with films like the Banshees of Inisherin showcasing the West of Ireland to a global audience. Todays announcement reinforces Aer Linguss commitment to Ireland West Airport Knock.

The new route will replace the current Aer Lingus service to London Gatwick, which will cease operations on March 25, 2023. Customers already booked on this route will be automatically rebooked on a same day flight.*

The times of the flights to and from London Heathrow Airport are (Please note this is subject to change and confirmation)

- Depart London Heathrow Airport at 11:05am arriving at Ireland West Airport at 12:35

- Depart Ireland West Airport at 13:05, arriving at London Heathrow Airport at 14:30

Commenting on the new London Heathrow service, Reid Moody Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Aer Lingus said: Our new route from Ireland West Airport to London Heathrow, accompanied with further network connectivity for our customers, is exciting for Aer Lingus and for the West of Ireland. As well as direct connectivity to London Heathrow, there are significant onward connections now open to customers to North America and beyond. The service will also drive inbound tourism at a time when interest in visiting the West of Ireland is very high, with the Oscar nominated Banshees of Inisherin showcasing the beauty of the West of Ireland to millions of people globally.

Welcoming the news, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said, The airport is absolutely delighted to welcome todays announcement of a new daily service to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus. This is a major development for the West and Northwest regions as it opens up key onward connectivity, through one of Europes biggest hubs, to over 80 destinations worldwide. The hub status of Heathrow for business and leisure passengers to connect with the global marketplace is a potential game changer for this region, and from a tourism perspective the service will deliver a significant increase in tourism visits from all corners of the globe. In addition, through their code share partnerships, this new route will see the return of US services to the West, as it provides the option to book flights on the Aer Lingus website, from Ireland West Airport via Heathrow, to key North American destinations such as Boston, New York, Washington and Los Angeles as well as further onward connections with their code share partners such as British Airways, to a host of global destinations. I have no doubt this new service will attract strong support from the region and overseas and we thank Aer Lingus for their strong show of commitment to the airport and West of Ireland region.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers TD, welcomed the new service This is a very welcome development both for Ireland West Airport and the region. While Heathrow will undoubtedly be a very useful destination for those travelling to London, the benefits that this link brings are beyond that. In particular, it unlocks further connectivity for users of the service both to onward destinations and to new visitors from across the globe. A daily connection to a global hub such as this has the potential to build new and exciting linkages in not just tourism but across trade to and from the region. The past few years have seen significant pressure on our airports due to the much reduced traffic caused by the pandemic. Government has not been found wanting in providing support. Since the onset of COVID-19, exchequer funding amounting to 12.3m was provided to Ireland West Airport. However, enhancements such as the one announced today are really important signs that air travel is entering into a much-needed period of recovery. Ireland West Airport is one of the airports at the forefront of this recovery and in 2022 passenger numbers recovered to 89% of pre-COVID-19 levels. That is a testament to the hard work of the management and team at the airport, and their airline partners. I wish Ireland West Airport and Aer Lingus every success in the launch of this new service.

Commenting on the tourism boost the new service will bring, Niall Gibbons, CEO, Tourism Ireland said Todays announcement by Aer Lingus is really good news for tourism to Mayo and the Wild Atlantic Way, as we continue to restore growth in inbound tourism. As an island destination, we know theres a proven direct correlation between access and growth in visitor numbers, so this new flight will certainly help boost visitor numbers from Britain. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with Aer Lingus, Ireland West Airport and our other key partners, to drive demand for this new flight, and all other services to Ireland, and help maintain our vital network of routes and services. Great Britain remains a very important market for tourism to the island of Ireland, delivering around 42% of all our overseas visitors. In 2019, we welcomed almost 4.8 million British visitors, whose visits generated approximately 1.45 billion for the economy.
A UK and Ireland trade body is celebrating a supplier in Longford who goes the extra mile to support the building materials industry.

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF), together with Builders Merchants News (BMN), have joined forces to identify the Top 100 Supplier Influencers across the sector and shine a light on their success.

Mike Glennon is Joint Managing Director at Glennon Brothers in Longford, and was nominated after meeting key criteria including involvement, presence, charity, and community work as well as the commitment to the industry.

Using social media, the BMF will highlight the work of each influencer ahead of a celebration Gala Dinner later this year.

Mike said: Im really delighted, honoured, and humbled to receive this nomination on behalf of the hard-working team of people in Longford, Fermoy, Windymains, Troon, and Enniskillen that make up Glennon Brothers today.

It is fantastic to be nominated as a Top 100 Influencer and I would like to thank BMF and BMN for the recognition.

The initiative follows last years Top 100 Merchant Influencers which recognised builders merchants who stepped up to support their communities.

John Newcomb, Chief Executive of the BMF, said: The BMF is proud to represent a building materials industry that encompasses merchants and their suppliers.

After the success of last years Top 100 Merchant Influencers were delighted to be partnering with BMN again in 2023 to highlight the achievements of the Top 100 Supplier Influencers.

Shining a light on individuals who go above and beyond in their service to our industry, this new accolade reflects the positive influence each of the nominated individuals selected has both on the people around them and on the wider building materials industry.

We look forward to celebrating their achievements.

The suppliers included on the list will feature in a commemorative brochure and be invited to a Gala Dinner celebration and networking event at the Belfry in May.

BMNs Commercial Manager, Ellen Walton, added: Working with the BMF to celebrate both the Top 100 Merchant Influencers, and now the Top 100 Supplier Influencers, highlights the amazing talent and passion that everyone has for this sector.

From involvement in industry events, being BMF Ambassadors, or the charitable work that people take on, over and above the usual working hours, it is clear that we have a great industry.

The BMF represents more than 870 merchant and supplier companies that collectively employ more than 230,000 people in the building materials industry, performing an essential national function in distributing construction materials and home improvement products across the UK.
A hairdresser who told gardai she was Sabrina the teenage witch has been fined.

Ellie Condon, 23, of 79 Rathcarrig, Fermoy, Cork was arrested when gardai were called to the Killeshin Hotel on the Dublin Road in Portlaoise on January 11 last at 1.10am.

Sergeant JJ Kirby said when gardai attended the defendant was lying in a bush shouting at her boyfriend.

She called herself Sabrina the the teenage witch when gardai asked for her name, Sgt Kirby told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. He said the woman, who has no previous convictions, became abusive and highly aggressive and spat in the patrol car on the night in question.

Louise Troy BL said her client had brought an eloquently written letter of apology to the gardai.

She is extremely remorseful, absolutely embarrassed and ashamed, Ms Troy said.

She said the woman was staying in the hotel and had a wisdom tooth removed. She mixed painkillers with alcohol and it had a severe effect, said Ms Troy.

That is not normally how she would behave, said Ms Troy. The woman brought 200 to court for any clean up cost and a letter from a counsellor she attended in relation to her drinking.

She said her client, a hairdresser who is currently unemployed, was pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Another serious incident, this time the Gardai got the brunt of Sabrina the teenage witch, said Judge Andrew Cody.

Describing the behaviour as absolutely unacceptable, he said he didnt accept the evidence regarding the wisdom tooth.

Id say she took more brainkillers than painkillers, said Judge Cody.

He fined her 200 for being abusive, 500 for failing to provide her name and he took a criminal damage charge for spitting in the patrol car and a public intoxication charge into account.

Judge Cody granted legal aid and fixed recognisance in case of appeal.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 31 2023

Carlos Guerra  a member of Normandie clique of MS-13  participated in December 2018 killings of Ian Cruz in Far Rockaway and Harold Sermeno in Lawrence.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Far Rockaway MS-13 member pleaded guilty today during jury selection to his role in two killings on the Nassau and Queens border in December 2018.

Carlos Guerra, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree (a B violent felony) and two counts of Conspiracy in the Second Degree (a B felony) before Judge Tammy Robbins. The defendant is due back in court on March 7, 2023, and is expected to be sentenced to a total of 28 years in prison.

Co-defendants and fellow gang members Yonathan Sanchez, a/k/a Turbo, and Elmer Gutierrez, a/k/a Revolver, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy. Sanchez was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison in July 2020 and Gutierrez was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in August 2021.

A defendant who was 15 at the time of the incidents also pleaded guilty to one count of Murder in the Second Degree and is expected to be sentenced to 8-1/2 years to life in prison. The cases against two juveniles, a male and female, are also pending.

Carlos Guerra and his co-defendants murdered two young men  within three days of each other  to move up the ranks of MS-13, DA Donnelly said. The victims in this case made the mistake of allegedly disrespecting MS-13 and were marked for death. Thanks to remarkably quick detective work in Nassau County and New York City the defendants were arrested just days after the murders. I thank our many law enforcement partners that helped bring these violent gang members to justice.

DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment, on December 15, 2018, 23-year-old Far Rockaway resident Ian Cruz, a perceived enemy of MS-13, was lured to Bayswater Point State Park in Far Rockaway with the promise of drugs and sex. The victim met the female defendant and then walked to the park, while Sanchez, Guerra and a 15-year-old male defendant hid in the park armed with knives. Sanchez emerged from the bushes and shot Cruz four times in the head with a .22 caliber revolver. The defendants took Cruzs belongings and fled to a Nameoke Street apartment where Sanchez and Guerra lived.

Prior to the murder, photographs of Cruz allegedly disrespecting MS-13 were circulated among the defendants, and they conspired to murder the man.

Cruz was found by a park-goer the following day, in his underwear and on top of a blanket.

On the evening of December 17, 2018, victim Harold Sermeno, 17, of Far Rockaway, was lured to the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence. The victim and the female defendant arrived at a park on the property and began to drink and smoke at a picnic table. At that point, the five other defendants, armed with a gun and knives, waited in strategic areas in the park. Sanchez then emerged and shot Sermeno four times in the head and once in the chest with a .22 revolver. Gutierrez sliced the victims neck with a machete.

The six defendants  members of the MS-13 Normandie clique  fled to the same apartment in Far Rockaway.

Sermeno was found the following morning by a person walking a dog. He allegedly disrespected MS-13 during a phone call before his murder.

Police officers recovered the machete that was used in the murder of Sermeno and a .22 caliber revolver that was used in both murders at the Nameoke apartment.

Sanchez, Guerra, Gutierrez and two juveniles were arrested on December 19, 2018, in Far Rockaway by members of the NYPD. The sixth defendant, a juvenile, was arrested on December 28, 2018, by members of the NYPD and NCPD.

The NCDA thanks the New York City Police Department, Nassau County Police Department, Queens County District Attorneys Office and the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force for their assistance in this case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Stefanie Palma of the Homicide Bureau is prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Jeff Groder, Esq.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 31 2023

Sheriff Toulon welcomed these new deputies, reminding them that they now hold a position of authority in Suffolk County, and with that authority comes great responsibility.

The Suffolk County Sheriffs Office recently held a swearing in ceremony for sixteen new Deputy Sheriff Recruits at the Maxine S. Postal Auditorium in the Riverhead County Center.

These new Deputy Sheriff Recruits will begin a rigorous six-month training program that includes instruction in firearms, emergency vehicle operations (EVOC), EMT training, and individualized field training. The recruits will graduate in the summer, joining a force consisting of 246 Suffolk County Deputy Sheriffs.

Sheriff Toulon welcomed these new deputies to the Sheriffs Office, reminding them that they now hold a position of authority in Suffolk County, and with that authority comes great responsibility.

The class consists of 2 former Suffolk County Sheriffs Office Correction Officers, 1 former NYS Court Officer, 4 former NYPD Officers and five Veterans.

For more information on the Suffolk County Sheriffs Office Policing Division, please visit www.suffolksheriff.com.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: January 31 2023

City of Long Beach and Village of Lindenhurst to Receive $4.5 Million Each.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the City of Long Beach and the Village of Lindenhurst will each receive $4.5 million in funding as the Long Island region winners of the first round of NY Forward. Building on the momentum of the State's successful Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the $100 million NY Forward program adopts the same "Plan-then-Act" strategy as the DRI to support a more equitable downtown recovery for New York's smaller and rural communities. As part of NY Forward Round One, two to three awards will be made to smaller communities in each of the State's ten economic development regions to support development and implementation of a revitalization plan for their downtowns.

"Our downtowns create a vital economic lifeline for so many of our smaller communities to thrive, flourish, and reach their full potential," Governor Hochul said. "As we continue to assist New York businesses recover from the pandemic, we are executing an equitable plan with NY Forward to uplift our business districts utilizing the successful blueprint of our Downtown Revitalization Initiative."

NY Forward is a central component of the State's economic development efforts, working together with DRI to accelerate and expand the revitalization of New York's downtowns. NY Forward serves smaller communities with historic character that distinguishes them from the larger, more urban central business districts typically funded through DRI. NY Forward communities are walkable, less dense areas that serve the immediate local community, and are more local in nature - focusing on the immediately surrounding residential or rural agricultural centric development.

Like DRI, each NY Forward community will develop a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize its downtown through a slate of readily implementable projects. The Department of State will provide enhanced technical assistance to better support smaller communities that may have less capacity as part of the NY Forward program and fund projects appropriately scaled to the size of each community. Projects may include building renovation and redevelopment, new construction or creation of new or improved public spaces and other projects that elevate specific cultural, historical qualities that enhance the feeling of small-town charm.

Long Beach

Long Beach, nicknamed the "City by the Sea", is best known for its beach and associated boardwalk. Long Beach's downtown includes the Park Avenue Central Business District, which is home to over 180 businesses. The City of Long Beach seeks to enhance its downtown's status as a major regional destination by expanding the City's Complete Streets Initiatives to introduce new traffic calming measures and improved circulation, making its main thoroughfare friendlier to pedestrians and bikers. The City also aims to promote transit oriented/smart and equitable development, grow existing and new local businesses to provide high-quality jobs and expand the arts, along with building resilient infrastructure.

Lindenhurst

The Village of Lindenhurst's downtown is defined by a compact and walkable Village core, which also includes several of the Village's premier open space assets and community amenities. The Village has a goal of creating a healthy, thriving downtown that is attractive for businesses, visitors and residents alike. To spur economic growth in the downtown, the Village has already engaged in numerous planning efforts, including creating a Downtown Redevelopment District Floating Zone to encourage residential and mixed-use development and redevelopment on sites within walking distance of the LIRR and the central business district. Lindenhurst aims to build on these efforts by creating new multi-modal travel choices in and around downtown, transforming underutilized properties into commercial space and mixed-use developments and investing in housing and community amenities.

Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said, "Downtown communities across the state are being transformed by New York's unique 'plan-then-act' approach to downtown revitalization, and Long Beach and Lindenhurst are the first communities on Long Island to be awarded funding through our newest program - NY Forward. This funding will help Long Beach and Lindenhurst achieve their community-driven visions for downtown resurgence and spur equitable economic growth for generations to come."

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "NY Forward is a catalyst for revitalization, helping local communities create new opportunities for growth and economic prosperity. The City of Long Beach and the Village of Lindenhurst will benefit greatly from this funding, as they work to enhance their status as regional destinations and promote sustainable, equitable development. This will not only bring new businesses to the area but also create healthy and thriving downtowns that are attractive to residents, visitors, and businesses alike."

Long Island Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Linda Armyn, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Bethpage Federal Credit Union and President of Farmingdale State College Dr. John Nader said, "The LIREDC is thrilled that the City of Long Beach and the Village of Lindenhurst have each been selected as recipients of $4.5 million through NY Forward. This funding will provide a vital boost to smaller and rural communities, allowing them to create opportunities for long-term growth and prosperity. The investments made through NY Forward will have a transformative impact on the economic future of these communities, and we look forward to seeing the positive changes that will come as a result."

State Senator Monica R. Martinez said, "I applaud Governor Hochul for her steadfast commitment in providing the necessary resources needed for a community to flourish. The Village of Lindenhurst has focused on creating a walkable, vibrant downtown that prioritizes the needs of both its residents and businesses and will serve as a model for other communities to follow. I look forward to seeing the positive impact New York Forward and other programs alike will have on the state's economy and overall quality of life for New Yorkers."

State Senator Alexis Weik said, "I am so proud to support the great Village of Lindenhurst as the recipients of the NY Forward Grant, a $4.5 million dollar award for downtown revitalization. Mayor, Mike Lavorata, Village Trustee, RJ Renna and assistant to the Village Board, Katie McCaffrey have worked hard to garner support to bring these funds to their village. The Mayor has brought many new family friendly changes to the village, like removing an abandoned building to create a village square park, a gathering place for concerts, family-fun events and New Year's Eve festivities. They have their sights set on possibly acquiring and removing an old court house to increase that small-town charm that has become Lindenhurst. These funds will bring so much more to the charming village and certainly make it a destination."

State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said, "Long Beach has a long and storied history as a vibrant and beautiful seaside community by the shores of the Atlantic. The receipt of NY Forward funds will be an important catalyst to help further revitalize the downtown area of the City by the Sea. I want to thank Governor Hochul for working with me to deliver economic support to the community of Long Beach."

Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre said, "I am proud that the Village of Lindenhurst has been chosen as a NY Forward winner. The Village of Lindenhurst has a vibrant and walkable downtown which has attracted many to the area. The Village has worked extremely hard to make improvements and I am happy their efforts are being recognized today. I appreciate Governor Hochul's investment in our downtown communities allowing them to be an attraction for years to come."

Assemblymember Ari Brown said, "Long Beach, is one of only two cities on Long Island, a beautiful community, rich in its diversity and history. Long Beach has truly turned itself around over the past forty years; I recall in the early 80s many abandoned homes and storefronts. Long Beach truly is a hidden gem, but certainly can use this funding to help it transform and emerge as a world class seaside destination. I commend Governor Hochul for her efforts and for choosing Long Beach as one of the NY Forward recipients."

President of Long Beach City Council John Bendo said, "We want to thank Governor Hochul and the State for this investment. Home to 35,000 residents and a major destination for visitors in the summer, a thriving business district is key to Long Beach's success. With this historic investment, we can now focus on a much needed renewal of our central business district, to meet the needs of our residents and visitors alike."

Village of Lindenhurst Mayor Michael Lavorata said, "The Village of Lindenhurst is thrilled to receive this grant award! I cannot express our excitement over this incredible achievement. I wish to thank Katie McCaffrey and RJ Renna for all of their hard work. I would like to especially recognize Ms. McCaffrey who spearheaded the operation as well as made the presentation and has helped further the Village's commitment to ongoing downtown revitalization! This is truly a historical event for us in our Centennial year and as we look forward to our next 100 years."

The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council conducted a thorough and competitive review process of proposals submitted from communities throughout the region and considered the criteria below before recommending these communities as nominees:

The downtown should be compact, with well-dened boundaries that include the downtown being able to capitalize on prior or catalyze future private and public investment in the neighborhood and its surrounding areas, recent or impending job growth within, or in close proximity to the downtown that can attract workers to the downtown which support redevelopment and make growth sustainable, and the downtown must be an attractive and livable community for diverse populations of all ages, income, gender, identity, ability, mobility and cultural background.

Additionally, the municipality should already embrace or have the ability to create and implement policies that increase livability and quality of life, conduct an open and robust community engagement process resulting in a vision for downtown revitalization and a preliminary list of projects and initiatives that may be included in a Strategic Investment Plan. The boundaries also include the municipality having identied transformative projects that will be ready for near-term implementation with an infusion of NY Forward funds and the municipality having the local capacity to manage the planning process and implementation of projects, including the ability to oversee contracts for awarded municipal projects.

Long Beach and Lindenhurst will now begin the process of developing Strategic Investment Plans to revitalize their downtowns. A Local Planning Committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders will lead these eorts, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners. The Strategic Investment Plan will examine local assets and opportunities to identify projects that align with each community's vision and that are poised for implementation. Funding will be awarded for selected projects from the Strategic Investment Plan that have the greatest potential to jumpstart revitalization and generate new opportunities for long-term growth.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: January 31 2023

Joshua Pena, allegedly intoxicated and driving at excessive speeds, crashed on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, killing his half-brother.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced a Valley Stream man was arraigned on charges of Manslaughter and Vehicular Manslaughter for a Fathers Day 2022 drunk-driving crash on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway that killed his 23-year-old half-brother.

Joshua Pena, 23, was arraigned Monday before Judge Christopher Hoefenkrieg on charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a C felony); Assault in the Second Degree (a D felony); Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a D felony); Driving While Intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor); Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor); Reckless Driving (an unclassified misdemeanor); and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree (an unclassified misdemeanor). The defendant pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $100,000 cash, $200,000 bond, or $1,000,000 partially secured bond. He is due back in court on March 1, 2023. Pena faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison.

Joshua Pena was allegedly driving more than double the speed limit while intoxicated when he crashed over a guardrail on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway and into a tree, pinning his half-brother inside the vehicle with serious injuries, said DA Donnelly. Tragically, shortly after being removed from the vehicle by emergency personnel, 23-year-old Xavier Pena succumbed to his injuries. Our thoughts are with the victims family as they mourn his loss.

DA Donnelly said that on June 19, 2022, at approximately 7:45 a.m., an off-duty East Meadow Fire Department official was driving southbound on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway towards exit 1E when he saw a white 2018 Mercedes on top of the guardrail, leaning against a tree.

When he approached the vehicle, he saw the victim, 23-year-old Xavier Pena, conscious and pinned inside the vehicle and radioed for help. The defendant, Joshua Pena, who is also the victims half-brother, was seen walking near brush west of the vehicle.

NCPD Emergency Services Unit and members of the Wantagh Fire Department assisted in removing the victim from the vehicle. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 8:43 a.m.

The defendant was also transported to NUMC and allegedly had a blood alcohol content of .17 approximately forty-five minutes after the crash.

The data from the vehicles crash data recorder also revealed that shortly before the collision, the defendant was allegedly driving approximately 127 mph.

Joshua Penas privilege to operate a motor vehicle in New York was suspended at the time of the crash for failure to answer summonses in Queens County.

The defendant surrendered to the Nassau County Police Departments Homicide Squad on January 23, 2023.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Stephanie Dellinger of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau. The defendant is represented by Bruce Barket, Esq.
(Alliance News) - Chrysalis Investments Ltd on Tuesday reported a net asset value fall, blaming mostly a decline in valuation of portfolio company Klarna Bank AB, a Stockholm-based payments and shopping service firm.

The investor in technology and finance startups said NAV per share at September 30 was 147.79 pence per share, down 41% from 251.96p a year prior.

Klarna's decline was responsible for 57.66p, or 55% of Chrysalis Investments' decline, the company explained. Comparing Klarna to other companies, it said: "The majority have continued to execute on their growth plans and expand, albeit some, such as Klarna, chose to moderate their pace of growth given the expected squeeze on consumers' income."

However, Chrysalis noted that Klarna expects to achieve a profit in the second half of 2023, following a USD800 million investment round at a USD6.7 billion post-money valuation by Klarna in July last year. In March 2022, Klarna reported a pretax loss of SEK6.58 billion for 2021, around USD630 million, widened from SEK1.63 billion, around USD160 million, in 2020.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis noted it has a "very limited direct exposure" to the markets of Russia and Ukraine, with sanctions imposed on Russia having no material impact.

The company declared no dividend for its financial year, unchanged from a year ago.

"The portfolio ended the year well-funded, with 67% of portfolio now either profitable or expected to be funded to profitability and a further 14% with a cash runway of approximately two years," Chrysalis said.

Looking ahead, Chair Andrew Haining said the company started financial year 2023 with "with confidence in its portfolio of high potential, market leading businesses. We have a robust cash position that will enable us to further support these companies."

Chrysalis Investments shares were down 3.9% to 85.54 pence each in London on Tuesday at midday.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. 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:

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Andrada Mining Ltd - technology metals mining company focused on Namibia - Reports results from its lithium & tantalum infill drilling programme at Uis mine. Intersects pegmatite in all holes at the depths and apparent widths predicted by the geological model. "We are pleased to announce these exploration drill results which are once again in line with our high expectations for the V1/V2 pegmatite ore body. The drill holes reported in this announcement are distributed over the strike of the pegmatite and are proof of the consistency of lithium, tin, and tantalum mineralisation. We are particularly encouraged by the lithium grades intersected in drill holes V1V2041 and V1V2056, up to 1.34% lithium oxide, which further demonstrate the unrealised potential of the V1/V2 orebody. We look forward to updating the Mineral Resource Estimate in support of our by-product development projects for tantalum and lithium," CEO Anthony Viljoen says.

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GSTechnologies Ltd - Milton Keynes, England-based fintech and information technology company - Signs a memorandum of understanding with Amaris AI Pte Ltd for the parties to explore collaboration opportunities and in particular to integrate Amaris' technology to enhance GST's GSMoney offerings.

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Tekcapital PLC - London-based intellectual property investor - Says US food retailer Giant Food of Maryland LLC agreed to partner with Microsalt Inc to provide low-sodium solutions for consumers and has agreed to carry MicroSalt's to new saltshakers in its stores. "We are extremely excited that Giant has joined with us to provide low sodium solutions to its customers. This is a tremendous step in our march toward reducing excess sodium consumption. Our MicroSalt shakers empower consumers to salt their food to taste with less sodium," Chief Executive Rick Guiney says.

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De La Rue PLC - Basingstoke, England-based security printed products maker - Reports that Rob Harding will step down as chief financial officer and director to take on a new role as CFO for PayPoint PLC. "For the past three years, Rob has been a highly valued member of both the board and the executive leadership team and has been instrumental in the delivery of the Company's ongoing transformation. On behalf of everyone at De La Rue, I would like to express my thanks to Rob for his contribution and wish him all the very best in his next role," Chief Executive Clive Vacher says.

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Corcel PLC - London-based mining and mineral resource development company - Says that its Chair James Parson elected that to receive his remuneration for the next four months in stock of the company, instead of drawing a monthly cash salary. Explains that it has agreed that his salary from February 2023 to May 2023 will be paid in the form of new ordinary shares in the company. Applies for the admission of 16.9 million shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Expects it to occur on or around February 3.

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Integrated Diagnostics Holdings PLC - consumer healthcare firm with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria - Reports that it will no longer pursue the purchase of a 50% stake in Islamabad Diagnostic Center. Explains that it has notified Evercare IGA Holdings Ltd of its decision. It comes at the end of an eighteen-month process that saw the parties work together to bring the transaction to completion.

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By Abby Amoakuh, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
A jury has convicted Devaunte Hill, 23, of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Lebanon nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, 26, in December 2020 on Interstate-440.

James Cowan, 30, was acquitted. Cowan was the driver of the car. Both were charged with premeditated first-degree murder.

Second-degree murder is a knowing killing of another that is not premeditated. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15-25 years.

Hill is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3.

The jury of 11 women and three men heard four days of testimony from 19 witnesses before getting the case at lunchtime Monday. They deliberated for around 12 hours over two days.

Hill and Cowan were both charged with premeditated first-degree murder, which requires the killer to use reflection and judgement and intentionally kill someone.

Hills attorneys argued that while he killed Kaufman, he didnt premeditate the murder.

Cowans attorney argued he did nothing to aid or solicit the murder.

On Dec. 3, 2020, Kaufman was traveling to work her night shift at Ascension St. Thomas West hospital. Just minutes before the shooting, she was talking on the phone with her mother, who lives in Pennsylvania.

That afternoon, Cowan and Hill were in Hermitage visiting Hills brother and traveled to West Nashville to pick up Cowans girlfriend from work.

Testifying in his own defense, Hill said Kaufman cut them off while she was merging onto the interstate. Hill fired out the window as he and Cowan swerved around her.

Hill couldnt remember how many times he fired. The car was struck six times.

Kaufman was shot through the drivers window. The bullet traveled through her left arm, lungs and heart before lodging in her right arm. A medical examiner testified her chest was filled with over two liters of blood, and she would have died quickly.

Cell tower records and the GPS data from Kaufmans phone show Cowan and Hill were on the interstate with Kaufman.

The states main fact witness was Jacques Merrell-Odom, a long-time friend of Hills.

Merrell-Odom showed up at Ascension St. Thomas West a week after the murder and asked for Kaufmans mother, saying he had information on the murder.

Merrell-Odom told police that Hill had told him he had shot Kaufman and that Merrell-Odom could get the murder weapon.

Over three hours into his police interview, Merrell-Odom told police the murder weapon, a Springfield XD9, was actually in his car.

Defense attorneys showed that Merrell-Odoms story has changed slightly over the four times he has told it. They also said he came forward to get the reward money, which was $66,000.

While testifying, Hill said it was Merrell-Odom who offered to get rid of the gun.

After Hill made some calls from the jail saying Cowan needed to get a new phone number, Cowan changed numbers, and the Cadillac he was driving at the time of the murder was found burning in South Nashville.

In closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman argued that both Hill and Cowan were responsible for the murder. She said cell phone carrier data showed that they followed Kaufman for a few minutes before shooting her. This is the first the jury had heard about the two following Cowan.

Mr. Hill wanted vengeance against her for cutting off Mr. Cowan. They picked her. They targeted her, she said.

Defense attorney Ron Munkeboe said the state had shared no proof that Cowan was in any way responsible for the murder.

Attorney Jason Chaffin with the public defenders office argued Hill shot immediately after Kaufman cut the two off. The gun was already in his lap.

If youre going to shoot someone because they cut you off on the highway, youre simply not going to wait, Chaffin said.

Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore reiterated Normans points, saying the murder could not have been committed by either man individually.

He added that the jury had heard that Hill had already shot three people prior to shooting Kaufman.

This case is about Caitlyn Kaufman. It is about murder. It is about taking something they had no right to take, he said.

After the verdict, Kaufmans family and the state didnt make any comments to media.

Hills attorneys called the verdict a win.

They said that they put a lot of work into picking a jury that would be fair. Jury selection took over 12 hours.

We think this is a just verdict, and we really appreciate their time and attention, public defense attorney Jason Chaffin said.

Everything we said in that courtroom we believe in, Assistant Deputy Public Defender Georgia Sims said.

Chaffin said Hill was relieved and believed it was a just verdict.

Hill and Cowans friends and family were relieved with the verdict.

We will take it. Were happy, said Fredricka Williams, Hills sister.
"I think theres a voice missing in our town government representing members of the community who want our town to be focused on things like public safety and infrastructure. ... Having that voice on the selectboard seemed like an important way for the town to move forward and make the town safer."

-- Megan Amundson

Quote
Digitization boosts access to ancient Chinese books

People's Daily Online) 14:50, January 31, 2023

Restorer Tian Tingting demonstrates the process of the restoration of an ancient book during an activity held by the National Library of China in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)

Recently, 6,786 volumes of digitized ancient Chinese books were launched online by the National Center for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books at the National Library of China (NLC) and five other institutions, bringing the total number of digitized ancient books available online to 130,000.

This is the seventh expansion of the countrys national database of ancient Chinese books since its establishment.

The NLC established the Chinese Ancient Books Resources Database in 2016 and launched digital resources including ordinary ancient texts, oracle bone inscriptions, and Dunhuang documents discovered in the Mogao Grottos in northwest Chinas Gansu Province, according to Nan Jiangtao, an associate researcher at the NLC, adding that the digital resources were available online.

The national database of ancient Chinese books consequently took shape thanks to the joint efforts of the NLC and other institutions.

So far, the NLC has released digitized ancient Chinese books along with 39 institutions. Data shows that among the current 130,000 volumes of digitized ancient books recorded in the national database, over 102,000 volumes are from the Chinese Ancient Books Resources Database.

These 130,000 digitized ancient books are of great significance to researchers, said Yang Haizheng, a professor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University (PKU).

It is not enough just to turn paper-based ancient books into digital texts. Yang explained that most of the existing digital ancient Chinese books are based on scanned images and usually lack a search function.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence brings tremendous changes to the collation of ancient books. A digital ancient book platform co-launched by the Center for Digital Humanities of PKU and Chinese tech company ByteDance serves as a vivid example.

Unlike some other digital platforms, this platform is free and offers a full-text search function, said Tang Kaixin, product general manager at the social responsibility department of Douyin, a subsidiary of ByteDance.

Tang explained that technologies including text recognition and automatic punctuation generation were applied to process texts on photocopies of ancient books.

The platform has released 685 classic ancient books with over 79 million characters, Tang said.

We have excellent product managers, designers and software engineers who constantly optimize the functions of the digital ancient book platform, Tang added.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Du Mingming)
Keep up with Coffee or Die Magazine's complete coverage of the Triple 7 Expedition's world-record attempt to skydive on all seven continents in seven days while raising money for Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization supporting Gold Star families.

As with most other nights when her husband flew Marine CH-53E Super Stallions, Kelli Campbell-Goodnow expected him to come home around 2 a.m., and crawl into bed. It was Jan. 14, 2016, and Maj. Shawn Campbell was scheduled to pilot one of two of the big cargo helicopters on a routine training mission off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.

"That's when everything changed," Campbell-Goodnow said.

But Campbell had not arrived when Kelli's phone rang at about 4 a.m. It was her father calling from Kansas, where it was already 8 a.m., and he was watching TV.

"It was on the news," Campbell-Goodnow said. Reports weren't naming a squadron or details, just that two CH-53 helicopters had collided in Hawaii and a search was underway.

"But they knew there was only one squadron of 53s out there," she said. "They knew that we probably were going to know whoever it was. And so my dad called to make sure Shawn was home.

"He was not, and I knew in that instant."

Kelli and Shawn had four kids, the oldest 11, the youngest just 2. Their happy plans to raise them together in retirement, just a few years away, were gone. Survival filled the gap.

As a mom of four, she had to prioritize her children.

"From there, you're facing: Well, now we have to move, and now we have to leave our military community and our friends and our church," Campbell-Goodnow said. "I homeschooled our kids at the time, and we had a great little community. We loved our house.

"Just everything -- literally everything -- had to change," she said.

One immediate change was the kids' school. That's where she found Folds of Honor. The nonprofit provides scholarships to the families of fallen or disabled service members. Kelli suddenly needed that help when she found a private school that specialized in a homeschool curriculum.

"It wasn't tuition," Campbell-Goodnow told Coffee or Die Magazine. "It was hope."

A Life Together

Shawn and Kelli met at Texas A&M University more than two decades ago. Shawn had not gone directly to college from high school and was older than most students.

"He was a climber-bum and decided that wasn't going to pay the bills, so he went to school," Campbell-Goodnow said, laughing. In 2000, a year before graduating, the couple married, and soon after Shawn completed Officer Candidate School.

"We were headed off with the Marine Corps, and he became a pilot and flew CH-53 helicopters," Campbell-Goodnow said.

During his 15-year military career, Shawn deployed three times, and the Campbells bounced around the U.S., mainly on the East Coast, from North Carolina to Florida, Texas, and Virginia.

In between, the couple had four children, whom they towed from duty station to duty station. Homeschooling, they found, provided a more consistent and predictable life.

Nearing the 15-year mark of Shawn's career, they couple PCS'd to Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

"We were kind of looking toward retirement," Campbell-Goodnow said. "We thought we were nearing the end of this, and we were considering where we would settle down when he got out. We probably had one or two duty stations left in us after Hawaii."

When the Campbells moved in 2014 to Kailua, a beach hotspot with aquamarine waters on the island of Oahu, Campbell-Goodnow said the family was smitten with the vacation destination.

"We were there for 18 months -- loved it," she said. "It was amazing, just our favorite duty station."

Shawn loved his job, too. He transitioned to a leadership position in the safety and maintenance shop at Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, or HMH-463, known as the Pegasus.

"Shawn had 200 Marines under him in the safety and maintenance shop, and he really cared about them," Campbell-Goodnow said. "He grew up without a dad and really had a heart for wandering, lost young Marines."

Because of Shawn's new position, Campbell-Goodnow had only met many of her husband's colleagues just before the start of 2016.

"I got to meet Shawn's co-pilot -- the guy sitting next to him -- for the first time at the Marine Corps Ball that November," Campbell-Goodnow said. "We sat together, and I got to know [his wife], and they had a brand-new baby.

"And then the next time I saw her, we were in the base chapel waiting for an update from the Coast Guard," Campbell-Goodnow said.

'We're Searching'

After her father called on that dark morning, Campbell-Goodnow started making phone calls but couldn't get in touch with anyone at the Marine squadron. After serious incidents where death is known or suspected, military leaders confiscate cell phones so that next of kin don't find out through a text message or while scrolling through social media.

"It was terrifying," Campbell-Goodnow said. "Had I not had four children in bed at home, I would have run up to the squadron, but it was like you're just helpless."

A few hours later that morning, three Marines, including one of Shawn's closest friends, showed up on Campbell-Goodnow's front doorstep.

"We don't know. We don't know. We don't know," they said. "We're searching."

"It was that much more unexpected when you think, We've been to war. We've been through this. We're safe now," Campbell-Goodnow said. "You get complacent, I guess, and think it's not going to be you."

For five days, Campbell-Goodnow and 11 other families hovered around the base chapel for an update from the Coast Guard.

"At the time, [our kids] were 11, 9, 6, and 2," Campbell-Goodnow said. "To watch them go through that and for them to have that waiting time where they think their dad's out there in a lifeboat somewhere. It was just devastating."

In her gut, Campbell-Goodnow said she knew what news was coming.

"Two helicopters, 12 Marines, and they collided out on the ocean overnight," she said. "It was sudden and fast, and they were all instantly killed."

'You Move Forward, But You Never Move On'

For weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted recovery operations, searching for wreckage and human remains.

"In the end, we were able to receive Shawn's remains and have a burial," Campbell-Goodnow said. "Three families did not."

"At that time, we had been off for Christmas break, and [the kids] were actually supposed to go back and start up the day that it happened, so school never happened," Campbell-Goodnow said. "And I started to panic, like, What am I going to do? I don't think I can homeschool anymore."

Within two months, the family had left Hawaii for Kansas to move in with Campbell-Goodnow's parents while she figured out what would come next.

"That's where Folds of Honor came in," Campbell-Goodnow said.

Thanks to a friend, Campbell-Goodnow enrolled her kids in a school near her parents that aligned with her homeschooling curriculum and teaching methods.

"It just was this great fit," Campbell-Goodnow said. "And so, they invited the kids to come and finish out the semester with no grades, no pressure -- no tuition, even. Just bring them, put them in school, give them a place to have a routine, and love on them.

"It was a godsend."

But Campbell-Goodnow said, in the back of her mind, she worried about putting her kids in a school they would only have to leave the following year. If tuition kicked in, she wouldn't be able to afford the private school.

"But the friend that found the school also found Folds of Honor, and she was like, 'Here, they can finish the year here, and then you can reapply for next year, and you can get scholarships and keep them there,'" Campbell-Goodnow said. "And that's what we did."

Folds of Honor is an Oklahoma-based nonprofit organization with more than 30 chapters across the U.S. Annually, the charity provides thousands of scholarships to a maximum of $5,000 to the family members of fallen and wounded service members and first responders.

"Within a couple of weeks, [the kids] were in school, and I had scholarship applications underway, with my friend helping me, and that actually is what kept us in Kansas City," Campbell-Goodnow said. "At that point. I was like, 'Okay, I think we're going to live here, this is our start. And it was kind of from there, like dominoes, you know? Then you find a house and find new friends and a new church, and all those things kind of came after."

A Second Life

It's now a little more than seven years since Shawn died and the Campbell family has regrouped.

"We've moved forward, but you don't move on," Campbell-Goodnow said.

Campbell-Goodnow remarried in 2020, and the Campbell kids -- Tristan, Kenna, Kate, and Donovan -- are now 18, 16, 13, and 9.

"I call it my second life," Campbell-Goodnow said. "We have this new, blended family, but Shawn is still a part of it, and it's just been really beautiful to carry him with us forward in a healthy way, and the kids are doing the same now, and Folds of Honor has been a huge part of that."

Five years ago, Campbell-Goodnow started telling her story at events around the country on behalf of Folds of Honor.

"It's really humbling," she said. "No. 1: I get to tell people thank you, and that means a lot to me. And I get to tell them, 'This is what you're doing.' Look at my son -- I'm so proud of him, and he would not be where he is without Folds."

She said Tristan, her oldest, has recently been applying for college, which Folds of Honor will help fund.

"I mean, it makes me cry to think about it. My son wrote in one of his college essays something to the effect of, 'My dad died so that I could do this,'" Campbell-Goodnow said, holding back tears.

"I knew I wasn't going to be able to get that out, but he was like, 'My dad did this job, and he died so that I could be in a country where I have the freedom to work hard toward what I want,'" she said. "And that just makes me so proud."

A year after she started speaking for the nonprofit organization, Campbell-Goodnow started working at Folds of Honor as a corporate impact officer, helping fundraise.

"I get to turn around and do the hard work raising the money and stewarding it and running events so that we can raise even more and help other families like mine," Campbell-Goodnow said. "Because I know what it means."

"And then I became a recipient this year. I went back to school to grad school, and I started an Executive MBA program. So super humbling that Folds, even as an employee, and even after all they've done for my kids, it's kind of crazy for me to think they've actually awarded me a scholarship," Campbell-Goodnow said.

"So I'm in school now, too."

Jenna Biter is a staff writer at Coffee or Die Magazine. She has a master's degree in national security and is a Russian language student. When she's not writing, Jenna can be found reading classics, running, or learning new things, like the constellations in the night sky. Her husband is on active duty in the U.S .military.

Black Rifle Coffee Company, which owns Coffee or Die Magazine, is a sponsor of the Triple 7 Expedition.

Read the original article on Coffee or Die Magazine. Follow Coffee or Die on Instagram.
The Army on Tuesday rolled out its long-anticipated parental leave policy a month after a congressionally mandated deadline, making it the last branch to comply with the law after a debate about who should be able to deny leave. But the largest military service believes that extra time allowed it to craft a policy much stronger than those drafted by the other branches that almost guarantees the leave will be allowed.

The policy grants 12 weeks of leave for new mothers and fathers, including adoptive and foster parents on active duty or full-time Reserve of National Guard duty, according to an internal memo reviewed by Military.com ahead of its service-wide publication. That is in addition to any related convalescent leave. Soldiers can use the leave up to a year after the child is born or fostered, and it can be taken in a single block or in chunks.

While those terms are consistent with what the other services have done, unlike other branches that gave denial authority to low-level commanders, the Army is giving them virtually no wiggle room to deny requests from birth parents, mandating that leave will be approved. For non-birth parents, only the first general in the chain of command can forbid parental leave. Non-birth parents include fathers, adoptive parents or soldiers who used a surrogate.

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"The Army recruits soldiers, but retains families," Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement.

The service has some 400,000 parents across its active-duty and reserve components, according to Army data. At any given time, roughly 6,000 soldiers are pregnant and presumably many more are expecting children with their partners.

The push of denial authority up so many levels in the chain of command in theory makes it unlikely a soldier's time off to care for a new child would be squashed. The new leave is also retroactive to Dec. 27, 2022, meaning new parents can use the 12 weeks of leave if their child was born or adopted on or after that date -- exactly one year after President Joe Biden signed the parental law mandate into law through the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets policy priorities for the Pentagon.

The mandate Biden signed set a Jan. 1, 2023, deadline for the Defense Department to put the parental leave rules in place, but DoD officials didn't publish the guidance until Jan. 4. In many cases, the individual services will take Pentagon policy and publish their own version -- usually taking broad direction and tailoring it for how that branch conducts business. The Coast Guard, Air Force and Space Force put out their policies the day after the Defense Department guidance, the Navy followed suit two weeks later, and the Marine Corps put out its new rules Monday.

Army officials with direct knowledge of the creation of the policy told Military.com that it's difficult to write new rules ahead of time without the Defense Department guidance, and pointed to a sluggish policy writing process. Most of those officials expressed frustration with the Pentagon for not having the parental leave policy done weeks before the holidays. Instead of writing the new rules months ago to have them ready by the new year, the heavy lifting for creating parental leave occurred after that deadline.

At the heart of the service's delay was a long back and forth over denial of leave, separating officials into two camps: Some top brass originally wanted to give that authority to commanders, while others, including Wormuth, wanted it to come from a general, which is what the final policy dictates.

Army planners wanted to give units some ability to prevent new parents from taking the time off -- but who should have that authority and under what conditions was heavily debated among senior leaders and staff, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations. One major concern centered on the high likelihood that some commanders might prioritize day-to-day training or rotations to combat training centers over one of their soldiers missing out to take care of a new child.

"There were thorny questions on not going to training or a deployment right away," one Army official told Military.com. "But these units get nine months' notice and a lot of time to figure it out. Who decides who doesn't get leave? Some 25-year-old commander? To some of them, everything is an emergency."

The final policy does cede some power to commanders, granting them the authority to deny a parent's request to take the 12 weeks' leave in separate chunks -- which would require the soldier to take the whole 12 weeks in a single block. There is also some room to deny a non-birth parent leave if they are in the middle of a deployment, though that time off will be granted after they return home.

All the other military branches allow commanders to deny parental leave, though none of them specifies when that would be appropriate. The Air Force and Space Force's guidelines allow parental leave to be revoked if the service member is in the midst of "exigencies of the military service," which leaves broad latitude for commanders to deny leave.

The move to solidify 12 weeks of parental leave for men and women is comparable to the civilian sector, where the length of parental leave has been steadily increasing, at a time when the services are struggling to bring in new talent. The new rules are especially powerful for men in the service, who previously were eligible only for three weeks of convalescent leave if they were not the primary caregiver.

But even that could be difficult for men, who are sometimes not seen as needing time off based on past stereotypes of family responsibilities, with some commanders seeing early child care as being largely a woman's responsibility among straight couples, even if the male is the primary caregiver. Previously, the Army's guidance gave primary and secondary caregivers six and three weeks, respectively.

"My commander didn't think dads should get six weeks," one male Army officer told Military.com on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. "[My] primary [caregiver] designation was ignored  and [I] was only granted three weeks."

The Army has been in the midst of boosting quality of life for parents within the past year, including giving new mothers more time and space to pump breast milk while on duty, extended leave for miscarriages, and a child care pilot for Guardsmen. In April, the Army also established that birth parents are excused for a year from any duty beyond typical daily duty activities, including field training, mobilizations and training events away from their home station.

Editor's note: This article previously said the new parental leave was on top of existing caregiver leave. The new leave is in addition to convalescent leave.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

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SEATTLE  Boeing bid farewell to an icon on Tuesday, delivering its final 747 jumbo jet as thousands of workers who helped build the planes over the past 55 years looked on.

Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.

But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.

Thousands of workers joined Boeing and other industry executives from around the world  as well as actor and pilot John Travolta, who has flown 747s  Tuesday for a ceremony in the company's massive factory north of Seattle, marking the delivery of the last one to cargo carrier Atlas Air.

If you love this business, youve been dreading this moment, said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesnt erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy.

Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport  high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range  and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.

It took more than 50,000 Boeing workers less than 16 months to churn out the first 747  a Herculean effort that earned them the nickname The Incredibles. The jumbo jet's production required the construction of a massive factory in Everett, north of Seattle  the world's largest building by volume. The factory wasn't even completed when the first planes were finished.

Among those in attendance was Desi Evans, 92, who joined Boeing at its factory in Renton, south of Seattle, in 1957 and went on to spend 38 years at the company before retiring. One day in 1967, his boss told him he'd be joining the 747 program in Everett  the next morning.

They told me, Wear rubber boots, a hard hat and dress warm, because it's a sea of mud,'" Evans recalled. And it was  they were getting ready for the erection of the factory.

He was assigned as a supervisor to help figure out how the interior of the passenger cabin would be installed and later oversaw crews that worked on sealing and painting the planes.

When that very first 747 rolled out, it was an incredible time, he said as he stood before the last plane, parked outside the factory. You felt elated  like you're making history. You're part of something big, and it's still big, even if this is the last one.

The plane's fuselage was 225 feet (68.5 meters) long and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building. The planes design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump and inspiring a nickname, the Whale. More romantically, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies.

Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar. One decommissioned 747, originally built for Singapore Airlines in 1976, has been converted into a 33-room hotel near the airport in Stockholm.

It was the first big carrier, the first widebody, so it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it, said Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Pennsylvanias Albright College who specializes in aviation and mobility. It became the essence of mass air travel: You couldnt fill it with people paying full price, so you need to lower prices to get people onboard. It contributed to what happened in the late 1970s with the deregulation of air travel.

The first 747 entered service in 1970 on Pan Am's New York-London route, and its timing was terrible, Aboulafia said. It debuted shortly before the oil crisis of 1973, amid a recession that saw Boeing's employment fall from 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. The Boeing bust was infamously marked by a billboard near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that read, Will the last person leaving SEATTLE -- Turn out the lights.

An updated model  the 747-400 series  arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He took a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.

Even people like me could go see Asia, Aboulafia said. Before, you had to stop for fuel in Alaska or Hawaii and it cost a lot more. This was a straight shot  and reasonably priced.

Delta was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr recalled traveling in a 747 as a young exchange student and said that when he realized he'd be traveling to the West Coast of the U.S. for Tuesday's event, there was only one way to go: riding first-class in the nose of a Lufthansa 747 from Frankfurt to San Francisco. He promised the crowd Lufthansa would keep flying the 747 for many years to come.

We just love the airplane, he said.

Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 freighters early last year, with the final one  emblazoned with an image of Joe Sutter, the engineer who oversaw the 747's original design team  delivered Tuesday. Atlas CEO John Dietrich called the 747 the greatest air freighter, thanks in part to its unique capacity to load through the nose cone.
CAIRO  Sudanese authorities have released a man convicted of the 2008 killing of a U.S. diplomat in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Khartoum, his family said Tuesday. The release followed a 2020 deal between Sudan and the Trump administration that included compensation settlements for killings of Americans.

Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist by the United States, was captured weeks after the shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of John Granville, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Granville's Sudanese driver.

Abu Zaid spent most of the past 15 years behind bars in Kubar Prison in Khartoum and was released on Monday, according to his brother, Abdel-Malek Abu Zaid, who posted photos on social media showing the scene outside the prison following Abdel-Raouf's release.

Abdel-Malek would not elaborate but one of the daily newspapers in the country, the Sudani, reported that the Abu Zaid family had paid blood money to the slain driver's family. Under Islamic law, or Sharia, which Sudan's judiciary follows, a convict can be pardoned if his victim's family is financially compensated.

A spokesman for Sudan's ruling military declined to comment on the case. Other officials could not be reached for comment.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported release of Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist in 2013 by the U.S., and was seeking more information from the authorities in Khartoum.

We call for full accountability for the murders, of Granville and his driver, Abdel Rahman Abbas Rahama, the State Department said.

Earlier this month, Abu Zaid's family apologized for the killing of Granville and his driver, saying in a video message: We, as a family, apologize and acknowledged Abdel-Raoufs mistake and he already admitted his mistake and expressed his regret and remorse for what has happened.

Three other men were sentenced to death along with Abu Zaid while a fifth man received a two-year sentence for providing the weapons used in the attack.

The four awaiting hanging broke out of prison in June 2010, killing a Sudanese police officer and wounding another in a shootout in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman, according to a Sudanese notice to the international police agency, Interpol.

Abu Zaid was recaptured weeks later and returned to Kubar Prison. The three other men were not recaptured. Local reports have said two of them later died in Somalia while the third is still living there.

In 2020, Sudan's former transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok reached a deal with the Trump administration to stop any future compensation claims being filed against the African country in U.S. courts.

This came after Sudan paid $335 million to settle compensation lawsuits at U.S. courts related to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole at Yemens southern port of Aden which killed 17 Marines, as well as Granvilles killing.

Granville, 33, was an official for the USAID. He was working to implement a 2005 peace agreement between Sudans north and south that ended more than two decades of civil war.

He was being driven home early in the morning on Jan. 1, 2008, from a New Year Eve party, when another vehicle intercepted his car and the gunmen inside opened fire on Granvilles vehicle, killing him and his driver, also a USAID employee. The attackers then fled the scene.

___

Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.
When the email inboxes of every airman with Air Mobility Command pinged on Thursday afternoon with a lengthy memo from their commanding officer, Gen. Mike Minihan, many recipients thought it was sent as a mistake.

"I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025," one part of Minihan's memo, dated Feb. 1, read. Another section instructed airmen with weapons qualifications to "fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head." He also advised airmen to update their virtual Record of Emergency Data, essentially their dependents' contact information and wills.

Some were shocked at what they read: Their commander confidently believed that they'd be at war with China in two years and they needed to prepare for combat.

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An Air Force officer with Air Mobility Command who received the email and attached memo, and who spoke to Military.com on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said the communication sparked immediate concern.

"Some of my airmen are going to get scared when they read this memo," the officer said. "I felt like a random email blast to thousands of airmen was an inappropriate way to direct them to essentially prepare for war with a near-peer adversary."

Minihan, a four-star general who has led Air Mobility Command since 2021, has been known for his loud, proud and high-energy public persona. While some lawmakers have praised his comments, the memo was seen as a step too far by some airmen who serve under him at Air Mobility Command, and his speculative timeline for conflict with China has been deemed dangerous by national security experts.

Department of the Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the service didn't have any comment on the situation, adding that Air Mobility Command confirmed the widely circulated memo as being authentic.

In particular, the section advising airmen to "fire a clip" and "aim for the head" was widely criticized by airmen.

One Air Force C-17 Globemaster III pilot under Air Mobility Command, or AMC, who spoke to Military.com under condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak to the media, said Minihan's comments were unrealistic.

"I am not aware of a single incident where an aircrew member has shot someone in the head," the pilot told Military.com. "His direction completely misses the mark. AMC moves cargo; we are not SEAL Team 6."

The Air Mobility Command officer who voiced concern that the memo would alarm airmen under their command said fellow airmen noticed Minihan's use of "clip" instead of the proper term, a magazine, was "inaccurate" and that the advice to "aim for the head" was seen as "dramatic."

Additionally, marksmanship training in the military does not typically teach service members to aim for the head in combat but, rather, to aim for the center mass of a target to increase the chances of landing a shot.

"Someone sarcastically joked, 'Aim for the head. Spoken like a true marksman!'" the officer recalled.

Minihan speculated that presidential elections in Taiwan and the United States in 2024 would provide the impetus for China's military to strike.

"[Chinese President Xi Jinping] secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022," the memo read. "Taiwan's presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States' presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi's team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025."

Some lawmakers, namely Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., praised Minihan's comments.

"The U.S. military must be ready and able to respond at anytime to growing Chinese aggression," Cotton tweeted Jan. 28. "Gen. Mike Minihan has the correct mentality -- our bureaucracy needs to catch up."

But the Pentagon has since been clarifying and backing away from Minihan's position that conflict is looming in 2025.

"These comments are not representative of the department's views on China," one defense official told Military.com in an emailed statement.

Additionally, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that diplomacy is still the preferred path.

"The National Defense Strategy makes clear that China is the pacing challenge for the Department of Defense, and our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific," Ryder said in an emailed statement.

Minihan's style of pugilistic rhetoric was most recently on display at the Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber Conference this past September. During a speech titled "The Mobility Manifesto," he shouted parts of his remarks.

"Lethality matters most," Minihan said. "When you can kill your enemy, every part of your life is better. Your food tastes better, your marriage is stronger." He later added, "We are lethal. Do not apologize for it. The pile of our nation's enemy dead, the pile that is the biggest is in front of the United States Air Force."

Minihan, notably, is not the first high-ranking military official in recent years to publicly speculate that a conflict with China is on the horizon.

Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, then the 25th commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a March 2021 hearing that China could invade Taiwan "this decade -- in fact, in the next six years." He retired later that year.

This past October, Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, told attendees at a virtual Atlantic Council event of Davidson's prediction of a 2027 window, "In my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window."

Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters during a press briefing Monday that Minihan's comments, as well as those from other officers, only confuse and stoke tensions with China unnecessarily.

"What we're effectively signaling is we have no idea, and I'm not sure we understand just how damaging that is," Blanchette said. "But now having this menu option of various years, depending on the official that you're talking to, I think comes across as undermining the credibility of our statements and our assessments on precisely the relationship where your words matter."

It is not yet clear what, if any, repercussions Minihan will face for the language used in his memo.

Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, also told reporters that there's no benefit in saying a conflict could occur.

"I really think that those comments by the general are not consistent with the range of possible outcomes," Kennedy said. "And I think we are seemingly trying to talk ourselves into a conflict that doesn't need to occur."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

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As Congress and the Biden administration eye the end of national and public health emergency measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Veterans Affairs is asking to keep the authority to conduct telehealth appointments and prescribe medications across state lines.

The emergencies allowed physicians to hold appointments with patients on computers or smartphones and approve medications, including controlled substances, regardless of location, bolstering the VA's ability to provide care to veterans in rural or remote areas, according to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

Should these permissions end without congressional intervention, 2.7 million veterans in rural locales who use VA health care and another 1.3 million veterans who are not enrolled in VA health services but use private care could lose easy access to their prescription drugs.

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During a press conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C., McDonough cited an example of a veteran living in rural Colorado who receives prescription renewals through the VA's Clinical Resource Hub in Boise, Idaho.

"We need action from Congress before these emergencies end to ensure that veterans maintain the same level of access and high-quality care they deserve," McDonough said.

President Joe Biden announced Monday that national emergency pandemic measures will end May 11 -- a move that will end federal allowances for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, shift development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines back to the private sector, and end the availability of free at-home COVID-19 tests and vaccines for consumers.

Congress has extended permissions for providers to conduct appointments online for two years, but the prescription allowances, particularly the waiver of a Drug Enforcement Agency requirement that controlled substances such as opioids, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications and benzodiazepines must have an in-person medical evaluation, will expire.

The Biden administration declaration came as House Republicans offered a resolution and a bill, the Pandemic is Over Act, to end the national emergency immediately.

Bill sponsor Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said his legislation was necessary to force the Biden administration to act.

"It is long overdue for President Biden to end the COVID-19 public health emergency and relinquish the emergency powers that he just renewed again," Guthrie said while introducing his bill Jan. 17.

But the Office of Management and Budget said such an end "would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty through the health care system," citing drastic changes to provisions put in place to protect patients who use Medicaid, have personal insurance or must adjust to changes in billing practices.

"Millions of patients, including many of our nation's veterans, who rely on telehealth would suddenly be unable to access critical clinical services and medications. The most acutely impacted would be individuals with behavioral health needs and rural patients," OMB wrote in a Statement of Administrative Policy issued with Biden's declaration to end the emergency measures.

About 1.1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 since February 2020, including at least 24,000 veterans. Cases and hospitalizations are on the decline, but deaths have experienced an uptick in the last month, with 3,756 last week, according to the VA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

McDonough said VA officials are working diligently to ensure that the cross-state prescription benefit is preserved.

"I want to make sure that Congress helps us close that," McDonough said.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.

The Biden administration announced last week that the U.S. will provide 31 Abrams M-1 tanks to Ukraine, and Germany said it will send 14 of its Leopard tanks to Kyiv.

The tank deal and the first anniversary of the start of the war in February offer an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness and future direction of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, which has been authorized at more than $27 billion in the last year alone  an annual amount not seen since the height of the Vietnam War.

American arms and training, combined with the skill and courage of Ukrainian forces, have been highly effective in blunting Russias attack and rolling back some of its initial territorial gains. The question is how to continue supporting Ukraine without inching closer to a direct U.S.-Russian confrontation.

The tank deal itself will not be a game changer militarily. The relatively small numbers involved, and the fact that the U.S. systems reportedly may not arrive in Ukraine for six months to well over a year, are just part of the issue. Daniel Davis, who served in an armored cavalry regiment in a devastating tank battle with Iraqi forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, has pointed out that to be fully effective in using them, U.S. personnel required more than a year of training.

The systems are also extremely difficult to maintain, as undersecretary for defense policy Colin Kahl noted recently, suggesting that the Pentagons initial reluctance to supply the tanks was because the Defense Department has been very focused on ... not providing the Ukrainians systems they cant repair, they cant sustain, and that they, over the long term, cant afford. These realities greatly diminish the tanks role on the battlefield.

So far, the Biden administration has taken some care to avoid providing advanced systems that might provoke a dangerous response from Russia. But the administrations idea of what might be considered provocative has been shifting. Thats evident in the recent approvals to provide Patriot missile systems and the M-1s  systems that the administration had originally withheld, partly out of concern over escalation.

There is no objective measure of what might provoke escalation on the part of Moscow, or a reliable prediction of what that escalation might entail. But the tank announcement has sparked fears in Russia that the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization may supply ever more effective and sophisticated systems to Ukraine  which could incite a harsh Russian reaction.

For nearly a year, those worries  including fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use a tactical nuclear weapon  have guided the Wests response to the Russian invasion. Such risks could increase if the war drags on and Putin becomes worried about being defeated or deposed. The Biden administration should proceed with caution in deciding what level of weaponry to provide Ukraine in the coming year, when it will probably face intense pressure  both within the U.S. and from Ukrainian officials  to provide Kyiv with combat aircraft and long-range missiles.

Another concern raised by analysts of U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been the danger that American weapons could fall into the wrong hands. There is no indication that this has happened in any significant way thus far, but as the war continues the dangers of weapons being diverted may rise.

In the conflicts that the U.S. has been involved in over recent decades, American weapons have ended up with adversaries of the U.S. or of U.S. allies, including the Taliban, Islamic State and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Cold War-era stocks of weapons from former Warsaw Pact nations and former Soviet republics  including Ukraine  have been resold by arms dealers to repressive regimes throughout Africa, and reportedly even to terror groups such as al-Qaida. This history of diversion suggests that a strict monitoring system of arms supplied to Ukraine should be established now to head off potential global proliferation of these weapons in the future.

Perhaps the most important lesson in providing U.S. military aid is that arms alone wont end the war. They must be accompanied by a diplomatic track if a long war or a dangerous turn is to be averted.

There are no immediate prospects for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war. But given the threats of widespread suffering or the risk of a spreading conflict, its not too soon to start preparing the ground for an eventual settlement. It is essential to continue helping Ukraine to defend itself, but that assistance must be accompanied by diplomatic initiatives if the most dangerous potential outcomes of the war are to be avoided.

___

(William D. Hartung is a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.)

2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
One fun way to see the world and visit unique locations is on a cruise ship. Whether you take a cruise to the Caribbean or Alaska, Europe or Hawaii, this method of travel allows you to sit back and relax with the countless amenities onboard and explore off the ship during shore excursions.

Many cruise lines offer military discounts so before you book your trip, call or check out their website to find out about their deals. Contact the cruise line directly to confirm what they accept as proof of military service; it may range from online verification to providing a copy of your DD 214.

Here are eight popular cruise lines that offer military discounts.

1. Margaritaville at Sea

Margaritaville at Sea, a cruise line sailing out of the Port of Palm Beach, Florida, to Grand Bahama Island, offers a "Heroes Sail Free" program. Active-duty service members and veterans who are verified members through the GovX ID or ShopVCS platform can get free fare on an inside or ocean view stateroom on a three-day, two-night cruise. This offer is valid only for new online bookings through Dec. 29, 2023, and blackout dates may apply based on availability.

2. Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line has 24 ships that depart from every coast in the United States, sailing to fun destinations like the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Europe and more. They offer reduced rates to active-duty and retired service members with proof of service.

3. Norwegian Cruise Line

Through Norwegian Cruise Line, you can sail to the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska or Hawaii, among other destinations. Active-duty military, reserve and National Guard members, veterans and their spouses receive an exclusive 10% discount after online verification.

4. Disney Cruise Line

Similar to Disney World and Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line offers military discounts. All active-duty and retired military personnel, National Guard and Reservists and their spouses qualify for special rates on select Disney cruises. This offer is valid only for new bookings and is limited to one stateroom per service member, per sailing.

5. Celebrity Cruises

Active-duty service members and veterans can get special savings when booking with Celebrity Cruises, which sails to more than 300 destinations in 79 countries. Prices vary based on the type of stateroom, and a valid military ID is required at the pier.

6. Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises offer a wide variety of destinations, including Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Panama Canal, South America and Antarctica, and many more. Active-duty military and veterans can get up to $250 free onboard spending money (after online verification) that's eligible on any cruise, any time of the year. This money can be used for things like spa treatments, restaurant dining, gifts and shore excursions.

7. Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean, a cruise line that offers itineraries to more than 270 destinations in more than 60 countries, gives special pricing to active-duty service members and their spouses, the National Guard and reserves, retirees and veterans with an honorable discharge who served a minimum of two years or six months in an active war zone. Be prepared to present a valid military ID when checking in for the cruise.

8. MSC Cruises

Through MSC Cruises, you can visit destinations like the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Northern Europe, South America, southern Africa, Asia and more. They offer up to a 10% discount to active and retired military personnel, plus family members, including spouses, parents, in-laws and dependent children. The discount can be applied to multiple staterooms.
Operation Just Cause, the United States' invasion of Panama, was a long time coming. Critics of the invasion denounced it as an illegal military action, but the U.S. cited evidence Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was actively aiding drug cartels. The United States also still maintained a lot of assets in the Panama Canal Zone, which were beginning to be threatened by Noriega's increasing paranoia.

The invasion of Panama was supposed to come after a slow buildup of American forces in the canal zone and the region, but the timeline was accelerated after the mistreatment of American citizens and U.S. military members.

On Dec. 16, 1989, four U.S. service members were stopped by the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) on their way to dinner in Panama City. The previous day, Panama's government had declared a state of war existed between the two countries, which was dismissed as bluster. After the vehicle was stopped, shots were fired by the PDF, which killed one and wounded another.

That was enough for President George H.W. Bush. He ordered the U.S. military to launch an invasion of Panama to protect Americans, U.S. military assets in the Panama Canal Zone and to capture Noriega. Bushs justification was enough for Congress to authorize the move.

What Was Operation Just Cause?

A C-130E Hercules aircraft from the 934th Tactical Airlift Group, U.S. Air Force Reserve, flies along the coast while returning to Howard Air Force Base, Panama, during Operation Just Cause. (National Archives/Master Sgt. Ken Hammond)

President Bush outlined four objectives for the Invasion of Panama. The first was to protect U.S. citizens in the country. There were an estimated 35,000 Americans living, working and doing business in the country, not just the American personnel stationed there. Furthermore, the U.S. wanted to restore democratic and human rights for Panamanians, which were increasingly restricted by Noriega's rule.

Though Noriega had originally been a CIA asset in the ongoing U.S. War on Drugs, he had slowly begun to work more in favor of drug traffickers, allowing safe harbor for drug shipments and the use of Panamanian banks to launder money.

Finally, Bush had hoped to uphold the timeline and neutrality demanded by the Torrijos-Carter Treaties that would return the Panama Canal to Panamanian control. Bush claimed Noriega was threatening to weaponize control of the canal and that the treaty allowed for military intervention.

At 1 a.m. on Dec. 20, 1989, a joint force of nearly 26,000 American troops descended on Panama, bringing with them new vehicles and technology they'd never used before. It was the trial by fire for the AH-64 Apache helicopter, the HMMWV (or Humvee) and F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft.

The U.S. Invasion of Panama

American assets began the invasion of Panama by capturing Punta Paitilla Airport near Panama City. Elements of SEAL Team Four destroyed Noriega's personal private jet on the ground at the airport while SEAL Team Two conducted a combat swimmer attack on his private gunboat, Presidente Porras. Noriega was effectively trapped inside Panama.

Throughout the country, American forces attacked an estimated two dozen key PDF military centers, including La Comandancia, the Panamanian military's central headquarters, in the most complex operation since the Vietnam War. They were facing 12,800 Panamanian troops, but only an estimated 4,000 were ready for combat.

The expected centers of resistance to the invasion were La Comandancia; Fort Cimarron, 15 miles east of the capital; Torrijos-Tocumen Airport; Fort Espinar in the Colon area; around 400 troops near Rio Hato; and Fort Amador, near the Bridge of the Americas, southwest of Panama City. The American attack happened near simultaneously.

Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry, parachute from a C-130E Hercules aircraft into a drop zone outside the city to conduct operations in support of Operation Just Cause. (National Archives/Master Sgt. Ken Hammond)

At Rio Hato, F-117A Nighthawks dropped a 2,000-pound bomb between the two barracks housing hundreds of PDF troops. Army Rangers of Task Force RED and elements of the 82nd Airborne parachuted into the area in the largest airborne operation since World War II. This operation isolated Panama City from the rest of the PDF, but the fight at Rio Hato lasted five hours.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces inside Panama City assaulted La Comandancia; in less than an hour, the headquarters was surrounded, and the building was effectively neutralized. Forty-five minutes after the invasion began, other elements of the 82d Airborne were landing at Torrijos-Tocumen Airport and were soon backed by more Rangers.

Conventional forces from the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry captured Colon while U.S. Marines captured PDF stations in the western suburbs of the Panamanian capital. It also secured the flanks of Howard Air Force Base.

The most difficult task fell to Task Force Bayonet, made up of four Sheridan armored vehicles, three battalions of infantry and four helicopter gunships. Its mission was to fight its way through Panama City to capture Fort Amador, then continue on to seize La Comandancia, all while protecting the U.S. embassy. The embassy began taking rocket and mortar fire just a half-hour after hostilities commenced.

Two soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanize), search for a sniper hidden in a building near the destroyed Panamanian Defense Force headquarters during the second day of Operation Just Cause. (National Archives/Photographer's Hand 1st Class Elliott)

PDF troops made a stand in defending La Comandancia, where a firefight raged for three hours. In that time, the defenders took down two special operations helicopters and forced an observation helicopter to ditch into the Panama Canal.

In the end, Apache helicopters fired a hellfire missile into the building. After that, the Panamanians could no longer control their forces. Fighting was sporadic across the city and the country as a whole. Operation Just Cause was over in less than six weeks.

Rescuing an American Citizen

At the same moment the U.S. launched its invasion, the U.S. Army's Delta Force launched a daring raid on Noriega's Carcel Modelo prison, close to the Comandancia building. Kurt Muse, an American who was living in Panama, had been held there for nine months before Operation Just Cause was launched. Muse was essentially a hostage, and Noriega promised the first Panamanian bullet fired in a war would be aimed at him.

Read: Operation Acid Gambit: How Army Special Forces Rescued an American Hostage in Noriega's Panama

Delta Force soldiers entered through the prison's rooftop and fought their way to Muse's cell. Luckily, the guard meant to kill the hostage had fled. After taking Muse on board one of their MH-6 Little Bird helicopters, they headed back to Howard Air Force Base. The Little Bird carrying Muse was one of the helicopters shot down by the PDF defenders of La Comandancia.

They all survived the crash landing, but were forced to take cover in a nearby treeline until they were retrieved by the Sheridan armored personnel carriers. Muse was rescued, and soon after, he was returned to his family.

Capture of Manuel Noriega

With no way out of Panama, Noriega fled. By the fifth day of the invasion, he was given sanctuary inside the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, the de facto embassy of the Vatican. Without consulting the Pope, the Nunciature agreed, believing it was their duty to convince him to surrender. Instead, Noriega and four of his closest associates hid inside. American troops, unable to enter the grounds, set up a perimeter outside.

When the Holy See refused to force Noriega off the ground, the Army began blasting high-volume music at the building throughout the day and night, using "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, The Clash's "I Fought the Law" and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. The music went on for three days. It stopped after the Vatican complained to the United States.

On Jan. 3, 1990, Noriega dressed in a tan uniform and walked out to meet the soldiers at the gates of the Nunciature's grounds. He was arrested and taken back to Howard Air Force Base, his first stop before being extradited to the U.S. on drug charges. Guillermo Endara was sworn into office. Endara had won an election against pro-Noriega factions in May 1989, but Noriega nullified the election.

Noriega being escorted onto a U.S. Air Force aircraft by agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on January 3, 1990. (Department of Defense)

Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison in the U.S., extradited to France for trial and imprisonment and then extradited to Panama to face murder charges. He was sentenced to another 60 years in prison, where he died during surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2017.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Eedris Abdulkareem

31.01.2023 LISTEN

Popular Nigerian rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem, has showered praises on his wife for standing by him during his battle with kidney failure.

The 'Jaga Jaga' crooner revealed he was surprised when his wife offered to donate her kidney to him although he has always known she could do anything for him.

I had always known that she could do anything for me; just like she knows that I can do anything for her. It has always been that way with us, he stated.

The Dailypost reported that the rapper has dedicated a song titled, 'Thank you' to his wife for all she has been doing for him.

There are a lot of ways I have been showing my jewel of inestimable value my unalloyed appreciation for what she has done for me and I will never get tired of doing that. She is the most awesome person alive, he said while speaking on the TVC programme, Esplash.

She is actually my Siamese twin and our bond is unbreakable. Making a special song for her is one of those things I am doing to thank her, though this is not the first song I have dedicated to her 'royal loveliness', he added.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

Ghanaian media personality and fashion designer, Kofi Okyere Darko better known as KOD has advised Ghanaian musicians to preserve their own identity.

According to KOD, even though Ghanaian songs are doing well internationally, he has a challenge with how Ghanaian musicians are not laying claims to their identity but want to sound like Nigerians.

Apart from being a well-versed media personality and fashion designer, KOD has also managed celebrated Ghanaian musicians such as Eazy Baby and defunct music groups Wutah and Praye.

From an artiste manager perspective, KOD, who was speaking as a special guest on popular lifestyle talk show, Upside Down which is co-hosted by renowned broadcasters Frema Adunyame and Nana Tuffour on Citi TV in line with how he feels about how Ghanaian songs are currently making waves internationally said:

We are at a great place as a country Ghanaian songs are making a lot of impact on the continentAfrobeat is everywhere, and I dont have any problem with that because there is some element of Ghanaian music in that  but I believe as a people we should also have our own identity, he quipped.

I have a lot of challenge when our brothers try using slangs that are not even Ghanaian. We can understand even when the Nigerians try to say do because every Nigerian that made it internationally came through Ghana None of them made it through from Nigeria to the rest of the world so if they want our endorsement and use our slangs by saying do it is okay, we can go with that but for us to sound like them, I can go with that We also have our own Identity, maybe because of their numbers theyre able to penetrate everywhere you go across the world, he added.

The media personality and the fashion designer questioned that,What happened to our hiplife and Azonto? We started with Azonto; we were not very intentional in doing azonto and the Nigerians took overlook at what they have done with it We all know Amapiano is from South Africa but look at what they (Nigerians) are doing with it Sustainability has been our problem.

He advised Ghanaian musicians to concentrate on their identity by focusing on genres such as hiplife and Azonto.

Watch the full interview below:

By Reagan Mends
A popular gay rights activist, Davis Mac Iyalla, who was installed Amankorehen of the Yamonransa Nkusukum Traditional Area in the Central Region fell from the palanquin in which he was being carried around in town during his coronation.

The Gay Chief, who was given the stool name Nana Kwesi Gyasi I was carried in a palanquin through the Yamonransa township pouring schnapps along the route before arriving at the durbar grounds at the Nkusukum palace.

On reaching the grounds, Nana Gyasi together with Paramount chief Nana Okese Esandoh were held in an engagement with police officials on the grounds.

After close to an hour in that engagement, the chiefs came to the durbar grounds to continue with the proceedings but with an amended programme.

Due to that, the swearing of the coat of allegiance to the Omanhen in state on the initial program lineup was canceled

The ceremony was attended by several traditional authorities from Osu in Accra, Elmina, Mankessim and Cape Coast with heavy police presence to ensure peace during the precession through the streets.

A short video in which the palanquin is seen falling down the heads of those carrying him has been shared on social media.

Some people were heard in the video screaming and mentioning Jesus in their attempt to save the chief from landing on the ground from the palanquin.

Shortly after the screaming, a group of people was seen rushing to the place where the palanquin fell.

Nana Okese Esandoh thanked all who came for the outdooring ceremony.

In his speech, Nana Esandoh called on all to come together to move the community's development forward.

He was installed by the Omanhen and President of Nkusukum Traditional Area, Nana Okese Essandoh IX over the weekend with a pledge to fight for human rights.

He called on the government to improve on the state of roads in the community, storm drains and for police quarters and female cells, a health center with lands available for such development.

-DGN online
30.01.2023 LISTEN

Dr Hanna Louisa Bissiw, the National Women's Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has charged diasporan members of the party to double up their efforts towards supporting the party's campaign to win the 2024 elections.

She said the NDC needs every member of the party on board to wrestle power from the current corrupt New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024 to restore the dignity of Ghana back to the International Community.

Dr Hanna Bissiw said this at the launch of a Fund Raising Dinner organised by the New Jersey Branch of the NDC at Newark, New Jersey in the United States.

She said the NDC members in the diaspora were very important and recognised as major stakeholders of the party and must therefore foster unity among themselves to make meaningful contributions towards the development of the party and Ghana at large.

This the National Women's Organiser urged the diasporan members of the NDC to propose suggestions and make decisions that will benefit the NDC and also defend the party everywhere at all levels both locally and Internationally.

She appealed to all members of the NDC to put aside who their personal interests and focus on working hard for the party to win power from the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government that has put Ghana in limbo.

"Ghana's economy is now in shambles and it is on daily basis getting worse than before. Ghana has now become a country that when you contribute 'susu', you lose your money," she stated.

Dr Hanna Bissiw said the NDC was doing all it can to increase its 137 members in Parliament in the coming elections to dominate the legislature, thereby appealing to diasporan members to adopt and support some Constituencies which are handicapped.

"Elections are won at the grassroots level, and so, as a party we must support our grassroot base to defend our interest at the polling station level where elections are won," she stressed.

She said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has started making lofty promises again to Ghanaians since people had already made up their minds to vote them out of power.

The NDC National Women's Organiser alleged that the NPP with their desperation is trying all means to rig the 2024 elections. According to her, any attempt would be resisted by the NDC.

Mr Moses Oklu, Vice Chairman of the NDC USA Chapter said the economy of Ghana is in coma.

He noted that the chapter members will double up their efforts to help NDC win power, improve the living conditions of Ghanaians and promote development.
Investigations into a string of beheadings in southern Mali that have shocked the Sahel nation have scored a breakthrough, judicial and police sources said on Monday.

Ten people in the cotton-growing town of Fana have been decapitated since 2018, sparking fears of ritual killings.

"We have arrested the main suspect," local prosecutor Boubacar Moussa Diarra told AFP by phone.

He is a 42-year-old unemployed Malian man with no fixed address, he said.

"The details he gave of the crimes correspond to the nature of the murders," he said.

A police official who declined to be named revealed the suspect had been arrested a year ago but had only confessed last week to the grisly murders.

Neither the prosecutor nor the police official revealed the possible motive for the crimes.

The victims included a former soldier, a housewife, a five-year-old albino child and a two-year-old girl, and had apparently nothing in common.

In most cases, their heads were found, but their blood had been collected, sparking fears of ritual murders and demands for a local police station that were met in 2019.

The local authorities have urged caution regarding theories surrounding the killings and stress that the investigation is continuing.
Farouk Aliu Mahama, Member of Parliament for Yendi has openly tipped Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections.

The conversation about the Vice President being a youngster in the partys ranks, according to Mr. Aliu Mahama is baseless.

Speaking to Accra-based Joy News, the Yendi MP asserted that Dr. Bawumia in his 6-year service as a Vice President of Ghana has done enough to merit the partys next flagbearer position.

"My support for Dr. Bawumia is not because my late father wanted to see him at some point. I have seen the vice president, within the shortest possible time, become a force to be reckoned with in this country.

"He has moved the country as a Vice President. He has done a lot. He has the vision to do more with the support of the President and has carried himself to the admiration of everybody; he is very competent," he said.

Among all the contestants in the upcoming NPP presidential primaries, Mr. Aliu Mahama said the Vice President is the only person who can lead the country to the promised land.

"The Vice President at least can lead Ghana to the promise land... Dr. Bawumia is somebody who stands tall. In the last 16 years, everything has been about Bawumia. Even those who dont like Bawumia are speaking about him," he said.

Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Mr. Joe Ghartey and others have also declared their intention to contest in the ruling partys internal primaries.
Prophet Nicholas Osei, popularly known as Kumchacha, is upbeat about becoming Ghanas next President.

The Heavens Gate Ministries Overseer noted that it is time for the Presidency to be handed over to a man of God.

His argument stems from his belief that both military and civilians has failed to bring the change Ghana needs.

In a sermon in his church, the vocal prophet noted that his presidential ambition is achievable.

"When you speak negatively, the result you get is negative. That is why I, Prophet Kumchacha, am saying that I will be President.

People who do not have vision do not proclaim big things, but when you have a vision, you proclaim big things. My vision is powerful and dynamic, and it shall come to pass," he stated.

He continued that, From the 1970s to the 1990s, we gave Ghana to the military, including Rawlings and others, but we didnt see any good results. We have now come to democracy, but we are yet to have the needed result. It is about time we entrust the country in the hands of pastors, and the pastor to be handed the nation is Prophet Kumchacha."
Paul Adom-Otchere, host of 'Good Evening Ghana' show on Accra-based Metro TV has ridiculed the former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu over his removal from office.

He said the elephant fraternity is eager to welcome the Tamale South legislator to the party due to the unfair treatment he has suffered at the hands of the NDC.

Speaking on his show, the controversial show host claimed to have received calls from NPP bigwigs who are waiting for their 'prodigal son' Haruna Iddrisu to return to the party that groomed him.

Some NPP supporters called me as I was coming into the studio and guess what they said. They said 'Haruna Iddrisu has been removed as minority leader, tell him to come back to us.'

"They said 'Paul didn't you know that Haruna Iddrisu was with the NPP before he joined the NDC? He was with the NPP before Mohammed Chambers took him to the NDC,'" he said.

On Tuesday, January 24, the opposition party informed the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin in an official letter about some changes in its leadership in Parliament.

In the letter, the ranking member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson took over from Mr. Haruna Iddrisu as the Minority Leader.

The Minority Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has also been replaced with Mr. Kwame Agbodza.

The matter has caused division among the NDC MPs in Parliament, with majority of the members petitioning the party to reverse the decision of Asiedu Nketia's leadership.
France is bracing for another day of mass protests and strikes on Tuesday over proposed pension reforms championed by President Emmanuel Macron. The government and the political opposition continue to trade blame for the expected disruption in schools, the fuel distribution sector and public transport.

An estimated 1.1 million people took to the streets for the first strike day on 19 January, according to official statistics. That was the biggest demonstration since the last major round of pension reform under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.

The security forces are expecting similarly sized crowds on Tuesday in 240 demonstrations around the country, in addition to mass strike disruption to transport, education and other services.

The government and the political opposition are desperately seeking to sway public opinion ahead of what is expected to be a bitter and costly standoff if more strikes are called over the next month.

Hard-left MP Mathilde Panot from the France Unbowed (LFI) party accused President Macron and his ministers of being responsible for the stoppages that are expected to cripple public transport and other services.

"They're the ones who want to wreak havoc," she says.

Work until you reach 64!

The most controversial part of the proposed reform involves increasing the minimum retirement age to 64 from its current level of 62, which is the lowest level in any major European economy.

Macron made the change part of this re-election manifesto in April last year and he insists the reform is essential to guarantee the future financing of the pension system, which is forecast to tip into deficit in the next few years.

Opponents point out that the system is currently balanced and that the head of the independent Pensions Advisory Council recently told parliament that "pension spending is not out of control, it is relatively contained."

Age limit not negotiable

The government headed by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has signalled there is margin for discussion on some measures as parliamentary committees started examining the draft law on Monday.

Conditions could be improved for people who started working very young, as well as for mothers who interrupted their careers to look after their children and for people who invested in further education, Borne has suggested.

But the headline age limit of 64 is not up for discussion, she said Sunday, calling it "non-negotiable."

Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union, warned that the Borne "cannot remain deaf to this formidable mobilisation."

"Listen, listen, listen to this discontent," he told France 2 TV.

Impact on travel, schools

Most Paris metro and suburban rail services will be severely restricted on Tuesday, said operator RATP, while intercity travel will be badly disrupted with just one high speed train in three, according to SNCF.

Only minor disruption is expected on international Thalys and Eurostar train services.

Air travel is less badly affected with Air France saying it would cancel one in 10 short and medium haul services while long-haul flights will be unaffected.

According to the Snuipp-FSU, the leading primary union, half of first-degree teachers would be on strike on Tuesday.

In a press release, the union indicates that "in a context where working conditions are deteriorating and where the hope of being better paid is dwindling over the course of consultations with the ministry, teachers are refusing to work up to 64 years old".

Struggle in parliament and on the street

Macron and his allies are also facing struggles in parliament as well as on the street.

The left-wing opposition has submitted more than 7,000 amendments to the draft legislation in a bid to slow its path through parliament during debates on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Macron's centrist allies, short of an absolute majority in parliament, will need votes from conservatives to get their pensions plan approved.

A new poll by the OpinionWay survey group, published on Monday in Les Echos newspaper, showed that 61 percent of French people supported the protest movement, a rise of 3 percentage points from 12 January.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 11,000 police, 4,000 in Paris alone, would be deployed on Tuesday across France to ensure the demonstrations will pass off peacefully.
Is your tax building the country? Ghana has suffered a lot of economic crises under various party administrations, yet the solution is still hidden.

Students are taught theories to help save Ghana from the trenches, but our political leaders are at the oblique end of practicing these theories.

Considering China's corporate tax system, there are allocations to low-profit companies.

Companies involved in encouraged industries to be taxed differently. These manipulations are working perfectly because the systems are well structured to facilitate such activities.

We can agree that our part of the world (Ghana) is not part of the aforementioned China premise I stated in the past paragraph.

Various reports indicate that high-class men escape tax with their big companies.

They are left to go free yet, the young and needy teacher is taxed even before his or her salary drops into the wallet.

It does not end there as the teacher is taxed on its taxed money whenever he purchases anything on the market. Is that not double taxation already? The water, food, and light are taxed yet.

Our political lions are still not able to develop our country with such huge sums of revenue from our taxes.

Not long ago, our Financial 'mafia' Mr. Ken Ofori introduced a word, E-levy which is also aimed at making sure that not even a single person escaped tax.

But please let me know if it worked. Our lions are failing to be sheep, hence we must build consensus to foster development.

When we ask them, "What is our tax used for?" they tell us it is used to develop the country, pay government workers (nurses, police, firefighters), and provide amenities to our hospitals. Is that a true representation of the sermons they preach?

They preach all these sermons yet our nurses are bleeding, yet our hospitals lack equipment, yet we lack good roads, yet our NSS personnel are still suffering to survive even as they strive to serve the nation.

When you begin to school, you use pencil but when you begin to progress in academia you mature to use pen" this is to remind you that, for Ghana to begin to solve economic problems, we need a pencil not a pen.

Engage the citizenry and build consensus.

THIS IS A MESSAGE TO ALL POLITICAL PARTIES.

I AM EVANS ADJOKATSE.

A LEVEL 300 STUDENT (GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM)
30.01.2023 LISTEN

The government, through the Financial Stability Council (FSC) has announced plans to establish a Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF) to provide liquidity support to financial institutions that fully participate in Ghana's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme. The Fund is expected to have a target size of GHC 15 billion and will benefit banks, SDIs, pension schemes, collective investment schemes, fund managers, broker/dealers, and insurance firms.

The Financial Stability Council was established in December 2018 by an Executive Instrument, to "identify and evaluate the threats, vulnerabilities, and risks to the stability of the financial sector". The Governor of the Bank of Ghana chairs the Council, which includes representatives from the Bank of Ghana (Deputy Governor), the Ministry of Finance (Deputy Minister), the Securities and Exchange Commission (Director General), the National Insurance Commission (Commissioner), the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (Chief Executive Officer), and the Ghana Deposit Protection Corporation (Chief Executive Officer).

The government has stated that it is still working on developing guidelines and procedures for accessing the fund. Since the announcement of the stability Fund, policy analysts have analyzed potential ways the government plans to operationalize the Fund. The main thematic areas that have cut across most analyses have been its source of funding, sustainability, and beneficiaries. As a policy thought leader, I will also share some ideas that the FSC can consider in operationalizing the Fund.

Financial Insurance Package

The government should set aside a portion of the fund to be known as the Financial Insurance Package to assist people who are likely to lose their jobs as a result of the debt restructuring process, as most financial institutions will redesign their operational plans to accommodate the fall in revenue they are most likely to face during the period after the exchange is completed. Many of them will modify their operations to create sustainable models, and the most common option from experience is to lay off employees. The package should be made available to any employee whose firms participates in the debt exchange programme and loses his job as a result. This will help to mitigate the economic impact on individuals who are likely to fall in this category.

Source of Funding

The Ministry of Finance has stated that funds for the GFSF will come from the government and its development partners, but it is unclear where the government is getting these funds from given its limited spending envelope. I would advise the government to consider these sources; cut 10% of government expenditure to make some savings to cushion the fund's sustainability. The government's expenditure for 2022 was GHC 136.92 billion, with a projected increase to GHC 191.00 billion in 2023; employee compensation was GHC 38.00 billion in 2022 and is expected to increase to GHC 44.00 billion in 2023. The government should also reconsider the cost-benefit analysis for some of its projects, such as the national cathedral project, which has received national attention, the free SHS policy, and planting for food and jobs, to name a few. The government should also put in place a moratorium on the formation of new government agencies in 2023 and beyond. I believe the government can save a lot of money if it considers some of these areas.

Furthermore, the government should channel 1% of the VAT rate increase into the fund to keep it liquid. This will ensure that the Fund has a constant supply of funds to ensure its sustainability. These tax revenues could be used to support the Ghana Financial Stability Fund. Government should place a greater emphasis on compliance measures to ensure that those outside the tax net honour their tax obligations in order to ensure consistent revenue to support initiatives such as the GFSF.

Financial moratorium

The Financial Stability Council (FSC) has directed financial sector regulators to temporarily reduce regulatory capital and liquidity requirements for regulated firms and schemes that voluntarily participate in the debt exchange. It also stated that regulators should suspend or postpone any new rules that will have a negative impact on liquidity or solvency of firms. My suggestion to the FSC is that it should not only direct, but also guide the process of collaboration with the regulators, to develop new Capital Adequacy Reforms and ensure it implementation. This proposed new reform should include lowering the capital adequacy rate as well as providing them with flexible meeting terms to assist them in properly planning their financial operations. The government should also consider some corporate tax holiday for financial institutions that will participate in the debt exchange programme, allowing them to save money on their expenditure build-up.

In addition to the proposals above, the government should continue the engagement processes it has started with financial sector stakeholders on debt exchange program implementation. There should be an open discussion about how the Ghana Financial Stability Fund will be operationalized. It should also be noted that the government deserves some credit for deciding to engage and the conclusions from some of these engagements.

By: Emmanuel Owusu

Policy Analyst & Executive Director

Movement for Responsible & Accountable Governance (MoRAG)

0248110208 or [email protected]
Former President John Dramani Mahama says government must put before Parliament, the gold for oil policy for parliamentary scrutiny and approval since the deal is an international financial transaction.

According to the 1992 Constitution of Ghana international financial transactions require the approval of Parliament, he stated at a public forum in London, adding it does not matter that the gold for oil deal is a barter trade.

Speaking in response to a question at the forum, attended by members of the UK & Ireland Chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), President Mahama cited the Sinohydro agreement that exchanges the country's bauxite for infrastructure development by China as a classic example of batter trade.

He further explained that if the Sinohydro agreement was a barter deal and went to Parliament for approval, because it is an international financial transaction, why not the current deal in which Ghana's gold is being exchanged for oil.

The former President noted that the deal is currently shrouded in complete secrecy with only government officials who are involved in the transaction knowing the details, describing the development as unacceptable.

There is a complete lack of transparency about the transaction, and that is one of the major problems with this government. They hide everything and do as they please, he noted.

Mr. Mahama believes with parliamentary scrutiny, Ghanaians will have value for money in the gold-for-oil deal and also know the beneficial owners behind the transaction.

By Citi Newsroom
Founder of the United Front Party (UFP) Akwasi Addai Odike has said Ghanas current priorities do not need the construction a national cathedral.

According to the UFP founder, if there were proper planning systems in place, there would be no current discussions on the National Cathedral.

If we had proper planning, which is a National Policy Agenda and not a Manifesto, by party people, I doubt well even be having this discussion.

The planning people will tell you it is not our priority. It is not a priority for this nation, he told Nana Otu Darko on the Edika segment of CTVs Dwabre Mu, Monday, 30 January 2023.

He further accused the President of deceiving Ghanaians on the construction of the National Cathedral.

The UFP founder said: Nana Akufo-Addo lied to the people of this country. He said he had gone into a covenant with God to build him a cathedral. When they began, he made us to understand that it is a priority, if this man went to do this, then you Pastors who are the ambassadors of God on this earth, someone is deceiving Ghanaians using Gods word and youre also following him.

Now hes dipped his hands into Ghanas purse. This IMF were going to, just deduct the cathedral cost of USD450 Million from it, yet, youre investing it into a place[National Cathedral] that wont yield profit?

Even Jesus Christ is not from Ghana, so why do we forcing to build a cathedral.

He added: We dont understand Religion, Partisan democracy, to even practice.

Source: classfmonline.com
Leading UAE-based Israeli technology company, Gulf Technology Systems (GTS) and the Government of Ghana through the Western Regional Coordinating Council are set to collaborate on agricultural and industrial projects.

The Western Regional Coordinating Council on January 18, 2023 agreed to collaborate with Gulf Technology Systems on agricultural and industrial projects in the Western Region of Ghana.

A letter signed by the Western Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah (MP) and addressed to the President of Gulf Technology Systems and renowned Israeli businessman, Samuel Shay announced the collaboration.

Among other things, the collaboration seeks to take agricultural production in the Western Region into a new phase, maximize the yield and the use of existing crops and industrialize the agricultural sector to process the crops for added value.

The partnership is to begin with initial three projects which shall focus on rice, coconut and bamboo.

Each project under the partnership will work to increase the yield, mechanize the farm work and expand the growing area.

Under the partnership, factories and processing plants are to be built for manufacturing the raw crops into finished products.

The aim of the collaboration is not only to improve agricultural production in the Western Region but also to keep much of the processing stages locally, thus keeping most of the value and work opportunities in the region.

As part of its mandate under the partnership, the region will be responsible for facilitating the allocation of the land needed for factories, field plantations, transportation and handling as needed.

The Western Region of Ghana is well-known for its agricultural production responsible for a good number of Ghana's food crops. It is considered the number one contributor to Ghanas Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

About Gulf Technology Systems

GTS (Global Technology System) is an Israeli company that specializes in integrating Israeli high-tech technologies, countries and government bodies in the GCC's, in light of the new peace agreement and the normalization of relations between the countries.

The founder of GTS, Samuel Shay, also heads the Israel-United Arab Emirates Business Forum, whose main goal is to turn the warm political relations between the countries into business ties between GCC's and Israelis.

GTS provides creative ideas, the most advanced technologies in the world, and the best minds that have conceived them.

The leading technology company also provides training to locals who can operate the projects, while reducing dependence on foreign workers

GTS, currently operates on full scale cooperation between Israel, GCC's and African countries for full tripartite activity between the countries.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

My attention has been drawn to a publication by www.nkonenews.com on 12th January, 2023 with the above caption. Same publication I have noticed was also carried by www.ghanaweb.co on the 19th of January 2023. Initially I thought I did not have to glorify such scrap with a response because I am the type of person who hardly would want to discuss internal party issues in the public. I would rather prefer to suffer in innocence than to exonerate myself to the detriment of my party. But upon second thought and judging from the fact that innocent people might be swayed into believing in the lies peddled against me in the publication, I have decided to set the records straight. I will, however, be guided in this short piece.

To set the records straight, it is public knowledge within the Bono East Region that some people within the regional executives then, including the former regional secretary, did everything humanly possible to disqualify me from the contesting. As a team player and a unifier, I decided to let go of everything after winning the elections. I saw it as an internal contest and also as occupational hazards. Unfortunately to them, they were not going to let go of everything but would rather undermine my office and frustrate me.

I'm well aware of the plot by a certain group of people whom I'm reliably informed some former regional executives is spearheading, have wowed to frustrate me and make sure I lose popularity in the party.

I understand their modus operandi inter alia, is to sponsor all kinds of fake publications against me ostensibly to portray me as a bad person in the eyes of the party's top hierarchy. I'm therefore not surprised that such a fictitious and malicious publication has been authored against my good self.

They alleged in the publication that I'm against the candidature of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. They alleged further that I am pursuing Dr Kwabena Dufour's agenda and have wowed to frustrate JM. In fact, they went on indicating that, my campaign was funded by Dr Kwabena Dufour and that he Kwabena Dufour has established an NGO for me to own and operate.

Even before I proceed to address the specific issues, I want to state emphatically that none of the allegations levelled against me in the publication is true. I don't have any form of personal relationship with Dr Kwabena Dufour except to know him as an NDC member. Never have I had any form of association with him apart from the fact that we are both NDC members. The desperate attempt by such persons to destroy me after winning the elections has transcended human comprehension. It is only a devil minded person who will conjure such blatant lies against his own party member! Now let me address the specifics:

The writer alleges that, Dr Kwabena Dufour has established an NGO for me. I dare the writer to publish the name and address of such NGO! Where is the NGO located, and what they do as NGO? This is complete lies. The truth is that, I have worked with several NGOs and have established my own NGO by name Rural Care Frontiers,in 2008 and operated till date. So, how can an NGO that has existed for about fifteen years suddenly trace ownership to Dr Kwabena Dufour? The fact is that, in the build up to the regional elections, I was frustrated by this same gang to the point that they concluded I could not raise resources to be able to campaign. So since I managed to win, to them it must be someone who sponsored my campaign.

I want to state without fear or favour that No one sponsored my campaign. I single handenly sponsored my campaign.

I dare the writer to produce evidence of Dr. Kwabena Duffour sponsorship.

Again, they alleged that I'm working against JM. How? In what way and for what reason? It's only an imbecile who will conceive this in his mind despite the evidence available to prove my loyalty to JM and the party. For the records, I'm supporting JM and no amount of someone forcefully trying to align me with a different candidate will hold. You see, in their desperate attempt to execute their evil conceived agenda against me, they forgot that I stopped Dr Kwabena Dufour's AHOTOR PROJECT from seeing the light of day in the Bono East region. I ordered the constituency executives not to receive the items that the AHOTOR PROJECT team brought to them when some of the constituencies had arranged to receive them. I ensured that the items were sent back since it did not follow the party's acceptable protocols. So if I were supporting Dr Kwabena Dufour, then why will I be the one preventing him from executing his AHOTOR PROJECT in the region? Usually, the person who lies doesn't know that the listener is discerning. It is one of those things!

To sum it all up, while I'm still discussing with my lawyers the legal options available to me to redeem my name, I want to entreat all my supporters, family members, friends and the entire NDC party in the region and beyond to disregard the publication and treat it with the contempt that it deserves. All the things that were said in the publication are nothing but a figment of the writer's imagination.

They appear to be too bitter about my winning. I, however, want to send this message to them that, No amount of their evil plans against me will work. I'm determined to deliver on my mandate as Regional Secretary for the Bono East region and that is exactly what I'm poised to do. They should come to terms that, NDC will be the ultimate winner if we come together and work towards a common goal.

Long live NDC party!

Long live Bono East region!

Long live Ghana!

Signed.

Isaac Adaebsah

B/E Reg. Secretary
31.01.2023 LISTEN

The Assin Central Member of Parliament(MP) has donated 100 beds and mattresses to the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

Speaking to staff, medical doctors and the media at the hospital premises Monday, January 30, 2023, the Hon. MP disclosed that he solicited support from other Ghanaians when the hospital presented the request before him.

According to Mr. Agyapong, his sponsors wholeheartedly gave Ghs97,000 to support the course in spite of hardships in the country.

He further topped it up to meet the total cost of the items worth GHS336,000.

Mr. Agyapong was full of praise for those who squeezed something out of their pockets to help make the request fulfilled.

He has been extending such kind gestures to individuals and organisations for decades. Accordingly to him, the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as a referral facility has been a centre of health care delivery for all people from the various regions and as such need to be assisted.

He recounted a case in point where he had to undergo surgery and treatment in that hospital during his elementary school days in the late 1960s.

The legislator, who has declared to offer himself to serve the country in a presidential capacity, later toured the facility to interact with the nurses and the general staff at the hospital.

The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Okomfo Anokye teaching hospital, Professor Addai Mensah thanked Hon. Agyapong for his generosity and benevolence towards the facility.

He asked and prayed for longevity and divine protection to enable him continue the kind gestures.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

The royal Nii Amoah Okromansah family of Amrahia in Accra has officially and traditionally installed Mr. Essilfie Mensah as their new traditional leader with his stool name, Nii Ashong Kojo IV.

Mr. Essilfie Mensah (Nii Ashong Kojo IV) is a well-established and renowned business mogul and philanthropist.

As customary demands, his enstoolment celebration was graced by highly distinguished traditional leaders, residents and family members among others.

The brief but colourful event took place on Sunday, 29th January, 2023 at the family house in Amrahia.

Speaking on the sideline of the event, the Mankralo of Amrahia, Nii Asirifi Ashong (I) disclosed that the destooled chief Nii Ashong Kojo III had deserted the traditional royal stool, his royal duties and involved himself in various immoral and unpardonable acts within the community.

"For over 30 years we didn't see any better thing in this community. He connived with his own people to sell family lands, properties among others. He did a whole lot of things which were not right, the palace was also without any development.

"He also involved himself in illegal demolition of properties, serious armed robbery activities which to us wasn't good for the family, the stool and the community. His actions had brought the entire family and the stool into disrepute," he stated.

According to him, series of caution letters and notifications were sent through the elders, posts and high echelon of the family to him but fell on deaf ears.

"He was given the opportunity to respond to the charges in both letters we sent to him dated 1st and 22nd December, 2022 respectively. We didn't hear any response. He was to render account for the parcel of lands sold to third parties, specify the account where the proceeds are lodged and further give reasons why not to be destooled, but all these also fell on deaf ears.

"So all the right channels and procedures were used and exhausted, hence we had to destooled him as traditional demands," he said.

On his part, Eric Mensah (Nii Dzaase) in his speech reiterated that the new Chief has the community at heart and urged all residents, elders and family to support him.

"I am very happy to witness what has happened today. For the past 36 years we've not seen any proper development under the past chief. But I have hope in the new one that whatever happened in the past he is in to make things right and to move the town forward. From the way he spoke, he is a chief with different mentality, knowledge and attitude.

"Now Amrahia will be seen as a developed town, investors will be in across the country to make Amrahia better for all of us. So I want to call on all to come on board to support him," he stressed.
I have been thinking lately about how my speech has changed. The kind of words I use which a year or two ago I totally abhorred. I am self-reflecting and the only thing that comes to mind is perhaps, I have lost sense of myself. Maybe, its the influence of the new revolution in town.

I am not that old but in my early teen's age, before a child will speak, he had to make sure no offensive word proceeded from his mouth. Children and adults alike were very careful of how they speak to each other. That culture is fading out gradually, if not completely.

Adults have lost regard for the kind of words they use on the young. The young generation has in turn lost respect for the aged. The seeming disregard for age and seniority in the new society is terrifying.

The Trotro Experience

On one faithful Friday afternoon, I had finished my class and headed to cover an event for a website I was writing for. I boarded a public transit popularly called trotro to my destination. The fifteen-seated overly used car had just about six passengers including the driver and the mate.

I joined them to make the fifth passenger in the car. The car took off but will stop at every bus- stop on the way for about 2 to 3 minutes to see if they will get passengers to occupy the empty seats. We made about four of those stops along the way in a distance of about 3km.

There were two Ga women and two middle-aged men in the car who were infuriated by the driver and mate's waste of time on the way. As a new passenger who just joined them, I sat quietly and watched. Although I couldnt understand the Ga language, the two women by their tone and level of infuriation, I knew were insulting the mate.

One of the women began to insult the mates family and the young mate, in his twenties, was angered at how the woman suddenly began to rain insults at his family members who had nothing to with the situation. He also started to insult the woman and her children. The two displayed their tantrums until I got down from the car.

As I got down from the car, some thought kept ringing in my mind. Couldn't the woman find a better way to raise her grievances? Couldnt have the mate kept mute and not reply the woman or found a way to cool her temper? Obviously, I will have managed the situation better if I was in their shoes.

That incident was not the first I witnessed nor was it the last. Insults have found a way into our society. Most people now feel the best way to express their emotions when they are hurt is to insult the other person inflicting the hurt.

In our political environment, on the airwaves, and on social media, insults have become a culture. Politicians insult their colleague politicians, politicians insult their opposition supporters, opposition supporters insult politicians, social media influencers insult their followers, and the followers insult those they follow at the slightest provocation. In fact, we all one way or another have insulted someone.

Some so-called activists or social media influencers have gained popularity for being scathing. In fact, the industry of using insults and other abusive words to gain popularity is booming and many young people are aggressively pursuing it. We now reward insults instead of castigating it.

Even in our schools, this new norm has infected there too. Students no longer give recognizance to their seniors, teachers, and authorities in the school. At the very least, schools should be the last place to have this obscene behavior. But it seems worse over there.

Chiana SHS Students

When the video of some young students of Chiana SHS students who were insulting the President went viral, I was sad but not shocked. It didn't hit me as a surprise because I have witnessed children insulting people old enough to be their grandparents. The little surprise however is how they were confident enough to record such an unsavory act and circulate it on social media.

The young teen girls who can be grandchildren to the President had the barefaced audacity to record their insulting section and post it online with the hope that the President sees it and gets boarded. If this is not an example of how shameful our society has become then, I don't know what is.

Not too long ago, some students of Sekondi College and Bright Senior School were also seen in viral videos after one of their final exams papers using unprintable words on the President for what they believe was a hard examination.

This situation should have prompted better mechanisms to check such insipid behaviors in schools and even within our communities but here we are talking about an even worse situation.

The culture of using insults to express disappointment and dudgeon in someones else opinion or action is fast becoming a norm. Adults and children have grown sour lips and at the least provocation will rain insults.

Society has sadly given confidence to people to do and say what they want how they want it. There is no regard for decency and morality. People do the wrong things and hide under Individual freedom and free speech. Well, Its no longer a thing but insults have come to be part of our society.

Samuel Nyigmabo, a level 300 student at the Ghana Institute of Journalism
Major aviation ad travel sector players will tomorrow, Tuesday, January 31, 2023, meet in Accra to deliberate on the post-COVID-19 recovery process and the outlook for the industry this year at the 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Breakfast Meeting.

The event, which comes off at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Airport City, Accra has three main segments: The first segment is the opening ceremony where the Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, will address the gathering. He will speak on the topic: Post-COVID-19 recovery process and the journey ahead. Eloina Baddoo, the Chairperson of the Board of Airline Representatives, Ghana (BARGH), the umbrella body for airlines operating in Ghana, will also welcome the gathering to conclude this segment.

In the second segment, the main presentation on the theme for the event, Post-COVID-19 recovery process and the journey ahead will be delivered by Kamil H. Al-Awadhi, IATA's Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East to set the tone for panel discussion.

A panel of distinguished aviation sector leaders will then delve deeper into the theme. Confirmed panel members include Ing. Charles Kraikue, Director-General Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; Madam Pamela Djamson-Tettey, Managing Director, Ghana Airports Company Limited; J. N. Halm, Customer Service Expert, Chief Content Officer at SERVICE & EXPERIENCE; Dr. Samson Fatokun IATAs Area Manager, West & Central Africa; and Mr. Edward Annan, Accountable Manager, PassionAir.

The third segment, which is closed to media, will have airlines, ground handling companies, travel consultants, and other corporate leaders deliberate with the Ministry of Transport and allied agencies about various operational and policy issues in the sector and solutions found.

The AviationGhana Stakeholders Breakfast Meeting, organised by AviationGhana.Com, is an annual event that brings together all major stakeholders in the aviation sector and policy-makers to deliberate on a chosen theme relevant to the dictates of the prevailing aviation operating environment.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Managing Editor/Partner of AviationGhana, Dominick Andoh, said: We seek to help grow the aviation sector in particular and the travel industry at large with the creating of this platform. Many key decisions that have profited the traveling public were taken at the three previous editions of this event.

The maiden edition held in 2017 advocated for the removal of the 17.5 percent VAT on domestic airfares, reduction in the cost of aviation fuel, and abolishing of import duty on aircraft parts imported by airlines. This yielded results when in 2017 government abolished the 17.5 percent VAT on domestic air transport and further reduced the price of aviation fuel.

Two more meetings were held successfully in 2018 and 2019, the outcomes of which have shaped the direction of the countrys aviation policy and led to a collective will to drive growth in the industry.

All these meetings have always been attended by Aviation Ministers, representatives from the Finance Ministry, senior Civil Aviation and Airports Company managers, and all airline country managers who are part of the Board of Airline Representatives, Ghana (BARGH).

The 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Breakfast Meeting 2023, is organised by AviationGhana, West Africas only daily aviation eNewspaper that is published on the acclaimed publishing platform, PressReader, and listed alongside very prominent publications. It is organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport, and the Board of Airline Representatives-Ghana. It is supported by the Ghana Airports Company Limited, and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
Pope Francis embarks on his fifth visit to Africa on Tuesday, flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo and then South Sudan to plead for peace in the two violence-plagued nations.

Thousands of well-wishers are expected at Kinshasa's Ndjili international airport to greet the 86-year-old pontiff's plane, which is due to land around 3:00 pm local time (1400 GMT).

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited DRC, a desperately poor country of close to 100 million people, 40 percent of whom are Catholic.

The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan was originally planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.

Security concerns were also said to play a role, and the Vatican scrapped an original plan to visit Goma in DR Congo's east, where dozens of armed groups operate.

"I greet with affection those beloved peoples who await me," Pope Francis said after his Angelus prayer at St Peter's Square on Sunday.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

"These lands, situated in the centre of the great African continent, have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts."

He lamented "armed clashes and exploitation" in DR Congo, and said South Sudan, "wracked by years of war, longs for an end to the constant violence".

Despite its vast mineral wealth, some two-thirds of DRC's population live on less than $2.15 a day, while violence plagues the eastern provinces.

The Tutsi-led armed group M23, which Kinshasa alleges is backed by neighbouring Rwanda, has been conquering large swaths of territory in North Kivu province.

The region has also seen a wave of deadly attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group the Islamic State claims as an affiliate, including a bomb blast at a Pentecostal church this month that killed 14 people.

Victims of violence

Following a welcome ceremony at the Kinshasa airport, Francis will be received at the presidential palace by President Felix Tshisekedi.

The trip to DRC and South Sudan was planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him to use a wheelchair. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

The Argentine pontiff will then make his first of a dozen speeches during the trip, addressing authorities, the diplomatic corps and representatives of civil society.

"He can deliver a strong message to politicians by addressing the issue of corruption" ahead of a general election scheduled for December, said Samuel Pommeret with Catholic humanitarian group CCFD-Terre Solidaire, which operates in the area.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer vigil Tuesday evening at N'dolo airport ahead of a mass on Wednesday morning, which is tipped to draw more than a million faithful.

Papal memorabilia was already selling well in Kinshasa in the run-up to the visit, with Elisabeth Akwete, 66, among those buying a calendar bearing the image of Francis.

"It's a joy to have the image of the head of the Church at home," she told AFP.

During his visit to DRC, the pope will also meet victims of violence as well as members of the clergy and charities operating in the country.

Pilgrimage of peace

On Friday, Francis will travel to the South Sudan capital of Juba, one of the world's poorest countries that has lurched from one crisis to another since gaining independence in 2011.

Preparations for the pope's visit have been in full swing at Kinshasa's Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral. By Arsene Mpiana (AFP/File)

It suffered a brutal five-year civil war, while continued conflict between rival ethnic groups exacts a terrible toll on civilians.

The pope will be joined in Juba by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leader of the Church of Scotland.

"Together, as brothers, we will make an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace, to entreat God and men to bring an end to the hostilities and for reconciliation," the pope said on Sunday.
After fleeing the jihadists who threatened their remote village, Aichata Hassan had no idea that another mighty challenge lay ahead: proving to the authorities that her 12-year-old daughter existed.

Like countless other children in Niger, Nadia has no birth certificate, which meant that when she arrived with the family in their new haven, she could not enrol in secondary school.

The arid Sahel state is the fastest-growing country in the world in terms of population, as well as its poorest, according to the UN's Human Development Index.

Around half the population of around 25 million is aged under 15 -- yet 40 percent of children are not officially registered after their birth.

The phenomenon is often rooted in the cost and time needed for poor families to travel to a remote government representative and do the paperwork.

This means that many families fail to register the newborn within 60 days, as the law requires.

You need a birth certificate to attend school in Niger. By OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP)

The lack of a certificate isn't usually a problem for people who remain in their village community all their lives -- but it becomes a giant headache when, like Hassan and her family, they are displaced.

Nadia's sister, Zeneba, nine, and brother Abdoulkarim, four, are also in administrative limbo.

All three were born at home in Alzou, a small village in the western region of Tillaberi, where there is no government official to record births.

Over the last five years, jihadist attacks have surged in this region, where the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger converge.

The insurgents rode into Alzou on motorbikes, at first taking only a few head of cattle.

Aichata Hassan walked 30 kms with her three children to reach safety after her village was attacked. By OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP)

But then they killed the village chief.

That prompted Hassan to leave on foot with her children. They walked some 30 kilometres (20 miles) to reach the town of Sakoira.

Nadia, Zeneba and Abdoulkarim were enrolled in the local school.

Out-dated paper culture

But when it came to signing up Nadia for the exam to enter the first year of secondary school, the lack of a birth certificate proved insurmountable.

"Many of the children at the school are in this position," said rural teaching adviser Idrissa Illiassou, who has spent 30 years in the profession.

"Youngsters without birth certificates leads to adults without identity papers, and they will be excluded," she said.

ID papers are a massive challenge for Niger, one of the world's poorest countries.

Map of Niger locating the restive Tillaberi region, plagued by insurgents linked with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.. By Tupac POINTU (AFP)

"Our culture is based on paper, but it's out-of-date. We should use computers," said Ibrahim Malangoni, national director for civic status.

With support from the international community, Niger is trying to solve the problem.

Computerisation and awareness operations, fairs, NGO campaigns are all being rolled out.

"We want to carry out as many of these operations as possible to meet the target of having the whole population registered by about 2030," Malangoni added.

Today 60 percent of births are registered, but this still leaves four out of every 10 children invisible to the state.

Even so, today's score is "a remarkable level given that not so long ago, in 2007, we were barely on 30 percent" of registration, he said.

An identity card is required to enrol in a school, obtain a grant, open a bank account, vote or go through a police checkpoint.

'Bring them hope'

"Access to civil documentation and a birth certificate is a precondition for everything," Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), said in a recent visit.

Niger's problem can be fixed with little money, he said.

"Our job is to bring them hope. Do you want tomorrow that these youngsters become the next entrepreneurs, including in the green energy sector we so deeply need, or adults consumed by bitterness?" he asked.

Sixty percent of births are registered in Niger, leaving four out of every 10 children invisible to the state. By OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT (AFP)

Katoumi Youssou, an onion-grower in Sakoira, said she had never had any papers.

"We women, we don't travel far and in the village we don't need them," she said.

But the arrival of the insurgency on her doorstep changed everything. Army checkpoints have sprung up and getting through them without papers has become a nightmare.

To go to town to sell her onions or attend a marriage, "every time I have to pay the soldiers to let me through," Youssou said.

Now she, like Hassan, is awaiting the arrival of a travelling judge to obtain the correct papers.
Rev. Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, Founder and Leader of the Live Assembly Worship Center has given reasons why his marriage hit rock.

He revealed that his wife, Mrs. Princess Andrews, also known as Osofo Maame Kyiri Abosom has left for close to a year after discovering he has a daughter with another woman.

Speaking to his church members in a viral online video, the man of God told his congregants that his wife has even sued him to claim part of his properties.

"My wife has left, and for over a year now, we do not see her in church. She says she has a problem with me having a daughter outside of our marriage. She has sued me, but the court said since we did not marry there, they cannot handle it," he revealed.

He continued, "She has sued me in several courts, claiming my properties. She also wants to take custody of the children. She asked the court to sack all my maids, so Ive sacked them. When you meet your gossiping friends and they complain about your pastors wife, tell them they are no longer married.

Not sure his followers will continually believe in his ministry, Osofo Kyiri Abosom urged them to focus on his teachings and not his broken marriage.

The Ghana Union Movement (GUM) 2020 presidential candidate emphasised that his wife wasnt in the picture when he first received his calling into the ministry.

"You are here because of me and not because of my marriage. Stop gossiping and focus on why you came here. When God called me, my wife wasnt part of the call, and the power given to me is from God and not my wife. God called me, and Im doing my work. If she says she is leaving, she can leave. There are a number of beautiful ladies here, and if I need your support, I will let you come and help me," he stated.
Celebrated Ghanaian media personality, Jessica Opare Sarfo, known by most people as Jessica O.S., has given the reasons for quitting her job at the Accra-based Citi FM/Citi TV.

The YouTuber said she felt it was time to exit the media space and look for something new in her life after turning 40 years.

Speaking on her channel, Jessica said unlike the rumour that she quarrel with her boss, she left to explore new opportunities after doing 17years in radio.

"There were rumours swirling all over the placethings being said on my behalf that I had no idea about, people saying, 'Oh, Ive fallen out with a boss, you know, and that kind of thing. None of them was true," she said in the video.

"I left Citi Fm because I felt it was time, it was time to truly explore being me. I had hit a milestone of 40 years a few months earlier, and I just felt like I knew that as soon as I hit 40, I was going to quit. It was just a matter of time," she explained.

She averred that quitting her job hasnt been a failed decision, as she is now able to fulfil some of her wildest dreams in life.

"Has it been a rewarding journey so far? Absolutely. Some of my wildest dreams have come true. Things that I never thought Id be able to do have been done," Jessica revealed.

Before leaving the station after 17 years, Jessica hosted some of the flagship programmes such as "Brunch in the Citi," "Sex in the Citi," "Sister Sister," "Upside Down," and "Traffic Avenue" (formerly "Citi Drive").
Mr. Kwabena Agyei Acheampong, an aspiring flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has waded into the long-standing controversy regarding calls for removal of Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister.

According to him, the Presidents adamant posture on Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta is unacceptable.

Readers may recall that H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo indicated in 2022 that he cant turn his back on the Finance Minister just because of the current economic crunch.

"I came to office in 2017, when we were under an IMF programme. This same Ken Ofori-Atta was able to manage the economy for the first 3 to 4 years. We were then one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. We had an average growth rate of 7% a year."

"For someone who has been able to do all these, how do I turn my back on him? For me, his performance has been excellent. That is why I have great difficulty in understanding what is going on, the President noted.

But speaking on Accra-based Atinka TVs "Ghana Nie" morning show, the presidential hopeful noted that Mr. Ofori-Atta should have left office seven months ago.

"I completely disagree with the president on his position on the finance minister.

"I have said this before, and it does not mean that I have a personal issue against the finance minister. I think he should have left 7 months ago, in my personal view," he said.

Mr. Kwabena Agyapong lamented the frequent depreciation of the cedi, accounting for frequent hikes in commodity prices.

He told the host, Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa, that he has engaged the President about measures to restore stability in the local currency.

"I have asked the president to do something to stop our currency from going down. Some serious decisions have to be taken," he emphasised.
Comrade Fohad Agbenyadzi (in white top) with some youth leaders of Akropong

31.01.2023 LISTEN

The Eastern Region branch of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has declared its commitment to ensuring victory for the party come 2024.

The party is also working hard to ensure that the NDC increase its parliamentary seats in the region in the 2024 general elections.

In view of this, the regional deputy youth organiser, Comrade Fohad Agbenyadzi as part of his regional youth engagements on Sunday, 29th January 2023 participated in a youth meeting organised by the Akropong constituency youth organizer, Comrade Ahmed Agbenyadzi in the Akropong Zone.

The meeting was part of series of activities outlined by the constituency youth organiser to engage the youth in the constituency and work hard towards the recapture of the parliamentary seat and increase the votes of the party's presidential candidate.

Comrade Fohad Agbenyadzi took the opportunity to interact with branch youth organisers and admonished them to be more focused and direct their energy towards the mobilisation of the youth in their various branches in achieving the grand agenda of securing victory in the 2024 elections.

He called for unity and commitment by every member as the party cannot afford to remain in opposition while Ghanaians continue to suffer.

In a brief comment, the Akropong Constituency youth organiser Comrade Ahmed Agbenyadzi on his part urged party members to put aside any internal wranglings aside now that the party is gearing up for next year's elections.

He was of the view that the Akufo-Addo-led government has failed Ghanaians, hence the need to work hard and kick out the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from power in order to redeem citizens from the current economic hardships.

Some branch executives who spoke to the reporter, however, pledged not to rest on their oars but rather work hard in unity to support the party gain back power from the ruling party.
Director of Operations at Dalex Finance, Mr. Joe Jackson is hopeful of another extension of the deadline for the domestic debt exchange programme to make room for some finalised terms with subscribers of the programme.

The deadline for the Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) Program is expected to expire today, Tuesday, January 31, 2023, after several extensions.

Stakeholders are eyeing the government's next move given the agreements it recently reached with groups of individual bondholders and players in the banking and insurance industry.

Even though the deadline is [today], those who have to make a decision do not have the terms to finalise. So it will come out [today]. If it does, it leaves pretty little time for final examination. The devil is always in the detail. I really do think that, the deadline may be extended by a few days.

Updates so far

Government reached an understanding of the terms for participation in the DDE with the Ghana Securities Industry Association, Ghana Insurers Association and Ghana Association of Banks.

Bondholders will now enjoy a 5% coupon in 2023 and not the zero percent as initially announced.

It includes among other things, collective Investment Schemes (CIS) and individuals who hold bonds in Trust Accounts with Securities and the Exchange Commission (SEC) approved firms, would be offered any enhanced commercial terms agreed with, or exemptions granted to, Individual Bondholders.

There is also clarity on the operational framework and terms of access to the Ghana Financial Stability Fund and the removal or amendment of all clauses in the Exchange Memorandum that empowers the Republic to, at its sole discretion, vary the terms of the Exchange.

In the case of the groups of individual bondholders, they have suggested fiscal adjustments including the divestiture of loss-making, defunct and troubled 17 Stateown enterprises.

But Joe Jackson believes, although the government has a difficult situation ahead, individual bondholders are very likely to be exempted from the debt exchange.

Government has more than enough to go without the individual bondholders. It took the decision and found a diplomatic way of excluding the individual bondholders by saying that it would like them to sign on but if they don't, it will not default. The government has to be realistic and take the hard decision to reduce expenditure as we have advocated, but it is going to be a tough one.

By Citi Newsroom
The National Executives of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are expected to meet members of the Minority Caucus on the changes made to their leadership in Parliament today, Tuesday, January 31.

The meeting comes after the resistance that greeted the reshuffle which saw Haruna Iddrisu removed as Minority Leader and replaced by Dr Cassel Ato Forson.

Tuesdays meeting is expected to explain to the caucus reasons behind the reshuffle and get the support of all aggrieved Minority MPs.

There has been a division among members of the group following a reshuffle of its leadership by the national executives of the NDC.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with the leadership after his appointment, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson assured of a collaboration with the former leaders of the caucus to deliver on their mandate in Parliament.

We have just come out of a very successful meeting with the leadership of the party. We are going to deliver on our mandate. 

And as has been agreed with the leadership of the party, there will be a series of activities that will be undertaken beginning from today. We will have our maiden meeting with our leadership and the party leadership on Tuesday, he added.

As part of the leadership changes, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.

By Citi Newsroom
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has justified its decision to spend over GH7 million on a project that was expected to cost a little over GH1 million cedis.

In a statement, the Ministry described media reports on the project as inaccurate and detailed reasons that accounted for the project shooting up to GH7 million.

Appearing the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, on Friday, January 20, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the project that was initially supposed to cost the government GH1,435,728.99 was executed at GH7,967,886.57 because the contractor did not execute on time due to ill health.

The contract for the rehabilitation of Adu Lodge Guest House was awarded to International Development Resources on March 15, 2007.

But according to the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Ambassador Ramses Joseph Cleland, the project came to a grind a year later due to the ill health of the contractor.

The Ministry said the project was revisited in March 2019 and upon the request of the consultant, was re-valued to GH7,967,886.57 for the same contractor to execute.

But the Foreign Affairs Ministry in an attempt to set the records straight said the original award to Messrs International Development Resources (IDR) on 15th March 2007 by the Architectural Engineering Services Limited (AESL) was to demolish the originally existing 3 buildings that constituted the Lodge, at the time, and construct a new building of twelve (12) bedroom at a contract sum of Fourteen Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty-Seven Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy old Ghana cedis (14,357,289.77), equivalent to One Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Eight new Ghana Cedis, Ninety-Eight Pesewas (GH01,435.728.98) after the redenomination of the Cedi in July 2007.

The contract sum was, however, revised in October 2011 to an amount of Four Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight Ghana Cedis, Seventy pesewas.

Below is the full statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry

By Citi Newsroom
31.01.2023 LISTEN

Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, has called for a national conversation on making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory.

Dr. Okoe Boye believes having a national conversation to determine whether vaccination should be mandatory or not will settle the issue of vaccine hesitancy and help defeat the disease.

Over 22 million COVID-19 doses have been administered since 2021 with the majority taking only a single shot.

How can we have this clear evidence that the key to avoiding death, avoiding the hospital, avoiding keeping us in our rooms and yet our friends are not taking it? This is what leads us to whether we should start discussions on vaccine mandates.

If behavioural change is becoming difficult, and we identify that the reasons are almost immutable is mandate the way to go. I dont have the power to determine, I can only trigger the discussion.

From January 3, 2020 to January 30, 2023, there have been 171,112 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ghana with 1,462 deaths, reported to WHO.

By Citi Newsroom
The four officials at the centre of the procurement breaches at the Northern Development Authority (NDA) will make their first appearance in court, today, Tuesday, 31st January 2023.

The four will appear before the High Court in Tamale, Northern Region.

The Special Prosecutor (SP), Kissi Agyebeng, has charged the three persons at the centre of the procurement breaches at the NDA for conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process.

This follows the conclusions of investigations by the Office of the SP into allegations of procurement breaches at the NDA.

The Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, Mr Andrew Kuundaari has also been charged in addition to the three persons.

The three have been charged with directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.

The three are: Chief Executive NDA, Mr. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) of the NDA, Mr. Stephen Yir-eru Engmen and Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration), NDA, Mr. Patrick Seidu.

Source: classfmonline.com
The aspiring flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, has promised not to disappoint Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II when he becomes the next President of Ghana.

Mr Kyerematen said he will work assiduously for the nation to progress when selected by his party and subsequently elected as President of Ghana.

He was speaking at the Manhyia Palace in the Ashanti Region when he paid a courtesy call on Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on Monday January 30, 2023, to formally inform him of his intention to contest the flagbearer position of the NPP.

Mr Kyerematen said he wants to become president so he can continue the good work his father and forefathers did for the nation.

Mr Alan Kyerematen also said as part of the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) initiative, some 296 factories are under construction across the country.

Out of this, 47 are in the Ashanti region, he told Asantehene at the gathering.

He also enumerated several projects he was able to initiate for the nation when he became Minister for Trade and Industry.

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on his part, asked him to tell Ghanaians his vision for the nation when he is selected by his party and subsequently elected as President.

Asantehene asked God's blessings for Mr Kyerematen as he seeks to contest the position of flagbearer for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He further advised him to prosecute his campaign devoid of insults and mudslinging

Source: Classfmonline.com
THE TIME has come for prelates of all faiths to assemble together to examine the Future of Ghana in the present. For, the politicians and the economic management teams of the Dukadaya have failed and betrayed the nation by corrupting every aspect of national life and polarising society along tribal lines. Has the Dukadaya rule, since 1992, not corrupted Our Father's House and turned it into a den of gamblers and criminals who play roulette with the God-given natural resources and play musical chairs with the fate of Ghanaians? And I believe Faith Leaders behold, with trepidation, this state capture by the few, for the few and to the glory of the few.

There is distress and suffering in the land. Corruption, Tribalism and Sexism have infested every aspect of national life because of perfidy in the exercise of state power by the executive, legislature and judiciary. In short, these three arms of government have armed themselves in a joint-criminal enterprise to create, loot and share without care. The state and spate of corruption is not helped by the gaping sycophancy of their children with sharp teeth like locusts who parade the corridors of power as the fourth estate  the press and media.

The time has come for the Church, Mosque, Synagogue and the Shrine to stand up and demonstrate, in deed, that Faith Matters in nation-building and that Faith has a social purpose. The poor, the disadvantaged, the abused, the exploited, the denied and the debt-burdened are crying for redemption. Yes, redemption from the looting, opulence and arrogance of the ruling elites of the NDC and NPP (both of whom I have branded as DUKADAYA  two sides of the same counterfeit note whose value is the same). The Dukadaya have become an alienation, so insensitive to the wailings of the rest of society. The Fourth Republic has become a family and friends republic of A LOOTING CONTINUA.

A prosperous and flourishing Ghana cannot be built on deceit, lies, selfishness and licentiousness on the part of the leaders who govern to satisfy sectional interest instead of the national interest. For Ghana to flourish in prosperity, the Dukadaya corruption that has desecrated Our Father's House and the inner temple must be cleansed. What Ghana needs now is a theology that is cleansing, a theology that is redeeming, a theology that is liberating. A LIBERATION THEOLGOY IS NEEDED.

Corruption is an insult to the Majesty of God and in particular executive-sponsored poverty and underdevelopment in a nation so richly endowed with natural resources. When such a situation develops it is as a result of the absence of governance and a leadership with moral compass. Governance connotes duty of care. However, in Ghana, the Dukadaya simply do not care. They only pay lip-service to probity and accountability. And this is what happens when governance becomes a joint-criminal enterprise.

I call on prelates of ALL FAITHS to assemble together to examine the state of Ghana in relation to the economic, social and political importance of theology in rescuing Ghana from the vice and stranglehold of the Dukadaya; for the prevailing state and spate of corruption is an affront to the Majesty of God. Our Father's House must be cleansed of the dehumanising acts of unbridled corruption, tribalism and sexism. How can there be witch camps in Ghana where females are condemned to a life of humiliation, trauma, abuse and impoverishment while males dominate decision-making and those of the Abrahamic faiths dominate the wheels of government?

The Prelates must assemble as a matter of urgency to examine, pray and seek direction and action in a theology that is liberating in its social purpose. The prelates have a duty of care to assemble together to hold the nation together as presently there is no centre holding the nation together. Disorder is now ordering the nation. Everybody does what they like in the face of the law. Who is in charge? The Dukadaya, who create, loot and share without care? The Church Must Care! The Mosque Must Care! The Synagogue Must Care! The Shrine Must Care.

Faith counts. Faith matters in nation-building like loyalty and honesty. An assembly of ALL FAITHS in the name of truth and redemption is an Assembly of God's calling. Theology is the prop of life and living. That is how the Akan faith expresses TWEDEAMMPON. The One that does not uproot when leaned on. The All Dependable that one can lean on. The Reliable One that does not fail.

Theology in instruction and praxis must be liberating.

An anecdote here would suffice: Deep in the forest region of Sierra Leone, I recall an encounter with a fifteen-year-old armed combatant. I asked him why he had taken to arms. He held my hands and asked me to follow him, which I did. He took me to a clearing where the landscape was littered with yellow digging machines and broken down caterpillars. The rain filled craters and despoiled landscape showed an abandoned mining site. The young rebel soldier, almost in tears, explained that the area was their family farmland. Politicians from Freetown had come to hoodwink their grandfather with a thousand US dollars and a whole load of promises for access to the farm. Eventually the family was pushed off the farm for intensive alluvial mining to take place. The grandfather and father died of grief and government vigilantes (sobels) raided the area killing his mother and three siblings. He was the only one who managed to escape. He decided to join the rebels to liberate the land.

Galamsey is causing a lot of grief in the forest and savannah regions of Ghana. These early warning signals and especially the despoilment of Mother Earth must not escape the attention of religious leaders. A roundtable dialogue needs to be organised for religious leaders to deliberate on their Faith and The Future of Ghana In The Present. The Call has been made and yours is to answer and spread the word in a new pastoral language of redemption and liberation.

The writer was formerly the Special Peace Envoy of International Alert. He facilitated and brokered peace between warring factions first in Liberia and then Sierra Leone to help bring both wars to an end.

BY Akyaaba Addai-Sebo

[email protected]

Contact: +233207803494
France's unions have called for another round of strikes and rallies on Tuesday to protest President Macron's pension reform. While the government is adamant the minimum retirement age must rise from 62 to 64 in line with an ageing population, opponents say it's unfair and other solutions must be found to keep the pension kitty in the black.

"64-year-old careworkers looking after 60-year-old residents in care homes? Thanks Macron reads one of the striking placards on the 19 January rally in Paris.

"Soon you won't be able to tell the difference between residents and careworkers," its owner Sylvie Pecard says with a touch of irony.

Pecard, 59, a nurse in the oncology department of St Louis hospital in Paris, has been working nights since 1994.

When she started out in nursing you could retire at 57, even if you didn't get a full pension, she explains. Then it went up to 62 and now it's set to be 64.

She believes this to be unfair in principle and near-impossible in practice.

"What's strange is that our job is no longer classified as 'physically difficult', even though we still work nights and we still look after difficult patients," she says.

"We pick them up when they fall, we carry 3L bags of fluid. We push beds around."

She says many of her colleagues have had knee replacements by the age of 57.

"They're ill and exhausted. Night work is especially exhausting. Contrary to what people think, we don't rest, we carry on caring for patients.

"How can we be expected to go through to 64?"

What's more, she doubts she'll qualify for a full pension since like many women she "took a break to raise kids", underlining that "even if there are more male nurses nowadays, nursing remains a largely female profession".

Listen to a report on the protests in the Spotlight on France podcast

'Not sure we'll be standing up straight'

Childcare is also a feminised profession.

Anne-Emmanuelle Rigaudiere, a 55-year-old nursery nurse in Paris, is marching for the first time against raising the retirement age and was prepared to loose a day's pay.

She feels she'd be unfit to look after babies and toddlers at the age of 64.

"This is the first time I've gone on strike, but it seemed important. We work with young children and I can't imagine handling babies until 64, maybe 67.

"I'm not sure we'll even be standing up straight," she says.

She is not convinced by the government's argument that people must work longer to stop the country's pension fund falling 20 bn in the red by 2030.

Maybe we can find the money elsewhere, she retorts. When it's necessary, we do that.

The record profits of some of France's biggest companies in 2021, particularly in the energy sector, has contributed to a sense of injustice and led to calls for an increase in company taxation.

However, this would amount to a radical overhaul of France's current redistributive pension system.

'It's not just about me'

Opposition to the proposed increase in retirement age is not confined to public sector workers.

Bookseller Sophie Fornairon has come along with her female colleagues to protest for the first time since the Charlie Hebdo rally in January 2015.

The reform, she says, "is not fair, not financially needed at the moment, and nobody wants it, in this format".

She enjoys her job but insists this is not about her own situation.

"As a bookseller I'm happy with my job. But I'm lucky to be happy," she says.

"The problem is for unhappy people. It's for young ladies and it's for young people starting working very early during their lives. What will be their future?

Her 27-year-old colleague Bulle Prevost is indeed concerned about hers.

"I started working at 24. If we calculated it right, I will be working until 67," she says. "And carrying heavy books all day it won't be OK when I'm 63, 65 and 67."

Another way of working is possible

The government likes to compare France to its EU neighbours to show how normal it would be to keep people working longer. In Germany the legal minimum age is 65, in the UK 66, in Italy 67.

"Comparison n'est pas raison," chimes in Fornairon referring to a French saying meaning a comparison doesn't prove something is right.

"It's not because in other countries they have to work all their lives that it's right. It's not what we want. And it's not necessary. Another way of life and way of working is possible.

"So German booksellers, British booksellers follow us!"

Get round the table

Fornairon admits funding pensions is an issue, but "there is not only one solution" and putting up the retirement age doesn't make sense long-term.

"The French population is getting older and older. Does that mean that in 10 years we will have to move from 67 to 70 and 10 years later to 80? It's a nonsense."

France has to come up with "other ways of thinking how to pay our pensions in the future".

One option would be getting retirees to contribute more by effectively lowering their pensions.

The government has ruled this outright.

"Our objective is to finance this reform through work, not to cut retirees' purchasing power, whoever they are, whatever their income," said Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt on 15 January.

While there's a real need to get round the table and talk, Fornairon conisders there's been "no discussion, no negotiation and that's personally why I'm here on the street".

The government insists it will not budge on the 64 minimum age and the requirement for 43 years of contributions. But Dussopt say he is open to improvements to the rest of the draft proposal during parliamentary discussions beginning early February.
ONCE UPON a time, a former boss of mine said to me that none is righteous.

That was because he saw my eyebrows raised due to an assertion he had made.

I contested his declaration initially. However, after thinking through it for a while, I remembered a task we were given by our General Paper lecturer at Extra-Mural Academy where I had my GCE A-Level education. The topic was Logic and we were requested to examine the statement: Kwaku stole a goat, so Kwaku is a thief.

Having been equipped with knowledge on fallacy of hasty generalisation earlier, I set out to analyse the statement. My script turned out to be one of the best. And the lecturer read it out in class.

Here is what I wrote: A thief is someone who habitually takes what does not belong to him or her. In other words, a thief is a person who steals other people's properties all the time. Therefore, Kwaku can be said to be a thief if it is his habit to steal things that belong to other people. On the other hand, Kwaku may not be a thief because he may have been compelled under this particular circumstance to steal the goat, sell and use the proceeds to address an emergency situation. Stated differently, Kwaku is a circumstantial thief.

Juxtaposed with the 'none is righteous' assertion by my former boss, one can surmise that righteous persons can be compelled by circumstances beyond control, to become unrighteous. No?

Building A House Of God

I have had to recall this matter and relate it here because the kind of revelations that keep coming from the stalled National Cathedral project keep confusing me. On one hand, my former boss' statement that none is righteous keeps ringing in my ears. On the other hand is the concept of fallacy of hasty generalisation which draws my attention to the need to be wary of the allegations that have been made.

Having said that, my confusion stems from the fact that right from the word go, President Akufo-Addo told us that no tax payers' money will be used in constructing the edifice. The indication was that it is a personal pledge he made to God and that the Christian community will help him build it to the glory of God.

Then suddenly, Members of Parliament on the NDC side revealed that some money from state coffers had been spent on the project. This amount, they claimed, was not approved by Parliament.

When the Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, got the opportunity to respond to the issue, he said he took the money from a Contingency Vault. As a student of Public Sector Accounting, I heard this for the first time. I am used to Consolidated Fund and Contingency Fund.

Meanwhile, the oxford dictionary defines contingency as a provision for a possible event or circumstance or an incidental expense. Obviously, the expenditure on the National Cathedral cannot be an incidental expense or provision for possible event.

Former Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, agrees with this position. According to him, the Contingency Vault is a creation of a former Minister of Finance through which they channel money which they do not want to account for. Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse on Monday, 23rd January, 2023, the 'chased out' Auditor-General called on Parliament to scrap the Contingency Vault because it is unlawful.

Indeed, there is no way the National Cathedral project could pass for a contingency item. That is because the government planned and commenced the execution of the project. Before then, public and private buildings were demolished to make way for its construction.

Currently, a private company called Waterstone Realty Apartment Complex, has sued the Lands Commission for GH120 million in damages for the demolition of its two-storey building complex located on the land earmarked for the construction of the National Cathedral. Undoubtedly, this and other amounts that may be paid as judgement debt or compensation in this regard, will be drawn from the tax payer's money  The Consolidated Fund.

So, why was the required amount not captured explicitly in the budget submitted to Parliament for approval, the moment it was decided by the presidency that Ghanaians must provide seed money for the project?

So many issues about amounts paid as consultancy fees when the project is still at foundational level, have also come up. Indeed, indications are that the project has stalled because the contractor says there is no money. This was subsequently confirmed by the Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah.

So far, an estimated GH339 million of tax payers' money is said to have been spent on the project. This amount, we have been made to believe, is our seed contribution. Yet all one sees in visuals available is a deep excavation on the site.

Well-meaning people have called for a cessation of the project but President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (NADAA) says, I am very determined that come what may, I have two more years, whatever the case, the National Cathedral will be at a very advanced stage before I leave office.

Advanced stage? But why? For who to continue? Does it mean NADAA conceived the idea and commenced the project without putting his finger on where the funding will come from? I mean you demolish all those useful structures based on a whim? I don't get it.

So, I was in the process of chewing on this statement, trying very hard to make use of the concept of fallacy of hasty generalisation so I don't get it twisted, when the North Tongu MP, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, revealed that an amount of GH2.6 million had been transferred from the National Cathedral Secretariat's account into a private company's account.

As it turned out, the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev Kusi Boateng, aka Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, is a director of the company  JNS Talent Centre Limited. Strangely, the Executive Director of the National Cathedral explained that the amount transferred was a refund to JNS Talent Centre Limited for loaning the money to them.

this was not an illegal payment but rather a refund of a short-term interest-free loan made by JNS to top up the payments to the contractors of the National Cathedral. This support was sought from a National Cathedral Trustee Member, Rev Kusi Boateng, in a letter dated August 26, 2021, due to a delay in the receipt of funds to pay the contractors on time, he said.

But for fallacy of hasty generalisation, I would have asked, an individual loaned the government of Ghana GH2.6 million? Not through Treasury Bills or bonds, but a direct interest-free loan? Has money finished in the Contingency Vault? My confusion intensified when Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, sorry, Rev Kusi Boateng, reacted to the allegation.

I wish to assure the general public that the statements made by Mr. Ablakwa are a twisted narration of events to pursue a malicious political agenda, he said.

Like how? I expected a straight What Mr. Ablakwa said is not true. Why this use of grammar to bamboozle us? Once again, circumstantial 'none is righteous' popped up in my mind but fallacy of hasty generalisation kicked it out.

BY Eric Mensah-Ayettey
31.01.2023 LISTEN

A High Court in Tamale has granted bail of GH500million with three sureties each, to the four accused persons standing trial in the case of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) procurement breaches revealed in the special prosecutor's investigation report.

The four accused persons were charged with six counts including a joint count of conspiracy to commit the criminal offence of directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement.

The accused persons, namely Sumaila Abdul Rahman the NDA CEO, two of his deputies, Stephen Yireru and Patrick Seidu, and the CEO of A&Qs Consortium, Andrew Kuundaari all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Even though the prosecution did not oppose the bail, she prayed the court to seize the passports of the accused persons.

However, the 1st accused thus, the CEO of NDA has been barred from travelling outside Ghana until he produces his passport after two weeks.

Secondly, the accused persons are to justify the conditions by providing documents covering landed properties worth 500, 000 thousand cedis at the registry, with an undertaking that such properties are free from challenges.

The court presided over by Justice Eric Ansah Ankomah ordered the prosecutor to file all documents she intends to rely on at the registry of the court. She is further ordered to file her witness statement of her witness within the same period of three weeks from the adjourned date.

Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to February 28 for the case management conference to commence.

The criminal prosecution of the four follows a directive by the office of the special prosecutor after an investigation was conducted into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the northern development authority.

This was in relation to a contract awarded to a consultancy company, A&Qs consortium under the Infrastructure for the poverty eradication programme.

The complaint which was filed by a private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu accused the chief executive officer of the NDA, Sumaila Abdul Rahman and two of his deputies, Stephen Yireru and Patrick Seidu of procurement breaches.

The report by the OSP revealed that the actions of the four, directly and indirectly, influenced the procurement breaches.

The report added that the initial contract sum of five million seven hundred and twenty thousand cedis was illegally increased by four million six hundred and eighty thousand cedis, amounting to a total of Ten million four hundred thousand cedis without following the due process.

The action of the four according to the OSP offered an unfair advantage to the A&Qs consortium.
The Ambassador of Denmark to Ghana, Tom Nrring, has urged the Information Services Department (ISD) to pay more attention to misinformation both on international and local issues to aid in a proper understanding of issues for the citizens make informed choices.

Mr Nrring said this when the Acting Chief Information Officer of the Services Department, Mr David Owusu-Amoah and the Deputy Chief Information Officer in charge Public Relations Coordinating Division, Mrs Ethel Codjoe Amissah, paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra on Monday.

According to the Danish Ambassador, misinformation could project negative reactions, which is inimical to productivity.

Mr Owusu-Amoah briefed the Ambassador on the public information dissemination role of ISD and explained that the dynamics of new media continue to challenge the Department to explore more modern and robust ways of information dissemination, adding that this is done alongside the use of information vans to the remotest parts of the country to ensure no one is left out on important national issues.

He assured the Ambassador of the Departments commitment to put out the right information devoid of sensationalism to elicit the right public action and in turn transform behaviours.

Mrs Ethel Codjoe-Amissah briefed the Ambassador on the work of the Division. She acknowledged the decades of successful development cooperation between Ghana and Denmark and noted that since 2020, the Embassy has moved from development aid to trade and cooperation in other areas.

She said the Department would seek further mutual discussion with the Embassy, adding that the visit was the start of a healthy, prospective and fruitful relationship between the two organizations.

Officers from the ISD who were part of the visit were Ms Phyllis Nuno, Ms Juliana Akyea and Mabel Awuku.
Southern Africa's regional bloc SADC on Tuesday acknowledged that political tensions were rising in the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, where a top rights lawyer and activist has been murdered.

Thulani Maseko Maseko was shot dead on January 21, sparking alarm over political violence in Africa's last absolute monarchy.

His murder came hours after King Mswati III had warned activists who defied him not to "shed tears" about "mercenaries killing them." There have been no arrests as yet.

"There have been ongoing and sporadic acts of violence in the Kingdom of Eswatini that point to an escalation of the tensions," said Namibian President Hage Geingob, who chairs the politics, defence and security committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

He said the incidents had happened "regrettably... whilst the region is focused on assisting our sister country to find and implement peaceful solutions" to the challenges it faced.

Geingob was speaking at an extraordinary meeting of the panel in Windhoek, which was also attended by presidents Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia.

Maseko, 52, had relentlessly fought state repression in the kingdom, where opposition parties are banned.

He led a coalition of political and civic rights and religious groups, created in November 2021 to foster dialogue with the king and seek a way out of the crisis.

He was shot through the window of his home in Luhleko, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Mbabane.

Eswatini, a country of 1.2 million people previously known as Swaziland, has long cracked down on dissent, with political parties banned since 1973.

At least 37 people were killed during weeks of anti-monarchy protests in June 2021.

SADC is a grouping of 16 countries in the southern African region.

The Windkoek meeting focussed on conflicts in the region with a special focus on Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Eswatini.

zam/sn/ri
The Minority in Parliament has expressed concern over the latest report by the FourthEstate exposing corruption in the Computerised School Selection System.

In the expose, some persons were captured on video demanding money from parents to place their wards in schools of their preference.

Since the video was released, it has been met with condemnation with a lot more parents coming out to confirm the rot in the countrys education system.

Speaking to Starr News, the Minority Spokesperson on Education in Parliament, Hon. Peter Nortsu Kotoe stressed that there is a need for a new team to be put together to handle placements.

According to him, the Minority wants the people who have been responsible for the school placements to be removed from their posts.

It is good that this expose has come out at this time, particularly when we are about to go for another placement. Those responsible for the placement, I have recommended that the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service should constitute a new team, Peter Nortsu Kotoe said.

The Ranking member of the Education Committee of Parliament added, Those who were responsible last year should not be allowed to handle the system this year. Those who will be appointed or engaged should be under scrutiny and surveillance so that they dont repeat what we have seen in the video this year around.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the alleged corruption in the Computerised School Selection System and have so far reportedly arrested eight persons.
Pope Francis embarked on his fifth visit to Africa on Tuesday, where he will first visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and then South Sudan to plead for peace in the countries, both wracked by decades of stubborn conflict.

Thousands of well-wishers were expected at Kinshasa's Ndjili airport to greet the 86-year-old pontiff, whose plane was due to arrive at around 3:00 pm (1400 GMT).

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited DRC, a desperately poor country of close to 100 million people, 40 percent of whom are Catholic.

The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan had been planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.

He boarded the plane in Rome via an elevator.

Security concerns were also said to play a role in delaying the trip, and a stop in Goma in DR Congo's east, where dozens of armed groups operate, is no longer on the itinerary.

"I would have liked to go to Goma too, but with the war, you can't go there," the pope told reporters on the plane.

On Sunday, he had offered his greetings "with affection to those beloved peoples who await me".

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

"These lands, situated in the centre of the great African continent, have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts," he said after his Angelus prayer at the Vatican.

He lamented "armed clashes and exploitation" in DR Congo, and said South Sudan, "wracked by years of war, longs for an end to the constant violence".

As the papal plane flew over the Sahara, the pope held a prayer for "all the people who, searching for a little well-being, a bit of freedom, crossed (the desert) and didn't make it".

He recalled how many people arrive in north Africa hoping to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, only to find themselves "taken to camps, and suffering there. Let us pray for all those people".

Victims of violence

Despite its vast mineral wealth, some two-thirds of DRC's population live on less than $2.15 a day, while violence plagues the eastern provinces.

The Tutsi-led armed group M23, which Kinshasa alleges is backed by neighbouring Rwanda, has been conquering large swaths of territory in North Kivu province.

The region has also seen a wave of deadly attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group the Islamic State claims as an affiliate, including a bomb blast at a Pentecostal church this month that killed 14 people.

Following a welcome ceremony at the Kinshasa airport, Francis will be received at the presidential palace by President Felix Tshisekedi.

The trip to DRC and South Sudan was planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him to use a wheelchair. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

The Argentine pontiff will then make his first of a dozen speeches during the trip, addressing authorities, the diplomatic corps, and representatives of civil society.

"He can deliver a strong message to politicians by addressing the issue of corruption" ahead of a general election scheduled for December, said Samuel Pommeret with Catholic humanitarian group CCFD-Terre Solidaire, which operates in the area.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer vigil Tuesday evening at N'dolo airport ahead of a mass on Wednesday morning, which is tipped to draw more than a million faithful.

Papal memorabilia was already selling well in Kinshasa in the run-up to the visit, with Elisabeth Akwete, 66, among those buying a calendar bearing the image of Francis.

"It's a joy to have the image of the head of the Church at home," she told AFP.

During his visit to DRC, the pope will also meet victims of violence as well as members of the clergy and charities operating in the country.

Pilgrimage of peace

On Friday, Francis will travel to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, also one of the world's poorest countries, that has lurched from one crisis to another since gaining independence in 2011.

Preparations for the pope's visit have been in full swing at Kinshasa's Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral. By Arsene Mpiana (AFP/File)

It suffered a brutal five-year civil war, while continued conflict between rival ethnic groups exacts a terrible toll on civilians.

The pope will be joined in Juba by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leader of the Church of Scotland, on what he has called "an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace".
Members of the Korle Bu Doctors Association (KODA) have warned of impending strike action in February.

The doctors have threatened that they will lay down their tools on February 6 if management of the hospital fails to pay members their 13th-month salary.

The doctors have accused the management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital of acting in bad faith with regard to the payment of the 13th-month salary although there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place for payment signed by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Ministry of Health.

The management of Korle bu refused to meet its own deadline of reverting with the timelines for the settlements of the outstanding amount by 27th January 2023 as captured in its letter to KODA dated 3rd January 2023.

Beginning the 30th of January to 5th of February 2023, KODA expects management to come out with clear timelines for the payment of the arrears and to make this payment centralised one instead of departmental after all every payment goes into a central pool, part of a letter from KODA signed by its chairman Dr. Frank Owusu-Sekyere said.

It added, If nothing is received KODA members would withdraw service to the Outpatient department as well as elective surgeries and procedures. This will commence on 6th February to 10th February 2023.

Subsequently, the doctors say if nothing is heard from February 13 onwards, emergencies would be closed till all inpatients are discharged.
The newly enstooled chief of Amrahia, Nii Ashong Kojo IV publicly known as Essilfie Mensah has reiterated his commitment to ensuring total cohesion and massive developments in the Amrahia community.

He stated that his objectives have been outlined and would ensure they are achieved with total inclusiveness.

He made the disclosure in an interview with this portal after his enstoolment on Sunday, 29th January, 2022 in Accra.

"As a chief, there should be an interaction between yourself and the family. Every step taken should involve the family and bring together all the families before any activity is carried out. I would also avail myself to all so that there will be one accord. Transparency and accountability would always be on top, everything will be visible to not only my people but everybody, this is what we call inclusiveness.

"Even the residents have all noticed the lack of social amenity centers and infrastructural developments during the past chief's tenure. But I am here with my elders to make a difference," he stated.

Nii Ashong Kojo IV, however, assured of creating a viable and serene working community to attract investors.

"We have never had any investors for the past 30 years, nothing has been done to welcome companies or foreign individuals but I want to assure you all that with my able elders and families we can achieve it," he stressed.

The brief event which took place at the palace in Amrahia attracted huge patronage witnessed by various traditional leaders, members from the royal family and residents.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

Prof George Gyan-Baffour, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, has admonished Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that the decentralise systems at the sectoral, regional and district levels work in synergy to realise the long-term development aspiration of the country.

Prof Gyan-Baffour, who was speaking at the maiden Coordination Meeting of Policy Planning, Budgets, Monitoring, and Evaluation Directorates (PPBMEDs) of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Accra, said This process should guide the implementation of our national strategy: The Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All (2022-2025).

Prof Gyan-Baffour stressed that to better and sustainably rebuild the economy, the government should step-up already ongoing activities to reduce overlaps, eliminate redundancies and increase resource allocation and consumption efficiency across all facets of our society.

He was optimistic that the PPBMEDs engagement would help identify bottlenecks to define the principles and techniques for an effective coordination process and also explore innovative coordination approaches that enhance the countrys development efforts.

The objectives of the meeting were to improve the planning, implementation and reporting of programmes, projects and activities at the sector level as well as develop reliable coordination mechanisms for development planning and management.

It is also aimed at encouraging the pooling of resources and joint implementation of development programmes to achieve common goals, he added.

The meeting was in lieu of the National Development Planning (System) Act 1994, Act 480, which mandates the commission to ensure a well-coordinated, operational, and effective decentralized planning system.
Pope Francis landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo Tuesday, hailing his "beautiful trip" to Africa as he comes bearing a message of peace to the conflict-torn nation and its troubled neighbour South Sudan

Large crowds of well-wishers gathered at Kinshasa's Ndjili airport, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the centre, to greet the Argentine pontiff, whose plane touched down at 2:35 pm local time (1:45 pm GMT).

"We've been waiting for a year, it's a beautiful trip," the 86-year-old pope told reporters travelling aboard his plane.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a desperately poor country of about 100 million people, 40 percent of whom are Catholic.

"I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him face to face," Maggie Kayembe, a woman in her thirties, told AFP as she waited for the pope. "He always preaches peace wherever he goes, and peace, we really need it," she added.

The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan had been planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.

He boarded the plane in Rome via an elevator.

Security concerns were also said to play a role in delaying the trip, and a stop in Goma in DR Congo's east, where dozens of armed groups operate, is no longer on the itinerary.

"I would have liked to go to Goma too, but with the war, you can't go there," the pope told reporters on the plane.

On Sunday, he had offered his greetings "with affection to those beloved peoples who await me".

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

"These lands, situated in the centre of the great African continent, have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts," he said after his Angelus prayer at the Vatican.

He lamented "armed clashes and exploitation" in DR Congo, and said South Sudan, "wracked by years of war, longs for an end to the constant violence".

As the papal plane flew over the Sahara, the pope held a prayer for "all the people who, searching for a little well-being, a bit of freedom, crossed (the desert) and didn't make it".

He recalled how many people arrive in north Africa hoping to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, only to find themselves "taken to camps, and suffering there. Let us pray for all those people".

Victims of violence

Despite its vast mineral wealth, some two-thirds of DRC's population live on less than $2.15 a day, while violence plagues the eastern provinces.

The Tutsi-led armed group M23, which Kinshasa alleges is backed by neighbouring Rwanda, has been conquering large swaths of territory in North Kivu province.

The region has also seen a wave of deadly attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group the Islamic State claims as an affiliate, including a bomb blast at a Pentecostal church this month that killed 14 people.

Following a welcome ceremony at the Kinshasa airport, Francis will be received at the presidential palace by President Felix Tshisekedi.

The trip to DRC and South Sudan was planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him to use a wheelchair. By Tiziana FABI (AFP/File)

The pontiff will then make his first of a dozen speeches during the trip, addressing authorities, the diplomatic corps, and representatives of civil society.

"He can deliver a strong message to politicians by addressing the issue of corruption" ahead of a general election scheduled for December, said Samuel Pommeret with Catholic humanitarian group CCFD-Terre Solidaire, which operates in the area.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer vigil Tuesday evening at N'dolo airport ahead of a mass on Wednesday morning, which is tipped to draw more than a million faithful.

Papal memorabilia was already selling well in Kinshasa in the run-up to the visit, with Elisabeth Akwete, 66, among those buying a calendar bearing the image of Francis.

"It's a joy to have the image of the head of the Church at home," she told AFP.

During his visit to DRC, the pope will also meet victims of violence as well as members of the clergy and charities operating in the country.

Pilgrimage of peace

On Friday, Francis will travel to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, also one of the world's poorest countries, that has lurched from one crisis to another since gaining independence in 2011.

Preparations for the pope's visit have been in full swing at Kinshasa's Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral. By Arsene Mpiana (AFP/File)

It suffered a brutal five-year civil war, while continued conflict between rival ethnic groups exacts a terrible toll on civilians.

The pope will be joined in Juba by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leader of the Church of Scotland, on what he has called "an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace".
Collins Owusu Amankwah, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North in the Ashanti region has suggested the "best" strategy for the ruling NPP ahead of the 2024 general elections.

The ex-NPP legislator noted that the party can only break the "8" when it picks a Christian from the south as the flagbearer and a Muslim from the north as running mate.

To him, the partys successful elections have been attributed to such permutations since the days of Adu Boahen in 1992.

Speaking on Kumasi-based Angel FM, Mr Owusu Amankwah emphasised that the NPP must consider choosing a flagbearer from their stronghold aided by someone from the opponent's stronghold.

He believes that strongholds are not to be downplayed in elections since failure to honour them may lead to a loss of votes.

"Politics is about strategies; it is about numberscomparative advantage. Numbers decide everything in the context of democracy. So that is why you have to choose your candidate from a place where you have the numbers and try to add some numbers from the stronghold of your opponent. You don't abandon your stronghold.

"In politics, there are certain key formulas you can't do away with. We have had a winning formula that has helped us to win 4 elections: the south Christian flagbearer and north Muslim running mate ticket. That is the winning formula for the NPP, and now you want to tell me that we should abandon that winning formula," he said.

The former MP added, "In the Ghanaian political market, whether you like it or not, there are some determining factors that you cannot do away with, and these include religion, ethnicity, and personality."

Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, all Ashanti tribesmen, are coming from the partys stronghold. They have declared their intention to contest against Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, a Northerner, whose people Mr. Owusu Amankwah has tipped to be running mates.
A task force from the revenue compliance unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handcuffed the Community 25 branch manager of the Palace Mall.

The managers of the shop according to the GRA have allegedly deliberately outsmarted the Electronic VAT Invoicing system by recording multiple sales of items under one unit.

However, each item sold should have a separate VAT invoice in order to adequately account for taxes paid by customers.

The arrest comes after the Manager of the Spintex road branch of China Mall was arrested by the task force over non-payment of taxes on Monday.

The manager of Sneda Mall on Spintex Road was also arrested by the task force for the same offence.

These are part of the GRAs operations to clamp down on companies defaulting on their tax commitments to the state.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu South, has waded into circumstances leading to a scuffle between popular Ghanaian YouTuber, Wode Maya and some Immigration officials at the Togo side of the frontier.

The incident was captured in a viral video circulating on social media.

The MP in a video shared online by Wode Maya, complained bitterly about the lack of free movement between countries within the continent, particularly in the ECOWAS sub-region.

The former actress and deputy Creative Arts Minister asserted that free movement within the continent and between nations should be made a reality as it was the case in the past before colonialism divided the various nations.

We have to tell the story of who we are  we can continue blaming colonialists for all we want but they have been gone for so long and we need to wake up and smell the coffee, Mad. Gomashie said.

We need to wake up, all these seemingly hen coop thing we are doing business with is against ourselves is depressing, truly depressing  I am willing to break a few protocols speaking the way I am, she was heard saying in the video.

Wode Maya and the Immigration officials from the Togolese side of the border were said to have got into a scuffle after the popular YouTuber refused to make a CFA 2000 bribe payment, infuriating the officers, who forcefully seized his camera in the process, attracting some Ghanaian officials to his rescue.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Madam Gomashie said she intended to make a strong case on this happening on the floor of Parliament, when the house reconvenes in February.

These back and forth between border security officials and persons travelling across our frontiers  I mean not only Ghana and Togo but across West Africa and the rest of the continent, my brother, is becoming something else.

"I am not from a security background, but I strongly believe this is a security issue that should be taken a second and serious look into by the authorities responsible for these things, Mad Gomashie, who chairs a four-nation Ewe speaking Committee of member states, said.

I think as a people with a common identify as Africans, we should find a way to deal with these things  our structures must be made to operate properly, rather than always blaming colonialists for our failures  I think this issue has to be raised on the floor of Parliament, yes these things have to stop, she added.

The development and previous happenings not only along Ghanas border with Togo, but elsewhere in the sub-region and the continent, brings into question the commitment of member countries to adhere to the ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services and the promotion of Free Trade and Business among member countries under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) regime.

Wode Maya, in a media interaction, said he would continue to persevere for a borderless Africa, where citizens could move from one country to the other without impediments like the Togo experience.

He and his crew were travelling to Benin by road when the unfortunate border altercation ensued sharing some of his worse experience as suffering a slap attempting to enter the Gambia and the demand for $250 before accessing Congo.

Wode Maya pledged to wage a relentless crusade against the menace till continental Heads of State reached a practical agreement on the matter.

GNA
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has expressed worry over the about $600 million Electricity Company of Ghana's indebtedness to the Bui Power Authority.

The Auditor General's Report had revealed that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) failed to abide by its monthly payment plan, which resulted in the outstanding debt as of December 31, 2022.

Per the report, the cash flow of the Authority could negatively be impacted if ECG continued to breach the agreed payment terms.

Meanwhile, at PACs Public hearing, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, the Chief Executive Officer, Bui Power Authority, said efforts were being made to recover the money.

I think that what the auditors say is very true, and we are taking steps to ensure that ECG pays us. But it's becoming very difficult, he said.

Mr Dzamesi told the Committee that he was happy with how Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Energy, asked the Ministry of Finance to go to the Ministry's aid when the need arose.

So, we will continue this negotiation and with the support of our minister, I think we will be able to handle this matter. But it's a problem, he said.

Members of PAC, therefore, recommended to the Finance Ministry to ensure that ECG settled its debt to Bui and the Volta River Authority.

GNA
Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, a Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, says Ghana finds India a dependable partner in bilateral cooperation, evident in India's confidence and investment in the country's economy.

He said the relationship between the two countries had been further strengthened at the recent 3rd sessions of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) and Joint Trade Commission (JTC) in July 2022 which resulted in greater cooperation between Ghana and India.

He said Ghana had benefited from many project initiatives from Indian companies which had contributed immensely to the growth of the Ghanaian economy leading to the creation of jobs and business opportunities for the youth in Ghana.

The Deputy Minister made the remarks at a cocktail reception hosted by the High Commission of India in Accra to commemorate the 74th Republic Day of the Republic of India.

He acknowledged the efforts of Ghanas founding father, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Indias, Jawaharlal Nehru whose visionary leadership led to the establishment of cordial and fruitful relations between the two countries some six decades ago.

Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said: Our continuous cooperation at both the bilateral and multilateral levels have been well nurtured to the mutual benefit of our two countries.

The Deputy Minister said, it was gratifying that Ghana was one of the top three African recipients of India's Line of Credit in the spirit of South-South cooperation which were used to finance projects such as the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for Information Communication Technology (ICT), the Jubilee House; The Pan African E-Network Project and Rural electrification.

He mentioned the establishment of the Foreign Service Training Institute and the many capacity building support to public servants to which Ghana was particularly grateful.

The Deputy Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister called for an increased presence of Indian investors to take advantage of the African Continental Free-Trade Area aimed at promoting intra-African trade to further strengthen the trade ties between the two countries.

He announced that preparations were underway for Ghana to host the maiden Ghana-Indian Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) in the first quarter of 2023 to further boost trade and investment between the two countries.

Mr Sugandh Rajaram, Indian High Commissioner, who gave an emotive farewell speech as his duty tour comes to an end, said, the relation between both countries had been enhanced and such collaborations would be taken a notch higher.

He said some deliberate efforts had been undertaken to strengthen the India-Ghana ties and prioritise the friendship between the two countries, adding that politically some intense engagements took place in the last years and the mechanism of bilateral interactions had been reinforced.

The High Commissioner admitted that there was the need to rejuvenate efforts to further enhance the bilateral ties for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The diplomatic corps, some ministers of state, traditional leaders and members of the Indian community in Ghana graced the event characterised by cultural performances.

GNA
The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Mr Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh has commended the staff of the Commission and other security officers for their readiness to combat transnational organized crime in the Gulf of Guinea particularly Ghana's territorial waters.

He stressed that it will only take committed, dedicated and professional security officers to deal with the issue of transnational organized crime.

He made the comments when the Narcotics Control Commission took its turn to conduct a drug simulation exercise at the Tema Fishing Harbor.

The exercise is part of Exercise Obangame, a national exercise which involved various security agencies such as the Ghana Navy, Marine Police, Interpol, Narcotics Control Commission and the Attorney General Department.

The aim of the exercise was to test the national preparedness of the security agencies in dealing with the incidence of drug trafficking and other transnational organized crimes such as arms shipment smuggling, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), Human Trafficking, Illegal oil transfer and incidence of oil spillage, both minor and major.

The aim of the Narcotic Scenario was also to test inter-agency collaboration, detect illicit drugs and observe how security officers will follow the Harmonized Standard Operating Procedures (HSOP) for Maritime Agencies working at the Seaports.

The K9 Unit and Vessel Rummaging Teams from the NACOC Tema Port Unit (TPU) and the Joint Port Control Unit (JPCU) conducted a search on the Naval vessel GNS Bonus, which was used as the target vessel in the Exercise.

NACOC Drug detection dogs and their professional handlers located all the drugs that were planted on the vessel.

Mr Adu-Amanfoh was grateful to the Ghana Navy and the other security agencies who made operation Obangame very successful. The exercise was attended by Commodore Maxwell Arhen, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command and other senior Naval Officers.

Operation Obangame also had the INTERPOL and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as international observers.
Ghana for the 3rd consecutive year, scores 43 out of a possible clean score of 100 and ranks 72 out of 180 countries and territories included in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by Transparency International (TI). This score reflects a lack of progress in the countrys fight against corruption.

Addressing the problem of corruption is critical now more than ever as corruption is a major contributor to the countrys current economic woes as evinced by several reports including that of the Auditor Generals report on Government of Ghanas COVID-19 expenditure.

This years index focuses on corruption, conflict and security. According to Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International:

Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict  and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few.

Ghanas Performance vis-a-vis other Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the 2022 CPI shows a dire situation as most countries including Ghana have failed to make progress in reducing corruption.

The top performers in the region are Seychelles (70), followed by Cabo Verde (60), Botswana (60) and Rwanda (51), whereas Burundi (17), Equatorial Guinea (17), South Sudan (13) and Somalia (12) have the lowest scores.

In terms of trends, the 2022 CPI reveals that from 2012 to 2022, 25 countries significantly improved their scores. The SSA region recorded the highest percentage of countries (28% - 7 out of 25); Angola, Cote dIvoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Seychelles and Tanzania experiencing significant improvements in their scores. Conversely, 31 countries significantly declined in their scores since 2012. SSA represent 10% (3 out of the 31 countries - Lesotho, Liberia and Mali) of countries with significant declines in their scores.

Ghana with a score of 43, ranked 8th out of 49 countries in SSA which were included in the index, alongside Benin (43), Senegal (43) and South Africa (43).

Table 1: Extract of 2022 CPI Scores for SSA countries

SSA RANK COUNTRY 2022 CPI SCORE WORLD CPI 2022 RANKING 2021 CPI SCORE 1 Seychelles 70 23 70 2 Botswana 60 35 55 2 Cabo Verde 60 35 58 4 Rwanda 51 54 54 5 Mauritius 50 57 53 6 Namibia 49 59 49 7 Sao Tome and Principe 45 65 45 8 Benin 43 72 42 8 Ghana 43 72 43 8 Senegal 43 72 43 8 South Africa 43 72 44 12 Burkina Faso 42 77 42 13 Ethiopia 38 94 39 13 Tanzania 38 94 39

Source: TI 2022 CPI Data

Global Highlights

According to TI, the 2022 CPI reveals that, despite concerted efforts and many hard-won gains, we cannot take progress against corruption for granted.

Denmark (90) tops the index this year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely, both with a score of 87. Strong democratic institutions and regard for human rights also make these countries some of the most peaceful in the world according to the Global Peace Index1.

The least performing countries are Somalia (12), Syria (13) and South Sudan (13). They are all enveloped in protracted conflicts. Years of violence and war have decimated resources and left them vulnerable to corruption, leaving governments essentially incapable of making any progress.

Since 2017, 10 countries significantly declined on their CPI scores.

The significant decliners are: Luxembourg (77), Canada (74), the United Kingdom (73), Austria (71), Malaysia (47), Mongolia (33), Pakistan (27), Honduras (23), Nicaragua (19) and Haiti (17).

(77), (74), the (73), (71), (47), (33), (27), (23), (19) and (17). 8 countries improved on the CPI during that same period: Ireland (77), South Korea (63), Armenia (46), Vietnam (42), the Maldives (40), Moldova (39), Angola (33) and Uzbekistan (31).

Corruption, Conflict and Security

TI posits that corruption, conflict and security are profoundly intertwined. The misuse, embezzlement or theft of public funds can deprive the very institutions of resources they need to fulfil their mandate which include protecting citizens, enforcing the rule of law and safeguarding peace.

In Ghana, corruption continues to negatively affect citizens trust in government and institutions2, hinders the provision of essential services3, impedes economic development4 and creates vulnerabilities that have the tendency of being exploited by extremists. Corruption if not addressed has a potential to lead to social unrest and conflict. As such, it is essential that, steps are taken to combat corruption in order to ensure a more peaceful and secure society.

Recommendations

To address the problem of corruption in Ghana, GII recommends the following:

Relevant state agencies must address security vulnerabilities and protect the country against external threats. This should include measures such as strengthening the defence sector, increasing intelligence and security capabilities, and control the perceived politicisation of enlistment/employment. Strengthening the professionalism of the defence sector and improve border security to counter smuggling, illicit trade and potential terrorist activities Government must promote economic development and reduce barriers to investment. This includes the implementation of effective monetary and fiscal policies and the creation of a transparent environment in the public and private sectors where corrupt practices are easily identified and addressed more effectively The Executive should urgently take steps to lay the Conduct of Public Officers Bill in Parliament while we call on the Legislature to attach equal level of urgency to its timely passage Parliament should ensure implementation of recommendations contained in the Auditor Generals report by referring it to the Attorney General to recover lost funds and prosecute persons found culpable to have engaged in fraud, misapplication or embezzlement of state resources. The Auditor General must exercise its powers of disallowance and surcharge per Article 187 (7) of the 1992 Constitution to recover misappropriated funds and prevent the reoccurrence of wastage in the public sector Government should as a matter of urgency ensure that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is adequately resourced to enable the office effectively perform its mandate of prevention, prosecution and recovery of proceeds of corruption and corruption related offences Government should intensify efforts at expanding the digitization programme to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to promote the ease of doing business and reduce opportunities for corruption.

About the Corruption Perceptions Index

Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. The Index scores 180 countries and territories around the world based on perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the views of experts and business people.

The process for calculating the CPI is regularly reviewed to make sure it is as robust and coherent as possible, most recently by the European Commissions Joint Research Centre in 2017. All the CPI scores since 2012 are comparable from one year to the next. For more information, visit www.transparency.org/cpi.

For further information and media engagements, contact GII:

Tel: 0302 760 884

Facebook: Ghana Integrity Initiative  GII Twitter: @GhanaIntegrity

Website: www.tighana.org #CPI2022

1 Global Peace Index 2022 - https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf

2 https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/R9-News-release-Corruption-Afrobarometer-_28july22.pdf

3 https://audit.gov.gh/files/audit_reports/Report_of_the_Auditor- General_on_the_accounts_of_District_Assemblies_for_the_financial_year_ended_31_December_2021.pdf

4 https://chraj.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GHANA_Corruption_Survey_Report-20.07.2022.pdf
Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II, the Paramount Chief of the Sunyani Traditional Area and the Sunyani Traditional Council, and two others have been cited for contempt of court over the gazette of Madam Abenaa Brayie Donkor as the Queen mother of the Sunyani Traditional Council.

In a motion filed by Nana Obiri Boahen of the Enso Nyame Ye Chambers, a Sunyani-based legal firm and counsel, the applicants are praying the Kumasi High Court to commit the respondents, including Madam Donkor and one Nana Obiri Yeboah to prison.

The plaintiffs are Madam Yaa Animah, the Head of the immediate Nana Nyamaa and Boahen Korkor Royal Family and Mr Kwasi Mensah another Head of the Royal Family.

A copy of the writ made available to Journalists in Sunyani is praying the court to commit the respondents for willful/deliberate, and conscious attempt to scandalize and expose the administration of justice to public ridicule and contempt, a conduct that is willfully calculated to undermine the integrity of justice.

It said gazetting Madam Donkor, notwithstanding the pendency of a substantive suit and motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, is a conduct contemptuous of the court and a total disregard for the administration of justice.

According to the plaintiff, the respondents intentionally and maliciously undermined the administration of justice by treating with contempt court processes, more especially motion on notice for interlocutory filed on August 11, 2022 which was still pending in respect of the chieftaincy petition before a judicial committee.

Holding out or recognizing Madam Brayie as the queen mother of Sunyani Traditional Council, knowing fully well that, a chieftaincy petition has been mounted against her and also an application for injunction has been applied for and same waiting determination, thereby rendering the entire application and to a large extent that, the entire action/suit is not moot which said conduct is repugnant, contemptuous, disrespectful and disobedient, it added.

The writ indicated the respondents ought to be committed for promoting, facilitating, assisting and urging Madam Donkor to carry on and represent herself as the queen mother of the Sunyani Traditional Council notwithstanding the pendency of an interlocutory injunction and also the substantive chieftaincy petition.

Barely two years ago, Nana Nkrawiri II selected, pronounced and enstooled Mrs Bright Donkor Faakye, a retired educationist as the Paramount Queen Mother of the Sunyani Traditional Area.

Mrs Faakye, bearing the stool name Nana Akosua Duaa Brayie II is a royal of the Boahen Korkor Asenie-Kodie-Adonten royal family of Sunyani, and she succeeded Nana Yaa Nyamaa Poduo II of blessed memory who reigned for 47 years and died on August 1, 2019 at age 64.

But, the Boahen Korkor Nana Nyamaa Royal Family, the Mother Gate of the three Sunyani Royal Families, namely Akosua Duaa, Kwantwiwaa and Nyantakyiwaa royal gates, has since challenged the legitimacy of the installation of the Queen mother.
The Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central who doubles as Deputy Minister for Interior, Hon Naana Eyiah has stated emphatically that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led NPP government has been a blessing to Gomoa Central Constituency.

According to her, claims that the NPP government has disappointed the constituency are false.

She has therefore outlined a number of development projects the NPP Government has undertaken in her constituency describing them as unprecedented in history of the constituency just to shame critics.

She noted that His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led NPP Government has provided several projects to every single community in the Gomoa Central Constituency with more coming.

Interacting with Newsmen at Gomoa Ekwamkrom recently, the Member of Parliament noted that aside Central government projects, she in collaboration with the Gomoa Central District Assembly led by the DCE, Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo has supported self-help projects dotted across the constituency.

"From Gomoa Mpota, through to Asebu Pomadze, Chapess, Oguaakrom-Nyakuadze, Awombrew, Nsuem, Abonyi, Abaasa, Osamkrom, Mangoase, Brofoyedur, Jukwa and Ekwamkrom, one can count a number of development projects in different categories.

"Gomoa Aboso, Benso, Ekroful, Akropong, Beseadze, Achiase, Dahom, Afransi, Akwamu, Kwameadwer, Gomoa Ofaso, Obuasi, Gyaman, Gomoa Esikuma and Gomoa Lome. All these communities have equally benefited from NPP Government's infrastructure development from health to education.

"Am saying this because all the projects were provided upon a request from the people. We don't provide for providing sake only to become a white elephant, because it is not the preference of the people. We listen to their needs and provide them accordingly.

"I mentioned the communities because the projects are there for everyone to see and testify to the fact that they really exist in the constituency. As I speak, every CHIPS Compound in the Constituency is fully equipped with the needed medical equipment and logistics for the health workers to work efficiently. Similarly, every classroom block in the constituency has been fully furnished with dual desks, teachers' tables and chairs, office, store and staff common room to create a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning."

She continued, "For the first time in history, Gomoa Central can boast of a Girl's Model School. This has enhanced girld-child education. Most of our schools have ICT centers with enough computers. Our main challenge is the road network which is in a deplorable state. They have been awarded on contract but the contractors have not lived up to expectations. From Gomoa Dahom to Achiase, Lome to Gomoa Nduem, Nsuem to Awombrew and Ayensuadze to Abaasa is becoming an eyesore in the constituency.

"I have made several appeals to Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwasi Amoako Atta to compel the contractors to come to site or terminate their contracts."

Hon Naana Eyiah stated that apart from development projects, most of the youth in the Constituency have been employed through the Youth Employment Scheme, Prison Service, Fire Service, Ghana Army, Police Service, National Health Insurance Scheme and others to make life better for themselves and family thereby reducing the level of poverty in the constituency.

"We have established market centers at Gomoa Afransi and Aboso to boost the local economy. I have supported apprenticeship programmes in the constituency with machines and tools needed to work efficiently. They include sewing machines, hairdryers and many more to cushion them as they aspire to improve their talents and career.

"I have been able to provide drivers' licences to over 200 youth who are in driving business. Our farmers, teachers, the aged among others have benefited immensely from the government," she stressed.

The District Chief Executive for Gomoa Central, Hon. Benjamin Kojo Otoo added to the tall list of development projects being executed by President Akufo Addo-led NPP government in the District.

He mentioned the ongoing construction of a District Hospital popularly known as 'Agenda 111' at Gomoa Afransi, the completion of a polyclinic with doctor's bungalow at Gomoa Abonyi and the completion of the District Magistrate Court at Gomoa Afransi.

The Gomoa Central Constituency Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Philemon Darko debunked the falsehood being peddled by some members of the NDC that the NPP government has disappointed the people of the constituency.

"I say on authority that no government has performed better than the NPP government since independence in Gomoa Central constituency.

"Every sector of the economy has benefited from the Central government through the instrumentality of our workaholic Member of Parliament, Hon Naana Eyiah and our DCE, Hon Benjamin Kojo Otoo, the physical evidence are there for all to see.

"Whoever thought places like Kwameadwer, Mangoase, Nsuem and Esikuma will get CHPS Compound to offer quick healthcare delivery to the people? But we have provided them. We had only one Community Day Senior High School at Gomoa Gyaman before NPP came to power. Today, two additional Senior High Schools have been added to make it three. The Ogyedom Senior High and Technical School and SDA Senior High School at Gomoa Jukwa are offering quality education to students in Gomoa Central and beyond."
Paramount Chief of Nkusukum Traditional Area, Okesse Essandoh IX, has renounced the title conferred on Davis Mac Iyalla as the Amankorahen of Yamoransa in the Central Region.

He told journalists at his palace on Tuesday, January 31 that the process to install Mr Mac Iyalla as Amankorahen of Yamoransa was halted immediately information reached the traditional council that he supports LGBTQ+ activities.

The Nigerian gay rights activist over the weekend was paraded in Nkusukum as the new Amankorahen.

However, he fell off the palanquin during the procession.

This was interpreted by many as anger shown by the gods as activities of homosexuals are frowned upon in traditional societies in Ghana.

Explaining how Mr Mac Iyalla was proposed to be made a ceremonial chief, Okesse Essandoh IX said he got to know him through some friends in Cape Coast because he has been helpful in undertaking social development projects.

[After] that I informed Ebusuampanyinfo of Yamoransa and had a discussion with them and decided to honour him as Amankorahen or Nkosuahen to assist Yamoransa, the Paramount Chief of Nkusukum said.

Nkosuahen is only a ceremonial position which could be bestowed on any person regardless of his lineage or linkage to any stool.

He was given the chieftaincy name Nana Kweku Adu and is reported to have shown some dedication and commitment to developmental issues in Nkusukum.

Nana Kweku Adu has been staying in Cape Coast for over ten years and travels outside the country regularly and comes back, the Paramount Chief said, adding: It was during the process of his installation as Amankorahen (Nkosuahen) the information came that Kweku Adu is also known as Davis Mac Iyalla and has been supporting LGBTQI+ and its related activities.

Immediately this information came to our attention, we called for the whole process of Mac Iyalla to be halted.

-3news.com
The leader and founder of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor says she is the axe grinder who brought down business mogul Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom.

The 71-year-old farmer cum politician said she is responsible for all the troubles Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the founder and former flagbearer of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) is facing.

Narrating her claims during an interview on Accra-based Rainbow Radio, the GFP leader asserted that the Group Nduom CEO once wronged her.

She said the PPP founder retrieved a car he dashed her as part of an agreement to help him win votes during the 2012 general elections, at which time she was disqualified.

The worst of it, according to Madam Akua Donkor, was when Dr. Nduom sued her for refusing to hand over the car keys to him after he forcefully towed the car from her residence.

Following that incident, Madam Akua Donkor said she prayed to God to deal with Dr. Nduom ruthlessly.

Dr. Nduom wanted me to peddle lies for him, and I refused. I refused because I had a covenant with God that I would never tell lies. He then instructed people to go and tow the car from my official residence.

"I cursed Dr. Nduom and said he would face trouble for what he did to me. He is now in darkness for what he did to me. My curse against Dr. Nduom is working. He is facing troubles because of what he did to me, said Akua Donkor.
Three sub-chiefs including a Journalist working with Pan African Television have sworn an Oath of Allegiance to the Omanhene of the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI with a call on them to make job creation their major priority in the area.

Nana Esi Ansaba I, Gyasehemaa of Gomoa Jukwa-Idankrom known in private life as Madam Rose Ann or Maame Esi as she is popularly known, works with Pan African Television, a private media house based in Accra.

The second to swear the Oath was Nana Kofi Sah I, Ninfahene of Gomoa Akropong No.2. known in his private life as Mr. Issac Abeiku Saah. He is a Chief Inspector of Police in the Ghana Police Service stationed at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The next was Nana Kweku Acquah I, Guantuahene of Gomoa Jukwa-Idankrom known in his private life as Mr. Lawrence Kofi Acquah who works with the Ga South Municipal Assembly at Ngreshie-Amanfrom in the Greater Accra.

They subsequently pledged their support to Nananom in the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area in their quest to ensure improvement in the lives of the people in their communities.

According to the chiefs, they will use their expertise in their various fields of work to support programmes and policies of the Traditional Council especially on youth development.

They added that they will support the full implementation of bye-laws enacted by the Traditional Council to ensure sanity in Gomoa Ajumako.

Addressing the Chiefs after they had gone through the various rituals to welcome them to the Traditional Council, Omanhene of the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area who is also the President of the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Council Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI admonished them against acts contrary to the Chieftaincy institution.

He charged them to be obedient to their superior chiefs as well as the entire people in their communities.

"Use your youthful strength to impact positively on your communities. You're all professionals in your field of work, let your people benefit from your skills and knowledge so that we can get more of you in Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area.

"You all know the role assigned you as the occupant of the stool, perform your duties diligently as a Chief who is worthy of emulation for your people and generations to come. Don't go and lord themselves over them but serve your people in humility and above all let justice prevail in any matter that comes to you for settlement. Remember we are one people with a common destiny.

"Again you cannot live in your private life any longer, bear in mind that you are now known as Nana in your community, be mindful of your day-to-day activities and know the vast difference between your previous lifestyle and now that you have become a Chief. You represent Ghanaian Culture and Traditions in your communities, don't disappoint your Royal Kingmakers who choose you to lead them traditionally to protect them in every endeavour.

"I have given you the power to go and rule in fairness and honesty. Create job opportunities for the people especially the youth so that they could contribute their quota towards community development and above all be truthful to your people and the stool you occupied as a Chief," Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI stressed.

Esihene of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, Nana Esoun Abonyi Kwaata II urged the newly confirmed Chiefs to attend Council meetings regularly.

"Be the epitome of development in Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Council and ensure cordial relationship between you and your colleague Chiefs," Nana Esoun Abonyi Kwaata II noted.

Present were Amankorahene of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, Nana Odum Amanfo IV, Asokwahene, Nana Kweku Gyesi II and Abakomahene, Nana Kofi Kwaah IX.
A powerful Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader in the Sahel has been in secret talks with armed groups in northern Mali which, like him, are fighting Islamic State-backed militants, sources close to the talks said.

The jihadist is Iyad Ag Ghaly, an ethnic Tuareg who heads the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which has been battling the self-described Islamic State (IS) for influence in the Sahel.

He has recently held secret talks in northern Mali, including meetings with leaders of armed groups which have been fighting bloody battles with IS jihadists, the sources said.

They confirmed the talks had taken place but did not comment on mounting speculation that the GSIM would join forces with these groups.

Northern Mali is the birthplace of a jihadist insurgency that has destabilised the entire region and stoked fears that it could spread to countries further south on the Gulf of Guinea.

Across the Sahel, thousands have died and millions have fled their homes to escape the violence.

"I was received on an individual basis and alone by Iyad Ag Ghaly lkala in the Kidal region last week. Others went in small groups. He said the same thing to everyone, about uniting the sons of the Kidal region," a local leader told AFP, asking not to be identified.

Kidal is a crossroads region in the north that is not under the control of the Malian state but by a coalition of predominantly Tuareg groups called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

It was the CMA which launched a fight for regional independence in 2012 that was joined by jihadists, and which they later fanned into their insurgency.

In 2015, the CMA signed a peace agreement with the Malian government and pro-state armed groups.

Separate forces against IS

Mali. By (AFP/File)

Today, the Kidal region is relatively unscathed from the violence sweeping Mali.

But south of the region, in the Gao and Menaka areas, the CMA, pro-state groups and the GSIM have separately been fighting IS for months.

Hundreds of civilians have died and there has been a mass exodus of people fleeing their homes.

The source who met Ag Ghaly said "he paid tribute to the expected amalgamation" of the CMA's diverse groups, which could take place in February.

Ag Ghaly has been considered by many Malian commentators and officials as an unavoidable figure in efforts to end the country's prolonged crisis.

He was in contact with the government years ago, but the question of a dialogue between jihadists and the authorities has been off the political radar screen since the 2020 coup.

The recent meetings "aren't new," another leader in the north told AFP, saying that Ag Ghaly had always been in touch with powerful men in his region.

Ag Ghaly also met representatives of the civilian populations, telling them of his willingness to "defend sharia and protect them from the Malian army and Russian mercenaries," a local government official said.

The ruling junta has forged close ties with the Kremlin, bringing in operatives that France and others say are from the Wagner paramilitary group.

Ag Ghaly "wants to impose himself as the uncontested leader of the northern Sahel," said a foreign diplomat, saying the question was how the junta would respond to "this worrying new landscape."
The Council of Elders of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, met with some Members of Parliament who petitioned the party over the minority leadership reshuffle.

The petitioners were represented by Cletus Avoka, MP for Zebilla East, Dominic Ayine, MP for Bolgatanga East, Mohammed Murtala, MP for Tamale Central, Zanetor Rawlings, MP for Kortey Korle, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, MP for Ablekuma South, Collins Dauda, MP for Asutifi South, and Pru East MP Kwabena Donkor.

Some members of the Council of Elders who attended Tuesday's meeting according to Citi News sources include Chairman Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, former Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, former National Security Advisor, Larry Gbevlo Lartey, and former Information Minister, Kofi Totobi Quakyi.

The rest are former Local Government Minister, Kwamena Ahwoi, Former Education Minister, Christine Amoako Nuamah former General Secretary of the NDC, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya, former Trade Minister, Dan Abodakpi, Naval Captain (Rtd) Baffour Asaase Gyimah and Mrs Aanaa Ennin, a member of the PNDC.

The Council of Elders is expected to meet the National Executives Committee (NEC) of the party before the entire minority caucus is met to iron out their differences.

It will be recalled that following last Tuesdays changes to the leadership of the Minority side in Parliament, there have been divergent views on the issue in the media space by different stakeholders of the party, with some opposition MPs signing a petition against the move.

Some other opposition MPs have also lauded the move by the party to change the leadership of the Minority side in Parliament.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, says the party is not fragmented despite the uproar that greeted changes they made to their leadership in Parliament.

According to him, the NDC is still united adding that the changes have been welcomed by the majority of the NDC members.

The NDC is not fragmented at all, it's still a very united party. The truth about every decision is that every change comes along with new gainers, so you will definitely have some reactions. But the change has been welcomed by the majority of NDC members across the country, I guess even here [UK]. The reshuffle has brought some new excitement on the front of NDC, Mr. Asiedu Nketiah said when he addressed some supporters of the party in the UK.

By Citi Newsroom
Concert held in St. Petersburg to celebrate Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 16:04, January 31, 2023

St. Petersburg, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Chinese musicians on Monday night performed together to mark the Chinese New Year in St. Petersburg.

Opened with traditional and ethnic Chinese garment show by dozens of models, the concert included classics of Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, works by Chinese composers, as well as traditional songs from China.

The performance was held at the Catherine Assembly, where an exhibition of Chinese art was also held, with over 30 pieces of drawings, sculptures and calligraphy from 12 Chinese artists being displayed.

This year is the ninth year that St. Petersburg celebrates Chinese New Year, and The Palace Bridge here was illuminated in red for celebration.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has this week presented the government's three-year plan to fight racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination linked to origin. It aims in particular to make young people less vulnerable to hateful messages.

The new 2023-2026 plan presented on Monday provides for a series of measures that affect different sectors, from education to employment, including justice and sport.

"It is by making it known that we prevent history from stuttering," Borne said. Her Jewish father was deported and then ended his life when she was 11 years old.

During their school curriculum, each student will take part in a "visit of a historic or memorial site linked to racism, anti-Semitism or anti-Gypsy expression", because "it is from childhood that stereotypes are formed," the Prime Minister explained.

"It is in our youth that certain conspiracy theories abound. It is also on our young people that the hate messages on social networks have the most effect", she insisted.

Borne promised "total firmness in (the) criminal response", allowing "the issue of arrest warrants" against people who "deviate freedom of expression for racist or anti-Semitic purposes".

Each year, in France, 1.2 million victims experience discrimination or racist or anti-Semitic attacks, according to the government website detailing the plan.

No impunity for hatred

"There will be no impunity for hatred," she assured.

The penalties will also be increased in the event of racist or anti-Semitic expression "even non-public" for people holding public authority or responsible for a public service mission, she added.

The plan should make it possible to measure different forms of discrimination, better educate and train, better punish the perpetrators and better support the victims, Borne outlined.

The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, also said he was working on the creation of a "civil fine" which will "supply a fund intended to directly help the victims".

"Let's imagine an unfair dismissal based on discrimination: the victim could claim a number of things and the court could impose this fine in addition to damages," he said.

Memory of Travellers

Among the measures, Borne announced the creation in western France of a museum in memory of Travellers (also referred to as gypsies, or Roma) interned during the Second World War.

"This community needs this story to go into the history of France," said Dominique Raimbourg, president of the National Consultative Commission for Travellers.

The museum on the site of a former concentration camp of Montreuil-Bellay, in Maine-et-Loire was welcomed by the leaders of several community groups.

The president of the Council of Jewish organisations (CRIF) Yonathan Arfi hailed the fact that a memorial visit is offered to each young person in their schooling, while the president of the NGO SOS racisme, Dominique Sopo, described as "positive" the fact that "for the first time, a plan integrates the question of racial discrimination".

Plans for E-sport, transport

The plan also aims to integrate employment discrimination tests in companies and to "develop tools" with digital platforms and influencers.

It will also focus on access to housing to "highlight good practices and denounce bad ones".

A code of good conduct for video games and e-sports will also be put in place.

Reporting systems for all those who are victims of hate speech in transport are planned by March.

Another government plan against discrimination linked to sexual orientation should be presented in June.
Southern Africa's regional bloc SADC called Tuesday for national dialogue and a "comprehensive" probe amid escalating tensions in the tiny kingdom of Eswatini, following the murder of a top rights lawyer and activist.

At the end of talks attended by several region leaders in Namibia's capital, the SADC urged Eswatini's government to "urgently initiate the process of the national dialogue".

They also called for "calm" in the kingdom between South Africa and Mozambique after the killing of human rights advocate Thulani Maseko.

Maseko was shot dead on January 21, sparking alarm over political violence in Africa's last absolute monarchy and drawing condemnation from the international community.

The Southern African Development Community called on Eswatini authorities "to conduct a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation" into Maseko's killing.

His murder came hours after King Mswati III had warned activists who defied him not to "shed tears" about "mercenaries killing them". There have been no arrests over the killing so far.

Namibian President Hage Geingob, who chairs the SADC's politics, defence and security committee and hosted the talks Tuesday, said the persistent sporadic acts of violence in Eswatini pointed to "an escalation of the tensions".

The talks were attended by Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini, and the presidents of South Africa and Zambia, Cyril Ramaphosa and Hakainde Hichilema.

Maseko, 52, had fought against state repression in Eswatini, a country of 1.2 million people previously known as Swaziland, where political parties have been banned since 1973.

He led a coalition of political and civil rights advocates and religious groups, created in November 2021, to foster dialogue with King Mswati and seek a way out of the crisis.

At least 37 people were killed during weeks of anti-monarchy protests in June 2021.

The Windhoek talks also discussed conflicts in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In its final statement the SADC "strongly condemned the upsurge of conflicts and activities of armed groups" in the eastern region of DR Congo, where Pope Francis began a visit in Kinshasa on Tuesday.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

The government has announced the final extension of the date of Ghanas Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

In a press release issued on Tuesday, January 31, it said the deadline for the programme has been extended to Tuesday, February 7.

The decision has been taken after the Finance Ministry reached an agreement with Individual Bondholders on the back of several engagements to resolve their grievances.

According to the release, all individual bondholders are free not to participate in the programme.

The Finance Ministry further cautions that upon a successful DDEP, there will be very few of the 'old bonds' in circulation, and likely limit its tradability.

In this regard, the Government is making available other alternatives to encourage all individual bondholders to participate in the programme.

All individual bondholders who are below the age of 59 years will be offered instruments with a maximum maturity of 5 years, instead of 12 years, and a 10% coupon rate;

All retirees (including those retiring in 2023) will be offered instruments with a maximum maturity of 5 years, instead of 12 years, and a 15% coupon rate.

Additionally, discussions are being finalised with Organized Labour and Pension Fund Trustees, on a separate arrangement in accordance with the Memorandum ofUnderstanding signed with Organized Labour on 22nd December 2022, and in line with government's debt management Programme, parts of the release from the Ministry of Finance said.

All bondholders after the Ministry of Finances release this evening are encouraged to commence all administrative processes towards their participation in the programme in line with the agreements reached.
Pope Francis arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, denouncing "economic colonialism" that he said had plundered the resources of the mineral-rich and conflict-torn nation.

Massive crowds thronged Kinshasa for a glimpse of the popemobile, cheering and waving flags as the 86-year-old pontiff made his way from the airport to the presidential palace.

On his fifth trip to Africa, Pope Francis, 86, is bringing a message of peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring South Sudan, both wracked by decades of stubborn conflict.

In a speech at the presidential palace, the pope received applause as he touched on the country's "history of foreign domination."

He said that "political exploitation gave way to an economic colonialism that was equally enslaving" in the DRC.

"As a result, this country, massively plundered, has not benefited adequately from its immense resources," he told an audience of Congolese politicians and other dignitaries, speaking in Italian.

Pope Francis denounced 'economic colonialism' at the start of his visit. By Guerchom Ndebo (AFP)

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hands off Africa," he said. "It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered".

The message will resonate well in the DRC, a country of about 100 million people, which won independence from Belgium in 1960.

Despite its vast mineral reserves of minerals, the DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

About two-thirds of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the DRC, where about 40 percent of whom are Catholic.

'Bloodshed'

The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan had been planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.

He boarded and disembarked the plane via an elevator.

Security concerns were also said to play a role in delaying the trip, and a stop in the DRC's east, where dozens of armed groups operate, is no longer on the itinerary.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Alexis Huguet (AFP)

M23 rebels -- allegedly backed by the DRC's smaller neighbour Rwanda -- have captured swathes of territory in eastern Congo since late 2021, coming within miles (kilometres) of Goma, a commercial hub of over one million people.

"I would have liked to go to Goma too, but with the war, you can't go there," the pope told reporters on the plane.

At the presidential palace, Francis also urged that more attention be paid to the conflict.

"We cannot grow accustomed to the bloodshed that has marked this country for decades, causing millions of deaths that remain mostly unknown elsewhere," he said.

The pope added that he supported ongoing regional peace efforts.

Eastern Congo has also seen a wave of deadly attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group the Islamic State claims as an affiliate, including a bomb blast at a Pentecostal church this month that killed 14 people.

Million-strong mass

President Felix Tshisekedi also gave a speech condemning the conflict, which he accused Rwandan of fomenting.

"Foreign powers greedy for the minerals contained in our subsoil commit cruel atrocities with the direct and cowardly support of our neighbour, Rwanda, thus making security the government's first and greatest challenge," the 59-year-old said.

Bystanders cheer as the popemobile passes by. By Guerchom Ndebo (AFP)

The DRC is scheduled to hold a presidential election on December 20, in Tshisekedi has declared he will stand for a second term in office. The president originally came to power after a strongly disputed election in 2018.

Francis, in his speech, underlined the importance of "free, transparent and credible elections."

"May no-one be manipulated, much less bought, by those who would foment violence in the country, and exploit it in order to make shameful business deals," he said.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer vigil on Tuesday evening at Kinshasa's N'dolo airport ahead of a mass on Wednesday morning, which is tipped to draw more than a million faithful.

Pilgrimage of peace

On Friday, Francis will travel to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, also one of the world's poorest countries, that has lurched from one crisis to another since gaining independence in 2011.

It suffered a brutal five-year civil war, while continued conflict between rival ethnic groups exacts a terrible toll on civilians.

The pope will be joined in Juba by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leader of the Church of Scotland, on what he has called "an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace".
Supporters of Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, Sunday held special prayers (Al-Qunut) at the Nurul-Islam Mosque in Kumasi, to seek spiritual intervention for his reinstatement as the Minority Chief Whip in Parliament.

Al Qunut is the name of a supplication offered during prayer at a specific point while standing for a particular request from God.

Thousands of the supporters participated with Islamic chants like Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar to seek God's face.

Sheikh Abdul Razak, the Chief Imam of the Mosque, indicated that it was time Muslims came together to rally behind the MP for his assistance to Muslims and Islam in general.

He said Muslims would do what was right so long as it was within the remits of the law to ensure the reinstatement of Alhaji Muntaka.

We don't seek to obstruct NDC business as Muslims, but it is our duty to defend the MP's exemplary life that he has lived in various Muslim communities across Ghana, he added.

He called on all Muslims to continue to press until the National Democratic Party Leadership did the needful.

Meanwhile the chiefs and people of Dagomba Line, in Kumasi, have added their voice to the call for Alhaji Muntaka's reinstatement.

At a press conference, Mr Hudu Iddriss Bonsudung, who spoke on behalf of the people, said as it stood now, there was no Muslim nor northerner in the Minority Leadership in Parliament.

That, he said, was unacceptable and that the NDC Leadership would have made extensive consultation before coming up with that action.

Mr Bonsudung said Alhaji Muntaka and Mr Haruna Iddrisu, represented the four northern regions, and it was important that they were reinstated to ensure harmony in the party.

The NDC, in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, dated January 23, made changes in the Leadership of the Minority Caucus in Parliament, replacing Mr Iddrisu with Dr Ato Forson, as the Minority Leader.

Mr Armah Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle, replaced Mr James Klutse Avedzi, MP, Ketu North, as the Deputy Minority Leader.

Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, replaces Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, MP, Asawase, as the Minority Whip.

GNA
Under the Hanging Tree is a new film written, directed and produced by Perivi Katjavivi , a young, up-and-coming Namibian filmmaker.

Despite two decades of gradual growth in the fledgling Namibian film industry, only about 20 features have been produced by the southern African country so far. Katjavivi's efforts at writing, directing and producing are to be lauded. Under the Hangman's Tree is his third feature and it premiered in the official selection of the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam. Katjavivi's films offer political themes that reveal the dark underbelly of Namibian society. His narratives expose the devastating effects of colonialism, still felt today.

Read more: Namibia pulls down German colonial statue after protests  who was Curt von Francois?

Under the Hanging Tree is about Christina, a police officer who must investigate a murder on a farm. She is a Herero woman who has given up her tradition and culture in pursuit of a successful career. The mostly nomadic Ovaherero people are a Bantu grouping who arrived in central Namibia in the 1700s. Their descendants constitute 9% of the population today.

Between 1904 and 1908 tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people were massacred by forces of the German empire in a genocidal act of ethnic cleansing. This is described as the first genocide of the twentieth century and a dress rehearsal for the Holocaust that was to take place in Europe a few decades later.

This poignant film traces the growth of Christina's character from a young woman who is colonised and uprooted from her culture to one who acknowledges her heritage and its tragic history. The film plays out slowly  sometimes too slowly  but in the process it grasps the heart of the matter. It leaves a viewer thinking deeply about how the past influences the present.

Opening scenes

The two opening scenes juxtapose one another and set the tone for the rest of the story.

An old Herero man at a ritual fire is invoking his ancestors and calling on them to come and bless their children. This cuts to Christina, arguing with her aunt Ndjambi, an elder who wears the typical Herero dress. She wants her niece to help hang their clothes out to dry but they argue. Christina considers it undignified to do this kind of work because she is educated and a professional.

The Hanging Tree will proceed to gradually unfold, revealing a society torn between the old and the new, between tradition and modernity.

What it's about

Christina and her colleague must investigate a murder that has been reported at one of the German farms in present day Namibia. There remain many farms owned by the families of original German settlers in the country. She discovers the farm owner hanged on a tree by an unknown person, echoing what happened more than a century ago when Herero people were hanged by the Germans from trees like this one.

In his story, Katjavivi brings to life the transgenerational trauma of a community. The film is alive to the mood of the nation, where discussions around German genocide reparations are a highly charged and sensitive topic.

Katjavivi makes the bold decision to focus on the death of one German Namibian to present the theme of genocide at a microscopic level.

Film noir

The film has a contemporary approach, adopting a noir style of storytelling. Film noir is commonly a dark detective film with stark lighting revealing bleak settings, intricate plots and an underlying existentialist philosophy. A Herero elder in the film. Old Location Films/End Street

Under the Hanging Tree also uses Otjiherero sayings to good effect as scene headings, indicating the chapter to come.

Katjavivi doesn't fall into the trap of making a commercial thriller. Instead, he chooses to tell a story which is slower, more critical, compulsive to watch and crucial.

Under the Hanging Tree starts out as a police procedural, but is not a whodunnit. Instead it's a reflection on young Namibians, born after independence in 1990, who are unaware of or choose to ignore their country's painful history. Katjavivi handles Christina's growth in consciousness with sensitivity and courage.

The tree, says her aunt in one scene, is the womb from which all people emerge, referencing indigenous knowledge systems. Christina can run, but she cannot escape her culture.

Is it any good?

The slow first half delves into Christina's life and work. The cinematography tells a deeper story. Using long shots, it captures an arid and beautiful Namibian landscape so vast that humans seem insignificant. Christina is shown through window bars and door frames, trapped in her reality. The film interrogates German Namibia. Old Location Films/End Street

Similarly, sound is put to effective use. Classical music underscores the German characters, but Herero characters bring with them sounds of nature that serve to heighten the tense atmosphere.

The second half picks up speed, with events unfolding in quick succession towards an unexpected resolution.

I have always felt that Namibian stories are best told by Namibians and Katjavivi rises to the challenge. He has succeeded in bringing to life the past and its impact on the present. There are countless human stories of Namibia's genocide that must still be recorded. But this is not enough. They have to be listened to, watched and explored.

Katjavivi is aware that it is only through telling them over and over again that there can be healing.

Sarala Krishnamurthy receives funding from Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Basle Switzerland.

By Sarala Krishnamurthy, Professor of Literature and Applied Linguistics, Namibia University of Science and Technology
John Abdulai Jinapor, Ranking Member on Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament has kicked against the recent ban placed on the importation of some used electrical appliances.

He demands that government and the Energy Commission immediately rescind the decision.

The Yapei/Kusawgu legislator described the move as discriminatory and unfortunate.

According to him, the action of government would worsen the already tight Ghanaian economy as well as leave many unemployed.

In a statement shared on his social media pages on Tuesday, January 31, Mr. Abdulai Jinapor indicated that the fact that an appliance is old doesnt mean it's not fit for use.

He also lamented the hasty manner in which the energy commission and the ministry processed the Legislative Instrument.

"The decision by the government of Ghana, acting through the Energy Commission, to ban the importation of all used electrical appliances into the country is most unfortunate and must be reviewed immediately.

"This policy, if not reviewed, will not only render the vast majority of those who trade in these appliances unemployed, but would equally have severe economic consequences on the already impoverished Ghanaian consumer, since many depend largely on these appliances," the statement said in part.

It continued, "The way and manner in which the Legislative Instrument (LI) was rushed through Parliament without adequate consultation and extensive engagement with the various stakeholders was most unfortunate and appalling."

"It must be noted that some of these used electrical appliances can be more energy efficient and durable than new ones, depending on the make, brand, and standards," the MP explained.

Read a copy of the full statement below;

For Immediate Release

31st January, 2023

WITHDRAW BAN ON THE IMPORTATION OF USED ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.

The decision by the Government of Ghana, acting through the Energy Commission, to ban the importation of all used electrical appliances into the country is most unfortunate and must be reviewed immediately.

This policy if not reviewed, will not only render a vast majority of those who trade in these appliances unemployed, but would equally have severe economic consequences on the already impoverished Ghanaian consumer, since most many depend largely on these appliances.

The way and manner in which the Legislative Instrument (LI) was rushed through Parliament without adequate consultation and extensive engagement with the various stakeholders was most unfortunate and appalling.

It is important to remind the Energy Commission that best practices will require the Commission to engage in extensive consultations particularly with the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, to solicit their views and input on such an important LI before implementation.

Even more disturbing is the lack of a grace period or transition period before implementing this policy. For such a policy that has far-reaching consequences, it is only proper that some transition period is allowed to enable traders and consumers ample time to adjust to the policy, especially this time that the uncertainties in the Ghanaian economy are abound.

It must be noted that some of these used electrical appliances can be more energy efficient and durable than new ones depending on the make, brand, and standards.

This policy clearly contradicts the Government's position that the country has so much excess capacity.

For the records, it must be noted that the current electricity tariff structure is graduated in bands with higher payments for higher electricity consumption which serves as a gentle caution for consumers to acquire energy-efficient appliances whether new or used ones.

By this policy, even a returnee Ghanaian is not allowed to come along with his or her 3-month-old electrical appliance, which, by all intends and purposes, could still be as good and useful as a new one. This current policy is not only unfair but discriminatory.

The solution to achieving energy efficiency and preventing DUMPING is to resort to the use of standards and effective regulatory measures rather than this very harsh policy of banning all used electrical appliances.

So, the government must be ready to engage, learn from best practices, and adopt sustainable regulatory measures to achieve results other than reacting inappropriately to situations such as this.

We therefore, call on the Energy Commission and for that matter the government, to as a matter of urgency, withdraw this current policy and allow for further consultation, engagement with the relevant stakeholders and a possible review and adjustments before the implementation of the policy.

Thank you.

-Signed-

Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor

MP-Yapei/Kusawgu Constituency

(Ranking Member, Mines, and Energy Committee)
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the innovative National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) in Accra.

The NRAS, to be managed by a private sector property manager under the auspices of the Ministry of Works and Housing and other key stakeholders, is designed to make rental accommodation more accessible, affordable and convenient by taking away the unfair burden faced by lower income households and the youth across the country of multi-year rent advance payments demanded by landlords.

The initial roll out, with a seed funding of Ghs30m, will take place in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Bono East and Northern Regions, where data from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate renters have the greatest challenge with rental accommodation.

In partnership with the private sector, the Scheme will provide low-interest loans to eligible Ghanaians to enable them to pay rent in advance. These loans will be repaid on a monthly basis to match the tenor of the rent and will be insured to ensure sustainability.

The Scheme will target individuals in the formal and informal sectors with identifiable and regular income. The rent advance loans will be paid directly into landlords' bank accounts, who would also have to register with the Scheme, Dr Bawumia explained at the launch, attended by among others, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon Ignatius Baffuor-Awuah, the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, and the General Secretary of the National Tenants Union, Frederick Opoku.

Recounting the various steps which culminated in the Scheme being part of the NPPs 2020 Manifesto, Vice President Bawumia emphasized that the interventions undertaken by the Akufo-Addo Government since it assumed office in 2017, particularly the National Digital Property Address System (GhanaPost GPS), the National ID system and Mobile Money Interoperability had made it possible to roll out a scheme where all parties are confident of conveniently having their needs met.

As a people-focused Government, providing meaningful shelter for our citizens has formed a significant part of this Government's developmental goals, and measures taken to address problems associated with the housing sector, especially the rental housing sector, have remained vital to our development agenda.

When I visited the Rent Control Department in July 2020, I noted the overall importance of the rental housing market in our quest to increase access to housing options. I reiterated plans by Government to make the Rent Control Department more effective and efficient, while also, reviewing the Law governing rent management in the Country to make it more relevant to evolving trends.

More importantly, I also mentioned that on the issue of payment of rent advance, Government is putting in place plans to introduce a new programme to bridge the information and financial gap between tenants and landlords. These measures would enhance tenants' creditworthiness and reduce the need for large rent advance requests by landlords.

I am particularly excited to learn of the eligibility criteria that have been adopted in the selection of beneficiaries for the Scheme. It does not only support the call to synchronize all platforms with the National Identification System but also the data produced from the implementation of the Scheme will facilitate government efforts at expanding our revenue stream through the improved collection of Rent Tax, he stated.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Hon Francis Asenso-Boakye, expressed his gratitude to all partners and stakeholders who, despite initial challenges, had worked together to address the short-to-medium term market failures in the renter segment of the housing market.

Hon Asenso-Boakye called on the media and other stakeholders to assist the government in informing and educating the general public on this all-important Scheme, noting that public programmes of this nature may come with its own operational challenges during implementation, but we are confident experiences and lessons would be learned to make the Scheme better across the country.

Qualification

Applicants to the Scheme must be Ghanaian, possess a valid Ghana Card, be at least 18 years old, have verifiable employment and earned income evidenced in a bank or mobile money statement, and the rent payable must not exceed 30% of the household income. Parents can also guarantee for their children.

The results or status of applications will be released within 5-10 days after the applications are released, according to the managers of the Scheme, Rent Masters. Additional information can be found at www.nras.gov.gh
An Alliance of CSOs working on extractives, anti-corruption and good governance has called on the government to come clean on its Gold for Oil initiative.

The coalition made up of about 23 member organizations raised some issues about the possibility of the programme not being able to meet its set goals.

Addressing the media at a press conference held at the Mensvic Grand Hotel in Accra, on Tuesday January 31, the groups chairperson, Dr. Steve Manteaw noted that the policy is corruption-risked due to the lack of transparency on the part of the government.

Dr. Manteaw averred that governments lack of accountability to the public has flawed the whole process, indicating that Ghanaians and, for that matter, the various stakeholders in the industry deserve to be briefed properly.

"While we recognize the importance of reducing the demand pressure on the US dollar in order to stabilise the value of the local currency and to make petroleum products cheaper to consumers, we have serious reservations about the ability of the Gold4Oil programme to deliver these policy objectives.

"Indeed, our analysis reveals serious corruption risks associated with the programme, which can only be averted through transparency and accountability in the entire transaction chain of the Gold4Oil programme," said Dr. Manteaw.

He continued, "Some of these risks have been captured in the recently released Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) report, which covers 2020 but also devotes some attention to current developments in the mining, oil, and gas sectors."

The identified risks, according to the CSOs, relate to:

 Absence of a buyer selection criteria, with respect to the off-taker of Ghana's gold

 Absence of supplier selection criteria with respect to the supply of petroleum products

 Non-disclosure of pricing policy for Ghana's gold

 Non-disclosure of pricing policy for petroleum product purchases

 Lack of clarity on how the transaction costs under the programme would be covered

 Non-disclosure of the means by which the government intends to raise money to finance its gold purchases.

Also, the coalition wants to know how government was able to raise 40,000 metric tonnes of refined petroleum under the program, specifically the amount used for the transaction.

"We strongly believe that these are legitimate concerns that must be addressed in a comprehensive policy on the program, and if such a policy exists, we demand its disclosure to inform public discourse on the matter," they stressed.

The coalition reechoed the demand of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative for broader consultations on the programme to identify its potential impact on diverse stakeholders, including licenced gold buyers and domestic jewellery manufacturers.

"We call on Parliament to examine the transaction and ensure that aspects that fall within the realms of international transactions between the state and international third parties are brought to Parliament for approval in accordance with Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana," they petitioned.

The coalition also raised concerns about the Jubilee Oil Holding Limited (JOHL) acquisition by GNPC, the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF), and the Upstream oil and gas investments.

They urged government to be accountable by involving various stakeholders including investor communities in a discourse so as to make the country more attractive to new investors.

Members of the the Alliance of CSOs working on extractives, anti-corruption, and good governance consist of Africa Center for Energy Policy, CSO Platform on Oil and Gas, IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, ISODEC, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Tax Justice Coalition, Natural Resource Governance Institute, ACT Africa, iWatch Africa, KASA Initiative Ghana, and Centre for Social Impact Studies

Others include the Centre for Public Interest Law, Institute for Democratic Governance, Oil Watch Ghana, OXFAM, Third World Network, AROCHA Ghana, SEND Ghana, Centre for Democratic Development, Centre for Extractives and Development Africa, Friends of the Nation, WACAM, and also PWYP-Ghana.
31.01.2023 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is unhappy that after several years since the Ayawaso West Wuogon election violence, the persons responsible have not been prosecuted.

In a press release signed by party General Secretary Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, it said it is shameful that government has failed in prosecuting the culprits of the violence.

The NDC is appalled by the blatant refusal of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to implement the recommendations of the Emile Short Commission and its own white paper on this matter. It is shameful to say the least, that till date, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has not deemed it necessary to prosecute the perpetrators of the Ayawaso by-election violence, part of the NDC release said.

It added, Even more bizarre and sad, is the blatant refusal of the Attorney-General, Mr. Godfred Dame to discuss the modalities for the payment of compensation to the victims, as recommended by the Emile Short Commission.

Meanwhile, the NDC has now given the government a 30-day ultimatum to pay fair and adequate compensation to all injured victims of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence.

The party warns that if the government fails, it will collaborate with the affected persons and take all necessary steps to seek appropriate compensation for them.

The NDC stands with all victims of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence. We wish to assure them of our unflinching commitment to punish the perpetrators and seek true justice for them under the next NDC in the year 2025, the NDC release concludes.

Below is a copy of the release:

NDC SOLIDARIZES WITH VICTIMS OF AYAWASO WEST WUOGON VIOLENCE.

31st January, 2023.

Today is exactly four (4) years since state-sponsored bandits clothe in National Security apparels and working under the instructions of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government brutalized, shot and maimed innocent citizens during the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election.

The leadership and the entire membership of the National Democratic Congress can never forget the shame and disgrace that this dastardly event occasioned our dear country.

On this sad day of memories, we remember all those who were attacked and injured on that fateful day. We particularly solidarize with those who still bear the scars of the attacks they suffered in the hands of those wicked state-sponsored goons.

The NDC is appalled by the blatant refusal of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to implement the recommendations of the Emile Short Commission and its own white paper on this matter. It is shameful to say the least, that till date, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has not deemed it necessary to prosecute the perpetrators of the Ayawaso by-election violence.

Even more bizarre and sad, is the blatant refusal of the Attorney-General, Mr. Godfred Dame to discuss the modalities for the payment of compensation to the victims, as recommended by the Emile Short Commission.

In the circumstances, we are giving the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government a 30-day ultimatum to pay fair and adequate compensation to all injured victims of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence, failing which, the NDC will collaborate with the affected persons and take all necessary steps to seek appropriate compensation for them.

The NDC stands with all victims of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence. We wish to assure them of our unflinching commitment to punish the perpetrators and seek true justice for them under the next NDC in the year 2025.

Signed.

Comrade Fifi Fiavi Kwetey

General Secretary
A renowned Energy Policy Analyst, Mr Ben Nsiah says the hikes in the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG will have consequences on Ghana's environment.

He has therefore urged government to remove taxes on the product to make it affordable for all.

"Most households have resulted to patronizing firewood and coal due to the high cost of LPG.

"This has forced many to fell down millions of trees depleting the countrys forest cover and I can assure you that, this development has both environmental and multidimensional consequences on the country," he stated.

The Energy Expert in an interview on the Kumasi-based OTEC 102.9 FM's morning show 'Nyansapo', on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 called on the government to remove the Gh1.21p per kilogram tax to encourage more households to use LPG as the main source of energy at home.

He called for sophisticated policies on renewable energy to help protect the lives of people and save the environment at the same time.

"The country needs a comprehensive policy in renewable energy and clean cooking fuel that will clearly spell out how government will deliberately help households to access good sources of cooking fuel while protecting the environment at the same time," he stated.
The Spokesman, Rivers APC 2023 Campaign Council, Mr. Sogbeye C. Eli has condemned in strong terms the spate of attacks on the campaign trail of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Rivers State, Arc. Tonye Cole, Mni, which took a more dangerous turn today at Opobo, Headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.

The attack according to Mr. Eli, was masterminded by the Council Chairman, Mr. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, had thugs block both ends of the only access road after the convoy of Tonye Cole had arrived at the King Jaja Square. Sporadic gunfire accompanied by hauling of bottles and other dangerous projectiles at party members massed on the Square stopped the APC governorship candidate from proceeding to the venue designated for the Rally near St. Paul's Church.

He continued, Standing in front of the King's Palace with the APC State Chairman, Chief Emeka Beke, and the 2015 governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Cole had to call off the Rally in a brief address after hundreds of APC members received various degrees of injuries and vehicles were damaged by thugs during the attack. Cole had earlier been received in audience by the Nkoro Council of Chiefs at the community's Town Hall en route Opobo Town.

Earlier today, we had reported the attack on the Rally grounds where canopies and electronic equipment were vandalized in addition to the abduction of the LGA Campaign Coordinator, Boma Brown, by Police men suspected to be attached to Government House, Port Harcourt before he was rescued following an interception by the Police at Bori, Headquarters of Khana LGA.

Opobo is the hometown of Siminalayi Fubara, Nyesom Wike's protege and governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party for the 2023 general elections. It is pertinent to note that a team of Police officers led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations were on ground at Opobo and witnessed the mayhem.
January 31, 2023

NATO Continues Its Disarmament

NATO is continuing its disarmament mission.

France to send an extra 12 powerful Caesar howitzers to Ukraine

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu's announcement that France will send 12 additional Caesar howitzers to Kyiv is "clearly important for the Ukrainians, particularly the Caesar artillery system", said FRANCE 24 Chief Foreign Editor Robert Parsons.

...

"They've been very successful in Ukraine, so the Ukrainians will be delighted, I am sure, to get another 12. I think that brings that total to over 40 now, closing on 50 Caesars in Ukraine.

France has only 77 Caesar howitzer left. Others though are worse off.

Estonia Sending All Its 155-mm Howitzers to Ukraine

Estonia will donate all its 155-millimeter howitzers to Ukraine as part of its most extensive military assistance yet. The package, previously reported to be worth 113 million euros ($122 million), is expected to boost Kyivs defense capabilities amid continuing Russian aggression. Estonia currently operates 24 NATO standard FH-70 towed howitzers. Apart from the howitzers, Tallinn will send thousands of 155-mm artillery shells and hundreds of Karl-Gustaf anti-tank grenade launchers.

We know how all that artillery will end.

Several weeks ago Russia launched a special counter-artillery campaign. There are dedicated counter artillery radars, electronic warfare and airborne surveillance systems and long range artillery batteries with precision ammunition engaged in this.

So today I did some staff work and summed up the claimed artillery destruction as listed in the daily 'clobber list' provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Here are the results:

In the last seven days Russia claimed to have destroyed a total of 40 truck pulled howitzers, 32 self propelled howitzers, 8 Multiple Rocked Launcher Systems (MRLS), 15 counter artillery radars and 23 local artillery ammunition depots.

On top of that it engaged Ukrainian artillery positions with normal counter fire on 651 occasions. This will have caused additional damage and losses.

Additionally 55 MLRS rockets and HARM anti-radar missiles were intercepted by Russian air defenses.

If you think that the field reports the ministry receives are exaggerating the numbers, which is likely, simply divide them by half.

In just one week it was still more than Estonia and France promise to deliver.

Yesterday I explained why a NATO or U.S. intervention with ground troops is unlikely. We can add the acute lack of NATO artillery and artillery ammunition to the reasons.

NATO has disarmed its ground forces and is no longer combat capable.

Posted by b on January 31, 2023 at 18:02 UTC | Permalink

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(Alliance News) - London's High Court will on Tuesday examine the legality of a UK government decision to renew selling arms to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the war in Yemen.

A UK-based NGO, Campaign Against Arms Trade, has brought the legal action, accusing the government of contributing to breaches of international law and the world's largest humanitarian disaster, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The judicial review is expected to last until the end of the week.

The NGO brought the legal challenge after Britain announced in summer 2020 that it was resuming arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of the hearing, CAAT's media coordinator Emily Apple accused London of being a "government that cares more about profit than war crimes and the deaths of civilians".

The NGO initially won its case against the government in 2019, when the Court of Appeal ruled that the UK's licensing of arms sales was unlawful.

It said the government had failed to assess properly whether the arms sales violated its commitments to human rights and ordered it to "reconsider the matter".

While serving as international trade minister, Liz Truss then conducted a review and announced in 2020 that export licences would restart.

She insisted Riyadh "has a genuine intent and the capacity to comply with IHL (international humanitarian law)", despite "isolated incidents".

CAAT accused Truss of "paying lip service" to the need to review sales.

Its spokeswoman condemned Truss's reference to "isolated incidents" as "total nonsense and deeply offensive to all the Yemeni people who've had their lives destroyed by UK weapons".

CAAT said the UK government has licensed sales to Riyadh of weaponry including combat aircraft, guided bombs and missiles, with a published value since 2015 of GBP7.9 billion (USD9.8 billion).

It said the UK is one of the leading suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia, along with the US.

Martin Butcher, peace and conflict advisor at the charity Oxfam, said Saudi airstrikes "are responsible for a larger proportion of the attacks" on civilians in Yemen.

"It's essential that the legality of UK arms sales is examined and arms sales must be immediately stopped," he said.

In 2021 charities criticised the British government for slashing in half its humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen.

The UK government says Britain is the world's second-largest defence exporter behind the US. The sector had a turnover of GBP25.3 billion in 2020.

source: AFP

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
A fisherman wades in shallow water at the shoreline near the village of Tangintebu on South Tarawa in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati, May 25, 2013.
Staff Reporter

Richelle obtained a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the Far Eastern University in Manila, the Philippines. She was a junior reporter for Marianas Variety from 2009 to 2010, and from 2014 to 2015. In the Maldives, she worked as a news reporter and marketing executive. In her free time, shes a painter, pianist, and mom baker.
MERIDEN  Gary Burt was a fixture at the Meriden Boys & Girls Club, and a big-hearted father figure and mentor to countless youth who walked through the clubs doors during a tenure that lasted more than 40 years.

Burt, who numerous friends and colleagues fondly referred to as Tex, would lead the Boys & Girls Club as its executive director for 30 of those years. During that time, he oversaw the physical expansion of the clubs Lincoln Street facility and Camp Cuno. The clubs programs also expanded during Burts tenure. In 2000, that programming became co-educational, expanded to include both boys and girls, after more than a century as the Boys Club.

Burt died on Saturday, Jan. 28, after having battled Parkinsons disease, according to his family. He was 79.

Some of the youth Burt mentored later became leaders of the club, ensuring his legacy will live on. Those who knew Burt estimated he positively influenced thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Meriden youth during his decades with the club.

For example, one of those residents was Larue Graham, who is now the clubs executive director. Graham first met Burt in 1977. Graham was 10 years old at the time. His family that year moved to Meriden from New Jersey.

Graham described Burt as welcoming to him and other youth who entered the clubs doors. Many of them came from poor and underserved neighborhoods.

Tex was always the first person you saw when you entered the club, Graham said. Tex was all about being impactful to the youth of Meriden.

Graham, now also a Meriden city councilor, was among several current and former Boys & Girls Club leaders, family members, friends and colleagues to reflect on Burts legacy as the clubs longtime leader and advocate for city youth.

Its a loss for the city of Meriden, Graham said of Burts passing.

Graham is trying to follow in the former leaders footsteps  to hopefully do some justice to the legacy he left behind.

Burts approach was subtle.

Sometimes, it was just a smile. Sometimes, it was just his hand on your shoulder, telling you, Good job. But he just always made you feel welcomed, Graham said.

Don Maleto was Burts immediate successor as the clubs executive director in the mid-2000s. But his relationship with Burt extended decades before that. Burt was Maletos Little League coach in the early 1980s.

Hes a very kind person. He was understanding and dedicated to the kids, Maleto said. And he just made sure that everybody got the opportunity to play. He was there for us. He was a kind person.

Tex obviously went into the career he did for those reasons  to help young people, Maleto said.

According to Burts obituary, he attended Maloney High School and Central Connecticut State University, where he studied education and political science.

Burt would become a teacher in Haddam, but quickly realized the Boys Club was where he could most directly and positively impact youth.

Maleto appreciated the opportunity Burt gave him  guiding me while I was there. That was the type of manager he was. He was a very loyal person  very loyal to the club, the kids, and staff.

He was the first one in the door. He would show up between 7 and 8 oclock in the morning. And he wasn leaving until 7 or 8 at night. The dedication he had to that organization and to the kids of that club is unduplicated, Maleto said.

Maleto described his mentor as having been a calm and patient presence.

He was kind. You wouldnt see him get bent out of shape, Maleto said. And if Burt encountered a young person or even a staff member who was struggling, he made sure to spend time with them.

Tex always made time. If you were stressed out about something, he had a way of calming it down, Maleto said. He just had a very good demeanor.

Briana Burt, one of Gary Burts grandchildren, saw her grandfathers impact on local youth firsthand. She regularly visited the club with her grandfather, who she described as having been a father figure in her life.

We would spend hours in the club, Briana Burt said.

Where they wanted to be

Over the years, Briana Burt would hear stories from other individuals about her grandfathers impact on youth  how he was able to talk with and have a special relationship with everyone that he was working with, she said. Any kid that came to the club, he knew their name.

And she would learn how her grandfather had become a surrogate father figure in their lives.

He loved and cared for everyone, Briana Burt said.

Heather Durant, Gary Burts daughter, described her father as the most selfless, humble and caring person I ever met in my life.

Durant said her father first became involved with the Boys Club while in college.

He always said to me that he wanted to be at a place where kids didnt have to. He wanted to be where they wanted to be, not where they had to be. He wanted to affect lives, Durant said.

I had people coming to me all the time, telling me, He was the father I never had. He was the second father.

Durant said that drive came from her fathers own youth. His own father wasnt an active presence in his life. His work ethic came from his mother.

I just think he loved helping kids. And I think he had a great sense of who needed help the most. He could tell somehow, Durant said.

And Burt would strive to provide those young people with extra attention and guidance.

Ed Zajac, a longtime friend and retired baseball coach at Maloney High School, described Gary Burt as loyal and trustworthy, and as a leader who led through his patient and calm demeanor.

He was constantly encouraging, Zajac said. He was not going to push you to do things beyond which you are capable His leadership was such that kids knew he wanted them to be better. He wanted to make every individual better.

Mission lives on

Eliot White, president of the Record-Journal, estimated Gary Burt positively impacted thousands, if not tens of thousands of city youth over the last 50 years.

He never turned any kids away, if they had financial need, White said.

Gary Burt followed Joseph Coffey in leading the then-Boys Club. Joe hired him as his assistant. He mentored Gary and I have to say, Joe could not have found a better successor, White said.

Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said he got to know Tex through his grandchildren, and his own participation in athletic programs with another organization, the YMCA. Scarpati said Burts legacy and leadership with the club will continue to live on.

You cant move forward without looking back. When you look back at the rich history of the Boys & Girls Club, [Burts] name and fingerprints all over it, and will be for decades and decades ahead. His mission will certainly live on.

According to Burts obituary, calling hours will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, at John J. Ferry & Sons Funeral Home, 88 East Main St. in Meriden.

A mass of Christian Burial will be held the following day, Feb. 3, at St. Joseph Church, 22 Goodwill Ave. The service will begin at 10 a.m.

Burts family has asked that in lieu of flowers contributions be made in his memory to The Boys and Girls Club of Meriden, 15 Lincoln St, Meriden, CT 06451 or at bgcmeriden.org/donate/.

mgagne@record-journal.com203-317-2231Twitter:@MikeGagneRJ
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in the UK announces that the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports offers fourteen scholarships to British applicants at the courses of Summer School of Slavonic Studies 2023 (SSSS).

The study course is intended for students, professionals (teachers, translators etc.) and academics in the field of Bohemian and Slavic studies over 18 years. However, due to its wide scope, the course is open to all interested parties in the Czech language, literature, history and culture.

The candidates from the UK are offered fourteen scholarships in 2023 -1 in Brno,1 in Olomouc, 3 in Podebrady, 2 in Plzen, and 7 in Ceske Budejovice. Scholarship covers board and lodging, course fees and free access to cultural events, which are part of the course program. Nevertheless, you can sign up for all summer courses as a self-payer too.

If you are interested, fill in the application form and send the printed original to the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the UK no later than March 15, 2023.

This year the Summer School of Slavonic Studies is organized by the following universities:

Podebrady  Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, Charles University, 3  28 July 2023

Pilsen  Institute of Applied Language Studies, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, 8  28 July 2023

Brno  Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, 22 July  19 August 2023

Olomouc  Faculty of Arts, Palacky University in Olomouc, 15 July  13 August 2023

Ceske Budejovice  Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, 13 August  4 September 2023

For more information, please visit Summer Schools of Slavonic Studies 2023.
Assessments of the state of the Russian economy have tended to one of two polar positions: Russia is paying terrible costs, losing talent and access to former Western partners and markets, or Russia has shown remarkable resilience, took a surprisingly small GDP hit for 2022, and consumers are carrying on more or less as usual, save for a few expected trouble areas like car parts where conditions are improving.

On my travels, I had a brief chat with a Russian in his 30s, who works for a major supplier to hospitals of consumables like gloves and catheters.1 Hes in the buying/sourcing area and is fluent in an impressive number of languages. Half of his family is in Ukraine, half is in Russia, and he blames the war on Putin.

He contends that the war mobilization is having an impact on the structure of the economy. He claims funding for health care has been cut, as shown by hospitals greatly extending payables to his company and other vendors. He also said spending on education had been cut, but we didnt speak for long enough for me to get him to provide supporting factoids.

I have no reason to doubt his statement that his company is suffering from a slowdown in payments from hospitals. Its an admission against interest. And back in my consulting days when I was doing competitor research, when insiders made remarks like that, they were reporting what was common knowledge in their field but hadnt yet leaked out to the wider world.

This Russian businessman added that this diversion of resources to military would set Russia back in the longer term. He felt the country was still playing catchup (I didnt have the opportunity to get him to unpack that; I assume he was referring to the long recovery from the disastrous 1990s).

It makes sense that the shift to a war footing would wind up diverting resources away from some sectors, particularly since Putin had drunken a bit of neoliberal Kool Aid is fiscally orthodox. So comparing this account to that of Gilbert Doctorow, iEarlGrey and the Alexes of The Duran, who have contacts in Russia, one can also infer that the Russian government has made some effort to preserve normalcy in the consumer sector and has engineered cuts in some wholesale sectors.

Any informed reader input very much appreciated.

______

1 This was a completely happenstance encounter. I had gone to a mall with a huge grocery store as port of my seeing how the locals live process. A friend here had airily said I could get a cab back to my hotel.

I stumble out of the mall and of course, even though the street is busy, there are hardly any cabs. I cross the street in the hope pickings might be better on the other side but they arent.

Some young-ish men are standing by parked motorbikes. I accost one and ask where can I get a cab. He said they are generally already carrying rides and I should use the app Bolt to call one. I said I wasnt set up to do that.

I step away and study the traffic to see if I might have some unusual luck. After a couple of more minutes, I pull out my phone and start dialing the hotel to see if they can get a cab for me.

The man I had quizzed speaks up: Id offer you a ride on my scooter but you dont seem the type.

I say Youre right, I broke my cheekbone in a bike fall.

He then says, Ill call a cab for you. It was ten minutes for it to arrive and I chatted him up in the meantime.
By Neall Pogue, Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research, which was recently published as a monograph by Cornell University Press in April of 2022, is titled The Nature of the Religious Right: The Struggle Between Conservative Evangelicals and the Environmental Movement. Originally published at The Conversation.

White conservative evangelicals, who make up most of the religious right movement, largely oppose government regulation to protect the environmental initiatives, including efforts to curb human-caused climate change. Multiple social scientific studies, for example, consistently reveal that this group maintains a significant level of climate skepticism.

Contrary to popular perception, however, this hasnt always been the case.

My research reveals how white conservative evangelicals supported an environmentally friendly position from the late 1960s to the early 1990s.

Christian environmental stewardship

In 1967, the idea of environmental protection became an issue for the wider Christian community after historian Lynn White Jr. published The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis. The article argued that growing environmental degradation was the result of Christian philosophies that encourage society to regard nature as a simple resource for the sole benefit of humanity.

One of the many Christian thinkers responding to White included popular conservative evangelical author Francis Schaeffer.

To answer Whites accusation, Schaeffer took to the lecture circuit to convince audiences of the importance of Christian environmental stewardship. According to this perspective, all of creation needed to be treated with respect and not abused for economic benefit. He argued that humans must value the nonhuman natural world because it was created by and owned by God. Consequently, humans were only caretakers, custodians or stewards of the natural environment.

Perspectives of evangelical leaders

In 1970, the same year as the first Earth Day observance, which signified the birth of the modern environmental movement, Schaeffers perspectives were published in his book Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology. Subsequently, Schaeffers environmental views became the standard environmental position among many conservative evangelicals for roughly the next 20 years.

Schaeffers ideas were reflected and expanded in major publications such as Christianity Today, the National Association of Evangelicals United Evangelical Action and the Moody Bible Institutes Moody Monthly.

As I continued researching this topic, archival documents revealed that in 1971, the Southern Baptist Convention conducted a poll reflecting the environmental views of its 12 million members. It found that 81.7% of pastors and 76.3% of Sunday school teachers surveyed believed that churches should lead efforts to solve air and water pollution problems.

In another example reflecting Schaeffers views, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Christian school textbook publishers included environment-friendly philosophies in material sold to parents, pastors and teachers who were helping expand the growing home-school and Christian school movement. The two most popular publishers, ABeka Book and Bob Jones University Press, both supported Christian environmental stewardship views. ABeka Book, for instance, lauded the efforts of preservationist and Sierra Club founder John Muir in a reader intended for sixth graders.

Respect for creation

The religious right retained its eco-friendly philosophies after the formation of its first official organization, the Moral Majority, in 1979. ABeka Book reprinted Muirs story in 1986 and, as late as 1989, the publisher released an economics textbook that praised capitalism while warning of the environmental dangers of the free market.

After bowing out of the presidential race in 1988, well-known televangelist Pat Robertson addressed the GOP National Convention in New Orleans. During his speech, he not only stated his support for classic religious right positions, such as traditional family values, but also restated the communitys eco-friendly views, saying that he hoped for a future where the water is pure to drink, the air clean to breathe, and the citizens respect and care for the soil, the forests, and Gods other creatures who share with us the earth, the sky and the water.

On a politically charged national stage, Robertson reprised Schaeffers views of Christian environmental stewardship, emphasizing how all creation should be respected.

While Christian environmental stewardship became an accepted environmental perspective within the religious right, it existed only as an idea or philosophy  not as part of organized activism. But the reality of this support, however, challenges past understandings that this community largely ignored or opposed environmental protection efforts.

The anti-environmental campaign

In the early 1990s, segments of the religious right tried turning eco-friendly philosophies into action. The Southern Baptist Convention held an environmental seminar in 1991 at which Schaeffers Christian environmental stewardship views were repeated. This effort, however, faced an insurmountable obstacle.

In an attempt to crush increasing international cooperation to address human-caused climate change, U.S. political conservatives launched an anti-environmental campaign. Conservative think tanks and special advocacy groups denied the reality of human-caused global warming, and some even supported conspiracy theories alleging that environmentalists wanted to create a one-world government.

Besides finding an audience in secular conservative Americans, these outreach attempts found a home among the traditionally politically conservative religious right supporters.

Anti-environmental messages increasingly relied on ridicule, which some leading pastors endorsed. Jerry Falwell, one of the founders of the religious right movement, for instance, began calling environmentalists tree huggers as early as 1992. At Pat Robertsons Regent Universitys newspaper, political cartoons mocked sympathy for the environment as left-wing extremism.

By 1993, the idea of Christian environmental stewardship had all but disappeared from the rhetoric of the religious right. In its place emerged firm opposition to environmental protection efforts, including the denial of anthropogenic climate change, which the majority of this community supports today.

Although religious right supporters largely reject Schaeffers Christian environmental stewardship today, a small but noticeable number of voices within the community are keeping it alive. Perhaps the largest eco-friendly organization is the Evangelical Environmental Network, which originated in 1993. Other notable developments include the signing of the Evangelical Climate Initiative in 2006 by well-known religious leaders.

These are remarkable developments that often employ theological arguments to support environmental activism. But they are largely overshadowed by the continuing nontheological anti-environmental arguments founded in misinformation.
Washington, Kiev and the EU have been furiously lobbying Latin American governments to provide weaponry to Ukraine, but LatAm governments still want no part in this war.

Four Latin American countries  Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico  have categorically rejected US and EU requests to send weapons to Ukraine. As readers may recall, the Commander of US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), General Laura Richardson, recently said that Washington is encouraging six countries in the region that have Russian military equipment, including the four mentioned above, to either donate it or switch it out for United States equipment.

The EU and Ukraine have also been furiously lobbying Latin American countries to provide weaponry, Russian made or otherwise. As I noted this time last week, such frantic calls for assistance could be construed as further evidence of the serious resource constraints afflicting the NATO alliance. But there will be no relief from Latin Americas largest economies, which are determined to maintain neutrality in the conflict.

Washingtons goal in pressuring countries to give away or switch out its Russian weaponry appears to be three fold: first, to reduce Russian arms sales and growing influence in its direct neighborhood; second, to supplant those sales and influence; and third, as a stopgap measure for rearming Ukraine. Until Ukraines armed forces have enough Western-produced weapons to replenish their stocks and are well versed in how to use them, which takes a long time, its soldiers desperately need ammunition for the Russian-manufactured arms they are more familiar with.

Which is why Washington, Kiev and certain European governments are urging LatAm countries to give up their Russian arms. But its not working.

Not Worth Provoking Russia

LatAm countries with Russian-made weapons include Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, all three of which have extremely close military ties with Russia; have had to endure years (or in the case of Cuba, decades) of debilitating US sanctions; and largely blame NATO expansion and US meddling for the war in Ukraine. Its safe to assume they will not be giving up any of their Russian-made weapons any time soon.

The six countries Washington has been trying to extract weapons from are reportedly Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru.

Its not just Russian weapons that NATO members are asking for. Earlier this month, Germany offered to pay Brazils government 25 million real (around $5 million) for a store of ammunition for its Leopard 1 tanks. The request suggests that Berlin is also willing to offer the older model of its Leopard tank to Ukraine. In fact, the manufacturer has already started reconditioning the vehicles but there is a shortage of ammunition. Besides Germany, only Brazil (with 261 units), Chile (30), Greece (500) and Turkey (397) continue to operate the tanks.

But Brazil is not willing to play along. According to a report this weekend in Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (aka Lula) rejected the request during a meeting with the heads of the Armed Forces and the Defense Minister Jose Mucio on January 20. The recently reelected president said it wasnt worth provoking Russia.

He later said:

Brazil has no interest in passing on ammunition to be used in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Brazil is a country of peace. At this moment, we need to find those who want peace, a word that until now has been used very little.

Russia is not only an irreplaceable source of fertilisers for Brazils huge agricultural industry; it is also a fellow BRICS member. And Lula has vowed to bolster cooperation within the framework of the BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which could be on the verge of growing a lot larger with the admission of new members. At the same time, South Africa is taking heat for maintaining its neutral stance on the war while preparing to stage military exercises with Russia and China in February.

Readers may recall that Lula already raised hackles in Washington, Brussels, London and Kiev in May last year by apportioning a large share of the blame for the Ukraine conflict on NATO. In an interview with Time magazine covered here, the three-time president said:

Putin shouldnt have invaded Ukraine. But its not just Putin who is guilty. The U.S. and the E.U. are also guilty. What was the reason for the Ukraine invasion? NATO? Then the U.S. and Europe should have said: Ukraine wont join NATO. That would have solved the problem. The other issue was Ukraine joining the E.U. The Europeans could have said: No, now is not the moment for Ukraine to join the E.U., well wait. They didnt have to encourage the confrontation.

Lula also had this to say about the man who would end up being Times Man of the Year 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy:

This guy is as responsible as Putin for the war. Because in the war, theres not just one person guilty If he didnt want war, he would have negotiated a little more. Thats it You are encouraging this guy [Zelenskyy], and then he thinks he is the cherry on your cake. We should be having a serious conversation: OK, you were a nice comedian. But let us not make war for you to show up on TV. And we should say to Putin: You have a lot of weapons, but you dont need to use them on Ukraine. Lets talk!

As I noted at the time, Lula, as a former, albeit potentially future, head of state had more latitude than serving Latin American presidents to speak more frankly about both Zelenskyy and the collective Wests role in the war in Ukraine. But his tune hasnt changed much since reoccupying the presidential palace. Last Thursday (Jan 26), Lula laid out his governments core positions on the NATO-Russia proxy in a phone conversation with Macron:

Brazil acknowledges that Vladimir Putins Russia violated Ukrainian territory and this is illegal.

But NATOs behavior in recent years has not contributed to guaranteeing a relationship of trust with the Kremlin.

Brazil defends the establishment of negotiations with Russia so that a ceasefire can be reached.

Brazil will help to bring about peace, but will not contribute in any way to military operations.

Brazils war is against an entirely different foe: poverty.

Rejections All Round

Lula is not the only head of government in Latin America that has refused to furnish Ukraine with Russian-made arms. On Saturday, the President of neighboring Argentina declared during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that neither Argentina nor anyone in Latin America is thinking of sending weapons to Ukraine.

As CNN reported a couple of days ago, the presidents of Colombia and Mexico have also made their position on Russias war in Ukraine clear: they do not agree with it, peace must be sought and they will not participate in the war in any way.

In his speech at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) last Tuesday, the President of Colombia Gustavo Petro acknowledged that Colombia does indeed have Russian-made weapons purchased by previous governments. He also said that US representatives had urged him to donate those weapons to the Ukrainian cause, to which his answer was a categorical no.

I told them that our constitution includes a commitment, in the international arena, to peace. And [those weapons] will stay as scrap metal in Colombia; we will not hand them over so that they can be taken to Ukraine to prolong a war, Petro said, who was also at pains to emphasize Colombias neutrality in this conflict: We are not with anyone. We are with peace.

Needless to say, this is a high-risk position to take for the elected leader of a country that has at least seven US military bases and reportedly dozens of so-called quasi-bases on its soil. For decades Colombia has served as a strategic beachhead for the US to combat non-aligned countries in South America. It is also one of NATOs global partners, and the alliances first Latin American partner. But now Petro is refusing to play any part in its proxy war with its historic foe, Russia.

Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO for short) not only refused to send weapons to Ukraine; he lambasted Germanys government for its decision last week to send tanks to the war zone. AMLO cited the decision as an example of the power corporate media wields over governments.

Germany did not want to get too involved in the war in Russia and Ukraine. And against the population of Germany, or the majority of Germans, the government decides to send more weapons to Ukraine, due to pressure from the media.

Russias diplomatic services responded to the statements of both heads of state with tweets thanking them for refusing to send arms to Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Bogota issued a statement praising Petros very realistic decision to not donate Russian weapons in the country to Ukraine. In Mexico, the Russian Embassy stated:

We thank Lopez Obrador for his open and clear position on supplying German tanks to Ukrainian territory. We hope that nobody doubts that there is currently a direct clash between the free West and Russia. You know what is going to happen with those tanks.

Agradecemos a @lopezobrador_ por su posicion abierta y clara sobre el suministro de tanques alemanes al territorio de Ucrania

Esperamos que nadie tenga dudas de que actualmente hay un choque directo entre el Occidente libre y Rusia

Usted sabe lo que va a pasar con estos tanques pic.twitter.com/PTfHhALdMd  Embajada de Rusia en Mexico (@EmbRusiaMexico) January 25, 2023

Since the war in Ukraine began, AMLOs government, like most governments in Latin America, has tried to maintain a neutral position on the conflict. This is in keeping with Mexicos long, albeit interrupted, history of neutrality dating all the way back to the early 1930s. Mexicos constitution even includes a list of foreign policy principles such as a commitment to non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other countries, peaceful resolution of conflicts, and promotion of collective security through active participation in international organizations.

But AMLO will still probably face blow back from the US for openly criticizing a key European client state on such a sensitive issue. He is already facing accusations from local media and opposition parties of being a Putin stooge. The same goes for Petro.

As readers may recall, the former US Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobsen recently accused AMLO of almost intentionally trying to goad the United States. And one of the biggest bones of contention, she said, is the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in particular Mexicos refusal to pronounce itself in favor of [Ukrainian] sovereignty, as many countries in the world have done, not only the United States. That bone just grew a little larger.
The evolution of my position with the Post dates to 2000, when I began work with The City Paper. In 2008, SouthComm Inc. bought the Post and TCP, with the latter ceasing operations in 2013. In 2018, FW Publishing acquired the Post, for which I have served as managing editor since 2011.

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(Natural News) Non-profit Bureau of Investigative Journalism recently issued a report showing that at least a dozen brands of chemotherapy drug asparaginase have been found to be substandard but are still on the market globally.

Asparaginase is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children.

One of the alleged substandard brands of asparaginase is Leuginase. A spokesperson for Beijing SL Pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of Leuginase, said the drug is tested by Chinese regulators and assessed in-house. The spokesperson claimed that quality results have stayed within statutory limits over the past decade.

However, analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism showed that poor-quality brands of asparaginase, including Leuginase, made their way to more than 40 countries across Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Shipping data also found that Nepal, Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates have received the most shipments of these brands. Nearly half the countries of Africa have received substandard drugs.

Experts estimated 70,000 children with ALL are at risk globally, as contaminated and ineffective asparaginase brands are able to pass through global safety nets. Whats happening here is a disaster, said Vaskar Saha, director of the Tata Translational Cancer Research Center in Kolkata, India, pointing out that the vast majority of children with all are in low-income countries. This is an issue of money, resources and equity.

In 2018, a court ordered the Brazilian government to remove this particular brand from hospital shelves. Silvia Brandalise, a Brazilian childs oncologist, had long been suspicious of Leuginase. She had tested the drug in mice and came under fire for speaking up when she found it was dangerously defective.

But the China-based manufacturer of the specific brand disputed this, saying that doctors in China and around the world have been using its products and none of them, other than these individuals in Brazil, has ever reported any quality-related problems. (Related: Warning: Chemo may be linked to cancer relapses in patients with leukemia.)

Gold-quality asparaginase is too expensive for low- to middle-income nations

According to a study back in 2013, 80 percent of children with cancer live because low- and middle-income countries had access to cheaper and good-quality asparaginase. However, major manufacturers have increased their prices or stopped making asparaginase altogether.

Drug makers are increasingly focused on modified products that are less likely to cause allergic reactions, but carry heftier price tags up front. Most of the more expensive brands consistently passed quality tests. The cost of these gold-standard products has ballooned well beyond what lower-income countries can afford.

One example is the Oncaspar. Published data shows that a single vial of Oncaspar cost $1,700 in the U.S. in 2015. The following year, when one company merged with another, that price surged to $18,000. Now distributed by the French company Servier, one vial costs as much as $24,000 in U.S. websites.

Another modified brand, Spectrila, is said to cost $500 per vial in Chile, and roughly the same in the United Kingdom.

Countries with low to medium income are already losing hope as the two most affordable brands have been discontinued since 2012 due to ongoing manufacturing challenges.

None of the leading manufacturers of asparaginase have stepped in to produce an affordable native form. A market analysis from 2021 found that global demand for the drug was too small to motivate companies to improve their quality or to encourage other manufacturers to begin producing it.

Visit Chemo.news more news about defective cancer drugs.

Watch the video below that talks about the cancer scam and the horrors of chemotherapy.

This video is from the Iconoclast channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Children in China develop LEUKEMIA after getting injected with COVID shots.

Ronald McDonald House to evict 4-year-old children with leukemia because they arent vaccinated  father decries, unimaginable cruelty.

Chemo drugs are dangerous to families and healthcare workers as well as patients.

Are patients dying from chemo and not cancer itself?

Sources include:

StatNews.com

Journals.LWW.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) By the end of 2023, nearly 18,000 schools across the United Kingdom will be furnished with more than 20,000 defibrillators to address escalating rates of heart disease in children  all thanks to covid vaccines.

All state-funded schools across England, we are told, have defibrillators on the way. Even though heart attacks and other cardiac issues are exceptionally rare in children  and especially those that require rapid electrical stimulation  UK officials recognize the need for more defibrillators.

Dr. Suneel Dhand explains more about what is going on in a video you can watch at the RAIR Foundation website.

Last July, The Guardian reported that the move came after Department of Education (DoE) officials met with campaigners, including Mark King, whose 12-year-old son Oliver suffered a sudden cardiac arrest incident while competing in a swimming race.

That report does not mention covid jabs (of course), but it does suggest that there is a growing and urgent need to have more defibrillators at childrens schools  obviously because of the injections and what they are doing to people. (Related: This is why Sweden, Denmark, and several other European countries banned the Moderna injections for young people  because they destroy peoples hearts.)

Thats a staggering number of defibrillators  20,000 defibrillators, Dhand states in the above-linked video. And Im sure many other countries may follow suit.

Prior to covid injections, children suffering or dying suddenly from cardiac events was extremely rare

While it is certainly never a bad thing to prepare for medical emergencies in this manner, the fact of the matter is that this is odd timing if covid injections are somehow not the impetus behind the move.

Why is it suddenly urgent to get defibrillators into all UK schools before the end of the year, especially since Kings son Oliver suffered his cardiac incident in 2011.

UK officials have obviously been working on this plan for a while  or so they are making it seem. If Oliver had a heart attack 12 years ago, why is it suddenly a top priority now in 2023 to get tens of thousands of defibrillators into all UK childrens schools?

When I was growing up, it would have been absolutely unthinkable  Im thinking of when I was in primary school, when I was in grammar school  the thought never even entered our collective minds that we would even request defibrillators, Dhand says about the idea of needing defibrillators to treat lots of children for cardiac events that almost always and exclusively affect older people.

I hadnt really heard of young children dying suddenly. Of course, its something that has happened ever since humans have existed, but it was really, really rare  it wouldnt have even entered our minds to think about it.

Dhand is right: prior to Operation Warp Speed, how many children did you hear about who suffered a heart attack out of nowhere or dropped dead while going about normal activities? Now, we hear of at least a few new cases almost daily as if it is perfectly normal.

Dhand says he is working hard right now to unearth any and all data on statistics of sudden cardiac arrest or death in children to see if there has, in fact, been an uptick ever since Donald father of the vaccine Trump unleashed these things as part of a global military operation.

Dont forget who pays for all those defibrillators, wrote a commenter about the situation. The government caused the problem  first with covid, then the vaxx  and now they extort the people to pay for the fix, too. All the while, the money changes hands and the people at the top get their cut.

The latest news about covid vaccines can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

RAIRFoundation.com

TheGuardian.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) In an effort to increase diversity among the force at all costs, Londons Metropolitan Police has been lowering its standards and recruiting officers who are considered functionally illiterate in English.

This is according to a member of His Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary, Matt Parr, a police watchdog. While Parr conceded that it is noble and right for Scotland Yard to take steps to hire more ethnic minorities, he believes that hiring standards should not be lowered in order to do so.

Speaking to the Telegraph, he said that he believes that London shouldnt be policed by a largely white police force, particularly when you consider the fact that white people will likely be a minority in the city within the coming decade.

He explained: That is clearly wrong. It is not just wrong from a legitimacy point of view, and from an appearances point of view, it is also operationally wrong because it means that the Met does not get insight into some of the communities it polices and that has caused problems in the past.

However, he said that the push for diversity carries the risk of recruiting the wrong people. For example, he shared hearing of trainee officers who he said are on paper at least, functionally illiterate in English. This means that in some areas, these new hires are struggling to write up crime reports.

Former Met Commissioner Cressida Dick, who was the forces first openly gay leader, started a drive for greater diversity that was supported by the citys leftist mayor, Sadiq Khan. They pledged in 2014 that the city would recruit 40 percent of its new police officers from Asian, minority and black communities by 2023. However, even with this campaign and the reduction of their literacy standards to accommodate minorities, the percentage of non-white police officers that are currently serving in London still falls below 17 percent.

The Met Police are also reportedly using so-called racism spotters to study aspiring officers and assess whether they hold racial or other types of prejudices. They have also been spending tens of millions of pounds on what they term equality training programs and diversity, inclusion and equality officers.

Dicks successor, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, has said that he will focus less on meeting diversity targets and more on hiring the best officers possible.

Police resources are already stretched in London

Police resources are currently so stretched in the city that some major department stores have effectively given up on calling the police to help with shoplifters, hiring their own private detectives to apprehend them instead.

Fortnum and Mason said it lost faith in the police as shoplifting levels rise in the wake of the cost of living crisis. Last year, shoplifting prosecutions dropped to an all-time low of 16.8 percent, just half the rate of 30.8 percent seen five years prior. Hundreds of thousands of shoplifting incidents are reportedly going unpunished as overstretched police departments throughout the UK have stopped responding to some types of crimes.

Car theft, meanwhile, has been effectively decriminalized, with a 0.5 percent success rate when it comes to solving this type of crime. In 2015, the head of the National Police Chiefs Council announced that officers would not be able to attend some burglaries due to a lack of resources, with two thirds of these crimes not being investigated.

Although it does make sense for a police force to reflect the people it is policing to some extent, lowering the standards and allowing illiterate officers onto the force just to meet a woke agenda is only going to cause further damage to a city that is already suffering from rising crime.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

TheTimes.co.uk

Summit.news
(Natural News) Brianne Dressen, a former preschool teacher who was injured by the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, lamented that many others like her have committed suicide.

There is a vast majority of people that do complete suicide in the COVID vaccine injury world. They do not have a supportive family, she told Jan Jekielek, the host of Epoch TVs American Thought Leaders on the programs Jan. 19 edition.

There are only two that I know of that were from families that were supportive and watching them. The rest were people that their family members had walked away.

Dressen told Jekielek that she was fortunate to have a supportive family, which she said was the only reason why she is still alive. Had she been without a family to back her up, she would have been dead by now and her children would have lost their mother. Dressen also mentioned her husband who believed in her, validated her and stood by her every step of the way.

Aside from the vaccine-induced serious reactions she suffered like tinnitus and electric sensations all over her body, she also experienced insomnia and suicidal intentions. (Related: Documents and videos reveal life-threatening adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines.)

Moreover, she also lamented how doctors are refusing to take their reports of vaccine injuries seriously. Dressen said most medical professionals attributed their health issues caused by the COVID-19 vaccine to mere anxiety.

Dressen admitted it was hard to cope and learn to live with the condition she had. She came to the point of wanting to end it all, and wrote farewell letters to her two children. However, she realized the need for her to think straight, overcome her issues and learn to accept her condition for their sake.

I have a choice every day when I wake up. I have a choice to accept my body sucks and it hurts. It doesnt mean that Im okay with it, but it means that I can accept it and go yes, this is part of my life.'

Vaccine-injured woman ends her life as family abandoned her

The former preschool teacher also shared the story of a woman who suffered COVID-19 vaccine injury. The woman decided to end her life through Canadas medical assistance in dying program after she was abandoned by her family.

I know that people see that as just a number, but thats a real human being. That is someone that deserved better and that is someone that deserved to have some dignity and respect. She didnt have any choice in what happened to her, Dressen said.

She should be just like a cancer patient. A cancer patient gets their diagnosis. They sat down with their family members and their medical teams. And they say, OK, heres a plan. Family, this is how you can support this person.'

Dressen, however, lamented that the opposite is happening here.

You get a reaction and boom, youre done. There is no help for you, and the help that you do get is going to be from random people you find on the internet.

Watch Brianne Dressens interview with Jan Jekielek on Epoch TVs American Thought Leaders below.

This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Doctors share THEIR OWN vaccine injury horror stories, revealing that vaccines are devastating the medical profession.

Truth for Health Foundation launches new global vaccine reporting system to track covid jab injuries.

British vaccine injury victims gather in London for Truth Be Told campaign.

Creator of mRNA tech banned on Twitter for warning public about COVID vaccine adverse effects.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TheEpochTimes.com
(Natural News) The Minnesota House of Representatives on Thursday, Jan. 26, passed a Democrat-sponsored bill banning the use of coal, oil and gas for the states electricity grid. The legislation is going to require the states electricity grid to be 100 percent carbon-free in 17 years.

This coincided with President Joe Biden banning mining in the Iron Range, a Democrat-dominated working-class area in northeastern Minnesota. Republicans argued that the unrealistic timeline could endanger the lives of the citizens of the state if it fails while causing their electricity prices to soar.

GOP lawmakers were unsuccessful in proposing several amendments to the bill, including lifting the states moratorium on new nuclear power plants, allowing for the use of carbon sequestration technologies and delaying the standard to consider its impact on child and slave labor in the green energy supply chain.

Frankly, what this bill will be doing today is making Minnesota reliant on nations around the globe that have no labor standards and no environmental standards. Minnesota in this bill will build a clean grid economy on the backs of child slaves in China and poor environmental regulations in Indonesia and the Congo, Rep. Spencer Igo (R-Wabana Township) said at a press conference.

Igo pointed out that the resources to build a clean energy future are right in Minnesotas backyard, yet Bidens administration has already banned mining on 250,000 acres of the Iron Range.

The third-largest deposits of copper, nickel, and cobalt that exist in the known world are only 250 miles north of this Capitol. Instead of investing in those resources  we have decided to export it around the world where carbon emissions will be 20, 25 or 30 times higher than if we were to do it here in Minnesota, he added.

Rep. Anne Neu Brindley (R-North Branch) also argued that it took 29 years to reach roughly 20 percent carbon-free energy in the state. (Related: Studies: Current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels NOT a threat to humans or the environment.)

We want to make sure that in Minnesota we are never in a situation where we are having rolling blackouts because here in Minnesota that creates unsafe and dangerous environments, Brindley said.

Republicans called the law the blackout bill, emphasizing that using wind and solar alone is unreliable.

GOP senators think the bill will be a disaster

The bill passed on a vote of 70-60 and will now head to the Minnesota Senate, where Democrats hold a 34-33 advantage. However, Minnesotan Republican senators say the mandate will lead to higher electricity bills, grid reliability issues and the potential for power outages.

GOP Sen. Carla Nelson said it would be a great disaster for a number of reasons.

Until we have the innovations to get there, and at a cost Minnesotans can afford, its going to be a problem. So, right now we dont have the innovations, we dont have the structure to get there. So, its maybe a good aspirational goal, but probably not a goal thats doable right now, Nelson said.

She added that the legislation would require utilities to increase the amount of their electricity generated from renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and hydropower, to 55 percent by 2035.

A controversial aspect of the said bill is what happens if a utility cant actually get to 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2040. Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, told lawmakers at a recent House hearing that she is confident utilities can climb above 90 percent clean energy without risking reliability or increasing costs. Moving too slowly toward carbon-free power might even raise power bills more in the long run, she said.

Princeton Sen. Andrew Mathews, who leads the Senates Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate Committee, said he still views it more as an activist bill rather than a good governance bill, highlighting that power rates have gone up too quickly already. Thus, he urged lawmakers to change the bill so that the standards would automatically be swept aside if the state experiences significant blackouts.

Visit GreenTyranny.news for more news related to tyrannical government measures to combat climate change.

Watch the video below that talks about the truth about carbon dioxide.

This video is from the Real Evan J channel on Brighteon.com.

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Carbon dioxide is the elixir of life, lets celebrate it not demonise it.

California Greenies ban gas furnaces, water heaters in pursuit of zero carbon emissions.

Big Brother is coming: Alibaba developing technology that can track each individual carbon footprint..

GREEN GOES STUPID: California to ban sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

AlphaNews.org

Revisor.MN.gov

KIMT.com

SCTimes.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Big Pharma company Moderna is planning to continue developing mRNA technology with the goal of dominating the global market for mRNA-based products like vaccines.

In the most recent meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel admitted that he would like to have mRNA capacity on every continent.

The mRNA technology rollout is so concerning, said Tracy Beanz, news and editorial contributor for The HighWire. Theyd never tested this on humans before March of 2020, and now theyre pushing this lipid nanoparticle into the arms of every citizen on the planet. (Related: GREED PARADE: Moderna plans to sell COVID-19 vaccine for up to $130 per dose  more than 8 times its initial price of $15.25 per dose.)

And theyre not looking to stop with just the [Wuhan coronavirus] COVID vaccines, continued Beanz. Theyre expanding. She warned that Moderna is planning to release mRNA-based vaccines for other common health conditions like MERS, SARS, Marburg virus disease and the Zika fever.

Moderna developing mRNA vaccines for cancer, RSV

Moderna is also developing mRNA-based vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and an aggressive type of skin cancer.

The Big Pharma companys RSV vaccine is already in phase 3 of trial testing, with data released by the company claiming it is 83.7 percent effective at preventing moderate cases of the disease, which is defined as a bout of RSV with two or more symptoms. The company further claimed that the vaccine candidate is 82.4 percent effective at dealing with a severe case of RSV, defined by having three or more symptoms.

Moderna hopes to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve of the companys RSV vaccine by the end of the year.

The companys skin cancer mRNA vaccine, which it is developing with Merck, is allegedly showing promise in its phase 2 trial.

Data released by the company claimed that the mRNA vaccine, when used in combination with an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda sold by Merck, reduced the risk of death or recurrence of melanoma in high-risk patients by 44 percent compared with treatment using only Keytruda.

The phase 2 trial enrolled 157 participants. Due to its so-called early successes, Bancel is preparing to move Moderna toward holding larger phase 3 trials. These trials will involve the company testing the vaccine and immunotherapy drug combination with other kinds of cancer, with Bancel claiming that it should work in many tumor types, not only melanoma.

Further development of mRNA vaccines has also spurred the company to continue growing. Moderna recently announced that it will look to hire roughly 2,000 new employees this year, bringing the companys total headcount to around 6,000 before 2024.

With the backing of governments worldwide and the companys planned hiring spree, Moderna will likely accelerate its development of experimental mRNA vaccines in the coming years and eventually dominate the market.

Learn more about the latest activities of Big Pharma companies like Moderna at BigPharmaNews.com.

Watch this clip from The HighWire as host Del Bigtree and news and editorial contributor Tracy Beanz discuss Modernas future plans for mRNA vaccine technology.

This is from the channel The HighWire with Del Bigtree on Brighteon.com.

More related articles:

Clinical data on COVID bivalent booster jabs is MISSING: Collusion between FDA, CDC and Moderna to blame.

CHURNING OUT DEATH: Moderna CEO wants mRNA vaccine factories on every continent.

Ivanka Trump admits her fathers administration partnered with Moderna to produce mRNA vaccines BEFORE Operation Warp Speed.

Peer-reviewed research author who re-examined Pfizer and Modernas mRNA trials calls for IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION of COVID vaccines.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TheHighWire.com

NewAtlas.com

FT.com

FiercePharma.com
(Natural News) Around 35,000 PayPal user accounts had been hacked using a method called credential stuffing, resulting in exposed names and Social Security numbers. The attack involved automatically injecting login credentials that were found during previous data breaches.

The California-based payment platform sent a notice on the website of Maines Office of the Attorney General. It also sent a letter, dated Jan. 19, about the data breach to its 34,942 impacted users.

On December 20, 2022, we confirmed that unauthorized parties were able to access your PayPal customer account using your login credentials. We have no information suggesting that any of your personal information was misused as a result of this incident, or that there are any unauthorized transactions on your account. There is also no evidence that your login credentials were obtained from any PayPal systems, the letter read.

Based on the companys investigation, the unauthorized activity occurred between December 6 and December 8, 2022, when it eliminated access for unauthorized third parties, which it did not identify. During this time, the third parties were able to view and potentially acquire, some personal information for certain users, such as full names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses and tax identification numbers. (Related: WhatsApp HACKED: Nearly 500 million phone numbers from 84 countries and territories put up for sale.)

If you detect any suspicious activity on an account, change the password and security questions immediately, and promptly notify the company where the account is maintained, PayPal stated and suggested to ass additional security features including enabling the two-step verification in the account settings.

When links are present in an email, individuals should hover [their] mouse over the links to view the actual destination URL and should not click on the link if [they] are unsure of the destination URL or website, the firm also suggested.

On their end, PayPal said it has reset passwords and affected users will also get free identity monitoring services from Equifax, a consumer credit reporting company.

Meanwhile, the finance company said the website and its payment systems were not hacked.

PayPals payment systems were not impacted, and no financial information was accessed. We have contacted affected customers directly to provide guidance on this matter to help them further protect their information. The security and privacy of our customers account information [remain] a top priority for PayPal, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, it said.

Passwords are stolen due to previous hacking incidents

Sam Curry, chief security officer at Cybereason, passwords of a large number of users are stolen because of previous hacks. The hackers were able to brute slam PayPal accounts with these until they found 35,000 matches, Curry said.

Jasson Casey, the chief technology officer at Beyond Identity, said that if a threat actor can access legitimate credentials, even if theyre dumped in a dark-web repository, they are only a few short, and in most cases, automated steps away from a successful intrusion,

PCMags Michael Kan said victims should still always be on guard. He added that the incident is also a reminder to use unique, hard-to-guess passwords on your most important login accounts. You should also activate the accounts two-factor authentication, which can make it harder for hackers to break in even if they successfully obtained your password, Kan added.

Visit CyberWar.news for more stories like this.

Watch the video below that talks about the Spain hacking scandal that involved the mobile phones of the nations prime minister and defense minister.

This video is from the American Media Periscope channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Hackers leak stolen medical records on dark web after Australian health insurer refuses to pay ransom demand.

Optus hacker releases over 10,000 customer details and demands $1 million in cryptocurrency, apologizes later.

PayPal quietly reinserts $2,500 fine into user policy for those accused of pushing misinformation.

PayPal misinformation fine fiasco just a small taste of what is to come with Central Bank Digital Currencies and total financial TYRANNY.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

Apps.Web.Maine.gov

DocDroid.net

TheEpochTimes.com

PCMag.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Until it decided to confront Moscow with an existential military threat in Ukraine, Washington confined the use of American military power to conflicts that Americans could afford to lose, wars with weak opponents in the developing world from Saigon to Baghdad that did not present an existential threat to U.S. forces or American territory. This timea proxy war with Russiais different.

(Article by Douglas Macgregor republished from TheAmericanConservative.com)

Contrary to early Beltway hopes and expectations, Russia neither collapsed internally nor capitulated to the collective Wests demands for regime change in Moscow. Washington underestimated Russias societal cohesion, its latent military potential, and its relative immunity to Western economic sanctions.

As a result, Washingtons proxy war against Russia is failing. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was unusually candid about the situation in Ukraine when he told the allies in Germany at Ramstein Air Base on January 20, We have a window of opportunity here, between now and the spring, admitting, Thats not a long time.

Alexei Arestovich, President Zelenskys recently fired advisor and unofficial Spinmeister, was more direct. He expressed his own doubts that Ukraine can win its war with Russia and he now questions whether Ukraine will even survive the war. Ukrainian lossesat least 150,000 dead including 35,000 missing in action and presumed deadhave fatally weakened Ukrainian forces resulting in a fragile Ukrainian defensive posture that will likely shatter under the crushing weight of attacking Russian forces in the next few weeks.

Ukraines materiel losses are equally severe. These include thousands of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defense platforms, and weapons of all calibers. These totals include the equivalent of seven years of Javelin missile production. In a setting where Russian artillery systems can fire nearly 60,000 rounds of all typesrockets, missiles, drones, and hard-shell ammunitiona day, Ukrainian forces are hard-pressed to answer these Russian salvos with 6,000 rounds daily. New platform and ammunition packages for Ukraine may enrich the Washington community, but they cannot change these conditions.

Predictably, Washingtons frustration with the collective Wests failure to stem the tide of Ukrainian defeat is growing. In fact, the frustration is rapidly giving way to desperation.

Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of Americas permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not. On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable.

NATOs members were never strongly united behind Washingtons crusade to fatally weaken Russia. The governments of Hungary and Croatia are simply acknowledging the wider European publics opposition to war with Russia and lack of support for Washingtons desire to postpone Ukraines foreseeable defeat.

Though sympathetic to the Ukrainian people, Berlin did not support all-out war with Russia on Ukraines behalf. Now, Germans are also uneasy with the catastrophic condition of the German armed forces.

Retired German Air Force General (four-star equivalent) Harald Kujat, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, severely criticized Berlin for allowing Washington to railroad Germany into conflict with Russia, noting that several decades of German political leaders actively disarmed Germany and thus deprived Berlin of authority or credibility in Europe. Though actively suppressed by the German government and media, his comments are resonating strongly with the German electorate.

The blunt fact is that in its efforts to secure victory in its proxy war with Russia, Washington ignores historical reality. From the 13th century onward, Ukraine was a region dominated by larger, more powerful national powers, whether Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, Austrian, or Russian.

In the aftermath of the First World War, abortive Polish designs for an independent Ukrainian State were conceived to weaken Bolshevik Russia. Today, Russia is not communist, nor does Moscow seek the destruction of the Polish State as Trotsky, Lenin, Stalin, and their followers did in 1920.

So where is Washington headed with its proxy war against Russia? The question deserves an answer.

On Sunday December 7, 1941, U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman was with Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill having dinner at Churchills home when the BBC broadcast the news that the Japanese had attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Harriman was visibly shocked. He simply repeated the words, The Japanese have raided Pearl Harbor.

Harriman need not have been surprised. The Roosevelt administration had practically done everything in its power to goad Tokyo into attacking U.S. forces in the Pacific with a series of hostile policy decisions culminating in Washingtons oil embargo during the summer of 1941.

In the Second World War, Washington was lucky with timing and allies. This time its different. Washington and its NATO allies are advocating a full-blown war against Russia, the devastation and breakup of the Russian Federation, as well as the destruction of millions of lives in Russia and Ukraine.

Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.

Read more at: TheAmericanConservative.com
(Natural News) MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has lambasted Western attempts to justify arms deliveries to Kiev as an alleged effort to prevent a world war.

(Article republished from TASS.com)

Firstly, defending Ukraine, which nobody needs in Europe, will not save the senile Old World from retribution if anything occurs. Secondly, once the Third World War breaks out, unfortunately it will not be on tanks or even on fighter jets. Then everything will definitely be turned to dust, Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

In this post, Medvedev commented, in particular, on Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosettos remarks that the Third World War would erupt if Russian tanks reached Kiev and the borders of Europe, and that the weapons sent to Ukraine were meant to stop the escalation. Medvedev equated his remarks to the calls from the United Kingdom to provide Kiev with all the weapons NATO has.

Source: TASS.com
(Natural News) Retired firefighter Chad Caton has blasted U.S. Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garlands Jan. 23 speech about equality under the law, which was clearly a lie. On the Jan. 26 episode of his Brighteon.TV program Im Fired Up, Caton played a video of Garlands speech.

We ensure that we adhere to the rule of law. This means, among other things, that we do not have different rules for Democrats or Republicans, different rules for the powerful and the powerless, and different rules for the rich or for the poor, said the AG. We apply the facts and the law in each case in a neutral, nonpartisan manner. That is what we always do.

But according to Caton, Americans are getting sick of being lied to  something they have been experiencing a lot under the Biden administration. He also admitted to having a hard time trying to understand Garlands points about equality, given that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the one-time Supreme Court nominee was clearly biased against the participants of the Jan. 6 false flag siege.

The Im Fired Up host pointed out that 86 of the protesters were arrested, and 400 were charged and dealt with. He added that the patriots are still not being treated correctly and fairly while in custody.

All of these things, they are not happening. But we have equality under the law, Garland just said that. I dont really understand how we get to that equality if we wont be real with one another.

DOJ ignores BLM, Antifa riots

Caton also mentioned how the DOJ simply ignored the fact that Black Lives Matter and Antifa destroyed government buildings and police stations during the 2020 riots. There was no investigation launched over these attacks, but the uni-party was eager to prosecute the Jan. 6 protesters.

The Brighteon.TV host also denounced Garland for his refusal to call Antifa a terrorist organization despite its violence, arson and destruction of property. According to Caton, Antifas ideology is different from that of the J6 protesters as the latter were frustrated about the results of the rigged 2020 elections. (Related: SELECTIVE PROSECUTION: DOJ throws book at conservatives while letting violent Leftists off the hook time and time again.)

Moreover, Caton mentioned that both BLM and Antifa are being prostituted into money-making machines that are trying to divide the nation. The mainstream media is also complicit in this, he added.

We have people like MSNBC, Merrick Garland and this administration that is keeping it in the forefront of everything that is disgusting in this country. Why? Because that divide keeps you in power.

Caton concluded his program by rebuking Garland as a disgrace and calling for his removal from office. He also urged Americans to start taking back the country by showing up, standing up, speaking up and fighting for the Republic.

BigGovernment.news has more stories about AG Merrick Garland and the DOJ.

Watch the Jan. 26 episode of Im Fired Up with Chad Caton below. Im Fired Up with Chad Caton airs every Thursday at 10-11 a.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Im Fired Up: Chad Caton slams liberals for tagging conservatives as violent extremists  Brighteon.TV.

Antifa, BLM now showing up ARMED to violent protests.

AG Merrick Garland officially launches a legal insurrection against America with unprecedented attacks on We the People.

Marjorie Taylor Green SLAMS Biden AG for not going after Atlanta Antifa terrorists.

DOJ official who forced a date to touch their genital wont be prosecuted, IG says.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TheGatewayPundit.com
(Natural News) The Scandinavian nation of Denmark has announced plans to implement compulsory military conscription for women, in a bid to significantly increase the size of its armed forces.

During an interview with government-owned broadcaster TV2, Danish Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said it would be beneficial for the countrys military if it had more women among the ranks. Ellemann-Jensen concurrently serves as the minister of defense.

Under current rules, Danish women can join the military on a voluntary basis. Meanwhile, Danish men are generally required to serve if they are called on under a lottery system. Several womens groups in the Nordic nation expressed support toward the draft for women.

Ellemann-Jensen announced the plan as the Danish Ministry of Defense (FMN) published the conclusions of a biannual report by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The group chastised Copenhagen for failing to invest enough in its military, in particular the Royal Danish Army and the Royal Danish Navy.

Prior to the report, Denmark announced its intention to increase defense spending by 4.5 billion kroner ($657 million) to reach two percent of its gross domestic product in 2030  three years earlier than previously planned.

Denmarks neighbors have been drafting women on a compulsory basis for some time now, according to a Bloomberg report.

Norway became the first NATO member to introduce a mandatory military draft for women. This commenced in 2015 and contributed to the 20 percent of women in the Norwegian Armed Forces as of 2021. Sweden, meanwhile, reactivated conscription  this time including women  from 2017 onward. (Related: Feminists demanded equality; now all women may be required to register for the military draft and serve in future wars.)

Switzerland also mulling a gender-neutral draft

Back in September of last year, ZeroHedge reported that the landlocked nation of Switzerland was considering gender-neutral conscription. The move sought to address the countrys shortage of military personnel.

A report by a Swiss parliamentary commission submitted to the Council of States  the Swiss Federal Assemblys upper chamber  expounded on the problem. It pointed out that only 80 percent, or about 80,000 service members out of the 100,000-strong Swiss Armed Forces (SAF), can be called to active duty.

The report proposed two alternatives to address the issue and increase the size of the SAF. First, it suggested a merger between the SAF and Federal Office for Civil Protection. Second, it suggested the inclusion of able-bodied Swiss women aged 19 years and older.

According to an article by SwissInfo, the SAF could see its numbers plunge to as low as 30,000 by the year 2030 if nothing is done to address the situation.

It is time that both genders have the same rights and duties in the military, said Stefan Holenstein, the president of the military officers association SOG. We are convinced that the [Swiss Army] can no longer do without more than 50 percent of societys potential.

Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd, the first female in the position, said she wants to increase the percentage of women in the armed forces from one percent to 10 percent by 2030. In line with this, the Swiss military launched an ad campaign with the tagline Security is also female to attract women into the service.

Head over to NationalSecurity.news for more stories about mandatory conscription in various countries.

Watch this video about a federal judge ruling in 2019 that male-only conscription was unconstitutional.

This video is from the End Times Prophecy News channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

PENTAGON: Males identifying as females are still required to sign up for the military draft, because suddenly biology is REAL when it comes to WAR.

Navy bureaucrats set to put women in Marine combat roles despite evidence that they arent a good fit.

Swiss government considering GENDER-NEUTRAL military conscription.

Sources include:

StraitsTimes.com

Bloomberg.com

ZeroHedge.com

SwissInfo.ch

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The fully discredited Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved an endless covid booster program that will continue to weaken and cripple the population, year after year. With dozens of new boosters on the horizon, the FDA can no longer pretend that the covid jab is an immunization that is saving millions of lives.

Like the flu shot, the covid jab will be marketed annually as a solution to rampant seasonal illness. The annual boosters will be promoted in the Fall of each year, as medical institutions continue on with their coercive fraud, unabated. As the vaccines cause more health issues in the population, these new medical issues can always be blamed on a new covid variant or a new flu strain, spread by the antivaxxers and the pandemic of the unvaccinated. As immune systems are poisoned and depleted by harmful vaccine science, as medical fraud and false advertising become the new normal, the population will be forced into a hopeless situation, that they must come to reject through courage and faith.

Majority of population becoming antivaxxers as covid booster program is rejected

Government statistics show that 80 percent of the population have received at least one covid jab. A majority of the population have learned the hard way that the jab was a con on their mind, a weapon against their body, and an act of oppression, submitting their soul to a false savior. Today, only 16 percent of those eligible have taken the latest spike protein booster jab from Pfizer and Moderna. As the population wakes up to the cold reality of vaccine injury and fraud, the American government and all its so-called regulatory agencies continue to operate in bondage to the lawless vaccine manufacturers, who have yet to be indicted for their flagrant and forceful crimes against humanity.

In fact, the Biden regime just urged fully vaccinated Americans to get annual coronavirus boosters. If youre fully vaccinated, get one more COVID shot. Once a year. Thats it, the cognitively deficient Joe Biden said during a speech on his White House video set. Biden advertised himself getting a fifth booster of the mRNA jab, despite his fully vaccinated body getting sick with covid-19 and other infections earlier in the year.

To top it off, Bidens abhorrent cognitive function has become a national security risk, as his health continues to decline. His top health advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has already explained to the public that they may very well require booster shots to maintain protection against the coronavirus.

Has the vaccine industry overplayed their hand?

These annual covid boosters will be reformulated year after year, as Pfizers not-so-secret directed evolution of the coronavirus spike protein becomes the new normal of science malfeasance, allowing for predatory vaccine development, the mutation of new coronavirus strains, and the exploitation of human immune systems.

The FDA released an official document about Americans having sufficient preexisting immunity, but the FDA completely contradicts that statement by saying that Americans will still need annual boosters. To make matters worse, older adults, persons with compromised immune function, and children are being considered for TWO covid jabs per year (to hasten death).

The covid jabs have also been placed on the CDCs childhood vaccine schedule, calling into question the integrity and necessity of the entire vaccine schedule that is pushed onto babies in utero, on their first day of life, and aggressively during multiple well baby checkups in their first years of life. As the covid jab goes annual and gets added to the childhood vaccine schedule, has the vaccine industry overplayed their hand? Will their aggression, fraud, and liability-free exploitation of the population be reined in to protect a future generation of children?

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Dmitri Medvedev, a former Russian prime minister and president who essentially played musical chairs with Vladimir Putin with both offices for years, has issued what many believe is a direct threat of nuclear escalation should World War III break out.

Currently serving as Security Council Deputy Chairman, Medvedev ripped Western officials who say their countries are arming Ukraine following Russias invasion nearly a year ago in order to prevent it from escalating.

Firstly, defending Ukraine, which nobody needs in Europe, will not save the senile Old World from retribution if anything occurs. Secondly, once the Third World War breaks out, unfortunately it will not be on tanks or even on fighter jets. Then everything will definitely be turned to dust, he wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday, according to Russian news agency Tass.

The report added:

In this post, Medvedev commented, in particular, on Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosettos remarks that the Third World War would erupt if Russian tanks reached Kyiv and the borders of Europe and that the weapons sent to Ukraine were meant to stop the escalation. Medvedev equated his remarks to the calls from the United Kingdom to provide Kyiv with all the weapons NATO has.

Mostly the U.S., but also some NATO countries, have been flooding Ukraine with everything from small arms ammunition and communications equipment to artillery and sophisticated HIMARS rocket launchers that have destroyed tons of Russian military equipment and inflicted tens of thousands of casualties.

And now, the U.S. and NATO have decided to provide Kyiv with sophisticated main battle tanks like the German-made Leopard 2 and the U.S.-made M1 Abrams, though the latter machines wont be built for about a year. The goal is to provide the Ukrainians with enough firepower and equipment to launch a counteroffensive in weeks not to invade Russia but to regain lost territory, including the Crimean peninsula that Putin annexed in 2014.

That said, the Russians are preparing for their own offensives.

The Russian army apparently is repositioning heavy forces in advance of a widely-anticipated winter offensive in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraines Donbas region, Forbes reported this week. The forces include elements of the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, which has spent months in Belarus, recovering from its near-destruction by Ukrainian brigades during two previous, large-scale operations.

Ukrainian intelligence relatedly noted that elements of the 2nd Motor Rifle Division of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Western Military District have withdrawn from Belarus and partially deployed to Luhansk Oblast, the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War noted last week in a report.

In a separate report, Forbes noted that Russia is having difficulty rearming its tank formations and is currently retrofitting older T-72 tanks for battle in Ukraine, but Moscow is running out of optics for the refitted tanks. That would make them far less effective:

The result is at least one new T-72 model: the T-72B3 Obr. 2022. Its a 1980s-vintage T-72B with a suite of enhancements including a Sosna-U day-night digital gunners sight, new reactive armor, a rear-looking video camera and a fresh barrel for its 125-millimeter main gun.

Dont get too excited. The additions dont significantly improve the T-72s performanceand dont do anything to remedy the types fundamental problem: its dangerous ammunition stowage.

Equally troubling for Russian tankers, a shortage of components apparently has compelled tank-maker Uralvagonzavod also to produce a down-rated emergency T-72B1 Obr. 2022 that lacks the Sosna-U sight.

Instead, the down-rated T-72 has an outdated 1PN96MT-02 analog thermal sight thats comparable to the sights NATO armies installed on their own tanks back in the 1970s. This emergency T-72B1 Obr. 2022 is  not a great tank.

The war in Ukraine doesnt look like its going to be ending anytime soon. That significantly increases the risk of World War III and Medvedevs ominous statement coming true.

Sources include:

Forbes.com

Tass.com
(Natural News) Author Carol Roth of The Entrepreneur Equation and The War On Small Business fame has told Glenn Beck that people who own nothing are actually owned by those in authority.

If you own nothing, then the powers that be own you. It completely changes everything, she said during her Jan. 24 appearance on The Glenn Beck Program.

It crushes the American Dream and it basically makes people indentured servants to the government and, to some extent, to Big Tech as well. If you think about all of these things that are being put out there, they sort of want to take your life and rent it back to you whether it be through a term of service or through dependence on the government.

According to Roth, the ultimate endgame for this endeavor is intra-dependence. They want you to not have freedom, not to have agency, not to make your own choice. They want to control everything you do, she explained.

This is a war, and this is one that youre going to have to fight on multiple fronts. At the end of the day, we need people to own everything. We need you to have that ownership so that you can fight back, not be at their whim and not be an indentured servant to Big Tech, big business and to the global elites.

Beck agreed with his guest, warning that unless the American people do not stop the regulatory state and unelected officials from introducing new rules on things, they wont be owning anything at all in the future.

Globalist WEF predicted the end of private property

Roth connected the idea of you will own nothing  a concept pushed by the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF)  to the destruction of property rights and peoples freedoms. She noted that it is not simply a right-wing conspiracy theory, as the globalist group itself proposed the idea in a 2016 video.

According to Roth, the purchase of land by private individuals or groups of people is a scary prospect. She then explained that this is because the elites are jockeying for positions to rule everything. Now that they are seeing everything that is happening, the elites are trying to reshape the outcome by putting themselves on top by having people own nothing. (Related: Dr. Rima Laibow: Global elites are culling 90 percent of world population to gain power.)

The best-selling author cited the South American nation of Venezuela as an example. Once the fourth wealthiest nation in the world during the middle of the past century, Venezuela dropped all the way to the bottom after Caracas chose to nationalize everything. Based on the level of compliance with pandemic rules and regulations in the U.S., Roth remarked that this could soon happen.

Beck concurred with his guest, commenting that the U.S. could follow the path of Venezuela. In fact, every day we continue down this road, it becomes more likely, he said.

According to the conservative radio host, it took 20 years for Venezuela to be destroyed  and the U.S. suffering the same fate is not unlikely.

Enslaved.news has more stories like this.

Watch the full conversation between Glenn Beck and Carol Roth about the global elites wanting the rest of the world to own nothing.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Prather Point: America is being sold to global elites, says investigative journalist George Webb  Brighteon.TV.

World Economic Forums Young Global Leaders is a massive network of royals, politicians, big tech, billionaires and other elites.

NO LONGER A CONSPIRACY THEORY: Global elites have joined forces to form one world government.

WHO whistleblower: Globalist puppets seek full control over humanity through deployment of COVID-19 pandemic treaty.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

WEForum.org
(Natural News) A report over the weekend stunningly revealed that a couple of the five Memphis police officers involved in beating Tyre Nichols earlier this month, allegedly causing his death, were hired after the department lowered its education and fitness standards due to chronic hiring shortages in the age of defund the police.

Nichols succumbed to his injuries and died on Jan. 10, three days after he was pulled over for a traffic stop, according to local media. All of those involved  Nichols and the five officers who now stand accused of murdering him  are black.

According to a report from The Daily Wire:

Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith have all been charged with two counts of official misconduct, local media reported, with one count of official oppression, second-degree murder, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. The New York Post reported that Bean and Haley joined the Memphis Police Department during the summer of 2020 as riots related to the death of George Floyd rocked the nation.

Bean and Haleys hiring by the department in August 2020 came two years after the department significantly lowered the education required to join the force.

The lowered standards meant that police recruits were no longer required to have an associates degree or 54 college credit hours in order to join the force, according to The Post, and instead could replace the education requirement with job experience. However, the New York outlet quoted experts who spoke on the record saying that the lowered requirements meant that less desirable candidates were being hired by the department.

You get what you ask for. pic.twitter.com/j6GlyvSzsN  Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) January 29, 2023

A LinkedIn post by law enforcement official Karan Parmar claimed that sources inside the department said that the officers were not hired through the normal process that the department had implemented, The Daily Wire noted.

The Post Millennial added:

In 2021 and 2022, recruitment was struggling so badly that the department offered $15,000 signing bonuses. Last year, the department also reportedly lowered the fitness requirements, doing away with the timed physical ability test. The department even offered waivers for felons to join the force

Haley in particular has a troubled past that seems to have been overlooked by MPD in the hiring process. As NBC reports, he was accused of taking part in the beating of an inmate named Cordarlrius Sledge about eight years ago when he worked as a corrections officer for the Shelby County Corrections Department.

According to a source within the Memphis PD, the 5 charged officers werent hired through the usual structured PD hiring process, Parmar said. City leaders felt the existing process was too strict and kept certain people from getting jobs at the department. City leaders began their own hiring process and then pushed new hires into the agency, bypassing the testing procedures in place at the department. You can read between the lines what that all means.

All 5 of the charged officers were hired by the City, and didnt go through the rigorous PD testing process, the statement continued. This is what quota hiring looks like. Lawsuits and dead innocents. The city should pay (sic) the lawsuits instead of the Police department. This Murder wasnt created by old school policing or by white supremacy. This murder was directly facilitated by liberal policy.

A 2016 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Tennessee accused Haley of punching Sledge in the face as another officer slammed him into a sink face-first. After that, I blacked out, he said in the lawsuit which was dismissed in 2018 after Sledge could not complete the paperwork because he was in federal custody.

Heres another bit of irony: A local news report in 2021 praised efforts by the Democrat-run city to recruit more officers of color allegedly because they would be likely to use force far less frequently than white male officers.

Another Democrat-run city that disparaged police now cant hire any, and those who do sign on have anger management problems. Does anyone see disaster on the horizon?

Sources include:

ThePostMillennial.com

DailyWire.com

NYPost.com
(Natural News) Just for the record  An example of directed evolution with comparison to natural evolution. The inner cycle indicates the 3 stages of the directed evolution cycle with the natural process being mimicked in brackets. The outer circle demonstrates steps in a typical experiment. The red symbols indicate functional variants, the pale symbols indicate variants with reduced function. Source: Wikipedia, encyclopedia of the approved narrative.

(Article by Robert W. Malone MD, MS republished from RWMaloneMD.Substack.com)

Wow. What a whirlwind of a week. Still trying to catch my breath, never did make it over to my personal physician for an ECG and prescription to get my tachycardia under control. Delivered a talk/wake up/shock on the fifth gen warfare deployed on all of us over the last three years to 1,300 paying European attendees at a Stockholm conference exactly one week ago. Delayed getting back from Stockholm (via Frankfurt) due to Lufthansas ongoing slow decay and inability to adhere to their own flight schedules. Got Tuesdays essay written on the plane, posted it from the airport on landing, and finally made it back to the farm by about 11:00 PM EST. Wednesday I drag my sorry rear end out of bed, get the obligate three cups downed and begin the day with an out-of-the-blue call from a mainstream New York investigative reporter (that you would recognize) seeking background information on what the heck is going on with the Florida Grand Jury investigations (which I know very little about  they are running a tight ship!). Of course I have to make a few calls to prepare for that before the 10:00 AM on background only discussion. Scheduled long format Gray Matter podcast recording at noon, requiring some background reading prior. And then, out of an otherwise cloudless blue sky, a lightning strike.

Project Veritas pings me, asks if I would review an embargoed video that they have prepared, and then allow them to record my reaction to the material via a Zoom call. The Zoom hit scheduled so tight that I can barely get through the embargoed material before we start. And boom. We launch the call and I am still reeling from what I have just viewed. Veritas uses a very tight, abrupt editing style, and they compress a half hour of my interaction/reaction with their reporters into a few moments of the most powerful comments. The investigative reporter who did the interview and captured the video is present but off screen. I am told he is a former Pfizer employee. I am told that the drop time for the resulting video product will be 8:00 PM EST, asked to participate in a Twitter Spaces discussion beginning at 9:00 PM EST, and asked to get other physicians to join. I push out alerts that Veritas has something big coming, and to watch for it, including a personal heads up text message to Tucker Carlson. Steve Kirsch calls trying to noodle whatever intel I will give him, but it is embargoed and I hold the line on that. The video drops early. The Twitter Spaces discussion goes big, north of 17,000 on-line live participants. Much ado over whether this is real or not. Among other things, another Pfizer whistleblower sends James OKeefe a Pfizer org chart listing the young physician in question as having the role and title as advertised, and that gets posted in real time. The Twitter Spaces discussion keeps going after I have to drop off at 11:00 PM EST, my brain still being on European time.

Wake up, and overnight the feces have hit the oscillating ventilator. More coffee. Jill is inundated with interview scheduling requests. Then the ping from Fox News, and Tucker has asked me back on the real Fox broadcast. First real Fox hit since the dust up with Alex Berenson, after which I (immaturely) called up the producer and chewed her out. Bad decision. Bottom line, important to not screw this one up. A day of interviews following on the Veritas bombshell (during which I cannot reveal the plans for Tuckers segment), together with back and forth with Fox  are we on or not? Is this a real employee or a dark arts intel set up?

Almost immediately after the first Veritas video dropped, we all got a masters class in the amazing power and capabilities to control narrative and information which Pfizer has assembled. Important to remember that it was already well known that there is a very tight relationship between Pfizer and Thompson-Reuters. In fact, revealing that clear conflict of interest was the thing that got me kicked off of Linked-In the first time. The UK-based Daily Mail, one of the largest daily publications in the world, puts out a story summarizing the Veritas video, and it is almost immediately deleted. A decentralized army of internet warriors quickly goes to work seeking any intel concerning Jordon Walker, M.D.. I receive screen shots which fully dox the young physician, including email addresses and phone numbers. Do I dox or do I not, that is the question. Decision = not.

People are hitting Google like crazy with queries regarding Jordon Walker, Pfizer and Veritas. As they did when I said mass formation psychosis on Rogan #1757, Google manually interferes with the searches, returning wishy washy these results are changing rapidly screens instead of actual links. So, now we have a pretty clear smoking gun involving collusion between Pfizer and Google to suppress the story. Then everything, anything, having to do with Jordon Walker, MD gets memory holed. Wiped from the internet, including the Wayback machine. And then the chaos agents, bots and trolls descend on all social media channels. Sowing doubt that Jordon Walker is even a real person. Floating paranoid conspiracy theories that this is all a big deep-fake set up of Veritas, OKeefe and myself. Which of course get amplified by the usual actors. Now THAT is an example of Fifth Gen Warfare power! And by the way, I gently advise that readers who were aware of this as it was happening set a check-bit in their brains on the names of those chaos agents who actively promoted this false narrative. Some show the signs of true controlled opposition, and some appear to have been acting as pollinating bees. By their actions you will know them. My advice, if you were one of the bees, is to own up and clearly acknowledge the documentation demonstrating that this Pfizer nightmare is real.

The following day, as promised, Veritas drops another amazing video in which James OKeefe confronts Jordon Walker in some New York city eatery, and Dr. Walker comes unglued for all the world to see (I think that is about the kindest description possible). Veritas provides more documentation that Walker is/was, as advertised, a senior Pfizer employee with global Director-level responsibilities relating to their mRNA vaccine portfolio.

Clearly Pfizer has decided that the best response at this point is no response. They have disabled comments on all of their websites and social media outlets (except for those that they are following). Pfizer has managed to block every single major corporate news outlet from covering the story (except Tucker, who has considerable content freedom by contract with Fox). Jill posts a warning basically stating that we should expect the Empire to Strike Back.

Friday, I work my way through five more long and short format hits, trying to add new information and insights as they drop, and go to bed early.

Which brings us to Friday night. Dogs wake me up at midnight, and I find that Pfizer legal has finally dropped a response at 8:00 PM EST Friday night. Again, classic textbook timing. Designed to bypass the Friday PM news cycle and more importantly to give Wall Street maximal time to digest the news before opening bell next Monday.

These guys are professional grade. To recap, they have shut Google searches down, memory holed/scrubbed the internet, deployed an army of bots, trolls and chaos agents to cause confusion and doubt on social media, and almost completely suppressed any coverage of the story by the many corporate media outlets that they have been pumping money into over the last three years. Payback time.

And in the face of all of this, still the social media chaos agents persist with their work, claiming that since they are unable to find the actual Pfizer document primary source which others have found and screen shot, this is all fake news. Are they paid and nefarious or just dull and incompetent? Hard to differentiate between those two options. But when all the vectors of their words and actions repeatedly point in the same direction, then it gets hard to make the case against nefarious intent. That said, their seeming incompetence and apparent dependency on Google providing the confirmation of their bias provides another practical fifth gen. warfare schooling lesson. For the rest of you, can you just bypass Google searching on this topic please? I use Brave, but there are many others. When trying to triangulate truth these days, it is often useful to employ multiple different search engines.

For the record, here is the link to Pfizer corporate with the legal statement. There. Can we please all just tell the chaos agents to go pound sand, hit Block for those accounts on Twitter, GETTR, GAB, Truth Social, Instagram etc. and move on now?

Fast forward to Saturday 28 January, we wake up, more coffee, and get to work writing todays essay(s). Inquiring minds want to know!

While I have been composing the above stream of consciousness, Jill has been grabbing the best of the best from the responses that I had posted between midnight last night and 3:00 AM after becoming aware of the Friday 8:00 PM drop from Pfizer legal.

I will close this posting with the gems which she has mined, and then begin composing an analysis of the response from Pfizers legal team.

Yeah but its not Gain Of Function though is it Ok, sure, through various means the virus acquired new abilities that it didnt have before, but it didnt gain any functions You see? It didnt Gain, it acquired and they were abilities, not Functions sheesh.

This word salad is like renaming a child kidnapping and claiming it was an impromptu adoption. Theres nothing to see here.

Its not a door. Its a rectangular piece of wood, with hinges on one side and a knob on the other, mounted to an opening in the wall.

The best place to hide something is often in plain sight.

How is this okay? How do they get to do this and we have no recourse??

Isnt this just a smarmy attempt by Pfizer to normalize everything as rare but necessary for their development process?

This is an amazing tweet. Every time I click on it the number of likes and Rats goes down. Free speech eh.

Your post showed up in my feed, but I couldnt RT or like the post until I clicked on it and did so on its Tweet page. Just an FYI.

Authorized use by Emergency Act. Smokescreen put in place by our elected officials. Biden sold us out!!

Was this a joint effort between PR and marketing. It reads more like an advert for Paxvolid! Grifters gonna grift!

Unfortunately the narrative was always controlled by big tech & the legacy media, Now with Musk buying Twitter & implementing FREE speech along platforms like GETTR, TRUTH & GAB Its getting harder & harder to censor the truth Without truth, humanity cannot survive

Yes, and if they were doing nothing wrong, why did they disappear (scrub) Dr. Jordan Trishton Walker from every reference to his connection to Pfizer from the entire internet? Actions speak louder than words.

Next press release: We are doing Gain of Function Research and its a Good Thing

They literally say they engineer viruses that dont even exist outside of simulations.

If true; Maybe they can call it, Predictive Immune Escape Research No comment regarding the legality. Its not up to me.

The way it is worded, this only denies directed evolution as a component of vaccine development, but leaves that research door open for ongoing research supporting Paxlovid.

Cognitive recombination technique? Creative tweaking? Genetic massaging? Function manipulation?

There is also no direct response suggesting that Mr Walker was lyinginteresting.

I love how they just assume that everyones capable of producing antibodies equally. Those of us with Lyme disease know we are B cell (and Nk cell) immunosuppressed. All risk and no benefit for us to get the . If they were really concerned about our health, theyd pay for an

Yeah they literally admitted to outsourcing the research that would be considered a grey area for pfizer to do themselves

Classic misdirection and flooding of unnecessary information

And what does it mean where they say such virus is engineered for activity in the cells?

So they just hire people that make up terms and lie? He just pulled that term right out of his ass.

Just the letter title headline tells me Pfizer is in full legal defense mode. That is a good thing.

Doesnt look like they denied anything

Nuremberg trials and sentences for these modern day Mengeles and Goebbels Frankenstein medical tyrants experiment on other peoples bodies using coercion propaganda and force Justice is long overdue History is repeating itself

Well done, Fifth Generation Warfare warriors!

BREAKING: James OKeefe gives update on YouTube Removing Critical Mass #DirectedEvolution Video pic.twitter.com/ExO91aH514  Constantine (@constantin_t) January 28, 2023

And the memes just keep coming. Badda Boom.

Read more at: RWMaloneMD.Substack.com
(Natural News) Several reports cited by the Gateway Pundit revealed that members of far-left Antifa are actually White children from privileged backgrounds, not oppressed minorities.

One article by POLITICO expounded on the arrest of Riley Dowell, the non-binary child of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA). Dowell, who was born male and named Jared, was charged with assault following an altercation with a police officer. The non-binary protester allegedly spray-painted anti-law enforcement messages such as no cop city and all cops are bastards.

The Gateway Pundit also mentioned that several Antifa who occupied the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center for months were not exactly from the Dogwood City.

A PJ Media report said 22-year-old Antifa protester Francis Carroll allegedly lit a police cruiser on fire on Jan. 21. He hailed from Kennebunkport, Maine, a posh compound also known as the location where the Bush familys summer home is located. Carroll is said to be the scion of a multimillion-dollar family, living in his parents mansion before going down to Atlanta.

Independent journalist Andy Ngo also noted in a piece for the New York Post that Carroll was among six people arrested and charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated assault and other crimes on Dec. 13 following a string of property attacks around the area, a carjacking and assaults on officers. The six were all bailed out by activists who crowdfunded their legal defense using Twitter. (Related: Finally: Cops arrest five Antifa members and charge them with domestic terrorism.)

Two other Antifa members were revealed to have hailed from lives of privilege and luxury.

Idaho native Serena Hertal was charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated assault, and criminal trespass in Atlanta. She reportedly graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California  where a year of study costs $82,000.

Nevadan Ivan James Ferguson also went east just to interfere with the safety of Atlanta. The 23-year-old clarinetist, who has performed with orchestras along the West Coast, studied at the swanky San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Privileged protesters also nabbed in 2020

Back in September 2020, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrested seven rioters in Manhattan  and later tweeted their mugshots. Later reports revealed that the suspects came from privileged backgrounds.

Clara Kraebber, one of the protesters arrested, is the daughter of an architect and a child psychiatrist who own a second home in Connecticut. Elliot Rucka from Portland, who was charged with rioting, is the son of comic book writers Greg Rucka and Jennifer Van Meter.

Twenty-seven-year-old Etkar Surette of Brooklyn, who spent summers in Europe as a child, was also among those arrested. Adi Sragovich, meanwhile, had been an accomplished jazz musician and student activist before her arrest.

Freelance art director Frank Fuhrmeister, who was charged with rioting and possession of a graffiti instrument, boasts of an extensive portfolio and collaborations with several high-profile brands. He studied fine arts with a concentration in photography at Florida State College at Jacksonville, according to the Post.

Model Claire Severine, signed to the We Speak modeling agency at the time, was charged with rioting. She frequently flew to Canada and Ireland for modeling gigs, but later settled in New York City to pursue a career in acting.

Bookmark Antifa.news for more news about this far-left militant group.

Watch this video that describes Antifa as an anarcho-socialist threat to the United States.

This video is from the Iron Age News channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Trump urges Pompeo to designate Antifa a terrorist group.

Antifa organizer exposed as member of elite political family.

Yelp encourages Antifa to target businesses accused of racism.

Biden absurdly blames Trump for Antifa, BLM violence.

Portland Antifa rioters are getting away with it by claiming they arejournalists.

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

Politico.com

Twitter.com

PJMedia.com

NYPost.com 1

DailyMail.co.uk

NYPost.com 2

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) New evidence has emerged that former Twitter executives knew full well that the Trump-Russia collusion narrative being thrown about by the Hillary Clinton campaign, nearly all mainstream media outlets, and on social media was completely false and suspected as such early on, but didnt go public with the information.

New Twitter Files revelations show that the Twitter accounts on a list from the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) that were supposed to be of Russian bots were far from it. While Twitter had evidence to prove that the accounts werent Russian bots, employees kept quiet, afraid to go against mainstream media narrative, Reclaim the Net reported earlier this week following the latest dump of files released through journalist Matt Taibbi.

The ASD describes itself as an organization that comes up with strategies for government, private sector, and civil society to defend against, deter, and raise the costs on foreign state actors efforts to undermine democracy and democratic institutions,' the report continued. Its advisors are the likes of Michael Chertoff, who worked in the George W. Bush administration as Secretary of Homeland Security, Mike McFaul (who worked in the Obama administration as US Ambassador to Russia,) commentator Bill Kristol, and Hillary Clinton advisers Jake Sullivan and John Podesta.

To emphasize the fact that there is a deep state and government establishment, Sullivan is currently serving as Joe Bidens national security adviser, which is a joke considering hes really nothing but a political operative who does what he is told.

The alliance claimed that a web-based organization comprised of more deep state intelligence figures had developed a dashboard called Hamilton 68 that ostensibly monitored Twitter for Russian trolls and bot accounts. ASD claimed that it was monitoring some 600 Russian bot accounts on the platform during the 2016 election cycle, Reclaim the Net reported.

The notion that there were 600 Russian bot accounts being monitored was echoed throughout the mainstream media, all of which cited the dashboard as the authoritative source. It became a circular web; all of the media outlets were relying on the same phony source for their fake news reports.

What makes this an important story is the sheer scale of the news footprint left by Hamilton 68s digital McCarthyism. The quantity of headlines and TV segments dwarfs the impact of individual fabulists like Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass, wrote journalist Taibbi of Racket, who, this week, released evidence about Twitter employees decision not to publicly denounce the effort and inform Americans that the information being pushed by the garbage media was phony.

Hamilton 68 was used as a source to assert Russian influence in an astonishing array of news stories: support for Brett Kavanaugh or the Devin Nunes memo, the Parkland shooting, manipulation of black voters, attacks on the Mueller investigation Taibbi noted further.

These stories raised fears in the population, and most insidious of all, were used to smear people like Tulsi Gabbard as foreign assets, and drum up sympathy for political causes like Joe Bidens campaign by describing critics as Russian-aligned, he wrote.

Taibbi went on to point out how even fact-checkers used the unsubstantiated, unconfirmed, and dubious source for their own reports to fact-check anyone who said the Russian collusion narrative was fake: It was a lie. The illusion of Russian support was created by tracking people like Joe Lauria, Sonia Monsour, and Dave Shestokas. Virtually every major American news organization cited these fake tales  even fact-checking sites like Snopes and Politifact.

Reclaim the Net explained further:

The reports, widely pushed by the mainstream media, were untrue and Twitter executives, who had access to more information about what was going on behind the scenes with the Twitter accounts, didnt want to disrupt the narrative for fear they would receive negative reporting.

In laymans terms, the Hamilton 68 barely had any Russians. In fact, apart from a few RT accounts, its mostly full of ordinary Americans, Canadians, and British, Taibbi added, noting that former Twitter Safety chief Yoel Roth suspected the dashboard was phony.

Roth said it falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots, he wrote. I think we need to just call this out on the bullshit it is

But again, no one did, and Americans by the millions were fooled into thinking that their president was a Manchurian candidate.

Its criminal what these deep state figures and their lapdogs in social and traditional media did to Trump, and America.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

Racket.news
(Natural News) In September, the news broke that a pair of undersea natural gas pipelines, Nordstream 1 and 2, owned by Russia, had been sabotaged.

Photographs posted by NATO allies showed a wide swath of natural gas bubbling up to the surface of the sea, adding environmental disaster to the then-worsening war in Ukraine following Russias invasion.

At the time, Vladimir Putin made it crystal clear he blamed the United States and NATO for the attack.

They are destroying European energy infrastructure its clear who benefits, Putin was quoted as saying. Its obvious to everyone who did it.

The Moscow Times added at the time:

Putin blamed the United States for this weeks unexplained explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines that have left the damaged pipelines leaking huge amounts of natural gas into the Baltic Sea.

The Russian president also addressed the upcoming winter, which is shaping up to be especially brutal for Europeans after having lost the Nordstream links.

They print money, but you cannot warm your homes with this printed money They have to convince their citizens to shower less, eat less, and put on warm clothes, he said, according to the Moscow outlet.

The Western elitesits a crisis due to their own fault, he said, trying to shift blame to the West for his invasion. He also said that the goal of the hybrid war in Ukraine is to break Russia at any costs.

The dictatorship of the Western elite is directed against all societies, including against the peoples of those Western countries themselves. Its a challenge for all. This means the total negation of the human, the overthrow of religion and traditional values as the crushing of freedom becomes to look like the opposite of religion  open Satanism, Putin continued, which is a familiar theme of his, going on to reject ridiculous attempts by the West to impose LGBTQ gender ideology, which he appropriately deems a threat to Russian society.

Do we really want to have a parent No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 instead of mom and dad in Russia? Do we want children to be told that there are other genders besides men and women? Is this the future we want for our children? For us, this is unacceptable, Putin said, according to translated remarks.

Now, it appears as though a veteran U.S. State Dept. official who had a role in overthrowing the legitimate pro-Russia government in Ukraine in 2014 has all but admitted either the U.S. was behind the attack or was responsible for setting it up.

During Senate testimony last week, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland praised the act and referred to the portion of the pipeline attacked as a hunk of metal now resting on the seabed.

Senator Cruz, like you, I am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea, she said in response to comments from Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.

At a Senate hearing, top US diplomat Victoria Nuland celebrated the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bombing: Senator Cruz, like you, I am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea. pic.twitter.com/KS5OM4N165  Aaron Mate (@aaronjmate) January 27, 2023

As Zero Hedge noted, Gratified is not a word weve heard too often coming out of Western officials to describe their perspective on the sabotage event  certainly not in Europe at least.

Also, as Truth In Media host Ben Swann explained, the U.S.  through Nuland, who worked with then-Vice President Joe Biden on the project  overthrew the legitimate, democratically-elected government of Ukraine in 2014 around the time that Putin annexed Ukraine.

WATCH:

The deep state is running the Biden regime, and they dont care about ordinary Americans one iota, as evidenced by the chaos along the border with Mexico and their deepening involvement in the Ukraine war.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
The latest weather forecast said New York City (NYC) residents and motorists would experience a wintry weather outlook this week.

Last year, New York residents had to deal with colder weather and heavy now due to heavy lake-effect snow.

Many motorists suffered from widespread travel delays and slower commuters due to the heavy snow and light rain.

Light rain and less snow

As many New Yorkers anticipated more snow this winter, the weather forecast said the warm environment and moisture-packed rain had been the main concern for less snow.

According to the latest AccuWeather forecast, the report said that the state has been experiencing drought snow for about 300 days.

The latest forecast added that New York and Washington D.C. have a chance of measurable snow. Both states experienced traces of snow and mainly light to moderate rain.

There is much optimism about the positive outlook of measurable snow in New York City before the end of the winter season.

According to AccuWeather's outlook, the weather conditions would unfold widespread this week. The forecast said it is expected in Billings, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Jacksonville, Chicago and Minneapolis.

In addition, there could be a chance of wintry conditions in Dallas, Jackson and Atlanta. Meanwhile, there is snow and ice potential in Nashville and Washington, D.C.

On the other hand, the NWS New York reported that January recorded above-normal temperatures.

The advisory added that the forecast this Monday would become colder at the end of the week. In addition, the weather conditions will stay colder this coming February.

For this week in portions of New York, the weather forecast said that the weather would be cloudy with a chance of rain.

Those motorists traveling to Suffolk County should consider driving slowly and safely. The weather report added that a black ice advisory had been issued.

Also Read: New York City Latest Weather Forecast: Rain, Flooding Could Unload This Week Due to Winter Storm

A black ice alert occurs when roadways lead to hazardous travel for motorists due to slippery roads-checking the weather conditions or forecasts before traveling is the best option for commuters and motorists.

Car owners should maintain a distance from other vehicles to avoid road accidents.

Weather in the U.S.

While many residents and snow lovers anticipated more snow this season, other parts of the United States must deal with severe weather conditions.

According to USA Today, people in the South dealt with severe weather conditions, from heavy rain, thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that portions of California would experience heavy rain next week.

AccuWeather said that heavy snow dumped in the Northeast and Midwest, causing significant travel delays for many motorists.

The weather conditions in the first month of 2023 have been challenging for many Americans and motorists who had travel plans.

Did you know?

Powerful snowstorms and blizzards have hit New York City in history. Here are some of the most devastating weather events in NYC.

According to TimeOut, NYC was hit by a powerful North American Blizzard on February 12, 20226. The extreme weather event unloaded massive snow, reaching 26.9 inches. Many businesses, schools and communities had to deal with the severe weather for weeks.

Related Article: Canada Latest Weather Forecast: Widespread Travel Disruptions, Slower Commutes to Unfold in Southern Ontario Until Thursday Due to Intense Snow

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Strong floodwaters on the Hawaiian island of Maui carried a firefighter into a storm drain and dragged him thousands of feet.

A Very Unfortunate Incident

The man was trying to clean out a 4-foot-wide storm drain in Kihei on Friday when he got sucked down it. The sewer was then used to drag him 800 yards until it reached the sea.

According to Mahina Martin, chief of Communications and Public Affairs for Maui County, "there were crews from our county public works there as well, who were able to provide quick information on what the path for the drain was, and where eventually anything flowing through the storm drain, would end up."

Because of this, the fire crews and other emergency professionals from our company were able to reach the scene quickly, find the missing firefighter, and rescue him while requesting immediate medical assistance.

Quick Response

When the firefighter was retrieved from the drain's opposite end, he was not breathing. CPR was given until he was revived, at which point he was transferred to the Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Also Read: Climate Crisis Now Worst than Ever

Dangerous Flood Water

Water from a flood can be quite dangerous. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 6 inches of rushing water is all it takes to knock you off your feet.

National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Birchard warned local TV station KHON that if you go to the shore break, let's say on the north shore, and the water is this deep and sweeping across the sand; it will knock you off your feet. Therefore, you or an automobile could be damaged in the same way by fresh water flowing through a stream or a road.

With an average of roughly 90 fatalities each year, flash flooding is the most common weather-related cause of death in the United States. 146 persons lost their lives to floods nationwide in 2021 alone.

Due to the recent severe rainfall-up to 13 inches fell on some areas of the island-Maui has experienced significant flooding. Due to its low-lying height and location along Maui's coastline, Kihei, where the firefighter was dragged into the drain, is particularly susceptible to floods.

Flash flooding is likely to stay high as more rain is predicted over the upcoming days.

The National Weather Service issued a flood alert warning, saying there was a "threat for significant rainfall tonight through Monday." "Flooding has already occurred in several sections of Maui County, and any additional precipitation will cause low-lying regions to flooding swiftly."

Current Condition

The firefighter's condition is critical, and they are still hospitalized.

We are focused on supporting the firefighter's family and ask that our community join us in prayers for his recovery, Martin said in a statement. "Fire Chief Brad Ventura and Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr., immediately went to the hospital's emergency room this afternoon to offer support to firefighters and family members who were there," Martin said in the statement.

Related Article: Exposure to Major Disasters Can Cause Long-Term Mental Health Problems

For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
The latest weather forecast warned that severe conditions would unleash heavy rain and possible flooding in the Southern United States this week, causing travel disruptions and flash flooding.

Residents near the affected areas should keep updated with the dangerous and severe weather conditions, especially this week due to flooding.

Recently, portions of the South suffered from violent tornado outbreaks that resulted in significant power outages and widespread damage, especially in Texas, Houston and Alabama.

Heavy rain and severe weather conditions

According to AccuWeather's latest forecast, severe weather conditions would begin on Monday, causing flash flooding, reduced visibility, travel disruptions and waterspout risks.

The severe weather risks would result in heavy rain, affecting portions of Jackson, New Orleans, Atlanta, Charleston and Tallahassee.

The weather would then lead to possible localized flooding that could stretch to Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Residents should consider the poor weather outlook for flooding, especially those near the coastal areas.

The forecast noted that the conditions on Monday would become difficult for many motorists on Interstates (10,65, and 85) this week.

The weather conditions are expected to become better in Midweek.

On the other hand, the National Weather Service said that the central and western United States would notice a cold beginning of February.

Meanwhile, the advisory added that there could be a prolonged ice condition in the mid-Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains starting Monday.

Also Read: New York Experiences More Rain; Less Snow Expected This Week; Chances of Snow To Dump in Washington D.C

The weather forecast noted that there could be a chance of freezing rain.

Did you know?

Dangerous and devastating tornadoes have been unloaded in the United States. Tornadoes are life-threatening that destroy anything.

According to Reuters and NOAA, a powerful tornado outbreak unleashed in the U.S. in 1925, hitting portions of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois.

The reports said that the tornado outbreaks resulted in 695 casualties, widespread damage to homes and 2,000 residents were injured.

Mississippi is not a stranger to tornadoes. Reuters explained that a devastating tornado outbreak unfolded in Tupelo, Mississippi, on April 5 to 6, 1936.

The impact of the dangerous tornado in Mississippi resulted in about 3 million property damage and 216 casualties.

Flooding safety tips

The recent weather forecast warned that severe weather conditions would unload flooding rainfall in portions of the Southern United States.

Residents and motorists could be affected. As a result, staying safe is significant to avoid possible accidents and casualties. Here are important reminders to keep in mind.

Knowing the weather conditions is significant to prepare for the storm's impact. It would help if you stayed alert from floodwaters, thunderstorms and flash flooding.

Motorists should consider driving slowly as the weather conditions would become challenging for motorists.

Be prepared to evacuate immediately when floodwaters become severe.

Avoid floodwaters, and it is best to reschedule your appointment when the weather improves.

Have an emergency plan with your family for possible thunderstorm outbreaks, violent tornadoes and flooding rainfall.

If you plan to travel this week, it is advisable to bring an umbrella and raincoat protection to avoid the hassle of the rounds of rain.

Related Article: Canada Latest Weather Forecast: Widespread Travel Disruptions, Slower Commutes to Unfold in Southern Ontario Until Thursday Due to Intense Snow

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Experts advise people to exercise caution if they come into contact with a snake because they are more active during the summer in Australia, and there have been two deaths from snake bites in recent months. Here is a mini snake guide for locals and tourists alike during the snake season.

A 60-year-old man is believed to have died from a snake bite on Saturday in Queensland. On that morning, at about 70 kilometers west of Brisbane, on private property in Kensington Grove, it is thought that a brown snake bit his hand.

The local council urged residents to be extra cautious against the threats of snake bites throughout the summer months after a second fatal snake bite occurred in Gayndah, Queensland, in November 2022.

Fatal Snake Bites in Australia

More than 200 species of snakes, about two-thirds of which are venomous and only about a third of which are considered dangerous, - this means their bites could be fatal, are found in Australia, according to the CSIRO.

The highest rate of fatal snake bites has been found in sub-Saharan Africa as well as south and south-east Asian nations.

While it has been discovered that South Africa records an average of 476 deaths from snake bites each year, Australia typically only records two to three snake bite deaths each year.

Seeing Snakes

After learning how to catch snakes from his father, Matthew Stopford has been doing so for most of his life. He now owns and operates a snake-catching business on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

While he acknowledged that every situation was unique, he advised people to keep their distance from snakes in the wild and try not to startle them.

Stepping Backwards. Take a few steps backward, Stopford commanded. Some people might be able to snap a few pictures, but they must keep their distance and move on.

He also added that Although they won't chase people, snakes, especially brown snakes, will stand up and approach people if they become startled.

Watch Your Step. According to Stopford, a snake will typically only bite a person if they step on it or attempt to catch it because doing so will make the snake feel threatened.

Call a Pro. Stopford also advises contacting a qualified professional to get rid of any snakes that are discovered on a person's property or even inside their residence.

License. Without a permit, killing a snake is against the law in New South Wales and carries a $10,000 fine as well as possible jail time.

Eyes on the Prize

Finding Snakes. According to Stopford, the biggest error people make when there is a snake in their home or yard is to turn their attention away from it.

He advised that it is better to keep an eye on where it goes and what is happening. This is because snakes are excellent at hiding, and if the snake is not carefully watched, the snake catcher may not find it when they arrive.

Catching Snakes. Picking up snakes by the tail is Stopford's preferred method of capture, and he claims to have never been bitten. Within 20 kilometers of where they were taken, he places them in a bag and moves them to Crown land.

Venomous. According to Stopford, who predicted that roughly half of the snakes he captured would be poisonous, it's crucial that people treat all snakes as though they are venomous.

Also Read: New Species Dwarf Boa Found in Andes Cloud Forest Patch, Scientists Say "Shouldn't Be There"

Bitten By A Snake

Regardless of the type of snake involved, Queensland Health tells people to call an ambulance right away.

Don't Move. Stopford advised anyone who has been bitten by a snake to limit their movement, even though it was important to get away from any immediate danger.

Jewelry. Remove any tight jewelry from your body because the bitten body part will swell two or three times.

Pressure Bandage. The best treatment, in Stopford's opinion, is a pressure bandage that is wrapped around the bite site two or three times, down to the bottom of the limb, and then back up again, SBS News reports.

Queensland Health said to mark the bite site on the bandage after it has been applied with a pen or another mark-making material. If there are no markers, applying some mud or dirt to the bandage will suffice.

Do Not Suck. Although the general public still accepts these antiquated practices, WebMD says they could delay timely medical attention, contaminate the wound, or harm blood vessels and nerves. Even though the general public still embraces these outdated procedures, they run the risk of delaying prompt medical care, contaminating the wound, and damaging blood vessels and nerves.

Related Article: Highly Venomous Eastern Brown Snake Caught in Australia Airport as Temperatures Rise to 98 Degrees
The beginning of February would be challenging for many motorists and residents as severe weather conditions with rounds of freezing rain are expected to unload in Nashville, Ohio Valley, and Dallas.

Motorists aiming to travel this week should look into the severe weather conditions that would result in significant travel delays and hazardous travel.

The early week of February in the United States would be problematic as flooding rainfall would result in dangerous situations for residents in the South.

Rain and icy conditions

According to AccuWeather's latest forecast, the weather report noted that portions of Dallas, Ohio Valley and Southern Plains would expect wintry conditions this week.

Residents expecting colder air would notice this week as light rain could bring breezy conditions in Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Recently, USA Today reported that portions of the Northeast suffered from heavy snow that resulted in significant travel delays, business closures, school cancellations and widespread power outages.

On the other hand, the forecast said that winter warnings are present in portions of Texas, Southeastern Oklahoma, Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas.

The weather outlook on Monday showed that ice and thunderstorms are expected to unload this week.

The weather forecast said that spotty ice would unfold in Dallas and Oklahoma City.

Thunderstorms with rain would unleash in Houston.

In addition, the weather forecast said that Little Rock, Lubbock and El Paso would notice a chilly air breeze this week.

According to the NWS Weather Prediction Center, this week's weather outlook would expect a bitter beginning of cold air this week in the Western and Central States.

Meanwhile, residents and motorists on the East Coast would anticipate colder temperatures and mild weather on Saturday and Friday.

On Tuesday, AccuWeather reported that the weather conditions would become troublesome for motorists due to icy mix conditions.

The latest weather forecast said icy mixed conditions are expected in Dallas, Lubbock, Oklahoma, Wichita and Little Rock.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rain would unload in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Jackson and New Orleans.

On the same day, the forecast said that freezing rain would reach Southern Missouri, Central Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee this week.

Also Read: New York Experiences More Rain; Less Snow Expected This Week; Chances of Snow To Dump in Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, the weather forecast said the ice storm would cause power outages and tree damage this week.

A significant ice storm would unfold in Lubbock, Dallas, Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Charleston.

Due to the freezing potential, the chance of power outages would unleash in affected areas.

Staying safe during freezing travel

According to the CDC on winter storm alerts, the weather forecast explained that winter storms and freezing rain would be chaotic for many motorists.

Staying warm during winter and freezing events is extremely important.

Before traveling, it is best that motorists should check the weather conditions before planning to travel.

Ice conditions would result in road crashes and significant travel disruptions.

There is a chance that major roads would experience slippery travel due to snow and wet weather.

Road closures and delays are expected.

Did you know?

According to USA Facts, flooding is a common natural disaster in the United States. The report said that 99% of counties in the United States suffered from one flooding event between 1996 to 2019.

Related Article: Latest Weather Forecast: Dangerous, Severe Weather Conditions to Unleash in the Southern U.S This Week, Forecast Warns

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
The latest weather forecast warned that another storm could unload in Southern California this week, causing rain and thunderstorms.

People with travel plans this week should consider the weather forecasts.

Bringing an umbrella would be recommendable as rounds of storms would unleash anytime this week.

Mountain snow and gusty thunderstorms

According to AccuWeather's latest forecast this January 31, the weather report noted that another storm hitting Southern California is expected to dump mountain snow and thunderstorms.

The weather forecast added that the storm had limited moisture, but it would be enough to affect significant travel for this week.

The weather outlook revealed that gusty winds could affect San Francisco, Sacramento, Redding, Reno and Sacramento.

Here are further weather outlooks:

There is a chance of snow in Fresno, Cedar City and Grand Junction.

Rounds of rain showers would unload in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The weather report noted that the cold air breeze would unfold in Elko, Denver and Salt Lake City.

Due to the possible severe weather risks, the weather could become challenging for many motorists. In addition, there is a chance of downed trees and power outages.

It is recommendable that homeowners should consider securing anything outside their homes due to powerful winds.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) said that portions of the United States would experience severe weather risks starting Tuesday.

The weather forecast noted that dangerous ice conditions would unload in Texas, Tennessee and Lower Ohio Valleys.

Meanwhile, residents and motorists in the Southwest could anticipate cold rain showers, mountain snow and thunderstorms.

In addition, the NWS Bay Area's latest weather Key message showed a freeze warning in the Interior North and East Bay.

Also Read: Severe Weather Forecast: Rounds of Freezing Weather to Unfold in Dallas, Nashville, Ohio Valley This Week; Forecast Warns of Dangerous Travel

The weather forecast warned of possible challenging temperatures and hazardous travel.

The most common cold-related health concerns are hypothermia and frostbite. People should ensure to avoid prolonged exposure to colder temperatures.

Did you know?

According to Daily News, one of the most devastating storms in the United States occurred in Galveston, Texas, in 1900. The severe weather could reach from 8,000 to 12,000 casualties.

The NOAA's report also noted that one of the costliest hurricanes in the U.S. was Hurricane Karina, causing about $108 billion of property damage.

Severe thunderstorms safety

From relentless rain and atmospheric rivers, Californians are not strangers to severe weather risks. Thunderstorms and lightning strikes are life-threatening.

According to CDC's Lightning Safety Tips, staying safe during severe weather risks is essential, especially since every second counts.

Here are important reminders to keep in mind.

Staying aware of the severe weather risks is essential. Knowing the weather conditions can help you become more prepared and anticipate the weather's impact.

Emergency plans and securing a place are two critical preparedness during severe weather events. Covering your head as you evacuate to a secure or safe location is best.

In addition, it is recommendable to stay indoors as thunderstorms or lightning strikes emerge.

Stay away from open waters during thunderstorm events. You are more susceptible to lightning if you stay in bodies of water.

Avoid staying in open structures and using electronic equipment.

Keeping you safe is crucial during severe weather.

Related Article: Latest Weather Forecast: Dangerous, Severe Weather Conditions to Unleash in the Southern U.S This Week, Forecast Warns

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
An alien comet is travelling in space and heading in a direction towards our Sun, and scientists believe that the space object came from another solar system, likely within our own galaxy the Milky Way.

Unlike other comets, the mysterious visitor in our own system is relatively larger and has more protection from being disintegrated by the heat of our Sun.

Comets are relatively fast-moving celestial bodies that can be found orbiting our Sun, where they become faster as they approach it.

Amid the vastness of our solar system, the European Space Agency (ESA) says over a trillion comets can be found in the Oort Cloud, a region in space consisting of icy objects, theorized to be remnants from the formation of the Sun.

Alien Comet Approaches Sun

The six kilometer-wide (3.7 miles) comet named 96P/Machholz 1 is being monitored by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, owned by the ESA, as it currently travels toward our solar system's only star, specifically inside the planet Mercury's orbit and leaves an ice trail in behind its path, Live Science reported.

In 2008, a material analysis from remnants of 150 comets determined that the alien comet contained less than 1.5% of the expected level of the chemical compound cyanogen and that it was also low in carbon, which led astronomers to assert that the space rock could be a visitor from a different solar system, as cited by the science news website.

Also Read: Remnants of a Comet that Exploded in 2007 Will Reach the Earth

Comet 96P/Machholz 1

Captured images of Comet Machholz 1 in 2002 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) indicated that one could see the said ball of ice and gas with the unaided eye but its clear physical appearance appears to be flaring up many times.

During the said observations, Maccholz was 22 million kilometers from the Sun.

However, the latest arrival of the alien comet is not the first time.

In fact, it also had some of the nearest approach to the Sun in the past as part of its complete orbit every 63 months, according to NASA.

However, the record-breaking closest distance that the comet will reach with the Sun will be on Tuesday, January 31, according to reports.

In 2019, Harvard University cited a study from various institutions, including the University of Maryland, showing that Comet 96P/Maccholz 1 is an object of great interest due to its unusually small perihelion distance and observed fragmentation in multiple apparitions.

The alien comet received its name when it was first spotted in 1986 by David Machholz who only used a homemade cardboard telescope.

Observations of comets are possible since they tend to get smaller but burn as they approach the Sun.

Just like asteroids, theoretical predictions about major comets hitting Earth is rare yet possible and can lead to widespread planetary damage, since a comet impact could result in a massive dust plume covering our planet.

Related Article: NASA Confirms the Largest Comet Ever Discovered Traveling Towards the Sun
Startup ECL has emerged from stealth mode with some mighty big plans: to reinvent the data-center industry with hydrogen-powered modular data centers that use no local power and water.

Rather than drawing power from the electrical grid the company will generate electricity for its data centers using hydrogen fuel cells. The only byproduct is water either as a liquid or vapor that is used for cooling with the leftovers being returned to the local environment. So we can give back to the community some of the water that were producing, said ECL founder and CEO Yuval Bachar, who previously helped design data centers for Facebook and LinkedIn.

The data centers can be run like traditional colocation centers that provide the power, cooling, and racks, with customers providing their own computer hardware. The big difference will be a green option they might not be able to afford otherwise, Bachar said. ECL will also custom build their data centers to customer needs.

Theres two categories of data centers right now in the industry, he said, the mega data centers, and then the colocation and on-premises data centers that in most cases, are actually inferiordramatically inferiorto the mega data centers. Theres a gap in between where ECL comes in. We are enabling the smaller customer to have the [hyhdrogen-power] experience, which they cannot have today.

The company is building its first hydrogen-powered data center in Mountain View, California, thats due to come online in the second quarter of this year.

ECLBlock architecture

The ECL data-center design is modular, made up of ECLBlocks that handle the power and cooling. Each block holds up to 24 racks of servers with up to 50kW of power per cabinet, using ECL proprietary rear-door heat exchange for cooling.

Bachar said the companys sweet spot is 50kW per rack, which is more than enough for most server use cases, even power-hungry AI applications. We can push the rack to 75 on a limited basis, not the whole data center, he said.

Customers can mix high-power racks and low-power racks without having to manually balance power across them; that is handled by AI, the company says.

The company says it expects its data center is earn a 1.05 rating for power usage effectiveness (PUE), the ratio of the total energy consumed by a facility to the total energy consumed by the IT gear operating in it. Most traditional data centers have an average PUE of 1.5.

Another capability of the modular design accommodates using 24 blocks to build a single large data center, for example, or partition the blocks into 24 independent facilities or any combination in between.

ECL is also offering data-center-as-a-service, where it builds a data center for the customer and operates it on a consumption basis. We actually identify the location, we get the permits, we build the structures, and we bring that to the customer, Bachar said. The payment model is same as with a colocation facility. So customers pay rent, and they pay for the energy, he said.

Because their facilities are off the grid, edge deployments are also candidates to take advantage of the ECL hydrogen-power technology, Bachar said.

What were trying to do over here is democratize it, and say, Everybody can have access toand in some cases bettertechnology than what the hyperscalers have, he said.
African student pursues medical dream in China

Xinhua) 16:13, January 31, 2023

TIANJIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Having been an intern at one of the top hospitals in north China's port city of Tianjin for nearly a year, Mahamat Hamid Mahamat, a Ph.D. candidate in neurosurgery, said he is getting closer to his dream every day.

Mahamat, 33, resolved to become a doctor in his home country, the Republic of Chad in central Africa, after completing study at the city's top-notch Nankai University.

The African student has aspired to learn medicine in China since childhood. He was long impressed by the friendliness and capabilities of the Chinese medical teams sent to his country decades ago.

Since 1978, 17 medical teams from China have been dispatched to the African country for medical cooperation and assistance in the health sector.

Mahamat said these medical teams are deeply respected in Chad as they often make long treks to remote villages to visit patients.

From 2000 to 2020, China also provided around 120,000 government scholarships to assist outstanding African young talents in furthering their study in China. Mahamat is one of those who have benefited from the program.

First enrolled at Jiamusi University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in 2011, Mahamat thus traveled across the country to pursue higher degrees. He was later admitted to Lanzhou University in northwest China.

Now fluent in Chinese, Mahamat keeps a busy schedule every day and often works overtime during his internship at Tianjin Huanhu Hospital to get familiar with his patients as soon as possible.

"If a patient suddenly catches a high fever, I would first ask for his or her overall symptoms before drawing any conclusion, as there might be a possibility of infection," said Mahamat.

Talking about his friends who share the same education experience sponsored by China, Mahamat said those who chose majors including machinery, civil engineering, and petrochemical have mostly returned to their country and made their own contributions.

Albeit a few years before his graduation, Mahamat routinely shares medical knowledge on social media with people at home. "No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen my devotion to my country and people," he said.

Mahamat added that he was always inspired by the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, which he thinks includes sincere friendship, equal treatment, mutual benefit and development, justice, openness, and tolerance.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, can place a significant financial burden on patients, according to an analysis led by a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The study, which looked at costs for patients with HCC in the first year after diagnosis, found that median Medicare payments exceeded $65,000 and out-of-pocket costs were more than $10,000  significantly more than costs for patients with cirrhosis alone.

The study, led by Amit Singal, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases and a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern, was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

As has been shown for other cancer types, we found patients with liver cancer suffer from high cancer-related financial burden. Financial toxicity of cancer therapy can negatively impact patients, resulting in medical debt and even bankruptcy for some patients." Dr. Amit Singal, M.D., Medical Director of UTSW's Liver Tumor Program and a Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care

The total cost of cancer treatment in the United States is expected to reach nearly $250 billion by 2030. The team chose to investigate outcomes in liver cancer given its rising incidence and mortality rate. Liver cancer mortality is accelerating, in part due to continued detection at late stages, and it is expected to be the third-leading cause of cancer deaths by 2040, according to Dr. Singal and his team.

The cost of liver cancer treatment has been little studied, the researchers said. Several treatments have become available for patients in the past decade, including new surgeries, radiation-based therapies, and immunotherapies, making it essential to understand the financial impact of treatment. Although these therapies can be effective, they also can be quite expensive and difficult for patients to afford.

Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Medicare database, the study looked at first-year treatment costs for 4,525 patients ages 68 and older who were diagnosed with liver cancer between 2011 and 2015. The study compared costs for patients with HCC with those for a matched set of patients with cirrhosis.

Sixty-seven percent of the patients in the study were male; 72% were white, 7.5% Black, 3.7% Hispanic, and 16.7% other ethnicities. Medication claims were not included because they were not available for all patients covered by Medicare parts A and B.

The analysis found that patients with liver cancer had significantly higher inpatient, outpatient, and physician costs compared with the cirrhosis-only patients. Median out-of-pocket costs for the first year of treatment were more than $7,000 higher than the costs for the cirrhosis patients.

The analysis found that patients with early-stage liver cancer had lower costs. Patients with certain co-existing conditions, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and ascites (fluid in the abdomen), experienced higher costs. These differences in costs across subgroups are notable because most patients are found beyond an early stage, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an increasingly common underlying factor for liver cancer.

"Our data highlight that HCC care not only causes considerable financial stress on the health care system but directly for patients and their family members, who suffer from high out-of-pocket costs. There is a clear need for policy interventions and financial support systems in this patient population," said Dr. Singal.

This study was supported by grants through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP170259), the National Institutes of Health (R01 MD012565 and U01 CA230694), the Population Informatics Lab, and the Texas Virtual Data Library at Texas A&M University. Dr. Singal disclosed his financial interests in the manuscript.

Dr. Singal holds the Willis C. Maddrey, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Liver Disease.
A combination of chemotherapy and drugs that stimulate the immune system to combat cancer is increasingly used to control progression of the disease in patients. On the other hand, clinical studies show that the combination has adverse side effects, such as peripheral neuropathy characterized by pain, numbness, tingling, sensitivity to cold in the hands and feet, and sometimes in the arms and legs. These problems can lead to suspension of the treatment.

A group of Brazilian researchers set out to follow up on these clinical observations by investigating the mechanisms that trigger side effects of two drugs used in combination to combat lung and breast cancer  paclitaxel and immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-PD1 and anti-PDL1.

Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug widely distributed by the SUS (Sistema Unificado de Saude), Brazil's national health system, for several types of cancer. In many patients, it causes adverse side effects such as peripheral neuropathy. Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is relatively new and has revolutionized the treatment of certain types of advanced cancer by promoting anti-tumor immune responses. However, dose-limiting side effects have been seen to increase in patients to whom these medications are administered concomitantly. The researchers sought to understand the processes involved in these adverse reactions and discovered a mechanism underlying both the development of severe neuropathic pain and the exacerbated side effects associated with the combination of the two treatments.

The study was conducted at the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) funded by FAPESP and hosted by the University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP).

Scientists affiliated with the Sao Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP) and Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital (HIAE) also participated.

An article on the study is published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research. The findings could serve as a basis for further research on ways of combating pain associated with other diseases.

According to the article, the immune checkpoint inhibitors block interaction between PDL1 proteins present in macrophages (innate immune system cells) and PD1 receptors found in neurons. This interaction normally inhibits the neuropathic pain caused by the damage done by paclitaxel to the central and peripheral nervous systems. The inhibitors, therefore, end up intensifying this side effect.

The interaction between macrophages and neurons via PDL1 and PD1 as a pain control mechanism was not clear from previous research. "The role of this PD1-PDL1 synergy in pain control has never been so evident. Our discovery that this neuroimmune interaction can attenuate the neuropathic pain associated with cancer treatment serves as a basis for exploring the mechanism in other disease models," said Carlos Wagner Wanderley, a researcher at CRID and first author of the article, alongside Alexandre Maganin. Wanderley was supported by a postdoctoral scholarship from FAPESP.

"Clinical trials had already found that immunotherapy combined with paclitaxel increased patient pain, suggesting neurotoxicity. This study linked basic research and clinical analysis in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the mechanism involved. The results proved significant," said Thiago Mattar Cunha, a professor at FMRP-USP and last author of the article alongside Fernando de Queiroz Cunha, professor of pharmacology at FMRP-USP and CRID's principal investigator.

By understanding the mechanisms involved in the intensification of pain due to the combination of the two treatments, we can develop therapeutic alternatives that prevent pain and maintain anti-neoplastic effects." Fernando de Queiroz Cunha, professor of pharmacology at FMRP-USP

A previous study in which Mattar Cunha also took part, revealed another of the mechanisms behind the side effects caused by paclitaxel in cancer patients. The results showed that the drug binds to and activates C5aR1, a cellular receptor involved in inflammatory diseases and tumors. This connection is crucial to the origin of adverse reactions to the chemotherapy drug.

Stages of the study

The researchers gave mice paclitaxel and measured the animals' temperature, paw pressure and strength, analyzing inflammatory markers to confirm that they were experiencing neuropathic pain. In focusing on the role of PDL1 and PD1 in modulating the pain induced by the drug, they found the protein and receptor to be expressed in neural tissue. However, during the development of the adverse reactions triggered by paclitaxel, expression of PDL1 increased in peripheral nervous tissue macrophages, specifically in the dorsal root ganglion.

The researchers also observed that exogenous administration of PDL1 inhibited the pain triggered by the drug as well as other painful stimuli in the mice, suggesting that the PDL1/PD1 signaling pathway attenuated peripheral neuropathy. In addition, they found that administration of anti-PDL1 combined with paclitaxel intensified chronic neuropathy in the mice, as it often does in patients.

"The immediate impact of our research is that clinics that administer this combination of drugs can now identify patients with pain and take steps to avoid the problem, such as substituting paclitaxel," Maganin said.

A group of scientists recently set up a new Center for Research in Immuno-Oncology (CRIO) via a partnership among FAPESP, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), HIAE and FMRP-USP to identify novel therapeutic targets and mechanisms involved in adverse side effects of cancer treatment (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/38762).
Mother-to-be Kathleen Founds made a routine doctor's appointment to discuss the risks of antidepressants in pregnancy. After the visit, Founds, who relies on medication to quell the manic highs and despondent lows of bipolar disorder, learned the physician was out of network.

She received a surprise bill for $650, launching her into a maze of claim forms and hours on the phone being routed from one office to the next to dispute the charges  insurance red tape that so many Americans have encountered. A decade later, Founds captured her experience in a graphic novel, "Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance," a richly illustrated, darkly funny fable for adults about the country's dysfunctional health system.

The book, published in November, follows Theodore, an intelligent but angst-ridden bear, on his quest for treatment for his own manic-depressive illness. But first he must navigate the demands of the WeCare company, a shady outfit run by cigar-smoking felines who profit unfairly from a lopsided economy and a corrupt justice system, among other things. His fellow outcasts include such characters as an overeducated owl drowning in student debt and a bomb-sniffing puppy suffering from PTSD.

America is internationally known for high-quality care, for those who can afford it. A new Gallup Poll shows that a record-high proportion of Americans  38%  postponed medical care because of high costs in 2022. Federal and state "no surprise" laws of the past few years seek to protect consumers from unexpected medical bills. But they don't prevent expenses like high deductibles or fees hidden in the fine print of their insurance policies.

"Bipolar Bear" joins other recent works to shine a light on health inequities  part of the emerging genre of graphic medicine. It includes seminal illness narratives such as "Mom's Cancer" by Brian Fies and nurse MK Czerwiek's "Taking Turns: Stories from the HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371" as well as "Rx," Rachel Lindsay's memoirs about taking a job at a pharmaceutical company to secure insurance to cover treatment for bipolar disorder.

Descended from the underground comics of the 1960s, graphic medicine has grown into a new field of scholarship on the medium's role in the study and delivery of health care, said Ian Williams, the Welsh physician who coined the term back in 2007. "It's ideal for exploring subjects having to do with one's life and well-being in an ironic and funny way," he said.

As Founds puts it, humor is a powerful weapon against despair.

The 40-year-old mother of two teaches English at a community college in Santa Cruz County on California's central coast. She has never taken an art class and didn't set out to write a graphic novel. The book began as a doodle in the margins of her notebook while studying for a master's degree in fiction writing at Syracuse University in New York. Her 2014 novel in short stories, "When Mystical Creatures Attack," is about a teacher who suffers a nervous breakdown and communicates with her students from a psychiatric hospital.

KHN contributing reporter Rachel Scheier spoke to Founds about bringing Theodore to life. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you come to write a book about a bear with bipolar disorder?

I'd been making children's books for my little brother. They were all about angst-ridden animals: a lonely giant squid, a possum with social anxiety disorder who falls asleep whenever he's in an awkward situation, a burro who wants to be a unicorn. My goal was to write a novel. But whenever I was too depressed to string a sentence together, I'd draw bears. Then I realized that anyone dealing with a mental health issue in this country is going to have to deal with the labyrinth of health insurance. And I thought it would be fun to depict it as an actual labyrinth with trapdoors and man-eating flowers. Once I went in that direction, it was no longer a children's book.

Q: Was the book based on your own experience with mental illness?

Yes. I had my first major depressive episode at the end of high school, but I didn't seek out professional help. I just sort of muddled through it. Then, when I was a sophomore at Stanford, I had my first manic episode. I had a series of realizations about the nature of the universe, and I didn't sleep or eat very much. Then, in graduate school, I went to a clinic because I was going through a depression, and the psychiatrist asked me questions like "Was there ever a time when you had a lot of energy and didn't feel a need to sleep?" And I said, "Oh, sure, but that was a spiritual awakening." So, I had to reframe my life story a bit after that.

Q: But religion still has a role in your life?

I'm a Quaker. It's something I came to through my interest in nonviolent social change. When I am severely depressed, I feel like life has no purpose. So, following a code that says life does have meaning, that we are all connected by a force of love that undergirds the universe, is something that has helped me a lot.

Q: Why animals?

People are hard to draw! Cartoon animals are a lot easier. I wasn't interested in art in school  actually, when I started drawing was during that first manic episode. I do not recommend writing a 200-page graphic novel with no artistic training. I mean, it took 13 years, but I did finish it.

Q: Why did it take so long?

I worked on it off and on while I was writing essays and working on the beginnings of several other novels. When I finally finished it, I was so excited. I was ready to see it on bookshelves within a year. I sent it to my agent, and she wrote me a very nice email which said, "I love this. It's very creative. But there's no way I can sell it." Most graphic novels for grownups are memoir  there wasn't a clear genre. Then another agent I reached out to said, "I can't take this on, but you should try Graphic Mundi, which had published several novels in the field of graphic medicine."

Q: What made you want to write about health insurance?

Our system is actually killing people. We have a high suicide rate in this country, and people are not able to access mental health care. And then, when they do get help, it's not necessarily the psychiatrist who determines the course of care; it's the insurance company. If you go into a room of 10 Americans, five can tell you a health insurance nightmare story.

But I also wanted to explore what it means to develop a healthy lifestyle and grow a strong community and go through all this growth and healing that Bipolar Bear goes through in the story, only to have the depression come back again. What is the meaning of my journey if I find myself right back where I was before? Ultimately, there's no answer to that question, but there is a right thing to do, which is to ask for help. We're all saved by each other.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers assessed the influence of rapid engineering of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) therapeutic antibodies to expand the neutralization spectrum.

*Important notice: bioRxiv 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.

Background

Antibody therapies serve as the standard of care for immunocompromised individuals prone to adverse coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, antibody therapies approved for the COVID-19 treatment have displayed waning efficacy shortly after the emergence of new strains. Given the threat of reinfection, broadly active monoclonal antibodies (MABs) are urgently required for the prevention and/or treatment of high-risk individuals.

Existing methodologies for engineering neutralizing therapeutic mAbs depend on the isolation of antibodies from vaccinated or infected persons or from vaccinated humanized mice. However, this method is not well-suited for quickly evolving targets like SARS-CoV-2, for which the lead discovery phase needs repetition whenever a novel variant emerges.

About the study

In the present study, researchers developed a method that adapts the neutralization breadth of antibodies in real-time as SARS-CoV-2 variants evolve.

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the team developed a therapeutic candidate mAb using the rabbit discovery approach, which combined rabbit vaccination with Fab-phage display. The team immunized rabbits with the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain receptor-binding domain (RBD) and selected phage libraries on the Wuhan-Hu-1 spike protein trimer. Using the Fab neutralization assay, an effective clone C-A11 was identified. Then, complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) were grafted on a human framework to generate hN2Y, a humanized clone, which displayed robust neutralization of Wuhan-Hu-1.

The team utilized the stage-enhanced maturation (STEM) platform to increase the neutralization efficacy of hN2Y against newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. This STEM platform sampled the broadest diversity of sequences across all CDRs, such as mutations that operate cooperatively and include developability criteria during selection.

Single CDR mutant hN2Y libraries were generated. These distinct CDR libraries were initially screened on the Wuhan-Hu-1 spike trimer in order to remove non-binders and separate a large number of unique clones. To expand the breadth of neutralization, the library of combined light chains was chosen for the SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant, while the combined heavy chain library was chosen independently for the Alpha, Gamma, Beta, and Epsilon variants.

Neutralization titers associated with either monoclonal antibodies or serum samples were determined using the surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT), which measured the blockage of recombinant spike trimer against recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) protein by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this experiment, the team immobilized the recombinant human Fc-tagged ACE2 receptor and pre-incubated the immunoglobulin (Ig)-Gs with the spike trimer prior to adding the blocked wells that were coated with ACE2. Tested IgGs included the original neutralizing rabbit mAb C-A11, LxC1-G10 with mutations in light chain CDRs, the parent humanized clone hN2Y, and 6R8/6R9 clones with alterations in heavy as well as light chain CDRs.

Results

The study findings showed that LxC1-G10, a remarkable candidate from the combined light chain library, demonstrated excellent neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants. The library was chosen based on BA.2.75.2, BA.5, XBB, and BQ.1.1 variants, all of which have an F486 mutation, which is suspected to be a key contributor to the loss in activity of LxC1-G10. After eight or nine of panning, a heterogeneous collection of seven very effective, widely neutralizing IgGs (6R8/6R9 clones) was found.

Notably, humanizing the rabbit antibody did not dramatically lower efficacy, as hN2Y maintained comparable neutralizing activity for the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and Delta variants as C-A11. However, the IgGs displayed remarkably lowered neutralization of the original Omicron BA.1 variant.

LxC1-G10-mediated neutralization of initial Omicron variants was greatly enhanced to low ng/mL half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values with respect to BA.1, BA.2, BA2.3.20, and BA2.75 as well as BN.1. However, the IgGs lost their potency against the BA.2.75.2 variant, which differed significantly from the others because of the F486S and R346T mutations. Furthermore, BQ.1 and BA.5 lacked the R346T mutation but carried the F486V mutation, while LxC1-G10 did not appreciably neutralize these variants. This indicated that the F486 mutation was the most important factor contributing to the loss of activity in LxC1-G10.

The affinity of hN2Y for the Beta variant was slightly lower than that of the original rabbit clone C-A11, whereas the affinity of LxC1-G10 increased to a low pM binding K D . LxC1-G10 displayed a K D affinity of 24 pM for BA.1, which was a five-fold improvement over hN2Y. However, the binding affinity of LxC1-G10 declined by almost 100-fold from 24 pM for BA.1 to 2.1 nM for BQ.1.1. Additionally, seven 6R8/6R9 IgGs had a K D of 7 pM or less for BQ.1.1 and less than 70 pM for XBB.1.5.

Bebtelovimab demonstrated weak binding towards BQ.1.1 but no binding to XBB.1.5. Neither Tixagevimab nor Cilgavimab displayed binding to XBB.1.5 or BQ.1.1 versions. On the other hand, the engineered IgGs exhibited low pM binding K D for the most recent circulating Omicron variants.

Conclusion

The study findings highlighted the validation of the innovative STEM platform. The team could successfully regain potency via engineering against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The researchers believed that the present strategy can be used for the future generation of therapeutic mAbs against SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses, allowing for the rapid development of widely neutralizing therapeutic mAbs.

*Important notice: bioRxiv 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.
In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers examined the impact and success of social media advertisements worth $40 million in influencing the opinions about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and increasing the vaccination rates during the first year of vaccine roll-out.

Background

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media advertisements were widely used to communicate with large portions of the population about the importance of disease mitigation measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing, as well as about COVID-19 vaccines. Public health organizations and policymakers in almost every country extensively used social media platforms to provide information and influence public behavior during the pandemic.

Understanding the success of these social media advertisement campaigns and their effectiveness in influencing public perception and increasing vaccine uptake is important since public health agencies continue to formulate strategies to tackle the pandemic. Furthermore, the success of online campaigns could be utilized for other digital health-related interventions.

About the study

In the present study, the researchers analyzed advertisement campaigns run by 174 public health organizations through Facebook and Instagram and evaluated three major questions  1) what was the impact of the social media advertisement campaigns, 2) were they cost-effective, and 3) what outcomes did the social media advertisements impact the most?

The advertisement campaigns analyzed in this study were conducted from December 2020 to November 2021 and cumulatively accounted for 39.4 million dollars in advertising. The campaigns were conducted by various public health organizations, including public health ministries, multinational non-profit organizations, and local non-governmental organizations. A total of 819 experiments from 174 organizations and 376 advertisement campaigns were meta-analyzed. These campaigns were translated into 15 languages and reached close to 2.1 billion individuals.

The analyzed data consisted of campaigns where the causal effect of the campaigns could be assessed since the user exposure to the advertisements was randomized. Furthermore, for a subset of the users, the experiments could be combined with information from a user-level survey which examined aspects such as the individuals receptiveness to getting a COVID-19 vaccine, understanding of the importance of vaccines, beliefs in vaccine safety and effectiveness, perception about the trustworthiness of the advertisement source, knowledge about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, and views on the social acceptability of vaccines. The responses were classified as binary outcomes.

Results

The results indicated that the social media advertisement campaigns were successful in influencing the public perception of COVID-19 vaccines. The study reported a baseline positive rate of 55.7% and a 0.55% points increase in the positive responses in all experiments. This translates to 11.6 million individuals whose attitudes and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccinations were influenced by the social media advertisement campaigns, at the cost of approximately 3.41 dollars per person. Combined with information from nonexperimental studies on vaccination rates, the results indicate that social media advertisement campaigns were a cost-effective method to influence public perception about COVID-19 vaccines and increase vaccine uptake rates.

Furthermore, the advertisement campaigns were also seen to be effective in improving the knowledge about how to obtain COVID-19 vaccines. The outcomes that were significantly affected by the advertisement campaigns were the knowledge of how to get vaccines, the beliefs about the safety and importance of COVID-19 vaccines, and the views on the social acceptability of vaccines. While a few individual campaigns were able to increase the receptiveness to vaccines and perceptions about the effectiveness of vaccines, on average, the campaigns did not seem to influence the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines, the beliefs about the effectiveness of the vaccines, or the trustworthiness of the advertisement source.

Conclusions

To summarize, the study analyzed the success and cost-effectiveness of social media advertising campaigns accounting for close to $40 million in improving the public perception of COVID-19 vaccines and increasing vaccine uptake rates.

Overall, the results indicated that the social media advertisements by public health organizations were cost-effective and successful in influencing self-reported beliefs about COVID-19. The success of these campaigns suggests that such social media campaigns can potentially be used for a wide range of public health initiatives, such as childhood vaccinations.
In a recent study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers reported on the clinical and molecular characteristics of monkeypox (MPX) virus (MPXV) infections in Finland.

Background

Ever since 2022, an unprecedented MPXV outbreak has been observed across the globe, with MPXV being detected among individuals with no travel history to nations endemic to MPXV, particularly among males who have sex with males (MSM). MPXV was introduced in Finland between May and June of 2022. An improved understanding of the evolutionary characteristics of MPXV and clinical profiles of MPX is critical to developing more effective vaccines and therapeutics against MPXV.

About the study

In the present study, researchers described the clinical and genetic profiles of MPX patients in Finland.

Four MPX patients, aged between 20 and 40 years, were investigated, all of whom had a history of recent travel to South Europe, were self-declared MSM individuals, and reported having unprotected sex in recent times with unknown individuals. Two of the four patients were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Patient 1 presented with fever, inguinal lymphadenopathy, and synchronous MPX lesions on the penis. Specimens were obtained from the corresponding region five days post-symptom onset.

Patient 2 presented with fever, headache, exhaustion, and inguinal lymphadenopathy, with asynchronous lesions on the face, neck, trunk, and penis. Specimens were collected from the face and trunk on 31 May, ten days after the onset of MPX symptoms. Patient 3 presented with fever, myalgia, lymphadenopathy, nausea, and asynchronous lesions on the trunk, hands, anus, and feet. Specimens were obtained from the hand four days post-symptom onset.

Full MPXV genomes were obtained from three patients: the first patient [penile lesion, Cq (quantitative cycle) 20], the second patient (facial lesion, Cq 26), and the fourth patient (perianal lesion, Cq 23). Only a fragment of the MPXV genome was obtained from the third patients hand lesions (Cq 33). The genomes in all specimens were subjected to sequencing analysis.

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was performed to detect orthopoxvirus presence, to be confirmed as MPXV by hemagglutinin gene sequencing. Further, phylogenetic analysis of MPXV sequences was performed using the phylogenetic tree inferred from the maximum-likelihood technique.

The dataset was limited to MPXV genomes with less than 5,000.0 ambiguous genomic sites. In addition, regions with bootstrapping values below 70 and clustered without any designated lineage or Finnish representative were excluded from the analysis. Real-time PCR detected orthopoxvirus presence in all the specimens, subsequently confirmed to be MPXV using hemagglutinin gene sequencing.

Results

Intrahost MPXV genomic variations were observed in the first patients sample, comprising one major strain with three nucleotide (nt) substitutions (non-synonymous G55133A and C64426T mutations and non-synonymous G190660A mutation) specific to B.1.3, and a minor strain comprising B.1 nucleotides. The three mutations were based on NCBI (national center for biotechnology information) data). Phylogenetic analyses showed clustering of MPXV sequences (from the first patient) with B.1.3 strain genomes.

The three mutations in the first patients sequence comprised minority variations with 10.0% frequency (G55133A, depth 2231, 233 guanosine nucleotides and 1,997 adenine nucleotides), 12.0% frequency (C64426T, depth 2685, 308 cytosine nucleotides and, 2,364 thymine nucleotides), and 13.0% frequency (G190660A, depth 2685, 280 guanine nucleotides and 1,872 adenine nucleotides).

The MPXV sequence from the second patient was similar to those initially identified in Portugal, followed by several nations. The MPXV sequence from the fourth patient had four nucleotide substitutions, i.e., G94798A, C89906T, C188491T, and C150831T, of which the G94798A and C89906T sequences were observed in MPXV genomes detected in Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.

The characteristic SNV (single nucleotide variation) in the first patients genome was in line with the impact of the APOBEC3 (apolipoprotein B messenger ribonucleic acid-editing catalytic polypeptide-like 3) enzyme present in humans, indicated to be the driver of cytosine-thymine>thymine-thymine and guanosine-adenine> adenine-adenine transformations in MPXV.

Fixed minor SNVs within lesions were also observed in five Portuguese specimens which underwent sequencing in May of 2022 and were reported in a public-access dataset, indicating that the SNV pattern could be a usual evolutionary component of MPXV. However, contrasting to previous observations, the major SNV genotypes and minor single nucleotide variation genotypes in the first patient were reportedly fixed in previous records of MPXV genome sequences.

Conclusion

To conclude, based on the study findings, monkeypox epidemiology might be indicative of ongoing APOBEC3mediated co-infection or evolution.
A research team, led by Professor Sung Ho Park in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNIST announced the results of a study on osteoblasts that damage joint bones in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

In this study, the research team studied the possibility of a treatment method targeting mechanisms related to the differentiation process of osteoblasts that melt bones through enzyme reactions. First, it was confirmed that a superinhancer is formed near the NFATC1 gene, which is known to be an important factor in the formation of osteoblasts, and it is formed only in osteoblasts.

In addition, it was confirmed that an enhancer RNA, a type of non-encrypted RNA, is formed in the NFATC1 superinhand during osteoblastic cell formation.

Non-encrypted RNA does not encode proteins, but plays an important role in regulating gene expression. In particular, due to the specificity of the molecular sequence, it can be easily targeted for treatment. In fact, we observed that interfering with NFATC1 superinhancer RNA inhibits the formation of osteoblasts together.

Through this study, it has been confirmed that NFATC1 super-in-hander RNA, which is formed during osteoblast differentiation, can be used as a treatment target.

"Our study is the first to identify SEs and SE-eRNAs in human osteoclasts and provides a better understanding of human osteoclast biology, thereby opening new therapeutic avenues for human pathological bone destruction," noted the research team.

The findings of this research were made available in December 2022, ahead of its publication in the journal, Cellular and Molecular Immunology. This study has been supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).
Sorry little girl. May the doors of heaven open at the sound of your footsteps May a bright angel watch over and follow you through your inevitable journey.

by Ruwantissa Abeyratne

You are an open wound

And we are standing

In a pool of your blood

Rupi Kaur

25th of January 2023 was significant from a judicial standpoint, but it was a grim reminder of how many lives were stolen in the most violent and egregious way.

The Destruction

One of the worst atrocities in the annals of civil aviation was perpetrated when Flight MH 17 was destroyed over Eastern Ukraine by a ground-based missile. Was Russia to blame? Or was it Ukraine? Or even the airline for flying over dangerous territory? The aircraft operating the flight was shot down in eastern Ukraine about 60km from the Russian border on 17 July 2014, allegedly by pro-Russia separatists. All the 298 passengers  193 of whom were Dutch  are believed to have died, and some of the remains of those who perished were never recovered. It is now revealed that death was not instantaneous.

File photo of MH17 plane crash: All 283 passengers, including 80 children, and 15 crew members were killed [ Photo: Special Arrangement]

Everyone seemingly responsible for the heinous act started deflecting blame, and a little girl (and all others on board) on the flight was forgotten, except for her devastated father who grieved the unbearable loss of his only child.

From then on, everything became clinical and adjudicatory.

Seven and a half years later, The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 25th January 2023  on a purely procedural and technical issue  that complaints against Russia from Ukraine and the Netherlands should go to trial, but it was not about what the little Dutch girl lost. Who would care anymore, anyway?

The European Court of Human rights, in a press release said: Among other things, the Court found that areas in eastern Ukraine in separatist hands were, from May 11, 2014 and up to at least January 26, 2022, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation , referring to the presence in eastern Ukraine of Russian military personnel from April 2014 and the large-scale deployment of Russian troops from August 2014 at the latest.

The Little Dutch Girl

One day in mid July 2014 a young girl  full of hope for her future and bubbling with the energy of youth  boarded a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, in Amsterdam. She had everything in life to be thankful for  a university education, romance and courting, a good life with a warm home and a family  all in front of her. The best was yet to come. It was time for new life to start with the freshness of hope and all the happiness that her young heart could take. Her penalty for being born was not even in the distant horizon.

Her destination was Kuala Lumpur, and she was looking forward to a lighthearted romp on a fun flight and a glorious holiday with her family who were travelling with her.

Yet she did not make it.

Every day, people die of accidents caused by their own negligence, or diseases beyond their control. People also die of intentional killing by others. Somewhat rarely, people suffer death through random acts of violence  like the little Dutch girl. For her there was no second chance. There was no going back to the perfumed meadow of Summer. It was as though an alien sky swallowed her that clear day and the future became an illusion.

There are no answers no good, no evil only a million promises not kept that day when it raised its ugly head. We can only fill the craters with ashes; level the furrows plant grass, trees, flowers lay white gravel path some rustic benches  a public park and hush the cries of orphaned parents.

But there was no one when darkness fell that night and all the lights went out. She should have had someone that she could find. She should not have been alone to weep.

My Reflections

Today, that little girl would have been in her early twenties. What would she be doing? Perhaps reminiscing over her first and only love at university? The first time she saw him and looked down and walked away? How memories of him protecting both under a tiny umbrella when they walked alone in the rain flood her mind? How she forgot to tell him what was on her mind? How she hurt for having forgotten to tell him what was on her mind? How excited she felt when she scored high grades and ran up to tell him? The look on dads face when she told him of her grades.

Maybe she would be holding her first born lovingly and tenderly, while her baby peered at her radiant like a pearl in an oyster that had a little door. She would have been overwhelmed with joy as though her whole world had been invigorated by the touch of a butterfly and the splash of a drop of dew. She could have had many days walking through tender meadows of sunshine and warmth amidst the laughter and joy of simple pleasures.

We Failed Her

We did not keep our promises to a little girl who depended on us for her safety We did not have stringent regulations, and Standards to stop that flight. We knew the area was dangerous, infested with unscrupulous elements holding ground-based missiles. Yet we did nothing to prevent the ominous and grave risk that was posed to the flight. We did not have a system of sharing and disseminating threat information in a timely manner. We did not know to whom this information should have been relayed. We dont seem to have known what risk avoidance was  that it involved a risk assessment technique that entails eliminating hazards, activities and exposures that place valuable assets at risk. In the case of civil aviation within the context of conflict zones this would mean eliminating hazards by avoiding the airspace over that zone entirely. Unlike risk management, which is calculated to control dangers and risks, risk avoidance totally bypasses a risk. The information to States on threats posed to their civil aviation over conflict zones would therefore had to be disseminated through policy and procedure, training and education and technology implementations.

We did not do that.

Sorry little girl. May the doors of heaven open at the sound of your footsteps May a bright angel watch over and follow you through your inevitable journey. May we meet again on the horizon of eternity when our ship finally sails beyond every limit of our sight.

Above all, may we never walk away from you.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa gave directives to the government to adopt initiatives that would sustain the Kingdoms economic stability and progress in all fields, and provide quality opportunities for the Bahraini citizens.

HM the King stressed that the Bahraini citizens should always remain the main pillars of the development and nation-building processes, as well as all government programmes.

He affirmed that the government is committed to undertaking its national tasks and responsibilities through its programmes for the next four years, expressing great confidence in the citizens to carry out their national duties and role in the development to the fullest.

His Majesty was speaking as he chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, at the Gudaibiya Palace yesterday.

HM King Hamad lauded the Kingdoms wide-ranging achievements, and praised the steadily developing performance of the government, commending the role played by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister in leading the governments work towards more development, ensuring continuous excellence and perfect performance.

His Majesty also directed the government to continue adopting initiatives that would raise the level of food security in the Kingdom and support national food production. Tackling executive-legislature cooperation, HM the King described it as the cornerstone of the development and modernisation the Kingdom is currently witnessing in all fields.

He stressed that the achievements of the two branches and their efforts are a catalyst for more progress. HM King Hamad lauded the level of the ongoing constructive cooperation and fruitful coordination between the two branches to achieve the objectives of the comprehensive development process.

He also expressed his pride in the role played by the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) and its brave personnel who always showcase the highest values of loyalty and bravery in carrying out the patriotic tasks entrusted to them.

HM the King affirmed that the BDF constitutes the nations preventive shield and solid bulwark, extending sincere congratulations to the BDF commanders, officers and soldiers on the occasion of the BDFs 55th anniversary, as well as thanks and appreciation to them for the roles they play with efficiency, professionalism and unwavering readiness to defend the homeland.

Tackling health issues, HM the King said that the King Hamad American Mission Hospital, inaugurated recently in Aali, will improve the health and treatment services in the kingdom, noting that it reflects the successful long-stranding partnership between Bahrain and the US. He also commended the role played by the American Mission Hospital over the past 120 years, being among the first hospitals in the region.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, instructed the ministries and government departments to implement His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas royal vision and directives to ensure the continuity of the development and modernisation in various fields and improve performance efficiency.

HRH Prince Salman attended yesterdays weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by HM the King. On behalf of the government, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister extended his deepest thanks and gratitude to HM King Hamad for appreciating the role the government plays in driving the Kingdoms comprehensive development process.

His Royal Highness affirmed that the royal appreciation would stimulate everyone in the government to double their efforts and work as one team so that the government performance will always achieve the lofty royal visions.

Peace and harmony

His Majesty emphasised that Bahrain is a country of peace and harmony, as it is characterized by its diverse social mixture, which enhances its strength and status among the nations.

He affirmed that the kingdom will maintain its approach based on consolidating the values of tolerance and openness, in a way that would enhance rapprochement among peoples and cultures and spread peace and harmony across the world.

While reviewing regional and international issues, HM King Hamad praised the achievements of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in various fields, stressing the Kingdoms support for everything aimed at strengthening cooperation amomg GCC states and achieving the interests of their peoples.

He also highlighted the importance of further developing cooperation and coordination among the GCC states at all levels to serve common interests and achieve the forecast goals. HM the King also underlined the importance of commitment to implementing all the resolutions of the GCC Supreme Council and the Al-Ula Summit Declaration, in addition to carrying on coordinating the stances of the GCC countries at various international gatherings.

Common aspirations

HM King Hamad also stressed the importance of resolving all outstanding issues and matters between Bahrain and Qatar to achieve the common aspirations of their citizens, preserve the cohesion of the GCC, and safeguard the regions security and stability.

HM the King also renewed the Kingdoms firm stance in support of the Palestinian cause, and backing of all endeavours aimed at achieving just and comprehensive peace in the region, in a way that achieves well-being, stability and prosperity for all the peoples of the region.
Agencies | Rome

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Italian newspapers and media websites have lauded the Declaration of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the approach it adopts to ensure a healthy life that would advance societies. They expressed admiration for the Bahraini model of religious freedom and peaceful coexistence, which brings together the hearts of all components of society.

They stressed that the Declaration includes noble messages written by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who presents a righteous and reliable approach for the advancement of societies, as well as a unique and unparalleled Bahraini model.

Famiglia Cristiana newspaper indicated that during his historic visit, His Holiness Pope Frances, the Pope of the Vatican, had described the kingdom as a meeting place of peoples civilisations, and praised the Declaration of the Kingdom of Bahrain as a global document for freedom of religion and peaceful coexistence.

Dialogue Interreligious newspaper also asserted that the existence of different religions and their affiliates and the preservation of various places of worship in the kingdom over the years are clear evidence of the application of international standards in freedom of religion and peaceful coexistence, which is one of the basics of human rights.

Formich newspaper also focused on the Declaration, noting that it confirms that the Kingdom has taken advanced steps to place itself on the international map and that it currently leads a global model of peaceful coexistence. Italian news agency (ANSA) affirmed that the inauguration of the Declaration of Kingdom of Bahrain in Europe, starting in the Italian city of Rome, reflects important indications that strengthen the strong relations between the Kingdom and Italy.

SIR (Servizio Informazione Religiosa) confirmed on its e-paper that the Declaration of Kingdom of Bahrain reinforces Bahrains awareness of the importance of promoting religious freedom and peaceful coexistence as a way of life over many years to achieve peace and security for all segments of society.
On the afternoon of October 16 last year a brawl erupted between two groups of gangsters in a restaurant on the 58th floor of the Sunshine 60 high-rise building in Ikebukuro, a central neighbourhood of Tokyo.

A group of around 70 people crashed a private party and fighting broke out, resulting in one person bleeding from the head and sustaining minor injuries.

The Tokyo police subsequently revealed that the party had been held by members of a criminal group known as the Chinese Dragons. The Dragons were celebrating the release from prison of one of their leaders and were attacked by a rival Chinese gang.

There is increasing concern in Japan that the Chinese Dragons  or other criminal groups that have moved from China in the past 30 years  are infiltrating the Japanese criminal underworld that used to be controlled by the indigenous mafia, the yakuza.

The Chinese Dragons originated in the 1980s in Kasai (Tokyo). One of the founders recounted that it started to protect himself and his friends from the rampant discrimination against people of Chinese descent. Indeed, many of the members are Chugoku zanryu koji, children and grandchildren of Japanese nationals who had been left behind in China at the end of the war, and returned to Japan as adults after the normalisation of the relationship between China and Japan. Their influence and activities remain local.

Contrarily, the yakuza are a confederation of criminal syndicates active throughout Japan. According to Japanese law, their status is not illegal: they have offices and a yakuza presence is still noticeable in many cities. ...continue reading
All energy projects are geopolitical, as the recent destruction of Russias Nord Stream pipelines, masterminded by the US, would show.

by M. K. Bhadrakumar

Pakistans acute energy crisis is the immediate backdrop against which Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardaris forthcoming talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow today need to be understood.

But then, Lavrov is a Renaissance man in the world of international diplomacy and is sure to synchronise his watch with Zardaris. For both countries, things have changed, old friends are leaving and life doesnt stop for anyone.

Belarus employees work at the Yamal-Europe gas transfer station near town of Nesvizh, some 130 kms west of Minsk, on January 9, 2009. [Photo credit: VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images]

The Russian Foreign Ministry press release on Zardaris visit stated tersely, The foreign ministers will discuss the state of bilateral relations, regional and international issues. Special attention will be paid to the development of trade and economic relations.

The MFA spokesperson Maria Zakharova subsequently disclosed that the Russian and Pakistani companies are actively working to resolve the remaining issues concerning the supply of Russian energy resources to Pakistan. She noted that the payment system is an issue, as Russia wants an arrangement in national currencies or in the currencies of third countries that are protected from sanctions risks.

Also, energy cooperation by its very nature involves substantial long-term investments and the fact remains that, as Zakharova put it, the US currency is a soap bubble, unsecured money that is printed even despite Americas huge public debt.

Importantly, Zakharova highlighted that the two countries have also decided to discuss a comprehensive plan for energy cooperation, which provides for the construction of infrastructure and the supply of energy carriers within a framework that holds the potential to ensure the sustainable development of Pakistans gas industry. A Russian gas pipeline to Pakistan is in the making.

Zardaris visit to Moscow comes within 3 weeks of a tripartite gas cooperation arrangement between Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan making headlines in the news cycle. The termination of Russias decades-old energy ties with Europe, including gas supplies via pipelines, motivates Moscows search for new markets, Asian markets being a priority.

Thus, late last year, Moscow proposed a gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan offering to help out the two Central Asian states that are struggling with gas shortages. Earlier this month, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed two separate agreements with the Russian giant Gazprom cementing the new partnership. A new vista is opening for Russia to use the existing gas pipelines in these two countries to export gas to their domestic market in immediate terms.

Albeit in a bilateral format, this arrangement also positions Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan potentially as transit countries enabling Russian gas supplies to the regional and world market, especially China, South Asian countries and the ASEAN region. (Russia has proposed a similar arrangement to Ankara to route its gas to the European market via an energy hub in Turkey.)

All energy projects are geopolitical, as the recent destruction of Russias Nord Stream pipelines, masterminded by the US, would show. But this one is a win-win for both Russia and the two central Asian states, as the income accruing to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan out of transit fee will be very substantial and long-term, whilst Russia gains access to new markets.

Enter Afghanistan. On January 11-12, Russias presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov came down to Kabul and held in-depth consultations with the Taliban leadership in pursuit of Moscows unwavering commitment to developing a comprehensive dialogue with Kabul. The Russian Foreign Ministry press release stated that the focus was on mutually beneficial cooperation in such sectors as energy, agriculture, transport, infrastructure, industry, mining, in particular, the organisation of regular commercial supplies of Russian fuel and agricultural products to Afghan companies.

The press release said, As the situation in Afghanistan stabilises, domestic economic operators may participate in the construction and operation of the TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia gas pipeline, as well as in the restoration of large infrastructure projects built on the territory of Afghanistan during the Soviet era.

Most important, the MFA added that During the consultations, considerable attention was paid to the prospects of political and diplomatic recognition of the current Afghan Government by the international community, including by the Russian Federation. It concluded that The leadership of Afghanistan highly appreciates the efforts of the Russian Federation to assist the Afghan people in building a peaceful, independent and economically self-sufficient State.

Interestingly, in a TV interview soon after his return to Moscow, Kabulov openly alleged that the ISIL in Afghanistan is nothing but an Anglo-American project with an agenda to cause instability in the region. Indeed, the regional setting is changing dramatically. Russia has become intensely conscious of the burden of history and realises the imperative to strengthen its leadership role as the provider of security for the Central Asian region. The western threat to Central Asia and North Caucasus is continuing.

Russia hopes to lead a regional effort to stabilise the Afghan situation and counter extremist groups, which act as a geopolitical tool for Washington. Russia (and China) increasingly deals with the Taliban rulers as the established government of Afghanistan. Fundamentally, terrorism is a major concern for Russia (and China).

Moscow estimates that the Taliban has the political will to act against the ISIS optimally, but lacks the financial resources. To be sure, Afghanistan will figure in Lavrovs talks with Zardari. Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will also be visiting Moscow shortly for consultations on Afghanistan.

This is an appropriate time for India to improve its relations with Pakistan. Fortuitously, the SCO-related events will bring Pakistani leaders to India. PM Modi has announced that Indias G-20 Presidency will be grounded in the theme Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or One Earth, One Family, One Future. Conceivably, India should invite Pakistan to the G20 Summit in Delhi in September as a special guest.

At a pragmatic level, the TAPI gas pipeline project dovetails with the tripartite gas union that Russia is putting together with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote recently that Moscow has high hopes of extending the Central Asian gas grid to the South Asian region and to the ASEAN region in the medium term.

Andrei Grozin, head of the Department of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at the Institute of CIS Countries and senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told the Russian daily that This is already a new state policy of Russia, and it is obvious that neither Astana nor Tashkent will be able to refuse to participate in this project. Experts agree that by the middle of this century, Southeast Asia will become the main energy-consuming region. No matter how fantastic the expansion of the gas pipeline network to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China may sound now, it will soon become a reality. Therefore, it is necessary to promote our raw materials to the southern markets today.

Of course, such a mega project will raise hiccups in Washington. It comes as no surprise that the US Undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland (who midwifed the 2014 regime change in Kiev and openly gloats over the sabotage and destruction of Russias Nord Stream gas pipeline) is arriving in Delhi this week.

Washington is upset that Western sanctions pressure on Russian oil exports has led to a significant strengthening of Indias energy ties with Russia. Not only is Russian crude sold to India twice as cheap as world analogues, but the Russian production of petroleum products is actually transferred to India.

After the entry into force of the European embargo on Russian oil products w.e.f February 5, India is set to become the main supplier of refined Russian oil to Europe with a potential export turnover in tens of billions of dollars. (Please see Russia gives India the supply of Europe with petroleum products, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Jan. 16, 2023) Exports of diesel fuel from India are already increasing.

Technically, this does not violate EU sanctions against Russia. But it annoys the Biden Administration, which had anticipated that there would be potential to boost US exports to replace Russian petroleum products in the lucrative European market.

The US will be uneasy about a gas union betwixt Russia, Pakistan and India. But India has vital interests in safeguarding its energy security. The western hegemony in the world order is ending. Russias gas union in Central Asia signals that the time has come for regional states in South Asia to respond with a unity of purpose.

M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat by profession. Roughly half of the 3 decades of his diplomatic career was devoted to assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. He writes mainly on Indian foreign policy and the affairs of the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific.
DRESDEN, ON, Jan. 30, 2023 To celebrate Black History Month, the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History is offering in-person and virtual tours for all ages. The museum will also explore the historical legacy of Mary Ann Shadd Cary  a trailblazer across publishing, education and law  who made a profound mark in Canadian Black history.

Black History Month programing

In-person general tours at the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

February 7-10, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The museum will be open to the public for guided tours at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. from February 7 to 10. Advanced booking is required for groups of 20 people or more by contacting [email protected] .

FREE virtual tour of the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

February 28, 2023, from 2-3:15 p.m. ET

Join a free 75-minute live tour to learn the story of Reverend Josiah Henson, abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, and the history of the Underground Railroad in Ontario. Your livestream experience will incorporate a tour of the museum and the property. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the tour. Reserve your spot today.

Virtual tours for school groups of the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

February through March on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

This popular 60-minute live tour for schools is sold out for February, but there are plenty of spots left for March. Designed for educators, the tour brings the history of the Underground Railroad to life through artifacts, a walking tour of the historical buildings, interactive activities and incredible storytelling. A brief question-and-answer session will follow each tour. Registration required. Book an educator tour here.

Beyond the Underground Railroad: The living legacy of Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Tune in for engaging pre-recorded conversations celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a 19th-century pioneer in publishing, education and law. Cary was the first Black woman publisher in Canada, established a racially integrated school in Windsor, and in 1883, became one of the first Black women to earn a law degree in North America. The videos will be available to watch starting in mid-February on the Ontario Heritage Trust's YouTube channel.

FREE virtual program: Black Voices (In)Justice: Supporting Black Youth

Representation in the Legal Profession

March 2, 2023, from 10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. ET

Join the Ontario Heritage Trust and law firm Aird & Berlis for a complimentary program to learn about the legacy of Mary Ann Shadd Cary and her accomplishments in law. Hear from a roster of Black legal professionals at various stages of their careers, as they share stories about their challenges, successes and opportunities for entering the sector. The program will conclude with an enchanting portrayal of Cary by actor and playwright Leslie McCurdy, who will share an excerpt from her one-woman play. The program is ideal for high school and post-secondary students, educators, lawyers and other legal sector representatives. Register here.

For more programs and additional Ontario Heritage Trust resources to celebrate Black History Month, visit the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History's Special event and Programming page.

About the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History is owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust. This two-hectare (five-acre) complex celebrates the life and work of Reverend Josiah Henson and explores the history of the Underground Railroad in Ontario. The Museum provides a space to discuss the legacy of slavery and racism and the enduring pursuit for social justice. Visit www.heritagetrust.on.ca/jhm to learn more.

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About the Ontario Heritage Trust

The Ontario Heritage Trust (the Trust) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The Trust conserves, interprets and shares Ontario's heritage. We conserve provincially significant cultural and natural, tangible and intangible heritage, interpret Ontario's history, celebrate its diversity and educate Ontarians of its importance in our society. The Trust envisions an Ontario where we conserve, value and share the places and landscapes, histories, traditions and stories that embody our heritage, now and for future generations.

SOURCE Ontario Heritage Trust

For further information: For more information about the Ontario Heritage Trust, contact Patricia Njovu at 437-248-1439 or [email protected]
HALIFAX, NS, Jan. 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Cove Gut Healthy Drinks

Cove Gut Healthy Drinks announces the launch of Cove Gut Healthy Soda, Canada's first-ever zero sugar, functional soda, made with one billion probiotics, prebiotics and nothing artificial.

Co-founders John and Ryan MacLellan launch Canadas first zero-sugar, functional soda, Cove Gut Healthy Soda under their umbrella brand Cove Gut Healthy Drinks. (CNW Group/Cove Gut Healthy Drinks)

Known for their Kombucha, Cove Gut Healthy Drinks will expand into a new fast-growing category of shelf-stable and better-for-you sodas.

The company is the first to market in Canada, using organic ingredients and a taste profile that appeals to consumers. Cove Soda is made with a proprietary, natural plant blend sweetener that combines probiotics and prebiotics to enhance gut health.

CEO, John MacLellan comments, "Our success with Cove Kombucha has given us great insight into consumer behaviour, including their continuous desire to educate themselves on improving gut health. We've continued to innovate based on these learnings along with consumer trends that reveal a strong interest in decreasing sugar consumption. Cove Soda allows us to respond to consumers' desire to decrease their consumption of sugar while simultaneously improving their gut health.

Cove Gut Healthy Soda is now available in Orange, Grape, and Lemon Lime flavours, and is sold across Canada at Sobeys, Loblaw stores, and several local health food stores. The brand recently expanded to online sales with Well.ca. Larger pack sizes (4 pack and a 15 can multipack), and more exciting flavours are in development with plans to expand into the U.S. market, focusing on California in early 2023.

Cove Gut Healthy Drink's Chief Product Developer, Ryan MacLellan worked to craft a zero sugar and gut-healthy soda recipe that both adults and children could enjoy.

"We wanted to be first to market in Canada so I knew creating the right flavours using organic ingredients would be crucial. Our product had to have a taste profile consumers would enjoy. We developed a proprietary, natural plant blend sweetener that, combined with probiotics and probiotics, promotes gut health," adds Ryan.

About Cove Gut Healthy Drinks

Founded in 2016 by brothers John and Ryan MacLellan, Cove Gut Healthy Drinks originated in their mother's kitchen in Malignant Cove, Nova Scotia. Today, Cove Drinks is on a mission to provide gut health for all. Striving to make 'healthy easy' with gut-friendly, guilt-free, game-changing functional drinks no matter where you are in your health journey. As a proud carbon-neutral company and 1% for the Planet member, Cove Drinks continues to care for more than just your gut. Cove Drinks launched nationally in 2021 and is distributed in over 1,200 retail locations across Canada including Sobeys, Loblaw, Costco and Whole Foods Market. The company has had two successful rounds of funding from 2019 to 2022 totalling 5.7M and has already embarked on its next round. For more information, visit www.covedrinks.com .

SOURCE Cove Gut Healthy Drinks

For further information: Media Contact: Talia Meade, Cove Drinks, [email protected], P: 613-266-0362
MONTREAL, Jan. 31, 2023 /CNW Telbec/ - KPI-COSMO Stochastic Mining Optimizer is a game-changing solution representing a paradigm shift in mine planning, that will generate substantial value for the mining ecosystem.

We are thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with McGill University's renowned COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory , and a global consortium of mining companies composed of AngloGold Ashanti, Anglo American De Beers, BHP, IAMGOLD, Kinross Gold, Newmont, and Vale.

Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, Director of the McGill COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory states, "After a meticulous qualification process, McGill and the consortium of mining companies selected KPI Mining Solutions to develop and globally commercialize KPI-COSMO due to their outstanding expertise in artificial intelligence, optimization and software development.

Benny Cohen, President of KPI Mining Solutions adds, "Our vision is to continue developing software solutions focusing on all mining production planning horizons, including long-term, medium-term, and short-term operational planning for both open pit and underground mining. Our underlying technologies are focused on stochastic orebody modeling and stochastic optimization. We deliver integrated simultaneous (mines to products to markets) AI + OR optimization models, dealing with multiple uncertainties. We are excited to collaborate with McGill Cosmo and the consortium to bring innovation to the mining industry."

About KPI Mining Solutions

KPI Mining Solutions provides significant value to the mining industry through cutting-edge software and services. We bring innovative stochastic solutions to the mining industry, transforming their entire operation. Our parent company, KPI Digital is a business and technology consulting firm focused on transformation, and innovation. Their strength comes from 20 plus years of experience in data and analytics, AI, digital experience and enterprise performance management. They partner with leading technology companies including Microsoft, IBM, AWS and Google.

McGill COSMO Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory

COSMO is world renowned as one of top mining engineering research laboratories. It is directed by Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier I). COSMO is a collaborative mining engineering laboratory dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and development of new, risk managing, stochastic optimization and orebody modelling frameworks for mine planning and production scheduling of mining complexes, which create value across the entire mining-minerals production chain. Find out more here. For over 200 years, McGill University has become one of Canada's and the world's leading institutions, due to the excellence of its teaching and research programs. McGill's Department of Mining Engineering's undergraduate and graduate courses, and research programs are ranked in the top-five best mining programs in the world. Find out more here.

About the COSMO Consortium of Mining Companies

COSMO is funded by its consortium of mining companies, composed by some of the world's leading mining companies, including AngloGold Ashanti, Anglo American/De Beers, BHP, IAMGOLD, Kinross, Newmont, and Vale. Together, they represent some of the world's largest mining organizations and generated $175B USD in global revenue in 2021 with a market cap of approximately $340B USD. Find out more here.

To learn more about KPI Mining Solutions visit www.kpimining.com

SOURCE KPI Mining Solutions

For further information: Lori Cohen, Vice President Marketing, [email protected], 1-877-574-3678
Bell mobility, Internet, TV and phone services to be sold through Staples retail locations and direct B2B sales channels

RICHMOND HILL, ON, and MONTREAL, Jan. 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Staples Canada, The Working and Learning Company, and Bell have announced a multi-year exclusive agreement to sell Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile wireless and wireline services through Staples stores across Canada for consumers and small businesses. In addition, Staples and Bell will partner to sell Bell wireless and wireline services direct to medium businesses through the Staples Professional sales team, backed by Bell's advanced communications expertise.

Staples Canada and Bell announce multi-year strategic partnership to sell Bell communications services through Staples (CNW Group/Staples Canada ULC)

Staples is a trusted leader in providing working and learning solutions to businesses of all sizes across the country, as well as teachers, parents, students and consumers. As the largest communications provider in Canada, Bell's award-winning 5G and robust fibre networks connect families, students, and friends in their day-to-day lives, and power businesses of all sizes, including many of the largest enterprises in Canada. The two companies combined will offer consumers and small and medium businesses the wireless and wireline services they need through Staples' retail and direct sales presence throughout the country.

Store-in-store destination for consumers and small businesses

Starting in late spring 2023, customers can shop for Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile products and services at in-store kiosks within Staples locations, staffed by Staples sales associates. Mobility services will be available in 300 Staples locations across the country, with Bell and Virgin Plus Internet, TV and home phone services available in the majority of Staples locations within Bell's wireline footprint. With this exciting partnership, Staples will hire 800 full- and part-time employees across Canada where they will be part of a culture where they can learn and grow.

Convenient and easy experience for medium businesses with the brands they trust

Network infrastructure is the backbone for Canadian businesses as they innovate and advance in the digital age. As the largest communications provider in Canada, Bell offers a variety of telecommunications solutions backed by its award-winning, reliable network to keep businesses running across the country. Staples is the preferred provider of business solutions for many medium-sized businesses, and with this agreement, organizations big and small can conveniently equip their business across multiple product lines, now including the telecommunications solutions critical to running their business.

Quotes

"We are pleased to partner with Bell, bringing together two exceptional Canadian brands to support consumers and businesses across the country," said David Boone, CEO, Staples Canada. "In working together, we will strengthen and grow our product and services offering, creating game changing value and convenience for consumers and businesses."

"Bell is delighted to collaborate with Staples to provide our customers greater convenience and service for their communications needs," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, Bell. "Staples is a leader in providing small and medium businesses the solutions they need to keep their businesses running smoothly and we're excited to partner with them to offer businesses superb Internet, TV, phone and mobility services on Canada's largest and award-winning network."

Career opportunities

Staples associates will serve as trusted partners, providing customers with expert knowledge, unique products, and innovative services offered by both Staples and Bell. Opportunities to join the Staples community will be posted at careers.staples.ca.

About Staples Canada

Staples Canada is The Working and Learning Company. The privately-owned company is committed to being a dynamic, inspiring partner to customers who visit its 300+ locations and staples.ca. The company has two brands which support business customers: Staples Preferred for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and Staples Professional for medium to large-sized enterprises, as well as seven Staples Studio co-working facilities across Canada. Through Solutionshop, Canadians can access a variety of pack and ship options, as well as a broad suite of business services. Staples is a proud partner of MAP through its Even the Odds campaign, which aims to tackle inequities in communities across Canada and helps make a future that's fair for everyone. Visit staples.ca for more information or engage with us at @StaplesCanada on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok or Pinterest.

About Bell

Bell is Canada's largest communications company. It provides advanced broadband wireless, TV, Internet, media and business communications services throughout the country. Founded in Montreal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca.

Through Bell for Better, Bell invests in the creation of a better today and a better tomorrow by supporting the social and economic prosperity of our communities with a commitment to the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. This includes the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which promotes Canadian mental health through national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day, and significant funding from Bell for community care and access, research, and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

SOURCE Staples Canada ULC

For further information: Staples Canada: Pamela Kennedy, 905-737-1147 Ext. 578, [email protected]; Golin, for Staples Canada: Noah Gomberg, 647-475-4721, [email protected]; Bell: Vanessa Damha, [email protected]
OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 30, 2023 /CNW/ - The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is issuing this statement to provide an update on the ongoing response to COVID-19. PHAC continues to work closely with provinces and territories to coordinate Canada's response.

On January 27, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a meeting of its International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee to consider whether the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes a global public health emergency. The WHO Director General considered the advice offered by the Committee and determined that the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). In addition, the WHO Director General issued this advice as temporary recommendations under the IHR.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Canada's top priority has been protecting the health and safety of all Canadians. Informed by the latest science and evidence, the Government will continue its work with provinces and territories to implement a long-term, sustainable approach to the ongoing management of COVID-19.

The Government of Canada acknowledges the WHO Director General's determination that COVID-19 remains a PHEIC, as the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to evolve and is still circulating widely across Canada and in many other countries worldwide. The Government of Canada will continue to work with the WHO, international partners and with Canadian provinces and territories to monitor the COVID-19 situation and to determine the best course of action to limit the spread of the virus and mitigate health and societal impacts. PHAC will continue to provide regular public updates as new information becomes available.

As part of ongoing monitoring, the Government of Canada continues to contribute to and assess the global epidemiology of COVID-19, including working with international partners to enhance viral genomic sequencing capacity. There is a robust laboratory monitoring program in place across the provinces and territories to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants in Canada, including Omicron lineage variants of concern, such as the XBB.1.5 variant.

As COVID-19 activity continues and hospitalizations remain elevated in Canada, layers of prevention, including keeping up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and personal protective practises remain our best approach to reduce the risk of developing severe illness and limit the burden on the health system.

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]




The troll between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and that of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu may not go down soon as each party uses every given opportunity to throw jabs at the other.





During the APC presidential campaign rally held on Monday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium Uyo, its presidential candidate, Tinubu urged the people to collect their Permanent Voters cards and vote APC to usher in a new era of prosperity, infrastructural renaissance and human capital developments.





Tinubu noted that if the people make the mistake of giving power to the PDP, its candidate could sell your palm trees and run to Dubai.





He encouraged the people to arm themselves with their PVCs and be part of the sweeping revolution, assuring that he would end insecurity, fuel crisis and create an enabling environment for socio-economic activities to thrive in the country.





He said: The power to become President resides in you. Emilokan (this is my turn) and God will give you the power to make it realizable through your PVCs. So, if you dont have it, go and get it because if God blesses me as your next President, you will be put in proper places. But, If you give him (Atiku) a chance, he will sell your palm trees and run to Dubai.





He also described the former Vice President as a man that cannot be trusted, recalling that when he was the Vice President to Olusegun Obasanjo, he (Atiku) engaged in wanton sleazy deals and selling off of some national assets, which he turned out to be the single beneficiary.





The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana, the Vice Chairman of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Chief Godswill Akpabio, the Chairman of the rally organizing committee, Obong Nsima Ekere, member of the APC Board of the (BoT), Atuekong Don Etiebet, all assured Tinubu of delivering the State and the South-South to the APC at the polls.
The camp of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar said the constant gaffes of All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate Bola Tinubu were embarrassing.





Tinubu has made over 20 gaffes publicly since he declared his intention to contest, Atikus special assistant on public communication Phrank Shaibu indicated on Monday.





A statement he signed said in Tinubus rally in Akwa Ibom, the APC flagbearer goofed about making Atiku a Senate President though his opponent never contested any legislative election.





Shaibu noted that the former Lagos governors gaffes and miscues are effects of his failing health which present danger to national security.





The aide recalled Tinubus comment on recruitment of 50 million youths into the Army to solve the unemployment problem, advice to Nigerians to renew their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before they expire, among others.





The Atiku camp said such errors at meetings with world leaders would negatively affect Nigerias image because the Bola Tinubu who served as governor is different now.





The Bola Tinubu of today lacks the capacity to lead a nation of 200 million people most of whom are living in abject poverty.





It is really not about his age since many leaders across the world are also advanced in age. It is about his mien, his utterances and faux pas.





Shaibu said Tinubu and his allies have been saying what he lacks in physical capacity, he makes up for it in intelligence because the Presidency of Nigeria is not wrestling.





The SA accused the politicians handlers of acting like a cabal, believing that while in Aso Rock, he will have the best medical attention and delegate important activities of state to them.





Nigerians have a right to demand that any aspirant to that office should be in the best state of health. Nigerians must not allow themselves to be deceived, the statement added.




Ukraines defence minister is expected in Paris on Tuesday to meet President Emmanuel Macron amid a debate among Kyivs allies over whether to provide fighter jets for its war against Russia, after U.S. President Joe Biden ruled out giving F-16s.





F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft.





Ukraine planned to push for Western fourth-generation fighters like F-16s after securing supplies of main battle tanks last week, an adviser to Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday.





Asked at the White House on Monday if the United States would provide F-16s, Biden told reporters: No.





But France and Poland appear to be willing to entertain any such request from Ukraine, with Macron telling reporters in The Hague on Monday that by definition, nothing is excluded when it comes to military assistance.





In remarks carried on French television before Biden spoke in Washington, Macron stressed any such move would depend on several factors including the need to avoid escalation and assurances that the aircraft would not touch Russian soil. He said Reznikov would also meet his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu in Paris on Tuesday.





In Poland on Monday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out a possible supply of F-16s to neighbouring Ukraine, in response to a question from a reporter before Biden spoke.





Morawiecki said in remarks posted on his website that any such transfer would take place in complete coordination with NATO countries.





Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukraine presidents office, noted positive signals from Poland and said France does not exclude such a move in separate posts on his Telegram channel.





NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was in Japan on Tuesday where he thanked Tokyo for the planes and the cargo capabilities it is providing Ukraine. A day earlier in South Korea he urged Seoul to increase its military support to Ukraine.





Bidens comment came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had begun exacting its revenge for Ukraines resistance to its invasion with relentless attacks in the east, where it appeared to be making incremental gains.





Zelenskiy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.





Ukraine won a huge boost last week when Germany and the United States announced plans to provide heavy tanks, ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock on the issue.





While there was no sign of a broader new Russian offensive, the administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraines eastern Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, said Russian troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal-mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.





Pushilin said that despite huge losses Ukrainian forces were consolidating positions in industrial facilities.
Russia is recruiting former American-trained Afghan special operations troops to fight in Ukraine. Thats the simple version, the reality is more complex because its the Russian Wagner Group which is recruiting. Currently Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is in trouble with his patron, Vladimir Putin, for feuding with Russian army commanders in Ukraine over credit for some recent victories. Prigozhin isnt going to get fired but Putin sided with the army generals and had to publicly criticize Prigozhin to make sure everyone got the message about the limits of the Wagner Group forces in Ukraine.

Wagner Group is a profitable international operation that reports directly to Putin. The Wagner Group was sent to Ukraine because the Russian army needed help, not competition. Prigozhin organized the largest Wagner Group force ever for the Ukraine operation and did it with money supplied by Putin. For the Ukraine operation Prigozhin assembled 10,000 of his usual military veterans and about 30,000 cheaper and less skilled convicts recruited from Russian jails. Putin took care of enabling that and the use of pardons for the convicts who joined. Some of the convicts had some military experience, most did not. They received six-month contracts of which some was devoted to brief but intense training, unlike most Russian troops which get no training at all. The convicts were not told that they were being used in high-risk operations under the supervision of veteran Wagner personnel. The few convict mercenaries who survived their contract received their pardons, and this was publicized to encourage the others. Word got around in prisons that signing on with Wagner was risky but that the pardons were real, as was the high-risk nature of working for Wagner. Most of those who did join later deserted rather than be killed in combat.

During the last few months, the Wagner Group force was one of the few Russian units in Ukraine capable of defeating Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainians took fewer casualties but had to give ground against the Wagner force. The only other effective Russian forces in Ukraine were a few airborne units. Those were composed of well trained and led Russian troops that the army could not afford to lose in the kind of attacks the Wagner Group was making. Prigozhin made the mistake of criticizing the airborne troops, and army forces in general, for being less useful than the Wagner Force. Putin was putting a lot of time and money into training and equipping more Russian troops to join the airborne units in a few months for a major offensive. Prigozhin did not pay sufficient attention to this and his boss Putin was not pleased. The Ukraine Wagner Force will continue as part of a larger Russian army plan.

Meanwhile, Putin wants Prigozhin to pay more attention to foreign Wagner Operations, which make money and spread Russian influence overseas. Putin sees the Ukraine Wagner Force being broken up and the more capable Ukraine veterans going to foreign operations. Those not needed or lacking skills for overseas work will be dismissed. Putin may be too optimistic about the survival of Russian forces in Ukraine. The Ukrainians are also forming a larger and better equipped (with NATO tanks and other armored vehicles). Whatever happens, as long as Putin is in power Wager Group will remain active worldwide.

This is why Wagner Group is recruiting former American-trained Afghan special operations troops. Over twenty thousand of these men got out of Afghanistan when the Taliban took control of the government in mid-2021. These Afghan operators felt betrayed by the Americans and many found refuge in Iran, especially if they were Shia Moslems. Iran had long used Afghan mercenaries in Syria and, while Iran could no longer afford that, it did give the Afghan Shia operators much appreciated sanctuary in Iran.

At the same time this was happening in late 2021, Iranian media reported that Iran was establishing explicitly Iran-backed Shia militias in western Afghanistan. Iran wanted to protect the Shia minority (about 20 percent of Afghans) from the expanding reach of the Taliban. In the late 1990s the Taliban went after Afghan Shia in a big way and the victims have not forgotten. The new militias were composed of combat-experienced Afghan Shia who served as Iranian mercenaries and survived combat in Syria. Oddly enough the name of these militias, Hashd Al ShiI, does not use one of the local languages (Pushtun or Dari), but a language the Syrian veterans learned a little of in Syria. Hashd Al ShiI is Arabic for Shia Mobilization.

Over 50,000 Afghan Shia served in Syria and, as they returned to Afghanistan, often took the initiative in protecting fellow Shia from increasing violence by Islamic terror groups, including the Taliban. The former mercs asked Iran for help but, until mid-2021, all Iran was willing to do was back anti-Pakistan Taliban factions that, in return for weapons and other aid from Iran, promised to leave Afghan Shia alone. Moving on to explicitly Iran-backed Shia militias was not considered a big surprise.

In 2019 Iran sent most of the Afghan mercenaries in Syria home because American sanctions cut off much of the money spent on the war in Syria. Iran began building a new mercenary force by hiring Syrians. The best of the Iranian foreign Shia were the Afghans but there was a limited supply of Afghan Shia willing to serve as Iranian mercs in faraway Syria. To entice the Afghans to volunteer they had been paid more than any other foreign Shia in Syria, and some were replaced by Syrians who are much cheaper because of the bad shape the Syrian economy is in and the dire poverty many Syrians live with. Another problem was that a growing number of Afghan Shia mercs would not renew their contracts and returned to Afghanistan or Iran, where mercenary service also earned an Iran residency permit.

The current situation involves making it easy for American-trained Afghan operators to get to Ukraine and join the Wagner Force. Theres not much work for former Afghan commandos in Iran, where continued economic sanctions have crippled the economy and driven up the unemployment rate. Iran is making some money selling Russia missiles and other weapons. Making it easy for the Afghan commandos to get to Ukraine is a bonus.

Most of these Afghan operators would prefer to work for Wagner Group anywhere but Ukraine. They experienced real combat against the Taliban before its American-backed regime collapsed, and would rather not be up against NATO (American) backed Ukrainian forces. These men are the type Wagner likes to recruit. Working for Wagner pays well and is usually low risk for skilled operatives. Operations in Ukraine are not low-risk but the pay is good and some of the Afghans are signing up hoping to survive service in Ukraine and move on to less risky Wagner Operations elsewhere.

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was not the first Russian to found a unit like Wagner. The first was Major Vladimir "Popski'' Peniakoff who worked for the British, not Russia and created a special forces unit in 1942 called the No. 1 Demolition Squad. He did this for the British Army in Egypt and was tasked with going behind German lines and attacking their fuel supplies. Peniakoff got the nickname Popski because British telegraph operators had problems spelling or pronouncing Peniakoff correctly. This came after the 42-year-old Peniakoff joined the British army and was assigned to rear area duty in Libya with the Libyan Arab Forces because he spoke Arabic. Bored with his dull assignment, he formed the LAFC (Libyan Arab Forces Commando), which was a small raiding group of British and Libyan troops who successfully operated behind German lines. This was noted by British special forces command in Egypt who asked him to join the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group), which was the first British special operations unit, and carry on his raiding activities as the 23-man No. 1 Demolition Squad to destroy German fuel supply storage sites before the crucial Battle of El Alamein. Without that fuel the Germans were crippled when they lost at Alamein and lost a lot of their mobility as they sought to retreat.

Peniakoff continued his command operations and unofficially expanded his Demolition Squad to the point where it became officially known as Popskis Private Army. The British looked the other way as he added British soldiers and civilians as well as captured vehicles to his unit, and continued to be the scourge of German support units, often attacking at night and constantly sending intelligence reports back to the British 8th Army headquarters. Peniakoffs small raiding force was the first to make contact with American forces in Tunisia during early 1943. At one-point Peniakoff's force captured 600 Italian troops. Peniakoff then expanded his force to 35 men and could then deploy two raiding parties at the same time.

Popskis Private Army was sent to Taranto in southern Italy to scout the location of German forces and found a gap in the German lines that American troops exploited and caused the Germans to retreat. At this point Popskis Private Army was organized into three 18-man raiding parties, each equipped with six jeeps armed with .30 caliber and .5o caliber machine-gun. These raiding parties had enormous firepower for such small units, and performed admirably against the Germans, who feared the British special operations units, especially Popskis Private Army. It never had more than 80 men assigned to it, although that number was often exceeded by adopting useful Russian, Italian and German prisoners of war as well as some local partisans. By the end of the war Popskis Private Army had acquired some DUKWs (amphibious trucks) and gotten some of their jeeps into Venice as the first mobile allied force to enter the city. Popskis Private Army continued operating for four months after Germany surrendered to carry out various tasks, such as being the British liaison officers in Venice. Popskis Private Army was disbanded and Peniakoff retired, as a lieutenant colonel in 1946 and became a British citizen and was decorated for his wartime exploits. He then took jobs as a writer and broadcaster, which made him even more popular. He died in 1951, at age 54, of a brain tumor.

Peniakoff was born in 1897 as the son of a Russian couple who emigrated to Belgium and then Britain in 1914 when the Germans invaded Belgium, His father established several successful businesses in Belgium and Britain and the 18-year-old went to France, joined the French Army and served until 1918. He spoke English, Russian, Italian, German, French and Arabic, which he learned after the war when he moved to Egypt and worked as an engineer for a sugar manufacturer. There Peniakoff learned all about the local culture including finding his way around the western desert area of Egypt where he operated during World War 2. He also met and married his first wife in Egypt, but divorced her and married again in 1948. Peniakoff died in England and was buried there. Those who served with him in the desert continued to tell his story and this led to several books. It is unclear what kind of legacy the Wagner Group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin will have. Peniakoff is a hard act to follow.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the bank will continue to accept old naira notes after the stipulated deadline.

Emefiele spoke on Tuesday when he appeared at an interactive session with the house of representatives ad hoc committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy.

He said the CBN will also accept the old naira from banks after the February 10 deadline.

Emefiele made reference to the CBN act which mandates the apex bank to continue to accept old notes after its expiration.

However, the CBN governor did not mention a duration when the banks will stop collecting the old notes.

Section 20 (3) of the CBN act states: Notwithstanding sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the president and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this act, shall be redeemed by the bank upon demand.

Speaking further on the CBN act, he explained that even after the old currency has lost its legal tender status we (CBN) are mandated to collect these money (old notes) and I stand with the house of representatives on this.

What does that mean? It could (old notes) have lost its legal tender status which means we have moved on. But if you have your money that you have not been able to send to the bank, we will certainly give you the opportunity to bring them back into the CBN to redeem it. Either you pay it to your bank account or you want to do exchange, we will give you. You will not lose your money. This is the assurance I give to Nigerians, Emefiele said.




Nigeria has again fallen by four places on the latest Corruption Perception Index, CPI, ranking released by Transparency International, TI, on Tuesday.





Although in the 2022 ranking, Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points, it fell from 150th to 154th out of 180 countries assessed in the 2022 ranking.





The CPI is TIs tool for measuring the levels of corruption in the systems of various countries around the world. A country can score maximum points 100 points, and the least is zero. Zero signifies the worst-performing government, and 100 is the best-ranked.





The latest ranking may indicate that President Muhammadu Buharis fight against corruption has yet to yield enough results.





Many consider the Buhari administrations pardon granted to two jailed former governors  Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State  in 2022 as a significant setback in the countrys anti-corruption efforts.





As the two former governors were pardoned in April 2022, the Supreme Court affirmed their convictions and sentencing, and they had yet to serve half the length of their jail time.





Also, corruption has continued to permeate the public and private sectors despite the governments efforts to deter the menace.





Transparency International Chair, Delia Rubio, said governments worldwide have failed to progress against corruption.





Rubio called for all governments to work for all people, not just an elite few.





Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict  and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few, Rubio stated.




Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is currently before the house of representatives ad hoc committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy.

The CBN governor had ignored previous invitations from the lawmakers, prompting them to threaten to issue a warrant of arrest against him.

On Thursday, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, said he will issue a warrant to the inspector-general of police (IGP) to compel the attendance of the CBN governor to respond to the summon of the house on Tuesday (today).

Emefiele is currently before the lawmakers in the company of top officials of the CBN, including Kingsley Obiora, deputy governor, economic policy directorate.

After sustained public outcry and criticism from key stakeholders, the CBN on Sunday extended the deadline for the swap of old naira notes at commercial banks by 10 days.

Announcing the development after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN governor said the new deadline is February 10, 2023.

However, Nigerians will still be able to deposit their old notes directly with the CBN until February 17, 2023, described as a grace period.

Nigerians had been complaining about the inability to swap their old notes for the new designs as the January 31 deadline loomed.

The naira redesign is believed to be targeted at stopping vote buying in the 2023 general election scheduled for February 25 and March 11.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said the excuse of security threats pushed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has no bearing on the ongoing currency swap across the country.

Ganduje had, in an interactive session with critical stakeholders, including scholars, legislators, political leaders and the business community in the state, revealed that his administration had requested President Muhammadu Buhari to postpone his official visit to Kano.

He said Kano was deeply concerned about the hardship principally induced by the ongoing cash swap from old to redesigned Naira notes.

According to him, the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

However, the CBN governor debunked Gandujes assertion, saying, as quoted by NAN: I dont understand the relationship between the CBN policy and security challenges in Kano State.

Meanwhile, Buhari had earlier on Sunday morning approved an extension of the ongoing currency swap by ten days, moving the deadline from January 31 to February 10.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said an effective cashless policy in Nigeria can help stem the surge of illicit election financing by making it possible to track funds.

Osinbajo spoke on Monday at the Presidential Villa when he received a delegation of the European Union Election Observation Mission led by Barry Andrews, the Chief Observer.

The VP said: I think that what we should be looking at is to provide more infrastructure. The cashless thing has been really advantageous and helps with tracking. That sort of infrastructure is useful for more financial inclusion and the more financial inclusion you have, the easier it is to track.

According to Osinbajo so much money can be spent without it being tracked under the current election financing practices in the country.

While noting the difficulty in controlling election financing due to cash transactions, Osinbajo said that there are still infrastructure issues required to be in place to ensure an efficient cashless system in the country.

With cash transactions, its still difficult to seriously control election financing, the VP observed.

On the issue of electoral offences, Osinbajo noted that there is the Electoral Offences Commission Bill at the National Assembly and we hope that itll begin a new regime of dealing with electoral offences, which would be helpful.

The VP emphasized: By and large, one should not expect INEC to be the investigator of electoral offences. I think that law enforcement agencies should be responsible for arresting and prosecuting offenders, state by state.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has bemoaned the attitude of governments in the region to obey and enforce its decisions on cases brought before it by aggrieved citizens.

The Court while declaring the attitude as unfortunate lamented that its effectiveness had been circumscribed by the disregard and disobedience to the decisions.

President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, who spoke at public function of the Court in Abuja on Monday noted with sadness that only 30 percentage of the courts decisions are being enforced despite its impressive record of decisions and courage attributable to the Independence and character of the judges.

Justice Asante, who spoke at the new Building of the Court in Abuja recalled that for about 10 years, the Court engaged the Nigerian Government to secure a replacement for its old office in Wuse which he claimed had become hopelessly inadequate for its operations.

The Judge said that the Court had its way partly in 2016 when the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT through intervention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledged to rent a new office for the Court to ease its persistent accommodation problem.

He thanked the Nigerian Government through the Federal Capital Territory for fulfilling the promise by allocating a temporary place for it at Gudu District of Abuja.

Justice Asante said that the new building apart from making life comfortable for the workers would ensure improved efficiency and productivity in its performance as an International Court of Justice.

The provision of this edifice not only resolves the present accommodation challenges of the Court but should challenge the Court to aspire to increased performance that is reflective of the more congenial working relationship.

Justice Asante assured the ECOWAS member countries of the determination of the Court to live up to expectations in order to strengthen its role as an important institution in the interpretation of laws in the region.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, decried the increasing wave of fake news and disinformation traversing social media three weeks before the 2023 general elections.

He stated that the trend had increased to an industrial scale despite warnings by the government to clamp down on fake news purveyors.

The minister said these while addressing guests before the presentation of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, at the 21st session of the Presidential Scorecard series, held at the National Press Centre in Abuja.

Mohammed, who pointed accusing fingers at the opposition, promised to ensure agents of decentralisation do not disrupt the success of the elections.

He said, Before I invite our special guest to the podium, please permit me to make a brief remark about the increasing wave of fake news and disinformation permitting especially the social media space drawn up to the General elections.

Recall ladies and gentlemen during the fourth edition of this series on November 22, as I said fake news and disinformation constitute a present threat, a potent threat to the elections because they are capable of tampering with its success. And we reiterated this during the 12th edition on December 14 2022.

About three weeks to the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, I can say unequivocally that there has been a worse and astronomical increase in the use of fake news and disinformation, making this a clear and present danger to the success of the elections.

This increase is undoubtedly the work of some destabilising agents some of them linked to the opposition. Theyre churning out fake news and disinformation on an industrial scale.

Their sole aim is to destabilize the electoral process. Ive always said that this government will not stand by and allow some miscreants with access to phones and data to destabilise the country.

I am, therefore, warning the purveyors of fake news and disinformation to desist. The government is smart and cannot be helpless.

We have options to checkmate the use of fake news and disinformation, and looking at the best options to ensure that agents of decentralization do not disrupt the success of the elections.




Award-winning Nollywood actor, Lateef Adedimeji, has disclosed how he used to borrow money and clothes before going to movie auditions and almost gave up his acting career when the challenge became too much.





The popular actor, who took his followers down memory lane in a story titled Na who give up fvck up, said he was shamed and bullied during the early years of his acting career.





Adedimeji, Best Actor 2022 Best of Nollywood Awards, began acting 15 years ago. The Kudi Klepto actor, narrating his odyssey via his Instagram page, said he was never paid for movies he featured in during his early years: Memories of the days I borrowed money to go on movie sets, borrow clothes to wear on set even though I wasnt getting paid, I remember begging for money and food to survive.





The actor who walked down the aisle with his woman last year disclosed how grateful he was when he was paid one thousand naira for a lead role.





Then the times I finally started getting paid 1k, 2k, 5k for a lead role, I remember receiving the payments with so much joy, happiness and gratitude, he posted.




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested members of a syndicate who are hoarding and trading the redesigned naira notes in Abuja.

Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson, in a statement on Monday, said the suspects were arrested around zone 4 and Dei Dei axis of the federal capital territory (FCT).

The suspects were also said to have told the EFCC that they were working in connivance with some commercial bank officials.

The operation followed intelligence on activities of unscrupulous currency speculators who were exploiting desperate citizens by offering them the new Naira notes for foreign currencies at below the going rate, the statement reads.

The suspects have made useful statements, including a disclosure that they were acting in cohort with some unscrupulous officials of Money Deposit Banks.

The Commission will extend the operation to all the major commercial centres of the country until all the syndicates involved in the illegal trade are demobilised. Financial system operators are also warned to desist from the sharp practices or risk arrest and prosecution.

Zonal Commanders of the EFCC today, also met with officials of various banks in their Commands in an effort to ascertain the volume of the new notes issued to the commercial banks and how the banks were dispensing the monies to their customers.

The Commanders urged the financial market operators to ensure compliance with the guidelines set by the Central Bank of Nigeria while disclosing that they have dispatched operatives across their Commands to monitor the level of compliance by banks and other operators in the financial market.

TheCable reported earlier that the Department of State Services (DSS) made similar arrests in operations across the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to appreciate what they have as the situation in the country is not dire when compared with other countries.

Speaking on Monday at a state banquet in Kano to conclude his visit to the state, the president said Nigerians do not appreciate their country until they visit other countries and see how citizens of those nations are fairing.

We have a great country but we do not appreciate it until we visit our neighbours and other countries where the preoccupation is for people to have one good meal a day, he said in a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson.

When I fly by helicopter, the number of high-rise buildings I see and the amount of development on the ground are fantastic. We thank God. We thank God. We thank God.

Buhari urged the elite to encourage and inspire young people to embrace education.

They must embrace education for educations sake. Technology has made it possible for shortcuts but nothing can replace real learning. Please encourage the children to learn, he said.

He congratulated Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano, for doing very well on infrastructure, adding that his recent visits to Kogi, Yobe, Lagos, and Katsina states have shown that the respective governors have done very well, with the funds available to them.

While paying homage to Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano, Buhari urged Nigerians to respect traditional institutions and accord them the honour they deserve.

This system is good. It is good in the sense that our traditional institutions are respected and honoured, he said.

It is very important that we have understood the politics and we are respecting people from the bottom to upwards and this is common sense because people matter.

What the children see now is what they will hope to be in the future and the older ones hope that they can make their influence felt and improve the governance in the country from the bottom upwards.

Responding, the emir thanked Buhari for granting approval to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the phasing out of old currency notes.

This is an indication that the president is focused on alleviating the plight of the citizenry and indeed a listening leader, he said.

The monarch expressed his appreciation to the federal and state government for the developmental projects in the state as well as their support to the emirate.

He added that the ongoing electioneering campaigns should serve as an opportunity for politicians to understand the challenges facing the people and devise a means of solving them.

He prayed for peaceful elections, as well as peace and prosperity in the country.
NATO delays in delivering tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as longer-range missiles and combat aircraft have hampered Ukrainian plans to launch new offensives to force Russian forces out of more Ukrainian territory. Russia is taking advantage of this by using its few remaining offensive units to make small territorial gains and promote this as major victories.

For Vladimir Putin, his war in Ukraine can continue as long as he has enough money to support it. Oil income is way down because of sanctions. Despite that Russia can still export oil but at discounts of up to 45 percent. This can (according to Russian officials) go on for about three years and then the National Wealth Fund, a reserve of gold and foreign currencies that supports the value of the ruble, will be officially gone (much has been frozen in Western banks by sanctions and will instead probably end up being used to rebuild Ukraine). Emptying that fund this way makes it nearly impossible to borrow money. Meanwhile sanctions and costs of the war have increased unemployment and poverty rates.

Putin calls on Russians to exercise the traditional forbearance under difficult conditions. This got Russia through World War II and years of communist misrule. The costs were high. World War II cost Russia 18 percent of its population with enormous damage to the economy and infrastructure. Communist corruption and inability to manage the economy eventually led to the dissolution of the centurys old Russian empire in 1991. Putin describes the war in Ukraine as an internal matter for a Russian government that considers the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union as illegitimate and a great mistake. The problem is that none of the new nations created from the dissolution want to return to being imperial vassals. Putin was surprised at the Ukrainians resistance and, rather than accept the truth, insisted that the Ukrainians had become corrupted by NATO who persuaded them to fight the Russian liberation effort. Ukrainians old enough to remember life in Soviet Ukraine recognize Putins version of the situation as the same delusional beliefs that caused the Soviet Union to fall apart in 1991.

Its another example of those who refuse to learn from history and are condemned to repeat it. Ukrainians recognize this and a growing number of Russians do as well. After losing about seven million Russians who left Russia permanently since Putin took power, Putin now restricts who can leave the country. In response to that, Russians are sneaking out of the country despite the risk of arrest and prison or getting killed by border guards with orders to shoot anyone caught crossing illegally and refusing to stop. So far a majority of Russians have put up with this mistreatment but the situation is a replay of the late 1980s and few Russians want that. This includes a growing number of wealthy Russians (the oligarchs) who have the means to bring Putin down if enough of them unite in such a risky effort.

Putin is moving to cripple the opposition by trying to limit the ability of many Russian Internet-based war correspondents to visit the war zone. His generals are cooperating with this although most of the troops are not. Russians mobilized into the military during 2022 are poorly trained, led and supplied. The result has been a lot of soldiers who refuse to act like soldiers. Russia lost most of its combat officers early in the war and many non-combat officers (including doctors) ordered to replace those losses were not effective. Russia has no veteran NCOs and in desperation is offering officer commissions to act like an officer. This has not worked out because the new officers found that the senior officers are more concerned with keeping their jobs than taking care of their subordinates. Russia is running out of capable and loyal soldiers willing to fight and die for Putin.

Russia is also running out of generals because nine have died so far during visits to the front to see for themselves what is happening and why. Accurate news from the front is still available from the Internet-based reporters. Despite that, Putin recently replaced the senior generals running the Ukraine operations with ones who believe only Russian offensive action will work for Russia in Ukraine. Remaining on the defensive in order to wait out the Ukrainians is something Putin realizes he literally cannot afford.

Putin plays down the problems with an offensive strategy. For example, when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 it never expected to run out of ammunition. The war was not over in a few months and, because of that, Russia did run out of artillery munitions by the end of 2022 while Ukraine was supplied by NATO with massive amounts of 155mm artillery ammunition. Russias production of artillery ammunition continues but it is not enough to match what Ukraine is receiving from NATO nations. Ukraine has also revived its artillery munitions production of 152mm shells. This is the caliber used by Russian-designed artillery which Ukraine still has some of. NATOs current munitions are more effective and reliable than Russian-made projectiles. For Ukraine to push the Russians out of its territory it must attack and that requires more artillery support than defense.

The NATO countries supplying all this ammunition have a problem because they eventually ran through most of what they had available. The United States supplied most of it and now has to replace its war reserves stockpiled for a major war. While European NATO nations dont have to worry about their major threat, Russia, while they rebuild their war reserves, the Americans have to plan for potential conflicts elsewhere, like China, North Korea and Iran. The Americans can still do so because supporting Ukraine does not degrade American naval or air power. A war with China would not become more difficult because of American military aid to Ukraine. The same is true for potential conflicts with China, North Korea or Iran as both of them have plenty of powerful local near-peer opponents who would be American allies in such conflicts, i.e., South Korea, Japan, the Arab gulf states and Israel, who can deal with China, Iran or North Korea given American and naval support. American ground forces are also available for a Pacific campaign, but cannot use artillery munitions as heavily as they would prefer.

The U.S. found that it takes several years to ramp up production of artillery munitions and five or more years of increased production to restore the reserves. Munitions are still being sent to Ukraine, but not in the massive quantities seen during the first eight months of the war. Ukraine has managed to repair its own production facilities after Russia damaged them early in the war and is now manufacturing a lot of the basic small arms, artillery and mortar ammunition its troops use. While NATO nations have sent Ukraine most of the available munitions as well as a lot of weapons and combat or support vehicles, this is justified by the fact that NATO exists to protect NATO members from a Russian attack. The Russians did attack, but started with Ukraine, which wanted to join NATO, before moving on to nearby NATO nations. Russia has wrecked its military power and economy with this invasion of Ukraine, and wont recover for a long time.

Ukrainian Advantages

Ammunition is not the only item Russia does not have enough of. Adequate training for its troops, especially the new ones, is lacking. This is not the case with the Ukrainian forces, which received training from NATO countries since 2015 and that increased in 2022. For example, the United States set up a training program that trained up to 800 Ukrainian troops a month. Until 2022 the Americans were only training about 300 Ukrainian soldiers each month. Since February 2022 the U.S. has trained 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers. All this training concentrates on teaching Ukrainian troops to use weapons or equipment sent to Ukraine. For example, this program trained 610 Ukrainian artillerymen on how to use the HIMARS vehicle that carries and launches six GMLRS missiles. The fire control system of the HIMARS vehicle is somewhat complex. This HIMARS training enabled the Ukrainian crews to use the GMLRS missiles with devastating effect.

The new expanded program will train infantry units to handle more complex battlefield tactics. From 2015 to February 2022, American instructors trained 0ver 27,000 Ukrainian troops at a Ukrainian army base. After the invasion the American trainers withdrew and the training continued, on a smaller scale, in NATO bases in Germany.

Britain has used a thousand trainers to train nearly 10,000 Ukrainian troops in the last six months of 2022. Britain will train another 20,000 Ukrainian troops in Britain during 2023. Other nations have also contributed trainers to this effort. The Ukrainians appreciate this training effort and it makes a difference on the battlefield. This is especially true because Russia is sending more troops to Ukraine who have had little or no training. That means the Russians suffer higher casualties and the Ukrainians lose far fewer men. Ukrainian troops have been quick learners and know that success learning this material is a matter of life or death. The NATO nations have been making notes of how well and quickly the Ukrainians absorb this training, and used it to improve NATO training methods. NATO has long been getting useful feedback from Ukrainian troops about how well the training and the equipment works. Several NATO nations are sending Ukraine a hundred or more Leopard 2 tanks and the United States is sending some M1 tanks. Several countries are sending IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) and other light armored vehicles that typically accompany tanks. NATO and the Ukrainians develop shorter courses enabling troops familiar with one model of tank or IFV to transition to another similar vehicle. All this training gives Ukrainian forces a major advantage over the Russians, where most of the troops have little training or advanced tech and suffer from low morale and poor leadership. That sort of thing makes a big difference in combat but is often discounted during peacetime.

Russian Motivations

Vladimir Putins obsession with conquering Ukraine is aimed at acquiring more sufficiently ethnic Russians (which Ukrainians qualify as) to keep Russia Russian. The 2020 Russian census showed that the percentage of ethnic Russians had declined from 77.78 percent to 71.7 percent since 2010, even though it defined the two million Ukrainians (many ethnic Russians or Tatars) in Crimea as Russians because Putin had unilaterally declared that occupied (since 2014) Crimea was now part of Russia. The decline in ethnic Russians is largely because of a low birth rate and a growing number of ethnic Russians leaving Putins Russia. Over seven million ethnic Russians have left Russia since Putin took power in 1999. This happened because Putin mismanaged the economy and turned democratic Russia back into something like the failed Soviet Union. Putin believes that reviving the Soviet Union would be a good thing. Its not enough to turn democratic Russia back into a police state with a corrupt and inefficient economy. The Soviet Union was an empire which lost half its population and much of its territory when it fell apart in 1991. Putin prospered as a citizen of the Soviet Union because he was a KGB officer. The KGB was a secret police/CIA type organization that was well paid and immune from arrest by anyone except another KGB officer. KGB officers were one of the few groups in the Soviet Union who had power and prosperity.

January 25, 2023: American and German leaders abandoned their refusal to send Ukraine tanks and have agreed to send tanks immediately and continue sending this until Ukraine has all it needs to drive Russian forces out of Ukraine and end the war. While most politicians and Americans in general backed sending Ukraine the M1, senior military officials insisted that the Ukrainians wont learn to use the M1s quickly enough to make a difference. The Ukrainians disagreed and pointed to many recent examples of their quickly adapting to new weapons systems in terms of operators and maintainers. The American opposition is coming mostly from the same experts who initially predicted that the larger and better equipped Russian force would soon defeat the Ukrainians. It was not a complete surprise that the Americans announced shortly after saying the 31 M1 tanks would be delivered within weeks, now claim that it will take months. Meanwhile German Leopards are already in Ukraine and it is somewhat surprising that the Americans suddenly cant find 31 operational M1 tanks for Ukraine. The United States has thousands of M1 tanks in reserve. Currently over 2,000 M1 tanks are in use by U.S. Army units. Some M1s are with American units already in Europe. There are also over 3,000 M1s held in reserve. These are not the latest models but were seen as adequate replacements for M1 tanks lost in some future conflict. That conflict is going on now in Ukrainian except that, because Ukraine is not a NATO member, Ukrainian troops are willing to do all the fighting if NATO continues sending all the weapons and munitions they need, including tanks designed and built to defeat a Russian attack on NATO.

The excuses for not sending 31 promised M1 tanks are nothing new, despite the fact that there are currently three American armored brigades in Europe, each with 87 operational M1 tanks. The Ukrainians know this, as do the Poles who are sending their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Apparently the closer you are to Russia the more you realize how real; the threat is. Americans have already stalled on sending some weapons, like longer range missiles and any tanks at all, for fear of angering the Russians and triggering an expanded war. That has not happened and the Russians have taken unprecedented losses. Germany had a similar situation but was willing to allow other NATO members, like Poland, to send their Leopard 2 tanks anyway, without reference to what the Americans do with their M1s. Britain ignored American misgivings and sent fourteen of their similar Challenger 2 tanks. The problem is that there are thousands of unused Leopard 2s and M1 tanks available but only a few hundred Challenger 2s. Britain could not afford to build as many tanks as Germany and the Americans, and simply didn't have many to send. Germany finally heeded the pleas of Poland, the Baltic States and Ukraine by no longer trying to block Leopard 2s from going to Ukraine. Poland borders Ukraine and has been preparing to move the tanks into Ukraine. The only NATO nation with M1 tanks is Poland, which ordered 250 and has already received seven to be used for training crews and maintainers. Poland has 247 Leopard 2s and a dozen are being sent to Ukraine immediately for training crews and maintainers. Some of that training may already have taken place in Poland. Sending Leopard 2s to Ukraine is a popular move to most Poles, who see themselves as next on the Russian invasion list. The Ukrainian can stop the Russians sooner with the tanks. Russia continues to make vague threats of reprisals if NATO escalates the situation by sending tanks. Ukrainians regard these as empty threats. Russia has already thrown everything it has at Ukraine and failed. The Russians are planning a Spring Offensive with new troops who are poorly trained, led and armed. This wont succeed but it will get more Ukrainians killed and delay the expulsion of Russians from all Ukrainian territory. The Polish Leopard 2s enable Ukraine to hit the Russians first and speed up the end to Russian control of any Ukrainian territory. Ukraine will have about a hundred M1s, Leopard 2s and Challenger 2s within a month or so. NATO nations are also sending several hundred lighter armored vehicles for infantry and reconnaissance. Some Leopard 2s have already arrived in Ukraine for crew training. Ukraine was apparently already selecting potential crew and maintainers and providing them with detailed data on operating and maintaining M1s and Leopard 2s. Ukraine has also been training pilots for F-16 and A-10 aircraft. In 2023 the U.S. revealed that it was prepared to supply Ukraine with F-16s, but these will not arrive until late 2023.

January 21, 2023: The Russian government increased the legal maximum number of its active-duty military personnel from 1,013,628 to 1,150,628 personnel. It is unlikely that this number will ever be reached. At the end of 2021 the Russian ground forces had about 400,000 men while the navy and air force each had about 150,000. About a third of air force personnel were paratroopers or air mobile infantry. The navy had about 12,000 marines, who guarded naval bases in peacetime. That means the heavy Russian losses since the invasion began, and failure to mobilize many replacements, reduced the army to about 250,000 personnel. The airborne forces and marines also suffered heavy losses but more of them are still in service. Heavy combat losses reduced the personnel strength so sharply because the Russian army has far fewer soldiers providing logistic and transportation services. These are provided by government or private contractors who assemble and move supplies close to the combat zone, where military trucks and drivers move the supplies to army-maintained collection points or the combat units. This works inside Russia where the state-controlled railroads are equipped for operation by civilians who are trained for such support. For a major war against Russia, civilian trucks and drivers are mobilized for this. Such a mobilization disrupts the economy but that is seen as necessary t0 defend Russia. This is why the Ukrainian invasion was not called a war but an internal operation in what Russia declared was Russian territory controlled by rebels. Russia did not expect the Ukrainians massive resistance or their destruction of so many Russian trucks and supply collection points. This dramatically weakened Russian supply capabilities inside Ukraine, especially after Ukraine received guided GMLRS rockets that hit Russian supply depots because of information supplied by Ukrainians or NATO supplied aerial and satellite surveillance. Russian forces inside Ukraine are chronically short of ammunition, food, fuel and much else because of these Ukrainian tactics. Resorting to looting civilian supplies in occupied areas only partially replaces the supplies destroyed in transit or stored inside Ukraine.

Russian armed forces were supposed to have over a million men but that goal has never been met and at the end of 2021 the total was about 750,000. That is now about 400,000, including the air force and navy. Mobilizations of new conscripts and men who had served the one year of conscript service failed to replace all the losses, in part because the mobilized men knew that the war in Ukraine was not going well and most men sent there had little training, equipment or leadership. Most of the junior officers were killed or disabled during the first months of the war and replacements take months to train. Peacetime officer training takes years and now there is a shortage of trainers for troops and officers because most of the existing ones were sent to Ukraine as replacements for the catastrophic losses the Ukrainians were inflicting. Ukraine had 250,000 active-duty troops in early 2022 and within months had half a million more in form of volunteers and conscripts. Normally Ukrainian troops receive a lot more training than their Russian counterparts but in the first months of the war, untrained Ukrainians were used to halt the invasion. Since then, Ukrainian troops get more training and are led by experienced officers and NCOs in combat. Ukrainian troops dont suffer from supply shortages and suffer relatively fewer casualties than the Russians.

January 20, 2023: The American military has finally accepted Ukrainian estimates of Russian losses. While the Ukrainians believe Russia has lost 180,000 troops in Ukraine, the Americans will only acknowledge 100,000 as well enough documented to accept. The Ukrainians also point that their troops lost total does not mean dead, but no longer in the Russian military because they were captured or deserted. Ukraine considers the deserters a real plus for the Ukrainian cause because the deserters will often return home or get in touch and provide a more accurate account of what is really happening in Ukraine. The deserter version is far more glum than the official government reports. The high actual losses have led to an increase of active opposition to the war. This is especially true with young men likely to be conscripted soon. The resistance increasingly means disrupting Russian railroad operations. There are a lot of easy ways to do this and this information is widely circulated inside Russia. Damaging or disabling the thousands of electronic boxes found throughout the railway system. Putting these out of commission is easy if you know how and it means a stretch of rail is not available for days or weeks.

January 19, 2023: The central African state of Mali received a shipment of aircraft from Russia. There were two Mi-8 transport helicopters and eight fixed-wing Su-25 ground attack aircraft and L-39 trainers, which can also be armed with bombs and serve as a ground attack aircraft. Mali did not disclose how many Su-25s or L-39s they received.

January 18, 2023: Russias mysterious special purpose nuclear submarine Belgorod has shown up again. Commercial satellite photos showed the Belgorod on the surface off the northeastern Russian coast, where several ports used by the Northern Fleet are located. Russia reported in early January that Belgorod was testing mockups of its primary weapon, the Poseidon torpedo, to make sure they could be carried and launched by Belgorod. These tests also confirmed that the nuclear propulsion system worked as expected. Belgorod is a larger and heavier Oscar class sub but it still uses the same power plant as the other Oscars. The Poseidon torpedo is too large to be carried inside Belgorod and launched from a torpedo tube, and are instead affixed to the underside of the sub and released by the sub commander. The dummy Poseidon is the same size and weight of the real one. The size and weight of the Poseidon attached to the bottom of the Belgorod changes the performance characteristics of the Belgorod and tests were done to note and fix any problems. The actual Poseidon torpedoes, which are described as a doomsday weapon, are being built and not expected to be ready for another year or two. Four to eight Poseidons will arm the Belgorod. Each Poseidon carries a very powerful Cobalt nuclear warhead designed to release more radiation than normal. Poseidons are also nuclear-powered and purportedly programmed to travel autonomously to enemy coastal cities, detonate underwater and somehow create large waves that cause enormous damage and spread radioactivity along the nearby coasts. The Poseidon can travel thousands of kilometers underwater on its own, at very high speed for a torpedo because of its nuclear reactor, before detonating the two-megaton warhead while on the seabed of the continental shelf. Such doomsday weapons would allegedly be used only if Russia lost a nuclear war and would punish its victorious opponents even more. In that sense Poseidon is a psychological terror weapon, something the Russians have long been fond of. Its an expensive obsession because creating the Belgorod and Poseidon torpedoes and their Cobalt radiation warheads cost billions of dollars for a weapon that may never be used and if it does get used, may not work as expected. After all, how do you test the Cobalt super bomb to confirm that it works?

January 17, 2023: Vladimir Putin has again reshuffled Russias senior leadership, especially the ones controlling operations in Ukraine. The new commanders are not expected to change much as the same sort of leadership replacement occurred several times since the war began 11 months ago without improving troop training or tactics. The only known exceptions are the private armies like the Wagner Group and Chechen volunteers who are recruited, trained and led by Chechen leaders that Putin trusts. Wagner has had some success because they are allowed to recruit from prisons. Putin quietly allowed Wagner to give pardons to such volunteers, which meant they were free if they survived six months of combat. Most dont, but over 50,000 volunteered anyway. Wagner and the Chechens were also allowed to recruit Russian veterans, especially those with combat experience, and pay them more than Russian troops receive. These two mercenary forces report to Putin, who must personally approve what operations they take part in. Russian generals in charge of the forces in Ukraine must accept this and make the most of it. Despite all this, the two mercenary forces have not achieved any notable victories but have made progress in areas where they are involved. Most other Russian troops in Ukraine are on the defensive and taking heavy casualties doing that. Recently the Wagner forces were replaced by Russian airborne troops who had also been operating in Donetsk province for over a month. These airborne troops are one of the few reliable forces Russia has in Ukraine. The paratroopers cannot replace losses as quickly as Wagner can and use tactics that minimize their losses.

Putin is trying to create a new force of Russian troops who are well trained and equipped. This takes time, and it may be months before these new forces are ready and sent to Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence regularly reports on the progress of Russian forces in action or in training. Such reports can be independently verified with commercial satellite photos. The Ukrainians supply details to explain why things are happening and use a network of informants in Russian controlled territory to help with that. NATO supplied the Ukrainians with the results of more detailed air and satellite photos as well as radio intercepts. Ukraine continues to obtain useful information by monitoring Russian troops using their cell phones freely. Officially, Russia bans such use of cell phones but the Russian officers are unwilling to actively crack down on cell phone use because Russian troops do not have reliable military radios and not many of those. Putin and his generals also missed what happened when NATO personnel served in Ukraine between 2014 and 2021 when they taught Ukrainian officers how to become a NATO-compatible force. This turned out to be a major advantage because the Russians were still using their rigid Soviet-era command and troops control procedures. By 2021 the Ukrainians had adopted more flexible Western methods where junior commanders were trained to improvise when necessary. The only Russian troops who did any of that were spetsnaz (special operations) forces. Most Russian troops follow detailed orders and, when they encounter something not covered in their orders, they halt and wait for further instructions. The loss of specialists like artillery forward observers and similar specialists who accompany the combat troops was high during the first months of the war because Russian sent most of these specialists in with the invading combat troops so they could gain some low risk combat experience. These specialists were killed in large numbers along with the troops they accompanied. The dead included instructors from the schools that trained new specialists. Russia never had enough of these specialists, a bad habit their inherited from the Soviet Union era. Replacing the instructors takes a while and is another reason why replacement combat units not only take time to train, but will not have the support the pre-invasion units had. Ukrainian forces regularly exploited this. After nearly a year of fighting the Russians have not changed, even though the more flexible Ukrainians constantly win battles because of their initiative. One significant change Putin made was to settle a dispute between the Russian generals in Ukraine and the commander of the Wagner Group. Currently Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is in trouble with his patron, Vladimir Putin, for feuding with Russian army commanders in Ukraine over credit for some recent victories. Prigozhin isnt going to get fired but Putin sided with the army generals and had to publicly criticize Prigozhin to make sure everyone got the message about the limits of the Wagner Group forces in Ukraine. Wagner Group is a profitable international operation that reports directly to Putin. The Wagner Group was sent to Ukraine because the Russian army needed help, not competition. Prigozhin organized the largest Wagner Group force ever for the Ukraine operation and did it with money supplied by Putin. For the Ukraine operation Prigozhin assembled 10,000 of his usual military veterans and over 40,000 cheaper and less skilled convicts recruited from Russian jails. Putin took care of enabling that and the use of pardons for the convicts who joined. Some of the convicts had some military experience, most did not. They received six-month contracts of which some was devoted to brief but intense training, unlike most Russian troops which get no training at all. The convicts were not told that they were being used in high-risk operations under the supervision of veteran Wagner personnel. The few convict mercenaries who survived their contract received their pardons, and this was publicized to encourage the others. Word got around in prisons that signing on with Wagner was risky but that the pardons were real, as was the high-risk nature of working for Wagner. Most of those who did join later deserted rather than be killed in combat. Apparently most of the convicts recruited were lost to massive desertion as well as combat casualties. Despite that, during the last few months, the Wagner Group force was one of the few Russian units in Ukraine capable of defeating Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainians took fewer casualties but had to give ground against the Wagner force. The only other effective Russian forces in Ukraine were a few airborne units. Those were composed of well trained and led Russian troops that the army could not afford to lose in the kind of attacks the Wagner Group was making. Prigozhin made the mistake of criticizing the airborne troops, and army forces in general, for being less useful than the Wagner Force. Putin was putting a lot of time and money into training and equipping more Russian troops to join the airborne units in a few months for a major offensive. Prigozhin did not pay sufficient attention to this and his boss Putin was not pleased. The Ukraine Wagner Force will continue as part of a larger Russian army plan and its leader will obey army commands. Putin has also appointed a new general to command operations in Ukraine and the new commander believes offensive operations are the only way for Russia to win in Ukraine. As new Russian units are available, with better trained and equipped troops, they will be used to attack the Ukrainians, not just provide more effective defense against planned Ukrainian attacks.
Police have stopped a rally for Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Niger state.

The rally said to have been organised by Sabi Abdullahi, deputy chief whip of the senate, was aimed at selling the candidacy of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, to the residents.

Police sealed the New Bussa Township Stadium in Borgu LGA, the venue of the rally, and stationed its officers at the entrance on Tuesday morning.

The officers prevented party supporters from entering the stadium for the event that was billed to start at 11 am.

In a terse statement, Wasiu Abiodun, spokesperson of the police command in Niger, said sealing the venue was a proactive measure on intelligence they had received.

Abiodun said the police would not allow needless loss of lives and destruction of property in the state.

The police had to take over the venue of the planned rally, as a proactive measure due to intelligence received of a likely breach of security at the venue, he said.

Hence, we have to do the needful to avert any possible attack or hijack by suspected miscreants to cause mayhem and breach of peace in the community.

The command will not fold its arm and allow acts of political violence, avoidable loss of life, destruction of properties, and lawlessness.

In recent times, Niger has seen an increase in the activities of criminals and insurgents.




An ongoing protest has rocked Benin City, Edo State, over an unofficial N700 per/litre hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol.





The protesters, with placards, are asking the state government to set up a price control committee to check the prices of petrol and other essential commodities.





The protest led to the blocking of Sapele road, Ring road, and other significant parts of the city, causing gridlock.





Former Coordinator-General of Edo State Civil Society Organisation, EDOSCO, Omobude Agho, lamented that citizens had suffered untold hardship amid affluence.





He noted that Nigerians could no longer endure hardship caused by the hike in the prices of petrol, describing it as anti-people.





Fuel has become N700, and minimum wage is still N30,000. He stated that a bag of rice is over N50,000, and the minimum wage is still N30,000.





Reacting to the protest, the Edo State Governor said his government would do everything to address the problem.





Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, stated that it would work with relevant stakeholders to address the matter.





It added that the government would set up a monitoring committee within 24 hours to ensure fuel marketers do not exploit citizens.





The government acknowledges the plight of Edo people, who have had to endure gruelling experiences accessing petroleum products and the exorbitant prices the product is sold for in the state in the last few days.
The house of representatives has approved the request by President Muhammadu Buhari to secure an additional N1 trillion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The loan will be used to fund the 2022 supplementary budget.

The lawmakers approved the request on Tuesday following the consideration and adoption of the committees on finance, banking and currency, and aids, loans and debts management.

The house, however, deferred the request to securitise the N22.7 trillion ways and means loans, pending further engagement with the executive by the joint committee to allow for a thorough and detailed work and submissions.

Femi Gbajamialia, speaker of the house of representatives, said the N22.7 trillion request would be considered after the lawmakers resume from recess.

In 2022, the president had written to the national assembly, seeking approval for the ways and means advances.

The ways and means advances by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government has been a funding option to the federal government to cater for short term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipt of physical deficit, Buhari had said in the letter.

The ways and means balances as at 19th December 2022 is N22.7 trillion.

Recall that the senate suspended approving the request after some lawmakers protested against it.
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel has said the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was incapable of selling his manifesto despite the conducive atmosphere the state government provided for him to flag off his campaigns rally in the state.

Udom claimed Tinubu has proven to the people that he has nothing to offer but only blabs and insults on the integrity of the people as he did to over 7.9 million Akwa Ibom people.

Tinubu during his campaign rally at the State-owned Nest of Champions International stadium on Monday warned Akwa Ibom people against voting Atiku Abubakar, claiming he would sell off their palm trees and run to Dubai.

The APC flag bearer using pidgin described the Akwa Ibom governor as a boy who brought the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to the State

He said, Akwa Ibom, that Boy wey bring Atiku here, wey de call himself Governor, tell him enough is enough! He lives in my backyard in Lagos, If no be say we be one I would have driven him home. You see that mansion he is living, I would just use lizards, pigeons and scorpions and put inside.

Speaking while inaugurating the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen and Members of Boards and Commissions, as well as a Transition Committee in Government House, Uyo on Monday evening, Governor Emmanuel said he would not condescend to respond to Tinubus abuses because they were empty.

He said Tinubu has nothing to bring to the table for Nigerians, hence his decision to abuse people and rain insults during his presidential campaigns.

He, however, wondered if it is possible for any Akwa Ibomite to go to Lagos that Tinubu stays or the actual State that he hails from, to insult him in like manner and still be allowed to safely return home, but here our people at the Stadium including some state governors just laughed and applauded him.

He said, it is sad that Tinubu, who was granted State-owned facilities such as the airport, security, stadium, and a good atmosphere to come in and sell his manifesto, ended up coming to insult the integrity of over 7.9 million Akwa Ibom people.

What makes him think he will govern Nigeria? If I reply him now, people will call me and say, haba oga you are not like that. But I will reply him one day. There is nothing like emilokan (it is my turn)here, Nigeria is in Gods hands.

The Governor who is the Chairman of the PDP presidential campaigns advised Tinubu to borrow a leaf from Atiku who when he visits any state would not abuse the governor of the state.

The governor also thanked the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries for accepting the onerous task of service and urged them to see themselves as ambassadors and work towards raising the bar of leadership which will encourage productivity and promote good working relationships with subordinates in the service.
The South-East Zonal Organising Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Dozie Ikedife (jnr), has said that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has all it takes to win the election in Anambra and South-East.

Ikedife also revealed that there are powerful indications that have boosted Tinubus chances to win more votes in Anambra and South-East than Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Peter Umeadi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

He stated these in an interview with journalists on Monday, in Nnewi, Anambra State.

He added that the Presidency is about delegating duties to the right people and putting the right people to the right tasks, adding that Tinubu is a master in identifying talents, and giving talents the right opportunity to work for the greater goals.

Ikedife said the APC has national spread and national acceptance and controls the Federal Government and the majority of the states in Nigeria, adding that the APC has been able to deliver good governance to Nigerians over the years.

He said, We appreciate the fact that APGA is domiciled in Anambra State. We also acknowledge that the OBIdient Movement is powerful in Anambra and the South-East; but this time around  as far as the February 25 presidential election is concerned, APC will change the narrative.

Obviously, APC is very strong in Anambra with formidable structures. APC has two ministers from Anambra State. Chris Ngige is the Minister of Labour and Employment, and Sharon Ikeazor is the Minister of State for the Environment.

We also have Ben Akabueze as Director in the Budget Office; Margery Okadigbo as the Chairman of the NNPC Board; as well as George Moghalu as the Executive Chairman of NIWA. All of them are sons and daughters of the state, and their positions will play very important roles in delivering results for APC in the coming elections.

On the issue of age being a barrier to Tinubus aspiration, he contended that the presidency is not all about age; but about being able to understand superior argument and logic.

He said, Presidency is about delegating duties to the right people and putting the right people to the right tasks. Tinubu is a master in identifying talents and giving talents the right opportunity to work for greater goals.

Presidency is not about weight lifting. It is about sitting down, talking with your team, and delegating assignments. I believe that with the kind of experience that Tinubu has, he has the capacity to lift the economy of Nigeria, and place it in the right part of development.

Tinubu has the best manifesto. I all his undertakings, he has shown consistency. The mind-bugling developmental milestones in Lagos today are ideas ventilated by Tinubu. Tinubu is a master of good governance, and I have no doubt in my mind that he will replicate the same if elected president.

On the argument that the South-East should be allowed to produce a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction, Ikedife contended that what is necessary is the person that will provide good governance.

I dont think that you and I care at all if the person that built the Second Niger Bridge is from the South-East or not. People that ply the bridge are happy but do not care if it was built by a person from the north or South-East. What should be important to us is the person that provides good governance, and is able to deliver results, he added.
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Tuesday threw jabs at his fellow contestants, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, describing them as liar and betrayer respectively.

Tinubu said: We are not like PDP that forgot your rail line. They are liars. When you hear Atiku use the word and say Wallahi talahi, what is in his head is na lie I lie. Anytime you hear him say, Walahi talahi, just reply and say, na lie I lie.

The man who left here, he calls himself Peter Obi. We read in the bible that before the cock crows, he will deny Jesus Christ. Is it not true? So how can he keep his promise to you? He can not prove a point. Has Bola Tinubu not proved a point? Did I close any market? Did I kill anyone? Im a thinker and a doer, I even tamed the Atlantic.

Tinubu insisted that he is the only one who has been able to establish a track record of success, with verifiable projects as governor of Lagos State.

The candidate eulogized Soludo, saying: Soludo your son is not contesting with me or against me. He is a brilliant man, he has the brain, he is a thinker, he knows the way. We will work together. When I become the president, Soludo will be one of those advisers who will bring prosperity back to you. So the way you voted for Soludo is the way you vote for Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on his promises for the people of Anambra State, Tinubu said: You want to make Anambra a highly dependable state right? That is the memory of my dear friend Chuba Okadigbo. That is what we will continue to carry on  the joy of Chuba Okadigbo.

Continuing, he said: Youths of Anambra, Im here today to concretize the promise of development that will promise you restoration and industrialisation.

You know me, you know Tinubu, the city boy of Lagos? You know I had the Atlantic tamed in Lagos. The way we tamed the Atlantic Ocean is the same way we will tame the erosion in the eastern region. We will tame the erosion. We will make the value of your property worth more than 1,000 times of your investment.

We will create jobs for our youths. We will industrialize and make Anambra both the economic city and the economic centre of Nigeria. Your resources will be applied to create handwork and hard work, better-paying jobs.

He made a case against PDP for failing the South East in its 16 years of dominance as the ruling party.

We are not like the other party that come here to lie to you. Tell them when they bring their lie, ask them how long will it take their lies to travel from Port Harcourt to Onitsha, Onitsha to Aba.

For 16 years, PDP lied that they will give industrialisation, but instead they sold our assets to themselves and they called it privatization. Privatization to their own pockets. They privatized the industry to their pockets.

The hour has come, your PVC is the master, the voice of commandment. Atiku said he is the candidate of the North, is that not a dog whistle? Is that not a division among us? Anambra people lived well, in prosperity and joy with me in Lagos. I started paying WAEC fees, I didnt discriminate whether you are Igbo, Christian or anybody, I paid for everybody, Tinubu articulated.

The Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Margery Okadigbo who spoke at the rally said the massive attendance was indicative of the love the people of the state had for Tinubu and that they were ready to vote for him during the election.
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said it would have to go into strong rooms of commercial banks to ascertain possible hoarding and other unhealthy conducts among challenges making it difficult for people to access the new currency notes.





Maxwell Okafor, Branch Controller, CBN in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, gave the explanation yesterday over the apex banks ongoing direct cash swap for residents in Rivers, especially those without bank accounts.





Okafor who assured that the direct swap would last till the deadline on naira exchange, said, The sincere truth is that the situation is not smooth. Many of the banks are making the process too cumbersome.





For us to enter the bank today to assist these POS operators, it took a lot of pains. I wonder if Nigerians goes through this pains when we are here, what happens when we are not here.





For hoarding, we will need further exercise to establish that. It means we have to go into their strong rooms, check how they disbursed what they have, ATM, individuals before we can establish that. But the process is slow and we are pleading with banks to make the process easier.





On the direct cash swap in Rivers, he said, Tomorrow, we are going to Buguma, Omoku, Ahoada, Oyigbo, Onne, Eleme. So we will gradually cover all the hinterland of the state to make sure we exchange money directly for persons, especially those who do not have bank account.





We are going to cover all local government areas in the state. It is unfortunate, anybody not able to exchange his own before the deadline will loose his money, but we are augmenting efforts of the banks to make sure as much as possible, everybody has opportunity to exchange the old naira.
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President of 77th Session of UN General Assembly to Visit China

Xinhua) 16:19, January 31, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, President of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly Csaba Korosi will visit China from Feb. 1 to 4, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced Tuesday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
One hundred extra officers from across the state will help manage New Orleans parades on "regular days" this season, Mayor LaToya Cantrell and NOPD Interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork announced Monday at a press conference at Gallier Hall.

On big weekends, Woodfork said, 150 to 200 qualified law enforcement professionals will be present.

Woodfork said officers would be arriving from all over the state, as far away as Shreveport.

Last week, the city and the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office entered into a $950,000 cooperative endeavor agreement, which provides the method of paying outside officers.

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson was instrumental in rounding up deputies from sheriffs offices across the state. Hutson could not attend Mondays press conference in person, because she has tested positive for COVID.

Hutson appeared at the event via video, but did not answer specific questions.

Asked if auxiliary officers from across the state would abide by their own department rules, Cantrell was quick to answer.

First of all, she said, the official law enforcement agency of the city of New Orleans is under the leadership of Superintendent Woodfork, (of) the New Orleans Police Department.

NOPD, she said, would be galvanizing all law enforcement officers who plan to work in the city of New Orleans, to ensure that everyone is on the same page, relative to policies, procedures, as well as placement.

Woodfork added that the NOPD planned to have a meeting with the visiting officers "prior to anybody taking any positions on the route, explaining what our policies are."

Cantrell convened the news conference to celebrate the restoration of Carnival parades to their proper lengths  though that was no longer news.

The parades had been pruned in 2022, due to a shortage of police officers and other public service personnel. But on Jan. 25, to the relief of parade lovers, the mayor revealed that enough supplementary law enforcement professionals from across the state had been recruited to return New Orleans parades to their full routes.
This photo provided by the Dallas Zoo shows an emperor tamarins that lives at the zoo. Two monkeys were taken from the Dallas Zoo on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, police said, the latest in a string of odd incidents at the attraction being investigated. The emperor tamarins in this photo is not one of the two monkeys involved in the incident. (Dallas Zoo via AP)
On Aug. 23, 1987, Selonia Reed was found dead in her blue 1986 Chevrolet Sprint in a vacant lot on East Thomas Street in Hammond. Her body was covered in lotion, and she had suffered blunt force trauma to her face and stab wounds to her upper torso, shoulder and neck, court documents say.

An article published that year in The Ponchatoula Times called it a Manson-style murder.

Reed's husband, Reginald Reed, quickly became a suspect in the case, court documents say. His account of the events leading up to his wife's death didn't match accounts from several witnesses.

But it wasn't until many years later that new evidence emerged, and Reginald Reed was convicted of second-degree murder last November. On Monday  three and a half decades after Selonia Reed's death  he was sentenced to life in prison.

The case presented a lot of unusual challenges, but its always nice to get it over with, said 21st District Attorney Scott Perrilloux. Murder cases are hard enough when theyre a year old.

Early suspicions, new evidence

Reginald Reed told police that he was playing video games with their 6-year-old son the night of the murder and fell asleep on the couch, and that Selonia had said she was going to meet a coworker at a bar, court documents say.

However, that coworker said she hadnt spent time with Selonia outside of work in six months. Another witness also saw Reginald and co-defendant Jimmy Ray Barnes at the location of the murder about eight hours before Selonias body was discovered, according to court documents.

But then the case went cold, until it was reopened by Louisiana State Police in 2011.

A forensics test performed in 2012 on a cigarette butt found at the scene matched Barnes DNA. He pled guilty to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and agreed to a five-year prison sentence.

Perrilloux said his office often wondered why Reed wasnt arrested at the time of the murder; he said the district attorney at the time didnt believe there was sufficient evidence. Since reopening the case, state police obtained the DNA test results and new testimony from Barnes.

A jury found Reginald Reed guilty of second-degree murder on Nov. 18, 2022 before Judge William Dykes at the 21st District Court in Amite City. Dykes rejected multiple efforts by Reed's attorney to overturn the conviction; the attorney has filed a motion for appeal with the First Circuit Court.

Reginald had purchased five life insurance policies in the year leading up to Selonias murder through two life insurance companies, three of which were issued days before the murder, prosecutors said. The total value of all these policies, including an accidental death benefit rider, totaled $707,682.

I think our journey is finally at an end, a prosecutor told Selonias family after the hearing. Ill never forget you guys.
It was an image splashed across cable news for the better part of a week, and now it was happening in New Orleans: police in riot gear, wielding shields, standing inches away from hundreds of protesters on a blocked road. Few were sure what would come next.

On the elevated portion of Interstate 10 Tuesday night, the standoff ended in a way no one who has followed the coast-to-coast protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis could have expected.

+14 Protesters, police meet in peace on I-10 for 2-plus hours; 'We support you,' NOPD says Protesters and police met in New Orleans on an interstate highway Tuesday night after days of protest in the city over the death of a black ma

While protesters chanted, Whose streets? Our streets! New Orleans Police Department officers packed up and walked away.

The decision was made by Chief Deputy Superintendent John Thomas, the recently appointed second-in-command to Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, after apparently striking an agreement with protest leaders on I-10 that the activists would leave soon after almost all the officers did.

The stunning move to de-escalate a confrontation stood in sharp contrast to scenes playing out in Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, where police used batons and rubber bullets to disperse crowds on streets thick with tear gas and pepper spray.

It was good to see the solidarity, Tamara Jackson of the group Silence Is Violence said. Theres still some gaps that need to be addressed, but they have been supportive of protesters.

The moment came after NOPD spent nearly a decade shifting its crowd-control and protest response in a way few departments have tried.

After signing a reform agreement  or consent decree  with the federal government in 2012 following a litany of civil rights abuse cases, the agency implemented policies calling on officers to go to lengths to avoid unnecessary violent confrontations or face possible discipline and prosecution.

As night fell Wednesday, the department's stance during the Floyd protests had so far avoided creating an environment ripe for violent confrontation. And while some criminal justice experts say it's risky to offer too many concessions, others see it as a strategy departments elsewhere would be smart to try.
Louisiana State Police officials have identified the man who they say pointed a gun at law enforcement officers in Metairie before they shot and killed him Sunday night.

They said several motorists reported seeing Jabari Farafiai Asante-Chioke, 52, of LaPlace carrying a knife in one hand and a gun in the other while walking on Airline Drive near Causeway Boulevard at about 10 p.m. Troopers were in the area directing traffic while crews repaired a traffic signal at Airline and Severn Avenue, and motorists stopped to tell them about the armed man.

Man armed with gun, knife shot by trooper, East Jefferson Levee District police: State Police A State Police trooper and two officers from the East Jefferson Levee District Police Department fatally shot a man who'd been earlier seen wa

When officers made contact with Asante-Chioke, he ran, leading to a chase, State Police said. Troopers ordered him to drop his weapons and used a Taser, which was not effective, they said.

After Asante-Chioke pointed his gun in their direction, a trooper and two East Jefferson Levee District Police officers fired at him, authorities said. He died there.

The shooting is still under investigation. The three officers are on paid administrative leave, according to the respective law enforcement agencies.
Protesters described a frightening stampede and a civil rights group called it chemical warfare.

At a press conference Monday, New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said an internal investigation found department "failures" when officers unleashed tear gas and projectiles on hundreds of people on the approach to the Crescent City Connection on June 3, amid protests against the killing of George Floyd.

But Ferguson apologized only to "peaceful protesters" and didnt blame tactical offers for shooting gas and projectiles, arguing that theyd been provoked. Instead, the department as a whole erred by lacking policies and failing to warn demonstrators, he said as he unveiled the results of the months-long probe.

City Council unanimously votes to restrict police usage of tear gas except in serious situations The New Orleans City Council on Sept. 17 unanimously passed an ordinance to restrict the New Orleans Police Department and other law enforceme

"Our department did not have a policy in place to guide a response to protests, which resulted in the department failures on the bridge that night," Ferguson said. "There was a lack of planning and tactical decision-making, which resulted in an unprecedented incident that had never occurred in the city of New Orleans."

Fergusons remarks, which one criminal justice reform group called a "half-apology," come six months after the protests that lasted more than a week and saw thousands take to the city's streets following the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis.

The spectacle on the bridge was the most high-profile local confrontation between demonstrators and police amid protests across the U.S. that became more violent in some cities. Demonstrations grew larger in New Orleans in the days following the bridge incident, but they remained peaceful.

In September, the City Council passed an ordinance limiting when the NOPDs can deploy riot control agents.

After crowd tear gassed, NOPD pledges to tweak use-of-force policies; critics say it's not enough Eight days after New Orleans police threw tear gas and fired hard rubber balls at people protesting police brutality near the Crescent City Co

In the lead-up to the use of tear gas, hundreds of protesters who had earlier staged a march through city streets ascended a ramp onto the Pontchartrain Expressway heading toward the west bank. A line of police officers stood in riot gear, blocking their way.
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.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks during an on-camera interview near the House Chambers during a series of votes in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 9, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday stonewalled a request from the House Judiciary Committee to provide more information about the special counsel investigation into President Joe Bidens alleged mishandling of classified documents, saying that doing so would risk compromising the entire probe.

The response came two weeks after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the Republican-majority House panel, demanded in a letter that the DOJ hand over all documents and communications surrounding Bidens case, including those related to the appointment of a special counsel.

Jordans letter asked for non-public information that is central to the ongoing Special Counsel investigation, the DOJ said, noting that it is the departments longstanding policy to maintain the confidentiality of such information regarding open matters.

Disclosures to Congress about active investigations risk jeopardizing those investigations and creating the appearance that Congress may be exerting improper political pressure or attempting to influence Department decisions in certain cases, the DOJ statement to Jordan reads. Judgments about whether and how to pursue a matter are, and must remain, the exclusive responsibility of the Department.

Russell Dye, a spokesman for Jordan, said the DOJs unwillingness to cooperate is worrying.

Its concerning, to say the least, that the Department is more interested in playing politics than cooperating, Dye said in a statement.

Our Members are rightly concerned about the Justice Departments double standard here, after all, some of the Biden documents were found at a think tank thats received funds from communist China, Dye said, referring to classified materials discovered at Bidens former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington. The Center is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, which has been accused of taking in millions of dollars from Chinese sources prior to the Centers opening in 2017.

The UPenn has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it has never solicited any gifts for the Penn Biden Center from any Chinese or other foreign entity.

Its unclear whether China has ever had access to the classified documents Biden left there.

With the DOJs response, the question now comes down to whether Jordan will use his subpoena power to get the information he wants. Jordan previously said that he was definitely considering that as an option.

Well see, but were definitely looking at asking for documents via subpoena, he told CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju. But we dont know whether that will happen yet.

Last week, lawyers for former Vice President Mike Pence reported that they had found a small number of classified documents at his Indiana home. They said Pence himself elected to do the search after learning of the classified documents that had been discovered at President Joe Bidens Delaware residence.

As early as November 2022, Bidens lawyers found classified files at the presidents former office at the Penn Biden Center. In December, additional documents were found at his Delaware home. Neither discovery was made public until Jan. 9, when the media broke the story, and the White House confirmed it.

Prior to that, the FBI raided former President Donald Trumps resort in Palm Beach, Florida, seizing boxes of classified materials that had been stored there since the end of his first term.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel to investigate Trump and Robert Hur as a special counsel to investigate Biden. No special counsel so far has been appointed in the case of Pence.

From The Epoch Times
PORTER  Work continues on schedule on the South Shore Line Double Track project, officials said, as the railroad aims to restart train service between Michigan City and Dune Park this summer and shift the focus of work to the Dune Park to Gary Metro Center stretch.

Railroad President Michael Noland told the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Board of Trustees on Monday that the double-tracking of the line from Michigan City to Gary is on track for full revenue service to begin in about 16 months. The Walsh Herzog Joint Venture leading the $373 million in construction work is about half done with the project, railroad officials estimated.

"There's activity now underway to set the stage to complete that work next November, and then we go into commissioning and testing of the line with the goal and expectation that we open up for revenue service in May of 2024," Noland said.

NICTD's other project, the West Lake Corridor extension, continues on schedule for a May 2025 opening, Noland said, as the FH Paschen Ragnar Benson Joint Venture continues design and construction work on its $569 million contract.

Current work is focused in Hammond, the northern end of an eight-mile line that will terminate at the Munster-Dyer town line. An estimated 15% to 20% of the project is complete, officials estimate, with substantial completion scheduled for fall 2024 and full revenue service in May 2025.

Another potential major project, the realignment of the railroad into South Bend International Airport and the move of the station there to the west side of the airport terminal, is the subject of an environmental study and preliminary engineering work scheduled for completion in early fall, which would allow NICTD to begin seeking funding for the project.

The Double Track and West Lake projects are included in a six-year capital plan approved by the board Monday. The plan includes additional capital spending of about $30 million per year for various railroad and rail car maintenance work and upgrades. That annual total is about 50% more than the sum in recent years because of the federal infrastructure bill enacted in 2021, Noland said.

The board also heard a report on South Shore ridership, which is still down by more than half from pre-pandemic levels. Just over 1.4 million passengers rode the rails in 2022, as compared to almost 3.3 million in 2019.

Last year's ridership did show progress from pandemic lows, though, with the number up 37.2% from 2021's ridership of just over one million. Ridership was likely significantly impacted by bussing of passengers along a substantial stretch of the line, currently from Michigan City to Dune Park.

NICTD's Kelly Wenger said commuter railroads across the country are sharing their ridership numbers and "we're on par nationwide."

Noland said in its budgeting for this year, NICTD is projecting a ridership level of 55% of its 2019 total.

Gallery: South Shore Line Double Track groundbreaking South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project South Shore Double Track Project
Northwest Indiana law enforcement agencies are one step closer to obtaining additional state funding to better combat crime originating in Illinois.

The House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee voted 12-0 Monday to endorse House Bill 1312, sponsored by state Reps. Hal Slager, R-Schererville; and Mike Andrade, D-Munster.

The legislation authorizes the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to award grants totaling $5 million in both the 2024 and 2025 state budget years to police agencies in communities where cross-border crime has at least doubled in the past 10 years.

Under the plan, the money could be used to acquire license plate reader equipment, cross-state communications patches, spike or stop strips, pursuit-related GPS tracking equipment, video surveillance equipment or any other effective crime prevention tool approved by the ICJI.

The proposal is backed by numerous Northwest Indiana police chiefs who last week detailed for the committee the crime surge from Illinois into Indiana they've seen over the past few years.

Andrade said the measure, if enacted into law, will ensure Region police agencies have the tools they need to keep residents safe.

As originally written, the grant money primarily would have been available to Northwest Indiana police departments.

But the legislation was revised by the Republican-led panel so the money potentially could be distributed to any Indiana locality where cross-border crime from any other state is a demonstrated problem.

Exactly how much money will be available, if any, now is up to the House Ways and Means Committee.

It will, in coming weeks, review the financial impact of the proposal and decide whether to allocate funding for it in the two-year state budget.

Meet the 2023 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
GARY  A 31-year-old Gary man shot here last week has died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, the Cook County medical examiner's office reported.

William Pope was pronounced dead shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, officials said.

Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield said officers were called out at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a gunshot victim and found Pope in the area of a sidewalk.

The location was identified by the medical examiner's office as the 1900 block of Virginia Street, which is also listed as his home address.

"The male was alert and rushed to the hospital by medics," Westerfield said. "After being stabilized at the area hospital he was transported to an Illinois hospital for an elevated level of care."

The investigation is ongoing, and police ask that anyone with information contact the violent crimes division at 219-881-1210 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.
GARY  Bailly STEM Academy in Gary received a bomb threat Tuesday morning, but officials said that a search of the building found no credible threats.

The threat came prior to the start of the classes, Gary Community School Corp. spokesperson Chelsea Whittington told The Times. Whittington said that after receiving the threat, the district contacted law enforcement, who searched the building and found nothing. Students were subsequently released from buses and able to enter the school, and classes continued for the day.

This came after a spree of similar threats were made toward schools in neighboring communities.

On Jan. 9, a false bomb threat was made toward Valparaiso High School, triggering a lockdown and an early finish to classes for the day, according to previous reporting from The Times. On Jan. 17, a threat of violence, also at Valparaiso High, led to a second lockdown. Finally, this past Thursday, threats were made toward Portage, Hobart, Wheeler and Valparaiso high schools.

Soon after Thursday's threats, the Valparaiso Police Department announced it had arrested a suspect: a 16-year-old boy from Ohio. Authorities said the boy, who was not named because he is a juvenile, was responsible for the threats in Valparaiso, but they could not confirm whether he is also connected with the threats against the other Porter County high schools. Portage and Hobart police said their departments will conduct investigations into the incidents at their schools.

Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week Winfield library books improvements 012823-spt-gbk-che-and_5 012823-spt-gbk-che-and_1 012823-spt-gbk-che-and_12 012823-spt-gbk-che-and_6 012823-spt-gbk-che-and_2 Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Lake Central at Chesterton boys basketball Intramural Club at PNW snow volleyball Intramural Club at PNW snow volleyball Intramural Club at PNW snow volleyball Intramural Club at PNW snow volleyball Grant will restore historic train, revive fountains and bring Taste of Region and other festivals to downtown Gary State of the City of Valparaiso U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal visits IUN U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal visits IUN U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal visits IUN Baby is first to get free $100 Baby is first to get free $100 Kiwanis aids paralyzed woman Kiwanis aids paralyzed woman Morgan Township and Westville face off in PCC Tournament Final Morgan Township and Westville face off in PCC Tournament Final Morgan Township and Westville face off in PCC Tournament Final 012223-spt-bbk-pcc_4 Gallery HTML code
Should candidates for local school boards across Indiana be required to identify as members of a political party to appear on the ballot?

That's the question the Senate Committee on Elections is weighing as it decides in coming weeks whether to advance Senate Bill 188.

The legislation would end Indiana's longstanding practice of nonpartisan school board elections by obligating school board candidates to either affiliate with a political party or run as an independent.

Currently, the measure does not provide for school board primary elections. As a result, voters still would have to choose among multiple candidates for the available number of seats, likely including several candidates from the same political party.

Advocates for plan, led by state Sen. Jack Sandlin, R-Indianapolis, claim partisan school board elections would promote "transparency" by giving voters more information about the candidates running for school board.

Sandlin said absent a party label many voters are at a loss to identify school board candidates who share their values and may end up voting for someone with different opinions or opt not to vote at all on the school board portion of their ballot.

"There's a large interest in having people designate their party for school board elections," Sandlin said. "I think elected party officials have a higher degree of responsibility to the community."

Opponents of the plan decried the possible infringement of partisan politics in yet another area of American life, especially one that should prioritize doing what's best for children and not be focused on advancing a political party agenda.

"Students do not come to school with little Rs or little Ds stamped on their foreheads," said Joel Hand, representing the Indiana Coalition for Public Education.

The measure also is opposed by the Indiana School Boards Association, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, American Federation of Teachers-Indiana, Indiana PTA and the Indiana State Teachers Association, among others.

A test vote in the Republican-led committee suggests there is enough support to forward the proposal to the full Senate if the chairman, state Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, permits a final roll call.

Separately, the panel unanimously agreed to advance Senate Bill 177 moving the start of candidate filing for school board elections from mid-July to mid-May.

It also approved without much controversy Senate Bill 224 to require most ballot questions, including school funding referendums, only appear on a general election ballot after the 2023 elections.

Meet the 2023 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
Misplacing a library book or forgetting when it's due typically results in getting slapped with a late fine.

These library fines then must be paid off before they let you check out any more books to read.

But now, three of Northwest Indiana's largest library districts  the Lake County Public Library, the LaPorte County Public Library and the Crown Point Community Library  have recently phased out fines on most materials. The Porter County Public Library System also did away with most fines in 2019.

"Our strategic plan directed us to looking at barriers to usage. When we returned after the closure, we stopped fines on childrens books because we didnt want kids to be stopped because of fines. They depend on the adults to bring them to the library. We didnt see a large increase in items being returned late," Lake County Public Library Director Ingrid Norris said. "In 2022, we did a study on overdue fines and determined that all our communities returned books late at about the same rate. But the number of blocked cards ran from 3% in an affluent community to almost 25% in a community that was not as affluent."

It's an issue of accessibility, Norris said.

"We discovered that fines presented a major barrier to many people who need the library," she said. "A small fine to some is an unmanageable burden to others  and what's more, we discovered that fines do not alter behavior. People would keep an item overdue even if there was a fine associated with it. Rather, returning an item late had more to do with socioeconomic factors, like transportation options."

Many libraries have been doing away with fines for years, said Fonda Owens, director of LaPorte County Public Library. In January, the LaPorte County Public Library moved away from daily fines in favor of charging only for lost or damaged items.

"It seemed reasonable to examine why the library should be charging overdue fees to the other accounts in light of the research that shows overdue fines do not significantly impact the return of items to the library. Studies also show that library fines disproportionately impact youth and low-income families," she said. "Another contributing factor was the increasing cost of collecting fines. A growing number of people dont carry cash and processing fees on debit and credit transactions come at a cost to the library. We found that less than 0.3% of the librarys revenue came from overdue fines. The processing fees paid out by the library further reduced that number, and in addition to that is the cost of the staff time to collect, count and take to the bank for deposit the money collected for payment. If we monetized all of this, we believe that the library would actually be saving money by not collecting overdue fines."

The LaPorte County Public Library has not charged late fines for at least 20 years on its Doorstep Delivery Service, which drops off books at the homes of mobility-challenged seniors. It also got rid of fines on students' accounts five years ago, benefiting students who need resources to help with their homework.

"The policy at LaPorte has been evolving over time and had been changing for a number of years," Owens said. "Some people will come back to the library. It is possible that some long overdue materials will be returned. The library will not be paying debit/credit card processing fees. Staff time will be freed up to concentrate on delivering better customer service."

The American Library Association passed a resolution encouraging libraries to cease fines at its Midwinter Meeting in 2019. It made the case that late fines resulted in social inequity and denied access to people who might not be able to pay them, Crown Point Community Library Director Julie Wendorf said.

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the trend.

"The fine-free trend had begun prior to the pandemic with some forward-thinking libraries. For most libraries, their first experience with going fine-free was when many libraries suspended fines during 2020 as returning library materials became difficult and libraries started off quarantining library materials while awaiting scientific research about COVID's ability to remain on library materials," she said. "After the trial fine-free period, many libraries either continued to be fine-free or they reinstated fines. The Crown Point Community Library reinstated fines in early 2021 and spent the entirety of 2022 researching the impact to the library from all aspects to determine if we can discontinue fines."

By June of last year, about 100 of the 236 Indiana libraries went fine-free, Wendorf said.

"Library fines were part of the way libraries had been conceived. There is a great 'Seinfeld' episode with a library cop showing up to Jerry's apartment that has become iconic. The concept of fines was so ingrained in how libraries operated, it was hard to wrap our heads around the shift," Wendorf said. "The Crown Point Community Library had been charging fines for overdue materials since it had opened in 1908."

But librarians have taken a new look at longtime practices. They came to realize that scrapping fines wouldn't result in patrons holding onto checked-out books forever.

"Early adopters of going fine-free were able to demonstrate that fines had little to no impact on how long patrons kept materials. Those that could afford the minimal fine would keep materials until they were overdue and simply pay the fine," Wendorf said. "Those that couldn't afford to pay the fine were often blocked and were not able to check out materials. Many of these at-risk patrons would have to make the choice to forgo using the library as a resource simply because they were unable to pay their fines and often they were in the most need of the library's resources. Many librarians, and even community members, believed that library fines were a way to teach responsibility. It took a long time for library leaders to recognize that teaching responsibility to community members is not the mission of the library."

The Porter County Public Library did away with late fines in 2019, and the policy has been going well, Director Jesse Butz said.

"It may feel like a trend right now, but this is actually a movement that has been gaining momentum over the last decade or so," he said. "As more libraries see the successes that can be had from going fine-free and that their worst fears in doing so arent realized, they are more comfortable taking the chance on such a positive change. Im proud we were one of the first in Indiana to do so."

The library district went ahead with the change after determining the fines accounted for less than 1% of its budget, Butz said.

"The decision was about access to our library and ensuring that access is provided to as many people as possible," he said. "That we eliminated as many barriers to access as possible while minimizing the financial considerations of fines on our budget. Once we knew that we could eliminate fines without negatively impacting our budget, we knew it was the only responsible decision to increase access to the library to those that need it most."

More than 20,000 patrons in Porter County had been blocked after racking up more than $10 in fines, Butz said.

"The majority of those patrons would have never come back to the library. Without the fines they have a second chance to continue to use the library," he said. "And finally, without fines we have seen an increase in donations from our patrons, more than offsetting the minor benefit of fines. When coupled with fewer replacements and administrative costs of billing, we have had a positive impact on our budget."

The traditional policy of charging patrons fines for every day a book or DVD was late was long-standing because it was essential to budgets in the beginning, Butz said. But that importance diminished over the last half-century as the method of funding libraries evolved.

But fear and a desire to teach responsibility helped keep policies of late fees in place long after they served their original purpose, Butz said.

"There was the fear that your materials would never come back without a negative reason to return the materials. The truth was that most people just want to access more titles and will bring the item back, and that by removing fines more titles come back because the negative stigma and financial burden of a fine has been removed," he said. "And the idea that it is the librarys job to teach personal responsibility was always misguided. There are so many reasons a title may be late that have nothing to do with personal responsibility. Sometimes life just happens. If life happens and a fine hits that results in you being forced to decide to pay for food, or rent, or a medical bill, or the library books you forgot to return? With that mentality, you're just more out of luck. Without the fine we dont pile on, the materials come back and you arent blocked from future access. A win all around."

Fines never generated a significant amount of revenue, accounting for less than 1% of the Lake County Public Library system with branches in Munster, Merrillville, Schererville, St. John, Cedar Lake, Griffith, Highland, Hobart and Lake Station, Norris said.

"It will not impact the services, and we do not need to generate additional revenue. Our patrons already pay property taxes to support the library," Norris said. "In 2013, the overdue fines were around 1.7% of our budget. After we instituted automatic renewals in 2015 it dropped to 0.6%. In 2021 it dropped to 0.1%."

It was less than 1% of the budget in Crown Point, falling sharply after automatic renewals and the reduction of fines on DVDs and other special collections from $1 a day to 10 cents a day.

At the LaPorte County Public Library System, the amount raised also was negligible.

"Since the amount is so small it wont have to be made up in any way. It is entirely possible that we may experience a net gain from dropping overdue fines," Owens said. "That will remain to be seen. Not enough time has passed for us to be able to make that determination yet. It does improve accessibility  especially for those who experience a greater impact from the fee. It was a deterrence to people who could not pay. They can return to the library now without worry about how to pay overdue fines in these tough economic times."

So far, it has not caused any issues with books not being turned in on time at the Lake County Public Library System, Norris said.

"We are a larger library with multiple copies filling holds. We will also be keeping an eye on our holds queues to make sure they don't suddenly increase," he said. "We have a monitoring and purchasing strategy in place to keep wait times down so that everyone can continue to enjoy the collection without disruptions."

Patrons have loved the change, Norris said.

"We sent postcards to the patrons that were blocked to tell them we waived the fines, and they are happy to return," she said. "We just started publicizing, so some people arent aware yet. Im hoping parents that were worried about fines accruing will allow their children to check out more. I want to encourage kids to read without the fear of fines. Some people were embarrassed to return if they couldnt pay, so Im hoping this will encourage them to return."

The system still does have some safeguards in place.

"If the item is two weeks overdue the person is stopped from checking out more materials," she said. "Once the material is returned or paid for if its lost, they can check out again. There still is a due date. We still have automatic renewals if no one is waiting for the item, and well still send notifications when items become overdue. Currently, less than 2% of the items are returned late and very few get to two weeks overdue which is when we declare the item as lost and send a bill."

Some books have been out for a day or two longer at Porter County Public Library branches, but many long overdue books have been returned, Butz said.

"Weve had patrons come back that havent been here in years. We have had old materials come back. And our employees are able to focus on the important things like increasing access, positive customer service and serving our community as opposed to negative interactions at our service points or in the community," he said. "We also noticed an immediate increase in circulation of both physical and electronic materials. And finally, we have had numerous donations as result of this policy."

Libraries now have fewer barriers to entry, Wendorf said.

"Without fines, the Crown Point Community Library is able to fully embrace its guiding value of access for all community members," she said. "Fines have been shown to disproportionately harm those that can least afford them. It also makes the interactions between front line staff and patrons much more pleasant as disagreements regarding fines have gone away."

It's part of an ongoing effort to make libraries more accessible to all, Wendorf said.

"Improving accessibility was the driving force for the change. We did find that those that could afford to pay their fines would remark that they considered it a donation to the library, while those that could not were unable to use the library as a personal resource any longer. The library had done away with many access issues, including those with blocked privileges being able to use all other library services and use public computers, but the inability to check out materials due to fines was problematic for many community members," she said. "Community members already make their contributions to the library operating budget via their property taxes. We'd welcome those wanting to donate to the library to do so through benevolent giving rather than library fines."

PHOTOS: Lake County Public Library System marks 70 years of serving community 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system Their questions are more insightful than my answers 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system 70th anniversary of the Lake County Public Library system
Hammond firefighters responded to reports of a fire at 1311 Summer St. at 12:17 p.m. Monday. The roof of a storage facility had caught fire, and people working inside the building had to be evacuated. Firefighters were able to put out the flames by about 1:13 p.m.

No neighboring buildings were impacted by the fire. According to the Hammond Fire Department, the damage was largely contained to the storage facility's roof. A representative from the Hammond Fire Department said the fire could have been caused by a wood-burning stove inside the storage facility. The representative said there may have been a leak in the stove's ventilation piping that goes to the roof, though the fire is still under investigation.
New York City began moving single migrant men out of a Midtown hotel and into a new barracks-style shelter in Brooklyn over the weekend. But some refused to go  the latest flash point as the city struggles to accommodate tens of thousands of homeless newcomers.

Men who were being moved to the Cruise Terminal in Red Hook crowded the entrance to the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street on Sunday night, demanding to be let back in, and some slept on the sidewalk outside, aided by supporters who brought them pizza and blankets. Tents and luggage crowded the sidewalk. Some continued to protest there on Monday as the move-outs continued.

City Hall said that all the single adults would be transferred out of the 600-room Watson in the coming days to make room for migrant families who continue to arrive on buses from the southern border. More than 43,200 migrants have come through the citys intake system since last year, including more than 1,600 in the last week. About two-thirds of them remain in the citys care.

Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly warned that the city is at its breaking point as it struggles to provide for the newcomers, many of whom lack connections here. The costs are expected to reach over $1 billion this year and could increase as more people arrive, city officials have said.
Thank goodness Speaker Kevin McCarthy has created a House subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government!

Last week, The New York Times reported on an outrageous example of such weaponization, the flagrant use of federal law enforcement powers to target an administrations political enemies. Im talking, of course, about the John Durham special counsel investigation, which was meant to root out the ostensibly corrupt origins of Robert Muellers Russia investigation, and quickly came to embody the sins that Donald Trump and his allies projected onto the F.B.I.

Trumps circle insisted, falsely, that the Mueller inquiry was a hit job that employed Russian disinformation  via the Steele dossier  to frame Trump, all part of a plot cooked up by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Durham seems to have bought into this Trumpist conspiracy theory, and to help prove it, he tried to employ what appears to be Russian disinformation to go after the Clinton camp. More specifically, he used dubious Russian intelligence memos, which analysts believed were seeded with falsehoods, to try to persuade a court to give him access to the emails of an aide to George Soros, which he believed would show Clinton-related wrongdoing.

Astonishingly, The Times found that while Trumps attorney general Bill Barr and Durham were in Europe looking for evidence to discredit the Russia investigation, Italian officials gave them a potentially explosive tip linking Trump to certain suspected financial crimes. Rather than assign a new prosecutor to look into those suspected crimes, Barr folded the matter into Durhams inquiry, giving Durham criminal prosecution powers for the first time.
How can I dress like a designer? Its not that I want to fool the world into thinking I run a fashion brand, but I am always struck by the fact that they never look as though they are trying too hard but they always look elegant: cool but functional. What do they pick for themselves?  Ann, Oak Park, Ill.

You might think, if you spent your life creating lavish, gorgeous clothes, that youd want to wear them yourself; that if you were a designer, you would swan through life in a rainbow of sequins, Lycra, denim and lace, with an entire catwalk show in your closet.

But the truth is, most designers, men or women, dont see themselves as living billboards for their own work  at least in their working lives. (When they go out, they do tend to dress to represent.) Or so I discovered when I seized the moment of the couture shows to record what the creative directors I encountered wore and to ask some of them why, and how, they chose their outfits.

As for the what, that can mostly be summed up in one word: black.

Both Maria Grazia Chiuri, the artistic director of Dior womens wear, and Virginie Viard, the creative director of Chanel, took their bows in simple black suits from their brands. Black was also the color of choice of Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino, Haider Ackermann of Jean Paul Gaultier and Daniel Roseberry of Schiaparelli.

Not so much, it turned out, because the designers really, really like monochrome  indeed, both Mr. Piccioli and Mr. Ackermann are two of fashions greatest colorists  or because they think it makes them look arty and existential or strict and scary (assumptions people often make about fashion folk in black). Its because, they said, they want to focus attention on what they do, not what they wear.
As Medicare Advantage has become increasingly popular with older Americans, he said the agency needed to make sure it was properly overseeing the private plans. We want to encourage correct reporting across the program, he said.

Health insurers had lobbied heavily against the policies in the rule, which relate to a system of risk adjustment, and are likely to bring legal action against the government. Mr. Becerra said he could not speculate on any potential litigation, but he emphasized he thought the new rule was ready for prime time.

Insurers were upset by the rule. This rule is unlawful and fatally flawed, and it should have been withdrawn instead of finalized, said Matt Eyles, president of AHIP, a large insurer trade group, in a statement.

Evidence from government audits, fraud lawsuits and academic analysis has shown that many plans have been systematically overcharging the federal government for years by exaggerating the health problems of their customers to collect extra payments. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates the plans, has been reluctant to tackle the overcharging in the face of industry opposition, technical complexity and the plans popularity.

Under current rules, regulators have been closely reviewing a small subset of patient medical records to compare them with billing codes sent to the federal government. Under the new policy, the error rate found in the sample will be extrapolated across all the records in the plans since 2018, a change that would substantially increase the magnitude of possible repayments. Officials said plans owe the government $479 million in overpayments from 2018 alone.
On Jan. 13, a female clouded leopard disappeared for several hours, prompting a Code Blue alert at the zoo, which indicates that a nondangerous animal is out of its habitat. She was later found uninjured, but a suspicious tear was found in the enclosure, the authorities said. The opening was not an error or failure on the part of the habitat, exhibit or keeper, Gregg Hudson, the zoos president and chief executive, said earlier this month.

The next day, similar cuts were found in the fencing of a habitat for langur monkeys, but all the monkeys were inside and appeared unharmed.

It is unknown if the two incidents are related, the Dallas Police Department said in a statement.

Then on Jan. 22, an endangered vulture died in unusual circumstances that seemed unnatural, a matter that is being investigated as suspicious, said Kristin Lowman, a police spokeswoman. The cause of death had not been determined as of Monday, pending a necropsy.

The zoo said that it added cameras and doubled overnight security after the leopards escape, but more than two weeks after the original episode the emperor tamarin monkeys seemed to have been targeted. The police said that an intentional cut was found in the monkey enclosure and that the animals appeared to have been taken intentionally. The zoo did not disclose how many animals were in the enclosure.
BALTIMORE  President Biden still remembers walking along the tracks of the Civil War-era rail tunnel here that connects Philadelphia to Washington as a senator and questioning the state of this piece of American infrastructure.

You wonder how the hell its still standing, Mr. Biden recalled thinking.

Mr. Biden returned to the tunnel on Monday not just to inspect the aging structure  but with plans to revive it. He said his administration is committing more than $4 billion from his $1 trillion infrastructure plan to repair an underground pathway first developed under President Ulysses S. Grant.

The structure is deteriorating. The roof was leaking. The floor is sinking, Mr. Biden said in a speech in front of the tunnel, the oldest in the Northeast, where the crowd included dozens of union workers. This is the United States of America, for Gods sake. We know better than that.

The day trip to Baltimore was part of an effort by Mr. Biden to focus on his biggest legislative accomplishments of the past two years, at a time when the new Republican House majority has vowed to block his agenda for the remainder of his term.
A new Republican congressman from Florida handed out an unusual welcome gift to colleagues in the House of Representatives: inert grenades with a letter inviting them to come together.

The congressman, Cory Mills, 42, who is a U.S. Army veteran, said in the letter that the inert items, stamped with a Republican elephant, were 40-millimeter grenades manufactured in Florida and developed during the Vietnam War. The smooth cylindrical gray and yellow shells are made for a Mk 19 grenade launcher.

Lets come together and get to work on behalf of our constituents, he said.

A reporter for The Daily Mail posted a picture of a grenade and Mr. Millss letter on Twitter, where the gift drew mixed reviews from fellow House freshmen. Representative Mike Collins, a Republican from Georgia, said that he loved his and just needed a launcher, while Representative Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut who did not receive one, made a comparison to Representative George Santos, the Republican congressman from New York whose lies about his biography are under scrutiny.

Not even George Santos could make this stuff up, Mr. Himes said.

A spokesman for Mr. Mills said it was customary for new Republican members of the House to bring gifts from their home states and that Mr. Mills had paid for the inert grenades personally.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department has informed John R. Allen, a retired four-star Marine general, that federal prosecutors have closed an investigation into whether he secretly lobbied for the government of Qatar and that no criminal charges will be brought against him in the case, according to a statement by General Allens lawyer.

The investigation of General Allen became public in June, when an F.B.I. agents application to search his electronic communications was unsealed, possibly by accident. Days after the revelations, General Allen resigned as president of the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank in Washington.

The F.B.I. agents application provided a detailed account of a period in June 2017, when General Allen met frequently with Richard G. Olson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, and Imaad Zuberi, a businessman with ties in the Middle East. General Allen traveled to Doha, Qatar, during that period.

Federal prosecutors have signaled a particular interest in potential violations involving Persian Gulf nations, which have developed close ties to business and political figures in the United States.
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WASHINGTON  Just hours after the F.B.I. revealed last summer why it raided the Florida home of former President Donald J. Trump, looking for classified documents, a reporter asked President Biden whether it was ever appropriate to take home top secret material.

Nearly drowned out by the roar of Marine One behind him, Mr. Biden made his own admission of sorts.

Im taking home with me today, todays P.D.B., he said, referring to the highly classified Presidents Daily Brief, the intelligence summary prepared each morning for the occupant of the Oval Office by the nations top spies and analysts.

Before stepping onto the helicopter, Mr. Biden explained that his home in Delaware had a cabined-off space that is completely secure. And he noted that the P.D.B. was locked. I have a person with me  military with me. I read it, I lock it back up, and give it to the military.
MEMPHIS  A police report written hours after officers beat Tyre Nichols was starkly at odds with what videos have since revealed, making no mention of the powerful kicks and punches unleashed on Mr. Nichols and instead claiming that he was violent.

The police report painted Mr. Nichols, 29, who died three days after the Jan. 7 beating, as an irate suspect who had started to fight with Memphis police officers, even reaching for one of their guns. The videos, which were released last week, showed nothing of the sort.

Instead, they captured police officers yanking Mr. Nichols from a car, threatening to hurt him and then  after he ran away  catching up with him and inflicting the deadly beating. All the while, it appears from the videos, Mr. Nichols never struck back.

On Monday, the fallout from Mr. Nicholss death continued. The Police Department announced that it had suspended two more officers, in addition to the five who have already been fired and charged with murder in the beating.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, days after winning promises of battle tanks, is exhorting his Western backers to send more heavy weapons to Ukraine  and fast, to help stave off a new Russian offensive.

Having persuaded the United States and Germany to send dozens of their best tanks, Ukrainian officials have also started to press Western officials on advanced weapons like long-range missiles and fighter jets.

Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces, Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday. So we have to make time our weapon. We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.

On Monday, President Biden, asked by a reporter whether the United States would provide F-16 fighter jets  which are on Ukraines wish list  said it would not. The White House declined to comment on a question about whether Mr. Biden was ruling out the use of the jets entirely or just an immediate transfer of them.
The actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer on the film Rust were charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of the movies cinematographer, according to court papers, filed in the First Judicial District Court in New Mexico, in which prosecutors accused them of failing to follow standard film safety protocols on set.

In a statement of probable cause against Mr. Baldwin filed in the court, Robert Shilling, a special investigator for the district attorneys office, outlined the ways prosecutors claim that the actor had behaved negligently on set. They accused him of not receiving sufficient training on firearms, of failing to deal with safety complaints on set, of putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used and of pointing the firearm at the films cinematographer and director.

This reckless deviation from known standards and practice and protocol directly caused the fatal shooting, Mr. Shilling wrote.

The prosecutors in the case announced on Jan. 19 that both the films armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and Mr. Baldwin would face criminal charges in the death of the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. They will not be arrested, prosecutors said, unless they do not cooperate with their scheduled court hearings.
Maria Muldaur told me that years ago. She decided that she could actually be a solo act after watching me with my band in the studio in Woodstock, making Give It Up. And in the last 10 years of Americana events, I meet all these other women like Brandi Carlile, and theyll tell me that they were growing up on my music and what an influence Ive been.

But its hard for me to think about that because I know my foibles and my failings. I still hold myself up to a standard I probably cant live up to. But Im really grateful when people say those kind things about me.

Its a very challenging position to be in when youre very young. But Ive been my own boss since I was 20. I walked into Warner Bros. and said, You cant tell me what to wear, when to put my work out, who to work with and what to record. But Ill work my ass off if you put out my records. And they went for it. Now, I cant even imagine somebody telling me what to do.

And I could not live with somebody overriding my musical taste. I always picked someone that was not going to produce me and decide the arrangements, but work with me as a partner in the studio. So sometimes, when I needed to tell somebody that they just werent cutting it, I would use my producer partner to go in and say something instead of me. As a live bandleader, I have sometimes been on thin ice, when Ive tried to find the words to explain something that I wanted when I couldnt play it myself.

The tricky part is that I know what I want. I know what doesnt work. I know what direction I like. I can say, Play something more like this. But its how to say that in a way that doesnt deflate someones joy or their ability to feel.

At your concerts, it seems that youre totally relaxed and casual, but youre onstage in front of thousands of people. Do you think about pacing, timing, theatricality?
To most people, the actress Cindy Williams, who died on Wednesday at age 75, was synonymous with Shirley Feeney of the hit 1970s and 80s sitcom Laverne & Shirley, a spinoff of Happy Days about two unattached women in the 1950s and 60s. But Williams was much more than that character. She had serious dramatic chops, as evidenced in her early film work. And as a comic actor, she demonstrated a Lucille Ball-like ability to combine sweetness and slapstick.

Still, Shirley was a career-defining role  a lively, sometimes demure, sometimes daring bottle-capper at Shotz Brewery, in Milwaukee. The show resurrected a vintage style of zany comedy that freed up Williams and her co-star, Penny Marshall, to act both more adult and more childish at the same time. Audiences ate it up, and the show ran for eight seasons.

Of the two lead characters, Shirley was the more relatable, restrained of the two, which made her moments of cutting loose just that much more memorable: Watch her hungry and diving for food on the floor in Guinea Pigs (Season 2, Episode 14); going agro in Tag Team Wrestling (Season 3, Episode 2); drunk-crawling across the dinner table in Shirley and the Older Man (Season 4, Episode 24); or panicking while chained to a giant computer, in protest of the local power company, in The Right to Light (Season 5, Episode 17).
2. Ram Dass My husband discovered Ram Dass and brought him into our relationship. I find the way he viewed the world and the journey he went on to be very helpful to me. We have, like, 14 copies of his book Be Here Now, because its our No. 1 present we give people. Every time I listen to the audiobook Becoming Nobody, I learn something new, and Im reminded that I fall right back into things, such as feeling like my identity is my everything and my ego gets attached to the identity.

3. Failure In my production company, we want to create a safe space for failure because its only in failure that you learn. And if you dont get another chance after failure, it is such an unfortunate missed opportunity for growth. When you have a space where you can fail, you do better, you get stronger and you say, OK, Im not going to do it like this, Im going to try it like this. Or that path didnt work, lets try this next path.

4. The Dawn of Everything I have always been interested in the history of humankind. Its so interesting that every time we personify people of the past, theyre not as intelligent and not as civilized. I picked up David Graeber and David Wengrows The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity on a Barnes & Noble shopping spree. Its riveting. It presents such an interesting perspective on the history of humanity, and it makes me think about everything just a little bit more.

5. Bidet When we remodeled our home, we had a combination toilet/bidet put in our primary bedroom. It is a game changer. When we go overseas and the bidet is a separate unit, Im like, this is fabulous. It should be like this everywhere.

6. My Brilliant Friend After we shot Annihilation, Natalie Portman gave me Elena Ferrantes Neapolitan novels series as a wrap gift. I have read each of them multiple times. Starting with My Brilliant Friend, they are the most whisk-you-away, escape-into-another-persons-world books. I love them so much. It was the best wrap gift Ive ever gotten. And I always think about Natalie when I read them.
When I was in second grade, my teacher held a contest: The first students to memorize their multiplication tables would get dinner at McDonalds. I was one of them. Id like to credit hard work or the motivation of those golden fries, but in truth it was easy. I learned it from Schoolhouse Rock.

It was not the last time that watching too much TV would pay off for me, but it was perhaps the sweetest.

If you were an American kid around when I was (nineteen-seventy-cough), you probably have Schoolhouse Rock hard-wired into your brain too. The musical shorts, which began airing on ABC in 1973, taught Generation X multiplication, grammar, history and, eventually, nostalgia.

That last lesson stuck best. Winona Ryder and company crooned Conjunction Junction and Im Just a Bill in the 1994 generational-statement film Reality Bites. De La Soul borrowed Three Is a Magic Number as the backbone for their buoyant self-introduction, The Magic Number, in 1989. Nostalgia for Schoolhouse Rock is now itself old enough to be nostalgic for.
Her departure was reported earlier in The Wall Street Journal.

In a memo to the companys staff, McIntosh said she would not leave right away but would work with Nihar Malaviya, the interim chief executive of Penguin Random House, to ensure an orderly transition. She said she had no concrete plans for what to do next.

In an interview on Tuesday, she said that even though five years might seem like a short tenure as chief executive, it had been an intense five years.

I dont like the idea of sticking in one spot or doing one job forever, she said.

McIntosh said that the collapse of the merger didnt influence her decision to step down, but that after the trials conclusion, she felt ready to embark on a new phase of her career. Its a really good inflection point for the company as well as for me, she said. Having the trial behind us, having new leadership in place, its a good time for all of us to pivot our way forward.

In a memo to the company, Malaviya acknowledged that changes like this naturally create unease. He said he would move as quickly as possible to name a successor and would try to minimize disruptions to the company and its employees.

At trial last year, as Penguin Random House defended its bid to buy Simon & Schuster, the company revealed it had been losing market share in recent years and that it hoped that acquiring Simon & Schuster would help to recover some of the lost ground. With that deal off the table, Penguin Random House will have to find another way to expand.
10. And finally, the quest for a better frozen pizza.

The challenge of making a pizza is to cook each ingredient to peak deliciousness at once. When ice and shipping are added to the equation, fresh mozzarella can become clumpy and crusts might be soggy.

But in the last five years frozen pies have gone from a last resort to pieces of culinary craft. New freezing technology and affordable express shipping have made it possible for pizzas that are wood-fired, hand-pulled and made with Italian ingredients to slide into freezers.

To see how far the art of making frozen pizza has come, our colleagues from Food taste-tested 11 nationally available premium frozen pies. The differences among the pies were astounding.

Have a flavorful night.

Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.
As the Tuesday deadline drew near, the companys shares were trading for less than the offer price for the new ones. In other words, buyers would have to be persuaded to pay more than what existing shares fetched on the secondary market, lest the sale flop.

The Adani Group has scrambled to preserve its reputation, most recently publishing a lengthy rebuttal to what it called Hindenburgs baseless and discredited allegations to drive an ulterior motive. In a report running to more than 400 pages, the company said Hindenburgs allegations were not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India.

Hindenburg, in response, said India was a vibrant democracy and an emerging superpower with an exciting future that was being held back by the Adani Group, which has draped itself in the Indian flag while systematically looting the nation.

Successfully raising $2.5 billion could reassure investors that the end of the market turmoil is near, said Saurabh Jain, a research analyst at SMC Global Securities in New Delhi. It will certainly help in restoring some sanity in the market, he said. Selling might take a pause.

The identity of the investors who participated in the offer is of interest to everyone watching the Adani Group companies volatile valuations. Retail investors  or those not affiliated with professional trading firms or banks  bought only 12 percent of the shares that had been earmarked for them. It took bigger buyers, buying more shares, to raise the targeted amount.
WASHINGTON  A strange thing happened with smartphones in Armenia last summer.

Shipments from other parts of the world into the tiny former Soviet republic began to balloon to more than 10 times the value of phone imports in previous months. At the same time, Armenia recorded an explosion in its exports of smartphones to a beleaguered ally: Russia.

The trend, which was repeated for washing machines, computer chips and other products in a handful of other Asian countries last year, provides evidence of some of the new lifelines that are keeping the Russian economy afloat. Recent data show surges in trade for some of Russias neighbors and allies, suggesting that countries like Turkey, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are stepping in to provide Russia with many of the products that Western countries have tried to cut off as punishment for Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Those sanctions  which include restrictions on Russias largest banks along with limits on the sale of technology that its military could use  are blocking access to a variety of products. Reports regularly filter out of Russia about consumers frustrated by high-priced or shoddy goods, ranging from milk and household appliances to computer software and medication, said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in an event at the think tank this month.

Even so, Russian trade appears to have largely bounced back to where it was before the invasion of Ukraine last February. Analysts estimate that Russias imports may have already recovered to prewar levels, or will soon do so, depending on their models.
In recent years, network executives have rebooted and revived decades-old TV series at will, all in the hope of finding a born-again hit.

Classic series like Magnum P.I., Murphy Brown, The X-Files and Roseanne, to name just a few, have all been exhumed and brought back to life, some with the original casts, others with new ones.

It took a long while for Night Court, a popular but not quite chart-topping 1980s sitcom, to get its shot. So far it is, somewhat inexplicably, paying off.

The first three episodes of NBCs Night Court revival scored the highest ratings of any new network comedy in four years. The show is averaging 6.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen, and the first episode, which premiered on Jan. 17, has drawn more than 16 million viewers when delayed and streaming viewing is included, NBC said.
Louis Vuitton. Tesla. Amazon. The businesses behind the richest people in the world need no introduction. But last year, a name that does not command the same global recognition joined this rarefied list.

The new entrant was the Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate that controls ports, coal mines, food businesses, airports and more. The groups astronomical rise had given Gautam Adani, its politically connected founder, a fortune of nearly $120 billion, according to Bloomberg, putting him in the company of Bernard Arnault, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Mr. Adanis time in that echelon did not last long. Even though he remains enormously wealthy, on paper Mr. Adani has lost half of his wealth, or about $60 billion, in just over a week. And he is facing perhaps the biggest challenge of his career.

Last week, Hindenburg Research, a small investment firm in New York, accused Mr. Adanis company of brazen accounting fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering. The Adani Group has rejected the claims from Hindenburg, which stands to profit if the conglomerates shares fall.
The Biden administration on Tuesday moved to protect one of the worlds most valuable wild salmon fisheries, at Bristol Bay in Alaska, by effectively blocking the development of a gold and copper mine there.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final determination under the Clean Water Act that bans the disposal of mine waste in part of the bays watershed, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Streams in the watershed are crucial breeding grounds for salmon, but the area also contains deposits of precious-metal ores thought to be worth several hundred billion dollars.

A two-decades old proposal to mine those ores, called the Pebble project, has been supported by some Alaskan lawmakers and Native groups for the economic benefits it would bring, but opposed by others, including tribes around the bay and environmentalists who say it would do irreparable harm to the salmon population.

Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, which has long opposed the mine, said the decision was a real moment of justice for us.
Headliner

El Fish Marisqueria

Julian Medina and Louis Skibar, partners in the Toloache Restaurant Group, which owns Toloache, Old Johns and more, are adding this Mexican seafood restaurant to their collection. Last summer, Mr. Medina, the groups head chef, spent time gathering ideas for the new restaurant in Ensenada, northern Baja California, known for fishing. The chefs de cuisine are Fidel Rodriguez and Juan Velazco. The menu features dishes like fideos (thin noodles) with lobster, clam chowder influenced by tortilla soup, baked clams with chorizo, ceviches, raw bar specialties including peel-and-eat shrimp, swordfish schnitzel, tostadas and tacos. Salmon brochettes with poblano peppers are also on the menu, served with a roasted peanut Kung Pao salsa. The salsa is not the only Asian touch: Yuzu and soy-ginger butter flavor other dishes. The well-upholstered dining room features a dining counter set with chairs, not stools. (Opens Thursday)

155 Amsterdam Avenue (67th Street), 212-874-2000, elfish67.com.

Opening

Polletto Chicken and Sangria

Fabio Casella, an owner of San Matteo, an Upper East Side pizzeria and restaurant, is taking a new approach with his latest spot, which specializes in rotisserie chicken spun over wood fires and sold by the half ($15) or whole ($28). The rest of his menu is devoted to sides, including mac and cheese, roasted potatoes, creamed corn, creamed spinach, a couple of salads and chicken soup. He also offers a fried hot dog with fries. The setting, framed in dark wood with exposed brick, has 30 seats and waiter service. (Wednesday)

1631 Second Avenue (85th Street), 646-449-0889, polettochickensangria.com.

Celebrate Istanbul

For February and March, Salon de Ning at the Peninsula New York will offer a Turkish menu and cocktails to celebrate the opening of the Peninsula Istanbul on Feb. 14. Baba ganoush, smoked hummus, dolmas and baklava are among the dishes, served with drinks like the Bosphorus with bourbon, spiced pear liqueur, Earl Grey syrup and cassis; and a Turkish coffee martini with Grey Goose, Kahlua and Turkish coffee.

700 Fifth Avenue (55th Street), 212-956-2888, peninsula.com/newyork.

Cafe Mish Mosh

This Lebanese spot  in the gaming venue OS NYC, inside the Hotel 50 Bowery  is owned by Allen Dabagh, the chef-owner of Boutros in Brooklyn, and Samer Asfahani, the chief executive of OS NYC, both of Lebanese heritage. Some liberties are taken with traditional Lebanese fare, like the pork shawarma egg rolls, a nod to the restaurants location in Chinatown. Food, mostly mezze, kebabs and sandwiches, can be served family-style. For now, the 45-seat cafe operates on a three-month pop-up basis, though it may become more permanent.

OS NYC, Hotel 50 Bowery, 50 Bowery (Canal Street), 212-600-4325, cafemishmosh.com.
You write that Houston is out of the running and that Atlanta and Chicago are often said to be the favorites. Does New York have a chance?

My latest round of reporting found that New York was one of three cities to advance toward the endgame of the process, hashing out potential nuts-and-bolts terms with the Democratic National Committee, but there are a lot of moving pieces and factors at play.

Politically, the cases for Chicago or Atlanta are straightforward: Chicago is a blue city in a blue state, but it is also located in the Midwest, a crucial battleground region, and officials and lawmakers from nearby swing states have argued that a Chicago convention would help Democrats there.

Atlanta, of course, is in one of the nations ultimate swing states  Georgia, which played a crucial role in both delivering the White House to President Biden and in cementing Democratic control of the Senate. Atlanta advocates have all pointed that out publicly.

But convention decisions are also decided by logistical matters: hotel availability, union friendliness, transportation options, fund-raising ability from the various host committees and security considerations, among other factors. New York is betting that by those metrics, along with its messaging about Democratic values, the city has a credible case to make.
While her statement made no reference to the nomination of Justice Hector D. LaSalle, whose bid to become the chief judge of the Court of Appeals was rejected earlier this month with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the governors actions seemed to carry an unmistakable subtext.

I think its more evidence of a tension between the Legislature and Ms. Hochul, said Blair Horner, the executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, which had supported the bill. I mean, the veto message could have been written differently. But it wasnt.

Mr. Horner also noted that while the bill may have passed quickly in June at the end of the legislative session, versions of the bill have been proffered in Albany for more than a decade.

My guess is that if she wanted to work something out on that bill, it could have been done, he said.

The bills sponsor, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Manhattan state senator who happens to serve as the chair of the Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that the governors aides had not engaged with lawmakers since Dec. 20, when they offered a set of amendments that eviscerated our legislation and refused to negotiate further.
It now turns out that the prosecution failed to disclose additional evidence only learned about today, he added.

The prosecutor handling the case, Stephanie Minogue, was immediately removed as deputy chief of the Police Accountability Unit, which reports directly to the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg.

Mr. Francos trial was meant to shine a spotlight on police misconduct at a time when prosecutors were concerned with showing that they could hold their law enforcement partners to account. Instead, the two-week trial will be remembered as a highly public case of wrongdoing by prosecutors, one that all but ensures that the former detective will not face another jury. It leaves the question of his guilt in limbo and raises questions about the swift dismissal of the hundreds of cases in which he was involved.

It is ironic, but in a really bad way, for the legitimacy of the criminal system in New York that prosecutors, even going after police misconduct, themselves commit misconduct, said Cynthia Godsoe, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who has pushed for more prosecutorial accountability. A lot of lawyers are quick to blame police, but are less interested in exposing prosecutors to the oversight they clearly need.

The dismissal of the charge dealt a major blow to Mr. Bragg, who has made police accountability a focal issue. Though Mr. Franco was charged by the district attorneys predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., his trial was the most significant proceeding against a police officer that Mr. Bragg had overseen.
In 2016, the city comptroller, Scott Stringer, released an audit that said that the city Housing Department and other agencies manage more than 1,100 vacant properties citywide he said could be turned into more than 57,000 affordable homes, a conclusion that was disputed by the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Before he became mayor, Mr. Adams, as the borough president of Brooklyn, identified in 2014 parking lots and vacant land in Brooklyn as possible sites for affordable housing. That included a former hospital in East Williamsburg currently being turned into hundreds of affordable homes, and the site of a former manufactured gas plant along the Gowanus Canal where the City Council in 2021 approved a nearly 1,000-unit development.

Mr. Levines plan is helpful because he is proposing the actual sites, said Moses Gates, the vice president for housing and neighborhood planning for the Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit. Its vitally important that you have somebody willing to say out loud You can build something here.

About one quarter of the sites would not require a zoning change or similar public action, according to Mr. Levines office. More than 40 percent of the homes could be developed as affordable units, meaning they would target people with lower incomes, largely because a public entity, like the city or state, owns the land. Mr. Levine also said that three-quarters of the homes proposed are on sites south of 96th Street  an attempt to make sure people of more modest economic means are not shut out of wealthier parts of the borough.

Almost 27,000 homes included in the plan would require the city to rezone chunks of neighborhoods, including Chelsea, Kips Bay and Yorkville.
Li Chunyan produces the special "vine tea" in Qing'an Village of Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, July 9, 2022. (Xinhua)

by Xinhua writer Zhang Ge

CHANGSHA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Displaying a tea caddy in front of the smartphone, Li Chunyan enthusiastically introduced the special "vine tea" grown in the Wuling Mountains, to promote sales online.

Vine tea, or Ampelopsis grossedentata, is a medicinal plant, and locals call it "meicha." "We Tujia people affectionately refer to it as 'Tujia divine tea' since it has both edible and medicinal properties," said Li, a local of Qing'an Village in Zhangjiajie, a renowned tourist city in central China's Hunan Province.

"In addition to lucid water and lush mountains, Zhangjiajie is also known for its unique agricultural goods, like this snow-white vine tea in my hand...," Li introduced to the audience.

Over 10 years ago, Li and her husband both quit their jobs in more developed coastal areas to start a new business in their hometown. In 2015, the couple started to develop a vine tea base.

"We sowed 12 mu (about 0.8 hectares) the first year, and to our surprise, we earned over 100,000 yuan (about 14,800 U.S. dollars)," said Li.

Later, they established a company and encouraged other villagers to plant such tea together, gradually increasing the scope of their operation each year.

Li said that the sales of her company topped 20 million yuan in 2022, and more than 300 households in Qing'an Village now grow vine tea.

"I buy fresh leaves directly from the villagers, so they do not have to worry about sales. When it's the leaf-picking season, everyone can help pick leaves and make some extra cash without leaving their homes," Li said.

"I used to plant corn and peanuts, and can barely make ends meet. With the growth of the vine tea industry in the village, I can now earn money not only by picking tea leaves but also by planting them," said Hu Guoying, a Qing'an villager.

"Now, I have some savings, and my family recently moved into a new house," said Hu.

"Vine tea is now the dominant industry in Yongding District (where the village is located), playing a vital role in consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements and in promoting rural revitalization," said Tian Liping, the secretary-general of the Zhangjiajie vine tea association.

According to Wang Xuejun, head of Yongding District, the district has become a major producing base of vine tea. Its vine tea industry now hires over 90,000 people and has an annual turnover of 2.2 billion yuan.

"We will continue to accelerate scientific and technological innovation, build brands and expand the market to pursue high-quality development of the vine tea industry," said Wang.

Li Chunyan introduces the special "vine tea" grown in the Wuling Mountains online to promote sales at a warehouse in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 20, 2022. (Xinhua)
In 2018, Jerod Draper, a 40-year-old father in southern Indiana high on methamphetamines, was arrested during a traffic stop and locked in a cell at a county jail. Several hours later, the man died.

Authorities did not immediately investigate the circumstances of Mr. Drapers death. But in the Opinion Video above, the filmmaker Sam Mirpoorian examines that final chapter of Mr. Drapers life  and what happens when authorities fail to uphold their responsibility to protect the people in their custody.

Using surveillance video from the jail cell where Mr. Draper was confined, the film chillingly describes the prisoners last grueling hours. Rather than receive the medical care he desperately needed to address a drug overdose, Mr. Draper was subjected to various heavy-handed restraint techniques, including Taser shocks that opened bloody wounds on his thighs.
In the girls home in Hertfordshire, England, you need a key code to enter the kitchen, where all the cupboards are under bolt and chain and the garbage bin is locked shut. Without these measures, the child  whose name cannot be published because shes currently in foster care  wouldnt be able to stop eating, even scraps of raw meat or leftover pasta wasting away in the garbage.

She is constantly alert to any possibility of gaining access to food, her foster father told me, like a calorie-seeking missile. Her brain doesnt register that shes eaten. So she lives with a constant, raging hunger, an all-encompassing obsession about her next meal or snack, one that distracts from her other interests  in dolls, horse riding and drawing.

Age 12, the girl is thin, birdlike. If her foster parents didnt police her every morsel, shed be much larger, like many people who share her disorder, Prader-Willi syndrome. Patients with Prader-Willi can eat so much that in extreme cases, their stomachs burst open, causing death.

The disorder is a rare and devastating genetic cause of obesity. But it also exists on the far end of a spectrum of eating behavior common to us all, as I was told recently by Tony Goldstone, an Imperial College London endocrinology researcher and physician who works with patients with Prader-Willi. People think they only eat because they want to eat, or theyre cognitively deciding to eat, Dr. Goldstone said. But much of it is not taking place at that conscious level.
Mr. DeSantiss Stop WOKE law relegates the study of the experiences of Black people to a prohibited category. The canceling of students access to accurate, truthful education that reflects their diverse identities and that of their country should chill every American. Not only do these laws offend First Amendment freedoms of speech and expression; to the extent they harm certain groups on the basis of race, gender or other protected status, they also violate principles of equal protection. And they are a chilling precursor to state-sponsored dehumanization of an entire race of people.

This disturbing pattern of silencing Black voices and aggressive attempts to erase Black history is one of the most visible examples of performative white supremacy since the presidency of Donald Trump. In 2019 the Florida legislature undermined Amendment 4, which a supermajority of Floridians supported and would have restored the voting rights of more than a million formerly incarcerated people. In its place, lawmakers put in place a pay-to-vote system that redisenfranchises hundreds of thousands of those citizens, many of them Black. Similarly, Floridas antiprotest law, H.B. 1, was enacted in 2021 in response to the 2020 protests against police violence, when Black organizations and peaceful demonstrators in Florida  along with their allies  took to the streets with demands for justice.

What is happening in Florida is also happening in other states. Fifteen states now have active educational gag orders  and similar censorship measures are making their way through several state legislatures  with punishments including fines, civil suits, firing and criminal penalties for those who violate the broadly defined provisions. From July 2021 to June 2022, PEN Americas Index of School Book Bans listed 2,532 instances of individual books being banned, affecting 1,648 book titles. The content in most of the banned books involves prominent characters of color, L.G.B.T.Q. protagonists or themes and subject matter related to race and racism.

Its no coincidence that these attacks are targeting not just historically marginalized people but also our very experiences of intersectionality. Mr. DeSantis recently rubbished the inclusion of queer theory in the A.P. African American studies course that was rejected, seeming to deny the need for future generations to learn about the contributions of queer Black American icons like Pauli Murray, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde and James Baldwin. Floridas H.B. 1557, more widely known as the Dont Say Gay law, also limits conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms and, like Stop WOKE, makes clear that the State of Florida seeks to suppress and target peoples identities.

Meanwhile, teachers, librarians and school officials providing guidance on diversity, equity and inclusion are said to have been pushed out of their jobs and gotten death threats. Last year ProPublica reported the chilling story of a Black educator who was chased out of Cherokee County in Georgia by a group of people incensed that she was bringing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to the school district.
One of the groups that have risen to international prominence (or infamy) with the invasion of Ukraine is Wagner, a Kremlin-backed mercenary outfit that regularly employs former criminals. In Ukraine, they often fight when conventional Russian Army troops flee the battlefield, and they are noted for their brutality.

But its Wagners activities in Africa, especially the geopolitically important Sahel region, that require closer attention. Formed in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime loyalist of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Wagner was created to support Russias initial foray into Ukraine nine years ago. Since then, it has evolved into a shadowy network of mercenaries deployed throughout the globe. This includes a growing footprint in Africa, where Wagner has deployed forces to Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Mozambique and elsewhere.

Combining hard and soft power, Wagners forces are destabilizing poorly governed regions, like the Sahel, through wanton human rights abuses, rapacious resource extraction and covert disinformation efforts that meddle in the internal politics of the countries where they operate. In Sudan, Wagner operatives advised the strongman Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court with multiple counts of genocide, on how to operate a social media campaign that would discredit civilian protesters. In a memo to Mr. Bashir, Wagner advisers advocated publicly executing protesters to send a message to others. Phony election monitors and Wagner-engineered social media campaigns have manipulated local populations and interfered in elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Wagner fighters may soon be on their way to Burkina Faso. In mid-December, Ghanas president, Nana Akufo-Addo, alleged that the government in Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasos capital, had offered Wagner a lucrative mining contract in exchange for its services. The security-for-resources arrangement mimics Wagners blueprint in other parts of Africa, where it is said to have cut deals with authoritarian governments to gain mining concessions and access to valuable resources. Increasingly, these regimes appear to prefer the no strings attached arrangement with Moscow over security agreements with Western powers. As he has demonstrated in Syria and Libya, Mr. Putin has no qualms about propping up murderous tyrants and warlords, including Bashar al-Assad and Khalifa Haftar.
Back-end accountability is, you could say, legal accountability, while front-end accountability is democratic accountability. The two are linked, and in American policing we see the collapse of the former and the almost total absence of the latter. Police departments are too often insulated from legitimate citizen challenges, Amy E. Lerman and Vesla M. Weaver write in Arresting Citizenship: The Democratic Consequences of American Crime Control. Citizens, they continue, are denied effective mechanisms for ensuring that the police are held accountable.

American police officers have extraordinary power to work their will as they see fit. Local rules vary but generally speaking they can stop and frisk on the reasonable suspicion that you are armed and presently dangerous. They can stop and conduct a warrantless search of your vehicle with only probable cause that someone in the car or truck or van is committing a crime. The police have no obligation to either protect or assist you, even in the face of a credible threat to your life, and they are virtually immune to legal consequences for their actions under the doctrine of qualified immunity, with so few exceptions  like the almost immediate arrest of the offending officers accused in the killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis  that it essentially proves the rule.

What little accountability exists for American police is easily subverted. Internal-affairs departments are often more interested in exonerating colleagues than investigating misconduct, and police unions do everything they can to shield bad actors, attack critics and secure more due process for cops accused of abuse than their victims ever get.

On those occasions when voters try to bring police departments under greater public control  by seeking to elect reform-minded mayors or district attorneys  police officers will do everything to undermine the officials in question. In 2019, San Franciscos police union spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaign ads attacking Chesa Boudin, a progressive critic of law enforcement who was running for district attorney, as the best choice of criminals and gang members. In 2020, likewise, police unions spent millions trying to defeat a reformist candidate for district attorney in Los Angeles. And in Albuquerque, police unions and their allies fought a yearslong battle to try to stymie a proposed civilian oversight board that would have greater oversight authority.

The absence of legal and, especially, democratic accountability is, or should be, an existential problem for any police reform agenda. Without a strategy to curb or break the cartel power of police departments  meaning their ability to undermine, neuter and subvert all attempts to regulate and control their actions and personnel  there is no practical way to achieve meaningful and lasting reform, if that is your goal. Indeed, anything resembling a root-and-branch transformation of American policing will only ever occur after the public is able to exercise real control over the institution itself.
FRONT PAGE

An article on Dec. 8, 2022, about the proliferation of the global spyware industry attributed an erroneous distinction to the Drug Enforcement Administrations use of commercial spyware. The agencys deployment of spyware from an Israeli firm is not the first confirmed use of such spyware by the federal government; the agency used a different type of spyware in another country a decade ago. This correction was delayed because the error was only recently brought to the editors attention.

INTERNATIONAL

An article on Sunday about the agreement by the Netherlands and Japan to join the United States in barring certain kinds of semiconductor technology from China misstated the name of the think tank where Emily Benson is a senior fellow. It is the Center for Strategic and International Studies, not the Center for Strategic and International Relations.

An article on Friday about the mystery of the first mile of the Appian Way in Rome misstated when Rome was named the capital of Italy. It was 1871, not 1870.

NATIONAL

An article on Sunday about the disbanding of the Memphis Police unit whose officers were charged in Tyre Nicholss death misstated the given name of one of the lawyers representing Tyre Nicholss family. He is Antonio Romanucci, not Anthony.
Zambia is unsung and unpretentious, blissfully free of animal-locater apps spawning traffic jams around lions and leopards. It is also the birthplace of the walking safari, a concept pioneered decades ago by Norman Carr, a swashbuckling conservationist and game ranger who raised two lions  Big Boy and Little Boy  as foster children.

On a three-week trip to Zambia, we visited two far-flung national parks  North Luangwa and Kafue  which have both been on the front lines of anti-poaching efforts. North Luangwa is home to the countrys only population of black rhino, a species that was declared extinct in Zambia in 1998 because of heavy poaching; the cantankerous animals were reintroduced five years later and are now thriving in a vast sanctuary jointly administered by the Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife.

In each park, we focused on walking, with a few long game drives in between. On foot we were accompanied by a guide and an armed scout, as per Zambian protocol, with a trainee guide in the rear. We traversed trails blazed by hyena and other animals and teetered on the rims of deep ruts in the earth created by elephants and hippos that had traipsed through the mud during rainy season.
The Colorado River, a significant source of water for California and six other Western states, is shrinking.

Over the past century, the rivers flow has averaged about 15 million acre-feet of water a year. But from 2000 through 2022, a period of drought conditions, the average was closer to 12 million acre-feet. And in each of the past three years, its been less than 10 million. (An acre-foot is enough to cover an acre of land with a foot of water. Its about as much water as two typical households use in a year.)

The reduced flow in the river has forced major cutbacks for the states that rely on the river to supply water to as many as 40 million residents of the region. The Interior Department had asked those states  California, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah  to come up with a plan by today to collectively reduce the amount of water they draw from the Colorado. But the odds of such an agreement materializing appear slim, my colleague Christopher Flavelle reports.

The states all have a lot to lose. Water from the Colorado River is essential for drinking water in cities and farm irrigation in the countryside. The stakes are particularly high in California, which currently receives more water from the Colorado than any other state.
At least 10 people have died as a result of a winter storm that swept through the Southern Plains and the Southeast this week, causing widespread power outages in Texas along with a slew of accidents on icy roads.

At least seven deaths in Texas have been attributed to the storm, which began on Monday, according to The Associated Press. On Tuesday, the police in Arlington said on Facebook that one person had died in a rollover accident on Interstate 20. The conditions also led to one death in a crash that involved 10 vehicles, according to the Austin Fire Department. A Travis County sheriffs deputy was struck by an 18-wheel truck and was pinned beneath one its tires after attempting to help the driver of a disabled truck. He is expected to survive.

In Payne County, Okla., a 45-year-old man died in a crash on Thursday morning after he lost control of his vehicle on an icy roadway, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.

In Benton County, Ark., a man lost control of a truck on icy roads and died in a crash on Monday morning, according to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.
After Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the Supreme Court, his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, gave up her career as a law firm partner to become a high-end legal recruiter in an effort to alleviate potential conflicts of interest. Mrs. Roberts later recalled in an interview that her husbands job made it awkward to be practicing law in the firm.

Now, a former colleague of Mrs. Roberts has raised concerns that her recruiting work poses potential ethics issues for the chief justice. Seeking an inquiry, the ex-colleague has provided records to the Justice Department and Congress indicating Mrs. Roberts has been paid millions of dollars in commissions for placing lawyers at firms  some of which have business before the Supreme Court, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times.

In his letter last month, Kendal Price, a 66-year-old Boston lawyer, argued that the justices should be required to disclose more information about their spouses work. He did not cite specific Supreme Court decisions, but said he was worried that a financial relationship with law firms arguing before the court could affect justices impartiality or at least give the appearance of doing so.

I do believe that litigants in U.S. courts, and especially the Supreme Court, deserve to know if their judges households are receiving six-figure payments from the law firms, Mr. Price wrote.
MBABANE  Governments E15 million elderly and disability homes opening in Mankayane has been delayed.

The much awaited governments first disability and elderly home was supposed to have opened its doors to the elderly and people with disabilities at the beginning of the month. The home is located between Mankayane Police Station and the government hospital. The centre is expected to house over 50 elderly people as well as those with disabilities. The centre is under the portfolio of the Deputy Prime Ministers Office (DPMO), which is responsible for the welfare of the elderly and people with disabilities. It is the first elderly home initiated by government through the department of Social Welfare (DSW).

Last year October, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Themba Masuku, Civil Service Commission Chairperson Simanga Mamba, DPMOs Principal Secretary (PS) Melusi Masuku, members of the portfolio committee, Manzini Regional Administrator Chief Gija, among others, toured the facility. During the official visit, it was announced that the centre was nearing its completion stage. The elderly facility, which has four three-bedroom units, a canteen, semi-detached two-bedroom houses for staff, is already fully furnished. The only structure that had not been furnished at the time was the disability home and some paving work and roads were incomplete. Hiring of staff members who are supposed to work at the home had not been done at the time of the tour. Guidelines that were supposed to be followed to admit eligible candidates to the home were also supposed to be completed within three months after the tour. Three months later, the centre has not started accommodating the elderly and people with disabilities. There is no tentative date on when the centre will start operating.

The PS in the DPMs Office said they encountered minor delays regarding the opening of the home. He stated that the first issue that led to the delay was the access road to the centre.

Its a pity we couldnt start operating in January as planned, he said. The reason for the delay in completing the road, according to Masuku ,was because the contractor had not completed the construction work in the centre as they were still constructing the access road to the facility. Secondly, the PS said the disability facility had not been fully completed. He said they were working on procuring furniture and equipment for the disability unit.

Adding, the PS said 13 staff members for the facility had been recruited and were undergoing training at Mankayane Government Hospital. We are grateful to the Ministry of Public Service and the Civil Service Commission for the vacancies, he said. The PS said the staff members included nurses and orderlies who would be working at the centre. He said the reason they were attached to the hospital was for them to get on-the-job training because their work required a lot of skill and dedication. They have been training for almost two months now because we do not want to find ourselves in a situation where we take incompetent people to look after people with special needs, he said.

Masuku mentioned that besides being trained on care-giving, the staff was also trained on how to handle waste management, among other forms of training. He highlighted that the Ministry of Health was assisting them in the health care and environmental health sector. We anticipate the training will take a month or two in order to avoid further delays, he said.

Further, the PS stated that the Social Welfare Department was finalising the guidelines that would be used to select people who were eligible to be accommodated in the facility. He said the guidelines would be shared with the public in due time.

Overall, the elderly home will house senior citizens who live alone, are vulnerable and neglected. Meanwhile, the disability unit will house children with disability whose parents are often working and do not have anybody to look after their young ones. Parents of these children will take their children with them on weekends but a lot of the criterions will be outlined in the guidelines.
WASHINGTON  The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched a think tank founded by President Biden in mid-November after his aides discovered a small cache of classified documents there earlier that month, according to two people familiar with the situation.

It is not clear if the previously undisclosed search, which was done with the cooperation of Mr. Bidens lawyers after the first batch was discovered, turned up any additional files dating from Mr. Bidens eight years as vice president.

On Dec. 20, Mr. Bidens team discovered a second trove of government documents intermingled with personal and political memorabilia at the presidents house in Delaware. The F.B.I. searched that residence in January at the invitation of Mr. Bidens lawyers.

The White House and the Justice Department both declined to comment.

The F.B.I. search of the think tank, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, was reported earlier by CBS News.
WASHINGTON  President Biden will ask Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, on Wednesday for details on what budget cuts his party is demanding in order to raise the federal debt limit and for assurances that Mr. McCarthy will not accept an economically debilitating government default, White House officials said.

The demands, outlined in a memo that the White House released on Tuesday, are an attempt by Mr. Biden to force Republicans to engage in a debate over taxes, spending and debt on terms that are more favorable to the president than to newly empowered conservatives on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Biden is seeking to force Mr. McCarthy to specify which programs he would cut  a list that most likely includes some spending that is popular with the public  and to calculate how much Republicans would add to the debt with additional tax cuts.

In the memo, Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the president would release his annual budget on March 9 and asked when Mr. McCarthy would do the same.
Those decisions have produced an approach that disproportionately flags tax returns with potential errors in the claiming of certain tax credits, like the earned-income tax credit, which supplements low-income workers incomes in an effort to alleviate poverty. Those tax returns are more often selected for audits, regardless of how much in owed taxes the agency might recover.

The result is audit rates of Black Americans that are between three and five times the rate of other taxpayers, even when comparing that group to other taxpayers who also claim the E.I.T.C.

The I.R.S. does not detail how it selects returns for audit. But the researchers were able to isolate several apparent explanations for why Black taxpayers are targeted so much more frequently. One is complexity: It is much harder for the agency to audit returns that include business income, because that process requires expertise from individual auditors. Such returns appear to be audited less often than returns from otherwise similar taxpayers who do not report income from a business.

Black taxpayers are far less likely than others to report business income. And Black taxpayers appear to disproportionately file returns with the sort of potential errors that are easy for I.R.S. systems to identify, like underreporting certain income or claiming tax credits that the taxpayer does not qualify for, the authors find.

In effect, the researchers suggest that the I.R.S. has focused on audits that are easier to conduct and as a result, finds itself disproportionately auditing a historically disadvantaged group rather than other taxpayers, including high net-worth individuals.
WASHINGTON  At a news conference this month to showcase how Republicans will handle their looming debt ceiling showdown with Democrats, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was asked to explain what specific spending cuts his party would support in exchange for lifting the borrowing cap.

Exactly what those are, were not willing to lay out here today, Mr. Johnson said, adding that plans would be determined in consultation with House Republicans.

The refrain has been familiar in recent weeks as Republicans have insisted that they want structural fiscal changes in exchange for voting to raise the borrowing cap, but they have so far declined to offer a cohesive plan outlining what programs they would cut. Internal divisions over how to reduce spending have been spilling into public view, underscoring the political challenge that Republicans face as they try to wield the specter of a default to extract concessions from President Biden and Democrats.

In the meantime, the United States technically has already exceeded the $31.4 trillion debt limit, and the Treasury Department has warned that its ability to delay a default by using its so-called extraordinary measures could be exhausted by early June.
WASHINGTON  Representative George Santos, the embattled first-term Republican from New York, told his colleagues on Tuesday morning that he would temporarily recuse himself from sitting on congressional committees, the first crack in his defiant stance as he faces multiple investigations and calls from members of his party to resign.

Mr. Santos, who since being elected in November has admitted to fabricating parts of his resume and is under scrutiny for what appears to have been a yearslong pattern of deception, was named in the new Congress to serve on the committees on small business and on science, space and technology. Republicans have made no move to penalize him, even in the face of a litany of revelations about his conduct that he has refused to address.

His decision to step down from his committees came after he met privately on Monday night with Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday that Mr. Santos had brought up the idea and that it was an appropriate decision for now, until he could clear everything up.

With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared, Mr. Santos said in a statement later on Tuesday, adding that the decision would give him time to properly clear my name before returning to my committees.
The State Department called on Russia to return to compliance by allowing inspectors onto its territory, as it had done for more than a decade, and by agreeing to hold a session of the commission, in which officials could discuss issues related to the treaty and nuclear arms control.

Russia announced in August that it was suspending the access of American inspectors to its nuclear arsenal. And in November, it canceled a diplomatic meeting of the bilateral commission in Cairo during which officials had planned to review compliance with the treaty. The commission last met in October 2021.

Russias deputy foreign minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, said Moscow was postponing the meeting because the United States did not want to take into account Russias priorities, they wanted to discuss only the resumption of inspections, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The situation around Ukraine also had an impact, the agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

After Russias announcement on inspections in August, Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, said the two nations have continued to provide data declarations and notifications in accordance with the treaty.

The treaty was signed in 2010, and it has ensured since 2011 that the two nations limit their strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,500 warheads each. The main verification mechanism of the treaty centers on reciprocal inspections in which each country can examine data and evidence around the nuclear arsenal.
In his 10 years leading the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has called attention to the plight of refugees and the poor and to the plunder of the earths natural riches. He has traveled to the peripheries of the church to touch the wounds of its afflicted and most forgotten. And he has welcomed young Catholics, especially in the booming global south, to a more inclusive church.

On Tuesday, Francis landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that crystallizes all those priorities. He is the first pope since 1985 to visit the nation, where local church leaders have declared a moral emergency desperately in need of the popes, and the worlds, attention.

The turnout to welcome Francis was overwhelming in Kinshasa, the capital. Tens of thousands of people lined the road from the airport, cheering and waving flags in colorful local dress and Catholic school uniforms under enormous billboards of Francis (often alongside the countrys president).
The leaders visit is an effort to bring global attention to the suffering of the South Sudanese people, whose country has been mired in chaos since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. Years of civil war followed the break, killing at least 400,000 people and displacing millions, despite a peace agreement signed by the president, Salva Kiir, and the opposition leader, Riek Machar.

No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence and mutual recriminations about who is responsible for it, no more leaving your people athirst for peace, Francis said Friday at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Juba, where he met with the president and other officials. No more destruction: It is time to build! Leave the time of war behind and let a time of peace dawn!

Francis words on Friday were not the first time he has tried to foster a peace agreement in South Sudan, which was has been plagued by its leaders violent disagreements. During a spiritual retreat at the Vatican in 2019, the pope kissed the shoes of the leaders of South Sudans government and its opposition, and implored them to maintain peace. His gesture failed to heal divisions.

Earlier this week, Francis used similar words in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his African visit began. Before the enormous and jubilant crowds that had awaited the first pontiff to land in the country since 1985, Francis called for peace from the forgotten genocide perpetrated by the warring groups that ravage especially through the countrys east, killing and displacing millions of residents.

He also urged everyone, including the victims of such gruesome violence, to forgive, saying that it would allow the nation to heal.
Just before his assassination in 1961, Patrice Lumumba, the independence leader who served as Congos first prime minister, wrote in his final letter to his wife: I want my children, whom I leave behind and perhaps will never see again, to be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful.

More than half a century later, Congo is still striving to attain his vision.

Its home to a vast rainforest known as one of the worlds lungs.

Most of the Congo rainforest, almost 500 million acres of biodiverse tropical forests and carbon-rich peatlands, is in Congo. (The rest is spread across its neighbors.) Second only to the Amazon, the Congo rainforest removes vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere  one study estimated its worth at $55 billion per year.
When China abruptly abandoned zero Covid, accelerating an onslaught of infections and deaths, many feared a prolonged tide rippling from cities into villages. Now, two months later, the worst seems to have passed, and the government is eager to shift attention to economic recovery.

Doctors who were mobilized across China to treat a rush of Covid patients say in phone interviews that the number of patients they are now seeing has fallen. Towns and villages that had hunkered down under the surge of infections and funerals are stirring to life. Health officials have declared that Covid cases already peaked in late December 2022.

Now the pandemic is already being forgotten from peoples minds, Gao Xiaobin, a doctor on the outskirts of a small city in Anhui Province in eastern China, said by telephone. Nobody is wearing masks anywhere. Thats all gone.

The true toll of the outbreak is hard to delineate, with infections and deaths shrouded by censorship and poor data collection. Officially, China has reported nearly 79,000 confirmed Covid-related deaths that occurred in hospitals since Dec. 8. But researchers say that is a drastic undercount because it excludes deaths outside hospitals.
MBABANE  Yesterday, Kenyans under the burner of human rights defenders marched in their capital city streets, Nairobi, demanding justice for the late Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko.

The marchers were demanding that regional and international solidarity mechanisms must stand with the people of Eswatini in demanding justice for the slain human rights lawyer, who was shot dead while at his home at KaLuhleko last weekend. He was laid to rest this past Sunday and his funeral was attended by throngs of mourners, who came from all walks of life. They also condemned murders of human rights defenders in their country and in Africa at large. Prior to this, the Kenyans gathered at Mboya Monument for a two-hour long candlelight vigil in honour of Maseko.

They described Maseko as one whose advocacy work stretched in all corners of the Southern Africa region, where he made immense contribution to the advancement of justice and human rights in countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, where he reported on the deterioration of civic space in the region. In Eswatini, many will attest that Maseko was a steadfast believer of social justice and freedom, said the defenders. When sought for comment, Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) Secretary General (SG) Sikelela Dlamini said the demonstration by the human rights defenders in Kenya showed a sign of solidarity. He said as MSF, they welcomed and appreciated what the Kenyans did.

Dlamini said actually, they were welcoming such demonstrations even if they were done anywhere in the world, as long as it was a demonstration against the brutal murder of Maseko. Dlamini said they welcomed such demonstration as they sought to end the political impasse in Eswatini and also demand a political dialogue in the country. He added that as MSF, they may not point at the government to be held accountable for Masekos death yet because there had been no proof to that effect. He said instead, they were demanding that there should be an independent investigation. Maseko met his death while he had just been recently re-elected as MSF Chairperson.
A suicide bombers blast ended more than 100 lives in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, devastating a mosque in a supposedly secure sector of the city, and sending smoke plumes into the sky and panic through the streets.

But more than that: The attack on Monday knocked a terrorism-scarred city back in time, to the era a decade ago when Peshawar became synonymous with the wreckage of a militant campaign that profoundly changed a nation.

In the years after 2015, when Pakistani Taliban fighters and other militants were mostly pushed out of the region  many into neighboring Afghanistan  Peshawar residents dared to hope that the days of random terrorist attacks were behind them.

But on Tuesday, as emergency responders pulled body after body from the rubble, questions immediately intensified about the governments ability to fight a new wave of militancy amid a seemingly intractable economic and political crisis.
Mercenaries from the Wagner private military company may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West African nation of Mali along with the countrys military, United Nations experts said on Tuesday, calling for an independent investigation into multiple instances of human rights abuses.

Since 2021, the experts have received persistent and alarming accounts of horrific executions, mass graves, acts of torture, rape and sexual violence, pillaging, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances perpetrated by Malian armed forces and their allies of the Wagner company, a group of independent experts, enlisted by the U.N. Human Rights Council to look into the group, said in a statement.

Since the Kremlin-affiliated group began conducting operations with the Malian military, its mercenaries have been suspected of disproportionately targeting civilians, raising alarms among human rights groups and Western governments who have repeatedly denounced the group at the U.N. Security Council.

African officials have also increasingly warned about the risk of destabilization and ethnic violence that the group could provoke.
The resilience of Russias economy is helping fuel global growth, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund, suggesting that efforts by Western nations to weaken Moscow because of its war in Ukraine appear to be faltering.

In a report issued on Monday, the I.M.F. predicts that Russian output will expand 0.3 percent in this year and 2.1 percent next year, defying earlier forecasts of a steep contraction in 2023 amid a raft of Western sanctions.

A coordinated plan by the United States and Europe to cap the price of Russian oil exports at $60 a barrel is not expected to substantially curtail its energy revenues.

At the current oil price cap level of the Group of 7, Russian crude oil export volumes are not expected to be significantly affected, with Russian trade continuing to be redirected from sanctioning to non-sanctioning countries, the I.M.F. said.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited the occupied West Bank on Tuesday to meet with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and called for a defusing of the violence that has gripped the region, while conceding that Palestinians face dwindling prospects in their larger struggle for independence.

Mr. Blinken visited Mr. Abbas at the Palestinian Authoritys headquarters in Ramallah, part of a whirlwind regional tour coinciding with one of the deadliest months in the West Bank in several years. More than 30 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in January, mostly during Israeli military raids aimed at quelling a growing insurgency and arresting Palestinian gunmen.

The violence has also seeped into Jerusalem. A Palestinian attacker shot dead seven civilians outside a synagogue in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem on Friday night  the worst attack in the city since 2008  and there are fears of a further escalation in coming weeks. That has further complicated the Biden administrations diplomacy with a new right-wing coalition government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity and fear in their homes and communities, in their places of worship, Mr. Blinken said. We believe its important to take steps to de-escalate, to stop the violence, to reduce tensions  and to try as well to create the foundation for more positive actions going forward.
When Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, gathered his cabinet on Sunday, he heard calls from ministers for a hard crackdown in response to a deadly sequence of Palestinian attacks on Israelis  home demolitions, deportations, death sentences.

When he met a day later with Antony J. Blinken, he listened politely as the American secretary of state called instead for calm and de-escalation after an outburst of violence, including the deadliest Israeli raid in years on Palestinians in the West Bank, followed by the deadliest Palestinian attack in years against Israelis in Jerusalem.

This is the disorienting waltz that Israels longest-serving prime minister finds himself dancing in his latest spell in power, this time at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

On the domestic stage, Mr. Netanyahu is being tugged toward the extremes by new partners who want him to annex the West Bank, exert more control over the most sensitive and contested holy site in Jerusalem and take harsher measures against Palestinians.


TseBiiNdzisgaii1939(Stagecoach)

27

 

Rachael Wright
Boat Carrying 58 Young Students Capsizes in Pakistan Lake

By The Associated Press and Reuters  January 31, 2023
Brunswick Group handles Lotus Technology, luxury electric vehicle maker that operates under the British Lotus brand, as it merges with a SPAC formed by L Catterton investment firm in a deal valued at $5.4B.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is Chinas seventh biggest car company, is majority owner of Lotus Technology, which is based in Wuhan. Geely also owns the Swedish Volvo and Polestar car brands.

Lotus plans to launch the Eletre, its first fully electric hyper SUV, in China by the end of the first quarter. It will be introduced in the UK and European Union later in the year. There are plans to introduce the Eletre in US and rest of the world at a future date.

"The global EV market is expanding rapidly, with the luxury segment growing at a faster pace than the broader industry. China, the EU, the UK, and the U.S. are expected to fuel the majority of this growth over the next decade as government policies in these regions provide further tailwinds for EV sales," said Chinta Bhagat, Co-CEO of L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp.

The Lotus brand was founded in the UK in 1948.

The automaker, which has a rich history in British racing, is committed to becoming an advanced, fully electric, intelligent and sustainable luxury mobility provider ahead of the brand's 80th anniversary in 2028.
MBABANE  Its actually 1 231 teachers who will have their contracts renewed.

Government has come out to state that Cabinet has approved contract renewals for 1 231 teachers. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service Sipho Tsabedze confirmed that the correct position on the issue of employing teachers was that 1 231 teachers would be employed as per the memo that was sent to the Ministry of Education and Training, dated January 19, 2023. This publication was privy to the said memo that the PS had since confirmed to be authentic. According to the memo, the 1 231 teachers would be hired on a contract basis for a period not exceeding two years. When delivering her back-to-school statement about a fortnight ago, the Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza, hinted that government had approved the hiring of teachers on contract basis.

Contracts

The minister said the number of contracts to be renewed were 1 500. However, the memo and the PS in the Ministry of Public Service confirmed that the actual number was 1 231 contracts that would be renewed. When sought for comment yesterday, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training Bhekithemba Gama clarified that the minister did not necessarily say the 1 500 was the exact figure of teachers to be hired, but it was an estimation. Gama said the minister said about 1 500. Gama said they were aware of the exact number (1 231) that was confirmed by the Ministry of Public Service. He highlighted that there were possibilities that the Teaching Service Commission would announce the exact figures today.

Petition

On January 13, members of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) marched to deliver a petition to the Ministry of Public Service. One of their demands was the hiring of teachers. They demanded government to hire at least 5 000 teachers this academic year on a permanent basis. They argued that the 5 000 permanent posts would facilitate a good teacher to pupil ratio as it was crucial for learners to have good quality education. In an interview with this publication yesterday, SNAT Secretary General (SG) Lot Vilakati said as an organisation, they were still demanding that government must hire at least 5 000 teachers. He said they were actually disappointed that Cabinet could allow and approve 1 231 while there was a need for at least 5 000 teachers in schools across the country. Vilakati said it would be better if the 1 231 teachers would be hired on a permanent basis. He said as a union, they were disappointed in the manner government was treating the education sector as it showed that it was not prioritised.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,600 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U.S. Air Force, improved versions are being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.
Brazils former president is in no rush to leave Florida, making life deeply uncomfortable for the White House which is about to host his successor.
One of the country's most wanted fugitives has arrived in Sydney after he was captured on a luxury yacht leaving Darwin for Indonesia.
Prosecutors allege Baldwin showed criminal disregard for safety when a revolver with which he was rehearsing fired a live round that killed Halyna Hutchins.
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NHLANGANO  Four people were hacked and killed by a mob at Nkonka, an area under Matsanjeni South, in the Shiselweni Region.

It was established that the four were among a group of men who were wanted by the residents in connection with a string of housebreaking and robberies in the area. It was said that the area was plagued by a crime wave, mostly targeting shops and bars. The latest robberies occurred over the past weekend, where about 10 businesses and homes were attacked. In one of the incidents, an elderly woman was hacked with a bush knife on her back by people who were demanding money from her. The elderly woman is currently admitted to Matsanjeni Health Centre.

Firms

Other victims were workers of the health centre and textile firms who live in rented flats around Matsanjeni. In yet another incident, a block of rental flats in Matsanjeni was broken into and tenants were robbed of cellphones and money, among other things. According to sources within the area, the culprits did not hide their faces when committing the crimes, which made it easy for the community to identify them. It was also established that a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the same area was also attacked and injured by the gang, who demanded money from him.

Criminals

A resident also revealed that the criminals broke into a Khumalo homestead and demanded money. They were able to get away with E8 000 cash and the family members cellphones, among other valuables. This was confirmed by a relative to the family. Most of these incidents are said to have happened last weekend. In some cases, it was revealed that the thieves stole clothes that were on the washing line. It was said that some shops, mostly owned by businesspeople of Asian origin, had to close down amid the robberies which occurred on a monthly basis. In one instance, it was said that the thugs fetched some of the businessmen who owned shops from their homes and ordered them to open the business premises and surrender money to them. It was said that all the robberies were conducted at gunpoint while others were carrying bush knives.

Last Saturday, sources claimed that while the criminals were attacking the tenants at Matsanjeni; one of them (criminals) was stabbed by people living in the flats and had to go to hospital. That is how one of them was spotted by the police and was taken in for questioning, narrated the sources. Gathered information was that the names of the people involved in the alleged robberies were leaked to the residents of the area, who then held a meeting on Sunday. It was during this meeting, which was held at a secret location, that the residents reached a conclusion that the people behind the robberies were to be found immediately and dealt with.

One of the deceased, Mfanawenkhosi Geremy Mhlanga (34), was seen walking past one of the shops, suspected to be headed to his home, when he was called by a group of people who questioned him about the robberies in the area. While attempting to respond to some of the questions, he was doused with petrol and set alight on the spot. It was said that people who were close-by heard a man who was crying for help while engulfed in flames. He burnt to death. The sources further stated that the mob continued to another homestead where they knocked on the door and requested for another suspect. In one of the homesteads, the mob was told that the wanted person was not home, which was when the homestead was set alight. They thought the family was hiding the suspect. They were of the idea that the suspect would come out should the house be set alight. Unfortunately, it transpired that he (suspect) was actually not home, narrated the source.

At the homestead of another deceased, Sikhanyiso Gazi Mngomezulu (24), his grandmother, Fikile Shiba, narrated that the mob came at night and told her that they wanted her grandson. She shared that she disputed knowledge of his whereabouts and while they were talking, the deceased came out from another house trying to run away but was caught by the mob. The mob then told Mngomezulu to bid his grandmother goodbye, which he did. He came and said sala kahle gogo (goodbye grandmother), then they dragged him away, she narrated.

Beating

Shiba narrated that she heard him crying for help as they left, while adding that the mob was hacking him with bush knives even before they left with him. Thembeni Shiba, on the other hand, learnt about her son Bonginkhosi Shibas death from a neighbour, who came to inform her while she was in the company of the police. She said what she got from the neighbour was that she heard a voice of a man crying for help and when she stepped out after some time; she heard voices and saw a fire which was when she got closer to see what was happening.

Burning

When the neighbour got closer to the fire, she noticed two bodies that were burning and was able to identify the faces. While at the scene, it was said that a police van arrived, which was when she was taken to Thembeni where the news was relayed to her. The other body found with that of Bonginkhosis was that of Fanele Shabangu (33). Sources revealed that Shabangu was taken from a friends home by the mob. They shared that they took him to the sports ground where he was put next to Shabangu and also set alight. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the incidents. She confirmed that the four (suspects) were set alight by a mob and that they were wanted by the police for cases of robberies in the area. Vilakati further confirmed that there were homes that were torched by the mob in the process and that no arrests had been made at the time of going to print.
Newsy 19 Jan 2023

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National outrage over the killing of Tyre Nichols has prompted renewed calls on Capitol Hill for police reform. But in a divided Congress, bipartisan reform legislation is unlikely.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Monday called out Democrats like Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for opposing the Justice Act and other federal level police reform over the past eight years.
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Ira Bob Born, a candy company executive known as the Father of Peeps for mechanizing the process to make marshmallow chicks, has died. He was 98. Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned company Born led for much of his life, said Monday that he had died peacefully on



#newyorkcity #samborn #russian #bethlehem #pennsylvania #bobborn #lehighuniversity #usnavy #pacific #navy
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the world economy and the financial markets. Growth, or the lack of it, is the main issue today after the International Monetary Fund released its latest economic forecasts overnightand as we await eurozone GDP figures this morning.



#imf #jeremyhunt #conservative #signsofresilience #chinareopening #ukraine #portuguese #italian
The death toll from a suicide bombing at a mosque in northwestern Pakistan rose to 88 on Tuesday, officials said. The assault, on a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility, was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years.
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Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the western film Rust.
Saudi-Omani Investment Forum from February 1 to 4 in Riyadh will host a public exhibition to showcase the best of products from Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabias Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih, will host Qais bin Muhammad Al-Yousef, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Omani Investment Promotion and a senior delegation from Oman, to explore trade and investment opportunities during the bilateral investment forum and public exhibition.

The investment forum will gather business representatives and government leaders from Saudi Arabia and Oman for the forum. This event will be followed by the Saudi-Omani Industries Exhibition, which is open to the public.

Opportunity for SMEs

The exhibition will celebrate the strong relationship between the two nations and provide the opportunity for small and medium sized businesses to showcase their products.

The exhibition will display a wide range of products from Saudi Arabia and Oman. These include honey, sweets, dates, traditional clothing, fashion, jewellery, perfumes and frankincense.

Representatives will be present from the Ministry of Investment, Made in Saudi and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources among other organisations.-- TradeArabia News Service
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Sael Al Waary and Ali A Khajah with other officials at the signing

Bank ABC, one of MENAs leading international banks, has successfully closed a three-year $75 million term loan facility for Industrial Bank of Kuwait (IBK).

The facility, which was finalised in December 2022, was arranged by Bank ABC, acting as sole arranger. The bank also acted as the agent bank on this facility.

Bank ABC hosted a signing ceremony at its head office in Bahrain on January 29. In attendance were Bank ABCs Acting Group CEO Sael Al Waary and IBKs CEO Ali A Khajah along with other senior officials from both banks.

Al Waary said: Bank ABC is delighted to be the sole arranger and agent bank for this facility for IBK. The transaction is another example of our innovative approach to delivering tailored financial solutions and commitment to the development of the region. We look forward to serving IBK in our full capacity and further deepening our long-term relationship with them.

Ali Khajah said: We are pleased to engage in business with a highly recognised financial institution such as Bank ABC. We believe IBK will continue to strengthen its relationship with Bank ABC across all financial services while promoting both organisations mutual interests in the near future. - TradeArabia News Service
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed here Monday the importance of holding elections in Libya this year, assuring that this democratic agenda "is the only way to achieve a viable solution" to the crisis the country is facing
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Libyan National High Electoral Commission, Imad al-Sayeh, has discussed with a French delegation the state of readiness and commitment of the Commission to implement the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The High State Council in Libya, a consultative body, Tuesday approved the proposed mechanism to select some office holders of sovereignty positions whose appointment should be done in consultation with the House of Representatives (Parliament)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - United Nations (UN) experts on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into possible "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed by Malian government forces and members of the Russian paramilitary group, Wagner, against the Malian population in the fight against terrorism
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Twelve members of the defence and security forces, including 10 gendarmes, and two Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) were killed on Monday in a terrorist attack perpetrated by unidentified gunmen in the locality of Falangoutou in the Seno Province of Sahel region
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, has expressed the need for all international partners to speak with one voice and act in accordance with the aspirations of the Libyan people for peace, stability and prosperity
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/ Ivan Samkov)

Parents, who asked their daughter to postpone her wedding until they were ready, received backlash from netizens.

An uncle took to social media to discuss the current situation of their family regarding his lesbian niece, who will be getting married in six months but is having the problem of not having her mom and dad on her wedding day.

User u/ConcernEquivalent744 narrated on Reddit how he stepped up and volunteered to walk his 25-year-old niece down the aisle instead of his brother, who is not yet ready to see his daughter get married in an LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) wedding.

The uncle claimed that his willingness to support his niece came from his position as a father of a son who came out as gay when he was 16. He does not want to let his son down. However, his decision caused an uproar in the family, with his parents and siblings taking his brother's side.

Feud between brothers

The niece's uncle explained that his brother and wife are members of a conservative Christian church. When her niece came out as a lesbian at 17 years old, her parents kicked her out of the house. She has lived with her grandparents since and even paid for her college education.

He tried to be a "safe space" for her knowing that she is a great kid and because he understood her since he has a gay son, whom he and his wife immediately accepted and assured that their lives are better because he is a part of them.

Her niece and her parents have started to reconnect for the past two years. They have been attending family therapy to heal the wounds and make the family whole again. However, when the parents found out about the wedding, they thought it was too far, Newsweek reported.

"They, however, still say that this is a 'mental block' for them. They've actually asked her to move the wedding back so they have more time to adjust to the idea of her being married to another woman," User u/ConcernEquivalent744 stated. Thus, he immediately offered to walk his niece down the aisle.

His brother got furious when he found out about his offer, reminding him that he, as the father, had the right to give away his daughter. The uncle told him that he was standing firm with his offer as he needed to make sure that his gay son knew that he was safe with the family, unlike his brother, who still needs "to see a therapist to teach him how to love his own daughter."

Read also: Mother Shows Support to Daughters at Pride Every Year For 5 Decades [She Always Brings the Same Sign]

Safe space

User u/ConcernEquivalent744's family is taking the side of his brother on the matter.

Their parents are angry with him for not seeing the need to understand his brother and sister-in-law as they have to process things in the family and "unlearn" a lot. His sister also told him that he needed to listen more and judge less. Even his wife informed him that he could have handled the situation better.

The uncle might have been on the wrong side of the family, but he was praised, while his brother received some serious backlash from the netizens. Reddit users are backing him up, as reflected by their 12,300 upvotes and over 1,700 comments.

Some comments questioned why the daughter needed to wait for her parents to be okay with her choice and accept her before getting married. Others also stressed that "conservative religion" is "no excuse" for being "cruel and bigoted" parents. Another commenter stated that the father is "fully capable" of walking his father down the aisle; it's just that he has decided that "his own acquired bigotry" is much more important to him than his relationship with his daughter.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are more likely to be estranged from their fathers than heterosexual adults, according to a 2022 study, "Parent-Adult Child Estrangement in the United States by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexuality."

Researchers followed 12,686 Americans between 1979 and 2018 and discovered that 32.1 and 35.3 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants, respectively, were estranged from their fathers as compared to 21.7 percent of heterosexual individuals.

Tristan Martin, assistant teaching professor for the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy at Syracuse University, New York, confirmed the study's results stating that it is prevalent for members of the LGBTQ community to be estranged from their families. However, that is not how it should end if parents and people around them can create a "safe space" for them.

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Photo: (Photo : Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

Nikki Secondino, infamous for being an Instagram trans model, was charged with killing her father and stabbing her younger sister.

At first, it was believed that an incident involving a home break-in in Brooklyn, New York, on December 29, 2022, caused the death of Carlo Secondino, 69, and injured two of his daughters, Nikki Secondino, 22, and Liana Secondino, 19.

Nikki called the police to report the intruders and said they had broken into the family home and attacked her father and sister. Later, she changed her story.

The model did not know that when the responders tried to give medical aid to her wounded sister, Liana, she told the police that her sister stabbed her and immediately asked the police about her dad.

Nikki Secondino charged with murder

Upon further investigation, it was determined that Nikki went on a stabbing rampage over a laptop, during which she fatally murdered her father and badly injured her younger sister.

According to News Break, after confessing to the police that she had killed her father and attempted to kill her sister, the Instagram trans model was seen smiling in the images taken of her after her detention.

Nikki added that if she had the opportunity, she would have terminated the life of the neighbor who had called 911.

After her arrest by Brooklyn investigators, the alleged murderer reportedly made a terrifying confession to the authorities, as stated in a criminal complaint filed earlier in connection with the case.

Nikki admitted to the authorities that she had hit her father in the head with a hammer when she walked out of her bedroom and found him dozing off on the couch.

The New York Post reported that she also mentioned that she had located her favorite knife made of German steel and had used it to stab him numerous times. When her younger sister saw her stabbing their father, she immediately attempted to stop her older sibling.

Liana got stabbed in the stomach, head, and back for that. In her confession, she also stated that she wanted them both dead.

Read Also: Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Marries Longtime Love On His 93rd Birthday

Nikki Secondino's Cover Up

As per NBC, at first, the police believed that two robbers had broken into the family's home on 17th Avenue near 82nd Street early in the morning, demanded money from a safe, and then stabbed to death the 61-year-old father and slashed his two daughters.

However, further investigation revealed that a single individual committed the crime. The authorities also discovered that there was no safe in the residence.

Liana was in severe condition when she arrived at Maimonides Hospital, while Nikki was transported to NYU Langone Hospital. She was later transferred to the 62nd Precinct of the New York Police Department.

The investigators suspected that she had fabricated the story about a break-in at the family's house in Bensonhurst to hide her tracks and conceal the fact that she committed the crime.

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Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Jay Paul)

Nearly a month after a 6-year-old shoots teacher, Richneck Elementary School has reopened with new safety protocols.

It's back to school at Richneck Elementary, Newport News, Virginia, Monday, and students walked through the campus and into their classrooms with new safety protocols.

Several police officers were on campus to welcome anxious parents as they dropped their excited kids off.

Newport News Police Chief Steve R. Drew told CNN that he was happy to see a lot of smiles, high-fives, and fist bumps between students as their main goal was to restore normalcy. He did not mention the number of officers he placed in position on the school campus, just that he wanted the parents, the students, and the school to know they were supporting them.

Families were emailed beforehand by newly-appointed school administrator Karen Lynch that police officers would be present in the school to "assist with the transition."

The grandmother of a third grader, DeDe Williams, described the first day as "overwhelming." She expressed that it was sad to see all the police officers inside an elementary school, but it made her feel secure that they were there, taking the safety and protection of their children seriously.

Clear backpacks, metal detectors, and fewer visitors

In the same email that Lynch gave the parents, students were also instructed to arrive at school without a backpack. The school provided them with clear ones when they arrived at school.

For lunch items brought to school, families were assured that they would be run through a metal detector and be subject to search. The school district stated that two metal detectors are available on the campus, and there are now two security officers instead of one part-time.

Moreover, the email also said that visitors would be limited for the first week of instruction. This is to allow teachers and staff "the opportunity to establish routines and procedures" with their students. Parents are not allowed to enter the classrooms, but those who want to walk their kids to class must be prepared to show identification and offer to be searched.

Thomas Britton, the father of one of the classmates of the 6-year-old who allegedly shot his teacher, expressed "no misgivings" about allowing his son back to Richneck Elementary.

"I think with new administration, this administration that listens to teachers, listens to concerns and acts on those concerns ... this is probably going to be the safest school in the area for a good long while," Britton confidently declared.

The classroom where the shooting incident happened has been closed, The Washington Post reported.

Students of Abigail Zwerner, the teacher who was shot and injured, were placed in another classroom with freshly painted walls and decorations. According to spokeswoman Michelle Price, they are now under a new teacher.

Read also: Six-Year-Old Who Shot His Teacher Allegedly Used His Mother's Gun

New protocols and a new administration

Marleigh Parham, a fourth-grader, said that she was relieved to find that her school looks the same to her, even with the new metal detectors and therapy dogs walking back and forth in classrooms and hallways.

Parham said that the school felt excellent and safe, finding comfort in the familiar setting.

The January 6 Richneck Elementary school shooting is currently still under investigation. As of last week, Zwerner's attorney Diane Toscano stated that the school's administration was warned three times on the day of the shooting. Allegedly, a concerned staff informed administrators that the six-year-old student had a gun and was threatening other students. However, the administration "was paralyzed by apathy," according to Greenwich Time. Thus, they failed to call the police, remove the kid from class and lock the school down.

Toscano further stressed in a news conference that the tragedy could have been prevented if the school administrators had taken action when they were given warnings of danger. Zwerner intends to sue over the shooting, her lawyer also stated.

On Monday, new school administrators welcomed parents and students as the assistant principal was reassigned to a different school while school district superintendent George Parker III was ousted last week.

Related Article: 6-Year-Old Virginia Boy Shows Early Signs of Aggression To Another Teacher Before Abigail Zwerner Incident
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today (January 31) issued a royal decree (13) of 2023, on restructuring the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), based on the proposal of the Prime Minister, and following the approval of the Cabinet, reported BNA.

According to the decree, LMRA shall be restructured as follows:

The LMRA Chief Executive Officer will be responsible for the Directorate of Communication; Directorate of Project Management and Directorate of Awareness and Partnerships.

The Deputy CEO for Policies and Market Information (with the rank of Assistant Undersecretary) will hereafter oversee The Directorate of Policies and Research; Directorate of Studies and Market Information and Directorate of Wages Protection.

As per the decree, Deputy CEO for Resources and Information (with the rank of Assistant Undersecretary), will oversee The Directorate of Human Resources; Directorate of Financial Resources and Directorate of Information Technology.

Deputy CEO for Services and Business (with the rank of Assistant Undersecretary) will be responsible for The Directorate of Business Owners Services; Directorate of Workers' Services; Directorate of Business Development and Directorate of Labour Systems Development.

Deputy CEO for Enforcement and Protection (with the rank of Assistant Undersecretary) will hereafter oversee The Directorate of Legal Affairs; Directorate of Labour Inspection; Directorate of Preventive Monitoring and Protection and Grievances Centre.

Following this, the Decree (39) of 2019 on organising the Labour Market Regulatory Authority shall be repealed, stated the BNA report.

The Prime Minister shall implement the provisions of this decree, which comes into force immediately, and will be published in the Official Gazette, it added.
Photo: (Photo : Sean Gallup/ Getty Images)

The Tesla driver who drove his vehicle off a cliff in California is now charged and being transported to jail by law enforcement.

The man, Dharmesh Patel, 41, a doctor from Pasadena, who police say deliberately drove his Tesla over the cliff, nearly killed himself and three of his passengers.

All four occupants survived the 250-foot plunge off a cliff in San Mateo County, California.

Tesla driver's reckless driving

CBS News reported that the Tesla driver, according to court documents filed by San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Dominique Davis, was charged with three counts of attempted murder.

He was also accused of domestic violence and intent to inflict serious bodily damage.

Patel was suspected of deliberately veering off Highway 1 to cause the deaths of three passengers in his vehicle: a passenger aged 41, a passenger aged seven, and a passenger aged four.

Although their names have not been made public, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has revealed that the victims were Mrs. Patel, Patel's daughter, and Patel's son.

As per CNN, the accident first brought concerns over Tesla's self-driving mode and the possibility that a mechanical breakdown played a part in the incident.

There have been several high-profile accidents involving Tesla vehicles in self-driving mode, some of which have resulted in fatalities. It has also been known that Tesla's self-driving technology is still in its early stages and has experienced technical glitches and malfunctions, leading to accidents.

Some commentators online were speculating that the incident may not have been intentional or the driver may have used assisted driving in his vehicle.

However, upon thorough investigation, inspectors from the California Highway Patrol swiftly determined that this was not the problem, and they focused the investigation on Patel.

Read Also: Oklahoma Investigators Identify Remains as That of Missing 4-Year-Old Girl, Athena Brownfield

Plunging family off California cliff

Following the automobile accident, all four people were treated for life-threatening injuries. The suspect stayed in the hospital until late last week before he was transferred to the prison in advance of formal charges filed against him.

According to NBC News, despite the intensity of the hit, his wife and children all managed to survive the terrifying fall and are now recovering in the hospital.

After the Tesla sedan careened down a renowned cliffside along the Pacific Coast Highway in Devil's Slide, known for deadly collisions, rescue workers first hailed the family's survival as a miracle.

The firefighters needed to cut the family free from the wreckage. They employed a rope system to drag the children up the cliff in a rescue basket while the parents were lifted by helicopter. The parents were also rescued in the same location as the children.

The authorities have withheld from the public the possible motivations for the suspect's actions.

Nevertheless, the investigators formed probable cause to infer that this occurrence resulted from intentional conduct based on the evidence obtained.

As of press time, there remained a lack of information on whether Patel had retained a defense attorney or been given one by the court.

Related Article: Boy Ends Up in Another Country After Playing Hide-and-Seek; Is Human Trafficking Involved?
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Apple TV+ today announced that its checking back in to Las Colinas for Acapulco season three! Following its globally acclaimed second season, the hit Apple Original comedy series starring and executive produced by Emmy and SAG Award winner Eugenio Derbez, has been picked up for a 10-episode third season, set to go into production this spring.



"We at 3Pas Studios are thankful to Apple TV+, the perfect home for 'Acapulco,' along with our production partner Lionsgate, filmmakers and cast and crew, said star and executive producer Eugenio Derbez. We have always believed that the stories we tell about our communities and cultures can resonate with global audiences, so crank up the AC, its about to get a lot hotter at Las Colinas Resort.



Weve seen an overwhelming response from audiences all over the world who have fallen in love with Acapulco, said Morgan Wandell, head of international programming for Apple TV+. Eugenio, Austin, Ben, Eric, Kim and the talented cast and crew behind Acapulco have created a feel-good show that has a lot of heart, emotion and laughs, and we cant wait to bring even more of that into season three.



Season two of the bilingual comedy series was recently hailed as consistently hilarious, a candy-colored neon dream of a show, and was ranked as one of the top shows for 2022, reaching a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.



In season three of Acapulco, its a time of reconciling past mistakes and exciting new beginnings. In our present story, older Maximo (Eugenio Derbez) finds himself returning to a Las Colinas he no longer recognizes. While in 1985, younger Maximo continues his climb up the ladder of success while potentially jeopardizing all the relationships hes worked so hard to build.

Archive: Apple TV News
I sometimes read that faith is irrational. And sometimes I even hear that said by committed Latter-day Saints.

I strongly disagree.

I readily concede that faith goes beyond the evidence and that, sometimes, it will even seem to go, or will really go, against at least some of the evidence. Ive long appreciated this quotation from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr: Faith is taking the first step, even when you dont see the whole staircase.

In the long term, though, I believe that a solidly-grounded faith will accord with the relevant evidence. It will be consistent with that evidence. And Im not talking merely about eschatological confirmation, in the life to come.

Permit me to illustrate what I mean by talking about trust, or even perhaps about confidence, which I regard as essentially the same thing as faith. When we trust somebody, we typically do so for reasons. Not simply whimsically or irrationally. But we dont do it because we have rock-solid knowledge. We cant usually peer into the future to see for certain what will happen, but we feel confident that we know.

When, sending her out on her first solo errand to pick up groceries, you toss the keys to your car to your sixteen-year-old daughter who has just received her license to drive, you cant be absolutely certain that she wont wreck it. However, based on your years of experience with her (and perhaps on your initially white-knuckled times in the passenger seat when she had her first learners permit), you trust her to be responsible and to drive carefully.

When you invest a substantial chunk of your lifes savings in the Acme Megahuge Digital Widget Corporation, you cant be certain that the price of its shares wont take a tumble. But, if youre a responsible and even minimally prudent investor, youve looked into the company a bit. Youve read about its past performance, and youve researched its new Model 666 Laser-Enhanced Digital Widget and Toothbrush. Youre not just gambling, at random. You have reasons for your confidence that the stock of AMDWC will perform well.

When you accept Prince Charmings offer of marriage, you dont do so blindly. He might, its true, eventually turn out to be a philanderer or a poor provider. He might someday become abusive. You cant know for certain that that will never happen. But youve spent time together. Youve watched him and come to know him. You have a really good sense (though admittedly not an infallible one) about who he really is, how he acts in various situations, what kind of character he possesses, how he responds to stress and interacts with children and with your family. You have grounds for trusting him.

Parenthetically: My wife sometimes points out in conversation with others that it suddenly hit her, just a few weeks after our marriage, that she didnt actually know me all that well. And, now, here she was living with me in Cairo, Egypt, thousands of miles from family and friends. We hadnt dated all that many times before we became engaged, and for six months of our engagement I had been off in Jerusalem as a student before I swooped back through the United States to marry her and take her back with me to the Middle East, to a huge and very foreign northeast African city where we knew virtually nobody. It was a (mercifully very) brief crisis of faith. What on earth had she done? Fortunately, thus far I havent turned into a serial adulterer or a wife beater, and I think that, under the right circumstances  perhaps involving the judicious use of sedatives  she might acknowledge that our decades together have gone reasonably well. But she was absolutely correct, for those few moments of concern in Cairo, to realize that, well, she didnt know for absolutely certain that her faith in me, which took her to the temple with me on that fateful day, was well-placed.

Now, heres another observation about faith considered as trust or confidence. The longer our experience with the person in whom weve placed our faith, the more opportunities we have to test it. And if our confidence or trust is repaid, we come to have ever more solid grounds for it. The more times sixteen-year-old Petunia Jane takes out your car, returning safely from ever longer drives, the more confident you are when you hand her the keys. The longer that your investment in the Acme Megahuge Digital Widget Corporation continues to grow in value, the more reason you have to be satisfied with your purchase of AMDWC stock. The more Prince Charming proves himself kind, self-sacrificing, honorable, sober, and a good husband and father, the more confident you are that you made the right decision in rejecting the advances of his rival, the handsome hunter Gaston LeGume.

What Im suggesting here is that religious faith isnt merely assent to a list of propositions  though such assent is definitely a part of most professions of faith. It is also, and I think at least as importantly, a committed confidence in a Person and in a relationship to that Person, which will likely entail something that might be termed a lifestyle. Sometimes, that relationship will run into problems. (Sometimes, share prices in AMDWC will fall, and sometimes they will decline for more than a day or two. Petunia Jane may well have a fender-bender. Prince Charming may sometimes be grumpy, or forget your anniversary, or leave dirty socks in the living room, or spend a little more time than he should out drinking root beer and playing tic tac toe with the boys from his macrame factory.) Perhaps your prayers havent been answered how and when you wanted them to be. Perhaps youve run into historical or ecclesiastical problems. If your confidence was well placed, though, such things will resolve themselves.

How long, though, to hold out for such resolution? That is the question. And there is no neat answer to be had. Perhaps, though, the testimonies of others, people who have been through your trials, or analogous trials, and nevertheless found resolution, can sustain and strengthen you. And never fail to go back and recall the basis for your faith in the first place. You know Petunia Jane. You have grounds for trusting her. You had reasons for your decision to invest in Acme Megahuge. You have solid experiences with Prince Charming, of his basic decency and of his love for you. There may come a time for withholding the keys from your daughter, selling your shares of AMDWC, or even divorcing Prince Charming. But dont do it lightly, on a whim. Those relationships werent built on a whim, lightly.

For some additional quotations from Dr. King, see this, from the Deseret News a little bit more than two weeks ago: 20 quotes about faith from Martin Luther King Jr.: Long before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a distinguished civil rights leader, he was a clergyman, like his father and grandfather. His sermons show the importance of God in his life and his lifes work.

Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii
At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Fast 1GBps sustained transfers

Excellent real world performance

Vast 4TB capacity

Svelte and handsome Cons Not cheap

Small 4K performance glitch under CrystalDiskMark 8 writing 4K files Our Verdict If you need a lot of capacity in your shirt pocket, theres nothing better than the Samsung T7 Shield 4TB for most users. Its a very good external 10Gbps USB SSD made better.

Best Prices Today: Samsung T7 4TB

Retailer Price $269.99 View Deal

Though weve already reviewed the Samsung T7 Shield, we couldnt resist revisiting it for the just-announced $429 4TB capacity. It was a great drive alreadyour favorite external drive, in factbut now its at home with massive data sets.

This new version of the already-excellent Samsung T7 Shield is bigger and faster than ever. Whats not to love?

Design

The Samsung T7 Shield 4TB is basically an NVMe SSD nestled inside a USB 3.2 10Gbps housing. The SSD would likely hold up nicely if the enclosure offered 20Gbps transfer speeds, but Samsung stuck with the older, far more common USB 3.2 implementation.

The T7 Shield measures 3.5-inches long by 2.3-inches wide by 0.5-inches thick, and weighs just under four ounces. Thats a little heavier than the T7 Touch, but wrapped in a silicone protective sleeve, thats to be expected.

Samsungs 4TB T7 Shield is a fast and capacious external 10Gbps SSD.

The new 4TB version will set you back the aforementioned $429, but the Samsung T7 Shield is also available in 1TB and 2TB capacities for $160 and $290 respectively (though those models are on sale for roughly 40 percent off at the time of writing). The drive is sold in three colors: blue or beige, in addition to the black model Samsung sent us.

I performed a couple of drop tests from about three feet onto hard surfaces, and with the drive being solid state and protected, there were no ill consequences. Indeed, it feels nice in the hand should you find yourself in a David versus Goliath circumstance.

The T7 Shields USB connector is Type-C, and both USB Type-A to Type-C and Type-C to Type-C cables are included.

As to the IP65 rating, the 6 means the Shield can ward off most particulate matter, while the 5 means you can spray it with water, if not immerse it. A 7 would indicate that immersion up to three meters is survivable. No doubt the bare Type-C port has something to do with the lesser rating. If you want the complete run down on Ingress Protection ratings, this article on our sister publication TechHive will explain it.

This new version of the already-excellent Samsung T7 Shield is bigger and faster than ever. Whats not to love?

While the T7 Shield lacks the T7 Touchs fingerprint reader, it can still be password-secured using Samsungs Portable SSD software (shown below). To use this feature, said software will need to be present on any computer you want to access the drive from. Honestly, it you want secure, opt for the T7 Touch, whichthough a lesser performerwill save you lots of time and frustration by bypassing password entry. Alas, theres no 4TB capacity of the Touch yet. Bummer.

Samsung provides its Toolbox software to secure the drive via password. The software will need to be on any PC you want to access the drives from if you choose secure mode.

Performance

The sustained large file performance (over 1GBps in some cases) of the 4TB version of Samsungs T7 Shield was no surprise. More capacity generally means more NAND for caching and better sustained throughputespecially with large data sets such as our single 450GB file.

However, the 4TB capacity did glitch slightly in the CrystalDiskMark 8, 4K random write with 32 queues and a single thread test, scoring half what most other drives do. This was not reflected in real world performance and all the other numbers are an overall improvement over the 2TB version we previously tested.

In CrystalDiskMark 8s sequential write tests, the 4TB T7 Shield aced the competition.

It took a retest to see it, but the 4TB Shield proved the fastest 10Gbps SSD weve tested, finishing only behind the three 20Gbps drives weve tested.

The 4TB T7 Shield also raced by the competition in our 48GB transfer tests.

The 4TB T7 Shield was also the fastest 10Gbps external SSD weve tested writing 450GB, and somewhat surprisingly, bested two of the 20Gbps drives weve tested. It placed second overall to the WD Black P50a 20Gbps external gaming SSD.

Other than the slight glitch under CrystalDiskMark 8 in the 4K writes, the 4TB T7 Shield is easily the fastest 10Gbps external SSD weve tested. As said glitch didnt affect real world operations, were assigning it little weight.

Vast and quite fast

The Samsung T7 Shield is a great external SSD in any capacity, but the 4TB version was a revelation. Capable of handling the largest end-user data sets, it also features excellent performance, and a decent price per terabyte. Its great stuff for storing your stuff.
Back in November, Google promised help with tracking shipmentsyou know, all the many things we bought as gifts for ourselves loved ones. No need to click through email links or copy and paste tracking numbers into a different website to get details on our packages location. You could just open the shipment notification email to get that info. That feature didnt materialize in time to help us with the deluge of holiday parcels, but it is live now at last.

Youll have to manually enable package tracking yourself and, for the moment, its only available on Android and iOS devices through the Gmail app. To turn the feature on, open the Gmail app and tap on the hamburger icon in the upper left. For Android, scroll down and select Settings, then choose an email account. In these account-specific settings, scroll toward the middle of the list to find Package tracking and check the box. For iOS, scroll down to Settings > Data Privacy, then check the box for Package tracking.

Settings in the Android version of the Gmail app. PCWorld

Now when you open a shipment email, you should see dynamically added information at the top with the delivery statuswhether its shipped, in transit, or delivered. Dont use the Gmail app on your phone? The web version is presumably just around the corner. In the meanwhile, you can use the downtime to clean up your inbox a little.
Research fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, Dr George Domfe says the lack of job creation by past and present governments is worrying.



According to him, the youth are still struggling to get jobs despite government claims of creating jobs which are not obtainable.



Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie', Dr George Domfe said schools are doing their best to educate but afterwards has been catastrophic.



When you come to the University of Ghana we are doing well, you will educate the youth and after ten to fifteen years, they are still walking out there jobless because there are no jobs in Ghana, he told host Kwesi Aboagye.



Dr George Domfe, however, urged the government to support individuals in creating jobs to support the economy.









Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The trade agreement being negotiated between South American trade bloc Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and the European Union (EU) must allow for the industrialization of South America, said leading Argentine politician Alejandro Karlen, a member of the Mercosur Parliament.

"We are inclined to establish an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. But what is important for South America needs to be taken into account, and that means that Brazil cannot renounce its right to reindustrialize, just as Argentina cannot renounce being a country with a strong industry," Karlen told Xinhua following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Jan. 28 visit to Buenos Aires as part of a South American tour that includes Chile and Brazil.

"A deal is made so everyone wins," he said. "As Mercosur, what we want to discuss with Europe is not renouncing our interest in reindustrialization."

Mercosur, which gathers Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, reached a trade agreement with the EU on June 28, 2019, after 20 years of negotiations, but the deal has yet to be ratified by the two sides.

"It is important to note that Europeans' growing concern for the security of their energy, raw materials and food supplies has brought about a change," said Karlen.

Scholz's visit to Argentina suggests "Germany supports the realization of an ambitious EU-Mercosur agreement for geo-strategic, economic, foreign policy and sustainability reasons," he said.

Each of the two regions has its comparative advantages, with Europe strong "in the production of high-value goods," and South America rich "in natural resources and basic manufactured goods, including agricultural and mineral products," said Karlen.

But the EU is clearly the more industrialized of the two, and any deal should reflect that status, he said.

"If the partners ... are very asymmetrical, the agreement must be too. The more developed partner has to make many more concessions, has to liberalize much more than the less developed region, which has to make many fewer concessions," said Karlen.

The "special and differential treatment" provision of the World Trade Organization represents one of "the fundamental principles of negotiations between developed and developing countries," he said.

Looking to the future, Karlen said greater South American integration, through a common currency for example, would strengthen the region's negotiating hand. 
Editor's note: The world has undergone many changes and shocks in recent years. Enhanced dialogue between scholars from China and overseas is needed to build mutual understanding on many problems the world faces. For this purpose, the China Watch Institute of China Daily and the National Institute for Global Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, jointly present this special column: The Global Strategy Dialogue, in which experts from China and abroad will offer insightful views, analysis and fresh perspectives on long-term strategic issues of global importance.

MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY

As the US tries to queer the pitch for its economy, China should offset its plan and build a sound environment to realize its development goals

China is currently facing an increasingly complex international situation in its surrounding areas with mounting uncertainties  cooperation and dialogue coexist with disputes and local conflicts. When discussing the situation in China's neighborhood, we should pay special attention to the fact that the problems are not caused by regional countries, but rather, external interference and provocations. Behind the rough winds is the United States. The international situation in China's surrounding areas is being strongly interfered in by the US.

The US has unveiled a slew of strategic measures to contain China, from its "Pivot to Asia" to "Rebalance to Asia", to the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity" and eventually to the formation of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or QUAD  a strategic security dialogue among Australia, India, Japan and the US. The ultimate goal is to contain China's rise and hinder the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The conflict in Ukraine has turned into a crisis and is spreading across Europe. Besides, the US is relentlessly stoking confrontation and instigating its allies to destabilize China's surroundings to brew new crises. Therefore, in the face of new circumstances and new challenges, China needs to focus on creating a better international environment in its surrounding areas.

To start with, China's enduring development during the past decades is, to a great extent, dependent on creating and maintaining a sound, peaceful and stable environment within its neighborhood. China's fast development demonstrates that its reform and opening-up leads to benign interactions with its neighbors and the outside world.

At the same time, the neighboring countries and the region, too, have benefited from China's reform and opening-up. Therefore, in the face of the new problems and challenges being created by the US, China should continue to create a sound environment in the region to crush the US' plan, which is to pressurize China's neighboring countries to take sides or sow discord between China and its neighbors. An upgraded sound environment in China's neighborhood is the most important external environment for China to realize its development goals and the most critical means for China to break the US plan to contain it.

Second, China needs to create a better environment in its surrounding regions from a broader perspective of building a community with a shared future, which should be the fundamental goal and means of further improving the environment in the region.

China has put forth initiatives on building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, and a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future. Furthermore, under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China has put forward initiatives for building an SCO community of health, security, development and cultural exchanges.

From a historical perspective, China and the vast majority of its neighboring countries share similar development process and problems. They have a common vision, mission and task in the pursuit of development, which requires them to jointly create a community with a shared future.

To suppress China's rise, the US has been courting China's neighbors, putting together exclusive "small circles" and "small groups" in its effort to create an anti-China camp. Boasting great political, economic cooperation and geographical advantages, China abandons the "small circles" and "small groups" mentality, and instead wants to share weal and woe with its neighbors by building a neighborhood community with a shared future.

Third, China should have networked cooperation with its neighbors under the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative has been serving as a significant platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind, as well as for building a neighborhood community with a shared future.

The six international economic corridors under the Silk Road Economic Belt and the several routes under the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road should serve as important channels for China to strengthen policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity with its neighbors.

China should attach greater significance to treating its neighboring countries as important partners for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative and deepening practical cooperation under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. As the year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of this initiative, China should, on the basis of past experience in cooperating with neighboring countries, explore new space and areas of cooperation, seek new potential, and broaden the convergence of interests with neighboring countries.

Fourth, China's diplomacy with its neighboring countries should strive for closer people-to-people ties. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China reaffirmed the principles of China's diplomacy with its neighboring countries  acting on the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with its neighbors. The vast majority of China's neighboring countries are developing countries. Guided by the principles of "sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith and with a commitment to the greater good and shared interests", China also endeavors to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries and safeguard the common interests of the developing world.

It is undeniable that China's rapid rise has triggered some anxiety and a sense of insecurity among certain neighboring countries. Meanwhile, the US continues to spread the "China threat theory" among China's neighboring countries, which exacerbates the strategic concerns of certain countries toward China. Therefore, when pressing ahead with its strategic engagements with its neighbors, China should take a comprehensive approach from the perspectives of soft power and closer people-to-people ties. China should better communicate the idea to the world that "the Chinese path to modernization is the modernization of peaceful development", which is emphasized by the 20th CPC National Congress, so as to squeeze the space for public opinion created by constant provocations by the US. Only in this way can China deepen mutual trust and affinity with its neighbors.
dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, has launched its operations at Zanzibar Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) with its partners Emirates Leisure Retail and Segap, a joint venture between airport infrastructure and operations specialists Egis, and private equity fund manager AIIM (African Infrastructure Investment Managers).



The three companies will work closely together to deliver world-class services for airlines and passengers at the newly-built international terminal (T3) of ZNZ. The partnership is expected to significantly contribute to the governments target of boosting its trade and tourism sectors.



The investment of dnata, Emirates Leisure Retail and Segap represents over $10 million and, to date, has created some 500 local jobs with the companies.



dnata will provide its globally renowned, quality ground, passenger and cargo handling services to airline customers at ZNZ, ensuring safe and timely operations of flights and an excellent travel experience for passengers. In addition, dnata launched meet & greet and lounge services through its airport hospitality brand, marhaba, to help passengers further enhance their experience and enjoy a smooth airport journey from check-in to boarding.



Emirates Leisure Retail has partnered with MMI as master concessionaire for all food and beverage, duty free and commercial outlets at T3. In collaboration with Eight Inc, the companies have created an innovative and immersive travel experience, Zoma, designed to create a sense of place and extend the holiday feeling for passengers. In the Zoma Zones each store is inspired by the scents, feelings, and flavours of the island. In addition to these outlets, ELR and MMI carefully selected and curated the best retailers from the island to spotlight some of the best that Zanzibar offers.



Segap entered into a 10-year technical partnership with Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) to manage and operate Zanzibar and Pemba airports. The consortium will act as a long-term partner to help position Zanzibar as a leading tourism destination, improve airport performance across all fields (including passenger experience, operation, profitability, etc.) and enhance airport infrastructure and services. The consortium will act as one project team for ZAA, covering different airport management and operation aspects.



Steve Allen, CEO of dnata Group and Chairman of Emirates Leisure Retail and MMI, said: Were delighted to celebrate the launch of our airport services and retail offering with our partners at Zanzibars new, advanced airport terminal.



We are confident that our investment, alongside our commitment to safety, quality and service excellence, will provide a major positive impact on Zanzibars transport, tourism and trade industries. This in turn will deliver significant benefits for the local community and businesses. We will continue our efforts to consistently deliver world-class services, earn the trust and loyalty of airline customers and travellers, and be an employer of choice in Zanzibar.



Olivier Baric, Egis Aviation Director for Africa, said: We are delighted to continue our key role in ZAAs strategic development in cooperation with the airports stakeholders, after a successful year of cooperation, where we have contributed to operational improvements to support the growth of tourism in Zanzibar.



Together and over the next 12 months, we will continue with our endeavours to support the modernisation of facilities, processes and staff needed for Zanzibar to achieve high quality, safety and security services in order for Zanzibar to be recognised as having an international airport that is an outstanding gateway to a destination that has everything to attract visitors, from world-class beaches to a UNESCO World Heritage site.



dnata: strong, long-term commitment with multi-million US$ investments in people, infrastructure and equipment



To establish operations, dnata has hired and trained over 340 local talent and deployed a fleet of more than 120 pieces of ground support equipment at ZNZ. The company will gradually expand its operations and team, and by 2024 expects to handle more than 4,000 flights annually with a team of over 400 aviation professionals at the airport.



dnata is also investing in a state-of-the-art facility to offer cargo services at the airport, supporting local trade and businesses. The cargo centre, which is scheduled for completion in 2024, will comply with the highest industry standards ensuring efficient and safe handling of a broad range of cargo, including perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, live animals, aircraft engines and vehicles.



The dnata Group has been contributing to Zanzibars tourism sector through its global travel businesses for decades. In 2022 dnata Travel, a leading travel services provider in the GCC region, facilitated flights, hotel bookings and holiday packages for thousands of travellers to Zanzibar.



Segap will provide general airport management and operation services to ZAA, including: improving operational and financial performance, development of airport assets, increasing passenger and cargo traffic, airline route development, best practice and compliance with international standards.



Emirates Leisure Retail will operate best-in-class outlets with a team of over 130 local culinary and retail professionals at T3.  TradeArabia News Service
An estimated US$ 8.3 million in monthly revenue is lost through corrupt practices at the countrys seaports.



This sum amounts to almost US$50million every six months and US$100million each year, according to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. The losses, he said, are due in part to deception by some importers who, with the aid of some rogue officials, deliberately and wrongly declare contents of imported containers.



In an attempt to lessen corruption at the various ports, the country initiated a port paperless system (PPS) in 2017 that allows for a transparent clearing system, he said.



He however said there remains a lot to be done to attain a fully corruption-free port.



There is therefore a compelling need for maritime sector stakeholders across the continent to formalise actions to combat bribery and corruption, by collaborating and encouraging all stakeholders in the ship/shore interface to ensure compliance with national and international laws prohibiting corruption, Dr. Bawumia advised.



Dr. Bawumia said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, at a Regional Maritime Stakeholders Workshop in Accra.



With Port Tema controlling 70 percent of the countrys seaborne trade and Takoradi Port handling the export of minerals mainly from mines situated in the Western part of the country, Dr. Bawumia maintains that challenges such as bureaucracy and delays in clearing goods have been minimised through the PPS



Meanwhile, maritime stakeholders have expressed concern that the inability to fully tackle corruption at the various ports could have far-reaching consequences which would be detrimental to shipping operations within the African Continental Free Trade Area.



Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Tom Norring, disclosed that Denmark has been assisting countries in the sub-region to build a robust, corruption-free shipping industry.



Denmark has always been a strong player in the maritime sector globally and in the West African region. We have always encouraged transparency in the sector, as Denmark is a country that frowns on corruption. The Danish maritime industry is known for its efficiency, and we have helped to replicate some of its technologies in the region, he said.



Ambassador Norring said the African Continental Free Trade Area presents a historic opportunity to boost intra-African trade through the maritime industry, and thus further reap the sectors benefits.



The Regional Maritime Stakeholder Workshop on Global Good Practice in Vessel Clearance was organised by the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network; Convention of Business Integrity-Nigeria; the Danish government and Ghana Maritime Authority

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.

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Staff of Empire Builders Limited have appealed to the government to intervene in ongoing instances of brutality being meted out to them on a land at Adjiringanor belonging to the company which is part of the Trasacco Group.



According to them, languards wearing camouflage uniforms of the Ghana Armed Forces attack them during their daily duties and also attack officers of the Ghana Police Service when they are called to the scene.



Addressing a press briefing today in Accra, the PR Consultant of Empire Builders, Kwame Owusu Danso said the activities of the landguards were threatening the jobs of over 4,000 staff of Empire Builders Limited.



"The landguards brutally attack the companys workers; demolished the companys property; cleared part of the companys land, and is preparing to sell the companys land to unsuspecting members of the public," Kwame Danso said.



"Every effort of Empire Builders Limited to protect its land has been met with brute force from languards dressed as soldiers," he added.



Appeal



The workers also want the National Security, Ministry of Interior, the CID Boss and the President to intervene in the enforcement of a Supreme Court ruling about the ownership of the land.



They have also threatened to embark on a demonstration if their appeal is not acted upon in two weeks.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The self-styled phone trader who allegedly sold packed broken tiles as phones has been admitted to bail in the sum of GH10,000 with two sureties by an Accra Circuit Court.



Mustapha Hamidu has been charged with two counts of attempting to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence.



He has pleaded not guilty to the charges at the court presided over by Kwabena Kodua Obiri-Yeboah.



Proosecutions facts



The facts of the case as read in court by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor, were that Abulley, who lives at Odorkor, had consistently swindled unsuspecting victims by introducing them to supposed original phones he displays for sale.



After agreeing to specific prices through bargains, he ends up changing the actual phones to phone cases packaged with pieces of broken tiles.



The prosecutor said victims who bought the phones only got home and realised that the newly acquired phones were merely decorated phone covers stacked with pieces of broken tiles.



"Police on December 22, 2022, met the accused at a place along a section of the Achimota overpass close to the old station with an original Tecno Camon 19 cellular phone in a phone cover, and two similar phone covers all packaged with broken tiles in his usual business, attempting to lure some victims to express interest in his business," the prosecutor said.



Chief Inspector Ahiabor said by introducing customers to his business, the accused would make them to part with cash ranging from GH500 to GH1,000 in exchange for his packaged broken tiles in the end.



He added that a search on him revealed the fraudulent packages which caused his instant arrest to assist police investigations.



"Accused was, therefore, arraigned before this court, while efforts are underway to apprehend his accomplice currently at large," Chief Inspector Ahiabor said.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi has slammed President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government over the state of Ghana's agriculture sector.



Speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Mr. Senyo Hosi stated emphatically that the President's 'Planting for Food and Jobs' policy aimed at improving the agriculture sector has failed abysmally.



"After all these years, show me one agriculture sector that has been well-structured. It's zero," he exclaimed.



To him, it shouldn't be difficult for the government to develop the agriculture infrastructue to assist farmers to be productive and to check the nation's dependence on foreign imports.



"How much irrigated fields do we have? Have we invested in our irrigated fields to march our needs as a country? But when you look at the billions we have spent on this Planting for Food and Jobs which we can't see any particular thing that's sustaining the industry. I think that it's a failed project. It's a totally failed project."



Mr. Senyo Hosi asked the government to concentrate more of her efforts on improving the agric sector which he believes is the country's engine of progress.



"We have the capacity to progressively grow and then eventually fully supply Ghana. It's possible for us to feed our own self," he stated.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh has tasked Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson to retract and apologize for a tweet on governments import ban on a group of selected items.



Frank Annoh-Dompreh quoted Ato Forson's January 28 tweet which contained a photo of the banned items with the caption: "Folks, The NPP gov't has banned the importation of the following used items: 1. TV set 2. Computer Etc. This is insensitive!"



Annoh-Dompreh who is the Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri said Ato Forson had to apologize to Parliament and the Minister of Energy who issued the import ban list.



"Ato my friend, you got this wrong. Your comment is wrong and unacceptable. Simply pull it down and render unqualified apology to Parliament, particularly the Sector Minister. You misfired my friend. There is no shame, bro," his tweet read.



He, however, did not state the reasons for his demand of the Minority Leader.



Ghanaians descend on Ato Forson over comment on importation ban of secondhand appliances



Some Ghanaians on social media attacked the new Minority Leader for his comment and opinion on the governments ban on the importation of secondhand and used electrical gadgets.



Reacting to Ato Forson's comment, a section of the public largely disagreed with the legislators take that the policy is insensitive.



They argued that the move is geared towards preventing Ghana from becoming a dumping site for foreign-used goods, hence a commendable one to ban secondhand appliances.



Other tweeps also based on the comment however questioned the competency of Ato Forson to lead the largest opposition party in Ghana as a minority leader in parliament.







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.

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NDC Member of Parliament(MP) for Builsa South and a member of the Public Accounts Committee, Clement Apaak has described as worrying, the posture and loud silence of the President since the release of the Auditor-General's report on the Covid-19 expenditure.



According to him, the President is behaving as if he has not heard the commentary or even sighted the report himself and it is very worrying.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that the President ought to address the nation like he did during the Covid-19 days when he gave an update on what his government was doing about the pandemic.



"Look, in some African nations, like Malawi, the President has addressed his nation on the back of an audit report on COVID-19 expenditure, but with President Akufo-Addo, who won an election in 2016, largely on a promise to fight corruption, seems lethargic to acknowledge an audit report on COVID-19 expenditure, even in passing. Not even a tweet or facebook post," he said.



"The President of Malawi addressed the people of Malawi in relation to exposed corruption, malfeasance, and misappropriation of COVID-19 funds. He passionately told his nation what consequences and sanctions awaited those responsible, including some of his own Ministers and other appointees. In Ghana it is the opposite. The President doesn't seem interested in the content of the COVID-19 Report, which has equally exposed acts of corruption, malfeasance, and misappropriation of COVID-19 funds in Ghana."



He added that trying to excuse the posture of President Akufo-Addo, with regards to this scandalous Auditor-General's Report on COVID-19 expenditure is untenable.



He maintained that claims made by some members of the New Patriotic Party, that Akufo-Addo is only being cautious because infractions captured in the Auditor-General's report have usually been resolved at sittings of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament is fallacious.



"Yes, lots of funds have been retrieved as a result of disallows by the Auditor General and recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee at it's sittings. The Public Accounts Committees of the 7th and 8th Parliaments have made several recommendations for the prosecution of persons whose conducts have offended the procurement laws of Ghana, or have led to the loss of public funds. And it's important to state, that when the Public Accounts Committee recommends prosecution, the Attorney General is expected to act".



He said unlike the President of Malawi, President Akufo-Addo by his refusal to comment on the Auditor-General's report indirectly confirms the widely held belief that he has no interest in fighting corruption.



Watch Video Below





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.

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The Member of Parliament for Yendi, Farouk Aliu-Mahama, has said that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia should be the flagbearer of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



Being a presidential or parliamentary candidate of a party, he believes, should not be based on the number of years one has been a member of the party.



He said that people saying it is the turn of Alan Kyerematen to be the flagbearer of the NPP are wrong because there were people on the scene before him, including Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, who contested with ex-President John Agyekum Kufour.



Aliu-Mahama, who made these remarks in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Sunday, added that the vice president over the past few years has proven that he has the capacity and the competence to transform Ghana.



My support for Dr. Bawumia is not because my late father wanted to see him at some point. I have seen the vice president, within the shortest possible time, become a force to reckon with in this country.



He has moved the country as a vice president; he has done a lot. He has the vision to do more with the support of the president and has carried himself to the admiration of everybody; he is very competent.



The vice president at least can lead Ghana to the promise land Dr. Bawumia is somebody who stands tall, in the last 16 years, everything is about Bawumia. Even those who dont like Bawumia are speaking about him, he said.



He warned the party to be careful with how it handles the upcoming presidential primaries to ensure that it does not divide the party as it did in 2008, which led to the party losing the election.



He added that even though all the persons who have expressed interest in contesting in the partys flagbearership race are competent, only one person can emerge as the winner.



Meanwhile, the vice president has been projected to be the flagbearer of the NPP in a recent study co-conducted by Outcomes International Ghana and the Centre for Sustainable African Development Initiatives (C-SADI) UK.



According to the survey, the most popular candidate for the New Patriotic Party flagbearer position in all 16 regions of Ghana is the vice president.



In all, the survey got responses from around 197,000 NPP polling station executives (PSEs) in all the regions.



Data was obtained mainly through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology between 15th November 2022 and 15th December 2022. Based on 95% confidence level and 2% margin of error a sample size of 6000 PSEs was used. However, 5641 PSEs were successfully interviewed (response rate of 94%) from all 96 constituencies.



Greater Accra region had the highest number of PSEs interviewed with 1142 PSEs followed by the Ashanti region with 869 PSEs corresponding to 20.2% and 15.4% respectively. More than half of PSEs who participated in the survey were Akan (54% [n=3056 PSEs]), and 46% (n=2585 PSEs) were non-Akan. In terms of religious distribution, 78% of the PSEs were Christian whilst 20.6% were Muslim, the report stated.

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.

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Presidential hopeful for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, says the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, should have left office seven months ago.



This comment by the presidential hopeful is in line with the current economic crisis and the issues surrounding Ghanas controversial domestic debt exchange program.



In October 2022, the Majority Caucus in Parliament also asked for Ken Ofori Atta to be fired from his job as Finance Minister. The majority MPs made the announcement to the media in Parliament on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.



The signatures of the legislators of the NPP are backing the call on the president to sack his finance minister and his deputy.



Addressing the media on the issue, MP for Asante Akyem North, Andy Appiah-Kubi, said they have been compelled to go public with their demands because several appeals to the Presidency through the leadership have failed.



The 80 NPP MPs who addressed the media disclosed that their position is consistent with those of the colleagues who were not present at the time of the press engagement.



In an exclusive interview with the host of Atinka TVs morning show Ghana Nie, Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa, presidential hopeful for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, who reacted to the call for the removal of Ofori Atta from office, mentioned that although he has no personal issues with the finance minister, the economic health of Ghana is paramount.



He revealed that confidence is an unquantifiable product and that once the public loses trust in the economy, getting it back will be difficult.



I have asked the president to do something to stop our currency from going down. Some serious decisions have to be taken. I completely disagree with the president on his position on the finance minister.



"I have said this before, and it does not mean that I have a personal issue against the finance minister. I think he should have left 7 months ago, in my personal view, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong told Ama Gyenfa Ofosu Darkwa.

Source: Atinkaonline









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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) needs a Christian as its flagbearer moving into the 2024 elections, this is according to Samuel Ayeh Paye, a former Member of Parliament for the Ayensuano seat.



He argued that the 2024 elections would be decided on the basis of religion, which is why he urged the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim as its flagbearer ahead of the general elections of 2024.



Speaking on Adom TV's flagship morning show Badwam, the Eastern Regional Campaign Coordinator for Alan Kyerematen explained that since John Mahama, the NDC's top choice, is a Christian and the majority of Ghanaians identify as Christian, it was instructive for the NPP to select a Christian over a Muslim to lead the party.



Hon. Ayeh Paye pointed out that statistics show that Christians make up the majority of our people, thus any effort by the NPP to choose a Muslim as its flag bearer could hurt the party's chances of remaining in power in 2024.



"As an NPP, I believe we should introduce someone with a Christian background," he stated on the show hosted by Akwasi Nsiah, noting that only 17 percent of Ghana's population is Muslim, compared to the country's overall 71 percent Christian population.



"Whether we like it or not, the NDC will bring John Mahama who is a Christian, and once that happens, it means the 2024 election campaign will even take its major course in the churches, so let's be careful we don't present a candidate whose religious background will become an issue against us," he insisted.





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.

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Founder and leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Kofi Akpoloo has urged Ghanaians to kick out the two leading parties in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), blaming the two for the suffering of the nation's youth.



Kofi Akpoloo contends that the two parties have nothing positive to offer the nation hence the need to unite and vote them out of office.



Speaking in an interview on Radio Univers, Kofi Akpaloo asserted that since young people are the majority age group, they have no right to complain should they allow the NDC to recapture or the NPP to retain power after the next election.



He added that Ghanaians should rather give LPG the chance to steer the affairs of the country adding that should he be given the nod to lead, the country will see a drastic change in all aspects of the economy.



We have to knock you hard, especially if you're a young man between the ages of 18 and 35 who votes for the NDC and NPP when we catch up with you. Because it is impossible to vote for the NPP and NDC when youve been unemployed all this while. After voting for them, then dont complain. Youre broke, you dont have work and you queue to vote for NPP and NDC.



On some of his policy positions should the President Akpaloo dream materialize, he said: I will ban the importation of poultry six months after being elected President. We wont import rice also, exactly six months into my administration as president, he said.







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.

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Melia Hotels International, the leading hotel company in Spain, has achieved the highest rating in the global travel industry in the latest S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA).



S&P Global's CSA is the world's most comprehensive annual assessment of the sustainability performance of companies across all industries, focusing on economic, governance, social and environmental criteria, as well as on industry-specific criteria.



Melia has taken part since 2018, a year in which it was ranked third in the industry. From 2019 t0 2021 the company achieved the top position in the ranking in Spain and Europe, and second place globally.



As of this month, the new assessment places Melia at the top of the industry ranking, with an overall score of 74 points out of 100. Of the three dimensions included in the analysis, Melia obtained the highest score in the industry in the first two (Social, with 72 points, the same as obtained by Asset World Corporation, and Economic and Governance, with 81 points) and also leads the industry in criteria such as:



 Risk and crisis management

 Environmental reporting

 Climate strategy

 Social reporting

 Human rights

 Human capital development

 Management of customer relationships



In the current complex business environment, sustainability has become as one of the most important values for companies, and for Melia, especially due to the family nature of our business, it is now a key factor in driving our transformation and responding to the demands and expectations of our customers, employees, shareholders and investors, hotel owners and society in general, said Gabriel Escarrer, Executive Vice President and CEO of Melia.



For all of them, we are proud to have once again achieved this recognition as the most sustainable hotel company in the world.



The Spanish hotel group has been expanding its presence in Asia over recent years and is now one of the largest international hotel brands in Vietnam.



Melia properties throughout Asia have embraced core sustainability principles by reducing or entirely eliminating single-use plastics, implementing energy and water conservation measures, rolling out a broad range of CSR programs, creating a more circular food economy, and launching collaborative projects with local organisations. - TradeArabia News Service


Multiple gospel music award-winner, Diana Hamilton is back again with another edition of her Experience With Diana Hamilton annual concert.



The gospel songstress, who has over the years mesmerized the hearts of music lovers with her songs and won many souls for God through her ministry, has announced this year's dates for the event.



The event will take place in Accra on Sunday, February 19 at the Perez Dome and afterward, the team will head to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.



It is scheduled for Kumasi on Sunday, February 26 at the Bantama Church of Pentecost.



Time for the event is 5 pm.



Tickets are selling for GHC 50 for singles, GHC 90 (Double), VIP goes for GHC 100 and GHC 200 for a family of 5 at the Kumasi event and in Accra, GHC 60 (Single), 110 (Double), 150 (VIP) and 250 for a family of five.



Purchase tickets online via the shortcode *725*8080#.



The 'Experience with Diana Hamilton' is to gather believers and non-believers under one roof to lift worship to God and exalt his name for his goodness towards them.



Musicians billed on the programme include Ohemaa Mercy, Joe Mettle, Perez Musik, Celestine Donkor, Bernice Panford, Piesie Esther, Moses OK, ACP Kofi Sarpong and Ceccy Twum among others.



Come and be mightily blessed!











Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Protesters chant slogans as they hold posters and pictures of victims during a protest against China's brutal crackdown on ethnic group Uyghurs, in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. A Federal Court judge has thrown out a Uyghur groups attempt to sue Ottawa over its lack of response to a possible genocide in China. THE CANADIAN PRESS-AP Photo/Khalil Hamra
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino speaks with reporters at a hotel Tuesday, January 10, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says there is no reason to believe Canada's national security was under threat at any time due to the RCMP's dealings with an Ontario company that has links with China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Canada's financial intelligence agency is stepping up the fight against the illicit wildlife trade by taking aim at the criminals who reap big profits from the global racket. The alert says Canadian bears are poached for their bile, claws and paws, which reap large sums on the traditional medicine market at home and abroad. A black bear is seen near Lake Louise, Alta., June, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Ontario Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra speaks with media at Queens Park in Toronto on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Calandra says he will take a look at new national standards for the sector, but he has no interest in "watering down" what the province is already doing to improve care.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
"I will definitely go", says Kejriwal on Goa police summon 14 Apr 2023 | 2:41 PM New Delhi, Apr 14 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he will definitely go as Goa police has asked him to appear before it on April 27 over alleged defacement of public property. see more..

India logs 11,109 fresh Covid cases 14 Apr 2023 | 2:38 PM New Delhi, Apr 14 (UNI) India has recorded 11,109 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload to 49,622 according to the Union Health Ministry on Friday. see more..

India, Mozambique ready to take ties to next level: EAM in Maputo 14 Apr 2023 | 12:38 PM New Delhi/Maputo, Apr 14 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Mozambique, said the time-tested and historic relationship with Mozambique is expanding and both sides are ready to take it to the next level. see more..

PM Modi to visit Assam today 14 Apr 2023 | 11:06 AM New Delhi, Apr 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 14,300 crore during his visit to Assam today. see more..
More than 300 migrants disappeared or died in the Caribbean in 2022  and thats an undercount
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Why is the Speaker of the House meeting with Rep. George Santos, a first-term representative under multiple investigations?

Video from CNNs Manu Raju:

Speaker McCarthy told me he met with George Santos today, saying yes I did when asked if the two met. He didnt say what it was about. Santos earlier declined to confirm they met when spotted walking out of the speakers office pic.twitter.com/8VxMpEQcMC  Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 30, 2023

Raju got McCarthy to confirm that he met with Santos, but the speaker would not say why. It is odd for the Speaker of the House to be meeting alone with a first-term backbencher member of his caucus.

The odds are that with McCarthys majority being temporarily down to three seats after Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) sustained serious injuries falling off a ladder, he wasnt asking Santos to resign.

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George Santos is a Kevin McCarthy problem because McCarthy and senior House Republicans knew that he was a fraud and did nothing to stop his candidacy. Now, Kevin McCarthy is stuck with George Santos until law enforcement removes him from Congress in cuffs.

McCarthy wasnt meeting with Santos to discuss their legislative agenda, and with the New York congressman drowning in scandal, there could be something else going on.

If there is another shoe to drop, the American people will find out in the days and weeks to come, but Kevin McCarthy and the House majority are joined at the hip to George Santos.
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Investigators looking into Donald Trumps alleged theft of over 300 classified national security documents are pushing to obtain access to the computers of Trump staffers.

In a report first on CNN about two people who found classified documents in Trumps Florida storage facility testifying before a federal grand jury in Washington, there were two paragraphs about investigators pushing for access to the computers of Trump Mar-a-Lago staff.

The development comes at the same time federal prosecutors are pushing to look at files on a laptop of at least one staff member around Trump at Mar-a-Lago, according to multiple sources, CNN reported.

By pushing for access to computers, investigators are trying to determine if there is an electronic paper trail regarding the classified documents, another source said.

They are pushing for access to computers to see if there is a paper trail of the classified documents. This suggests that they are looking at the possibility that the documents were shared.

In August of 2022, we learned via a search warrant that the FBI was investigating Trump for a potential violation of the Espionage Act.

Former President Trump has denied mishandling classified documents, illegally possessing classified materials, and suggested that he is being treated unfairly.

Lawfare explained at the time: The part of the Espionage Act that is likely most relevant in this case is  793(d). It applies to individuals who lawfully accessed material:

relating to the national defense, and who proceeded either willfully to convey it to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully to retain the same and fail to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it.

Trump is now under a criminal investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Just Security defines the Trump classified documents investigation as an espionage and stolen documents investigation, which is key to understanding this new information about investigators looking for an electronic paper trail.

They highlight most recently: Trumps direct knowledge of documents and familiarity with the records contents as being proven in an FBI Affidavit reading Several of the documents [retrieved by the Archives on Jan. 18, 2022] also contained what appears to be FPOTUSs handwritten notes.

Just Security also collected reports of Trump personally packing boxes to leave office (unwillingly) and that he retains documents that should have been sent to NARA prior to leaving office.

The list is long and disconcerting. But even more troubling are the examples of Trump recklessly sharing these documents, like the time he waved the North Korean leaders letter around at people.

For the rest of 2021, Mr. Trump resisted requests to give back the material. In the meantime, Mr. Trump would wave things like the North Korean leaders letters at people, as if they were collectors items he was showing off. [New York Times]

Trump also wanted to use some of the documents he had stolen as bargaining chips to get documents pertaining to the Trump Russia investigation *from* NARA that he thought he was entitled to, but wisely his advisers didnt act on this idea.

Trump was involved in trying to hide the documents after receiving the subpoena. Federal agents have gathered evidence indicating that Trump told people to move boxes to his residence after his advisers received the subpoena.

Thats a lot of times Trump was involved with taking and hiding the classified documents he allegedly stole. This is not an example of someone who was sloppy with their handling of classified documents. This is someone who willfully and deliberately packed the documents and then sought to move them to hide them from the FBI.

Why did Trump want to hang on to classified national security documents so much and what are investigators looking for in terms of electronic paper trails?

If the documents have been shared with other entities, the espionage aspect of the Trump case gets escalated.

The electronic paper trail/possibly sharing documents with other entities separates it from the Biden and Pence classified documents situation, as does the fact that both President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence turned the classified documents they found in their searches over immediately upon finding them.

If it is proven that Trump shared these classified documents with people or entities, he jeopardized our national security on purpose for his own self interest. This should not be conflated with what seems to be systemic sloppiness around classified documents by other principle figures in government.
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Manhattan prosecutors are likely to notice that Stormy Daniels has publicly thanked Trump for posting confirmation of her story about the illegal hush money payments.

Daniels tweeted:

Thanks for just admitting that I was telling the truth about EVERYTHING.  Guess I'll take my "horse face" back to bed now, Mr. former "president".

Btw, that's the correct way to use quotation marks.  pic.twitter.com/VSG867kwk8  Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) January 31, 2023

As the Manhattan District Attorney is presenting evidence in front of a criminal grand jury about hush money payments, Donald Trump was on his social media platform confirming that the story is true.

Trump is trying to claim that the whole illegal plot was Michael Cohens fault, and the use of the statement advice of counsel is a signal that he is going to be trying to throw lawyers under the bus.

Donald Trump always thinks he is his best PR person and legal counsel, but every time he makes a public statement, he digs the hole deeper. Trump is also his own worst enemy because if there were ever a time to shut up and not confirm the story of the person who received the illegal payment, it would be when the district attorney is presenting evidence to a grand jury and weighing an indictment.

When people suggest that Trump is the same, or nothing has changed, that does not appear to be accurate. Trumps impulses seem to have grown worse.

Donald Trump thinks that he is defending himself, but he could be sowing the seeds for his conviction.
Local law enforcement and political figures are sharing their thoughts following the release of a video showing Memphis police beating a man in early January.

For law enforcement in general its an extreme tragedy," said Capt. Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriffs Office.

Tyre Nichols, 29, died Jan. 10. He was beaten by five Black Memphis police officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7.

On Jan. 20, the five officers were terminated after an internal investigation found the use of excessive force, failure to intervene and failure to render aid, the Associated Press reported.

On Jan. 25, the five officers were charged with murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, the AP reported.

Authorities released video footage of the incident Jan. 28 and Memphis's SCORPION unit was disbanded shortly after. On Jan. 30, two more police officers and three emergency responders were fired.

"Regrettably, there will always be times when law enforcement must use force, up to and including deadly force, to protect themselves and others," Aiken Department of Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco said. "But, given all of the information I have seen thus far, I dont believe that this was one of those situations. I dont think anyone can feel that the level of force used by those officers was justifiable."

The Aiken Department of Public Safety, Aiken County Sheriff's Office and Edgefield County Sheriff's Office don't have anything equivalent to the SCORPION unit in Memphis.

Lt. Jennifer Hayes with ADPS said if crime trends spike in specific areas, resources and manpower are reallocated to address issues in those areas.

Abdullah said the Memphis incident has had a major impact on law enforcement as a profession and how people see those in the profession.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the young mans family as well as the department that has dealt with the repulsions of those actions of just a few, Abdullah said.

Edgefield County Sheriff Jody Rowland said the one thing that bothered him was the lack of supervision and the lack of intervention from other police officers on the scene. Rowland said the incident should have never happened.

"As I watched the video it disgusts me," Rowland said. "I think the charges were proper."

Rowland said a form of training called the use of force continuum is taught to each police officer not just through the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, but also in law enforcement agencies across the state. He said his office has refresher training sessions on many topics each month.

He described the process of finding ways to deescalate a situation by taking simple steps through talking or with non-lethal force before using lethal force.

He wonders what training was involved and why no one intervened.

"The situation was over in seconds, in my opinion, because they had him down on the ground and handcuffed," he said.

Aiken City Council member Lessie Price said she thought about her son when she saw the video of Nichols.

When I watched the footage, my first thought was that it is tragic and this whole incident is inhumane," she said.

On the national level, U.S. Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have both worked on a police reform bill which was first proposed in 2020, but was killed in 2021, the AP reported. The bill would have created a national database of use of force incidents by police, restrict police chokeholds and set up new training procedures and commission to study race.

My heart is with the Nichols family as they grapple with the reprehensible death of their son, father, and friend Tyre. The death of Tyre Nichols was the result of a clear, vile abuse of power, and the unwarranted torture of a man already in handcuffs should lead to swift, decisive action," Scott wrote in an email.

S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said policing is a local issue and not a national one.

"We must resist the call for national police reform. For example, when any officer oversteps their authority, local law enforcement officials here in Aiken County swiftly punish or fire that individual," Taylor said. "We all recognize that ongoing training is critical in helping police officers meet the challenges they face on the streets, and that is happening here."

Aiken City Council member Gail Diggs said the video shocked her.

I watched the video and couldnt believe that a traffic stop that shows no evidence of wrongdoing by the victim turned deadly, Diggs said. Nothing can explain or excuse the behaviors of these officers.

Diggs said she thankful that Aiken is a city where police respect the citizens, but wants officers to have more training.

"Our elected officials must make sure that our law enforcement officers have all the resources they need to keep up with all the training needed is accessible and available," she said.
Eight motions made by defendants in the July 5 lawsuit filed to stop Project Pascalis are set to be heard March 1.

Judge William Keesley, a judge from the 11th Judicial Circuit, will hear motions from Aiken Economic Development Director Tim O'Briant, the Aiken Municipal Development Commission, former development board Chairman Keith Wood, former development board Commissioner Catina Broadwater, RPM Development Partners, the Aiken Design Review Board, Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon and the city of Aiken at 2 p.m. March 1 via Webex.

Keesley is one of two resident judges of the 11th Circuit (Walton McLeod is the other). He has served since 1991. The 11th Judicial Circuit includes Edgefield, Lexington, Saluda and McCormick counties.

The lawsuit was filed July 5, 2022. It challenged the actions of the Aiken Municipal Development Commission, Aiken City Council, O'Briant, the Aiken Design Review Board and RPM Development Partners on the downtown project named after one of the designers of the city's unique street grid.

Project Pascalis was a $75 million plus redevelopment effort involving the block surrounded by Laurens Street, Richland Avenue, Newberry Street and Park Avenue in the heart of downtown Aiken.

The Project Pascalis plan called for the demolition of the vacant Hotel Aiken and a building next to it on Laurens Street and the construction of a 100-room hotel in their place. The Holley House and several buildings located between it and Newberry Street, including most of the former C.C. Johnson Drug Store, would be demolished to make way for an apartment complex and parking garage. The city's former municipal building would be expanded into a conference center.

The Aiken Municipal Development Commission voted to stop the project Sept. 29. The proposed developer, RPM Development Partners, sent notice it was terminating its interest in the project Sept. 14.

O'Briant's motion asks the court to dismiss him from the lawsuit. Columbia attorney Michael Wren filed the motion on O'Briant's behalf Nov. 1, 2022.

Wren argues O'Briant is not a proper party to the suit as his actions were taken on behalf of the city or the Aiken Municipal Development Commission (O'Briant was also executive director of the commission) and therefore, the city and commission, not O'Briant, are proper parties to the suit.

The Aiken Municipal Development Commission motion asks the court to require plaintiffs David Blake, Luis Rinaldini, Dick Dewar, Jenne Stoker, B.B. McGhee, Gail King, the Historic Aiken Foundation, the Green Boundary Foundation and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation to make a more definitive allegation in their complaint.

Specifically, Commission attorney David Morrison asks for more specific allegations of how the commission violated the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.

The motion was filed Oct. 28, 2022.

Morrison also filed a motion Oct. 28, 2022 to dismiss Municipal Development Commissioners Wood, former Vice Chairman Chris Verenes, former Secretary/Treasurer David Jameson, Marty Gillam, Philip Merry and the Rev. Doug Slaughter from the suit.

He argues the commissioners were acting as alter egos of the commission, which is also a party to the suit and as such the individual defendants should be dismissed as duplicative.

Morrison filed a third motion Oct. 28 to dismiss former Commissioners Catina Broadwater, Stuart MacVean and Chad Matthews from the suit.

In this motion, he argues the three former commissioners should be dismissed because they are no longer commissioners, they have no intention of becoming commissioners in the future and their actions were taken on behalf of the commission, making it, not the individual members the proper parties to the suit.

Charleston attorney Charles Baker III  James Weatherholtz was later named Baker's replacement  filed a motion to dismiss RPM Development Partners from the lawsuit Sept. 30, 2022.

Baker argued RPM Development Partners should be dismissed from the suit because the claims are moot since the project was canceled by the Municipal Development Commission and RPM withdrew from the project in mid-September.

The Design Review Board motion asks the court for two things: Dismiss the suit because the plaintiffs did not file an appeal of the Design Review Board decision approving the demolition of the Hotel Aiken in time, that the suits against the individual design review board members should be dismissed as duplicative, and alternatively, to make more definitive allegations of how the board violated the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.

Osbon's motion, made by Columbia attorney Daniel Plyler, asks the court for a protective order until the city of Aiken's motion is resolved.

The city of Aiken motion is similar to the motions filed by the Design Review Board and Municipal Development Commission in that it asks for the individual city council members to be dismissed from the suit as duplicative because there actions were taken as an alter ego of the city.
On the list of great composers, Ludwig van Beethoven must surely be near the top. So ASO director Scott Weiss surmised when he selected the program for the orchestras April 22 concert. Dr. Weiss is not the first to make the decision to devote an entire concert to the work of just one musica Read moreARTS AND HUMANITIES: Beethoven rules the stage in next ASO concert
COLUMBIA  A little more than three weeks after the S.C. Supreme Court struck down the state's six-week abortion ban, Republican leaders want a do-over.

Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson, House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate President Thomas Alexander filed petitions Jan. 30 for a rehearing of the case, arguing the justices in the 3-2 ruling majority encroached on the Legislature's authority.

Additionally, they contend the court failed to properly consider the intent of the authors of the state constitution's 1971 privacy amendment and the voters who approved it.

On Jan. 5, the court's majority found the Statehouse's proposed six-week ban ran afoul of that privacy amendment because it did not allow women the time to exercise their right to make informed private health care decisions. The move essentially keeps the abortion ban at 5 months.

"We respectfully disagree with the Court's decision and believe the intent of the South Carolina Constitution is clear," Wilson said in a statement announcing his office's request. "The framers of our privacy provision did not conceive this provision as creating a right to abortion."

McMaster promised to file for rehearing last week in his State of the State address, telling the audience when I signed the Heartbeat Act into law, I was confident that it was constitutional. I still am.

Abortion rights supporters criticized the move as elected leaders trying to relitigate their loss.

The petitions are just more of the same arguments that the court already clearly considered and rejected," said Vicki Ringer, the South Carolina director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. "We hope the court rejects them, again, in short order.

The petitions come as the composition of the state's high court is about to change. Justice Kaye Hearn, the court's only woman and the author of the lead opinion in the abortion decision, retired due to age limits at the end of last year. Appeals Court Judge Gary Hill will likely replace Hearn after a judicial election by the full General Assembly on Feb. 8 in which he is the only remaining candidate.

Many Republicans believe the newly constituted Supreme Court will be more receptive to abortion bans.

Republican legislators have said they believe Hill will be a "conservative" and "strict constructionist" justice. In his remarks at public hearings, Hill said he would be deferential to the Legislature.

It is unclear whether the newly reconstituted court, or the old court including Hearn, will consider the petition for a rehearing.

"It's up to the court," Robert Kittle, spokesman for Wilson's office, told The Post and Courier.

The attorney general's petition charges that the historical record tied to the privacy amendment section shows that the adopters "viewed the section solely as a limited restraint on electronic surveillance.

Wilson additionally noted that abortion remained illegal in South Carolina even after the amendment was ratified, and the committee that suggested it never mentioned abortion in their notes.

McMaster and the legislative leaders petitions also take up the debate about intent, but go further in attempting to rebut the majoritys opinions. The petitions argue the court's majority misinterpreted the text of the privacy provision, violated the separation of powers and could have merely stricken parts of the law rather than tossing it out wholesale.

"A three-judge majority of the Court has veered far from its narrow lane of applying the law as it is written and, instead, has disregarded every norm of constitutional law ... to drive this case toward a policy destination for which there is no legal basis," the legislative leaders' petition argues. "(This) is not the mere complaining of a disappointed litigant."

The petitions largely refresh arguments anti-abortion advocates have been making since the lawsuit started last year, and the three justices of the courts majority rejected many of them in their Jan. 5 ruling.

On the historical points, for instance, the majority pointed to evidence the framers of the amendment wanted it to be interpreted broadly, and cited a 1993 decision that found the amendment granted a right to bodily autonomy.

We cannot relegate our role of declaring whether a legislative act is constitutional by blinding ourselves to everything that has transpired since the amendment was adopted, Hearn wrote.
The power-broker organizers are aiming for the South Carolina gathering to become their own version of the famous Sun Valley media summit or the Davos World Economic Forum, according to a participant from last year's event. Read moreKiawah conference lures top leaders from the wide world of sports, other industries
Financially troubled Bed Bath & Beyond has added two more South Carolina stores to its closing list, including a baby-goods outlet that opened less than six months ago.

The retailer is planning to shutter another 87 U.S. locations, according to an online company document identifying the new sites and dozens of others that were previously disclosed.

The latest batch of closings include one of the company's namesake stores on West Blackstock Road in Spartanburg and a BuyBuy Baby on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston that opened its doors in August.

Other South Carolina stores that will go dark are in Columbia and Florence. They were disclosed earlier this month. Both operate as Bed Bath & Beyond.

The New Jersey-based home goods chain announced in early January that it could be forced to seek bankruptcy protection to reduce its debt and restructure its business as it struggles to lure shoppers back to its understocked stores and website.

"There is substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," Bed Bath & Beyond said in a Jan. 5 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last week, the company said it was in default on its loans and didn't have enough funds to repay what it owes.

Bed Bath & Beyonds sales slump took a turn for the worse after it pivoted a few years ago to focus on selling its own line of goods rather than national brands. The supply chain disruptions that followed the COVID-19 pandemic then delayed shipments, leading to merchandise shortages.

Shoppers didnt buy into the private-label strategy, forcing the retailer to reverse course in August, when it announced plans to close about 150 underperforming stores and cut 20 percent of its workforce.

The company had not sought bankruptcy protection as of Tuesday. Reuters reported Monday that the retailer plans to file a petition to reorganize its finances as early as this week, citing several unidentified people familiar with the matter.

The four South Carolina closings would leave Bed Bath & Beyond with eight of its namesake locations around the state, in Aiken, Anderson, Bluffton, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Mount Pleasant and Myrtle Beach. A BuyBuy Baby outlet in Greenville also will remain open.
A total of 60 U.S. armored military vehicles are on their way to Ukraine's battlefields after leaving a Joint Base Charleston port terminal as part of a $2.85 billion aid package approved by Congress.

The Bradley Fighting Vehicles will provide the Ukrainian forces with additional offensive and defensive capabilities to protect their borders against Russias invasion, the military said in a statement.

The situation in Ukraine really brought to the forefront the importance of logistics and the complexity of power projection and sustainment, Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, told the Joint Force Quarterly publication. Our support to Ukraine would not be possible without the strong relationships we have with our allies and partners that provided the access, basing and overflight to facilitate the delivery of aid."

Bradleys are armored vehicles designed to transport infantry while providing firepower to suppress the enemy. The vehicle is named after Korean War-era Army Gen. Omar Bradley, the first chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Joint Base Charleston's 841st Transportation Battalion was in charge of loading the vehicles at a terminal in North Charleston.

"This is going to hopefully enhance their capabilities to provide forward advancement in the battlefield and regain lost grounds, by having equipment that matches or exceeds what the Russians have," Army Lt. Col. Rebecca DAngelo, the battalion's commander, said in a written statement.

In addition to the 60 Bradleys, the Biden administration has announced it will send more fighting vehicles, ammunition, missiles and Stryker armored personnel carriers to Ukraine as part of an aid package announced in mid-January. The U.S. has provided $27.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

In addition to U.S. aid, foreign countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands have provided Ukraine with significant air defense and armor capabilities. That includes Patriot missiles for air defense and Challenger 2 battle tanks.

The 841st Transportation Battalion is responsible for all Department of Defense cargo on commercial vessels along the Atlantic Coast from Georgia to Maine. It conducts documentation support, port clearance and loading and unloading of cargo moving via water, rail or truck. It has the capability to offload up to 150 trucks and 200 rail cars of cargo per day.
COLUMBIA  Spring Valley High School, the largest school in Richland County, was evacuated Jan. 31 after school staff received a threatening email from a student account just before 8 a.m.

Law enforcement and Richland County School District Two staff do not believe it was a credible threat, according to a district statement.

Nearly 2,200 Spring Valley students were being dismissed, according to Richland Two, as Richland County Sheriff's Department deputies perform a "protective sweep" of the high school.

Parents picked up students from the stadium in Northeast Richland. Student drivers and school buses have been dismissed.

Neither district nor law enforcement authorities have released details of the threat, but the order to evacuate the school was made "within 10 or 20 minutes" of staff receiving the threat, according to Greg Turchetta, Richland Two's chief officer for communications.

Turchetta urged parents to talk to their students following the incident.

This is never a wise idea, it causes trauma for everybody involved, its a waste of resources and really just upsets the academic day, he said.

Richland County Sheriff's deputies also were on campus at another Richland Two school later on Jan. 31, after a 15-year-old student at Blythewood High allegedly brought a gun to school.

The student was taken into custody after school administrators notified the school resource officer that a gun was found in the student's backpack, according to a release from the sheriff's department.

The student, who was not identified, was charged with having a weapon on school grounds, possession of a pistol under 18, unlawful carry and simple possession of marijuana, and booked into the juvenile wing of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

The gun was not shown in public and nobody made threats to any students or staff at Blythewood High School.

The two emergencies at the state's fifth-largest school district come months after a string of false active shooter calls targeted schools across South Carolina in October 2022, including multiple in the Columbia area.
COLUMBIA  Greg Hilton, an avid bicyclist, will gladly ride to either of the two co-working spaces he runs in Bull Street and the Vista, but he'd never take his 6-year-old son across certain major roads.

"We have these giant streets that are literally like highways and arteries into our city that are just not pedestrian- or bike-friendly, like Bull Street and Gervais Street," Hilton said.

As Columbia and the state Department of Transportation move forward with changes to make notoriously dangerous roads in Five Points safer, city officials and business leaders pointed toward other roads they could make safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Richland County was one of several large counties with a number of high-crash roadway segments and intersections at the top of DOT's priorities for improvements, according to an agency report.

The intersection of Assembly and Gervais streets tops the list for city officials. Columbia has a $3 million plan in the works to revamp Assembly, including making the adrenaline-pumping four-lane crosswalk between the Statehouse and the Vista safer.

A group of business owners wants to go further, making Gervais Street two lanes instead of four and adding an all-way stop for people to cross.

They join business leaders from Main Street to Rosewood who want to see the whole city become friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists, whether through smaller changes  lower speed limits, longer crossing times or more obvious crosswalks  or more drastic measures, including reducing the number of lanes.

As city officials work to draw more economic investment and tourism to Columbia, safer roads could be essential to helping businesses thrive and making the city a more appealing place, city and business leaders said.
Gov. Henry McMaster's executive budget proposes more than $25 million be allocated in the next fiscal year to the state's Conservation Bank, an entity designed to protect and sustain wild land in South Carolina.

If approved, the move could aid a push by leaders here to double the state's protected lands by 2050.

"The question today is: Will anyone recognize South Carolina in 100 years," McMaster said in his State of the State address, noting that over-development, flooding, erosion and storm damage are current concerns.

He recommended an additional $266 million be appropriated to the Conservation Bank, the Department of Natural Resources and the Office of Resilience to identify and preserve "culturally or environmentally significant properties and tracts in which public access is in jeopardy of being lost forever."

The Conservation Bank operates a competitive grant process which funded close to 30 conservation-related projects in the past fiscal year, protecting more than 9,713 acres of land in the Palmetto State.

McMaster was successful in the past with proposals to fund the bank. Last year, the governor recommended $14.5 million in one-time money for the site and the General Assembly gave $25 million.

Elsewhere in conservation efforts, state Sen. Chip Campsen, who wants to create a dedicated funding source for the entity, fell short in his quest last year. He filed the Senate version of the S.C. Conservation Enhancement Act in February 2022 that would have required a portion of deed recording fees to go to the bank's trust fund.

In addition to adding nonvoting members to the bank's board, the proposal also dedicated a portion of the sales tax revenue from sporting goods to capital improvements on public lands owned by select state-run agencies.

A similar House bill stalled last year, too.

Campsen has already restarted his quest for conservation funding this year. But this time, he's filed two separate bills  one to dedicate money for the Conservation Bank and the other for capital improvements for public lands.

"I didn't want opposition to this new idea of funding public lands with the sales tax from sporting goods to weigh down the Conservation Bank reforms," Campsen said.

A House version of the S.C. Conservation Enhancement Act was introduced Jan. 24.

In his budget proposal, McMaster said he would support legislation reinstating a designated funding source for the Conservation Bank.

Restoring the deed stamp funding to the bank is a "big step in the right direction" but just one piece to a larger puzzle to double the state's protected lands, said John Tynan, executive director of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina.

He said up to $100 million a year could be needed to really invest in that goal.

"What our hope is, is that those annual appropriations continue, and a dedicated funding stream is established so that they don't substitute each other, but rather, they complement and add to one another," Tynan said.

The bank has had a consistent amount of funding  between $20 million and 30 million  in recent years. The bank's executive director J. Raleigh West III said anything that could make funds more predictable would be a huge help.

If appropriated money changes dramatically from year to year, it becomes hard for the bank to plan projects. Last year, its grants expanded five state parks and protected two Revolutionary War battlefields in Camden, among other things.
Ever since swanky oyster bar The Quinte opened in November, photos of patrons tucking into seafood towers in black leather banquettes have surfaced on social media.

Local diners are talking about it.

And readers have even written in, raving about the British Columbia bivalves they slurped down at the globe-lit marble oyster bar, asking if I had visited the destination located in The Pinch Charleston boutique hotel, helmed by chef Nicolas Quintero.

So I paid the new bar and restaurant a visit to see what the hype is all about.

The new hotel eatery is owned by Philadelphia-based Method Co., the real estate and hospitality firm that leads The Pinch. Shortly after its opening, Quintero called The Quinte a modern take on a traditional oyster bar. He told The Post and Courier that he would let the ingredients shine and rely on local purveyors like Abundant Seafood, CudaCo., Crosbys Seafood Co. and Tarvin Seafood.

Upon entering the 36 George St. space, marked by two gas lanterns and a stylish hanging sign, it becomes clear that The Quinte strays from the modern day model of a Charleston oyster bar.

And it does so in thrilling fashion.

Settling into a long booth for a matinee meal, I looked to my right to find three employees behind the chestnut bentwood stool-lined oyster bar that can get busy in the evening. I realized The Quinte stays full at night, in part, after overhearing a phone conversation in which a customer was told it was booked until 9:45 p.m. on a requested February date.

Though I did make a reservation, a late lunch on a Thursday afternoon offered a plethora of seating options.

The food menu is on the tight side by Charleston standards. Divided into sections labeled "raw bar" and "main course," The Quinte is best suited as a before or after dinner destination; a place that pairs cocktails with small plates that steal the show rather than fade into the background.

Patrons wont find any sides, and that lack of accompaniments, which extends to The Quintes cooked entrees, is by design.

You could definitely piece together a meal here, Quintero said. But its not going to be the more traditional dinner.

The Quinte's dish descriptions often dont tell the whole story of what's to come.

The shrimp cocktail, for instance, isnt just any old platter of shrimp  nine succulent, medium-sized morsels ($18 for a quarter pound) from Tarvin Seafood are served on ice with a house-made cocktail sauce. That appetizer and others, like oysters on the half shell ($3.75-$5) from South Carolina, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and three eastern and western Canadian towns, highlight one notable element at The Quinte: high-quality seafood is thoughtfully sourced and served with minimal intervention.

We try to let what they have available dictate what were going to do, Quintero said.

Fish preparations vary by species. Some, like Quinteros scallops ($30), are butchered, brined in salt water and cured on kombu sheets, pulling out some of the moisture and concentrating the seafood flavor. Those scallops and other raw mains showcase Quinteros artistry, technique and ability to incorporate thought-provoking flash into seemingly ordinary plates.

Served thinly sliced and floating in a green agua chili sauce, the scallops are buttery with some background smoky heat. A green peanut and benne seed salsa macha adds texture and taste, propping up the silky scallop slices rather than paving them over.

Another showstopper is the black bass ($21), a small platter with four slices of fish, each topped with a single Kings Tide Farms microgreen. Surrounding that are four orbs of ham gel, a smoky explosion that, while whimsical, shines alongside the fish.

Raw main courses are small in stature, but items like the shrimp roll ($25), served on a long buttered Baguette Magic milk bun, offer more sustenance. So too does the amberjack ($45), steamed in kombu and topped with brown butter tableside. Croutons, lemon and capers adorn the white fish, with the small squares of toasted bread  saturated in sauce  somehow maintaining their crunch.

When it comes to drinks, The Quinte serves a range of wine, beer, cocktails and mocktails, some of which pair quite well with the seafood-forward snacks  such as the Femme Fatale with Plymouth Gin, Cocchi Americano, genepy (herbal liqueur) and sparkling wine. And speaking of sparkling wine, a flute of ice cold Can Xa Brut Cava from Catalonia, Spain, is a refreshing sidekick to raw bar items. (Those who prefer red will be pleased to know that wines like the Hopler Pannonica pinot noir from Austria are well-suited sippers alongside the brown butter covered fish.)

I left The Quinte with the realization that its monetary value lies in the ingredients and flavor development rather than volume. And those who question Quinteros ability to deliver this level of excellence in a full restaurant wont have to wait long for an answer.

The Pinch Charleston will later this year open another restaurant on the property, with Quintero leading the menu development and kitchen.

Hopefully ham gel makes its way across the hotels entryway.
GREENVILLE  The sunchokes have arrived, and Nico Abello breathes a sigh of relief.

Its not that the chef couldn't have built a dish around other ingredients. After all, the native of France came up through the ranks of Michelin-star restaurants and earned one Michelin star as executive chef at LAppart in New York City.

Its that Abello likes the way sunchokes tow the line between obscure and every day, the way the root vegetable garners attention and is also overlooked.

In the sunchoke, Abello sees possibility.

Including plans to own a new restaurant under the banner of Greenville's Table 301 Restaurant Group.

The chef formally, but quietly, joined the Table 301 team in mid-November and feels he is on the precipice of something new for himself and potentially for Greenville.

Sunchokes are just the beginning.

Abello was the executive chef for the Grand Bohemian Lodge's opening culinary team in Greenville before leaving in early November soon after it opened. Three others, who each once worked for Table 301, joined him: pastry chef Tarciani Harger, chef de cuisine Kyle Swartzendruber and sous chef Nikki Compton.

That Ive been part of this opening team with the hotel was a great experience, Abello said, his French accent punctuating his words as he reflected on the recent changes. I learned a lot professional, but also me as a person, as a human. But at the end, it was not a fit.

I love what Im doing," he said. "There are no regrets.

A new restaurant is in the works

On a recent Wednesday morning, Abello appears content  calm almost, a word not commonly associated with the freneticism of restaurants. He smiles widely, his shoulders relaxed, his chefs coat with his name, title and the Table 301 logo pristine.

Leaving his post at the hotel was not in the plans, but Abello believes that everything happens for a reason, and here it is  a new restaurant.

Plans are in place to open a restaurant with Abello as the executive chef and Table 301 Restaurant Group as a partner. Eventually, the restaurant will become Abellos solely.

It could fulfill Table 301 founder and president Carl Sobocinski's long hope that he might one day open a restaurant of Michelin-star caliber in the city he loves.

Sobocinski called the decision to bring Abello on board even without a specific position in mind a no brainer.

He brings a culinary background like none we've ever had before, and it's a great opportunity for our entire team to have the chance to work closely with him, Sobocinski said.

The model of opening the restaurant will follow a similar one to that of opening Jianna. Then, Chef Michael Kramer, who joined the Table 301 team in 2013, helped form the idea for the concept, shaped it, led it, and in February 2020 took full ownership of it.

Sobocinski has built a model of sorts of spreading restaurant ownership. He first helped Jorge Papi Barrales, a longtime employee and creator of Papis Tacos, with taking over that business in 2019.

A similar arrangement allowed Passerelle Bistro general manager Michael Minelli and his wife, executive chef, Jenifer Minelli, to take over the French-inspired restaurant in 2022.

With each new concept, it's not about adding to the Table 301 portfolio, but it's about the next generation of restaurant owners and chefs, Sobocinski said. When we open a new concept now, we open it with the assumption someone else will be owning it in a matter of years."

Its a new approach to growth.

Lately, we've been going into each restaurant knowing who that person will be, and in this case, yes, the plan is that Nico will own his own restaurant here in Greenville someday sooner than later, he said.

The new, yet-to-be named restaurant is still in the idea phase, but it exists still, and for that Abello is humbled and very excited.

The chef began his career at the age of 15 working in a two-star Michelin restaurant in France. The idea of ownership has floated in and out of his definition of possible and not possible, and while he's nervous, the potential to carve something from scratch is thrilling.

The sunchoke will be central to one of the dishes on Abellos forthcoming series of tasting-menu dinners with Table 301. All 12 dinners sold out within 48 hours, but the hope is to schedule more in the future.

The dinner series, which was announced last week, are a taste of what the restaurant could be. The design of the 12 dinners is more in the style of a pop-up restaurant, with two seatings per evening and a more fluid dining experience than, say, a wine pairing dinner.

The menus will reflect seasonality and also Abellos love of infusing life into unexpected ingredients.

You take one element and what can you do with one element? Abello said. It can be a root and how can you make this vegetable some kind of 'wow?' But at the same time, very simple. When I cook and I create menus, I dont want people to try to find what that is. Eating is a pleasure.

A passion for cooking and restaurants

Abello carved his niche in the culinary world growing up in France, though he admits he was a very picky eater as a child. The fact that he now eats everything and genuinely enjoys every aspect of food gives the father of two hope that his young sons will be fine.

The chefs talent landed him at the age of 17 in an internship program at a two-star Michelin restaurant in Versailles. While he had begun working in the front of the house, Abello was drawn to the back of the house. The kitchen, he said, is where so much magic happens.

It was so fascinating to me, he said. The peeling, cutting carrots, basic things, but how it was organized and in an almost military way. One day, I just start working in a kitchen and I never left after that.

The chef built his skills working in restaurants from London to New York.

In 2016, Abello helped open LAppart. The New York restaurant garnered attention for its elegant but comfortable style and approach to cuisine. The restaurant earned a Michelin star within six months of opening.

That's where he was until he fell in love with Greenville. He discovered the city while doing a guest chef dinner at Restaurant 17 back in 2018. He and his wife, at that time parents to a 1-year-old, were taken by the citys charm.

The family returned for a visit in 2021, now with a second child in tow. The trip was so wonderful that the couple ended up buying a house on the spot.

Abellos family moved to Greenville in October 2021, and the chef followed six months later.

Abello uses this to explain that while the Grand Bohemian was not the right fit, Greenville most certainly is. He never considered leaving even without certainty about where hed land culinarily.

That he landed at Table 301 is an added bonus, he said.

For now, Abello is focused on testing the waters with the tasting dinners, spending time at each of the Table 301 restaurants and enjoying and appreciating the unexpected twists and turns that life brings.

I feel happy and I feel like myself, Abello said. I will continue to learn. There are things I dont know. That is the wonderful thing about the kitchen.

For more information about future tasting dinners visit https://table301.com.
GREENVILLE  Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will speak Feb. 3 at Bob Jones University, his alma mater.

Hutchinson will deliver the keynote address at the schools Presidential Leadership Series, the evangelical university announced Jan. 31.

We look forward to having Gov. Hutchinson back on campus," BJU President Steve Pettit said in a statement. "I know our students will benefit from hearing from an alumnus who has served in a variety of roles in state and federal government. The governor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of leading at the highest levels.

Hutchinson, a Republican, graduated with a bachelors degree in accounting from BJU in 1972 and earned a law degree in Arkansas in 1975, according to the universitys announcement.

He worked in various local and federal positions, including as a U.S. representative in Congress and as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hutchinson was governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2022.

He is among those mulling potential bids for president in 2024.
At least two hospitals in the Lowcountry, Trident Medical Center in Summerville and The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, are seeing higher rates of kids sick from cannabis edibles in their emergency departments.

"Over the past couple of months, we're averaging about one child per week that we're having to treat for this," said Dr. Chris Pruitt, medical expert and physician for MUSC.

Pruitt attributes the steady rise in accidental ingestions of cannabis to the proliferation of legalization laws in other states accompanied by the widening availability of cannabis edible products that resemble sweet treats like gummy bears, cookies and brownies.

"Our experience is not unique by any stretch, but it's been building over the past couple of years," Pruitt told The Post and Courier.

Prisma Health in the Upstate did not return a message from The Post and Courier to indicate whether their hospitals are seeing an uptick, but the number of children affected by cannabis has been increasing across the country. A recent study in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found the number of children under age 5 accidentally poisoned by cannabis edibles rose over 1,000 percent since 2017.

The study found more than 7,000 cases of kids ingesting cannabis edibles under age 6 from 2017 to 2021.

The youngest child treated for cannabis ingestion at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital was 12 months old.

Cannabis can stay in kids of this age far longer than it would in adult bodies, prompting long periods of unresponsiveness and potentially harmful to a child's respiratory functions.

"Almost all of these children are admitted to the hospital, and some of them to the intensive care unit for very close monitoring," Pruitt said.

Pruitt said every child the hospital has treated has fully recovered after being admitted and given "supportive care," which includes supporting the body's vital functions, circulation and breathing if needed while waiting for the child to recover.

"There's no antidote for these cases," Pruitt added.

Physicians at Trident Medical Center are also seeing more kids who've ingested cannabis edibles. Dr. Kenneth Perry, emergency room physician at Trident, said it's difficult for parents and other caregivers when the drug-laced gummies are made to look similar to child-safe candy and vitamins.

"The effect can be life threatening," Perry told The Post and Courier.

He suggest parents who notice their children being unusually lethargic or overly animated that it can be an indication their child has taken an illegal drug.

According to the National Capital Poison Center, kids may also experience dizziness, trouble walking, a rapid heart rate and, in severe cases, may suffer from hallucinations, low blood pressure or a slowed heart rate.

"Call 9-1-1 if your child is having difficulty breathing, has uncontrolled vomiting, or threatening himself, herself or others," Perry said.

Palmetto Poison Center, located in the College of Pharmacy at The University of South Carolina, is the source for free poison and toxicology advice in the state.

In case of a poison emergency, dial the 24/7 hotline for fast and professional help at 1-800-222-1222.
Summerville, SC (29483)

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Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Terrorist groups continue to pose a major threat for America and its allies -- even if U.S. policymakers have shifted most of their focus to Russia and China. Read moreWe can't ignore the terror threat from Somalia -- or the southern border
On the afternoon of April 7, four teenagers and an adult were shot on an Isle of Palms beach crowded predominantly with high school students. Though its causes remain under investigation this week, it marked the 143rd mass shooting in the United States on the 96th day of the year, joining Na Read moreCommentary: IOP mass shooting highlights national public health crisis
If a regulatory agency suddenly gets a surge in complaints about a particular kind of violation, it seems natural that it would want to know why: Have businesses suddenly started violating the law more than they used to? Has someone launched a disinformation campaign about whats prohibited, Read moreEditorial: If SC Legislature doesn't want to protect car buyers, it should say so
Google on Tuesday announced applications for the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program.

The initiative, according to the global tech company, aims to empower and support women founders on the continent by providing resources and opportunities for them to scale their startups and address African problems.

The Google for Startups Accelerator Women Founders Africa Program is an extension of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Program established in 2017, reflecting Googles dedication to supporting startups and addressing the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Africa.

The 12-week programme will commence in March 2023 and include one boot camp per month, held in a hybrid style of online and in-person sessions, Google said in a statement.

The programme offers a wide range of advantages as selected participants will receive access to Googles products, mentoring from industry experts, resources, tools, and technology, as well as networking opportunities and connections with investors to support the growth of their startups.

The women founders, according to the company, will be mentored by industry experts who will provide guidance and support to the selected participants throughout the programme.

The company noted that it will be instrumental in helping startups achieve their full potential and create a positive impact on their communities.

Speaking in a statement on Tuesday, the head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said: We are excited about the open call for applications for our 3-month accelerator program, specifically tailored to address the unique challenges faced by women founders in Africa.

We believe that investing in women founders in Africa is critical for economic empowerment that will enable the creation of jobs for the growing African youth population.

Elevating the participation and leadership of women in the entrepreneurship ecosystem is crucial for promoting gender equality and driving economic growth in Africa.

Investing in women-led startups is a key step towards achieving this goal, and Googles commitment to these goals is reflected in the launch of the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program.

Akua Nyame-Mensah, a mentor for the programme, said, Its an honour to be a mentor in the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator Program for Women Founders.

As part of supporting the next generation of leaders in Africa, this program offers women an opportunity to grow their networks and the accountability to achieve their professional goals. The focus on mentorship will be invaluable. Participants will benefit and grow from the exchange of ideas and experiences.

According to the statement, African female founders face challenges in their entrepreneurial pursuits, including limited access to funding. Despite these challenges, women make up a significant portion of African entrepreneurs, with 58 per cent of businesses in Africa being owned by women.

Women founders who are building tech startups in Africa or for Africa can apply through the program website via g.co/acceleratorafrica before the 20 February 2023 deadline. Eligible applicants must have a working product or service, a viable business model, and a working team. The application process includes a written application and an interview with the programme team, the statement added.

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The House of Representatives has approved the request by President Muhammadu Buhari to secure an additional N1 trillion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund the 2022 supplementary budget.

The CBN has already violated its enabling law by loaning the federal government more than the approved limit, PREMIUM TIMES reported. This did not, however, deter the lawmakers from approving the fresh loan from the central bank.

Also, the House suspended the request to securitize the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loans pending more details from the Executive.

On Tuesday, the House Committees on Finance, Banking and Currency, and Aids, Loans and Debts Management jointly presented a report recommending the approval of the restructuring of N1 trillion additional Ways and Means advances for implementation of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriations Act as passed by the National Assembly.

Also, the committees recommended further engagement with the Executive to allow for thorough and detailed work and submissions on the larger part of the Advances which amounts to N22.7 trillion.

Mr Buhari had in a letter in 2022 requested that the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loan should be converted to a 40-year bond with a moratorium of three years.

The N1 trillion is expected to be used to fund the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget which the lawmakers approved last December.

Speaking on the report, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila informed his colleagues that the other report will be considered subsequently after their recess.

In December, there was a mild drama in the Senate over the consideration of the report, prompting the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to step down the report.

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PREMIUM TIMES reported how the chamber was thrown into a chaotic session for minutes during the consideration of the report which was presented by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Adeola Olamilekan.

Many lawmakers who opposed the presidents request either said it was against the laws or wondered why the National Assembly was not notified when the amount was taken from the central bank.

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Trans-Afam Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Transcorp Group, on Monday announced the completion of the rehabilitation of its Afam 5 GT unit 20 Gas Turbine power generating unit.

In a statement on Monday, the company said the rehabilitated unit, located at Okoloma Afam, Ndoki in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, has been successfully commissioned and synchronised to the national grid, bringing an additional 138MW to its existing capacity.

Transcorp Group had in 2013, through its power subsidiary, Transcorp Power Limited (TPL), acquired the 972MW gas-fired Ughelli Power Plant, which has since been transformed.

With the acquisition of Afam Power Plc, Transcorp has further cemented its position as a key player in the power sector, the company said.

Expressing his delight in a statement on Monday, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Trans-Afam Power Limited, Vincent Ozoude, said since the administrative handover of the Afam Power Plant in March 2021, they have been working diligently to realize the full potential of the plant.

We are pleased to have successfully completed the rehabilitation of GT20, having been out of service for over 15 years prior to our takeover.

We are glad to have achieved this feat, using a combination of our in-house resources and other local technical support, with about 20 per cent of foreign expert support in the rehabilitation project, showing our commitment to local content development, Mr Ozoude said.

He noted that it is impressive how far the company has come from 48 MW average generation, when they took over, to raising production to 120 MW generation within the first two months.

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President and Group CEO of Transcorp, Owen Omogiafo, who was accompanied by the members of the technical committee of the board of directors, expressed delight at the commissioning of the rehabilitated Afam 5 GT 20 power generating unit, stressing its significance to Transcorp Group and their commitment to transforming the power sector in Nigeria.

Our purpose at Transcorp Group is to Improve Lives and Transform Africa, one investment at a time. We are pleased with the progress we are making to expand access to electricity in Nigeria through our investments in the power sector, Mr Omogiafo said.

You cannot achieve sustainable economic transformation without a reliable power supply. It is that understanding that has led us at Transcorp, under the leadership of our Group Chairman, Mr Tony O. Elumelu CFR to invest in the power sector. We are happy with the progress we are making in our power plants and strive to continue to optimize our available generation capacity, with an improved gas supply, which has become increasingly challenging.

We will also continue to build our local capacity by investing in human capital development and positive engagement with our host communities and stakeholders, he said.

Transnational Corporation plc (Transcorp Group) is Nigerias largest leading diversified conglomerate with strategic investments and core interests in the power, hospitality, and energy sectors.

A publicly quoted conglomerate with a diversified shareholders base of about 300,000 investors, its notable assets include Transcorp Hotels plc (Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Transcorp Hotels, Calabar, and Aura by Transcorp Hotels); Transcorp Power Limited, Transafam Power Limited and Transcorp Energy Limited (operator of OPL 281).

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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday announced that a Cambridge University-led project to develop self-fertilising crops for African farmers has been awarded a $35 million grant from its Agricultural Innovations project.

In a statement issued by the foundation, it said the $35 million will cover the Engineering Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) research programme over the next five years.

A Cambridge University-led project to develop self-fertilising crops for African farmers has become the latest grantee of Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One), the statement said.

The foundation noted that the research consortium focuses on improving nutrient uptake by food plants to reduce the need for fertiliser across some of the worlds most degraded land.

Commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of Gates Ag One, Joe Cornelius, said, The pioneering work of ENSA is fundamental to levelling the playing field for smallholder farmers in Africa, leveraging the latest crop technology to ensure all communities have the chance to thrive.

He explained that breakthrough advances in crop science and innovation mean intractable challenges like nutrient uptake and soil health need not hold back agricultural development.

Were delighted that Gates Ag One can support ENSA to continue its work to meet the needs of smallholder farmers, Mr Cornelius said.

On his part, Director of the Crop Science Centre and Russell R Geiger, Giles Oldroyd, said, African agriculture is at an inflection point, with vastly increasing demand at a time when supply is at risk, especially due to a changing climate.

The Crop Science professor noted that the outcomes of this work have the potential to see gains as great as those from the Green Revolution, but without relying on costly and polluting inorganic fertilisers.

Increasing production of crops sustainably in smallholder farming systems, like those in sub-Saharan Africa, directly addresses some of the worst poverty on the planet, he said.

According to the statement, ENSA is the latest research project to receive funding from Gates Ag One, which recently announced a grant for the Realising Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency project, of which Cambridge University is a collaborator.

A not-for-profit subsidiary of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates Ag One was created to leverage global crop science to meet the needs of smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia.

The foundation said, It focuses on accelerating research that enhances the biological processes of six priority food crops: cassava, cowpea, maize, rice, sorghum, and soybean.

It emphasised that the Gates Ag One works to level the playing field and empower smallholder farmers to transform their agricultural productivity, nutrition security and climate resilience.

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Abubakar Malami has spent almost eight years in office as Nigerias Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. In this brief interview with PREMIUM TIMES Ameh Ejekwonyilo, he touched on some controversial highlights of his tenure, including the controversial withdrawal of corruption charges against Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, which was widely viewed as political stance rather than one in public interest.

He also rated the President Muhammadus administration high in fighting corruption despite Nigerias continuous fall on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking by Transparency International (TI).

A few minutes after the interview started, Mr Malami was alerted of an urgent meeting and so the interview time had to be cut short. There was, therefore, no time for follow-up questions to interrogate some of the claims by the minister.

PREMIUM TIMES published an excerpt from the interview where Mr Malami reacted to Anambra State governor, Charles Soludos request to stand as surety for Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Read the interview in full:

PT: It is almost eight years since you became the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice. What is your assessment of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led anti-corruption battle which your office is pivotal to?

Malami: It depends on the way and manner you want to look at it. But by and large, from whatever perspective you look at it, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been a success story. If you look at it in terms of having quality legislations that have translated into good governance, through the judicial and justice sector reforms, the government of President Buhari has done wonderfully well.

If you are looking at it from the executive interventions, the government has done well. And from the legislative perspective, if you are looking at the economic development of the nation, the government has put in place relevant legislations that have the capacity to enhance our economy.

On the judicial front, we have lots of legislations that have enhanced the quality of our anti-corruption drive. So, generally speaking, from whichever way you look at it from the point of legislation, political will and accountability and transparency, the government of President Buhari has truly done well.

PT: How would you compare your administration in the area of conviction of some politically exposed persons (PEPs) for corruption practices and past governments?

Malami: Well, we understood the undertone of speedy determination of cases and when we ensured the enforcement of the novel Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), that establishes the point that (criminal) cases must be heard day-by-day. We understood that defendants in high-profile cases are not given the opportunity of access to funds at their disposal; the funds they were alleged to have looted, they should not have access to them, those standing trial in high-profile cases should not be allowed to move freely, there should be some restrictions on their movement. You know, if you dont have funds at your disposal as a defendant, you will be interested in the speedy determination of your case so that you know your fate.

So, the point is we understand the problems and we have the answers as to how best the problems can be addressed by way of addressing the same through legislative framework, political will and deploying the political tools necessary for the success of our efforts in tackling corruption.

PT: Many Nigerians say the Buhari-led government is selective in enforcement of court judgements, especially when they border on fundamental human rights of citizens. What do you say about that?

Malami: Well, maybe those who are making those allegations are short-changed in the knowledge of the rule of law. But one thing I can tell you is that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been effectively observant of the rule of law, and whatever he does as it relates to judgements and orders are rooted in the rule of law.

So, let me give you an example. The rule of law as far as the Nigerian situation is concerned with particular regard to criminal cases establishes a four-way procedure. One, there should be a trial against a person before a court of law; if you start a case against a person at the federal or state High Court, there should be a determination. The rule of law factor establishes further that upon the determination of a case, whoever is aggrieved is equally entitled to appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

So, within the context of the appellate processes and procedures, where a government is not happy with the determination of a case at the Federal High Court and appeals against the judgement, what the government has done is within the context of the rule of law. So, you do not expect the government, for example, to be submissive to the judgement of the court hook, line, and sinker because it has been delivered even when the rule of law recognises the right of appeal, and the right of appeal has been exercised by the government and perhaps with an application for stay of execution or an application for the variation of the terms of bail or an application for setting aside the bail.

The simple question is whether what the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been doing over time are things that are recognised by the rule of law principles, and my answer is yes.

PT: On the issue of former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje, whose criminal charges were dropped by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when the trial was almost completed, there was an outcry as many saw it as a tradeoff to have him forgo his ambition to become Nigerias Senate President in 2019 to pave the way for President Buharis preferred candidate, Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President. What do you say?

Malami: Well, maybe the best answer one can provide arising from that insinuation is looking at the context and spirit of Section 174 of the Constitution, the section that establishes the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. The spirit and the context of Section 174 of the Constitution is the fact that the Attorney-General is vested with the powers and responsibility of being the custodian of public interest.

So, the answer is whether if any, (I am not admitting whether the office of the Attorney-General has taken any adverse action as it relates to the case of Danjuma Goje, but in case he does,) the question is whether it is within the spirit of Section 174 of the Constitution, he acted with the public interest in mind, the interest of justice and the need to displace abuse of court process.

For instance, if the public interest demands that the government should take a position of concession relating to an individual that will translate to value for 200 million Nigerians, the responsibility of the Attorney-General arising from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is to do what? It is to make concessions in the public interest of 200 million people.

The answer is for you to look at the prevailing circumstances to assess the prevailing circumstances within the context and parameters of public interest and arrive at a decision as to whether what was done by the Attorney-General, in case he has taken any steps over the case of Danjuma Goje, is within the context of the public interest or not.

And my answer is for the eight years period you referenced when Abubakar Malami was the Attorney-General of the Federation, his actions and inactions were, indeed, regulated by the public interest as against individual interest inclusive of the case of Danjuma Goje.

PT: Recently, Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, called on the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Mr Soludo offered to stand surety for Mr Kanu. Would you be advising President Buhari in that regard?

There is no such request formally before the federal government or the judicial process.

As of 18 January 2023, I am not in receipt of any application arising from the public statement made by the governor of Anambra State (Chukwuma Soludo), either through the judicial process or extended to me as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

When a matter is pending before the court, the right channel through which any request or perhaps concession can be presented for consideration is through the judicial process.

The renewed call for Nnamdi Kanus release has not been invoked formally for the consideration of the Attorney-General.

PT: What has been the performance of the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in the past seven years on your watch as AGF?

Malami: Well, I will use international statistics to answer that question. There has been a series of UNODC reports that has adjudged Nigeria as doing wonderfully well in terms of the fight against corruption.

At a point as far back as 2019, the assessment of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was the fact that out of 17 institutional items listed for consideration consisting of the police, land registry, Judiciary, amongst others, Nigeria was recorded to have succeeded as it relates to the fight against corruption.

Even by international standards, the fact that Nigeria is achieving successes associated with the fight against corruption cannot be disputed. That has been further enhanced by the fact President Muhammadu Buhari was recognised and acknowledged as the champion of the fight against corruption by the African Union (AU).

So, these are international acknowledgements of the fact that as a government, we are doing well both in terms of accountability and transparency of what we do and in the direction of the fight against corruption.

PT: With the number of lawyers in your ministry less than 1,000 and thousands of cases all over the courts, and the police not having enough lawyers in their legal departments to efficiently prosecute cases, what are your thoughts?

Malami: Well, it is all about capacity and capacity has been built over time; that is what is translating into aggressive successes in all dimensions by the lawyers. But the idea of having more lawyers is an idea one cannot displace. After all, the more, the merrier.

PT: Now, what next for you after leaving office as AGF?

Malami: Fortunately for me, I have always been employed as a private legal practitioner. I was into active legal practice. So, I have multiple addresses overtime in business, political and private practice before coming on board as AGF.

Therefore, I have never been short of any of these multiple addresses that I could pursue.

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Recently, the Nigerian government confirmed the outbreak of diphtheria in parts of the country. The disease is a highly contagious infection caused by a bacterium called Corynebacterium species that affects the nose, throat and sometimes, skin of an individual.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) reported that 38 people, mostly children, have lost their lives from the disease, and there are 123 clinically suspected cases. In partnership with state ministries of health, NCDC said it initiated an emergency response to the outbreak and is monitoring the situation in four states (Lagos, Kano, Osun and Yobe).

Worldwide, the incidence of diphtheria has reduced dramatically in the past five decades, thanks to widespread immunisation, using a diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine.

The number of diphtheria cases reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) declined from about 100,000 in 1980 to less than 10,000 cases in 2021.

The prevention of infection primarily controls diphtheria through high population immunity achieved by high vaccination coverage. NCDC said in a health advisory issued to Nigerian healthcare workers that consequently, Diphtheria outbreaks reflect inadequate vaccination coverage.

What is diphtheria?

Diphtheria is a severe bacterial disease caused by the spread of a bacterium, Corynebacterium species, mainly by toxin-producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae and rarely by toxin-producing strains of C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis, NCDC explains.

When a person catches diphtheria, the bacteria release toxins or poison into the persons body. Americas Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the toxin infects the upper airways and sometimes the skin, causing a membrane to grow across the windpipe.

This makes breathing hard, and if the membrane completely blocks the windpipe, it can lead to suffocation and death. The heart and nervous system can also be damaged, CDC noted.

Diphtheria manifests as laryngitis, pharyngitis or tonsillitis and is associated with an adherent membrane covering the tonsils, pharynx and/or nose.

Beyond the respiratory symptoms, NCDC said, approximately a quarter of cases may develop heart problems (myocarditis). The mainstay of Diphtheria treatment is antibiotics and Diphtheria antitoxin (DAT).

Transmission

Diphtheria spreads easily among people by direct contact or through the air and through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, NCDC added.

It may also be spread by contaminated clothing and objects. A person is infectious for as long as the bacteria are present in respiratory secretions, usually two weeks without treatment and seldom more than six weeks.

In rare cases, chronic carriers may shed organisms for six months or more. Effective treatment promptly terminates shedding in about one or two days, NCDC said.

According to the CDC, diphtheria can be transmitted by sharing items such as cups, cutlery, clothing or bedding with an infected person. It is possible to get diphtheria more than once.

Whos at risk of developing diphtheria?

Anyone who is not protected by the vaccine and comes in close contact with an infected person can develop diphtheria, according to Cleveland Clinic, an American non-profit academic medical centre.

Symptoms

The most common type of diphtheria is classic respiratory diphtheria. An infected person typically shows signs of diphtheria around two to five days after exposure.

The length of time for symptoms to show can be anywhere from one to 10 days after exposure, said Tijjani Yakubu, a medical doctor at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja. Initial symptoms may be mild and include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and red eyes (conjunctivitis).

In some cases, Mr Yakubu said, infected persons experience swollen neck glands, problems breathing due to tissues obstructing the nose, throat, kidney, or heart problems (if the bacteria enters the bloodstream).

In severe cases, NCDC states that the bacteria produce an exotoxin that causes a thick grey or white patch (pseudo-membrane) on the tonsils and/or at the back of the throat.

This can block the airway making it hard to breathe or swallow and causing a barking cough. The neck may swell partially due to enlarged lymph nodes and frequently confer a bull-neck appearance.

The exotoxin produced by the bacteria may also enter the bloodstream causing complications such as inflammation and damage of the heart muscle, inflammation of nerves, kidney problems, and bleeding problems due to decreased blood platelet count.

The damaged heart muscles may result in an abnormal heart rate, and inflammation of the nerves may result in paralysis. The infection can also affect the skin (cutaneous diphtheria). More rarely, it can affect mucous membranes at other non-respiratory sites, such as the genitalia and conjunctiva, NCDC stated.

Causes

Mr Yakubu said diphtheria is a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make a toxin.

It is the toxin that can cause people to get very sick, Mr Yakubu said.

On their part, Cleveland Clinic researchers said diphtheria is caused by bacteria adhering to the lining of respiratory system.

These bacteria generate a toxin that damages your respiratory tissue cells. The tissue left behind within two or three days forms a bulky, grey coating. This coating has the potential to cover tissues in your voice box, throat, nose and tonsils. For the infected person, breathing and swallowing become hard to do.

Complications

NCDC said complications due to diphtheria usually occur in the second and third week following infection.

This includes corneal scarring (aggravated by vitamin A deficiency), encephalitis (more common in older children and adults, 0.1 per cent), diarrhoea, pneumonia (a major cause of death) and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (rare, delayed complication; associated personality changes, seizures, motor disability, progressing to coma and death).

According to NCDC, Case fatality ratios up to 10 per cent have been reported in diphtheria outbreaks and are higher in settings where diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) is unavailable.

Types of diphtheria

According to the CDC, there are two main types of diphtheria  classical respiratory and cutaneous.

Classical respiratory diphtheria is the most common type of diphtheria. It may affect the nose, throat, tonsils or larynx (voice box). Symptoms can vary depending on where the affected membranes are located in the body. Some people call this condition pharyngeal diphtheria (diphtheria of the throat), CDC added.

Cutaneous diphtheria is described as the rarest type of diphtheria, characterised by skin rash, sores or blisters, which can appear anywhere on your body. Cutaneous diphtheria is more common in tropical climates or crowded places where people live in unhealthy conditions.

Diagnosis

According to Mr Yakubu, the Abuja-based doctor, healthcare providers will diagnose based on symptoms and a lab test.

They will use a swab to take a sample from the back of your throat or a sore, the medical doctor said, noting that the swab would be taken to a lab for diagnosis.

NCDC also explains diphtheria testing broadly, saying clinical diagnosis of diphtheria usually relies on a greyish/whitish membrane (pseudo-membrane) covering the throat (pharynx/tonsils).

Although laboratory investigation of suspected cases is recommended for case confirmation, treatment should be started immediately before laboratory results are received, the centre added.

Two samples should be collected from every suspected case at first contact with the case  a pharyngeal swab and a nasal swab  and should ideally be taken before starting antibiotics. However, samples should still be taken even if antibiotics have already been started. Specimens should be placed in an appropriate transport medium (Amies transport medium or Stuart medium) or silica gel sachets in the case of a dry swab. Transport these to the laboratory promptly at 28oC, NCDC said.

If possible, a sample of the pseudo-membrane should also be collected and placed in saline (not formalin). A culture collected from a wound should be handled the same as nasal and throat swabs, the centre explained. The most reliable method of confirming diphtheria is by the culture of the organism from any of the specimens mentioned above and by demonstrating toxin production using an immunoprecipitation reaction (the modified Elek test.)

PCR can be done directly on swab material to detect the presence of the A and B subunits of the diphtheria toxin gene (tox). However, in some cases, the presence of tox does not confirm the production of toxin; positive PCR results should therefore always be confirmed with the Elek test if there is an isolate, NCDC said.

Treatment

Diphtheria infection is treated with a diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) administered intravenously or through an intramuscular injection. The Nigerian disease control agency said that antibiotics could also be given to eliminate the bacteria to prevent transmission and toxin production to others.

Close contacts of the patient are to be monitored for signs and symptoms for ten days from the last contact with a suspected case. Healthcare workers exposed to the cases oral or respiratory secretions or exposed to their wounds should also be monitored. Prophylactic antibiotics (penicillin or erythromycin) for seven days are indicated for close contact.

Prevention

In the Nigerian childhood immunisation schedule, three doses of pentavalent vaccine (diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine) are recommended at the 6th, 10th, and 14th week of life.

WHO recommends a three-dose series of diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccines in the first year of life beginning at 6 weeks of age and advises that 3 booster doses of diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine are provided during childhood and adolescence to ensure long-term protection.

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In endemic settings and outbreaks, healthcare workers may be at greater risk of diphtheria than the general population. Consequently, NCDC advised that special attention should be paid to immunising healthcare workers (clinicians, laboratory scientists etc.) who may have occupational exposure to Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

Diphtheria in Nigeria

In Nigeria, there was an outbreak in Borno, in the countrys North-east, in 2011, with 98 cases and 21 deaths (the case-fatality ratio was 21.4 per cent). NCDC said this outbreak and the associated high fatality cases were due to a combination of low vaccination coverage, delayed clinical recognition and laboratory confirmation, and the absence of antitoxin and antibiotics for treatment.

The researcher produced this fact-check per the Dubawa 2023 Kwame Karikari Fellowship partnership with Premium Times to facilitate the ethos of truth in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.

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(Editors Note: Our initial interpretation contained in the previously published version of this report has been found to be inaccurate. Contrary to our initial report, a further review of Transparency Internationals index shows that while Nigerias points remain the same, its position among the 180 countries assessed has improved. The error is regretted).

Nigeria has moved up four places in the latest 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) although the West African country did not improve on its previous years points, according to a new index released by Transparency International (TI).

TIs partner in Nigeria, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), released the report in Abuja early Tuesday.

Despite maintaining its previous score of 24 out of 100 points in the 2021 assessment, Nigerias position went up to 150th in the new index compared to its 154th position out of 180 countries assessed in the 202 rankings.

There has been no change in country scoring between 2021 and 2022. In the country comparison for the 2022 CPI, Nigeria ranks 150 out of 180 countries compared to 154 on the 2021 CPI results, CISLACs executive director, Auwal Musa, said in a statement announcing the new ranking on Tuesday.

Mr Musa said while the index does not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicates the perception of corruption in Nigeria.

The index is impartial, objective and globally acknowledged as the most widely used cross-country parameter for measuring corruption, he said.

The CPI is TIs tool for measuring the levels of corruption in the systems of various countries around the world. The maximum points a country can score is 100 points, and the least is zero. Zero signifies the worst score and 100 the best.

The latest ranking may be an indicator that the countrys fight against corruption has stalled and produced little results.

Setback

Many consider the President Muhammadu Buhari administrations pardon it granted to two jailed former governors  Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State  in 2022 as a major setback to the countrys anti-corruption efforts.

As of the time the two former governors were pardoned in April 2022 their convictions and sentencing had been affirmed by the Supreme Court and they had yet to serve half the length of their jail time.

The prosecution of the former governors which started during the previous administration lasted over 10 years with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) having to expend scarce public funds to see the case to the end.

In previous years, Nigeria has experienced a consecutive drop in the CPI ranking. It scored 26 in 2019, 25 in the 2020 assessment, and 24 in the last 2021 record.

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The Nigerian authorities, on the other hand, have always criticised any unfavourable TI reports that point to worsening corruption in the country.

It claimed last year, in reaction to the 2021 assessment, that the global anti-corruption body lacked the basis upon which it could rank Nigeria.

TI chair speaks

According to Transparency International chair, Delia Rubio, global corruption levels have been stagnant for 11 years in a row.

Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict  and endanger people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few.

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The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has appeared before the Ad Hoc Committee of the House of Representatives looking into the new Naira notes.

Mr Emefiele appeared before the committee on Tuesday after days of grandstanding between him and the House.

Last week, the committee was left fuming after Mr Emefiele shunned invitations of the House despite the threats of arrest warrants by the lawmakers.

On Thursday, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Alhassan Doguwa (APC, Kano), said the committee is giving Mr Emefiele the last chance to appear or risks arrest.

However, on Sunday, the CBN Governor announced the extension of the deadline by 10 days. He announced the extension after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura Katsina State.

Mr Emefiele announced that Nigerians have a grace period of 7 days to deposit old notes at commercial banks even after the deadline. But the lawmakers are insisting that the CBN obeys section 20 of the CBN Act.

Background

Last Week Tuesday, the House resolved to invite the CBN Governor and managing directors of commercial banks to get more explanations on the policy.

Mr Emefiele shunned the two invitations by the ad hoc committee. In a letter, Mr Emefiele claimed he was out of the country.

On Thursday, the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila warned that the House will trigger section 89 of the 1999 constitution by issuing a warrant of arrest on the CBN Governor.

Last year, Mr Emefiele also shunned the invitation of the House on four different occasions. The lawmakers invited the CBN boss on the cash withdrawal limit policy.

READ ALSO:

Mr Emefiele was ordered to appear before the House to brief the Green Chamber on the policy. The House had to issue threats before the CBN agreed to send a representative.

At the time, he also claimed to be outside the country for medical attention.

Aisha Ahmad, a deputy governor at the CBN, later represented Mr Emefiele to brief the House.

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A school, a mosque and several houses were destroyed by an explosion cause by a dynamite in Azare town of Katagum area of Bauchi State on Sunday, 15, January, 2023.

The explosion, which occured around the Police Township area of the town, also affected a proposed Police officers Jumuat Mosque.

A resident of the town, Haruna Bello told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone that the dynamite went off few minutes after 11:00 a.m while some local government officials were clearing the area.

When the explosion occured, it took time before calm was restored. You know, we too had incidences of Boko Haram attacks some years back, so when the explosion happened, people began to scamper for safety thinking it was a Boko Haram attack, Mr Bello said.

He said the explosion occurred at a local government owned building in the area.

Addressing journalists on the incident, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Aminu Alhassan, confirmed the explosion but said no life was lost.

He said the explosion was caused by a dynamite while some people were clearing grasses in the area.

The issue is an incident where some dynamite used in constructing roads in an abandoned store in a quarry site owned by a road construction company. Now they left the place more than 30 years ago.

There was a problem of some people burning bushes around and the heat detonated one of the dynamites. There were not meant for Boko Haram. There were abandoned dynamite of the company for blasting rocks, he said.

Mr Alhassan said the command dispatched an Anti Bomb Squad to the area for proper assessment.

He added that more abandoned dynamites were discovered by the police squad and had ordered for the place to be sealed.

We immediately sent an EOD and they went there and found out that there were dynamites. They also cleared the area and exhumed two more dynamites that same night. They had expanded the search and three more dynamites were found. Ive also ordered the sealing of the whole area so that it would not be accessible to the public until we cleared the area properly.

There was a new mosque there, there was also a private school that were affected and some family houses. We want to assure people that it was not a Boko Haram or any terrorists attack but an explosion from dynamites, he added.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the governor of the state, Bala Mohammed, alongside heads of security agencies in the state visited the town Monday afternoon.

Azare, the headquarter of Katagum Local Government area, suffered deadly Boko Haram when the insurgents attacked the town, leading to the death of three residents in 2011.

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The curtains were about to be drawn on New Years Day celebrations in Ikere Ekiti as the evening wore on. Although it was a Sunday evening when residents usually have fun at different spots in the town, this was different because it was a special day when the world welcomed the new year 2023. Residents narrated how the mood was joyous with fireworks coursing through the sky and music blaring from speakers placed along the streets as the young and old, some clutching bottles of beer, danced to popular tunes.

It was 10.20 p.m. when Rita Ajagunigbala, well known in the town as Evangelist Ajagunigbala, and her lover, Fadayomi Kehinde, an Ifa priest and herbalist popularly known as Ejiogbe, stepped into a room at a guest house in the town.

But 30 minutes after they had shut the door behind them, the woman ran out to make an urgent call. Within minutes, some young men arrived and went straight to the room and found Ejiogbe lying down, gasping for breath. They quickly carried him into a vehicle and rushed him to a hospital, along with the woman. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The news of his death quickly spread around the town, and then with the help of the new media, travelled fast and far beyond it. Ejiogbes death was even more shocking because he was greatly feared in the area for his assumed supernatural powers. His admirers believe his death was due to a fetish attack known in local parlance as magun, a deadly charm placed by suspicious men on their women. Magun is believed to instantly kill any man who has sexual intercourse with a woman carrying it.

But some in the town said Ejiogbes death was an act of God to expose a pagan religious leader who was living an immoral life

Hotel management speaks

Peter Adewole is the manager of the guest house. He said he had known the couple for a while as occasional visitors to the hotel.

They came around 10.20 p.m. and they stayed in Room No7, Mr Adewole said. But 30 minutes later, the woman came out to make a call and the man who brought them in his vehicle returned with some boys who were obviously angry. That is when I suspected that something had gone wrong.

Mr Adewole said Ejiogbe was still breathing when the young men arrived and they made efforts to revive him before rushing him to a hospital.

The Pastor and Her Church

As soon as the news of Ejiogbes death got around the town, his furious followers rushed to the womans church, African Apostolic Church, located at Ilemimo in the Oke-Osun area of Ikere Ekiti.

They attacked the church building made of wood and boards, destroying the furniture and other equipment.

Although peace returned to the area after the uproar, fear of further violence has made the residents and neighbours keep away from the church.

Pastors and Ejiogbe

PREMIUM TIMES investigations revealed that Mrs Ajagunigbala, a mother of four, was suspected to have been having an affair with Ejiogbe for about five years. The Ifa priest had many wives.

A former member of her church, who preferred to be identified as Tofunmi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the evangelist had a reputation for extra-marital affairs in the Ilemimo community. Tofunmi, who also lives in the community, said on several occasions the woman was accused by the wives of Ejiogbe of sleeping with their husband, even though she would deny it.

They have been very close and people know them together, she said. Five years ago, one of his wives caught them together, and after then they swore they would have nothing to do with each other, but it was never so.

Tofunmi also narrated how Mrs Ajagunigbala usually celebrated festivals with the Ifa priest in his shrine.

But an elderly member of the church, who would only be identified as Mama, painted a different picture of the evangelist. She said Mrs Ajagunigbala is a very good person, who would not hurt anyone. She would rather help people. Although Mama was willing to speak further about the woman, her children and tenants stopped the interview.

Another resident of the community, Funmi Ige, said although she is not a member of the church, she knew the woman closely and that what happened was a shock to her. I dont see her as a bad person, but what happened really shocked me. She prayed a lot and would wake as early as 4 a.m. to pray. Other people come to her for prayers. I am really sad about what happened, and we really dont know the truth about it.

AjagunIgbala Himself

The womans husband, said to be the founder of the church, had left for somewhere in Ado Ekiti due to irreconcilable differences with his wife. He still visits to see the woman and her children sometimes, but he doesnt stay here, Tofunmi said. He is also married to other women and that may be the reason why it is difficult to find him around here.

Efforts to reach the man were unsuccessful as no one could offer any link to reach him. There were rumours that the man is a police officer, but when this reporter reached out to the police for confirmation, they denied the claim.

Trouble at Ejiogbes house

PREMIUM TIMES visited the house of the late Ejiogbe. When one of his wives realised the mission of the reporter, she angrily grabbed him by the neck. She was angry that the reporter had come to further publicise the incident.

One of the deceaseds daughters picked up a spade from under an overhead tank to smash the reporters head. But two elder women, one of whom is another of the wives, appealed to the angry woman to release her grasp on the reporter. But mon binu, mon binu (I am angry, I am angry) was her continuous refrain. The furious woman also made phone calls to summon her male children to return home to join the fight. However, after frantic appeals, she let go of the reporter and his guide who quickly exited the premises before further harm.

Police

The police in Ekiti said they were yet to ascertain what killed the herbalist. Sunday Abutu, who is the spokesperson for the police in Ekiti State, said the female evangelist was still in custody helping police investigation into the matter.

Mr Abutu said the police were yet to find anything concrete to present to the public. He also said no autopsy had been carried out on the remains of the deceased, as his family would need to initiate such procedures.

That is why I said the investigation is still ongoing. If the autopsy had been concluded, then the investigation will come to a close, Mr Abutu said.

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has said commercial banks must accept the old Naira notes even after the expiration of the 10 February deadline.

Mr Emefiele announced this on Tuesday while appearing before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee looking into the implementation of the policy.

The CBN Governor said he agrees with section 20(3) of the CBN Act, which provides that commercial banks must accept old notes after a deadline.

Section 20 (3) of the Act says: Notwithstanding Sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the Bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the President and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this Sub-section, shall, on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this Act, shall be redeemed by the Bank upon demand.

Mr Emefiele said commercial banks must accept the money even after the 10 February deadline.

Although Mr Emefiele had on Sunday announced 17 February as the grace period for the Nigerians to deposit the money, the lawmakers are insisting that it must be months, not days.

Nobody will lose moneyEmefiele

Mr Emefiele further assured the lawmakers that Nigerians will not lose their cash due to the new policy. He explained that the CBN is taking several measures to ensure proper circulation of the new cash.

We deployed all our staff, we effectively shut down Abuja, shut down Lagos. We said all staff, go to your locality.

In the last three and half weeks, they have been in villages they take cash, even when the banks were lackadaisical about it. They take cash from the CBN and do cash exchange for everybody. They do five million naira cash lodgement back to the CBN, he said.

He added that the CBN will work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

READ ALSO:

We saw a few failings on the part of the banks, and we have appealed to EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU. They are currently working with our officials nationwide. We have achieved over 75 per cent, he said.

Mr Emefiele did not answer any of the questions put to him by the lawmakers. Rather, he promised to put them under consideration.

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has set up a panel to probe the allegation of an elaborate secret abortion programme operated by the Nigerian military in the North-east.

Reuters had in an investigative report published in December 2022 alleged that the Nigerian military ran the programme, secretly terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies of freed captives of Boko Haram terrorists in the troubled region over the years.

A spokesperson for the NHRC, Fatimah Mohammed, said in a statement on Tuesday that the inauguration of a seven-member panel appointed to probe the charge would take place 10 a.m. on 7 February. It will be held at the Bukhari Bello Auditorium located in the commissions headquarters in Abuja.

The panel is known in full as Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in the Implementation of Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP-North East).

It will be led by Abdu Aboki, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, as the chairperson.

The NHRCs Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate (SAN), according to the statement, has said the appointment of the panel was triggered by the Reuters report.

Besides, the international media organisation had alleged that the Military was involved in the massacre of children as well as other Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the North East, Mr Ojukwu said.

Many of the pregnancies, according to Reuters, resulted from rape of the kidnapped women and girls by Boko Haram fighters.

The sources for the story, according to the organisation, included dozens of witness accounts and documentation reviewed by Reuters.

The report had generated controversies with many calling for an independent investigation into the allegations of systemic and coerced abortions reportedly perpetrated by the Nigerian army.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called on the Nigerian authorities to begin a thorough investigation and immediate remedial actions and accountability measures.

In its reaction, the Nigerian government, on the other hand, rejected the Reuters report, stating that there was no secret programme of forced abortions run by its military in the countrys northeast.

The Federal Government hereby categorically states that there is no secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme being run by our military in the northeast or anywhere across the country, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had said.

Read the full statement below

NHRC APPOINTS SPECIAL INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATIVE PANEL ON COUNTER INSURGENCY OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH EAST

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will on Tuesday (7th February 2023) inaugurate a Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in the Implementation of Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP-North East).

The inauguration will take place at Bukhari Bello Auditorium, NHRC Headquarters at 10am.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu OFR, SAN, who made this disclosure in Abuja Monday stated that the panel will among other things focus on investigating Reuters report which alleged that Nigerian Military was involved in abortion of many pregnancies in the North East in the last 10 years.

Besides, the international media organisation had alleged that the Military was involved in the massacre of children as well as other Sexual and Gender Based Violence(SGBV) in the North East.

However, the Military has refuted the allegations saying that it was a ploy to malign the image of the Nigerian Armed Forces which has been at the forefront of the counter insurgency efforts in the North East.

It would be recalled that the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor during his visit to the Commission in December 2022 told the Executive Secretary that the Military is willing and ready for any probe, particularly as it relates to Reuters report as stated above.

READ ALSO:

Members of the panel are Honourable Justice Abdu Aboki, retired Justice of the Supreme Court ( Chairman), Ms Kemi Okonyedo, representing Women Rights Organisation, Barrister Azubuike Nwankenta, representing NBA, Major General Letam Wiwa rtd (Military Law and Intelligence Expert), Dr. Maisaratu Bakari (Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital Yola), Dr. Fatima Akilu (Humanitarian Expert, representing Civil Society), and Ms. Halima Nuradeen (Psychologist, representing Youths).

Fatimah Mohammed,

Deputy Director Public Affairs.

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Akanimo Udofia, has again said his partys presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, will transform Akwa Ibom, and make the South-south state look just like Lagos State.

Mr Tinubu, from 1999 to 2007, was the governor of Lagos, which is Nigerias commercial capital, and widely regarded as the most viable among the countrys 36 states.

His campaign is claiming he is responsible for the development and progress in the South-west state and has been using that as one of their selling points to market Mr Tinubu to the electorate.

Is there anybody here who doesnt know Lagos? How many of una wan go Lagos? the APC governorship candidate, Mr Udofia, said at the APC presidential rally in Uyo on Monday shortly after he received the APC flag.

Our incoming president, the greatest Jagaban of our time, is coming to replicate the modern Lagos in Akwa Ibom State, he added.

Mr Udofia made a similar remark in November last year at a rally in Uyo.

One man, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, developed his state to such a level that it is a country of its own. Theres nothing you dont have in Lagos State, Mr Udofia said in the rally which was meant to push up support for Mr Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

READ ALSO: Ebubeagu operative shot dead at APC campaign ground

Mr Udofia said in the November rally that no state in Nigeria has progressed more than Lagos.

He (Tinubu) planned the state and put a lasting economic programme, and that is why till today Lagos is progressing and progressing.

Mr Udofia asked the crowd at the rally, You know how Lagos is?

Yes! they chorused.

You want Akwa Ibom to look like Lagos?

Yes!

Who go do-am for you?

Jagaban! the crowd chorus.

The only person that loves Akwa Ibom The only presidential candidate that can deliver for Akwa Ibom is the Jagaban of Africa, Mr Udofia said.

Retrogressive, not progressive

Several people who reacted on social media to Mr Udofias previous remark said apart from tall buildings and many business opportunities, Lagos is filthy and chaotic. They said Akwa Ibom is a cleaner state, orderly, and peaceful.

Uyo is cleaner than Lagos! Uyo also has a world-class stadium. Uyo boasts of modern expressways, and carriages and bereft of filth and traffic bedlam that is notoriously Lagos characteristics. Making Uyo like Lagos is retrogressive and not progressive, said a Twitter user, @bonchihe, on the micro-blogging site.

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Otoabasi Udo, and asked for his response to peoples reaction to Mr Udofias remark.

He is not talking about physical cleanliness of the state, he is talking about the economic masterplan that has been beautifully executed and Lagos State is still standing on that economic masterplan and it is recording giant achievements from that masterplan, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Udo why the people in Akwa Ibom should trust Mr Tinubu on this.

We should believe him because it is a matter of having the love for us and the will to do it. Is there nothing we dont have here that can make Akwa Ibom even more prosperous? It needs the political will from a loving president, he said.

The Monday rally, held at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, was attended by a large crowd.

Among the dignitaries in attendance were the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Director-General of the campaign council and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong; Cross Rivers State Governor Ben Ayade, the APC Deputy National Chairman, (South), Emma Enekwu, former Minister of Niger Delta and former governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio; current Minister of Niger Delta, Umana Okon Umana, former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet, former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, and the APC National Woman Leader, Beta Edu.

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The Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Ayodele Subair, has been named the 2022 Public Sector Icon of the year at the 11th edition of the Vanguard Personality of the Year Award in Lagos.

The award is an annual ceremony organised by Vanguard to honour and celebrate eminent personalities who have distinguished themselves in the private and public sectors.

This year, the ceremony was chaired by Access Bank chairman, Ajoritsedere Awosika, and was attended by governors, heads of parastatals and prominent businessmen.

According to the organisers, the LIRS boss, Mr Subair, was conferred with the special award in recognition of his outstanding performance in the Lagos state revenue service within the last seven years of being in office.

Receiving the award, alongside some of the LIRS directors, Mr Subair appreciated the organisers for finding him worthy of the award.

I must thank the chairman and management of Vanguard Newspapers. Theyve been there as the vanguard leading the way in developments and new ideas for many years. To be on top is not very easy. They are one of the best newspaper organisations in Nigeria. I say kudos to them,a statement issued by the LIRS management quoted him saying.

I feel very proud about our achievements at LIRS. Its not just about me. It is about LIRS, the management, the directors, and the staff, including most importantly, His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his immense support and encouragement. Also, the Lagos State House of Assembly, the Judiciary and all stakeholders that have contributed to our success.

READ ALSO:

The LIRS chairman said the award had thrown the agency up for more good work and that the agency is happy to be contributing to the development of Lagos State and humanity.

Without mobilisation of funds, there cant be any meaningful development, Mr Subair said.

Mr Subair bagged a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in Economics and Business administration from the Metropolitan University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and the University of Lagos respectively.

He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a member of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria ( BRIPAN).

According to the statement, before Mr Subairs appointment in 2016, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by the LIRS, stood at about N240 billion. But under his watch, revenue rose to N427 billion, nearly doubling the initial revenue at the start of his tenure.

It said Mr Subair also introduced various innovative measures to shove up the tax revolution in Lagos State, which included the introduction of e-Tax, which has resulted in a faster turn-around time for tax processes, improved transparency, and increased taxpayer self-service.

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The presidential campaign council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked the rumour of an alleged attack on President Muhammadu Buhari during his visit to Kano on Monday.

Mr Buhari had visited the state on the invitation of the state governor, Umar Ganduje, to help commission some projects which the state government executed.

During the visit, however, the PDP through its national spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, in a press statement on Monday, alleged that some miscreants, allegedly sponsored by the APC, attacked Mr Buhari.

The statement blamed Mr Ganduje and the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, for being the masterminds of the alleged attack.

The statement noted that the organized attack on the person of the President is outrightly treasonable and sacrilegious on our national sovereignty which must be condemned by all.

APC PCC chides PDP, says partys drowning

In a swift reaction to the PDPs statement, the APC PCC noted that the alleged attack on the President in Kano is a product of the PDPs spokespersons imagination.

The campaign council in a statement signed by its director of media and publicity, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday called on Nigerians to disregard this fake news from a party that has lost touch with reality and suffering the agony of violating its own rules on power rotation.

The statement noted that the PDP is a drowning party feverishly clawing at any straw of lies and lashing out in all delusional directions to keep afloat  but sink it will.

Read the full statement below:

RE  ATTACK ON PRESIDENT BUHARI IN KANO

Were not surprised to read of the imaginary attack on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria being peddled by the Peoples Democratic Party since the party has nothing tangible to tell Nigerians from its crumbling Presidential Campaign.

This invented attack on President Muhammadu Buhari must have happened only in the fertile imagination of PDP National Publicity Secretary, one Debo Ologunagba..

Nigerians should disregard this fake news from a party that has lost touch with reality and suffering the agony of violating its own rules on power rotation.

Just as it has been masterminding fake news against the APC presidential candidate and trying vainly to cause disharmony in the APC family, we believe the party may have planned to embarrass President Buhari in Kano and then put the blame on host Governor Ganduje and Tinubu.

This is because PDP has of recent morphed from being a Buhari virulent critc to strangely becoming a Buhari spokesperson ! The last time it issued a self-serving misinterpretation of Asiwajus statement in Abeokuta as an attack on President Buhari.

It should be quite obvious to Nigerians that the knowledge of impending defeat of PDP at the coming presidential poll has pushed the party and its candidate into frenzied hallucinatory mode of mindless, ridiculous, ludicrous litany of lies and fabrications against APC and its candidate.

The PDP is a drowning party feverishly clawing at any straw of lies and lashing out in all delusional directions to keep afloat  but sink it will.

We believe Nigerians are not taken in by the jejune antics.

The PDP now runs the most unethical, pernicious and inelegant, abusive, obtrusive and nationally divisive campaign in the history of electioneering in Nigeria.

The other day it was the PDP candidate Atiku who, out of frustration, stated publicly that the north must not vote anybody outside the region. Its the same trend that characterizes the PDP campaign ever since.

That surely is a sign of defeat, and readiness to sacrifice the unity of this country on the alter of unbridled inordinate ambition.

Nigerians are wiser and would never allow PDP centrifugal forces to take our nation down with it . All men and women of good conscience should rise up and use their votes to send PDP and its band of desperados to the dustbin of history where they rightfully belong.

Contrary to PDP fabrication, President Buhari was warmly received in Kano State today by the good people and government of the state where he commissioned eight hugely impactful projects including overhead bridge with underpass and a cancer centre.

On Sunday, we alerted the nation to the plot by PDP to orchestrate and execute many evil plans to defame, ridicule and delegitimise President Muhammadu Buhari and our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Nigerians of goodwill would have seen by now that we didnt raise false alarm in our statement issued on 29 January , 2023 where we detailed the evil machinations of PDP and their hirelings.

Only the evil mind of PDP could conceive an attack on a President of Nigeria.

It is not impossible that PDP through its paid agents would organise miscreants to stage-manage an attack. But we are sure the security agencies are capable of foiling any planned attack on the President and anyone who is caught in such unholy plot now or in the future will have himself or herself to blame.

We call on the security agencies especially the Police and Department of State Services to immediately arrest PDP National Publicity Secretary for interrogation over this imaginary attack.

Bayo Onanuga

Director, Media & Publicity

APC Presidential Campaign Council

January 30, 2023

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A Special Assistant on projects to Governor Udom Emmanuel, Uwemedimo Umanah, is dead.

Mr Umanah passed away at about 5:15 p.m. on 29 January, at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, according to a statement issued on Monday on behalf of his family by the Village Head of Abak Town, Ifiok Umanah.

The statement said the deceased was cut in his prime.

The campaign team of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, has suspended its activities for two day to honour to the late Umanah who had been involved in the campaign.

With heavy heart amidst torrent of tears overflowing our eyes, following the sudden and unfortunate death of a strong team member, Dr Uwemedimo Umanah, the PDP/Umo Eno Campaign Council has postponed all earlier scheduled campaign events for 30/01/2023 and 31/01/2023.

This is to honour the deceased who gave his all to the Umo Eno project right from the beginning of the project to his very end yesterday, the campaign said in a statement from its Secretary General, Enobong Uwah.

The campaign, which condoled with the family of the deceased, described the late Umanah as an indefatigable development scholar and media personality.

Last Facebook post

On 25 January, at 10:10 a.m., the governors aide posted what appeared to be his last message on Facebook.

Akwa Ibom, Behold Your Governor! Mr Umanah said on the social media site.

Get this statement internalised: PUE (Pastor Umo Eno) will be your Governor-elect in the next two months; and the fifth democratically-elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State in 4 months (May 29, 2023).

He passed away four days later.

Moving eulogy

In a moving eulogy, the Director General, Akwa Ibom State Broadcasting Corporation, Anietie Ukpe, said the wound left behind by the passage of the late Dr Uwemedimo John Umanah may leave behind tissues too deep for the passage of time to heal.

He said the deceased was his brother-in-law, friend, mentee, confidant and younger brother.

As the president of the students association of his faculty, in his baccalaureate days, he (Umanah) pulled me several times out of my comfort zone because of his charisma and the love I had for him. He had me address the students on several occasions, and even had me attend their send forth party one late evening, somewhere out of town. Pastor, he told me thereafter, When you left, the students said I should have prevailed on you to stay for the all-night party. I told them that was not possible. That you would never agree to that, and that you only came because of me. He was right. I only showed up because I could not say No to him, wrote Mr Ukpe, who is a pastor.

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Continuing, Mr Ukpe wrote: He became a permanent feature in my life after he left the university. Pastor, why dont you go for a masters degree? he asked me one day in my office. I looked at him quizzically. From experience, he only asked questions like that when he had answers. He continued, I will get you the form and after you fill it, you will be admitted.

He got me the form. He went out of his way to ensure that my alma mater sent the transcript of my first degree to the school. When I was admitted, he came to break the news to me and was even happier than I was. That was Dr. Umanah! He would gladly offer to take Panadol if that would ease your headache.

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The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Monday urged the Nigerian government to revoke the license of petroleum marketers selling above the official petroleum pump price.

The association in a statement jointly signed by its president, Festus Osifo, and secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, said there is no sufficient justification for petrol to be sold for such a highly inflated price, thereby subjecting the masses to further difficulties.

The union said data made available from its members showed that there are over 30 days of petrol sufficiency in the country, hence there is no basis for the current scarcity and hardship that Nigerians are being subjected to.

It said it empathises with Nigerians on the hardship currently faced with the scarcity and drastic hike in the price of PMS.

The national leadership of PENGASSAN has been following up with our members in NNPC Trading Limited who are responsible for assigning the products to marketers and our teaming members from NMDPRA in various depots and terminals across the country that are responsible for issuing cargo clearance, monitoring compliance, routing inspection, metering calibration/maintenance, accurate delivery to trucks, record keeping, etc. on the need to carry out their functions expeditiously, it said.

While we understand that the parameters imputed into the old PPPRA and now NMDPRA template have since changed because of some economic vagaries such as exchange rate fluctuation, vessel hiring cost and cost of AGO amongst others, there is no sufficient justification for PMS (Petrol) to be selling for such highly inflated price, thereby subjecting the masses to further difficulties.

Even though we have some good marketers who tend to play by the rules, others who are overbearing have deployed methods of creating artificial scarcities in other to hike the price of the product uncontrollably as the prices of the product now sell between N185 to N400 depending on your location and outlet.

We hereby call on the management of NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at the approved price. They should immediately mobilise all their staff in various locations across the country to monitor compliance and anyone found wanting, should have their license revoked to serve as a deterrent.

Backstory

Last June, the federal government said that the fixed pump price of petrol was N165 per litre as stipulated in the petroleum product pricing template.

The disclosure came amid the disruption in the supply of petroleum products across the country as filling stations sold at higher prices.

However, since the declaration, marketers have continued to defy the governments directive by selling at varying prices across parts of the country.

In July, oil marketers gave the federal government conditions that should be met in order to retain the pump price of petrol at N165/litre.

According to them, the cost of the commodity must be sold at the approved ex-depot price at various depots, whether private or government-owned, as this would enable filling stations to dispense the product at the official N165/litre rate.

They also argued that private depots were dispensing the commodity at higher rates than what was approved by the federal government despite the many challenges in the downstream oil sector.

Although the approved ex-depot price of petrol stood at about N148/litre, retailers claimed that private depot owners sold the commodity at above N160/litre, making it unrealistic for them to keep the pump price at N165.

In recent months, pump prices of petrol at filling stations across the country have jumped significantly, amid scarcity and complaints among Nigerians.

On Monday PENGASSAN warned that it will not hesitate to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians are not further exploited.

A stitch in time saves nine, it said.

Scarcity

In recent months, Nigerian motorists and household users have had a tough time getting petroleum products at filling stations across the country.

The scarcity has persisted despite the governments repeated claims it had enough petroleum products in stock.

Last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the constitution of a 14-member steering committee to address the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

On Friday, the NMDPRA attributed the lingering fuel scarcity in the country to a disruption in the product distribution chain caused by the activities of cross-border smugglers.

However, the agency claimed that there is petrol sufficiency of over 1.6 billion litres as of 26 January both on land and marine.

Despite the governments position, PREMIUM TIMES found that Nigerians have continued to suffer from scarcity of petrol across the country.

A PREMIUM TIMES report last Tuesday detailed how Nigerians have continued to lament the hardship caused by the scarcity of petroleum products across the country as businesses and households that depend on generators for power supply groan in darkness.

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Experts in the oil industry say that until the issue of pricing is resolved, petrol scarcity will continue to be a recurring feature in Nigeria. The Nigerian governments insistence on regulating the price of petrol means it continues to spend trillions of naira annually to subsidize the product, money it does not have.

Also, the government-owned NNPC has for the past few years been the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria as private firms withdrew following the subsidy controversy. Nigeria imports virtually all the petrol it consumes due to the lack of functional refineries in the oil-producing state.

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All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, has vowed to prioritise employment opportunities for the vast majority of Nigerians who are willing and ready to work especially the people of Akwa-Ibom State.

Speaking at the Nest of Champion Stadium, Uyo before a massive crowd, Mr Tinubu thanked the people of the state especially APC members who voted for him to emerge the candidate of the party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, saying the power to become president resides with the people.

The power to become president resides in you. Akwa-Ibom, you have welcomed me wholeheartedly. God will give you blessing. When I said Emi lo kan, God answered that prayer through you people. I got the ticket. Let me thank all of you for that ticket. I am grateful, he said.

The APC presidential candidate, however, told the people of the state and supporters that they would not get full credit until they all voted and ensured victory in the general elections for all APC candidates in the National Assembly, governorship, State Assembly and presidential elections.

No one gets credit for an incomplete assignment because the assignment is not complete until you vote. So, go and get your PVC. This is the revolution to change poverty to prosperity. Joblessness to jobfulness.

In his prepared speech, which he didnt read wholesale, Mr Tinubu pointed out that governments highest purpose is to use the resources at its disposal for the benefit of the people in direct reference to Labour Partys presidential candidate Peter Obi whose only vaunted credential is that he saved money while he was governor of Anambra State. He added that Mr Obi watched his people suffer, while he continued to boast of saving money for the state, which has become his biggest campaign achievement.

He urged Nigerians to roundly reject Mr Obi who saved money for the state, while refusing to save the people of Anambra State as governor of the State.

Also speaking about the Peoples Democratic Party Candidate Atiku Abubakar, the APC flagbearer said Atikus only aim of wanting to be president is to be able to sell the nations assets to his friends.

He said, My opponents will say that my vision for Nigeria is too big and too far away to attain. I say to them that their vision is too small and selfish. I want to take you to a better future where the government works even more on your behalf to improve your daily lives.

My opponents want to take you back in time to a point where you, the citizens, labour and toil so they can get richer by the day while you get nothing. I want to move you along the path of progressive governance that leads to a more prosperous economy as well as abiding security and peace for all.

This election will decide whether you believe you and the rest of the nation are entitled to the good things only progressive, compassionate and responsible governance can deliver or do you want to relinquish your future to someone like Mr Privatise of the PDP or Peter the Stingy.

One man wants to sell all of Nigerias public assets and its future, so that only he and his tight club of conspirators can enjoy the meat of the land. While Mr. Stingy wants to do for the nation what he did to Anambra. He let the people suffer while kept and hid their own money from them and their basic needs. He refused to save people so that he could save money.

I tell you that whatever government has it is not to keep from you, it is to be put to wise use for your benefit. This is the highest purpose of the government. Only this will usher in a greater tomorrow. Anything less will chain us to failure.

Speaking on his plans for Akwa Ibom State, Mr Tinubu promised that though an oil-rich state, he would help bring more resources to the state through diversification into agriculture and harnessing the tourism opportunities available in the state.

This land is rich and fertile. The agricultural policies we have designed and the investments we have planned will ensure greater productivity and food supply as well as opening the door to increased exports to markets worldwide. We will provide the infrastructure to help rural communities, establish commodity boards to assure our farmers of a minimum price for strategic crops. This will guarantee the well-deserved income for farmers for the hard and valuable work they perform for the nation.

Additionally, we will invest in agricultural infrastructure such as grain reserves, produce storage facilities in local markets, better farm-to-market roads and access.

My administrations programme to build agricultural hubs will increase arable farmland and encourage cooperative relationships between small and large farms that will boost production and promote agro-related business.

We will also help bring industry and tourism to Akwa Ibom. This is a beautiful and welcoming place with kind and energetic people. Our industrial plan will encourage companies to locate here and manufacture goods for Nigeria as well as foreign markets. This will produce jobs and provide the foreign currency to help push our nation forward. Tourists will come and never want to leave this land of promise. This means more jobs, better income and skills for you, he added.

He also promised to help protect their oil reserves from vandals so that the state will be able to get what it truly deserves from the large oil deposits it has, while also ensuring that the oil companies take care of and give back to their host communities to ensure development.

This land is blessed to be an oil producing State. Akwa Ibom really is the Promised Land! While we diversify the economy, oil and gas will remain vital to our nation. My administration has plans for the future management of these resources that will lead to greater prosperity.

We will ensure self-sufficiency in meeting demand for petroleum products and will fight against those who will seek to impose artificial scarcity. President Buhari has fought against these forces. I will continue the fight.

We will rob the oil vandals of their ability to rob us. Our security plans call for the use of the best aerial and ground technology to deter theft and vandalism that robs this region of its due revenues and also creates environmental and medical risks to our people.

Your communities must benefit more from hosting the oil companies and from giving the nation for such a long time the revenue vital to our governments operations, he also said

Speaking at the rally, APC governorship candidate in Akwa-Ibom, Akanimo Udofia, dismissed those using religion to campaign. He revealed that Mr Tinubu built a Monastery for the Catholic Church in Epe, Lagos State and he is a president that will serve Nigerians well regardless of their religion and ethnicity.

Former governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, charged the people of the state to vote for Mr Tinubu and all APC candidates.

In attendance at the Uyo rally were top government officials, party leaders and members of the presidential campaign council.

They included Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Director-General of the campaign council and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, Cross Rivers State Governor Ben Ayade, APC Deputy National Chairman, (South), Emma Enekwu, former Minister of Niger Delta and former governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, current Minister of Niger Delta, Umana Okon Umana, former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet, former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, APC National Woman Leader, Beta Edu, among many others

Tinubu Media Office

Tunde Rahman

January 30, 2023

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Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming presidential election, on Monday blamed the Muhammadu Buhari administration for the recent downgrade of the nations credit rating.

Mr Abubakar said he would steer away the course of the Nigerian economy from the gloomy direction it is headed towards a robust fiscal sustainability.

The former Nigerian vice president made the disclosure in a statement seen by PREMIUM TIMES in reaction to Fridays downgrade of Nigerian governments credit rating deeper into junk by the global bond credit agency, Moodys Investors Service.

Last week, the global ratings agency lowered Nigerias sovereign rating further as it anticipates the fiscal and debt profiles of the government of Africas largest economy to deteriorate in the face of myriad vulnerabilities.

The latest rating also reflects the Nigerian governments long-term foreign-currency and local-currency issuer ratings as well as its foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings. The firm equally cut the countrys foreign currency senior unsecured MTN program rating to (P)Caa1 from (P)B3.

Moodys notes the FGNs deteriorating fiscal and debt position and its lack of capacity to respond to same; it notes the exacerbating policy trading-off between debt servicing and the financing of critical sectors, including education, health, and other social programmes, Mr Abubakar said in a statement, adding that Moodys position is an indictment on the countrys leadership.

It also notes the governments inability to curtail its addiction to deficit financing and its appetite for more funds from the Central Banks Ways and Means, he said.

He expressed reservation about the capacity of the present administration to generate and enforce ingenious ideas to solve various national challenges and help the government to deliver on its mandate.

If given the opportunity to lead the country, I will act differently and change the economic direction of Nigeria for the better. I will undertake far-reaching fiscal restructuring to improve liquidity and the management of our fiscal resources, the PDP presidential aspirant said.

Mr Abubakar is hoping to drive sweeping reforms that will involve an instant overhaul of government expenditure in order block leakages from subsidy payments.

He has stated his ambition to halt fiscal support to moribund state-owned enterprises and initiate moves to better spending efficiency by way of steady cut in recurrent expenditure.

Evaluating governments procurement processes with a view to curbing leakages and guaranteeing value-for-money will be crucial to his government, he said.

The PDP candidate also vowed to prioritise non-debt financing through promotion of an infrastructure development fund to be led by the private sector for funding critical infrastructural projects

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It is not easy to disrupt the status quo in politics. But 26-year-old Rukayat Shittu said she won nomination as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for Owode Onire state constituency of Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State without giving money to any godfather in or outside the party.

In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES Olasunkanmi Akinlotan, Ms Shittu also advised young Nigerians on what they need to have impact in politics.

PT: For the benefit of people who may be reading about you for the first time, tell us what growing up was like for you?

Ms Shittu: My name is Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu, the youngest APC flag bearer in Nigeria, contesting for the Kwara State House of Assembly seat for Owode Onire Constituency in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. I am from Manyan village of Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa ward.

I attended Baptist Primary School LGEA in Ilorin, and Government Girls Day Secondary School, Oko Erin to obtain my Senior Secondary School Certificate in 2011 and then proceeded to Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies affiliated to Bayero University Kano. I then obtained a diploma certificate in Mass Communication and Islamic Studies in 2015.

After my diploma, I enrolled with a fashion school. In 2017, I got admission to the National Open University of Nigeria and graduated in 2022. I worked as the head of the news department for a famous online media outlet in Kwara, Just Event Online.

PT: How old are you and are you married?

Ms Shittu: I am a 26-year-old and I am not married.

PT: Tell us about your parents and their dispositions to your political ambition?

Ms Shittu: I have the best parents anyone could pray for on earth. They are the backbone of my political aspirations and it has been like that since I was an undergraduate. My dad usually advised me to contest positions in school and I mostly got finances for the contests from him. Their disposition regarding my political aspiration is so firm. My dad studied me and knows what is best for me so he doesnt hesitate when I aspire for things. I had been class reps since primary school days and that continued until I graduated from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as the first female senate president of the Congress of NOUN Students (CONS), heading the legislative arm of the students association in over 85 study centres across the federation.

PT: Politics is not a profession, do you agree? So, what else are you good at aside from politics?

Ms Shittu: We all have different definitions of things. Politics they say is not a profession but to me; it is something every reasonable citizen needs to consider if truly we want democracy. And life is a process, stage by stage. I am so glad that I have the privilege to be involved at an early age and with this. I am very confident that the furure is very bright.

I am a media practitioner, fashionista and an entrepreneur.

PT: You studied Mass Communication, dont you think you should practice?

Ms Shittu: Yeah, I studied Mass Communication and graduated with second class upper division. I passionately understand the job. Before the contest, I was on the field for many years. Whether I am into politics or not, I am still a journalist and in the real sense, every journalist is a politician because we have our preference when it comes to politics. Note, you can still consult me for your media related work.

PT: You are contesting on the platform of the APC. Why APC?

Miss Shittu: I am a card-carrying member of APC. No other party has been progressive and sensitive as APC in Kwara. APC brought the state out of darkness to light, it brought Kwara out of the state of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) to an era of enlightenment and illumination. Our governor (AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq) has a good track record regarding youth inclusion in governance, which in the past wasnt the norm. Speaking about gender balance, he has given us a level playing field  APC has the highest number of female contestants in the last primaries and it is still the only major party with more females and the youngest candidate in Kwara State. There is progressiveness in APC.

PT: It is believed that women are marginalised in politics, especially in Nigeria. How did you emerge?

Ms Shittu: Yes, women are underrepresented and marginalised in politics because many of us also fail to stand up. As I have said earlier, our governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has given us the space to exhibit ourselves. I emerged not only with the voice of the majority of Owode Onire constituents, but also with the policy of the state government  The 35 per cent affirmative action which encourages more people, especially those who are strongly connected to the governors progressive ideals to support me.

PT: What is your motivation?

Ms Shittu: Governor AbdulRahman is my motivator, he motivated me and a lot of us across the state. Also, with the marginalisation of womenfolks in the space, I want to inspire and be a worthy role model to other people who are scared of getting engaged in politics.

PT: When did you develop political interest?

Ms Shittu: I happen to be a former students union leader and a female senate president for the Congress of NOUN Students. I have always had political interests since my undergraduate days. And when I was in the field working as a journalist, my focus has been on promoting womens participation in politics through the media. My passion for politics has been on since my university days.

PT: How much did you pay godfathers to secure the ticket?

Ms Shittu: I did not pay any godfather to secure my ticket. I only paid for the nomination forms, while the expression of interest form was free for women and youth that were willing to contest under the ruling All Progressives Congress.

PT: Many youths are afraid of joining politics over the financial requirements. How have you been funding your campaign?

Ms Shittu: The topmost factor as a youth in politics is commitment, resilience, focus and perseverance. Another thing is having the right people around. For example, I am a member of a leading pro-democracy group in Kwara State, Kwara Must Change, which provided me with necessary human resources and know-how to navigate the political process. I am funding my campaign through support from various progressive quarters and I am still looking forward for more support as we approach the general election.

PT: Should you emerge, what are your plans for the people and your future?

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Ms Shittu: By Gods grace, I am going to emerge to represent the people of Owode Onire Constituency at the 10th Kwara State House of Assembly. My plan as a lawmaker is to make laws and sponsor bills that will be of benefit to our people, facilitate and lobby for government projects to my constituency, carry out oversight activities of the executive and ensure that our people have adequate representation.

Lastly, I want the future to speak for me and point at me as a role model for youths. I believe my candidature will encourage and pave ways for more young people who are willing to participate in the electoral contests.

(This publication is produced under the Ready To Run initiative of Yiaga Africa in partnership with Premium Times and supported by the European Union under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance Project (EU-SDGN).

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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has said he will be meeting with the officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to look into mitigating the effects of petrol scarcity for transportation of electoral materials and officials on election day.

Mr Yakubu disclosed this on Tuesday when he met with the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to finalise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the transport union in December.

INEC partners the NURTW and Marine Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to ease movement of materials and officials on the election day.

But the commission worries that the shortage of petroleum products being experienced across the country could affect logistical operations on election day.

The truth is that our arrangements may be negatively affected by the non-availability of products, he said.

For this reason, the Commission will this afternoon meet with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to look into ways to ameliorate the situation.

I wish to assure Nigerians that we will continue to engage every national institution for the success of the 2023 General Election.

He said Tuesdays meeting with the executives of the transport workers was to put finishing touches to the implementation of the signed MoU and to conclude on the modalities for the certification of vehicles by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

The issue of logistics has been a perennial problem in election administration in Nigeria. That is why for three electoral cycles now, INEC has collaborated with the road transport unions to address the problem, he said.

The plan, he said, is for materials and officials to arrive at the venue of elections before voters and not the other way round. We believe that this is achievable.

He said the commission has communicated the specifications of vehicles needed and the locations to the unions.

Vehicles conveying personnel and materials will not travel long distances. In fact, all movements should be within a state and preferably within local government areas. There should be no inter-state movement.

I should also remind you that our MoU covers both forward and reverse logistics. This means that there is an obligation to return the personnel and materials to designated locations after the election, he added.

Mr Yakubu also said the commission is working with security agencies to ensure the safety of drivers and their vehicles as well election officials during the election.

I cannot conclude my remarks without reminding you of your obligation to neutrality. The work of INEC requires non-partisanship.

Working in partnership with the commission, you will be required to subscribe to the Oath of Neutrality and to demonstrate your non-partisanship in the work you do on Election Day.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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The Emir of Dutse in Jigawa State, Nuhu Muhammad-Sanusi, is dead.

The emir died Monday afternoon at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja. He was 79.

Mansur Ahmad, the media aide to former Jigawa Governor, Sule Lamido, confirmed the death to PREMIUM TIMES.

The late emir is one of the five first-class emirs in Jigawa State. He served for 28 years as the Emir of Dutse.

He succeeded his late father, Muhammadu Sanusi Dan Bello, who ruled between 1983 and 1995.

The Federal Military Government under Ibrahim Babangida created Jigawa State on 27 August 1991, and Dutse became the capital city of the new state. This development gave birth to Dutse Emirate on 13th November 1991 with the upgrade of the district head as first class emir.

The late Mr Muhammad-Sanusi attended Dutse elementary school and Birnin Kudu Senior Primary School, between 1952 and 1959. He was, thereafter, admitted to the Kano Teachers College.

He later gained admission into Advanced Teachers College in 1967.

He also attended Ohio University in the USA where he obtained BSc in Business Education in 1972 and MBA in 1974.

Thereafter he had MSc in Project Analysis and Evaluation from Bradford University in England in 1977.

He was elected a member of the constituent assembly in 1989. At the traditional level, he served as the district head of Dutse and senior counsellor in the emirate council between 1992 and 1995.

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A group of Fulani cattle herders, the Coalition of Pastoralists Associations of Nigeria (CPAN), has accused the Nigerian government and other ethnic groups in the country of destroying the business of cattle rearing.

The group also claimed that the hostility shown to Fulani people, who are primarily cattle rearers, has forced many to leave the country.

The group made the claims during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

It subsequently called on the government and the international community to save the average cattle herder, whose business it said is going down and who can lose his life anytime without consequences.

The National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Baba  Othman Ngelzarma, who spoke on behalf of CPAN, said the briefing was done to draw the attention of the government to the dangers being faced by the Fulanis across the country.

Mr Ngelzarma said while Lake Chad has been negatively affected by global warming forcing herders to look elsewhere for water and food for their livestock, the Nigerian government watches helplessly while Fulanis are being treated as second class citizens.

To start with, we all know that global warming is a reality, and it has affected the Lake Chad massively, forcing our people to move down south in search of water and food for our livestock. While the Nigerian government has not lifted any finger to recharge the Lake Chad and make it habitable for our people, it has watched on helplessly as different communities and state governments across the North Central and Southern parts of the country treat the Fulani as irritants or second class citizens who have no right to live or who do not deserve to have a source of living.

The state governments formulate obnoxious laws targeted at chasing our people away. They ban open grazing without providing infrastructure for alternatives. They therefore seize our cows and arrest our people recklessly, fine them unreasonable amounts and everyone is watching as if all is well.

The Fulani have been the target of stereotypes, ethnic cleansing and mass murder in almost all states of the Federation. From Zamfara in the North-west to Adamawa, Taraba in the North-east, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa in the North-central, down to Ondo and Oyo in the South-west, or worse still the South-eastern states, the Fulani people have been a subject of hatred, annihilation for unjustifiable reasons.

He accused the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, of using livestock guards to arrest and extort Fulani herders.

Apart from the most recent bombardment of Tuesday 24th of January, 2023 in Akwanaja, there were similar airstrikes on innocent herders in Keana and Awe in Doma LGAs of Nasarawa State, he lamented.

The Fulani leaders asked the federal government to investigate the killing of the herders in Nasarawa and disband the livestock guards.

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has urged universities across the country and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do the right thing by granting students a one-week break to participate fully in the forthcoming general elections.

Speaking during a meeting with observers from the European Union, Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) in Abuja on Monday, Mr Obi expressed concerns that over three million Nigerian students who are eligible to vote might not be able to exercise their constitutional right of electing their leaders if they are not encouraged.

He hinted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and university authorities should grant students at least a weeks break to enable eligible students to participate in the election process because the election is about young people.

I am sure INEC will do the right thing. I am sure the universities will give them the break to go and vote. It is important because it is about their future. This election is about these young people and Im sure they will allow them to go and vote. We will continue to mention it to them as we go along, he said.

Mr Obi also expressed worries over the inability of some Nigerians who are still experiencing difficulty retrieving their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), particularly in Lagos State.

On Monday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigerians across the country are going through harrowing experiences to collect PVCs.

For me now, what is important is ensuring that people collect their PVCs. There are some areas where people are still complaining that they are being denied their PVCs for one reason or the other, Mr Obi said.

INEC must give them (PVC collectors facing difficulties) attention. But I must give INEC credit for extending the date for the collection of PVC but again I urge them to ensure that people collect their PVC.

This election is very important to Nigerians. It is an existential election. We want all those that have registered to participate.

In his remarks, Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, said: It is the young ones that bear the brunt of maladministration, so this election is about them.

He explained that when the voter registration process was ongoing, most of the university students were at home and they did their registration at home.

However, the party chairman said the students are in school and if they remain in school during the election, it means they will be denied the opportunity to vote.

So we are asking that a one-week break should be given as a holiday to enable them to go and vote. You would have excluded them if they have their PVC and are not in the place where they can use it to vote, Mr Abure said.

Insecurity concerns

The party chairman also raised concerns about the lingering insecurity in the country.

He said: Generally, the country is insecure. We want the security to improve before and during the election because if security is not guaranteed we may have a situation where legitimate voters may be afraid to come out on the election days to vote.

Based on this, he said there must be assurances that security situations will improve in parts of the country.

We have had situations where the security agencies are being used to rig elections or create an enabling environment for elections to be manipulated or in some cases facilitate vote buying, Mr Abure said.

Earlier, the EU-EOM Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, told the party leaders that their visit was to facilitate interactions with leading presidential candidates and other stakeholders in the forthcoming February 25 presidential election.

He said: It is part of our work, we are having meetings with all the stakeholders in this very important election here in Nigeria. We have met with important participants including the Labour Party today. We also met with APC and PDP candidates.

What we are doing is trying to develop a picture of transparency, inclusivity and credibility of the election. And we will report that, two days after the election, in a preliminary report in a press conference on the 27th of February.

We are in the very early stages. We have been meeting and people have a collective sense of deepening the very root of democracy and we think we can play a part but we wont be making any conclusion until after the election.

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Bilingual Study Research Visit, University of Valladolid

The team from the University of Valladolid Language Acquisition Lab (UVALAL), which is studying English-Spanish bilingualism, have had a productive and interesting week conducting research in Gibraltar.

The bilingual language study took place at the John Mackintosh Hall where the UVALAL team members Raquel Fernandez Fuertes (PI), Esther Alvarez de la Fuente, Sonja Mujcinovic, Tamara Gomez Carrero and Eduardo Gomez Garzaran have been recording the language responses of around 30 participants from a wide age range. The data collected will now be analysed and studied to explore the type of language alternation that Gibraltarians use between English and Spanish (i.e., code-switching). This is the second research visit by the team who are keen to explore the nuances of the bilingual language used by Gibraltarians, in particular the code-switching which is prevalent in bilingual speakers. The UVALAL makes use of linguistic theory, as well as spontaneous and experimental data, to account for different linguistic phenomena that are related to language contact situations, such as the one in Gibraltar.

On this occasion a public lecture was delivered by Raquel Fernandez Fuertes on Bilingualism from the outside and from the inside, which generated interest, with representatives also featuring on GBCs City Pulse programme where they discussed their work further. The UVALAL team is led by Raquel Fernandez Fuertes who says that bilingualism is not a one-person effort, but rather a complex and fascinating process that requires collaboration from individuals, researchers, educators, politicians, and society, as we all share the same ultimate interests and goals when it comes to bilingualism.

Minister for Culture, John Cortes, said: As we work towards preserving our multi-lingual community, I am very pleased that Gibraltar has attracted the interest of these international researchers. A greater understanding of how our languages work together will help cement our uniqueness and encourage us to continue to realise the many benefits of multi-lingualism.

The visit was supported by Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry for Culture and by the University of Gibraltar.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has discovered N4 million of new naira notes hoarded in some commercial banks in Ogun State.

The deputy director, banking supervision department, CBN Lagos, Kayode Makinde, said this on Tuesday while monitoring the distribution of the new naira notes.

The CBN senior staffer who was obviously angry accused commercial banks of sabotaging the efforts of the CBN to make the new naira notes available.

the commercial banks sabotaging the efforts of the CBN in making the new naira notes available.

Mr Makinde said this is the third week of the monitoring exercise in the state in an effort of the CBN to ensure compliance with its directives on the issuance of new notes.

It will be recalled that some politicians have accused the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, of trying to sabotage the circulation of the new notes for political reasons.

The political bigwigs believed that the CBN Governor was hoarding the new notes to scuttle the general elections.

Mr Makinde, however, told the public to blame the commercial banks over the scarcity of the new notes, saying the CBN has done its part.

This is the third week of ensuring strict implementation of our directive as regards the issuance of new notes. We have banks, agents and super agents circulate new notes in the economy. The experience has been mixed, we saw some trying to hoard new notes, we compelled them to upload into ATM terminals, and others had poor cash management.

From our experience, CBN should not be blamed but commercial banks for scarcity. We caught some of them, with new notes in their vault, and we compelled them to upload them to their machines. We told them that instead of trying to ration, upload the ones they have and contact your central cash Management unit which has direct access to CBN for more.

We came across instances of sabotage on the part of operators, we will take the case up and they will be dealt with appropriately.

 We have given a directive that they shouldnt pay out new notes via the counter but other notes, some of them did that and ran out of cash. Some of the branches deployed resourceful cash management skills and they never ran out of cash while others experience cash run out and are still waiting for their source.

We came across one of them that couldnt account for almost four million naira of new notes and appropriate sanction will be placed on them.

Mr Makinde further said two teams were dispatched to cover two senatorial districts on each day of the monitoring exercise.

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Over the weekend, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decided to extend the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (popularly known as PVCs) by an additional week. The PVC collection that was scheduled to end on 29 January, was extended till 5 February, according to a statement by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye. INEC further extended collection hours by an additional two hours, from 9a.m. till 5 p.m., including Saturdays and Sundays. It was the second time within a month that INEC would extend PVC collection deadline. The Commission had earlier fixed 22 January as the deadline but it then decided at the time to extend the collection till 29 January, with the period of collection said to be between 9 am and 3 pm daily, including Saturday and Sundays, at wards and local government centres. Similarly last weekend, Nigerians were informed that the Central Bank of Nigeria had also shifted the deadline for the return of old denominations of N200, N500, N1,000 Naira notes which had been redesigned by the Central Bank of Nigeria  from 31 January, to 10 February, with a further extension for return of old notes directly to the Central Bank until 17 February.

The INEC spoke on Saturday. The CBN followed suit on Sunday. The immediate effect was that many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief with fresh expectations that they would be able within the period of the extension get their PVCs, and new notes from the banks. Apropos, many Nigerians have hailed both the INEC and the CBN for listening to the peoples yearnings and for adopting a pro-people stance in both cases. Some of the reactions have been over-laden with an overdose of saccharine. The original purpose of government and its relationship with the people is properly stated in Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution to wit: the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and (c)the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. It stands to reason therefore that the government of Nigeria cannot introduce any policy or measure that inflicts pain and suffering on the people of Nigeria or compromises their safety and welfare. The Federal Government of Nigeria under the laws of the land, is allowed strictly to take steps or introduce measures that advance the peoples interest. To the extent that sovereignty belongs to the people  (we, the people in the Preamble of the 1999 Constitution), nothing may be done to inconvenience or inflict injury on the people; to do so would be a violation of the spirit and letter of the Constitution with regard to its fundamental objectives and the rule of law. It is therefore understandable that the countrys electoral commission and the apex bank have both reversed themselves, in the course of a weekend volte-face, and hence re-discovered the original purpose of government policy.

The pervasive consensus out there was that INECs insistence on a 29 January take-it-or-leave it deadline for PVC collection was beginning to look like a violation of Section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution already cited. Before, during and even after the 22 January extension by INEC, most Nigerians complained about the pain and suffering that they were subjected to in their attempt to get their PVCs. The cards were simply unavailable. In parts of the country, INEC officials drove the people from wards to local government headquarters, only to be told that the PVCs were not available. In some wards and local governments, especially in Lagos State, there were allegations of ethnic and religious discrimination. For more than two weeks, persons went to points of collection and they were turned back by unfriendly INEC officials. The evidence in that regard soon flooded the social and mainstream media, in form of reports, live accounts, videos, memes and reports of actual protest and threat of violence in INEC centres from Oluyole in Ibadan, to Oshodi in Lagos to Owerri in Imo State. It was obvious that the Nigerian voter of eligible age was in pain.

This was more so, as the point had been made repeatedly by the INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, at every opportunity at home and abroad, most recently at their neo-colonial outpost  Chatham House that the Commission was ready. Even with the attack on INEC facilities by unknown gunmen, the INEC Chair boasted that the Commissions operations would not be affected. In Abeokuta where hoodlums attacked an INEC facility, he assured the people that INEC had the capacity to produce missing PVCs within 72 hours. The people have seen that these assurances have come to naught. Even the Osun Gubernatorial election that the INEC used to tout as concrete evidence of the assuredness of its processes has just unraveled with the Election Petition Tribunal raising questions about INEC technology and over-voting in 744 polling units in 10 Local Government Areas in that election. And yet since the return to democratic rule in 1999, this is meant to be an election like no other. The people have been no more determined to exercise their franchise. They see their inability to get a PVC, as an attempt by the state to disenfranchise them. This is why some people have threatened to commit suicide if they are not allowed to vote. This is why there is violence or threats of violence in PVC collection centres. The matter is made worse by the fact that INEC officials have been accused of hoarding PVCs, and also deliberately asking for bribes before they could release voters cards. Videos have been circulated  of INEC officials, ad hoc, or formal, soliciting for bribes. This is scandalous. INEC cannot afford to have rogue elements among its ranks if it hopes to conduct credible elections. The least that can be said for now, 24 days to the February election is that the optics look really bad. The extension of the deadline for the collection of PVC would be completely meaningless and ineffectual, if despite the extension INEC officials on the streets are still giving the same excuses.

There is also the unresolved problem of students who registered in their various home constituencies during the prolonged eight-month long academic union strike but have since returned to school in distant places. Such students have been automatically disenfranchised. Even if they are willing to rush back home to get their PVCs, there is no guarantee that they can get the card, even after two weeks of trying. There are also other constraints: fuel scarcity, the high cost of transportation and the deadly risk of travelling in Nigeria by rail, road or air. This is why it makes better sense for Nigeria to have a harmonized data system that makes it possible for Nigerians to vote with just one means of identification, not the 19th Century system that we still maintain for the identification of the electorate. Still, something has to be done about rogue INEC officials. Before now, INEC said it had arrested some of its official involved in the manipulation of the voters register. The same treatment must be meted out forthwith to those officials who are sabotaging the PVC collection process. Part VII of the Electoral Act 2022 deals with Electoral Offences. Section 120 of the Act specifically addresses the subject of dereliction of duty by any officer. Section 121 talks about bribery and conspiracy. Both sections of the Act prescribe stiff penalties. But nobody is enforcing the law! INEC is very long on promises and extremely short in execution!

As it is with INEC with regard to the distribution and release of PVCs, so it is with the CBN and collection of old notes through the banks and the release of new denomination notes of N200, N500, and N1, 000. Two days before the volte face, the CBN had been most adamant in stating that there would be no extension of the deadline because it had acted perfectly within the law which is of course true within the purview of the relevant provisions of the CBN Act of 2007  Sections 2(b), 17, 18, 19, and 20 (1) thereof which read together grant the CBN the powers to design monetary policy, print and redesign, and even change currency, with recourse in stated instances to the President of Nigeria in Section 19 of the same Act. In all that it did, the CBN had the support of the President in addition to the fact that the enabling law grants it the Independence to determine monetary policy. Further, the 90 days window for the return of old denominations in circulation was within the purview of the law. So why did the CBN change its mind? Why did it bow to pressure that came from all directions including the Presidential candidates of the two main political parties  PDP and APC, the National Assembly and the generality of Nigerians who felt that the policy was punitive in execution and that as established earlier no policy should violate the security and welfare of the people?

Whereas the CBN pointed out that the naira redesign policy was in the best interest of the people, to check terrorism financing, counterfeiting, imbalances in the fiscal space with about N2.7 trillion out of the N3.23 trillion in circulation in peoples homes, and abuse of the Naira, Nigerians felt that the suffering induced by the policy was undeserved. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele reported that more than N1.9 trillion had been returned to the system with a success rate of over 75% but in return the people could not get the new notes! By weekend, with the deadline of January 31 approaching, the banks still dispensed old notes! The CBN kept saying that it had released more than enough new notes but they were nowhere to be found either in banking halls or at ATM machines, except in the hands of merchants of new naira notes at social events and party centres and in the hands of their patrons who continued in open defiance of the law (section 21 of the CBN Act which appears to be a dead law) to the discomfiture of many Nigerians who watched in disbelief at the effect of a wonky, disconnected process. By January 26, churches and many retail outlets had put out the message that they would no longer collect old notes in the affected denominations. In many churches, last Sunday, ushers were told not to ever allow anybody drop old notes into the offering collection bag. Not even the toddlers in Sunday School were spared. They were instructed in one church that I know to take old notes back to their parents. Bureau de change operators all said they had no new Naira notes, not even the ones that were not redesigned. In many ATMs across the country, able-bodied men took the matter into their hands, and engaged in fisticuffs over access to the very few ATMs that dispensed new notes. It didnt matter that no ATM could dispense anything more than N20, 000 at a time.

By Monday morning, there was violence in some banks caused by the long queues of customers looking for money. In some parts of Nigeria, even wedding ceremonies could not hold because nobody was going to accept old notes as bride price! In rural areas, the under-banked population for whom the CBN introduced a cash swap policy decided to wait and see. No matter how well-meaning the CBN could have been, its policy was going to result in a break-down of law and order. The advertised extension till February 10 is most expedient. It came as a big relief to aggrieved Nigerians. But will they get the new notes?

The CBN Governor has been shown on tape reporting that the heads of the CBN, EFCC, ICPC, the Nigeria Financial intelligence Unit, the DSS and other security agencies have held a meeting and resolved to work together to apprehend persons who are sabotaging CBN guidelines on the naira redesign policy. Indeed yesterday, the DSS arrested some organized syndicates selling new naira notes. I hope some bank managers were among those arrested. The security agencies should also take a close look at CBN officials because this kind of open sabotage and effrontery cannot take place without collusion at the highest levels. INEC officials are selling PVCs! Bankers are selling new naira notes! We live in a country where whatever policy the government comes up with, there will always be persons who are determined to circumvent the policy for profit motives. This is the problem with Nigeria. The CBN extension would only be meaningful if the people can get new notes.

There is the additional matter that has been raised by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee led by Hon Al Hassan Doguwa on the matter. The lawmaker says the House is determined to issue a warrant of arrest for the CBN Governor, because the CBN has broken the law and the Governor is refusing to appear before the House. Both Doguwa and the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamiala, insist that the CBN has violated Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, and that under Section 89(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Order 19(2) of the Standing Orders of the House, they have the right to ask that the CBN Governor be arrested by the Inspector General of Police. I sincerely believe that the House of Representatives is grandstanding. They can issue a warrant of arrest as they did a resolution, but the effect may be no more than symbolic. The police that should arrest the CBN Governor reports directly to the President of Nigeria  Sections 215 and 216 of the Constitution. The same President that has taken personal ownership of all that the CBN has done. In days to come, some persons may go to court to seek an interpretation of Section 20(3) and Section 22 of the CBN Act, and throw up more conundrums, but the problem is that our laws are often so woolly that anybody can cherry pick as convenient and avoid a community reading that is recommended as standard practice. Our laws need to be more specific and categorical. But has the CBN not anticipated and side-stepped that possible controversy by granting an additional seven days for the return of old notes to the Central Bank? I think it has.

Finally, it is worth noting that in November 2016, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a similar policy to take black money out of circulation in India. The government gave only a four-hour notice for the withdrawal of all 1,000 rupees and 500 rupees. It caused confusion because it came as a shock. It was shrouded in secrecy. New notes were scarce. There were queues all over India. Modi held his ground. He said he needed to fight tax evasion and corruption. The people endured the hardship. He got away with it. The only difference is that the Indians trusted their government. Nigerians have learnt to doubt their own government. This is the crux of the matter.

Reuben Abati, a former presidential spokesperson, writes from Lagos.

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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is ever ready to support other African nations in developing and implementing local content policies as a strategy for improving indigenous participation and value optimization from hydrocarbons and mineral resources.

The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote gave the assurance on Monday at the Boards liaison office, Abuja, when he received a delegation from the Ministry of Commerce & Mines, Republic of Guinea, who had come to understudy the Nigerias Local Contentpolicy.

Wabote recalled that other African nations like Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda and others have benefitted from Nigerias guidance on local content and the Board would continue to provide similar support to any interested Africannation that requests for its assistance. He added that the Boards objective is to extend local content practice across the content, in line with the Sectorial and Regional Market LinkagePillar of the Nigerian Content 10-year strategic roadmap.

He described the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFA) as a revolutionary agreement that promises broad collaboration among African nations and deepen trade among the 1.3 billion Africans, helping to create investment and job opportunities. He stressed the need for Africancountries to consider the comparative advantages of member nations and take advantage of capacities that have already been developed in other countries, rather than replicating similar facilities.

Speaking further, the Executive Secretary advised the Guinean delegation to remain committed to the implementation of local content policy, describing it as a long journey, which would require strong political will from their leaders and the development of tools, processes, communications strategies, and stakeholder engagements.

He recalled that Nigerian introduced the policy when the local content level was less than five percent in 2010 and the local supply chain lacked the capacity to execute critical projects in the country, which resulted in most of the opportunities going to expatriate personnel and companies.

He informed that the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the focussed implementation in the past 12 years have resulted in the growth of in-country capacity to 54 percent at the end of 2022.

The leader of the Guinean delegation, the Executive Director of the Bourse for Subcontracting and Partnering in Guinea (BSTP), Mr. Saifoulaye Balde, explained that the team would spend days with the NCDMB team to learn about the Boards implementation models and pick up ideas they can implement in their jurisdiction. He noted that Guinea had a booming mining sector, which is dominated by expatriates, with little local content input. He conveyed his countrys desire to increase indigenous participation intheir nations mining sector and deepen value addition.

Balde underscored the history of cooperation between Nigeria and Guinea and hailed Nigeria for becoming a reference point in Local Content in Africa and beyond.

The General Manager, Planning, Research and Development, NCDMB, Alhaji Abdulmalik Halilu stated that the Guinean team would be taken through the Boards core operations and models in research and development, projects certification, capacity building and funding. He noted that the essence is for the delegation to identify successful programmes of the Board that can be transferred and implemented successfully in their jurisdiction.

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The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu on Monday boasted how he allegedly rescued former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from being dealt with by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr Atiku, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the 2023 election, was the vice president under Mr Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007. The relationship between the two became frosty during Mr Obasanjos second term, a period Mr Atiku was nursing ambition to succeed his boss.

Addressing party supporters at the APC presidential campaign rally at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Mr Tinubu said he rescued Atiku when Mr Obasanjo wanted to roast him like goat meat.

Mr Tinubu said Mr Atikus plan is to sell Nigeria and return to his base in Dubai.

The APC candidate promised to complete the Ibom Deep Seaport in Akwa Ibom, saying he had just completed one  Lekki Deep Seaport  in Lagos.

He also promised to bring an end to unemployment in Nigeria and moved the country on the path of progress.

He further promised to end estimated billing for electric consumption in Nigeria and also end fuel scarcity.

Go and get your PVC if you did not have it. This is a revolution. A revolution to change poverty to happiness, change joblessness to joyful, he said.

The APC at the event presented the party flag to its governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, Akanimo Udofia.

The elated Mr Udofia, after receiving the flag, thanked the people for their massive turn out to welcome the partys presidential candidate.

Atiku reacts

Mr Atikus spokesperson, Charles Aniagwu, when contacted, said among all the presidential candidates, Mr Tinubu was the only one who does not talk like a president.

There are a lot of issues concerning bad governance and what people are going through. Today, you will visit the fuel stations but no fuel and even when you see it you pay through your nose.

One would have expected them to focus on the challenges facing the country but because they dont have ideas he keeps insulting people, he said.

Mr Aniagwu said Atiku campaign council was focused on the need to recover the country and build it instead of join issues with the APC candidate.

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A legislative aide to Chris Agibe, a House of Representatives member, representing Boki-Ikom Federal Constituency in Cross River State, has been abducted.

The aide, Kenneth Abang, was abducted in Betem community in the Biase Local Government Area of Cross River.

He was abducted on 30 January alongside his relative, Eunice Abang.

Mr Abangs relative, Fidelis Ekpah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Calabar that he (Abang) was traveling to his home town in the Boki Local Government Area when he was abducted.

Mr Ekpah said Mr Abang was traveling to prepare for his late fathers burial, scheduled to be held on 3 and 4 February.

They took them away and abandoned his car by the roadside.

This is a double tragedy for us. We were already planning for his fathers burial before this ugly incident occurred, Mr Ekpah said.

I want to appeal to the police, the army, civil defence and the Department of State Service to come to our aid and rescue our brother and his relative, Mr Ekpa added.

The spokesperson of the police in Cross River State, Irene Ugbo, who confirmed the abduction in an interview with a NAN correspondent, said that efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims.

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The deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations has drafted our men to the area to ensure the release of Abang and his relation, said Ms Ugbo, a superintendent of police.

We are on the matter. I can assure you that efforts are on to rescue the victims and arrest the suspects.

(NAN)

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An Ebubeagu operative was on Saturday shot dead at the venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally in Ebonyi State, South-east Nigeria.

The slain operative identified as Ajason Aja was reportedly killed by a colleague over N1000.

Ebubeagu is a security outfit backed by the Ebonyi State Government.

Mr Aja and his colleagues were part of the Ebubeagu team drafted to the Isu community, in the Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, to provide security at the APC governorship rally in the area.

After the rally, the team was directed to secure the APC flags for subsequent rallies when an altercation occurred between Mr Aja and his colleague over the sharing of money.

Each of the Ebubeagu operatives was meant to get N1,000, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

During the altercation, Mr Aja rushed for his rifle, but his colleague was said to have swiftly pulled a pistol, shot him in the head, and died instantly.

Ebubeagu Commander in Ebonyi State, Friday Nnana-Ujor, confirmed the death of the Ebubeagu operative on Monday.

He, however, said the attacker was not an operative of the security outfit.

No, it was not an Ebubeagu person that shot him.

It was people that packed (their car) behind a Sienna bus that killed him. The person that did that was sent to do so. People are thinking that it was an Ebubeagu personnel that killed the person, but it is not true.

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It is because the gun they used in killing the person was Pump Action. No Ebubeagu person goes to the rally ground with arms, Mr Nnana-Ujor said.

We are investigating the matter and very soon we will arrest the culprit and call journalists to hear from him. I dont want people to think that its politics. Just exercise some patience, he said.

Ebubeagu was set up by governors of the South-east to complement the efforts of security agencies in the region in crime-fighting.

Many people have, however, accused the security outfit of carrying out illegal arrests, abduction, torture and extra-judicial killings.

Ebubeagu operatives, like other security agencies, have been targets of deadly attacks by gunmen in the South-east

For instance, the pregnant wife of Ebubeagu commander in Afikpo South Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, was killed on New Years Day.

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The body of a woman believed to be a sex worker has been found in a brothel in Anambra state, South-east Nigeria.

The deceased, simply identified as Chisom from Enugu State, was found dead on Monday in the brothel along Old Market Road in Onitsha, Anambra State.

The sex workers and others have deserted the brothel, apparently for fear of police arrest.

There is, however, confusion as to the cause of the womans death. She was last seen washing plates with which she ate on Sunday night.

Some of the sex workers suspected that she hanged herself in her brothel room, and others said she may have been strangled to death by an early caller. Some believed she took poison and died.

A woman who is her neighbour alleged that she committed suicide after her lover jilted her.

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She said: She had a boyfriend that always spent a lot of money on her. Even last Christmas the boy came to her with a bag of rice with N200,000, among other items and asked her to travel for Christmas and come back later.

As soon as she came back, she was told that her boyfriend had married. Since then she started behaving abnormally and just three days ago, she was seen holding a rope in her hand.

When asked why she was holding the rope, she became aggressive. Early in the morning, she swept her room, and around 9 a.m. what we heard was that she committed suicide in her room.

We saw her neck tied with a rope to the window in her room but her legs were touching the floor. So we dont know if it was suicide as no foam was gushing out from her mouth but the tongue was out.

As the news spread, residents of the area trooped to the brothel to catch a glimpse of the corpse.

Police officers from the nearby Onitsha Area Police Area Command visited the brothel around 12.30 p.m. and left with some officials of the brothel.

They returned later with an ambulance and removed the corpse.

Police spokesperson in the State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident.

He said an investigation has commenced to unravel the circumstances of her death.

No suicide note was found in the room to suspect suicide. We are exploring all options to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death, he said.

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The Lagos State Government has named some of the victims involved in the Ojuelegba fatal crash while issuing some directives to forestall a recurrence.

This is contained in a statement on Sunday signed by Gbenga Omotoso, the states commissioner of information.

In the Ojuelegba incident, two children and seven adult passengers lost their lives after a truck fell on a commercial minibus known as Korope on Sunday.

The Lagos State Government commiserates with the families who lost their loved ones in the Ojuelegba truck accident on Sunday, January 29, 2023, the statement reads.

May the Almighty console them and grant them the strength to go through this difficult time. Nine persons died in the accident.

Identified victims are: Miss Blessing Isioma F, Abdurahman Okoya Sunday M, Felix John Ifeanyi M 40 years, Olatokunbo Basirat King F 49 years.

According to the statement, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on received an interim report of the incident directed the police to speed up their investigation of the matter.

The governor also directed that the driver of the truck and its owner, who have been arrested, be prosecuted.

Ministry of Transportation and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) should meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the menace of falling trucks.

All the laws governing the operations of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with more vigour and diligence.

The commissioner said that the fatal crash shows that the owners and drivers of such articulated vehicles are irresponsible.

Further speaking in the matter, Mr Omotoso said the state has zero tolerance for large containers that fall off trucks and injure or kill citizens, who are going about their lawful businesses..

The driver (Sodiq Okanlawon) and owner (Wasiu Lekan) of a container which killed three (3) people on the 26th July, 2020 on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, Ilasamaja were prosecuted and convicted on the 28th February, 2022 and sentenced to life imprisonment by Hon. Justice Okikiolu Ighile, he said.

The State Government will, in a similar manner, ensure that the driver and the owner of the truck involved in the January 29th incident are put on trial for the needless death of our dear citizens.

This, we hope, will send a strong message to all those who have no regard for other peoples lives that Lagos will not condone their recklessness.

They must be stopped, with the strong backing of our laws, because their actions offend our avowed commitment to safety and decency.

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A tricycle driver and one passenger died on Tuesday after a petrol tanker crashed into three tricycles.

Adebayo Taofiq, spokesperson for Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), said in a statement that the agency rescued four people in the crash.

The tanker had suffered a brake in the Ikotun area of the state.

The accident which occurred around 12:30 pm today involved a fully loaded container truck (JJJ 125) and three mini commercial buses (tricycles) with registration nos (LSD 83 QM), (AKD 690 QK) & (AKL 87 QF), the statement reads.

The driver of one of the mini commercial buses (tricycle) with one passenger died instantly.

Those four (4) rescued accident victims by Lastma personnel were two pregnant women and two children.

Mr Taofiq said the agency has handed over the survivors to the police who have taken them to the hospital.

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A preliminary investigation revealed that the fully loaded container truck (JJJ 125) had a brake failure and crushed 3 tricycles by a valley around Synagogue when going towards Ikotun, he said.

The incident occured two days after a fatal incident in the Ojuelegba area of the state involving a truck. Nine people died in that accident.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Lagos, Abdulazeez Jandor Adediran, on Tuesday, said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu failed to attend The Platform Nigeria debate held on Sunday because he has nothing to show for his four years in office.

Mr Adediran said Mr Sanwoolus absence from the debate was planned to help him avoid answering critical questions bordering on the arrested development the state witnessed under his watch.

If a governor of Lagos State who is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state is saying that I am not safe standing by a citizen of the state for whatever reason, then that speaks volume of what the people of Lagos should expect, the Lagos State PDP governorship candidate said on Arise TVs programme Morning Show.

He is telling all of us that we are not safe under his watch because even he is not safe in a closet where the debate is going to happen.

Mr Adediran remarked that before it eventually held on Sunday, the debate had been shifted about four times on the ground that Mr Sanwoolu cited various reasons for not attending.

He was looking for something to ride on so that he wont be part of the debate, he said of Mr Sanwo-Olu.

Because that debate he had shifted about four times saying he wanted to commission the two bus stop rail line. He wants Buhari to come and commission the deep sea port. What is your own with the deep sea port? We are just a landlord with some percentage and all that. So because he has nothing to show for his four years in office, he had to excuse himself.

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Sanwo-Olus handlers had announced that the governor would not attend the debate. The decision came as a reaction to a viral video wherein some supporters of the opposition party unleashed mayhem on some residents of the state.

A video widely circulating on Sunday showed about twelve hooligans shooting in a Lagos neighbourhood, with one of them holding an axe. Part of it depicted a Toyota Sienna car appearing to be a campaign vehicle of the PDP governorship candidate driving into the street with one of the armed men opening a front door and shoving his bag inside.

Following advice from competent sources, including elders and respectable Lagosians, we will henceforth shun any forum that may require us being together with PDP and its agents of violence, a statement issued on Saturday by the Lagos State Government said.

But on Tuesday, Mr Adediran claimed that Mr Sanwo-Olus absence was orchestrated to shield him from being questioned at the debate.

If you want him to come to the debate, he will come and explain how he did a budget of N812 billion in 2020 with 120 per cent budget performance at the end of the year according to him. He will come and explain how he did a budget of N1.25 trillion in 2021 and how that recorded a performance of 85.7 per cent in that year, Mr Adediran said on the television programme.

He will come and explain how he had a budget of 2022 of N1.758 trillion with a performance of 77.9 (per cent) in the second quarter of that year. Yet you still have a poverty rate from 4.5 per cent in 2019 when you took over and now 8.5 per cent today. You still have unemployment rate of 14.6 (per cent) when you took over and now 37.16. So he will have a lot to come and explain so he had to dodge the debate.

The PDP candidate went further to disclose that his running mate, Funke Akindele, was chased out of the market she went to campaign and speak to people by thugs.

He alleged that he had had a similar experience when he went to Oworonshoki, an area in the state, adding that the government is doing it to scare us off the road.

Earlier in the month, during a rally in the Somolu Local Government Area of the state, Mr Adediran said he would run a government that will have the interest of ordinary people at heart and eradicate hooliganism and thuggery within the state.

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BEIJING, Jan. 31 -- The 10th Chinese peacekeeping base defense unit to MINUSMA recently organized a humanitarian support event near Gao super camp. BEIJING, Jan. 31 -- The 10th Chinese peacekeeping base defense unit to MINUSMA recently organized a humanitarian support event near Gao super camp.

During the event, the Chinese peacekeepers donated school supplies, sport equipment and furniture to local students. They also provided free medical consultation and medicines such as pain killers, medical plasters and antimalarial medicines for the local residents.
GHA Establishes Patient Voice Group

The GHA has announced the establishment of its Patient Voice Group. The Group, formed of community volunteers, will work directly with the Office of the Director General to monitor the quality of the service provided to patients across the GHA.

The group will visit different areas and departments, talking to patients, carers and staff to complete a structured questionnaire. The information will then be collated and a report will be prepared for the areas surveyed, so that the GHA can learn and make improvements where appropriate.

The Patient Voice Group are:

 Vicky ONeil  Head of Clinical Governance

 Priscilla Manasco

 Terry Lynn Bautista

 Roland Erwin Van De Vijver

 Thelma Van De Vijver

 Julie Gonzalez

 Paula Galliano

 Lydia Griffiths

 Wendy Clouter

The Director General, Prof Patrick Geoghegan, said: I am delighted to Chair and launch the Patient Voice Group, another commitment made by the GHA as part of its Reset, Restart and Recover strategy to listen to the voice of our service users and ensure that their views are inform the GHAs transformational agenda.
Manassas, VA (20110)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 59F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
OREM, Utah, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has cracked down on HIPAA violation cases, resulting in a significant increase in fines and penalties for organizations who are in violation of HIPAA rules ( HIPAA Journal ).1 With a rising interest in data protection from the public, and continued, targeted attacks by threat actors, healthcare organizations are under pressure to keep their patients' data secure, but often lack security resources to keep PHI safe.

SecurityMetrics released its 2023 Guide to HIPAA Compliance to help healthcare organizations secure their peace of mind and avoid a false sense of security. The 2023 HIPAA Guide helps healthcare IT and Risk Officers understand how to comply with the HIPAA Security, Privacy, and Breach Notification Rulessuch as best practices for conducting risk assessments, training employees, testing incident response plans, and improving network security.

The updated 2023 guide includes more insights from HIPAA security analysts, improved diagrams and graphs, and cloud security for healthcare organizations. The 2023 HIPAA Guide covers the practical steps organizations need to handle the following:

Incident response plans

PHI encryption

Business associate agreements

Mobile device security

Cloud security

HIPAA-compliant emails

Remote access

Vulnerability scanning

Penetration testing

With new 2022 research data, the guide helps direct healthcare where to look for the highest risks. According to SecurityMetrics' 2022 HIPAA survey data, organizations are getting better at external security measures like formal risk assessments. For example, in 2021, only 41% of health practices conducted formal risk assessments and in 2022, 43% did so.

In other areas, healthcare continues to struggle with HIPAA and patient data security. Since 2019, surveyed organizations have decreased their training on the Security Rule by 46.4% and on the Breach Notification Rule by 53.7%.

Principal Security Analyst Jen Stone (MCIS, CCSFP, CISSP, CISA, QSA) says, "Many healthcare organizations understand the importance of HIPAA. They want to ensure the privacy and security of patient data, but they struggle because the law says what to do, not really how to do it. Our HIPAA Guide helps bridge that gap to give healthcare providers and business associates a way to implement policies, procedures, and security controls in a meaningful, HIPAA-compliant way."

"This is the most comprehensive guide on HIPAA I have found," said Crystal Hertz at National Health Foundation.

Those who would like the SecurityMetrics 2023 Guide to HIPAA Compliance can download a free PDF copy here: Download the 2023 Guide to HIPAA Compliance here.

To learn more about SecurityMetrics or HIPAA, contact 801-705-5621, email [email protected] , or visit www.securitymetrics.com/hipaa .

For press inquiries contact 801-995-6516, or email [email protected].

1 https://www.hipaajournal.com/hipaa-violation-cases/

About SecurityMetrics ( www.securitymetrics.com )

SecurityMetrics secures peace of mind for organizations that handle sensitive data. They have tested over 1 million systems for data security and compliance. Industry standards don't keep up with the threat landscape, which is why they hold their tools, training, and support to a higher, more thorough standard of performance and service, so you never have a false sense of security.

As an Approved Scanning Vendor , Qualified Security Assessor , Certified Forensic Investigator, and Managed Security provider, SecurityMetrics guides organizations through data security testing and compliance mandates ( HIPAA , HITRUST , PCI , GDPR ). With over 20 years of forensic investigations, penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and HIPAA and PCI compliance audits, SecurityMetrics has tested over 1 million systems for vulnerabilities. The privately held company is headquartered in Orem, Utah where it maintains a Security Operations Center (SOC) and 24/7 multilingual technical support.

SOURCE SecurityMetrics, Inc.
Treaty talks continue in Malaga

Discussions on the future relationship of Gibraltar with the European Union, including with Spain, have continued in Malaga this week.

It has been made clear several times that there is ongoing contact between different parties at different levels between the formal UK-EU negotiating rounds.

Taking part in the latest negotiations are the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and the Attorney General Michael Llamas.

The Government says it remains optimistic that it is possible to conclude a treaty which is safe, secure and beneficial for Gibraltar.

'The United Kingdom and Gibraltar too, as is common in such negotiations, have put forward proposals for consideration which we are ready to sign up to tomorrow.'
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) applauds the introduction of S. 131 and H.R. 618, the Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act, in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Collins (R-ME) and Reps. Walberg (R-MI) and Courtney (D-CT)oHou. Today, federal employees can choose a nurse practitioner (NP) as their health care provider under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, yet outdated federal law prevents these same providers from certifying and overseeing the care of federal employees' workplace-related injuries. This bill would ensure federal workers receive access to high-quality health care for work-related injuries from their chosen health care provider.

"I urge members of Congress to support this legislation and reduce barriers to timely care delivery," said April Kapu. Tweet this There are more than 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. who provide care in communities of all sizes and this year the profession was named the top job in health care.

"This bipartisan legislation would give federal workers timely access to the care they need when they need it most," said AANP President April Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN. "The bill would authorize nurse practitioners to certify federal workplace injuries and oversee treatment of injured workers. I urge all members of Congress to support this legislation and reduce unnecessary barriers to timely care delivery. On behalf of AANP and the more than 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S., we thank Senators Brown and Collins and Representatives Walberg and Courtney for their dedication to improving health care access for federal employees, and we urge Congress to act swiftly to pass this important legislation."

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com . For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org .

SOURCE American Association of Nurse Practitioners
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AerCap Holdings N.V. ("AerCap" or the "Company") (NYSE: AER) has announced it has taken delivery of its 50th 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF). The aircraft conversion was completed at COOPESA, a leading MRO provider with expertise in aircraft modifications and conversions. The aircraft was redelivered to GOL Linhas Aereas, who will operate the aircraft on behalf of a Latin-American e-commerce company, as part of the growth strategy and logistics solution of GOLLOG, Gol's logistics business unit.

In 2016, AerCap Cargo was the launch customer of the Boeing 737-800BCF and took delivery of its first aircraft in April 2018.

"We are delighted to celebrate this milestone delivery with our partners at Boeing and our longstanding customer, GOL. Since the program launched in 2016, we have seen unprecedented demand for express air cargo from e-commerce retail businesses," said Rich Greener, the Head of AerCap Cargo. "Today, the 737-800BCF is one of the most in-demand narrowbody freighter aircraft in the industry, thanks to its versatility and reliability, making it the perfect choice for express air cargo and e-commerce networks."

"We thank AerCap Cargo for their early confidence in the 737-800BCF, and congratulate them on this milestone," said Kate Schaefer, vice president of Boeing's Commercial Modifications, Engineering & Specialty Products business. "The BCF team has navigated global challenges during the past few years and truly pulled together to deliver this 50th 737-800BCF for AerCap. It is a testament to the ongoing commitment to our customers' success."

AerCap Cargo has more than 25 years' experience in freighter leasing including Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions, with more than 100 successful conversions. AerCap Cargo 737-800BCF customers include West Atlantic Group, Amazon Air, GOL, JD.com, Kargo Xpress, ASL and Longhao Airlines.

About AerCap

AerCap is the global leader in aviation leasing with one of the most attractive order books in the industry. AerCap serves approximately 300 customers around the world with comprehensive fleet solutions. AerCap is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (AER) and is based in Dublin with offices in Shannon, Miami, Singapore, Memphis, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Dubai, Seattle, Toulouse and other locations around the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements, estimates and forecasts with respect to future performance and events. These statements, estimates and forecasts are "forward-looking statements". In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "intend," "will," "aim," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negatives thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements and are based on various underlying assumptions and expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors, including the impacts of, and associated responses to: the Ukraine Conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, our ability to successfully integrate GECAS' operations and employees and realize anticipated synergies and cost savings; and the potential impact of the consummation of the GECAS transaction on relationships, including with employees, suppliers, customers and competitors, that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. As a result, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate or correct. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future performance or events described in the forward-looking statements in this press release might not occur. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information regarding AerCap and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.aercap.com and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/aercapnv.

SOURCE AerCap Holdings N.V.
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AerCap Holdings N.V. ("AerCap" or the "Company") (NYSE: AER) today announced it has signed lease agreements for four Boeing 777-300ERSF aircraft with Hong Kong based global air cargo charter company, Fly Meta. The aircraft are scheduled to deliver in 2024 through 2025.

The Boeing 777-300ERSF, also known as 'The Big Twin', is the first passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversion program of the Boeing 777-300ER and will be the largest twin-engine freighter when it enters service this year.

"AerCap is delighted to welcome Fly Meta as a new customer to the 777-300ERSF 'The Big Twin' freighter conversion program," said Rich Greener, the Head of AerCap Cargo. "With 25% more capacity than today's smaller twin-engine long-haul freighters, the Big Twin offers significant cost efficiencies, superior range, and outstanding operational commonality, and is therefore the ideal aircraft to support Fly Meta's growing widebody freighter fleet."

"We are thrilled to sign these lease agreements with AerCap for four Boeing 777-300ERSF freighter aircraft. We are confident that the situation will change for the better as China lifts its Covid restrictions, and that the cargo market will grow steadily over the coming years. We believe that the volume capabilities and greater cost efficiencies of the 777-300ERSF will give us a competitive advantage in the market." said Helen Chen, the CEO of Fly Meta.

AerCap Cargo and Israel Aerospace Industries Group (IAI) launched the 777-300ERSF conversion program in 2019, known as 'The Big Twin'. Today, AerCap Cargo has a firm order book of 20 Boeing 777-300ERSF aircraft and a further ten options. The first aircraft is expected to deliver in the first half of 2023 to US cargo airline, Kalitta Air.

About AerCap

AerCap is the global leader in aviation leasing with one of the most attractive order books in the industry. AerCap serves approximately 300 customers around the world with comprehensive fleet solutions. AerCap is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (AER) and is based in Dublin with offices in Shannon, Miami, Singapore, Memphis, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Dubai, Seattle, Toulouse and other locations around the world.

About Fly Meta

FLY META was established in 2022 by a team of professionals with extensive experience in the aviation industry. It has offices in Hong Kong and Beijing. FLYMETA provides packaged ACMI products to the market through the integration of its resources, making the best use of its worldwide network and connections in the aviation industry, and supports clients with its specialized "One-stop-Shop" service.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements, estimates and forecasts with respect to future performance and events. These statements, estimates and forecasts are "forward-looking statements". In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "intend," "will," "aim," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negatives thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements and are based on various underlying assumptions and expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors, including the impacts of, and associated responses to: the Ukraine Conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, our ability to successfully integrate GECAS' operations and employees and realize anticipated synergies and cost savings; and the potential impact of the consummation of the GECAS transaction on relationships, including with employees, suppliers, customers and competitors, that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. As a result, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate or correct. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future performance or events described in the forward-looking statements in this press release might not occur. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information regarding AerCap and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.aercap.com and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/aercapnv.

SOURCE AerCap Holdings N.V.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global aftermarket automotive parts and components market size is estimated to increase by USD 86.64 billion from 2022 to 2027. The market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 3.54% during the forecast period. The growing availability of aftermarket automotive parts and components on e-commerce platforms is a key trend in the market. There has been a shift toward online platforms, with the increasing online retail parts sales. The advantages of using e-commerce platforms for aftermarket automotive parts and components, such as the ability to research and compare products, access to detailed product specifications, and ease of purchase, are driving the revenues generated through online sales. This, in turn, will support the growth of the market during the forecast period. - Request a sample report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Aftermarket Automotive Parts and Components Market 2023-2027

Global aftermarket automotive parts and components market - Customer landscape

To help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies, the report outlines 

Key purchase criteria

Adoption rates

Adoption lifecycle

Drivers of price sensitivity

Global Aftermarket automotive parts and components market  Vendor Analysis

Vendor offerings -

3M Co. - The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as mirror buttons, lighting, polishing compounds, and insulation foam sheets.

The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as mirror buttons, lighting, polishing compounds, and insulation foam sheets. ANAND Group - The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as chassis, car care products, powertrains, and transmission fluids.

The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as chassis, car care products, powertrains, and transmission fluids. Continental AG - The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as brake fluids, wheel speed sensors, brake pads, tire pressure monitoring system sensors, and brake master cylinders.

The company offers various aftermarket automotive parts and components such as brake fluids, wheel speed sensors, brake pads, tire pressure monitoring system sensors, and brake master cylinders. For details on vendors and their offerings  Buy the report

Vendor landscape

The global aftermarket automotive parts and components market is fragmented, with the presence of some well-diversified international and a few regional players. A few prominent vendors that offer aftermarket automotive parts and components in the market are 3M Co., Aisin World Corp. of America, ANAND Group, BorgWarner Inc., Continental AG, Delphi Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., DRiV Incorporated, HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA, Hitachi Astemo Ltd., Knorr Bremse AG, MagnetiMarelliS.p.A, MAHLE GmbH, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd., NGK Spark Plugs USA, Inc., OSRAM GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Tenneco Inc., Valeo SA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG and others.

There is intense competition among market players. Key vendors in the market are increasing their investments in new technologies. The global aftermarket automotive parts and components market has a large number of aftermarket automotive part and component providers. It is characterized by several technological innovations, which are expected to increase during the forecast period. Moreover, investments in developing innovative features and designs are expected to continue. This will intensify competition among existing and new players.

Global aftermarket automotive parts and components market - segmentation Assessment



Segment overview

Technavio has segmented the market based on product (tire, brake parts, battery, filter, and others) and distribution channel (retail and wholesale).

The tire segment will account for a significant share of the market's growth during the forecast period. The demand for aftermarket tires is high globally. The aging vehicle population in developed mature automobile markets, such as Japan , the US, and Western Europe , is contributing to this demand. In addition, road conditions in emerging countries such as India make vehicles more susceptible to breakdown and wear and tear of tires. This leads to a demand for aftermarket fitments. As a result, the demand for aftermarket tires is increasing steadily in the region.

Geography overview

Based on geography, the global aftermarket automotive parts and components market is segmented into APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global aftermarket automotive parts and components market.

APAC is estimated to account for 38% of the growth of the global market during the forecast period. China , India , and Japan are the key revenue-contributing countries in the market. These countries are high-volume adopters of vehicles. Factors such as increasing disposable incomes in emerging economies have led to a rise in the number of vehicle buyers. Thus, the automotive industry in the region contributes significantly to the demand for vehicle roadside assistance services.

Download a sample report

Global aftermarket automotive parts and components market  Market dynamics

Leading drivers - The increasing number of vehicles globally is driving market growth. The demand for automotive repair and maintenance services is rising, with the increase in the lifespan of vehicles. In addition, passenger cars and utility vehicles, such as sports-utility vehicles (SUVs), multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), crossovers, and pickup trucks, are popular in the global automotive market. These vehicles need regular maintenance to function properly. Such factors will positively impact the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Major challenges - The growing shortage of skilled automotive technicians is challenging the market growth. The shortage is a result of the lack of a strong career path, the disparity in pay packages, and long working hours, which are making it difficult for professional automotive repair shops to attract and retain skilled technicians. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the automotive industry in the US will need about 46,000 skilled automotive technicians by 2026. This shortage is expected to increase, as the demand for automotive repair and maintenance services continues to rise. Therefore, the shortage of skilled automotive technicians will negatively impact the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Drivers and challenges have an impact on market dynamics, which can impact businesses. Find more insights in a sample report!

What are the key data covered in this aftermarket automotive parts and components market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the aftermarket automotive parts and components market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the size of the aftermarket automotive parts and components market and its contribution to the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the aftermarket automotive parts and components market across APAC, North America , Europe , South America , and Middle East and Africa

, , , and and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of aftermarket automotive parts and components market vendors

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Related Reports:

The automotive ADAS aftermarket market size is expected to increase by USD 3.15 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 10.03%. This report extensively covers segmentation by technology (passive park assists, FCWS and LDWS, and others), vehicle type (passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America).

The automotive brake components aftermarket market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 14.07 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by product (brake pads, brake shoes, brake calipers, and others), vehicle type (passenger cars and commercial vehicles), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, and South America).

Aftermarket Automotive Parts and Components Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 167 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.54% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 86.64 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 2.87 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 38% Key countries US, China, Japan, India, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading vendors, market positioning of vendors, competitive strategies, and industry risks Key companies profiled 3M Co., Aisin World Corp. of America, ANAND Group, BorgWarner Inc., Continental AG, Delphi Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., DRiV Incorporated, HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA, Hitachi Astemo Ltd., Knorr Bremse AG, MagnetiMarelliS.p.A, MAHLE GmbH, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd., NGK Spark Plugs USA, Inc., OSRAM GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Tenneco Inc., Valeo SA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, 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.

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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 Distribution Channel



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 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global aftermarket automotive parts and components market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global aftermarket automotive parts and components market 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)

4.2 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Product Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)

4.3 Distribution Channel Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Distribution Channel Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Product

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Product

6.3 Tire - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Tire - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Tire - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Tire - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Tire - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Brake parts - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Brake parts - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Brake parts - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Brake parts - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Brake parts - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Battery - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Battery - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Battery - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Battery - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Battery - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Filter - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 46: Chart on Filter - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Filter - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 48: Chart on Filter - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Filter - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 50: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 52: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.8 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 54: Market opportunity by Product ($ billion)

7 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 55: Chart on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 56: Data Table on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 57: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel



Exhibit 58: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel

7.3 Retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 59: Chart on Retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 60: Data Table on Retail - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 61: Chart on Retail - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 62: Data Table on Retail - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Wholesale - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 63: Chart on Wholesale - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 64: Data Table on Wholesale - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 65: Chart on Wholesale - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 66: Data Table on Wholesale - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 67: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ billion)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 68: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 69: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 70: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 71: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 72: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 73: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 74: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 75: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 76: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 79: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 83: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 87: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 91: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 93: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 94: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)



Exhibit 95: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 96: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 99: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 103: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 105: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 107: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 108: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 109: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 110: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)

Exhibit 111: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 112: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 113: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 114: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 115: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 116: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 117: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 118: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 119: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 3M Co.

Co. Exhibit 120: 3M Co. - Overview

Co. - Overview

Exhibit 121: 3M Co. - Business segments

Co. - Business segments

Exhibit 122: 3M Co. - Key offerings

Co. - Key offerings

Exhibit 123: 3M Co. - Segment focus

12.4 ANAND Group

Exhibit 124: ANAND Group - Overview



Exhibit 125: ANAND Group - Business segments



Exhibit 126: ANAND Group - Key offerings



Exhibit 127: ANAND Group - Segment focus

12.5 Continental AG

Exhibit 128: Continental AG - Overview



Exhibit 129: Continental AG - Business segments



Exhibit 130: Continental AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 131: Continental AG - Segment focus

12.6 Delphi Technologies Plc

Exhibit 132: Delphi Technologies Plc - Overview



Exhibit 133: Delphi Technologies Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 134: Delphi Technologies Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 135: Delphi Technologies Plc - Segment focus

12.7 DENSO Corp.

Exhibit 136: DENSO Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 137: DENSO Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 138: DENSO Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 139: DENSO Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 140: DENSO Corp. - Segment focus

12.8 DRiV Incorporated

Exhibit 141: DRiV Incorporated - Overview



Exhibit 142: DRiV Incorporated - Product / Service



Exhibit 143: DRiV Incorporated - Key offerings

12.9 HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA

Exhibit 144: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Overview



Exhibit 145: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Business segments



Exhibit 146: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key news



Exhibit 147: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key offerings



Exhibit 148: HELLA GmbH and Co. KGaA - Segment focus

12.10 Hitachi Astemo Ltd.

Exhibit 149: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 150: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 151: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. - Key offerings

12.11 MagnetiMarelliS.p.A

Exhibit 152: MagnetiMarelliS.p.A - Overview



Exhibit 153: MagnetiMarelliS.p.A - Product / Service



Exhibit 154: MagnetiMarelliS.p.A - Key offerings

12.12 Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd.

Exhibit 155: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 156: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 157: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 158: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 159: Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. - Segment focus

12.13 NGK Spark Plugs USA , Inc.

, Inc. Exhibit 160: NGK Spark Plugs USA , Inc. - Overview

, Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 161: NGK Spark Plugs USA , Inc. - Product / Service

, Inc. - Product / Service

Exhibit 162: NGK Spark Plugs USA , Inc. - Key offerings

12.14 Robert Bosch GmbH

Exhibit 163: Robert Bosch GmbH - Overview



Exhibit 164: Robert Bosch GmbH - Business segments



Exhibit 165: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key offerings



Exhibit 166: Robert Bosch GmbH - Segment focus

12.15 Tenneco Inc.

Exhibit 167: Tenneco Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 168: Tenneco Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 169: Tenneco Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 170: Tenneco Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 171: Tenneco Inc. - Segment focus

12.16 Valeo SA

Exhibit 172: Valeo SA - Overview



Exhibit 173: Valeo SA - Business segments



Exhibit 174: Valeo SA - Key news



Exhibit 175: Valeo SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 176: Valeo SA - Segment focus

12.17 ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Exhibit 177: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Overview



Exhibit 178: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Product / Service



Exhibit 179: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Key offerings

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 180: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 181: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 182: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 183: Research methodology



Exhibit 184: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 185: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 186: 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

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
HELSINKI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahlstrom has led the marketplace in the movement towards more sustainable solutions for fiber-based food packaging, and its new generation of FluoroFree technology is achieving grease-resistance in the most challenging food packaging applications.

"We have been on a continuous development journey of our proprietary FluoroFree family of grease-resistant products for more than a decade, and we continue to push the boundaries on grease-resistance capabilities," explained Travis Dahlke, Vice President of Ahlstrom's North American Food Packaging business. "We have now proven our expertise, commercializing products that demand the highest grease-resistance in food packaging."

Ahlstrom's FluoroFree technology has expanded to its PawPrint line of multi-wall, fiber-based pet food packaging papers, in addition to its Tempera Microwave Popcorn papers and Servera Quick Service Restaurant products. For applications in need of fully sustainable packaging and grease barrier wrapping such as bouillon cubes, FluoroFree provides the solution utilizing alternative materials to films and foils. In addition, Ahlstrom's Genuine Vegetable Parchment products are naturally greaseproof papers that are also certified Home Compostable.



"We truly were at the forefront of not only anticipating the movement away from traditionally used PFAS chemicals in the packaging industry, but we have worked directly with the sustainability community and brand owners to act on these changes even before the marketplace demanded such change," said Mark Ushpol, Executive Vice President of Ahlstrom's Food & Consumer Packaging Division. "This has now positioned us to develop these next generations of sustainable, grease-resistant barrier properties well-ahead of rest of the industry."

Innovative FluoroFree papers meet the compositional requirements for food contact papers under FDA and EU Regulations, as well as BfR Recommendations. FluoroFree papers meet the legislative requirements on PFAS content set forth by The Danish Ministry of Environment

and Food, as well as PFAS limits as established by the Biodegradable Products Institute BPI). FluoroFree is designed for recyclability and certified compostable by BPI Biodegradable Products Institute.

To learn more about Ahlstrom's FluoroFree products visit: https://www.ahlstrom.com/products/technologies/ff-greaseproof-technologies/

For further information, please contact:

Addie Teeters, Head of Marketing Communications & Public Affairs, [email protected] tel. +1-920-766-8304

SOURCE Ahlstrom
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Business Magazine recognized Aisha Bowe, Founder & CEO, STEMBoard and LINGO Solutions Inc., as an honoree for their Inaugural Black Business Leaders Awards. Ms. Bowe is a former NASA aerospace engineer, motivational speaker, and community-driven entrepreneur. Aisha holds the distinction of being one of the few Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital funding, and recently made history as the first Black woman confirmed to travel on a commercial flight to space with Blue Origin. In recognition of her recent and ongoing accomplishments, Aisha's profile will be featured in Virginia Business Magazine's February issue.

AISHA BOWE, FOUNDER OF STEMBOARD, LLC HONORED WITH VIRGINIA BUSINESS MAGAZINE BLACK BUSINESS LEADERS AWARD (PRNewsfoto/STEMBoard)

Aisha is dedicated to leading organizations focused on technical excellence, the principles of diversity and opportunity, and cultivating the emerging workforce. Under Aisha's leadership, each organization she has founded embodies her passion for inclusivity, innovation, and social impact. As an SBA Certified 8(a) woman-owned small business, and prime government contractor, STEMBoard is proud to have a workforce comprised of over 50% veterans and 42% women.

Similarly, LINGO, a venture capital-backed enterprise, is comprised of 57% women. STEMBoard and LINGO work in tandem to build Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) capacity in non-affluent, on-the-rise schools in underserved communities. LINGO's project-based kits help introduce students to basic coding skills with self-paced activities aligned to national learning standards that teach the fundamentals in a fun and accessible way.

The 2023 awards are Virginia Business' first Black Business Leaders Awards. In the past, they have featured Black business leaders in their February issue, but this is the first time they have opened it to reader nominations. The winners of the 2023 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards were selected by editors from 108 unique nominees, recognizing overall success, excellence and accomplishment in business, as well as factors including leadership, community involvement and mentorship.

"The impact of inclusive leadership is tangible. Studies have shown that diversity leads to better decision-making, higher profitability, and increased employee satisfaction," said Aisha Bowe, Founder & CEO, STEMBoard and Lingo Solutions. "I am proud to be at the helm of an organization that strives to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach on a national scale."

"Virginia Business is pleased to recognize the accomplishments of some of the commonwealth's most outstanding Black business leaders with these inaugural awards," said Bernie Niemeier, President and Publisher, Virginia Business magazine. "My congratulations go to our award winners as well as to our readers who nominated this impressive cohort of executives!"

To see the feature, visit Virginia Business Magazine.

STEMBoard is an award-winning technical powerhouse specializing in professional advisory services for elite organizations in the U.S Government. A graduate of the prestigious Department of Defense Mentor-Protege Program, STEMBoard is recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing companies in America and holds several industry-leading certifications demonstrating its commitment to excellence in the areas of quality management, information technology management and information security. Founded in 2013 by Aisha Bowe, STEMBoard is an SBA 8(a) Certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) headquartered in Arlington, VA. For more information on solutions or contract vehicles, visit www.stemboard.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Press Contact

Nadine M. DiStefano

Director of Marketing & Public Relations

Verasolve

(716) 440- 4152

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1993176/STEMBoard_Award.jpg

SOURCE STEMBoard
An accomplished executive and entrepreneur with deep AEC industry experience, Alsop will expand McKissack's portfolio in the District, Maryland and Virginia

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- McKissack & McKissack, one of the nation's leading Black- and woman-owned architecture, engineering and construction companies, announced today that Alana Alsop will head the firm's business development for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Alsop has more than 15 years of business development and marketing experience in the AEC industry and a proven record of connecting with business leaders to develop new relationships and productive working partnerships to accelerate pipeline performance.

Alana will support the firm's current and new client relationships, monitor markets and identify emerging trends. Tweet this Alana Alsop

Strong relationships like Alsop's are key to building the multidisciplinary teams that are so important in delivering quality construction projects as the nation ramps up its focus on infrastructure improvement. Estimates are that some $19 billion in federal spending from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is headed toward D.C., Maryland and Virginiathe region often called the DMV. Much of that spending will go to the populous Washington-Baltimore region, which has edged out Chicago to rank as the nation's third largest metropolis.

"We're already active in many infrastructure projects in the DMV, but we plan to significantly expand our work in the area. The barriers to entry in this sector are high though, especially for minority- and woman-owned businesses. But breaking into this kind of work is complex and weighted towards large majority firms," said Deryl McKissack, president and CEO of McKissack. "When I met Alana through her business development efforts for other firms, it was clear to me that she would be a perfect fit at McKissack and give us an edge. She has excellent contacts and the perfect skillset for our needs."

Alsop will solidify McKissack's current business relationships and build new ones

As director of business development for D.C., Maryland and Virginia, Alsop will support the firm's current and new client relationships, monitor markets and identify emerging trends. She will execute initiatives to increase the visibility of the company's broad body of projects as one way to bring in new business.

"I aim to solidify current relationships, grow new relationships and be an active player in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion with respect to procurement. We want to make sure women and minorities have an equal playing field when it comes to these projects," Alsop said.

She pointed out that McKissack has been a thought leader in the AEC industry, pushing for equity for minority- and woman-owned businesses. "Deryl has fought every day for her success and now she is working to level the playing field and make it more equitable for diverse mid-sized businesses. We are working to get bigger pieces of projects and to lead teams as the prime contractor, in partnership with other like-minded top-notch companies."

Alsop's deep experience covers every aspect of business development

Entrepreneur has worked in "every aspect of business development" in the AEC industry

Before joining McKissack, Alsop was director of marketing and business development for David M. Schwarz Architects in Washington, D.C. Much of her career, however, has been as an entrepreneur. Since 2013, she has owned BoothBid, a consultancy that connects new and emerging businesses with exhibit booths and sponsorships at national trade conferences and similar events. Although the convention and conference business slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic, Alsop said the "experience shaped who I am today and I will always be an entrepreneur at heart after running my own business for almost a decade."

Business development work has a lot in common with entrepreneurship, according to Alsop. "You run your own piece of the company, you set goals, and you go for itbut with a firm like McKissack, you have a lot more support and a broader array of services to market," she said.

"I have been in every aspect of the business development field, from proposals and sponsorships to sales and marketing. It has given me such a broad array of skills and such significant depth of knowledge that I have the ability to jump, make new contacts and turn them into authentic and productive connections," Alsop said.

Before she founded her own company, Alsop worked in the AEC industry as director of sponsorship for Associated Builders and Contractors, the trade group, and as a proposal manager in the construction and engineering section of Pepco Energy Services.

Alsop noted she was drawn to work for McKissack because "I met Deryl McKissack at various industry events and admired her business success, her fighting spirit and her leadership in mentoring others, and especially women, in the industry. She is forging a meaningful and unique path in the AEC industry, and I hope to follow in her footsteps," Alsop said.

Alsop, who is from Massachusetts, moved to Maryland for college and graduated with her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Morgan State University and with her master's in Publication Design from the University of Baltimore. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and is a member of the Project Management Institute. She describes herself as a "fearless networker," and is an active member of groups including Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), NAIOP, and the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS).

Alsop lives in Prince George's County, Maryland, with her husband, who is an urban farmer, two daughters and a dog.

About McKissack & McKissack: Founded in 1990, McKissack is a national woman- and minority- owned architecture, engineering, program- and construction-management firm dedicated to delivering industry-leading expertise and best-in-class services to a diverse array of clients in all market sectors. McKissack strives to work with clients to envision and deliver building and infrastructure projects that enrich people's lives and empower communities to flourish. Based in Washington D.C. with offices in Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles, McKissack's three services areas are architecture and interiors, program and construction management and infrastructure. It is ranked by Engineering News-Record among the top 50 Program Management Firms and top 100 Construction Management For-Fee firms in the nation. Learn more at mckinc.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Beshanda Owusu

Purpose Brand

[email protected]

773-398-9194

SOURCE McKissack & McKissack
Dr. Jose A. Karam to support the Association's strategies and activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

BALTIMORE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) is pleased to announce Jose A. Karam, MD, FACS, has been named by the Board of Directors as AUA Assistant Secretary for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Karam will begin his three-year term as Assistant Secretary on June 1, 2023.

Jose A. Karam, MD, FACS, has been named AUA Assistant Secretary for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

As Assistant Secretary for these geographic regions, Dr. Karam will be responsible for shaping and executing on the AUA's international strategy, programming and activities within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. By fully leveraging the AUA's global reach, as well as an influence tremendously respected around the world, Dr. Karam will also assist in implementing the AUA's International Education Plan and identifying new opportunities with national and multi-national urological societies. Additionally, he will work to further expand relationships with key urologists and other regional strategic partners, take part in the AUA's Annual Meeting and serve as a section editor for the AUA publication, AUANews.

"Dr. Karam's extensive involvement in these regions' urologic communities, coupled with his leadership, and clinical expertise makes him the ideal candidate for this role," said AUA Secretary, John D. Denstedt, MD. "The Board and I look forward to working with Dr. Karam to advance our many international opportunities and collaborations."

Dr. Karam has lectured and organized conferences in 23 countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Spain, France, Belgium, Turkiye and Croatia and has represented the AUA as a speaker in Peru, Chile, Lebanon, Spain, and China. He also has leadership experience on both the national and international stage through his membership to the International Medical Advisory Board of the Lebanese Urology Society, the Board of Directors of the King Hussein Award for Cancer Research and the Strategy Advisory Board at Cancer Research UK in the Cambridge Centre Urological Malignancies Programme, and the Executive Committee of the Texas Urological Society. Dr. Karam has served as a member of the AUA Testicular Cancer Guideline Panel, as well as the AUA Renal Mass and Localized Renal Cancer Panel. He served as a member of the Programmatic Panel of the U.S. Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program and currently serves on the Medical Steering Committee of the Kidney Cancer Association and the Examination Committee of the American Board of Urology.

Dr. Karam currently practices urologic oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he holds dual appointments as an associate professor in the department of urology and the department of translational molecular pathology. He has published more than 250 manuscripts and chapters, is currently in editorial service for three urology and oncology journals and serves as a reviewer for many more journals.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology and has nearly 24,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

Media Contact:

Caitlin Lukacs

410-689-4081

[email protected]

SOURCE American Urological Association
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozens of American Property Owners Network (APON) property owners recently met with Megan Cheney, an aide to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee, which Senator Sherrod Brown heads, to discuss predatory lending and housing market manipulations. Bruce Jacobs, Esq., a nationally recognized foreclosure defense lawyer also attended the meeting and explained that he has filed RICO and a False Claims Act lawsuits against several major banks, documenting ongoing systemic frauds in foreclosures across the nation. Jacobs explained that banks continue to file robo-signed documents, along with new false and forged evidence. He asked for the Senate Banking Committee to issue a letter to several banks to respond to his evidence of ongoing criminal misconduct in foreclosures.

APON presented a Policy Memo outlining four major areas of concern: 1. Foreclosure claimants who do not have a beneficial interest in the alleged indebtedness are proceeding with robo-signed documents; 2. In addition to initiating foreclosures based upon predatory lending, financial services' companies are using government bailouts to fund foreclosures and buy homesincluding those same foreclosed homesto create unaffordable rentals; 3. Banks are securitizing rent streams now, which will contribute to the homelessness crisis; and 4. No active formal investigation of unlawful foreclosure practices by financial services' law firms is underway.

Homeowners discussed their experiences and the emotional and physical toll these actions have taken on them. They emphasize that they are not trying to "get a free house" but are simply trying to obtain justice in our court system. They are also concerned that our government is failing them.

Although the Mortgage Settlement Agreement in 2011 ostensibly ended robo-signing, the fraudulent practice continues, and judges turn a blind eye. Homeowners have been attempting to bring these concerns to the attention of regulatory agencies for years to no avail. APON members are encouraged by the recent meeting with the Senator's aide and expect Congress to take decisive action soon to address the related housing crisis.

APON President, Leo Blas, states:

APON is hoping that the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee will take immediate action to re-investigate the 2008 Mortgage Meltdown in light of evidence of on-going criminal and unauthorized digital platform actions in the housing market. Corelogic and others' actions are akin to brazen identity theft.

For more information about APON, a 501C4 AVO, visit www.apropertyownersnetwork.org. You may also contact [email protected] or call 941-237-0558.

SOURCE American Property Owners Network
New Battery Storage Development Company Helps Drive Renewables Growth

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ArcLight Capital Partners, a leading, middle market infrastructure investor (together with its affiliates "ArcLight Capital" or "ArcLight"), today announced a $150 million commitment to Elevate Renewable Energy ("Elevate Renewables" or "the Company"), a company it formed last year to develop and install utility scale, battery energy storage resources co-located with existing power infrastructure to advance the clean energy transition. Financial terms of the private investment were not disclosed.

Elevate Renewables is initially focused on developing battery storage projects that are co-located with ArcLight Capital's extensive existing portfolio of power infrastructure, with total capacity of 25 gigawatts (gross). The Company also has a "brownfield" development pipeline of over 5 gigawatts of potential capacity at over 20 sites. Elevate will also focus more broadly on projects in U.S. electricity markets where the rapid growth of intermittent renewable energy has created a need for flexible, dispatchable zero-carbon energy  a need which can uniquely be met by utility scale battery storage.

"We are excited to announce our commitment to Elevate Renewables to capitalize on what we feel are captive and advantaged brownfield development opportunities within our existing power infrastructure portfolio. ArcLight is one of the largest power producers in the United States today, and this investment further builds upon and will benefit from our extensive track record within the power infrastructure and renewable infrastructure sectors," said Dan Revers, Managing Partner at ArcLight Capital. "More broadly, we believe battery storage has the potential to be a transformative renewable resource to help drive decarbonization. Especially when paired with power infrastructure, it can provide reliable and sustainable access to electricity."

ArcLight has been a pioneer in renewable infrastructure, having invested over $4 billion in hydroelectric, solar, wind and geothermal generation infrastructure since 2001. The firm's investments include one of the largest wind farms in North America, the largest conventional hydroelectric platform in New England, and the largest solar power platform in Puerto Rico. In creating Elevate Renewables, ArcLight partnered with an experienced battery storage development team that has deep expertise in the development and construction of large-scale battery projects, including facilities at Moss Landing, California (400 MW/1,600 MWh) and DeCordova, Texas (260 MW/260 MWh).

"We are excited to partner with ArcLight Capital and to accelerate the development of this attractive extensive battery storage development pipeline," said Eric Cherniss, Head of Development at Elevate Renewables. "ArcLight has deep experience as a value-added partner, bringing specialized in-house resources that are instrumental to growth and success with partnerships in the renewable and transition infrastructure sectors."

About ArcLight Capital Partners

ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC was founded in 2001 and is a leading middle-market sustainable infrastructure investor with a long-term, successful track record across 7 investment funds. Since inception, ArcLight has invested approximately $27 billion in 123 transactions, including over $16 billion of equity into the power, renewables, strategic gas and transformative infrastructure sectors. Based in Boston, the firm's investment team employs a value-added, operationally intensive investment approach that benefits from its dedicated in-house technical, operational, and commercial specialists and partners, as well as the firm's approximately 1,800-person asset management operational partner. More information about ArcLight can be found at www.arclight.com.

About Elevate Renewable Energy

Elevate Renewables is a national developer focused on the development of utility scale battery storage resources co-located with existing power infrastructure. Elevate is devoted to supporting the nationwide increase in renewable penetration while also directly reducing the environmental footprint of the power sector through the deployment of carbon neutral resources. More information about Elevate Renewables can be found at www.elevaterenewableenergy.com.

Contact:

Charlyn Lusk

Stanton

[email protected]

(646) 502-3549

SOURCE ArcLight Capital Partners
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Mostly sunny. High 82F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Facts and Factors study, The global biological seed treatment market size was worth USD 928.40 million in 2021 and is estimated to grow to USD 1803.24 million by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 11.70% over the forecast period.

Biological Seed Treatment Market: Overview

Extracts from plants and algae, fungi and bacteria, and microorganisms like fungi and bacteria can all be active ingredients in biological seed treatment. The biological material is applied to the seeds as liquid or powder. A uniform coating protects each seed and can be adjusted as necessary. When seeds are treated biologically, dangerous fungi cannot harm plants, seeds, or saplings. Additionally, natural seed treatment can promote cell division, root growth, nitrogen fixation, and an increase in plant resistance. On the other hand, biological seed treatment is environmentally friendly and encourages more even sowing and higher yields.

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Key Insights:

As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the global biological seed treatment market value will grow at a CAGR of 11.70% over the forecast period.

In terms of revenue, the global biological seed treatment market was valued at around USD 928.40 million in 2021 and is estimated to grow to USD 1803.24 billion .

in 2021 and is estimated to grow to . The market is impacted by adopting sustainable farming methods and significant investment in product development and research by key market participants. The main drivers of this market's expansion globally are the agricultural and environmental advantages linked to these biological seed treatment technologies.

By crop type, the soybean category dominated the market in 2021.

By function, the seed protection segment dominated the market in 2021.

North America dominated the global biological seed treatment market in 2021.

Facts and Factors published the latest report titled "Biological Seed Treatment Market Size, Share, Growth Analysis Report By Crop Type (Corn, Wheat, Soyabean, Cotton, Sunflower, Vegetable Crops, Other Crops (Plantation, Fruit, Pulse, Other Cereal & Oilseed, Turf, Forage, and Ornamental Crops)), By Function (Seed Enhancement, Seed Protection) By Type (Microbials, Botanicals and Others (Biofermentation Products and Natural Polymers & Derivatives)), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Insights, Overview, Comprehensive Analysis, Trends, Statistical Research, Market Intelligence, Historical Data and Forecast 2022  2028" into their research database.

Industry Dynamics:

Biological Seed Treatment Market: Growth Drivers

Concerns about the environment related to chemical seed treatment drive the market growth.

Due to the high knowledge of their potential and the growing focus on the environmental and health dangers linked to conventional chemicals, there is a major growth in the market for biological seed treatment. Chemical seed treatments harm the environment and put pollinators at considerable risk. The insecticide class known as neonicotinoids is considered extremely hazardous to honeybees. Compared to synthetic chemicals, microorganisms used as active ingredients in pest management are typically safe for the environment and non-target species.

Biological Seed Treatment Market: Restraints

Governmental restrictions may hinder the market growth.

Different nations and regions have different regulatory environments for active biological components. Generally speaking, professionals worldwide agree that biological seed treatment solutions are superior to chemical plant protection goods but still advantageous. Furthermore, regulatory obligations and assessment procedures have not always been approached consistently despite this acknowledgment. In some nations, biologicals must be registered by specific laws, or they could be registered similarly to chemical plant protection products. Sometimes there are fewer data requirements, and other times there might not even be a clearly defined registration process.

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Global Biological Seed Treatment Market: Opportunities

Using bio-priming strategies to increase the effectiveness provides market opportunities.

"Bio-priming" refers to a biological seed treatment technique that combines seed hydration and microbial injection. Microbial inoculants, such as plant growth-promoting rhizome-microorganisms (bacteria or fungi), are typically used for bio-priming seeds. This eco-friendly method increases plant growth by using certain microbes that produce chemicals that promote plant growth, improve nutrient uptake, or shield seedlings and plants from soil- or seed-borne plant pathogenic organisms. Such methods are expanding because most pesticides used to treat seeds serve as contact fungicides and cannot shield plants from foliar infections in the later phases of crop development.

Global Biological Seed Treatment Market: Challenges

Performance variations and compatibility issues with specific herbicides may hinder the market growth.

The erratic results are the characteristics of biological seed treatments that have deterred investment. The most frequent issues when using such items are desiccation and environments that prevent their growth. Inoculants that were successful with one crop might not be as successful with a different crop. Trichoderma, for example, is more successful at increasing tomato yield than cucumber yield. It is not as effective to load with just one or two microorganisms as it is to load with the full community. However, mixing microorganisms with differing growth requirements can occasionally boost effectiveness. For example, PGPR can be coupled with fungi.

Global Biological Seed Treatment Market: Segmentation

The global biological seed treatment market has been segmented into crop type, function, and type.

Based on crop type, the market is segmented into corn, wheat, soybean, cotton, sunflower, vegetable crops, and other crops (plantation, fruit, pulse, other cereal & oilseed, turf, forage, and ornamental crops). The soybean category dominated the market in 2021. For growth and development, the soybean crop needs a lot of exposure to nitrogen, which can be provided by biological fixation by seed inoculants. As a result, the soybean market for biological seed treatment will be expected to expand at the quickest rate over the projection period. By parasitizing the nematode, preventing nerve transmission, or erecting a barrier around the roots to deter nematodes, bio-nematicide seed treatments assist in protecting the roots from soybean cyst nematode (SCN) feeding.

Based on function, the market is classified into seed enhancement and protection. In 2021, the seed protection category dominated the global market. In the early seedling stage, biological seed treatments for seed protection offer specialized control of certain pests and fungal diseases. Biological seed treatments are applied to many crops to control many pests. Through protection from a variety of soil-borne diseases and insects, it guarantees uniform stand establishment.

Based on type, the global biological seed treatment market is segmented into microbial, botanical and others (fermentation products and natural polymer & derivatives). The microbial are anticipated to have the highest share in this market in 2021. Microbials, botanicals, and other materials make up the several types of biological seed treatments available today (fermentation products and natural polymers & derivatives). Due to the rising demand for microbial seed treatments in field crops, including soybean and corn, the microbial industry will lead the market in 2020.

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List of Key Players in Biological Seed Treatment Market:

BASF SE

Bayer AG

Novozymes A/S

Syngenta Group

Corteva Agriscience

Rhizobacter

ValentBioSciences

Verdesian Lifescience

Plant Health Care

Bioworks

Italpollina

UPL Limited

Bioworks Inc

Marrone Bio Innovation

Koppert Biological Systems

IPL Biologicals

Certis Europe

Advanced Biological Marketing

Kan Biosys

Incotec.

Key questions answered in this report:

What are the growth rate forecast and market size for Biological Seed Treatment Market?

What are the key driving factors propelling the Biological Seed Treatment Market forward?

What are the most important companies in the Biological Seed Treatment Market Industry?

What segments does the Biological Seed Treatment Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Biological Seed Treatment Market sample report and company profiles?

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 928.40 Million Revenue forecast in 2028 USD 10824.88 Million Growth Rate CAGR of almost 11.70 % 2022-2028 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016  2021 Forecast Years 2022  2028 Segments Covered By Crop Type, Function, Type, and Region Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2028 Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, and Rest of World Countries Covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, GCC Countries, and South Africa, among others Companies Covered BASF SE, Bayer AG, Novozymes A/S, Syngenta Group, Corteva Agriscience, Rhizobacter, ValentBioSciences, Verdesian Lifescience, Plant Health Care, Bioworks, Italpollina, UPL Limited, Bioworks Inc, Marrone Bio Innovation, Koppert Biological Systems, IPL Biologicals, Certis Europe, Advanced Biological Marketing, Kan Biosys, Incotec., and Others Report Coverage Market growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porter's five forces analysis, PEST analysis, value chain analysis, regulatory landscape, market attractiveness analysis by segments and region, company market share analysis, and COVID-19 impact analysis. Customization Scope Avail of customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs. https://www.fnfresearch.com/customization/biological-seed-treatment-market

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Recent Developments

October 2020 : Through its business unit, Syngenta Crop Protection, the Syngenta Group announced the acquisition of Valagro, a significant player in the biological industry. By employing this tactic, Syngenta Crop Protection positions itself as one of the major international businesses that will help shape the rapidly expanding global biological market, which is anticipated to double in size over the following five years roughly.

Through its business unit, Syngenta Crop Protection, the Syngenta Group announced the acquisition of Valagro, a significant player in the biological industry. By employing this tactic, Syngenta Crop Protection positions itself as one of the major international businesses that will help shape the rapidly expanding global biological market, which is anticipated to double in size over the following five years roughly. March 2019 : Horticultural Alliance, Inc., a Florida -based company in the United States that specializes in an organic method of maintaining plant health through mycorrhizal inoculants and helpful bacteria in horticulture, was bought by Italpollina ( Italy ). The "HELLO NATURE Family of Products" in the US now has more prospects for growth thanks to this deal.

Regional Dominance:

North America dominated the biological seed treatment market in 2021.

The demand for high-quality agricultural products and expanding agricultural practices are two factors that are anticipated to fuel the growth of the biological seed treatment market in this area. The primary reasons promoting the growth of this market in the North American region are the government laws enacted by industrialized nations to prohibit key active components. North America is therefore anticipated to have the greatest growth in the worldwide market. In the coming five years, it is anticipated that key businesses will invest in R&D to develop biological seed treatment and establish new production facilities.

Global Biological Seed Treatment Market is segmented as follows:

Biological Seed Treatment Market: By Crop Type Outlook (2022-2028)

Corn

Wheat

Soybean

Cotton

Sunflower

Vegetable crops

Other crops (plantation, fruit, pulse, other cereal & oilseed, turf, forage, and ornamental crops)

Biological Seed Treatment Market: By Function Outlook (2022-2028)

Seed enhancement

Seed protection

Biological Seed Treatment Market: By Type Outlook (2022-2028)

Microbials

Botanical and others (fermentation products and natural polymers & derivatives)

Biological Seed Treatment Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2028)

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

France

The UK

Spain

Germany

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Press Release for Biological Seed Treatment Market: https://www.fnfresearch.com/news/global-biological-seed-treatment-market

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According to the report published by Facts and Factors, the global reverse osmosis (RO) membrane market size was worth around in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 10% between 2022 and 2030. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Market Report : According to the report published by Facts and Factors, the global polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market size was worth around USD 37.25 billion in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 41 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 10% between 2022 and 2030.

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SOURCE FnF Research
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Facts and Factors study, The global Peptide Synthesis market size was estimated to be worth roughly USD 509.74 million in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 845.68 million by 2028. The global Peptide Synthesis market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of roughly 7.5% during the forecast period.

Peptide Synthesis Market: Overview

There have been numerous technological advancements to aid in the creation and synthesis of peptides, which have gained significant popularity in the healthcare and nutrition sectors. Both enzymatic and chemical peptide synthesis follow this trend. The market is growing as a result of the use of peptides in the pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare sectors. In addition to other lifestyle issues, peptides have a wide range of applications in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Peptide treatments are being more widely employed in oncology and metabolic illnesses as a result of the increased prevalence of these metabolic and lifestyle diseases. Approximately 463 million people worldwide have diabetes as of 2019, and that number is projected to rise to 700 million by 2045, according to a poll released by the International Diabetes Federation in 2020. Over 90% of diabetes cases globally are of type 2, making it the most prevalent kind of diabetes.

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Key Insights:

As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the global Peptide Synthesis market is estimated to grow annually at a CAGR of around 7.5% over the forecast period (2022-2028).

In terms of revenue, the global Peptide Synthesis market size was valued at around USD 509.74 million in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around USD 845.68 million by 2028. Due to a variety of driving factors, the market is predicted to rise at a significant rate.

in 2021 and is predicted to grow to around by 2028. Due to a variety of driving factors, the market is predicted to rise at a significant rate. Based on product segmentation, reagents were predicted to show maximum market share in the year 2021

Based on technology segmentation, liquid phase peptide was predicted to show maximum market share in the year 2021

Based on application segmentation, therapeutics was predicted to show maximum market share in the year 2021

Based on end-user segmentation, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies were predicted to show maximum market share in the year 2021

On the basis of region, North America was the leading revenue generator in 2021.

Facts and Factors published the latest report titled "Peptide Synthesis Market Size, Share, Growth Analysis Report By Product (Reagents, Equipment & Services), By Technology (Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS), Liquid Phase Peptide Synthesis (LPPS) & Hybrid Technology), By Application (Therapeutics, Diagnosis & Research), By End User (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization/Contract Research Organization and Academic & Research Institutes), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Insights, Overview, Comprehensive Analysis, Trends, Statistical Research, Market Intelligence, Historical Data and Forecast 2022  2028" into their research database.

Industry Dynamics:

Peptide Synthesis Market: Growth Drivers

Increasing use of peptides in pharmaceutical drugs to drive market growth.

Peptides are extremely potent and targeted pharmacological ingredients. They are used in a wide variety of therapeutic fields because of the diversity of their biological actions. Due to their broad chemical space, high biological activity, high specificity, relative simplicity of synthesis, ready availability, and low toxicity, peptides are increasingly being considered as possible active medicinal components. Peptides bring in billions of dollars in three important therapeutic areas: oncology, diabetes, and obesity. The need for peptides is also rising for the treatment of renal failure, uncommon disorders, and cardiovascular and neurological illnesses. There are already more than 100 peptide-based medications available. This number is expected to grow significantly, with approximately 700 peptide drugs and therapeutic peptides currently in clinical trials in preclinical development

Peptide Synthesis Market: Restraints

Lack of a unified set of regulations for therapeutic peptides to restrict market expansion.

Peptide-based medications are within the category of biologics, both small and large molecules. Peptides have created a number of regulatory issues due to their position on the cusp between usual tiny chemicals and large proteins. The majority of these medications are produced chemically. Although diverse peptide medications have a similar production method, they all have quite different action mechanisms. Therefore, it is a difficult challenge to create a uniform set of regulatory rules that can successfully address the safety and quality requirements for such a diverse group of molecular entities with various special modes of action. There are no official regulatory agency guidelines for creating this class of treatments.

Additionally, there is a disagreement on the regulatory approval of peptide-based medicines between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) is responsible for peptide drug evaluation, however, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) prefers a centralized process to the mutual recognition system (the marketing of peptide-based drugs is allowed throughout the European Union under the centralized procedure). Therapeutic peptides are finding it difficult to obtain permits due to the fragmented nature of the laws, which in turn is limiting their potential uses. This is regarded as one of the main factors hindering the expansion of the global peptide synthesis market.

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Global Peptide Synthesis Market: Opportunities

Development of personalized medicines to bring market growth opportunities.

The idea of individualized therapy with the best response and largest safety margin to assure improved patient care has stoked interest in personalized treatment. Proteomic analysis is an appealing and effective method for identifying the molecular profiles of distinct tissues, whether they are healthy or afflicted. The next significant advancement in customized medicine is personalized proteomics or proteome profiling, which sheds light on disease pathomechanisms. As part of the EU-funded ElectroMed project, researchers suggested creating a user-friendly platform to program electrochemically guided peptide synthesis based on a microfluidic multiplexing system that is managed by software in order to increase the use of proteomics in personalized medicine. Then, label-free sensors based on nanomaterials will be used to identify and quantify the ligand-receptor complexes.

The technology will make it possible to apply proteomics for personalized treatment by enabling the automated injection of the various reagents required for the ligand synthesis for the personalized and controlled synthesis of peptides. Growing investments in personalized medicine can be primarily due to the increased prevalence of diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the growing demand for cutting-edge treatments with few adverse effects. Personalized medicine has the potential to raise healthcare quality while also cutting expenses. Players in the peptide synthesis market will have growth opportunities as a result of such advancements in the realm of customized medicine.

Global Peptide Synthesis Market: Challenges

Issues associated with the route of administration of peptide drugs.

Due to inadequate absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, the bulk of therapeutic peptides are supplied parenterally. The use of regular injections during long-term treatment has serious disadvantages, and peptide medicines are typically advised for chronic illnesses. The oral route of medication administration offers benefits including self-administration with a high degree of patient acceptability and compliance in contrast to this difficult and sometimes problematic mode of drug delivery. Pre-systemic enzymatic breakdown and inadequate penetration of the intestinal mucosa are the main causes of the limited oral bioavailability of peptide medicines. Additionally, the molecular weight, lipophilicity, and charged functional groups of these medicines are often high, which hinders absorption. These properties cause the majority of orally given peptides to have low bioavailability and brief half-lives. The problem of absorption is solved by intravenous or subcutaneous delivery of these therapeutics, but other factors, such as systemic proteases, rapid metabolism, opsonization, conformational changes, dissociation of subunit proteins, non-covalent complexation with blood products, and destruction of labile side-groups, limit the bioavailability of peptide and protein therapeutics.

Global Peptide Synthesis Market: Segmentation

The global Peptide Synthesis market is segmented based on product, technology, application, end-use, and region.

Based on product, the market is segmented into reagents, equipment & services. Due to the increasing use of peptides in therapeutics, drug design, and gene synthesis, as well as the frequent purchase of reagents over equipment, the rising number of ongoing research projects involving peptide synthesis, and the availability of various peptide synthesis reagents on the market, the reagents segment is expected to dominate the market share of the global peptide synthesis market during the forecast period.

Based on technology, the market is segmented into solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), liquid phase peptide synthesis (LPPS) & hybrid technology. Due to the fact that the cost of peptide synthesis has significantly decreased as a result of technological advancements and the incorporation of automation in liquid phase peptide synthesis, the liquid phase peptide synthesis segment is anticipated to dominate the market share of the global peptide synthesis market during the forecast period. This is expected to increase the use of peptide synthesis globally, which will increase revenue generated globally throughout the projection period. According to standard research, SPPS is a good strategy for developing API processes and GMP manufacturing since it may be used to synthesize long peptide sequences (more than 10 amino acids) at a lower cost.

Based on application, the market is segmented into therapeutics, diagnosis & research. Due to the rise in metabolic disorders, such as infectious diseases, pain, dermatological, CNS, renal, and other conditions, the therapeutics segment is predicted to have the lion's share of the worldwide peptide synthesis market in 2021. Because there are several peptide candidates for type 2 diabetes treatment and a strong pipeline. It is anticipated that recently discovered peptides with important roles in metabolic regulation would help in the creation of effective therapeutic strategies.

Based on end use, the market is segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, contract development & manufacturing organizations/contract research organizations and academic & research institutes. Given that peptide treatments are more widely used since they are more affordable, effective, and have lower toxicity, the pharmaceutical & biotechnology firm category is predicted to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The study of COVID-19 now makes considerable use of these peptides. As part of the FDA's Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, Relief Therapeutics, a Swiss company, is examining the effectiveness of Aviptadil, a patented synthetic version of a human vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), for COVID-19-related ARDS at New York University Langone (NYU Langone Health) (CTAP). New oral drugs are being developed by numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which is expected to increase demand for this market.

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List of Key Players in Peptide Synthesis Market:

Bachem Holding AG

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Merck KGaA

GenScript Biotech Corporation

Kaneka Corporation

Biotage AB

Syngene International Ltd.

Mesa Laboratories inc.

CEM Corporation

ProteoGenix

Bio-Synthesis Inc.

Dalton Pharma Services

AAPPTec

Vivitide

AnyGen Co. Ltd.

CSBio

Advanced Chemtech

Luxembourg Bio Technologies Ltd.

JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH

AmbioPharm Inc.

Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services Ltd.

Corden Pharma International

ChemPep Inc.

CPC Scientific Inc.

Purolite Pvt Ltd.

Key questions answered in this report:

What are the growth rate forecast and market size for Peptide Synthesis Market?

What are the key driving factors propelling the Peptide Synthesis Market forward?

What are the most important companies in the Peptide Synthesis Market Industry?

What segments does the Peptide Synthesis Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Peptide Synthesis Market sample report and company profiles?

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 509.74 Million Revenue forecast in 2028 USD 845.68 Million Growth Rate CAGR of almost 7.5 % 2022-2028 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016  2021 Forecast Years 2022  2028 Segments Covered By Product, Technology, Application, End User, and Region Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2028 Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, and Rest of World Countries Covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, GCC Countries, and South Africa, among others Companies Covered Bachem Holding AG , Thermo Fisher Scientific , Merck KGaA , GenScript Biotech Corporation , Kaneka Corporation , Biotage AB , Syngene International Ltd. , Mesa Laboratories inc. , CEM Corporation , ProteoGenix , Bio-Synthesis Inc. , Dalton Pharma Services, AAPPTec , Vivitide , AnyGen Co. Ltd. , CSBio , Advanced Chemtech , Luxembourg Bio Technologies Ltd. , JPT Peptide Technologies GmbH , AmbioPharm Inc. , Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services Ltd. , Corden Pharma International , ChemPep Inc. , CPC Scientific Inc. , Purolite Pvt Ltd., and others. Report Coverage Market growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porter's five forces analysis, PEST analysis, value chain analysis, regulatory landscape, market attractiveness analysis by segments and region, company market share analysis, and COVID-19 impact analysis. Customization Scope Avail of customized purchase options to meet your exact research needs. https://www.fnfresearch.com/customization/peptide-synthesis-market

Free Brochure: https://www.fnfresearch.com/ask-to-analyst/peptide-synthesis-market

Recent Developments

In August 2021 , Bachem Holding AG ( Switzerland ) and Novo Nordisk ( Denmark ) collaborated to develop a greener technology for solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), under which two studies were conducted to find solvent alternatives to replace the reprotoxic N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane (DCM), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP).

Bachem Holding AG ( ) and Novo Nordisk ( ) collaborated to develop a greener technology for solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), under which two studies were conducted to find solvent alternatives to replace the reprotoxic N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane (DCM), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). In February 2021 , Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced novel capillary chromatography columns for proteomics, clinical peptides, and biopharmaceutical research laboratories performing high throughput, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis.

Regional Dominance:

North America to lead the market growth during the projection period.

Due to the rising number of new cancer cases in the region, North America is anticipated to have a dominating position in the global peptide synthesis market. For instance, the American Cancer Association estimates in an article from 2018 that there were around 1,735,350 new cancer cases diagnosed and 609,640 cancer deaths in the United States.

Additionally, the rising accessibility of cutting-edge healthcare infrastructure and significant investments made by the major companies in this region to develop novel peptide synthesis technologies are projected to fuel the market's expansion. For instance, Imcivree (setmelanotide), a pro-opiomelanocortin-derived peptide, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in 2020 for chronic weight management (weight loss and weight maintenance for at least one year) in patients aged six and older with obesity brought on by rare genetic conditions. This region's excellent market position in the global market for peptide synthesis is projected to be boosted during the forecast period by the US FDA's drive for expedited drug approval.

Global Peptide Synthesis Market is segmented as follows:

Peptide Synthesis Market: By Product Outlook (2022-2028)

Reagents

Equipment

Services

Peptide Synthesis Market: By Technology Outlook (2022-2028)

Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS)

Liquid Phase Peptide Synthesis (LPPS)

Hybrid Technology

Peptide Synthesis Market: By Application Outlook (2022-2028)

Therapeutics

Diagnosis

Research

Peptide Synthesis Market: By End User Outlook (2022-2028)

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization/Contract Research Organization

Academic & Research Institutes

Peptide Synthesis Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2028)

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

France

The UK

Spain

Germany

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Press Release for Peptide Synthesis Market: https://www.fnfresearch.com/news/global-peptide-synthesis-market

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SOURCE FnF Research
BERKELEY, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Atom Computing has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to explore how atomic arrays of neutral atoms could accelerate the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing.

The company received a project award and funding to develop a next-generation system as part of DARPA's Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program. According to DARPA, the primary goal of the US2QC program is to determine if an underexplored approach to quantum computing is capable of achieving utility-scale operation much sooner than conventional predictions.

For this project, Atom Computing will focus on the scalability of atomic array-based quantum computing and the capability of the company to produce systems based on the technology. Atom Computing has shown early demonstrations of its speed and the scalability of its technology by being the fastest company to develop a 100-qubit prototype and demonstrating record coherence times.

The DARPA-sponsored project will explore new ways to scale qubit count for larger systems, additional layers of entanglement connectivity for faster performance, and a broader set of quantum error correction algorithms for fault tolerance.

"In order to realize the scaling advantages of our quantum computing technology, there are a number of engineering challenges that need to be overcome. With DARPA's support, we will be able to accelerate our development timeframe," said Rob Hays, CEO of Atom Computing. "We are honored to be selected for such an important program to advance Atom Computing and the United States toward utility-scale quantum computing."

To learn more about Atom Computing visit: https://atom-computing.com.

About Atom Computing

Atom Computing is building scalable quantum computers with atomic arrays of optically trapped neutral atoms. Learn more at atom-computing.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Atom Computing
MURFREESBORO, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After four years of litigation, Backer-Springfield (Backer) was recently vindicated when the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware threw out a trade secret misappropriation action brought by its competitor, Zoppas Industries de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (ZIM). "We are pleased that the court agreed with us that ZIM's allegations were completely meritless," said Backer's V.P. of Sales/Marketing & Engineering, Louis Wallace. "We are happy that this cloud over our reputation has been lifted, and we can continue to serve our customers with innovative, top-quality products, as we have for over 100 years."

ZIM alleged in October 2018 that Backer copied ZIM's design for a new heating element for electric range tops after a change to U.L. safety requirements rendered existing range top heating elements non-conforming. ZIM alleged that Backer improperly received details of ZIM's heating element design from a mutual customer and used the information to secure the customer's business.

Backer vigorously defended itself on the grounds that Backer's design was developed independently and without any ZIM confidential information. Backer pointed out, for example, that it filed a patent application on its own design before the alleged events of ZIM's complaint even occurred. Following discovery, Backer moved for summary judgment, pointing out that ZIM had no evidence supporting its allegations. The Court agreed, finding that "ZIM has failed to produce any evidence that Backer acquired any ZIM trade secret" from the customer. Backer is currently seeking to recover its legal fees resulting from this meritless suit.

Backer-Springfield is a global market leader in heat-related solutions for the appliance manufacturing industries. Based on more than a century of experience in the field, Backer-Springfield manufactures and sells heating products to the appliance industry. Backer-Springfield is the largest producer of tubular heating elements in North America manufactures more than 25 million a year.

SOURCE Backer-Springfield
Officially Opens on February 9, 2023

MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Banesco USA, an independent Florida state-chartered bank with upwards of $2.78 Billion in assets and six locations between South Florida and Puerto Rico, has moved its Miami headquarters to a new, upgraded facility centrally located in East Doral at 3155 NW 77th Avenue with direct frontage to the Palmetto Expressway/State Road 826 and 10 minutes to Miami International Airport. The grand opening will officially happen on Thursday, February 9.

The three-story building has 60,000 square feet housing office spaces and a full-service Branch with state-of-the-art amenities, newly remodeled interior with exclusive ecological modern furnishings, customized meeting rooms, client conference rooms, multiple staff huddle areas, an interactive training room and a cafe as well as an outdoor terrace for staff to enjoy. The building is fully gated and features ample parking spaces for clients in addition to a three-floor parking garage for staff.

"The investment in our new headquarters reflects our long-term commitment to service our community with a relationship-focused banking model," explained Calixto (Cali) Garcia-Velez, President & CEO of Banesco USA. "In fact, the location puts us closer to our current client base and the professional, industrial and business markets we target with our well-structured portfolio of products and differentiated service offerings."

Each floor of the headquarters features coffee break areas for clients and staff. The facility has an open floor plan concept which increases collaboration and improves communication among team members.

"The space was designed to facilitate workflow efficiencies, team collaboration, and above all, create a warm and friendly environment that makes employees feel appreciated and our clients feel welcomed," explained Garcia-Velez.

For more information, visit BanescoUSA.com.

About Banesco USA

Founded in 2006 and based in Miami, Banesco USA is an independent Florida state-chartered bank with $2.78 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022, and six locations between South Florida and Puerto Rico. Banesco USA is proud to serve the commercial real estate sector, small and middle-market businesses, as well as professionals who work in the community. The bank services both domestic and international clients as well as operating companies with a suite of products and services delivered with personalized attention to support their financial journeys.

Media Contacts:

Jessica Wade Pfeffer | 305-804-8424 | [email protected]

Tyler Sminkey | 786-390-8510 | [email protected]

SOURCE Banesco USA
Collaboration to Add MeMed BV to Beckman Coulter Test Menu for use on Access Family of Immunoassay Analyzers

BREA, Calif. and HAIFA, Israel, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, a global leader in clinical diagnostics, and MeMed, a leader in the emerging field of advanced host-response technologies, announced today a strategic partnership to jointly develop and commercialize the proven MeMed BV test, a host immune response diagnostic that is able to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections for use on the Access Family of Immunoassay Analyzers.

The immune system speaks. We listen.

Symptoms of bacterial and viral infections are often clinically indistinguishable, which creates challenges for physicians when deciding to start treating patients with antibiotics or not. Unfortunately, this ambiguity can result in the underuse and overuse of antibiotics. Studies have shown that underuse of antibiotics for patients with a bacterial infection can reach 20%.i While overuse of antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance, which is one of the top 10 global public health threats according to the World Health Organization.ii Today, antibiotic-resistant infections account for more than 700,000 deaths globally with the potential to increase to 10 million deaths by the year 2025.iii The development of new antibiotics is almost at a standstill, critically accelerating the need for increased antibiotic stewardship.iii

MeMed BV is a diagnostic test developed to address management of patients with acute infection in different clinical settings, including Emergency Departments. The MeMed BV test uses machine learning to integrate measurements of three key host-immune proteins (TRAIL, IP-10, and CRP) into a score indicating the likelihood of bacterial or viral infections. This performance has been validated on MeMed's compact immunoassay platform (MeMed Key) by world class institutions in multi-national blinded validation studies as well as in real-world use, altogether in over 20,000 patients. MeMed BV on MeMed Key is US FDA cleared, CE-Marked and approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Under the terms of the agreement, Beckman Coulter has obtained the rights to develop and co-promote the proprietary MeMed BV test on its Access Family of Immunoassay Analyzers.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with MeMed to make this novel test available to millions of patients through our Access Family of Immunoassay Analyzers. The ability to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections early in the diagnostic process has significant potential to impact patient care, as well as combat antimicrobial resistance," said Julie Sawyer Montgomery, President, Beckman Coulter. "Today's investment reflects our commitment to continuously expand our IA menu through novel biomarker development; advance Emergency Medicine diagnostics alongside our MDW biomarker to measure infection severity; and complement our microbiology innovations critical to identifying specific bacterial infection to optimize antibiotic therapies."

Dr. Eran Eden, MeMed's CEO and co-founder, added: "Our vision for MeMed BV is that it becomes standard of care, enabling significant improvements in patient management to address the urgent global antimicrobial resistance threat. We believe that forging a strategic alliance with an industry leader, such as Beckman Coulter, will expedite the realization of this vision and support better clinical, operational, and financial outcomes for healthcare systems globally."

About Beckman Coulter. Inc.

A global leader in advanced diagnostics, Beckman Coulter has challenged convention to elevate the diagnostic laboratory's role in improving patient health for more than 80 years. Our mission is to Relentlessly Reimagine Healthcare, One Diagnosis at a Time  and we do this by applying the power of science, technology and the passion and creativity of our teams. Our diagnostic solutions are used in complex clinical testing, and are found in hospitals, reference laboratories and physician office settings around the globe. We exist to deliver smarter, faster diagnostic solutions that move the needle forward from what's now to what's next. We do this by accelerating care with an extensive clinical menu, scalable lab automation technologies, insightful clinical informatics, and optimize lab performance services. Beckman Coulter is part of the Danaher Corporation family of global science and technology companies. Headquartered in Brea, Calif., it has more than 11,000 global team members.

Follow and connect with Beckman Coulter via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook

About MeMed

At MeMed , our mission is to translate the immune system's complex signals into simple insights that transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, profoundly benefiting patients and society.

Follow and connect with MeMed via LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook .

 2023 Beckman Coulter. All rights reserved. Beckman Coulter, the stylized logo, and the Beckman Coulter product and service marks mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Beckman Coulter, Inc. in the United States and other countries. MeMed, MeMed BV, and MeMed Key are trademarks or registered trademarks of MeMed in the United States and other countries. Used under license. 2023-11271

i Craig JC, Williams GJ, Jones M, Codarini M, Macaskill P, Hayen A, et al. The accuracy of clinical symptoms and signs for the diagnosis of serious bacterial infection in young febrile children: Prospective cohort study of 15 781 febrile illnesses. BMJ. 2010 Apr 20;340.

ii No Time to Wait: Securing the Future From Drug-Resistant Infections, Report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, April 2019, Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance

iii World Health Statistics 2022, Monitoring health for the Sustainable Development Goals, World Heal Organization, 2022

SOURCE Beckman Coulter, Inc.
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawkins Way Capital, in a joint venture with Varde Partners, has acquired 525 Lexington Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, comprising a 655-room, 406,261 square foot tower across 35 stories. A designated landmark building, the 1924-built property previously operated as a Marriott International branded hotel focused on corporate and business travel before closing at the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

525 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY

"525 Lexington represents a compelling opportunity to increase our footprint in the heart of Manhattan at a favorable basis. We believe the property will benefit from an injection of fresh equity and perspective to help weather economic and financial market headwinds and remain bullish on long-term growth and a sustained recovery of the New York market in general," said Ross Walker, Hawkins Way Capital's Co-Founder and Managing Partner. "We look forward to continuing to structure viable exit opportunities for existing landlords and grow our presence on the East Coast."

The acquisition marks the 9th purchase in the past five quarters for Hawkins Way Capital, combining to over 3,500 new units and over $1.3 billion in investments and continuing Hawkins Way Capital's push into urban student housing and hospitality properties. The Lexington Avenue property will be integrated into a nationwide network of over 5,700 units and 9,500 beds managed by Hawkins Way Capital's affiliated property management company.

For more information please visit: www.hawkinsway.com

About Hawkins Way Capital

Hawkins Way Capital, co-founded by Managing Partners Ross Walker and Karan Suri, is a vertically integrated real estate company with $2.5 billion of assets under management on behalf of institutions and individuals focused on value-add and opportunistic investments across various asset classes and geographies. Its disciplined approach leverages the principals' investing experience and extensive network to execute strategies that offer long-term value. Hawkins Way Capital has offices in Beverly Hills and New York. For more information, please visit www.hawkinsway.com .

About Varde Partners

Varde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $85 billion since inception and manages approximately $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm's investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Varde has offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Hawkins Way Capital
First Round Funding Led by Viking Global Investors and Casdin Capital

Boro Dropulic, Ph.D., MBA, named Chief Executive Officer of Vector BioMed

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vector BioMed, a biomanufacturing company specializing in the manufacture of lentiviral vectors, today announced its launch and first financing round led by Viking Global Investors and Casdin Capital. The funds will support the acceleration of commercial operations to provide rapid access to high-quality lentiviral vectors for pre-clinical development, clinical trials, and commercialization.

In contrast to traditional contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), Vector BioMed is a solution provider that will provide partners with the capabilities to take their lentiviral vector-based medicinal concepts into the clinic and accelerate their path to commercialization. Vector BioMed will help address the industry's current vector supply bottleneck by providing lentiviral vectors at scale, while also offering turnkey solutions for vector design and optimization, pre-clinical manufacturing, GMP manufacturing, and other support services.

In conjunction with the funding and launch, co-founder Boro Dropulic, Ph.D., MBA has been named Chief Executive Officer of Vector BioMed. Dr. Dropulic brings more than 30 years of leadership and experience in the design, development, manufacturing, clinical translation, regulatory, clinical implementation, and commercialization of Lentiviral vector technology. Among his career accomplishments, Dr. Dropulic led the team that first demonstrated the safety of lentiviral vectors in humans with his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania. Later he founded Lentigen, which developed the lentiviral vector used to produce Kymriah, the first FDA-approved gene therapy product. He implemented and directed the company's highly profitable CDMO business model and therapeutic pipeline of gene therapy products. Dr. Dropulic is also a co-founder and Executive Director of Caring Cross, a non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and enabling access to cures for all patients.

"Now is the perfect time to launch our business," said Dr. Dropulic. "With the FDA granting approval of several gene therapy products, there is now a tremendous demand for the manufacture of lentiviral vectors, which are critical for clinical trials and commercialization. Vector BioMed aims to transform the industry by providing algorithm-optimized, high-titer, and high-quality Lentiviral vectors for partners that seek to move quickly to clinical trials and commercialization. Our team has decades of experience manufacturing lentiviral viral vectors, providing tremendous value for our partners."

The commercial success of CAR-T cell therapy in cancer and hematopoietic stem cells for genetic diseases has created an exponential demand for manufacturing capacity and reagents, most notably for custom lentiviral vectors  the preferred method for delivery of genes into therapeutic cellular populations. There is currently an 1824-month backlog for lentiviral vector manufacturing services. Vector BioMed is positioned to take advantage of the significant market need for lentiviral vectors by providing several improved solutions such as algorithm-optimized vectors that enable superior vector titer and function, and a platform serum-free suspension vector manufacturing process that is suitable for rapid clinical development and scalable for commercialization.

Vector Biomed Co-Founder and board member James Kenny added: "Vector BioMed's management team has decades of experience in the commercialization of lentiviral vector technologies. I have known Dr. Dropulic for decades, and his reputation in the lentiviral vector space is well-known, having led the first-ever clinical trial that established the safety of lentiviral vectors in humans. He and his team also developed the original lentiviral vector that is used in the production of Kymriah, the first FDA-approved gene therapy product. We are very excited to be partnering with Viking and Casdin, two world-class organizations, to accelerate Vector BioMed's capabilities and services."

Dr. Dropulic added: "We are delighted to be partnered with Viking and Casdin, both highly experienced investors in the cell and gene therapy space. They bring significant resources and expertise to accelerate our goal to become the preferred solution for partners needing Lentiviral vectors for clinical development and commercialization of their therapeutic candidates."

About Vector BioMed

Vector BioMed is a state-of-the-art vector contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in best-in-class lentiviral vectors to increase efficiencies in clinical development and commercialization of cell and gene therapies. Vector BioMed's services include turn-key solutions for vector design, vector optimization, pre-clinical manufacturing, validation, and GMP manufacturing to address the biotechnology industry's current vector supply bottleneck by providing high-titer lentiviral vectors from bench to clinic to commercialization. Vector BioMed is the first company to be originated by Caring Cross, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and enabling access to cures for all patients. For more information on Vector Biomed visit https://vectorbiomed.com/.

CONTACT:

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Investors

Daniel Kontoh-Boateng

[email protected]

Rosalyn Christian

[email protected]

Media

Bill Borden

[email protected]

Dave Schemelia

[email protected]

SOURCE Vector BioMed
BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Birch Gold Group, a leading gold IRA company honored America's defenders with a donation of $25,000 to the Gary Sinise Foundation.

On accepting the donation, Gib Bosworth, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Outreach, said, "Gary Sinise continues to serve as a great example to our nation as he inspires individuals and great companies such as Birch Gold Group to help the Gary Sinise Foundation 'pay it forward' as we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families and those in need. I'm grateful for the generous support of the Birch Gold Group, and it was an honor to spend time with their team."

"We're thrilled to support the Gary Sinise Foundation's crucial mission to empower America's defenders, veterans, first responders, and their families," said Andy Klein, Chief Marketing Officer at Birch Gold Group. He highlighted Birch Gold Group's work on financial literacy for veterans and financial health as examples of service to America's veterans, and added, "It's a natural fit."

Why? Because uncertainty is the only certainty for soldiers and first responders. That's incredibly stressful. And financial uncertainty makes the situation even worse.

"Tangible gold and silver, though? They're the opposite of uncertain," Klein said.

"I want to make sure our heroes know how to create financial stability for themselves and their families. We got their six."

About Birch Gold Group

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Burbank, California, Birch Gold Group is a leading dealer of precious metals serving customers across the United States. With a strong commitment to educating Americans on the benefits of precious metals, Birch Gold Group has earned an exemplary reputation as the gold IRA experts.

Learn more at https://www.birchgold.com or (800) 355-2116.

About the Gary Sinise Foundation

The Gary Sinise Foundation was established under the philanthropic direction of award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, a 40-year advocate of our nation's defenders. The foundation's mission is to serve our country by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. As our Founder and Chairman Gary Sinise always says, "While we can never do enough for our defenders and their loved ones, we can always do a little more." That spirit of service is the bedrock of all of the Foundation's programs. Learn more at GarySiniseFoundation.org .

SOURCE Birch Gold Group
Company provides emergency funding to combat impact of high fuel costs

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") is providing $300,000 to support heating assistance across Massachusetts  especially critical as temperatures are expected to drop below zero late this week. The funds will be distributed to more than 20 not-for-profit organizations that provide fuel assistance to low-income families across the state.

The Blue Cross grants will bolster local safety nets for communities during a winter when home heating costs are projected to be significantly higher for all heating fuel sources. The organizations being supported by these grants provide direct cash to families and individuals, including those who may not be eligible for federal and state energy funds.

"Access to safe home heating is essential for good health," said Jeff Bellows, vice president of corporate citizenship and public affairs at Blue Cross. "We're proud to support not-for-profits across the state and their work to ensure the health and safety of families and individuals this winter."

"This winter, higher gas and heating costs are adding an additional burden and stress for families and individuals," says Rick Doane, executive director of Interfaith Social Services. "Blue Cross is stepping up to help us support those in need, ensuring they can safely heat their homes without sacrificing essentials like food or medicine."

Blue Cross winter grant recipients:

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts:

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.org) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable and equitable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Author, speaker, and educator, Dr. Sarah Washington O'Neal Rushgreat-granddaughter of former slave turned famous educator, and founder of Tuskegee UniversityBooker T. Washington, recently moved her homebase from the West Coast to the Southeast of the US. She and husband, Anthony, plan to settle in, or near, the Research Triangle of North Carolina, which encompasses Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) Former slave, turned famous educator, and founder of Tuskegee University Dr. Sarah Washington O'Neal Rush, Author, Speaker, Educator, and Great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington

Dr. Rush looks forward to picking up in the South where she left off on the West Coast. Through speaking engagements, writing, and creating programs, she impels others to rise above their circumstances. She's known for drawing a parallel between her story of overcoming difficulties with her great-grandfather's legacy of resilience. Though she's quick to point out that her story in no way compares to his story of rising above slavery. She inspires audiences across country to perseverefrom kindergarten to college students, to churches, nonprofits, and corporations.

In her award-winning book, "Rising Up from the Blood: A Legacy Reclaimed, A Bridge Forward" she reflects on her life as a teenage mother, raising her son alone in public housing. Yet, against all odds she was able to rise above her circumstances to finish high school early, at the top of her class. Today she credits her tenacity to God, and to Booker T. Washington's blood running through her veins. Although she wasn't very aware of either of them during her struggle.

Her dim outlook on life brightened dramatically when she visited Tuskegee University for the first time in her life as a young adult. "Discovering my history and how my great-grandfather and other former slaves were able to do so much more with so much less, changed my life." Following that visit, she was convinced that when youth and young adults learn about the strength of who they are and where they come from, it has power to change lives. She says, "I am the evidence." That belief led her to found Booker T. Washington Empowerment Network (BTWEN), a nonprofit created to teach students about their heritage.

One way they were able to accomplish this was by taking a group of students across country following in his footsteps from slavery to freedom. Some of these students had never been outside of their communities, let alone on an airplane. They flew to the plantation where Washington was born in Virginia. Then they went to West Virginia, where his family moved immediately following freedom. From there they went to Hampton University where he gained his education. Next was the White House, where Washington was the first Black invited to dine with a president. The trip concluded at Tuskegee University, where deep reflection of the entire trip transpired.

Although she insists that she'll never forget where she comes fromborn in Berkeley and raised in OaklandDr. Rush says she's excited about the move. "While I'll deeply miss my friends, family, and colleagues, I look forward to being amid the rich history that the South offers. Especially the landmarks of where many of my ancestors' lives began, and being in the mecca of the second largest number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, in the US."

Contact:

Anthony Rush

[email protected]

510-402-3854

www.ExtraordinaryLegacy.net

SOURCE Dr. Sarah Washington O'Neal Rush
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) ("SinglePoint" or "the Company") announced today that its subsidiary, BPA Solutions, a premier provider and consultant for clean air services, fulfilled an initial purchase order of Certified HEPA, AIRBOX air purification units to a university in North Carolina.

Ran Johnston, BPA Solutions VP of Sales, said, "Adding another University purchase to our platform showcases continued efforts by schools to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) at their campuses. Working with a North Carolina educational institution is always a pleasure, and this order is a same-day delivery made it all the more special. The quick turnaround is a testament to AIRBOX and another example of the benefits of selling to in-state universities."

AIRBOX units are made and manufactured in Statesville, North Carolina, and are certified "Made in the USA" products. Each unit is quality control tested before leaving the assembly floor. BPA Solutions uses only the highest quality components to build the leading air purifier designed for commercial use but is usable in any location. Every unit produced uses Certified HEPA filtration, the highest filtration certification available today.

BPA Solutions is an industry expert in improving indoor air quality. BPA Solutions is an industry expert in improving indoor air quality. BPA Solutions has been working with schools using ESSER , EANS , and FEMA dollars . The Company is uniquely qualified to effectively implement air purification solutions and assist school administrators with tapping into the existing Federal funding.

Indoor Air Quality is strongly correlated with students' health and learning potential . Most Americans spend the majority of their time indoors, creating a significant emphasis on how indoor air affects us all. Clean indoor air can improve quality of life and reduce respiratory infections and the risk of various chronic conditions such as asthma. For students, this means more time to focus and study without distraction. Furthermore, better IAQ reduces the potential for transmission of infectious diseases. Homes and public spaces can benefit from the best air quality monitors and filters for mold and other pollutants for health and protection.

AIRBOX , the only commercial-grade air purifier made in the USA, made the same-day in-state delivery of this order, continuing their commitment to serving schools in their area. BPA Solutions is proud to work with AIRBOX and share its commitment to quality products and timely delivery.

About BPA Solutions

At BPA Solutions, we believe in providing schools with products and services designed to create a healthier, safer school environment. Our flagship entity, BOX Pure Air, introduced us to the school industry and the daily problems schools face. As we continue to expand, we are constantly looking for ways to provide quality resources at a reasonable cost to schools.

BOX Pure Air - Air Purification and indoor air quality solutions

LifeShield+ - Bullet-resistant window shades & door shields

BPA Consulting - guidance for schools on receiving and spending federal grant money

For more information, please visit BPAsolutions.com

About SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB:SING)

SinglePoint is a sustainable lifestyle Company focused on the solar energy and storage and indoor air purification markets. The Company plans to build the largest renewable energy solutions network and modernize the traditional solar energy and energy storage business model. SinglePoint continues to execute its acquisition strategy by exploring future growth opportunities in indoor air purification and ventilation, electric vehicle charging, solar as a subscription service, and additional energy efficiencies and appliances that enhance sustainability and healthier life. For more information, visit the Company's websites: www.singlepoint.com , www.bostonsolar.us , and www.boxpureair.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, besides statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding revenue projections, financing opportunities, potential plans and objectives of the Company, anticipated growth, and future expansion, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Technical and other complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

SinglePoint Inc Investor Contact:

Tra-Digital IR

[email protected]

212.389.9782 ext. 107

BPA Solutions Contact Information:

[email protected]

843.302.2838

www.bpasolutions.com

SOURCE SinglePoint Inc.
MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In most countries and geographical regions, government health agencies review brand names composed of Latin characters (the letters of the English alphabet). Pharmaceutical manufacturers will submit brand name proposals to a health agency for review, and that agency will assess those names for similarity to existing brand names in that country or region. If a name is too similar to another name based on that agency's guidelines, the proposed brand name may be rejected.

"In Japan, the brand name review process is much different," said Sanae Suga, Brand Institute's Vice President of Creative Nomenclature. English brand names are transliterated into katakana, a component of the Japanese writing system. The katakana transliteration is meant to match the English pronunciation of the Latin rendering. The transliterated name is then screened through a program run by the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center (JAPIC) to compare the name against other katakana names.

The JAPIC's program places significant emphasis on prefix similarity. If the prefix of a proposed katakana name is identical to the prefix of an approved katakana name, the new name is likely to be rejected by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), a regulatory agency comparable to the US FDA. "Brand Institute has a proprietary program that that mimics the JAPIC's program to help our clients with their Japanese regulatory submissions."

About Brand Institute and our wholly owned regulatory subsidiary, Drug Safety Institute

Brand Institute is the global leader in pharmaceutical and healthcare-related name development, with a portfolio of over 4,000 marketed healthcare brand names, 1,300 USAN/INN nonproprietary names for 1,200 clients. The company partners on over 75% of pharmaceutical brand and nonproprietary name approvals globally every year with healthcare manufacturers. Drug Safety Institute is composed of former naming regulatory officials from global government health agencies, including Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Health Canada (HC), American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). These regulatory experts co-authored the name review guidelines with their respective agencies, with many responsible for ultimately approving (or rejecting) brand name applications. Now working for a private company, these professionals provide Brand Institute's clients with industry-leading guidance pertaining to drug name safety (i.e., preventing medication errors), packaging, and labeling.

Contact:

James Dettore

Chairman & C.E.O.

[email protected]

www.brandinstitute.com

SOURCE Brand Institute, Inc.
Modern Offices in Charlotte's South End Can Accommodate Approximately 300 Workers

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brightspeed, the nation's fifth-largest incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC), today celebrated the completion of its more than 27,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Charlotte with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The recently launched telecom company's headquarters on the seventh floor of Vantage South End east tower at 1120 South Tryon Street is in the heart of the Queen City's vibrant South End neighborhood. Brightspeed's planned investment of more than $2 billion to build a faster, more reliable fiber network includes increasing its workforce. The company has already created about a hundred jobs in Charlotte and plans to continue to grow in the coming years.

Front Row (from L-R): James Weaver (Secretary of the NC Dept of Information Technology and the states CIO), Bob Mudge (Chief Executive Officer). Back Row (from L-R): Nate Denny (Deputy Secretary of the ND Dept of IT), Jonathan Spalter (USTelecom President), Amy Wulfestieg (Chief Communications Officer), Tom Maguire (Chief Operating Officer), Chris Creager (Chief Administration Officer), Steve Tugentman (Chief Legal Officer), Jeff Lowney (Chief Commercial Officer), Ashok Kumar (Chief Technology Officer), Courtland Madock (Chief Marketing Officer), Colon McLean (Chief HR Officer), Christie Grumbos (Chief Financial Officer).

"We chose North Carolina as our corporate home because of the state's dynamic economy, business-friendly and innovative environment and diverse talent pipeline," said Bob Mudge, Brightspeed CEO. "This South End location embodies our company culture and energy by providing our employees a space that enhances their experience through its amenities and inspires them to deliver on our company promise to give customers faster, more reliable internet service."

Brightspeed has a service territory encompassing more than 6.5 million locations in mainly rural and suburban communities across the Midwest, Southeast, and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In its home state of North Carolina, the company plans 800,000 new fiber passings over the next five years. Additionally, Brightspeed recently announced that it was awarded more than $90 million in grants covering 38,000 locations across 29 counties in North Carolina as part of the state's recent round of the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant process.

"Brightspeed's investment in North Carolina is significant  from bringing broadband to our rural and suburban communities to bringing more high-paying jobs to the state," said N.C. Department of Information Technology Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Jim Weaver. "Brightspeed's choice to make Charlotte its home proves that North Carolina is fostering an environment where tech companies are thriving."

Brightspeed's headquarters will house corporate functions including legal, marketing, finance and human resources, and can accommodate approximately 300 employees. As hybrid work models continue to evolve, the corporate headquarters will serve as a meeting and collaboration facility for the company's more than 4,000 employees nationwide.

With 635,000 square feet of office, retail and amenity space in two 11- story towers, Vantage South End is walkable to Charlotte's Uptown, the light rail, Rail Trail, and other South End destinations and is convenient to Interstates 77 and 85. Developed by The Spectrum Companies, the property earned a Platinum WiredScore, the highest global rating for digital connectivity, for its resilient, adaptable infrastructure and enhanced mobile coverage.

Brightspeed engaged Little Diversified Architectural consulting to design the workspace, Shelco as the general contractor and CBRE as the project manager.

About Brightspeed

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and with assets and associated operations in 20 states, Brightspeed provides broadband and telecommunications services through a network platform capable of serving more than 6.5 million homes and businesses. Brightspeed's vision is to promote a world where people and businesses have access to the connectivity they need to accomplish what is important. Our nearly 4,000 employees are committed to bridging the digital divide by deploying a state-of-the-art fiber network and a customer experience that makes staying connected simple and seamless. For more information, please visit www.Brightspeed.com.

Media Contact

Gene Rodriguez Miller

director, Public Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE Brightspeed
Leading real estate owners and operators are set to anonymously exchange lease data for office and industrial assets to strengthen acquisition and asset management capabilities, promote operational efficiency and reduce market risk.

NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Preciso today announced the successful expansion of its data exchange platform to Brazil, with the participation of global and domestic funds including Brookfield Properties, Credit Suisse Hedging-Griffo (CSHG), Cy Capital and HIRE Capital, among others. The group of investment funds, FIIs and banks will independently and anonymously contribute and access redacted lease data for office and industrial assets to support underwriting and leasing activities and strengthen investment theses.

Preciso's focus on data verification and recognition of key confidentiality considerations has created the necessary balance to ensure institutional participation. The platform will give owners and operators the ability to deliver effective results based on concrete data for the first time in a major emerging market.

"This revolutionary commercial real estate initiative will enable companies to deliver maximum returns at a time of global uncertainty and to continue to attract foreign capital," said Preciso's Isi Stein. "The leadership and vision demonstrated by the platform's adopters is a testament to their dedication to the future of Brazil and their commitment to delivering optimal results for their investors."

"One of the great challenges of the Brazilian market is the dubious quality of information," said Brookfield Asset Management's Leandro Angelino. "Preciso addresses this challenge, and we are excited to be involved in this innovative initiative, which will certainly help many players in the real estate market to obtain better quality real estate data."

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Preciso
Up to $10,000 in Cash Prizes Awarded to Educators and Students

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BUILD.org is excited to announce the Second Annual 2023 Southwestern PA Youth Pitch Competition happening on April 20, 2023. With the generous support of BNY Mellon, Comcast NBCUniversal, DonorsChoose, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, this innovative entrepreneurship competition highlights BUILD's mission to ignite the power of youth in underserved communities to build career success, entrepreneurial mindsets and opportunity through offering real-world experiences and skills. All middle and high school students in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are eligible to participate in this competition. Additionally, Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to attend the competition.

Each team of young entrepreneurs will create a "pitch" for a business, alongside an educator sponsor, and submit a video to enter the competition. Pitch videos are due on March 15, 2023. Students will have the opportunity to complete the BUILD Design Challenge, an interactive, project-based learning program where they will learn to:

Empathize and identify a problem in their school and community

Develop a business idea to help solve the problem

Practice their pitches and create a 2-3 minute video pitch submission

Pitch their ideas live to a panel of judges in the final round to win cash prizes and bragging rights for their school or organization!

"The City of Pittsburgh is thrilled to bring this competition back to students in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties for a second year in a row," said Lamar Blackwell, Founding Director, BUILD Pittsburgh. "Pittsburgh has seen enormous economic growth over the past year, however minority communities and students haven't gotten a chance to capitalize off that development. Students and educators will have the opportunity to learn about the entrepreneurial mindset (through the Southwestern PA Youth Pitch Competition) and the skills needed that will equip them for the future of work and ultimately, economic mobility and freedom for all."

All educators will receive a free, one hour professional development training session on the BUILD Design Challenge and Design Thinking Principles, and 10-hours of free curriculum to help their students implement Human-Centered Design. The top 4 student finalists will face-off in the celebratory event on April 20, 2023. Sign up here today: https://build.org/swpayouthpitch/

CONTACT: Julie Tumasz, [email protected]

SOURCE BUILD.org
PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and her organization, the California Partners Project, unveiled a Board Diversity Playbook to help increase the number of women on corporate boards of directors. The playbook was co-created with the Stanford's VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab with additional support from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The new Board Diversity Playbook is available here .

"To continue to move the needle on gender equity, we must increase women's representation at the tables where decisions are made," said First Partner Siebel Newsom. "The private sector is critical to this work, as decisions made in corporate boardrooms radiate across companies and communities. When there is a dearth of diverse women's voices in the boardroom, particularly women of color's voices, there is an absence of unique perspectives and experiences in decision-making that are critical to the well-being of society. That's why I am so proud of our Board Diversity Playbook, which will provide companies with best practices and tools necessary to diversify their boards. Despite so much remaining work to do, I am grateful to all of our collaborators at my alma mater Stanford and beyond."

The free Board Diversity Playbook consists of strategies for adding new talent to corporate boards, along with tools and implementation tactics to attract, recruit and onboard talented women board members. Playbook contributors include Fortune 500 board members, seasoned talent recruiters, and c-suite leadership at top California companies and advocacy organizations. Leveraging the playbook will help companies find a broad range of talented women leaders who can provide insights and skills to enhance a board's performance and success.

"Many studies have shown that having more diversity on boards leads to better decision-making," said Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Lead Strategist, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-founder of the Stanford VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab. "This playbook is a step-by-step guide, based on research and real-world examples, that makes inclusive board recruitment easier than ever before."

Increased board gender diversity also increases corporate revenue: according to California Partners Project's The Big Picture report , companies with 30% or more women directors on their board correlated with higher revenue than companies with less than 30%. A 2017 study also found US companies with three or more female directors reported earnings 45% higher per share than companies with no female directors.

Senate Bill 826, which was signed into law in 2018, required all public companies in California to have one to three women on their board of directors - dependent on board size - by the end of 2021. When the law took effect in 2018, 29% of public companies had zero women serving on their boards. Today, only 1% of California's public companies have no women serving on their boards. Further, over 2,100 California public company board seats are held by women today, up from 766 before Senate Bill 826 was enacted.

About the California Partners Project: Co-founded by California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Olivia Morgan in partnership with the people of California, the California Partners Project is dedicated to championing gender equity across the state and promoting the mental, behavioral, and physical well-being of California's children. For more information about CPP visit https://www.calpartnersproject.org/ . Connect with the California Partners Project on LinkedIn and Instagram .

Media Contact:

[email protected]

(323) 741-1132

SOURCE California Partners Project
The natural protein supplement is formulated for optimal healthy hair restoration

MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Capillus, one of the leaders in hair regrowth and restoration using laser therapy devices, today announced the launch of Nurish, its first line of hair supplements made from Cynatine HNS, a cosmeceutical ingredient derived from natural proteins found in the body. Representing another step in the journey towards a full head of healthy hair, the Nurish supplement is specially formulated to provide the key building blocks your body needs to grow stronger, healthier hair with clinically-proven ingredients.

Capillus, leader in hair restoration, has launched its first hair wellness supplement called Nurish. Tweet this Capillus launches first hair supplement for men and women

"As a premier provider of hair restoration medical devices backed by more than 10 years of market relevance and happy customers, we are very excited to launch a science-backed hair supplement that will help those on their journey to healthier hair growth," said Domingo A. Moreira, chief executive officer of Curallux, LLC, the parent company of Capillus. "As a company we are committed to bringing our customers the best treatment options and technology possible, to help alleviate the stress and embarrassment that many face due to hair loss."

Cynatine HNS, the primary ingredient contained in the Nurish supplement, is a bio-available form of Keratin, the protein that hair and nails are mostly made of. Cynatine HNS is clinically proven to improve hair tensile strength and luster, shine and brightness, as well as assist in growing stronger nails.





In a study by the Scientific World Journal, Cynatine HNS was shown to help boost the delivery of keratine peptides to the body, particularly to the hair and nails. Over the course of the study, participants showed significantly less hair loss and improved hair shininess and brightness.

The use of Nurish supplements in combination with daily treatment of the company's Capillus Cap will improve hair health and strength and promote the growth of new hair for both men and women. Capillus caps help treat hair loss by delivering low-level laser therapy (LLLT) directly to the hair follicles, which is shown to increase cell metabolism yielding thicker hair, and is FDA-cleared for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

Nurish by Capillus is available to consumers for purchase through their website as part of a monthly subscription plan. For more information visit www.capillus.com/nurish

About Curallux

Miami-based Curallux is a leading ISO-13485 certified U.S. manufacturer of Capillus brand photobiomodulating medical devices that are FDA-cleared for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. Capillus laser therapy is clinically proven with published results. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2007 for the treatment of mild to moderate male pattern hair loss via a laser comb device designed to regrow hair. The emergence of the Capillus laser therapy cap has revolutionized the use of laser therapy for treatment of hair loss by making laser therapy more accessible and easier to use in order to create the most practical application in hair restoration.

SOURCE Capillus
NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Technavio, the global carbon accounting software market size is estimated to grow by USD 9.61 billion from 2021 to 2026. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 28.66%. Moreover, the growth momentum will accelerate. North America will account for 37% of the market's growth during the forecast period. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth opportunities at regional levels, new product launches, the latest trends, and the post-pandemic recovery of the global market. To know more, buy the report!

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Carbon Accounting Software Market

Global carbon accounting software market - Five forces

The global carbon accounting software market is fragmented, and the five forces analysis covers

Bargaining power of buyers

The threat of new entrants

Threat of rivalry

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of substitutes

For interpretation of Porter's five forces model  Request a sample report

Global carbon accounting software market  Customer landscape

The report includes the market's adoption lifecycle, from the innovator's stage to the laggard's stage. It focuses on adoption rates in different regions based on penetration. Furthermore, the report also includes key purchase criteria and drivers of price sensitivity to help companies evaluate and develop their growth strategies.

Global carbon accounting software market - Segmentation assessment

Segment overview

Technavio has segmented the market based on end-user (telecommunication, oil and gas, technology, power and utilities, and others).

The telecommunication segment will account for a significant share of the market's growth during the forecast period. Carbon accounting software is used by telecom companies to monitor their carbon emissions and reduce their operational costs. Some of the components responsible for carbon emissions include antennas, feeders, cables, and other transmission equipment. Passive components such as telecom towers, sites, and others also lead to carbon emissions.

Geography overview

Based on geography, the global carbon accounting software market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global carbon accounting software market.

North America will account for 37% of the market's growth during the forecast period. The US is a key country for the carbon accounting software market in the region. Moreover, market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in Europe and South America . Concerns regarding increasing CO 2 emission rates will drive the carbon accounting software market growth in North America during the forecast period.

Download a sample report

Global carbon accounting software market  Market dynamics

Key factor driving market growth

The need to reduce the overall costs incurred by enterprises is driving the carbon accounting software market.

is driving the carbon accounting software market. With the help of carbon accounting software, enterprises can identify appropriate cost-saving opportunities.

They can also identify business activities that use a lot of energy and take action accordingly.

This reduces the overall costs incurred by these enterprises.

Such factors are expected to drive the growth of the global carbon accounting software market during the forecast period

Leading trends influencing the market

Government initiatives and regulations to reduce carbon emissions are a trend in the market.

are a trend in the market. Governments of different countries are taking initiatives to reduce GHG emissions by formulating energy-related rules and regulations.

To meet the GHG emission regulatory requirements, organizations should observe, measure, and monitor the levels of emissions of substances such as carbon.

These factors are encouraging companies to adopt carbon accounting software, which, in turn, will support the growth of the global carbon accounting software market during the forecast period

Major challenges hindering market growth

The difficulty in capturing energy usage data will challenge the carbon accounting software market growth during the forecast period.

will challenge the carbon accounting software market growth during the forecast period. Most organizations rarely track their energy usage.

Calculating carbon emissions involves tracking down utility invoices for numerous buildings and contacting multiple plant managers to ascertain the use of propane, natural gas, and other energy sources.

Estimating the use of energy by equipment such as chillers, trucks, fleets, remote offices, and generators is difficult and time-consuming.

Therefore, challenges in capturing accurate data will impede the global carbon accounting software market

Drivers, trends, and challenges have an impact on market dynamics, which can impact businesses. Find more insights in a sample report!

What are the key data covered in this carbon accounting software market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the carbon accounting software market between 2022 and 2026

Precise estimation of the size of the carbon accounting software market and its contribution to the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the carbon accounting software market across North America , Europe , APAC, Middle East and Africa , and South America

, , APAC, and , and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of carbon accounting software market vendors

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Related Reports:

The accounting software market size is expected to increase by USD 7.04 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 9.64%. This report extensively covers accounting software market segmentation by deployment (on-premises and cloud) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America).

The business accounting software market size is expected to increase by USD 2.33 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 7.14%. This report extensively covers market segmentation by deployment (cloud-based and on-premise) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, the Middle East and Africa, and South America).

Carbon Accounting Software Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 141 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 28.66% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 9.61 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2021-2022 (%) 26.97 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 37% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading vendors, market positioning of vendors, competitive strategies, and industry risks Key companies profiled Benchmark Digital Partners LLC, Carbon Analytics Ltd., CarbonetiX, Energy Solution Providers Ltd, ENGIE SA, Epicor Software Corp, Greenstep Oy, Intelex Technologies, Lisam Systems SA, Locus Technologies, NativeEnergy, ProcessMAP Corp., SAP SE, SIERRA ODC Pvt. Ltd., Simble Solutions Ltd., Sphera Solutions Inc., and Wolters Kluwer NV 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.

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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: Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by 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 Telecommunication - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Telecommunication - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Telecommunication - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Telecommunication - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Telecommunication - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Oil and gas - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Oil and gas - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Oil and gas - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Oil and gas - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Oil and gas - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Technology - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 36: Chart on Technology - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Technology - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 38: Chart on Technology - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Technology - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Power and utilities - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 40: Chart on Power and utilities - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Power and utilities - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 42: Chart on Power and utilities - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Power and utilities - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 44: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 46: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.8 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 48: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 49: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 50: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 52: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ 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 (%)

7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 62: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 64: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 65: 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 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 (%)

7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 74: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ 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 (%)

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 83: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 84: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 85: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 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 (%)

7.12 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 90: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 91: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 92: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 93: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 94: 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 95: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 96: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 97: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 98: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 99: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 100: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Carbon Analytics Ltd.

Exhibit 101: Carbon Analytics Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 102: Carbon Analytics Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 103: Carbon Analytics Ltd. - Key offerings

10.4 CarbonetiX

Exhibit 104: CarbonetiX - Overview



Exhibit 105: CarbonetiX - Product / Service



Exhibit 106: CarbonetiX - Key offerings

10.5 ENGIE SA

Exhibit 107: ENGIE SA - Overview

- Overview

Exhibit 108: ENGIE SA - Business segments

- Business segments

Exhibit 109: ENGIE SA - Key news

- Key news

Exhibit 110: ENGIE SA - Key offerings

- Key offerings

Exhibit 111: ENGIE SA - Segment focus

10.6 Greenstep Oy

Exhibit 112: Greenstep Oy - Overview



Exhibit 113: Greenstep Oy - Product / Service



Exhibit 114: Greenstep Oy - Key offerings

10.7 Intelex Technologies Inc.

Exhibit 115: Intelex Technologies Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 116: Intelex Technologies Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: Intelex Technologies Inc. - Key offerings

10.8 Lisam Systems SA

Exhibit 118: Lisam Systems SA - Overview



Exhibit 119: Lisam Systems SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 120: Lisam Systems SA - Key offerings

10.9 SAP SE

Exhibit 121: SAP SE - Overview



Exhibit 122: SAP SE - Business segments



Exhibit 123: SAP SE - Key news



Exhibit 124: SAP SE - Key offerings



Exhibit 125: SAP SE - Segment focus

10.10 SIERRA ODC Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 126: SIERRA ODC Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 127: SIERRA ODC Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 128: SIERRA ODC Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.11 Simble Solutions Ltd.

Exhibit 129: Simble Solutions Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 130: Simble Solutions Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 131: Simble Solutions Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 132: Simble Solutions Ltd. - Segment focus

10.12 Wolters Kluwer NV

Exhibit 133: Wolters Kluwer NV - Overview



Exhibit 134: Wolters Kluwer NV - Business segments



Exhibit 135: Wolters Kluwer NV - Key offerings



Exhibit 136: Wolters Kluwer NV - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 137: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 138: Exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 139: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 140: Research methodology



Exhibit 141: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 142: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 143: 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/

Newsroom: https://newsroom.technavio.org/news/top-drivers-for-carbon-accounting-softwaremarket

SOURCE Technavio
Attend online seminars and receive a personalized low vision consultation, free of charge, for those experiencing vision loss.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- February is "Low Vision Awareness Month" and Braille Institute is offering free online seminars with eye doctors discussing important topics - macular degeneration, nutrition and eye health, and clinical trials for low vision retinal diseases. Medical professionals from UCLA Health, Shiley Eye Institute UC San Diego, and Retina Consultants San Diego will be presenting. Braille Institute also provides free low vision consultations on the use of magnification, lighting and other devices to help individuals maximize their remaining vision.

By 2030, the number of Americans with visual impairments is projected to reach 7.2 million, with 5 million having low vision. Low vision is when people have difficulty seeing even with glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery; this makes everyday tasks like reading bills, shopping, and cooking challenging.

"Those with low vision do not have to give up on activities they love, they just have to learn new ways to do them," said Katie Scheuring, Low Vision Occupational Therapist at Braille Institute. We offer free Low Vision Rehabilitation Services to help a person maintain independence and perform daily tasks. Services include Daily Living Skills classes, one-on-one technology training, audio books, and more. "The services I've received have made me more hopeful about living with low vision. I focus on what I can do and not what I can't," states Kathryn, a Braille Institute student.

"Many people think Braille Institute is just for people who are completely blind, but in reality a majority of the people who come to us have some degree of vision," said Sandy Shin, VP of Marketing & Communications. "We want people to know we have resources and expertise to help those with low vision, and as your vision changes, we can help you adjust."

Braille Institute offers a full range of free low vision-focused resources and classes/workshops. Some low vision workshops will be presented in Spanish. Our website include videos, tips, and articles with insight into various low vision eye conditions.

Full Schedule of Workshops

Free Low Vision consultations are available in-person or remotely and conducted by certified and licensed Low Vision Specialists. Call 1-800-BRAILLE (272-4553) Monday  Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (PST) to schedule an appointment or visit BrailleInstitute.org.

SOURCE Braille Institute of America
TalenTeam today announces the tenth anniversary of the company's founding

LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This year TalenTeam, SAP Gold Partner and Human Experience Management specialist, celebrates its 10-year anniversary  a significant milestone, highlighting the dedication and a high level of expertise and a deep knowledge of SAP SuccessFactors solutions.

TalenTeam was founded in 2013 by Managing Director Sandeep Nahata. The founder had advanced recognition of the impact technology brings to Human Capital Management and became a trusted SAP partner to help organisations through SAP SuccessFactors. TalenTeam has since expanded its offerings to include custom applications and extensions to fulfil business requirements, enhance clients' application portfolio with smart business services and leading-edge technologies like machine learning, AI and predictive analytics.

In its first decade, TalenTeam has established a strong track record of completing over 600 SAP SuccessFactors digital transformation projects for their clients in 160 countries, developed award-winning applications, and helped over 100 organisations in all sectors, geographies, and sizes to deliver exceptional digital solutions that simplify HR and transform the employee experience. TalenTeam is also celebrating the status of the highest rated SAP SuccessFactors partner!

"Placing people at the company's heart is no longer just the absolute thing to do, but it is crucial and of utmost necessity to transforming workplaces for better. TalenTeam's vision is to help organisations enhance innovation, increase agility, and deliver better employee experiences that deepen workforce engagement", said Sandeep Nahata. "As we celebrate this important milestone, I am even more enthusiastic about the many opportunities we have to contribute to a digital workplace transformation."

This milestone is a testament to TalenTeam's commitment to delivering high-quality services and continuously improving its offerings to meet the changing needs of its customers. To learn more about TalenTeam, visit www.talenteam.com.

About TalenTeam

TalenTeam has helped over 100 organisations in all sectors, geographies, and sizes, ranging from 200 to 300,000+ users to deliver exceptional digital solutions that simplify HR and transform the employee experience. TalenTeam are an SAP Gold Partner, and have been awarded SAP Recognized Expertise as recognition of successful customer projects, a high degree of product knowledge and strong experience of providing HXM support, training and implementation services. TalenTeam's award-winning apps and extensions are fully digital SAP Business Technology Platform solutions to fulfil business requirements and to enhance the SAP SuccessFactors ecosystem so that customers can remain one step ahead of the competition. TalenTeam's Net Promoter Score of 73 demonstrates the ability to consistently deliver above and beyond.

Contact:

Eisvina Poskute,

+44(0)20 3371 9523

[email protected]

SOURCE TalenTeam
The new brand ethos underscores the company's leadership in comprehensive, systems-based building products, rooted in performance and sustainability

MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the 2023 International Builders' Show, CertainTeed unveiled its new brand identity. This milestone represents a major paradigm shift for the manufacturer  reinforcing its customer-focused, comprehensive offering of light and sustainable building solutions and systems. The new chapter emphasizes the company's category leadership  strengthening how the North American manufacturer positions, supports and educates building professionals on its products, which includes Roofing, Siding, Ceilings, Insulation and Gypsum solutions for the residential and commercial market. View the rebranding video here .

"As a leader at the forefront of the building sector, we recognized an opportunity to evolve how our customers specify our products," said CertainTeed CEO Mark Rayfield. "We're taking 'one-stop shop' to the next level by serving as a preferred source for cohesive systems and complementary products that not only help builders grow their reputation, but make it easier than ever to deliver on what matters most: performance, sustainability, and longevity."

At the foundation of this evolution: CertainTeed's deep, industry-leading knowledge in building science  an intelligent systems-based approach to build for optimum performance, energy efficiency and comfort. A team of building science experts serves as trusted advisors to ensure the solutions and their coordinating products will successfully meet the needs of each job. "Rethinking how we build requires embracing how each element of a home's construction can collectively maximize its performance and comfort," said Rayfield. "Our building science team makes the specification process easier  eliminating any guesswork that can often come when building professionals are exploring multiple options to increase a building's performance and sustainability."

Unveiling this new era for CertainTeed at the 2023 International Builders' Show will introduce more than 40,000 building professionals to the new brand through a robust onsite digital marketing campaign and a full overhaul to their 3,000 square-foot booth, which will bring the manufacturer's building solutions to life through hands-on immersive installations  each staffed by CertainTeed's building science experts. "Our rebrand and launch of One CertainTeed has been some time in the making, and we're thrilled to kick off the rebrand at our industry's biggest trade show," said Ebeth Pitman, CertainTeed Director of Marketing Communications. "At a time when working efficiently  both on the jobsite and off  has never been more important, we're confident that our approach will be a labor-saving resource, while also giving builders a competitive edge."

Elements created for the rebranding to-date include:

New Logo and Visual Identity : The new visual identity is inspired by the creative ritual of reviewing and selecting materials in the early stages of construction or remodeling. Logo details, such as the cartouche, borrowed from the logo of parent company Saint-Gobain, serve as a subtle nod to their connection, while the interlocking pattern acknowledges CertainTeed as an interdependent collective of connections  both in its work, its communities, and our planet.

: The new visual identity is inspired by the creative ritual of reviewing and selecting materials in the early stages of construction or remodeling. Logo details, such as the cartouche, borrowed from the logo of parent company Saint-Gobain, serve as a subtle nod to their connection, while the interlocking pattern acknowledges CertainTeed as an interdependent collective of connections  both in its work, its communities, and our planet. New Market Mission: "Futurebuilt"  expressing the company's resolve to building a more sustainable, comfortable and safer future.

To learn more about CertainTeed and its Futurebuilt building solutions, visit certainteed.com/futurebuilt.

About CertainTeed

Through innovative and sustainable building solutions made possible through its comprehensive offering of interior and exterior products, CertainTeed, founded in 1904 and headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is at the forefront of industry advancements that are making the world a better home. With building science as its foundation, CertainTeed is transforming how the industry builds  making it easier than ever to create high-performance, energy-efficient solutions for where we live, work and play.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. The group had total sales of approximately $5.6 billion in 2021. www.certainteed.com .

SOURCE CertainTeed
SAVANNAH, Ga., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwave Fiber held a grand opening event and commemorative ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its newest office in Conyers, Ga. The Internet services provider also made a $5,000 donation to Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) as part of the festivities.

Supports company's goal to be in more than 500,000 homes and businesses across the United States by 2026. Tweet this Pictured left, JeriKo Kammerer and right, Christina Reed, are students from Rockdale Magnet School, interning at Clearwave Fiber. Rasheda D. Cylar, Photographer Rasheda D. Cylar, Photographer Pictured left to right: Clearwave Fiber Southeast Regional President Ashley Phillips, Rockdale Emergency Relief board members JaNice Van Ness and Peggy Lawrence, Rockdale Emergency Relief Executive Director Sandra Jackson-Lett, Clearwve Fiber CEO David Armistead, Clearwave Fiber General Manger Derrick Grissom. Rasheda D. Cylar, Photographer Pictured left to right: Clearwave Fiber General Manger Derrick Grissom, Clearwave Fiber CEO David Armistead, Conyers Mayor Vince Evans, Clearwave Fiber Southeast Regional President Ashley Phillips and Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Chair Craig Johnson. Rasheda D. Cylar, Photographer Rasheda D. Cylar, Photographer

The new location at 1510 Klondike Road supports the company's growth and goal to bring the most advanced and fastest Internet available to more than 500,000 homes and businesses across the United States by 2026. Clearwave Fiber's first year exceeded expectations for market expansion with 50,000 newly constructed fiber passings, serving a combined commercial and residential subscriber base of more than 22,000 customers.

The grand opening was well-attended by many members of the Conyers community, including Conyers Mayor Vince Evans and Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Chair Craig Johnson, along with Clearwave Fiber CEO David Armistead, the company's senior leadership team and local associates.

During the event, Clearwave Fiber presented a $5,000 donation to Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER). Founded in 1967, RER is the longest-serving non-profit human service organization specifically dedicated to serving Rockdale County residents in need of assistance. RER board members JaNice Van Ness and Peggy Lawrence, along with RER Executive Director Sandra Jackson-Lett, were on hand to accept the donation.

Van Ness expressed appreciation on behalf of RER to Clearwave Fiber for the generous donation. "We're glad Rockdale Emergency Relief can fill the gaps of some basic and essential needs for the community, and this donation will help us do even more," she said. "RER is rolling out a program to help people create and understand budgeting and working with temporary work agencies in the community to get people back to work while they are looking for a permanent job."

Van Ness said RER hopes to "continue to partner with people in the community to make an impact in their lives so they won't be dependent on RER and can lift up their stature and where they are in life."

Ashley Phillips, Southeast Regional President for Clearwave Fiber, said Clearwave Fiber was happy to be able to give to Rockdale Emergency Relief to help its mission. "We want to be more than just an Internet provider. We want to be a crucial thread in the fabric of the regions we serve," Phillips said. "From local customer support to community involvement, we believe in truly making an impact and giving back to the people we serve. That's why we're active in local chambers of commerce and support local non-profit organizations and events. Connecting our customers and communities is at the heart of everything we do."

Derrick Grissom, Clearwave Fiber General Manager for the region that includes Conyers, acknowledged that the company would not be where it is today without its customers. He recognized one of the company's largest customers in the area, the Rockdale County School System, along with two students from Rockdale County magnet schools who are Clearwave Fiber interns. The students are receiving real-world education to support their goals of studying engineering at Georgia Tech University.

Conyers Mayor Evans said what he notices most about Clearwave Fiber is that the company is involved in the local community. "They've really bought into the Conyers community. They are great partners, and I look forward to working with them for years to come," Evans said.

Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Chair Johnson echoed the mayor's sentiments. "The Chamber sees how engaged Clearwave Fiber is, from donations like the one to RER, to hiring students from a Rockdale magnet school as interns, to many other events and sponsorships," he said. "It's one thing to say a company is a corporate citizen, but it's a whole other level to be an engaged corporate citizen like Clearwave Fiber."

Clearwave Fiber CEO David Armistead said Clearwave Fiber is honored to be a part of the Conyers community. He said he appreciates the support Clearwave Fiber has received from the leaders in the community as the company works to fulfill its mission of empowering people and communities to connect and thrive. "We could not do what we do without the support of local government and local businesses. Conyers has welcomed us with open arms," he said. "We've invested tens of millions of dollars in Fiber to bring state-of-the-art communications to the area and I'm optimistic about the future for both Conyers and Clearwave Fiber. I'm looking forward to many years of a strong, continued partnership."

About Clearwave Fiber

Clearwave Fiber is an Internet service provider that operates a more than 2,000 route-mile fiber network serving communities across the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States. With an emphasis on exceptional customer care and community engagement, the fast-growing company delivers advanced telecommunications solutions, providing fiber to business, enterprise and residential customers in Illinois, Kansas, Florida and Georgia. Committed to deploying 100% Fiber Internet service to 500,000 homes and businesses across the country by 2026, Clearwave Fiber employs more than 600 and is based in Savannah, Ga. Learn more at ClearwaveFiber.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Clearwave Fiber
TROY, Mich., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Cannabis , the leading single-state operator and vertically integrated cannabis business in Michigan, announced the Company will host a Grand Opening Party at its Detroit retail location to celebrate the beginning of recreational cannabis sales in the city.

The event will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 16001 Mack Ave., featuring vendors from the best cannabis brands in the Michigan market, a DJ, a food truck, deals on name brand products, special guests, and much more. The first 100 customers at the door will receive a free ounce of cannabis flower with the purchase of $50 and by signing up for the Company's loyalty program Cloud Club , the second 100 customers at the door will receive a free Wonderbrett 8th with the purchase of $25 and by signing up for Cloud Club, and additional giveaways will be announced throughout the day.

"Recreational sales kicking off in Detroit is a major milestone for us and the entire city, and response so far has been incredible," said Jacob Saboo, Co-Founder & Head of Retail at Cloud Cannabis. "That's why we want to throw a party that represents the lively spirit of the Motor City, celebrating with and giving back to the community that makes it possible to do what we do. From offering a premier retail experience with first-class products to providing meaningful cannabis education, we are proud to be a part of this historical moment and play a role in elevating the health and happiness of Detroiters."

Situated on the border of Detroit and Grosse Pointe, Cloud's Detroit dispensary is an ideal destination for both residents and visitors alike. Servicing both adult-use and medical customers, the state-of-the-art facility hosts a knowledgeable and friendly staff and offers thousands of flower, pre-roll, concentrate, and vape products from top-tier Michigan brands including Mitten Extracts, Wonderbrett, Stiiizy, Pressure Pack, Backpack Boyz, CREAM, Northcoast, and more.

Cloud Cannabis Detroit is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find the location's variety of brands and products via its Detroit Menu . All medical patients will receive 10% off. For more information on Cloud Cannabis' products and services, please visit cloudcannabis.com .

About Cloud Cannabis

Cloud Cannabis helps consumers live higher. Headquartered in Troy, the Company is a single-state operator and leading vertically integrated cannabis business in Michigan centered on education, assortment, community and service. Cloud was founded in 2020 with a mission to elevate the health and happiness of its customers by providing a full range of cannabis products to fit their individual needs. Since then, Cloud has successfully launched nine retail stores and opened a 70,000-square-foot commercial grow facility in Kalamazoo. In addition to cultivation and manufacturing, the Cloud facility also operates Brand Labs, an incubator and manufacturer of high-quality cannabis products including Wonderbrett, a California-based innovator of the most sought-after cannabis products, and Mitten Extracts, a leading concentrates brand producing premium vapes and edibles. Both brands can be found at all Cloud locations, as well as in key retail players throughout the Michigan market. For more information, visit CloudCannabis.com .

Cloud Cannabis Media Contact

MATTIO Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Cloud Cannabis
Cobwebs' digital intelligence solutions offer a distinct investigation module to attain higher risk mitigation levels and the necessary tools to enable faster responses.

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan recently researched the law enforcement digital intelligence industry, and based on its findings, recognizes Cobwebs with the 2022 North American Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award. The company developed web intelligence solutions to help customers gain actionable insights from data using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) analytics. Cobwebs uniquely leverages its open-source web intelligence (WEBINT/OSINT) platform to meet its customer's operational needs. It is well-positioned to capitalize on new growth opportunities, cementing its leadership in the digital intelligence space. The company leverages its intelligence and security experts' expertise to design cutting-edge solutions that collect and analyze data from all web layers.

Cobwebs

Cobwebs overcomes the evolving challenges in the industry today, specifically law enforcement and public safety teams. Its web intelligence solutions ensure public safety, and security and identity protection throughout business operations, physical security systems, or digital infrastructure. The company enables law enforcement teams to improve their security solutions with well-defined digital intelligence resources through its AI and ML-equipped WEBINT solutions that can detect the correlation between events and relationships and identify online threats with a small digital footprint.

According to Steven Lopez, Best Practices Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan, "Frost & Sullivan commends Cobwebs on its game-changing solutions and its ability to set a new standard for web intelligence. Its platforms' continuous evolution matches the growing industry demand from law enforcement."

Cobwebs bridges the gap between the customer's immediate operational needs, eliminating labor-intensive and time-constraint tasks during online crime investigations and provides real-time situational awareness to identify new threats. Its platform automates the discovery phase and applies AI to provide accurate insights, allowing analysts to piece together an event quickly and focus on more cognitive tasks. With a customer-centric approach, continuous growth, and ongoing product innovation, Cobwebs meets customer needs, leading to trust and long-term relationships.

"Cobwebs' web intelligence solutions allow law enforcement teams to search for and access data throughout the web during case investigations. Without replacing legacy systems, Cobwebs provides open-source intelligence that seamlessly integrates with clients' existing operations," added Dolores Aleman, an Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in devising a strong growth strategy and robustly implementing it. The recipient has shown strength in terms of innovation in products and technologies, leadership in customer value as well as speed in response to market needs. The award looks at emerging market players in the industry and recognizes their best practices that are positioned for future growth excellence.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Kristen Moore

P: 210.247.3823

E: [email protected]

About Cobwebs

Cobwebs Technologies' leading and innovative systems service the national security, law enforcement and private sectors, identifying networks, criminal activities and cyber threats. As a global company, Cobwebs' solutions help customers with investigations and analysis of data from all layers of the surface, deep and dark web. With a multifaceted approach to investigations, Cobwebs' technologies employ a comprehensive platform to handle today's complex hurdles and evolving challenges. Solutions were developed by leading intelligence and security experts to analyze the web's layers of endless open, deep & dark web data. Cobwebs leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to produce valuable insights for customers across the globe.

Media Contact:

A.J. Guenther

Vice President, Public Relations

[email protected]

Yes&

1700 Diagonal Road | Suite 700 | Alexandria VA 22314

D 703.823.1600 | C 703.338.5657

yesandagency.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1989449/Cobwebs_Award.jpg

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
ZUG, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Concordium blockchain announces a partnership with licensed virtual currency provider Wert to simplify the trading process and provide additional value to NFT marketplaces within the Concordium ecosystem.

A Tallinn-based Estonian company, Wert is a payment solution for both non-custodial NFT marketplaces and DeFi Apps looking for a customer friendly check-out solution. It allows clients using debit and credit card payments to interact with smart contracts, providing a great opportunity for web2 businesses looking to easily and painlessly step into the world of web3.

By offering a top-up module that can be integrated to any web or mobile app, as well as APIs setting up a tailored purchase flow for different users, Wert enables the seamless purchasing of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other DeFi products within an entirely customizable process. This will happen around mid/end Q1 2023 through an easy-to-use interface that requires no deposits or commissions.

Users will be able to spend on the Wert platform and see those funds immediately transferred to the NFT marketplace smart contract, calling the function to transfer the NFT to the user's address. Clients will also have the ability to add utility token purchases, provide specified data with each transaction, or request that Wert query a smart contract before the transaction.

The collaboration between Wert and Concordium aims to allow anyone to sell cryptocurrencies on their website without giving up their independence from authorities. This is crucial to the ideals behind the Concordium project, an ecosystem designed to balance privacy with accountability through the only proof-of-stake blockchain with a groundbreaking self-sovereign ID framework.

"Wert.io is a great catalyst for lowering the barrier for use cases and projects to gain user-adoption, both for DeFi and dApps. And a service like this is a great addition to the Concordium ecosystem as a fiat-on-ramp that can interact with smart contracts," says Holger Fischer, Blockchain Solutions Analyst at Concordium.

"We've started an incredible journey with the Concordium team and hope to create a cutting edge payment experience for unique blockchain consumers. This is the first partnership of this scale and we're looking forward to innovating together with the Concordium ecosystem," says George Basiladze, co-founder of Wert.

Media Contact

Mariona Iturrate Valle

Marketing team

[email protected]

SOURCE Concordium
The market report is a good combination of qualitative and quantitative data that highlights significant market changes, obstacles that business and the competition must overcome, as well as new possibilities and trends in the global Construction Equipment Rental Market.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Verified Market Research recently published a report, "Construction Equipment Rental Market" By Product (Earthmoving Machinery, Material Handling Machinery, and Concrete and Construction Machinery), By Application (Residential, Commercial, and Industrial), and By Geography.

As per the deep research carried out by Verified Market Research, the global Construction Equipment Rental Market size was valued at USD 93.90 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 135.57 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 4.25% from 2021 to 2028.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample/?rid=33329

Browse in-depth TOC on "Construction Equipment Rental Market"

202 - Pages

126  Tables

37  Figures

Global Construction Equipment Rental Market Overview

The Construction Equipment Rental Market has seen the rise of new technologies such as digital services for automated service upgrades, equipment service tracking, and mapping features. Because of the technical advancements given by the original equipment manufacturers, the adoption rates of construction equipment are increasing in rental services. Many new features have been introduced to the Construction Equipment Rental Market as a result of technological breakthroughs in the automotive and heavy machinery industries.

Construction equipment makers are working on delivering technologies that improve operational efficiency and require less maintenance, as well as advanced safety features such as lift help, 360-degree camera vision, and additional work lights. These features, however, come at a significant cost that many small builders and contractors cannot afford. As a result, many specialists opt to rent construction equipment. Renting construction equipment not only saves money on the cost of purchasing new equipment, but it also saves money on labor, maintenance, and operational costs. In addition, the cost of timely maintenance, repair, and inspection is avoided. All of these chores are carried out regularly by construction equipment rental businesses to make a long-term profit from the machinery. These businesses are increasingly focusing on delivering onsite services and equipment support, which improves the customer experience even more. Caterpillar Inc., for example, provides quick response teams to assist customers in remote regions via mobile servicing vans.

The purchase of new construction equipment frequently necessitates big down payments and a significant investment of funds from the company's operational expenses. The overhead costs associated with the post-purchase of construction equipment include interest on loans, insurance, licensing, storage, and taxes. Transport between job sites is also the responsibility of equipment owners. If the company rents the equipment, however, the provider is responsible for delivering the equipment to new worksites, and the company using it is not responsible for the direct overhead costs. Furthermore, rental businesses regularly refresh their fleets of equipment and machinery, ensuring that their customers have access to the most up-to-date equipment.

Verified Market Research narrows down the available data using primary sources to validate the data and use it in compiling a full-fledged market research study. The report contains a quantitative and qualitative estimation of market elements that interests the client. The "Global Construction Equipment Rental Market" is mainly bifurcated into sub-segments which can provide classified data regarding the latest trends in the market.

Key Players

The "Global Construction Equipment Rental Market" study report will provide valuable insight with an emphasis on the global market. The major players in the market are United Rentals, Inc., Herc Holdings Inc., Ashtead Group Plc, Aktio Corporation, Loxam Sas, Kanamoto Co. Ltd., Nishio Rent All Co., Ltd., H & E Equipment Services Inc., and Cramo Group.

Based on the research, Verified Market Research has segmented the global Construction Equipment Rental Market into Product, Application, and Geography.

Construction Equipment Rental Market, by Product

Earthmoving Machinery



Material Handling Machinery



Concrete and Construction Machinery

Construction Equipment Rental Market, by Application

Residential



Commercial



Industrial

Construction Equipment Rental Market, by Geography

North America



U.S





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





France





U.K





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





Japan





India





Rest of Asia Pacific

ROW





Middle East & Africa

&



Latin America

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Top 7 Construction Equipment Manufacturers acting as pillars for construction industry

Visualize Construction Equipment Rental Market using Verified Market Intelligence -:

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SOURCE Verified Market Research
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today announced the state's first-ever Market Transformation Administrator (CalMTA) to advance groundbreaking energy efficiency transformation initiatives that will bring sustainable, cost-effective market changes to California. Resource Innovations, a clean energy services provider led by women, has been awarded the contract and will partner with a team of experts in program development, evaluation, and equity.

"The CalMTA is critical for delivering on the promise of new energy efficiency technologies in California." Tweet this

The CalMTA will oversee the development and implementation of new energy efficiency initiatives as outlined in Decision 19-12-021 and approved by the CPUC in November 2022.

"I am pleased that our market transformation framework is underway with the recent selection of the CalMTA. I look forward to the establishment of an advisory board that will keep an eye to assuring all communities will have an opportunity to benefit, especially disadvantaged communities," said CPUC Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma, the assigned Commissioner for the energy efficiency Rulemaking. "Key elements adopted in the market transformation framework are from contributions of the California Energy Efficiency Coordinating Committee."

Added Commissioner Darcie L. Houck, "The CalMTA is critical for delivering on the promise of new energy efficiency technologies in California. I look forward to working with Resource Innovations in this role, and to continue building on California's record of success."

Market transformation is an effective method in various technology areas within the energy sector, including energy efficiency, which aims to eliminate market barriers to adoption of innovative technologies in support of California's clean energy and climate goals. Market transformation initiatives strive to be self-sustaining and can yield measurable benefits that remain long after active market interventions have ended. These initiatives will also seek to support California's goals in greenhouse gas reduction, workforce development, and equity.

"During this eight-year effort, we'll align and collaborate with current programs, utilities, and stakeholders to bring additional market-based efficiency solutions for the benefit of all Californians," said Lauren Casentini, CEO, Resource Innovations. "As the CalMTA, we'll work closely with CPUC staff to establish an advisory board and lead a public process to solicit ideas for market transformation initiatives."

In its role as administrator, Resource Innovations will work with Cadmus Group, 2050 Partners, Ortiz Group, BRIO, and Unrooz Solutions to design market transformation initiatives and then bid out their implementation. The CalMTA will prioritize incorporating traditionally marginalized, low-income communities in its market transformation efforts. The approximately $300 million effort is funded by California utility customers and administered by Resource Innovations under the auspices of the CPUC. It will eventually be transitioned to a nonprofit entity.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Resource Innovations offers software-enabled clean energy services for utilities and their customers. The company's majority-women board of directors shares Resource Innovations' commitment to accelerating energy innovation and making clean and sustainable energy more available, accessible, and affordable. For more information about Resource Innovations and market transformation, visit: www.resource-innovations.com/utility-services/market-transformation.

The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians' access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

SOURCE Resource Innovations
BURLEY, Idaho, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Many farmers have readily adopted high-tech ways of growing their crops. One of the newest developments saves one of the most precious of all resources, time.

Redox Bio-Nutrients is proud to partner with ChrysaLabs and their cutting-edge soil sampling technology. ChrysaLabs has developed a portable AI-based soil health probe that measures 37 soil nutrients and characteristics in real time for producers and agronomists, replacing the need to wait for traditional lab analysis.

This use of cutting-edge soil sampling technology will help farmers and sustainability. Tweet this ChrysaLabs logo

Redox recently incorporated a fleet of ChrysaLabs Probes in their soil testing. The faster soil analysis helps growers get a jump on taking the needed steps to having healthy, productive fields and orchards.

"This exciting technology brings, in essence, lab-level analysis to the field," said Gifford Gillette, Redox Bio-Nutrients Lead Researcher. "Analyzing soil in 30 seconds instead of the current standard of three days provides tremendous value by saving time and expense over the traditional approach."

Reducing the timing of soil sampling to a small fraction of traditional tests should provide widespread benefits for growers in their efforts to boost sustainability. For example, a spectrometer is estimated to reduce Greenhouse Gases by more than 100 tons of carbon dioxide per year, which scientists say contribute greatly to climate change.

Find out more about this groundbreaking technology at chrysalabs.com

About Redox Bio-Nutrients

Redox Bio-Nutrients exists to create passion and excitement in growing healthier plants. We help growers succeed in four primary areas, soil health, root development, abiotic stress defense and nutrient efficiency. Find out more at redoxgrows.com .

About ChrysaLabs

Better soil intelligence for better decisions. ChrysaLabs is a fast-growing ag tech at the intersection of agriculture and innovation. The ChrysaLabs Probe uses three onboard sensor technologies, Cloud computing and AI to extract real-time data from its patented spectroscopy technology providing soil insights within seconds allowing field managers to take the best actions minutes after sampling, making the right calls on the spot. More soil insights for growing sustainability, higher yield, and optimized costs.

SOURCE Redox Bio-Nutrients
LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Investment funds advised by Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP ("Davidson Kempner"), have completed the acquisition of a portfolio of non-performing loans ("the Portfolio") from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC ("ADCB"), a full-service commercial bank with a primary focus on the United Arab Emirates ("UAE").

The transaction represents the first sale of a significant portfolio of non-performing loans by ADCB and is thought to be the largest such transaction effected to date in the UAE. The Portfolio acquired by Davidson Kempner consists of 44 corporate loans to UAE-based small and medium-size enterprises, with an aggregate face value of AED 4.2 billion (US$1.1 billion/GBP 925 million).

Seapoint Capital Limited will act as the Special Servicer for Davidson Kempner, and Reviva Capital S.A. will act as Loan Servicer for Davidson Kempner.

For media enquiries:

Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP

Greenbrook

Rob White/Matthew Goodman/Teresa Berezowski

[email protected]

+44 207 952 2000

Notes for Editors

About Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP

Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP is a global investment management firm with more than 39 years of experience and a focus on fundamental investing with a multi-strategy approach. Davidson Kempner has approximately $36 billion in assets under management and over 500 employees across seven offices: New York, Philadelphia, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Mumbai. Additional information is available at: www.davidsonkempner.com.

SOURCE Davidson Kempner
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Raving and Quick Custom Intelligence ("QCI") jointly announced that Andrew Cardno would be speaking about the importance of tribal data sovereignty and important considerations as to where the data is housed. These considerations extend from regulatory controls to data transaction taxation risks.

"Today, tribal nations have a choice about where to house their data and this choice has serious sovereignty consequences. For example, housing the data on a state government regulated server exposes the tribal nation to the real risk of the state imposing onerous regulations and the additional risk of the gaming data being exposed to taxation. We are pleased to bring to the table known analytics and software expert Andrew Cardno, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence, to provide our attendees with all of the information they need to make the right decision for their tribe," said Deana Scott, CEO of Raving.

Andrew Cardno, CTO of QCI, stated "Once lost, sovereignty is hard, if not impossible, to recover. Consider the example where in ten years a state government decides to impose a tax on the use of tribal gaming data. If the data and services are housed in servers on state land, there may be little the tribal nation can to do avoid payment of these taxes. Furthermore, Cardno went on to say, there are over five hundred government agencies that have the right to investigate data and if this data is housed outside of tribal land, the agency may not even have to notify the tribal nation of the investigation."

ABOUT Raving

Raving was founded in 1998 and is a Native-owned, women-managed organization. For over two decades, Raving has partnered with over 152 Tribal Nations and enterprises and 71 commercial properties along with First Nations throughout Canada and internationally in Europe and Asia. From years on the casino floor, we understand all aspects of your gaming and resort operations and the challenges and sticky situations gaming executives face. We pride ourselves on building custom programs tailored to your needs, utilizing evidence-based methodologies to identify the root cause and create lasting solutions.

Our team of over 20 strategic partners, all experienced gaming and hospitality professionals, support Tribal organizations and commercial casinos worldwide in strategically improving their overall operations. Raving produces several events and publications including Raving Host and Player Development Conference; Raving NEXT: Indian Gaming Analytics and Marketing Conference; Casino Marketing and Technology Conference; Tribal Gaming & Hospitality Magazine. Visit www.betravingknows.com to subscribe to our publications or contact Daniel Wood [email protected], 775-329-7864 to find out more about Raving's products and services.

ABOUT QCI

The QCI Platform aligns player development, marketing and gaming with powerful real-time operational tools developed for the gaming and hospitality industries. QCI has installed their ground-breaking, highly configured software in over 100 casino resorts in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. QCI products provide tooling for gaming operators managing over $20 billion in annual gross gaming revenue, these products are built on the QCI Platform, a best-in-class on-premises, hybrid or cloud-based technology that enables fully coordinated activities across gaming or hospitality operations. This data-driven software allows for quick, informed decisions in the ever-changing world of the casino industry and assists casinos in their efforts to optimize resources and profits, manage marketing campaigns and increase customer loyalty. QCI was founded by Dr. Ralph Thomas and Mr. Andrew Cardno. Based in San Diego, QCI also has offices in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Dallas & Tulsa. Main phone number: (858) 299.5715 www.QuickCustomIntelligence.com.

SOURCE Quick Custom Intelligence
HONG KONG, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the infection peak season of COVID-19 in rural areas that may be brought about by people returning home during Chinese New Year, Fosun Foundation announced on 9 January 2023 the cooperation with Fosun Pharma and Genuine Biotech to donate RMB100 million worth of Azvudine tablets, the oral medication for COVID-19, helping the grassroots to weather the epidemic. As of 29 January 2023, under the campaign of "A Healthy Winter Action", a total of 173,200 bottles of Azvudine tablets have been donated to 116 counties in 19 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, including Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hainan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Heilongjiang. Azvudine tablets, the first domestically developed small molecule medication for COVID-19 has helped at least 150,000 villagers get through the epidemic more safely, most of whom were seniors over 65.

Since its inception, "A Healthy Winter Action" has faced two major challenges. First, how to deliver materials to the grassroots during the peak-travel period of Spring Festival? Second, how to accurately distribute medicines to the villagers who are in need of medicine?

While negotiating cooperation with SF Express, Fosun Foundation urgently recruited nearly a hundred employee volunteers within Fosun and its subsidiaries. Coordinating with their plan of returning home during the Spring Festival, the volunteers personally delivered medication to the donated counties.

In addition to Fosun employee volunteers, SF Express also fully supported the donation. The delivery of medication did not stop during the Spring Festival. Guo Shuai, Assistant Secretary-General and Project Director of Fosun Foundation, stayed in the office throughout the Spring Festival to make sure that the materials are dispatched to SF Express's transshipment warehouse immediately, and then delivered by air.

How to make sure that the most urgently needed villagers can receive medication in time? According to Ning Guang, Consultant of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Expert Committee of the Rural Doctors Program and President of Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, "Rural doctors must have medicine in their hands, and the grassroots people must receive medicine in time". Fosun Foundation first covered the 72 counties in the Rural Doctors Program which has been running for five years, and delivered as much medicine as possible to rural doctors through the health department before the Spring Festival.

On 16 January, the first batch of 600 bottles of Azvudine tablets donated to Lancang County, Yunnan Province was delivered by Zhao Zhong, a resident member of the Rural Doctors Program, to the township hospital of Lancang County, and then to the village clinics. Zhong Liping, a rural doctor in Yanyin Village, Sakai Township, received a message from villager Zhong Asuo on the morning of the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, "Thank you for the Azvudine tablets sent by Fosun Foundation before Chinese New Year. My father felt much better the next day after taking the medicine." Before taking Azvudine tablets, Zhong Asuo's 87-year-old father had fever, cough and other symptoms. When she learned that Fosun Foundation had donated to Lancang County, Zhong Liping immediately thought of distributing medicine to the elderly. Zhong Liping said, "It is this kind of feedback that makes me realize the importance of being a rural doctor."

In order to improve the diagnostic skills of rural doctors, Fosun Foundation and Shanghai Guangci Translational Medical Research Foundation jointly established an expert committee led by Chen Erzhen, Vice President of Ruijin Hospital. Medical experts from more than 20 provinces provided targeted training for rural doctors in the form of recorded courses and Q&A sessions. Relevant training has been launched on the app of Fosun Health and People's Good Doctor. So far, more than 15,000 rural doctors have received the training online. On 13 January, with the organization of the Guizhou Provincial Health Commission and Fosun Foundation, Zhang Wenhong, a member of the expert committee, Director of the National Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, and Professor of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, conducted a special online training for rural doctors in Guizhou.

Along with the medicine, 37 care packages worth RMB150,000 were sent to the grassroots, which contained medical supplies that were in short supply at the grassroots, such as oximeters, oxygen concentrators, face masks, and nitrile gloves. These packages were donated by public welfare partners including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the New Social Stratum "New Philanthropy Program" under the United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee, Shanghai Pudong Development (Group) Co., Ltd., Taiping Pension Co., Ltd., YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation, Pingdingshan Volunteers Association, Chengdu Charity Federation, S.F. Express Group (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Yeswood, Wuxi Qicheng Industrial Co., Ltd., Institute of Innovations, Tongxinhui, Xinjiang Juchen Law Firm, Jiangsu No. 33 Business Management Co., Ltd., Wuxi Yushou Medical Appliances Co., Ltd., Shanghai Tuyue Business Advisory Co., Ltd., Power Construction Corporation of China, and Shanghai Charity Foundation Xuhui District Representative Office Ningguo Temple 456 Cultural Special Fund, and benevolent enterprises of ONE Fosun such as Shede Spirits, Jinhui Liquor, Hainan Mining, and Golte.

In addition, in order to strengthen the digital capability of primary healthcare institutions, Shanghai Aitrox Technology Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Fosun, donated digital imaging systems, digital ultrasound systems and refined operation services to primary township hospitals, covering 10 township hospitals by the end of April this year, with the first batch of donations amounting to approximately RMB5 million.

On 28 January 2023, the first day of work, the project team resumed regular meetings twice a day. At the regular meeting that night, Chen Qiyu, Co-CEO of Fosun International, said, "We have completed half of the RMB100 million medicine donation, and reached 2/3 of the goal of donating to 180 counties. We must continue to race against the virus and prepare for the next wave of infection peaks. For example, we must cover at least another 20 counties in the Tibet Autonomous Region; we must focus on protecting the elderly in cities below the third tier and in rural nursing homes. The donation of about 400,000 bottles of Azvudine tablets worth RMB100 million jointly initiated by Fosun and Genuine Biotech has been considered to be the largest public welfare donation of medicine in recent years. We hope play its due role in the revitalization of Chinese rural areas and the construction of a healthy China."

SOURCE Fosun
Add asynchronous chat to your toolbox and increase business communication and revenue

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deltapath, a Unified Communications company specializing in revolutionizing how organizations and people communicate, announced the release of its Deltapath Business Texting  SMS solution. The solution is engineered to create targeted business experiences, extend communication reach, and increase engagement through one-to-one and group texts with consumers, partners, suppliers, and other businesses.

Green and Blue icons help users easily differentiate between internal chats with coworkers and external chats with customers and other outside contacts. Text from multiple devices. Send one-to-one and group texts from multiple devices. Begin a message on your laptop using Deltapath Switchboard and continue your conversation on the Deltapath Mobile app.

Text messaging has been increasing in popularity as mobile device ownership increases worldwide. As a result, businesses are transforming by using text messaging to communicate the way consumers and businesses want to communicate. For companies still considering whether to add business texting to their communication arsenal, here are some statistics to consider:

In 2022, there were approximately 8.39 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2022 )

mobile phone subscriptions in the world (Ericsson Mobility Report, ) Sixty-eight percent of consumers stated they are likelier to buy from a business that offers convenient communication. (What Businesses Need to Know About Communicating With consumers, Forrester Consulting, December 2020 )

of consumers stated they are likelier to buy from a business that offers convenient communication. (What Businesses Need to Know About Communicating With consumers, Forrester Consulting, ) Ninety-five percent of text messages are typically read and responded to within the first three minutes of receiving them. (SMS Marketing Statistics 2023 for USA Businesses, SMS Comparison, 2021)

David Liu, the CEO, and founder of Deltapath, states, "In the business world, interactions with external parties are typically limited to email, phone calls, and scheduled conferences. However, statistics clearly show that there is another business channel out there that is underutilized. It is an easy and convenient channel for everyone, and consumers want businesses to use it to communicate with them. Deltapath Business Texting  SMS gives businesses access to a larger audience and helps them transform how they communicate. For example, businesses can share important news with customers over texts or move a project forward faster by getting people together from different companies in a group chat."

Customers receive dedicated business phone numbers to establish another layer of brand identity. Begin a conversation on a desktop computer and continue it on your mobile using Deltapath Switchboard and the Deltapath Mobile app. Conversations are synchronized so communication across devices is easy.

Customers retain complete control over their data with Deltapath Business Texting  SMS. In addition, confidential data is easily remotely wiped from personal devices along with business contacts when an employee leaves the company.

Deltapath Business texting  SMS is currently available to Deltapath UCaaS customers in the United States and Canada. Deltapath is looking forward to expanding the service to other parts of the world in the near future.

Additional Resources

Like Deltapath on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deltapath

Follow Deltapath on Twitter: https://twitter.com/deltapath

Connect with Deltapath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deltapath

About Deltapath Inc.

Deltapath liberates organizations from the barriers that prevent effective communication and revolutionizes how organizations communicate through innovative technologies that meet the needs and wants of organizations.

We specialize in solutions that unite communication platforms, audio and video equipment, telephones, desktops, and mobile devices to make communication accessible and intuitive.

We believe every solution should embody simplicity and offer users the correct form of communication for the right occasion, right at their fingertips.

To learn how we can help you reach other goals, visit https://www.deltapath.com/deltapath-business-texting-sms/ and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Deltapath Inc.

Shirmattie Seenarine

408-582-0384

[email protected]

SOURCE Deltapath
New global offering will navigate clients through a rapidly changing e-commerce landscape in the Omniverse

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Barbarian, the agency that transforms brands through creativity and technology, today announced the launch of Barbarian Commerce, a global offering designed to create and operate seamless e-commerce experiences for brands  from the first mile of the customer journey to checkout.

Barbarian Commerce is led by Steven Moy, CEO of Barbarian, and Lawrence Edmondson, Chief Technology Officer at Barbarian. The new offering will be powered by Mint Global, the high-velocity global content publishing and technology production arm of Cheil Worldwide. Collectively the group has 200 employees around the world, Barbarian Commerce will be headquartered in New York City, with Mint Global offices in Canada, Germany, and Poland.

"The immediate future of commerce goes way beyond a website  there's social, connected TV, the metaverse, AR/VR-led retail, and much more, what I call the omniverse," said Moy. "Our deep expertise in these new platforms uniquely positions us to deliver a seamless commerce experience into markets in weeks, not months."

"Barbarian Commerce is uniquely positioned to empower brands to scale their business by integrating their commerce platform with other essential components such as content management, analytics and, customer engagement," said Edmondson. "We already have built-in capabilities, such as a global presence and first-party data collection and analysis, to deliver speed to market growth so this is a natural evolution for us."

Barbarian Commerce, will provide clients with strategy, development, UX and design services and expertise, and will:

Use its agility and global network to get clients to market quicker through innovative thinking, processes and development capabilities.

Leverage rich first-party data collected via Barbarian Data as a Service (DaaS) offering, to provide a personalized experience across the Omniverse (online, physical and metaverse touchpoints).

Provide a unique approach in Omniverse (combining offline, online and metaverse) experiences by leveraging insights, trends and data.

Leverage content production in 70 different markets to cover a very large surface area for clients.

About Barbarian Commerce

Barbarian Commerce is a global offering dedicated to creating the commerce innovation future faster for clients. It is designed to take clients through the ever-changing e-commerce landscape, providing strategy, development, UX, and design expertise, as well as global content distribution capabilities. Barbarian Commerce is led by CEO Steven Moy, with headquarters in New York backed by Mint Global offices in Canada, Germany and Poland.

About Barbarian

Barbarian is a full-service creative digital advertising agency headquartered in New York City. Since 2001, Barbarian has been creating the future faster and transforming brands through creativity, innovation and technology. Barbarian specializes in digital transformation and experiences, digital brand strategy, digital ecosystems, social media and commerce, and data-driven analysis. The agency is guided by an unwavering commitment to inclusive and courageous innovation and a focus on the future. Barbarian is a Cheil Worldwide company. https://wearebarbarian.com/

SOURCE Barbarian
Accomplished WealthTech Executive will Lead Product, Delivery, Support and Legal Functions

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Docupace, the leader in cloud-based fintech digital operations software for the wealth management industry, is honored to welcome Mike Zebrowski as Chief Operating Officer for the company. Zebrowski will oversee teams in product, delivery, relationship management, support, training, transitions and legal.

Docupace is honored to welcome Mike Zebrowski as Chief Operating Officer for the company. Tweet this Docupace Adds Mike Zebrowski as Chief Operating Officer New team members will help elevate performance of Professional Services, Finance, IT and Customer Support Groups.

"It's wonderful to have an accomplished executive with a proven track record of leading execution and driving elevated client experience at diverse global organizations during periods of accelerated growth," says David Knoch, chief executive officer at Docupace. "Mike will play a significant role in deepening relationships with clients and empowering the Docupace brand to become known for its vibrant culture of execution excellence."

Zebrowski has a proven record of creating optimal corporate culture, achieving record performance, improving client retention and employee satisfaction, exceeding aggressive business objectives, and consistent ideation and implementation of innovative solutions.

"I'm excited to join an organization committed to elevating what they and how they do it," says Zebrowski. "We're putting the back office in the front seat for those wealth management firms seeking to grow and scale their businesses."

Zebrowski's accomplished career in the advice and investment industry includes tenures at MassMutual, TD Bank and a decade as Chief Operating Officer at eMoney  working alongside the company's founder, Edmond Walters. In addition, Zebrowski co-founded Advisor Innovation Labs (A.I. Labs) with Docupace Board Chair, Lori Hardwick, which along with one of its clients won a 2022 WealthManagement.com Wealthie Award for "Innovative Client Solution". A.I. Labs was purchased by Envestnet to further its UI/UX and integration capabilities. He is an advisory board member for Tolerisk and is currently engaged in F2 Strategy's Executive in Residence program.

Zebrowski joining the company deepens the "bench" of experienced professionals coming aboard in recent months. Docupace added several accomplished wealthtech professionals to executive and management teams last year and veteran industry executive Lori Hardwick was named Chair of the Board of Directors at Docupace in September 2022.

The preceding two years have been a significant period of significant performance for Docupace. The company has delivered several new products to market (Compliance TRACKR, RIA Productivity Suite, Automated Mailroom), expanded the Platform's breadth of capabilities through acquisition (jaccomo and PreciseFP) and was bestowed 14 industry awards and accolades, including WealthTech of the Year by Wealth Solutions Report, in 2022.

About Docupace

Docupace is a solutions provider focused on digitizing and automating operations in the financial advice and investment industry. Financial services firms use the Docupace Platform (a cloud-based, integrated software suite) to reduce back-office expenses, improve efficiency, strengthen recruiting, and enhance the experience of advisors and investors.

Docupace is proud to serve some of the largest independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisers (RIAs) in the financial services industry. The company was recently named a finalist in two categories for WealthManagement.com's 2022 "Wealthie" Awards and PreciseFP was the 2021 winner in the client onboarding solution category. The company was named to the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing companies; listed as a Top 100 FinTech by Cramer + Associates, named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2021 list of "Disruptors", won the 2021 Gold Globee Award for "Hot Technology of the Year", and included in Industry Wired's Top 10 list of Most Recommended FinTech Solution Providers in 2020.

For more information, please visit www.docupace.com.

Docupace Media Contact:

Ryan George

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE Docupace Technologies, Inc.
LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- International Semiconductor Executive Summits (I.S.E.S.) proudly announces it will honour technologist leader and sincere supporter of DEI in STEM education, Dr. Ann Kelleher, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Technology Development at Intel Corporation with its prestigious Hall Of Fame Award at this year's I.S.E.S. USA Gala Dinner Awards Celebration on March 7, 2023 in Arizona hosted in partnership with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

The Hall of Fame Award is the highest achievable honour through the International Semiconductor Executive Summits (I.S.E.S.) with recipients whom ascertain key influential, distinguished executives in the semiconductor ecosystem. The I.S.E.S. Hall Of Fame recognizes individuals for their exceptional contributions. Notably how they have had a vital impact in enhancing the entire semiconductor ecosystem through their global leadership and vision.

"Ann is a remarkable leader and the impact she has had on the semiconductor ecosystems from all elements associated with Leadership is just profound. With a unanimous vote from our Advisory Board Committee and naming her as this year's I.S.E.S. Hall of Fame Award winner was based on her exceptional leadership acumen and global respect among the technology industry community," said Salah Nasri, President of the International Semiconductor Executive Summits.

Dr. Ann B. Kelleher serves as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Technology Development at Intel Corporation. She is responsible for the research, development and deployment of next-generation silicon logic, packaging and test technologies that power the future of Intel's innovation.

Kelleher joined Intel in 1996 as a process engineer, going on to manage technology transfers and factory ramp-ups in a variety of positions spanning 200mm and 300mm technologies. She started her manufacturing leadership journey as the factory manager of Fab 24 in Leixlip, Ireland. She then moved to Chandler, Arizona, to manage Intel's Fab 12 facility, followed by serving as the site manager of Intel's Fab 11X fabrication facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She then became general manager of the Fab Sort Manufacturing organization where she was responsible for all aspects of Intel's high-volume silicon manufacturing.

Kelleher holds a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, all from University College Cork in Ireland.

This year's International Semiconductor Executive Summits  USA will be hosted in Arizona on March 7th-8th. Gathering the industry's leaders who will demonstrate their excellence through their strategy, vision, execution, and market expectations.

To register, please visit the Registration Page: https://www.ises-usa.com/register

To view the agenda, please visit: https://www.ises-usa.com/agenda

About International Semiconductor Executive Summits (I.S.E.S.)

I.S.E.S. is where decision makers in Semiconductor Manufacturing connect to inspire, collaborate and share ideas in a trusted network. A leading industry associated that consists of members from the entire Semiconductor ecosystem responsible for the innovations in Equipment & Materials Manufacturers, OSATs, Foundries, IDMs, IC Design Houses, Software and Services to the actual end user such as High Performance Computing, AI, Automotive Electronics, 5G/6G and etc. I.S.E.S. hosts its Summits annually in the following regions: United States of America, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China, and Singapore. The MEMS World Summit EU, China and South East Asia are I.S.E.S. Strategic Communities.

I.S.E.S. provides a unique industry platform dedicated for collaboration, where global leaders connect and innovate with peers, partners and customers to accelerate the semiconductor industry.

Visit www.isesglobal.com to learn more, contact us, and connect with the International Semiconductor Executive Summits (I.S.E.S) on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/internationalsemiconductorexecutivesummit/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TjWccCFQfo) and WeChat.

Contact:

Maxine Fermin

[email protected]com

+1 888 570 5141

SOURCE International Semiconductor Executive Summits
Company Seeks $15.8 million for FDA trial and international expansion with Triadyme-C cervical total disc replacement

OREM, Utah, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dymicron today announced that it is launching an offering of securities through the use of an offering statement that has been qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dymicron has partnered with DealMaker for its self-hosted $15.8 million raise. Regulation A+ raise. Regulation A+ is a relatively new exemption which allows private companies to sell their shares to unaccredited investors. "Medical Device companies have recently found this approach to fundraising attractive to investors and we are proud to be one of the leaders in the medical device industry to be on the forefront of this movement to democratize the capital fundraising process" said Alan Layton Chairman and CEO.

About Triadyme - C

The Triadyme-C is a motion preserving cervical artificial disc made of polycrystalline diamond, one of the most robust and durable materials known to mankind. As a result, the Triadyme-C produces virtually no detectable wear, minimizing the risk of any wear debris-related complications, ensuring performance for the lifetime of the patient. The Triadyme-C's patented Tri-Lobe design mimics the natural kinematics and motion of a normal disc.

About Dymicron

Dimicron Inc. (dba Dymicron) is a privately held, innovative medical device company based in Orem, Utah which has developed a next generation total disc replacement system for the cervical spine - Triadyme-C, with a uniquely engineered, patented material that virtually eliminates wear debris and facilitates an MRI-friendly design which mimics the natural, kinematic motion of a normal disc. To learn more, visit http://www.invest.dymicron.com/

CAUTION: Triadyme-C is not available in the US or its territories

Investor Relations and Media Contact:

Mauricio Inzunza

+1-801-396-9151

+1-888-814-9151

[email protected]

SOURCE Dymicron, Inc.
CINCINNATI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eagle's Locksmith Cincinnati announced today that all commercial business owners and retail stores will receive same day service in the greater Cincinnati metro area.



There are many types of commercial locks and commercial locksmith services in Cincinnati, Ohio provided by different contractors. A commercial lock replacement near Cincinnati, OH with Eagle's Locksmith is now available to book online to provide with any locksmith service for the same day. Commercial locks can be found on metal, steel and glass aluminum doors. In addition, Eagle's expert technicians will provide commercial lock rekeying services including new lock change, master key system, lock installation and heavy-duty lock repair.



Most business owners are closing late in the evening and open early in the morning and may need an emergency locksmiths in Cincinnati, OH to assist ASAP. So, when it comes to commercial lock repair or replacement after hours, Eagle's Locksmith is now prepared with a special team for all emergency calls. Eagle's Locksmith services will also provide maintenance for all commercial locks to make sure nothing is broken and works properly.



Eagle's Locksmith is a mobile commercial locksmith's company in Cincinnati, Ohio with a full service provided on site. For customer convenience, Eagle's mobile locksmith will show up at any business location in the Cincinnati region. Most commercial door lock jobs can be done on the same day since the company trucks carry most common hardware for any commercial locks and accessories.

Eagle's Locksmith Cincinnati

414 Walnut Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

eagleslocksmith.com/cincinnati-locksmith/

Tel: (513) 202-4240

SOURCE Eagle's Locksmith Cincinnati
CUNY Graduate Max Maldonado to develop short documentary with filmmaker Juanita Ceballos

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Economic Hardship Reporting Project , a nonprofit that supports independent journalists telling stories about systems that perpetuate economic inequity, announces that Max Maldonado is the winner of the inaugural Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP)/Newmark J-School Reporting Grant.

Max Maldonado

EHRP has awarded a $5,000 grant to Maldonado, a recent graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, and has paired him with an experienced mentor, filmmaker Juanita Ceballos. She will help him develop a short documentary.

The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to an exceptional Newmark graduate to produce ambitious works of journalism about inequity. Grantees receive a reporting stipend, mentorship and connections to editors at news organizations. Grantees have access to Newmark J-School production equipment and facilities during the grant year, and to a reporting mentor, who also receives a stipend.

Maldonado's documentary investigates environmental racism through the practice of sugarcane burning in the Florida Everglades. While pre-harvest burning has been mostly phased out around the world, Big Sugar continues to hold fast to this process despite claims from health experts that the smoke is harming the nearby black and brown communities. Maldonado developed an interest in the area after he helped a local non-profit deliver food to the residents of the low-income communities of the Glades. He is currently working on the project with his co-director Jose Jesus Zaragoza.

Maldonado is a freelance journalist and cinematographer based in New York City. He started in journalism working for his undergraduate college's radio station, reporting on local stories in South Florida. At the Newmark School, he specialized in documentary filmmaking with a concentration in health and science reporting.

His mentor, Ceballos, is a documentary producer and cinematographer in New York. She has covered Colombia's civil conflict, police brutality in the United States and the refugee crisis in Venezuela.

SOURCE Economic Hardship Reporting Project
Report reveals the new dynamic global workforce has elevated mobility's role to that of a strategic partner in business

DENVER, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global workforce management technology provider, Equus Software (Equus), and Global Mobility Executive (GME), London-based global mobility research, services and events company, today announced the release of its 2022 Evolving Global Mobility Landscape Report, detailing how the global mobility industry has evolved since 2020 and revealing key findings on how the new dynamic global workforce has elevated mobility's role to that of a strategic partner in business.

Equus Software Global Mobility Technology

"Siloed operational models are becoming obsolete and cumbersome," said Alan Bell, senior vice president of solution consulting at Equus. "This year's survey results confirm that global mobility is adopting a changed mindset. That is, evolving as an interdependent ecosystem that leverages an automated process, helps drive down costs and duplication, and enables time-saving efficiencies to allow for solutions-creation and innovation."

In 2020, Equus and GME conducted the first survey on technology in global mobility titled, "The Future of Global Mobility  The Digital Journey," and this year's report is a follow up to understand the extent to which the pandemic and other political, socio and economical forces are influencing the digital transformation of global mobility.

The 2022 survey responses indicate an almost even split between participants based in Europe, 46 percent, and North America, 44 percent. Participants represented a wide range of industry sectors, but the majority came from the tech sector (40 percent). Fifty seven percent of respondents had an employee population of 20,000 or more.

Key 2022 Evolving Global Mobility Landscape Report findings include:

While international assignments remain the most popular type of move the number of permanent transfers is steadily increasing, particularly in the tech sector and in organizations with smaller assignee populations.

There is a renewed focus on tracking business travellers and remote workers to minimize tax and immigration compliance risks since the height of the pandemic with nearly 60 percent of respondents stating that they were and are using a variety of software tools for tracking.

Other than spreadsheets, using a relocation company's software is popular (23 percent), along with custom built platforms (10 percent), and global mobility technology providers tools (30 percent).

When asked about the biggest barriers to investing in technology, just over half of respondents (51 percent), stated that cost was the main barrier to implementing a tool.

The average global mobility team comprises less than five people which highlights the fact that small teams are managing a large workload and the need for technology solutions has never been greater.

"It is more apparent than ever that digital transformation is key to helping organizations be agile and adapt to changing priorities," said Alex Felstead, director of Global Mobility Executive. "In order to remain competitive, global mobility leaders are relying on technology to improve their efficiency and spot trends that impact strategic decisions. An integrated technology solution is the thread that weaves together a flexible, agile talent mobility ecosystem."

The full Evolving Global Mobility Landscape report can be viewed here: https://www.equusoft.com/EvolvingGlobalMobilityLandscape

For more information about Equus, visit equusoft.com.

About Equus

Equus Software (Equus) is the global leader in cloud-based international relocation and mobility solutions. More than 2,000 organizations around the world rely on Equus tools and technology to automate mundane, transactional work so that global mobility teams, talent management professionals and other key stakeholders can focus on adding value to the business. Founded in 1999, Equus has a proven track record for delivering cutting-edge talent mobility solutions, continuous innovation, and exceptional customer service. equusoft.com.

A bout Global Mobility Executive

With more than 60 years combined experience running global HR and mobility events, the team at Global Mobility Executive (GME) has a simple mission  to provide global mobility leaders the platforms to discuss challenges, corporate strategy and industry trends in a private, collaborative, peer-to-peer environment. GME's programs include events, virtual exchanges, content, benchmarking and bespoke appointment setting. globalmobilityexecutive.co

Media Contact:

Elle Welch

423-605-5553

[email protected]

SOURCE Equus Software
Everspring will perform market research, portfolio planning and strategy consultation for the University of Wyoming's Office of Online and Continuing Education.

CHICAGO and LARAMIE, Wyo., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Everspring, a leading higher education technology and services provider, announces a new partnership with the University of Wyoming (UW). Everspring will provide UW with market research and portfolio planning to identify opportunities to achieve market parity and programmatic enrollment growth for the Office of Online and Continuing Education.

Everspring's robust market research and portfolio planning services support universities in assessing current offerings, determining the viability of potential new programs, and identifying qualified groups of prospects for those programs. As a result of Everspring's analyses, universities receive an overview of their place in the market and actionable insights and recommendations based on a range of collected data, labor market forecasts for in-demand skills, and Everspring's industry knowledge.

"We're excited to partner with Everspring to identify new opportunities to meet the educational needs of the people of Wyoming and beyond," said Benjamin Cook, interim vice provost for digital, distance and online programs. "A big part of the UW mission is to leverage higher education as a source of economic and workforce diversification. Our ability to deliver high-quality, relevant online and distance education will be critical to our success."

With Everspring's market research insights and recommendations, the university seeks to assess UW's readiness and ability to grow online programs and set realistic short-term and long-term goals for online program enrollments.

"The University of Wyoming excels at providing accessible, high-value educational experiences for their students," said Beth Hollenberg, CEO and co-founder of Everspring. "Our market research will provide valuable inputs into how UW can most effectively position their programs to meet the changing needs of their students and to achieve sustainable growth, enabling them to thrive now and into the future."

About the University of Wyoming's Office of Online and Continuing Education

Located in Laramie, Wyoming, the University of Wyoming is a public land-grant research university. The University of Wyoming continues to embody the spirit of its mission by delivering UW learning opportunities beyond its campuses. The Office of Online and Continuing Education offers undergraduate and graduate courses, degree programs, and noncredit learning opportunities to students in Wyoming and nationwide through online and combination deliveries. The University of Wyoming ranks among the best values in the country based on the quality and number of educational opportunities available, low tuition rates, and scholarship programs. For more information, visit http://www.uwyo.edu/distance/.

About Everspring

Everspring is a leading provider of education technology and service solutions for higher education. Our advanced technology, proven marketing approach, and robust faculty support and instructional design services deliver outstanding outcomes for our university partners, powering their success online. Everspring offers a range of full-service turnkey solutions, as well as standalone fee-for-service offerings, and innovative self-service products that enable universities to establish themselves as leaders in the digital delivery of higher education. Based in Chicago, Everspring serves a growing number of colleges and universities nationwide.

Contact us for more information. Don't just go digital. BE DIGITAL.

SOURCE Everspring
SHOWX lauched a Change.org campaign where fans commit to only buying tickets directly from musicians, solving the decades long withholding of their fan data.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- When the senate judiciary committee met last week, they failed to address the foundational flaw of the concert industry - and now fans are taking matters into their own hands. Led by SHOWX, a mission-driven company that has been building a viable solution for musicians since 2020, a Change.org campaign just launched where fans will speak with one voice to fix the concert industry for good by only buying tickets directly from musicians.

Change.org Campaign

Everyone is wrong about the underlying problem with the concert industry: We need to give musicians control of ticketing and ownership of the data of their fans. When the senate judiciary committee met this week, they should have invited someone from SHOWX to explain the foundational flaw of the concert industry, because nobody got it right. Its clear that if multiple witnesses and congressional researchers cant identify the underlying problem that isnt being addressed, fans will need to take

It's about data. It's always been about data; it will always be about data.

Whoever controls ticketing keeps the email data of the fans that buy the tickets. It might seem trivial, but this is the most valuable commodity in the concert business. It's so valuable that ticketing companies including Live Nation/Ticketmaster have created exclusivity deals with all the viable venues making it nearly impossible for musicians to sell tickets directly to fans.

The reason for this is simple: If musicians owned the first-party data of their fans, they wouldn't need a promoter - they would just take the risk on themselves and sell tickets directly to their fans. If musicians had the data of the fans that buy their tickets, they could directly market all forms of their commerce for the rest of their careers including merchandise, NFTs, live streams, Patreon, Cameo and their concert tickets.

Instead, promoters trap this data and only use it to market their future concerts, keeping musicians reliant on them to directly reach their fans. With control, musicians could also set the ticket price, processing fees and disallow secondary market tickets.

But somehow the senate judiciary hearing focused on how promoters could keep control of ticketing and better manage fees, pricing, and scalpers - missing the underlying problem. That's why fans are being called upon to come together and use their purchasing power to create change.

ABOUT SHOWX

Billboard article on how SHOWX created a direct-to-fan service that gives artists control of ticketing with the largest network of venues that let musicians control ticketing: https://bit.ly/3frxWDO

SOURCE SHOWX
The strategic realignment includes the announcement of new leadership of Catholic News Agency, ACI Group and the National Catholic Register

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EWTN Global Catholic Network has announced an organizational restructuring of its domestic digital and print news platforms with the realignment of its two U.S. based news outlets, National Catholic Register and Catholic News Agency (CNA), under single executive leadership. EWTN Chairman and CEO Michael P. Warsaw appointed Jeanette De Melo, the longtime editor-in-chief of the Register and the newspaper's current executive director, as executive director of both the Register and CNA.

As part of an organizational restructuring of EWTN Global Catholic Network's domestic digital and print news platforms, Jeanette DeMelo (far right) has been appointed executive director of both the National Catholic Register and Catholic News Agency (CNA); Kelsey Wicks (center) has been appointed executive director of CNA; and Shannon Mullen (left) has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Register.

Warsaw also appointed Kelsey Wicks to the post of executive director of the ACI Group, a part of EWTN News that is comprised of an international network of media agencies covering global Catholic news in seven languages (Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, English, and Arabic). Wicks assumes the role after having served as ACI Group's operations manager and for the last six months as Catholic News Agency's interim executive director. Alejandro Bermudez, who was the longtime executive director of CNA and the ACI Group, retired from the organization Dec. 31.

The new structure is designed to enhance EWTN News' domestic and international news coverage. Each platform will continue to have its own editors in chief and each will maintain its distinct identity and scope within EWTN News.

"I am confident this new structure will provide an opportunity to strengthen our news teams, our coverage and our reach as well as allow us to better share valuable resources across platforms," said Warsaw. "By improving the efficiency of our operations, we will be able to focus more on our editorial mission both here in the US and across the globe."

The ACI Group, acquired by EWTN in 2014, has expanded EWTN News' reach as an international leader in Catholic news. With offices located across the world  ACI Prensa in Lima, Peru; ACI Digital in Sao Paulo, Brazil; CNA Deutsch in Munich, Germany; ACI Stampa in Rome, Italy; ACI Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya; and ACI MENA in Erbil, Iraq  the news agencies focus on covering local, continental and international news from a Catholic perspective.

"From Latin America to the Middle East and Northern Africa, these agencies, staffed by local Catholics who speak and write in the language of the regions, present news that matters to the people closest to them," said Wicks.

"Additionally, the flow of news coming from the other agencies worldwide helps keep local audiences in tune with what's happening internationally, allowing them to read and pray for the most important events and stories in other parts of the world."

Added Wicks, "We have a truly global Church and ours is a global work. I'm grateful for this opportunity to lead our team of dedicated editors and journalists who connect so many different people with each other through news of the Church, Christian witnesses, and defense of the faith."

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Augustine Institute, Wicks worked as a legislative assistant on immigration- and refugee-related issues for the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops before she turned down a scholarship to Notre Dame Law School to join the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Shortly after discerning out of the convent, she began her career in media, and helped EWTN News expand the ACI Group by participating in the foundation and launching of ACI MENA, the Catholic news agency in Arabic for the Middle East and Northern Africa.

As a part of this reorganization, Warsaw announced that Shannon Mullen, a more than 30-year veteran in journalism and Catholic News Agency's editor in chief since July 2021, has been selected to serve as editor-in-chief of the National Catholic Register. The newspaper, founded by Msgr. Matthew Smith in Denver in 1927, was acquired by EWTN in 2011. In addition to the biweekly print edition, the Register produces daily news at NCRegister.com. The Register earned the Catholic Press Association's Newspaper of the Year award in 2022.

"Over the last 18 months, Shannon has demonstrated a passion for journalistic excellence, a commitment to serving the Church and a deep dedication to his team at CNA," said De Melo. "His transition to the Register plays into his creative strengths and capitalizes on his long experience in the newspaper industry."

Before coming to CNA, Mullen was a features writer, investigative reporter and editor with the Asbury Park Press, a Gannett Co. newspaper, in New Jersey, where he was a member of a reporting team that was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

De Melo, for her part, has been involved in Catholic media for more than 20 years, first as a diocesan communications director and general manager and most recently leading the Register for more than 10 years. In her expanded role as executive director of both the Register and CNA, the focus will be on ensuring the quality of the journalism, faithfulness to reporting from a distinctly Catholic lens as well as attracting new audiences to the newspaper and websites.

"For several years now, the Register has depended on CNA for its Vatican coverage and breaking daily news. Uniting under one umbrella to strategize and share resources will only increase our coverage footprint and our effectiveness in serving our audiences. I look forward to greater collaboration between the CNA and Register teams," said De Melo. "And also, I know through partnership with the ACI Group we'll be able to expand our work to bring even more news from the universal Church to our domestic readers."

The search for an editor in chief for Catholic News Agency is currently underway.

EWTN also recently announced the appointment of Montse Alvarado as the President and Chief Operating Officer of EWTN News. Alvarado will assume that post on March 6.

ABOUT EWTN and EWTN NEWS

In its 42nd year, EWTN is the largest Catholic media organization in the world. EWTN's 11 global TV channels and numerous regional channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 400 million television households in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 600 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the most visited Catholic websites in the U.S.; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., EWTN News operates multiple global news services, including Catholic News Agency, "The National Catholic Register" newspaper and digital platform, ACI Prensa in Spanish, ACI Digital in Portuguese, ACI Stampa in Italian, ACI Africa in English, French and Portuguese, ACI MENA in Arabic, CNA Deutsch in German and ChurchPop, a digital platform that creates content in several languages. It also produces numerous television news programs including EWTN News Nightly, EWTN News In Depth, EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, The World Over, and others.

SOURCE EWTN Global Catholic Network
Nachawati Law Group: Ovarian cancer victims deserve day in court

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trial lawyers with the Nachawati Law Group praised a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejecting Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) use of a controversial bankruptcy ploy to shed more than 38,000 lawsuits filed by women who developed ovarian cancer after using J&J's talc-based products.

The Jan. 30 ruling means J&J can be held accountable for its failure to warn consumers about known cancer risks associated with talc-based products like Johnson's Baby Powder, said trial lawyer Majed Nachawati , founder of Dallas-based Nachawati Law Group.

The Nachawati Law Group represents numerous women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer after years of using Johnson's Baby Powder and other talc products produced by the company.

"Our clients are grateful that the appellate court saw through this cynical attempt by J&J to avoid responsibility," said Mr. Nachawati. "We will press forward to ensure that jury trials resume, and these women can have the opportunity for justice they deserve."

In 2021, J&J transferred the lawsuits and jury verdicts to a shell company known as LTL Management. Using a Texas law known as the "Texas Two-Step," LTL briefly incorporated in Texas before quickly filing for bankruptcy. The move sparked controversy because  if successful  it would have allowed a profitable corporation to use bankruptcy law to avoid accountability in the civil justice system.

"It's plain and simple; Profitable corporations like Johnson & Johnson should not be allowed to use bankruptcy laws to avoid accountability," Mr. Nachawati said.

The appellate ruling found that LTL is "highly solvent" and not entitled to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy because J&J had provided it with a $60 billion funding "safety net" to meet its talc liabilities. Judge Thomas Ambro, writing for the appellate panel, said that injured claimants' rights to a jury trial should be "disrupted only when necessary."

With thousands of lawsuits set to resume, Mr. Nachawati said J&J's liability could exceed the $60 billion it had set aside for the LTL bankruptcy.

Nachawati Law Group represents individuals in mass-tort litigation, businesses and governmental entities in contingent litigation, and individual victims in complex personal injury litigation. One of the largest and most diverse products liability law firms in the nation, Nachawati Law Group was ranked No. 1 nationally in products liability filings in federal court over the past three years, according to Lex Machina. For more information visit http://www.ntrial.com/ .

SOURCE Nachawati Law Group
HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FibroBiologics, a clinical-stage company focused on the development of fibroblast cell-based therapeutics for chronic diseases, today launched an online funding campaign with StartEngine, a leading equity crowdfunding platform. Regulation Crowdfunding allows everyone to invest in securities issued by startup companies, regardless of their net worth or income level.

The funding will be used to support the Company's ongoing operations and advance clinical programs in multiple sclerosis, degenerative disc disease, wound care, extension of life, and cancer.

FibroBiologics Launches Public Funding Campaign with StartEngine.com Tweet this

"We're excited to partner with StartEngine on this campaign. StartEngine has over 600,000 investors as part of their community and has raised over half a billion dollars for its clients," said FibroBiologics' Founder and CEO, Pete O'Heeron. "This is an exciting time at FibroBiologics as we continue progressing our clinical pipeline and developing innovative therapies to treat chronic diseases. This new funding will fuel our growth in the lab and bring us one step closer to commercialization."

For more information, please visit FibroBiologics' website or email FibroBiologics at [email protected]. To invest in FibroBiologics, please go to the company's campaign on StartEngine startengine.com/fibrobiologics.

About FibroBiologics

Based in Houston, FibroBiologics is a cell therapy, regenerative medicine company developing a pipeline of treatments for chronic diseases using fibroblast cells. FibroBiologics holds 150+ US and internationally issued patents/patents pending across various clinical pathways, including disc degeneration, orthopedics, multiple sclerosis, wound healing, reversing organ involution, and cancer. FibroBiologics represents the next generation of medical advancement in cell therapy. For more information, visit www.FibroBiologics.com.

Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE FibroBiologics
OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - FINTRAC published today a new Operational Alert, Laundering the Proceeds of Crime from Illegal Wildlife Trade, meant to assist businesses subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act in better identifying and reporting financial transactions related to the laundering of proceeds of crime from illegal wildlife trade. This reporting will facilitate the production of actionable financial intelligence in support of law enforcement investigations of this appalling and cruel crime in Canada and abroad.

FINTRAC's Operational Alert was developed in support of Project Anton, a new international public-private partnership aimed at improving awareness and understanding of the global threat posed by illegal wildlife trade, and targeting the laundering of proceeds from this despicable crime domestically and internationally. This initiative was named in honour of Anton Mzimba, Head of Security at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and a Global Conservation Technical Advisor, who was murdered in 2022 for his passionate commitment to protecting and conserving wildlife. Project Anton is led by Scotiabank and supported by The Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife network, which was founded by Prince William, FINTRAC, AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance in Australia, the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, the United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit, Western Union and numerous other government, law enforcement and non-governmental organizations in Canada and around the world with unique knowledge, expertise and tools in combatting illegal wildlife trade.

Illegal wildlife trade is a major and growing threat to the global environment and biodiversity, imperilling endangered species already on the edge of survival, and threatening fragile habitats, communities and livelihoods. Illegal wildlife trade can also have significant public health impacts, as the circulation of animal parts increases the chances of disease transmission and can be a path for future pandemics.

The Financial Action Task Force has identified illegal wildlife trade as a major transnational organized crime, which generates billions  some have estimated approximately 20 billion (USD)  of criminal proceeds each year. According to the Wildlife Justice Commission, illegal wildlife trade is considered a lucrative, low risk and high reward criminal activity, and often involves fraud schemes, tax evasion and other serious crimes that facilitate the illicit enterprise. Organized crime groups involved in wildlife crime are often also involved in other domestic and internationally connected criminal activity such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, firearm trafficking and money laundering.

A 2020 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime highlighted that suspected illegal wildlife traffickers from 150 different countries had been identified, illustrating that wildlife crime is a global issue. By following the money and generating actionable financial intelligence for law enforcement in Canada and around the world, Project Anton's dedicated global network of public and private sector organizations will play a key role in helping to identify, pursue and prosecute perpetrators  and broader networks  linked to illegal wildlife trade.

Quotes

"Illegal wildlife trade is an appalling and merciless crime committed for financial gain and to advance other criminal enterprises. It threatens our environment, public health, prosperity, and the safety and security of our communities. Together with our dedicated Project Anton partners in Canada and around the world, we are determined to follow the money and leverage the power of financial intelligence to help target, disrupt and dismantle the organized criminal networks that profit from this insidious illicit activity."

Sarah Paquet, Director and Chief Executive Officer, FINTRAC

"Project Anton is an important next step in the fight against illegal wildlife trade and I am proud of the leadership role Scotiabank has taken on this initiative. Through international expansion and collaboration across borders and disciplines, we are helping to uncover these crimes and aiding law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the identification of perpetrators. The Project is a testament to the value that financial intelligence can bring to help identify the criminal networks seeking to profit from the exploitation of vulnerable and endangered species."

Stuart Davis, Executive Vice President, Financial Crimes Risk Management & Group Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer, Scotiabank

"The illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest financial crimes blighting our world but when it comes to tackling it, we rarely do what we do with other serious crimes: follow the money to uncover and apprehend the criminal syndicate and seize their ill-gotten gains. Traffickers brazenly exploit global financial systems to move the proceeds of their crimes. At United for Wildlife, we bring together public, private and not-for-profit sector partners to collaborate in detecting and disrupting these criminal activities. We are delighted to support Project Anton, which brings new partners to the initiative and creates further global commitment to fight the illegal wildlife trade, and support protected species, biodiversity and the affected communities."

David Fein, Chair of the United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce

"Criminals rely on financial services to enable their activities, whether drug, human or wildlife trafficking. AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance pools the diverse capability of government agencies and financial institutions to generate financial intelligence to disrupt crime, and has led to the targeting of transnational organized crime syndicates trading in illegal wildlife. Initiatives like Project Anton reinforce the impact that close cooperation between governments and industry can have in combatting crime."

Nicole Rose, Chief Executive Officer, AUSTRAC

"The heinous illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products has deep and lasting effects which, if left to continue unabated, will encourage criminals and syndicates to ramp up their activities. We all stand to lose precious and finite resources in the scramble for Illegal trade in wildlife. For this reason and more, we should never lose sight of the need to follow the money and the financial flows associated with illegal wildlife trade. Deep knowledge and understanding on this will give us greater insight on the financial touchpoints of syndicates and criminals. Their financial fingerprints are what we need to help fight illegal wildlife trade and associated crimes and bring to justice the criminal bosses who ultimately benefit from these crimes. It is a fight we need to commit to and prioritize. The obligation is ours to ensure the safety of our wildlife and the time to act is now."

Xolisile Khanyile, Director, Financial Intelligence Centre, South Africa

"For some time now those of us who have been combatting wildlife crime have recognised that there is a strong connection with organized crime and the way forward is to look closely at the financial element driving it. Thanks to a number of excellent initiatives enabling law enforcement to work closely with the financial sector at a global level, we are starting to see some significant results that can and do dismantle criminal networks. This is one of those initiatives that will undoubtedly have a positive impact and we look forward to working closely with Canada to ensure it does."

Alan Roberts, Investigative Officer, UK National Wildlife Crime Unit

"Western Union vigorously condemns illegal wildlife trade, and we devote significant resources to help detect and deter the misuse of our services. As criminals become increasingly savvy in moving money to pursue illicit ends, we are constantly adapting and evolving our systems and collaboration efforts to enable a more sophisticated level of detection and deterrence against illegal activity. We are honored to play a part in Project Anton, and together with our partners, collaborate to protect our communities, our environment, and our global financial system."

Gabriella Fitzgerald, President, Western Union North America

Quick Facts

FINTRAC's new Operational Alert, Laundering the Proceeds of Crime from Illegal Wildlife Trade, is based on a strategic analysis of suspicious transaction reporting received by the Centre and it is supported by credible and compelling domestic and international research, as well as information and input from Project Anton partners.

FINTRAC identified the suspected importation of wildlife into Canada , particularly from China and Sub-Saharan regions of Africa , and the suspected exportation of wildlife from Canada to other jurisdictions, including China and the United States .

, particularly from and Sub-Saharan regions of , and the suspected exportation of wildlife from to other jurisdictions, including and . Various money laundering techniques were identified, including the use of nominees, front companies owned by traffickers or their associates, and funds layered between related accounts.

Corruption is one of the most important facilitators of illegal wildlife trade. Every stage in the illegal trade chain is affected, from poaching and illegal harvesting through transportation, processing and export, to sale and the laundering of proceeds.

Project Anton's partners include Scotiabank, United for Wildlife, FINTRAC, AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance, South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, UK Financial Intelligence Unit  National Crime Agency, Western Union, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the Wildlife Justice Commission.

It has been estimated that 55 African elephants are poached on the African continent every day. In Canada , bears are killed for their bile, paws and other parts, which are then sold for a large profit domestically and internationally. Moose, wolves, reptiles and narwhals, among others, are also considered species at risk for the Canadian illegal wildlife market.

, bears are killed for their bile, paws and other parts, which are then sold for a large profit domestically and internationally. Moose, wolves, reptiles and narwhals, among others, are also considered species at risk for the Canadian illegal wildlife market. Project Anton is modelled after Canada's other successful, ongoing public-private partnerships, which are aimed at combatting the laundering of proceeds related to human trafficking for sexual exploitation (Project Protect), online child sexual exploitation (Project Shadow), trafficking of illicit fentanyl (Project Guardian), romance fraud (Project Chameleon), illicit cannabis activities (Project Legion) and money laundering in British Columbia and across Canada (Project Athena).

Related Product

Associated Links

Follow us on

Twitter: @FINTRAC_Canada

LinkedIn: FINTRAC Canada | CANAFE Canada

YouTube: FINTRAC Canada

SOURCE Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
New Partnership Affords Consumers Bridge Loans in connection to Home Sale Assurance Program

CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity Home Loans has partnered with Fortuna to offer exclusive bridge financing to consumers transitioning from one home to another. The bridge loan allows consumers to extract equity from their departing residence before they close on that sale to use the funds to purchase their new primary residence. Both the bridge loan and the new purchase loan will be originated by the same Celebrity loan originator, ensuring a seamless and timely transaction. Homeowners can now buy their next home before they sell their current home with the peace of mind knowing they have Celebrity in their corner.

Celebrity's Chairman and CEO, David Robnett, commented "In partnering with Fortuna, Celebrity is creating new ways to make it easier for homeowners to transition from one home to another while adding real value to our realtor partners. We are thrilled to provide this peace of mind and change the way folks are thinking about real estate finance."

Fortuna's President, Eric Meadow stated, "Celebrity's partnership means homeowners can now not only qualify for that new home but are empowered to move forward without the stress of self-funding their bridge loan needs. We've found homeowners value the opportunity to tap their equity to fund their portion of the new home loan purchase and equally desire an efficient way to do it. Early indicators are this is a real game changer!"

About Fortuna Finance

Fortuna Finance is a provider of products and services designed to streamline the home sales process for real estate agents, lenders, and consumers. The (HSA) program helps sellers qualify for a new home loan before they close on their current home. Home sellers have the option to sell to Fortuna for up to 90 days after they buy their new home. In the meantime, agents receive more time to sell the current home at the highest price. For more information, visit www.fortunafinance.com.

About Celebrity Home Loans

Celebrity is a nationwide independent mortgage banker funding billions in residential home loans in 49 states and US territories. Celebrity provides a full suite of residential loan programs along with proprietary innovative solutions. For more information, visit www.celebrityhomeloans.com.

SOURCE Fortuna Finance
ST JULIANS, Malta, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaming Innovation Group Inc. ("GiG") signed an agreement to acquire the casino affiliate websites Askgamblers.com, Johnslots.com, Newcasinos.com and several smaller domains from Catena Media Plc., ref. announcement from GiG on 15 December 2022. GiG has today completed the acquisition and will consolidate these assets as from today.

GiG Media is eagerly anticipating the operational and commercial opportunities of the well regarded affiliate website AskGamblers, now that the transaction has closed. Management is focused on elevating the performance of this asset and has a clear strategy in place to implement GiG Media's innovative technical SEO and marketing technology, along with Askgamblers' extensive knowledge. GiG aims to drive substantial growth and maximize profitability through renewed focus on the Askgamblers domain, with the goal of increasing revenue and EBITDA in the near future.

Richard Brown, CEO of GiG said: "We are thrilled to add another top casino affiliate site to our portfolio, and believe it holds immense growth potential. The acquisition also broadens our geographical footprint and increases revenue diversity both geographically and client wise, reducing the overall operational risk."

The transaction is carried out through a share purchase by Innovation Labs Limited (GiG Subsidiary) of the totality of the issued shares of Catena Publishing Limited and Catena Media doo Beograd. The consideration (on a cash free and debt free basis) is 45,000,000, of which 20,000,000 is paid today with the remaining balance to be paid in two installments on 31 January 2024 (10 million) and 31 January 2025 (15 million).

For further information, please contact:

Richard Brown, CEO GiG, [email protected], +34 661599025

About Gaming Innovation Group (GiG)

Gaming Innovation Group is a leading iGaming technology company, providing solutions, products and services to iGaming Operators. Founded in 2012, Gaming Innovation Group's vision is 'To be the industry-leading platform, sportsbook and media provider delivering world-class solutions to our iGaming partners and their customers. GiG's mission is to drive sustainable growth and profitability of our partners through product innovation, scalable technology and quality of service. Gaming Innovation Group operates out of Malta and is dual-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GIG and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker symbol GIGSEK. www.gig.com

SOURCE Gaming Innovation Group
ENCINO, Calif., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gelson's has promoted John Bagan to President & CEO following the departure of Rob McDougall, who has retired from Gelson's after 15 years with the Southern California-based brand. The new leadership position marks Bagan's third promotion in two years, most recently moving from COO into the role of president in July 2022.

John Bagan, President and CEO of Gelson's Clare Bogle, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Gelson's Tom Frattali, SVP of Group Synergies at Gelson's Rich Gillmore, Vice President of Center Store at Gelson's Ron Johnson, Chief Information and Supply Chain Officer at Gelson's Paul Kneeland, SVP of Merchandising and Sales at Gelson's Tim Mahoney, SVP of Operations at Gelson's Yvonne Manganaro, SVP of Customer and Team Experience at Gelson's Sean Saenz, Vice President of Fresh Foods at Gelson's

As President & CEO, Bagan will assume greater responsibility for the company's overall vision, business and growth strategy, as well as managing relationships with the Board of Directors and parent company Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH). Bagan joined Gelson's as Chief Merchandising Officer in 2016 following high-level Merchandising and Supply Chain roles at Guitar Center, Albertson's and Target. He began his career as a business analyst for Morgan Stanley before receiving his MBA in Marketing from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Recognized as a progressive leader in the grocery industry, Rob McDougall has spent nearly five decades in the grocery business. Joining Gelson's in 2007 and rising to the CEO role in 2014, he sought to place a greater emphasis on fresh foods, along with organic and local products, recognizing the changing habits of Southern California shoppers. During his tenure, he grew the chain from 18 to 27 locations, including opening three locations in San Diego in 2016. His approach included customizing each Gelson's to the needs of its community, while introducing new in-store social areas like wine bars and branded products like Gelson's wines.

Gelson's has concurrently promoted Rich Gillmore to Vice President of Center Store and Sean Saenz to Vice President Fresh Foods, while announcing key title changes to reflect additional responsibilities:

Clare Bogle is now Chief Financial and Administrative Officer with responsibilities for Finance, Accounting, Accounts Payable, Analytics, Payroll, Risk Management, Legal, and Benefits

Ron Johnson is now Chief Information and Supply Chain Officer with responsibilities for IT, Supply Chain, and PPIH synergies

is now Chief Information and Supply Chain Officer with responsibilities for IT, Supply Chain, and PPIH synergies Tom Frattali is now SVP of Group Synergies, leading Gelson's efforts in group purchasing, supply chain efficiencies and private label expansion with the parent company

Paul Kneeland is now SVP of Merchandising and Sales with responsibilities for Center Store and Fresh Foods Merchandising

Tim Mahoney is now SVP of Operations, with responsibilities for Store Operations, Pharmacies, Construction and Maintenance, and Loss Prevention

Yvonne Manganaro is now SVP of Customer and Team Experience with responsibilities for Marketing, Human Resources, Team Development, Public Affairs and Real Estate

About Gelson's

Gelson's operates 27 premium food markets in Southern California. Each Gelson's Market features the amenities of full-service fresh Produce, Meat, Seafood, Prepared Foods, Bakery, and Floral departments, along with Grocery departments stocked with the best local, specialty and organic products alongside national brand favorites. Gelson's high standards for freshness and quality, unsurpassed service, and exceptionally clean and convenient stores define the ultimate food experience. With a 70 plus-year legacy, Gelson's in-house experts know Southern California's lifestyle and how to deliver the curated offerings their customers want including hand-selected produce, the best and freshest cuts of meat and seafood, and Chef-prepared signature recipes. Find out why Life Tastes Better Here at https://gelsons.com.

SOURCE Gelsons; The Initiative Group
Home energy management to be incorporated into a central, easy-to-use interface

WAUKESHA, Wis., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Generac Power Systems, Inc., (NYSE: GNRC) a leading global designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions and other power products, today announced that its entire line of Wi-Fi and cellular-enabled home standby generators will soon integrate with the latest ecobee smart thermostats, creating a single energy management hub for the home.

Generac Announces Home Standby Generator Integration with ecobee Smart Thermostats

By integrating ecobee smart thermostats with Generac home standby generators, home energy management will be incorporated into a central, easy-to-use interface. Homeowners can quickly and easily see that their generator is ready to power on in a power outage. For homeowners fueling their generator with propane, they will also be able to digitally link their fuel tank, enabling them to monitor fuel levels 24/7 on the same interface.

"At Generac, we're constantly looking for new and innovative ways to make life a little easier," said Kyle Raabe, executive vice president of Consumer Power at Generac. "By integrating our Generac home standby generators with ecobee smart thermostats, we're giving customers visual peace of mind that their generators are ready to power on in an outage and helping them keep watch on all their energy management needs in one location."

The integration will be available on ecobee's Smart Thermostat Premium and Smart Thermostat Enhanced units, and on all Wi-Fi and cellular-enabled Generac home standby generators. When launched, customers will see the new integration option appear in their Mobile Link app and can choose to participate with the click of a button. The process will take only a few minutes in the app, with no additional installations required from a dealer. Customers can also choose their notification settings on their thermostat or opt out at any time via the Mobile Link app.

Through the new integration, customers and dealers will experience a more efficient process to schedule maintenance or quickly remedy issues that may arise. Homeowners can view the status of their Generac home standby generator in real time by simply pressing the generator icon on their ecobee thermostat. If there is an alert on the generator, the thermostat will have a full screen display notifying the homeowner and displaying their preferred dealer's contact information.

The software update for ecobee thermostats will be available spring 2023. For more information about ecobee smart thermostats, visit www.ecobee.com. To learn more about the Generac home standby generator and ecobee thermostat integration, please visit the website.

About Generac

Generac Power Systems, Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) is a leading energy technology company that provides advanced power grid software solutions, backup and prime power systems for home and industrial applications, solar + battery storage solutions, virtual power plant platforms and engine- and battery-powered tools and equipment. Founded in 1959, Generac introduced the first affordable backup generator and later created the category of automatic home standby generator - a market in which nearly eight of ten generators sold is a Generac. The company is committed to sustainable, cleaner energy products poised to revolutionize the 21st century electrical grid.

About ecobee

ecobee Inc. was founded in 2007 with a mission to improve everyday life while creating a more sustainable world. Since launching the world's first smart thermostat in 2009, ecobee has helped customers across North America save nearly 28 TWh of energy, which is the equivalent of taking all the homes in Los Angeles and Chicago off the grid for a year. Today, ecobee continues to innovate with smart home solutions that solve everyday problems with comfort, security, and conservation in mind. In 2021, ecobee joined Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC). Generac and ecobee share a vision to deliver a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for customers and communities. The Generac and ecobee home of the future will be more comfortable, resilient, and efficient. For more information, visit ecobee.com.

Media Contact: Stephanie Rodgers

[email protected]

Phone: 262.544.4811 Ext. 4456

SOURCE Generac Power Systems, Inc.
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: Analysis By End User (Adult & Pediatric), By Composition (Mono & Combination), By Region (The US, China, EU+UK, Japan & ROW), Size and Trends with Impact of COVID-19 and Forecast up to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market was valued at US$2.23 billion in 2021, and is predicted to grow to US$3.04 billion in 2027.

The hepatitis B vaccine is an effective way to prevent infection with the hepatitis B virus. Vaccination is the core component of hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevention and a key intervention in the World Health Organization's (WHO) efforts to eradicate hepatitis B by 2030.

Following the approval of the first hepatitis B vaccine in 1981, there has been significant progress in hepatitis B vaccines. Furthermore, vaccine recommendations have evolved over several decades, culminating in the recommendation for universal hepatitis B immunization for all people under the age of 60. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.28% over the projected period of 2022-2027.

Market Segmentation Analysis:

The combination vaccines segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecasted period, due to its properties of protection against multiple causal agents. The combination vaccine also reduces the cost of packaging for individual vaccines, which would contribute to the segment market growth. For example, the Twinrix combination vaccine can protect against both hepatitis B and hepatitis A.

In the report, the global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market is divided into five regions: The US, China, Europen Union, Japan, and ROW. The US accounted for the maximum share of the global market in 2021. The hepatitis B vaccine market in the US is a significant market, with a high demand for the vaccine due to the ongoing threat of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

The market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of HBV, government initiatives and policies to promote vaccination, technological advances in vaccine production, and increasing healthcare expenditure.

There are several manufacturers of the HBV vaccine in the US, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Inc., and more. These manufacturers offer a range of HBV vaccines, including monovalent (mono-HBV) vaccines and combination (combo-HBV) vaccines. The specific vaccines available and their prices may vary depending on the manufacturer and the distribution channel.

European Union and the UK market is expected to expand significantly during the forecast period. Various reasons such as improved healthcare infrastructure, an active government drive to track HBV, and a well-established reimbursement system for hospitals, are expected to drive the growth of the market in European Union.

In addition, Public Health England is constantly updating the country's HBV infection burden, relating it to economic burden, statistical modelling, and estimating vaccination cost-effectiveness. These types of studies are also expected to propel the growth of the market in EU. Furthermore, the market's growth is projected to be influenced by ongoing technological advancements, greater accessibility, and rising disposable income.

The favorable environment for new vaccines, as well as government legislation, are foreseen to assist the market's growth. Companies would adjust to changing market conditions and tailor their business plans and practices to aid in the growth of the HBV vaccination in the region.

Market Dynamics:

Growth Drivers: One of the key drivers of the market's expansion is the increasing geriatric population. The demand for hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine may increase as the population ages, as the risk of HBV infection and complications increases with age. Older people are more likely to have underlying health conditions that may increase their risk of HBV infection and complications.

Older people may also be more likely to have certain behaviors or exposures that increase their risk of HBV infection. Other significant growth factors of the market include, rising prevalence of hepatitis B virus, rapid urbanization, increasing healthcare expenditure, growing instances of HBV among infants and increase in liver cancer and cirrhosis deaths due to HBV.

Challenges: However, some challenges are impeding the growth of the market such as high cost of vaccine development and inequitable access to vaccines. Inequitable access to vaccines have been observed and is a critical issue in the market, particularly in impoverished areas where awareness programs and initiatives have either failed to permeate or have not penetrated sufficiently. Furthermore, the development and distribution of HBV vaccines and antibodies in deprived areas is unequal, which is considered as a stumbling block to the market's growth.

Trends: The market is projected to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period, due to use of AI in vaccine and drug design, technological advancements in vaccine administration and favorable government initiatives and policies. Government initiatives are considered the most important trend for the growth of the vaccine market.

For instance, The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), founded in early 2000 with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and now supported by a number of partners, has played an important role in promoting universal hepatitis B vaccination in low and middle-income countries.

Competitive Landscape:

Global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market is moderately concentrated, with increasing acquisitions, collaboration, and product launches. Past decades have seen rise in studies on characteristics of anti-HBs antibodies, pertaining to neonates, infants, adults, and immune suppressed patients.

Due to the concentration of key players in developed regions, regional partnerships and distribution agreements have become major strategic initiatives for a number of key players. Numerous new entrants and established players also eye potential avenues in chronic HBV infected patients and intend to conduct more research on therapeutic vaccination.

In March 2022, VBI Vaccines Inc. received the US Food and Drug Administration approval for the only 3-antigen HBV vaccine for adults in the US, PreHevbrio for hepatitis B.

Top players have been trying to incorporate the results of multicenter studies in a bid to improve response to HBV vaccination, with a direct focus on HBV mutants.

Market Dynamics

Growth Drivers

Rapid Urbanization

Increasing Geriatric Population

Increasing Healthcare Expenditure

Growing Instances of HBV Among Infants

Increase in Liver Cancer and Cirrhosis Deaths due to HBV

Rising Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus

Challenges

High Cost of Vaccine Development

Inequitable Access to Vaccines

Market Trends

Use of AI in Vaccine and Drug Design

Technological Advancements in Vaccine Administration

Favorable Government Initiatives and Policies

Global Market Analysis

Global Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: An Analysis

An Overview

Value

End User (Adult & Pediatric)

Region (The US, China , EU+UK, Japan , and Rest of the World (ROW))

End User Analysis

An Overview

Adult Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Value

Adult Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Composition (Mono Vaccine & Combination Vaccine)

Pediatric Hepatitis B Virus Vaccine Market by Value

Global Adult Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market: Composition Analysis

An Overview

Mono Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market by Value

Adult Combination Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Vaccine Market by Value

The key players in the global hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine market are:

GlaxoSmithKline

Merck & Co., Inc.

Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd.

Cyrus Poonawalla Group (Serum Institute of India Pvt.)

Dynavax Technologies Corporation

Sanofi

VBI Vaccines Inc.

Meiji Group (KM Biologics)

LG Chem Ltd.

Indian Immunologicals Limited

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ep4mnw-hepatitis?w=5

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "TariffAlert - Your Daily Pricing Analysis Service (12 month Subscription) plus Access to the Archive Stories going back to 2009" newsletter has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The new daily analytical newsletter TariffAlert focuses exclusively on the latest pricing issues in the mobile and fixed arena globally.

Each edition uses a mix of news, analysis, competitor offerings across each market and additionally includes analyst commentary to support it.

TariffAlert is unique. It does not just provide the daily output delivered straight to your inbox, it offers a monthly summary together with searchable online access to more than 10k published stories on the portal.



"Pricing has become increasingly complex and our customers have expressed a need for a service that provides more than just the headline prices," commented Margrit Sessions, researcher and author of TariffAlert. "The new service provides our subscribers with all the details needed for every new tariff together with the small print. Our service has become the preferred source for providers and forms part of the one-stop shop for pricing research and consultancy."

A 12-month subscription includes:

The TariffAlert published 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year is delivered in PowerPoint

Monthly summary in Excel allows you to search and select stories by country, operator, Type of service, and headline. Each entry links straight to the story held on the analyst's portal.

Access to over 10k pricing stories published since 2009 with a searchable engine.

The TariffAlert provides more than just the information that is available from the operator's announcement, the analyst provides the finer details including comparing it with the old tariff and competitor's offerings.

Deliverable: 5 days a week in 50 weeks a year.

This service has become the preferred source for providers and forms part of the one-stop shop for pricing research and consultancy.



In one year alone TariffAlert published 1,248 articles, all focused on pricing.

"TariffAlert is a widely used and respected pricing intelligence service among our customer base which includes telecom and mobile operators, solutions providers and consultancies internationally," commented Margrit Sessions, Managing Director of Telecoms Pricing, and an expert in the sector.



"With 250 issues and more than 1,000 articles every year it is increasingly critical for competitive analysis, service evaluation, research support and customer adoption tracking. Now in its 13th year, Tariff Alert is the longest continuous resource focused on pricing in telecoms and mobile services globally."



The company also offers custom research across complex pricing projects and has assembled an extensive global pricing database and regularly conducts international research projects.

For more information about this newsletter visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wlpiu2

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
BEIJING, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Red lanterns are once again hung in the contemporary houses that combine Chinese and Western elements in the famous hometown of overseas Chinese in East China's Fujian Province.

For countless overseas Chinese, this year's Spring Festival provided an opportunity to be reunited with family for the first time since China's prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic entered a new phase.

Different from most people in China who meet again across mountains and bodies of water, during the holiday, in Fujian, a province which is the hometown of 15.8 million overseas Chinese in 188 countries and regions, numerous long-awaited reunions across continents and oceans took place: Once again, children received lucky money in dollars, euros, and other currencies, echoing the splendid fireworks exploding auspiciously on the seaside and river beaches. Practically every household sent out a warm welcome and best wishes to their friends and relatives who had returned from afar.

What made these wanderers, who had been working and living overseas for decades, choose to celebrate the Spring Festival in their hometown? What kind of life did they lead during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic? What new plans do they have while in their hometown to face the post-epidemic era?

In the coastal city of Fuzhou, the provincial capital of Fujian Province, the Global Times reporter heard several weighty and hopeful answers.

Tide of reunion across ocean

On the morning of the Spring Festival's Eve, in the Overseas Chinese Innovation and Entrepreneurship Zone in Mawei district, Li Hua, president of the United Federation of American Fujianese, who had just returned to China for a month, received countless phone calls wishing him happy Chinese New Year from home and abroad.

"My local relatives and friends want to meet with me and my compatriots in the US want me to tell them more about China's current development situation," Li told the Global Times.

Li pointed out that with the optimization of China's epidemic prevention and control policy, many Chinese Americans are now paying close attention to China's visa policy.

"During the years of the epidemic, most of us were confined to the US, feeling confused, uncertain, and unable to contain our homesickness," Li said. "And there are many practical problems and opportunities for future development for which we need to 'return home' to solve and explore."

Li cherished every pleasantry he received back in China this year's Spring Festival holidays. "Whether we meet or greet each other by phone, everyone is joyful and full of hope."

During the holiday, such conversations and gatherings were common in Fuzhou.

Early in the morning of the fifth day of the first Chinese lunar month, Chen Kehui, president of the China-Lesotho People-to-People Friendship Action Fund, drove back to his family's birthplace, Yuxi town, with his father and brothers, to meet with relatives they had long been separated from at the family shrine where he donated part of the money.

"This year, many of my family members who have worked in Africa and the Southeast Asia returned home from overseas. My father offered to take advantage of this reunion time, so we gathered together to talk about our experiences in different parts of the world over the last three years since the global COVID-19 pandemic began," Chen said, noting that such warm meetings and cordial communications have not been felt or experienced for a very long time.

The reunion is also particularly important for Chen Yunbin, chairman of Confederation of Fujian Associations Europe, who has been living in Germany for more than 30 years.

"My 92-year-old grandmother has been bedridden for two years; I wanted to spend a lively Spring Festival with her," Chen Yunbin told the Global Times.

Chen Yunbin's biggest regret in the past was that the sudden epidemic three years ago hindered reunion opportunities among people. Due to the resurgence of the global pandemic, Chen Yunbin, who had planned to return to his hometown in February 2022, delayed his trip until October that year not least due to repeated flight cancellations.

Witnessing the adjustment of China's epidemic prevention and control policy, Chen Yunbin pointed out that currently "going home" has gradually become the biggest wish and the practical action for many overseas Chinese.

Striking contrast

On December 4, 2022, Li boarded on flight to China from the US alone. But Li was not alone on this home journey.

"I was caught up in the 'untimely bus' of medical quarantine for international arrivals in China, but during the quarantine period, Fujian's thoughtful arrangements and considerate greetings made me feel the warmth of my hometown. I also felt the responsible attitude of China in efficiently coordinating epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and ultimately adjusting and optimizing prevention and control measures in conjunction with the actual situation," Li said.

Li said he felt the "people first, life first" principle of epidemic prevention and control in his native country. "China has made vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, and patients with underlying medical conditions a priority for protection."

Li, who is over 65 years old, immediately received anti-epidemic supplies and medicines distributed by the community and enjoyed their warm concern when he arrived in his hometown and even to the province to where he was on a business trip.

Li said "what I saw back home was a very stable price level."

Even after December 8 [when the government scrapped mass nucleic acid testing and allowed home quarantine for COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms], life quickly returned to normal, much faster than in the US, Li said.

Li said he spent nearly a year in "self-imposed isolation" at home in the US.

Chen Kehui returned to his hometown in Fuzhou at the beginning of the outbreak in China in early 2020. In the last three years, he has traveled between China and the African continent, feeling incredibly fortunate to have spent the majority of the time during global pandemic mainly in China, which is a "strong haven" for him.

"China deployed enormous financial, material, and human resources to effectively contain the epidemic and has done its best to protect people's lives and health, action that only the Chinese government can do," Chen said.

With his family and main business in Lesotho and South Africa, Chen has been closely following the situation in Africa for the last three years.

Lesotho's medical resources are relatively modest, and many Chinese there were hit hard by the outbreak after the peak in infections in the first half of 2020, Chen noted. "Going to the hospital didn't help, they chose to stay at home and rely on supplies donated by their home countries."

"Countless Chinese people in Africa have experienced numerous psychological breakdowns, and even if they are infected, they still prefer to return to their home countries for treatment," Chen said.

People in China live a quiet, peaceful life, thanks to the scientific, precise, and efficient epidemic prevention and control measures put in place by the government, Chen Yunbin said.

Looking ahead in hometown

When he came to China, Li was surprised to find that Fujian powerfully overcame the impact of the epidemic factor, with its 2022 GDP exceeding 5 trillion yuan ($750 billion).

"I also saw that at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Central Economic Work Conference, the ruling party of China emphasized stepping up efforts to promote high-level opening-up." Optimistic about the business environment in her hometown, Li hopes to explore new investment businesses in China in the near future.

During the holiday, Chen Yunbin organized a meeting of the new generation in his hometown with in a homestay he funded. Thanks to an in-depth reconnaissance and research back home, he had a good understanding of each participant.

"I hope to communicate more with local young people so that they can understand the highs and lows of our experiences overseas and also inspire them to do more meaningful things for our country and hometown in the new era," Chen Yunbin said, noting that with the support of the local government, he is building a number of contact platforms for overseas Chinese to provide high-quality business services for Chinese people around the world.

"In particular, given the changing of the epidemic situation, our home country has optimized its epidemic prevention and control policies. We also need to seize the opportunity to make full preparations for great changes and development in the post-epidemic era," he said.

On the eve of the Spring Festival, Chen Kehui moved into his newly renovated home, a six-story villa. "I bought this house back in 2017, but I had not thought about how to deal with it before. Now, I witnessed China is gradually stepping out from under the shadow of the epidemic and has begun to show new vitality. I have more confidence in this country, I look forward to further career development in China in the future," he said.

Outside Chen Kehui's villa, bright red lanterns swayed in the soft breeze blowing in from the sea.

"Thirty years ago I went to Africa to make a front stop. Currently, I am back in my homeland to make a front stop for my friends in Africa. There is a huge amount of opportunities with good security, policies, and a great investment environment in China," he noted.

SOURCE Global Times
BEIJING, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Spring Festival is rooted in agricultural civilization. Chinese people believe the most traditional atmosphere of Spring Festival is in rural regions.

Since the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic has entered a new stage, questions have been raised over whether the adjustment and transition of prevention and control measures in rural areas was smooth and orderly. Can villagers meet their medical needs? What special measures do villages and small towns have to deal with the epidemic?

With these questions in mind, the reporters returned to their rural hometowns for Spring Festival, and visited medical institutions of different levels to understand how people in these areas survived the epidemic and enjoyed the Spring Festival.



Villages pass infection peak

One Global Times reporter visited a health center of Caoji village under the renowned tourist attraction - the Pingyao ancient city - in Shanxi Province. The doctor at the facility told the Global Times that the village had passed the peak of COVID-19 infection a month ago, and no new cluster of infections had occurred during the Spring Festival holidays.

"Some villagers showing COVID-19 symptoms were treated here with traditional Chinese medicine and they recovered quickly. Some severe patients who had been treated in city hospitals came here for a second opinion and they are now much better. Before the Spring Festival, medical supplies received from the local government were distributed to villagers," the doctor surnamed Xu told the Global Times.

The Global Times reporter visited several families at the village and learned that they received fever and cough medication. They said they didn't know whether they had COVID-19 or a cold because they didn't take an antigen test, but they had recovered and were ready to embrace a new life.

In East China's Anhui Province, the Global Times reporter learnt that there were few patients in a local hospital in Yangliu village under the administration of Xuancheng city, in the southern part of the province, during the Spring Festival, as peak infections occurred before the holidays. In the nearby Xuanzhou district, also in Xuancheng, the epidemic situation is similar, with no new clusters of infections reported.

"The peak of infections passed around two weeks before the Spring Festival holidays and the situation is relatively stable during the holidays," a local hospital employee surnamed Zhang in the Xuanzhou district told the Global Times. Zhang said that all 800 beds and all the medical staff at this hospital were in full play in late-December when the region saw a peak of infections.

Despite the epidemic being stable, the hospital still had emergency contingency plans in place during the holidays including round-the-clock staff and sufficient medicine stocks, Zhang noted. For high-risk inpatients such as the elderly and the patients with serious underlying conditions, the hospital would ensure they could get anti-viral medicine in time, according to Zhang.

With the experience in facing the peak infection in December, sufficient medicine and local treatment mechanisms, Zhang said they were confident to face the epidemic.

Triage treatment works in practice

The Global Times visited a hospital in Shuikou township in Southwest China's Chongqing on January 23. Wang Hailin, the hospital head, showed the Global Times a CT scan room which is connected to county-level hospitals. Patients' CT scan results are simultaneously viewed by medical experts from the county hospital, which has better equipment and resources. Once the patient is diagnosed as with severe symptoms, he or she will be transferred to the county hospitals within 20 minutes, said Wang.

Wang's hospital is equipped with 30 beds, most of which were empty when the Global Times reporter went to visit.

Wang said most of the patients, who are sent to his hospital for treatment, recovered within a week. He also said the local government sent them two oxygenators in December 2022, making the total at the hospital six, which is enough to help patients recover.

Wang said that COVID-19 infections had ebbed away in this small town two weeks ago, and fever clinics currently receive less than 10 people per day. He said the hospital made contingency plans by asking all employees to be on standby 7/24 in case the caseload surges during Spring Festival. "But there's no huge outbreak currently and things are so much better than we had previously anticipated."

The hospital also has an abundant stockpile of medicines, including ibuprofen and China's own homegrown COVID-19 antiviral Azvudine.

In early January, Nie Chunlei, director of the Grassroots Healthcare Department of the National Health Commission, told a press conference that grassroots authorities are required to expand emergency transport capacity as each rural and township clinic should be equipped with at least one ambulance, and make sure that emergency calls can be received 24 hours a day, and that vehicles can be dispatched quickly, he said.

For elderly residents who are infected and also suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other underlying conditions, they should be referred to medical institutions with treatment capabilities as soon as possible, and can be directly transferred to tertiary hospitals, he said.

TCM supports fight against virus

Doctor Shan Changping is a legend in the small county of Juye, East China's Shandong Province.

The TCM doctor's prescriptions are very effective in alleviating back pain, hemiplegia, and other diseases. Locals in the nearby neighborhood would visit him whenever they had any sort of minor ailment.

When the wave of COVID-19 infections hit Juye in December, his small clinic, just opposite to the best elementary school in town, was full of patients, experiencing symptoms such as cough, headache, and fever.

"We had hundreds of patients visiting every day during the peak period," Shan told the Global Times reporter, "before that, we only had dozens maximum."

His clinic has only one room, partitioned by shelves and boards into a consultation area, a treatment area with four beds, a TCM pharmacy, and a Western medicine pharmacy. The walls are covered in pennants expressing gratitude from patients.

When the two major public hospitals in the county were stressed with COVID patients, the clinic was nearby people's most trusted source of aid.

Shan, with dozens of years of experience in applying TCM methods on his patients, formed his own philosophy in dealing with the virus. He referred to a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) medical book about the prevention and treatment of respiratory infectious diseases, and invented a recipe that has proven pretty effective in the prevention and symptom relief of COVID-19 infection.

"In this epidemic, the focus is on supplementing oxygen and assisting qi. Eating, drinking, and resting more, and maintaining a comfortable mood are important in strengthening physical fitness and improving immunity," he explained.

Among his prescription consisting of 18 herbs, astragalus, for instance, is to lift qi, reed root can relieve nausea, buffalo horn can detoxify, and loquat leaves can relieve cough. Patients need to have the medicines twice a day, which cost about 15 yuan ($2) each time.

"We had this prescription long before the breakout of the infections, but at that time we did not know if it would work well or not," Shan said, "After the wave of infections, we know it is very effective."

Residents in the neighborhood trust the TCM deeply. They told the Global Times that people who had received Shan's prescription could recover in almost two days.

Actually, at the very beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, in Central China's Hubei Province, China started to use TCM to support treatment, combining it with Western medicine.

TCM is widely used in the global anti-pandemic fight since the onset of COVID-19, proven to be remarkably effective. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in a report that TCM is beneficial in the COVID-19 treatment, particularly mild-to-moderate cases, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The proper use of TCM for home-based treatment can relieve the pressure placed on medical institutions and medical resources, as China shifts its focus of its COVID-19 response strategy from infection control to case treatment to prevent severe cases, said Huang Luqi, deputy head of the National Administration of TCM earlier this month at a press conference.

On the day when the Global Times reporter visited the clinic during the Spring Festival holidays, it was virtually empty.

"No news is the good news," Shan said.

SOURCE Global Times
BALTIMORE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- STAT today published "How the Biden Administration's COVID preparedness policies could narrow America's political divide" co-authored by leadership of the Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 68 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 37 countries, and comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans and some animals. The opinion piece calls on the Biden Administration to "follow the science" in updating COVID-19 preparedness policies to align with the indefinite endemic phase the country is now facing. The renowned co-authors including Dr. Steven Phillips, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Christian Brechot urge Americans to better adapt to inescapable COVID exposure and infection and to stop going to great lengths to avoid exposure. This challenges the Biden Administration's COVID Winter Preparedness Plan and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendation of some exposure-avoidance for everyone.

According to lead co-author Steven C. Phillips, MD, MPH, Vice President of Science and Strategy, COVID Collaborative and Member, Global Virus Network (GVN) Board of Directors, "the Plan's rationale, to 'decrease the chance of [importation] of a new viral variant,' is not a sound policy guidepost in the current global setting of unmitigable high transmission, high mutation rate, and unknown population susceptibility. These factors overwhelm the model that calculates the probability that a novel variant will emerge. With SARS-CoV-2, the virus-host interaction is a force of nature that cannot be contained  though the risk can be managed through investing in robust virus genomic surveillance and a rapid-response capability centered around rapid mRNA vaccine development followed by scaled production and access."

The Biden Administration should "follow the science" in updating COVID-19 preparedness policies. Tweet this

"Science is telling us that, for most people who aren't at high risk, COVID-19 is becoming a common airborne illness of manageable severity. Humans can't change the natural behavior of a firmly-entrenched, easily-spread global airborne pathogen. But the Administration  and Americans  could do a better job adapting to it," said Robert Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, and Co-Founder of the GVN and Chair of the GVN's Scientific Leadership Board. "Pandemic preparedness and control in a post-pandemic era mean responding to the economic, social, and public health welfare of our citizenry with new policies, best practices, clearer public education, and effective behavior-change strategies that are backed by the science, as outlined in our STAT op-ed."

"There is still no cogent plan for a global pandemic, both in short-term planning and long-term challenges such as Long COVID," said Christian Brechot, MD, PhD, President of the Global Virus Network (GVN), Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at the University of South Florida (USF), and Professor, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters. "America's divide over avoiding exposure has little to do with anyone's greater wisdom or ideology. The state of nature  which is inexorable and nonpartisannow presents a common path forward. Early in his term, President Biden appointed his slate of science advisers with the promise that they would lead with 'science and truth.' They now have the opportunity to demonstrate that sound science and good politics can go hand in hand."

About the Global Virus Network (GVN)

The Global Virus Network (GVN) is essential and critical in the preparedness, defense, and first research response to emerging, exiting, and unidentified viruses that pose a clear and present threat to public health, working in close coordination with established national and international institutions. It is a coalition comprised of eminent human and animal virologists from 68 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 37 countries worldwide, working collaboratively to train the next generation, advance knowledge about how to identify and diagnose pandemic viruses, mitigate and control how such viruses spread and make us sick, as well as develop drugs, vaccines, and treatments to combat them. No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas other than the GVN, which brings together the finest medical virologists to leverage their individual expertise and coalesce global teams of specialists on the scientific challenges, issues, and problems posed by pandemic viruses. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit https://gvn.org/. Follow us on Twitter at @GlobalVirusNews

SOURCE Global Virus Network
DETROIT, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported fourth-quarter 2022 revenue of $43.1 billion, net income attributable to stockholders of $2.0 billion and EBIT-adjusted of $3.8 billion.

GM's full-year 2022 revenue was $156.7 billion, net income attributable to stockholders was $9.9 billion and EBIT-adjusted was a record $14.5 billion. Results were at the high-end of the company's revised EBIT-adjusted guidance range.

The company expects its core auto operations to perform at a consistently strong level in 2023, with full-year net income attributable to stockholders of $8.7 billion-$10.1 billion, EBIT-adjusted of $10.5 billion-$12.5 billion, and EPS-diluted and EPS-diluted-adjusted of $6.00-$7.00.

GM also expects strong cash flows from automotive operations for the calendar year, including:

Net automotive cash provided by operating activities of $16.0 billion - $20.0 billion

- Adjusted automotive free cash flow of $5.0 billion - $7.0 billion

See below for reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures or visit the GM Investor Relations website for complete details.

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Conference Call for Investors and Analysts

GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra and Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson will host a conference call for investors and analysts at 8:30 a.m. ET today to discuss these results. Those who wish to listen to the call may dial in using the following numbers and passcode:

United States : 1-800-857-9821

: 1-800-857-9821 International: +1-517-308-9481

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Results Overview



Years Ended



($M) except where noted December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 Change % Change Revenue $ 156,735 $ 127,004 $ 29,731 23.4 % Net income attributable to stockholders $ 9,934 $ 10,019 $ (85) (0.8) % EBIT-adjusted $ 14,474 $ 14,295 $ 179 1.3 % Net income margin 6.3 % 7.9 % (1.6) ppts (19.7) % EBIT-adjusted margin 9.2 % 11.3 % (2.1) ppts (18.0) % Automotive operating cash flow $ 19,094 $ 9,693 $ 9,401 97.0 % Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 10,466 $ 2,564 $ 7,902 308.2 % EPS-diluted(a) $ 6.13 $ 6.70 $ (0.57) (8.5) % EPS-diluted-adjusted(a) $ 7.59 $ 7.07 $ 0.52 7.4 % GMNA EBIT-adjusted $ 12,988 $ 10,318 $ 2,670 25.9 % GMNA EBIT-adjusted margin 10.1 % 10.2 % (0.1) ppts (0.7) % GMI EBIT-adjusted $ 1,143 $ 827 $ 316 38.2 % China equity income $ 677 $ 1,098 $ (421) (38.3) % GM Financial EBT-adjusted $ 4,076 $ 5,036 $ (960) (19.1) %

__________ (a) EPS-diluted and EPS-diluted-adjusted include a $(0.13) and $0.30 impact from revaluation on equity investments in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.



Three Months Ended



($M) except where noted December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 Change % Change Revenue $ 43,108 $ 33,584 $ 9,524 28.4 % Net income attributable to stockholders $ 1,999 $ 1,741 $ 258 14.8 % EBIT-adjusted $ 3,799 $ 2,839 $ 960 33.8 % Net income margin 4.6 % 5.2 % (0.6) ppts (10.5) % EBIT-adjusted margin 8.8 % 8.5 % 0.3 ppts 4.3 % Automotive operating cash flow $ 7,488 $ 9,384 $ (1,896) (20.2) % Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 4,460 $ 6,403 $ (1,943) (30.3) % EPS-diluted(a) $ 1.39 $ 1.16 $ 0.23 19.8 % EPS-diluted-adjusted(a) $ 2.12 $ 1.35 $ 0.77 57.0 % GMNA EBIT-adjusted $ 3,654 $ 2,165 $ 1,489 68.8 % GMNA EBIT-adjusted margin 10.3 % 8.1 % 2.2 ppts 27.2 % GMI EBIT-adjusted $ 272 $ 275 $ (3) (1.1) % China equity income $ 201 $ 244 $ (43) (17.6) % GM Financial EBT-adjusted $ 775 $ 1,180 $ (405) (34.3) %

__________ (a) EPS-diluted and EPS-diluted-adjusted include a $0.02 impact from revaluation on equity investments in the three months ended December 31, 2021.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which powers everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac , Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar , a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com .

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This press release and related comments by management may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are any statements other than statements of historical fact and represent our current judgment about possible future events. In making these statements, we rely upon assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any future events or financial results, and our actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, many of which are described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or other factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where we are expressly required to do so by law.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The following table reconciles Net income attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to EBIT-adjusted (dollars in millions):



Three Months Ended Years Ended

December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 Net income attributable to stockholders(a) $ 1,999 $ 1,741 $ 9,934 $ 10,019 Income tax expense 580 471 1,888 2,771 Automotive interest expense 267 227 987 950 Automotive interest income (215) (44) (460) (146) Adjustments







Cruise compensation modifications(b)   1,057  Russia exit(c) 657  657  Buick dealer strategy(d) 511  511  Patent royalty matters(e)  250 (100) 250 GM Brazil indirect tax matters(f)  194  194 Cadillac dealer strategy(g)    175 GM Korea wage litigation(h)    82 Total adjustments 1,168 444 2,125 701 EBIT-adjusted $ 3,799 $ 2,839 $ 14,474 $ 14,295

__________ (a) Net of net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests. (b) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to the one-time modification of Cruise stock incentive awards. (c) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to the shutdown of our Russia business including the write off of our net investment and release of accumulated translation losses into earnings. (d) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to strategic activities to transition certain Buick dealers out of our dealer network as part of Buick's EV strategy. In 2023, we expect to incur additional charges as we continue to optimize our Buick dealer network. The ultimate amount of any future charges will depend on negotiations with our dealers. (e) These adjustments were excluded because they relate to certain royalties accrued with respect to past-year vehicle sales in 2021 and the resolution of substantially all of these matters in 2022. (f) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to a settlement with third parties relating to retrospective recoveries of indirect taxes in Brazil realized in prior periods. (g) This adjustment was excluded because it relates to strategic activities to transition certain Cadillac dealers out of our dealer network as part of Cadillac's EV strategy. (h) This adjustment was excluded because of the unique events associated with Korea Supreme Court decisions related to our salaried workers.

The following table reconciles diluted earnings per common share under U.S. GAAP to EPS-diluted-adjusted (dollars in millions, except per share amounts):



Three Months Ended Years Ended

December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021

Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Diluted earnings per common share $ 1,987 $ 1.39 $ 1,703 $ 1.16 $ 8,915 $ 6.13 $ 9,837 $ 6.70 Adjustments(a) 1,168 0.82 444 0.30 2,125 1.46 701 0.47 Tax effect on adjustments(b) (127) (0.09) (62) (0.04) (423) (0.29) (105) (0.07) Tax adjustments(c)   (96) (0.07) (482) (0.33) (51) (0.03) Deemed dividend adjustment(d)     909 0.63   EPS-diluted-adjusted $ 3,028 $ 2.12 $ 1,989 $ 1.35 $ 11,044 $ 7.59 $ 10,382 $ 7.07

__________ (a) Refer to the reconciliation of Net income attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to EBIT-adjusted for adjustment details. (b) The tax effect of each adjustment is determined based on the tax laws and valuation allowance status of the jurisdiction to which the adjustment relates. (c) In the year ended December 31, 2022, the adjustment consists of tax benefit related to the release of a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets considered realizable as a result of Cruise tax reconsolidation. In the year ended December 31, 2021, the adjustments consist of tax benefits related to a deduction for an investment in a subsidiary and resolution of uncertainty relating to an indirect tax refund claim in Brazil, partially offset by tax expense related to the establishment of a valuation allowance against Cruise deferred tax assets. (d) This adjustment consists of a deemed dividend related to the redemption of Cruise preferred shares from SoftBank in the year ended December 31, 2022.

The following table reconciles net automotive cash provided by operating activities under U.S. GAAP to adjusted automotive free cash flow (dollars in millions):



Three Months Ended Years Ended

December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 December 31,

2022 December 31,

2021 Net automotive cash provided by operating activities $ 7,488 $ 9,384 $ 19,094 $ 9,693 Less: Capital expenditures (3,235) (3,154) (9,007) (7,389) Add: Patent royalty matters   145  Add: Buick dealer strategy 120  120  Add: GM Brazil indirect tax matters 57  57  Add: Russia exit 31  31  Add: Cadillac dealer strategy  100  144 Add: GM Korea wage litigation  73 26 92 Add: GMI restructuring    24 Adjusted automotive free cash flow $ 4,460 $ 6,403 $ 10,466 $ 2,564

Guidance Reconciliations

The following table reconciles expected Net income attributable to stockholders under U.S. GAAP to expected EBIT-adjusted (dollars in billions):



Year Ending

December 31, 2023 Net income attributable to stockholders $ 8.7-10.1 Income tax expense 1.6-2.2 Automotive interest expense, net 0.2 EBIT-adjusted(a) $ 10.5-12.5

__________ (a) We do not consider the potential future impact of adjustments on our expected financial results.

The following table reconciles expected automotive net cash provided by operating activities under U.S. GAAP to expected adjusted automotive free cash flow (dollars in billions):



Year Ending

December 31, 2023 Net automotive cash provided by operating activities $ 16.0-20.0 Less: Capital expenditures 11.0-13.0 Adjusted automotive free cash flow(a) $ 5.0-7.0

__________ (a) We do not consider the potential future impact of adjustments on our expected financial results.

SOURCE General Motors Co.
Jetfuel brand stays true to its ethos while benefiting from vertical integration, to provide craft quality at scale

COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold Flora , a leading vertically-integrated single-state cannabis company, today announced the launch of the Jetfuel Cannabis brand of products throughout California, beginning with the introduction of strain-specific cured resin cartridges. Jetfuel has gained a following for celebrating heirloom genetics with craft cultivation processes. Previously an exclusive house brand at Airfield Supply Company  a market-leading dispensary located in San Jose that Gold Flora acquired early last year  Jetfuel will now be available statewide.

Jetfuel Cannabis strain-specific cured resin cartridges. Craft quality - now available throughout California.

As part of the Gold Flora product family, the Jetfuel brand will leverage Gold Flora's dynamic vertically-integrated resources: Flower is grown in the company's state-of-the-art indoor cultivation facilities to ensure the best quality sourced material. Oils are produced at in-house labs to maintain the highest quality, potency and consistency. And distribution is driven through the company-owned sales division.

The 1-gram cured resin cartridges are strain specific with 100% cannabis terpenes to maximize the cannabinoid entourage effect. By leveraging proprietary curing techniques, the oil preserves a full-spectrum cannabinoid profile commonly lost due to degradation that occurs during distillation  resulting in a purer product, and better preserved aromatics and flavor compounds.

Strains at launch include Durban Poison, Animal Mints, Bubba Kush, Tropicanna Cookies, Triangle OG, and Alien Cookies. Continuous rotating strain drops will offer a variety of selections for all consumer preferences.

Many vape cartridges today use synthetic terpenes in an attempt to mimic the strain's original profile, and to compensate for the natural oils lost during processing. In contrast, Jetfuel's cured resin vape cartridges use a time-intensive process that retains all of the natural terpenes, oils and cannabinoids, for a flavorful and aromatic product that provides a rich, synergistic effect. The hardware also leverages food-grade housing and medical-grade stainless steel components to optimize vapor production and maximize safety from heavy metal leaching.

"We are now able to blend art with science in order to create small-batch quality at scale," says Chris Lane, Chief Marketing Officer of Gold Flora, who joined the company as a part of the 2022 acquisition of Airfield Supply Company. "Up until now, there has been a gap in the market, with the highest quality products only available in small quantities or priced out of reach for many cannabis consumers," he added. "We've taken everything we know about craft cultivation, along with our love of genetics, and created a premium, cured resin product that now can be within reach for all consumers throughout California."

The Jetfuel cartridge line is available today at Gold Flora's family of dispensaries, including King's Crew in Long Beach, Airfield Supply Company in San Jose, Higher Level in Seaside, and Higher Level in Hollister.

As Jetfuel rolls out to additional dispensaries throughout California, customers can find the products at a dispensary near them by visiting: www.jetfuelcannabis.com .

Dispensaries interested in carrying Jetfuel may contact RYL Distribution, at: www.ryldistro.com .

About Gold Flora

Gold Flora is a privately held, woman-owned company that owns and operates a robust portfolio of cannabis brands, companies, and retail dispensaries throughout the state. Its retail operations include King's Crew in Long Beach, Airfield Supply Company in San Jose, and the Higher Level chain serving Hollister and Seaside.

In addition to its retail footprint, Gold Flora has a 620,000 square-foot cannabis campus located in Desert Hot Springs, CA, where it houses the company's indoor cultivation, manufacturing, and extraction facilities, as well as its own distribution company. With hubs throughout the state, the company sells and distributes for many prominent brands, including their own premium lines of Gold Flora, Roll Bleezy, Sword & Stoned, Aviation Cannabis and Jetfuel Cannabis products.

Gold Flora's mission is to provide the highest quality, fully-tested, legal cannabis products in California. The company was built on a foundation of trust, transparency, and high ethical standards. It is also one of the few cannabis companies that is both vertically integrated and woman-owned and operated.

For more information, visit goldflora.com .

Media Contact

Innovation Agency

Randall Huft

[email protected]

310-571-5592

SOURCE Gold Flora
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Good Day Farm, Missouri's leading medical cannabis brand, is poised to celebrate recreational marijuana's "opening day" in a very big way.

We are energized to show Missouri how accessible and elevated truly good cannabis can be. Tweet this Good Day Farm announces expansion to 19 branded retail stores in time for Missouri's recreational cannabis market. Photo Credit: Good Day Farm

The Company has announced an expanded retail footprint in the Show Me State, with 19 Good Day Farm-branded dispensaries prepared to serve Missouri's recreational consumers and medical patients as soon as this Friday, February 3. Special grand opening celebrations will be held on Monday, February 6 at Good Day Farm locations in St. Louis' Central West End, Kansas City and Buffalo, featuring complimentary coffee and donuts, food trucks, doorbuster promotions and swag giveaways.

"We are energized to show Missouri how accessible and elevated truly good cannabis can be," said Laurie Gregory, Good Day Farm Chief Marketing Officer. "With 19 convenient retail locations, Good Day Farm is the only Missouri cannabis brand positioned to serve consumers and patients statewide, offering an exciting array of products ranging from award-winning gummies and Go Pens to exotic genetics and flower strains. Whether you're a cannabis novice or an aficionado, you'll find a Good Day Farm product that's perfect for you."

In addition to boasting Missouri's largest branded retail footprint, Good Day Farm operates one of the state's largest cultivation facilities: A 106,000-square-foot state-of-the-art grow operation in Columbia. Opened in 2022, the facility employs more than 250 people and is responsible for creating the Company's celebrated product portfolio, including premium flower, pre-rolls, vapes, concentrates, and edibles.

In an effort to best serve both recreational and medical patients in Missouri, Good Day Farm retail locations will now have extended hours of operation, open until 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 p.m. on Sunday.

According to Good Day Farm Head of Retail, Ryan Herget, "As we prepare to serve Missouri's hundreds of thousands of new recreational cannabis customers, our medical patients remain an utmost priority. Good Day Farm has invested heavily in new in-store ordering technology, increased inventory, and the hiring and training of an additional 200 employees to ensure a seamless shopping experience for all guests."

All told, Good Day Farm and its licensed business partners now employ more than 500 Missourians, with plans to double that number by the end of this year.

"On the cultivation front, we have spent months bolstering our state-of-the art facility in Columbia to ensure we can continue to produce good products for good people at good prices, which is core to our mission as the leading cannabis company in the South," added Good Day Farm Head of Missouri Operations Diana Coats.

Good Day Farm, which also operates in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, has one more surprise in store for Missouri: Limited Edition King Cake Gummies. Dropping at select stores in February, the gluten free, vegan THC-infused gummies taste of rich cinnamon dough and sweet cream, a flavor inspired by King Cake, a Mardi Gras tradition that's just as popular in St. Louis as it is in New Orleans.

For more information about Good Day Farm or to locate one of its dispensaries, visit www.gooddayfarmdispensary.com .

About Good Day Farm

Founded in 2020, Good Day Farm is the largest licensed medical cannabis producer in the South, supplying the region with an abundant selection of cannabis products in a diverse range of formats, including premium flower, edibles, vapes, concentrates, syringes, tinctures and topical creams. With state-of-the-art grow operations and cutting-edge R&D facilities across Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi, Good Day Farm prides itself on being an ambassador of this healing plant in the South, where every day the Company is on a relentless quest to grow, nurture and share really good cannabis. From high-touch and high-tech growing practices to expert extraction methods, everything Good Day Farm does is rooted in a desire to cultivate goodness  good people, good cannabis and good days. Good Day Farm is a proud partner of the Last Prisoner Project and continues to be a strong advocate for the plants over pills movement. For more information or to locate a dispensary, visit www.gooddayfarm.com

Good Day Farm PR Contact:

Alice Moon

[email protected]

SOURCE Good Day Farm
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Gaotu Techedu Inc. F/K/A Gsx Techedu Inc. (NYSE: GOTU) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

This lawsuit is on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded Gaotu American depository shares between March 5, 2021 and July 23, 2021, inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: February 28, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in GOTU:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/gaotu-class-action-submission-form?id=36048&from=4

Gaotu Techedu Inc. F/K/A Gsx Techedu Inc. NEWS - GOTU NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Gaotu Techedu Inc. F/K/A Gsx Techedu Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) China was barring tutoring for profit in core school subjects, and this policy change would restrict foreign investment in a sector that had become essential to success in Chinese school exams; and (2) the impact such regulations would have on Gaotu's operations and profitability and the value of Company securities.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Gaotu you have until February 28, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Gaotu securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the GOTU lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/gaotu-class-action-submission-form?id=36048&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
Donation will fund repair and new construction projects in communities in South Florida and Puerto Rico

ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Habitat for Humanity International announced today that it has received a $1 million plus donation from the Alvarez & Marsal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M). The donation will help address long-term housing-related needs of low-income households affected by natural disasters in South Florida and Puerto Rico.

Over the next two years, the donation will fund 20 home repair projects, two new home construction projects, serving approximately 88 people in Englewood, Fla., San Juan and Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Tony Alvarez II, co-founder of Alvarez & Marsal, said, "We are delighted to join forces with Habitat for Humanity International and further the organization's initiatives in San Juan and Ponce, Puerto Rico and the town of Englewood in South Florida. A&M shares Habitat's commitment to supporting communities affected by disaster and offering help to those who live within them and hope in their darkest moments. We are honored to support Habitat's efforts to ensure the residents of San Juan, Ponce and Englewood can rebuild their homes and their lives."

Habitat for Humanity Puerto Rico continues to respond to destruction caused by Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, both of which caused deadly flooding and widespread devastation, and left millions of people in vulnerable situations. Within the municipalities of San Juan and Ponce, a large number of homes sustained significant damage from Hurricanes Maria and Fiona.

At least 40 percent of households within San Juan live below the poverty line, and 51 percent of households in Ponce. Many homes are self-built and not able to withstand the impact of a natural disaster. Habitat Puerto Rico will use the funding from the Alvarez & Marsal Foundation to help hurricane-affected families in San Juan and Ponce secure long-lasting, permanent housing and continue its hurricane response and recovery efforts.

Even before the devastation brought by the 2022 hurricanes, lower-income communities in South Florida were already experiencing a housing crisis. In Englewood, many families who were reeling from the destruction of Hurricane Ian experienced additional damage to their homes a month later from Hurricane Nicole.

Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity has been working in the Englewood community since 1987 and has helped more than 529 families achieve homeownership. With this funding, Charlotte County Habitat will have the capacity to repair and rebuild homes in the Englewood community.

"We are thankful to the Alvarez & Marsal Foundation for their commitment to families in Puerto Rico and South Florida who continue to face housing challenges," said Adrienne Goolsby, Habitat for Humanity International's senior vice president, United States and Canada. "When disaster strikes, it often leaves families in the most vulnerable and most unimaginable situations. The funding from the Alvarez & Marsal Foundation will bolster our efforts in long-term disaster response and recovery and enable us to better address disaster-related housing and shelter needs. We are proud to partner with the Alvarez & Marsal Foundation and look forward to creating solutions that will ensure homes and communities are built back stronger than before."

About Habitat for Humanity

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

About Alvarez and Marsal

Companies, investors and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) for leadership, action and results. Privately held since its founding in 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services. When conventional approaches are not enough to create transformation and drive change, clients seek our deep expertise and ability to deliver practical solutions to their unique problems.

With over 7,000 people across five continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. Our senior leaders, and their teams, leverage A&M's restructuring heritage to help companies act decisively, catapult growth and accelerate results. We are experienced operators, world-class consultants, former regulators and industry authorities with a shared commitment to telling clients what's really needed for turning change into a strategic business asset, managing risk and unlocking value at every stage of growth.

To learn more, visit: AlvarezandMarsal.com. Follow A&M on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

SOURCE Habitat for Humanity International
EMMITSBURG, Md., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the hallowed and historic Memorial Chapel as the backdrop, Henry Repeating Arms, one of America's leading firearms manufacturers, presented a $25,000 donation to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF).

Chartered by Congress in 1992, the nonprofit relies on private donations to help provide programming and support for the families and co-workers of the dozens of line-of-duty deaths that occur each year.

Chief Ron Siarnicki (left), Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, accepting a $25,000 donation from Henry Repeating Arms CEO and Founder Anthony Imperato (right).

Part of this support includes the annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, which pays tribute to the firefighters who died in service the year prior and brings together the immediate family members for additional programs. "The mission of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is to honor America's fallen firefighters; support their families, colleagues, and organizations; and work to reduce preventable firefighter death and injury," said Chief Ron Siarnicki, NFFF's Executive Director. "Without the generous support of partners like Henry Repeating Arms, it would be impossible for us to continue this important work to ensure that our nation's fallen fire heroes will never be forgotten." Along with helping departments cope with losing a valued team member and colleague, the Foundation also awards education and job training scholarships to spouses/life partners and children of fallen firefighters.

"Firefighters are a special breed, and those of us that witnessed their deeply ingrained bravery, camaraderie, and sharp instincts on display during the terrorist attacks of 2001 will never forget it," remarked Anthony Imperato, CEO and Founder of Henry Repeating Arms. "The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has established itself as a beacon of care and hospitality when tragedy strikes, and for that, they will always have our support."

Since June 2022, Henry Repeating Arms has donated $275,000 to organizations benefiting first responders and their families from the company's charitable branch, Guns for Great Causes. For over a decade, the gunmaker has included the ornately engraved, handpainted, and 24K gold-plated Firefighter Tribute Edition rifle as part of their permanent product catalog, built "in recognition of America's bravest."

For more information about Henry Repeating Arms and its products, visit henryusa.com or call 866-200-2354 for a free catalog.

To learn more about the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, please visit www.firehero.org.

About Henry Repeating Arms:

Henry Repeating Arms is one of the leading rifle and shotgun manufacturers in the United States and a world leader in the lever action category. The company motto is "Made in America, or not made at all," and its firearms come with a lifetime guarantee backed by award-winning customer service. The company is also known for its Guns for Great Causes charitable program, which focuses on assisting the families of sick children, children's hospitals, military veteran organizations, law enforcement and first responder groups, Second Amendment advocacy groups, and wildlife conservation organizations. The company currently employs over 600 people and has over 350,000sf of manufacturing space in its Wisconsin and New Jersey facilities. The company is named in honor of Benjamin Tyler Henry, who invented and patented the Henry lever action rifle in 1860  the first practical repeating rifle and America's unique contribution to the international stage of firearms design. Visit Henry Repeating Arms online at henryusa.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/HenryRepeating, and @henry_rifles on Instagram.

SOURCE Henry Repeating Arms
BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hi Marley, creators of the only AI-enabled collaboration platform built for the P&C insurance industry, today announced that Naved Siddique has joined Hi Marley as SVP of Strategy and Solutions.

As SVP of Strategy and Solutions, Naved will work closely with the Hi Marley Growth team to identify carrier challenges and opportunities while leveraging his insurance knowledge, consulting expertise, and analytical acumen to position the Hi Marley Insurance Cloud for success.

Naved comes to Hi Marley from CCC Intelligent Solutions, where he spent much of the past 16+ years leading the Solutions and Consulting organization as a Group Vice President. He previously served as Director of New Product Solutions. Before CCC, Naved held a variety of general management and consulting roles.

Naved brings deep industry and consulting experience to Hi Marley. At CCC, his team worked directly with customers to ensure they realized maximum ROI from their products to drive valuable business outcomes.

"I am most proud when I can work with carriers to improve their results and quantify the impact for their entire organization.," said Naved. "At Hi Marley, I'm excited to help develop our solutions in a way that makes a meaningful, demonstrable impact. I look forward to working with carriers to enhance their processes and operational efficiencies, increase customer satisfaction and achieve optimal results."

Naved will also work closely with Hi Marley's leadership to influence product vision, operational planning, go-to-market prioritization, and organizational strategic planning efforts while helping Hi Marley continue to develop a world-class Solutions and Consulting team.

"I was drawn to Hi Marley's culture and mission," said Siddique. "Personally, the most important thing for me is a company's culture and people. So, when I met the different individuals and saw what everyone was trying to accomplish, I was excited to join a company making a positive impact on the industry."

"With 70 customers and growing, this is the perfect time to welcome Naved to Hi Marley to support, elevate and accelerate the sales process," said Dan Keenan, Chief Growth Officer at Hi Marley. "Whether it's an adjuster, claims executive, service professional, or insurance agent, Naved understands carriers' needs and pain points. He will help us articulate Hi Marley's value, identify new approaches to achieve even greater results, and drive satisfaction across the insurance ecosystem at scale."

About Hi Marley

Hi Marley is the intelligent communication platform for the insurance industry. Built by people who know and love insurance, the platform enables hassle-free texting across the entire ecosystem, empowering insurance professionals and delighting policyholders. Hi Marley's industry-leading analytics deliver novel insights that fuel continuous improvement. The solution is built for the enterprise  fast to deploy, easy to use and seamlessly integrates with other core systems. Hi Marley is empowering the world's leading insurance carriers to reinvent the customer and employee experience. Learn more at www.himarley.com.

Media Contact

Amy Finn, VP Marketing

[email protected]

SOURCE Hi Marley, Inc.
Black Sage represents the third investment made in connection with a newly formed division of Highlander that was established to pursue leading technologies in the C-UAS, UAS, and related defense industries

DALLAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlander Partners, L.P. ("Highlander"), a leading private investment firm, today announced the acquisition of Black Sage Technologies ("Black Sage" or "the Company") from Acorn Growth Companies. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Boise, ID, Black Sage is an industry leading multi-mission platform provider of Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("C-UAS" or "Counter-UAS") and security solutions for military, internal security, and critical infrastructure industries.

Black Sage Technologies

The rise of drone activity has created an immediate need for sophisticated C-UAS systems and solutions to protect against threats to people and critical infrastructure. Black Sage has established itself as a leader in the C-UAS space with its proprietary, highly advanced, scalable open architecture DefenseOS command and control ("C2") software. DefenseOS delivers leading automation capabilities, including AI/ML automated target recognition and threat evaluation, ISR functionality, electronic warfare, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors. The Company operates as an integrator of over 40 cohesive sensor and effector systems. This capability facilitates an offering of highly configurable and hardware agnostic systems that are customized to fit mission objectives and customer requisites. Such flexibility ensures that customers are able to address evolving UAS threats.

In 2022, Highlander formed High Point Aerotechnologies ("High Point") as a division of Highlander to assist in civilian and military defense investments specifically related to the rapidly evolving C-UAS and UAS sectors. Highlander has quickly made significant progress with this initiative. Black Sage represents Highlander's second focused C-UAS acquisition and complements the C-UAS platform that was established in late-2022 with Highlander's acquisition of Liteye Systems. It is the third overall related investment, including the recent UAS acquisition of Dzyne Technologies. The assembled High Point team now consists of a variety of established leaders with backgrounds in defense, government, and technology, each of whom will assist Black Sage on tactical opportunities, government relations, regulatory and legislative matters, emerging technologies, and growth initiatives.

Al White, CEO of Black Sage commented, "The Black Sage executive team is excited to join forces with Highlander and High Point to continue our growth trajectory in the C-UAS, critical infrastructure, and security markets. The need for effective multi-mission C-UAS solutions is increasingly evident and we believe that Highlander will bring the necessary government and military relationships, industry experience, and long-term financial approach to accelerate our objectives in driving the business forward."

Ben Slater, Partner and COO of Highlander, commented, "The acquisition of Black Sage marks Highlander's third C-UAS/UAS acquisition since the formation of High Point in May 2022, reconfirming our strategy of targeting technology leaders in these high growth, developing sectors. We are confident that Black Sage, with its highly advanced systems, will further our mission of creating world-class, cutting-edge solutions to aid in the defense of our armed forces, allies, and critical infrastructure. We are thrilled to partner with the entire Black Sage team."

Jeff L. Hull, President and CEO of Highlander, added, "Black Sage has solidified a leadership role in the emerging C-UAS category. Its integrated solutions, driven by their highly advanced DefenseOS software, provide a differentiated solution to the market. We are highly impressed with the vision of the Black Sage team and look forward to working together to meet the large and growing need for effective counter-drone defense solutions."

About Black Sage Technologies

Black Sage Technologies is a leading technology manufacturer and integrator of multi-mission C-UAS and security solutions that are designed to protect lives and critical infrastructure from threats around the world. The Company's platforms are powered by an industry leading, proprietary operating system, DefenseOS. This AI-driven, open architecture command and control software suite fuses layered sensor data and automates the C-UAS kill chain. Along with the integration of over 40 sensor and effector systems, Black Sage continues to deliver leading technologies and solutions to its customers. For more information, visit www.blacksagetech.com.

About Highlander Partners

Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with approximately $3 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Highlander Partners uses a buy and build investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com .

About High Point Aerotechnologies

High Point Aerotechnologies LLC is a division of Highlander Partners established specifically to pursue the rapidly evolving C-UAS, UAS, and defense industries. High Point's objective is to become a recognized leader in its focus categories by acquiring preeminent technologies, companies, and talent. High Point is committed to supporting the defense of our nation against evolving threats and will remain mission-focused on developing needed capabilities for the U.S. and our allies. For more information, please visit www.highpointaerotech.com.

SOURCE Highlander Partners, L.P.
'On Deck for a Cause' walks around the world raise money at sea for Direct Relief

SEATTLE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A fundraising effort by cruise line passengers that took place on the high seas around six different continents culminated today with a large donation for Ukrainian relief. Holland America Line presented a check for $450,000 at the Port of San Diego to the global humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief, money raised during the premium cruise line's On Deck for a Cause campaign.

Holland America Line present check for $450,000 for Ukrainian relief to global aid organization Direct Relief. Tweet this A fundraising effort by cruise line passengers that took place on the high seas around six different continents culminated today with a large donation for Ukrainian relief. Holland America Line presented a check for $450,000 at the Port of San Diego to the global humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief, money raised during the premium cruise lines On Deck for a Cause campaign.

For 10 months on every cruise in the line's 11-ship fleet, guests could make a $25 donation to participate in a fundraising 5K walk during their sailing, in locales ranging from Alaska to Europe and the Panama Canal to Australia.

"Our guests and team members, who love to explore the world, wanted to do something to make a meaningful difference for families in a part of the world that desperately needs humanitarian aid," said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. "We knew our guests were generous, but their support has well exceeded our expectations, with donations totaling $450,000."

Direct Relief is a California-based charity that works in all U.S. states and territories and more than 90 countries around the world to expand access to medicine and healthcare by equipping doctors and nurses with lifesaving medical resources. It has already provided more than 1,000 tons of medical material aid requested by the Ukrainian Health Ministry.

"We're grateful to Holland America Line and its guests for this tremendous fundraising effort in which people took time during their vacations to make a difference," said Thomas Tighe, president and chief executive officer, Direct Relief. "Their support will further help us in providing lifesaving medications to Ukraine, ranging from cancer therapies to treatments for chronic health conditions."

The check presentation took place at the Port of San Diego. San Diego is Koningsdam's homeport in the winter, with more than 62,000 guests embarking several Holland America Line ships at the port during the 2022/23 season.

"We're proud that so many guests who choose the Port of San Diego were part of this fundraising effort," said Chairman Rafael Castellanos, Port of San Diego. "Californians alone account for close to 15% of Holland America Line's guest population, and the money raised is providing timely relief for the crisis in Ukraine."

The fundraising effort began in March and coincided with a pledge of $3 million to charities helping Ukrainian refugees from the family foundation of parent company Carnival Corporation's chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine. From April through September 2022, the Dutch government and City of Rotterdam chartered the Holland America Line ship Volendam as part of their larger effort to accommodate 50,000 Ukrainians who fled the war in their homeland.

Editors Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/aarjxqcw.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Holland America Blog. You can also access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America Line

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL andNYSE:CUK), has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years  longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

About Direct Relief

A humanitarian aid organization committed to improving the health and lives of people affected by poverty and emergencies, Direct Relief delivers lifesaving medical resources throughout the U.S. and world to communities in needwithout regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. For more information, visit https://www.DirectRelief.org .

About the Port of San Diego

The Port of San Diego serves the people of California as a specially created district, balancing multiple uses on 34 miles along San Diego Bay spanning five cities. Collecting no tax dollars, the Port manages a diverse portfolio to generate revenues that support vital public services and amenities.

The Port champions Maritime, Waterfront Development, Public Safety, Experiences and Environment, all focused on enriching the relationship people and businesses have with our dynamic waterfront. From cargo and cruise terminals to hotels and restaurants, from marinas to museums, from 22 public parks to countless events, the Port contributes to the region's prosperity and remarkable way of life on a daily basis.

CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE Holland America Line
National Education Equity Lab Honor Society recognizes students from low-income communities who have excelled in professor-led college courses from the nation's top universities

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Educational Equity Lab (Ed Equity Lab), an education justice nonprofit that works to bridge the gap between high school and college for students from historically marginalized, low-income communities, today announced that hundreds of high school scholars have been selected for its Fall 2022 National Ed Equity Lab Honor Society.

The honorees, who hail from nearly 50 historically under-resourced school districts around the country, are scholars whose academic performance was in the top 20 percent of all scholars nationwide taking dual credit Ed Equity Lab courses from selective-admissions universities including: Howard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Wesleyan University, Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Cornell University, Brown University, Spelman College, Barnard/Columbia University and Arizona State University.

"These scholars' success in rigorous college courses reinforces the fact that while talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. We aim to change that. Talented students from under-resourced high schools belong in the best-matched schools for them, including our nation's top universities," said Leslie Cornfeld, Founder and CEO of the National Education Equity Lab. "Together with our high school and university partners, we're empowering thousands of talented students around the country to show what they're capable of, and to build the skills, credentials, and confidence to succeed in higher education and beyond."

Scholars in this year's Honor Society will be recognized in a ceremony today, Tuesday, January 31st, featuring scholars and their families, university professors, high school teachers, district leaders, members of the National Education Equity Lab board, and Founder and CEO Leslie Cornfeld.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, an Ed Equity Lab board member, called this effort "game changing" for students, saying, "Democratizing access to higher education in our nation has never been more critical. Efforts like this help us do just that."

The National Education Equity Lab is an education justice nonprofit that aims to democratize access to college by partnering with top colleges and universities to offer actual college credit-bearing courses in teacher-led Title 1 high school classrooms across the country. Participating students gain the opportunity to take actual college courses from top professors, with weekly live discussions led by university teaching fellows, co-taught by teachers at their high schools. Scholars earn widely transferable college credits and a transcript from the offering institution upon successful completion. Starting in 2019 with a single Harvard humanities course in 25 high schools, the Lab has now served more than 11,000 students in 90 cities across 32 states, and aims to offer this opportunity in all eligible underserved high schools in the nation.

* * *

We congratulate the following districts and high schools across the nation for having the highest-performing high-school-in-college scholars in the nation, who are recognized as National Education Equity Lab Honor Society Scholars for top performance in the nation in college courses from selective universities:

New York City scholars recognized from 46 high schools;

scholars recognized from 46 high schools; Miami-Dade scholars from 18 high schools;

scholars from 18 high schools; Los Angeles United School District scholars from 7 high schools;

scholars from 7 high schools; Jackson Mississippi Public School District scholars from 4 high schools;

scholars from 4 high schools; Topeka, Kansas scholars from 4 high schools;

scholars from 4 high schools; Jersey City Public Schools scholars from 3 high schools;

scholars from 3 high schools; Henry County Public Schools scholars from 3 high schools.

scholars from 3 high schools. Arizona

American Charter Schools Foundation South Pointe High School, Principal McGill South Ridge High School, Principal Sigman

Phoenix Union High School District Maryvale High School, Principal Doherty

California

Birmingham Community Charter High School Birmingham Community Charter High School, Principal Bennet

East Side Union High School District KIPP San Jose, Principal Vo

Lompoc Unified Lompoc High School, Principal Pico

Los Angeles Unified School District (7 schools) John C. Fremont Senior High School, Principal Esquivel Reseda Charter High School, Principal Welsh Santee Education Complex, Principal Ruiz Thomas Jefferson High School, Principal Johnson Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences, Principal Hanock Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, Principal Verbera City Honors International Prep School

Lynwood Unified School District Lynwood High School, Principal Gonzalez

Connecticut

Amistad Academy District Achievement First Amistad High School, Principal Obas

Manchester School District Manchester High School, Principal Miner

Meriden School District Francis T. Maloney High School, Principal Straub

New Haven Public Schools Engineering & Science University Magnet School, Principal Blue

Florida

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (18 schools) American Senior High School, Principal Papp Hialeah High School, Principal Sears Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High School, Principal Ramirez Homestead Senior High School, Principal Galardi Miami Central Senior High School, Principal Sands Miami Coral Park Senior High School. Principal Weiner Miami Norland Senior High School, Principal Rhonda Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Principal Tate-Wyche Miami Senior High School, Principal Valdes Miami Southridge Senior High, Principal Miret Miami Springs Senior High, Principal Gonzalez Miami Sunset Senior High School, Principal Lux South Dade Senior High School, Principal De Armas South Miami Senior High School, Principal Penton Southwest Miami Senior High School, Principal Jorge The SEED School of Miami, Principal Locke Westland Hialeah Senior High School, Principal Handal William H. Turner Technical Arts Senior High School, Principal Frazier

Orange County Public Schools Colonial High School, Principal Reussow Oak Ridge High School, Principal Alvarado

Georgia

Henry County Schools Dutchtown High School, Principal Shaw Eagle's Landing High School, Principal Jones Woodland High School, Principal Jackson

Hawaii

Hawaii Department of Education Waipahu High School, Principal Sheets

Illinois

Chicago Public Schools Urban Prep - Academy Englewood, Principal Mahone

Thornton Fractional District 215 Thornton Fractional South High School, Principal Gourley

Indiana

KIPP Indy Legacy High KIPP Indy Legacy High School, Principal Spencer

Iowa

Davenport Community School District Davenport Central High School, Principal Ehlinger

Kansas

Topeka Public Schools Highland Park High School (KS), Principal Watson Topeka High School, Principal Morrissey Topeka West High School, Principal Buckendorff

Louisiana

New Orleans Public Schools Abramson Sci Academy, Principal McElligott

St. Landry Parish School Board Opelousas Senior High School, Principal Jackson

Massachusetts

Kipp Academy Lynn Charter KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate High School, Principal Clarke

Michigan

Pontiac School District International Technology Academy, Principal Spencer

Mississippi

Jackson Public School District Callaway High School, Principal McClung Jim Hill High School, Principal Brown JPS-Tougaloo Early College High School, Principal Molden

South Tippah School District Blue Mountain High School, Principal Killough

New Jersey

Jersey City Public Schools Infinity Institute, Principal Dobson Innovation High School, Principal Dooley Liberty High School, Principal Grazilla

Newark Public Schools Newark School of Data Science & Information Technology, Principal Dr. Summey University High School (NJ), Principal Flournoy-Hamilton

Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology, Principal Coskun

South Hunterdon Regional School District South Hunterdon Regional High School, Principal MacKnight

KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy, Principal Lewis

KIPP Newark Lab High School, Principal Burroughs

New Mexico

Albuquerque Public Schools South Valley Academy, Principal Perea

New York

Buffalo Public Schools Math, Science, & Technology Prep at Seneca, Principal Womack

NYC DOE (46 schools) Vanguard High School, Principal Doyle Fordham High School for the Arts, Principal Johnson Origins High School, Principal Kammerman Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies, Principal Dennis Mathematics, Science Research and Technology High School, Principal Thompson-Young Richmond Hill High School, Principal Ganesh Fordham Leadership Academy, Principal Cabrejos World Academy for Total Community Health High School, Principal Malary A-Tech High School, Principal Harris The High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media, Principal Michelena Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School, Principal Winn Urban Assembly of Music and Art, Principal Spring Gotham Professional Arts Academy, Principal Michelin South Bronx Preparatory: A College Board School, Principal Flanagan Bronx International High School, Principal Vargas Science Technology and Research Early College High School, Principal Blake All City Leadership Secondary School, Principal Rivera Claremont International High School, Principal Demchak Frank McCourt High School, Principal Salzberg Science Skills Center High School, Principal McGregor Academy For Conservation And The Environment, Principal Mazzola Brooklyn Collegiate: A College Board School, Principal Newman Bronx High School of Business, Principal Vega Bronx High School for Writing and Communication Arts, Principal Pierre Coney Island Prep High School, Principal Baxter Crotona International High School, Principal Ratra Eagle Academy for Young Men of Harlem, Principal Edwards Flushing International High School, Principal Hesseltine Grover Cleveland, Principal Pascente High School for Arts and Technology (Urban Assembly), Principal Pendharkar High School for Teaching and the Professions, Principal Hernandez Information Technology High School, Principal Woods-Powell KIPP NYC College Prep High School, Principal Samuels Long Island City High School, Principal Selenikas Manhattan Village Academy, Principal White Martin van Buren High School, Principal Nettleford Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School, Principal Williams M.S. 223 The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, Principal Downs New Visions Charter HS for the Humanities IV, Principal Kehn Pan American International High School, Principal Velez Pathways College Preparatory School, Principal Haseley Performing Arts and Technology High School, Principal Encarnacion Rockaway Collegiate High School, Principal Shazima Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management (UASEM), Principal Bility The Young Women's Leadership School of the Bronx, Principal Eisenberg

Sewanhaka Central High School District Elmont Memorial High School, Principal Dougherty Sewanhaka High School, Principal Allen

North Carolina

Duplin County Schools Duplin Early College High School, Principal Smith

Pennsylvania

Allentown School District Louis E. Dieruff High School, Principal Makhoul

Mastery CS-Pickett Campus Mastery Charter Schools-Pickett Campus, Principal Munnelly

Upper Darby Sd Upper Darby High School, Principal Alloway

Rhode Island

Central Falls School District Central Falls High School, Principal McCarthy

South Carolina

Charleston County School District Burke High School, Principal Swinton

Colleton Colleton County High School, Principal Cannon

Texas

Houston Independent School District KIPP East End High School, Principal Carias

Washington, DC

Friendship PCS Friendship Collegiate Academy, Principal Jones

KIPP DC Legacy College Preparatory, Principal Billups

SOURCE The National Education Equity Lab
GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is highly consolidated with 4 players - Equinix, Vantage Data Center, CyrusOne and Iron Mountain. These are the major hyperscale data center companies contributing 45% of market share in Germany catering to IT, BFSI and Telecom industry.

The 5G and 6G technology will push the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Germany market.

Primary demand drivers for Hyperscale Data Center services in Germany are industries such as Cloud, followed by Telecom, 5G Deployment, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The industry is moving towards variety of technological advancement related to IoT and AI. These technologies ensure growth in terms of competitiveness and better customer services.

Current Market Positioning: The number of people connecting to the internet is continuing to drive demand for data-center-based compute and connectivity. Companies choose to "rent" server space from a cloud provider, which is eventually kept in a data centre, rather than investing in real hardware.

Energy Efficiency: It is a key component that drives the hyperscale data center market, as all businesses strive to improve their total energy efficiency. Organizations seek data centers that use the least amount of energy while having the least impact on the environment. The drive to save money on power rises the demand for energy-efficient hyperscale data centers. In data centers, high-density blade servers, and storage systems provide higher computation capability per Watt of energy consumption.

Increasing Investments: The rising number of smart hospitals in Germany owing to rising investments in digital healthcare infrastructure in the country. Smart hospitals accelerate patient's journey and increase operational efficiency. Increasing investments in communication and technology is also boosting the market growth in Germany.

Internet of Things devices: The increase in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the various industries is speculated to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. Growing AI adoptions also boosts the growth of Hyperscale Data Centers.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication- "Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions" by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential of the hyperscale data center market in Germany. Growing volume of big data and Low costs to enterprises are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecasted period 2022P-2027F.

Key Segments Covered

Segmentation By End Users

Enterprises

Cloud Providers

Segmentation By Industry Users

Technology

BFSI

Telecom

Healthcare

others

Segmentation By Type of Solutions provided

Storage

Network

Server

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

Key Target Audience

Data Centers Service Providers

Telecom Companies

Governments

Cloud Providers

Information Technology Companies

Telecommunication Service Providers

Enterprises

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2017-2022P

2017-2022P Base Year: 2022P

2022P Forecast Period: 2022P2027F

Companies Covered:-

Supply Side Companies

Vantage Data Center

CyrusOne

Equinix

Iron Mountain

Cloud HQ

Stack infrastructure

Interxion

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Demand Side Companies

Amazon web services

Oracle

IBM

Microsoft

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Executive Summary

Country Overview of Germany

Market Overview of Hyperscale Data Center in Germany

Market Size of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P

on the basis of Volume and Revenue, 2017-2022P Market Segmentation of Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany , 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

, 2022P(By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided) Industry analysis

Growth Drivers of Hyperscale Data Center Market

Government Rules and Regulations in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Issues and Challenges and Trends in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market TAM, SAM, SOM of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Demand Analysis of Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Competitive Landscape

Value Chain Analysis

Market Segmentations; Competition; Future Market Size, 2027)

Competition Landscape

Cross Comparison of Major Companies on the basis of Data Centers, Location, Employees, Revenue and Certifications

Strengths and Weakness of Major Players in Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Hyperscale Data Center Market Future Outlook and Projections, 2022P-2027F

Future Market Segmentation (By End Users and Industry Users, and By Solutions Provided)

Analyst Recommendations

Research methodology

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

South Africa Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027  Driven by the Growing Adoption of Remote Work and Surging Demand of Cloud Computing Solutions

South Africa Hyperscale Data Centers Market is Expected to grow at a CAGR in double digits between 2022 and 2027E, one of the major determinants for the surging growth in coming years is attributed to the favourable government rules & regulations, formulated to support domestic and foreign investments in data and cloud infrastructure. Increased awareness on environmental impacts and government's aim to limit carbon footprints in upcoming years, will result in businesses adapting to a strategy to utilize least amount of energy. Teraco offering clients a global data center platform designed to enable digital businesses to scale within a highly connected data community across six Continents.

USA Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions

According to Ken Research estimates, Hyperscale data center market in USA generated a revenue of USD ~ Billion in 2022, expanding at a CAGR of ~14% in between 2017 and 2022. The surging growth is attributed to the increasing usage of internet, popularity of smart homes, wearables, trend of automation across industries, etc. The growth of Big Data; data coming from a number of sources that needs to be stored, processed and analysed to make informed business decisions in each and every industry. The drive to lessen energy consumption will act as a catalyst for the increased demand of energy efficient hyper-scale data centers in coming years.

Morocco Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Demand for Low Cost Data Centers along with Higher Capacity is expected to grow in the near future

Morocco's Data Center market is projected to witness a CAGR of 8.1% between 2022 to 2027F. This is majorly due to increasing reliance on technology, rising investment to expand capacity, digital transformation, and an increase in government initiatives. The market is expected to increase due to trends of a rising middle class in the country and accelerated urbanization. Moreover, e-Commerce has great potential in Morocco due to a willingness to make online payments or through a mobile money account. The data center market in Morocco is expected to grow because Morocco will be linked to the Mediterranean's longest giant submarine cable system called "Medusa" by early 2025. It will connect nine countries in North Africa and Southern Europe which provide access to telecommunication infrastructure that is crucial for developing the digital ecosystem in North African countries by 2024 and 2025.

Philippines Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F- Driven by investment from the global players and the transition from colocation to hyperscale with high internet penetration

According to Ken Research estimates, the Philippines Data Center Market  which grew from approximately USD ~0.2 Bn in 2018 to approximately USD ~0.3 Bn in 2022  is forecasted to grow further into USD ~0.6 Bn opportunity by 2027F, owing to the new government policies, rapid digitalization and cloud adoption. Roll out of 5G and increasing young population using the internet, Digital and instant payments and the demand for domestic data storages will drive the BFSI and IT/ITes share. The rising demand for decreased latency in data transfers and improved connectivity amid the increasing adoption of smart devices is likely to boost the demand for retail colocation data centers.

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SOURCE Ken Research
Hyundai Mobis reaches a new milestone by receiving record-braking auto components orders worth $4.7 billion , thanks to bold sales strategies.

Significant achievements include electrification component order from a global automaker in progress, and new orders from major brands in North America and Europe .

Targeting $5.3 billion of global sales in 2023, leveraging its global production bases and dedicated marketing programs.

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Mobis (KRX 012330) won a record-braking number of orders that add up to $4.7 billion from global automakers in 2022. This is the greatest achievement since the company began to fully engage in the global auto components market in the early 2000s.

Hyundai Mobis' global orders, called non-captive orders, excluding orders from Hyundai Motor and Kia, has contributed to the highest annual sales in the company history, worth $42 billion (KRW 51 trillion) in 2022.

The dramatic increase in the expansion of global order is the result of large-scale orders for value-added components, such as advanced assistance systems (ADAS) integrated products. The electrification component order from a global automaker is also in progress, which is a significant move forward.

Increasing new orders from major brands in North America and Europe were also the impetus behind this remarkable feat. In the past, the majority of overseas orders were mostly from North America and Asia. However, the company explains that specific brands and products regarding new deals are not disclosed due to the industry practices.

Hyundai Mobis' global orders has increased consistently over the years. The amount of global orders totaled $1.8 billion in 2020, $2.5 billion in 2021, and soared to $4.7 billion in 2022, which nearly doubled last year. It surpasses the company's target amount of $3.8 billion for 2022 by 25%. Hyundai Mobis now set an ambitious goal of reaching $5.4 billion in 2023.

The company is recently reinforcing new mobility products in electronic, lamps, and IVI products to meet the increased market demand for the latest innovations, including autonomous technologies and next generation displays. Electrification components are another flagship line for targeting global automakers.

Axel Maschka, executive vice president of sales at Hyundai Mobis, said, "Global automakers are highly interested in our state-of-the-art technologies and award-winning products. We expect the company to grow by about 15% this year based on the strong trust with not only the existing customers, but also new customers."

The 44 stable local production bases around the globe, the key account management (KAM) teams for dedicated support for the local customers and aggressive marketing activities were the driving force of new orders in 2022. The company will continue its bold sales strategy by aligning customer and market needs in 2023.

Hyundai Mobis has introduced the company's vision and innovative technology by participating in major international exhibitions including the CES, IAA in Germany, and NAIAS. The company also has hold exclusive tech shows targeting European automakers. Moreover, Hyundai Mobis has been winning numerous accolades such as CES innovation Awards, PACE pilot by Automotive News, and IF Design Awards.

About Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis is the global no. 6 automotive supplier, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Hyundai Mobis has outstanding expertise in sensors, sensor fusion in ECUs and software development for safety control. The company's products also include various components for electrification, brakes, chassis and suspension, steering, airbags, lighting, and automotive electronics. Hyundai Mobis operates its R&D headquarters in Korea, with four technology centers in the United States, Germany, China and India. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.mobis.co.kr/

Media Contact

Jihyun Han: [email protected]

Choon Kee Hwang : [email protected]

SOURCE Hyundai Mobis
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: January 18, 2018 to October 16, 2018

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 14, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in IBM:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/ibm-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=36052&from=4

International Business Machines Corporation NEWS - IBM NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that International Business Machines Corporation made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Strategic Imperatives Revenue growth, CAMSS (the distinct components of "Cloud," "Analytics," "Mobile," "Security," and "Social") and CAMSS Components' revenue growth, and the Company's Segments' revenue growth were artificially inflated as a result of the wrongful reclassification/misclassification of revenues from non-strategic to strategic to make those revenues eligible for treatment as Strategic Imperatives Revenue; and (ii) IBM was materially less successful in growing its Strategic Imperative business, reporting materially higher growth than it actually achieved only by wrongfully reclassifying and misclassifying revenue from non-strategic to strategic thereby reporting publicly materially false Strategic Imperative Revenue.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in IBM you have until March 14, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased IBM securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the IBM lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/ibm-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=36052&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

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New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
The annual Ice Hole Festival will be Held Feb 9th - 12th at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, attracts hundreds of ice divers.

LAKE OKOBOJI, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ice Hole Festival started as a check on a scuba divers bucket list. A diver walked into International Scuba in Carrollton, Texas. He inquired about scuba diving under ice. Everyone knows there is no ice in Texas. So, Richard Thomas, owner of International Scuba, called his friends in South Dakota, which is known for its ice.

Meeting up with Colonel Echols of Land Shark Scuba in Sioux Falls, they organized the first weekend of ice diving. Locals showed up to watch the crazy Texans willing to risk freezing on a -20F day. It turned out the joke was on them. Everyone had so much fun and bonded while completing an extreme sport that a pact was made to repeat it again next year with the locals. So became the legend of the Ice Hole Festival.

Richard Thomas explains, "The mission of the Ice Hole Dive Fest is to create a gathering of scuba divers that want to expand their skill set. Also, to foster working relationships with Scuba Dive centers from all reaches of North America." To get started a shop sponsors an Ice Diving Instructor. They are now considered a stakeholder. They can benefit each year because the infrastructure is already in place. In future years, the Scuba Dive shops just need to reserve their space.

The event has grown every year. It now draws certified scuba divers from Canada, Mexico, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Illinois, and California. According to Thomas, "The unique nature of the environment seems to really attract the southern scuba divers that want to test their skill in a harsh environment. And the Friday Night Ice Hole Cutting and bon fire has become legendary. It includes pizza, drinks that warm your heart and toes, and a bonfire on ice."

The added benefit is more and more Scuba Dive shops get a chance to collaborate on other events during the year. For example, Ocean Impact out of Arkansas hosts a spearfishing tournament. Each year, the other shops are eager to support that event - hosted by Justin Sours. It allows shops that typically have a small gathering of local scuba divers to show off the best they have to offer and create a larger following.

The Ice Hole Festival grows the diving industry and has created what they like to call a Scuba Mafia. A collection of Scuba Dive Shop owners that are willing to share the limelight and have their divers be the winners.

Thanks to world renowned, award winning underwater photographer Tom St George from Tulum, Mexico, everything gets documented by him and his camera.

PADI has generously stepped up as our headline sponsor providing unparalleled access to ice training for both Instructors and divers and will be primary the certification delivered on-site. However, all shops and agencies are welcome to participate and use our logistics, we have shops from SDI and SSI attending as well.

Are you ready to step up and earn a place with the Ice Hole divers? All you need is an adventurous spirit and questionable judgement. The entrance fee for the event is $200.00. That includes 2 days of diving, an event shirt, entrance to Social, hot lunch, and drinks on ice.

Thursday and Friday there will be professional level training for any scuba instructors or assistants wanting to become Ice Dive Instructors. Certifications are purchased through your local shop. If you don't have a participating shop, we can get you set up with one of our collaborating dive shops.

You can sign up online here. You can also call the shop at 972-416-8400. Divers that have gear rental needs please call the shop or email [email protected]. We have tanks at the event for those flying in.

International Scuba in Dallas provides scuba diving certifications for all experience levels, small classes, flexible schedules, and year-round diving. https://internationalscuba.com/

SOURCE International Scuba
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Camphor Tablets Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2022 to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global Camphor Tablets market is expected to reach US$ 261.6 Mn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period 2022-2030.



Camphor is a flammable, waxy, transparent or white solid which has a brawny aromatic odor. The origin of camphor comes from a large evergreen tree known as camphor laurel which is found in Asia. It is also known as Kapur tree which is a timber tree in the same region.

Apart from its natural origin, camphor can be synthetically produced from turpentine oil. Synthetic camphor is available in the form of powder, tablets and blocks. They are used for various medicinal purposes, as an essence in cooking and for religious rituals in Asia Pacific, especially India.



Camphor tablets are used for wide range of medical properties as it helps reduce pain and swelling, helps relax worn out muscles and reduces congestion and cough. They are used in manufacturing various medicines. Growing demand from the pharmaceutical industry is therefore the major factor driving the growth of camphor tablets in the market.

High consumption of camphor tablets for religious rituals in India is another factor boosting market growth for camphor tablets. Camphor is believed to be holy and sacred stuff which is offered to god for thanks giving. Hence, camphor tablets have huge scope for growth in Asia Pacific during the forecast period.

Camphor tablets are also used in the agriculture to keep away insects and moths. It is used as repellent in agriculture and even for household activities to keep away reptiles and insects. Therefore steady demand is observed for camphor tablets from the agriculture industry. Camphor tablets are also used in skin care products as it helps reduce acne and pimples.

Therefore, chemical industry makes use of camphor in many skin care products and hair care products due to the beneficial properties of camphor. Europe consumes camphor for preparation of almost all sweet dishes. Camphor is the essential ingredient in the cookbooks of Arabians. In India, camphor is used as an essence in some of the sweet dishes. Hence, food is also expected to fuel demand for growth of camphor tablets during the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.



Pharmaceuticals accounted for the largest share of the global camphor tablets market in 2021. Camphor tablets are used on a large scale in manufacture of medicines for treatment of cough, congestion and skin infections among others. It is used to ease pain in joints and swelling. Most of the athletes use camphor tablets for its anti-inflammatory properties and as an analgesic.

Therefore growing demand from the medical industry is expected to boost market demand for camphor tablets in 2021. In addition, high demand for manufacturing siddha and ayurvedic medicines is also boosting market demand for camphor tablets. Camphor tablets are also used in manufacturing essence which is used in the food industry. Food is the second largest end-user segment of global camphor tablets market in 2021.

Other uses of camphor tablets include insect and moth repellent, in skin care products which help in preventing acne and pimples. It is also known to be used as a cleanser and helps heal burns and scars. Therefore, high demand is projected for camphor tablets from the chemical industry and is expected to rise in the near future. Camphor tablets are used to keep germs and insects away from crops and plants.

Agriculture is anticipated to experience steady demand for camphor tablets during the forecast period as many substitutes are available in the market for camphor tablets. Asia Pacific, especially India is the major consumer of camphor tablets as the people in the country believe camphor to be pure and holy. Hence, high demand is reported due to the religious use of camphor tablets in temples, household pooja, etc. and is expected to rise during the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.



Geography Segmentation Analysis



Asia Pacific accounted for the largest share of global camphor tablets market in 2021. It accounted for more than 32% share of global camphor tablets market. Growing demand from the pharmaceutical industry for manufacturing medicines has led to high demand for camphor tablets in the region. Moreover, booming use of camphor tablets in religious rituals have also led to spurring growth of global camphor tablets market in Asia Pacific.

North America was the second largest market for camphor tablets in 2021. The region is expected to experience moderate growth due to regulations on healthcare sector for use of camphor. The region is anticipated to boost market growth due to its use in the agriculture sector. Europe followed North America in terms of demand and is projected to fuel demand for camphor tablets in the near future. Middle East - Africa and Rest of the World are also expected to boost market demand for camphor tablets due to increasing demand from the chemical and agriculture sector in the regions during the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.



Historical - Forecast Period



This study report represents analysis of each segment from 2020 to 2030 considering 2021 as the base year. Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for each of the respective segments estimated for the forecast period of 2022 to 2030.



Key questions answered in this report

What are the key micro and macro environmental factors that are impacting the growth of Camphor Tablets market?

What are the key investment pockets with respect to product segments and geographies currently and during the forecast period?

Estimated forecast and market projections up to 2030.

Which segment accounts for the fastest CAGR during the forecast period?

Which market segment holds a larger market share and why?

Are low and middle-income economies investing in the Camphor Tablets market?

Which is the largest regional market for Camphor Tablets market?

What are the market trends and dynamics in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific , Latin America , and Middle East - Africa ?

, , and - ? Which are the key trends driving Camphor Tablets market growth?

Who are the key competitors and what are their key strategies to enhance their market presence in the Camphor Tablets market worldwide?

Key Topics Covered:



1. Preface

2. Executive Summary

3. Camphor Tablets Market: Business Outlook & Market Dynamics

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Global Camphor Tablets Market Value, 2020 - 2030, (US$ Million)

3.3. Market Dynamics

3.3.1. Market Drivers

3.3.2. Market Restraints

3.3.3. Key Challenges

3.3.4. Key Opportunities

3.4. Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints

3.5. See-Saw Analysis

3.6. Porter's Five Force Model

3.7. PESTEL Analysis

3.8. Heptalysis Analysis

3.9. Critical Investigation of Business Problems Through Five Whys Root Cause Analysis & Relevant Solutions

4. Camphor Tablets Market: By End-Use, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

4.1. Market Overview

4.2. Growth & Revenue Analysis: 2021 Versus 2030

4.3. Market Segmentation

4.3.1. Pharmaceuticals

4.3.2. Food

4.3.3. Chemicals

4.3.4. Agriculture

4.3.5. Others (Religious, etc.)

5. North America Camphor Tablets Market, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

5.1. Market Overview

5.2. Camphor Tablets Market: By End-Use, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

5.3. Camphor Tablets Market: By Region, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

5.3.1. North America

5.3.1.1. U.S.

5.3.1.1.1. Camphor Tablets Market: By End-Use, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

5.3.1.2. Canada

5.3.1.2.1. Camphor Tablets Market: By End-Use, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

5.3.1.3. Rest of North America

5.3.1.3.1. Camphor Tablets Market: By End-Use, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

6. UK and European Union Camphor Tablets Market, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

7. Asia Pacific Camphor Tablets Market, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

8. Latin America Camphor Tablets Market, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

9. Middle East and Africa Camphor Tablets Market, 2020-2030, USD (Million)

10. Company Profile

10.1. Apt Exim

10.1.1. Company Overview

10.1.2. Financial Performance

10.1.3. Product Portfolio

10.1.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.2. Beijing Herbal Health Biotech LLC

10.2.1. Company Overview

10.2.2. Financial Performance

10.2.3. Product Portfolio

10.2.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.3. Benefont

10.3.1. Company Overview

10.3.2. Financial Performance

10.3.3. Product Portfolio

10.3.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.4. Camphor & Allied Products Ltd.

10.4.1. Company Overview

10.4.2. Financial Performance

10.4.3. Product Portfolio

10.4.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.5. Fujian Green Pine

10.5.1. Company Overview

10.5.2. Financial Performance

10.5.3. Product Portfolio

10.5.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.6. Hiya International

10.6.1. Company Overview

10.6.2. Financial Performance

10.6.3. Product Portfolio

10.6.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.7. Ji'an Fine Chemicals

10.7.1. Company Overview

10.7.2. Financial Performance

10.7.3. Product Portfolio

10.7.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.8. Jadran Galenski Laboratorij

10.8.1. Company Overview

10.8.2. Financial Performance

10.8.3. Product Portfolio

10.8.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.9. Malligha Asafoetida

10.9.1. Company Overview

10.9.2. Financial Performance

10.9.3. Product Portfolio

10.9.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.10. Recochem Inc.

10.10.1. Company Overview

10.10.2. Financial Performance

10.10.3. Product Portfolio

10.10.4. Strategic Initiatives

10.11. Others

10.11.1. Company Overview

10.11.2. Financial Performance

10.11.3. Product Portfolio

10.11.4. Strategic Initiatives

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jdywd9-tablets?w=5

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Herd & Grace steps into the scene introducing new steak subscription service featuring premium Australian beef

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Herd & Grace  the new premium delivery service for high-quality steaks sourced from pristine Australian and Tasmanian pastures  is looking to provide the best possible eating experience with world-class quality Australian beef directly to the doors of American consumers  for the first time. Herd & Grace is introducing the gift of world-class luxury and has created the perfect gift for all occasions ranging from curated boxes, custom boxes, individual cuts, gift cards and yearly subscriptions.

"For so many reasons, we think this is the very best beef available in the whole world, and people just have to taste it to see what we mean," says Jason Latshaw, CEO of Herd & Grace. "We're excited to offer an experience that could previously only be found in upscale restaurants  directly to people's doors. These are the kinds of rare proteins that Executive Chefs demand for their menus, and we only find them by selecting for a multitude of factors such as the climate, the animal's breed, their genetics, age, feed, stress level and quality of life. These are world-class quality proteins from animals having lived peaceful lives on good farms."

Great steaks are like fine wine; inextricable from their region of origin, they take on the flavor and characteristics of the land where they are grown. Australian beef offers the highest quality cuts, and sets itself apart from the usual beef found in the states due to its high marbling scores, delicious taste, unmatched tenderness and unique flavor. For these reasons, Australian beef is a superior pick, thanks in part to the wide open spaces for livestock, plus the cleanest air in the world  giving the cows a better quality of life and generating singular dining experiences. In an age where factory farming in America confines cattle to over-crowded feedlots, these Australian and Tasmanian farms and ranches offer at least an acre of land per cow.

"We partner with farmers who employ humane and sustainable farming practices," explains Svante Johansson, President of Herd & Grace. "This is almost like a time machine that takes you back to the way beef is supposed to be raised, the natural way of raising cattle, the way nature intended. You can taste that, you really can. Plus, our grass-fed beef is better for you  it's packed with more Omega-3s than salmon, while also being rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). At Herd & Grace, we deliver pure beef made by nature the way that humans were meant to eat, which means no GMOs or hormones, while also being better for the environment."

Herd & Grace is the gift that keeps on giving and prioritizes providing their customers with luxurious special treatment. Their yearly membership club offers significant savings and VIP perks  including a 10% discount on every order, free shipping (or $80 shipping credit per order), a $150 welcome gift of rare Matriarch steaks, plus access to exclusive cuts & boxes and other special yearly membership gifts & privileges for just $14.99 a month. A one year membership averages 6 purchases per year while saving you $810 making it a membership that pays for itself every time you order.

In addition to the elite flavor and silky tenderness, Australian steaks feature ethical, sustainably grazed pastures, which reduce topsoil erosion and decrease emissions of methane and greenhouse gasses, all while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These Old World sustainable processes help in the effort to combat climate change.

To get Herd & Grace delivered to your doorstep and browse their extensive selection of curated subscription boxes and individual cuts, access their selection at www.herdandgrace.com .

About Herd & Grace

Herd & Grace is a premium delivery service for high-quality steaks sourced from pastures located in Australia and Tasmania. Their environmentally-conscious upscale artisanal steaks are featured in Michelin and AAA rated fine dining steakhouses and eateries. Herd & Grace partners with family-run businesses in Australia and Tasmania such as Greenham Tasmania to bring great steaks to your doorstep.

Media Contact

Matt Kovacs

Blaze PR

[email protected]

SOURCE Herd & Grace
BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Investor Group Services ("IGS") announces the new strategic hire of Alex Miller and the promotions of Zach Casavant, Bryan Quinlan, and Ana Giuglea to its senior management team.

Alex Miller has joined the firm to help build the firm's portfolio company value creation capabilities  expanding IGS' set of services to include performance improvement, post-merger integration and accelerated growth strategy. Alex has extensive experience evaluating transformational acquisitions, identifying performance transformation opportunities and driving operational change to realize value. Prior to joining IGS, Alex was the Global Head of Strategy and the US Strategy Service Line Leader for KPMG.

Investor Group Services (IGS) Announces New Head of Portfolio Operations and Leadership Team Promotions Tweet this

"Alex is a huge addition to our team, bringing an unparalleled track record of success in helping private equity investors and their portfolio companies achieve outstanding operational results and investment returns. We are so fortunate to have him come on board," explains Rob Lordi, Senior Managing Director.

As part of IGS' continued growth and expansion of its leadership team, Zach Casavant and Bryan Quinlan have been promoted to Managing Director, and Ana Giuglea has been promoted to Principal. Zach, Bryan, and Ana each bring indispensable experience to the senior management team.

Since rejoining the IGS team in 2012, Zach Casavant has advised clients on hundreds of complex commercial diligence, sell-side, and strategic support engagements across a wide variety of industry segments including industrial products and services, business services, software and technology, among many others. Zach's prior experience includes positions in middle market investment banking as well as in the strategy and analytics group of a global marketing and advertising agency. Zach holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University and an A.B. from Brown University.

Bryan Quinlan joined IGS in 2015 and brings more than a decade of transaction advisory, strategic consulting, and M&A experience. He has deep domain expertise within financial services / fintech, technology & software, and business & consumer services, among others. Bryan is actively involved in the development of new client relationships and the delivery of advisory services across complex buy & sell-side commercial diligence, as well as non-transaction related strategic support. Prior to IGS, Bryan worked across M&A, corporate finance, and strategy functions for Liberty Mutual Insurance. Bryan holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and graduated cum laude with a B.S. in finance from Georgetown University.

Ana Giuglea is a Principal at IGS with over a decade of investing, M&A advisory, and strategy consulting experience. Since joining IGS in 2013, Ana has advised clients across hundreds of engagements in the industrial goods & services, healthcare, and consumer goods spaces. Ana has deep experience supporting commercial diligence and M&A strategy mandates and has advised clients across broader topics such as post-merger integration and portfolio company value-creation. Prior to IGS, Ana worked at a European private equity fund and began her career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Morgan Stanley in London. Ana holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in economics from Vassar College.

"These well-deserved promotions reflect the important contributions each individual has made to the success and growth of our firm. Zach, Bryan, and Ana have been integral members of our management team and we look forward to their continued development and future contributions to the firm," adds Mindy Berman, Senior Managing Director.

About IGS:

For 25 years, IGS has provided world-class commercial diligence and strategic support to our private equity investors and their portfolio companies. Our team offers a unique blend of research, strategic and now operational consulting, delivering the hard data and analytics needed by our clients to make outstanding investment and business decisions, with engagements led by senior level professionals with deep experience across all major industries. For additional information, please visit www.igsboston.com.

SOURCE Investor Group Services
The Insurance IoT Observatory joining 100s of insurance leaders and

top-tier companies at breakthrough insurance event

HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance IoT Observatory has selected the 2023 InsurTech Hartford Symposium to host their North America Spring Plenary Session pre-event function on May 1.



The Insurance IoT Observatory is the world's leading think tank on IoT use in insurance with 60 member companies such as Nationwide, Travelers, The Hartford, AXA XL, and Hanover. The Insurance IoT Observatory's director and founder, Matteo Carbone, is globally recognized as an IoT thought leader and is ranked as a top industry influencer.



In addition to his role at IoT Insurance Observatory, Carbone has advised more than 100 different players across global markets. His breadth of experience includes the setup of industrial and commercial plans and growth strategy definition to the start-up of new initiatives and advising M&A deals.



"As the leader of a company that values innovation, I knew that hosting our Spring Plenary Session at the InsurTech Hartford Symposium would allow us to bring additional value to our senior-level members, giving them direct access to top innovators in the industry. We are excited to be part of a leading industry event that is unlike any other."



Insurance professionals, startup founders, entrepreneurs, and investors will come together in an immersive environment with ample educational and networking opportunities focused on the latest trends and innovations. Building on years of successful growth, InsurTech Hartford is bringing several new enhancements, including a world-class location in Mohegan Sun, program development, and co-located industry meetings such as the IoT Observatory. The latest agenda and speaker line-up are now available on the InsurTech Hartford Symposium website.



Located less than a 45-minute drive from downtown Hartford and close to major Boston, New York City, and Providence airports, Mohegan Sun is the premier destination for business meetings. With more than 150,000 square feet of meeting and function space, the Mohegan Sun is a luxury meeting location with two unique hotels, two spas, various fine dining options, shopping, and gaming. This is a golden chance to network with world-class insurance executives, startup founders, and investors, and discover the latest industry trends. #IHS23 promises to be the organization's biggest and best event yet, with strong focus on delivering the highest quality of content with sessions moderated and curated by seasoned industry experts.



For more information, visit https://insurtechhartfordsymposium.com.



About InsurTech Hartford (ITH)

InsurTech Hartford (ITH) is a thriving InsurTech ecosystem founded in 2016 with global startup, agent/broker, carrier, solution provider, and investor constituents. With a proven track record of creating industry engagement and collaboration through high-impact networking events, conferences, virtual education, and innovation initiatives, ITH draws executive-level global (re)insurance audiences.



Contact:

Marissa Buckley

***@insurtechhartford.com



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12949384



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE InsurTech Hartford
TOKYO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council (J-LEC) is honored to announce the production and broadcast of a program titled "The Masterfully Marbled World of Japanese Wagyu Beef" on NHK WORLD-JAPAN on February 1. The NHK program being released introduces the profound world of Wagyu beef and its global appeal from the stage at the "Wagyu Olympics," one of Japan's largest food-related exhibitions.

Logo:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107543/202301272460/_prw_PI1fl_kWUjZn21.png

Photo:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107543/202301272460/_prw_PI2fl_853Fpwq3.jpg

Wagyu is globally renowned for its melt-in-your-mouth fat, fine marbling, tender texture, unique aroma and delicate, mellow flavor unique among cattle breeds. Developed through selective breeding and original Japanese methods, Wagyu is regarded as some of the best beef in the world.

In 2022, Kagoshima Prefecture hosted the 12th National Competitive Exhibition of Wagyu, also known as the Wagyu Olympics, the largest Wagyu beef competition in Japan, and 438 cattle qualified from 41 prefectures in Japan gathered for the breeding cattle division. This competition is held once every five years in different locations in Japan to determine which Wagyu production farm is leading the continued pursuit of the world's highest-quality beef.

Tracing the history of the Wagyu Olympics over the past half-century reveals a transformation of working cattle in rural areas that were selected to be genetically improved into beef of the highest quality, subsequently becoming one of Japan's major exports. In 2021, Japanese beef export value exceeded 50 billion yen (approximately 500 million USD according to the exchange rate at the time). The Japanese government has set a goal of tripling that value by 2025. Wagyu is expected to set a new standard for increasing exports of other Japanese products related to agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as Japanese food and culinary exports. Also, regarding modern trends in global health consciousness, Wagyu beef's fat content has become valued as a positive indication of "quality over quantity."

In Japan, each head of Wagyu cattle is individually traceable under a certified system, and its meat quality grading and pedigree are strictly controlled by a certification organization. The information can be easily accessed by scanning QR codes on Wagyu beef that are provided by J-LEC.

Japanese Wagyu beef, with its distinctive marbling, has become the standard for top-quality beef among high-end consumers in Asia, and is increasingly in demand in Europe and the United States.

Broadcast details

Date: February 1, 2023

Time: 2:30 - 3:00, 7:30 - 8:00, 13:30 - 14:00, 19:30 - 20:00 (UTC)

URL:

https://biz.jibtv.com/programs/the_masterfully_marbled_world_of_japanese_wagyu_beef/

About Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council (J-LEC)

J-LEC is a Japanese organization consisting of multiple local municipal representatives and sharing information with the world about Japanese livestock farming and the meat and egg production industries.

Website: http://jlec-pr.jp/en/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beef_japan_official/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beef-Japan-101603855192050/

SOURCE Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council
BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.0975 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of January 13, 2023, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) with important information concerning the distribution declared on January 3, 2023, and payable on January 31, 2023. No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: January 2023

Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.0975

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable January 31, 2023, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 01/1/2023-01/31/2023

For the fiscal year-to-date period 11/1/2022-01/31/2023 [1] Source

Current Distribution ($)

% Breakdown of the Current Distribution

Total Cumulative Distributions ($)

% Breakdown of the Total Cumulative Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0225

23 %

0.1414

48 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0291

10 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source

0.0750

77 %

0.1219

42 % Total per common share

0.0975

100 %

0.2924

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on December 31, 2022

4.69 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of December 31, 2022

9.09 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through December 31, 2022

3.67 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of December 31, 2022

2.27 %



You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the January 2023 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.0975 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

______________________________ 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2022 and will end on October 31, 2023.

SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
LYNDHURST, N.J., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Joseph A. Lizza is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Distinguished Business Professional for his contributions to the finance and accounting fields.

Mr. Lizza received a bachelor's degree in Accountancy from St. Peters University in Jersey City, NJ and became a certified public accountant in 1981. He earned his Master's of Business Administration degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Felician University.

Mr. Lizza is the managing partner, founder and chief executive officer of Lizza & Carullo CPA & Advisors. Prior to establishing the firm in 1991, Mr. Lizza spent more than 10 years in both the private industry and public accounting. He noted that it was during this time that he developed a keen sense of management decision-making for profitability, sustainability and growth. Mr. Lizza has worked in the field for 44 years and is considered an expert in finance and accounting.

Mr. Lizza has earned many accolades such as Teacher of the Year-Rutgers Accounting Society (1996, 1997); Excellence in Teaching-Becker CPA Review Company (2003, 2005); Five Star Top Wealth Manager's Award in Business Planning; New Jersey Monthly Magazine (2011, 2012, 2013); Best of New Jersey Award of Excellence-The Italian Voice (2014); Distinguished Alumni Award-Felician University (2015); Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence-Ovation Award; and Education Excellence-NJCPA (2019); NJBIZ ICON (2020).

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kushner (together with its affiliates, "Kushner"), a seasoned real estate owner and operator and one of the largest shareholders of Veris Residential (NYSE: VRE) ("Veris"), today sent a letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders:

Kushner Companies' Letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders

The full text of the letter follows:

January 31, 2023

Kushner Companies' Letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders

Dear Fellow Veris Shareholders,

We, Kushner Companies, write to you as a substantial shareholder of Veris, owning over 4.5 million shares. Over the past 10 months, we have made repeated efforts to advance a value-maximizing transaction for Veris shareholders and have been frustrated by the Veris Board's lack of constructive engagement or transparency. We know that many of you share our frustration.

When we first made a public offer of $16.00 per share on October 20, 2022, the Veris Board claimed that we did not have financing to complete the offer. We quickly substantiated our fully financed offer with assurances from our financing partners and made this fact publicly clear to other shareholders.

After we raised our offer to $18.50 per share on December 9, 2022, our financing sources directly and personally communicated their full commitment to financing our offer to Veris' financial and legal advisors at their request. Our all-cash deal offers shareholders a transaction at a nearly 50% premium over the unaffected price of $12.42 per share at market close on October 20, prior to the publication of our first offer. Despite our having delivered a fully financed proposal at $18.50 plus having indicated a willingness to potentially go higher, the Veris board has refused to provide any price guidance, let alone an actual counteroffer. Instead, the Veris Board has spent the last two months focused on trying to get us to sign a one-sided standstill agreement that would explicitly prevent us from communicating with you or from even further pursuing a transaction without the prior invitation of the Board.

On January 18, 2023, while we were actively considering executing the standstill agreementdespite our misgivings about the Veris Board's lack of transparencythe Board, without warning, unilaterally decided to withdraw from any further engagement. At the same time, the Board publicly mischaracterized the events that preceded its unilateral action. The Board's abrupt decision to terminate discussions with us and to offer a misleading public narrative heightened our suspicions regarding the Board's objectives.

On January 19, 2023, we issued a press release to correct the public record and make clear that we remain interested in a transaction. Since that public statement, we have heard from multiple other significant shareholders of Veris expressing support for a value-maximizing transaction. Since the Veris Board's abrupt change of course, we have also continued to seek price discovery from the Board's financial and legal advisors, all to no avail.

The Veris Board has consistently demonstrated a reluctance to explain what they believe is the Company's fair value and why that value is justified. Instead, they have insisted on our execution of a broad and one-sided standstill as a precondition to any meaningful price discovery. The restrictions which your Board wants to impose on us in any negotiation process would severely limit our ability to transparently communicate with you or to take steps that would benefit all shareholders. As we have communicated time and again to the Board, we are concerned, based on its actions to date, that the Board and management team are entrenched, with no desire to engage in a genuine dialogue that might lead to a high premium, all-cash sale of the Company.

Despite your Board's ongoing intransigence, our objective has not changedwe are prepared to execute a transaction at a price that fairly values your shares. Our fully financed all-cash offer for $18.50 remains outstanding, as does, for now, our willingness to constructively engage with the Board to see if we can go higher. Our patience, however, is not endless, and we are actively considering all other alternatives. We remain hopeful that the Board can be persuaded to engage transparently with us in the interests of all shareholders. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT THE VERIS BOARD AND EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS DIRECTLY.

If you have any questions, please contact us:

For all media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]

Investor Contact:

Bruce Goldfarb / Pat McHugh

Okapi Partners LLC

(212) 297-0720

[email protected]

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Charles Kushner

Chairman, Kushner

About Kushner

Founded in New Jersey in 1985, Kushner is a diversified real estate organization responsible for the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of properties through the country. Kushner currently owns and operates over 21,000 units across the country, with a strong presence in New Jersey, and has a multifamily development pipeline of over 9,300 units.

For all media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]

Investor Contact:

Bruce Goldfarb / Pat McHugh

Okapi Partners LLC

(212) 297-0720

[email protected]

SOURCE Kushner
MIAMI and ELKRIDGE, Md., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lafayette Square, a national investment platform, announced today that it has provided the debt financing to facilitate Eureka Equity Partners' acquisition of Synergi LLC ("Synergi", or the "Company"). Synergi is a leading specialty engineering and construction company that designs, fabricates, and installs architectural "feature" staircases for landmark commercial properties across North America.

Founded in 1986, Synergi has worked in partnership with leading firms to bring function and beauty to landmark properties for more than 35 years. The Company offers its clients a one-stop-shop for modular, prefabricated staircases, decorative railings, and ornamental metals for complex, commercial projects. Headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland, the organization has opened five additional offices across the U.S. since 2017.

"The management team at Synergi has done a tremendous job growing the company over the last several years and positioning the business for continued growth," said Tom Mullin, Director at Lafayette Square. "We are looking forward to supporting Eureka Equity and the Synergi team to take the company to new heights."

The transaction facilitated an expansion of Company ownership within the management team, while providing management with the right equity partnership to continue growing the business.

"The financing from Lafayette Square will be key in supporting the continued success of our business," said Jim Admiraal, CEO of Synergi. "It is clear that the team at Lafayette Square understands our mission and our growth potential as we continue to deliver a differentiated, turnkey solution to landmark properties across the continent."

"We are excited to work with Lafayette Square on the debt financing for this transaction," said Tassie Oswald, Partner at Eureka Equity Partners.

About Synergi LLC

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland, Synergi is one of the largest turnkey providers of feature staircases in North America, serving blue chip customers across multiple end-use industries including the corporate office market, higher education, and healthcare. More information about Synergi can be found at www.synergillc.com.

About Eureka Equity Partners

Eureka Equity Partners is a private equity firm targeting niche market leaders with up to $100 million in revenue across industry segments in which Eureka brings significant experience and operating resources, including business services, health care services, specialty industrials and consumer products. Eureka focuses on partnering with proven managers to drive the growth of promising companies into outstanding enterprises. Eureka leads buyouts that bring significant ownership to the operators driving the success of the business. With this core principle that aligns the interests of our operators and our investors, Eureka is also experienced and comfortable effecting minority recapitalizations with flexible investment structures designed to uniquely meet the needs of the company, its management team and other shareholders. More information about Eureka Equity Partners can be found at www.eurekaequity.com.

About Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square aims to create investment opportunities in overlooked places and underserved markets. We invest across asset classes and seek to provide robust risk-adjusted returns to investors while positively supporting people and communities. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit www.lafayettesquare.com .

Media Contact:

Taylor Phillips

Content Strategist

650-759-3406

[email protected]

SOURCE Lafayette Square Holding Company
CHAM, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Landis+Gyr Group AG (SIX: LAND) today holds its Capital Markets Day at Google in Zurich, Switzerland, and virtually, with Executive Management providing an update on the financial targets, industry, strategy and technology roadmaps. Highlights include:

Introduction of mid-term financial year 2025 targets with mid to high single digit growth, Adjusted EBITDA of between 12% and 14% and a confirmation of the progressive dividend policy, while the Company puts a strong focus on cash conversion

Confirmation of strategy based on three pillars Smart Metering, Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure, shifting the portfolio towards the latter ones, increasing analytics offering

Strong balance sheet enables continued investments in innovation, positioning the Company for longer-term growth, with investment capacity for acquisitions

Fully integrated "edge-to-cloud" portfolio enabled by Google Cloud provides customers with flexibility and choice, and forms the basis for EV and demand flexibility solutions

Landis+Gyr has signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative and commits to reducing Scope 1 and 2, as well as Scope 3 emissions by 42% by 2030

Werner Lieberherr, Landis+Gyr`s Chief Executive Officer, said: "The urgent need for global decarbonization along with the current energy crisis are key drivers for the increased demand of intelligent power grids, driving energy efficiency and ensuring stability of critical infrastructure. Our solutions to solve these challenges position us in the sweet spot of the energy transition as an ESG-centric industry leader, driving sustainable impact by empowering utilities and end consumers to manage energy better.

At our last Capital Markets Day in 2021, we announced various initiatives to transform Landis+Gyr for future long-term profitable growth. Since then, and despite various challenges associated with the global pandemic and supply chain constraints, we have invested heavily to expand Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure by making five acquisitions and investing an additional 2% or revenues in R&D. Our transformational efforts, also as part of our seven-year strategic partnership with Google, are now delivering additional tangible benefits for our customers and end consumers.

Going forward, we continue to build on our strong Smart Metering base with leading innovation, while driving profitable growth in the additional two strategic pillars Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure by computing intelligence at the edge, guarding critical infrastructure and empowering cloud-based insights. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as our portfolio expansion empowers people around the globe to manage energy, water and gas more efficiently and drive sustainable efforts forward."

Read the full ad hoc announcement here .

Contact Media

Melissa van Anraad

Head of PR

Phone +41 41 935 6398

[email protected]

Investor inquiries: [email protected]

Media inquiries: [email protected]

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is a leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions. We measure and analyze energy utilization to generate empowering analytics for smart grid and infrastructure management, enabling utilities and consumers to reduce energy consumption. Our innovative and proven portfolio of software, services and intelligent sensor technology is a key driver to decarbonize the grid. Having avoided more than 9 million tons of CO 2 in FY 2021, Landis+Gyr manages energy better  since 1896. With sales of USD 1.5 billion in FY 2021, Landis+Gyr employs around 7,500 talented people across five continents. For more information, please visit our website www.landisgyr.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1672109/Landis_Gyr_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Landis+Gyr
Surge in the prevalence of benign prostatic hyperplasia, rise in the incidence of obesity and diabetes, and increase in the geriatric population drive the growth of the global laser BPH devices market.

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Laser Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) Devices Market by Type (Holmium laser, Thulium laser, Green light laser, Others), by Procedure (Photoselective Vaporisation of the Prostate, Holmium laser ablation of the prostate), by End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031" According to the report, the global laser BPH devices industry generated $460.3 million in 2021, and is estimated to reach $765.4 million by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chains, regional landscapes, and competitive scenarios.

Download Free Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/11574

Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities-

Surge in the prevalence of benign prostatic hyperplasia, rise in the incidence of obesity and diabetes, and increase in the geriatric population drive the growth of the global laser BPH devices market. On the other hand, certain side effects associated with laser benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery restrain the growth to some extent. However, several R&D activities conducted by the major players in the sectors have paved the way for lucrative opportunities in the industry.

Covid-19 scenario-

The outbreak of the pandemic gave way to either cancellation or postponement of non-emergency srocedure sych as laser BPH surgery, thus leading to a sharp decline in demand for laser BPH devices. This factor impacted the market negatively, especially during the initial period.

However, as the global situation started improving altogether, the market for laser BPH devices also got back on track.

The holmium laser segment to maintain its dominance during the forecast period-

By type, the holmium laser segment held the major share in 2021, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global laser BPH devices market revenue. Rise in the number of product launch & products approvals for holmium laser and increase in the number of companies that manufacture laser BPH devices drive the growth of the segment. The green light laser segment, on the other hand, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period, due to increase in the number of products approvals for holmium laser and surge in the number of laser BPH devices manufacturing companies.

The photoselective vaporisation of the prostate segment to rule the roost-

By procedure, the photoselective vaporisation of the prostate segment contributed to more than 90% of the global global laser BPH devices market share in 2021, and is expected to dominate by 2031. The same segment would also cite the fastest CAGR of 5.2% throughout the forecast period. This is owing to increase in the prevalence of benign prostate hyperplasia and rise in the application of 'photoselective vaporization of the prostate' in patients.

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The hospitals segment held the highest share in 2021-

By end-user, the hospitals segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, garnering nearly three-fifths of the global laser BPH devices market revenue. The same segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 5.4% from 2022 to 2031. Surge in expenditure by government bodies to develop healthcare infrastructure and increase in number of hospitals and clinics across the world fuel the segment growth.

North America garnered the major share in 2021-

By region, North America held the highest share in 2021, garnering more than two-fifths of the global laser BPH devices market share. This is due to the presence of highly developed healthcare infrastructure, surge in the number of product launch and product approval, and rise in the number of key players across the region. Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, would cite the fastest CAGR of 6.3% from 2022 to 2031. Rise in expenditure by government organizations to develop the healthcare sector and increase in awareness regarding benign prostate hyperplasia drive the market growth.

Leading Market Players-

Technologies GmbH

Biolitec AG.

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Boston Scientific

Richard Wolf GmbH

HealthTronics, Inc.

Lumenis

Metrum Cryoflex

OmniGuide

Asclepion Laser

Agiliti Health, Inc.

Coloplast

The report analyzes these key players in the global laser BPH devices market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

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Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
By Zheng Xuefang

Recently, Ambassador Dai Bing, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, made the remarks on the Ukraine issue at the Security Council, expressing that there is no winner in conflict and confrontation, and dialogue and negotiation is the only realistic and feasible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. He also called on the international community to focus on promoting peace talks, encouraging Russia and Ukraine to return to negotiations, and accumulating conditions for an early ceasefire and cessation of hostilities.

Since the outbreak of Ukraine crisis, China has proactively been committed to promoting peace talks, and called on the international community to create conditions for dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine. Facts have fully proved that China has always stood on the side of peace, while standing up for justice and fairness, making independent judgments, advocating the maintenance of international law and the recognized basic norms of international relations, adhering to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and upholding a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept.

China has firmly advocated peace. The development of the Ukraine-Russia conflict so far is something that China and all the other peace-loving countries and people do not want to see. Relevant events have once again shown that conflicts and confrontations are in the interests of no one; instead, peace and security is what the international community values the most. Escalating sanctions or providing weapons will only make the situation more difficult and may even provoke more confrontations and exacerbate the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs. China, as a responsible great power, supports all efforts conducive to achieving the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and has played a constructive role in promoting peace talks in its own way.

China has made great efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. According to the statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Germany, the total number of Ukrainian refugees has reached nearly 14 million, more than one third of the country's total population. China has always attached great importance to the humanitarian issues in Ukraine, and has put forward specific initiatives on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, while providing emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in batches and supplies to European countries receiving large numbers of refugees.

At present, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still ongoing, with innumerable families in Ukraine and neighboring countries in urgent need of humanitarian relief. International humanitarian agencies should maintain neutrality and impartiality, actively mobilize and coordinate more resources, and make unremitting efforts to save lives and protect civilians. China has also called on the parties concerned to abide by international humanitarian law and back up the United Nations in playing an important coordinating role in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

China has always opposed the use of sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that has no basis in international law. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US has continuously escalated unilateral sanctions against Russia, and coerced other countries of the world to choose a side. The Ukraine crisis has to be properly dealt with, and sanctions are not an effective means to solve it, which will instead accelerate the spillover of the crisis and bring new and complex problems. The international community, in particular countries with major influence on the current situation, should encourage Russia and Ukraine to engage in dialogue and help open the door to a political solution of the crisis, rather than add fuel to the flames and highly advocate sanctions.

China has always advocated measures to address both symptoms and root causes of the conflict. The development of the Ukrainian situation so far is a result of the long-term accumulation and continuous evolution of deep-seated security imbalance in Europe. The key to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict is for the parties concerned to show political will, engage in dialogue and negotiations, promote ceasefire and find a proper solution; The fundamental solution to the problem lies in the mutual respect among major powers, the abandonment of the Cold War mentality and bloc politics or camp confrontation, while gradually constructing a balanced, effective, and sustainable global and regional security architecture. The US and NATO, on the other hand, should engage in dialogue with Russia to address the crux of the crisis in Ukraine and resolve the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine.

The world today has entered a new period of turbulence and change. In the face of a complex and volatile world, China has all along stood on the right side of history, on the side of peace, and on the side of human progress. No matter how the international situation changes, China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefits, push forward to build new-type international relations, uphold the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and work with all progressive forces in the world to push the wheel of history towards bright prospects.

(Author is from Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy research center)
The West Australian Space Radar site is fully operational, adding significant coverage of the Southern Hemisphere  an important milestone in LeoLabs' expansion of its radar network

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LeoLabs, the leading commercial provider of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services and low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping, announced the commissioning of the LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR). This radar site, located in Western Australia, adds critical coverage of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region.

This graphic illustrates the additional coverage of the Southern Hemisphere enabled by LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR) and its Kiwi Space Radar (KSR).

WASR is the latest addition to LeoLabs network of phased array space radars powering LeoLabs Vertex, its vertically integrated space operations stack which enables tracking of resident space objects and the characterization of events in LEO, such as conjunctions and maneuvers.

In collaboration with the LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar in the South Island of New Zealand, WASR will enable superior tracking and monitoring of median to high inclination resident space objects in LEO. The two sites, equipped with a total of four S-band phased array radars, will also increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new objects, including lethal, small debris that are currently non-trackable.

LeoLabs new radar site enables increased surveillance of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region, an area where the U.S. and allied nations have historically lacked coverage and visibility. The LeoLabs Australia team is responsible for Pacific daytime global radar operations, orbital analytics, and reporting  providing LeoLabs with continuous, comprehensive coverage and analysis of regional activities in LEO. Considering the strategic importance of the region, LeoLabs will continue to make investments that align with the decades of partnership and collaboration between Australia and the United States, as well as other Indo-Pacific countries.

"Australia is now host to a landmark in the world of space safety," said Dan Ceperley, CEO of LeoLabs. "At LeoLabs we are honored and humbled to be a part of the Australian space ecosystem and to have found so many supporters and partners in Australia."

With the addition of the West Australian Space Radar, LeoLabs' global network has grown to include 10 independent radars across six operational sites, with plans to expand further in 2023 and 2024.

About LeoLabs ( www.leolabs.space )

LeoLabs is transforming the way satellite operators, commercial enterprises and federal agencies across the world launch and track missions in low Earth orbit. Through its vertically integrated technology system, LeoLabs Vertex, LeoLabs delivers the superior information needed to succeed in today's space race. With unmatched LEO coverage, real-time tracking and powerful insights, companies and governments rely on LeoLabs to safely innovate and execute a wide array of operations in space.

SOURCE LeoLabs, Inc.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell, John James and Terri Sewell, along with Dr. Danielle Carnival, Coordinator of President Biden's Cancer Moonshot Initiative, are featured speakers at the Feb. 1 launch event for the 2023 National Cancer Prevention Workshop and other initiatives. This year's 10th annual event, produced by Less Cancer, will focus on "Health Disparities and Access to Care in Cancer Prevention."

The February 1 event in Rayburn launches the 2023 National Cancer Prevention Workshop, which will be available for livestreaming at 9 am on February 2 at www.lesscancer.org.

The launch will happen at 10 am on Wednesday, February 1, during the Next Generation Choices Foundation's (also known as "Less Cancer") National Cancer Prevention Day event in 2043 Rayburn H.O.B., Washington, D.C. Less Cancer's cancer prevention initiatives include the National Cancer Prevention Workshop, the U.S. Congressional Bipartisan Cancer Prevention Caucus, as well as the National Cancer Prevention Day.

"This week, we mark one year of the re-ignited Cancer Moonshot," said Dr. Danielle Carnival, White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator. "The President and First Lady set bold but achievable goals to decrease the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years and to improve the experience of people, their families, and caregivers from cancer prevention through survivorship. Reaching this goal to save and extend millions of Americans' lives will only be possible through a strong focus on cancer prevention and early detection. We've begun to make progress and will continue to prioritize actions in these essential areas, but it will take all of us, doing our part to end cancer as we know it today."

"Every year, National Cancer Prevention Day gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the actions we can all take to reduce and prevent cancer. This year's focus on health disparities draws greater awareness to the alarming fact some individuals face a higher risk of developing preventable cancers. No one, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, gender or location, should have to endure a devastating cancer diagnosis," said Representative Dingell. "As a co-chair of the Cancer Prevention Caucus, I remain committed to working with my colleagues to bring awareness to this critical issue, increase access to important preventative care, and find ways we can halt cancer in its tracks."

Dr. Jolynn Gardner, who heads American University's Health Studies department, commented, "Since 2013, National Cancer Prevention Day and the Workshop have been dedicated to increasing awareness about cancer and educating the public and policy makers so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their constituents. It's an honor to be involved and to assist in highlighting disparities in cancer prevention and treatment by moderating panel discussions with medical providers, community health workers, and researchers who address these issues. The Workshop provides continuing education credits for Certified Health Education Specialists, and American University's Department of Health Studies has been proud to partner in this effort."

Following opening remarks by Bill Couzens, Founder and Executive Director of Less Cancer, speakers at the Rayburn event will include (subject to change):

Rep. Debbie Dingell ( Michigan , 6th District)

Rep. John James ( Michigan , 10th District)

Rep. Terri Sewell ( Alabama , 7th District)

Dr. Danielle Carnival, PhD , Coordinator, White House Cancer Moonshot

, Coordinator, White House Cancer Moonshot Dr. Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe , MBBS, MPH, DrPH , Program Director, HPV and Cervical Cancer Prevention Clinical Research and Program and Deputy Chief, Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH

, Program Director, HPV and Cervical Cancer Prevention Clinical Research and Program and Deputy Chief, Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH Dr. Jann Balmer , PhD, RN, FACEHP, FAAN , Vice President, Less Cancer Board of Directors; Former Director, Continuing Medical Education, University of Virginia ; Former Clinical Professor of Nursing, UVA

, Vice President, Less Cancer Board of Directors; Former Director, Continuing Medical Education, ; Former Clinical Professor of Nursing, UVA Dr. Jolynn Gardner , PhD, Associate Chair, Department of Health Studies, American University .

2023 National Cancer Prevention Workshop

Produced by Less Cancer

The February 1 event in Rayburn launches the 2023 National Cancer Prevention Workshop, which will be available for livestreaming at 9 am on February 2 at www.lesscancer.org.

Moderating the workshop is Miles O'Brien, science correspondent for PBS NewsHour and the winner of six Emmy Awards. O'Brien also serves as Less Cancer's Chairman of the Board.

The Workshop also includes conversations with the following health care and cancer experts: Dr. Jann Balmer, PhD, RN, FACEHP , Vice President of the Less Cancer Board of Directors, and Director, Continuing Medical Education, University of Virginia; Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha , MD, MPH, FAAP, Founder and Director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative , and author of What the Eyes Don't See; Dr. Jan Carney, MD, MPH , Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Public Health at Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, and a member of the Less Cancer Board of Directors; Dr. Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe , MBBS, MPH, DrPH, Director of the HPV and Cervical Cancer Prevention Clinical Research Program and Deputy Chief of the Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention at the NIH National Cancer Institute; Dr. Mandi Pratt-Chapman , MA, PhD, Hon-OPN-CG, Associate Professor at the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, George Washington University; Rob Marino , Executive Director, Fauquier County (VA) Free Clinic; and Dr. Greg Townsend , MD, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Medicine, University of Virginia.

Participating in a discussion of "Health Disparities in Federal Policy" will be members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including: Rep. Don Beyer (Virginia, 8th District) with Less Cancer Board Member Donna Eacho, Rep. Madeleine Dean (Pennsylvania, 4th District), Rep. Debbie Dingell (Michigan, 6th District), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania, 1st District), Rep. John James (Michigan, 10th District), Rep. Ro Khanna (California, 17th District), Rep. Dan Kildee (Michigan, 5th District), Rep. Chris Pappas (New Hampshire, 1st District), and Rep. Terri Sewell (Alabama, 7th District). Dingell and James are sponsors of the U.S. Congressional Bipartisan Cancer Prevention Caucus.

Flags will fly over the U.S. Capitol and various state capitols on February 4 in honor of National Cancer Prevention Day.

MEDIA CONTACT: Colleen Robar, 313-207-5960, [email protected]

SOURCE Less Cancer
Both tradeshows will feature aspects of Leviton's standout year in terms of new global systems, new product offerings and Leviton's CN2030 sustainability initiative

BOTHELL, Wash., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leviton announced today it will display complete, end-to-end cabling systems as well as its latest network infrastructure solutions at the 2023 BICSI Winter Conference and Cisco Live Amsterdam, both held the first full week of February. Also, Leviton is participating as the Official Cable Sponsor of Cisco Live Amsterdam. In January 2023, Leviton introduced its globally available MILLENNIUM copper systems worldwide, and they will be available to the public for the first time at these two important technology conferences.

"We are excited about the chance to meet face to face with customers, contractors and consultants from around the world," said Jim Frey, senior director of global marketing at Leviton Network Solutions. "Our efforts have been geared toward being a valuable global partner to help customers accomplish their business goals. Whether it is helping data center managers achieve next generation speeds or helping enterprise IT directors deploy smart building and IoT, we are providing our customers with the complete systems they need while keeping performance and sustainability front of mind."

Leviton products and systems on display include:

MILLEN NIUM Copper Systems. Leviton now offers three global copper systems that are available to specify anywhere in the world. These end-to-end copper cabling systems provide consistent performance, product sets and support worldwide.

Leviton now offers three global copper systems that are available to specify anywhere in the world. These end-to-end copper cabling systems provide consistent performance, product sets and support worldwide. Leviton's Premier SST Cable, Now Available in EMEA, LATAM and APAC Regions. This popular solution in the US allows for industry-leading performance and excellent signal isolation in a small outer diameter.

This popular solution in the US allows for industry-leading performance and excellent signal isolation in a small outer diameter. Family Expansion of RDT Cat 6A Cable Technology in the US. This reduced diameter cable, introduced January 2022 in plenum (CMP) in the US, is now also offered in indoor/outdoor (I/O) and riser (CMR) constructions.

This reduced diameter cable, introduced in plenum (CMP) in the US, is now also offered in indoor/outdoor (I/O) and riser (CMR) constructions. Front Loading UTP QUICKPORT Patch Panels. These globally available panels include an innovative front-loading bezel designed to ease deployments and MAC work.

These globally available panels include an innovative front-loading bezel designed to ease deployments and MAC work. A Comprehensive New Platform of Global Copper Patch Cords. Includes standard and high flex Cat 6A and Cat 6 patch cords with a compact plug and boot, engineered for IoT devices and high-density applications and available worldwide.

In addition to these product offerings, Leviton will feature details on its sustainability initiative, CN2030, to achieve company-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Leviton will also participate in tech sessions, giving attendees valuable information on industry trends. Leviton invites BICSI Winter Conference (Booth 627) and CISCO Live (B08) attendees to see product demonstrations and talk with network experts from Leviton Network Solutions.

About Leviton Network Solutions

Leviton Network Solutions is a single-source global manufacturer of copper and fiber cabling systems. Leviton solutions are used in data centers, businesses, schools, hospitals, government facilities and commercial mixed-use markets around the world. All Leviton products are engineered to exacting standards, offer industry-leading performance and are backed by the industry's best service and support. IT management, builders, contractors, and other industry professionals consistently rank Leviton products as the most preferred brand in the industry. We can expand your network possibilities. Learn more at leviton.com/ns or twitter.com/LevitonNS . European customers can visit leviton.com/ns/emea or twitter.com/LevitonNS_EU .

About Leviton

Every day, Leviton is engineering possibilities that make the future happen, meeting the needs of today's residential, commercial, and industrial customers globally. From electrical to lighting, to data networks and energy management, Leviton develops thoughtful solutions that help make its customers' lives easier, safer, more efficient, and more productive. Driven by its commitment to its customers, the ingenuity of its employees and the safety and quality of its products and solutions, with Leviton, the FUTURE IS ON. For more information, visit leviton.com, facebook.com/leviton, twitter.com/leviton, or youtube.com/Levitonmfg .

SOURCE Leviton
The report leverages proprietary analytics on the relevance of technology and the scope of market protection to uncover forward-looking patent owners and shifts in portfolio strength over the last two years

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Legal & Professional, the leading provider of science-backed patent workflow and analytics technology, released its "Innovation Momentum 2023: The Top Global 100 report." Now in its second edition, the annual report analyzes the change over two years of patent data to distinguish leading patent owners and chart the pace of change in intellectual property portfolios.

Innovation Momentum 2023, Top 100 innovators per industry sector

The Innovation Momentum report showcases the strategic insights and peer comparisons that advanced patent analytics can unlock. While the two industries that placed highest in the first edition, pharmaceuticals, and information technologies, maintained their positions, the report also illustrates how consumer behavior and policy changes are prompting new developments in sectors as diverse as tobacco, medical technologies, and semiconductors. In addition, the 27 new entries on this year's Top 100 demonstrate constant evolution in the global innovation ecosystem.

"This year's edition of the Innovation Momentum report shows that, even when faced with unprecedented challenges, the spirit of innovation can transform adversity into opportunity and setbacks into long-term success," said Marco Richter, Head of Global Customer Success, LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions. "We congratulate each of the companies in the Top 100 and look forward to seeing how their innovations evolve."

How to measure Innovation Momentum

Innovation Momentum builds on the Patent Asset Index, a unique patent evaluation methodology featured in the analytics platform LexisNexis PatentSight. The report's authors evaluated nearly 11 million patent families according to two metrics: Technology Relevance, or the potential to lead to further inventions, and Market Coverage, the size of the global market a patent family protects. These calculations are combined to determine a patent family's Competitive Impact, a measure of quality.

The report provides an unbiased measure of outperformance by recognizing patent owners with relatively small but high-quality portfolios, rewarding patent owners with well-maintained portfolios, and taking into account the differences between technology fields and markets. To make the Top 100, companies must own a portfolio with at least 10 active patent families and have increased their Technology Relevance over two years.

"Innovation leadership also means covering ground-breaking innovations early on and being agile with regard to the ideal timing and geographies of our patents," adds Peter Berg, VP of Intellectual Property at Infineon Technologies, a semiconductor company within the Global Top 100. "Both can be captured by the PatentSight indices."

Global trends spark new waves of innovation

The report highlights important recent developments with deep dives into three industries that serve as case studies for diversified and responsive innovation:

The chemicals and materials industry's higher placement this year reflects its role in providing the building blocks for other sectors. The two companies in this industry with the strongest patent portfolios demonstrate momentum in different ways; while LG Chem boasts a large overall portfolio size, BASF stands out for the high quality of its patents within a streamlined portfolio.

Tobacco company entries dominate the consumer goods industry list. For businesses like Philip Morris International, innovation through products like the e-cigarette is a matter of survival as consumer habits and regulators increasingly move against traditional tobacco use.

All medical technology companies in the Top 100 increased their patent portfolio size to address the needs of a rapidly aging world. Medical device company Medtronicwhich owns the report's largest and strongest portfolio in the medical technologies category is developing technologies that enable everything from diabetes monitoring to less-invasive surgery.

Pharmaceuticals and information technologies lead the way in fast-paced innovation

Five industriespharmaceuticals, information technologies, chemicals and materials, electronics, and semiconductorslead the Top 100 as businesses reckon with emerging challenges:

The pharmaceuticals industry's top placement reflects the long tail of COVID-19 and the aging global population creating demand for new therapies.

The information technologies industry comes in second place, with a diverse set of companies building on the digital adoption spurred by the pandemic.

Semiconductor industry innovation follows pent-up demand for its technologies, including from companies addressing global issues like climate change, such as the chips used in electric vehicles.

Regional differences matter, and new entrants bring fresh perspectives

The report shows innovations in some fields are concentrated in certain countries or regions. For example, the U.S. is represented in the Top 100 more than any other country, with a particularly strong showing in information technologies and medical technologies. In contrast, China and Korea continue to build upon their traditional strengths in electronics. For its part, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region contributes the most owners in the chemicals and materials and pharmaceuticals industries.

Country-level analysis shows that Japan increased its number of innovators in the Top 100 by more than any other country, up to 6 entries compared to 1 in last year's edition. China recorded the largest decline, moving from 18 entries to 13.

In total, this year's list features 27 new entrants from various regions and sectors, a testament to the diversity of today's innovation landscape. This includes Sweden's Valinge Innovation, which stands out for having the highest average patent quality in the chemicals and materials category and for its business model based on licensing its hardwood flooring technology to manufacturers.

The Top 100 only includes companies, but academic and public research institutions are also recognized in the report, representing the U.S., China, France, Germany, and South Korea.

To download the report and learn more about the dynamics of today's technology development and the patent owners outperforming their peers in the potential to lead to further inventions, visit www.lexisnexisip.com/innovation-report-2023.

About LexisNexis  Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that helps customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis and Nexis services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 10,500 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

About LexisNexis  Intellectual Property Solutions

LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions bring clarity to innovation for businesses worldwide. We enable innovators to accomplish more by helping them make informed decisions, be more productive, comply with regulations and ultimately achieve a competitive advantage for their business. LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions' suite of workflow and analytics solutions (LexisNexis IP Data Direct, LexisNexis IPlytics, LexisNexis PatentAdvisor, LexisNexis PatentOptimizer, LexisNexis PatentSight, and LexisNexis TotalPatent One) enable companies to be more efficient and effective at bringing meaningful innovations to the world. We are proud to directly support and serve these innovators in their endeavors to better humankind.

Media contacts

Jessica Morel

CMO, LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions

[email protected]

Sarah Nowak

Account Manager, The Bulleit Group

[email protected]

SOURCE LexisNexis
LexisNexis Risk Solutions Received the Highest Ratings Possible in 17 Criteria

ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Risk Solutions has been recognized as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Identity Verification Solutions, Q4 2022 report. Findings from the report stem from a 22-criteria evaluation across three categories: current offering, strategy and market presence.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions received scores of 5.0, the highest rating possible, in 17 of the evaluated criteria. According to the Forrester Research report, "With the rise of identity theft across all industries, identity verification (IDV) is becoming more central to the customer digital journey," and "LexisNexis Risk Solutions offers a comprehensive IDV solution."

Kimberly Sutherland, vice president of fraud and identity strategy for North America at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said, "Forrester's ranking validates for us our commitment to enable trusted consumer interactions and fraud intelligence through a full suite of fraud risk, verification and authentication tools. As a result, our customers receive moment to moment, on-demand insights that enables them to fight fraud while providing a positive consumer experience."

LexisNexis Risk Solutions received the highest scores possible in the Current Offering category in 10 out of the 11 criteria. Forrester also gave the company the highest rating possible for five criteria within the Strategy category for product vision, execution roadmap, planned enhancements, delivery model and supporting products and services. According to the Forrester Research report, LexisNexis Risk Solutions has "a forward-looking product vision and execution roadmap" and is a good fit for "companies looking for an all-around IDV solution with decent geographical coverage."

The LexisNexis Risk Solutions vendor profile in the Forrester report reflects some the company's acquisitions in the fraud space over the past several years: ThreatMetrix, ID Analytics and Emailage. Through these integrated capabilities and the more recent addition of advanced behavioral biometrics technology through its BehavioSec acquisition, LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides its customers impactful insights with a suite of risk assessment and authentication tools.

Sutherland added, "We will continue innovating to develop risk-based identity and authentication solutions that protect clients from fraud and deliver an elegant customer experience. Our comprehensive product roadmap and the advanced capabilities of our fraud platform and portals keep us focused on future innovation while keeping rooted in solutions that help solve our customers' challenges and sustain their businesses."

Download the full Forrester Wave: Identity Verification Solutions, Q4 2022 report.

Learn why Forrester Research Inc. ranked LexisNexis Risk Solutions as a leader for IDV. Explore our Identity Verification and Authentication Solutions.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.

Media Contact:

Marcy Theobald

LexisNexis Risk Solutions

678.694.6681

[email protected]

SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions
HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexitas, a leading provider of technology-enabled litigation services and a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax, announced its acquisition of Kusar Court Reporters. Kusar Court Reporters was founded in 1983 by Jeri Lu Kusar, who has been a certified court reporter for over 45 years. The company's presence in Long Beach, CA helps Lexitas continue its growth in the Western market.

"As we continue to expand our national footprint, we are honored to include Kusar Court Reporters as part of our evolution. Kusar is one of the nation's leading realtime court reporting companies with highly rated customer focus and technology. Jeri Kusar has grown and led this best-in-class company over the past four decades by being committed to responsiveness, problem-solving, and exceptional quality. Their culture, talent and passionate customer service fit perfectly with Lexitas' core values," said Gary Buckland, Chief Executive Office at Lexitas.

Jeri Kusar, President and CEO of Kusar Court Reporters, said, "I have spent forty years of my life building Kusar Court Reporters into the most employee friendly, client centered company in the industry. Lexitas shares the same values, is committed to their employees in every way, and demonstrates the same level of customer care and support we have for all these years. I am extraordinarily proud to have Kusar join the Lexitas family."

Founded in 1987, Lexitas is a leading national provider of legal support services to law firms, corporations, and insurance companies. Services include court reporting, record retrieval, process service, registered agent, legal staffing, document review and commercial contracts outsourcing. For more information visit https://lexitaslegal.com and https://www.kusar.com/.

SOURCE Lexitas
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Livestock Monitoring Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2022 to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Key Market Insights

Rapid Growth in Sensor Technology expected to uplift the Global Livestock Monitoring Market



The global livestock monitoring market was valued at US$ 1.83 Bn in the year 2021 and is expected to reach US$ 4.55 Bn by the year 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 10.7% during the forecast from 2022 to 2030.



Developments in sensor technology that have taken place and that is in progress, will make available increasing amounts of information relevant to monitoring animals and their environment, and hence their production, growth, and health.

Furthermore, a tracking system helps livestock producers overcome the challenges of scale increases while ensuring their animals; well-being. Instead of relying solely on farmers' senses and knowledge, on-site tracking sensors can provide reliable data about the location and physical condition of the animals. Whether the farmer is concerned with automatic feeding, sorting and separating, or weighing - all of the information needed for managing the animals individually is available in real-time.



The solution supports optimal livestock performance by providing the exact amount of feed for each animal based on its body weight and activity level. Implementing this system enables having the control to help the animals maintain optimal body condition. In cases of anomalous development (e. g. loss of weight, decreasing activity level), affected animals can be isolated in order to be treated and fed individually. Quarantining animals that have been in contact with sick animals helps to minimize the cases of illness and medication expenses.



Market Synopsis

Offering Analysis

Hardware Component dominated the Global Livestock Monitoring Market in 2021



In 2021, hardware held the largest size of the livestock monitoring market due to the increasing adoption of hardware devices such as RFID, sensors, smart cameras, and GPS technology on livestock farms. The data collected through these devices alert farmers on reproduction, healthy feeding, and the wellbeing of the animals. Technological advancements in software and services used in livestock monitoring management systems are also propelling market growth since the past few years.



Regional Analysis

The Asia Pacific seeks Opportunistic Growth during the Forecast Period



The livestock monitoring market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The population expansion in the region;s developing countries is mounting pressure on the suppliers of livestock products to become more efficient and productive, thus pushing the sales of livestock monitoring solutions upward. The rising penetration of IoT in the animal monitoring application also boosts the growth of this market. Some other factors driving the demand for livestock monitoring systems are an increase in size and number of dairy farms, new product launches for livestock management, development of sensors, which can gather a wide range of information, and demand for cost savings associated with livestock monitoring, & management.

Key Players

GEA Farm Technologies

DeLaval

Afimilk Ltd.

BouMatic LLC

Antelliq Corporation

Dairymaster Ltd.

Lely International NV

Fancom BV

Fullwood Packo Ltd.

Nedap NV

Hokofarm-Group BV

Valley Agriculture Software

Sum-It Computer Systems Ltd.

Sensaphone

HID Global Corporation



Market Segmentation

Offering

Hardware

Software

Services

Farm Type

Small

Medium

Large

Livestock Type

Cattle

Poultry

Swine

Equine

Others (sheep, goat, and deer)

Application

Milk Harvesting Management

Breeding Management

Feeding Management

Heat Stress Management

Animal Comfort Management

Behavior Monitoring & Control

Others (Calf Management, Genetic Management, Cattle Sorting, Weighing, Data Analysis, Decision Support, And Financial Management)

Key questions answered in this report

What are the key micro and macro environmental factors that are impacting the growth of Livestock Monitoring market?

What are the key investment pockets with respect to product segments and geographies currently and during the forecast period?

Estimated forecast and market projections up to 2030.

Which segment accounts for the fastest CAGR during the forecast period?

Which market segment holds a larger market share and why?

Are low and middle-income economies investing in the Livestock Monitoring market?

Which is the largest regional market for Livestock Monitoring market?

What are the market trends and dynamics in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific , Latin America , and Middle East & Africa ?

, , and & ? Which are the key trends driving Livestock Monitoring market growth?

Who are the key competitors and what are their key strategies to enhance their market presence in the Livestock Monitoring market worldwide?

Key Topics Covered:



Companies Mentioned

GEA Farm Technologies

DeLaval

Afimilk Ltd.

BouMatic LLC

Antelliq Corporation

Dairymaster Ltd.

Lely International NV

Fancom BV

Fullwood Packo Ltd.

Nedap NV

Hokofarm-Group BV

Valley Agriculture Software

Sum-It Computer Systems Ltd.

Sensaphone

HID Global Corporation

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q1y7au

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Financial Corporation ("Manulife") today announced that it does not intend to exercise its right to redeem all or any of its currently outstanding 8,000,000 Non-cumulative Rate Reset Class 1 Shares Series 11 (the "Series 11 Preferred Shares") (TSX: MFC.PR.J) on March 19, 2023. As a result, subject to certain conditions described in the prospectus supplement dated November 27, 2012 relating to the issuance of the Series 11 Preferred Shares (the "Prospectus"), the holders of the Series 11 Preferred Shares have the right, at their option, to convert all or part of their Series 11 Preferred Shares on a one-for-one basis into Non-cumulative Floating Rate Class 1 Shares Series 12 of Manulife (the "Series 12 Preferred Shares") on March 19, 2023. A formal notice of the right to convert Series 11 Preferred Shares into Series 12 Preferred Shares will be sent to the registered holders of the Series 11 Preferred Shares in accordance with the share conditions of the Series 11 Preferred Shares. Holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares are not required to elect to convert all or any part of their Series 11 Preferred Shares into Series 12 Preferred Shares. Holders who do not exercise their right to convert their Series 11 Preferred Shares into Series 12 Preferred Shares on such date will retain their Series 11 Preferred Shares, unless automatically converted in accordance with the conditions below.

The foregoing conversion right is subject to the conditions that: (i) if, after March 6, 2023, Manulife determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series 11 Preferred Shares outstanding on March 19, 2023, then all remaining Series 11 Preferred Shares will automatically be converted into an equal number of Series 12 Preferred Shares on March 19, 2023, and (ii) alternatively, if, after March 6, 2023, Manulife determines that there would be less than 1,000,000 Series 12 Preferred Shares outstanding on March 19, 2023, then no Series 11 Preferred Shares will be converted into Series 12 Preferred Shares. In either case, Manulife will give written notice to that effect to any registered holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares affected by the preceding minimums on or before March 13, 2023.

The dividend rate applicable to the Series 11 Preferred Shares for the 5-year period commencing on March 20, 2023, and ending on March 19, 2028, and the dividend rate applicable to the Series 12 Preferred Shares for the 3-month period commencing on March 20, 2023, and ending on June 19, 2023, will be determined and announced by way of a news release on February 21, 2023. Manulife will also give written notice of these dividend rates to the registered holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares.

Beneficial owners of Series 11 Preferred Shares who wish to exercise their right of conversion should instruct their broker or other nominee to exercise such right before 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on March 6, 2023. Conversion inquiries should be directed to Manulife's Registrar and Transfer Agent, TSX Trust Company, at 1800-783-9495.

Subject to certain conditions described in the Prospectus, Manulife may redeem the Series 11 Preferred Shares, in whole or in part, on March 19, 2028 and on March 19 every five years thereafter and may redeem the Series 12 Preferred Shares, in whole or in part, after March 19, 2023.

The Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") has conditionally approved the listing of the Series 12 Preferred Shares effective upon conversion. Listing of the Series 12 Preferred Shares is subject to Manulife fulfilling all the listing requirements of the TSX and, upon approval, the Series 12 Preferred Shares will be listed on the TSX under the trading symbol "MFC.PR.S".

The Series 11 Preferred Shares and the Series 12 Preferred Shares have not been and will not be registered in the United States under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities in the United States and any public offering of the securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2021, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 119,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 33 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Three-row SUV Rides on All-New Performance-Oriented Platform, Offers New Electrified Powertrains

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations today introduced the first-ever 2024 Mazda CX-90. Built on Mazda's all-new large platform, the three-row crossover represents the company's new flagship vehicle with wider, longer, and more aggressive proportions that perfectly blend its high-performance appearance with world-class refinement. Mazda CX-90 is available with all-new electrified powertrains, including an inline 6 turbo and a plug-in hybrid, that offer drivers enhanced performance and efficiency.

2024 Mazda CX-90 Reveal

"At Mazda, our focus is to deliver an ownership experience that enriches the lives of our customers. With each new vehicle launch, we challenge ourselves to progress through our human-centric approach of design and engineering," said Jeff Guyton, President and CEO of Mazda North American Operations. "CX-90 offers powerful and responsive performance, alluring design, and intuitive technology. We're very proud of our team's work on CX-90, which we know is a breakthrough vehicle in its segment."

As with all Mazda vehicles, CX-90 is designed with the driver in mind. With seating for up to eight passengers, CX-90 can accommodate families and friends in all three rows. Cabin space, cargo capacity, safety features, and many amenities are optimized for their needs.

POWERFUL, RESPONSIVE PERFORMANCE

CX-90 is built on an all-new large platform that features a front-engine, rear-wheel-bias longitudinal layout to elevate Mazda's signature driving performance. CX-90 is equipped with Kinematic Posture Control, which first debuted on the MX-5 Miata, a software feature that suppresses body lift on tight corners to enhance the grip and allows all occupants to maintain a natural posture. Focus was put toward optimizing rigidity across the entire vehicle body, while meticulously designing the seats and suspension to provide better balance, control, and confidence in a range of driving situations. With these thoughtful developments, along with standard i-Activ all-wheel drive, drivers can enjoy the full potential of the available high-output powertrains.

CX-90 is available with an all-new e-Skyactiv G 3.3L Inline 6 Turbo engine, which has the highest horsepower and torque from a mass production gasoline engine developed by Mazda, with 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque when using the recommended premium fuel. This engine also is equipped with M-Hybrid Boost (a mild-hybrid system) to provide efficiency without compromising on its remarkable performance. The electric motor is placed between the engine and transmission, creating a smooth acceleration from a standstill, and allowing the motor to directly power CX-90 at low speed. This engaging powertrain provides the CX-90 with an upscale feeling, a smooth-driving experience, engaging sound, and efficiency.

The new e-Skyactiv PHEV powertrain, tuned specifically for the North American market, exhibits responsiveness and acceleration that aligns to driver expectations. An impressive 323 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, when using the recommended premium fuel, provide customers with the best of both worlds in terms of performance and efficiency. The PHEV is designed to operate purely on the electric motor in a variety of driving scenarios. To provide owners with flexibility and peace of mind, Mazda's 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, with a tuned intake to improve torque, has been adapted to work alongside the electric motor and 17.8 kWh high-capacity battery. This is helpful for longer drives like road trips, or when the driver requires maximum acceleration, such as merging onto the freeway.

All CX-90 powertrains are paired with an all-new eight-speed automatic transmission, specifically designed for the electrified longitudinal powertrains and large platform vehicles. The multi-speed automatic gearbox, without a torque converter, achieves smooth and direct acceleration while improving drivetrain efficiency.

DIGNIFIED DESIGN

CX-90 features thoughtful proportions that perfectly blend its high-performance appearance with world-class refinement, while providing a well-crafted interior with increased cabin space for families and ample cargo space to accommodate needs for any lifestyle.

The large platform allows for a wider body and fenders and longer wheelbase, accentuating CX-90's strong stance and further emphasizes its sense of performance. The body is designed to be sleek with crafted curves that give the CX-90 ever-changing expressions created by the reflections of lights and shadows. Available chrome garnishes on the lower bumpers emphasizes its width and timeless styling, while new, available 21-inch diamond-cut wheels featuring a black metallic finish complement CX-90's powerful presence.

Also being introduced with CX-90 is Mazda's latest Takuminuri color, Artisan Red. This available paint option has been developed specifically to suit the CX-90 and provides a sophisticated, yet deeply saturated color to the vehicle's blend of performance and refinement.

CX-90's dignified design continues into the cabin with an interior that gives an expansive impression from the dashboard through the positioning of the vents and chrome trim extending to the doors for a modern, linear appearance. Inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics, a luxurious and comfortable feel is experienced in all three rows. From the front seats to the available captain's chairs, and into the third row, there are multiple materials, such as Nappa leather, wood, and tone-on-tone fabrics that all come together harmoniously.

One example is the distinctive fabric on the dash connected using hanging stitches, which is specifically inspired by hand-bookbinding and an intricate Japanese weaving technique known as Kumihimo. This method deliberately uses negative space to create a unique design for CX-90 that echoes to its Japanese lineage.

INTUITIVE TECHNOLOGY & SAFETY

Complementing the refined interior, the CX-90 includes many new, advanced technologies and amenities that elevate the driving experience, while also providing premium comfort and convenience for all occupants. This includes available third-row USB-C charging ports, air conditioning vents, and upgraded interior lighting, among many more features.

As with all Mazda vehicles, CX-90 seeks to maintain the same top safety recognition as Mazda's other products with many standard i-Activsense safety features, such as Smart Brake Support, Blind Spot Monitoring, Mazda Radar Cruise Control, and other new features that will help enhance the confident experience for all occupants.

CX-90 also features larger displays, accompanied by physical buttons that complement the interior styling. New Mazda technologies, such as an available See-Through View monitor, are meant to assist in a variety of parking situations through the 12.3" center display. These thoughtful conveniences provide the driver a seamless experience with the technology and comfort CX-90 offers, while helping the driver feel in control of the vehicle.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia through approximately 795 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario; operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City; and operations in Colombia are managed by Mazda de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at news.mazdausa.com.

Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA .

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations
ATHENS, Greece and HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott and Eunice Energy Group announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the two-gigawatt (2 GW) electrical interconnection between Greece and Egypt, known as the Greece-Africa Power (GAP) Interconnector project.

Eunice Energy Group is leading the transnational consortium between Greece and Egypt for the GAP project, which aims to contribute to regional energy security and stability by facilitating intercontinental clean energy transfer. As part of the consortium, McDermott, a leader in engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for subsea and deepwater, will be providing engineering and construction guidance for the project.

American foreign policy is aligned with the strategic energy objectives of Greece, and GAP represents a project within the national interests of both countries.

"This is an MOU of strategic importance at a time when Europe is working to ensure energy security," said Michael McKelvy, McDermott President and CEO. "I am proud to join forces with Eunice Energy Group on the GAP project and help build the future of energy in the region."

George Kalavrouziotis, Eunice Energy Group CEO added: "Eunice is thrilled to partner with an American industry leader like McDermott. The GAP Project is the leading electrical interconnection project in the East Mediterranean region, being at the top of the list in terms of technical feasibility and regulatory approval. The 2 GW interconnector will help Egypt export its surplus power to Europe, and enable Greece to export its domestically produced green energy into the Balkans and Italy, thus contributing to Europe's energy independence from Russia's energy resources."

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach engineered to responsibly harness and transform global energy resources into the products the world needs. From concept to commissioning, McDermott's innovative expertise and capabilities advance the next generation of global energy infrastructureempowering a brighter, more sustainable future for us all. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally-focused and globally-integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

About Eunice

Eunice is one of the leading companies in the field of Renewable Sources in Greece and holds an important position in the international energy map with many years of experience in the development of innovative and integrated solutions and services for the production and use of RES. Eunice supports a wide range of green energy activities, including large-scale wind and photovoltaic projects, large storage projects, and geostrategic electrical interconnection projects. Eunice is also active in energy autonomy systems including the first Smart Green Island project at the island of Tilos. It owns and operates the first and only wind turbine manufacturing facility as well as the first EV Charger manufacturing facility. The pioneering role puts innovation at the heart of Eunice and the company is playing a leading role in the emerging areas of energy and infrastructure in the region.

Forward-Looking Statements

McDermott cautions that statements in this communication which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the expected scope and execution of the project discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit or capital markets; our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog; changes in project design or schedules; the availability of qualified personnel; changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties; changes in industry norms; actions by lenders, other creditors, customers and other business counterparties of McDermott and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This communication reflects the views of McDermott's management as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Eunice Energy, GAP Contact

Media Relations

Maria G. Michalakis

Head, Communications and Media Relations

5, Chimarras str. 15125, Marousi, Attica, Greece

+30 2103242020

[email protected]

Project Leadership

Dr. George Pechlivanoglou

General Director

5, Chimarras str. 15125, Marousi, Attica, Greece

+30 2103242020

[email protected]

McDermott International

Global Media Relations

Reba Reid

Senior Director, Global Communications and Marketing

+1 281 588 5636

[email protected]

Local Media Relations

Barbara Knight

Senior Director, Business Line Communications and Marketing

+971 56 403 2903

[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Ltd
WARFORDSBURG, Pa. and LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With over 150 years of combined corporate service, two companies with strong small-town roots, similar work ethics and valuesMellott and NorXare joining together to become the market-leading supplier of crushing and screening solutions and related after-market support in the aggregates industry with world-class business partners.

Mellott Rocks the Aggregate Industry by Partnering with NorX! Tweet this Mellott Rocks the aggregate industry by partnering with NorX!

Based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and run by the Glaze family, NorX has been serving customers since 1970, including: Vulcan Materials Company, Martin Marietta, Heidelberg Materials, Luck Stone, Georgia Stone Products, MidSouth Aggregates, Junction City Mining, and Foley Materials Company. Since 2002, NorX has been an exclusive distributor for Metso:Outotec, the top crushing and screening company in the world. NorX's trusted 53-year-old brand will continue in Georgia and South Carolina as NorX.

"Our 24-year relationship with the Glaze family is very special. It's a milestone in the industry, with two family-operated distributors becoming one," said Rich Blake, president and CEO of Mellott, based in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.

The NorX:Mellott business model is fully integrated, allowing the company to support aggregate producers' needs throughout the lifecycle of their quarriesfrom plant design and engineering, to equipment/parts distribution and service, rebuilds and contract crushing. "It's simple, we focus on solutions," Blake said.

Doug Glaze, a staple in the industry for almost 50 years, has been a driving force of NorX since 1974. Serving now as CEO emeritus, he's turned the reins over to his son, Jeremy Glaze, who started with the company in 2001.

Jeremy Glaze said he intends to carry on his father's legacy as NorX president. "Service is paramount," he said. "My dad is what you'd call a servant-leader. Instead of dictating to employees what to do, he would ask how he could help them. Everything is based on relationships."

Glaze said his dad sincerely cares about people. "He's similar to Rich Blake in that way, and that's one of the reasons why we knew this was the right move for NorX," he added.

"What we're looking forward to most is being challenged," Jeremy Glaze said. "Before, there was nothing new we could do. We were doing everything we could with what we had, but now with Mellott we will have new opportunities. It's uncharted territory, a new beginning for us. We're really happy for our customers, team and community, it's about to be a whole lot better for them," he said.

Contact: Kimberly Summers, [email protected], 301-678-2071

SOURCE Mellott
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Los Angeles County (NAMI GLAC) has appointed non-profit and fund development executive Michele Broadnax to its board of directors as a member at large.

Michele comes to NAMI GLAC with over 30 years of leadership experience in the education and non-profit sectors in Southern California. She is the current president and CEO of the Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP), which serves to advance educational equity through relationships with families, schools, and communities. Before joining LAEP, she worked as a consultant for over 20 years, assisting non-profits and educational institutions with fundraising tactics, program assessments, and fund development strategies.

"I am honored to be a part of such a respected organization, advocating for mental health awareness and driving efforts to improve available free resources to those living with mental illness and their families," said Broadnax.

The GLAC Board is the governing board for NAMI GLAC and all of its Los Angeles chapters. Six regions in Los Angeles County merged in March 2022 and are part of the greater effort to support advocacy and fund development to implement free mental health programs in the county. The organization will host the NAMIWalks Greater LA County Mental Health Fest and 3K, the area's largest mental health walk, on Saturday, April 29th at Los Angeles State Historic Park. For more information, visit www.namiwalks.org/lacounty.

"We are pleased to announce Michele as our first NAMI GLAC at large board member. She will be joining the presidents of the NAMI GLAC affiliates. Michele brings a wealth of experience in the non-profit sector, and we are excited to have her join the board," said NAMI GLAC Executive Director Traute Winters.

About The National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Los Angeles County (NAMI GLAC)

NAMI GLAC is the leading countywide organization composed of grassroots-based chapters that promote wellness, recovery, equality, and dignity for individuals and families affected by mental illness and the community at large. They work to provide leadership in advocacy, education, support, and public awareness throughout Los Angeles County.

Mental illness can be treated, and people living with mental illness can recover to live fulfilling lives. To learn more about how NAMI can help, visit namiglac.org. All NAMI programs and services are free of charge for individuals living with mental illness and families and friends who care for them.

SOURCE National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Greater Los Angeles County
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroTransponder, Inc. announces that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the Vivistim Paired VNS System transitional pass-through status, expanding access to Medicare beneficiaries who are ischemic stroke survivors interested in using the breakthrough technology to help improve their hand and arm mobility.

Hospitals treating stroke survivors with Vivistim are now eligible for additional reimbursement through Medicare's OPPS. Tweet this The Vivistim Paired VNS System

The Vivistim Paired VNS System is an FDA Breakthrough Device that was granted pre-market authorization (PMA) approval on August 27, 2021. Unlike other neurostimulation technologies, the Vivistim System is used in conjunction with rehabilitation therapy to help ischemic stroke survivors who have chronic arm and hand deficits improve their upper limb function. Enhancing the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapy, Paired VNS Therapy is clinically proven to generate two to three times more hand and arm function than rehabilitation alone.

To benefit from the system, ischemic stroke survivors will have the small Vivistim device implanted in their upper left chest area during an outpatient procedure. Once cleared for rehabilitation, they engage in physical or occupational therapy where a therapist uses a wireless transmitter to signal the Vivistim device to deliver a gentle pulse to the vagus nerve while the stroke survivor performs a specific task, such as putting on a hat, brushing hair or cutting food. The simultaneous pairing of the rehabilitation exercise in high repetitions with vagus nerve stimulation helps increase neuroplasticity and strengthens neural connections to improve upper limb function.

"Hospitals treating stroke survivors with the Vivistim System are now eligible for additional reimbursement through Medicare's outpatient prospective payment system," said Richard Foust, MicroTransponder's CEO, adding that the new CMS payment status for Vivistim became effective January 1, 2023. "As a result, there's now another pathway for stroke survivors to benefit from Paired VNS Therapy at the recommendation of their healthcare providers."

Neurological and rehabilitation specialists at premier comprehensive stroke centers and rehabilitation centers report that the Vivistim Paired VNS System helps ischemic stroke survivors improve their quality of life by increasing their ability to perform activities of daily living.

For instance, Rosa Maria Villalpando, the first stroke survivor to use the Vivistim System commercially, was paralyzed on her left side after her stroke in 2017. She credits the Vivistim Therapy she received at Keck Medicine of USC for helping her to be able to open her left hand and relax her left arm. Similarly, David Sullivan has struggled to use his left hand and arm since surviving a stroke in 2020. His healthcare team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital recommended Vivistim, which has helped him make gains, such as swinging a bat.

"The life-changing clinical outcomes of Vivistim Paired VNS Therapy that are already being reported across the country affirm CMS' determination that the Vivistim System is novel and represents a substantial clinical improvement over existing technologies," said Doug Ellison, MicroTransponder's chief revenue officer. "As we advance Vivistim commercialization, CMS' pass-through status enables providers to realize the clinical, operational and financial benefits of adopting Vivistim as their standard of care for chronic ischemic stroke rehabilitation."

Visit Vivistim.com to learn more about the benefits of Paired VNS Therapy and to connect with a member of the MicroTransponder team.

About MicroTransponder, Inc.

MicroTransponder, Inc. is a privately held, global medical device company based in Austin, Texas, committed to developing research-based neuroscience solutions. The company focuses on restoring dignity for people suffering from neurological conditions that impair sensory and motor function. MicroTransponder's FDA-approved Vivistim Paired VNS System is a first-of-its-kind, clinically proven medical technology that generates two to three times more improvement in upper limb function than rehabilitation alone for stroke survivors after six weeks of in-clinic therapy. For more information, visit Vivistim.com .

CONTACT: Media Contact:

Kristin Strauder

[email protected]

SOURCE MicroTransponder
NOIDA, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights, the Microwave Ablation Market was valued at more than USD 380.6 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 9.8% from 2022-2028. The analysis has been segmented into Component Type (Generator, Power Distribution Systems, and Accessories); Application (Oncology, Cardiology, Urology, Orthopedics, and Others); End Use (Hospitals, Research Laboratories, and Ambulatory Surgical Centers); and Region/Country.

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https://univdatos.com/report/microwave-ablation-market/

The microwave ablation 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 microwave ablation market. The microwave ablation 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 microwave ablation market at the global and regional levels.

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Market Overview

Microwave ablation utilizes the most technically advanced devices that give short ablation time, higher temperature for ablation, and large ablation zones. These devices are being used in the management of endometrial bleeding, uterine myomas, atrial fibrillation, and cancerous tumors within the liver, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, and breast.

The surge in the elderly population is one of the key factors boosting the market's growth during the forecast period. Other factors such as changing lifestyle and huge demand for minimal invasive surgeries are also driving the growth of the market. In addition to this, the investments for catheter-based microwave systems is one of the key factors that are creating opportunities for the market.

Some of the major players operating in the market include Emblation Ltd.; Medtronic PLC; Symple Surgical; AngioDynamics; Mermaid Medical; Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.; MedWaves Inc; Terumo Corporation; Neu Wave Medical; and Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

COVID-19 Impact

The recent covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world and has brought a state of shock to the global economy. The global pandemic has impacted the healthcare industry and has transformed the way healthcare is delivered. The microwave ablation market has been significantly affected during these times owing to the delay in elective surgeries during the pandemic.

The global microwave ablation market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated.

Based on component type, the market is segmented into generator, power distribution systems, and accessories. The power distribution systems is expected to grow with high CAGR during the forecast period as these are responsible for delivering power to the antennae. Since the device is used close to the patient, it must adhere to the highest safety standards in human medicine. Furthermore, key players are coming up with technological advancements and have produced AMICA Microwave and RF System Gen by Mermaid Medical. That is a programmable microwave (MW, 2450 MHz) and radiofrequency (RF, 450 kHz) generator. AMICA is the only system in the world that combines radiofrequency (RFA) and microwave (MWA), the two primary thermal ablation technologies, in the same hardware.

On the basis of application, the market is categorized into oncology, cardiology, urology, orthopedics, and others. The oncology segment is expected to hold a significant share in the market in 2020 owing to surge in the incidences of cancer and increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries. Apart from this, governments have been raising investments in oncology-related research and development. For instance, the National Cancer Institute's budget was approved by the American Congress as part of the annual federal budgeting process in 2022. The total amount was USD 6.9 billion , an increase of USD 353 million from 2021. The market is expected to rise because of companies making more investments in cancer research.

, an increase of from 2021. The market is expected to rise because of companies making more investments in cancer research. Based on the end use, the microwave ablation market is segmented into hospitals, research laboratories, and ambulatory surgical centers. The research laboratories segment is expected to expand at high CAGR during the forecast period due to expanding clinical research on cancer and ablation therapies. For instance, Ethicon Inc. (a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson) initiated a research study in December 2021 to evaluate the efficacy and security of the new wave-certus microwave ablation system in Chinese patients with primary or secondary lung cancers. It is anticipated that the study will be completed by December 2024 .

Have a Look at the Chapters https://univdatos.com/report/microwave-ablation-market/

Microwave Ablation 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

North America is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. The major factors such as wide range of applications of microwave ablation technology in primary care settings, enhanced accessibility, and high healthcare costs with favorable reimbursement policies are driving the market's growth during the forecast period. Further, the increase in incidences of chronic diseases in the region is also having aa positive impact on the market's growth.

The major players targeting the market include

Emblation Ltd.

Medtronic PLC

Symple Surgical

AngioDynamics

Mermaid Medical

Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.

MedWaves Inc

Terumo Corporation

Neu Wave Medical

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

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 Microwave Ablation 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 microwave ablation market?

Which factors are influencing the microwave ablation market over the forecast period?

What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the microwave ablation market?

Which factors are propelling and restraining the microwave ablation market?

What are the demanding global regions of the microwave ablation 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.

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Microwave Ablation Market Report Coverage

Report Attribute Details Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2028 Growth momentum Accelerate at a CAGR of over 9.8% Market size 2020 USD 380.6 million Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Rest of World Major contributing region North America to Dominate the Global Microwave Ablation Market Key countries covered United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, China, Japan, and India Companies profiled Emblation Ltd.; Medtronic PLC; Symple Surgical; AngioDynamics; Mermaid Medical; Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.; MedWaves Inc; Terumo Corporation; Neu Wave Medical; and Varian Medical Systems, Inc. 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 Component Type; By Application; By End Use; Channel; By Region/Country

About UnivDatos Market Insights

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.

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UnivDatos Market Insights

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SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights
Former Nike Supply Chain Executive will lead operations for the home furnishings retailer

CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Crate & Barrel Holdings, Inc. (CBH) has hired Mike Brewer as the Chief Operating Officer. Brewer brings a broad range of experience, including 20 years at Nike, Inc. where he served in a variety of roles spanning sourcing, manufacturing and supply chain. Starting February 1, 2023, Brewer will oversee operations for CBH's entire portfolio of industry-leading brands that includes Crate & Barrel, CB2, Crate & Kids and Hudson Grace.

"I look forward to the leadership and expertise Mike will bring to CBH with his customer-centric and purpose-driven mindset," said Janet Hayes , CEO of Crate & Barrel Holdings. "We are confident his experience will further our goals of operational excellence and elevate the modern shopping experience and products our customers turn to brands for."

Crate and Barrel Holdings, Inc. continues to adapt to embrace the ever-changing marketplace and shifting customer preferences. The addition of Brewer as COO comes as a part of the organization's ongoing efforts to evaluate and alter its structure in ways that help support overall growth.

"I admire Crate & Barrel Holdings' commitment to creating meaningful connections with customers across its omni-channel offerings," said Brewer. "I'm excited to join this ambitious team and drive solutions that positively transform our customer journey and meet current and future retail challenges."

About Crate & Barrel Holdings, Inc.

Global specialty retailer Crate & Barrel Holdings Inc. creates homes with purpose, inspired by life, connecting the creative work of artisans and designers to people and places around the world. Known for high-quality products, exclusive designs and timeless style since 1962, Crate & Barrel Holdings Inc. includes lifestyle brands Crate & Barrel, CB2, Crate & Kids, and Hudson Grace. Today, the company is a member of the Otto Group and operates over 100 Crate & Barrel, CB2 and Hudson Grace stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, with franchise locations in nine countries. More than 200 million customers visit the Company's stores and websites each year. To learn more, visit www.crateandbarrel.com.

SOURCE Crate and Barrel Holdings, Inc.
SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindray, a global leading medical device solutions provider, today announces the launch of next-generation BeneHeart series defibrillators, the BeneHeart D60 and D30. The new BeneHeart defibrillators aim to raise the standards for resuscitation with superior reliability, expert comprehensive diagnosis and monitoring tools, and introduce a whole-process quality improvement solution for both in-hospital and pre-hospital rescue.

Mindray BeneHeart D60 Defibrillator

"Defibrillators play a critical role in reducing all-cause mortality and emergencies. We believe that through upgrading first-aid diagnosis and treatment tools and introducing comprehensive rescue quality improvement schemes, we can ensure that prompt, correct, and high-quality medical interventions are implemented to save patients' lives and improve their quality of life," said Mark Sun, General Manager of Mindray International PMLS Sales & Marketing.

Unveiled at Arab Health 2023 in Dubai, the next-generation BeneHeart series defibrillators feature several upgrades that elevate ease of use and reliability to a new level. The high-definition capacitive large screen supports simple gesture control for increased operational efficiency, with physical knobs and buttons still available for crucial operations. Weighing only 4.2kg with the battery, the new defibrillators come with a water-/dust-proof and drop-protection design and can operate in temperatures ranging from -20C to 55C, ensuring durable support in high-intensity emergency environments.

Equipped with the patented QShock and filtered ECG analysis technologies that shorten the charging and interruption time for faster defibrillation, the new BeneHeart D60 and D30 offer a comprehensive CPR evaluation system to monitor real-time CPR performance, from both operational process and effect, providing instant feedback for clinicians.

The new BeneHeart defibrillators also come with structured debriefing protocols that support automatic rescue data recording and uploading to help improve resuscitation teams' performance in the long run, as well as single and multi-person training modes that support hands-on CPR and defibrillator operation. All these technologies and features reflect Mindray's brand-new 'Rescue Triangle' concept of all-round resuscitation quality improvement covering the whole clinical process from resuscitation to debriefing and training.

The Mindray BeneHeart D60 is more than just a defibrillator; its multiple diagnosis and analysis functions make it an ideal solution for complex pre-hospital environments. The model offers professional 12-lead ECG analysis functions with intelligent assistance to help efficiently diagnose chest pain conditions and identify myocardial infarction locations, and a 6-channel recorder generating real-time ECG reports. Its point-of-care ultrasound function enables accurate and confident decision-making by providing step-by-step trauma identification tools, operation guides, and reference images. These diagnosis reports can be sent remotely to the target hospital with one click, allowing for advanced treatment planning to save the lives of critically ill patients.

"Emergency care demands no less than the highest requirement of efficiency and effectiveness to save a patient's life. With the new BeneHeart defibrillation solution, a combination of diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment solutions for emergencies, we aim to unlock the full potential to help clinicians quickly and confidently navigate the difficult situations they encounter," added Sun.

Contact person: Rita Wang

Email address: [email protected]

Phone#: +86 755 81888775

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1986522/Mindray_BeneHeart_D60_Defibrillator.jpg

SOURCE Mindray
PHOENIX, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Wealth LP announced today that it has merged with Murphy Capital Advisors, a firm founded by Matt Murphy, CFP. Headquartered in Goodyear, AZ with more than $110 million in assets under management, Murphy Capital Advisors serves clients throughout Arizona, as well as select clients in Illinois. Matt Murphy's partnership strengthens Mission Wealth's existing client service experience in Arizona and will enable Mission Wealth to better serve the needs of future clientele in this growing region.

President Dannell Stuart announced, "We are proud to welcome Matt Murphy and Murphy Capital Advisors to Mission Wealth. Matt represents the highest ethical standards in our industry and has consistently led by example with his client-first, fiduciary approach. His numerous leadership roles with the CFP Board and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) are examples of his commitment to the financial planning profession. Matt's methodical and holistic approach with clients has attributed to his great success since 2004. We know Matt will fit very well at Mission Wealth with the way we have been serving clients for over two decades. We look forward to the future with Matt as a part of our team."

Mission Wealth announces merger with Murphy Capital Advisors, a firm founded by Matt Murphy, CFP in Goodyear, AZ. Tweet this

Matt Murphy, CFP  began his career in audit within the Commodity Futures Industry and then moved into portfolio management support with a large municipal bond asset management firm located in Chicago. Matt earned his CFP designation in 2003 and over the next 18+ years he ran his own boutique Registered Investment Advisor firm with an emphasis on comprehensive financial planning. Matt works directly with clients and helps them make informed choices and guides them through some of life's most important financial decisions.

"I am thrilled to take my solo practice to a firm with such an impressive leadership team, quality support infrastructure, technology stack, and a philosophy of putting clients first. I knew that merging with Mission Wealth would be the Fiduciary and the right thing to do to help my clients and to continue to grow. I am so happy to have found Mission Wealth as a partner and I look forward to our continued success." Matt Murphy added.

Throughout his career, Matt has continuously given back and is a true ambassador to the financial planning profession that he loves. Matt served as Commissioner to the CFP Board's Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) from 2010-2014. He was appointed the Chairman of the DEC in 2014. Matt also served as a Commissioner on the Special Commission on Standards for CFP Board from 2015-2018, where he helped to revise and update the CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. In this role, Matt was instrumental in codifying the Fiduciary requirement for all CFP professionals. The CFP Board asked Matt to return to the DEC from 2020-2022 and provide special advice and counsel with the recently expanded DEC. He is also a past Board Member of the Phoenix Chapter of the Financial Planning Association and has served on numerous committees within NAPFA. He has supported the Homes for Heroes charitable program multiple times as the pro-bono financial advisor for disabled Veterans. Matt also supports Ryan House (Phoenix) and Make-a-Wish Arizona.

"It is a privilege to share that Matt Murphy with Murphy Capital Advisors has joined the Mission Wealth team as both an advisor and partner. This past year I had the opportunity to get to know Matt and I am confident he will be a great fit for our team and culture. He is clearly committed to serving his clients and to being a leader within our industry. After visiting his office in Arizona and meeting his family, Matt Murphy firmly represents the values and caring approach that serve as the foundation of Mission Wealth. I look forward to a thriving partnership together and to expanding our reach in the Phoenix region." said Seth Streeter, Founder and Chief Impact Officer.

About Mission Wealth

Founded in 2000, Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized RIA that oversees $5.3 Billion in client assets under management after the merger. Mission Wealth is known for its service model, driven by a world-class technology stack that offers financial planning, investment counsel, tax strategies, estate planning coordination, philanthropic advice, and asset protection solutions tailored to each client's needs. For more information on Mission Wealth partnership opportunities, please visit missionwealth.com/opportunity.

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

00488538 01/23

CONTACT:

Michelle Winkles

(805) 729-2917

[email protected]

SOURCE Mission Wealth Management, LP
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the city that never sleeps lives a powerhouse of a social marketer that is leaving her foot print on the social scene in NYC. Entrepreneur, social media expert, influencer and now CEO of the hottest events in the city, Liv Schreiber has a vision for changing how New Yorkers meet and build relationships and social communities. In the past, it was intros from friends, families, gym workout buddies or boring dating apps. Today, New Yorkers are growingly turning to the 26 year old Schreiber who's Hot and Social events are selling out in 36 seconds. The City hasn't seen this type of buzz in decades.

New Yorkers are growingly turning to Schreiber who's Hot and Social events are selling out in 36 seconds Tweet this Liv at a Hot and Social Event

The tagline of the company is "99% of the attendees show up alone, 100% leave as friends". This unique concept has led to some of the largest restaurant and club companies in NYC to reach out with the hope of securing a Hot and Social event for some of the most well known venues in the City. Schreiber is overwhelmed with the support and can't wait to bring her concept to other cities, " When I moved to New York City in my early twenties, I noticed everyone stayed in their high school or college cliques- I wanted a fun and easy way to make new friends in the city that aligned with the person I am now. I envisioned Hot and social as a community of like-minded, kind and smart professionals that could come together and confidently show up solo, in a mission to meet others like them. Hundreds have left with new friends, dates, and a feeling of belonging in the Big Apple. We are getting weekly requests to bring Hot and Social signature events all over the United States, Mexico, Caribbean and elsewhere".

Schreiber has already worked with brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Moxy, REVOLVE and Rumble. Her TikTok and Instagram accounts have been blowing up- giving Schreiber the ability to package her social, with Hot and Social's accounts and event sponsorship. The current format is for 200 guests per event. In 2023, Hot and Social plans on doing nine (9) events and consulting on at least twenty (20) brands on building their own events powered by Hot and Social as well. The Digital Renegades CEO Evan Morgenstein sees Schreiber as a perfect new client, "Myself, coming from Rockland County and having my family in the event promotion business most of my childhood, I see Liv as a refreshing new take on bringing people, brands and unique experiences together. Liv is so smart, she lives this lifestyle- so it's authentic and she has her finger on the pulse of the 22-35 year old market in NYC and beyond. We are going to make this an international brand and I can't wait!"

To contact Evan Morgenstein regarding brand deals, influencer opportunities or event sponsorship email [email protected] or click here for his Linkedin page.

SOURCE CelebExperts
Also announces the expansion of its regional footprint and leadership team with experienced healthcare executives





Patients to benefit from more locations, services and physicians

BALTIMORE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-Specialty Healthcare ("MSHC"), a mission-driven provider of outpatient post-traumatic injury care and physical rehabilitation, today announced a rebranding to Excelsia Injury Care ("Excelsia"). The new brand symbolizes a "Rise to Excellence" that embodies a commitment to guiding patients back to full pre-episodic health and reflects the company's expanded regional platform, now with 60 care centers across four states. Alongside the rebranding, Excelsia announced the appointment of George Goodwin as CEO, a seasoned executive with more than 40 years of scaling multi-site healthcare organizations. MSHC Co-Founders, Dr. Chuck Thorne and Dr. Larry Yalich, will continue to serve the company as a member of the Board of Directors.

George Goodwin, CEO, Excelsia Injury Care (formerly Multi-Specialty HealthCare)

"Building Excelsia with such a talented and dedicated team has been an amazing journey. We built this company with a vision of integrating high-quality, post-traumatic care to deliver the best healthcare outcomes to patients, regardless of their income levels. Based on the high degree of trust from patients and referral sources and strong physician relationships, I believe we are well on our way to realizing that vision." said Dr. Thorne. "This is also a pivotal moment for our company where we have demonstrated tremendous momentum and established a clear runway for growth and impact. I'm excited to now work with George, an operational and growth-oriented leader who will help our company reach new heights and help us reach and positively impact patients across the mid-Atlantic."

Goodwin has a proven track record of growing healthcare businesses by expanding core and new services, organically and through mergers and acquisitions, and optimizing operations and strategy. He joins Excelsia from Surgery Partners, where he served as President of the American Group since 2004. Over his tenure, Goodwin oversaw over one hundred surgery centers nationally and helped the company grow across core and new services. Earlier in his career, Goodwin rose through the ranks for 15 years at Symbion, where he led growth and development efforts and was Group President of surgery centers, surgery hospitals and physician practices.

"I've long admired the organization for its comprehensive approach to effective, post-traumatic treatment and its dedication to helping patients navigate a complex insurance and injury reimbursement system. That commitment to drive the best patient outcomes is evident in every team member at Excelsia and will continue to be our core focus," added Goodwin. "Dr. Thorne is truly a pioneer in our industry, and together, we see opportunities to expand this model to better serve patients with more locations, services and providers."

The rebranding also symbolizes Excelsia's leading regional platform and the expansion of its highly skilled and mission-oriented leadership team. The company welcomed Injury Care Center (ICC) and Tri County Pain Management to the Excelsia family, enabling it to serve patients in 60 locations with 400 employees in Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Excelsia also announced the hiring of General Counsel John Wall, who served in a similar capacity at Springstone Health and MedExpress, and Dr. Brian Epstein, one of the four founders of Tri County who will continue to lead the Pennsylvania market.

About Excelsia

Excelsia's mission is to deliver the full continuum of best-in-class, patient-centric healthcare services to individuals traumatically injured on the job, in a vehicular accident, or due to the negligence of another, and support their return to functional restoration in a cost-efficient, outcome-oriented environment. Founded in 1993, Excelsia has grown into a regional leader with the ability to serve patients in 60 locations with 400 employees in Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

SOURCE Multi-Specialty Healthcare
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to NASA, most people look to the skies as rockets, rovers, and astronauts push the boundaries of space exploration. But the benefits of going above and beyond can be found here on Earth through products and services born from NASA innovation.

The latest edition of NASA's Spinoff publication features dozens of new commercialized technologies that use the agency's technology, research, and/or expertise to benefit people around the globe. It also includes a section highlighting technologies of tomorrow.

To make sure ventilators could be quickly manufactured and administered to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of engineers at JPL created the Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally (VITAL) device, made of off-the-shelf parts. Credits: NASA

"From the heavens to hospitals around the world, NASA spinoffs are improving life for all of humanity," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "The work NASA does in research and technology gives businesses a competitive edge, driving an economy that allows America to compete globally and creating good-paying jobs for this generation  and the next."

NASA's Spinoff 2023 features more than 40 companies using NASA technology, research, and funding to create better batteries to store green energy, improve airport ground traffic to save passengers and airlines time while cutting fuel costs, distribute ventilators around the world, and even heal wounds faster on humans and animals alike.

"Before it launched and gave us a new view of the universe, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope was already improving one of the most common eye surgeries on Earth," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). "This is just one example of how the technology we develop for space exploration is improving the quality of life for people here on Earth."

This year in Spinoff, readers will learn more about:

How companies are using satellite data to boost human resiliency to climate change and protect homeowners against disasters such as wildfires and floods

A new, sustainable, meat-free protein alternative born from NASA-funded research at Yellowstone National Park

A robotic astronaut's deep-diving successor that's ready to work in offshore operations like oil wells, wind turbines, and fish farms

The publication also features a new cancer diagnostic tool informed by research on astronauts exposed to space radiation while aboard the International Space Station, a NASA-designed technology that helps find trapped people in the wake of disaster, and a new 3D printing modeling program that uses "digital cloning" to cut costs and speed up development of complex industrial parts.

"It isn't just the commercial space industry that can leverage our innovations," said Daniel Lockney, executive of NASA's Technology Transfer program. "Practically any industry area can find a NASA technology as a solution to its business needs. Our scientists, researchers, and engineers are constantly creating new materials, software, tools, and more. If it isn't here now, it soon will be."

Spinoff is part of the agency's Technology Transfer program within STMD. The program is charged with finding the widest possible applications for NASA technology through partnerships and licensing agreements with industry, ensuring that NASA's investments in its missions and research find additional applications that benefit the nation and the world.

Readers also can check out Spinoffs of Tomorrow, a section that highlights 20 NASA technologies available for licensing and commercialization. Some examples include a wind warning system that uses Doppler lidar alerts to protect wind turbine blades, sensors that can boost cameras to see through waves and explore ocean environments like endangered coral reefs, and a robotic exoskeleton that can help rehabilitate arm and shoulder injuries.

Those interested in licensing NASA technology are encouraged to begin their search by browsing the agency's patent portfolio.

To read or download the digital version of the latest issue of Spinoff, visit:

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/

SOURCE NASA
The National Center for Families Learning is seeking partners to build equitable communities and is offering mini-grants to seed innovative approaches to co-designing family learning systems

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- When the world shut down in the spring of 2020, Katlyn Rivera, a single mother living in Yuma, Arizona, lost her job and took on the role of teacher for her children. The family endured isolation and hardship, and her oldest son fell behind academically. She joined the family literacy program at O.C. Johnson Elementary School in 2021, only intending to learn more about positive discipline for her son in a six-week class. She said, "When I came to this program I said, 'I'm just here to learn. I'm not here to make friends.'" What she found, though, was a community of support for her whole familyand it's why she has continued to come back to engage in learning and gain access to opportunities for her family. The impact of the pandemic is still being felt today by Katlyn and so many other families; its aftermath will continue to pose a challenge if we cannot find deeper ways to partner with families and communities.

NCFL is offering mini-grants to seed innovative approaches to co-designing family learning systems Tweet this The shape of the U.S. with lines zigzagging to different points on the map, overlaying a collage of participant photos with the text "A Future Design for Equitable Communities"

While participating in the program, Katlyn learned how to support her son to make gains in reading and learned skills in resume-writing and interviewing. She credits the program for increasing her confidence, as well as her social networks, which led her on a pathway for a new job opportunity.

For Katlyn's family and so many others, family literacy is an on-ramp to tackle many barriers they face in reaching their educational and economic goals. Families and communities across the nation are still grappling with the devastating impact of the pandemic on learning, health and well-being, and economic prosperity. Current systems of support for children and families are fragmented, misaligned, inequitable, and often inaccessibleparticularly to those experiencing poverty or whose voices and ideas have been underrepresented or excluded from conversations focused on improving education and community outcomes.

The challenge is too big for one group or organization to tackle alone. Coordinated and aligned efforts are critical to addressing learning recovery, social-emotional health, and the workforce development of knowledge and skills needed for today's economy.

A Future Design for Equitable Communities

Today the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is launching its 60x30 Vision to establish coordinated and aligned family learning systems in 60 communities by 2030, built with and for families, to increase education and economic outcomes and create more equitable communities.

Family learning systems consist of deep learning opportunities in family literacy, family engagement, and family leadership. These systems of support create relevant, equitable, and accessible learning opportunities; build capacity; strengthen partnerships; and activate family leadership for children and families who are furthest from opportunity. Further, families and communities are intentionally networked for increased learning and impact. To learn more about the family learning systems approach to advancing equity in communities, read NCFL's new resource.

"NCFL's 34-year legacy is working in communities, large and small, to support families in making transformational change in their lives through education," says Dr. Felicia C. Smith, NCFL's president and CEO. "Over the years, we've identified the need to network families and communities to foster authentic and sustainable change. Fulfilling our bold vision brings us closer to achieving equitable communities where children and families feel valued, gain social capital, and thrive in a just and fair society working alongside a collective group of community stakeholders."

Family Learning Community Collaborative

To strengthen its efforts, galvanize innovation, and create shared accountability and learning opportunities, NCFL has convened a group of reputable and innovative organizations that are committed to bringing resources and assets that advance education attainment and economic prosperity to the 60x30 communities. If deep collaboration is desired within and across communities, that same approach is necessary at a national level. National organizations with meaningful and innovative approaches to support children, families, and communities can accomplish more with shared commitments to advancing a vision for more equitable communities. The inaugural Family Learning Community Collaborative members are Learning Heroes, Partners for Rural Impact, Search Institute, The Equity Lab, TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, Unite for Literacy, and World Education. Each organization is committed to leveraging their specialized expertise through a collaborative spirit to support children, families, and communities.

Apply for a Mini-Grant to Join the Family Learning Community Network

NCFL invites communities to join the 60x30 campaign for advancing family learning systems to support equitable communities for generations to come. Readers ready to embark on this work with NCFL can apply for a mini-grant to support costs associated with co-designing an innovative approach to building aligned and coordinated family learning systems in your community. Visit familieslearning.org/60x30 to apply today.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILIES LEARNING

NCFL is a national nonprofit that supports family success and well-being through education. We believe education is a shared responsibility and collaboration among families, schools, and community members that leads to powerful learning experiences. Partnering with educators, literacy advocates, and communities, NCFL has worked for over 30 years to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. NCFL's vision is to establish coordinated and aligned family learning systems in 60 communities by 2030, built with and for families, to increase education and economic outcomes and create more equitable communities. When parenting adults and children are engaged in learning together, the whole family benefits, contributing to a thriving, equitable community. For more information on NCFL, visit familieslearning.org. To express your interest in partnering with us on our 60x30 Vision, visit familieslearning.org/60x30.

Contact:

Sara Ulliman

Director, Communications

National Center for Families Learning

502.584.1133x206

[email protected]

familieslearning.org

SOURCE National Center for Families Learning
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NHS) (the "Fund") has announced a distribution declaration of $0.0905 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on February 28, 2023, has a record date of February 15, 2023 and has an ex-date of February 14, 2023.

Under its level distribution policy, the Fund anticipates that it will make regular monthly distributions, subject to market conditions, of $0.0905 per share of common stock, unless further action is taken to determine another amount. The Fund's ability to maintain its current distribution rate will depend on a number of factors, including the amount and stability of income received from its investments, the cost of leverage and the level of other Fund fees and expenses. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount or that a distribution will consist only of net investment income.

Due to an effort to maintain a stable distribution amount, the distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, net realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2023 will be made after the end of the year.

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 26 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,600 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 $427 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2022. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC

Investor Information

(877) 461-1899

SOURCE Neuberger Berman
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman MLP and Energy Income Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NML) (the "Fund") has announced a distribution declaration of $0.0584 per share of common stock. The distribution announced today is payable on February 28, 2023, has a record date of February 15, 2023 and has an ex-date of February 14, 2023.

The Fund currently intends to make regular monthly cash distributions to holders of its common stock at a fixed rate per share, to be determined based on the projected net rate of return of the Fund's investments as well as other factors, subject to ongoing review and adjustment from time to time. The Fund currently intends to pay its regular monthly distributions out of its distributable cash flow, which generally consists of (1) cash and paid-in-kind distributions from master limited partnerships ("MLPs") or their affiliates, dividends from common stocks, interest from debt instruments and income from other investments held by the Fund less (2) current or accrued operating expenses, including leverage costs, if any, and taxes on its taxable income.

The Fund expects that a portion of its distributions to stockholders will constitute a non-taxable return of capital. A "return of capital" is a distribution by the Fund which represents a return of a common stockholder's original investment, and should not be confused with a dividend. To the extent the Fund pays a return of capital, a common stockholder's basis in Fund shares will be reduced, which will increase a capital gain or reduce a capital loss upon sale of those shares. There is no assurance that the Fund will always be able to pay a distribution of any particular amount, or that a distribution will consist solely of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits.

In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2023 will be made after the end of the year.

The Fund is subject to federal income tax on its taxable income, unlike most investment companies. Any taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the amount available to pay distributions to stockholders, and therefore investors in the Fund will likely receive lower distributions than if they invested directly in MLPs.

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 26 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has over 2,600 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 $427 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2022. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Contact:

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC

Investor Information

(877) 461-1899

SOURCE Neuberger Berman
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - NEXE Innovations Inc. ("NEXE" or the "Company") (TSXV: NEXE) (Frankfurt: NX5) (OTC: NEXNF), a compostable and innovative materials company, is pleased to announce its financial results for the three-month period ended November 30, 2022 ("Q2 2023").

During the quarter, the Company was focused on transitioning to a vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Windsor, Ontario (the "Windsor Facility"). The Windsor Facility is close to production with the infrastructure and key equipment in place at the end of January. NEXE is working with vendors and suppliers to complete various tests, including site acceptance tests (SATs) and factory acceptance tests (FATs) and commissioning the equipment for production. At the Windsor Facility, NEXE expects to control the manufacturing process from end-to-end, including both component and finished goods manufacturing.

"We are excited about our Windsor Facility and the progress we have made with our vertically integrated manufacturing process that we can scale to producing ~500 million pods annually," stated Ash Guglani, President, NEXE Innovations, "the team is working on the final phases and have started to build an operations team in Windsor".

Key Highlights

Given the significant advancements made with the vertically integrated manufacturing process, NEXE decided not to continue running a parallel production of its current composite single-use pod (the "NEXE Pod") and decided to consolidate the two different manufacturing operations sooner than initially planned. As a result of this transition, NEXE started to reduce the current composite NEXE Pod inventories to prepare for the switchover. This resulted in lower revenues in Q2 2023 compared to the previous quarter Q1 2023. For the new injection molded NEXE Pods, we do expect production to ramp up over the year as it relates to our strategy to target private label and co-manufacturing opportunities.





As a result of this transition, NEXE started to reduce the current composite NEXE Pod inventories to prepare for the switchover. This resulted in lower revenues in Q2 2023 compared to the previous quarter Q1 2023. For the new injection molded NEXE Pods, we do expect production to ramp up over the year as it relates to our strategy to target private label and co-manufacturing opportunities. NEXE is in the process of acquiring the BPI certification. As part of this process, NEXE submitted the new version of the injection molded NEXE Pods to an independent third-party (approved by BPI) to conduct testing. The rigorous testing is now in the later stages, and once the third-party testing is complete, the results will be submitted to BPI for validation. This BPI certification is not required to produce or sell our products and not all of our potential clients require these certifications.





As part of this process, NEXE submitted the new version of the injection molded NEXE Pods to an independent third-party (approved by BPI) to conduct testing. The rigorous testing is now in the later stages, and once the third-party testing is complete, the results will be submitted to BPI for validation. This BPI certification is not required to produce or sell our products and not all of our potential clients require these certifications. For the calendar year 2023, a key strategic focus is on growing the Company's customer base, focusing on private label and co-manufacturing segments of the market. Currently, the Company is actively in discussions with several private label and co-manufacturing companies to secure large commercial contracts as the Windsor Facility capacity comes online. The sales cycle associated with private label and co-manufacturing companies does take time as there are many steps involved including testing and an auditing phase. Based on the sales pipeline and inbound requests, we expect we will receive more purchase orders over the next few months, however there will be a lag between purchase orders and revenues booked.





Currently, the Company is actively in discussions with several private label and co-manufacturing companies to secure large commercial contracts as the Windsor Facility capacity comes online. The sales cycle associated with private label and co-manufacturing companies does take time as there are many steps involved including testing and an auditing phase. Based on the sales pipeline and inbound requests, we expect we will receive more purchase orders over the next few months, however there will be a lag between purchase orders and revenues booked. In September 2022 , the Company announced its first U.S. purchase order with Awaken Brands Ventures Ltd ("Awaken Brands"). The partnership with Awaken Brands is the first entry point for NEXE to sell its proprietary technology of fully-compostable NEXE Pods for the Keurig Brewing Systems into Awaken Brand's ecosystem and help companies to meet their sustainability goals. NEXE is currently in the final stages of onboarding Awaken Brands, such as finalizing designs. The production for this purchase order is also being transitioned to the Windsor Facility.

Financial Position

The Company continues to have a solid balance sheet and is disciplined with deploying capital and keeping expenses at a minimum. At the end of Q2 2023, the Company had a working capital of $26.5 million with cash and GICs of $21.7 million that will help weather increased volatility in the financial markets and with executing NEXE's strategy.

Given the increased focus for companies and governments to reduce plastic waste, NEXE expects there to be a rapid increase in demand for compostable alternatives. NEXE's capacity and ability to set up a vertically integrated manufacturing process will strengthen NEXE's position in a growing market. NEXE expects that it will be able to expand into different markets quickly and in a more cost-effective way.

The Company's Q2 2023 financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis are available on NEXE's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.nexeinnovations.com.

*NEXE Innovations Inc. is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Keurig. Keurig is a registered trademark of Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.

**NEXE Innovations Inc. is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Nespresso. Nespresso is a registered trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A

About NEXE Innovations Inc.

NEXE Innovations Inc. is a leader in innovative compostable materials technology based in British Columbia, Canada. The first product developed by NEXE Innovations is one of the only patented, fully-compostable, single-serve coffee pods for use in existing major single-serve coffee machines.

For more information about NEXE's compostable materials and how it is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable products, visit www.nexeinnovations.com and follow us on social media @nexeinnovations.

On behalf of the Company:

Ash Guglani

President & Director

For investor relations contact:

Kam Mangat

VP, Investor Relations & Corporate Strategy

[email protected]

Office +1-604-359-4725

Mobile +1-604-359-4742

For media relations contact: [email protected]

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 release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements or information, which include, but are not limited to, statements in respect of the Company growing its customer base, transitioning to a vertically integrated and injection molding manufacturing process, the Company bringing key manufacturing processes to commercial scale in-house; filing patents and obtaining various certifications, the continued commercialization of NEXE Pods in Keurig and Nespresso format capsules; the NEXE Pod becoming a viable alternative to currently available plastic coffee capsules; NEXE's ability to meet the growing demand for environmental friendly and sustainable products in the single-serve coffee sector and beyond; the Company's ability to secure large contracts and work with private label and co-manufacturing coffee branded companies; the Company's ability to bring the Windsor Facility into production in 2023; the Company's ability to expand into different markets in a quick and cost-effective manner; the success of the partnership with Awaken Brands; the Company's overall business strategy and the Company's long-term growth and development plans. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. 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. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, the Company's ability to execute on its business strategy and those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended November 30, 2022 under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties". Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, receipt of necessary approvals and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Nexe Innovations Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - NexGen Energy Ltd. ("NexGen" or the "Company") (TSX: NXE) (NYSE: NXE) (ASX: NXG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ivan Mullany, to the Company's Board of Directors.

Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "On behalf NexGen Energy's Executive and Board of Directors, we are very pleased to welcome Mr. Ivan Mullany. Mr. Mullany has extensive knowledge and experience in the successful execution of global mining project construction and operational excellence. Mr. Mullany is joining an experienced team dedicated to the responsible development of the Rook I Project that will create significant generational benefits to Saskatchewan and Canada, while playing a leading role globally in the delivery of clean energy fuel. Mr Mullany's skills and experience are an excellent complement to the Board and timely, as Rook I advances into Detailed Engineering in 2023.

Ivan Mullany

Mr. Mullany, BSc, Majoring in Extractive Metallurgy, CIMM, FAusIMM, has over 35 years in mining project management with broad international experiences. Most recently, with Newmont Corporation and its predecessor Goldcorp Inc. on the Senior Leadership Team, he led numerous major projects, collectively in excess of $18 Billion, during the engineering study, construction and execution stages.

About NexGen

NexGen Energy is a Canadian company focused on delivering clean energy fuel for the future. The Company's flagship Rook I Project is being optimally developed into the largest low cost producing uranium mine globally, incorporating the most elite standards in environmental and social governance. The Rook I Project is supported by a NI 43-101 compliant Feasibility Study which outlines the elite environmental performance and industry leading economics. NexGen is led by a team of experienced uranium and mining industry professionals with expertise across the entire mining life cycle, including exploration, financing, project engineering and construction, operations and closure. NexGen is leveraging its proven experience to deliver a Project that leads the entire mining industry socially, technically and environmentally. The Project and prospective portfolio in northern Saskatchewan will provide generational long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits for Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world.

NexGen is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXE" and on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXG" providing access to global investors to participate in NexGen's mission of solving three major global challenges in decarbonization, energy security and access to power. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with its primary operations office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Contact Information

Leigh Curyer

Chief Executive Officer

NexGen Energy Ltd.

+1 604 428 4112

[email protected]

www.nexgenenergy.ca

Travis McPherson

Chief Commercial Officer

NexGen Energy Ltd.

+1 604 428 4112

[email protected]

http://www.nexgenenergy.ca

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws and regulations and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, the 2021 Arrow Deposit, Rook I Project and estimates of uranium production, grade and long-term average uranium prices, anticipated effects of completed drill results on the Rook I Project, planned work programs, completion of further site investigations and engineering work to support basic engineering of the project and expected outcomes. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Statements relating to "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment that, based on certain estimates and assumptions, the mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the mineral reserve and resources estimates and the key assumptions and parameters on which such estimates are based are as set out in this news release and the technical report for the property , the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price and market supply of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward looking information or making forward looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, the existence of negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, conclusions of economic valuations, the risk that actual results of exploration activities will be different than anticipated, the cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected, that the future price of uranium will decline or otherwise not rise to an economic level, the appeal of alternate sources of energy to uranium-produced energy, that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar, that mineral resources and reserves are not as estimated, that actual costs or actual results of reclamation activities are greater than expected, that changes in project parameters and plans continue to be refined and may result in increased costs, of unexpected variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates or other risks generally associated with mining, unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental, regulatory or First Nations approvals, risks related to First Nations title and consultation, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licences, risks related to changes in laws, regulations, policy and public perception, as well as those factors or other risks as more fully described in NexGen's Annual Information Form dated February 25, 2022 filed with the securities commissions of all of the provinces of Canada except Quebec and in NexGen's 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and Edgar at www.sec.gov .

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or statements or implied by forward-looking information or statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE NexGen Energy Ltd.
Donation to Enhance Pediatric Care for Children in Florida and Beyond for Generations to Come

MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicklaus Children's Hospital officials today announced one of the largest single donations in the hospital's 72-year history. The $25 million gift from Citadel founder and CEO Kenneth C. Griffin will support the new five-story, 127,000-square-foot surgical tower opening in 2024. In recognition of this historic gift, it will be named the Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower.

Mr. Griffin's donation will also help fund Nicklaus Children's four major institutes advancing pediatric care related to the brain, cancer and blood disorders, the heart, and orthopedics.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital announces one of the largest single donations in the hospital's 72-year history. Tweet this Rendering of the Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower at Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Kenneth Griffin, Matthew A. Love, Barbara Nicklaus, Jack Nicklaus, and Joseph Nader at Nicklaus Childrens Hospital.

"This transformational gift will change the future of pediatric care for generations to come and ensure that doctors, nurses, and specialists have the latest technological advances at their fingertips to treat the children we serve," said Matthew A. Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children's Health System, the hospital's parent organization. "We are enormously grateful to Mr. Griffin for this generous donation, which will strengthen our position as the pediatric healthcare leader in the state of Florida."

The new surgical facility, featuring robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and intraoperative monitoring, as well as expansive surgical suites and improved pre- and post-surgical care spaces, will allow the hospital to provide world-class care in a high-tech, family-friendly environment for decades to come.

"Nicklaus Children's Hospital is a world leader in healthcare," said Ken Griffin. "We are so blessed to have such a talented team dedicated to providing the best care to every child. I am honored to support this mission."

"It warms our hearts when others share our passion for helping children," said Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, co-founders of the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation. "Thanks to Ken's generous gift, any child who needs surgery at Nicklaus Children's will be able to receive the exceptional care they deserve."

Uniquely designed for the most complex medical cases, Nicklaus Children's serves a diverse population of nearly half a million pediatric patients a year, including 100,000 who need emergency attention and many who require life-saving treatment and surgery. With nearly 70 percent of patients insured by Medicaid, Nicklaus Children's relies on philanthropic support to provide every child with the best treatment available.

In partnership with the hospital's foundation, Nicklaus Children's is embarking on the next phase of its story with a campaign to support the tower and the development of its institutes.

Mr. Griffin's gift is helping to propel those projects and will make an everlasting impact on pediatric care for children in Florida and beyond.

To learn more about supporting Nicklaus Children's Hospital, please visit https://give.nicklauschildrens.org .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Carlos Espinosa, WOW MKTG

[email protected]

786-223-0534

Rachel Perry Bixby, Nicklaus Children's Hospital

[email protected],

305-898-9165

About Nicklaus Children's Hospital (2022)

Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children. The hospital has about 800 attending physicians, including over 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 309-bed medical facility, known as Miami Children's Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. In the 2022-2023 U.S. News ranking, the hospital tied with two other hospitals as the number one children's hospital in Florida. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org .

About Nicklaus Children's Health System

Nicklaus Children's Health System (NCHS) is the parent organization of Nicklaus Children's Hospital, South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children. The 309-bed nonprofit hospital, known as Miami Children's Hospital from 1983 through 2014, was founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International and is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report. The health system also includes Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation, the organization's 501c3 fundraising arm that raises essential funds for Nicklaus Children's.

SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Health System
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nobu Hospitality, the luxury lifestyle brand founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, has signed a management agreement with Enevoria Development FZ-LLC, to develop the Nobu Hotel, Restaurant, and Residences on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. This is the brand's second hotel and residence development in the UAE following the announcement of Abu Dhabi in late 2022.

Announcing Nobu Hotel, Restaurant and Residences Al Marjan Island Signing ceremony for Enevoria, Al Marjan, and Nobu Hospitality, sitting from left to right: Tariq Bsharat - Director of Strategy & Business Development at Marjan, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa - Founder & Partner at Nobu Hospitality, Abdulla Al Abdouli  CEO at Marjan, and Marina Rudneva  Managing Partner of Enevoria Development Signing Ceremony Enevoria, Al Marjan, and Nobu Hospitality, left to right: Tariq Bsharat - Director of Strategy & Business Development at Marjan, Meir Teper - Founder and Partner at Nobu Hospitality, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa - Founder and Partner at Nobu Hospitality, Abdulla Al Abdouli - CEO at Marjan, Marina Rudneva - Managing Partner of Enevoria Development

The Nobu Hotel, Restaurant, and Residences shall be located on the pristine Al Marjan Island, offering over 7.8 km of unspoiled beaches and stunning waterfront views of the Arabian Gulf. Nobu Hotel and Nobu Restaurant will also encompass a spa and fitness facility, swimming pools, and a Nobu beach club. Whether as a residence or holiday home the property will also create a premier lifestyle beach community introducing 300 branded Nobu residences offering exclusive benefits to Nobu residents.

Ras Al Khaimah is the northernmost Emirate steeped in culture and 7,000 years of history located 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport and 25 minutes from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. The Emirate is undergoing a tourism and living transformation with significant development underway. Renowned for its peaceful and leisure setting and endless outdoor recreational activities, the destination is a welcome respite for regional and international travelers and residents.

Evgeniy Yakubovskiy, General Manager Enevoria Development FZ-LLC, said "As high-end property developers, we are delighted to partner with one of the leading and fastest growing global luxury hospitality brands on Al Marjan Island. Our collaboration with Nobu Hospitality will be instrumental in creating a signature international property ensuring impeccable lifestyle that is an integral part of our brand philosophy and a hallmark of Nobu style, combining flawless functionality with ground-breaking design solutions as well as an aesthetic minimalistic elegance."

Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hospitality comments "We are thrilled to be continuing our expansion within the UAE and the vision for Al Marjan Island and Ras Al Khaimah aligns seamlessly with the Nobu brand. The charm of Al Marjan Island is the ideal setting for our guests and in developing a community who are seeking an authentic destination lifestyle and living experience. We are proud to partner with Enevoria on this exciting development and look forward to introducing Nobu Al Marjan Island to guests and residents alike."

www.nobuhotels.com/almarjanisland

SOURCE NOBU HOSPITALITY
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- North County African American Women's Association (NCAAWA) and North Island Credit Union have extended their partnership for a third year, offering scholarships and financial literacy programming to college-bound female students of African American descent in North County San Diego.

Four $2,500 NCAAWA/North Island Credit Union scholarships are available to graduating high school seniors, current ROP, trade school, college and/or graduate students in Carlsbad, Escondido, Fallbrook, Oceanside, San Dieguito, San Marcos and Vista. Special consideration will be given to students pursuing degrees in education.

In addition to the North Island Credit Union scholarships, NCAAWA is providing multiple scholarship programs to qualified North County students. Applications and more information about all NCAAWA scholarships can be found at ncaawa.org/scholarships. Online applications will be accepted through March 31, 2023.

NCAAWA President Linda Simpkins Berry shares, "We are so excited once again to partner with North Island Credit Union; their commitment to higher education is central to breaking generational poverty within our communities. North Island Credit Union was among the first-time scholarship donors during COVID when we were unable to hold our signature scholarship event in 2021, thereby keeping up our 25 year legacy to support college-bound seniors and continuing college students. In addition, we are pleased with the credit union's additional support of our mentoring program for high school girls that also focuses on financial literacy, in addition to leadership development, preparing them to make wise choices when it comes to debt and money management."

North Island Credit Union CEO Steve O'Connell added, "NCAAWA is a tremendous resource in our community, and we are honored to continue our partnership to support its valuable programs that inspire and empower young women in our community. We look forward to helping make the educational dreams of these students come true, while also providing life-long financial skills. We encourage local North County students to apply for one of the NCAAWA scholarships and explore its mentoring programs."

The two organizations also are partnering to provide financial literacy training for upper class high school girls in NCAAWA's Global Ambassadors Mentoring Program. The program empowers young women with leadership skills, understanding in-depth financial literacy and global issues that impact their social and career mobility. North Island Credit Union is providing participants with interactive financial programs and mentoring to teach budgeting, money management, savings, and practical financial life skills, among other topics.

The NCAAWA Vision is to provide a support network through education, health awareness, and life skills programs for women and girls in North San Diego County. To date, NCAAWA has provided over $350,000 in scholarship awards and grants to help young women further their education.

About North County African American Women's Association

Established in 1995, the North County African American Women's Association (NCAAWA) is an all-inclusive non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer organization located in North San Diego County. Its mission is to provide a support network through education, health awareness, and life skills programs for women and girls in San Diego's North County to increase their self-sufficiency. Maintaining its charitable, educational, and recreational objectives, the organization, through its mission, has opened support to all women in San Diego's North County, celebrating ethnic and racial pride.

About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of over $4 billion, California Credit Union has 24 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Please visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu.

SOURCE North Island Credit Union
HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- North Hudson Resource Partners LP ("North Hudson"), a Houston-based energy investment firm, today announced the launch of its inaugural credit fund, North Hudson Energy Credit Partners LP ("NH Energy Credit"). NH Energy Credit seeks to deploy $275 million of capital to support middle-market, North American onshore oil and gas production companies with senior secured loans to refinance existing debt, finance acquisitions, and fund development. NH Energy Credit will primarily provide senior secured loans between $20 and $50 million as well as flexible capital solutions for special situations.

Mark Bisso, North Hudson's Managing Partner, stated, "With the continued pullback by many capital providers in the oil and gas sector - in particular, commercial banks - we are pleased to be able to provide solutions for companies seeking to achieve their strategic objectives. The lack of capital available in the oilpatch is even more acute for small and mid-sized operators, which is a serious impediment to responsible resource development.

"Our Houston-based team brings extensive technical and operational experience as well as expertise in structuring transactions and optimizing business plans. With our roots grounded in private equity, North Hudson seeks to bring a partnership mentality to each transaction and management team," concluded Bisso.

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel for North Hudson.

About North Hudson

North Hudson Resource Partners LP is a Houston-based energy investment firm focused on opportunistic upstream and midstream energy investments in North America. With over $850 million of assets under management, North Hudson's private equity platforms own both non-operated and operated oil and gas assets. Its current portfolio includes interests in over 4,500 wells primarily located in the Permian Basin, DJ Basin, San Juan Basin, and Haynesville Shale. For more information, please visit North Hudson's website at www.northhudsonrp.com.

North Hudson Contact : Andrew Griffith, North Hudson [email protected] Media Contact : Ken Dennard, Dennard Lascar [email protected]

SOURCE North Hudson Energy Credit
In honor of World Nutella Day, Nutella is giving consumers two brand new ways to enjoy The Original Hazelnut Spread

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of fan created holiday, World Nutella Day (February 5th), Nutella is officially announcing the debut of two new products: Nutella B-Ready and Nutella Biscuits. Already beloved by thousands across the world, these delicious offerings are the first innovations to come to the U.S. since Nutella &GO!, which debuted in 2012.

Nutella B-Ready

An irresistible breaktime snack to enjoy anywhere and anytime, Nutella B-Ready is a deliciously light, crispy wafer shell filled with creamy Nutella and sprinkled with puffed wheat crisps. The easy to enjoy individually wrapped treat is the perfect portable snack and will be available in a 2-count pack (SRP: $1.89 ), a 6-count pack (SRP: $3.99 ), and a 36-pack at major club stores later this spring (SRP: $13.99 ).

Nutella Biscuits

Perfect to share with those you love as a mid-afternoon snack or an after-dinner treat, Nutella Biscuits are made from a delicious recipe: a golden baked crunchy biscuit, specially crafted to hold a creamy heart filled with the unique taste of Nutella. These delicious cookies will be available in a 20-count resealable bag (SRP: $4.79 ).

"We are thrilled to be launching Nutella B-Ready and Nutella Biscuits in the U.S., two products that have already received love and accolades across the globe," said Noah Szporn, Senior Vice President of Spreads at Ferrero North America. "In honor of World Nutella Day, a holiday that was created by a fan for our fans, we are excited to double our U.S. portfolio and give our loyal fans two new ways to enjoy their favorite hazelnut spread."

Nutella B-Ready and Nutella Biscuits can be purchased in stores nationwide and online in the cookie and biscuit aisle at major retailers starting this month.

Nutella fans can once again share their love for the brand on Twitter @NutellaUSA and Instagram @Nutella and other social media pages using the hashtag #WorldNutellaDay.

ABOUT WORLD NUTELLA DAY

Since 2007, World Nutella Day has been about worldwide Nutella fans and their love of the world's favorite hazelnut spread. Spontaneously created in 2007 by American blogger Sara Rosso, who decided to create a celebratory day to inspire and unite the global Nutella community to share their passion for Nutella on social media, World Nutella Day quickly became a global phenomenon, as fans everywhere shared their love for Nutella.

ABOUT NUTELLA

Nutella was born in 1964. The unique hazelnut spread that millions of people around the world love, is made with a meticulous selection of high-quality ingredients and an exacting, artisan-inspired production.

Today, the popular hazelnut spread is available in around 160 countries worldwide and has been sold for 58 years.

About Ferrero

The Ferrero Group brings joy to people around the world with beloved treats including Kinder, Nutella, Ferrero Rocher and Tic Tac. Ferrero Group is one of the world's largest sweet-packaged food companies, with over 35 iconic brands sold in more than 170 countries. More than 35,000 "Ferrerians" are committed to helping people celebrate life's special moments with high-quality products. Commitment to the planet and communities in which we operate are at the heart of Ferrero Group's family culture. Our programs and partnerships ensure our work is environmentally sustainable and beneficial to local communities.

Ferrero entered the North American market in 1969 and has grown to more than 5,100 employees in 15 plants and warehouses, and eight offices in North America across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It has expanded its presence and portfolio with the addition of iconic brands such as Butterfinger, CRUNCH, Keebler, Famous Amos, Mother's Cookies, and other distinctive cookie and chocolate brands. Follow @FerreroNACorp on Twitter and Instagram. www.ferreronorthamerica.com.

CONTACT: Jaclyn Giuliano, [email protected]

SOURCE Ferrero North America
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oakworth Capital Bank's (Oakworth) (OTCQX: OAKC) Central Carolinas location is expected to open its doors by mid-year and uniquely suits the company's mission to serve privately held businesses, professionals and families in the Charlotte area.

With ease of access for clients and associates in mind, the new office will be situated on the first floor in the SouthPark Towers at 6000 Fairview Road, Suite 125 in Charlotte. The approximately 7,500-square-foot space will accommodate conference suites and offices for Oakworth's clients and associates.

Oakworth Capital Bank Enters Central Carolinas Market Tim Beck in front of South Park building Oakworth Capital Bank Market Leader, Tim Beck

Oakworth's Central Carolinas Market Leader Tim Beck explains, "Calling one of SouthPark's iconic buildings home is a perfect fit for Oakworth, a company building an iconic brand and business model around the Southeast. SouthPark Towers provides great accessibility from multiple entry and exit points, not to mention it has both surface and covered parking.

"Unlike other financial services companies, our business model doesn't incorporate multiple locations within a market. Oakworth associates typically meet our clients at their home or business. When clients prefer to meet in our office, having a strategically convenient and centrally located office is important. The SouthPark area provides the ideal location for clients and associates, and I can't think of a better location."

Cushman & Wakefield represented Oakworth in selecting the property, while CBRE Inc. represented SouthPark Towers PropCo. LLC. Oakworth is currently working with design and architect partner KPS Group to build out the office space. Each Oakworth market location has a nearly identical look and feel, from the bank lobby, to flooring, to art, glass conference rooms and beyond.

Subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals, the office will operate as a full-service branch.

Related Media:

Photos: Central Carolinas Market Leader Tim Beck at SouthPark Towers

at SouthPark Towers Photo: Inspiration photo of what our Central Carolinas office will look like.

Video: Inspiration video of what our Central Carolinas office will look like.

About Oakworth Capital Bank

Oakworth Capital, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Oakworth Capital Bank (Oakworth) (OTCQX: OAKC). Oakworth was founded in 2008 and operates four branches in the Southeast, including its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Oakworth provides commercial and private banking, wealth management and advisory services to clients across the United States.

Oakworth has been named the #1 "Best Bank to Work for" for the past five years in a row (2018-2022) by American Banker. Additionally, Oakworth has earned a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 96 out of 100 (January 2022 to January 2023) and has a client retention rate of 95% in 2022. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Oakworth had $1.3 billion in total assets, $974 million in gross loans, $1.2 billion in deposits and $1.8 billion in wealth and trust assets under management. For more information, visit www.oakworth.com.

For more information contact:

Sonia Blumstein

Phone: 205-271-2017

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Oakworth Capital Bank
Changes include revival of Ocean Optics name for company's signature spectrometer products

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Insight, the Applied Spectral Knowledge company, has announced a brand restructuring that relaunches the company's iconic Ocean Optics brand of compact spectrometers while accommodating its growing portfolio of complementary photonics technologies.

Under the master brand of Ocean Insight, the global photonics company will now provide optical sensing solutions through three industry-leading brands: Ocean Optics, which pioneered miniature spectrometers and delivers spectral solutions to researchers, OEMs and industrial customers; Ocean Applied, which designs and builds industrial-grade photonics systems for material inspection, chemical identification and quality assurance; and International Light, which supplies lighting assemblies, light measurement solutions and calibration services.

We are better equipped to deliver world-class optical sensing solutions for diverse customers and their challenges. Tweet this

"We're excited to restore the Ocean Optics brand, which has been associated with leadership in compact spectroscopy for decades," said Dr. Michael Edwards, President of Ocean Insight. "The addition of the Ocean Applied and International Light brands strengthens our portfolio and provides clarity for customers. We are better equipped than ever to deliver world-class optical sensing solutions for a diverse range of customers and measurement challenges."

The Ocean Applied brand evolved from the company's long history of providing complete systems and subsystems for customers. This capability was boosted in 2019 by the addition of FluxData in-line imaging technologies and later enhanced with the development of robust colorimetric and Raman products, and both standalone and handheld LIBS analyzers.

International Light as a new brand acknowledges the origins of International Light Technologies, the successor to the merged companies International Light and Gilway Technical Lamp, acquired by Ocean Insight in February 2022. The streamlined brand represents a trusted source of calibrated light measurement systems, ISO 17025 accredited calibration services, specialized light sources for instrumentation and sensing applications, and customized lighting solutions.

Ocean Insight has sales, service, engineering, and ISO-certified manufacturing operations in United States, throughout Europe, and across the Asia Pacific region. Its company headquarters in Orlando, Florida, was named to the Orlando Business Journal's 2022 Best Places to Work as one of Central Florida's best employers. Ocean Insight is a subsidiary of Halma plc, a global group of life-saving technology companies.

To learn more, visit OceanInsight.com.

SOURCE Ocean Insight
Setting Sail in 2025, Vista's Sister Ship is the Line's Second Allura Class Ship

MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceania Cruises , the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, introduces Allura today, naming the second 1,200-guest Allura Class ship. Debuting in 2025, Allura is the eighth vessel for the line and will be the sister ship to Vista, which sets sail in May 2023.

Allura Allura Grand Staircase

Named to reflect the excitement of starting an immersive new journey, Allura will entice guests to discover some of the world's most captivating locations, enjoying the freedom of exploration while sailing the open seas. Allura represents the eternal call of the mysterious and the unknown. The luxurious new vessel will bring travelers a world of enchantment where new adventures, familiar faces, off-the-beaten-path destinations and more await.

"At Oceania Cruises, we are always looking for ways to evolve, elevate and modernize our offerings to continuously surprise and delight our discerning guests as they enjoy immersive new experiences," said Frank A. Del Rio, President of Oceania Cruises. "We are thrilled with the incredible demand we have witnessed for Allura's sister ship, Vista, with her 2023 maiden season already sold out, and we know Allura will be equally as popular with our guests.

The arrival of any new ship is the ideal time to look closely at what we offer travelers. As we prepare to welcome Allura to the family, we have already started planning exciting new elements to be added across the fleet."

In true Oceania Cruises style, Allura will serve The Finest Cuisine at Sea, boast exceptionally personalized service with warm and welcoming staff, and feature captivating residential furnishings and decor as she sails a variety of destination-rich itineraries. Measuring approximately 67,000 tons, Allura will accommodate 1,200 guests and be staffed by 800 officers and crew, offering industry-leading space and staff-to-guest ratios.

Allura highlights include an array of inventive new dining experiences including Ember, an upscale signature restaurant serving reimagined American classics, and Aquamar Kitchen, both debuting on Vista in May, as well as the largest standard staterooms and a new Chef's Studio.

Currently under construction by renowned shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A. in Italy, the all-veranda vessel will sail her maiden voyage in spring 2025.

Details of Allura's inaugural season, which will feature an intriguing array of marquee and boutique destinations across Europe and the Americas, will be revealed this spring before going on sale in the summer.

Del Rio added, "Allura's inaugural journeys are designed to appeal to all global travelers, whether they revel in the joy that comes with reconnecting with favorite destinations or are excited to discover new places and sights for the very first time."

For additional information on Oceania Cruises' small-ship luxury product, exquisitely crafted cuisine and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA or speak with a professional travel advisor.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's seven small, luxurious ships carry a maximum of 1,238 guests and feature the finest cuisine at sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 600 marquee and boutique ports in more than 100 countries on 7 continents on voyages that range from 7 to more than 200 days. The brand has a second 1,200-guest newbuild, Allura, on order for delivery in 2025. With headquarters in Miami, Oceania Cruises is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a diversified cruise operator of leading global cruise brands which include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 29 ships with over 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to more than 500 destinations worldwide. The Company has eight additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising of over 20,000 berths.

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
DALLAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Optym, a leader in trucking optimization & AI solutions, announced today that Cargo Chief, a top provider of procurement and pricing software platform for freight brokers, have integrated their real-time pricing engine into Optym's recently-released LoadOps Carrier TMS.

LoadOps is leveling the playing field in negotiations between carriers, brokers, and shippers with the help of Cargo Chief's leading market rate pricing. Through this integration, LoadOps TMS carriers will be able to benefit from the same market rate lane data that brokers are already leveraging through Cargo Chief's C4 platform.

"Together, Optym and Cargo Chief are connecting the trucking industry to better data." Tweet this

"With the extreme cycles we've seen across the trucking industry, it's vital carriers have access to better data. Our carrier partners already have industry-leading access to loads through our integrations with the biggest load boards. Now we can show them fair market rate for their work." Optym Senior Vice President of Sales & Partnerships Craig Balzer said. "We are proud to partner with Cargo Chief in an effort to support our carriers with the tools that will keep their operations on the path of prosperity."

With over 600,000 carriers in its network, Cargo Chief offers the first real-time pricing engine for freight brokers with pricing based on the finalized rates people have paid, not quotes or proposed prices. As carriers search for loads, the LoadOps TMS provides market rates in line with a probability score, allowing carriers to quickly determine which loads are best for their business.

"Together, Optym and Cargo Chief are connecting the trucking industry to better data," Cargo Chief CEO Russ Jones said. "Our mutual goal is to empower the freight industry with the best possible decisions."

LoadOps Carriers experience advanced automations and integrations with the largest freight marketplaces, factoring companies, and ELDs. Through these integrations LoadOps carriers have the tools they need to scale their operations and drive new levels of sustainable growth.

About Cargo Chief

Cargo Chief provides the most powerful truckload procurement platform, enabling logistics companies to expand capacity, gain insights into real-time market rates, and automate carrier outreach through digital freight matching. For more information, visit www.cargochief.com.

About Optym

Optym delivers proven optimization and AI technology to many of the largest and most complex networks in the transportation business through easy-to-use software. For more information, visit http://www.optym.com/.

SOURCE Cargo Chief
SHANGHAI, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oricell Therapeutics Co., Ltd (Oricell), an innovative pharmaceutical company committed to the development of clinical-stage oncology cell therapies, today announced publication of data from a clinical study evaluating the efficacy of OriCAR-017, an autologous GPRC5D-directed CAR-T cell therapy, in the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in an article entitled "Phase 1 Open-Label Single-Centre Single Arm Study of GPRC5D CAR T Cells(OriCAR-017) in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (POLARIS)" in The Lancet Haematology (2022 impact factor: 30.153).

The POLARIS study, the first-in-human study of OriCAR-017, explores the safety, tolerability and preliminary anti-tumor efficacy for a single intravenous infusion of OriCAR-017 in patients with RRMM (NCT05016778). As of June 30, 2022, the study had showed exciting clinical results for OriCAR-017 in the treatment of 10 patients with RRMM:

Median follow-up time : 238 days (range: 99-345 days)





: 238 days (range: 99-345 days) Safety : Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), serious adverse events (SAEs), neurotoxicity and deaths were not observed. The common treatment-emergent AEs were Grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicities, including neutropenia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed in all patients (9 patients in G1 and one patient in G2).





: Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), serious adverse events (SAEs), neurotoxicity and deaths were not observed. The common treatment-emergent AEs were Grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicities, including neutropenia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed in all patients (9 patients in G1 and one patient in G2). Preliminary clinical efficacy : the study revealed an impressive 100% overall response rate, with 60% stringent complete response and 40% very good partial response. All patients (100%) achieved MRD negative (10-5/ml). Additionally, of the 5 patients who relapsed after BCMA CAR T-cell therapy, 2 achieved stringent complete response and 3 achieved very good partial response. At the date cut-off time, the mPFS (median progression-free survival) has not yet been reached; for the 2 patients who had disease progression, one with GPRC5D-positive while the other one with GPRC5D-negative.

"Advances in the treatment of R/RMM, including the introduction of immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies as well as stem cell transplantation, have prolonged survival in R/RMM patients, the disease remains a clinically incurable plasma cell neoplasm," said Prof. He Huang, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University. "Nevertheless, almost all R/RMM patients eventually experience one or more relapses, with poorer survival outcomes for those with high-risk cytogenetic characteristics or refractory diseases. Data from our study showed that with extraordinary clinical efficacy, OriCAR-017 has been proved to be a novel, safe and effective therapy for patients with R/RMM, especially for those who experienced a relapse after receiving BCMA-targeted therapy. We are looking forward to continuously conducting follow-up clinical studies of OriCAR-017 in concert with Oricell."

"OriCAR-017 has demonstrated 100% ORR and controllable safety in the POLARIS study, providing a solid foundation for Oricell's subsequent registration of clinical studies," stated Helen Yang, Chairman and CEO of Oricell. "The firm is in the process of submitting an application in the US and China for the registration of clinical studies of OriCAR-017 while advancing the therapy to critical phases of clinical research as soon as possible."

About OriCAR-017

OriCAR-017, one of the key therapies developed by Oricell based on the company's two proprietary technology platforms OriAb and OriCAR, is a GPRC5D-targeted CAR T-Cell therapy used to treat relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

In June 2022, Oricell announced data from Phase I POLARIS clinical trial conducted by investigators in China at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting for 2022. As of April 30, 2022, all evaluable data of the study had showed 100% ORR as well as 100% minimal residual disease (MRD) negative rate as measured by flow cytometry (10-5) at day 28 after infusion in all participators, including those who relapsed following the BCMA CAR-T therapy.

In October 2022, OriCAR-017 received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of RRMM.

Currently, the company is accelerating the registration of the therapy in both China and the US.

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM), one of the most common blood cancers, is a malignant disease of abnormal proliferation of clonal plasma cells. For newly treated MM patients, commonly used first-line treatment drugs include proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs and alkylating agents. For most patients, the commonly used first-line treatments can stabilize the patient's condition for 3-5 years, but a small number of patients show primary drug resistance at initial treatment, and the disease cannot be effectively controlled. Most of the newly treated patients with effective treatment will inevitably enter the relapse and refractory stage after the stable disease period. Therefore, there is still an unmet clinical need for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. In the United States, MM accounts for nearly 2% of all new cancer cases and more than 2% of cancer deaths. (For more information, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33498356/ )

About Oricell

Oricell Therapeutics was founded in 2015 as an innovative biopharmaceutical company in China. It is committed to developing tumor cellular immunotherapeutics through its own innovative technology platforms. Oricell has applied for 91 invention patents (including 6 PCT), with 10 already granted.

Oricell Therapeutics' mission is to develop affordable drugs for unmet clinical needs worldwide. It has built several proprietary technology platforms based on tumor cell immunotherapy, including OriAb and OriCAR. Oricell Therapeutics has broken through several of the bottlenecks facing CAR-T for solid tumors in terms of antibody engineering construction technology, tumor immune microenvironment regulation, T cell infiltration and killing ability. Oricell has presented the clinical research data of its proprietary CAR-T cell therapy targeting GPRC5D (OriCar-017) for the treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (R/R MM) reported in oral presentation at ASCO 2022 annual meeting and the product has received orphan drug designation by US FDA. The company developed the first CAR-T product targeting GPC-3 with positive data from an exploratory clinical study, which was presented at ASCO 2021. Its first independently-developed immune checkpoint (PD-L1/4-1BB) bispecific antibody drug YN051 (ATG101) was licensed to Antengene Corporation (B.6996) for a down payment + milestone of US$142 million for continued development. The program has received approvals in Australia, the U.S. and China for clinical trials, and completed the first patient dosing in Australia and China.

Currently, Oricell Therapeutics has over 10 cellular drug pipelines for solid tumor therapies. Oricell focuses on indications with a wide range of therapeutic needs, including liver, ovarian, gastric, cervical and non-small cell lung cancer, as well as multiple myeloma. With the corporate goal of becoming an innovation-driven global leader in the creation of new tumor immunotherapeutics, Oricell Therapeutics has established an international product development and operations management team, as well as GMP-compliant manufacturing facilities and quality testing and management systems, to continue to explore and develop therapeutically effective, differentiated and affordable drugs through its own innovative technology platforms. The company seeks to create new opportunities for the development of innovative China-made drugs. Oricell has raised over $120 million USD in series B financing this July.

SOURCE Oricell Therapeutics
KIHEI, Hawaii and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Orthogonal Thinker Inc., a socially conscious holding company, is pleased to announce the opening of its latest Regulation D fundraising round to raise up to $10 million USD to expand its exposure into new and existing verticals and to accelerate its liquidity pathway.

Orthogonal plans to use the funds to continue to scale its operations and strategic partnerships into its main verticals: Wellness, Web 3.0, FinTech, and Space.

Orthogonal Thinker Fundraising

"Since founding the company, we've built Orthogonal's interests into over three dozen companieseach with a unique team and offering," explains cofounder and CEO David Nikzad. "The crazy thing is, we're just getting started. Thanks to depressed market conditions, we see more opportunity now than ever to continue building our global Ohana (family)."

Orthogonal Thinker was founded on the shores of Hawaii and has since expanded into the U.S. mainland and abroad. "Orthogonal has always been a socially conscious holding company. We accelerate the growth of our companies through strategic capital infusion, mentorship, and access to our community as well as other business resources," explains co-founder and COO Jason Hobson. "This Regulation D offering is another way for us to continue to build from a position of strength and to allow our investors diversified exposure to our current and future holdings."

Orthogonal plans to continue exploring various paths to liquidity for shareholders. "Some of our shareholders have been part of our ohana since the early days. As the business continues to grow and evolve, we want to explore various pathways to liquidity options for those that have supported our mission," Nikzad concludes.

For investors in previous financing rounds, those investments have been converted into shares of Orthogonal Thinker at a share price of $23.27.

Powered by the industry leading funding platform, KoreConX, this Regulation D financing round is only open to accredited U.S. investors. The raise is being done at a $222 million valuation via a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity).

To be considered an accredited investor, one must meet one of the following criteria:

An annual income exceeding $200,000 ( $300,000 for joint income) for the last two years.

( for joint income) for the last two years. A net worth exceeding $1 million either individually, or jointly with their spouse

Interested parties can find more information at https://www.orthogonalthinker.com.

About Orthogonal Thinker

Orthogonal Thinker Inc. is a socially conscious holding company that creates strategic alliances with companies in verticals it feels strongly about. These verticals include Wellness, Web 3.0, Fintech and Space. The current Orthogonal Thinker portfolio includes more than three dozen strategic partnerships as Orthogonal continues to embrace its ethos of becoming the leading socially conscious holding company in the world.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

The offering materials may contain forward-looking statements and information relating to, among other things, Orthogonal Thinker, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to the company's management. When used in the offering materials, the words "estimate", "project", "believe", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which constitute forward looking statements. These statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Orthogonal Thinker actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Orthogonal Thinker does not undertake any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after such date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact:

Sevag Manoukian

808-210-6988

[email protected]

SOURCE Orthogonal Thinker Inc.
The leader in last and middle-mile logistics with autonomous vehicles in Spain is partnering with the first fully autonomous delivery robot for making deliveries to consumers in Spain

NEW YORK and MADRID, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ottonomy.IO and Goggo announce their partnership for last-mile deliveries in Spain and Europe. This is the first time in Europe that a fully L4 autonomous robot will be traveling on public sidewalks to deliver commercial goods to consumers. Goggo has already started its deliveries with Ottobots in the cities of Alcobendas and Zaragoza, and will be expanding to other European cities soon.

Ottonomy.IO and Goggo announce their partnership for last-mile deliveries in Spain and Europe Ottobot making delivery in Spain

Goggo Network, the European leader in last and middle-mile logistics with Autonomous Vehicles and Robots, is expanding its current fleet of robots and Autonomous Vehicles for last-mile deliveries of its partner network of retailers and restaurants with the Ottobot, the autonomous robot developed by Ottonomy. With an initial fleet of Ottobots in Alcobendas and Zaragoza, Goggo expects to grow its fleet of Ottobots in Spain and Europe as new operating areas expand.

"Now with Ottonomy in our fleet, we continue building our unique, innovative and sustainable last and middle-mile logistics services with autonomous vehicles and robots in Europe '', says Yasmine, co-founder and COO of Goggo Network. "We selected Ottonomy.IO because of its leadership in building fully autonomous delivery robots. We are happy to integrate the Ottobot into our AV fleet, as it provides an extremely safe and efficient mode to reach customers to our network of retailers and restaurants."

Ottonomy.IO is a recipient of the 2021 Sustainability Product of the Year award by Business Intelligent Awards, Ottobot was officially launched in January 2022 as the first fully autonomous delivery robot. Following that, the Ottobot 2.0 was released in August 2022, and in January 2023, the Ottobot Yeti, the first fully autonomous robot capable of making unattended deliveries, was launched. Ottonomy has led the autonomous robot market with solutions for retailers, restaurants and e-commerce delivery with its diverse capability for airport, curbside, first and last mile delivery solutions.

"We are continuing our work to create sustainable and efficient solutions for all parts of the supply chain," says Ritukar, co-founder and CEO of Ottonomy. "We chose Goggo for its unique position as an AV-specialized logistics operator and leadership in the EU, which unlocks high growth potential and scalability, and allows us to improve the functionality and accessibility of the Ottobot for end users worldwide."

For more company information visit https:// www.ottonomy.io or download the Ottonomy Press Kit .

About Ottonomy.IO

Ottonomy is a US startup and has built a best-in-class robot capable of fully autonomous deliveries in both indoor and outdoor environments.The co-founding team comes with combined experience of more than 50 years in autonomous vehicles, robotics and AI. Ottonomy is the first company in the world to use robots for deliveries inside an airport and has developed a proprietary platform enabling their robots to be fully autonomous without requiring any teleoperation support.

About Goggo

Goggo Network was founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky and Yasmine Fage to become the largest logistics operator focused on autonomous and electric fleets in EMEA, by building a Hybrid network of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and Robots for cargo transport, also addressing key environmental aspects like pollution and traffic. To achieve this vision, Goggo has raised over 24 million in Venture Capital funding so far from Softbank and Axel Springer Ventures, and has developed a proprietary platform to automate the logistic chain processes with AVs and robots. For more company information visit https://www.goggo.network

Media Contact:

Jasmine Stanley

949-264-3211

[email protected]

SOURCE Ottonomy.io
Travelers can fly free on 17 adventures from leader in solo travel

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelers who dream of spending the night on an Icelandic horse farm, getting up close to rare mountain gorillas, or visiting the fairytale landscapes of Turkey's Cappadocia this year are in luck. Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) , the leader in personalized small group and solo travel for Americans ages 50 and older, announced free airfare on select summer and fall 2023 departures of its Small Group Adventures. The offer is valid through March 3, 2023.

Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) offers free airfare on select summer & fall departures of its Small Group Adventures. Tweet this Overseas Adventure Travel offers free airfare to Sicily, just one of 17 Small Group Adventures this summer and fall.

Travelers can take advantage of free airfare with O.A.T. on four Small Group Adventures in Northern Europe and five African Safari Adventures this summer, and eight Small Group Adventures this fall.

O.A.T. provides travelers ages 50 and older with impactful, intercultural experiences that help change people's lives. O.A.T. fosters an intimate and accessible experience, with groups limited to 16 travelers (average of 13) by land and 25 (average of 22) by sea.

Free Airfare on Northern Europe Adventures include:

Fjord Cruise & Lapland: Norway , Finland & the Arctic Circle

, & the Arctic Circle New! Scotland Revealed: Legends, Lochs & Highland Landscapes

Irish Adventure: Dublin , Belfast & the Northwest Countries

, Belfast & the Northwest Countries Enhanced! Untamed Iceland

Free Airfare on African Safari Adventures include:

Ultimate Africa : Botswana , Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari

: , & Zimbabwe Safari Southern Africa Safari & Lake Kariba Cruise: South Africa , Zimbabwe & Botswana

, & New! Kenya & Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti

& Tanzania Safari: Masai Mara to the Serengeti Rwanda : Mountain Gorillas in the Land of a Thousand Hills

: Mountain Gorillas in the Land of a Thousand Hills Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Tented Safari

Free Airfare on Fall Adventures include:

Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions

Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions Morocco Sahara Odyssey

Crossroads of the Adriatic: Croatia , Montenegro , Bosnia & Herzegovina , and Slovenia

, , , and Japan's Cultural Treasures

Cultural Treasures Northern Italy : The Alps, Dolomites & Lombardy

: The Alps, Dolomites & Northern Spain & Portugal : Pilgrimage into the Past

& : Pilgrimage into the Past Turkey's Magical Hideaways

Magical Hideaways Ancient Egypt & the Nile River

Solo savings

Sixty percent (60%) of O.A.T. travelers are solos, and solo travelers can take advantage of these savings, too. For 2023, O.A.T. has single spaces still availableall with free or low-cost single supplements. O.A.T. recently reported that the number of solo travelers reserving for 2023 was up 24% compared to 2019.

For 2023, 30,000 solo travelers have already reserved to travel with the company. Solos with O.A.T. feel safe and secure, traveling with like-minded travelers in a small group. A local Trip Experience leader accompanies the group throughout the trip, providing suggestions and insider tips along the way.

Interested travelers in free airfare to Northern Europe and African safaris this summer or free airfare this fall should call 1-800-955-1925 to reserve by March 3, 2023.

To learn more about O.A.T., please visit www.oattravel.com or call 1-800-955-1925.

ABOUT OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Established in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) is part of Boston-based Grand Circle Corporation's family of travel companies, which also include Grand Circle Cruise Line and Grand Circle Travel. In 1992, owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation to support communities in which Grand Circle works and travels, including some 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwideamong them, 100 schools, in 50 countries. The Foundation is an entity of the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation, which has pledged or donated more than $250 million since 1981.

SOURCE Overseas Adventure Travel
Plus, satisfy your sweet tooth with Chocolate-Inspired Creations

ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Perkins Restaurant and Bakery , a leading family-dining restaurant, is bringing back their popular Butcher Block menu. Starting February 15, Perkins restaurants will be featuring six hearty entrees loaded with steak and teeming with flavor. The Butcher Block meals start at just $9.99 in selected markets. Prices may vary by location.

"We are delighted to bring back our Butcher Block menu and offer guests homestyle meals that are hearty and full of flavor," said Alison Glenn Delaney , Chief Brand Officer for Ascent Hospitality Management, parent company to Perkins Restaurant & Bakery. "We've taken quality meats and let them shine in these meals that can be enjoyed any time."

The latest Butcher Block menu features these offerings.

Country Fried Steak & Eggs: Lightly breaded steak topped with country-style cream gravy. This breakfast classic is served with two eggs, choice of hash browns or breakfast potatoes and choice of three buttermilk pancakes, fresh baked Mammoth Muffin  or buttered toast.

or buttered toast. Pigs in a Blanket: Three pork sausage links are grilled and each wrapped in a warm, fluffy buttermilk pancake. This meal is served with two eggs and a choice of hash browns or breakfast potatoes.

Hearty Man's Combo: This hearty combo features two eggs, smoked sausage, two Applewood smoked bacon strips and two sausage links. This is all served with crispy hash browns or breakfast potatoes and choice of three buttermilk pancakes, fresh baked Mammoth Muffin  or buttered toast.

or buttered toast. Top Sirloin Steak Dinner: A USDA Choice 6 oz. grilled steak is topped with garlic butter and served with two dinner sides.

Steak Quesadilla: Grilled steak tips, diced onions and green peppers are melted with American and Pepper Jack cheeses in a crispy flour tortilla. The Steak Quesadilla is served with sour cream and salsa.

Steak & Peppers Skillet: USDA steak tips with tender red bell peppers, grilled red onions, mushrooms and a rich beef gravy served over breakfast potatoes.

The Butcher Block menu is available for a limited time at all Perkins restaurants.

A Chocolate Explosion

The beloved Perkins bakery is all in on chocolate and ready to satisfy your sweet cravings with a lineup featuring chocolate-inspired creations: Chocolate French Silk Pie, Chocolate Overload Cake, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mammoth Muffins. Bakery items may be enjoyed with dine-in meals or purchased for to-go.

It is now easier than ever for guests to enjoy Perkins favorites, as all entrees and bakery treats are available for dine-in, curbside pickup and delivery by visiting www.PerkinsToGo.com . For more information, contact your local Perkins location or visit https://www.perkinsrestaurants.com/menu .

About Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Founded in 1958 as a single pancake house, Perkins has more than 270 company-owned and franchised locations across 32 states and Canada. This legacy brand has transformed to become legendary and was named a Top 50 Privately Held Chain by FSR magazine.

Perkins offers an expansive menu that includes breakfast favorites, and with breakfast served all day, people can get exactly what they want with the signature Build-Your-Own Breakfast. The menu also features hearty homestyle entrees along with a selection of soups and salads, as well as the Bottomless Pot of Coffee. The Perkins iconic in-store bakery offers a wide selection of pies and other treats, including the signature Mammoth Muffins. All the Perkins menu and Bakery items are available to order online at perkinstogo.com.

As a leading full-service concept within the FSR space, Perkins continues to grow its corporate presence and with multi-unit franchise operators by offering a number of flexible build options.

To learn more about Perkins franchise opportunities, visit https://perkinsfranchising.com .

Photos: HERE

MEDIA CONTACT:

[email protected]

305.631.2283

SOURCE Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
Expansion of the electronics sector, and an increase in demand for porous silicon substrates across various industry verticals drive the global porous silicon substrates market growth. By end user, the consumer electronics segment would dominate during the forecast period.

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Porous Silicon Substrates Market By Type (Microporous Silicon Substrate, Mesoporous Silicon Substrate, and Macroporous Silicon Substrate), and End User (Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031", According to the report, the global porous silicon substrates industry generated $5.1 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $10.5 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 7.6% from 2022 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/47673

Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities

Benefits offered by porous silicon substrates such as process development, efficient solutions, bio-compatibility silicon, environmental monitoring, photo-electrochemical cells, and buffer layer in heteroepitaxy among others, expansion of the electronics sector, and an increase in demand for porous silicon substrates across various industry verticals drive the growth of the global porous silicon substrates market. However, stringent regulatory policies for silicone and lack of standard techniques to produce and develop TFET (tunnel field-effect transistor) devices might hamper the global market growth. On the other hand, the growing trend of cost-effective porous silicon substrates along with technological advancements are expected to open new opportunities for the players in the porous silicon substrates market during the forecast period.

Report Coverage and Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $5.1 billion Market Size in 2031 $10.5 billion CAGR 7.6 % No. of Pages in Report 147 Segments Covered Type, End User, and Region Drivers Expansion of the electronics sector Increase in demand for porous silicon substrates across various industry verticals Opportunities The advent of 5G mobile communication Restraints Stringent regulatory policies for silicone



COVID-19 Scenario:

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the porous silicon substrate market. The extended lockdowns led to the shutdown of production and manufacturing facilities and shortage of labor around the world.

In addition, the pandemic resulted in the disruption of global supply chain, creating a significant gap in the supply chain. The financial impact of the pandemic was devastating. The major players operating in the porous silicon substrate industry faced challenges due to a lack of skilled specialists to develop porous silicon substrate solutions, leading to a decrease in turnover in the financial year, 2020-2021.

However, the market recovered post 2021 and will remain in the growth phase during the forecast period.

The microporous silicon substrate segment to dominate during the forecast period

Based on type, the microporous silicon substrate segment was the largest market in 2021, contributing to more than two-fifths of the global porous silicon substrates market, and is expected to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. The same segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 8.73% from 2022 to 2031. This is because highly microporous silicon is advantageous for a number of specific applications such as hydrogen storage, catalysis, gettering, explosives, and gas sensing.

The consumer electronics segment to maintain a prominent growth during the forecast period

Based on end user, the consumer electronics segment held the largest market share of half of the global porous silicon substrates market in 2021 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The same segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 8.48% from 2022 to 2031. This is due to the wide usage of porous silicon substrates in the consumer electronics industry. Basic products like smartphones, computers, laptops, digital cameras, DVDs, tablets, and printers to more advanced ones like camcorders, smart televisions, and wearable electronic devices are from the consumer electronics industry.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2031

Based on region, Asia-Pacific was the largest market in 2021, capturing nearly half of the global porous silicon substrates market, and is expected to lead in terms of revenue in 2031. The same market would manifest the fastest CAGR of 8.22% during the forecast period. This is due to the availability of massive power plants, the rising demand for power modules, and the expansion of the population in the region.

Interested to Procure the Data? Inquire Here (Get Full Insights in PDF - 147 Pages): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/47673

Leading Market Players

Refractron Technologies Corp

NGK Spark Plug

NORITAKE CO. LIMITED

Porous Silicon

Kollex Company Ltd.

Siltronix Silicon Technologies

SmartMembranes GmbH

Sanghai Famous Trade Co. Ltd.

Microchemicals GmbH

Tetreon Technologies Ltd. (Thermco Systems)

The report analyzes these key players of the global porous silicon substrates market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and developments by every market player.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders:

This study comprises an analytical depiction of the porous silicon substrates market size along with the current trends and future estimations to depict the imminent investment pockets.

The overall porous silicon substrate market analysis is determined to understand the profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.

The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities with a detailed impact analysis.

The porous silicon substrates market forecast is quantitatively analyzed from 2022 to 2031 to benchmark financial competency.

Porter's five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the smart display.

The report includes the share of key vendors and market trends.

Porous Silicon Substrates Market Key Segments:

By Type:

Microporous Silicon Substrate

Mesoporous Silicon Substrate

Macroporous Silicon Substrate

By End User:

Consumer Electronics

Healthcare

Others

By Region:

North America (U.S., Canada , and Mexico )

(U.S., , and ) Europe (U.K., Germany , France , Italy , Spain , Russia , Netherlands , Belgium , Poland , and Rest of Europe )

(U.K., , , , , , , , , and Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , South Korea , Australia , Malaysia , Thailand , Philippines , Indonesia , and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

( , , , , , , , , , and Rest of ) LAMEA ( Latin America , Middle East and Africa )

Buy this Research Report at Discounted Price @ https://bit.ly/3l0rQ2w

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Silicon on Insulator Market By Wafer Size (200 mm and 300 mm), Wafer Type (RF-SOI, FD-SOI, PD-SOI, and Others), Technology (BESOI, SiMOX, Smart Cut, ELTRAN, and SoS), Product (RF FEM, MEMS, Power, Optical Communication, and Image Sensing), and Application (Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Datacom & Telecom, Industrial, Photonics, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027

Avalanche Photodiode Market By Material (Silicon Materials, Germanium Materials, InGaAs Materials, and Others), and End User (Industrial, Aerospace & Defense, Telecommunication, Healthcare, Commercial, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027

Silicon EPI Wafer Market By Type (Heteroepitaxy and Homoepitaxy), Wafer Size (6-inch, 8-inch, 12-inch, and Others) Application (LED, Power Semiconductor, and MEMS-Based Devices), and Industry Vertical (Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Healthcare, Industrial, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

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We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PrescriberPoint , a digital marketplace where Healthcare Providers ("HCPs") can find all of the resources and support they need in one place to get their patients on therapy, for any FDA or OTC-approved medication, announced its Series Seed investment today. Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer Inc., Adobe Inc., and Mastercard Incorporated participated in the round.

PrescriberPoint raises significant growth investment from Lilly, Pfizer, Adobe, and Mastercard. Tweet this PrescriberPoint Reimagines the Traditional HCP-Pharma Engagement Model

PrescriberPoint is creating a digital ecosystem based on a "pull" (vs. "push") model where HCPs can access all the support they need from life science, insurance and pharmacy companies industry-wide, on their terms, in one place. Providers have access to product information , coverage and affordability details , and support to help streamline their prescribing workflow and save their practice valuable time.

Dan Cornwell, CEO of PrescriberPoint, said: "We are on a mission to get patients on therapy more efficiently by connecting HCPs with the right resources at the right time. We believe an industry-wide, aggregation approach is what HCPs need to deal with the incredibly fragmented and frustrating challenge today of working with so many pharmaceutical, insurance, and pharmacy companies to navigate coverage details and affordability options for their patients.

"We see what we're doing as similar to what other innovative companies did in equally fragmented industries such as travel, real estate, automotive and financial services where 'one-stop' became the basis of a better customer experience. We are excited to work with our investors to bring this ecosystem to life and solve the challenges HCPs and their patients face every day."

The American Medical Association reported that medical practices spend an average of two business days a week per physician prescribing therapies that have coverage restrictions and affordability challenges associated with them. This enormous administrative burden typically falls on doctors and their staff and often also delays patient care.

"Lilly is committed to helping patients get access to medications," said Diogo Rau, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Eli Lilly and Company. "PrescriberPoint strips frustrating barriers healthcare providers face getting patients on therapy. Whether it is getting drug information, forms and resources, support for insurance and affordability restrictions, or even initial doses, PrescriberPoint reimagines a simpler, faster approach."

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shifted the way HCPs get information and support from life sciences companies by limiting in-person access to healthcare facilities. However, given the pace that new, truly breakthrough therapies are coming onto the market, providers still want to hear about these new treatments. They consider prescribing support from pharmaceutical companies and other institutions, if delivered in the right way, as helpful as ever.

Ryan Steinberger, Senior Vice President of Digital Partners and Product Management at Pfizer, added: "Pfizer is committed to transforming the way we engage with healthcare providers  a bold initiative requires cooperation from the entire life sciences industry. Pfizer's venture capital group is excited to fund PrescriberPoint's platform, leveraging technology so that we can deliver breakthroughs for patients faster and with more precision."

"Adobe's mission is to change the world through digital experiences. We're proud to partner with companies across every industry to transform their business digitally and deliver personalized, impactful experiences to their customers," said Hannah Elsakr, Vice President, Corporate Development, Direct Investing and M&A Integration at Adobe. "We are excited to invest in PrescriberPoint to support its vision to digitally transform healthcare and the patient experience with a one-stop prescription marketplace for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies." PrescriberPoint plans to offer HCPs a highly personalized experience, matching the right digital experience to meet their needs at the right time.

Leigh Amaro, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships at Mastercard, also noted an alignment of purpose: "At Mastercard, we work to empower an inclusive digital economy. We see a strategic opportunity to work with PrescriberPoint to partner on new cross-industry solutions as well as supporting HCPs  many of which are small businesses that play a crucial role in the communities where they operate  to be better prepared for the digital future."

With the rising cost of living worldwide, patients are at a greater risk of struggling with prescription costs. Oftentimes the biggest challenge many HCPs and their patients face is not that affordability options don't exist, but in understanding and taking advantage of them.

To learn more about PrescriberPoint, sign-up for our webinar at https://prescriberpoint.com/webinars/reimagining-hcp-pharma-engagement .

ABOUT PRESCRIBERPOINT

PrescriberPoint is a digital ecosystem where HCPs can find all the resources they need to prescribe, all in one place. HCPs can access support from life science, insurance, and pharmacy companies and streamline their workflows to help get patients the medication they need and save their practice valuable time. You can find out more at https://prescriberpoint.com/.

CONTACT INFORMATION

PrescriberPoint

Raj Sharma, Head of Marketing

[email protected]

+1-617-286-4232

SOURCE PrescriberPoint
CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Provi , the largest online marketplace for the beverage alcohol industry, today announced a campaign to amplify the National Beer Wholesaler Association (NBWA)'s Distributors Against Human Trafficking initiative . The company launched a strategic media campaign leveraging its online marketplace and publishing channel, Beverage Media Group, to further educate the beverage alcohol and hospitality communities on combating human trafficking.

NBWA

Distributors Against Human Trafficking was established in 2020 by NBWA in collaboration with its members and partners. The program aims to fight human trafficking by educating beer distribution employees on recognizing and safely reporting its signs. Nearly 30,500 employees from more than 250 companies have completed the training since its launch. Earlier this month, NBWA announced a renewed focus of the initiative and has gained support from association members, like Provi, to promote education to the retail tier.

"Human trafficking continues to be a world-wide issue, and the hospitality community is in a unique position to impact change," said NBWA President and CEO Craig Purser. "We are proud of the education we are providing to empower our members to recognize and report signs of this terrible crime through Distributors Against Human Trafficking. We're grateful to partners, like Provi, who are helping broaden our reach by galvanizing trade buyers to join us in this fight."

Provi committed to running banner placements on its digital marketplace to raise awareness on human trafficking to trade buyers throughout the U.S. The digital campaign launched in Georgia, with plans to activate the campaign on a national scale. Alongside its digital channels, Provi pledged a full-page advertisement promoting NBWA's human trafficking efforts in an upcoming issue of Beverage Media publication, which is circulated to 50,000 on- and off-premise retailers.

Among the supporting campaign partners is Eagle Rock Distributing, a major wholesaler in Georgia and Colorado. "We are proud to play our part in helping enact positive change for our community," stated President of Eagle Rock Distributing, Nick Economos. "The nature of our business exposes our team to thousands of people a day. It has been tremendously empowering to have the tools and understand what actions to take when exposed to trafficking. We're committed to sharing this knowledge with our retail customers and know that together, we can help more potential victims."

According to the Polaris Project, in 2019 there were 22,326 victims and survivors of human trafficking in the U.S, up 20 percent from the year prior. It has also been reported that over half of the active criminal human trafficking cases in the U.S. involve children.

"It's imperative that our industry works together to leverage all of our collective resources to help solve life-threatening issues, such as human trafficking," stated Provi SVP, Industry Affairs and Social Responsibility, David E. Wojnar. "We are committed to using our solutions and voice to increase visibility, and are thankful for NBWA and its members for their efforts to combat this ongoing human rights problem."

To learn more about NBWA's Distributors Against Human Trafficking Initiative visit https://nbwa.org/initiative/distributors-against-human-trafficking

To learn more about Human Trafficking visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en

About Provi

Provi is the largest online marketplace that simplifies the complex process of ordering wholesale alcohol by connecting buyers, distributors and suppliers. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Chicago, the company received Built In Chicago's Best Places to Work recognition in 2022. In 2022, Provi joined forces with SevenFifty, which included the Beverage Media properties with industry legacy dating back to the repeal of prohibition, along with SevenFifty Daily , an award-winning industry publication discussing the beverage alcohol business and culture.

About National Beer Association

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) represents America's 3,000 independent beer distributors who service every state, congressional district and media market across the country. Licensed at the federal and state levels, beer distributors get bottles, cans, cases and kegs from a brewer or importer to stores, restaurants and other licensed retail accounts through a transparent and accountable regulatory system. Distributors build brands of all sizes  from familiar domestic beers to new startup labels and imports from around the world  and generate enormous consumer choice while supporting more than 140,000 quality jobs in their home communities. Beer distributors work locally to keep communities safe by sponsoring programs to promote responsible consumption, combat drunk driving and reduce underage drinking.

SOURCE Provi
FAIRFAX, Va., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pyramid Systems, Inc., is an award-winning, technology leader driving digital transformation across federal agencies. Today they announced the addition of a highly experienced business development leader to join its senior leadership team.

Doug Sickler, SVP and Chief Growth Officer, Pyramid Systems, Inc.

The company's leadership team is excited to welcome, Doug Sickler, Senior Vice President & Chief Growth Officer. Doug is responsible for leading Pyramid's business development and growth strategy by leveraging our capabilities and deep customer insight to drive differentiated solutions that support our customers' mission objectives. Doug will focus on driving win rates and building corporate backlog to ensure long-term success. Prior to joining Pyramid, Doug has successfully grown mid-sized and large companies through roles at Technica Corporation, Unisys, and Perot. Doug will lead the business development, capture and proposal teams and will partner across the organization to grow, mature, and win a pipeline of opportunities.

"The addition of Doug will further strengthen our leadership team and build on the momentum generated by our 2022 successes. His track record of growing business for large companies and mid-sized businesses positions him well to lead Pyramid's continued growth" said Stacy Cleveland, President, and COO. "Doug is joining a dedicated, people and client-first leadership team. We know that having the right team is key to unleashing our strategic vision, to meet our customers' evolving mission objectives and create opportunities for our team."

"I am excited to join at this inflection point in Pyramid's growth. I look forward to capitalizing on the recent successes and extending Pyramid's services into new markets" said Sickler.

About Pyramid Systems, Inc.

Pyramid Systems, Inc. is an award-winning, technology leader, driving digital transformation across federal agencies. We empower forward-thinking innovations, accelerate production-ready software, and deliver secure solutions so federal agencies can meet their mission goals. Recently voted a Top Workplace USA 2023, Pyramid is headquartered in Fairfax, VA., and employs more than 200 people. Our people and its culture have endured and delivered for its clients over the past 25 years.

Learn more at https://www.pyramidsystems.com

SOURCE Pyramid Systems, Inc.
BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Radcliffe Capital Management, L.P. (Radcliffe), an SEC-registered investment adviser specializing in defensive credit and opportunistic strategies, today announced that industry veteran Peter Duffy, CFA, has joined the firm as director of investments, effective Jan. 27. In addition, Radcliffe has appointed Ryan Adams, CFA, Michael Gordon, and Peter Rudnick, CPA, as managing directors.

Radcliffe manages more than $4.2 billion for large institutional investors and high-net-worth families globally.

Duffy reports to the firm's principals, Steve Katznelson and Chris Hinkel. He joins Radcliffe from Penn Capital, where he was responsible for guiding the firm's $1 billion in credit strategies as chief investment officer and senior partner. He managed the credit team and served as lead portfolio manager for all of its credit strategies, including short duration high yield, opportunistic credit, and leveraged loans.

"We welcome Pete Duffy to Radcliffe to help lead and support our strategic vision to invest defensively and opportunistically. He will be working closely with me as well as our portfolio managers and analysts," Katznelson said. "Ryan, Michael and Peter are each long-tenured, experienced members of our team, and we are pleased to promote these talented investment professionals in recognition of their contributions to Radcliffe and our clients."

Adams, Gordon and Rudnick are part of a team that focuses on idea generation, due diligence, and credit analysis.

"The new talent and the promotion of key team members reflects the firm's growth in 2022 with record inflows. This year we plan to add multi-strategy capabilities to invest tactically across our strategies as well as in opportunities where we have vast expertise," Katznelson added.

Duffy said, "I'm excited to join Radcliffe, a firm with a culture and track record that I admire. I look forward to supporting Radcliffe's mission to achieve positive outcomes for clients."

Before Penn Capital, Duffy worked for six years at Deutsche Asset Management, where he was a director and sector specialist for high yield. He worked previously for GE Capital as a finance manager for business development and M&A and began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP as a senior management consultant. He has a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in business administration with a concentration in finance from Villanova University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

Adams joined the firm in 2012. Before Radcliffe, he was an analyst at LBC Credit Partners, a middle-market direct lending firm, where he was responsible for the research and underwriting of investments. Before LBC, he worked at John Hancock Financial Services as a senior analyst in its bond and corporate finance group. Adams received a bachelor's degree with a concentration in mathematics and administrative science from Colby College. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

Gordon joined the firm in 2016. Before Radcliffe, he was an assistant vice president of debt capital markets at First Niagara Bank, N.A. Before that he was an associate at LBC Credit Partners, where he was responsible for the research and underwriting of investments, and an analyst at Citigroup Inc. He received a bachelor's degree in finance, cum laude, from Villanova University.

Rudnick joined the firm in 2010. Before Radcliffe, he was a managing director of convertibles and credit trading at The Seaport Group. He worked previously for Banc of America Securities LLC, as vice president on the convertible bond desk and head of fundamental credit research; for BNP Paribas, as senior credit analyst; and for Arthur Andersen LLP, as senior auditor. Rudnick received a bachelor's degree in business and economics from Lafayette College and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

About Radcliffe Capital Management, L.P.

Radcliffe Capital Management, L.P., the operating entity of Radcliffe Group, Inc., is an employee-controlled SEC-registered investment adviser that manages more than $4.2 billion across seven unique defensive credit-related strategies. Its clients include a cross section of institutions and high-net-worth families.

For 26 years, Radcliffe has successfully invested in niche strategies by capitalizing on persistent structural market inefficiencies, where the principals of the firm want to commit their own capital. For more information, visit www.radcliffefunds.com.

Media Contacts

Margaret Kirch Cohen/Richard Chimberg

Newton Park PR

+1 847-507-2229

+1 617-312-4281

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Radcliffe Capital Management
COAST SALISH TERRITORY and VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Raven Indigenous Capital Partners today announced the final closing of a historic $100M Indigenous venture capital fund that provides patient capital and a culturally grounded community of support to early and growth-stage Indigenous enterprises. The Raven Indigenous Impact Fund II builds on the success of Fund I ($25M) and will continue to invest in purpose-driven Native American enterprises that demonstrate commercial viability, potential for scale, and measurable community benefit streams.

"We are proud to continue our support for Raven's efforts to close the capital gap for Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses serving historically marginalized Native communities. Raven's approach presents a powerful opportunity to build a more equitable future," said John Balbach, Director, Impact Investments at the MacArthur Foundation.

- John Balbach, Director, Impact Investments, MacArthur Foundation

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is North America's only Indigenous-led and owned impact investment firm. It was established in 2018 to address two critical gaps in the Indigenous finance ecosystem in the US: the provision of equity and equity-like capital that are essential to the development and scaling of Native American enterprises; and a deep cultural and community understanding informed by lived experience.

"As part of the Bush Foundation's impact investment strategy to advance equity in capital markets with a focus in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native Nations that share that geography, the Foundation has committed US$2m to Raven Indigenous Impact Fund II."

- Eric White, Senior Investment Manager, Bush Foundation

Raven is working to build a vibrant Native American economy in the US by investing in entrepreneurs and businesses across five thematic areas: technology, health, regenerative agriculture, clean energy, and next generation consumer products. To better support the Native American economy, Raven has a growing investment team based in the US who are familiar with the unique challenges and opportunities Native American entrepreneurs face. The Raven team combines full-cycle principal investing experience, cultural understanding and knowledge, capacity-building expertise, deep networks with trust-based relationships in Indigenous communities, and extensive knowledge and experience in the social/financial innovation ecosystem.

"We are thrilled to partner with some of the leading foundations and financial institutions in the United States in providing mission and values aligned capital to Native American entrepreneurs."

- Garry McBerryhill, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, US Market Lead

About Raven Indigenous Capital Partners

Established in 2018, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is an Indigenous-led and owned social finance intermediary headquartered in Vancouver. Raven works in partnership with Indigenous enterprises and social purpose organizations to accelerate their success by providing access to capital and bespoke technical assistance within an Indigenous cultural framework. Ultimately, Raven aims to achieve a positive and lasting impact on the Indigenous economies.

Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice, or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Investing in the exempt market has significant risk. You should be aware of these risks, and as appropriate, consult with appropriate financial professionals to support your decision-making processes.

SOURCE Raven Indigenous Capital Partners Inc.
In support of U.S. Travel Association's "National Plan for Vacation Day"

RENO, Nev., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Plan for Vacation Day (NPVD), Reno Tahoe, Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and the Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce are working to raise awareness of the benefits of travel and inspire Americans to start planning their next adventure for 2023.

"Travel is an integral element of the human experience," said Reno Tahoe President and CEO Charles Harris. "Travel is known to increase mental and physical health; it creates art; it builds a sense of understanding between cultures; it supports infrastructure; and it creates industry that allows the economic well-being of countless individuals, families and destinations around the world."

According to the U.S. Travel Association, "National Plan for Vacation Day is a day to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the whole year, at the start of the year, and inspire them to use those days to explore the USA."

Recent findings from Travel Nevada and Tourism Economics estimate that 43.2 million travelers generated an economic impact of $62.5 billion in 2021, resulting in $4.4 billion in tax revenue, and sustaining 355,000 jobs throughout the state of Nevada. Illustrating the economic importance of travel, a bipartisan bill backed by Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen was approved by congress in December 2022. The Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act created a new position for an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism, who will be responsible for the first-ever national strategy for travel and tourism, as well as enhancing tourism in the U.S. on a national and international level.

"As Chair of the Senate's Tourism Subcommittee, one of my top priorities has been to strengthen Nevada's tourism, travel, and hospitality industries -- which are critical to our state's economy, our businesses, and our workers," said Senator Rosen. "Through my new bipartisan law enacted last month, we have created the first-ever high-ranking federal position tasked solely with overseeing and creating a national tourism strategy that will help bolster travel to Nevada. As we continue working to enhance Nevada tourism, I'm proud to join Reno Tahoe, the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and the Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce in encouraging travelers to make their plans to come visit our great state."

More than 4.3 million travelers were moved through RNO in 2022. As Northern Nevada grows, along with demand for travel, RNO is building now to meet future needs. MoreRNO is a decade-long expansion and renovation project to enhance infrastructure and improve the entire travel experience, from drop-off zones to security and from departure to ground transportation.

"We're excited to celebrate National Plan for Vacation Day as we embark on a tremendous journey for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport with our MoreRNO infrastructure program," said Daren Griffin, President and CEO of Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority. "We look forward to transforming the travel experience for generations to come and we appreciate our partnership with Reno Tahoe."

Reno Tahoe and RNO have launched a contest to help Northern Nevadans, and other Americans, actively participate in National Plan for Vacation Day. Four lucky winners will win a pair of tickets to or from RNO. More information can be found at VisitRenoTahoe.com: https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/contests/2023-national-plan-for-vacation-day-contest/

"An airport is an asset for the community it serves," said Harris. "While Reno Tahoe's purpose is to bring visitors, it's important that we also support the local businesses and amenities that enhance quality of life for both visitors and locals. We want to bring people here, but we're also encouraging locals to get out of town, have new adventures, and find fresh opportunities for exploration and relaxation. RNO is crucial to that experience."

Destination Analysts reports that 79% of Americans believe vacations are important to their overall health and well-being. Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce CEO Ann Silver is delivering a National Plan for Vacation Day reminder to Chamber members this year, to emphasize the benefits of travel, not only to their employees but also to their bottom line.

"Hundreds of businesses and more than 40,000 jobs in the Reno-Sparks area are directly impacted by tourism. Visitors make a considerable investment in this community every day, supporting infrastructure through sales and room tax, and positively impacting the economic health and well-being of Northern Nevada businesses," said Silver.

"U.S. workers are leaving behind an annual average of 700 million unused vacation days," added Harris. "National Plan for Vacation Day is a great reminder to give yourself the time you've earned."

About Reno Tahoe

Reno Tahoe is a dynamic, four-season resort destination in a spectacular natural setting  where America's largest alpine lake meets "The Biggest Little City in the World." Here, genuine Western heritage and hospitality are served up alongside a region in the midst of an exciting transformation, offering travelers world-class attractions, outdoor adventure and an annual calendar of cultural, culinary and sporting events. Reno Tahoe is marketed by the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA), an organization established in 1959 to promote convention and tourism business in Washoe County, which includes Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe. For more information, go to www.VisitRenoTahoe.com.

Ben McDonald

Sr. Director of Communications and Public Affairs

Reno Tahoe

Phone: 775.354.3777

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Reno Tahoe
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Equable Institute and Opportunity Institute have released new research exploring the effect of teacher pension debt on education resource equity in Florida.

FRS's pension debt amounts to more than $5,000 per student and accounts for more than a quarter of all per student K-12 education funding.

The report, titled Pension Debt Challenges for Equity in Education: The Effect of Teacher Unfunded Liability Costs on K12 Education Funding in Florida, found that growing unfunded pension liabilities for teachers and other school employees have silently undermined Florida's ability to improve education outcomes for students and inequitable impacts on teachers through growing, unpredictable costs and regressive funding policies that effectively subsidize wealthy districts.

"The growth in costs to fund the Florida Retirement System have been like a slow boil, only recently catching the attention of district leaders and likely still not on the radar of everyone who cares about K-12 funding," said Anthony Randazzo, executive director at Equable. "However, with FRS unfunded liabilities persisting and reaching over $5,000 per student it is time to pay attention the effects of requiring school districts to pay for 100% of the costs of teacher pension debt. Annual FRS costs may not be large as a share of school district resources today, but they've been growing steadily since 2012 and they should be addressed before they become a significant problem in the future."

Specifically, the report finds:

An increasing share of state and local K12 education spending has been siphoned off to cover pension costs, even after major changes to the Florida Retirement System in 2012.

In 2020, 2.5% of Florida's school district expenditures on education funding ultimately went to FRS, more than double the amount paid in 2012, the year of Florida's last major cost cutting changes.

school district expenditures on education funding ultimately went to FRS, more than double the amount paid in 2012, the year of last major cost cutting changes.

School districts pay all FRS costs. As a result, the $1.2 billion spent on retirement costs accounts for 3.5% of local revenue provided for K12 spending as of 2020.

spent on retirement costs accounts for 3.5% of local revenue provided for K12 spending as of 2020. These growing pension costs are effectively education funding cuts that disproportionately harm low-income communities.

Total retirement contributions to FRS have almost tripled since 2001. The majority of those contributions come from districts. Low-income communities that have fewer resources are more heavily burdened by rising contribution rates as they are limited in their ability to offset rising costs by generating income through local property taxes.



Pension debt now accounts for nearly 27.81% of total K-12 spending per student. It was just 4.68% in 2014. These rising pension debt costs are regressive and pass a greater burden to high-poverty districts because Florida distributes the unfunded liability costs evenly across the state event though wealthier school districts generate a greater share of FRS's unfunded liability because of higher teacher salaries.

distributes the unfunded liability costs evenly across the state event though wealthier school districts generate a greater share of FRS's unfunded liability because of higher teacher salaries. Additional contributions from Florida school districts will be likely be required in the coming years unless the state legislature intervenes.

school districts will be likely be required in the coming years unless the state legislature intervenes. Actuaries for Florida Retirement System have already requested a contribution rate increase for the 2023-24 fiscal year that would raise the average employer contribution above 16% of payroll for the first time in recent history. This is also twice the employer contribution rate required in 2012 the first year after Florida's last attempt to reform FRS.

Opportunity Institute and Equable Institute note that without increased transparency on how public school employee retirement benefits impact overall school budgets, pension debt costs will continue to exacerbate already existing education resource Inequities.

"It is time for transparency in how much school districts are having to pay to cover the costs of FRS unfunded liabilities, especially so that we can address the inequitable distribution of cost between well-resourced districts and low-income communities" Maria Echaveste, president of Opportunity Institute. "Schools with lower resources are more vulnerable to the effects of increased contribution rates, and higher and higher costs not only threaten enrichment and learning programs that are crucial to providing a holistic education, but investments that support teachers like higher pay and adequate retirement benefits."

This report is one of four reports detailing the impact of unique pension debt challenges facing state education budgets across the U.S. Please visit pensionequityineducation.org to download Florida's report along with reports for California, Texas, and Ohio.

Equable Institute and Opportunity Institute will be hosting webinars covering the findings of each of the reports in March 2023.

Click here to sign up to be notified when registration opens.

About Opportunity Institute

The Opportunity Institute (OI) is a national education policy organization that focuses broadly on cradle-to-career education policy, practice issues, and adjacent areas of social policy. Our work bridges the domains of policy, research, advocacy, and addresses equity in three main areas of work: "Whole Child" equity; resource equity; equity indicators.

About Equable Institute

Equable is a bipartisan non-profit that works with public retirement system stakeholders to solve complex pension funding challenges with data-driven solutions. We exist to support public sector workers in understanding how their retirement systems can be improved, and to help state and local governments find ways to both fix threats to municipal finance stability and ensure the retirement security of all public servants.

SOURCE Equable Institute
Mark Jenkins Named as Vice-President of Marketing for Leading Frozen Treats Brand

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, the beloved brand known for its delicious Italian Ice and Frozen Custard treats, has added Mark Jenkins as Vice-President of Marketing, bringing his years of brand management experience and consumer behavior expertise to the iconic franchise brand.

Ritas Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has added Mark Jenkins as Vice-President of Marketing, bringing his years of brand management experience and consumer behavior expertise to the iconic franchise brand.

In his new role, Jenkins will lead the development, implementation and performance of Rita's consumer marketing. His key objective will be to optimize omni-channel marketing efforts to build the brand, drive guest loyalty, promote Rita's shops, and reach new and existing guests across the country. Other initiatives include leveraging the brand's online ordering, delivery, and drive-thru offerings and drive a media strategy that addresses core markets like Philadelphia, and growth markets alike.

"Having spent time in restaurants as a general manager, franchise consultant, and marketing leader at some of the nation's largest restaurant brands, I understand that to grow units and increase sales, you must work alongside operators to facilitate an effective and actionable brand strategy," said Jenkins. "With a coordinated approach, we can further strengthen brand equity in familiar markets like Philadelphia and Maryland and expand the reach of this iconic brand to current and new markets. Our passion is to create amazing experiences for our guests through our unmatched Italian Ice and frozen custard."

No stranger to the restaurant industry, Jenkins previously served as Senior Director/Head of Marketing for Roy Rogers Restaurants, overseeing and developing strategy for the brand in all aspects of marketing, including brand management, field marketing, media strategy, new product introductions, calendar development, agency management, digital & social marketing, and creative direction.

He also served as Director of Brand Marketing for CKE Restaurants, managing the annual marketing calendar, brand, menu, and product offerings for 3,000+ Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants using consumer insights, new product introductions, and brand strategy. Jenkins also spent time as Director of Product Marketing for Hardees Restaurants, where he managed existing and new product offerings for 1,800 Hardee's restaurants. Jenkins holds a doctorate in marketing from Grand Canyon University and an MBA from Texas Tech.

"Mark joins us at a key time for our brand, as we are approaching the unofficial kick-off to the frozen treats season, a time when we will soon celebrate new and existing shops opening across the country and host our annual First Day of Spring FREE ice giveaway," said Linda Chadwick, CEO of Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. "With a wealth of marketing and brand experience in the restaurant space, we're extremely excited to welcome him to the Rita's family as he has the abilities to thrive in this role."

Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard is actively looking to grow with business minded individuals, who are passionate about the brand and are active members of their community. To learn more about franchise opportunities, please visit: www.ownaritas.com.

About Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard:

Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard opened its doors in Bensalem, Pa. in 1984, and has been dedicated to spreading "Ice, Custard, Happiness!" ever since. Now, Rita's is the largest Italian Ice concept in the world with approximately 600 shops. Guests around the world visit Rita's to celebrate their everyday moments with freshly made cool treats in a fun-filled atmosphere. Known for its famous Italian Ice, made daily featuring real fruit, and award-winning Frozen Custard, Rita's serves a taste of happiness with each delicious treat. For more information about Rita's Italian Ice, please call 1-800-677-7482 or visit www.ownaritas.com.

SOURCE Rita's Franchise Company
STEINBACH, MB, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - RocketRez, a leading ticketing and business operations software platform powering mid-market tours and attractions, today announced the close of a US$15 million Series B funding round with Level Equity, a New York City-based growth investor focused on best-in-class software pioneers. Charles Chen from Level Equity will join the RocketRez Board of Directors as part of this transaction, joining Blueprint Equity from its previous funding round.

With this funding, RocketRez will accelerate its ability to provide incredible end-to-end guest experiences in new market verticals, and extend the capabilities for leading tours and attractions already in its portfolio such as Maui Ocean Center, Xtreme Xperience, Aquarium of the Bay, and Governors Island. Beyond engineering and software development, this new investment will enable RocketRez to continue adding key leadership positions and expand its sales capabilities as it looks to new vertical markets and geographies. RocketRez will also continue to develop its partnerships and integrations.

Overcoming economic challenges builds confidence among investors

Over the past two years, and during the global COVID-19 pandemic, RocketRez more than doubled its growth including its portfolio of clients, dollars transacted through its platform, employee count, and geographic reach. This acceleration in growth when the travel and tourism industry was facing existential challenges caught the attention of Level Equity.

Together, RocketRez and Level Equity will bring data-focused enterprise-level ticketing and business intelligence to mid-market tours and attractions. As tours and attractions transition from legacy technology toward digital maturity, RocketRez enables operators to leverage data from every touchpoint along the customer journey to enhance their on-site guest experience.

"We believe in RocketRez's vision and their high-growth potential as demonstrated by the marquee clients they've onboarded and retained during these challenging times," said Charles Chen, Partner at Level Equity. "Global tourist attractions have weathered the storm in part due to the innovative solutions provided by RocketRez. They understand that technology and data are what will power their vision for the ultimate guest experience."

Funding will enabl e more innovative guest experiences driven by customer data

"The ability to capture data from multiple digital touchpoints gives operators more robust insights into customer behavior that cannot be achieved with disconnected sets of technology services," said RocketRez CEO John Pendergrast. "Level Equity's investment into RocketRez will help us accelerate more fulsome digital solutions that will deliver even better guest experiences for our customers and will enable us to expand our geographic reach."

"Online and on-site ticket purchases, mobile ticket scanning, retail and food and beverage purchases, email and SMS communication, and various other interactions are all part of a single customer journey. With that information, an operator can make faster, smarter decisions about how to deliver a better guest experience, based on each visitor's preferences. Large operators have built their own platforms but for mid-market operators they need to buy an all-in-one software platform and that's what RocketRez delivers," continued Pendergrast.

RocketRez is an all-in-one ticketing and operations platform geared toward mid-market tours and attractions with revenues of $2 million to $200 million which includes functionality for online and on-site ticketing through ecommerce, Point-of-Sale and contactless kiosk channels, revenue management, business intelligence, customer management as well as retail and food and beverage sales. It also includes partnerships with industry leading services for payments, hardware, channel management and peripheral software services that add value to the platform and customers.

About RocketRez

RocketRez powers mid-market tours and attractions and enables data-driven guest experiences with an all-in-one cloud ticketing and operations software platform. RocketRez maintains its company headquarters in Canada, where its engineering, operations, and marketing teams are based, and has a distributed salesforce throughout North America and expanding into Europe. RocketRez primarily serves mid-market clients in several key industries: boat tours and ferries, zoos and aquariums, attractions and theme parks, and museums and galleries. For more information about RocketRez, visit www.rocketrez.com.

About Level Equity

Level Equity is a private investment firm focused on providing capital to rapidly growing software and technology-driven businesses. Level provides long term capital across all transaction types in support of continued growth. The firm has raised $3.0 billion in committed capital, has backed over 100 companies since inception, and has offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Greenwich, CT. For more information about Level Equity, visit www.levelequity.com .

SOURCE RocketRez, Inc.
PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosti Stuft Spuds  , the award-winning crispy-filled potato products, is making major moves to grow the brand in 2023 by announcing a new C-Suite executive team and marketing agency partner.

The brand's new C-Suite executive team combines experience from notable brands in the consumer packaged goods space, such as UNILEVER, Dole, Nestle and more. The following individuals have joined the Rosti Stuft Spuds team:

Rosti Stuft Spuds Logo Rosti Stuft Spuds in Melty 3 Cheese, Melty Swiss Raclette and Stuffed Baked Potato

Don Graff as Chief Marketing Officer

Tony Giannini as VP Sales National Retail

Tom Garvey as VP Sales: Retail/Club

Sean Mohr as VP Sales: Foodservice/Convenience

Mary DeLucco as Executive Creative Director

By bringing on these seasoned professionals, the brand is aiming to grow its national retail footprint and establish Rosti Stuft Spuds as a category leader in the frozen food and snack space.

"We're beyond excited to welcome each of these individuals to the Rosti Stuft Spuds team," says Stephen Caldwell , founder and CEO. "Their combined experience in marketing and growing various brands across the CPG space will help us reach our goals while staying true to our core value of creating moments of comforting, shareable fun."

In addition to this new executive team, Rosti Stuft Spuds has partnered with SRW Agency , a Chicago-based marketing agency known for growing brands in the natural health & wellness space. SRW will ideate and execute innovative messaging and campaigns for the brand to help distinguish them in the category, drive sales and highlight the brand's fun personality.

"SRW is well known in the industry for utilizing innovative brand messaging and strategic digital marketing to generate consumer awareness and purchase conversions through their campaigns," says Caldwell. "With their unbridled enthusiasm for the Rosti Stuft Spuds brand and their commitment to our communications and sales objectives, we know we've made the right decision."

Rosti Stuft Spuds products can be found at over 2,000 retailers across the United States, including Whole Foods Markets nationally, Target, Natural Grocers, Fresh Thyme, Central Market and several Safeway/Albertsons divisions.

For more information or to keep up with the latest happenings of the brand, please visit www.stuftspuds.com or follow them on Instagram @rostistuftspuds .

About Rosti Stuft Spuds:

Based in Portland, Oregon, Rosti Stuft Spuds is a rapidly growing brand created in 2017 by Stephen & Lory Caldwell with the goal of making good-for-you, filled frozen products that satisfy consumers' demand for convenient, great tasting, premium quality food products that fit well with today's busy active lifestyles. While the traditional Swiss Rosti originated in Bern, Switzerland in the early 1800s as peasant food, the Caldwell's have been perfecting a delicious, hand-held version of the crispy-filled potato, with a more modern sensibility to enjoy around their family's table. They developed and launched Rosti Stuft Spuds to share their family favorites with families everywhere.

Media Contact:

Rebecca Jakush

6303591827

[email protected]

SOURCE Rosti Stuft Spuds
Membership with MassBio expected to enhance RTK Group's mission to support advancing the development of promising technology to improve patient lives.

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RTK Group, LLC, ("RTK Group"), an early-stage advisory and investment fund supporting emerging technologies in the biotech and pharmaceutical sector, today announced it has joined the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council ("MassBio") as a member organization.

"This is a time of unprecedented innovation and disruption in the biotech and biopharma ecosystem in Massachusetts, and MassBio is constantly working to encourage partnerships and conversations to advance breakthrough science and technology," said Jason Corderio, MassBio Chief Operating Officer. "We are delighted to have RTK Group join MassBio as a member, bringing with them not only years of experience in supporting early-stage startups, but a commitment to improving the lives of patients."

"Our mission to improve patient lives aligns with MassBio's efforts to support innovation in life sciences." Tweet this

RTK Group has been actively advising and providing early-stage financing to startup biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies from early development stages to commercialization. In the past year, RTK Group has participated in startup financings, including a seed-round financing announced with Unravel Biosciences as well as the announcement by its partner, Romeg Therapeutics, of a successful licensing deal with Sorrento Therapeutics' subsidiary, Scilex Holdings, for exclusive commercial rights to Romeg's recently approved therapeutic for gout, Gloperba.

"We look forward to being more actively involved in supporting the life sciences ecosystem through our membership in MassBio," said Neal I. Muni, M.D., MSPH, Managing Director of RTK Group. "Our mission of advancing promising therapies to improve patient lives aligns closely with MassBio's efforts to support innovation and Massachusetts leadership in the life sciences."

About RTK Group

RTK Group is a family-office backed, seed-stage biopharmaceutical advisory and investment fund focused on emerging technologies having disruptive impact and significant potential to benefit patients. We focus our efforts where we can leverage our unique expertise in company formation and technology development to assist high-performing management teams realize the full value potential of their technology. For more information, visit www.rtkgrp.com.

About MassBio

MassBio's mission is to advance Massachusetts' leadership in the life sciences to grow the industry, add value to the healthcare system, and improve patient lives. MassBio represents the premier global life sciences and healthcare hub, with 1,600+ members dedicated to preventing, treating, and curing diseases through transformative science and technology that brings value and hope to patients. Founded in 1985, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs, events, industry information, and services. For more information, visit www.massbio.org.

Contact: RTK Group, LLC Media Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE RTK Group, LLC
Funding comes as platform prepares for launch of Rysk Beyond, an advanced decentralized market maker protocol for options trading

LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rysk Finance , the on-chain market maker for DeFi derivatives, has successfully raised $1.4 million USD in a pre-seed funding round led by Lemniscap, with participation from Encode Club, Ascensive Assets, Starbloom, Yunt Capital, and Manifold Trading, as well as angel investors Hype.eth, Ivangbi, Windra Thio, among others.

Rysk Finance raises $1.4M to spearhead on-chain market making for DeFi derivatives

The funding will be leveraged to enhance platform security, drive engineering and research efforts and expedite the launch of Rysk Beyond, an advanced decentralized market maker protocol for options trading. Rysk Beyond represents the next iteration of Rysk's first product, the Rysk Dynamic Hedging Vault (DHV) Alpha.

Rysk DHV set out a framework for providing depositors and liquidity providers with unparalleled access to uncorrelated, competitive risk-adjusted returns in different market conditions, by trading options and interacting with any derivative with a trackable delta.

One of Rysk's goals since inception has been to build innovative DeFi applications that offer an optimized, sophisticated user experience, while addressing systemic industry complexity around generating higher returns per unit of risk taken for liquidity providers.

Rysk Beyond will extend the scope of options trading considerably with a rich suite of innovative features, geared towards providing a tailored options AMM experience. Users will be able to leverage the protocol to buy and sell options on multiple expiries and strikes with tight bid/ask price and higher capital efficiency.

Users will also be able to construct bespoke options strategies in one transaction through Rysk's novel contract architecture design, including call/put spreads, strangles and butterflies, but also engage in term structure plays, such as calendar spreads, which is new to DeFi. Rysk will be working with traders and other structured products protocols to build traction with this new infrastructure. The upcoming launch of Rysk Beyond will spur integrations with DeFi protocols, treasuries and instruments such as perpetuals, futures and options, as the platform aims to underscore its credentials as the most liquid on-chain market maker for DeFi derivatives.

Dan Ugolini, Co-Founder of Rysk Finance, said: "As DeFi natives who envision a future where finance is transparent and truly democratised, we aspire to actively contribute to a vast ecosystem of sustainable risk-adjusted yield products with various market conditions. Today's announcement represents an important milestone in our journey to become the most liquid on-chain market maker for DeFi derivatives. We look forward to continuing to work hand-in-hand with strategists, developers, and other protocols who share our vision to advance DeFi maturity."

Roderik van der Graaf, Founder of Lemniscap, said: "The team at Rysk has demonstrated an innate understanding of DeFi market dynamics, and with Rysk Beyond, is developing a category-leading solution that is set to redefine the parameters of DeFi risk innovation. We're supremely confident in the capabilities of the team in charting a strong growth trajectory in the near and long term, and are firmly aligned with their bold vision to deliver on-chain market making for DeFi derivatives. We look forward to supporting their exciting pipeline of activity in the months ahead."

To collaborate with Rysk or to find out more about the platform's DeFi solutions and roadmap, please visit https://www.rysk.finance/ .

About Rysk Finance

Rysk Finance is spearheading on-chain market making for DeFi derivatives, while resolving long-standing industry complexity around generating higher returns per unit of risk taken for liquidity providers. Rysk's signature product, the Dynamic Hedging Vault (DHV) is a dynamic new self-governing options AMM, generating uncorrelated returns for liquidity providers by trading options. By leveraging its proprietary DHV solution, Rysk is on a mission to expedite DeFi risk maturity while expanding adoption levels of sustainable yields. For more information, visit: https://www.rysk.finance/

About Lemniscap

Lemniscap is an investment firm specializing in investments in emerging crypto assets and blockchain startups. Since its founding in 2017, Lemniscap has funded multiple investments in the crypto blockchain space, on the core belief that blockchain technology will upend traditional business models, resulting in profound changes in the world economy. The Lemniscap team consists of talented people with backgrounds in financial markets, PE/VC, technology and entrepreneurship. For more information, visit https://lemniscap.com/ .

SOURCE Rysk Finance
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Capital Markets Day on November 28, 2023 will be held in Tampere, Finland, at one of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions' largest sites. The event will commence with a casual dinner the night before, on November 27.

The agenda will include presentations by CEO, CFO, business area management as well as a site tour.

The Capital Markets Day provides an opportunity for institutional investors, financial analysts and financial media to get an update on Sandvik's strategy and key achievements.

More information and link to registration will be communicated in due course.

For further information, contact Louise Tjeder, VP Investor relations, phone: +46 (0) 70782 6374 or Johannes Hellstrom, Press and Media Relations Manager, phone: +46 (0) 70721 1008.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/208/3706390/1817159.pdf Save the date - Sandvik Capital Markets Day November 28, 2023

SOURCE Sandvik
Schlage Received the Best Reviews and Trust Ratings Among the Most Popular Door Locks and Hardware Brands Per Lifestory Research America's Most Trusted Study

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Schlage, a leading provider of home security and access solutions for over a century, today announced it was selected by consumers as the 2023 America's Most Trusted Lockset. This is the fourth year in a row Schlage captured the top spot in the annual study produced by Lifestory Research, which operates the most extensive and longest-running independent research program seeking to understand the opinions of consumers shopping for home products.

"Schlage is one of the most tenured and trusted lock brands in the country, and it is an honor to see the products we produce continue to receive such amazing consumer feedback," said David Perozzi, general manager of Allegion Home. "When it comes to securing your home, nothing is more important than trusting the quality of the product you've invested in to protect your family, friends and belongings. This validation tells us we're still on the right path, and we'll continue to innovate to the best of our abilities to safeguard our customers year after year."

In addition to the Lifestory Research America's Most Trusted Lockset selection, Schlage's Encode family of products continues to win awards. In 2022, the Schlage Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt received more than 20 awards, including "Best of CES 2022" and mentions from New York Times' The Wirecutter, Tom's Guide, Newsweek, USA Today, among others. It was also selected by top consumer publications as one of the Best Smart Locks, including Popular Mechanics, Good Housekeeping, PCMag, Reviewed and more.

In the latter half of 2022 and early 2023, the Schlage Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt also received a variety of accolades from residential technology and industry trade publications, including a CE Pro BEST, CES Innovation By Design Honoree, Residential Systems CES Picks, and CTA Mark of Excellence awards.

"I applaud Schlage's ability to create and hold the trust of so many people year after year, this is a feat worth celebrating," said Eric Snider, president Lifestory Research. "Over many years, we have sought to understand the role of trust when people are shopping for a new product. Our research with hundreds of thousands of consumers finds that trust in a brand is foundational to how consumers make a purchase decision. Brands must have the trust of those they serve."

Schlage is unveiling its latest EncodeTM Smart WiFi Lever at the 2023 NAHB International Builders' Show (IBS) in Las Vegas Jan. 31  Feb. 2, 2023. This newest member of the Encode family is designed to work on standard single borehole doors, offering the same security and convenience of the Schlage smart lock experience to more doors throughout the home. From garages and side doors to offices and guest suites, the innovative lever functionality is an ideal solution for any residential door that uses a knob or lever.

For more information, please visit www.Schlage.com or visit the Schlage booth (#C2115) at the International Builders' Show. For additional information on the Schlage Encode family, please reference the following press kit.

Schlage is part of the Allegion family of brands.

About Allegion

Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) is a global pioneer in seamless access. We keep people and their assets safe, wherever they are, bringing together simple solutions, convenient access and advanced technology.

For more, visit www.allegion.com.

About the America's Most Trusted Study

The Lifestory Research America's Most Trusted study is the most extensive and longest-running independent research program seeking to understand the opinions of consumers shopping for home products. Lifestory Research conducts an ongoing annual survey in which people anonymously assess brands encountered during their search for specific products. This research uses the highest quality social and opinion science research practices to provide consumer-driven data insights.

About Lifestory Research

Leaders, companies, and brands know that great ideas are only useful if they move people toward action. Lifestory Research is an independent, science-driven consumer insights and strategy consulting firm that ignites relationships between companies and their audiences. We are passionate about customers, employees, brands, and the science of influence. We use quantitative and qualitative research to create customer insights, drive innovation, deliver brand strategy, and move people forward.

For more information, please visit www.lifestoryresearch.com.

SOURCE Schlage
Through a partnership between the community, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Hope Corps program, and King County Government, Beloved King County taps local creative talent to bring into focus systemic causes of community-based gun violence by amplifying the voices of those affected. "Heroes of this Hell (Anti-Violence the Science)" is an original spoken word and hip-hop composition produced by Beezie 2 Slaps featuring Black Stax, Mike Jack, Tia Nache, and Papa Black Davinci.

SEATTLE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 31st 2023, TBCM Music Publishing will release a new song closing out a yearlong Anti-Gun violence Campaign called "Beloved," a multimedia and art driven project. Each phase of the campaign explores gun violence in the Black community as a symptom of illness caused by systemic inequality.

Seattle Artists Take a Stand Against Gun Violence Tweet this An original spoken word and hip-hop composition where we give voice to the voiceless in our fight against gun violence. Heroes of this Hell Cover Art

Heroes of this Hell is a compilation of artist perspectives all painting a different picture of how gun violence plagues our community in four "movements." In Movement I, Seattle's own Avant Garde of HipHop, Black Stax, serve as our elders, painting a picture of the problem in its raw essence. Movement II is written by Mike Jack 3200, sharing perspective as a young man faced with the pressures of the streets daily in a complicated depiction of his relationship with the history of street violence. Movement III is written and performed by spoken word artist and local orator, Tia Nache' and challenges our young people to look inside themselves and put down the guns. Movement IV closes the song with Papa Black Davinci sharing his story and encouraging the community to be courageous, "stand up," and join him to end gun violence.

The single is an original production by iconic Seattle music producer, Beezie2Slaps (Fred Brydwell) known on the Seattle Hip-Hop scene since the 80's. Affectionately known as "Beezie" who with his group recorded his first single in the 6th grade, opened a record store and studio soon after graduating high school, and signed his first production contract at 20 years old.

The teaser video and cover art feature original photography produced during the Beloved Campaign featuring floral art installations by Forever Safe Spaces, Northwest African American Museum, and Soulma Ayers. In the installations, each rose depicted represented a life or lives lost to gun violence in Martin Luther King County Washington. Photography credited to Contemporary Love Affair & Art by Frederick, curated by Katoya Palmer. For more information about the Beloved Campaign please visit www.belovedkingcounty.com/blog to catch up on all the events and publications produced over the last year.

Heroes of This Hell is available on all streaming platforms on January 31, 2023. A teaser clip is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQOqUt03BMw

SOURCE TBCM Music Publishing
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Security in the Internet of Things Value Chain" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



In this study, the publisher assesses the IoT value chain from a security perspective. The study provides an overview of the different roles and responsibilities in the IoT industry and analyzes stakeholder involvement in IoT device development.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been playing a critical role in accelerating digital transformation across various sectors, leading the IoT market to exponential growth in terms of revenue and the number of devices adopted.

However, with billions of IoT devices in use and more to enter the fray with the introduction of 5G, it is becoming increasingly challenging for companies to gain an in-depth understanding of the security nodes in the IoT value chain and manage the roles of different stakeholders. IoT security has thus become a critical concern.

Emerging trends, including drivers, restraints, and their impact on the IoT market, have also been examined. The study also identifies the growth opportunities emerging from the changes in this space for stakeholders and market players to leverage.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Strategic Imperatives

Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

Factors Creating Pressure on Growth

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Internet of Things (IoT) Security Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine

Research Methodology

Summary of Findings

2. Growth Opportunity Analysis

Scope of Analysis

Growth Drivers

Growth Restraints

3. Introduction

Important IoT Devices in the Global Digital Ecosystem

Types of IoT Devices: Industrial and Consumer

IoT Devices: Application Areas Across Sectors

IoT Security: Exploring Vulnerabilities

Mapping IoT Vulnerabilities and Attack Types

Headlining IoT Security Lapses in History

4. Roles and Responsibilities in the IoT Stakeholder Ecosystem

IoT Stakeholder Ecosystem: A Network of Design, Manufacturing, and Application Players

Exploring Stakeholder Involvement: IC Design Houses and ASIC Manufacturers Prioritize Firmware and Hardware Security Nodes

Exploring Stakeholder Involvement: Are Crucial in Ensuring End-product Security

Exploring Stakeholder Involvement: IoT Platform Builders Devoted to Ensuring Security Across Majority Virtual Nodes

Exploring Stakeholder Involvement: IoT Solution Creators Focus on Data and Application Security Nodes

5. Companies to Action

Armis: Unified Asset Visibility and Security Platform

Armis: Cyberphysical Integrity of a Building Management System (BMS)

CUJO: Network and Device Intelligence for Network Service Providers (NSPs)

CUJO: Media Access Control (MAC) Addresses Randomization

Finite State: Automated Security Platform for Connected and Embedded Devices

Finite State: Open-source Risk Management for Connected Devices through DCA

Karamba Security: Embedded Security Management Platform for Automotive

Karamba Security: Verifying Product Security with Seamless Analysis of Product Binaries with Karamba's VCode

Forescout Technologies: End-to-end Zero-trust Security Management Across the Device Life Cycle

Forescout Technologies: IT Service Management (ITSM) Solutions

Shield-IoT: Monitoring and Securing Distributed IoT and IIoT Assets

Shield IoT: Urban Smart Lighting Deployments

Viakoo: Vulnerability Management for Enterprise IoT Devices

Viakoo: Automated IoT Vulnerability Remediation at Enterprise Scale

Nozomi Networks: IoT and OT Security Platform for IIoT

Nozomi Networks: ICS Cybersecurity Upgrade and Operational Development for Power Sector Operator

6. Emerging Trends in the IoT Security Ecosystem and their Impact

7. Growth Opportunity Universe

Growth Opportunity 1: Advisory Solutions

Growth Opportunity 2: Sector-specific Security Solutions

Growth Opportunity 3: Industry-specific Certifications

8. Next Steps

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Armis

CUJO

Finite State

Karamba Security

Forescout Technologies

Shield IoT

Viakoo

Nozomi Networks

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/srnfrz-in-the?w=5

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

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SOURCE Research and Markets
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Self-tan products market insights -

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Self-tan Products Market 2023-2027

Vendors : 15+, including Beauty by Earth, Bondi Sands Pty Ltd., Clarins Sdn Bhd, COOLA LLC, Coty Inc., Crown Laboratories Inc., Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC, Johnson and Johnson, Kao Corp., Kose Corp., LOreal SA, Nip and Fab Ltd., PZ Cussons Plc, Shiseido Co. Ltd., Skinerals, Synchronicity Spa Inc., Tan Luxe, The Estee Lauder Co. Inc., The Procter and Gamble Co., Unilever PLC, among others

: 15+, including Beauty by Earth, Bondi Sands Pty Ltd., Clarins Sdn Bhd, COOLA LLC, Coty Inc., Crown Laboratories Inc., Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC, Johnson and Johnson, Kao Corp., Kose Corp., LOreal SA, Nip and Fab Ltd., PZ Cussons Plc, Shiseido Co. Ltd., Skinerals, Synchronicity Spa Inc., Tan Luxe, The Estee Lauder Co. Inc., The Procter and Gamble Co., Unilever PLC, among others Coverage: Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends, and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors

Parent market analysis; key drivers, major trends, and challenges; customer and vendor landscape; vendor product insights and recent developments; key vendors; and market positioning of vendors Segments: Distribution channel (supermarkets and hypermarkets, convenience stores, and online), product (lotions, gels, and others), and geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and Middle East and Africa )

To understand more about the self-tan products market, request a sample report

The self-tan products market report provides critical information and factual data, with a qualitative and quantitative study of the market based on market drivers and limitations as well as future prospects.

Why buy?

Add credibility to strategy

Analyzes competitor's offerings

Get a holistic view of the market

Grow your profit margin with Technavio - Buy the report

In 2017, the self-tan products market was valued at USD 575.86 million. From a regional perspective, North America held the largest market share, valued at USD 211.05 million. The self-tan products market size is estimated to grow by USD 197.83 million from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 4.55%, according to Technavio.

Self-tan products market - Customer landscape

To help companies evaluate and develop growth strategies, the report outlines 

Key purchase criteria

Adoption rates

Adoption lifecycle

Drivers of price sensitivity

For highlights on customer landscape analysis, download a sample!

Global self-tan products market - Vendor insights

The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies, such as acquiring new brands and entering into several partnerships. Technavio report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including -

Coty Inc. - The company offers self-tan products such as Sunshimmer instant tan light matte and Sunshimmer self-action tanning lotion.

The company offers self-tan products such as Sunshimmer instant tan light matte and Sunshimmer self-action tanning lotion. Crown Laboratories Inc. - The company offers self-tan products under its brand Vita Liberata .

The company offers self-tan products under its brand . Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC - The company offers self-tan products such as Alpha Beta Glow Pad.

Global self-tan products market  Market dynamics

Major drivers

Availability of self-tan products with multiple benefits

Rising awareness about the harmful health effects of natural tanning

Increase in regulatory initiatives discouraging artificial tanning salons

Key challenges

Increasing substitutes for commercially manufactured self-tan products

Strict regulations on self-tan products and their ingredients

Preference for natural tanning among mass consumers

Drivers and challenges have an impact on market dynamics, which can impact businesses. Find more insights in a sample report!

What are the key data covered in this self-tan products market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the self-tan products market between 2023 and 2027

Precise estimation of the size of the self-tan products market and its contribution to the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the self-tan products market across North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and Middle East and Africa

, , APAC, , and and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of self-tan products market vendors

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Related Reports:

The beauty and personal care products market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.06% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 57.45 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by product (skincare products, hair care products, color cosmetics, fragrances, and others), channel (offline and online), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The size of the cosmetics products market in France is expected to increase by USD 2.48 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 3.27%. This report extensively covers segmentation by distribution channel (offline and online) and product type (skincare products, haircare products, color cosmetics, and fragrances and deodorants).

Self-tan Products Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 167 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.55% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 197.83 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 4.05 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 31% Key countries US, China, UK, Germany, and Brazil Competitive landscape Leading vendors, market positioning of vendors, competitive strategies, and industry risks Key companies profiled Beauty by Earth, Bondi Sands Pty Ltd., Clarins Sdn Bhd, COOLA LLC, Coty Inc., Crown Laboratories Inc., Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC, Johnson and Johnson, Kao Corp., Kose Corp., LOreal SA, Nip and Fab Ltd., PZ Cussons Plc, Shiseido Co. Ltd., Skinerals, Synchronicity Spa Inc., Tan Luxe, The Estee Lauder Co. Inc., The Procter and Gamble Co., and Unilever PLC 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's consumer staples 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 Distribution Channel



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



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 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global self-tan products market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global self-tan products market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Distribution channel Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Distribution channel Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Product Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Distribution Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel

6.3 Supermarkets and hypermarkets - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Supermarkets and hypermarkets - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Supermarkets and hypermarkets - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Supermarkets and hypermarkets - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Supermarkets and hypermarkets - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Convenience stores - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Convenience stores - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Convenience stores - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Convenience stores - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Convenience stores - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Online - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Online - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Online - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Online - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Online - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Product

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 47: Chart on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 48: Data Table on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 49: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 50: Data Table on Comparison by Product

7.3 Lotions - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 51: Chart on Lotions - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 52: Data Table on Lotions - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Chart on Lotions - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 54: Data Table on Lotions - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Gels - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 55: Chart on Gels - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 56: Data Table on Gels - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Chart on Gels - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 58: Data Table on Gels - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 59: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 60: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 62: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 63: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 64: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 65: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 66: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 67: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 68: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 69: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 70: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 72: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 77: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 78: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 79: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 80: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 83: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 87: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 89: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 90: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 91: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 92: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 93: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 94: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 95: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 96: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 99: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Brazil - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on Brazil - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on Brazil - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 103: Chart on Brazil - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on Brazil - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 105: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 107: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 108: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 109: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 110: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 111: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 112: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 113: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 114: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 115: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 Clarins Sdn Bhd

Exhibit 116: Clarins Sdn Bhd - Overview



Exhibit 117: Clarins Sdn Bhd - Product / Service



Exhibit 118: Clarins Sdn Bhd - Key offerings

12.4 COOLA LLC

Exhibit 119: COOLA LLC - Overview



Exhibit 120: COOLA LLC - Product / Service



Exhibit 121: COOLA LLC - Key offerings

12.5 Coty Inc.

Exhibit 122: Coty Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 123: Coty Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 124: Coty Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 125: Coty Inc. - Segment focus

12.6 Crown Laboratories Inc.

Exhibit 126: Crown Laboratories Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 127: Crown Laboratories Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 128: Crown Laboratories Inc. - Key offerings

12.7 Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC

Exhibit 129: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC - Overview



Exhibit 130: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC - Product / Service



Exhibit 131: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare LLC - Key offerings

12.8 Johnson and Johnson

Exhibit 132: Johnson and Johnson - Overview



Exhibit 133: Johnson and Johnson - Business segments



Exhibit 134: Johnson and Johnson - Key news



Exhibit 135: Johnson and Johnson - Key offerings



Exhibit 136: Johnson and Johnson - Segment focus

12.9 Kao Corp.

Exhibit 137: Kao Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 138: Kao Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 139: Kao Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 140: Kao Corp. - Segment focus

12.10 Kose Corp.

Exhibit 141: Kose Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 142: Kose Corp. - Product / Service



Exhibit 143: Kose Corp. - Key offerings

12.11 LOreal SA

Exhibit 144: LOreal SA - Overview



Exhibit 145: LOreal SA - Business segments



Exhibit 146: LOreal SA - Key news



Exhibit 147: LOreal SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 148: LOreal SA - Segment focus

12.12 PZ Cussons Plc

Exhibit 149: PZ Cussons Plc - Overview



Exhibit 150: PZ Cussons Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 151: PZ Cussons Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 152: PZ Cussons Plc - Segment focus

12.13 Shiseido Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 153: Shiseido Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 154: Shiseido Co. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 155: Shiseido Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

12.14 Skinerals

Exhibit 156: Skinerals - Overview



Exhibit 157: Skinerals - Product / Service



Exhibit 158: Skinerals - Key offerings

12.15 The Estee Lauder Co. Inc.

Exhibit 159: The Estee Lauder Co. Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 160: The Estee Lauder Co. Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 161: The Estee Lauder Co. Inc. - Key offerings

12.16 The Procter and Gamble Co.

Exhibit 162: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Overview



Exhibit 163: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 164: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Key news



Exhibit 165: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 166: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Segment focus

12.17 Unilever PLC

Exhibit 167: Unilever PLC - Overview



Exhibit 168: Unilever PLC - Business segments



Exhibit 169: Unilever PLC - Key news



Exhibit 170: Unilever PLC - Key offerings



Exhibit 171: Unilever PLC - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 172: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 173: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 174: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 175: Research methodology



Exhibit 176: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 177: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 178: 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
Sharp returns to KBIS to preview their enhanced portfolio featuring smart Wi-Fi-enabled appliances, introduce new slide-in cooking ranges, and launch their ambassadorship with sustainability expert Danny Seo

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA) will be returning to the 2023 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas, NV, from January 31 to February 2, to exhibit its full suite of kitchen appliances alongside lifestyle and sustainability expert Danny Seo. Sharp Home Appliances will display its latest innovations, including its Smart Dishwasher, Built-In Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven, Smart Convection Wall Oven with Microwave Drawer Oven, and Smart Radiant Rangetop with Microwave Drawer Oven, a finalist in Best of KBIS.

Sharp will debut two new slide-in cooking ranges at the show: the new Electric Convection Slide-In Range and the Gas Convection Slide-In Range  both with Air Fry. Built for your dream kitchen, the ranges' sleek, modern edge-to-edge black glass with stainless steel finish complements any design aesthetic. Up-front controls allow for easy and convenient access and the extended edges help create a built-in look.

In addition, we are proud to announce Danny Seo as the new Brand Ambassador for Sharp Home Electronics Company of America. Danny Seo, the best-selling author, television personality, and editor of RUE and Naturally, Danny Seo, will be hosting private, by-appointment booth tours on Wednesday, February 1 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (Booth #W5301).

"I look forward to working with Sharp to amplify their solutions for the home," says Danny Seo. "I chose to align with the brand due to their tech-enhanced designs that seamlessly fit within any kitchen aesthetic."

Since debuting its full kitchen suite in 2020, Sharp has prioritized connected appliance innovation to further our commitment to Simply Better Living. "Our smart appliances make cooking simpler for our customers through voice commands, mobile device control, and thoughtfully designed controls," said Jim Sanduski, President, SHCA. "Sharp draws from its more than 110 years of experience as a technology leader to widen our portfolio of kitchen products, to complement a mindful and modern lifestyle."

Whether it's using the "Easy Wave" feature to open the Sharp Smart Microwave Drawer Oven or using your voice to start the Sharp Smart Dishwasher that Works with Alexa, Sharp will be exhibiting products that exemplify our ethos of Simply Better Living.

"Sharp is thrilled to return to KBIS to showcase the new and exciting kitchen solutions we have been cooking up," said Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, SHCA. "We're especially excited to team up with Danny Seo for the show and beyond, as he exemplifies our mantra of Simply Better Living with his expertise on sustainability, creativity, and design."

Some of the forward-thinking, smart appliances to be featured at the show include:

Smart Radiant Rangetop with Microwave Drawer Oven ( STR3065HS )  Best of KBIS Finalist

MSRP: $3,199.99

Built-In Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven ( SMD2499FS )

MSRP: $2,799.99

Built-In Smart Dishwasher ( SDW6767HS )

MSRP: $1,299.99

Smart Convection Wall Oven with Microwave Drawer Oven (SWB3085HS)

MSRP: $4,499.99

Visit the Sharp at Booth W5301 at KBIS from January 31-February 2, 2023. To schedule a booth walk-through with Danny Seo or meet with Sharp executives, contact [email protected] . To learn more about Sharp home appliances, visit shop.sharpusa.com .

About Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA)  Montvale, NJ

SHCA is the U.S. Consumer Products Group of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. sales subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer and manufacturer of one-of-a-kind premium technology products. SHCA includes the manufacturing of premium home appliances in Memphis, TN, together with the sales & marketing, and servicing of home electronics based in Montvale, NJ. Leading products include Sharp Carousel, Microwave Drawer ovens, SuperSteam+ ovens, and Plasmacluster Ion air purifiers.

Sharp Corporation appears on Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for 2022. Sharp Electronics Corporation received a 2022 award for Best Places to Work in NJ. Learn more at http://www.sharpusa.com/.

Sharp, Microwave Drawer, and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Amazon, Echo, Alexa, and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

About Danny Seo

Danny Seo is the Editor in Chief of "Naturally, Danny Seo" and the Publisher and Co-Principal of "RUE" Magazine. He's also the author of 14 bestselling books that cover home design, sustainability, crafts, and cooking, including his latest book "Naturally, Delicious Dinners." His popular magazine "Naturally" will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year and reaches 3.2 million readers in print and on digital platforms like Apple News. Danny is also the Emmy Award-winning host and Executive Producer of "Naturally, Danny Seo" on NBC which ran for three seasons and now streams on the Peacock platform. Danny's collection of mindfully made home products are sold in thousands of stores in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, and his clean beauty show airs live on SHOPHQ. He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Press Contact:

Kellyn Curtis

972.816.1355

[email protected]

SOURCE Sharp Home Electronics Company of America
Claure to also make $100 million investment in SHEIN

SINGAPORE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, SHEIN, a global e-retailer of fashion, beauty and lifestyle products, announced the appointment of Marcelo Claure as Chairman of SHEIN Latin America. In this new role, Claure will oversee the company's Latin American strategy and stakeholder affairs in Latin America, working closely with SHEIN's management team.

Claure will also lead the formation of an advisory board for SHEIN Latin America to help provide local expertise and serve as the chairman, as well as invest $100 million in SHEIN.

"We are thrilled to welcome Marcelo to SHEIN during an exciting time of growth for our company in Latin America," said Sky Xu, CEO of SHEIN. "His excellent track record as an entrepreneur and operational executive, combined with his deep experience growing global brands and building trusted relationships, will be instrumental as we expand in this important market."

Claure's new role with SHEIN is aligned with his recent decision to focus a significant amount of his time and capital on Latin America, a part of the world where given his deep ties, he can continue to create a notable impact. As part of his strategy, Claure will make meaningful investments into a select group of companies and founders that are based in Latin America as well as global companies that are looking to grow and expand into Latin America.

"I am incredibly inspired by SHEIN's vision of making fashion accessible to everyone through its unique on-demand business model," said Claure. "As a person who is passionate about Latin America and will be focused intently on investing there moving forward, this is a unique opportunity for me to contribute to the region together with SHEIN. In Latin America, countries like Mexico and Brazil are at a stage of development where nearshoring, with the help of SHEIN's supply chain technology, can enable local supply chains to flourish. I am honored to join Sky and his executive team to help drive economic opportunities and job growth in Latin America."

Claure is a global entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of Claure Group, a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm focused on multiple high growth sectors in Latin America including tech, telecom, media, real estate and sports. He started his first business, Brightstar, in 1997, growing it to become the world's largest global wireless distribution and services company and the largest Hispanic business in U.S. history with revenues exceeding $10 billion.

In 2014, Claure sold Brightstar to SoftBank and became the CEO of Sprint, where he led its turnaround and delivered the best financial results in the company's 120-year history, and later led the $195 billion merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, which closed in 2020 and is now the world's most valuable telecommunications company with a market cap of nearly $200 billion. Following the merger, Claure was promoted to CEO of SoftBank Group International, where he had direct oversight of over 40 companies in SoftBank's portfolio, including ARM, SB Energy and WeWork. He also launched the $8 billion SoftBank Latin America fund in 2019, the largest VC fund in the region.

Claure received a B.S. in Economics and Finance and an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University, and an honorary Doctorate of Law from Babson College. He is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.

About SHEIN

SHEIN is a global fashion and lifestyle e-retailer committed to making the beauty of fashion accessible to all. We use on-demand manufacturing technology to connect suppliers to our agile supply chain, reducing inventory waste and enabling us to deliver a variety of affordable products to customers around the world. From our global offices, we reach customers in more than 150 countries. To learn more about SHEIN, visit www.SHEINGroup.com

Press Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE SHEIN
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE: SI) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: November 11, 2020 to January 5, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: February 6, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in SI:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/silvergate-capital-corporation-loss-submission-form?id=36041&from=4

Silvergate Capital Corporation NEWS - SI NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Silvergate Capital Corporation made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company's platform lacked sufficient controls and procedures to detect instances of money laundering; (2) Silvergate's customers had engaged in money laundering in amounts exceeding $425 million; (3) as a result of the foregoing, the Company was reasonably likely to receive regulatory scrutiny and face damages, including penalties and reputational harm; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendant's positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Silvergate you have until February 6, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Silvergate securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the SI lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/silvergate-capital-corporation-loss-submission-form?id=36041&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
The Simply Organic Giving Fund awarded $150,000 to five organizations providing resources to communities facing food insecurity

NORWAY, Iowa, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Simply Organic, a leader in organic herbs, spices, flavors and seasonings, today announced this year's recipients of its Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program, donating a collective $150,000 to five organizations working to address systemic food insecurity across the U.S.

For the 2023 granting period, the Simply Organic Giving Fund selected organizations that are spearheading resource programs and initiatives to empower underserved communities facing food insecurity, including refugees and immigrants, and families living in food deserts. Since the Fund pivoted to addressing the issue of food insecurity five years ago, this year marks $725,000 donated to frontline organizations.

"Simply Organic has a deep-rooted history in organics, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to harness the power of organics to nourish lives and preserve the earth," says Sheryl Marchetti, Senior Marketing Director for Simply Organic. "Through our annual Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program, we live that commitment by assisting organizations dedicated to addressing food insecurity in underserved and marginalized communities. We're honored to reinforce the impactful work stemming from these community leaders through this program."

The 2023 Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program recipients include:

Dion's Chicago Dream : Dion's Chicago Dream brings fresh, healthy produce to low-income communities throughout the Chicagoland areawhere more than 500,000 people struggle with hunger and food insecurity on a regular basis and will receive a $25,000 grant from Simply Organic to continue expanding Dream Deliveries and increase access to healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Dion's Chicago Dream brings fresh, healthy produce to low-income communities throughout the Chicagoland areawhere more than 500,000 people struggle with hunger and food insecurity on a regular basis and will receive a grant from Simply Organic to continue expanding Dream Deliveries and increase access to healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables. Emergency Food Network : Emergency Food Network's Mother Earth Farm provides organic produce to local food pantries in Pierce County, Washington . Mother Earth Farm will receive a $40,000 grant to continue growing the 100+ varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs to help pantry guests from a wide range of backgrounds access fresh, culturally significant food.

Emergency Food Network's Mother Earth Farm provides organic produce to local food pantries in . Mother Earth Farm will receive a grant to continue growing the 100+ varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs to help pantry guests from a wide range of backgrounds access fresh, culturally significant food. Matthew 25 : Matthew 25's Groundswell Cafe is a "pay-it-forward" eatery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that provides guests with access to handmade organic meals  regardless of their ability to pay. Groundswell Cafe will receive a $15,000 grant to continue providing free, healthy, organic meals to residents in need.

Matthew 25's Groundswell Cafe is a "pay-it-forward" eatery in that provides guests with access to handmade organic meals  regardless of their ability to pay. Groundswell Cafe will receive a grant to continue providing free, healthy, organic meals to residents in need. Multicultural Refugee Coalition : Multicultural Refugee Coalition's social enterprise, New Leaf Agriculture, is a Certified USDA Organic farm that provides meaningful work and fair wages to immigrants, refugees and asylees in Austin, Texas . Multicultural Refugee Coalition will receive a $25,000 grant to support New Leaf Agriculture's Traditional Provisions program to help provide nutrient-dense, culturally desired produce to newly arrived refugees through weekly CSA programs and community networks.

: Multicultural Refugee Coalition's social enterprise, New Leaf Agriculture, is a Certified USDA Organic farm that provides meaningful work and fair wages to immigrants, refugees and asylees in . Multicultural Refugee Coalition will receive a grant to support New Leaf Agriculture's Traditional Provisions program to help provide nutrient-dense, culturally desired produce to newly arrived refugees through weekly CSA programs and community networks. Project Worthmore: Project Worthmore's Delaney Community Farm supports refugees in the Denver area through community-based food security programs. Dedicated farm shares grow organic, culturally relevant produce, which reaches more than 750 refugee families and will receive a $45,000 grant to expand their operations at DeLaney Farm and continue to distribute fresh, healthy produce.

"In modern-day America, working with individuals who face food insecurity is heartbreaking, and supporting them against systemic injustices to work towards equity takes a village," said Erika Bodor, Managing Director of 2023 grant recipient Project Worthmore. "We are so fortunate, proud and honored to have Frontier Co-op and Simply Organic as part of our village since 2020. By supporting our refugee-run farm and organic food share programs through funding, products and time donated, Frontier Co-op and Simply Organic have helped thousands of displaced families out of food insecurity and into breaking cycles of poverty and poor health."

Established in 2001, the Simply Organic Giving Fund was originally organized to support organic agricultural development, and to date has given more than $2.35 million to projects around the globe. In 2018, the brand turned its giving focus to the growing issue of food insecurity in the United States and Canada and has since partnered with a dozen organizations dedicated to providing food insecure communities access to healthy organic food options.

To learn more about the Simply Organic Giving Fund, visit http://www.simplyorganic.com/community/about/giving-back.

Simply Organic

Simply Organic, an all-organic brand from Frontier Co-op, offers an extensive and growing selection of certified organic spices, baking flavors and extracts, seasoning mixes, and simmer sauces, while supporting organizations working to end food insecurity. Find out more about Simply Organic at www.simplyorganic.com.

Frontier Co-op

Founded in 1976 and based in Norway, Iowa, Frontier Co-op offers a full line of products for natural living under the Frontier Co-op, Simply Organic, Plant Boss, and Aura Cacia brands. Products include culinary herbs, spices and baking flavors; bulk herbs and spices; plant-based organic meal solutions; and aromatherapy products with a wide selection of organics. Frontier Co-op's goal is to provide consumers with the highest-quality products while supporting and promoting social and environmental responsibility. For more information, visit the co-op's website at www.frontiercoop.com.

Media Contact:

Alicia Simmons

CSR Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE Simply Organic
LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Singletrack, the capital markets client engagement and analytics expert, today announced that accomplished finance professional Euan Menzies has joined as CFO, heading up the finance and admin divisions of Singletrack.

Euan joins with 20+ years' experience of driving fast growing technology companies internationally, most recently at poq, a Software-as-a-Service native mobile app platform for digital commerce.

Euan Menzies, CFO at Singletrack (PRNewsfoto/Singletrack Systems Ltd)

Stuart Berwick, co-founder and CEO of Singletrack says: "Euan is an expert finance and business leader, with experience spanning numerous technology businesses, operating in the UK, US and Asia. As such, he has exactly the right profile to be joining us at this stage of our journey as we scale the business globally in partnership with investment firm Accel-KKR, who invested in Singletrack last year."

Euan Menzies comments: "I'm delighted to be joining the team at Singletrack. I've been impressed by the knowledge, commitment and vision I've seen here. It is a company with a strong track record, great potential and a recognised presence in the capital markets space and, as CFO, I am looking forward to contributing to the company's ambitious growth plans."

About Singletrack:

Singletrack provides client engagement, research management, deal targeting and analytics for capital markets. With over 60 clients in 29 countries, we are the go-to choice for ambitious capital market firms. On the sell side, our purpose-built platform boosts performance across sales, trading, research, investment banking, operations, strategy, corporate access and compliance. On the buy side, Singletrack enhances provider relations with a platform that enables asset managers to track, measure and evaluate services from brokers and other sell side firms with ease.

Using Singletrack's fast-to-implement platform, firms say that the AI-driven advanced analytics and guided user behaviour help them create deeper capital markets relationships and generate significant additional value by maximising revenue, profitability and workflow efficiency. Visit Singletrack to learn more.

For more information please contact:

Liz Fidler

+44 (0)7970018647

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1992920/Euan_Menzies.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1803884/Singletrack_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Singletrack Systems Ltd
SAVANNAH, Ga., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- South University is proud to announce partnerships with Alabama State University and Wallace Community College to provide increased educational and healthcare opportunities to minorities in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. Rich in history, and revered as communities that furthered the progress of the Civil Rights Movement, Montgomery and Selma are statistically challenged by poverty and in need of support and resources.

"These agreements have great potential and exemplify universities working together to establish programs responsive to the needs of students, minorities, and their communities," said Vice Chancellor and Provost at South University, Gil Singletary, Ph.D., JD, MBA, MSW.

South University x Alabama State University

On February 1st at 10AM CT, university officials will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the ASU Minority Pharmacy Grant. The purpose of this MOU is to increase the number of minority pharmacists in Alabama and work to alleviate "pharmacy deserts". Generally found in low-income and minority-populated areas, pharmacy deserts are prevalent in Alabama and many other rural states and counties across America. The poverty rate in Montgomery, Alabama is 57.03% higher than the US average. When areas like Montgomery lack convenient access to a pharmacy, an increasingly essential center for community health services, the issue contributes to minority health disparities.

"Advancing this work is consistent with the work I've always championed to eradicate the social determinants of health," said Singletary. "We are passionate about supporting the students of ASU on their journeys into pharmacy, and thus, giving back to the needs of the Montgomery community."

South University x Wallace Community College

On February 2nd, university officials will sign an MOU to provide an opportunity for Wallace Students to advance their education while remaining in and contributing to their community. This partnership will have a significant impact on future nurses, businesses, and students in general. Nearly 80% of the population in Selma is African American, and the poverty rate in Selma, Alabama is a staggering 182.81% higher than the US average.

"Woven into the fabric of our country's history, Selma is a pivotal piece. We are optimistic and honored to create opportunities for minority students to advance their education and further contribute to the community of Selma," said Singletary.

For more information on the South University/ASU agreement and the South University/Wallace Community College agreement, please contact South University's Montgomery campus at 1-334-395-1198.

About South University

South University is an academic institution dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the intellectual, social, and professional development of a diverse student population.

To achieve this purpose, the institution offers focused and balanced programs at the associate, baccalaureate, master, and doctoral levels. A broad-based core curriculum is offered, promoting critical thinking, effective verbal and written communication, and skills for life-long learning. Additionally, the University focuses on developing the requisites to appreciate knowledge as well as a pursuit of lifelong learning.

Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. * Credentials and experience levels vary by faculty and instructors. Not all programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. Administrative office: South University, 709 Mall Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31406-4805  2023 South University. All rights reserved.

Media contact: Lacy Jansoon, [email protected]

SOURCE South University
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SoutheastHEALTH announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with St. Louis-based Mercy to join the health system as a full member. The letter of intent culminates a search process involving the SoutheastHEALTH selection committee, Southeast Hospital board of directors and SoutheastHEALTH System board of directors.

SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Ken Bateman said, "We've achieved our goal, to focus on alignment with a health system that demonstrates a strong willingness to make SoutheastHEALTH a regional hub in southeast Missouri and the greater tri-state area it serves. Mercy is the best strategic fit for both entities and this vision. With a proven track record in community health, Mercy fully supports strengthening access to affordable primary and specialty health care for all residents in the communities we serve."

Mercy is the best strategic fit. Mercy fully supports strengthening access to affordable health care for all residents. Tweet this

Bateman also said that while Mercy's scale is important, this alignment is also a great fit for SoutheastHEALTH's culture and is good for the community.

"We look forward to the opportunity to provide even more access to high-quality, lower-cost health care for the Cape Girardeau community," said Steve Mackin, Mercy president and CEO. "By joining together, we will utilize Mercy's extensive network of resources and services to further position SoutheastHEALTH as the regional hub for industry leading health care. We are very excited to have the potential to serve in this part of Missouri."

SoutheastHEALTH System Board Chairman, Dr. Jim Dufek, said "I'm pleased with the thoughtfulness of the process and the engagement of individuals represented across the health system and the community."

He added that the alignment of the two health systems has the full support of the board of directors and is being communicated to employees and physicians at a series of meetings starting today. Dufek estimates a definitive agreement will be completed this summer with integration taking place this fall.

About SoutheastHEALTH

At SoutheastHEALTH, the premier health care system in southeast Missouri, our patients receive excellent care of the highest clinical quality, close to home. Within our network are more than 51 care locations in 11 communities, including hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics representing over 30 clinical specialties and extending care for patients in a four-state area. Learn more at SEhealth.org.

About Mercy

Mercy, one of the 25 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized quality care and one of the nation's largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 4,000 Mercy Clinic physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 40,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

SOURCE Mercy
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumaria Systems, a leading provider of professional, technology, engineering, and management services to the U.S. Government, has announced the appointment of Dave Dzaran to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As CEO, Dave will oversee the continued growth of the company and sustain the strong culture built on performance, teamwork and commitment to its customers, partners, and employees.

Dave Dzaran, Chief Executive Officer, Sumaria Systems

Before joining Sumaria, Dave served most recently as a Deputy Program Director at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He began his career as an Air Force officer and served over 20 years working the development and delivery of a variety of cutting edge, advanced airborne and space Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems. After his USAF retirement, Dave served as the CEO for Centauri (formerly known as Integrity Applications International) for 15 years, during which he transformed the company by expanding capabilities, infrastructure, as well as the depth and breadth of products and services. Centauri provided high-end engineering solutions for national security missions focused on space, intelligence, cyber and emerging technologies, including directed energy and autonomous vehicles.

"Dave is a proven leader with over 38 years of executive leadership experience working in sensor and spacecraft design, system engineering, development, integration, and testing." said Edward P. Marram, Chairman of the Board. "In addition to his technical background, Dave is an accomplished CEO, and we are extremely fortunate to have him join our management team."

About Sumaria Systems

Sumaria Systems, LLC provides professional, technology, engineering, and management services to the U.S. Government. Headquartered in Danvers, MA with operations across the US, Sumaria brings exceptional past performance, certified and validated processes, and an unwavering commitment to mission success. Sumaria provides specialized professionals for every need, with flexible contract vehicles to serve the requirements of our customers. We operate with the highest degree of integrity, objectivity, and competency to provide outstanding performance and maintain long-term relationships with our customers, partners, and employees.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sumaria.com

SOURCE Sumaria Systems
Expanded family-forming benefits include in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy allowances

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With family so often associated with home, national homebuilder and land developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC) is enhancing its suite of employee perks to include additional family-forming benefits.

Team members enrolled in any of Taylor Morrison's medical plans are now eligible for up to $20,000 in fertility benefits covering a range of treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), fertility testing and restorative treatments. Taylor Morrison is also newly introducing financial support for surrogacy assistance. These fertility benefits are in addition to the company's established paid parental leave and adoption assistance.

"The journey to parenthood oftentimes isn't linear or without trials," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheryl Palmer, mother of three and grandmother of five. "There is also a magnitude of diversity when it comes to the different ways families are built, including people struggling with infertility and those who become parents later in life, to single parents and LGBTQ+ couples."

One in eight couples struggle with fertility according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national survey of family growth.[1] The average cost of one IVF cycle ranges from $12,400 $30,000 and surrogacy costs in the U.S. rank the highest in the world.[2]

One longtime Taylor Morrison team member with a 20-year tenure recounts her own experiences with fertility treatment five years ago, costing upwards of $65,000.

"Infertility can be a long, emotional and costly journey," shared the Texas-based team member. "After several difficult years trying to conceive, my daughter was born with the help of IVF. I know firsthand what a blessing these fertility benefits will be for those struggling to start a family, and I am overjoyed to work for an employer who cares."

As a growing workforce of Gen Z and millennials increase demographically, many report a desire to join an organization that aligns with their core values while also offering competitive employee perks.[3] Fertility benefits like those offered by Taylor Morrison are beginning to be seen as a necessity among nearly half of workers (45 percent) according to a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll.[4] Yet in 2022, 39 percent of employers with more than 500 employees still do not provide any kind of fertility benefit.[5]

"To alleviate some of the associated stress and financial burden that comes with building a family through avenues like IVF, surrogacy or adoption is one of the most meaningful ways we can take care of and support our team members," added Palmer.

About Taylor Morrison

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brandsincluding Taylor Morrison, Esplanade, Darling Homes Collection by Taylor Morrison and Yardly. From 2016-2023, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted Builder by Lifestory Research. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities and our team is highlighted in our latest annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.

For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.

CONTACT: Erin Kristick

(480) 840-8108

[email protected]

SOURCE Taylor Morrison
The Nation's Original and Most Iconic Frozen Yogurt Brand Offers a Sweet Treat on February 6th

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt), the world's original and most iconic frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day on Monday, February 6, by giving fans up to six-ounces of free frozen yogurt. The deal will run in-store all day on Monday, February 6, so guests can join in on the sweet celebration at participating locations.

TCBY Invites Fans To Celebrate National Frozen Yogurt Day With Free Frozen Yogurt

Guests will be able to enjoy TCBY's extensive lineup of frozen yogurt, which includes a wide selection of low-fat, nonfat, or no-sugar-added varieties, as well as non-dairy flavors such as our new oat milk varieties and fruit sorbets. TCBY also has unique frozen yogurt delights like sundaes, banana splits, Chillers, milkshakes, parfaits, and Shivers, giving fans a variety of ways to sweeten their day.

"At TCBY, we strive to show our customers how much we appreciate them, and there is no better day to celebrate our loyal froyo fans than National Frozen Yogurt Day," said Nelson Tejada, Chief Executive Officer of Famous Brands International. "We look forward to celebrating with our guests at their local TCBY locations and hope they will enjoy their favorite frozen treat on us."

As the trailblazers of frozen yogurt, TCBY has been delivering its signature delicious and healthier frozen desserts since opening its first location in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981. Today, TCBY is the only dual soft-serve and hand-scooped frozen yogurt franchise on the market, serving guests at over 250 stores system-wide. Always innovating, the brand leads the market in nutrition, taste, and product quality.

For more information regarding TCBY, including store locations, please visit www.tcby.com. Fans can also 'like' TCBY on Facebook and follow the brand on Instagram and Twitter.

About TCBY:

TCBY is the original and most well-known frozen yogurt brand, leading the market in nutrition, taste and product quality. With over 40 years of experience, TCBY is a successful model that has fueled the growth of a thriving industry. TCBY, which currently has 250-plus franchise locations system-wide, offers an extensive product line, with most yogurt flavors low in fat, nonfat, or no sugar added. TCBY launched its unique frozen yogurt classification "Super FroYo" in 2011 and is still the most nutritious frozen yogurt product available in the market. TCBY was also the first brand to market Greek Frozen Yogurt. TCBY and Mrs. Fields are part of Famous Brands International. For more information, visit www.tcby.com or www.tcby.com/franchise/ .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Alissa Bremner

[email protected]

213.225.4420

SOURCE TCBY
Appointment Represents Strategic Milestone for Company to Addresses Rapidly Growing Demand for Professional-Grade 3D Development Tools

BEND, Ore., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech Soft 3D, the leading provider of engineering software development toolkits, today announces that Tyler Barnes has been appointed President of the company. Barnes' appointment marks a strategic milestone for the company as they grow their portfolio and capabilities to address the increasing demand for their software development toolkits for building advanced engineering applications. With the rapid rise in demand for 3D developer tools driven by expansion in areas such as Additive Manufacturing, Simulation and Analysis, Digital Twin, BIM, AR/VR and many others, as well as the ongoing shift to the cloud, the company is in the midst of an accelerated growth phase. The creation of the President role will help the company manage the needs of the company's more than 700 partners today, while charting a path to address the needs of an even larger community of developers in the future. Ron Fritz will remain in his role as CEO of Tech Soft 3D.

Tech Soft 3D Elevates Tyler Barnes to President

"Since joining Tech Soft 3D, Tyler has demonstrated the kind of strategic thinking and business acumen that has helped the company become the leader that it is today, as well as a natural leadership ability that inspires confidence and excellence within his team and across the company. I am highly confident and excited about the next phase of growth for the company," said Fritz.

Barnes joined Tech Soft 3D in 2014 and helped grow the company's marketing and business development efforts. Before joining Tech Soft 3D, he spent more than 10 years at Autodesk in the manufacturing solutions group, leading product marketing and product management teams for multiple mechanical design and related product lines, as well as a number of marketing positions at other technology companies prior to Autodesk.

"These recent years at Tech Soft 3D have been unprecedented in our growth, and have shown us what's possible for the future," said Barnes. "I am honored to serve as President and very much looking forward to continuing to work with the most phenomenally great team in the industry to drive the kind of innovation and product superiority that empowers our partners to build world-class engineering applications for manufacturing, building and construction and other industries on a broader scale."

In his role as CEO, Fritz will remain focused on growing the company's reach, across industries and geographically. Barnes will remain based in Bend, OR at Tech Soft 3D HQ.

About Tech Soft 3D

Tech Soft 3D is the leading provider of engineering software development toolkits. Established in 1996 and headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Tech Soft 3D also has offices in California, France, England, Japan and Norway. The company's toolkit products power more than 500 unique applications running on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide. Tech Soft 3D is backed by investment firm Battery Ventures. For more information, visit www.techsoft3d.com.

Press Contact:

Angela Simoes

4153022934

https://www.techsoft3d.com

SOURCE Tech Soft 3D
Total of 24 Maryland companies to receive expert advice and proposal support

COLUMBIA, Md., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TEDCO, Maryland's economic engine for technology companies, announced the selection of 24 Maryland companies to participate in the FY2023 FAST SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab cohort. This program, now in its fifth year, supports companies in the cohort, allowing them to work closely with TEDCO experts on preparing polished proposals for up to $275,000 in federal awards through the SBIR/STTR Phase 1 program. The companies in this year's cohort encompass a variety of technology disciplines, from medical devices to quantum computing to even biomanufacturing.

The companies in this year's cohort encompass a variety of technology disciplines. Tweet this Total of 24 Maryland companies to receive expert advice and proposal support

"TEDCO is dedicated to supporting innovators throughout Maryland. As such, we continue to look for new ways to improve their chances of successthat's what our Proposal Lab is for," said TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall. "Through this program, TEDCO can work to increase the chance Maryland companies' success when applying for the SBIR/STTR funding opportunities."

What is SBIR/STTR?

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, housed in 12 federal agencies and coordinated by the U.S. Small Business Administration, are the Nation's largest source of non-dilutive government early stage/high-risk funding for startups and small businesses. These highly competitive programs are designed to encourage small businesses with potential for commercialization to engage with Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D). The awards-based program enables small businesses to explore their technological potential while providing an incentive to profit through commercialization.

Proposal Lab Participation Leads to Higher Success Rates

Companies selected to participate in TEDCO's Proposal Lab and submit proposals are, on average, seeing an award rate of 39%. This is more than double the national average of 15% for Phase 1 SBIR awards. In partnership with the Rockville, Md woman-owned OST Global Solutions, this six-month lab will connect companies with experts from TEDCO's Network Advisor program; these experts will provide the cohort with actionable feedback through two proposal reviews, thereby increasing the company's likelihood of award.

Throughout the proposal lab, TEDCO will bring in experts from selected government SBIR/STTR program offices to provide information and answer questions on everything from timing, to writing style, and to what makes a proposal compelling.

"The SBIR program is a wonderful opportunity for companies to be awarded non-dilutive funding to further their innovation research; the program attracts numerous applicants, making it extremely competitive," said Kim Mozingo, director of TEDCO's Federal Programs. "But through our Proposal Lab, we give companies the tools, education, and guidance they need to ensure their applications have the best chance for success."

The 24 Maryland Companies Selected for the FY2023 Cohort

About TEDCO

TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, enhances economic empowerment growth through the fostering of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. TEDCO identifies, invests in, and helps grow technology and life science-based companies in Maryland. Learn more at www.tedcomd.com.

Media Contact

Tammi Thomas, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, TEDCO, [email protected]

SOURCE TEDCO
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dominican Republic (the " Republic ") announced today (i) the aggregate principal amount of bonds that have been validly tendered pursuant to its previously announced offer to purchase for cash the bonds (the " Existing Bonds ") listed in the table below (the " Offer "), pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions described in the offer document dated January 24, 2023 (the " Offer Document "), and (ii) that the exchange rate at which the Purchase Price and Accrued Interest payable in connection with the Offer will be converted to U.S. dollars is DOP56.6207 per US$1.00 (the " Applicable Exchange Rate "). The Offer expired as scheduled at 8:00 a.m. (New York City time) on January 31, 2023. The aggregate principal amount of Existing Bonds validly tendered was DOP37,221,000,000. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning ascribed to them in the Offer Document.

The following table indicates the aggregate principal amount of Existing Bonds that had been validly tendered pursuant to the Offer as of 8:00 a.m. (New York City time) on January 31, 2023.

Title of Existing Bonds ISIN / CUSIP Aggregate Principal

Amount Tendered(1) Percentage of

Aggregate Principal

Amount Tendered(2) Purchase Price(3) 8.900% Bonds due 2023 USP3579EBZ99 / P3579EBZ9 (Reg S) US25714PDX33 / 25714P DX3 (144A) DOP37,221,000,000 93.05 % DOP1,000















(1) Information regarding the aggregate principal amount of Existing Bonds tendered is based on information received from the Tender and Information Agent (as defined below). (2) Principal amount of Existing Bonds tendered pursuant to the Offer expressed as an approximate percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Existing Bonds outstanding. (3) Per DOP1,000 principal amount of the Existing Bonds validly tendered and accepted for purchase. Holders whose Existing Bonds were validly tendered and are accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer will also receive Accrued Interest. Holders whose Existing Bonds were validly tendered and are accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer will be paid in U.S. dollars as described herein and in the Offer Document.

The Offer is conditioned, among other things, on the concurrent (or earlier) closing of an issuance by the Republic of one or more series of DOP-denominated, New York law-governed debt securities, in an aggregate principal amount, with pricing and on terms and conditions acceptable to the Republic in its sole discretion (the " New Notes Offering "). The Republic intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the New Notes Offering to purchase the Existing Bonds accepted for purchase. The New Notes Offering has been made solely by means of an offering memorandum relating to the New Notes Offering, and neither this announcement nor the Offer Document constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any such new debt securities.

The Republic reserves the right, in its sole discretion, not to accept any valid orders to tender Existing Bonds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offer or to terminate the Offer for any reason. In the event of a termination of the Offer, tendered Existing Bonds will be returned to the tendering Holder.

The total purchase price for the principal amount of the Existing Bonds validly tendered by a Holder and accepted by the Republic will be an amount in cash equal to the outstanding principal amount of such Existing Bonds, multiplied by the Purchase Price, plus Accrued Interest (the " Total Purchase Price "). If the Total Purchase Price minus Accrued Interest for all validly tendered Existing Bonds (the " Tendered Aggregate Purchase Price ") would exceed the Maximum Purchase Price, then the Republic will, in its sole discretion, apply a proration factor to the Tenders.

If the Republic accepts all or a portion of a Holder's tender of Existing Bonds, the Holder will be entitled to receive for such Existing Bonds the Purchase Price plus Accrued Interest converted into U.S. dollars at the Applicable Exchange Rate, payable on the Settlement Date (as defined below) in U.S. dollars if the conditions of the Offer are met. The Applicable Exchange Rate corresponds to the average of the buy and sell spot foreign exchange rates published by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, which represent the weighted averages of transactions completed prior to 5:30 p.m. on January 27, 2023 by commercial banks and financial institutions in the Dominican Republic, as calculated by the Central Bank, and which are available at the Central Bank's website at https://cdn.bancentral.gov.do/documents/estadisticas/mercado-cambiario/documents/TASA_DOLAR_REFERENCIA_MC.xlsx?v=1674595023895https://bcrdgdcprod.blob.core.windows.net/documents/estadisticas/mercado-cambiario/documents/TASA_DOLAR_REFERENCIA_MC.xls.

The settlement of validly tendered and accepted Existing Bonds is expected to occur on Friday, February 3, 2023, subject to change without notice (the " Settlement Date ").

On January 31, 2023, at or around 5:00 p.m. (New York City time), subject to change without notice, the Republic expects to announce: (i) the Maximum Purchase Price; (ii) the Tendered Aggregate Purchase Price; (iii) the aggregate principal amount of Tenders of the Existing Bonds that has been accepted; and (iv) any proration of Tenders of the Existing Bonds.

The Offer Document may be downloaded from the website of Global Bondholder Services Corporation (the " Tender and Information Agent ") at https://www.gbsc-usa.com/dominican/ or obtained from the Tender and Information Agent or from any of the Dealer Managers at the contact information below. Questions regarding the Offer may be directed to the Dealer Managers at the below contact information.

The Dealer Managers for the Offer are:

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 388 Greenwich Street, 4th Floor Trading New York, New York 10013 United States of America Attn: Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 723-6106 Toll-Free: +1 (800) 558-3745 Email: [email protected] J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

383 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10179

United States of America

Attn: Latin America Debt Capital Markets Collect: +1 (212) 834-7279

Toll-Free: +1 (866) 846-2874

The Tender and Information Agent for the Existing Bonds is:

Global Bondholder Services Corporation

65 Broadway  Suite 404

New York, New York 10006

United States of America

Attn: Corporate Actions

Banks and Brokers call: (212) 430-3774

Toll free +1 (855) 654-2014

Email: [email protected]

By facsimile:

(For Eligible Institutions only):

+1 (212) 430-3775/3779

Confirmation:

+1 (212) 430-3774

By Mail: By Overnight Courier: By Hand: 65 Broadway  Suite 404 New York, New York 10006 United States of America 65 Broadway  Suite 404 New York, New York 10006 United States of America 65 Broadway  Suite 404 New York, New York 10006 United States of America

Important Notice

This announcement is for informational purposes only. It is not complete and may not contain all the information that you should consider before tendering Existing Bonds. You should read the entire Offer Document.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase for cash or a solicitation of invitations for offers to purchase for cash any Existing Bonds. The distribution of materials relating to the Offer and the transactions contemplated thereby may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. The Offer is being made only by the Offer Document and in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so. The Offer is void in all jurisdictions where it is prohibited. If materials relating to the Offer come into your possession, you are required to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. Each person accepting the Offer shall be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed (in respect of itself and any person for whom it is acting) that it is not a person to whom it is unlawful to make the Offer pursuant to the Offer Document, it has not distributed or forwarded the Offer Document or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer to any such person, and that it has complied with all laws and regulations applicable to it for purposes of participating in the Offer. Neither the Republic nor the Dealer Managers accepts any responsibility for any violation by any person of the restrictions applicable in any jurisdiction.

The materials relating to the Offer, including this announcement, do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. This announcement and the Offer Document do not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the Offer is required to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and in which any Dealer Manager or any of its affiliates is so licensed, it shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Managers or such affiliates on behalf of the Republic.

SOURCE The Dominican Republic
QUANTICO, Va., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The National Board of the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA) mourns the death of Tyre Nichols and condemns the despicable actions of the Memphis Police Department officers involved.

"The FBINAA family sends our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Nichols's family and the entire Memphis community" said FBINAA President Tim Braniff, "as we all saw in the videos on Friday evening, the actions of those involved are beyond comprehension and those responsible must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. While the vast majority who serve in a law enforcement capacity are committed to justice, this revolting event is an example of the abuse of power and the total lack of regard of human life. As law enforcement leaders, we must continue our efforts to change the police culture to serve and protect. As leaders, we must protect those who cannot protect themselves, create a culture where an incident like this never occurs again, and that our profession commits to instituting a culture in which peer intervention will thrive."

The FBINAA joins those who continue to support the Memphis community and stand united with our communities, citizens, and public safety professionals to strengthening the rule of law around the globe.

About the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc.

The FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing the highest degree of law enforcement expertise, leadership training, and information to law enforcement executives around the world. The Association's Mission is "Impacting communities by providing and promoting law enforcement leadership through training and networking." Association members are graduates of the prestigious FBI National Academy Program. The FBINAA has nearly 16,000 members representing all 50 US states, over 8,200 law enforcement agencies, and 194 countries worldwide. The FBINAA is the strongest law enforcement leadership network in the world. Located in Quantico, VA, the FBINAA is a non-political organization and is not affiliated with any special interest group.

SOURCE FBI National Academy Associates, Inc.
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

As previously announced, the current Chairman of the Board Lars Renstrom has declined re-election.

The current Board member Eva Karlsson has also declined re-election.

has also declined re-election. The Nomination Committee proposes that the current Board member Johan Hjertonsson is elected as Chairman of the Board.

The Nomination Committee also proposes that Victoria Van Camp is elected as new member of the Board.

is elected as new member of the Board. All other current Board members and the Vice Chairman are proposed to be re-elected.

The Nomination Committee's proposal means that the Board shall consist of eight ordinary members without deputies in accordance with the following:

Johan Hjertonsson, Chairman

Carl Douglas, Vice Chairman

Lena Olving

Sofia Schorling Hogberg

Joakim Weidemanis

Susanne Pahlen Aklundh

Erik Ekudden

Victoria Van Camp (new election)

Johan Hjertonsson who is proposed as new Chairman of the Board (re-election as Board member) has been a member of the Board since 2021. Johan Hjertonsson was born in 1968 and holds a Master of Science in Business and Economics from Lund University. Since 2019, Johan has been President and CEO of Investment AB Latour. He was previously President and CEO of AB Fagerhult and Lammhults Design Group AB and has held multiple management positions within the Electrolux Group. Johan is also Chairman of the Board of Tomra Systems AS, Hultafors Group AB, Caljan AS, Alimak Group AB and Latour Industries AB as well as Board member of Sweco AB and Investment AB Latour.

Victoria Van Camp is proposed as new member of the Board. Victoria Van Camp was born in 1966 and holds a Master of Science and Doctor of Technology from Lulea Technical University. Since 2022 she has been running her own consulting firm and she has previously held multiple management positions within AB SKF during the years 1996-2022. Victoria is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and Board member of Billerud AB, SR Energy AB and the Chalmers foundation.

The Nomination Committee's complete proposal and motivated statement will, in accordance with previous practice, be presented in connection with publication of the notice convening the 2023 Annual General Meeting.

Since December 2022 the Nomination Committee consists of Anders Morck representing Investment AB Latour (Chairman) and Mikael Ekdahl representing Melker Schorling AB. No additional members of the Nomination Committee will be appointed ahead of the 2023 Annual General Meeting.

For further information, please contact:

Anders Morck, Chairman of the Nomination Committee, +46 706 46 52 11, [email protected]

This is information that ASSA ABLOY AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 09:15 CET on 31 January 2023.

About ASSA ABLOY

The ASSA ABLOY Group is the global leader in access solutions. The Group operates worldwide with 51,000 employees and sales of SEK 95 billion. The Group has leading positions in areas such as efficient door openings, trusted identities and entrance automation. ASSA ABLOY's innovations enable safe, secure and convenient access to physical and digital places. Every day, we help billions of people experience a more open world.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/7333/3706035/1815589.pdf Press release (PDF)

SOURCE ASSA ABLOY
HOLLAND, Mich., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiara Yachts , family-owned manufacturer of American-made luxury watercrafts, is pleased to announce the latest addition to its dealer network, Yamaha Marine Center of Jacksonville in Orange Park, Florida. Yamaha Marine Center serves the greater Jacksonville area, continuing Tiara's expansion in the Florida boating and yachting market.

"The noticeable dedication to productive and sincere customer service made the decision to partner with Yamaha Marine Center of Jacksonville an easy one for our team," said Sue Kane, Business Development Manager at Tiara Yachts. "Tiara Yachts shares similar values, keeping exceptional service and our passion for the marine industry at the helm of every interaction."

Located just south of the metropolitan area, Yamaha Marine Center of Jacksonville focuses on providing excellent assistance and helping to create memorable experiences for their customers. The dealership is also in the process of a major renovation to its sales and services facility, which after its completion in early 2023 will be one of the finest in the Southeast region.

"We take every detail into consideration when partnering with new manufacturers, and we are proud to now offer the Tiara Yachts line at our dealership," said Don Passell, Owner of Yamaha Marine Center of Jacksonville. "The loyal connections that Tiara strives to make with its customers runs parallel with the kind of trustworthy position we take in our local marine community."

Tiara Yachts has a strong dealer network consisting of 21 domestic dealers and nine international dealers, offering the Tiara Yachts lineup of nearly a dozen luxury yachts at multiple locations.

Yamaha Marine Center of Jacksonville is located at 1515 Wells Rd, Orange Park, Florida. Learn more at yamahamarinejax.com.

For more information about Tiara Yachts, its award-winning dealers or the launch of the EX 60, its largest inboard model to date, visit tiarayachts.com .

About Tiara Yachts

Tiara Yachts, headquartered in Holland, Michigan, is one of the oldest privately held boat manufacturers in the United States. The Tiara Yachts model line includes inboard vessels from 39 to 60 feet in the Coupe and EX lines. Outboard powered Tiara Yachts models range from 34 to 48 feet in three distinct Series: Luxury Sport (LS), Luxury Crossover (LX), and Luxury Express (LE). For more information, please visit tiarayachts.com.

Media Contact:

Mitchell Reid

Associate

Lambert

[email protected]

989-326-3992

SOURCE Tiara Yachts
WALLULA, Wash., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiger Cool Express has signed a lease/purchase agreement to acquire the former Cold Connect warehouse and property, with plans to develop an adjacent intermodal ramp in Wallula, WA.

Tiger Cool Express signed the lease/purchase agreement on December 27, 2022, with Union Pacific Railroad.

The envisioned Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center will benefit the entire agricultural and manufacturing community in the three-state region by providing cost-effective and environmentally benign transportation capacity. Initially, service is intended to be offered between: Wallula and the Northwest Seaport Alliance on-dock facilities for dry imports and exports (in ISO equipment) as well as between Wallula and Chicago (and beyond) with Tiger Cool Express refrigerated domestic containers. Service scope is expected to eventually expand into other markets, such as the I-5 corridor and Mexico.

"Despite our continued growth and fleet expansion, we realize that the Pacific Northwest offers transformational potential for our company," said Steve Van Kirk, Tiger Cool Express's Chief Executive Officer. "With a private intermodal ramp, we can build on our own domestic customer base with their ISO shipping requirements at the same time we expand services to an entirely new community of stakeholders."

"We are enthusiastic about Tiger Cool Express advancing an initiative that will remove thousands of trucks and millions of truck miles from the highway. This is a region that continues to grow in logistical importance, and our network can support envisioned growth," said Kari Kirchhoefer, Vice President  Premium, Marketing and Sales for Union Pacific.

Theodore Prince, Tiger's Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder observed that "This facility has the potential to be a "triple threat." Beyond supporting our existing domestic business and agricultural exports, the Tri-Cities has land, labor, water and electricity that could make it a global logistics hub. Since the other import "corners" (southwest, northeast and southeast) lack adjacent land, this northwest facility could offer an environmentally benign and economically efficient transloading locus. It looks like the Inland Empire 30 years ago."

About Tiger Cool Express

Tiger Cool Express provides time-definite intermodal services with sustainable capacity across North America. The company believes that being green means having smarter logistics versus over-the-road trucking. Not only can customers significantly reduce their carbon footprint by going intermodal, but Tiger Cool was an early surface freight provider to offer a carbon-free load opportunity. More information about Tiger Cool Express is available at www.tigercoolexpress.com.

SOURCE Tiger Cool Express
CEO Krenar Komoni to Speak on a Panel with Leaders from Mary Kay, Cardinal Health, Aviron Interactive, & Schematic Ventures to Discuss "The Many Layers of Visibility"

BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tive, the global leader in supply chain and logistics visibility technology, today announces its Gold Sponsor participation in Manifest 2023, a global event featuring the most comprehensive ecosystem of innovation and transformation experts in the supply chain and logistics industries. This annual event is being held at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas from January 31 through February 2. Manifest unites the best and brightest entrepreneurs, industry executives, and investors from the supply chain and logistics fields.

Tive CEO Krenar Komoni to Speak on a Panel with Leaders from Mary Kay, Cardinal Health, Aviron Interactive, & Schematic Ventures to Discuss The Many Layers of Visibility

Throughout Manifest, members of Team Tive will be on hand at Booth 504 to discuss the visibility challenges currently facing the global supply chain. In addition, Tive CEO Krenar Komoni will speak on a panel with other industry leaders to discuss "The Many Layers of Visibility." This session will take place on Wednesday, February 1 at 10:20 am (Room 201-202).

Since 2015, Tive has provided the most innovative and effective shipment visibility solutions to global customersso they can see where their freight is and what condition it is in, and take immediate action to reduce damage, minimize waste, and improve customer satisfaction.

"Manifest provides a breadth of opportunities to better understand the mindset of the industry and gain a better grasp of where the market is heading," says Krenar Komoni, CEO & Founder of Tive. "As end-to-end supply chain visibility technologies become table stakes, Tive looks forward to introducing these solutions to new customers and marketsacross industries and around the globe."

As Manifest brings together top solutions providers in all facets of the supply chain and logistics industries, Tive has recently published a guide to help shippers navigate the visibility technology landscapebased on what and how they ship. Interested companies can download the free guide here .

About Tive

Tive is a global leader in supply chain and logistics technology. With Tive, shippers, retailers, and Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) have the ability to eliminate delays, avoid damage, and mitigate shipment failures. Tive's solution provides insights generated by its industry-leading products for clients to actively optimize their shipments, improve the customer experience, and unlock actionable data in real time. For more information, visit www.tive.com .

Press Contact:

Charlie Pesti

[email protected]

SOURCE Tive, Inc.
"We are reinvigorated as we return to Las Vegas with a massive in-person experience at KBIS 2023," said Hidemi Ishikawa, CEO of TOTO USA. "We are excited for visitors to experience our new KBIS booth, which highlights TOTO's leadership in revolutionary products and technologies that improve people's lives whether at home or traveling for work or play." He continued, "For more than 100 years, TOTO has focused on the consumer experience in the residential bath space and public restroom, innovating, engineering, and designing high-performance, timelessly beautiful products that anticipate people's needs for beauty, comfort, and cleanliness while conserving our natural resources."

Pure Luxury: New NEOREST Smart Bidet Toilets

TOTO's new NEOREST Smart Bidet Toilets offer visionary technology exquisitely designed for consumers' comfort and well-being. TOTO's NEOREST line is born of science and the company's belief in the importance of everyday wellness to rejuvenate consumers' bodies and minds. With its new NEOREST LS, NEOREST AS, and NEOREST RS Smart Bidet Toilets, TOTO brings a new form of pure luxury to life.

New NEOREST LS Smart Bidet Toilet

Winner of two highly coveted international design awards  the Red Dot Design Award and iF Design Award  TOTO's new NEOREST LS expands the NEOREST line of premium smart bidet toilets. NEOREST LS is designed to focus on elegance and comfort, creating a bath environment with hotel-like luxury and spa-like features. The NEOREST LS offers a new design, which provides a modern yet classic aesthetic that fits both modern and traditional bathroom interior design.

The new NEOREST LS adds a bit of fun glamour with a new wave-inspired design accentuated by new metallic decorative trim and matching remote control. With options that include silver, nickel, and black, the NEOREST LS allows consumers and designers to express themselves by coordinating with other elements in their bath, such as faucets and paper holders, to bring a sense of unity and harmony to the bathroom's interior design.

The NEOREST LS's stick-style remote control has a simple, sophisticated design that evokes a sense of luxury. It matches beautifully with the metallic accents on the smart toilet's body. The full-skirted design offers a clean look reinforcing TOTO's promise of luxury and quality while making maintenance a breeze.

New NEOREST AS Smart Bidet Toilet

TOTO's new NEOREST AS Smart Bidet Toilet is a prestigious iF Design Award winner. The NEOREST AS offers an elegant linear design to accentuate any bath space with its classic, clean lines. Its sophisticated silhouette with a full-cover lid and precise design lines provides a distinctive, dignified presence. With its sleek, modern design, the NEOREST AS blends seamlessly with a variety of bathroom styles, elevating their aesthetic. Its sense of luxury is underscored by its chic stick-style remote control.

NEOREST RS Smart Bidet Toilet

The new NEOREST RS Smart Bidet Toilet's design focuses on elegant simplicity and a gently rounded aesthetic. Winner of the celebrated Red Dot Design Award, its soft, gentle curves give this sophisticated, clean-line design a sense of refinement and unobtrusive familiarity. In addition, the new NEOREST RS offers a handsome new white, ergonomic block-style remote control design with an illuminated touchpad to personalize consumers' experience.

New NEOREST Advanced Cleaning Technology: EWATER+ for the Bidet Seat's Underside

Among their numerous advanced technologies, the NEOREST LS, NEOREST AS, and updated NEOREST NX provide EWATER+ for the bidet seat's underside. After use, EWATER+ automatically sprays the NEOREST's under-seat front to prevent waste accumulation and stubborn yellow stains, reducing the need for harsh cleaning chemicals, which benefits the environment.

CLEAN SYNERGY

With the need for cleanliness and hygiene at the forefront of consumers' minds, TOTO's new NEOREST Smart Bidet Toilets offer advanced cleaning technologies that work synergistically to keep the toilet bowl fresh and clean at all times:

PREMIST  : The bowl's interior is sprayed with a fine water mist to reduce waste's ability to stick to its surface, which results in a better clean with every flush.

: The bowl's interior is sprayed with a fine water mist to reduce waste's ability to stick to its surface, which results in a better clean with every flush. CEFIONTECT  : TOTO's super-smooth, nano-technology glaze seals the porcelain with an ionized barrier, creating a super-slippery, non-porous surface that leaves waste nowhere to cling.

: TOTO's super-smooth, nano-technology glaze seals the porcelain with an ionized barrier, creating a super-slippery, non-porous surface that leaves waste nowhere to cling. TORNADO FLUSH  SYSTEM : The rimless bowl design and 2.5-diameter trapway use 100% of the water to remove waste effectively and clean every inch of the bowl and rim. TOTO's TORNADO FLUSH system optimizes water conservation (1.28 or 1.0 gallons per flush) while setting a high bar in quiet world-class flushing performance.

: The rimless bowl design and 2.5-diameter trapway use 100% of the water to remove waste effectively and clean every inch of the bowl and rim. TOTO's TORNADO FLUSH system optimizes water conservation (1.28 or 1.0 gallons per flush) while setting a high bar in quiet world-class flushing performance. EWATER+: The cleanliness of the bowl's surface, the interior and exterior of the WASHLET and NEOREST bidet wands, and the new NEOREST seat's underside are ensured by automatically misting them with electrolyzed water, a well-known cleaning agent, which reduces the need for harsh cleaning chemicals, which benefits the planet. Electrolyzed water is produced by electrolysis of the chloride ions in ordinary tap water. It is completely free of added chemicals and harsh cleaning agents. Over time, EWATER+ returns to its original state as regular tap water.

New GB Shower Series Rain Showers

TOTO introduces two new overhead rain shower designs to its GB Shower Series  square and round. The GB Shower Series Square Rain Shower measures 10 inches and is available with water-conserving flow rates of 1.75 GPM or 2.5 GPM.

The GB Shower Series Round Rain Shower is available in designs that measure 10 inches or 12 inches. It flows at an eco-friendly 1.75 GPM or 2.5 GPM.

TOTO's new GB Shower Series Rain Showers offer its COMFORT WAVE water technology, which uses a unique nozzle design to add larger drops of water to the shower for a comfortable experience with just the right amount of stimulation. As a result, bathers feel as if they are encased in far more water than they are actually using. This makes their shower experience extremely pleasurable as it honors our water supply by reducing consumption.

New GB Shower Series Body Spray with New Water Technology

TOTO's new GB Shower Series Round Body Spray measures four inches in diameter and flows at a water-saving 1.5 GPM. It features two TOTO water technologies for the ideal showering experience. The new INTENSE WAVE provides a more vigorous shower experience. Ideal for relaxing tired muscles or kickstarting your day, while COMFORT WAVE promotes recovery and regeneration any time of day.

Switching from one mode to the other is easy; simply rotate the body spray's interior from right to left using the handy grip.

New Commercial Toilet with TORNADO FLUSH

TOTO's revolutionary new commercial toilet features its market-leading TORNADO FLUSH system, which provides a powerful nozzle to create 360 degrees of centrifugal, cyclonic rinsing action that reduces waste buildup and keeps the bowl cleaner as it effectively removes waste completely. TOTO's new commercial toilet is available in wall-mount and floor-mount models.

Using only 1.0 or 1.28 gallons per flush (GPF), TOTO's high-efficiency TORNADO FLUSH system is more effective in one flush than most commercial toilets with multiple flushes. Its modern hole-free concave rim design means that TOTO's new high-efficiency commercial toilet performs consistently and is easy to clean. It is also available in a 1.6 GPF model.

TOTO's new commercial toilet also offers CEFIONTECT, its super-smooth, nano-technology glaze that seals the porcelain with an ionized barrier, creating a super-slippery, non-porous surface that leaves waste nowhere to cling. It is also available without CEFIONTECT.

Newly Improved ECOPOWER Flush Valve for Commercial Toilets

TOTO has improved its touchless exposed and concealed ECOPOWER Flush Valve for commercial toilets. The new ECOPOWER Flush Valve functions effectively at 25 psi, making it ideal for buildings with lower water pressure. TOTO has also improved its sensor eye's strength and detection range. The new ECOPOWER Flush Valve's sensor eye is now 1.2 times stronger and has a broader detection range of 39-3/8th inches.

ECOPOWER technology generates electricity each time water spins a small internal turbine. This auto-generated electrical energy is stored in capacitors that power the flush valve. There is no minimum usage requirement. TOTO's ECOPOWER hydroelectric technology generates power during use. No need for hardwiring to the building's electrical system or routine battery replacement, which is costly and hazardous to the environment.

About TOTO

TOTO USA is headquarters for the Americas Division of the TOTO Global Group, which was established in 1917 with the founding of TOTO, Ltd., in Kitakyushu, Japan TOTO is the world's largest manufacturer of bathroom fixtures and fittings, with $5.87 billion in annual sales (April 2021 to March 2022). For more than 100 years, TOTO has been the recognized leader in innovation, technology, performance, and design with products that enhance the luxury bathroom experience. Today, the company maintains 36,853 employees in 18 countries and owns manufacturing facilities around the world in countries as diverse as Japan, Mexico, Germany, the USA, India, and China. Guided by its corporate philosophy , the TOTO Global Group strives to create a great company trusted by people worldwide, which contributes to the betterment of society. Dedicated to engineering products that respect the environment while meeting people's needs for comfort, beauty, and performance, TOTO is the sole plumbing manufacturer to maintain a research and development center devoted to universal design, advanced science, and technology. Consumers enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing they purchased a brand that innovates to improve people's quality of life. Winner of numerous domestic and international awards and recognitions, TOTO is the only plumbing manufacturer honored as Water Efficiency Leader by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company continues to raise industry standards and consumer expectations about what is possible in the bath space, as TOTO believes a high-quality bathroom is an experience and an everyday luxury people value and appreciate.

For more information, consumers may visit www.totousa.com or call 1.888.295.8134, Option 5. Follow TOTO on Twitter ( @TOTOUSA ) and Instagram (@TOTOUSA) and become a TOTO fan on Facebook .

SOURCE TOTO
Contecon Manzanillo became the first port terminal in Mexico to receive the ISO UNE-14064-3 Carbon Neutrality Certificate

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland Mexico issued its first Carbon Neutral Certification according to ISO UNE-14064-3 to Contecon Manzanillo, concessionaire of the Specialized Container Terminal in the Northern Zone of the Port of Manzanillo (TEC- II), Colima.

With this certification, TUV Rheinland Mexico reiterates its commitment to making life safer through its clients and working together to shape the future based on safety and sustainability.

Hermann Saenger, Country Manager at TUV Rheinland Mexico; Jose Antonio Contreras, CEO Contecon Manzanillo

"We recognize Contecon Manzanillo's vision and leadership in the industry by keeping its operations in constant improvement. Granting this certification is a historic event in TUV Rheinland de Mexico, since it is the first time we carry out the process, so we are proud to have collaborated with Contecon to become the first port terminal in Mexico to obtain the Carbon Neutral Certification," said Hermann Saenger, Country Manager of TUV Rheinland Mexico.

Jose Antonio Contreras, CEO of Contecon Manzanillo, said that "we are proud to be the first terminal in Mexico to be verified under this standard. At Contecon we are very clear in maintaining an agenda aligned with our business in which we combat climate change, promote the use of renewable energies and, very importantly, we are moving firmly towards the decarbonization of ports and maritime transportation in Mexico. Having this type of certification positions us as an organization that demonstrates commitment, talent and an authentic position of change in the face of environmental problems".

TUV Rheinland Mexico has been working with Contecon for some time now, as the company has shown great responsibility and business vision with the continuous improvement of its processes, which has made it possible for it to recently obtain the ISO 9001:2015 Certification, for implementing a Management System that shows clear processes and continuous improvements in the quality of its services, as well as customer satisfaction.

The company also obtained ISO 14001:2015 certification for its Environmental Management System, which considers the control of environmental aspects, reducing impacts and ensuring legal compliance, and TUV Rheinland Mexico collaborated with Contecon to grant it ISO 450001 certification for occupational health and safety.

The award ceremony was attended by federal authorities headed by Rear Admiral Victor Manuel Ozuna Diaz, General Director of Port Development and Administration, who represented the Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran; Francisco Rodriguez Garcia, Secretary of Economic Development of the State of Colima, represented the Government of the State of Colima. In addition to various executives from key clients.

TUV Rheinland has 150 years globally in the Testing, Certification and Verification sector, and 30 years in Mexico, so it has become a leader in technical services and has allowed them to move forward with the transformation of industries; an example is the delivery of this first certification in the country.

In this way, both TUV Rheinland de Mexico and Contecon Manzanillo are an example for companies in the country, as they can contribute to the environment voluntarily and help with their actions to help the country meet its global environmental commitments.

About TUV Rheinland

TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. The company has been operating for more than 150 years and ranks among the world's leading testing service providers. It has more than 20,000 employees in over 50 countries and generates annual revenues of around 2.1 billion euros. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com

Contact us for press inquiries:

Joel Pekay

Phone: +1 224 318 4098

Email: [email protected]

Mariana Taborda do Amaral

Telephone: +55 11 3514 5867

Email: [email protected]

Michael Garcia Carbajal

Phone: +52 55 3488 2108

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE TUV Rheinland
Bank also adds ability to get paychecks up to two days faster

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- USAA Federal Savings Bank announced that it has eliminated its out-of-network ATM fee giving its 9 million members the freedom to use any ATM in the United States without incurring a fee from USAA. Members will now also have access to one of the largest surcharge-free ATM networks in the country, enabling cash withdrawals without any surcharge fees at more than 100,000 nationwide locations. To find a surcharge-free ATM location, USAA members can visit the USAA ATM Locator.

Additionally, the bank announced that it will provide access to paychecks up to two days faster to members who have them directly deposited into a USAA account.

"Saving money matters to our members," said Lindsay Sacknoff, senior vice president and general manager of omnichannel at USAA Federal Savings Bank. "Eliminating fees, increasing convenience and providing faster access to paychecks through direct deposit, we're saving our membership millions of dollars."

In a 2022 checking account and ATM fee study, Bankrate.com found the average combined cost of an out-of-network ATM transaction to be $4.66the highest since 2019. They also found that surcharge fees for non-customer ATM use rose to a new high of $3.14. In addition to the fee elimination, USAA refunds checking account holders up to $10 each statement cycle for ATM surcharges assessed by some ATM owners.

Access to paychecks up to two days earlier requires no action on the part of the member nor does it cost anythingit's included with direct deposit and occurs automatically once we receive information from the member's employer.

"Military family finances were significantly affected by the economic impact of the pandemic," added Sacknoff. "These changes are part of a larger effort at USAA to help our members manage their finances and make their lives simpler. We're on a mission to make USAA the most member-centric, convenient bank in the country."

About USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs approximately 36,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. or more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE USAA
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Oncology and Research Center announced a new agreement with Integra Connect, the manager of Anthem's OMH+ program, to bring the OMH+ program to central Indiana. Horizon is a network practice of Verdi Oncology, a leading physician practice service organization focused on supporting smaller community-based oncology physician practices.

As a value-based initiative, the OMH+ program is designed to drive high-quality, cost-effective oncology care to patients who have been diagnosed with malignant cancer. The initiative supports Anthem's commercial members through all phases of their cancer journey, from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up. Together, Horizon and Integra will:

Ensure best practices are followed in care planning, treatment, and patient management,

Analyze treatment data to make sure care guidelines are met and patients receive the right treatment at the right time, and

Provide patient-centered care throughout the process in a community setting.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Integra," said Dr. Constantine Albany, Horizon's lead physician. "The OMH+ program aligns with our focus to support value-based care and innovation in our community-based practice in order to deliver the best possible care to our patients."

Horizon Oncology is the program's only oncology practice in central Indiana in 2023. Horizon entered into the OMH+ program because it complements Horizon's participation in Verdi's existing early-stage clinical trial and VerdiCares Care Management programs.

"Verdi's commitment to innovation and patient-centered care delivered in a patient-friendly environment is the bedrock of our culture," said Bill Herman, CEO of Verdi Oncology, "and we look forward to working with Integra as well as employers and other payers with similar programs."

About Horizon Oncology and Verdi Oncology, Inc.

Horizon Oncology has been providing comprehensive oncology and hematology care to patients in central Indiana for over 15 years. Additionally, Horizon is the only provider of early-stage (i.e., Phase 1 and Phase 2) clinical trials in central Indiana.

Verdi Oncology is a physician practice service organization, bringing clinical innovation, patient-centered orientation, and management infrastructure to smaller, independent oncology practices. Headquartered in Brentwood, TN, Verdi is firmly rooted in the belief that community-based oncology is the best way to expand patient access to high-quality, innovative care.

Contact:

Bob Wiemer

Senior Vice President, Strategic Growth

Verdi Oncology, Inc.

[email protected]

(615) 300-5174

SOURCE Horizon Oncology
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Unified Compliance, the industry leader assisting businesses with Governance, Risk, and Compliance processes and auditing, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Wong as its Vice President of Finance. Alex brings a wealth of experience to Unified Compliance, having honed his financial acumen and strategic analytical skills over a successful 15-year career across many high-growth industries.

Before joining the Company, Alex served as Director of Finance and Strategy at Boxed, where he played an important role in strategic planning and capital raising to support growth initiatives. In addition, as an Investment Banking Associate at Deutsche Bank, Alex advised clients on financial strategy and developed a strong understanding of capital markets.

"We are delighted to have Alex join our team as Vice President of Finance," said Dorian Cougias. "His deep experience in finance and his track record of driving results make him the perfect fit for Unified Compliance, and we are confident that he will play a critical role in helping us achieve our growth objectives."

As Vice President of Finance, Alex will oversee the Company's financial management and build out the economic foundations as the Company scales. He will also play a key role in shaping the Company's strategy and working with the leadership team to ensure that the Company is well-positioned for continued growth and success.

"I am thrilled to join Unified Compliance and to support Dorian and his exceptionally talented team," said Alex. "The Company has a great path ahead following the recent investment from Allomer Capital, and I look forward to helping the Company execute its next phase of growth and innovation."

Find out more about UC's leadership team at theucf.info/WhoWeAre.

About Unified Compliance

Unified Compliance (UC) provides the world's most vetted compliance framework to the Global 2000. Their Unified Compliance Framework (UCF) is the world's most extensive library of interdependent regulatory compliance documents and the only commercially accessible compliance framework. AWS, Verizon, Google, JPMorgan, NASA, US Treasury, and hundreds of other organizations across industries rely on UC's patented processes and APIs. The UCF incorporates artificial and augmented intelligence to simplify compliance processes, ensuring greater ease of attestation and success. It helps compliance professionals gather the evidence they need to prove compliance in the most cost-efficient method available. Detailed information is at unifiedcompliance.com.

CONTACT: Jody Mack, [email protected]

SOURCE Unified Compliance
DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "E-commerce in the Mattress Industry" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Research Report E-commerce in the mattress industry offers a detailed analysis of the online mattress market with a particular focus on three world areas: North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

The study analyses the largest retail mattress markets, estimating the current incidence of online mattress sales in key countries (the USA, Canada, China, India, South Korea, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain), the e-commerce mattress sales of the leading retailers (e-tailers, brick-and-mortar retailers, online mattress companies and mattress manufacturers) and providing company profiles highlighting their activity and performance in this sector.

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales are provided for the time series 2019-2022* (*preliminary) by country/region.

E-COMMERCE BUSINESS MODELS.

The report identifies the leading online retailers involved in mattress sales by business model:

E-tailers (pure e-commerce companies)

Brick and Click companies (dealers with physical stores and web-store)

Non-furniture specialists' chains (large multichannel dealers selling furniture, homewares, accessories, home improvement, lighting fixtures, and electronics).

Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer companies selling online via their own web platform or through e-tailers)

Mattress manufacturers selling online via own website

FEATURES OF THE ONLINE MATTRESS BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION

The most important peculiarities of the e-commerce business in the mattress industry, including services (delivery and logistic issues, payment methods, return strategies), product features (bed-in-a-box, one-size-fits-all mattresses) and the role of industry suppliers.

ECOMMERCE IN THE MATTRESS INDUSTRY. THE LARGEST MARKETS

The report focuses on three world areas, North America (the United States and Canada), Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), and Asia Pacific (China, South Korea, and India).

For each considered geographical area and country the report provides: Retail and e-commerce sales (sector overview of economic and e-commerce indicators enriching the analysis) and E-commerce mattress sales (mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales by country) up to 2022.

COMPETITION AND PROFILES OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN THE ONLINE MATTRESS MARKET

Online mattress sales by distribution channels and by leading retailers in Europe, the US, Canada, and the Asia Pacific.

The study also profiles the leading retailers and manufacturers operating in the online mattress market, highlighting their e-commerce activity and financial performance.

For the online mattress companies, it describes the most important supply features (number of trial nights, years of warranty, price of a twin mattress, in-home-delivery, and setup) and distribution strategy (presence of physical stores) and profiles of leading online mattress companies by country.

As regards mattress manufacturers selling online, leading players for each considered country are provided, together with information about their online activity.

SURVEY RESULTS: GLOBAL E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET

The Report E-commerce in the mattress industry was also carried out through direct interviews with leading mattress manufacturers and retailers operating in the e-commerce mattress business and an online survey launched in September 2022, addressed to global retailers and manufacturers involved in the mattress industry.

Topics:

E-commerce activity and Location

Incidence of e-commerce sales on mattress sales

Delivery and type of mattresses

E-commerce mattress sales by sales channels

The top promising markets for e-commerce mattress sales

The most important services offered for e-commerce mattress sales

Share of mattresses returned back

Expected sales variation in 2022 over 2021 for online and total sales

Key Topics Covered:

INTRODUCTION: Data gathering, terminology, processing methodology and sample of companies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: E-commerce in the mattress industry performances and market peculiarities, companies insights for the first half of 2022

1. E-COMMERCE IN THE MATTRESS MARKET: An overview of the world mattress market

1.1. An overview of the world mattress market: mattress consumption and consumption by country. International trade of mattresses

1.2. E-commerce in the mattress market: Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales by country/region; Share of e-commerce mattress sales

1.3. Models of e-commerce business

E-tailers (pure e-commerce retailers)

Brick-and-Click companies (dealers with physical stores and webstore)

Non-furniture specialist chains

Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer)

Mattress manufactures selling online via their own website

2. FEATURES OF THE ONLINE MATTRESS BUSINESS

2.1. The business evolution and organisation

Delivery options

Services and return strategies

Bed-in-a-box

The role of industry suppliers

One-size-fits-all mattresses and related bedding products

Payment methods

3. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA

3.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

United States . E-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales

. E-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales United States and Canada : Macroeconomic and e-commerce indicators

3.2. E-commerce mattress sales in the USA and Canada

3.3. Competition: online mattress sales by distribution channel in a sample of companies and online mattress sales by leading retailers in the USA and Canada

3.4. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

3.5. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer): Supply features comparison of the Leading online mattress companies and Price for a twin mattress in a sample of online mattress companies

3.6. Mattress manufacturers selling online

4. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN EUROPE: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK

4.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

Europe . Economic and E-commerce Indicators

. Economic and E-commerce Indicators France , Germany , Italy , Spain and the United Kingdom : e-commerce indicators

4.2. E-commerce mattress sales in Europe

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales in France , Germany , Italy , Spain and the United Kingdom

4.3. Competition: online mattress sales by distribution channel in a sample of companies and online mattress sales by leading retailers in Europe

4.4. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

4.5. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer): Supply features comparison of the Leading online mattress companies and Price for a twin mattress in a sample of online mattress companies

4.6. Mattress manufacturers selling online

5. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN ASIA PACIFIC: China, India and South Korea

5.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

Asia Pacific : China , India and South Korea . Economic and E-commerce Indicators

5.2. E-commerce mattress sales in Asia Pacific

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales in China , India , South Korea

5.3. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

E-commerce retailers selling mattresses in Asia Pacific : China , India , South Korea

5.4. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer)

5.5. Mattress manufacturers selling online

6. ANNEX: Results of the survey on the Global e-commerce mattress market

6.1. Survey results: Global e-commerce mattress market

E-commerce activity

Location

Incidence of e-commerce sales on mattress sales

Shipments and types of mattresses

E-commerce mattress sales by sales channels

Top 5 promising markets for e-commerce mattress sales

Services offered for e-commerce mattress sales

Share of mattresses returned back

Expected sales variation in 2022 over 2021 for online and total sales

7. MENTIONED COMPANIES

List of mentioned companies selling mattresses online: country, retailing format, activity, website

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Amazon

bett1

Casper

Emma

IKEA

JD.com

Kurlon

Mattress Firm

Mlily

Nectar Sleep-Resident

Otto

Pepperfry

Purple

Simba

Saatva

Serta Simmons

Simba Sleep

Simmons

Suning

Taobao

Tmall

Tuft&Needle

Wayfair

Zinus

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/inep4c-commerce-in-the?w=5

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DUBLIN, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Monkeypox Treatment Market: Focus on Therapeutics, Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits: Distribution by Type of Product, Drug Developers, Drug Candidates, Type of Diagnostic Kit, Type of End User and Key Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2023-2035" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report features an extensive study of the current market landscape and future opportunity for the players focused on the development of monkeypox therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostic kits. The report answers many key questions related to this domain.

Monkeypox is a viral disease, which is usually transmitted to humans from animals. The disease is known to have symptoms similar to those observed in smallpox patients, although it is considered to be clinically less severe. Monkeypox has recently emerged as a prominent orthopox virus affecting public health. In May 2022, multiple cases of the disease were reported in several non-endemic countries, thereby making monkeypox a disease of global concern.

Consequently, in July 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared global monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). In fact, till date, over 71,000 cases of the disease have been reported, globally.

In response to the monkeypox outbreak, active research and development efforts are underway to develop various therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of monkeypox. Presently, more than 25 therapeutics / vaccines are commercialized / under development for the treatment and prevention of monkeypox. With the increase in the number of monkeypox cases globally, the demand for testing has also increased.

Key Market Insights

Growing Demand for Monkeypox Treatment Therapeutics / Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits

Due to the surge in monkeypox cases in 2022, globally, there is a growing demand for monkeypox vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic kits. With only a few therapeutics / vaccines currently approved or granted special access for the treatment / prevention of the monkeypox disease, the existing demand for effective monkeypox vaccines and therapeutics is still unmet.

Additionally, the approved monkeypox vaccines are available at a high price, making it inaccessible to general population in developing countries, where the disease is endemic. In order to contain an outbreak, point-of-care diagnostics is very critical to ensure timely isolation and enable contact tracing of infected individuals.

Therefore, considering the demand for diagnostic solutions for monkeypox virus, and the associated financial opportunity, both large companies and start-ups are competing to gain a foothold in this market.

Current Market Landscape of Monkeypox Treatment Therapeutics and Vaccines

The current monkeypox therapeutics and vaccines landscape is fragmented, featuring a mix of several large, mid-sized and small companies, which are engaged in the development of a number of therapy and vaccine candidates against the monkeypox virus.

It is worth mentioning that, till date, only six therapeutics / vaccines, including ACAM2000, IMVANEX / JYNNEOS / IMVAMUNE and Cidofovir / Vistide, have either received approval or been granted special access for the treatment / prevention of the monkeypox virus infection. Additionally, more than 20 monkeypox therapeutics and vaccines are in the development pipeline. Post the 2022 outbreak of the monkeypox disease globally, interest in this area of research has grown significantly.

Current Market Overview of Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits

At present, more than 165 diagnostic kits are available in the market for the detection of monkeypox virus. It is worth highlighting that over 75% of the monkeypox diagnostic kits use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the detection technique, followed by antigen detection kits and antibody detection kits. In pursuit of gaining a competitive edge, monkeypox diagnostic kit providers are presently undertaking various initiatives in order to expand their existing capabilities and augment their respective product portfolios.

Key Drivers in Monkeypox Therapeutics / Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits Market

More than 70 countries across the world reported cases of monkeypox, with the maximum cases being reported in non-endemic regions. This outbreak has posed the risk of monkeypox virus spreading beyond endemic areas. Consequently, governments have undertaken several initiatives to increase awareness about monkeypox disease. Big pharma players are carrying out initiatives to strengthen their respective product portfolios focused on monkeypox disease. The growing cases of monkeypox disease and availability of limited number of therapeutics / vaccines / diagnostic solutions are the key factors driving the growth of this market.

Market Size of Monkeypox Treatment Therapeutics and Vaccines

Due to the increase in incidence of monkeypox infections and the growing demand for monkeypox vaccines and therapeutics, the monkeypox market is anticipated to witness a steady growth in the foreseen future. Presently, close to 80% of the monkeypox therapeutics and vaccines market is captured by players based in North America and Asia-Pacific.

Market Size of Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits

The market for monkeypox diagnostic kits is anticipated to increase steadily in the foreseeable future due to the growing cases of the disease and the possibility of future outbreaks. Currently, over 60% of the diagnostic kits market is captured by players based in Asia-Pacific.

Key Players in Monkeypox Therapeutics, Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits Market

Examples of key players engaged in the monkeypox therapeutics and vaccines domain include (which have also been captured in this report) Bavarian Nordic and Emergent BioSolutions. Further, key players engaged in the monkeypox diagnostic kits domain include (which have also been captured in this report) ACON Laboratories, altona Diagnostics, Jiangsu Bioperfectus Technologies, Elabscience, Goldsite Diagnostics, Lansion Biotechnology, DNA Software and Hangzhou Testsea Biotechnology.

Key Topics Covered:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. INTRODUCTION

3. MARKET LANDSCAPE: MONKEYPOX TARGETING THERAPEUTICS AND VACCINES

3.1. Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics and Vaccines: Overall Market Landscape

3.1.1. Analysis by Phase of Development

3.1.2. Analysis by Type of Product

3.1.3. Analysis by Phase of Development and Type of Product

3.1.4. Analysis by Type of Molecule

3.1.5. Analysis by Type of Dosage Form

3.1.6. Analysis by Route of Administration

3.2. Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics and Vaccines: Developer Landscape

3.2.1. Analysis by Year of Establishment

3.2.2. Analysis by Type of Player

3.2.3. Analysis by Geography (Region-wise)

3.2.4. Analysis by Company Size and Geography (Region-wise)

3.2.5. Leading Developers: Analysis by Number of Therapeutics / Vaccines

4. MARKET LANDSCAPE: MONKEYPOX DIAGNOSTIC KITS

4.1. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits: Overall Market Landscape

4.1.1. Analysis by Type of Sample

4.1.2. Analysis by Type of Kit Component

4.1.3. Analysis by Clade of Virus Detected

4.1.4. Analysis by Detection Method

4.1.5. Analysis by Application Area

4.1.6. Analysis by Type of Kit

4.1.7. Analysis by Quantity of Sample

4.1.8. Analysis by Turnaround Time

4.1.9 Analysis by Limit of Detection

4.1.10. Analysis by Number of Tests per Kit

4.1.11. Analysis by Shelf Life

4.1.12. Analysis by Storage Temperature

4.2 Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits: Developer Landscape

4.2.1. Analysis by Year of Establishment

4.2.2. Analysis by Company Size

4.2.3. Analysis by Location of Headquarters

4.2.4. Analysis by Company Size and Location of Headquarters

4.2.5. Analysis by Type of Developer

4.2.6. Key Developers: Analysis by Number of Diagnostic Kits Developed

5. MONKEYPOX DIAGNOSTIC KITS: PRODUCT COMPETITIVENESS ANALYSIS

5.1. Methodology

5.2. Product Competitiveness Analysis: Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits

6. COMPANY PROFILES: MONKEYPOX TARGETING THERAPEUTICS AND VACCINES DEVELOPERS

6.1. Bavarian Nordic

6.1.1. Company Overview

6.1.2. Monkeypox Therapeutics / Vaccines Portfolio

6.1.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

6.2. Emergent BioSolutions

6.2.1. Company Overview

6.2.2. Monkeypox Therapeutics / Vaccines Portfolio

6.2.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7. COMPANY PROFILES: MONKEYPOX DIAGNOSTIC KITS DEVELOPERS

7.1. ACON Laboratories

7.1.1. Company Overview

7.1.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.2. altona Diagnostics

7.2.1. Company Overview

7.2.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.2.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.3. DNA Software

7.3.1. Company Overview

7.3.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.4. Elabscience

7.4.1. Company Overview

7.4.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.5. Goldsite Diagnostics

7.5.1. Company Overview

7.5.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.6. Hangzhou Testsea Biotechnology

7.6.1. Company Overview

7.6.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.6.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.7. Jiangsu Bioperfectus Technologies

7.7.1. Company Overview

7.7.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

7.7.3. Recent Developments and Future Outlook

7.8. Lansion Biotechnology

7.8.1. Company Overview

7.8.2. Monkeypox Diagnostic Kits Portfolio

8. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS

8.1. Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics / Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits: Partnerships and Collaborations

8.1.1. Analysis by Year of Partnership

8.1.2. Analysis by Type of Partnership

8.1.3. Analysis by Year and Type of Partnership

8.1.4. Analysis by Focus Area

8.1.5. Analysis by Type of Partner

8.1.6. Most Active Players: Analysis by Number of Partnerships

8.1.7. Analysis by Local and International Agreements

8.1.8. Analysis by Intercontinental and Intracontinental Agreements

9. GRANTS ANALYSIS

9.1. Scope and Methodology

9.2. Key Parameters

9.3. Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics / Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits: Grants Analysis

9.3.1. Analysis by Year of Grant Awarded

9.3.2. Analysis by Support Period

9.3.3. Analysis by Amount Awarded

9.3.4. Analysis by Leading Funding Institute Centre

9.3.5. Analysis by Type of Grant

9.3.6. Analysis by Activity Code

9.3.7. Analysis by Study Section Involved

9.3.8. Analysis by Purpose of Grant

9.3.9. Prominent Program Officers: Analysis by Number of Grants

9.3.10. Popular Recipient Organizations: Analysis by Number of Grants and Amount Awarded

9.3.11. Most Popular Departments: Analysis by Number of Grants

9.3.12. Analysis by Location of Recipient

10. PUBLICATION ANALYSIS

10.1. Methodology and Parameters

10.2. Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics / Vaccines and Diagnostic Kits: Publication Analysis

10.2.1. Analysis by Year of Publication

10.2.2. Analysis by Type of Publication

10.2.3. Most Popular Journals: Analysis by Number of Publications

10.2.4. Most Popular Journals: Analysis by Journal Impact Factor

10.2.5. Popular Keywords: Analysis by Key Focus Areas

10.2.6. Most Active Publishers: Analysis by Number of Publications

10.2.7. Most Popular Affiliations: Analysis by Number of Publications

10.2.8. Analysis by Geography

11. PORTER'S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

11.1. Chapter Overview

11.2. Methodology and Key Parameters

11.3. Porter's Five Forces

11.3.1. Threat of New Entrants

11.3.2. Bargaining Power of End Users

11.3.3. Bargaining Power of Drug Developers

11.3.4. Threat of Substitute Products

11.3.5. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

12. MARKET FORECAST: MONKEYPOX TARGETING THERAPEUTICS AND VACCINES

12.1. Chapter Overview

12.2. Key Assumptions and Forecast Methodology

12.3. Global Monkeypox Targeting Therapeutics and Vaccines Market, 2023-2035

13. MARKET FORECAST: MONKEYPOX DIAGNOSTIC KITS

14. EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

15. APPENDIX 1: TABULATED DATA

16. APPENDIX 2: LIST OF COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dr5k1e

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

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For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Parent Company of Better-For-You Fast Casual Restaurants Partners with Olo to Provide Best-in-Class Digital Experiences for Guests and Franchise Operations

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WOWorks, the family of better-for-you restaurant brands, Saladworks , Frutta Bowls , Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina, and Zoup! Eatery , announced its partnership with Olo (NYSE: $OLO)  a leading open SaaS platform for restaurants that enables hospitality at every guest touchpoint.

In upgrading all six of its brands to the same Point of Sale and digital ordering and delivery program technology, WOWorks anticipates a more synchronized relationship between restaurants, consistency between brands, ease of day-to-day operations for franchisees, and improved guest experience. Through this partnership, WOWorks expects to see an increase in third party and digital sales in 2023.

"This partnership sets up WOWorks' franchisees for increased growth by adapting to the way people ordering, and offers franchisees the ability to operate digital ordering and delivery for multiple brands under one roof," said Kelly Roddy, CEO of WOWorks.

The Olo products WOWorks implemented are:

Olo Rails: will allow the management of a single, centralized menu that is automatically pushed to third-party marketplaces, such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats and other Olo integrated partners. Olo provides a single interface for operators to manage all third-party orders and real-time menu and price changes. In addition, Olo Rails enables WOW orks to add unlimited, integrated virtual brands.

will allow the management of a single, centralized menu that is automatically pushed to third-party marketplaces, such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats and other Olo integrated partners. Olo provides a single interface for operators to manage all third-party orders and real-time menu and price changes. In addition, Olo Rails enables orks to add unlimited, integrated virtual brands. Olo Dispatch: offers delivery directly through each WOWorks restaurant brand's website and apps, allowing for the ownership of the relationship between brand and guest. Orders are managed via Olo's make-time logic to ensure food is fresh and ready to hand off when couriers arrive.

WOWorks franchise owners come from different backgrounds, including multi-brand franchisees; varied business ownership backgrounds, such as construction, hotels, and fitness; former professional athletes; and military veterans. The company has franchising opportunities available in 49 states (all states excluding Hawaii) and offers 25 percent off franchise fees for veterans and first responders.

If you are interested in owning a WOWorks restaurant brand franchise, visit https://woworksusa.com/a-place-to-invest/ to learn more.

ABOUT WOWORKS:

WOWorks was formed in 2020 with a mission to help guests pursue their passions and live their best lives by serving healthier-for-you and flavorful meals along with its Vow to "WOW!" guest hospitality. Fully owned by Centre Lane Partners, LLC, WOWorks' portfolio, in addition to its newest brands, Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina and Zoup! Eatery, consists of: Saladworks , the nation's leading fast-casual salad brand; Frutta Bowls , a unique restaurant franchise serving a variety of superfood bowls, fresh fruit smoothies, protein bites and more; Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a popular Mediterranean restaurant concept; The Simple Greek , which offers a fresh and healthy take on traditional Greek recipes in a fast-casual setting. WOWorks seeks to drive explosive growth across all of its brands through a variety of channels, both traditional and non-traditional, including ghost kitchens, food trucks, grocery retail and more.

ABOUT OLO:

Olo is a leading open SaaS platform for restaurants that enables hospitality at every guest touchpoint. Millions of orders per day run on Olo's on-demand commerce engine, providing restaurants a single source to understand and serve every guest from every channel, whether direct or third-party. With integrations to over 300 technology partners, Olo customers can build personalized guest experiences in and outside of their four walls, utilizing one of the largest and most flexible restaurant tech ecosystems on the market. Over 600 restaurant brands trust Olo to grow their digital ordering and delivery programs, do more with less, and make every guest feel like a regular.

SOURCE WOWorks
Streamlined Modular Certification with zero findings completes CNSI's record-setting feat for fastest Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) implementation

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CNSI, a leading Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) provider, announced today that the Wyoming Department of Health received certification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the state's Medicaid Benefit Management System (BMS), designed and implemented by CNSI. Built on the company's modular evoBrix X platform, the new Medicaid BMS provides a modern, more efficient system for health claims processing and adjudication that is designed to reduce the administrative burden for providers and lower costs for the state.

The BMS is a mission-critical module within the new Wyoming Integrated Next Generation System (WINGS), a system of service-based components and interconnected modules that is replacing the legacy claims adjudication and fiscal agent services contract  formerly known as the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). With the new BMS, ongoing programs and federal and state legislative changes in healthcare policy are now automatically integrated within the adjudication process, saving time and money for the state. The new system also allows Wyoming health providers to enter claims for payment processing in real time, flagging errors for immediate correction and faster payment.

"Delivering a CMS-certified project of this magnitude for our client is particularly rewarding for CNSI, given that we initiated this project during a pandemic, implemented it in record time, and exquisitely executed to meet our client's needs while also meeting CMS's new Streamlined Modular Certification guidelines," said Todd Stottlemyer, CEO of CNSI. "I'm incredibly proud of the joint CNSI-Wyoming project teams for delivering an outstanding outcome that will help the Wyoming Department of Health ensure its residents have timely access to the essential healthcare services they deserve."

In the 51 years since the first MMIS was implemented nationally, the Wyoming project represents the only state system of this kind to be successfully implemented within 19 months of project initiation. Projects of this scope have historically required 36 months for completion, with many extending even longer. CNSI's Wyoming Medicaid BMS holds the record for being the fastest implementation of a full claims adjudication and fiscal agent services and system to achieve full certification.

Jesse Springer, Medicaid Technology and Business Operations Section Manager, Wyoming Department of Health, said, "We are grateful to our state staff who worked with CNSI to achieve this historic accomplishment so that we can continue to bring outstanding healthcare services to Wyoming residents as efficiently as possible."

Since going live on October 25, 2021, Wyoming's new BMS core claims system manages approximately 60,000 actively enrolled members per month and processes 3 million claims per year.

In addition to the technology system, CNSI provides Wyoming with fiscal agent business operations services, claims processing, provider call center, technical support, infrastructure, and a hosting environment.

About CNSI

CNSI delivers a broad range of health information technology enterprise solutions and customizable products to a diverse base of state and federal agencies in the United States. CNSI aligns, builds, and manages innovative, high-quality, cost-effective solutions that help clients achieve their mission, enhance business performance, reduce costs, and improve the health of individuals and communities.

Co-headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and Nashville, TN, CNSI merged with Kepro in December 2022. The combined company helps government-sponsored healthcare agencies and payers expand healthcare access, enhance quality, improve health outcomes, and lower costs with our clinical services, provider management, health claims and encounter processing, data interoperability, and health analytics services and solutions. Learn more at www.cns-inc.com.

Media Contact:

Janice Moore

Director, Corporate Communications

703-214-3552

SOURCE CNSI
XRP Healthcare (XRPH) paired with (USDT) is now live on the Bitrue exchange, and available for trading.

LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of its roadmap and continuing to realize its objectives - XRP Healthcare has announced noteworthy partnerships such as ScriptCo, the first and only pharmacy in America selling medication at cost price, saving its customers thousands of dollars each year. As well as the inclusion of some stellar team members, such as the Head of Global Strategy Brian J Esposito who ranks amongst the world's Top 10 CEOs and NASA-affiliated Chief Medical Officer Marc O'Griofa who is a fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.

Today's listing is also an indication of things to come, and a manifestation of the work accomplished since launching their company at the Sologenic meet-up event in November 2022. The XRPH team has been working diligently behind the scenes to ensure that its objectives are expeditiously met.

This listing is a welcomed breath of fresh air into the crypto-verse, as the vision of XRP Healthcare is estimable and a much-needed one. The Pharma and Healthcare Web3 company will give users a choice of products and services on their platform, ranging from naturopathy, holistic, generic, and brand medications  the building out of a virtual metaverse Clinic where clients can have anonymous counselling and therapy sessions by choosing an avatar.

XRP Healthcare will be trading its token under the ticker XRPH, against the USDT pair. Additionally, holders of XRPH will have the ability to stake their tokens on Bitrue for 30 days receiving a 50% APY which will be paid out at the end of the staking period.

The XRPH/USDT pair can be purchased on the Bitrue Exchange.

Finally, XRPH has black-holed its 100,000,000 tokens, signifying a finite supply, no more tokens will ever be created.

XRP Healthcare is a UK based company and was established in September 2022, it is the first Pharmaceutical and Healthcare platform to be built on the XRP Ledger, with strong objectives to bring needed innovation to the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare industry. XRPH intends to do this by simplifying and creating fast payments/transactions between market participants, and by bringing transparency by way of tracking pharmaceuticals from "inception to the consumer", combating the multi-billion dollar counterfeit medicine industry, with an interface for interactive engagement between consumers and healthcare service providers via the mobile and web app.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1983109/XRP_Healthcare_Logo.jpg

SOURCE XRP Healthcare
CHENGDU, China, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards recently held the annual awards ceremony. After three-month competition, a total of 99,694 entries were received from nearly 750,000 Chinese young people from China, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.

The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards Ceremony Yili AMBROSIAL award-winning design AMBROSIAL yogurt was launched in Singapore Yili Group Roadmap to Net-Zero

Yili AMBROSIAL yogurt partners with the award for the first time and launched the AMBROSIAL Yogurt Environmental Protection Design Award, calling for examples of public service advertising, industrial and packaging design related to environmental protection. It has received a total of 5419 entries submitted from over 1,000 colleges and universities across the world.

Since its inception in 1992, the Times Young Creative Awards, widely considered to be the "Oscars of Youth Creation", has become of the most prominent competitions for creatives among worldwide Chinese youth. For years, the number of the participating teachers and students has been over 10 million.

Original Only Once

Themed "Original Only Once", the 31st International Times Young Creative Awards provided a platform for brands to gather the most creative works of the year. Yili AMBROSIAL yogurt seeks to connect and to send a message of "environmental awareness" to Gen Z in Chinese communities all around the world.

Yili AMBROSIAL Yogurt Environmental Protection Design Award has received entries under various themes including polar preservation, energy saving and carbon emission reduction. Two students from the Beijing University of Technology and Hsiuping University of Science and Technology in Taichung City respectively received awards under this category.

A Net-Zero Carbon Future

Since Yili first publicly espoused its forward-looking "Green Leadership" concept in 2007, the Group has ceaselessly endeavored to take sustainability to the next level. In 2009, Yili embraced the strategy of supply chain green transformation, subsequently upgrading the strategy to the "New Vision for Value Creation". Throughout this journey, not only has Yili remained committed to its own low-carbon transformation goals but has also stayed true to the mission of reducing carbon its footprint across the entirety of the industrial chain.

AMBROSIAL yogurt launched minimally printed Tetra Pak packaging products during the first phase of the competition. The new packaging allows for the printed surface - FSC certified environmentally sustainable paper - to be reduced by about 70%. Every 100,000 cartons of minimally printed products will generate a carbon reduction of 1,861kg, showcasing the brand's commitment to sustainability.

Moving forward, Yili will continue to expand the boundaries of socially responsible marketing. Through the Group's effort in engaging more customers and partners across the industrial chain, Yili will carry forward positive changes to the environment and jointly create a green and net-zero carbon future.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437604

Caption: The 31st International Times Young Creative Awards Ceremony

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437611

Caption: Yili AMBROSIAL award-winning design

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437612

Caption: AMBROSIAL yogurt was launched in Singapore

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=437613

Caption: Yili Group Roadmap to Net-Zero

SOURCE Yili Group
Research indicates that NPTXR antibodies may have utility for treatment of gastro-intestinal cancers

RIEHEN, Switzerland, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ymmunobio AG , a preclinical stage biotech company specializing in the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients, has secured ownership to neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPTXR) antibodies, which have shown utility for developing therapeutics and for novel diagnostic tools in the treatment of several gastro-intestinal cancers, including gastric cancer.1 Ymmunobio signed the transfer ownership agreement in 2022 with Nagoya University for the license to NPTXR antibodies, which were invented by Professor Mitsuro Kanda, Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya University, Japan.

Ymmunobio has begun developing the lead, fully humanized and first-in-class NPTXR antibody, YB-800, which has demonstrated anti-tumor activity in vivo and in vitro for solid tumors, including several gastro-intestinal and breast cancers.

"Ymmunobio's ownership of NPTXR represents a great leap forward for our company," said Ymmunobio Founder and CEO Katrin Rupalla. "Our lead antibody YB-800 targets directly various cancers overexpressing NPTXR and selectively kills cancer cells so that healthy tissue is not affected. This antibody is extending our innovative pipeline of first-in-class or novel antibodies. We're optimistic that our ongoing preclinical development with NPTXR will enable us to start IND-enabling studies by the end of this year."

As indicated in Kanda's study1, there is a pressing need to identify candidate therapeutic targets for the development of agents to control cancer metastasis through novel mechanisms. NPTXR plays an essential role in controlling the malignant behavior of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. NPTXR-targeting therapeutic antibodies (Abs) may have utility as novel diagnostic tools and/or treatment modalities for gastric cancer.1

The potential impact of NPTXR in developing antibodies to treat solid tumors is especially significant considering that 35% of colon cancer patients have a high expression of NPTXR, while 50% of gastric cancer patients have a high expression of NPTXR.

To learn more, visit Ymmunobio's website .

ABOUT GI CANCERS

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the world and is estimated to make up 10% of all cancers.2 Gastric cancer (stomach cancer) was the fifth most common malignant tumor in the world in 2020 and the fourth leading cause of cancer death globally with approximately 800,000 deaths.3

ABOUT YMMUNOBIO

Ymmunobio AG is a preclinical stage oncology biotech company focused on the development of innovative treatments for cancer patients through new classes of antibodies. Those treatments present a large market potential and broad applicability in solid tumors. Ymmunobio is making extensive progress in developing first in class or novel class of antibodies that have the potential to overcome resistance of cancer patients to current available therapies. Learn more on Ymmunobio's website and follow on LinkedIn .

REFERENCES

1 Kanda, Mitsuro, et al. Therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting of neuronal pentraxin receptor to control metastasis in gastric cancer. Molecular Cancer. Aug 2020. Available at: https://molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12943-020-01251-0 . Accessed January 2023.

2 Worldwide Cancer Data. World Cancer Fund International. Available at: https://www.wcrf.org/cancer-trends/worldwide-cancer-data/ Accessed January 2023.

3 Ilic, Milena and Ilic, Irena. Epidemiology of stomach cancer. World J Gastroenterology. National Library of Medicine. Mar 2022. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8968487/ . Accessed January 2023.

Media Contact:

Kellyann Zuzulo

215-287-7291

[email protected]

SOURCE Ymmunobio
The Anniversary Will Be Commemorated with Exclusive Live Events and New Product Launches

NORWELL, Mass., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Avedis Zildjian Company (Zildjian), the world's oldest maker of cymbals, today unveiled plans to honor its 400th anniversary which will culminate with an all-star celebratory concert in September. The company, which first began making cymbals in 1623, announced special events, cross-category product launches, and a tailored marketing campaign supporting this historic anniversary.

ZILDJIAN, CELEBRATING 400 YEARS!

"It's a special opportunity to be able to look back and be humbled by the storied history of my family's company and all of the amazing, creative, and passionate people who have helped build something so meaningful," said Zildjian Executive Chair, President, and 14th generation owner Craigie Zildjian. "Of course, in true Zildjian fashion, we are focused on and excited about what lies ahead."

The company outlined several activations honoring its 400th year, including:

A commemorative logo design and marketing campaign highlighting the emotional connection that Zildjian team members, artists, partners, and consumers have with the company.

highlighting the emotional connection that Zildjian team members, artists, partners, and consumers have with the company. The release of a collection of limited-edition apparel and drumsticks that pay tribute to five major milestones in the company's history.

that pay tribute to five major milestones in the company's history. A 400 th Anniversary Concert featuring Zildjian Artists and special guests this Fall.

featuring Zildjian Artists and special guests this Fall. The release of a commemorative book highlighting renowned artists' cymbal setups.

The company also announced plans for transformational products releases, including cymbals and new ventures, during its historic 400th year with more information to come at later dates.

"This will truly be an extraordinary year, one that not only celebrates the Zildjian legacy, but that points forward to the next 400 years of inspiring people to express themselves through music," said Zildjian CEO John Stephans. "This is not merely a moment for us to look back on the history of our company, but to look ahead and share with all of our employees, artists, partners, and consumers what we have in store for the future."

About The Avedis Zildjian Company

The Avedis Zildjian Company has set the standard for the development and manufacture of high-performance musical instruments since 1623. As the world's leading maker of cymbals, drumsticks, and percussion mallets, Zildjian products are sold across the globe, under the Zildjian, Vic Firth, and Balter Mallets brands, and are the standard to which all other cymbals, drumsticks and mallets are measured. From the beginner to the world's greatest rock stars, jazz performers and concert percussionists, amateurs and pros alike choose Zildjian, Vic Firth, and Balter Mallets products to share their musical expression, without compromise.

The female-owned company is headquartered in Norwell, MA with offices in Newport, ME, Los Angeles, CA, London, UK, Beijing China, and Singapore. Zildjian products are sold globally through distributors and via a network of dealers. All Zildjian cymbals are made in the USA at our cymbal factory in Norwell, MA, and our drumsticks/mallets at our factory in Newport, ME. For more on the Avedis Zildjian Company, please visit: www.zildjian.com

Media Contact:

Zachary Molinaro

[email protected]

781-607-2472

SOURCE The Avedis Zildjian Company
The Organization Redefining Dog Training Celebrates Quadruple-Unit Growth Since 2020

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zoom Room , the venture-backed, revolutionary indoor dog training gym, announces today the signing of their 100th location. Closing out 2022 having quadrupled unit size in a short two-year timeframe, the company skyrockets into the new year with the continued mission of transforming the dog training landscape.

With the pet industry projected to reach $277 billion by 2030, Zoom Room is trailblazing the path forward through its model of positive training and socialization. Boasting more 5-star ratings than any other dog training business in America, the organization has seen a massive 70% growth in same store sales since 2019. For the nearly 5 million consumers that also became new pet owners in that same timeframe, Zoom Room provides a space like no other with a diverse offering of training services and events that place an emphasis on owners as much as their dogs.

In addition to its unit growth, Zoom Room is increasingly diversifying its geographic footprint, tripling its presence across the US from 8 states in 2020 to 27 states at the close of 2022. Looking ahead, the company aims to maintain a rapid growth trajectory, with a particular focus on expansion across all major metropolitan areas. Franchise openings in 2023 will include Chelsea, NY, San Diego, CA and Houston, TX. "Our long-term aspiration is to firmly establish Zoom Room as the premier destination for dog training," said Mark Van Wye, CEO of Zoom Room. "As we continue to expand across major cities, we're eager to enhance our reputation as a dependable resource for dog owners in the US and worldwide."

To support the growing needs of the business, Zoom Room also recently welcomed several new hires across operations to support the infrastructure beneath executive strategic leads, Stephanie Knepp and Liz Claflin.

"Pet franchises present exceptional investment opportunities due to the recession-resistant spending, increased demand, and unique price elasticity," said Anthony Polazzi, President of AP Franchised Concepts, the Venture Capital firm backing Zoom Room. "With an average EBITDA margin above 30%, Zoom Room's tremendous profitability and growth show no signs of slowing down."

Not only did 2022 reflect record sales for new Zoom Room franchisees, but the incredible success of the business inspired a significant number of the brand's single-unit franchisees to sign up to become multi-unit franchise owners. As the company welcomes new signees through 2023, it will continue its best-in-class practices for onboarding. Zoom Room extends genuine 360 support to its franchisees, beginning with a dedicated real estate team to identify a site with optimal demographics and assistance in navigating business formation and financing.

"Zoom Room has given me the opportunity to build a business that I love," said Brad Weaner of Zoom Room's Centerville, OH franchise. "We are thankful for our community's tremendous support and their excitement to embark on a new journey with us. Together, we will fill the world with happy, tired dogs."

"I love that by owning two Zoom Room locations in the greater Seattle/Bellevue area I am able to meet so many wonderful dogs and their owners," said multi-unit franchisee John Jansen. "This is such a fantastic community, and the support we've received has been above and beyond what I could have imagined. I am very much looking forward to expanding into more neighborhoods in the near future."

For more information about Zoom Room, visit https://zoomroom.com/. For those interested in learning about franchise opportunities: https://zoomroom.com/franchise/.

ABOUT ZOOM ROOM

Founded in 2007, Zoom Room is a venture-backed and revolutionary indoor dog training gym with locations across the U.S. With an emphasis on socialization, positive reinforcement, human education and the value of interactive learning, the company aims to strengthen the bond and communication between dogs and their owners. Ranked on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list, Zoom Room's key revenue streams include dog training classes, socialization events and retail products. Zoom Room celebrates responsible pet owners who love to socialize with their dogs and embrace positive dog training methods in a fun, friendly environment for working out with your dog. They are the authors of the best-selling dog training book, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps , and Ultimate Puppy Training for Kids . Rooted in the belief that it's important to give back to the community, Zoom Room works closely with animal rescue and welfare organizations both locally and nationwide. Learn more at https://zoomroom.com/.

SOURCE Zoom Room
TGH Children's Hospital is named as the official and exclusive medical partner of the Zoo; will sponsor new activities and guest experiences.

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZooTampa at Lowry Park and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Children's Hospital announced today a multi-year partnership that will focus on enhancing the health of visitors and residents by creating new family-friendly experiences and opportunities for wellness.

As the official and exclusive medical partner of the Zoo, TGH Children's Hospital will sponsor a new Family Care Center in the Wallaroo section of the Zoo, a Wellness Trail, and an Annual Kids Fun Run.

ZooTampa Logo ZooTampa at Lowry Park and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Childrens Hospital announced today a multi-year partnership that will focus on enhancing the health of visitors and residents by creating new family-friendly experiences and opportunities for wellness.

"We are proud to partner with Tampa General Hospital, one of the nation's preeminent health care providers, to inspire families to get out, get moving and make connections with nature and wildlife that create positive connections and enhance mental wellness," said ZooTampa President and CEO Joe Couceiro.

Brought together by the shared goal to provide world-class care (both human and animal), the partnership is a natural way for two of the Tampa Bay region's trusted and respected organizations to continue growing their positive impact on the local community.

"TGH Children's Hospital and ZooTampa share many common values, the most important of which is our relentless commitment to the health and wellness of our Tampa Bay community and its wildlife," said Tampa General Hospital President and CEO John Couris. "We are proud to partner with an organization that cares for our community as deeply as we do and works every day to promote healthful habits, from physical activity to prevention and mental wellness."

"This partnership between TGH Children's Hospital and ZooTampa offers a unique opportunity to bring families together to celebrate both wildlife and wellness, including learning about how they can prioritize their health while having fun together" said Melissa Golombek, senior administrator of TGH Children's Hospital and the TGH Women's Institute. "ZooTampa is a quintessential Tampa Bay experience that is locally cherished and nationally recognized, and we are honored to be their exclusive medical partner as they align with TGH Children's Hospital's passion for and dedication to children's wellness."

ABOUT ZOOTAMPA AT LOWRY PARK

ZooTampa at Lowry Park is operated by the Lowry Park Zoological Society, an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to excellence in conservation, education, recreation, and research. The Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is recognized as Florida's leading and most attended zoological cultural institution. ZooTampa is an eleven-time winner of the Trip Advisor Travelers' Choice Award (2010-2022), ranking us among the top 10% of attractions worldwide. A winner of 2021 Best of Tampa and is a leader in the rehabilitation and care of Florida species. The Zoo is located at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue in Tampa and is open seven days a week (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours for select events. For more information, visit www.zootampa.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings  first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: ZooTampa Communications Department

[email protected]

(813) 935-8552

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zotos Professional has selected CRC, a 360PR+ agency, for Better Natured, its vegan hair care brand of at-home hair color and hair care products available at JCPenney Beauty, Amazon and BetterNatured.com.

Better Natured provides a salon quality hair color experience for an increasing number of consumers who want to color their hair at home, providing salon-quality performance and good clean fun at home a trend spurred by the pandemic and expected to continue with the down economy predicted in 2023.

"We're excited to increase awareness and sales with US consumers for the innovative Better Natured line with CRC's help," said Michelle Ryan, Head of Marketing, Digital and Customer Experience for Zotos Professional. "CRC brings significant expertise introducing and building beauty and personal care brands for the mass market and stood out for their combination of insights and relationships."

CRC will be responsible for elevating and driving consumer awareness of Better Natured's at-home hair color, as the broader line of Better Natured hair care offerings launched at JCPenney Beauty.

"As more consumers look to clean beauty products for their self-care routines, we're honored to partner with Better Natured  a brand with roots in professional hair care and a sustainable mindset  that provides consumers with easy to use options right at home," said Cindy Riccio, Executive Vice President and General Manager for CRC at 360PR+.

For more information about Better Natured, visit https://betternatured.com/.

About Zotos Professional

Since 1929, Zotos Professional has been a pioneer in the hair care industry, and is dedicated to research-backed innovations, cutting-edge technology, high-quality ingredients, exhaustive testing, unbeatable value and Green Circle Certified Salons. The company's goal is to provide the support and inspiration to make the dreams of Hair Creators a reality. For more information, please visit www.zotosprofessional.com.

About Henkel in North America

Henkel's portfolio of well-known brands in North America includes Schwarzkopf hair care, Dial soaps, Persil, Purex, and all laundry detergents, Snuggle fabric softeners as well as Loctite, Technomelt and Bonderite adhesives. With sales close to 6 billion US dollars (5 billion euros) in 2021, North America accounts for 25 percent of the company's global sales. Henkel employs over 8,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.henkel-northamerica.com, and on Twitter @Henkel_NA.

CRC is part of the 360PR+ family of agencies. Established in 2007, CRC has been recognized as one of the top 20 NYC PR firms, selected from more than 2,000 firms based on reputation, credibility, experience and professionalism as ranked by Expertise.com. CRC has also been named one of the top New York Specialty Agencies by the New York Observer. 360PR+ is a leading independent agency with a reputation for excellence in consumer and b2b marketing, offering clients reach and expertise in 100+ cities around the world as a partner in PROI Worldwide. For more information, visit www.360PR.plus and www.cricciocomm.com.

*Better Natured uses the Global ISO Standard 16128 which defines naturally-derived as a plant or mineral derived material and water which is found in nature and has undergone limited processing.

SOURCE 360PR+
Brussels, Jan 31 : Three people were injured in a knife attack on Monday evening in the Brussels-Schuman station, the federal police said.

Of the injured, one was hurt seriously, the other two slightly. The suspect was arrested by the police, a spokeswoman confirmed on Monday.

The person arrested "was already known for a psychiatric history", according to Belgian online newspaper 7sur7.

Philippe Close, Mayor of the city of Brussels, praised "the rapid arrest of the perpetrator," Xinhua news agency reported.

The Brussels fire brigade confirmed that a "SMUR (Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service) and ambulances are on the spot".
Moscow, Jan 31 : Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met with new US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who presented copies of her credentials.

During the conversation with Tracy on the sharply worsened Russia-US relations, Ryabkov pointed out the counterproductiveness of Washington's confrontational policy, which is "fraught with serious negative consequences," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The Russian side hopes that the US envoy will strictly abide by Russian laws, observe norms and customs, adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the host country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sworn in on January 9, Tracy is the first woman to occupy the post of US Ambassador to Russia.

"Ambassador Tracy begins her tenure in Moscow focused on maintaining dialogue between our capitals at a time of unprecedented tension," the US embassy said in a statement on Monday.
United Nations, Jan 31 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Monday's suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, that left dozens of people dead, said his spokesman.

"It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship. Freedom of religion or belief, including the ability to worship in peace and security, is a universal human right," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

The Secretary-General extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wished a prompt recovery to those injured, and reiterated the solidarity of the UN with the government and people of Pakistan in their efforts to address terrorism and violent extremism, the statement added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi also condemned the suicide attack in Peshawar, said Paulina Kubiak, his spokeswoman.

"Targeting people as they pray is a truly horrid and cowardly attack." A suicide blast ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 59 people and injuring at least 157 others, officials said.
United Nations, Jan 31 : The Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for 12 months, till January 31, 2024.

Resolution 2674, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, approves an extension of 12 months for the first time instead of the past practice of six-month renewals.

The resolution affirms the Security Council's intention to continue to closely monitor the situation in Cyprus and its readiness to review the implementation of this resolution after six months and to consider any adjustments or other actions as necessary, Xinhua news agency reported.

The resolution expresses the Security Council's serious concern and alarm at the continued violations of the military status quo along the cease-fire lines and urges the sides and all involved parties to respect UNFICYP's mandated authority in, and delineation of, the buffer zone.

It urgently calls on both sides to respect the integrity and inviolability of the buffer zone, to remove all unauthorised constructions and to prevent unauthorised military or civilian activities within and along the cease-fire lines.

It stresses that UNFICYP's mandated authority extends throughout Cyprus, calls on all parties to continue to cooperate with UNFICYP and strongly urges full respect for UNFICYP's freedom of movement throughout Cyprus and the cessation of all restrictions on the mission's movement and access.

The resolution deeply regrets the lack of progress on an effective mechanism for direct military contacts between the sides and the relevant involved parties, and urges flexibility and engagement by the sides and the relevant involved parties to develop a suitably acceptable proposal on the establishment of such a mechanism and its timely implementation.

It calls on the sides to reduce existing barriers to intercommunal contact, emphasises the importance of effective communication for risk mitigation and trust building between the communities, and urges the sides to agree and implement further confidence-building measures that can contribute to a conducive environment for settlement.

The resolution fully supports the UN Secretary-General's ongoing engagement with the sides and encourages further rounds of informal talks and reiterates the importance of the sides and all involved participants approaching this process in the spirit of openness, flexibility and compromise and showing the necessary political will and commitment to freely negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement under UN auspices. It continues to urge the sides to engage actively and without further delay with the Secretary-General and his team to this end, and further urges the sides to reach an agreement regarding the proposal of the Secretary-General to appoint a UN envoy for Cyprus.

After independence in 1960, the tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots increased. UNFICYP was set up by the UN Security Council in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the two sides.

Turkish troops occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974 in reaction to a coup by Athens-backed Greek Cypriots, splitting the country into two. The Security Council mandated the force to perform additional functions after 1974.
United Nations, Jan 31 : The world body is ready to offer assistance to Iran after the country was hit by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake on Saturday evening, said a UN spokesman.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has requested UN assistance, and the world body stands ready to support the response, said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Monday.

"We extend our condolences to the government of Iran and to the affected families," the Spokesman added.

After the earthquake, relief operations and damage assessments are underway, and the Iranian Red Crescent Society has mobilised emergency teams and relief items, he said as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
Riyadh, Jan 31 : Saudi Aramco signed on Monday 100 deals valued at about $7.2 billion to help advance a diverse, sustainable and globally competitive industrial ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

The agreements or memorandums of understanding were signed with various companies, including communications technology company Zoom, fintech business Taulia Inc and logistics company DHL, Xinhua news agency reported.

The signing took place during the 7th edition of the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) Forum and Exhibition. The iktva initiative encourages international companies to establish regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
Tehran, Jan 31 : Iran has warned the US that it will not tolerate any aggression against its territory and interests and will react "decisively," in response to what it calls "threatening" remarks by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The warning by Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani comes a day after Blinken told the Arabic news channel Al Arabiya that "all options are available on the table" should the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal fail to come to fruition, according to a statement published on the Ministry's website on Monday.

Kanaani also warned the US government about the "legal and international responsibilities" of its "threatening" remarks against Iran and the political consequences of such "provocative" comments, Xinhua news agency reported.

He reaffirmed that nuclear arms have no place in Iran's national security doctrine but the country will not stop its scientific, technical and technological progress in the nuclear field in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. The US, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough has been achieved after the latest round of talks in August 2022.
Hapur : , Jan 31 (IANS) A youth has been arrested by the police in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district for consuming hookah outside a police station, police said.

The accused not only shot the video close to the police station but also shared it on social media platforms.

In the video, the youth could be seen smoking a hookah while sitting outside the Hafizpur police station.

The authorities took note of the incident after the video went viral on social media.

It is said that the youth was fond of making videos at the police station and this time, he brought a hookah along with him. The officials at the police station said they could not see the youth while filming the video.

The youth has been arrested after the reel surfaced online.
Toronto, Jan 31 : A Hindu temple has been vandalised with 'anti-India' graffiti in Canada's Brampton province, leaving the Indian community in shock.

The Indian Consulate General in Toronto issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the attack on the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton.

"The hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities," the consulate office said in a statement.

The matter is currently under investigation by the Canadian authorities.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown condemned the defacing of the temple, which is a symbol of Indian heritage.

"This hateful act of vandalism has no place in our city or country," Brown tweeted.

He added that he had raised his concerns over this hate crime with Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah.

"Everyone deserves to feel safe in their place of worship," Brown said.

The incident comes close to three Hindu temples being targeted in Australia with anti-India graffiti by Khalistani groups in the month of January alone.

In July 2022, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at a Vishnu Temple in the Richmond Hill neighbourhood of Canada was desecrated.

In September 2022, Canada's BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was defaced by alleged Khalistani miscreants with anti-India graffiti.

India had then issued a strongly-worded statement urging Canadian authorities to properly investigate the "increasing incidents" of hate crime against Indians.

More than 2.46 lakh Indians immigrated to Canada between 2016 and 2021, according to a recent Statistics Canada report.

The National Statistical Office of Canada showed a 72 per cent rise in hate crimes in Canada between 2019 and 2021 targeting a person's race, religion or sexual orientation.
Meerut : , Jan 31 (IANS) The body of the 20-year-old brother of a rape victim was found hanging from a tree here.

The girl's family had been warned not to go to the police or else they would face consequences.

The rape victim, a Dalit, had been allegedly gang-raped by three men, including the husband of the incumbent pradhan of Aurangabad village of Bhawanpur, six months ago.

The survivor's father said, "My daughter was violated in August last year by three men. Since then, immense pressure has been put on us to withdraw the case by them. Two of the men are history-sheeters and have criminal antecedents." Ravikant, who runs Shoshit Kranti Dal, an NGO that fights against Dalit oppression, said, "The accused were pressuring the girl's family to turn hostile. She was gang-raped on August 27, 2022, but the police took almost a month to file an FIR." The NGO has written to the National Commission for SC and ST, saying police were not taking prompt action in the matter.

"First, they took so long to file an FIR in the rape case and now 24 hours have passed since the brother's body was found, but the police have not registered a complaint," said Ravikant.

Circle officer (Civil Lines) Arvind Chaurasia, who has been probing the case, said, "Soon after the FIR was filed, the three accused were booked under IPC, POCSO Act and sections of SC/ST Act. Two of the three accused are in jail. The third accused had applied for bail from the HC which was rejected a week ago."
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the President's address to Parliament on Tuesday as many party MPs, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, are stuck in Srinagar due to inclement weather, sources said here.

Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Due to delayed flights from Srinagar airport on account of inclement weather conditions, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, @kharge ji & many other Congress MPs will be unable to attend the President's address to both Houses of Parliament at 11am today.' President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of Parliament for the first time after being elected to the post. She will outlay the government's vision for the current year.

The Parliament Budget session will commence from Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic survey.

She will present the Union budget on Wednesday.

In her first Republic Day-eve speech, President Murmu had hailed India's G-20 presidency, calling it an opportunity to promote democracy and multilateralism, and also the right forum for shaping a better world and a better future.
Panaji, Jan 31 : The preliminary meeting of Goa's House Committee to study issues related to River Mhadei will be held on February 8.

Joint Secretary of Legislature Hercules Noronha has informed about the meeting to all 12 members of the committee headed by Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai, who is also a member of the House Committee, had on Saturday in a written request to the WRD Minister demanded to immediately convene a House Committee meeting to get to the bottom of the issue.

Sardesai had said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Mhadei diversion is like a 'bomb explosion' on the people of the state.

Goa's Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral on Monday condemned the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over Mhadei diversion issue.

The BJP government in Goa is under attack since the Central Water Commission has granted permission to Detailed Project Report of Karnataka for the disputed Kalsa-Banduri dam.

The situation further heated up on Saturday after Amit Shah said that the dispute between both the states has been resolved by the Central government.

"I condemn the statement made by Home Minister Amit Shah. First of all when we met him (on January 11), this particular thing (resolving dispute) was not discussed. We had requested that permission granted by CWC should be withdrawn. We never discussed giving our consent to DPR," Cabral said.

During a rally in Belagavi on Saturday, Shah said: "Sonia Gandhi during a speech in Goa in the year 2007 said that the Congress government will not allow Mhadei water diversion to Karnataka. In 2022, Congress in their manifesto stated that Karnataka will not get a single drop of water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts."
Kolkata, Jan 31 : The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided at least 12 industrialist blocks in and around Kolkata.

Although there is no confirmation from the central agency, sources said that these are the follow-up actions of the recent raids conducted by the Income Tax department in different parts of the city. Recent operations by the Income Tax department revealed that there had been tax defalcations to the tune of Rs 300 crore by different businessmen who have their business units in and around the city, they added.

Raids are underway in at least 12 places, including Tangra, Alipore, New Alipore, Anandapur, Hastings, Budge Budge and Maheshtala. Each team is being escorted by armed forces personnel.

It is learnt that the ED's operations started at around 6.30 a.m. when one team of the central agency officials escorted by central armed forces personnel raided an office at Tangra. Two other teams simultaneously raised a guest house and residential flat at the posh area of Alipore Road in South Kolkata. Some cash has also been reportedly recovered from these places though the details are yet to be available.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 31 : The CPI(M) top brass is mulling a scrutiny of the PhD thesis of Chintha Jerome, the chairperson of the Kerala State Youth Commission, after complaints surfaced.

Sources said that the CPI(M) has given the nod to the Kerala University to constitute a four-member team to scrutinise her thesis.

This special team will submit its report to the University Syndicate, which will then be passed to the Senate. The Senate in turn will advise the chancellor - Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan -- on what needs to be done, the sources added.

Her dissertation is titled 'The ideological foundation of Malayalam commercial cinema in the neoliberal times', for which she was awarded a PhD in English Literature from the Kerala University in 2021.

Detractors of Jerome have come out with a fundamental mistake in her thesis where she has written that the Malayalam poem titled 'Vazhakkula' was penned by Vyloppilli while it was originally written by another hugely popular poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai.

Jerome's principal guide for her thesis was the then Pro V-C of Kerala University P.P. Ajayakumar.

While her fellow youth leaders in the CPI(M) are defending her to the hilt by stating that it is just a technical error and spelling mistakes are not a serious issue as this is not the first time such things are happening.

Chintha is a popular youth wing leader of the CPI(M). With glaring omissions in her thesis surfacing on social media, the CPI(M) top brass is thinking on how quickly this onslaught can be brought to check.

Since this issue surfaced last week, every day there are protests and marches being taken out by the student and youth wing of the Congress.

Social media is buzzing with hilarious posts, many of which have become viral now.

Numerous complaints have also surfaced against this and with the Assembly session all set to resume its sitting shortly, all eyes will be on the Congress-led opposition.
San Francisco, Jan 31 : Twitter under Elon Musk is now working on a payments system that will support accepted currencies with crypto functionality embedded into it.

According to a report in The Financial Times, citing sources, the payments feature will support fiat currencies to start with.

Neither Musk nor Twitter confirmed the development.

"Mr Tweet" has apparently instructed developers to build the platform's payments system.

Twitter has been teasing about bringing payments to its platform as Musk wants it to become "an everything app" like China's WeChat.

"Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," Musk said in October last year, as he took over the company after acquiring it for $44 billion.

"Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong," he added.

Later, images surfaced about "Twitter Coins" on social media.

Unconfirmed rumours also emerged that Twitter was working on a wallet prototype that would support crypto deposits and withdrawals.

Musk's "Twitter 2.0 The Everything App" will have features like encrypted direct messages (DMs), long-form tweets and payments.

During a podcast, he had said that the US needs a super app.

"It's either convert Twitter to that, or start something new. It does need to happen somehow," he said.

"If you're in China, you kind of live on WeChat. It does everything. It's sort of like Twitter, plus PayPal, plus a whole bunch of things all rolled into one, with a great interface. It's really an excellent app, and we don't have anything like that outside of China," Musk told the listeners during the podcast last year.

In 1999, Musk co-founded an online bank called X.com, which was later merged to form PayPal.
Hyderabad, Jan 31 : The Income Tax department on Tuesday conducted searches at the premises of Vasudha Pharma Chemical Limited in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Teams of IT officials conducted simultaneous searches at 50 locations in Hyderabad and in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The teams began the searches early in the morning at company headquarters at SR Nagar in Hyderabad. The searches were also on at the premises of Vasudha and sister companies at Madhapur, Jeedimetla and other places.

The I-T officials were also conducting the searches at the residences of the company's CEO, MD and directors The officials were checking the records relating to the company's income and the transactions with others. The raids came following allegations that the funds were being diverted to real estate business.

Some firms allegedly related to Vasudha are said to be involved in the real estate business. This reportedly came to light during recent raids by the I-T officials on some real estate companies.

The premises of Vasudha Chairman and Managing Director M. Venkata Rama Raju, directors M. Anand, MVN Madhusugan Raju, Prasad Raju were being searched as part of the I-T raids.
Mumbai, Jan 31 : Filmmaker Sudhanshu Saria's directorial 'Sanaa' starring Radhika Madan has locked its North American premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and will be the only Indian film to be screened at the event.

Saria said: "I'm so honoured that the festival has chosen to invite Sanaa and launch the film in North America. Their response confirms the universality of the film and the urgent need to further conversations around female agency and autonomy - especially in the American context."

Eminent Hollywood stars and Oscar-nominees like Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett and Colin Farrell will be seen attending the festival this year.

'Sanaa' is an introspective drama about an ambitious and headstrong woman who is fighting an internal battle due to unresolved trauma. The film stars Radhika in the lead role along with Soham Shah, Shikha Talsania and Pooja Bhatt.

'Sanna' recently had its World Premiere at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival to packed houses and overwhelming critical acclaim.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Mumbai, Jan 31 : Streaming giant Netflix is to celebrate late filmmaker Yash Chopra and his production banner Yash Raj Films' rich cultural legacy of 50 years in a new docu-series titled 'The Romantics'.

Netflix will globally release 'The Romantics' on February 14, 2023, as a tribute to Yash Chopra, who is regarded as the 'Father of Romance' in India because of his iconic romantic films like 'Silsila', 'Lamhe', 'Kabhi Kabhie', 'Veer-Zaara', 'Dil To Pagal Hai', 'Chandni' and 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'.

The star-studded, four-part docu-series will feature 35 leading voices of the Hindi film industry and dive into the history of Bollywood through the lens of YRF's impact in making Bollywood a household name globally 'The Romantics' has been directed by Smriti Mundhra, who returns to Netflix after the phenomenal success of 'Indian Matchmaking' and the 'Never Have I Ever' franchise.

Sharing details on the collaboration, Monika Shergill, VP - Content, Netflix India shared: "Fondly remembered as The King of Romance, Yash Chopra's films brought in a new wave of emotion, individualism and cultural change to Hindi cinema and helped turn one of the biggest film industries in the world into what it is today. In celebration of the iconic songs, stories and the nostalgia, we're partnering with the creative powerhouses, YRF and Smriti Mundra to bring The Romantics to our global audiences." "The gripping documentary series is the real and definitive story of Yash Chopra and his son Aditya Chopra's journey to building a world class studio and will give our viewers a glimpse into the lives of one of the most influential families in Bollywood's film history." YRF is currently at an all-time high with their latest release 'Pathaan', the fourth film of YRF's Spy Universe.
Vijayapura : , Jan 31 (IANS) Following the abusive post on historical figure Shivaji, Karnataka town has become tense as Hindu organisations have called for a protest condemning the post on Tuesday in Vijayapura district of the state.

According to locals, the abusive post on Shivaji maharaj was posted on social media on Monday late night and it became viral in no time. The post was condemned by one and all.

According to police, the miscreant is identified as Amin Bandarakavate, a resident of Devaranimbaragi village in Chadachana taluk. The locals have decided to stage a protest in the Chadachana town condemning the incident.

The Hindu activists have also urged the police to arrest the accused person immediately. The police have beefed up the security in the wake of the protest call and to maintain law and order.

The police said that they have not received any complaint regarding the incident so far and are waiting for the directions in this regard by the senior officers.
New York, Jan 31 : An Indian-American who was accused of deliberately driving his Tesla off a California cliff with his wife and children inside on January 2, has been formally charged with three counts of murder.

Dharmesh A Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was transported to San Mateo County jail after his release last week from the hospital where he was treated for "serious lower body injuries".

A San Mateo judge on Monday reportedly granted a request to hold Patel without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility, citing the danger he poses to his family, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The three counts of murder he has been charged with include, "attempted first-degree murder and child abuse, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse," San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a press conference on Monday.

Statement from Patel's wife as well as witness accounts from other motorists and video of the roadway gave enough evidence to frame charges against Patel, Wagstaffe said.

"We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Wagstaffe told The Chronicle that the wife's attorney told prosecutors that she would talk to investigators only "when she was physically ready to do so".

Patel's wife continued to be in the hospital, according to the report.

Patel's car was travelling south on State Route 1 when it went over the cliff at Devil's Slide, south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels, and flipped and landed on its wheels near the water's edge.

Firefighters were able to pull Patel's two children -- a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy -- from the vehicle. The daughter suffered a serious injury, while the boy escaped with just bruises.

The children have been staying with one of Patel's sisters, Wagstaffe said.

Patel, a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena, and his wife were pulled out of the vehicle's windows.

"We're looking into what led up to this. Was there depression or anything else? It wasn't just that he was trying to kill them, he was trying to kill himself too," Wagstaffe said.

He had earlier said they are also investigating whether the crash could have been caused due to an issue with the car.

"Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him (Patel) not being able to stop the vehicle? "We're having the car looked at from top to bottom," Wagstaffe had said.

"Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act," the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.

The incident has left Patel's neighbours in shock who described him as a "great guy".
Rajkot, Jan 31 : A three-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in the Mervadar village of Gujarat's Rajkot district.

The incident happened on Monday evening and the Forest department has put up cages to catch the animal.

The girl, Lakshmi was with her family when the attack took place.

Norval Kharadi from Madhya Pradesh was working along with his family at a farm owned by Prakash Kardani. "We were working in the farm when the leopard sneaked and took away the girl," said Kharadi.

He said, "As we cried for help other workers and owners of neighbouring fields rushed and chased the leopard for a few meters. The leopard left the girl and fled away. Baby Lakshmi was immediately rushed to the Upleta government hospital, where the doctor declared her dead. The body was then sent to Rajkot government hospital for the post-mortem." Lakshmi had suffered injuries on neck and back. Mervadar Sarpanch told media persons that after the leopard attack, migrant labourers have left the village, which has affected the agriculture activities. The forest department has put cages to catch the leopard.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Budget session of Parliament got underway on Tuesday with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to a joint sitting of both Houses.

While addressing the members of both Houses, the President said, "This 25-year period of Amritkal is the golden century of independence and the period of building a developed India. These 25 years are for all of us and for every citizen of the country to show the culmination of our duties.

"By 2047, we have to build a nation that will be connected to the pride of the past and with all the golden chapters of modernity. We have to build an India that will be 'Aatmanirbhar' and capable of fulfilling its humanitarian duties", said President Murmu.

"That should be an India that will not have poverty, whose middle class will also be prosperous, an India whose youth and women will stand at the front to show a path to society and the country, an India whose youth stays two steps ahead of time," she added.

India's self-confidence, the President said, is at its highest and the world is looking at her from a different perspective. It is providing solutions to the world. Today, there is a stable, fearless and decisive government that is working towards realising the big dreams.

"Today, through this session, I express my gratitude to the countrymen for electing a stable government for two consecutive terms. My government always kept the interest of the country paramount, showed the will to completely change the policy-strategy", the President stated.

"From abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir to abolishing Triple Talaq, my government has taken major decisions. An effective system has been put in place to end the corruption. The government is of the clear opinion that corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice. A continuous fight against corruption going on for past years," President Murmu said while addressing Parliament.

While speaking about the government welfare scheme, the President said, "Earlier, there used to be a long wait for tax refund. Today, a refund is received within a few days of filing ITR. Today, along with transparency, the dignity of taxpayers is also being ensured through GST. From removing fake beneficiaries from Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile to One Nation One Ration Card, we have made a huge permanent reform. Over the years, in the form of DBT and Digital India, the country has prepared a permanent and transparent system".

"Ayushman Bharat Yojana has saved crores of poor from becoming poorer. About 11 crore families have been connected with piped water supply in three years under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Poor families are getting maximum benefit from this. My government has worked for every class without any discrimination. As a result of my government's efforts in the last few years, many basic facilities have either reached 100 per cent population or are very close to that target", said the President while addressing the session.
Islamabad, Jan 31 : The death toll in the suicide bombing in a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar province mounted to 88 after some injured succumbed to their injuries while few bodies were recovered from the debris of the place of worship.

The explosion occurred in the central hall of the mosque leading to roof of the place of worship crashing down when devotees were offering prayers on Monday, Dawn News quoted police as saying.

The suicide bomber who blew himself up was present in the first row, police said.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken the responsibility for the attack.

Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Muhammad Ijaz Khan said the bomber detonated his load at the moment hundreds of people had lined up for prayers.

The latest attack targeting police ripped through the mosque during the prayers. The mosque is located inside a highly fortified compound in Peshawar that included the headquarters of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police force and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) offices, The Express Tribune reported.

"It was a suicide bombing," Khan said. The attacker appeared to have passed through several barricades manned by security forces to get into the "Red Zone" compound, he added.

An inquiry was underway into how the attacker breached the elite security cordon and whether there was any inside help, The Express Tribune reported.

Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Mehsood said a rescue operation was underway inside the mosque as a number of people were buried under the rubble. "We can't say how many are still under it," K-P Governor Haji Ghulam Ali later said.

CCPO Ijaz also confirmed by nightfall that "a number of policemen were still stranded under the rubble and rescuers were trying to pull them out." "The mosque hall was packed with up to 400 worshippers, and most of the dead were police officers," he added, The Express Tribune reported.

When asked about the nature of the explosives, the CCPO told reporters that "the smell of explosives has been detected but it is too early to say anything substantial". He added: "We have found traces of explosives." According to a preliminary investigation report, submitted to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the evidence collected from the blast site confirmed that the explosion was a suicide hit and a high-level committee had also been formed to investigate any security lapse, it added.

The blast brought down the upper storey of the mosque, trapping dozens of worshippers in the rubble. The preliminary investigation report said that the roof collapsed because the explosion damaged the pillars of the mosque.
Chandigarh, Jan 31 : India showcased its soft power, particularly cultural diplomacy, to over 100 delegates that converged in this city to attend the first G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting, under the G20 Indian Presidency.

At a dinner hosted by the Chandigarh administration for the delegates, comprising international organisations, on Monday, the focus was on winning hearts of the delegates by showcasing India's deep-rooted multiculturalism through food, traditions and culture, besides branding city as a preferred tourism destination, an official, who was associated with the event, told IANS.

A special counter was set up at the entrance of the gala cultural evening organised on the banks of the rain-fed Sukhna Lake with the Kasauli hills and lower Shivalik hills in the backdrop for the delegates to don colourful turbans.

"I look elegant now," remarked a delegate from Australia while pointing towards his turban.

Many of the foreigners, including women, were seen getting turbans of different hues tied on their heads.

At the cultural evening, inaugurated by Chandigarh Administrator and Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the delegates were dancing on the beats of 'dhol' or drum with a group of folk dancers from Punjab.

"Indian culture is so great that even foreigners adapt it," remarked a foreigner, pointing towards delegates dancing their hearts out on a Bhangra song.

With India observing 2023 as the 'Year of Millets', the delegates were served special millet-based recipes cooked in a traditional way.

"I really enjoyed a non-vegetarian recipe from Kashmir that I am told was cooked in a traditional way by incorporating millets, a nutritious and healthy alternative," remarked another dignitary.

The lightening by the usage of earthen lamps and strings of electric bulbs and the laser show on the banks of the Sukhna Lake embodied the spirit of "One Earth, One Family, One Future". Also colourful flying pots illuminated the skyline.

At the summit venue, an exhibit of traditional handicrafts of the region for the G20 delegates like Phulkari, the folk embroidery of Punjab, was a major attraction. Also there is a millet hamper for the delegates.

"Of course, cultural diplomacy can also directly or indirectly pursue economic benefits in a way to boost tourism in the region," said the official, who said the focus of the spectacular show was to brand this region as the preferred tourist destination by showcasing cuisine and culture.

"An attempt was made to fascinate the delegates to showcase the most culturally rich and vibrant performances on stage, besides promoting common culinary traditions of the region with focus mainly on Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir," he said.

Also beautifully decorated boats with flags of each participating nation were showcased in the waters of the lake with the backdrop of glowing G20 logo Most of the waiters were specially dressed by donning traditional Himachali 'topis' (caps) with a multi-colour border.

Presenting a shawl and a Himachali cap is a common practice at official and public functions in the neighbouring hill state of Himachal Pradesh. There is a tradition in Kinnaur, the tribal-dominated district in the hill state, to welcome guests with a garland of dry fruits and a round Kinnauri cap with a green flap.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
San Francisco, Jan 31 : Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is facing a server-side issue, making it impossible to update the privacy setting "who can see when I'm online," globally on iOS.

This outage is not because of a broken update, reports WABetaInfo.

It is still unclear how many users are affected by this issue and what is causing the current issue.

The company has not yet released any official statement or provided any information on the reasons behind the issue.

The report also mentioned that if someone's online presence on the platform is hidden, then the current configuration is safe and nobody can see when they are online.

In October last year, the messaging platform had suffered a global outage including in India that lasted for over two hours.

According to outage monitor website DownDetector, over 85 per cent of people had reported problems while messaging, 11 per cent while using the app, and 3 per cent while using the website.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : India's Abhay Singh and Tanvi Khanna have made it to the men's and women's semifinals of the HCL SRFI Indian Tour.

Abhay and Tanvi will be the sole Indian representatives in either draws in Tuesday's semifinal, after coming through their quarterfinal contests at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in straight games on Monday.

Singh, the top seed in the men's draw, downed South Korea's Hoony Lee 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 in under half an hour to secure his semifinal spot, as he aims to continue the form that saw him win a Tour-leading six times last year.

The Indian will now face Hong Kong's Matthew Lai in the last four, while Egypt's Yassin Elshafei and Japan's Tomotaka Endo will do battle in the other semifinal.

In the women's draw, Tanvi caused one of the upsets on the day, as she defeated No.2 seed Nadeen Kotb in straight games to book her place in the last four. The Indian delighted the home crowd, winning 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 in just under half an hour to advance.

She will join an Egyptian trio in the semifinals. Tanvi will take on No.3 seed Nour Ramy, while top seed Amina Orfi, who has won on her previous two Challenger Tour appearances will do battle with compatriot and No.6 seed Menna Walid.
Islamabad, Jan 31 : A Pakistan court on Tuesday said that PTI chief and former Prime Minister Imran Kahn will be indicted in connection with the Toshakhana refrence case.

Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal said that Khan will be indicted on February 7, Dawn reported.

Khan, who is recovering after sustaining a gunshot wound following an assassination bid during a rally on November 3, had sought exemption from today's hearing.

During the hearing, Judge Iqbal directed the PTI chief to submit surety bonds worth Rs 20,000 and instructed him to ensure in-person attendance in court at the next hearing.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had last year disqualified Khan from political office, on charges of misleading officials about Toshakhana (gifts) he received from foreign leaders during his tenure as Prime Minister.

The refrence was moved by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against Khan on August 4, 2022.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Madhav Sheth, VP of realme and President of realme International Business Group, on Tuesday greeted his arch rival Manu Jain of Xiaomi, who has bid goodbye to the company after serving in for nine years and making it the top smartphone brand in India.

In a tweet, Sheth said that "from the day being rejected to be one of your distribution partners to our journey as competitors, it has been phenomenal".

"All the best @manukumarjain for your journey ahead," he added.

Manu Jain on Monday announced to quit global smartphone brand Xiaomi after serving it for nine years, saying the "end of a journey also marks the beginning of a new one, full of exciting opportunities".

The social media barbs between the two top Indian smartphone players were the talk of the town a couple of years back.

In January 2020, Sheth took on Xiaomi after being called a 'copy-cat brand'.

Sheth took to Twitter, saying "a real innovative brand and market leader won't behave like that".

Replying to an earlier tweet by Jain, then Xiaomi Vice President and Xiaomi India Managing Director which blamed Realme for being a "copy-cat brand," Sheth tweeted: "A real innovative brand and market leader won't behave like that. Basic dignity and ethics should be maintained no matter how insecure you are of your competitor's growth." In May 2019, both the smartphone bosses took to Twitter, starting with Jain's Twitter outburst against realme.

However, the rivalry stopped playing on social media platforms afterwards and the pandemic years more or less became a true professional rivalry among the two companies.

Jain subsequently joined the Xiaomi international team. In June 2022, he transitioned to the global role as Group Vice President.

Sheth too moved into a bigger, global role, apart from handling the India operations.

Xiaomi held the top spot in India's smartphone market in 2022, despite the year being a tough one for the company.

Meanwhile, realme is now focusing on mid-tier and 5G as it launched its number series towards the end of the year with all 5G SKUs in Rs 15,000 segment, according to Counterpoint Research.
Chennai, Jan 31 : The Greater Chennai police in Tamil Nadu will soon provide bangles with the telephone number of a close relative inscribed on them to trace elderly people who wander off due to momentary loss of memory.

The idea was mooted by a probationary Sub Inspector of Arumbakkam police station in Chennai. The probationer, Prakash developed the idea along with a constable Prabhu of the same police station.

The bangles will have the telephone numbers of a close relative inscribed on them so that if the elderly is not returning home, someone who finds them will make a call on the telephone number provided.

An 80-year-old woman, Rajam alias Rajeswari was found missing from her home in Arumbakkam and the relatives registered a complaint with the police station on Saturday. The police shared her photograph on several WhatsApp groups as also went through the CCTV visuals and finally traced her down at Washermenpet.

A senior official of the Greater Chennai Police said that Arumbakkam police station will do a pilot project on this and if successful, it will be extended to the whole corporation limits.

The Arumbakkam police have now taken a list of elderly people living under the police station limits and those who are prone to wandering off will be provided with bangles that have inscription of the phone number of a close relative.

The police said that they would provide bangles to the elderly in general, but the main focus is on those who lose their memory momentarily and who lose track of the place or the situation.

The Arumbakkam police station will also keep a record of all these people who are prone to wandering. This will also help the police have a proper record of all the people who requires support from the police.
Chennai, Jan 31 : Insurance adoption and penetration in India increased largely due to government schemes and financial inclusion initiatives, said the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday.

The government's flagship initiative for crop insurance, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), has led to significant growth in the premium income for crop insurance.

Ayushman Bharat (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) (AB PMJAY) aims at providing a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, the Survey notes.

Important government initiatives, strong demographic factors, a conducive regulatory environment, increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A), product innovations, and vibrant distribution channels are supporting the insurance market's growth.

According to the Survey, India poised to emerge as one of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the coming decade. The insurance penetration in the country has increased from 2.7 per cent around the turn of the millennium to 4.2 per cent in 2020 and remained the same in 2021.

The life insurance penetration in India was 3.2 per cent in 2021, almost twice more than the emerging markets and slightly above the global average.

However, most life insurance products sold in India are savings-linked, with just a small protection component. Hence, households remain exposed to a significant financing gap in the event of the premature death of the primary breadwinner, the survey notes.

Citing a Swiss Re Institute World Insurance report the Economic Survey said India is expected to emerge as one of the top six insurance markets in the world by 2032, ahead of Germany, Canada, Italy, and South Korea.

Further, growth in the non-life insurance sector is likely to be driven by demand for health coverage, with people more aware of health security post-Covid-19 and strong support from the government-sponsored mass health programme (Ayushman Bharat).

Compulsory motor third party insurance will multiply as India's middle class expands and buys more cars.

The digitisation of India's insurance market goes beyond telematics and customer risk assessment. Many digital platforms have emerged over recent years, offering various services, including insurance purchases.

The Economic Survey also said, the insurance density in India has increased from US$ 11.1 in 2001 to US$ 91 in 2021 (density for life insurance was US$ 69 and non-life insurance was US$ 22 in 2021) in keeping with the relatively faster expansion of the insurance market in the country.

During FY22, the gross direct premium of non-Life insurers (within and outside India) registered year-on-year (YoY) growth of 10.8 per cent, primarily driven by health and motor segments.

The net incurred claims of non-life insurers stood at Rs.1.4 lakh crore in FY22.

The life insurance premium registered YoY growth of 10.2 per cent in FY22, with new businesses contributing 45.5 per cent of the total premiums received by the life insurers. The life insurance industry paid benefits of Rs.5.02 lakh crore in FY22, out of which 8.3 per cent benefits were on death claims, the survey said.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : With every other person in the city complaining of flu and cold, masking up may be the best thing you can do not just for yourself but others around you. By continuing the usage of masks if you feel any flu like symptoms, you are looking out for other people in your home and in your immediate surroundings by limiting the spread of the infection. You can actually reduce the chance of infection by wearing a mask.

Many infections, including influenza, SARS, and Covid-19 are transmitted via respiratory droplets which are exhaled from the infected individual. There are different viruses that cause these infections and they tend to spread when an infected person breathes, speaks or coughs. When we wear a good quality mask without a valve, we are considerably reducing the likelihood of passing on that infection to others. This will be all the more important if you have babies in the house who can't wear masks or elderly who are vulnerable or have co-morbidities says Dr SC Ajmani, General Physician.

In fact, research says that a single cough can produce up to 3000 droplets. More so, we expel thousands of droplets into the air, by even just speaking. Wearing a mask means that you are aiding infection control by blocking the source of infection, as the mask contains the wearer's germs and stops the route of transmission for airborne infections. It particularly benefits in not infecting people who are more vulnerable like elderly, little children and those with a weakened immune system.

Also, whenever we visit high germ load places like hospitals or a clinic or a testing lab - masking up should be adopted as a good practice because we are going to a place which has high incidence of infection. It can be a part of our best effort to stay protected and a rather easy addition to our routine.

The kind of mask one is wearing plays a huge role in how effective they really are in limiting the spread of infection. Choosing a respirator (an N-95 or an FFP2 S) over a cloth or a surgical mask should be preferred as they are better equipped to contain germs as well as prevent their entry through it. A study by the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization, Germany, found that a fitting FFP2 and N95 masks provide a staggering 75 times better protection compared to surgical masks. A BIS approved FFP2 S mask like Savlon provides protection from virus, bacteria, dust, pollution, allergens and pollen (>= 0.3 micron). These masks provide 95 per cent protection from particle aerosols >= 0.3 micron. These masks have electrostatically charged melt blown filters which provide advanced filtration compared to ordinary masks. These masks are also tested for comfort and skin compatibility. Savlon FFP2 S Masks are BIS Certified. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing on quality performance and efficacy as prescribed by BIS. By wearing a good quality, well fitted mask the effects of viruses, bacteria, dust, pollution, pollen and allergens can be greatly reduced and can contribute to overall better health.

Making up must become a conscious choice for safeguarding ones and other's health. Even if you have the slightest cough, sore throat or congestion or are visiting a hospital or a clinic - wearing a mask should be a natural instinct. Additionally, of course, it must always be accompanied by other hygiene practices such as washing hands, keeping your clothes disinfected, especially during winters, and maintaining hygiene in the home, because after all, Hygiene Sahi toh Health Sahi.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The tiffin lunchbox concept has been immensely successful in India. Indians have always been fond of dabbawalas, who once revolutionised the food delivery system by timely delivering home-cooked meals from the home to an office or school.

Interestingly, the accuracy of dabbawalas is high, and their error rates are just 1 in 8 million. The busy work schedule of people has left most office-goers with very little time to cook and depend on reliable food delivery services.

With time, the demand for freshly cooked meals has increased among working millennials. Over the past few years, the paramount value and need for home-cooked meals have given rise to the unique concept of boxed meals.

Although the idea of box meals was prevalent among working professionals, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has further amplified the need for boxed meals, with food safety and hygiene becoming the top concern in everyday affairs.

Since hygiene and safety are vital priorities post-lockdown, employees became skeptical about sharing their canteen spaces or eating from local dhabas. People became wary of food delivery services by dabbawalas for coming in contact with several other people.

With the ever-increasing awareness of healthy eating and the paramount value and preference for home-cooked meals, several cloud kitchen players have emerged in the marketplace that further revolutionized the food industry by delivering freshly cooked food items and enabling contactless delivery by leveraging technology.

Here are more details on how these cloud kitchen startups are fulfilling the healthy eating demands of consumers through their boxed meal offerings.

Boxed meals, a revolutionary concept in the food delivery segment Today, leading cloud kitchen startups have mushroomed in several parts of the country over the past few years with the unique concept of boxed meals. They are experimenting with various regional cuisines (like Odia, Kolkata, South Indian, and North India) and offering packaged food boxes containing tasty meals prepared hygienically with quality ingredients.

These cloud kitchen startups are conducting faster delivery of freshly prepared, hygienic food to relive the dining experience at home or office with zero usage of preservatives and low-graded ingredients in the food preparation process.

They are adopting a robust technology-driven business model that operates through popular food delivery aggregators in India. Moreover, these trustworthy platforms opt for zero plastic use and 100 per cent electric cooking with no fuel usage in terms of packaging. Some cloud kitchens even offer meal subscription plans at affordable prices and deliver orders across various Indian states, like in the Mumbai region.

With the premium concept of boxed meals, cloud kitchen startups strive to take Indian regional food heritage in its most beautiful and rich form to the premium audience, like working millennials. Such efforts of providing nutritious solutions (boxed meals) will even support the Indian food service industry to record Rs 6 trillion mark by 2023. This ever-increasing growth momentum will also help the food tech segment become a hotbed for investors.

(Sauhitya Garabadu is the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Rroshashala) (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
Hyderabad, Jan 31 : At least 30 people including 20 school children were injured when a bus in which they were travelling was hit by a RTC bus in Telangana on Tuesday.

The accident occurred at Yellareddypet in Rajanna Sircilla district.

Police said 20 students of a private school travelling in the school bus were injured. Ten passengers of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus also sustained injuries.

The injured children were shifted to a private hospital while bus passengers injured in the collision were taken to a government hospital in Sircilla.

According to eyewitnesses, the TSRTC bus which was on way to Sircilla from Kamareddy, rammed into the school bus from rear.

Anxious parents rushed to the hospital where their wards were admitted. Senior officials from the education department also rushed there and is supervising the relief operation.

State Minister K.T. Rama Rao spoke to district collector over phone and directed him to ensure best possible treatment to the injured children.
Lucknow, Jan 31 : The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to deploy 48 former IAS, IPS and IFS officers, along with serving academicians, to create a buzz about the Global Investors Summit-2023 (GIS-2023) to be held here on February 10-12.

These former IAS, IPS and IFS officers, along with serving academicians, will visit 61 prominent universities of the state and impart training to students about its policies and schemes to attract investment and boost the size of Uttar Pradesh's Gross State Domestic Product to a trillion dollars in the next five years.

It has also decided to recruit 105 postgraduates (with minimum 60 per cent marks) with knowledge of computers as Udyami Mitras (friends of investors).

A sum of Rs 70,000 per month along with allowances would be paid to the Udyami Mitras to be hired on contractual basis for one year (extendable to one more year) under the Mukhya Mantri Udyami Mitra Yojana.

The state cabinet has approved this scheme. They will be deployed in various districts, development authorities and Invest UP headquarters at Lucknow.

Their task will be to coordinate with investors and departments and take investors for visits to project sites to ensure that the investment proposals get to the ground.

This is the first time that retired senior officers and serving academicians are being associated to involve youngsters and make the GIS-2023 a grand event.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who wants the GIS-2023 to be a historic event, is likely to brief the team of officers and academicians about their task.

Their work would include imparting training from February 3 to 5 to 500- 1000 students in every faculty at select universities.

The registrars of the universities have been made responsible for making all arrangements for the programme and ensure that the students of all faculties attend the training session.

The officers and academicians attending the orientation programme at the chief minister's residence would be given a knowledge kit and an honorarium of Rs 4000 per day.

The Uttar Pradesh estates department has been asked to make arrangements for the stay of participants of the orientation programme. Invest UP would provide them with vehicles.

Besides King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University, Lucknow, where Avanish Awasthi, advisor to chief minister, will impart training to students, the universities selected for the programme include Lucknow University, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti Bhasha University, Integral University, BBD University and Era University of Lucknow.

Others include HBTU, Kanpur, UP Medical Science University, Saifai, Amity University, Noida, Galgotia's University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Sampoornand Sanskrit University, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Meerut University, Professor Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj and Madan Mohan Malviya Technical University, Gorakhpur.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Year-on-Year (YoY) decline in monthly demand for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) work is emanating from normalisation of the rural economy due to strong agricultural growth and a swift bounce-back from Covid-19, the Economic Survey for 2022-23 has said.

Labour markets have recovered beyond the pre-Covid levels, in both urban and rural areas, as observed in the supply-side and demand-side employment data, the Survey said.

Quarterly urban employment data shows progress beyond pre-pandemic levels as the unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in July-September 2019 to 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022.

Reflecting rising formalisation of employment, net addition to EPFO payroll is steadily moving upward after swiftly rebounding from Covid-19, with the majority share coming from the youth. As per Annual Survey of Industries 2019-20, employment in the organised manufacturing sector has maintained a steady upward trend over time, with the employment per factory also increasing gradually.

Employment has been rising faster in factories employing more than 100 workers than in smaller ones, suggesting scaling up of manufacturing units.

The broad-based improvement in employment indicators can be observed in data covering both the supply side and demand side of the labour market. Labour markets have recovered beyond the pre-Covid levels in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.2 per cent in 2020-21, and a noticeable rise in rural FLFPR from 19.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 27.7 per cent in 2020-21.

More recent urban employment data shows progress beyond pre-pandemic levels as the unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in July-September 2019 to 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022.

The net addition to EPFO payroll is steadily moving upward, with the majority share coming from the youth. Employment in nine major sectors has increased by 10 lakh over the year 2021-22 as per the QES. Employment in the organised manufacturing sector has also been rising over the years, as per the ASI 2019-20 data. The steady increase in employment levels can be attributed to multiple measures taken to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on MSMEs, the Survey said.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : The sleuths of Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police, on Tuesday morning, arrested two persons with counterfeit notes having face value of Rs 10 lakh.

Police sources said that on the basis of specific information, the STF sleuths raided a residence in South Kolkata and arrested Abdur Rezzak Khan and Saher Ali along with the consignment of fake currency notes. "A total of 2,000 counterfeit each being of the face value of Rs 500 were seized from their possession," said an official. Both Khan and Ali are residents of Assam.

The arrested persons have been booked under Section 102B (criminal conspiracy). Section 489B and Section 489C (possession of counterfeit currencies) of Indian Penal Code. The two arrested persons will be presented at a lower court in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Police sources said that the two arrested persons are probably a part of the bigger racket involved in trading of counterfeit currencies. They are being interrogated by the STF sleuths who are trying to get information about the kingpins of the racket.

This is the second major recovery of counterfeit notes by the sleuths of STF in Kolkata within a gap of three weeks.

Earlier on January 8, one Rakumul Sheikh was arrested from his residence at Topsia area with counterfeit notes of Rs 1,50,000 face value from his possession.

Sheikh was an original resident of Malda district in West Bengal. He was arrested earlier also for his involvement in the counterfeit currency racket.
Patna, Jan 31 : Amid standoff with Nitish Kumar, disgruntled JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday accused the Chief Minister of giving him the "powerless" post of national parliamentary board's president.

"CM Nitish Kumar claims that he has exalted my position by making me the national president of the JD(U) parliamentary board but has not given any power. It is a kind of "Jhunjhuna" (rattle). It is a powerless post and I have no authority to appoint a member of the parliamentary board, Kushwaha said.

"When I merged my party with JD(U), Nitish Kumar had given me the post of national parliamentary board president. I thought it was a good post and I would do my best to make the party stronger. At that time, the constitution of the party allowed the parliamentary board president to appoint members. Later, the amendment was made and all power was centralised to the national president of the party. Now, the national president has the power to appoint members of the party's parliamentary board," Kushwaha said.

Kushwaha shot into prominence in the state politics ever since he had given statements against CM Nitish Kumar. He said that the senior leaders of JD(U) are in touch with BJP. He also refused to leave the party without getting 'hissedari' stake from Nitish Kumar.

The relationship between the two leaders soured after Kushwaha went to Delhi and met with some of the BJP leaders in AIIMS.
Dakshina Kannada : , Jan 31 (IANS) A 14-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide after his mother scolded him over his mobile addiction, here.

The deceased was identified as Jnanesh, son of Jagadish and Vinaya.

When Jnanesh, a class 9 student, was watching mobile after coming back home from the Sacred Heart School, Vinaya scolded him for mobile addiction and asked him to put it away.

Sad over it, the boy told his mother that he would come back after taking a bath. He went inside and hanged himself to death from a ceiling fan in his room on Monday evening.

A case has been registered.
Kochi, Jan 31 : The Bar Council of Kerala (BCK) has initiated proceedings against Saiby Jose Kidangoor, a top advocate, presently the President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA), after grave allegations surfaced against him.

In a special urgent meeting, the BCK decided to serve a show cause notice to accused .

Trouble began for the advocate after a lawyer shared a social media post alleging that Kidangoor was taking money from some clients to be given to judges for a favourable verdict.

Based on this, the vigilance wing of the High Court began a probe and is understood to have found some evidence. The report was sent to the Kerala Police and they too have launched an investigation into it.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund is not a public authority according to the Right to Information Act, 2005 and not a "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, but a "public charitable trust".

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was dealing with a plea moved by Samyak Gangwal, seeking a declaration of PM CARES Fund as "State" under the Constitution as it would attract consequential directions for disclosing the Fund's audit reports periodically, disclosing the Fund's quarterly details of donations received, utilisation thereof and resolutions on expenditure of donations.

The affidavit stated that the plea is based on "apprehensions and suppositions" and that a constitutional question should not be decided in a vacuum.

The affidavit filed by the Under Secretary of PMO to the court said: "This Trust is neither intended to be, nor is in fact owned, controlled or substantially financed by any government nor any instrumentality of the government. There is no control of either the Central government or any state governments, either direct or indirect, in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever." According to the affidavit submitted, the PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust accepting only voluntary donations and is certainly not the Centre's business. "PM CARES Fund does not receive funds or finances by the government," it was mentioned.

However, counsel for petitioner Senior Advocate Shyam Divan said: "High functionaries of the government like the Vice President had requested the Rajya Sabha members to make donations" and that "the PM CARES Fund has been projected as a government fund".

In response, the PMO argues: "The PM CARES Fund is administered on the pattern of Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) as both are chaired by the Prime Minister. Like the National Emblem and domain name 'gov.in' are being used for the PMNRF, the same are also being used for PM CARES Fund." The affidavit stated: "The composition of the Board of Trustees consisting of holders of public office ex officio - the Supreme Court, Union Home Minister, the Union Finance Minister, the former chairman of Tata Sons Ratan Tata, former Judge K.T. Thomas, and Former Deputy Speaker Kariya Mund" - is merely for administrative convenience and for smooth succession to the trusteeship and is neither intended to be nor in fact result into any governmental control in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever." Besides the declaration of PM CARES Fund as "State" under the Constitution, Gangwal has also sought that PM CARES Fund should be restrained from using "PM" in its names/ website, State Emblem, domain name "gov" in its website and PM's Office as its official address.

On March 27, 2020, the trust deed of PM CARES Fund was registered as a Public Charitable Trust under the Registration Act, 1908 in New Delhi.

Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and providing relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of PM CARES Fund was set up.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said journalist Rana Ayyub received money through a crowdfunding platform for the purpose of slum dwellers, Covid relief, and some work in Assam, however she diverted the money and used it for "personal enjoyment".

Ayyub had moved the apex court against the summons issued by a Ghaziabad court in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.

Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Ayyub, contended before a bench of Justices V. Ramasubramanian and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, "can her client be deprived of personal liberty by a procedure not authorised by law?" Grover said the ED has attached her client's personal bank account in a bank at Navi Mumbai in which around Rs 1 crore was lying. She pressed that the Ghaziabad court has no jurisdiction to try the offence as the alleged act is claimed to have been committed in Mumbai.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, submitted that Ayyub raised funds of three aspects -- slum dwellers, Covid, and for some work in Assam -- on Ketto, which is a crowdfunding platform. He added that nearly Rs 1 crore was collected and Rs 50 Lakh was transferred to a personal account in fixed deposit, and after the first campaign was over she kept receiving money. "We found that money was diverted...used for personal enjoyment...people were donating crores without knowing where money was going...," said Mehta.

He further submitted that a prosecution complaint was filed in the Ghaziabad court by the agency as part of the cause of action had arisen in Uttar Pradesh, where many people, including from Ghaziabad, donated money for her crowdfunding campaign.

Mehta said the money laundering offence is not an independent offence and is always connected to a scheduled offence for which an FIR was lodged in Indirapuram police station of Ghaziabad. He added that money was shown by fake bills, groceries, among others, and was used for personal luxury items and consumption.

Citing Ayyub's counsel arguments, Mehta emphasized that if a person chose to launder money in Singapore or Thiruvananthapuram, the agency has to go there and lodge a case. He said, "this is not the scheme..." After hearing arguments, the apex court reserved its verdict on a plea by Ayyub challenging the summonses issued by a special court in Ghaziabad in the money laundering case.

Last week, the apex court had asked the Ghaziabad court to adjourn the proceedings in the money laundering case against Ayyub scheduled for hearing on January 27 to a date after January 31.

The ED, in October last year, had filed a charge sheet against Ayyub, accusing her of cheating the public and utilising charity funds worth Rs 2.69 crore for creating her personal assets, and also violating the foreign contribution law.

Ayyub moved the apex court seeking quashing of the proceedings initiated by the ED in Ghaziabad. The plea contended that the alleged offence of money laundering occurred in Mumbai, while citing lack of jurisdiction.

A special PMLA court in Ghaziabad, in November last year, had taken cognizance of the prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate and summoned Ayyub. The special court said that from the perusal of the entire record there is sufficient evidence as to a prima facie case for taking cognizance against Rana Ayyub with regard to commission of offence.

The special court has noted the alleged offence is connection with obtaining illegally money from the general public in the name of charity via 'Ketto' platform, which is an online crowdfunding platform, in three campaigns without any kind of approval, raising huge amounts in the bank account of her sister and father and later transferring the same to her own bank account which was not used for the intended purpose.
Manilla, Jan 31 : Surviving Filipino women sexually enslaved by Japan's World War II military on Tuesday urged the Japanese government to acknowledge its war crimes, resolve the "comfort women" issue, and stop "warmongering." "It is very unjust on the part of the Japanese government to continue ignoring the issue of Filipino comfort women who have suffered long enough, more than half a century in silence," Sharon Cabusao-Silva, the executive director of Lila Pilipina, told reporters.

Lila Pilipina is a Philippine organisation helping women forced into Japanese military brothels in their fight for justice. There are only a few survivors, and most are in their 90s and sick, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Silva said Japan must recognise the trauma inflicted on the women by the Japanese Imperial Army.

"We urge Japan to finally acknowledge its war crimes against Asian nations and take the necessary steps toward a fair and long-overdue resolution of the 'comfort women' issue," the group said.

Lila Pilipina's call came when Japan was set to present its human rights report for the Fourth Cycle of the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in the country.

"We are outraged that Japan has chosen to ignore once again the issue of its wartime military sex slavery of thousands of Asian women in the fourth human rights report it submitted to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)," it added.

While declaring its achievements in various human rights areas, the Japanese government was utterly silent about the "comfort women" system which is also at the core of these issues, the group said.

The group added Japan "totally ignored" the recommendations made by other countries "for Japan to finally address this long-standing issue." The group sounded the alarm over Japan's "aggressive actions toward war spending and production with the development of its missile and other defence capabilities." The group also expressed alarm "by how Japan has militarized its Official Development Assistance programs in the Philippines through the sale of war material." As living witnesses and victims of war, Narcisa Claveria and Estelita Dy said they experienced cruelty and hardships during World War II at the hands of the Japanese military.

"We were abused, forced to wash and iron their clothes by day, and repeatedly raped at night by Japanese soldiers. That is why I reject war," Claveria told reporters.

"War is brutal; you will suffer even if you have not done anything wrong because they accuse you of doing something even if you did not," she added.

Estelita Dy said the new generation must not experience war. "We do not want the new generation to experience the atrocities of war; what we went through during the war, so we are against war," she told reporters.

During World War II, hundreds of thousands of women and girls from China, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions were forcibly conscripted by Japanese militarists as sex slaves and experienced horrific sexual violence, both mentally and physically.
Hyderabad, Jan 31 : Sandoz, a global leader in generics and biosimilars, has announced setting up of their Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad which will provide support for their worldwide knowledge services.

The development is expected to further strengthen Hyderabad's leadership position in the pharma and Global Capability (GCC) space.

The centre will initially have a workforce of 800 employees, with plans to increase to approximately 1,800 people in the near future.

The announcement was made after a Sandoz team, headed by CEO-designate Richard Saynor, met Telangana Industry and Commerce Minister K. T. Rama Rao here on Tuesday.

Sandoz has a development centre in Genome Valley engaged in cutting edge R&D facilities. The team also informed the minister that they are adding a state-of-the-art laboratory focused on automation in the GV facility.

Rama Rao also presented the Hyderabad Pharma City project and highlighted the value proposition for companies like Sandoz. He invited Sandoz to consider setting up large manufacturing centre in Hyderabad.

The Sandoz team also included Chief Scientific Officer Claire D'Abreau-Hayling, Sandoz Development Centre India head Dr. Vandana Singh, and Novartis Corporate Centre head Naveen Gullapalli.

The Minister also noted that Hyderabad boasts a top-notch business environment backed by the state, with a strong emphasis on the life sciences industry. "Hyderabad is already home to Novartis and has grown into the second largest location for the company, we are looking forward to a similar patronage and association with Sandoz," he said.

Sandoz is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. As a division of the Novartis Group, their vision is to discover new ways to improve and extend people's lives. The global portfolio of Sandoz comprises approximately 1,000 molecules, covering all major therapeutic areas, which accounted for 2019 sales of $9.7 billion. Their products reach more than 500 million patients globally.

Hyderabad is regarded as the life sciences capital of India and vaccine capital of the world. It also has the unique distinction of being home to the largest development centres outside of their headquarters for all of the most valued technology companies including Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook (Meta), etc.
Patna, Jan 31 : Disgruntled JD-U Parliamentary Board President Upendra Kushwaha claimed that Nitish Kumar is not taking decisions on his own.

He further said that forming the government with the help of RJD was not the decision of Nitish Kumar. It was suggested by the leaders who surrounded him.

"When Nitish Kumar went with RJD to form the government in Bihar, it was not the decision of Nitish Kumar. The candidate of Kurhani by-poll was not picked according to the choice of Nitish Kumar. He has publicly said that it was not the choice to select the candidate of Kurhani. When Nitish Kumar left the RJD and went with BJP in 2017, it was not his decision as well. Nitish Kumar is taking decisions on the suggestions of leaders who are surrounding him," Kushwaha said.

"Such a situation is dangerous for the party. It is heading towards the end. Nitish Kumar is unable to take decisions on his own and doing it on the suggestions of others. Hence, I am appealing to Nitish Ji to start taking decisions at his personal level and save the party," Kushwaha said.

"Nitish Ji is saying that he has made me an MLC and president of the party's national parliamentary board. I had left the post of Union minister then what is the post of MLC. By appointing as MLC, the party has not given me a job, it has given me a lollipop or Jhunjhuna. If Nitish Kumar is thinking that he has obliged me by appointing as MLC and national parliamentary board president, he should take back both the posts," Kushwaha said.

"People are saying what kind of stake I am wanting from Nitish Kumar. I want to clarify to them that I am wanting a stake in JD-U. It is a similar kind of stake which Nitish Kumar demanded from Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1994. Nitish Kumar, during the rally at Gandhi Maidan Patna, demanded stake from Lalu Prasad Yadav. I am demanding the same from Nitish Kumar in JD-U now," Kushwaha said.

"Nitish Kumar is saying that he loves me. What kind of narrative of love he is making. If people love anyone, they ask them to stay near. He is asking me to leave the party, what kind of love it is," Kushwaha asked.
Gandhinagar, Jan 31 : A Gandhinagar court on Tuesday sentenced self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, whom it had convicted in a 2013 rape case, to life imprisonment.

The court has also ordered Additional District Sessions Judge D.K. Son, after hearing prosecution and defence lawyers, announced the quantum of punishment, and also ordered Asaram to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to the victim.

During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor R.C. Kodekar had submitted that Asaram Bapu was "habitual offender" and so he should be sent to jail for life, while the defence lawyer had sought minimum punishment.

Two sisters had filed a complaint in 2013 with Surat police against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, alleging that between 1997 to 2006, that Asaram had raped the older sister between 1997 to 2006 in Ahmedabad, whereas the younger sister had alleged Asaram's son raped her in Surat ashram during same period.

The elder sister's case was transferred to Ahmedabad police and trial conducted in the Gandhinagar court, which on Monday found Asaram guilty of the offence.

The trial against Asaram's son is underway in a Surat court.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered immediate replacement of an inspector-rank officer from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal.

The officer to be replaced as ordered by the single- judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay is Somnath Biswas. Giving a clear instruction, Justice Gangopadhyay said that neither would Biswas remain associated with the probe process nor should he be allowed to touch any file pertaining to the investigation.

He also ordered the deputy inspector general-rank officer of CBI heading the SIT to arrange for the replacement of Biswas and inform the court on this count by Thursday.

Although Justice Gangopadhyay did not cite any reason for the direction, it is learnt that he was unhappy as some of his queries were unanswered in the progress report submitted by the central agency to his court.

This is not the first time that Justice Gangopadhyay had ordered for the replacement of the members of SIT of CBI probing the matter.

On November 16 last year too, his bench ordered the reconstitution of the SIT. He then ordered the replacement of K.C. Rishinamul, a deputy superintendent rank officer and Imran Ashique, an inspector rank officer. He then said that Rishinamol and Ashique would be replaced by four officers -- deputy superintendent Angshuman Saha, inspector Biswanath Chakraborty, inspector Pradip Tripathi and inspector Wasim Akram Khan.

However, the only difference this time is that Justice Gangopadhyay had left the replacement on the discretion of the head of SIT unlike in November last year when he himself named the replacements.
Islamabad, Jan 31 : The death toll in the suicide bombing in a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar province mounted to 96 on Tuesday after more bodies were recovered from the attack site.

The explosion occurred in the central hall of the mosque leading to roof of the place of worship crashing down when devotees were offering prayers on Monday, Dawn News quoted police as saying.

More than 90 per cent of the victims were policemen, between 300 and 400 of whom had gathered in the compound's mosque for prayers, as per Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan.

The suicide bomber who blew himself up was present in the first row, police said.

A joint investigation team, comprising intelligence, police and security officials, has been formed to probe the incident, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mauzzam Jah Ansari told mediapersons.

After the TTP denied their involvement in the attack, police suspect that Jamaat-ul-Ahrar may be involved in the incident, he said.
Kabul, Jan 31 : Four persons were killed and 18 others injured after the roof of their house collapsed in Afghanistan's Balkh province.

The incident took place late on Monday in the mountainous Qoriq village of Charkent district, killing four members of the family including two children, and injuring 18 others including women and children, with some in critical condition, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Asif Waziri said on Tuesday.

In a similar incident, three children were killed and six others including the victims' parents injured after the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy snowfall in Shigal district of eastern Kunar province on Sunday, a provincial government official Ehsanullah Ehsan has confirmed, Xinhua News Agency reported.

People in war-torn Afghanistan's rural areas are mostly living in mud houses, which are vulnerable to snowfall, heavy rain and natural disasters in general.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : India's service sector witnessed a swift rebound in 2021-22 driven by growth in the contact intensive services sub-sector, which bore the maximum burden of the pandemic, the Economic Survey for 2022-23, which was tabled in Parliament, noted.

It added that this subsector completely recovered from the pre-pandemic level in the second quarter of 2022-23, driven by the release of pent-up demand, ease of mobility restriction, and near-universal vaccination coverage. Going forward, strong momentum growth and an uptick in the High-Frequency Indicators (HFIs) for the contact-intensive services sector reflect a strong growth opportunity in the next fiscal.

PMI services, indicative of service sector activity, has also witnessed a strong rebound in recent months with the retreating of the price pressures of inputs and raw materials. India has been a major player in services trade, being among the top 10 services exporting countries in 2021, having increased its share in world commercial services exports from 3 per cent in 2015 to 4 per cent in 2021, the document said.

"India's services exports have remained resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic and amid current geopolitical uncertainties, driven by higher demand for digital support, cloud services, and infrastructure modernisation catering to new challenges. To ensure the liberalisation of investment in various industries, the Government has permitted 100 per cent foreign participation in telecommunication services including all services and infrastructure providers, through the Automatic Route. The FDI ceiling in insurance companies was also raised from 49 to 74 per cent. Measures undertaken by the Government, such as the launch of the National Single-Window system and enhancement in the FDI ceiling through the automatic route, have played a significant role in facilitating investment," the Economic Survey explained.

With the waning of the pandemic and external shocks on account of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, there is evidence of improvement in the performance of various services sub-sectors. The hotel industry is thriving with improvements in occupancy rate, increase in the average room rate (ARR) and rise in revenue per available room (RevPAR) which are now much nearer to the pre-pandemic level of 2019-20. The tourism sector is also showing signs of revival, with foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2022-23 growing month-on-month with the resumption of scheduled international flights and the easing of Covid-19 regulations.

The real estate sector has witnessed resilient growth in the current year, with housing sales and the launch of new houses surpassing in the second quarter of 2022-23 the pre-pandemic level of second quarter of 2019-20, the Survey informed.

"The government's push to boost the digital economy, growing internet penetration, rise in smartphone adoption and increased adoption of digital payments have also given a renewed push to these industries. The introduction and piloting of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will also provide a significant boost to digital financial services. They may lay the framework for another generation of financial innovation," the document said.
Mumbai, Jan 31 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is currently basking in the phenomenal success of his latest release 'Pathaan', recently sang a song for Deepika Padukone, the female lead in the superhit movie.

At a media event, Shah Rukh crooned the track 'Aanhon Mein Teri' from the film 'Om Shanti Om', which marked the debut of Deepika along side Shah Rukh, almost 15 years back.

Considering Deepika started her career opposite Shah Rukh, the superstar felt it fitting to dedicate the song to her and bring back the treasured memories.

The two have become a successful on-screen pair given the reception of their films like 'Chennai Express', 'Happy New Year' and now with 'Pathaan' registering impressive numbers.

'Pathaan', which marked the return of Shah Rukh on the silver screen after four years, has been pulling in crowds since the day of its release with theatres running to packed houses.

Directed by Siddharth Anand, 'Pathaan' also stars John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in key roles.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
New Delhi, Jan 31 : A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Shankar Mishra, who is accused of urinating on an elderly female co-passenger, while in a drunken state, on a New York-Delhi Air India flight last November.

Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala House courts, Harjyot Singh Bhalla, who had reserved his order on Monday, granted bail on the bail bond of Rs 1 lakh.

He had noted that what Mishra has allegedly done is disgusting but the court is bound to follow the law.

"It may be disgusting; that is another matter but let us not get into that. Let's go into how the law deals with it," the judge said.

On January 27, the ASJ had adjourned the matter after the complainant's advocate Ankur Mahindro informed the court that he has not been given a copy of the bail plea.

Currently in judicial custody, Mishra moved the court on January 25 seeking bail against Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg's January 11 order, who had earlier rejected his plea, saying that the alleged act of accused of relieving himself upon the complainant is "utterly disgusting and repulsive" and the act itself is sufficient to outrage the modesty of a woman.

On January 21, Mishra's judicial custody was extended by 14 days.

Moreover, the Public Prosecutor opposed Mishra's bail contending that the latter initially did not cooperate during the investigation and had absconded with his mobile phones switched off.

"He had switched off all his mobile phones. We traced his IMEI number," the Public Prosecutor had said, adding that the incident has insulted India on an international level.

Appearing for Mishra, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said that earlier, his client's bail plea was also denied as the investigation was pending and now it is over.

"Initially my bail was also declined because the investigation was pending. Now that is done and they have examined other crew members and witnesses," he said.

Earlier, Mishra had also claimed that the complainant had soiled her own seat and the woman had rubbished the allegation saying that it was "completely false and concocted".

On January 13, Mishra told the court that he was not the accused. "There must be someone else who peed or it must be the lady herself who urinated," he had said.

He had further claimed that the woman was suffering from some prostate-related disease.

The Delhi Police had arrested Mishra in Bengaluru on January 6 for the alleged act.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Global travel service provider MakeMyTrip on Tuesday reported a growth of 64.4 per cent on gross bookings (year-on-year) that reached $1.75 billion -- its highest-ever -- for the company's fiscal third quarter that ended on December 31.

The company earned adjusted operating profit of $19.7 million in Q3 FY23, as compared to $13.2 million in Q3 FY22, over the revenue of $170.5 million (versus $115 million in 3Q22).

Profit for the period was $0.2 million as compared to a loss of $9 million during the same quarter last year.

Demand for leisure travel and tourism improved on the back of peak seasonality, according to the company.

"Positive consumer sentiment and peak seasonality on the back of festivals and holidays led to improved travel demand during this quarter," said Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.

As a result, "we recorded our highest ever quarterly gross bookings and adjusted operating profit. Strong growth across air, hotels and bus bookings reaffirms our position as a trusted travel super-app in India," he said in a statement.

The company posted good results as the travel and tourism industry has sought assistance from the government in the Union Budget for FY24 in enhancing the structural transformation that is needed to build a stronger, more sustainable and resilient tourism industry.

Magow had said that the Indian travel and tourism industry has shown great resilience, domestic leisure travel has recovered well past pre-pandemic levels, though the long-haul international travel still lags.
Mysuru : , Jan 31 (IANS) Karnataka Congress stated on Tuesday that it will screen the banned BBC documentary, 'India: The Modi Question' in the premises of its office in Mysuru city.

Speaking to reporters, KPCC Spokesperson M. Lakshman stated that "BBC has thrown light on the truth. BJP leaders themselves have been beating their chests that Modi had given directions to kill Muslims." "Like 'Kashmir Files', this documentary should be exhibited all over the country. I request people of the country to watch the documentary. One should watch the documentary and learn about the dark face of PM Modi," he said.

BBC is an important British organisation, it will work without coming under the influence of anyone, Lakshman stated.

Training his guns on BJP MLA and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, Lakshman further charged that Jarkiholi and his gang had shot an excise inspector Ingalage in 1988. "The inspector was shot with an AK-47 rifle," he stated.

He further alleged that in 1994 also murders were carried out in the Government Mill of Gokak in the leadership of Ramesh Jarkiholi. He charged that people were supposed to take consent from the Jarkiholi family for purchase or sale of property worth more than Rs 35 lakh.

Lakshman stated that if the people sold properties without getting the consent, they would face atrocity and rape cases. They have filed such cases on 300 common men. Ramesh Jarkiholi used to sell hooch earlier, he alleged.

Lakshman had questioned Ramesh Jarkiholi about the purchase of a new Mercedes car worth Rs 4 crore 20 days ago and asked him how he can make the purchase being under loss? He also claimed that Ramesh Jarkiholi is building a new house at a cost of Rs 30 crore.

Jarkiholi had attacked Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, saying that when Shivakumar met him for the first time, he was in torn slippers and later went on to mint thousands of crores through corruption.

Lakshman challenged that let the investigation be conducted on the properties of Shivakumar and Ramesh Jarkiholi by any central agency.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that armed forces can take action against their officers for adulterous acts, while clarifying its 2018 landmark judgement, which decriminalised adultery.

Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph that adultery can impact military discipline and acts of moral turpitude have no place in an uniformed profession.

The apex court was informed that officials who were being court-martialled for adultery are citing the apex court's 2018 judgment. The Centre stressed that breach of discipline by officers can also endanger national security.

The bench - also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and C.T. Ravikumar - said its 2018 judgment was not concerned with the provisions of the armed forces acts.

The bench said it had only decriminalised adultery as a criminal offence in the 2018 judgment, "we had not dealt with the Army Act".

The top court passed the order on Centre's plea seeking clarification of the 2018 judgment, emphasising that the 2018 judgment may hinder action against officers who indulge in such actions and can cause 'instability' within the services.

Citing the 2018 judgment, the Ministry of Defence had submitted that there will always be a concern in the minds of the army personnel who are operating far away from their families under challenging conditions about the family indulging in untoward activities. It said it wants to try armed forces personnel under the provisions of the Army Act.

The MoD had moved the apex court for an exemption to armed forces from the September 27, 2018 judgment, which struck down adultery. In 2018, on a plea filed by NRI Joseph Shine, the apex court had struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code dealing with the offence of adultery, holding it unconstitutional.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : The Border Security Force (BSF) had to get an X-Ray done on a smuggler to get hold of eight gold biscuits hidden inside his lower abdomen.

The biscuits weigh 932 gm and their estimated market value is Rs 54,78,855.

The incident occurred on Monday under the jurisdiction of the Amudia Border Outpost, manned by troops of the 112 BN, BSF. This is in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal that shares an international border with the Satkhira district of Bangladesh.

Madai Mandal of Amudia village was stopped by BSF personnel for a routine search.

Though no incriminating item was found during the search, the hand-held metal detectors kept beeping when brought close to his lower abdomen.

Mandal maintained that he wasn't aware why this was happening. Finally, the BSF personnel shifted him to a local hospital and got an X-Ray done.

The X-Ray plate revealed the presence of some metallic objects inside his lower abdomen.

"Mandal broke down finally and confessed that they were gold biscuits. He had been given the biscuits by one Rahim of Satkhira, Bangladesh and was to hand them over to one Suresh of Bithari village in North 24-Parganas. For a mere Rs 300, he had stuffed the biscuits up his anal passage. He also admitted that he has been involved in such activities for a long time now. The biscuits were extracted and handed over to the Customs office in Tentulia along with Mandal for further processing," a senior official of the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said.

The Commanding Officer of the 112Bn said that smugglers are adopting such tactics to evade strict monitoring along the International Boundary with Bangladesh.

A search has been launched for Suresh and others who may have been involved in this operation.

In the past, smugglers have tried such tactics at airports to evade Customs officials but this is probably the first time that an attempt was made along the land border in West Bengal.
Hanoi, Jan 31 : A Vietnamese pilot was killed in a fighter jet crash in Vietnam on Tuesday, state media reported.

The Su-22 aircraft crashed while landing Tuesday noon in Yen Bai Province, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Thirty-one-year-old captain Tran Ngoc Duy was ordered to parachute but he tried to save the aircraft. However, the plane crashed, killing the pilot, Xinhua News Agency reported quoting the VNA.

The Ministry of Defence has directed Air Defence-Air Force and relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the accident, according to the news report.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : In an unprecedented development, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday expressed doubts over the role of certain officials of the CBI probing the teachers' recruitment irregularities scam in West Bengal, specially in appointment of teachers in 9th and 10th standards in different state-run schools.

While hearing the matter in such a case, Justice Biswajit Basu of the Calcutta High Court even observed that it seems that in certain cases the CBI is intentionally delaying the matter.

"I feel that you are intentionally delaying the process. Act fast to remove the garbage from the society and make space for the eligible candidates," Justice Basu told the CBI counsel on Tuesday.

He became furious after he detected gross differences between the line of argument of the CBI counsel and the contents of a progress report submitted by the central agency in a sealed envelope at his court on Tuesday.

"Such mistakes from a principal investigating agency of the country are unpardonable. The counsel of CBI seems to have more information than the investigating officials of the agency. How is that possible? It creates doubt about the role of the agency. You should have cross-checked the documents thrice before forwarding them to the court," he said.

On the occasion, Justice Basu also expressed anguish at the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on this count.

"The court cannot take all the responsibilities. Why are you remaining silent even after such a forgery? Whom are you scared of? Use your authority. Ask the WBSSC chairman to replace the ineligible ones with eligible candidates," Justice Basu told the commission's counsel.
New Delhi, Jan 31: A day after India raised security concerns, several ministers of the ruling Anthony Albanese government in Australia came forward on Tuesday to severely condemn the communal violence unleashed by Khalistani supporters on the streets of Melbourne over the weekend.

Australian Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles said that he was "concerned" while the country's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and MP Tim Watts stated that he was "appalled" to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday.

"I was concerned to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday. Australia respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views. Pleased Victoria Police responded quickly and are investigating," tweeted Giles today.

"I was appalled to see the violence at Fed Square in Melbourne on the weekend. People have the right to engage in peaceful protest in Australia, but there is no place for the violence or vandalism we've seen recently. Pleased Victoria Police responded quickly and are investigating," added Watts.

Australia's High Commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell, a former Premier of New South Wales, also took to social media, saying that he was saddened by the violence so soon after both countries celebrated diversity and unity on their respective national days.

"Saddened by these scenes so soon after Australia and India celebrate diversity and unity on their respective national days. Our commitment to peaceful protest does not extend to violence," tweeted the Australian High Commissioner.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com, Indian High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra called on Victoria Premier Dan Andrews on Monday to convey New Delhi's deep concern with the pro-Khalistan elements stepping up their activities in Australia, engaging in violence and holding the so-called referendum in Melbourne and Sydney.

Citing India's strong and growing bilateral relationship with Australia, Vohra discussed with Andrews the issue of stopping extremist Khalistani groups from engaging in further activities prejudicial to peace and harmony.

Canberra has already been made aware of activities/members of proscribed terrorist organisations such as the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) which are using the Australian territory for activities detrimental to the territorial integrity, security and national interest of India.

Tensions boiled over on Sunday as members of radical Sikh groups clashed with the Indian diaspora during a so-called Khalistan referendum event.

Several people were injured in the clashes as, members of pro-Khalistani groups engaged in violence and also desecrated the Indian national flag, the videos of which have now gone viral on social media.

Sunday's incident follows the deeply disturbing incidents of vandalisation, including of three Hindu temples, by pro-Khalistan elements in Melbourne in recent weeks.

Stating that these incidents are clear attempts to sow hatred and division among the peaceful multi-faith and multi-cultural Indian-Australian community, the Indian High Commission had earlier raised an alarm at the frequency and impunity with which the vandals appear to be operating and their use of graffiti which glorified anti-Indian terrorists.

New Delhi has urged the Australian government to ensure the safety and security of members of the Indian community and their properties in Australia, hoping at the same time that not only the perpetrators are brought to justice but suitable action is also taken to prevent further attempts.

On Monday, the Indian Ambassador in Australia also paid respects at the sacred BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, the iconic ISKCON Krishna Temple and the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, which were defaced with anti-India graffiti earlier this month.

Vohra said he discussed the peaceful community's concerns over recent attack by vandals, and the disturbing violence witnessed in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Indian diplomat said that the hate-filled graffiti by pro-Khalistani elements was threatening the peaceful Indian-Australian community in Melbourne and must be stopped.

"Confident that they will not succeed," tweeted Vohra.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Bhubaneswar, Jan 31 : Condemning the murder of Odisha Health minister Naba Das by a cop, Opposition BJP and Congress questioned the "silence" of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and DGP Sunil Bansal on issue.

Rejecting the crime branch probe ordered by the Chief Minister, the BJP demanded a CBI probe in the matter while the Congress demanded a SIT probe under the supervision of Orissa High Court.

Speaking to media persons, Odisha BJP president Samir Mohanty said, "Minister Das was not just a politician, he was an influential and powerful cabinet minister in the state. If such a personality is killed in broad daylight, one can easily assume the condition of a common man in the state." "It is unfortunate that Naveen Babu, who has been in charge of the Home department for the last 23 years, has remained silent on the sensitive issue," he added.

Though a cabinet minister was killed, the DGP and the Home secretary neither visited the spot in Jharsuguda nor spoke a word on the heinous murder, the state BJP president said.

He asserted that people will not accept it that the state police is investigating the case in which a cop has killed the minister. "By ordering a crime branch investigation, the state government has already decided what to do in this case. The crime branch has taken over a lot of cases in the past. But the findings are not encouraging," Mohanty said.

To ensure proper instigation of the murder case, the BJP leader demanded a CBI probe into the case.

Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Jayanarayan Mishra (BJP) said, "We are not going to accept the story of the Odisha government that the accused police ASI Gopal Das was mentally unsound. A plot was created to kill the minister." Mishra also questioned "why the DGP is silent on this case".

"As per the information available with us, the minister died on the spot. What was the necessity to airlift him from Jharsuguda to Bhubaneswar. Whether the Jharsuguda hospital authority had certified that Das was fit to airlift for further treatment?," Mishra asked.

Claiming that the Crime Branch probe "cannot reveal the truth", he demanded a CBI investigation into the incident.

Alleging there is a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the killing of the minister, Congress spokesperson Sudarshan Das demanded a probe by a SIT under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court.

"Though 48 hours passed to the incident, no action has been taken against any official, who is responsible for it," Das said.

"There was a total failure of intelligence. But no action was taken till now. Why is the DGP and Home Minister (Chief Minister) not speaking up," he asked.

Alleging that a conspiracy is being made "to suppress the truth behind the crime", the Congress leader said that the Chief Minister should leave his Home portfolio on moral ground.

Reacting to the allegations made by the Opposition, senior BJD lawmaker Debi Prasad Mishra said, "As questions will be raised if the police will investigate the case in which a cop is the accused, a crime branch probe was ordered. To ensure transparency, the government has requested the Orissa high court to monitor the investigation by a sitting/retired judge." On the demand for CBI and SIT probe, Mishra said, "Let's wait till the findings of the crime branch investigation has come up." The minister was shot dead by police ASI Gopal Krushna Das on January 29. The police ASI fired a single round of bullet from his service revolver at the minister's chest. The ASI was arrested and has been sent to judicial custody.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : Despite the CPI-M being reduced to zero in terms of presence in the West Bengal Assembly, its youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has witnessed an increased inflow of new members in the state in the recent past, its state chief said on Tuesday.

"Between 2019 and 2022, the number of active members of DYFI in West Bengal has increased by over three lakh. As of December 31, 2022, the total number of members of the youth wing stands at 30,03,720. During the last one year only, the number increased by 1.17 lakh," DYFI state President Minakshi Mukherjee told media persons.

She also said that the maximum increase in membership has been witnessed in Kolkata and Malda district. According to her, the number of subscribers of the DYFI's organ in Bengali, 'Yuvashakti' has more than doubled from 7,000 to 18,000 during the last one year.

According to her, the youths are spontaneously approaching the youth wing these days expressing eagerness to its members. "This is because the DYFI is leading the movement against corruption on the streets. We are increasingly winning the confidence of the youths," she said.

Mukherjee also said that the members of the DYFI will be within and outside the polling booths during the forthcoming elections for the three-tier panchayat system in the state to resist attempts to unleash violence.

"We will try our best that the people are able to cast their votes without fear and intimidation," she said.

She also said that before the rural civic body polls, the DYFI will set up panchayat-wise committees.

"I am confident that the contest in the forthcoming rural civic body polls will not be a bipolar one between Trinamool Congress and BJP as it happened in the last few elections. Our party will be a strong contender this time," she added.
Kolkata, Jan 31 : In wake of the newly-emerging political equation in the hills of Darjeeling in north West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) chief and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) chief executive Anit Thapa will be having a crucial meeting this week.

The meeting will happen either on February 3 or February 4, immediately after the Chief Minister returns to the state capital from her current district tour, Thapa said on Tuesday.

The proposed meeting is viewed to be extremely crucial following the recent development in the hills where three arch-rivals, namely - Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)'s Bimal Gurung, Hamro Party's Ajay Edwards and estranged Trinamool Congress leader, Binoy Tamang have come closer and resurrected the statehood demand. Even Trinamool's hill district Vice President, Pradeep Pradhan has also extended support to the trio on this count.

A source here said: "The meeting between the Chief Minister and Anit Thapa will be especially crucial against the backdrop of yet another crucial development where Bimal Gurung has withdrawing GJM as the party to the tripartite GTA pact signed in July 2011 with the Union and state governments being the other two parties." Gurung withdrew from the pact by forwarding a letter on this count on January 27 to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mamata Banerjee, the Union Home Secretary and the West Bengal Home Secretary.

State government sources said besides discussions on the emerging political situation, there might be discussions on the possibilities of setting up officers of West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in the state. Possibilities of handover over the controlling authority of certain crucial services to the GTA might also be discussed. Regularisation of the employees of GTA might be another point of discussion.

--IANS src/prw/vd

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Chennai, Jan 31 : The Tamil Nadu government will file an appeal against the Madras High Court order quashing the ban on the manufacture and sale of tobacco products, including gutkha, state Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Tuesday.

Talking to media persons, he said that the state government would move an appeal in the Supreme Court against the quashing of the ban after consultations with legal experts.

He also said that the government would move an amendment to the legislation during the assembly session. To a question on the demand of the traders in the state to sell tobacco products in stores, the minister said that traders and their associations must understand the ill-effects of consuming tobacco.

The Madras High Court had quashed the 2018 notification issued by the state government prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and distribution of tobacco products including gutkha.

A division bench of Justices R. Subramanian and Kumaresh Babu ruled that none of the Central or state laws on the sale and consumption of tobacco and food safety provide for any permanent ban on tobacco and tobacco products, and hence, government authorities cannot impose such a ban on the sale of tobacco products indefinitely.
Belagavi : , Jan 31 (IANS) Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel said on Tuesday that those who criticise Hindu religion and say the word 'Hindu' has a different meaning, should say that they don't want Hindu votes.

Addressing a public rally here, Kateel slammed Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Satish Jarkiholi for his statement regarding the origin and meaning of the word 'Hindu'.

Jarkiholi had said that the word Hindu had its origin in Persia, and it meant 'slave'. The statement had stirred a big controversy, forcing the Congress to distance itself from the remarks.

Kateel, who was attending the Vijaya Sankalpa Yatra in Yamakanamardi constituency represented by Jarkiholi, dared him (Jarkiholi) to announce that he does not want Hindu votes.

"The Hindu community has woken up. This time he can't contest from this constituency, he will have to search for another," he said.
Kohima/Shillong, Jan 31 : The Election Commission on Tuesday issued statutory notifications for the February 27 Assembly elections in Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Election officials said that with the issuance of the notifications, candidates can submit their nomination papers to the returning officers.

According to the notification, the last date of filing of nominations in both states is February 7 and the scrutiny of papers and relevant documents would be done the next day. The last date of withdrawal of the candidatures is February 10.

Officials said that for the convenience of the candidates and political parties, unlike the previous elections, the poll panel has appointed adequate number of returning and assistant returning officers.

Even though the official process of filing of nominations has begun, the main political parties are yet to announce the names of candidates in Nagaland even though the selection process has been going on both in Kohima and New Delhi.

In Meghalaya, the ruling National People's Party, the Congress, and the Trinamool Congress have announced their candidates.

To hold violence-free polls, a series of administrative and awareness steps were taken in both the northeastern states. The steps, which would continue until the poll process is over, include sensitisation workshops to be held in all the constituencies involving political parties, workers and eminent citizens highlighting the negative effects of violence on the persons, families, society and overall image of the state.

Following the request of the state authorities, the Union Home Ministry has provided large numbers of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), comprising Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force to these states.

Majority of the CAPF have already deployed in different parts of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

"Area domination flag marches by the CAPF have already started since early this month to ensure confidence building among the political workers for campaigning and among the citizens to cast their votes freely without any fear," officials said.

In both the states the security forces are taking actions against the miscreants, trouble mongers, history sheeters.
Toronto, Jan 31 : Indian-origin MP Chandra Arya, reacting to the latest attack on a Hindu temple by vandals in Canada, on Tuesday called on the Ottawa government to take the matter 'seriously'.

The Gauri Shankar Mandir was vandalised with "anti-India" graffiti in Canada's Brampton province, leaving the Indian community in a state of shock.

"The attack on Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton is latest in attacks on Hindu temples in Canada by anti-Hindu and anti-India groups. From hatred on social media, now physical attacks on Hindu temples, what next?" Arya, MP from the ruling Liberal Party, wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

"I call on govt at levels in Canada to start taking this seriously." Arya had marked Canada's first Hindu Heritage Month in November to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by Hindus to make Canada strong and prosperous. According to him, members of the Hindu community started coming to Canada 100 years ago. Hindus rose from 1.0 per cent to 2.3 per cent -- close to 830,000 people -- of the total Canadian population from 2001 to 2021 as per a recent Statistics Canada report.

Arya has been a vocal critic of hate crime incidents targeting Indians, and has strongly criticised instances of vandalism at the Hindu temples, as well as desecration of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the country.

The incident also evoked sharp reactions from the Indian Consulate General in Toronto, which said that the "hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities".

"Saddened that the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was defaced. This on the heels of graffiti on the SwamiNarayan Mandir last September," said Depika Damerla, an Indo-Canadian politician from Mississauga, tweeted on Tuesday.

While the matter is under investigation by the Canadian authorities, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said on Tuesday that he has raised his concerns over this hate crime with Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah.

In July 2022, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at a Vishnu Temple in the Richmond Hill neighbourhood of Canada was desecrated. In September 2022, Canada's BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was defaced by alleged Khalistani miscreants with anti-India graffiti. India had then issued a strongly-worded statement urging Canadian authorities to properly investigate the "increasing incidents" of hate crime against Indians.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday suggested that Mainak Mehta, brother-in-law of fugitive Nirav Modi, should consider providing the CBI a letter of authority to access his offshore bank accounts.

The CBI has alleged that Mehta has received a large sum of money siphoned off in the PNB fraud scam, where Modi is the key accused. The investigative agency also alleged that Mehta transferred the money to his and his wife's offshore bank accounts.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud suggested Mehta's counsel that he can give the letter of authority to an official designated by the CBI for accessing the bank details and the matter will end, and if not, then the court will have to take up CBI's plea and decide it.

The CBI's counsel submitted that Mehta had refused to give the letter of authority and as a result, the agency had to get letters rogatory (LRs) issued. "No response on LR has been received. We have written to the embassy (in Singapore) to pursue it," counsel said.

The CBI's counsel further argued that they apprehend that a huge amount of money has gone into those accounts and Mehra is a foreign national and his wife is a Belgian national, and once he leaves the country, he will not come back. Mehta is a British national who lives in Hong Kong with his family.

Senior advocate Amit Desai, representing Mehta, submitted that his client has been in India for a long time and he had always co-operated and false allegations have been made by the CBI. He added that his client is willing to give the letter of authority but then he will have to stay in India for another year, and emphasised that his client should be allowed to go for some time.

The top court noted that allowing Mehta to travel out of the country would mean the dismissal of the CBI's appeal without a hearing and added that the court cannot compel Mehta to give the letter of authority to the CBI. After hearing arguments, the top court listed the matter for further hearing on February 9.

The apex court was hearing CBI's plea challenging the August last year order of the Bombay High Court which had allowed Mehta to travel to Hong Kong and stay there for three months.
Realising that the continuing ambiguity on the capital may hit the flow of investment, he made the key announcement before the captains of industry at an event organised as a curtain raiser for the global investors' summit, scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on March 3-4.

Amaravati, Jan 31 (IANS) By declaring that Visakhapatnam will be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has tried to clear the air of uncertainty prevailing for more than three years.

Realising that the continuing ambiguity on the capital may hit the flow of investment, he made the key announcement before the captains of industry at an event organised as a curtain raiser for the global investors' summit, scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on March 3-4.

Political observers say this clarity was required to invite the investors to the state. Critics have been targetting the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy over lack of clarity on the state capital.

Though it was in 2019 that Jagan Mohan Reddy had mooted the idea of three state capitals in tune with his policy for decentralisation of development, the government could not make headway in developing Visakhapatnam as administrative capital due to legal hurdles and resistance from farmers of Amaravati region.

Ahead of the investors' summit in Visakhapatnam, the Chief Minister sent a clear message to the investors that the port city will be the state capital.

"Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam, which is going to be our capital, in the days to come. I myself would also be shifting over to Visakhapatnam in the months to come as well," said Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is currently running the government from Amaravati.

He did not mention three capitals, which sparked a debate in some quarters on whether he has given up the idea of trifurcation and will have only one capital. However, ruling party leaders say to avoid any confusion, the Chief Minister did not refer to three capitals.

YSRCP leaders say the government remained committed to its policy of three capitals. Kurnool will be developed as the judicial capital while Amaravati will serve as the legislative capital. Since Visakhapatnam will be the nerve centre of the administration, Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke only about the port city.

Jagan Mohan Reddy always held the view that Visakhapatnam, with its sound infrastructure, is best suited to be the state capital. He also argued that the state lacked financial resources to develop Amaravati as the state capital as everything here has to be built from scratch.

It was on December 17, 2019 that he had announced in the state Assembly that three state capitals will be developed reversing the decision of the previous TDP government to develop Amaravati as the state capital.

This triggered massive protests from farmers of Amaravati, who had given 33,000 acres of land for the capital and the previous government had also undertaken the works on some components of the mega project.

The farmers had organised a padyatra from Amaravti to Tirupati in 2021 to mobilise public support for their demands. They had launched Maha Padyatra from Amaravati to Arasavalli on September 12 last year. It was scheduled to end at Arasavalli on November 12. However, the organisers stopped it enroute alleging that the YSRCP government is creating hurdles in their long march.

On March 3, 2022, Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed the state government to develop Amaravati as the state capital in six months. A bench of three judges had pronounced the judgment on 75 petitions filed by Amaravati farmers and others challenging the government's move on three capitals.

However, the state government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. In November last year, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order saying the court cannot act like a town planner or an engineer.

The YSRCP, which dubbed protests by Amaravati farmers as politically motivated, last year organised two major public meetings in Visakhapatnam and Kunrool to mobilise support for three capitals.

Ministers, MPs, state legislators and other leaders of the party had attended the meetings to demand that Visakhapatnam and Kurnool should be developed as capitals to ensure decentralisation of growth.

With Assembly elections scheduled next year, the YSRCP leaders in north coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema have been urging the leadership to clear the uncertainty and take steps for development of Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as the state capitals.

--IANS ms/vd

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Mumbai, Jan 31 : In a huge relief to lakhs of aspirants, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has deferred its new examination pattern till 2025, following a request by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after massive protests against the new system rocked the state, officials said here on Tuesday.

In a letter to MPSC, Shinde said that the June 2022 move to switch the final (mains) exam pattern this year (2023) from the existing objective to descriptive, besides effecting many other changes, would be unjust and detrimental to the interests of the candidates.

Accordingly, the MPSC has deferred its decision and will implement the new pattern from the 2025 exams, giving candidates sufficient time to prepare as per the new style.

The Maharashtra Congress, which had carried out agitations and supported the aspirants, claimed credit and said the government has finally "bowed down" to the demands of the candidates.

Congress' chief spokesperson Atul Londhe said that lakhs of candidates from all over the state have been demanding postponement of the new pattern since the past few months, including several huge protests held in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and other places.

"State Congress President Nana Patole had also raised the matter in the legislature, but the government adopted a stubborn stance and refrained from taking a decision in the interest of the candidates. After the candidates' show of unity, the government had to bend and is now taking credit for their agitation," said Londhe.

He pointed out that when the Congress held a daylong protest with thousands of aspirants agitating all over the state on January 13, though CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were in Pune, they did not go to meet the protesters shivering in winter temperatures.

It may be recalled that the MPSC had announced its new pattern for the 2023 Main exams which led to massive protests, as the candidates usually prepare for 3-5 years before writing the competitive exam.

With changes in the exam pattern from objective to descriptive, the preparations had to be changed which couldn't be done overnight, argued the candidates and organisations like Spardha Pariksha Samanvaya Samiti (SPSS).

Besides the written exams pattern - which will now be similar to the UPSC exams -- the number of papers has been increased from 6 to 9 with a major descriptive component, the total marks has gone up from 800 to 1750, with candidates needing to score a minimum of 25 per cent in each paper to qualify for the merit score.
Jammu, Jan 31 : Jammu and Kashmir's Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production, Atal Dulloo on Tuesday chaired a meeting to discuss roadmap for revamping wool sector in Jammu and Kashmir with the support of Central Wool Development Board (CWDB).

It was revealed that India is a major wool producing nation of the world, but much of its produce is of coarse nature. Regions like Jammu and Kashmir have a distinction of producing high quality, apparel grade wool but its potential is yet to be fully exploited.

The Central Wool Development Board is expected to provide support in the form of skill training, human resource development, modern machinery besides other technical assistance.

The UT administration has already approved plans and revolving funds for revival of the sector in J&K, Dulloo said. He said that the administration seeks support in wool collection, procurement, marketing and human resource development.

The meeting also had discussion on felt and fur production. Dulloo said that the infrastructure for establishing the necessary setup is already in place. He suggested setting up of Common Incubation Centers to provide training to individuals in the sector besides establishing Common Facility Centers.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Supreme Court collegium on Tuesday has recommended the elevation of Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Gujarat High Court's Chief Justice Aravind Kumar as judges of the apex court.

The collegium's resolution published on the apex court website said: "After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium finds the following persons to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India: Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, (PHC: Punjab & Haryana), and Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat, (PHC: Karnataka)." The collegium is headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K.M. Joseph, M.R. Shah, Ajay Rastogi, and Sanjiv Khanna.

It further added that collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and senior puisne judges of the high courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court. "Judgments authored by those falling in the zone of consideration for elevation to the Supreme Court were circulated among the members of the Collegium for a meaningful discussion on and assessment of their judicial acumen," said the resolution.

On December 13, 2022, the collegium recommended five names for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court, namely Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Manoj Misra. Their appointment is yet to be notified by the government.

The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and is presently functioning with 27 judges. Thus, there are seven clear vacancies.

Detailing on the reasons for selection of two Chief Justices for elevation to the apex court, the collegium said while recommending the two names it has taken into consideration the following aspects: The seniority of chief justices and senior puisne judges in their respective parent high courts as well as overall seniority of the high court judges; and the merit, performance and integrity of the judges under consideration.

It further added, "The need to ensure diversity and inclusion in the Supreme Court by: (i) representation of High Courts which are not represented or are inadequately represented, in the Supreme Court; (ii) appointing persons from marginalised and backward segments of society; (iii) gender diversity; and (iv) representation of minorities. The Collegium resolves to recommend that (i) Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal and (ii) Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, be appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of India." The collegium said the names recommended earlier by the Collegium by its resolution dated December 13, 2022 shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court.

"The resolution of the Collegium in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is unanimous. However, in regard to the appointment of Mr Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Justice K.M. Joseph has expressed his reservations on the ground that his name can be considered at a later stage," said the collegium.

Justice Bindal was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court on October 11, 2021, and stands at serial No.2 in the combined All India seniority of high court judges and he is the seniormost judge hailing from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

"While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is one of the largest High Courts with a sanctioned strength of eighty five judges is not adequately represented on the Bench of the Supreme Court. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana is a common High Court for two States," added the resolution.

Justice Aravind Kumar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Karnataka High Court on June 26, 2009 and as permanent judge on December 7, 2012. He was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on October 13, 2021.

"Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.26 in the combined All India seniority of High Court Judges. While recommending his name, the Collegium is conscious of the fact that in the seniority of Judges hailing from the Karnataka High Court, Mr Justice Aravind Kumar stands at Sl. No.02 and that at present, the Bench of the Supreme Court is represented by two Judges from the Karnataka High Court," said the resolution.
Chandigarh, Jan 31 : Strengthening and reforming multilateral development banks and ways to address implementation challenges associated with the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) were among the issues deliberated at the first meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group that concluded here on Tuesday.

The focus of the group "is to support global action for enhancing financing for development as well as strengthen international financial institutions to support vulnerable countries to deal with challenges posed by trans-boundary challenges", an official statement said.

The discussions in this meeting will inform the First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under the Indian presidency to be held on February 24-25 in Bengaluru, it said.

The meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group was dedicated to discussing solutions to vulnerabilities in the international financial system, enhancing financing for development, and strengthening the international financial architecture.

It was inaugurated by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Welcoming the delegates to Chandigarh, the ministers, in their inaugural addresses, reflected on the spirit of Indian Presidency's theme of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam": "One Earth, One Family, One Future".

The meeting was co-chaired by France and South Korea.

The Indian Presidency was represented in the meeting by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and the Reserve Bank of India.

It was conducted over two days with the aim of seeking the views of G20 members on the agenda for the International Financial Architecture Working Group under the Indian G20 Presidency.

A panel discussion was also organised on the sidelines of the meeting on "Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) -- Opportunities and Challenges".

The objective of the side-event was to share country experiences on CBDCs and develop a deeper understanding on their macroprudential implications.

The meeting saw participation of nearly 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, and international organisations.

The presence of the G20 delegations, invitees and international organisations in Chandigarh demonstrated the strong commitment of the global community to support India's G20 Presidency, said the statement.

The delegates were also provided an opportunity to experience the vibrance of Chandigarh. A polo match was organized for the delgates on January 29. Visits to Chandigarh's famous locations were organised for the delegates.

They were also provided an opportunity to have a taste of this city's cuisine and art. Dance and musical performances rooted in the multi-cultural setting of Chandigarh showcased India's cultural diversity.

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Chennai, Jan 31 : The AIADMK is likely to announce on Wednesday its candidate for the bypoll to the Erode East Assembly scheduled to be held on February 27, a party leader said on Tuesday.

The by-election to the Erode East constituency was necessitated after the sitting legislator, E. Thirumahan Everaa, passed away on January 4.

His father and senior leader of the Congress party, EVKS Elangovan, is the candidate for the Congress-DMK alliance.

The last date of filing nominations is February 8 and the counting will be held on March 2.

AIADMK leader and former minister, K.A. Sengottaiyan, on Tuesday said that there was no confusion in the party over the name of the candidate, adding that the 'good news' (name of the party nominee) would be announced on Wednesday.

He also said that the party election committee office will also be inaugurated on Wednesday.

Sengottaiyan, who is in charge of the by-election for the AIADMK, told media persons on Tuesday that the party was not worried about the allegations of the DMK that accused his party of distributing cash for purchasing votes.

He said that many voters of East Erode have migrated to other constituencies and that the names of several deceased people figure in the list of voters.

He said that the AIADMK would be sending a letter to the Election Commission of Tamil Nadu regarding these issues in a few days' time.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested a notorious robber wanted in two criminal cases including arms act, an official said on Tuesday.

Police said that the accused, identified as Sheikh Amjad, 33, was also found involved in 10 cases.

A reward of Rs 20,000 was declared for providing information on him that eventually led to the arrest of the accused -- a resident of Katihar district in Bihar.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav, in May 2022, a resident of Greater Kailash-I in the national capital had hired some persons for painting works at her house, which went on for a few days.

One day, she went to market by locking the main door of the house while those engaged in the white-wash work were still present.

"When she returned, she found that the lock of the main door of the house was broken, and jewellery worth around 25 lakh was missing," the police officer said.

During the investigation, police arrested one of the accused, Dilshad while Sheikh Amjad, Mantoo and Naseem, were absconding. A reward of Rs 20,000 was declared for each of them.

Yadav said Amjad was arrested after the police received a tip-off following which a trap was laid at ISBT, Sarai Kale Khan.

Police said that he is addicted to liquor and to fulfil his needs, he started committing theft and other crimes.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, said on Tuesday that Adani Gadot will transform the entire Haifa port landscape.

"Privileged to meet with @IsraeliPM @netanyahu on this momentous day as the Port of Haifa is handed over to the Adani Group. The Abraham Accord will be a game changer for the Mediterranean sea logistics. Adani Gadot set to transform Haifa Port into a landmark for all to admire," Adani tweeted.

Speaking at the event in the Israeli port city of Haifa, Adani said, "Over these years, we have struck many critical partnerships that include Elbit Systems, Israel Weapon Systems, and Israel Innovation Authority. We have initiated several dozens technology relationships wherein we have offered the entire Adani portfolio of companies to be a giant sandbox for us to learn together." "We are also in the process of setting up an Artificial Intelligence lab in Tel Aviv which will work in close collaboration with our new AI labs in India and the US. We also anticipate establishing collaborative relationships with local colleges like the University of Haifa to be able to capitalise on the deep technology expertise available in this city," Adani said.

"And now we have the most momentous partnership of all - the Haifa Port along with our valued partner Gadot. Talking about Haifa port, I am very confident that with the support from the government of Israel, the local authorities, and our partner Gadot, we will transform the entire port landscape," Adani said.

He added that the intention is to make the right set of investments that will not just make the Adani Gadot partnership proud, but will also make the whole of Israel proud.

Adani said the acquisition of the Haifa Port also comes with a significant amount of real estate.

"And I promise you that in the years to come, we will transform the skyline we see around us," he said.

"The Haifa of tomorrow will look very different from the Haifa that you see today. With your support, we will deliver on this commitment and do our part to transform this city," Adani said.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) and other authorities to consider steps to expand implementation of its scheme to place Para-Legal Volunteers (PLVs) in 50 police stations to aid people in instances involving missing children and crimes against children and how the Supreme Court's directions will be taken forward in the matter.

The court had, on January 27, directed the DSLSA to produce a roadmap.

A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani was hearing a criminal reference to streamline the functioning of the juvenile justice delivery system under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Rules framed therein.

In September of last year, the Supreme Court had also issued an order directing all State Legal Services Authorities and Legal Services Authorities of Union Territories to develop schemes as soon as possible for the appointment of PLVs in police stations to work on cases.

It had directed the circulation of the DSLSA's scheme to be used by the states and UTs as a model for framing the schemes.

Counsel appearing for Delhi Government, Police and DSLSA submitted that as per the apex court's directions, the question of pilot project coming to an end does not arise.

The bench noted that the pilot scheme is to be implemented as a regular scheme throughout Delhi after the approval of the Supreme Court.

"Accordingly, the parties shall now consider the steps to be taken for expanding the scheme of empanelment of para-legal volunteers in all police stations within Delhi," the bench said.

However, it granted liberty to the parties to file report in case there are any hindrances to the development process.

Delhi government counsel submitted that to speed up the process, the DSLSA may submit estimated budgetary requirements to the government for the same to be considered at appropriate level or its disbursal.

The bench listed the matter for the next hearing on February 24.

"What more is required is to implement the scheme in letter and spirit. Come up with a roadmap," Justice Mridul had earlier told DSLSA Special Secretary Sushant Changotra.

The court had said that it is within the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act and has to be done on a war footing.
Chandigarh, Jan 31 : Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday said a heliport would be set up in Gurugram.

With the establishment of the heliport, Delhi's airspace will get a new option and it will also prove to be a boon to cities adjoining Haryana.

Similarly, under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), various cities of Haryana will be connected with the cities of northern states.

He said Haryana is moving fast in the aviation sector and is also working on several schemes in this regard.

The Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Civil Aviation Department, was presiding over a meeting in New Delhi.

It was informed at the meeting that a provision has been made to make a terminal for 100 passengers in the heliport located along the Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram's Sector 84.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at 50 locations across seven states in connection with its investigation into the leaking of question papers for the written examinations for the post of constables in Himachal Pradesh police.

The raids were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The CBI said that during searches, incriminating documents have been recovered.

The CBI registered two cases on January 30 at the request of the Himachal Pradesh government and took over the investigation from the police.

During investigation and scrutiny of documents, the alleged role of various middlemen based in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, etc., were revealed.

It was alleged that they were operating the nexus of leaking of examination papers in an organised manner.
Chennai, Jan 31 : The Madras High Court has ruled that Muslim women should approach only family courts and not private bodies like Shariat Council consisting of a few members of Jamaat in order to seek 'Khula' (divorce).

The court held that the Khula certificates issued by the private bodies are invalid in law.

A bench of Justice C. Shivaraman quashed a Khula certificate issued by the Shariat Council of Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamath, Chennai, and directed the estranged couple to approach a family court or the Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority to resolve their disputes.

The judge issued the direction while hearing a petition of a man seeking the court quash the Khula certificate obtained by his wife from the Shariat Council in 2017.

The petitioner also contended that the Shariat Council, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, has no authority to issue such certificates. He also told the court that he had filed a petition restoring conjugal rights in 2017 and obtained an ex-parte decree also.

He said that a petition for executing the decree was pending before an additional family court judge.

The court heard the petitioner and the Shariat Council as the petitioner's wife chose to remain absent and did not appear in person or through counsel.

The judge further said that only a judicial forum was empowered to pass a decree to dissolve a marriage under Section 7(1)(b) of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

Justice Shivaraman also said that the Madras High Court in the Badar Sayeed versus Union of India (2017) case had restrained Khasis from issuing Khula certificates.
Panaji, Jan 31 : Former Chief of RSS' Goa unit Subhash Velingkar said on Tuesday that the remarks of Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Mhadei dispute "is a fact" and the state government "is fooling people over the issue".

"Amit Shah cannot lie. The Goa government is involved in it. The person who is on a responsible chair will not make irresponsible statements. Hence, whatever Amit Shah has said is serious and true," Velingkar said while reacting to Shah's remark after the Central Water Commission's approval to Karnataka's Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the disputed Kalsa-Banduri dam.

"Amit Shah has said the truth. The Goa BJP government is a traditional liar. They want to fool the people," he said.

Velingkar said that all 40 MLAs and MPs should have resigned and create a constitutional crisis. "But they don't want to do it. Because they (Goa BJP) want to fool the people all the time." Shah, during a rally in Karnataka's Belagavi on Saturday, said: "Sonia Gandhi during a speech in Goa in the year 2007 said that the Congress government will not allow Mhadei water diversion to Karnataka. In 2022, Congress in their manifesto stated that Karnataka will not get a single drop of water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts."
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Further reforms are needed to ensure that economic growth can both accelerate and be sustained at higher levels, to deliver a better quality of life, Economic Survey 2022-23 said.

The deregulation and simplification of compliances should continue to dismantle the licensing, inspection, and compliance regime entirely, the Survey said.

State governments have to address power sector issues, and the financial viability concerns of the discoms have to be addressed.

Impetus must be given to education and skilling to match the requirements of modern industry and technologies, deal with twenty-first-century challenges such as climate change and energy transition, and make the most of India's demographic dividend, the Survey said.

Initiatives to sensitise the population towards a healthy lifestyle should be continued. Strategies to arrest and reverse the rising obesity levels should be adopted, it added.

Long-range plans need to be formulated to secure the necessary metals and minerals required for energy transition and diversification, the Survey said. Determined efforts should be taken to make the public sector asset monetisation scheme successful in realising wide-ranging efficiency gains from the programme.

If asset monetisation revenues are used to reduce public sector debt, the sovereign credit rating will improve, leading to a lower cost of capital. That will be the biggest fiscal stimulus to the economy.

Reforms to reduce the compliance burden on MSMEs, enhance their access to finance and working capital and equip them with skills, knowledge and attitude to grow their businesses responsibly must continue, the Survey said.

State governments should make conclusive progress on the various factor market reforms in different stages of completion.

While the new age reforms undertaken over the last eight years form the foundation of a resilient, partnership-based governance ecosystem and restore the ability of the economy to grow healthily, further reforms are needed, the Survey said.

The Survey noted that the Indian economy could have grown faster in the absence of the financial and corporate sector balance sheet stress. "Even as we were looking forward to the economy being able to reap the benefits of improved and healthier balance sheets in the new decade, it was buffeted by the global pandemic followed by a sharp rise in the prices of food, fuel and fertiliser." Negative shocks will and do fade, as they did in the early years of the new millennium. Now, financial and corporate sector balance sheets are in good shape, and there is a willingness to borrow and lend. Hence, it is inevitable that the effects of these reforms will now shine through. A restored credit cycle will rejuvenate the Indian private sector capex cycle, the Survey said.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
Kolkata, Jan 31 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday indirectly described leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari as a beneficiary of teacher's recruitment scam in West Bengal when the latter was with Trinamool Congress and also a minister in the state Cabinet.

Banerjee, however, did not name Adhikari at the administrative review meeting in Malda on Tuesday.

"A traitor who was also a dacoit was responsible for it when he was special observer for Purulia district. He used the quota for Purulia in filling up his own pocket. I will request the court to take note of this matter. I am happy that the traitor-cum-dacoit has quit my party," she said.

When Adhikari was the state Transport Minister, he was also the special observer of Trinamool Congress for Purulia district.

At the same time, Banerjee also said that if anyone in her party is found guilty of involvement in the scam, the party leadership will not take his or her responsibility.

Reacting to her comments, BJP's national Vice President and Lok Sabha MP Dilip Ghosh said that whenever anyone quits Trinamool, he becomes a traitor or a dacoit for the Chief Minister.

"Those same people were clean when they were with her. What sort of politics is this," Ghosh questioned.

Meanwhile, speaking at the administrative review meeting, the Chief Minister again complained against the Union government for unnecessarily 'harassing' the state government by using central field inspection teams to review the implementation of different Centrally-sponsored schemes in the state.

"This is nothing but unnecessary harassment. First the Union government should clear the huge Central dues to the tune of over Rs 1,00,000 crore. This is not economics. This is narrow politics," Banerjee said.
Bengaluru, Jan 31 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi on Tuesday said that the manifestos of the BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in the poll-bound state of Karnataka were "mere imitations" of her party's manifesto.

Atishi, addressing the media at the party office here, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and the JD-S were copying AAP's Delhi and Punjab manifestos, promising free electricity, building 24,000 classrooms, "namma clinics", and guarantee card schemes.

"They copy only the schemes announcement, but their intention is to lure voters, not to actually work or implement," the AAP legislator from Delhi's Kalkaji constituency, said.

"For too long, the people of Karnataka have witnessed schemes being announced with much fanfare but with little or no implementation on the ground. Allocation of resources is being used as a tool to lure voters but the true intention is not there," she added.

Atishi said these parties lack the intent and willingness to provide what they promised.

She also highlighted the difference in education funding, pointing out that the Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, allocates 25 per cent of its budget for education, while the Karnataka government's allocation is only 12 per cent.

"Without adequate funding, the government cannot improve infrastructure or provide high-quality teacher training," the AAP leader said.

Atishi also raised the issue of regularising lecturers appointed on contract in Karnataka, saying that while 11,000 out of 18,000 college teachers in the state are working on a contractual basis with low salaries, the Karnataka government is not regularising them, citing court orders as the reason.

However, Atishi noted that the AAP in Punjab has proven that a determined government can regularise contract teachers and has already regularised 9,000 teachers and is working to do the same for all.

On the state of schools and educational institutions in Karnataka, Atishi said the government schools are in a poor condition with inadequate classrooms, tin roofs, and lacking basic amenities such as toilets and drinking water, while Delhi's government schools have high-quality infrastructure.

"AAP's impact in Delhi and Punjab is being noticed in Karnataka... as other parties are imitating AAP's promises of free electricity, guaranteed healthcare, improved education and more," she said.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will reach out to the public to convey the salient features of the Budget through a nationwide campaign that would be launched on Wednesday.

"The BJP will organise a programme for a nationwide discussion on the budget from February 1-12, through its campaign. The party's national president J.P. Nadda has constituted a 9-member committee for this," a source said on Tuesday.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi has been made the convener of the committee.

On February 4-5, central ministers, economic experts and others will address a 'conference on the budget' and hold press meets at 50 places including all the state capitals, the source added.

Chief Ministers and the presidents of BJP-ruled states and leaders of the opposition will hold a press conference on February 2.

The programmes will be organised in all the districts and the main issues of the budget will be conveyed to the public.

At the central level, many economic experts, including BJP General Secretary Sunil Bansal and national president of the party's Yuva Morcha have been made members of this committee.
Islamabad, Jan 31 : In a contrast that may seem cruel, Pakistans snow-bound north is feeling the heat of shortages - of food, fuel and finance - and frustration among the people of the tourist paradise is causing angry protests.

Long years of neglect are showing. Angry demonstrations have dotted Pakistan-governed Kashmir and the remote Gilgit-Baltistan provinces where people find even wheat flour, a basic daily necessity, getting out of their reach. The provincial administrations are running short of funds allotted for wheat purchases.

People from all walks of life in several parts of the two Himalayan regions have been blocking highways and burning tyres to express their resentment against the government.

One of the world's larger granaries when it comes to wheat, Pakistan is having to import the commodity thanks to last year's floods. This has been worsened by severe financial stress. The wheat flour shortage led to hoarding and black marketing that is being witnessed across the country. The remote north feels the heat since it has to worry about the delays caused by the transportation of goods amid fuel shortages.

Protesters said they were unable to make ends meet owing to the government's policy failures, which resulted in a sharp rise in wheat price.

Appeals to the federal government brought forth some positive responses from Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. He ordered the release of funds, but it would take some time before they actually reach the north and its starved people.

Informed sources told Dawn (January 26) that the federal government had not released the annual financial development grant of the GB although the region depends heavily on the financial grant of the federal government.

The federal government provides Rs 8 billion annually to GB to purchase subsidised wheat for the people. But fewer quantities could be procured within that amount as flour prices have risen nationally.

In such a situation, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed is telling his people that the 'real' problem is that the federal government is busy fighting the opposition and alleges that funds are being diverted to keep the flock of the ruling alliance lawmakers under control.

The anti-federal talk resonates amid all-round shortages faced by the people in the remote, usually-neglected areas, and is fuelling protests, media reports said quoting the region's political leaders.

Khursheed has alleged that the federal government is cutting the development budget for Gilgit-Baltistan and delaying the releases by using the difficult economic conditions facing the country "as an excuse", while distributing "billions of rupees as political bribes to its MNAs".

The Chief Minister said that the federal government first reserved "Rs 70 billion for its members, then last month, it increased the amount by another Rs 17 billion to Rs 87 billion, and now it has increased it by another Rs 3 billion to Rs 90 billion," Urdu Point newspaper reported (January 25).

Khursheed is compelled to divert public anger with this talk as he faces heat from the opposition in the province. The Awami Action Committee has warned his government that unless flour and fuel supplies are normalised, "anyone becoming an obstacle in the flour supply would be smashed".

The AAC has alleged that 150,000 bags of wheat had "gone missing" and has demanded that the government must act to catch those responsible, Baad-e-Shimal said in Daily K2 newspaper.

Pakistan's north is feeling the ripple effects of the crisis at the national level. People of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan here have felt discriminated against historically.

Observers have time and again blamed the government for being both negligent and systematically discriminatory towards the people of PoK.

They say Islamabad has ensured over the past seven-and-a-half decades that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir remain marginalized. Islamabad has also been accused of meting out second-class citizen treatment to the people of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Two wanted illicit liquor suppliers have been arrested, a Delhi Police official said on Tuesday.

Additional Commissioner of Police, North East Delhi, Ankit Singh said that they got a tip off about delivery of illicit liquor consignment on the area, the information was developed, and a team was formed to nab the accused.

"We intercepted a mini tempo. The driver of the vehicle had tried to run away but we chased it and were able to intercept it. Two persons who were travelling by this vehicle jumped off and tried to run away but were overpowered by the team. On checking, the tempo was found loaded with the cartons of illicit liquor. On further count, 75 cartons of illicit liquor containing 50 quarter bottles each (total 3,750 quarter bottles) were recovered," the ACP said.

The two accused were later on identified as Manoj alias Sachin and Suresh alias Akshar.

Police lodged an FIR in this connection and started the investigation.

"On sustained interrogation, they confessed their crime and disclosed that they brought the consignment from Haryana's Bahadurgarh for its sale in the local area of Maujpur. The mini tempo was found stolen from Subzi Mandi area." The police said that they were conducting raids to nab their aides.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : Veteran lawyer and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, who was a strong voice against corruption and a defender of civil liberties passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness. He was 97.

Bhushan was the Law Minister from 1977-1979 in the Morarji Desai cabinet. He represented freedom fighter and socialist leader Raj Narain in the landmark electoral malpractice case at the Allahabad High Court, which resulted in removal of Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister in 1974. His son, advocate Prashant Bhushan, is a well-known lawyer.

Shanti Bhushan was one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party and he was also a key member of India Against Corruption and was part of the Joint Drafting Committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Shanti Bhushan was associated with Congress-O and later joined the Janata Party and he also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1977 to 1980. In the 1980, he established NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation', which has filed several significant public interest litigations (PILs) in the Supreme Court.

Bhushan filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2018, calling for alterations to the 'master of roster' system.

In 1980, Bhushan joined the BJP, but resigned in 1986 after the party went against his advice in an election petition.
Patna, Jan 31 : A number of labourers from Bihar's Siwan and other districts said that they are trapped in Tajikistan and requested the state and Central government to rescue them.

The labourers went to Tajikistan on contract basis to work and alleged that the company has extended the work period from 11 hours to 14 hours but is not giving money for the overtime.

As per the contract with an Indian placement company named Pari Enterprises and Tajikistan-based company TGM, the work period is 11 hours but the company forcibly asks them to work 14 hours, the labourers said. Moreover, they are only offered boiled rice, and potatoes to eat and contaminated water to drink.

The family members of the labourers in Siwan district claimed that many of them fell ill and are not physically and mentally fit for work.

Some of the labourers of Siwan were identified as Ramakant Kushwaha and Ramesh Kushwaha of Hardiya Bangra village, Om Prakash of Orma village, Mantu Singh of Teliabagh village, Motim Ansari of Nawada village, Nand Ji of Morwa village, and Sunil Kumar of Viyahi village. Another labourer named Harikesh Yadav is a native of Bhore Kalyanpur in Gopalganj district.

Besides Bihar, dozens of labourers of other states are also trapped in Tajikistan, they said.
Srinagar, Jan 31 : In 'Naya Jammu and Kashmir', youth have become agents of change and a driving force. They have rejected the Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and are scripting a new chapter in the history of the Himalayan region.

After the abrogation of Article 370, a temporary provision in the Constitution of India, on August 5, 2019, the youth have been provided with a plethora of opportunities to build their careers and become what they want to be.

The government during the past three years has taken many steps to create supportive infrastructure, schemes and policies to meet the aspirations of the youngsters. Mission Youth, Jammu and Kashmir Rural Life Mission (JKRLM) and other government agencies along with J&K Bank are helping thousands of new entrepreneurs to set up businesses.

During the 'Back to Village' and 'My Town My Pride' programmes held last year, as many as 75,000 young entrepreneurs across J&K were provided with an opportunity to start their projects. They were provided financial assistance and other support to become self-reliant and job creators.

Finding reasons led to solutions Transition of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory led to the government focusing on the youngsters in the Himalayan region. The helmsmen looked into the reasons about why youth were getting lured by the terrorists and anti-national elements. One of major reasons for the youth going astray was lack of employment avenues and negligible support from the former political regimes.

Failure of politicians to formulate comprehensive self-employment packages for the youngsters also led to the youth getting disillusioned and carried away. The youth were made to believe that getting employed in a government sector was the only way to have a secure future in J&K. Not many steps were taken to encourage the young people to become entrepreneurs.

Till 2019, setting up any business unit in J&K was a Herculean task. Many people were forced to give up their ideas much before they could complete all the formalities.

Popularising startup culture Just three years ago, the youth were a disillusioned lot who were struggling to make their ends meet. However, the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union of India opened up a new world for the young people.

To encourage the youngsters to come forward with their ideas and innovations, the government focused on popularising the culture of startups in the Himalayan region. To begin with, the government provided incubation and seed funding to brilliant ideas and solutions allowing the young people to give a practical shape to their plans.

The creation of industry innovation clusters encouraged a new generation of entrepreneurs to set an example and become inspiration for others. J&K emerging as a hub for startups in the country proved to be a game changer.

The industry and academic institutions encouraging a culture of innovation and providing institutionalised handholding to the budding innovators and researchers led to many young boys and girls becoming role models and inspiration for their counterparts.

The initiatives like the Centre for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED) have provided young minds with an opportunity to work on their ideas and sell these to the world. The government has been exploring the startup potential in all the sectors, including agriculture, dairy, transport, handicrafts, food and other allied fields.

Youth centric initiatives South Kashmir's Pulwama district, considered as a hotbed of terrorism till 2019, has set an example in youth empowerment. In the district, a new record has been set by providing opportunities to 7,324 youth to set up their own business ventures.

The youth-centric initiatives taken by the incumbent dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir should serve as an eye opener for the leaders who ruled the Himalayan region in the past. They used youngsters for their political gains and projected terrorism-infested areas like Pulwama as "no-go" zones where no development could have taken place.

Providing youngsters with an opportunity to set up any business unit or turn them into innovators were no priorities for the former rulers.

During the past three years, the government has shattered all the myths by concentrating on the potential of youngsters. As on date, every Kashmir district has a list of successful entrepreneurs, sportsmen and artists. Lists of wanted stone-pelters have disappeared from the police stations as the youngsters neither indulge in street protests, nor stone-pelting.

Local recruitment in the ranks of terrorists has gone down to zero as the youth have understood that laptops and pens are the real symbols of empowerment and holding a gun won't take them anywhere except a graveyard.

Youth clubs The government has made youth partners in governance by setting up youth clubs under the aegis of Mission Youth. Around 4,290 youth clubs are functional in the Union Territory now. The volunteers in the youth clubs have been provided training in all aspects of government schemes. They are part of emergency and crisis management plans. They are involved in planning and decision-making as well.

The youth clubs are serving as the focal point for positive engagement of the youth and are striving to ensure that youngsters don't fall prey to the radical propaganda and other social issues that can put them in trouble.

The youth in 'Naya Jammu and Kashmir' are leading from the front and have succeeded in pulling the Himalayan region out of the dark shadows of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. They have rubbished the vicious propaganda of the terrorist bosses sitting across the Line of Control. They have also turned their backs towards guns and stones that were provided to them by Pakistan and its stooges.

Channelising energies in positive way The government channelising the energy of youngsters in a positive manner has proven to be a big setback for Pakistan and the terrorist handlers. Had the former rulers provided a chance to the youngsters to excel in their lives, Pakistan and the separatists would have never succeeded in burning J&K and turning it into a battleground for 30 long years.

The decision of the regime led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "bite the bullet" and abrogate J&K's special status has changed the destinies of the common people in the erstwhile princely state, as they have embarked on the journey of peace, prosperity and development.
Jaipur, Jan 31 : Rajasthan Assembly witnessed a war of words between Speaker C.P. Joshi and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore over the issue of a breach of privilege motion brought against the latter.

Independent MLA Sayam Lodha, who is also an advisor to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, moved a motion of breach of privilege against Rathore, who had filed the PIL in the High Court in reference to resignations of 91 MLAs who resigned on September 25.

The Speaker allowed Lodha to speak on the breach of privilege motion, but Rathore objected, kicking off a spat.

Lodha had questioned 'how can the High Court dictate to the assembly', when Rathore objected to his statement.

At this, the Speaker said: "You cannot challenge my authority. The House is governed by rules and if you are a senior, it does not mean that the House should be run according to you." "You can't dictate to me," Rathore said, citing the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Assembly.

Joshi responded: "Under Rule 157, the complete process of bringing a breach of privilege motion has been given. I have the right to speak under these rules. It is under these rules that I have allowed Sanyam Lodha to speak." But, Rathore continued to argue, saying that he is directly giving permission to raise the issue of breach of privilege, and they should also get a chance to speak on this.

When Rathore asked to discuss the rules on the process of bringing a proposal for violation of privilege, the Speaker interrupted him and said that he could not give approval.

But Rathore went on, saying: "You cannot cover up the internal fight of the ruling party by doing this. The decision will come out in the High Court on February 13 and what do you want to prove by giving a decisions in bits and pieces on privilege motion?" As Rathore cited the rules, Joshi said: "I am not illiterate, I know all the rules. The house will run according to these rules only. The House will not run on your saying. When he cited Rule 161, the Speaker said that "kangaroo jumping" does not work, and asked to look at Rule 160. "Mr. Rathore, being half literate doesn't help, one has to study completely." He said that Rule 160 provides that the Speaker can allow a breach of privilege motion, and after this, if he had any objection, he will be allowed to speak.

"Right now people do not know how to bring a breach of privilege motion. Rajendra Rathore says that there is no proposal for breach of privilege. So I have allowed the breach of privilege motion, it will be discussed further. Everyone will get time to speak." Meanwhile, Lodha said: "Will we work to weaken our own house by sitting in this house? Will the Rajasthan High Court dictate to the Assembly? Will we go to the High Court if the answer to our question does not come in the Assembly?"

"If a case is not decided in the High Court, will the Assembly be asked to take a decision? If the Assembly cannot say this, how can the High Court dictate to the Assembly? Rajendra Rathore's conduct brought disgrace to the House."
Jaipur, Jan 31 : Rajasthan unit BJP president Satish Poonia on Tuesday extended support to the party's Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who has been protesting since the last eight days against the Ashok Gehlot-led government demanding a CBI probe into the paper leak case.

Poonia, who on Tuesday visited the protest site, slammed the Congress-led state government, saying the papers of more than 16 recruitment examinations have been leaked in Rajasthan.

"Despite repeated paper leaks, the Chief Minister is engaged in a cover-up instead of taking action against the culprits due to which the future of lakhs of youth of Rajasthan seems to be going towards darkness. That is why there should be a CBI inquiry into the paper leak episode to ensure strict action is taken against the culprits while the youths get justice," he said.

Kirodi Lal Meena has said that the ministers and MLAs of Rajasthan are also involved in the paper leak case.

"That's why Gehlot gave a clean chit to his government in the assembly in the paper leak case. Eventually, even the police are not taking any action. So, a CBI inquiry into this matter should be ordered," the MP said.

Meena further said that after the paper leak episode in Jaipur, "I informed the media about the culprits".

"However, the convicts fled abroad while the ministers and officials of the government remained busy with the cover-up. In such a situation, our movement will continue till our demands are not fulfilled, he added.

Meena has been sitting on a 'dharna' on Agra Road in Jaipur for the last eight days.

Earlier, BJP national secretary Alka Singh Gurjar and youths reached the protest site in support of Kirori Lal Meena.

While former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and leaders from her camp showed support to the protest, the BJP maintained "some distance" for the last eight days. However, on Tuesday, Poonia put the "silent whispers" around factionalism to rest, by extending support to the protest.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that about 5,000 under trial prisoners were in jails despite being granted bail and 1,417 of them have been released.

A bench of Justices S.K. Kaul and A.S. Oka is hearing a matter, which relates to policy strategy for grant of bail. Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who is an amicus curiae in the matter, cited the NALSA report before the court.

The top court was informed that pursuant to the November 29 order, the NALSA wrote to the state legal services authorities (SLSAs) seeking details of such under trial prisoners (UTPs) within 15 days and they were also directed to provide necessary legal assistance for their release.

The SLSAs submitted the data with NALSA by December end last year and then they were asked to furnish a progress report on legal assistance and release of under trials, who were in custody despite being granted bail.

According to the report, there were about 5,000 under trial prisoners who were in jail, despite grant of bail and out of which, 2,357 persons were provided legal assistance, and 1,417 persons have since been released.

In November last year, the apex court flagged the issue of under trials, who continue to languish in jail despite being granted bail, as they were unable to fulfil the conditions of bail. It had asked the state governments to issue directions to jail authorities to provide details of such UTPs to NALSA.

The NALSA, in the report filed in the apex court, said it is in the process of creating a "master data" of all such under trial prisoners, who could not either furnish surety or bail bonds due to poverty.

According to the report, the accused continue to languish in jail despite being granted bail because they are accused in multiple cases and are not willing to furnish bail bonds until they are given bail in all the cases, as under trial custody will be counted in all the cases.
Dhaka, Jan 31 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday that the 15th amendment to the Constitution has strengthened the country's democracy and empowered people to choose public representatives without anyone grabbing of power illegally.

Claiming that former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had prepared a voters' list with 1.23 crore fake voters to hold a farcical election, Hasina said that the Election Commission (EC) has been constituted through a search committee following a law enacted by her government that has made it more transparent and accountable.

The government has also given complete financial independence to the poll panel, she said.

Speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected Mayor of Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) and its councillors, including those elected from the seats reserved for women, at her office in Dhaka, Hasina said: "Stability is prevailing in the country due to the introduction of the 15th amendment to the Constitution and continued democratic process for a long time. Now, no unelected person can capture state power illegally." The premier said that people's empowerment has become a matter of heart burning for a section of so-called intellectuals, as they can never come to power through people's vote, so they repeatedly try to hamper the democratic process.

"Those who are never elected by the people and are afraid of facing the masses, have an inner burning due to this reason," she said.

The Prime Minister said that the apex court had declared grabbing power by issuing martial law after violating the country's Constitution as illegal.

Hasina also urged people to remember that the Awami League (AL) government is the only government in Bangladesh's history which handed over power peacefully after the completion of its 1999-2001 tenure.

The Prime Minister said that her government is giving home to the homeless and landless people free of cost, following the footsteps of her father, late Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"The Father of the Nation gave Independence to the country. None will remain homeless and landless in the Mujib's Bangla," she said.

Hasina mentioned that the transparent ballot box system and preparing voters' list with photographs had been introduced in accordance with the proposal of the Awami League-led grand alliance in order to hold free and fair elections.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister administered oath to the new RCC Mayor, Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, while the newly-elected councillors were sworn-in by LGRD and Cooperatives Minister, Md Tazul Islam.

Jatiya Party-backed candidate Mostafa won the mayoral race for the second consecutive term in the elections held on December 27, 2022.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The Delhi Police Special Cell nabbed a member of Mewat-based interstate gang of criminals indulged in ATM's breaking and siphoning of cash in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused has been identified as Shahrukh Khan, 22, a resident of Nuh district in Haryana.

The gang members had committed five ATM breaking and stolen cash worth more than Rs 87 lakh in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in a span of six months.

On January 19, the sleuths of Special Cell had apprehended two members -- Shohrab, 27, and Sameer Khan, 24, of the gang from Delhi's Pul Prahladpur area after a brief exchange of fire.

The gang members had stolen cash from ATMs in Delhi's Uttam Nagar and Hari Nagar last year and recently on January 11 they had robbed cash from two ATMs in Gwalior and one in Madhya Pradesh's Morena in a single day.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Alok Kumar, on January 27, specific inputs about the arrival of an absconding member of the gang would be coming near Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, Adhchini, New Delhi.

"Acting on the inputs, a police team laid a trap and Shahrukh was nabbed. A semi-automatic pistol of 32 along with two bullets was recovered from his possession. A case under the appropriate section of the law was registered at the Special Cell police station and he was placed under arrest," said the DCP.

Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, DCP Kumar added that the members of the gang used to identify unguarded ATM booths in dim-lit and isolated areas. Then they used to conduct a thorough recce of the area around ATM booths.

"The gang members used to sprinkle black paint on the CCTV cameras after entering the ATM booths to conceal their identity and they also used to wear face masks or monkey caps. They used to open the ATM with the help of gas cutters and take out the cash from the tray and used to flee from the spot." Upon questioning, Khan disclosed that members of his gang are wanted in five cases of ATM breaking and removing of cash amounting Rs 87 lakh in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

"He is an active member of the gang. He is a driver by profession and would carry his associates to the spot for committing the ATM breaking in Delhi and other states," said the DCP, adding that remaining absconding members of the gang have been identified and further efforts to apprehend them are in progress.
New Delhi, Jan 31 : The BJP slammed the BRS and the AAP for boycotting the President's Address to Parliament on Tuesday.

Senior BJP leader and former minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, addressing a press conference here, said: "Today was a very historic occasion for the country as India's first tribal President Droupadi Murmu read the speech to start the budget session of the Parliament. It is very sad that on such an important occasion, CM K. Chandrasekhar Reddy's BRS and Aam Aadmi Party boycotted it." "Why did you boycott it? This is an insult to the dignity of the President of India as well as the country's parliamentary tradition and dignity," he told the two parties.

"There is a limit to political opposition and opposition parties should maintain certain norms... Some people took it to the greatest low of our parliamentary democracy, namely the BRS and the Aam Aadmi Party who chose to boycott it," he added.

The BRS, which is in power in Telangana, and the AAP, which rules Delhi and Punjab, said their boycott was to mark their protest against the Centre's policies over a host of issues, including its treatment of states.
Agartala, Jan 31 : A record number of over 43,000 security personnel, comprising Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and state police would be deployed to provide security for the February 16 assembly polls in Tripura, officials said on Tuesday.

A senior police officer said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has agreed to provide 400 companies (30,000 security personnel) of CAPF for fair and violence-free assembly elections.

Besides the CAPF, comprising Assam Rifles, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, around 8,000 TSR jawans and over 5,000 Tripura police personnel would also be deployed, the official told IANS.

He said that 200 companies of CAPF had already arrived in Tripura and been deployed in different parts of the state, while 200 more companies of CAPF would arrive by the first week of February.

The official said that the CAPFs were deployed for area domination, patrolling, flag march, vehicular patrolling, Naka duty, raids apart from counter insurgency operations.

According to the official, after the announcement of the Assembly election schedule by the Election Commission on January 18, a total number of 192 Naka points (check gate) have been established in various strategic locations.

"Naka checking is going on regularly in all naka points. Special vehicle checking is also going on. A special drive for vehicle checking was launched and over 11,000 vehicles were checked as part of the preventive action," the official said.

In order to maintain a sense of security among the people in the state, so far more than 1,700 flag marches and area domination patrolling have been done with joint participation of state police, TSR and CAPF, he stated.

A senior election official said that the Border Security Force (BSF),who are posted along the Bangladesh borders, would not only intensify their vigil but also keep in touch with their counterparts -- Border Guards Bangladesh -- from across the frontiers to prevent any kind of illegal entry into India.

"BSF would convene meetings immediately with their counterparts to sensitise them to take a more vigilant approach considering the ensuing assembly elections in Tripura." Three special observers of the Election Commission visited Tripura for five days and reviewed the February 16 poll preparedness and security arrangements

The three special observers are Yogendra Tripathy, a retired IAS officer of Karnataka cadre; Vivek Johri, former Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh; and B. Murali Kumar, an IRS officer, who was special observer in the Assembly elections of Gujarat (2022) and West Bengal (2021).

The observers directed that drones should be used for detection of marijuana plantations and other enforcement measures wherever possible, the official said.
Ahmedabad, Jan 31 : Ahmedabad Crime Branch and the city police have detained four Kashmiri youths from the Motera area because of their suspicious movement near the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Deputy Commissioner of Crime Branch, Chetainya Mandlik, told media that the CB team and the local police detained the four Kashmiri youths from the Motera area because of their suspicious movement near Narendra Modi stadium late on Monday night.

The officer said that the four youths, all of whom are from Budgam near Srinagar, are being questioned about their presence in Ahmedabad.

According to sources, the youths were found in an area near the stadium, where ordinary citizens are not allowed to move. In the past, they had visited and stayed in a mosque in the Palanpur area. This time, after arriving in Ahmedabad, they had checked in at the Haj house.

The police suspected their movement because of the T20 international match between India and New Zealand scheduled at the stadium on February 1. Both teams have already reached the city and are practising at the stadium.
Srinagar, Jan 31 : The NCC cadets of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh clinched the fourth position in the recently concluded Republic Day NCC camp in New Delhi, the Army said on Tuesday.

The Republic Day camp is attended by contingents from all the 17 NCC directorates representing each and every state/union territory of the country and comprises of several competitions which include drill events like PM Rally, Guard of Honour to VVIPs and marching on the Kartavya Path, cultural performances showcasing the rich culture of the region as well as personal discipline and maintenance of cadets' living area.

"The cadets trained and prepared hard for this most prestigious NCC camp for almost five weeks at Nagrota under a dedicated training team. The highly motivated contingent comprising of 114 cadets from all three regions of Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu, developed excellent camaraderie and worked like a cohesive team. They were accompanied by three Associate NCC Officers and supporting staff from NCC Battalions of the Directorate," the Army added.
Islamabad, Feb 1 : Legal cases against the former premier and Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan are mounting as an Islamabad session court has decided to frame charges on Khan and indict him in the Tosha Khana reference on February 7.

As per details of the case proceedings, the Islamabad session court maintained that Khan failed to share any details of the gifts he retained from the Tosha Khana and proceeds from their reported sales were filed and submitted by the lawmakers of the then ruling government.

The Tosha Khana reference is the same which was concluded by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), judging that the PTI Chief had made "false statements and incorrect declarations" about the gifts he retained from Tosha Khana. It was the reason why Khan was disqualified by the ECP under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution of Pakistan, under which he stood disqualified till the next elections.

Tosha Khana is a department that comes under the Cabinet Division that keeps gifts given to rulers and government officials by heads of other governments and foreign dignitaries.

In view of the judgment issued by the ECP, the Islamabad session court was approached by the ECP, seeking criminal proceedings initiation for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

As per details of the court proceedings on Tuesday, Additional session judge Zafar Iqbal asked PTI lawyer Ali Bukhari to submit Khan's power of attorney. However, the ECP counsel advocate Saad Hasan maintained that the power of attorney couldn't be presented until Khan appears before the court in person.

The PTI Chief's medical certificate was submitted in the court along with a request seeking exemption from the proceedings.

Subsequently, the judge directed Imran Khan to submit surely bonds worth Rs.20,000 and gave out directions to him to ensure that he appears before the court during the next hearing.

The Tosha Khana case has been one of the biggest legal challenges for Khan as gifts process of retention of various gifts, including a one-of-its-kind watch, gifted to him by Saudi Arabia Prime Minister and crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman became the centre of debate as Khan had sold off the gifts ahead.

This became a reason for major criticism by his Opposition and current ruling coalition government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who slammed Khan for disrespecting his position as premier and bringing embarrassment upon the whole country by illegally retaining gifts from Tosha Khan and selling them off.

Analysts believe that the prohibited funding case and the Tosha Khana case are the two main big legal challenges for Khan, that may lead to his disqualification, not only from the election race, but also from his seat at the PTI Chairman in the coming days.
Patna, Feb 1 : At least 14 persons were killed and more than one dozen injured after a massive fire broke out at a multi-storey building in Jharkhand's Dhanbad on Tuesday evening, officials said.

The fire broke out due to the explosion in an LPG cylinder on the second floor of Ashirwad tower near Joda Fatak at 9.30 p.m. The flat belongs to a person named Pankaj Jain and the place is adjacent to Dhanbad railway station.

The local police and fire brigade officers have started a rescue operation and six bodies were rescued so far. The official said that the rescue operation is currently underway in the building.

The fire official added that the fire broke out on the third floor of the building and it soon engulfed third, fourth and fifth floors as well. The deceased, including a woman and a child, were rescued so far.

"We have called for more than 24 fire engines to douse the flame. The intensity of the fire was massive. The rescue operation is currently underway and our firefighters have rescued 21 persons from the building," said a fire brigade officer.

The local residents claimed that many residents fell unconscious due to the smoke emanating from the fire. The injured were admitted to the Dhanbad medical college.

"The exact cause of the incident is not ascertained so far. The investigation is underway. The exact deaths and injured persons would be ascertained at a later stage," said Sandeep Kumar, the Jharkhand District Magistrate.

The local residents claimed that there was a marriage ceremony underway in the building and the main event (reception) was held in the nearby Sidhi Vinayak hotel. Some of the family members went to the hotels but others were present in the apartment when the fire broke out.
Dhaka, Feb 1 : The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has said that it arrested two fugitive convicts, who were sentenced to death for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

The arrestees are -- Md Mokhlesur Rahman Mukul, 67, and Nakib Hossain alias Adil Sarker, 69, were sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 on January 23, 2023, confirmed RAB officials on Tuesday to IANS.

They were arrested in separate drives carried out in Dakshinkhan of the capital and Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka city, on Monday night.

Earlier, the ICT-1 on December 5, 2018, framed six charges for committing crimes against humanity and on February 18, 2019, started recording depositions of the witnesses. The court on different hearing dates examined a total of 19 witnesses in the case.

RAB legal and media wing Director, Commander Khandaker Al Moin confirmed the development to IANS on Tuesday evening.

He said the two fugitive convicts were arrested in separate drives by RAB-2 on January 30.

The ICT-1 on January 23 sentenced six convicts, including Nakib and Mokhlesur to death, the RAB official said.

They went into hiding in 2015 right after the case was filed against them for their crimes against humanity. They used to change their hideouts regularly and avoided public gatherings to evade the law enforcers.

The operation teams of RAB-2 arrested Nakib from Dakkhinkhan and Mokhlesur from Ashulia.
New Delhi, Feb 1 : BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday unfurled the national flag in national capital in the memory of people, who sacrificed their lives for the unity and integrity of the country.

Addressing a massive gathering of people, Chugh paid his tributes to Praja Parishad martyrs in Jaurian village here.

He said it has been a saga of sacrifices that has brought us to this stage where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of progress and development has started reverberating again.

He asked why it took 70 years for the Congress and its leaders like Rahul Gandhi to hoist the national flag at the Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

Chugh added that Modi's zero tolerance for terrorism has made it possible for Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to enjoy snowfall in the Kashmir valley.

The BJP National General Secretary was accompanied by former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Jammu and Kashmir BJP Vice-President Sham Lal Sharma, senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana, Daljit Singh Chib and other party leaders in presence of representatives of social organisations and prominent locals.

While paying tributes to martyrs, Chugh said that the struggle to remove Articles 370 and 35-A continued for 70 years.

He added that Jammu and Kashmir has a long history of struggle and movement. The pages of history are full of renunciation, austerity and sacrifice.

"When Sheikh Abdullah implemented the permit system to enter Jammu and Kashmir, the Praja Parishad raised the slogan -- 'Desh mein do pradhan, do vidhan, do nishan: nahi chalenge, nahi chalenge'." "On January 11, 1953, two days before Lohri, the police opened fire on a procession in which more than 5,000 people were participating. More than 200 rounds were fired in which two people were killed and more than 70 were injured. On January 31, 1953, a huge crowd of protesting farmers gathered in Jyodia village. The farmers came out in huge numbers towards Jammu carrying the tricolour in their hands. The police opened fire on the agitators, in which seven people were killed, to salute whose sacrifice and spirit we all have gathered here," Chugh added.

He also criticised Rahul Gandhi for his party's delay of 70 long years in hoisting the Tiranga at the Lal Chowk.

Chugh added that he (Rahul Gandhi) should be thankful to Modi-led BJP government that he could enter Jammu and Kashmir without permit and hoist the Tiranga at the Lal Chowk without any issue.

Nirmal Singh said that during the agitation, the people registered their protest against separate Constitution, separate flag, separate 'Sadar-e-Riyasat' and the permit System, and the mission got accomplished with the Indian Constitution and the Indian tricolour fully extended to J&K during the BJP government's term.
Ankara, Feb 1 : Turkey's tourism revenues reached $46.28 billion in 2022, registering a year-on-year increase of 53.4 per cent, according to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Nearly 44.56 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in 2022, an increase of 80.3 per cent from a year earlier, according to figures released by Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry on Tuesday.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city by population, was the top choice for foreign visitors, welcoming more than 16 million tourists in 2022, according to the Ministry as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
Ramallah, Feb 1 : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Israeli government "is fully responsible for the current tension and violence in the Palestinian territories".

Abbas made the remarks during a meeting held at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Blinken, who is on a three-day Middle East visit that started on Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported on Tuesday.

"The Israeli government is responsible for the deterioration on the ground today because it has undermined the two-state solution and violated the signed agreements," he was quoted as saying.

The Palestinian President also accused the international community of failing to end the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories and end the Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that there is a lack of international efforts to recognise the Palestinian state and its full membership in the UN.

"There is also opposition to the efforts of the Palestinians to defend their existence and their legitimate rights in international forums and courts and to provide international protection for our people," Abbas noted.

He told Blinken that "this policy encourages the Israeli occupier to commit more crimes and violates international law".

The Palestinian President listed to US Secretary of State the Israeli unilateral actions and violations, including settlements, actual annexation of lands, settler terror, storming Palestinian territory, killing crimes, and house demolitions.

"Israel is being overlooked, without deterrence or accountability, as it continues its unilateral operations and crimes against the Palestinians and their properties," said Abbas.

He added that "the complete cessation of unilateral Israeli actions, which violate the signed agreements and international law, is the main entry point for returning the political horizon and ending the Israeli occupation".

"All this can be achieved under international references and the Arab Peace Initiative to make peace, stability, and security for all in our region and the world," Abbas said.

The Palestinians want to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967 and establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Peace negotiations sponsored by the US had stopped in 2014 following deep differences on issues like settlement, security and the Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Health Ministry had earlier stated that since January 1, the Israeli Army had killed 34 Palestinians, including children and women, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials had warned of the Israeli escalation of killing Palestinians, mainly after the formation of the new Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is the most right-wing in Israel's history.
Jerusalem, Feb 1 : Gaby Portnoy, Director-General of Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), has accused Iran of "leading an aggressive, orchestrated campaign against Israel's cyberspace".

Portnoy made the remarks on Tuesday at the annual CyberTech Global conference held in the coastal city of Tel Aviv with the participation of hundreds of companies, startups, government entities and organisations, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The Israeli cyberspace experiences attacks much like other countries, except we also have Iran on top of all of them," he said.

Portnoy claimed that the INCD in 2022 thwarted about 1,000 major cyberattacks, "which could have caused widespread and substantial damage to the Israeli economy." Moreover, the official also introduced at the conference the INCD's "cyber dome" system, which he said will provide various free cybersecurity tools and services to eligible organisations through a public portal.
Dar Es Salaam, Feb 1 : At least 9,011 Tanzanian school girls were impregnated between January 2021 and January 2022, an official told parliament in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.

The Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Technology Omary Kipanga said on Tuesday that of the 9,011 impregnated school girls, 1,554 were in primary schools and 7,457 were in secondary schools.

Kipanga added that 1,692 secondary school girls were reinstated after giving birth, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The government is still assessing to establish the number of primary school girls that has been reinstated after they had given birth," he told the House.

Kipanga was responding to Hawa Mchata, a member of Parliament on women's special seats, who had pressed the government to reveal the number of impregnated school girls that have been reinstated.

Mchata said she asked the question after President Samia Suluhu Hassan had lifted a ban in 2021 on school girls that were discontinued from pursuing their education dreams after getting pregnant.


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Mona, the leading intelligent AI monitoring platform, announces a new feature that advances its monitoring capabilities with the introduction of a new feature for assessing AI fairness.

As many organizations began relying on AI in critical business functions, it has become important to identify and address algorithmic bias. The key to detecting such bias is understanding the behavior of machine learning models across different protected segments of the data within the context of the business function that the AI serves. Monas new AI fairness features make it simple to do that by providing a comprehensive view of the behavior of the AI system, as well automatically detecting any potential issues of bias.

With this new set of features, organizations are able to generate complete fairness reports (one-time or periodically). These reports include standard and custom (user configured) options and are applicable for both internal and external audit needs. Overall, fairness reports help organizations increase trust in their AI-driven applications.

It is becoming increasingly important for companies that develop machine learning algorithms to determine whether biases are introduced when building datasets and training models, said Giacomo Vianello, Principal Data Scientist at CAPE Analytics. Mona has built tools and processes that are designed to ensure fairnessa critical step in building ethical AI.

Fair and ethical AI is a major consideration in many industries and across a variety of use cases. Mona has taken a broad approach to fairness, and is proud to deliver the first ever ethical AI solution that addresses compliance and governance needs alongside the desire to drive business outcomes.

"Unlike other existing tools for detecting bias and fairness issues in AI, Mona is the only platform that connects the model's performance with the business outcomes, and also enables bias detection at a granular level within specific segments of the data, says Itai Bar-Sinai, CPO & Co-founder at Mona. We're proud to offer a solution that helps organizations trust that their AI-driven applications are ethical and up to the highest standards.

Monas AI fairness features are an important step forward in the field of AI observability. For more information about our AI fairness feature, please visit our website.

About Mona

Mona is an observability platform for AI in production. The intelligent monitoring solution helps organizations increase trust in their AI system by giving them an analytical engine that can detect issues weeks or longer before they come to the surface, and by that to help avoid AI catastrophes. The companys highly configurable platform provides teams with tailored, real-time insights to monitor and investigate performance issues, proactively alerting them regarding model behavior anomalies and data integrity issues. Founded in 2018 by product leaders and operators from Google and McKinsey & Co., the company is backed by top VCs, with offices in Tel Aviv and Atlanta. Learn more by visiting http://www.monalabs.io.
Chef Bernard Bennett With Okan, I want to showcase our ancestors resilience and influence through thoughtful and intentional food that pushes the boundaries beyond whats expected.

Okan, a new restaurant concept expressing the heart and soul of underrepresented cuisine by following the culinary journey of West African-rooted cooking, is proud to congratulate its Executive Chef Bernard Bennett for being named one of twenty semifinalists in the Emerging Chef category by the James Beard Foundation. The restaurant is set to open in the Spring of 2023 at The Bridge Collective in Bluffton, South Carolina.

As a non-profit organization, the James Beard Foundations mission is to celebrate, support, and elevate the people who are paving a better future for Americas food culture and a community where all can thrive. Considered to be among the nations most prestigious honors, the James Beard Awards recognize exceptional culinary and food industries talent as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, and sustainability.

Chef Bernard Bennett helped formulate the concept for Okan from his passion for learning how history and culture have shaped how we eat and where our food really comes from. He asks that any preconceived notions for African American cuisine be checked at the door, as Okan will creatively approach shareable dishes in a community setting which are deeply inspired by West Africa and the Caribbean.

With Okan, I want to showcase our ancestors resilience and influence through thoughtful and intentional food that pushes the boundaries beyond whats expected, said Chef Bernard. It is an honor to be recognized by such a highly-esteemed organization that aligns with Okans mission, and validates our vision. I am humbled to be among the amazing group of industry colleagues and friends, and inspired by what our future opportunities hold.

Located in the heart of Old Town Bluffton and coastal South Carolina, Okan will locally source the best the region has to offer. Utilizing the vast resources of local farmers, fisherman, and other purveyors, Chef Bernard and Okan aim to cultivate relationships honoring the pathways and history of the African-American heritage. The menu will showcase how ingredients originated, changed through the course of forced migration, and now celebrate an elevated pairing of cultures. While the local community has been able to enjoy aspects of the cuisine through thoughtfully crafted elevated dinners and visits to the Okan Food Truck, the vision of co-founders Chef Bernard Bennett, Matthew Cunningham, and Benjamin Carson will fully come to life with a bold and differentiated menu of food and libations when Okan opens this Spring as a part of The Bridge Collective.

We are so proud of Chefs accomplishments and excited to begin seeing his vision become a reality, co-owner Matthew Cunningham shared. The Semifinalist nomination is a well-deserved achievement for not only a talented chef but an innovator and leader with a powerful message.

The full list of 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards Semifinalists can be found on the James Beard Foundation website. The finalists for each category will be announced on Wednesday, March 29, and winners of the highly celebrated awards will be honored at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Lyric Opera House of Chicago.

About Okan:

Okan is a new restaurant concept opening the Spring of 2023 in Bluffton, South Carolina at The Bridge Collective, a thoughtful curation of vendors that champion building an inclusive community. Okans mission is to connect people to one another through a culturally unique dining experience and embrace the opportunity to explore underrepresented cuisine, all-the-while directly impacting and engaging local farmers, empowering employees and compelling guests. Thoughtfully prepared local ingredients will represent their evolution from West Africa to the Caribbean, through South America, and arriving in the Lowcountry. Okan and Executive Chef Bernard Bennett craft a culinary journey through taste in a lively, welcoming environment which invites open dialogue, communal energy, and a unique sense of home.

About The James Beard Foundation:

The James Beard Foundations Restaurant and Chef Awardsestablished in 1990 and first awarded in 1991are one of five separate recognition programs of the Awards. This Awards program celebrates excellence across a range of experiences, from fine-dining establishments to casual gems, and emerging talents to established masters. The 2023 Restaurant and Chef Semifinalists are recognized across 23 categories.
BDX unveils enhanced look for NewHomeSource.com including location-based search and unique filtering options. Our mission is to be the leading destination for connecting consumers with builders. This enhancement of NewHomeSource brings our mission to life and ensures a comprehensive and inspiring experience for online home shoppers and uniquely positions home builders for success.  Kevin Krone, CEO of BDX

Builders Digital Experience (BDX) announced today at the International Builders Show that the company is rolling out a new experience for home shoppers on NewHomeSource.com, the leading website for new construction listings. The new design, based on home shopper feedback, industry analysis and e-commerce best practices, gives consumers the ability to use location-based searching and enhanced new home filtering to find their dream home online. Our mission is to be the premier destination for connecting consumers with builders and providing an unparalleled digital experience for dreaming, finding, and designing a new home, said Kevin Krone, CEO of BDX. This enhancement of NewHomeSource helps bring our mission to life, ensuring a comprehensive and inspiring experience for online home shoppers and uniquely positioning home builders for success.

With more than 100,000 new homes from hundreds of builders across the nation, NewHomeSource is exclusively focused on providing consumers with the highest quality and most current information about new home construction communities and homes. The latest design continues the journey to position new homes as the premier option for online home shoppers. For over 20 years, NewHomeSource has given online home shoppers all the information they need to find their new home online. Filtering options on the new site are designed to uniquely position new home advantages and help home shoppers accelerate their buying journey. In addition to standard real estate search parameters, the site gives shoppers the option to search based on move-in-date, home type, and available community amenities. In addition to the enhanced consumer experience on NewHomeSource.com, BDX also announced additional markets are available for Spotlight advertising.

The Community and Home ads give builders prime positioning on search results pages. These exclusive positions have launched in 25 markets across the country with many positions selling out just hours after becoming available. Here is what leading home builders are saying about the enhanced experience on NewHomeSource.

"The team at BDX truly understands the new construction journey, the advantages of new homes, and the challenges buyers face during the shopping process," said Linda Mamet, Chief Marketing Officer, Tri Pointe Homes. "This dedication to the new home industry and the company's expertise with e-commerce and technology are evident in this latest release of NewHomeSource.com."

"We are excited to see the focus on location-based search and advanced new home filtering in this latest release of NewHomeSource.com," said Amit Desai, Chief Marketing Officer, KB Home "We trust BDX to be at the forefront of helping consumers navigate the new home shopping journey and their dedication to positioning new homes in the best possible light is an asset to our industry."

We are excited to see how the recent changes to Newhomesource.com not only address consumer expectations about the home buyer journey and searching online but also honor the differences and unique perspectives of mobile versus desktop audiences, said Barbara Drees, Vice President of Marketing, Drees Homes.

"For years, we have looked to BDX as a trusted partner to help guide our digital market initiatives. The new look for NewHomeSource is clean, simple to navigate and we believe the site will make it even easier for home shoppers to find their dream home," said Trey Lewis, Vice President for Ole South Properties. "We've been pleased with the quality of leads that we received from NewHomeSource and expect that with this new approach that the results will be even better."

About BDX and NewHomeSource

The BDX mission is to be the premier destination for connecting consumers with builders and providing an unparalleled digital experience for dreaming, finding, and designing a new home. The companys flagship website, NewHomeSource.com is the leading online destination for consumers as they search for new construction communities and homes. The company brings home builders a variety of solutions for lead generation, visual content, and e-commerce. In addition to NewHomeSource, BDX also offers the Envision online design center, and a variety of visual content solutions like renderings, interactive floor plans, 3D home tours, visualization and virtual reality. Home shoppers ready to search for new construction communities and homes can visit http://www.newhomesource.com. Home builders interested in connecting with home shoppers will find more information at http://www.thebdx.com or by visiting booth W2544 at the International Builders Show In Las Vegas.
+5,000 C-Levels attendees participate in the event "Mexico is one of the largest global markets with an increasing demand for software and technological solutions, turning the country into one of the largest markets and opportunities in digital transformation in Latin America," said Lesley Robles, director for America Digital.

The 8th America Digital Tech & Business Congress Mexico 2023 will bring together leaders of technology and business to discuss the latest advancements and trends in digital technology. The congress will be held on June 21 and 22, 2023 at the World Trade Center in Mexico City, with an expected impact of over $100 million in the digital economy of the region.

This event aims to provide a platform for professionals in the tech and business industries to connect and collaborate, with a focus on how technology can be applied to drive business growth, innovation and optimization of process. Attendees can expect to hear from keynote speakers and panelists on a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, IoT, open banking, blockchain, cybersecurity, big data, digital transformation, cloud, venture capital and more.

"Mexico is one of the largest global markets with an increasing demand for software and technological solutions, turning the country into one of the largest markets and opportunities in digital transformation in Latin America," said Lesley Robles, director for America Digital.

The Congress will feature more than 5,000 C-Level executives, innovators, and digital transformation leaders from telecommunications companies, retail, banks, industries (mining manufacturing, Energy, Transport, Oil & Gas, Utilities), and government authorities.

Expo will include 10,000 square meters of Expo America Digital with more than 200 tech companies, including Google, Oracle, Adobe, Alldatum, Alibaba, Directo, Rindegastos, Dock, ManageEngine, Oita, Xius, Suma, Coldview, GlobalLogic, Dock, Jumio, Mambu, Glia, PMI Americas, Begum Capital, Transmit Security, among others.

Attendees will also participate in more than 100 conferences and 7 specialized forums, including the C-Level Forum Digital Transformation, C-Level Digital Banking & Fintech Forum, e-Government Forum, IOT & Smart Cities Forum, C-Level 5G, IOT & Telco Forum, and Venture Capital Forum.

Experts such as Esther Riveroll, CEO at Alldatum; Lorena Bravo, Head of Technology & Digital Transformation at Oracle; Juan Gomez, Regional Vice President of Latin America and Central America at Citrix; Ramon Alvarez, Vice President of Capgemini North Latam; Roberto Duarte, Cloud Manager at Deloitte; Alehira Orozco Reyes, Head Government Affairs at Mercadolibre; Sergio Duenas, Country Manager Mercadopago; Wesley Smith, Global Information Ecosystems at LexisNexis Risk; Rolando Rodriguez, Key Account Manager at Schneider Electric, among other specialists, referents, influencers and players in the digital ecosystem participate in the conferences.

In addition to the keynote speeches and panel discussions, the congress will also feature a variety of networking opportunities, allowing attendees to connect with other professionals in their field and form valuable business connections. There will also be an exhibit hall featuring companies showcasing the latest technology and services.

The congress will be held in the beautiful city of Mexico, known for its rich culture and history. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore the city and take in all it has to offer.

For more information about the 8th America Digital Tech & Business Congress Mexico 2023, please visit the event website at https://mx.america-digital.com/.Media partners and journalists can register to cover the event at this link or contact the organizers directly.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Gabriela Rivera

Head of Communications

America Digital

+52 552848 7920

gabriela.rivera@america digital.com

Event website:https://mx.america-digital.com/

Event Date: June 21 and 22, 2023

Event Location: World Trade Center, Mexico City, Mexico

Note to editors: For more information, news, and perspectives from America Digital Congress Mexico 2023, visit our newsroom
These awards are so important because they give our teams the opportunity to offer their feedback and be heard. I am so grateful to them for taking the time to complete the surveys.

Seabreeze Management Company, Inc., a leading residential and commercial property management firm, today announced that the company has been awarded the national Top Workplaces 2023 honor by The Washington Post Top Workplaces. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

Seabreeze has been named a Top Workplace for the past six years in Orange County, where the companys corporate headquarters are located. This year, the company had the opportunity to expand its Top Workplaces surveys for its Inland Empire and Palm Desert as well as Las Vegas Regions. Together, these three regions had an 82% response rate, well higher than the overall survey benchmark average of 76%. Their feedback earned Seabreeze the highest honor of a Top Workplace in the country for the first time.

Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees, said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. That's something to be proud of. In today's market, leaders must ensure theyre allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That's paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.

At Seabreeze, building a people-first culture is our top priority, so to say Im ecstatic about receiving the USA award is an understatement, said Isaiah Henry, CEO at Seabreeze. For the past six years, Seabreeze has been named a Top Workplace in Orange County and, for the first time, we took home the Top Workplaces honor for our Palm Desert and Inland Empire region. While we are still waiting to receive our Las Vegas results, we are humbled to be named a Top Workplace for the entire country. These awards are so important because they give our teams the opportunity to offer their feedback and be heard. I am so grateful to them for taking the time to complete the surveys.

About Seabreeze Management Company

Seabreeze Management Company is a full-service property management firm with a diverse management portfolio of over 100,000 residential and commercial properties. Based in Aliso Viejo, California, Seabreeze has offered a personalized, service-driven client experience to commercial common-interest developments and homeowners associations for over 35 years. With offices throughout California and Nevada, Seabreezes mission is to be a trusted, knowledgeable advisor and collaborative partner to enable communities of all types to thrive. Seabreeze is a certified AAMC company. For more information visit http://www.seabreezemgmt.com, like Seabreeze on Facebook, or follow on Twitter @Seabreezemgmt.

About Energage

Making the world a better place to work together.

Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 16 years of culture research and the results from 27 million employees surveyed across more than 70,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.
From Lawyer to Warrior I had been fortunate enough to seize an opportunity...to explore the unknown. To be denied this experience or to somehow have it stripped away would have left me with one looming question: what might have been?

When Chris Pavlak failed the bar exam in 2006 and 2007, the comfortable optimism of becoming an attorney vanished, replaced by feelings of shame, humiliation, and inadequacy. Fixated on the financial ascendancy of being a lawyer for a large law firm, Chris had attended law school for all the wrong reasons. In that hypercompetitive environment, he became singularly focused on comparing himself to others, status, and making money. When chaos reared its ugly head in the form of repeated failures, he realized he would have to radically reshape his life. Uncertain about where a new path might lead, Chris embarked on a life of service in the United States Marine Corps. The crucible of Marine Officer training, and the privilege of leading Marines, ultimately helped recalibrate the vision of his life.

During his service, Chris has led marine rifle and scout sniper platoons, been a planner for Marine Corps service-level exercises, and served as an advisor to Afghan security forces. Still in the Marine Corps Reserves, Chris is a faculty member at National Intelligence University near Washington, DC. As a civilian, he is a consultant on the policies, ethics, governance, and regulations of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

Purchase at:

https://www.amazon.com/Lawyer-Warrior-Failing-Becoming-Finding/dp/1544538464/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WX7R4WJ40NFX&keywords=from+warrior+to+lawyer&qid=1674329818&sprefix=from+warrior+to+lawye%2Caps%2C268&sr=8-1

Contact Info:

http://www.lawyertowarrior.com

https://www.facebook.com/LawyerToWarrior

https://twitter.com/lawyertowarrior

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Medsi aims to be Mexico's first healthcare super app, powered by technology and human touch. Our new savings-to-credit finance solution lets a much broader set of customers gain access to the treatments and procedures they want, via a different type of health-assurance coverage that they completely own and control," said Manuel Villalvazo, Medsi CEO and co-founder.

With only a tiny fraction of Mexicans having health insurance or access to the necessary credit or savings, a medical emergency can be a catastrophic event as evidenced by the recent COVID-19 pandemic that hit Mexico harder than the rest of North America. Its why Medsi chose Mexico as its ground zero.

Today, Medsi  a fintech meets healthtech marketplace that makes healthcare services, information, and pricing more accessible to everyone  announced it has raised a USD $10 million debt-financing round from CAPEM Mexico, an SME lender that seeks to positively impact and transform the economic development of Mexico. The fresh capital will super-charge the onboarding of tens of thousands of what it hopes will be long-term customers of the marketplace.

Founded in January 2022, Medsi launched its first healthcare financing offering  a revolving line of credit that can be used by the whole family for essential or elective health services and procedures  in September 2022. Once approved via an intuitive three-minute application process, users can simply schedule disbursements and Medsi pays the private doctor or clinic directly upon fulfillment via a QR code using the Medsi Credit app, available via Google Play or the App Store, on their smartphones.

In January, Medsi expanded its potential customer base by launching a new savings-to-credit solution that lets its users put money down towards a medical procedure, and then receive a Medsi line of credit for 10x the value of their down payment once they have successfully banked four bi-weekly installments. The new offering is designed for the more than 55 percent of Mexicans who belong to the informal sector, or are new to credit, and making strides towards true, incremental financial inclusion.

Theres massive pent-up demand to be unlocked in Mexico, and weve generated even higher-than-expected demand in just five months since operating commercially, said Manuel Villalvazo, Medsi CEO and co-founder, a TMT and Healthcare M&A specialist who formerly led the Mexican investment banking franchises for three of the worlds most well-respected global banks. With the availability of our savings-to-credit finance solution, a much broader set of customers can now gain access to the treatments and procedures they want, via a different type of health-assurance coverage that they completely own and control.

Mexico has the second-highest out-of-pocket (OOP) healthcare spend worldwide, with a whopping 45 percent of OOP costs being covered directly by patients, making the country an outlier even within Latin America. Today, only 49 percent of the Mexican population has access to some form of healthcare coverage, and only five percent have access to private insurance. The inadequacy of public sector care drives people to increasingly access private services, fueling a growing need for OOP healthcare spend.

This problem is compounded by the lack of financial inclusion, with only about 11 percent of Mexicans having access to a credit card to help with medical emergencies, essential or elective care, per the World Bank. Given the prevalence of the informal sector in the economy, which some estimates peg at over 60 percent, financial inclusion in Mexico stands at only 36.9 percent of the population  which is more than 20 bps (basis points) below other countries with comparable levels of GDP per capita, per the Center for Global Development.

Importantly, in addition to providing a pathway to essential care, Medsi provides users with the ability to cover skip-the-line procedures, which are not prioritized by the public-healthcare system, and elective procedures, typically not covered by health insurance in Mexico. Medical specialties covered by Medsi include maternity & OBGYN (one of most popular specialties amongst its patients), orthopedics, ophthalmology, dentistry, dermatology, and aesthetic or cosmetic procedures.

Mexicans have a deep distrust of traditional financial institutions that dont work for everyday people  and that includes insurance companies that have been prone to not paying for necessary care when customers need it, said Jose "Pepe" Cabrera, Medsi COO and co-founder who has extensive experience in private equity and investment banking.

Another pitfall Mexicans face is a lack of information on which providers to engage with in Mexico. Private healthcare is fragmented, the quality is unpredictable, and the total potential cost of a procedure is not transparent from the outset. To overcome these and other challenges, Medsis 24/7 Medical Concierge services support patients throughout their entire healthcare journey by providing expert advice and hand-holding customers to ensure they get quality care.

We began with a core focus on financing solutions, but quickly learned that there are numerous obstacles and structural issues that hinder access to necessary healthcare services in Mexico, said Pablo Munoz de Cote, Medsi Executive Chairman and co-founder who is a serial entrepreneur and investor based in Mexico. Our bigger vision that were executing against this year is to establish Medsi as the first super app that is a healthcare marketplace and community hub to connect and improve transparency between patients and doctors, automate processes, and remove inefficiencies by combining technology with a human touch.

ABOUT MEDSI

Headquartered in Mexico City with a U.S. presence in Miami, Florida, Medsi is committed to making healthcare services accessible and affordable to everyone through a combination of technology and human touch. With its online healthcare marketplace accessible online and via its mobile app, Medsi aims to solve the connectivity between patients and doctors, remove inefficiencies and information barriers, and provide loans and savings-to-credit solutions for healthcare services and aesthetic procedures that let patients spread out the cost of medical treatments over time. For more information, visit: https://www.medsi.mx/

###

MEDIA CONTACT:

Chris Knight

U.S. PR director for Medsi

Based in San Francisco, CA

415-786-9226 c. (on WhatsApp)

chris@divinogroup.net
Edify Labs (edify.cx), the customer experience software company that makes business communications feel more like personal ones, announced that San Diego Humane Society (SDHS), a private, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a more humane world for pets and wild animals, has selected Edify as its new contact center and unified communications software provider.

Since implementing Edify, SDHS has been able to add new communication channels, improve routing and reduce dropped calls, streamline agent training, and gain new insights from robust reporting and analytics. It also launched a proactive text messaging program called Lost2Found to help people quickly reunite with lost pets. Lost2Found is designed to get the most important information to pet parents early in the process of searching for a lost pet and before they need to call in to the Resource Center. Using Edify, Lost2Found texts tips and information at strategic intervals to support owners and provide resources as they search for their lost pets. The public can text LOST to 858-SAN-LOST to get started.

We chose Edify because its so user friendly  the interface is simple and we can make changes ourselves and just refresh the browser without having to rely on our IT department, said Jane Elliot-Hughes, Sr. Director of Support Services, San Diego Humane Society. Having everything in one place makes our job easier; we communicate better with each other and the community, and seeing all of our team members in one dashboard is so convenient especially since we have some team members working remote.

San Diego Humane Societys work has solidified the city of San Diego as the largest in the U.S. to keep healthy and treatable shelter animals from being euthanized. The organization relies heavily on its Resource Center and Humane Law Enforcement Dispatch teams, which operate both on premise and virtually 7 days a week. Agents receive upwards of 700 calls a day regarding animal emergencies, adoption services, foster and volunteer opportunities, veterinary resources, wildlife questions, and various other services the organization provides to animal lovers across San Diego County.

We are big animal lovers, so to help one of the countrys most respected animal shelters manage its contacts with the community and internal communications more efficiently  so more animals can find loving, safe homes  is a true privilege, said Tony Lama, CRO, Edify. We are excited to give SDHS agents and employees the tools they need to do their jobs more easily and make as big of an impact on the animals in San Diego as possible.

Edify unites contact center (CCaaS), unified communications (UCaaS), and real-time communications (CPaaS/API) functionality in a single no-code, cloud-native software solution that lets users move seamlessly among channels within one conversation. This gives agents the ultimate flexibility to serve customers faster and more completely from within a single window.

About San Diego Humane Society

San Diego Humane Societys scope of social responsibility goes beyond adopting animals. We offer programs that strengthen the human-animal bond, prevent cruelty and neglect, provide medical care, educate the community and serve as a safety net for all pet families. Serving San Diego County since 1880, San Diego Humane Society has campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego. For more information, please visit sdhumane.org. Follow the SDHS Media Relations department on Twitter @sdhumane.

About Edify Labs, Inc.

Edify connects businesses with customers and employees with each other, making business communications as easy as personal ones. Its flagship product, Edify CX, unites contact center (CCaaS), unified communications (UCaaS), and real-time communications platform (CPaaS/API) functionality in a no-code cloud-native solution that lets users move seamlessly among channels within one conversation, just as we do on our phones. Edify removes all the risk once associated with moving to the cloud by delivering global availability, real-time redundancy, no-waste pricing, and a 100% SLA uptime guarantee. Edify is a Google Chrome Enterprise Recommended partner for the contact center. Learn more at edify.cx.
Agriculture Intelligence's Agroview to Aid USDA Rapid Response Assessment Agroview is the an industry-leading agricultural AI platform. This study is a critical step toward responding to acute weather events such as Hurricane Ian. And, we are proud to be collaborating with the University of Florida to make it a reality", said Matt Donovan, CEO of Agriculture Intelligence.

Agriculture Intelligence, in partnership with the University of Florida, is pleased to announce its participation in the USDA's approval of the Rapid Response Assessment proposal.

This study will use Agriculture Intelligences flagship product, Agroview, to provide leading-edge technologies and data analysis to quickly assess the impacts of extreme weather events on agricultural production.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the USDA issued an urgent request. It sought a means to assess the storm impact using advanced remote sensing and deep-learning technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). The goal of the USDA request was to provide timely, accurate information to growers and agricultural organizations, enabling them to make informed decisions and minimize losses.

As the leader in the application of deep learning technologies to agriculture, Agriculture Intelligence is at the forefront of this important research. In collaboration with the University of Florida, the team will provide the technical expertise, data collection, and data analysis necessary to conduct the Rapid Response Assessment.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this important project," said Agriculture Intelligence CEO Matthew Donovan. "At Agriculture Intelligence, we already provide growers and agricultural stakeholders with the precision tools they need to improve the quality and quantity of growing fields. This study is a critical step toward responding to acute weather events such as Hurricane Ian. And, we are proud to be collaborating with the University of Florida to make it a reality."

Agriculture Intelligence and UF will begin implementing the Rapid Response Assessment proposal in February with results expected to be available in the near year. Agriculture Intelligence and UF are committed to providing the agricultural community with the vital information it needs to navigate the challenges of extreme weather events.

About Agriculture Intelligence, Inc

Agriculture Intelligence (http://www.agintel.ai) is in Gainesville, Florida. Our mission is to identify and bring to market the most advanced, proven precision agricultural solutions that leverage big data, machine vision, automation, and artificial intelligence. Precision growth, powered by AI. Agriculture Intelligence is the global distributor of the Agroview AI platform (http://www.agroview.ai).
"This collaboration with Mayo Clinic will provide key insights for the use of our proprietary Lab-on-Skin sensing platform for critical care in the hospital and at home." - Esmeralda Megally, CEO & Co-Founder of Xsensio.

Xsensio, a Swiss company that is developing the Lab-on-Skin sensing platform, announced today that it has entered into a know-how and stock purchase agreement with Mayo Clinic for the development of new wearable products based on short term health dynamics in critical care.

Xsensio will work closely with Mayo Clinic subject matter experts who will provide clinical and product development expertise to Xsensio around the use of its proprietary health monitoring technology for critical care. The intent is to further accelerate innovation in the development of next-generation wearable solutions that provide continuous, real-time, on-body monitoring of biochemical data, with the goal of enhancing personalized early detection of rapidly evolving acute events, improving rapid clinical workflow, and enabling remote patient monitoring.

"This collaboration will provide key insights for the use of our proprietary Lab-on-Skin sensing platform for critical care in the hospital and at home. We are very excited to establish a collaboration with Mayo Clinic," said Esmeralda Megally, CEO and Co-Founder of Xsensio.

Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this press release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education, and research.

About Xsensio S.A.

Xsensio is an innovation-driven digital health company dedicated to solving one of the biggest challenges in healthcare: the lack of real-time, continuous monitoring of relevant health parameters.

To achieve this vision and ultimately improve patient outcome, Xsensio is building the breakthrough minimally invasive Lab-on-Skin wearable platform based on a wearable technology capable of offering unique health insight through the continuous and real-time multi-modal analysis of biochemical data.
Superior Felt & Filtration Bacteria Filter As a plastic injection molder, Superior Felt & Filtration now provides end-to-end services from product ideation to production of finished goods in the following MedTech filtering areas: C02, insufflation, suction, vacuum, sample line, heat moisture exchange (HME), syringe and smoke evacuation.

Superior Felt & Filtration (SF&F), a contract manufacturing leader in medical nonwovens including lifesaving filtration technology, announces the opening of U.S. plastic injection molding (PIM) operations supported by its North American team of experienced PIM engineers.

As the contract manufacturer of choice in medical filtration, customer requests drove our expansion into plastic injection molding (PIM), states Dennis Cook, SF&F President. With our PIM capabilities, SF&F now provides end-to-end services from product ideation to production of finished goods in the following MedTech areas: C02 filtering, insufflation filters, suction filters, vacuum filters, sample line filters, heat moisture exchange (HME) filters, syringe filters and smoke evacuation filters, he adds.

SF&Fs expertise in medical filtration, including liquid and air, is unparalleled. The company stocks micron and CFM rated felts and is the exclusive North American distributor and convertor of Technostat, high efficiency filter media used in medical air applications, and Trupor, a revolutionary FDA grade membrane media used in critical micron and submicron applications. Combined with the companys expert engineers, world-class customer service and just-in-time shipments, SF&F can incorporate these technical medias into finished plastic injected parts and finished components.

About Superior Felt & Filtration

Superior Felt & Filtration is a global leader in technical nonwovens including lifesaving filtration technology. Stocking one of North Americas largest inventories of US manufactured technical nonwovens and filtration media, Superior Felt & Filtration provides onshore solutions for medical and other industries. Complimenting a vast selection of in stock textiles, Superior also offers value-added contract manufacturing featuring: adhesive coating, slitting, die cutting, ultra-sonic lamination, pleating, private labeling, 3D printing, and now plastic injection molding. Learn more at https://www.superiorfelt.com/markets-served/medical-nonwovens-filters/
MedTech Color (MTC)the nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the representation of persons of color in the Medtech industryannounced the 2023 Pitch Competition finalists.

The 2023 chosen entries for pitch day came from a pool of almost 100 nationwide applicants, who presented innovative ideas and technologies aiming to solve problems that can facilitate better outcomes for minority patients and underrepresented communities.

MTCs Annual Pitch Competition provides African-American and Hispanic founders with a unique opportunity to showcase seed-stage innovations in wearable devices, diagnostics, digital health and other areas of interest in the industry. This years goal was to attract entrepreneurs raising equity in the amount of $250K to $3M.

To qualify, a company must be managed and controlled by African-American or Hispanic individuals. Applicants are expected to have prototypes or proof of concept evidence and development to compete at this level and benefit from the initiatives numerous prizes.

The MedTech Color 2023 Pitch Competition top ten finalists are:



BIOMED

A subscription-based Healthcare platform that uses 3D Bioprinting, A.I./Machine Learning, Big Data, and a patient's DNA to improve patient healthcare outcomes.

Youme Healthcare Inc.

A personalized, comprehensive, and inclusive Telehealth and Psychiatry treatment company for low-income youth.

Thermaband

A Health-Tech company that provides thermal comfort through a temperature regulating bracelet and connected companion app with digital menopausal-related health insights.

Oben Health

A cardiovascular digital application that helps health plans and providers engage low-income Black and Brown patients to treat and reverse chronic heart diseases.

Navigate Maternity Inc

Navigate Maternity allows clinicians and care teams to remotely monitor prenatal and postpartum patients using real-time data to improve outcomes and avoid inequitable care.

MOVEMENT INTERACTIVE, INC.

A life-saving platform for athletes and senior citizens addressing undiagnosed concussions and unreported falls. Currently leveraged across three verticals.

Kiira Health Inc

A virtual first, hybrid Healthcare solution for women of color that provides access to culture-centered, evidence-based care for primary care, gynecology, and mental health.

illumifyDx, inc.

illumifyDx develops tests to analyze biofluids for early cancer detection focusing on cancers for which there are no biomarkers.

JuneBrain Inc.

A Telehealth eye-scanning system in development to remotely detect and monitor neurological and eye diseases for individuals suffering from these conditions.

Tanzen Medical, Inc.

Created RestEaze, an FDA breakthrough wearable device to aid in the diagnosis and treatment management of sleep movement disorders in adults and children.

Now in its third year, the MedTech Colors Pitch Competition is recognized as an industry platform that brings together innovation and diversity. It presents African-American and Hispanic entrepreneurs with a stage to showcase and promote new technologies and solutions.

"MedTech Colors Annual Pitch Competition is an imperative in our industry. Its a platform to propel African-American and Hispanic founders with business opportunities and access to expert networks in a diverse and equitable space. They can compete for much-needed funding said Kwame Ulmer, MedTech Colors Founder and Executive Director.

Industry support for the competition has also grown exponentially. The 2023 program managed to involve more market leaders, joining the ranks of companies like Olympusthe Kick Off Accelerator sponsorResmed, Johnson & Johnson Medtech, the National Institute of Health, MedTech Impact Partners, Medmarc, the Larta Institute, California Life Sciences, MedTech Innovator and Wilson Sonsini. Regional and national partners from the private and public sectors have also offered in-kind, high-value prizes for all the applicants, finalists, and the top winners; including but not limited to mentorship and networking opportunities, as well as further access to other programs that will allow diverse talent to bring their products and services to market.

From February 1st, the top 10 MedTech Color Pitch Competition finalists will participate in a month-long bootcamp to strengthen the skills that can further prepare them for the industry and common challenges along the way; also, to equitably grow their businesses, brands, and leadership network within Medtech and beyond.

The MedTech Color Pitch Competition event will take place on March 3rd, 2023 at BiocienceLA in Culver City, CA. Sponsors, industry partners, VCs, students, MedTech Colors professional members, previous Pitch Competition participants, and members of MTCs Collaborative Community will also attend in support of the organization's mission: diversifying Medtech.

About MedTech Color:

MedTech Color is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aiming to advance the representation of persons of color in the medical device industry; a destination and resource for professional development, thought leadership, and strategies to increase the number of underrepresented executives who enter, stay, and contribute to the industry. For more information, please visit: https://medtechcolor.org
CENTURY 21 Blue Marlin Pelican expands Management along with Company Growth "Talented and experienced professionals such as Sandy Early are crucial to our overall success. We are extremely excited to have her on the team."

Jerry Sullivan, Broker and PJ Louis, General Manager of CENTURY 21 Blue Marlin Pelican recently announced Sandy Early as the real estate companys new Regional Sales Manager at their 2023 Company-wide Kickoff Meeting in Destin, Florida. Early, formerly of Coldwell Banker will be based in Niceville covering Destin, Crestview, Okaloosa Island and DeFuniak Springs, brings tremendous knowledge and leaderships to the team.

With over 24 years in the industry, Early has been named 2014 Manager of the Year for Northwest Florida for her previous brokerage and 2022 Best Broker on the Emerald Coast. Earlys passion is helping agents reach their goals through top-notched training and collaboration.

"Sandy is a welcomed addition to the management team at CENTURY 21 Blue Marlin Pelican," said Sullivan. "CENTURY 21 AllPoints Realty covering all of Connecticut and CENTURY Blue Marlin Pelican covering Northwest Florida recently announced a strategic partnership that marks a major expansion for both family-owned, real estate brokerage powerhouses. This partnership allows both companies to join forces and leverage each others strengths in order to provide our agent base and clients with the best tools and service. Talented and experienced professionals such as Sandy are crucial to our overall success. We are extremely excited to have her on the team."

Being a former business owner, I respect each of our agents as a true entrepreneur. My goal is to help each agent reach their full potential with the great support that our support staff provides them, stated Early.

About CENTURY 21 Blue Marlin Pelican and CENTURY 21 AllPoints Realty

They are an independently owned and operated franchise affiliates of CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC (century21.com), franchisor of the iconic CENTURY 21 brand. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is comprised of approximately 12,600 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 83 countries and territories worldwide with more than 147,000 independent sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are pelicanproperty.com, cthomeseekers.com, century21.com, century21Global.com, commercial.century21.com, century21.com/finehomes, and century21espanol.com.

2023 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21 are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.
As part of Wendy Picketts new role, five new California distributors were brought on to meet the Golden States high-consumption, high-demand non-alcoholic beer market. I could not be more energized to be working with our incredible team of founding friends, brewery partners, brand ambassadors and avid RationAle Brewing consumers, across the country shares Wendy Pickett, RationAle Brewing Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Sales.

RationAle Brewing, the San Diego-born, Sonoma-brewed non-alcoholic craft beer brand, has solidified its presence and furthered its sales-support strategy on the West Coast, with the announcement of its new distributor partnerships across California and the appointment of Co-Founder Wendy Pickett as Executive Vice President of Sales.

Over the past 18 months, Wendy has been my advisor, partner and calm throughout the most-exhilarating and most-turbulent moments Ive experienced in building RationAle, as my co-founder, while also tending to her own career on a day-to-day basis, said Jamie Fay, Co-Founder and CEO of RationAle Brewing. Her entrepreneurial drive, high energy and contagious passion is exactly what our team needs in this next stage of rapid growth, so it was only a matter of time before she joined us full-time, and I couldnt be more excited to watch her crush it in this new role.

Pickett has had an instrumental role in building RationAle Brewing since its launch in late 2021, bringing extensive CPG sales and leadership experience, rooted in a customer-centric approach with her retailer partnerships, which will follow her into this new role in the beer category. As part of her new EVP Sales role, Pickett will be focusing on retail chain accounts, in-store execution and building best-in-class distributor partnerships for the brand across all existing markets as well as nationwide.

I could not be more energized to be working with our incredible team of founding friends, brewery partners, brand ambassadors and avid RationAle Brewing consumers, across the country shares Pickett. Its an honor and privilege to be able to formally join as head of sales, working with some of the best retailers and distributors in the country to challenge societys perception of non-alcoholic beer, and make moderation the easy  and desired  choice, for all.

As part of California-based Picketts new role, Mussetter Distributing, Eagle Distributing Co. and Morris Distributing, in Northern California; Delta Pacific Beverage Company, Inc., in Central California, and Guardian Distributors, in Southern California were brought on board in December 2022 to meet the Golden States high-consumption, high-demand non-alcoholic beer market.

Now available in more than 800 outlets across the West Coast, RationAle has seen 645% YoY Growth and is the #1 Fastest-Growing Premium Brand in Non-Alcoholic Beer in MULO.

RationAle Brewings expanded presence in California follows its partnerships with Bigfoot Beverages and Maletis Beverage in Oregon, Karl Strauss Brewing Company in Southern California, and Breakthru Beverage Group to support in Colorado, as well as the appointment of Debbie Novograd, former Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO of BevZero and Director of Marketing for Starbucks, as a Strategic Advisor.

In addition to brand growth news, RationAle Brewing also launched a Wet January campaign to encourage moderation and mindful drinking habits, this past month.

Since its launch just over a year ago, RationAle Brewing has added variety, flavor and innovation to the fast-growing U.S. non-alcohol beer category, providing brew-loving consumers with delicious options to enjoy craft beer in moderation. All of RationAle Brewings completely-crushable, non-alcoholic craft brews are made in small batches with high-quality ingredients, maintaining the bold, refreshing taste of traditional craft beer.

RationAleBrewings Brews without the Booze, available nationwide via RationAleBrewing.com, continue to carve out desirable beer fridge real estate in strategic retail and on-premise partners, throughout California, Colorado, Oregon and Nevada, including Whole Foods Market, Total Wines, BevMo!, Nugget Market and Erewhon Market.

The brands full lineup, including Citrus Hazy IPA, West Coast IPA, Mexican Lager and New England IPA, are sold in six-packs of 12 oz. cans (at $16/six-pack online and varying SRPs in-store).

To learn more and shop for RationAle Brewing, visit http://www.rationalebrewing.com.

About RationAle Brewing:

RationAle Brewing offers an innovative variety of small-batch, non-alcoholic craft beers for those seeking to embrace moderation while drinking consciously and living boldly. Founded in 2021 by Jamie Fay and officially launching into the non-alcohol craft beer category in early 2022, RationAle Brewing is rooted in embracing moderation without sacrifice, quickly establishing itself as the official beer of moderation. RationAles four brews without booze are produced using a proprietary distillation technology to gently remove alcohol from the brewed beer, with minimal effects on its integrity and overall quality.

The brands full lineup, including Citrus Hazy IPA, West Coast IPA, Mexican Lager and New England IPA, are sold in six-packs of 12 oz. cans (at $16/six-pack online and varying SRPs in-store) are available online at http://www.rationalebrewing.com, shipping nationwide, in addition to retail and on-premise locations throughout California, Colorado, Oregon and Nevada.
Conversation Couture, the industrys first virtual retail sales certification program, today announced a partnership with Vee24, the leader in person-to-person digital customer experience solutions, to make online sales feel more personal by bringing together education and technology.

Together with Conversation Couture, were excited to offer brands more communication channels and better prepare their associates to shift from in-store to online selling and customer service, says Vee24 CEO, Tomer Azenkot. By offering powerful tools to deliver better customer service, we can help companies build brand loyalty and to redefine e-commerce experiences.

Vee24 works with some of the world's most customer-centric brands to offer immersive online customer engagements and seamlessly connect their virtual and in-person customer experience. Exceptional digital customer experiences are created using high-definition video chat, text chat, AI-enabled chatbots, co-browsing, screen sharing, online appointment setting, asynchronous chat, and more.

By pairing Vee24s technology with our industry-first virtual retail sales certification program, luxury retailers can ensure the personalized brand experience their customers expect stays consistent in the eCommerce space, says Olivia Steele, Conversation Couture president, and CEO. Were not only helping customers make the transition to online sales more seamless, were helping them increase revenue in the process.

Conversation Couture was created to fill a gap in education as a larger percentage of retail sales move online. By upscaling their sales individuals, retailers can see upwards of 30% sales increase month-over-month. Conversation Coutures mission is to get as many retail sales specialists trained and certified as possible, together with the support of retailers and technology partners. To learn more, visit https://conversationcouture.com.

About Vee24

Vee24 helps leading brands deliver great person-to-person customer experiences that accelerate their digital business. Vee24s digital customer experience platform  powered by high-definition video chat, text chat, AI-enabled chatbots, co-browsing, screen sharing, online appointment setting, and more  enables customer-centric teams to grow online sales, deliver better customer service, and build brand loyalty. Brands can seamlessly connect their virtual and in-person experience using this omnichannel customer engagement platform. Vee24 is headquartered in Boston, MA with European headquarters in Macclesfield, England. Vee24 customers include leading industry brands in the retail, automotive, and financial services sectors.

About Conversation Couture

Conversation Couture offers the only certification training programs in virtual experiences and chat box communications for luxury retail sales associates and their managers to learn how to drive sales in a virtual environment. Moving from brick-and-mortar to an eCommerce space in the luxury brand market can be challenging, particularly with maintaining the customer relationship and brand consistency. Conversation Couture customers are able to drive more sales within a virtual shopping experience while maintaining company and brand goals when engaging with a customer, making the transition seamless from an in-store experience to online.
Kittens born to a feral cat The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats.

Alley Cat Rescues 12th annual Feral Fix Challenge drew to a close on December 31, 2022. The Challenge is a global event that invites veterinarians to get involved with trap-neuter-return (TNR) by providing low-cost or free spay/neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations for free-roaming cats. The goal of the Challenge is to save feral cats from shelter euthanasia, starvation, and disease by humane population management.

The 2022 Challenge saw participation from veterinarians and clinics across 25 U.S. states as well as Greece, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, who together sterilized around 51,000 community cats. In past years, vets from a total of all 50 U.S. states, Antigua, Canada, Croatia, Israel, India, Japan, Nicaragua, and England have also taken part in the Challenge. The grand total of cats spayed or neutered as a result of the yearly Challenge is over 230,000.

Alley Cat Rescue founder and president, Louise Holton, explains the significance of this campaign: The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats. This process is the only way to reduce the population of outdoor cats; killing them, bedsides being inhumane, simply does not work as studies show new cats will enter vacated areas and breed until the number of cats there is back to the same level as before or even higher.

The 2023 round of the Feral Fix Challenge is already underway. Veterinarians everywhere are encouraged to join by pledging to provide free or low-cost spay/neuter services to as many free-roaming cats as is feasible for their individual practices via the link http://www.saveacat.org/the-feral-fix.html. Non-veterinary Individuals can get involved by Emailing debbie@saveacat.org to request an invitation be sent to their vet, or for a sample invitation if they prefer to invite their vet personally.

Alley Cat Rescue is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of all cats: domestic, stray, abandoned, and feral. ACR advocates for humane nonlethal control of feral cats. For more information, visit their website http://www.saveacat.org.
ARCH Cutting Tools Corporation announced the acquisition of Custom Carbide Cutter, Inc., a company located in Cincinnati that provides high-quality cutting tools to manufacturers and distributors. We are excited to offer these additional domestic manufacturing capabilities to the growing ARCH customer base, especially the micro tool application expertise, as this is a rapidly expanding segment of the industry."

ARCH Cutting Tools Corporation announced the acquisition of Custom Carbide Cutter, Inc. (CCCI), a company located in Cincinnati that provides high-quality cutting tools to manufacturers and distributors. The new acquisition will join ARCH Cutting Tools, an industry leader in high-performance custom tooling.

ARCH Cutting Tools is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and serves the medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, agriculture, and general industrial markets. As a mid-sized, full service cutting tool manufacturer, ARCH has facilities across the United States, and is dedicated to engineering high-performance standard and custom tooling.

"I am proud to announce the addition of Custom Carbide Cutter to the ARCH Cutting Tools Team, said Jeff Cederstrom, Divisional President of ARCH Cutting Tools. "Custom Carbide's experience in specialty carbide micro tools and high-performance burs, sets them apart in the industry and compliments the ARCH offering.

We are excited to offer these additional domestic manufacturing capabilities to the growing ARCH customer base, especially the micro tool application expertise, as this is a rapidly expanding segment of the industry. Steve and Dena Long have assembled a talented team, and we look forward to building on Custom Carbides longstanding customer relationships with additional products and services, added Cederstrom.

CCCI was established in 1983 to provide high-quality cutting tools for local companies in the Cincinnati area but now services customers around the world. They specialize in serving the automotive and aerospace industries along with shipyards and medical facilities. CCCI is known for using the latest in state-of-the-art technology and for their decades of experience.

The acquisition by ARCH Cutting Tools will help us keep pace with this ever-changing industry, said Steve Long, President of CCCI. It will give us access to additional support and guidance for our highly-skilled employees and help us continue developing our manufacturing processes.

Dena Long, Vice President of Operations at CCCI added, We hope to become part of a bigger family, and to give our employees access to additional resources that will help them excel.

About ARCH Cutting Tools

ARCH Cutting Tools Corp., an ARCH Global Holdings LLC Company (ARCH) based in metro Detroit, is recognized as a world leader in high-performance solid round and indexable cutting tools. With manufacturing facilities located throughout the United States, the companys engineering and machining facilities are dedicated to the betterment of precision machined parts, products, tools, and related supply chain processes. ARCH Cutting Tools combines the expertise of leading American manufacturing professionals and expanding technologies to serve the medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, agriculture, and general industrial markets. ARCHcuttingtools.com
579 Garson Road is located on the north side of Peachtree Creek, pictured to the right. Photo by Erin Sintos. The development of our Garson Drive site presents a unique opportunity to bring housing units that will be affordable for a mix of incomes and represents our goals to tackle overall affordability and open economic development to all. - Clyde Higgs, President and CEO, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.

Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of a 2.68-acre site at 579 Garson Drive, a unique opportunity for development in Buckhead located on the future Atlanta BeltLine Northeast Trail.

The BeltLine is seeking a developer for the site that will share its vision for affordable housing and economic development goals. A key element to the RFP will be the development of a mixed-income, multi-family development. Located at the intersection of Garson Drive and Piedmont Road near the Lindbergh MARTA station and Lindbergh City Center, the site is situated on the banks of Peachtree Creek with direct water access and picturesque views. In addition to the BeltLines Northeast Trail, the site is near the growing regional trail network of PATH400, South Fork Confluence Trail and the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

The development of our Garson Drive site presents a unique opportunity to bring housing units that will be affordable for a mix of incomes to Buckhead, said Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. The site represents the intersection of our goals to tackle overall affordability in Atlanta BeltLine neighborhoods and open economic development to all.

The BeltLine purchased the Garson site from Wells Fargo with the aim to create more affordable housing along the BeltLines Northeast Trail. The BeltLines Housing Policy and Development department is working with partners such as Invest Atlanta, the City of Atlanta, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to create or preserve 5,600 units of affordable housing within the BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD). Currently the BeltLine has met 56 percent of that goal. Since 2006, the BeltLine has assisted in the creation or preservation of 3,148 units of affordable housing within the BeltLine TAD.

Strategic land acquisitions by the Atlanta BeltLine, such as the 579 Garson Drive site, are vitally important to ensuring equitable development is occurring in BeltLine neighborhoods added Dennis Richards, the Beltlines Vice President of Housing Policy and Development. This development opportunity has the potential offer its future residents affordable and market rate housing as well as access to transit, green space, an expansive regional trail network, and nearby job opportunities.

Proposals for the redevelopment are due May 1, 2023 at 3 p.m. The RFP and all supporting documentation can be viewed here. More information can be found here about the Garson Drive site.

Developers interested in learning more about this opportunity are encouraged to do the following:


First published in 2020, Random Constructive Writings (published by Xlibris AU), from Corinne Phillips is a compendium of eclectic poetry reflecting her observations and thoughts about different things.

The collection of poems is unusual, unexpected content. They are odd and different  you never know what youre going to get with my writing, Phillips states. My poems are good fun and people have told me they are funny and hilarious. My writing is unique and when you turn one page to the next you get excited thinking I wonder what the next poem is. I dont have a particular subject I write about, I write about all subjects and random topics.

Random Constructive Writings contains poems that are simple and easy to understand. A poem from this book titled People Are Nice reads:

People are nice and they are kind, Searching for true love to find, We are all looking for the same thing, Would you agree? Or maybe this world is crazy, Or maybe its me.

When asked what she wants readers to take away from his book, Phillips says, Hope and a good time or laugh. Visit https://www.xlibris.com/en-au/bookstore/bookdetails/815925-random-constructive-writings to purchase a copy.

Random Constructive Writings

By Corinne Phillips

Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 138 pages | ISBN 9781984506849

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 138 pages | ISBN 9781984506832

E-Book | 138 pages | ISBN 9781984506825

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Corinne Phillips is a writer, author and poet extraordinaire. She is Australian born and bred. Her unique and quirky writing can be seen within the pages of Random Constructive Writings. Visit Corinnephillipsbook.com for more details about her works.

Xlibris Publishing Australia, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider dedicated to serving Australian authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles. For more information, visit xlibrispublishing.com.au or call 1-800-844-927 to receive a free publishing guide.
Baibai Kamara, a refugee who fled Sierra Leone who recently completed and defended his PhD dissertation at Morgan State University, has completed his new book I Just Asked for Assistance: How I Was Profiled by Prince William County, Virginia Social Services, and It Almost Ruined My Life. My Journey to Regain It.: a captivating true story detailing the criminal profiling that nearly derailed the authors life and his pursuit for higher education.

As I look back, the past few years have been an eye-opener for me, writes Kamara. What I went through is something I would not even wish upon my worst of enemies. As terrifying the past three years were, theyve made me stronger and bolder. Theyve made me realize my purpose in life. Theyve made me realize I have a voicea voice I can use to bring justice to myself and to others like me and to make sure nothing like this ever happens again to anyone.

It all started in the fall of 2016. I was peacefully continuing my education in the Prince William County when the Department of Social Services began falsely investigating me for welfare fraud. Of course, I vehemently denied every charge. I was an innocent man, and I still am an innocent man. However, Jennifer Yowell, the investigator working at the Department, took the case up with the police. Since then, the police continued to harass me, an innocent Black man who was solely being judged for the color of his skin. They had no proof that I was involved in the charges they had put up against me, but of course, they couldnt look past their racial bias, to them I was guilty the moment they saw the color of my skin. They charged me once but had no proof so had no other option but to drop all charges, but days later, they charged me again. And this time, the prosecutor further took my case up toward a grand jury, a bunch of white folks, who would fall for whatever convincing lies the prosecutor fed them. They ruled the judgment against me, and what followed was three year of living hell.

I remember facing many moments of defeat, but I continued to rise. I didnt step back. I didnt give up. Sitting in those courtrooms, I realized my purpose in life. I realized these people wont set me free without a fight, and why would they? Im a Black man. I was guilty the moment I came out of my mothers womb. Every day was a struggle. Every day was a battle, and now its my turn to raise my voice. Its my turn to let the world know what I went through and how the three peoplethe investigator, the police, and the prosecutorwronged me for false charges and tried to take away everything I had ever achieved.

Published by Page Publishing, Baibai Kamaras thrilling story reveals the dangerous greed that pervades humanity and the ways in which government officials constantly abuse their power. Despite his struggles and the obstacles that he was forced to overcome, Kamara reveals the few good souls who stood for his defense, standing up to the corruption to save an innocent man from persecution.

Readers who wish to experience this mesmerizing work can purchase I Just Asked for Assistance: How I Was Profiled by Prince William County, Virginia Social Services, and It Almost Ruined My Life. My Journey to Regain It. at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Jo Ann Taylor, a professional watercolorist and business owner who has traveled extensively by motorhome throughout the United States with her husband Lyndon, has completed her new book The Missing Couple: A Carl Barnes Mystery: a gripping and intricate mystery that centers around a traveling blogging couple and that only Detective Barnes can get to the bottom of.

A young loving couple sets out to make their mark in life through a blog enterprise, while at the same time finding adventure as they tour historical sites and national points of interest in their recreational vehicle, writes Taylor. Ride with them as their once happy relationship sours and mistrust, deceit, and jealousy dominates their lives and leads to murder. Trace the steps of this tragic situation and the ultimate resolution in the wilds of the Grand Canyon.

Detective Carl Barnes is once again called upon to lend his expertise to unravel this heartrending and complicated mystery.

Published by Page Publishing, Jo Ann Taylors thrilling tale will captivate readers as they follow along on Detective Barness search for the truth, and a satisfying solution to a stunning case. Expertly paced and full of suspense, Taylor weaves an intricate plot that is sure to delight readers and leave them on the edge of their seats, eager for the next clue.

Readers who wish to experience this riveting work can purchase The Missing Couple: A Carl Barnes Mystery at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
"Given the current talent shortage, we believe that such critical research will help ensure that no talent is left behind in the year ahead.

Ceipal, the industry-leading AI-powered talent acquisition platform, released an industry report today, outlining the hottest jobs and skills in IT & Engineering for the start of 2023. According to the 2022 edition of Ceipals Industry Report, entitled The Most In-demand Job Skills in IT & Engineering: Addressing the Tech Skills Shortage, Software Engineer positions account for 40 percent of job postings listed on the top 20 most in-demand jobs. Meanwhile, Java topped the list for most in-demand job skills posted.

As the leading AI-powered talent acquisition solutions provider, we have access to data from more than 60,000 recruiters worldwide, which were able to anonymize and study, said Ceipal Founder and CEO Sameer Penakalapati. Its important for us to share the resulting industry insights with our customers, our peers in the staffing world, and the talent community at large. Given the current talent shortage, we believe that such critical research will help ensure that no talent is left behind in the year ahead.

The report was based on more than 85,000 job listings that were posted via Ceipals ATS for the contingent IT & Engineering workforce. The report also revealed the highest paying jobs as well as the highest paying states within the sector. According to the authors of the report, contingent workers are typically the first hired during economic upticks and the first to be eliminated in downturns. As such, contingent hiring trends represent a leading economic indicator.

Other key finds in the report include:



Cloud Engineer is the highest paying job title ($161,202/year), followed by IT Security ($154,054/year), Application Developer ($153,899/year), and Scrum Master ($151,017/year)

The top 20 most In-demand jobs represent 83% of all job postings.

While Software Engineer topped the list of in-demand jobs, it only ranked as the 12th top-paying job ($140,122/year)

The Top 20 Skills listed represent only 35 percent of all desired skills with Java, Net, UI, and Devops Skills topping the list

New York ($151,905/year), Washington ($148,081/year), and Massachusetts ($146,183/year) topped the list of highest-paying states.

For more information and to read the complete industry report, please visit https://www.ceipal.com/industry-report-q4-2022/.

Methodology

In the fall of 2022, Ceipal partnered with customers to conduct a study of IT and Engineering jobs they posted. These staffing organizations provided Ceipal access to more than 85,000 anonymous job postings, which included titles, desired skills, locations, and salaries. This data was collected and analyzed with the aim of providing accurate information on market trends in the IT and Engineering industries for staffing firms, employers, and job seekers alike. Ceipal will continue updating these findings to provide up-to-date information as the market evolves.

About Ceipal

Ceipal is an AI-powered SaaS platform that provides full-lifecycle management of the talent acquisition process. Our system leverages advanced technology to analyze vast amounts of candidate and employee data, providing actionable insights for meeting hiring goals and executing talent strategies. With robust solutions for pipeline curation, candidate engagement & marketing, applicant tracking, and workforce management, Ceipal helps staffing firms, MSPs, and corporate hiring teams of all sizes to attract and retain the best available talent. Ceipal was founded in 2015 and served 2,000+ customers and 120,000 recruiters globally.
Certiport partners with Cisco on new certification program Our partnership with Cisco is a wonderful opportunity to deliver credentials that will help learners be more productive in their careers. said Craig Bushman, General Manager of Certiport, a Pearson VUE Business.

Certiport (http://www.certiport.com), a Pearson VUE business and the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams designed to accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners, announced today their newest certification program, Cisco Certified Support Technician. Certiport is launching this program in collaboration with Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking technology that powers the Internet with one of the most respected certification programs in the IT industry.

Certiport is dedicated to helping people succeed through certification, and the new Cisco Certified Support Technician certification exams establish a work-ready foundation for candidates looking for a career in technology. The Cisco Certified Support Technician program will include two certifications: CCST Networking and CCST Cybersecurity. Both the Networking and Cybersecurity certification exams will be 50-minute exams with approximately 45 questions that validate job qualifications in these fields.

We are thrilled to partner with Cisco in the development and delivery of the new CCST certifications, said Jeffrey Lewis, VP of Product Development at Certiport. These exams are an excellent addition to the resources weve made available and will also support Ciscos Networking Academy educators and students. Were excited to offer certifications focused on the networking and cybersecurity skills so highly demanded by workforce.

Its no secret that certifications are valuable for those looking to start their careers in IT. In fact, according to our Pearson VUE 2021 Value of Certification study, 69% of IT managers believe certification significantly increases an employees productivity, said Craig Bushman, General Manager of Certiport, a Pearson VUE Business. We are excited about our new partnership with Cisco. What a wonderful opportunity to deliver these credentials that will help candidates get their foot in the door and be more productive in their careers.

The Cisco Certified Support Technician certifications are aligned with Certiports Learn, Practice, Certify, Advance model that includes courseware and curriculum resources, practice tests, and career maps corresponding to the certification exams. The cybersecurity and networking certification resources are currently in development and are slated for release in April, later this year. Available through Certiport and their network of global testing centers, these exams will help bridge the skills gap between education and the workforce skills learners need to succeed.

Read Ciscos announcement on their blog.

About Certiport

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 15,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information visit http://www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/certiport.

"Certiport" is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Officials from Groton Public Schools, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Town of Groton joined students, educators, and representatives from Leftfield, Studio G Architects, and Gilbane Building Company to celebrate the official topping off of the 110,000-SF Florence Roche Elementary School.

Designed by Studio G, with Leftfield serving as owners project manager and Gilbane as construction manager, the new facility will address growing concerns regarding the state of the existing facility, originally constructed in the 1950s, and accommodate 645 students in grades kindergarten through four.

During ceremonial remarks, Jack McCarthy, executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), noted the continued success of the project team, commending the Town of Groton in assembling the collaborative team of Leftfield, Studio G, and Gilbane. I have no doubt that this project will be completed on time and successfully, he said. Because that is what these three organizations do for us all over the Commonwealth.

The new school will support 21st-century learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), two important components of Groton Dunstable Regional School Districts educational program. The two-story design organizes grade-level learning neighborhoods into two academic wings with shared project areas, dedicated special education rooms, and support spaces. In addition, the cafeteria and gymnasium are located off the entry lobby for easy public access and feature a shared stage for performances in either area. Other shared learning spaces include a media center, an outdoor learning lab, a STEM lab with an outdoor patio for student projects, and music and art classrooms.

This satisfying moment is a reminder of the intense diligent early work with our consultants EDG and RW Sullivan, said Steve Michener, associate and senior project manager from Studio G Architects. This topping off ceremony represents more than just the completion of an efficiently designed and well-coordinated structure; it is the canvas for a symphony of work to begin in all directions. We look forward to continuing great teamwork with Gilbane and Leftfield to deliver the new Florence Roche Elementary School for the community of Groton.

Since the start of construction in May of 2022, the project has maintained its schedule with over 34,000 safe and incident free trade hours. In achieving this important project milestone, the team took a collaborative approach in expediting the steel shop drawing review and approval periods to support the start of steel erection three weeks earlier than planned. This allowed the approximately 2,500 pieces, or 700 tons, of structural steel frame to be erected ahead of the New England winter months.

Were thrilled to successfully reach this very important construction milestone with the Town of Groton, said Mike OBrien, senior vice president and business unit leader for Gilbane in Massachusetts. Topping off ceremonies are especially important, as they are a real celebration of our trade partners and Id like to specifically commend the hard work that got us to this point by the men and women from Locals 429, 39, 4, 336, and 7.

Leftfield is excited to see the design and future educational program & facility for Grotons youngest learners become a reality, said David Saindon, project executive at LeftField. In addition, we would like to praise the design team of Studio G and the construction management team of Gilbane for all of their hard work behind the scenes to hit this milestone on schedule while still being in a difficult supply chain environment.

Florence Roche Elementary School is slated for completion by 2024.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services  from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build and facility management services  for clients across various markets. Founded in 1870 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 46 office locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.gilbaneco.com.

About Studio G Architects

Established in 1991, Studio G Architects was founded to build sustainable communities through architecture, urban design, and planning. The 22-person firm is a certified women-owned business (WBE) and diverse by design  multi-racial and multi-ethnic, LGBTQ friendly, and 55% women. We recruit, support, and mentor diverse employees who share a commitment to design excellence, superior client service, and environmental and social sustainability. Studio Gs clients and project typologies include childcare, K-12 schools, higher education, multi-family housing, and healing environments.

About Leftfield

LeftField is a leading owners project management firm focused on supporting clients through the due diligence, planning, design, construction, project delivery, and close-out of a project. Serving as a strong partner in the public, academic, science + tech, corporate, healthcare and development sectors, LeftField is currently managing over $2.5 billion of construction projects for high-profile clients. With an entrepreneurial spirt at their core, they pride themselves on the ability to understand the needs and vision of each client. By deftly balancing the competing interests of budget, schedule and quality, their team of talented, resourceful, and passionate project managers ensure the best possible outcome on a project. Founded in 2007, and comprised of 35+ employees, LeftField proudly remains an independent firm offering comprehensive services, to include owner representation, program management, clerk of the works, MEP expertise, cost management and reporting, construction administration, audit services, estimating services, and more. LeftField: The Right Choice in Project Management.
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP further expands its London office with the addition of Tim Dolan as a shareholder focused on UK and European financial regulatory matters. Dolan joins from Reed Smith, where he was a partner in its financial regulatory group.

Dolan will work closely with Greenberg Traurigs Funds Team to advise clients on a wide range of compliance and regulatory issues related to fund formation, general partner-led secondaries, and fund manager mergers and acquisitions. He regularly assists fund managers, investment firms, and other clients in effectively engaging with financial regulators and preparing for regulatory changes. Dolan also advises clients on an increasing number of environmental, social and governance standards, as well as rules and regulations set by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulatory Authority, and other financial regulatory bodies across Europe.

Dolan brings key regulatory experience to his practice, having previously worked for international financial regulators in New Zealand and with the UKs Financial Services Authority.

The continued evolution of the financial services industry has led to an increased demand for lawyers with Tims experience to help clients understand and navigate the most current regulatory landscape. His pragmatic approach to advising clients in the areas of fund formation and related regulatory and compliance matters is a great addition to the firm at a critical time in the industrys evolution, said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Executive Chairman of Greenberg Traurig.

Dolans arrival follows on the heels of Financial Regulatory and Compliance Shareholder Mark D. Shaffer, who recently joined Greenberg Traurigs New York office from the Bank of New York Mellon, where he was chief compliance officer of BNY Trust Company of Canada and BNY Mellon (Toronto Branch).

At Reed Smith, Dolan frequently served as co-counsel to Greenberg Traurig attorneys in London, handling the regulatory components of funds matters, including fund formation, secondaries, and investment and divestment of stakes in fund managers. Prior to Reed Smith, Dolan worked at SJ Berwin/King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) with several of his Greenberg Traurig colleagues, including London Shareholder Steven Cowins, who joined from KWM in 2017.

I have known and worked with Tim for many years and am thrilled to welcome him to our team, said Cowins, global co-chair of the firms Real Estate Funds Practice. His extensive knowledge and experience in the financial regulatory space, combined with his ability to give clear advice in a complex area of law, will be valuable to our clients and will help ensure our continued success in London and beyond.

Greenberg Traurigs global reach provides an excellent platform to collaborate with colleagues across multiple disciplines and offices to better serve clients and grow my practice, Dolan said. I am delighted to be back with old friends and to be part of a firm that has such a strong reputation for investment funds and corporate work.

Dolan received both his LL.B. and B.A. from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

About Greenberg Traurigs London Office: Greenberg Traurig, LLP in London has established itself as a multidisciplinary law firm, with more than 130 lawyers and growing. The London office provides partner-led advice to domestic and international clients on a range of matters across the legal spectrum. Lawyers at Greenberg Traurig in London advise U.K. and multinational clients operating in many different sectors, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, energy, real estate, financial services, automotive, retail and communications. For additional information, please visit http://www.gtlaw.com.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 44 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is a 2022 BTI Highly Recommended Law Firm for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Energy as a member of the U.S. EPAs Green Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.


InSite Engineering Expands to Northern New Jersey We are very excited to open an office in northern New Jersey to further enhance our ability to serve our significant client base in that area.

InSite Engineering, LLC, a New Jersey land development and consulting engineering firm based in Wall Township, NJ, has opened a Bergen County office in Allendale, NJ. The office address is 165 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Allendale, NJ 07401.

InSites already vast project portfolio in the northern New Jersey area made it an easy decision to move into the heart of Bergen County and provide the opportunity to better serve their clients needs while expanding their regional footprint.

Andrew J. Grover, PE, LEED AP, has joined the firm and new office as an Associate, bringing 22 years experience managing and designing all types of land development projects throughout the State of New Jersey. Prior to working for InSite, Mr. Grover was an in-house engineer for one of the nations leading home builders. He has been involved in all phases of projects from due diligence, acquisition, design, permitting, construction, and closeout.

Jason Fichter, Co-Founder and Managing Member of the firm stated, We are very excited to open an office in northern New Jersey to further enhance our ability to serve our significant client base in that area. This is a milestone accomplishment that enables us to advance to the next phase of growth in our strategic plan. We are very grateful to our clients and associates for their loyalty and collaborative spirit, which enabled us to reach this milestone. Andrew Grover's professionalism and extensive experience as a land development consulting engineer is a perfect fit for InSite, and we are thrilled for him to join us in Bergen County. We look forward to working with the local community and contributing to its ongoing livelihood.

About InSite Engineering, LLC

Established in 2003, InSite Engineering, LLC, is a privately owned engineering firm offering comprehensive land development consulting services for corporate, private, and government clients in the residential, commercial, industrial, public, and institutional markets. InSite Engineering, LLC, is licensed throughout the Northeast and is headquartered in coastal New Jersey. For more information about InSite Engineering, LLC, please visit http://www.InSiteEng.net


Jasper S. Lee returns to the publishing scene with the release of Tinnin: A Family History Novel (published by Archway Publishing), a historical novel based on true events and tells the story about a young woman as she experiences romance, hardships, and forgiveness while living in the Deep South during the mid-to-late 19th century. This book is a sequel to the previously published biographical novel in 2017 titled Return to Tinnin.

It is Easter 1863 and 15-year-old Ellen Loretta Shepard is terrified she will be violated by one of the Union soldiers marching through her familys Mississippi cotton plantation while on their way to battle. When they hear word that troops are approaching, the family members busy themselves hiding their valuables. A day later, the troops arrive and create havoc, but thankfully do not burn the plantation or violate Ellen or her sisters.

As the Civil War rages on, Ellen matures into a beautiful young woman who has now reached the age where she wishes to marry an honest and loving man. Unfortunately, good men are in short supply, and the ones she finds are more than twice her age and deemed unacceptable by her family. When she meets the charismatic Jasper Lee at a church event, Ellen eventually marries him, despite her fathers objections. But when he dies just six years later, Ellen is left to defend the estate he left her and raise their only son. Will she somehow find a way to move on and realize happiness once again?

Considerable family research went into writing this story. Family history information stored in old trunks and boxes provided a wealth of information. DNA analysis was much a part of determining genetic family relationships. Online searches and visits to historical agencies yielded useful information, the author says. He adds, This story reflects love and tragedy along with forgiveness. It also includes challenges women faced before 1920 in not being equal nor able to own property. When asked what he wants readers to take away from the book, the author answered, Love of family can help overcome differences of opinion. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.archwaypublishing.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/844532-tinnin

Tinnin: A Family History Novel

By Jasper S. Lee

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 348 pages | ISBN 9781665732383

E-Book | 348 pages | ISBN 9781665728300

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Jasper S. Lee is an author and editor who has recently acquired an interest in family history and genealogy. His writing is inspired by his own experiences growing up on a cotton plantation. Tinnin is his fourth family history book.

Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.
Kinetech named DIR Vendor through contract DIR-CPO4735 This contract represents a watershed moment for Kinetech, low-code, Mendix, and What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) integrated development environments (IDEs). - Michael Guido | CEO, Kinetech

Kinetech is excited to announce that the Department of Information of Resources (DIR) for the State of Texas has awarded Kinetech Cloud LLC, contract DIR-CPO-4735.

"This contract represents a watershed moment for Kinetech, low-code, Mendix, and What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) integrated development environments (IDEs)," said Michael Guido, CEO of Kinetech. "This contract allows organizations access to one of the leading low-code development platforms as recognized by Gartner and Forrester."

Why is this significant?

With over 50% of website traffic coming from mobile devices, businesses and governments everywhere are struggling to adapt to a mobile-first / cloud-first reality. From internal business applications to consumer facing / self-service apps (B2C portals), organizations are struggling to enable the type and volume of digital services demanded by their stakeholders (users, customers, citizens, etc).

The pandemic exacerbated these challenges, but low-code offers an antidote: the ability to design, develop, and deploy applications at scale. In effect, low-code platforms can help organizations do more with less.

Independent studies by the Software Improvement Group (SIG) have confirmed low-code projects can be deployed 6-10x faster than traditional Information Technology (IT) implementations. As a result, Gartner and Forrester predict that 70% of enterprise applications will be developed with low-code by 2025.

Kinetech is uniquely positioned to enable organizations in this transition. The company was recently named as the first Low-code Certified Expert firm in the United States. This is due to the fact that Kinetech has the highest concentration of Mendix Certified Advanced and Expert software architects in the United States.

DIR Contract Specifics:

Collectively, the contract opens a widely recognized procurement path for businesses, governments, and approved agencies seeking the digital transformation potential provided by low-code and Kinetechs templated solutions. This contract is in response to DIR-CPO-TMP-449 and allows Kinetech to offer multiple software offerings and configuration packages under DIR-CPO-4735.

A full list of the services permitted under the contract and instruction on how to use this procurement vehicle are available at: https://dir.texas.gov/contracts/dir-cpo-4735

Background:

The Kinetech GovTech Cloud is a digital transformation template that allows government departments and agencies to digitize virtually any paper-based process.

In response to COVID, governments leveraged Kinetechs Case Management template to determine eligibility, facilitate communication between case worker / applicant, and streamline approval / reporting workflows.

In aggregate, Kinetechs cloud-based, case management solution is responsible for distributing over $1.2 billion USD in COVID relief funds to the United States most vulnerable residents. This amounts to approximately 5% of the $25 Billion allocated by congress for the CARES Act.

The Kinetech GovTech cloud was so effective in facilitating relief aid for the City of San Antonio that the White House recognized our collaboration as an exemplary model of digital transformation for other municipalities / governments to follow. Since then organizations like the City of Dallas, Dallas County, and the State of Michigan have adopted low-code to drive results.

Kinetech is a leading Mendix / Siemens partner since 2014 and was recently named the first and only Siemens certified expert in the United States. The contract award from DIR comes after Kinetech has successfully deployed our low-code solutions to leading businesses and governments across the United States.

About DIR:

The mission of the Texas Department of Information Resources is to serve Texas government by leading the states technology strategy, protecting state technology infrastructure, and offering innovative and cost-effective solutions for all levels of government. Visit DIR at: https://www.dir.texas.gov

The approximately 200 professionals who work at DIR are driven by a sincere desire to make governmental technology more secure, cost-effective, and forward-looking. Were honored to serve as the cornerstone of public sector technology in Texas.

About Kinetech

Kinetech is a platinum Mendix partner and low-code pioneer. Kinetech provides low-code enablement services and custom enterprise software, delivered through the cloud with a focus on improved business productivity. The company uses low-code to deliver cloud, mobile, and integrated technologies that solve real government technology problems. Together, Kinetech & Mendix provide citizen-centric software for digital government services. Our offerings are available under DIR-CPO-4735. 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 the FinTech Cloud (Financial Services), GovTech (Government Technology) Cloud, and other bespoke solutions (Enterprise Cloud).

This release was also published at: https://www.kinetechcloud.com/kinetech/awarded-dir-contract
As we begin a new year, it fills me with great pride to watch our Maryland businesses cap 2022 off with success and start 2023 off with a bang. Businesses here are always focused on long-term growth and longevity while continuing to strengthen their relationships with patrons and communities.

The Maryland Marketing Partnership, which helps drive Marylands branding and marketing efforts to attract businesses, create jobs, and grow the states economy, today shared a summary of the latest news from companies and organizations that are part of the partnership.

As we begin a new year, it fills me with great pride to watch our Maryland businesses cap 2022 off with success and start 2023 off with a bang, said Tom Riford, executive director of the Maryland Marketing Partnership. The new ventures and offerings that are continuously developed help Maryland flourish. Businesses here are always focused on long-term growth and longevity while continuing to strengthen their relationships with patrons and communities.

Bozzuto, based in Greenbelt, has been recognized nationally as a Great Place to Work. Thanks to their emphasis on belonging and a strong focus on what Toby Bozzuto calls a culture of kindness, nearly 90 percent of employees agree Bozzuto is a great place to work. Toby Bozzuto was once again named to The Daily Records Power 100 List, which recognizes outstanding leaders who have had a significant impact on communities across the state of Maryland.

Cloudforce, based in National Harbor, earned two Advanced Specializations from Microsoft in 2022. Cloudforce recently obtained Advanced Specialization in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), certifying Cloudforces deep knowledge, extensive expertise, and proven success. Worldwide B2B marketplace leader, Clutch, named Cloudforce 2022 Global Leader in Development & IT Services and ranks Cloudforce first for Best IT Provider in the Washington, D.C. area, and the Bi-County Business Roundtable named Cloudforce Business of the Year. In November, Cloudforce welcomed Prince George's Community College Audio/Visual and Technology team members for a lunch-and-learn session on the latest Microsoft cloud offerings serving the needs of the higher education sector. Cloudforce finished out 2022 with a Gatsby-themed bash.

Peterson Companies, a longtime Maryland business, proudly announced that Spirit Park at National Harbor is open. Home to one of the largest American flags on the East Coast, Spirit Park serves as a modern tribute to the flag. This landmark space offers an outdoor amphitheater, stage, and one-of-a-kind artwork alongside views of the Potomac River. Spirit Park is open to the public and will be used throughout the year for events. An immense flag, unforgettable design elements, inspirational art, and patriotic details at the park serve to honor Americas tapestry and the history of all people who walk beneath its colors.

St. John Properties, Inc., based in Baltimore and one of the nations largest and most successful privately held commercial real estate firms, announced that the Chesapeake Veterinary Referral Center signed a lease at Yorkridge Center North in Baltimore County. The 46,000-square-foot space will also include an emergency clinic that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Baltimore Pickleball Club, LLC also signed a lease with St. John Properties, Inc. for the first fully-dedicated indoor pickleball facility in Baltimore County. The club is 12,000 square feet and is projected to open in late 2023.

SECU MD Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Marylands largest credit union SECU, announced Morgan State University, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, and Maryland Food Bank as the nonprofit recipients of $1 million in community impact grants. Furthering its commitment to education, health, and community development initiatives throughout Maryland, SECU will allocate the grants based on nonprofit needs and distribute them over the next five years in memory of SECUs longest-serving board member, Donald Tynes, Sr. This notes the largest sum and first commitment named in honor of a notable individual by SECU.

TEDCO, based in Columbia, announced a new collaboration between TEDCOs Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF). The company also announced new programs of support for women entrepreneurs, and collaborated with thought leaders, including Maryland HBCU presidents, in TEDCO Talks episodes. In 2022, TEDCO was recognized as a Most Innovative Company to Watch, invested in technology startups Datakwip, Warrior Centric Health, SeeTrue Technology, VirgilHR, and Linshom Medical, and selected Recast Capital for its SSBCI Advisor and Allocator. MII and Linda Singh were winners at the Greater Baltimore Committee Bridging the Gap Awards, while TEDCOs chief investment officer, Jack Miner, graduated from Leadership Maryland Class of 2022. Through its funding and support, the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) continues to nurture tech-related businesses and retain a highly trained workforce.

The University System of Maryland (USM), based in Baltimore and the states public higher education system, was well-represented in both chambers of the 2023 Maryland General Assembly as they convened in early January. In the House of Delegates, 55 of the 141 members graduated from or attended a USM institution, and 16 of the 47 members of the Senate graduated from or attended a USM institution. Collectively, more than one-third of the membership of the Maryland legislature studied at a USM university. Some legislative members attended multiple USM institutions, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Weller Development Partners, based in Bethesda, welcomed real estate executive Shane Omar as Partner. With decades of critical experience acquiring and developing major commercial real estate projects throughout the United States, Omar will work across all departments, focusing on pre-development and construction execution, and will play a key role in new acquisition evaluation and business development. With a unique understanding of the real estate development process from many different stakeholder perspectives, the addition of Omar will support Weller Development Partners efforts to create long-term growth as it expands in key markets, both nationally and internationally.

About Maryland Marketing Partnership

The Maryland Marketing Partnership, founded in statute as the Maryland Public-Private Partnership Marketing Corporation, develops branding strategy for the state, markets the states assets, and encourages the location and growth of new businesses in Maryland.
Momenta launches $100M Industry 5.0 Fund The launch of the Industry 5.0 fund, Momenta's fifth venture capital fund since 2012, expands our focus from digital technologies that drive industry productivity to those that drive societal and environmental impact.

Momenta, the leading Digital Industry venture capital + value creating firm today announced the Industry 5.0 Fund, a target $100 million venture capital fund.

The fund will expand on Momenta's enduring Digital Industry thesis, supporting entrepreneurs who are advancing new paths to more human-centric, resilient, and sustainable industry operations, as outlined in EU Commission's Industry 5.0 initiative.

Aimed at early growth stage innovators driving the digital transformation of energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and supply chains, the Industry 5.0 Fund will deliver venture capital investment and direct value-creation to entrepreneurs headquartered across the EU, EFTA, UK, US, and Canada. Momenta will continue to provide its strategic network, value creation expertise, and experience gained through over three decades of investing in rapidly growing digital industry companies, including industrial data platforms ThingWorx (acquired by PTC) and PLAT.ONE (acquired by SAP) and predictive maintenance platform Senseye (acquired by Siemens).

The launch of the Industry 5.0 fund, our fifth venture capital fund since 2012, expands our focus from digital technologies that drive industry productivity to those that drive societal and environmental impact., said Momenta founding partner Ken Forster. We will continue to partner with technology companies that advance industry forward, driving economic growth balanced by greater human-centricity and reduced environmental impact.

This new fund places us in a stronger position to advance the key challenge facing reshoring initiatives in the US and EU while continuing to create value for our investors, said Momenta Managing Partner Michael Dolbec. Given the intense interest in regaining manufacturing expertise, its an ideal time to be doubling down on Momentas commitment to this field.

Founded in 2012, Momenta has made over 100 investments across four funds devoted to the digitalization of energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and supply chain. Portfolio companies include manufacturing optimization platforms Litmus, Raven, and Smartex; industrial digital infrastructure solutions Edge Impulse, Expeto, and Xage; and autonomous mobility enablers Agtonomy, EquipmentShare, and Fixposition. Thru the end of 2022, Momenta's portfolio companies have created $3.9B in market value, raising $1.8B in funding, employing over 5000 people, and securing 45 active patents.

Momenta is actively investing out of its funds. Learn more at http://www.momenta.one or contact the team at info@momenta.one.
Royal Denver Gibson: A Twentieth Century Apostle: a celebration of life lived in faith and commitment to God. Royal Denver Gibson: A Twentieth Century Apostle is the creation of published author Nara Wenrich, who attended primary and secondary schools in East Texas, graduating from French High School in Beaumont. She later studied at Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana, as well as LSUAAlexandria, where she excelled in literature and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Wenrich is a resident of the Dallas area, moving there in 1990 to be near her late daughter, Marla Savant-Box; son-in-law, Douglas Box; and twin grandchildren, Audrey Camille Box and Dalton Cloyce Box.

Wenrich shares, Do you want your spirit to be lifted from discouragement and despair?

As you read this historical account of a man who devoted himself not only to God, but to the ones whom God sent him to, your spiritual life will be catapulted into higher dimension; your faith will flourish and grow, and your prayers will go beyond your own desires.

If your faith needs a spiritual jolt, then this book will be the catalyst that propels you from the mundane realm of impossibility to the glorious, miraculous realm of all things are possible to him who believes. (Mark 9:23 NKJV)

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Nara Wenrichs new book will captivate readers as they witness a uniquely blessed life.

Vesta Layne Gibson Mangun shares, Royal Denver Gibson, my inimitable father, a mighty man of God who distinguished himself as an apostle of faith was a man mighty in prayer and the Word! God used him to restore sight to the blind, health to the sick, even life to the dead! He was a church planter in communities where the Gospel had never been preached! As you read this book, believe this same kind of miracle-working faith can be yours, in the all-powerful, only saving, magnificent name of Jesus Christ!

Consumers can purchaseRoyal Denver Gibson: A Twentieth Century Apostle at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Royal Denver Gibson: A Twentieth Century Apostle, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.


We are thrilled to have Dr. Giroir kick off our conference and address our members who are supporting historic and transformative steps to close gaps in healthcare through standards and solutions developed at NCPDP.

NCPDP announced today the 16th Assistant Secretary for Health in the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Brett Giroir, whose impressive, decades-long career is dedicated to improving public health, will deliver the opening keynote at NCPDPs 2023 Annual Technology & Business Conference, The Great Race to Close Gaps in Care. The Annual Conference, which will be held May 8-10, 2023, at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, is expected to draw more than 700 attendees representing a broad cross-section of pharmacy and other healthcare related industry segments.

We are thrilled to have Dr. Giroir kick off our conference and address our members who are supporting historic and transformative steps to close gaps in healthcare through standards and solutions developed at NCPDP, explained Lee Ann Stember, President & CEO of NCPDP. Dr. Giroir will bring a different front line perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic and human vulnerability to future pandemics, with an emphasis on lessons learned and the importance of preparing for the future and closing gaps in care.

Dr. Giroir has served as the 16th Assistant Secretary for Health in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Acting Commissioner of the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and Admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He also served as United States Representative to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) within the Department of State. Notably, he was a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in 2020 and appeared almost daily on national media. He is also the author of a new book entitled Memoir of a Pandemic, Fighting COVID from the Front Lines to the White House.

A graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Biology, magna cum laude, Dr. Giroir went on to attend the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he earned his M.D. Next, he completed his pediatric internship, residency, and chief residency at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Following residency, he was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pediatric Scientist Training Fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and then completed a clinical fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine.

Dr. Giroir has held numerous leadership roles in government and academia, beginning with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he worked his way up from assistant professor to tenured professor and holder of two endowed chairs, while also serving as Chief Medical Officer at Childrens Health in Dallas. He went on to serve as Vice Chancellor for Research and Strategic Initiatives with the Texas A&M University System and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. His federal and state government service leadership includes membership on the Defense Sciences Research Council (DSRC), Director of the Defense Sciences Office branch of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), membership on the Board of Directors for NASAs National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and Chair of the Veterans Choice Act Blue Ribbon Panel to assess United States Veterans Health Administration, according to mandates in The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014.

Throughout his storied career, Dr. Giroir has received plentiful awards and uniformed service decorations. Some of these honors include: the American Society of Nephrology Presidential Medal; the American Society of Hematology Outstanding Public Service Award; the Executive Office of the President Office of National Drug Control Policys Directors Distinguished Service Award; U.S. Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star Attachment; the Surgeon Generals Medallion, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Pinnacle Medal, the Global Health Campaign Medal; and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

Currently, Dr. Giroir serves as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors for Altesa Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing new treatments for respiratory viruses and global viral threats. This role comes on the heels of his taking up a front-line role in the COVID-19 response as Director of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and national Testing Czar leading testing and diagnostics.

NCPDPs national conference draws more than 700 attendees from across the healthcare industry, including technical, business, and executive representatives from health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, retail and independent pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, long-term care providers, healthcare consultants, technology vendors, pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale drug distributors, database management organizations and others.

The NCPDP Annual Conference is open to all healthcare industry stakeholders. To register for the conference visit https://ncpdp.org/ac/register.aspx.

The complimentary media registration form can be downloaded here.

For real-time updates before and during the event, follow us at http://twitter.com/ncpdp or join the discussion using NCPDPs 2023 Annual Technology & Business Conference hashtag: #NCPDP23.

About NCPDP

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) is a not-for-profit American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer (ASD) consisting of more than 1,500 members representing entities including, but not limited to, claims processors, data management and analysis vendors, federal and state government agencies, insurers, intermediaries, pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, professional services organizations, software and system vendors and other parties interested in electronic standardization within the pharmacy services sector of the healthcare industry. NCPDP provides a forum wherein our diverse membership can develop business solutions, including ANSI-accredited standards and guidance for promoting information exchanges related to medications, supplies and services within the healthcare system.

NCPDP has been named in federal legislation, including HIPAA, MMA, and HITECH. NCPDP members have created standards such as the Telecommunication Standard and Batch Standard, the SCRIPT Standard for ePrescribing, the Manufacturers Rebate Standard and more to improve communication within the pharmacy industry. Our data products include dataQ, a robust database of information on more than 80,000 pharmacies, resQ, an industry pharmacy credentialing resource, and HCIdea, an innovative prescriber database that provides continually updated information on more than 2.5 million prescribers. NCPDP's RxReconn is a legislative tracking product for real-time monitoring of pharmacy-related state and national legislative and regulatory activity. For more information about NCPDP Standards, Data Services, Products, Educational Programs and Work Group meetings, go online at http://www.ncpdp.org or call 480.477.1000.
EPI, the leading display specialist and brand license partner for Philips monitors introduces the Philips 27E1N8900. Designed for professionals working from home and looking for a monitor that offers impressive visual contrast, the Philips monitor provides a novel experience. The main feature of this monitor, OLED, is known for its stark contrast and state-of-the-art pixel responsiveness.

In addition to the new OLED technology, this monitor is packed with features that make the screen come to life, such as UltraClear 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution for precise imagery, DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400 for shadowing, Ultra Wide-Color for a vivid picture, True 10-bit display for smoother gradients, 99 percent Adobe RGB/DCI-P3, and an antiglare film. These features, along with LowBlue mode, make this monitor the perfect tool.

We are always trying to improve the picture quality of the screen at Philips, says David Ray, Marketing Director of Philips monitors and IT accessories in North America. This monitor is specialized in the sense that the OLED feature is truly impressive when it comes to seeing things on screen as they truly are. It is a monitor designed for creatives and anyone that has high standards for picture quality.

Aside from OLED, the monitor boasts an all-in-one USB-C port that is ideal for simultaneously charging a device while also connecting to the monitor and a KVM switch for managing a dual PC setup.

A Monitor Designed for Creatives

Monitors with a visual eye like the Philips 27E1N8900 are ideal for professions and hobbies that demand vibrant coloring, such as graphic design and/or illustration. For these professions, it is necessary to have realistic color on the screen and this monitor is designed to do just that.

The OLED feature of Philips 27E1N8900 provides deep contrast on the screen that in turn makes images on the screen come to life.

Availability

The Philips 27E1N8900 is available now on Amazon for $1,099.99.

Press Contact

For more information or to request a review sample, please contact Jamy Reyes at jamy.reyes@epius.com.

About EPI

Envision Peripherals, Inc. (EPI) is a California corporation, headquartered in Milpitas, California. It is an affiliate of TPV Technology Limited (TPV), which is one of the worlds leading monitor and LCD TV manufacturers. EPI exclusively markets and sells Philips-branded monitors, computer peripherals, and digital signage in North America under trademark license by Koninklijke Philips N.V. By combining the Philips brand promise with TPVs manufacturing expertise in displays, EPI uses a fast and focused approach to bringing innovative products to market.


As Latino business owners, were not just opening more businesses  were also hiring and growing a lot more than the average business

While financial experts project an economic downturn in every sector for 2023,(1) nearly 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses are contributing more than $800 billion to the US economy annually.(2) A 2021 report by Latino Donor Collaborative calculated the total economic output (gross domestic product, or GDP) of Latinos in the United States at $2.7 trillion in 2019. This is up from $2.6 trillion in 2018, $2.1 trillion in 2015, and $1.7 trillion in 2010.(3) This positive impact comes at the same time as the recent migration of hundreds of thousands of Latinos from Puerto Rico to Central Florida, which has been one of the most important demographic developments since the 1960s, reshaping the contours of life in the region.(4) Valor Capitals Moises Agami, himself a native of Mexico City, applied his business acuity to his real estate development company in Clearwater, FL. As Latino business owners, were not just opening more businesses  were also hiring and growing a lot more than the average business, points out Agami. This echoes the Small Business Administrations research that Latinos are hiring; 55% compared to 8% in the balance of the economy.(2)

Moises Agami is honored to have been chosen Mr. January 2023 and featured on the cover of TBBW magazine. He will be presented as a panelist at the Tampa Bay Business and Wealth Hispanic Business Summit, expressing positive growth and encouragement to Hispanic business owners with his knowledge and recommendations. His advice to participants, some of whom asked whether they should engage a mentor who is also of Hispanic roots: "If you want to do business here, learn the language, learn the customs, invest in yourself, find out what you can do to get more acquainted  Whatever you're doing in life, you need to strive to be an absolute professional. The way to do it is not to try to reinvent everything from zero. Find who is the best in your industry or your town and learn from that person. Say, 'I have some questions for you. I'm starting this business.' You'd be surprised how many times you're going to get invaluable information," said Agami.

With Serena by the Sea, Valor Capitals current affluent, eco-friendly, and wellness-living project, under construction but completely sold out, Agami expects his 2022 revenues of $70 million to more than double in 2023 to $150 million. A soon-to-be-announced project in downtown St. Petersburg will be the new focus and real estate development venture. These successes grow the economy and encourage additional Hispanic-owned business ventures while adding to the richness of the community. This is true in Florida  and the rest of the country, points out Agami.

Agami encourages Hispanic businesses to take advantage of every resource in growing their businesses and to seek out incubators and institutions that help entrepreneurs and business leaders learn how to put steps into motion. As Agami phrases it, We shine a light on the cultural and language differences that add to the fabric of business, making it stronger.

Moises Agami goes on to say, The impact of the Hispanic business community is more than a stamp of economic growth; when viewed through the larger lenses, it is indeed an important component of both the US and local economies.

About Valor Capital

Valor Capital is a team of entrepreneurs passionate about creating world-class real estate experiences. They are an affiliate: a new venture spinoff of international development firm, Terra Capital Partners SA de CV (Terra Capital Partners). With a four-decade history of real estate developments in office, hospitality, medical, commercial and luxury residential product offerings  and a multi-billion-dollar portfolio and tens of millions of square feet already developed and sold  Valors developments are always on the cutting edge, with proprietary antiviral engineering design used throughout the firms newest developments. Visit http://www.valorc.com

References:

1. Marr, Bernard. The 7 Biggest Business Challenges Every Company Is Facing In 2023, Forbes, 15 November 2022, forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/11/15/the-7-biggest-business-challenges-every-company-is-facing-in-2023/?sh=613852d45688.

2. Staff Writer. Economic Impact  Spanish Heritage Month, US Small Business Administration, 2022, sba.gov/about-sba/organization/observances/hispanic-heritage-month#:~:text=Economic%20impact&text=Nearly%20one%20in%20four%20new,to%20the%20American%20economy%20annually.

3. California Lutheran University. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from blogs.callutheran.edu/cerf/files/2022/05/2021_LDC-USLatinoGDP_final.pdf

4. Staff Writer. Latinos in Central Florida: The Growing Hispanic Presence in the Sunshine State, The Hispanic Federation, 2022, hispanicfederation.org/advocacy/reports/latinos_in_central_florida_the_growing_hispanic_presence_in_the_sunshine_state/.
"This deal is a good example of how the international communitys public and private sector actors can work together to improve access to modern energy for those most in need. - Rocio Perez-Ochoa, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bidhaa Sasa

Spark+ Africa Fund (Spark+ or the Fund) has provided a 2.5-year, USD 500,000 loan to Kenya-based Bidhaa Sasa (the Company). Bidhaa Sasa is the third investment since the Fund launched in March 2022.

Bidhaa Sasa is one of a small number of highly-impactful last-mile distribution companies that have built a platform to bring new innovations and technologies to rural and unbanked customers in selected markets in Africa. The Companys model involves the use of a woman-to-woman distribution model and a group guarantee-based lending approach, thereby eliminating the need for the integration of pay-as-you-go technology or high-cost credit customer underwriting processes.

The Company offers a diverse mix of products priced below $100 which save customers time and/or money, including improved high-efficiency charcoal cookstoves, LPG cylinders, water tanks, tarpaulin canvas to dry grains, bags to transport agricultural products, grain silos, and solar lighting systems.

Bidhaa Sasa works with Biolite, a leading cookstove design and manufacturing company based in the United States with emerging markets operations based in Kenya, to produce a co-branded version of its robust, user-friendly, and high-efficiency JikoMalkia charcoal stove.

Bidhaa Sasa will utilize the Spark+ funding to finance the purchase of inventory from Biolite to offer clean cooking solutions to an estimated 68,000 households over the next 2.5 years. Users of a co-branded JikoMalkia stove save time and up to USD 200 per year on fuel costs, in addition to improved health due to reduced indoor air pollution, reduced GHG emissions, and reduced contribution to forest degradation resulting from charcoal production.

Gerald Njugi, Investment Officer at EQ: We are pleased to support the growth of the long-standing partnership between Bidhaa Sasa and Biolite. Bidhaa Sasa is a notable early addition to the Spark+ portfolio as it demonstrates a commitment to the rural and unbanked customers often left behind by commercial providers of household energy products in Africa. We look forward to enabling Bidhaa Sasa to scale-up its business and impact in East Africa during the years to come.

Rocio Perez-Ochoa, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bidhaa Sasa: We are pleased to announce this partnership with Spark+ to strengthen and support our distribution of Biolite cookstoves. The loan will secure inventory consisting of thousands of stoves and allow us to make them more affordable with payment plans for women in the rural heartlands of western Kenya. This deal is a good example of how the international communitys public and private sector actors can work together to improve access to modern energy for those most in need.

About clean cooking solutions: 900 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack clean and modern energy for cooking. Without the electric stoves and piped natural gas prevalent in developed countries, they are forced to spend an estimated $35 billion annually on unhealthy and polluting open fires, charcoal, and kerosene. According to a 2020 World Bank report, this generates annual social, environmental, and economic costs of more than $330 billion in Africa, while the investment required by the private sector to deliver access to modern alternatives would be only $2.6 billion. Solutions that rely on LPG, ethanol, electricity, biogas, and processed biomass fuels, as well as more efficient biomass stoves, are being commercialized with technology-integrated business models and are enabling underserved consumers to adopt modern energy.

About Spark+ Africa Fund: Spark+ is the first impact investment fund launched by Spark+ General Partner (GP), a joint venture between Switzerland-based investment advisor EQ, and Netherlands-based foundation SMC. Switzerland-based Woodman Asset Management acts as the Funds Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). The Funds investors include leading development finance institutions, pension funds, family offices, and foundations. The Fund has a target size of $70 million. The US-based Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA), an initiative hosted by the United Nations Foundation, supported the development of Spark+. http://www.sparkafricafund.com

About Enabling Qapital: EQ is an investment advisory company with strong ties in the impact investment sector and deep expertise in finance, with its founding partners unique skillsets and 100+ year proven track record. EQ is the exclusive advisor to the Enabling Microfinance Fund and has a global footprint of investment professionals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America who originate, execute, and monitor investments. EQ is the exclusive investment advisor to Spark+ and a shareholder in the GP. http://www.enabling.ch

About Stichting Modern Cooking: SMC is a Netherlands-based foundation governed by a management board which consists of clean cooking sector experts and impact investment professionals. SMC is a shareholder in the GP and the Funds TA partner. http://www.moderncooking.org

About Bidhaa Sasa: Bidhaa Sasa distributes and finances household technologies in rural Kenya and Uganda. Since it began operations in 2015, the Company has delivered 110,000 products averaging $50 per product to approximately 86,000 customers, 75% of whom are female. Bidhaa Sasa has been able to achieve good repayment behavior from its low-income customer base, with an average repayment rate of 98% and high customer satisfaction as demonstrated by a 80%+ net promoter score. The Company employs 135 full-time staff across its 12 retail hubs. http://www.bidhaa.co.ke/

-End-

For more information, please contact:

Xavier Pierluca: xavier.pierluca@enabling.ch

Peter George: peter.george@enabling.ch
Spaulding Academy & Family Services New Leadership Additions, Courtrney Constant and Nick Silva We are excited to welcome these young professionals to our leadership team and look forward to the contributions, passion and fresh perspectives these two individuals will undoubtedly bring to our experienced leadership team, said Todd Emmons, CEO, Spaulding Academy & Family Services.

Spaulding Academy & Family Services has named two new directors to their executive leadership team. Courtney Constant has joined as the organizations Director of Development and Community Relations and Nick Silva was recently promoted to Director of Admissions.

Constant previously worked in real estate as Director of Operations at Lake Life Realty  Compass New England since 2018. In her role at Lake Life Realty, she led the agencys team to raise over $200,000 for Make-A-Wish New Hampshire and continues to volunteer on the Rafting for Wishes event planning committee. Constant holds a masters degree in Human Relations and a bachelors degree in Psychology from Plymouth State University.

Since joining Spaulding Academy & Family Services in 2014, Silva was successful in several roles across campus, including Academic Aide, Paraprofessional, Residential Counselor and Associate Teacher. This experience made him uniquely qualified to earn a promotion to Admissions Assistant in 2017. As the Admissions Assistant, he worked closely with each department on campus to lead tours, follow up on new students progress and be a part of the Spaulding enrollment process from start to finish. Silva holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelors degree from Elms College.

We are excited to welcome these young professionals to our leadership team and look forward to the contributions, passion and fresh perspectives these two individuals will undoubtedly bring to our experienced leadership team," said Todd Emmons, Chief Executive Officer, Spaulding Academy & Family Services. As an ever-evolving organization, Spaulding is continuously looking for opportunities to promote from within and demonstrate our campus-wide dedication to diversity.

For more information regarding currently available positions, visit SpauldingServices.org/jobs.

ABOUT SPAULDING ACADEMY & FAMILY SERVICES

Spaulding Academy & Family Services is a leading provider of educational, residential, therapeutic and community-based programs and services for families, and children and youth with neurological, emotional, behavioral, learning or developmental challenges, including Autism Spectrum Disorder and those who have experienced significant trauma, abuse or neglect. Established in 1871 as the New Hampshire Orphans Home and School for Industry, Spaulding Academy & Family Services is the oldest child care organization in operation in the United States. It is a is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was formerly known as Spaulding Youth Center since 1958. Its scenic hilltop campus is located on over 500 acres in Northfield, NH and welcomes boys and girls from ages 4 to 22 from around the state of New Hampshire and beyond. In addition to programs provided on the Northfield campus, Spauldings community-based programs include foster family licensing, Individual Service Option (ISO) foster care, ISO in-home services, child health support services, and more for children ages 0 to 20 and their family. For information about Spaulding Academy & Family Services, visit http://www.SpauldingServices.org.
Leez May "As we continue to build the future of customer experience management, it is important to have a deep understanding of the entire customer journey from brand awareness to maintaining customer loyalty,"

TotalCX, a leading provider of AI-driven customer experience management solutions, has announced a new member of the executive leadership team, Leez May, who has been named Chief Experience Officer (CXO).

May joined TotalCX (formerly InteractiveTel) in March 2022 as the Executive Assistant to the CEO and Marketing Operations Manager. As she settled into those roles, she quickly expanded into other business areas. She evaluated internal processes and identified the need to improve customer and internal communications and workflow.

"Customer experience is essential, and although businesses say they understand this, the focus is usually on sales and market penetration. Understanding the customer journey and the emotional drivers through the customers life cycle is key to creating the best customer experience," said May. "But this also involves creating a positive experience for employees. Employee satisfaction directly contributes to delivering positive customer experience which subsequently influences the decision to purchase," adds May.

The CXO role champions the customer journey and lifecycle to sustain a positive customer experience. It involves understanding customer perception and keeping track of key performance indicators (KPIs) for experience engineering. Building a positive customer experience includes ensuring employee satisfaction.

May understands the importance of both the customer and employee experience, which drives her to not only understand areas of improvement but also discover ways to affect change. Her ability to make collaborative decisions with management and leadership team members is the foundation for her promotion to CXO and the next steps in her TotalCX journey.

"As we continue to build the future of customer experience management, it is important to have a deep understanding of the entire customer journey from brand awareness to maintaining customer loyalty," explains CEO Gary Graves. "Adding a Chief Experience Officer is aligned with our vision, and Leez May is the right person for the job and will excel in this role."

About TotalCX

TotalCX is a comprehensive approach to customer experience management and combines automation, AI technology, ongoing training, real-time assessments, and staff augmentation. Including the company's award-winning Hosted PBX, enabling organizations to scale more easily and collaborate more effectively. Our exclusive technology captures and analyzes voice and text communications in real-time, automatically alerting stakeholders to accelerate decision-making that improves customer experience and business results. TotalCXs solutions are used by more than 4,000 businesses  from startups to Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit https://totalcx.com/.

Media Contacts:

Leez May

Chief Experience Officer

TotalCX

leez@totalcx.com

623.385.9891
If you would like to know more about the Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

The Los Angeles labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint against Real Time Staffing Services, LLC, Employbridge, LLC, and Lakeshore Learning Materials, LLC (hereinafter, collectively, "Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials") for allegedly failing to provide employees with timely, off-duty meal and rest periods. The Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials class action lawsuit, Case No. 23STCV01037, is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the complaint can be read here.

According to the lawsuit, Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections  201, 202, 203, 204, 226, 226.7, 246, 510, 512, 558, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198 by failing to: (1) pay minimum wages; (2) pay overtime wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (5) provide wages when due.

The lawsuit also alleges Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Real Time Staffing Services', Employbridge's and Lakeshore Learning Materials' conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. An "aggrieved employee" is defined as "any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed." Cal. Lab. Code section 2699(c). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to become deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code.

If you would like to know more about the Real Time Staffing Services, Employbridge and Lakeshore Learning Materials lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment.

-THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT-
Newspaper journalist-turned-novelist Jumata Emill makes his YA debut with The Black Queen, a murder mystery brimming with suspense and set in the Deep South. The day after bright and popular Nova Albright is crowned Lovett High Schools first Black homecoming queen, shes found murdered in a historic slave cemetery. It falls to Duchess, her best friend and the daughter of the investigating detective, and Tinsley, her rival and the prime suspect in her murder, to uncover the truth of Novas final hours as well as the secrets shes been safeguarding her whole life. Emill spoke with PW about the importance of women in his life and work, the complexity of Black identity, and the power of the Deep South as a setting for storytelling.

The Black Queen centers on polarized white and Black communities forced to share a town and a high school in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. What compelled you to set the story in such a location?

I have a love-hate relationship with the Deep South. I love it for its aesthetic and the culture; I also hate it for the racism, both blatant and undercurrents of it. Having said that, the South is the perfect backdrop for stories because you have all this ready-made tensionnot only with race but with classism, with culture sometimes. I just love the whole Southern gothic aesthetic. Ive lived in Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, and what was so interesting to me when I first, right out of college, started working at a newspaper in Hattiesburg, Miss., was how they talked about Hurricane Katrina. I live in the Baton Rouge area; its a part of our life now. It changed the landscape of how New Orleans looks. But what people dont really talk about is what it did on the other side of the storm, which is what happened in parts of Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast like Biloxi and Gulfport, so I decided I wanted to set [the book] there.

I knew Hurricane Katrina served as a great way to show how it impacted the population in terms of mixing up students like you had at Lovett High. What happened at a lot of schools here and along the Gulf Coast was that after Hurricane Katrina when certain schools got torn down, if they were the Black schools a lot of the time they didnt get rebuilt. Theyd rebuild the white schools and divide the Black kids up. So I knew it would be the perfect place to set it and it would feel realistic.

How has your own experience shaped The Black Queen?

My experience as a journalist pretty much influenced this entire book. Im still a journalist but I worked as a newspaper journalist for six years. During that time, I had a lot of conversations that would later impact this novel. The whole idea of the Black Queen came about from a conversation I had with a coworker who happened to be a white girl. She brought up the fact that a girl she went to high school with got mad because she wanted to be homecoming queen but she couldnt because it was the year they were supposed to elect a Black girl. She said, At my school, we elect a Black girl, then a white girl, then a Black girl. I said, Wait. What? She said theyd go back and forth because they wanted to have diversity. I thought this sounded so ridiculous and it also sounded so southern. I thought this would be a great premise for a story if I added a murder to it.

The Black Queen is told from two POVs: Duchess and Tinsley. Why did you want to tell the story from their distinct perspectives?

Right after the George Floyd murder when the police reform protests were really starting to ramp up, I was hanging out with a lot of my friends who are white. They were talking about the protests. I didnt really want to talk about it because I was already exhausted; it was the middle of the pandemic. They talked about the kinds of conversations they were having with their family members who werent progressive in thought. They talked about how they were going back and forth with them, arguing with them and some of them were talking about disowning their parents. I thought this would be a great thread to pull on with this story, if I had this girl who started out as the absolute worst at the start of the story and had to confront her privilege. As many books as there are by white authors, I had never read one about a white character who confronts their privilege and what that looks like. I felt like that was an important conversation to have.

 I want to have people thinking in a different way, and that's for Black and white readers. 

At the same time, I started to ask myself what other characters would inhabit this world. I thought about Duchess and who she would be. I knew that I wanted her to be queer. I knew I wanted her to be Black. But then I thought about conversations I had had as a journalist with a lot of Black police officers. A lot of the towns I covered were either majority-white towns or they were very, very small southern towns with small police departments that were all white. During that time I was covering crime scenes, there was a lot of downtime when youre waiting for cops to come talk to you. I was one of the only Black reporters at a lot of my publications and there was a kinship when Black officers would see me in the field. As I got to know them, they would start talking to me about what it was like to be either the only Black police officer or one of the only Black officers on a police force. There were two things that were interesting in those conversations: how Black officers told me they were treated by the Black community because they wore a badge, and how their children were treated. When their kids would go to school, their classmates would be mad at them and the kids would always have to defend their dads. During the police reform protests, the Black police officers bosses would stalk their kids social media to make sure they werent saying anything against police officers. As I was developing Duchess, I decided I wanted to use some of those stories.

The Black Queen features a sizeable array of distinctive female characters. What drew you to write these characters, and how did they shape the story?

I love me a strong woman. I am in love with a strong Black woman, which sounds funny because Im gay but its not in a sexual way. So much of our society is shaped around men and women needing to please men. I love a woman whos like Screw that, Im doing my own thing. I look at that in my own mother. My mother divorced when I was about seven or eight and most of my life, she was a single mom. She worked, she held down a job, gave us this great middle-class life, and every play or game me and my sister had, she was there. I asked her, How did you do this? How were you able to show up this way? It was like magic. That goes for my aunts as well. I was raised around very strong women, so Im familiar with seeing women who have complicated lives persevere. I wanted to explore what happens to them when their morality is tested.

The Black Queen broaches the subjects of white privilege, class differences, and policing while Black from multiple vantage points. What do you hope readers from differing social and political backgrounds will take from the story?

What I want especially white readers to understand is that race in this country is a very nuanced discussion. It is not one-size-fits all. Everyones experience with race will not be the same, and thats okay. But they need to understand where the frustration comes from. The scene I wrote between Duchess and her girlfriends friends was me trying to touch on that. Its hard to be Black sometimes because in order to get acceptance from the Black community, we have to think one way we dont agree with because we dont want to be seen as betraying our community. Why cant things ever be easy for us? Its because all these discussions around racism, race, and classism always have this additional layer for us.

When I really began to put pen to paper to write The Black Queen at the height of the protests when, as Duchess says in the book, white people realized racism was still a problem in this country, you had all of these diversity initiatives come out. We need to drive diversity. Diversity, diversity. Thats all you heard, and it started to feel hollow and very performative. Thats when I started to consider how I set up the situation at Lovett High School. If a diversity initiative doesnt really address the real issue of why you need a diversity initiative, are we really fixing the problem? Is representation the only key to liberation? I dont really have the answer to that, but I wanted to have a story where I could explore that discussion as I believe its one we need to be having. Those discussions spark change. While everyone may not agree exactly, I walk away thinking, Wow, I never looked at things like that. That shapes how I think and act moving forward. I want to have people thinking in a different way, and thats for Black and white readers.

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill. Delacorte, $18.99 Jan. 31 ISBN 978-0-593-56854-5
The fallout from Penguin Random Houses failure to acquire Simon & Schuster continued today with the news that PRH US CEO Madeline McIntosh will leave the company in the near future. In a memo to staff, McIntosh wrote that she is stepping down from her position, but that she will work with Nihar Malaviya, PRHs interim global CEO, to determine the best plan for the U.S. organization going forward.

McIntoshs resignation follows, by about three weeks, the departure of Gina Centrello, the longtime publisher and president of the Random House Publishing Group. In announcing Centrellos retirement, McIntosh wrote that, given the strong leadership team that Centrello built, we can take the time we needto develop the plan for Ginas succession.

In his memo on McIntoshs exit, Malaviya wrote that he will collaborate with McIntosh to shape the new organization, adding that McIntosh will work closely with me to minimize any disruption to the company and all of you. I understand that changes like this naturally create unease. Please rest assured that we will move as quickly as possible.

The loss of Centrello and McIntosh follows the resignation of PRH global CEO Markus Dohle, who stepped aside at the end of 2022 shortly after it was decided that PRH would not appeal the Department of Justices decision to block PRHs purchase of S&S. During his testimony during the trial, Dohle made comments many observers believed were critical of certain aspects of Centrello's and McIntoshs leadershipremarks that were generally not well received within the company.

In her memo, McIntosh said that one reason for her decision to leave is that she doesnt believe it is a good thing for CEOs to stay in their seats forever. Fresh perspectives can be incredibly healthy and helpful for organizations. McIntosh added that she had no immediate plans, explaining: There are ideas Ive had over the years that have never found a natural fit within PRH, but which Im excited to explore now. After all these years inside the safe and supportive home that is our company, Im itching to make another leap.

Her route to the PRH CEO was a circuitous one. McIntosh was named CEO in April 2018 after serving as president of the Penguin Publishing Group. She began her career at Bantam Doubleday Dell in its new media division, left publishing in 2008 to become director of Kindle content acquisition for Amazon in Luxembourg, and was recruited by Dohle to join Random House in 2009. Among the positions she has held at what is now PRH are president and COO of Penguin Random House U.S.; publisher of Random House Audio; and director of adult sales at Random House.
No, author Sabaa Tahir did not actually yell out, Im going to Disneyland! when she learned that her YA novel All My Rage (Razorbill) had won the Printz Award. But the theme park does have a cameo in Tahirs recollection of how she first heard the news.

Last week I got an email that there was a paper stock issue with my paperback, Tahir recalled, setting the scene. And because the paperback of All My Rage is going to be out in a month or so, I was like, Oh no. 

Naturally, the matter necessitated a Zoom call with her publisher, and that was a logical next step that didnt raise any suspicion. It was early enoughI had always thought that anyone who won something found out the morning of, or the day beforeso the awards werent really on my radar, Tahir said. And then I got into the Zoom meeting and I didnt recognize anybody. But Valerie [Davis], who was the chair of the [Printz] committee, said, You look confused, but I promise well clear that up in a second. And then they told me.

By sheer accident, Tahir was at least in some small way prepared for this big announcement. I had my cat with me; I usually bring Sami with me to meetings with my publisher because they love to see her, she said with a laugh. I grabbed her for emotional support, because I was so overwhelmed, and I started crying. And then I dont actually know what I said. I said a lot of thank-yous and I think I talked about the desert, but I truly dont remember. I just remember feeling really overwhelmed and really grateful. This is not what I thought would happen when I wrote this book. I genuinely thought no one was ever going to read it.

But many people indeed have read Tahirs story of two generations of a working-class Pakistani American family and the motel they run in the California desert as they navigate the effects of substance abuse, financial stress, ill health, and racism, among other things. The novel was inspired by Tahirs childhood experiences; as she told PW in an interview last year, I tore this book from my heart, over the course of many years and in many iterations. Its a story that demanded to be told, a love letter to the desert and rock music and tiny motels and the kinds of friendships that save your life. When All My Rage pubbed in March 2022, it debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, received wide critical acclaim, and was named the winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature.

Though shes been enormously appreciative of all the accolades All My Rage has garnered so far, Tahir said, The Printz, to me, is special for a few reasons. One, it is awarded by librarians. And I think that of all the people involved in the publishing industry, librarians are the ones who are on the ground, and who understand most clearly what children need and what theyre reading, and what is relevant to themand what maybe they havent gotten in their hands yet. The Printz represents all of those things, she added. I remember when I first wanted to become a writer, walking through bookstores and seeing American Born Chinese with the Printz medal on it and seeing Going Bovine with the Printz medal on it and knowing that was a big deal, even as a baby writer just starting to learn about the young adult industry. So, it really hit me, and had a big impact for all of those reasons.

Tahir knows for sure that her fateful Zoom call came on Tuesday [January 24], because on Wednesday I went to Disneyland, she said, laughing. Thats how I remember. It had been a long-planned excursion with her family during a trip to her parents home in California. My mom actually kind of made me take the kids. Tahir noted. When she knew I was coming to visit her, she said, You dont take my grandchildren anywhere fun. I got you Disneyland tickets. So, I was like, I guess were going to Disneyland, guys.

That famous Disney promotional exclamation made by winners everywhere over the years was not lost on Tahir. We were cracking up about that afterward, she said. It was a very happy day at Disneyland, whatever I wantedI had like 10 churrosit was great.

On a similarly high note, Tahir added, I got to spend time with my parents. Theyre the ones who survived the desert for us and made this life for us out there. They sacrificed so much for our happiness and our dreams. To be able to see them right after and share that with them was the best celebration I could have had.
A former castle turned prison is now a boarding school for an elite band of crime-fighting underdogs in Misfit Mysteries, a forthcoming middle-grade series from Random House Books for Young Readers.

Written by Lisa Yee, a 2023 Newbery Honor winner, and 2022 National Book Award finalist, and illustrated by 2015 Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, the series will debut in January 2024 with The Royal Heist, with a second installment to follow in spring 2025.

Misfit Mysteries marks a collaborative reunion for Yee and Santat, who teamed up to create the Bobby vs. Girls series for Scholastics Arthur A. Levine imprint in 2009. The author and illustrator have, in fact, followed similar career paths from the start: both first published with Scholastic/Levine individually before their initial collaboration, and they share an agent, Jodi Reamer at Writers House.

For years, Yee and Santat lived near each other in the Los Angeles area, and they became close friends and mutually self-described frequent lunch buddies until Yee moved to western Massachusetts in 2015 (though she continues to split her time between the two coasts).

The Misfits Materialize

Misfit Mysteries began with two words, Yee explained, though not the two one might presume. I was at Disneyland with Jodi [Reamer], and I told her that I had an idea for a book, because two words had popped up for meballerina battalion,  the author said, adding that the original premise of crime-fighting ballerinas morphed into kids with specific talents who are trained in both ballet and martial arts.

Yee avoided writing Misfit Mysteries as traditional genre fiction, opting instead to mix and match. As for the setting, the inspiration dated back to a childhood visit to Alcatraz. I vividly remember thinking, I want to live here, but I dont want to be a prisoner,  the author said. So when I began creating the series, I envisioned a foggy island made of stone and a castle-like mansion with secret passageways and lots of cells, since it had once been a prison. As it turned out, the setting became a character in the series, too.

Sending her young protagonists to an eerie and secretive locale, where students and trainers alike are clueless about what is going on, gave Yee a sense of freedom as she shaped Misfit Mysteries. I loved that there were no boundaries here and anything was possible, she said. I felt that I was free to write what I wantedthe wackier the better.

Welcoming Santat on Board

Yee, who is in constant phone contact with Santat, via calls and texts, cant recall exactly how he became the illustrator of Misfit Mysteries. It just made so much sense, since weve known each other for so long and he has such amazing skills. Once Santat joined the project, Yee said, It helped with the writing. As I created scenes, Id think, Oh, I cant wait to see what Dan can do with this one! 

Santat goodnaturedly recalled being introduced to Misfit Mysteries a bit more belatedly than he would have liked. I remember Jodi telling me that Lisa was working on a new project, but she wouldnt tell me any details, and Lisa didnt mention anything about it either.

The illustrators curiosity was sated at last when he received the manuscript for The Royal Heistand signed on as illustrator. He was drawn to the novelty of the series premise. There have been plenty of series about boarding schools for gifted children, and for years they tended to be magic- or fantasy- based, he said. This one is a bit more rooted in reality, in that these are ordinary kids who have learned to focus on their individual skills. They are layered characters whom I found easy to relate to.

And the artist soon discovered that the Misfits are entertaining characters to draw and dress. They are good at what they do and can afford to be a little cocky, Santat said. Oh, to be 12 years old and have that self-confidence! I feel that these characters are almost giving me permission to dress them up and push them to the edge of cool fashionand I always love to flex that muscle.

And it is something he does well, according to Yee, who was delighted with Santats interpretation of the eccentric cast of Misfits. Dan and I didnt do much back-and-forth while he illustrated the text, she explained. I just wanted to let him do his thing. Its amazing that he can do so much with a few brush strokes. The way he can raise an eyebrowthose little details that are so subtle and yet mean so much. Dans art has such remarkable energy to it and appeals to both adults and kids, which is not true of all illustrators.

Random House Books for Young Readers editor Tricia Lin was thrilled to have a chance to work with Yee and Santatboth for the first timeon a project she said combines a couple of things that are both evergreen and fresh in the market. The core appeal is that this is a commercial spy-centric, crime-fighting series. And this cool concept is combined with a charming awkwardness on the characters parts, as well as Lisas middle-grade voice, which is so real, accessible, and funny.

Lin added that Misfit Mysteries has a humor reminiscent of the Mysterious Benedict Society, a humor that is reinforced by Santats illustrations. Dans art brings the storys wackiness, energy, and charm to the next level, she said. Together, Lisa and Dan bring a spark and cleverness to this series that makes it so special, and it is my pleasure and honor to be a part of it.
Donald Trump this week filed a $50 million lawsuit alleging that bestselling author Bob Woodward and his publisher Simon & Schuster breached the former president's copyright interests by publishing The Trump Tapes: The Historical Record, an audiobook based on interviews recorded for Woodwards 2021 book Rage.

"This case centers on Mr. Woodwards systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump gathered in connection with a series of interviews conducted by Mr. Woodward," reads the complaint, filed in federal court in Pensacola, Fla. "Said audio was protected material, subject to various limitations on use and distributionas a matter of copyright, license, contract, basic principles of the publishing industry, and core values of fairness and consent."

The suit seeks a declaratory judgment acknowledging Trump's "full copyright interest" in the recordings and the works derived from the recordings, and (based on some murky math) "compensatory, punitive damages and disgorgement" of at least $49,980,000.

In a joint statement, Woodward and his publisher rejected Trump's claims.

"Former President Trumps lawsuit is without merit and we will aggressively defend against it," the statement reads. "All these interviews were on the record and recorded with President Trump's knowledge and agreement. Moreover, it is in the public interest to have this historical record in Trump's own words. We are confident that the facts and the law are in our favor."

The suit is the latest legal battle between Trump and S&S. In 2020, Trump's Department of Justice sued to block to block former national security adviser John Boltons memoir, The Room Where It Happened. The suit failed, and the book would go on to become a bestseller. After a year of litigation, the DOJ eventually dropped subsequent criminal and civil lawsuits against Bolton.

A month later, Trump unsuccessfully sued Simon & Schuster and his niece, author Mary Trump, in New York state court seeking to block publication of her memoir Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man. The book would go on to sell more than a million copies.

Meanwhile, in a letter last week Trump threatened to sue Simon & Schuster and former New York criminal prosecutor Mark Pomerantz over the forthcoming publication of Pomerantz's People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The Indiana Forage Council (IFC) Annual Meeting and Seminar will take place Feb. 9, 2023, at CLAAS of America in Columbus, Indiana. The location is the North American distribution hub for the global manufacturer of CLAAS harvesting machines and tractors.

The yearly event is an opportunity to network with individuals who are enthusiastic about the contributions that forages provide society, said Keith Johnson, professor of agronomy at Purdue University. Scheduled events include a tour of CLAAS of America, a networking dinner and a brief awards presentation.

In addition, featured speakers Brock Kiesler and Matt Tobias will discuss the production, harvest and marketing strategies they use to produce high-quality hay. As cash-crop hay producers in Floyd and Shelby counties, respectively, they have received recognition for award-winning hay entries in the IFCs hay-quality contest.

Elysia Rodgers, Purdue Extension director and educator, Dekalb County, said, This will be my last annual meeting as the president of the Indiana Forage Council, having served the last two years. It has been a pleasure to see the changes in the forage industry and meet so many people from across Indiana that have similar interests.

Registration and agenda details can be found on the IFC website and Facebook page.

Writer: Ashvini Malshe, 765-496-7480, malshea@purdue.edu

Source: Keith Johnson, 765-494-4800, johnsonk@purdue.edu

Elysia Rodgers, 260-925-2562, eberry@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
Headquartered in The Netherlands, with additional offices opening in South Africa and the US, Any Moment Media was established to create, launch and manage FAST and thematic channels, co-productions and brand partnerships. The company has partnerships with Tomorrowland for One World TV and Water Bear for US distribution and content production. AMMG also created and is distributing Spark TV, a FAST channel featuring original, influencer-produced content.The new acquisition will see Dutchess Media co-founder and former Insight TV VP of content and channels Arun Maljaars become AMMGs CEO, with Linn Adolfsson joining as chief creative officer. Joining Maljaars and Adolfsson are Matthew Carr, chief financial officer, Mirko Oosthoek, vice president of advertising and brand partnerships and Aaron Ann, director of brand partnerships. Victor Thompson is technical manager and head of scheduling. Rachel Yepes is VP Americas.The newly formed company recently signed a representation agreement with WaterBear Network , said to be the first interactive streaming platform and digital publisher dedicated to the future of the planet. In addition, AMMG will provide support for WaterBears channel distribution efforts in the USA and facilitate co-productions with channels and brands.AMMG has also secured FAST distribution deals in the UK and The Netherlands for its existing proprietary ad-supported streaming channel Spark TV, a channel featuring original influencer-produced content and live sports. In the UK the channel will be available on Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels and on Samsung TV Plus in The Netherlands.With Any Moment Media Group we wanted to expand upon Dutchess Medias vision of providing channel creation and distribution services and include our vast collective experience in production, brand partnerships and play-out, Maljaars commented. Our strategic partnership with WaterBear for North America, new launch territories for Spark TV and kicking-off co-production projects exemplify just a few of our capabilities on a global scale. Look for much more from AMMG in 2023.www.anymomentmedia.com
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In 2008, two University of Georgia students and fraternity brothers, Daniel Womack and Carter King, came together and created the indie rock band, Futurebirds. Later, they were joined by bassist Brannen Miles, Kiffy Myers on the pedal steel, guitarist and vocalist Thomas Johnson, Spencer Thomas on the keys and drummer Tom Myers. The Red and Black spoke with Womack to discuss the bands creation, Athens roots and touring.
The College Republicans at the University of Georgia hosted former United States Department of Education press secretary, Angela Morabito, on Wednesday evening in the UGA Miller Learning Center.

Morabito worked under former U.S. President Donald Trump. She is the current spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute, which is a right-leaning nonprofit organization, according to its website.
Kiara Theriault and Nahaly Arriaga, eighth graders at Brattleboro Area Middle School, earned the title of state finalists in the Solve for Tomorrow contest hosted by Samsung.
To the editor: In the article about Select Board candidates appearing in Tuesday's Reformer ("Brattleboro gears up for competitive Select Boar
Photographer / Multimedia Editor

Has been working as a photojournalist since 2007, before moving into newspapers, he worked with an NGO called Project HOPE. He then went to work for the Press and Sun-Bulletin in New York, and then in New England working for the Brattleboro Reformer.
You are the owner of this article.
Long-time PM Hun Sen will remain in office for now, the party decided.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen gestures as he arrives to attend the EU-ASEAN (European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit in Brussels on Dec. 14, 2022.

Cambodias ruling Cambodian Peoples Party said in a newly adopted resolution that Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled for over three decades, will remain its candidate as it remains necessary to get rid of what the party calls "extremist politics and activities.

The CPP held an extraordinary congress from Jan. 28-29, less than six months before the National Assembly elections in July, and chose to nominate the strongman Hun Sen for upcoming elections.

Ruling party spokesperson Chhim Phalvarun confirmed at a Jan. 29 news conference that the ruling party was making the move to "change attitudes" among Cambodians to avoid sentiments that affect national unity.

We are now entering a political culture in which we are 30 years old of a multiparty liberal democracy, he said.  Thus, the Royal Government  can issue strict principles to prevent excessive extremist political character.

But Cambodian political analyst Kim Sok, living in exile to escape persecution by authorities, said that the ruling party is the extremist political element, arguing that it has destroyed democracy and rule of law in the Southeast Asian nation.

It is the CPP itself that is extremist, while the pro-democracy political parties are not extremist, Kim Sok said. They just demand a contest that is in line with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia: free and fair. That is not extreme. 

Kim Sok added that the ruling partys continued crackdowns are an indication of its concern that rising opposition groups, like the Candlelight Party, could beat it in elections.

Political scientist Em Sovannara said the governments portrayal of its opposition as an extremist group will set the stage for continued judicial crackdowns.

"We see the determination and political messages of the ruling party leaders so far, it makes the opposition leaders victimized, he said. Many public institutions, which are supposed to be independent, seem to send messages that do not reflect their independent stance, but rather represent the ruling party.

Hun Sens son, Hun Manet, is widely expected to succeed him in office as leader of the party and of Cambodia. But ruling party spokesperson Sous Yara declined to say what the next steps in that process would be.

Our only candidate is Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Sous Yara said, using Hun Sens honorific title. For His Excellency Hun Manet, it is a matter that we will confirm later when he [Hun Sen] gets elected.

But Kim Sok said this move may be an attempt to provide cover for Hun Sens succession plans, allowing him to transfer leadership during an inter-election period.

It looks like Prime Minister Hun Sen has no choice but to deceive his internal party and the Cambodian people to achieve the plan to transfer power from him to his son Hun Manet. Kim Sok said.

For decades, Hun Sen has consolidated his hold on power and eliminated all serious opposition parties running against him. He has publicly stated that he not only wants to be the next prime minister's father, but also to be any subsequent prime minister's grandfather.

This years parliamentary elections will be the second such vote since courts beholden to Hun Sen outlawed the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in 2017, arresting or driving its leadership into exile.

Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Nawar Nemeh and Paul Eckert.
Sources in China say death rates are many times higher than normal since restrictions were lifted.

Relatives and neighbors attend the funeral of a woman in a village in Tonglu county, Zhejiang province, China, Jan. 9, 2023.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that China's COVID-19 death figures are likely to be "much higher" than its government is saying, a view that is backed up by anecdotal evidence and sources on the ground.

"The moment they relaxed the COVID-19 restrictions, the number of deaths spiked sharply," said Chen Heyang, a person close to the civil affairs department in Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged three years ago.

He said his home district of Huangpi had reported around 5,000 deaths in the month since the lockdowns and travel bans of zero-COVID were lifted. "There are around 900,000 people living in Huangpi district, and more than 5,000 deaths in this one month, which is several times the usual [death rate]," he said.

He said the civil affairs bureau has consequently seen a sharp spike in applications for funeral expenses to family members, as well as in applications for the cancellation of household registrations, a necessary piece of paperwork after someone dies.

In mid-January, almost 40,000 COVID-19 weekly deaths were reported to the global health body -- more than half of them in China -- while the true toll "is certainly much higher, WHO chief Tedros told a committee meeting on Friday.

Patients lie on beds in the emergency department of a hospital in Shanghai, China, Jan. 5, 2023. Credit: Reuters





"As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, we are certainly in a much better position now than we were a year ago, when the Omicron wave was at its peak, and more than 70,000 deaths were being reported to WHO each week," he said.

But he added the weekly death rate has risen since the start of December, with a spike in deaths following the lifting of the zero-COVID policy in China.

Surging death tolls

In other evidence, a healthcare worker from the eastern province of Jiangsu told Radio Free Asia that the civil affairs computer system in the province had also shown a sharp spike in cancellations of household registrations, called "hukou," implying a sharp rise in the number of deaths recently.

Healthcare professional Wang Ning said the number of cancellations had increased several times over since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions at the beginning of December.

"For example, in this city, 100 people used to die in a month, but now it is basically between 300 and 500 people," Wang said, citing civil affairs bureau officials personally known to her.

A resident of Wuhan who gave only the surname Zhang for fear of reprisals said most cases and deaths are no longer being reported.

"We can see white chrysanthemums [for mourning] all over the place on the streets right now," Zhang said. "The pandemic worsened as soon as the government opened everything up."

Medical workers attend to COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit converted from a conference room, at a hospital in Cangzhou, Hebei province, China Jan. 11, 2023. Credit: China Daily via Reuters





His claim was backed up by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which said in a recent statement that "the authorities suppressed COVID death and infection numbers by preventing hospitals and families from registering Covid as a cause of death."

Repeated calls to the Wuhan municipal, Huangpi district and Jiang'an district civil affairs bureaus rang unanswered during office hours late last week.

An official who answered the phone at the civil affairs bureau in Wuhan's Qiaokou district declined to comment on an increase in household registrations or funeral expense claims.

Lunar New Year wave?

A U.K.-based research firm recently predicted that the current COVID-19 wave could mean as many as 36,000 deaths a day over the Lunar New Year holiday period, as millions of people travel to their ancestral homes to spend time with loved ones.

Beijing says it has been fully "transparent" about its COVID-19 reporting, amid criticism on social media over the governments reporting of the outbreak and widespread anecdotal evidence that funeral homes are working round the clock to keep pace with a huge rise in demand for cremations.

Passengers traveling during the Lunar New Year arrive at Hankou railway station in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Credit: AFP

In a related development, U.S.-based Chinese student Han Yutao said the ministry of education has said it will end recognition for overseas degrees and diplomas obtained through distance-learning.

The new requirement could force Chinese students to rush back to overseas campuses or risk being left with an unrecognized qualification, Han said.

"They may have chosen to take courses online because they didn't want to leave their homes, and expecting them to suddenly live independently [overseas] is a tough ask," Han said. "But if they don't leave, they will have spent that money for nothing."

He said the winter semester in the United States has been under way for more than a month, with scant accommodation available for late arrivals.

Chinese-Australian Wu Lebao said Beijing is keen to push the narrative that the pandemic is over.

"The propaganda is that the fight has been won, and the pandemic is over," Wu told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday. "All traces of zero-COVID must be erased ... which is a total politicization."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
U.S. military leaders cant seem to agree on a timeline for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

When will China invade Taiwan?

Probably by 2027, if you believe Adm. Philip Davidson, the now-retired head of the U.S. militarys Indo-Pacific Command.

The threat is manifest during this decade  in fact, in the next six years, Davidson told a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March 2021, before he retired from the role.

I cannot for the life of me understand some of the capabilities that theyre putting in the field, unless ... it is an aggressive posture, he added, noting Taiwan was key to Beijings plans to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the world order.

Davidson reiterated his 2027 guess last week, noting Chinese President Xi Jinping could by then be seeking a fourth term in office, and could put the country on war-footing as he seeks legitimacy.

But it could be even sooner  like in 2025, according to U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, who caused a stir last week with a memo directing his 50,000 subordinates to aim for the head in the war.

I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025, wrote Minihan, who heads the Air Forces Air Mobility Command and is responsible for transport and refueling operations.

Taiwans presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America, he said in the leaked memo. Xis team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.

The Pentagon distanced itself from Minihans comments. But not everyone disagreed: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House foreign relations committee, said he only hoped Minihan was wrong. I think hes right, though, unfortunately, he said.

Even 2025 might be too optimistic, though, if you ask Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of U.S. naval operations, who reckons even later this year cannot be ruled out, given how the Chinese behave.

What weve seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise theyve made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it, Gilday said at an Atlantic Council event Oct. 5. When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window; I cant rule it out.

2023, 2025 or 2027

So why are there so many different estimates?

Jeffrey Meiser, professor of political science at the University of Portland and former associate professor at the National Defense University in Washington, said military leaders had a clear incentive to predict things that will increase the readiness of U.S. forces.

Saying you think it is going to happen in a specific year adds credence to the prediction and gets peoples attention much more than saying it will happen in the next five or ten years, Meiser said, adding there was a perverse incentive when prognosticating.

Bad predictions are so common that they are forgotten quickly, he explained. Good predictions are less common and if you get something big correct, like war with China, then that will likely get a lot of attention, and in the context of generals making these predictions they may go down as prescient, having special insight, and maybe even be credited with saving the republic.

But Meiser said it was all, in the end, mostly performative.

Nobody knows when or if China will invade Taiwan, he said.

Still, Xi has never minced words when it comes to Taiwan.

At the 20th Communist Party National Congress in October, shortly before he was appointed to a norm-bending third term as president, Xi vowed that Beijing would never promise to renounce the use of force to take over Taiwan and return it to mainland control.

Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese, Xi said. We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.

Military restraint

The threat is being taken seriously by the Department of Defense, which outlined four scenarios for an invasion in its China Military Power Report late last year, without offering any timeline.

A separate report from the independent Center for Strategic and International Studies based on a wargame it ran concluded that any Chinese invasion of the democratic island would likely fail and cause extensive economic damage to all those involved.

But Xis rhetoric has not gone unnoticed by American officials, even outside the military. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year said Beijing was seeking to take Taiwan on a much faster timeline and could use forceful means to achieve its objectives.

Instead of sticking with the status quo that was established in a positive way, Blinken said, a fundamental decision [was made] that the status quo was no longer acceptable and that Beijing was determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline.

In fact, one of the few officials with some pause is the top U.S. general himself: Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who says he didnt see an invasion as imminent given the lessons of Russian President Vladimir Putins Ukraine invasion.

Hes a rational actor, he said of Xi in November. It would be a political mistake, a geopolitical mistake, a strategic mistake similar to the strategic mistake that Putin has made in Ukraine.

Milley explained that the U.S. military was watching the Chinese militarys build-up of capabilities very, very closely and that Beijing would likely be aware that it was far from ready to take Taiwan.

Most of Taiwan is a mountainous island, he said. It's a very, very difficult military objective [to invade]  a very difficult military operation to execute, and I think it'll be some time before the Chinese have the military capability and they're ready to do it.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, too, has made clear he does not believe Beijing has immediate plans to launch an invasion.

Ive met many times with Xi Jinping, and we were candid and clear with one another across the board, Austin said during the G-20 leaders meeting in Bali, Indonesia on Nov. 14. I do not think theres any imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan.

Incalculable but inevitable?

But experts around the world agree Xis eyes are on Taiwan.

The Mandarin-speaking former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is due to take up duties as ambassador in Washington next month, in a recent speech dismissed the idea that Xi had shelved long-term plans to take control of Taiwan.

Nothing could be further from the truth, Rudd said.

China still remains on track to enhance its military preparedness, as well as its financial, economic and technological preparedness, to take action against Taiwan from sometime in the late 2020s or in the 2030s  when Xi, of course, still aims to be in power, he said.

But while that day may come, the different estimates for the date of the invasion from U.S. military leaders, in the meantime, are not helping with readiness, said Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, during a call with reporters on Monday.

What we're effectively signaling is we have no idea  and I'm not sure we understand how damaging that is, Blanchette said.

Having this menu option of various years, depending on the official youre talking to, he added, comes across as undermining the credibility of our statements in our assessments.

We're basically the boy who cried wolf.

Whatever the case, one thing is clear: A Chinese invasion of the self-governing island would clash with U.S. commitments under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to resist any resort to force that jeopardizes Taiwans security. That commitment, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price has said, is rock solid.

When  or if  that happens, though, is anyones guess.
Three ministers were replaced by officials connected to new prime minister

Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone addresses the national assembly in the capital Vientiane in this handout screenshot taken from Laos state broadcaster Lao TV on Dec. 30, 2022.

Three ministers have been replaced by Laos National Assembly with officials closely connected to new Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, with the removed ministers appointed as provincial governors instead.

Santiphab Phonvihane, the son of a former Lao president, will now serve as minister of finance. replacing Bounchom Oubonpaseuth, who will take up the governorship of Savannakhet province.

Phoxay Sayasone, the son of another former President and current Saravane governor, will take up the Energy and Mine ministry, switching spots with Daovong Phonekeo who becomes governor of Saravane.

Finally, Ngampasong Meuangmany will be Minister of Public Works and Transport while his predecessor, Viengsavath Siphandone, the new Prime Ministers sister, will serve as governor of Luang Namtha.

The reshuffle came after a proposal from the prime minister, who was appointed by the assembly less than a month ago to replace Phankham Viphavanh.

Its standard for incoming prime ministers to reshuffle their cabinet, but one Lao intellectual who wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons said that many choose close connections as opposed to experienced officials for high-ranking roles.

Public reaction to the reshuffle was mixed. Some Lao citizens saw the moves as bureaucratic shifts within a one-party state. Others said the new appointees have relevant experience that they hope will allow them to carry out their roles proficiently.

Many said that it would be hard to inspect the transparency of their work if needed because of Laoss one-party system.

They select their own people, a villager from Savannakhet told RFA. One is [former President] Kaysone Phomvihan's son, he is suitable to help people, but will see the result.

Another resident from Vientiane municipality said that they belong to the same group, its hard to investigate if corruption happens among them because [the party] cant be investigated.

Speaking from Champassack, the new prime ministers home province, another villager said that he agreed with the selection, saying that the vision they have is the reason behind their selection.

Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Nawar Nemeh and Malcolm Foster.
The streets of Yangon, Myanmar, are mostly empty on Feb. 1, 2023, as citizens stage a silent strike to mark the second anniversary of the military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government.

UPDATED at 4:00 p.m. EST on 2/1/2023

Junta leaders placed Myanmar under six more months of emergency rule on Wednesday, the second anniversary of their ouster of the civilian government in a coup, citing ongoing resistance to army rule, junta-controlled media reported.

The announcement of the National Defense and Security Council decision to grant junta leader Min Aung Hlaing's request to extend emergency rule for a fifth six-month term came as scores of cities in the country of 54 million people -- Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Monywa and others -- stayed empty as residents stayed indoors for a five-hour "silent strike" to protest the unpopular coup. A similar protest was held on the first anniversary of the putsch and other occasions.

The shutdown of traffic and business came despite a junta warning that participants and instigators would be arrested and prosecuted and their homes and properties would seized. Arrests by the military have often meant torture and murder of the activists.

Todays silent strike has clearly proved that the people havent lost their heart, nor will they let a bunch of these thugs rule the country, said Nan Lin of the Yangon Strike Force.

The people already know and are not persuaded by their moves and their political stunts and the people will never comply with their rules, he told Radio Free Asia.

Junta leaders cited the extraordinary situation created by resistance against the military regime for stymieing efforts to hold a general election this year, the report said. Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing pledged to hold multi-party elections, but opponents have dismissed the election as a sham because it appears rigged to exclude parties ousted by the Feb. 1, 2021 coup and keep junta officials in power.

Protesters hold up a picture of Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 1, 2023. Credit: Reuters Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the coup that ousted and jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy government about two months after their landslide election victory, faulted "terrorist groups formed by deposed lawmakers and officialsthe Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and the National Unity Governmentas well as the numerous local militias known as Peoples Defense Forces that have fought the junta across Myanmar since 2021.

The silent strikes demonstrated the entire peoples opposition to everything that the military is doing and their illegitimate election that they hoped would give them a better standing, Maung Sa, a young resident of Yangon, told RFA Burmese.

The proposed election has been rejected by civilian parties because of onerous registration and finance regulations unveiled recently that tilt the playing field in favor of the military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party.

In the two previous parliamentary polls, the military proxy party lost badly to Suu Kyis National league for Democracy, and its unproven claim of voter fraud in the 2020 election was what prompted the coup. Min Aung Hlaing repeated the voter fraud claim on Wednesday.

"Myanmars junta is trying to establish a veneer of credibility by going through the motions of holding elections, but the international community shouldnt be fooled or browbeaten into recognizing this sham, said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

'He wants to be president

Myanmar political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would do whatever it takes to stay in power.

His promise to return to the path of democracy in Myanmar is just a cover story. He wants to be the president, he said.

He wants to gain the presidency himself. But the election will not be accepted by the world, except for Russia and China, of course, added Than Soe Naing, referring to continued support for the junta from Beijing and Moscow.

Giving Min Aung Hlaing another six months of power for an emergency situation indicates that they did not succeed in the coup and that they have no control over the country, said Kyaw Zaw, a spokesman for the National Unity Government.

Mandalay region NLD office [left] after a bomb blast on Oct. 27, 2021 and the Myeik township and district offices after a bomb blast on Oct. 20, 2021. Credit: RFA In a sign of growing foreign opprobrium toward the junta on the two-year anniversary, the U.S. and its allies on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions on the military regime.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining firms and energy officials, and other regime-linked entities, the Treasury Department said. Similar measures were unveiled by Canada, Australia, Britain and Canada.

Washingtons goal is to foster conditions that end the current crisis, but more importantly, return Burma to the path of inclusive, representative multiparty democracy, said Derek Chollet, counselor to the U.S. State Department.

Any election that the regime might have  will have no chance of being free or fair, given that the regime has imprisoned or intimidated nearly all critical potential contenders, and indeed does not control nearly 50% of Burma's territory, he told reporters.

"We have seen...that sanctions have had some effect on the junta," Chollet said.

"The economy last year in Myanmar contracted by nearly 20 percent. We see investors fleeing, we see foreign currency revert reserves dwindling, and we see it becoming harder for the regime to acquire arms, even though, unfortunately, there continues to be a steady pipeline of arms coming in," he added.

Falling currency, worsening corruption

In a sign of falling confidence in the junta, the value of the country's currency, the kyat, has dropped by 50 percent in the two years to December 2022, according to a report released by the World Bank on Monday.

The peoples livelihood is becoming more and more difficult. If it goes on like this, it will continue to decline further and the situation of the country will get worse, said an economist in Myanmar, who requested anonymity for personal safety.

Further fallout from the coup was traced by a leading corruption watchdog.

Myanmar has fallen 17 places in Transparency Internationals latest Corruption Perceptions Index , supplanting Cambodia as Southeast Asias worst country for graft for the first time in a decade and ahead of only North Korea in Asia for clean government.

Despite all the adverse developments, the head of a pro-military think tank told RFA things were looking up.

In summary, we are leading to a more stable situation and it's almost certain that the election is happening, said Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers.

Opponents of the junta, the latest iteration of military governments that have ruled Myanmar for more that 50 of its 75 years since it gained independence from British colonial rule, said the coup had destroyed the countrys fledgling democracy, rule of law and freedom of speech.

As political parties, we can't go into the public and organize and spread political awareness among the people, said Tun Aung Kyaw, a senior official of the Arakan National Party, which represents the interests of the Rakhine ethnic minority in western Myanmar.

There is a very vast difference between the situation now and that of the previous government, he told RFA.

We established political parties in order to create a political environment for the people to develop our democracy, but these parties themselves are struggling, said Sai Laik, the general secretary of Shan National League for Democracy in northern Myanmar.

When the military operations have replaced the politics of the parties like now, you can say that their role and political activities have become almost non-existent. he told RFA.

Targeting the opposition

But it is the party of jailed Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, that bore the brunt of junta atrocities.

The main reason for the military coup is the military dictators power-madness and greed to control all sectors of the country forever, regardless of the peoples needs and interests," said Kyaw Htwe, an executive of the National League for Democracy.

According to the National League for Democracys human rights research department, junta troops have killed at least 84 party members and officials and arrested at least 1,232 others since the February 2021 coup. Of those killed, 16 died in interrogation, eight in prison, one by execution, and 59 others for no reason.

Democracy icon Suu Kyi, 77, was sentenced to another seven years in prison at the end of 2022 on five counts of alleged corruption, bringing the total number of years she must serve in detention to 33 on 24 counts, prison sources said.

Human rights groups estimate 2,900 people have been killed and more than 17,500 have been arrested.

A tally by RFA tracked at least 67 massacres--slayings of four or more people--committed by the military junta in 2022 that claimed 646 lives, including women, children and the elderly.

The civilian deaths were caused by air strikes, summary executions after arrests, live burnings of victims and throat-slitting by soldiers. Many massacres of civilians were acts of revenge by government soldiers or proxy armies following fighting between junta forces and local militias. Marauding junta troops have torched scores of villages, turned helicopter or fighter jet guns on schools and rounded up villagers and killed them.

Members of the People's Defence Forces (PDF) who became guerrilla fighters are seen on the front line in Kawkareik, Myanmar, Dec. 31, 2021. Credit: Reuters

'Only losers cry'

Residents of Tambaya township in the Sagaing region remained defiant even after junta forces torched 5,000 homes recently. Sagaing, in northwestern Myanmar, has been the epicenter of fighting against military rule and suffered massacres and mass arson for their resistance.

You can tell them that we are proud to be accused of being with the rebels because they are fighting against injustice, said a female villager They can burn our houses, but they cant burn our will. Only losers cry, not me. I wont let them win, she told RFA.

Residents of the France-sized country are struggling with surging commodity prices, power outages, transportation difficulties, crime and lawlessness.

The juntas crimes of knowingly killing and brutally torturing innocent civilians, and burning down their villages, cannot be considered mere human rights violations, said Aung Myo Min, human rights minister of the shadow National Unity Government.

This is an international level of crime that should be prevented and punished by all countries of the world.

Reported by RFA Burmese and by Alex Willemyns. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Paul Eckert and Malcolm Foster.

UPDATED with comments from opponents of the junta and an arson victim.
Two years after the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, troops have killed at least 84 NLD members and arrested 1,232 others.

Myo Myo Kyaw, an NLD member of Lower House of Parliament (Pyitthu Luttaw) from Mohnin township, Kachin state, died after being arrested by the Myanmar military on Aug. 24, 2022.

Two years into Myanmars coup, members of the countrys deposed National League for Democracy are being hunted down and killed or imprisoned in what observers say is a bid by the junta to retain power.

The party of imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi overwhelmingly won Myanmars November 2020 general election before it was sidelined by the military three months later and sources told RFA Burmese that the junta views the still popular group as an existential threat ahead of new polls it has planned for later this year.

The military is using vulgar methods to destroy the lives of NLD party members and to prevent the people from supporting it because they are afraid that they will not be free to manipulate and rule the country as long as the NLD exists, Kyaw Htwe, a member of the partys Central Executive Committee said in an interview.

According to the National League for Democracys human rights research department, junta troops have killed at least 84 party members and officials and arrested at least 1,232 others since the February 2021 coup. Of those killed, 16 died in interrogation, eight in prison, one by execution, and 59 others for no reason.

At least three of the partys former members of parliament have died since the coup, including Kyaw Myo Min, who represented Mon states Bilin township. People close to his family told RFA he was brutally murdered by junta troops following his arrest.

Nyunt Shwe, a member of parliament from Bago region, died in prison from Covid-19, while Tin Yee, who represented Kyun Su township in Tanintharyi region at the legislature, died while fleeing arrest.

Nyan Win, a veteran leader of the National League for Democracy who served as the partys secretary, was among the eight members who died in prison.

The 59 party members who died outside of junta custody were murdered by supporters of the military that include veteran groups and pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militias, according to the partys rights research department.

Living in fear

Myanmar democracy icon Suu Kyi, 77, was sentenced to another seven years in prison at the end of 2022 on five counts of alleged corruption, bringing the total number of years she must serve in detention to 33 on 24 counts, prison sources said.

A member of the National League for Democracy in Sagaing region, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA that those who belong to the party in areas of the country controlled by the junta live in constant fear for their lives.

In places where the armed resistance is strong, especially in rural areas, people are free to join up and fight the junta or simply go on with their daily lives, he said.

But we hear about the situation in the military-controlled urban areas, where members of our party are being killed  shot by groups of pro-military people or dying in horrible attacks.

In one incident on Jan. 14, pro-junta forces killed eight people  including three children  from a family whose home had served as an NLD party office in Sagaings Kanbalu township prior to the coup.

A person close to the family told RFA that they had been regularly harassed for being party members leading up to the killing.

All party members in this area have fled for their safety, the source said.

The military is watching everyone who actively participated in the NLD. They are blackmailed, arrested, and have their homes raided. Honest, upright people are killed by the junta.

In addition to the killings and arrests, the military regime has also confiscated the homes and other assets of up to 605 party members, including at least 206 former members of parliament, the partys rights research department found.

Junta troops have raided party offices, seizing and destroying property in the process, at least 120 times since the coup, it said.

NLD executive committee member Kyaw Htwe told RFA that the party is carefully documenting the militarys crimes and rights violations and sending evidence to international organizations to build a case for prosecution.

Attempts by RFA to contact the junta for this report about the claims made by the National League for Democracy went unanswered. However, during comments he made on Oct. 6, 2021, junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun dismissed claims that the military regime was targeting the party, adding that members had been arrested and prosecuted because of links to terrorism.

Eliminating the NLD and its supporters

Political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that the junta is trying to eliminate those who support the NLD to maintain its control of the country.

The military is doing everything it can to get rid of the people and forces defending the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi, he said.

They are doing this because the military believes that only by removing them will they be able to continue to hold onto power.

The National League for Democracy said in a statement on Sunday that it continues to oppose efforts by the junta to hold elections and considers those who cooperate with the regime traitors.

It called on the international community to help ensure Myanmars return to a federal democratic union and to take effective action against the junta in accordance with international law.

According to Thailands Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), since Myanmars coup, military troops have killed 2,901 civilians and arrested 17,525 others, mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
Thandaung city in Myanmars eastern Kayin state has fallen silent after 8,000 civilians fled fighting between Myanmars military and one of the countrys most powerful ethnic armies.

Locals told RFA, troops started shelling residential areas on Jan. 27, as fighting intensified between junta forces and the Karen National Liberation Army.

Fighting erupted on Friday and carried on for the next three days, said a local who didnt want to be identified.

All the people in [four wards of] Thandaung had to move out [because] artillery shells fell on houses and a church. There are no shortcuts to escape if the battle breaks out here.

On Saturday, two artillery shells hit St. Marcus Church, as troops retaliated following an attack the previous day by an unknown armed group.

The army suffered a lot of losses. On Friday, a sniper shot at the camp in the hill, and the troops fired back, said a resident who also requested anonymity.

Troops fired 40 millimeter shells  People were not hit, but it forced the locals to flee.

According to the Thandaung General Administration Department, the city has a population of more than 18,000 people.

Last week, more than 10,000 civilians fled their homes in Kayin states Kyondoe city and nearby villages amid intensified fighting between junta troops and combined Karen National Liberation Army forces.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs nearly 100,000 residents fled their homes in Kayin state between Feb. 1, 2021  when the military staged a coup  and the end of December last year.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
In this photo taken on December 23, 2022, Filipino fishermen aboard their wooden boat sail past a Chinese coast guard ship in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

UPDATED at 9:00 a.m. EST on 01/31/2023

The increasingly powerful Chinese coast guard has boosted its presence to an unprecedented level in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, a new report alleged.

Meanwhile, Chinese and Japanese coast guard ships appeared to have had a brief but tense confrontation near the contested Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

The report Flooding the Zone: China Coast Guard Patrols in 2022 by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a research institution at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C., asserted that, Chinas coast guard presence in the South China Sea is more robust than ever.

It said the China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained near-daily patrols at key features claimed by China and other neighboring countries.

Together with the ever growing force of maritime militia, the CCG patrols show Beijings determination to assert control over the vast maritime zone within its claimed nine-dash line, the report said.

The so-called nine-dash line is an imaginary boundary that Beijing uses to demarcate its historical claims over nearly 90% of the South China Sea.

Chinas claims are disputed by other countries and were rejected by an U.N. tribunal in 2016.

Largest coast guard vessel

The AMTI team analyzed ships automatic identification system (AIS) data from the year 2022 across the five features: Second Thomas Shoal, Luconia Shoals, Scarborough Shoal, Vanguard Bank, and Thitu Island.

Several countries hold contesting claims over all the five features but, so far, China has been the most assertive.

CCG patrols across all five features amounted to 1,703 ship-days in total, according to the AMTI report, which also noted that the number of days the CCG patrolled at Vanguard Bank, an important site of Vietnamese oil and gas development, more than doubled from 142 days in 2020 to 310 days in 2022.

This has been a major concern for Vietnamese authorities as Vietnams economy relies heavily on its oil and gas industry.

Vanguard Bank, called Bai Tu Chinh in Vietnamese, has become some kind of stopover for Chinese patroling vessels, said Van Pham, chief administrator of the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative, a Vietnamese independent research project.

They often anchor at the bank before continuing their patrols, she said.

In 2021, CCG ships from Vanguard Bank regularly approached Vietnams Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields, sometimes so close that they would be inside the fields security areas and jeopardizing the pipeline, the analyst said.

Vanguard Bank is where Chinese and Vietnamese law enforcement vessels confronted each other in July 2019, one of the worst standoffs between the two countries in the South China Sea in recent years.

CCG vessels in general move from one patrol location to another, including spending time at Vanguard Bank and then passing by Tuna Block, an Indonesian gas field in Natuna Sea, en route to Malaysias Luconia Shoals, said AMTI Director Greg Poling.

Chinese coast guard vessel 5901 in Malaysias exclusive economic zone as of Jan. 31, 2023. Credit: MarineTraffic

Indonesian and Malaysian law enforcement were both put on alert this month when Chinas largest coast guard ship 5901 operated in their exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

An EEZ gives a state exclusive access to the natural resources in the waters and seabed but those in the South China Sea overlap with Chinas nine-dash line.

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur both sent naval ships to monitor the Chinese vessels movements.

The CCG5901, also the worlds largest coast guard vessel, was still in the area on Tuesday, according to data provided by ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.

Confrontations and accidents

All indications are that these trends will hold in 2023. China will keep the CCG patrolling these locations daily, will harass new oil and gas drilling, and will deploy hundreds of militia in the Spratlys, Poling told RFA.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam all stood more or less firm in 2022, which I'd expect to continue this year, he added. But there will inevitably be tense run ins and potential accidents that could escalate.

Vessels from China Maritime Surveillance and the Japan Coast Guard are seen near disputed islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, Sept. 10, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Kyodo





Japanese media reported that four Chinese coast guard ships tried to approach a Japanese-registered private vessel in Japans territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Monday.

This is the second time this year Chinese law enforcement ships were accused of intruding into Japanese waters around the Senkaku chain.

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships secured the safety of the 997-ton Shinsei Maru and warned the Chinese ships to leave the waters, Jiji Press reported.

The ship is said to have been conducting marine research around the Senkakus. Researchers also flew a drone to take images of the islands.

Chinese state media meanwhile said Chinas coast guard expelled Japanese ships that illegally entered Chinese territorial waters around the Diaoyu Islands, using the Chinese name for the Senkaku islands which are under Japans control but also claimed by China.

China Coast Guard vessels took necessary management and control measures and warned them away according to the law, a Chinese spokesman was quoted as saying.

Japan said Chinese vessels have intensified activities around Japan after Tokyo designated Beijing an unprecedented strategic challenge in its latest National Security Strategy in mid-December.

Chinese warships of the Liaoning carrier group held exercises near Japan in December, 2022, simulating attacks on Japans outlying Nansei islands. Tokyo said it would acquire more counter strike capabilities and has already planned to bolster missile and electronic warfare capacity on those islands.

Asked about the AMTI report at a regular news briefing on Tuesday in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China followed international law in its South China Sea conduct.

"In accordance with Chinas domestic law and international law including UNCLOS, China Coast Guard ships conduct patrol and management in waters under Chinas jurisdiction to maintain maritime order and protect Chinas legitimate and lawful rights and interests," she told reporters.

"At the same time, China stands ready to work with relevant parties to properly manage differences through dialogue and consultation on maritime issues."

Updates story with reaction from China's Foreign Ministry.
Nguyen Phuong Hang listens to the decision to investigate her for slander following her arrest March 24, 2022 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

UPDATED AT 06:00 a.m. ET ON 02-02-2023

Authorities in Ho Chih Minh City say they plan to prosecute an influencer and businesswoman for slandering celebrities on her social media channels.

Police wound up their investigation Thursday, and handed the case to the Peoples Procuracy to charge Dai Nam Joint Stock Company General Director Nguyen Phuong Hang, 52, and two of her employees with "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals," Ho Chih Minh City Police said.

The employees named in the suit are Hangs assistant Le Thi Thu Ha, and Huynh Cong Tan, Dai Nam JSCs head of communications.

Hang was arrested on March 24, 2022, and accused of using her YouTube and TikTok accounts to livestream discussions during which she allegedly used abusive words and insulted people. Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched the livestreams and videos in which she criticized celebrities and politicians

Two days before her arrest, Hang talked extensively about her business relationship with Phan Van Mai, the chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee.

She said that when he was serving as the secretary of the Ben Tre Party Committee in 2020, her company provided water treatment systems to help the southern province cope with rising salinization in the Mekong River delta.

[He] has been ungrateful to my husband and me, said Hang, who added that she wanted Vietnams top leaders to see Mais true colors so he wouldnt be further promoted.

Hang was charged with violating Article 331 of the Vietnamese penal code, which has been condemned by international human rights groups as a tool for suppressing freedom of speech.

In January 2022, local civil society groups sent a petition to the government calling for the articles removal because it was being used to crack down on political dissidents.

Police said that law professor Dang Anh Quan and lawyer Nguyen Dinh Kim, who took part in some of Hangs livestreams, would not be prosecuted because their comments didnt amount to slander.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.

This story has been updated to correct Nguyen Phuong Hang's name.
When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 in a lightning military insurrection that toppled Afghanistans internationally recognized government, the country immediately fell into diplomatic isolation.



Two of Kabuls neighbors to the north, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, chose a different route, putting the hard-line groups fractious history with the former Soviet Central Asian republics aside and prioritizing engagement over criticism and pressure.



But a giant canal project in Afghanistan now taking shape that the Taliban is pursuing at a rapid pace is giving the two water-stressed countries doubts about whether strategic patience with the Islamic fundamentalist group will yield rewards.



If you look at other projects that have involved Afghanistan and Central Asia somehow, there has often been a win-win element, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told RFE/RL.



But the Qosh Tepa Irrigation Canal, which will divert large volumes of water from the dwindling transboundary Amu Darya River, is a very different case.



This is very much zero sum, because water is a finite good and there dont seem to be any benefits for Afghanistans neighbors here, said Murtazashvili, adding that she expects the Central Asian countries to pursue a lot of quiet diplomacy on the project that will add to the pressures faced by outsized agricultural sectors already battling climate change and historical mismanagement.

But the Taliban will be probing to see how far it can go, Murtazashvili said, something she suggested its downstream neighbors will have to get used to.



If the first Taliban [regime that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001] was weighed down by insurgency and in some ways never really behaved like a state, Taliban 2.0 seems to really like the idea of projecting state power, Murtazashvili said.



Old Project With New Momentum



The stated dimensions of the irrigation canal that workers started digging last spring are enough to understand why the downstream countries have concerns.



With a length of 285 kilometers and a width of some 100 meters, experts believe it could draw a significant portion of the Amu Daryas flow while irrigating 550,000 hectares of land.



An Afghan civil servant with knowledge of the project told RFE/RLs Uzbek Service that work on the second of three stages of the project that began in the spring of 2022 is expected to begin in the coming months, with more than 100 kilometers already dug and visible from space.



The plan to irrigate land in northern Afghanistan is not new.



Farid Azim, an official at the National Development Company overseeing its construction, pointed out last year that Afghanistans first president, Mohammad Daud Khan, had a similar vision in the 1970s.

The project was most recently pursued by the U.S.-backed administration of President Ashraf Ghani -- which the Taliban overthrew less than two years ago.



A press release issued by the United States Agency for International Development from 2018 marking the launch of a Washington-funded feasibility study for Qosh Tepa described a 200 kilometer-long canal serving a cultivated catchment area of 500,000 hectares.



Developing Afghanistans agriculture sector provides great potential for employment and economic growth, then-U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass said in the release.



But the project was not a pressing concern for neighbors, primarily because political infighting and chronic instability in northern Afghanistan had made it impractical.



Bismellah Alizada, a researcher at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, told RFE/RL that Rashid Dostum, who was the Afghan first vice president from 2014 to 2020, was among the influential politicians with concerns about the project.



One of those concerns was that it would be used to benefit and resettle members of the politically dominant Pashtun group to which President Ashraf Ghani belonged, Alizada said.



Dostum -- an ethnic Uzbek warlord -- long enjoyed strong ties to the regime in Uzbekistan and was even reported to have fled there when the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif, overwhelming forces jointly under his command before the group advanced on Kabul.

Members of Dostums exiled Junbish-e Milli party have reiterated these concerns more recently, but the reality is that the Taliban has no opponents capable of preventing it from forging ahead with giant public works projects, Alizada said.



More obvious obstacles are technical capacity and cash, with billions of dollars in funds belonging to Afghanistans central bank frozen after the Taliban takeover. That would make it hard for the cash-strapped Taliban to finance a project whose first phase cost nearly $100 million, according to reports.



But Graeme Smith, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Groups Asia Program, said the Taliban has a strong political will to finish off projects begun by the former government with Qosh Tepa the biggest that the group has revived so far.



With their very limited resources, the Taliban have prioritized [Qosh Tepa], said Smith, expressing skepticism that the Islamic fundamentalist group would pay attention to its neighbors concerns.



The Taliban is a nationalist movement intensely focused on their domestic constituencies, Smith said.



I think its fair to assume they will continue governing with a strong focus on issues inside the country and less regard for concerns outside, he told RFE/RL.



Games Of Leverage



Taciturn Turkmenistan has so far said nothing about the canal project.



But a Turkmenistan-based hydrologist speaking in March to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service on condition of anonymity called the project not a problem, but a disaster.



RFE/RL correspondents in the closed authoritarian country reported this year about severe water shortages in Turkmenistans Soviet-built Karakum Canal, which is four times the length of the one the Taliban is seeking to complete.



The World Resources Institute in 2019 ranked Turkmenistan as one of 17 countries in the world with extremely high water stress. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were placed in the next highest category. Central Asia as a whole depends on rivers that rise in mountains, where many glacier stocks are being depleted by climate change.



Tashkent, whose own Moscow-imposed, cotton-growing legacy is one of the chief causes of the Amu Daryas demise, has been more proactive on Qosh Tepa.

According to the Talibans deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the topic was among those broached by Uzbek presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov when he was in Kabul last month for talks on economic cooperation.



Komilov was cited by Baradars office as saying that Uzbekistan was ready to work with the Islamic emirate (the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan) through technical teams in order to maximize the benefits of the Qosh Tepa canal project.



Uzbekistan provided no comment to that effect in its release on the talks, but President Shavkat Mirziyoev -- in a national address in December -- flagged Qosh Tepa as a concern as he touched on the problem of desertification.

At the moment, we consider it necessary to conduct practical talks on the construction of a new canal in the Amu Darya basin with the interim government of neighboring Afghanistan and the international community based on international standards and taking into account the interests of all countries in the region, he said.



We believe that this approach will be supported by our neighbors.



Mirziyoevs preference for dialogue over threats on transboundary water use has been welcomed by the neighborhood since predecessor Islam Karimov passed away in 2016.



This appears to have worked with upstream Kyrgyzstan, where successful border negotiations saw Uzbekistan granted de facto control of a strategic reservoir located inside Kyrgyz territory, albeit not without a rash of political discontent in Kyrgyzstan.

And although authoritarian Karimov virulently opposed the construction of giant hydroelectric dams in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Mirziyoev has given both his blessing, with Tashkent even attaching itself to Kyrgyzstans Kambar-Ata-1 project as a partner -- a move that will give it a hand in upstream management.



Qosh Tepa, however, is becoming a source of public anxiety in Uzbekistan.



With the volume of the Amu Darya water [already] decreasing, Afghans will take a quarter of its water through this canal, complained Uzbek academic and outspoken government critic Khidirnazar Allakulov in an interview with RFE/RLs Uzbek Service.



Instead of solving the problem, the Uzbek government takes the Taliban to Samarkand, dressing them and presenting them with gifts. The government bows to Afghanistan.. Not only the current generation, but also future [Uzbek] generations can be endangered by the water problem, Allakulov said.



Regular exchanges between the Turkmen and Uzbek governments and the Taliban predated the fall of the Ghani government, and Turkmenistan was among the first countries in the world to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador.

But in line with the international community as a whole, neither has recognized the new regime in Kabul.



This only complicates what Alizada calls the legal lacuna between Afghanistan and its former communist neighbors, since Kabul had not previously signed treaties with them on transboundary management.



And while Afghanistan is keen for more trade opportunities and relies on its northern neighbors for supplies of electricity for several provinces, there are other areas of these bilateral relations where the Taliban feels it has real leverage, Alizada argued.



For the Central Asian countries, I think the number one concern is hard security, especially with the regions history with transnational extremist groups. The Taliban will continue to use assurances on security in negotiations with these countries going forward.
4 Another mural in Bucha by Tvboy shows a child painting an anti-war slogan.



"The message contained in each artwork is one of rebirth and hope, wishing that the conflict will come to an end as soon as possible," Tvboy wrote on his official web page.
TBILISI -- Jailed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is being treated in a private clinic in Tbilisi for health problems, is being transferred to an intensive-care unit, his associates say, a claim the hospital's personnel are denying.

Saakashvili's lawyer, Shalva Khachapuridze, along with opposition politician Giorgi Chaladze, said on January 31 that Saakashvili's state of health had worsened further, prompting his move to an intensive-care unit of the Vivamedi hospital.

However, hospital director Nino Nadiradze told RFE/RL's Georgian Service that the former leader remained in his hospital room and had not been moved.

Saakashvili's mother, Giuli Alasania, said earlier in the day that her son, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 several days ago, "again fell unconscious" overnight and that his body temperature had risen to 39 degrees Celsius.

Medical personnel have yet to confirm her statement.

On January 28, Vivamedi's chief physician, Zurab Chkhaidze, told journalists that Saakashvili had dramatically reduced his food consumption and was rejecting medical treatment.

Chkhaidze then called on Saakashvili's relatives to convince him to obey the doctors' recommendations.

The imprisoned ex-president has been treated at the Vivamedi facility since May 2022. Doctors said earlier this month that Saakashvili contracted a mild form of COVID and therefore did not need treatment in intensive care.

Saakashvili, who was president from 2004 to 2013, is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power, a charge that he and his supporters say was politically motivated.

His medical team says his health has worsened significantly since he went to prison in October 2021 and staged repeated hunger strikes to protest his incarceration.

His lawyers have sought to have his sentence suspended so he can be transferred abroad for more intensive care.

In early December, Saakashvili's legal team distributed a medical report that said he had been "poisoned" with heavy metals while in custody and risked dying without proper treatment.

But Georgian officials have raised doubts about how critical his health situation is.

Saakashvili is currently on trial on separate charges of violently dispersing an anti-government rally in November 2007 and illegal border crossing. He has rejected those charges as well, calling them trumped-up.
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here. www.rferl.org/a/31793259.html



I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iran appears to be making headway toward renewing official ties with Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states that in some cases have been publicly avoiding Tehran for decades.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks in Beijing on April 6 in a significant step toward restoring diplomatic relations, which were cut in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following Riyadhs execution of prominent Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Iran also accepted an invitation from Saudi King Salman for President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh, while Tehran said it will send a similar invitation to the Saudi king. Meanwhile, a Saudi delegation traveled to Iran on April 9 to discuss the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad. The trip came as Iranian media reported on April 8 that a street sign near the Saudi consulate in Mashhad provocatively named after Sheikh al-Nimr had been quietly removed. An Iranian delegation also arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 12 to pave the way for the reopening of Iranian diplomatic missions there.

Iran is meanwhile taking steps to improve ties with other countries in the region, naming an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and working to decrease tensions with Egypt and Bahrain.

Why It Matters: Iran and Saudi Arabia appear to be pursuing implementation of last months Chinese-brokered agreement, possibly clearing the way for Tehran to de-escalate tensions with other countries that followed Riyadhs lead on a rupture seven years ago.



What's Next: Tehran and Riyadh could move surprisingly swiftly toward normalization, but its no sure thing. Abdolrasool Divsallar, a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC), told me that the political environment between the two regional rivals could encourage the start of military and security talks within months.

But Divsallar also warned that opponents at home and abroad could still undermine the agreement. Hard-liners in Iran may act as a spoiler rather than as a supporter of the deal, he said, adding that Israel could do the same.

The regional tensions between Israel and Iran, on one side, andbetween Iran, Saudi [Arabia] and the United States, on the other side, are two dynamics that make this process very fragile, he said.

Divsallar also suggested that any normalization between Iran and countries with less appetite for a quick restoration of ties, for instance Bahrain, could take longer.

They feel more secure under the current status quo rather than immediately normalizing their ties with the Islamic republic and losing their leverage, he said, adding, They may wait to see a major change of policies.

Stories You Might Have Missed

Irans civil aviation sector has for years been under Western sanctions that prevent it from purchasing new aircraft or spare parts for repairs. Now, Russia's oldest airline, Aeroflot, has sent one of its passenger planes to Iran for repairs for the first time ever. Aeroflot reportedly ran into obstacles at home stemming from Western sanctions over Russias ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The RBK media group cited an Aeroflot representative and sources close to the company on April 11 as saying that an Airbus A330-300 had been sent to Tehran on April 5 to be repaired by specialists from Iran's Mahan Air.

Iranian pensioners staged protests in more than a dozen cities across Iran, demanding higher pensions amid soaring prices. Protests were reported on April 9 in Tehran, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Arak, Qom, Shush, Tabriz, and several other cities where retirees complained of poor living conditions and chanted anti-government slogans. Labor protests in Iran have swelled as the economy deteriorates following years of mismanagement compounded by crippling U.S. sanctions.

What We're Watching

Prominent Iranian female religious scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi has challenged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republics mandatory hijab law.

In a letter published online, Vasmaghi asked about the reasoning behind Irans strict model for womens dress and said the Koran does not specify the need for women to cover their hair in public.

There is no evidence to show that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad women were harassed and punished for not covering their hair or even their bodies, Vasmaghi, who has published several books on Islamic jurisprudence, wrote.

Why It Matters: Vasmaghis letter is significant for its timing -- just days after Khamenei asserted that the removal of the hijab in public was religiously banned. But it is also important because it comes from a religious woman who wears the veil while opposing the mandatory hijab, which is seemingly being defied by a growing number of women.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
In a speech at the signing of a historic border agreement between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek, Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoev heaped praise on his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Japarov.

"I want to tell you that we have no problematic issues. In the 31 years of the independent history of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, this is the first time there has been this level of mutual relations," Mirziyoev said at his pomp-filled state visit on January 26-27.

"I want to give special thanks to my respected colleague Sadyr.... If not for his political will, we would have not reached today's result. We could have said like we used to that we will solve these problems tomorrow or the day after. Well, tomorrow lasted 30 years, and the problems weren't solved."

In addition to the agreement finalizing the pair's border deal, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan put pen to paper for more than 20 other agreements.

Notable were the deals inked for an auto-assembly plant and a textile factory in Kyrgyzstan. Requirements for crossing what Mirziyoev hailed as "a border of friendship" have also been relaxed -- citizens of the two countries will only need ID cards, rather than international passports.

Often foes during the reign of Mirziyoev's long-ruling autocratic predecessor, Islam Karimov, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan's bilateral relationship has warmed up significantly in the years since the hard-liner's death in 2016.

There are increasing signs that the border agreement might be a starting point for deepening cooperation between two countries in a region where analysts say Russia's days of playing divide and rule may be coming to a close.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, veteran Central Asia watcher Arkady Dubnov said it was "difficult to disagree with either president [that this is] an event of historical importance."

"Especially after all the years of seemingly irremovable claims, confrontations, ambitions, [and] misunderstandings," Dubnov said.

But the analyst also noted that the deal had not come without a cost, with more than 20 politicians, activists, and journalists jailed over their opposition to the border agreement that saw a strategic reservoir inside Kyrgyzstan transferred to Uzbek control.

"I am sincerely sorry that Kyrgyzstan harshly suppressed these protests. I hope that in the near future all the prisoners in this case will be released, because otherwise it will only lead to further escalation," Dubnov said.

Bearing that and Kyrgyzstan's history of political instability in mind, are there any limits for the reconfigured bilateral relationship?

'No Other Route'

With the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan witnessing two full-scale battles in the past two years, it is easy to forget that there were once fears of a major military confrontation on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, where shootings and deadly skirmishes occasionally took place.

In 2016, just months before Karimov's death, Kyrgyzstan raised the alarm over what appeared to be a threatening buildup of troops and military equipment on Uzbekistan's side of the frontier.

A disputed mountain that the two countries had squabbled over throughout that year, Ungar-Too, has now been confirmed as Kyrgyz territory in the border deal agreed to by Mirziyoev and Japarov.

The two countries' armies always avoided clashes, but in contrast to Mirziyoev's warm words for Japarov, the relationship between Karimov and then-Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev was never good.

In 2015, during an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow, Atambaev appeared to criticize his older Uzbek colleague for choosing not to attend Moscow's parade commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Kremlin has traditionally invited close allies to the May 9 event where it advertises its military might.

"That's my opinion," interrupted Atambaev, as Karimov launched a withering rebuttal to the comments, mockingly referring to the Kyrgyz president as "our friend, Atambaev."

"Very pleasant. We have known your opinion for a long time," Karimov retorted.

A more structural obstacle to improved ties was Kyrgyzstan's ambitions to build --with Russian financing -- a giant hydroelectric dam upstream of Uzbekistan, potentially impacting the volume of water flowing into its agriculture-rich neighbor via the Naryn River.

But with the project stalling and Russia's economy weighed down by a first round of sanctions following Moscow's initial incursions into Ukrainian territory in 2014, Kyrgyzstan tore up the contract with the Russian company.

And now, as per a framework agreement signed by the three countries at the beginning of this year, it is Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan pledging to help Bishkek build the hydroelectric plant, called Kambarata-1. That move will mean Uzbekistan is involved in the management of transboundary water resources originating in Kyrgyzstan and can benefit from the output of the future plant, which at present has no investor.

Tashkent-based analyst Anvar Nozirov said Mirziyoev's preference for compromise over conflict has been key to better ties with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan's other neighbors.

But he also argued that other changes -- such as growing and politically unpopular power deficits in Uzbekistan -- have forced the two countries into tighter cooperation.

"Water for the agricultural sector is a priority, but Uzbekistan also sees the potential in Kyrgyzstan's energy sector, since it is struggling to bring its own energy resources online," Nozirov said.

Russia's grinding war in Ukraine that has both alarmed its partners in the region and prevented Moscow from investing in major projects is an additional factor convincing Central Asian states that there is "no other route" beyond long-term cooperation, the analyst added.

"For Central Asian countries, integration in Russian-led organizations hasn't produced tangible results," Nozirov said, adding that Kyrgyzstan's "distinctive political culture" prevented the border deal being reached earlier.

Nozirov was more skeptical, however, about prospects for a multibillion-dollar railway that China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have agreed to in principle, citing economic difficulties since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and a lack of appetite for megaprojects in China.

'Trust Building' After Crackdown

There are still many big differences between Kyrgyzstan, where political pluralism and volatility have become a tradition, and authoritarian Uzbekistan.

These differences may still have a bearing on the relationship in the future.

Japarov is the third Kyrgyz president Mirziyoev has done business with in six years.

In the first quarter-century of the two countries' independence, Karimov ruled until he died while two of the four Kyrgyz presidents who took office during that time were toppled by protests.

Kyrgyz social media users contrasted Uzbekistan's fuss-free confirmation of the border deal -- a unanimous vote in the rubber stamp senate followed by Mirziyoev's signature -- with the uproar in Kyrgyzstan, where lawmakers that opposed the deal were put under pressure.

Others suggested that silence in Uzbekistan over the border agreement was logical because Uzbekistan had got the better end of the deal.

Although the relationship has perhaps never been better, it is still fragile, said Emil Juraev, a Bishkek-based political scientist. The way that the border deal was rammed through with limited discussion and transparency by the Japarov administration in Kyrgyzstan has affected the public's perception of the agreement, he added.

"Overcoming the bitterness that many will feel about the Kempir-Abad reservoir will now require a steady series of confidence and trust-building measures," Juraev told RFE/RL.

Nursultan Akylbek, a Kyrgyz activist who opposed the agreement, said it is impossible to declare a new era in Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan relations until the full effects of the border agreement are known.

"I don't believe in the success of [the auto-parts production facility]. There were big expectations from Mirziyoev's state visit. But I would not highlight any results. Perhaps only that one can enter Uzbekistan with only an ID card now," he said.
ZHANAOZEN, Kazakhstan -- About 100 oil workers have resumed protests in Kazakhstan's volatile town of Zhanaozen to demand jobs after a similar protest they held in Astana was forcibly dispersed earlier this week and the demonstrators were sent home.

The workers gathered on April 14 in front of the offices of OzenMunaiGaz, a subsidiary of the oil-rich nation's energy giant KazMunaiGaz, demanding jobs after they lost their positions because their former employer, BerAli Manghystau Company, recently lost a tender.

The protesters said they will stay at the site until all their demands are met.

Officials at OzenMunaiGaz have said there are no vacancies at the company.

On April 11, at least 80 former workers of BerAli Manghystau Company were detained in Astana after they spent a night in front of the Energy Ministry building demanding jobs at OzenMunaiGaz.

They were released late in the night and the majority of them were forced to leave Astana for Zhanaozen by train early in the morning on April 12. Less than a dozen of the workers remains in the capital.

On April 12, a court in Astana sentenced opposition politician Nurzhan Altaev to 15 days in jail over his support for the workers. The court found the politician guilty of violating regulations on holding public gatherings.

Zhanaozen, located in Kazakhstan's southwest, was the scene of mass anti-government rallies in 2011 staged by oil workers that resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people when police opened fire on unarmed protesters.

In early January last year, other protests in the restive town over abrupt energy price hikes quickly spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet republic and led to violent clashes in the country's largest city, Almaty, and elsewhere that left at least 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, dead.

President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev then moved to deprive influential former President Nursultan Nazarbaev of his lifetime post atop the Kazakh Security Council, taking the post himself.

The crisis prompted Toqaev to seek help from troops from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to quell the unrest.

Toqaev's moves since then appear aimed at weakening Nazarbaev, his relatives and close allies.
Corruption remains rampant in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) compiled by Transparency International, which called for leaders in the region to finally address the problem.

The annual CPI, released on January 31, shows that many countries' corruption score reached historic lows in 2022. It also showed that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the "most violent result of unchecked corruption and kleptocracy" in all of 2022, said Altynai Myrzabekova, Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional adviser for Transparency International.

"It's time for a wake-up call for Eastern European and Central Asian leaders to finally commit to addressing pervasive corruption and support democracy, stability and basic freedoms for all people across the region," Myrzabekova said in a news release accompanying the report.

Years of inaction against corruption have allowed kleptocrats to take control, undermined democratic processes, restricted civic space, and weakened public institutions, fueling violence, conflict and instability in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the report concludes.

The CPI scores 180 countries and territories on perceptions of public-sector corruption using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, consulting companies, and think tanks.

The Eastern Europe and Central Asia average declined in 2022 one point to 35, with 100 the highest score possible. Georgia, (56), Armenia (46), and Montenegro (45) were the only countries from the region that scored above the global average of 43.

Turkmenistan (19), Azerbaijan (23), and Tajikistan (24), had the lowest scores in the Eurasia region. Turkey (36), Bosnia-Herzegovina (34), and Azerbaijan all scored historic lows for the year.

Serbia's score of 36 was also a low for the Balkan country, where Transparency International said politicians had significant influence over the judiciary, which has impaired a number of important organized-crime cases, including those with alleged involvement of high-level officials.

Kazakhstan's score of 36 was one point below its score last year, while three countries in the region  Armenia, Moldova (39), and Uzbekistan (31) -- have significantly improved their CPI scores.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a stark reminder of the threat that corruption and the absence of government accountability pose for global peace and security," Transparency International said.

Kleptocrats in Russia (28) have amassed great fortunes by pledging loyalty to President Vladimir Putin in exchange for profitable government contracts and protection of their economic interests, the organization said.

The absence of any checks on Putin's power allowed him to pursue his geopolitical ambitions with impunity and has destabilized the European continent, Transparency International said.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine (33) had a low score but was undertaking reforms and steadily improving, according to Transparency International. Even after fighting started, the country has continued to prioritize anti-corruption reforms and adopted a new National Anti-Corruption Strategy last June.

"However, wars disrupt normal processes and exacerbate risks, allowing corrupt actors to pocket funds meant for recovery, as was seen in mid-January when investigations exposed war profiteering by the defense and communities and territories development ministries," Transparency International said.

The scandal underscores the need for reforms to prevent such violations in the future, the organization said, noting that the countrys anti-corruption mechanisms are thus far holding public officials accountable.

The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the 11th year in a row. Denmark (90) tops the index this year, with Finland and New Zealand following closely, each with a score of 87.

South Sudan (13), Syria (13), and Somalia (12), all of which are embroiled in conflict, remain at the bottom of the CPI.

The report also showed that 10 countries since 2017 have significantly declined on their CPI scores. These are Luxembourg (77), Canada (74), the United Kingdom (73), Austria (71), Malaysia (47), Mongolia (33), Pakistan (27), Honduras (23), Nicaragua (19), and Haiti (17).
U.S. President Joe Biden says he will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about Ukraine's latest request for sophisticated weapons a day after saying no to sending F-16 fighter jets.

Kyiv has been pressing harder for the advanced jets since winning a pledge from Western allies last week for tanks. The United States and its European allies have so far refused to send fighter jets and other weapons that could be used to attack deep inside Russia.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Biden responded negatively when asked by reporters on January 30 if Washington would send F-16s. He told reporters on January 31 that he and Zelenskiy were "going to talk" but gave no further details.



French President Emmanuel Macron, who was to meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in Paris on January 31, sent a mixed message, telling reporters on January 30 that "nothing is excluded" when it comes to military assistance.



But Macron, speaking in The Hague, said conditions would have to be met before fighter jets would be sent.



Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also did not rule out a possible supply of F-16s to Ukraine in comments he made on January 30. But on January 31, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz told the AFP news agency that Poland was currently not having "official discussions" on transferring any of its own F-16s to Ukraine.



Britain, which earlier this month pledged to provide tanks to Ukraine, on January 31 rejected sending fighter jets. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believes it is "not practical" to provide them, according to a Downing Street statement. It said training Ukrainian forces on "extremely sophisticated" Typhoons and F-35s would take too long, but it does not oppose allies sending their own jets.



Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged the West to keep all options open to requests from Ukraine for weaponry, including fighter jets.



Nauseda said in an interview with Lithuanian television on January 31 that fighter aircraft and long-range missiles are "essential military aid" and "at this crucial stage in the war, where the turning point is about to happen, it is important that we act without delay."

Meanwhile, the United States is readying more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two U.S. officials briefed on the matter told Reuters on January 31.

The aid is expected to be announced as soon as this week and is expected to include support equipment for Patriot air-defense systems, precision guided munitions, and Javelin anti-tank weapons, the officials said.

One of the officials said a portion of the package would come from a fund that allows weapons from industry rather than from existing U.S. weapons stocks.

The stepped-up calls for the aircraft come with Russia showing no sign of letting up in its attacks.

Several air-raid alerts were issued across Ukraine on January 31 in anticipation of possible fresh Russian air strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure as heavy fighting continued unabated in the east.

A total of three large-scale air-raid warnings were announced late in the morning and early in the afternoon for all Ukrainian regions. They were subsequently canceled and there have been no reports of Russian strikes since.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the announcement of the air alert was connected with flights of Russian MiG-31K fighters, which can carry hypersonic Kinzhal Dagger missiles. He said on Ukrainian television that "air alarms are announced when this type of aircraft takes off."

"The fact that they were not long indicates that these were ordinary training flights," he added.



Such training flights can be carried out both for the purpose of putting psychological pressure on Ukraine and on Europe, Ignat said.



In recent months, Russian missile strikes have targeted critical infrastructure and civilian installations, causing extensive damage to Ukraine's electricity grid in the depths of winter and claiming victims among civilians.



Moscow has repeatedly denied it targets civilians despite widespread evidence to the contrary.



On the battlefield, British intelligence said Russians have launched a "more concerted" assault on Vuhledar, a coal mining town in Donetsk that has become the latest focal point of the battle for control of eastern Ukraine.

However, in its daily bulletin on January 31, the British Defense Ministry said that Moscow lacked the numbers to press a notable advance in the area.

"There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough," it said on Twitter.

Ukraine's General Staff reported three Russian air strikes and four missile strikes, as well as more than 60 salvos from rocket systems that targeted Ukrainian settlements.

"The enemy continues to conduct offensive actions in the Lyman and Bakhmut directions, suffering heavy losses," the General Staff said in its morning report.

"[The enemy] conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the Avdiyivka and Novopavliyivka directions. In the direction of Kupyansk and Zaporizhzhya, the enemy is struggling to defend its positions," it said.

Russia claimed to have captured a village on the northern edge of Bakhmut with the help of aerial support. There was no immediate response to the claim from Kyiv.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
One person was killed and three were injured in a suspected Russian missile strike on a residential building in the center of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine late on January 29. Rescuers say they found the body of an elderly woman in the rubble.
When Nika Streletskaya and her mother were driven from their home in eastern Ukraine by the Russian Army, there was little she could take with her. But talent travels. And endures, apparently. Nearly one year later, the 7-year-old is living alongside other Ukrainian refugees at a converted hotel in the Black City port city of Varna. Through her paintings, Nika is doing her best to cope with the effects of war. The results are as dramatic as the upheaval that has forced her and millions of other Ukrainians to flee their homeland since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February of last year.

Nika's paintings first came to RFE/RL's attention last fall, during a visit to the Zarya complex that houses Nika and her mother along with dozens of other war refugees. Paintings by some of the Ukrainian children were hung on strings on a terrace there, against the background of a gray, autumnal sky. Nika's paintings stood out from the others.

Identified as one of Ukraine's top paintbrush prodigies well before the war, Nika had already been recognized with art prizes from London to Los Angeles, from Versailles to Vienna. She appeared among the top 25 entries in a book published in Ukraine called the Encyclopedia Of Children's Talents. And she'd been featured in solo exhibitions all around Ukraine, as well as in Japan. She'd won more than a few honors in Bulgaria, too. Within days of the launch of the Russian invasion, Nika and her mother had fled the 1,000 kilometers or so to seek safety in Bulgaria.

Her mother, Tetyana Okhrimenko, lists at least 13 countries where Nika's artworks have been featured. Okhrimenko is an artist herself and teaches drawing. She had taught more than 250 children at her studio in Dnipro before the war began. "Nika grew up surrounded by brushes, paints, pencils, and canvases. She grew up around paintings. She was always surrounded by people who were painting," Nika's mother told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. "I guess that influenced her desire to become an artist, as well."

Okhrimenko and her daughter were initially accommodated at a hotel in Golden Sands, a major resort town north of Varna on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. To their delight, the families of several children Okhrimenko had taught at her studio in Dnipro were placed in the same hotel. And they all started painting again. Other children at the hotel joined them, providing a balm for the psychological pain that many were feeling and allowing Nika once again to pursue her art.

Following the initial stages of the Bulgarian government's support for Ukrainian refugees, Nika, her mother, and other refugees were relocated from Golden Sands to more modest accommodations in the Zarya converted hotel. They are not provided with food, leaving many reliant on the help of donors and volunteers. A volunteer for one such group, a domestically run charity called Open Heart Fund, came across some of Nika's paintings at Zarya. Dozens of them were hanging in the common space there, and they made an instant impression.

Eventually, Nika and some of the other children were able to enroll in a drawing course at a Bulgarian-Ukrainian cultural center sponsored by the Open Heart Fund. Okhrimenko became a volunteer teacher at the center. Nika's father, a medical worker, remains along with hundreds of thousands of others in their eastern Ukrainian hometown of Dnipro, on the Dnieper River.
A 14-unit, mixed-use development is coming to Palm Avenue.

The Imperial Beach City Council last week approved plans for a development that features 2,200 square feet of commercial space, a public bike-storage installation, solar panels, and three units of affordable housing.

Originally, the plan called for two units of affordable housing, but the developer agreed to change the plan after Councilman Mark West stressed its importance.

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Affordable housing is the biggest issue that we are going to be tackling for the next five to 10 years in the state of California, he said. Some estimates have us at 100,000 homes below where we need to be in order to catch up to the supply-and-demand curve.

George Braudway, the projects developer who was born and raised in Imperial Beach, decided to have nine one-bedroom rental units and five two-bedroom rental units because there is a shortage of that kind of housing in the small coastal city where developers increasingly build houses and condos.

Were building all kinds of brand new houses, and thats great for the people who can afford houses, he said. But the people who cant afford them, the citizens of our city, have nowhere to go.

More than 30 people spoke about the proposed development during the public comment section. While some had concerns about what impacts the density of the project would have on parking and traffic, most residents supported the project.

They were particularly happy to see that the development team was from Imperial Beach.

George Braudway isnt an outside investor trying to make bucks on the backs of IB residents, said Candy Unger. Hes one who knows the true value and potential of this amazing town.

The project is a four-minute walk from the beach on Palm Avenue and Silver Strand Boulevard.

The design consists of two- and three-story elements. The buildings will have an interior courtyard and 10-foot setbacks designed to make the area pedestrian friendly. Braudway would like to have a restaurant on the ground-floor commercial space.

The development will have 17 parking spaces.

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said he understood residents had concerns about increased density in the city. But he also said the entire region is facing a housing crisis that is pushing rents up and long-time Imperial Beach residents to move out because of higher costs.

I understand how the residents feel but Im trying to look at the big picture, he said. The majority of our folks are living on the edge and we need to create more units in the marketplace so we can bring down the rent and make IB continue to be an affordable place to live.

Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter
A combination of proteins and antioxidants doubles the anti-inflammatory properties in immune cells, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Antioxidants known as polyphenols are found in humans, plants, fruits and vegetables.

This group of antioxidants is also used by the food industry to slow the oxidation and deterioration of food quality and thereby avoid off flavors and rancidity.

Polyphenols are also known to be healthy for humans, as they help reduce oxidative stress in the body that gives rise to inflammation.

In the new study, University of Copenhagens Professor Marianne Nissen Lund and colleagues investigated how polyphenols behave when combined with amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

In the study, we show that as a polyphenol reacts with an amino acid, its inhibitory effect on inflammation in immune cells is enhanced, Professor Nissen Lund said.

As such, it is clearly imaginable that this cocktail could also have a beneficial effect on inflammation in humans.

We will now investigate further, initially in animals. After that, we hope to receive research funding which will allow us to study the effect in humans.

To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of a combination of polyphenols and proteins, the researchers applied artificial inflammation to immune cells.

Some of the cells received various doses of polyphenols that had reacted with an amino acid, while others only received polyphenols in the same doses. A control group received nothing.

The authors observed that immune cells treated with the combination of polyphenols and amino acids were twice as effective at fighting inflammation as the cells to which only polyphenols were added.

It is interesting to have now observed the anti-inflammatory effect in cell experiments, said University of Copenhagens Dr. Andrew Williams.

And obviously, this has only made us more interested in understanding these health effects in greater detail.

So, the next step will be to study the effects in animals.

Previous studies by the scientists demonstrated that polyphenols bind to proteins in meat products, milk and beer.

In another study, they tested whether the molecules also bind to each other in a coffee drink with milk. Indeed, coffee beans are filled with polyphenols, while milk is rich in proteins.

Our result demonstrates that the reaction between polyphenols and proteins also happens in some of the coffee drinks with milk that we studied, Professor Nissen Lund said.

In fact, the reaction happens so quickly that it has been difficult to avoid in any of the foods that weve studied so far.

Because humans do not absorb that much polyphenol, many researchers are studying how to encapsulate polyphenols in protein structures which improve their absorption in the body.

This strategy has the added advantage of enhancing the anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols.

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Jingyuan Liu et al. Phenolic Acid-Amino Acid Adducts Exert Distinct Immunomodulatory Effects in Macrophages Compared to Parent Phenolic Acids. J. Agric. Food Chem, published online January 30, 2023; doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06658
Turnersuchus hingleyae, a new genus and species of thalattosuchian crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic epoch, helps fill a gap in the fossil record and suggests that thalattosuchians, with other crocodyliforms, should have originated around the end of the Triassic period  around 15 million years further back in time than when Turnersuchus hingleyae lived.

Thalattosuchians, referred to colloquially as marine crocodiles or sea crocodiles, were prominent members of marine ecosystems from the Early Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous epoch.

They appear abruptly in the fossil record with high species richness, suggesting rapid diversification during the Toarcian age, between 183 and 174 million years ago.

Less than ten species are currently known from this time period across a wide geographic distribution. While most specimens are found in Europe, specimens have also been reported from China, Argentina, and Madagascar.

The newly-identified species, Turnersuchus hingleyae, lived in what is now the United Kingdom, some 185 million years ago.

We should now expect to find more thalattosuchians of the same age as Turnersuchus hingleyae as well as older, said Dr. Eric Wilberg, a paleontologist in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University.

In fact, during the publication of our paper, another paper was published describing a thalattosuchian skull discovered in the roof of a cave in Morocco from the Hettangian/Sinemurian (time periods preceding the Pliensbachian where Turnersuchus hingleyae was found), which corroborates this idea.

I expect we will continue to find more older thalattosuchians and their relatives.

Our analyses suggest that thalattosuchians likely first appeared in the Triassic and survived the end-Triassic mass extinction.

However, no digs have found thalattosuchians in Triassic rocks yet, which means there is a ghost lineage (a period during which we know a group must have existed, but we havent yet recovered fossil evidence).

Until the discovery of Turnersuchus hingleyae, this ghost lineage extended from the end of the Triassic until the Toarcian, in the Jurassic, but now we can reduce the ghost lineage by a few million years the expert team states.

Some thalattosuchians became very well adapted to life in the oceans, with short limbs modified into flippers, a shark-like tail fin, salt glands, and potentially the ability to give live birth (rather than lay eggs).

Turnersuchus hingleyae is interesting as much of these recognized thalattosuchian features had yet to fully evolve.

Due to its relatively long, slender snout, it would have looked similar in appearance to the currently living gharial crocodiles, which are found in all the major river systems of the northern Indian subcontinent.

However, unlike crocodiles, this approximately 2-m-long predator lived purely in coastal marine habitats, said Dr. Pedro Godoy, a paleontologist at the University of Sao Paulo.

And though their skulls look superficially similar to modern gharials, they were constructed quite differently.

The fossilized remains of Turnersuchus hingleyae  part of the head, backbone, and limbs  were recovered from the Belemnite Marl Member of the Charmouth Mudstone Formation in Dorset, the United Kingdom.

Thalattosuchians had particularly large supratemporal fenestrae  a region of the skull housing jaw muscles, Dr. Godoy said.

This suggests that Turnersuchus hingleyae and other thalattosuchians possessed enlarged jaw muscles that likely enabled fast bites; most of their likely prey were fast-moving fish or cephalopods.

Its possible too, just as in modern-day crocodiles, that the supratemporal region of Turnersuchus hingleyae had a thermoregulatory function  to help buffer brain temperature.

The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

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Eric W. Wilberg et al. A new early diverging thalattosuchian (Crocodylomorpha) from the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of Dorset, U.K. and implications for the origin and evolution of the group. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, published online January 20, 2023; doi: 10.1080/02724634.2022.2161909
Sanjana is a graduate student of biochemistry from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She is in her element around dogs and on the basketball court. A sure-fire way to pique her interest is by talking about membrane biology. Being lactose-intolerant has never stopped her from consuming generous amounts of dairy, which perfectly sums up her gung-ho attitude towards life. Her to-be-read list is longer than her list of goals and ambitions.
AFRICA

Central African Republic

Expected Council Action

In February, the Security Council will discuss the Secretary-Generals latest report on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Special Representative for the Central African Republic (CAR) and head of MINUSCA Valentine Rugwabiza is expected to brief.

The mandate of MINUSCA expires on 15 November 2023. The CAR sanctions regime expires on 31 July 2023, and the mandate of the Panel of Experts supporting the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee expires on 31 August 2023.

Key Recent Developments

On 14 November 2022, the Security Council adopted resolution 2659, renewing MINUSCAs mandate for another year until 15 November. Twelve members voted in favour of the resolution, and China, Gabon, and Russia abstained. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 13 November 2022.)

Following the adoption of resolution 2659, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix visited the CAR in December 2022 to engage with the government and other stakeholders on the implementation of MINUSCAs mandate. According to the mission, the discussion focused on how to enhance the states capacity, strengthen state institutions and the rule of law, and support the holding of local elections. Concerns about misinformation and hate speech were also raised in the discussion. Lacroix called for calm, open, and peaceful debates ahead of the local elections, which are expected to take place this year.

The issue of constitutional reform has been contentious in CAR. In October 2022, CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera removed the president of the CAR Constitutional Court, Daniele Darlan, and appointed Jean-Pierre Waboe as the new president. This followed a 23 September 2022 decision by the court to invalidate the governments decision to set up a committee to draft a new constitution to remove presidential term limits. The current constitution, adopted in 2016 following popular consultations, does not allow the president to run for a third term, and the CAR court declared the committees work unconstitutional. Opposition parties and civil society organisations strongly criticised the governments decision to remove Darlan and underscored the need to respect the independence of the judiciary. During his visit, Lacroix emphasised the need to respect institutions and allow political parties and civil society to express themselves freely.

On 27 December 2022, the CAR national assembly extended for five years the mandate of the Special Criminal Court (SCC)a hybrid court set up in 2015 with the support of the UN to investigate, prosecute and try serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the CAR. The court started its deliberations in August 2022 after having completed hearings for its first trial and issuing a life sentence and two 20-year prison terms for three members of the 3R rebel group who were accused of taking part in a massacre in May 2019 that claimed the lives of 46 people. In a 1 November 2022 statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that these sentences were a milestone in the Central African Republics efforts to bring to justice those responsible for serious crimes, which is crucial for fighting impunity, breaking cycles of violence, and contributing to transitional justice.

The growing insecurity in the CAR due to the resumption of military activities by some armed groups has been a major concern. MINUSCA reported that it has enhanced its joint patrols with the CAR armed forces (FACA) to respond to armed groups threats and enhance civilians protection. Armed groups operating cross-border have been a particular concern stoking tensions between CAR and its neighbours. The CAR authorities blamed an unnamed neighbouring country for an alleged bombing of Bossangoa, a town near the Chadian border, in November 2022, which reportedly targeted a military base used by FACA and the Wagner group, a Russian private security company. The town was said to be under the control of armed groups until recently. In early January, Sudan announced that it was closing its borders with CAR, reportedly because of concerns over unnamed actors who were operating on the Sudanese side of the border to plan regime change in the CAR.

One of the challenges faced by MINUSCA has been continued violations of the status of forces agreement (SOFA), as acknowledged in Resolution 2659 renewing MINUSCAs mandate in November 2022, which urges all parties in the CAR to cooperate fully with the deployment and activities of MINUSCA, in particular by ensuring its safety, security, and freedom of movement with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of the CAR, including by air and at night, as per MINUSCAs Status of Forces Agreement, to enable MINUSCA to carry out fully its mandate in a complex environment. On 10 January, two French consultants working for MINUSCA were arrested at the Bangui International Airport. They were released after two days without charges.

Sanctions-Related Developments

Following the renewal of the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the work of the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee on 29 July 2022, the Secretary-General appointed four panel members on 31 August 2022. They are from Tunisia, Congo, Netherlands, and Norway with expertise in arms, armed groups, finance/natural resources, and humanitarian affairs. On 28 December 2022, the Secretary-General appointed the Panels fifth and final member, from Pakistan, to serve as a regional expert.

Since July 2022, the 2127 Sanctions Committee has met four times to discuss the work plan and progress update of the Panel of Experts and to engage with regional states on the challenges in monitoring and implementation of sanctions measures.

Key Issues and Options

The political and security situation in the CAR will be a key issue for Council members in February. They could be keen to know more about the ongoing preparations for the holding of local elections, which are expected this year for the first time since 1988. Some members may express serious concerns about the removal of the president of the CAR Constitutional Court and call on the government to respect the independence of the judiciary. The growing insecurity in the country could also be another area of concern on which Council members may reiterate their support for MINUSCAs robust mandate in protecting civilians.

The other major issue for Council members is the need to ensure accountability and justice for crimes committed in the CAR. They may, therefore, welcome the extension of the mandate of the SCC and express continued support for its work. A possible option is to hold an informal interactive dialogue with the SCC president on the progress and challenges in fighting impunity in the CAR.

The continued violation of the SOFA remains another important issue. Council members may continue to insist on the need for the host country to respect its obligation under the SOFA to enable MINUSCA to effectively discharge its mandate.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Council dynamics on the CAR continue to be difficult. This was particularly evident during MINUSCAs mandate renewal in November 2022. The three African members (Gabon, Ghana, and then-Council member Kenya), as well as China and Russia, supported the host countrys position on several issues, including its request to make promoting the extension of state authority a priority task of the mission and the differentiated treatment of the government and armed groups in the draft resolution (opposing the use of the phrase parties to the conflict in the draft text, which they argued, equates a legitimately elected government with armed groups). Although the penholder tried to accommodate those requests to a certain extent, these members were not satisfied, which resulted in abstentions by China, Gabon, and Russia.

Other members were disappointed that previously agreed language concerning the responsibility to protect was removed from the draft text, and that the resolution did not specifically call out the Wagner group for its alleged violations of human rights in the CAR.

France is the penholder on the CAR, and Ambassador Harold Adlai Agyeman (Ghana) chairs the 2127 CAR Sanctions Committee.

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Nguyen Phuong Hang, General Director of the Dai Nam Company and three accomplices were accused of 'abusing rights of freedom and democracy to infringe upon interests of the State, rights and legitimate interests of organisations and individuals'.

Police of Ho Chi Minh City have finished an investigation into Nguyen Phuong Hang, General Director of the Dai Nam Company and three accomplices.

The police have proposed the municipal Peoples Procuracy prosecute the four for the charge under Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code.

According to investigation results, Hang, born in 1971 and residing in District 1 of HCM City, took advantage of her influence to spread unverified information about other peoples private lives via social networks.

In about March 2021, via her social network accounts, Hang organised many livestreams during which she talked about some peoples private lives and used words that were humiliating and insulting to their honor and dignity.

She was put into temporary detention on March 24, 2022.

On November 30, 2022, police launched a probe into Nguyen Thi Mai Nhi (born in 1983, assistant to Nguyen Phuong Hang), Le Thi Thu Ha (born in 1992, employee of the Dai Nam Company, and Huynh Cong Tan (born in 1994, head of the communications division of the Dai Nam Company), who were accused of helping Hang hold the livestreams. They were also banned from leaving their living places.
Page Content

On any given day, a blizzard, tornado, flood or other kind of disaster may bombard towns in the U.S. And on any given day, roughly one-fourth of Americans are working remotely.

Many traditional workplaces have disaster preparedness plans to cope with emergencies like these. But what about remote employees? Both the employer and employee bear some responsibility in protecting the employer's assets and ensuring that the employee can continue to work after the disruption.

First, remote employees need to take inventory of all business and personal assets at home that would need protection in case of a disaster, said Steve Harris, co-founder and CEO of Krisis Protection, which manufactures bags designed to protect belongings from floodwater damage. From a work standpoint, this may include computer equipment and important paperwork.

Second, "When preparing for a natural disaster [at] home, it is incredibly important to prepare well before a severe weather event arrives. The first step is to focus on protecting your most valuable items, both personal and work related," Harris said.

Next, employers should find out whether their business insurance policy covers company-owned devices in remote employees' homes. Corie Colliton, senior editor of industry research at Business.com, noted that these devices, such as laptops, usually aren't covered by an at-home worker's homeowners or renters insurance policy.

Furthermore, employers should make sure company data maintained by at-home workers is properly stored, Colliton said.

"Individual remote workers will need guidance on where to store digital files and other data," she said. "Important information should not be stored locally [on their laptops] by remote employees. They must have access to remote shared servers, and you must ensure everyone is comfortable using them in advance of storms or other disasters."

To provide that and other critical information, Harris advises employers to create a disaster preparedness manual that applies to both workplace and remote employees. The manual could include emergency procedures, emergency communication guidelines, business continuity plans and other vital details.

Experts stress that every employee should be up to speed on the latest version of the disaster preparedness manual.

"It's important to keep staff safe, no matter where they are, and providing them with the necessary tools and resources when a crisis arises not only keeps them safe, but helps them navigate incredibly emotional and damaging times," Harris said.



SHRM Resource Hub Page

Weather and Natural Disasters



Next, Kim Brooks, vice president of operations at ServiceMaster Restore, which specializes in natural disaster response and restoration services, said at-home workers should have the proper supplies on hand. These include:

Hand-cranked radio.

Backup batteries.

Flashlights.

First-aid items, such as bandages and over-the-counter pain relievers.

Tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers.

Three-day supply of water (up to one gallon of water per day for each person).

Three-day supply of nonperishable food for each person.

Steve Gaer, president of Recoop Disaster Insurance, noted that employers can help at-home workers affected by a disaster by providing temporary housing, backup power and cellphone service with mobile hotspot capabilities.



Remote workers should identify in advance a temporary place to work if their home becomes uninhabitable. Ylopo, provider of an automated marketing platform, posted a blog with tips on how to do so: "Make a list of friends or relatives who live in a nearby town where you can work temporarily, especially if they're in an area not heavily affected by the calamity. Contact them ahead of time to see if they can accommodate you."

Colliton pointed out that employers should assure all of their workers that their safety is the top concern during a disaster, "more than their productivity or profits." In line with that, employers should be aware of where all of their remote workers live and make sure their contact information is up-to-date.

"If any live in disaster-prone locations, employers should create contingency plans well in advance of weather events so their employees can focus on personal safety in case disaster strikes," she said.

To help determine which types of natural disasters might hit places where remote workers live, check out the National Weather Service's awareness and preparedness calendar. And because flooding is the country's most common and costly type of natural disaster, consider using the weather service's flood-tracking map to monitor conditions where remote workers are.

However you approach disaster preparedness for at-home workers, Harris underscores the importance of developing emergency preparedness plans before disaster strikes.

"So many people believe that these disasters could never happen to them, and when it unfortunately does, they experience an overwhelmingly amount of emotional and physical loss," Harris said.

John Egan is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas.
Bigspoon, a leading Cloud Kitchen start-up, in association with its celebrity investor, Mouni Roy today launched a neo-pizza brand, The Pizza People going live in 15 cities across 35 outlets. The Pizza People is Indias largest Pizza brand launch in a single day as Bigspoon leverages its extensive cloud kitchen network across Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. The first phase of launch sees 35 outlets go-live across 15 cities, including Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Surat and Indore.

The Pizza People is the first-of-its-kind Neapolitan Pizza chain at scale, exclusively available for deliveries only. It brings in premium cheese and imported toppings, on a Neapolitan-styled pizza base made from Australian wheat, clubbed with vented packaging boxes to retain temperature and moisture through its journey of delivery to the customer.

The current market gap of serving premium and hot pizzas across all major cities of India, at a competitive pricing, was identified, to build The Pizza People.

Kapil Mathrani, Bigspoon CEO and Co-Founder said, We are excited to announce the launch of our bespoke Pizza brand, The Pizza People with Mouni. Her hands-on approach in brand building and her massive popularity adds immense value to Bigspoon.

Despite the size of the market, premium pizzas have been an underserved category in the delivery market of India, due to a lack of standardization of food, lack of attention to packaging, and most large brands being franchisee-led. Bigspoon operates only company-owned outlets to maintain the highest degree of quality and processes. We would be doubling our outlet count in the next couple of months, to bring the finest pizzas across the country, and also launch internationally in the next quarter., He added.

Celebrity and Investor, Mouni Roy said, I have always been a huge foodie and I am thrilled to be able to share my love for it with everyone. The Pizza People is dedicated to providing customers with the highest quality pizzas with the freshest ingredients. I can't wait for everyone to try our delicious pizzas and be a part of the TPP family.

Pizza is one of the largest food categories in the delivery space, and with its second phase of a launch coming up in March, The Pizza People would be available across 50+ outlets in 25 cities. Bigspoon recently raised its Series-A equity funding, in a round of INR 100 Cr, from IAN, NB VC, Go Ventures, and Anicut.
Global travel service provider MakeMyTrip has a growth of 64.4 percent on gross bookings (year-on-year) that reached $1.75 billion -- its highest-ever -- for the company's fiscal third quarter that ended on December 31.

The company earned an adjusted operating profit of $19.7 million in Q3 FY23, as compared to $13.2 million in Q3 FY22, over the revenue of $170.5 million (versus $115 million in 3Q22).

Profit for the period was $0.2 million as compared to a loss of $9 million during the same quarter last year.

Demand for leisure travel and tourism improved on the back of peak seasonality, according to the company.

"Positive consumer sentiment and peak seasonality on the back of festivals and holidays led to improved travel demand during this quarter," said Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, of MakeMyTrip.

As a result, "we recorded our highest ever quarterly gross bookings and adjusted operating profit. Strong growth across air, hotels and bus bookings reaffirms our position as a trusted travel super-app in India," he said in a statement.

The company posted good results as the travel and tourism industry has sought assistance from the government in the Union Budget for FY24 in enhancing the structural transformation that is needed to build a stronger, more sustainable and resilient tourism industry.

Magow had said that the Indian travel and tourism industry has shown great resilience, and domestic leisure travel has recovered well past pre-pandemic levels, though long-haul international travel still lags.
SBM Bank (India) Limited today said that it has raised Rs 99 crore through the issuance of second tranche Basel-III compliant Tier II Bonds on January 24, 2023. The Bank has raised the entire corpus from the country's largest financial institution, the LIC of India. With this fresh round of capital raising from multiple investors, SBM Bank India now has raised a total of Rs 224 crore till date through Basel III compliant Tier 2 bonds.

Mandar Pitale, Head- Treasury, SBM Bank India said, We are extremely proud to have India's largest public sector insurance company the LIC of India as the investor in our fund-raising exercise through bonds. LIC is a very respected name in the insurance space and its decision to subscribe to the entire tranche of our bonds shows its faith in the Bank's overall ability to perform in a tight-leash private banking space. The funds will definitely help us in our business expansion plans and allow us to capture the emerging growth opportunities in the country."
For the last two decades, India has been on the path to establish tech supremacy. The countrys burgeoning digital economy is poised for expansion, and its contribution to the governments aim of a $5 trillion GDP by 2025 is going to be undoubtedly crucial. With the announcement of the Union Budget 2023-24 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman only a few days away, the industry is hopeful for a major boost from the government.

With India emerging as a global hub for digital capability and the roll out of 5G services in the country, the tech sector in the country is looking forward to a period of growth and stability propelled by fresh policies and other provisions from the upcoming budget announcement. The industry has been a propellant for positive change for years, as it braces itself up for new ones.

We have curated an interesting collection of budget expectations from renowned industry leaders. Please let me know if you are working on any story that would benefit from the expert commentary, or if you would like to explore it in the form of a guest article.

Appended below are the budget expectation quotes from tech leaders.

Vinod Nair, Global VP of Sales and General Manager Noventiq India, said, ''The 2023 budget will be crucial for the IT industry as many headwinds globally impact one of Indias largest employers. In the past decade, Indian IT startups have preferred to have their corporate headquarters in the US or Singapore due to those countries' favourable tax and compliance environments. If this years budget addresses this by providing more lenient and flexible compliance to startups, it will attract more investments and ensure that homegrown IT startups remain in India.

Additionally, the use of digital technology and the prevalent geo-political situation has created opportunities for cybercriminals waiting to exploit vulnerabilities. We have seen a significant rise in cyberattacks, resulting in the loss of confidential data and money for businesses. Therefore, cybersecurity must be a top priority from the very beginning of digitisation to ensure digital transformation. The government should look at the loss of money to cybersecurity as a loss not just to businesses but to the government.

The future belongs to Digital India, and we can secure it by investing in cybersecurity rather than doing damage control after a cyberattack. As India prepares to become more digitally literate, we must strengthen our defences against cyber-attacks by improving data protection and having a much-stronger policy in place for all sectors.

In summary, as the Prime Minister, in his last independence speech, spoke about the next decade for India being a techade, the complete IT industry, with its importance in this journey, will be expecting many policies favouring the IT industry.''

Jesal Doshi, Deputy CEO, B Medical Systems, said, Focusing on this year's significant stories is essential as we cautiously enter 2023. The widespread vaccination effort, which immunised over 100 crore people, was a significant victory for the Indian government. All throughout the world, nations praised this courageous deed. We anxiously await the government's announcement of funds for the initiatives we want it to prioritise this year. Spending more money on vaccinations is one of the goals, especially across the board in the healthcare system. India must have the right tools since the fight against COVID-19 is far from over.

Considering the drastically dropping immunisation rates, it also necessitates acting quickly. The government must enact stricter regulations for the storage and delivery of these life-saving vaccines to both the public and private sectors. Additionally, stress the significance of using certified, top-notch medical grade equipment. Once more, they must consider a more long-term framework to guarantee that immunisations are accessible in India's rural areas.

We believe that separating the medical cold chain from commercial refrigeration and establishing a specialised business could aid in expanding the sector. To make it simpler to create dependable medical cold chain chains, the government should reduce import fees on necessary components.

Raj Sivaraju, President of APAC, Arete, said, India's economy is rapidly advancing and will play a significant role in boosting the global economy. The country's technology industry will attempt to identify the cybersecurity investment necessary for the tech sector as the government is scheduled to propose its budget for FY202324 in a few weeks. With the rapid implementation of technology initiatives and programs, the lowering of administrative backlog, and inclusive development in 2023, the cybersecurity industry is expected to generate US$2.37 billion in revenue. Security Services is the market's biggest category, with a US$1.19 billion market volume anticipated in 2023. By 2027, the market is projected to generate revenues with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.61%, amounting to US$4.09 billion. The country's IT industry will closely monitor the spending on requirements for digital public infrastructure, capability building, and incentives for enhancing cybersecurity services.

Priya Ranjan Panigrahy, CEO and Founder of CEPTES Software, said, Digital India Program is a great initiative for companies like start-ups, SaaS based and new-age companies. We are creating the SMB booster program in cloud space which enables small businesses to get into the digital transformation very quickly without much hassle, which can take care of sales, service, marketing automation and also connecting to finance operations like automatic e-invoice and automatic billing solutions can be done. We also do KYC solutions which can be so easy to adopt. The budget will be focusing on measures that support growth and innovation in the software and SaaS industry. Support for the development and adoption of new technologies such as cloud computing artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things.

Technology Clusters in tier 1 cities in India; while there are IT talents every corner in India they are forced to move to tier 1 cities. As a result, big cities are enduring infrastructure issues. Govt. must come-up with a special budget for booming IT infrastructure in tier 2, or Tier 3 cities as well to take-off the load from big cities. Measures to address the skills gap in the IT industry and support for training and upskilling of workers. Tax incentives for companies that invest in research and development. This year's budget may also include measures to address concerns around data privacy and security, as well as efforts to increase the adoption of digital technologies in various sectors.

Sujit Patel, Founder and CEO, SCS Tech, said, With the world moving to digital products and services, cybersecurity becomes very important for individuals and companies to take care of their digital assets like sensitive data, PII (Personally Identifiable Information), PHI (Protected Health Information), intellectual property to name a few.

While speaking about cybersecurity threats as malware, spoofing, phishing or third-party data breaches one should implement the minimum cybersecurity requirement as per their scenario, corporates should pay enough attention to latest cyber security tools, security employees training and education, controlling physical access to their digital data, in-time updates for the software; making proper backups of the information, and securing the internet connection. Like they say, Prevention is better than cure.

Manoj Paul, Managing Director, Equinix India, said, The data center market in India has seen substantial growth in the last few years. India's continued digital push and exponential data growth have resulted in strong demand for digital infrastructure. The recent report states that the Indian data center industry market size was valued at USD 4.35 billion in 2021 and is estimated to witness investments of USD 10.09 billion by 2027, with a CAGR growth of 15.07% during 2022-2027.

The Indian domestic market is huge and very exciting for players like Equinix,. and we hope for favorable policies that fuel growth and investment in the sector and help India emerge as a 'global data center hub. In this context there are two areas of immediate attention:

India requires a strong ICT infrastructure, with investments in undersea fiber networks linking the country with other nations, between and within cities, and cable landing stations, all of which is crucial for a digital economy. In the last few years, India has improved significantly with existing and new carriers laying fiber and offering 100G/200G wavelengths and aims to scale up to 600G/800G. However, there is a demand for huge investments to place additional fiber within India specially connecting Datacenters and Cable Landing stations within the same citiy and in different cities across the country for the demand for new age dark fiber to support surge in bandwidth and redundancy. To support 5G deployment, all base stations and mobile towers must be linked over fiber for improving bandwidth availability to customers, this is critical for the success of 5G and hence necessary for accelerating growth in data consumption. Additional investment in fiber is also required to decrease the bandwidth costs of connecting data centers across the country. The industry is looking forward to favorable changes in the policies which will encourage new investors like Datacenter service providers, new age telecom service providers supported by OTTs, cloud service providers and data center service providers among others to deploy new age fiber networks within the country to meet the growing demand. Dark fiber policy has been the ask for data centers and OTTs and CSPs which if fulfilled will fuel the growth of data centers and align India with other countries which allow dark fiber and improve Ease of Doing Business index of India.

Data centers need big amount of power, in 10s of MWs going upto 100 MW. This would need significant investment from the power distribution companies to meet the deamding and we expect the government to make provision in the budget for this investment. Data centers consume uniform power across the day and night and also pay much higher tariff than domestic users and hence should be seen as profitable customers justifying the investment. Availability of sustainable power is another significant factor which impacts the growth of data centers. The government can increase focus on sustainable energy and make provisions in the budget for green data centers and big investments for power generation and improvement in power distribution infrastructure so that the upcoming demand of power requirement for the data centers can be fulfilled efficiently. The industry has also pointed out the changes needed in power distribution policies to allow the data center industry to use "Green Power more effectively and clear roadmap for data protection policy.
Recruitment automation platform TurboHire announced its availabilityin the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. TurboHires customerscan now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform, with streamlined deployment and management.

Founded in 2019, TurboHire seeks to address traditional hiring inefficiencies through a simple solution that recruiters can install and deploy immediately. Its end-to-end platform combines AI and natural language processing to offer a human-like intelligence that identifies high-calibre candidate matches with 98% accuracy. The platform, which can be integrated with any existing HR software, includes 70 key features to simplify the recruitment process, from collaboration tools to top 0 matching to interview scheduling. It deploys smart recruitment solutions that reduce hiring costs by up to 65% and time-to-hire by 78%. In the last three years, TurboHire has built a roster of over 150 clients who have collectively saved millions in hiring costs through the platform.

The Hyderabad-based startup's most recent funding round brought in $2 million from investors like Pentathlon VC, The Chennai Angels, T-Fund, Mumbai Angels, and Hyderabad Angels. The teams goal is to maintain a 20% MoM growth as they expand across international markets and to prioritise enterprise-level clients with 1000+ employees.

"We are delighted to be in the Microsoft Azure marketplace and give our customers access to its trusted tech. This is an important step in our expansion plan and we're looking forward to building awareness of our platform among major B2B players using Microsoft Azure. This will further help us drive digital transformation and boost our business by helping us deliver impactful, human centred solutions to our customers." said CEO and Co-founder, Deepak Agrawal.

Jake Zborowski, General Manager, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp. said,Were pleased to welcome TurboHire to the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, which gives our partners great exposure to cloud customers around the globe. Azure Marketplace offers world-class quality experiences from global trusted partners with solutions tested to work seamlessly with Azure.

The Azure Marketplace is an online market for buying and selling cloud solutions certified to run on Azure. The Azure Marketplace helps connect companies seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions with partners who have developed solutions that are ready to use.
SBI Capital Markets the investment banking division of SBI, opened an office in Bengaluru to focus on fostering and advancing the startup ecosystem and focusing on pertinent opportunities across the state's infrastructure, real estate, and defence sectors. The business provides services like mergers & acquisitions, capital markets products, ESG advisory, project advisory, and structured financing.

The opening of the SBI office comes shortly after the largest lender opened a special branch for startups in Bengaluru's Koramangala neighbourhood in August of last year. In the presence of his colleague and MD Swaminathan J, as well as SBI Capital managing director and chief executive Amitava Chatterjee, SBI chairman Dinesh Khara, opened the office. According to Khara, Bengaluru is a hub for major IT enterprises.

"Additionally, Bengaluru presents abundant potential across a variety of industries from the perspective of capital markets and portfolio firms of private equity (PE) coverage. The first state to create a specialised Startup Cell to promote its ecosystem was Karnataka. Being the birthplace of about 30 of India's 100 unicorns, Bengaluru stands head and shoulders above all other cities, according to Khara.

As per Swaminathan, the public and private ecosystems offer a variety of opportunities for business funding, particularly in the real estate, infrastructure, defence, and technology sectors, including start-ups in Karnataka. "The SBICAPS dedicated presence in Bengaluru is a step forward in establishing this link, he added. Both SBI and SBICAPS have been working jointly to tap into this.

Chatterjee added the decision to select Bengaluru for coverage of southern India was guided by opportunities linked to infrastructure and real estate investments, proximity to major players in the defence sector, the role of information technology in national building, and the need to support the startup ecosystem.

With a corporate office in Mumbai and regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, SBICAPS now operates. The sixth regional office of SBICAPS, located at Lady Curzon Road, has a designated senior vice-president who will oversee operations and be in charge of covering all of Southern India.




A Pennsylvania State Police vehicle was involved in a crash in Ashland on Monday evening.





According to the Pennsylvania State Police at Frackville, the crash occurred around 7:15pm at the intersection of 18th Street and Centre Streets.





Police say State Trooper was driving west on Centre Street when Elvis Torres Torres, 30, of Ashland pulled out from 18th Street to make a left onto Centre.





As Torres pulled out from the side street, the State Trooper attempted to avoid him, but struck the driver side door.





Torres's Honda suffered heavy damage to the driver's side while the State Police vehicle sustained heavy front end damage.





No injuries were reported and both vehicles were towed from the scene.





Torres will be cited for the crash.





Also responding to the scene was Ashland Police, Washington Ambulance, as well as the Washington Rescue and American Hose Company.








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When Alexandra Munro got a late night call to design a commemorative T-shirt for the mens Australian Open final, her frantic midnight effort resulted in the T-shirts being worn by champion Novak Djokovics celebrating family.

Munro, a small business owner from Melbourne, was overwhelmed with excitement when asked to design the Team Djokovic T-shirts that were worn by the champions inner circle, including his uncle Goran Djokovic and mum Dijana Djokovic, shortly after he won.

Novak Djokovic celebrates as supporters hold up a T-shirt designed by Melbourne graphic T-shirt business Death By Zero. Credit: Getty Images

The distinctive white T-shirt featured the number 10 with a Serbian flag design on the front and back, symbolising 10 Australian Open grand slams.

Seeing them pull the T-shirts out and just so proudly put them on, I was just like, wow, what an amazing moment, said Munro, owner of the Mornington Peninsula-based business, Death By Zero.
Australia has had only one poet laureate. That was a former convict, Michael Massey Robinson, who was appointed by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in the early 19th century to write odes for royal birthdays. He received a couple of cows from the government herd for his trouble.

His Ode for the Queens Birthday, 1814 included the immortal lines: ILLUSTRIOUS QUEEN! exalted WIFE! / Adord thro evry Stage of Life / By Natures Impulse taught to share / THY CONSORTs lingring Hours of Care.

Two centuries the position of poet laureate is set to be revived under the federal governments new national cultural policy. In 2025 Australia will join the likes of the US, New Zealand, UK, Canada, Jamaica, Nigeria and appoint an official poet laureate.

British poet laureate Simon Armitage meets the boss, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on his appointment in 2019. Credit:

But what does a poet laureate do? In Britain, the job is a royal appointment on advice from the Prime Minister and the chosen poet commemorates royal occasions as well as working on their own projects. The current poet laureate, Simon Armitage, marked the death of Queen Elizabeth II with Floral Tribute, which came shortly after he wrote Queenhood to mark her platinum jubilee: A priceless freight for a young woman to bear / but, draped and adorned, a monarch walks forward / into the sideways weather of oncoming years.
More evidence, if it was needed, that the pandemic is far from over: billionaire blowhard Clive Palmer and his offsider Craig Kelly are still promoting their quack cures, importing controversial foreign doctors to back their dubious claims and crying victimhood when anybody declines to facilitate their schemes.

Craig Kelly is still pushing quack COVID cures. Credit: John Shakespeare

Its all just so 2020.

Kelly, the former Liberal MP for the Sydney seat of Hughes, has been on the socials promoting a series of conferences on COVID-19 vaccines put on by Palmers United Australia Party this month in Victoria, NSW and Queensland featuring some controversial overseas talent.

The headline act is US physician Peter McCullough, who has pushed hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as treatments for the virus  sound familiar?  and made some pretty out-there claims about vaccines and who has been sacked from jobs and stripped of professorships over his views.
It was never the subject of a formal announcement but at some stage in the past few years the Liberal Party at the federal level seems to have ceased to be a conventional political organisation.

Think about it. It cut itself off from new ideas. It mocked electric cars. It scoffed at climate change and accountability while pretending to believe in both.

The electorate has moved to the left but Peter Dutton continues to look right. Credit: Marija Ercegovac

To rouse its supporters, it talked of an impending war. And it started treating its leaders like gurus, even when they behaved oddly.

Theres a cult-like feel to todays Liberal Party, with too many of its MPs meekly following their leader even if it will keep them out of favour with most of their fellow citizens and take them over a political cliff.
Mir Barkat Ali Khan, eighth Nizam of Hyderabad: October 6, 1933  January 15, 2023

The life of Mir Barkat Ali Khan (known as Mukarram Jah), who has died in Istanbul at the age of 89, was an extraordinary tale of reversal of fortune. No one understood the highly developed hierarchies of India better than the imperialist, class-conscious British who set about dividing the maharajahs into classes, measuring the rank of their state by the firing, on all formal occasions, of gun salutes  descending in odd numbers from 21 to nine. Hyderabad, the wealthiest and most populous, was a 21-gunner; in fact, the only one.

Price Mukarram Jah, 1995. Credit: Fairfax

Three-year-old Mukarram Jah was present at the silver jubilee of his grandfather, the seventh Nizam, in 1937 when the cannon fired. That booming symbolic tribute to a prince of the raj terrified the little boy so much that his grandfather ordered that they cease  at number 17 (putting them on par with Jodhpur  Marwar). What three-year-old would not be frightened by cannon fire? But this was no ordinary child.

His name meant Bounty of God, Blessed by Allah, and heritage weighed heavily on his tiny Sherwanid shoulders. Through his Indian grandmother, he was a descendant of the prophet Mohammed; through his Turkish mother, a descendant of the first and last caliphs. He was an offspring of the union of the two greatest Muslim dynasties of their time, and his grandfathers hope was that he would succeed him in Hyderabad, and reclaim the Caliphate.
The City of Sydney has blamed worker shortages, industrial action and the lingering effects of COVID-19 for overflowing bins and dumped rubbish piling up on streets as anger and frustration among residents grow.

Lord Mayor Clover Moores council is being pressured to fix problems of patchy garbage and bulky waste collection as councillors face a rising wave of complaints from residents throughout the city.

The council has paused collections of bulky waste as it works through a backlog. Credit: Janie Barrett

Yvonne Weldon, an independent councillor, said she had been inundated for months with complaints, including from residents of a Glebe apartment block whose rubbish wasnt collected for three weeks.

Its our core responsibility. We need to get it right, and we havent been.
Queensland police charge son over alleged murder of mum

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The son of a Gold Coast woman whose body was found in the boot of a car in Brisbane last week has been charged with murder, as police say they found evidence that her alleged killer had other plans.

Wendy Sleeman, 61, had reported a break-in at her Elanora home on Tuesday last week, but by the time police arrived within half an hour, she had disappeared.

After searching for days, detectives arrested and charged her 30-year-old son, who goes by the name Slade Murdok, with offences including kidnapping, assault, stalking and attempted arson.

Sleemans body was then found in the boot of her car, which was parked in a garage at a Windsor unit complex on Brisbanes northside.
Sydney detectives hit roadblock in Brazil murder trial

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Then, just as she was beginning to have some hope, the symptoms closed in again. Overexcited by her recovery, shed pushed herself too hard. Two steps forward, one step back. It is immensely frustrating, she says. Then, a week before Christmas, I just started feeling really phenomenal. And I just started going up exponentially from there. Does long COVID simply naturally improve over time? Maybe. Doctors report seeing this in clinics; data suggests symptoms decline by 12 months in children. The picture for adults is much more mixed: other post-viral infections such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) can be lifelong.

Spicer cites two cornerstones to her recovery: rest and pacing. Not the type of rest we all do, but radical rest. She spent the first six months at home, watching TV, unable to do anything else. That does not really rest you cognitively and emotionally, she says. She learned she had to turn off the TV, lower light and sound  cut the over stimulation of her nervous system. She meditated regularly. And she paced herself. This approach, strongly advocated by the ME/CFS community, involves very, very slow progress towards full function. A bit of work, and then five minutes of meditation, over and over again. Examine, a free weekly newsletter covering science with a sceptical, evidence-based eye, is sent every Tuesday. Youre reading an excerpt  sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox. Spicer led a busy life before long COVID. One of the hardest things, she says, was learning to slow down, to accept that she would need a break in the middle of cooking vegetables for lunch. Its almost impossible, she says. You have to treat it like a job.

Like many with long COVID, she  in close consultation with her doctors  experimented with a variety of medications before settling on a regime that worked for her. Loading There is no silver bullet, she says. She thinks they worked for her, but likely wouldnt for many others, such is the range of presentations from the disease. Regular readers of Examine might ponder why Im focusing so much on Spicers story. Her experience is a single data point, not a robust clinical trial. What happened to her might not happen to others. And she doesnt know for sure if it truly was the treatments that cured her. Honestly, like most post-viral illness, the most powerful medicine is simply time, she says. Anecdotes are so persuasive they tend to influence our decision making in unhelpful ways. Normally, I am deeply sceptical of them and I encourage you to be as well.

Loading Why make an exception? Two reasons: first, people with long COVID need stories of hope. Second, long COVID is unusual because were dealing with a disease without a lot of medical literature. Our failure to properly fund post-viral illness research and care has left a huge vacuum. This means much of the expertise in caring for people with long COVID has accrued among sufferers themselves and those living with post-viral illnesses. Indeed, patient-researchers just published a huge review of long COVID in Nature Microbiology. Given the treatment and evidence vacuum, to ignore this type of first-hand knowledge seems wrongheaded.
Federal authorities are set to join the massive search for a dangerous radioactive capsule missing in Western Australia.

The 8mm by 6mm item fell out of a density gauge while being trucked from a Rio Tinto mine in the Pilbara to Perth.

A radioactive capsule is missing in WA. Credit: DFES

Emergency services are searching a 1400km route amid warnings the caesium-137 in the capsule could cause radiation burns or sickness if handled and potentially dangerous levels of radiation with prolonged exposure.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency on Tuesday said it had sent a deployment team with specialised car-mounted and portable detection equipment to join the search.
The empty 500-bed Bullsbrook quarantine facility could house international and regional students amid predictions some students will be left homeless ahead of the start of the new semester.

National Union of Students Western Australia branch president Dylan Botica said universities were preparing to deal with homeless students unable to find accommodation in Perths historically tight rental market.

The Bullsbrook quarantine facility remains empty. Credit: Nine

The rental shortage in WA continues to apply significant pressure, he said.

We are concerned about overcrowding, and further exploitation of students living in student accommodation who currently are not protected by ordinary tenancy rights.
One in four young Australians moved back to live with their parents during the pandemic, but many young women who did so felt cut off from their tribes and their mental health suffered as a result.

Women in their early 20s who returned home felt more isolated than men the same age who did so, the Australian Institute of Family Studies has found, and they also reported feeling more stressed than young men.

Bella De Almeida Reis moved from Melbourne back to Geelong during the lockdowns. Credit: Paul Jeffers

This was not because they did not get along with families  most young adults found it positive  but because they lost access to peers. Researchers concluded they will need ongoing help, especially from tertiary institutions.

The report  Young Adults Returning to Live With Parents During COVID-19  found young Victorians were more likely to have moved home than those from other states.
There is no better time to defund private schools than now. And no better time to examine the values these schools teach to an ever-increasing number of students enrolled.

Parents are abandoning the values-led public system to send their kids to schools where, if Mondays shocking episode of Four Corners is a yardstick, there appears to be little monitoring of what is being taught, by whom and how. If there are values, it is about keeping power in the hands of the wealthy and already powerful.

Tangara School for Girls at Cherrybrook in north-west Sydney. Credit: James Alcock

Boys like us. Girls like us.

I once believed you should choose the right school for your own child (shorthand for our own prejudices). Instead, we should be fighting for a school system insisting on equity, not entrenching privilege. Yes, I was curious about the whole the education is better at private schools argument. Is there an academic reason to send kids to private schools? The University of New Englands Sally Larsen analysed NAPLAN results over time from private schools compared with public schools.
A small club of elite donors has spent almost $1 billion in todays dollars on donations over the past two decades, dominating funding for the major political parties and highlighting the influence of key insiders amid calls for reform to political finance laws.

New analysis shows the top 5 per cent of donors made up 76.4 per cent of all donations by dollar values over the period, with mining billionaire Clive Palmer emerging as the biggest single funding source.

Mining magnate and former federal MP Clive Palmer dominated the political donations pool. Credit: Scott McNaughton

The findings by the Centre for Public Integrity, a non-profit group of former judges and anti-corruption campaigners, are likely to intensify the debate over caps on donations when Labor unveils sweeping changes to donations law later this year.

Big donations are distorting our political process, said former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, KC, the chair of the Centre for Public Integrity.
The Prime Minister has offered republicans at the Constitutional Convention a referendum next year if only they can agree on a model to be put to the people.

Malcolm Turnbull at the Constitutional Convention, looking less than cosy with John Howard, the monarchist he said broke the heart of a nation. Credit: Andrew Meares

John Howard has made two important concessions that increase the chance of Australia becoming a republic by the centenary of Federation.

First published in The Age on February 3, 1998

The alternative if they fail is a non-binding plebiscite by 2000 which would drag out and complicate the process, making change before January 2001 impossible.

Mr Howard has also given direction on what model should emerge, suggesting he may tolerate a less minimalist republic than that proposed by Richard McGarvie.

There is now a reasonable prospect that Mr Howard will accept a model where the head of state is appointed by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, but could be dismissed by a simple majority of the House of Representatives. This compromise was openly contemplated yesterday by the leading republican, Mr Malcolm Turnbull.

Constitutional Convention delegates stand during the national anthem at Old Parliament House Canberra. Credit: Andrew Meares

Certainly, Mr Howard reaffirmed his view that no alternative would be better than what we have, but he has left himself room to play the great facilitator.
Sacked ClubsNSW boss Josh Landis pulled off a rare feat. He managed to get leaders from both sides of politics offside through divisive comments  and a nasty religious slur  but only served to hinder his determined efforts to stop gambling reform.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns have not seen eye to eye over the way in which problem gambling and money laundering should be dealt with in NSW. Perrottet wants wide-ranging reform, which would see a mandatory cashless gaming card in pubs and clubs.

Premier Dominic Perrottet, former ClubsNSW boss Josh Landis, and Opposition Leader Chris Minns. Credit: SMH

Until recently, Minns steadfastly avoided the issue and had to be dragged into the debate. Even then, he did not commit to removing cash from poker machines, citing concerns over job losses in clubs.

Minns, who is beyond desperate to win the election on March 25, did not want to wade into an issue that was not registering as top of mind for voters in the partys focus groups, which are key drivers of Labors policy development and direction.
A state government department has reversed a ban on TikTok on work phones after just one day despite the departments fears the Chinese-owned social media app could be used to gather intelligence.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) backflipped on its edict on Tuesday within hours of receiving questions from The Age about its decision to forcibly remove the video-sharing app from work devices.

Social media app TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, has triggered international security concerns. Credit: AP

In an email sent to staff last week and seen by The Age, the departments cybersecurity team said the app needed to be deleted from all work phones and iPads by Monday this week after an internal investigation that was prompted by the US outlawing TikTok on federal government devices.

The reason for this decision is that TikTok contains code which could be used for monitoring and intelligence gathering on devices, the initial email said.
McGregor handed down his inquest findings on Monday, labelling the bail laws that put Nelson in jail as a complete and unmitigated disaster. Victorias bail laws were passed in 2018 in response to the Bourke Street massacre, which was carried out by a violent offender who was on bail at the time. Veronica Nelson. Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the Coalition would work cooperatively with the government in a bipartisan way to improve the justice system but called on Labor to put forward legislation next week. Were back in parliament next week, and theres no reason why we cant begin the early steps of addressing the problems that led to this tragic loss of life, Pesutto said.

The coroners report into Nelsons death has paved the way for changes to the way Indigenous Victorians are treated by the criminal justice system. McGregor, who was brought to tears during a four-hour-long reading of his findings, took aim at a litany of systemic failures within the criminal justice, health and corrections systems he said led to Nelsons preventable death in inhumane and degrading circumstances. Taking aim at the failure of the government to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, McGregor said if this had been done 30 years ago, Nelson would still be alive today. He said from the time of her arrest on December 30, 2019, to her death four days later at a womens prison, Nelson was culturally isolated and her human rights repeatedly breached.

Loading Veronica was loved and respected by those who knew her. Yet, Veronica, while alone in a cell at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, passed away after begging for assistance for several of the last hours of her life, McGregor said. She was found the next morning on the floor of a cell in a prison built on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people. That Veronica was separated from her family, community, culture and Country at the time of her passing is a devastating and demoralising circumstance. The Premier said on Tuesday the government would seek advice on all the coroners recommendations and expects to overhaul processes and work cultures, not just the law.

The death of Veronica Nelson is a terrible tragedy, and one that will see significant reform and change, Andrews said. The greatest and most respectful thing we can do by way of condolence and grief and empathy with the Nelson family is to get on and do the hard work of making these changes and reforms and also making sure our systems and processes operate as they should when a prisoner is sick, they get health care. When a prisoner is an Indigenous Victorian, then those provisions that are specifically written for Indigenous Victorians are properly applied. The list goes on. Nelson was arrested in Spencer Street on December 30, 2019, and taken to a nearby police station for questioning on suspicion of shoplifting. But instead of being released on bail, she was transferred to Melbourne Magistrates Court where she was placed on remand until a court date weeks later.

Over the following two days, she made 49 calls for help over the prisons intercom while heroin withdrawal and an undiagnosed medical condition ravaged her body. She was found dead in her cell on January 2, 2020, lying in the fetal position. Ambulance officers believe she had been dead for some time. An autopsy found Nelson had undiagnosed Wilkies syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal condition. McGregor referred the actions of Correct Care Australasia to the Director of Public Prosecutions for investigation.

I also find that Justice Health failed to ensure that Correct Care Australia delivered a standard of health ... and this failing causally contributed to her passing, McGregor said. Veronicas death was preventable. Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes thanked the coroner and said the government would carefully consider his recommendations. We know we need to do more in relation to criminal justice reform, including bail reform, and that work is continuing, she said.
Srinagar, India: Indias main opposition Congress party ended a five-month cross-country unity march in disputed Kashmir on Monday with hundreds of members of various opposition groups joining in a public rally in freezing temperatures.

The march led by Rahul Gandhi, an opposition leader and scion of the influential Gandhi family, sought to challenge what his party said was a hate-filled version of the country under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party.

Indias opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, speaks at a public rally as it snows in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Credit: AP

Members of different opposition parties, including Kashmiri regional groups that oppose Modis policies but are pro-India, joined Gandhis rally in Srinagar in snow and bitter cold.

Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers blanketed Srinagars Lalchowk area and restricted public movement, allowing only people with passes issued by the Congress party to enter the venue.
London: Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if Britain had not voted for Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt said on Tuesday, on the third anniversary of Britains departure from the European Union.

Verhofstadt, the European Parliaments Brexit boss during UK-EU negotiations, told LBC: A united Europe, certainly on defence matters, would make an enormous difference. I think maybe that without Brexit, maybe there was no invasion. I dont know.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Credit: AP

A day earlier, he said he had a dream that the UK and Ukraine could join the EU in the next five years.

Lets hope that Britain can rejoin and lets hope that Ukraine can join and why not within five years? he said.
Paris: The idea of adding gunpowder to Franco-Australian relations 18 months ago might have scorched the earth across Paris, taking out the horse-chestnut trees which line the River Seine and the Champs-Elysees.

But just as quickly as the friendship hit rock bottom in October 2021, when President Emmanuel Macron went as far as to brand former prime minister Scott Morrison a liar, those at the top of both governments are keen to stress theyve moved on from the row that saw Australia abandon diesel-powered French submarines in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, second right, and French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, second left, welcome Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. Credit: AP

And so in the richly ornamented Salon de lHorloge, a grand room within the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs which played host to the meeting that began the peace process of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the signing of the KelloggBriand Pact and the peace treaty with Italy, another thawing of diplomatic relations took place.

It wasnt forced. It appeared genuine and, if anything, it was a reminder that the world can no longer afford the egos and childish behaviour of the recent past.
Washington: Russia is breaching the terms of the New START nuclear-arms reduction treaty by refusing to allow inspectors on its territory and stonewalling US efforts to discuss the issue, the State Department said on Tuesday.

The department said in a statement that the Russian refusal prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of US-Russian nuclear arms control.

A Russian warship launches a cruise missile at a target in Ukraine. Credit: AP

The US and Russia extended the New START treaty for five years in 2021, giving the former Cold War rivals time for new talks on strategic security. But inspections were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the US says Russia rebuffed efforts to restart those visits last August, in part because of tensions surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A US bid to restart consultations in Cairo in recent months also failed.
New York: Of the many conflicts in the Middle East, the one between Iran and Israel is the most potentially explosive.

Iranian leaders periodically vow to annihilate Israel and are suspected of pursuing nuclear weapons that would back the threat.

A screenshot of video of the drone attack on a military industry factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. Credit: Twitter

Israel, which is thought to have such arms, has committed to doing whatever it takes to prevent Iran from acquiring them.

For years, the two have engaged in a shadow war, quietly attacking each other on land, by air and at sea, in some cases by proxy. They have mostly sought to avoid open clashes that would risk escalation to all-out war, preferring instead to act with plausible deniability.
A man accused of kidnapping a woman and torturing her for days before fleeing into a forested area of the southwest part of the US state of Oregon has been active on dating apps to avoid capture by police or potentially find more victims, authorities warn.

Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, may have changed his appearance by shaving and dyeing his hair and has taken to apps where he can lure women into helping him escape or becoming his next victim, the Grants Pass Police Department said this weekend as authorities looked for the man.

Photos of Benjamin Obadiah Foster provided by the Grants Pass police on their Facebook page. Credit: Grants Pass Police - Facebook

The search for Foster began on Tuesday after police discovered a woman, whose name was not released, bound and severely beaten in her home in what the police chief described as an evil act.

The woman is hospitalised in critical condition, police said on Sunday.
Brasilia: Brazils former president Jair Bolsonaro is in no rush to leave Florida, making life deeply uncomfortable for the White House as it gets ready to welcome his successor and bitter rival next month.

Back home, Bolsonaro is under investigation on multiple fronts, including his alleged involvement in the January 8 riots by supporters who refused to accept his loss in last years election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His continued presence in the US was already awkward but he had indicated he would cut his holiday short for medical reasons and leave at the end of January.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro greets people outside the home where hes staying in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 8 Credit: The Washington Post by Thomas Simonetti

Instead, hes applied for a six-month visitor visa, according to a person familiar with the matter. That will add to the diplomatic discomfort for the Biden administration. Bolsonaro, a close ally of Donald Trump, decamped to Orlando two days before Lulas inauguration on January 1.

Felipe Alexandre, a lawyer who says he is representing Bolsonaro in the visa status change, said his office was first approached by an adviser to the former president, but then had a face-to-face meeting with Bolsonaro himself. Contacted by The Associated Press, the lawyers firm, AG Immigration, confirmed the report.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Student Support Services Division (SSSD) is tasked with advancing school safety actions and the Safety and Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) of MECYS is updating the St. Maarten School Safety Roadmap with technical support from UNICEF the Netherlands. During working sessions, school safety stakeholders identified the priorities for school safety resulting in new activities covering the period from 2023 until 2025.



School safety is not just about buildings, it is also about people, planning, drills, information sharing, resource mobilization, support etc. We at SSSD are proud to coordinate and monitor school safety initiatives on behalf of MECYS and have made many strides since we began actively working on school safety in 2018. We are grateful to all those who continue to contribute including School Boards and entities such as the Fire Department, VSA, and the SEMC to name a few. I want to especially recognize the Safety and Emergency Teams of schools, whose dedication and enthusiasm have been instrumental in the successes achieved, Olga Mussington-Service, Head of the Student Support Services Division.

In 2018 the Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture, and Sport (MECYS), with support from UNICEF in the Netherlands, engaged in a consultation process with education and non-education stakeholders to identify priority actions to be undertaken over the following years to advance school safety in the country. The process concluded in 2019 with the achievement of the School Safety Roadmap, detailing 19 targets and 47 associated activities, structured under the pillars of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF)



The CSSF provides strategic guidance to duty bearers and their partners to promote safe, equitable, and continuous access to quality education for all. The CSSF takes an all-hazards, all-risks approach, including natural and climate-change-induced hazards, technological hazards, biological and health hazards, conflict and violence, and everyday dangers and threats. The CSSF is aligned with the SDGS and other relevant global frameworks for child rights and child protection.

The SEMC is working towards Comprehensive School Safety. The goals of comprehensive school safety are to take a participatory risk-informed approach to: 1. Protect learners, educators, and staff from death, injury, violence, and harm in schools and other learning spaces. 2. Plan for education and protection continuity, and limit disruptions to learning in the face of shocks, stresses, hazards, and threats of all kinds. 3. Promote knowledge and skills of learners and duty-bearers, to contribute to risk reduction, resilience building, and sustainable development, Mussington-Service stated.

Stakeholders attending the working session to update the School Safety Roadmap included: Schools Safety and Emergency Teams, School Boards, The Police Department, The Fire Department, UNESCO, The St Maarten Red Cross, and representatives from the Ministries of MECYS, VSA, and VROMI.

This activity is part of the Child Resilience and Protection Project (CRPP) executed by UNICEF the Netherlands in collaboration with the Government of Sint Maarten, financed by the Government of the Netherlands through the Sint Maarten Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund, administered by the World Bank.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, January 27, 2023, the Immigration and Border Protection Services (IBP) announced to the public that a gentleman in holding that was experiencing medical challenges was being examined by medical professionals.

Mr. Josea Ossie Lavilles engagement with Law Enforcement began when police officers were notified about a man wielding a machete in the Philipsburg area. They were then dispatched to the scene at 2:40 PM on Thursday, January 26. The officers observed that Mr. Laville appeared to be intoxicated and was in the possession of a machete. He was then arrested for illegal weapon possession.

After being taken to the Philipsburg police station, Mr. Laville was processed by the Police and the Prosecutors Office and handed over to IBP as it was established that he was residing on Sint Maarten illegally and without proper residence.

Subsequently, the formal procedural preparations were started by IBP which would have finally led to his deportation to his birth country Dominica. While detained, Mr. Laville indicated that he was feeling a bit dizzy to the immigration officer. The officer asked him if he would like to see a doctor to which Mr. Laville replied No. The officer went on to ask Mr. Laville if he had any medical problems or needed to take any medication to which he replied, No, I just need to eat, I am very hungry. He was given food and water, after which he asked for more, a request that was granted. Sometime after, a guard passed by his cell and observed him lying in a strange position on the bed in his holding cell. At that point, medical professionals were called in to assess the situation.

After an investigation of the scene and establishing that the proper procedures were followed, Chief Prosecutor Hieke Buist informed the Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson on Saturday, January 28, that the investigation concluded with no signs of criminal act or wrongdoings as the cause of death. The body of Mr. Laville has since been released to his next of kin as the case has now been closed.

IBP assures the public that all persons they encounter are treated with respect, dignity, and proper care, which includes being fed three times daily. This is a very unexpected and unfortunate turn of events.

Minister Richardson, IBP, KPSM, and the Prosecutors Office all express their deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Laville and wish them peace and strength during this difficult time.

Prosecutor & KPSM Press Release.
Port of Spain, TRINIDAD:--- (C&W Communications is the Platinum Sponsor of CANTOs 39th Annual General Meeting, themed Fostering a Resilient Datasphere for all. After a 2-year hiatus, the AGM will be hosted in person from February 5th  7th at the Torarica Hotel, Paramaribo, Suriname.

Headlining with a Keynote Address will be C&W Business Kamla Hamilton, Senior Product Manager, Security Solutions on the topic Becoming Cyber Secure: Risks and Opportunities in Todays Digital World.

Kamla is an ICT professional who has established a track record of developing and executing innovative customer solutions that drive digital transformation. With a focus on raising awareness of cyber security and its role in improving the regions security posture, as part of the product management team, she continues to build a portfolio of managed security services designed to mitigate cyber risk.

C&W Business will also host a panel discussion on the Power of Transformation with MutliCloud Solutions.

The Opening Ceremony of the event will be hosted under the auspices of the Honourable Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi, President of Suriname who is slated to deliver the Feature Address.

Other topics to be delivered during the 3-day event include Fair Share towards Regional Digital Transformation; Digital Transformation of Telcos to enable Business Success; E-Commerce Fraud and Risk Management; Accelerating Digital Transformation to Maximize opportunities; US Caribbean ICT Trade Opportunities; Knowledge Sharing and Best practices in FTTH; Human collaboration on cybersecurity in the age of A.I; Top 10 ICT trends worldwide in 2023; among others.
SABA:--- Four candidate lists for the March 15 Island Council elections were submitted during Nomination Day on Saba Monday, January 30.

Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, Chairman of the Central Voting Bureau, received the candidate lists of, subsequently, the Saba Caring People Party, the blank list of Dave Levenstone, the Party for Progress, Equality and Prosperity (PEP), and the Windward Islands Peoples Movement (WIPM). Legal advisor of the Public Entity Saba Devi van Groningen was also present during the submission of the lists to double-check that all documents were in order.

Enrico Cuchie Klaber, a sole candidate for the Saba Caring People Party, was the first to come to the courtroom at the Government Administration Building at 1:00 pm to hand in his candidate list, supporting signatures, and other documents to participate in the elections.

Next, at 2:00 pm, were Dave Levenstone, number 1 on the blank list, and Charles Hassell, number two on the blank list. Levenstone heads the United Peoples Movement, which is not officially registered as a political party. He said that not officially registering as an association was a conscious decision. Therefore, he and Hassell will run with a blank list.

At 3:00 pm, the courtroom was filled with candidates and supporters of the PEP party, headed by Saskia Matthew, to submit the PEP list with 6 candidates and other necessary documents for their first participation in the elections. Matthew is number 1 on the PEP slate for the Island Council elections, number 2 Hemmie van Xanten, number 3 Roland Holm, number 4 Julio Every, number 5 Chesney Thielman and number 6 Justin Simmons.

The seven candidates for the Island Council elections of Sabas ruling party WIPM, accompanied by the sizable number of supporters, gathered in the courtroom just before 4:00 pm to hand in the WIPM list with 7 candidates for the Island Council elections.

Party leader Commissioner Bruce Zagers will head the WIPM slate. Number two on the list is Commissioner Rolando Wilson, who is also WIPM Party President. Number three is current Island Council Member Eviton Heyliger. New on the slate, running as number 4, is Elsa Peterson. Vito Charles and Carl Buncamper, both a Member of the Island Council, are number 5 and 6 respectively. Shaun Johnson, another new candidate, runs as number 7 on the WIPM slate. The WIPM candidates also chose to be electable for the Electoral College, the body which together with the Provincial States elects the Members of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.

Matthew of the PEP and Zagers of the WIPM both called for fair and honest elections, urging everyone to run a respectful, clean campaign. Jonathan Johnson in his role as Chairman of the Central Voting Bureau congratulated all candidates on taking the step to make themselves available to represent the population in the Island Council. With that also comes to the responsibility to conduct oneself in a respectful way as we still have to live together on our beautiful island after the elections, said Johnson.
PHILIPSBURG:--- High-level officials from the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity (RESEMBID) Programmes lead donor agency, the European Union (EU), visited St. Maarten on the 18th and 19th of January to meet the RESEMBID team, visit ongoing projects and gain a keen sense of the work being implemented specifically in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten.

Primary visiting delegate, Ambassador Rene Van Nes, Head of Delegation, EUD was accompanied by Layla El Khadraoui, EU Commission Programme and Policy Manager who both benefitted from detailed and informative presentations delivered by RESEMBIDs Fabian McKinnon, Programme Director; Edward Turvill, Programme Manager for Resilience and Nyssa Pierre, Manager, Communications and Visibility.

The immensely interactive and intensive sessions provided deep insight into RESEMBIDs operations; project portfolio; and deep dives into the areas of resilience, communications and visibility. McKinnon further explained how RESEMBID is translating 26M into 48 projects for 500,000 people in 12 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).

Additionally, he spoke in detail on the implementation support strategy which focuses on six key elements of assistance to the OCTs; the RESEMBID Portfolio by focus area; the value created by each of the projects being implemented and regional collaboration in each of the OCTs.

Delving into the Resilience portfolio, Turvill spoke to emerging regional themes across the portfolio and OCTs. He focused specifically on Comprehensive Disaster Management, Early Warning Systems, Resilience in Education and Nature-Based Solutions which are cross-cutting in the Marine Biodiversity and Sustainable Energy areas of focus as well.

To the enthusiastic interest from Ambassador Van Nes, Turvill further expounded on the main outcomes and milestones to be achieved by each focus area, how these outcomes are in line with the National Development Strategy of the OCTs and the effect these results will have on the people of the OCTs.

Moreover, RESEMBIDs Communications and Visibility Manager further elaborated on the numerous outreach efforts being executed to ensure maximum visibility for the projects across the OCTs. She highlighted past milestones which have been very successful and announced the RESEMBID Roar which will kick off 2023 and see focused and intentional collaboration with the EU plus a sharp increase in media engagement, storytelling, speaking opportunities for the team at key regional and global events, social media and web site updates.

Ambassador Van Nes applauded the team for their efforts thus far and said he is looking forward to all that is planned for this year and beyond. He asked many probing questions and made valuable and salient suggestions which will certainly redound to the benefit of the programme.

Meanwhile, The RESEMBID team will warmly welcome Jeremie Pellet, Director-General of Expertise France in February to provide an overview of the programme, its projects, and their impact on the OCTs.
Tier One Silver Defines Porphyry Copper Targets at Curibaya

Tier One Silver Inc. (TSXV: TSLV, OTCQB: TSLVF) (aTier Onea or the aCompanya  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/tier-one-silver-inc/ ) is pleased to announce that recent geophysical survey results, combined with existing exploration data sets, have led to the identification of two porphyry copper targets underlying the silver-gold epithermal mineralization defined on surface at its Curibaya project in southern Peru. Tier One Silver completed a 42.7-line kilometre (km) Controlled-Source-Audio-Frequency Magnetotelluric (CSAMT) geophysical survey over the central portion of the Curibaya project in late 2022 (Figure 1). These new data sets were integrated into the exploration model, building on previous geophysical, geochemical and geological data sets, to generate targets for the Companya?s next drill program at the project. The drilling, which is anticipated to begin in Q2, will comprise of approximately 5,000 metres (m) to follow-up on the high-grade silver-gold epithermal mineralization defined at surface and target the two main conductive features that may relate to a porphyry system.

Highlights:

CSAMT identifies two sub-vertical, low resistivity anomalies (400 m x 400 m and 600 m x 500 m) that are interpreted to be associated with a large-scale hydrothermal alteration system

Anomalies correlate with areas of multiphase alteration systems, including:

Advanced argillic alteration

Skarn and hornfels

Sericite a phengite a muscovite

Anomalies correlate with elevated bismuth, tellurium, selenium and copper values in rock samples

Absolute dating of alteration mineral in anomalies yielded a Paleocene age of 55Ma, which is a similar age to the regional porphyry copper giant deposits, Toquepala (57Ma), Cuajone (52Ma) and Quellaveco (55 Ma)

A Message from Christian Rios, SVP, Exploration:

aWe believe the targets wea?ve identified could be associated with a porphyry copper system at depth, particularly considering the absolute dating results, which indicate the mineralization to be from the Paleocene era. This provides further evidence that we are in the correct regional environment as the similar Paleocene-aged giant porphyry copper deposits nearby. We look forward to testing these strong targets in our next drill campaign.a

CSAMT Results:

A CSAMT geophysical survey was completed in October 2022 to augment previously completed geophysical, geochemical and geological surveys. CSAMT is used as an exploration tool to identify deeply rooted resistive and conductive features that may correlate to feeder and breccia structures, and/or zones of silicification and clay alteration, possibly related to porphyry copper targets (Figure 2). An inversion of the Curibaya CSAMT data outlines two main conductive features that are 400 m by 400 m and 600 m by 500 m, respectively, and show significant depth extent over 700 m (Figure 3). Pseudo sections for lines L5800 and L6200 clearly illustrate sub-vertical conductive features (Figure 4).

Both the high conductivity and low resistivity features are sub-vertical and located under important alteration features such as an advanced argillic lithocap, a skarn and hornfels area and a white mica alteration area. Additionally, these conductive anomalies are geochemically anomalous in bismuth, tellurium, selenium and copper. The hydrothermal alteration present in the upper part of the system and the geophysical features are consistent with buried porphyry systems.

Strategy for H1 2023:

The synthesis and interpretation of these targets is ongoing and includes re-logging core and continued integration with other geophysical and geochemical datasets. The Company expects to have defined drill targets in the coming weeks.A Upon completion of target definition, a drill program will be finalized to test for both the possible porphyry source (drilling to a depth of 500m  800m) and the epithermal silver a gold structures (between 150m  250m) on the property. The exploration field program is expected to start in Q2 2023.

The Company is also announcing that Michael Henrichsen is retiring as Chief Geologist of Tier One Silver to focus his efforts as Chief Geological Officer of Torq Resources. Tier One has been transitioning toward this restructuring since the appointment of Christian Rios as SVP of Exploration, who will be leading exploration operations at the Company going forward. Mr. Henrichsen will still be available to Tier One as a consultant, as needed.

Christian Rios (SVP of Exploration), P.Geo, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and assumes responsibility for the technical contents of this press release.

For further information on Tier One Silver Inc., please contact Natasha Frakes, VP, Communications, at (778) 729-0600 or info@tieronesilver.com

About Tier One

Tier One Silver is an exploration company focused on creating value for shareholders and stakeholders through the discovery of world-class silver, gold and base metal deposits in Peru. The Companya?s management and technical teams have a strong track record in raising capital, discovery and monetization of exploration success. The Companya?s exploration assets in Peru include: Hurricane, Coastal Batholith, Corisur and the flagship project, Curibaya. For more information, visit www.tieronesilver.com.

CSAMT Parameters

The CSAMT survey was carried out by Quantec Geoscience PerA S.A.C., a company based in Vancouver with divisions operating in South America, including Peru. Data points were collected on grid lines-oriented NW-SE using 50 m station spacings, covering an area of approximately 4.5 km x 3.5 km. Overall, data quality is considered well above average and no stations were affected by external factors.

Results were compiled into sections, grid maps and a 3D Voxel model. Occam or Marquardt 1D Inversions are first used to invert the data to produce a smooth-layer 1-D resistivity/depth curve for each station. To avoid the effects of the near-field, some frequencies were removed.

Readings are statistically averaged based upon adjacent points to produce an associated value for each cell. Quantec Geoscience PerA S.A.C. provides high confidence in readings to a depth of at least 700 m.

Forward Looking Information and General Cautionary Language

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, aforward-looking statementsa) that relate to the Companya?s current expectations and views of future events which are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be heavily relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. In particular, and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to exploration plans.

Readers should refer to the risks discussed in the Company\-s Annual Information Form and Managementa?s Discussion & Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, and subsequent continuous disclosure filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators available at www.sedar.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.
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Episode 3 of THE LAST OF US tallied 6.4 million viewers Sunday night, up an additional 12% from last weeks historic jump in viewership and up 37% from the series debut night. The audience is measured based on Nielsen and first party data.Season 1 is now averaging 21.3 million viewers across its first two episodes, marking another historic milestone as HBO celebrates its most-watched programming slate in the networks history.Four current HBO Original series now have cross platform audiences averaging more than 15 million viewers per episode.House of the Dragon, season 1: 29 million viewersThe Last of Us, season 1: 21.3 million viewersEuphoria, season 2: 19.5 million viewersThe White Lotus, season 2: 15.5 million viewersThis is the first time HBO has had multiple current series drawing more than 15 million viewers at a time across all genres. For comparison, in 2002, The Sopranos averaged an estimated 18.2 million viewers in its fourth season, with Sex and the City season 5 (13.8 million) and Six Feet Under season 2 (12.1 million) following closely behind.Episode 3 of THE LAST OF US, titled Long, Long Time, was heralded by Rolling Stone as a fabulous, fabulous episode of television, and the early frontrunner for the best TV installment of 2023. Nick Offermans performance as Bill was described by IGN as outstanding, while Murray Bartletts portrayal of Frank was lauded as equally brilliant. Vulture praised it as an extraordinary hour of television while Esquire described it as a TV moment well never forget. CNN said the episode lays an early claim to one of the best TV episodes of 2023, with the Los Angeles Times noting its the episode that has everybody talking.New episodes of THE LAST OF US debut each Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and are available to stream on HBO Max, leading up to the finale on March 12. Fans can also tune in to The Last of Us Podcast, the series official companion podcast where host Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the video game, sits down with series creators Craig Mazin (Emmy-winning creator of HBOs Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann, the creator of the acclaimed video game, for a scene-by-scene deep dive of each episode.A new spotlight page for THE LAST OF US is live on HBO Max, featuring behind-the-scenes content and access to the companion podcast, as well as an interactive flashlight to help fans find their next series to watch. The spotlight page also showcases a curated selection of movies and series from 2003, the year the life-altering outbreak occurred in the new HBO series.
Paramount Global just announced that Showtime will be integrated into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear later this year. In preparation for the move, the premium network had been reevaluating its programming slate over the past several weeks under its new top executive Chris McCarthy.As a result, Showtime will not be proceeding with new series Three Women, starring Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise and Gabrielle Creevy, which has been completed. The drama had been quietly shopped by its producers, and I hear there has been interest, with at least one offer on the table.
As many as 991 people were vaccinated against COVID in the week of January 23 - 29, of whom 714 with the Omicron-adapted Pfizer vaccine, whose administration began on November 28, 2022, told Agerpres.

According to the National Public Health Institute's National Centre for the Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases, another 277 doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson&Johnson vaccine were administered, of which 117 represented the first dose, 51 - the second, 85 - the third and 24 - the fourth.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020, 16,904,982 doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered.

A number of 8,129,973 people received the complete vaccination scheme, 2,630,661 were given the third dose and 22,215 the fourth dose.

In total, since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, there have been 20,090 side effect occurrences to COVID vaccines, 2,244 local and 17,846 systemic side effects.
The National Public Health Institute (INSP) informed on Tuesday that in the January 23 - 29 week, Romania reported 84 cases of of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron, including 24 variants of concern and 59 variants of interest.

Among the 59 variants of interest, there were 11 BA.2.75 sub-variant instances confirmed, 47 BQ.1 and one XBB 1.5, told Agerpres.

To date, 88 cases of BA.2.75 sub-variant have been confirmed, as well as 237 BQ.1 sub-variant cases, seven XBB sub-variant and four XBB 1.5 sub-variant cases.

As of January 29, 9,928 Omicron cases were confirmed in Romania, with the BA.2 sub-variant detected in 3,028 (30%) cases.

In the January 23-29 week, no BA.4 sub-variant was detected, but 10 instances of the BA.5 sub-variant. The BA.5 sub-variant has so far been detected in 3,462 cases (35%).

As of January 29, 18,597 sequencings were officially reported.

The 102 sequencings last week were reported by INCDMM Cantacuzino (48) and the Matei Bals National Institute (36).
One of the largest collections of lithographs by Salvador Dali is being auctioned, on Tuesday, by Artmark, told Agerpres.

According to a press release of the organizers, the collection is made up of 34 graphic pieces. The works are rare occurrences on the Romanian art market and are put up for sale at starting prices between 250 and 400 euros.

The most valuable work is the "Court of the Lion," which has a starting price of 400 euros. The chromolithograph is part of the "Le Bestiaire de la Fontaine" series. The work "Gala," in which the artist's wife is illustrated, can be purchased at the starting price of 250 euros.

The auction also includes works signed by Picasso, Matisse, Magritte, Degas, Warhol or Basquiat.

Pablo Picasso is present in the auction "The Surrealist Universe" - The Auction of European & American Graphics" with 13 pieces. Among the most remarkable are the lithographs "Amor," "The Model," "Ganymede" or "Flutist and Young Woman with tambourine," which have a starting price of 300 euros and are part of the "Vollard" suite.

European artists are joined by those from overseas - Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat or Roy Lichtenstein.

Andy Warhol, who made different works with the face of Marilyn Monroe - a tribute to the actress, but also a discussion of the nature of celebrity - is present in the session with the work "Marilyn," at the starting price of 250 euros, which is part of a limited edition of 100 pieces in which the artist used the silk screen process, a sophisticated serigraphic technique, which allowed him to produce a series of similar images, with slight interstitial iridescence and an impression of three-dimensionality.

The auction will take place, as of 7.00 pm, in the auction hall at Cesianu-Racovita Palace, but also online, on the Artmark Live 2.0 auction platform.
The Government will regulate, through a decision, the data management and storage framework in the government cloud platform, so that by 2026 at least 30 institutions "migrate" to this cloud, Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Transformation Sebastian Burduja stated, told Agerpres.

At the request of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the minister gave details regarding the measures included in a Government decision and an ordinance which are to be passed by the Executive on Tuesday.

"We are talking about the governmental cloud platform, the most important investment that Romania is making in the digital transformation area. An investment of over 560 million EUR without VAT. Practically, Romania opens many roads, including at European level, regulating through this complex government decision a series of aspects. On the one hand, the data management and storage framework in the government cloud platform, types of data, what data can go to the government private cloud, what data can go to the the public commercial cloud provided by private companies, the technical criteria regarding the implementation, maintenance, development of the government private cloud; the plan for the migration to the government cloud and at least 30 institutions, minimum, which will be migrated to this government cloud by 2026 horizon," Sebastian Burduja stated.

He added that the "cloud first" policy will also be regulated.

"Again, Romania is opening many roads at European level and is among the first countries to regulate the cloud first policy. This means that the public institutions are compelled to resort to solutions compatible with the cloud system," Burduja mentioned.

According to him, also legislated will be the logs of the events and the access to citizens' data.
The upward revision of the clawback tax as a result of the requests of the European Commission represents a real tragedy for Romanian patients and a major risk for the future of the pharmaceutical industry in Romania, said on Tuesday the Industrial Manufacturers of Medicines in Romania Employers association, PRIMER.

"PRIMER appeals to the prime minister Nicolae Ciuca and the minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, to approach the request of the European Commission with maximum prudence and professionalism, in the specific context of the problems faced by the patients and the industry in Romania. Making a decision of an upward revision of the clawback tax on the country's medicines factories, which produce generic medicines at affordable prices, means the serious compromise of patients' access to medicines and a negative effect on an economic sector that needs support and not burdensome tax measures. (...) In accordance with the Treaty on the functioning of the European Commission, PRIMER requests the cancellation of the 15 pct clawback tax established by the Romanian Parliament in 2020," the employers' association said in a press release.

According to PRIMER, this request, if it is not approached with professionalism by the Government, will generate much greater discontinuities than at present in the supply of domestically produced medicines to patients, putting into question the continuation of the activity of the majority of medicines manufacturers in the country, told Agerpres.

The clawback tax, a revenue tax in the medicine industry, has been paid by manufacturers since 2011.

"In Romania, manufacturers pay the clawback tax of 15 pct, which is disproportionately high, the tax being at the highest level in the EU. The clawback tax is the reason why the Romanian pharmaceutical industry has not made significant progress in the last 10 years, Romania becoming dependent on imports in the proportion of 80 pct, and the effects were seen, including in the supply problems with specific seasonal medicines," PRIMER added.
The scrapping premium for the 'Rabla Clasic' programme [the government's car scrappage scheme - editor's note] will increase by 15pct in 2023, Minister of the Environment, Tanczos Barna, informs on Tuesday, while also specifying that the budget allocated to the programme for the purchase of electric cars will also be increased for this year, told Agerpres.

At the beginning of last Wednesday's meeting of the Government, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca asked the minister to prepare a briefing about these programmes for next week's meeting.

"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, as you ordered, we have started the preparation of the 'Rabla Clasic,' 'Rabla Plus' and 'Rabla Local' programmes. Within the 'Rabla classic' scheme, which offers that bonus for scrapping old cars and the possibility of buying classic new cars, with classic engines, we have the budget to ensure a 15pct increase in the scrapping premium, as you also discussed at 'Dacia,' on the occasion of the visit you paid to the car plant. We have the necessary budget to provide this increased support in 2023," explained Tanczos Barna.

At the same time, he added, the budget for the purchase of electric cars will also be increased.

The minister emphasized the positive developments on the car market in Romania last year.

"The number of new registered cars has increased, the number of registered electric cars has also increased exponentially thanks to the programmes run by the Environment Fund Administration. The number of second-hand cars has decreased for the first time in many years. So, the car fleet in Romania is getting younger and we could say that at the end of 2023 we are including the obligation provided in the PNRR [National Resilience and Recovery Plan - editor's note] too. We have assumed that we will remove more than 250,000 old cars from circulation. I think that at the end of 2023 the target for '26 will already be reached," explains the Minister of the Environment.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a phone conversation on Tuesday with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics, with the main topic of discussion being the process of Romania's accession to Schengen, the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informed in a release sent to AGERPRES.

In this context, the quoted source shows that Aurescu conveyed the special appreciation for Latvia's constant support for Romania's accession to the Schengen area and presented in detail the recent steps undertaken at diplomatic level in order to achieve this objective in the dialogue with the Austrian side, with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and with counterparts from most of the member states.

Edgars Rinkevics reiterated Latvia's "firm support" for Romania joining the Schengen, "appreciating that there is no reason for it to be unreasonably delayed, taking into account that Romania meets all the necessary criteria," the MAE mentions.

The Latvian minister thanked that Romania resumed, this year, its participation in the air policing missions of the Baltic states.

In his turn, the Romanian minister welcomed the fact that the regular direct flights between the capitals of Romania and Latvia have been resumed.

The two ministers also exchanged views on the prospect of NATO's enlargement process through the accession of Sweden and Finland, which both countries actively support, including through diplomatic efforts.
The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that on Monday, a number of 61,349 people entered Romania through border points, of whom 7,205 were Ukrainian citizens, told Agerpres.

According to a release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, approximately 128,900 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with more than 36,900 means of transportation, completed the control formalities at the border crossing points nationwide, both on the way in and on the way out.

As of 10 February 2022 (the pre-conflict period), a number of 3,436,520 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.

In the relevant areas - the border crossing points and the "green border," the border policemen discovered 44 illegalities (16 offenses and 28 contraventions) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, with the amount of fines enforced exceeding 115,000 RON.

Assets of an estimated value of approximately 7,800 RON were impounded.

On Monday, a number of 17 foreign citizens were not allowed to enter the country because they didn't meet the requirements stipulated by the law, while a number of 15 Romanian citizens were not allowed to leave the country for various legal reasons.
More than 80 percent of Romanian employers currently report an employee in-office attendance of less than 50 percent on a normal working day and no significant changes are expected this year, reveals a Colliers survey.

The relevance of the office setting remains high, and many companies understand the priority of reconfiguring it so as to respond to the needs generated by the change in the working pattern, told Agerpres.

Month-on-month, Eurostat short-term employment intention indicators show strong numbers for Romania, which outperformed most EU member states, and the answers to several questions in the Colliers survey indicate that around 60 percent of IT&C respondents plan to expand their workforce in the next year, compared to an average of 44 percent for all respondents. Also, the vast majority of respondents are looking for a flexible working program for their employees and are more open to such arrangements than two years ago. Specifically, in October 2020 approximately 53 percent of companies offered their employees 1-2 remote working days per week, while at this moment the number increased to 3-4 remote working days. Only 4 percent of the survey respondents require employees to work permanently from the office.

For most companies, employee productivity remained largely unchanged even with the new hybrid way of working, and only 21 percent of respondents believe that remote work has a negative impact on workforce productivity, compared to 40 percent who consider that it even brings about an improvement. The same data shows that SMEs encountered more difficulties in ensuring remote work productivity, with 34 percent of companies with fewer than 500 employees seeing an increase in productivity, compared to 43 percent in the case of large companies.

Increasing turnover remains one of the most relevant goals of any company, the Colliers survey shows, indicating also that although there is no "universal" approach to beefing up productivity or as regards remote work, the various innovations aimed at increasing workplace digitization can lead to improved cost efficiency and productivity.

The Colliers survey was conducted among management representatives or decision-makers from 75 companies operating in various economic sectors and with headcounts between a few dozen and hundreds of employees.
The use of ICT products increased, in 2021, in Romania, so that the number of Internet users per thousand inhabitants reached 835.9, compared to 784.6 in 2020, informs the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Tuesday.

The upward trend was also reflected in the number of mobile phone subscribers per thousand inhabitants, with approximately 1,186 users registered in 2021, compared to 1,162 in 2020, told Agerpres.

Investments in hardware products amount to 1.068 billion RON in 2021, compared to 883.3 million RON in 2020. Share of enterprises that used a download speed greater than or equal to 100 Mbit/s through fixed internet connections in total active enterprises in the sector was 77%, compared to 66.3% in 2020.

The share of electronic commerce made from web sales of goods and services in the total turnover of enterprises with economic activity in the sector was 11.2% in 2021, compared to 13.3% in 2020.

Also, the INS data show that, in 2021, the gross added value per employee in the ICT sector was approximately 200,000 lei. Personnel expenses per employee in this sector amounted to 121,000 RON. Regarding the share of personnel expenses in the gross added value, it was 60.5% in 2021.

With regard to the households sector, an increase can be noted in the endowment of households with PCs, with the average number of PC-owning households per 100 households standing at 61, in 2021.

INS specifies that the information society is that which involves the adoption and integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in all areas of activity and human existence, including at home, at the workplace, in education and recreation, and which is supported by advanced systems and solutions for communication and connectivity.

The Internet ensures the interoperability of many devices and applications, so Europe must ensure that new IT devices, applications, data stores and services interact seamlessly everywhere. New services, such as high-definition television, require much faster Internet access than generally available in Europe.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca announced on Tuesday that the Executive is to pass a draft law under which approximately 20 million EUR are ensured for the rehabilitation and modernization of some hospitals, told Agerpres.

"We all know that the Romanian citizens expect better health services, they expect the modernization of the education system. Today, we are passing a draft law through which we ensure the spending of approximately 210 million EUR for the rehabilitation and modernization of some hospital units and, this way, I believe that beyond the infrastructure component in hospitals, we also take into account the part of ensuring and improving medical services and the relationship between patient and doctor," the prime minister stated in the beginning of the Government meeting.

In the meeting on Tuesday, the Executive is to clear a bill on contracting two loans from the European Investment Bank, worth approximately 1,440 million RON, for investment works, rehabilitation, consolidation and related endowments of 26 hospital units from several counties and Bucharest.

In his turn, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila showed that on the meeting's agenda there is also an Emergency Ordinance draft which aims to introduce the new framework contract that ensures the new methodological norms in the health system.
Radio Romania Cultural announces the launch of the second edition of the Ruga Pentru Pace / Prayer for Peace project, as part of the Life in a Suitcase campaign, by which it calls for solidarity, empathy and compassion towards the tragedy of the war in Ukraine, told Agerpres.

"One year after the start of the war, dozens of cultural institutions in Romania will broadcast simultaneously with the Radio Romania stations, on Saturday, February 25, at 19:00, a fragment read by Ana Blandiana from the novel Internat, signed by the Ukrainian author Serhiy Zhadan: "One day, after waking up, you see that something is burning outside. You didn't light that fire. But you too have to put it out," Radio Romania reported on Tuesday.

Considered one of the most impressive books about the war in Donbas, Internat is a Bildungsroman that takes place against the background of the war and emphasizes its consequences.

The well-known Ukrainian writer has been in his hometown, Kharkiv, since the beginning of the war, where he supports the Ukrainian army as a volunteer.

The poet Ana Blandiana, a symbol of Romanian freedom, transmitted, a year ago, the first call for peace through a short fragment from the preface of the book Last Witnesses by Svetlana Alexievich, a writer born in Ukraine and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday start their first ordinary parliamentary session of 2023, told Agerpres.

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu and acting Chair of the Senate Alina Gorghiu have convened the two legislative chambers for 16:00hrs and 12:00hrs, respectively.

According to the regulations, on the first day of the parliamentary session, in the plenary session of each Chamber, the members of the standing bureaus are elected - deputy chairs, secretaries and treasurers, with the exception of the chairs, who are elected at the beginning of the legislature.

The election of the leadership of the two legislative chambers is done at the proposal of the parliamentary groups, in accordance with their size, by political configuration and the negotiation of the floor leaders. The lists of candidates for the standing bureaus are fully subject to the vote of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and are approved by an open vote of the majority of the lawmakers in attendance.

Featuring on the agenda of the new parliamentary session will be important bills for compliance with deadlines under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

The leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) have named an education bill and a bill to reform special pensions among their legislative priorities.

"The package of education bills is in fact the materialisation of the most important presidential project, 'Educated Romania', and we want to have them adopted in this parliamentary session and, of course, to materialise the commitment to reform in the area of education that this coalition has made, which is also an important landmark as far as the PNRR is concerned," says PNL spokesman Ionut Stroe.

The education bills have been approved by the PNL leadership and a meeting of the governing coalition will take place this week to agree on a timetable for their adoption, says PNL national leader Nicolae Ciuca, adding that these pieces of legislation have to be completed by early April, at the latest.

"The education bills are benchmarks in PNRR. We are under an obligation to approve them as soon as possible. From my point of view, they should be approved no later than late March, early April," according to Ciuca.

PSD national leader Marcel Ciolacu says the education legislation is a legislative priority with the Social Democrats, adding, however, that discussions of the bills have to continue with the prime minister and the finance minister as well as local administrations given the significant financial impact of the implementation of the new pieces of legislation.

The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will also consider a bill on special state pensions.

"From our point of view, the special state pensions are our main priority, and we and the Justice Ministry are expected together to find a suitable constitutional form so that we may close this chapter of special pensions in Romania once and for all," says Ciolacu.

"There is a backlog that we have to work on in this parliamentary session," says Stroe.

PNL also says increasing from RON 2,000 to RON 3,000 the cap on state pension taxation as another priority.

Another bill considered by PNL regards holding local elections simultaneously with the general election. "From our point of view, there are enough reasons of a constitutional nature to promote such a bill. It will probably take shape in this parliamentary session, but not before it has been discussed in the coalition and agreed upon with the social-democratic partners and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR)," says Stroe.

The lawmakers will also discuss other bills related to reaching PNRR milestones and ordinances adopted by the government.

In addition, it is to be expected that, in the case of the rotation of prime ministers between PNL and PSD this May, as provided for in the protocol of the governing coalition, several bills will be submitted for debate to the two chambers of Parliament to be included in the governing agenda.

PSD say that they are working on a new government agenda, and Ciolacu, who will take over the rotating position of prime minister, has hinted to reducing labour taxation and overtaxing companies with huge revenues.

At the same time, the Save Romania Union (USR) say they will table, on the first day of the parliamentary session, a new simple motion against Interior Minister Lucian Bode, considering the accusations of plagiarism related to his doctoral thesis.
The Romanian Research Gala - the 1st edition takes place on Tuesday at the Romanian Athenaeum, told Agerpres.

Within the event, the achievements of the most valuable scientists will be awarded.

"Thus, we are beginning a recognition tradition at the highest level of the merits of all those who are building the future of our country and the entire world. Our talent is so recognizable abroad, this being also the reason for which we feel in debt to convey to the Romanian scientist of the world's elite that they make us proud. Through bestowing these awards, we want to highlight all the achievements of the most valuable scientists, and, at the same time, to facilitate joint projects between them and researches outside the borders, we have launched a competition which all interested persons can register to. Granting the individual awards and for research teams, by separate categories and by age, shall be made based on an analysis conducted by a selection committee, made up of renowned personalities of the Romanian research," the Research, Innovation and Digitization Ministry recently informed.
Bed Bath & Beyond announced Tuesday that it will close its store at 10770 Sunset Hills Plaza in Sunset Hills.

The news comes less than three weeks after it announced the closing of its location at the Meadows in Lake Saint Louis and another in Osage Beach, Missouri. The store at Fairview Center in Fairview Heights also closed earlier this month.

Tuesdays announcement listed nearly 90 new stores on its national list of locations to close, which come on top of the 150 locations that were announced on Jan. 11. Five locations in Illinois are also on the new list; they are all in the Chicago area.

In addition, the company announced the closure of all 50 of its Harmon beauty product shops, most in New Jersey and New York. Five more buybuy Baby stores were also scheduled to be closed.

After plunging sales and soaring debt over the past few years, the home goods giant has said it may have to file bankruptcy. Even then, it said, it may not be able to stay in business.

Last week, the company said it had received a notice of default on a loan from JP Morgan Chase and did not have enough cash on hand to repay it.
CHESTERFIELD  A Cape Girardeau-based health system on Monday disclosed plans to join Mercy. The deal would bring Mercy into a new market, and give the health system, SoutheastHEALTH, the backing of a larger organization.

SoutheastHEALTH began informing employees on Monday that it had signed a letter of intent to join Chesterfield-based Mercy. The two health systems would likely reach a definitive agreement over the summer and integrate in the fall.

President and CEO Ken Bateman said in a statement that Mercy had signaled its desire to make SoutheastHEALTH a regional health care hub and improve access to care for patients there.

Ajay Pathak, Mercy's chief strategic ventures officer said that under the agreement, SoutheastHEALTH would be affiliating with and joining Mercy. And Mercy will commit to invest in growing services in the southeast Missouri area. Pathak said Mercy representatives will be meeting with community members, leaders and employers in the Cape Girardeau area to learn about their health care needs.

"This will not take away coverage, this will not take away services but rather grow and expand services in an even more meaningful way than Southeast has done so far," Pathak said.

Independent hospitals and small chains have become increasingly rare in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic, especially, made clear the advantages of being part of large systems, which bring financial backing, a network to lean on during staffing shortages and more leverage in negotiations with insurers.

SoutheastHEALTH has one hospital in Cape Girardeau and one in Dexter in Stoddard County. It employs 2,614 people, said Shauna Hoffman, vice president of marketing and business development. Located in the southeast corner of Missouri, it draws patients from Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky.

Mercy has more than 40 hospitals and upwards of 40,000 employees, and spans Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

Mercy took over Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City, now Mercy Hospital Jefferson, in 2013. The independent St. Anthony's Medical Center joined Mercy in 2017 and is now known as Mercy Hospital South.

Mercy is a Catholic health system. SoutheastHEALTH does not have a religious affiliation.

The merger would bring Mercy into southeast Missouri, where it does not have any operations. Mercy's hospitals and clinics in Missouri are mostly located in greater St. Louis, the southwest region and along the Interstate 44 corridor that runs between them. It also has a hospital in southern Missouri's Mountain View.

"We look forward to the opportunity to provide even more access to high-quality, lower-cost health care for the Cape Girardeau community," Mercy President and CEO Steve Mackin said in a statement. "We are very excited to have the potential to serve in this part of Missouri," Mackin said.
If Jacob Flekier seems blissfully at ease as Eugene Jerome in Neil Simons Broadway Bound, running through Feb. 5 in a New Jewish Theatre production, it might be because hes had experience taking on roles based on the late playwright.

Flekier portrayed a teenage Eugene in NJTs 2019 production of Simons Brighton Beach Memoirs. And he was another Simon surrogate  Lucas Brickman, a 1950s TV comedy writer  in the companys 2022 staging of the playwrights Laughter on the 23rd Floor.

Flekier talks with Go! Magazine about channeling one of Americas most celebrated funnymen.

The actor

A graduate of Webster Universitys Conservatory of Theatre Arts, the New York-based Flekier has also appeared in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Stages St. Louis and Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis productions.

I caught the bug at an early age, he says. There wasnt ever anything in my life that has inspired me more than acting.

The role

I did a ton of research (on Simon), Flekier says. And I also read as many of his plays as I could.

Did playing Eugene in Brighton Beach Memoirs make returning to the character in Broadway Bound easier?

Absolutely. I cant really imagine doing this show right now without having done Brighton Beach Memoirs a few years ago. Because it feels like that was the base text for everything that were working with  especially just in terms of the family dynamics.

And for me, personally, it was a huge journey. Ive never gotten to return to a character before, but in a different play. Its been extremely rewarding, because I feel like Ive gotten to grow with the character.

The production

By the time the comedy-drama Broadway Bound debuted on Broadway in 1986, longtime jokester Simon had begun to attract serious critical attention. Without abandoning his ability to generate laughs, he revealed a gift for engaging with depths of emotion. And the New Jewish staging of the final play in Simons semi-autobiographical trilogy is nothing short of wonderful.

Directed by Alan Knoll  who also helmed the companys first-rate production of Brighton Beach Memoirs  Broadway Bound succeeds both as an inspiring tale of two brothers determined to make it in show business and as a poignant account of a family gradually falling apart.

Flekier is immensely appealing as Eugene, a fledgling comedy writer who can only look on as his working-class parents, Kate (Jenni Ryan) and Jack (Chuck Brinkley), struggle to remain in a marriage thats clearly on its last legs. Its a situation to which Eugenes brother and intensely ambitious writing partner, Stanley (Spencer Kruse), is pretty much oblivious.

A highlight of Broadway Bound is a hilarious yet illuminating scene in which Eugene dances with his mother, only to later reflect on the rare and unusual intimacy between them.

Knoll does a splendid job of accommodating the plays comedy without underplaying its darker aspects. And the excellent cast  which also includes Bob Harvey as Kates left-of-center father, Ben, and Christina Rios as her nouveau riche sister, Blanche  makes a strong case for Simon as a dramatist of the first rank.

What Broadway Bound  When Through Feb. 5; performance times vary  Where Wool Studio Theatre, Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive  How much $49-$54  More info newjewishtheatre.org
Near the end of his scheduled three-month stay at a rehab center outside Austin, Texas, Daniel McKegney was forced to tell his father in North Carolina that he needed more time and more money, he recently recalled.

His father had already received bills from BRC Recovery totaling about $150,000 to cover McKegneys treatment for addiction to the powerful opioid fentanyl, according to insurance statements shared with KHN. But McKegney, 20, said he found the program suffocating and wasnt happy with his care.

He was advised against the long-term use of Suboxone, a medication often recommended to treat opioid addiction, because BRC does not consider it a form of abstinence. After an initial five-day detox period last April, McKegneys care plan mostly included a weekly therapy session and 12-step group meetings, which are free around the country.

McKegney said a BRC staffer recommended he stay a fourth month and even sat in on the call to his dad.

They used my life and [my] fathers love for me to pull another 20 grand out of him, said McKegney, who told KHN he began using fentanyl again after the costly stay.

BRC did not respond to specific concerns raised by McKegney. But in an emailed statement, Mandy Baker, president and chief clinical officer of BRC Healthcare, said that many of the complaints patients and former employees shared with KHN are no longer accurate or were related to covid safety measures.

But addiction researchers and private equity watchdogs said models like the one used by BRC  charging high patient fees without guaranteeing access to evidence-based care  are common throughout the countrys addiction treatment industry.

The model and growing demand are why addiction treatment has become increasingly attractive to private equity firms looking for big returns. And theyre banking on forecasts that predict the market will grow by $10 billion  doubling in size  by the end of the decade as drug overdose and alcohol-induced death rates mount.

There is a lot of money to be made, said Eileen OGrady, research and campaign director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a watchdog nonprofit that tracks private equity investment in health care, housing, and other industries. But its not necessarily dovetailing with high-quality treatment.

In 2021, 127 mergers and acquisitions took place in the behavioral health sector, which includes treatment for substance use disorders, a rebound after several years of decline, according to investment banking firm Capstone Partners. Private equity investment drove much of the activity in an industry that is highly fragmented and rapidly growing, and has historically had few guardrails to ensure patients get appropriate care.

Roughly 14,000 treatment centers dot the country. Theyve proliferated as addiction rates rise and as health insurance plans are required to offer better coverage of drug and alcohol treatment. The treatment options vary widely and are not always consistent with those recommended by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. While efforts to standardize treatment advance, industry critics say private equity groups are investing in centers with unproven practices and cutting services that, while unprofitable, might support long-term recovery.

Baker said BRC treats people who have been unsuccessful in other facilities and does so with input from both clients and their families.

Private Equity Skimps on the Known Standards

Centers that discourage or prohibit the use of Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for the treatment of substance use disorder are plentiful, but in doing so they do not align with the American Society of Addiction Medicines guidelines on how to manage opioid use disorder over the long term.

Suboxone, for example, combines the pain reliever buprenorphine and the opioid-reversal medication naloxone. The drug blocks an overdose while also reducing a patients cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

It is inconceivable to me that an addiction treatment provider purporting to address opioid use disorder would not offer medications, said Robert Lubran, a former federal official and chairman of the board at the Danya Institute, a nonprofit that supports states and treatment providers.

Residential inpatient facilities, where patients stay for weeks or months, have a role in addiction treatment but are often overused, said Brendan Saloner, an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Many patients return to drug and alcohol use after staying in inpatient settings, but studies show that the use of medications can decrease the relapse rate for certain addictions. McKegney said he now regularly takes Suboxone.

The last three years of my life were hell, he said.

Along with access to medications, high-quality addiction treatment usually requires long-term care, according to Shatterproof, a nonprofit focused on improving addiction treatment. And, ideally, treatment is customized to the patient. While the Twelve Steps program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous may help some patients, others might need different behavioral health therapies.

But, when looking for investments, private equity groups focus on profit, not necessarily how well the program is designed, said Laura Katz Olson, a political science professor at Lehigh University who wrote a book about private equitys investment in American health care.

With health care companies, investors often cut services and trim staff costs by using fewer and less-trained workers, she said. Commonly, private equity companies buy a place that does really excellent work, and then cut it down to bare bones, Olson said. During his stay, McKegney said, outings to movies or a lake abruptly stopped, food went from poke bowls and pork tenderloin to chili that tasted like dish soap, and staff turnover was high.

Nearly three years ago, BRC landed backing from NewSpring Capital and Veronis Suhler Stevenson, two private equity firms with broad portfolios. Their holdings include a payroll processor, a bridal wear designer, and a doughnut franchise. With the fresh funds, BRC started an expansion push and bought several Tennessee treatment facilities.

NewSpring Capital and Veronis Suhler Stevenson did not respond to emails and phone calls from KHN.

High Prices and Low Overhead = Big Business

Before the sale to BRC, Nashville Recovery Center co-founder Ryan Cain said, roughly 80% of the centers offerings were free. Anyone could drop by for 12-step meetings, to meet a sponsor, or just to play pool. But the new owners focused on a new high-end sober living program that cost thousands of dollars per month and relied on staffers who were in recovery themselves.

In 2021, Nanci Milam, 48, emptied her 401(k) retirement fund to go through the sober living program and tackle her alcohol addiction. She had been sober for only six months when she was hired as a house manager, overseeing some of the same residents she had gone through the program with. She had to handle other residents medications, which she said she could have abused. Milam said she was fortunate to maintain sobriety.

I think it served their need. And I was ambitious. But it should not have happened, said Milam, adding that she left because the company hadnt helped her start her certification as a drug counselor as promised.

A licensing violation reported to Tennessee regulators in late 2021 involved a staffer who was later fired for having sex with a resident in a storage area. And KHN obtained a copy of a 911 call placed in August 2022  after a resident drank half a bottle of mouthwash  during which a staffer admitted there was no nurse on-site, which some other states require.

Removing the Burden from Consumers

The regulations of treatment providers largely focus on health and safety rather than clinical guidelines. Only a handful of states, including New York and Massachusetts, require that licensed addiction treatment centers offer medication for opioid use disorder and follow other best practices.

We have a huge issue in the field where licensing standards dont comport with what we know to be the most effective quality-of-care standards, said Michael Botticelli, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Obama administration and a member of a clinical advisory board for private equity-backed Behavioral Health Group. Some organizations, including Shatterproof, guide patients toward appropriate care. The federal and state governments largely direct public funds to centers that meet clinical quality-of-care standards.

But access to treatment is limited, and desperate patients and their families often dont know where to turn. State or federal regulators arent policing claims from rehab facilities, like the 99% success rate touted by BRC.

We cannot put the burden on patients and their families to navigate the system, said Johns Hopkins Saloner. My heart really breaks for people who have thrown thousands of their dollars at programs that are bogus.

When her niece was ready for inpatient rehab in summer 2020, Marina said, sending her to BRC was a knee-jerk reaction. Marina, a physician in Southern California, requested to be identified only by her middle name to protect the privacy of her niece, who suffers from alcohol addiction.

She had researched the facility three years earlier but didnt investigate deeper because she was worried her niece would change her mind. BRC advertised success stories on the television show Dr. Phil and posted affirmations on social media.

Marina agreed to BRCs upfront cost of $30,000 a month for a three-month stay in Texas, which she paid for out-of-pocket because her niece lacked insurance. She allowed KHN to review some of her nieces pharmacy and treatment bills.

Marina said she paid for a fourth month, but said ultimately the program didnt help her niece, who remains horribly sick. She said her niece felt constant guilt and shame at rehab. Marina thought there was inadequate medical oversight, and said the program nickeled and dimed her for additional services, like physicians visits, that she thought would be included.

It almost doesnt matter if you are educated and intelligent, Marina said. When its your loved one, you are just desperate.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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UPDATED with more detail from Hazelwood police captain

HAZELWOOD  A two-vehicle crash early Tuesday killed one person in Hazelwood, and police are searching for the driver who left before police arrived.

The crash happened about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday at North Hanley Road and Latty Avenue.

The person who died appeared to be an adult male, said Hazelwood police Capt. Timothy Burger. Police haven't confirmed the person's identity. Burger said the victim was in a vehicle that crashed through a telephone pole and landed against a tree.

The second vehicle involved in the crash was still at the scene when officers arrived, but its driver was gone.

The crash site is about two miles from a homicide scene in Berkeley, where a man was fatally shot about the same time. The shooting was on Busiek Avenue about 3:45 a.m.

A few minutes later, dispatchers were called about the vehicle crash.

The Major Case Squad, which is investigating the Berkeley homicide, is looking at the crash. But a squad spokesman said the two incidents might be a strange coincidence and don't appear to be connected.

Burger said the agencies are comparing notes. "We're looking at any connection," Burger said. "We don't know of any, at this moment."
Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger 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

ST. LOUIS  Its crime summit time in St. Louis, and you know what that means.

Its time to come up with a flashy moniker.

Operation Save Downtown, or Operation Protect the City. Or, if youre a white, rural Republican who is worried about next years primary challenge: Operation Take the City Away From St. Louis Voters Because Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones Are Really, Really Awful (and Black).

I kid, but only a little.

Three years ago, when Gov. Mike Parson came to town to stand at a podium with former Mayor Lyda Krewson and former U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen to announce Operation Legend, I took a trip down memory lane and recounted some of the previous operations. I also looked to what would likely come out of the next crime summit. Heres what I wrote:

Its the same as it ever was. Like in 1993, when St. Louis had a spike of 267 homicides, and there was federal intervention, and legislative debate, and press conferences with the U.S. attorney and mayor and governor. This time its Operation Legend. Previously, it was Operation Cease Fire and Operation Safe Streets and Project Safe Neighborhoods. Officials name these surges after military operations because thats the only solution theyve ever tried.

But each time, in the 80s, the 90s, after another crime spike in 2001, and several times already in the new century, the solution is the same, only the names change. More cops. More jails. Unprecedented federal cooperation as though the exact same script followed a decade previously wasnt precedent.

Maybe, just maybe, this crime summit can be different.

Jim Wild, executive director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, last week said that at the request of Jones and with the support of other board members, he is trying to pull together a regional crime summit. Wild isnt limiting it to the normal cast of characters  cops, prosecutors and a couple of tough-on-crime politicians. He is planning to include school superintendents, academics, mayors on both sides of the Mississippi River, law enforcement officials, and business and civic leaders.

Wild says he expects to follow a holistic approach. Thats a good thing, compared with the scattershot legislation being debated in Jefferson City to take the citys police department from Jones or prosecutorial power from Gardner. In fact, that holistic approach was the same one suggested by a criminal justice expert during the 1993 crime surge.

That year, criminologist Rick Rosenfeld of the University of Missouri-St. Louis shared an idea with the folks trying to stem a spike in gun violence and homicides.

Id like to see the state and our city respond to the 267th or 268th homicide with the same level of material and moral energy that we devoted to the Great Flood of 1993, Rosenfeld said. We have a flood of violence in our city.

Indeed, that was true then, when the state had control of the police and long before Gardner was elected. And its true today because the city and state never really devote moral energy to the underlying causes of crime, such as poverty in the neighborhoods most affected by gun violence.

The flood comparison is fascinating because when the water is rising, there is often a sense of community that is lacking during crime debates. Neighbors pitch in to raise sandbag walls and put up people who lost their homes. Officials cross boundaries to offer help; politicians cooperate regardless of party. Money is found to rebuild. The finger-pointing that dominates discussions about reducing crime is diminished, or at least muted, during flood fights.

The thing about fighting crime is that we know much of what works, based on empirical studies. But those solutions take generational investments: early childhood education, vocational training for people coming out of prison, effective drug treatment programs, reducing child poverty.

As far back as 1998, the Department of Justice published a report linking to the nations best research on these solutions. None of the strategies, of course, give politicians the immediate gratification of announcing a surge of arrests, which are forgotten about by the time the news cycle is 24 hours old.

This time, St. Louis is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars from the NFL-Rams settlement and federal sources that can be put to work tackling big problems. Maybe the latest crime summit can get beyond the same tired, re-packaged ideas.

Call it Operation Invest in the Future.
BERKELEY  A man was shot to death early Tuesday in Berkeley, and the city's police force has asked the Major Case Squad to help investigate the killing.

A 34-year-old man was shot in the 8000 block of Busiek Avenue, a few blocks north of Airport Road. The victim's name hasn't been released.

The man, who was shot more than once, died at a hospital.

Police went to Busiek Avenue after getting a call about shots fired there about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, said Cpl. Barry Bayles of the St. Charles County Police Department.

Bayles is a spokesman for the Major Case Squad, a regional team of detectives pulled from several police agencies.
JEFFERSON CITY  The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the law license of a member of a powerful Missouri commission that deals with abortion rules and other regulatory disputes.

Judges on the states high court ruled unanimously to suspend Administrative Hearing Commissioner Philip Prewitt indefinitely. He can apply to be reinstated in two years.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Parson, who appointed Prewitt to the post in 2019, told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday he has stepped down from the judicial post, which pays $117,000 annually.

The Governors Office has accepted Mr. Prewitts letter of resignation, Kelli Jones said.

The suspension is related to allegations made against Prewitt during his time as an associate circuit judge in Macon County.

The court found that Prewitt, a Republican, abused his position as a judge by threatening to reveal details of affairs that Democratic challenger Kristen Burks husband had in hopes of dissuading her from running against him in 2018.

Court records show the FBI eventually got involved and asked Burks to wear a recorder while confronting Prewitt at a local restaurant about an anonymous letter to her daughter that crudely described her husbands infidelity.

Prewitt told Burks that he didnt write the letter but that he would publicly talk about the extramarital affairs if Burks didnt drop out of the judges race, according to a transcript of the conversation included in the Supreme Court ruling.

If you dont run, no, Im not going to talk about it, Prewitt said. But if you do, yes, its going to be everywhere.

During that conversation, Prewitt threatened to reveal information about the affairs that he said he learned from a former legal client of his, which the Supreme Court wrote would violate confidentiality rules between lawyers and their clients. Prewitt also said he would file an ethics complaint against Burks if she officially entered the race.

Prewitt knew attempting to coerce Burks through the threat of filing the ethics complaint was not acceptable for a lawyer or a judge, Supreme Court judges wrote. He knew revealing confidential information regarding a former client was impermissible. His actions caused potential injury to his former client and the legal system.

Burks in March 2018 filed a complaint against Prewitt with the Judicial Commission based on the bugged conversation. She ultimately unseated him while running as an independent.

Prewitt said he didnt bring up the affair during the campaign because of the pending complaint, according to the Supreme Court ruling.

Prewitt declined to comment and referred The Associated Press to his lawyer, Michael Gross, who told AP he had not yet read the ruling against Prewitt.

Prewitt has told the Supreme Court that he did not break ethics rules and argued he should not be punished.

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has ruled against Prewitt for misconduct.

The Missouri Supreme Court in 2015 reprimanded him in part for threatening a candidate for local circuit clerk if she did not take down a yard sign supporting his opponent.

This similar misconduct suggests an unwillingness by Prewitt to recognize and alter his behavior, Supreme Court judges wrote in their Tuesday ruling. Prewitt was acting with a selfish motive, attempting to retain his position by any means. Prewitt refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.

The 2015 reprimand also dealt with him encouraging people to donate to local charities on Facebook, including Ray of Hope Pregnancy Care Ministries, an anti-abortion nonprofit. That raised questions about his impartiality on the Administrative Hearing Commission, which before most abortions were banned in Missouri played a large role in access to abortions in the state.

When Parson appointed Prewitt to the Administrative Hearing Commission in 2019, a former spokesman of the governor noted that the governor was aware of the reprimand but noted that the Supreme Court did not go further to suspend or revoke his license.

Prewitts now-deleted state biography said he received his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1992. He was commissioned into the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps in 2000 and was active duty as a JAG in 2003 in support of the war in Iraq. He was honorably discharged in 2007 with the rank of major.

Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
JEFFERSON CITY  Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner sent two of her top aides to the Missouri Capitol to argue Monday against a Republican plan to shift violent crime cases to a special prosecutor appointed by the governor.

The plan, proposed by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, is a response to violent crime in St. Louis and a perception among some that Gardner is not aggressively prosecuting cases.

Gardners aides, at a hearing of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, defended their boss work  and suggested the state had some responsibility for the citys crime problem.

Were doing the best we can, said Chris Hinckley, chief warrant officer for the circuit attorneys office. You throw guns all over the place and then you ask us why crime has increased? And you try to connect it to the prosecutor?

Redditt Hudson, a former St. Louis police officer who works as a diversion specialist for Gardner, said a special prosecutor also would be a rebuke to city residents.

The inescapable reality of this legislation is that it disenfranchises the thousands of voters in St. Louis that have now twice voted overwhelmingly to elect Kimberly Gardner as their circuit attorney, Hudson said.

Roberts legislation would grant Gov. Mike Parson the authority to appoint a special prosecutor to handle seven types of violent crime in St. Louis, ranging from first-degree murder to second-degree robbery and vehicle hijacking.

The fact Gardner didnt appear at the hearing to answer questions irritated at least one lawmaker.

I suppose we shouldnt be surprised that shes failed to appear and do her job, said Rep. Alex Riley, R-Springfield. That seems to be her M.O.

Hinckley said the circuit attorneys office had a backlog of about 3,000 cases and that there are no violent crimes on the list.

The bill seems to assume that the backlog is a backlog of violent crimes, Hinckley said. Weve kept violent crimes at the top.

(Jane Dueker, lobbyist for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, provided a reporter with a longer list of cases, some of them violent. But Hinckley said after the hearing thats not my list.)

He said turnover in the office occurred early on during Gardners tenure a lot more because I think that the people just wanted to move on.

He said during the early days of Gardners time in office, turnover was more abrupt but was now more of a natural turnover.

The reasons why are more as the result of reality and for the most part everybody that leaves has gone on to a new job that pays at least twice as much, Hinckley said.

Hinckley also addressed the offices exclusion list of officers who are barred from seeking criminal charges in the city.

He said when he came into office, he knew of certain officers who had pleaded the Fifth Amendment or had lied and done other things that certainly impacted their credibility, meaning that I felt very uncomfortable having them sign on a probable cause statement to swear that everything that happened in that crime occurred and that that persons word was therefore going to take away the liberty of somebody else.

Knowing there were a number of people whose credibility was in serious doubt, Hinckley said he contacted the police because in traditional law enforcement the police work with the prosecutor to identify those people.

I had a discussion with another colonel and we began to create a list of the names and the reasons, and this was all confidential, Hinckley said. We shared it with him and then there was a little hubbub, he said. All of a sudden it made the news when we didnt want it to. We just wanted to work with the police but the police made it news.

Its remained confidential so I dont share the names with anybody, Hinckley said, adding there is a process by which an officer can be removed from the list.

The committee didnt vote on the legislation Monday.

The legislation is House Bill 301.
JEFFERSON CITY  The gun-friendly Missouri House appears to be settling on one new firearm limit: restricting minors from possessing guns in public without adult supervision.

The limit was included in wide-ranging crime legislation by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, following a recommendation by a bipartisan working group appointed by House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres.

Our state is pretty fanatical in our defense of the Second Amendment, and I certainly dont want to diminish that, but this kind of conduct is not what the Second Amendment was meant to protect, Roberts told the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee on Thursday.

The working group, made up of three Republicans and three Democrats, unanimously recommended legislation to prevent minors from carrying guns in public, along with several other measures aimed at public safety.

Democrats on the panel included Reps. Marlon Anderson and Donna Baringer of St. Louis, and Robert Sauls of Independence. Republicans included Roberts, as well as Reps. Ron Copeland of Salem and John Black of Marshfield.

A recommendation allowing for a special prosecutor for high-crime areas such as St. Louis has generated the most attention.

But minors in possession of firearms became an issue following the states passage of constitutional carry legislation in 2016.

It does give the police the authority to make  take an enforcement action, Roberts said. Right now, they cannot do that.

Sgt. Charles Wall, spokesman for the the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, previously told the Post-Dispatch that under current state law, there is no minimum age to lawfully possess a firearm.

He said the department uses the status offense of behavior injurious to take minors into custody who are possessing firearms, absent any other criminal conduct.

Wall said the behavior injurious offense is not a criminal offense.

But police are still allowed to take minors into custody, seize firearms, notify the Juvenile Courts of the contact, and return minors to the custody of their parent(s)/guardian(s).

Wall said that Missouris constitutional carry law that took effect Jan. 1, 2017, eliminated the requirement for a concealed carry permit and allowed for open carry in the state.

Prior to that, he said, individuals needed a valid conceal carry permit in order to conceal a firearm on their person, and there was an age restriction on this.

Roberts said the situation was unacceptable.

Whats happening in some cities right now, a juvenile in possession of a firearm, even if theyre engaged in conduct that is inherently dangerous, the law enforcement has a limited amount of ability to deal with that, Roberts said.

Rep. Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, during another hearing of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee on Monday, didnt appear to know the current law.

Its not against the law, sir ... for a 10-year-old kid to walk around with a  with a pistol in their pants? Banderman asked.

Chris Hinckley, chief warrant officer for the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office, responded, They take the gun, and they bring them home, and they tell the parent that theyre going to cite the parent for endangering and they give the firearm back.

The legislation says it is unlawful for a person to knowingly possess a firearm if such person is under eighteen years of age, is on public property, is not accompanied by an adult twenty-one years of age or older, and is not possessing the firearm as otherwise allowed by law.

Joe Jerek, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said anyone 11 or older is currently allowed to hunt by themselves if they successfully complete a hunter education class.

The legislation is House Bill 301.
CLAYTON  St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell will not ask a judge to hold a hearing in the case of death row inmate Leonard Taylor.

Taylor, 58, of Jennings, is scheduled to be executed by Missouri on Feb. 7. His lawyers wanted Bell's office to trigger a new state law that allows prosecutors to seek a hearing if information shows a defendant could be innocent or was wrongly convicted.

Bell's office announced Monday that it won't seek a hearing.

"We are not filing a motion to vacate Leonard Taylor's sentence  the facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence," the prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor went on to say that he would support a postponement of the execution if Taylor seeks one so his attorneys can have more time to investigate issues raised last week by forensic pathologist Dr. Jane Turner.

Dr. Turner, in an affidavit, raised doubts about the time of death. Her opinion, based on a review of trial testimony, bolsters the defense argument that the killings happened after Taylor left town.

The 2004 murder victims are Taylor's girlfriend Angela Rowe, 28; Rowe's daughters, Alexus Conley, 10, and AcQreya Conley, 6; and her son, Tyrese Conley, 5. All had been shot at a house on Park Lane in Jennings.

Taylors defense attorneys, Kent Gipson and Kevin Schriener, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday afternoon. They have raised multiple issues they wanted a judge to hear: time of death, concerns that a key witness had been threatened by police, and phone records they say bolster their claim that the victims were still alive when Taylor boarded a flight to California.

The Missouri Attorney Generals Office, in response to some of Taylors appeals over the years, has said the case against Taylor is solid.

Wesley Bell unseated Bob McCulloch in the 2018 election for St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. Bell has pledged to never seek the death penalty. When he campaigned against McCulloch, Bell called the death penalty expensive, ineffective at deterrence and racially biased.

His spokesman, Chris King, said Bell would not be interviewed about his decision in Taylor's case.

Taylor's request was reviewed by the Conviction and Incident Review Unit in the prosecutors office. That unit reported its findings to Bell, who made the decision, King said.

The defense team has two other ways to try to stop Taylor's execution next week: asking the Missouri Supreme Court to stay the execution and asking Gov. Mike Parson for clemency.
ST. LOUIS  A teenage boy pleaded guilty in juvenile court Monday to shooting at police while trying to flee in a stolen vehicle.

Moments before the plea, Judge Barbara T. Peeples agreed with a juvenile officers request not to certify the 17-year-old as an adult. Instead, Peeples ordered him committed to the Missouri Department of Social Services Division of Youth Services until he turns 18.

This is a very serious matter, testified deputy juvenile Officer David Gaither. But, he added: He has the potential to make changes ... and do something more positive for himself.

This teenager shot at St. Louis police Officers Ryan Malone and Christian Blouin-Weers on Sept. 25, 2022, according to court records. Its unclear where the incident happened in the city.

Gaither testified that the boy had 21 prior referrals to the juvenile court system, mainly in St. Louis County, where hed received numerous services. Hed previously been committed to youth services and escaped from the Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, a secure facility in Old North St. Louis.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on the outcome of the case.

The boy is not being identified in this story because he is a juvenile. The Post-Dispatch was allowed access to the hearing at St. Louis City Family Court, 920 North Vandeventer Avenue, because his offenses include Class A felonies.

According to court records, the boys father is in state prison in Farmington. His mother, who attended the hearing via Zoom, lives in Florissant. Testimony indicated that the boys mother and grandmother struggled to control him.

While his record is extensive, Gaither testified the boy was emotionally immature and doesnt have a pattern of assaultive behavior. Gaither testified that the boy said he was committed to trying to behave better.

The boy had been held at the citys juvenile detention center, which is part of the family court campus, since the shooting incident on Sept. 25, 2022. Now that hes being turned over to state authorities until hes 18, youth services will determine the most appropriate placement and program services for him.

Gaither testified that it would be the boys last shot at being a juvenile before he becomes an adult on Nov. 2.

A similar but separate case recently caught the regions attention when someone in a fleeing vehicle fired in the direction of police officers in a City Foundry STL parking lot. Three teens were apprehended, including two who had guns.
JEFFERSON CITY  A ban on declawing cats in the St. Louis region is again in the crosshairs of Missouris Republican-controlled General Assembly.

Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, outlined legislation Tuesday that would overturn a ban on the practice that was approved in the city in 2019 and adopted by St. Louis County last year.

Brown, whose late father, Dan, was a state senator and a veterinarian, told a Senate panel that the local bans overstep the bounds of regulating animals.

Brown told members of the Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee that veterinarians are highly trained and regulated by a state board of animal experts.

The proposal, which was not voted on by the committee, represents the latest attempt by Brown to use state law to undercut ordinances approved by the Democrat-controlled city and county. The Phelps County lawmaker also is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit cities from banning pet stores from selling dogs and cats.

The latter measure comes in response to hundreds of cities and a handful of states that have moved to shutter pet stores as a way to combat inhumane conditions in puppy mills. Missouri is the largest dog-breeding state in the nation.

The 2019 anti-declawing ordinance, sponsored by Alderman Christine Ingrassia, 6th Ward, made it illegal for veterinarians in the city to conduct such operations unless medically necessary for the animal.

The ban was part of a bill that also made other changes in city rules for pets.

Once a common procedure, many veterinary professionals now advise against declawing. The American Association of Feline Practitioners strongly opposes the practice. The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages declawing but leaves it up to veterinarians to decide whats best for the cat.

Declawing can lead to complications for cats, including chronic pain, infection, nerve trauma, behavioral problems and lameness, according to the feline practitioner association. Alternatives include providing more scratching posts, regularly trimming claws and temporary nail caps.

Supporters, including statewide farm groups, told the panel that cat owners should have the option to declaw their cats following consultation with their veterinarian.

This needs to be a discussion between the veterinarian and the client about whats best for the pet, said Jim Crago, a semi-retired veterinarian from Jefferson City.

The procedure is illegal in several European countries. New York prohibited elective declawing of cats in 2019. Other cities with bans include Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.

Bob Baker, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, said local governments are often the last line of defense in stopping inhumane practices.

We need some oversight of these bad actors, Baker said.

Sen. Tracy McCreery, a St. Louis County Democrat, said she supports the ability of veterinarians to advise pet owners on the benefits and risks of declawing, but opposes the attempt to overturn the local laws.

I feel like I have to represent my folks, McCreery said.

The legislation is Senate Bill 115.
JEFFERSON CITY  Patients could get help from physical therapists without first seeing a doctor or getting a prescription under legislation debated Tuesday in the Missouri Senate.

The GOP-led chamber gave the proposal initial approval in a voice vote. It had bipartisan support.

Missouri patients currently need a referral from a doctor or a prescription before they can get physical therapy.

Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola, who is sponsoring the legislation, said getting approval from a doctor before treatment can take time and costs money, which has become a hurdle for patients seeking care.

Eslingers proposal only applies to physical therapists with doctorates in physical therapy or at least five years of experience in the field. Physical therapists also would need to consult with patients doctors if treatment lasts more than 10 visits or 21 days.

Talks on the issue between lawmakers, physicians and physical therapists have been underway for at least six years.

Similar legislation was approved in the House last year by a vote of 143-9 but did not make it through the Senate.

Supporters said the proposal could eliminate the need for people to travel long distances to get medical treatment.

We are losing a lot of professionals in rural Missouri across the board, said Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence. Id like to have a lot more health professionals in those areas.

Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, said it also could help Missouri retain younger, newly graduated physical therapists from seeking work out of state.

The bill needs final vote of approval to go to the House for further debate. At least two similar versions of the measure have been introduced in the House.

The legislation is Senate Bill 51.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri taxpayers could be on the hook for paying $300,000 in legal fees after a judge ruled last year that the Missouri Attorney Generals Office violated the states open records law under Republican Josh Hawley.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sued the office in 2019, alleging that it purposely concealed emails between the office and Hawleys political consultants while he was running for the U.S. Senate in 2018.

Cole County Judge Jon Beetem sided with the DSCC in November, agreeing that the attorney generals office concealed the emails and ordered the office to pay the maximum amount allowed by state law, $12,000 in civil penalties and reasonable attorneys fees.

A motion filed Jan. 13 requests $306,000 in attorneys fees and taxable costs be awarded to the DSCC. The motion was first reported by the Missouri Independent.

The DSCC argued that it should be awarded the full amount requested because it prevailed entirely, demonstrating both the quality of the legal services provided by counsel and counsels professional ability.

The DSCC stated that because the case spanned over three years and the attorney generals offices vigorous defense, their costs increased significantly.

In Beetems November decision, he said that the attorney generals office prevented an opposing party committee from accessing documents potentially damaging to then-Attorney General Hawleys political campaign.

After the original records request was sent by the DSCC in 2017, Daniel Hartman, the then-custodian of records for the office, replied that no such records were found. The DSCC filed another records request in 2018, but Hartman failed to hand over the records until the discovery phase of the lawsuit began, according to a timeline in the November decision.

The Star uncovered emails in October 2018, discovering that staffers were using private email accounts to speak with political consultants that would later help run Hawleys U.S. Senate campaign.

Beetem wrote in his decision that being able to store public information offsite and conduct public business in private emails would leave the Sunshine Law toothless.

It is the public policy of this state that meetings, records, votes, actions and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law, Beetem wrote.

Though the case is regarding Hawleys time as attorney general, the decision came down when fellow Republican Eric Schmitt was in the position. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey took over the office this month after Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.

A statement from Kyle Plotkin, a campaign spokesperson for Hawley, said that the investigations into Hawleys use of resources already determined there was no wrongdoing.

After their partisan witch hunt got dismissed by investigators, now the D.C. Democrats want Missouri taxpayers to pay them for documents they got for free, Plotkin said in an emailed statement.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, investigated whether Hawley illegally used public resources for his campaign in 2019, but cleared him of any misconduct.

Then-State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, also investigated Hawleys use of public resources and concluded it was unclear whether his actions were illegal. Hawley criticized Galloway at the time, alleging that the Democratic auditor was altering the audit to seem more critical of him.

Madeline Sieren, a spokesperson for Bailey, said that Schmitts office opted not to appeal the decision.

As stewards of taxpayer dollars, our office will always work to protect Missourians hard-earned money from exorbitant attorneys fees, Sieren said in an emailed statement without specifically saying whether Bailey would contest the fee request.
Editor's note: When the Fox Theater - and that's how it was spelled back in the day - opened Jan. 31, 1929 this is how the Post-Dispatch covered it.

Cross-logged Vishnus, and elephants Of Cathay, and Assyrian lions and turbaned bashi-bazouks looked down on the 5700 persons who entered the new Fox Theater for its opening last night. Arabesque lattices. Hindu incense-burners. Burmese pagoda-carving and fluting and Karnak pillars of ruddy marble bounded the broad views in the theater and in its grand approach hall - lobby is too Occidental a word.

All the ornamentation of the $5 million house - largest and most ornate of the movie palaces outisde New York - represented the Far East, land of tinkling temple bells and pale hands beside the Shalimar. "if you've heard the East a-calling, you won't heed nothing else," said Kipling's Mandalayan enthusiast.

But there were a lot of other things to hear at the huge housewarming on Grand Boulevard.

There was Gov. Caulfield's speech, telling how much St. Louis and Missouri owe to William Fox, and how much Fox will owe to the city and state the next time tax-collecting season comes around - all to the benefit of of our schools and charitable institutions.He refrained from calling them "eleemosynary" thereby establishing a new record for office-holders and campaign orators.

And there was Mayor Miller - a talkie, not in person - breathing felicitations to the Fox Theater owner from a frequently consulted manuscript. He got an appreciative hand. Later, in the newsreel, the pleased smile of Henry W. Kiel was seen in two or three views. Only his face, and not his voice, had been registered, but the greeting he got need not have discouraged his campaign manager if the latter was present.

Then there was the Pilgrims' chorus, or it might be said, two choruses. The "Tannhauser" affair on the stage, with its cowled penitents and with the orchestra ascending and descending to the chords of Wagner; and the chorus of St. Louis pilgrims, some of them in evening dress, who fared by motor and otherwise through 14-degree temperature to the carpeted sidewalk space on Grand, just south of Washington Boulevard, under what seemed an acre of white lights, with "FOX" in green above them.

The articles goes on, at length, to describe the "Magnificent Entrance," "Comfortable Seats," "Tannhauser in Pantomime," "And Finally the Picture," (it was "Street Angel" starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell) and "Guests Shown About Theater."

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UNIVERSITY CITY  Officers held an end-of-watch ceremony and provided a police escort for a 6-year-old police dog who was euthanized Tuesday afternoon.

The dog, King, was born in 2017 and joined the University City Police Department in 2019. He suffered a deadly infection known as MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcal aureus.

Police consulted numerous vet specialists, University City police Chief Larry Hampton said, and the department was told there was nothing else that could be done to save Kings life.

Kings main handler, University City police Officer Ray Hussmann, was surrounded by dozens of officers Tuesday morning near the corner of Kingsland Avenue and Delmar Boulevard. They escorted him and King from University City to a vet in Creve Coeur, where he was given his final walk, last call and salute before he was euthanized.

Police said King was instrumental in many cases and most recently helped foil a Thanksgiving Day burglary.

Today we are celebrating the life and the commitment to duty and work for canine King, one of our comrades in arms for the University City Police Department, Hampton said. Its a celebration but also a sad time as well.

Photos: Final walk for University City police's K-9 King K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest K-9 cop honored by dozens in procession before laid to rest Video: University City Police Department says final goodbye to K-9
Growing up I remember hearing the phrase Have you no shame? That question must have held some power back in the day. But if you asked that now, some shapers of our current political culture would respond with a resounding No. Hyper-partisanship has moved us into a post-shame world.

Shame is the internal, uncomfortable sense arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable or improper, whether that has been done by oneself or another. While shame is a negative emotion, it plays an important part in the development of civilizations. Without shame, there is no longer a need to adhere to cultural norms, follow laws or behave in a way that allows us to exist as social beings. The diminishing influence of shame is exactly what we have been witnessing. And until we can reduce polarization and bring back healthy shame, we will continue to see politicians like Republican Rep. George Santos not only rise to power but remain in office.

Santos may just be the quintessential example of what a post-shame world looks like. The new representative from New Yorks list of lies is long. Here are just a few listed in no particular order of shamefulness:

Santos said he earned degrees from New York University and Baruch College. He claimed that while at Baruch College, he was a star volleyball player who required two knee replacements from playing. He later admitted that he didnt graduate from any institution of higher learning. Santos campaign website claimed his mother was in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and that she died as a result of the attacks. According to NBC News reporting, Fatima Caruso Devolder was living in Brazil in 2001 and died of cancer in 2016. Santos described himself as a proud American Jew and falsely claimed his grandparents escaped the Holocaust and who had been to Israel numerous times. He later backtracked and said he was Jew-ish. Finally, he alleged that four of his employees were killed in the Pulse shooting. According to a New York Times investigation, none of the 49 victims of the mass shooting appear to have had any connection to Santos.

Perhaps Santos himself is not able to experience the personal sensation of shame as he has yet to express any sincere remorse for his lies. In the past, the institutions of political parties and party elites would have stepped in and put pressure on him to behave appropriately or step down. Unfortunately for the electorate, specifically New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, the Republican Party has also moved past shame and will no longer apply presure because retaining power is more important.

This sickness of audaciousness has infected the country widely. Multiple Republican elected officials have condemned Santos lies and requested his resignation, but House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Santos will continue to serve. Santos has since been assigned to two House committees, though he reportedly is stepping aside while investigations are underway.

This shamelessness is a byproduct of the nations extreme polarization. We are willing to excuse immoral behavior and lies because the other side is worse. These negative views of the opposing party and contempt for the other continue to rise.

In 1994, a Pew Research poll found that a majority of Republicans had unfavorable impressions of the Democratic Party, but just 17% had very unfavorable opinions. Similarly, while most Democrats viewed the GOP unfavorably, just 16% had very unfavorable views. Since then, highly negative views have more than doubled: 43% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats now view the opposite party in strongly negative terms. More than half of all Republicans and nearly half of all Democrats now believe their political opponents to be immoral. A recent YouGov survey showed that 60% of Democrats regard the opposing party as a serious threat to the United States. For Republicans, that figure approaches 70%.

A 2020 study out of Brown University showed that Americans feelings toward members of the other political party have worsened over time faster than those of residents of European and other prominent democracies.

Each side fears the country would be destroyed if the other side achieves power. Gaining influence and securing elective seats has become more important than maintaining a healthy moral compass. Tribalism removes the need to think for ourselves and judge conduct. It asks that we only consider what the other partys members are doing as justification for what happens on our team.

Im afraid we are sliding uncontrollably down a very slippery ethical slope. The way back up is to reduce our polarization, call out our own and give candidates personal conduct a high priority when we enter the voting booth.

I long for the day when in the political arena we can ask that original question again, Have you no shame? and finally the answer given is: Yes, I do.

Lynn Schmidt is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member lynnschmidtrn@outlook.com
The fact that the five Memphis former police officers accused in the beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols are themselves Black could actually clarify the issue of police violence, which is more complicated than just a few bigoted white cops. It highlights that policing in America is in desperate need of reform that addresses more than just the reality of systemic racism in the ranks.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House in 2021 but failed in the Senate, would limit police immunity, require more stringent record-keeping, ban chokeholds and institute other reforms nationally to curb these tragedies. Its time to revisit that legislation.

Nichols, 29, was stopped for reckless driving on Jan. 7. Several horrific videos show him on the ground even as officers yell at him to get down and spray him with pepper spray. Nichols then flees. Officers apprehended him a short time later on a street corner, where they can be seen pummeling him repeatedly with fists and a baton. He appears to offer no resistance.

He would die in a hospital three days later. The five fired officers face multiple felony charges including second-degree murder.

While the fact that all parties involved were Black is a departure from the more common white cop/Black victim dynamic in suspect deaths, the tragedy otherwise looks familiar: Police responding to what appears to be a minor provocation (or none) with overwhelming and sustained violence apparently driven by anger. A New York Times analysis of the video concluded that the officers barked 71 separate commands at Nichols during a 13-minute period, including contradictory commands and orders he couldnt have physically followed, like telling him to get on the ground when he already was, or telling him to reposition himself when they were physically preventing him from moving. Failure to comply then became grounds for the use of more force.

As with George Floyds 2020 murder by Minneapolis police officers, it appears Nichols wasnt given immediate medical attention after the encounter. Nichols, like Floyd, could be heard calling out for his mother as officers tortured him.

To assume that Nichols race couldnt have been a factor in the Black officers brutality toward him ignores the complexities of police racism, which is as much institutional as it is personal. The conversation about police reform must focus not just on changing the attitudes of individual officers but on police culture itself. And that begins with the kinds of rules that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would impose around the country.

Its likely that some of the conservative resistance to police reform in the past has been grounded in the assumption that its just a veiled attack on white officers. If this latest tragedy helps open some eyes to the more complicated reality, it could open the door to real reform.
Regarding the editorial "'Fair Tax' won't pass, but even the debate is an ominous omen about McCarthy" (Jan. 26): I believe the Post-Dispatch Editorial Board correctly points out the absurdity of eliminating the federal income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax. Such a sales tax would be even more regressive on the federal level than the Missouri sales tax presently is.

I suggest lawmakers consider taxing things that corporations and rich people spend their money on. Investments in the stock market, or acquiring an entire corporation, for that matter, are not subject to a sales tax. These certainly are as taxable as shoes or bikes for your kids. Also exempt, or grossly undertaxed, are real estate sales, legal services and advertising. Some of these items are even tax-deductible.

If revenue was collected on the sale of such items at the same rate as everyday items, we could potentially consider eliminating the federal income tax, the already-lenient corporate income tax and even the undercollected inheritance tax. Then we could consider lowering rates generally instead of raising them.

Allan R. Shickman  University City
Arizona officials refer to a notoriously congested stretch of desert highway through tribal land as the Wild Horse Pass Corridor, a label that's less about horses than the bustling casino by the same name located just north of where the interstate constricts to four lanes.

With the Gila River Indian Community's backing, the state allocated or raised about $600 million of a nearly $1 billion plan that would widen the most bottleneck-inducing, 26-mile section of I-10 on the route between Phoenix and Tucson.

But its bid for federal grant money under the new infrastructure law to finish the job fell short, leaving some advocates for road construction accusing the Biden administration of devaluing those projects to focus on repairs and mass transit.

"Upset would be the right terminology," Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland said of his reaction when he learned the project won't receive one of the law's first Mega Grants the U.S. Department of Transportation will announce this week. "We thought we had done a good job putting the proposal together. We thought we had checked all the boxes."

The historic federal investment in infrastructure has reenergized dormant transportation projects, but the debate over how to prioritize them has only intensified in the 14 months since President Joe Biden signed the measure.

The law follows decades of neglect in maintaining the nation's roads, bridges, water systems and airports. Research by Yale University economist Ray Fair estimates a sharp decline in U.S. infrastructure investment has caused a $5.2 trillion shortfall. The entire law totals $1 trillion, and it seeks to not only remedy that dangerous backlog of projects but also build out broadband internet nationwide and protect against damage caused by climate change.

Some of the money, however, has gone to new highway construction  much of it from the nearly 30% increases Arizona and most other states are receiving over the next five years in the formula funding they can use to prioritize their own transportation needs. For specific projects, many

of the biggest awards available under the law are through various highly competitive grants. The Department of Transportation received around $30 billion worth of applications for just the first $1 billion in Mega Grants being awarded, spokesperson Dani Simons said.

Another $1 billion will be available each of the next four years before the funding runs out. Still, the first batch has been closely watched for signals about the administration's preferences.

Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, said it's already clear that the Biden administration plans to direct a greater share of its discretionary transportation funding to "non-highway projects" than the Trump administration did. However, with so much more total infrastructure money to work with, Davis said, "a rising tide lifts all boats."

For example, one of the projects that the administration told Congress it had chosen for a Mega Grant will widen Interstate 10  but in Mississippi, not Arizona. Davis said the department likely preferred the Mississippi project due to its significantly lower price tag. This year's Mega Grants combine three different award types into a single application, one of which caters specifically to rural and impoverished communities.

Some of the winning grants are for bridges, while others are for mass transit  including improvements to Chicago's commuter train system and concrete casing for a rail tunnel in Midtown Manhattan.

Along with the nine projects selected, transportation department staff listed seven others as "highly recommended"  a distinction Davis said makes them clear front-runners to secure money next year. Arizona's I-10 widening effort was part of a third group of 13 projects labeled as "recommended," which Davis said could put them in contention for future funding unless they're surpassed by even stronger applicants.

But such decisions remain largely subjective.

Advocates for regions such as the Southwest, where the population is growing but more spread out, argue that their need for new or wider highways is just as big of a national priority as a major city's need for more subway stations or bicycle lanes.

Arizona state Rep. Teresa Martinez, a Republican who represents Casa Grande at the southern end of the corridor, said she was livid when she heard from a congressional office that the administration might have turned down the I-10 project because it didn't have enough "multimodal" components.

"What does that even mean?" she said. ".... They were looking to fund projects that have bike paths and trail ways instead of a major interstate?" Testifying in March before the

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg assured Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly that he understood the state's unique highway needs and that his department wouldn't "stand in the way of a capacity expansion where it's appropriate."

Some Republicans, however, remain skeptical, in part due to a memo the Federal Highway Administration distributed in December 2021, a month after Biden signed the bill. The document suggested states should usually "prioritize the repair, rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, and maintenance of existing transportation infrastructure" over new road construction.

Although administration officials dismissed the memo as an internal communication, not a policy decision, critics alleged they were trying to circumvent Congress and influence highway construction decisions traditionally left to states under their formula funding.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office concluded the memo carried the same weight as a formal rule, which Congress could challenge by passing a resolution of disapproval. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, pledged to write one.
Cham, Switzerland  January 31, 2023  Landis+Gyr Group AG (SIX: LAND) today holds its Capital Markets Day at Google in Zurich, Switzerland, and virtually, with Executive Management providing an update on the financial targets, industry, strategy and technology roadmaps. Highlights include:

Introduction of mid-term financial year 2025 targets with mid to high single digit growth, Adjusted EBITDA of between 12% and 14% and a confirmation of the progressive dividend policy, while the Company puts a strong focus on cash conversion

Confirmation of strategy based on three pillars Smart Metering, Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure, shifting the portfolio towards the latter ones, increasing analytics offering

Strong balance sheet enables continued investments in innovation, positioning the Company for longer-term growth, with investment capacity for acquisitions

Fully integrated "edge-to-cloud" portfolio enabled by Google Cloud provides customers with flexibility and choice, and forms the basis for EV and demand flexibility solutions

Landis+Gyr has signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative and commits to reducing Scope 1 and 2, as well as Scope 3 emissions by 42% by 2030

Werner Lieberherr, Landis+Gyr`s Chief Executive Officer, said: The urgent need for global decarbonization along with the current energy crisis are key drivers for the increased demand of intelligent power grids, driving energy efficiency and ensuring stability of critical infrastructure. Our solutions to solve these challenges position us in the sweet spot of the energy transition as an ESG-centric industry leader, driving sustainable impact by empowering utilities and end consumers to manage energy better.

At our last Capital Markets Day in 2021, we announced various initiatives to transform Landis+Gyr for future long-term profitable growth. Since then, and despite various challenges associated with the global pandemic and supply chain constraints, we have invested heavily to expand Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure by making five acquisitions and investing an additional 2% or revenues in R&D. Our transformational efforts, also as part of our seven-year strategic partnership with Google, are now delivering additional tangible benefits for our customers and end consumers.

Going forward, we continue to build on our strong Smart Metering base with leading innovation, while driving profitable growth in the additional two strategic pillars Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure by computing intelligence at the edge, guarding critical infrastructure and empowering cloud-based insights. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as our portfolio expansion empowers people around the globe to manage energy, water and gas more efficiently and drive sustainable efforts forward.

Strategy

As a leader in energy efficiency solutions, Landis+Gyr is well positioned to support utilities around the world to drive the energy transition forward. As the grid infrastructure becomes more complex, especially with an increasing amount of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), more intelligence is needed to seamlessly integrate grid components and ensure uninterrupted service of critical infrastructure.

Enabled by its large installed base of smart devices, Landis+Gyr continuously expands its software and services offering, including cloud-based data analytics solutions. As part of their seven-year strategic partnership, Landis+Gyr and Google utilize state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to co-innovate solutions providing actionable insights that empower customers and end consumers to manage resources in a more informed and sustainable way. Through global platform design in the Cloud and the expansion of its Electric Vehicle (EV) software and hardware offering, Landis+Gyr is well equipped to support customers with demand flexibility solutions that enable the orchestration of DERs and as a result ensure a balance of power generation and consumption. This becomes increasingly more important as additional volatile renewable energy sources are used for power generation and as energy consumption increases as a result of the electrification of transportation and heating.

Over the course of the last two years, Landis+Gyr has temporarily increased its R&D investments by 2% of revenues, from 9% to 11%, to facilitate the Companys transformation. As a result, said investments have been focused on Grid Edge Intelligence and Smart Infrastructure to strengthen the portfolio offering with a strong focus on recurring revenues, namely software, services and solutions designed to support the energy transition and improve efficiency.

A solid balance sheet and cashflow enable Landis+Gyr to invest in strategic growth areas, positioning the business well to benefit from the global megatrends driving the industry. In addition, the Company returns profits to its shareholders and is committed to distribute a progressive dividend going forward. Being paid out of capital reserves, in Switzerland, the dividend payments are exempt from withholding tax.

As part of continuous optimization evaluations, the Company has taken the decision to transfer the production of its smart water and heat meters from Nuremberg, Germany, to Izmir, Turkey, to further improve its position in an increasingly competitive environment, as well as strengthen the production utilization of the acquired manufacturing facility in Turkey.

FY 2022 and FY 2023 Guidance Update

As already communicated on January 25, 2023, Landis+Gyr confirms its guidance for FY 2022 (ending March 31, 2023) with net revenue growth of between 6% and 10% and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of between 5% and 8%. Due to the record-high order backlog and the continued challenging supply chain situation, Landis+Gyr expects inventory levels to remain temporarily elevated which has a negative impact on opeRating working capital resulting in a lower Free Cash Flow (excl. M&A) of between USD 0 million and USD -30 million.

In light of the now foreseeable delay of the normalization of the supply chain situation, the Company expects these impacts to be carried into FY 2023. Net revenues for FY 2023 are expected to grow low double digit growth compared to FY 2022 and the Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to come in between 9% and 11% of net revenues. Free Cash Flow (excl. M&A) is forecasted at between USD 60 million to USD 90 million and reflects the strategic inventory investments to fulfill customer orders of recently won large contracts, which are now entering the deployment phase.

Mid-term Financial Targets for FY 2025 & Dividend Policy

At todays Capital Markets Day, Landis+Gyr introduces financial mid-term targets for financial year 2025:

Organic net revenue growth of mid to high single digit CAGR relative to FY 2021

Adjusted EBITDA margin between 12.0% and 14.0% of net revenues

Continuation of progressive dividend policy

Strong focus on cash conversion

Elodie Cingari, Landis+Gyr`s Chief Financial Officer, commented: Our record-high order backlog provides great visibility for the coming years and allows us to lift the guidance for net revenue growth for FY 2025. With the cost measures initiated and the expected normalization of the supply chain situation, we aim to strengthen profitability levels with a strong focus on converting EBITDA into sustainable cash flows.

Sustainability

Landis+Gyr has been tracking its carbon footprint since 2007 and is proud to have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative. In financial year 2022, the Company conducted a thorough assessment of its direct and indirect carbon emissions and committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2, as well as Scope 3 emissions by 42% by 2030. Landis+Gyr has developed a comprehensive roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

As the share of renewable energy increases and consumer awareness grows, Landis+Gyr's solutions are a critical building block in communities' journeys to a more sustainable world. In FY 2021, the Company's global base of smart meters helped avoid over 9 million tons of CO2 emissions  a figure which is captured in the Company's Scope 4 emissions. Landis+Gyr is proud that its efforts in addressing challenges in the areas environment, social and governance have led to the Company recently being awarded with a Prime rating by ISS ESG, representing the top 10% within its industry.

Documents

The slides of the Capital Markets Day presentations are available at 07:00 CET on January 31, 2023, on the Landis+Gyr investor website. A live webcast of the event will be available at 14:00 CET on January 31, 2023. To access the presentation and webcast, please visit www.landisgyr.com/investors/cmd/.
Israel has developed another, the fifth, version of its Merkava tank. The Merkava 5 was quietly developed, built, tested and deployed in small numbers during late 2022. This was ahead of schedule because the original delivery date was supposed to be early 2023. Like the earlier Merkava models, Merkava 5 is an improved version of the previous model. The 65-ton Merkava 4 entered service in 2005, with an upgraded version appearing in 2011. Further upgrades of Merkava 4 turned out to be so extensive that this version was designated Merkava 5, which weighs the same as Merkava 4. Several hundred Merkava 4 tank deliveries will instead incorporate the Merkava 5 features and enter service as Merkava 5s. This means there will be 360 Merkava 4s and 300 Merkava 5s. The price per tank will also increase from $4.5 million for each Merkava 4 and about $5 million for each Merkava 5.

Improvements in the Merkava 5 include a more effective engine along with upgrades to the Iron Vision system that provides the commander a view of what is happening outside the tank. The new version provides a more realistic day/night view of what is outside as well as indications of where enemy fire (bullets or projectiles) hitting the tank is coming from and how best Merkava can respond. This was the result of upgrading the fire-control system. The Trophy APS (Active Protection System) has also been updated to be more effective and incorporate some of the lessons of the war in Ukraine.

Israel is the smallest nation in the world to design and build its own tanks. This was the result of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, which took Israel by surprise and inflicted heavy losses before Israel counter-attacked and defeated Egypt and Syria and their larger number of modern Russian tanks. Israel carefully analyzes the results of each war it fights and makes changes to deal with problems encountered. The 1973 war prompted Israel to start designing and building its own tanks.

By 1979 the 61-ton Merkava entered service and 250 were built by 1983. That was the year the first of 580 62-ton Merkava 2s entered service. Production of Merkava 2 ended in 1989. The first two Merkava models were similar in design with both using a 105mm gun. The Merkava 2 had additional armor, a five percent more powerful 950 HP engine and a 20 percent higher top speed of 55 kilometers an hour. The external 60mm mortar, mainly for firing smoke shells, was moved inside for the Merkava 2. There were a lot of other mechanical and electronic upgrades. By 1989 all the active-duty armored brigades had Merkavas and many of the reserve armored brigades as well.

Using lessons learned from the 1982 fighting in Lebanon, Israel developed a much improved 63.5-ton Merkava 3, which entered service in 1990. By 2002 680 Merkava 3s were built. The main improvements in Merkava were a 120mm main gun and much more powerful 1,200 HP engine that produced a 60-kilometers an hour top speed, faster acceleration and a more maneuverable and nimbler tank. All the armor was of a modern composite design. Fewer main gun shells could be carried; 46 120mm ones compared to 60 105mm shells in the Merkava 2. Merkava 3 could load shells faster because of a five-round mechanical drum. The fire-control system was also upgraded, as were many other components. The Merkava 3 is still used, mainly by reserve armor brigades.

In 2003 the 65-ton Merkava 4 was introduced. So far 360 of these have been produced and most have already undergone several major upgrades. Merkava 4 has improved armor, a redesigned turret, 25 percent more powerful 1,500 HP engine and a top speed of 65 kilometers an hour. Merkava 4 is even more nimble and maneuverable than Merkava 3. Merkava 4 carries 48 rounds of 120mm shells and uses a 10-round electric powered drum for quick loading. Merkava has a smoother ride because of an improved suspension system. There is also improved protection for the crew against mines and roadside bombs. By 2021 360 Merkava 4s were built.

All Merkavas feature a unique design feature; the engine is in the front. This adds more protection for the four-man crew and any passengers in the large rear compartment. That compartment can hold more 120mm shells or other supplies or up to eight passengers. Usually six infantrymen are carried, providing Merkava with its own infantry support. This is especially useful in built-up areas.

Merkava 4 underwent several major upgrades. In 2012 Israel completed equipping all the Merkava tanks in an armor brigade with the Trophy APS. In 2010 the first battalion of Merkavas was so equipped. In 2011 Trophy defeated incoming missiles and rockets in combat for the first time. This included ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles), possibly a modern Russian system like the Kornet E. This ATGM was introduced in 1994 and sold to Syria, who apparently passed some to Hezbollah and Hamas. A few weeks before the ATGM intercept, Trophy defeated an RPG warhead, an unguided rocket propelled grenade fired from a metal tube balanced on the shoulder. As it was designed to do, Trophy operated automatically and the crew didn't realize the incoming RPG and missile warheads had been stopped until after it was over. That is how APS is supposed to work.

In 2017, a ground vehicle VR (Virtual Reality) system called Iron Vision was introduced and Merkava 4 was the first tank to get it. Iron Vision meant a tank could largely dispense with tanks traditional dependence on the tank commander spending a lot of time with his head sticking out of the turret to get a better view of the situation. The VR helmet display helmet is worn by the tank commander and not only shows real-time video of what is outside, but also an overlay of other information or even a map. Israel pioneered the development and use of such helmets, and the F-35 stealth fighter was designed to use a VR helmet. Most modern tanks are equipped with these small external digital vidcams but Iron Vision makes the external cameras much easier to use.

In 2020 Fire Weaver fire control network software was first installed in Israeli tanks and will soon be installed in warplanes, artillery and other armored vehicles. In 2021 at least two of the four active-duty armored brigades had Fire Weaver. Once all the active-duty armor brigades have it, the six active-duty infantry brigades will receive it. Some of the 22 reserve brigades, nine of them armored, may get the system as well.

Fire Weaver takes data from existing sensors on tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery and warplanes and rapidly (within five seconds) lets vehicles, warplanes and artillery know which available target each combat system should fire at. This eliminates a common battlefield situation where too many weapons fire on some targets while other targets are not initially fired on at all. Currently, tank crews and artillery spotters (troops who call back to tell artillery which targets to hit) have manual procedures for picking which targets they should fire at. That often works quite well, especially during a situation where a tank unit encountering the enemy has an opportunity to fire first. Fire Weaver automates these decisions and makes more effective choices more quickly. The troops and pilots can override Fire Weaver-selected targets but tests have shown that Fire Weaver is usually quite effective in selecting the best targets for each tank, artillery unit or aircraft.

Fire Weaver is easy to implement in the Israeli military because the Israelis have already been providing their troops with better sensors and battlefield networks. For example, in mid-2019 three Israeli firms, responding to an IDF proposal for bid, showed off their versions of the proposed Carmel Concept for future armored vehicles. Three different armored vehicles; the Merkava 4 tank, Namer IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and the Eitan 8x8 APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) had proposed versions of Carmel installed. Carmel involves several existing technologies plus proposed new ones that would turn an armored vehicle into a combat system that would operate with, a crew of two or a robotic vehicle operated remotely (like a UAV) or autonomously, to benefit from more information about where friendly and suspected enemy forces were. This information would often be delivered in real-time. This sort of thing provides a tremendous advantage in combat.

The best example of similar (to Carmel) existing tech is used in the F-35 where numerous sensor and communications systems are controlled by software that uses data fusion. This is merging data from many sources and presenting it to the pilot in a comprehensible fashion to provide the F-35 pilot with unprecedented situational awareness. That means an accurate picture of where the pilot and everything else in the vicinity is. It had long been known that superior situational awareness was the key to victory in combat be it in the air, at sea or on land. Carmel proposes that manufacturers find ways to effectively combine existing tech with improved software. This would include more AI (Artificial Intelligence) to analyze sensor and situational data at high speed and either act autonomously (as ADS, or Active Defense Systems, do) or present options to the vehicle operators.

Although the Merkava was introduced in 1979 it wasnt until mid-2006 that Israeli tanks saw their first heavy combat in 24 years. It was also the first combat for the then new Merkava 4. Actually, it was the first heavy combat for the Merkava 2 (introduced in 1983) and Merkava 3 (1989). In 1982, 180 Merkava 1s saw action during the war with Lebanon. Until 2006 Merkavas had only been used in peacekeeping and counter-terror operations with the Palestinians.

The Israelis, as they have in all past wars, collected detailed information on each tank that was hit by enemy fire. Israel won't, for obvious reasons, release all this information. But they have provided some data. "Several hundred" Merkavas were sent into southern Lebanon in 2006. Of those, ten percent were hit by enemy fire, including mines and roadside bombs. Merkava faced modern ATGMs for the first time in 2006. Only 18 tanks were seriously damaged, and only a third of those were from several hundred ATGMs fired by Hezbollah. Only two of the 18 heavily damaged tanks were destroyed, and both of those were damaged by roadside bombs. In those two cases, the tank was over the bomb when it was detonated.

The experience in Lebanon again proved that ATGMs tend to be overrated. Israel first encountered ATGMs during the 1973 war, and quickly adapted. ATGMs were much less effective in the 1982 war, and didn't do all that well in 2006 either. The Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah quickly learned that the Merkava frontal armor was impervious to their Kornet ATGMs. Getting side and rear shots was more difficult, and not a lot more successful. While the ATGM warhead often penetrated, the Merkava was designed to take this kind of hits and survive, and survive it did. In addition to fire extinguisher systems, the ammo and fuel are stored in such a way that secondary explosions are rare. The crew normally survives these hits, as does the tank.

One of the biggest problems with Israeli tanks in Lebanon had to do with the crews. Because of the heavy use of Israeli troops in counter-terror operations since 2000, most tank crews have spent a lot of time without their tanks, serving as security troops (light infantry). The lack of training in their tanks reduced the effectiveness of the Merkavas in Lebanon. This was not a critical factor, but it annoyed the tank crews quite a bit.

The tankers were also peeved at the lack of protective devices, like smoke grenades on some tanks, or active defense systems like the Trophy APS. This was because so much money was diverted to counter-terror operations. While only six tanks were destroyed in Lebanon, over a hundred tank crewmen were killed or wounded by ATGMs. Hezbollah would often use a missile just to get the vehicle commander, who often was standing up, with his head and chest out of the turret hatch to get a better look at what's going on. Tank commanders would like to see some money spent on sensor systems (cameras) that enable the tank commander to get a good look around the tank, from inside the tank. The Lebanon operation was a wakeup call for the Israeli government to stop shortchanging efforts to improve their tanks.

As good as the Merkava is, there are not a lot of export customers. There was apparently only one export customer and Israel did not reveal who it was and no other public information about a foreign user has appeared so far. One difficulty with export orders is that Israel builds the Merkava itself and cannot afford large production facilities. Moreover, many key components come from the United States, which gives the Americans a veto power over who exports go to. Merkava is also very expensive, with the most modern Merkava 5 costing over $5 million each.

Israel cannot afford to keep all its Merkava in service. Currently 220 of 550 Merkava 4s are in storage, while only 160 of 730 Merkava 3s are in use, the rest in storage. There are still 370 Merkava 2s available, but all are in storage. If there is a major war, the stored Merkavas can be ready for combat in a few days, or less. These storage tanks would be used to replace tanks out of action for combat or non-combat reasons. Because the Merkava is designed to reduce crew casualties, most of the crews of damaged or destroyed tanks are available for duty within hours. While storage tanks dont get many of the upgrades, the basic controls of Merkava were kept the same or similar from one model to another to make it easy for crewmen who started out in a Merkava 4 to operate an earlier Merkava model taken out of storage.

The success of Merkava and the need for a new APC (armored personnel carrier) to replace the current 18-ton American M113s led to the production of several hundred Namer IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles). These were basically Barak tanks without the turrets. At first the chassis of the 61-ton Merkava 1 was used but the protection for the nine infantry and three-man Namer crew was considered inadequate. Instead, the chassis of the 65-ton Merkava 4 was used. This Namer used the Trophy APS and that seemed to provide the needed protection. The Namer is the best protected IFV in service. It is armed with a small RWS (remote controlled weapons station) containing a 30mm autocannon. There is also a 60mm mortar and a 7.62mm machine-gun that are manually operated by crew or passengers. The latest addition is two Spike ATGMs that are carried and launched from a metal pod that is inside the vehicle and raised from inside the Namer for use. The passengers and crew are seated in blast resistant seats to protect them from injury if Namer encounters a large roadside bomb or anti-tank mine. This approach proved successful when such large explosions were encountered.
(Updated - January 31, 2023 9:09 AM EST)

By Scott Kanowsky and Senad Karaahmetovic

Investing.com -- General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) reported fourth-quarter income that beat estimates and unveiled stronger-than-expected 2023 earnings projections, as the U.S. carmaker was boosted by electric car demand and easing supply chain constraints.

Adjusted earnings per share rose to $2.12 in the three-month period ended on December 31, up from $1.35 in the corresponding timeframe in 2021 and topping analysts' predictions of $1.68. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.80 billion were also ahead of expectations for $3.46B.

Supporting this increase were record sales of GM's Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle models. Following this performance, the company plans to raise global production of these cars to more than 70,000 this year.

The Detroit-based auto firm added that it expects its core automotive business will remain "robust" in 2023. It also sees output of both electric cars and battery cells to ramp up over the course of the calendar year, with these investments being funded in part by an anticipated automotive free cash flow generation of between $5.0B to $7.0B.

"We are gaining considerable market share in our fleet business, especially with commercial customers, and we believe our growing portfolio of EVs will enhance this strong performance," said Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra in a statement.

General Motors guided for annual net income of $8.7B to $10.1B and full-year adjusted EPS of $6.00 to $7.00, which were both higher than expected.

BofA analyst John Murphy said the strong Q4 results will allow the company to keep investing for the long-term.

"We estimate GMs current liquidity levels are more than sufficient to weather the macro volatility, while also proactively investing for the future," the analyst said.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas praised GM for a "very strong guide" that "sets a high bar for the year.

However, MS analysts question whether the company will be able to self-fund such spending plans in a higher-rate, slower-growth environment.

Shares in the company jumped 5.6% in U.S. pre-market trading on Tuesday.
MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today that on January 30, 2023, the MSCI Board of Directors (the Board) appointed C.D. Baer Pettit, the Companys President and Chief Operating Officer, to serve as a director on the Board effective immediately. Following this appointment of Mr. Pettit, the Board is now comprised of 12 directors, including 10 independent directors.

Baer and I have been close partners for 23 years in building MSCI into what it is today. I am confident Baers strategic insights and contributions to our Board will be as significant as his tremendous impact on the firms growth and success, said Henry A. Fernandez, MSCIs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

I look forward to continuing to lead MSCI as CEO along with Baer as President for many more years, and now as fellow Board members as well, added Mr. Fernandez.

We are extremely excited to welcome Baer to the MSCI Board. The Board has interacted extensively with Baer over his long tenure at MSCI and has benefitted immensely from the depth and breadth of his expertise, operational insights and strategic vision. Baers truly unique skills, experience and perspective will significantly strengthen the Boards effectiveness and ability to create shareholder value, said Robert G. Ashe, MSCIs Lead Director.

I look forward to contributing my expertise and deep knowledge of MSCI, its people, clients, operations and value proposition to the MSCI Board to help drive continued value creation for our shareholders and all other stakeholders, remarked Mr. Pettit.

Mr. Pettit joined MSCI in 2000 and has served as MSCIs President since October 2017 and Chief Operating Officer since January 2020, having previously served as Chief Operating Officer from 2015 to 2017. He is responsible for all of the Companys commercial and operational functions, including client coverage, marketing, product management, research and product development, technology and operations. Other roles previously held by Mr. Pettit include Head of Products, Head of Index Products, Head of Marketing and Head of Client Coverage.

Mr. Pettit holds a Master of Arts degree in history from Cambridge University and a Master of Science degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

About MSCI Inc.

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data, and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. To learn more, please visit www.msci.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as may, could, expect, intend, plan, seek, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential or continue, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond MSCIs control and that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Other factors that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements can be found in MSCIs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 11, 2022, and in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed or furnished with the SEC. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if MSCIs underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from what MSCI projected. Any forward-looking statement in this press release reflects MSCIs current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to MSCIs operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. MSCI assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005759/en/

Investor Inquiries



Jeremy Ulan +1 646 778 4184



[email protected]

Jisoo Suh +1 917 825 7111



[email protected]

Media Inquiries



[email protected]



Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049

MSCI Global Client Services



EMEA Client Service + 44 20 7618.2222



Americas Client Service +1 888 588 4567 (toll free)



Asia Pacific Client Service + 852 2844 9333

Source: MSCI Inc.
Adenias new fund has been selected as a 2X Flagship Fund, in recognition of its goal of having a positive impact on women.

SAINT PIERRE, Mauritius--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Adenia Partners (Adenia), a private markets investment firm committed to responsible investing and a sustainable Africa, is pleased to announce the first close of its fifth flagship fund, Adenia Capital (V) L.P. (Adenia V or the Fund), with $300 million commitments from investors.

The Fund exceeded its first close minimum threshold, achieving 75% of its target size, and attracting institutional and commercial investors who have invested in previous Adenia funds, as well as new investors. The list of returning limited partners includes numerous development finance institutions (DFI): IFC, Proparco, EIB, FMO, DEG, Norfund, and BPI. Meanwhile, DFC, the United States governments DFI and FinDev, Canadas DFI, are among the new investors.

Adenia V, which has a target size of $400 million, will continue Adenias long-term investment strategy of making control investments in medium-sized companies across Africa with proven business models that demonstrate ample room for operational and ESG improvements. The Fund will be sector-agnostic with financial services, agribusiness, consumer goods, telecommunications, healthcare and education, business services, light manufacturing, and specialty distribution as particular areas of focus.

Adenia has steadily expanded its geographic footprint over the lives of Fund III and Fund IV, and this fifth fund will be its first fully pan-African fund, leveraging the firms extensive on-the-ground presence in seven offices across the continent to source and manage investments. Adenia V will target between 10 and 12 investments, with a median deal size between $30 million and $50 million.

This successful first closing  against the backdrop of an uncertain macro environment  is testament to our long-established track record of building market leaders in Africa as a committed, responsible investor with an on-the-ground presence across the continent, said Alexis Caude, Managing Partner at Adenia.

We are grateful for the commitments from our LP base and their confidence in our tried and tested strategy, said Christophe Scalbert, Partner at Adenia in charge of this fundraising process. We look forward to continuing our proven approach with our fifth fund, allocating capital on behalf of both new and existing investors.

Adenia V has been selected as a 2X Flagship Fund in recognition of its goal of having a positive impact on women. The selection makes Adenia V one of the few investment funds in Africa to achieve 2X Flagship Fund status, and highlights Adenias deep engagement with gender equality and the firms commitment to generate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5.

The Fund will also drive urgent climate action across the African continent. Adenia V will set carbon reduction targets for all investees in the fund, steering toward a reduction in CO2 intensity over the life of the investment based on annual GHG monitoring and a bespoke action plan. At the firm level, Adenia Partners expects to reach net zero emissions by 2027.

This fifth fund represents the very best of Adenias responsible investment ambitions  from climate to gender equality and beyond, said Stephane Bacquaert, Managing Partner of Adenia. The 2X Flagship Fund distinction underscores the fact that having a positive impact on women has been at the center of our strategy throughout our 20-year history. Meanwhile, our carbon reduction targets showcase Adenias long-running commitment to meaningful climate action.

About Adenia

Adenia Partners is a private markets investment firm committed to responsible investing and a sustainable Africa. Founded in 2002, Adenia has a proven track record with 31 platform investments executed and 17 realized exits. Based on-the-ground across Africa, Adenia has one of the most highly qualified African private markets investment teams in terms of educational pedigree, longstanding experience as entrepreneurs and investors, and local in-depth knowledge. By creating stronger companies with quality jobs, fostering economic improvement, and elevating companies to meet ESG standards, Adenia is increasing the enterprise value for investors, whilst benefiting workers, communities, and companies in Africa. For more information, please visit: www.adenia.com.

About the 2X Challenge

The 2X Challenge was launched in June 2018 as a major new commitment of the development finance institutions (DFIs) from the G7 countries to unlock resources that will help advance womens economic empowerment and gender equality. These DFIs have since been supporting investments and initiatives that provide women in developing countries with access to leadership opportunities, quality forms of employment, finance, enterprise support, as well as products and services that enhance the inclusion or economic participation of women and girls.

Since the launch, multiple new DFI members have joined to expand the commitment: Swedfund, Finnfund, FMO, IFC, SIFEM, BIO, EIB; EBRD, IFU, OeEB, and ADB. BIO-Invest, Finnfund, FMO, IFU, SIFEM, and Swedfund.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005010/en/

Stephen Fishleigh

BackBay Communications

[email protected]

Source: Adenia Partners
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) today announced that it has been included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the third time. The index recognizes companies for their policies and practices in support of women in the workforce. To become a member of the GEI, Ameriprise performed well across the indexs five pillars: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies and external brand.

Fostering an inclusive culture and providing opportunities for all of our employees and financial advisors to thrive is critical to our success, said Kelli Hunter Petruzillo, executive vice president of human resources at Ameriprise. The extensive policies and programs that weve implemented at Ameriprise allow us to continuously attract, retain and develop talented individuals who are dedicated to serving our clients well.

Among its programs to support the careers of women:

Womens Career Compass, ongoing events aimed at attracting more women into careers in the financial services industry. Ameriprise Career Compass events are designed to help women with varying levels of experience explore opportunities available on the path to becoming Ameriprise financial advisors or pursuing other rewarding careers at the company.

Women Advisor Summits, which provide a meaningful forum for women at Ameriprise to network and enhance skills to serve their clients effectively, grow their practices and develop in their careers.

A robust award-winning Diversity Equity and Inclusion curriculum with over 30 courses to build the inclusive leadership skills of our employees and celebrate the diverse heritages, cultures, and life experiences of all Ameriprise employees and advisors globally.

Women's Interest Network (WIN), a global employee resource group, committed to promoting professional development as well as connecting and empowering women. Similarly, the Ameriprise Womens Empowerment (WE) Network, is a nationwide professional network with a mission to engage, educate, mentor, empower and inspire women advisors at Ameriprise.

Ameriprise joins 484 other companies across 11 sectors as a member of the 2023 GEI. Member companies scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class policies.

For more information about the index, please visit the GEI website. To learn more about diversity and inclusion at Ameriprise, review the Ameriprise Responsible Business Report.

About Ameriprise Financial

At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive investment advice, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs.

Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser.

Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value.

Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC.

 2023 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Allison Harries, Media Relations

612.678.7035

[email protected]

Source: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Arrow will bring largest line up of player-favorite games to charitable organizations throughout Kentucky

CLEVELAND, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cleveland-based, Arrow International, Inc. (Arrow), the worlds largest manufacturer of charitable and social gaming products, including paper and electronic pull tabs, is proud to announce it has gained approval for its electronic pull tab system and games for use in Kentucky under new regulations adopted by the Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming. The new regulations will allow Arrow to offer state-of-the-art cabinets and highly entertaining games to hundreds of licensed charitable organizations throughout the state.

Our distributor partners, Atlantic Bingo Supply and Lancaster Bingo Company, Inc., have served charities in Kentucky for decades with Arrows industry-leading bingo supplies and paper pull tab games. They can now offer Arrows best-in-class electronic pull tab systems to their customers," Arrow COO-eGaming Chris Strano said. For over 50 years, charitable organizations across the country have successfully supported their missions of helping others while using Arrow products. We are proud that our games are used for charitable and community causes, and contribute to the sustainability of organizations like veteran and fraternal clubs.

With this latest approval, both by the Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming and an independent gaming test laboratory, Arrow, through its distributors, offers the largest library of charitable gaming content available. This includes successful games like Bananas, Irish Coins, Lucky Devil, Cheers, Betty Boop, Smoldering 7s, Buffalo Ways, Patriotic Riches, Sheva, Rise to Power, as well as progressive games on Arrows Lucky Link series.

Our organization is very excited to offer a better gaming experience to our patrons, said Mike Mulrooney, Founder of Shirleys Way, a Louisville organization dedicated to providing critical financial support to patients undergoing treatment for cancer and other serious diseases. Since 2014, Shirleys Way has given more than $1.7 million in financial assistance to help cancer patients and their families, and through our partnership with Arrow and Lancaster Bingo Company, we are much better positioned to reach our giving goal of $2.5 million by our 10-year anniversary.

Our team is excited to offer this successful line-up of games to Kentucky charities, said Justin Goodman, CTO Arrow eGaming. All of our games will be enjoyed by players on both cabinets and tablets, and our reporting and point of sale system will offer easy operation for the organizations that partner with Lancaster Bingo Company or Atlantic Bingo Supply.

To learn more about electronic pull tabs and charitable gaming, visit www.arrowinternational.com.

About Arrow:

Arrow International, Inc. is the worlds largest manufacturer of charitable and social gaming products, specializing in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of the best games for charities. Arrow was founded in 1967 in Ohio, first developing bingo paper that revolutionized the charitable gaming market. Almost six decades later, the family-owned company has expanded the product line to include pull tabs, bingo paper and equipment, ink, and a robust line of electronic gaming products. Each year Arrows products raise more than $1.5 billion for non-profit.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131006038/en/

Chris Strano

[email protected]

609-922-1869

Source: Arrow International, Inc.
OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Boston Omaha Corporation (NYSE: BOC) (the Company) announced that the date of its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be Monday, May 8, 2023. The meeting will be held at the Durham Museum - Swanson Gallery at 801 S. 10th Street, Omaha Nebraska 68108. The formal portion of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders will commence at 9:00 a.m. Central Time and will be held in person with no remote streaming.

Because the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held more than 30 days prior to the anniversary date of the Company's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the deadlines set forth in the Company's definitive proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 28, 2022 for stockholder proposals and director nominations for consideration at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders no longer apply.

The new deadline is the close of business on March 1, 2023 (which the Company has determined to be a reasonable time before it expects to begin to print and distribute its proxy materials prior to the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders) for proposals and director nominations of stockholders intended to be included in the Company's proxy statement and form of proxy for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the proxy access provisions of the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws, and proposals and director nominations of stockholders intended to be considered at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders other than by means of inclusion in the Company's proxy statement and form of proxy card. Stockholders submitting proposals or nominations using the foregoing procedures should deliver or mail the proposal or nomination, and all supporting information required by Rule 14a-8 or the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws, as applicable, to Boston Omaha Corporation, 1601 Dodge Street, Suite 3300, Omaha, Nebraska 68102, Attention: Secretary. In addition to complying with this deadline, stockholder proposals and nominations must comply with all applicable SEC rules, including Rule 14a-8, and the requirements set forth in the Company's Amended and Restated Bylaws and applicable law.

About Boston Omaha Corporation

Boston Omaha Corporation is a public holding company with four majority owned businesses engaged in outdoor advertising, surety insurance, broadband telecommunications services and asset management.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131006122/en/

Boston Omaha Corporation

Catherine Vaughan, 857-256-0079

[email protected]

Source: Boston Omaha Corporation
Performance luxury brand enters circular economy with new platform to shop and trade-in pre-loved styles

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Canada Goose announced the launch of its recommerce platform, Canada Goose Generations, bringing its commitment to sustainability and the power of its uncompromised Canadian craftsmanship to life in a distinct new way. Building on the brands global reputation for making the highest quality, function-first outerwear and apparel, Generations offers an authorized reselling platform that keeps Canada Goose products in circulation, giving them a second, third and fourth lifetime.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005390/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Generations invites consumers to trade-in their Canada Goose outerwear and apparel, as well as shop an assortment of renowned styles, iconic heritage pieces and limited-edition items. The carefully curated assortment pays homage to decades of care and craft, featuring vintage pieces from the brands 65-year archive that will drop frequently, pre-loved items from consumers, and refreshed Canada Goose products. The site will be powered by Trove, the industry leader in branded resale.

Canada Goose Generations is our purpose in action  a tangible and meaningful way to keep the planet cold and the people on it warm, said Carrie Baker, President of Canada Goose. We build products that last a lifetime and each one has a story to tell. Generations extends their collective tale while minimizing their environmental impact.

Canada Goose Generations is driven by the brands purpose platform, HUMANATURE, which unites its sustainability and values-based initiatives. Canada Goose first entered the circular economy through its Resource Centres Program, which provides excess fabrics and materials to communities in Canadas North since 2009, complementing its long-trusted product warranty program and repair services. Generations directly supports the brands Sustainable Impact Strategy, helping to achieve its annual warranty waste goal.

Consumers can trade-in their Canada Goose products online at Generations.CanadaGoose.com, where they will be assessed and authenticated. Compensation will be delivered via a Canada Goose gift card, which can be used online and in stores across the U.S.

Generations launches first in the United States, with plans to expand into Canada later this year. To learn more, visit Generations.CanadaGoose.com.

About Canada Goose

Founded in 1957 in a small warehouse in Toronto, Canada, Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS, TSX: GOOS) is a lifestyle brand and a leading manufacturer of performance luxury apparel. Every collection is informed by the rugged demands of the Arctic, ensuring a legacy of functionality is embedded in every product from parkas and rainwear to apparel and accessories. Canada Goose is inspired by relentless innovation and uncompromised craftsmanship, recognized as a leader for its Made in Canada commitment. In 2020, Canada Goose announced HUMANATURE, its purpose platform that unites its sustainability and values-based initiatives, reinforcing its commitment to keep the planet cold and the people on it warm. Canada Goose also owns Baffin, a Canadian designer and manufacturer of performance outdoor and industrial footwear. Visit www.canadagoose.com for more information.

About Trove

Trove is the leader in branded resale, powering circular shopping for world-class brands and retailers including Canada Goose, lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Levis, Eileen Fisher, Arcteryx, On, and AllBirds, creating a world where brands can access new revenue streams without growing their carbon footprint. Over the last 10 years, Troves Recommerce Operating System has allowed leading brands to create and scale branded resale programs by enabling customer trade-in of items, single-SKU identification and condition grading, recommerce site build and maintenance, and customer data collection, analytics and reporting. A California Benefit Corporation, Trove is accelerating the shift to a new era of commerce essential to a more sustainable future. To learn more, visit Trove.com

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Media: [email protected]

Investors: [email protected]

Source: Canada Goose
Availability of next-generation R-410A replacement refrigerant supports future significant HFC reduction

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials, began taking orders from North American customers in December for its Opteon XL41 (R-454B) hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerant, which the company will start fulfilling by the end of Q1 2023. Opteon XL41 is an R-410A replacement in new air conditioning and heat pump applications, offering zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and an approximate 78% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) when compared to R-410A (AR4 GWP). One of the latest next-generation solutions in the Chemours Opteon portfolio, in addition to being the lowest GWP replacement for R-410A alternatives on the market today, Opteon XL41 offers the optimal balance of performance, sustainability, and cost, and is classified as a low-flammability (A2L) refrigerant.

The availability of Opteon XL41 refrigerant comes approximately one year ahead of the next major scheduled step-down outlined in the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. Starting January 1, 2024, regulations will require an additional 30% reduction in hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) production and consumption. Amidst this regulatory landscape, Opteon XL41 will offer customers product longevity.

As the industry prepares for the next HFC phasedown, Chemours is fully committed to supporting a diverse group of HVACR applications in making a successful transition to sustainable refrigeration solutions, said Alisha Bellezza, President of Thermal & Specialized Solutions at Chemours. We are excited that so many of the major players in equipment manufacturing recognize the environmental and performance efficacy of Opteon XL41. Together, we are ensuring the refrigerant and equipment are readily available to support an industry-wide move to the lowest possible GWP operation without sacrificing performance.

Opteon XL41 has already been selected by most leading global OEMs, including Carrier, Johnson Controls, and Rheem, which have announced alignment with Chemours for the utilization of this product. Overall, OEM system design changes required for Opteon XL41 will be minimal, and it is expected that new equipment filled with the refrigerant will be available to customers before 2025. In addition to product innovation, Chemours commits extensive resources to provide customers with the training, technical support, customer service, and product supply necessary to upgrade, maintain, and service new equipment.

Chemours will spotlight Opteon XL41which was recently selected as the cooling category winner in the 2023 AHR Expo Innovation Awardsand other solutions in the Opteon portfolio at the 2023 AHR Expo. Chemours will exhibit at booth C-6425 at the Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, from Feb. 6-8, 2023.

Supporting the anticipated growth in demand for Opteon XL41 and steady demand growth for other ultra-low GWP refrigerants in the Opteon portfolio, Chemours $80 million capital expansion project and debottlenecking efforts at Chemours in Ingleside  located 20 minutes outside of Corpus Christi, Texas  will increase production capacity by approximately 40%. The expansion project will help Chemours meet the significant increase in product orders and aligns with the companys corporate responsibility targets.

About The Chemours Company

The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. We deliver customized solutions with a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and consumer electronics, general industrial, and oil and gas. Our flagship products are sold under prominent brands such as Ti-Pure, Opteon, Freon, Teflon, Viton, Nafion, and Krytox. The company has approximately 6,400 employees and 29 manufacturing sites serving approximately 3,200 customers in approximately 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC.

For more information, we invite you to visit chemours.com or follow us on Twitter @Chemours or LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release 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, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical or current fact. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date such statements were made. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, the outcome or resolution of any pending or future environmental liabilities, the commencement, outcome or resolution of any regulatory inquiry, investigation or proceeding, the initiation, outcome or settlement of any litigation, changes in environmental regulations in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that affect demand for or adoption of our products, anticipated future operating and financial performance for our segments individually and our company as a whole, business plans, prospects, targets, goals and commitments, capital investments and projects and target capital expenditures, plans for dividends or share repurchases, sufficiency or longevity of intellectual property protection, cost reductions or savings targets, plans to increase profitability and growth, our ability to make acquisitions, integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations, and achieve anticipated synergies or cost savings, all of which are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events that may not be accurate or realized. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties that are beyond Chemours' control. In addition, the current COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the national and global economy and commodity and financial markets, which has had and we expect will continue to have a negative impact on our financial results. The full extent and impact of the pandemic is still being determined and to date has included significant volatility in financial and commodity markets and a severe disruption in economic activity. The public and private sector response has led to travel restrictions, temporary business closures, quarantines, stock market volatility, and interruptions in consumer and commercial activity globally. Matters outside our control have affected our business and operations and may or may continue to hinder our ability to provide goods and services to customers, cause disruptions in our supply chains, adversely affect our business partners, significantly reduce the demand for our products, adversely affect the health and welfare of our personnel or cause other unpredictable events. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Chemours is unable to identify at this time or that Chemours does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022 and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Chemours assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law.

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INVESTORS

Jonathan Lock

SVP, Chief Development Officer

+1.302.773.2263

[email protected]

Kurt Bonner

Manager, Investor Relations

+1.302.773.0026

[email protected]

NEWS MEDIA

Cassie Olszewski

Media Relations and Financial Communications Manager

+1.302.219.7140

[email protected]

Source: Chemours
Commits up to $250 million to acquire and build TIC businesses

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced a strategic partnership with Amit Agarwal, a former senior executive of Thermo Fisher and Omega Engineering, and Andy Silvernail, KKR Executive Advisor and the former Chairman and CEO of IDEX Corporation, to acquire and build businesses in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) industry.

KKRs Ascendant strategy is committing up to $250 million in funding for the new executive-led platform, which will have a flexible mandate to invest in leading TIC outsourced services and instrumentation manufacturing and distribution capabilities for attractive end-markets. Mr. Agarwal will lead the platform as Chief Executive Officer, working closely with Mr. Silvernail, who will serve as Chairman.

I am thrilled to collaborate with Andy and the KKR team to find, acquire and develop attractive businesses in the TIC industry, which is a more than $330 billion global market across instrumentation and services, said Mr. Agarwal.1 We believe our experience growing highly innovative and technical businesses positions us as a value-add strategic partner to TIC companies that provide specialized tools and services for sectors benefiting from attractive long-term tailwinds. Im particularly encouraged by KKRs approach to creating lasting value through shared ownership and employee engagement, which resonates with my approach to leadership.

Mr. Silvernail, Mr. Agarwal and KKR plan to build a scaled TIC platform through multiple acquisitions and driving breakthrough operating performance. I am excited to work together with Amit to build a leading business in the TIC industry. This is an attractive space, benefiting from mission critical products and services, favorable long-term growth trends and a fragmented market structure across both instrumentation and services, said Mr. Silvernail.

The platform is part of KKRs Ascendant strategy, which invests in middle market businesses in North America as part of KKRs Americas Private Equity platform. KKR Ascendant pursues investments across seven dedicated industry vertical teams and seeks to deploy the full resources of KKR to support management teams in growing market-leading businesses.

We look forward to working with Andy and Amit, both proven leaders and innovators, to acquire high quality businesses and build a scaled player in the TIC industry with an integrated suite of best-in-class capabilities, said Brandon Brahm, Partner and Co-Head of KKRs Ascendant strategy. Executive-led platforms are an important element of our middle-market strategy and we believe KKRs ability to recruit world-class talent creates exciting opportunities to build great companies in attractive, but historically fragmented industries.

After completing a foundational acquisition, the platform intends to implement KKRs broad-based employee engagement model to make all employees shared owners of the business. Since 2011, KKR has focused on employee engagement and ownership as a key driver in building stronger companies and driving greater financial inclusion. To date, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 50,000 non-senior employees across nearly 30 companies, and KKR has committed to deploying this model in all control investments across its entire Americas Private Equity platform.

About Andy Silvernail

Mr. Silvernail brings over two decades of experience leading and managing large global companies and he became an Executive Advisor at KKR in 2022. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Madison Industries, one of the worlds largest privately held companies and before that was Chairman and CEO of IDEX Corporation (NYSE: IEX) from 2011 to 2020. Mr. Silvernail has also held executive positions at Rexnord Industries, Newell Rubbermaid and Danaher Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Stryker Corporation.

About Amit Agarwal

Mr. Agarwal has over two decades of experience at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (Thermo Fisher) (NYSE: TMO), most recently serving as Vice President of the companys Water & Lab Products division. He joined Thermo Fisher in 1997 and over his career had held various senior leadership roles globally, including leading the companys Australia / New Zealand business, Laboratory Solutions India, and Cole-Parmer. In 2020, Mr. Agarwal joined OMEGA Engineering, previously a division of Spectris plc (LSE: SXS) as President and CEO. In this role, he developed and implemented a strategy focused on introducing innovative products and establishing leadership in chosen applications for high-growth segments. Mr. Agarwal currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of Spectris Foundation, a STEM-focused charity based out of the U.K.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKRs insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKRs investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKRs website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

1 Testing, Inspection, and Certification Market Size in 2021 according to Straits Research (https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/08/24/2504121/0/en/Testing-Inspection-and-Certification-Market-Size-is-projected-to-reach-USD-457-Billion-by-2030-growing-at-a-CAGR-of-4-Straits-Research.html)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005934/en/

Media:

Miles Radcliffe-Trenner

212-750-8300

[email protected]

Source: KKR
SHARE BUYBACK TRANSACTION DETAILS JANUARY 23  JANUARY 27, 2023

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) 23/01/2023 Stock Exchange 3 045 3 528 1,16 1,16 1,16 24/01/2023 Stock Exchange 2 964 3 409 1,15 1,15 1,15 25/01/2023 Stock Exchange 3 180 3 689 1,16 1,16 1,16 26/01/2023 Stock Exchange 345 350 400 606 1,16 1,16 1,16 27/01/2023 Stock Exchange 408 236 481 666 1,18 1,16 1,18 Total Weekly 762 775 892 898 1,17 1,15 1,18 Cumulated to date 1 262 527 1 654 930

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: 5th Floor One New Change, London, England, EC4M 9AF - 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/20230130005290/en/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Etienne Jacquet

[email protected]

+33 6 22 18 39 09

MotorK Investor Relations

MotorK Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Source: MotorK plc
Q4 2022 just finished and the results achieved are once more impressive. At Group level 2022 Revenues reach 165 million, perfectly in line with the upward revised guidance and expectations to achieve over 5x our 2021 revenues1, commented Carlalberto Guglielminotti, CEO of NHOA Group. Energy Storage recorded outstanding results, confirming once again to be the growth engine of the Group, with over 300 million of backlog, 1.4GWh under development and over 1 billion pipeline, giving full visibility towards 2023 growth while balancing out the temporary slowdown that the Global Business Line e-Mobility is facing.

Atlante, at year end, counted already more than 2,000 points of charge online and under construction and a pipeline of new sites of over 2,700. Moreover, thanks to the recent acquisition in Italy, Atlante can now count on an even more capillary-spread network, reaching the most strategic areas of Southern Europe.

As a result of these outstanding achievements at Group level, in 2023 NHOA expects:

Revenues at Group level ranging from 220 to 280 million,

Energy Storage generating EBITDA between 5 and 10 million,

Atlante pushing the development of its network even further, reaching over 3,000 points of charge online and under construction by the end of 2023

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

NHOA (NHOA.PA, formerly Engie EPS) is pleased to release the unaudited Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update containing the performance indicators as of 31 December 2022.

2021 2022 Notes Data in FY 2021

(as restated) Q3 2022

(as restated) FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021

(as restated) Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 Consolidated Sales[1][5] m 30,2 99,8 165,7 449% Consolidated Cash and Credit Lines available for withdrawal[2] (1) m 151,0 113,4* 74,7 -34% * includes the impact of the conversion of a USD30 million cash credit line into a dedicated bond facility to support the growth in energy storage contracts portfolio BY GLOBAL BUSINESS LINE Notes Data in FY 2021 Q3 2022 FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021 Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 STORAGE Sales[1] m 15,9 88,4 153,6 +868% Backlog[3] (2) m 193 152 301 +98% 12-month Order Intake (3) m 208 223 244 +9% Online Capacity MW 188 201 209 +4% Projects Under Development [4] (4) MWh 720 776 1.384 +78% Pipeline (5) m 764 984 1.043 +6% Projects in which NHOA is shortlisted # 4 4 3 _____________________________ 1 Please see below for the details of restated revenues for Fiscal Year 2021, Q1 2022, H1 2022 and first nine months 2022. Notes Data in FY 2021

(as restated) Q3 2022

(as restated) FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021

(as restated) Var% vs

30 Sept

2022

(as restated) e-MOBILITY Gross Sales including intercompany (Atlante) [1][5] (6) m 14,6 11,2 18,8 +29% Sales[1][5] m 14,4 7,2 11,4 -21% Manufacturing Capacity # PoC 2.250/week 2.750/week 2.750/week Notes Data in FY 2021 Q3 2022 FY 2022 Var% vs

FY 2021 Var% vs

30 Sept

2022 INFRASTRUCTURE Sales[1] (7) m N/A N/A 0,6 Utilization Rate (8) % N/A N/A N/A Sites & Microgrids online and under construction # 22 119 554 +435 Fastcharging PoC online and under construction # 760 1302 2088 +786 V2G Microgrid Capacity online and under construction MW 31 33 33 - EV based & stationary storage equivalent [4] (9) MWh 32 34 31 -7% Pipeline of New Sites under assessment (10) # 835 1953 2734 +781 of which under development (11) # 69 412 569 +157 [1] Sales refers to Revenues & Other Income. Q4 2022 Sales refers to (unaudited) Revenues & Other Income as at 31 Dec 2022 [2] Including cash deposits and cash collateral to guarantee securities on projects in execution [3] Figures published until 4 October 2021 also include e-MOBILITY Backlog. Starting from the release of Q3 2021 Trading and Operational Update, Backlog is communicated only for Global Business Line Storage. [4] FY 2021 and Q1 2022 figures updated on a Like for Like basis. 5,6MWh previously included in the NHOA Energy on "Projects Under Development" reclassified on Atlante "EV based & stationary storage equivalent". Please also refer to notes (4) & (9) [5] Please note that Consolidated Sales at Group level and Sales at the Global Business Line e-Mobility level include the restatement of 2.7 million for FY2021 and 4.1 million for Q3 2022, to reflect the correction of errors in the recognition of revenues by the Global Business Line e-Mobility for Fiscal Year 2021 and in the first nine months of FY2022

Notes to the Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update

(1) Cash and Credit Lines available for withdrawal represents the cash in the bank accounts of NHOA, including cash deposits, coupled with the cash credit facilities approved and not withdrawn and still available as of the relevant reporting date. A portion of the liquid assets serves as cash collateral to guarantee securities on projects in execution.

(2) Backlog means the estimated revenues and other income attributable to (i) purchase orders received, contracts signed and projects awarded (representing 100% of Backlog as of the date hereof), and (ii) Project Development contracts associated with a Power Purchase Agreement, where the agreed value is a price per kWh of electricity and an amount of MW to be installed (nil at the date hereof). When any contract or project has started its execution, the amount recognized as Backlog is computed as (A) the transaction price of the relevant purchase order, contract or project under (i) and (ii) above less (B) the amount of revenues recognized, as of the relevant reporting date, in accordance with IFRS 15 (representing the amount of transaction price allocated to the performance obligations carried out at the reporting date).

(3) 12-month order intake represents the cumulated value of new purchase orders received, contracts signed and projects awarded in the 12 months preceding the relevant reporting date.

(4) Projects Under Development is an indicator representing the capacity equivalent of Backlog, in terms of signed turnkey supply or EPC contracts and therefore excluding Project Development contracts associated with a Power Purchase Agreement, (please see Note (2) above). As of 30 June 2022, 5.6MWh related to the V2G Drosso have been reclassified to EV based & stationary storage equivalent in Atlante, considering that Atlante has started the construction phase (please also refer to Note 9).

(5) Pipeline means the estimate, as of the release date, of the amount of potential projects, tenders and requests for proposal for which NHOA has decided to participate or respond. On a quarterly basis NHOA will disclose in its Trading & Operational Updates the number of projects in which NHOA is officially shortlisted.

(6) Gross Sales including Intercompany (Atlante) refers to revenues recognized by the Global Business Line e-Mobility under Italian GAAP, including intercompany business transaction with Atlante, that are not included in group revenues on a consolidated basis.

(7) Sales are Not Applicable for this Trading and Operational Update, as no material sales figures are expected during the launch phase of Atlante (i.e. throughout 2022).

(8) Utilization Rate is calculated, over the reference period, as the aggregate utilization time of all PoC divided by the aggregate time of availability of the same PoC, expressed as a percentage. Utilization Rate is Not Applicable for this Trading and Operational Update, and first Utilization Rate data will be disclosed when a materiality threshold of n.10 different sites is achieved (in operation for at least 6 months).

(9) Please note that the data in MWh represents the EV based & stationary storage equivalent, i.e. the maximum battery capacity of Vehicle-to-Grid services that can be delivered by the Atlante Network at the relevant reporting date and includes the portion of stationary storage coupled with fastcharging technology in any Atlante charging station or e-Mobility Hub.

(10) Pipeline of New Sites under assessment includes the total number of sites, as of the relevant reporting date, which are actively pursued after prospecting activity and following a first internal screening for high level feasibility. At this point, the full contractual documentation remains to be finalized and signed, all the required permits have not yet been awarded and construction has not started.

(11) of which under development, being a sub-category of Pipeline of New Sites under assessment, includes sites for which a more detailed feasibility activity commences, including detailed discussions with site owners and exchange of documentation. For the sites included in the under development sub-category there would be a reasonable degree of confidence that they can be converted into fastcharging stations within the next six months (subject to interconnection and timely delivery of hardware).

Additional notes

Please note that up to the October 13, 2022 press release on the Q3 2022 Trading and Operational Update, the Company reported, for Global Business Line e-Mobility, the PoC Conversion Rate (with a break-down between PoC/Stellantis Group EV Sales and PoC outside Stellantis /Total PoC). As from Q4 2022, the Company has decided to no longer report on this KPI. This is because the Global Business Line e-Mobility collaborates with Stellantis on different levels, different final users and on different typologies of chargers, from slow to fast, there is thus no more a strong correlation between sales of charging devices (Points of Charge - PoC) and EV sales. As a result, the indicator PoC Conversion Rate does not represent anymore a valid and material KPI for the monitoring of the Global Business Line e-Mobility performance.

Restatement of Revenues

With the publication of the FY 2022 financial statement NHOA will proceed to a restatement of its revenues for Fiscal Year 2021, Q1 2022, H1 2022 and the first nine months of 2022.

This restatement (2.7 million for FY 2021 and 4.1 million for the first nine months of 2022, of which 3.2 million was eventually recognized as Q4 2022 revenues), is immaterial in the context of the achievement of the over 160 million revenue guidance for 2022. It is made to reflect the correction of errors in the recognition of revenues by the Global Business Line e-Mobility for Fiscal Year 2021 and the first nine months of 2022.

An internal investigation on the responsibilities of these accounting errors by Free2move eSolutions, the joint-venture with Stellantis, is currently ongoing with the support of specifically appointed forensic independent experts. Further details, along with the impact of this restatement on FY 2021 and H1 2022 Gross Margin, EBITDA and Net Income, as well as the new internal controls and procedures that NHOA implemented, will be disclosed with the publication of the 2022 Consolidated financial statement scheduled on March 28, 2023.

A summary of the Companys historical consolidated statement of operations, and of the impact of the restatement, is as follows:

FY 2021 Q1 2022 H1 2022 Q3 2022 Total Revenues and Other Income As published 32,9 20,9 82,2 99,8 Restated 30,2 17,6 78,1 95,7 e-Mobility Sales As published 17,1 5,2 9,1 11,3 Restated 14,4 1,9 5,1 7,2

* * *

The Q4 2022 Trading and Operational Update will be illustrated in the investor conference call scheduled on 31 January 2023 at 9:00am CET. Dial-in details and presentation will be available on the corporate website nhoa.energy

* * *

NHOA

NHOA S.A. (formerly Engie EPS), global player in energy storage, e-mobility and EV fast and ultra-fast charging infrastructure, develops technologies enabling the transition towards clean energy and sustainable mobility, shaping the future of a next generation living in harmony with our planet.

Listed on Euronext Paris regulated market (NHOA.PA), NHOA forms part of the CAC Mid & Small and CAC All-Tradable financial indices.

NHOA, with offices in France, Spain, United States and Australia, maintains entirely in Italy research, development and production of its technologies.

For further information, go to www.nhoa.energy

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Forward looking statement

This release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are not undertakings as to the future performance of NHOA. Although NHOA considers that such statements are based on reasonable expectations and assumptions at the date of publication of this release, they are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual performance to differ from those indicated or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation those explained or identified in the public documents filed by NHOA with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF), including those listed in the Risk Factors section of the NHOA 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the AMF on 6 April 2022 (under number D. 22-0251). Investors and NHOA shareholders should note that if some or all of these risks are realized they may have a significant unfavorable impact on NHOA.

These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the verbs or terms anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, intends, may, plans, build- up, under discussion or potential customer, should or will, projects, backlog or pipeline or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and that are to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on NHOAs business operations, financial results and financial position and on the world economy. They appear throughout this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding NHOAs intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, NHOAs results of business development, operations, financial position, prospects, financing strategies, expectations for product design and development, regulatory applications and approvals, reimbursement arrangements, costs of sales and market penetration. Important factors that could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from managements expectations or could affect NHOAs ability to achieve its strategic goals, include the uncertainties relating to the impact of Covid-19 on NHOAs business, operations and employees. In addition, even if the NHOAs results of operations, financial position and growth, and the development of the markets and the industry in which NHOA operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. The forward-looking statements herein speak only at the date of this announcement. NHOA does not have the obligation and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements.

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Press Office: Claudia Caracausi and Davide Bruzzese, Image Building, +39 02 89011300, [email protected]

Financial Communication and Institutional Relations: Chiara Cerri, +39 337 1484534, [email protected]

Source: NHOA
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Perricone Juices (the Company) announces it has partnered with Trivest Partners, LP (Trivest), a Miami-based, founder-focused private equity firm with over 40 years of experience creating strategic partnerships and fostering growth.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, Perricone Juices is the leading producer of premium, craft juices in the country, with a focus on the freshly squeezed citrus category. Founded in 1994 and with processing facilities in both California and Florida, the Company supplies its products to the foodservice and retail channels across the US under the Perricone Farms brand and for leading retailers private label brands. In addition, its products are used as high-quality ingredients for CPG brands.

Perricone Juices will continue to be led by its Chief Executive Officer, Bob Rovzar. We are excited by the Trivest partnership and their experience in the food and beverage industry, and we look forward to accelerating the growth of our business, said Rovzar. With Trivests support, we will continue our track record of organic growth while we significantly invest in our operations and our team to better serve our customers.

The Perricone family, with roots in the citrus industry dating back to the 1930s, will remain involved in the Company as part of the ownership group. In choosing a partner, we were looking for a firm who would preserve and build upon the strength of the Perricone brand and the legacy our family has built in the industry for over 80 years. Trivests decades of working with founders and families made them the perfect partner for us, said Joe Perricone, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Company.

We were extremely impressed by Perricone Juices talented and dedicated management team, industry-leading position, track record of growth, and sophisticated dual-coast operations. We are excited about the opportunity to help the Company further its growth by building upon the foundation that the employees and the Perricone family has built, added Jorge Gross, Jr., Managing Partner at Trivest.

B. Riley Securities, Inc. served as financial advisor to the Company in connection with its strategic partnership with Trivest.

About Perricone Juices

Perricone Juices is the leading producer of premium, craft juices in the country. Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, the Company operates manufacturing facilities in Beaumont, CA and Vero Beach, FL. Perricone Juices was founded in 1994 by Sam Perricone, who was one of the largest citrus growers in the US, along with his oldest son, Joe. Today, under the leadership of CEO Bob Rovzar, the Company continues to create delicious and healthy orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and tangerine juices in both conventional and organic varieties as well as essential citrus oils. For more information, visit www.perriconefarms.com

About Trivest

Trivest Partners, with offices in Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto, is a private investment firm that focuses exclusively on the support and growth of founder-led and family-owned businesses in the U.S. and Canada, in both control and non-control transactions. Since its founding in 1981, Trivest has completed more than 400 investments, totaling approximately $7 billion in value. The firm has roughly $4.5 billion in assets under management, with a growing team of 70 professionals. For more information, visit www.trivest.com

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Todd Jerles

Trivest Partners

(305) 858-2200

Source: Trivest Partners, LP
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN: PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA: PSH) today announced that it will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.1307 per Public Share for the calendar year 2023 according to the following table.1 2

Record Date Payment Date USD

Dividend

Per Share DRIP |

Enrollment

Deadline Currency

Election

Deadline 17/2/2023 17/3/2023 $0.1307 24/2/2023 17/2/2023 19/5/2023 16/6/2023 $0.1307 26/5/2023 19/5/2023 18/8/2023 15/9/2023 $0.1307 25/8/2023 18/8/2023 17/11/2023 15/12/2023 $0.1307 24/11/2023 17/11/2023

A proportionate quarterly dividend will be paid to the Special Voting Share, based on its net asset value.

Shareholders may automatically reinvest cash dividends into PSH Public Shares through a Dividend Reinvestment Programme (DRIP) whereby shares are purchased in the open market by the administrator of the DRIP. Details about the DRIP are available at https://pershingsquareholdings.com/corporate/psh-dividend-information/ and through shareholders brokers.

Dividends will be paid in US dollars unless a shareholder elects to be paid in GBP. Shareholders electing GBP dividends must do so no later than the Currency Election Deadline. Further details about the currency election are available at Pershing Square Holdings website https://pershingsquareholdings.com/corporate/psh-dividend-information/.

Additional Information

The payment of each dividend is subject to the Company being satisfied that the following conditions are met:

the Company will meet the solvency requirements under Companies (Guernsey) Law, immediately after the payment of the dividend;

the Companys total indebtedness will be less than one-third of the Companys total capitalisation after the payment of the relevant interim dividend.

The decision as to whether PSH pays a dividend in the future will be made by the PSH Board with the consent of the Investment Manager. While PSH intends to pay a quarterly dividend going forward, there is no guarantee that PSH will continue to do so. PSHs Boards decision to pay a dividend should not be interpreted to mean that PSH will be profitable in the future.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN: PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA: PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund.

Category: (PSH:CorporateActions)

1 The dates in the table may change at the Boards discretion and each dividend will be subject to certain conditions being satisfied. 2 The Companys intended policy is to pay quarterly dividends in an amount determined by multiplying the average PSH NAV of all trading days in December of the prior year by 0.25%, subject to a cap whereby the total dividends paid for the year is not to exceed 125% of the average of the total dividends paid in each of the previous three years. Once the dividend is set for a specific year, the Company does not intend to decrease it from that level, even in the event that NAV were to decline in a future year. The dividend cap is utilized so that PSH does not make an excess distribution under the PFIC rules.

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Media

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees / Julia Tilley +44 (0)20 3781 8339, [email protected]

Source: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sealed Air Corporation (Sealed Air or the Company) (NYSE: SEE) today announced, together with Sealed Air Corporation (US) (together with the Company, the Issuers), the closing of their previously announced offering of $775 million aggregate principal amount of 6.125% senior notes due 2028 (the Notes). The Notes were sold to investors at 100.0% of their aggregate principal amount. The Notes are jointly and severally, and irrevocably and unconditionally, guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by each of Sealed Air's existing and future wholly owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee its senior secured credit facilities, subject to release under certain circumstances, although, for purposes of this offering, Sealed Air Corporation (US) is a co-issuer and not a guarantor.

Sealed Air is using the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes, (i) together with a borrowing under the Companys incremental term loan facility and cash on hand, to finance the previously announced acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of LB Holdco, Inc., the parent company of Liqui-Box, Inc. (the Liqui-Box Acquisition), including related fees and expenses, (ii) to repurchase any or all of the Companys outstanding 4.500% senior notes due 2023 (the 2023 Euro Notes) pursuant to the tender offer commenced by the Company today and satisfy and discharge all of the Companys outstanding 2023 Euro Notes in accordance with the terms of the indenture governing the 2023 Euro Notes and to pay related premiums, fees and expenses in connection therewith and (iii) to the extent of any remaining proceeds after giving effect to the foregoing transactions, for general corporate purposes.

The Notes and related guarantees have been offered only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and to non-U.S. persons in transactions outside the United States under Regulation S of the Securities Act. The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act, and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and other applicable securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor has there been any sale of the Notes, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About SEE

Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) is in business to protect, solve critical packaging challenges, and make our world better than we find it. Our automated packaging solutions promote a safer, more resilient, and less wasteful global food, fluids and liquids supply chain, enable e-commerce, and protect goods transported worldwide.

Our globally recognized brands include CRYOVAC brand food packaging, SEALED AIR brand protective packaging, AUTOBAG brand automated systems, BUBBLE WRAP brand packaging, SEE Automation solutions and prismiq smart packaging and digital printing.

SEE serves customers in 114 countries/territories.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by such words as anticipate, believe, plan, assume, could, should, estimate, expect, intend, potential, seek, predict, may, will and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expected future operating results, the expected consummation of the Liqui-Box Acquisition, Liqui-Boxs expected future operating results, expectations regarding the results of restructuring and other programs, expectations regarding the results of business strategies and transformations (including expected cost synergies following the Liqui-Box Acquisition), anticipated levels of capital expenditures and expectations of the effect on our financial condition of claims, litigation, environmental costs, contingent liabilities and governmental and regulatory investigations and proceedings.

The following are important factors that we believe could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements: global economic and political conditions, currency translation and devaluation effects, changes in raw material pricing and availability, competitive conditions, the success of new product offerings, consumer preferences, the effects of animal and food-related health issues, the effects of epidemics or pandemics, including the Coronavirus Disease 2019, negative impacts related to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions, export restrictions and other counteractions thereto, changes in energy costs, environmental matters, the success of our restructuring activities, the success of our merger, acquisition and equity investment strategies, the success of our financial growth, profitability, cash generation and manufacturing strategies and our cost reduction and productivity efforts, changes in our credit ratings, the tax benefit associated with the Settlement agreement (as defined in Note 18 to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2022), regulatory actions and legal matters, and the other information referenced in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and as revised and updated by our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as revised and updated by our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement made by us is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005780/en/

Investor Relations

Brian Sullivan

[email protected]

704.503.8841

Media

Christina Griffin

[email protected]

704.430.5742

Source: Sealed Air Corporation
BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Shareholders of Targetspot SA (Paris: ALTGS) (Brussels: ALTGS) held on 31 January 2023 approved the change in the company name to Llama Group SA.

The new name opens a new chapter in the history of the company, which has refocused on the Winamp entity and its three brands (Winamp, Jamendo and Bridger) following the sale of the Targetspot-Shoutcast digital audio business to Azerion, the transaction having been finalised on 23 December 2022.

The change in name is accompanied by a new stock market identity. Listed on Euronext Growth in Paris and Brussels, the ticker of the Llama Group share will be ALLAM (previously ALTGS), effective no later than the start of trading on 3 February 2023. The share keeps its current ISIN (BE0974334667).

It also remains eligible for the PEA-PME small caps equity savings plan.

NEXT EVENT

Annual results

26 april 2023 after market close

About Llama Group

Llama Group is a leader and pioneer in digital music. With an extensive know-how covering many sectors of its business, the group owns the iconic music platform Winamp, the copyright management company Bridger and the music licensing company Jamendo. Llama Group aims to build the future of the music industry by continuously investing in the robustness and range of innovative solutions, as well as in the talent and capabilities of music-loving people. The group lives by the values of its companies: empowerment, access, simplicity, and fairness.

At its core, Winamp has always stood for empowerment and the love of music. Winamp envisions a world where artists and fans are connected like never before through a cutting-edge music platform. Bridgers mission is to support songwriters by offering them an innovative and easy solution for online copyright collection. And finally, Jamendo allows additional revenue streams to independent artists through licensing. The Llama Group has a strong international footprint and all of its brands operate globally.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005879/en/

Investor Relations

Marianne Py

[email protected]

Media Relations

Isabelle Dray

[email protected]

Source: Targetspot
FREMONT, Calif. & CLEARWATER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TD SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX) (TD SYNNEX or the Company) today announced the closing of a secondary public offering of an aggregate of 5,175,000 shares of its common stock by certain entities managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (the Selling Stockholders), which includes 675,000 shares sold pursuant to the exercise in full of the underwriters option to purchase additional shares of common stock held by the Selling Stockholders. TD SYNNEX did not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Stockholders in the offering.

In addition, the Company purchased from the underwriters 900,000 shares of common stock as part of the secondary public offering, at the public offering price of $97.00 per share, resulting in a purchase price of $87.3 million (the Concurrent Share Repurchase), under the Companys existing $1 billion share repurchase program. The Company used existing cash on hand to fund the Concurrent Share Repurchase. The underwriters did not receive any underwriting discount for the shares repurchased by the Company.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Barclays and Citigroup acted as lead book-running managers for the offering. BofA Securities, Mizuho, RBC Capital Markets, Apollo Global Securities, BNP PARIBAS, HSBC, MUFG and Wells Fargo Securities also acted as joint book-running managers with respect to the offering. Academy Securities and Siebert Williams Shank acted as co-managers for the offering.

The shares of common stock in the public offering were sold by the Selling Stockholders pursuant to a shelf registration statement (File No. 333-259270) relating to the resale of the shares which was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and became effective on September 2, 2021. The offering was made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering were filed with the SEC and may be obtained by contacting: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC by mail at 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, Attention: Prospectus Department, by telephone at (866) 471-2526, or by email at [email protected]; Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, by mail at 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (888) 603-5847, or by email at [email protected]; or Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, by mail at 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by telephone at (800) 831-9146.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About TD SYNNEX

TD SYNNEX is a leading global distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. Were an innovative partner helping more than 150,000 customers in 100+ countries to maximize the value of technology investments, demonstrate business outcomes and unlock growth opportunities. Headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, and Fremont, California, TD SYNNEXs approximately 23,500 co-workers are dedicated to uniting compelling IT products, services and solutions from 1,500+ best-in-class technology vendors. Our edge-to-cloud portfolio is anchored in some of the highest-growth technology segments including cloud, cybersecurity, big data/analytics, IoT, mobility and everything as a service. TD SYNNEX is committed to serving customers and communities, and we believe we can have a positive impact on our people and our planet, intentionally acting as a respected corporate citizen. We aspire to be a diverse and inclusive employer of choice for talent across the IT ecosystem. For more information, visit www.TDSYNNEX.com, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005695/en/

Liz Morali

Investor Relations

510-668-8436

[email protected]



Bobby Eagle

Global Corporate Communications

727-538-5864

[email protected]

Source: TD SYNNEX
Silicon Valleys Westly Foundation leads the way in shining a light on novel solutions to community challenges

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On Jan. 29, three winners of the 2023 Westly Prize for Young Social Innovators were announced, garnering each $40,000. The Westly Foundation has funded more than $1 million in Westly Prize awards over the last decade to young innovators with early-stage, novel solutions to community and global challenges.

As described by Steve Westly, co-founder of the Westly Foundation, Its the next generation that will solve many of our greatest challenges. We want to support the entrepreneurial spirit of these talented young people as they work to create a better world. Their dedication is extraordinary and were seeing astonishing solutions to age-old problems."

This years finalists, all in their twenties, emerged from a pool of more than 100 California-based applicants. At Saturdays event, eight finalists pitched to a panel of five judges at the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University. The following three teams were named winners:

WONDERFIL, Refilling stations diverting plastic from oceans & landfills - Amelia Eichel & Shiloh Sacks

Wonderfil stations allow consumers to dispense and refill their daily-use in place of single-use plastic waste.

Wonderfil has successfully piloted refill stations at two University of California campuses, Berkeley and Santa Cruz , with 800 users.

and , with 800 users. Amelia and Shiloh, from Alameda and Los Angeles respectively, will dedicate their Westly Prize to expand Wonderfil stations across California.

ATLOS, A visual investigative tool for journalists - Noah Schechter & Miles McCain

When Russias invasion of Ukraine spawned a massive volume of eyewitness media and left journalists with outdated methods of preserving the vital historical records, Stanford University undergraduates, Noah Schechter and Miles McCain recognized the urgent need to create Atlos: an open-source platform dedicated to collaborative visual investigations.

undergraduates, Noah Schechter and Miles McCain recognized the urgent need to create Atlos: an open-source platform dedicated to collaborative visual investigations. Atlos continues to serve as a database purpose-built for media verification, powering the open-source journalism organization, Bellingcats Global Authentication Project.

Noah and Miles, originally from Los Angeles and New York respectively, plan to use their Westly Prize cash award to expand service to investigative partners worldwide.

CAPD PERIOD, Menstrual cup ending period poverty - Hannah Wilen & Neil Bhatia

CapdCup is the first menstrual cup that can be emptied without removal, reinventing the future of period care for the billions of women disproportionately affected by the water crisis worldwide.

CapdCup originated while Neil attended graduate school at University of California, Berkeley ; however, he and Hannah now operate the venture out of Santa Monica .

; however, he and Hannah now operate the venture out of . Their Westly Prize enables them to distribute 10,000 CapdCups to women in Uganda.

Anita Yu, co-founder of the Westly Foundation, explains why: It feels great to be able to give back. California has created meaningful opportunities for my husband and me. We want to make sure we plant seeds for these innovators, and Californias future in return.

To access media resources from the event, click here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230130005779/en/

Jessica Garcia-Kohl

Executive Director

(408) 600-8898

[email protected]

Source: Westly Foundation
FILE PHOTO: Model Y cars are pictured during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Diego Ore

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Electric carmaker Tesla Inc is considering setting up an assembly plant near a new Mexico City airport, which would serve as an export hub for the firm, Mexican presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez said.

Ramirez said that Tesla could put a plant at an industrial park in development about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), a new hub opened by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador last year.

"Tesla is looking at investing in that area to take advantage of AIFA," Ramirez told Reuters late on Monday, noting the site could serve as a base for the firm to export by air.

He gave no further details, but the remarks follow recent comments by Ramirez to newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico about the prospect of a Tesla investment there.

"Tesla will invest there ... in an assembly plant, to export directly by air," Ramirez told the newspaper.

Separately, a Mexican official told Reuters that Tesla had been shown the site, but had given no indication of its plans.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has been eyeing a potential investment in the northern state of Nuevo Leon bordering Texas, according to media reports and officials who spoke to Reuters.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ramirez told El Heraldo de Mexico that Tesla was aiming to invest in the T-MexPark, a major industrial park being built close to the Felipe Angeles airport.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by David Gregorio; Additional reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Dave Graham in Mexico City, and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco)
(Reuters) -Cvent Holding Corp is exploring a sale that could value the cloud-based event-software provider at about $4 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The firm has attracted interest from private equity firms including Blackstone Inc, the source added.

Shares in the company closed nearly 23% higher on Tuesday after the potential sale was reported in the media. Stock was up roughly 1% in after market trading.

Cvent did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report, while Blackstone declined to comment.

The potential sale was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Calgary, Alberta, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bow Valley College is honoured to be named one of Albertas Top 75 Employers in 2023. The annual competition recognizes Alberta employers providing an outstanding place to work by going beyond expectations and offering services, opportunities, and experiences that promote a positive atmosphere.

We are proud to receive this award following a year that challenged all our employees to find creative and innovative ways to excel online and in person, says Suzie Johnson, Vice President, People, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Our employees demonstrated that we could achieve great things through resilience, commitment, and pride.

Bow Valley College was selected as one of Albertas Top Employers for several initiatives, including its defined benefit pension plan, vacation benefits, and culture of continuous learning.

The College starts new employees with three weeks of paid vacation and offers additional time off between the Christmas and New Years holidays. It provides a staff development fund to encourage employees to expand their knowledge and interests through personal or professional learning.

In promoting and living our values, we encouraged employees to pursue opportunities of lifelong learning on and off the job, says Johnson. This development fund recognizes their contributions and invests in their careers and overall well-being.

Some other initiatives that make Bow Valley College a positive place to work include its Staff Development and Faculty Development processes, which encourage employees to lead the performance review process. A flexible environment features hybrid work, high-tech meeting spaces, and meeting-free Focus Fridays.

Last year, the College launched an Indigenous Awareness training course for all employees as part of its commitment to reconciliation. The College prioritizes mental health and well-being through various services, including an employee and family assistance program, free access to the headversity app, and Healthy Workplace Committee workshops.

This years winners have struck a balance between the practical and progressive, incorporating flexibility where possible and ensuring they remain ahead of the curve when it comes to meeting the expectations of todays job-seeker, says Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp.

Bow Valley College employs nearly 1,200 full- and part-time and casual employees. The Colleges main campus is conveniently located in downtown Calgary with public transit at its doorstep. It is close to numerous amenities, including retail, arts, and cultural activities, and a network of pathways along the river. We are proud to be a regional post-secondary institution, allowing employees to work in their community. Bow Valley College has campuses in Okotoks, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Banff.

-30-

About Bow Valley College

Calgary and regions only Comprehensive Community College  with 14,000 full- and part-time students, Bow Valley College helps Open Doors  Open Minds to in-demand jobs in Calgary, Alberta, and Canada. Our graduates contribute to the digital economy, careers in business, TV & film production, and serve on the frontlines of healthcare and social services. Bow Valley College invests in virtual reality (VR), Work Integrated Learning (WIL), micro-credentials, and foundational opportunities.

Shannon van Leenen, Senior Media Relations Specialist Bow Valley College 403-671-3274 [email protected]

Source: Bow Valley College
Le francais suit

OTTAWA, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadas unions welcome improvements to the National Long-Term Care Services Standard but they must be even stronger. The standard released today focus on resident-centered care, a model of senior care that is accommodating and respectful of the residents personal wishes and that works directly with the health workers providing the care.

We are happy to see the government prescribe a new standard that mean residents should be able to live in long-term care residences where they will receive the care they deserve, said Bea Bruske, Canadian Labour Congress President. But today's announcement provides no mandatory obligation to use the new standard, added Bruske.

A week from today, the Prime Minister will be meeting with the premiers to talk about health care funding. Canadas unions believe it is crucial that long-term care be brought entirely into the public system and regulated under the Canada Health Act.

In the first months of the pandemic, more than 81 percent of COVID-19 deaths were in long-term care and retirement homes. It is a tragedy, said Bruske. We need the government to act urgently to put a stop to for-profit ownership of long-term care homes. For-profit long-term care homes have fewer staff, fewer hours of care per resident per day, lower pay, and more job insecurity, added Bruske.

Another pressing issue is the shortage of staff in long-term care homes. More for-profit residences will not solve staffing issues, they will only take care workers out of the public system into the private sector.

Canadas unions are urging the government to act on its promise to table a Safe Long-Term Care Act to ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live.

Governments should keep seniors safe by removing for-profit corporations from the sector, requiring proper staffing and health and safety protections for workers, and raising wages and benefits as well as providing pension plans for long-term care workers, added Bruske. This is about strengthening and expanding our public care systemultimately improving access for Canadians.

To arrange an interview, please contact:CLC Media Relations[email protected]613-526-7426

Source: Canadian Labour Congress
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Candente Copper Corp. (TSX:DNT, BVL: DNT) (Candente Copper or the Company) is pleased to announce that at the Special Meeting of Shareholders of the Company held on January 31, 2023 (the Special Meeting), the disinterested shareholders of the Company have approved the $4,000,000 private placement through the issuance of 22,222,222 common shares of the company at a price of $0.18 per share (the Private Placement) with Nascent Exploration Pty. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (Fortescue), as previously announced by the Company in the press releases dated December 14, 2022 and January 9, 2023.

A total of 85,214,269 common shares of the Company, representing 31.20% of the Companys outstanding common shares, were represented at the Special Meeting. A total of 78,735,458 common shares (92.4%) voted in favour of the Private Placement with Fortescue while a total of 6,478,811 common shares (7.6%) voted against. The Private Placement was required to be approved by over 50% of the votes cast by disinterested shareholders at the Special Meeting, excluding Fortescue.

The Company anticipates that it will complete the Private Placement on or about February 6, 2023. The Private Placement is subject to the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

About Candente Copper

Candente Copper is focused on the development of its 100-per-cent owned Canariaco advanced staged copper project. Canariaco comprises 90 square kilometers of highly prospective land located 150 kilometers northeast of the City of Chiclayo, Peru, which include the Canariaco Norte deposit, Canariaco Sur deposit and Quebrada Verde prospect, all within a 4km NE-SW trend in northern Perus prolific mining district. Canariaco is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not held by a major.

The company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), delivered March 15, 2022, highlights that the Canariaco Norte deposit has a measured and indicated resource containing 9.3 billion pounds; 2.1 million ounces of gold and 59.4 million ounces of silver within 1.09 billion tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.42% and a further 2.7 billion pounds of copper; 540,000 ounces of gold and 18.1 million ounces of silver within 411 tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.32%.

The PEA also highlights that the Canariaco Sur deposit has an inferred resource containing 2.2 billion pounds of copper; 1.2 million ounces gold; 15 million ounces of silver and 18.9 million pounds of Moly within 385 million tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.26%.

Please refer to the technical report dated February 8, 2002, with an effective date of March 15, 2022 and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment," prepared by Ausenco.

Joanne Freeze, P.Geo., President, CEO and Director is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the projects discussed above. She has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the planned closing of the Private Placement. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approval. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licenses and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; local community opposition; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risk factors described in the Companys annual information form and other filings with Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

On behalf of the Board of Candente Copper Corp.

Joanne C. Freeze, President, CEO & Director

For further information please contact:

Joanne C. Freeze, President, CEO & Director[email protected]

or

Giulio T. Bonifacio, Executive Chair and Director[email protected]

1 604 689 1957[email protected]www.candentecopper.com

Source: Candente Copper Corp.
TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Euro Sun Mining Inc., (TSX: ESM) (Euro Sun or the Company) reports, in accordance with the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange, that the nominees listed in the Management Information Circular dated December 29, 2022 (the Circular) for the 2023 Special Meeting of shareholders of the Company (the Meeting) were elected as directors of the Company. 35.355% of all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company were represented at the Meeting.

Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the Meeting on January 31, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario are set out below:

% Votes For % Votes Against Grant Sboros 99.591 0.409 Neil Said 87.348 12.652 Deborah Battiston 87.328 12.672 Scott Moore 77.624 22.376 Martin Schuermann 99.579 0.421

The disinterested shareholders of Company also approved (a) the right of Lind Global Fund II, LP (Lind) to exercise warrants and conversion rights under a convertible security funding agreement between Lind and the Corporation (the CFSA), notwithstanding that such exercise may result in Lind owning more than 19.9% of the outstanding shares of the Corporation, (b) the issuance of greater than 43,723,878 shares of the Company to Lind, pursuant to the terms of the CFSA and (c) the issuance of up to an aggregate of 8,000,000 common shares of the Company in settlement of debts of up to $2,348,333 owed to certain officers and directors of the Company.

Euro Suns board would like to express its gratitude to its shareholders for their continued support.

Management Updates

Following the Meeting, the Company appointed Mr. Kenny Choi as the Corporate Secretary of the Company. Mr. Choi will succeed Mr. Shaun Drake following Mr. Drakes resignation

Mr. Choi is a corporate lawyer who is corporate secretary and legal consultant to various Canadian publicly-listed companies. He was previously an associate at a large Toronto corporate law firm, where he worked on a variety of corporate and commercial transactions. Mr. Choi studied at Western University, where he obtained a Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law and an Honours Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School.

The Company also announces that Mr. Bradley Humphrey has resigned as Vice President, Corporate Development of the Company. The Company thanks Mr. Humphrey for his various contributions to the Company over the past few years.

Suspension of Environmental License

In late 2022, Samax Romania SRL (Samax), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, received a notice of action from the Cluj County court regarding an action made by Asociatia Declic against Samax for the suspension of the environmental license held by Sama with respect to the Rovina Valley project (the Environmental Licence), followed by an action for annulment in respect of the same Environmental License (together, the Actions).

The Cluj County court dismissed the grounds for suspension of the Environmental License. However, on appeal, the Cluj Court of Appeals overturned this verdict and admitted the suspension thereof. The Company will now file evidence with the Cluj County court to respond to the action for annulment of the Environmental Licence, which is pending and will continue to protect its rights and cooperate with the authorities for the development of the Rovina Valley project.

About Euro Sun Mining Inc.

Euro Sun is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Rovina Valley gold and copper project located in west-central Romania, which hosts the second largest gold deposit in Europe.

For further information about Euro Sun Mining, or the contents of this press release, please contact Investor Relations at [email protected]

Caution regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the CFSA and conversions of debt for equity of the Company by Lind thereunder, the issuance of common shares to settle debt obligations owing to certain directors and officers of the Company and the Actions and the suspension of the Environmental Licence. The Company and its subsidiaries. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.eurosunmining.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Source: Euro Sun Mining Inc.
Company Listed on Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for Third Consecutive YearRecognized as a Top-Rated ESG Performer by SustainalyticsListed on FTSE4Good for Fourth Consecutive Year

Named one of Americas Most Responsible Companies 2023 by Newsweek, and a Top Female Friendly Company and one of Americas Best Large Employers by Forbes

New York, NY, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) today announced several recognitions that the company has received for its work in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space. IPG was included on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth consecutive year, and was recognized for the first time as a Top-Rated ESG Performer by Sustainalytics. The company was also included on the FTSE4Good Index for a fourth consecutive year, and Newsweek and Statistas Americas Most Responsible Companies 2023 for the second year. Additionally, IPG was listed on Forbes and Statistas Americas Best Large Employers 2023 and Worlds Top Female Friendly Companies 2022 lists.

The 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index gauges the performance of public companies dedicated to reporting gender-related data, and measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.

Sustainalytics is a global leader in ESG research and data, serving the worlds top institutional investors and corporations. The organization scores companies ESG risks based on its industry-leading ESG Risk Ratings which cover more than 15,000 companies across 42 industries. IPG is the only U.S.-based advertising holding company included on the list of top-rated ESG performers.

IPG was also listed on the FTSE4Good Index Series for a fourth consecutive year after an independent assessment of the company against FTSE4Good criteria. Created by the global index and data provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index Series tracks the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and other products.

This was IPGs second year on Newsweeks Americas Most Responsible Companies 2023. The list was selected based on key performance indicators that were publicly available in company reports, as well as insights from an independent survey of U.S. residents. It recognizes the 500 most responsible companies in the United States across 14 different industry subcategories.

At IPG, we understand that our success is rooted in our ability to deliver to a range of stakeholders while supporting the well-being of our people and the communities in which we live and work, said Jemma Gould, IPGs Chief Sustainability Officer. We are proud to receive recognition for our ESG-related programs, though we also acknowledge that there is plenty of work left to be done. We look forward to expanding on our progress during the coming year, she continued.

Finally, IPG was listed on Forbes and Statistas Americas Best Large Employers 2023 and Worlds Top Female Friendly Companies 2022 lists. The Americas Best Employers 2022 list is based on an independent survey taken by approximately 45,000 American employees working for companies with more than 1,000 U.S. workers. In total, 500 companies were recognized on the list across 25 different industry sectors. The Worlds Top Female Friendly Companies 2022 list is based on a survey of 85,000 women around the world who evaluated their company on topics including supportive policies for women in the workplace and balanced recruitment.

More information on IPGs work in ESG is available here.

# # #

About InterpublicInterpublic (NYSE: IPG) (www.interpublic.com) is a values-based, data-fueled, and creatively-driven provider of marketing solutions. Home to some of the worlds best-known and most innovative communications specialists, IPG global brands include Acxiom, Craft, FCB, FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, IPG Health, Jack Morton, Kinesso, MAGNA, Matterkind, McCann, Mediahub, Momentum, MRM, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, R/GA, UM, Weber Shandwick and more. IPG is an S&P 500 company with total revenue of $10.24 billion in 2021.

# # #

Contact InformationTom Cunningham (Press) (212) 704-1326

Jerry Leshne (Analysts, Investors) (212) 704-1439

Source: Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NevGold Corp. (NevGold or the Company) (TSXV:NAU) (OTCQX:NAUFF) (Frankfurt:5E50) is pleased to announce the approval of the Exploration Notice (the Notice) permit by the Bureau of Land Management (the BLM) at the Nutmeg Mountain gold project (the Project, Nutmeg Mountain) in Idaho, which hosts a 2020 mineral resource estimate of 910,000 Indicated ounces of gold (43.5 Mt @ 0.65 g/t Au), and 160,000 Inferred ounces of gold (9.1 Mt @ 0.56 g/t Au) (see Note 1). The approval of the Notice will enable disturbance on the federal unpatented mining claims at the Project, which historically only saw limited drilling, as approximately 85% of the 2020 resource estimate is situated on the patented mining claims and other private land (see Figure 1). There are a number of identified high-quality resource expansion and exploration targets on the unpatented mining claims creating significant opportunity for growth.



Key Highlights

Exploration Notice Permit Approved : the Notice drill permit was approved by the BLM to drill on the federal unpatented mining claims. The Notice permit opens a large portion of the project with very limited historical drilling. (see Figure 1)

the Notice drill permit was approved by the BLM to drill on the federal unpatented mining claims. The Notice permit opens a large portion of the project with very limited historical drilling. (see Figure 1) Key Resource Expansion and Exploration Targets on Unpatented Claims : only approximately 15% of the total historical drilling at the Project was on the unpatented mining claims. After the Company completed the initial geological modeling, many resource expansion and exploration targets were identified on the unpatented mining claims. These targets will be tested in the current drill program.

only approximately 15% of the total historical drilling at the Project was on the unpatented mining claims. After the Company completed the initial geological modeling, many resource expansion and exploration targets were identified on the unpatented mining claims. These targets will be tested in the current drill program. Current Drill Program Update: the Company is pleased to announce that the drill program is underway, and first samples will be sent to the assay lab imminently.





NevGold CEO, Brandon Bonifacio, comments: It has been a very diligent start to our work at Nutmeg Mountain since closing the transaction in August-2022. Our drill program started on January 18th, and approval of this important Exploration Notice permit from the BLM opens up large portions of the project that have minimal to no historical drilling. The 2022 drill targeting exercise at the project identified many key resource growth and exploration opportunities on the federal unpatented BLM claims. Attaining this permit in a timely fashion allows us to start drilling these targets in the current drill program. The permit approval is another de-risking milestone at Nutmeg Mountain and we appreciate the various governing bodies who worked positively and collaboratively with us through the process. We remain on track to have initial drill assays from Nutmeg Mountain by March.

Figure 1  Plan view map of the Nutmeg Mountain Project. Yellow line outlines the project boundary, with green shading defining the unpatented BLM claims that have been permitted through the Exploration Notice. The remaining unshaded area outlines the patented claims and private leases which can be drilled under different guidelines. To view image please click here

Note 1: Nutmeg Mountain  2020 Resource

On July 14, 2020, GoldMining Inc. (TSX:GOLD, NYSE:GLDG) (GoldMining) published an NI 43-101 technical report on the Project titled Technical Report  Almaden Gold Property, with an effective date of April 1, 2020, which includes the following, and which NevGold is treating as a Historical Mineral Resource Estimate:

Nutmeg Mountain  GoldMining 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate

Classification Cutoff Grade

Au g/tonne Tonnes Gold Grade

g/tonne Ounces Gold Indicated 0.30 43,470,000 0.65 910,000 Inferred 0.30 9,150,000 0.56 160,000

Table 1: Mineral Resource from GoldMinings NI 43-101 technical report filed on SEDAR on July 14, 2020

A Nevgold Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify GoldMinings Mineral Resource Estimate as current mineral resources, and NevGold is not treating the estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed

Brandon Bonifacio, President & CEO

For further information, please contact Brandon Bonifacio at [email protected], call 604-337-4997, or visit our website at www.nev-gold.com.

Technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Derick Unger, CPG, the Companys Vice President, Exploration, who is NevGolds qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 and responsible for technical matters of this release.

About the Company

NevGold is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in the proven districts of Nevada, Idaho, and British Columbia. NevGold owns a 100% interest in the Limousine Butte and Cedar Wash gold projects in Nevada, and the Ptarmigan silver-polymetallic project in Southeast BC, and has an option to acquire 100% of the Nutmeg Mountain gold project in Idaho.

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 contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Companys current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, suggest, indicate and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands watch by the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday asked a judge to put a hold on Meta Platforms Inc's deal to buy virtual reality app maker Within Unlimited while the two sides await a decision from the court.

The FTC sued the Facebook and Instagram owner in July to stop the Within deal and asked the judge to order a preliminary injunction, saying Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer. There was a trial on the case in December.

The agency asked for the court to order Meta to refrain from closing its deal for Within until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on the first business day after the judge rules on whether the deal may go forward. Or, the agency said in a court filing, the judge could extend the existing temporary restraining order for 7 days.

The current restraining order expires at 11:59 Pacific time Tuesday night.

The fight to determine if Meta could go forward with this relatively small deal is seen as a test of the FTC's bid to head off what it sees as a repeat of the company acquiring small upcoming would-be rivals to secure dominance, this time in the nascent virtual and augmented reality markets.

(Reporting by Diane BartzEditing by Nick Zieminski)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Ambari Brands Inc.(CSE: AMB) (OTCQB: AMBBF) (FSE: Y92) ("Ambari" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with FabFitFun, one of the largest subscription boxes in the USA.

FabFitFun delivers on a seasonal basis subscription boxes containing the best in makeup, skincare, fashion, wellness, home decor, and more. FabFitFun has a large subscriber base, with over one million subscribers, and generated revenues of approximately US$600M in 20211from its subscription boxes. Additionally, FabFitFun has launched FabFitFunTV, a streaming video service that offers on-demand wellness content.

Pursuant to its agreement with Ambari, FabFitFun will distribute Ambari products to its broad base of users.

Nisha Grewal, CEO of Ambari, stated: "We are very excited to have signed a formal agreement with FabFitFun, which is one of America's most prominent subscription box companies with over one million subscribers and growing. This allows Ambari to be introduced to an extensive amount of people, who will, we hope, eventually convert into long term users of our premium products."

About Ambari Brands Inc.

Ambari Brands is a consumer-packaged goods company focused on developing consumer products, co-packing and manufacturing. To learn more about Ambari visit www.ambaribrands.com and www.ambaribeauty.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Nisha Grewal

CEO, Corporate Secretary and Director

[email protected]

+1 (424) 284-4022

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect to the Company. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as "believe," "project," "aim," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions and in this news release include statements respecting: its products being included in the FabFitFun boxes, the number of consumers that will be exposed to Ambari's products, and the conversion of FabFitFun users into long term users of Ambari products. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

1https://www.forbes.com/sites/margheritabeale/2021/04/13/with-2-million-captive-shoppers-fabfitfun-sets-its-sights-on-a-future-in-e-commerce/?sh=11d2d9d93e71

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153001
San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Las Vegas showcased the latest and most innovative Web3 technology companies at this year's CES. More than 100,000 people attended the event to discover blockchain technology providers. EQBR attended CES to announce their US expansion.

Thousands of guests attended the event, including CXOs, key investors, media partners, and other industry experts who explored EQBR as a web3 technology alternative. EQBR and guests discussed the intersection of enterprise and Web3 at the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan. Companies like TikTok, Deloitte, Theta Labs, and more took part in the event and learned about EQBR.





EQBR's booth featured product demos

Experiential booths at CES attracted thousands of attendees. As part of the event, Ben Tu, US Head of Growth & Marketing, presented interactive demos to attendees from a variety of Fortune 500 companies, including automotive, consumer products, real estate, finance, technology, and logistics.

EQBR's ease of use and speed were clearly visible to CES attendees. Also demonstrated to the public was EQBR's EQ HUB, an enterprise solution that lets users create their own blockchain networks without coding knowledge. As a result, companies interested in moving to blockchain will be able to see alternatives to hiring huge technology development teams. EQBR's CFO, Heather Golden, said, "EQBR can complement traditional currency systems, while expanding opportunities for digital assets."

At the event, Heather Goldman of EQBR spoke live to CoinDesk about no-code solutions, bridging the Web2 and Web3 gap, and enterprise blockchains' future.





Heather Goldman CoinDesk Interview

As part of EQBR's efforts to grow its US presence, the company met with several potential partners in person to deepen relationships.

For more information, contact:

Press contact: Ben Tu, US Head of Growth & Marketing

Press email: [email protected]

Official website: https://eqbr.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152851
New Technology And Patent Filings To Detect Safety and Consent Violations In Psychedelic Therapy Sessions While Maintaining Client Privacy.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Radix Motion, a fully-owned technology subsidiary of Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTCQB: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws, is pleased to announce that further to its press release dated December 6, 2022, the Company is expanding its patent portfolio with a new application on the use of human movement data to increase safety in psychedelic therapy sessions while maintaining client privacy.

The new patent application covers Radix Motion's new technology on the use of real-time analysis of human movement data to identify the position and body movement of a psychedelic facilitator or therapist to detect if a potential violation is occurring and activate real time alerts and safety measures. This technology does not require sending or storing any video information and helps to protect patient privacy.

With this new technology, Radix Motion is leading the way in creating safer and more private psychedelic therapy sessions for clients.

The new patent application was filed in the U.S. as a "continuation-in-part" (CIP) application that also consolidates the disclosures of Radix Motion's previously published Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application and its pending provisional application on biomarker-augmented therapy.

As all PCT claims around the use of 3D movement data in psychedelic therapy were found novel and inventive in an International Preliminary Report on Patentability, the next step will be to request "fast-track" examination under the "Patent Prosecution Highway" (PPH). As PPH applications generally enjoy higher allowance rates, it is hoped this will lead to an issued patent in the U.S. and in other PPH jurisdictions where a PPH request is granted.

Besides the U.S. filing, the PCT was also entered as a national stage application in Canada, and Radix Motion has a month to decide to enter the PCT elsewhere, including in Europe and Australia.

"Clients in psychedelic sessions are in especially vulnerable states, and unfortunately there are known cases of abuse, even in clinical trials, that could have benefited from real time analysis of the data instead of learning about the unfortunate cases after the fact via video recordings," said Sarah Hashkes, CEO of Radix Motion. "We hope our our expertise around movement data analysis and use of AI will be an important tool that clinics, therapists and clinical research coordinators find as an invaluable asset to help keep clients safe from potentially predatory acts, while also protecting their privacy," added Sarah.

"The 'bypass' CIP strategy was the most cost-effective way to consolidate Radix Motion's inventions across different applications, while at the same time adding its new safety technology to expand them," said Graham Pechenik, a registered patent attorney and the founder of Calyx Law, and Red Light Holland's senior advisor.

"We are excited to continue to work with Sarah and the team at Radix Motion to bring their foundational 3D movement data technology closer to being patented, while also building upon it with new technology that can improve the safety of psychedelic services," Graham explained. "We appreciate the opportunity to protect Radix Motion's inventions, in ways that are aligned with its goal of ethical IP and its core value of protecting user's privacy."

"Radix Motion's embodied technology is aimed towards creating technological infrastructure for the growing psychedelic ecosystem to help ensure best practices around psychedelics as a tool for growth. As a company we've always wanted to contribute to positive change and this is just another example of that," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "Candidly, we are also hoping it's another revenue stream for Red Light Holland as it's a technology we believe is broadly applicable and expect to license or sell which is why we are grateful for the expertise of patent lawyer Graham Pechenik and the team at Calyx Law who are working towards ensuring our investment is protected."

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as such term is defined in the CSE policies) has reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

About Radix Motion

Radix Motion is a technology company founded in Silicon Valley focused on building immersive and embodied technology for health and wellness. Amongst their products are Meu, an AR/VR interactive hologram messenger, iMicroapp a microdosing app that also measures poses, Wisdom VR, an interactive education that explains what psychedelics do to the brain and more.

About Red Light Holland

Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws.

For additional information, please contact:

Todd Shapiro

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Tel: 647-643-TRIP (8747)

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.RedLight.co

Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events.

The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's performance, business objectives and milestones and the anticipated timing of, and costs in connection with, the execution or achievement of such objectives and milestones; the Company's intention to devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections in Canada, U.S., and other jurisdictions; the Company and Radix Motion being eligible to utilize fast-track examination offered by the Patent Prosecution Highway in the U.S., Canada, and other participating patent offices; the potential benefits of psychedelic usage data; and Radix Motion's technology will help it lead the way by being an invaluable asset by improving the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

Forward-looking information in this press release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: current and future members of management will abide by the Company's business objectives and strategies from time to time established by the Company; the Company will achieve the performance, meet their business objectives and milestones in their anticipated time and within the anticipated cost; the Company will retain and supplement its board of directors and management, or otherwise engage consultants and advisors having knowledge of the industries (or segments thereof) within which the Company may from time to time participate; the Company will have sufficient working capital and the ability to obtain the financing required in order to develop and continue its business, brands and operations; the Company will continue to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled consultants and/or employees, as the case may be; no adverse changes will be made to the regulatory framework governing psychedelics, taxes and all other applicable matters in the jurisdictions in which the Company conducts business and any other jurisdiction in which the Company may conduct business in the future; the Company will be able to generate cash flow from operations, including, where applicable, distribution and sale of mushrooms and mushroom products; the Company will be able to execute on its business strategy as anticipated; the Company will be able to meet the requirements necessary to obtain and/or maintain authorizations required to conduct the business; general economic, financial, market, regulatory, and political conditions, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, will not negatively affect the Company or its business; the Company will be able to successfully compete in the psychedelic industries; the Company will be able to effectively manage anticipated and unanticipated costs; the Company will be able to conduct its operations in a safe, efficient and effective manner; general market conditions will be favorable with respect to the Company's future plans and goals; the Company will be able to utilize fast-track examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway in the United States, Canada and other participating patent offices; the Company will combine psychedelic usage data with technology; the Company will customize treatments and interventions, resulting in increased benefits of its technology; the Company will obtain its patent upon the terms outlined herein; the Company will devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections and developing and implementing standard operating procedures; and Radix Motion's technology will help it lead the way by being an invaluable asset by improving the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the Company's inability to attract and retain qualified members of management to grow the Company's business, brands and its operations; unanticipated changes in economic and market conditions (including changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic) or in applicable laws; the impact of the publications of inaccurate or unfavourable research by securities analysts or other third parties; unanticipated changes in the psychedelic industries in the jurisdictions within which the Company may from time to time conduct its business and operations, including the Company's inability to respond or adapt to such changes; the Company's inability to secure or maintain favourable lease arrangements or the required authorizations necessary to conduct the business and operations and meet its targets; the Company's inability to effectively manage unanticipated costs and expenses, including costs and expenses associated with product recalls and judicial or administrative proceedings against the Company; risk that the Company will be unable to provide affordable and equitable access adult access to naturally occurring psilocybin; risk that the Company will not be eligible for fast-track examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway in the United States, Canada and other participating patent offices; risk that the Company will be unable to combine psychedelic usage data with technology; risk that the Company will be unable to devote resources to the protection of its intellectual property rights, including by seeking and obtaining registered protections and developing and implementing standard operating procedures; and risk that its patent application will be denied in whole or in part; and Radix Motion's technology's inability to improve the safety of psychedelic services, while protecting clients' privacy.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153040
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - T2 Metals Corp. (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A3DVMD) ("T2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce granting of additional BLM lode mining claims at the Lida copper-silver project on the Walker Lane Belt in south-central Esmeralda County, Nevada. The additional claims were staked during the preparation for drilling in late 2022, to secure a sub-surface induced polarization ("IP") chargeability anomaly and adjacent resistivity anomaly. The area covered by the claim block now totals 5.25 sq km and secures the strike extent of the IP and resistivity anomalies.

The Lida project is now comprised of 63 granted BLM lode mining claims that cover three recently identified high chargeability anomalies and an adjacent strong resistivity anomaly (see press release dated 23/08/22). The chargeability/resistivity zone corresponds to an area of high-grade oxide copper sampled at surface. In 57 samples taken from dump and pit material, copper ranged from 26.20% Cu to 12 ppm Cu averaging 1.80% Cu. Twenty samples exceeded 1% Cu including 14 that exceeded 2% Cu.

The geological setting and the character of the geophysical anomalies suggests Lida has highest potential for a porphyry style mineralization in the volcanics intruding the carbonate-rich Harkless and Poleta Formations. There is no indication from exploration records or field observations that the chargeability/resistivity targets have been previously drill tested.

"As we learn more about the potential of the Lida project, we have elected to expand our land position beyond the chargeability and resistivity anomalies identified in the 2022 IP program. Lida sits within the central Walker Lane, Nevada, one of the United States best and busiest exploration addresses for gold, silver, copper and lithium," said Mark Saxon, President and CEO.

About T2 Metals Corp (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A3DVMD)

T2 Metals Corp is an emerging copper and precious metal company enhancing shareholder value through exploration and discovery. T2 is focused on the Sherridon Project in Manitoba, the Lida Project in Nevada, and the Cora Project in Arizona.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Mark Saxon"

Mark Saxon

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

t2metals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

[email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such risks include uncertainties relating to exploration activities. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153002
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2023) - Tembo Gold Corp. (TSXV: TEM) (FSE: T23A) ("Tembo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce further encouraging Ngula 1 target results from the ongoing diamond drilling campaign on the Company's Tembo Project in Tanzania. The Company planned a 7,000m programme of drilling of which 4,648m was completed before the drillers break commenced in December, drilling recently recommenced and is expected to be completed by the end of February. All drillholes intersected gold mineralization with one exception and a previously recognized, but undrilled cross structure, returned significant gold intersections associated with abundant sulphide, strong deformation and alteration.

Highlights

A total of 3,586m of drilling has been completed at Ngula 1 in this phase of drilling, comprising a total of 23 drill holes.

The recent drilling at the target totals 1,390m and 11 drillholes (excluding one abandoned drillhole).

Best intersections returned in the recent drillholes include 5.22g/t Au over 1.93m from 107.18m; 4.14g/t Au over 3.85m from 118.49m, including 7.03g/t Au over 2.08m; 19.90g/t Au over 0.57m from 35.24m; and 1.68g/t Au over 5.28m from 72.45m.

All holes logged and sampled to date intersected multiple gold mineralization except for one drill hole.

A set of drillholes targeted a known northeast trending structure that had never been drilled.

Significant strong sulphide mineralization encountered in this cross structure returned positive gold results that are expected to improve with depth.

These results are associated with robust geology comprising narrow to wide zones of strong shearing of the host rock, with associated alteration, quartz veining and sulphide mineralization.

This cross structure and its intersection with the main structures and other northwest trending cross structures is considered a key component of the geological control of wide and potentially high-grade mineralization at Ngula 1.

Ngula 1

Ngula 1 is a 600m long 120-200m broad zone hosting multiple east-west trending shear zones.

These shears almost ubiquitously host gold mineralization within multiple highly foliated, altered and veined structures.

The intersections achieved to date highlight that the mineralization as well as the structural deformation and alteration zones pinch and swell, and it is interpreted that this is controlled by the intersection of the structures that are developed in three primary directions, east-west, northeast southwest and northwest-southeast (similar to Bulyanhulu).

The current drill program has made a significant contribution to the understanding of the geological controls and attitude of these zones.

Previously reported results at Ngula 1 include:

2012-2014:

TDD0004 - 9.38g/t Au over 6.30m from 60.00m;

TDD0005 - 15.59g/t Au over 2.68m from 155.32;

TDD0041 - 22.81g/t Au over 15.00m from 299.00m;

TDD0054 - 11.85g/t Au over 8.02m from 117.93m;

TDD0111 - 21.47g/t Au over 2.45m from 53.35m.

2022

TDD0153 - 3.55g/t Au over 3.11m from 44.25m;



TDD0156 - 1.51g/t Au over 10.18m from 143.10m including 2.33g/t Au over 3.45m from 146.54m, and 3.47g/t Au over 0.75m from 157.76m;



TDD0157 - 4.95g/t Au over 1.67m from 120.12m;



TDD0158 - 17.60g/t Au over 1.48m from 31.12m;



TDD0159 - 1.24g/t Au over 3.08m from 117.00m.

The latest drill hole results include: TDD0159 - 1.24g/t Au over 3.08m from 117.00m; TDD0160 - 5.22g/t Au over 1.93m from 107.18m including 10.07g/t Au over 0.89m, and 2.73g/t Au over 1.54m from 116.38m; TDD0161 - 1.64g/t Au over 3.07m from 54.43m; TDD0169 - 2.22g/t Au over 0.50m from 102.76m, and 0.82g/t over 2.78m from 159.22m, and 1.55g/t Au over 1.32m from 173.05m; TDD0172 - 4.14g/t Au over 3.85m from 118.49m including 7.03g/t Au over 2.08m; TDD0174 - 19.90g/t Au over 0.45m from 39.55m; TDD0176 - 1.68g/t Au over 5.28m from 72.45mm.

All new drill results are tabled below.

This drilling program has provided the data to conduct a detailed structural interpretation which will enable resource definition drilling at Ngula 1 along high-grade shoots.

The drilling has also confirmed the persistence of the structures hosting the Ngula 1 mineralization, of multiple east-west structures truncated by the cross-cutting structures that are also host to gold mineralization.

NGULA 1 >0.50g/t >2.00g/t TDD0159 110.63 111.51 0.88 1.06 0.88 1.06 113.39 113.85 0.46 1.24 0.46 1.24 117.00 117.41 0.41 0.73 3.08 1.24 117.41 118.11 0.70 0.82 118.11 118.41 0.30 2.47 0.89 2.38 118.41 119.00 0.59 2.34 119.00 119.62 0.62 0.27 119.62 120.08 0.46 1.43 TDD0160 107.18 107.77 0.59 1.18 1.93 5.22 107.77 108.23 0.46 6.84 0.89 10.07 108.23 108.66 0.43 13.52 108.66 109.11 0.45 0.95 116.39 116.87 0.48 4.22 1.54 2.73 1.06 3.13 116.87 117.45 0.58 2.23 117.45 117.93 0.48 1.84 199.55 200.00 0.45 2.16 1.07 1.36 0.45 2.16 200.00 200.62 0.62 0.78 234.58 235.16 0.58 0.65 0.58 0.65 TDD0161 54.43 55.43 1.00 2.03 3.07 1.64 1.00 2.03 55.43 56.00 0.57 1.94 56.00 56.56 0.56 0.59 56.56 56.91 0.35 0.94 56.91 57.50 0.59 2.12 0.59 2.12 61.88 62.46 0.58 0.59 0.58 0.59 68.86 69.20 0.34 0.67 0.34 0.67 69.68 70.23 0.55 0.66 0.55 0.66 TDD0168 236.95 237.85 0.90 0.58 0.90 0.58 239.43 239.73 0.30 1.93 2.57 0.68 239.73 240.60 0.87 0.39 240.60 241.32 0.72 0.40 241.32 242.00 0.68 0.80 252.56 253.00 0.44 1.14 0.44 1.14 TDD0169 102.76 103.26 0.50 2.22 0.50 2.22 159.22 159.83 0.61 1.64 2.78 0.82 159.83 160.53 0.70 0.89 160.53 161.22 0.69 0.33 161.22 162.00 0.78 0.56 173.05 173.56 0.51 1.68 1.32 1.55 173.56 174.07 0.51 1.05 174.07 174.37 0.30 2.18 0.30 2.18 TDD0170 223.70 224.00 0.30 0.59 0.30 0.59 229.13 229.87 0.74 0.87 0.74 0.87 278.58 278.97 0.39 1.03 0.81 0.80 278.97 279.39 0.42 0.59 281.50 281.80 0.30 0.58 0.30 0.58 283.25 283.55 0.30 1.47 0.30 1.47 TDD0172 118.49 119.18 0.69 0.61 3.85 4.14 119.18 119.87 0.69 3.11 2.08 7.03 119.87 120.40 0.53 1.17 120.40 121.26 0.86 13.78 121.26 121.77 0.51 1.15 121.77 122.34 0.57 0.58 TDD0173 32.05 32.69 0.64 0.98 0.64 0.98 TDD0174 35.24 35.81 0.57 19.90 0.57 19.90 39.55 40.00 0.45 0.92 0.45 0.92 TDD0175 No significant results TDD0176 69.00 70.00 1.00 0.72 1.00 0.72 72.45 73.45 1.00 1.47 5.28 1.68 73.45 74.35 0.90 0.51 74.35 75.14 0.79 0.76 75.14 75.49 0.35 1.85 75.49 76.42 0.93 2.22 76.42 77.17 0.75 2.27 77.17 77.73 0.56 3.43





Figure 1. Ngula 1 best intersections to date

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2214/153003_2881471154d758e8_004full.jpg

Tembo Exploration Manager, Hendrik Meiring, commented, "The recent completed drilling provided us with additional geological information that has contributed to a more advanced understanding of possible areas of enrichment in mineralization along known existing mineralized structures at Ngula 1 and an ongoing detailed structural study will assist us in targeting future planned drilling targets and possible extension along strike of known mineralized structures."

Tembo President & CEO, David Scott, stated, "Ngula 1 target has once again returned an encouraging set of results, and highlighted the potential of the newly drilled northeast trending cross structure hosting very good mineralization. It is key that we now analyze the structural data this drilling has provided in anticipation of a resource drill out as we pursue the high-grade zones along the plunges, as well as the main gold bearers along strike and down dip."

The above information has been prepared under the supervision of Hendrik Meiring, Pr. Sci. Nat., who is designated as a "Qualified Person" with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of the data.

QA/QC

A stringent QA/QC practice is applied to all sample batches. A Verified Reference Material standard is inserted every 20th sample, a known blank or blank standard every 20th sample and all samples with assays greater than 0.5g/t are re-assayed. 1% of all samples are submitted to an alternative laboratory for check analysis. In addition the laboratory adheres to an internal QA/QC procedure including standard samples and repeats and blanks inserted independently.

Widths represent drill intersection widths not corrected for drill hole inclination and dip of the geological zone. True widths have not been determined. The drill hole inclination of 60deg and sub vertical dip of the structures suggests that the true width will be approximately 86% of the intersected width.

Drill holes have not been drilled in numerical sequence and not all drill holes in a sequence have necessarily been drilled. Drill hole numbers represent the original drill hole identification assigned when planned.

No capping of high-grade values has been applied to the assay results.

About Tembo Gold Corp.

Tembo Gold is a Canadian public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") under the symbol TEM. The Company currently has 100% interest in the Tembo Gold Project which is located adjacent to Barrick's 20Moz Bulyanhulu Mine in the prolific Lake Victoria Greenstone belt in Tanzania. Our focus is the discovery and development of world-class gold projects in Africa. The company has assembled a highly experienced team with a proven history of developing, financing, and operating mining projects in Africa. The Company's exploration strategy is to discover mineral resources as well as continue to look for additional opportunities that can bring value to the Company and shareholders.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Tembo, David Scott, President & CEO

David Scott

President & CEO

Phone: +255 767 366 146

Email: [email protected]

For more information please contact:

Simon Benstead

Director & CFO

Phone: 604-685-9316

Email: [email protected]

Marc Cernovitch

Director

Phone: 604-685-9316

Email:[email protected]

www.tembogold.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions regarding, among other things, the ability to develop the Company's properties, the economic climate in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on operations and commodity prices. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, a significant drop in the price of gold, political turmoil in Tanzania and other risk factors set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. These statements are made as at the date hereof and unless otherwise required by law, the Company does not intend, or assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/153003
ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Heritage Distribution Holdings ("HDH" or "the Company"), a leading multi-regional HVAC/R parts and equipment distribution platform serving the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, has been acquired by Beijer Ref (OM: BEIJ B), a world-leading distributor and wholesaler of cooling technology and HVAC products, headquartered in Malmo, Sweden. HDH provides Beijer Ref with a North American platform from which they can continue to drive consolidation. The transaction closed on January 20, 2023.

Beijer Ref enters the North American market through the transformative acquisition of Heritage Distribution

The Company was formed by Gryphon Investors in July 2021 from the merger of four strong regional brands, Wittichen Supply (founded in 1914), Benoist Brothers Supply (founded in 1928), Ed's Supply (founded in 1957), and Coastal Supply Company (founded in 1978). Heritage Distribution Holdings is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with 64 branches in 10 states.

Beijer Ref CEO Christopher Norbye said, "The acquisition of Heritage Distribution constitutes an important strategic step for Beijer Ref. The North American market is currently undergoing a shift towards electrification and energy efficiency, accelerated by regulatory changes. Also, the growing recognition of indoor air quality and climate change impacts has increased the demand for environmentally friendly and innovative HVAC technologies, which creates a great opportunity for our combined product offering. With our collective industry awareness and proficiency, there are many significant and valuable synergies to be unlocked. We are pleased to welcome Heritage Distribution to the Beijer Ref group and look forward to continuing their successful journey."

Heritage Distribution Holdings CEO Alex Averitt added, "We are really excited to be joining the Beijer Ref family. Personally, I am looking forward to working with Christopher and the whole Beijer Ref team to unlock the many growth opportunities that we will have. Beijer Ref has an impressive history of successful acquisitions and strong organic growth. This agreement enhances our current position in the U.S. and is expected to generate many positive outcomes for our customers and employees, who will benefit from our expanded product portfolio and value-creating synergies. Heritage Distribution Holdings and Beijer Ref share the same decentralized business model where entrepreneurial thinking and freedom with responsibility permeate the organization. Joining forces will enable us to accelerate growth and explore new development opportunities."

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

About Heritage Distribution Holdings

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Heritage Distribution Holdings is the fastest-growing HVAC/R distributor in the US. With a focus on being the market leader in each local geography, HDH is expanding its footprint by partnering with businesses that share a tenacious commitment to customers, employees, and suppliers. From after-hours emergency service, to stocking our customers' warehouses, the HDH family is fully invested in being the critical link in the supply chain that enables people to live healthier and more comfortable lives.

https://www.heritagedistribution.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/heritagedistribution/

About Beijer Ref

BEIJER REF AB (publ) is a trading Group which, through added-value products, offers its customers competitive solutions within refrigeration and climate control. Beijer Ref is one of the largest refrigeration wholesalers in the world, and is represented in 43 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North America.

https://www.beijerref.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/beijerref/

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Beijer Ref AB (publ)'s current view of future events as well as financial and operational development. Words such as "intend", "assess", "expect", "may", "plan", "estimate" and other expressions involving indications or predictions regarding future development or trends, not based on historical facts, identify forward-looking statements and reflect Beijer Ref AB (publ)'s beliefs and expectations and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions which could cause actual events and performance to differ materially from any expected future events or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement. The information contained in this press release is subject to change without notice and, except as required by applicable law, Beijer Ref AB (publ) does not assume any responsibility or obligation to update publicly or review any of the forward-looking statements contained in it and nor does it intend to. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. As a result of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE Heritage Distribution Holdings
World's largest cruise company honored on Newsweek's inaugural list recognizing the best companies in the U.S. for cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace

MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today announced it was named to the first annual listing of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023 by Newsweek. The listing recognizes the best workplaces in the U.S. for their operations, commitment to diversity, and success in cultivating an inclusive working environment. Of the 1,000 top-performing companies included on the list of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity, Carnival Corporation was the only cruise company to earn five stars, the highest possible score.

Presented by Newsweek and market research provider Plant-A Insights Group, the listing of the best U.S. workplaces for diversity was determined by a three-part evaluation scoring the top companies that employees say respect and value different kinds of people. In addition to extensive reviews of publicly available data, the evaluation was based on interviews with human resource professionals and an anonymous online survey of a diverse pool of employees at U.S. companies with 1,000 or more employees. Respondents were asked questions about corporate culture, working environment, empowerment of women, opportunities for veterans, job starters, and LGBTQ, and other subjects at both their own companies and others they were familiar with. The independent study collected over 350,000 company reviews.

"As a company, we have made it a priority to foster diversity, equity and inclusion throughout all aspects of our operation, so we are honored to be recognized by Newsweek alongside other companies who share our same commitment," said Bettina Deynes, global chief human resources officer for Carnival Corporation. "With a diverse workforce of over 160,000 team members from approximately 150 different countries, we know firsthand the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We understand that our team members are at the heart of inspiring unforgettable happiness for our guests, so we strive to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment where people from different backgrounds, experiences and walks of life can succeed."

The recognition as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity builds on a series of other distinguished honors Carnival Corporation has earned for its companywide operations and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. In 2022, Carnival Corporation was named as one of the World's Best Employers and as one of the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes, in addition to being named one of the Best Companies for Latinos by Latino Leaders Magazine. Also in 2022, the company earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2022 Corporate Equality Index, designating the company as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality for the sixth consecutive year.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have long been priorities at Carnival Corporation and the company has intentionally engineered opportunities for hiring, growth and advancement for all types of individuals. The company champions all forms of diversity, including gender, ethnicity, background, upbringing, education, geographic origin and experience.

About Carnival Corporation & plcCarnival Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest leisure travel companies with a portfolio of world-class cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK), Princess Cruises and Seabourn.

Additional information can be found on www.carnivalcorp.com, www.aida.de, www.carnival.com, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.pocruises.com, www.princess.com and www.seabourn.com.

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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc
'On Deck for a Cause' walks around the world raise money at sea for Direct Relief

SEATTLE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A fundraising effort by cruise line passengers that took place on the high seas around six different continents culminated today with a large donation for Ukrainian relief. Holland America Line presented a check for $450,000 at the Port of San Diego to the global humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief, money raised during the premium cruise line's On Deck for a Cause campaign.

Holland America Line present check for $450,000 for Ukrainian relief to global aid organization Direct Relief.

For 10 months on every cruise in the line's 11-ship fleet, guests could make a $25 donation to participate in a fundraising 5K walk during their sailing, in locales ranging from Alaska to Europe and the Panama Canal to Australia.

"Our guests and team members, who love to explore the world, wanted to do something to make a meaningful difference for families in a part of the world that desperately needs humanitarian aid," said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. "We knew our guests were generous, but their support has well exceeded our expectations, with donations totaling $450,000."

Direct Relief is a California-based charity that works in all U.S. states and territories and more than 90 countries around the world to expand access to medicine and healthcare by equipping doctors and nurses with lifesaving medical resources. It has already provided more than 1,000 tons of medical material aid requested by the Ukrainian Health Ministry.

"We're grateful to Holland America Line and its guests for this tremendous fundraising effort in which people took time during their vacations to make a difference," said Thomas Tighe, president and chief executive officer, Direct Relief. "Their support will further help us in providing lifesaving medications to Ukraine, ranging from cancer therapies to treatments for chronic health conditions."

The check presentation took place at the Port of San Diego. San Diego is Koningsdam's homeport in the winter, with more than 62,000 guests embarking several Holland America Line ships at the port during the 2022/23 season.

"We're proud that so many guests who choose the Port of San Diego were part of this fundraising effort," said Chairman Rafael Castellanos, Port of San Diego. "Californians alone account for close to 15% of Holland America Line's guest population, and the money raised is providing timely relief for the crisis in Ukraine."

The fundraising effort began in March and coincided with a pledge of $3 million to charities helping Ukrainian refugees from the family foundation of parent company Carnival Corporation's chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine. From April through September 2022, the Dutch government and City of Rotterdam chartered the Holland America Line ship Volendam as part of their larger effort to accommodate 50,000 Ukrainians who fled the war in their homeland.

Editors Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/aarjxqcw.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Holland America Blog. You can also access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America LineHolland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL and NYSE: CUK), has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years  longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

About Direct ReliefA humanitarian aid organization committed to improving the health and lives of people affected by poverty and emergencies, Direct Relief delivers lifesaving medical resources throughout the U.S. and world to communities in needwithout regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. For more information, visit https://www.DirectRelief.org.

About the Port of San DiegoThe Port of San Diego serves the people of California as a specially created district, balancing multiple uses on 34 miles along San Diego Bay spanning five cities. Collecting no tax dollars, the Port manages a diverse portfolio to generate revenues that support vital public services and amenities.

The Port champions Maritime, Waterfront Development, Public Safety, Experiences and Environment, all focused on enriching the relationship people and businesses have with our dynamic waterfront. From cargo and cruise terminals to hotels and restaurants, from marinas to museums, from 22 public parks to countless events, the Port contributes to the region's prosperity and remarkable way of life on a daily basis.

CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected]

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SOURCE Holland America Line
THE LAST HOUSE ON MULHOLLAND OFFERS A NEW HYDRATION-STATION AT THE BASE OF THE SIGN TO QUENCH TOURIST THIRST & ELIMINATE WASTE

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles, a new eco-friendly hydration station was installed at the Hollywood Sign's closest viewpoint as part of the icon's centennial celebrations.

"A new eco-friendly hydration station was installed at the closest viewpoint of the Hollywood Sign"

The Elkay outdoor tubular bottle-filler, drinking fountain, and dog bowl can be found at the landmark's premier close-up photo vista. Directly in front of the sign, the popular selfie hot spot is currently a vacant lot known as The Last House on Mulholland. It's where the pavement ends, and the trail leading to the city-wide panorama just behind the world-renowned 9-letter billboard starts. Visitors will find the new amenity at 6101 Mulholland Hwy, Los Angeles, along the well-traveled pedestrian and bicycle linkage between the eastern and western sections of Griffith Park (at 4,210 acres, the largest urban park in the country).

"This milestone is a testament to the enduring appeal and cultural significance of the iconic landmark originally built in 1923. It's a symbol of Hollywood and a must-see destination for many L.A. tourists and residents alike." says native Angeleno and owner of the Mulholland property, Steve Alper. He spearheaded the private initiative hoping to reduce the plastic waste he often finds at the crowd-pleasing spot.

"We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the celebration of the Hollywood Sign's 100th anniversary," says Molly Pajauskas, Vice President of Marketing, Zurn-Elkay Water Solutions, whose generous donation made the installation possible. "This U.S.-made hydration station will not only enhance the visitor experience, but it will also help to promote sustainability and conservation."

About The Last House on Mulholland

The ultimate branding opportunity, this unbuilt residential lot boasts the most iconic view in the country - a front-row seat to the world-famous Hollywood Sign. The Last House on Mulholland offers a rare chance to put your brand at the center of a high-traffic, heavily-photographed tourist destination. With hundreds of thousands of visitors, a future home on this lot will guarantee maximum exposure and engagement. Contact Derrick Day for more information on how your brand can capitalize on this one-of-a-kind location."

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions is a growth-oriented, pure-play water business that designs, procures, manufactures, and markets what we believe is the broadest sustainable product portfolio of solutions to improve health, hydration, human safety, and the environment. The Zurn Elkay product portfolio includes professional-grade water control and safety, water distribution and drainage, drinking water, finish plumbing, hygienic, environmental, and site works products for public and private spaces. Visit www.Zurn-Elkay.com for additional information about the company.

Media Contact: Jono Waks, email: [email protected], Jono Productions, Inc.

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SOURCE The Last House on Mulholland
The 16 oz. beverage is available in six popular flavors

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new distribution deal between Kalil Bottling Co. (Kalil) and the makers of 5-hour ENERGY kicked off on Tuesday, January 24 at the beverage distributor's headquarters in Tucson. Kalil is now distributing the new 16 oz. 5-hour ENERGY carbonated beverage to stores throughout Arizona for the first time ever.

"Our Kalil team is excited to have the opportunity to be on the ground floor of building the new 5-hour ENERGY 16 oz. beverage business, as it joins our robust portfolio that we distribute throughout the state of Arizona," said John Kalil, president of Kalil Bottling Co. "The energy category is big and growing. 5-hour ENERGY is just the brand to expand that growth even further."

Founded in 1948, Kalil is a family-owned bottling, distribution and freight transportation company with three locations in Arizona. Colloquially known as the "Good Guys at Kalil," the company employs more than 500 people and routinely gives back to their local community.

"5-hour ENERGY is one of the most recognized brands in the energy category and the undisputed leader in energy shots," said Jeff Sigouin, president of the maker of 5-hour ENERGY products. "Now we have an option for those customers who prefer full sized energy drinks, which is a much larger market. We can now meet the needs of consumers who are both tired and thirsty."

The 16 oz. carbonated energy drink launched in 2021 with three original flavors: Berry, Grape and Watermelon. The line expanded in the fall of 2022 with the announcement of three additional, bold flavors: Pineapple Splash, OrangeSicle and Tropical Burst. The cans contain the same amount of caffeine as the 1.93 oz. extra strength shots, as well as the proprietary blend of vitamins and nutrients consumers rely on.

The 16 oz. beverage is available for purchase at most stores.

About Kalil Bottling Co.

In 1948, Fred Kalil and his father, Frank, founded Kalil Bottling Co. in Tucson, Arizona. Kalil now operates out of three locations, with the support of more than 500 employees, third- and fourth-generation family members, and a large truck and vehicle fleet.

About 5-hour ENERGY

Founded by Manoj Bhargava, Living Essentials, LLC launched its 5-hour ENERGY brand in 2004. The effective formula is found in its iconic shot size and a 16-ounce carbonated drink. Trusted by hard-working people to get them through a hectic day, 5-hour ENERGY products are widely available in convenience, grocery, retail, club stores, and online outlets.

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SOURCE 5-hour ENERGY
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kushner (together with its affiliates, "Kushner"), a seasoned real estate owner and operator and one of the largest shareholders of Veris Residential (NYSE: VRE) ("Veris"), today sent a letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders:

Kushner Companies' Letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders

The full text of the letter follows:

January 31, 2023

Kushner Companies' Letter to Fellow Veris Shareholders

Dear Fellow Veris Shareholders,

We, Kushner Companies, write to you as a substantial shareholder of Veris, owning over 4.5 million shares. Over the past 10 months, we have made repeated efforts to advance a value-maximizing transaction for Veris shareholders and have been frustrated by the Veris Board's lack of constructive engagement or transparency. We know that many of you share our frustration.

When we first made a public offer of $16.00 per share on October 20, 2022, the Veris Board claimed that we did not have financing to complete the offer. We quickly substantiated our fully financed offer with assurances from our financing partners and made this fact publicly clear to other shareholders.

After we raised our offer to $18.50 per share on December 9, 2022, our financing sources directly and personally communicated their full commitment to financing our offer to Veris' financial and legal advisors at their request. Our all-cash deal offers shareholders a transaction at a nearly 50% premium over the unaffected price of $12.42 per share at market close on October 20, prior to the publication of our first offer. Despite our having delivered a fully financed proposal at $18.50 plus having indicated a willingness to potentially go higher, the Veris board has refused to provide any price guidance, let alone an actual counteroffer. Instead, the Veris Board has spent the last two months focused on trying to get us to sign a one-sided standstill agreement that would explicitly prevent us from communicating with you or from even further pursuing a transaction without the prior invitation of the Board.

On January 18, 2023, while we were actively considering executing the standstill agreementdespite our misgivings about the Veris Board's lack of transparencythe Board, without warning, unilaterally decided to withdraw from any further engagement. At the same time, the Board publicly mischaracterized the events that preceded its unilateral action. The Board's abrupt decision to terminate discussions with us and to offer a misleading public narrative heightened our suspicions regarding the Board's objectives.

On January 19, 2023, we issued a press release to correct the public record and make clear that we remain interested in a transaction. Since that public statement, we have heard from multiple other significant shareholders of Veris expressing support for a value-maximizing transaction. Since the Veris Board's abrupt change of course, we have also continued to seek price discovery from the Board's financial and legal advisors, all to no avail.

The Veris Board has consistently demonstrated a reluctance to explain what they believe is the Company's fair value and why that value is justified. Instead, they have insisted on our execution of a broad and one-sided standstill as a precondition to any meaningful price discovery. The restrictions which your Board wants to impose on us in any negotiation process would severely limit our ability to transparently communicate with you or to take steps that would benefit all shareholders. As we have communicated time and again to the Board, we are concerned, based on its actions to date, that the Board and management team are entrenched, with no desire to engage in a genuine dialogue that might lead to a high premium, all-cash sale of the Company.

Despite your Board's ongoing intransigence, our objective has not changedwe are prepared to execute a transaction at a price that fairly values your shares. Our fully financed all-cash offer for $18.50 remains outstanding, as does, for now, our willingness to constructively engage with the Board to see if we can go higher. Our patience, however, is not endless, and we are actively considering all other alternatives. We remain hopeful that the Board can be persuaded to engage transparently with us in the interests of all shareholders. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT THE VERIS BOARD AND EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS DIRECTLY.

If you have any questions, please contact us:

For all media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]

Investor Contact:Bruce Goldfarb / Pat McHughOkapi Partners LLC(212) 297-0720[email protected]

Thank you for your support.Sincerely,

Charles KushnerChairman, Kushner

About KushnerFounded in New Jersey in 1985, Kushner is a diversified real estate organization responsible for the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of properties through the country. Kushner currently owns and operates over 21,000 units across the country, with a strong presence in New Jersey, and has a multifamily development pipeline of over 9,300 units.

For all media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]

Investor Contact:Bruce Goldfarb / Pat McHughOkapi Partners LLC(212) 297-0720[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kushner-companies-letter-to-fellow-veris-shareholders-301735294.html

SOURCE Kushner
American Lung Association launches Patient & Caregiver Network to provide support, education and access to research for people with lung disease and their families

CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 34 million Americans live with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer and other lung diseases. To provide these individuals and their families with critical support, education and access to emerging research like clinical trials, today, the American Lung Association announced the Patient & Caregiver Network.

"Many lung diseases like COPD and asthma are life-long journeys. A diagnosis can be scary and lung diseases are often very isolating. Fortunately, new research is resulting in better treatments so that people with lung disease are living longer, healthier lives," said Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association. "Our new Patient & Caregiver Network is the go-to resource for anyone living with a lung disease and their families."

"For someone living with COPD or any lung disease, it is critical to advocate for yourself and connect with others to learn how to live better with this disease," said Midge Wilson, who is living with COPD and an active member of the American Lung Association's COPD Patient Advisory Group. "Knowledge is power, and the Patient & Caregiver Network provides you with that knowledge."

The Patient & Caregiver Network, formerly known as the Better Breathers Network, provides people living with lung disease and their caregivers who join (members) with three critical areas of information to help them live better with lung disease:

Support: By joining the Patient & Caregiver Network, members can connect with peers who are going through the same challenges through 11 online support communities hosted on Inspire.com covering a wide range of topics from lung cancer to asthma, COPD, long COVID, pulmonary fibrosis and more. Members can also attend in-person Better Breathers Clubs across the country. Education: Through the network, members regularly receive information and resources through e-newsletters, invitations to live and on-demand webcasts, and access to member resources like breathing exercise videos, nutrition tips, medication device demonstrations and more at Lung.org/PCN-Resource-Center. Research : The Patient & Caregiver Network provides access to cutting-edge research on lung disease, such as information on clinical trials through the Lung Association's website , connection to research studies being conducted at the Airways Clinical Research Centers ( ACRC ) and simplified versions of new research studies at Lung.org/Research-News.

The Patient & Caregiver Network is possible thanks to support from our national sponsors, Inspire and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

To join The Patient & Caregiver Network, visit Lung.org/PCN.

About the American Lung Association

The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org.

American Lung Association  55 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 1150  Chicago, IL 606011331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 1425 North  Washington, D.C. 200041-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) Lung.org

CONTACT: Jill Dale, American Lung AssociationP: 312-940-7001, M: 720-438-8289, E: [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-program-offers-critical-resources-to-the-34-million-americans-living-with-lung-disease-301733986.html

SOURCE American Lung Association
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SoutheastHEALTH announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with St. Louis-based Mercy to join the health system as a full member. The letter of intent culminates a search process involving the SoutheastHEALTH selection committee, Southeast Hospital board of directors and SoutheastHEALTH System board of directors.

Mercy is the best strategic fit. Mercy fully supports strengthening access to affordable health care for all residents.

SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Ken Bateman said, "We've achieved our goal, to focus on alignment with a health system that demonstrates a strong willingness to make SoutheastHEALTH a regional hub in southeast Missouri and the greater tri-state area it serves. Mercy is the best strategic fit for both entities and this vision. With a proven track record in community health, Mercy fully supports strengthening access to affordable primary and specialty health care for all residents in the communities we serve."

Bateman also said that while Mercy's scale is important, this alignment is also a great fit for SoutheastHEALTH's culture and is good for the community.

"We look forward to the opportunity to provide even more access to high-quality, lower-cost health care for the Cape Girardeau community," said Steve Mackin, Mercy president and CEO. "By joining together, we will utilize Mercy's extensive network of resources and services to further position SoutheastHEALTH as the regional hub for industry leading health care. We are very excited to have the potential to serve in this part of Missouri."

SoutheastHEALTH System Board Chairman, Dr. Jim Dufek, said "I'm pleased with the thoughtfulness of the process and the engagement of individuals represented across the health system and the community."

He added that the alignment of the two health systems has the full support of the board of directors and is being communicated to employees and physicians at a series of meetings starting today. Dufek estimates a definitive agreement will be completed this summer with integration taking place this fall.

About SoutheastHEALTH

At SoutheastHEALTH, the premier health care system in southeast Missouri, our patients receive excellent care of the highest clinical quality, close to home. Within our network are more than 51 care locations in 11 communities, including hospitals, primary and specialty care clinics representing over 30 clinical specialties and extending care for patients in a four-state area. Learn more at SEhealth.org.

About Mercy

Mercy, one of the 25 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized quality care and one of the nation's largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 4,000 Mercy Clinic physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 40,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southeasthealth-signs-letter-of-intent-to-join-together-with-mercy-301733981.html

SOURCE Mercy
ABU DHABI, UAE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, President-Designate for COP28, and Chairman of Masdar, yesterday conferred with His Excellency Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, as part of the French Minister's visit to the United Arab Emirates.

In the perspective of the COP28 climate change conference, the UAE and France have agreed to launch a bilateral program that combines French and Emirati expertise to develop commercial and investable opportunities to accelerate clean energy development, notably in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate (HTA) industries, including clean hydrogen solutions for mobility.

The initiative builds on the partnership successes between Emirati and French companies in the clean and renewable energy sector. Industrial leaders from both countries have partnered in the development, investment, and operation of over 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean and renewable energy programs across the globe, notably two of the largest single-site solar projects in the world, located in the UAE, and mobilized over US$6 billion in investment, displacing some 10 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The program's operations will be officially launched during COP28, the 28th session of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Dubai in November this year. The program aims to build on the joint commitment of both countries to accelerate the identification and financing of projects, and support companies contributing to the development of new clean energy solutions with the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of economic sectors.

The program will aim to implement projects focusing primarily on the decarbonization of HTA industries and to support companies that have developed new clean energy solutions in green hydrogen and sustainable fuel, leveraging the origination, industrial expertise, and financing capabilities of public and private entities from both countries. Where appropriate, the governments of both countries will explore leveraging public financing tools to facilitate eligible climate-friendly projects. The initiative will focus efforts mainly in the two nations, with a focus on low-carbon hydrogen and sustainable fuel production and their respective value chains.

Through this bilateral program, the UAE and France will endeavor to deliver tangible, positive impacts in the dimensions of climate change mitigation and adaptation and optimize the impact of their climate-oriented projects on biodiversity. The investable opportunities will be developed jointly, with Masdar leading on the UAE side of the partnership, and aim to fully align with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, with each opportunity being assessed based on the relevant and internationally accepted methodology.

HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: "This initiative builds on the long-standing partnership between the UAE and France to take advantage of practical, commercial opportunities for low carbon growth that will accelerate the energy transition and promote climate action and sustainable economic development in both our countries and across the globe. Leveraging our combined technological and energy expertise, we will intensify our efforts to promote renewable and zero carbon energies to decarbonize economies and in particular hard-to-abate sectors. As the UAE prepares to host COP28, we are intent on making it a COP of Action and a COP for all. We are extending an open invitation to the world to join us in constructive efforts to raise ambition, move from deliberation to delivery and achieve the central goal of the Paris Agreement to keep 1.5 alive."

French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire said: "This targeted program will leverage synergies between public and private sectors from both countries to accelerate the implementation of impactful projects of clean energy development for transportation. I am very happy of this new illustration of France-UAE strategic partnership and our common objective to raise ambitions towards COP28".

For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae and connect: facebook.com/masdar.ae and twitter.com/Masdar

About Masdar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the UAE's clean energy champion and one of the largest companies of its kind in the world, advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Established in 2006, Masdar is today active in over 40 countries, helping them to achieve their clean energy objectives and advance sustainable development. Masdar is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and under this ownership the company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tons by the same year.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1992903/Masdar.jpgLogo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1973446/Masdar_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-uae-and-france-agree-to-form-bilateral-partnership-to-focus-on-the-decarbonization-of-hard-to-abate-hta-industries-301734593.html

SOURCE Masdar
BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund

Summary Prospectus | February 1, 2023

Class Tickers A DBMAX C DBMCX I SDSCX Y DBMYX Z DBMZX

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus and other information about the fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at http://im.bnymellon.com/literaturecenter. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected] . The fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, dated February 1, 2023 (each as revised or supplemented), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the fund or shares of other funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds that are subject to a sales charge. More information about sales charges, including these and other discounts and waivers, is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 11 of the prospectus, in the Appendix on page A-1 of the prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Class A Class C Class I Class Y Class Z Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases

(as a percentage of offering price) 5.75 none none none none Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) none * 1.00 none none none Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Class A Class C Class I Class Y Class Z Management fees .60 .60 .60 .60 .60 Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees none .75 none none .12 Other expenses: Administration fees .01 .01 .01 .01 .01 Shareholder services fees .25 .25 none none none Miscellaneous other expenses .12 .16 .13 .03 .06 Total other expenses .38 .42 .14 .04 .07 Total annual fund operating expenses .98 1.77 .74 .64 .79

* Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.



6921SP0223

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Class A (with or without redemption at end of period) $669 $869 $1,086 $1,707 Class C (with redemption at end of period) $280 $557 $959 $2,084 Class C (without redemption at end of period) $180 $557 $959 $2,084 Class I (with or without redemption at end of period) $76 $237 $411 $918 Class Y (with or without redemption at end of period) $65 $205 $357 $798 Class Z (with or without redemption at end of period) $81 $252 $439 $978

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 28.58% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of small-cap and mid-cap U.S. companies. The fund currently considers small-cap and mid-cap companies to be those companies with total market capitalizations that are equal to or less than the total market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2500 TM Growth Index (the Index), the fund's benchmark index. As of December 31, 2022, the market capitalization of the largest company in the Index was approximately $20.479 billion.

The fund's sub-adviser, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC, an affiliate of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., employs a growth-oriented investment style in managing the fund's portfolio, which means the sub-adviser seeks to identify those small-cap and mid-cap companies which are experiencing or are expected to experience rapid earnings or revenue growth. The sub-adviser focuses on high quality companies and individual stock selection, instead of trying to predict which industries or sectors will perform best, and select stocks by:

 Using fundamental research to identify and follow companies considered to have attractive characteristics, such as strong business and competitive positions, solid cash flows and balance sheets, high quality management and high sustainable growth; and

 Investing in a company when the sub-adviser's research indicates that the company will experience accelerating revenues and expanding operating margins, which may lead to rising estimate trends and favorable earnings surprises.

The fund's investment strategy may lead it to emphasize certain sectors, such as information technology, communication services, health care, consumer discretionary and industrials.

The sub-adviser monitors the securities in the fund's portfolio, and will consider selling a security if the company's business momentum deteriorates or valuation becomes excessive. The fund also may sell a security if an event occurs that contradicts the sub-adviser's rationale for purchasing it for the fund, such as deterioration in the company's financial fundamentals. In addition, the fund may sell a security if better investment opportunities emerge elsewhere or if the fund's industry or sector weightings change.

Principal Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

 Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising

BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund Summary 2

prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general market conditions or because of factors that affect the particular company or the company's industry.

 Small and midsize company risk. Small and midsize companies carry additional risks because the operating histories of these companies tend to be more limited, their earnings and revenues less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices more volatile than those of larger, more established companies. The shares of smaller companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the fund's ability to sell these securities.

 Growth stock risk. Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate. If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase.

 Market risk. The value of the securities in which the fund invests may be affected by political, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed-income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the fund. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies world-wide. Recent examples include pandemic risks related to COVID-19 and aggressive measures taken world-wide in response by governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines of large populations, and by businesses, including changes to operations and reducing staff.

 Market sector risk. To the extent the fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market.

 Liquidity risk . When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value.

 Management risk. The investment process used by the fund's sub-adviser could fail to achieve the fund's investment goal and cause your fund investment to lose value.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class I shares from year to year. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information may be available at www.im.bnymellon.com .

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)

Class I Best Quarter

Q2, 2020: 45.31%

Worst Quarter

Q2, 2022: -26.92%

After-tax performance is shown only for Class I shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns

BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund Summary 3

before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

For the fund's Class Y and Z shares, periods prior to the inception date reflect the performance of the fund's Class I shares. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses; if such fees and expenses had been reflected, the performance shown for Class Z shares for such periods would have been lower. Each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes have different expenses.

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/22) Class (Inception Date) 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years Class I returns before taxes -33.20% 8.12% 11.46% Class I returns after taxes on distributions -33.20% 6.79% 9.69% Class I returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares -19.65% 6.52% 9.12% Class A returns before taxes -37.15% 6.62% 10.55% Class C returns before taxes -34.57% 7.04% 10.33% Class Y (7/1/13) returns before taxes -33.11% 8.22% 11.56% Class Z (1/19/18) returns before taxes -33.22% 8.06% 11.43% Russell 2500 TM Growth Index reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes -26.21% 5.97% 10.62%

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (BNYM Investment Adviser). BNYM Investment Adviser has engaged its affiliate, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (NIMNA), to serve as the fund's sub-adviser.

The fund is managed by a team of investment professionals employed by NIMNA. The team members who are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio are John Porter, the lead portfolio manager, Karen Behr, Todd W. Wakefield, CFA, and Robert C. Zeuthen, CFA. Mr. Porter has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since March 2017, and is Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equity at NIMNA. Ms. Behr has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since September 2021, and is a portfolio manager at NIMNA. Mr. Wakefield has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since September 2005, and is a research analyst at NIMNA. Mr. Zeuthen has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since April 2013, and is a research analyst at NIMNA.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, for each share class, other than Class Y, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. Class Z shares generally are not available for new accounts. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.im.bnymellon.com . If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or through a Retirement Plan (as defined below), you may mail your request to sell shares to BNY Mellon Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to BNY Mellon Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions.

Retirement Plans include qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plans, such as 401(k), 403(b)(7), Keogh, pension, profit-sharing and other deferred compensation plans, whether established by corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profit entities, trade or labor unions, or state and local governments, but do not include IRAs (including, without limitation, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRA Rollover Accounts or IRAs set up under Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP-IRAs), Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SARSEPs) or Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE IRAs)).

Tax Information

The fund's distributions are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through an IRA, Retirement Plan or other U.S. tax-advantaged investment plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund Summary 4

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund's distributor and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund's distributor and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.

BNY Mellon Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund Summary 5

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A new Air Force ROTC scholarship will award up to $18,000 annually to all third- and fourth-year cadets selected for commissioning at the time of their college graduation, according to the service.

The Brig. Gen. Charles A. McGee Leadership Award, named after one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, is aimed at helping would-be officers finish their education.

The award is one way we can support those who demonstrate talent and desire to serve on their path, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the Air Force chief of staff, said last week at a ceremony at the University of Maryland to introduce the scholarship with McGees relatives. McGee died a year ago at the age of 102.

It provides up to $18,000 per year for tuition or $10,000 annually in housing assistance. All cadets who have successfully completed field training and entered the Professional Officer Course at the start of their junior year and who are not already receiving ROTC scholarship money are eligible.

For the first time, all qualified cadets will be offered a scholarship at some point in their college career under the new program, the Air Force said.

As a result, there will be less scholarship funding for high school seniors seeking a four-year Air Force ROTC college scholarship. Fewer than 500 of the awards are likely to be offered in the 2022-2023 application cycle, according to Military Scholarship Consulting, a team of retired and former military officers that help students navigate the ROTC scholarship process.

That compares to 1,000 last year and more than 2,000 the year before, the company says on its website.

The Air Force has said its rebalancing its ROTC scholarship offerings rather than adding more money to the program, according to an Air and Space Forces magazine report published Monday.

Historically, about 40% of Air Force ROTC cadets received scholarships, and most were awarded to high school seniors, according to the service.

The remainder generally were given to college freshmen and sophomore cadets. But the Air Force did not always see a return on its investment with younger cadets on scholarship.

Cadets who receive a scholarship out of high school can drop out of the ROTC program after their freshman year without having to pay the money back. Those who leave after their sophomore year are not required to join the Air Force.

Cadets typically incur a service obligation during the last two years of a four-year ROTC program.

The new scholarship is not tied to any academic majors but may be used only for undergraduate studies, according to the Air Force. Cadets must commission by age 31 to be eligible for it.
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter seized millions of dollars in illegal drugs this week in the Gulf of Oman, the latest in a string of maritime drug busts in the Middle East that have netted more than $1 billion worth of narcotics since 2021, officials said.

USCGC Emlen Tunnell was patrolling in international waters Monday when it seized hashish and methamphetamine worth an estimated $33 million from a fishing vessel, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement Tuesday.

The bust was the first in 2023 for Combined Maritime Forces, a 38-member multinational task force focused on countering smuggling, piracy and other illegal operations, according to the statement.

The cutter was operating as part of Combined Task Force 150, one of four CMF task forces.

Over the previous six months, CTF 150 ships have logged more than 10,000 hours on regional patrols and intercepted six shipments of illegal drugs  including opium, heroin, hashish and meth  worth more than $250 million, according to the Navy.

Earlier this month, three U.S. Navy ships seized more than 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel, also in international waters in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen.
(Tribune News Service)  A Ghost Ship was abandoned off the Outer Banks coast, sparking a century-long mystery in North Carolina.

The ship had no crew on board when it was found battered near Cape Hatteras on Jan. 31, 1921. Adding to the mystery, food was still on the stove , and the captains cabin was left in disarray, the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources wrote on the 102-year anniversary of the shipwrecks discovery.

The crew had vanished like ghosts , the state agency wrote in 2018. Gone with them were personal belongings, key navigational equipment, some papers, and the ships anchors. Despite an exhaustive investigation by the FBI, no trace of the crew or the ships logs has ever been uncovered.

Officials also dont know why the ship  called the Carroll A. Deering  crashed in the first place.

Various explanations for the wreck surfaced, including pirates, mutiny, and the effects of the ship having travelled through the Bermuda Triangle, a region in the Atlantic Ocean that has been associated with past disappearances, according to state officials and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But one curious item did remain on the ship  a six-toed cat that still had descendants living along the North Carolina coast decades later, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum wrote on Facebook in 2017.

The ships mystery unfolded as it returned to Virginia from a trip abroad. The Maine-based G. G. Deering Company constructed the five-masted ship, among the last wooden schooners built before their eclipse by iron shipbuilding, historians said.

On Jan. 29, 1921, someone aboard the Cape Lookout Lightship reported seeing the Deering with crew members milling about and hearing that the vessel lost its anchors. The Deering also was spotted the next day, seemingly steering a peculiar course, according to the National Park Service.

Then on Jan. 31, 1921, the Coast Guard reportedly spotted the ship with its sails set and lifeboats gone.

When the seas calmed four days later and the Coast Guard was able to reach the ship, it was clear the vessel had been abandoned, experts said.

A document that state officials shared with McClatchy News reports that people boarded the ship and discovered the table set for dinner with hot coffee in the pot and everything aboard the ship in the same condition it would have been had the crew left only a few minutes before. On a sewing machine was a waist which the captains wife had been making, while toys used by the captains sons were on the floor.

The Deering was later blown up to help keep others safe on the water. The ship was moved, and pieces and parts of that and possibly other unlucky vessels sometimes appear on Ocracoke Island after storms, Nathan Henry, assistant state archaeologist, told McClatchy News in an email.

Over 1,000 shipwrecks lie in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, an area off the Outer Banks barrier islands where geographic features called shoals create deadly risks for boaters. The Deering was found at Diamond Shoals, a cluster of shifting, underwater sandbars that ... extend for miles in varying directions, McClatchy News reported in 2021.

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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  The U.S. military presence in South Korea will be more visible in the near future due to North Koreas continued threat to regional security, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday on his third trip to South Korea.

Austin, speaking to reporters in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, reaffirmed the United States commitment to South Koreas defense.

The focus of Austins trip, which will include a stop in the Philippines, is to strengthen the military relationship with U.S. allies and to address the sharp uptick in destabilizing Chinese operational behavior in the region, according to a Pentagon news release Sunday.

Austin said talks with Lee earlier Tuesday were highly productive and he expressed his unwavering commitment to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Our ultimate goal is peace and not conflict, Austin told reporters. And toward that end, our countries have worked side by side to deter large-scale conflict, to strengthen our combined capabilities and to defend the rules-based international order that keeps us all secure.

Due to North Koreas unprecedented number of provocations, Austin plans more military exercises in South Korea similar to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan's visit to Busan in September and air-power exercises involving B-52 Stratofortress bombers and F-22 Raptors in December, he said.

You can look for more of that kind of activity going forward, Austin said. But in addition to that, you can look to see deeper consultation between our two countries and leadership.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have scheduled a tabletop exercise in February that will include a scenario based on North Koreas nuclear threat, according to a news release Thursday from the Ministry of National Defense.

North Korea fired roughly 75 missiles last year in 36 separate days of testing, including a ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan and prompted residents to seek shelter. The communist regime last fired a short-range ballistic missile on Jan. 1.

Lee said his country and the U.S. will continue to strengthen their extended deterrence, a policy that refers to the range of military options with Washington and its allies against an adversary.

To that end, Austin said South Korea has at its disposal the full range of U.S. defense capabilities including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities.

In addition to 28,500 troops deployed in South Korea, U.S. military assets in the country include a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile system deployed there since 2017.
TOKYO  People in Japan are warming to the idea of a stronger defense policy amid challenges from China, Russia and North Korea, according to a recent poll.

The Nikkei Research survey of 1,663 Japanese adults between October and November showed 49% backed an expanded role in the U.S.-Japan alliance while 46% opposed it.

Thats up from 41% who wanted a bigger role for Japan in the alliance and 53% who were against it in 2020. A 2021 survey showed 46% in favor and 49% against, the Nikkei newspaper reported Jan. 25.

When people were asked if they were worried Japan might be attacked, 83% said they were concerned while 14% said they werent. Of those concerned, 54% said Japan should boost its role in the U.S.-Japan alliance, according to the poll.

North Korean and Chinese missile launches near Japan and Russias invasion of Ukraine kept security issues in the news last year.

In the latest poll, 89% of respondents saw China as a threat, 87% felt threatened by North Korea, and 90% saw Russia as a threat.

A defense budget totaling $51.4 billion, Japans largest ever, was approved by the countrys Cabinet in December. It includes $1.59 billion to acquire U.S. Tomahawk missiles and $963 million to develop and manufacture improved surface-to-ship guided missiles.

That month, Japans government said it was seeking counterstrike capabilities that would target launch sites on enemy territory.

The Nikkei poll may encourage some otherwise fainthearted politicians and bureaucrats to support boosting Japans defense capabilities, according to retired Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.

In recent years, Japans public has had a better sense of whats needed to defend their nation than the countrys ruling class, he said in an email Monday.

As for Japan doing more in the US-Japan alliance: its about time, he said.

The Nikkei Research poll shows public support for a more forward leaning defense policy, agreed Brad Glosserman, deputy director and visiting professor at the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo.

In the past the government might have used negative figures  the old (poll) numbers - to fend off US demands for more activism by Japan, but no longer, he said in an email Monday.

A problem is that the poll doesnt address support for spending more on defense, which doesnt appear to have public support, Glosserman said.

Tokyo and Washington will welcome the poll results, James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple Universitys Japan campus, said in an email the same day.

[Japans ruling political party] has been steadily leading Japan towards a position in which it can make a larger contribution to the alliance, he said. A big step in that direction was the reinterpretation of the constitution to permit collective self-defense. At the time, that change provoked large public protests. Now it seems most of the public is on board and is willing for the government to go further. The government has led, and the public is following.
(Tribune News Service)  How do you destroy pollution so stubborn its nicknamed forever chemicals?

Thats a question researchers and companies across the country are eager to answer, as regulation tightens on PFAS  per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances  and the chemicals producers face a mountain of lawsuits.

The chemicals are in fast-food wrappers, firefighting foams, nonstick cookware and dental floss. They dont break down readily in the environment, they flow easily with water and research has linked them to health effects like immune and fertility problems and some cancers.

Getting rid of the harmful chemicals is a multibillion-dollar elephant in front of us, said Corey Theriault, a technical expert focused on PFAS treatment at the engineering and consulting firm Arcadis.

PFAS have been destroyed via incineration, but there are questions about how thoroughly burning works. The Defense Department halted the practice of burning these chemicals last year.

Everyone from municipal water providers to Fortune 100 companies have shown interest in the technologies, Theriault said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering a contract to handle, destroy and replace firefighting foam that is rich in PFAS, worth some $800 million, according to the governments solicitation document.

PFAS became so popular in consumer goods because of the durable carbon-fluorine bond that makes up the links in short-chain and long-chain versions of the chemicals. These bonds help repel stains, water and grease, and cut off oxygen to dangerous blazes.

But that chemical bond also is exceedingly hard to break.

Many methods being tested to eliminate PFAS have been used in other chemical cleanups. Engineers are trying to burst the molecules in modified pressure cookers, split them with UV light and energized additives, rupture the PFAS chains with electricity or strip apart atoms with cold plasma, a charged and reactive gas.

No technology has yet been deployed on a large scale, but Theriault said those furthest along in development could be ready in the next six to 18 months.

However, none of these technologies will directly treat a contaminated water source. First, the water would have to be filtered so that the PFAS ends up in a concentrate that is more cost-effective to treat. The state of Minnesota already uses a machine that sucks PFAS out of contaminated groundwater by repeatedly stirring the groundwater into a foam, where the chemicals tend to collect.

The cost per volume of liquid to treat for these destructive approaches is much higher, said Timothy Strathmann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He is developing a destruction method called hydrothermal alkaline treatment, or HALT, that he described as a pressure cooker on steroids.

The need for a concentrated chemical soup for experiments has led at least a dozen companies to pitch their products to Minnesota, because the state already is creating it with its filtering machine, said Drew Tarara, a geologist and program manager with AECOM, an engineering firm.

It does feel like everybodys trying to get their foot in the door, Tarara said.

Minnesota is partnering with AECOM to investigate new technologies. The first six months of this pilot study cost $500,000, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokeswoman Andrea Cournoyer wrote in an email.

Next, Minnesota will use the De-Fluoro system, an electrochemical approach marketed by AECOM, to try to destroy the PFAS in its foamy concentrate.

The state faces a decades-long PFAS contamination problem in the east metro area, where Maplewood-based 3M Co., one of the original PFAS developers and manufacturers, polluted groundwater with leaky landfills and disposal sites. Money from a lawsuit the state settled with 3M in 2018 is paying for the work being done today with AECOM.

3M recently announced it would stop using the chemicals in its products by 2025. But the challenge of cleaning up whats already in the environment remains.

The De-Fluoro unit is still very much in field testing, Tarara said. It will be tested at the Washington County landfill for up to six weeks, where it will process the states collected PFAS concentrate, but Tarara and state officials have been cautious in describing what De-Fluoro may do. Rebecca Higgins, a senior hydrogeologist at the MPCA, previously told the Star Tribune that De-Fluoro may only be able to snap long-chain PFAS into shorter segments rather than destroy them.

State officials have said they want to test other technologies, too. Cournoyer wrote that any additional systems would be selected in accordance with state procurement rules, and officials also will be monitoring scientific literature for reports on other technologies.

The world of PFAS destruction is rife with proprietary methods and nondisclosure agreements, making it hard to assess what actually works. One notable exception is a study published in the journal Science last year that saw researchers boil the chemicals with two other compounds on low heat. But that method still is in lab testing.

Companies such as Claros Technologies, a Minnesota-based startup, are mostly mum about who exactly owns the PFAS waste theyre experimenting on, because those partners may have legal liabilities. That makes it hard to validate the companys stated results: 99.9% to 99.99% destruction of PFAS, when treated with UV light and an additive.

Those Claros tests arent being verified in peer-reviewed scientific journals either because the process is proprietary.

John Brockgreitens, the director of research and development for Claros, said the company hopes one day to treat tens of thousands of gallons of liquid daily. But he admitted its hard to answer detailed questions about the results of the companys photochemical method.

We talk to teams of scientists, and they ask us the same thing, he said. Walking that line is a challenge.

Theriault, who said his firm remains agnostic on what technologies it recommends to its clients, said Arcadis had partnered with Claros and that their method has definitely shown its promise to be useful in more applications than other methods.

There is no one technology thats going to crush it across the board, Theriault said.

But for the communities facing pollution, the technologies cant come soon enough, because current waste-handling methods arent containing the chemicals.

Any landfill will fail. It doesnt matter how theyre built, said Rainer Lohmann, director of the University of Rhode Islands STEEP lab and an authority on PFAS contamination.

Many landfills no longer accept waste known to be contaminated with PFAS, sources said.

And until a regulator, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, sets standards for how thoroughly PFAS need to be destroyed, no official benchmark exists for new technologies, Lohmann said.

Does it destroy 95%, 99%? What do you do with the rest? he said.

This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and the Society of Environmental Journalists, funded by the Walton Family Foundation.

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A former naval officer from New Hampshire, who is accused of making threatening phone calls to his ex-wife and sending malicious letters to her mother in Iowa, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges, officials say.

Luis De Leon, 30, of Middleton, Mass., is accused of making threatening communications across state lines, including calls to his ex-wife where he allegedly made several threatening statements, according to U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins.

Youre gonna f****** pay! Do you understand!? There will be death! There will be war in the street! You wanna to go war!? Ill take you to f****** war! Leon reportedly said, according to charging documents. These calls were made around on or about April 30, 2022, according to prosecutors.

The calls were made by De Leon from a cell phone belonging to another person, investigators allege in court documents. De Leon reportedly made the call while in Methuen and his ex-wife was located in Iowa. Part of the call was filmed by a person sitting next to De Leons ex-wife.

During the call, De Leon also reportedly threatened to kill his ex-wife, with whom he has a daughter.

Then there were letters to his ex-wifes mother while he was held in custody at a Middleton jail.

In May 2022, police arrested De Leon in Lawrence for unrelated reasons, and he was charged for carrying a hatchet knife, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, threatening to commit a crime and motor vehicle offenses, court documents state.

While incarcerated, De Leon sent two letters with threats to his ex-wifes mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

He allegedly wrote, Ill be heading over there soon [] God help you and your dysfunctional family if you try and stop me.

I wont be alone either just so you know and thats for your safety NOT MINE!!! [] If you dont believe me just look where Im sending this from. I dont really have much else to lose, and do you know what men with nothing left to lose usually do?

As part of the threats, De Leon quoted lyrics believed to be from a Metallica song called Unforgiven followed by more threats of violence, an investigator wrote in court documents.

In the threats, De Leon made numerous references to his daughter, and according to court documents, De Leon had been prohibited from making contact with his ex-wife and was precluded from visitation rights with his daughter.

Leon is a former naval police officer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire and he was previously arrested and charged with a criminal complaint on Sept. 26, 2022, according to the U.S. Attorneys office. De Leon was employed by the naval shipyard from June 2021 until June 2022. He was placed on administrative leave in March 2022, and as part of his job, he had access to weapons, court documents state.

The charge of making threatening communications in interstate commerce can lead to up sentencing of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

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The U.S. has successfully tested another hypersonic missile, bringing the military a step closer to having an operational version of the weapon in its arsenal, developers said.

Hypersonic missiles travel at least five times the speed of sound and are being developed to strike targets from extremely long distances on short notice.

The U.S. has been under pressure to establish its hypersonic capabilities after Chinese and Russian announcements of successful tests and growing concern that its program is lagging behind those of its adversaries.

Completed in January at an unspecified location, the test was part of a project known as the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept, or HAWC, developed by the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a DARPA statement Monday said.

HAWC missiles use air-breathing engines to stay aloft, allowing them to fly at lower altitudes and maneuver over distances to destroy targets with kinetic energy rather than explosive warheads.

The Lockheed Martin missile, with its Aerojet Rocketdyne scramjet engine, was launched from an Air Force B-52 bomber, the statement said, adding that it exceeded Mach 5, which is roughly 3,800 mph, and flew over 300 nautical miles at more than 60,000 feet in altitude.

It followed a similar test in March and an initial HAWC test in September 2021 that used a Raytheon Technologies missile with a Northrop Grumman scramjet engine.

This months flight added an exclamation point to the most successful hypersonic airbreathing flight test program in U.S. history, Walter Price, an Air Force deputy for the HAWC program, was quoted in Mondays statement as saying.

Overall, it was the fourth successful flight of the HAWC program since 2021.

Tests of other hypersonic systems at times havent been so lucky. In June, a test of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body, a joint venture between the Navy and Army, failed because of an anomaly, according to the Pentagon.

The AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, a hypersonic air-to-ground missile planned for use by the Air Force, suffered a series of failures when testing began a few years ago, but it has recently seen more success.

Hypersonic missiles would be harder for enemies to detect and avoid compared with conventional anti-ballistic missiles. But making them controllable and practical are continuing obstacles.

Officials say the data gathered from this months test are still being analyzed and will be used to advance the program to a more rigorous phase.
The Department of Veterans Affairs shelled out about $201 million in retroactive benefits over the past two years to nearly 7,000 blue water Navy Vietnam War veterans and their survivors in connection to exposure to Agent Orange, a veterans advocacy group said Monday.

The VA recently informed the National Veterans Legal Services Program that since 2021 it had paid that amount in back benefits to 6,922 Navy veterans who served on ships in open sea off the shore of Vietnam, the NVLSP said in a news release.

The veterans group had taken the VA to court in 2020 seeking the retroactive benefits.

The payment report was among the other requirements in a Nov. 5, 2020, ruling by the U.S. District Court for Northern California in favor of thousands of veterans who were exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange while serving on ships within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam.

U.S. forces fought in South and North Vietnam from the early 1960s until 1973.

The U.S. sprayed just over 11 million gallons of Agent Orange to defoliate jungle during the extended war. The chemical caused multi-generational birth defects to Vietnamese inhabitants and a host of diseases among U.S. veterans who had been exposed during service.

NVLSP attorneys filed suit against the VA in 1986 challenging, among other things, the agencys regulation maintaining that only chloracne, a rare skin disease caused by exposure to dioxins, was associated with exposures to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the war.

A federal court invalidated that regulation in 1989, as well as all decisions made by the VA based on it.

In 1991, the veterans attorneys negotiated a consent decree with the VA that requires the agency to recognize emerging scientific evidence about the effects of Agent Orange exposure.

The VA must also identify previously denied claims involving newly recognized diseases and pay disability and death benefits retroactive to the date of the claims.

In the decades since that consent decree, medical research has found a positive association between Agent Orange exposure and about a dozen forms of cancer, diabetes, ischemic heart disease and Parkinsons.

Those links have led to the VA paying out about $4.9 billion in retroactive disability and death benefits to hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans and their surviving family members, the news release said.

Congress passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act in 2019, which granted a presumption that veterans who served on ships off the Vietnam coast were exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides.

But that legislation did not require the VA to automatically assess whether a veteran or survivor was entitled to retroactive compensation due to a prior denial.

Under the 2019 law, back compensation was triggered only if a veteran or survivor files a claim after Jan. 1, 2020, and specifically identifies the Agent Orange-related disease that was the subject of the earlier denied claim.

The law also did not require the VA to pay retroactive compensation if the blue water Vietnam veteran had been wrongly denied but is now dead.

In July 2020, NVLSP filed a motion in federal court on behalf of thousands of blue water veterans and their survivors arguing that the terms negotiated under the 1991 consent decree had been breached in light of the provisions of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act.

Four months later in November 2020, the federal court ordered the VA to automatically readjudicate thousands of benefits claims that the Court found had been wrongly denied under the Consent Decree, the news release said.
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(Tribune News Service)  At least two of the three state-run veterans homes would be required to create single-occupancy bedrooms to help control the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases if a bill a Senate committee approved Monday is eventually signed into law.

The state veterans homes  nursing homes for veterans and their spouses  had among the highest death rates in the country from the pandemic, claiming the lives of more than 200 residents and staff, according to the state. One attorney who represents dozens of families who sued the state, however suggests the number of fatalities may actually be more than 240.

Most of these fatalities occurred in the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Menlo Park and the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus and are the focus of the bill sponsored by Sen. Joseph Cryan, D- Union. It passed the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee by a 5-0 vote.

The bill would require the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to convert one ward in each facility to solo bedrooms and upgrade the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to infection control system standards, according to the legislation, ( S3492 ). The Adjutant General Brig. Gen. Lisa J. Hou, who oversees the department, would have the latitude to decide whether further modifications ought to be made to enhance safety.

But the renovations and improvements would have to be completed within a year, or she would be called before the legislature to explain the reason for the delay, according to the latest version of the bill.

In a hearing at the Statehouse, Robert McNulty of the Vietnam Veterans of America told the committee he supported the renovations. But said he could not fathom why only Paramus and Menlo Park would get the upgrades, excluding the veterans home in Vineland.

One-third of our veteran population will be ignored, McNulty said. Vineland is the oldest state-run veterans facility, it has more residents or staff than Paramus and Menlo Park, yet there are no provisions to implement infection control here. Really? Youre OK with that? I have a heck of a time swallowing that.

As of Monday, Vineland houses 203 residents, Menlo Park had 187 and Paramus 182, according to the departments website. Vineland employs 525 workers compared to Menlo Parks 431 and Paramus 416.

New Jersey received billions of dollars from the federal governments American Rescue Fund, so its not like the state cant afford to improve Vineland, too, he said. Someone has really dropped the ball, McNulty said.

Cryan, who also chairs the committee, explained that he and other lawmakers are trying to raise the quality of care at Paramus and Menlo Park to Vinelands level. Paramus and Menlo Park each received a two-star quality rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, compared to Vinelands five-star rating.

COVID killed 23 Vineland residents and one employee since the pandemic began nearly three years ago, according to state data.

It was our intention to close the gap between Vineland and Paramus and Menlo Park, Cryan said. He vowed the legislation, which also would need to be amended in the state Assembly, ultimately would include Vineland. I cant imagine we wouldnt do that, he said.

Menlo Park is in the midst of a 14-month COVID-19 outbreak that began Thanksgiving week 2021. A total of 123 residents and 295 employees having been infected, and 15 residents have died during the period, according to the state Health Department COVID websites most recent data, from Jan. 25.

The health department deems an outbreak complete when no one living or working at a facility has contracted COVID-19 for four weeks, the equivalent of two consecutive two-week incubation periods.

The Murphy Administration has paid out collectively nearly $69 million to settle lawsuits filed by the families of 190 deceased veterans homes residents from Menlo Park and Paramus. The lawsuits had accused the state of negligence in allowing the disease to run rampant inside the facilities, but the cases were settled without the state admitting to any wrongdoing.

A federal investigation into the deaths at the facilities, meanwhile, is still ongoing, as are two separate state investigations.

In addition, the Health Department suspended new admissions at Menlo Park following a scathing inspection report that in addition to the years long outbreak, revealed serious health and safety violations. The CEO was replaced last month.

At Gov. Phil Murphys request, Hou issued a request for proposal to recruit a private-sector company to manage the Menlo Park, as well consulting services at the Paramus and Vineland Memorial Veterans Homes.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Ted Sherman contributed to this report.

slivio@njadvancemedia.com

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Nigerian native Jennifer Patrick has since relocated from Longford to the UK and lost all her friends over this, the court was told

An aspiring law student has been ordered to pay 7,500 in compensation for her part in orchestrating a "hair-brained" and "bizarre" scheme by enlisting a gang of youths to tie her former boyfriend up and violently assault him during the course of an alleged aggravated burglary.

Nineteen-year-old Jennifer Patrick, 6 Dun Darrach, Dublin Road, Longford, told a sitting of how she never believed her actions would go as far as they did following an incident at 2 Holly Green, Clonbalt Woods, Longford on August 20, 2020, which left her former partner Paul Adetunji with injuries to his face and and knee.

Ms Patrick, aged 17 at the time of the offence, was charged with burglary following the incident and making a false statement to gardai. A nolle prosequi was entered by the State in connection to the latter charge.

The court was told Nigerian native Ms Patrick, who now resides in the UK, had been forced to relocate to the UK due to the breakdown in relationship with her peers and the fact two of her brothers no longer speak to her as a result.

State prosecuting counsel, Shane Geraghty BL, said three co-accused teenagers currently before the courts had pleaded guilty to theft but not to aggravated burglary owing to their insistence no knife was produced in the commission of the offence.

Judge Keenan Johnson was told Ms Patrick had contacted Mr Adejunji on the day in question under the "false pretense" of giving the victim 80.

Mr Geraghty said while Mr Adejunji was left confused by this request, he agreed.

Jennifer Patrick

It was revealed Ms Patrick was upset over the recent ending of the pair's relationship and when she arrived at the victim's rented property, the accused intimated to Mr Adetunji that she had to go back outside to retrieve some lipstick and, in so doing, asked for the victim's room key.

When she returned, the court heard Ms Patrick began kissing Mr Adejunji and moments later witnessed three unidentified males enter his bedroom.

Mr Adejunji told gardai at the time how the trio attacked him and immediately shouted: "Where is the money?".

Despite his own attempts to fend off the gang, Mr Adetunji was forced onto a chair with his hands tied behind his back with black cable ties.

A sock was also placed in the victim's mouth to prevent him from shouting for help, the court heard.

Giving evidence, Detective Garda Orla Geraghty said Mr Adetunji told her during interview how he had been left suspicious by Ms Patrick's demeanor, adding that while she "didn't seem frightened", one of the assailants called her by the teenager's first name.

Detective Garda Geraghty said Mr Adetunji felt he had been "set up" by Ms Patrick.

"He (Mr Adetunji) felt she was faking it," she said.

"He said he was going to the garda station and she said: 'Please don't go' as she would get in trouble."

Mr Adetunji suffered cuts to his lip and an injury to his knee as a consequence of the ordeal, it was revealed.

A voluntary cautioned witness statement was taken from Ms Patrick in August 2020 during which the accused indicated she too had received a punch to the face from one of the men.

She also told gardai how she had been left distressed following the relationship and how she had been treated.

Det Garda Geraghty said she admitted holding a conversation with one of the co accused, telling him: "I just want him bet."

It was revealed, however, that Ms Patrick never made a complaint to gardai about any "more sinister elements to the relationship".

The court heard on the day of the incident, the three youths arrived in Longford Train Station after travelling from Dublin.

Det Garda Geraghty said she had been left satisfied as to Ms Patrick's level of involvement in the incident.

"As far as I could see, it (incident) was done purposely to make out she (Ms Patrick) was a victim in all of this," she said, adding Ms Patrick was cable tied to the front with Mr Adejunji having his hands tied behind his back.

In defence, Dara Foynes SC said Ms Patrick and Mr Adetunji had since "made peace".

She added her client would suffer a high degree of "social appropbrium" with her name likely to be published and had endured significant hardship in attempting to further her own aspirations as a lawyer.

"She has effectively left Longford and lost all her friends over this," said Ms Foynes.

"She had to cease her college studies because she needed to get garda clearance to continue her studies."

A letter of apology was also handed in, the contents of which Ms Patrick read out in open court.

"To Paul, I am sorry for everything that took place," she said.

"Robbery was never my intention."

Under direct questioning from Judge Johnson, Ms Patrick said it was the toxicity of her relationship with her ex boyfriend which ultimately led to the incident.

"He hurt me a lot and I wanted to hurt him too," she said.

"I have apologised to Paul and we have made peace with each other. I regret it so much. I wish I didn't do what I done. I am just really sorry."

Judge Johnson described the entire planning of the incident from start to finish was "hair-brained" and "one of the most bizarre cases" he has ever come across as a circuit court judge.

He adjourned the case until October 3 and ordered Ms Patrick to return to court with 7,500.

In the event she adheres to those terms, he indicated he would apply Section 1(2) of the Probation Act.
Enniskillen man Robert Bridge was convicted of the sectarian murder of Catholic road worker Patrick OReilly

Belturbet in the wake of the bombing in December 1972   PA

Police cordon off the scene of the Belturbet bombing in County Cavan, 1972   PA

Patrick Stanley was just 16 when he died in the Belturbet bombing

Geraldine O'Reilly died in the Belturbet bombing. She was just 15 years old   PA

The car bomb exploded outside Farrelly's Bar and McGowan's Drapery on Main Street, Belturbet, at 10:28pm on December 28, 1972

The prime suspect in a border bombing which killed two children 50 years ago has denied any involvement in the atrocity and called on those responsible to come clean.

Geraldine OReilly (15) and Patrick Stanley (16) were killed in the blast in Belturbet, Co Cavan which was one of a series of loyalist bombs planted along the border on December 28, 1972.

Nobody has ever been charged over their deaths or the injuries sustained by others.

A 2004 report by former Irish high court judge Mr Justice Henry Barron named Enniskillen loyalist Robert Bridge, who was later convicted of a sectarian murder, as the lead suspect.

On the 50th anniversary of the bombing last month, Geraldines brother Anthony OReilly implored those responsible to come forward and do the right thing.

The car bomb exploded outside Farrelly's Bar and McGowan's Drapery on Main Street, Belturbet, at 10:28pm on December 28, 1972

When approached and asked if hed like to apologise to the families of the victims, Bridge said: What would I apologise for? Ive nothing to do with it.

The Barron Report was wrong, Im getting the blame for everything, now I did shoot and kill a man but I did 15 years in prison because I held my hands up to that.

I did my time for that but the thing is I am not guilty of any bombing because I didnt agree with bombings.

Any of the bombings that took place was Belfast people, now everybody including the bloody police knows that and they also know Im not guilty of any bombing.

He also identified a fellow loyalist who he claims was responsible for the bombing who is also believed to feature in the ongoing investigation by An Garda Siochana. Bridge claimed the paramilitary was supplied with weapons by RUC reservists.

Now there was a fella came down from Belfast, he continued. He wanted everyone to do these bombings but I wanted nothing to do with it because they were going to bomb people.

I fell out with them over it before I went into prison and then he took over down here calling himself UDA or UVF but I made enquiries about him and the people I spoke to said he was a nothing, a freelancer. Anyway, this carried on and he arranged people around here to be involved and I wouldnt do it, he tried to have me killed afterwards because he wanted rid of me.

Police cordon off the scene of the Belturbet bombing in County Cavan, 1972   PA

When I was jailed he got to me in prison and I was given a beating and left for dead because I wanted nothing to do with it or the paramilitaries.

I gave up the paramilitaries and went up to Crumlin Road (prison) to do my time as an ordinary prisoner but I had nothing to do with any bombings.

Why kill innocent people? Youre just as bad as the IRA if youre going to do that and that was my motto.

I had absolutely nothing to do with anybody involved with it for that reason. He is the man responsible and the one who set everything up.

He got them all organised and was involved with RUC reserves in the area, he got weapons and all sorts from them.

Bridge, who was convicted of the sectarian murder of Catholic road worker Patrick OReilly near Irvinestown in 1975, said those responsible for the Belturbet atrocity should come forward but he doubts they will.

Theyll not come clean. Theres no way theyre going to do it now unless they get immunity from prosecution or something like that, he said. Theres no way after 50 years but they should, I pleaded guilty to my crime so why shouldnt they plead guilty to their crimes.

In 2020 RTE named now-deceased Enniskillen loyalist George Farrell, who served time for loyalist crimes in the 1970s, as someone who had blamed other loyalists in the area for paramilitary activity at the time.

Aftemath of the explosion in Belturbet

Bridge says Farrell is the man who implicated him over the Belturbet explosion and claims he did so to save his own skin after being arrested by gardai crossing the border.

He continued: The thing about it is George Farrell made up this story about me because he was afraid of the Garda.

All of this comes down to George Farrell giving a false statement to the Garda. Farrell named me because he was caught crossing the border with a machine-gun at the time, I suppose he thought there was no harm because I was interned at the time.

He told them he was in my house making bombs on dates when I was in prison which proves he was a bloody liar.

When I got out I went around to his house because he was dead scared of me and I wanted to tell him I wasnt going to bother him.

But anyway the man has died and I dont hold anything against him but he shouldnt have told lies about me even though I was in prison for life.

I didnt think I was going to get out and I was a bad egg in prison now, fighting with officers and everything because I was never going to be eligible for parole I thought.

The thing is at the end of the day Im not guilty of any bombing either north or south, I would never have been involved with killing innocent people.

Our reporter tracked down Belturbet bombing suspect Robert Bridge

Bridge, who still lives in Co Fermanagh, also claimed An Garda Siochana asked him to speak to the bomber in a bid to convince him to come forward.

He continued: The gardai wrote me a letter asking me to write to him but Im not talking to nobody, Im talking now just to get it off my chest because Im not guilty.

The only reason I got involved in my crime and shot that man was because two of my mates were killed, one was a Catholic and one was a Protestant. I took my revenge and that was it, I pleaded guilty and was got out of the road.

If I had (have) done that (killed innocent people in the Belturbet bomb) Id have been no better than the IRA, they carried out bombings in Enniskillen which nobodys been held responsible for.

Geraldine O'Reilly died in the Belturbet bombing. She was just 15 years old   PA

My war was with the IRA, true, and if I got hold of IRA men I wouldve killed them, theres no two ways about it, but the thing is Im getting blamed for everything just because I done time.

Just because I admitted a murder and was named in the Barron Report Im being blamed for all sorts, I even got the blame for a shooting out at Trillick.

Ive been blamed for a load of shootings, you might as well turn around and say I shot the Pope because of all the accusations made against me.

Bridge also callously suggested there was too much of a focus on the Belturbet atrocity, and said the blame directed his way was making him unwell.

Patrick Stanley was just 16 when he died in the Belturbet bombing

Its not fair, Im 78 and Im not in good health, he added: Im only out of hospital, all of this is putting pressure on me.

The thing about it is they werent the only two people that were killed and thats what Im looking at as well, why pile all this pressure on to that? Why not make it a broad scope about all the bombings?

They might come up with something if they looked into all the bombings, the British Government know if they did that theyd find plenty which points the finger at them but theyll not point the finger at me for this.

I want to go to my grave with a clear conscience and without people thinking I was responsible for this.
Thomas McCarthy was shot dead at his mothers home at Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, at around 11am on Monday, July 27 2020

TWO men have now pleaded guilty to playing a role in the murder of Thomas McCarthy in Dublin more than two years ago.

Mark Lee (32) from Balgaddy, Lucan, Co Dublin appeared at the Central Criminal Court yesterday where he admitted to helping a crime gang.

He was charged with intentionally or recklessly committing an act to facilitate the murder between July 26 and July 27, 2020, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation.

Today Charles McClean (32), of St Marks Drive, Clondalkin also pleaded guilty in court to the same charge.

Thomas McCarthy was shot dead at his mothers home at Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, at around 11am on Monday, July 27 2020, shortly after he had arrived from the UK where he lived.

It has previously been reported four shots were fired at Mr McCarthy when he answered the door of the house and another four shots were fired at him inside as he tried to get away from the gunman.

Thomas McCarthy

Mr McCarthy was pronounced dead a short time later despite efforts to resuscitate him.

The gunman fled and three cars were subsequently found burnt out in the locality as gardai launched an investigation.

Mr McCarthy was married with children and had been living in Essex and had only been back home for just over a week when he was shot dead.

It was widely reported at the time that Mr McCarthy had no involvement in crime.

He had returned to his family home in Croftwood Park a week before the shooting from the UK where he lived in Southend on Sea in England with his family.

He was laid to rest in August 2020 after a funeral ceremony at the Church of Our Lady of Assumption, Ballyfermot to where his casket was brought by a horse-drawn carriage.

Another man Cailean Crawford, 25, from Clifden Terrace, Ballyfermot, has been charged with the murder.

Lee and McCleans cases at the Central Criminal Court have both been adjourned until March 6.
He also claims swindler used alias and that expensive furniture has gone missing from his property

The former landlord of convicted fraudster Samantha Cookes says she owes him 3,000 in rent and is causing him to run into arrears on his mortgage.

Tim Hourigan rented out his property in Kenmare, Co Kerry, last March to an angel whom he believed to be a woman called Jade Williams.

The tenant was in fact Cookes, a fraudster who has been before the courts twice and who has moved between a number of Irish towns using different aliases for years.

Mr Hourigan is being taken through a mediation process by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) by Cookes, despite the fact she is doing so under a false name.

Cookes, who has claimed to have Huntingtons disease, complained to the RTB that Mr Hourigan has discriminated against her on grounds of her disability and that he refused to accept Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

Convicted fraudster Samantha Cookes

Mr Hourigan told the Sunday World that this was false, that he was strongly in favour of HAP and that Cookes had left the property without notice.

Despite this, the RTB has scheduled a mediation between Mr Hourigan and the fraudster, who filed her complaint under the name Jade Williams, for February 7.

The RTB has said it cannot comment on individual cases.

Mr Hourigan said he had tried to show the RTB that Cookes was a convicted fraudster. In his application for a dispute resolution, he wrote: This tenant deceived me and her neighbours on numerous occasions about her identity and the neighbours are now afraid The tenant has given me a false name and is using several different names

Please google Carrie Jade Williams, Jade Williams, Samantha Cookes (her real name), Lucy Harte and Rebecca Fitzgerald. You will find some interesting information about this tenant.

The neighbours are in fear as a result of what they are reading online about this woman

All of the names cited are aliases that Cookes used while posing variously as a disability rights activist and writer, an occupational therapist, an au pair and a millionaire domestic abuse campaigner.

Mr Hourigan learned late last year that Cookes had been subletting a room in his apartment on Airbnb without his permission. Cookes would then later go viral for claiming, using the false identity Carrie Jade Williams, that some of her Airbnb guests were suing her for being disabled.

Mr Hourigan told the RTB that Cookess decision to rent out the property was done without his permission, and that it has now had an effect on his insurance on the property.

He also said that expensive furniture had gone missing from the property.

Tenant has not paid rent and is in arrears of 3,000. I cannot afford to have this drag on as this tenant does not want to pay any rent and I have obligations to keep my mortgage repayments up to date, Mr Hourigan told the RTB.

He added that since Cookes was revealed as a fraudster in the press, there has been major anxiety among some of her former Kenmare neighbours.

The neighbours are in fear as a result of what they are reading online about this woman, Mr Hourigan said, adding that one neighbour has removed their small children and sent them to stay with another family member.

Cookes did not respond to requests for comment.
Nero Drinks, a suspected front to launder money for the Kinahan crime gang, faces being struck off

The Morrisseys at the launch of Nero Vodka

US sanctioned Nero Drinks, the company allegedly used by Johnny Morrissey and his wife Nicola to fund their Rolls Royce lifestyle in Spain is broke and on the brink of collapse, it has been claimed.

The firm, named by Spanish police as a suspected front to launder money for the Kinahan crime gang faces being struck off by the UK Government directory Companies House due to overdue payments, Scottish media have reported.

The firm, established in 2018 to make Nero Premium Vodka, is owned by Glasgow-based Nicola Morrissey.

The 47-year-old was arrested alongside husband Johnny Morrissey in Marbella, Spain, in September as part of an investigation into the Kinahans.

Financial statements obtained last September showed that the company was drowning in debt to the tune of 310,000.

As of February 2021, Nero Drinks was surviving on six figure loans from the bank and company director Nicola Morrissey  while it had cash reserves of just 3,522.

A trawl of the companys financial documents has also uncovered links between Nero Drinks and an offshore company based in Gibraltar, Emperor Una Limited, which again counts among its directors Nicola Morrissey.

Kinahan cartel money launderer Johnny Morrissey, who was arrested in Spain last week, is not linked through company documents to either Nero Drinks or Emperor Una Limited.

Johnny Morrissey is arrested in Spain

However, the US government has alleged that he handed a significant ownership stake in Nero Drinks to cartel head Daniel Kinahan as compensation for failed drug shipments.

In a raft of sanctions announced by the US Department of Treasury in April, the DOT alleged Nero Drinks was designated (sanctioned) for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, John Morrissey.

John Morrissey, it continued, who outwardly serves as the Nero Drinks brand ambassador, is heavily invested in Nero Drinks and has given a significant portion of the business to Daniel Kinahan to compensate for loads of drugs seized by law enforcement.

John Morrissey controls and operates Nero Drinks through his wife, the primary shareholder, who is used as a frontperson for his interests.

The value of Nero Drinks to the Kinahan cartel is not apparent from the documents filed by Nicola Morrisey with the UK companys office.

But, according to an investigation funded by the European Union, the Kinahan cartel used dozens of front companies, stretching across the globe, to help move heroin, cocaine and other drugs and launder the proceeds from their sale.

Operating out of a listed address at 9 Newton Place, Glasgow, Nero Drinks most recent accounts were filed on February 28th, 2021.

The accounts how the company had debts to the tune of UK272,180 (311,711).

These debts included a bank loan of UK172,861 (197,967) and a further loan of UK99,319 (113,744) from company director Nicola Morrissey.

Meanwhile, the companys cash-flow provided little in the way of hope that such debts would ever be repaid.

Cash at the hand and in the bank held by Nero Drinks had increased by just UK1,805 (2,067) in the previous twelve months.

Emperor Una meanwhile has fared little better.

The company was set up in Gibraltar on March 2nd of 2018, with an address at 292 Main St and was initially listed as the sole shareholder in Nero Drinks.

Although an annual return for the company was filed in 2020, no financial details were contained therein.

The company was struck off by the Gibraltar company office on April 29th of 2022, less than three weeks after Nero Drinks and Johnny Morrissey were sanctioned, for failing to file annual returns.

Despite, these documents revealing the perilous state of Nero Drinks finances, only last year Nicola Morrissey held it out as a highly successful venture  so successful in fact she planned on expanding its activities into the US.

In the interview, she boasted that 2022 would see Nero Drinks adding more to our client list as well as launching in Mallorca, Tenerife, the UK and we are finalising plans to launch in America.

She added: We are also opening an exclusive 5-star wellness retreat overlooking the sea in La Cala  due to open in April 2022.

This was to be the same month husband Johnny Morrissey and Nero Drinks were sanctioned  leaving her ambitious and financially inexplicable plans in tatters
The feared gangland criminal is a person of major interest in the investigation

Paul Frank Byrne (20) was last seen alive on July 15, 2009 at Kilmartin Green in Tallaght

Paul Byrne's mother, Ashley Dempsey and his partner Martina McQuillan hold a picture of him

A major gangland criminal is in custody tonight in connection with the 2009 disappearance and murder of Paul Frank Byrne.

Paul Frank Byrne (20) was last seen on July 15, 2009 at Kilmartin Green in Tallaght. His skeletal remains were found in a remote forest near Blessington Co Wicklow a year later and the case has been the focus of a murder investigation since.

This morning, gardai arrested a person of major interest in the investigation after he arrived back into the country from the UK.

The suspect, from Tallaght, is a feared gangland criminal who has served a significant sentence for drug dealing offences.

While serving a jail sentence for these drug offences in Ireland, he absconded from prison and went on the run for a number of years before being apprehended in the UK and returned to jail.

It is understood that, after he completed his sentence, he spent a lot of time in the UK before his arrest in Dublin this morning.

A source said: The arrested individual is suspected of playing a key role in this murder.

The victim vanished after he got into a car with two men in front of his house.

His mother reported him missing to gardai in Tallaght.

Paul Frank Byrne (20) was last seen alive on July 15, 2009 at Kilmartin Green in Tallaght

Over a year later, Mr Byrnes remains were discovered by a forestry worker in Co Wicklow.

His remains were found in a remote area at Ballyfolan, Blessington in County Wicklow on July 29, 2010.

Identification of his remains was made by way of DNA profile and the investigation was taken over by gardai in Baltinglass Garda Station.

Todays arrested was the fifth arrest in connection with the investigation.

A garda spokesperson said: The man was arrested this morning, Monday, in the Dublin area.

He was taken to Baltinglass Garda Station where he is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, as amended.

The first major breakthrough in the case happened in June 2015, when a 22-year-old Tallaght man was arrested and questioned about his knowledge of the murder.

He was released from Bray Garda Station without charge. A file was later sent to the DPP but no charges have ever been directed against any of the previous four suspects arrested.

In 2015, Mr Byrne's mother, Ashely Dempsey, told the Herald that she welcomed the arrest, but said she was disappointed that there were no criminal charges in the long-running case.

"I would like to thank the police for their ongoing work in the case, but there are loads of people out there who know what happened to my son, but they won't say anything.

"I am appealing for these people to come forward even at this stage, after the sixth anniversary of Paul's murder," Ms Dempsey said.

It is understood that the same gang murdered drug dealer Stephen O'Halloran, who died in a hail of bullets while sitting in a parked car outside his home in January 2009.

David Patchell of Rossfield Crescent, Tallaght, was convicted of the murder in April, 2011.
The suspect, from Tallaght, is a feared gangland criminal who has served a significant sentence for drug dealing offences

A man who had been arrested in connection with the 2009 disappearance and murder of Paul Frank Byrne has been released without charge.

The man, understood to be a major gangland criminal, was arrested yesterday as part of an ongoing investigation into the murder of Byrne, who was last seen on July 15, 2009 at Kilmartin Green in Tallaght.

His skeletal remains were found in a remote forest near Blessington, Co Wicklow, a year later and the case has been the focus of a murder investigation since.

The man aged in his late 30s who was arrested as a person of major interest after he arrived back into the country from the UK, has been released without charge.

Gardai say a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The suspect, from Tallaght, is a feared gangland criminal who has served a significant sentence for drug dealing offences.

While serving a jail sentence for these drug offences in Ireland, he absconded from prison and went on the run for a number of years before being apprehended in the UK and returned to jail.

It is understood that, after he completed his sentence, he spent a lot of time in the UK before his arrest in Dublin this morning.

A source said: The arrested individual is suspected of playing a key role in this murder.

Paul Frank Byrne (20) was last seen on July 15, 2009 at Kilmartin Green in Tallaght.

The victim vanished after he got into a car with two men in front of his house.

His mother reported him missing to gardai in Tallaght.

Over a year later, Mr Byrnes remains were discovered by a forestry worker in Co Wicklow.

His remains were found in a remote area at Ballyfolan, Blessington in County Wicklow on July 29, 2010.

Paul's mother Ashley and his partner Martina McQuillan

Identification of his remains was made by way of DNA profile and the investigation was taken over by gardai in Baltinglass Garda Station.

Todays arrested was the fifth arrest in connection with the investigation.

The first major breakthrough in the case happened in June 2015, when a 22-year-old Tallaght man was arrested and questioned about his knowledge of the murder.

He was released from Bray Garda Station without charge. A file was later sent to the DPP but no charges have ever been directed against any of the previous four suspects arrested.

In 2015, Mr Byrne's mother, Ashley Dempsey, told the Herald that she welcomed the arrest, but said she was disappointed that there were no criminal charges in the long-running case.

"I would like to thank the police for their ongoing work in the case, but there are loads of people out there who know what happened to my son, but they won't say anything.

"I am appealing for these people to come forward even at this stage, after the sixth anniversary of Paul's murder," Ms Dempsey said.

It is understood that the same gang murdered drug dealer Stephen O'Halloran, who died in a hail of bullets while sitting in a parked car outside his home in January 2009.

David Patchell of Rossfield Crescent, Tallaght, was convicted of the murder in April, 2011.
A woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s were arrested at the scene.

Cannabis worth more than 500,000 has been seized from a premises in Co Roscommon.

At 1pm on Monday, January 30, gardai conducted a search under warrant in Ballaghaderreen.

Gardai from the Roscommon Divisional Drugs Unit carried out the raid assisted by officers from Castlerea as part of Operation Tara.

A garda spokesperson said a "suspected cannabis grow-house" was discovered.

A suspected cannabis grow-house was discovered & approximately 528,000 of cannabis was seized during a search by Gardai as part of Operation Tara in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, earlier today.



Two persons were arrested & are currently detained at Castlerea GS. pic.twitter.com/vFzE1MjuUo  Garda Info (@gardainfo) January 30, 2023

Read more Cocaine worth 100,000, cannabis plants and jellies seized in weekend searches

Suspected cannabis plants with an estimated value of 288,000 were seized along with approximately 240,000 of processed cannabis.

The total value of drugs seized is approximately 528,000, pending analysis from Forensic Science Ireland.

A woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s were arrested at the scene.

They are both currently being detained at Castlerea Garda station under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.

Investigations are ongoing.
Jane Hutch (66) who also known as Jenny, was found dead at Portland Place in the capitals north inner city

Tributes have been paid to feud victim Eddie Hutchs ex-wife following the discovery of her body in her Dublin home last week.

Sister-in-law of gangland murder accused Gerry The Monk Hutch, Jane Hutch (66) who also known as Jenny, was found dead at Portland Place in the capitals north inner city at around 2pm.

It is understood that gardai were called after a male relative became concerned and forced entry to the property.

She was the former wife of The Monks brother Eddie Hutch (59) who was murdered as part of the Hutch/Kinahan feud in his north-inner city home on February 8, 2016, in a revenge attack for the Regency Hotel shooting three days earlier.

Eddie Hutch and his funeral procession

Eddies younger brother The Monk is facing judgement at the Special Criminal Court on April 17 on the charge of the gun murder of Kinahan cartel gangster David Byrne in the Regency attack.

On her death notice on RIP.ie it states that the death has occurred of Jane (Jenny) Hutch of Portland Place, (formerly of St. Josephs Mansions), Dublin 1, on January 27, suddenly at home.

Predeceased by her dear son Christopher (Bouncer), her parents Lizzy and Jem, brothers Tommy, Francis and Seamus and sisters Mary and Betty, it reads.

Gerry Hutch

Jenny will be deeply missed by her loving sons Edward, Gavin, Alan and Ross, her treasured grandchildren Chris, Megan, Milan and London, sister Martha, brothers Paddy and Bebob, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, a large extended family, lifelong friends with a special mention to Maureen, and good neighbours.

Rest in peace Jenny, it adds. Forever in our hearts. Always in our thoughts.

The notice adds that funeral arrangements will follow, while also requesting that the familys privacy is respected at this sensitive time.

In the condolences section people have left numerous messages including one that the reads: R.I.P. Jenny reunited with your son, Ma, Da, brothers, and sisters, and my deepest condolences to your loving family grieving the loss of their dear mother, sister and aunt you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Another adds: Sorry to (hear of) Jennys passing so suddenly, condolences to her family and her sons who will miss her so much, may she rest in eternal peace and look over her family at this difficult time.

sundayworld.com previously reported that Gerry Hutch is not expected to be released from custody for the funeral and will remain in a special security wing of Wheatfield Prison.

Despite this, gardai will organise a relatively discreet policing plan around the funeral in case hitmen from the cartel decide to target the event which is due to happen in the north inner city.

Alan Hutch

Sources say that it is believed that Ms Hutch, also known as Jenny, died from a suspected heart attack and no foul play has been detected.

The woman had suffered from a number of underlying health conditions in recent years and had split from her husband Eddie Hutch many years before he was shot dead at his home by cartel hitmen.

Gardai from Mountjoy Station are expected to prepare a file for the coroners court.

A four-man hit team were involved in the Eddie Hutch murder while several other people are believed to have provided logistical support to the murder gang.

There have been no charges in the case despite the arrest of at least nine people.

It is understood that Eddie Hutch and his wife Jane had a turbulent relationship before they eventually split up.

One of their sons was due to go on trial last week in Dublin but this case has now been adjourned because of her death.

He is not being named here for legal reasons.

Her son Eddie Jnr (46) scooped 33,000 in prizes in 2015 on RTEs Winning Streak.

Another of their sons is Alan Hutch (39) who most recently received a sentence in 2019 for burglary and assault causing harm to a man at the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Hammam buildings, Upper O'Connell Street on March 7 2018.

During the sentence hearing his barrister said Alan Hutch was on protection in custody in a single cell and had formed certain views that the prison authorities were contaminating his food and water.

He handed a psychological report into court outlining his family circumstances. His upbringing was described as challenging, with Hutch witnessing violence inflicted on his mother, brothers and himself by his father.

He said that despite this, Hutch described missing his father and wishing he was around to steady the ship and get him back on the right path.

Eddie Hutch Jnr

He said his client did not like to hear the phrase "dead man walking" but said it was something all members of the Hutch family had been faced with and it was something Hutch had to live with.

He outlined that Hutch's father, taxi driver Eddie Hutch, had been killed on the doorstep of his family home. Hutch received the news of his father's murder through a phone call while in custody.

In 2005, at an inquest into the death of her son Christopher Bouncer Hutch, Ms Jenny Hutch refused to accept the cause of death and appealed for his body to be exhumed and tested for poisons.

Bouncer Hutch was a close personal friend of cartel boss Daniel Kinahan at the time of his death.

"I've studied the Discovery Channel and rat poison doesn't show up in tests, she said.

"If I'm not a concerned mother I wouldn't be asking.
"It's no secret that the majority of us here in Ireland don't know the words of our own national anthem.

A campaign has been launched to encourage everyone in Ireland to learn the words to the national anthem Amhran na bhFiann.

"It's no secret that the majority of us here in Ireland don't know the words of our own national anthem, Rachel J. Cooper, the head of the initiative and the author of Our National Anthem childrens book, told Newstalk.

"I was the same before I embarked on this journey as well.

"I'm starting a nationwide initiative to raise awareness, and to get people at home learning and singing Amhran na bhFiann - and also to get the Irish communities abroad learning.

"The school competition is launching at Croke Park this afternoon, and I'm really excited about it."

All primary schools in Ireland from third class to sixth class are invited to send a video of their class singing the anthem.

The winners will receive a prize bundle of a specially commissioned trophy, a guided tour of the GAA museum at Croke Park and more.

"The focus is to make its meaning more applicable for today's society, the Learn Our Anthem website says.

"To turn it away from any negative association and to bring it to the attention of all people living in Ireland from ALL backgrounds.

"Yes, we are all soldiers - but what we are fighting for today is different. Today we fight against things like bullying, unfairness, inequality and things that we know are wrong.

Speaking to Newstalk this morning, Rachel said this year was a great time to start the campaign.

"It's the centenary of when our national anthem was first published as Gaeilge.

"It was written in English as The Soldier's Song and it was later translated by Liam O Rinn into Irish.

"We all know there's huge sporting events this year... we want to be able to sing our national anthem with pride in the crowds, and not be mumbling along beyond the first few lines.

"There's no better time to be proud of Irish culture and language.

"An Cailin Ciuin is currently placing a huge focus on Irish language at home and abroad, we have Irish actors with nominations.

"Amhran na bhFiann is the most famous Irish song in the world, I think we should all know it."
Footage of the blazing vacant Victorian-era building was widely circulated on social media

A Dublin TD has said there were no plans to accommodate refugees or asylum seekers in a vacant building that was the subject of a suspected arson attack on Monday evening.

Gardai were alerted to the blaze at Rawlton House, a former boys school on Sherrard Street, in Dublins inner city, around 5.40pm.

No injuries were reported although investigations into what gardai described as suspected criminal damage by fire are ongoing.

Footage of the suspected arson attack on the vacant Victorian-era building was widely circulated on social media with suggestions that it was targeted as refugees were to be housed there.

Hover, local TD Gary Gannon said the Department of Children and Integration had no plans to accommodate refugees or asylum seekers in the building.

Gardai investigate suspected arson attack on vacant building in inner city Dublin

Rumours had been going around that it was to be allocated to refugees, but the department itself knew nothing about it, Deputy Gannon said. I had previously made representations regarding the building, saying it was unsuitable to house people there.

According RTE, permission was granted by Dublin City Council to CDK Properties Limited to develop apartments at the site in 2021.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Integration told RTE that the building is not contracted by the department and has not been examined for use to accommodate refugees or international protection applicants.

Gardai have appealed to witnesses or anyone who has information relevant to the incident to contact them.

Gardai are investigating a suspected criminal damage by fire incident that occurred at approximately 5:40pm on Monday, January 30, 2023 at a vacant dwelling in the Sherrard Street area of Dublin 1, gardai said.

Local fire services quickly extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported.

Investigations into this incident are ongoing.

Anyone with information that can assist gardai with this investigation are asked to contact Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station on 01 6668400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
We are very happy that no one was injured because we don't have to explain to you that this chase could have ended very differently

Dutch police posted this picture of the aftermath of the chase on their Facebook page

An Irish woman has been arrested in the Netherlands following a high-speed car chase involving local police who discovered a one-year-old baby in the back seat.

The astonishing drama unfolded on Saturday evening when police arrested a man and the 20-year-old woman who had fled along the A2 motorway on Saturday evening with the child who had no seat belt on in the back seat.

Police had earlier responded to a report that two people were trying to extort money from passers-by in the town of Echt.

When a patrol arrived, the car with the suspects took off, local media reported.

On his crazy ride through the village, the driver drove straight through a roadblock and over a roundabout and overtook on the right, before going (along) the A2, 1limburg.nl reported.

Police then stopped the pursuit, but another patrol saw the car driving on the A2. The driver turned around and again drove (the) wrong (way) on the A2 near Roosteren on the other half of the road.

The car was eventually stopped by patrols

There the driver stopped and started to run, but he was quickly apprehended.

The passenger, the 20-year-old Irish woman, was also arrested as she could not provide ID.

"To our horror, there was also a 1-year-old toddler in the back seat without a seat belt," police were quoted as saying.

At the office we contacted the Youth crisis service, because being in a cell with mom or dad was obviously not an option."

The aliens police was continuing to investigate the identity of the suspects on Sunday.

In a Facebook post, police described how a fierce pursuit took place in Echt and along the motorway.

The English man stated that he drove away because he was afraid of the Dutch police. His car was seized for investigation, police wrote.

In addition, several people also complained about the fact that a man, woman and a baby were in a gray Volkswagen Tiguan with English license plates.

Yesterday it was already decided that the man would be detained longer for investigation. We had too little evidence against the woman until this morning.

"Thanks to multiple reports of fraud, presumably, (we) can also hold the woman for a longer period of time. Luckily everything is going well with the (child).

For the time being, he is still in a safe place until the Child Protection Council makes a decision.

"We are looking for several victims of scam, suspected, committed by these two persons.

In an earlier post the police revealed that they had received reports of two people in the Nieuwe Market in Echt allegedly asking several people for money as their belongings had been stolen.

The persons are believed to be in a vehicle with an English license plate, police posted. At the scene we saw the vehicle in the parking lot but before we could get out, the driver decided to leave.

Together with the other patrols, a life-threatening pursuit occurred by Echt. During the pursuit, the driver drove right (along) the roadway and drove across a roundabout and also overtook other road users on the right..

We are very happy that no one was injured because we don't have to explain to you that this chase could have ended very differently, they added. Thanks to all the colleagues from other areas who supported us but of course also the road users on the motorway who together made sure that there were no accidents.
Johnny Adair, who got to know Peeples in the Maze, said: Fair play to Clifford. Hes standing up for his Christian beliefs by supporting the people of the Ukraine

Clifford Peeples handing out much-needed supplies to the people of Ukraine

Peeples at a rally before he burned the Good Friday Agreement

A convicted loyalist terror chief is facing down the Russian army in Ukraine, the Sunday World has learned.

Once dubbed the Pipe Bomb Pastor, Clifford Peeples was sent down for 10 years in 2001 when he was caught red-handed in possession of two grenades and a lethal pipe bomb.

But today we can reveal the former Protestant paramilitary boss has lined up alongside the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russian supremo Vladimir Putin.

And, in an exclusive interview from the front line yesterday, he told the Sunday World: Im merely out here helping the people of Ukraine in their hour of need.

It is still unclear which role 53-year-old Peeples has in the Ukraine.

But we have learned he is a member of a Close Range Reconnaissance unit supplying real-time intelligence to the Ukraine defence forces.

And we have also been told the Shankill preacher sailed through a tough training course before heading off to the former Soviet satellite country four weeks ago.

In photographs obtained by the Sunday World, military experts have told us he is wearing ex-British Army battle fatigues. And he is nursing a Russian-made Byzen sub-machine-gun fitted with a muzzle flash eliminator.

Peeples at a rally before he burned the Good Friday Agreement

On his left upper arm, Peeples displays the internationally acknowledged mercenary emblem Molan Labe. The insignia is strategically positioned below an embroidered Union flag which appears on all British Army operational uniforms.

Our army source says the Molan Labe slogan is Greek and translates as Come and take it!

Yesterday, the Sunday World managed to briefly make contact with Pastor Peeples as he tracked his way back from the bomb-devastated east Ukraine region to the capital Kyiv, for a period of rest and recuperation.

Speaking on a crackly mobile phone line which dropped off repeatedly, Peeples told us: Im merely out here helping the people of Ukraine in their hour of need.

But Peeples point-blank refused to reveal details of his role as close quarter collector of military intelligence.

Amongst other things, Im distributing aid to needy Ukrainians devastated by the war, he said.

And when pushed further, he declined to answer any questions about how a convicted loyalist terrorist came to be aiding the Ukraine defence forces or even how he came to be in possession of a high-powered sub-machine-gun.

Peeples also refused to say if he had flown to Eastern Europe or had travelled overland on a British or Irish passport.

Thats none of your business, he said.

Clifford Peeples handing out much-needed supplies to the people of Ukraine

What I will say though is the poor people of Ukraine are suffering badly. Its freezing cold out here and they have little or no shelter or even food.

But they really appreciate everything we are doing for them. They are great people.

Back home in Northern Ireland people should get down on their knees and thank God for their comfortable lives, he said.

Just before the line dropped off, Peeples said he hoped to return to Belfast in a few days.

Peeples also posted a picture of his accommodation in Kyiv, where he will be resting before heading back to Belfast.

Fellow loyalist kingpin Johnny Mad Dog Adair voiced his support for Peeples.

Adair  who got to know Peeples in the paramilitary wings of the Maze Prison  said: Fair play to Clifford. Hes standing up for his Christian beliefs by supporting the people of the Ukraine.

He added: Youd never have seen Jimmy Craig or any of these other so-called loyalists doing that.

A one-time fundamentalist Christian pastor who ran his own gospel hall, Peeples hit the headlines in October 1989 when a car he was driving was stopped by anti-terror cops on the M1 motorway near Dungannon.

The Bible-thumping clergyman was arrested along with the well-known loyalist terrorist James McGookin Fisher.

And just six months before, cops found pipe bombs in a Gospel Hall connected to Peeples, but they failed to bring charges against him.

Sentencing Pastor Peeples to 10 years in prison, Mr Justic Gillan told him he was a grave danger to the community.

In the past, Peeples has been linked to a plethora of loyalist terror groups, including the UVF, the LVF and two fringe paramilitary groups, the Orange Volunteers  which the police suspected he led  and the shadowy Red Hand Defenders.

Pastor Peebles married a former RUC officer and after settling in Portadown, police suspected him of having close connections to LVF leader Billy Wright who was later murdered inside the Maze Prison.

And it is believed that at one point the RUC was so keen to get Peeples off the streets, police top brass considered bringing a charge of directing terrorism against him.

The same charge was used to jail the notorious Ulster Freedom Fighters boss Mad Dog Adair.

After a series of close encounters with the law, Peeples was eventually sent down for 10 years when he and James Fisher were convicted of possessing explosives with intent.

It was after his conviction, the press dubbed Peeples The Pipe Bomb Pastor.

After being released from prison, he went back to education and just before Christmas graduated from Queens University Belfast with a Masters in Law.

And he has been to the fore in a number of recent high-profile legal actions against the Northern Ireland Protocol, including one at the Supreme Court in London alongside TUV leader Jim Allister.

Clifford Peeples has been associated with hardline loyalism since leaving school.

And hes been to the fore in numerous campaigns in support of the Union.

However, his one foray into the world of electoral politics failed miserably. In 1996, Peeples received just 43 votes out of a possible 42,000 when he stood for the Northern Ireland Forum.

And the following year he was in the news again when he refused to pay loyalist paramilitaries protection money in connection with a florists business he owned on the Crumlin Road. UVF thugs wrecked his shop.

Peeples also vehemently opposed the Good Friday Agreement, famously setting fire to a copy of the document at a rally in Antrim.

And when it became clear the DUP had altered its position and was moving in favour of sharing-power with nationalists at Stormont, Peeples hurled 30 pieces of silver at DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley at a rally in Loughgall, Co Armagh.

Controversy even followed Peeples into prison. When a well-known dissident prisoner chided him about his weight, he hit him with a hot steam iron.

But following his release from prison in the mid-1990s, his political activities have been entirely peaceful.
Two Rotorua buildings stand less than a kilometre apart. Both are earthquake-prone, but only one is closed.

Jo Romanes, the former leaseholder of the now-closed Blue Baths, says she is confused and frustrated a nearby PaknSave can continue operating while the heritage building had to close.

Blue Baths landlord, Rotorua Lakes Council, has defended its closure decision, saying the risk of ongoing use was unacceptable.

The building closed to the public in January 2021 after a detailed seismic assessment found structural integrity concerns. It achieved 15% of the New Building Standard (NBS).

The PaknSave building is also 15% of NBS and remains open, with a notice from October stating it is earthquake-prone displayed in-store. Plans to upgrade the building were under way, and it had advice from seismic experts it could stay open in the meantime.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment guidance, released in July, said there was no legal requirement to close a building based solely on a low NBS rating.

An NBS rating is not a predictor of building failure in an earthquake and buildings with low NBS ratings are not imminently dangerous, building performance and engineering manager Dr Dave Gittings said in a statement.

Understanding the relative vulnerability of different building elements, the potential consequences of failure of these elements, and options to mitigate that risk is more important than the overall NBS rating for a building.

Building owners could remain on-site while seismic remediation work was planned, funded and undertaken.

Romanes said she had a business plan with an aim to revitalise Blue Baths and grow her business while addressing seismic issues.

She said the plan had been approved by the council and had structural and geotechnical engineers working on it, with a transitional lease on the Category 1 heritage building while the proposal was explored. The proposal did not extensively cover seismic issues.

In 2020, the engineers provided a report that found foundation issues.

The council completed its own seismic assessment when Romanes applied for resource consent.

The rest is history, really, she said. Romanes lease officially ended last month.

The councils detailed seismic assessment found the building was compromised by ground conditions, as a significant portion of the underlying soils beneath the site were potentially liquefiable in an earthquake. This could lead to the failure of the foundation system and, as a result, the structure above, which can be a catastrophic failure.

Romanes said fixing damage associated with a leaking pool and subsequent issues with water pooling was estimated to cost between $4 million and $6m.

She estimated the cost of a refresh and facelift to get the building to an operable standard would cost about $12m, excluding the more extensive seismic repair and cost escalations.

Asked if Romanes thought the council upheld its responsibility as a landlord, she said it did do some maintenance, but in her view there was a lack of big-picture thinking and planning for the future.

Foodstuffs spokeswoman Emma Wooster said PaknSave took the safety of customers and teams seriously.

Each year, the Foodstuffs North Island co-operative invests around $100m in our buildings and on transforming our locally owned and operated co-op stores. This transformation work includes making sure our buildings comply with seismic requirements.

She said it had lodged a consent with the council to upgrade the Rotorua building.

The application included seismic strengthening works, replacing the roof and making interior improvements such as new refrigeration units and new checkouts.

The store has been assessed by seismic experts, and the advice we have received is that the store can continue to remain open in the meantime.

Buildings that have been identified as being earthquake-prone by territorial authorities like Rotorua Lakes Council need to be added to an MBIE register.

Blue Baths is not yet listed, and a council spokesperson said the process of identifying earthquake-prone buildings was ongoing, with four years left to complete the work.

PaknSave Rotorua was on the list and had until 2047 to do seismic works. In medium-level seismic risk areas such as Rotorua, building owners in non-priority buildings have 25 years to finish the work.

There were no priority buildings left to be assessed, but about 268 profile buildings to be assessed or for further investigation or assessment.

In response to Romanes comments and concerns, the councils organisational enablement deputy chief executive, Thomas Colle, said the decision to close Blue Baths was made under the councils Seismic Policy and Risk Reduction Framework for Council Buildings.

It applied to all council-owned buildings that accommodate staff and/or the public and which could pose a risk to health and safety due to a seismic event.

Under the policy, buildings assessed to be under 34% of NBS will either be relocated or strengthened to meet the target strengthening level. In this instance, the decision was to close the building.

Council has legal obligations for staff and public safety, and we take those responsibilities very seriously.

We do not make decisions to close council buildings lightly, but given all the information we have, we deem the risk to allow ongoing use of the building, in its current state, to be unacceptable.

Our responsibilities for public safety are always the main consideration, and this is balanced with expert information and advice, the probability of something like an earthquake happening and the potential consequences of that. The same level of considerations would apply to potentially re-opening.

When asked what work would need to be done for it to consider the building safe enough, he said as a bare minimum, it would require it to be above 33% NBS, and it would then do more work to investigate options to achieve 67% or above.

We do not know at this time what work would be required. We expect the future of the Blue Baths to be part of the next Long Term Plan cycle.

The cost of the work was not known, he said.

As for Romanes business plans, which she said included seismic issues, Colle said the council supported the proposal and a resource consent was submitted in early June 2020, subject to the final detailed seismic assessment.

Councils detailed seismic assessment and geotechnical reports were completed at the end of the transitional lease, well after the business proposal and resource consent were submitted.

The business proposal did not address the issues subsequently identified in the [assessment], and no information about how seismic issues would be addressed has been shared with us.

He said there had been ongoing discussions with Romanes and he was happy to meet again.

Regular checks and maintenance to ensure the building maintained its warrant of fitness were ongoing, he said.

Romanes said a meeting was held last Tuesday between Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong and Colle to discuss the buildings future.

Romanes said it went well and she was encouraged by what was said. She had been told councillors asked for the topic to be included in the next council meeting.

Colle said the matter was not on the council meeting agenda, but elected members were to be briefed next week.
Access to 30 homes on a rural road in Te Puke will be limited for at least another week while council works to install a temporary bridge.

A bridge over Raparapahoe Stream on No 4 Road washed out on Sunday morning with all the properties above it affected.

Western Bay of Plenty mayor James Denyer, deputy mayor John Scrimgeour and the councils transport manager met with the residents on Monday to discuss options for access.

Denyer told Local Democracy Reporting the council was considering various options and it was looking positive for a Bailey bridge, (a portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge) to be installed by mid to late next week.

In the meantime there was residents only access through a private orchard down a gravel road and across an alternative bridge to Manoeka Road.

The residents were pretty positive but were obviously concerned that they need access, says Denyer.

That alternative route does give them [the residents] basic access.

One of the big concerns is obviously there's kiwifruit about to ripen and be harvested.

There was one million trays of kiwifruit to come off the affected properties with the only access over the washed out bridge, he says.

Obviously its quite a big economic impact if that doesn't happen.

Resident Steve McManaway owns several properties on No 4 Road and says there was a substantial amount of kiwifruit there.

It would be around 60 days before the fruit needed to be harvested and access for trucks was required, says McManaway.

There's a certain amount of urgency in the whole operation, he says.

He was optimistic despite the issues caused by the washout and says the residents were okay.

We have got one or two people that have got health issues up here, but we are aware of it and they're aware of it. So I think if we just keep monitoring it I think it's manageable.

There were also children that would be starting back at school this week.

The council are aware of the urgency of getting something pretty safe put in place so that they can get to school.

Asked his thoughts on finding out the bridge was gone, McManaway replied: You see the chaos that's been caused up in Auckland and you think, well, we've dodged it.

But when you go down and see your own bridge taken out and the access taken out, and then all of a sudden the vulnerability of actually not having the convenience of doing what you want to do.

A lot of people are lucky that they've got their infrastructure still intact.

It's an inconvenience, I'm afraid. A big inconvenience but we'll get around it.

I think out of these adverse events good things happen.

Mayor James Denyer met with residents on Monday. Photo: Brydie Thompson/ SunLive.

Denyer says a finalised plan and timeline for access would be shared with residents and the public on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the region other roads were still affected by the weather.

Lund Road in Aongatete is closed due to a slip.

Upper Ohauiti Road near number 1167 is closed due to a slip.

Washer Road, Te Puke is going to be closed to all vehicles from today due to structural integrity issues following the high water levels. The council is in contact with contractors to organise an alternative crossing.

Oropi Road 1 lane Bridge is closed due to bad scouring under the bridge.

Wairoa Road by the Crawford Road intersection in Te Puna has an underslip so it's closed.

Many other roads remain partially closed because of slips. On Monday the Western Bay of Plenty District Council was responding to 65 active road events.

With a red heavy rain warning now in place for the region, Denyer urged people to stay safe and only travel if necessary.

We are expecting more slips. Given the rain warning and the ground is already saturated.

He asked people to report any slips, fallen trees or flooding to council on 0800 926 732.

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2023 Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Facelift : A Close Look 2023 Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Facelift has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. Rs. 5.69 - 8.47 lakhs (ex-Delhi).







Since the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios 1.0L Turbo-petrol has already been reviewed by Team-BHP, this report will only focus on changes made to the 2023 facelift. To read the full official review,







Introduction



The Hyundai Grand i10 Nios was launched back in August 2019. Back then, it was positioned above the Santro and regular Grand i10 in the company's hatchback line-up. It looked good and the interiors were among the best in its segment in terms of design and quality. Hyundai gave the car some muscle by introducing a turbo-petrol engine in the car in February 2020. This unit made the Grand i10 Nios quite a hot hatch. In terms of sales too, the Grand i10 Nios has very successful and regularly features in the monthly list of twenty best-selling cars in India.



In November 2019, Hyundai discontinued the regular Grand i10 and in May 2022, the Santro was taken off the market as well. This made the Grand i10 Nios Hyundai's least expensive hatchback in the country. Now, Hyundai has launched an updated version of the B1 segment hatchback. Let's have a look at some of the prominent changes made to the car.



First up, there is no turbo-petrol engine available any more. This is a big disappointment for enthusiasts looking for a fun-to-drive little hatchback. Engine options now include the same 1.2L Kappa naturally aspirated petrol motor with 5-speed MT & AMT options and a 1.2L Kappa petrol + CNG with a 5-speed MT. What is noteworthy is that these engines are RDE compliant. RDE emission norms are set to be introduced in April 2023. These require a vehicle to emit less than a certain amount of carbon dioxide in realistic driving situations.



Hyundai has given the Grand i10 Nios some cosmetic changes to the exterior and some additional features. It has also introduced some more safety features. The Grand i10 Nios is available in 6 single-tone colour options: Polar White, Titan Grey, Typhoon Silver, Spark Green (a new addition), Teal Blue and Fiery Red. There are also two dual-tone options: Spark Green with a Phantom Black roof and Polar White with a Phantom Black roof.



Inside, the cabin design remains unchanged. However, there is a new instrument cluster, the seats get new upholstery and the front footwells get ambient lighting



Coming to features, the Grand i10 Nios is offered with new features such as cruise control, LED tail lamps, automatic headlamps with escort function, rear A/C vents, 8-inch touchscreen head-unit with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility and navigation through smartphone, voice recognition, wireless smartphone charging (first in segment) and fast USB charger (Type-C) among others.



The car gets over 30 safety features including 4 airbags as standard (first-in-segment) and 6 airbags (in the top variant), emergency stop signal (first in segment), tyre pressure monitoring system (first in segment), hill-start assist control (HAC), electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, parking assist with rear parking sensors and rear camera, ISOFIX child seat anchors and more.



The Nios is offered in four variants: Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta. These are priced between Rs. 5.69 - 8.47 lakhs. With these prices, Hyundai has managed to undercut the Maruti Suzuki Swift, which is its main rival in the segment.



Hyundai is offering a 3 years / 1,00,000 km warranty package. Extended warranty for up to 7 years can be purchased additionally. We strongly recommend this extension if your usage is high. Hyundai is further offering 3 Years Road Side Assistance with the Nios. You can also get a Shield of Trust repair running package for up to 5 years and a Shield of Trust Super maintenance package for up to 5 years. Thehas been launched in India at a price of between Rs. Rs. 5.69 - 8.47 lakhs (ex-Delhi).Since the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios 1.0L Turbo-petrol has already been reviewed by Team-BHP, this report will only focus on changes made to the 2023 facelift. To read the full official review, click here . Also, check out the report on the 2020 Aura here The Hyundai Grand i10 Nios was launched back in August 2019. Back then, it was positioned above the Santro and regular Grand i10 in the company's hatchback line-up. It looked good and the interiors were among the best in its segment in terms of design and quality. Hyundai gave the car some muscle by introducing a turbo-petrol engine in the car in February 2020. This unit made the Grand i10 Nios quite a hot hatch. In terms of sales too, the Grand i10 Nios has very successful and regularly features in the monthly list of twenty best-selling cars in India.In November 2019, Hyundai discontinued the regular Grand i10 and in May 2022, the Santro was taken off the market as well. This made the Grand i10 Nios Hyundai's least expensive hatchback in the country. Now, Hyundai has launched an updated version of the B1 segment hatchback. Let's have a look at some of the prominent changes made to the car.First up, there is no turbo-petrol engine available any more. This is a big disappointment for enthusiasts looking for a fun-to-drive little hatchback. Engine options now include the same 1.2L Kappa naturally aspirated petrol motor with 5-speed MT & AMT options and a 1.2L Kappa petrol + CNG with a 5-speed MT. What is noteworthy is that these engines are RDE compliant. RDE emission norms are set to be introduced in April 2023. These require a vehicle to emit less than a certain amount of carbon dioxide in realistic driving situations.Hyundai has given the Grand i10 Nios some cosmetic changes to the exterior and some additional features. It has also introduced some more safety features. The Grand i10 Nios is available in 6 single-tone colour options: Polar White, Titan Grey, Typhoon Silver, Spark Green (a new addition), Teal Blue and Fiery Red. There are also two dual-tone options: Spark Green with a Phantom Black roof and Polar White with a Phantom Black roof.Inside, the cabin design remains unchanged. However, there is a new instrument cluster, the seats get new upholstery and the front footwells get ambient lightingComing to features, the Grand i10 Nios is offered with new features such as cruise control, LED tail lamps, automatic headlamps with escort function, rear A/C vents, 8-inch touchscreen head-unit with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility and navigation through smartphone, voice recognition, wireless smartphone charging (first in segment) and fast USB charger (Type-C) among others.The car gets over 30 safety features including 4 airbags as standard (first-in-segment) and 6 airbags (in the top variant), emergency stop signal (first in segment), tyre pressure monitoring system (first in segment), hill-start assist control (HAC), electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, parking assist with rear parking sensors and rear camera, ISOFIX child seat anchors and more.The Nios is offered in four variants: Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta. These are priced between Rs. 5.69 - 8.47 lakhs. With these prices, Hyundai has managed to undercut the Maruti Suzuki Swift, which is its main rival in the segment.Hyundai is offering a 3 years / 1,00,000 km warranty package. Extended warranty for up to 7 years can be purchased additionally. We strongly recommend this extension if your usage is high. Hyundai is further offering 3 Years Road Side Assistance with the Nios. You can also get a Shield of Trust repair running package for up to 5 years and a Shield of Trust Super maintenance package for up to 5 years. Last edited by Aditya : 1st March 2023 at 12:52 .
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Re: Towards the southern tip of Indian mainland, my TamilNadu roadtrip Day 3



We were excited for today since we were visiting the most important destination of this trip. Rameshwaram is close to 175 kms from Madurai and this means not much of driving. Left hotel at around 8:30 AM after having breakfast and reached Rameshwaram property around 1 PM.



Stopped at couple of places before reaching Rameshwaram.



Ariyaman beach









Villoondi Theertham - There is a fresh water well/bore here which was formed in between salt water areas when God Rama dipped his bow in the seawater to quench Mata Sita's thirst





Our hotel





About property  Rameshwaram Grand, near Railway station. Place though looked good online, wasnt that good in actual. Complimentary breakfast was decent and open ground in front of hotel means no dearth of parking space.



Rested for a while and took an auto for temple to make the most of time despite the place being quite close.

Now there is an elaborate process to visit Ramnathaswamy temple. We tried to follow it to T.

Its said that one should first take a dip in sea known as Agni Theertham. Afterwards, there are 22 Tirthas in form of numbered pond inside temple campus in which a dip (temple staff takes out water from well and pours at you from a height) should be taken in order before queuing for darshan. These 22 Theerthams represent the 22 arrows of Bhagwan Sri Rama.

Temple had a big place to change clothes and it wasnt much rush there.

Temple opens around 4 pm and dip section opens around 3 PM. We were bang on time and after following the steps as mentioned above, had a wonderful mesmerising darshan without any queue.



Temple's Southern Gate





The infinity architecture





It was evening time and we were a bit tired by now. So, decided to come back to the property and leave again later for dinner. However, I slept like a brick without even waking up for dinner. Good that we had a quick lunch in property via their in room service when we arrived at afternoon. One more reason to sleep early was Sphatik Mani darshan.

It is a special darshan, which opens at 4.30 AM in the morning every day and remains so only for an hour.



Day 4



Accordingly, woke up at around 2 AM, got ready and left for temple parking at around 3 AM. We were in queue before 3:30 AM and there was a queue like anything. There were at least 300-400 people before us in queue!

We kept patience and once the gate opened up at around 4:30 AM, we had a beautiful darshan  the sphatik lingam glows against the dark background of sanctum and leaves you speechless. We prayed to Mahadev and were out by 5:15 AM, well before sunrise.

We had the entire day for us and visited lots of places.



First place we visited was Agni Theertham - A nice promenade kind of structure is created where you can watch sunrise/sunset, sit, relax or just absorb the vibe





Ramar Patham - Beautiful place to get a panoramic view





The actual temple also known as Gandhamana Tirtham





Brisy Beach - A beautiful secluded beach with beautiful roads leading to it. It was absolute silence here









GPS view





Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam memorial. Photography isn't allowed. It showed him with various dignitaries, his dresses, his meetings with world leaders, scale model of rockets, etc. Nice place to spent some time. Entry is free





Jada Theertham - This was a beautiful temple with acres of open space









Peacock sighting was very common









The company





Shri Nambunayaki Amman temple





We were excited for today since we were visiting the most important destination of this trip. Rameshwaram is close to 175 kms from Madurai and this means not much of driving. Left hotel at around 8:30 AM after having breakfast and reached Rameshwaram property around 1 PM.Stopped at couple of places before reaching Rameshwaram.About property  Rameshwaram Grand, near Railway station. Place though looked good online, wasnt that good in actual. Complimentary breakfast was decent and open ground in front of hotel means no dearth of parking space.Rested for a while and took an auto for temple to make the most of time despite the place being quite close.Now there is an elaborate process to visit Ramnathaswamy temple. We tried to follow it to T.Its said that one should first take a dip in sea known as Agni Theertham. Afterwards, there are 22 Tirthas in form of numbered pond inside temple campus in which a dip (temple staff takes out water from well and pours at you from a height) should be taken in order before queuing for darshan. These 22 Theerthams represent the 22 arrows of Bhagwan Sri Rama.Temple had a big place to change clothes and it wasnt much rush there.Temple opens around 4 pm and dip section opens around 3 PM. We were bang on time and after following the steps as mentioned above, had a wonderful mesmerising darshan without any queue.It was evening time and we were a bit tired by now. So, decided to come back to the property and leave again later for dinner. However, I slept like a brick without even waking up for dinner. Good that we had a quick lunch in property via their in room service when we arrived at afternoon. One more reason to sleep early was Sphatik Mani darshan.It is a special darshan, which opens at 4.30 AM in the morning every day and remains so only for an hour.Accordingly, woke up at around 2 AM, got ready and left for temple parking at around 3 AM. We were in queue before 3:30 AM and there was a queue like anything. There were at least 300-400 people before us in queue!We kept patience and once the gate opened up at around 4:30 AM, we had a beautiful darshan  the sphatik lingam glows against the dark background of sanctum and leaves you speechless. We prayed to Mahadev and were out by 5:15 AM, well before sunrise.We had the entire day for us and visited lots of places. Last edited by abhi_tjet : 30th January 2023 at 14:22 . Reason: formatting changes
dagger8 Newbie

Join Date: Aug 2022 Location: Bangalore Posts: 13 Thanked: 111 Times

Bangalore to North Sikkim | 6300 km | BMW X3 20d Background: In Dec'22, X3 had turned 16 months (ODO at 17k) and the itch to take it on a really long trip was growing more than ever. It had done Mumbai-Bangalore couple of times, Bangalore-Goa once, Bangalore-Ooty once, Bangalore-Gandikota and few other relatively smaller trips. So, the planning started in November to do something bigger, bolder and traverse one leg of the golden quadrilateral. Broad contours of the plan were finalized in November first half. Plan was that my brother will travel from Mumbai to Bangalore and we'll travel to somewhere North East during Dec. last week and Jan 1st week. We started with planning for Kaziranga and gradually shifted to North Sikkim targeting Gurudongmar and Zero point. We were fully aware that targeting these two in last week of Dec. isn't the best plan as the chances of both places being open to public would be zilch. But as they say, journey is more beautiful than the destination - we thought, let's find out the truth in the statement and marched on. So, by mid November, we had finalized the dates, booked BOM-BLR flight tickets for my brother and explained our plans to mom dad. Initially, they were a little reluctant in giving their nod but finally gave a conditional approval. The condition was that they will join us on this journey.



The Plan: We started with agreeing on some tenets that we'll follow throughout the trip. We won't drive more than 1000Kms in a single day in plains Avoid night driving at any cost Swap drivers every 3-4 hours No insane speeds Re-fueling preferably in big cities instead of highways No high speeds on even marginally bad roads. We are on RFTs. Pack light and preferably in duffel bags instead of suitcases

First step was to drop pins on the map to plot our onward journey. Following the tenets above, we decided to make stops in Vizag, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Gangtok and finally in Lachung.







Second step was to plan the journey for parents who were in Punjab. So instead of making them come with us all the way from Bangalore, we booked their tickets to fly to Kolkata where we planned to pick them up from and they will accompany us thereafter.



Third step was to make bookings for next 2 weeks. This was the most difficult undertaking. We started with a Google sheet, added the plan with dates and cities, started pouring in options (hotels and BnBs) and made several cancelable bookings to secure places. 1 Re bookings on MMT and ibibo are quite a boon to have while doing such planning.



Fourth step was to prep the car. ODO was at 17k and the last service was done at 12k. BMWs service intervals of 12k ensured that we had adequate range (7k) before the next engine oil service. So didn't bother to go to the service center. I've read about these service intervals that the range drops substantially after long trips. Since, in our case, we didn't have a choice to prepone the service that much, so took a chance. Only thing needed was to top up the adblue. It was showing topup amount of 7L but gulped up full 10L. Got it done from the nearby BP pump. They charged Rs. 1000 for 10L and did the honors. Tanked up on diesel also as Karnataka has the cheapest rate - Rs. 87.9 compared to all the other states we were going to travel to.







Fifth and last step was to stock up on munchies, water and RedBull. This is when I learned that even Bisleri can be bought at a 50% discount when purchased in bulk . I picked up 2 crates of 1L Bisleris, carefully selected snacks that wouldn't cause any litter inside the car (Dates, cashews and makhanas) keeping it healthy and clean . Ordered enough stock of RedBull (for my brother) with 15 mins delivery a night before start.



Day-1: Bangalore to Vizag

Distance traveled: 1010 Kms

We planned to start at 4am from Bangalore and we managed to stick to the plan despite the fact that my brother's flight to Bangalore got delayed and he landed at 1am. I picked him up from the airport and we managed to get only a couple of hours of sleep before the long drive to Vizag. Any change would have a cascading effect and hence we decided to stick to the plan.



Exiting Bangalore was a breeze early in the morning and we were greeted with wide open road to Kolar. Visibility was excellent and we clicked lots of pics of tarmac. My brother said - "Do you remember, how excited we used to be 15 years back to drive 10Kms on the DND Flyway as it used to be one fine road. Now look at these never ending stretches of fine tarmac. We certainly have come a long way with regards to the quality of roads".











We didn't even realize when we crossed the border and entered Andhra. The roads continued to be superb. After driving for ~4 hours, we made our first tea stop at one of the tea shop (There are many good ones every few Kms. in Andhra). The cardamom tea was fantastic.







In order to keep the 120kmph gong out, we covered long stretches on cruise set to **9







In Andhra, we started noticing a lot of Omnis for pollution control certificate. This is when we realized that ours is expired. I tried couple of times in Bangalore but to no avail. Both times, the sensors showed zero reading and hence they couldn't print the certificate. I also read threads on t-bhp where people have faced the same problems with BH6 engines. So, we thought of giving one of these Omnis a try. I pulled over and asked he he could generate the certificate. He readily agreed and mentioned that for my car, he simply needs to take a picture and generate the certificate. I happily agreed and got the cert for Rs. 100. Bigger surprise was that the same was updated in mParivahan app in real time and showed validity increased by 1 year. The certificate however showed validity of 6 months. We realized only a day after when the validity in mParivahan app got reversed and it started showing expired again . For now, I have a paper that says PUC valid till xx and hope that'll work.







We reached Nellore at ~10:30 and made a quick breakfast stop. This place is next to a fuel station and food was okay. No filter coffee available though.







Roads continued to be good and we made it to Vijayawada at ~1:30 and faced our first traffic jam crossing the city. Lot's of red lights on this stretch and took us ~20 mins extra to cross this stretch.







It was time for lunch and we stopped at a cafe called









Roads continued to be excellent. No interruptions or unexpected bad stretches or animal crossings. It was just simple easy cruising for us. Traffic was also very light. Very few personal vehicles and truck traffic was also fairly disciplined. We crossed Penna river on the way and it looked beautiful. Sharing few more pics of excellent roads from Vijayawada to Vizag.











Finally reached hotel at ~8. Got a safe parking spot with no adjacent cars parked. We stayed at Keys Lite by Lemon tree. A very nice and hygienic hotel in the middle of a very busy street. It's newly constructed and rooms were tidy. Ample parking space is available too. Sharing some pics of the place.











There are a lot of places to eat nearby. We decided to keep it light and safe and ate at Subway which was at a walking distance from the hotel and retired early after the 1000 Kms Day-1 drive.







Day-2

Vizag to Bhubaneshwar

Distance traveled: 450 Kms



Day started with researching an interesting place for breakfast. Zeroed in a place called Vasenapoli that served mouth watering Idli and Dosas made without rice. These are made from Ragi, millets and Jowar. The place is located in a very posh part of Vizag with ample parking space available right opposite the road. It's next to the governor's house. We took the toll road that went through the port. Loved the vibe of the city.

: In Dec'22, X3 had turned 16 months (ODO at 17k) and the itch to take it on a really long trip was growing more than ever. It had done Mumbai-Bangalore couple of times, Bangalore-Goa once, Bangalore-Ooty once, Bangalore-Gandikota and few other relatively smaller trips. So, the planning started in November to do something bigger, bolder and traverse one leg of the golden quadrilateral. Broad contours of the plan were finalized in November first half. Plan was that my brother will travel from Mumbai to Bangalore and we'll travel to somewhere North East during Dec. last week and Jan 1st week. We started with planning for Kaziranga and gradually shifted to North Sikkim targeting Gurudongmar and Zero point. We were fully aware that targeting these two in last week of Dec. isn't the best plan as the chances of both places being open to public would be zilch. But as they say, journey is more beautiful than the destination - we thought, let's find out the truth in the statement and marched on. So, by mid November, we had finalized the dates, booked BOM-BLR flight tickets for my brother and explained our plans to mom dad. Initially, they were a little reluctant in giving their nod but finally gave a conditional approval. The condition was that they will join us on this journey.We started with agreeing on some tenets that we'll follow throughout the trip.First step was to drop pins on the map to plot our onward journey. Following the tenets above, we decided to make stops in Vizag, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Gangtok and finally in Lachung.Second step was to plan the journey for parents who were in Punjab. So instead of making them come with us all the way from Bangalore, we booked their tickets to fly to Kolkata where we planned to pick them up from and they will accompany us thereafter.Third step was to make bookings for next 2 weeks. This was the most difficult undertaking. We started with a Google sheet, added the plan with dates and cities, started pouring in options (hotels and BnBs) and made several cancelable bookings to secure places. 1 Re bookings on MMT and ibibo are quite a boon to have while doing such planning.Fourth step was to prep the car. ODO was at 17k and the last service was done at 12k. BMWs service intervals of 12k ensured that we had adequate range (7k) before the next engine oil service. So didn't bother to go to the service center. I've read about these service intervals that the range drops substantially after long trips. Since, in our case, we didn't have a choice to prepone the service that much, so took a chance. Only thing needed was to top up the adblue. It was showing topup amount of 7L but gulped up full 10L. Got it done from the nearby BP pump. They charged Rs. 1000 for 10L and did the honors. Tanked up on diesel also as Karnataka has the cheapest rate - Rs. 87.9 compared to all the other states we were going to travel to.Fifth and last step was to stock up on munchies, water and RedBull. This is when I learned that even Bisleri can be bought at a 50% discount when purchased in bulk. I picked up 2 crates of 1L Bisleris, carefully selected snacks that wouldn't cause any litter inside the car (Dates, cashews and makhanas) keeping it healthy and clean. Ordered enough stock of RedBull (for my brother) with 15 mins delivery a night before start.We planned to start at 4am from Bangalore and we managed to stick to the plan despite the fact that my brother's flight to Bangalore got delayed and he landed at 1am. I picked him up from the airport and we managed to get only a couple of hours of sleep before the long drive to Vizag. Any change would have a cascading effect and hence we decided to stick to the plan.Exiting Bangalore was a breeze early in the morning and we were greeted with wide open road to Kolar. Visibility was excellent and we clicked lots of pics of tarmac. My brother said - "Do you remember, how excited we used to be 15 years back to drive 10Kms on the DND Flyway as it used to be one fine road. Now look at these never ending stretches of fine tarmac. We certainly have come a long way with regards to the quality of roads".We didn't even realize when we crossed the border and entered Andhra. The roads continued to be superb. After driving for ~4 hours, we made our first tea stop at one of the tea shop (There are many good ones every few Kms. in Andhra). The cardamom tea was fantastic.In order to keep the 120kmph gong out, we covered long stretches on cruise set to **9In Andhra, we started noticing a lot of Omnis for pollution control certificate. This is when we realized that ours is expired. I tried couple of times in Bangalore but to no avail. Both times, the sensors showed zero reading and hence they couldn't print the certificate. I also read threads on t-bhp where people have faced the same problems with BH6 engines. So, we thought of giving one of these Omnis a try. I pulled over and asked he he could generate the certificate. He readily agreed and mentioned that for my car, he simply needs to take a picture and generate the certificate. I happily agreed and got the cert for Rs. 100. Bigger surprise was that the same was updated in mParivahan app in real time and showed validity increased by 1 year. The certificate however showed validity of 6 months. We realized only a day after when the validity in mParivahan app got reversed and it started showing expired again. For now, I have a paper that says PUC valid till xx and hope that'll work.We reached Nellore at ~10:30 and made a quick breakfast stop. This place is next to a fuel station and food was okay. No filter coffee available though.Roads continued to be good and we made it to Vijayawada at ~1:30 and faced our first traffic jam crossing the city. Lot's of red lights on this stretch and took us ~20 mins extra to cross this stretch.It was time for lunch and we stopped at a cafe called Brew Buzz while exiting Vijayawada. The place is nicely made with lot of outdoor sitting and a huge parking. It was busy at ~3pm. We ordered food but it was taking way too long. So decided to have a quick cold coffee and move. I would recommend this place to stop over if you are on this route.Roads continued to be excellent. No interruptions or unexpected bad stretches or animal crossings. It was just simple easy cruising for us. Traffic was also very light. Very few personal vehicles and truck traffic was also fairly disciplined. We crossed Penna river on the way and it looked beautiful. Sharing few more pics of excellent roads from Vijayawada to Vizag.Finally reached hotel at ~8. Got a safe parking spot with no adjacent cars parked. We stayed at Keys Lite by Lemon tree. A very nice and hygienic hotel in the middle of a very busy street. It's newly constructed and rooms were tidy. Ample parking space is available too. Sharing some pics of the place.There are a lot of places to eat nearby. We decided to keep it light and safe and ate at Subway which was at a walking distance from the hotel and retired early after the 1000 Kms Day-1 drive.Day started with researching an interesting place for breakfast. Zeroed in a place called Vasenapoli that served mouth watering Idli and Dosas made without rice. These are made from Ragi, millets and Jowar. The place is located in a very posh part of Vizag with ample parking space available right opposite the road. It's next to the governor's house. We took the toll road that went through the port. Loved the vibe of the city. Attached Thumbnails












The most popular search engine on the internet may be headed for some rough sailing in the next one or two years, according to the creator of Gmail.

During that time frame, artificial intelligence will eliminate the need for search engine result pages, which is where Google makes most of its money, and even if the search giant deploys AI to catch up, it cant do it without destroying the most valuable part of its business, predicted Paul Buchheit in a thread on Twitter.

Google may be only a year or two away from total disruption. AI will eliminate the Search Engine Result Page, which is where they make most of their money. Even if they catch up on AI, they cant fully deploy it without destroying the most valuable part of their business! https://t.co/jtq25LXdkj  Paul Buchheit (@paultoo) December 1, 2022

One thing that few people remember is the pre-Internet business that Google killed: The Yellow Pages!, he wrote. The Yellow Pages used to be a great business, but then Google got so good that everyone stopped using the yellow pages.

AI will do the same thing to web search, he added.

As Buchheit sees it, a browsers URL/Search bar will be replaced with an AI that autocompletes a thought or question as its typed while also providing the best answer, which may be a link to a website or product.

The AI will use the old search engine backend to gather relevant information and links, which will then be summarized for the user, he continued.

Its like asking a professional human researcher to do the work, except the AI will instantly do what would take many minutes for a human, he wrote.

Time for a Change

Ben Kobren, head of communications and public policy at Neeva, an AI-based search engine based in Washington, D.C., maintained that online search is long overdue for an overhaul.

If you look at search over the last 20 years, with some exceptions, it has remained relatively stagnant, he told TechNewsWorld.

Weve become accustomed to the world of 10 blue links, he explained. You put in a query, and on a good day, you receive 10 or so relatively useful links to websites that you need to further search to find an answer to your search or query. On a bad day, you receive two pages of advertisements that are trying to get you to click and buy something and not answer your question until you scroll through the ads.

In either case, he continued, youre not getting fluid answers that are simple, efficient, and what youre looking for in one stop. The power of large language models and AI is to make a transformative jump in how we interact with search engines and how we expect information to be returned to us.

We havent seen that kind of change in search in two decades, he added.

How Much Disruption?

Artificial intelligence disrupts current search models by providing consumers an easy way to find what theyre looking for, explained Noam Dorros, a director analyst at Gartner, a research and advisory company based in Stamford, Conn.

Instead of putting in time reviewing different search results for a single answer on search engine results pages, AI gathers relevant information for the consumer, summarizing it in a detailed but succinct manner, Dorros told TechNewsWorld.

Consumers attention spans continue to dwindle given the endless amount of information that is now accessible through various platforms, so any advancement in technology to satiate that thirst for knowledge in a concise manner can clearly be a game changer, he added.

Rowan Curran, an analyst with Forrester Research, a national market research company, pointed out some challenges to AI-guided search.

Large language models like OpenAIs ChatGPT are not a brand-new introduction to the online search market, Curran told TechNewsWorld. While LLMs are fantastic for certain tasks in search, there are many circumstances where getting a single answer is not the goal of an online search. For example, when looking for local restaurants, you may want to see a list with ratings rather than simply getting a direct answer for where to eat.

Due to the cost of retraining, keeping an LLM up to date on all data scraped from the internet would be prohibitively expensive, he added. With further research and work on distilling of models, this cost will likely come down, but whether it is enough to support live online search is an open question.

Advantages of Market Dominance

While AI will certainly change search, just how disruptive it will be remains to be seen, asserted Greg Sterling, co-founder of Near Media, a news, commentary, and analysis website.

AI responses are already being integrated into Neeva, he told TechNewsWorld. Theres also Perplexity.ai and others promoting AI as a search alternative. Bing will be launching AI-generated content. But if everyone does it, including Google, it may not be that disruptive. Right now, AI results live at the top of results as a kind of big snippet.

Google is potentially vulnerable, but it would be unwise to bet against them, Sterling added. They have massive AI assets; theyre just slow to roll them out. AI content could impact ad clicks and Google revenue. Thats the real concern for the company.

Neeva AI search | Image courtesy of Neeva

Google has a leg up on competitors on a number of levels, added Ross Rubin, the principal analyst with Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City.

Where search happens gives Google an advantage over its rivals, he explained. Its the default search app on market leaders Chrome, in the browser market, and Android, in the mobile phone market, and it has a deal with Apple as the default search engine on that platform.

Even if AI search engines create a better approach to finding information or meeting consumer needs than Google, Google would still have a dominant presence by which it could keep its leadership, Rubin told TechNewsWorld.

Platform-Shifting Moment

Kobren acknowledged that it would be an enormous challenge to disrupt a tremendously successful business like Google in two years.

What is clear is that this is a platform-shifting moment, he said. For the first time, youre going to see a real shift in users adopting alternatives to Google. Youre going to see real competition in the space for the first time. Theres going to be some sort of movement. How big is that going to be in two years? We cant predict that.

Liz Miller, vice president and a principal analyst at Constellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm in Cupertino, Calif., added that it would be difficult to find an industry, segment, or company that isnt going to be disrupted by AI in the next two to five years.

The reality here is that AI is seeing an accelerated path out of the experimentation lab and into really meaningful automation and intelligence applications that are delivering business and personal value, Miller told TechNewsWorld.

I hope that AI makes search about relevance and real-time user context again instead a three-horse race between user needs, publisher inventory, and Googles business model, she said. It has that potential.
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

Something to look forward to: Intel has had a hard time entering the dedicated PC graphics card arena. Its first GPU series struggled to reach the market when the company said it would, and initial impressions revealed severe flaws. However, Intel has done a lot to fix some of those deficiencies and remains determined to improve its dedicated graphics offerings.

Anonymous sources tell PC Games Hardware that Intel is preparing to release another significant driver update for its Arc graphics cards in February. Significant changes might also soon come for the company's graphics control software.

The update should drastically improve Arc Alchemist's performance for games using all graphics APIs. The patch follows a December update that improved the GPU line's massive disadvantage with DirectX 9 (DX9) titles.

One of Arc Alchemist's main weaknesses is that it doesn't natively support DX9 because Intel needed to focus its development efforts on DX12. Games started transitioning from DX9 to DX11 over a decade ago, but some of the most popular titles, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, still use DX9. Alchemist GPUs initially ran those games far worse than comparable cards, but the December drivers made up much of the difference.

The February drivers could repair the deficit further while also improving DX11, DX12, and Vulkan performance. The update will also introduce new features, but PCGH sources did not cite any examples.

Those new features could include an overhaul for how Arc users control graphics and schedule updates. Intel hasn't publicly revealed the new software, but Linus Tech Tips and Albert Thomas of Toms Hardware confirm that Intel told them it exists.

Intel Arc's current graphics control method, Arc Control, has faced heavy criticism, primarily because it's an overlay lacking an adjustable window rather than standalone software. Linus says the replacement app will consolidate Arc Controls' features into a single pane, while Thomas said it would satisfy users who don't like the overlay.

A recently leaked roadmap reveals Team Blue's plans to refresh the Alchemist lineup later this year before launching its successor - Battlemage - in 2024. While Alchemist only consists of entry-level and midrange GPUs, Battlemage might include Intel's first enthusiast-level card. The series is expected to improve ray tracing, memory, and machine learning.
In brief: While the US has further tightened restrictions on chip-related exports to China recently, there are some entities in the country that have been on an export blacklist for decades. One of these is China's top nuclear-weapons research institute, but that hasn't stopped it from regularly buying Intel and Nvidia hardware.

The state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) was one of the first to be placed on a US export blacklist in 1997 because of its work in the field of nuclear weapons, preventing it from purchasing American technology. However, according to a Wall Street Journal report, the institute has obtained US hardware at least a dozen times since 2020, including Intel's Xeon Gold processors and Nvidia's GeForce RTX graphics cards, for use in academy computers.

Intel and Nvidia cannot sell their products directly to the CAEP; instead, the institute bought them from Chinese marketplaces such as Taobao, Aliexpress, and other resellers. A WSJ review of CAEP-published research papers found at least 34 over the last decade referenced using American semiconductors in its research. The laboratory studies computational fluid dynamics, a broad scientific field that includes modeling nuclear explosions; physicists at CAEP helped develop the country's first hydrogen bomb.

The revelation illustrates the difficulty in enforcing US export restrictions on China. Nvidia said the millions of PCs sold worldwide means it cannot control where its products end up. Intel said it complies with export regulations and sanctions and so must its distributors and customers.

"It is insanely difficult to enforce the U.S. restrictions when it comes to transactions overseas," former top Commerce Department official Kevin Wolf told the WSJ.

The Department of Defense said China has been accelerating its nuclear weapons development in recent years. The People's Liberation Army currently has more than 400 warheads, a figure that could reach about 1,500 by 2035 if the current rate of expansion continues.

With the export restrictions in place, China has been trying to create its own chips, a plan the US is trying to scupper by prohibiting the sale of advanced chipmaking tools to the Asian nation. The Biden administration recently came to an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan that will see the two countries impose their own export controls on chipmaking equipment to China.
Ford is now reducing its prices on its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV as high as $6,000, according to a report by AP on Monday, Jan. 30.

(Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Ford Mustang Mach-E GT SUV on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California on November 17, 2021.

Small Pricing War for EVs

The company has ramped up its production of the Mach-E this 2023 while using reduced expenses to lower the pricing of its product. The move follows EV giant Tesla's announcement that it will reduce prices by 6% to 20% in the US for most of its models in hopes that it will boost demand and market share.



Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting for consulting firm LMC Automotive, told AP that Ford's move will most likely prompt other automakers to cut down their prices, as well as ignite a small pricing war for electric cars.



He said that if other companies want to remain price competitive in the market, they must be willing to cut down on their prices as well.



But at the same time, Schuster does not predict an all-out price war that would drastically lower the prices of several EV models. Instead, automakers will likely protect their profit margins in the competitive EV market.

Read Also: New Ford EV Dealership Requirements Confirmed! Automaker's Five Sales Pillars to Include Online Sellers

Keeping the Mach-E Competitive

The price reductions, according to Ford, are a part of the company's strategy to keep the SUV competitive in a rapidly evolving market.



A base rear-wheel-drive standard range Mach-E will cost $900 less, dropping from $46,895 to $45,995. The most expensive GT extended model will drop by $5,900, from $69,895 to $63,995. Shipping, taxes, and other costs are not included in the prices.



Tesla reduced the costs of its electric car models on Jan. 13, making some of them eligible for a brand-new federal tax credit that may help increase consumer interest.



For some versions of the Model Y SUV, which is its best-selling product, the business reduced pricing in the United States by about 20%. More Model Y models will now qualify for the $7,500 electric car tax credit, which will be offered through March.



Additionally, Tesla decreased the basic price of its least expensive vehicle, the Model 3, by nearly 6%.



The reductions were made in light of waning demand and a falling stock price for Tesla. CEO Elon Musk claimed that the move will result in higher sales, with 1.8 million vehicles delivered this year, which would be a 40% increase from 2022 if his projections come true.



Meanwhile, Ford explained that its pricing reductions are intended to increase the appeal of Mach-E to EV buyers and increase the automaker's market share.

Nissan, which competes with the Ariya and Leaf in the US told AP that it has no immediate plans to reduce prices following Ford's move.



The Chevrolet brand of General Motors, which will have four EV model lines available for purchase by the end of 2023, said it has no upcoming price announcements as well.



Customers who have ordered Mach Es and are waiting for delivery will immediately receive the reduced prices, according to Ford. People who already own cars with a sale date after Jan. 1 will be contacted directly by the company.

Related Article: Ford NFT, Virtual Automobiles Appear on Leaked Trademark Applications; Does it Mean Entering the Metaverse?

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Egypt has an abundance of historical artifacts, which can be largely attributed to the ancient practices of mummifying the remains of the deceased that archaeologists continue to uncover today. But this new find might bear heavier historical significance than those previously found yet.



Archaeologists excavating near Cairo, Egypt have unearthed a Pharaonic tomb, which may hold the oldest and most complete mummy ever uncovered in the country, according to a report by Reuters.

(Photo : KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

A statue is displayed after the announcement of a new discovery carried out by an Egyptian archaeological team in Giza's Saqqara necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on November 23, 2019.

4,300-Year-Old Mummy

Zahi Hawass, the team's director, said that the 4,300-year-old mummy was discovered at the bottom of a 15-meter hole in a freshly discovered cluster of fifth and sixth dynasty tombs close to the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.



He adds that this mummy may just be the most complete and oldest found in the country so far.



The mummified man was found by Hawass and a group of 10 assistants 20 meters (66 feet) down at the Gisr el-Mudir enclosure, beneath the old Step Pyramid of Djoser in the Saqqara village.



According to Hawass, the mummy was in one of the shafts the team entered and was placed in a 25-ton stone casket, the lid of which weighed five tonnes by itself.



He recalled that when they uncovered the lid, they were mesmerized by the beautiful mummy adorned in layers of gold, with a bracelet on the chest, and a band on the head. These accessories may indicate that this person was rich or that he may have belonged to a high-ranking family.



The mummified man, who goes by the name Hekashepes, was preserved in a mortar-sealed limestone sarcophagus.

Read Also: Radiologists Unwrap a 2,300-Year-Old 'Golden Boy' Mummy from Egypt Via CT Scans

Old Kingdom Finds

Two graves were among the numerous other Old Kingdom items found, according to Hawass, one of which was from the time between 2494 and 2487 BC, when King Unas of the Fifth Dynasty ruled the country.



Additionally, a shaft containing three statues of an individual, and nine other statues were discovered behind a false door.

Hawass told CNN that the statues are significant because they provide information on Old Kingdom art for the first time. The finds include a variety of statues, such as servant statues, double statues, and single statues.

One of the graves discovered belonged to Khnumdjedef, who served as a priest, an overseer of nobles, and an inspector of officials under the rule of Unas, the last pharaoh of the fifth dynasty.



Meri, who held numerous significant titles, including keeper of the secrets and assistant to the great leader of the palace, had the second-largest tomb, according to Hawass.



According to the carvings on the coffin, a second 10-meter-deep grave also housed a stone sarcophagus and wooden and stone sculptures. It also contained the mummy of a man named Fetek.

Several statues were also discovered amid the tombs, one of which was a figure of a man, his wife, and servants.

Related Article: [LOOK] Warsaw Mummy Project Reveals Portrait of Egyptian 'Mysterious Lady' Through Facial Reconstruction

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One of the most controversial stories from the past is now seeing a hearing under the House Oversight Committee, where three former Twitter executives will have an unexpected reunion. This revolves around the Hunter Biden story controversy that the company allegedly blocked from running, now seeing a probe from Congress.

The story centers on the alleged scandal in US politics, where the files were stolen from President Joe Biden's son, after having them for repair in Delaware and never receiving it back.

Hunter Biden Story Probe: Former Twitter Execs to Testify

(Photo : CONSTANZA HEVIA/AFP via Getty Images)

According to an AP News report, the hearing set to start by February 8 will look into why the Hunter Biden story from the New York Post back in October 2020 was hidden by Twitter from the public. It will now investigate the Hunter Biden story and controversy, looking into what happened before the November 2020 elections.

It would also invite three former Twitter executives to testify and explain their side or hand in what happened, those known for facing unemployment or leaving their posts after Elon Musk took over.

These three former executives include Yoel Roth, ex-Twitter head of safety and integrity; Vijaya Gadde, ex-Twitter chief legal officer; and James Baker, ex-Twitter deputy general counsel.

Read Also: Twitter 'GodMode': Whistleblower Reveals this Allows Engineers to Tweet as Anyone, But is it Legit?

What is the Hunter Biden Scandal from 2020?

The story from The New York Post from October 2020 was among the first to release the "Secret e-mails" from Hunter Biden's laptop, one that talked about election tampering, as claimed by the sources.

This particular story was also blocked by Twitter from running the platform, and it was then led by co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Now, this story will be out in the open, and ex-Twitter executives will take the stand to explain their hands on the past situation.

Twitter's Controversies

There were many hidden happenings from Twitter's past administration, and the now Chief Twit is all hands on deck to uncover these mysteries, especially from a known whistleblower. The infamous "Twitter Files" from Matt Taibbi talked about the many secrets that were hidden by the former executives of the company, now coming to light.

One of the earliest revelations regarding the Twitter Files was the Hunter Biden controversy where the leaker claimed that it was in his possession and would also reveal it to the world.

Apart from this issue, the controversial files also claimed that it has more to share with the world, and also talked about how co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey, has some dirt.

While the Twitter Files were all about what the social media hid from the world and was the first to do so, House probes are now looking into having it all out in the open. This Hunter Biden controversy would now be public knowledge and look into why Twitter hid the story from publishing on the platform, with former executives to testify under oath.

Related Article: Twitter Is Hit With Another Lawsuit for Allegedly Unpaid Rent on its London Office

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France and Australia announced a joint production and delivery of several thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine, which will commence in the following weeks, according to a report by AP on Monday, Jan. 30.

(Photo : YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Children hold Ukrainian flags along the road near Sloviansk on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

France-Australia Collaboration

The multi-million dollar initiative comes at the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's requests from its Western allies for more arms supply to its forces as it finds itself in nearly a year of conflict with Russia.

The announcement was made by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. This collaboration may indicate that the two nations have moved past a dispute over submarines.



This is because the Australian government decided to forego a $66 billion deal for a fleet of conventionally-powered submarines from France in exchange for nuclear submarines from a secret deal with the US and the UK.



But now, both countries are once again collaborating to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.



They have not provided additional details for the collaboration due to national security reasons.



Sebastien Lecornu, minister of the armed forces of France, said that they may begin sending the first set of shells in the first quarter of 2023. He adds that they intend to provide a consistent supply of shells to Ukraine as the war rages on.

Read Also: Ukraine Buys 1,400 Drones to Develop Combat Models That May Rival Russia's Exploding Drones

Fast-Track Discussions

The recent announcement coincides with the fast-track discussions between Ukraine and its Western allies about supplying Kyiv's forces with long-range missiles and other weapons.



It also follows the US's decision to send its M1 Abrams tanks even though there were earlier reservations about conducting this plan since the tanks may be too difficult for Ukraine to manage. But the Biden administration ultimately decided to send 31 of these military vehicles.



This in turn encouraged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks. His decision also allowed other Western allies to send their own tanks despite his earlier reservations that a unilateral move could provoke Russia.

NATO's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg also visited South Korea on Sunday, Jan. 29, and urged the country to send direct military support to Ukraine.



South Korea has been indirectly supporting Ukraine by providing arms to NATO members such as Poland. However, the country has a policy that prohibits it from sending weapons to nations engaged in active combat.

An American official also told AP that the US has made deals with South Korea for around 100,00 artillery rounds to be sent to Ukraine. But South Korean officials maintained that these weapons were intended for the US military only.

NATO and some of the Western allies have been supporting Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022 by sending several weapons to boost its military forces.

Related Article: US Officials Claim Russian Military Company Received Arms from North Korea Amid Ongoing War with Ukraine

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The world's largest electric cargo plane has been unveiled, as reported by Electrek. The plane is made by Pyka, a leader in electric Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.

(Photo : BARBARA DEBOUT/AFP via Getty Images)

The last 47 French soldiers of the logistics mission (MISLOG-B) are seen at Bangui airport on December 15, 2022 before boarding a C130 cargo plane. - French soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic left Bangui, the capital, on December 15, 2022 at midday, noted an AFP journalist, while the country, in the grip of a civil war since 2013, resorts to the Russian militia Wagner.

Making History Again

The company has introduced its Pelican Cargo, which is the largest autonomous electric cargo plane in the world today. It is designed to remove carbon emissions from the logistics chain while providing a significant speed advantage over ground transportation and operating costs at a fraction of conventional air transportation.

The aircraft will have a range of up op 200 miles and a payload of up to 400 lbs in 66 feet of cargo space. It will also have a sliding cargo tray that allow for faster loading.

It is equipped with four electric motors, 100 kW combined power, and a 50 kWh lithium-ion swappable battery. The batteries may be swapped or recharged in approximately an hour. Furthermore, it has GPS and Laser/Radar based navigation that allows for night flying.

Orders are already coming, as the company stated that they have secure pre-commitment of over 80 orders and options for their electric cargo plane from three customers.

Currently, Pyka is testing the aircraft at their facility in Northern California. The goal is to have the first commercial operation in second half of the year.

Also Read: Metro Hop's New Electric Plane Can Take Off from Very Short Runway! It Only Needs 25 Meters to Get Airborne

It All Started With Crop Spraying

At first, the goal of the project was for crop spraying. Things took a turn due to the funding the company received from Y Combinator, a tech startup accelerator. This resulted in the making of the "Egret."

By 2019, Pyka had Egret certified for commercial operation with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, which made it the first human-scale electric aircraft for commercial operations.

It was able to raise another $8 million in funding that led to flying their second-generation electric crop-sprayer, which was named the Pelican. The Pelican was then deployed to Costa Rica to spray bananas for major customers. With this, Pyka became the first company to have an autonomous fixed-wing aerial to spray over a banana crop field.

It can be seen and felt that the company is continuously making progress in the aviation industry by using advanced technologies to further reduce carbon emissions. Pyka's latest creation only shows that there are a lot of ways for planes to travel without reducing the environment. With this, it won't come as a surprise when see more UAVs up in the air.

By going electric air transportation can achieve net zero carbon spoon enough. Pyka's electric cargo plane could also change the shipping industry for the better.

Related Article: Future FedEx Cargo Planes Could Come with Anti-Missile Laser Systems | AirBus A321-200 Equipped with Defense Technology?

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Samsung's most anticipated event is coming early this year, and like the past years where it held it during February to deliver its first round of tech developments and updates. This event is known as the Galaxy Unpacked, with 2023 seeing the unveiling of its latest innovations, centering on the flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S23.

However, reports claim that there would be more than the Samsung smartphone coming to the world, with more gadgets to expect by then.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023: When Is It Coming?

(Photo : JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Lights pan around the stage during the Samsung Unpacked product launch event.

Samsung's Unpacked 2023 is already teasing what to expect for the next event and a new round of tech releases from the company. It will have a global showcase right at the start of next month, with a February 1 event date, which is only several hours from now, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and 6 p.m. GMT.

Of course, this schedule is earlier than last year's event, as it took place on February 8, the second week of the year. However, there seems to be a different focus for Samsung now, especially as it cannot wait to unveil its latest releases to the world.

Read Also: Samsung Pay to Change Its Name to Samsung Wallet: #SamsungPayisGettingBetter

Galaxy Unpacked 2023: What to Expect?

The three teasers from Samsung released on its YouTube page all center on the Galaxy S23 lineup, including the base model, as well as an expected Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The main theme of its S23 is "Epic connectivity," teasing mostly is cameras, especially in night mode. It also talked about the Moon, and it may very well be the latest capabilities of its rear lenses to capture a clearer image of the natural satellite.

On the other hand, there is also the Galaxy Book 3 laptop that will arrive alongside the smartphone. In Samsung US, there is a pre-order promotion of as much as $100 Samsung Credit for pre-purchasing or reserving the smartphone and laptop before the event.

Samsung's Technology

The South Korean tech giant is best known for their portable devices, as well as tablets, and home appliances to its multinational releases, and these are expected to arrive by its next showcase. One of the most anticipated innovations is the Galaxy S23 series which leaks and speculations have very much filled in, leaving much to the public's imagination.

There are also speculations about the next laptop from Samsung, and this one is called the "Galaxy Book 3," continuing where it left off in March 2021. While the company skipped a year in its laptop development, it surely has something in store this year for the world to expect, rivaling that of the MacBook from Apple and Huawei's MateBook.

A lot of things are coming to light come the Galaxy Unpacked event and people are already waiting for its February schedule, which has been the setup for Samsung for several years now. And this year, it is expected that the schedule is on point, already confirming its February showcase, to deliver its latest developments for all.

Related Article: Samsung Galaxy A14 5G Gets its First-Ever Update - Here's What's New

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Every NASA mission is poetic in its own right as they aim to unravel the deep secrets of the universe. From landing the first man on the moon to capturing snapshots of distant galaxies - deep diving into space is truly a poetic endeavor.

However, NASA's upcoming Europa Clipper mission, which will find signs of life in Jupiter's moons, will literally have a "poetic" flight.

Poetry Meets Space

Art meets science and poetry meet space as US Poet Laureate Ada Limon writes her heart out for a new poem dedicated to the Europa Clipper mission.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will be inscribed with her poetry, which will be published in the upcoming months, as per NASA's press release on Monday, Jan. 30.

It will be a part of a future NASA-led mission that will invite public engagement worldwide and travel 1.8 billion miles on its way to the Jupiter system.

In October 2024, the spacecraft is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and by 2030, it will be orbiting the gas giant.

Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter, will be the target of numerous flybys by this spacecraft in order to collect data and assess whether or not life may exist there.

One of the most promising habitable habitats in our solar system, beyond Earth, is Europa, which is predicted to have a large interior ocean.

Europa is believed to contain an iron core and a rocky mantle, just like our planet. Strong evidence supporting the existence of an ocean of salt water hidden beneath Europa's frozen shells was acquired by the Galileo mission in the late 1990s. If this is validated, the ocean might contain more water than the entire surface of the planet.

According to scientists, this water is in contact with the moon's stony interior, which could enable a variety of intriguing chemical reactions. Hence, astrobiologists believe that Europa is one of the distant worlds out there that could support life.

Read Also: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Eyes a Festive Galactic Season in the Soul Nebula

The Poet Among the Stars

In 2022, Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, named Limon the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. She is of Mexican origin and was born in 1976 in Sonoma, California.

(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Her poetry volumes include "The Hurting Kind;" "The Carrying," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her "Bright Dead Things" was also a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award.

This spring, more details about Limon's new work and how the public can participate will be made available. The project is a unique partnership between NASA, the US Poet Laureate, and the Library of Congress that fuses art and science.

Europa Clipper is being built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and the process is streamed live 24/7.

Related Article: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Detects the Deepest, Coldest Ices Ever Measured in a Molecular Cloud

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Another successful flight test was accomplished by the collaborative Hypersonic Airbreathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) of the US Air Force and DARPA. With its Aerojet Rocketdyne scramjet, the Lockheed Martin missile version completed a program that met all of its original goals, per DARPA's press release on Jan. 30.

The HAWC's last flight test provided crucial information for the development of hypersonic technology being carried out by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

"Most Successful Hypersonic Airbreathing Flight"

"This month's flight added an exclamation point to the most successful hypersonic airbreathing flight test program in US history," Walter Price, an Air Force deputy for the HAWC program, said in a statement.

He noted that what they learned in HAWC will help the US Air Force expand its capabilities.

The Lockheed Martin missile reached speeds greater than Mach 5, with altitudes larger than 60,000 feet and ranges greater than 300 nautical miles. The most recent flight showed enhanced capabilities and performance, according to DARPA.

Two plausible hypersonic airbreathing missile designs from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have been added to the country's hypersonic portfolio and will remain in development over time.

According to Andrew "Tippy" Knoedler, the HAWC program manager, a new generation of hypersonic engineers and scientists was produced thanks to the program.

"HAWC also brought a wealth of data and progress to the airbreathing hypersonic community. The industry teams attacked the challenge of scramjet-powered vehicles in earnest, and we had the grit and luck to make it work," Knoedler said in a statement.

Read also: US Air Force's New System Helps Jets Navigate Using Earth's Magnetic Field: Satellite-Based GPS No Longer Needed?

More Opportunities

Even though the HAWC initiative has completed its last phase, there is still data to evaluate and more room for the technology to advance. DARPA intends to build and fly more vehicles that expand on HAWC's innovations to continue this maturation in the More Opportunities with HAWC (MOHAWC) program.

These missiles are expected to increase the scramjet's operational range and offer technical entry points for upcoming programs of record.

According to Interesting Engineering, hypersonic airbreathing is a design feature in scramjet engines, which suck in air to combine oxygen from the atmosphere with hydrogen fuel.

Scramjet engines gather this oxygen as the airplane or missile moves. After that, the oxygen is combined with hydrogen fuel to produce the combustion necessary for hypersonic flight, which travels at a speed of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Related Article: US Air Force Admits Its F-35 Program is a Failure: Chief Staff General Suggests a Possible Solution for the Issue

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NASA's Perseverance rover completed its ten tube samples deposit on the Red Planet, collecting an astounding range of Martian surface so they can be examined on Earth in the future.



Around 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST) on Sunday, Jan. 29, mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received notification that the Perseverance Mars rover had successfully dropped the 10th and last tube intended for the depot.

Mars Sample Return Program

NASA said that thorough planning and navigation were provided to ensure that the tubes could be safely collected in the future by the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return program, which aims to transport samples from Mars to Earth for deeper analysis.

The rover has consistently collected two samples from rocks that the mission team considers important for science. In the "Three Forks" portion of Jezero Crater's depot, one sample from each of the pairs that have been collected thus far.

As part of the campaign, the depot samples will act as a backup set while the other half will stay inside Perseverance, which will be the main vehicle for delivering the samples to a Sample Retrieval Lander.

According to mission scientists, the igneous and sedimentary rock cores offer a great cross-section of the geologic events that occurred in Jezero soon after the crater's creation roughly 4 billion years ago.

Additionally, the rover left behind an atmospheric sample and a device known as a "witness" tube, which is intended to check whether samples are potentially contaminated by substances that traveled with the rover from Earth.

Read also: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Zooms in on Mars for the First Time, Capturing Stiking Martian Details!

Complex Zigzag Pattern

To ensure that they could be recovered safely, the titanium tubes were laid out on the surface in a complex zigzag pattern, with each sample being spaced out by between 15 and 50 feet (5 and 15 meters).

The team was required to properly map each 7-inch (18.6-centimeter) long tube and glove (adapter) combination's location to ensure that the samples could be identified even if they were covered in dust.

The depot is located on flat land close to the base of the raised, fan-shaped old river delta, created decades ago when a river merged with a lake there, according to NASA.

"With the Three Forks depot in our rearview mirror, Perseverance is now headed up the delta," Rick Welch, Perseverance's deputy project manager at JPL, said in a statement.

"We'll make our ascent via the 'Hawksbill Gap' route we previously explored. Once we pass the geologic unit the science team calls 'Rocky Top,' we will be in new territory and begin exploring the Delta Top."

Related Article: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Captures the Most Detailed Image of the Martian Surface with 2.5 Billion Pixels

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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is already assessing a license application from SaxaVord spaceport on Unst, Shetland, as reported by The Scotsman. It is also expected that it will receive bids from other Scottish sites.

(Photo : MICHAL WACHUCIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency Graham Turnock speaks at an event to unveil British aerospace company Orbex's new Prime Rocket at the company's new headquarters and rocket design facility in Forres in the Scottish Highlands on February 7, 2019.

A consultation was conducted in November on the environmental impact of the SaxaVord plans. However, there are hopes that the first Scottish licenses will be released by the middle of the year and conduct a first orbital launch with a payload late this year or in 2024.

Space Sector in Scotland

Things are heating up in the space sector in Scotland, and it's very exciting. The north of Scotland is in a good position because it's high up on the planet.

However, safety is a top priority for them. Their main concern is to protect the public, which is why they need to ensure the space is extremely remote. Usually, there is a circular zone around the vertical spaceport, and then it fans out into a big triangular shape over the flight path.

The size of the zone would depend on several factors, like the rocket size and fuel. Furthermore, the options may include people being moved out during launches or mitigating measures.

Spaceports must work with the communities, especially since not all rocket launches are successful. They need to ensure that the rockets, should they fail, must occur safely.

Another key factor is the technology and innovation that is happening in the space sector. Scotland has already made significant investments in researching, developing, and testing new space technologies and projects.

Also read: UK Spaceport to Host the First European Orbital Launch With Virgin Orbit

The University of Glasgow is leading the way with its Space Innovation Centre, which is developing a range of technologies that could be used in the space industry.

Scotland is also a member of the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency. This means that they have access to the latest technology and expertise. Scotland is also home to a number of space companies and research institutions that are helping to push the boundaries of space exploration.

In terms of launch preparation, the spaceports will need to work closely with the operators and the authorities to ensure that all safety protocols are in place. These protocols could include things such as checking weather conditions, making sure the rocket is properly fuelled, and that the launch pad is ready and secure.

The spaceports will also need to provide operational support for the launches. This could involve providing the necessary infrastructure and communications systems and training staff for the launches. It is also important that the spaceports have the necessary emergency response capabilities in place.

Overall, spaceports must have the proper resources and capabilities in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved. It is also important that they work closely with local communities to minimize any potential impacts.

Related article: Ukraine's Promin Aerospace Gears for First Satellite Launch in 2023 Amid Ongoing War with Russia

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After Samsung, Lenovo and LG, we could very soon see Apple unveil its first-ever foldable device, as the company is rumored to be reportedly working on a new affordable and foldable iPad that may release next year.

According to the latest reports coming from the reputed supply chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, the Cupertino giant could reportedly launch its first-ever foldable iPad in 2024.

While Kuo did not provide much information on the rumored foldable iPad, the device will likely feature a carbon fiber kickstand manufactured by Chinese component manufacturer Anjie Technology. The carbon fiber material is expected to make the device more durable and lighter in weight.

With Apple already launching M2 series chipsets, Mac mini, Homepod, and more this year, there will be no launch of new iPads by the tech giant in the upcoming nine to twelve months, says Ming-Chi Kuo, as the iPad mini refresh is more likely to commence mass production in the first quarter of next year. He also estimated that the sales of iPad will have a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 10-15 percent.

However, Kuo anticipates that the foldable iPad released in 2024 will not only benefit the shipment of Apple iPads but also enhance the product mix.

Besides the foldable iPad, the analyst suggests that Apple will also launch iPad Mini with a new and upgraded processor in 2024. It will go into mass production in the first quarter of 2024.

Anjie Technology will be the new beneficiary of the all-new design foldable iPad. There may be no new iPad releases in the next 9 -12 months as the iPad mini refresh is more likely to begin mass production in 1Q24, Kuo wrote in a series of tweets on Monday.

Thus, Im taking a cautious approach to iPad shipments for 2023, predicting a YoY decline of 10-15%. Nevertheless, Im positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix.

This is not the first time that rumors of a foldable iPad have surfaced online. In October 2022, research firm CCS Insight released a study that speculated Apple could release a foldable iPad in 2024 instead of a rumored foldable iPhone as a test run for foldable technology.
INTERVIEW - Four years ago, on April 15, 2019, the spire of the famous cathedral collapsed under the onslaught of flames. Since then, the renovation of Notre-Dame has been underway, and in 2023, a team of researchers present on the site was able to find and date iron staples, which make it possible to consolidate the stone structure of the building. The opportunity to return to the history of the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, with Mathieu Lours, architectural historian and specialist in religious buildings, guest of Virginie Girod in Au Coeur de l'Histoire. The construction of Notre Dame began in 1160 and was almost completed nearly a century later. In the nineteenth century, when the architect Viollet-le-Duc discovered Notre-Dame, the building was in very poor condition. He then decided to renovate it and add the famous spire of Notre-Dame. For Mathieu Lours, despite the age of this monument, "Notre-Dame remains one of the least well-known cathedrals. They hadn't been put in there since 1864 for structural restorations. Beyond belief, beyond the imaginary, beyond our relationship to history, every man sees in Our Lady a cathedral of the imagination." "Au Cur de l'Histoire" is a Europe 1 Studio production.
Lara Nicholson writes for The Advocate as a Report for America Corps Member. Email her at lnicholson@theadvocate.com or follow her on Twitter @LaraNicholson_.

To learn more about Report for America and to support our journalism, please click here.
Martin Luther King Jr. thought some of his closest associates  including New Orleans native Andrew Young  were too comfortable, too meek and holding the civil rights movement back. Progress won't be achieved accepting things as they are and being "well-adjusted," King told them. Change happens with those who are uncomfortable with "normal," those who are upset and "maladjusted."
Booming international oil and gas prices drove another huge revenue boost for Origin Energy in the final three months of 2022, but calls are now growing for more gas to be sold to the domestic market where producers face new price caps.

Origins APLNG venture in Queensland, the largest gas producer on the eastern seaboard, posted a 42 per cent jump in sales revenue to $3.1 billion for the December quarter compared to the same time the prior year.

Demand and prices for Australian LNG have risen amid a global energy crisis. Credit: Krystle Wright

The company also revealed it had supplied three spare shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the North Asian spot market, where one-off cargoes were selling for historically high average prices above $US30 per million British thermal units during the period, boosting its sales revenue.

Queenslands LNG industry is under pressure to do more to supply the local market. Last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) renewed warnings of possible east-coast gas supply shortages later this year, noting that LNG exporters had ample uncontracted supplies to avert a domestic shortfall, but were yet to commit enough under firm contracts to local buyers.
Kelly, who did not respond to a request for comment, told his followers on Monday that Eventbrite removed their service and tried to disrupt our efforts. Clive Palmer and the UAP will not be deterred from bringing these important events to the Australian public. Eventbrite did not respond to our inquiries either, but a UAP spokesman told us it wasnt quite as dramatic as Kelly was hinting at. They simply withdrew from the ticketing arrangement, the man from the Palmer party said. They have been replaced, and all tickets are nearly sold out. HOURS OF POWER The politico-media bubble is enthralled at the workplace dispute that has become public this week between teal independent MP Monique Ryan and her chief of staff  of six months standing  marriage equality campaigner and social media powerhouse Sally Rugg.

To recap: Rugg is taking Ryan and the Commonwealth to the Federal Court, alleging the Kooyong MP tried to sack her after she refused to work unreasonable hours, leaving many with experience in such roles perplexed to say the least  outrageous hours are kind of a KPI in political offices. So, what exquisite timing for one of the big cheeses of Victorias union movement, Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari, to give his comrades working in Labor government ministerial offices a pep talk in which the eight-hour day got an honourable mention. Luke Hilakari: Eight-hour day advocate. Credit: Simon Schluter But Hilakari hosed down any suggestion that he was fomenting industrial strife in the corridors of power, just reminding the political adviser class what their partys forebears had stood for. It was about grounding people in the labour movements history, the Trades Hall secretary told CBD.

We were the first place in the world to have the eight-hour day, the first place in the British Empire to have a Labour member elected to parliament, so you can take some inspiration from what our forbears achieved. The gathering at Zinc in Federation Square was also addressed by Victoria Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss Paul Guerra, no mate of the union movement, who reminded the government types of the importance of keeping business onside. OUT OF OFFICE The Greens used to say, back in Richard Di Natales day, that they do politics differently. The slogan  along with Di Natale  has long since been retired, but the partys new state MP for Richmond, Gabrielle di Vietri, is keeping the dream alive. Consternated inner-east locals have noticed that di Vietri has broken with the long-standing practice of her predecessor Richard Wynne and opened her electorate office on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy just four days a week  Monday to Thursday.

Not only is the former mayor of Yarra doing this aspect of politics differently to the vast majority of the states lower house MPs, shes standing out from the crowd of her fellow Greens MPs Ellen Sandell, Sam Hibbins, Tim Read and Samantha Ratnam, who all open their offices to constituents five days a week. But, you know, broad church and all that. A spokesman for di Vietri told CBD: The work of an MP is of course not confined to sitting behind a desk in the office. Gabrielle de Vietri will not be office-bound on Fridays. Credit: Jason South Gabrielles team has set aside Friday as their dedicated day to be out in the community, to make sure theyre as accessible to the people of Cremorne, Burnley, Abbotsford and Richmond, as they are to the people of Collingwood, Fitzroy and Clifton Hill. REGAL REGRETS

Australias monarchists have a problem. Nobody is particularly excited about King Charles III. In a stinging email sent to members last month, the Australian Monarchist Leagues chairman, Philip Benwell, likened getting people to come to the organisations events to pulling teeth. The lack of positive response ... has been very off-putting for organisers and many are not willing to spend their time when faced with such lack of interest by members, Benwell wrote. Crown slips: Philip Benwell has found it difficult to drum up interest in Australian Monarchist League events. Credit: Steven Siewert Perhaps the appointment of Liberal warhorse Eric Abetz as campaign chairman hasnt quite revved up the base, and not everybodys too happy with the rightward politics of the movement. As this column reported last year, Benwell had to issue an apology over a conference that platformed Pauline Hanson and Katherine Deves. The movements chairman added that the forces arrayed against us are formidable. Its just that some of those seem to be on the inside.
This is certainly true for 32-year-old Sandy Gokal, who recently welcomed her first child. A few years ago, Sandy had just bought her first home with her husband and felt overwhelmed by her finances.

Becoming financially confident empowers parents to have healthier money conversations at home and help their children practise skills like budgeting and investing from a young age. Once they know how, parents are often keen to pass this life skill on to their children.

Having helped hundreds of adults take control of their finances, including countless parents, Ive seen first-hand that financially upskilling parents benefits the whole family.

So, we cant rely on schools alone. Parents must be a part of the solution. Theory taught in school can quickly be undermined if those lessons are not reinforced or role-modelled at home.

Growing up, money was not something my parents talked about openly. They talked about saving, but that was about it. After getting married we bought a property, and suddenly I had this huge mortgage but still had no idea what I was doing with my finances. I didnt know the first thing about things like investing, taxes, or superannuation. It was nerve-wracking, she says.

Sandy decided to enrol in a financial education program, and less than five years later, she and her husband paid off over half their mortgage, tripled the balance of Sandys super fund, and saved more than $100,000.

Having experienced the benefits of financial education, Sandy says she now wants to pass this on to her child from as early an age as possible.

Im excited I have the skills to give my child a level of financial education I didnt get growing up. I plan to have open conversations about topics like saving and spending. I also hope to start an investment fund for our child and use it as a tool to help them learn about investing, she says.

Asked whether she wants to see financial education in schools, Sandy said shed rather take a more active role in teaching her child about money.
On Saturday, authorities in Beijing abruptly announced that Chinese students learning remotely with Australian universities must return to their campuses if they want their degrees acknowledged. Since Chinas mass protests over COVID-19 restrictions in November, officials at every level in the Peoples Republic have been scrambling to signal some sort of return to normal, and this may be the latest instalment. But it also comes as a thaw in relations with Australia makes studying here a more attractive option for young Chinese and more palatable for its government.

For thousands of students the ruling means suddenly having to organise travel, visas and accommodation for a semester starting within weeks. Vicki Thomson, the chief executive of Australias Group of Eight leading universities, which account for just over 70 per cent of all Chinese international enrolments, described that as an almost impossible task. International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood suggested many students would have to seek deferrals.

Education Minister Jason Clare. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the decision could pose some short-term logistical issues, and Im working with universities and the home affairs minister [Clare ONeil] on this, while acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan called on the federal bureaucracy for accelerated visa processing.

But apart from the logistical issues, the reaction from education providers and all levels of government has been positive. All clearly are looking forward to the economic boost the students presence represents as part of a multibillion-dollar export industry, as well as their return to the depleted workforce. The experience on campus should be better for all once they are bustling again with a mix of international and Australian students.
Police are considering using rare crime prevention powers as part of a long-term reform project designed to tackle the intractable and deadly scourge of domestic violence.

After 648 people were arrested and charged with 1153 offences in a four-day statewide blitz last week, senior police said they were looking into whether serious crime prevention orders (SCPOs) could be deployed to stop serious domestic violence.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith (R) with Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon. Credit: AAP

Such orders are granted by the NSW Supreme Court in rare cases, where police seek to place specified restrictions on senior organised crime figures they suspect of future involvement in serious criminal offences, including homicide.

Whether and how such orders might be imposed on high-risk domestic abusers is now the subject of a reform project that NSW Police commenced last year to shift the focus of police towards prevention, in particular by targeting repeat offenders.
Peshawar: Pakistani authorities are scrambling to determine how a suicide bomber was able to carry out one of the countrys deadliest militant attacks in years, unleashing an explosion in a crowded mosque inside a highly secured police compound in the city of Peshawar. The death toll from the blast climbed to 100.

Monday mornings (Pakistan time) bombing, which left at least 225 wounded, raised alarm among officials over a major security breach at a time when the Pakistani Taliban, the main anti-government militant group, has stepped up attacks, particularly targeting the police and the military.

An injured victim of a suicide bombing talks on his mobile phone after getting initial treatment outside a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. Credit: AP

In a televised speech to parliament on Tuesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, of carrying out the attack, saying they were operating from neighbouring Afghan territory and demanding the Afghan Taliban take action against them. A TTP commander earlier claimed responsibility, but a spokesman for the group later distanced the TTP from the carnage, saying it was not its policy to attack mosques.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the Sunni mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest, officials said. The blast blew off part of the roof, and what was left caved in, injuring many more, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer.
London: Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the rule of law must be applied to Julian Assange, dampening hopes that her government is about to secure the WikiLeaks founders freedom.

Assange is being held in Britains Belmarsh Prison where he is appealing his extradition to the United States to face charges related to the theft of hundreds of thousands of secret cables from the US government, which WikiLeaks published in full, more than a decade ago.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the Australian High Commission in London on Tuesday. Credit: Latika Bourke

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had raised the matter with the US and British governments, raising hopes among Assanges supporters that the Australian could walk free from jail without being extradited to the US to face trial.

Asked about the matter during a news conference in London on Wednesday morning (AEDT), Wong said it was not a decision for the Australian government and pointed to the legal processes under way.
Cheyenne, WY (82001)

Today

Snow likely. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 26F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%.
A ninth grader logs in via Zoom to classes in another part of the building as he sits in a Panorama High School classroom. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
18 Percent Increase in Homelessness in Los Angeles Hot Spots: Survey

Homelessness in the City of Los Angeles hot spots increased by an average of 18 percent, despite official numbers showing a decrease of unsheltered persons in those same areas recorded in the 2022 point-in-time count, according to a recent survey by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit public policy research organization.

The survey, published on Jan. 26, was created using a team of researchers for the Los Angeles Longitudinal Enumeration and Demographic Survey Project to better inform the development of effective homelessness policy, the report said.

The survey was conducted over the course of a year from September 2021 to October 2022 and revealed an 18 percent increase in homeless people in certain neighborhoods.

A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan 27, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The team found homelessness in Hollywood increased by 14.5 percent, Skid Row by 13 percent, and Venice by 32 percent.

But contradictory to RANDs research, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)the premiere hub for LA city and county homeless resourcesfound homelessness decreased in Venice, Skid Row, and Hollywood during the annual three-day count.

Overall, LA County in 2022 had more than 69,000 homeless peoplea 4 percent rise from 2020and about 43,000 in the City of LAup nearly 2 percent from 2020according to LAHSA. Despite nearly a 23 percent increase in homelessness over the past two years, the organization recorded only a 5 percent increase in unsheltered homeless during the pandemic.

But the RAND survey, contradicting some of LAHSAs findings, was coincidentally released the same day LAHSAs 2023 count wrapped up on Jan. 26, as thousands of volunteers finished counting homeless people on the streets, tents, encampments, RVs, and vehicles. Officials say results will be ready in late spring or summer.

Meanwhile, the methodology for the RAND team consisted of separate day shifts. Over the course of the study, researchers visited Hollywood twice, Skid Row five times, and Venice three times.

A homeless individual in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan 27, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Team members varied the time of the week and month for each site visit with shifts beginning around 8 a.m. with two teams of three field workers. During each shift, researchers approached unsheltered homeless people and made an offer to participate in a 10-minute survey for $5.

For example, researchers found that during a three-day encampment cleanup in Venices Centennial Park in June 2022 the population count had decreased by 13 percent in the month following.

The reduction was caused by a reduced number of encampments, while the number of vehicles, vans, and recreational vehicles stayed the same. However, by the end of the month, the population had reverted back to its prior level.

The survey identified among the more than 400 homeless people surveyed, nearly 80 percent reported being homeless for more than a year, and 57 percent for more than three years.

More than half of the respondents also reported a chronic health or mental health condition.

A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan 27, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Additionally, around 85 percent of respondents said they would accept offers of placement into permanent supportive housing, a hotel or motel, or a private shelter setting. The most common reasons that respondents cited for not moving into housing were never being contacted for move-in (44 percent), lack of privacy (40 percent), housing safety (35 percent), and paperwork issues (29 percent).

By the end of the study, the RAND team concluded that policymakers should concentrate on housing solutions that incorporate privacy and autonomy and that expanding congregate shelter capacity may not be effective in reducing the unsheltered population.

While the LAHSA point-in-time count involves volunteers counting the homeless population over three nights, RANDs study took a different approach by employing professional canvassers to observe the homeless population over the course of an entire year, LAHSA said. Therefore, the RAND study and the LAHSA count are different and the results of the former study could not replace the [point-in-time] count. However, LAHSA staff said it welcomes the data from the RAND study, as it provides valuable information about the homeless population in the areas studied.

A homeless individual in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan 27, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

LAHSA came under criticism for last years resultsparticularly from Venice residentswhen undercounting errors were identified by LAHSA volunteers after no homeless people were counted in some of the countys most homeless-ridden areas.

In response to the criticism, this year, LAHSA officials said they hired a demographer and two data scientists to help understand results, will simplify volunteer training both in-person and online, are using a different counting app with a new vendor, have backup paper maps in case of poor internet connectivity, and a backup team will be deployed to recount in the event of missing data.
6th Memphis Police Officer Connected to Tyre Nichols Case Relieved of Duty

The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, Tyre Nichols seated leaning against a car during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023. (City of Memphis via AP)

A sixth Memphis police officer has been relieved of duty in connection to the assault and death investigation of Tyre Nichols, a Memphis Police Department (MPD) official announced on Monday.

MPD Officer Preston Hemphill was suspended and is on administrative leave, said Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph. It is unclear what Hemphills role was in the Jan. 7 incident.

Hemphills lawyer, Lee Gerald, said in a statement that Hemphill was the third officer at a traffic stop that preceded the violent arrest and that he activated his body camera. But Hemphill was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, Gerald said.

Rudolph said information on disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released because the officer was not fired and the department typically releases information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends.

The latest development comes days after officials released video footage on Jan. 27 showing five former Memphis police officers, who are now charged with Nichols murder, beating the 29-year-old man after he attempted to flee during a traffic stop. Nichols died in a hospital of his injuries three days later.

The five officersTadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smithwere charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and a slew of other charges in relation to Nichols death.

This combo of images provided by the Memphis Police Department shows (top LR) officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, (bottom LR) Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. (Memphis Police Department via AP)

Court records show that the officerswho are all blackwill all be arraigned together at 10 a.m. on Feb. 17 at a court in Shelby County, Tennessee, according to multiple news reports. Judge James Jones will hear the case, the records show.

They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

The MPD and the Shelby County District Attorneys Office have said an investigation into the actions of law enforcement officers who reported to the scene of the arrest was ongoing, noting that additional information will be made public as soon as it becomes available.

In addition to the five officers, two Shelby County sheriffs deputies have also been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is being investigated. Two members of the Memphis Fire Department have also been removed from duty over Nichols arrest.

Police Disband Special Unit

All five now-fired police officers were members of a special unit, SCORPION, which was permanently disbanded a day after the city publicly released footage of Nichols arrest.

SCORPION, which was launched in November 2021, comprises three teams of about 30 officers. The term stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods.

The unit was tasked with addressing rising crime in Memphis, in part by targeting violent offenders in areas of concern. But the unit faced heavy criticism in the aftermath of Nichols death.

Calls for Disciplinary Actions

Nichols beating and death have led to nationwide outrage, with Nichols family, protesters, and community activists across the country calling for more officers to be fired or charged.

On Jan. 28, Nichols stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press that the family was going to continue to seek justice and get some more officers arrested.

Questions were raised before the video was released, I raised those questions, Wells told the network. I just felt there was more than five officers out there. Now, five were charged with murder because they were the main participants, but there were five or six other officers out there that didnt do anything to render any aid. So they are just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.

Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones said he watched the video with colleagues on Jan. 27. He acknowledged on Monday that Memphis police policies of failure to render aid and de-escalation appeared to have been violated, noting that he believes more officers on the scene should be disciplined.

At this point, whats going to be helpful for this community is to see how swiftly the police chief deals with those other officers now that everybody has seen the tape and knows that it wasnt only five officers who were at the scene the entire time, Jones said.

Protests Erupt in US Cities

Since officials released video footage of Nichols beating, protests have been organized in several U.S. cities. Over the weekend, demonstrators took to the streets in different cities with various messages, some demanding justice and an end to so-called police terror, others with generic leftist messages about class struggle and revolution.

In some locations, protests were being led by the far-left group known as Antifa, known for being confrontational and violent during protests, according to videos circulating on social media.

Some of the protesters have blocked traffic and caused damage to property.

In Memphis, roughly several dozen individuals obstructed a busy bridge on I-55, which connects Arkansas and Tennessee across the Mississippi River, causing semi-trucks to accumulate behind them.

A demonstrator stomps on the window of an NYPD car as people protest the death of Tyre Nichols in New York City on Jan. 27, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

In New York City, protesters started demonstrating in a crowded Times Square around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 27. A video on social media shows a man stomping on the front windshield of a police car surrounded by a large crowd in Times Square before hes wrestled to the ground by officers. Grand Central Station was reportedly shut down in anticipation of protests.

In Seattle, a large group of Antifa militants marched downtown chanting black lives matter and say his name, Rebel News reported. Another video by independent journalist Jonathon Choe shows an Antifa group blocking traffic near Seattle Center, chanting, no justice, no peace.

Epoch Times reporter Caden Pearson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
A Generation in Distress Is Producing Dangerous Adults

Commentary

Over recent weeks, Ive been intrigued by the thesis of a book I read early in the new year.

It was Mark Bauerleins The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults, a sequel to his 2008 examination of the high-tech millennial generation for which so many parents had the highest hopes.

For those uninitiated in the philology of generational divisions, Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, Generation X between 1965 and 1980, millennials from 1981 to 1996, and Generation Z from 1997 to 2012. Generation Alpha, should this label stick, will grow up in the 15-year cycle after 2012.

Bauerleins analysis was advertised as an urgently needed update on the millennials. He sought to explain this generations not-so-quiet desperation and, more important, the threat that their ignorance poses to the rest of us.

The book points out that millennials were the first generation to reach young adulthood in the Digital Age. They were said to be at the cutting edge of a tech revolution. They were taught to achieve, compete, pursue their passions, and be all they could be.

In reality, according to Bauerlein, many millennial undergraduates were culturally and academically adrift. Their humanities courses demanded very little attention to the great literary and artistic works of Western civilization. Outside college classrooms, they spent little time on coursework and much more on cellphones, the internet, and social media.

Hyper-progressive senior mentors provided millennials with a very high opinion of themselves. By the first decade of the present century, teachers, professors, journalists, business executives, professionals, and political pundits regarded them as the next greatest generation.

Here Come the Millennials, Bob Herbert cheered in a May 2008 edition of The New York Times.

They were poised to save the planet from the perdition of their elders and usher in a new global utopia.

Young adults imagined themselves predestined to dominate the professions, develop tech start-ups, earn six-figure incomes, organize for social justice, and do wonderful new things with media and art.

Bauerlein says the millennial generation produced small numbers of super elites, but these were well out of proportion to the actual numbers in their demographic. He contends that, if we step outside the top 10 percent, they were left with their digital devices and video games and 500 TV channels, as well as hundreds of photos on their phones. They were fed with diverting apps, stupid movies, and crass music.

[We] stuck them with crushing student debt and frightful health-care costs, a course and vulgar public square, churches in retreat, and an economy of creative destruction and disruptive innovation which the top 10 percent exploited, but the rest experienced as, precisely destructive and disruptive, he wrote.

According to Bauerlein, millennials were taught little about Western history but are now firmly convinced that it produced a litany of oppression, unfairness, racism, hatred, and pending doom. They feel menaced by all manner of microaggressions, white privilege, neocolonialism, fascism, transphobia, inequity, exclusion, climate change, and various other post-modern traumas.

A Troubling Generational Schism

In the interest of full bias disclosure, my wife and I are both boomers. But we freely acknowledge that our generation produced its fair share of reckless and disruptive adolescent behavior.

We went through a self-destructive sexual revolution, an expanding drug culture, and unruly protests against the war in Vietnam. In the United States, being drafted amounted to the real risk of injury or death on a foreign battlefield, but much of our general angst was driven by fashionable politics.

Nevertheless, even the most radical anti-war protesters of the 1960s and 70s were willing and often anxious to openly debate the reasons for their objections to the status quo.

Today, debate is off the table. A significant number of young adults now hold anyone who disagrees with them in complete contempt. They have no time for opposing views, free speech, diversity of opinion, or rational disagreement. If the evidence doesnt fit their narrative, they dont want to hear about it. They believe that intellectual opponents should be shut down and punished.

After college, most boomers gave up full-time protesting and moved on. They took jobs, created businesses, started families, and generally embraced the serious obligations of adult life. They werent moved to join Antifa-style militias or BLM chapters or take short-term employment at Starbucks to support careers as benevolent social justice warriors.

Woke Schools Produce Dangerous Adults

Bauerlein blames woke higher education for much of the intellectual bankruptcy that caught up with millennials. More recently, set-upon and traumatized liberal professors are beginning to agree with him.

Ive spoken with dozens of boomer parents who have had second thoughts about the decision to send their children to university. They say the same kids that they sent off to college never returned home. This troubling observation usually comes from ordinary folks in sturdy households who led productive lives and love their children.

Thankfully, not all 20- or 30-something young adults share the corrosive frame of mind that Bauerlein described. But we all know graduates from some of North Americas top schools and universities who are remarkably in sync with his analysis.

In short, The Dumbest Generation Grows Up rings some uncomfortable bells for anxious parents and grandparents, many of whom are seriously beginning to question the emotional stability of their own sons and daughters.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh, Mr. Gibbon? These words, attributed to both King George III and the Duke of Cumberland, make mocking reference to Edward Gibbon and his massive work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

One wonders what these gentlemen might have thought of some historians of the 20th century. Along with his political involvements and defeating Nazism, Winston Churchill wrote a shelf full of books, most of them histories, and for a time earned a living as a journalist as well. Will and Ariel Durant gave readers the 11-volume set of The Story of Civilization, which weighs in at 36.6 pounds. More recent disciples of the muse Clio, like Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough, composed numerous histories and brought the past to life for the rest of us.

The collection of 11 volumes of The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. (Maksim Sokolov/ CC BY-SA 4.0)

Standing in this company of prolific authors is historian Paul Johnson (19282023).

Following his death on Jan. 12 of this year, many newspapers, magazines, and online commentators marked his passing, with some of the tributes containing rebukes of his conservatism.

During his long life, and in addition to his journalism and commentary, Johnson wrote over 50 books, most of them histories or biographies. Some of these were relatively slim, like his studies of Socrates and Isaac Newton, while others, such as A History of the American People or A History of the Jews, were tomes with a girth that matched their subject matter.

And while some of these works already sit untouched in our libraries, others will be read by students of history for years to come.

A Life in Brief

Paul Johnson in 2010. (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Paul Johnson received his pre-university education at a Jesuit school, Stonyhurst College, and a degree from Magdalen College at Oxford. After serving out his national service in the army, he then found his way into journalism.

For over 20 years, Johnson was a man of the Left, serving, for example, as the Paris correspondent for the New Statesman magazine and eventually becoming one of its editors. Beginning in the 1970s, however, he became increasingly conservative, opposing in particular the radical policies of Britains trade unions.

After Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, Johnson, whod known her at OxfordShe was not a party personbecame one of her close advisers. He continued as well to play the man of letters, placing reviews and columns in a variety of outlets, including Britains conservative weekly, The Spectator, and The New York Times.

Meanwhile, he was also writing his books. One of these, his 1983 Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the Eighties, later updated to include the events of the 1990s, proved enormously popular among American conservatives, so much so that it inspired a 1994 collection titled The Quotable Paul Johnson. A fast writer, capable of producing several thousand words a day, Johnson put out book after book into the first decade of the 21st century, winning applause from some quarters and fury at his opinions from others.

Regarding his personal life, in 1958 Johnson married psychotherapist Marigold Hunt, with whom he had four children: a daughter and three sons. Following in the footsteps of his artistic father, he was also an avid watercolorist who exhibited his work on a regular basis.

Top of the List

Cover for Modern Times by Paul Johnson. (Public Domain)

Of this profusion of books, perhaps the best known and most popular are Modern Times and A History of the American People.

Johnson begins Modern Times by examining the cultural earthquake caused by Einsteins theory of relativity. The relativity associated with physics quickly became confused with relativism so that, as Johnson writes, by the 1920s more and more people had come to believe there were no longer any absolutes: of time and space, of good and evil, of knowledge, above all of value. A passionate believer in truth and in strict standards of right and wrong, Einstein lived to see moral relativism, to him a disease, become a social pandemic.

This misapplication of a scientific theory to society and culture can wreak havoc and destruction on societies. Johnson points out several examples of this phenomenon, like this one: Darwins notion of the survival of the fittest was a key element both in the Marxist concept of class warfare and of the radical philosophies which shaped Hitlerism.

The horrendous damage done by our modern belief in relativism is the main theme of Modern Times.

By the time he wrote Modern Times, Johnson was a staunch anticommunist. And in this compendium of Marxist evils, many readers, including myself, first found a comprehensive history of those crimes against humanity. In addition, Johnson is a historian who knows the value of entertaining and captivating an audience, which he does through the mass of details and stories he offers throughout the book.

In his 1999 revised version of Modern Times, Johnson concludes his masterpiece with some thoughts about the 20th century that deserve to be cited here in full:

It was not yet clear whether the underlying evil which had made possible its catastrophic failures and tragediesthe rise of moral relativism, the decline of personal responsibility, the repudiation of Judeo-Christian values, not least the arrogant belief that men and women could solve all the mysteries of the universe by their own unaided instinctswere in the process of being eradicated. On that would depend the chances of the twenty-first century becoming, by contrast, an age of hope for mankind.

I leave it to readers to decide whether we live in an age of hope for mankind.

The Last Best Hope?

Johnson begins his 1997 work A History of the American People with this assertion: The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures.

Genius of America, 1858, by Adolphe Yvon. Oil on canvas. Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis. (Public Domain)

That declaration is especially stunning today, when recent polls indicate a steep decline in the pride that Americans feel about their country.

Johnson then raises three questions: Can a people rise above the injustices of its origins and atone for them? He then asks whether the United States has expiated these organic sins. Finally, he asks whether Americans, who aimed to build an other-worldly City on a Hill and later devised a republic to be a model for the entire planet, have made good on these audacious claims. He then spends over 900 pages narrating American history and searching for answers to those questions.

Though some for political reasons attacked the book and Johnsons affections for the country across the pond, he remained a friend of America. When asked during a Dennis Prager interview how he reacts when an American says, as did Lincoln, that America is the last, best hope of humanity, Johnson responded, I often say it myself, and I think its true.

And in this narrative history, as in Modern Times, Johnson displays that same ability to consider big-picture topics without sacrificing details, stories, and anecdotes. Though Ive read this book twice and taught it once, Johnson engages and educates me every time I revisit it. In the chapter The Korean War and the Fall of MacArthur, for instance, his descriptions of the feisty Harry Trumanhis daily routine, his threats of violence in defense of his daughter Margaret when she received a critical review of her concert singinggive us in two pages the essence of that president.

History as an Antitoxin

Like Truman, Paul Johnson could be combative. He told one reporter: Marigolds often saying to me: Please, Paul, have you not got enough enemies already? Will you take a vow not to get into any more rows? His opinions in his histories raised hackles among some critics and readers, especially those opposed to his politics and his misgivings about modern culture, and he often returned their fire with fire.

Sometimes, too, he was off-base in his predictions about the future. In discussing a short biography of Winston Churchill that hed written, Johnson stated: He made occasional errors of judgment because he made so many judgmentssome of them were bound to be wrong! Those same words apply to Johnson himself, who offered so many opinions and judgments regarding past or present events.

But these criticisms are quibbles when compared to the good we gain from these histories. Like the best of teachers, they entertain, instruct, and make us think. In an address delivered before he wrote any of the books mentioned here, Johnson gave his listeners, and us, one additional important reason for studying the past:

History is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us so novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises, and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.
Alabama State Law Requires Department of Corrections to Releases Nearly 400 Inmates on Tuesday

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) has confirmed to The Epoch Times that it will be processing up to 400 inmates discharged from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) on Tuesday in accordance with state law.

AL.com reported that it obtained a notice that had been sent to law enforcement throughout the state but not for release to the media.

Inmates with charges ranging from marijuana possession to murder whose sentences were set to end within this year will be released under the supervision of the ABPP because of prison reform legislation.

Cam Ward, director of the ABPP, told AL.com, The law was passed in 2021 and we will follow it as it is written. We did not advocate for it, but until we are told otherwise by a judge, we will enforce the law as written.

As reported by AL.com, the notice to law enforcement was to make it aware that there would be groups of inmates waiting to board buses that would take them back to the counties where they were convicted.

It is anticipated that the bus stations in Montgomery, Mobile and Birmingham areas will receive the largest number of inmates, AL.com said the notice states. Depending on bus schedules, released inmates may be waiting at the bus stations for some time.

Ward told WBRC that 85 parole officers will be at different prisons on Tuesday equipped with an electronic monitoring device.

Ward also said that the level of surveillance will depend upon the risk assessment of each convict.

Some people will have to be checked on a couple of times a week, some might be once a month depending on what the crime was, what the risk assessment is, Ward told WBRC.

DOJ Prompts Criminal Justice Reform

In 2015, Alabama passed criminal justice reforms which included a mandatory supervised release program for inmates who are within a year of ending their sentence.

In 2021, Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session to discuss prison reform during which legislators passed a bill that retroactively applied the reforms to the entire prison population incarcerated before January 2016.

According to AL.com, Attorney General Steve Marshall, who opposed the 2021 legislation, filed a lawsuit against Ward and ADOC Commissioner John Hamm to prevent the early release until victims of the inmates crimes have been notified.

The move to pass the prison reform legislation could have stemmed from a Department of Justice lawsuit filed in December 2020 against the state of Alabama and the ADOC.

The complaint alleges that conditions in the Alabama prisons for men violate the U.S. Constitution because the prisons have failed to protect inmates from violence and sexual abuse.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the ADOC failed to provide sanitary conditions.

The United States Constitution requires Alabama to make sure that its prisons are safe and humane, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division said in a press release on the lawsuit.

The Department of Justice conducted a thorough investigation of Alabamas prisons for men and determined that Alabama violated and is continuing to violate the Constitution because its prisons are riddled with prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence. The violations have led to homicides, rapes, and serious injuries. The Department of Justice looks forward to proving its case in an Alabama federal courtroom.

The Epoch Times contacted the ABPP, the ADOC, and Attorney General Steve Marshalls office for comment.
Alec Baldwin Formally Charged in Fatal Rust Shooting

FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends the 2019 PEN America Literary Gala In New York on May 21, 2019. Attorneys for the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot and killed on the set of the film Rust, say they're suing Baldwin and the movies producers for wrongful death. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Actor Alec Baldwin was formally charged in the fatal shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead in 2021 on the set of Rust in New Mexico, officials said.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed charges (pdf) on Tuesday following months of speculation as to whether she had evidence that Baldwin showed criminal disregard for safety when a revolver with which he was rehearsing fired a live round that killed Hutchins. Set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged on Tuesday.

Baldwin was formally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the alternative, court papers show.

A probable cause statement accompanying the charges, which names Baldwin as both an actor and producer on the movie, states: On the day of the shooting alone, evidence shows that no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness, occurred in the short time prior to lunch and the time of the shooting, and this does not include the reckless handling of the firearm by Baldwin.

Previously, the actor denied responsibility for the shooting, which also injured Rust director Joel Souza. He claimed that in the incident he never pulled the trigger of the revolver and that Gutierrez-Reed should have ensured the gun was unloaded.

In a statement issued to news outlets on Jan. 19, Baldwins lawyers said Baldwin plans to fight the charges.

This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice, his attorney Luke Nikas said in a statement. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gunor anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.

A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. (Andres Leighton/AP Photo)

Gutierrez-Reed has said she checked the rounds she loaded into the gun were dummies before handing it to first assistant director Dave Halls. Halls handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a cold gun, meaning it did not contain an explosive charge, according to police.

And Jason Bowles, a lawyer for Gutierrez-Reed, told outlets earlier this month that we expect that she will be found not guilty by a jury and she did not commit manslaughter.

Halls has signed a plea deal for a misdemeanor charge and is expected to cooperate with the prosecution. On Dec. 13 Halls testified to New Mexicos worker safety bureau that Gutierrez-Reed handed the gun to Baldwin and that he never declared the Pietta reproduction Colt .45 a cold gun.

Industry-wide firearms safety guidelines instruct actors to assume a firearm is loaded with blank ammunition. Live ammunition is strictly forbidden on sets.

More Details

But Carmack-Altwies contended that the gun that killed Hutchins wasnt properly inspected and that on-set safety issues werent properly addressed. Aside from his role as an actor, Baldwin also served as a producer for the film.

Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home, as he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust, in New York on Jan. 31, 2023. (David Dee Delgado/Reuters)

On the day of the shooting alone, evidence shows that no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness, occurred in the short time prior to lunch and the time of the shooting, and this does not include the reckless handling of the firearm by Baldwin, the documents filed Tuesday stated. Baldwin, by act or omission or failure to act in his position as a producer directly contributed and/or failed to mitigate numerous reckless and dangerous actions during a very short time period,

Finally, industry standards, protocols, and common firearm safety procedures on movie sets require the armorer, after conducting a safety check with the 1st assistant director, to conduct a second safety check with the actor to be handling the firearm, the court papers state. This reckless violation of standards and firearm safety occurred two times leading up to the shooting, and Baldwin failed to act to mitigate or correct the reckless safety violations, neither in his capacity as actor nor producer.

The court filing further alleged that there was a reckless deviation from known standards on the set, which lead to the shooting.

Baldwin acted with reckless disregard and/or more than mere negligence in this incident, the papers said. Baldwin acted with willful disregard of the safety of others and in a manner that endangered other people and he clearly should have known the danger of his actions which led to the death of Hutchins. Furthermore, Baldwin handled the weapon in a negligent manner.

Neither Baldwin nor Gutierrez-Reed have issued statements after they were charged Tuesday.

Before the charges were formally filed, Baldwins wife, Hilaria Baldwin, posted a supportive message on social media.

I hope you understand how much your support and kindness to Alec and our children mean, she wrote on her Instagram page. Thank you for being our community and our village. You are helping us to be stronger parents and partners during this unimaginable time, stemming from such heartbreaking tragedy. Please know that I hear all of your outspoken words and each and every one of you reminds me daily that there is kindness in the world and we are not alone.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Alice Springs Residents to Mount Class Action Over Northern Territory Government Response to Crime Wave

A child is seen at the Alice Springs Women's Shelter, in Australia, on May 27, 2016. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

Alice Springs residents are mounting class action against the Northern Territory (NT) government as the ongoing wave of youth crime and alcohol-fueled violence continues to plague the town.

At a packed town meeting, organiser Garth Thompson announced that the community in Alice Springs was preparing to sue the Northern Territory government for $1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) in compensation, reported the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).

Thompson said the NT government had neglected Alice Springs on a range of levels and said residents deserve to be compensated for what the government has put us through.

Im more than proud to stand here and say we, as a community of Alice Springs, are about to sue our government for $1.5 billion in compensation, he said.

The ABC reported that Thompson noted that the present measures put forward by the government were sometimes quite disgusting.

They have the ability to fix these problems  but they choose not to, he said. Were all controlled, and were all put in a place where were disadvantaged by their decisions to try [to] fix our problems with a band-aid, and its wrong.

The news of the class action comes as the town continues to experience an ongoing crime wave and youth violence, which has been blamed on the NT governments decision to allow for the re-introduction of alcohol to the community after 15 years of restrictions were removed in July 2022.

Governments Warned Lifting Alcohol Restrictions Could Lead to Unrest and Violence

The NT government announced a raft of new restrictions on alcohol sales in Alice Springs as a temporary measure to help police deal with a youth crime wave in the region, with sales of takeaway alcohol now banned on Monday and Tuesday and hours of alcohol serving reduced on the remaining days of the week from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The government also introduced a ban on multiple alcohol transactions, with Alice Springs residents only allowed to make one takeaway purchase per day via the banned drinker register.

Alcohol bans in central Australia were first implemented in 2007 during the federal governments Northern Territorys Emergency Response, also known as the NT Intervention, under then-Prime Minister John Howard. It aimed to deal with lawlessness and crime in Indigenous townships and communities. Restrictions were continued in 2012 under Prime Minister Julia Gillards Stronger Future legislation (pdf), which expired in July 2022.

At the time of their expiration, the Albanese government said that it supported the right of Indigenous people in the NT to determine their futures and live strong, independent lives, where communities, families and children are safe and healthy.

A Northern Territory sign in Alice Springs, Australia, on Oct. 20, 2015. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

This was followed the NT governments decision in May 2022 to amend the Liquor Act 2019 and Associations Act 2003, which allowed for the sale of alcohol in the Indigenous regions.

Northern Territory Senator Jacinda Price has criticised the NT and federal governments on the decision to lift the restrictions and said that both governments were warned by Indigenous community groups.

Price shared a letter on Facebook from nine indigenous advocacy groupsincluding the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Yilli Housing, Danila Dilba Health Service, the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjarra Yankunytjatjarra Womens Council, and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisationto the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney in June 2022, which outlined the Indigenous communities concern that the decision by NT government was wrong, and asking for the federal government to extend the Stronger Futures for two years.

We are now in a situation where the NTG (Northern Territory Government) has suddenly abandoned its generally admirable record on addressing the very high rates of alcohol consumption and severe related harm, the letter said.

We believe that the entire process is a reversal of what should occur.

The groups also noted that they did not believe that the alcohol restrictions were racist or discriminatory and that if restrictions were lifted, it would lead to a spike in alcohol-related injuries and offending.

Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Darwin, in particular, are currently experiencing a seemingly unrelenting spate of property-related offending mainly by youths, they said. There is no doubt that many of the offenders are from families where adults have alcohol problems. To permit more access to alcohol will undoubtedly add fuel to fire. 

Calls for Intervention Began Last Year

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson was already appealing for assistance last year, revealing crime was out of control.

Parents driving their kids to childcare in the morning are being confronted with anti-social behaviour; they cant even go shopping in the afternoon because theres someone wielding a weapon, he said on Radio 2GB on Jan. 17, 2023.

Our library was broken into on Sunday afternoon with over $20,000 worth of damage caused, and the police took seven hours to respond. Our police are doing an amazing job, but clearly, we dont have enough resources.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Peter Dutton has demanded the federal government establish a Royal Commission into the situation.

There are reports of kids running around with machetes, children not wanting to go back home because they feel its unsafe to stay there, so theyre out committing crimes, he said.

Its a law and order and crime problem, and we want those kids to grow up in a safe environmentand the prime minister has the resources, has the ability, and should show the leadership to deal with this issue.
Anaheim Man Found Dead on Street Identified; Police Investigating

ANAHEIM, Calif.Police Jan. 29 sought the publics assistance with any information regarding the death of a 31-year-old man who was found unresponsive in the middle of a street in Anaheim.

Paramedics rushed Rolando Delgadillo Gutierrez to a hospital, where the Anaheim resident was pronounced dead, said Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Jon McClintock.

Homicide detectives are not disclosing the nature of Delgadillo Gutierrezs injuries, McClintock said. Detectives believe members of the community witnessed the incident or stopped to render aid to Delgadillo Gutierrez, but left before police arrived.

Officers dispatched at about 7:20 a.m. Jan. 26, regarding several reports of a man collapsing on East Street, south of the Riverside (91) Freeway, located Gutierrez in the middle of the street.

Detectives urged anyone with any information regarding Gutierrez to call them at 714-765-1900 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.
Andrew Cuomos Team Denies Working on COVID-19 Memoir at Height of Pandemic

Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has denied new allegations that he worked on his memoir American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic during the height of the titular COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuomos memoir earned a $5.1 million book deal. The chapters of Cuomos book are formatted with a date, followed by the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths on that given date.

On Friday, a government watchdog organization called the Empire Center for Public Policy published a chain of emails in which one of Cuomos top aides, Melissa DeRosa, allegedly asked staff members to produce a timeline of events detailing the governors response to the outbreak of COVID-19. The email chain that resulted included a document with a series of dates as well as numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in a format similar to the chapter headings of Cuomos book.

The email chain between DeRosa and Cuomo staff members began on March 30, 2020, and ran through April 18, 2020. The series of emails took place around the time New York saw the height of its first wave of COVID-19 cases. Cuomo was the subject of numerous articles praising his daily COVID-19 press briefings, and he even received an Emmy award for his pandemic press conferences. By 2021, allegations had grown that the governors office hid or delayed reports indicating increased COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

While the email chain contained no specific mention of a forthcoming book, Cuomo speechwriter Jamie Malinowski responded to the chain with an April 18, 2020, email describing how another staffer had been working on the tick tock, in a potential reference to the timeline of COVID-19 response events. Malinowski then wrote, Here is a preface Ive been working on, followed by several passages that appeared to have been written in Cuomos authorial voice. One portion of the staffers preface described how I would deliver the State of the State address, and another said, during my first nine years as governor, we created a record of accomplishments across a wide range of issues.

Cuomos 10th State of the State Address took place on Jan. 8, 2020, more than three months before Malinowskis preface email.

The Empire Center noted the email exchanges between March 30 and April 18, 2020, as evidence to corroborate assessments made in a November 2021 impeachment investigation report against Cuomo.

The 2021 impeachment report, completed by the New York Assemblys Democrat-majority Judiciary Committee, alleged that a Penguin Random House (PRH) employee reached out to a literary agent representing then-Governor Cuomo to see if the then-Governor was interested in writing a book on March 19, 2020. According to the impeachment report, the literary agent responded on July 1, 2020, and told the PRH employee that Cuomo had been writing a book about his COVID-19 pandemic response and said Cuomo already had 70,000 words written.

According to the impeachment report, the New York State Department of Health discovered that for a period of approximately two weeks in April and/or May 2020, certain fatalities in nursing home facilities due to COVID-19 were not included in the published data. Specifically, deaths reported by nursing homes after approximately 5:00 p.m. each day were not included in totals for that day, and therefore the published data was incomplete.

The Empire Center argued that the new emails bolster the case that Cuomo improperly benefited from the use of government resources to produce his memoir and the project distracted state officials and possibly affected their decision-making in the middle of the crisis.

Cuomos Team Denies Defamatory Allegations

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, disputed the allegations raised by the Empire Center.

What is being alleged here is reckless and false, Azzopardi told the organization. The emails have NOTHING to do with work on the book, which began months later. The timeline was to inform the daily briefings, speeches and other COVID-related materials.

Azzopardi also addressed Malinowskis email describing a preface, saying, of course a speechwriter would produce language in the Governors voice.

The Empire Center included Azzopardis comments in an update to their original report, but the Cuomo spokesman posted on Twitter that the report is still false & defamatory.

Had the @empirecenter reached out to me before the post, much of this could have been cleared up on the front end, Azzopardi added.

Gregory Morvillo, a lawyer for DeRosa, also told the New York Post that any article that states that Melissa DeRosa directed anyone to work on Gov. Cuomos book in March and/or April 2020 is false and reckless.

Morvillo also said any work DeRosa did to assist Cuomo on the book was done on a voluntary basis outside of normal business hours.

Malinoski told the New York Post he had no knowledge Cuomo was working on a book. He told the publication that his preface was meant to be a narrative for speeches or discussions but acknowledged, I guess that could be used in a book.

From NTD News
AOC to Serve as No. 2 Democrat on House Oversight Committee

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks on banning stock trades for members of Congress at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 07, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is now one of the top two Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Selected on Jan. 30 to serve as the panels new vice ranking member, she will be second in power to Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) among the Democrat members.

Sharing the news on Jan. 30 with her Twitter followers, Ocasio-Cortez wrote: Excited and humbled to share that this evening I was selected to serve as @RepRaskins #2 on the House Oversight Committee. Thank you to my colleagues on @OversightDems for entrusting me with this responsibility. Im thrilled to get to work with our incredible Oversight team!

The congresswoman served on the committee in the last Congress under Democrat leadership, as well as the House Committee on Financial Services and the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.

In December, the House Ethics Committee announced that Ocasio-Cortez was under investigation for ethics violations, but did not specify what those alleged violations were.

Meanwhile, Raskin formerly led the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He also served as the lead House impeachment manager during the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump and was a member of the Jan. 6 Committee.

In December, the congressman was elected ranking member of the Oversight Committee by his fellow party members in a closed-door election against Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.).

I look forward to championing our Democratic priorities on the Houses lead investigative committee and drawing on the remarkable talents and voices of our Democratic Members, Raskin said in s Dec. 22 statement.

However, speaking Monday at a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker event, Republican Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said he planned to steer the panels investigative efforts in a new direction that Democrats are unlikely to agree withthe Biden familys alleged influence peddling.

The family has taken millions of dollars from adversaries mainly in China, Comer said. I think we need to determine what the money was for and who supplied it.

Noting that members of President Joe Bidens family have cumulatively received at least 150 suspicious activity reports relating to their financial transactions, he added: When you see the country [China] has donated so much money to the Biden family, shouldnt someone look into that to make sure that everythings in order? Thats what we are doing.

Other matters Comer has pledged to investigate include the unsecured classified documents discovered in the presidents possession, the origins of COVID-19, pandemic relief spending, and the crisis at the southern border.
It became national, even international news that five Memphis police officers grabbed, beat, punched, pepper sprayed and tased a black suspect, named Tyre Nichols, who later died at the hospital.

When asked about the fact that the five police officers are also black, the new mayor of Los Angeles, a black female, said in an interview: Even with the black officers, I wonder how they would have reacted if it was a young white person?

Is it true that the police dont de-escalate when its a black suspect?

Whos at fault for Californias high energy costs? When answering the question, Ronald Stein, Founder and Ambassador for Energy & Infrastructure of PTS Advance says California Governor Newsom may be out of touch with the elephant in the room.

Are black voters getting tired of politics as usual? Daquawn Bruce, Executive Director of Concerned Communities for America joins Larry Elder to talk about what really empowers the African American communities.

In a rare interview from prison, former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell shared a shocking claim: She believes Epstein was murdered.

Then who would want Jeffrey Epstein dead the most? Founder of both Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch Larry Klayman also joins Larry Elder and shares his thought.

The Larry Elder Show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Protect your IRA or 401(k) with precious metals today: http://larryforgold.com/
Arizona Official Demands Investigation of Kari Lake on Potential Felony Charges

Potential charges for sharing images of 'illegally counted' ballots

Arizona Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake speaks with supporters at a rally in Phoenix on Nov. 3, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has asked Attorney General Kris Mayes to investigate and consider taking enforcement action against gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake for a potential felony offense after her Twitter account shared a graphic containing images of voter signatures on ballots she identified as having been illegally counted.

Fontes asked the attorney general in a Jan. 30 letter to investigate and take appropriate enforcement action against Kari Lake for potential violations of Arizona law committed under her Twitter handle, @KariLake.

The secretary of states request to probe Lake references a Jan. 23 post on Twitter in which she shared 16 images of early ballot affidavits compared with signatures from voter registration records. She claimed that this is proof that nearly 40,000 ballots cast in the November gubernatorial election didnt match voter signatures on record and so were illegally counted.

I think all the Election Deniers out there deserve an apology, Lake said in the post.

State election data show that Lake lost to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs by just 17,000 votes.

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake addresses the media outside the Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, on Dec. 22, following two days of testimony in a civil case she filed seeking to overturn the Nov. 8 general election. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Fontes said in the letter to Mayes that by sharing the ballot images on Twitter, Lak violated Ariz. Rev. Stat. 16-168(F), which prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of voter registration information.

Violations are a class 6 felony, which is punishable by up to nearly six years in prison, according to AZ-Defenders.

The law cited in Fontess letter indicates that there are circumstances under which voter information can legally be released.

Nothing in this section shall preclude public inspection of voter registration records at the office of the county recorder for the purposes prescribed by this section, except that  records containing a voters signature and a voters e-mail address shall not be accessible or reproduced by any person other than the voter, the statute states.

Lake has not addressed Fontess referral on her personal account but the Kari Lake War Room account on Twitter put out a statement in response.

Adrian Fontes wants Kris Mayes to investigate & potentially imprison @KariLake for the crime of  sharing signature verification evidence that was presented before the @AZSenateGOP & is currently in her lawsuit.

Welcome to the Banana Republic of Arizona, the account added.

In a follow-on post, the Kari Lake War Room account claimed that Fontes and others dont want Lake to raise the issue of signature verification because theyve been pushing through bunk signatures for years.

The Epoch Times reached out to Fontess office with a request for comment but no response was received by publication.

Fontes took to Twitter to share an interview of him on MSNBC, in which he commented on Lakes referral and decried what he said was election denialism on the part of the MAGA fascists in Arizona.

Were not going to tolerate this nonsense under any circumstances and this is one of the reasons why we made the referral, Fontes told the outlet.

Vigor and strength. Thats the only way we protect our election workers and fight back against disinformation, he said in the post on Twitter.

Lake has repeatedly insisted that she won the gubernatorial election and has filed several lawsuits challenging the results.

Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks to reporters after voting in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 8, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Legal Challenges

One of Lakes legal challenges is scheduled to be heard on Feb. 1 after the Court of Appeals approved an expedited briefing schedule earlier this month.

Last week, Arizonas Supreme Court struck down another request from Lake that the high court take up her election appeal. Its currently being heard by the Arizona Court of Appeals.

In an order issued on Jan. 25, the Supreme Court ruled that, as indicated by the Court of Appeals order setting an accelerated briefing schedule, the Court has no reason to doubt that the Court of Appeals appreciates Petitioners (Lakes) desire for an expedited resolution.

The petition was denied without prejudice, the court wrote, adding that the appeals court has had an adequate opportunity to consider the pleadings, conference the matter, and prepare a well-considered decision.

Arizona Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (R) looks on as Kris Mayes (L), Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, speaks at a press conference calling for abortion rights outside the Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, on Oct. 7, 2022. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Last month, a judge in Maricopa County tossed Lakes election lawsuit following a two-day trial, arguing that her team failed to present enough evidence to show that enough voters could have been swung in her favor due to confirmed Election Day tabulation issues and other problems. That prompted Lake to file appeals with the two higher courts.

The judge, Peter Thompson then ordered Lake to pay $33,040 to Hobbs for witness fees. Thompson rejected a petition from Hobbss team asking for nearly $700,000 in sanctions and attorney fees.

The judge reasoned that while Lake, according to him, did not provide enough evidence, her arguments were not groundless and presented in bad faith.

Lakes attorneys argue that widespread tabulation issues in Maricopa County on Nov. 8, 2022confirmed by top Maricopa County officials Bill Gates and Stephen Richer that daysignificantly impacted her chances of winning.

Were going to move it all the way to the Supreme Court. Its going there anyways, wed love to see it just go there rather than have to go to the appellate court. Whatever happens, either side will move it up to the Supreme Court, Lake said in a recent interview.

Lawyers for Hobbs, meanwhile, filed a petition seeking to dismiss Lakes challenge earlier this month, asserting that Lake failed to provide enough evidence.

Despite seven witnesses, hundreds of declarants, and thousands of pages of exhibits, Lake failed to demonstrate any violations of Arizona law and offered no evidence that absent alleged violations the outcome of the election would have been different, said a filing from Hobbs, formerly the Arizona secretary of state.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Australia Speeds up Solomon Islands Project Amid Expanding Beijing Influence

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, right, locks arms with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on May 26, 2022. (Xinhua via AP)

Following the U.S. decision to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, Australia is speeding up the construction of a logistics centre and other projects to compete with Beijing for influence in the key strategic South Pacific nation.

After cutting its 36-year-old diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019, Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, welcomed a sprawling embassy built by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020

While the communist regime is expanding in the Solomon Islands in the name of infrastructure and economic development, democratic countries like Australia and the United States are also moving to expand their clout in the South Pacific region.

Key infrastructure projects in Honiara include a four-year A$120 million Program Support Facility that will handle procurement, infrastructure delivery and other related matters, The Australian reported.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has leased a new plot of land in Honiara to build eight properties for Australian diplomats and their families and is inviting tenders for the construction.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare in Canberra, Australia on Oct. 6, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

DFAT have acquired land in Honiara to construct a multistorey building for the AHC, the tender documents obtained by The Australian read.

The intention is that the new building would be constructed using a prefabricated modular approach to overcome risks associated with delivering large construction projects in foreign and remote locations.

It is envisaged the solution will be a mixture of traditional and prefabricated methodologies due to the size and complexity of the proposed building.

DFAT also launched a A$30 million process this month to revamp the Strongim Bisnis bilateral private sector development initiative, which was founded in 2017 to boost the Solomon Islands economy.

Map of Australias immediate neighbours in the western Pacific Ocean. (College of Asia and the Pacific/ANU/CartoGIS Services [CC BY-SA 4.0]) The Solomon Islands economy shrank by 4.5 percent in 2022, making it one of 31 countries in the world considered to be seriously off track from sustainable development goals.

U.S. to Rebuild Embassy in the Solomon Islands

The U.S. Department of State informed Congress this month that it planned to establish an interim embassy in Honiara, the capital of the island country on the site of its former consular property.

The U.S. embassy in Honiara was closed in 1993 as part of a post-Cold War global reduction in diplomatic posts and priorities.

However, it has since been determined that the CCPs rise as a regional and global power demands attention as part of the United States Indo-Pacific strategy to counter Beijing, particularly in the Solomon Islands, which were a key battleground in the Pacific theatre during World War II, and where pro-U.S. sentiment has been high.

The Solomon Islands Parliament House in Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, on Nov. 25, 2019. (Victoria Jones/Getty Images)

We are seeing this bond [formed during World War II] weaken as the Peoples Republic of China aggressively seeks to engage Solomon Islands political and business elites, utilizing a familiar pattern of extravagant promises, prospective costly infrastructure loans and potentially dangerous debt levels, the department said in a notice to Congress on Dec. 23.

The United States needs a permanent diplomatic presence in Honiara to effectively provide a counterweight to growing [CCP] influence and deepen our engagement with the region commensurate with its importance, it said.

Before [China] becomes strongly embedded in the Solomon Islands, now is the opportunity to bolster Solomon Islands resilience and deepen cooperation on security, democratic governance, and a free and open economy.

AP contributed to this report.
BCs Decriminalization of Illicit Drugs to Start Jan. 31

Fake oxycontin pills containing fentanyl are displayed during a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on Sept. 3, 2015. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

On Jan. 31, the B.C. government will decriminalize possession of hard drugs under a temporary authorization by Health Canada. Adults over 18 will not be arrested or charged, and their drugs will not be seized, if found in possession of less than 2.5 grams total of any combination of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and/or morphine, for personal use.

Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said at a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 30 that the provinces harm reduction plan will reduce the stigma, the fear, and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use, or using alone.

Supervised consumption sites, which prioritize the dignity and safety of people who use drugs, have saved lives and guided many Canadians towards treatment. We know that access to treatment remains a gap, said Bennett.

The three-year experimental program, authorized by Health Canada in May 2022, grants B.C. the first provincial exemption from the federal governments Controlled Drug and Substances Act from Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026.

B.C. originally requested that drug users be able to possess up to 4.5 grams of illicit drugs, which will remain illegal.

This exemption is not legalization, said Bennett. All activities with illegal drugs, including production, trafficking, import, and export remain illegal, even if conducted with the drugs listed in the exemption in amounts under the 2.5 grams threshold, she said.

The program could affect drug policy across Canada, and contrasts sharply with Albertas focus on recovery and treatment programs, which includes the construction of a 75-bed long-term residential treatment facility in Red Deer, announced on Jan. 16, plus five more recovery communities in various stages of planning throughout the province.

B.C. Minister of Health Jennifer Whiteside echoed many of the remarks made by Bennett, stating those found with illegal drugs will be treated with care and compassion.

Decriminalizing people who use drugs is a critical step in tackling the toxic drug crisis, she said.

Experimental

Whiteside said the province had invested over $11 million to hire substance abuse navigators in all health authorities to be on the ground dedicated to connecting people who use drugs with the help they need.

The province has also developed new training for police officers, which the minister said had been taken by more than two-thirds of the police force, and included photographs showing what 2.5 grams of drugs looks like.

Whiteside said the province wants parents to know that we are always discouraging youth from experimenting with drugs.

Meanwhile, the federal government said it will create a dashboard of information for the public to be updated quarterly and to evaluate data on how decriminalization is working.

Possession of illegal substances will remain illegal at schools, daycares, airports, and in most cases on private property such as stores, bars, and cafes.
Beijing Stock Exchange Is a Losing Venture: Financial Expert

Promising market failed to thrive: current trading volume only 5 percent of first day's performance

A man walks past the Beijing Stock Exchange on its first day of trading in Beijing on Nov. 15, 2021. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

The Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) may become another rotten tail venture under the Xi Jinping administration, a senior financial expert says. The Chinese catchphrase refers to a failed or unfinished task, usually as a result of ill-conceived planning or poor execution.

Trading volume on the BSE continued to decline in 2023, with daily turnover of just 295 million yuan (about $40 million) and the trading volume of certain stocks falling as low as 2,200 yuan (about $300) on Jan. 17.

Between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20, daily turnover on the BSE ranged from 295 million yuan to 551 million yuan (about $90 million). Even the highest daily volume, $90 million, was a plunge of about 94 percent compared to a trading volume of 9.576 billion yuan (about $1.41 billion) on the BSEs first day of trading.

Among stocks traded on the exchange, Guangdong Guangzi International Engineering Investment Consultants Co. Ltd (836892.BJ), a state-owned enterprise and one of the first 81 companies listed on the BSE, had only three tradings on Jan. 12, with a turnover of 2,200 yuan ($324) and a turnover rate of 0.001 percent. The actual controller of the company is the Guangdong State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Chinas Stock Market System

In Chinas stock market system, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) were founded in 1990 and generally serve large enterprises. The two older exchanges are traded by active competitive bidding supervised by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) was set up in 2012 to serve micro companies, small to medium enterprises, and startupscompanies that were unable to qualify for listing on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

The NEEQ was ultimately less than successful, with lenient listing requirements that attracted poor-quality enterprises.

The BSE was also envisioned as a way to encourage small and medium companies, reforming the NEEQ.

A Promising Start

The BSE was intended for companies that were earlier in development, smaller, and with a focus on innovation and manufacturing. Announced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September of 2021, media dubbed the new exchange Xis new financial baby.

The BSE started its first day of trading on Nov. 15, 2021. Among the first batch of 81 companies listed on the new stock exchange, 10 were new stocks and the remaining 71 were transferred from the select tier of the NEEQ.

The exchanges first day set a record at 9.576 billion yuan (about $1.41 billion) in trading. Because there was no limit on the percentage of increase or decrease on the first day of trading, some stock prices soared as much as fivefold.

Trading Plummets

However, the next day, Nov. 16, trading volume plummeted to 4.496 billion yuan (about $630 million), almost half the first days performance. Four days later, on Nov. 19, the daily trading volume fell further, to 2.085 billion yuan (about $290 million), roughly 22 percent of day ones volume.

Moreover, both the total market capitalization and price-earnings ratio of the BSE have shown an overall downward trend since its inception.

According to the BSEs 2022 Stock Market Statistical Bulletin, the total market value of the exchange in December 2021 was 272.275 billion yuan (around $38 billion), and the price-earnings ratio was 46.66. By December 2022, its total market value and price-earnings ratio had fallen to 211.029 billion yuan (about $29.5 billion) and 1.887 billion, respectively.

In an August article in the Securities Times, a Chinese state newspaper, financial expert Zhang Aoping said that he believed the slump was a temporary phenomenon and the market would become more active as the BSE gradually expanded its capacity.

However, almost six months later, the performance of the BSE has not only failed to improve but has continued to decline.

The Product of Rash Decisions

Zhang Jinglun, a senior economic commentator, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 26 that he feels the BSE was a product of rash decision-making by Chinese leaders.

There are several major reasons for the failure of the Beijing Stock Exchange, he said. First, Chinas current economic environment is very bad; the real estate market is close to collapse. Even the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges have been affected by these factors, not to mention the new Beijing Stock Exchange.

Secondly, Zhang feels the establishment of the new board was an unwise move by top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders who hoped to take advantage of small and medium-sized enterprises and investors.

Beijing is the political center of China. The rich and powerful will not casually put their money in it, as they know the Chinese authorities real intentions. Most of the BSE stockholders who will eventually be exploited by the authorities are middle- and lower-level retail investors, he said.

Further, he pointed out, the BSE was established to serve small and medium-sized enterprises, and included the transfer of many NEEQ stocks. However, these stocks already had poor performance on the NEEQ. It was not reasonable to expect their performance to improve simply because they were now traded on another stock exchange, Zhang said.

Moreover, in terms of economic activity, Shanghai and Shenzhen are more vibrant than Beijing. Shanghai is a financial capital, home to Chinas largest companies. Shenzhen, a major tech center known as Chinas Silicon Valley, is more open and attracts Hong Kong capital and foreign investment. In Chinas capital city of Beijing, on the other hand, it is harder to escape the gaze of the CCP.

The elite and the wealthy who want to make money in the stock market would certainly avoid Beijing. Because even if they profit from the stock market, it wont be easy to cash out the money. So they prefer to go to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Zhang said.
Biden Admin Plans to End COVID-19 Emergency Declarations on May 11

President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel North Portal in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The Biden administration has informed Congress it plans to end national COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11.

The move would shift the national response to COVID-19 away from the U.S. government and back to the normal authorities given to federal agencies, with the virus to be considered endemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency by then-President Donald Trump at the start of the outbreak on March 13, 2020. President Joe Biden has repeatedly extended the emergency declaration since.

The White House noted on Jan. 30 that the COVID-19 national emergency and the public health emergency (PHE) are currently set to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively.

At present, the Administrations plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11, and then end both emergencies on that date, an administration policy statement (pdf) by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) states.

This wind-down would align with the Administrations previous commitments to give at least 60 days notice prior to termination of the PHE.

To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19. They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19.

Under the PHE declaration, the federal government has been funding COVID-19 vaccines as well as some tests and treatments. When this ends, the costs will be transferred to private insurance and government health plans.

Costs of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to surge once the federal government stops buying them. Pfizer has said it will charge about $110 to $130 per dose.

Meanwhile, the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden in 2022 contains a provision that will eliminate Medicaid coverage protection from PHE, meaning that states can start removing people who dont meet Medicaid criteria beginning on April 1.

The OMB in a separate administration policy statement on Jan. 30 (pdf) said it opposed H.R. 497, a measure to eliminate COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care providers under certain federal health care programs. It said that Biden would veto the bill if Congress were to pass it.

Calls to End Emergency Powers

The statement by the Biden administration comes amid increasing calls from congressional lawmakers and governors across the country to end the COVID-19 emergency powers.

The administration policy statement itself was to signal opposition to two Republican-backed measures, H.R. 382 and H.J. Res. 7, seeking to immediately end the emergencies.

Lawmakers in Congress have refused the Biden administrations request for billions more dollars to continue funding COVID-19 vaccines and testing.

In December 2022, about two-dozen Republican governors called on the Biden administration to end (pdf) the COVID-19 emergency because it places undue financial strain on the taxpayer due to its expansion of Medicaid coverage.

In pushing against the Republican bill and joint resolution, the Biden administration argued on Jan. 30 that ending the emergency declarations suddenly would have two highly significant impacts on our nations health system and government operations. This includes disrupting the health care system and creating circumstances conducive to an influx of illegal immigrants into the country from the southern border, it said.

The end of the PHE will also end the Title 42 policy at the border. The Biden administration said that while it has tried to terminate the policy, it currently remains in place due to court orders. Ending the PHE would lift Title 42 immediately, and result in a substantial additional inflow of migrants at the Southwest border, the Biden administration said.

The Administration supports an orderly, predictable wind-down of Title 42, with sufficient time to put alternative policies in place, the OMB said, adding that if Title 42 restrictions end abruptly, it would be akin to allowing thousands of migrants per day into the country immediately without the necessary policies in place.
Biden Announces $1.2 Billion in Mega Grants as Republicans Target Wasteful Spending in Debt Cap Standoff

President Joe Biden talks to reporters after returning to the White House in Washington on Jan. 30, 2023. Biden had traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, to talk about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's funds are slated to help replace the 150-year-old Baltimore to Potomac Tunnel. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden on Jan. 31 announced nearly $1.2 billion in mega grants for a series of infrastructure projects, including $292 million to build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, which comes amid a government borrowing limit standoff with Republicans who are pushing for spending curbs.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a release that Biden has announced that nearly $1.2 billion has been awarded from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) discretionary grant program for a total of nine projects nationwide.

After receiving over one hundred applications, we are proud to fund these nine infrastructure megaprojects across the country to create jobs, strengthen our supply chains, expand our economy, and renew Americas built landscape, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The projects include $250 million for the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio, $150 million to replace the Calcasieu River Bridge in Louisiana, and $117 million for the Metra Commuter Railroad in Illinois to replace some 11 bridges and 4 miles of track structure.

Biden will travel to New York City on Tuesday, where he will tout the $292 million mega grant for the Hudson Tunnel Project that the White House said in a statement will result in 72,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.

Hudson Tunnel

The Hudson Tunnel Project will renovate the 1910 tunnel that carries around 200,000 weekday passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, which now runs at full capacity, resulting in bottlenecks and delays.

Passengers faced 12,653 minutes of delay in 2020 due to outdated tunnel infrastructure issues, the White House said. Delays occurred on 54 days and were caused by various problems with the electrical power, signal, and track systems.

The existing tunnel also faces problems due to seawater flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 that damaged concrete, steel, tracks, signaling, and electrical components.

Besides revamping the old tunnel, some of the grant money will also be used to help complete the concrete casing for an additional rail tunnel beneath the river, make track modifications near Penn Station, and construct ventilation shafts and fan plants in New Jersey and New York.

Overall, the Hudson Tunnel Project is expected to cost $16 billion.

When the project is done, the redundant capacity provided by a second tunnel will mean fewer delays and less risk for catastrophic disruption, the White House stated.

Former President Donald Trump opposed the Hudson Tunnel Project back when it was called the Gateway Project, arguing that it wasnt a priority for the federal government to fund and that the two states should bear more of the cost.

Bidens trip to New York City comes on the heels of his stop on Jan. 30 in Baltimore to highlight the replacement of an aging rail tunnel there, where he pledged that government spending on infrastructure would boost economic growth and create jobs.

When America sees these projects popping up across the country, it sends a really important message: When we work together, theres not a damn thing we cant do, Biden said on Monday. Theres nothing beyond our capacity.

In total, the Mega program will invest $5 billion through 2026 to help rebuild infrastructure. In this particular application cycle, the DOT received applications for around $30 billion in funding, which far exceeded the $1 billion or so available for this round.

Wasteful Washington Spending

Bidens trips to Baltimore and New York that tout the massive infrastructure investment come as Republican lawmakers seek deep spending cuts in exchange for lifting the governments legal borrowing limit.

Republicans have argued that enormous federal spending hurts economic growth, threatens to drown future generations in debt, and that the budget should be balanced.

I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runway spending, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Jan. 29 during an appearance on CBS Face the Nation program.

I dont think theres anyone in America who doesnt agree that theres some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate, he added.

Two dozen GOP senators have signed a letter to Biden, conveying their outright opposition to a debt-ceiling hike without real structural spending reform that reduces deficit spending and brings back fiscal sanity back to Washington.

McCarthy and Biden are scheduled to meet on Feb. 1, with the GOP lawmaker looking to press his case for spending cuts even though White House officials have said Biden wont negotiate over the debt limit.

Much as they did in 2011, Republicans want to pair this years debt ceiling hike with spending cuts. Some veterans of the 2011 showdown see a tougher battle this time around.

This year is going to be much harder than 2011, because of the shrill nature of the political discourse, said former Rep. Charlie Bass (R-N.H.), who served in the House during that time.

Others think Washington will find a solution before the Treasury Department runs out of money.

Thats what things like the debt ceiling are built fortheyre forcing mechanisms that create an artificial deadline, said former Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio).

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced on Monday that it plans to borrow $932 billion in private-held net marketable debt during the first quarter of 2023 and another $278 billion the following quarter, for a total of over $1.2 trillion.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Biden Says No F-16s for Ukraine as Russia Claims Gains

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard during NATO exercise Saber Strike flies over Amari military air base, Estonia, on June 12, 2018. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

KYIV, Ukraine/WASHINGTONThe United States will not provide the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has sought in its fight against Russia, President Joe Biden said on Monday, as Russian forces claimed a series of incremental gains in the countrys east.

Ukraine planned to push for Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16 after securing supplies of main battle tanks last week, an adviser to Ukraines defence minister said on Friday. A Ukrainian air force spokesman said it would take its pilots about half a year to train on such fighter jets.

Asked if the United States would provide the jets, Biden told reporters at the White House, No.

The brief exchange came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had begun exacting its revenge for Ukraines resistance to its invasion with relentless attacks in the east.

Zelenskyy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault on Ukraine after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) via phone line, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 25, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

Ukraine won a huge boost last week when Germany and the United States announced plans to provide heavy tanks, ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock on the issue.

The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets, Yuriy Sak, who advises Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, told Reuters on Friday.

While there was no sign of a broader new Russian offensive, the administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraines eastern Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, said Russian troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal-mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

Pushilin said Ukrainian forces were continuing to throw reinforcements at Bakhmut, Maryinka, and Vuhledar, three towns running from north to south just west of Donetsk city. The Russian state news agency TASS quoted him as saying Russian forces were making advances there, but not clear-cut, that is, here there is a battle for literally every meter.

Pushilins adviser, Yan Gagin, said fighters from Russian mercenary force Wagner had taken partial control of a supply road leading to Bakhmut, a city that has been Moscows main focus for months.

A day earlier, the head of Wagner said his fighters had secured Blahodatne, a village just north of Bakhmut.

Kyiv said it had repelled assaults on Blahodatne and Vuhledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situations there. But the locations of the reported fighting indicated clear, though gradual, Russian gains.

Zelenskyy said Russian attacks in the east were relentless despite heavy casualties on the Russian side, casting the assaults as payback for Ukraines success in pushing Russian forces back from the capital, northeast and south earlier in the conflict.

I think that Russia really wants its big revenge. I think they have [already] started it, Zelenskyy told reporters in the southern port city of Odesa.

Mykola Salamakha, a Ukrainian colonel and military analyst, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Moscows assault in Vuhledar was coming at huge cost.

The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there, he said. This is a repetition of the situation in Bakhmutone wave of Russian troops after another crushed by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Western Delays

The hundreds of modern tanks and armored vehicles pledged to Ukraine by Western countries in recent weeks for a counteroffensive to recapture territory are months away from delivery.

This leaves Kyiv to fight through the winter in what both sides have described as a meat grinder of relentless attritional warfare.

Moscows Wagner mercenary force has sent thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons into battle around Bakhmut, buying time for Russias regular military to reconstitute units with hundreds of thousands of reservists.

Zelenskyy is urging the West to hasten delivery of its promised weapons so Ukraine can go on the offensive.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western countries supplying arms leads to NATO countries more and more becoming directly involved in the conflictbut it doesnt have the potential to change the course of events and will not do so.

Zelenskyy met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday in Mykolaiv, a rare visit by a foreign leader close to the front. The city, where Russias advance in the south was halted, had been under relentless bombardment until Ukraine pushed the front line back in November.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, claiming it was necessary to protect itself from its neighbors ties with the West.
U.S. President Joe Biden travels to New York City at 12:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 31 to talk about how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the West Side Rail Yard in the city will improve reliability for the 200,000 passenger trips per weekday on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.

The Epoch Times will livestream the event.
Biden: US Will Not Supply F-16 Fighter Jets to Ukraine

President Joe Biden has seemingly ruled out that the United States will be providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. In a short exchange with reporters on Jan. 30, Biden was asked if the United States would be providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, to which he simply replied, No.

Bidens comments follow a similar announcement from Germanys chancellor, who also declined to send such fighter jets. Ukraine has been pushing its allies for advanced warplanes to help Kyiv take control of its airspace, but the United States and its partners fear that this could lead to further escalation with Russia.

The Kremlin could argue that the F-16s could be used to hit targets inside Russia, which Moscow could interpret as a significant escalation in the war. Despite Moscows accusations of NATO aggression, member countries like the United States and Germany have been hesitant to provide military aid that might escalate the conflict.

The F-16 is widely considered one of the worlds most reliable fighter jets, armed with precision-guided missiles. The United States Air Force states that the F-16 fighter jet has the ability to carry precision-guided bombs and missiles and can reach speeds of 1,500 mph. The advanced targeting capabilities of the F-16 would enable Ukrainian forces to strike Russian targets with increased precision, even during nighttime or adverse weather conditions.

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby defended the decision, highlighting the $27.1 billion worth of military aid the United States has already sent to Ukraine since the start of the war.

Biden confirmed on Jan. 25 that the United States will send M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, with similar support coming from the UK and Germany.

Biden reiterated that the tanks were not an offensive threat to Russia. Biden went on to say, Thats what we all want: an end to this war.

Our terms that preserve  Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and honor the U.N. Charter  theyre the terms were working on.

A Fighter Jet Coalition

Ukraine has asked its allies to create a fighter jet coalition but has received mixed reactions. The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets, Yuriy Sak, who advises Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, told Reuters on Jan. 27.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace noted that initial responses are often no but end up being yes. Some countries such as Poland and the Netherlands have given positive signals about supplying fighter jets. While Poland has not ruled out sending F-16s, it would only do so in coordination with NATO members.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said in principle nothing is excluded, but any delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine would need to not escalate the situation, not be likely to hit Russian soil, and not weaken the French armed forces. Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov is in Paris and will likely meet with Macron and Reznikovs counterpart as part of Ukraines wider military lobbying effort.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine as revenge for resistance to its invasion. In Kyiv, both sides are fighting what has been described as meat grinder warfare. The hundreds of modern tanks and armored vehicles pledged by Western countries for a counteroffensive are still months away from delivery.

Zelenskyy is urging the West to speed up the delivery of weapons. Zelenskyy recently met with the Danish prime minister in a rare visit near the front line.
Bill Gates Addresses Jeffrey Epstein Connection in New Interview

Co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates attends a press conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on May 25, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates again responded to questions about his relationship with sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying that there was never any relationship.

I had dinner with him and thats all, Gates said in response to a question from an Australia Broadcasting Corporation reporter. When pressed further, Gates that there never was any relationship of any kind after being asked if there is a connection between Epstein and the Gates Foundation.

The reporter, Sarah Ferguson, asked if he regretted the relationship, saying that it went against the wishes of his ex-wife, Melinda. Youre going way back in time. But yeah, I will say for the, you know, over [the] hundredth time that I shouldnt have had dinners with him, Gates said in the interview, published Jan. 30.

Ferguson noted that Epstein was involved in sexually compromising people and asked whether his ex-wife warned him about that. No, Gates said.

Gates, one of the wealthiest people in the world, was asked in 2021 by PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff about whether he had a connection to Epstein or not. Gates at the time provided similar answers but stated that he had dinners with Epstein, whereas in Australian TV interview, he said that he had dinner with him.

What did you know about him when you were meeting with him, as you said yourself, in the hopes of raising money? Woodruff asked Gates

You know, I had dinners with him. I regret doing that, he replied. He had relationships with people he said, you know, would give to global health, which is an interest I have. You know, not nearly enough philanthropy goes in that direction.

Gates conceded at the time that those meetings were a mistake.

You know, that goes back a long time ago now, so theres nothing new on that, Gates added.

Pressed further by Woodruff, the Microsoft mogul asserted: You know, Ive said I regretted having those dinner, and theres nothing  absolutely nothing new on that.

Melinda French Gates, his former wife, told CBS in 2022 that she wasnt happy that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I wanted to see who this man was, and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door, she said at the time. He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards. My heart breaks for these young women.

Before the CBS interview aired, Bill Gates told news outlets that his meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply and was a substantial error in judgment.

Gates told The Times of London in May that those dinners were a part of efforts to fundraise but didnt result in what he purported, and I cut them off. He added, At the time, I didnt realize that by having those meetings it would be seen as giving him credibility. Youre almost saying, I forgive that type of behavior, or something.

Epstein Details

Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting a prostitute who was a minor, died in August 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Officials found him hanged inside his Manhattan jail cell, triggering widespread speculation about his cause of death.

Jeffrey Epstein (C) appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 30, 2008. (Uma Sanghvi/Palm Beach Post via AP)

The New York City Medical Examiners office at the time ruled that Epstein, 66, committed suicide by hanging himself with his bedsheets. But in early 2020, Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist who previously worked for the same medical examiners office, alleged Epsteins death was more indicative of homicide after graphic photos of his death were made public.

A former associate and girlfriend of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, was found guilty in 2021 of child sex trafficking in connection to the former financier. She was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison and is currently serving time in Floridas low-security FCI Tallahassee prison.

During a recent phone interview with a British television show, Maxwell suggested that Epstein didnt kill himself.

I believe that he was murdered, Maxwell said in a Talk TV interview published on Jan. 23. I was shocked. Then I wondered how it had happened because as far as I was concerned, he was going toI was sure he was going to appeal.

Over the years, Epstein was reportedly known to have powerful friends and acquaintances, including politicians, business magnates, celebrities, and high-powered lawyersfurther adding to the speculation around his jailhouse death.
Bipartisan Resolution Backing Iranian Protesters Passes Congress in Overwhelming Vote

A bipartisan resolution in the U.S. House supporting protesters risking their lives to demonstrate for their freedom in Iran swept through Congress with the enormous support of Democrats and Republicans.

The 4201 vote on Jan. 25 marked the latest round of international condemnation against Irans government, which has engaged in the brutal repression of its citizenry since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sep. 16, 2022. Amini died after being arrested by Irans morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republics strict dress code.

The Congressional resolution was introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) in a successful demonstration of bipartisan in what was expected to be a deeply divided congress.

The House just passed the bipartisan resolution I co-led to commend the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran who are demonstrating against the oppressive Iranian regime for its human rights abuses, Gottheimer, co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, wrote in a social media post after the passage of the resolution. Iran is the worlds leading state-sponsor of terror. With our legislation passing today, were making clear that we support those brave individuals committed to freedom and human rights, both in Iran and around the world.

The resolution was first introduced in the last Congress by several Republican and Democratic lawmakers and was revived earlier this month. Its passage came days after the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom imposed a series of fresh sanctions on dozens of Iranian officials and organizations, including the countrys special military and police forces, for their violent clampdown.

The murderous regime in Iran continues its violent crackdown on its citizens rights and civil liberties, said Tenney. The House reaffirmed with one voice our commitment to support these brave protestors, who are more resolved than ever to fight this regime  This resolution makes clear that the U.S. House of Representatives stands with them and that the United States will continue to do all it can to hold the regime, which is the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism, accountable.

Activists say at least 16 people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings over charges linked to the protests. Death sentences in Iran are typically carried out by hanging.

At least 517 protesters have been killed and over 19,200 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has closely monitored the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided an official count of those killed or detained.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Blinken Calls for 2-State Solution Amid Mounting IsraelPalestine Violence

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington on Jan. 4, 2023. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters)

On the second day of a three-day Middle East tour, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Jan. 30 repeated calls for a two-state solution to the perennial IsraelPalestine conflict.

Blinken made the appeal amid steadily escalating IsraeliPalestinian violence that in recent days has claimed more than a dozen lives.

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken expressed Washingtons hope of seeing freedom and security in equal measure for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Israeli army soldiers take aim during clashes with Palestinian protesters following a demonstration to denounce the annual nationalist flag march through Jerusalem, in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on May 29, 2022. (Mosab Shawer/AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden, he said, remains fully committed to that goal. And we believe the best way to achieve it is through preservingthen realizingthe vision of two states [Israel and Palestine].

Blinken added: Anything that moves us away from that vision is, in our judgment, detrimental to Israels long-term security and its long-term identity as a Jewish and democratic state.

Drawn up late last year, Netanyahus coalition government includes parties vehemently opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Mounting Violence

Blinkens ongoing tour of the region follows a series of particularly violent episodes in recent days between Israelis and Palestinians.

On Jan. 26, 10 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. The following day, a Palestinian gunman killed seven Israelis in Jerusalem.

According to Palestinian officials, at least 35 Palestinians, including militants and civilians, have been killed in violence since Jan. 1.

Hours before Blinkens arrival, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. Israeli officials say soldiers opened fire after the man rammed his vehicle into an army checkpoint.

The Epoch Times was unable to verify assertions by either side.

After holding closed-door discussions with Netanyahu, Blinken called on both sides to take urgent steps to restore calm and de-escalate.

U.S.-backed talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority ended in 2014 after Israel launched a massive assault on the Gaza Strip. More than 2,000 Palestiniansand scores of Israeliswere killed during the six-week conflict.

Blinken is scheduled to visit the West Bank city of Ramallah on Jan. 31 for the last leg of his tour, where he is slated to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Natanz, in Irans central Isfahan province, hosts the countrys main uranium enrichment facility. (AP)

Iran in Crosshairs

Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Blinken also stressed Washingtons continued commitment to Israels security.

In the context of escalating violence, Blinken said, its important that the government and people of Israel know that Americas commitment to their security remains ironclad.

Netanyahu likewise extolled the close relationship between the United States and Israel, which he described as unbreakable and one of the great alliances of modern history.

He also used the occasion to denounce Iran, emphasizing Israels longstanding policy of doing everything in its power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.

Blinken agreed, saying that Tehran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Blinken added that, during their meeting, he and Netanyahu had discussed deepening cooperation to confront and counter Irans destabilizing activities in the region and beyond.

In the early hours of Jan. 29, drones of unknown origin attacked a military facility near the Iranian city of Isfahan. While reportedly causing limited damage, the attack didnt result in any casualties.

Despite widespread speculation of Israeli involvement, its officials have so far refrained from commenting on the incident.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said no U.S. military assets were involved in the attack but declined to comment further.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi delivers a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, on Sept. 25, 2018. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Blinken Meets el-Sisi in Cairo

Earlier the same day, Blinken also held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo.

At a closed-door meeting, the two men reaffirmed their countries strong commitment to the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership, according to a statement released afterward by the State Department.

Blinken also reportedly commended el-Sisi for Egypts ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Cairo became the first Arab capital to make peace with Israel in 1979. Since then, Egypta major recipient of U.S. military aidhas sought to mediate between Israel and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Blinkens talks with el-Sisi also covered regional issues, including Sudanese efforts to form a civilian government and the need for elections in next-door Libya, which remains torn between rival factions.

Egypts Rights Record Raises Concern

Before leaving Cairo, Blinken also held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

During a joint press conference with the latter, Blinken said Washington would continue to press Cairo to release thousands of jailed political dissidents.

The concerns that we have [about political prisoners] remain, Blinken told reporters. In the spirit of candor  we expressed those concerns [to el-Sisi and Shoukri] very clearly.

El-Sisi, a former army chief, came to power in a 2013 military coup that swept his predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, from power.

Morsi, the countrys first freely elected president and a leader of Egypts now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, died in prison in 2019.

The 2013 coup was followed by a sweeping crackdown on political dissent that targeted members of Morsis Muslim Brotherhood and secular critics of el-Sisis government.

According to rights groups, tens of thousands of political prisoners remain behind bars. The government, for its part, says the detentions are necessary to ensure Egypts political and economic stability.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Border Patrol Agents Told to Not Chase All Vehicles That Flee

Border Patrol agents and a K-9 inspect vehicles at the Javier Vega, Jr., Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita, Texas, on March 20, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

KINNEY COUNTY, TexasBorder Patrol agents will soon be limited in chasing vehicles that flee from them, under new rules unveiled in January and set to take effect in May.

Agents must determine that vehicular pursuits are necessary and objectively reasonable under the rules, and they can terminate a pursuit at any time without fear of questioning from superiors.

Agents are being told that they must consider factors such as the seriousness of the reason for a pursuit and weather conditions when deciding whether to chase a fleeing vehicle that fails to stop at a checkpoint or port of entrythe official places to enter the United States from Mexico and Canada.

A Vehicular Pursuit is considered Necessary when an Authorized Officer/Agent concludes there is an immediate need to apprehend a subject as part of their enforcement duties based on the totality of the known facts and circumstances, the rules state.

A pursuit meets the objectively reasonable standard when the governments interest in apprehending the person or people in the fleeing vehicle clearly outweighs the Foreseeability of Risk to the public, officers/agents, other law enforcement, and vehicle occupants, the rules state.

Agents must evaluate the interest and the potential risk when choosing whether to pursue a fleeing vehicle and continue the evaluation during the chase. They must also alert a supervisor as soon as feasible during a pursuit and immediately terminate the chase if the supervisor doesnt authorize it to continue or orders it to be stopped.

If a chase is terminated, agents must pull their vehicle over to signal to the public and the fleeing driver that the chase has ended, according to the rules. They must alert superiors, then start driving again in the last known direction of the fleeing vehicle to check for crashes, potential flight on foot, to determine if the Subject Vehicle was abandoned, or for any other incident.

The rules also suggest alternatives to vehicular pursuits, such as tracking with airplanes.

Troy Miller, who became acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner in late 2022 after the ouster of Chris Magnus, said vehicular pursuits pose inherent risksto members of the public, officers and agents, and vehicle occupants and that the new policy acknowledges these risks and shifts our Agencys overall approach to a risk-based model when it comes to pursuits.

Magnus stressed that the policy doesnt bar vehicular pursuits but provides a clear framework for weighing the risks associated with pursuits against the benefits.

Agent: Codifying What Has Already Been Done

While the previous policy wasnt as restrictive, agents were already being told to not pursue every fleeing vehicle, a Border Patrol agent told The Epoch Times.

Theyre codifying what has been already done, the agent said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The slowdown of pursuits started under then-President Donald Trump but has quickened since President Joe Biden took office, according to the agent.

Under Biden, they dont want us to do jack squat, the agent said. And really it plays with their narrative, because their narrative is: The only thing thats happening are refugees, asylum seekers, family units, and UACs. So why would we need to go into a pursuit if thats whats happening?

UACs stands for unaccompanied alien children, or children who arrive at the border without a responsible adult.

Historic numbers of illegal immigrants have crossed the U.S.Mexico border under Biden. The crisis has shown no signs of easing.

The agent is also concerned that the new rules incentivize agents to not do their jobs and to transfer pursuits to local and state authorities.

Theyre incentivizing us to not do anything, which places everything on sheriffs, local law enforcement, and DPS, the agent said, referring to the Texas Department of Public Safety. This is just another step in the way of destroying the sovereignty of this nation.

Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, who was a Border Patrol agent for 31 years, said the new policy is going to result in no Border Patrol-led pursuits.

Thats going to be a zero pursuit policy, Coe told The Epoch Times.

If Border Patrol doesnt commence a chase, then more pressure will be placed on sheriffs and other law enforcement entities, Coe said.

A portion of Kinney County runs up to the border with Mexico. County officials have recorded increases in high-speed pursuitsto 139 in 2022 from 61 in 2020and arrests of human smugglersto 741 in 2022 from 169 in 2020.

Forty-four smugglers have already been arrested this year through Jan. 27.

ACLU Welcomes Change

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) welcomed the change in Border Patrol policy.

Preserving human life is paramount, and this policy makes that a central consideration by adopting many widely accepted best practices, Rebecca Sheff, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, said in a statement.

While our office will be closely analyzing these policy changes and robust training and oversight will be essential to ensure compliance with this new policy, this is an important step forward for our border communities who have borne the brunt of CBPs deadly pursuits.

Some of the Border Patrol pursuits have ended in crashes, and some of the crashes have left illegal immigrants and others dead.

As of Nov. 15, 2022, there have been 93 deaths resulting from such crashes since 2010, according to an ACLU tracker. Illegal immigrant deaths overall have soared under the Biden administration, according to data obtained by The Epoch Times.

Most of the deceased were in the country illegally, but others were U.S. citizens or agents.

In one recent instance, on Jan. 8, two people were killed and eight others were injured after a chase in southern New Mexico. The chase started after an agent was shot.
Brooklyn District Attorney Investigates Allegations of Democrat Voter Fraud

Voters cast their midterm election ballots in New York City on Nov. 8, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Brooklyn Democrats added peoples names to petitions they didnt sign and demanded bribes, according to news reports.

Now, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez plans to investigate.

This matter is under investigation, his offices spokesman, Oren Yaniv, told The Epoch Times. He declined to comment further.

A news report by The City, a local paper, announced that five Brooklyn citizens said their names were on petitions asking to remove candidates for Democrat Party positions from the June 2022 primary ballot.

The first voters of the day begin filling out their ballots at a polling site in the Brooklyn Museum as the doors open for the midterm elections in New York on Nov. 8, 2022. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

But they never signed them, they added.

Brooklyn resident Charlene Davis said that when she tried to get a job as a poll worker, people told her she had to get voter signatures for petitions supporting Democrat Party executives.

Davis told The City that the district attorneys office asked if the petitions supported Democrat Party leaders Dionne Brown-Jordan and Michael Silverman. Davis told them Brown-Jordan prevented her from getting poll work.

The Epoch Times attempted to contact Brown-Jordan for comment via Twitter but didnt receive a reply by press time. The Epoch Times was unable to locate Silverman for comment.

Brown-Jordan hasnt been accused of any crimes and she has previously denied the allegations.

However, the Board of Elections reportedly confirmed she had asked for Davis to be listed as temporarily inactive on the poll workers roster.

Democrat Anthony Jones, leader of Brownsvilles Community 1st Democratic Club, told The City in April 2022 that the fake signatures were a setup.

What we do know is that we feel like we were set up, Jones had said.

He confirmed that the forged signatures came from the Democratic Club but said he didnt know who did it and didnt know about it when it happened.

Summary of findings regarding outright voter fraud in six battleground states. (Source: DataThe Immaculate Deception Report; Design by The Epoch Times)

The Epoch Times emailed a member of the Liberty 1st Democratic Club but didnt receive a reply.

Its not the first time Brooklyn has struggled to ensure election integrity. In 2020, its voters received mislabeled absentee ballots, according to the New York Post.

In 2021, the New York Post discovered that at least two dead people in Brooklyn were registered as having voted Democrat in the 2020 election.

According to PBS, the city purged 126,000 registered Democrats from its rolls.

Voter fraud isnt just a Brooklyn problem, research by The Heritage Foundation suggests.

The conservative think tank found 1,412 instances of voter fraud nationwide, with 1,219 of these cases resulting in criminal convictions. But there could be many more cases escaping notice, it said.

While we are not making any definitive claims about the extent of election fraud in our country, we are confident in saying that there are far too many vulnerabilities in our current system, The Heritage Foundations report reads.

The important thing is that people must have trust in the outcome, which is difficult to do, in large part, because of the vulnerabilities that currently exist.
California Bill Would Seal Name, GenderChange Records of Minors

A California assemblyman has proposed legislation to allow children who have filed petitions to change their legal names and gender identities to have these records sealed.

Assembly Bill 223 (AB 223), the Transgender Youth Privacy Act, would amend the states health and safety code to require the petitions of anyone under 18 for name and gender changes, and any documents associated with such proceedings, to be sealed.

Being outed is a traumatic event for anyonebut especially traumatic for someone under the age of 18, Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego) said in a press release.

The bill, which is expected to be heard in committee as early as Feb. 10 according to legislative documents, would give transgender youth the confidence to navigate their gender identity without fear of retaliation from anyone who discovers information in public records, Ward said.

Wards communications director, Mike Blount, told The Epoch Times in an email that under existing law, parent authorization is required for changing vital records for minors unless a court has emancipated them.

Blount said AB 223 would not change the petition process but would ensure the petition records are sealed from general public discovery. Many of our documents have become digitized and are too easily accessible to those who would do these youth harm, Blount said.

Returning students walk the hallway at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles on April 27, 2021. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Ward, a member of the state Democratic Partys LGBTQ Caucus, cited a study conducted in 2017 and released in January 2019 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found transgender youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender peers and are at higher risk of violence, victimization, substance use and depression.

The CDC study also found that an average of 1.8 percent of high school students identified as transgender, according to population-based survey data from 10 state and nine urban school districts.

However, the claims about suicide rates among transgender people have been widely disputed. For example, a Swedish study of 324 transgender individuals from 1973 to 2003 found that sex-reassigned adults, compared to same birth sex controls, were 19 times more likely to commit suicide. The study shows that deaths among transgender people increased sharply compared to deaths among other adults starting about 10 years after medical interventions.

Another study published in the American Urological Associations official journal found that in California from 2012 to 2018, suicide attempt rates more than doubled among transgender patients after vaginoplasty or phalloplasty3.3 percent post-surgery compared to 1.5 percent before. Also, the rate of psychiatric emergencies did not decrease in the two years after surgery compared to the two years before.

Erin Friday, the mother of a teen who once suffered from gender dysphoria, speaks at a California Assembly committee hearing in Sacramento on June 8, 2022. (Screenshot via California State Assembly)

Public Reaction

Erin Friday, an attorney and co-leader of the group Our Duty, U.S.A., which opposes gender ideology, told The Epoch Times the proposed legislation would make it impossible to track data such as how many trans-identified youths commit suicide, how many are victims of crimes, or commit crimes, [and] how many end up in foster care, homeless, or drug-addicted.

Even though California law requires parental consent for a minor to legally change his or her name, Friday alleged that Ward is moving toward empowering minors without parental consent to have that right in the last line of the bill, which states, Allowing our children to choose when and how they decide to share their personal details is vital in protecting their mental and physical health.

Matthew McReynolds, deputy chief counsel for the Pacific Justice Institutes Center for Public Policy, warned against government secrecy, saying it rarely improves public safety.

Any time a bill proposes to reduce transparency, even in the name of privacy, tough questions must be asked about the unintended consequences, McReynolds told The Epoch Times. Among many other things, this bill prompts as-yet unanswered concerns [about] whether law enforcement and other authorities will be hampered in their ability to track offenders and suspects across changing identities and aliases. At a minimum, it should be amended to address such concerns.

McReynolds also questioned how AB 223 would affect noncustodial parents, such as those who oppose transitioning their own children. He suggested that keeping them in the dark could be intended.

I think it is very much part of the intent here, he said.

Kathie Moehlig, founder and executive director of TransFamily Support Services, speaks at a California Assembly committee hearing in Sacramento on June 8, 2022. (Screenshot via California State Assembly)

Kathie Moehlig, executive director of TransFamily Support Services, said in the press release AB 223 would ensure the safety and privacy of transgender youth.

By sealing the name and gender marker change records, we are bringing the courts in line with the laws around schools not outing students, Moehlig said. Often families were not even aware that these records are public until years after when a court order is discovered in a Google search of the youths name. Keeping these records public will put many students at high risk for bullying, hatred, and even violence.

Last year, Moehlig testified at the state legislature in favor of Senate Bill 107, which made California a trans sanctuary state for transgender youth and their gender-affirming parents, and other legislation supporting gender-affirming care.

A source inside the state legislature who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation told The Epoch Times that the California government has already circumvented the law and parental rights, if you look at how agencies and departments are currently operating and translating the law of this whole privacy concern.

Under state-mandated gender nondisclosure policies, teachers are prohibited from revealing the chosen gender identities of students to parents without the childs permission unless the school believes there is a compelling reason. The California Department of Education also requires all members of the public school community, including students, to use the preferred pronouns of others, under penalty of harassment charges.

Misgendering a transgender person by referring to them by their natal or birth gender instead of the persons chosen identity, name, or preferred pronouns is already being used by government agencies as justification to remove children from their parents homes in cases where a parent refuses or is slow to accept a childs transgender identity, the source said.

Theyve also put forward the idea that to misgender someone is a hate crime, the source said.
Californias Crime Wave: EpochTV Documentary on Alarming Trend

As the ocean breeze passes through tidy streets, groups of the well-dressed wait for a tram to take them across the city. This was San Francisco in the 1950s shown in The Epoch Timess new documentary Californias Crime Wave.

Fast forward and such a view seems to have left the once beautiful city as trash and broken shop glass, from so many break-ins, now abound.

This is not only happening in San Francisco, but in cities and towns throughout the state, bringing worsening crime and heightening fears about the future.

I lived in Mexico City and when you live in a place where safety is a big deal, you understand the value of it, The Epoch Timess Southern California General Manager Siyamak Khorrami said in an interview.

With these concerns, he and Epoch Times staffers started an investigation into how Californians are being impacted by such and what lies ahead for the Golden State.

Siyamak Khorrami, host of EpochTVs California Insider program, appears in the documentary Californias Crime Wave. (The Epoch Times)

Where It All Started

When laws pass, they have consequences. Sometimes a law passes and 10 years later, we feel the effect of it, Khorrami said.

According to Khorrami, some California laws are the biggest cause of its increasing chaos. Oftentimes, he said, people are not aware of what a law does, let alone its consequences.

For example, in 2014, state voters passed Proposition 47also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Actwhich made non-violent property crime that does not exceed $950 and simple drug possession misdemeanors.

The root cause of the crime issue is actually bad policies, Hau Nguyen, the films director, said in an interview. Bad policy created by people who dont know much about the criminal justice system.

Hau Nguyen, director of the documentary Californias Crime Wave. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The documentary points out the effects of such laws take years to materializeusually only after criminals discover there are seemingly no consequences for their actions.

Additionally, the documentary points out much legislation has been marketed with misleading names and intentions, which leads voters to cast ballots for something they might not agree with.

Politicians are selling people one thing and doing another, Zach Li, producer of the documentary, said in an interview.

He said that generally people believe what theyre voting for is for the good, but their notion is developed based on the bill authors advertising instead of fully understanding the issue.

We need to be careful and do our own due diligence to know whats happening so we can make decisions based on reality, instead of perception, he said.

Zach Li, producer of the documentary Californias Crime Wave. (Hau Nguyen/The Epoch Times)

Crime Rate: Increasing or Decreasing?

While some in the media and in government are saying crimes are on the decline, according to the film, viral videos and photos on social media say otherwise.

This dichotomy is discussed in the documentary, which found data reported by government and the media does not reflect the ongoing crisis.

Filmmakers took crime statistics from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department between 2019 and 2021 and found that cases of robbery, burglary, and rape had declined. However, the homicide rate had nearly doubled.

The difference is that some crimes are going unreported, said Douglas Eckenrod, retired Deputy Director for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations, in the film.

Douglas Eckenrod, retired Deputy Director for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations, speaks in EpochTVs documentary Californias Crime Wave. (The Epoch Times)

Homicide rates are the only data that can be truly trusted, he said.

It is a number that cant be tinkered with. Its a person whos deceased, and a coroner made a determination that it was a homicide, he said.

People stopped reporting things like property crime, car break-ins, and shoplifting because they know that police wont respond due to understaffing and because district attorneys are no longer prosecuting those crimes, said Michael Shellenberger, a best-selling author and investigative reporter based in Berkeley, California, in the film.

Weve seen a withdrawal of police officers from making arrests and from taking reports. And  also a significant reduction of ordinary people being willing to file reports, he said.

Michael Shellenberger, a best-selling author and investigative reporter, speaks in the documentary Californias Crime Wave. (The Epoch Times)

Why Does It Matter?

Khorrami said all these issues combined are taking their toll on the state.

If crime goes up, everybodys life will change. The lifestyle will change in California, he said.

According to Khorrami, California is at a tipping point, and more residents need to be paying attention before things get worse.

You wont know the feeling until you lose it. You wont appreciate safety until you dont have it, he said.

Tony Hall, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, speaks with Siyamak Khorrami in the documentary Californias Crime Wave. (Hau Nguyen/The Epoch Times)

To that end, Li, the films producer, said if crime keeps increasing at its current rate, soon it cant be ignored.

It has gotten to a point that  you wont be able to avoid it, he said.

California was known as the Golden State for decades, where people flocked believing they could achieve their dreams and create a life.

But now, they are leaving because of issues like crime, homelessness, and drugs, said Nguyen, the films producer.

In 2022, around 340,000 people moved out of California, and nearly 250,000 in 2021huge jumps from the record of 145,000 the year before, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and California Department of Finance.

California net migration data from 2011 to 2022, according to data released by the California Department of Finance. (Sophie Li/The Epoch Times)

The film can be viewed on EpochTV or cacrimewave.com.
The political biases of modern historians threaten to erode the discipline's credibility

When Michael Bellesiless book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture came out in 2000, it was widely praised as groundbreaking and a corrective to how Americans viewed the Second Amendment. Bellesiless career was launched to critical acclaim and was awarded the Bancroft Prize, the prestigious prize awarded for works on American history.

But soon, the prize was retracted and the historians career cratered after his work proved groundbreaking for the sole reason that it was based on falsified information.

This was a time when the history industry was far less politicized and far more respected. The fact that the Bancroft Prize, awarded by trustees of Columbia University, was rescinded is enough to note that the profession was then more about scholarship and less about politics. According to Phillip W. Magness, an economic historian, author, and director of research and education at the American Institute for Economic Research, the response to shoddy scholarship and politically motivated narratives in historical works would be very different now.

A Shift in Perspective

Magness points to the critically acclaimed and Pulitzer Prize-winning work of The 1619 Project as a prime example. The brainchild of The New York Times Magazines editor Nikole Hannah-Jones was an attempt to reframe the American founding as one built upon slavery rather than liberty. It came under attack from historians across the political spectrum, including from one of its own fact-checking historians. As Magness pointed out during an interview on The Sons of History podcast, the accolades continued to pour in, including the Pulitzer, while the multi-essay work was being heavily scrutinized.

The economic historian, who wrote The 1619 Project: A Critique, pointed out how this shift from historical scholarship to political narratives over a 20-year period happened. Magness said that in the 1960s, the political disparity in the academic history industry was about 45 percent liberal with moderates and conservatives sharing the other 55 percent. He added that these numbers hardly changed into the 1990s, but in the early 2000s, the political leanings of history academics became more disparate with liberal professors accounting for anywhere between 80 to 90 percent of a given colleges history department.

It creates an intellectual laziness among historians, he said. They no longer have to defend their positions with evidence or articulate their beliefs.

Magness said there has been a shift away from rigorous fact-based scholarship and toward historical narratives that serve a political purpose. He said these narratives, which are merely polemics, utilize evidence to either prop up a political or social position to destroy an opposing narrative.

The political goal drives everything, which means evidence is strictly a weapon, he said.

A firestorm started last year when the president of the American Historical Association (AHA), James H. Sweet, went against the prevailing narrative. His AHA column Is History History? warned against the use of presentism and political motives in historical works. Magness stated that it was a very reasonable and very mild column that called historians to task, critiquing both the left and the right. But no sooner had the column been posted on Twitter by the association, than the Twitter mob attacked in seemingly coordinated fashion, condemning Sweet and his column, as well as demanding his resignation. In less than 24 hours, Sweet had issued an apology.

I was surprised at how quickly the apology occurred, Magness said. It was like a Maoist struggle session apology letter. It was appalling to read.

There were plenty who came out in defense of Sweet but also to condemn his apology letter, so much so that the AHA decided to suspend their own Twitter account till the storm passed. Sweets initial column remains, but its prefaced with his apology.

A Historical Silver Lining

With the success of The 1619 Project, the immediate condemnation of Sweets sensible column, and the instant arousal of the Twitter mob to defend politically motivated historical works from academia, Magness points to a silver lining.

When the general public sees commentary from historians who are supposed to be weighing in on the past as experts, they no longer trust them, he said. Tax dollars are used to sustain this entire system and it becomes a matter of public finance if the academic world is not actually delivering reliable information to the public. Suddenly the public may awaken and decide to turn off the tax spigot.

Magness pointed out that the profession is already witnessing a decline in student participation. He stated that the academic discipline is imploding, while the interest in history has never had a higher demand.

Of all the primary majors, history over the past 10 years has lost more students as a percentage than any other major, including English or poetry and other degrees that are not known for their job market. Its unable to attract students anymore, he said.

The odd thing about that is that it is happening at the same time that public interest in the past has never been stronger. We have a continuous stream of historical books that are constantly on the bestseller lists. Popular historynot academic historyis continuously among the bestsellers. People plan entire vacations going to historical tourist sites. Its a major part of the tourist economy. People are thirsty for information about the past.

The contrast between academic history and popular history is worth noting, as it means that average Americans are becoming more self-reliant on discovering the facts of history and less reliant on blindly following academia. After the praise from historians and academia for The 1619 Project and the condemnation of Sweets column, Magness believes the AHA and academia have killed their reputation, a reputation that can only be restored by doing what it did with Bellesiles, which is to restore its integrity by revoking its embrace of polemics and returning to rigorous scholarship, regardless of the demands of the Twitter mob.
Canadas Signing on to WEF Agile Nations Charter Marks Radical Policy Shift, Says Tory MP

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis rises during Question Period, on Sept. 27, 2022 in Ottawa. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis commented on Jan. 28 on the information she helped surface about Canadas involvement in a World Economic Forum (WEF) project seeking to streamline federal regulations, saying it represents a radical policy shift from the current governance model.

First of all, how did Canada become a member state and who recognize this as necessary? Lewis asked in a video posted on YouTube.

I dont even remember this issue being brought up in Parliament, although this is like a radical change in the way that we conceive policy in this country.

Lewis, a contender in her partys last two leadership races and currently infrastructure critic, is alluding to the Liberal government signing on to the Agile Nations Charter in November 2020.

The Agile Nations network is an initiative of the WEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Other countries involved include Denmark, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Details about Canadas participation were obtained by Lewis by submitting an order paper with the government, with the lead department Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) providing a response on Dec. 7.

The Inquiry of Ministry filed by the TBS indicates the goal of the Agile Nations is to herald the Fourth Industrial Revolution promoted by the WEF, which entails streamlining countries regulations to facilitate the proliferation of new technologies like gene editing and artificial intelligence.

If were concluding that our government structure needs to be modernized, then the Liberal government should have respect for Canadians and our existing parliamentary system and have a rigorous debate in Parliament, Lewis says.

This was not the first order paper filed by Lewis on Canadas participation in WEF projects, having previously revealed details on the Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) initiative.

Lewis told viewers she filed those questions with the government after being called a conspiracy theorist for noting the issue during the last leadership race.

She said others had also raised with her the issue of being mocked and belittled by government when speaking about WEF-related matters.

The media labeled and demonized every Canadian that had the insight to ask questions about our government secretive arrangements with the WEF, she said.

Lewis says the government signed the Agile Nations Charter while Canadians could not enjoy their own Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to being locked down, and that corporations were consulted on a post-pandemic governance structure whereas Canadians were not.

Lewis was alluding to several multinationals taking part in Agile Nations discussions, such as Facebook, IBM, and Siemens.

The WEF held its annual meeting in Davos in mid-January and ministers Chrystia Freeland and Mary Ng attended and participated in panel discussions.

Several federal departments avoided commenting to The Epoch Times on Canadas delegation and objectives at the forum.

Freeland has held a seat on the WEF board of trustees since 2019. Her involvement has been cleared by the ethics commissioner.
Thousands of federal workers are accused of defrauding COVID-19 unemployment benefits. A senator is calling for an investigation.

President Joe Biden is touting infrastructure money in Baltimore, as the Justice Department says its working to brief lawmakers on classified documents.

Former President Donald Trump is on the campaign trail again, with some strong words for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former Trump adviser Jenna Ellis joins us to discuss.

Several people died over the weekend after a gunman opened fire near a synagogue in Jerusalem. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Israeli prime minister Monday as tensions remain high.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is under scrutiny over her comments on antisemitism. Our guest discusses the possible organizations funding anti-Israel causes and terrorist groups in the Middle East.

A House committee is calling upon the CEO of TikTok to testify. Hell likely answer questions about U.S. national security and the effect of the social media platform on children.
Car WarsYet Another Threat From Beijing

Commentary

Early this month it was reported that a security sweep discovered hidden inside a British government vehicle used to transport senior officials and diplomats a SIM card that can track and transmit long-term movements; the device was located within a sealed part imported from China. Due to warranty terms and commercial agreements the parts are installed without being opened, so there is no knowing what spyware is inside. A security expert told the Daily Mail it could mean that both Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies are tracking British officials.

Chinese firm China Unicorn, which is responsible for the parts and is under U.S. sanction, is relied on for 5G capability by some very familiar auto brand namesBMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, as well as Volvo, which since 2020 has been a subsidiary of Chinas Zhejiang Geely, headquartered in Hangzhou in eastern China.

It turns out that not only does the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) know where its global rivals are going, but at an alarming rate, China is exporting the means by which more and more of the world travels. Exports of Chinese-manufactured automobiles have tripled since 2020 to over 2.5 million in 2022, according to the China Passenger Car Association. That places the Chinese mainland above the United States and South Korea, and behind only Japan on the list of the worlds biggest auto exporters.

As Bloomberg noted last week in a story entitled The US Hasnt Noticed That China-Made Cars Are Taking Over the World, Chinese brands now dominate the market in the Middle East and Latin America. In Europe, China-made vehicles are mostly electric models from Tesla Inc. and the once-European but now Chinese-owned Volvo and MG, plus European brands like Dacia Spring and the BMW iX3, produced exclusively in China.

It added that a raft of homegrown marques like BYD Co. and Nio Inc. are ascending as well, with ambitions to dominate the world of new-energy vehicles.

Lest you wonder where the capital is coming from to empower China to take over the car world, you can find quite a bit of it originating in the good old USA. The Tesla-like EV, battery and solar panel maker BYD has long been a pet project of Omahas own Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway Inc., having invested some $232 million in BYD in 2008.

Today, BYD is selling Chinese electric cars in as lucrative a market as Australia, and Buffett has made a fortune on it. Not surprisingly, Buffett thinks China is the future of the world, remarking a few years ago that theyre as smart as we are, they work as hard as we are, and they can have growth in the economy from a lower base that will exceed ours percentage-wise for a long time.

Chinas appearance as an auto export giant did not happen overnight, and it had a massive, quite visible presence in the United States going back years. More than four years ago, ex-president of General Motors Indonesia and former J.D. Power managing director for China Michael Dunne, author of American Wheels, Chinese Roads, was writing that there were no fewer than 51 Chinese automakers, suppliers, and auto-tech firms operating in America in early 2016which by the time of Dunnes writing in late 2018 had more than doubled to 105.

Dunne reported that these Chinese entities went from being hidden, like some Nazi or Soviet spy ring of the last century, to being found lining the I-75 manufacturing corridor from Michigan to Georgia making a range of components including glass, suspension systems, bearings, airbags, tires, sealing parts, anti-vibration components, batteries for electric vehicles, instrument panels, stampings, magnesium die-cast components and power steering systems.

Dunne asked the obvious question: How did these companies become ensconced in Americas manufacturing heartland? In many cases, it began by delivering parts to GM and Fords low-cost labor assembly operations in China two decades ago. Now they are actually in America supplying the Detroit Big Three directly. The towns and counties of the Midwest and South are becoming their home away from home, Dunne pointed out. While they were at it, Chinese firms acquired a sizable list of U.S. suppliers in their global expansion strategy, including A123 Systems, Henniges, Key Safety Systems, Meridian Magnesium, and Nexteer.

It has been hypothesized that instead of pursuing a historically conventional regional path to global military dominance, Beijing is instead building a new Chinese-led security and economic order across the Eurasian land mass and Indian Ocean, while establishing Chinese centrality in global institutions, as national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Johns Hopkins foreign policy historian Hal Brands discussed in Foreign Policy magazine in 2020. Success in doing so would amount to outflanking the U.S. alliance system  by developing Chinas economic, diplomatic, and political influence on a global scale.

What exactly is China up to? Sullivan is not the only foreign policy observer on the Democrat side of the aisle who sounded a warning. In early 2019, Brookings Institution fellow and Obama national security official Tarun Chhabra wrote that Beijings flexible authoritarianism abroad, digital tools of surveillance and control, unique brand of authoritarian capitalism, and weaponization of interdependence may in fact render China a more formidable threat to democracy and liberal values than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War.

Chhabra added: A flexibility and opportunism that, at least for now, do not demand strict fealty to CCP doctrinebut instead model, co-opt, and capturemay, over time, more effectively undermine the integrity of democratic states than heavy-handed, backlash-inducing coercion.

The Senate Small Business Committee in early 2019, then chaired by Florida Republican Marco Rubio, saw this danger in mainland Chinas growing electric car sector. Its report Made in China 2025 and the Future of American Industry stated: In 2018, Ford and General Motors announced new electric car model production in China, and Tesla announced it would build its Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. The Chinese firm Qiantu Motor announced last year its intent to sell the first Chinese automobile company-produced car, a luxury electric sedan, in the U.S.

The report extrapolated that, faced with Chinese car-making competition and other strategic challenges, Should global demand shift and the U.S. automobile industry not be prepared to meet it with growth areas of its own, the industry as a wholeincluding the many small businesses which supply and service itis at risk.

Communists have wised up since offering Americans the laughably inferior Yugo in the mid-1980s. Beyond hiding tracking devices, cars are a new step in Beijings use of authoritarian capitalism to shift to a new, CCP-led global economic order.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
China Changed Capitalism: Sens. Rubio, Warner Sound Alarm on CCPs Economic Threat

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) (L) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, participate in a discussion at the Atlantic Council in Washington on July 16, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A bipartisan duo of lawmakers is calling for greater efforts to curb the malign influence of Chinas communist regime through protectionist measures.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) appeared together for a joint interview on Jan. 29, where the two sounded the alarm on the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) efforts to undermine U.S. national security, and said that the regime had unfairly manipulated the international economy.

The Communist Party, under [CCP General Secretary] Xis leadership basically changed the rules of the road, Warner said during the interview with CBS.

They made clear in Chinese law that every company in Chinas ultimate responsibility is to the Communist Party, not to their customers, not to their shareholders.

Warner said that U.S. leadership had been asleep at the switch for a long time concerning how the CCP manipulates and undermines international trade. As such, he said, the United States was now playing a costly game of catch-up with expensive and sweeping policies like the Chips and Science Act, which will provide $52 billion to shore up the domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.

To that end, Warner said that the United States would need to broaden its understanding of what was essential for national security, expanding its scope from mere military-related domains such as the manufacture of ships and tanks to other industries like AI, food production, and telecommunications.

Allowing the CCP to gain or maintain the advantage in these domains should be a non-starter, he added.

If theres one issue that still is extraordinarily bipartisan, it is a growing concern about China, and a recognition that in this technology race, second place is not good enough for us.

China Changed Capitalism



For his part, Rubio said that the CCPs simultaneous assault on the U.S. economy and national security was a direct result of the regimes stratagem of military-civil fusion, in which all commercial technologies produced in the country are also expected to be used to benefit its military.

Thus, by opening China to foreign investments from capitalist nations and using the funds to supercharge its own military, Rubio said, the CCP had effectively weaponized the United States economic system against itself.

The Chinese have found a way to use capitalism against us, Rubio said. What I mean by that is the ability to attract investment into entities that are deeply linked to the state.

That military-commercial fusion that exists in China is a concept that we dont have in this country. We have contractors that do defense work, but there is no distinction in China between advancements in technology, biomedicine, whatever it might be, and the interest of the state.

Rubio added that the typical viewpoint of policymakers in the liberal West had long been that access to market economies and all the benefits of capitalist society would ultimately transform China for the better. While the monies from such a policy have certainly allowed China to advance technologically and militarily, however, the CCP has become far more authoritarian, not less.

Twenty years ago, everybody thought capitalism was going to change China, and we woke up to the realization that capitalism didnt change China, Rubio said. China changed capitalism.

Theyve used it to their advantage and to our disadvantage  Theyve done so from a technological and industrial perspective. And so you have seen the largest theft and transfer of intellectual property in the history of humanity occur over the last 15 years, some of it funded by American taxpayers. That has to stop.

Rubio said that government interference was necessary to secure the national interest from such a threat, and that national security priorities would need to take precedence over the ability of individual businesses to further enrich the CCP and themselves at the expense of said security.

What do you do when the most efficient outcome is not in our national interest? Rubio said. Because its more efficient to buy rare earth minerals from the Chinese. Its more efficient to have things built over there in many cases. But is it in our national interest to depend on them for 80-something percent of the active ingredients in our pharmaceuticals?

In those instances where the market-efficient outcome is not in our national interest, it is my opinion that we default to the national interest because, without our national interest or our national security, the other things wont matter. We are not a market. Were a nation.
China Is Largest Provider of Counterfeit, Pirated Goods to US: Government Report

Communist China leads the world in the creation of counterfeit and pirated goods, according to a report by the office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai.

Some 75 percent of the value of all counterfeit and pirated goods seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2021 originated in China, according to the USTRs 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, (pdf) which was released on Jan. 31.

The widespread trade in counterfeit and pirated goods harms the economic security of American workers and undermines our work to craft equitable and inclusive trade policy, Tai said in a statement. The Notorious Markets List is an important tool that urges the private sector and our trading partners to take action against these harmful practices.

The report identified 39 online markets and 33 physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. WeChat, Chinas most popular social media app, was noted as providing an e-commerce ecosystem that facilitated the distribution and sale of counterfeit products to users throughout the world.

WeChat, together with its China-facing sister app Weixin, continues to be regarded by right holders as one of the largest platforms for counterfeit goods in China, the report said.

Likewise, the report said, WeChats parent company, Tencent, had failed to implement corrective measures to prevent the illicit trade.

Tencents efforts to combat counterfeiting with respect to the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem have been inadequate, the report said. Many counterfeit sellers face only brief suspensions, and sellers with terminated accounts can re-register for new accounts with ease.

The report also asserts that WeChat has failed to meaningfully cooperate with trademark and copyright holders on litigation and that the company has given less cooperation than other companies who adhere to the same privacy and data laws.

The United States isnt alone in its struggle with the flood of illicit goods from communist China.

A report published in March 2022 found that China was the largest source of counterfeit and pirated goods to the European Union as well.

That report described China, Russia, and Turkey as highly active in the provision of counterfeit tobacco and car parts to the EU. In one case, the report noted, Belgian customs officials confiscated a record 126 million counterfeit cigarettes in and around Antwerp, all of which originated from Asia.

USTR first identified notorious markets in 2006 and has published the annual Notorious Markets List since 2011 to boost public awareness and help market operators and governments prioritize intellectual property enforcement efforts that protect American businesses and their workers.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect year for when 75 percent of the value of all counterfeit and pirated goods seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection originated in China. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Chinas Recent $540 Million Oil Deal With Taliban Reveals Its Broader Agenda in Afghanistan: Experts

Taliban terrorists stand in front of a sign at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 9, 2021. (West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

A recent oil deal between the Taliban and Beijing has raised concerns about communist Chinas larger economic and geopolitical agendas in the violence-inflicted nation.

Experts say the Chinese regime wants to take advantage of the vacuum created by the American exit, eyeing more than $1 trillion worth of Afghanistans minerals including rare earth elements, while outwitting other regional competitors.

Taliban recently signed a 25-year contract with Chinas Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) to extract oil from an area of 4,500 square kilometers of Amu Dariya basin in Afghanistans three northern provinces of Sarpol, Jawzjan, and Faryab, according to a statement on Twitter by Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban-run administration.

The company (CAPEIC) will invest $150 million in one year and $540 million in the next three years. In this contract, the [Taliban administration] will be a 20% partner, and this share will increase to 75%, said Mujahid. About 3,000 Afghans will be employed in this project.

The deal, which is the first agreement between the Taliban and any foreign company since the former took over Afghanistan in August 2021, ensures that oil is processed in Afghanistan, and termination can happen if the CAPEIC doesnt meet its material obligations within a year.

Aparna Pande, a research fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said China has for decades been interested in gaining access to Afghanistans trillion dollars worth of natural resources, both energy and minerals.

An unstable Afghanistan is fine by China as long as they have access to these resources and the regime keeps a curb on Uyghur activity, Pande told The Epoch Times.

The erstwhile U.S.-backed Afghan regime signed a similar deal with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop oil blocks in the Amu Darya basin in December 2011. Work on this project was halted in 2013 and the Chinese staff left the country after disagreements emerged about the transportation route of oil from Afghanistan to China. It was also under threat by the Taliban insurgency.

The Xinjiang branch of PetroChina was a subsidiary of CNPC and the CAPEIC was restructured from it in June 2000, according to the China Project.

Ahmad Rashid Salim, a best-selling author, community leader, and an academician in California who researches and teaches on topics in the fields of Islamic studies, Farsi literature, and Afghanistan, called it an astonishingly bad deal and said the de-facto Taliban regime doesnt have the authority nor the public backing for the deal.

The Chinese government with its historic and current record of violence and human rights abuses, especially against the Uyghur Muslims, is looking at the Doha deal between the Taliban and the U.S., as an excellent opportunity to sweep into Afghanistan and exploit the countrys natural and historical resources, Salim told The Epoch Times in an email.

According to official figures (pdf), Afghanistan has 300 documented copper deposits with 30 million metric tons (MTs) of copper, 2.3 billion MTs of iron ore deposits in western Afghanistan along the Herat fault system through central Afghanistan and north of the Panjshir valley and possibly into Badakhshan, and 1.4 million MTs of rare earth materials.

Mining has also been the second largest revenue source for the Taliban after narcotics, according to multiple sources, and even before taking over Kabul. Taliban officials have previously gone on record about the group earning over $400 million annually from its overall mining operation. While it was operating mines in areas under its control, it was attacking mines under the control of the erstwhile Afghan regime.

The former Afghan regime had signed a $3 billion, 30-year agreement in 2008 with the Chinese state joint venture of Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper Ltd for mining operations at the Mes Aynak copper deposit near Kabul in Logar province. A 2000-year-old Buddhist heritage site also sits at the location.

The project faced logistics impediments from the very beginning and was halted in 2014 due to continued attacks and violence, including from the Taliban.

Five Afghan policemen died when the Taliban attacked a checkpoint at the Mes Aynak copper mine in March 2020. However, a year later when the Taliban took over Kabul, it tried to revive the same project with promises of adequate security to the Chinese.

Multiple meetings have reportedly already happened between the Taliban and MCC which is taking advantage of the situation and trying to renegotiate termsreduce taxes and slash by half the 19.5 percent royalty rate owed to the Afghan government per ton of copper sold. The current status of the project is not yet clear.

This photograph taken on May 17, 2022, show an archaeological site in Mes Aynak, in the eastern province of Logar.  An ancient Buddhist city carved out of immense peaks near Kabul is in danger of disappearing forever, swallowed up by a Chinese consortium exploiting one of the worlds largest copper deposits. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

Lifeline for the Taliban

Taliban has not been recognized as a legitimate regime by any nation, including Beijing, and is facing vulnerable times and increased violence from other militant groups like Islamic State who now threaten Taliban-operated mines.

Beijing has, however, accepted Taliban-appointed diplomats. While the recently signed oil deal has raised concerns about Beijing providing legitimacy to the Taliban, experts have refuted such claims.

No, these deals do not legitimize the Taliban but they do show a willingness of China to work with the Taliban despite the danger to Chinese Nationals working in Afghanistan and the atrocious human rights record that the Taliban continues to uphold like banning girls and women from education and work and the recent return of public executions, said Brent Edward Huffman, an American filmmaker who directed the 2015 documentary Saving Mes Aynak.

Huffmans documentary played an instrumental role in bringing global focus on the Buddhist heritage site at risk from mining at Mes Aynak. The filmmaker expressed surprise that the oil deal was reached despite an attack by ISIS on a Kabul hotel that wounded five Chinese nationals in December.

This new oil deal with Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum shows this company believes this resource extraction, as well as future extraction at other sites, is potentially worth more than the safety of Chinese Nationals in Afghanistan, said Huffman.

Chinese companies actually have larger plans for business expansion in Afghanistan after the Taliban approved the construction of a $216 million Sino-Afghan industrial estate on the outskirts of Kabul last April. The estate is expected to host 150 factories.

This picture taken on August 15, 2021, shows a barbed wire wall near a police checkpoint, two kilometers from Friendship Bridge over the Amu Darya River, which separates Uzbekistan and Afghanistan near Termez.(Temur Ismailov/AFP via Getty Images)

Lithium

With Chinese presence and its intentions to fill in the power vacuum left by the Americans, things thus appear more complex because China is eyeing more than just oil and copper. China has a near-monopoly on the global processing of rare earth elements and is interested in the Afghan lithium reserves.

This poses a strategic challenge to the United States and Europes green energy transition, according to Brookings think tank, which said in a report last year that the Afghan rare earth minerals could be of great significance for Chinese agendas.

Afghanistans lithium can be a crucial component of China-manufactured large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and clean-energy storage systems. The nation also has other rare earth elements like copper, nickel, and cobalt, which could be Chinas trump card for a transition to green energy sources, said a Brookings report titled Chinese investment in Afghanistans lithium sector: A long shot in the short term.

The countrys lithium reserves are so significant that they are said to potentially rival Bolivian reserves, currently the largest in the world. The Chinese are also a major investor in Bolivian reserves. But its not known if theres currently a Taliban-China deal being negotiated on lithium extraction.

But China is not the only foreign investor in the Afghan mineral sector. Theres also buzz about other countries like Turkey, Russia, and Iran entering the arena.

Iranian ambassador to Kabul, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi told the Bazar news agency on Jan. 11 that the mining sector in Afghanistan currently provides good opportunities.

Now is the best opportunity to invest in Afghanistans mines and we encourage Iranian investors to invest in Afghanistan, said Kazemi-Qomi. Talibans Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar also requested Iran for investments in the sector.

The Taliban has also suggested using Afghan minerals, including lithium, to pay for Russian oil imports. Taliban Minister of Industry and Trade Nuriddin Azizi last year headed a Taliban delegation to Moscow to boost trade ties and encourage investments and touted that Afghanistan has very good and high-quality lithium.

The Brookings report said that with this kind of competition for mineral resources already emerging in Afghanistan, the Chinese have already started to strategize to dominate the sector.

Afghanistans former Mining Minister Waheedullah Shahrani (C) from the erstwhile Afghan government addresses a press conference in Kabul on June 17, 2010. Shahrani said his countrys mineral deposits could worth up to three trillion USD, tripling an earlier estimate by US geologists. (SHAH MARAI/AFP via Getty Images)

The report added theres limited information about any existing or future lithium extraction deals between the Taliban and Beijing.

This suggests that while China is willing to acquire concessions, its primary interest may be blocking other players access to these resources, it stated.

The report said that western investors are unlikely to enter the Afghan mining sector due to the risk of sanctions and thus the leading candidate to step forward would be China. This will obviously involve outbidding competitors.

Huffman agreed, saying that China will likely have the deepest pockets and will outbid international competitors.

Environmental Concerns

CAPEICs activities in the Central Asian Amu Dariya basin have drawn environmental concerns. In 2010, the same company signed a contract for a power generation and supply project for the part of the Amu Darya river basin located in Turkmenistan, just across the Afghan border.

The Amu Darya river basin, which covers territory in Turkmenistan and part of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan, is the largest gas-bearing basin in Central Asia and the third largest in the world.

The early years of the Great Game in the 1800s, a political and military confrontation between the former British and Russian empires over Afghanistan and surrounding areas, included many exploratory expeditions in the region including one to find the origin of the Amu Darya river.

The basin is thus already suffering from an ecological catastrophe with the Aral sea, which is connected with the Amu Darya, having shrunk to 40 percent of its original size in the last four decades. Many studies blame the former Soviet Unions policies and pollution for this degradation.

Map showing the location of the Aral Sea and the watersheds of the Amu Darya (orange) and Syr Darya (yellow) which flow into the lake. (Wikimedia Commons)

Experts believe that with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure investment project, targeting Central Asia including Afghanistan, the region today is more at risk than it was during the Great Game period or the Cold War.

China is more strategic and pointed than the Soviets were, said Pande.

The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), a Netherlands-based think tank, said in a commentary on Jan. 13 that Chinas strategy in the region is consistent with its policy elsewhere to exploit vulnerable neighbors.

That fits in perfectly with Chinas consistent policy of preying on vulnerable and deeply distressed nations, mainly, but not exclusively, through entrapment in a vicious cycle of debt and steep repayment of debt via the BRI. Most other countries would view investments or projects in todays Afghanistan as not being worth the risk in the existing unstable milieu, but not Beijing, said EFSAS.

For its vested interests, the Chinese regime is thus not shy from signing deals with pariahs who until very recently were globally recognized as terrorists, it said.

Huffman is concerned that increased mining by the Chinese in Afghanistan will endanger the fragile ecology of the basin and also the many heritage sites in the country that need identification and conservation.

There are ancient cultural heritage sites in nearly every corner of Afghanistan and deals like this threaten these sites and increase the risk of looting by the Taliban to sell to countries like China, he said.

I am sure ecological concerns like protecting the Amu Darya river are not part of these recently signed contracts. I imagine ecological devastation will be a major result of these new deals with the Taliban, he added.
CIA Agent Cloaks Lockdown Propaganda in Concern for China

Commentary

On Jan. 24, 2023, Dr. Michael V. Callahan published an opinion piece in The New York Times entitled The Indirect Ways the U.S. Can Help China Avoid Covid Catastrophe.

If we assume this was written by a prominent doctor at a Harvard-affiliated hospitalan academic professional who bases his opinions on sound medical principles and scientific knowledgeit makes no sense at all. In fact, it is an embarrassment to the writer and the institution he represents.

If, however, we realize that this is just the latest in the quarantine-until-vaccine propaganda campaign of a CIA agent and top biosecurity cabal member, everything suddenly makes perfect sense. In fact, many of the points in the article map beautifully onto Robert Blumens helpful COVID propaganda grid.

The following are the medical and scientific fictions (or, if you prefer, lies) supposedly advocated by infectious-disease-physician Callahan, followed by an explanation of why CIA-agent/biosecurity-propagandist Callahan would want to promulgate them:

Fiction #1: Zero COVID works

Callahan opens his article with a bold statement: China rolled back its longstanding pandemic strategy zero Covid, which had protected the country for nearly three years. As many, including myself, have noted, there is no evidenceexcept the repeated statements of people like Callahan and the lockdown-narrative-promoting mainstream pressfor the fact that the zero COVID strategy protected anyone from anything.

Callahan, who has worked for the intelligence community in Asia, knows (as we all should) that information from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not reliable, to say the least. Therefore, there is no reason to think he believes the CCPs absurd claims that there were no COVID deaths in China for three years thanks to lockdowns.

So why is this his lede? Because the biosecurity propaganda machine has to maintain the illusion that lockdowns, at least to some degree, are effective, and that ending them is somehow undesirable.

Fiction #2: Chinas Lunar New Year is a very scary time

Callahan returns to a favorite trope of the quarantine-until-vaccine cabal from exactly three years ago: the Lunar New Year in China. Due to enormous travel, densely packed transit systems, winter conditions and multigenerational gatherings, Callahan tells us the Lunar New Year is a common tabletop simulation for training public health officials. What about the real world? Do we have any proof that it was disastrous in 2020, as mainstream media warned, or will be disastrous in 2023?

Furthermore, if Lunar New Year travel in 2020 already exported COVID far and wide (we know that by the time lockdowns were initiated in China on Jan. 23, 2020, the virus had already spread to nearly every Chinese province, and many other countries)what use were lockdowns in one or two specific areas for containing its worldwide spread? And if it spread everywhere, including in China, despite lockdowns, how can we believe the zero deaths for three years narrative?

Fiction #3: The most dangerous subvariant

Ever since Delta, variants and subvariants have provided a never-ending source of fear mongering for the quarantine-until-vaccine junta. In his op-ed, Callahan makes an unsubstantiated claim that the subvariant XBB1.5 is the most infectious to date. There is no reference, so Im not sure where the information is from. I found one doctor in North Carolina saying it seems to be the most infectious with no meaningful data to support the claim. A WHO official says its the most transmissible (again, no numbers or data) but adds theres no indication it makes people more sick than previous subvariants.

As has been true for SARS-CoV-2 and every one of its mutations, and as is true for every infectious disease humanity has ever encountered: If its not very lethal to most people, it can infect the entire worlds population while causing very little serious disease or death.

Dr. Callahan knows this. Propagandist Callahan is using the tried and true biodefense networks tactic of constantly citing high case numbers (regardless of illness or death) to send the media and public into paroxysms of panic.

Fiction #4: Vaccines work

Next, Callahan says the United States has a high vaccination rate using highly protective vaccines. If he means against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, Callahan might be able to dig up some evidence (though it is highly contestable). But if he means against this subvariant, he has zero evidence, and he knows it.

Fiction #5: Some vaccines (ours) are better than others (theirs)

Domestically made Chinese vaccines, according to Callahan, may provide less lasting protection against the virus and its variants.

Since he says may, this is clearly just a hypothesis. Since we know our vaccines provide at most a few months of protection from the original strain (again, a contestable statement) and none from any variant or subvariant thereafter, the meaning of less lasting protection basically is less than zero, which again makes no sense.

However, as a member of the quarantine-until-vaccine biosecurity network, Callahan is using this piece of propaganda to bolster the case that lockdowns and vaccines work.

How anyone can believe such preposterous fiction is a mystery.

Postscript: A very scary non-fiction

The vast expansion of surveillance in general, and biosurveillance in particular, is one of the biosecurity communitys biggest achievements during COVID, and Callahan manages to include a plug for more:

In December, at least one online pharmacy in China began selling the COVID drug Paxlovid, made by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, directly to patients. The pharmacy shipped Paxlovid to any Chinese person with a positive coronavirus test. If the Beijing government were to tie the governments home test result reporting system to the commercial Paxlovid home delivery providers, many lives could be saved.

If anyone is wondering why its important to debunk and expose all of the fictions and propaganda of the COVID biosecurity agenda, this tiny window into the terrifying vision they have for our future is the answer.

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.
CNN Records Lowest Ratings Week in 9 Years

People walk by the world headquarters for the Cable News Network (CNN) in Atlanta, Ga., on March 15, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

CNN is ending January on a low notethe lowest the news network has seen in nine years, to be exact.

According to The Wrap, for the week of Jan. 16 through Jan. 22, Nielsen ratings showed CNN averaged just 444,000 primetime viewers, with 93,000 in the crucial 2554 age demographic. For daytime programming, the network averaged 417,000 viewers, with 80,000 in the target demographic.

Comparatively, for the same week, Fox News averaged 2 million primetime viewers and 1.4 million in the daytime, while MSNBC garnered 943,000 and 629,000, respectively.

The week marked the first time since May 2014 that CNN failed to reach an average of 450,000 viewers.

To add insult to injury, the networks new morning show, CNN This Morning, also had its worst week since the programs Nov. 1, 2022, launch, averaging just 331,000 viewers.

The revamped morning program, headed up by former primetime host Don Lemon and cohosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, was just one of CEO Chris Lichts attempts to shift the network back toward the center of the political spectrum.

Additionally, Licht vowed in November 2022 that, going forward, CNN would not allow former President Donald Trump to consume the news cycle as the network had in the past, but would be very clear and take everything on a case-by-case basis about what level of coverage it should be.

However, Licht noted in December 2022 that those efforts had made him a target for those on the political left.

The uninformed vitriol, especially from the left, has been stunning, he told The New York Times. Which proves my point: So much of what passes for news is name-calling, half-truths, and desperation.

Licht took the helm at CNN in May 2022 after former President Jeff Zucker resigned that February, citing a previously undisclosed affair with a colleague. Since then, the CEO has hit a number of obstacles in his attempts to turn the embattled network around, including the failure of the short-lived CNN+ streaming service and layoffs that affected hundreds of staffers.

Licht addressed the turbulence in a November 2022 memo to employees, noting that there has been widespread concern over the global economic outlook and that we must factor that risk into our long-term planning.

All this together will mean noticeable change to this organization, Licht continued in the memo. That, by definition, is unsettling. These changes will not be easy because they will affect people, budgets, and projects.

Licht ended the memo on a positive note, however, adding, When we emerge on the other side, CNN will be a stronger, more nimble organization, ready to weather whatever the global economy throws at us and to grow into the future.
Crazy Optimism About Chinas Economy

Commentary

Chinas propagandists tell us the Chinese economy this year will accelerate to 4.8 percent. Foreign analysts are even more bullish. Goldman Sachs estimates a growth of gross domestic product (GDP) of 5.5 percent.

Chinas National Health Commission announced the end of the Communist Partys dynamic zero-COVID policy on Dec. 7, 2022. It did not take long for Wall Street to crank up the optimism machine. Morgan Stanley, on the following day, issued a research note predicting that Chinese equities would outperform emerging markets and global peers.

Since then, financial analysts have been falling over themselves to say how Chinas stocks will continue to soar this year.

Stocks may soar for a while, but Chinas economy is far sicker than analysts assume.

At the heart of the sunny views is how fast China has put COVID-19 behind it.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday in China, often called the worlds largest human migration and, therefore, a potential superspreader event, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the countrys Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that 80 percent of Chinas population had already been infected.

At the end of the holiday, the center reported that there were 6,364 deaths between Jan. 20 and Jan. 26 in hospitals, almost half the number of deaths in the preceding week.

Beijings position is that the disease has already peaked, so further spread is unlikely.

No wonder investors are exuberant. COVID relaxation is central to the idea that Chinas economy will produce solid growth. Bulls, aided by communist Party and central government propaganda, make the argument that the end of disease-control measuresChina maintained one of the worlds strictest set of rules for three yearswill result in a binge of revenge spending.

Chinese consumers, trapped inside their apartments during parts of the pandemic, accumulated more than $2.2 trillion in bank deposits last year, which should fuel more spending, The Wall Street Journal reported in late January.

The Financial Times put the figure at $2.6 trillion.

Is the bull case correct? There are four primary reasons to doubt it.

First, Chinas disease statistics are questionable. China Portrayal of Smooth Covid Exit Leaves Scientists Wanting More Data, a polite Wall Street Journal headline put it.

Beijing is asking the world to believe that SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen causing this disease, is behaving differently in China than it has in all other parts of the world. If this claim is false, as it almost certainly is, there will be a follow-on wave of infections in the country this spring, as disease modelers have been predicting.

Second, even if China were over COVID, as the regime maintains, the economy is still plagued by its over-dependence on property, which accounts for almost 30 percent of GDP. Prices and sales have been plunging since late 2021, when Beijing finally restricted imprudent lending to big developers, most notably China Evergrande Group, now in default.

Housing is critical because it also accounts for about 70 percent of the wealth of the middle class. The Chinese people have powered the economy with spending when property prices were rising, either because they were reaping gains on sales or because of the wealth effect, the circumstance that people tend to spend when they feel their assets have gone up in value. Now, the opposite of the wealth effect is depressing consumption.

The property sector downturn is hard-wired into the first half of 2023, the Rhodium Group reported last month, in an analysis on Chinas economic prospects.

That means a downturn in first-half GDP is also hard-wired.

Third, the Chinese economy is far weaker than Beijing claims. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that GDP grew 3 percent last year, but that is highly unlikely.

More probably, as Anne Stevenson-Yang of J Capital Research tells Gatestone, the economy in fact contracted. The poor economy, like the property downturn, appears to have crimped consumer spending. The general downbeat mood of the Chinese people will convince them to save more than analysts think.

Fourth, the regime during the pandemic did almost nothing to remedy the principal structural flaw in the Chinese economy: the overreliance on government spending, which over decades has resulted in overbuilding and therefore created mountains of questionable debt. Gregory Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association, tells Gatestone that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy have already been destroyed, so the optimism about the reversals of communist Party policy on COVID management will be short-lived.

China is back, is how the Financial Times summarized the message of Vice Premier Liu He to the just-completed World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Maybe so, but it is back to the old faulty economic structure.

China is too optimistic about a quick economic turnaround in 2023 following the COVID lockdowns, Andrew Collier, an analyst at Global Source Partners, wrote in emailed comments to Gatestone. Local governments are running huge financial deficits, many people are holding on to cash because they are worried about their health, and the downturn in the property market has affected peoples retirement savings.

Collier, based in Hong Kong, thinks wealthy consumers may buy high-end imports so the overall impact on the Chinese economy will not be large.

Collier, therefore, believes there will not be an uptick until 2024.

In any event, Copley, also editor-in-chief of Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy, said that foreign analysts of mainland Chinas economy have always engaged in wishful thinking, and there is now an air of desperation.

China is not going to have a good 2023 or a good 2024. Foreigners are going to lose money in China again.

Originally published by Gatestone Institute.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
DeSantis Responds to Trumps Criticism Over Floridas COVID-19 Restrictions

Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis (R) sits next to President Donald Trump during a meeting with Governors elects in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Dec. 13, 2018. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan. 31 responded for the first time since former President Donald Trump criticized his fellow Republican for how he handled the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeSantis, speaking at an unrelated press briefing after being asked about the criticism, said that he faces attacks as soon as he wakes up each morning.

If you look at the good thing about it, though, is like if you take a crisis situation like COVID, the good thing about it is youre an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions. You got to steer that ship, DeSantis said.

And the good thing is, the people are able to render a judgment on that, whether they re-elect you or not. And Im happy to say in my case, not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida.

DeSantis won a second term in Florida in the 2022 midterm elections while Trump lost his bid for a second term in the 2020 election.

Trump is running again in 2024; DeSantis, who has not ruled out a bid, is considered the strongest potential Republican challenger to the former president.

What I would just say, that verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida, DeSantis said.

DeSantis was responding for the first time to Trumps critiques, offered on the former presidents social media platform.

Trump claimed on Truth Social that DeSantis unapologetically shut down Florida and its beaches and that Florida got it wrong while sharing headlines from 2020.

Restrictions

Trump in March 2020 issued guidance titled 15 days to slow the spread, which was aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. In a briefing announcing the guidance, Trump said that all Americans, including the young and healthy, work to engage in schooling from home when possible. He also said people should stop discretionary travel and eating at restaurants, claiming that if everyone makes this change or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus.

The guidance was crafted by Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci and led to lockdowns across the nation, with many governors imposing harsh measures like the forced closures of non-essential businesses.

The 15 days was extended to 30 days and, in some cases, much longer. Trump said publicly he wanted the United States opened up by Easter, but went along with recommendations from Birx and other health officials even after that.

On March 16, 2020, DeSantis issued an executive order citing federal guidance that adopted many of the recommendations, including ordering the suspension of alcoholic beverage sales, ordering all restaurants to immediately cut occupancy limits and implement social distancing, and support[ing] beach closures at the discretion of local authorities. Multiple jurisdictions closed beaches.

Two weeks later, when Trump extended the slow the spread guidance, DeSantis issued another order stating that the elderly, and people of any age with a significant underlying medical condition, shall stay at home and take all measures to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

The order also said that all people in Florida shall limit their movements and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities, such as attending church or caring for loved ones.

Easing Restrictions

As some governors, including DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, moved to ease the restrictions in April 2020, Trump said they should keep the rules in place, and also claimed that it was the presidents decision, not governors, to open up the states.

Trump later diverged from federal authorities such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the authorities attempts to keep lockdown measures, such as remote learning, in place.

Trump told a town hall that what I did by closing up the country, I think I saved two, maybe two and a half [million lives], maybe more than that.

I think we did a very good job, he added.

DeSantis told The Epoch Times previously that he regretted imposing harsh measures.

We wanted to mitigate the damage. Now, in hindsight, the 15 days to slow the spread and the 30it didnt work, DeSantis said. We shouldnt have gone down that road.
Dozens of Illegal Immigrants Refuse to Leave NYC Hotel for New Mega-Shelter, Citing Poor Conditions

Illegal immigrants speak with NYC Homeless Outreach members while camping out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted in New York City on Jan. 30, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Dozens of illegal immigrants camped for a second night in the street outside Manhattans Watson Hotel since Sunday, protesting their relocation to a new shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

New York City Hall said the removal of the male adults is to make space for immigrant families. But some of those who had been staying at the free three-star NYC hotel rooms after entering the country illegally through the southern border argued that the alternative is not up to scratch.

Illegal immigrants told the New York Post that they shared the hotel room with only one person, and sometimes occupied the entire space themselves, including a private bathroom and shower. With easy reach to local shops and businesses, a two-trip MetroCard was also provided to each of them daily, an immigrant said to the outlet.

The new facility in Red Hook, featuring clean but communal sinks and toilets, in comparison, is designed to shelter as many as 1,000 single adult men, according to officials. The isolated terminal is the citys latest opened Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center (HERRC). Videos show its massive open space filled with neatly fitted cots connected to each other.

The cruise ship terminal is better than the homeless shelter, where there were a lot of crazy American men and American men on drugs, a 42-year-old Venezuela immigrant told The Post. But the cruise ship terminal is not as good as the hotel, he added.

Despite onsite services such as medical care and laundry, several illegal immigrants who had been to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal over the past weekend warned against the shortage of basic living standards such as heat, blankets, or storage.

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in the Red Hook neighborhood in New York City on Jan. 25, 2023. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Fabien Levy, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, rejected claims of unliveable conditions. [T]he site is offering the same services as all other HERRCs, Levy wrote in a late Monday post on Twitter, saying he had personally visited the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to fact-check whispers about cold spaces.

We checked the thermostat and the facility is definitely warm [even saw a man wearing shorts inside], the post reads.

The mayor also promised as he toured the new facility on Monday that healthy food and snacks would be provided onsite, besides heat and blankets. A video recorded onsite also shows the mayor playing ping pong with the illegal immigrants inside the mega-shelter.

We just need to stop the anxiety, Adams said, according to the footage.

The asylum seeker crisis is a national problem that needs a national solution. New York City is proud to have welcomed tens of thousands of asylum seekers and given them shelter, food and resources. But we cant do this alone. pic.twitter.com/AIXfDzHwd4  Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 31, 2023

NYPD officers have been called in to clear the street, forcing the group of illegal immigrants to break down the tents. Yet many on Monday refused to back down and kept sleeping along the sidewalk of West 57th Street, calling for a solution. Migrant activists and volunteers offer daily supplies such as food and water to the group.

Shahana Hanif, chair of the New York City Councils Immigration Committee, condemned the forced removal of the illegal immigrants. Representing Brooklyns 39th District, the councilwoman urged the Adams administration to prioritize keeping people in proper brick-and-mortar facilities, according to a Monday statement.

Immigrant Influx

It came amid a crisis in which thousands of border crossers have been bused to the north every day.

According to the New York mayors office, the city has to date opened five humanitarian relief centers and over 80 emergency shelters to help the more than 43,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in the city since last summer. The office said while providing food, education, health care, and legal support to illegal immigrants, its still in desperate need of national support.

Im speaking directly to the [Biden] administration, Adams said during his Monday appearance on CNN. This is a problem that we must have a resolution, both from Congress and immigration, but the administration to deal with the immediate need that we have.

Warning the immigrant influx could cost the Big Apple as much as $2 billion, Adams urged the Biden administration to ramp up federal funds to help the city out in mid-January, during the mayors visit to the Mexican border.

As of Jan. 30, New York Citys shelter system is housing more than 70,000 people, among whom two-thirds have arrived with their families, according to the homeless services departments latest daily report. This number does not account for the more than 40,000 recently arrived illegal immigrants who have applied for shelter.

Illegal immigrants camp out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted in New York City on Jan. 30, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Adams previously said New York City was nearing its breaking point in the unprecedented crisis. Yet the mayor recently drew fire from activist groups, after saying last week that asylum seekers shouldnt fall into its right-to-shelter policy, referring to a 1979 law that requires the citys homeless shelter system to provide a bed to whoever needs one.
Exxon Smashes Western Oil Majors Earnings Record With $56 Billion Profit for 2022

Exxon Mobil logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken on Sept. 4, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

HOUSTONExxon Mobil Corp. posted a $56 billion profit for 2022, the company said on Tuesday, taking home about $6.3 million per hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the Western oil industry.

Oil majors are expected to break their own annual records on high prices and soaring demand, pushing their combined take to near $200 billion. The scale has renewed criticism of the oil industry and sparked calls for more countries to levy windfall profit taxes on the companies.

Exxons results far exceeded the then-record $45.2 billion net profit it reported in 2008, when oil hit $142 per barrel, 30 percent above last years average price. Deep cost cuts during the pandemic helped supercharge last years earnings.

Overall earnings and cashflow were up pretty significantly year on year, Exxon Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells told Reuters. So that came really from a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control.

Exxon said it incurred a $1.3 billion hit to its fourth-quarter earnings from a European Union windfall tax that began in the final quarter and from asset impairments. The company is suing the EU, arguing that the levy exceeds its legal authority.

Excluding charges, profit for the full year was $59.1 billion. Production was up by about 100,000 barrels of oil and gas per day over a year ago to 3.8 million bpd. Adjusted per share profit of $3.40 beat consensus of $3.29 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

Shares were down 1.5 percent in pre-market trading to $111.88.

Windfall Taxes

The results may set up another confrontation with the White House. President Joe Bidens administration on Friday blasted oil firms for pouring cash into shareholder payouts rather than production.

Exxon boasted that its cash flow from operations soared to $76.8 billion last year, up from $48.1 billion in 2021.

Windfall profit taxes are unlawful and bad policy, countered Mikells. Slapping new taxes on oil earnings has the opposite effect of what you are trying to achieve, she said, adding that it would discourage new oil and gas production.

Exxon posted $14 billion in fourth-quarter profit excluding charges, 60 percent more than the same period last year but down almost 25 percent from the previous quarter as oil prices eased and some operations suffered from cold-weather-related outages.

Project Spending

Exxons spending on new oil and gas projects bounced back last year to $22.7 billion, up 37 percent from the prior year. The company increased outlays on discoveries in Guyana, in the top U.S. shale field, and on fuel refining and chemicals.

The counter-cyclical investments we made before and during the pandemic provided the energy and products people needed as economies began recovering, Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said in a statement.

Its results come ahead of what are expected to be strong earnings from Shell plc on Thursday and from BP plc and TotalEnergies next week.

By Sabrina Valle
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that he won't approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"No," Biden said in response to a question about the possibility of such a decision.

As he spoke, Biden arrived back at the White House from a trip to Baltimore, Maryland. Biden also said he was planning to visit Poland but didn't yet know when.

The president's remarks came as debate picked up steam over whether to arm Ukraine, which has been in conflict with Russia for nearly a year, with Western-made fighter jets.

Asked about the administration's decision on potential delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said during an appearance on MSNBC last Thursday that "we have not ruled in or out any specific systems."

"We have tried to tailor our assistance to the phase of the fight that the Ukrainians are in. I don't have an announcement to make one way or the other," he added.

Albeit a constant request from the authorities in Kiev, fighter jets have long been regarded by the West as a taboo in terms of military assistance for Ukraine, for fear that such deliveries would lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the conflict.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter last Wednesday that securing the provision of Western-type fighter jets are among the "new tasks ahead" for Ukraine. On the same day, the United States and Germany announced their respective decisions to send combat tanks to Ukraine.

Ukraine's plea for fighter jets met with refusal from Germany, whose chancellor, Olaf Scholz, recently said combat aircraft is not an item on Berlin's list of weapons for Ukraine.

"The question of combat aircraft does not arise at all," Scholz said in an interview with Tagesspiegel published on Sunday. "I can only advise against entering into a constant competition to outbid each other when it comes to weapons systems." 
Facebook Seeks to Block $3.7 Billion UK Mass Action Over Market Dominance

Facebook app logo in an illustration taken on Aug. 22, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

LONDONFacebook on Monday asked a London tribunal to block a collective lawsuit valued at up to 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) over allegations the social media giant abused its dominant position to monetize users personal data.

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of the Facebook group, is facing a mass action brought on behalf of around 45 million Facebook users in Britain.

Legal academic Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, who is bringing the case, said Facebook users were not properly compensated for the value of personal data that they had to provide to use the platform.

Her lawyers said users should get compensation for the economic value they would have received if Facebook was not in a dominant position in the market for social networks.

But Meta said the lawsuit was entirely without merit and should not be allowed to proceed. Its lawyers said the claimed losses ignore the economic value Facebook provides.

Lovdahl Gormsens lawyers on Monday asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal to certify the case under the UKs collective proceedings regimewhich is roughly equivalent to the class action regime in the United States.

A decision to certify collective proceedings will depend on whether the tribunal decides that the individual cases can appropriately be dealt with together, rather than on their merits.

Ronit Kreisberger, representing Lovdahl Gormsen, told the tribunal that Metas data practices violate the prohibition on abusive conduct by dominant firms.

There is unquestionably a case for Meta to answer at trial, Kreisberger argued.

But lawyers representing Meta said the lawsuit wrongly assumes that any excess profits it might make equates to a financial loss suffered by individual Facebook users.

This approach takes no account whatsoever of the significant economic value of the service provided by Facebook, Marie Demetriou said in court documents.

She said Lovdahl Gormsens estimate of potential claimants total losses3 billion pounds, including interestis at the very least wildly inflated.

By Sam Tobin
Federal Court Rejects Uyghur Groups Lawsuit Against Ottawa Over Inaction on Beijings Abuses

Demonstrators take part in a rally to encourage Canada and other countries to consider labeling China's treatment of its Uyghur population and Muslim minorities as genocide, outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington on Feb. 19, 2021. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

A Federal Court has struck down an application from a Uyghur rights group that sought to sue the federal government over its lack of action on Beijings human rights atrocities against the Uyghur minority population in China.

The petition also sought to gain formal recognition that Chinas internment of its Uyghur population is an act of genocide, and that the Liberals inaction on the matter it had amounted to a violation of a United Nations convention against genocide.

Justice Alan Diner said he agrees with a motion brought by Attorney General David Lametti to strike the application made by the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) without leave to amend, according to the court ruling released on Jan. 26.

URAP is challenging Canadas failure to act. However, Canada has not implemented any policy about whether to act or not. Rather, it has decided not to act, Diner wrote, saying the courts can only rule on whether the government is following existing laws and policies.

URAP introduced the application for judicial review on Feb. 3, 2022, saying that Ottawas inaction against Beijings ongoing genocide is a violation of the United Nations Convention On The Prevention And Punishment Of The Crime Of Genocide, which Canada ratified in Sept. 1952.

The Convention says in Article I that The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.

This lack of action, according to URAP, contributes to the crimes committed against the Uyghur people of China, said the court decision.

As a remedy from the judicial review, URAP asked the Court to declare at least one of its five claims, including that The crime of genocide is currently being committed against the Uyghur population on the territory of the PRC, since at least 2014 and that Canada, by its acts and omissions, is in breach of article I of the Convention.

The Attorney General argued that the URAP application should be dismissed, citing reasons including that the petition raises issues that are not justiciable due to their political nature.

Justice Diner agreed, saying in his decision that The mere potential existence of a genocide does not automatically ground proceedings before the Court.

Mehmet Tohti, executive director at URAP, told The Epoch Times that the courts dismissal of the case was likely on jurisdictional grounds and that his groups legal application wasnt asking for a court ruling on the matter, but rather to seek declaratory relief from the judge.

We will evaluate the situation with our legal team and make a decision for what could be the next step, he said. I am sure that this is just a beginning, not the end.

Motions

On Jan. 30, days after the court struck the URAP application, MPs took up debate on a private members motion asking the cabinet to formally acknowledge communist Chinas crimes against humanity.

M-62, introduced by Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi, and seconded by MPs from all major political parties, asked that the Government of Canada acknowledge that Uyghurs face the serious risk of mass arbitrary detention, mass arbitrary separation of children from their parents, forced sterilization, forced labour, torture and other atrocities, and that they continue to face threats from the communist regime to return to China after they fled to a third country.

Motion-62 also asked the federal government to expedite the entry into Canada of 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in need of protection over two years starting in 2024.

MPs are set to vote on Zuberis motion on Feb. 1.

Zuberis motion follows a February 2021 motion wherein MPs voted unanimously (266-0) to label the arbitrary incarceration and abuse of an estimated one million to three million Uyghurs by the Chinese Communist Party in Chinas western province Xinjiang as an act of genocide.

The Liberal cabinet abstained from the vote, however, and Trudeau has said more formal investigations are needed to determine whether genocide has occurred.

The word genocide is not one to be used lightly, Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif said in the House on Jan. 30. It was with that definition in mind that this House, on February 22, 2021, recognized that genocide is indeed taking place, being carried out by the Peoples Republic of China against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims.

He added, however, that Since that motion passed in the House, the government has not addressed the concerns it raised.

If we do not act now, when will we? Aboultaif said.
Florida Could Be 26th State to Allow Constitutional Carry

Florida Republicans to introduce HB 543 which will do away with the state's requirement for a permit to carry a concealed weapon

Donna Michaels speaks in support of HB543 which would allow citizens to carry concealed weapons without a permit in Florida, during a press conference in Tallahassee, Jan. 30, 2023. (Screenshot from Florida House of Representatives video)

Florida appears ready to become the 26th state to allow so-called Constitutional carry.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R-District 19) said on Jan. 30 that Republicans would file HB543 to allow Floridians to carry concealed firearms without a permit. He said the bill doesnt grant any new rights but recognizes all peoples rights to self-defense.

The Constitution doesnt give us those rights; our Creator gave us those rights, Renner said at a press conference.

Renner was joined by the bills sponsor, state Rep. Chuck Brannan (R-District 10), and state Sen. Jay Collins (R-District 14). Both said theyre proud to support legislation to allow law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against the lawless.

This bill is a big step to help the average law-abiding citizen to keep from having to go through the hoops of getting a permit from the government for carrying their weapons, Brannan said.

A customer looks at a pistol at a vendors display at a gun show held by Florida Gun Shows in Miami on Jan. 9, 2016. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

Renner said the bill would do away with the current licensing system but change little else. Persons legally prohibited from carrying or owning a firearm would still be prohibited. Renner said the bill would only remove the government permission slip to require a permit to exercise a Constitutional right.

Retired law enforcement officer and U.S. Navy veteran Donna Michaels spoke in favor of the bill. She said that as a young sailor, she was raped at her first duty station. There was little she could do against her attacker as she had no way to defend herself. She said that when she got out of the Navy, the first thing she did was buy a gun. She believes part of her motivation for going into law enforcement was to help other sexual assault victims.

She said that victims might not report the crimes committed against them out of shame, embarrassment, or fear that they wont be believed. Giving women the ability to defend themselves would increase the odds that they would have no crime to report.

No prison sentence in the world will heal the wounds that come with being a sexual assault victim, Michaels said.

As she prepares to send her daughter off to college, Michaels said she wants to know that she will be able to protect herself if necessary.

Protect Our Sons and Daughters

We need this law so our sons and daughters will have the ability to protect themselves from evil, Michaels said.

The Florida Sheriffs Association backs the bill. Three county sheriffs spoke in favor of the legislation, including Al Nienhuis, Hernando County Sheriff, and the Florida Sheriffs Association president.

According to Nienhuis, if society assumes a person is innocent until proven guilty, it shouldnt expect people who have committed no crimes to prove they are worthy to exercise their God-given rights.

The Florida Sheriffs stand behind the Speaker and other members of the House and Senate. We should move forward with permitless carry, he said.

While Florida is following 25 other states that instituted Constitutional Carry 36 years ago, the state led the way in implementing Shall Issue laws regarding issuing concealed carry licenses (CCLs). At that time, many states that issued CCLs only granted them if the applicant could show why they needed to carry a weapon. Shall Issue laws flipped that, so the state had to show a reason for denying an applicant.

At that time, opponents of the change warned of gunfights at traffic lights and the massive wave of accidental shootings that was sure to come. The predicted carnage never materialized, and eventually, 41 other states adopted some form of shall-issue-right-to-carry laws. At the press conference, Nienhuis was asked how law enforcement could identify criminals without requiring a permit.

He said theres no guarantee that a permit holder is not a criminal.

We know somebodys a criminal when they commit a criminal act, Nienhuis said.

The bill is set to be introduced for the next legislative session that begins on March 7, 2023.
Florida Drive-By Shooting Leaves 10 Injured, 2 in Critical Condition: Police

A tinted four-door sedan pulls up near an intersection in Lakeland where people were milling about, and people from inside the vehicle started shooting in all directions, in Lakeland, Fla., on Jan. 30, 2023, in a still from video. (Lakeland Police Department via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Police are investigating a drive-by shooting that took place in Lakeland, Florida, on the afternoon of Jan. 30 that left 10 people injured, two of whom are in critical condition.

The Lakeland Police Department said that the shooting took place at approximately 3:43 p.m. on Monday near the 900 block of Iowa Avenue North. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered to anyone with information that leads to the identification and arrest of the suspects involved.

In a press conference on Monday, Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said that police received multiple phone calls regarding the shooting on Monday and four officers arrived on the scene within minutes of the calls.

Police found eight victims who suffered non-life-threatening wounds, Taylor said, while another two victims are in critical condition. One of those in critical condition is in surgery and the other is either in surgery or headed into surgery, Taylor said at the time.

He added that one of the critically injured victims was shot in the abdomen and the other was shot in the face/jaw area.

Three of the victims, aged between 20 and 35 years old, were transported to a nearby hospital by emergency management services. The remaining victims were taken in personal vehicles, he said.

Police Searching for Suspects

Police initially believed there to be nine victims but later updated that figure to 10 after learning of an additional individual who had sustained injuries.

Taylor said that some of the victims are cooperating with police but others are not.

Some that had non-life-threatening injuries have decided that they dont have any idea why this happened. And some are telling us everything that they know about it, Taylor said.

A dark-blue Nissan four-door sedan with tinted windows pulled up at the scene of the shooting, according to Taylor, who shared a photo of the vehicle.

The vehicle slowed, did not stop, and the four windows went down. It appeared to be occupied by four shooters in the vehicle, Taylor said. They started firing from all four windows of the vehicle and shooting males on both sides of the street.

The four individuals were reportedly wearing facial coverings.

After shots were fired, the vehicle sped off northbound and police are now actively trying to track down the vehicle, the police chief added.

Marijuana, Rifle Found

Police believe it was a targeted attack and located a quantity of marijuana at the shooting scene, which indicates to law enforcement officers that obviously there was a narcotic sale or sales of marijuana going on at the time, Taylor said.

Whether that is significant or related to this is unknown, the police chief said. We will be out most of the night trying to figure out who these individuals are in the vehicle.

There are roughly 15 detectives and more than 20 police officers currently working at the scene of the shooting, according to Taylor.

No weapons were located at the scene but a rifle was found in one of the personnel vehicles that arrived at the hospital and was used to transport one of the victims, according to police.

This is something that doesnt happen in Lakeland, Taylor said. Ive been here 34 years, and I can tell you I have never worked an event where this many people have been shot at one time, ever.

Police believe there is currently no threat to the public and said that the area where the shooting occurred is a challenging neighborhood that police have paid a lot of attention to over the past few years.

Lakeland is located in Polk County and has a population of just over 115,000 people.
Former Twitter Execs Set to Testify Before Congress on Hunter Biden Laptop Case

The Twitter logo at their offices in New York on Jan. 12, 2023. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Former executives of Twitter are scheduled to testify before Congress about the companys decision, ahead of the 2020 election, to suppress reporting about a laptop that reportedly belonged to Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden.

In an emailed statement to NTD News, House Oversight Committee Communications Director Jessica Collins confirmed that former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde, James Baker, and Yoel Roth will testify before the committee on Feb. 3. Collins further confirmed that the platforms handling of the Biden laptop allegations will be a point of focus for the committee, which is now under Republican control.

The hearing comes about a month and a half after new Twitter owner Elon Musk began releasing tranches of the companys internal communications to journalists in an ongoing series dubbed the Twitter Files.

In December, the sixth installment of the Twitter Files indicated that FBI employees flagged content on Twitter that Twitter employees would then review and often remove from the website.

In the seventh installment of the Twitter Files, journalist Michael Shellenberger detailed Twitter communications suggesting the FBI had conditioned the platform in advance to distrust troves of documents like the ones the New York Post reported on in its Hunter Biden laptop articles.

Shellenberger noted that in December of 2019, the owner of a Delaware computer repair shop had provided the FBI with a laptop that Hunter Biden had allegedly abandoned after bringing it in for repairs. In light of the FBIs possession of the laptop evidence, Shellenberger then wrote about how FBI officials communicated and warned Twitter executives throughout 2020 that state actors would likely attempt hack-and-leak operations in October 2020 to discredit the Biden family. Those FBI communications specifically warned that such efforts could target Hunter Biden.

The New York Post obtained a copy of the documents from the allegedly abandoned laptop and published a series of articles in October of 2020 that revealed what the contents of the laptop showed regarding various foreign business activities in which Hunter Biden was involved.

The New York Post articles detailed various communications found on the laptop appearing to pertain to the younger Bidens business deals. The New York Post reported that emails found on the laptop dating back to March or April of 2015 indicated that Hunter introduced his father, who was the vice president at the time, to one of his business partners in the Ukrainian gas firm Burisma. Those allegations arose after Biden had said earlier in the 2020 campaign cycle that Ive never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.

Burisma had been a subject of particular controversy in President Donald Trumps 2019 impeachment case after he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about Joe Bidens alleged involvement in the firing of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was allegedly investigating Burisma.

After the New York Post published its initial reporting on the laptop, Twitter locked the New York Post out of its account until it deleted six tweets about the story. Twitter said the New York Posts reporting violated the platforms hacked materials policy.

The Biden campaign denied the allegations raised in the New York Post stories that Joe Biden met with his sons Burisma business partner.

We have reviewed Joe Bidens official schedules from the time and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place, the Biden campaign said at the time.

Joe Biden himself referred to the New York Post articles as another smear campaign.

Gadde, Baker, and Roth have been recurring figures throughout the Twitter Files reporting and had close involvement in the platforms actions surrounding the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop articles.

Yoel Roth

Roth served as Twitters head of Trust and Safety during the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.

Prior to Twitters suppression of the New York Post articles, Roth had been in weekly meetings with the FBI about content on the platform that the government agency flagged. As Shellenberger detailed, Roth and other Twitter employees received repeated FBI warnings about potential hostile foreign state actors running influence efforts on the platform, particularly Russia. Despite these warnings, Roth described how the platform saw no evidence supporting claims of Russian state-backed interference on the platform.

Shellenberger further detailed how Roth had initially pushed back on Russian interference claims. Shellenberger then revealed that in July 2020, FBI agent Elvis Chan arranged for temporary Top Secret security clearances for Roth and other Twitter employees and how in August of 2020, Chan briefed Roth about an alleged Russian hacking organization known as APT28.

In a December 2020 legal statement, Roth said federal agents repeatedly briefed him, during weekly meetings, about potential hack-and-leak operations by state actors before the 2020 election. Roth said, I also learned in these meetings that there were rumors that a hack-and-leak operation would involve Hunter Biden.

After the New York Post published its first article on the Hunter Biden laptop in October 2020, Roth initially said the article isnt clearly violative of our Hacked Materials Policy, nor is it clearly in violation of anything else, to which Baker advised caution about allowing the article to remain on the platform.

Roth and Twitter ultimately chose to suppress the New York Post reporting, though Roth has since admitted the decision was, in his opinion, a mistake.

James Baker

Baker worked at the FBI before working for Twitter as the platforms deputy general counsel during the period of time the platform suppressed content about the Hunter Biden laptop.

While Roth felt that the New York Post article on Hunter Bidens alleged laptop wasnt clearly violative of the platforms policies, Baker sent Roth an email stating, Ive seen some reliable cybersecurity folks question the authenticity of the emails in another way (i.e., that there is no metadata pertaining to them that has been released and the formatting looks like they could be complete fabrications).

In another communication chain with Roth and other Twitter officials, Baker said, I support the conclusion that we need more facts to assess whether the materials were hacked. At this stage, however, it is reasonable for us to assume that they may have been and that caution is warranted.

In addition to questioning the authenticity of the laptop materials and advising at least a measure of caution, Baker is also alleged to have interfered in the initial release of Twitter Files documents.

Vijaya Gadde

In the first installment of the Twitter Files, journalist Matt Taibbi described how the decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop reporting was made at the highest levels of the company, including with the involvement of Gadde who worked at the time as Twitters head of legal, policy, and trust.

Taibbi provided internal communications detailing misgivings about the decision-making process surrounding the decision to suppress the laptop reporting. In a chain of communications involving both Roth and Gadde, an employee wrote, Im struggling to understand the policy basis for marking this as unsafe.

Further Republican Investigations

The decision to call in former Twitter officials to testify about the Hunter Biden laptop story comes as Republicans are mounting broader investigations into the Biden family and its foreign business dealings.

In November 2022, after Republicans won control of the House, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said investigations would determine whether Joe Biden is compromised or swayed by foreign dollars and influence.

The FBIs involvement in Twitters handling of the Hunter Biden laptop case could also be of interest to the newly-formed Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

The Biden White House has sought to discredit the Republican probes into Hunter Biden, calling them divorced-from-reality political stunts.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

From NTD News
Frigid Weather Expected to Hit Eastern Canada This Week: Environment Canada

Frigid air from the polar vortex is making its way into eastern Canada, likely bringing with it the coldest winter temperatures yet seen in Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces.

According to Environment Canada on Jan. 31, the cold snap will bring the temperature down to frigid levels in these provinces, even in the daytime.

Toronto is expected to hit -13 C on Feb. 3 whereas cities such as Ottawa (-20 C), Montreal (-22 C), and Quebec City (-25 C) will also likely experience arctic-like temperatures.

Nighttime lows are forecast to hit -24 C in Toronto, while Ottawa (-31 C), Montreal (-28 C), and Quebec City (-32 C) are expected to go even lower.

Daytime highs in Fredericton will only reach -16 C on Feb. 4, similar to Halifax and Charlottetown, based on the latest forecast.

During the night, Fredericton will go further down to -21 C while Halifax is expected to stay the same. Charlottetown will drop two degrees to -18 C.

In an interview with Global News on Jan. 31, Climatologist David Phillips said the bitter cold weather is only a one or two-day wonder.

Its short-lived. Thats the beauty of it. [It] will be cold but the polar vortex is going to go back home and just give us a little teaser, he said.

A polar vortex is a low-pressure system that spins and locks cold air near the North and South poles. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will weaken, sending cold air southward with the jet stream, ushering the coldest air into Canada.

Phillips said its a mistake that some people think that the polar vortex has arrived when in reality it is all about dealing with cold air.

Were going to go from very balmy kind of conditions to bitter coldsome of the coldest temperatures, he said.
GOP Pushes Stricter China Export Control, Cites Lax Enforcement

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in an interview with The Epoch Times at the Republican retreat in Ponte Vedra, Fla., on March 24, 2022. (The Epoch Times)

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is pushing for stricter enforcement of export controls on sensitive technologies that the Chinese military could access.

In a Jan. 13 letter (pdf) to the U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, McCaul further requested licensing data that the Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) had granted to China.

The appeal resurged after the BIS had failed to provide requested documents to the committee in response to the similar plea issued more than two years ago, the letter stated.

The lawmaker noted that the agency had only produced one small tranche of documents to date in May 2021more than six months after the initial requestand provided nothing further since then.

Before the most recent request, the lawmaker placed another similar one in early November 2022. The move came after the Biden administration issued sweeping new export controls on Oct. 7, 2022, in an effort to hamstring the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) military modernization.

Among those rules is a measure to cut China off from certain advanced semiconductor chips made with U.S. technologies, regardless of whether the chips were manufactured in the United States.

In the statement following the November request, McCaul reiterated that the licensing data will enable Congress to assess how the BIS is implementing the controls and determine the effectiveness of the rule enforcement in preventing China from misappropriating U.S. critical technology.

By receiving this information, we can assess whether the spirit of these rules is being implemented effectively or undermined by an overly lax licensing process, McCaul said.

Concerning Figure

Under the new rules, the BIS must accept or reject requests for licenses from American tech firms to sell their equipment to China after adding Chinese firms like semiconductor producer SMIC or telecom giant Huawei to its export control list.

McCaul said that the committee sought information about the number of licenses that had been refuted.

How many licenses were declined, and where did they go? McCaul asked while speaking with Defense News in a hallway interview on Capitol Hill last week.

He pointed to a six-month summary of BIS China export controls provided by the agency back in 2021, deemed concerning by Republicans.

It showed that less than 1 percent [of licenses] were declined and $60 billion went into Huawei and $40 billion went to SMIC, McCaul said.

The China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), a state-run institution that focuses on the testing, development, and research of nuclear weapons and related sciences, has gained access to U.S.-made semiconductors even though such institutions have been banned from making similar technological procurements for more than two decades, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

CAEP is said to have bought sophisticated American chips at least 12 times during the past two-and-a-half years.

Our government doesnt have time to complain that these problems are tough. We need solutions, McCaul said in the statement, referring to the revelation.

Reforms

Another batch of data on export control approvals arriving at Congress last week is now under review by the committee. According to the GOP lawmaker, the subsequent finding would prompt potential legislative reforms to the BIS export control list.

We do want a reporting requirement because they never report to the public on export licenses, said McCaul. We want a full accounting of that.

In the January letter, he said that BISs dereliction in providing basic transparency and accountability would spark his forthcoming 90-day review.

A principal objective for this review is to determine if the Department of Commerce should continue to lead implementation of the export control system, he stated.

The extent of any legislation that arises from McCauls three-month review period could be influenced by the bureaus ability or unwillingness to provide a complete accounting.

With export control regimes currently splitting between the State Departments munitions list and the Commerce Departments dual-use items list, there has been discussion about whether there should be one single licensing agency, according to a Republican staffer from the committee.

Part of what were looking to do is figure out if the existing system is the best arrangement or if it should wholesale be put somewhere else or if different aspects of the export control system should have different agencies as the lead, the staffer told Defense News.

Whatever rule we come up with, the [Peoples Republic of China] is going to try to find ways around it, the staffer added. Its one of those things where its somewhat neverending.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
Homeopathy is a form of healing developed by German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann in the late 1790s. Its application significantly reduced the mortality rate of cholera patients during the cholera epidemic in London between the years 1848 and 1854. Studies have also shown that homeopathy can help patients infected with COVID-19 have a fast recovery.

Due to homeopathy being considered to be mild and effective, it has been adopted over the past two centuries by many royal families in Europe, including Britain, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Portugal.

The principle of homeopathy is a like cures like theorywherein a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person, used in a dilute dose, can treat an illness with similar symptoms. In homeopathy, less is more when it comes to effectiveness, and the small dose is meant to trigger the bodys natural immune system.

Homeopathic medicines are produced by diluting derivatives of plants, minerals, and animals into a mother tincture, and diffusing them into small sugar pills.

Homeopathy Helps P atients R ecover Faster From COVID-19

In September 2021, a case study published in the journal Complementary Medicine Research found that homeopathic therapies can respond rapidly in moderate to severely diagnosed patients when conventional medical means have failed to alleviate or shorten the duration of the illness.

The study recorded five patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, two of them having been admitted to intensive care units. After administration of homeopathic therapy, all five patients improved quickly and were discharged within a short time. The patients also reported that homeopathy improved their health status.

During the London cholera outbreak of 1854, only 10 of the 61 cases of cholera admitted to the then London Homeopathic Hospital (present-day Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine) dieda death rate of about 16 percentwhile out of the 231 cases of cholera at nearby Middlesex Hospital, 123 deaths were reported, a death rate of about 53 percent.

What was the impetus for Hahnemann to seek out alternative therapeutic methods nearly 200 years ago? Certain medical treatments of the time such as bloodletting and the use of poisonous substances were crude and ineffective, and Hahnemann discovered that if a patient had an illness, it could be cured by giving a medicine which, if given to a healthy person, would produce similar symptoms of that same illness but to a slighter degree.

Homeopathy is a type of alternative or complementary therapy that differs from conventional medicine. Whereas conventional medicine often uses pharmacological or invasive methods to remove pathogens, alternative treatments focus on stimulating the ability of the body to repair itself through energy adjustments and herbal supplements. Homeopathy is part of a variety of more natural medical modalities, including acupuncture, herbs, and massage therapy.

Homeopathy Produces Fantastic Results

I came across homeopathy while living in Malaysia when I was looking for a milder treatment option for my child and found that homeopathy had low side effects. Worst case scenario with homeopathy is that if you choose the wrong remedy, it simply does not workthere are no ill side effects. Best casewhen you find the right onethe treatment produces fantastic resultsand fast.

One day my three-year-old child looked dazed and had a fever, so I procured some remedies from a doctor who practiced homeopathy. My child took the remedy easily because the pills were coated with sugar. This is the first time I used homeopathy.

I gave the remedy in the morning, but he still slumped tiredly on the sofa. In the afternoon, I called the doctor, who told me to give the remedy more frequently until there was a response.

I followed the doctors advice, and it didnt take long until my child felt better and started playing again. I could still feel a little bit of fever from touching his forehead, but he had stood up and talked to me with a smile.

At the beginning of the treatment, my childs temperature rose by one degree. It should be expected and considered normal for patients to get worse before they get better. However, for a second opinion, I took the child to the hospital at dusk for examination, still wanting to use Western medicine as a backup.

The hospital doctor found my child had tonsillitis and gave him a prescription for a 10-day course of antibiotics. I asked the doctor if I could skip the antibiotics, and he said no, for it was a bacterial infection, because my child had yellow spots on his throat.

My childs temperature dropped by one degree when we were at the hospital, and I knew the homeopathy had started to show its result, so after getting home, I continued to give my child homeopathic medicineinstead of the antibiotics. The next day, he had only a mild fever. In two to three days, he had fully recoveredand his tonsils never had signs of inflammation again.

Inflammation in the ear and tonsil are diseases that can often recur. After reading and analyzing a variety of sources, I made an informed decision not to give my child antibiotics. Every parent can decide what is best for their child(ren), based on the research available.
Chinas state-run medicare program recently failed to reach an agreement with Pfizer to import more Paxlovid, claiming the COVID-19 treatment drug is too expensive. This is despite the drug being offered to the state at a reduced rate in comparison with that offered to other developed countries. Lack of Paxlovid will leave only Azvudine, an anti-HIV drug the Chinese communist regime rushed through development and re-branded as an anti-COVID drug, as a treatment option.

Given the recent explosive spread of COVID and the resulting skyrocketing rates of hospitalization, finding viable treatment options is paramount.

Ivermectin in India and Peru

When the Delta variant broke out in 2021 across India, many states offered ivermectin population-wide. The efficacy of ivermectin in treating early and mild COVID-19 infections was confirmed in large states such as Uttar Pradeshhome to 241 million residentswhere the use of the prophylactic dramatically reduced both the infection rate and the death toll.

Data from a study comparing the efficacy of ivermectin in frontline health care workers. (The Epoch Times)

Even among frontline health care workers, ivermectin proved to be an effective prophylactic against COVID-19. One study with 3,532 frontline health care workers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar found that two doses of oral ivermectin (300 g/kg given 72 hours apart) as chemoprophylaxis among health care workers reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by 83 percent in the following month.

In Peru, mass ivermectin treatments were conducted through a broad-scale effort called Mega-Operacion Tayta, or MOT for short. Operation MOT was led by the Peruvian army and involved 10 states, where the excess death rate saw a sharp decline with an average of 74 percent over 30 days. In 14 states where ivermectin was administered locally, the mean reduction in excess deaths over 30 days compared with deaths was 53 percent.

Lima, the capital of Peru, where the distribution of ivermectin was restricted, saw only a 25 percent reduction in excess deaths. The findings of researchers, detailed in the diagram below, show infection numbers, deaths, and fatalities across Peruvian states which implemented ivermectin (blue) and those which did not (red). The conclusion is that a reduction in deaths correlated with the distribution of ivermectin with a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.002.

IvermectinThe Wonder Drug

Ivermectin was discovered in Japan during the late 70s as a derivative of Avermectin, produced from a single organism isolated at the Kitasato Institute in Tokyo. Since then, ivermectin has played an immeasurable role in improving the lives of billions with its humble beginnings as an anti-parasitic drug.

Ivermectin, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and deployed worldwide since 1987, has made major inroads against two devastating tropical diseasesonchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. In addition, some topical forms of ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and skin conditions such as rosacea.

Ivermectin is potentially effective against a host of viruses. (The Epoch Times)

In addition to its anti-parasitic effects, a 2022 study published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry Reports found that ivermectin has a strong potency at low concentrations against many DNA and RNA viruses, including HIV-1, yellow fever, malaria, West Nile virus, Zika, dengue fever, etc.

According to the study, ivermectin has an amazing inhibitory effect across multiple species and can interrupt motility and reproduction in both arthropods (such as insects) and nematodes (such as roundworms). This explains why ivermectin is prescribed for parasite infections, and also sheds light on its potential as a prophylactic against vector-borne diseases. In insects and other arthropods specifically, it can interrupt the transmission of disease.

Ivermectins Potential Mechanisms Against COVID

SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that takes over host cells to multiply in the body. To enter the host cells, the virus binds to the ACE-2 receptor on the surface of cells which grants them entry. Ivermectin prevents the bonding process by interfering with the viruss spike proteinsthis is the same mechanism the vaccines use.

If the virus slips past the cell membrane, its top priority is to infiltrate the brain of the cellthe DNA-containing nucleusto start mass-producing itself. SARS-CoV-2 latches itself onto a special class of transport proteins called IMPs that have enough security clearance to enter the nucleus. In the case of a viral infection, ivermectin binds to these transport proteins and halts the interaction.

Ivermectin inhibiting intracellular transport and viral production. (The Epoch Times)

Ivermectin also inhibits the nuclear transport mechanism mediated by the KPNA-1 protein, which has a similar effect when compared with IMPs. Both proteins can enter the nucleus and ivermectin can effectively stop the virus from getting to the nucleus. In the event that the virus does manage to invade the nucleusivermectin also has a backup plan.

For example, when the virus has taken over and initialized self-replication, it does so through a protein called RdRp, which is at the centerpiece of viral replicationand is directly inhibited by ivermectin with very high efficacy.

Ivermectin Could Reduce Severe Lung Damage in COVID Patients

Once COVID-19 reaches later stages, it may require intensive care for recovery. For example, white lung syndrome (a hallmark symptom of acute respiratory distress syndrome) now occurring in severe COVID infections in China, is a sign that the virus has deeply infected the lungs and may have caused cytokine storms (a severe immune reaction in the body) in patients.

Other complications that arise from COVID-19 involving the lungs are conditions such as pulmonary fibrosis and hypoxia. Hypoxia occurs when the virus infects lung tissue to the extent that the alveoli, tiny sacs of air at the end of lung branches responsible for oxygen exchange, become scarred causing a severe loss of oxygen in the body.

Cytokines and chemokines are responsible for inflammation, a natural immune system response to foreign invaders. However, a large number of cytokines released into the body all at once can cause a cytokine storm, wherein the body is flooded with armies of white blood cells that harm the body.

A cytokine storm can be triggered through the TLR-4 pathway by the virus. The same pathway also triggers the release of nitric oxide, causing fluid leaks, dilating blood vessels, or even sepsis and fluid buildup in the lungs.

Ivermectins intracellular mechanisms in reducing severe inflammation. (The Epoch Times)

A cytokine storm is related to the viral components that change how the body regulates certain signal molecules like STAT-3 and TLR-4. Too much STAT-3 will lead to the production of more TLR-4 through PAK-1 and is how the virus induces a pathway such that a heavy inflammatory response is initiated in the body.

Ivermectin directly inhibits the NF-kb and STAT-3 pathways by degrading the signal molecules that promote the vicious cycle. Thereby, Ivermectin can reduce the chance of cytokine storms and reduce the risk of patients having severe lung damage such as white lungs.

Ivermectin Can Reduce Bacterial Co-Infections for COVID Patients

Bacterial coinfections are common in respiratory viral infections, and patients with COVID-19 are no exception. Patients with co-infections were more likely to die in intensive care than those without coinfections. Among the group of compounds in the avermectin family, ivermectin stands out for its antibacterial effects.

In clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the use of ivermectin has been proven effective. At the same time, ivermectin inhibits the growth of a flurry of other bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (heavy skin infection), Mycobacterium Bovis, and others at clinically significant concentrations ranging from 1-8 g/ml, signifying a strong potency.

Ivermectin can also activate P2X4 receptors in macrophages, increasing its ability to destroy bacteria and protect against sepsis, which is the most prominent antibacterial effect of ivermectin.

Repurposing drugs, if successful, is the best accelerator for prophylactic development because it can save developers anywhere from three to 12 years as experts can reuse the data from previous clinical trials and other experiments.

A wonder drug like ivermectin should be strongly considered as a defense against viruses given its success both in mechanism studies and clinical trials as well as applications in a variety of diseases and infections. The suppression of ivermectin usage during the COVID-19 pandemic by government agencies and Big Pharma is one of the worlds most tragic events in modern medicine.

Particularly sad was when the Chinese regime did not fulfill its social responsibilities when loosening the zero-COVID restrictions by offering prophylactics such as ivermectin to prepare its people for a tsunami of infectionsas Peru did with their ivermectin distribution operation. It would have been greatly beneficial to equip the Chinese people with ivermectin to reduce the exorbitant infection numbers and needless deaths of COVID-19.

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.
House Democrat Caucus Leaders Say Republican Plans Include Changing Social Security

Jan. 31 marked the 83rd anniversary of the first Social Security check being issued. Stock photo of social security cards. (Lane V. Erickson/Shutterstock)

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu used the opportunity of their weekly press conference on Jan. 31 to paint and position Republicans as extreme in their budget solutions and proposals.

Both men, representatives from California, suggested that the GOP is looking to imperil the well-being of older Americans by making dangerous cuts to federal social safety net programs.

Aguilar opened the press conference by noting, Today is the 83rd anniversary of the first Social Security check being issued.

Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Calif.) Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, speaks during a press conference with incoming House Democratic Leadership at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 13, 2022. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

On Jan. 31, 1940, Ida M. Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, was issued a $22.54 check. For eight decades America has kept its promise to seniors who earn every dollar that they receive.

Indeed, on its Twitter feed today, the Democratic Caucus featured a photo of Fuller and her historic check.

Aguilar added that Democrats always protect Social Security to ensure that the program is available to older Americans and that seven in 10 Americans share this concern and are looking to House Democrats.

As the United States approaches a reckoning with its ability to meet its financial obligations and faces defaulting on its debt for the first time, the GOP is looking for a budget solution that may include agreeing to raise the federal debt ceilingit currently stands at $31.4 trillionif combined with spending cuts.

President Joe Biden says he will not negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over Republican proposals on the debt ceiling.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) at a news conference in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 12, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

McCarthy is in a tight spot with the fiscally conservative faction of his House colleagues, the Freedom Caucus. This group wrung budget concessions out of him in exchange for their votes to make him Speaker.

They will only support his effort to raise the debt ceiling if serious spending reduction is on the table.

And, yet, cutting seniors insurance programs of Social Security and Medicare is not part of the GOP budget proposal, says McCarthy.

Also not in GOP budget plans, McCarthy insists, is raising the age to 70 when an American can start collecting Social Security benefits.

Extreme And Dangerous

There are, though, Republican outliers on social safety net insurance program matters.

At the press conference, Lieu suggested that making changes to Social Security is in the GOP plans, but they are being cagey about it.

He pointed to a comment that House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) recently made in a media interview.

We do ask Republicans to show us their plan, said Lieu. The reason that they are unwilling tois because its going to show massive cuts to Social Security.

At the same time, we also know that Republican ideas are extreme and dangerous. How do we know that? They said it out loud.

He said a CNBC interviewer asked ArringtonThe question Id like to ask you is whether you think this debt ceiling is going to be used as a bargaining chip in a way that could turn dangerous?

Rep. Aringtons response was, I believe it will and believe it has to.'
House Panel Pulls Plug, Fast-Tracking Debate to End Pandemic Orders

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) sponsored one of four pandemic-related bills adopted by the House Rules Committee and testified before the panel on Jan. 30, claiming ending the COVID-19 emergency was long overdue and that the Biden administration used the declarations to impose progressive policies by executive order even after President Joe Biden acknowledged the pandemic was over. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden says his administration will end the three-year COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11 but Republican leaders in the United States House of Representatives aim to declare it over as soon as Feb. 1.

The newly constituted GOP-controlled House Rules Committee cleared four pandemic-related bills during four hours of hearings on Jan. 30, sending the proposals directly to House floor where they will be debated without committee review.

In a theme that would recur in deliberations on all four bills, Democratsoutnumbered 9-4 on the panelargued that abruptly pulling the plug on a raft of COVID-19 emergency measure would cause massive disruptions across a range of health services, from telehealth to Medicaid to programs provided by the Veterans Administration.

This decision is very, very disappointing, said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking minority member who chaired the committee for four years until this month, claiming that Republicans were hustling the bills to the House floor for a soundbite instead of allowing them to be vetted in committee review.

To rush this to the floor, do a press release, and thats it, McGovern said, is irresponsible, noting there are plenty of other issues the new GOP leadership could rocket-docket. Everybody needs to take a deep breath. I regret very much not taking that (committee) process.

But Republicans insisted there is no need for the emergency measures to continue since even Biden himself admitted in September that the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said it is long past time for the administration to end an emergency that no longer exists.

This is long overdue, she said, noting that nearly all states, including Washington on Oct. 31, have lifted their pandemic emergency declarations. Most people recognize the pandemic is over. Biden said last September the pandemic was over and then extended the emergency two more times.

Nevertheless, McMorris Rodgers said, the president has twice extended the emergency as cover for implementing progressive policies via executive order, such as a moratorium on evictions and student loan relief.

Noting Biden had announced earlier in the day that his administration would end the emergency declaration on May 11, McMorris Rodgers said, I think it is important to act on the presidents commitment. I think we follow through on the commitment the president has made by adopting the measure.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said adopting the measures was important. The administration could change its mind at any time about ending the emergency declaration, he said.

Massie said he didnt want to sound like a coincidence conspiracist but Bidens earlier announcement indicated to him that the administration is in full retreat.

I think the administration would not have done this tonight if the committee wasnt set to put the bills on the House floor, he said.

McGovern said the bills will make a fine show on the House floor but are going nowhere in the Senate, where Democrats are in the majority.

House Rules Committee member Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said during the panels four-hour Jan. 30 meeting that ending the federal healthcare worker vaccination mandate is part of a bigger discussion that we should have regarding deference to the executive [branch] and to the bureaucratic state. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

No Reason to Trust the Biden Regime

The four bills are measures terminating the national emergency declaration first instituted by former President Donald Trump at the start of the pandemic and since extended 12 times: the Pandemic Is Over Act; the SHOW UP Act, ending emergency pandemic measures that allowed up to 47 percent of federal employees to work remotely; and the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) who introduced the measure seeking to end the national emergency declaration, said the House will vote on his measure WednesdayFeb. 1.

There is no reason to wait. There is no reason to trust the Biden Regime, Gosar tweeted.

The panel debated for more than 90 minutes on the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, filed by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) with 67 GOP cosponsors, which states that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHS) can no longer implement, enforce, or otherwise give effect to a rule that requires COVID-19 vaccinations for providers and suppliers who participate in programs administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The bill also prohibits DHS and CMS from imposing any substantially similar rule in the future.

CMS, which imposed the rule in November 2021, required health care professionals providing Medicare and Medicaid services to receive the initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6, 2021, and the second dose by Jan. 4, 2022, or lose their job or contracts with the federal government.

Republicans said the mandate not only is a violation of individual rights, but obsolete since it requires healthcare workers to receive the initial two rounds of vaccines that no longer exist.

And there is no booster requirement, Massie noted.

The vaccine mandate aggravated the nations healthcare workforce shortage and drove many committed doctors and nurses from the field, Republicans have warned.

Citing a statistic that 85 percent of the nations nurses are women, Massie said the mandate equates to a war on women.

As the only New York representative on the panel, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) said the legislation hits close to home for me because his state was the epicenter of the beginning of the pandemic and devolved, unfortunately, into ground zero for draconian policies as well; so draconian that 34,000 healthcare workers were forced from jobs.

Medical staff and community members protested vaccine mandates in front of Rady Childrens Hospital. Registered nurse Alicia Fregoso wrote on a sign that she acquired natural immunity to COVID-19 in San Diego, on Oct. 1, 2021. (Jane Yang/The Epoch Times)

I stood on picket lines with nurses who, two months earlier, had been celebrated as heroes, he said. They went to work while we stayed at home to stay safe and then, they were thrown away like they were garbage if they refused to take a vaccination. The mandates are inexcusable. They need to be lifted.

This is not about transmission anymore. This is a political statement.
U.S. House of Representatives Republican leaders hold a press conference at 10 a.m. ET on Jan. 31, with attendees including Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Chairman of the Oversight and Accountability Committee James Comer (R-Ky.), and Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-Fla.).

The Epoch Times will livestream the event.
WASHINGTON, D.C.Patti Menders, a community liaison officer for Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center Opera House, on Jan. 27.

It was fantastic, said Ms. Menders. The artistry, the vibrance, the colors, the creativityit was incredible  Family, faith, it was funny; there was so much about it that was wonderful.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and to show its audiences the beauty of China before communism.

Though he was unable to watch the performance himself, Jason S. Miyares, the attorney general of Virginia, welcomed Shen Yun and acknowledged the significance of Shen Yuns performance in his Letter of Special Recognition.

Ms. Menders said that Shen Yun inspired her to learn more about Chinas history.

It (Shen Yun) makes me happy, she said. It makes me appreciate the freedoms we have in this country, to see the richness of what China had. Im just more impressed, and I want to go home and study the history of China so I can appreciate it more.

According to the Shen Yun website, China has 5,000 years of history. Shen Yun endeavors to encapsulate the essence of those 5,000 years in a two-hour performance. The program comprises of a number of dance vignettes, story-based dances, songs performed in the traditional bel canto style, and a solo performance featuring a traditional Chinese stringed instrument called the erhu.

The heritage is so rich and so deep, said Ms. Menders. In America, we have so many cultures here that come together in a melting pot. [Shen Yun] helps me appreciate the Chinese Americans that live amongst us and the beauty of what once was in China. I came away with a rich appreciation for the Chinese culture.

I truly recommend everyone come and see the Shen Yun performance. It was wonderful.

Reporting by Lisa Fan and Wandi Zhu

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit 2023 will be held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 in Washington, D.C.

The summit is intended to create a powerful coalition of organizations that operate together for the cause of religious freedom around the world. The summit is also held to increase public awareness and political strength for the international religious freedom movement.

On the first day, The Epoch Times will livestream the Welcome Plenary Session at 9:45 a.m. and Defending IRF: Session 1 at 11 a.m.

In the Welcome Plenary Session, IRF Summit Co-Chairs, U.S. Ambassador Sam Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett, the president of Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, will welcome the guests.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Simran Jeet Singh, the executive director of the Aspen Institute Religion and Society Program, and Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, will talk about the vitality of the IRF to U.S. foreign policy.

In Defending IRF: Session 1, Katrina Lantos Swett will host a conversation with Maryum Ali, youth advocate and daughter of Muhammad Ali, and Penn Badgley, an actor and activist, to talk about how to leverage faith and courage in advocating for religious freedom.
Israel Accelerates Gun Ownership Process in Response to Terror Shooting at Synagogue

Friends and family mourn married couple Eli Mizrahi and Natali Mizrahi who were killed on Jan. 27 in a shooting attack by a Palestinian gunman on the outskirts of Jerusalem, at their funeral in Beit Shemesh, Israel Jan. 29, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Israel will speed up applications for owning a gun in response to a shooting outside a synagogue on Jerusalems outskirts that claimed the lives of seven people on Friday.

The governments Security Cabinet announced such measures on Saturday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to strengthen Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Firearm licensing will be expedited and expanded in order to enable thousands of additional citizens to carry weapons, read a statement on Netanyahus official Facebook page.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told reporters over the weekend: When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he convenes a weekly cabinet meeting amid a surge of violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, at the Prime Ministers office in Jerusalem, on Jan. 29, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool via Reuters)

Seven people were killed, and 10 were injured in the attack, Israels foreign ministry said.

Israeli police described it as a terror attack and said it took place at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, considered by Israelis as a neighborhood within Jerusalem, while Palestinians and most of the international community consider it occupied land illegally annexed after a 1967 Middle East war.

The gunman  identified as Khaire Alkam, a 21-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem  was shot dead as he attempted to flee.

Israeli forces walk next to dead covered bodies at the scene of a shooting attack in Neve Yaacov, which lies on disputed land east of Jerusalem, on Jan. 27, 2023. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

The shooting occurred on the Jewish Sabbath and on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It also came a day after the deadliest raid in the West Bank in years.

An Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday killed nine Palestinians, most of them terrorists. In response, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, triggering a series of Israeli airstrikes in response. In all, 32 Palestinians have been killed in fighting this month.

Israeli Border police officers walk outside the house of Palestinian gunman Khaire Alkam in A-Tur in East Jerusalem after Alkam shot dead at least seven people near a synagogue in Neve Yaacov, which lies on occupied land that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East war, Jan. 28, 2023. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Early Sunday, the Israeli military said that security guards in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim had shot a Palestinian who was armed with a handgun and released a photo of what it said was the weapon.

On Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot at a group of Israeli civilians in Jerusalem, wounding two before one of them shot and wounded him.

Pivotal Moment

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel and the Palestinians on Monday to ease tensions. The bloodshed has alarmed the Biden administration as it attempts to find common ground with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new government.

Speaking on his arrival at Israels international airport near Tel Aviv after a brief visit to Egypt, Blinken said he had come at a pivotal moment and condemned Palestinian attacks that have targeted Israeli citizens but also called for restraint in response, saying that all civilian casualties are deplorable.

To take an innocent life in an act of terrorism is always a heinous crime but to target people outside their place of worship is especially shocking, he said, referring to the Friday synagogue attack.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Japan Claims 4 Chinese Coast Guard Vessels Approach Its Ships in Disputed Waters

Japan claimed that four China Coast Guard ships entered its territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands on Monday and approached Japanese vessels sailing in the area, according to local media.

The Japan Coast Guard said that Chinese vessels approached a 997-ton Shinsei Maru ship and Japanese fishing boats near the islands between 2.47 a.m. and 6.07 a.m. (local time) on Monday.

The Shinsei Maru is a commercial ship that the local government has rented to conduct marine survey work around the islands. According to local reports, one of the Chinese vessels entered the waters off Minami-Kojima Island in the Senkaku Islands and approached the ship at around 4 a.m. (local time).

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships later intervened and warned the Chinese vessels to leave the area. All four Chinese craft exited the area between 12.35 p.m. and 1.50 p.m. (local time), Japan Times reported.

In response, the China Coast Guard accused the Shinsei Maru and four other Japanese ships of illegally entering Chinas territorial waters off the Diaoyu Islandsthe Chinese name for the Senkaku Islandsand said that it took action to drive them away.

The [China Coast Guard] vessels carried out legitimate maritime rights protection and law enforcement activities in sea areas under Chinas jurisdiction, on which the Japanese side has no right to make irresponsible remarks, its spokesperson said in a statement.

The Japanese government has lodged a protest against the intrusion, which marked Beijings second incursion this year on the Senkaku Islands, the first being on Jan. 10, according to local media.

The Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have mostly been administered by Japan since 1895, but Beijing began asserting its rights over the islands in the 1970s.

Japan had strongly protested Chinas repeated incursions and urged Beijing to exercise self-restraint, but Beijing has vowed to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in Senkaku Islands.

South China Sea Dispute

Beijing has also increased its military presence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely under its so-called nine-dash line despite competing claims from other nations, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

A Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea, in an aerial photo taken on Jan. 2, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.N. Ocean Conference has met three times over territorial disputes related to the South China Sea over a space of 20 years. Representatives of the involved countries all reached a final agreement in 1982 and signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Convention entered into force on Nov. 16, 1994. China is one of more than 150 countries that signed the Convention.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines with regard to its claims on the South China Sea and ruled that Beijings claims lacked any legal basis.

But the verdict has had little impact on Beijings behavior, with it continuing to pursue its claims to vast swathes of the sea.

In April 2021, Japan and the Philippines held their first 2+2 security meeting in Tokyo and agreed to consider facilitating reciprocal visits to strengthen defense cooperation amid tensions in the South China Sea.

In a joint statement, the two countries agreed to increase defense relations through capability building, reciprocal port calls/ship visits, transfer of more defense equipment and technology, and continuous cooperation on previously-transferred defense equipment.

Both countries strongly opposed actions that would exacerbate tensions in the East and South China Seas, underscoring the need for a rules-based approach to resolving competing claims in maritime areas within the framework of international law.

They called for the implementation of a code of conduct consistent with the Law of the Sea without jeopardizing the legitimate rights of all stakeholders in the disputed sea, according to the statement.

David Chu contributed to this report.
Mr. Ito Tatsunori, a former department manager of an auto parts manufacturer, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, in Nagoya, Japan, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Wang Wenliang/The Epoch Times)

NAGOYA, JapanThe performance is majestic! Its really spectacular. The deep meaning that the show delivered brought me many emotions. This is excellent, said Mr. Takano Yoshiharu, the president of Bibarche.

Bibarche is a cocktail club and has several cocktail bars in Nagoya. Mr. Takano has won several Japan cocktail competitions.

After attending Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater in Nagoya on Jan. 30, Mr. Takano said he felt very happy.

The female dancers are very elegant, and they danced very gracefully. Their costumes are gorgeous. The costumes flew in the air following the dancers movements. Its breathtaking! he said. The male dancers are very powerful and forceful. They danced valiantly. The style is very unique.

Mr. Takano was impressed by the coordination of various aspects of Shen Yun.

The colors are saturated. The connection and interactions between the dance and the animated backdrop are seamless. And the cooperation between the dance and live orchestra is perfect in how each complements each other, he said.

Mr. Takano said Shen Yun showed him a world that he had never experienced. He felt the story-based dances were meaningful.

The dances delivered traditional Chinese values and virtues. I deeply felt these messages, he said. I enjoyed these values. I believe many others have the same feeling.

The China Mr. Takano knew was the one in which the ruling communist party doesnt allow people to have any beliefs, and people dont follow traditional moral codes.

I saw a real China from Shen Yun, he said.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism. For 5,000 years Chinas civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, virtues like loyalty, propriety, wisdom, justice, and benevolencevalues that are universal and shared the world over.

My Heart Is Full of Joy

Im very happy to attend Shen Yun. My heart is full of joy now, said Mr. Hibino Akihiro, the president of a subsidiary of a famous Japanese automobile company.

The dancers presentations are very impressive. They are awesome, he said. The sound of the erhu (two-stringed Chinese instrument) is very special. I love it.

Mr. Ito Tatsunori, a former department manager of an auto parts manufacturer, enjoyed Shen Yuns dynamic backdrop.

When the curtain first opened, I saw a palace in heaven. Suddenly, the dancers inside the palace landed on the stage, he said. I have never seen a performance like this. The backdrop and stage connect with each other, which is great!

Mr. Ito said all Shen Yun stories are very interesting, and the live orchestra is very professional. I was moved by their music.

Mr. Hibino Akihiro, the president of a subsidiary of an automobile company, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater with his wife, in Nagoya, Japan, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Wang Wenliang/The Epoch Times)

Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.

I Want to Attend Again

Mr. Suzuki Susumu is the president of a furniture manufacturer in Nagano Prefecture. He wanted to attend Shen Yun since first saw a Shen Yun online commercial years ago, but the tickets were all sold out when he tried to buy them.

This year, he booked the tickets in advance and drove hours to attend the show.

The dances are magnificent. The dancers skills are extraordinary, he said. The live orchestra is formidable. Their music is pleasant to the ears. I think they are perfect!

Mr. Suzuki enjoyed the show very much, and said he cant wait to attend again.

Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company finished its performances this season in Japan on Jan. 30. Next, the group will tour in South Koreas Busan, Gumi, and Seoul in February before visiting Taiwan.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Nagoya, Japan.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Jury Acquits Pro-Life Activist Whose Home Was Raided by FBI

Mark Houck and his family seen in a file photo. (GiveSendGo screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Pro-life activist Mark Houck was found not guilty by a federal court in Philadelphia on Jan. 30 on charges that arose from an October 2021 altercation outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Houck was accused of twice violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.

Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Houck assaulted Bruce Love, a 72-year-old clinic escort, on two occasionsonce by pushing him to the ground as he was escorting patients from the clinic and a second time during a verbal altercation in front of the facility.

Houcks attorneys, however, argued that Love was extremely aggressive and had been harassing Houcks 12-year-old son before any altercation ensued.

Houck, a father of seven, was arrested by the FBI in September in an early morning raid that was widely criticized by conservatives as evidence of the Biden administrations political weaponization of the agency.

If he was truly a danger to the community, they wouldnt have waited a year to prosecute, noted Patrick Breen, Houcks attorney and vice president of the Thomas More Society, following Houcks arrest.

Serious questions need to be asked of the Attorney General, Breen added. What was he thinking? Why did they do this obscene show of force against a peaceful pillar of the community?

Raided

According to Houcks wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, the raid on their home involved dozens of armed FBI agents who threatened to break down their door and pointed weapons at family members.

Its hard to even express the victimization and how traumatized we all are, she said on Tucker Carlson Tonight after the arrest.

My entire front yard, you could barely see it; it was covered with at least 15 big trucks and cars, she added, estimating that 20 to 30 agents showed up at their home.

However, the FBI said that some facts of the arrest had been distorted in the retelling.

No SWAT Team or SWAT operators were involved, a spokesperson for the FBIs Philadelphia office told The Epoch Times at the time. 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 bureau also held that the reported number of vehicles present was overstated and emphasized that the agents had acted in accordance with standard procedure in conducting the arrest.

Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, found the latter claim hard to believe.

In a Sept. 28 letter (pdf) to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committees ranking member, noted that Houck had reportedly been cooperating with the DOJ and even offered to appear voluntarily but never received a response.

Given their cooperation with federal law enforcement, the family did not expect to be awakened at 7 a.m. with reportedly over 20 FBI agents surrounding their home wearing armor-plated tactical vests, ballistic helmets, and holding ballistic shields and long guns, Grassley wrote.

Based on reports and allegations, the actions taken by the FBI reasonably call into question whether they complied with DOJs use of force policy, the senator added. The FBI must explain their justification for their actions on September 23, 2022.

Arguments

According to Catholic News Agency, the jury in the trial was shown video footage of the second incident, which showed Love approaching Houck and his son as they were standing outside of the Planned Parenthood clinic on the sidewalk. Love turned and walked back toward the clinic as Houck pointed at the entrance, then Love turned back around and approached the Houck a second time as they walked toward the street corner. Houck then turned and pushed Love, who fell to the ground.

The defense team reportedly held that Love said demeaning things to Houcks son, provoking the altercation.

Love denied that claim, stating under oath that he had approached Houck twice that day as part of his duties as a clinic escort, which he said included telling patients that they didnt have to listen to protesters.

Love also claimed that Houck had called him a murderer and baby killer and threatened to push him in the street, maintaining that all he said to Houck was, Is that a threat?

Per Catholic News Agency, Love was not seen with a patient in the video footage, and there was no video of the first incident.

The DOJ reportedly held that Houcks alleged comments were evidence that he pushed Love to interfere with his duties as a clinic escort.

Houcks legal team, however, charged that Love said more than he claimed.

Do you remember saying [to Houck], Why dont you go home and masturbate? Brian McMonagle, one of the defense attorneys, asked Love.

He also asked Love if he recalled asking Houcks son: Do you see how your dad is hurting women? Your dad doesnt care about women. Do you remember saying that?

Love denied making those and other alleged comments, but witnesses testified that there was an argument or shouting that took place.

The defense initially sought to have the case dismissed, holding that Houck was merely responding to Loves provocations and that the FACE Act was being stretched a little thin by the DOJ. But the judge did not grant the motion.

The Verdict

According to Catholic News Agency, the jury began its deliberations on Jan. 27 but ended the day in a deadlock. They resumed deliberations on Monday morning but one juror needed to be excused.

Early this morning, we were notified that there was an issue with the jury, and one of the jurors had to be excused, who was not participating, quite frankly, in the deliberation process, McMonagle said, per the outlet. And we quickly worked to try and bring in an alternate juror. He came in and within an hour of him getting here, there was a unanimous not guilty verdict.

After receiving the verdict, Houck joined with family and friends to pray and speak with reporters, stating that it was his Christian faith that got him through the ordeal.

We [the Houcks] just feel privileged, and faith has brought us to that point where we feel that, he explained. So weve grown in faith, weve asked God to give us greater faith, and through today and this process  we have greater faith and trust in God than ever.

Breen, also sharing his thoughts, asserted that the case was an intimidation tactic by the Biden DOJ.

Our hope here is that a message was sent to Washington, D.C., to stop this harassment of sidewalk counselors who are just trying to provide alternatives to those who are facing an abortion decision, he said. And I hope this will be one of those points where a change is made so that no one else will have to suffer the same way that Mark and his family have suffered.
Kidnap Suspect Released Day He Arrived at Nevada Prison

LAS VEGASA man at the center of an intense police search in Oregon after a violent kidnapping last week was released from custody in October 2021 by Nevada prison officials on the same day he was transferred to the states custody to serve a kidnapping sentence, authorities said Monday.

Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, faced decades in prison in Nevada after he was charged in 2019 with five felonies, including assault and battery. But a deal with Clark County prosecutors allowed him to instead plead guilty to felony and misdemeanor battery, and a judge sentenced him in September 2021 to serve between one and 2 1/2 years in a state prison.

William Quenga, a spokesperson for the Nevada prison system, told The Associated Press in an email that Foster arrived Oct. 18, 2021, at a prison intake facility but was released the same day, because the judge had factored into Fosters punishment the 729 days he had spent in jail awaiting trial.

That means Foster had served his minimum sentence behind bars but was a half-year from serving the maximum time given by the judge.

Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones and District Attorney Steve Wolfson did not respond to requests for comment.

The victim in the Oregon case was found unconscious and bound in Grants Pass, Oregon, on Jan. 24. She was hospitalized in critical condition and has not regained consciousness since then, said Grants Pass Police Lt. Jeff Hattersley.

The case has rattled residents of Grants Pass, a town of some 40,000 in southwest Oregon next to Interstate 5. Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman told AP that it is extremely troubling that Foster wound up being sought for attempted murder in Oregon instead of still being behind bars in Nevada.

Foster narrowly eluded a police raid Thursday in the nearby unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, Oregon, and may have changed his appearance by shaving his beard and hair or changing his hair color, police said.

Police initially released a photo of Foster showing him with shoulder-length brown hair, but he had cut it and grown a thicker beard since the photo was made. He may have altered his appearance further since then, Hattersley said.

Were getting all kinds of calls about people walking along I-5, they have long beards and long hair, Hattersley said. We have a feeling thats not really what he is looking like at this point.

Police offered a $2,500 reward Friday for information leading to Fosters arrest and prosecution. None of the 50 or so tips that have come in, mostly by phone, since then has been solid enough to lead to Foster, who is charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault, according to Hattersley.

The Thursday night raid in Wolf Creek, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Grants Pass, involved Grants Pass police, sheriffs deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT team, and federal agents.

Foster, who had been staying on family property there, slipped away. Forested mountains surround the community, but investigators believe that instead of disappearing solo into the wilderness, Foster had help getting out of the area.

Grants Pass police announced Friday that Foster was using online dating applications to contact unsuspecting people to lure them assisting with his escape or to potentially find new victims. Hattersley said Monday that investigators no longer believe Foster was trying to find more victims but could have been seeking an unwitting person to help him avoid the intensive police manhunt.

Thats why we put that out there, he said. We dont want someone to unknowingly think that theyre meeting some great guy thats actually a wanted felon thats trying to get away.

Before moving to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks before she managed to escape in October 2019. Police said the woman suffered seven broken ribs, two black eyes and had been choked to the point of unconsciousness during her captivity.

Foster was released from custody two years later after reaching his deal with Clark County prosecutors.

By Rio Yamat and Andrew Selsky
LA Charity Seeks Court Order Allowing Demolition of Own Building

LOS ANGELESCatholic Charities Inc. is seeking a court order allowing it to demolish a 100-year-old building in the Westlake District which it purchased in 2018, but has been thwarted thus far from doing so by the city, initially on historical grounds and subsequently over environmental issues.

The Los Angeles Superior Court petition states that the edifice at 846 S. Union Avenue was built in 1923-24, is three stories tall, spans 20,775 square feet, and has been occupied by various organizations, beginning with the Bnai Brith Lodge Association to most recently the Lighthouse Mission Church.

Catholic Charities has repeatedly and consistently clarified that its intention is to simply demolish the building, which is plagued by mold and structural and seismic insecurities that make the building dangerous and financially unfeasible to use or maintain, the petition states.

The charity also spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to maintain and secure the building, which is vacant, deteriorated, and unstable, the petition states.

A representative for the Los Angeles City Attorneys Office said his office would have no comment on the petition brought Thursday.

Catholic Charities bought the building in September 2018 because it is located next to the organizations main office and within a block of the Immaculate Conception Church and school, according to the petition, which further states that no firm plans are in place for use of the land once the building is razed.

The organization submitted its first two demolition application permits in 2019 and 2020, the petition states. In February 2020, the second request was denied on historical preservation grounds and Catholic Charities was advised to contact the citys Office of Historic Resources, the petition states.

Catholic Charities raised objections to the historical preservation claims, including at an appearance before the Los Angeles City Council last June, according to the petition.

The city later abandoned the historical and cultural claims for the building and argued that an extensive environmental review was needed and a more complete project description before a demolition permit could be granted, the petition states.

Although the organization has pondered some potential uses of the property, those thoughts were theoretical and in keeping with Catholic Charities mission statement of collaborating with diverse communities, providing services to the poor and vulnerable, promoting human dignity and advocating for social justice, according to the petition.
Legal Advocacy Group Urges Emergencies Act Inquiry Commissioner Not to Send Report to Feds in Advance

Ottawa police monitor the celebration of the Freedom Convoy's first anniversary, on Parliament Hill on Jan. 28, 2023. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

With the inquiry into the governments use of the Emergencies Act due to table its final report in the coming weeks, a legal advocacy group sent a letter to the inquirys commissioner asking that the Trudeau government not receive an advanced copy as ordered before it is made public.

The Institute for Freedom and Justice (IFJ)s letter to Commissioner Paul Rouleau, the justice chairing the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), notes that the Emergencies Act specifically requires the public inquiry to provide a report to each house of Parliament within 360 days after the revocation of the declaration of emergency.

The Trudeau government invoked the powers of the Emergencies Act, formerly the War Measures Act, on Feb. 14, 2022, to end the three-week Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.

It was revoked on Feb. 23, 2022, and the POEC needs to submit its final report to the Parliament by Feb. 20, 2023.

The IFJ letter notes that the Trudeau government has directed the commissioner to submit a copy of its report to the government by Feb. 6, which the IFJ objects to.

Although a provision was later inserted in the Order (on the recommendation of the Prime Minister), that the Governor in Council should receive a report in advance of the Houses of Parliament, the Act makes no such express requirement, states the IFJ.

Final preparations are made prior to the start of the Public Emergency Order Commission in Ottawa on Oct. 13, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The IFJ letter asks the commissioner to confirm that the report submitted to the Governor in Council (GIC) will be identical to the report provided to the houses of Parliament.

Submitting an advance report to the GIC, and therefore cabinet, carries a high-risk of criticism concerning the transparency and integrity of the Public Inquiry process, wrote the IFJ.

This may result in a loss of confidence by Canadians in the fairness of the Commission and may mire the final part of the Public Inquiry in controversy, said the letter.

The Epoch Times contacted the IFJ for comment but didnt hear back by press time.

The organization requested that the commissioner, in preparing the report in accordance with the order by the GIC for not later than Feb. 6, 2023, also provide the report to the Houses of Parliament on the same day, simultaneously. This would also mean it would be made public at the same time.

The POEC did not respond by press time to a request for comment, but according to the Toronto Sun, a spokesperson said the report is still being prepared by Rouleau, with no information on a public release date.

During the inquiry, the federal government invoked legal privilege and would not provide details on the legal opinion used to justify the use of the Emergencies Act.
The worlds most-consumed liquid is water, and the drawbacks involved with it are so limited as to be utterly obscure.

By contrast, there has been an overwhelming controversy for the last several eons about the risks and potential benefits of consumption of all other drinks, from cola to coffee to kombucha. And beverages that contain alcohol come in for special criticism.

Several medical institutions long have weighed in against any consumption at all. Rum is still a demon. Yet federal guidelines on alcoholic beverage consumption suggests moderation, not abstinence. And part of the reason is the failed experiment that we called Prohibition that ended 90 years ago. Even Abraham Lincoln once observed that prohibition would do great harm to temperance.

Very few other societies ever went so far as to ban all alcohol consumption. Today, several highly respected physicians recommend a glass of wine every day, stating the health benefits. Others speak only of the harm it could cause.

I have written on this subject several times in the last 45 years and have nothing new to add. But within the last few weeks Ive heard doctors on radio and television fulminating again on the risks of any alcohol consumption. One reason for this recent spate of comments is a response to Dry Januaryan informal movement of people who gave up drinking, possibly as a reaction to overconsumption starting at Thanksgiving and going through New Years Eve. Most of us know the dangers of alcohol, particularly overconsumption: intoxicating effects on the individual and its significant negative impact on society.

For that reason, wine columnists usually shy away from the subject; but there is a way of discussing it with sanity, and that is to look at the subject soberly.

Nonalcoholic Beverages

Our choices today are far greater than ever. There are flavored waters, flavor concentrates to add to water, dealcoholized wine, zero-alcohol beer, and literally 20 other categories. Nonalcoholic alternatives do not intoxicate, but they rarely are satisfying with a meal.

There also now are several alcohol-free wines, but most are rather neutral in taste. They appeal most to people who for medical or religious reasons should have no alcohol at all. However, they do have applications for wine lovers. See below.

Low-alcohol Wines

There are several excellent choices in this category, starting with the most obviousGerman white wines. Germany makes some of the finest rieslings and silvaners in the world and several include wines called Kabinett that have between 7 percent and 9 percent alcohol. As such, they are significantly lower in alcohol than the typical 15 percent alcohol chardonnay many California wineries now make.

Similarly, Portugal produces some wonderful, delicate, and tasty white wines under the name vinho verde. Most of these are lighter and are best as aperitifs or to go with lighter foods.

Usually, they have well under 10 percent alcohol and offer food compatibility that few nonalcoholic wines can.

An important point must be raised here: To make some of these lower-alcohol wines with significant flavor, winemakers usually have to leave some residual sugar in them. So several of these wines will actually be slightly sweet. But they still work with food because top producers also allow for the wines to be balanced with good acidity, so the sweetness is not pronounced.

Water Additions

When a wine label shows that a wine has 15 percent alcohol, you probably can add a bit of water to cut the alcohol down a bit. Adding too much water can make the resulting liquid thin and lacking in character, so the next idea has merit.

Kitchen Table Chemistry

This is a new category of wine that has yet to be codified by any winery but can be done simply at home. The idea is to buy a fine quality traditional wine and then acquire a bottle of an alcohol-free wine of the same color.

I have done this twice. It works and certainly will be detested by purists. But if youre concerned about excessive alcohol and/or calories, its a tactic that I have found satisfactory. (I do not do this at home, except experimentally.)

I did this with a high-alcohol zinfandel whose label said it had 15.5 percent alcohol (probably more). The wine was relatively aromatic and interesting to smell, but the alcohol was oppressive. So I added an equal amount of nonalcoholic wine.

Some of the aroma and the flavor of the zinfandel came through, but the hot, alcoholic bite of the undiluted wine was reduced significantly. I do not recommend this for truly great wine, but when a bottle of wine shows its alcohol too greatly, adding some nonalcoholic wine seems to solve a problem.
Man, 49, Found Stabbed to Death at Otay Valley Regional Park

SAN DIEGOAuthorities Jan. 30 publicly identified a Chula Vista man found stabbed to death over the weekend in a South Bay open-space preserve.

The body of Jose Gonzalez, 49, was discovered in the western reaches of Otay Valley Regional Park in Chula Vista shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Investigators determined that Gonzalez, whose family had reported him missing the previous day, was fatally assaulted during an argument with another man, Lt. Steve Shebloski said.

Detectives soon identified the alleged killer as 18-year-old Milton Zuzun Tax, a resident of Mexico.

Tax, who was jailed Saturday on an unrelated vandalism charge, was re-booked Monday morning on suspicion of first-degree murder. He was being held at San Diego Central Jail without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

The motive for the alleged slaying remained unclear Monday.

It is very early in the investigation and detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of [Gonzalez], Shebloski said.
Man Charged With Killing Head of US Newspaper With Ties to CCP to Stand Trial in March

Yining Xie, founder and chairman of the U.S.-based Chinese-language newspaper China Press, was shot to death inside the publications office in Alhambra, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2018. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times)

A man charged with shooting and killing his boss at a U.S.-based, Chinese-language newspapers office in Alhambra, California, in 2018 will stand trial March 1.

The jury trial for Zhong Qi Chen, 63, who allegedly murdered Yining Xie, founder and chairman of China Pressor Qiao Bao in Chinesewas originally scheduled for this week.

The delay came after Chen and his attorney Donald B. Marks appeared at the Alhambra courthouse Jan. 30, citing Markss scheduling conflicts as a reason for the delay.

We hope to be ready on March 1, Marks told The Epoch Times.

Zhong Qi Chen, of El Monte, Calif. was arrested for suspicion of murder with a firearm in Alhambra on Nov. 16, 2018. (Courtesy of Alhambra Police Department)

During the Monday hearing, Superior Court Judge Michael Villalobos urged the defendants legal team to speed up bringing the case to trial.

Were pushing almost five years now, so we need to get it done, Villalobos said.

Chen, a Chinese national with U.S. citizenship, could be seen in a yellow prison uniform with an interpreter next to him. No relatives of Chen were seen in attendance.

Yining Xie, founder and chairman of the U.S.-based Chinese-language newspaper China Press, was shot to death inside the publications office in Alhambra, Calif., on Nov. 16, 2018. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times)

On Nov. 16, 2018, Xie, 58, was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso. He was found on the second floor of the newspapers Alhambra building, according to police.

Chen was arrested the same day on suspicion of murder, and a handgun was recovered by officers from the scene. Investigators said they believe a workplace dispute led to the shooting.

Chen was released three days later after posting a bond for his $1-million bailbefore being arrested again the next day on a Los Angeles County Superior Court warrant, with a bail of $6 million. The bail amount was later reduced to $3 million by a judge.

Chen pleaded not guilty later that month to murder with allegations that he used a handgun and caused great bodily injury and death, according to a press release (pdf) from Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

China Press Close Ties to the CCP

China Press published an obituary in November 2018 with a brief timeline of Xies career.

After graduating from university in 1982, Xie became a reporter for the state-run China News Service. In 1987, Xie became the White House correspondent for the news service. In 1992, he left his position to establish China Press in San Francisco; the newspaper also has editions in Los Angeles and New York.

China Press is long known in the U.S. immigrant community for its pro-Beijing views and propensity to repeat the Chinese Community Partys (CCP) propaganda on a wide range of issues.

China Presss webpage, with a remembrance photo and message about the passing of its founder, Xie Yining. (Screenshot)

The publication is under the umbrella of Rhythm Media Group, a California-registered firm founded in 2003 with several Chinese-language news outlets, a film production company, and a cultural center in its profile.

In 2001, the U.S. think tank Jamestown Foundation listed China Press as an overseas Chinese newspaper directly controlled by the Chinese government.

After Xies death, the newspapers operation reportedly shrunk, with its West Coast edition switched from daily to weekly print distribution in July 2019, the publication announced the previous month.

Epoch Times staff members Zhou Yuejun and Annie Wu contributed to this report.
Missouris Republican Congressional Delegation Demands EPA Stop New Waterway Regulations

A man waves and American flag as he walks outside the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City, Mo., on Jan. 20, 2021. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)

Missouris Republican congressional delegation sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency requesting an immediate stop to a new Waters of the United States rule.

The letter was signed by Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt and Reps. Ann Wagner, Eric Burlison, Sam Graves, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith, and Mark Alford.

The legislators wrote the new rule will prove ruinous to farmers in the State of Missouri. In this new regulation, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers purport to regulate every puddle and drainage ditch across America.

On Dec. 30, 2022, the federal agencies announced the final Revised Definition of Waters of the United States rule. It takes effect March 20.

The agencies final rule establishes a clear and reasonable definition of waters of the United States and reduces the uncertainty from constantly changing regulatory definitions that has harmed communities and our nations waters, according to the EPA website.

According to the EPA, certain bodies of waters will be regulated if theyre determined to be relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing. Plus, bodies of water, tributaries, and wetlands will be regulated based on connection to, and effect on, larger downstream waters.

According to an EPA media release, the final rule is grounded in the Clean Water Act and uses the best available science and extensive implementation experience stewarding the nations waters.

Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what weve learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nations waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects peoples health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

Missouris legislators said President Joe Bidens appointees are falsely claiming the rule will support agriculture.

Farmers in our state have consistently cried foul at Democrats attempts to federalize their farmland, the letter sent Thursday states. This new rule is little more than a redux of the Obama-era WOTUS rule that farmers detestedand which the Trump administration rescinded under the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Rather than support farmers and American businesses, this administration has caved to woke environmental activists that want to transform American agriculture.

A fact sheet published in December by the agencies said the pre-2015 definition was used because it supported decades of clean water progress and has been implemented by every administration in the last 45 years.

Definitions changed due to court decisions and regulations in 2015, 2019, and 2020, causing uncertainty that harmed communities and our nations waters, according to the document. The rule restores fundamental protections so that the nation will be closer to achieving Congress direction in the Clean Water Act that our waters be fishable and swimmable. It will also ensure that our waters support recreation and wildlife.

Missouris lawmakers requested the EPA provide evidence to justify why ephemeral streams will be regulated and identify which Missouri waters would not be regulated. They also asked why the rule was announced prior to an expected ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on a WOTUS case.

Farmers and ranchers in Missouri should be able to determine how to best manage their land and water, not the EPA, the legislators wrote. This rule is just another federal power grab that infringes on the property rights of farmers in our state. We demand that you rescind this rule immediately.

By Joe Mueller
More Gun Laws Would Not End Massacres

Commentary

Like everyone else, Im horrified at the recent spate of massacres using guns in California. My hopes and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

But in my job, its always incumbent on me to point out the policy implications of any proposed attempts at remedies. The emotions of the moment must be seen in the light of reason.

Said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), whose district is next to Half Moon Bay, the location of one of the tragedies, Theres no silver bullet, we have to start, of course, by saying these weapons of war dont belong on our streets.

In fact, weapons of war, or assault weapons, are no different from regular rifles, but just look meaner. The differences are cosmetic. A ban on them would mean a ban on all rifles.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed numerous gun-control laws that make California the most restrictive in the nation. One of those laws made illegal the gun used by the killer in Monterey Park, a 9mm MAC-10. It also appears, according to ABC7, the killer was making firearm suppressors (silencers) at home, which also is illegal. But in these days of 3D printing, its easy to do. I wont link to them, but 3D blueprints are online even to make guns.

Yet Newsom attacked Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Californian, Wheres he been on gun safety reform? Wheres the Republican Party been on gun safety reform? Shame on them. Shame on those that allow and perpetuate that to be rewarded politically.

Actually, last year Republicans helped Democrats pass a bipartisan gun bill, the first in three decades. One was Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. That was one reason Wyomings voters ousted her.

Elections Have Consequences

This shows the problem for all those backing new gun controls. In our Democracy, gun rights forces are popular enough they can win enough elections to halt any serious encroachments on the Second Amendment. Democrats found that out the hard way when the passed the 1994 assault weapons ban President Biden keeps boasting about how he pushed into law when he was a senator.

That November, Democrats lost control of both the Senate and the House, partly because gun rights voters organized to put Republicans in office.

Gun rights backers also have spent decades working for Republican presidential candidates, hoping they would put Second Amendment backers on the Supreme Court. That paid off with the 2008 Heller decision, which guaranteed the amendments right personally to keep and bear arms. Then in 2022, the New York Rifle & Pistol Association decision guaranteed the right to carry a gun in public.

If gun controllers are upset, they should blame themselves for backing such presidential candidates as Michael Dukakis in 1998, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016. In our democratic system, voters rejected them in favor of gun rights candidates, respectively, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trumpwho in turn placed on the court such justices as Clarence Thomas in 1991, who wrote last years gun decision.

Guns and Freedom

Perhaps most misleading was the editorial in the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 22 at 4:47 pm, Editorial: Monterey Park shooting is horrific, but all too familiar. That was less than 24 hours after the killings, hardly enough time to gather even the most rudimentary facts.

It opined:

There is no common profile of the killers, but they have one thing in common: They have guns. And in one way or another, we hand them their weapons. The United States is the only society with such a powerful gun lobby.

Yes, and its still the most free society on earth for that very reason. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom also have our inheritance of the rights of Englishmen in English Common Law, yet have given up not only the right to keep and bear arms, but to free speech and assembly. Witness the obscene attack on the trucker protesters in Canada a year ago.

(I have to add this nowadays: By the rights of Englishmen, of course, I mean the rights of any resident of those countries, of any background, and of men and women. I have no English ancestry myself.)

I have a saying: Second Amendment, first freedom. If you cant own a gun to defend your home, then how free are you? That doesnt mean you absolutely must own a gun. Only that you can own one. And of course, a criminal contemplating a home invasion has no idea if you have a gun or not.

In the neighborhood I grew up in Michigan in the 1950s and 1960s, almost every father was a veteran of World War II or the Korean War. All of them owned gunsand knew how to use them. No home invasions.

The Times also is wrong about societies and guns. In Switzerland, every adult male is expected to serve in their Army and keeps at home not just a semi-automatic rifle (one shot at a time), but a fully-automatic rifle and ammunition. Crime is really low there.

The Times again:

That lobby and the manufacturers who profit from the sale of millions of weapons systematically injected right-wing politics with an ideology that equates gun proliferation with liberty, and even modest, common-sense controls with government oppression.

So the Times is against profits? How else would honest, law-abiding people acquire guns but from gun companies? And we all know common-sense controls is the way the Canadians, Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis lost this essential right.

Evil Genius

The Times:

The gun lobbys evil genius is so profound that it has convinced millions of Americans that the only way to defend themselves against all the violence perpetrated by a populace with too many guns is to acquire more guns.

So if you favor gun rights, youre evil. Its rhetoric like this that, whenever Americans read it, leads them precisely to go out and buy guns. They fear the gun-grabbers soon will arrive with a rude knock at the door in the middle of the night, as Solzhenitsyn described secret police raids in the Soviet Union. No wonder more than 400 million guns are owned by Americans. And how, pray tell, does the Times propose to grab all those guns? How many rude knocks on the door will it take?

Finally, however horrible these gun massacres areand they are beyond horriblepsychos bent on killing have other means at their disposal. Just before Christmas 2021, in Waukesha, Wisc., Darrell E. Brooks Jr. maniacally drove an SUV into a parade, killing six people. Last November, he was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

In 2016 in Nice, France, a maniac named Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a 19-ton cargo truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people. Police then killed him.

Should we ban SUVs and cargo trucks?

The Tragic Sense of Life

So what should be done about the gun killings? I think we have more gun laws than are needed. Maybe whats needed is the realization of what Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno called The Tragic Sense Life. That bad things happen to good people. And that reacting rashly to a horrible action can make a bad situation even worse.

Unamuno wrote (full book online here):

This suffering gives hope, which is the beautiful in life, the supreme beauty, or the supreme consolation. And since love is full of suffering, since love is compassion and pity, beauty springs from compassion and is simply the temporal consolation that compassion seeks. A tragic consolation! And the supreme beauty is that of tragedy. The consciousness that everything passes away, that we ourselves pass away, and that everything that is ours and everything that environs us passes away, fills us with anguish, and this anguish itself reveals to us the consolation of that which does not pass away, of the eternal, of the beautiful. And this beauty thus revealed, this perpetuation of momentaneity, only realizes itself practically, only lives through the work of charity. Hope in action is charity, and beauty in action is goodness.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
National Citizens Inquiry Into COVID-19 Names Commissioners

In a file photo, demonstrators march at a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Peterborough, Ont., on April 24, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Fred Thornhill)

The National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) announced Ken Drysdale and Bernard Massie as commissioners at a press conference via Zoom on Jan. 31.

Massie is a former managing director of the National Research Council of Canada. The researcher of human health therapeutics has 185 scientific publications to his name.

I am a family man who had his family life turned upside down with a lot of the measures from governments. So you really wonder whats happening. And was it worth it? Massie said.

Its time to launch the process of reconciliation and healing  that we emerge from this crisis all grown up.  Im here to learn, listen, and to put my scientific rigour to the process.  Its time for benevolence and humility.

Drysdale is forensic engineer with over 41 years of experience, a father of six, and a grandfather of four.

I had to become involved. It was my duty as a citizen, he said.

Drysdale wrote a report at thetruefactsc19.com making the case that governmental responses to the pandemic involved criminal negligence.

The facts presented in The Report support the case that the risk to the public from Covid 19 was and is being criminally exaggerated to terrorize and coerce the public into accepting what we believe are illegal government dictates, he wrote in a commentary for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in August of 2022.

Lives have been destroyed in the process, he said, noting that unsafe medical procedures led to injuries and deaths, while suicide, crime, drug addiction, domestic violence, and other social maladies increased as a result of government pandemic policies.

Peoples lives were disrupted with the closing of schools and businesses that shredded the social fabric of our nation. The closure of churches and other places of social interaction and community, eliminated support systems that were in place to assist Canadians, Drysdale wrote.

According to the NCIs website, the inquiry is a citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative independent of government whose purpose is to listen, to learn, and to recommend. What went right? What went wrong? How can Canadians and our governments better react to national crises in the future in a manner that balances the interests of all members of our society?

Trish Wood has become spokesperson for the inquiry in place of Preston Manning, who was recently appointed to Albertas Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel. Wood worked for 10 years on CBCs Fifth Estate, revealed the stories of Iraq War veterans in What Was Asked of Us, and hosts a podcast.

At the press conference, Wood said she recalled covering Dr. Anthony Fauci and AIDS in the 1980s and that there was more room then to have journalistic scrutiny and scientific dissent.

Please be kind to us. We are all committed to this with integrity and heart. We are all going to do our best to leave our biases at the door, she said.

If you dont have an opinion youre not thinking. Everyone in the country has an opinion, including us.

Wood said the commissioners were chosen after a vetting process by the National Citizens Inquiry legal team. Hearings will be held in person or be supplemented by virtual participation. The first hearings will take place in at Truro, Nova Scotia, March 16 to 18, and move to Montreal March 22 to 24. The hearings will continue to move west until mid-May.

In a press release, the inquiry stated those invited to participate include government officials, economists, health-care experts, constitutional experts, and people with personal stories that will help illuminate any unarticulated and overlooked shortcomings in the government responses.
New Campaign Seeks to Protect Children From Ideology-Driven Gender-Affirming Care

Parents protest outside the Davis Joint Unified School District offices over a talk featuring Rachel Pepper, co-author of The Transgender Child, in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2023. (Courtesy of Our Duty)

The medical advocacy group Do No Harm has announced an initiative seeking to protect minors from the harmful effects of gender-affirming care, warning that children subject to such practices can end up suffering lifelong from medical complications.

Richmond, Virginia-based Do No Harms Protecting Minors from Gender Ideology initiative aims to educate the public and policymakers regarding the disastrous consequences of the unproven and often harmful practice known as gender-affirming care, the group said in a Jan. 26 press release. Gender-affirming care is premised on the idea that children have the ability to know when any discomfort they feel with their body should be dealt with by taking experimental drugs and surgeries that alter their biological gender.

The movement to promote gender-affirming care is profoundly dangerous and driven by ideology rather than evidence, said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, MD, chairman of Do No Harm.

At their core, medical professionals who support these efforts are violating the Hippocratic oath directive to do no harm by ignoring key consequences of this type of care, including the fact that underlying mental health concerns are usually not addressed.

Goldfarb pointed out that gender-affirming care ignores the fact that informed consent for the child can be impossible.

Such practices can lead to physical impairment in children, including the loss of fertility, a decline in brain maturation, and a lack of bone strength. Children undergoing such medical interventions can also suffer from sexual dysfunction, he added.

Harms of Gender-Affirming Care

A study published on Jan. 11 that looked into a gender-affirming surgery called vaginoplasty found that over half of those who submitted to the procedure suffered from pain and required medical attention years after the surgery. Vaginoplasty is a surgical procedure that constructs a vagina.

Common patient-reported symptoms during clinical visit included pain (53.8 percent), dilation concerns (46.3 percent), and surgical site/vaginal bleeding (42.5 percent). Sexual function concerns were also common (33.8 percent) with anorgasmia (11.3 percent) and dyspareunia (11.3 percent) being the most frequent complications, the study said.

Another study looked at the effects of leuprolidethe drug used to suppress puberty. The study, done in 2020, was conducted among mice which are often used as model organisms of biomedical research due to their genetic similarity to human beings.

It found that the use of leuprolide resulted in increased depression among female mice. Among male mice subjected to the drug, higher stress and a loss of interest in females were found.

Democrat Gender Agenda Push

In recent months, Democrats have introduced multiple bills aimed at promoting gender ideologies in the country. On Jan. 17, Florida state Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby filed the Childrens Bill of Rights Act which aims to strip away a parents right to prevent their children from accessing sexually explicit material or gender literature.

In California, Democrat Chris Ward has proposed the Transgender Youth Privacy Act that seeks to allow the sealing of records of children who file petitions to change their gender identities.

In order to counter the rampant gender agenda, Do Not Harm has also developed model legislation called The JUST FACTs Act (The JUSTice for Adolescent and Child Transitioners Act).

The model legislation prohibits the use of cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and surgery to treat any inconsistency between a minors birth sex and perceived sex. It mandates that schools be transparent about such issues and prohibits educational institutions from aiding children in the transitioning process.

The legislation also creates private causes of action for damages for minors who are subjected to this treatment that either violates the legislation or causes harm in the future, according to the press release.
New Era: Australia, France Pledge Deeper Pacific, Military Engagement

(L to R) Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, French Armies Minister Sebastien Lecornu, French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong pose prior their joint meeting at Quai dOrsay in Paris, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Yoan Valat/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian and French leaders have agreed to work towards restoring bilateral relations, agreeing to support Pacific priorities, including climate change while strengthening military cooperation.

Australias Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles met their French counterparts Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna and Armed Forces of France Minister Sebastien Lecornu in Paris on Jan. 31.

Following discussions, the ministers hinted at a renewal of relations, which soured after the cancellation of the $90 billion (US$60 billion) submarine programme with French defence contractor Naval.

Marles said the meeting had been conducted with a high degree of warmth, indicating a new era in French-Australia relations.

There is no more important place for this cooperation to be given expression than in the Pacific, where both France and Australia live, he told reporters.

This is not only in deepening the relationship between our defence forces in the Pacific but working together in deepening our respective relationships with the defence forces of the Pacific Island countries, countries such as Papa New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga.

(L to R) Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna and French Armies Minister Sebastien Lecornu attend a press conference after a joint meeting at Quai dOrsay in Paris, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)

France and Australia have discussed and endorsed initiatives to improve cooperation between their defence forces, building infrastructure, and stepping up joint military exercises.

Training is a real opportunity for France and Australia to work together to build the capability of the defence forces of Pacific Island countries, Marles said.

Wong said that France, a global power and major player in the European Union, was also an Indo-Pacific power.

The ministers highlighted the importance of climate change, according to a joint statement.

Wong also thanked Colonna for Frances support for Australia hosting the Conference of the Parties 31.

Climate change is, as we all know, an existential issue, she said. We want to work with Pacific Island nations to elevate their voices in the international forum on climate change, because they bring to that discussion a very acute and existential understanding of what climate change means.

Commitment to Support Ukraine

The ministers reiterated their condemnation of Russias invasion of Ukraine and announced joint military support to bolster Ukraines defence.

The two countries will be jointly providing 155-millimetre artillery shells.

Several thousand 155 millimetres shells will be manufactured jointly, Armed Forces of France Minister Lecornu said.

The agreement is expected to be a multi-million-dollar project, where Australia will supply the gunpowder.

There are some unique capabilities that exists in Australia, and some synergies that can be achieved by Australia and France working together in relation to the supply of this ammunition, Marles told reporters.

So, theyre actually complementarities between our defence industrial bases which allow this to happen.

Lecornu and Marles did not reveal any further details into the joint production of the ammunitions saying it was to maintain discretion to Ukraine on these strategic functions.

The idea for us is to bring aid that is significant, Lecornu said. And even more so, an effort that is continuous over time because what our Ukrainian friends tell us is that  the Ukrainian army needs regularity, predictability, and reliability in deliveries made.

The moves come after 70 Australian soldiers set off to Britain to join partner nations in conducting military training for Ukrainian troops.

The program, led by the United Kingdom, aims to train up to 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year.

Operation KUDU builds on Australias military support for Ukraine, with the previously gifted Australian-produced Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles proving their worth as highly valuable military vehicles, Marles said.

Australia has been one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine, providing about $655 million in support, including $475 million in military assistance.
Former President Donald Trump filed a $49 million lawsuit on Jan. 30 against journalist Bob Woodward for releasing audio recordings of interviews Trump gave him in 2019 and 2020.

A sixth Memphis officer has been taken off the force after the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols. It comes on the heels of a weekend of protests across the nation and calls for more police reform.

A recent NBC News poll showed that 71 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Over the weekend, Ukraine ramped up talks with its allies over Kyivs request for more long-range missiles and fighter jets. But Germany has rejected the requests. Meanwhile, NATO and the United States are trying to convince new NATO members and some other allies to send arms.
Over 3.2 Million Canadians on Health-Care Waitlists: Government Data

An image of a patients brain is displayed on a monitor screen as she lies in an MRI machine at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on May 1, 2018. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

The latest government data indicates that 3.2 million Canadians are waiting for surgery, a diagnostic scan, or specialist treatment, according to think tank SecondStreet.org.

The latest data also suggests that 41,487 patients have died while on a waiting list since 20182019.

This estimate includes cases where patients died while waiting for surgeries that could have potentially saved their lives. For instance, in 20202021, the Nova Scotia Health Authority noted there were 367 patients who died while waiting for surgery, and of those, 51 died while waiting for a potentially life-saving procedure.

Of the 51 cases, just over three quarters died after waiting longer than the recommended wait time, according to SecondStreet.org.

The non-profit think tank tracks government data on the canadawaits.ca website and uses Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to obtain the information, although data provided by governments is often incomplete.

The true total on the waitlists is conservatively estimated to be 3.8 million with adjustments for the missing data, according to SecondStreet.org.

Most provinces do not have estimates on the number of patients waiting to see a specialist. Further, some dont know how many patients are waiting for diagnostic scans, said a Jan. 30 news release.

Health-care spending has exploded over the past three decades yet waiting lists continue to get worse, said Colin Craig, president of the think tank.

Behind these statistics are countless stories of patients suffering.

Underestimated

Only six provinces report waitlists for specialists, with the largest number of patients waiting in Quebec, at 793,658, followed by Alberta at 175,849. The waitlist for surgeons was lowest in the Northwest Territories at 443, followed by Yukon at 2,602.

Eight provinces could not provide data on how many patients were waiting to see a specialist, and some regions could not provide details on patients waiting for a scan or surgery.

SecondStreet.org said that an investigation into cases of patients dying on waiting lists has suggested that many health authorities in Canada simply dont track this data (including most of Quebec and Newfoundland), and most dont analyze the data they do track.

Ontario has the most patients waiting for surgery, at 206,000, closely followed by Quebec at 160,684. Alberta has 75,483 patients waiting for surgery, with British Columbia at 88,804.

Breaking down the total of 3.2 million on the three waitlists, 645,070 total Canadians are waiting for surgery, while 1,105,287 are waiting for a consultation with a specialist, and 1,533,624 are waiting for diagnostic procedures.

SecondStreet.org notes that a Jan. 16 Ontario government news release put the total surgical waitlist numbers at 206,000. However, it stated it received a FOI request response from Ontario Health indicating the list was at 220,349 as of Dec. 1, 2022.

Alberta had a significant drop in the number of patients waiting for a diagnostic scan since the last reporting period, falling from 108,782 in May 2022 to 93,737 in December. However, in terms of surgeries, Alberta had a very slight increase, going from 75,274 patients on the waitlist to 75,483.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan also saw relatively minor changes in their waitlists, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported that the number of patients waiting for diagnostic scans rose from 51,656 to 74,984.
Pakistani Taliban Denies Involvement in Mosque Bombing That Killed 95 People

Security officials and rescue workers search for bodies at the site of a suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Zubair Khan/AP Photo)

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, denied any involvement in the Jan. 30 suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, which killed at least 95 people.

This came after TTP commander Sarbakaf Mohmand claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing in a Twitter post on Monday. Mohmand said that it was a revenge attack for the death of the groups top commander, Omar Khalid Khorasani, in Afghanistan last year.

The militant group later denied being involved in the bombing, claiming it was against its policy to target mosques or other religious sites. TTP said that those who engaged in such acts could face punitive action under its policy.

The TTPs denial also came after the Afghan Foreign Ministry condemned attacks on worshipers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Pakistans authorities said that a suicide bomber detonated himself in the mosque during noon prayers on Jan. 30, ripping through the mosque and causing the roof to collapse on top of worshipers.

At least 221 people were wounded. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on social media that the sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable and described terrorism as the foremost national security challenge for Pakistan.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

Worshipers at a mosque in Peshawar endured a horrific attack today, which killed and injured many. Terrorism for any reason at any place is indefensible, Blinken stated on Twitter.

Security Lapse

Pakistans inspector-general Moazzam Jah Ansari said Tuesday that the attacker used 10 to 12 kilograms of explosives for the bombing. Ansari blamed a security lapse and said that an investigation had been launched.

We are checking one-months CCTV footage and tracking the facilitators of the bomber, he was quoted as saying by local media Geo News.

Police believe the attacker may have posed as a guest to gain entry. The building is located inside a highly fortified compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department.

The attack was the citys worst since March of last year, when a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque during Friday prayers killed at least 58 people and injured nearly 200. ISIS terrorist group extremists claimed responsibility for that bombing.

Peshawarwhich sits at the edge of Pakistans tribal districts bordering Afghanistanis frequently targeted by terrorist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistani Taliban

The Pakistani Taliban is an umbrella of Sunni and sectarian Islamist groups that want to overthrow the government and replace it with their own brand of Islamic governance.

Angered by Pakistans cooperation with Washington in the fight against terrorism, the TTP was officially set up by Pakistani militants in 2007 when different outlawed groups agreed to work together against Pakistan and support the Afghan Taliban, which was fighting U.S. and NATO forces.

The TTP seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody, and a reduction in Pakistani military presence in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province bordering Afghanistan that it has long used as a base.

The TTP has stepped up attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police since November, when it unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the government after the failure of months of talks hosted by Afghanistans Taliban rulers in Kabul. The TTP has repeatedly warned police not to take part in operations against its fighters in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pennsylvania Report Recommends 5 Changes to Election Code

Election Law Advisory Board addresses 'grey areas' surrounding mail-in voting

Pennsylvanias Election Law Advisory Board has released an interim report making five recommendations for how the legislature can address grey areas in the state election code as it relates to mail-in voting.

In 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 77, changing some of the rules in the states Election Code. Then in 2020, shortly before the presidential election, the code was amended to provide for temporary, emergency election procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, a flurry of lawsuits surrounding mail-in voting has raised questions about Pennsylvanias election process.

The Election Law Advisory Board operates under the Joint Pennsylvania Government Commission, a non-partisan, bicameral research and policy development agency for the General Assembly.

Membership on the Election Law Advisory Board includes House and Senate leadership, the Secretary of the Commonwealth or their designees, and 18 individuals appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. No more than half the appointees may be registered with the same political party.

The January report stressed that although the board came to a consensus, it was not necessarily a unanimous agreement. There was much debate surrounding some provisions.

The boards recommendations concerned mail-in voting lists, deadlines, secrecy envelopes, date requirements, and drop boxes.

Permanent Mailing Lists

The report suggested changing the term permanent mail-in voting list to annual mail-in voting list. One of Pennsylvanias newer laws allows voters to request placement on a permanent mailing list to receive absentee and mail-in ballots. Each election, counties must send a ballot application to voters on this list. The voter fills out the application and mails it back to the county, which then sends the voter absentee or mail-in ballots for that years election cycle.

Some voters did not understand that permanent did not mean they would receive a ballot automatically each year. Once on the permanent list, these voters receive an application for an absentee or mail-in ballot annually, but must still fill out that application and return it.

It is believed this confusion has led some voters to not apply for absentee and mail-in ballots in a timely manner, potentially disenfranchising them, the report said. Using the name annual mail-in voting list more accurately reflects the process.

Deadline to Apply for a Mail-in Ballot

Currently, the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail is one week before election day. This is not enough time for counties to process the volume of last-minute applications received, the report said. And seven days cuts it close for the U.S. Postal Service to move a ballot from the county to a voter, and for the voter to send a completed ballot back to the county by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The board recommends changing the deadline for requesting ballots to 1215 days prior to election day. The board researched other states and found that 12 days is the deadline in most states.

However, the board said the deadline to apply in person for a mail-in or absentee ballot should remain the current seven days, as less mail time is needed.

Secrecy Envelopes

Mail-in ballots should come with provided secrecy envelopes, the report says, but using that envelope should be optional for voters. Failure to use the envelope should not be a reason to disqualify a ballot from being counted.

Pennsylvanias current election code requires counties to provide two envelopes for each mail-in ballot, sized so that one fits within the other. The smaller envelope is the secrecy envelope and must be stamped Official Election Ballot. The larger envelope must have the name, date, and address of the county board of election and the voters signature.

The larger envelope must be printed with the address of the county board of elections, as well as the form of the declaration of the elector, to be signed and dated by the voter.

The report noted that in the case of Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Boockvar, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a ballot must be placed inside the secrecy envelope for the ballot to be considered valid.

One drawback of requiring a secrecy envelope is that some ballots will inexorably be voided due to some voters failing to put their ballot in the secrecy envelope, the report said. This disenfranchisement for what amounts to a technical error should be remedied.

Requirement To Date the Ballot

The date, written by a voter, on the outer envelope of a mail-in ballot has become a highly litigated matter in recent elections. In many cases, the outer envelope did not have the required date or any date at all. Some Pennsylvania counties pulled those ballots out of the counting process. The issue amounted to whether a vote should count if a voter did not follow directions.

The report recommended that the requirement to date the mail-in or absentee ballot be clarified: first, to indicate that the correct date should be the date the ballot was signed, and second, that failure to provide a date should not disqualify the ballot if all other requirements, including the signature of the voter, have been fulfilled.

Drop Boxes

While Pennsylvania has no statute or regulation governing drop boxes, the guidance issued by the Secretary of State for the November 2020 presidential election remains in place. The board explored policy considerations surrounding drop boxes.

Among the issues the report considered was drop box hours of operation, for instance, whether drop boxes should be open around the clock, or only during waking hours.

Another major issue was drop box security, including prevention of box tampering or voter intimidation at the drop box.

An additional issue was ballot collection. The 2020 recommendation was to have a bipartisan team of two people collect ballots from drop boxes. However, in areas heavily dominated by one party, this could be challenging.

The report also looked at drop box numbers, noting that counties in some states set a minimum or maximum number of boxes.

It called for flexibility, leaving counties with the discretion to decide whether to provide drop boxes at all.

If drop boxes are to be permitted, then the security of the drop boxes will be of paramount importance. The design of the drop box itself is one aspect affecting security, the report said.

Drop box security also includes a monitoring component, which can be a video surveillance system or a physical presence by county election office workers or law enforcement.

Rules for collecting ballots from drop boxes should be uniform, the report stressed, and include record-keeping and chain of custody safeguards.

Other Issues and Next steps

Other mail-in ballot issues noted by the report included defining who may drop off a ballot.

Some states have experienced significant problems with individuals or groups that have collected or gathered ballots of other persons and returned them en mass to the local elections office, the report says. This practice raises concerns about tampering with ballots, obtaining multiple ballots and voting multiple times. While this has not appeared to be a major occurrence in Pennsylvania, there have been instances where individuals return ballots for their family members along with their own ballots to drop boxes, which is prohibited by Pennsylvania law.

The issue could use legislative clarification, the report said.

Another issue raised was postage for mail-in ballots. In the 2020 election, the Pennsylvania Department of State paid for postage on return ballots from voters. But in 2021, voters had to supply their own stamps.

Requiring the counties to bear the cost of return postage is an unfunded mandate, the report said. Most counties, and especially smaller counties will smaller budgets, may not be able to afford another statutory mandate to spend money without the Commonwealth also providing funding. Even if the Commonwealth pays for the postage, it is an unfunded mandate to the counties to prepare the return envelopes (by stamping or affixing the postage).

The report noted that those who vote in person must bear the cost of gas and possibly time off work to vote. Providing stamps for those who vote from home can create an inequity, the report observed.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly would have to debate these recommendations before making changes to the states election code.
Pfizer Rakes in Billions on COVID-19 Vaccine Sales, Highest Revenue in Companys History

A vial labeled Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine is seen in this photo taken on Jan. 16, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Vaccine maker Pfizer has reported record revenues for 2022, with its COVID-19 products accounting for a large chunk of the sales even as the company is facing backlash for claiming to mutate viruses, and a growing number of doctors are turning away from boosters.

Full-year revenues for 2022 came in at $100.3 billion, which is an all-time high for the multinational corporation, according to the earnings release by Pfizer on Jan. 31. This is the first time the company has seen annual sales in excess of $100 billion, with revenues reflecting 30 percent operational growth. Excluding contributions from COVID-19 products, Comirnaty vaccine and Paxlovid antiviral, revenues only grew by 2 percent operationally. The two products combined generated over $56 billion in sales for the company.

The year 2022 was a record-breaking year for Pfizer, not only in terms of revenue and earnings per share, which were the highest in our long history, said Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer.

As we turn to 2023, we expect to once again set records, with potentially the largest number of new product and indication launches that weve ever had in such a short period of time.

Sales of Comirnaty and Paxlovid are expected to hit their lowest levels in 2023 before getting back to growth next year due to significant government supply on hand at the beginning of this year, the company said.

Pfizer calculates Comirnaty sales to decline by 64 percent, to $13.5 billion this year, and Paxlovid sales to drop 58 percent, to $8 billion.

Mutating Virus, Quadrupling Vaccine Price

Pfizers results come as the company is under scrutiny following an investigative report which revealed that the firm is considering mutating the COVID-19 virus for developing new vaccines against it.

One of the things were exploring is like, why dont we just mutate it ourselves so we could createpreemptively develop new vaccines, right? Dr. Jordon Walker, a director of research and development at Pfizer, told an undercover reporter for Project Veritas.

If were going to do that, though, theres a risk of like, as you could imagineno one wants to be having a pharmaceutical company mutating [expletive] viruses. Walker insisted that COVID-19 is going to be a cash cow for us for a while going forward.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has called on Congress to investigate the COVID-19 vaccine-approval process. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Bourla asking for more information about Pfizers efforts to mutate the COVID-19 virus.

Meanwhile, Pfizer is expected to start selling the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine through commercial channels in the United States from the second half of this year, moving away from its earlier practice of selling to the government. The firm intends to raise the price of the vaccine by around four times sometime in 2023.

Lack of Vaccine Data, European Parliament Ban

While Pfizer is pushing for greater use of COVID-19 vaccines, a growing number of doctors are deciding against getting the booster jabs owing to a lack of clinical trial evidence.

I have taken my last COVID vaccine without RCT level evidence, Dr. Todd Lee, an infectious disease expert at McGill University, recently wrote on Twitter. He was pointing to a lack of randomized clinical trials (RCT) for the booster vaccines.

Pay close attention to note this isnt anti-vaccine sentiment. This is provide [hard] evidence of benefit to justify ongoing use which is very different. It is only fair for a $30 billion a year product given to hundreds of millions, Lee, who has received three vaccine doses, stated.

Meanwhile, Pfizer officials are facing a potential ban from the European Parliament due to the companys lack of transparency regarding COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreements during the pandemic.

On Jan. 11, the European Parliaments committee on COVID approved the ban proposal. All political groups voted for the ban except for two parties.
Power Substation Attacks Raise Authorities Awareness of Need for Tighter Security Around Key Infrastructure

An unmanned power substation in Arizona is protected by a chain link fence and barbed wire on Jan. 18, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

BOULDER CITY, NevadaDuring World War II, America feared surprise enemy attacks on its electrical power grid plunging the nation into darkness.

The military considered Nevadas Hoover Dam potentially vulnerable as a supplier of hydroelectric energy for the defense industry.

To prevent direct attacks or sabotage, the dam, built in the 1930s, came with a hardened machine gun nest manned around the clock.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), which has jurisdiction over the dam, described the pillbox as 24 feet long, made of steel and concrete, with six gun ports.

Built in the 1930s, the Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nev., supplies hydroelectric energy to 1.3 million people in three western states on Jan. 19, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

At least one soldier was always inside the nest while riflemen watched the dam from the nearby rocks.

They didnt find anybody trying to damage the dam [during the war], but they did apprehend a couple of Nazis who were trying to come up the river in Mexico, a USBR tour guide told Hoover Dam visitors on Jan. 19.

Before entering Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nevada, members of the public first have to go through a security checkpoint and declare that no firearms or drones are inside the vehicle.

They are very serious about security all over this placebetween the scans, the cameraseverything. Thats all pretty much since 9/11, the staff member told The Epoch Times.

I havent heard of anything [threatening since then], which is just how I like it.

In light of recent power substation attacks in four states, federal and state officials view protecting the nations energy grid with greater urgency.

The Hoover Dams enormous turbines produce electricity for 1.3 million people in three western states on Jan. 19, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

The attacks occurred in North Carolina and South Carolina, with six reported intrusions at Duke Energy substations in Florida in September 2022.

Washington state reported 15 physical attacks on power substations last year.

In some cases, the culprits used firearms.

On Jan. 3, police arrested a man in Boulder City after he doused his car with gasoline, lit it on fire, and then sent it crashing through an MGM solar farm outside of Las Vegas.

The solar array provides electricity for 13 casinos. Mohammed Mesmarian, 34, allegedly told authorities that he did it for the future.

Also in January, federal investigators charged Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, with conspiring to attack power substations in Washington state in December 2022.

The water level at Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nev., remained at a historic low on Jan. 19, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

The duo allegedly had planned to cut the power to a pair of substations and, under the cover of darkness, break into a local business and steal money from the register on Christmas Day 2022.

The damage left thousands across Pierce County without power and racked up an estimated $3 million in repair costs.

We are aware of these incidents, and we continue to be vigilant in executing our security protocols at hydroelectric power facilities, USBR public affairs officer Michelle Helms told The Epoch Times.

However, attacks against the nations power grid are nothing new, even though the motives are sometimes unclear.

A recent George Washington University study titled Mayhem, Murder, and Misdirection: Violent Extremist Attack Plots Against Critical Infrastructure in the United States, 20162022 largely blamed white supremacism for conspiracies during that timeframe.

The rise of accelerationist ideology and doctrine during the past decade likely fueled the increased risk of attack plots within white supremacist milieus targeting critical infrastructure, and the energy sector in particular, the report reads.

Since 2019, white supremacist attack plots against critical infrastructure systems have distinctly increased.

The Hoover Dam supplies water to Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California, where oil drilling on Jan. 19, 2023, contributes to the states economy. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

One notable example of a targeted power infrastructure attack in 2013 was the Metcalf sniper incident at a Pacific Gas and Electric power substation in Coyote, California.

They did quite a bit of damage to the substation equipment, said James Kirtley, professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fortunately, there was enough redundancy in the system that they didnt lose any customers.

I dont understand the motives of some people. People tend to oppose almost all infrastructure projectsas if they didnt use electricity themselves. I dont know anybody who doesnt use electricity. Its hard to know who might be motivated to attack a substation.

Kristi Doubledee (L) and Chad Sealock of Ohio said they were concerned about the rash of power substation attacks across the country as they toured Hoover Dam in Boulder City, Nev., on Jan. 19, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Utility companies often complain about hunters using power substation parts for target practice, causing significant damage, he said.

If you know what youre doing, you can cause terminal damage to a transformer, Kirtley told The Epoch Times. Transformers are big and quite costlymillions of dollars. Theyre hard to replace because they tend to be custom, specialized designs. It can take a couple of years to make one.

According to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report, of the 55,000 power substations in the United States, 30 play a critical role in the nations energy grid.

Kirtley said that one way to protect power substations is to install bullet-proof armor. Another is to place visual barriers to deter vandals or terrorists.

However, its not necessarily someone trying to destroy the power system or interrupt service. I think people who do this type of thing arent thinking very hard, he said.

Midwest Energy, a power company in Hays, Kansas, stated that it had taken steps to improve substation security.

Over several years, weve upgraded security measures at many of our substations and are looking at industry best practices to plan further improvements, Vice President for Engineering and Energy Supply Bill Dowling told The Epoch Times.

Local law enforcement is more aware of the issue, and weve encouraged the public and our contractors that if they see anything suspicious around our facilities, to report it.

The Colorado River supplies millions of gallons of water each day to drive the hydroelectric turbines at Hoover Dam on Jan. 16, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Lastly, federal legislation raising the penalties for substation attacks helps raise the issues profile.

TotalShield, the maker of high-impact force protection products, said there are challenges associated with protecting a power substation, given their remote locations.

Most substations have only a chain-link fence for protection and are vulnerable to gunfire, TotalShield stated on its website.

Moreover, the footprint of some power substations is significant. Installing ballistic-resistant barriers around the entire perimeter would be costly.

TotalShield recommends focusing instead on deterrence, delaying an attacker and minimizing damage to critical elements while maximizing repairability.

Severe Consequences

Measures would include visible warning signs of the consequences of an attack on a substation, security cameras, alarms, electronic monitors, perimeter fencing, and climbing deterrents.

By any measure, an attack against the power grid could have severe consequences in areas that rely on a steady supply of energy, such as hospitals and clinics.

YouTube podcaster Matt Magic Prepper in North Dakota said the key for everyday people is to prepare for such events.

I think the way I would approach this might seem counterintuitive. The most obvious thing to do would be to tell people to have a generator of some kindgas, solarand a way to keep it fueled, Matt said.

However, I would suggest they take an inventory of what they would be without and prepare accordingly.

Most people living in urban and suburban areas rely on city water systems for their hydration needs. If the grid goes down, the pumps go down with it, and the water no longer runs.

He said that having a generator would be less beneficial than having a reasonable amount of water storage.

Critical Infrastructure

Even though you might personally have access to power, that will not allow the water pumps at the treatment center to start functioning, thus providing running water once again, Matt told The Epoch Times.

If you rely on an electric heat source and the power shuts off, how will you stay warm? Wood stoves and propane heating units work well and are far less expensive than acquiring a generator with enough power to run an electric furnace for long periods.

The Hoover Dam is a critical infrastructure that supplies energy for Nevada, Southern California, and Arizona, the loss of which could be far-reaching and serious.

Standing 726 feet high, the dam operates with 17 enormous hydroelectric turbines capable of producing 2,080 megawatts of power to serve 1.3 million people.

We live close to a substation in Ohio. That is concerning, Chad Sealock of Ohio told The Epoch Times regarding the substation attacks during a recent tour of Hoover Dam with Kristi Doubledee.

The whole world relies on electricity. In many ways, it feels like Hollywood in the news.

The world is so small, and many people would never get these ideas if they hadnt seen it, or heard it, or watched it in a movie.
Professor at Fordham University Shares His Understanding After Reading Article by Founder of Falun Gong

On the eve of Chinese New Year, Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, published an article titled How Humankind Came To Be. Mr. Li said he disclosed heavenly secrets in this article, which are meant to provide a true picture of affairs, and to give people another chance at salvation.

After reading the article, William Baumgarth, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University in New York City, said he feels that the only viable path for a good person to get through a difficult time is to enhance virtue and become a better person.

The sections dealing with the beginnings and cycles of creation reminded me of themes prevalent in classical Greek (and Roman) philosophy: Plato, particularly in his Timaeus, but also the Stoics, in their cosmologies of universal development and, finally, conflagration and rebirth. I find these theories creative, thoughtful, but not intellectually compelling, Baumgarth told The Epoch Times on Jan. 27.

Much more compelling is Li Hongzhis explanation on why we are placed presently in such a bad realm of the universe. It is slightly reminiscent of Platos Myth of Er at the end of his Republic. Li Hongzhi brings out the importance of growing knowledge, enhanced virtue, and the acceptance of what we all have been thrown into, and the conditions of our time do seem to indicate some imminent destruction. Virtue and acceptance may well be our only viable path, he continued.

A Ph.D. from Harvard University, Baumgarth is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and is currently serving as associate chair for administration in the Department of Economics. He formerly served as chair of the Political Science Department, interim chair of the Classics Department, president of the Faculty Senate, chair of the University Tenure Review Committee, chair of the Fordham Middle States Review process, and director of the Rose Hill Honors Program. He teaches in the areas of Classical, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary Political Philosophy.

Baumgarth said the first thing he learned from the article is that life has meaning, and secondly, the meaning of ones own life is a result of decisions that he or she has made.

Bad decisions lead to bad circumstances, and that you, instead of getting angry or getting dejected or depressed, you should accept whats happened and move forward, he noted.

Baumgarth believes that Mr. Li knows a lot about the world and about human beings. I think when he comes to human beings, I think the message he gives in the first place is dont be negative about where you are  Secondly, acquire virtue, acquire character traits and morality. The only way that good people are going to get through this is by becoming better people. That is the situation that he sees us in, which is one of degeneration. Maybe we are on the edge of destruction, [but I am] not clear how close we are to that, he said.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was introduced to the public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. The spiritual practice is based on the guiding principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, which teaches practitioners to be good people and strive to become better until they can return to their true natures.

The Chinese Communist Party began a full-scale persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. In the past 20-plus years, Falun Gong practitioners all over the world have been resisting the persecution, and at the same time, the practice has spread all over the world. Today, Falun Gong is practiced in over 100 countries around the globe.
Floyd Gibbons (18871939) loved to write about his experiences because his experiences were often exhilarating. Growing up at the turn of the 20th century, Gibbons was born at the perfect time for great adventures. In a way, he hastened the approach of his adventures when he was expelled from Georgetown University.

Failing to obtain his law degree, he began his career as a newspaperman. In 1907, he joined the Minneapolis Daily News to cover the police beat report. After he was fired from that position, he joined the Milwaukee Free Press and then the Minnesota Tribune.

He quickly proved he would do most anything to get his hands on a good story and be the first to tell it. In 1910, he was arrested for cutting a competitors telegraph wire in order to keep them from covering a story before he did. He once slipped into a mans house who was having a shootout with officers, just so he could interview him.

In 1912, he joined the heralded Chicago Tribune. Within a few years, he had made a name for himself, especially when he joined Mexican Revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1915 at the time he was being hunted by the U.S. Army.

In March of 1916, he incidentally became a war correspondent when he reported that Pancho Villa had invaded Columbus, New Mexico. He joined Gen. John J. Pershings army the following year in what became known as the Mexico Expedition. The expedition ended Feb. 7, 1917.

Ten days later, he was on the Cunard ocean liner SS Laconia to be the Tribunes London correspondent. On Feb. 25, the ship was hit by a German torpedo off the Irish coast. It was a stupendous way to wet his proverbial feet covering the war in Europe.

The Laconia had 292 people on board, 75 of whom were passengers. Twelve people were killed and two were American citizens. Gibbons was able to get on a lifeboat, which floated at sea for six hours until it was picked up by a British minesweeper.

Floyd Gibbons was aboard the SS Laconia when it was sunk in 1917. (Public Domain)

According to Gibbons, he began writing his 4,000 word telegram correspondence for the Chicago paper within thirty minutes after stepping on the dock here in Queenstown.

The story was a sensation in the States. America had been inching toward war, especially after the Germans resumed their unrestricted submarine warfare. The loss of two American lives and the emotionally laden reporting by Gibbons helped nudge the country closer to declaring war. It would do so less than two months later.

Since Gibbons was already in Europe and had nearly been killed by the Germans, it only made sense to have him cover the war. In June of 1918, the Americans were fully engaged in the war. In one of the more famous battles in American history, Gibbons had an even closer shave with death than the Laconia sinking.

Floyd Gibbons wrote about his eye-witness account of the sinking of the Laconia, which made top news in 1917. (Public Domain)

During the Battle of Belleau Wood, Gibbons and Lt. Oscar Hartzel of the Intelligence Division wanted to join the Fifth Marine Corps. They were warned by Maj. Benjamin S. Berry, the battalion commander, that the area was hotter than hell and they should head back to safety. Gibbons being Gibbons preferred to stay, as did Hartzel.

When the company advanced, a German machine gun nest opened up. Berrys hand was shot off. He remained standing, possibly in shock. Gibbons and Hartzel had immediately dropped to the ground. The reporter yelled for Berry to get on the ground.

In Gibbons biography, Floyd Gibbons  Your Headline Hunter, the harrowing story is described as follows:

Trying to hide his movement from the German machine-gunners, Floyd crawled along, his left cheek hugging the ground and his helmut pushed over the right, partly covering his face on that side. Floyd had gotten but a few feet when a bullet hit him in the left arm, just above the elbow, going in one side and out the other. He continued to push himself forward. A few moments later another bullet hit him in the left shoulder blade, still he inched on. Another five feet along, a third bullet hit him, it ricocheted off a rock in the ground, and with an upward course ripped out his left eye, continued on, making a compound fracture of the skull, and finally coming out on the right side of his helmet where it blew a hole three inches long.

A miracle of miracles, Gibbons lived. In fact, he never lost consciousness. He had to wait three hours for nightfall in order to move again. Hartzel helped him escape the battle zone, and by another miracle he made it to a field hospital before bleeding out.

Floyd Gibbons quickly proved he would do most anything to get his hands on a good story and be the first to tell it. (Pictorial Parade/Getty Images)

Gibbons would live to see the war come to an end. He would venture back to the war zone to cover the invasion of Ethiopia in 1932 by Mussolinis Italian Army.

In 1939, he was planning to leave America to go back to Europe and cover the outbreak of World War II only to be stopped by a fatal heart attack.
Protesters Concerned About Chinese Interference Gather Outside Organization Following Reported RCMP Probe

A group of protesters concerned about foreign interference on Jan. 27 gathered outside a B.C. organization that according to reports was recently visited by RCMP national security officers.

The Wenzhou Friendship Society (WFS), which often takes positions aligned with Beijing, was on Dec. 10 subject to a visit by the RCMP, according to multiple reports. The RCMP hasnt directly confirmed the operation, but when asked for comments on it, has cited its ongoing effort to investigate unofficial Chinese overseas police stations, according to CBC and Global News.

Wenzhou is a city in Chinas southeastern province of Zhejiang. According to the WFS website, the society is a hometown association for Chinese people from Wenzhou and refers to itself as the Canada Wenzhou Friendship Society. It is a charity registered in Canada under the name Wen Zhou Friendship Society.

The Jan. 27 protest, held outside the WFS building in Richmond, B.C., a city just south of Vancouver, was organized by the HK Defense Initiative, which described the event as a protest against the secret Chinese police stations found across Canada in recent news events.

Agents of foreign governments have been exposed enforcing the laws of their own jurisdictions upon residents of Canada. This is often in direct conflict with the laws enacted by elected representatives of the Canadian people, and with constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, the group wrote in a Facebook notice of the protest.

Most notable among the offenders is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which sets up illegal overseas police service stations to conduct operations against overseas Chinese people. They also target minorities of ethnicities living within CCP territory.

The headquarters of the Wen Zhou Friendship Society in Richmond, B.C., is seen on Jan. 27, 2023. A group of local residents concerned about the organizations alleged ties to Beijing gathered outside the building in protest that day. (Screenshot/Melodie Von)

Some protesters were seen waving Canadian flags and chanting in Cantonese Heaven will destroy the CCP.

While the protesters said they dont have evidence showing that the WFS is one of the alleged secret Chinese police outposts, some said they have seen media reports about the organization taking positions aligned with Beijing, and that it raises concerns of CCP interference.

Reports of dozens of these so-called police service stations, also known as 110 Overseas, named after the emergency police phone line, 110, in China, emerged after a study was published last September by Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders. The study examined what the NGO described as the communist regimes transnational repression and long-arm policing around the world.

Based on open-source information including reports by various local state-run media outlets in China, the NGO identified 54 outposts being operated in dozens of countries by two local-level police bureaus in China, Qingtian County in Zhejiang Province and Fuzhou City in Fujian Province, both southeastern Chinese coastal provinces. Three outposts listed under the Fuzhou police bureaus jurisdiction are in the Greater Toronto Area.

An update report published December 2022 further identified Wenzhou, Zhejiang, alongside Nantong City in Jiangsu Province, as two other local-level police jurisdictions in southeastern China also operating overseas police stations. This brings the total of such stations to 102 reportedly operating in 53 countries. The Safeguard Defenders report said one of those newly identified stations is believed to be in Vancouver, B.C., but didnt provide any other details.

According to the NGO, some of the stations have reportedly engaged in intimidating and coercing overseas Chinese who are suspected of crime to return to China, but they have also targeted dissidents. The Chinese authorities have denied that the stations are involved in police activities, saying that they are used to provide administrative services to overseas Chinese, such as renewing drivers licences.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Wen Zhou Friendship Society for comment but the group didnt respond.

RCMP Investigations

RCMP national security officers visited the WFS building at 4266 Hazelbridge Way in Richmond in December, according to Global News. Integrated National Security Enforcement Team members, who work to track, investigate, and prevent any potential national security criminal threats to Canada, conducted interviews at the society as well as in the surrounding neighbourhood, the news outlet reported.

Hua Wei Su, identified as a director of the WFS, confirmed at the time that the police were at the groups clubhouse but said he didnt know why, Global News reported. He also told the outlet that the society was not affiliated with the so-called overseas Chinese police service stations operating in Canada.

Andrew Wagner of the HK Defense Initiative said he finds the WFS suspicious and the RCMP investigation unsurprising.

All the people I know in the Hong Kong community,  they always suspected this building, he told NTD, a sister media of The Epoch Times. They are always [saying] This is a shady building. Theres something happening in there. And so when it suddenly got raided again by RCMP, everyone was like, We knew it.'

Wagner noted that the WFS has voiced support for Beijing and the ruling CCP.

A May 2021 article posted on the societys website, whose Chinese-language headline reads, The Party calls, overseas Chinese respond, describes one of its executive vice-presidents attending an event in China marking the centenary of the founding of the CCP.

The friendship society had also previously been investigated by police for an alleged vote-buying scheme during the 2018 municipal elections, according to the Breaker News. This occurred after the Richmond RCMP became aware that the group had reportedly sent out messages via the WeChat social media platform offering a $20 transportation subsidy to Chinese-Canadians as incentive for voting for certain political candidates of Chinese descent.

Wagner said the alleged overseas Chinese police stations, if the reports are proven to be true, are operating in a grey area under Canadian law.

Canadian authorities have released statements lately claiming that they feel they lack legal tools [and] they dont know what kind of crime this is like. If I go and say, Hey, you shouldnt say that or something might happen to your family back home [in China],  is that a threat? How do they interpret that, legally speaking? They dont really know how, Wagner said.

Fear of Retribution

Wagner, an entrepreneur in the cryptocurrency industry whose colleagues include people from Hong Kong, said some of those individuals did not participate in the protest for fear that it would cost them their jobs or cause problems for their businesses.

Wagner said one of them declined to attend the protest due to having a business partner in Shenzhen, a major city in Chinas southeastern Guangdong Province located immediately north of Hong Kong.

I got the feeling that a lot of people were nervous to host an event here.  It seems like people were nervous to protest here, he said. There shouldnt be a specific place thats off limits to freedom of assembly or speech in Canada, regardless of who, what that place allegedly does, or who allegedly operates that place.

David Chen, one of the attendees at the protest, said Canadian officials such as those at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have previously warned about foreign influence operations in Canada by countries like China.

[In a] sovereign Canadian country, why shouldnt we prevent the communist Chinese from interfering with all of our politics? he said.

People come here to become free. They came here to be safe. They came here to be educated and to actually have the chance to make it. And to have an extension of what we know is a very brutal Chinese Communist Party to reach out here, thats a bit of a problem.

NTD Television contributed to this report.
RCMP Sinclair Contracts: Minister Doesnt Commit to Stop Hiring China-Linked Company

After the RCMP suspended its contract with Sinclair Technologies Inc., a China-linked company whose parent firm is facing espionage-related charges in the United States, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino wouldnt say on Jan. 30 whether the federal government will stop hiring the company in the future.

The parent company of Sinclair Technologies, Norsat International Inc., was acquired in 2017 by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera. The Chinese Communist Party holds 10 percent of Hytera through an investment entity.

The RCMP came under fire after Radio-Canada reported last December that it had contracted Sinclair to purchase radio frequency filtering equipment for the force. The contract, with a total value of $549,637, was issued on Oct. 6, 2021, for a period of three years until March 31, 2024. That contract was suspended on Dec. 9, 2022.

Mendicino defended the RCMPs procurement of the Sinclair radio filtering equipment while testifying before the House industry committee on Jan. 30. He described the equipment as unpowered assemblies of tin cans, metal rods, and cables that [do] not have the technical capability to access RCMP radio communications.

The radio frequency filtration equipment procured from Sinclair Technologies poses no security concerns given its specific function, he said. There is no reason to believe Canadas national security was under threat at any time during this process.

Previously, however, the minister announced a department-wide review of similar contracts on Dec. 19, 2022, after news emerged that, like the RCMP, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) had been using radios made by Hytera Communications for the past five and a half years. Both the RCMP and CBSA fall under Mendicinos portfolio.

Mendicino also wouldnt say if the government will ban future contracts with the Chinese company.

Youve now said youre going to put out a directive, but does that mean that directive says that in the future, [the government] wont be dealing with Sinclair, Hytera, and Norsat, or will you be dealing with them in the future? asked Conservative MP Rick Perkins, who introduced a motion on Dec. 12, 2022, to have Mendicino testify at the House industry committee.

The RCMP assiduously applied the applicable policies and protocols in the case of the procurement involving radio technology filtration and the like from Sinclair, and that is an assurance that I provide to you and to all members of this committee, Mendicino said in response.

I have instructed my portfolio to apply with the strictest of standards all protocols as it relates to national security so that we can be sure as we purchase equipment, technology, and services, that it is done in a way to preserve and protect the integrity of our public safety-related critical infrastructure.

Hyteras subsidiaries will be banned in the future. Thats what youre saying? Perkins continued to ask.

We will continue to apply those protocols with the strictest of standard of rigour, Mendicino said.

NDP MP Alistair Macgregor also pressed the minister on whether the suspended contract for Sinclair will be reinstated if his departmental review finds nothing wrong.

With regards to the future, I will say that the RCMP and all of the agencies in my portfolio are continuing to evaluate very, very carefully any threats, any risks that may apply. So when we have more to say about that, Mr. McGregor, we will be sure to let you and others know, Mendicino said.

Unaware of US Espionage Charges

Hytera is currently facing 21 charges related to espionage in the United States for allegedly stealing trade secrets from Illinois-based Motorola Solutions Inc. In 2022, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blacklisted the company, saying it poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.

Samantha Hazen, chief financial officer for the RCMP, told MPs at the industry committee that she was personally unaware of the charges against Hytera for alleged conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets.

Whether a supplier is ineligible to do business with the Government of Canada is determined by PSPC [Public Services and Procurement Canada] through their integrity regime. In this case, PSPC determined that there were no ethical concerns with awarding Sinclair Technologies the standing offer, she said in response to a question from Conservative MP Brad Vis.

So you were aware of the 21 charges against that company when the contract was awarded, yes? Vis asked.

I personally was not aware, Hazen said.

Vis subsequently introduced a motion requesting all documents related to the contract awarded to Sinclair Technologies, from the RCMP and the minister of public safety, be provided to the members of the House industry committee for review. The motion was passed.

Bryan Larkin, deputy commissioner for RCMP, was also asked whether he had knowledge of the charges laid against Sinclair in the United States. Without answering directly, he said that it is an interesting concern that calls for due diligence review in the internal audit.

Larkin told the MPs that the Sinclair equipment was designed, manufactured, and purchased from the company located in Aurora, Ontario, and was installed by RCMP radio technicians. When occasional technical support requiring an employee from Sinclair to provide services at the installation sites was needed, the deployed technician would also go through security clearance, he said.

Theres no computer encryption within [the equipment], theres no systems within it, theres no manipulation within it. We actually control that piece of equipment, Larkin said.
Rep. George Santos Stepping Down From Committee Assignments

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) leaves the Capitol Hill Club as members of the press follow him in Washington on Jan. 31, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

After facing weeks of allegations that he fabricated key details of his past and defrauded individuals, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has announced his decision to step downat least temporarilyfrom his congressional committee assignments.

Santos informed his Republican House colleagues of his decision to temporarily recuse himself from his committee assignments during a closed-door meeting today. Santos told his colleagues he wanted to step down for the time being while he works to clear up a series of allegations that have arisen in recent weeks.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he felt Santos had made the appropriate decision.

The freshman congressman has been accused of fabricating numerous details about his family background, education, and work history. Santos had claimed on his biography that he had obtained degrees in finance and economics from Baruch College and New York University, and had worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

In December, Santos admitted to some resume embellishments, confessing he hadnt graduated from Baruch College or any college for that matter. Santos said he also overstated that he worked for two Wall Street firms and said he instead worked for a company called Link Bridge, which did business with both firms. Santos also admitted to lying about owning 13 different properties.

Santos faced other allegations including that he had falsely said he was Jewish. In an interview with the New York Post Santos said he had never claimed to be Jewish.

Santos was also recently accused of defrauding a veteran who was trying to raise money for a surgical procedure for his dog. The veteran claimed he came into contact with Santos, who was going by the alias Anthony Devolder. The U.S. Navy veteran, Richard Osthoff, said Devolder set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page for the medical procedure for the dog, but ultimately kept the money and cut off contact with the veteran, allowing the dog to die without the necessary medical treatment. Santos has entirely denied Osthoffs claims, tweeting that the reports that I would let a dog die is [sic] shocking & insane.

Santos was assigned to the House Committee on Small Business and to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. McCarthy had given Santos those relatively low-profile assignments amid criticisms and calls for Santos to resign from Congress altogether.

Not Resigning

Santos has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation over his fabrications, including from members of his own party.

George Santoss campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies, and fabrication, Joseph Cairo, chairman of the Nassau County GOP, said in a recent press conference.

New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy also said that it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to have new leadership representing the district in Congress.

I was hired by the voters and I will be fired by the voters, not by the Democrat Party or the Republican Party or the media, Santos said in a recent interview.

Though he stepped down from his committee assignments on Tuesday, Santos remains committed to serving out his term.

McCarthy and some other Republicans reiterated that Santos could eventually return.

The voters have elected him, McCarthy told reporters after the Republican meeting on Tuesday. Hell have a voice here in Congress. And until he answers all those [ethics] questions, then at that time, hell be able to be seated on committees.

Santos has argued that he is being held to a different standard than the one applied to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who made false claims that he served in the military in Vietnam during the war, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who embellished her Native American heritage.

Some Democrats have also vocally criticized Santos.

Im just struck by the chaos, confusion, dysfunction of the Republican Conference. They defended putting him on committees and now theyre announcing that hes not going to serve on committees, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said on Tuesday.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said, I also urge George Santos to listen to his Republican and Democratic constituents and also resign from Congress as well.

NTD News reached out to Santos office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Reuters contributed to this article.

From NTD News
Republicans New Federal Bill Takes Aim At Defunding Bad Election Practices

True the Vote founder and president Catherine Engelbrecht makes a point during a presentation on ballot trafficking at the Arizona statehouse on May 31, 2022. Seated next to her is True the Vote data investigator Gregg Phillips. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

Republicans have introduced federal legislation that would block millions of dollars in election assistance money from being sent to states that allow unvetted voters and illegal immigrants to participate in elections.

The bill also targets a list of other common practices blamed for compromising the credibility of elections in Americaincluding lax drop box standards for mail-in and absentee ballots.

Taxpayers should not subsidize election practices that facilitate voter fraud and undermine that confidence, said Virginia Congressman Bob Good, the bills primary sponsor.

Characterized as a defunding bill, the One Citizen One Vote Act seeks to withhold money from the more than $10 billion that sits directly under the control of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC), a federal agency that is in charge of funneling money to states for the use for a variety of election costsincluding replacing voting machines and hiring election staff.

Ballots cast and machines used in the 2020 election are examined by auditors hired by the Arizona Senate at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 29, 2021. (Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via AP)

The EAC budget, which has become extremely well endowed under the Biden administration, is also earmarked as a financial helping hand for states, municipalities, and other voting precincts to come into compliance with new standards as they are set under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). That is a federal law born out of the infamous 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida.

Some election reform pundits hail the defunding idea as a neutral opportunity to stop dead people voting in elections, keeping claims of election fraud out of the hands of politically-motivated judges, and close voter registration loopholes used by illegal immigrants to vote in U.S. elections.

I think its a great idea, said Hans von Spakovsky, a current member of the Presidential Advisory Commission who also heads up the Heritage Foundations Election Law Reform Initiative.

Because its not Congress taking over the election process, which is what the Democrats wanted to do with H.R.1.

Controversial Proposals

Its just saying if you are doing things that damage the integrity of your election process, were not going to give you federal money to help you do that.

Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Elections Committee, is referring to the 2021 House bill also known as the For the People Act, which among its controversial proposals includes a call to not reign inbut to expandunvetted voting by creating online voter registration options, along with increasing early voting and even a provision to provide prepaid postage for mail-in voting. It died in the Senate.

Spakovsky whose lengthy resume on election reform also includes his tenure as expert legal counsel to the U.S. Justice Department on HAVA and other federal codes including the Voting Rights Act, says the irony behind the erosion of voter integrity, is born out of the very federal laws passed to preserve itincluding HAVA, the start of the federal government getting into the business of funding state and local elections.

With that start came the replacement of what was perceived as draconian paper ballots and on-the-ground checks and balances, with what was touted as sophisticated ballot machines and software that would streamline and expedite election results.

Evidence of Spakovskys claim that such improvements have been counterproductive has rung true with more than two decades worth of complaints about modern voting machines now being outdated and allegations of impropriety behind software updates made to them.

In October, two members of the election integrity watchdog group True the Vote, including its founder, were ordered jailed by a federal judge in a civil case involving allegations the organization made against election software giant Konnech relative to U.S. election information found stored by the company on servers in China.

Unprecedented Jailing

Konnech sells its elections management software called PollChief across the United States under sizable contracts including a $2.9 million one with the city of Los Angeles, which is where a judge jailed True to the Votes Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips for refusing to identify the name of an informant.

Following their release, Engelbrecht, in an appearance on Epoch Times TV, pointed out that their unprecedented jailing came within just a week before the midterm elections when True Vote was readying to implement monitoring measures at the polls.

It absolutely took us off the wheel, she said.

The One Citizen One Vote bill comes on the heels of a windfall of election integrity controversies, some with more notoriety than others.

It also follows an in-depth Election and Fraud report completed by the Heritage Foundation that created a database of election fraud-related criminal convictions from town elections to federal elections dating as far back as 2000 up to 2022.

The report shows there has been a dramatic increase in the number of election fraud-related criminal convictions in the past couple of years with at least one conviction in every state.

Proof of Citizenship

Spakovsky says Congress also needs to tackle the courts chronic misinterpretation of existing laws such as the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which he says actually requires Voter ID even though judges have ruled it is not required.

[The] easiest way to solve that problem is for Congress to simply amend NVRA to clarify that states can require proof of citizenship to vote, he said.

Democrats have vehemently argued that voter identification requirements as called by Republicans are a transparently discriminatory tactic to keep minorities from casting votes in elections.

Spakovsky, who has been accused by Democrats in the past himself of being part of a right-wing conspiracy to promote election fraud disinformation, says the irony of the argument is that the call for voter identification actually traces back to recommendations born out of a report from the National Election Commission under the direction of Democratic President Jimmy Carters administration and that HAVA reforms were born out of a race lost by Democrat Al Gore to Republican George Bush.

Pulling the race card to squelch identification requirements, he says, is an effective way to disguise what he says is a genuine problemnoncitizen voting.

Spakovsky points out that one of the acceptable documents on the federal I-9 tax forms to prove U.S. citizenship or legal eligibility for employment is a voter registration cardwhich can be filled online, printed out, and mailed in without any vetting whatsoever.

So if Im an illegal alien, the first thing Im going to do when I get into the country is register to vote, he said.
Republicans Voice Support for Potential McCarthy Visit to Freedom Loving Taiwan

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) talks with reporters during a news conference following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington on Oct. 20, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Republicans are voicing support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthys potential visit to Taiwan, following warnings from Chinas communist regime that the speaker should not go.

Chinese communist authorities have bristled at reports that McCarthy and the Pentagon are working together to plan a trip to Taiwan.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, said earlier this week that the regime opposes any form of official interaction between Taiwan and nations that maintain diplomatic ties with China.

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) said that Congress would not be bullied by the CCP and that it was vital the federal legislature work to strengthen ties with Taiwan.

The United States will not take orders from the Chinese Communist Party nor should the CCP dictate the actions of any free and sovereign nation, Steel said in an email to The Epoch Times.

I will continue to advocate for policies that counter the CCPs hostility against freedom loving nations across the world and strengthening U.S. relations with Taiwan is instrumental in that work.

Similarly, Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) said that McCarthy should stand his ground and that the United States did not require approval from the CCP to travel abroad.

American lawmakers and officials dont need a permission slip from Communist China to talk to our friends and allies, Tiffany said in an email to the Epoch Times.

I am glad Speaker McCarthy is standing his ground and hope he has a productive visit.

Defense of Taiwan a Bipartisan Priority



The CCP claims that Taiwan is a rogue province of China that must be united with the regime, a claim known as the One China Principle. Taiwan, however, has never been controlled by the CCP and boasts a thriving democracy and market economy.

For its part, the United States has adopted a One China Policy, which acknowledges but does not endorse the CCPs One China Principle.

Tiffany said that McCarthys trip would help to underscore the reality that Taiwan is in no way controlled by the CCP, a stance that he believes the United States should outline more openly and clearly.

Taiwan is an independent and democratic nation, one that has never been part of the Peoples Republic of Chinas territory or under the control of its unelected rulers, even for a single dayand U.S. policy should reflect that undeniable fact, Tiffany said.

Improving U.S.-Taiwan relations has become a bipartisan rallying point in recent months, following a 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In response to that visit, the CCP engaged in a series of provocative military actions aimed at intimidating both Taiwan and the United States, including firing several missiles directly over Taiwan which subsequently landed in the waters of Japans exclusive economic zone.

Since then, many in Congress have sought to reinforce Washingtons trade and defense ties with Taiwan.

Tiffany introduced a resolution earlier in the month that would formally end the United States One China Policy, for example, and a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is seeking to pass legislation revoking communist Chinas permanent trade status.

Likewise, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the United States would need to redouble its efforts to provide Taiwan with the arms necessary to defend itself from CCP aggression.

We need to work with the Taiwanese to make sure that they purchase from us the military equipment that they actually need as a deterrent to a potential effort by the mainland to engage in a military activity, McConnell said during a Jan. 31 press conference.

Thats what we need to do with the Taiwanese: Make sure theyre adequately armed. They can pay for it.

McCarthy has not yet publicly addressed the reports that he is preparing a visit to Taiwan, but previously encouraged Pelosi to do so and said Taiwan deserved U.S. support.

The CCP has shown itself to be a ruthless, aggressive, and evil dictatorship, McCarthy said last year. We cannot underrate its goal to control through force and brutality.

Taiwan warrants our support because it is a vibrant, thriving democracy. Its people want peace, freedom, and the right to determine their own future.

McCarthys office did not return a request for comment.
San Francisco, Los Angeles Top List of Cities Homebuyers Looked to Leave in 2022: Report

Traffic backs up at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza on Aug. 24, 2022. California announces a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars after 2035 in a push to transition to electric vehicles, on Aug. 25, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

San Francisco and Los Angeles were the two top cities people were looking to leave at the end of 2022, according to Redfin, a national real estate company.

About 50,000 people on the companys website searched to leave those two cities in the last three months of the year, it reported on Jan. 23.

San Diego was the most popular destination for Los Angeles residents looking to relocate. The median sale price there is $785,000, compared to Los Angeles, where it was about $918,000 in December 2022, according to Redfin.

Multiple homes with solar panels are shown in Scripps Ranch, San Diego, Calif., on Oct. 5, 2016. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Las Vegas was the second-most searched for location by Los Angeles residents, followed by Phoenix, Arizona; San Jose; Seattle; Dallas, Texas; Bakersfield; Portland, Oregon; and Houston, according to Redfin.

Nationwide, a quarter of all homebuyers searched to move to a different city between October and December 2022 as Americans sought less-expensive areas amid an ongoing housing affordability crunch, Redfin reported. That was up from 22 percent in 2021 and 18 percent before the pandemic.

California was one of the top five states or districts homebuyers looked to leave, followed by New York, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

The people who are buying homes are relocating at an unprecedented rate because elevated mortgage rates, still-high home prices and economic uncertainty are driving many of themespecially remote workersto more affordable areas, Redfin reported.

The top five states prospective homebuyers searched were Florida, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arizona.

Sacramento, however, bucked the trend and was the most searched for destination for homebuyers looking to relocate, followed by Las Vegas, Miami, Tampa, and Phoenix, Redfin said.

Most of the new residents who moved to Sacramento relocated from Chicago, Redfin noted.

The California state Capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., on April 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

About 600,000 people have moved out of California since the pandemic, resulting in a net loss of residents for the once-booming state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

In 2022, California lost another 343,230 residents as they left for other states, the Census Bureau reported in December.

Texas recorded the largest gain in population last year welcoming about 470,700 new residents, increasing the states total population to just over 30 million.

Florida, meanwhile, was the fastest growing with an increase of 1.9 percent.
Santa Ana Officials Say Police Union President Launched Recalls in Retaliation for Labor Agreement Vote

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez (L) and Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan speak about recalls against them at City Hall in Santa Ana, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez and Councilmember Thai Viet Phan were joined by local officials Jan. 30 on the steps of City Hall in Santa Ana, California, saying they are being targeted by recalls launched by the citys police union president.

According to public filings with the state, initial paperwork for the establishment of recall committees have been formed to seek both their removals. Such, at this point, do not include persons behind the recalls, only the respective names of the committees forming the efforts.

Lopez and Phan allege union president Gerry Serano is behind both efforts following a 43 council vote last month on labor negotiations with the police union, which included a provision eliminating Serranos role that has allowed him to act as union president without working for the department. Per that vote, now his role requires him to perform police duties.

We are being punished, Lopez told The Epoch Times. This is political vengeance because we did not vote a certain way for one specific item that the council voted on.

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez speaks about a recall against her at City Hall in Santa Ana, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The groupResidents for Responsible Leadership in Support of the Recall of Thai Viet Phan, Sponsored by Santa Ana Police Officers Association Independent Expenditure Committeefiled formation paperwork Jan. 18, according to filing records with the state. A second effort, by the same group but targeting Lopez was also filed the same day.

Lopez said she suspects Serrano is behind both efforts based off a previous conversation, she said.

Its a threat thats been thrown in my face over and over again for the last few years. If you dont do this, this is going to happen, she said Serrano has told her.

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez and Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan speak about recalls against them at City Hall in Santa Ana, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias was successfully recalled in May 2020 for, in part, voting against a pay hike for the police union a year prior. The union was behind the effort and funded the recall campaign, according to public filings.

Now this playbook is being unleashed all over again, Lopez said.

Phan additionally told The Epoch Times that unnamed corporate landlords are also behind the recalls, wanting to overturn the citys rent controla policy she and Lopez support.

Fellow Councilman Johnathan Hernandez said at the press conference that when signature gathering begins for the recalls, he may help organize people to take to the streets in protest.

Santa Ana City Councilman Johnathan Ryan Hernandez speaks about a recall launched against his council colleagues at City Hall in Santa Ana, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Additionally, Orange County Supervisor and former Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said Phan and Lopez are being unfairly attacked.

This isnt a labor issue. This isnt a union issue, he said during the press conference. What the police union president is doing is undermining what labor has been working on for so long, to make sure that there is an equal footing that we can bargain collectively.

In December, Phan, Lopez, Hernandez, and Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez voted for the citys last, best, and final offer, which included a 3 percent salary increase for union members, along with medical, dental, and long-term disability insurance benefits, among other itemscosting the city an estimated $1.2 million, according to city staff.

Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento speaks about Santa Ana City Councilmembers recalls at City Hall in Santa Ana, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The union had previously requested for a different package which would have cost around $25 million, according to city officials.

Next the committee will file a petition for the recalls and, when approved by the City Clerks office, have 120 days to collect 4,800 valid signatures for Phan and 4,000 for Lopez to force a special election.

Representatives from the Santa Ana Police Officers Association and Serrano were not immediately available for comment.
Schiff, Whitehouse Decry Meta Decision to Reinstate Trump

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on Jan. 30 sent a letter to Meta urging the tech giant to reverse its decision to reinstate President Donald Trump to Facebook.

Trump was initially removed from Metas social media platforms Facebook and Instagram in January 2021 following the Capitol breach. At the time, Meta claimed that Trump was responsible for the breakdown of order at the Jan. 6, 2021, rally as its justification for removing the then-sitting president from the worlds largest social media platform.

At the time, Meta justified the removal on the grounds that Trump [maintained] an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and [made] persistent calls to action, creating an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible.

Now, Meta has decided to reverse Trumps suspension.

The move comes after Trump announced that he would run for the presidency in 2024. Social media platforms have over the past decade become a crucial means for candidates to get their message out.

In a letter to Meta President of Global Affairs Nicholas Clegg, Schiff and Whitehouse asked Meta to change course (pdf).

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) speaks during a congressional hearing in Washington on Feb. 25, 2021. (Susan Walsh/Pool/Getty Images)

Following the 2022 midterm elections, we write to urge Meta to maintain its commitment to keeping dangerous and unfounded election denial content off its platform, the lawmakers wrote. To that end, we also urge Meta and its leadership to continue the suspension of former president Donald Trumps Facebook account beyond January, and to carefully monitor and counter the spread of harmful election misinformation, including the Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election, on Facebook.

We  supported Metas decision to suspend the Facebook account of former president Trump, the two wrote.

For Meta to credibly maintain a legitimate election integrity policy, it is essential that your company maintain its platform ban on former president Trump, the lawmakers continued.

Conspiratorial Rhetoric

They argued that lifting the ban would contravene the platforms stated reasons for removing Trump in the first place.

When initially suspending the account, Facebooks statement said, If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to reevaluate until that risk has receded.'

That risk, Schiff and White House argued, has not receded.

Two years later, we can see unequivocally that Trump is still spreading the Big Lie and thus undermining our democracy, they wrote, repeating the central thesis of the now-defunct Jan. 6 panel.

The letter continued: Trump has continued to post harmful election content on Truth Social that would likely violate Facebooks policies, and we have every reason to believe he would bring similar conspiratorial rhetoric back to Facebook, if given the chance.

As examples of such conspiratorial rhetoric, they pointed to comments Trump had made on Truth Social about election fraud in Michigan and Arizonas statewide races.

Lawmakers Ask for Tighter Restrictions

The two lawmakers asked Meta not to alter or rollback its policies on what people are and are not permitted to say about election fraud.

During election seasons, social media companies are known to place tighter restrictions on rules against so-called misinformation. Because these are specific to the election season, these restrictions are often loosened after the election finishes.

In their letter, Schiff and Whitehouse asked Meta not to substantially alter its restrictive misinformation policies in the wake of the 2022 election.

Doing so in this current environment, in which election disinformation continuously erodes trust in the integrity of the voting process, the two argued, would be a tragic mistake.

They added, Meta must commit to strong election misinformation policies year-round, as we are still witnessing falsehoods about voting and the prior elections spreading on your platform.

Given the continued election denial rhetoric, we urge Meta to recommit to focusing on election integrity year-round, while keeping Congress fully informed about its efforts, Schiff and Whitehouse wrote. We believe that part of the commitment to election integrity should be ensuring that those who maintain the unfounded, dangerous narrative of the 2020 election are not allowed or encouraged to spread the lie to foster engagement on Facebook.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at an election event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 08, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trumps account was already reinstated to Twitter, from which he was also removed at the time. However, the former president has yet to make a return to the platform. At the time of publication, Trumps last tweet was made on Jan. 8, 2021, just before his suspension.

Thus, it is unclear if the former president would be equally reticent about returning to Facebook and Instagram.
School Where 6-Year-Old Boy Shot Teacher Reopens With Added Security

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.The Virginia elementary school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher reopened Monday with stepped-up security and a new administrator, as nervous parents and students expressed optimism about a return to the classroom.

Richneck Elementary School in Newport News opened its doors more than three weeks after the Jan. 6 shooting. Police have said the boy brought a 9 mm handgun to school and intentionally shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, as she was teaching her first-grade class. Zwerner, 25, was hospitalized for nearly two weeks but is now recovering at home.

Several police cars were parked at the school as teachers arrived.

The sign in front of the building read Richneck Strong and was framed by two red hearts. Other signs along the sidewalks read, We are praying for you, You are loved and We believe in you.

Signs stand outside Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 25, 2023. (Denise Lavoie/AP Photo)

Students were greeted by a line of police officers, Mayor Phillip Jones, and other adults who gave them high-fives as they walked into the school.

Jennifer Roe said she and her fourth-grader, Jethro, saw a therapist after the shooting.

Hes excited to get back to school. Hes missed it, Roe said.

There are concerns, of course, she said. We talked through it. His therapist gave me a thumbs-up and said hes good.

Jethro said he still had some concern it might happen again, but that the increased security made him feel better.

Im still a little nervous, but Ive calmed down a lot, he said.

Melissa McBride, who brought her fourth-grade twins to school, said one of them wasnt sleeping that well after the shooting, but the children felt better after attending an open house at the school last week.

It was huge to see their friends and everybody being happy, she said.

McBride said she was comforted when she saw the twins going into school with no hesitation, but that she was still a little nervous.

Many parents walked their children in, but Jordan Vestre said his third-grader, Jaxon, asked if he could walk in alone. Vestre said he gave Jaxon a hug and stood back a little teary-eyed and watched him high-five all the police officers and the mayor.

Sgt Jamie Huling of the Newport News Police Department greets students as they return to Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Va., on Jan. 30, 2023. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Vestre said his son fully understands what happened. But he added: How do you talk to an 8-year-old about a school shooting? Its ridiculous.

Eve Parham said her fourth-grade granddaughter was very excited to return to school, particularly to her archery class. Parham praised the additional safety measures, including the planned distribution of clear backpacks to students.

Unfortunately, the teacher had to be our sacrificial lamb to bring this to light, Parham said, referring to Zwerner. I applaud her. And Im grateful that shes okay and that it caused this reaction.

Abigail Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., inside her classroom in a file photo. (Family of Abigail Zwerner via AP)

Eric Billet, who has a second-grader and a fourth-grader at Richneck, said that although hes happy with the increased security, he also fears that Richneck could be slightly overcorrecting with some of its new policies, including not wanting students to bring in toys or anything thats not considered educational.

Its good, but I just dont want it to turn into a prison feel if you start cracking down on too many things, Billet said.

Not all teachers were ready to return.

James Graves, who heads the local teachers union, the Newport News Education Association, said he has heard from several who were told that if they werent ready to come back, they must use their personal leave time or the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides some employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.

There are teachers who are glad to kind of go back because they care about the kids, and there are teachers who cannot handle trauma and stress the way other teachers can, Graves said. I want to make sure the teachers who cannot handle that stress because of what happened, that they are taken care of.

The school board chair, Lisa Surles-Law, said roses were handed out to the students and therapy dogs were made available to all first-graders.

Zwerners classroom remained closed. Her students will be taught in another classroom, Surles-Law said.

I walked the building a little while ago, and [the teachers] are very excited to welcome their students back, she said.

The shooting sent shockwaves through Newport News, a city of about 185,000 that is known for its shipbuilding industry. It has also raised questions about school security and how a child so young could gain access to a gun and shoot his teacher.

Since then, two metal detection systems have been installed and two security officers have been assigned to the school, said district spokeswoman Michelle Price. Before the shooting, one security officer was assigned to Richneck and another elementary school. The officer was not at Richneck at the time of the shooting.

The principal and assistant principal both have left their jobs, and a new administrator has been appointed to lead the school.

Superintendent George Parker, who was fired by the school board last week, has said that at least one school administrator received a tip that the boy may have brought a weapon to school, but no weapon was found when the boys backpack was searched.

Zwerners lawyer, Diane Toscano, said that on the day of the shooting, concerned staff at Richneck warned administrators three times that the boy had a gun and was threatening other students, but the administration didnt call police or remove the boy from class.

Police said the handgun was legally purchased by the boys mother. In a statement released through their attorney, the boys family said the gun was secured. Attorney James Ellenson told The Associated Press that his understanding is that the gun was in the mothers closet on a shelf well over 6 feet high and had a trigger lock that required a key.

By Ben Finley and Denise Lavoie
Sen. Lankford Calls on Blinken to Shine a Light on CCPs Atrocities in Upcoming Beijing Trip

One Republican senator is pressing the secretary of state to hold Chinas communist regime accountable for its human rights violations during an upcoming trip to Beijing.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) issued a letter (pdf) to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Jan. 31, asking Blinken to make defending the oppressed a defining focus of his planned trip to China.

Blinken is expected to visit China in early February, marking the first time a secretary of state has visited the communist-controlled country since 2018.

Lankford said that he sent the letter because he was afraid that the Biden administrations desire for increased trade and enhanced climate policies might overshadow its commitment to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its numerous atrocities.

My fear was that the Secretary of State would be going to China to talk about climate change, about economic activity, about free trade issues, and leave out the elephant in the room here, Lankford said during a Jan. 31 interview with NTD, a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. And that is the human rights atrocities that are happening in China every single day.

I wanted to make sure they werent going to talk about economic opportunities and trade and climate issues and leave out the people of China and what they continue to face under this regime, day after day after day.

No One in Humanity Should Accept This

Lankford said that there was nothing wrong with the U.S. administrations desire to talk with the CCP about climate and economic issues, but that it would be wrong to do so without acknowledging the CCPs vast apparatus of repression, including its persecution of the Uyghurs, which the United States recognizes as a genocide, and its suppression of religious groups including Falun Gong.

Its fine to be able to talk about those issues, but we should talk about the immediate human rights issues as well, Lankford said. We cant negotiate on one area and leave people behind on basic human rights and dignity.

To that end, Lankford said that there were two reasons why it was necessary for the United States to shine a light on the many atrocities being carried out by the CCP. The first is that international attention would, ultimately, affect the CCPs decision-making for the better.

The Chinese government doesnt like daylight, Lankford said. They dont want people to expose what theyre doing on the world stage, because theyre embarrassed of what they would do. They want to do it all behind closed doors and say its not happening at all.

But when the world focuses in on it, we do see a difference in China  So the best thing that we can do is shine a light there and say this is inappropriate, no one in humanity should accept this.

The second reason, Lankford said, is to stay true to the values that have defined the United States since 1776, and have allowed the nation to become among the most prosperous and free in the history of the world.

Anything else, he said, would be a disservice to that grand inheritance.

Quite frankly, our 250-year experiment with freedom has shown were the most prosperous, most successful nation in the history of the world, Lankford said. [Thats] because we have a free press, because we have freedom of expression, because we allow freedom of assembly, freedom of dissent, freedom of faith. Thats not true in China for any of those rights.

As a leader on the world stage, Lankfords letter to Blinken said, the United States must stand up for the rights of all people.

In response to an inquiry from The Epoch Times, a State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on congressional correspondence.
Sen. Tim Scotts Upcoming Iowa Visit Could Hint at 2024 Presidential Ambitions

In this image from Senate Television video, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) delivers the Republican response to President Joe Bidens speech to a joint session of Congress in Washington, on April 28, 2021. (Senate Television via AP)

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is slated to appear at a county GOP Lincoln Day event on Feb. 22 in West Des Moines, Iowa, adding to speculation about his potential efforts to seek the presidency in 2024.

Fox News reported that Scott will be at the Polk County Republican Partys Lincoln Dinner.

The Epoch Times reached out to Scotts office for comment.

Gloria Mazza, the chair of the Republican Party of Polk County, told The Epoch Times in a Jan. 30 email that the countys Lincoln Day event hosted Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in 2021.

Rumors of a Rick Scott 2024 presidential run were quelled when the multimillionaire Florida lawmaker announced his intentions to seek reelection to the Senate.

Fundraising Opportunity

This is a fundraising opportunity for our county party and sometimes they just land in our laps, which we welcome being the largest county party in the state, Mazza said.

In early 2022, both Scotts visited New Hampshire, another key early state in the primary and caucus process, for a cocktail party fundraiser.

Republican senators including John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Iowas own Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) have voiced enthusiasm about a Tim Scott presidential run.

For now, though, it seems the Republican base still favors President Donald Trump, who declared his candidacy in November 2022.

A January survey of GOP primary and caucus voters by Emerson College Polling showed 55 percent support for Trump, 29 percent support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and 6 percent support for Trumps former Vice President, Mike Pence.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former Trump CIA chief Mike Pompeo, and an unspecified Someone Else made up the remainder of responses.

Assess Emerging Field

Older versions of that poll showed more support for a Trump 2024 candidacy in 2022 and 2021.

If Tim Scott were elected president, he would be the first-ever black Republican to reach the office.

He would also be our first unmarried commander-in-chief since James Buchanan, who was elected in 1856 and served one term.

Polk County Republican Party chair Mazza noted that Iowans will have ample opportunity to assess the emerging field of 2024 presidential candidates in the run-up to early 2024, when the Republican presidential caucus will take place.

Both major parties have traditionally staged their first caucuses of the presidential election cycle in Iowa.

While Republicans are sticking with that system, Democrats under President Biden have made radical changes that would see South Carolina hold the nations first primary.

Other names in the election mix

Who else may vie for the Oval Office in 2024?

Aside from DeSantis, a favorite of media prognosticators, and the various other figures mentioned in the Emerson survey, theres Trumps former White House national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton, a neoconservative veteran of the second Bush administration, has not been shy about voicing his distaste for his former boss.

Just a few days ago, Bolton told CBS News that a Trump presidential run in 2024 was poison for his party.

The media has helped fuel rumors that Fox News host Tucker Carlson will join the 2024 Republican field.

In July 2022, Carlson told Semafors Ben Smith that he had zero ambition when it comes to politics.

I dont want power, Ive never wanted power, Carlson added.

Potential Democrat Contenders

On the Democratic side, meanwhile, the Biden classified documents controversy has intensified concerns over whether he should run in 2024.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttiegieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker are among the nationally known figures who have attracted attention as potential contenders.

Buttigieg led Biden in a January Granite State Poll of likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire.

Politicos Jonathan Martin reported in November 2022 that Newsom does not want to contest the 2024 presidential nomination with Biden, even informing the White House of that intention.

That same month, a newly reelected Pritzker told reporters he was focused on serving as governor for the next four years.
BILBAO, SpainArtist Lara Rivera has seen Shen Yun Performing Arts many times because its never the same experience.

And tonight it was overwhelming because of the deep message that it emits, and because of the wave of color, coordination, everything. But above all for the deep message that is emitted, which is very important, said Ms. Rivera after seeing New York-based Shen Yuns single performance at the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain this year on Jan. 29.

For Ms. Rivera, this message was that it is important to maintain the traditions.

That it is important to maintain ones being, and that we are something more than just soil and body, that we are immense souls, we are divine, and to remember it, not to forget it. And to behave accordingly among all of us, she said.

Shen Yun, the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, seeks to revive the beauty and goodness of 5,000 years of divinely inspired civilization.

It was a culture rife with universal values, such as loyalty, justice, benevolence, wisdom, and propriety. Audiences the world over have reported great resonance with what Shen Yun delivers through music and dance.

It has shaken me, Ms. Rivera said. She attended the performance with friends, who she said shared her sentiments. My friends are absolutely knocked out because I have brought them, told them it was all dance, and acrobatics, but I did not tell them the background.

They were excited, they cried, they stood up, she said. It is immense what has been felt.

Everything is touching, everything is very deep, but above all the voices, the live performances, it is very important, the live music, the voices. There are no words to describe it, she said.

Ms. Rivera is a writer, but here she said she fell short of words.

Because it is very moving, especially deep, very moving, thrilling because the body feels it, the body knows, there is something inside the body that is moving at very strong levels.  Lara Rivera

Because it is very moving, especially deep, very moving, thrilling because the body feels it, the body knows, there is something inside the body that is moving at very strong levels, Ms. Rivera said.

Each Shen Yun artist alone conveyed a great depth, and with so many of them so perfectly coordinated, it was exquisite, exquisite, Ms. Rivera added.

Ms. Rivera encouraged all to see Shen Yun as soon as they could, because its something different, and something that is favorable for us to grow, and everything that we need right now, to expand and to be.

She only wished she could see Shen Yun more often.

Reporting by NTD.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
BILBAO, SpainCarlos Garcia is a councilman and the deputy spokesman of the Popular Party in the Bilbao City Council. Stepping out of Shen Yuns sold-out performance at the Palacio Euskalduna on the evening of Jan. 29, Mr. Garcia exclaimed that he is very grateful and pleased to have these artists visit his city.

I want to welcome [Shen Yun] to my city, Mr. Garcia said. I think its a pride for the many hundreds of thousands of Bilbao people to host such an artistically and culturally wonderful show. The whole show was magnificent.

He added enthusiastically that other audience members in the theater have already told him that they, too, enjoyed the performance very much.

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by leading Chinese artists who had fled persecution in their homeland by the Chinese Communist Party. In the decades since the regimes takeover, traditional Chinese culture faced near-complete destruction.

Now in America, Shen Yun artists have made it their goal to revive this lost culture and bring it back to the world through a series of dance pieces and solo performances, the beauty of pre-communist China.

In the years since its establishment, Shen Yun has grown to become the worlds top classical Chinese dance and music company. Currently, its eight equally-sized companies are touring simultaneously around the world.

The artists are scheduled to perform in 180 cities across five continents in 2023.

Mr. Garcia was especially touched by Shen Yuns [commitment] to the freedom and democracy of a people as noble as the Chinese, and deeply sympathized with their story.

Reflecting on the suffering of the Spanish people at the hands of the criminal and totalitarian ideology that is communism, Mr. Garcia expressed that for half a century, the murderous, terrorist organization had also tried to curtail the freedom, culture, and cultural expressions of Spain that it did not agree with.

He felt that its absolutely necessary and essential for Shen Yun to talk about what is going on in China today because it serves as a warning, the sword of Damocles, that no country and no culture in the world is [safe] from falling into a misfortune like [what] has befallen the Chinese people.

There is no better immunity from these totalitarian regimes than to rely on culture, as [exemplified by what Shen Yun] is doing today, Mr. Garcia said.

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
South Korean Prosecutors Indict 6 For Leaking National Core Technology to China

South Korea a frequent target of Chinese intellectual property theft

Six South Korean nationals were indicted for leaking the countrys national core technology to China. The stolen technologies pertain to the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) used in manufacturing semiconductor wafers.

The Technology and Design Police Division of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Daejeon District Prosecutors Office said on Jan. 26 that they arrested three people and charged three others without detention for violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, Yonhap News Agency reported.

All the individuals on trial are former and current employees of three unnamed South Korean tech firms with critical technologies to the countrys semiconductor value chain.

According to the KIPO, one of the defendantsreferred to as Mr. Awas suspected of accessing confidential data by connecting to the companys internal network with a computer and a business cell phone, filming them using his personal mobile device, and leaking them to a Chinese firm. The leaked data reportedly contained many cutting-edge technologies and trade secrets related to semiconductor wafer polishing.

After reportedly being turned down for a promotion to a high-level post at the company in 2018, Mr. A, the alleged primary culprit, agreed to work with a Chinese company on semiconductor wafer polishing in June 2019.

While continuing to work at the South Korean firm, he helped the Chinese firm establish a production base and manage the business remotely through various communication apps.

Mr. A then poached three researchers from other South Korean tech companies to the firm in China and gave them positions as vice president, team leader, and team member in September 2019. He later moved to China in May 2020 and served as the firms president.

The annual salary each of them received in the Chinese firm was reportedly 2 to 3 times their prior salaries. Meanwhile, they were also given various forms of preferential treatment in China.

Korean authorities also found leaked confidential business information of two other Korean firms, along with leaked information on where Mr. A had worked.

According to a KIPO official, among the three companies affected, the estimated damage to the firm with the smallest loss due to the leak was more than 100 billion won (about $8 million).

The three unnamed Korean firms affected by the leak are domestically listed companies that manufacture memory semiconductors or semiconductor material parts, such as chemical mechanical polishing fluids and pads. They reportedly have a total market capitalization of 66 trillion won (about $5.3 billion).

Kim Si-hyung, director of KIPOs Industrial Property Protection Bureau, said the bureau would further strengthen the role of the Technology Police and take the lead in protecting national core technologies. Meanwhile, it would make every effort to provide reemployment opportunities and fundamentally eradicate technology-related crimes.

China has long been criticized for stealing advanced technologies from countries worldwide, and South Korea, one of the worlds leading semiconductor powerhouses, has been a frequent target of Chinese industrial technology theft.

Frequent Target of IP Theft, Most Related to China

According to The Korea Herald, the countrys National Intelligence Service has detected a total of 99 cases of attempted industrial espionage over the past five years, which would have cost domestic companies about 22 trillion won ($18 billion).

Technologies and trade secrets targeted in the 99 cases from January 2017 to February 2022 involved display devices (19 cases), semiconductors (17), electric and electronic products (17), automobiles (9), shipbuilding (8), information and communications (8), and machinery (8), the report said, citing the intelligence agency.

In recent years, leaks of South Koreas cutting-edge technologies have frequently appeared in the news, with most related to Chinese intellectual property theft.

On Oct. 27, South Korean prosecutors indicted four current and former Samsung employees for stealing proprietary semiconductor technology from the Korean conglomerate and leaking them to overseas firms.

Two of the employees are former engineers, while the other two were still employed as researchers for Samsung Engineering at the time of reporting.

The stolen technology pertains to the highly valued ultrapure water system used in chip fabrication and other key technical data. Since 2006, Samsung Electronics has reportedly invested more than $21 million annually to develop its ultrapure water systems.

One former employee reportedly acquired an operation manual and a blueprint for an ultrapure water system and other key technology data from two Samsung engineers and leaked the documents to a Chinese semiconductor consulting firm, where he was looking to job hop at the time.

In December last year, four South Korean nationals were charged for allegedly leaking cutting-edge semiconductor technologies to a Chinese company.

According to Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, an unnamed South Korean company illegally obtained the sensitive technology from another South Korean company and then sold it on to a newly established semiconductor company in China.

The stolen technology is a design drawing of a Hot Zone, said to be cutting-edge equipment for manufacturing semiconductor chips that the South Korean company invested significant time and capital in creating.

In May last year, South Korean prosecutors indicted two former researchers of SEMES, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary and semiconductor-related supplier, and two other employees of a supplier of SEMES for their alleged involvement in technology theft.

The theft involved selling crucial wafer cleaning machines to an undisclosed Chinese entity, according to Suwon District Public Prosecutors Office.

The machines are used in the early stage of chipmaking when it is crucial to keep the chip wafers clean. Later stages would require a more sophisticated approach. The equipment uses carbon dioxide in a supercritical fluid state to clean the wafer compared with cleaning with other fluids like ultrapure water.

Experts: More Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Needed

The Federation of Korean Industries on Oct. 27 released a survey it conducted on 26 industry security experts. About 85 percent of the respondents said that the level of South Koreas protection of its advanced technology was weaker than that of the United States, while the countrys R&D capabilities are on par with its rival nations.

Based on the experts estimates, the report said the average annual damage caused by industrial technology leaks, including overseas leaks, is about $40 billion, equivalent to 2.7 percent of South Koreas GDP in 2021 and 60.4 percent of the countrys total R&D expenditure in 2020.

Meanwhile, 92.3 percent of the experts believe that China is the country that South Korea should be most wary of regarding leaks, while 7.7 percent believe it is the United States.

South Korea ranked third among 63 countries in science infrastructure in the 2022 national competitiveness ranking released in June by Switzerlands International Institute for Management Development. However, it was ranked 37th for protection of intellectual property rights.

Yu Hwan-ik, chief of the Federations industrial research division, said that Korea is at great risk of losing core technologies and human resources as a highly competitive country in cutting-edge technologies.

He added that the society needs to raise awareness as a whole and make institutional improvements.
Spending in Wisconsin Governors Race Shatters Record

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks to supporters during an election night event at The Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Spending in Wisconsins governors race surpassed the previous record by more than 75 percent when Democratic Gov. Tony Evers won the battleground state, according to recent reports on campaign spending in state elections.

According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the total amount spent on the race, which was a national priority for both Republicans and Democrats, surpassed the previous high of $93 million established in Evers first triumph in 2018 and was more than double what was spent in the 2014 race.

Evers defeated Republican Tim Michels, who owns the largest construction company in the state, assuring that Democrats will have a check on the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Wisconsins reputation as a presidential swing state garnered national attention to the contest. Evers has vetoed more bills than any other governor in Wisconsin history, putting Republicans on the defensive on a variety of issues, including efforts to make absentee voting more difficult.

Evers and special interest groups that backed him spent almost $88 million, compared with nearly $76 million spent by Michels, other Republican primary candidates, and groups that backed them. In terms of campaign spending, Evers spent about $42 million, whereas Michels spent roughly $28.5 million.

The Democratic Governors Association spent the most money in the contest through an organization called the Alliance for Common Sense. According to the Democracy Campaigns estimate, it spent approximately $27 million on the election. Its ads largely targeted Michels on a range of subjects, including his views on abortion and education.

The Republican Governors Association was the second-highest spender, putting more than $15 million into the contest through three distinct groups. Its advertising mostly criticized Evers for being soft on crime.

Evers defeated Michels, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, despite concerns voiced by the Republican gubernatorial candidate that the math on the election doesnt add up, as The Epoch Times previously reported.

I just called Governor Evers and conceded. I wish the Evers family well, Michels said when announcing his concession. In hindsight, looking back, I dont know what we wouldve done differently. It was a very spirited effort, he added. But it wasnt our night tonight, and I thank everybody for all of your support.

Michels campaigned on the promise to end soft-on-crime policies and asserted that Evers was coddling criminals and abandoning law enforcement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Teachers UnionsEnd Them, Dont Mend Them

Striking teachers and supporters rally in Grand Park across from City Hall in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2019 (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

After college, I taught fourth grade in my childhood public school district. I learned much from the kids and teachers and thoroughly enjoyed my time in the classroom. Teachers perform miracles every day, and their impact on generations of children can be profound. I understand why theyre so loved and respected.

However, teachers are often confused with their unions. In concept, teachers uniting together to negotiate on behalf of their colleagues over issues of salary, benefits, and conditions in the classroom makes sense. Yet theres a dark and unpleasant underside to these unions often revealed at the time of a strike, which usually happens in some of Californias worst-run districts.

After all Ive seen, I dont believe teachers unions can be fixed. Im now convinced that its immoral and unethical for principled and religious teachers to belong to the union.

Let me explain.

There are approximately 319,000 public school teachers in California. With less than 6 million children in the public school system, that equates to roughly 19 kids per teacher. Whats more impressive? The hundreds of millions of dollars in annual teachers union membership dues that are dedicated to lobbying efforts and political war chests.

In this file photo, students and teachers carry signs as they picket outside of Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Full-time teachers pay about $1,000 dollars per year in dues. Extrapolate those fees and California teachers unions at all levelslocal, state, and federalrake in between $200 million and $300 million per year for advocacy, lobbying, and political campaigns.

Thats a lot of cash that doesnt go to academics.

Some argue that there isnt enough money in our public schools. Thats a debate worth having. It could also be argued that too much money is spent on politics impacting the classroom.

Futurist Jerry Pournelle described our conundrum in what he dubbed The Iron Law of Bureaucracy: Those devoted to the goals of the organization, such as dedicated classroom teachers, are eventually overtaken by those dedicated to the organization itself, such as entrenched administrators in the education system or teachers union officials.

In this way, teachers unions have captured Californias public schools.

While many teachers go into the noble profession to enlighten young minds and mold them into engaged civic beings, the union undercuts the best teachers and protects the worst teachers. Add short tenure laws and a convoluted dismissal process to the mix and its nearly impossible to dismiss problematic teachers because of how vigorously the union defends them. And when budgets need to be cut, the states last-in, first-out policy sends new, bright, and innovative teachers to the curb regardless of how well they perform in the classroom.

Teachers and their supporters rally during a teachers strike in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2019. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court freeing them from their obligation in the 2018 Janus case, many of them keep paying their dues. Why do decent teachers resent paying the thousand dollars per year in membership dues when they know it could be spent in other places and represents a significant amount of money over a 30-year career?

Fear of retaliation.

As any public school teacher can tell you, the place teachers dread the most isnt the repugnant sex education classes they have to teach, playground duty, or parent-teacher conferences. Rather, they fear the teachers lounges. Most teachers are agreeable people and try to avoid sensationalism and conflict in the teachers lounge. Fewer still want anything to do with the organizing that regularly comes around the time that a contract is up for renewal and theyre going to be forced to strike against their own wishes. They know that strikes hurt the poorest and neediest kids the most.

And although collective bargaining for teachers is fairly standard, the agreements are complex, specific, and not for the benefit of the students. As education expert Terry Moe put it in his seminal book, Special Interest: Teachers Unions and Americas Public Schools, Any realistic assessment of collective bargaining has to recognize that, at least for most districts most of the time, it is destined to produce many key decisions that depart fromand are systematically biased againstwhat is best for kids and effective organization.

Its true. Go to your district website and look up the most recent bargaining agreement and try to figure out how you and your child fit into that contract.

So if we want schools to succeed, lets take a short hiatus from talking about teacher salaries, classroom sizes, and the latest teaching fads. Instead, lets focus on deposing the teachers union leaders who highlight these issues but can never seem to improve the education of their students despite hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into their political coffers every year.

In fact, go one step furtherlets help our forlorn and intimidated teachers out of their union so they can stop paying an organization to work against their beliefs. Its the moral thing to do.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces Three Bills to Accelerate US Energy Security

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 19, 2022. (Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced three bills that would accelerate the issuing of oil and gas permits in order to make America energy secure again.

The three bills announced by Cruz were first reported by The Daily Caller in an exclusive on Jan. 30.

The first sponsored bill is titled the Energy Freedom Act of 2023, which is designed to accelerate the federal permit process for energy projects and pipelines; mandates new onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales; and discourages dependence on foreign imports of critical minerals by instead mining them at home and speed up solar, wind, and geothermal development.

The legislation requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy to review permits to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) within 60 days and to approve pending LNG export licenses through 2025.

The FERC and the U.S. Army Corps will also have t0 allow permitting for interstate natural gas projects within one year or less, and it would be prohibited to reject a natural gas pipeline that meets safety regulations.

Energy Bill to Prevent Biden From Hurting Energy Industry

Under President Joe Biden, American families are struggling with record-high gasoline and home heating prices thanks in large part to the Biden administrations hostility toward oil and gas. One study found $157 billion in energy investment is tied up in the federal permitting process. Im reintroducing the Energy Freedom Act to reverse Bidens actions so we dont have to resort to tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Cruz said in a statement on his website.

This bill wont cost taxpayers a dime, but it will provide the United States billions in revenue in the coming years by expediting permitting, leasing, safe new pipelines, and exports, and providing much needed regulatory certainty. The Energy Freedom Act would put a stop to the Biden administrations sabotage of the American energy industry, and Congress should take it up without delay, Cruz added.

The energy act would prohibit the White House from unilaterally enacting leasing bans on federal lands and would eliminate the presidential permit requirement for cross-border energy projects.

The Biden administration has discouraged the use of fossil fuels by making it difficult to drill for gas and oil with its hesitancy to issue permits, along with the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline in 2021, in support of its green energy agenda.

Ted Cruz Reintroduced Two Bill That Expedite Permitting Process

Cruz reintroduced two more bills the same day aimed at streamlining and expediting federal permitting for major infrastructure projects and added more stringent timetables for federal agencies and courts to review projects.

The first bill, called the Federal Permitting Modernization Act (FAST Act), would require federal agencies to reform and prioritize federal approvals by mandating publicly issued timelines to issue permits for infrastructure projects.

Federal agencies would have five days to notify the public of major infrastructure project by publishing the details in the Federal Register.

The agencies would then have 30 days to publish all environmental documents for review, with 60 days for the public to comment on those documents, and 30 days for the public to approve or disapprove the project based on the information and feedback.

The final bill, titled the 90-Day Review Act, would shorten the timetable to file a petition for judicial review of a permit, license, or approval of a major infrastructure project, such as a highway or public transit project, to 90 days, down from 150 days.

Americas infrastructure should be able to be completed in a timely and predictable manner without excessive government red tape and delays. Im proud to introduce two bills that would loosen the federal governments stranglehold on infrastructure projects and get Americans back to work, Cruz stated on his website, upon the bills introduction.
Texas School District Drops Sex Ed Curriculum After Backlash From Parents

Members of the County Citizens Defending Freedom chapter in Nueces County, Texas gather April 20, 2022 to pray before asking a School Health Advisory Council in Corpus Christi to reject the Making Proud Choices! sex-ed curriculum. (Courtesy of Colby Wiltse, executive director of CCDF-Nueces County)

A Texas school district has dropped its plans to teach an unapproved sex education curriculum after receiving backlash from parents.

Fort Worth Independent School District Superintendent Angelica Ramsey informed families that the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) would restart its sexual education curriculum process.

She told parents that there is not an approved, adopted, or recommended Human Sexuality Curriculum for the 2022-2023 school year at the end of her weekly email on Jan. 27.

The delay will suspend the instructional delivery process of the sexual education unit for the 2022-2023 school year, she wrote. Ramsey took the helm of the district in September 2022, succeeding Kent Scribner.

Last spring, the Fort Worth ISD approved the $2.6 million purchase of digital-only instructional materials from HealthSmart, a California-based company. The district has been using the HealthSmart program since 2014, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The lessons and terminology in the HealthSmart curriculum do not meet Texas education requirements, longtime State Board of Education member Pat Hardy explained in a recent opinion piece.

For instance, Texas law requires the anatomy and physiology terms of male and female in its teaching requirements, whereas the Healthsmart terminology uses body with a vagina and body with a penis. The program also teaches affirmative consent rather than teaching refusal skills for setting and communicating boundaries.

Parents Speak Out

Over two dozen parents and community members spoke out against the curriculum during a school board meeting on Jan. 24.

Parent Kathryn Pompa, who is also a registered nurse and SHAC member, told school board members that she had reviewed the HealthSmart curriculum and concluded that this curriculum should not be used in Fort Worth ISD.

In the curriculum, gender identity ideology is woven throughout all lessons, and it includes terms and graphic images that may not be appropriate for children, she continued.

Pompa said the HealthSmart curriculum denies scientific truth and does not rightly teach how sex is determined at conception but instead promulgates politicized language that sex is arbitrarily assigned by another human at birth.

She went on to add that promoting gender identity ideology causes confusion in the name of inclusion which is disingenuous and a tactic for indoctrination that can lead to permanent bodily mutation, sterility, reliance on lifelong drugs, further psychological harm, and suicide.

Caleb Backholm, a father of three and candidate for the Fort Worth City Council, said that the curriculum is teaching religion but teaching it wrongly.

The content in question that Im talking about states that ones gender might not be the same as the created sex of your body, Backholm said, adding that he is also a seminary student.

Christianity teaches that body and soul are inseparably linked as one being. We dont have a body and soul; we are a body and soul.

Backholm said the discussion of gender identity is not about physical science but that it is a religious discussion and that all teaching about this is theological instruction.

If its not the ISDs role to teach basic Christian doctrine in our schools, then in what sense is it the ISDs role to attack basic Christian doctrine in our schools? he asked.

Some parents said the district needed to be more transparent about the sex-ed curriculum and that they had to make an open-records request to get access to the program.

Hailey Sinclair was the only parent who spoke in favor of the curriculum.

Sinclair, also a nurse, told board members that she was startled by the rate of sexually transmitted infections among students and that the districts sex education needs improvement.

State Board of Education

Longtime State Board of Education member Pat Hardy said that Forth Worth ISD needed to be more transparent with the parents and follow the process outlined by state law.

The Republican said the HealthSmart curriculum does not align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which is the standard set by the state.

Hardy said Ramsey inherited the situation with HealthSmart and applauded her decision to halt moving forward with the curriculum.

My hats off to her, Hardy told KERA News.
The Emergency Isnt Really Ending

President Joe Biden holds a note card as he takes part in a meeting with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on June 22, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

The Biden administration has announced that it will end the public health emergency on May 11. Why not earlier? Why not now? Because that would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system. What the heck? Yep, they are concerned that it will take time to retrain [hospital] staff and establish new billing processes.

Oh, and what about the unspeakable chaos of the past three years? Does that even get the attention of the White House? Nope. Two weeks to flatten the curve became three years and two months to flatten the curve. During that time, the response itself created a massive public health crisis in addition to an economic, cultural, and political crisis.

One paragraph in the press release merits a comment. It seems that the Biden administration has finally gotten a clue that the American people are fed up with restrictions on their liberty. Thus does the release state the following:

To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19. They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19.

In other words, mandates are out. Choice is in. Thank you, public opinion. No, thank you, government, over these past three hellish years.

In the before times, we used to speak of unintended consequences of government policy. There was no shortage of examples. But this one looms large in the history of government policy as the most gargantuan, calamitous, and far-reaching failure ever witnessed by any living person. Its certainly for the ages.

The government response was given legal cover by three separate declarations of emergency. The first came from the Trump administration on Jan. 31, 2020. It was a declaration under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 (which should be repealed forthwith, now that weve seen its dangers).

The second came with the health emergency issued under Section 502 of the Stafford Act on March 13, 2020, which put FEMA in charge of the response, a role that it gave over to national security the following week. That action effectively ended Trumps presidency, transferring his power to the National Security Council, putting the entire country on quasi-military footing.

The third was issued under Emergency Use Authorization Section 564 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This happened on Dec. 11, 2020. Thats what allowed the approval of vaccines outside the FDAs usual processes and provided liability protection for vaccine manufacturers. Thus were born whats now popularly known as the clot shots, which many insiders have told me are easily the most dangerous shots ever given approval as vaccines in this countrys history.

The first two emergency declarations will be allowed to expire. The third, no. That should serve as a clue about who and what has the most power within government today: Pfizer and Moderna. These two companies have somehow bought most governments in the world, and their policies revolve around their interests, despite global incredulity about the merit of their mandated shots.

One suspects, then, that the profits and power of the vaccine manufacturers have played an outsized role in crafting the pandemic response from the very beginning. Indeed, this might have been the whole point. I say this because, at the end of the day, its their industrial survival that continues to enjoy government protection.

Jennifer Kates, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, was quoted by The New York Times as saying that the end of the declaration could send a bad message. What kind? That we might let our guard down about the virus.

Can we please stop with this complete nonsense? Absolutely no one knows how to keep ones guard up about a virus and also go about regular life tasks. Theres no method anyone has that enables anyone to be careful about the virus.

No amount of hand sanitizer is going to keep the virus away. You can hide forever, but at some point, the virus will find you. To believe otherwise is to engage in complete fantasy. The virus is invisible to the naked eye. Its impossible to observe some space and know that the virus is there and, therefore, adapt ones personal behavior to avoid it.

And despite all the preposterous antics surrounding track and trace, that isnt possible either. Even now, the government pretends otherwise. Returning from a trip to Mexico last week, I wasnt even allowed to board the flight without making a sworn statement about my precise destination. This is presumably because if I get COVID-19, health authorities want to be able to warn all contacts all the way from Mexico.

This is just one sign of the amazing fantasy and lies weve endured for three years now, during which time constitutional government has been effectively supplanted by emergency law. It all began in January 2020, when the bureaucracies took over with the claim that they can do whatever they want regardless of the law. Forget the Bill of Rights. That was shredded.

Government by emergency isnt government by the Constitution. Nor is it freedom. In a free society, the rule of law cannot be subject to approval by the elites. It isnt just an option for good times. If a regime is permitted to suspend all normal processes and replace them with bureaucratic diktat, this isnt a free country. But indeed thats precisely what happened, starting in 2020.

Ive been researching and watching carefully since those days, following every legal and epidemiological iteration. Ive been reluctant to come to any final conclusions about precisely what this fiasco was all about. Initially, I believed it was just fear and concern over a new virus. But there are too many anomalies to believe that anymore.

In the end, Ive reluctantly concluded that we experienced a quiet coup detat: The national security state quietly overthrew elected leadership and constitutional government under the cover of a health emergency. In this, there were many people who benefited: media, tech, and pharma, for starters. But the driving impetus for the whole operation is staring us in the face. They wanted to get rid of Trump and disenfranchise those who supported him.

There are surely other factors going on, including the ambitions of the nefarious elites who gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum, and many others. But the thing that triggered the response was the motivation to displace constitutional government.

What to do in response to the evidence before our eyes? The power to declare these emergencies needs to be completely repealed, including and probably especially the whole of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 and every subsequent amendment. This is a huge priority in the United States, or else we are going to face another emergency, and then another, forever, and freedom itself will always be contingent, granted only when our overlords approve.

Sadly, the powerful elite arent done with us just yet. Not even after May 11.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Lunar New Year Gathering More Like Attending a Funeral: Beijing Resident

A man hugs his daughter in the international arrivals area of Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on Jan. 8, 2023. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Despite the Lunar New Year in full play for 15 days, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 5, people in China are not in a celebratory mood.

Beijing residents suffered a surge in COVID cases after the regime suddenly lifted the lockdown and eased up on the COVID restrictions. Instead of celebrating the Lunar New Year, Beijing residents are faced with a massive number of deaths and a backlog in cremation services. The deaths occurring in prisons are another tragedy the regime will never reveal to the outside world.

There is no new years greeting, just funerals to go to, a Beijing relative told New York resident Cheng.

Cheng, whose wife is from Beijing, has developed extensive contacts there because of his 10-year business in that city. He returned to New York in 2020.

On Jan. 22, Cheng told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that his Beijing relative was informed by the Chinese health commission official that at least 10 percent of the Chinese Communist Party members have passed away.

The Epoch Times is unable to verify that statistic.

According to Cheng, three of his wifes relatives in Beijing died during the surge of the pandemic in December 2022.

Cheng described the pandemic in China as sweeping.

Three-Month Backlog for Cremation

Five elderly acquaintances in Fangshan District, including a deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, died but none of them were cremated.

Through connections in the funeral sector, even the deputy director is on a 3-month waiting list. Obviously, some deceased are more superior than him, Cheng said.

Where to keep the body for three months? Chang was told that the remains were kept in refrigerated containers used for pig carcasses when the funeral home ran out of cold storage; but now the containers are full, and the families have to keep the bodies in private vehicles, five corpses per vehicle, that are parked somewhere else until the cremation can be done.

Cheng said its very common. An official from the Exit and Entry Administration Bureau (under the public security ministry) told him there are at least 200,000 bodies in Beijing waiting to be cremated.

Ten percent of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] members are gone, Chengs friend at the National Health Commission in charge of population monitoring and family planning told to him.

The Epoch Times previously reported that since late November, more than 330 Chinese celebrities, officials, and scholars have died when the latest COVID surged around the country.

A patient on oxygen is wheeled on a gurney into a busy emergency room at a hospital in Beijing, China, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Getty Images)

Massive Untold Deaths in Prisons

Cheng also said that an acquaintance who was recently released from prison told him that the outbreak happened in the prison before the lockdown was lifted on Dec. 7, 2022.

According to his friend, who served time in Beijing No. 2 Prison, a police officer was infected first, and within three days, more than 8,000 people in the prison were affected. That happened before the December 2022 White Paper Movement when the students protested against the strict lockdown policy that had caused the deaths of more than 10 in an Urumqi apartment complex fire in November last year.

His friend was released at the end of December 2022. Cheng said his friend also revealed to him a surprising finding in the prison.

Among the prisoners were Falun Gong adherents, but none of them were sick from the outbreak. He asked me, Do you believe it? Cheng said.

His friend said that in the prison, the Falun Gong adherents continued to follow their practice and cultivate regardless of the environment. Cheng said, I believe their immunity is definitely strong, I do believe that.

Falun Gong is a mind and body practice based on the universal principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance that has benefited millions of adherents worldwide. Since the regime began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, hundreds of thousands of adherents have been imprisoned and thousands have been reportedly killed by the CCP.

His friend told him that there were many COVID deaths in the prison. Many prisoners were transferred to the cabins built by the armed police. According to his friend, the hospitals wont take the prisoners, theres rarely any medical treatment, and he suspected the prisons would only provide fake drugs if theres any medication at all.

Theres no way the regime will expose the deaths [occurring] in the prisons, Cheng said.

Lin Dan contributed to this report.
The Sovietization of Medical Care

The interior of an old abandoned Soviet hospital in the military town of Skrunda, Latvia, in a file photo. (Martins Vanags/Shutterstock)

Commentary

My good friend professor Yuri Maltsev died this week and Ive spent these mourning days recalling our conversations. He was a leading economist in the old Soviet Union, as the top advisor to Mikhail Gorbachevs chief economist. He defected in 1989 before the Soviet Union fell apart. We became fast friends just after he landed in D.C., and we spent a year or more together collaborating on many projects.

He was a font of amazing stories about how things really worked in the Soviet Union. Contrary to what U.S. economists were claiming until the very end, it was not a rich country with mighty industrial achievements. It was a poor country where nothing worked. There were no replacement parts for most machines including tractors. He doubted that there would ever be a nuclear exchange simply because most Soviet workers knew that the bombs were all for show. If they ever dared press the button, they would most likely blow themselves up.

As the systems of command and control in those states fell apart (Russia, East Germany, Romania, Poland, Czechia, and so on), Yuri was in a position to advise the reforms. To his sadness and contrary to his advice, even though the parties and leaderships collapsed, there was almost no attempt to reform the health-care sectors of these countries. They left them all in place while focusing on things like heavy industry and technology sectors (and here banditry took over).

Yuri saw this as tragic because, to his mind, the corruption of health care in the Soviet Union was central to the disastrous quality of life that the people experienced there. Though doctors were everywhere and minted daily, people who were sick could hardly get effective treatment at all. Most of the best therapeutics were homegrown. People would only go to the doctor much less the hospital if they had no other options. This is because the instant you entered the system, your personhood was left behind and you became part of the modeling target.

All health care was driven by statistical goals, just as with economic production. Hospitals were under strict orders to minimize death or at least not to go over target. That led to a perverse situation. Hospitals would take in the mildly sick but refuse to admit anyone likely to die. If patients in critical care declined too rapidly, the first priority of the hospital was to get them out before they died so as to reduce the amount of death on the premises.

All of this was done in the hope of gaming the vital statistics to make it look like the centralized and socialized health-care systems worked when they clearly did not.

None of this could ultimately hide the vital statistics, which, Yuri explained, truly do tell the story. From 1920 to 1960, life expectancy did increase dramatically though never quite reaching as high as the United States. But after 1960, it began to decline even as it was rising more and more in the United States and in non-communist countries around the world. This continued until the regime finally collapsed, at which point life expectancy began to rise again.

Notice too that life expectancy in both countries has begun to fall again, and dramatically, following pandemic lockdowns and mass vaccination, which is a tragedy that cries out for explanation.

Back to Yuris point however: the health-care system and its statistical goals served as a major source of brutality and corruption in Russia. When government gets hold of medical systems, they use them for their own propaganda ends and purposes. Thats true whether the real goals are medical or not.

This happened in both countries following lockdowns, and many others as well. Maybe it is only a short blip or maybe it is the beginning of a long trend of decivilization. Either way, the central plan is not working.

In the United States, in nearly every state, regardless of whether the virus was spreading rapidly with significant medical consequences, hospitals were forcibly reserved only for emergencies and COVID patients. Elective surgeries were out of the question, as were cancer screenings or other routine checkups. This left most hospitals in the country with very few patients and a gutting of their profitability models, leading to furloughs of thousands of nurses during a pandemic.

It also created a situation in which hospitals were desperate for a revenue source. By government legislation, a subsidy was provided to them for COVID patients and COVID deaths, thus incentivizing medical institutions to classify everyone with a positive PCR test as a COVID case, regardless of what else was wrong with the patient.

This began almost immediately. Here is Deborah Birx speaking to the issue on April 7, 2020.

Here is Dr. Birx saying that the government is recording anyone who dies with coronavirus in the United States, regardless of any other health issue, as a death from coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/p2nIhH4bHP  Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 7, 2020

This practice continued for two years, leading to a massive confusion about how many people actually died of COVID and skewing all existing data on the case fatality rate. Leana Wen of CNN argued in a Washington Post article that now perhaps only 30 percent of the people labeled as a COVID hospitalization really are that. She explained further in a CNN interview.

BREAKING: Super-sleuth Leana Wen tells CNN weve been vastly overcounting COVID deaths, outlining the crucial distinction between deaths with COVID and deaths from COVID. How did we miss this?pic.twitter.com/bn2aUMqytZ  Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) January 17, 2023

As Leslie Bienen and Margery Smelkinson note in the Wall Street Journal:

Under the federal public-health emergency, which begins its fourth year on Friday, hospitals get a 20% bonus for treating Medicare patients diagnosed with Covid-19.  Another incentive to overcount comes from the American Rescue Plan of 2021, which authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay Covid-19 death benefits for funeral services, cremation, caskets, travel and a host of other expenses. The benefit is worth as much as $9,000 a person or $35,000 a family if multiple members die. By the end of 2022, FEMA had paid nearly $2.9 billion in Covid-19 death expenses.

Further, doctors all over the country are facing massive pressure to list as many deaths as possible as COVID deaths.

These programs create a vicious circle. They establish incentives to overstate the danger of Covid. The overstatement provides a justification to continue the state of emergency, which keeps the perverse incentives going. With effective vaccines and treatments widely available, and an infection fatality rate on par with flu, its past time to recognize that Covid is no longer an emergency requiring special policies.

Maltsev was right about this as with so much else. The further we move away from health care as essentially a doctor/patient relationship, with freedom of choice on all sides, and the more we allow central plans to replace on-the-ground clinical wisdom, the less it looks like quality health care and the less it contributes to public health. The Soviets already tried this path. It did not work. Health-care by modeling and data targeting: we tried it over the last three years with horrible results.

As Maltsev would put it, the need to de-Sovietize medical care applies in every country, then and now.

[This is my other tribute to Yuri, which ran at The Epoch Times.]

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 Ukrainian Tank Story and Taiwan

Ukraine screams for tanks; Taiwans requests for tanks are ridiculedwhy?

Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on Feb. 25, 2022. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

At the beginning of the current Russian-Ukrainian war, many pundits claimed that Taiwan should copy Ukraines porcupine strategy and focus on asymmetric warfare.

Think tanks, the Department of Defense, the White House, and even some members of Congress agreed. They were wrong and continue to be wrong. This article will use the story of the tanks involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war to explain why they were wrong.

The Russian-Ukrainian War Is a Work in Progress

When the war started, the public, the politicians, and the media were enamored by the Ukrainian Davids knocking out Russian tanks Goliaths with the proverbial stonethe Javelin and other anti-tank missiles. These groups were like cheerleaders shouting encouraging words, thinking that anti-tank and anti-armor missiles and a few anti-ship and anti-air missiles would end the Russian invasion. Nope.

Tank Numbers

The Russian army continues to press on with armor, missiles, aircraft, and infantry. At the beginning of the war, the Russians had about 3,000 main battle tanks (MBTs), and the Ukrainians had about 1,000, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 2021 annual report, The Military Balance. By Jan. 24, according to Oryx, Russia had lost at least 1,646 (total destroyed: 967, mostly T-72s and T-80s and, at least, 44 advanced T-90 MBTs, including 10 of the latest T-90M), 75 tanks damaged, 59 abandoned, and 545 captured.

Of the 1,000 tanks Ukraine had at the beginning of the war, Ukraine lost 450 (mostly T-64s and T-72s), 267 destroyed, 24 damaged, 16 abandoned, and 143 captured. In effect, Ukraine also lost about half of its inventory but gained 545 captured Russian tanks. Thank goodness for innovative and smart Ukrainians!

Prior to the new tranche of MBTs promised to Ukraine, the nations of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, and the Netherlands provided at least 450 modernized Soviet-design tanks, mainly T-72s. Thus, Ukraine increased its inventory by 50 percent (of its initial total of 1,000) during the war.

Ukrainian servicemen attend a rehearsal of an official ceremony to hand over tanks, armored personnel carriers, and military vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as the country celebrates Army Day in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 6, 2021. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

The Ukrainians are asking their allies to replace their losses to enable Ukraine to counter the probable Russian spring push to take more of Ukrainian territory. Which countries plan to provide Ukraine with tanks?

Countries Agreeing to Send More Tanks

As of Jan. 26, according to author and defense analyst H I Sutton, the following nine countries agreed to send Ukraine between 73 and 175 MBTs:

United Kingdom: 14 Challenger 2

United States: 31 M1A1 Abrams

Germany: 14 Leopard 2 (and another 14)

Poland: 14 Leopard 2

Spain: Up to 53 Leopard 2

Norway: 8 Leopard 2

Netherlands: 18 Leopard 2

Finland: 5 Leopard 2

Portugal: 4 Leopard 2

Vadym Omelchenko, the Ukrainian ambassador to France, claims that Ukrainian allies promised a total of 321 MBTs as of Jan. 27.

In addition to 31 M1A1 Abrams, the U.S. government also pledged to send eight M88 armored recovery vehicles (ARVs), which will be used in case the Abrams get stuck. But there is one item missing from Ukraines post-Christmas wish list.

M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JABS)

Tanks and other heavy armor need bridging systems to cross areas where bridges were damaged or because the existing bridges cannot hold the 63-ton Abrams tank. They also will need these bridging systems to cross water obstacles that are too deep or to bypass anti-tank ditches. The U.S. Army uses the M1074 Joint Assault Bridge System (JABS), which deploys an MLC95 bridge with a gap crossing of 11 meters in approximately 3 minutes and can support the Abrams weight.

In early 2022, the Australian Department of Defense announced that it had ordered 75 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, 29 M1150 assault breacher vehicles, 17 M1074 JABS, and six M88A2 ARVs to be delivered starting in 2024.

Poland received approval in April 2022 for 250 M1A2 SEPV3 MBTs, 26 M88A2 ARVs, and 17 M1074JABS. Why so many tanks? Poland sent more than 260 T-72 tanks to Ukraine early in the war, and asked the United States for a one-for-one swap for the Abrams replacing the T-72s. Australia and Poland ordered the correct package: tanks, recovery vehicles, and bridging systems.

Members of the U.S. Army 1st Division 9th Regiment 1st Battalion unload heavy combat equipment, including Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, at the railway station near the Pabrade military base in Lithuania, on Oct. 21, 2019. (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images)

Why are there no JABS going to Ukraine? JABS are also missing from Taiwans list. Why? Although Ukraine and Taiwan (M3 Amphibious Rig) already have some assault bridging systems, none of them can manage the 63-ton Abrams tank. Let us hope that both countries add enough JABS for their needs or the United States allows them to have JABS to ensure that the Abrams are combat effective and efficient.

What About Taiwan?

According to the IISS 2021 The Military Balance, Taiwans army has a total of 565 MBTs: 200 M60A3, 100 M48A5, and 265 M48H Brave Tiger tanks. Taiwan also has about 100 M41A3/D Walker Bulldog light tanks.

In 2019, the U.S. government approved the sale of 108 M1A2T Abrams MBTs to Taiwan as well as 14 M88A2 ARVs and associated weapons, ammunition, and military equipment. Of the 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased, 38 Abrams tanks are scheduled to arrive in Taiwan by 2024, followed by 42 in 2025, and 28 in 2026, according to The Defense Post. The Abrams are replacing some very old tanks, such as the M41, M48, and M60 tanks, some of which are over 50 years old.

Many think tanks dismissed the usefulness of the M1A2 Abrams tank for Taiwan because it does not fit the asymmetric warfare or porcupine strategy or Overall Defense Concept. If and when the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) invades Taiwan, the Abrams tank will be one of the many capabilities that will stop and push back the PLA from the island, especially if the United States takes a while to respond or doesnt show up at all.

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks (Shakespeares Hamlet)

Many asymmetric warfare diehards will claim that Ukraine is not like Taiwan. Yet these same self-proclaimed smart people made statements early in the Russian-Ukrainian war that Ukraine should use asymmetric warfare against the Russians, just as they had argued Taiwan should pursue asymmetric warfare to protect themselves against the PLA. Clearly, MBT versus MBT is symmetric warfare, regardless of how fast and glibly asymmetric strategists talk.

Nuclear Weapons

It is ironic that U.S. experts, who enjoy the luxury of a full suite of weapons, including nuclear weapons, tell other countries to conduct one-handed fights. Freedom-loving countries that developed their own nuclear stockpiles are safer for having them. Israel and India are better off than those countries that the United States stopped from developing nuclear weapons, such as Taiwan. Even Japanese and South Korean politicians and the publics now discuss the nuclear option more openly because of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) and North Koreas aggressive military behaviors throughout East Asia.

The 1994 Budapest Memorandum

Probably the most ironic story of the Russian-Ukraine war is the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Until 1994, Ukraine had 3,000 nuclear weapons, Belarus had 81 nuclear weapons, and Kazakhstan had 1,400 nuclear weapons. Russia, the UK, and the United States forced these countries to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty and remove their nuclear weapons from Russia.

What did Russia, UK, and the United States promise Ukraine?

According to the Budapest Memorandum, Russia, the United States, and the UK agreed to do the following:

Respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.

Reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine.

Russia lied about its intentions, and the United States and the UK did nothing in 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine and took Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. The United States and the UK almost did nothing at the beginning of the current Ukrainian-Russian war.

Note: Did any U.S. or UK government representative refer to this 1994 Budapest Memorandum during the current war? No.

Ukraine-China Strategic Partnership

The icing on the cake is that the CCP had signed several agreements with Ukraine, including a 2013 Joint Declaration of Ukraine and China to further deepen strategic partnership 20142018 just before the Russian 2014 invasion. What did the declaration say?

People walk past signage in the design of Ukraines national flag with the message We Support Ukraine outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on March 3, 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)

After kowtowing to the CCPs one-China policy with respect to Taiwan, the joint document states that based on the Declaration of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China dated December 4, 1994, on the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine, undertakes not to apply under any conditions nuclear weapons and will not threaten to use them against Ukraine as a non-possessing state with nuclear weapons, as well as in the conditions, if Ukraine becomes a victim of aggression with the use of its nuclear weapons or the threat of such aggression, confirms the provision to Ukraine relevant security guarantees.

The joint CCP-Ukraine declaration stated the same thing that the UK, United States, and Russia had promised in the 1994 Budapest Memorandumthe CCP agreed that it would not use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and would protect Ukraine if a nuclear power used nuclear weapons against it.

Did the CCP have such an agreement with any other country in the world? No.

Did Ukraine try to invoke the 1994 Budapest Memorandum? Did Ukraine invoke the CCP-Ukraine declaration? Did any government bring up this agreement and demand that the CCP provide military assistance to Ukraine against Russias invasion? Nope.

Asymmetric and Symmetric Warfarethe Only Way

No matter how experts argue, fighting with one hand behind ones back will lead to disaster. The adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister got it right. Yuriy Sak, who advises Ukraines Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, said the following to Reuters: They didnt want to give us heavy artillery, then they did. They didnt want to give us HIMARS systems, then they did. They didnt want to give us tanks, now theyre giving us tanks. Apart from nuclear weapons, there is nothing left that we will not get.

What about Western fighter aircraft? Sak said: If we get them (Western fighter jets), the advantages on the battlefield will be just immense.  Its not just F-16s (U.S. multirole fighter jets): fourth generation aircraft, this is what we want.

Adm. Rob Bauer, the head of NATOs military committee, said that if the Russians are fighting with tanks, the Ukrainians need tanks as well. Then it follows that if the Russians are fighting with fighter aircraft, the Ukrainians will need fighter aircraft. This argument doesnt sound like an argument for asymmetric warfare.

Additionally, after a recent meeting in Brussels of NATO military chiefs, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Gen. Christopher Cavoli (U.S. Army), said: There is not a particular weapon system that is a silver bullet. A balance of all systems is needed.

In other words, Ukraine is fighting a war against Russia with the full spectrum of weapon systems, not just the asymmetric weapons that pundits want Taiwan to focus on.

Taiwans Future Weapons Procurement

Pundits can make disparaging remarks about Taiwans government, military, and weapon systems. But now the Russian-Ukrainian war has clearly demonstrated that countries need a full suite of weapons, military personnel, and strategies to counter their enemies, especially against superpower aggressor states like Russia and communist China.

The proponents of asymmetric warfare-only and porcupine-only strategies do not provide useful advice to future victims of aggression. I would be happy to take on any of these pundits who support these losing strategies if they think they can beat me by fighting with one hand behind their backs.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A mechanical wonder over six centuries old is mounted on the south wall of the Old Town Hall in Prague, located in the Old Town Square. Nested in ornate gothic decoration, this steampunk predecessor is still ticking today.

Called the astronomical clock, its the oldest working clock of its kind in the world today and dates back to the early 15th century. Besides simply telling time, this chronometer of curiosities carries both history and legend within its clockwork innards, celestial dials, hands, faces, and statues.

Humans have long aspired to model the universe mechanistically and reveal its measurements through various devicesthat endeavor traces back to the astrolabe, a handheld model of the universe from as early as the 9th century A.D. Later, with the help of European master clockmakers, Pragues astronomical clock took that tradition to extraordinary heights.

This clock is unique in that it displays 24 hours of the day, rather than the standard 12 hours, and because it features four different time-telling traditions. The outermost dial with gold Arabic digits overlaying a black ground shows Old Bohemian time, used by Europeans during the Middle Ages, illuminated by a golden hand circling the clock face.

The astronomical clock on the south wall of Town Hall in Prague. (Dominik Michalek/Shutterstock)

Encompassed within this, a large, inner face displays golden Roman numerals telling German time, which took over Old Bohemian in usage in 1547. Thats the same as Central European Time used today.

Seen in smaller, black numbers on this inner face is Ancient Babylonian time, which once gauged the sun at various stages in the day; daylight was divided up one through twelve, sunrise to sunset. Both daylight terminuses are marked in red, whereas astronomical nighttime is represented in black. A golden rotating sun indicator completes this marvelous celestial chronometer by showing us where the sun is in relation to the Earthday or night.

The astronomical clocks time-telling face features four different chronometrical traditions. (Taiga/Shutterstock)

The astronomical clock also displays stellar time; it shows not just the position of the sun in the sky, but also that of the moon and the stars. A spinning silver and black lunar orb tells us whether the moon is full, crescent, gibbous, or a new moon. Overlaying the clock face, a dial corresponding to the stars hovers overtop, displaying where the sun falls on a zodiac backdrop.

History and Legend

The astronomical clock was created by Mikulas of Kadan in 1410 with the help of Jan Sindel, a professor of mathematics at Charles University. However, its creation was mistakenly attributed to work done in 1490 by clockmaker Jan Ruze, who became known as Hanus. A legend accompanies this figure, telling how he refused to divulge how he built it and made plans to create an even grander one for someone else. Prague magistrates then ordered him blinded so he could not repeat his work.

In retribution, it is said his assistant sabotaged the astronomical clock, allegedly by sticking his hand in the gears, rendering it inoperable for a hundred yearsuntil 1552 when it was repaired by Jan Taborsky. It was Taborsky who mentioned Hanus being the maker of the clock, hence the historical mix-up that ensued. The record-keeping error was eventually corrected.

Actually, the clock has fallen inoperable and has undergone subsequent repairs, additions, and renovations many times over the centuries. The gothic decoration adorning it was added in the late 15th century; a large circular calendar dial below the original with allegories of each month, along with a zodiac and the citys crest, was added in 1490, later to be redecorated in the 19th century; to either side of this stands the additions of statues of Archangel Michael, an archivist, a philosopher, and quite fittingly an astronomer.

The clocks calendar face addition, along with accompanying statues. (Giovanni Love/Shutterstock)

Philosopher and Archangel Michael statues beside the calendar face. (ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock)

Astronomer and chronicler statues beside the clocks calendar face. (Grisha Bruev/Shutterstock)

Centuries after its construction, an elaborate mechanical show was installed: In works occurring in the 17th century and then in 1865, moving effigies were added as were a procession of the Twelve Apostles, respectively. Whenever the clock strikes the hour, the animated procession appears through two automated windows above the main face, while a skeleton statue rings a bell as a reminder that time is running out. A greedy miser on its left shakes his head in denial of death; likewise, a male effigy representing vanity gazes at himself in a mirror; a Turk to its right busies himself with merrymaking, failing to heed the call. Yet, heralding hope, a golden rooster above them crows to announce another hour of life granted.

Automata feature a rooster and 12 Apostles. (abxyz/Shutterstock)

The vain man allegory and miser statues. (Morningstar Sun/Shutterstock)

The skeleton and Turk statues on the clock. (Framalicious/Shutterstock)

Yet despite these exquisite antique automata, the astronomical clocks hourly show ranked third most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe, behind the Mona Lisa which ranked first, and The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen which ranked second.

The clock, along with accompanying statues, was almost scrapped in the 1780s due to how expensive it was to maintain but was ultimately saved and repaired. It was later damaged by fire in 1945 during World War II, yet with significant effort, the machinery was restored to working condition in 1948.

Hardly rivaling todays animatronic special effects, the genius behind Pragues astronomical clock nevertheless lives on to inspire curiosity and wonder. It continues telling timeplus the positions of the sun, moon, and starsjust like clockwork.

Pragues astronomical clock, mounted on the south wall of Town Hall. (Alexandra Tran/Unsplash)

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Tools to monitor your brain activity are set to release this year, and already there are groups proposing how it can be used by businesses to monitor the thoughts of employees, and by law enforcement to spot potential criminals. The technology and its potential uses were discussed at the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Meanwhile, a four-star general in the U.S. Air Force sent a memo to his officers, warning that the United States could be at war with China by 2025. The warning comes alongside news that American military support to Ukraine has drained its military stockpiles.

In this live Q&A with Crossroads host Joshua Philipp, well discuss these stories and others, and answer questions from the audience.
Tory Deputy Leader Requests Emergency Debate on Rising Violent Crime Rates

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 19, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Conservative MP and deputy leader Melissa Lantsman requested an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Jan. 30 to address what she called the unprecedented levels of violent crime across Canada, particularly on Torontos public transit systems.

Lantsman sent a letter to House speaker Anthony Rota requesting the debate prior to rising in the Commons during its routine proceedings following question period.

Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office violent crime has increased 32% and gang related homicides are up 92%, Lantsman wrote in the letter. The violent attacks plaguing the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) highlight the urgency to address this matter.

Lantsmans debate request came four days after the Toronto Police Service increased its presence on the TTC by upwards of an additional 80 police officers daily in order to address the recent spike in violence targeting TTC passengers and employees.

In just seven days, seven separate reports of violence on the TTC including random stabbings and shootings, have been filed, Lantsman wrote. Millions of people use public transit daily in Toronto.

Lantsman said later in the House that the rise in violent crime is a direct result of the federal governments catch-and-release version of public safety, referring to a law the Liberal government passed in 2019 updating federal bail provisions in the Criminal Code.

I believe an emergency debate is necessary to provide justice to the victims of these attacks and to ensure that every Canadian feels safe to go out in public and ride public transit. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We have to act now, she said.

However, Rota declined, saying he was not satisfied that Lantsmans debate request met the Standing Orders requirements at the time.

Crime and Bail

In mid-January, all 13 of Canadas premiers unanimously urged the federal government to take immediate action to strengthen the Canadas bail system.

The premiers wrote in a letter originating from Ontario Premier Doug Fords office that national bail reform is urgent, adding that the countrys first responders cannot wait.

Growing calls for federal bail reform followed the death of a 28-year-old Ontario police officer, Const. Greg Pierzchala, who was shot while on duty in late December 2022.

Reports of violent incidents on Torontos transit system, including several stabbings, have also been increasing in recent weeks.

The justice system fundamentally needs to keep anyone who poses a threat to public safety off the streets, said the premiers letter. And this starts with meaningful changes to the Criminal Code, an area solely within the federal governments jurisdiction.

Andrew Chen and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Trudeau Reiterates Support for Anti-Islamophobia Rep Despite Opposition Criticism

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated his support for the governments recently appointed representative to combat Islamophobia, despite receiving criticism from opposition parties for past comments she made that have been characterized as insulting toward Quebec.

She is there to speak for the community, with the community, and build bridges across, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Jan. 30.

Trudeau made the comments after attending question period, where some MPs again criticized his appointment of Amira Elghawaby as the governments first-ever Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia.

Elghawaby has received criticism for a 2019 opinion article she co-wrote that linked anti-Muslim sentiment to Quebecs Bill 21, which banned certain government employees from wearing religious symbols at work. Her other past remarks have also sparked controversy, such as writing in a 2021 Toronto Star column that the British monarchy is one of the most powerful symbols of racial oppression, while calling for Canada to sever ties with it.

Responding to the criticism over her 2019 writings, Elghawaby recently said that she was merely citing a poll in the article and does not believe Quebecers are Islamophobic.

Obviously, she has thought carefully over many years about the impacts that various pieces of legislation and various political positions have had on the community, Trudeau said on Jan. 30.

Her job now is to make sure that shes helping the government and helping everyone.

Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois have questioned Elghawabys appointment as an inclusion advisor based on her past remarks.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said that Elghawaby has made comments against Quebeckers, police officers, and the Jewish people, adding that Trudeaus appointment of her is divisive.

These comments are unacceptable and divisive, and it is incredible that, knowing this person had made these comments, Justin Trudeau would nevertheless name her to a position that supposedly is meant to fight racism, Poilievre said on Jan. 27.

Divisive

Bloc Quebecois Party Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet previously demanded a meeting with Elghawaby over her comments about Quebec, which Trudeau said he would facilitate.

Id like to ask the prime minister, does he actually think that that appointment is going to be inclusive and bridge-building rather than divisive? Blanchet asked in the House on Jan. 30.

Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman also addressed the issue while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Jan. 30, saying that she agrees with comments about Elghawaby made by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez told Radio-Canada on Jan. 27 that, as a Quebecker, he was deeply hurt by Elghawabys remarks.

I am deeply insulted by her comments and expect her to retract them, he said in French.

Lantsman said on Jan. 30 that it seems as though Elghawaby was appointed with absolutely no vetting being done beforehand.
Trump Reiterates Call for Peaceful Resolution to Ukraine War

Former President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a 2024 election campaign event in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 28, 2023. (Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump is calling for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine just days after his successor announced that the United States will send dozens of battle tanks to aid the European nation in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

Speaking at a Jan. 28 campaign rally at South Carolinas state Capitol building in Columbia, Trump criticized President Joe Biden for his handling of the crisis, noting: Through weakness and incompetence, Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of World War III.  As president, I will bring back peace through strength.

Stressing that the war would not have happened if he had remained in office, the former president added, Even now, despite tremendous loss of lives and destruction of much of that country, I would have a peace deal negotiated within 24 hours.

Trumps Saturday remarks echoed comments he made last week on his Truth Social account, where he described the Ukraine war as a tragic waste of human life and warned that further escalation of the conflict could have disastrous consequences.

FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES, he cautioned on Jan. 26. Get this crazy war ended, NOW. So easy to do!

A day prior, Biden had confirmed that he intended to send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, marking a reversal in policy.

Previously, officials had said M1 Abrams tanks were too complicated to operate and difficult to maintain. After Ukrainian pleas for assistance, however, the administration changed its position.

The United States and Europe are fully united, Biden said, contending that the tanks did not pose an offensive threat to Russia.

Europe Responds

Bidens announcement came amid similar pledges from other Western nations, including Germany, which agreed to send 14 Leopard 2A6 battle tanks, and the UK, which will provide four Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to those pledges on Jan. 26, telling Sky News that he was very happy to have the countries support.

Overall, I am very thankful to the world for the support of Ukraine, he added. But speaking frankly, the number of tanks and the delivery time to Ukraine is critical.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, called the move a disastrous plan, holding: These tanks will burn down just like all the other ones.  Except they cost a lot, and this will fall on the shoulders of European taxpayers.

The day after Bidens announcement, Russia responded on the battlefield by firing missiles at Kyiv, killing at least one person and wounding two others.

The tanks, the Kremlin said, were evidence of the United States growing direct involvement in the conflict.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has again ramped up his requests for aid by asking allies to send long-range missiles.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump Secures Federal Extension for Disclosing His Personal Finances

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower the day after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home, in New York on Aug. 9, 2022. (David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters)

Former President Donald Trump will not have to disclose his personal finances for another several weeks.

Federal Election Commission lawyer Lisa Stevenson told Trump attorney Derek Ross on Jan. 27 that the FED is granting his team a request for another 45-day extension, according to a brief letter published online (pdf). Trump was previously given an extension on Dec. 16, according to Bloomberg News.

While President Trump has made diligent effort to prepare his report, due to the complexity of his financial holdings, President Trump needs additional time to compile the necessary information and complete the report, his lawyer wrote to the agency on Jan. 26 (pdf).

Under federal law, presidential candidates are mandated to report information on their assets, income, and debt within 30 days of becoming a candidate. They can file for two 45-day extensions.

The FECs extension was granted after Trump made his first campaign appearance in several primary states, including in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

He is the first Republican to announce a 2024 White House bid.

Im more angry now, and Im more committed now, than I ever was, Trump told a small crowd at the New Hampshire Republican Partys annual meeting in Salem, before heading to Columbia, South Carolina, for an appearance alongside his leadership team in the state.

In Columbia, Trump spoke to about 200 people in the states capitol building, with Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) flanking him.

There is speculation that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely seen as the biggest threat to Trump, will launch his own 2024 bid. Top Republicans in both states that the former president visitedincluding New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haleyare among those weighing bids of their own, although polls show that they are far behind Trump and DeSantis.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Republican State Committees annual meeting in Salem, New Hampshire, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

At both stops on Saturday, Trump echoed some of the themes that animated his 2016 campaign, including sharply criticizing illegal immigration and the Chinese Communist Party. In Columbia, the former president railed against the teaching of critical race theory, a Marxist-inspired set of theories that has sparked board protests across the United States.

Were going to stop the left-wing radical racists and perverts who are trying to indoctrinate our youth, and were going to get their Marxist hands off our children, Trump said. Were going to defeat the cult of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders: men and women. Were not going to allow men to play womens sports.

Some analysts say that his speeches over the weekend were a far cry from the rallies that he held across the United States in 2016 and 2020 to crowds of thousands of supporters. Trump told reporters in New Hampshire that were going to do them soon.

The trip to two early-primary states came more than two months after Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign during a Nov. 15 speech at his Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump retains a significant base of support, particularly among the grassroots. While he loses in some head-to-head polls against DeSantis, he wins by significant margins when poll respondents are presented with a broader field of options.

Meanwhile, Trump again targeted DeSantiswho has not indicated whether hes running for presidentand claimed he changed his views on COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines.

He promoted the vaccine as much as anybody in this country promoted it. You remember that he closed Florida. Florida was closed. There were Republican governors that did not close, Trump told reporters several days ago.

In response, the Florida governor issued a response but did not directly address Trumps claims.

You take a crisis situation like COVID, the good thing about it is that when youre an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions, youve got to steer that ship, DeSantis said Tuesday in response to a Trump-related question. And the good thing is that people are able to render a judgment on that: Whether they re-elect you or not.

Im happy to say in my case, not only did we win re-election, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida, DeSantis said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Trustee Criticizes School Board for Handling of Parent With Concerns Over Sexual Material

A Waterloo District School Board (WRDSB) trustee released an open letter on Twitter to parents, students, school staff, and the greater community Monday, criticizing the school board for responding to a parents concern with an insulting tone in an open letter to the public.

Mike Ramsay, a former police officer, raised concerns with the way the school board handled the Jan. 16 appearance a parent made before the school board committee. David Todor spoke to the board about survey questions his daughters, aged 7 and 9, were asked relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Who is interested in knowing my daughters sexual orientation? Todor asked. He said these questions were none of the schools business.

Mr. Todor made it clear that he was not happy about the questions being asked. He felt they were intrusive and invasive, said Ramsay.

Todor also raised questions about a library book called The Bluest Eye, which Ramsay said includes discussions of incest, rape, pedophilia, and bestiality.

Todor read some sections of the book out loud to the board. In response, the board adopted a motion that Todors questions would be referred to staff for further reply.

Public Response

The reply came in the form of an open letter published on the Board website on Jan. 20, which criticized the comments made by a parent during a presentation to the board.

The letter did not name Todor, but Ramsay said that the parent was attacked in everything but name.

The open letter by WRDSB said, Simply because a parent  disagrees  does not give them the right to make false claims of pandering or facilitating child abuse or pedophilia.

The letter stated that while framed as questions, the tone is accusatory, often coupled with inflammatory language and misinformation.

The Board said that as the comments were made at a public meeting, we have decided to answer them publicly.

This behaviour is egregious, although it is a tried and tested method to attack public education in an effort to reverse human rights and equity protections of marginalised groups, the Board continued.

Ramsay alleges the Boards letter was released by Board staff, without the content being considered by the Board of Trustees and without the entire Board agreeing to it being released. WRDSB was contacted but unable to immediately reply.

Ramsay said he had hoped that with a recent election, a new board would focus on student achievement and well-being rather than preachy displays of holier-than-thou sanctimony.

Ramsay, who was unable to reply by press time, told reporters that Cindy Watson, another trustee, attempted to find out who wrote the letter and authorized it for publication, but no clear answers were forthcoming.

Watson, along with a third trustee, Bill Cody, also came forward to defend parents who raised concerns about sexual content in schools. Watson, a 22-year board veteran, said she had never seen a parent responded to in this way and was completely shocked.

Watson told reporters the boards response was excessive and heavy-handed.

Legitimate Concerns

Ramsay said that he supported the book being included in the library for high school students, but in good conscience dissent[ed] from the Boards process in releasing its letter of January 20, as well as the approach and tone of the letter.

The trustee said the concern of the parent was legitimate, and in his view, questions about which books ought to be included in the school library system and questions about age-appropriateness are fair game for public discourse by the board.

Ramsay criticized the board, which unfairly disparages the motives of Mr. Todor. The trustee added that it implied the parents concerns were not honestly made in good faith, and that the father has an underlying agenda of attacking public education, reversing human rights, or undermining the equity protections of marginalized groups.

There is zero evidence of any such intentions, said Ramsay, who was suspended last year by the board for a period of time.

He suggested that the Boards irrelevant arguments, groundless accusatory approach, and insulting tone of the letter did a disservice to the parent.

Ramsay said he wanted parents to bring concerns to the board, ask questions, and be comfortable bringing their voice to the table without fear of being cut off, publicly ridiculed, or having their motives or character denigrated.
UK Conservative MP Calls Belgian Offer to Swap Iranian Terrorist Shocking Development

Bob Blackman also described Iran as the 'parent' of terrorist 'children' Hamas and Hezbollah

Conservative MPs David Jones (on table, second from left) and Bob Blackman (third from left) address a meeting on Iran at the Jubilee Room in Westminster Hall, London, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Chris Summers/The Epoch Times)

LONDONA British MP who escaped death when an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, was intercepted before he could bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris in 2018 has described it as worrying that Belgium was considering swapping Assadi for a Belgian citizen in an Iranian jail.

Earlier this month Olivier Vandecasteele, a humanitarian worker, was jailed for at least 12 years and given 74 lashes after being convicted of espionage following a secret trial in Iran.

Bob Blackman, a Conservative MP, told a conference at the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday it was a shocking development for Belgium to consider swapping Vandecasteele for Assadi, who was jailed for 20 years in Antwerp in February 2021 for plotting a bomb attack against the rally, which was attended by several British MPs as well as U.S. and European politicians.

Blackman said the bomb had been smuggled into Belgium in an Iranian diplomatic pouch and he said that if Assadi was sent back to Iran he would be treated as a hero by the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said if Assadi had succeeded and killed NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi or Western politicians who support the opposition to the government in Tehran, there would have been a war and the Iranian regime would have been obliterated by the U.S.

Among the British MPs who spoke at the rally was David Amess, a British Conservative MP who was later murdered by an Islamist terrorist at his political surgery in Essex.

Blackman said Britain and the European Union should have taken much tougher action after Assadis conviction and he said of the regime in Tehran: They suppress their people and they execute their enemies. We must treat them accordingly.

Blackman then quoted Winston Churchill, who once said, An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.

Iranian demonstrators take to the streets of the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini on Sept. 21, 2022, five days after the young woman died in custody while under arrest by the countrys morality police. (AFP via Getty Images)

The MP said the British government should proscribe the Revolutionary Guards in Iran just like they had Hamas and Hezbollah.

Blackman said: Weve proscribed the childrenHamas and Hezbollahbut not the parent, who has been supplying them with funding and resources. It doesnt make any sense.

Azadeh Zabeti, co-president of the Anglo-Iranian Lawyers, agreed with Blackman and asked the British government to go further and close down the Iranian Embassy in London.

Iranian Embassy Houses Murderers and Terrorists

She said: It doesnt house diplomats. It houses murderers and terrorists and poses a direct threat to our democracy and way of life. We should shut it down and expel the diplomats and their families.

Zabeti called for more action from Western governments to support the Iranian peoples uprising, but she warned: Its not for anyone in the exile community to hijack their revolution. The voice of the Iranian people has been loud and our voice is to be their voice.

She also said it was an insult to the Iranian people to suggest they were demonstrating in order to restore the son of the last shah to his throne.

They deserve far better than the choice between two dictators or the lesser of two evils, Zabeti added.

The conference, which was hosted by the NCRI, was told 750 people, including 43 children, had been killed during the recent protests in Iran and around 30,000 had been locked up, many of whom had been tortured and sexually assaulted.

David Jones, another Conservative MP, said, What we are witnessing in Iran may have come as a surprise to many but not to those of us who taken an interest in events in Iran over the years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meet before a summit in Tehran, Iran, on July 19, 2022. (President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)

He said there had been protests since 2018 and added, The Iranian people boycotted the so-called parliamentary and presidential elections in 2021 which saw [Ebrahim] Raisisomeone well known for his involvement in the massacre of 35,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988come to power.

Wests Iran Policy Based on an Illusion

Jones said the Wests current policy towards Iran was based on an illusion that by accommodating this regime they can reach a solution to the nuclear threat.

He said: This is the wrong approach. The Iranian government only responds to firmness and resolve.

Jones said the NCRI had worked hard to expose the malign activities of the Iranian regime, and was the first to disclose its secret nuclear programme.

Hossein Abedini, the NCRIs deputy director in the UK, said the regime in Tehran had been responsible for hundreds of terrorist attacks over the years, including the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983 which killed more than 300 people, and a 1994 bomb in Buenos Aires which killed 85 people at a Jewish community centre.

Abedini said Iran had the fourth biggest oil reserves in the world and the second biggest gas reserves and he said they did not need nuclear energy, but the mullahs needed a bomb.

He said: Iran has been like a volcano which has been simmering for decades. The volcano finally erupted and it will not return to the past. The Iranian people have cut off all relations with the regime and its time for Western governments to cut off relations with this dictatorship too.

One of the principal constituents of the NCRI is the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, or Mojahedin-e-Khalq, which was originally a left-wing Soviet-backed group and was later supported by Saddam Hussein, but now supports the NCRIs aims of multi-party democracy and a market economy.
UK Plan to Clamp Down on Disruptive Protests Suffers Defeats in House of Lords

The House of Lords chamber sits in session at the Houses of Parliament in London on Oct. 31, 2017. (Dan Kitwood/AFP/Getty Images)

The House of Lords has inflicted a number of defeats on the UK government over its plans to clamp down on disruptive protests.

The UK government on Jan. 16 announced plans to give police more powers to tackle disruptive protests such as those organised by climate activists, allowing officers to intervene before protests become highly disruptive.

But in a setback for the proposed changes to the Public Order Bill, members of the House of Lords on Monday backed by 243 votes to 221, majority 22, a higher threshold before police can intervene in protests with a stricter definition of serious disruption.

Later, a government-backed move to prevent protesting an issue of current debate being used as a reasonable defence for offences such as locking-on, tunnelling, and blocking roads, was narrowly rejected by 224 votes to 221, majority three.

The defeats set the stage for a tussle between the unelected chamber and the House of Commons over the proposed law, known as parliamentary ping-pong.

Higher Threshold

The draft legislation would give police greater clarity about dealing with demonstrators blocking roads or slow marching, a tactic that has been used by groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain, and Just Stop Oil.

Under the proposed changes to the Public Order Bill, police would not need to wait for disruption to take place and could shut demonstrations down before they escalate. Police would not need to treat a series of protests by the same group as standalone incidents, but would be able to consider their total impact.

As well as creating new offences of locking-on and tunnelling, the bill also introduces increased stop and search powers for police and contentious protest banning orders.

But peers demanded a higher threshold before the new powers can be enforced.

Just Stop Oil protesters block traffic in Parliament Square in London, on Oct. 4, 2022. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Proposing the change, Labour frontbencher Lord Coaker said, I want a serious threshold.

He added, We are going to pass legislation here where protests, that all of us would regard as reasonable, all of us would regard as acceptable, are going to be illegal.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom, a Home Office minister, opposed the proposed change, saying: The debate is not about whether these measures ban protests. Quite simply they do not. What we are trying to ascertain is the point to which protesters can disrupt the lives of the general public. And the government position is clearwe are on the side of the public. The government wants to protect the rights of the public to go about their daily lives without let or hindrance.

We are listening to the public who are fed up with seeing day after day protesters blocking roads. They make children late for school, they make people miss hospital appointments, they make small businesses struggle. Any change in law must address this.

Proceedings Disrupted

It followed earlier drama in the House of Lords chamber, when eco-activists disturbed proceedings to protest against the proposed bill, leading to a short adjournment.

The 12 members of Extinction Rebellion, wearing tops bearing the slogan Defend Human Rights, were swiftly escorted from the upper chamber by doorkeepers and security staff. No arrests were made.

Speaking outside the chamber, Extinction Rebellion protester Marion Malcher, 67, from Woking, said: This draconian legislation severely infringes on our human right to peacefully protest. Never in my lifetime have I seen the government push through such oppressive laws with such a low threshold for criminality.

A House of Lords spokesperson said: A small group of protesters staged a demonstration in the public gallery of the House of Lords during the report stage of the Public Order Bill.

Proceedings were suspended for a short time while the protesters were escorted from the building and the House resumed.

Police Welcome Clarity

While the proposed measures have been criticised by campaign groups and face challenges in Parliament, they have been welcomed by senior police officers.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said after the government plan was announced: It is clearly understood that everybody has the right to protest. Increasingly however police are getting drawn into complex legal arguments about the balance between that right to protest and the rights of others to go about their daily lives free from serious disruption. The lack of clarity in the legislation and the increasing complexity of the case law is making this more difficult and more contested.

Rowley added: It is for Parliament to decide the law, and, along with other police chiefs, I made the case for a clearer legal framework in relation to protest, obstruction, and public nuisance laws. We have not sought any new powers to curtail or constrain protest, but have asked for legal clarity about where the balance of rights should be struck.

I welcome the governments proposal to introduce a legal definition of serious disruption and reasonable excuse. In practical terms, Parliament providing such clarity will create a clearer line for the police to enforce when protests impact upon others who simply wish to go about their lawful business.

PA Media contributed to this report.
US Ranking Drops on World Corruption Index

A U.S. flag is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on Jan. 26, 2023. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Transparency International has released its 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index on Jan. 31 and the results were sobering. It showed little improvement for democratic institutions in 95 percent of the 180 countries and territories observed since 2017.

The index both scores and ranks perceived levels of corruption in the public sector on a zero to 100 scale, with zero considered the most corrupt on the score chart.

This year, the ranking for the United States sank alongside other nations, dropping from 27 to 24 year over year. Alongside the rank of 24, the United States scored a 69 on the index.

By comparison, Russia scored 28 and ranked 137. China scored 45 and was ranked at number 65.

Corruption has made our world a more dangerous place. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they fuel the current rise in violence and conflict and endanger people everywhere.

The only way out is for states to do the hard work, rooting out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just an elite few, Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International, said in a press statement.

The same countries topped the list of least corrupt for the second year in a row, with Denmark receiving the highest score (90). Finland and New Zealand followed closely, both with scores of 87.

At the bottom of the list of the most corrupt countries were South Sudan, Syria, and Somalia.

The global average in Corruption Perceptions Index (43) has remained unchanged for 11 years. The agency identifies more than two-thirds of surveyed countries as having a serious problem with corruption, with scores below 50.

Moreover, the annual reports highlight a continued slide into deeper corruption within the United States, some of which was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its 202o analysis, the U.S. hit its lowest score in nearly a decade at 67.

COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis. It is a corruption crisis, Rubio said in a January 2021 statement.

Transparency International could not respond to The Epoch Times request for comment in time for the deadline.
Vance to Back Trump in 2024 Presidential Campaign

U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance speaks with prospective voters on the campaign trail in Troy, Ohio, on April 11, 2022. (Gaelen Morse/Getty Images)

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) will support Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race in 2024, he said on Jan 31. in a radio interview.

Vance told Hugh Hewitt on his radio show, the simple fact is Donald Trumps policies were incredibly good for this country and hes very popular among Republican voters.

In Ohio Republican circles, Id say well over half the people in our party want Trump to run and will vote for him in the primary if he does. You know, look, Im planning to support the [former] president in 24, Vance said. Im actually going to have an article come out here in the next couple of days that explains why.

Vance, a former venture capitalist and best-selling author, was considered a rising conservative star after receiving Trumps endorsement and winning a tough fight to replace retired Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

The Ohio politician has now returned the favor just months after Trump formally announced his 2024 presidential run in November of 2022. Thus far Trump is the only Republican who has announced their candidacy for the next presidential cycle.

Vance told Hewitt that Trump deserves a chance to govern again and said he believes Republican voters, a lot of them, are on his side.

The first-term senator from Ohio isnt the only Republican to throw their political weight behind the former president. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) recently declared his support for the 45th president at a Trump event in South Carolina.

Graham later told Fox Newss Sean Hannity, Im for Donald Trump because I know what Im going to get. We need somebody that on day one can get this country back on track. That can secure our border and bring order out of chaos. Somebody that the Russians and the Chinese fear. Somebody that can take the fight to the terrorists.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) has also supported Trump, saying in an interview with Politico, Hes been somebody thats gotten the support of Missourians by big margins a couple times. He has my support.

Not all Republicans are supporting Trump, however. According to NBC News, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said during a recent interview that we just want the best normal candidate  Im not pro-Trump. Im not anti-Trump. Im just moving on.
The second highest-ranked official in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Department of the Interior (DOI) has been accused of failing to divest from her stakes in a major oil company whose competitors were regulated by her agency.

On Monday, a nonprofit organization called Protect the Publics Trust (PPT) filed a complaint against BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs Nada Culver. PPT claims that Culver maintained investments in ConocoPhillips, a major crude oil producer in Alaska, at a time when the BLM suspended multiple competing oil and gas leases in the state.

The complaint specifically alleges that Culver also maintained interests in Conoco by way of her husbands bond holdings, which would also be considered a prohibited investment.

Weeks before the start of the Biden administration on Jan. 20, 2021, the DOIs ethics office informed Culver of her obligation to divest from prohibited financial interests prior to joining the department. Culver reportedly received further advice to divest from her prohibited financial interests during an Interim Ethics Guidance from the ethics office on March 11, 2021, and later on received an urgent admonition to divest, according to PPT.

Ms. Culver only sold her interests in ConocoPhillips 224 days after the first of these events and more than 110 after the Department ethics officials took emergency action to admonish her to divest of all oil and gas interests immediately, PPT said. These facts lend considerable support to concerns that Ms. Culver violated her ethics obligations by continuing to hold prohibited financial interests for months.

Culver was working with BLM when the agency suspended multiple leases in the Alaskan Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program on June 1, 2021. Further, Culver was listed as the point of contact for leaseholders affected by the suspensions.

According to PPT, while BLM suspended many leases in the Coastal Plain Program, ConocoPhillips lease for its Willow Project was approved. The Willow Project is projected to produce 600 million barrels of oil over its lifespan.

ConocoPhillips only stood to benefit from the suspensions of competing Alaskan producers, PPT said.

PPT obtained a copy of an email from Culver in which she requested the contact information for ConocoPhillips. Culver sent that email on June 2, 2021, the day after BLM suspended other oil and gas leases in the area.

According to a September 2021 financial disclosure, Culver sold her ConocoPhillips on Aug. 16, 2021. The shares were valued between $1,000 and $15,000.

According to PPT, in addition to her ConocoPhillips investments, Culver allegedly held 40 other prohibited financial interests that required her to have an ethics waiver or recuse herself in certain circumstances.
Way-Too-Early Glance at 2024 US Senate Races Gives GOP Clear Path to Take Chamber

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), here speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in September 2021, is 77 years old and pondering retirement rather than seeking a third term in West Virginia in 2024, a state Republicans otherwise dominate. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

With the first United States 2024 presidential primary slated for South Carolina on Feb. 3, elections forecasters are already posting way-too-early projections on Congressional races even before candidates in many contests formally launch campaigns.

But when it comes to the U.S. Senate, its less prognostication than math in acknowledging Republicans are favored to do what eluded them in 2022 and capture the chamber next cycle.

There will be 34 Senate seats on ballots across the nation in November 2024 with 23 now held by Democrats. While races for as many as eight of those seats are expected to be competitive, only two of the 11 now held by Republicans are projected to be so.

According to the University of Virginia Center for Politics Sabatos Crystal Ball initial 2024 U.S. Senate race ratings, Democrats will be defending seats in three statesMontana, Ohio, West Virginiawon by former President Donald Trump, and in another five narrowly won by President Joe Biden in 2020.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), here speaking during a March 2022 Senate Banking Committee hearing, is expected to face a stiff GOP challenge in his 2024 quest for a fourth term in increasingly red Ohio. (Tom Williams/AP)

Among Democrat incumbents who will face what are expected to be strong GOP challenges, or at least well-funded campaigns, are West Virginias Joe Manchin, Ohios Sherrod Brown, and Montanas Jon Tester.

Sabatos initial 2024 Senate race ratings posted on Jan. 24 also lists Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, as potentially vulnerable.

Sabatos preliminary Senate race assessments were preceded by similar Inside Elections initial ratings posted on Jan. 6, which identified the same eight Democrat-held seats as potentially vulnerable in 2024.

Meanwhile, no Republican senators are up for reelection in states that Biden won, Inside Elections writes. Its the first time in recent memory that one party doesnt have a single vulnerable Senate seat on the initial battlefield.

Of course, as Sabatos notes, Republicans were favored to take the Senate in the 2022 elections but ended up actually losing a seat to give Democrats a two-vote cushion in the chamber.

The last two times this cycle of Senate seats were on the ballot2012 and 2018Sabatos maintains Democrats were also overexposed but basically held the line in both cycles, netting two seats to expand their majority in 2012, and then losing just two net seats in 2018.

Despite the Democrats level of exposure, we view the overall [2024] race for the Senate as a toss-up, Sabatos projects. Republicans have a ton of opportunities but the burden of proof is on them to produce capable candidates after they just had a terrible slate in 2022.

Breakdown of Key 2024 Senate Races

West Virginia: A Democrat not named Joe Manchin would have a difficult time winning an election in a state Trump won by nearly 40 points in 2020, and with the two-term incumbent reportedly pondering retirement, the most competitive 2024 Senate race could be in the GOP primary.

One Republican has thrown his hat into the ring: Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.V.). Gov. Jim Justice said earlier in January he is very seriously considering a run while Patrick Morrisey, the first Republican to ever serve as the states attorney general, is also regarded as a potential strong contender.

Ohio: Sen. Sherrod Brown has already launched his campaign for a fourth term in a state that has become increasingly red since he won his first election 12 years ago.

State Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), a moderate who finished third in Ohios 2022 GOP Senate primary won by now Sen. J.D. Vance, has already announced he will run. Secretary of State Frank LaRose is also said to be among potential Republican challengers.

Montana: Democrat Jon Tester has not announced if he will seek a fourth term in deep-red Montana where the moderate retains good approval ratings and where Republican voters have sent 14 Democrats to the Senate compared to just five Republicans since 1900.

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), who as state auditor unsuccessfully challenged Tester in 2018, and Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Trumps first Secretary of the Interior, are among Republicans reportedly pondering 2024 Senate runs.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, here in 2019 when she was a Democrat before becoming an Independent, could be embroiled in a three-way race in 2024 in seeking a second term. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

Arizona: Kyrsten Sinema is no longer the Democrat she was when first elected in 2018 but still caucuses with the party and could be embroiled in a three-way race in 2024.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has formally declared his Senate candidacy and there are a host of Republicans that could also enter the race. Among them: failed gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, defeated Senate nominee Blake Masters, and former state Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson.

Michigan: Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow is not seeking a fifth term, leaving her seat wide open in this hugely contested purple state that will be a prime GOP target in. 2024. There are no announced candidates but among Republicans reportedly pondering a campaign is John James, who lost by slightly more than 1 percentage point to Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in 2020.

Nevada: In another purple state that featured one of 2022s closest Senate battles won by incumbent Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) over challenger Paul Laxalt, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) has announced she will seek a second term in 2024. A Republican challenger has not surfaced but some speculate Laxalt could mount a second run at the Senate.

Pennsylvania: Republicans lost a seat, and the Senate to a Democratic majority when Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was elected in 2022 to succeed the retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

Up for a fourth term in 2024 is Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.), the son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, Sr., a moderate who may not only face a strong yet-declared GOP candidate, but a challenge from the Left in the Democratic primary.

Wisconsin: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) is seeking a third term in a purple state where nail-biters are standard with 2024 likely to stay true to form, although no GOP challengers have as yet entered the race.
We Need a Record: National Citizens Inquiry on COVID-19 Response Set to Begin in March

Hearings will be held in seven cities across Canada

The National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) into COVID-19 is taking shape, fostering anticipation for its opportunity to answer questions, document history, and heal divisions.

The inquiry will look into the appropriateness and efficacy of federal and provincial governments unprecedented COVID policies and determine what lessons can be learned for the future, the NCIs website says.

Podcaster and journalist Trish Wood, who is doing communications for the inquiry, said the leadership team is enthused as it navigates through challenges.

Were moving forward and everybody is extremely enthusiastic. Its an important project, and there are a lot of really, really dedicated people working on it, Wood said in an interview.

For us, and the people who are working so hard on this, the COVID-19 response by all levels of government and public health is something that needs a good look. So its a great way to do it.

Hearings will begin in mid-March and wrap up in mid-May. Three days of hearings will be held in each location of Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Red Deer, and either Victoria or Vancouver. A live stream will be provided, though Wood hopes many will attend in person.

One thing Ive found in some of the events Ive been involved in around COVID is that when people get together at these things, its really good for them psychologically, because I think people have felt helpless. Going to an event or supporting an event like this makes them feel that they can do something, she said.

The Nationalcitizensinquiry.ca website allows people to sign up for updates, make donations, and offer to volunteer. More than 47,000 people have signed a petition in support of the inquiry as of Feb. 1. Wood says its a big undertaking but hopes it will document the pandemics impact, answer questions, and bring healing.

I hope that the commission itself will bring people together and answer the kinds of questions people have. And they are deep questions. Theyre not just about science and medicine and quarantining, and lockdowns, theyre also deep philosophical questions about medical ethics and our connections to each other.

John Graff, who along with Nadine Ness is coordinating the hearings in Saskatchewan, hopes the inquiry will bring truth out and leave the general public in Canada better informed.

Theres misunderstanding regarding the effects of government decisions. There is a misunderstanding of what the governmentspluralknew prior to their decisions. Theres probably a gap in many facts and an understanding of what the rights of the people and the restrictions on government action actually are in this country. Theres misunderstanding of the core of what Canada is, I think, Graff told The Epoch Times.

[The inquiry] provides a legitimate and organized method for the people to have their say in Canada. And Im hoping that, whatever the findings are, we will be able to influence governments and cause them to look circumspectly at their actions. Its a moment for the country to take a pause and see what the course of the future should be.

Purest Form of Democracy

Preston Manning, founder of the Reform Party and a former MP and Opposition leader, announced the launch of the NCI at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Nov. 2, 2022.

However, on Jan. 19, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appointed Manning as committee chair for the provinces official review of its COVID-19 response. Given the appointment, Manning will no longer chair the NCI inquiry or act as the spokesperson, but rather will serve as one of the advisers. The inquiry and the hearings will be run independently by commissioners.

Graff said he was first inspired by Mannings emphasis on democratic participation decades ago when he led the Reform Party. His involvement in the NCI inspired Graff once more.

What got me excited about the National Citizens Inquiry is this is one of the purest forms of democracy that you can see. The idea that the citizen can speak and testify directly to the issues before the countryits a critical part of democracy, where the people can be heard, he said.

Both sides are able to testifythe sides that feel that the response by the government was a positive thing [or that it] was a negative action. We have to recognize theres people in the country that feel that everything went just like it should.

Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford bowed out of the inquiry, believing his strident stance against government actions could compromise the even-handedness of the endeavour.

Douglas Allen, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University, said he also declined to participate to avoid a negative perception.

Ive been asked twice by different people if I would volunteer as a commissioner on the NCI. Ive said no both times because I think I would come across as someone of bias. I was very much opposed to what happened, Allen said in an interview.

Im certainly willing to be a witness for the NCI or for any other inquiry that comes along.

Allen suggested in a paper in May 2021: It is possible that lockdown will go down as one of the greatest peacetime policy failures in modern history. He summarized similar findings in a recent essay for the Fraser Institute.

The More, the Better

Allen believes its healthy for Alberta to have its own inquiry alongside the NCI, and doesnt believe it will be a problem for Manning to be involved in that one and the NCI as well.

Theres no such thing as an unbiased inquiry, which is why its probably good to have a government do one, a citizens group do one, maybe a provincial one, a federal. The more, the better. Competition tends to bring out the truth, he said.

He believes having a record of what happened is important.

We need a record for when it comes back again, right? And thats the thing, it will come back in one way or another. It might be another viruswho knows what other existential threat well face. But we need a record, even if its just for history, for posterity, or for academics.

What concerns Allen is that some from the government and public might prefer to steer clear.

Omicron infected almost everybody and led to this endemic state, and the government could very quickly declare victory. And now it certainly doesnt want to go back and revisit anything or talk about it, he said.

For so many people its such a bad memory, and I totally understand why they want to move on. It was all-consuming at the time, and now it is just a dark hole in your life, and you dont want to go back there.

The NCI commissioned a Maru Voice panel survey of 1,533 Canadians in October 2022. When asked what aspect of the pandemic affected them most seriously, 24 percent of respondents named social impacts such as isolation and family tensions. Economic and health impacts were each chosen by 19 percent. Twelve percent said impacts on rights and freedoms affected them most personally, such as limitations imposed on freedom of expression, association, and assembly. The remaining 26 percent said they werent affected by any of these categories.
White House: No Reason for US-China War in 2025

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 28, 2022. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House is responding to a reported memo from a top Air Force general which asserted that the United States and China would be at war by 2025.

There is no need for such a war to ever emerge and conflict between communist China and the United States can still be avoided, according to White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby.

Weve addressed the challenges coming out of China here for quite some time, Kirby said during a Jan. 30 interview with CNN.

The president believes that we should be in a competition with China and that it should not evolve into conflict. Theres no reason for it to.

Kirbys comments follow the circulation of a memo allegedly written by Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, who said that he believed a war between China and the United States would erupt in 2025.

Minihan wrote that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, could seize upon international distraction as both Taiwan and the United States will be in the midst of presidential elections.

Moreover, the general noted that CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping had secured a historic third term in charge of the Party, and used the opportunity to silence detractors and build up his war council with CCP hardliners.

Xis team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025, Minihan wrote before adding that unrepentant lethality matters most, and encouraging U.S. troops to aim for the head.

The CCP claims that Taiwan is a rogue province of China and has threatened war to force the island into unification with the mainland. However, Taiwan has never been ruled by the CCP and boasts a democratic government and thriving market economy.

Some analysts believe that the CCP is actively preparing to launch an invasion of Taiwan, and is actively working to ensure that the United States is not prepared to intervene on Taiwans behalf.

Still, the White House believes that the United States is well poised to win the competition with China without it spilling over into war, according to Kirby, who underscored the nations focus on China in strategic documents released last year.

Its very plainly in our national security strategy, Kirby said. Its in the Pentagons national defense strategy. They call [China] the pacing challenge.

We need to make sure that in every sphere of government, we can meet that challenge head-on.
House Members Could Be Asked If They Denounce Socialism

News Analysis

House GOP members will ask all of their colleagues to make their position publicly known on socialism.

On Jan. 26, Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) introduced House Concurrent Resolution 9, titled Denouncing the horrors of socialism.

Salazar and Scalise intend to bring the resolution to the House floor for a vote this week. It isnt much of a stretch to imagine that the motion hopes to put any Republicans, Democrats, or Independents who identify either socially or economically with far-leftist ideals in an uncomfortable position with this legislative initiative.

What Say Ye Democrats?

And within the Democrats in the lower chamber of Congress, there is a subgroup that Republicans may be particularly keen on asking their opinion on socialism; and that is the nine members of the ultra-progressive Squad: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Summer Lee (D-Penn.), and Greg Casar (D-Texas).

It could get dicey.

Currently, every member of the Squad says they are liberal and progressive; only AOC and Tlaib openly call themselves socialists.

Resolution Outlines Horrific Lived Experiences of Socialism

Representatives Salazar and Scalise issued a joint press release announcing the resolution.

The district I represent is one that knows the failures of socialism all too well, said Rep. Salazar, whose constituency includes a large population of Cuban exiles. My constituents understand firsthand the consequences [that] socialist ideology brought to our continent: misery, oppression, and exile. I am proud to introduce a resolution that makes it clear  socialism fails wherever it has been tried, and we dont want it here.

Rep. Scalise said, The natural progression of socialist and communist policies is to a totalitarian state that deprives its citizens of basic freedoms and human rights. The American people know thistheyve seen the horrors of communism and the tens of millions killed by regimes in China, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and elsewhere.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 19, 2021. (Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds of thousands of Russians, Chinese, Cambodians, Koreans, Cubans, and Venezuelans have fled from murderous communist dictatorships and have legally resettled here in America. They are a living testament to the barbarity of these socialist regimes and the promise of the American dream.

Presently, 75 House members, including Salazar and Scalise, have signed on as supporters of the resolution.

The resolution lays out and describes in stark language a litany of violence, repression, and killing imposed by socialist states and nations.

Communist Party cadres hang a placard on the neck of a Chinese man. The words on the placard states the mans name and accuse him of being a member of the black class. (Public Domain)

Young Red Guards brandish copies of Chairman Maos Little Red Book in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The Red Guards rampaged through Chinese towns, terrorizing people, particularly the elderly. (Jean Vincent/AFP via Getty Images)

Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide, reads one clause.

Socialism, the resolution declares, has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 worldwide, and that many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolas Maduro.

The resolution also cites that tens of millions died in the Bolshevik Revolution, at least 10,000,000 people were sent to the gulags in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and millions more starved in the Terror-Famine (Holodomor) in Ukraine; and between 15,000,000 and 55,000,000 people starved to death in the wake of famine and devastation caused by the Great Leap Forward in China.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelt a Representatives surname. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Witnesses are slated to testify about the Mexican border crisis to the powerful Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 1.

The hearing, Bidens Border CrisisPart One, will examine border security, national security, and how fentanyl has impacted American lives, the committees Republicans said in a Jan. 30 news release. The first three witnesses: Dale Lynn Carruthers, a judge in Terrell County, Texas; Mark Dannels, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona; and Brandon Dunn, co-founder of Forever 15 Project that seeks to prevent fentanyl deaths such as that of Dunns 15-year-old son Noah Adam Rodriguez.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden downplayed the chaos related to the record numbers of illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border into the United States. In a meeting with the Mexican president, Biden stated that his administration had made great strides toward resolving irregular migration.

On Jan. 17, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Jordan complained that previous requests for information and documents about the U.S.-Mexico border crisis have gone unanswered.

This stonewalling must stop, Jordan wrote, threatening to issue orders compelling compliance with requests for information and testimony. Mayorkas is among the DHS employees who may be called to testify, according to a previous letter that Jordan sent. Read More Florida Congressman Demands DHS Allow Senior Border Patrols Officials to Testify Before Congress As The Epoch Times previously reported, the House Oversight Committee is also investigating the crisis, which is seeing a record numbers of illegal aliens pouring across Mexicos border into the United States. Republicans have vowed to hold the Biden Administration accountable for the humanitarian, public health, and national security problems that illegal immigration has triggered. During Bidens first two years in office, a record number of illegal immigrants died while crossing the border or soon after.
Year 11 Australian Student Advocates for Nuclear Power In Social Media Campaign

Teenager Will Shackel is calling for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to lift the ban on nuclear energy in the country.

A petition launched by Shackel has garnered over 1,400 signatures so far.

Nuclear energy is one of the safest, cleanest, cheapest and environmentally friendly sources of energy, period, the petition, which was started in the middle of January, said.

Yet despite fossil fuels being less safe, less clean, more expensive and significantly worse for the environment, the energy source Australia decides to ban is not fossil fuels but nuclear.

The prohibition on nuclear energy in Australia must end if Australia is to realise its climate goals.

A nuclear technology ban has been in place in Australia since 1998, which prevents the building of nuclear reactors for power generation.

Shackle called the ban a political compromise under the Howard government in 1988, which was the result of the actions of the Australian Democrats at the time.

I think at the point at which you ban something, theres often as a result of that inevitably going to be some stigma attached to it, he told Sydneys Radio 2GB.

What weve seen in Australia is that has resulted in huge misinformation around nuclear energy whether in regards to the spent fuel and the waste thats produced from that.

So I think thats really what has prevented us from having a conversation around nuclear energy. One that is based on facts, and hopefully, through what Im doing, Ill be able to promote that.

Shackle added that Australia is the only G20 country in the world which is able to justify the nuclear ban.

If theyre able to use it and see the potential in it, why cant Australia see the great benefits that nuclear energy will be able to do it?

While the government is pushing for a transition to renewable energy, Shackle said nuclear will have to be part of that energy mix into the future.

I would also just like to say that, of course, no energy source is perfect.

And you look at the environmental consequences that are often dismissed in terms of renewables, huge landfill, huge amount of materials that have to use, so I think thats really important to also point out that no energy source is perfect.

Labor State Premier Advocates For Nuclear

In December, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas left the door open for the state to develop nuclear power stations on Monday, saying the submarine construction his state would undertake via the AUKUS deal would bust any myths about its safety.

However, Albanese and federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek were quick to shoot down their Labor colleague, each claiming nuclear energy wouldnt work out financially.

The discussion comes as Australia desperately seeks a fix for soaring power bills, the PM labelling talk around nuclear energy as a distraction.

I have a great deal of respect for Mali, but everyones entitled to get things wrong, he told FiveAA radio.

Every five years or so, we have an economic analysis of whether nuclear power stacks up, and every time its rejected.

Plibersek was similarly strong, saying nuclear power was slow to build and really expensive.

All this nonsense about small-scale nuclear reactors in every suburb, I dont know if there are people up your street who want a nuclear reactor in the local park  I really dont think thats the case, she told Seven.

To curb the rising energy costs, the federal government in December announced a temporary $12-per-gigajoule (US$8.43) cap on gas prices and a $125-per-tonne cap on coal prices as part of a package including $1.5bn in electricity price relief.

AAP contributed to this article.
That release could not be found.
If there is any action in recent weeks that glaringly confirm as true the words of Alabo (Dr) Nengi OON, 2nd National Vice President, Ijaw National Congress (INC), that the Presidential Amnesty Program is failing in its responsibilities because it was executed with militarization, rather than with civilization, it is the widely circulated statement signed by Mr. Freston Akpor, Special Assistant, and Media to the Interim Coordinator of PAP, Major-General Barry Ndiomu (Retd), announcing the suspension of two amnesty scholarship beneficiaries identified as Patrick Ipidei and Papems Peter Etolor.

The referenced statement reads in part; The Presidential Amnesty Programme, (PAP) has suspended two students from its scholarship scheme over what it described as making spurious allegations against the leadership of the programme. We have received very disturbing reports of the horrendous activities of Messrs Patrick Ipidei and Papems Peter Etolor, two students under the ongoing PAP scholarship scheme.Ipidei and Etolo had over time cultivated the habit of spreading falsehood and making spurious allegations against the management of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and its Interim Administrator, Maj-Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd).

While the Amnesty letter announcing the suspension of the two scholarship beneficiaries was circulated on Saturday January, 2023, Nengis words on the marble was on its part, delivered on Tuesday November 29, 2022, at BON Hotel, Warri, Delta state, where he presented a paper, during a Niger Delta Economic Discourse Series put together by the management of GbaramatuVoice Newspaper, Warri with the theme; Presidential Amnesty Programme and Modular Refineries; Towards Sustainable Human Capital Development.

On that day, at that time and in that place, Nengi among other things stated; that the Amnesty Program is a Presidential policy that was executed with militarization rather than with civilianization. The program was poorly handled by military elements, which lacked capacity for mediation. Stakeholders were not given enough opportunities through the Post Amnesty Conference to discuss the best ways to implement the Amnesty Program. The Presidential Amnesty office lacks the personnel with the requisite skills set to manage the Amnesty Program.

Regrettably, the Presidential Amnesty proclamation he continued, did not factor-in mediation and conflict transformation. This is sequel to poor strategic conflict assessment of the Niger Delta struggle. Amnesty is no instrument for conflict resolution or conflict management. Amnesty is a general pardon of offence by the government. It is a deliberate overlooking of offenses against a government. It is a pardon to release criminally culpable persons from the just punishment of the Law. This explains why Asari Dokubo refused the Amnesty offer, and challenged its constitutionality in an Abuja High Court, on behalf of himself and members of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, and Peoples Salvation Front respectively. Amnesty declaration without negotiation cannot deliver peace dynamics in a crisis situation. He concluded.

For me, when one juxtaposes Nengis words with the quoted portion of the suspension letter by PAP, it elicits the following questions; if not a militarized government, what stopped PAP leadership from telling the world spurious allegations against the leadership of the programme? If not a militarized environment, what else shall we call an agency that suspends students without fair hearing? If not an environment that is devoid of legitimate and democratic ethos, how shall we address an institution that frowns at citizens freedom of expression and makes no provision for questioning by stakeholders?

Even if an answer(s) is provided to the above questions, this piece believes and still believes that it will not in any appreciable way erase the feeling among stakeholders that PAP has become an agency where issues, controversies, half truths and inefficiencies have completely spread their wings.

There are particulars that support the above claims, and they are embedded in the remaining part of Mr. Nengis paper as presented at the event.

First, he remarked that the Presidential Amnesty Program had failed to address the fundamentals of the Niger Delta struggle. The rapid development of the region as promised has proven to be a mere political slogan. The three pillars of the Amnesty Program: Disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration, are not faithfully, efficiently, and effectively implemented 13 years after the presidential proclamation. The beneficiaries of the Amnesty Program appear to be more victims of political deceit and manipulation.

Secondly, the disarmament phase of the Amnesty Program created a peaceful environment for the rapid development of the Niger Delta, and the rehabilitation, and reintegration of the Amnesty beneficiaries. But the Federal Government lacks the political will to implement the amnesty packages. There was no international guarantee and independent mediator between the Federal Government, and the people of the Niger Delta concerning the implementation of the Amnesty.

Thirdly, mediation according to him is a special form of negotiation, in which a neutral third party has a role. Mediation is a veritable conflict management tool for the settlement of dispute and conflict situations. The Amnesty proclamation had not culminated in conflict transformation. The poor implementation of the Amnesty Program is a time bomb that may explode, if the program is terminated chaotically. The aim of conflict transformation is to change the parties, their relationship, and the conditions that created the conflict. He concluded.

Niger Delta politicians, activists and others of Ijaw extractions; should be guided by the provisions of the Kaiama Declaration of December 1998; and focus on the fundamentals of the struggle, inherited from our revolutionary ancestry. The fundamentals of the struggle are resource control and ownership. The amnesty program offers us opportunities to re-strategize, and negotiate with the Federal Government from a position of strength.

As to the way out of this present lockjam, Nengi offered Presidential Amnesty Programm handlers some useful roadmaps.

Beginning with negotiation, he called for an urgent need to constitute a negotiation to negotiate with the Federal Government on how best to implement the marshall plan for the rapid development of the region. this according to him should be followed by a high powered delegation which must be sent to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: for the purpose of implementing the core recommendations of the Ledium Mitee Presidential Technical Committee on the Niger Delta

In addition to the above, he emphasized that the process for upward review of derivation formula enshrined in section 162 (2) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, be pursued through bipartisan approach from the Revenue mobilization, allocation and fiscal commission, to the presidency and all amnesty beneficiaries should be gainfully employed or adequately empowered, before the program be allowed to wind up

While noting that the amnesty program had become a cesspool of corruption, he called for the rehabilitation and reintegration phase of the amnesty program which should be approached with utmost seriousness and professionalism. The activists, pressure groups, political leaders etc, according to him, should convene post-amnesty conferences, and issue communiques. This will intellectualize the struggle, and make it a national discourse for answer to the Niger Delta question.

He finally brought to the fore the fact that in some instances, monies for the boys are reduced to a very small amount of money; that is from Sixty Five Thousand Naira (N65,000.00) to sometimes Thirty Thousand Naira (N30,000.00) to Forty Thousand Naira (N40,000.00), an act carried out in collaboration between banks and leaders of various camps, and therefore recommended that, monies belonging to the boys should be paid directly to boys without short-changing the true owners who are bearing the said names.

This piece totally agrees with the following recommendations.

Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via;[email protected]/08032725374
Actress bribe claim borne out by officers confessions: source

BANGKOK: A number of officers among the seven Huai Khwang policemen accused by Taiwanese actress Charlene An of extorting B27,000 from her in the early morning of Jan 4 have now admitted she was telling the truth, according to a police source.

corruptioncrimepolice

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 31 January 2023, 09:11AM

Taiwanese actress Charlene An says cops wanted B27,000 vape bribe. Photo: Bangkok Post

The source was quoting information discussed by executives of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) during yesterdays (Jan 30) meeting of a committee which screens senior police officials for promotion, reports the Bangkok Post.

The seven officers who stopped the Taiwanese actress and her companions in a Grab taxi for a security check at a checkpoint in front of the Chinese embassy on Ratchadaphisek Road did in fact demand B27,000 not to arrest the actress who was found in possession of a vaping device, said the source.

The member of the group who actually handed the bribe money to the officers was a Singaporean companion of the actress. Vaping remains illegal in Thailand.

Some of the officers admitted to extortion after being interrogated separately, said the source.

They had kept the incident secret and even initially denied the allegation as they thought their victim was a foreigner who wouldnt dare report the details to authorities.

Attendees at the meeting also discussed whether they should be dismissed for serious disciplinary misconduct, said the source, adding their superiors are also facing a probe to find out if they too were involved.

A Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) panel will examine previous cases of alleged extortion, said the source.

Following reports about the actress social media complaint, a number of similar complaints have been made in which people say police demanded payment in exchange for officers turning a blind eye, said the source.

Earlier in the day, Pol Maj Gen Archayon Kraithong, spokesman for the RTP, said national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas had begun moves to transfer the Huai Khwang police station chief during the probe.

MPB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang later signed the order to transfer Pol Col Yingyos Suwanno, the station chief, to the MPBs operations centre.

As for the seven police officers, a MPB committee had found them guilty of dereliction of duty for failing to take legal action against the Taiwanese actress or accurately recording the incident, said Pol Lt Gen Thiti.

Court action may follow over the more serious allegation of extortion.

Separate comments made by Pol Maj Gen Nitinan Phetborom, an MPB deputy chief, after meeting senior officers at Huai Khwang station, corroborated the sources claim that, so far, the officers are only assumed to have been in dereliction of duty, with a further probe to follow.

Yesterday, former politician and massage parlour tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit issued more details of what is said to have happened that night.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said the Thai girlfriend of Ans Singaporean companion has a video clip filming the payment.

According to Mr Chuvit, the girlfriend said she was the person who handed the money to the police.

Chuvit said surveillance camera footage of the security checkpoint that night had been deleted and the memory cards installed in the officers helmet cameras wiped.

He also accused the police of talking the Grab car driver into lying that the Taiwanese actress was very drunk and the duration of the incident had been far shorter than alleged. The driver has told the media repeatedly that she was drunk.
Corruption questions raised over failed Phuket construction projects

PHUKET: A key Phuket government information office has shared posts online by a national anti-corruption network, calling into question major constructions projects that have failed to materialise despite hundreds of millions of baht spent on them.

constructioncorruption

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 31 January 2023, 06:40PM

The building at Phuket Rajabhat University which remains incomplete, and unused, after more than 10 years and B495mn spent on it. Photo: STRONG

The building at Phuket Rajabhat University which remains incomplete, and unused, after more than 10 years and B495mn spent on it. Photo: STRONG

The building at Phuket Rajabhat University which remains incomplete, and unused, after more than 10 years and B495mn spent on it. Photo: STRONG

The building at Phuket Rajabhat University which remains incomplete, and unused, after more than 10 years and B495mn spent on it. Photo: STRONG

The building at Phuket Rajabhat University which remains incomplete, and unused, after more than 10 years and B495mn spent on it. Photo: STRONG

The B131mn project to improve the Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai remains incomplete after six years. Photo: STRONG

The B131mn project to improve the Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai remains incomplete after six years. Photo: STRONG

The B131mn project to improve the Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai remains incomplete after six years. Photo: STRONG

The B131mn project to improve the Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai remains incomplete after six years. Photo: STRONG

The B131mn project to improve the Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai remains incomplete after six years. Photo: STRONG

The Phuket Info Center shared the two posts by the STRONG Anti-Corruption Thailand Club over the past two days.

The Phuket Info Center, originally launched as an official COVID-19 information service, is operated under the Phuket branch of the Ministry of Interior, namely under the Phuket Governors Office.

One of the posts highlighted a building at Phuket Rajabhat University, located north of Phuket Town, that remains unfinished despite construction starting 10 years ago and B495 million already being spent on the project.

The building, originally intended to provide a venue to hold teaching courses in hospitality, now sits abandoned, the post said.

Construction began in 2013, with B199.6mn paid during the first round. More funds were dedicated to the project three more times, the post said.

In early 2016, B4.3mn was spent on hiring experts for a new design. At the end of 2016, another budget of B229.7mn was contributed to the project.

Last year a further B61.4mn was allocated to completing the building and it is still not finished, the post continued.

After 10 years, there is still no sign that the construction has been completed. From investigation, it was found that in addition to the problem of changing the budget funds assigned along the way, there is still a problem with land boundaries. Who does not survey the area well before starting the project? the anti-corruption network questioned.

It is considered to be acting incorrectly. [They] cannot claim that they do not know the area and the various regulations of the university, and are using the distance between the Council President and the Chancellor for mutual benefit, the network said.

This project must be transferred into the good hands of an inspection agency to carry out an intensive investigation, because in addition to losing the budget, we also lose the opportunity that students in the Andaman zone can learn hotel business education, which is the main occupation in the area, the network said.

The other project highlighted was B131mn that was supposed to be spent improving the Phuket Check Point, through which all vehicles travelling onto or off the island by road must pass.

Recently, the network of the STRONG club in Phuket has been monitoring the abandoned Andaman Safety Center Enhancement Project, which was to build confidence among tourists in the area of Tha Chatchai Checkpoint in Mai Khao, Thalang, Phuket, the network said on its Facebook page.

The budget was B131,490,000, divided into construction of a tourist checkpoint building worth B16mn, a front office building worth B14mn and B101mn on improving the area, the network explained.

The project started in 2016, with the contract specifying the work was to be completed by April 19, 2017, but after six years there is still no sign that it will be opened.

The internal condition is damaged and incomplete [as shown in the pictures]. It is a waste of space and a waste of budget funds that cannot be used again.

Phuket is a world-class tourist city, each year it receives 10mn tourists, but instead of completing this and being able to use it, where did the project become stuck? the network asked.

Have the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning and other inspection agencies follow up urgently, the net work proposed.

The STRONG Anti-Corruption Thailand Club carries a large following. Its Facebook page alone has more than 110,000 followers. The two posts calling into question the failed construction projects in Phuket were shared among the networks followers nationwide.
One pill limit or face meth dealing charge

BANGKOK: A ministerial regulation is being amended so that anyone in possession of more than one methamphetamine pill, instead of 15, will be regarded as having the pills with intent to sell, not for personal use as at present.

drugscrimepolice

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 31 January 2023, 12:35PM

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Photo: Bangkok Post

At present, those found with 15 or fewer pills in their possession are regarded as having them for personal use only and subject to rehabilitation, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday (Jan 30). This has been exploited by people who actually intend to sell them, he said.

The bill has been prepared by the committee on treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts and is ready for the ministers signature. Later it will be forwarded to the cabinet for approval and then published in the Royal Gazette, reports the Bangkok Post.

Anutin, who is also deputy prime minister, said the amendment would be a more effective legal measure against the trade in illegal drugs and help protect young people, their families and society.

The reason the committee reached this decision is that we want to be more decisive and see effective enforcement of the law, after it was suggested that we seem to fear there is not enough room in prison for drug convicts, the minister said.

Anutin said that with a person able to have only one meth pill for personal use, drug traders would no longer be able to exploit the regulation.

Meanwhile, an army patrol seized 21 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine packaged as Chinese tea from the bank of the Mekong River, and arrested one suspect, in That Phanom district.

A patrol from the Surasak Montree Task Force, led by Capt Thanachote Na Nakhon, lay in wait on the riverbank at Ban Nakham in tambon Nam Ko on Sunday night after a tip-off that the drugs were arriving from Laos, authorities said yesterday.

A man later identified as Sompit Bamrungwong, 55, a labourer from Mukdahan, was arrested after arriving in a Toyota Rivo pickup to collect a big bag that had been left on the bank.

The bag contained 21 packages labelled as Kwan Yin Wang Chinese tea, but they actually contained about 1kg of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, each.

Mr Sompit allegedly confessed he was paid B5,000 to deliver the crystal meth to a storage area in Mukdahan.
Moderate snow, strong winds and cold temperatures made for difficult travel on Sunday across the metro Montreal region. Another 10.8cm of snow fell, bringing the monthly total up to 89.4cm. By comparison, Burlington, Vermont has had 89.9cm for the entire winter to date.
Janet Parnes performs as Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts farm girl who disguised herself as a man to join the army in the Revolutionary War. Parnes will present her show as Sampson at the Plainville Historical Commission on Friday.
Guest column: Degrading who we are, one billboard at a time
SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Junior; Bergel struck out eight and allowed only five hits as Wheeler defeated Griswold in its season opener. Bergel walked just one batter and allowed two earned runs.

CAMI BROWN, Stonington, Softball, Junior; Brown finished 11 for 16 in four games for the Bears. Brown doubled four times, tripled twice and drove in nine runs.

CASEY MACERA, Westerly, Girls Lacrosse, Freshman, Macera scored five goals in a Division III win against Rocky Hill. Westerly ended a 15-game losing streak with the victory.

ADAM CARPENTER, Chariho, Baseball, Sophomore; Carpenter pitched a two-hitter in his varsity debut as the Chargers beat East Providence. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the sixth. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter.

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A Far Rockaway man was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted burglary in September. Marquis Silvers, 21, was observed by a witness entering a home in Far Rockaway on Aug. 31, 2021, and exiting shortly after. The homeowner found that the cash he had in his wallet was gone. One evening, after trying to apprehended Silvers for 4 months, he was observed entering the Food Universe Marketplace, located near Bayswater Park. As police arrived, he hid in the ceiling of the supermarket in order to evade getting caught.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the sentence and thanked the Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol (RNSP) for assisting the 101st Precinct during the investigation. The Far Rockaway-based nonprofit organization is comprised of over 50 volunteers who work with the NYPD and NCPD and on crime-fighting patrols and search and rescue efforts.

I want to thank the Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol for their help and relentless efforts in getting this defendant off the street, said Katz. My priority will always be to keep our communities strong, vibrant, and safe.

The Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol can be reached 24 hours a day on their hotline at (516) 858-7300.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The city of New York, famously known as the Big Apple, is facing a growing crisis regarding its handling of asylum seekers. On Monday, the situation escalated when over a hundred asylum seekers who had been housed at a Midtown hotel, The Watson Hotel, set up an encampment outside rather than move to a new impromptu shelter arranged by Mayor Eric Adams.

This encampment is the latest development in the citys ongoing struggle to accommodate the sudden surge in asylum seekers in recent months. Residents of the area are already complaining about the situation, with one single mother telling DailyMail.com that she feels compelled to carry pepper spray just to make it through the crowded and rowdy area to get to her home across the street.

Efforts to house these asylum seekers have proven to be unsuccessful in recent months. The city has tried several solutions, such as a scrapped tent city in The Bronx and a proposed facility on Randalls Island, but both have failed to materialize. As a result, many of the asylum seekers have been housed in hotels, with hundreds of male asylum seekers residing at The Watson Hotel since November.

Last week, Mayor Adams announced a new plan to address the crisis, stating that a shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal would become the new home for at least 1,000 male migrants, including all those staying at The Watson Hotel. This announcement caused concern among the migrants residing at The Watson, who had been residing there for free for the past three months.

On Sunday night, some migrants decided to protest the Mayors declaration by setting up outside the hotel and refusing to relocate, citing privacy concerns and the inadequate conditions at the new shelter. By Monday, many of these migrants found themselves locked out of their rooms at The Watson, leading them to set up camp directly outside the luxury building in direct defiance of Mayor Adams order.

Photographs taken on Monday morning show dozens of tents lined up along the sidewalk on 57th street directly outside the hotel, while some male asylum seekers were seen keeping warm by wrapping themselves in blankets and sleeping bags. The migrants were reportedly removed from their rooms one by one, with others reporting that they were not being allowed back into their rooms to retrieve their belongings.

Scrawled messages in Spanish, such as We need a place to sleep and We need help, offer a glimpse into the minds of the displaced group, who are all men. The encampment appeared sometime before 4 a.m., causing police officers from the NYPD to arrive on the scene a few hours later. As of noon on Monday, a police patrol car remained at the scene to monitor the situation.

The displaced asylum seekers protested their prospective transfer to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal by painting a massive banner to be hung outside The Watson Hotel that read Permanent homes and calling on city officials to cancel rent. The tents reportedly were gifted to the displaced men by members of the local community, and within hours, organizers had set up a table with coffee, bananas, water, and pizza for the migrants.

Despite the Mayors deadline for Monday, several of the asylum seekers refused to leave, hoping that their noncompliance will force Mayor Adams to reconsider his plan to relocate them to the Red Hook ferry terminal. In one of the most recent updates to the situation, Mayor Adams announced that the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will open and house about 1,000 male migrants. The Watson Hotel is one of multiple hotels being used to house migrants, and Mayor Adams plan calls for those who had been residing there to be relocated to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and the new shelter.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




A suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse and killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 150 others, officials said.

Most of the casualties were police officers. It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters in the northwestern city of Peshawar and is itself located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The main spokesman for the militant group was not immediately available for comment.

The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan, tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar and vowed stern action against those behind the bombing. He expressed his condolences to families of the victims, saying their pain cannot be described in words.

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.

Earlier this month, in another attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, a gunman shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the countrys military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence. Security officials said Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout in the northwest near the Afghan border.

Mondays assault on a Sunni mosque inside the police facility was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.

The militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many were injured when the roof came down, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.

Meena Gul, who was in the mosque when the bomb went off, said he doesnt know how he survived unhurt. The 38-year-old police officer said he heard cries and screams after the blast.

Mohammad Asim, a spokesman at the main government hospital in Peshawar, put the death toll at 59, with 157 others wounded. Police official Siddique Khan the bomber blew himself up while among the worshippers.

Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers and arrangements to bury the rest were being made. Coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag their bodies were later handed over to relatives for burials.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence, and the city has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.

The Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The Pakistani governments truce with the TTP ended as the country was still contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

Mohmand, of the militant organization, said a fighter carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, who was widely known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, and was killed in neighboring Afghanistans Paktika province in August 2022.

Afghanistans Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives and many others were injured by an explosion at a mosque in Peshawar and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Condemnations also came from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, as well as the U.S. Embassy, adding that The United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism.

Cash-strapped Pakistan faces a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial installment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund  part of its $6 billion bailout package  to avoid default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled in the past months.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called the bombing a terrorist suicide attack. He tweeted: My prayers & condolences go to victims families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.

Sharifs government came to power in April after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif dismiss Khans claims.

(AP)




Fighting remained largely deadlocked Monday in eastern Ukraine where Russian shelling killed five civilians over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials, as the warring sides sized up their needs for renewed military pushes expected in coming weeks.

The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were wounded by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city in the countrys northeast, regional Gov. Oleh Syniyehubov said Monday.

Russias troops seized large areas of the northeastern Kharkiv region in the months following its invasion of its neighbor last February. But Ukrainian counteroffensives that began in August snatched back Russian-occupied territory, notably in Kharkiv.

Those successes lent weight to Ukraines arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia if its Western allies provided more weaponry.

Kyiv last week won promises of tanks from the United States and Germany.

Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Monday hinted at the prospect of more upcoming pledges, saying that any activity aimed at strengthening Ukraines defense powers is under consultation with our NATO partners.

Such a move could encounter some familiar political obstacles, however.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after demurring for weeks over sending Germanys Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, looks set to dig his heels in over providing fighter jets. Germany would not have the key role in aircraft deliveries that it did with the Leopards, which are German-made and require German export approval.

Scholz, who is on a trip to South America, said he regretted the emergence of the discussion on aircraft.

He said in Chile on Sunday that a serious debate is necessary and not a competition to outdo each other  in which perhaps domestic political motives are in the foreground, rather than support for Ukraine.

Military analysts say more aid is crucial if Ukraine is to block an expected Russian spring offensive and launch its own effort to push back Russian forces.

The pattern of delivery of Western aid has powerfully shaped the pattern of this conflict, the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, said late Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said keeping up the pace of allies support is crucial.

The speed of supply has been, and will be, one of the key factors in this war. Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon, he said Sunday in his nightly video address. We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine.

With the war approaching its one-year mark and draining both sides resources, the Western call for weapons for Kyiv is spreading beyond NATO.

The alliances secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Monday called for South Korea to send direct military support to Ukraine, too. South Korea is a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped, U.S.-backed military.

France and Australia announced Monday plans to jointly produce and send several thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine. The first deliveries are expected in the first quarter of this year.

On the Russian side, indications are emerging that more manpower may be enlisted for the fight.

The British Ministry of Defense noted Monday that the Kremlin never formally rescinded last Septembers order for a partial mobilization of reservists that boosted troop numbers for combat in Ukraine. It said Russia may be keeping the door open for further call-ups. The mobilization in the fall was reported to have amassed 300,000 more troops.

The Russian leadership highly likely continues to search for ways to meet the high number of personnel required to resource any future major offensive in Ukraine, while minimizing domestic dissent, it said in a tweet.

Russian officials have denied plans for additional troop mobilizations, while also tapping into a mercenary force.

With more talk of military aid from Ukraines allies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted Western weapons wont stop Russia.

Ukraine keeps demanding new weapons and the West is encouraging those demands, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters Monday. Its a deadlock. It results in a significant escalation and makes NATO countries increasingly involved in the conflict.

Ukraines presidential office said the situation in the eastern Donetsk region, which has been the scene of intense fighting for months, remains invariably hard.

Heavy fighting continued around Bakhmut and Vuhledar, with regional Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko saying 15 towns and villages came under shelling Sunday. Russian authorities claimed advances in Vuhledar, contentions that could not be independently verified.

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, with the leadership of the Wagner Group, a private military company led by a millionaire with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian troops last week said they conducted an organized retreat from Soledar, some 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Bakhmut, under pressure from Wagner, which is believed to include a large number of convicts.

Ukrainian authorities said the southern city of Kherson also has come under Russian shelling. The bombardment damaged residential buildings, a hospital, a school, a bus station, a bank and a post office.

Two foreign vessels were damaged in the port of Kherson, the presidential office added, without elaborating.

___

(AP)




A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tyre Nichols, a department spokeswoman said Monday.

Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died three days later at a hospital, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said. She did not disclose Hemphills role in the arrest.

Rudolph said information on disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released because Hemphill was not fired and the department typically releases information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends.

Nichols family and others closely watching developments surrounding his brutal arrest and killing in Memphis were awaiting word of additional disciplinary action against officers who were at the scene but have not been fired or charged.

Highly anticipated video footage released Friday showed five Memphis Police Department officers using a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during a nighttime arrest Jan. 7 after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was heard calling for his mother and seen struggling with his injuries as he sat helpless on the pavement. He died at a hospital three days later.

The five officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other alleged offenses stemming from the arrest, which has shocked many for its brutality and revived calls for police reform around the country.

Memphis police and the Shelby County district attorney have said an investigation into the actions of law enforcement officers who reported to the scene of the arrest was ongoing. A Memphis police spokeswoman said Monday that information will be released when it becomes available.

In addition to the five officers, who chatted and milled about for several minutes as Nichols sat on on the ground in obvious pain, two Shelby County sheriffs deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated. And, two Mermphis Fire Department department workers were also removed from duty over Nichols arrest.

But the video showed other officers who also responded to the scene. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis has not said if an officer who was involved in the initial traffic and could be heard saying, I hope they stomp his ass as Nichols ran away has been disciplined.

Calls for more officers to be fired or charged have been loud and persistent from the Nichols family, their lawyers and community activists who have peacefully protested in Memphis since the video was released. The video was evocative of the arrest of George Floyd in 2020 and officers failure to intervene.

On Saturday, Nichols stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press that the family was going to continue to seek justice and get some more officers arrested.

Questions were raised before the video was released, I raised those questions, Wells said. I just felt there was more than five officers out there. Now, five were charged with murder because they were the main participants, but there were five or six other officers out there that didnt do anything to render any aid. So they are just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.

Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones said he watched the video with colleagues on Friday. He acknowledged Monday that Memphis police policies of failure to render aid and de-escalation appeared to have been violated.

When everybody saw the video, we see that you have multiple officers just standing around, when Mr. Nichols is in distress, that just paints a totally different picture, Jones said

Jones said he believes more officers should be disciplined.

At this point, whats going to be helpful for this community is to see ow swiftly the police chief deals with those other officers now that everybody has seen the tape and knows that is wasnt only five officers who were at the scene the entire time, Jones said.

The five fired officers were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which taregeted violent criminals in certain areas. Davis, the police chief, said Saturday that the unit has been disbanded.

Nichols funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at a Memphis church.

(AP)




Former Twitter employees are expected to testify next week before the House Oversight Committee about the social media platforms handling of reporting on President Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden.

The scheduled testimony, confirmed by the committee Monday, will be the first time the three former executives will appear before Congress to discuss the companys decision to initially block from Twitter a New York Post article on Hunter Bidens laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election.

Republicans have said the story was suppressed for political reasons, though no evidence has been released to support that claim. The witnesses for the Feb. 8 hearing are expected to be Vijaya Gadde, former chief legal officer; James Baker, former deputy general counsel; and Yoel Roth, former head of safety and integrity.

The hearing is among the first of many in a GOP-controlled House to be focused on Biden and his family, as Republicans wield the power of their new, albeit slim, majority.

The New York Post first reported in October 2020 that it had received from former President Donald Trumps personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, a copy of a hard drive of a laptop that Hunter Biden had dropped off 18 months earlier at a Delaware computer repair shop and never retrieved. Twitter initially blocked people from sharing links to the story for several days.

Months later, Twitters then-CEO Jack Dorsey called the companys communications around the Post article not great. He added that blocking the articles URL with zero context around why it was blocked was unacceptable.

The Post article at the time was greeted with skepticism due to questions about the laptops origins, including Giulianis involvement, and because top officials in the Trump administration had already warned that Russia was working to denigrate Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election. The Kremlin had interfered in the 2016 race by hacking Democratic emails that were subsequently leaked, and fears that Russia would meddle again in the 2020 race were widespread across Washington.

This is why were investigating the Biden family for influence peddling, Rep. James Comer, chairman of the Oversight committee, said at a press event Monday morning. We want to make sure that our national security is not compromised.

The White House has sought to discredit the Republican probes into Hunter Biden, calling them divorced-from-reality political stunts.

Nonetheless, Republicans now hold subpoena power in the House, giving them the authority to compel testimony and conduct an aggressive investigation. GOP staff has spent the past year analyzing messages and financial transactions found on the laptop that belonged to the presidents younger son. Comer has previously said the evidence they have compiled is overwhelming, but did not offer specifics.

Comer has pledged there wont be hearings regarding the Biden family until the committee has the evidence to back up any claims of alleged wrongdoing. He also acknowledged that the stakes are high whenever an investigation centers on the leader of a political party.

On Monday, the Kentucky Republican, speaking at a National Press Club event, said that he could not guarantee a subpoena of Hunter Biden during his term. Were going to go where the investigation leads us. Maybe theres nothing there.

He added, Well see.

(AP)




A lone assailant wielding a knife injured three people in Brussels on Monday during a rush-hour rampage through a subway car before being detained by police in the station under the European Unions headquarters, officials said.

The Brussels prosecutors spokesperson, Martin Francois, said one of the three injured people was taken to hospital and remained in a life-threatening condition. The two others were treated for lesser injuries.

Francois told the Associated Press that at first sight there were no indications of terrorism. He said the suspect was a 30-year-old male. Since Belgium was hit by twin terror outrages in Brussels and Zaventem that killed 32 civilians six years ago, fears of a terror motive are never far away in cases of apparently random public attacks.

Social media posts showed police with their guns pointed at a man at the Schuman station, while others showed a man wrapped in warming foil being attended to by first aid officials outside it. The station is directly under the main office of the EUs executive Commission.

AP reporters on the scene said the area was quickly sealed off during the evening rush hour incident. Main broadcasters like RTL and VRT said panic briefly broke out in the subway station before order was restored.

The incident took on special significance after last weeks killing of a church official by a machete-wielding assailant in southern Spain.

In Germany two teenagers were stabbed to death and five other passengers injured on a train in northern Germany.

(AP)




President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies normal authorities.

It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.

Bidens announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions being brought to the floor this week by House Republicans to bring the emergency to an immediate end. House Republicans are also gearing up to launch investigations on the federal governments response to COVID-19.

Then-President Donald Trump first declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and are set to expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to extend them both briefly to end on May 11.

An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system  for states, for hospitals and doctors offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans, the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy.

Congress has already blunted the reach of the public health emergency that had the most direct impact on Americans, as political calls to end the declaration intensified. Lawmakers have refused for months to fulfill the Biden administrations request for billions more dollars to extend free COVID vaccines and testing. And the $1.7 trillion spending package passed last year and signed into law by Biden put an end to a rule that barred states from kicking people off Medicaid, a move that is expected to see millions of people lose their coverage after April 1.

The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are also expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will charge as much as $130 per dose. Only 15% of Americans have received the recommended, updated booster that has been offered since last fall.

Once the emergency expires, people with private insurance will have some out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, tests and treatment, while the uninsured will have to pay for those expenses in their entirety.

Legislators did extend telehealth flexibilities that were introduced as COVID-19 hit, leading health care systems around the country to regularly deliver care by smartphone or computer.

The Biden administration had previously considered ending the emergency last year, but held off amid concerns about a potential winter surge in cases and to provide adequate time for providers, insurers and patients to prepare for its end.

A senior administration official said the three months until the expiration would mark a transition period where the administration will begin the process of a smooth operational wind-down of the flexibilities enabled by the COVID-19 emergency declarations. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement before it had been released.

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including about 3,700 last week.

Case counts have trended downward after a slight bump over the winter holidays, and are significantly below levels seen over the last two winters  though the number of tests performed for the virus and reported to public health officials has sharply decreased.

Moments before the White Houses announcement, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., accused the president of unnecessarily extending the public health emergency to take action on issues like forgiving some federal student loan debts.

The country has largely returned to normal, Cole said Monday, introducing a Republican-backed bill calling for an end to the health emergency. Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over.

(AP)




Some things are shocking but not surprising. This is one of them. The leftist CNN published a cartoon depicting Israeli Jews using antisemitic tropes, setting another new low for the failing network.

In an article titled As Israel bans Palestinian flags, one artist protests with his brush, CNN writer Abeer Salman wrote about a cartoonist who is protesting against Itamar Ben Gvir.

The article included a cartoon from a cartoonist who goes by Mysh which depicted a Pesach seder and Jews saying bnei chorin anachnu while enclosed by a cement wall surrounded by a sea of blood.

If CNN needs to flirt with antisemitic tropes in order to report on controversial Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, what does that say about the network? Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) research analyst David Litman asked.

Salman seemed to go out of her way to not just include ahistorical swipes at the Jewish state, but also  in borrowing from centuries of antisemitic blood libels  associate the holiday of Passover with Jews benefiting from the shedding of blood of non-Jews.

Of all Myshs other cartoons, Salman chose to highlight one that depicts a Jewish family celebrating Passover, surrounded by a sea of blood. The imagery echoes multiple antisemitic themes and conspiracy theories, Litman continued. For one, it flirts with the ancient blood libel that Jews use the blood of non-Jews during Passover to bake matzah. For another, it plays on themes of Jews accruing benefits at the expense of the blood and freedom of others.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The condition of the two wounded victims of the terror attack on Friday night in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem, who were evacuated with gunshot wounds to Hadassah Har Hatzofim Hospital, has improved.

According to a statement from the hospital, a 15-year-old teenager is in light condition and a 20-year-old man is in light to moderate condition.

A third victim of the attack, a 65-year-old woman, is hospitalized in Shaare Tzedek Hospital and is still in moderate condition.

Also still hospitalized in Shaare Tzedek Hosptial is one of the victims of the Ir Dovid terror attack, a 22-year-old IDF officer. His father, the second victim of the attack, was released from the hospital on Sunday.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday met with Agarnesh Mengistu, the mother of Hamas captive Avera Mengistu.

According to a statement from the Prime Ministers Office, the meeting, which was also attended by Netanyahus Military Secretary Avi Gil, was for the purpose of a periodic update.

Mengistu has been held by Hamas since 2014, when he crossed into the Gaza Strip. He and his fellow captive, Israeli-Bedouin Hisham al-Sayed, both have a history of mental illness.

Two weeks ago, Hamas published a video of Mengistu, which is believed to be authentic. In June, Hamas released a video of a man they claimed was al-Sayed hooked up to an oxygen mask.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Ukraine is pushing its Western allies to provide it with fighter jets, a week after winning pledges of sophisticated modern tanks to help it beat back Russias invasion force after almost a year of fighting.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris on Tuesday where discussions about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine was expected to be on the agenda.

After months of haggling, Ukrainian authorities last week persuaded Western allies to send the tanks. That decision came despite the hesitation and caution of some NATO members, including the United States and Germany.

There was no indication that a decision on warplanes to Ukraine might come any time soon and no sign that Western countries have changed their earlier stance on the issue. Some Western leaders have expressed concern that the move could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war.

The U.K. government, which has been one of Kyivs staunchest diplomatic supporters and military suppliers, said that sending its fighter jets is not practical.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks spokesman, Max Blain, said the U.K.s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly.

Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine, he said Tuesday, though he didnt say that the U.K. was opposed to other countries sending planes.

Asked by a reporter Monday if his administration was considering sending Ukraine F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden responded no.

Kyiv officials have repeatedly urged allies to send jets, saying they are essential to challenge Russias air superiority and to ensure the success of future counteroffensives that could be spearheaded by tanks recently promised by Western countries.

Ukraines allies also have ruled out providing Kyiv with long-range missiles able to hit Russian territory, signaling a similarly cautious stance on warplanes.

Asked Tuesday about the supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated the Kremlins view that NATO long has been directly involved into a hybrid war against Russia.

He added after the talks in Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry that the Russian military will take all the necessary measures to derail the fulfillment of Western plans.

He said that Shoukry conveyed a message from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Ukraine, which repeated the previous calls from Washington for Russia to withdraw.

Lavrov said Russia is ready to hear any serious  I want to underline this word  proposal aimed at comprehensive settlement of the current situation.

Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be building up their arsenals for an expected offensive in coming months. The war has been largely deadlocked on the battlefield during the winter.

As in previous debates about how to help Ukraine, Poland is a leading advocate in the European Union for providing military aid. Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic countries on NATOs eastern flank feel especially threatened by Russia.

Asked about Lithuanias call for fighter jets and long-range missiles for Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comments reflected an aggressive approach taken by the Baltic nations and Poland, who are ready to do everything to provoke further escalation without thinking about consequences.

Its very sad that the leaders of big European countries that drive the European agenda dont fulfill a balancing role to offset such extremist inclinations, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France doesnt exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step is taken.

The conditions, he said, include not leading to an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft to touch Russian soil, and not resulting in weakening the capacities of the French army.

He also said Ukraine must also formally request the planes, something that could happen when Reznikov sits down for talks in Paris.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to balk at the prospect of providing fighter jets, suggesting Sunday that the reason for the entire discussion might be down to domestic political motives in some countries.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday there are no taboos in efforts to help Ukraine. But he added that sending jets would be a very big next step.

NATO-member Croatias president, meanwhile, criticized Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons. President Zoran Milanovic argued that those arms deliveries will only prolong the war.

Earlier in the conflict, discussions focused on the possibility of providing Kyiv with Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots are familiar with. In March, the Pentagon rejected Polands proposal to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv through a U.S. base in Germany, citing a high risk of triggering a Russia-NATO escalation.

Western warplanes would offer Ukraine a major boost, but countering Russias massive air force would still be a major challenge.

Ukraine inherited a significant fleet of Soviet-made warplanes, including Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets and Su-25 ground attack aircraft.

Switching to Western aircraft would require Ukrainian crews to undergo long training and would also raise logistical challenges linked to their maintenance and repair.

Russia methodically targeted Ukrainian air bases and air defense batteries in the opening stage of the conflict, but Ukraine has been smart about relocating its warplanes and concealing air defense assets, resulting in Russias failure to gain full control of the skies.

After suffering heavy losses early during the conflict, the Russian air force has avoided venturing deep into Ukraines airspace and mostly focused on close support missions along the frontline.

The Ukrainian air force faced similar challenges, trying to save its remaining warplanes from being hit by Russian fighter jets and air defense systems.

(AP)




Boeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: Its delivering its final 747 jumbo jet.

Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASAs space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.

But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.

A big crowd of current and former Boeing workers is expected for the final send-off. The last one is being delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air.

If you love this business, youve been dreading this moment, said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesnt erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy.

Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport  high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range  and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.

It took more than 50,000 Boeing workers less than 16 months to churn out the first 747  a Herculean effort that earned them the nickname The Incredibles. The jumbo jets production required the construction of a massive factory in Everett, north of Seattle  the worlds largest building by volume.

The planes fuselage was 225 feet (68.5 meters) long and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building. The planes design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump and inspiring a nickname, the Whale. More romantically, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies.

Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar.

It was the first big carrier, the first widebody, so it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it, said Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Pennsylvanias Albright College who specializes in aviation and mobility. It became the essence of mass air travel: You couldnt fill it with people paying full price, so you need to lower prices to get people onboard. It contributed to what happened in the late 1970s with the deregulation of air travel.

The first 747 entered service in 1970 on Pan Ams New York-London route, and its timing was terrible, Aboulafia said. It debuted shortly before the oil crisis of 1973, amid a recession that saw Boeings employment fall from 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. The Boeing bust was infamously marked by a billboard near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that read, Will the last person leaving SEATTLE  Turn out the lights.

An updated model  the 747-400 series  arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He recalled taking a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.

Even people like me could go see Asia, Aboulafia said. Before, you had to stop for fuel in Alaska or Hawaii and it cost a lot more. This was a straight shot  and reasonably priced.

Delta was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.

Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 freighters early last year, with the final one leaving the factory Tuesday.

Boeings roots are in the Seattle area, and it has assembly plants in Washington state and South Carolina. The company announced in May that it would move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, putting its executives closer to key federal government officials and the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger and cargo planes.

Boeings relationship with the FAA has been strained since deadly crashes of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, in 2018 and 2019. The FAA took nearly two years  far longer than Boeing expected  to approve design changes and allow the plane back in the air.

(AP)




New day, new tunnel.

President Joe Biden is ready to showcase a $292 million mega grant that will be used to help build a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, part of a broader effort to draw a contrast between his economic vision and that of Republicans.

The money is part of $1.2 billion in mega grants being awarded under the 2021 infrastructure law. The Democratic presidents trip to New York City comes on the heels of his stop Monday in Baltimore to highlight the replacement of an aging rail tunnel there, where he pledged that government spending on infrastructure will boost economic growth and create blue-collar jobs.

When America sees these projects popping up across the country, it sends a really important message: When we work together, theres not a damn thing we cant do, Biden said Monday. Theres nothing beyond our capacity.

The two trips amount to a form of counterprogramming to the new House Republican majority. GOP lawmakers are seeking deep spending cuts in exchange for lifting the governments legal borrowing limit, saying that federal expenditures are hurting growth and that the budget should be balanced.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Biden are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, with the Republican lawmaker intending to press his case for spending cuts even though White House officials say Biden wont negotiate over the need to increase the federal debt limit.

I dont think theres anyone in America who doesnt agree that theres some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate, McCarthy told CBS News on Sunday.

To some in the Biden administration, the Hudson Tunnel Project demonstrates what could be lost if spending cuts are put into place. In total, the construction is projected to result in 72,000 jobs, according to the White House.

The project will renovate the 1910 tunnel already carrying about 200,000 weekday passengers beneath the Hudson between New Jersey and Manhattan, a long-delayed upgrade after decades in which the government underfunded infrastructure.

The grant would also be used to help complete the concrete casing for an additional rail tunnel beneath the river, preserving a right of way for the eventual tunnel. In total, the project is expected to cost $16 billion and help ease a bottleneck for New Jersey commuters and Amtrak passengers going through New York City.

Other projects to receive mega grants include the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Kentucky and Ohio; the Calcasieu River Bridge replacement in Louisiana; a commuter rail in Illinois; the Alligator River Bridge in North Carolina; a transit and highway plan in California; and roadways in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

Not everyone has been pleased by the mega grant program. Some Republican lawmakers in Arizona say it gave preference to mass transit and repair projects over expansion and new construction.

(AP)




Sudanese authorities have released a man convicted of the 2008 killing of a U.S. diplomat in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Khartoum, his family said Tuesday. The release followed a 2020 deal between Sudan and the Trump administration that included compensation settlements for killings of Americans.

Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist by the United States, was captured weeks after the shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of John Granville, an official with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Granvilles Sudanese driver.

Abu Zaid spent most of the past 15 years behind bars in Kubar Prison in Khartoum and was released on Monday, according to his brother, Abdel-Malek Abu Zaid, who posted photos on social media showing the scene outside the prison following Abdel-Raoufs release.

Abdel-Malek would not elaborate but one of the daily newspapers in the country, the Sudani, reported that the Abu Zaid family had paid blood money to the slain drivers family. Under Islamic law, or Sharia, which Sudans judiciary follows, a convict can be pardoned if his victims family is financially compensated.

A spokesman for Sudans ruling military declined to comment on the case. Other officials could not be reached for comment.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported release of Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, designated a terrorist in 2013 by the U.S., and was seeking more information from the authorities in Khartoum.

We call for full accountability for the murders, of Granville and his driver, Abdel Rahman Abbas Rahama, the State Department said.

Earlier this month, Abu Zaids family apologized for the killing of Granville and his driver, saying in a video message: We, as a family, apologize and acknowledged Abdel-Raoufs mistake and he already admitted his mistake and expressed his regret and remorse for what has happened.

Three other men were sentenced to death along with Abu Zaid while a fifth man received a two-year sentence for providing the weapons used in the attack.

The four awaiting hanging broke out of prison in June 2010, killing a Sudanese police officer and wounding another in a shootout in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman, according to a Sudanese notice to the international police agency, Interpol.

Abu Zaid was recaptured weeks later and returned to Kubar Prison. The three other men were not recaptured. Local reports have said two of them later died in Somalia while the third is still living there.

In 2020, Sudans former transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok reached a deal with the Trump administration to stop any future compensation claims being filed against the African country in U.S. courts.

This came after Sudan paid $335 million to settle compensation lawsuits at U.S. courts related to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole at Yemens southern port of Aden which killed 17 Marines, as well as Granvilles killing.

Granville, 33, was an official for the USAID. He was working to implement a 2005 peace agreement between Sudans north and south that ended more than two decades of civil war.

He was being driven home early in the morning on Jan. 1, 2008, from a New Year Eve party, when another vehicle intercepted his car and the gunmen inside opened fire on Granvilles vehicle, killing him and his driver, also a USAID employee. The attackers then fled the scene.

(AP)
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My acquaintance didnt come to my simcha, so now I dont feel like coming to hers  is that considered taking revenge?

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When we think of relevant Halachos, our minds generally turn to Shabbos, Brachos, Prayer, Kashrus and so on. Halachos relating to Bein Adam Lechaveiro might be looked upon as being straightforward and easy to understand. Rav Yitzchak Berkovits shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, and Rosh Kollel of the Jerusalem Kollel and of Linas Hatzedek says that this is a mistake. The laws of Bein Adam Lchaveiro are just as intricate and involved as those of all areas of Torah, and they are in fact more relevant to our daily lives than anything else especially today when we are surrounded and influenced by a secular society full of discord, dishonesty and disconnect.

Says Rav Berkovits: The majority of positive mitzvos that are applicable today when theres no Beis HaMikdash, are Bein Adam LChaveiro  between man and man People think  [that] basically means be a good person. Surprise! Theyre not just using your seichel and deciding what a nice thing to do is. Until you learn the halachos of Bein Adam LChaveiro you dont have a clue as how to behave with other people.

Sensing the urgent need of such a program, his close student, and well-known Educator, Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen, has undertaken the task of teaching Hilchos Bein Adam LChaveiro in the way that Rav Berkovits envisaged. Rabbi Gefen is already well known for his highly successful Hilchos Shabbos Semicha program, in which he translated the Hebrew Source Sheets of Rav Berkovits into English, adding numerous cases and the opinions of the Poskim.

He has now focused his efforts in teaching Bein Adam LChaveiro in a similar fashion (www.HilchosBeinAdamLChaveiroForWomen.com). The program is using the highly successful curriculum of Kollel Linas Hatzedek as a basis for its learning program and this will be part of what students are provided. Kollel Linas Hatzedek is a division of the Center for Jewish Values, a premier international Bein Adam LChaveiro resource, whom we thank for giving us permission to use its curriculum.

During the last two launches of the Hilchos Bein Adam LChaveiro course for men it became crystal clear that a course especially tailored for Jewish women was necessary. The program received over 100 emails asking for a womens cohort of this important and highly relevant series. Therefore, Rabbi Gefen, in consultation with Rabbi Berkovits has adapted the original curriculum to be uniquely tailored to Torah observant women, as an an online program in Hilchos Bein Adam LChaveiro accessible to motivated women worldwide. It empowers women to build long lasting deep relationships, to strengthen Shalom Bayis and to raise their children in a way of Torah by serving as an example of a true Bas Yisrael.

Here is what some of his students had to say about Rabbi Gefens other programs attesting to their impact:

As women, we are required to learn halacha in order to fulfill it properly. Says Dr. Shoshana Snyder from Los Angeles. Rabbi Gefens course  provides women with a level of knowledge and understanding of the halacha from the primary sources to the halacha lmaasei. The depth of the learning is gratifying. Participating in this program has raised my awareness of the need to apply the halacha in situations that would have escaped my notice in the past. The shiurim are clear and there is plenty of opportunity for questions. Rabbi Gefen is available for questions via email in between shiurim as well. I am not aware of any other opportunity available for women to learn halacha at this level. I look forward to receiving the sources and hearing the shiur every week!

Its been a real pleasure to be part of the  program. I look forward to the source sheets and shiur every week. I have an increased appreciation of the halachos and how to apply them in daily life. The material has abundant sources with varying opinions and a halacha lmaaseh sectionI highly recommend the program!  says Basya Gutmann from Clifton, New Jersey.

Mrs. Batya Eshel from Safed in Israel shares her experience: The shiur is well focused in general, and of course the more prepared I am the more I get out of it. Questions from the participants are handled well, and we all get a lot out of the shiur. Using Zoom allows us access to a shiur that we wouldnt be able to access in person.

Over eight hundred past and present participants in these programs come from six continents, says Rabbi Dr. Yakov Pesah, co-founder and director of the Hilchos Shabbos and Bein Adam LChaveiro programs and also a musmach of Rabbi Berkovits. Our vision is to enable everyone to master halacha in a structured way and make it doable for any motivated person.

Topics that are covered in this program include vahavta lrecha kemocha (love your fellow as yourself), honesty, onaas dvarim (hurtful words), dan lekaf zcus (judging favorably), lifnei iver, tzedaka, halachos of relating to secular Jews, lashon hara, kibud av vem, returning lost objects, and many other topics.

The program includes a live Zoom shiur once a week and a forum for community discussion and support. In addition, Rabbi Gefen is available for any questions by phone and email. Anyone who undertakes the course, will receive a Certificate of Completion signed by Rav Berkovits.

Rabbi Berkovits adds: The only way that one can really mekayem the mitzvas of bein adam lchaveiro is to learn them first. And the study of them  is absolutely fascinating. Come learn them with us. Come know how to behave Become like Ribono Shel Olam himself the way he describes Himself in the Torah with all the wonderful middos, keeping the halachos according to the yesodos that the Torah gives us.

The new cycle of Hilchos Bein Adam LChaveiro for women begins on February 14th. For more information, tuition, and to apply go to:

www.HilchosBeinAdamLChaveiroForWomen.com
Airline Flybe has collapsed for the second time, leaving 75,000 passengers facing uncertainty about how how to get refunds or replacement flights.

Flybe was a small-scale airline with eight planes flying 21 routes to 17 destinations across the UK and Europe.

But the firm said it had gone into administration in a shock announcement over the weekend.

The firm employed 321 workers, 277 of whom have lost their jobs while the rest will stay on to help with winding the airline down.

A Flybe statement on January 28 said: 'Flybe has now ceased trading. All Flybe flights from & to the UK are cancelled & will not be rescheduled.'

However, there are several ways Flybe customers can get refunds or alternative flights.

Collapse: Flybe mostly ran flights within the UK, using a limited fleet of aircraft

Can I get a refund if I bought directly from Flybe?

Yes, but this is not guaranteed and depends on how you paid for a ticket.

If you booked a ticket directly with Flybe using a credit card, you may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

If you pay for something worth more than 100 using a credit card, your credit card provider may have a legal obligation to refund you if that product or service isn't delivered or isn't as described.

If you paid for tickets worth less than 100 using a credit card, or paid with a debit or charge card, you may be able to make a claim under chargeback rules.

The voluntary chargeback system sees banks issue refunds for cash spent on goods and services that never materialise.

Customers may also be able to get a refund if they bought travel insurance for their Flybe trip.

However, they will need to check their policy terms as many travel insurance deals do not cover airline failure, according to financial data firm Defaqto.

Anna-Marie Duthie, travel insurance expert at Defaqto, said: 'With flights and holidays cancelled as a result of the Flybe collapse, a lot of people's holidays will be ruined over the coming months.

'Whilst airline failure has become more available under travel insurance in recent years, nearly half of annual travel insurance policies still offer no cover.'

What about if I bought through a third party?

If you bought Flybe tickets through a third party firm such as a travel or booking agent, the CAA advice is to contact them directly for any refund.

When was the first Flybe collapse? The airline first announced it would cease in March 2020, costing 2,400 employees their jobs as the Covid pandemic ravaged the tourism sector. It returned in summer 2021 with a plan to operate up to 530 flights per week across 23 routes, serving airports such as Belfast City, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, Heathrow and Leeds Bradford.

What if I bought a Flybe flight with a package holiday?

You may be covered by ATOL - the Air Travel Organiser's Licence. ATOL protection covers people taking a package holiday with a flight involved.

The scheme was set up back in 1973 to cover people flying abroad from being cut off if their holiday firm failed. It promises holidaymakers a refund or replacement trip if a holiday tour firm fails before their trip starts.

Defaqto's Duthie said: 'Anyone who has booked a trip with Flybe as part of a package holiday will be fully protected through the ATOL scheme and should not lose out.'

Customers in this position should speak to their travel agent to get a refund or alternative flights.

>> ATOL protection: What does it actually do?

Rivals offer cheap flights to Flybe customers

For those looking to book alternative flights, several airlines have launched cheaper deals just for customers affected by the collapse of Flybe.

British Airways is selling one-way fares of 50, plus taxes, fees and charges, on routes between London and Belfast, Newcastle or Amsterdam. Customers can make their booking by calling the British Airways contact centre.

Ryanair has deals for Flybe customers starting from 29.99. These include routes from Belfast to the East Midlands, Manchester and Stansted.

EasyJet is selling flights for 49 inside the UK and 79 internationally. Customers may need to show their original Flybe booking reference.
Ryanair made record profits over Christmas and New Year after it pushed up ticket prices.

The budget carrier booked a 185million profit in the last three months of 2022. That was its highest profit for that quarter on record.

Ryanair customers were hit with higher air fares, 14 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.

Price hikes: Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary (pictured) said his firm faced significant increases in the cost of fuel and staff over the quarter

Boss Michael OLeary said his firm faced significant increases in the cost of fuel and staff over the quarter.

But passengers were undeterred, with OLeary, 61, saying they released strong pent-up demand over the October half-term, Christmas and New Year holidays.

In the last three months of 2022, Ryanair flew 38.4m people, compared with 31.1m a year earlier when airlines were devastated by Covid. Overall sales jumped by 57 per cent to 2.3billion.

And Ryanair became the latest airline to forecast a bumper summer. OLeary said bookings for Easter and summer were strong.

American and Asian tourists are flocking back to Europe and will use Ryanair to hop around the continent, he added.
Sir Nigel Wilson is retiring as chief executive of Legal & General after more than a decade in charge.

Two of the leading internal candidates to succeed him at the asset manager and insurer are women  and if either is appointed it could add to the dominance of female leaders in the sector.

Analysts at Citi said Wilson, 66, would be a tough act to follow and shares fell 1.8 per cent on the announcement of his departure.

Stepping down: Legal & General boss Sir Nigel Wilson is retiring as chief executive after more than a decade in charge

Investors have enjoyed returns of 641 per cent since he joined the company, compared to 164 per cent for the FTSE 100, L&G said.

Wilson started at the company in 2009 as chief financial officer and took the top job in 2012. He was paid 4.5million in 2021.

L&G said it would begin a broad search for a replacement including a strong bench of senior managers and divisional chief executives as well as external candidates.

Possible internal hires for the role include Laura Mason, who heads alternative asset division L&G Capital.

Michelle Scrimgeour, chief executive of the groups investment management unit, and Jeff Davies, L&Gs chief financial officer are also in the running.

It could mean the company appointing the first female chief executive in its 187-year history.

Rivals Aviva and Admiral are already led by Amanda Blanc and Milena Mondini de Focatiis while the Prudential is chaired by Baroness Vadera, and Penny James has just lost the top job at Direct Line. An L&G spokesman said: We wont speculate about individuals.

The company, which is valued at 15.6billion, said the appointment and transition period would take around a year.

Wilson has steered L&G through a turbulent period in the sector, which has seen four changes at the top of rival Aviva as well as a break-up of the Prudential.

Under his leadership, assets managed by the company have soared to more than 1.3 trillion and the group has led investment in areas such as housing, infrastructure and science parks.

Wilson, a keen athlete who grew up on a council estate in County Durham, has argued the case for inclusive capitalism  earning returns for shareholders while making investments that will help to tackle inequality.

He has also backed an overhaul of so-called Solvency II rules, which the Government hopes will unlock billions of pounds of investment in areas such as green energy and infrastructure.

Father-of-five Wilson has served on business advisory councils for a number of prime ministers and was knighted last year. He spurned an offer to serve as minister for investment under Liz Truss.

He said yesterday: I firmly believe we have laid strong foundations to support the next phase of growth for the group.
The boss of 888 made a shock exit after the gambling group launched an investigation into suspected money laundering on VIP customer accounts in the Middle East.

The FTSE 250 business  which owns William Hill bookies in the UK as well as host of casino websites  said chief executive Itai Pazner would leave with immediate effect after more than two decades at the company including four years at the top.

In a separate statement, 888 said it has suspended VIP customer accounts usually reserved for the wealthiest and most lucrative gamblers after an internal review found best practices had not been followed in some areas, including anti-money laundering processes.

Sacked: Gambling giant 888 said chief exec Itai Pazner (pictured) would leave with immediate effect after more than two decades at the company with four years at the top

Chief finance officer Yariv Dafna, who this month said he would leave in March, said he will stay on until the end of the year. It is understood this step was taken to ensure the company did not face the prospect of having no permanent chief executive or finance director in the coming months as the investigation continues.

Lord Mendelsohn, a Labour peer and the groups non-executive chairman will take the reins at 888 until a permanent boss is found.

888  whose brands include 888casino, 888poker and Mr Green, as well as William Hill  said the suspended accounts will affect up to 3 per cent of group revenues, or about 50million, raising questions about the number of customer accounts involved in the investigation.

VIP accounts generate substantial turnover for gambling firms as high-rollers are encouraged to bet huge sums on a more premium service.

UK regulators have clamped down on these services in recent years, following suggestions they pushed individuals into debt and problematic gambling habits.

The industry standards body, the Betting and Gaming Council, issued a code of conduct on VIP accounts in 2020, which saw the number of people enrolled in these schemes fall by 70 per cent for companies licensed in the UK.

Mendelsohn said: The board and I take the groups compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously. When we were alerted to issues with some of 888s VIP customers, the board took decisive actions.

We will be uncompromising in our approach to compliance as we build a strong and sustainable business.

Caretaker: Lord Mendelsohn, a Labour peer and the groups non-executive chairman (pictured below with his wife Nicola), will take the reins at 888 until a permanent boss is found

The 888 chairman inherits a sorry state of affairs. Not only is the company grappling with regulatory uncertainty following the Governments delays to the gambling white paper, which could chip away at revenues with affordability checks and restrictions on online betting, but it also carries a hefty 1.6billion debt pile after buying High Street bookie William Hill last year for 1.95billion.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: Gambling stocks are under enough regulatory scrutiny as it is without inviting reasons for further attention and yet thats exactly what 888 has done.

Shares in the Gibraltar-based firm plunged 27.5 per cent, or 28.35p, to 74.85p in London following the news, taking losses since its 2021 peak to over 80 per cent.

888 was whacked with a 9.4million fine from the UK gambling watchdog last year following social responsibility and money laundering failings.

However, because the company is operating under a Gibraltar licence and the business operations are in the Middle East, this investigation does not fall under the Gambling Commissions jurisdiction.

Mould added: Investors may have been more reassured by [Pazner] staying in place to sort out the problems in the Middle East  an unenviable task which will now fall to Mendelsohn.
Russian forces claimed incremental gains in eastern Ukraine on Monday adding up to their biggest advances in months, after wave upon wave of attacks that Kyiv said showed Moscow had no regard for the lives of its own men.

The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, said troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

A day earlier, the head of Russias Wagner mercenary force said his fighters had secured Blahodatne, a village just north of Bakhmut, a city that has been the focus of sustained Russian attacks for months.

Kyiv said it had repelled assaults on Blahodatne and Vuhledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situations there. But the locations of the reported fighting indicated clear, though gradual, Russian gains after around two months in which front lines had largely been frozen in place.

The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region  there are constant Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address late on Sunday.

The enemy does not count its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks.

Vuhledar sits south of Bakhmut, near where the eastern frontline protects Russian-controlled rail lines supplying Moscows forces in southern Ukraine. Mykola Salamakha, a Ukrainian colonel and military analyst, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Moscows assault there was coming at huge cost.

The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there, he said. This is a repetition of the situation in Bakhmut  one wave of Russian troops after another crushed by the Ukrainian armed forces.

WESTERN DELAYS

In recent weeks Western countries have pledged hundreds of modern tanks and armoured vehicles to equip Ukrainian forces for a counter-offensive to recapture territory later in 2023.

But delivery of those weapons is months away, leaving Kyiv to fight on through the winter in what both sides have described as a meat grinder of relentless attritional warfare.

After Russia exhausted its military with a failed assault on Kyiv last year, Ukraines forces counter-attacked and recaptured swathes of territory in the autumn. But that advance has stalled since November, allowing Russia to retake the initiative.

Moscows Wagner mercenary force has sent thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons into battle around Bakhmut, buying time for Russias regular military to reconstitute units with hundreds of thousands of reservists.

Zelenskiy said the West must hasten the delivery of its promised weapons so that Ukraine could go back on the offensive.

Source: Reuters
Looming over the deserted village of Sararo in northern Iraq, three Turkish military outposts break the skyline, part of an incursion that forced the residents to flee last year after days of shelling.

The outposts are just some of the dozens of new military bases Turkey has established on Iraqi soil in the past two years as it steps up its decades-long offensive against Kurdish militants sheltered in the remote and rugged region.

When Turkey first came to the area, they set up small portable tents, but in the spring, they set up outposts with bricks and cement, Sararos mayor Abdulrahman Hussein Rashid said in December during a visit to the village, where shell casings and shrapnel still litter the ground.

They have drones and cameras operating 24/7. They know everything thats going on, he told Reuters, as drones buzzed overhead in the mountainous terrain 5 km from the frontier.

Turkeys advances across the increasingly depopulated border of Iraqi Kurdistan attract little global attention compared to its incursions into Syria or the battle against Islamic State, but the escalation risks further destabilising a region where foreign powers have intervened with impunity, analysts say.

Turkey could become further embroiled if its new Iraqi bases come under sustained attack, while its growing presence may also embolden Iran to expand military action in Iraq against groups it accuses of fomenting unrest at home, Kurdish officials say.

Former secretary general for Kurdistans Peshmerga forces, Jabar Manda, said Turkey had 29 outposts in Iraq until 2019 but the number has mushroomed as Ankara tries to stop the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launching attacks on its own territory.

Year after year the outposts have been increasing after the escalation of battles between Turkish forces and the PKK, he said, estimating the current number at 87, mostly in a strip of border territory about 150 km long (95 miles) and 30 km deep.

In those outposts there are tanks and armoured vehicles, said Manda, who is now a security analyst in Sulaimaniya. Helicopters supply the outposts daily.

EMPTY VILLAGES

A Kurdish official, who declined to be named, also said Turkey now had about 80 outposts in Iraq. Another Kurdish official said at least 50 had been built in the last two years and that Turkeys presence was becoming more permanent.

Asked to comment on its bases in Iraq, Turkeys defence ministry said its operations there were in line with article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which gives member states the right to self defence in the event of attacks.

Our fight against terrorism in northern Iraq is carried out in coordination and close cooperation with the Iraqi authorities, the ministry said in a statement, which did not address questions about the figures cited by Kurdish officials.

Turkeys presence in northern Iraq, which has long been outside the direct control of the Baghdad government, dates back to the 1990s when former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein let Turkish forces advance 5 km into the country to fight the PKK.

Since then, Turkey has built a significant presence, including one base at Bashiqa 80 km inside Iraq, where it says Turkish troops were part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State.

Turkey said it worked to avoid civilian casualties through its coordination with Iraqi authorities.

A report published in August by a coalition of NGOs, End Cross-Border Bombing, said at least 98 civilians were killed between 2015 and 2021. The International Crisis Group, which gave a similar civilian death toll, said 1,180 PKK militants were killed between 2015 and 2023.

According to an official with Iraqs Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the conflict has also emptied at least 800 villages since 2015, when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK broke down, driving thousands of people from their homes.

NEW TARGETS

Beyond the humanitarian impact, Turkeys incursion risks widening the conflict by giving carte blanche to regional rival Iran to step up intelligence operations inside Iraq and take its own military action, Kurdish officials say.

Tehran has already fired missiles at bases of Kurdish groups it accuses of involvement in protests against its restrictions on women, displacing hundreds of Iranian Kurds and killing some.

Iran did not respond to requests for comment.

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq also have a pretext to respond to Turkeys presence, analysts say, raising the prospect of escalation between Turkish troops and groups besides the PKK.

Hamdi Malik, a specialist on Iraqi Shiite militias at the Washington Institute, said pro-Iranian groups such as Liwa Ahrar al-Iraq (Free People of Iraq Brigade) and Ahrar Sinjar (Free People of Sinjar) rebranded themselves last year as the resistance against the Turkish presence.

According to a Washington Institute report, attacks on Turkish military facilities in Iraq increased from an average of 1.5 strikes per month at the start of 2022 to seven in April.

If the groups, which are deeply hostile to Washington, step up operations that would also undermine the influence of the United States and its 2,000 troops in Iraq, said Mustafa Gurbuz, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington.

Turkey is underestimating the strength of opposition and the fact that these facilities will become targets in the future and more so as hostilities increase, said Sajad Jiyad, Baghdad-based analyst for The Century Foundation, a U.S. think-tank.

THEY HAVE BOTH WRONGED US

Northern Iraqs fragmented politics mean that neither the federal government in Baghdad nor the KRG regional authority are strong enough to challenge Turkeys presence  or to meet Ankaras goal of containing the PKK themselves.

The Baghdad government has complained about Ankaras incursions but has little authority in the mainly Kurdish north, while the regions ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) does not have the firepower to challenge the PKK, despite seeing it as a potent and populist rival.

The KDP has historically cooperated with Turkey but has limited influence over a neighbour which wields far greater military and economic clout.

We ask all foreign military groups  including the PKK  to not drag the Kurdistan Region into any kind of conflicts or tensions, KRG spokesman Jotiar Adil said.

The PKK are the main reason that pushed Turkey to enter our territories in the Kurdistan Region. Therefore, we think the PKK should leave, he said. We are not a side in this long-standing conflict and we have no plans to be on any side.

Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told Reuters the conflict between Turkey and the PKK was a matter of concern, but less pressing than the threat from Islamic State.

Hariam Mahmoud, a leading figure in the Kurdistan Liberation Movement, a civilian opposition group in Iraq influenced by the ideas of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, said no matter how much Turkey squeezes them they will continue to resist.

In our opinion, this is an occupation and fighting resistance is a legitimate right, said Mahmoud, who lives in Garmiyan district south of Sulaimaniya.

Civilians, meanwhile, continue to pay the price.

Ramzan Ali, 72, was irrigating his field in Hirure a few km from Sararo in 2021, when he heard a huge blast. The next thing he remembers is being on the ground covered in blood.

He said a Turkish shell had crashed into his property  a regular occurrence when Turkish troops respond to PKK attacks with artillery.

I watched my life flash before my eyes, Ali said in the town of Zakho, where he is still suffering from shrapnel wounds. I am mad at both the PKK and Turkey. They have both wronged us.

SOURCE: REUTERS
YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. On January 27, 2023 the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs published the letter they addressed to the Government of Azerbaijan which has remained unanswered.

Azerbaijan was addressed by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 44/5, 43/20, 51/21, 50/7 and 50/18.

The abovementioned letter concerns the unlawful killings of Armenian Prisoners of War and civilians, as well as torture and ill-treatment of Armenian Prisoners of War, by Azerbaijani armed forces and the desecration of bodies of dead Armenian soldiers, including women, during Azerbaijans aggression against Armenia unleashed on 13 September, 2022.

The Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls published the letter because Azerbaijan failed to respond to their query within the defined period of time (60 days).

The Special Rapporteurs noted that what had happened could amount to various war crimes in contravention of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, of which Azerbaijan is a party. The killing of POWs or detained civilians captured during or in the context of combat, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, and if confirmed, may constitute war crimes. Similarly, conduct that endangers protected persons or objects or violates important values, such as by the disrespectful handling of human remains corpses, may also constitute war crimes. Azerbaijan has the duty to treat any Armenian detainees humanely and without discrimination in full compliance with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Azerbaijan is also violating the protection against discrimination and violence against women contained in article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratified by Azerbaijan on 10 July 1995; and the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health contained in article 12 and 2.2 of the 4 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Azerbaijan also acceded to on 13 August 1992.

Thus, being a party to the UN fundamental documents, Azerbaijan is grossly violating them and doesnt cooperate with the highly important bodies supervising the human rights such as the mandated UN special rapporteurs. Furthermore, Azerbaijan doesnt take into consideration the tasks given by the UN bodies.

The UN special rapporteurs who signed the letter are expressing deep concern around the presented cases and are calling on Azerbaijan to take all possible measures to end such violations, prevent their repetition and ensure that all those responsible for the crimes are held to account.

The UN Human Rights Council special rapporteurs also noted that they havent received a response from Azerbaijan on the factual and legal reasons for not releasing prisoners of war after the ceasefire in November of 2020. Azerbaijan also hasnt responded as to what actions it is taking for the families of the forcibly displaced receive information about their fate.
An extension of drinking hours in Ireland would be harmful to public health and safety, TDs have been told.

A number of stakeholders have warned an Oireachtas committee that the proposed Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022 would not fulfil its purpose of reducing alcohol-related harm.

The Joint Committee on Justice is examining the bill, unveiled by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee last year, which proposes a major modernisation for the licencing laws in Ireland.

One of the elements of the bill is to support the night-time economy by enabling bars to stay open an hour later until 12:30am seven nights a week.

The legislation also proposes creating new annual permits for late bars and nightclubs, which would replace special exemption orders.

The committee heard from a number of public health organisations which deal with alcohol-related harm.

Dr Helen McAvoy, director of policy at the Institute of Public Health, said the bill included useful provisions to regularise alcohol licensing.

She added: Ultimately, it provides for extended drinking hours in both indoor and outdoor venues.

It provides for extended drinking hours in holiday camps, sporting clubs, trains and airports, public venues where children are likely to be present.

The governments commitment to modernise alcohol licensing and enhance our culture, nightlife and the night-time economy is welcome but we are concerned by international evidence that suggests that measures in this bill could have some significant unintended consequences, including increasing the overall availability of alcohol and reinforcing alcohol consumption as central to the experience of social, cultural, leisure and sporting activity in Ireland.

Marie Lawless, policy and research officer at Irish Community Action on Alcohol Network, noted that one objective of the Bill was to reduce alcohol-related harm, particularly among young people.

She added: We fundamentally do not believe the bill, in its current form, will achieve that objective.

At the end of last year, we commissioned a Red C poll on alcohol licensing which highlighted significant concerns that people have in relation to the proposals contained in this bill; 51% agreed that extending the hours at which alcohol can be sold will have a negative impact on public health, public safety and public order.

The evidence is clear, deregulation and extending hours will increase harm.

Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland, said: We are concerned that in a bill which was ostensibly about the streamlining of legislation, there has also been a sudden move to increase both licensing hours and density of outlets.

The evidence from multiple jurisdictions is clear. Increasing alcohol availability whether through longer licensing hours or increased density of outlets leads to a range of harms.

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority told the committee that an extension of opening hours would have an impact on public transport provision.

She said: If the extension of the general opening hours of licensed premises to 12:30am is enacted, the authority will have to re-examine the timetables of bus and other public transport services to see whether it is possible to extend a proportion of these services to later operating hours in our cities.

Independent Senator Lynn Ruane said she was not sure the evidence was clear of a link between longer opening hours and an impact on public health.
[January 31, 2023]

Hyperscale Data Center Industry in Germany is expected to reach ~USD 2 bn in 2027F owing to the growing AI adoptions and Internet of Things devices: Ken Research

GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is highly consolidated with 4 players - Equinix, Vantage Data Center, CyrusOne and Iron Mountain. These are the major hyperscale data center companies contributing 45% of market share in Germany catering to IT, BFSI and Telecom industry.

The 5G and 6G technology will push the adoption of IoT-enabled products in the Germany market.

Primary demand drivers for Hyperscale Data Center services in Germany are industries such as Cloud, followed by Telecom, 5G Deployment, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The industry is moving towards variety of technological advancement related to IoT and AI. These technologies ensure growth in terms of competitiveness and better customer services.

Current Market Positioning: The number of people connecting to the internet is continuing to drive demand for data-center-based compute and connectivity. Companies choose to "rent" server space from a cloud provider, which is eventually kept in a data centre, rather than investing in real hardware.

Energy Efficiency: It is a key component that drives the hyperscale data center market, as all businesses strive to improve their total energy efficiency. Organizations seek data centers that use the least amount of energy while having the least impact on the environment. The drive to save money on power rises the demand for energy-efficient hyperscale data centers. In data centers, high-density blade servers, and storage systems provide higher computation capability per Watt of energy consumption.

Increasing Investments: The rising number of smart hospitals in Germany owing to rising investments in digital healthcare infrastructure in the country. Smart hospitals accelerate patient's journey and increase operational efficiency. Increasing investments in communication and technology is also boosting the market growth in Germany.

Internet of Things devices: The increase in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the various industries is speculated to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. Growing AI adoptions also boosts the growth of Hyperscale Data Centers.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication- "Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market Outlook to 2027- Driven by the growing adoption of remote work and surging demand of cloud computing solutions" by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential of the hyperscale data center market in Germany. Growing volume of big data and Low costs to enterprises are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. Germany Hyperscale Data Center Market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecasted period 2022P-2027F.

Key Segments Covered

Segmentation By End Users

Enterprises

Cloud Providers

Segmentation By Industry Users

Technology

BFSI

Telecom

Healthcare

others

Segmentation By Type of Solutions provided

Storage

Network

Server

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

Key Target Audience
[January 31, 2023] White-Label Mobile App Based on the Sila ACH API Now Available on iOS and Android

Sila Inc., a fintech software platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service, and Digital Geko, a web and mobile app developer, today announced the launch of Nitro, a set of modules created to build fintech apps that comes pre-populated with key software components of the Sila ACH API, ready to be customized by fintech entrepreneurs. Deploying Nitro's set of baseline software components including a mobile application significantly lowers the cost of entry and speeds up time to market as compared to building an application from scratch. Sila and Digital Geko also formally announced their strategic partnership today, making public their long-standing collaboration. "We are extremely proud to partner with Digital Geko, which took it upon themselves to build a white-label mobile app containing key elements of our Sila ACH API," said Shamir Karkal, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Sila Inc. "As the macro-economic climate hardens, saving time and money is more important than ever for fintech entrepreneurs. As the fastest route to enable Sila services, Nitro could not have launched at a more opportune time." The mobile app is available for Android and iOS. Key functionality includes registering users and companies, enabling KYC/KYB processes, creating digital wallets, linking bank accounts, depositing funds to and withdrawing funds from digital wallets, and transferring money beteen wallets. Fully integrated out-of-the-box, Nitro handles events from Sila using webhooks.



"Fintech startups sometimes falter because it takes them too long to put their technology infrastructure - including a mobile app - in place, and get it working properly. They might run out of funds, or a competitor might swoop in and take market share," explained Miguel Munoz, CEO of Digital Geko. "We developed Nitro with the goal of supporting every fintech entrepreneur who has a great idea with the infrastructure that they need to realize it. Nitro is like a plug-and-play piece of software that addresses key payment infrastructure needs, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building their business and brand." "Having Nitro at our disposal saved us countless developer hours and money as we were building our app and getting ready for launch," said Eric Heath, CEO, Emerald Wallet. "The partnership between Sila and Digital Geko is a true catalyst for fintech startups everywhere."

About Digital Geko Digital Geko is a technology company born in 2009 and now expanded to 200+ employees that helps companies move from idea to digital execution. From digital marketing, blockchain, mobile apps, QA, DevOps to system integration, we bring the digital talent that completes your team. We serve your project in any part of the world, but with a special focus on North and South America. For more information, go to www.digitalgeko.com and www.nitro.digitalgeko.com About Sila Sila is an end-to-end payment platform that provides Banking-as-a-Service through a developer-friendly payment API that is scalable and allows for fast and secure money transfers. Sila's payment platform streamlines building and launching fintech apps and embedded payment products for financial products, fintech, crypto, and Web3. Sila's offerings include Virtual Accounts, Digital Wallets, KYC/KYB, and ACH payments APIs for software teams. Additional functionality is available through a network of pre-approved and pre-integrated partners (to different degrees). Sila was recognized as the Best Payments as a Service Platform by the 2022 Embedded Banking Awards of Tearsheet. Sila is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information, go to www.silamoney.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005182/en/

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[January 30, 2023] COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS INC. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED NON-BROKERED PRIVATE PLACEMENT

/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES/ CALGARY, AB, Jan. 30, 2023 /CNW/ - Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc. (TSXV: CHS) (the "Company" or "CHS") is pleased to announce that it has closed its non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") as previously announced on January 12, 2023. Pursuant to the Private Placement, CHS issued 19,719,546 units of the Company (the "Units") for gross proceeds of $1,056,682.85. The Company reserved a price of $0.05 per Unit for the Private Placement by filing a price reservation form with the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). As certain "insiders" (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) (the "Insiders") of the Company subscribed for more than 25% of the total Private Placement, pursuant to the policies of the TSXV, these Insiders acquired any Units exceeding 25% of the total Private Placement at a price of $0.07125 per Unit  such price being the Discounted Market Price (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) of the Shares (as defined below) as of market close on January 12, 2023. In total, Insiders acquired 8,610,730 Units for aggregate consideration of $501,242.05. Non-Insiders acquired 11,108,816 Units for aggregate consideration of $555,440.80. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of CHS (a "Share") and a transferable common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable for a period of 24 months from the date it was issued (the "Exercise Period"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Share (a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.10 per Warrant Share for the first 12 months of the Exercise Period and at a price of $0.15 per Warrant Share between 12 and 24 months of the Exercise Period. In connection with the closing of the Private Placement, certain arm's length finders (collectively, the "Finders") received fees equal to 7% of the gross proceeds for certain subscribers that were brought by those Finders for an aggregate total of $17,500. Additionally, the Finders were issued an aggregate of 350,000 warrants expiring twenty-four months from the date of issuance (the "Finder Warrants"). Each Finder Warrant entitles the holder thereof to subscribe for one Warrant Share at a price of $0.10 per Warrant Share for the first 12 months of the Exercise Period and at a price of $0.15 per Warrant Share between 12 and 24 months of the Exercise Period.



Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")). The participation by the Insiders constitutes a related party transaction as defined under MI 61-101. In aggregate, Insiders purchased 8,610,730 Units. Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Units acquired by the interested party, nor the consideration for the Units paid by such interested party, exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the closing of the Private Placement as the participation therein by the Insiders was not settled until shortly prior to the closing of the Private Placement. The securities issued under the Private Placement were offered by way of private placement in Canada and to certain subscribers in the United States, pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. All securities issued under the Private Placement are subject to a hold period that will expire on May 31, 2023.

The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes and may also be used to fund the purchase price for the acquisition of Professional Benefit Administrators West, LLC, an Oklahoma limited liability company d/b/a Benveo (the "Benveo Acquisition"). For further details on the Benveo Acquisition, please refer to the Company's press release dated September 22, 2022. About Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc. Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc. is a corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of Alberta and is the parent company of Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc. (Delaware). The Company is a vertically integrated software as a services (SaaS) company focused on digitizing healthcare with Telehealth and Healthcare Benefits Administration solutions, providing reliable and high-volume transaction capable systems. The Company's state-of-the-art Novus 360 Healthcare Welfare and Benefits Administration (HWBA) SaaS platform is used by clients for all aspects of healthcare benefits administration (including self-funded employers, hospitals, doctors, and labor unions, through various corporations in which the majority shareholder has controlling ownership), providing healthcare administrative software, licensing and maintenance services. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: The press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "budget," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "scheduled," "forecast," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "to be," "could," "would," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and conditional. An example of a forward-looking statement in this news release is the intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as of the date they are provided. However, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors that could cause the Company's actual results and financial conditions to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could cause actual results and financial conditions to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, include among others: general economic, market and business conditions in Canada and globally; market volatility; unforeseen delays in timelines for any of the transactions or events described in this press release; and the risk of regulatory changes that may impact the business of the Company. All forward-looking information is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. 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 release. SOURCE Comprehensive Healthcare Systems Inc.

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[January 30, 2023] LeoLabs expands global radar coverage with its West Australian Space Radar

The new radar site is fully operational, adding significant coverage of the Southern Hemisphere  a major milestone in LeoLabs' planned expansion of its global space radar network SYDNEY, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LeoLabs, the leading commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services, today announced the commissioning of the LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR). The Commissioning Ceremony, hosted by LeoLabs Australia, will be attended by LeoLabs leadership and international guests, federal and state politicians, local elders and community leaders, as well as members of the Australian Space Agency and the Australian Defence Force. LeoLabs provides superior information in the dynamic space era through its vertically integrated space operations stack and globally networked space radars. LeoLabs announced its plans to build its sixth radar site near Bunbury in Western Australia in October 2021. Site work began in April 2022 with construction finishing in November and operational testing completed in December. The US manufactured radars were assembled by a consortium of local Australian companies under the supervision of LeoLabs Australia. Despite the COVID pandemic, local engineering companies were able to complete the project in eight months. "Australia is now host to a landmark in the world of space safety," said Dan Ceperley,CEO of LeoLabs. "At LeoLabs we are honored and humbled to be a part of the Australian space ecosystem and to have found so many supporters and partners in Australia."



Joe Northover, Senior Loreman for the Beelagu Wilman within the Bibbulmann nation, welcomed LeoLabs to Wilman Noongar country and acknowledged the radar's important role in looking after 'sky country', which the First Nations people of Australia have been observing for tens of thousands of years as the world's first astronomers. The WASR site hosts two S-band active phased array radars that add critical surveillance capability for the Southern Hemisphere. In collaboration with the LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar in the South Island of New Zealand, this site will enable superior tracking and monitoring of median to high inclination resident space objects in LEO in the heart of the Indo Pacific region. The two radar sites will also increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new objects, including lethal, small debris that are currently non-trackable. Finally, with the addition of this new radar site, LeoLabs' network has grown to include 10 independent radars across six operational sites, with plans to expand further in 2023 and 2024.

About LeoLabs (www.leolabs.space) LeoLabs is transforming the way satellite operators, commercial enterprises and federal agencies across the world launch and track missions in low Earth orbit. Through its vertically integrated technology system, LeoLabs Vertex, LeoLabs delivers the superior information needed to succeed in today's space race. With unmatched LEO coverage, real-time tracking and powerful insights, companies and governments rely on LeoLabs to safely innovate and execute a wide array of operations in space. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1992601/LeoLabs_Inc.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1992600/LeoLabs_Inc2.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1895125/LeoLabs_Logo_v2.jpg SOURCE LeoLabs, Inc.

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[January 30, 2023] LeoLabs expands continuous, all-weather radar coverage of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region

The West Australian Space Radar site is fully operational, adding significant coverage of the Southern Hemisphere  an important milestone in LeoLabs' expansion of its radar network MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LeoLabs, the leading commercial provider of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services and low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping, announced the commissioning of the LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR). This radar site, located in Western Australia, adds critical coverage of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region. WASR is the latest addition to LeoLabs network of phased array space radars powering LeoLabs Vertex, its vertically integrated space operations stack which enables tracking of resident space objects and the characterization of events in LEO, such as conjunctions and maneuvers. In collaboration with the LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar in the South Island of New Zealand, WASR will enable superior tracking and monitoring of median to high inclination resident space objects in LEO. The two sites, euipped with a total of four S-band phased array radars, will also increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new objects, including lethal, small debris that are currently non-trackable.



LeoLabs new radar site enables increased surveillance of the Southern Hemisphere in the Indo-Pacific region, an area where the U.S. and allied nations have historically lacked coverage and visibility. The LeoLabs Australia team is responsible for Pacific daytime global radar operations, orbital analytics, and reporting  providing LeoLabs with continuous, comprehensive coverage and analysis of regional activities in LEO. Considering the strategic importance of the region, LeoLabs will continue to make investments that align with the decades of partnership and collaboration between Australia and the United States, as well as other Indo-Pacific countries. "Australia is now host to a landmark in the world of space safety," said Dan Ceperley, CEO of LeoLabs. "At LeoLabs we are honored and humbled to be a part of the Australian space ecosystem and to have found so many supporters and partners in Australia."

With the addition of the West Australian Space Radar, LeoLabs' global network has grown to include 10 independent radars across six operational sites, with plans to expand further in 2023 and 2024. About LeoLabs ( www.leolabs.space ) LeoLabs is transforming the way satellite operators, commercial enterprises and federal agencies across the world launch and track missions in low Earth orbit. Through its vertically integrated technology system, LeoLabs Vertex, LeoLabs delivers the superior information needed to succeed in today's space race. With unmatched LEO coverage, real-time tracking and powerful insights, companies and governments rely on LeoLabs to safely innovate and execute a wide array of operations in space. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leolabs-expands-continuous-all-weather-radar-coverage-of-the-southern-hemisphere-in-the-indo-pacific-region-301734100.html SOURCE LeoLabs, Inc.

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[January 30, 2023] MulticoreWare India Is Certified Great Place to Work

CHENNAI, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MulticoreWare India is proud to announce that it has been certified as a great place to work (2023) by The Great Place To Work Institute - the global authority on work culture, employee experience and creating a high-trust organizational environment. This certification marks yet another milestone for MulticoreWare's commitment to providing employees with an exceptional working atmosphere. AGK Karunakaran, President & CEO of MulticoreWare said, "We are overjoyed to receive such affirmation of our dedication to creating a wonderful working environment. At MulticoreWare, we strive towards excellence while nurturing a sense of mutual respect and teamwork amongst our employees. Being transparent with our communication and having open discussions has helped in building and retaining trust. We will continue to work towards making MulticoreWare not only a great place to work, but the best place to work!" In 2012, the company started its India operations in Chennai and has since grown into 300+ employees with delivery centres in Chennai and Coimbatore. MulticoreWare has been growing steadily over the last 24 months, expanding its global footprint, and making its entry into the Asian markets. As a result, the company has embarked on an ambitious hiring program in India to become a 1000 people company in the next three years. Mr. Shashikanth Jayaraman, Vice President of Human Resources at MulticoreWare aid, "Organizations build world class teams when each member is valued, trusted, and empowered. At MulticoreWare, we continue to drive a culture that is healthy and places no ceiling on learning & growth. What makes the Great Place to Work recognition significant is that it is determined by employees' real-time reports of their company culture. This is a stamp that MulticoreWare is one of the best companies to work for in the country."



MULTICOREWARE IS HIRING!



Working at MulticoreWare is exciting and rewarding. Visit our careers page at: https://multicorewareinc.com/careers/

About MulticoreWare MulticoreWare delivers software IP Solutions and Engineering Services serving a wide group of customers with Compilers & Toolchains, Libraries for SDK, Video codec and AI analytics solutions using various vision & non-vision (Radar, LiDAR, IMU, GPS, etc.) sensors on various heterogeneous computing platforms. Our solutions are used in Automotive (ADAS/AD), Surveillance, Defence, Medical Imaging, IoT, Retail, Logistics, Industrial, Robotics, Smart City. MulticoreWare's industry-leading video codec products (x266/x265/Ultraziq) have been deployed in live streaming or VOD services across many broadcast customers. https://multicorewareinc.com/ About Great Place to Work Certification The Great Place to Work Certification represents the gold standard in "employer-of-choice" recognition for businesses. It is the only award that is entirely determined by the feedback that workers give about their experiences at work, specifically how frequently they report having a high-trust environment. The Great Place to Work Certification is the industry standard for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience and is widely recognized by both employees and employers. More than 10,000 businesses from 60 different nations submit applications each year to become 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. Email: [email protected]

Contact: Suchithra Thyagarajan, Vice President  Corporate Marketing Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1925881/MulticoreWare_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/multicoreware-india-is-certified-great-place-to-work-301734208.html

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[January 31, 2023] SABUY wins at the 10th Global Brand Awards

SABUY Technology, has been awarded 'Best Payment Technology and Solutions Provider in Thailand' for 2022. The felicitation ceremony took place on December 10 at The Palm Jumeirah - Waldorf Astoria in Dubai. LONDON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Brand Awards is an annual event held by Global Brands Magazine (GBM), an international publication headquartered in the UK. The Global Brand Awards aim to recognize and reward companies and titans of industry for their exceptional performances. On a number of evaluation criteria, including marketing, branding, customer support, and business development, SABUY fared remarkably well in terms of client satisfaction. Commenting on SABUY Technology winning the awards, Jay Reddy (Director) of Global Brands Magazine, said, "The Fintech industry has seen huge success across the world, and one of the success stories of that industry is SABUY echnology. Their drive to make banking and financial transactions easier for the people of Thailand is truly a remarkable effort."



Commenting on winning the award, Mr.Chookiat Rujanapornpaje, CEO of SABUY Technology Public Company Limited, said, "I would like to use this occasion to express my gratitude to the Global Brand Awards for honoring SABUY Technology with a Global Brand Award, especially in view of the potential we have achieved. We are the fastest-growing financial technology company in Thailand, focusing on payments and solutions for small merchants and consumers to access payments nationally. Finally, I would like to thank The Global Brand Award 2022 once again; we are honored to earn this distinguished award." About SABUY Technology Public Company Limited

SABUY TECHNOLOGY PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED inaugurated by Thai owners  started business with online top-up machines. Afterwards, the company keeps expanding business fields with an objective to be the fintech leader in Thailand, with our own practical ecosystem which answers the Thai market's needs About Global Brands Magazine (England) 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. About Global Brand Awards Global Brand Awards honors brands for their excellence in performance and rewards companies for the quality of their services. The Brand Awards highlight the accomplishments of organizations that have performed remarkably well in their respective industries. Links to our Social Media Posts: Facebook: https://bit.ly/3XPH74s

Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3WQBWjz

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3kY9PS4

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3Yai63K SOURCE Global Brands Publications Limited

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Arman Yeghoyan, the Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on European Integration responded to the speech made by Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Yashar Aliyev at the UN Security Council debates.

Yashar Aliyev repeated the Azerbaijani propagandas fake accusations against Armenia, such as Armenia refuses to fully withdraw its troops from Nagorno Karabakh, and is laying landmines in Nagorno Karabakh. Aliyev also falsely claimed that the Armenian side refuses to provide information on the Azerbaijanis missing in the conflict.

Member of Parliament Arman Yeghoyan denied the accusations in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

ARMENPRESS  Mr. Yeghoyan, how would you comment on Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Yashar Aliyevs speech at the UNSC debates, where he accused the Armenian side in not fulfilling its obligations?

Yeghoyan  The groundless claims made by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations have nothing to do with reality. These are again unsuccessful attempts to justify Azerbaijans belligerent, maximalist and destructive positions and their blockade of Nagorno Karabakh for already 48 days, and the policy of subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. All claims made by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan are debunked with facts. Armenia had officially announced earlier in 2022 that there are no units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia in Nagorno Karabakh. In order to verify this claim, the Prime Minister of Armenia had even proposed to send an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh, which Azerbaijani President Aliyev himself rejected. It would be logical for Azerbaijan to have had agreed to this proposal, however their rejection shows that this all is simply a propaganda trick by Azerbaijan. Certainly, Nagorno Karabakh has self-defense armed forces, the necessity of which is substantiated for the protection of the local population from Azerbaijans aggressive and ethnic cleansing policy. As a sign of goodwill and humanism, the Republic of Armenia unilaterally conveyed to Azerbaijan the minefield maps which it possessed. And this happened in conditions when the Armenian side did not have such an obligation neither under the trilateral statements nor international law. Furthermore, Armenia expressed readiness to support, in cooperation with international partners, in the process of decrypting the maps which were conveyed. It is also an important fact that the landmines were laid in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent regions as early as during the First Nagorno Karabakh War, mostly by Azerbaijan, and access of respective international organizations for de-mining works into the region was impeded by Azerbaijan itself.

ARMENPRESS  But nevertheless the Azerbaijani official spoke about what he described as landmine terror by Armenia in his speech. The same claims were made by Azerbaijan during the hearings of the Armenia v. Azerbaijan case at the International Court of Justice.

Yeghoyan  Azerbaijans claims alleging that Armenia is now laying landmines in Nagorno Karabakh are also false. The Republic of Armenia has laid landmines only in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and has done so only with self-defense purposes because it was subjected to military aggression by Azerbaijan in May of 2021, in November of 2021 and in September of 2022. The landmines showcased by the Azerbaijani side for propaganda goals which the Azerbaijan side described to be manufactured in 2021 and to have been recently transported from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh through the Lachin corridor have actually appeared in Azerbaijans possession from the occupied territory of the Republic of Armenia as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Armenia in 2021-2022.

ARMENPRESS  How would you describe the position of Azerbaijan regarding delimitation and demarcation?

Yeghoyan  On one hand Azerbaijan continues to say that no border exists between the two countries because it is not delimitated, and on the other hand it continuously raises the question of eight villages. By doing so, Azerbaijan itself is factually indirectly accepting the existence of a borderline. It is noteworthy that since the 1990s most part of four Armenian villages, as well as the enclave of Artsvashen village of the Republic of Armenia, are under the control of Azerbaijan. The Armenian side stands ready to discuss this issue based on the existence of the borderline recognized under the Almaty declaration and legal grounds.

ARMENPRESS  Despite regular statements made by Azerbaijan on its readiness to sign a peace treaty with Armenia, Azerbaijan continues its state-sanctioned promotion of Armenophobia. How would you describe this?

Yeghoyan  Azerbaijan continues to promote on the highest level Armenophobia and racial hatred towards Armenians. This is clearly recorded in the 7 December 2021 UN International Court of Justice order on indicating provisional measures regarding the case examined within the framework of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Azerbaijan continues to grossly violate.

Official Baku is carrying out a planned policy of falsifying and destroying Armenian religious and historical-cultural heritage in territories that have gone under its control as a result of the 44-Day War, which is another manifestation of ethnic and religious intolerance. At the same time, Azerbaijan is impeding a visit of the UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno Karabakh.

ARMENPRESS  The Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the UN was speaking about missing Azerbaijanis. Does Armenia have anything to say in this regard?

Yeghoyan  To this day Azerbaijan is keeping Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in captivity, and the fates of hundreds of missing and forced disappeared people as a result of the 44-Day War remain unclear. The numerous war crimes and atrocities committed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 44-Day War and the aggression against the Republic of Armenia are documented  the extrajudicial executions of Armenian prisoners of war, torture of Armenian servicemembers, including women, and desecration of bodies. However, so far no one has been held to account for these crimes against humanity.

The consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression against Armenias sovereignty and territorial integrity, in May and November of 2021 and in September of 2022, in violation of international law, namely the UN Charter and the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement clauses, including the occupation of 150 square kilometers of Armenia arent eliminated to this day.

ARMENPRESS  Mr. Yeghoyan, what should the international community do in this situation and what actions do you expect from Azerbaijan?

Yeghoyan  With its clear statements and respective actions the international community must continue giving an assessment to Azerbaijans destructive policy and approaches, which are greatly jeopardizing regional security, stability and peace. Azerbaijan must immediately lift the illegal blockade of Lachin corridor, end its belligerent and Armenophobic policy and move into the arena of peaceful negotiations by abandoning the policy of the use of force or the threat of force.
[January 31, 2023] Neat Delivers Complete Video Device Control with Neat Pulse

Neat, the pioneering video company, today introduced Neat Pulse, a comprehensive offering of support and management services that provide businesses easy, efficient and reliable control over all their Neat devices. Built for today's global hybrid workplace, Neat Pulse includes premium technical support, extended warranty and cloud device management and monitoring that make it easy to configure, maintain and update Neat devices. As video collaboration technology proliferates across different workspaces and geographies, businesses need advanced functionality to reliably and efficiently deploy and manage those devices. Neat Pulse complements Microsoft Teams Admin Center (TAC) and Zoom Device Management (ZDM) to provide Neat hardware-specific management features and comprehensive control of not only the meeting room software, but also the device. With Neat Pulse, businesses can maximize their investment with access to premium technical support from Neat experts, so businesses can quickly resolve issues and ensure all Neat meeting spaces are up and running reliably for more productive meetings. Neat Pulse also includes an extended warranty to provide greater peace of mind and a reliable meeting exprience.



With advanced cloud management and monitoring capabilities included, Neat Pulse supports scalable, consistent video deployments, giving businesses complete control of all their Neat devices. It offers an incredibly simple yet powerful user interface with unique Neat-specific features to configure, maintain and update Neat devices from anywhere, individually, in groups or all at once. This includes the ability to change Neat firmware settings, apply settings profiles, secure remote control and other functions that are not available via ZDM and TAC for Neat devices. In the future, environmental and room usage data will also be provided through Neat Pulse. "As businesses deploy more video technology to support their hybrid and dispersed teams, ongoing management can be time-consuming and challenging," said Simen Teigre, CEO of Neat. "Neat Pulse works as a complement to Microsoft TAC and ZDM to give our customers the advanced resources they need to easily and efficiently take control of their device deployments."

Neat Pulse will begin customer field trials now, with general availability in spring 2023. It will be sold exclusively through Neat global Channel Partners. For more information on Neat Pulse, visit neat.no/pulse. About Neat Neat designs simple and elegant pioneering video devices that make virtual meetings feel almost as real as meeting face-to-face. Seamlessly bringing rich and meaningful experiences to people's work, interactions and lives across any meeting space, Neat devices have crystal-clear audio and video and advanced capabilities supporting an enhanced, engaging and safer hybrid working and learning environment. Neat was founded in Oslo, Norway, by a team of creative mavericks that, for decades, have shaped game-changing innovations for some of the world's most recognized video communications brands. For more information about Neat, visit neat.no. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005416/en/

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PayRetailers Appoints Philippe Laranjeiro as Chief Commercial Officer - to Drive Ambitious Growth Strategy

PayRetailers, LATAM's leading all-in-one payment technology provider, has announced the appointment of Philippe Laranjeiro as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He will report to CEO Juan Pablo Jutgla, overseeing the company's commercial operations, supporting rapid growth and increasing market share - while accelerating service optimization.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230126005021/en/

Philippe Laranjeiro, Chief Commercial Officer (Photo: PayRetailers)

Fintech growth leadership

Laranjeiro joins Spain-based PayRetailers with an impressive track record in the high-growth paytech sector, with more than 20 years of experience cultivating and scaling inclusive, equitable, high-performance teams. A fintech and payments veteran, he has previously worked in leadership roles for multiple Silicon Valley companies, including Atchik, Netsize, VISA, and Citcon.

His appointment supports PayRetailers' ongoing growth strategy in a year that has seen the company expand its footprint from seven to 11 offices, mre than double its headcount to over 200, and acquire Paygol in Chile and Pago Digital in Colombia.







PayRetailers Founder and CEO, Juan Pablo Jutgla, said, "We are thrilled to add someone of Philippe's caliber to our leadership team. He is a deeply experienced and uniquely skilled fintech leader who possesses a clear client-first mentality. His experience and expertise in commercial leadership will be invaluable as we continue to focus on growth, profitability improvement, and business performance."

Leading LATAM's digital transformations

A specialist in aligning talent strategy to business growth, Laranjeiro will lead PayRetailers' sales, partnerships, customer engagement and success strategy.

Philippe Laranjeiro said, "I am excited to join the team at PayRetailers as we deploy our innovative technologies to empower merchants' digital transformations and optimize new revenue streams."

For more information about PayRetailers, please visit the company's website at https://payretailers.com

About PayRetailers

Founded in 2017, PayRetailers is a leading global provider of online payment services with Latin DNA. Through one direct API, one technology platform and one contract, PayRetailers offers global merchants the integration of more than 250 payment methods without the need of a local entity. PayRetailers platform provides businesses the ability to manage their payment ecosystem, analyze data, and simplify their customer experience through fully integrated solutions. PayRetailers is headquartered in Spain with regional offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Peru.

Website: https://www.payretailers.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pay-retailers/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230126005021/en/
[January 31, 2023] Crystal's Hedge Fund Platform Outperformed Markets in 2022, Company Data Shows

Award-Winning Alternative Investment Platform from Crystal Capital Partners, LLC Experienced Strong Performance & Double-Digit Growth MIAMI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Crystal Capital Partners, LLC ("Crystal"), an award-winning turnkey alternative investment platform for financial advisers, today announced its hedge fund platform outperformed key benchmarks, while Assets Under Management (AUM) grew in the double digits. Steven Brod, CEO of Crystal Capital Partners, said, "For many investors, 2022 was one of the toughest in terms of the environment. Stocks and bonds were down, and global macro challenges dominated the economic terrain. In a year defined by uncertainty, with more than 50 active private market and hedge funds listed, the platform was able to provide an extensive selection of alternative investment solutions that delivered positive returns." In 2022, Crystal's Hedge Fund Platform generated net positive returns of 3.83%, outperforming the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index (-4.25%), the HFR FOF Index (-4.7%), and the S&P 500 Total Return Index (-18.1%). Crystal's total AUM grew by 20%, as the firm witnessed a 32% growth in new advisory relationships. Crystal onboarded five new hedge funds to the platform in 2022. Crystal's platform assets were majority allocated (54%) to institutional multi-strategy hedge funds, while the rest remained extremely diversified among global macro, long/short equity, distressed securities, relative value, ad event-driven strategies.



In addition to increasing the number of hedge funds available on its platform, Crystal onboarded 17 new private market funds, with growth equity the biggest allocation by strategy, followed by buyout, private credit, venture, and real assets. Crystal's investment team, led by Mr. Brod who has been sourcing institutional alternative investment managers for over two decades, guided the way for the platform's recent onboarding. Additionally, Crystal strives for a conflict-free manager selection process when onboarding some of the largest and established managers the industry has to offer while not receiving any fees or kickbacks for their selection. The roster is carefully curated based on the merit of a manager's respective strategies, and their proven ability to perform throughout multiple market cycles.

About Crystal Capital Partners Crystal Capital, LLC is an investment adviser registered as such with the SEC since February 20, 2007. Registration with the SEC does not suggest a certain level of skill or training. Additional information regarding Crystal's registration status with the SEC and its advisory practices is available via its registration statement and Form ADV, Part 2A, a copy of which can be obtained by typing in Crystal Capital Partners, LLC via the SEC's investment adviser consumer website link here: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov. Please see important disclosures below including award recognition disclosures and performance below. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES Media Contacts: Crystal Capital Partners

Joseph Kuo/Michael Dugan

Haven Tower Group

424.317.4851 or 424.317.4852

[email protected] or [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crystals-hedge-fund-platform-outperformed-markets-in-2022-company-data-shows-301732064.html SOURCE Crystal Capital Partners

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[January 31, 2023] Guardz Launches to Secure and Insure Small Businesses from Rising Cybersecurity Threats

Emerging from stealth with $10 million seed funding, Guardz makes cybersecurity accessible with its holistic solution that protects small businesses TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Guardz, the cybersecurity company building a safer digital world for small businesses, today launched from stealth to secure and insure small companies across the globe, filling an increasingly critical market gap amid a rising tide of cyberattacks. Guardz has raised $10 million in seed funding led by Hanaco Ventures, with participation from iAngels, GKFF Ventures, and Cyverse Capital. The funding will allow Guardz to expand its product, develop its cyber insurance line of business, and scale its go-to-market distribution channels. Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, creating countless jobs, supporting local communities, and providing crucial services. Yet these small companies seldom have access to the same cybersecurity personnel, expertise, and resources as large enterprises. Most available cybersecurity solutions are too cumbersome to deploy, too complicated to understand and maintain, and too costly to obtain. As a result, small businesses are often left unprotected and without cyber insurance, making them prime targets for malicious cyber actors. Recent years have seen 43% of cyberattacks aimed at small businesses with nearly $7 billion< rel="nofollow" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/16/fbi-7-billion-lost-in-criminal-hacks-most-victims-small-businesses.html#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20FBI%27s%20Internet,up%2064%25%20year%20over%20year" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> in reported losses, resulting in service disruption, reputational damage, and revenue loss, and often leading to the permanent closing of doors.



"Hackers are acutely aware of small businesses' cyber vulnerabilities; nowadays, it's not a matter of if they'll be targeted, but when. Our complete solution helps companies with lean IT, as well as MSPs, to combat these rising threats, and we've already witnessed tremendous results with the hundreds of small businesses currently secured by Guardz," said Dor Eisner, CEO and Co-Founder of Guardz. "We have worked tirelessly to create a solution that not only impacts the security and longevity of businesses, but helps protect the ecosystem at large, and we are eager to continue developing our offering to secure further companies across the globe." The Guardz all-in-one platform is purpose-built to provide real-time cybersecurity protection and insurance for small companies, many of whom sit in high-risk industries possessing sensitive data, such as law, healthcare, financial services, retail, and more. The accessible solution propels businesses from zero or low cyber protection to comprehensive security, defending against the top attack vectors including: cloud applications, web browsing, cyber awareness, devices, emails, and compromised data. The Guardz platform automatically monitors a company's external and internal digital footprint to continuously analyze cybersecurity risks and remediate threats at the click of a button from one dashboard. Guardz also makes cyber insurance accessible to small businesses who were previously ineligible due to a lack of comprehensive cybersecurity protection.

"With the rise of Attacks-as-a-Service, the ongoing shortage of cyber talent, and the increasingly lucrative nature of targeting smaller businesses, the market is well-primed for a holistic cyber solution that addresses the unique challenges and imminent threats facing these companies," said Alon Lifshitz, Founding Partner at Hanaco Ventures. "We are excited to take part in Guardz's journey as it makes headway in addressing and alleviating the crisis of high cyber vulnerability for small businesses everywhere." "The rise and democratization of ransomware and phishing attacks is hurting SMBs the most as they are currently the least protected, making this a huge and entirely underserved market," said Shelly Hod Moyal, Founding Partner of iAngels. "With their first-hand experience building and commercializing successful cyber products, Dor Eisner and Alon Lavi are perfectly positioned to lead Guardz's one-stop-cyber-shop for small businesses. We're excited to partner with the Guardz team as they work to empower SMBs with the necessary tools to protect themselves." About Guardz Guardz is a holistic cyber security and insurance solution designed for small businesses. Its all-in-one, affordable platform is on guard 24/7, and is easy to use for both in-house IT personnel and MSPs. With cutting-edge technologies stacked into a robust platform, Guardz's solution continuously monitors businesses' digital landscapes to protect their entire range of assets, enables them to react to cyber risks in real time with swift remediations, and provides cyber insurance for peace of mind. Guardz was founded in 2022 by Dor Eisner and Alon Lavi along with a team of cyber and insurance experts who combine innovation, experience, and creativity to create a safer digital world for small businesses. For more information, visit the Guardz website: https://guardz.com/ Media Contact

Allison Grey

Headline Media

[email protected]

US: +1 323 283 8176

UK: +44 203 807 4482

IL: +972 53 820 2606 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guardz-launches-to-secure-and-insure-small-businesses-from-rising-cybersecurity-threats-301734557.html SOURCE Guardz

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[January 31, 2023] Spectra7 and Volex Demonstrate 112G PAM4 Signaling for 800Gbps Active Copper Interconnects at DesignCon

Spectra7's GC1122 GaugeChanger Chips moving to Production this Year SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- (TSXV:SEV) (OTCQB:SPVNF) Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. ("Spectra7" or the "Company"), a leading provider of high-performance analog semiconductor products for broadband connectivity markets, today announced that it will partner with Volex plc ("Volex") to demonstrate Spectra7's new 112G PAM4 GaugeChanger chip intended for next generation 800Gbps data center interconnects at this year's annual DesignCon Conference and Exhibition being held in Santa Clara, CA from February 1-2, 2023. The demonstration will highlight a Volex 3-meter 28AWG Active Copper Cable with Spectra7's GC1122 ICs. "New network architectures and increased server speeds are causing the connectivity market inside the data center to embrace active solutions," said Alan Weckel, Founder and Technology Analyst with 650 Group. "By 2026, we expect over 70% of the Cloud server market to be active copper. From a revenue perspective, the market will quickly exceed US$1B and can exceed US$3B by 2026, far higher than the DAC market it will replace. Active copper cables also help support the US$20B, and growing, Ethernet market in the data center which is critical for the future growth of Cloud and AI/ML applications." "We are proud to have Volex as a partner for 800G interconnects using our GaugeChanger ICs," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "We see strong demand from customers for the low power cost effective 800G cables that we are jointly bringing to the hyperscale data center market." The GC1122 is the latest addition to the GaugeChanger product line and extends the data rate from 56 to 112Gbps per lane. Since the GC1122 is analog and highly linear, dynamics such as line rate adjustment, multi-level signaling, intermittent line silence, transmit pre-emphasis or amplitude adjustment and receiver adaptivity are fully preserved. GC1122 chips are now sampling to leading cable partners and end customers. Spectra7's GaugeChanger is an innovative technology that allows copper to extend much longer lengths without the cost and power penalty of optics or DSP based retimed copper solutions. It works equally well at 25G NRZ, 56G PAM4 and 112G PAM4 signaling, enabling Ethernet interface standards of 100, 200, 400, 800Gbps and 1.6Tbps. DesignCon is the premier high-speed interconnect and system design conference attended by engineers from around the world. Sectra7 will be exhibiting in booth #509.



ABOUT VOLEX Volex plc (AIM:VLX) is a global leader in integrated manufacturing for performance-critical applications and a supplier of power products. Volex serves a diverse range of markets and customers, with particular expertise in cable assemblies, higher-level assemblies, data center power and connectivity, electric vehicles, and consumer electricals. Volex is headquartered in the UK and operates from 19 manufacturing locations with a global workforce of over 8,000 employees across 22 countries. Volex's products are sold through its own locally based sales teams and through authorized distributor partners to Original Equipment Manufacturers ('OEMs') and Electronic Manufacturing Services ('EMS') companies worldwide. All of the products and services that Volex offers are integral to the increasingly complex digital world in which we live, providing power and connectivity from the most common household items to the most complex medical equipment. For more information, please visit www.volex.com.

ABOUT SPECTRA7 MICROSYSTEMS INC. Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. is a high-performance analog semiconductor company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, speed, and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading electronics manufacturers in data centers, 5G infrastructure, virtual and augmented reality, and other connectivity markets. Spectra7 is based in San Jose, California with a design center in Cork, Ireland and technical support location in Dongguan, China. For more information, please visit www.spectra7.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 NOTES Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, Mr. Weckel's projections of the growth of the active copper cable market, the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. For more information, please contact: Matt Kreps

Darrow Associates

214-597-8200

[email protected] Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

Bonnie Tomei

Chief Financial Officer

669-212-1089

[email protected] Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

John Mitchell

Public Relations

650-269-3043

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spectra7-and-volex-demonstrate-112g-pam4-signaling-for-800gbps-active-copper-interconnects-at-designcon-301734344.html SOURCE Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.

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[January 31, 2023] JM Search Reports Another Record-Breaking Year and Continues Expansion of Partner Roster to Support Continued Growth

JM Search, a premier retained top 10 executive search firm, announces the addition of six seasoned recruiting experts to its seasoned team of partners. This announcement follows a record year in the history of the firm, which more than doubled in revenue and in size over the past two years. The 2023 class of partners will be instrumental in supporting JM Search's commitment to partner-led recruiting, ensuring partners are immersed and involved in each search every step of the way. With deep functional and sector-specific expertise, JM Search's experienced bench of partners will continue to recruit and place C-suite, board, and executive leadership for the firm's growing roster of private equity-backed, private, and publicly-held companies. "It's exciting to continue to add to our highly experienced and deeply connected team of partners that are committed to ensuring we curate the very best candidates for our clients every single day. For us, recruiting is an opportunity to set the bar high and exceed expectations," stated JM Search CEO John Marshall. In the Consumer sector, Rebecca Miller and Liza Stokes were romoted to partner. Rebecca is based in Southern California and recruits critical executive-level talent in the consumer goods, retail, and direct-to-consumer sectors. She also continues to be instrumental in continuing to expand the firm's west coast presence. Liza recruits key executives for private equity-backed companies across the entire Consumer industry, with a strong track record of placing commercially oriented executives to CEO, Marketing, eCommerce, and sales leadership roles.



Matt Quinn joins as a partner to support the firm's dedicated team of search experts focused on placing CFO & Financial Executives. He brings over 18 years of recruitment experience specializing in searches for private equity organizations and their portfolio companies with a strategic focus in the manufacturing sector. In 2022, financial executives was one of our top positions recruited. Matt will play an instrumental role in recruiting top-flight financial leaders who will help drive the value creation process for clients. In the Financial Services sector, David Speicher was promoted to partner. David has spent the past 13 years at JM Search recruiting the industry's most exceptional talent for banks, consumer & commercial finance corporations, credit unions, fintech corporations, insurance, specialty lending, and investment firm businesses.

Kevin Kuzmick was promoted to partner within the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, which experienced 40% YoY growth in 2022. An experienced Healthcare operator, Kevin has been with JM Search since 2017. Kevin has a concentrated focus on recruiting executive leaders across the healthcare services and healthcare technology industries. In the Technology sector, Robert Lee was promoted to partner. Rob has a 13-year track record at JM Search recruiting senior executives for B2B software and tech-enabled services companies with deep expertise in running senior go-to-market searches for technology businesses. About JM Search

JM Search (www.jmsearch.com) is a premier retained executive search firm and trusted advisor to CEOs, investors, and boards of directors in recruiting, assessing, and delivering high performance leaders and transformational leadership teams. JM Search clients include private equity firms and portfolio companies, private and publicly held companies across North America. Founded in 1980, the JM Search team brings together former operating and financial executives, investors and experienced search professionals with deep industry specialization, functional expertise and proven access to talent spanning multiple industry sectors. With national reach and local market depth, the firm's partner-led approach enables JM Search to deliver exceptional leaders who enhance organizational performance and drive shareholder value. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005146/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Driving the Industry Shift to Quality of Hire, Crosschq Positions for Aggressive Growth in 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crosschq , pioneers of the Hiring Intelligence Cloud, continues to drive the fundamental shift using outcomes to optimize talent acquisition. As market conditions fluctuate in response to global economic pressures, labor shortages and supply chain challenges, Crosschq is expanding and changing the paradigm for hiring.

Last fall, Crosschq published the industrys first Quality of Hire research report , designed to help employers hire better. More than 80 percent of talent leaders still believe they dont have adequate data to optimize talent acquisition, said Michael Fitzsimmons, CEO of Crosschq. Talent acquisition leaders are shifting their mindsets from hiring quickly to hiring quality. Thats why whether during times of high-volume hiring or highly specialized hiring, organizations rely on Crosschq to save time and money while ensuring data-driven quality of hire. To date, Crosschq has supported talent leaders in more than twenty-five million hiring decisions across its suite of applications. During 2022, Crosschqs revenue grew by 308 percent, and it welcomed its 400th customer, including market leaders Deloitte, WPP, Pinterest, Allegis, Saks Fifth Avenue and Roku. The company also forged new partnerships with Lattice, Sterling, Paradox, Teamable and Goodtime and expanded integrations with Workday, Greenhouse and SAP. To further increase its analytics capabilities, Crosschq acquired TalentWall, the popular recruiing platform built by recruiters that enables them to collaborate productively through the use of data. TalentWall Co-founder, Jake Paul, joined Crosschqs leadership team as Chief Product Officer. In his new role, Paul has been instrumental in driving deeper analytics capabilities to include more than seventy-five readily available Quality of Hire reports and added global capabilities in localizing infrastructure in the EU to support GDPR and support for Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and other languages.



Other new hires in 2022 include Ari Goodstein as Head of Partnerships; Nick Urban as Vice President of Technology and Security; Anneli Morse as Director of Revenue Operations; Christy White as Director (now head) of Operations; Brandon Redlinger as Vice President of Marketing; and Jeff Skinner as Vice President of Sales, with Joshua Ruf promoted to Lead Data Scientist. In addition to Crosschqs business growth, the organization continues to make social impact programs a priority, such as The 941 Project, a partnership with investor and Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson, CareerCircle and Defy Ventures, among others.

In a market where layoffs are happening every week, we wanted to offer a way to support those impacted to help them find their next opportunity, added Fitzsimmons. To date, The 941 Project has helped more than 650 people return to work.

Further recognition for Crosschq's purpose-driven initiatives and unique use of its award-winning technology for good included being named to the Inc. 2022 Best in Business list, an annual program that honors companies that have made an extraordinary impact in their fields and on society. To learn more about Crosschq or to schedule a demo, visit the companys website at crosschq.com . About Crosschq Hiring Intelligence expert Crosschq provides Talent leaders with the data and analytics needed to optimize recruiting and continuously improve Quality of Hire. Crosschqs Hiring Intelligence Cloud connects people data with tangible business outcomes and powers a set of Hiring Intelligence applications that span the entire hiring process. Crosschq directly ensures the success of recruiters and talent professionals by arming them with data and insights to become strategic leaders within their business. Customers and partners include Deloitte, Allegis, Pinterest, HubSpot, Saks Fifth Avenue, Roku, Workday, SAP and Greenhouse. Founded in 2018, Crosschq is backed by Tiger Global Management, GGV Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, SAP.iO, Okta Ventures, Slack and Salesforce. To learn more, visit crosschq.com .

Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners. Media Contacts: Elena Arney [email protected] Kate Achille The Devon Group for Crosschq [email protected]

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[January 31, 2023] Annaly Capital Management, Inc. Included in Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for Sixth Consecutive Year

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) ("Annaly" or the "Company") today announced that it joins 483 other companies as a member of the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a modified market capitalization-weighted index developed to gauge the performance of public companies dedicated to reporting gender-related data. This reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership & talent pipeline, equal pay & gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand. Annaly scored at or above the global threshold established by Bloomberg, reflecting substantial disclosure and best-in-class policies. This year, Annaly received improved excellence scores in the areas of inclusive culture; anti-sexual harassment policies; and leadership & talent pipeline, where our score increased 66% year-over-year for that pillar as a testament to our focus on achieving gender diversity across all levels of our Company. This is demonstrated by 60% of the most recent additions to our Operating Committee and nearly 40% of Annaly's new hires in 2022 identifying as women as well as the nearly identical promotion rate for women and men in 2022. To learn more about Annaly's gender inclusion efforts and overall ESG strategy, please read our 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report. "We are thrilled to be included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the sixth consecutive year and to be recognized for our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts," said David Finkelstein, Annaly's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. "We recently celebrated 25 years as a public company, and as a company co-founded by a woman, gender diversity is simply part of our DNA. At Annaly, we are continually striving to foster an inclusive workplace and are proud of the multidimensional diversity of our employees that promotes innovation and fresh perspectives, ultimately enhancing our performance and creating long-term value for all of our stakeholders." p> The 2023 GEI reaches globally to represent 45 countries and regions, including firms headquartered in Luxembourg, Ecuador, and Kuwait for the first time. Member companies represent a variety of sectors, including financials, technology, and utilities, which continue to have the highest company representation in the index from 2022.



"Congratulations to the companies that are included in the 2023 GEI," said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg and Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. "We continue to see an increase in both interest and membership globally, reflecting a shared goal of transparency in gender-related metrics." Annaly submitted a social survey created by Bloomberg, in collaboration with subject matter experts globally. Those included on this year's index scored at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect disclosure and the achievement or adoption of best-in-class statistics and policies.

Both the survey and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. Bloomberg collected this data for reference purposes only. The index is not ranked. While all public companies are encouraged to disclose supplemental gender data for their company's investment profile on the Bloomberg Terminal, those that have a market capitalization of USD1 billion are eligible for inclusion in the Index. For more information on the GEI and how to submit information for next year's index visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/gei. Bloomberg clients can access the GEI at {BGEI Index DES <GO>}. For more information on Bloomberg's sustainable finance solutions, including the GEI, please visit: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/sustainable-finance/. About Annaly

Annaly is a leading diversified capital manager with investment strategies across mortgage finance. Annaly's principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders and to optimize its returns through prudent management of its diversified investment strategies. Annaly is internally managed and has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. Additional information on the company can be found at www.annaly.com. About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005348/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Boulevard Continues Momentum with Fourth Consecutive Year of Triple-Digit Revenue Growth

Boulevard (www.joinblvd.com), provider of the client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses, today announced that it posted its fourth consecutive year of triple-digit revenue growth in 2022. Demonstrating the resiliency of both its own business and the broader self-care industry in the face of considerable macroeconomic headwinds, Boulevard achieved a 122 percent year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue, while nearly doubling the size of its customer base. Additionally, reflecting its continued growth as a trusted payment facilitator (payfac), Boulevard now processes over $1.5 billion in payments annually on its platform. "Boulevard's achievements during what was a challenging year for the global economy are a testament to our customers, our team members, and the shared passion we have for helping people look and feel their best," said Matt Danna, co-founder and CEO, Boulevard. "As we look forward to the year ahead, we expect self-care and wellness to become further entrenched as part of the fabric of people's lives, and we're excited to continue enhancing our platform and delivering value to our customers." Delivering smarter technology As self-care businesses prioritize smarter technology that enables them to operate more efficiently and effectively, Boulevard delivered a host of new platform capabilities in 2022 designed to help customers improve workflows, automate tasks, and maximize their time and earnings potential. Among its many launches, the company introduced the new Boulevard Marketing Suite, a collection of tools that enables self-care professionals to engage clients, boost bookings, and drive retention with email marketing campaigns that are both hyper-targeted and customizable. Boulevard's customers have already leveraged the Marketing Suite to book an additional 140,000 client appointments since its launch last summer. The company also integrated Reserve with Google into its platform, enabling customers to easily convert Google searches into bookings. It also delivered powerful add-on capabilities that make it easier than ever for staff and clients to add additional services to an appointment at booking. These enhancements bolster a platform that now helps single and multi-location entrepreneurs, enterprises, and modern franchises handle everything from scheduling and business management to marketing and payment processing. The first and only client experience platform specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the self-care industry, Boulevard is trusted by more than 25,000 professionals in more than 2,000 self-care businesses across the U.S., including air salons, face and body treatments, MedSpas, barbershops, and nail salons.



A year of momentum and recognition As it continued to expand its customer base and deliver new platform capabilities, Boulevard garnered widespread growth- and workplace-related recognition in 2022. The company made its first-ever appearance on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, the renowned list ranking the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. Boulevard ranked 54th overall with a nearly 3,200 percent growth rate during that period.

This came on the heels of Forbes naming Boulevard to a pair of prestigious lists - one recognizing America's Next Billion Dollar Startups, the other its Best Startup Employers. Similarly, Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work recognized Boulevard as one of the 2022 ??Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces for Millennials. The new year started off much the same, with LA Inno ranking Boulevard number one on its list of startups to watch in 2023. Boulevard also bolstered its leadership team in 2022 with the additions of Brian Kreiner as chief financial officer and Brandon Roberts as vice president of sales. Kreiner was previously CFO at Handshake and Convoy, where he helped lead the companies through periods of significant growth. At Boulevard, Kreiner oversees the company's accounting, finance, people operations, talent acquisition, data, and business strategy and operations teams. Roberts brings more than a decade of sales leadership experience, including a nine-year stint at Mindbody where he ascended to the position of senior director of global sales operations. He will lead the sales organization for Boulevard. Positioning the company to continue its upward trajectory in 2023, Boulevard recently announced a $70 million Series C funding round led by Point72 Private Investments. Boulevard's growth mirrors that of the industry it serves. As self-care continues to become embedded as an essential part of daily life, the personal care and beauty market is expected to exceed $1.4 trillion by 20251. Moreover, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the personal care services industry is expected to grow almost five times faster than the average for the total economy from 2020 through 2030. About Boulevard Boulevard offers the first and only client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses. Boulevard empowers business owners and professionals alike to deliver personable, enjoyable experiences to their clients through online appointment scheduling, messaging, and payments that are simple, elegant, and reliable. Founded in 2016, Boulevard has earned the trust of thousands of salons and spas across the nation by delivering the world-class technology and genuine, human, personable service they deserve. To learn more, visit joinblvd.com. 1The Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond Covid, December 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005369/en/

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[January 31, 2023] HDI appoints Jason Tyng as Lead of U.S. Captive Solutions Group

HDI Global Insurance Company (HDI Global USA) has announced the appointment of Jason Tyng in the newly created role of lead of captive solutions. In this role, Jason will guide the strategic and operational plans for this critical division. He will report to Marco Hensel, Underwriting Lead, HDI Global USA. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005058/en/ Jason Tyng named as Lead of U.S. Captive Solutions Group for HDI Global USA (Photo: Business Wire) Bringing more than 15 years of sales and leadership experience across the commercial insurance industry, Jason joins HDI from Amazon, recently serving as Head of Construction Risk where he handled placement of both international and domestic programs. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a BS in Political Science. "Jason is an outstanding addition to the HDI Global U.S. team, as he brings a long-standing track record of performance and leadership within the commercial insurance sector, sad Hensel." While in Europe, we are already an established Captive player, building up our presence in the U.S. with Jason is part of our global growth strategy. With his deep understanding of what it takes to deliver client success, I'm confident that he's going to play a pivotal role in positioning our captive solutions group for some really positive results."



Tyng adds: "As a captive partner, our goal is to provide holistic management across multiple lines of business, offering support and expertise to our clients, so they have the knowledge and confidence to choose a risk management solution that best fits their organization." About HDI Global SE (HDI)

As an industrial lines insurer, HDI Global SE (HDI) meets the needs of SMEs, industrial companies and corporate customers with insurance solutions that are specifically tailored to their requirements. In addition to HDI's prominent position in the German and broader European market, the company also has operations in more than 175 countries through foreign branch offices, subsidiary and peer companies, and network partners. The company is thus able to offer its customers local policies for their global operations, which ensure that the established service and insurance protection is extended for all covered risks worldwide. In the United States, HDI operates through its subsidiaries, HDI Global Insurance Company, a commercial property and casualty insurer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and licensed in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and HDI Specialty Insurance Company, an Illinois domestic surplus lines insurer also authorized to write business nationwide. HDI Global SE is a company in the Industrial Lines Division of the Talanx Group. Approximately 4.300 employees in this division generated gross written premiums of approx. EUR 7.6 billion in the year 2021. The rating agency Standard & Poor's has given the Talanx Primary Group a financial strength rating of A+/stable (strong). Talanx AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the MDAX. Disclaimer This news release may include forward-looking statements which are based on certain assumptions, expectations and opinions of the management of Talanx AG and HDI Global SE. These statements are, therefore, subject to certain known or unknown risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond Talanx AG's and HDI Global SE's control, affect our business activities, business strategy, results, performance and achievements. Should one or more of these factors or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results, performance or achievements of Talanx AG and HDI Global SE may vary materially from those expressed or implied in the relevant forward-looking statement. Talanx AG and HDI Global SE do not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor do Talanx AG and HDI Global SE accept any responsibility for the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. Talanx AG and HDI Global SE neither intend, nor assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005058/en/

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. On Tuesday Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, which holds the concessions for the airports in Burgas and Varna, expressed readiness for an early start of the summer season this year from the end of March. It is expected that flights will be carried out from and to ten destinations in six countries.

The direct destination in 2023 include flights to Poznan (Poland), Kaunas (Lithuania) and the Irish capital Dublin by the company Ryanair, European Air Charter should carry out flights to the Polish city of Szczecin, and airBaltic will fly to Riga (Latvia).

According to the current master plan for the period from 2022 to 2026, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management plans to invest more than EUR 50 million, mainly in the rehabilitation of the Burgas Airport runway, completion of the extension of the platrorm and installation of new lighting, as well as beginning an expansion of Terminal 2.

The company's announcement comes against the backdrop of a campaign to revise the concession contract for Burgas Airport and possibly renegotiate the conditions and ensure the airport's year-round load with passenger flights, launched by the mayor of Pomorie Ivan Alexiev and supported by tourist organizations in the region.

Fraport Twin Star Airport Management is working intensively with the airlines to develop the connectivity of Burgas Airport inside and outside the peak summer season. The airport operator is one of the many factors shaping the connectivity during the winter period of a destination with characteristic pronounced seasonality. The availability of demand for a certain destination and a large number of potential passengers for inbound and outbound traffic are the most important factors for a given year-round route, the concessionaire company also stated. They added that last year a significant growth in passengers (72%) was reported compared to 2021, which represents a total of 1.63 million passengers.

The reporting data from Fraport Twin Star Airport Management show that nearly 12,300 flights were carried out, of which 5,489 regular and 5,169 charter flights. The implemented flight programmes were by 50 airlines to 85 destinations.

"This growth was achieved despite the lack of flights from the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, which were among the main markets for the sea airport before the military conflict on Ukrainian territory, which began at the beginning of last year. As many as 6 new airlines operated flights to and from Burgas Airport and two new routes were added to the airport portfolio - Antalya, Turkey and Zielona Gora, Poland," the company added in its position.
[January 31, 2023] Only 6% of CEO positions at large, listed companies across the globe are held by women

Altrata expands Executive Leadership Series with a new report which examines the experience and characteristics of global CEOs NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Altrata released The Role of the CEO 2023 which examines CEOs of public and private companies across 20 major global markets. This new report is the latest in Altrata's Executive Leadership Series, leveraging data from BoardEx, Boardroom Insiders and RelSci. Individuals appointed to the role of CEO are under increasing pressure to successfully navigate changing market conditions, demands for sustainable business practices, cyber security, workplace wellbeing, and much more. The experience and characteristics of today's CEOs can tell us more about the needs of companies and the priorities of their board. Key findings from The Role of the CEO 2023 include: CEO gender imbalance. Only around 6% of CEO positions at large public companies across 20 major global markets are currently held by women. Private ownership appears to make a difference; large, privately held companies in the US and UK have a greater proportion of female CEOs.

Only around 6% of CEO positions at large public companies across 20 major global markets are currently held by women. Private ownership appears to make a difference; large, privately held companies in the US and UK have a greater proportion of female CEOs. CEOs of larger companies are in their mid to late 50s and they are typically the oldest person in the C-suite.

79% of FTSE 100 CEOs and 87% of CEOs in the S&P 500 were appointed internally. External appointments play a biger role in large, private companies in both the US and UK.

CEOs of large listed companies tend to have very strong experience in M&A. Around 85% of S&P 500 and FTSE 100 CEOs have overseen an acquisition during their career. In terms of CEOs with IPO experience, those leading S&P and FTSE small cap companies take the lead.

Around 85% of S&P 500 and FTSE 100 CEOs have overseen an acquisition during their career. In terms of CEOs with IPO experience, those leading S&P and FTSE small cap companies take the lead. The corporate backgrounds of FTSE 100 CEOs show significant sectoral diversity. 16% of CEOs spent part of their career at CRH, 11% at British American Tobacco, 11% at Carrefour and 11% at Shell.

16% of CEOs spent part of their career at CRH, 11% at British American Tobacco, 11% at Carrefour and 11% at Shell. Nearly a fifth of S&P 500 CEOs spent part of their careers at either GE or Procter & Gamble. Other notable companies where CEO's previously worked are Dow, HP and Pfizer.



Access the complete findings To dig deeper into the insights highlighted above and to learn more about the evolving role of the CEO download the full report here.

This study was powered by three of Altrata's unique data products. BoardEx includes the professional profiles of more than 1.6 million executives across the globe including their diversity details and work experience. RelSci includes insight into the size and influence of the networks of CEOs and other executives. Boardroom Insiders details out the strategic priorities and interests of CEOs across the US. About Altrata Altrata is a global leader in people intelligence. It includes more than 100 million profiles on wealthy individuals around the world and more than 12 million profiles on senior decision makers, board members and C-suite leaders. Altrata provides intelligence on the people who are most impactful to our clients' success. Altrata's advanced integration solutions allow deeper insights and access to billions of connections helping clients close more deals, manage risk, and identify key talent quickly. Actionable, accurate, and comprehensive data powered by a global team of more than 400 researchers and data specialists, maintaining millions of profiles, enables clients to effectively engage and make meaningful, lasting connections. Altrata is a registered trademark of Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies, and is comprised of five dynamic offerings: BoardEx , Boardroom Insiders , RelSci , WealthEngine , and Wealth-X . Media Contact: Amanda Cifone, [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1990659/MicrosoftTeams_image__53.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1819781/Altrata_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/only-6-of-ceo-positions-at-large-listed-companies-across-the-globe-are-held-by-women-301732406.html

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[January 31, 2023] SafeBreach Launches Threat Intelligence Collective With Leading Partners to Optimize Intelligence and Enable Proactive Security

SafeBreach, the pioneer in breach and attack simulation (BAS), today launched the Threat Intelligence Collective, a collaboration that enables seamless integration between the SafeBreach BAS platform and leading threat intelligence providers and platforms. Together, SafeBreach and its threat intelligence partners have created a more powerful way for security teams to ingest the latest threat intelligence, validate and visualize their exposure and prioritize remediation actions to prevent a breach. Threat intelligence is a vital component of an organization's cybersecurity strategy, offering security teams valuable context about the latest threats, attacks and techniques being used by adversaries. And, there is growing recognition by the cybersecurity community about the value of leveraging this intelligence in a more proactive way, with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently calling for organizations to enact a more automated, continuous approach to threat testing. However, security teams often lack the people and processes to operationalize this intelligence quickly and efficiently to understand their exposure and identify what prevention/remediation actions need to be taken. Combining threat intelligence feeds with the SafeBreach platform helps organizations shift to a more proactive approach with the ability to: Gain immediate visibility into their vulnerability and exposure to the latest threats

Prioritize and validate the most relevant threats and attack methods for their industry or company

Quickly determine and execute appropriate remediation actions

Prioritize security operations resources based on the overall exposure gap and attack group/threat to optimize efficacy

Proactively communicate risk and exposure to executive management and boards Under the new Threat Intelligence Collective, the SafeBreach platform offers integration with the following threat intelligence providers: Anomali, AT&T Cybersecurity, CrowdStrike, Google, Palo Alto Networks, Splunk, ThreatConnect, and ThreatQuotient.



Integration with each of these threat intelligence leaders allows customers to leverage the SafeBreach platform to gain greater visibility into the most relevant and high priority threats. SafeBreach also takes this visibility one step deeper by allowing security teams to create customized attacks that mimic specific threats and leverage threat-specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) imported directly from their preferred intelligence provider. "Cyber threats are constantly shifting, and security teams need to adopt a proactive approach in order to best protect their organizations from attack," said Itzik Kotler, CTO and Co-Founder at SafeBreach. "We believe that partnerships are the most effective way to share expertise and create holistic threat assessments that address the needs of security teams, executive teams and the board. SafeBreach is proud to offer one of the industry's most diverse partner ecosystems to help bridge every gap and defend our customers' vital resources."

Threat Intelligence Partner Quotes "Threat intelligence is essential to better inform, triage and prioritize detections to reduce dwell time and time to respond," said James Brodsky, AVP Security Market Strategies at Splunk. "Our integration with SafeBreach enables proactive defense, preventing breaches by eliminating exposures and vulnerabilities before they are discovered and exploited by adversaries." "By marrying our front-line knowledge and intelligence with SafeBreach, our customers can gain continuous insight into their risk posture and take action to eliminate protection gaps across their security infrastructure," said Matt McCormick, SVP Business and Corporate Development at ThreatQuotient. About SafeBreach Combining the mindset of a CISO and the toolset of a hacker, SafeBreach is the pioneer in breach and attack simulation (BAS) and is the most widely used continuous security validation platform. SafeBreach continuously executes attacks, correlates results to help visualize security gaps, and leverages contextual insights to highlight remediation efforts. With its Hacker's Playbook, the industry's most extensive collection of attack data enabled by state-of-the-art threat intelligence research, SafeBreach empowers organizations to get proactive about security with a simple approach that replaces hope with data. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005590/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Brikl Reallocates a Significant Portion of its Technology Resources to Showcase its Commitment to the US Market

CINCINNATI, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brikl , an e-Commerce MicroStore software platform for creating online stores and live catalogs for the promotional and team wear industry, announced today that it will be setting up a third software development hub in Costa Rica. This will involve reallocating a significant portion of its technology resources globally to Costa Rica and the US to better serve its US-based customers. With its central location in the Americas and highly skilled workforce, Costa Rica is the ideal location for Brikl to expand its technology operations. Additionally, Costa Rica is home to a wide range of multinational Fortune 100 companies such as Amazon, IBM, Intel, and many others. In combination with its expert tech hub in Thailand, Brikl will be able to provide global coverage and 24/7 ongoing software development and support while continuing to innovate an improve its products.



"We are excited to expand our software engineering operations to Costa Rica while increasing our footprint in the US. As a company, our goal is to attract the best talent and to provide the best service to our customers around the world. With our three development hubs in the US, Costa Rica, and Thailand, this move demonstrates Brikl's ongoing commitment to ensure a standout service, support, and technology for our US and international clients," Maarten Boone, Brikl's CEO comments. Jason Reinhardt, Brikl's COO, demonstrates equal optimism by saying, "The company will continue to invest in research and development. This will ensure that Brikl remains at the forefront of technology while continuing to meet the needs of its US customers: current needs and those yet unanticipated. We take great pride in our ability to make bold strides that continue our legacy of innovation."

About Brikl Brikl is a leading e-Commerce MicroStore software platform for the custom, promotional, and team wear industry. Founded in 2016 by Maarten Boone, Tobias Meixner, and Jason Reinhardt, Brikl offers a 15-minute online store and live catalog setup, expedites the design process, and integrates with suppliers and decorators. For more information, visit www.brikl.com . Media Contact:

Suz Pathmanathan

+31638261680

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brikl-reallocates-a-significant-portion-of-its-technology-resources-to-showcase-its-commitment-to-the-us-market-301734739.html SOURCE Brikl

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[January 31, 2023] Frescoes, in a Flash: Nagoya Institute of Technology Researchers Create Frescoes in a Single Day

Using a novel paint pigment, a cold sintering technique, and "supercritical" carbon dioxide, frescoes can be created within a single day NAGOYA, Japan, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Frescoes, religious paintings from medieval Europe, require several decades to form. Now, researchers have successfully created a fresco in a single day using a novel technique that mimics the formation of sedimentary rocks in the Earth's crust. Frescoes, popular paintings from medieval Europe, are painted on a wet slaked lime plaster wall with natural rock pigments. The plaster, consisting of calcium hydroxide, reacts with water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form a protective coating over the pigments, preserving the painting. However, this process takes place over decades, making frescoes a rarely practiced art form. Now, a group of researchers from the Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan, including Professor Shinobu Hashimoto, Mr. Keitaro Yamaguchi, and Prof. Yuji Iwamoto, rapidly fabricated frescoes through a ceramic cold sintering technique that was "geomimetic", or inspired by the natural rock formation processes taking place in the Earth's crust. Their work was made available online on 4th November 2021 and published in Volume 48, Issue 4 of Ceramics International on 15th February 2022. Watch a video summarizing their research here: https://youtu.be/15COhX_lrds



Prof. Hashimoto explains, "This method employs a warm press to heat calcium hydroxide powder up to 300 C under the high pressure of several hundred megapascals, which hardens the powder, forming the base material for frescoes." The researchers painted on these fabricated bases using red iron oxide pigment powder. They further used supercritical carbon dioxide, a fluid form of carbon dioxide obtained at very high temperature and pressure, for calcium carbonate deposition on the painted surface.

To ensure pigment durability, the researchers subjected the painting to a warm press before the carbon dioxide treatment. Further, to ensure an even coating and sufficient translucency, they mixed the pigment and calcium hydroxide powders for painting instead of powder coating the fresco. A 1:10 pigment-to-hydroxide ratio by mass was sufficient to immobilize the pigment particles and showed appreciable color development. In fact, the pigment color of this novel formulation was brighter than even the original pure pigment. Prof. Hashimoto puts into perspective the enormity of the present work. "Using our technique, a fresco, that takes hundreds of years to form, was successfully created in one day. This could facilitate unfired pottery technology for a low-energy society. Paying attention to traditional fields as past technologies can contribute to the latest advancements." The new technique will bring a breath of fresh air into the time-honored art of fresco painting! Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.11.022 Title of paper: Rapid fabrication of frescoes using a geomimetic ceramic formation process Journal: Ceramics International Contact:

Azusa Yabugami

+81 52-735-5091

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frescoes-in-a-flash-nagoya-institute-of-technology-researchers-create-frescoes-in-a-single-day-301733385.html SOURCE Nagoya Institute of Technology

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LinQuest Completes Acquisition of Hellebore Consulting Group

LinQuest Corporation, a leader in technology solutions for U.S. defense and intelligence communities, announced the acquisition of Hellebore Consulting Group, a next-generation software engineering company with expertise in DevSecOps Software systems and solutions supporting high-priority missions that will ensure the future of air dominance. This transaction enhances both companies' ability to provide AFMC and other Dayton customers with their transformation efforts to a digital future.

Established in 2018, Hellebore is located in Beavercreek, Ohio, where it will operate in partnership with LinQuest's Integrated Analytics & Support Line-of-Business.

"Hellebore's experience with agile software development and its track record supporting the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center will catalyze LinQuest's leading role in moving AFLCMC to a digital future," said Greg Young, President and CEO of LinQuest. "This partnersip with the Hellebore team will help enable our customers to advance the state-of-the-art in autonomous technologies."







"We are excited about this decision to partner with LinQuest," said John Farrier and Dan Squibb, Hellebore co-founders. "Our combined teams bring full spectrum solutions to AFLCMC in software development, systems engineering, and mission systems software solutions."

About LinQuest Corporation

LinQuest is a national security space leader that enables defense and intelligence missions through advanced digital solutions and the development, integration, and operation of mission-critical systems. With a legacy that spans 47 years, LinQuest's 1,500-plus team members work side-by-side with their customers to solve their most complex technical challenges, drive innovation, and deliver fielded solutions for national security missions. More information can be found on the company's website at www.linquest.com.

About Hellebore

Hellebore Consulting Group is a high-value defense technology company with headquarters in Beavercreek, Ohio. Hellebore holds deep understanding of weapons systems to drive radical change into the capabilities of the United States military. The company's people and products are actively supporting development and acquisition activities within the US Department of Defense. For more information, visit https://hellebore.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005240/en/
[January 31, 2023] MICLEDI Microdisplays Highlights Best-in-Class microLEDs for Ultra-Compact Displays at SPIE AR-VR-MR Exhibition

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week at SPIE AR-VR-MR at Photonics West, MICLEDI Microdisplays, a leading technology company in the field of microLED (LED) displays for high def, ultra-compact displays, will be on hand to demonstrate its portfolio of R, G and B GaN LEDs. These demonstrations will highlight excellent color performance in blue, green and red across the full range of drive currents for many different types of appliances demanding ultra-compact display modules. At the show, MICLEDI will also display red AlInGaP performance results from initial testing and characterization.

As creators of the industrys first microLED arrays-for-augmented reality built on a 300mm CMOS manufacturing platform, MICLEDI enables more compact, power efficient devices that address the needs of future ultra-compact displaysin terms of display size, resolution, brightness, image quality, power consumption and cost. MICLEDIs strategy is to enable the optimum full-color ultra-compact display by making the best individual color-performing LEDs, which when coupled with the companys proprietary micro-lenses can be integrated into the highest performing full-color 3-panel LED display module.



As there is no one-size-fits-all solution for ultra-compact displays, different applications (true consumer, industrial, enterprise, medical, automotive and others) require different optimal performance parameters  and MICLEDI is committed to serving customers developing AR glasses from medium to high resolution and medium to high brightness. Hosted by SPIE, Photonics West is the largest annual conference and exhibition in optics and photonics, and the AR-VR-MR exhibit is highly focused on ultra-compact display technologies. At the show, demonstrations will be given in MICLEDIs booth #131 at Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco from January 31 - February 1 and will feature green and red microLED arrays with excellent color and brilliance/luminance. MICLEDIs recently announced two versions of red  GaN and AlInGaP  will also be displayed and discussed at the exhibition.

Private meetings can be arranged by contacting Harold Blomquist, MICLEDIs VP of Business Development, at [email protected]. For more information, please visit www.micledi.com. About MICLEDI Microdisplays

MICLEDI Microdisplays is a fabless developer of microLED display modules for a broad range of market applications requiring ultra-compact displays. The company was spun-out from IMEC, a highly respected Belgian R&D center, in 2019. MICLEDIs technology is based on an innovative combination of III/V materials processing, 3D integration and 300mm silicon-based processing combined with a proprietary ASIC to provide a self-contained, compact monolithic AR display with high image quality and power efficiency. For more information, visit www.micledi.com. Media Contact:

Jessica Roland

Lages & Associates

(949) 453-8080

[email protected]



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[January 31, 2023] TeamViewer Streamlines Global IT Support at Henkel

TAMPA BAY, Fla., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TeamViewer , a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalization solutions, is streamlining the remote support in the IT department of the international consumer goods and adhesives corporation Henkel. Thanks to the secure enterprise connectivity suite TeamViewer Tensor, the Dusseldorf-based company was able to simplify its global internal IT support and make it more efficient. With the solution, Henkel's IT experts are now able to connect to all the devices of their employees such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones (in total 60,000 devices worldwide), regardless of manufacturer or operating system. The simple implementation on the devices and the seamless integration into Henkel's existing IT landscape, with connections to ServiceNow, Microsoft Azure and Jamf, among others, played an important role in the decision for TeamViewer. In addition, TeamViewer's solution fully complies with industry-standard security features such as single sign-on, a scalable and flexible rights management, and end-to-end encryption. Adrian van Zyl, Product Owner Client & Mobility Operations at Henkel says: "TeamViewer Tensor has made our IT support much more efficient. Our employeesaround the world use a wide variety of devices and platforms, which we previously had to manage using a variety of different programs. With TeamViewer, we now have a solution in place that covers all our requirements for remote maintenance and significantly improves the workflows for our IT experts. Thus, our central IT support has become more secure, simpler and faster."



Patty Nagle, President, Americas at TeamViewer says: "We have tailored TeamViewer Tensor specifically to the requirements of corporations. The solution can be scaled as required and makes it possible to access devices and machines quickly and easily from anywhere and at any time, in order provide support and maintenance. In times of mobile working, skills shortages and digital transformation at all levels of the value chain, this is a real game changer for IT departments." About TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a leading global technology company that provides a connectivity platform to remotely access, control, manage, monitor, and repair devices of any kind  from laptops and mobile phones to industrial machines and robots. Although TeamViewer is free of charge for private use, it has more than 620,000 subscribers and enables companies of all sizes and from all industries to digitalize their business-critical processes through seamless connectivity. Against the backdrop of global megatrends like device proliferation, automation and new work, TeamViewer proactively shapes digital transformation and continuously innovates in the fields of Augmented Reality, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. Since the company's foundation in 2005, TeamViewer's software has been installed on more than 2.5 billion devices around the world. The company is headquartered in Goppingen, Germany, and employs around 1,400 people globally. In 2022, TeamViewer achieved billings of around EUR 635 million. TeamViewer AG (TMV) is listed at Frankfurt Stock Exchange and belongs to the MDAX. Further information can be found at https://www.teamviewer.com/. Press contact

Nikolai Worms

Phone: +49 (0)7161 97200 10

E-mail: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teamviewer-streamlines-global-it-support-at-henkel-301734540.html SOURCE TeamViewer

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[January 31, 2023] Broker Buddha Partners with Herald to Offer Carrier Quoting Panels

Online quoting for small and midsize commercial lines NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Broker Buddha , the leading client digital engagement platform for insurance agencies, announces its partnership with Herald which builds digital infrastructure for commercial insurance. The partnership will enable the nation's leading insurance agencies to further simplify their client's experience while improving the way they do business with their leading carrier partners. By combining Broker Buddha's client-friendly online Smart Forms with Herald's unified carrier connectivity application programming interface (API), this partnership delivers an easy-to-use platform for businesses and their agents to quickly get quotes and bind policies for small and middle-market businesses. It's difficult for agencies to stand out and deliver on their unique brand promises in a competitive commercial insurance market. Delivering a distinctive client experience that drives loyalty requires technological capabilities that few possess. Thanks to this new partnership, agents will be able to access carrier quotes from their preferred carriers using Broker Buddha and Herald's API. This allows Broker Buddha to deliver an end-to-end exprience for more than 60 insurance products across 8 lines of business, including seven supported Cyber products and six supported BOP products from both admitted and surplus lines markets.



"As a venture-backed, high-growth startup, we are fully committed to new product innovation," says Jason Keck, Founder and CEO of Broker Buddha. "Our digital engagement platform streamlines your processes, eliminating the monotonous administrative work of insurance applications and renewals. Now, with Herald's powerful connectivity infrastructure, we can empower agents to connect these streamlined processes to their top carrier partners and fully automate submission workflows for small and mid-sized accounts." "Partnering with innovative distributors like Broker Buddha is fundamental to Herald's goal of supporting independent agents and the businesses they serve," said Matthew Antoszyk, CEO at Herald. "We're excited about how Broker Buddha's industry-leading platform will enable their impressive portfolio of agency clients to digitize workflows with the carrier partners in our ecosystem."

From the partnership, Broker Buddha will be able to offer automatic quotes for over 400 classes of business. Herald's growing list of API-enabled insurance products means that agencies using Broker Buddha will be able to quickly and easily place coverage for small and medium business owners across the country. About Broker Buddha Broker Buddha is the leading digital client engagement platform for insurance agencies looking to improve their customer experience and increase their brand loyalty. Founded in 2017, Broker Buddha simplifies the application and renewal process and enables agencies to impress their clients by delivering a unique digital footprint that is consistent with their brand promise. For more information about Broker Buddha, visit www.brokerbuddha.com . About Herald Herald builds digital infrastructure for commercial insurance. Developers who use Herald can quote and bind insurance from multiple carriers through a single API. For brokers and technology providers looking to engage with carrier partners via API, Herald helps construct reliable connections and dramatically accelerate product development timelines. For carriers and MGAs enabling connectivity via API, Herald builds and manages integrations with new and existing distribution partners. To learn more, visit https://heraldapi.com or email us at [email protected] CONTACT

Name: Susana Mitsis

Phone: 1-617-444-9201

Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/broker-buddha-partners-with-herald-to-offer-carrier-quoting-panels-301733464.html SOURCE Broker Buddha

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[January 31, 2023] Cleary Announces $7.5m in Funding amid Strong Demand for Their Employee Experience Platform to Support Distributed Teams

Cleary's approach helps companies create a holistic employee experience while saving on cost, eliminating unnecessary point solutions as remote and hybrid work show staying power. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleary, the digital employee experience platform for distributed teams, has closed a $4.5m seed funding round led by Moonshots Capital, with participation from Liberty City Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Seachange Fund, and Quiet Capital, among others. This seed round follows an initial capital raise of $3m as part of Cleary's pre-seed fundraise. Already serving as the digital employee experience platform for companies such as Flexport, DoorDash, Cadre, Favor, Dandy, and Shippo, Cleary will look to expand its footprint to meet the immense need for optimized employee journeys in the modern workplace. "With over one billion knowledge workers worldwide and a rapidly-expanding need for cohesive employee experience amongst hybrid workforces, we're thrilled to announce this fundraise as a step towards bringing these capabilities to more companies who view their people as their greatest asset," says Thomas Kunjappu, CEO and co-founder, Cleary. "The tailwinds of the COVID pandemic continue to shift workplace expectations among knowledge workers, and companies that provide essential tools for remote work will thrive in the years to come. In addition to a superior product, Cleary has extraordinary leadership from founders with deep domain expertise, and that's what ultimately leads to success and why we are so excited to partner with Thomas and Ryan," says Kelly Perdew, General Partner at Moonshots Capital. Cleary streamlines the employee journey trough its Internal Communications, Culture, and productivity features. "Cleary is truly an all-in-one solution that improves all employee touchpoints at our company," said Andrew Weiss, Director of Internal Communications, Dandy. "From onboarding to culture-related internal content, Cleary has enabled us to seamlessly operate as a distributed team while eliminating several other tools from our HR technology stack, reducing app fatigue and minimizing operational costs."



Specific capabilities of Cleary include company news and updates, org charts, cross-functional team management, an internal wiki, internal search, events, and public recognition, among others. Cleary also enables customizable employee journeys for onboarding, department transfers, and more, helping People teams save time and provide a cohesive experience for employees. "With a sizable portion of our employees participating in hybrid work, we needed ways for employees, especially new hires, to connect with one another and feel a sense of belonging. Cleary has enabled us to remain connected and engaged as a company, even when people are not seeing each other in person every day. It creates a bit of a home base," said Rita Ramakrishnan, Chief People Officer, Cadre.

Before starting Cleary, co-founders Thomas Kunjappu and Ryan O'Donnell led the development of internal people tools at Twitter. Inspired by the success of these applications and their centrality to the digital employee experience there, they founded Cleary to bring this approach to companies of all sizes, not just large enterprises. With this latest round of funding, Cleary aims to completely disrupt the legacy intranet market through further optimization of its modern approach to employee engagement technology. To learn how your company can get started with Cleary, please visit gocleary.com/start. About Cleary Cleary's mission is to inspire more productive, connected, and engaged employees. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, Cleary is driving the future of work through experience platforms for distributed teams. For more information or to get started with Cleary, please visit www.gocleary.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cleary-announces-7-5m-in-funding-amid-strong-demand-for-their-employee-experience-platform-to-support-distributed-teams-301734120.html SOURCE Cleary

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[January 31, 2023] Bridge Bank Provides $3 Million Credit Facility to Help Innovative Lease Services Grow Portfolio

Bridge Bank today announced its Capital Finance Group has closed on a $3 million credit facility for Innovative Lease Services Inc., a Carlsbad, California-based provider of commercial equipment financing and leasing services. Innovative Lease Services (ILS) plans to use the funding to help grow its lease portfolio. "We are pleased that Bridge Bank can help even more companies achieve their business objectives with this financing for Innovative Lease Services, which fills a unique niche in the industry," said Justin Vogel, senior vice president in Bridge Bank's Capital Finance Group. ILS provides financing for businesses to buy new and used equipment that costs between $5,000 and $5 million. As a private lender, the company offers significant flexibility to provide financial tools to small and medium-sized businesses across the United States and has helped businesses like breweries acquire brewing equipment, fitness centers buy new equipment and entrepreneurs purchase food trucks. "We love to help companies find the funds they need to get off the ground and succeed," said Innovative Lease Services CEO Andrew Nere. "We are here to enable and support the American dream of business ownership." Bridge Bank's Capital Finance Group offers a range of asset-based and factoring solutions, including accounts receivable, inventory and invoice financing, to provide lines of credit and working capital. Te group's expertise supports companies in manufacturing, professional services, retail and technology that are experiencing unusual market conditions that might hamper their ability to adhere to traditional covenants and credit structures.



About Innovative Lease Services Inc. Founded in 1986, Innovative Lease Services Inc. is a Carlsbad, California-based provider of commercial equipment financing for businesses in all 50 states. The company specializes in equipment leasing, equipment financing and working capital for small and mid-sized businesses. It is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and is a longstanding member of the National Equipment Finance Association and the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. Learn more at https://www.ilslease.com/.

About Bridge Bank Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, delivers relationship banking that puts clients at the center of everything. Founded in 2001 in Silicon Valley, Bridge Bank offers a full spectrum of tailored business banking solutions throughout the Bay Area and has specialized expertise focused on life sciences and technology and innovation companies, at every stage in their life cycle, through its offices in major tech hubs across the country. Bridge Bank also serves the private equity and venture capital communities and provides business escrow services. Bridge Bank is part of Western Alliance Bancorporation, which has more than $65 billion in assets and ranked #1 among top-performing large banks in 2021 by both American Banker and Bank Director. As a regional bank with significant national capabilities, Bridge Bank delivers the reach, resources and local market expertise that make a difference for customers. For more information, visit Bridge Bank. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005171/en/

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The visa-free travel regime between Armenia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will enter into force after the signing of the protocol and the completion of national procedures, the Embassy of Armenia to the UAE explained.

It said in a statement that the visa regime is still in force.

Dear citizens, the requirement for obtaining an entry visa before traveling to the UAE is still in force. The embassy will provide additional information when the changes take effect, the embassy said.
[January 31, 2023] After Record Growth in 2022, Etiometry Paves Way for 2023 Expansion

Etiometry, the leader in clinical decision-support software for critical care, today provided a glimpse into its 2023 priorities as well as highlights from 2022, which marked a landmark year of growth for the company - including its database volume, which now exceeds 150 million hours of deidentified data signals. These patient-generated data are key to scaling Etiometry's technology to serve additional populations and inform the company's risk algorithms, which bolster the platform's use as a safety net for clinicians caring for critically ill patients. On the heels of record growth in 2021, Etiometry harnessed the momentum moving into 2022, more than doubling sales over 2021, and also initiated its first adult hospital installations. On the regulatory front, Etiometry announced this month its eighth FDA clearance; the IDO2 IndexTM is now cleared for adult use. In 2022, the company doubled its FDA-cleared risk analytics portfolio to four indices, adding the HLA Index for hyperlactatemia, and ACD Index for acidemia, further strengthening its capability to track the fundamental pathways through which patients deteriorate under intensive care. In other markets, the company received CE Marking and Health Canada authorization for all four risk algorithms in pediatrics and the additional approval of the ID02 algorithm in adlts in each geography.



"Our regulatory success uniquely positions Etiometry for further developments in 2023 that will result in enhanced offerings benefiting patients and the care teams treating them," said Shane Cooke, CEO of Etiometry. "We've also seen a substantial uptick in clinicians using the platform's data for research." Six peer-reviewed articles were published about the Etiometry platform in 2022, bringing the total to 12 journals and adding to the more than 120 ongoing research projects, which include 15 multi-center studies.

As the body of research highlighting the clinical efficacy of the Etiometry platform continues to grow, so does the attention from industry stakeholders. Following its 2021 strategic partnership with Terumo, last year, Etiometry formed its second partnership with Radiometer, a medical device company specializing in acute care testing solutions to enhance neonatal intensive care outcomes. In October, clinicians from some of the nation's top-ranked hospitals participated in Etiometry's Guiding Patient Safety Summit to discuss how the platform can impact patient care and improve daily workflows. Capping off the year, Frost & Sullivan presented Etiometry with its Enabling Technology Leadership Award for critical care decision making. In 2023, Etiometry aims to maintain its regulatory tempo, add new customers across pediatric and adult hospital systems, and continue to expand its utilization footprint by installing the platform in more intensive care units, operating rooms, and emergency departments - a number that has already grown by a factor of four over the past two years. Etiometry also plans to add to its talent pool - which currently includes clinicians to inform product developments, as well as data science experts to expand the reach of the company's AI-based platform. "Aside from the strides we're making in enhancing our platform's capabilities, it's exciting to pique the interest of more and more hospital leaders. The driver is always about enhancing patient care while reducing length of stay and readmissions," said Cooke, "But, I would add that by decreasing the cognitive burden of care teams, Etiometry provides a concrete way to alleviate clinician burnout, which we all know, is a persisting problem. There really hasn't been a better time for our solution." About Etiometry Founded in 2010, Etiometry is the leader in clinical decision-support software designed to help clinicians in the intensive care setting make data-based decisions regarding their patients' care and treatment. The company's technologies provide valuable clinical insight and analysis to support early recognition of subtle changes in patients' conditions to avoid complications and speed recovery. Etiometry has eight FDA clearances and four Health Canada approvals and CE markings. With roots in pediatric ICUs, Etiometry's software is utilized by some of the world's top academic medical centers, 20 of the Best Children's Hospitals, ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 4 out of 5 of the highest ranked children's hospitals in Newsweek's Top Specialty Hospitals in the World and a growing number of top adult hospitals. Etiometry is committed to improving patient outcomes, increasing clinical efficiency, and lowering the cost of care through the more effective use of data. The Etiometry Platform is an end-to-end data management software solution for the collection, analysis, visualization, and archiving of ICU clinical data. It is designed to facilitate the use of all available data to support the anticipation and management of the dynamic condition of patients requiring intensive care. To learn more, visit www.etiometry.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005783/en/

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[January 31, 2023] F.N.B. Corporation Further Expands Access to Credit in Diverse Communities

New Special Purpose Credit Program Promotes Homeownership and Economic Equality Throughout Multi-State Footprint PITTSBURGH, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB) announced it is further expanding access to credit in communities of color with a new Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP). The program aims to promote homeownership and economic equality and is available to consumers in majority-minority neighborhoods throughout the FNB footprint. FNB initially will provide up to $3 million in closing cost assistance annually through the SPCP and its proprietary affordable mortgage programs. FNB Homeownership Plus is a new mortgage loan designed to mitigate common financial barriers to homebuying. With down payments as low as zero percent and access to up to $5,000 through FNB's closing cost assistance grant, FNB Homeownership Plus significantly reduces the amount of cash a borrower needs to have up-front when buying a home. The product has no private mortgage insurance requirement and features flexible qualification standards, providing another solution for borrowers whose levels of existing debt or credit scores may make them ineligible for conventional loans. FNB Homeownership Plus even takes alternative trade lines, such as rent or utility payments, into consideration if a customer does not have a sufficient credit history. The special purpose mortgage product aligns with FNB's broader objective to address persistent racial gaps in homeownership. According to 2022 findings from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Economic Policy, the 75 percent homeownership rate for white households significantly outpaces homeownership rates for Black households (45 percent), Hispanic households (48 percent) and non-Hispanic households of any other race (57 percent). FNB also is now one of a few banks nationwide to offer a special purpose home equity solution, FNB Home Equity Plus, including both an installment loan and two lines of credit (interest-only and principal and interest). Ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, these products make it possible for borrowers to monetize funds they have invested in their homes to finance other priorities. Optimal pricing, repayment terms extending up to 180 months and favorable loan-to-value ratios provide consumers in diverse areas with enhanced borrowing power. With flexible terms, FNB's program enables consumers to finance improvements to their homes and creates a more vibrant economic outcome for their communities overall. "For our communities to thrive, it is essential that we continue to provide banking resources that fit our customers' wide range of needs, circumstances and backgrounds," said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation and First National Bank. "In addition to our long-standing proprietary affordable mortgage programs, our new special purpose program presents another avenue for FNB to foster equal access to credit, which is a fundamental building block toward homeownership, wealth creation and financial stability for families and the neighborhoods they call home." The SPCP builds on a suite of financial products, services and resources FNB has introduced over time to strengthen its communities and empower consumers to make responsible, confident banking choices. Below are select highlights of FNB's ongoing commitment. Supporting Homeownership Closing Cost Assistance Grant  In 2021, FNB introduced a grant program that today provides up to $5,000 toward closing costs for borrowers who have low and moderate income or are purchasing a home in a low- to moderate-income (LMI) or predominantly minority community.

 In 2021, FNB introduced a grant program that today provides up to toward closing costs for borrowers who have low and moderate income or are purchasing a home in a low- to moderate-income (LMI) or predominantly minority community. Affordable Mortgage Products  In addition to a full array of government-backed programs, FNB's proprietary affordable mortgage and home rehabilitation products are tailored to the needs of lower income borrowers. FNB recently updated these programs to allow for larger loan sizes and higher debt-to-income ratios, as well as to accept alternative trade lines to assist buyers with limited or no credit.

 In addition to a full array of government-backed programs, FNB's proprietary affordable mortgage and home rehabilitation products are tailored to the needs of lower income borrowers. FNB recently updated these programs to allow for larger loan sizes and higher debt-to-income ratios, as well as to accept alternative trade lines to assist buyers with limited or no credit. Strategic Outreach  Building on ongoing marketing and awareness campaigns, FNB has hired Community Development Specialists and Community Homeownership Specialists to strengthen its ongoing outreach with community groups and leaders, ensuring local citizens are connected with education, products and services that put homeownership within reach. FNB's goal is to continue hiring engaged local experts in the communities it serves.



Providing Access to Financing Specialized Credit Products  Complementing updates to its overdraft practices, FNB plans to launch a short-term, small-dollar loan solution to fill urgent financial gaps, as well as a secured credit card to help customers build or repair their credit over time.

 Complementing updates to its overdraft practices, FNB plans to launch a short-term, small-dollar loan solution to fill urgent financial gaps, as well as a secured credit card to help customers build or repair their credit over time. Focused Investments  FNB has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in initiatives to strengthen its communities. In 2022, its significant efforts included a $2.5 million equity commitment to Black Tech Nation Ventures, a majority Black-owned venture capital firm that provides funding and resources for diverse entrepreneurs in the tech space. Additionally, the Company has made $2 million in Equity Equivalent (EQ2) Investments to Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and Invest PGH programs that support minority-owned businesses in two underserved communities. FNB's investments aim in part to enable local contractors to participate in its new corporate headquarters project, which is in a predominantly minority neighborhood.

 FNB has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in initiatives to strengthen its communities. In 2022, its significant efforts included a equity commitment to Black Tech Nation Ventures, a majority Black-owned venture capital firm that provides funding and resources for diverse entrepreneurs in the tech space. Additionally, the Company has made in Equity Equivalent (EQ2) Investments to Urban Redevelopment Authority of and Invest PGH programs that support minority-owned businesses in two underserved communities. FNB's investments aim in part to enable local contractors to participate in its new corporate headquarters project, which is in a predominantly minority neighborhood. Small Business Administration Loans (SBA)  FNB has a long-standing commitment to help small businesses grow and succeed, and consistently ranks among the 100 most active SBA lenders in the United States . In addition, FNB currently maintains an outstanding Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its performance meeting the credit needs of LMI individuals as well as its deployment of capital and other products and services in LMI communities.

Driving Successful Outcomes Transparent Account Information  Led by eStore, FNB provides multiple tools to make the account selection and opening processes transparent and consumer-friendly. eStore makes it easy for customers to find information about accounts, apply for products, schedule an appointment with an FNB expert, and access financial education content using their online or mobile device or at an interactive in-branch kiosk.

 Led by eStore, FNB provides multiple tools to make the account selection and opening processes transparent and consumer-friendly. eStore makes it easy for customers to find information about accounts, apply for products, schedule an appointment with an FNB expert, and access financial education content using their online or mobile device or at an interactive in-branch kiosk. Beneficial Products  FNB offers accounts to help clients prevent mistakes, including eStyle, which enables customers to avoid overdrafts entirely. One of FNB's fastest-growing accounts, eStyle has received national Bank On certification from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund for its affordability, high functionality and focus on consumer protection.

 FNB offers accounts to help clients prevent mistakes, including eStyle, which enables customers to avoid overdrafts entirely. One of FNB's fastest-growing accounts, eStyle has received national Bank On certification from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund for its affordability, high functionality and focus on consumer protection. Convenient Access  Digital, online and mobile banking services provide on-the-go banking capabilities, insight into account activity, customizable alerts, debit card controls, budgeting tools and more. Coupled with eStore and an expansive ATM network, including a growing fleet of Interactive Teller Machines that support after-hours video chat functionality, these solutions ensure customers always have safe, convenient access to banking services.

 Digital, online and mobile banking services provide on-the-go banking capabilities, insight into account activity, customizable alerts, debit card controls, budgeting tools and more. Coupled with eStore and an expansive ATM network, including a growing fleet of Interactive Teller Machines that support after-hours video chat functionality, these solutions ensure customers always have safe, convenient access to banking services. Financial Insights  FNB's educational program is available through eStore (using online and mobile devices or in FNB branches) or through programs presented at various community organizations. Including interactive modules on a range of topics such as "Managing your checking account (and avoiding overdrafts)," "Buying your first home," and "Building and maintaining good credit," Financial Insights is part of an organization-wide commitment to promote financial literacy. About F.N.B. Corporation

F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a diversified financial services company operating in seven states and the District of Columbia. FNB's market coverage spans several major metropolitan areas, including: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point) in North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. The Company has total assets of nearly $44 billion and approximately 350 banking offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. FNB provides a full range of commercial banking, consumer banking and wealth management solutions through its subsidiary network, which is led by its largest affiliate, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, founded in 1864. Commercial banking solutions include corporate banking, small business banking, investment real estate financing, government banking, business credit, capital markets and lease financing. The consumer banking segment provides a full line of consumer banking products and services, including deposit products, mortgage lending, consumer lending and a complete suite of mobile and online banking services. FNB's wealth management services include asset management, private banking and insurance. The common stock of F.N.B. Corporation trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FNB" and is included in Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index with the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) Regional Banks Sub-Industry Index. Customers, shareholders and investors can learn more about this regional financial institution by visiting the F.N.B. Corporation website at www.fnbcorporation.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fnb-corporation-further-expands-access-to-credit-in-diverse-communities-301734797.html SOURCE F.N.B. Corporation

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[January 31, 2023] FluentStream Reports Significant Gains Across All Areas of the Company in 2022

2022 marked continued growth for FluentStream, the fastest-growing unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider for small and midsize organizations. FluentStream has grown its customer base by 78% and its partners by 235% year-over-year, in part due to its enhanced partner program that FluentStream launched last year, which includes an industry-first buyout incentive. Its impressive growth landed FluentStream on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the fifth consecutive year. "Our business communications platform is uniquely aligned with the SMB community to provide the advanced functionality they need to operate in today's flex work environment," said Cass Gilmore, CEO, FluentStream. "We couple proprietary technology with 24/7 human support to ensure our customers have the support they need whenever they need it. Our distinctive focus on serving small and midsize organizations and our differentiated partner programs continue to fuel tremendous growth, and we expect that to continue this year." FluentStream's UCaaS platform and customer service efforts garnered significant accolades in 2022, inning Internet Telephony's Product of the Year, Customer Magazine's Voice Technology Excellence Award, TMCnet's Teleworking Solutions Excellence Award and the Best in Biz Silver Award for SMB Service of the Year. Additionally, FluentStream's innovative partner program enhancements rolled out in 2022, won ChannelVision Magazine's 2022 Channel Program of the Year Visionary Spotlight Award and secured FluentStream as an Inc. Power Partner Award honoree.



The company grew its employees by nearly 20% in 2022 and expanded its efforts to serve its workforce. As a 100% remote organization, FluentStream developed additional incentive programs and career-building opportunities. FluentStream won the Stevie Award for Great Employers for these efforts and was named among the Best Companies to Work for in Colorado by BuiltIn. Additional 2022 highlights include:

Hiring key executives including Kerrin Parker as Chief Customer Officer, Tracy Pullman as Vice President of Marketing and Amber Tobias as Head of Corporate Development

Signing Citi-Tel as FluentStream's 10 th and largest strategic partnership, fueling the company's East Coast expansion

and largest strategic partnership, fueling the company's East Coast expansion Securing its 22nd Homewatch CareGivers franchise location and forging partnerships with Allevia Technology and GPhone FluentStream also expanded its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and environmental sustainability efforts. In 2022, the company launched new initiatives to support sustainability, gender equality and social justice. FluentStream achieved carbon neutrality in 2022 and made generous donations to organizations including Girls Who Code and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). To learn more about FluentStream and career opportunities, visit https://www.fluentstream.com/careers/. About FluentStream FluentStream is a cloud communications company that simplifies and automates how small to medium-sized businesses communicate with their customers. FluentStream enables service, sales and other professionals to deliver an exceptional customer experience from any device or location. Inc. 5000 has recognized FluentStream as one of the fastest-growing private companies for five consecutive years, and BuiltIn named FluentStream one of the best places to work. For more information, visit www.fluentstream.com and connect on Linkedin. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005031/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Clearwave Fiber holds ribbon cutting celebration with opening of new office in Conyers, GA

SAVANNAH, Ga., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwave Fiber held a grand opening event and commemorative ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its newest office in Conyers, Ga. The Internet services provider also made a $5,000 donation to Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER) as part of the festivities. Supports company's goal to be in more than 500,000 homes and businesses across the United States by 2026. The new location at 1510 Klondike Road supports the company's growth and goal to bring the most advanced and fastest Internet available to more than 500,000 homes and businesses across the United States by 2026. Clearwave Fiber's first year exceeded expectations for market expansion with 50,000 newly constructed fiber passings, serving a combined commercial and residential subscriber base of more than 22,000 customers. The grand opening was well-attended by many members of the Conyers community, including Conyers Mayor Vince Evans and Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Chair Craig Johnson, along with Clearwave Fiber CEO David Armistead, the company's senior leadership team and local associates. During the event, Clearwave Fiber presented a $5,000 donation to Rockdale Emergency Relief (RER). Founded in 1967, RER is the longest-serving non-profit human service organization specifically dedicated to serving Rockdale County residents in need of assistance. RER board members JaNice Van Ness and Peggy Lawrence, along with RER Executive Director Sandra Jackson-Lett, were on hand to accept the donation. Van Ness expressed appreciation on behalf of RER to Clearwave Fiber for the generous donation. "We're glad Rockdale Emergency Relief can fill the gaps of some basic and essential needs for the community, and this donation will help us do even more," she said. "RER is rolling out a program to help people create and understand budgeting and working with temporary work agencies in the community to get people back to work while they are looking for a permanent job." Van Ness said RER hopes to "continue to partner with people in the community to make an impact in their lives so they won't be dependent on RER and can lift up their stature and where hey are in life."



Ashley Phillips, Southeast Regional President for Clearwave Fiber, said Clearwave Fiber was happy to be able to give to Rockdale Emergency Relief to help its mission. "We want to be more than just an Internet provider. We want to be a crucial thread in the fabric of the regions we serve," Phillips said. "From local customer support to community involvement, we believe in truly making an impact and giving back to the people we serve. That's why we're active in local chambers of commerce and support local non-profit organizations and events. Connecting our customers and communities is at the heart of everything we do." Derrick Grissom, Clearwave Fiber General Manager for the region that includes Conyers, acknowledged that the company would not be where it is today without its customers. He recognized one of the company's largest customers in the area, the Rockdale County School System, along with two students from Rockdale County magnet schools who are Clearwave Fiber interns. The students are receiving real-world education to support their goals of studying engineering at Georgia Tech University.

Conyers Mayor Evans said what he notices most about Clearwave Fiber is that the company is involved in the local community. "They've really bought into the Conyers community. They are great partners, and I look forward to working with them for years to come," Evans said. Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce Chair Johnson echoed the mayor's sentiments. "The Chamber sees how engaged Clearwave Fiber is, from donations like the one to RER, to hiring students from a Rockdale magnet school as interns, to many other events and sponsorships," he said. "It's one thing to say a company is a corporate citizen, but it's a whole other level to be an engaged corporate citizen like Clearwave Fiber." Clearwave Fiber CEO David Armistead said Clearwave Fiber is honored to be a part of the Conyers community. He said he appreciates the support Clearwave Fiber has received from the leaders in the community as the company works to fulfill its mission of empowering people and communities to connect and thrive. "We could not do what we do without the support of local government and local businesses. Conyers has welcomed us with open arms," he said. "We've invested tens of millions of dollars in Fiber to bring state-of-the-art communications to the area and I'm optimistic about the future for both Conyers and Clearwave Fiber. I'm looking forward to many years of a strong, continued partnership." About Clearwave Fiber

Clearwave Fiber is an Internet service provider that operates a more than 2,000 route-mile fiber network serving communities across the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States. With an emphasis on exceptional customer care and community engagement, the fast-growing company delivers advanced telecommunications solutions, providing fiber to business, enterprise and residential customers in Illinois, Kansas, Florida and Georgia. Committed to deploying 100% Fiber Internet service to 500,000 homes and businesses across the country by 2026, Clearwave Fiber employs more than 600 and is based in Savannah, Ga. Learn more at ClearwaveFiber.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clearwave-fiber-holds-ribbon-cutting-celebration-with-opening-of-new-office-in-conyers-ga-301734413.html SOURCE Clearwave Fiber

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[January 31, 2023] Volt Carbon Technologies Stakes Lithium Mining Claims in Northern Ontario

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volt Carbon Technologies Inc. (Volt Carbon or the Company) (TSX-V: VCT) (OTCQB: TORVF) is pleased to announce the acquisition by staking of a 100% owned Abamasagi Lake Lithium Project, (the "Project") located northwest of Nakina, Ontario, Canada. The mining claims were registered directly by Volt Carbon.

The staking was completed following a detailed review of several publicly available Ontario Government geological databases and publications. A total of 150 Mining Claim cells were registered by electronic staking through the Ontario Mining Lands Administration System portal, covering a total area of 3100 hectares. A map showing Volt Carbons mining claims is overlaid on top of the map provided by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development (the OMND) publication Recommendations for Exploration 2021-20221 and is shown in Figure 1 below. Target area 6 was recommended by the OMND publication as a grassroots exploration property for lithium based on lake sediment anomalies. The area outlined in red and was staked by Volt Carbon. The map provided by the OMND publication showed 98th percentile deep sediment samplings of lithium and cesium anomalies in Abamasagi Lake near the areas staked by Volt Carbon. Fig. 1: Plan Map of Volt Carbons Abamasagi Lake Lithium Project (red outline).

Please select link to view image The staked property lies within the English River Subprovince and north of the contact with the Caribou Lake greenstone belt and is centred on Abamasagi Lake. In close proximity to this location (Stott et al. 2002)3. Breaks et al. (2006)2, noted that near the Abamasagi Lake Road in the vicinity of its junction with the Anaconda Road, a well-exposed, clean, glacially polished outcrop of garnet-biotite-muscovite pegmatitic leucogranite was observed at 02-FWB-54 (UTM 490691E 5591192N, NAD83, Zone 16). Fertile peraluminous granite units are well exposed on glacially polished surfaces at this locality. Breaks et al. (2006)2, noted that the bulk composition of a green muscovite ( 02-FWB-54-02) revealed levels of elements indicative of a fertile pegmatitic granite system and, particularly the elevated tanalum (63 ppm Ta), the potential for the presence of beryl-type pegmatites. In addition, the publication recommended that the area be prospected for potential rare-element mineralization.



With the addition of these mining claims, Volt Carbon has added mineral claims with potential critical rare earth minerals that could be used to build lithium ion batteries at its Solid Ultrabattery plant in Guelph, Ontario. The new mining claims are within 200km northwest of its Manitouwadge Graphite Project. The close proximity of the two properties will enable the Company to better manage and combine its exploration resources. The Company plans to further explore the property in 2023. Qualified Person

Christian Derosier, P.Geo., PhD., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and acting on behalf of Volt Carbon. Dr. Derosier has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Volt Carbon Technologies Volt Carbon is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation, with holdings in mining claims in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. For the latest information on Volt Carbons properties and news please refer to the website www.voltcarbontech.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Volt Carbon Technologies Inc.

V-Bond Lee, P. Eng.

CEO, President, Chairman of the Board and Director Information Contact :

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (647-546-7049) 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. References 1, Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry Recommendations for Exploration 2021-2022, 2, Breaks, F.W., Selway, J.B. and Tindle, 2006. Fertile and peraluminous granites and related rare element mineralization in pegmatites, north-central and northeastern Superior Province, Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6195, 143p. 3, Stott, G.M., Davis, D.W., Parker, J.R. Straub, K.H. and Tomlinson, K.Y. 2002. Geology and tectonostratigraphic assemblages, eastern Wabigoon Subprovince, Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Preliminary Map P.3449, or Geological Survey of Canada Open File 4285, scale 1:250 000. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Volts business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, intends budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates 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. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. Although Volt believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements include statements with respect to: (i) the potential presence of beryl-type pegmatites and rare-element mineralization at the Project; (ii) the potential use of any rare-element minerals from the Project in the lithium ion batteries built at the Companys Solid Ultrabattery plant in Guelph, Ontario; (iii) the expectation that the close proximity of the two properties will enable the Company to better manage and combine its exploration resources; and (iv) the Companys plan to further explore the Project in 2023. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Volt assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation.



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[January 31, 2023] RAVE Computer Honored as Varjo 'Reseller of the Year' Second Year In A Row

RAVE Computer today announced it has once again received the Reseller of the Year - North America award from Varjo Technologies. Varjo, the industry leader in virtual and mixed reality hardware, awarded formal recognition to their top 2022 Value Added Resellers (VAR) at the 2023 Varjo VAR Global Summit in Helsinki, Finland last Thursday. Varjo's global network of 55 commercial partners spans North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific with RAVE winning the top honor in the North American region. "RAVE Computer had a record breaking 2022," said Tristan Cotter, GM, North America, Varjo Technology. "For the second year in a row, we proudly awarded RAVE as Varjo's North American Reseller of the Year. RAVE is the definition of a partner, with aggressive growth goals; not only did they open their RenderBEAST Immersive Lab, but also tapped into their local community to broaden their relationships in manufacturing. We can't wait to see what new milestones and heights we are able to achieve in 2023 as we continue to grow 'Better Together'." The Reseller of the Year recognition is given annually to Varjo partners who have demonstrated the best possible results in providing support and advice to customers in acquiring, setting up, and implementing Varjo's portfolio of highest-resolution VR/XR products. "RAVE is humbled to once again earn Varjo's Reseller of the Year for North America," said Stacey Ferguson, President, RAVE Computer. "We're grateful to Varjo for this incredible honor and collaborative partnership, and proud to be an extension of the Varjo team and brand. RAVE's mission to empower people to overcome challenges through innovation perfectly aligns with Varjo's best-in-class HMD offerings and overall philosophy of excellence. Better together, we offer a complete turnkey immersive package that goes beyond reselling and truly creates an innovative solution that's been proven to maximize valuable resources in multiple industries." Together, RAVE and Varjo have seen the power of immersive technology transform how automotive and manufacturing industries train workers and design and produce goods. On an even larger scale, immersive training and simulation has transformed the defense industry, resuting in saved time, money, and lives.



In response to the increased demand of Varjo's XR-3 in the defense industry, Varjo has introduced a TAA-line of XR-3s that are produced in Finland, and more recently, the XR-3 Focal Edition, which is also TAA compliant, and offers superior visual quality for advanced XR training use cases where seeing small text and illustrations on physical instruments close-up is mission-critical. RAVE and Varjo will be hosting an XR-3 Focal Edition roadshow event in RAVE Computer's Metro-Detroit RenderBEAST Zone the week of March 6th, focusing on defense, automotive, manufacturing, and health care use cases. Appointments are required. Contact RAVE for additional information. Elite Partnerships Powered by Elite Solutions

As an Elite Varjo-Ready PC Partner, RAVE Computer offers exclusive plug-and-play hardware bundles that include Varjo HMD, RenderBEAST custom compute, monitor, keyboard/mouse, controllers, lighthouses, and tripods all packaged together in a single-person-lift pelican case. RAVE's deep relationships with technology OEMs such as Varjo, NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD give priority access to the most cutting-edge technology allowing extraordinary support for client solution life-cycle management. RAVE's Varjo-ready RenderBEAST boasts whisper-quiet performance and a compact form factor that lets users extract maximum value from a portable workstation to deliver professional-grade immersive experiences. Experience the difference. RAVE's dedicated, on-site RenderBEAST Zone provides the perfect demonstration space to physically compare a variety of the latest HMDs in different XR/VR scenarios, including automotive, design, medical, training and simulation, and an interactive photogrammetry real-world environment. Custom demonstrations of proprietary software can also be scheduled in advance. With padded flooring and Chroma key green walls, the BEAST Zone is solely powered by RAVE's showroom RenderBEAST computer for the ultimate XR experience. To learn more about RAVE's immersive bundles, learn more about the upcoming XR-3 Focal Edition Roadshow, or to schedule a demonstration and discuss how RAVE can help create a solution to power your vision, contact RAVE Computer at http://www.rave.com/varjo, or call (800) 966-7283. About RAVE Computer For 35 years, RAVE Computer has helped people overcome challenges through innovation, specializing in the design, optimization, and integration of purpose-built compute solutions. RAVE Computer strives to serve as trusted advisors and an extension of each client's team and vision by understanding each unique use case and creating optimized solutions. To learn more, contact RAVE Computer at [email protected] or call (800) 966-7283. Stay connected to RAVE Computer's latest news, views and announcements by visiting http://www.rave.com/ and following RAVE Computer on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/107260. About Varjo Varjo (pronounced var-yo) makes revolutionary VR/XR hardware and software that together allow you to see and experience virtual and augmented content just as clearly as you see the analog world around us. Our virtual and mixed reality headsets take you to another level of performance and emotional immersion - recreating the exact feeling and conditions of real life, allowing you to perform better and learn faster. www.varjo.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005860/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Deana Scott, CEO of Raving, "We are excited to have Andrew Cardno speaking at Raving NEXT about the importance of tribal data sovereignty."

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Raving and Quick Custom Intelligence ("QCI") jointly announced that Andrew Cardno would be speaking about the importance of tribal data sovereignty and important considerations as to where the data is housed. These considerations extend from regulatory controls to data transaction taxation risks. "Today, tribal nations have a choice about where to house their data and this choice has serious sovereignty consequences. For example, housing the data on a state government regulated server exposes the tribal nation to the real risk of the state imposing onerous regulations and the additional risk of the gaming data being exposed to taxation. We are pleased to bring to the table known analytics and software expert Andrew Cardno, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence, to provide our attendees with all of the information they need to make the right decision for their tribe," said Deana Scott, CEO of Raving. Andrew Cardno, CTO of QCI, stated "Once lost, sovereignty is hard, if not impossible, to recover. Consider the example where in ten years a state government decides to impose a tax on the use of tribal gaming data. If the data and services are housed in servers on state land, there may be little the tribal nation can to do avoid payment of these taxes. Furthermore, Cardno went on to say, there are over five hundred government agencies that have the right to investigate data and if this data is housed outside of tribal land, the agency may not even have to notify the tribal nation of the investgation."



ABOUT Raving Raving was founded in 1998 and is a Native-owned, women-managed organization. For over two decades, Raving has partnered with over 152 Tribal Nations and enterprises and 71 commercial properties along with First Nations throughout Canada and internationally in Europe and Asia. From years on the casino floor, we understand all aspects of your gaming and resort operations and the challenges and sticky situations gaming executives face. We pride ourselves on building custom programs tailored to your needs, utilizing evidence-based methodologies to identify the root cause and create lasting solutions.

Our team of over 20 strategic partners, all experienced gaming and hospitality professionals, support Tribal organizations and commercial casinos worldwide in strategically improving their overall operations. Raving produces several events and publications including Raving Host and Player Development Conference; Raving NEXT: Indian Gaming Analytics and Marketing Conference; Casino Marketing and Technology Conference; Tribal Gaming & Hospitality Magazine. Visit www.betravingknows.com to subscribe to our publications or contact Daniel Wood [email protected], 775-329-7864 to find out more about Raving's products and services. ABOUT QCI The QCI Platform aligns player development, marketing and gaming with powerful real-time operational tools developed for the gaming and hospitality industries. QCI has installed their ground-breaking, highly configured software in over 100 casino resorts in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. QCI products provide tooling for gaming operators managing over $20 billion in annual gross gaming revenue, these products are built on the QCI Platform, a best-in-class on-premises, hybrid or cloud-based technology that enables fully coordinated activities across gaming or hospitality operations. This data-driven software allows for quick, informed decisions in the ever-changing world of the casino industry and assists casinos in their efforts to optimize resources and profits, manage marketing campaigns and increase customer loyalty. QCI was founded by Dr. Ralph Thomas and Mr. Andrew Cardno. Based in San Diego, QCI also has offices in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Dallas & Tulsa. Main phone number: (858) 299.5715 www.QuickCustomIntelligence.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deana-scott-ceo-of-raving-we-are-excited-to-have-andrew-cardno-speaking-at-raving-next-about-the-importance-of-tribal-data-sovereignty-301735204.html SOURCE Quick Custom Intelligence

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[January 31, 2023] Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market Report to 2027 - Featuring Allianz Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance, METLIFE AIG ANB, AXA Cooperative Insurance and Seven Corners Among Others - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market By Insurance Cover By Sales Medium By Age Group, By Region, Company Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Saudi Arabia travel insurance market is expected to register a steady CAGR during the forecast period, 2023-2027. Companies Mentioned: Allianz Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Co.

METLIFE AIG ANB

AXA Cooperative Insurance Co

Seven Corners Inc.

The Company for Cooperative Insurance

The Mediterranean & Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance Company

Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance

United Cooperative Assurance Co

Arabia Insurance Cooperative Company

Al-Ahlia Insurance Co. Factors such as the favorable government policies promoting the travel & tourism industry and the rise in the per capita income of consumers are driving the demand for Saudi Arabia travel insurance market. Also, the use of online sales channels by the market players to reach a greater number of tourists is expected to influence the market demand positively in the next five years. The Saudi Arabia travel insurance market is segmented into insurance cover, sales medium, age group, regional distribution, and competitive landscape. Based on age group, the market can be divided into senior citizens, adult, student, children, and others. The senior segment is expected to account for significant growth in the forecast period, 2023-2027. Growing older increases the danger of contracting diseases and increases the likelihood of suffering n injury while traveling. Additionally, businesses are implementing appealing marketing techniques to entice more clients to purchase travel insurance policies.



Based on insurance cover, the market is divided into single-trip travel insurance and multi-trip travel insurance. The multi-travel insurance segment is expected to capture the highest market share in the next five years. It is generally more economical and covers a number of trips under a single insurance cover. The ease and convenience of availing multi-trip travel insurance cover is driving the segment demand through the next five years. The major players operating in the Saudi Arabia travel insurance market are Allianz Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Co., METLIFE AIG ANB, AXA Cooperative Insurance Co, Seven Corners Inc., The Company for Cooperative Insurance, The Mediterranean & Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance Company, Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance, United Cooperative Assurance Co, Arabia Insurance Cooperative Company, Al-Ahlia Insurance Co., and others.

Years considered for this report: Historical Years: 2017-2020

Base Year: 2021

Estimated Year: 2022

Forecast Period: 2023-2027 Objective of the Study: To analyze the market size of Saudi Arabia travel insurance market from 2017 to 2021.

To estimate and forecast the market size of Saudi Arabia travel insurance market from 2022 to 2027 and growth rate until 2027.

To classify and forecast Saudi Arabia travel insurance market based on insurance cover, sales medium, age group, regional distribution, and company.

To identify dominant region or segment in the Saudi Arabia travel insurance market.

To identify drivers and challenges for Saudi Arabia travel insurance market.

To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in Saudi Arabia travel insurance market.

To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in Saudi Arabia travel insurance market.

To identify key sustainable strategies adopted by market players in Saudi Arabia travel insurance market. Report Scope: In this report, Saudi Arabia travel insurance market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market, By Insurance Cover: Single-Trip Travel Insurance

Multi-Trip Travel Insurance

Others Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market, By Sales Medium: Insurance Aggregators/ Agents

Insurance Companies

Online

Others Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market, By Age Group: Senior Citizens

Adult

Student

Children

Others Saudi Arabia Travel Insurance Market, By Region: Western Region

Northern & Central Region

Eastern Region

Southern Region For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/16s8ua-arabia?w=4. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131006027/en/

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[January 31, 2023] 76% of Utah tech community open to changing jobs, citing salary as top motivating factor according to ProFocus Technology Tech Trends Report

The Utah tech market is growing but companies are struggling to attract and keep the talent to support it, according to a ProFocus Technology survey, Utah Tech in Focus: 2023 Trends Report. Despite 50% of respondents expecting revenue to increase and 34% expecting to increase headcount, almost half (46%) rank finding talent as their biggest tech talent challenge, followed by retention at 29%. Burnout is a reality among the Utah tech community, with 63% of survey respondents reporting feeling burned out. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say their tech team is overworked, and 38% anticipate working more hours this year over last. Seventy-six percent (76%) say they are open to changing jobs in 2023, with 42% actively looking for a new position and 34% open to a move for the right opportunity. The importance of compensation Forty percent (40%) of survey respondents say salary/compensation is the most important factor in attracting and retaining top tech talent, yet just 38% report that overall compensation for the tech team will increase this year and 10% report compensation will decrease. "For Utah companies looking to maintain their innovative edge, these findings should serve as motivation to look at new ways to recruit and retain the best tech talent," said John Boone, ProFocus Technology Founder and President. "The survey findings are consistent with what we are seeing with clients: the tech community in Utah has made it clear they are looking for competitive compensation and meaningful work, and Utah businesses should take note." Boone added, "Companies need to be very intentional about keeping their tech workforce happy. In addition to compensation, ensuring workers are offered development opportunities, instilling a strong culture, and balancing remote work eeds will all play significant roles in which Utah companies win the best tech talent."



The majority of Utah companies struggle to recruit and retain tech talent More than half of all firms represented in the survey received subpar marks in the recruiting and retention categories. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say their firm is poor or average at attracting tech candidates, 55% say they are poor or average at onboarding talent, and 54% say they are poor or average at retaining talent.

Small and midsized firms deliver more of what the talent wants A divide exists when comparing the findings from small, midsized, and enterprise organizations1. More than two thirds (68%) of workers at small and midsized firms say they offer competitive market compensation, compared to 49% at enterprise firms. Smaller firms also received higher ratings for providing pay equity for remote and local staff. Enterprise firms struggle more when it comes to retaining talent, and they also are rated lower by tech workers at onboarding, maintaining a strong culture, and providing work-life balance. "Larger firms with bigger brand recognition have the advantage of getting talent in the door, but these survey results show they need to pay greater attention to improving company culture, which includes being responsive to requests for flexible work, providing meaningful project opportunities, and offering clear career paths," said Jennifer Waldrip, VP, Client and Talent Services and Partner at ProFocus Technology. Remote work Utahns are almost equally split between those who work remotely all the time (49%) and those who work in the office some (40%) or all (11%) of the time. Respondents have mixed feelings about remote work almost three years after the start of the pandemic, sharing the challenge of being responsive to workers' preferences to work remotely while trying to build and maintain a connected, strong company culture. Fifty-six percent (56%) of respondents say their firm does a good or excellent job of maintaining a strong culture. About the survey ProFocus Technology's Utah Tech in Focus: 2023 Trends Report is based on responses to an online survey of 173 Utah technology professionals, including executives, managers, directors, team leads, and individual contributors in companies from small firms with less than 100 employees to large enterprises with greater than 5,000 employees. The survey was conducted between October 19 and November 19, 2022. 1Small firms are defined as 1-100 employees, midsize 101-500, large 501-5,000, and enterprise greater than 5,000. About ProFocus Technology Built on decades of experience, ProFocus Technology is an award-winning technology staffing and consulting company specializing in delivering first class talent for key roles in development, deployment, and maintenance of software and infrastructure. With a fill ratio nearly double the industry average, ProFocus carefully places tech talent for companies ranging from small businesses to large enterprise organizations. Based in Portland, Oregon, ProFocus has employees throughout the U.S. and last year opened its second market location in Utah. ProFocus Technology has received ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Diamond Awards for both Client and Talent satisfaction for seven years running. ProFocus has earned distinctions including Fastest Growing Private 100 Companies and Best Companies to Work for. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131006029/en/

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[January 31, 2023] 10 Actalent Engineering Consultants Recognized at the 37th Annual BEYA STEM Conference

Event celebrating engineering excellence will include Actalent panelists and award presenters HANOVER, Md., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Actalent, a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions, today announced that four of its consultants will receive the Modern-Day Technology Leader Award and six will be honored with the Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award at this year's annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Conference. Now in its 37th year, BEYA37 will take place February 9-11, 2023 online and in-person at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. Attendees can find Actalent at booth #601 at the in-person career fair. Award recipients were chosen from a talented pool of professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their field. BEYA's esteemed panel of judges are comprised of leaders in industry, government and academia. The Modern-Day Technology Leader Award and the Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award both recognize bright individuals who are shaping the future of engineering, science, and technology. "We take great pride in having this diverse group of consultants recognized for their striking contributionsnot just to their workplaces and communities, but to the STEM field as a whole," said Olakunle Arowolo, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Actalent. "Their valuable leadership and pioneering achievements will continue to advance our decades-long mission of elevating marginalized voices in the wrkforce and championing a new generation of STEM leaders. I am honored to have them play such a vital role on our consultant teamand I look forward to seeing their achievements recognized at BEYA this year."



Actalent's recipients include: 2023 Modern-Day Technology Leader

Amanda Neuenfeldt , Electrical Engineer

, Electrical Engineer Desai Priyanshkumar, Project Engineer

VK Raghavan, Program Manager

Brianna Tijerina , Transmission Engineer 2023 Science Spectrum Trailblazer Tim Chang , Electrical Engineer

, Electrical Engineer Theron Easley , Distribution Group Manager

, Distribution Group Manager Gary Hall Jr. , Engineer

, Engineer Ricardo Jimenez , Program Manager

, Program Manager Chandra Jogulababurao, Program Manager

Damodar Valluru , Lead Engineer Actalent president Chad Koele, director of finance Veronica Adewodu, and director of diversity, equity and inclusion Olakunle Arowolo, will each give opening remarks at the conference. Eleven other Actalent leaders will additionally serve as panelists discussing technical engineering and general leadership topics. Learn more and connect with Actalent at BEYA here. About the BEYA STEM Conference The BEYA STEM Community, over 10,000 strong, offers K-12 students, college students, corporate, government, military professionals, business, and industry employers three days of learning, networking, celebrating excellence, and showcasing STEM career opportunities. Join us each February for the BEYA Experience. The 2022 BEYA STEM Conference introduces the Digital Twin Experience (DTX) as we slowly emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. About Actalent Actalent connects passion with purpose. We're supporting critical engineering and sciences initiatives that advance how companies serve the world. With almost 40 years of experience, our scalable engineering and sciences services and talent solutions provide the expertise our customers need to achieve more. Actalent's global footprint and flexible delivery models ensure access to specialized talent where and when you need it. Follow us on LinkedIn and learn more at actalentservices.com . Actalent is an operating company of Allegis Group, the global leader in talent solutions. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/10-actalent-engineering-consultants-recognized-at-the-37th-annual-beya-stem-conference-301735297.html SOURCE Actalent

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YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and Vice President of Iran Masoud Mir Kazemi co-chaired the session of the monitoring commission of the course of agreements (steering committee) of the 17th session of the Armenian-Iranian Inter-Governmental Joint Commission in Tehran.

The prospects of developing trade-economic relations between the two countries, as well as opportunities for enhancing the existing cooperation in energy and transport were discussed at the session, Grigoryans office said in a read-out.

Ideas were exchanged around creating favorable conditions for developing and enhancing trade-economic relations, including within the framework of the EEU.

A day before the session, Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan and Iranian Vice President Masoud Mir Kazemi held a meeting.

The deputy ministers of territorial administration and infrastructures, economy, and environment of Armenia participated in separate themed discussions as part of the commissions meeting to outline the existing problems in the mutually-beneficial directions of the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and to implement joint actions for solving them.

At the end of the session, the Deputy PM said that Iran is a friendly country and important partner for Armenia, and thanked the Iranian side for the warm hospitality and attached importance to holding regular discussions in this format. Deputy PM Grigoryan invited Vice President of Iran Masoud Mir Kazemi to visit Yerevan for holding the next such meeting.

Both sides said the governments will focus on solving the recorded issues.
[January 31, 2023] Sharp Home Appliances to Showcase New 30" Slide-In Ranges and 30" Smart Combi Appliances at 2023 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show

As a leading manufacturer of sleek, versatile home appliances, Sharp will exhibit

a strong lineup of new kitchen appliances designed for your dream kitchen LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA) will return to Las Vegas, NV from January 31 to February 2 for the 2023 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) to introduce their latest appliance innovations: 30" gas and electric convection slide-in ranges, and 30" smart combi appliances. "We are thrilled to return to KBIS this year to highlight our newest solutions for the home," said Jim Sanduski, President, SHCA. "We're particularly proud of these slide-in ranges and combi appliances, as they will truly elevate any kitchen thanks to their versatile features and polished aesthetic." Sharp is pleased to introduce two slide-in ranges: the Sharp 30" Electric Convection Slide-In Range (SSR3065JS, MSRP: $2,799.99) and the Sharp 30" Gas Convection Slide-In Range (SSG3065JS, MSRP: $2,899.99). The slide-in design features up-front controls for easy and convenient access, and the extended edges help create the stunning and timeless built-in look that seamlessly fits within any modern kitchen. And both feature the highly popular Air Fry and Pizza modes for everyday convenience. Sharp ranges offer very high power for a premium cooking experience, and the oven includes a temperature probe to help take the guesswork out of cooking, and a glide rack to easily handle the heaviest cookware. Additionally, purchase of these products is accompanied by a two-year Sharp limited warranty offer for greater peace of mind. Offering strong cooking versatility with three bake and roast modes and self-cleaning capabilities, the Sharp Convection Electric Slide-In Range features durable die-cast controls that light up when in use, giving users a clear indication of which burner are turned on. It also boasts five radiant cooking zones with 8000W of combined power and a SCHOTT CERAN glass-ceramic surface. The SSR3065JS has powerful 8200W heating elements in its oven.



The Sharp Gas Convection Slide-In Range offers a gleaming, upscale stainless-steel finish with edge-to-edge tinted glass and mirrors its electric range counterpart in many ways, with multiple oven modes such as Air Fry and Pizza. The included temperature probe lets you know when your food reaches the set internal temperature and can even tell the oven to turn off when the set internal temperature is reached. The SSG3065JS has a large, 6.1 cu. ft. oven boasting up to 34,500 BTUs and convection cooking to handle your most elaborate entertaining. "At Sharp, we are committed to developing appliances that uphold our ethos of Simply Better Living," said Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, SHCA. "We aim to design appliances for simply better living, with kitchen appliances that help make preparing homecooked meals as easy as possible."

At KBIS, Sharp will also highlight two new, exclusive combi appliances: the Sharp 30" Smart Convection Wall Oven with Microwave Drawer Oven (SWB3085HS) and the 30" Smart Radiant Rangetop with Microwave Drawer Oven (STR3065HS). The SWB3085HS Smart Convection Wall Oven with Microwave Drawer Oven (MSRP: $5,799.99), is equipped with a large, 7" touch LCD display, and is compatible with Bluetooth and Works with Alexa. The appliance is contemporary, stylish, and easy to clean with stainless steel design. The Air-Fry and Pizza presets are perfect for everyday cooking while the built-in temperature probe keeps you updated on what is happening inside your showstopping roasts. Combining beauty and functionality, the Built-In Microwave Drawer Oven shares the single control panel and pairs beautifully beneath the traditional oven. The SWB3085HS is expected to be available in May of 2023. The STR3065HS Smart Radiant Rangetop with Microwave Drawer Oven (MSRP: $3,199.99), a Best of KBIS finalist, is the first 30" smart radiant rangetop with a Microwave Drawer Oven. The appliance features a 30" radiant cooktop with two variable cooking zones, including a triple burner to accommodate larger pots and pans, and a warming zone to keep prepared food warm before serving. The Microwave Drawer Oven features Easy Wave Open, and Works with Alexa and the Sharp Kitchen App to enable voice control via your Amazon Echo or Alexa compatible device (not included.) In addition to the above, Sharp will also feature the below appliances at KBIS: Smart Combi Built-In Steam Oven (SSC2489GS)

MSRP: $3,199.99 Built-In Smart Convection Microwave Drawer Oven (SMD2499FS)

MSRP: $2,799.99 Built-In Smart Dishwasher (SDW6767HS)

MSRP: $1,299.99 To preview Sharp's full kitchen suite of appliances, including these new offerings, stop by Booth W5301 at KBIS from January 31-February 2, 2023. To schedule a booth walk-through with Sharp executives, contact [email protected] . And to learn more about Sharp home appliances, visit shop.sharpusa.com . About Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA)  Montvale, NJ

SHCA is the U.S. Consumer Products Group of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. sales subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer and manufacturer of one-of-a-kind premium technology products. SHCA includes the manufacturing of premium home appliances in Memphis, TN, together with the sales & marketing, and servicing of home electronics based in Montvale, NJ. Leading products include Sharp Carousel, Microwave Drawer Ovens, SuperSteam+ ovens, and Plasmacluster Ion air purifiers. Sharp Corporation appears on Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for 2022. Sharp Electronics Corporation received a 2022 award for Best Places to Work in NJ. Learn more at http://www.sharpusa.com/. Sharp, Carousel, Microwave Drawer, and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Amazon, Echo, Alexa, and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Press Contact:

Kellyn Curtis

972.816.1355

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sharp-home-appliances-to-showcase-new-30-slide-in-ranges-and-30-smart-combi-appliances-at-2023-kitchen--bath-industry-show-301735121.html SOURCE Sharp Electronics Corporation USA

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[January 31, 2023] MATSON TO PARTICIPATE AT STIFEL 2023 TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS CONFERENCE

HONOLULU, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Matson, Inc. (NYSE: MATX) announced today that Joel Wine, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be attending the Stifel 2023 Transportation & Logistics Conference to be held on February 7, 2023 in Amelia Island, Florida. Matson will provide access to the presentation slides on its website on February 7, 2023. Access to the slides will be available on www.matson.com, under Investors. About the Company

Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides a vital lifeline to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, provides service to Okinawa, Japan and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from Dutch Harbor to Asia. The Company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and custom-designed barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson's transportation network throughout North America. Its integrated, asset-light logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, freight consolidation, Asia supply chain services, and forwarding to Alaska. Additional information about the Company is available at www.matson.com.







Investor Relations inquiries: News Media inquiries: Lee Fishman Keoni Wagner Matson, Inc. Matson, Inc. 510.628.4227 510.628.4534 [email protected] [email protected]

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[January 31, 2023] KKR to Pursue Opportunities in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification Industry in Collaboration with Andy Silvernail and Amit Agarwal

KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced a strategic partnership with Amit Agarwal, a former senior executive of Thermo Fisher and Omega Engineering, and Andy Silvernail, KKR Executive Advisor and the former Chairman and CEO of IDEX Corporation, to acquire and build businesses in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification ("TIC") industry. KKR's Ascendant strategy is committing up to $250 million in funding for the new executive-led platform, which will have a flexible mandate to invest in leading TIC outsourced services and instrumentation manufacturing and distribution capabilities for attractive end-markets. Mr. Agarwal will lead the platform as Chief Executive Officer, working closely with Mr. Silvernail, who will serve as Chairman. "I am thrilled to collaborate with Andy and the KKR team to find, acquire and develop attractive businesses in the TIC industry, which is a more than $330 billion global market across instrumentation and services," said Mr. Agarwal.1 "We believe our experience growing highly innovative and technical businesses positions us as a value-add strategic partner to TIC companies that provide specialized tools and services for sectors benefiting from attractive long-term tailwinds. I'm particularly encouraged by KKR's approach to creating lasting value through shared ownership and employee engagement, which resonates with my approach to leadership." Mr. Silvernail, Mr. Agarwal and KKR plan to build a scaled TIC platform through multiple acquisitions and driving breakthrough operating performance. "I am excited to work together with Amit to build a leading business in the TIC industry. This is an attractive space, benefiting from mission critical products and services, favorable long-term growth trends and a fragmented market structure across both instrumentation and services," said Mr. Silvernail. The platform is part of KKR's Ascendant strategy, which invests in middle market businesses in North America as part of KKR's Americas Private Equity platform. KKR Ascendant pursues investments across seven dedicated industry vertical teams and seeks to deploy the full resources of KKR to support management teams in growing market-leading businesses. "We look forward to working with Andy and Amit, both proven leaders and innovators, to acquire high quality businesses and build a scaled player in the TIC industry with an integrated suite of best-in-class capabilities," said Brandon Brhm, Partner and Co-Head of KKR's Ascendant strategy. "Executive-led platforms are an important element of our middle-market strategy and we believe KKR's ability to recruit world-class talent creates exciting opportunities to build great companies in attractive, but historically fragmented industries."



After completing a foundational acquisition, the platform intends to implement KKR's broad-based employee engagement model to make all employees shared owners of the business. Since 2011, KKR has focused on employee engagement and ownership as a key driver in building stronger companies and driving greater financial inclusion. To date, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 50,000 non-senior employees across nearly 30 companies, and KKR has committed to deploying this model in all control investments across its entire Americas Private Equity platform. About Andy Silvernail

Mr. Silvernail brings over two decades of experience leading and managing large global companies and he became an Executive Advisor at KKR in 2022. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Madison Industries, one of the world's largest privately held companies and before that was Chairman and CEO of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) from 2011 to 2020. Mr. Silvernail has also held executive positions at Rexnord Industries, Newell Rubbermaid and Danaher Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Stryker Corporation. About Amit Agarwal Mr. Agarwal has over two decades of experience at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. ("Thermo Fisher") (NYSE:TMO), most recently serving as Vice President of the company's Water & Lab Products division. He joined Thermo Fisher in 1997 and over his career had held various senior leadership roles globally, including leading the company's Australia / New Zealand business, Laboratory Solutions India, and Cole-Parmer. In 2020, Mr. Agarwal joined OMEGA Engineering, previously a division of Spectris plc (LSE:SXS) as President and CEO. In this role, he developed and implemented a strategy focused on introducing innovative products and establishing leadership in chosen applications for high-growth segments. Mr. Agarwal currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of Spectris Foundation, a STEM-focused charity based out of the U.K. About KKR KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co. 1 Testing, Inspection, and Certification Market Size in 2021 according to Straits Research (https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/08/24/2504121/0/en/Testing-Inspection-and-Certification-Market-Size-is-projected-to-reach-USD-457-Billion-by-2030-growing-at-a-CAGR-of-4-Straits-Research.html) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005934/en/

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[January 31, 2023] Everspring Announces New Market Research Partnership with the University of Wyoming

Everspring will perform market research, portfolio planning and strategy consultation for the University of Wyoming's Office of Online and Continuing Education. CHICAGO and LARAMIE, Wyo., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Everspring, a leading higher education technology and services provider, announces a new partnership with the University of Wyoming (UW). Everspring will provide UW with market research and portfolio planning to identify opportunities to achieve market parity and programmatic enrollment growth for the Office of Online and Continuing Education. Everspring's robust market research and portfolio planning services support universities in assessing current offerings, determining the viability of potential new programs, and identifying qualified groups of prospects for those programs. As a result of Everspring's analyses, universities receive an overview of their place in the market and actionable insights and recommendations based on a range of collected data, labor market forecasts for in-demand skills, and Everspring's industry knowledge. "We're excited to partner with Everspring to identify new opportunities to meet the educational needs of the people of Wyoming and beyond," said Benjamin Cook, interim vice provost for digital, dstance and online programs. "A big part of the UW mission is to leverage higher education as a source of economic and workforce diversification. Our ability to deliver high-quality, relevant online and distance education will be critical to our success."



With Everspring's market research insights and recommendations, the university seeks to assess UW's readiness and ability to grow online programs and set realistic short-term and long-term goals for online program enrollments. "The University of Wyoming excels at providing accessible, high-value educational experiences for their students," said Beth Hollenberg, CEO and co-founder of Everspring. "Our market research will provide valuable inputs into how UW can most effectively position their programs to meet the changing needs of their students and to achieve sustainable growth, enabling them to thrive now and into the future."

About the University of Wyoming's Office of Online and Continuing Education Located in Laramie, Wyoming, the University of Wyoming is a public land-grant research university. The University of Wyoming continues to embody the spirit of its mission by delivering UW learning opportunities beyond its campuses. The Office of Online and Continuing Education offers undergraduate and graduate courses, degree programs, and noncredit learning opportunities to students in Wyoming and nationwide through online and combination deliveries. The University of Wyoming ranks among the best values in the country based on the quality and number of educational opportunities available, low tuition rates, and scholarship programs. For more information, visit http://www.uwyo.edu/distance/. About Everspring Everspring is a leading provider of education technology and service solutions for higher education. Our advanced technology, proven marketing approach, and robust faculty support and instructional design services deliver outstanding outcomes for our university partners, powering their success online. Everspring offers a range of full-service turnkey solutions, as well as standalone fee-for-service offerings, and innovative self-service products that enable universities to establish themselves as leaders in the digital delivery of higher education. Based in Chicago, Everspring serves a growing number of colleges and universities nationwide. Contact us for more information. Don't just go digital. BE DIGITAL. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everspring-announces-new-market-research-partnership-with-the-university-of-wyoming-301735305.html SOURCE Everspring

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[January 31, 2023] Starry Announces Intention to Depart Columbus Market

Starry Group Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Starry"), a licensed fixed wireless technology developer and internet service provider, today announced that it will leave the Columbus, Ohio market after mutual termination of its strategic alliance agreement with its local partner AEP Ventures, LLC ("AEP"). Starry announced its intention to serve the market in June 2021 and successfully built its fixed wireless network to cover more than 350,000 homes. Starry's decision to voluntarily leave the market is part of the company's broader reorganization, as it focuses its resources and investment in its five core urban markets: Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, DC. "Leaving the Columbus market was a difficult decision and one that we did not take lightly," said Starry Chief Executive Officer, Chet Kanojia. "Every community deserves robust competition and choice among broadband providers and Starry's goal was to bring a high-quality, affordable option to families across Columbus. I'm proud of what our team built and the impact we've made in neighborhoods across Columbus. However, our business is evolving, and given the challenging macroeconomic environment, we've had to make some hard choices. The decision to leave Columbus gives us the ability to continue to invest in our five core urban markets and further expand our footprint and customer base within those communities." Starry's market impact included: The buildout of network coverage passing 350,000 homes in the Columbus metro area.

Expansion of Starry's digital equity program, Starry Connect to nearly 3,000 units of affordable housing in Columbus.

Hosting more than 700 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) education and marketing events in Columbus and mre than 600 drops of ACP education materials throughout the community.



starry.com/blog. About Starry Group Holdings, Inc.

At Starry, we believe the future is built on connectivity and that connecting people and communities to high-speed, broadband internet should be simple and affordable. Using our innovative, wideband hybrid-fiber fixed wireless technology, Starry is deploying gigabit capable broadband to the home without bundles, data caps, or long-term contracts. Starry is a different kind of internet service provider. We're building a platform for the future by putting our customers first, protecting their privacy, ensuring access to an open and neutral net, and making affordable connectivity and digital equity a priority. Headquartered in Boston, Starry is currently available in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Denver. To learn more about Starry or to join our team and help us build a better internet, visit: https://starry.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied forward-looking statements relating to our expectations regarding our strategy, competitive position and opportunities in the marketplace and our anticipated business and financial performance. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include our limited remaining available cash, our ability to continue serving our customers in the five markets in which we operate, our ability to remain in compliance with and not in default under our credit facility, our potential inability to timely procure additional financing or other strategic options on favorable terms, or at all, our potential inability to realize the expected benefits of the announced reduction in force and other cost-cutting measures and the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005990/en/

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Uruguay-based mobile operator Antel has announced it is now working with VMware on a use-case driven trial of the VMware Telco Cloud Platform to support a Proof of Concept (PoC). The goal is a commercial 5G network that will support the growing demands of the consumer and enterprise customers in Uruguay.

Today, 5G is offering the opportunity for communications service providers (CoSPs) to develop new business models and partner with other providers to create more relevant services. This is achieved by modernizing their legacy networks with virtualized and containerized telco cloud architecture.

Antel has a history of implementing emerging technology, and this PoC with VMware will help in their journey to enabling a commercial 5G network in Latin America.

With VMwares horizontal multi-cloud platform for their implementations of 5G networks in South America, CoSPs will gain operational efficiencies, bringing services and innovation to market faster. New network functions will be deployed on the same Telco Cloud architecture from core to RAN to edge for scalability and agility.

To help with the rollout of 5G networks, VMware offers service providers a single platform to modernize their network infrastructure efficiently and cost effectively, said Sanjay Uppal, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Service Provider and Edge, VMware. VMware is proud to be an existing partner of Antel, and we look forward to helping them successfully trial the VMware Telco Cloud Platform.

Edited by Alex Passett
We can only hope our blog community rejects this kind of cry-baby reporting on basic principle.

Or at the very least . . . We can all realize this is both a first world problem and the opening round of post-capitalism.

Take a peek . . .



The biggest challenge is getting game tickets. Right now the aftermarket sale is so expensive. I just priced out upper-level tickets and they were $5,000 apiece, he told KCTV5. And then I started looking at airfare. American United, Delta, they all added extra flights. Unfortunately, theyre coming in at pretty expensive prices.



By expensive, he means $1600-$2500 for a plane ticket. As for hotels, he said hes finding rates in the range of $700-$800 per night, more for those centrally located to the stadium.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
For the sin of thinking about sprucing up something so, so very boring like municipal branding . . . Golden Ghetto blogger Shawnee Ray continues to bully his least favorite politico.

We're only linking his note because it's everything that we DON'T want this blog to become: Mainly, a litany of complaints without a sense of humor, charm or any informational value.

To be fair . . . The online bullying was effective at one point and seemingly inspired the mayor's arrest by very, very bored po-po . . . Don't worry if you don't remember the controversy. It eventually ended in a NOTHING BURGER of a controversy and/or an adorably decent mugshot for TKC to use from time to time.

Author's note: When they lock us up for stealing snack cakes from the Linwood Costco like some chubby, modern day Jean Valjean we doubt our mug will be nearly as presentable . . . But I digress . . .



And with that . . . We give the floor to Ray but hope to discourage any negative reinforcement . . .



Note that our self indulgent mayor made this item pretty much about herself. Here is what happened. The city put out a contract to get new branding. Basically, to get rid of the naked tree and the tag line "Good starts here."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Shawnee Ray: Mayor Distler Eats Shoe Leather
For generations Kansas City residents have been obsessed with "dividing lines" and now it seems that an influx of new "friends" don't seem as restricted by this town's history.

To be fair . . . In the vicinity of Troost Ave. there are also some pretty great Chinese buffets AND Middle-Eastern cuisine.



And ACTUALLY, that post title was a bit of a troll, this note on foodie fusion is encouraging when we talk about LOCALLY OWNED biz.

Check-it . . .



Barbacoa will infuse traditional Mexican recipes with American barbecue techniques, relying on open wood fire and slow smoking for its dishes.



Urban Cafe at 5500 Troost Ave. closed Jan. 2 but plans a fall reopening in Midtown, according to a post on its Facebook page.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Andrew Palamarchuk is a reporter with Metroland Media Toronto and toronto.com. He has been covering the crime beat since 2002 and has a passion for giving a voice to those affected by tragedy and looking at societal issues that may have contributed to it.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called on South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying that Kyiv desperately needs weapons to fight the protracted Russian invasion, AP reported.

January 31, 2023, 09:41 NATO secretary general calls on South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: South Korea is currently providing humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine, joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Russia. But it has not directly supplied weapons to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively involved in the conflict.

During a speech at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg called on South Korea to step up on the specific issue of military support. He noted that several NATO members and allies, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, have changed their policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.

On Monday, Stoltenberg also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol. They discussed South Korea's commitment to support Ukraine and NATO's possible role in deterring North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions after an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon's office said.

However, South Korean officials did not confirm any specific discussions about sending weapons to Ukraine.
Toronto pair facing charges after allegedly shoplifting using modified bag at Guelph store

The bag was used to allegedly conceal vitamins and other items
POLL: Should gun-control regulations in Canada be stricter, less strict, or the same as it is now?
Hate-filled flyers aimed at pro-Armenia demonstrators were spread this weekend around Beverly Hills, California, where protestors had gathered to march against the ongoing crisis in Artsakh resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin corridor.

January 31, 2023, 10:59 Beverly Hills mayor denounces hateful flyers aimed at Armenians

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: Los Angeles Magazine reported that the demonstrators were greeted by flyers taped to lamp poles that threatened: Azerbaijan; Turkey; Pakistan; Israel = 4 BROTHERS WILL WIPE Armenia OFF the MAP Inshallah!!!

Beverly Hills Mayor Lille Bosse immediately denounced the flyers on social media as the citys police department reviewed surveillance camera footage around La Cienega and Wilshire Boulevards in search of those responsible.

Ive said it over and over again, hate has no place in Beverly Hills or anywhere. I will always stand up, I will always speak out against it, Bosse wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.

The weekends threats against Armenian-Americans were also denounced by Sepi Shyne, the mayor of West Hollywood.

The rise in hate is indicative of a serious threat to democracy and we must all continue to stand for love and against hate, Shyne recently tweeted.
Former Police Commissioner Gary Griffith tells Tv6 News that the businessman who was killed during a car-jacking on Wednesday was among many who had received provisional approvals for a Firearm User's Licence but after 18 months had not received a permit to carry a licensed firearm. This, as the National Security Minister told the Express newspaper that the new Police Commissioner informed him that, a "robust and thorough assessment" of FUL applications was necessary.
Arman Yeghoyan, the Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on European Integration responded to the speech made by Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Yashar Aliyev at the UN Security Council debates.

January 31, 2023, 16:15 Armenia does not have military units in Nagorno Karabakh  legislator debunks Azerbaijans accusations at UN

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Yashar Aliyev repeated the Azerbaijani propagandas fake accusations against Armenia, such as Armenia refuses to fully withdraw its troops from Nagorno Karabakh, and is laying landmines in Nagorno Karabakh. Aliyev also falsely claimed that the Armenian side refuses to provide information on the Azerbaijanis missing in the conflict.

Member of Parliament Arman Yeghoyan denied the accusations in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

 Mr. Yeghoyan, how would you comment on Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Yashar Aliyevs speech at the UNSC debates, where he accused the Armenian side in not fulfilling its obligations?

 The groundless claims made by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations have nothing to do with reality. These are again unsuccessful attempts to justify Azerbaijans belligerent, maximalist and destructive positions and their blockade of Nagorno Karabakh for already 48 days, and the policy of subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. All claims made by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan are debunked with facts. Armenia had officially announced earlier in 2022 that there are no units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia in Nagorno Karabakh. In order to verify this claim, the Prime Minister of Armenia had even proposed to send an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh, which Azerbaijani President Aliyev himself rejected. It would be logical for Azerbaijan to have had agreed to this proposal, however their rejection shows that this all is simply a propaganda trick by Azerbaijan. Certainly, Nagorno Karabakh has self-defense armed forces, the necessity of which is substantiated for the protection of the local population from Azerbaijans aggressive and ethnic cleansing policy. As a sign of goodwill and humanism, the Republic of Armenia unilaterally conveyed to Azerbaijan the minefield maps which it possessed. And this happened in conditions when the Armenian side did not have such an obligation neither under the trilateral statements nor international law. Furthermore, Armenia expressed readiness to support, in cooperation with international partners, in the process of decrypting the maps which were conveyed. It is also an important fact that the landmines were laid in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent regions as early as during the First Nagorno Karabakh War, mostly by Azerbaijan, and access of respective international organizations for de-mining works into the region was impeded by Azerbaijan itself.

 But nevertheless the Azerbaijani official spoke about what he described as landmine terror by Armenia in his speech. The same claims were made by Azerbaijan during the hearings of the Armenia v. Azerbaijan case at the International Court of Justice.

 Azerbaijans claims alleging that Armenia is now laying landmines in Nagorno Karabakh are also false. The Republic of Armenia has laid landmines only in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and has done so only with self-defense purposes because it was subjected to military aggression by Azerbaijan in May of 2021, in November of 2021 and in September of 2022. The landmines showcased by the Azerbaijani side for propaganda goals which the Azerbaijan side described to be manufactured in 2021 and to have been recently transported from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh through the Lachin corridor have actually appeared in Azerbaijans possession from the occupied territory of the Republic of Armenia as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Armenia in 2021-2022.

 How would you describe the position of Azerbaijan regarding delimitation and demarcation?

On one hand Azerbaijan continues to say that no border exists between the two countries because it is not delimitated, and on the other hand it continuously raises the question of eight villages. By doing so, Azerbaijan itself is factually indirectly accepting the existence of a borderline. It is noteworthy that since the 1990s most part of four Armenian villages, as well as the enclave of Artsvashen village of the Republic of Armenia, are under the control of Azerbaijan. The Armenian side stands ready to discuss this issue based on the existence of the borderline recognized under the Almaty declaration and legal grounds.

 Despite regular statements made by Azerbaijan on its readiness to sign a peace treaty with Armenia, Azerbaijan continues its state-sanctioned promotion of Armenophobia. How would you describe this?

 Azerbaijan continues to promote on the highest level Armenophobia and racial hatred towards Armenians. This is clearly recorded in the 7 December 2021 UN International Court of Justice order on indicating provisional measures regarding the case examined within the framework of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Azerbaijan continues to grossly violate.

Official Baku is carrying out a planned policy of falsifying and destroying Armenian religious and historical-cultural heritage in territories that have gone under its control as a result of the 44-Day War, which is another manifestation of ethnic and religious intolerance. At the same time, Azerbaijan is impeding a visit of the UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno Karabakh.

 The Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the UN was speaking about missing Azerbaijanis. Does Armenia have anything to say in this regard?

 To this day Azerbaijan is keeping Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in captivity, and the fates of hundreds of missing and forced disappeared people as a result of the 44-Day War remain unclear. The numerous war crimes and atrocities committed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 44-Day War and the aggression against the Republic of Armenia are documented  the extrajudicial executions of Armenian prisoners of war, torture of Armenian servicemembers, including women, and desecration of bodies. However, so far no one has been held to account for these crimes against humanity.

The consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression against Armenias sovereignty and territorial integrity, in May and November of 2021 and in September of 2022, in violation of international law, namely the UN Charter and the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement clauses, including the occupation of 150 square kilometers of Armenia arent eliminated to this day.

 Mr. Yeghoyan, what should the international community do in this situation and what actions do you expect from Azerbaijan?

 With its clear statements and respective actions the international community must continue giving an assessment to Azerbaijans destructive policy and approaches, which are greatly jeopardizing regional security, stability and peace. Azerbaijan must immediately lift the illegal blockade of Lachin corridor, end its belligerent and Armenophobic policy and move into the arena of peaceful negotiations by abandoning the policy of the use of force or the threat of force.
Denmark will provide systematic assistance in the restoration of various facilities in Mykolaiv destroyed by Russia - residential buildings, economic, social and transport infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a joint briefing with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Odesa on January 30.

"I thank Denmark for its defense support that helps us provide our Ukrainian heroes on the battlefield with the necessary weapons and equipment. However, a lot still needs to be done to guarantee the complete fundamental security of the Mykolaiv region and to liberate the south of our country from the Russian occupiers. And today, our partners, in particular, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, saw with her own eyes what exactly we need. Once again, we are grateful that we are meeting today not in the capital, Kyiv, but in Mykolaiv and Odesa, in order to see with our own eyes all the details of the brazen war being waged by Russia," Zelensky said.

He also added: "Our meetings and our agreements also relate to the need to restore hundreds of different facilities in Mykolaiv and the region - residential buildings, economic, social and transport infrastructure destroyed after the Russian strikes. Today we also visited a drinking water supply facility that was supported by Denmark."

He noted that Denmark was one of the first partner countries to accept Ukraine's proposal to take patronage over the reconstruction of the city of Mykolaiv. He also thanked the coalition government of Denmark "for creating a separate fund to help our state."

"One of the key areas of work should be reconstruction itself," Zelensky said. "I believe that together we will be able to restore peace and return development to Mykolaiv and the entire region. We held quite meaningful talks in Odesa, which concern all key aspects of the interaction between our states. The first, of course, is defense, I thank Denmark for the substantial help in strengthening our artillery, in particular, for the decision to supply 19 Caesar howitzers, as well as the Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense for the decision to join our tank coalition. We also discussed the possibility of strengthening anti-aircraft and anti-ship defense in the south of our state."

The key issue is speed, and this applies to all our partners, Zelensky said.

Zelensky also awarded Frederiksen the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class.

Photo credit: Nina Liashonok
In the last three days, Russia has likely developed its probing attacks around the towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar into a more concerted assault, but it is unlikely to achieve a significant breakthrough.

The UK Ministry of Defense said this in its latest intelligence update published on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

According to the ministry, the settlements lie 50km south-west of Donetsk city, and Russia previously used the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade in an unsuccessful assault on the same area in November 2022.

Elements of the 155th are again involved as part of an at least brigade sized force which has likely advanced several hundred meters beyond the small Kashlahach River which marked the front line for several months.

Russian commanders are likely aiming to develop a new axis of advance into Ukrainian-held Donetsk region, and to divert Ukrainian forces from the heavily contested Bakhmut sector.

"There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough," British intelligence said.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraines Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, has denied the assumption that the advance of Ukrainian forces into Crimea would provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

Thats according to Budanovs interview with The Washington Post, Ukrinform reports.

This is not true. And Crimea will be returned to us. Ill tell you more: It all started in Crimea in 2014, and it will all end there, Budanov said, answering a journalist question of whether Russia could nuke Ukraine if the latters army enters the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Its a scare tactic, he added.

Russia is a country that you can expect a lot from but not outright idiocy. Sorry, but its not going to happen. Carrying out a nuclear strike will result in not just a military defeat for Russia but the collapse of Russia. And they know this very well, Budanov went on to say.

The defense intelligence chief also noted that we must do everything to ensure that Crimea returns home by summer.

As reported, the former commander of the U.S. EUCOM, General (Rtd) Mark Hertling, expressed his belief that Ukraine is able to win the war and regain all the territories temporarily occupied by Russia, including Crimea.
France will send 12 more Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.

According to Le Monde, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said this at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov.

Lecornu noted that the transfer of 12 Caesar self-propelled howitzers would be financed from a EUR 200 million fund that was approved by parliament.

According to Lecornu, France will also send 150 military specialists to Poland to train 600 Ukrainian soldiers per month and train a total of 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers by summer.

As reported by Ukrinform, France and Australia on Monday agreed to jointly supply Ukraine with 155mm shells of joint production.

Photo: Ukraines General Staff

iy
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is planning soon to announce a new security assistance package for Ukraine.

According to Ukrinform, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton said this at a briefing on Tuesday, January 31.

"We're sending a significant amount of weapons and security assistance to Ukraine right now to help with their ongoing battlefield needs in response to Russian aggression. You know, we've sent artillery, ammunition, armored vehicles, critical air defense capabilities. We're in regular contact about their battlefield needs, and I expect we're going to have more security assistance to announce soon," she said.

At the same time, Dalton declined to comment on Biden's statement that the United States is not giving Ukraine any fighter jets.

The previous security assistance package from the United States to Ukraine, worth more than $3 billion, was announced on January 6.
The ambassadors of the Group of Seven and the European Union expect Ukraine to resume electronic declaration and approve the State Anti-Corruption Program.

This was discussed at a meeting of diplomats with Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention Oleksandr Novikov at the residence of the Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports with reference to NACPs press service.

"We are grateful for seeing the approval of the State Anti-Corruption Program as the priority of the G7 ambassadors. The approval of the Program is key to further implementing the Anti-Corruption Strategy of Ukraine, which will help Ukraine save taxpayers up to UAH 200 billion annually and overcome corruption in the areas most affected by it. And this can guarantee transparency in future processes related to reconstruction. The program is aimed at further strengthening anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine and implementing the EUs anti-corruption standards in key areas of social life and the economy. This is another important step on the path of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO," Novikov said.

NACP expects the Cabinet of Ministers to approve the draft State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023-2025 in the coming days.

Novikov and G7 ambassadors also discussed the need to resume the declaration of civil servants and the financial reporting of parties.

"Resuming declaration and reporting of political parties are effective tools not only for preventing corruption but also for detecting facts of illegal enrichment and other corruption offenses. This becomes particularly relevant in terms of the accountability of Ukrainian officials for the use of aid funds from partners. And the recent high-profile events in our country demonstrate the need to resume these processes," noted the Head of NACP, adding that the relevant draft law has been under consideration by the Verkhovna Rada since last autumn.

He thanked the representatives of the G7 countries for their comprehensive support for Ukraine. He once again emphasized that Kyiv has all the necessary tools to ensure transparency and accountability in the reconstruction process and receiving assistance from partners. Therefore, the NACP expects the fastest possible support from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada in these matters.

In their turn, the G7 and the EU ambassadors expressed clear support for the speedy adoption of the State Anti-Corruption Program and the restoration of corruption prevention tools (electronic declaration and financial reporting of political parties).

In particular, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas noted that the adoption of the Program "will be an excellent result that can be presented during the Ukraine-EU Summit" on February 3.

The G7 and the EU ambassadors promised to continue supporting anti-corruption reforms, the independence of anti-corruption bodies of Ukraine and also called for taking all necessary steps to ensure an effective and transparent process of receiving international aid during the reconstruction of Ukraine.

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Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia, will likely never return to Ukraine, while the efforts of Western allies to supply equipment to the nation "will only prolong the war."

This was announced by the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, Reuters reports, according to Ukrinform.

"It is obvious that Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again," Milanovic said.

He also criticized the EU's policy towards Ukraine, noting that he does not want his country to face the "devastating" consequences of war. In particular, Milanovic spoke out against the provision of modern main battle tanks to Ukraine as it would allegedly only bring Russia and China closer together.

Read also: Newly elected Czechia president stresses importance of continued support for Ukraine

In Croatia, the president performs mainly ceremonial functions. Since taking the presidents office in February 2020, Milanovic has consistently voiced anti-European statements, sharing his views with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Also in December, Croatian lawmakers rejected a proposal for the country to join the European Union's mission to support the Ukrainian Army, revealing deep differences between Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

Photo: AA
As newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, came to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday to present her credentials, she was heckled by pro-Kremlin "demonstrators."

This was reported by Reuters, Ukrinform saw.

"The new Unided States new ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was heckled by a crowd of people chanting anti-U.S. slogans on Monday as she entered the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to present her diplomatic credentials," the report said.

At the same time, a group of pro-Kremlin activists waved hand-painted posters criticizing Washington, one of which read: Your tanks are killing civilians.

Protests in Russia, especially regarding war-related issues, are in fact prohibited if they are not endorsed by the authorities, according to the report.

As reported earlier, relations between Washington and Moscow are currently at one of the lowest levels ever. They significantly worsened in the wake of Russias large-scale incursion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The U.S. is leading an international coalition against Russian aggression and in support of Ukraine.
Chinas leader Xi Jinping seeks to distance himself from full-fledged support for Russia as he does not want to wind up on the side that loses the war.

Thats according to an opinion by Max Boot, published by the Washington Post, Ukrinform reports.

Beijing could play the same role for Russia that the United States is playing for Ukraine. If that were to happen, the odds of a Russian victory would rise exponentially, the piece reads.

But that hasnt happened, suggesting that, in practice, there are sharp limits to the no limits friendship that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed just a few weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

China would be happy to pursue trade with Russia on favorable terms, while the Russian Federation is gradually losing access to Western markets. At the same time, Beijing has become the largest source of imports for the Kremlin, in particular those of semiconductors, which Russia needs to produce both civilian and military equipment.

With all that, Xi Jinping is far from staying exclusively on Putin's side, the author notes  he is trying to balance between the West and Russia, which creates potential leverage opportunities for the Biden administration.

At the same time, it is noted that China is not happy about the economic disruptions caused by the Russian invasion. China remains a creditor to low-income nations, and now has to worry about getting repayments from the economies that have been hit by soaring commodity prices.

As an unsentimental practitioner of realpolitik, Xi does not want to wind up on what could be the losing side, the oped says.

In other words, a defeated Russia might not be a very useful future ally for China  another country that has few friends in the world.

And China, as the worlds largest trading nation, cannot afford to become as isolated as Russia has become.

That helps to explain why Beijing is reaching out to Europe and trying to ratchet down animus with the United States, the author suggests.

As reported, the Joe Biden administration in the U.S. continues to strengthen restrictions on China in certain areas of trade. In particular, the U.S. struck a deal with the Netherlands and Japan to limit the export to China of some modern devices for creating microchips.
The NRC is another matter. Not because its wording is offensive but because its provisions can be abused

Recalling the stormy protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, it was not surprising to learn that a young Jamia Millia Islamia activist, Safoora Zargar, says in the BBCs controversial documentary, India: The Modi Question: I strongly believe that the CAA can make a lot of Muslims stateless. Had that danger truly lurked ahead, this column would have been among the first to raise the alarm. But any dispassionate examination of the law suggests that far from being a grim instrument of ethnic cleansing, the CAA is a long overdue compassionate measure to rescue a suffering community that can expect no other saviour. But like many Indian laws, it can be abused.

Shorn of hyperbole, the real challenge concerns Bangladeshi Hindus, some 15 million of whom escaped to India in 2001 alone. Their numbers have fallen from 13.5 per cent of Bangladeshs population to 7.9 per cent since 1974.

Although their future is what causes concern, its also necessary to understand where local Muslim fears and suspicions come from. As a small boy in 1947 I heard my grandmothers bearer Gafoor say: The British took Hindustan from us Mussalmans and should return it to us. That pride has a long history. Lord Dufferin, the then Viceroy, wrote in 1888 that British Indias Muslims comprised a nation of 50 million infused with their remembrance of the days when, enthroned at Delhi, they reigned supreme from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. The abrogation of Article 370 -- a solemn compact according to the constitutional scholar A.G. Noorani -- must have bruised that lofty self-image. Beef lynchings, invented love jihad, Sangh Parivar turbulence, motivated name changes, a threatened uniform civil code and interference with customs and attire appear to support Arundhati Roys allegation in the BBC documentary that the idea is to make India a Hindu nation.

Having fallen back in the race for self-advancement, Indias Muslims may imagine that protection for 13 million residual Bangladeshi Hindus will be at their expense. But the 30,000 newcomers that the Intelligence Bureau expects as a result of the CAAs intervention can hardly impact the approximately 210,000,000 long-established Indian Muslims. Not even the frenzied Assamese mobs that deliberately confused Bengali with Bangladeshi Muslims (the Union home ministers termites?) complained that the threat was national. But panic on this count long predates Narendra Modi. Jawaharlal Nehrus government passed the

Immigration (Expulsion from Assam) Act in 1950, following which Assam published its register of citizens. The 1955 Citizenship Act was repeatedly revised under Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhis 1985 Assam accord agreed to deport illegal immigrants while legitimising those who had arrived before 1971. Even Mr Modis CAA sanctioning a National Register of Citizens and prescribing jail or deportation for illegal immigrants was supported by all parties in Parliament, including the Congress and the Left, with Dr Manmohan Singh, then Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, pleading for liberal citizenship rules for Hindus who faced persecution, especially in Bangladesh.

For all the excitement, therefore, the CAA does not mark any radical attitudinal change. All Indian governments tacitly acknowledged a special responsibility for the Hindus of East Bengal (East Pakistan or Bangladesh). Hence the 1950 Nehru-Liaquat Ali pacts commitment to safeguarding refugee rights. Even the informal basis of the jungle passports used to sneak into India through field and forest or across rivers demonstrated this sensitivity. A Hindu evacuee paid a bigger bribe to East Pakistani or Bangladeshi border guards who were Muslim than to his Indian counterpart, who tended to be Hindu. The opposite applied to illegal Muslim migrants.

Seeking to formalise that situation, the CAA is exclusive rather than discriminatory. It does not pretend to treat all humanity as Jesus Christ or Mahatma Gandhi might have done. Leave alone persecuted minorities in Tibet, Sri Lanka or Myanmar, it does not even extend its benevolence to Dalits in the United States or Britain who also complain of discrimination. Its benignity is confined to six groups -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- in just three countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even they must have escaped to India before the end of 2014 to qualify for fast-track citizenship.

The CAA has to be selective since it targets a unique and complex South Asian dilemma. Extending similar concessions to Muslims might make humanitarian logic. But the pie-in-the-sky solution of a non-discriminatory robust national asylum system is something for the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, whose office had recommended it, to consider. Its not for a struggling country that can barely look after its own burgeoning population even if it chooses to posture as the Vishwa Guru. Nor can India become involved in the sectarian politics of Hazara and Ahmadiyya minorities under Islamic governments.

If mainstream Muslims do migrate to India, it can only be for economic reasons. In fact, many global migrants -- boat people braving the English Channel, trekkers spilling out of Syria, or Latinos gathered around El Paso -- are economic refugees.

That mundane purpose is often clothed in idealistic garb but the driver remains economic, as much for the Nobel laureate as for the derided Polish plumber.

As for the charge of using religion as a political criterion, how can anyone forget that British India was partitioned on religious grounds? The exchange of population between Greece and Turkey was also based on religion. Northern Ireland would have been part of the Irish Republic today if the six Protestant-majority counties of Ulster had not insisted on remaining with Anglican Britain. Catholics in the largely Protestant Netherlands found a new freedom in Belgium.

The NRC is another matter. Not because its wording is offensive but because its provisions can be abused. One heard even in the 1960s of village policemen in Indias border districts demanding bribes in lieu of proof of nationality from illiterate Muslim peasants. Readers will know that that is how the system has always operated in a greedy, unprincipled and hierarchical society. The CAA is not communal. Certain sections of Muslim society just happen to be more vulnerable than others.

As the old lyric goes, Its the same the whole world over, Its the poor what gets the blame. If the BBC documentary had really aimed at exposing Indian weaknesses, it would have highlighted how even well-meaning measures like the NRC and CAA can be twisted by corrupt or communal officials to serve their nefarious purposes.
During a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic-Buric, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, asked her to raise the issue of the international tribunal and Russian reparations to Ukraine at the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe leaders in Reykjavik in May this year.

Lubinets reported this via Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

According to the official, during the meeting he "first of all thanked for the important work that the Council of Europe is doing in this difficult time and for the support that the Council of Europe provides to Ukraine and the Office of the Commissioner. In particular, he thanked for the Action Plan for Ukraine for 2023-2026 Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction, adopted on December 14, 2022, worth EUR 50.

The Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada expressed confidence that "the measures laid down in the Plan will contribute to the documentation of rights violations, even greater protection of the rights of internally displaced persons, persons returning from abroad, and people whose homes were destroyed or damaged as a result of the war unleashed by Russia."

Read also: Lubinets discusses return of Ukrainian prisoners from Russia with Erdogan

The two also discussed the Law of Ukraine on national minorities (communities).

The issue of deportation of Ukrainian children was raised separately. Today, 14,732 children are considered deported, Lubinets informed.

In addition, the ombudsman presented the structure of his Secretariat and emphasized the strategic areas of activity and the development of the regional network of his representative offices.

"He also presented a special report on the observance of the rights of persons who suffered as a result of Russias armed aggression against Ukraine, which highlighted the situation of the rights of IDPs, people living under occupation, and citizens who found refuge abroad," Lubinets said.

According to the human rights commissioner, Pejcinovic-Buric said she welcomes the cooperation with the Russian ombudsman regarding the release of prisoners of war and civilian hostages.

"That's why I asked her to raise the issue of the tribunal and reparations at the 4th Summit of Heads of State of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik in May of this year," Lubinets said.

As reported by Ukrinform, PACE called on the leaders of the member states of the Council of Europe at the summit in May to lead the initiative to create a Special International Criminal Tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as to support the creation of an international compensation mechanism for damages inflicted during the aggression.

Photo: Ombudsman of Ukraine
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees remarks by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on the temporarily occupied Crimea as unacceptable.

MFA spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"We consider unacceptable the remarks by the Croatian president who actually questioned the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Nikolenko said.

He expressed doubt that Milanovic could have become the president of his country with such rhetoric in the 1990s, when Croatia was fighting to preserve its statehood, and voters would have agreed to turn a blind eye to the occupation of part of their country's territory.

In this context, Nikolenko recalled that due to external aggression, Croatia could have lost a third of its territory, but thanks to their heroic struggle, the Croats had managed to protect the independence of their state.

Nikolenko thanked the government and people of Croatia for their unwavering support for Ukrainians in the fight against Russian aggression.

Milanovic has recent stated at a meeting with journalists that Crimea will never return to Ukraine's control, because Russia will use nuclear weapons if it starts to lose the war.
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia pledged to continue to provide Ukraine with political, security, and other types of support.

This is stated in the joint declaration on deepening cooperation between the four countries in the region to jointly deter the aggressor and strengthen economic cooperation which was signed by the foreign ministers of Poland and the Baltic states in Riga on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We want to once again draw attention to the great importance of the continued provision of political, security, financial assistance and humanitarian aid to Ukraine," the declaration reads.

It states that, given the common historical past, the countries have a similar vision of potential threats and, therefore, are determined to strengthen security and protect the independence and territorial integrity of the countries.

"We jointly created initiatives to counter hybrid threats, ensure deterrence and defense, strengthen border security, and support Ukraine which have been successfully implemented in various formats and structures, including the EU, NATO, and the UN," the declaration notes.

The foreign ministers of the four countries say in the declaration that they are convinced of the need to strengthen cooperation at the political and practical levels within NATO and the EU to redouble efforts to strengthen collective deterrence and resilience strategies, as well as to promote economic growth in and beyond the region.

As reported, about 1,700 Polish companies want to take part in the reconstruction of Ukraine and the restoration of the export of goods and services to Ukraine.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine summoned the Ambassador of Hungary Istvan Ijgyarto to express a strong protest over the recent disparaging comments made by Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban.

This is said in a statement published on the MFA website, Ukrinform reports.

It was emphasised to the Hungarian diplomat that the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, which has been heard from the side of the Hungarian leadership for a long time, is absolutely unacceptable and causes serious damage to the Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.

The Hungarian side was urged to stop this negative trend in order to avoid irreparable consequences for the relations between the two countries.

It was emphasized that Ukraine, for its part, is ready to develop constructive good-neighborly relations with Hungary.

As reported by Ukrinform, on January 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine summoned the ambassador of Hungary due to the disparaging comments made by Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban. Then, during a meeting with journalists, Orban compared Ukraine to "Afghanistan" and called it a "no man's land."

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Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed the needs of the Ukrainian army.

The Ukrainian parliament speaker said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"A meaningful, sincere and frank conversation. I am glad to meet with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron," Stefanchuk said.

He thanked Macron for his decision to strengthen Ukraine with advanced air defense systems and supply the country with tanks and armored personnel carriers. Stefanchuk said this had given impetus for other states to take similar steps.

"We talked a lot about weapons. Weapons for Ukraine! It is important for us to get modern types of weapons that will enable Ukraine to win this war. I outlined the needs of our Armed Forces. And, as Emmanuel Macron assured me, if France pledges assistance, it provides it, and it does not take long between the announcement and the provision of weapons," Stefanchuk said.

He also said the two sides had discussed the peace formula proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He expressed his gratitude to France for supporting the relevant items of the peace formula.

"We raised the issue of justice. Because without a court verdict, without the payment of reparations by Russia, there will be no full-fledged victory in this war. And in this matter, France stands in solidarity with Ukraine," he added.

Read also: Stefanchuk calls on France to send warplanes to Ukraine

Stefanchuk is on an official visit to France from January 30 to February 2.

Photo credit: Ruslan Stefanchuk / Facebook
An Auburn-area manufacturer will receive nearly $4 million for facility improvements  one of 21 projects supported by the state in the latest round of regional economic development council awards.

Owens-Brockway Glass Container in Sennett will receive a $2.8 million grant from Empire State Development, New York's economic development arm, and $1 million in Excelsior Jobs tax credits. The tax credits are linked to certain job creation goals.

The funding will support Owens-Brockway's plans to upgrade its plant by rebuilding a glass manufacturing furnace. Two goals of the project is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and boost energy efficiency.

One of the other projects that has been awarded state funding is also in Cayuga County. Colloca Estate Winery in the town of Sterling will receive $200,000 to support an expansion project. The additional space will be used for winemaking, a bottling line, an office and tasting room.

Colloca was included in a previous round of awards. The winery received $25,000 for its marketing campaign.

The projects are supported by the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council, which includes representatives from Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

One of the other major projects that was awarded state funding is $1 million for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 43 to expand its apprenticeship training center in the town of Clay, Onondaga County.

According to the project's description, the union's classroom facility is at capacity. With the expansion, there will be an addition to the building and more parking spaces.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who chaired the state's regional economic development councils when she served as lieutenant governor, praised the panels for their focus on projects that will create jobs.

"As we continue to make deep investments in New York communities, we remain committed to doing so in a way that expands opportunity, drives private investment and bolsters our talented workforce," she said.

Empire State Development is still accepting applications for funding. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the funds are gone, according to the governor's office. Individuals or businesses with plans for shovel-ready projects can seek funding through the state's Consolidated Funding Application at apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa.
The Booker T. Washington Community Center in Auburn has been awarded a Full-Service Community Schools Program grant in the amount of $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Education.

The five-year grant will allow the center, in partnership with the Auburn Enlarged City School District, to provide new programming for students, including free before-school programming at Casey Park, Genesee, Herman and Seward Elementary schools, as well as free after-school programming at Herman and programming that expands support for behavioral, mental health and social-emotional learning.

The programming will address "longstanding day care needs in the district," Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Camille Johnson said in a news release.

Johnson and Denise Farrington, the center's executive director, have already begun to plan and implement the programs funded by the grant, which have the title ACCESS: Advancing Community Schools.

We are thrilled to be one of the recipients of this funding so that we can better serve the students, the future leaders, in our community, Farrington said.

The center was one of 42 applications to be funded out of 240 the Department of Education received. The department said in the news release that "well-implemented community schools with integrated student supports, active community engagement, expanded learning time, and collaborative practices lead to better student and school outcomes, especially for low-income students."

For more information, visit btwcc.org or aecsd.education.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar witnessed agreement signing ceremony of the pilot project of Digitization/Dematerialization of National Saving Certificates (NSCs) through Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC).

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) CDC, Badiuddin Akber and Director General CDNS, Hamid Raza signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations, according to press statement issued by finance ministry.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Finance, Tariq Bajwa, Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Akif Saeed, Chairman CDC, Moin M Fudda, DG CDNS, Mr.

Hamid Raza and others attended the ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar extended his felicitations to chairman CDC & senior executives, DG CNDS and chairman SCEP for launching important project for the facilitation of investors of CDNS in digital form.

He further lauded the contributions of CNDS and CDC in the economic growth of the country and said that there was a great potential in CNDS to attract more investors for the economic betterment of the country.

The Finance Minister also appreciated the team of the Finance Division, especially the Secretary Finance and the AFS (Budget), the statement added.
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Consul General of Iran Mehran Movahedfar said on Tuesday that Pakistan-Iran needed to make Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) effective

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ):Consul General of Iran Mehran Movahedfar said on Tuesday that Pakistan-Iran needed to make Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) effective.

Talking to business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he said, "We need to focus on preferential trade agreements." The Iranian government was in the process of following up on it while the Pakistani Chambers should also follow up on it. He said that the problems of banking channels had started since 2010. "We need to create a Conflict Resolution Committee or system that will be the responsibility of a financial institution," he maintained.

He mentioned, "We have presented our suggestions in this regard. Three months ago, the Governor of the State Bank of Iran came to Karachi and signed the agreement for the Conflict Resolution Committee. This is an important step that will resolve the disputes between traders on both sides." The Consul General said that tragic terrorism incident in Pakistan had underlined the need for strengthening relations between the two countries in other fields apart from economic relations. Cooperation needed to fight terrorism, a common threat to both countries, he maintained.

The Consul General said that terrorism was a common affliction and it required joint action to combat it. He said that Iran preferred to develop relations with neighboring countries. "Keeping this in mind, we have to determine the size of our relationship for the long term," he said.

He said that Pakistan and Iran had a common border of 900 kilometers. "Our capacity requires planning together. Both the countries can multiply the volume of trade with the cooperation of various institutions and ministries," he observed. He said that businessmen of the both sides were not satisfied with the current trade volume.

The Consul General said that it was sad to say that despite the cooperation of the two governments regarding barter trade, there had been no improvement, asserting that difficulties were faced by the companies exporting rice from Pakistan, due to which many companies refused to continue cooperation.

He said that Iran had banned Indian rice and now there was a golden opportunity for Pakistani rice exporters. "From Pakistan we can import rice, meat to Iran and give LPG and raw materials in return." He said that recently, Iran had removed Preferential Agreement restrictions on import items and allowed the import of Kinnos from Pakistan.

It was expected that Pakistan would not obstruct the import of Iranian apples and kiwis.

He said that Punjab was an agricultural province and they wanted the agricultural chambers of Iran to be connected with Punjab. He said that importance of exchange of delegations could not be denied. He said that 50 percent of the market in Iran was captured by Pakistani rice. "We want you to cooperate with us for the first exhibition of Iranian products," he suggested.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that there were excellent working relations between Lahore Chamber and Consulate General of Iran in Lahore. He said that both the countries had large domestic markets and unique geo-strategic competitive advantages but both had yet to enhance their trade volume by making use of these opportunities.

He said that potential sectors where Pakistan and Iran could enhance trade were value-added textiles, pharmaceuticals and rice. "Iran is one of the biggest consumers of Denim in the region while Pakistani rice has a strong market in Iran. There is also a great potential for the pharmaceutical Industry in Pakistan to enhance its exports by tapping the Iranian market," he said.

He said that lack of sound banking channels was the prime cause of this low trade volume. Both Iran and Pakistan should collaborate to devise a specialized mechanism for enhancing trade. The presence of Iranian financial institution in Pakistan could greatly help in this regard. Moreover, through ensuring strict vigilance from both sides on undocumented trade, they could also improve the figures of formal trade, he added.

The LCCI President hoped that there would be a regular exchange of export-oriented delegations for bridging the communication gap among the private sector representatives from both the countries. This would help both in gaining knowledge and understating about each other's markets.

He said, "Our businessmen should look into OIC countries market first for preferential trade and then explore rest of the world's market. If the Muslim countries enhance the trade, all countries will lift their level of development up."Commercial Head, Consulate of Iran Murteza Forati, Convener LCCI Standing Committee on Pakistan Iran Business Promotion Syed Ali Raza Rizvi also spoke on the occasion.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held a telephone conversation and discussed the readiness to work on world energy markets, OPEC+ and within the framework of the Gas Exporters Forum, the Kremlin said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held a telephone conversation and discussed the readiness to work on world energy markets, OPEC+ and within the framework of the Gas Exporters Forum, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune... They also confirmed their readiness for further joint work on the world energy markets, including in the OPEC+ format and within the framework of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum," the statement said.

The leaders also stated that bilateral cooperation based on the traditions of friendship and mutual respect continues to develop steadily, and agreed to intensify contacts at various levels.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Tripoli, Libya,, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :Libya has condemned the explosion that took place in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the incident as a criminal act, confirming its absolute rejection of all kinds of violence, extremism and terrorism whatever their reasons and minifestations.

Libya's statement extended condolence to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Pakistan, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
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Oslo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :From NATO secretary general to the Ukrainian president, the war in Ukraine dominates the Names known so far to have been submitted by Tuesday's deadline for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

The list of nominees submitted to the committee is kept secret for at least 50 years, in line with Nobel statutes.

But those eligible to nominate people -- including former laureates, lawmakers and cabinet ministers from any country in the world, and some university professors -- are free to reveal the name of the person or organisation they have proposed.

Most of the names that have been publicly disclosed so far are actors in the nearly year-long conflict that has been raging in Ukraine, or opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Experts warn that the Norwegian Nobel Committee may be tempted to look in another direction, however, when it announces this year's prize in October.

Others known to have been nominated include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, proposed by the chairman of Pakistan's upper house of parliament, for his "untiring" efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

Lawmaker Christian Tybring-Gjedde, from Norway's populist party, hinted on Facebook shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that he would nominate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He has also proposed fellow Norwegian, Jens Stoltenberg, whom he says "deserves the prize for his exemplary work as NATO secretary general at a difficult time for the alliance: a brutal and unprovoked offensive against a peaceful neighbouring country".

Others known to have been nominated are jailed Putin opponents -- anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, who was the victim of a poisoning attack, and journalist and political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who claims to have survived two poisonings.

"We now know that the basis for this war is a Russian regime founded on corruption and oppression", said Ingjerd Schou, the Norwegian lawmaker who nominated Kara-Murza.

Kara-Murza "is taking part in the most important political fight to put an end to the war in Ukraine and guarantee Europe's future peace", she told Norwegian agency NTB.

The two previous Nobel Peace Prizes have been widely interpreted as direct criticism of Putin.

Last year, the prize was shared by Russian human rights group Memorial -- which Moscow ordered dissolved -- Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), and jailed Belarusian rights advocate Ales Bialiatski.

The trio represents the three nations at the centre of the war in Ukraine, which all of them have criticised.

In 2021, another thorn in the Kremlin's side, Dmitry Muratov, chief editor of leading independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, shared the prize with the Philippines' Maria Ressa for their fight for freedom of expression in their respective countries.

The head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, Henrik Urdal, said it was unlikely however that the Nobel committee would fire another salvo at Putin in 2023, due to the risk of appearing "Eurocentric".

"I doubt they'd award a third straight prize pointing in Russia's direction", he told AFP.

"It was difficult for the committee to do otherwise last year because the Ukraine conflict was so important and dominant," he said.

"But it's also necessary to shine the spotlight on other international problems in other parts of the world," Urdal added.

Each year, several hundred nominees are proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2022, there were 343 nominees.
Auburn police have released the name of the driver involved in a crash that totaled his own car and damaged two others parked on East Genesee Street last week.

Auburn Police Department Deputy Chief Roger Anthony told The Citizen Monday that Joel E. Rusin, 21, was the driver of the BMW that crashed into a Chevy Silverado, flipping it on its side, and a Subaru Legacy that was also damaged. The crash took place around midnight Sunday, Jan. 22. Rusin was not in the BMW when police arrived to the crash scene, but was found in the area shortly afterward.

Anthony did not have any information about injuries Rusin sustained in the crash. After being found he was taken to police headquarters, then to the hospital for treatment.

Police still have yet to file any charges against Rusin, Anthony continued. They are waiting for the results of a toxicology report.

Since the investigation is still open, Anthony declined to comment to The Citizen on any further details of the crash.

Anthony previously told The Citizen the crash resulted from an incident minutes earlier at Swaby's Tavern on South Street. Rusin sped away down Genesee Street following the incident, lost control of his vehicle where the street curves near Seminary Avenue, and crashed into the two cars. A police officer witnessed the crash, Anthony added. Rusin left his BMW in the middle of the street.

Another person was arrested by Auburn police for involvement in the incident at Swaby's: Michael E. Stanton, 25, for disorderly conduct, a violation, and resisting arrest, a class A misdemeanor.
A day of mourning was observed across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday as the death toll of Monday's suicide bombing at the mosque of the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines mounted to 101

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :A day of mourning was observed across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday as the death toll of Monday's suicide bombing at the mosque of the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines mounted to 101.

Inspector General of Police KP Moazam Jah Ansari told a news channel that so far 101 worshippers had been martyred.

According to Lady Reading Hospital Spokesperson Muhammad Asim, some 53 injured were admitted to different wards, including seven in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Talking to the media at the blast site earlier in the day, caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan said the martyred included mostly policemen while 221 injured were under treatment in various hospitals.

Flanked by IGP Moazam Jah Ansari, he said the government had constituted a high-level inquiry committee to investigate and identify the elements involved in the inhuman act.

Azam Khan said the government stood by the blast victims and their families in the hour of tribulation and would provide them all facilities, including financial assistance. The process for payment of compensation to the families of the deceased and injured was underway, he added.

Later addressing the police personnel at the police lines, the chief minister said the police force would be equipped with modern weapons. The worsening law and order situation of the province had also been brought to the notice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he added.

IGP Moazam Jah on the occasion said about 10 to12 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. The bomber blew himself up at around 1 p.m. during the Zuhr prayers, and as a result, the roof of the mosque caved in burying the worshippers in its debris.

He said the aspect of the security lapse could not be overlooked and investigations were underway to ascertain the facts. "We are checking CCTV footage of the last month to trace the facilitators of the bomber." A joint investigation team (JIT) had been notified and everything would be clear soon after the completion of the probe, he said. "Those responsible will be brought to book," he vowed.

The IGP said over 2,000 personnel worked in eight different departments at the Police Lines. Besides, a large number of civilians daily visited the Police Lines, which also encompassed family quarters. Moreover, labourers also entered the site as the construction work was also going on there, he added.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel and Secretary Health Punjab contacted KP Governor Ghulam Ali on the telephone and offered healthcare facilities, including doctors and medicines, from Islamabad, Punjab, and Sindh for the injured persons.

Governor Ghulam Ali expressed gratitude to the federal minister and the Secretary Health Punjab for their sympathies and humanitarian support.

Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Bilal Faizi told APP that the search and rescue operation in the collapsed mosque had been completed. A total of 77 bodies of the martyred worshippers were shifted to the hospitals, and 17 of them were retrieved from beneath the mosque's debris. Likewise, 94 injured were also transported.

According to police sources, a preliminary investigation report of the bombing had been sent to the prime minister. The evidence collected from the blast site indicated that it was a suicide attack and its target was the police.

They said the mosque's roof tumbled down due to collapsing of its pillars, causing a lot of damage. The CCTV footage from the Police Lines gate and family quarters was being examined.

The KP government observed a day of mourning to express solidarity with the blast victims. The National Flag was kept at half mast at all government and private buildings.

The people in large numbers gathered at the residences of the martyrs to express condolences to their families and offer Fateha for their departed souls.

A sorrowful day was witnessed across the province, particularly in Charsadda, Nowsehra, Swabi, Mardan, and Peshawar as most of the martyred cops belonged to these areas.

The people from all walks of life strongly condemned the terror act and visited the LRH to inquire after the injured cops.
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Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor on Tuesday said there was no room for forced conversion or marriage in Islam and the Constitution

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor on Tuesday said there was no room for forced conversion or marriage in islam and the Constitution.

Addressing a seminar on 'Religion Change, Problems, Debates and Reality organized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, here at a local hotel, he said there was a difference between voluntary and forced conversion as the "time has come to clear misconceptions about this particular word  forced conversion".

The minister said in the past, there had been a lot of negative propaganda regarding forced conversion against Pakistan around the world, adding that a number of people belonging to all religions gathered under one roof to understand each other view points and positions.

He said, there was a dire need to respect all religions to save the society from division adding that through religious cohesion, extremist attitudes could also be addressed in proper manners.

He proposed the participants to avoid extremist behavior towards each other as there was no discrimination from all aspects in the society.

"Allah Almighty in Quran has always addressed the entire humanity, therefore all human beings are equal but we have to prove ourselves superior to others through our character," Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Abdul Shakoor said.

Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, and representatives of different religions expressed their views in the moot.

Sardar Rameshan Singh Arora, Dr Sonu Khangrani, Qari Mohammad Younis, Faqir Shiva Kichchi, Bhaiya Ram Anjum, Haroon Sarap Dayal, Advocate Bhim Singh Chand, Surinder Valsai, Afshan Tahseen Bajwa, Pir Ayub Jan Sirhandi and Abdul Haq Mian Mittho also addressed the occasion.

A number of new convert to Islam men and women were also invited who were accused of forced conversion. Abdul Waris Gul, Ayesha, Saba Kamran, Khansa Abdullah, Chanda Ahmed, Imtiaz Sheikh, Sheikh Hamdan Khalili and Obaidullah Sindhi were among them.

They denied the impression that someone forced them rather held they consciously abandoned their old religions after being inspired by Islamic teachings.

They also said the scholars who made them accepted Islam did not force them but made them believe through several questions.

The speakers praised this unique effort of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony and proposed actions against those elements who were defaming Pakistan on the pretext of false accusations of forced conversion.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened an open-ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on Tuesday to express the organization's common stance against the recent desecration of the Holy Qur'an in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ):The Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened an open-ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on Tuesday to express the organization's common stance against the recent desecration of the Holy Qur'an in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

Held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, the meeting also discussed the possible actions that the OIC could take against the perpetrators of the despicable Islamophobic attacks.

During the meeting, the OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha reiterated his dismay at the provocative acts done by far-right activists, emphasizing that such actions were criminal acts perpetrated with the main intention to target Muslims, to insult their sacred religion, values, and symbols.

He said that the relevant governments must take severe counter-measures, especially because such provocations have been committed repeatedly by far-right extremists in their countries.

He said the intentional act of desecrating the Holy Qur'an and insulting Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) must not be seen as just an ordinary incident of Islamophobia. Such an act is a direct insult to the entire 1.6 billion Muslim population, he added.

Brahim Taha hence called all stakeholders to take firm action so that similar provocation will not reoccur in the future.

For his part, the Saudi Permanent Representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Saleh Al-Suhaibani stressed that these actions could only be considered an insult and contempt for all Muslims, indicating that these despicable acts blatantly contradict the human, moral and religious principles and values of all peoples who love peace and coexistence.

"The recurrence of these heinous acts in more than one place raises many questions about the negligence and failure of some governments in limiting the phenomenon of Islamophobia and taking the necessary measures to stop provocations and punish their perpetrators under the pretext of freedom of expression.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia had expressed its condemnation and absolute rejection of these provocative actions against the feelings of millions of Muslims in various parts of the world.

He called for serious qualitative action through the OIC and its institutions to highlight the pivotal role that Islam played in the development and prosperity of many peoples and civilizations throughout history and to work to spread the message of Islam to the world by organizing cultural exhibitions and holding influential events.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Trkiye to the OIC, Ambassador Mehmet Metin Eker, said that Trkiye strongly condemned the recent despicable aggressions against the Holy Quran in Stockholm, The Hague and Kopenhagen.

"Unfortunately, the failure of the Swedish authorities to take the necessary precautions against the attack on the Holy Qur'an on January 21st has encouraged similar attacks in the Netherlands and Denmark afterwards," he added.

He said the "hatred against Islam had reached an alarming level in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe. We observe with great concern how far-right politicians use anti-Islam and xenophobic rhetoric for their own narrow agenda, he added.

He stressed that the attempts to denigrate the sanctity of the Holy Quran as well as other sacred values and symbols of Islam, including the Holy Prophet (PBUH), under the guise of freedom of expression were contrary to the spirit of certain international legal documents on human rights such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

He called on the ambassadors of the OIC Member States in the respective capitals where vile acts against the Holy Quran and other Islamic holy symbols take place, to collectively make efforts with respect to the national parliaments, media, civil society organizations as well as the governmental institutions.

The Permanent Representative of Trkiye also called for strengthening the Islamophobia Observatory in order to efficiently engage with the international partners and better follow up.
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Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune discussed plans for a visit to Moscow in May during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Algerian leader's office said in a statement

ALGIERS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune discussed plans for a visit to Moscow in May during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Algerian leader's office said in a statement.

"The two presidents touched upon the topic of the upcoming meeting of the mixed intergovernmental Russian-Algerian commission. They also agreed on a state visit that the president of the republic would make to the Russian Federation in May," the statement says.
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WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) US President Joe Biden told reporters that he will go to Poland at some point in the future, but he does not know when.

"I'm going to be going to Poland. I don't know when though," Biden said on Monday at the White House.

Biden further said he was unsure if he would travel to Europe in light of the upcoming anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Earlier in January, media reported that Biden is planning a trip to Europe that can coincide with the first anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Last week, the White House refuted the reports.

Biden also said the United States will not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine amid rumors of such considerations by the US government, a Fox news correspondent said via Twitter on Monday.
Pursuing an end to oil and gas extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, climate activists are looking to Pope Francis for support

NAIROBI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :Pursuing an end to oil and gas extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, climate activists are looking to Pope Francis for support.

In a report released in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday by a consortium of climate activists under group 350 (an international environmental organization whose goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy), the activists are asking for the Pope's support to save flora and fauna in Congo from pollution.

The local communities, who depend on the region's resources for their livelihood, are said to suffer as a result of such explorations and mining activities, according to the campaigners.

"Our protected areas are under threat - from the oil exploration activities in Virunga National Park," said climate activist Bonaventure Bondo.

"This comes at a time when all the signs point to the urgent need to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, to contain global heating and avert catastrophic climate impacts.

We appeal to Pope Francis to engage our government on this very crucial matter, to call for the stop to these fossil fuel projects and the prioritization of renewable energy." Lex Mulwa, a Kenyan environmentalist, told Anadolu that "the Pope's advocacy for environmental causes is what we need. We just need to safeguard this rich environment which has unique trees and animals like no other place; exploration will lead to environmental degradation and cause harm to the local communities." Environment and climate activists hope that the Pope, who is well known for supporting environmental concerns, may draw attention to their problem on a global scale and exert pressure on the Congo government to reevaluate its oil and gas policy. Regarding the activists' plea, the Pope has not yet made any remarks.

Pope Francis, who is 86, will visit Congo and South Sudan from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5.

The pontiff will arrive in Kinshasa on Tuesday and stay until Feb. 3 before traveling to South Sudan's capital, Juba.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that Egypt counted on increasing grain supplies from Russia, considering it one of the priorities of the bilateral relationship

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that Egypt counted on increasing grain supplies from Russia, considering it one of the priorities of the bilateral relationship.

"Grain supplies are one of the key moments of our relations. Russia is one of the key suppliers of grain to the world market. It (grain) is one of the key strategic products for us, and of course, for the Egyptian people," Shoukry said at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Shoukry said the Egyptian government's goal was to continue the work with its partners on grain.

"Our goal is not only to maintain current pace and volume of supplies but also further increase them, as well as expand the range of trade in other directions," the minister said.

Russia is the main supplier of wheat to Egypt. Before the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine in February, Cairo also imported a significant amount of grain from Ukraine.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Tuesday that Belgium can no longer refuse to extradite Catalan independence leaders to Spain based on its current legal arguments

OVIEDO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2023 ) :The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Tuesday that Belgium can no longer refuse to extradite Catalan independence leaders to Spain based on its current legal arguments.

The ruling opens the door for the extradition of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and his former ministers, including Llus Puig and Antoni Comin.

They all escaped Spain in 2017 after leading an illegal independence referendum and a subsequent botched attempt to break Catalonia away from Spain.

Residing in Belgium, they have been able to dodge Spain's attempts to make them face justice in their home nation, as Belgian courts had refused to carry out the European Arrest Warrants against them.

However, the EU court ruled that Belgium, or any other member state, can only deny the extradition requests if it proves the extradition would lead to the violation of rights, such as that of a fair trial.

The court also says that Belgium can no longer refuse the extradition on the grounds that Spain's Supreme Court does not have the authority to issue the arrest warrants.

In a 2021 attempt to extradite Puig, Belgian authorities said only the Catalan supreme court had the power to issue the warrant.

Likewise, the Catalan politicians have avoided extradition by arguing that the law of sedition, with which they were charged, did not exist in Belgium.

The EU court ruled that "an executing judicial authority does not have the power to refuse to execute a European Arrest Warrant based on a ground for non-execution which arises solely from the law of the executing Member State."Belgian authorities could, however, argue that the execution of the warrant would infringe on a fundamental right enshrined in EU law.

At the same time, Puigdemont and Comin are both acting Members of the European Parliament and have provisional immunity. So, it's not entirely certain if they can be deported. Puig, the former Catalan culture minister, does not have diplomatic protection
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday called on Kiev to account for remarks made by the Ukrainian president's adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, about the drone attack on an Iranian military base

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday called on Kiev to account for remarks made by the Ukrainian president's adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, about the drone attack on an Iranian military base.

On Sunday, Podolyak hinted in a tweet that the recent attack on an Iranian defense facility in Isfahan and the explosion at the Azarshahr factory complex may be consequences of Tehran's support for Russia, writing "(Ukraine) did warn you."

"The foreign ministry spokesman condemned the hostile and provocative position of the Ukrainian president's adviser, called his statement regarding the recent destructive action against the military complex in Isfahan suspicious and demanded an official and clear explanation from the Ukrainian side in this regard," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The UK-based Amwaj news website, which covers the Persian Gulf, reported earlier in the day that Iran considered Ukraine a potential culprit in the attack on Isfahan.

The Ukrainian Charge d'Affaires in Tehran, Yevhen Kravchenko, has been summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry.

On Saturday night, an explosion occurred in Isfahan's northern neighborhood. Authorities said that three mini-drones attacked one of the military enterprises of the Iranian Defense Ministry in the city, and one of them was successfully shot down by the air defense systems. No casualties were reported. The same night, an explosion and a subsequent fire occurred at an industrial oil production plant in the city of Azarshahr in northwestern Iran.

Western countries claim that Iran supplies military drones to Russia for its military operation in Ukraine. Moscow and Tehran reject such allegations.
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that he had received a "certain message" on what Russia should do in Ukraine from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken passed on through Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. 

"Mr. Minister (of Foreign Affairs of Egypt) said that he conveyed a certain message from Secretary Blinken, who was recently on a visit to Cairo. I confirm this. We have always said that Russia is ready to listen to any serious, I emphasize this word, proposals aimed at resolving the current situation in its comprehensive context. In this regard, we have once again heard the message conveyed through Mr. Minister that Russia must stop, Russia must leave and then everything will be fine," Lavrov told a briefing, following his meeting with Shoukry in Moscow.

The minister added that there was a second part to Blinken's message that was not conveyed to Russia.

"Tony Blinken did not convey the second part of this appeal. But the second part of the appeal  and this is the true interest of the United States and the West  was outlined by NATO Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg when he was in the Republic of Korea. He said in one of his speeches that Russia must lose, Russia must be defeated, and the West cannot allow Ukraine to lose, because then the West will lose, and the whole world will lose, Stoltenberg said. That is, he took the liberty to speak not only on behalf of three dozen members of the North Atlantic Alliance, but also all other countries of the world, Asia, Africa and Latin America," Lavrov concluded.
ALBANY  Ahead of a midnight deadline, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature appeared highly unlikely to reach a compromise on the Grieving Families Act, a bill that would have allowed families that have lost a loved one due to misconduct to sue for emotional losses.

Among the proponents of the bill were families of the 10 victims of the racist mass shooting at a Tops Markets store on Jefferson Avenue in May.

Hochul wrote an op-ed in the New York Daily News, published Monday morning, suggesting the main reason for the impasse was Hochul's desire to remove from the bill deaths caused by alleged medical malpractice.

With no agreement to the fair proposal my administration made a month ago, there is a risk that the time will expire for action by midnight tonight, Hochul wrote. And that would be just one more insult to the grieving families that are looking to us to do the right thing.

But Hochuls proposed amendments would have done something else: Cut out families of victims 18 years old or older, a change her op-ed did not highlight.

All of the Tops victims were adults, so such a compromise would not allow any of their families to sue for emotional loss under the bill. For the State Legislature, which overwhelmingly passed the bill last June, Hochuls proposed amendments were a non-starter.

In a joint statement, the bills two prime sponsors, Brooklyn Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein and Manhattan State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, said they were extremely disappointed that the Governor hasnt engaged in any serious discussion with her partners in the State Legislature" and called Hochul's plan "woefully inadequate to assist grieving families in New York State."

Proponents of the bill, including the state Trial Lawyers Association, gun control and consumer rights groups, argued that state law passed in 1847 is outdated since it only allows families to sue for economic losses stemming from wrongful deaths.

The Grieving Families Act would have allowed families to also seek damages for emotional loss. Proponents also say the current system discriminates against low-income people of color and does not account for nontraditional family structures. For instance, a longtime unmarried partner of a wrongful death victim does not currently have standing to sue.

But opponents, including from the insurance industry, argued that the bill would cause large spikes in medical insurance and liability premiums. They say while most other states allow lawsuits for emotional damages, those states have caps on damages, while the bill passed by the Legislature did not.

Relatives of nearly all 10 of the people killed in the May 14 racist massacre at Tops Markets in Buffalo have penned an open letter to Hochul urging her to sign the Grieving Families Act.

Mark Talley, whose mother, Geraldine, was shot to death in the attack, said the legislation makes much-needed changes to the states wrongful death law.

The existing law, Talley said in an interview, is over 170 years old. It discriminates against the young, the old, the poor, the low economic scale. The lower you are it kind of hurts you even worse.

The open letter states the current wrongful death statute treats lower-income victims, such as many who died at the Tops on May 14, as worthless.

How can our loved ones be worthless when we know they are priceless? the letter reads.

Talley said its frustrating to see legislation stall as the governor raises concerns over its cost and reach.

In her op-ed Monday, Hochul wrote that it was reasonable to think that the legislation as drafted will drive up already-high health insurance premiums, adding significant costs for many sectors of our economy, particularly hospitals that are still recovering from the pandemic and struggling to stay afloat  including public hospitals that serve disadvantaged communities."

This is a question that would benefit from careful analysis before, not after, passing sweeping legislation, Hochul wrote, noting the bill passed near the very end of the state legislative session last June.

She wrote that her compromise would give parents of children who have tragically died in accidents the opportunity to seek meaningful accountability for their heart-wrenching loss while, for the time being, exempting far more costly medical malpractice claims.

But the bills prime sponsors in the Legislature noted that Weinstein had carried it in the Assembly for 29 years, countering the notion that it had not been vetted.

Hochul waited until the eleventh hour to raise the need for further statistical analysis, which would seem to be a tactic to gut the legislation or delay its implementation indefinitely, Weinstein and Holyman-Sigal wrote in their statement on Monday.

The bill prime sponsors, both Democrats, noted that not only families of the victims of the racist massacre in Buffalo, but also the Schoharie limousine crash, police brutality, and children lost due to hospital negligence, among others, could not sue for emotional loss under the proposed Hochul amendments.

The Governor now says she put forward a fair proposal over a month ago, but she doesnt explain that her counterproposal to the Grieving Families Act only addresses the wrongful deaths of persons under 18 years... the bill sponsors wrote. Moreover, the Governors proposal doesnt expand the definition of family, nor does it extend the statute of limitations or apply to pending claimsDespite the staggering inadequacy of her proposal, we offered to negotiate to find common ground, only to be turned away by the Governor, who presented her proposal as take it or leave it.

The Legislature sent the bill to Hochul's office on Dec. 28 for her signature or veto. They came to an agreement allowing an extension of negotiations until midnight on Jan. 30. By not signing the bill by that deadline, Hochul is effectively issuing a veto.

In a September op-ed in The Buffalo News, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes of Buffalo and the bill's prime sponsor in the Assembly, Weinstein, called it "one of the most significant laws in New York State history."

"It will restore justice for families whose losses have been previously overlooked and provide much needed closure to countless people," they wrote.

News Staff Reporter Stephen T. Watson contributed to this report.
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Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday that her country was interested in cooperation with Denmark on renewable energy and the environment against the background of the current energy crisis

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday that her country was interested in cooperation with Denmark on renewable energy and the environment against the background of the current energy crisis.

"I hope that Moldova will resume cooperation with the Danish International Development Agency, and the countries will strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields. We want to collaborate on renewable energy. The energy crisis that we are now going through forced us to focus on the energy independence of the republic, especially on green energy," Sandu said at a briefing after a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Chisinau.

She added that Moldova was interested in the Danish experience with resolving the waste disposal issue, as well as its use for energy generation.

Separately, the president noted Denmark's success in reducing carbon emissions.

Moldova declared a state of emergency in late 2021 due to the energy crisis in light of problems with gas shortages and a sharp rise in the price of energy resources. The state of emergency has been extended since then, most recently by another 60 days starting December 6, 2022.

On October 1, 2022, Russian energy giant Gazprom said that Moldova had repeatedly delayed payments for the gas supplied to it, warning that Chisinau's growing debt might lead to the termination of the current contract.
PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The Netherlands has not received a request from Ukraine for the supply of F-16 fighters, but is ready to consider it, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

"As for the F-16 fighters, we have not received such a request (from Ukraine). But if this happens, it will be an important stage.

We will consider it and consult with our allies," Rutte said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in The Hague, broadcast on the Elysee Palace's website.

On Sunday, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, spoke in favor of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, in particular, US-made F-16 fighters or Soviet-made fighters from the old stocks of the German Democratic Republic.
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The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) is studying the alleged Ukrainian strike on a medical facility in the Luhansk People's Repiblic's (LPR) Novoaidar, but targeting any medical facilities violates international law, OHCHR spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told Sputnik on Tuesday

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) is studying the alleged Ukrainian strike on a medical facility in the Luhansk People's Repiblic's (LPR) Novoaidar, but targeting any medical facilities violates international law, OHCHR spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On January 28, Ukrainian troops hit a hospital in Novoaidar from US-made multiple rocket launcher system HIMARS, killing 14 people and injuring 24 others, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Later that day, the Ukrainian military fired 17 missiles at Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region and more than five of them exploded on the territory of a local hospital, the local authorities reported.

"Our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) is aware of two recent attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine. On Saturday 28 January, a medical facility at Novoaidar, in an area occupied by the Russian Federation, was struck by rockets reportedly fired by the Ukrainian armed forces," Throssell said.

Verification procedures of such incidents take time due to the lack of access to the areas, the spokeswoman explained.

"It does take colleagues time to verify information about alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia, in particular due to a lack of access to these areas," Throssell said.

The official added that any attack on a medical facility is a violation of international law.

"As a general point, we recall that attacks that deliberately target medical facilities, whether civilian or military - provided they have not lost their protection due to being used outside their humanitarian function to commit acts harmful to the enemy - amount to a violation of international humanitarian law," Throssell said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed at a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan Moscow's readiness to help normalize relations between Damascus and Ankara on the principles of respect for Syrian sovereignty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed at a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan Moscow's readiness to help normalize relations between Damascus and Ankara on the principles of respect for Syrian sovereignty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"While considering the tasks of the progressive development of Damascus's dialogue with the regional environment as a significant element of a long-term comprehensive settlement in Syria, the Russian side reaffirmed its readiness to continue the appropriate necessary assistance, including in the interests of normalizing Syrian-Turkish interstate relations on the principles of unconditional respect for unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria," the ministry said in a statement after consultations between Bogdanov and Susan on Monday.

At the meeting, an exchange of views was held on the situation in Syria and around it with an emphasis on the tasks of promoting a comprehensive settlement in Syria, the leading role of the Astana format was emphasized and the importance of intensifying the constructive work of the Intra-Syrian Constitutional Committee was stated, the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

"Topical issues of further strengthening Russian-Syrian traditionally friendly ties were also considered, including a schedule of bilateral contacts at various levels," the ministry also stressed.
DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) According to the latest data, Syria's population is about 22.5 million people, including due to the return of refugees, Samar al-Sibai, head of the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs, said.

"A total of 22,500,000 people live in Syria," al-Sibai told Sputnik.

"These data are based on estimates from the national statistics center," she said.

The armed conflict in Syria has been under way since 2011, with President Bashar Assad's forces fighting different insurgent groups, including terrorists, in separate areas of the country.
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The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned the United States against infringing on Iran's territorial integrity after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken threatened the Islamic Republic over its nuclear ambition

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned the United States against infringing on Iran's territorial integrity after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken threatened the Islamic Republic over its nuclear ambition.

Blinken told the Al-Arabiya news channel in an interview over the weekend that all options were on the table to prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb, should the talks on rescuing the 2015 nuclear deal fail. Tehran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear program is of a purely peaceful nature.

"The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman underscored that the US government too well knows that Iran will not tolerate any aggression against its territory and interests and will respond to aggressors decisively and in a manner that would make them regret their action," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani dismissed Blinken's claim that the US supported the Iranian people protesting across Iran as hypocrisy and warned Washington and its European allies that they would not gain anything from their continued lies about Iran's internal affairs.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations warned on Tuesday, after the recent drone attack in the province of Isfahan, allegedly carried out by Israel, that Tehran would consider any military action by the United States against Iran as a declaration of war which would be met with retaliatory measures.

"In Iran's perspective, the use of the military option at any level means U.S. entry into the war. For now Iran considers such a possibility to be weak," the mission told US Newsweek news magazine.

Tehran also said that if the US "miscalculates and starts a war," then Washington would be responsible for the consequences of such a conflict "for the region and the world," the news outlet reported. In such a case, Iran will be capable of ensuring its own security and defending the country's interests, Newsweek cited the mission as saying.

Washington has so far denied any involvement in the recent attack on Iran, the media outlet reported.

"We've seen the press reports, but can confirm that no U.S. military forces have conducted strikes or operations inside Iran. We continue to monitor the situation, but have nothing further to provide," a Pentagon spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Newsweek.

On Saturday night, an explosion occurred in Isfahan's northern neighborhood, at one of the military enterprises of the Iranian Defense Ministry, media reported. Mini-drones reportedly attacked an ammunition depot. No casualties were registered. The same night, an explosion and a subsequent fire occurred at an industrial oil production plant in the city of Azarshahr in northwestern Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that Israel was behind the drone attack. Similar assumptions were voiced by an Iranian official cited by the Al Jazeera broadcaster.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Republican candidate for New Mexico Representative Solomon Pena has been indicted on 14 criminal counts for shooting at residences of local officials after he lost the election, Bernalillo County district attorney said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) Republican candidate for New Mexico Representative Solomon Pena has been indicted on 14 criminal counts for shooting at residences of local officials after he lost the election, Bernalillo County district attorney said.

"A Bernalillo County Grand Jury has indicted Solomon Pena on 14 criminal charges ... Police say Pena targeted multiple elected officials in Bernalillo County over the last two months, where gunshots were fired at their homes and businesses," the attorney said in a statement.

In particular, the jury indicted Pena on three counts of criminal solicitation to commit a shooting at a dwelling, four counts of shooting at a dwelling, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, attempting to commit aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm by certain persons.

According to NBC news, Pena ran for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives but lost to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia. Pena responded to the results of the vote by saying the election had been "rigged" and sent his complaints to some officials, whose homes were later attacked.

Albuquerque police arrested Pena on January 16, more than a month after the shootings at the county commissioner's home, the report added.

The police reportedly believe that Pena participated in at least one of the shootings but his weapon jammed.

In turn, Pena's lawyer questioned the credibility of a confidential witness who provided information to investigators, the broadcaster said.
(@FahadShabbir)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The US Justice Department is declining to provide House lawmakers with information they requested regarding the Federal government's probe into President Joe Biden's potential mishandling of classified documents, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte said on Monday.

On January 13, the Justice Department received a letter from congressmen Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson requesting information on the department's investigation into the possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents by Biden. The request comes following the discovery of sensitive materials at locations including a think-tank office and Biden family garage.

"Your letter also requests non-public information that is central to the ongoing Special Counsel investigation. The Department's longstanding policy is to maintain the confidentiality of such information regarding open matters," Uriarte said in a response letter to Jordan and Johnson.

Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed earlier this month to investigate the potential mishandling of classified materials by Biden.

Disclosing non-public information about an ongoing investigation could violate statutory requirements or court orders, reveal investigatory road maps or interfere with the Justice Department's ability to effectively pursue prosecution, Uriarte said.

Disclosures to Congress about active investigations may also risk creating the appearance of improper political pressure or attempting to influence the Justice Department's decisions, Uriarte added.

"Judiciary Republicans are rightly concerned about the Justice Department's double standard here, after all, some of the Biden documents were found at a think tank that's received funds from communist China," the House Judiciary Committee Republican majority said via Twitter, in response to Uriarte's letter.

The US House Oversight Committee is also probing Biden's potential mishandling of classified documents as part of its probe into possible influence peddling by the Biden family, particularly though the foreign business dealings of Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

Earlier on Monday, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said that lawmakers need to know whether the classified documents were used in a way to profit the Biden family, which the congressman claimed would be an impeachable offense.
The US government-funded Peace Corps agency has evacuated its volunteers from Peru amid the escalating political crisis in the country, spokesman Troy Blackwell told the Politico newspaper

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The US government-funded Peace Corps agency has evacuated its volunteers from Peru amid the escalating political crisis in the country, spokesman Troy Blackwell told the Politico newspaper.

"Peace Corps/Peru has temporarily evacuated all volunteers to another Peace Corps post. The safety and well-being of Peace Corps volunteers is our top priority. We are closely monitoring the security situation with local partners on the ground and the U.S. Embassy in Lima," Blackwell wrote in an email cited in the report.

He confirmed that the volunteers had been evacuated but did not specify the destination. Meanwhile, a person familiar with the matter told Politico, on the condition of anonymity, that the volunteers were transferred to the Peace Corps' post in Ecuador.

The Peace Corps volunteers are the first group of workers to be evacuated when there is unrest in the country, since they work in remote areas and have less protection than US diplomats, according to the newspaper.

At the same time, there are currently no signs of US officials or government agents leaving Peru, the report said.

On December 7, 2022, Peru's parliament impeached former President Pedro Castillo. Then-Prime Minister Dina Boluarte took an oath as the country's new president within two hours of the impeachment vote, vowing to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July 2026. Castillo, who had tried to dissolve the parliament before the vote, was arrested after the impeachment procedure and the Peruvian prosecutor's office later launched a criminal case against him on charges of a coup attempt and crimes against the state.

These events have sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators denounce the post-impeachment government, and call for an immediate presidential election and termination of the country's parliament. At least 53 people were reported to have died since the start of the protests.
The Japanese auto industry is going through a tumultuous phase. After India overtook Japan as the world's third largest vehicle market, China is now looking at snatching the country's crown as the world's largest exporter of cars. While production and demand within Japan took a beating in 2022 and has been on the decline even in preceding years, exports too have been coming down.

It is reported that Japan exported 3.2 million vehicles to foreign shores in the first 11 months of 2022, although data from December is not officially available yet. But all indications are that the complete 2022 export data would fall short of the 3.82 million units that were exported from here in 2021. In comparison, China exported 3.11 million vehicles in 2022 and these figures are on the rise.

Also Read : World's largest auto markets: India pips Japan but which countries fell hardest

China is the world's largest automobile market and also has the largest market for electric vehicles. Citic Securities highlights in a research report that the country could be in a position to export as many as 5.5 million vehicles to foreign markets by 2030. Nearly half of these would be electric vehicles, also called new-energy vehicles in China. While global manufacturers are continuing to bet big on the Chinese auto industry, the local players - complete with their international ambitions - are also stepping out big time. Companies such as BYD and Geely are just two of several local manufacturers that are in prime position.

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Some of the other big players in terms of cars exported include Germany, the US, Mexico, Canada and South Korea. India is also emerging as a crucial player here with units manufactured here making way to countries in Latin America, Africa and others. The likes of Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki and Kia are some of the big names in the list of manufacturers exporting from production bases in India.

First Published Date:
Talithia Williams Kicks of Spring University Forum Series Feb. 7

Mon, 01/30/2023 - 02:54pm | By: David Tisdale

Internationally renowned mathematician and author Dr. Talithia Williams will get The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Spring 2023 University Forum series started when she presents Data, Health, and Change Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in historic Bennett Auditorium. Admission is free and members of the university and local communities are invited.

An associate professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, Dr. Williams holds degrees from Spelman College, Howard University, and Rice University. Her research involves creating statistical models that emphasize the spatial and temporal structure of data and applying these models to problems in the environment; she has worked at NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the National Security Agency and as a research partner to the World Health Organization.

The author of Learning Statistics (2017) and Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics, Dr. Williams is also a co-host of the PBS NOVA series NOVA Wonders, and is the 2015 recipient of the Mathematical Association of Americas Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching. She is best known for a TED talk, Own Your Bodys Data, which argues that simple data about our bodies can help us better understand our health.

University Forum is presented by the USM Honors College. Dr. Andrew Haley, an associate professor of history at USM, serves as director of University Forum. For questions about this event or the series, email forumFREEMississippi.
50th Annual Waterborne Symposium Set for Feb. 12-17 in New Orleans

Tue, 01/31/2023 - 10:42am | By: Van Arnold

The highly acclaimed polymer program at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will celebrate a special milestone next month by hosting the 50th Annual International Waterborne, High-Solids and Powder Coating Symposium. The event will take place Feb. 12-17 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans.

The Waterborne Symposium is a technical forum for environmentally friendly coatings technologies. Proceeds from the symposium are used by USM for various elements of academic program development including junior faculty development, graduate student stipends, equipment acquisition and maintenance, and especially scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in polymer science

Dr. Robson Storey, Professor Emeritus in USMs School of Polymer Science and Engineering, notes that the symposium was conceived in 1973 by faculty members of the Universitys polymer program to address an urgent need by the coatings industry to develop technical solutions to rapidly evolving federal and state environmental regulations.

As a consequence, the symposium has always delivered value to persons involved in the practical development of high-performance, environmentally friendly, and economically viable coatings technologies, said Storey. Throughout the years, the vast majority of both speakers and attendees of the symposium have been industrial scientists.

The symposium is expected draw approximately 325-350 attendees, with about 40 oral presentations, a student poster session, and a trade-show-style Technology Showcase consisting of 20 booths manned by 40-50 exhibitors.

Storey points out that Day 1 of the symposium always begins with a review of the polymer program, which includes assessment of faculty and students, recent student achievements, enrollment numbers, plans for program improvement, etc.

Many of our undergraduate majors accept jobs in the coatings industry, and we hold an annual employment clearinghouse at the symposium to help match our students to job opportunities within the industry, said Storey.

More than $241,000 in undergraduate scholarships have been awarded from Waterborne proceeds over the last eight academic years. As recently as 2017, the Coatings Industry Education Foundation donated approximately $800,000 through the USM Foundation to fund a perpetual undergraduate scholarship program in polymer science and engineering at USM.

This donation was a direct result of the broad recognition of our polymer program within the coatings industry, due in large part to the Waterborne Symposium, said Storey.

Juliane P. Santos, Research and Development Specialist at Oxiteno, will be deliver the keynote address: Sustainability Guiding New Developments in the Coating Industry.

Santos received her bachelors degree in chemistry at UNESP in Sao Paulo.

She completed her masters and Ph.D. studies on Langmuir Blodgett-Films at University of Sao Paulo. She did her postdoctoral on synthesis, structure, and properties of latexes at University of Campinas and she has been working in latex field for 20 years.

In her current position at Oxiteno, Santos responsible for developing surfactants for emulsion polymerization. She has published more than 10 papers in international journals and has 10 granted patents.

Oxiteno is a Brazilian multinational manufacturer of surfactants and chemicals. The company develops and supplies raw materials to industries in over 30 sectors including cosmetics, personal care, household cleaning and industrial, agrochemicals, paints, and varnishes.

To learn more about the Waterborne Symposium, visit: https://www.waterbornesymposium.com/
Pope departs for his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan

Pope Francis sets off on his 40th Apostolic Journey abroad to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan for an ecumenical pilgrimage centred on peace and reconciliation, marking his 5th Apostolic Journey to Africa.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis has departed on his 40th Apostolic Journey abroad to the African nations of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Pope Francis aboard the papal flight

The ITA-Airways papal flight left Rome's Fiumicino International Airport at 8:29 AM local time Tuesday morning, carrying the Pope and more than 70 journalists. The flight is scheduled to arrive at Ndjili International Airport in the DRC's capital of Kinshasa around 3 PM local time.

Closeness to migrants, refugees, and the fallen

On Tuesday morning, before leaving his Vatican residence at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis met with about ten migrants and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, who are supported, along with their families, by the Jesuit-run Centro Astalli in Rome. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Charity, accompanied the group for their visit with the Pope.

Upon arriving at the airport, the Pope's car stopped briefly near the Monument to the 'Fallen of Kindu,' as the 13 Italian airmen killed in Congo on 11 November 1961 are known.



The Holy Father dedicated a prayer to the victims of that massacre and to all those who lost their lives participating in humanitarian and peace missions, before proceeding toward the papal plane.

Pope Francis prays for the fallen

When the Holy Father lands in Kinshasa, he will be received by a welcoming ceremony.

The Pope will then pay a courtesy visit to President Felix Tshisekedi, and address the country's authorities, civil society, and diplomatic corps.

At the completion of this Journey on Sunday, marking the Pope Francis' fifth visit to Africa, he will have visited 60 countries since the start of his pontificate.

In 2015, he went to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, and in 2017 visited Egypt. Then, in March 2019, he made an Apostolic Journey to Morocco, and later to Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius in September 2019.

Long-desired Journey

The Pope was forced to postpone this visit to DRC and South Sudan, originally scheduled for July 2022, due to intense knee pain.



At the time, the Holy Father sent the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to both countries on his behalf, expressing his disappointment to have been unable to make the trip, as well as his great desire to travel to both nations as soon as possible.

For years, Pope Francis has expressed his strong desire to travel to predominantly-Christian South Sudan, but the unstable situation in the country, along with the pandemic, complicated plans for a visit.

In April 2019, the Pope hosted a spiritual retreat in the Vatican for the political leaders and ecclesiastical authorities of South Sudan.

At the retreat in the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope knelt at their feet and begged them to work for peace and to be worthy fathers of their nation.

Ecumenical pilgrimage

The Holy Father will first visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, from 31 January to 3 February.

Pope Francis is traveling to DR Congo in the footsteps of Pope St. John Paul II, who visited the nation in 1980 and 1985.

The Pope will then spend three days in South Sudan on an ecumenical pilgrimage for peace with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, before returning to the Vatican.

Some 20% of the worlds Catholic live on the African continent, and that percentage is increasing.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees speaks about the far-reaching refugee crises in DRC and South Sudan, two nations waiting to welcome Pope Francis, and about lessons learnt by Europe in dealing with Ukrainian refugees. He also describes the "moral booster" he received from Pope Francis whom he met in the Vatican on Monday morning.

By Linda Bordoni

Speaking to Vatican Radio immediately after a papal audience on Monday morning, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees commented on the Holy Father's upcoming apostolic journey to two African nations where millions of people have been forced to flee violence, and spoke of the need for a common and just legislative model to guarantee the respect of human dignity for all.

After having been received in audience by Pope Francis, Filippo Grandi said the Popes personal encouragement provided him with a much-needed energy recharge after a heart-breaking visit to Ukraine.

Listen to the full interview with Filippo Grandi

As always, a meeting with Pope Francis, Filippo Grandi said, is immensely inspiring. Especially for someone like himself, whose job entails dealing with so many desperate situations: Desperate for people and desperate in political terms, because they seem to have no issue most of the time.

To spend a few minutes with the Holy Father recharges you and gives you new energy, as he recommended me to have: to face the challenges ahead, which are many all over the world!

This meeting came on the heels of having spent six days in devastated Ukraine, Grandi added: So I did need that moral booster.

Grandi visits Saltivka in Kharkiv, Ukraine

The voice of the Pope

The UN refugee chief expressed his firm belief that Pope Francis tireless appeal to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate our brothers and sisters on the move is phenomenally important in so many ways, and beyond the Church, [...] globally.

For example, he continued, the upcoming trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to South Sudan, which was discussed during the papal audience, provides the occasion to remind the world that there are conflicts that are largely forgotten, and that when you have a huge crisis - a high profile crisis like Ukraine - that forgetfulness increases somehow.

So it's important that the Pope goes, at this time, to those areas where people suffer tremendously because of conflict, violence, especially violence against women.

A South Sudanese refugee in refugee camp in White Nile State

Humanitarian awareness

It is also important, Grandi said, that he reminds the world that the consequences of these conflicts need to be dealt with. That means humanitarian responses need to be supported.

We struggle to raise funds for eastern Congo, one of the most beleaguered regions in the world.

And then, he said, it is important that the Pope encourages peace efforts, because very often they are not sufficiently supported internationally, and therefore they linger for years without much result, as we have seen, certainly in eastern Congo, and to an extent, on and off around the South Sudan conflict as well.

As mentioned, both these countries pose significant challenges to humanitarian organizations that work with migrants and refugees because of the sheer number of people who are displaced and fleeing violence in both nations.

UNHCR

UNHCR operates together with other UN agencies, NGOs, and civil society groups in DRC and in South Sudan, notwithstanding the danger for officials and aid workers.

These are among two of the most dangerous areas in the world, Grandi said.

I think, unfortunately, the South Sudan humanitarian operation has the highest death rate of humanitarian workers of any situation in the world.

So, he continued, we look to this [papal] visit to highlight this important aspect.

An internally displaced person at the UNHCR refugee camp in Bushagara, DRC

The vicious circle of violence and displacement

Another issue Grandi said he discussed with Pope Francis regards the vicious circle of violence and displacement.

Forced displacement is not only a consequence of these conflicts, and of other conflicts as well, it becomes a factor.

As we have seen with the recent tensions between Rwanda and Congo, he explained, it becomes a factor that needs to be addressed.

People are victimized, are impacted in many different tragic ways.

Learning the lesson

Grandis mandate and vision are much broader than tackling refugee issues in specific areas. UNHCRs mission, international outreach, and presence mean having to deal with a lack of common policies and political diversity in an increasingly polarised and divided world.

Asked what his hopes are for the year to come, he reflected on the lessons garnered from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Describing the situation in Ukraine as a terrible tragedy, the High Commissioner noted that the fact that such a huge number of Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed and offered shelter and assistance has led to comments by some regarding double standards and discrimination towards migrants and refugees from other regions.

It is true, he said, that Ukrainians have been treated very well and that this is not the case, always, with other people from other nationalities.

But I try to see this from the positive side, Grandi continued, noting that important lessons have been learnt: Temporary protection, access of refugees to services, to the job market, freedom of movement.

Refugee children from Ukraine in Hungary

All of this, far from being a complication for States has been an advantage, has made receiving refugees much more efficient and humane. And that's also because States in Europe in particular, have worked together.

Reflecting on how it is inevitable that people will continue to migrate, Grandi said the response Europe has had for Ukraine has created a model along lines that we've been advising governments to follow for many decades.



On this theme, Grandi concluded, he discussed the Global Compact for Migration with the Pope and said they agreed it is the way to go.

Working together so that receiving refugees remains respectful of who they are, whatever their eventual status.

Because, he reiterated, that is not only humane, it is also effective.

It's possible to be humane and effective. This is the lesson we've learned. And this, I hope, is a prospect for the future.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. ("Changan Automobile"), one of the major Chinese automobile groups, is likely to see its 2022 annual net profit attributable to shareholders zoom up 105.49%-144.9% from a year earlier.

According to the announcement issued on Tuesday, Changan Automobile anticipated an annual net profit belonging to shareholders of 7.3 billion yuan-8.7 billion yuan ($1.081 billion-$1.288 billion), significantly rising from the net profit of 3.552 billion yuan ($526.127 million) earned in 2021.

After deduction of non-recurring profit and loss, the groups annual net profit is estimated to be 3.9 billion yuan-5.3 billion yuan ($577.598 million-$784.941 million) in 2022, which should zoom up 135.97%-220.67% over a year earlier.

Photo credit: Changan Automobile

Basic earnings per share for the year of 2022 are projected to be 0.74 yuan-0.89 yuan ($0.11-$0.13), versus the 0.36 yuan ($0.053) for the year-ago period.

Changan Automobile said the robust year-on-year growth in its annual net profit resulted from the continued improvement in the profitability of its self-owned brands businesses. Nevertheless, its major joint ventures faced a substantial decline in investment return last year as their business scale and benefits were largely affected amid the corporate strategic transition period.

In the year 2022, Changan Automobiles annual auto sales amounted to 2,346,151 vehicles in total, edging up 1.98% year on year.

Last year, auto sales of the automakers wholly-owned brands summed up to 1,874,569, rising 6.83% year over year. As to the groups joint ventures, Changan Ford and Changan Mazda sold 251,019 vehicles and 104,032 vehicles last year, respectively, which reflected a subsequent 17.61% and 21.43% slip year-on-year.
France and Australia have agreed to join forces to produce thousands of artillery shells to help Ukraine push Russian forces out of its country. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong are in Europe for talks with key allies.

French and Australian officials say several thousand 155 millimeter artillery shells will be manufactured jointly by French arms supplier Nexter, while Australia will supply the gunpowder. The first supplies are expected to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of April.

The announcement was made Monday at a joint news conference in Paris by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles.

Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraines war effort.

It has supplied missiles and Bushmaster armored personnel carriers. A group of up to 70 Australian defense force personnel has also been stationed in Britain to help train Ukrainian troops.

Australia also has sweeping sanctions on Russia  the most severe Canberra has ever imposed on a foreign government.

Marles told reporters Paris and Canberra are standing in solidarity with Ukraine.

We wanted to act together as a statement about how importantly Australia and France regard the support of Ukraine in the current conflict," he said. "Both of us have supported Ukraine separately in other ways, but we wanted to make it really clear that Australia and France do stand together in support of Ukraine in the face of this Russian aggression.

Also attending the media briefing in Paris were French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.

While support for Ukraines effort to repel the Russian invasion have dominated bilateral talks, Paris and Canberra have also sought to ease diplomatic tensions.

Ties between the countries took a serious hit in 2021 when Canberra abandoned a French submarine contract in favor of American nuclear submarines, as well as joining the trilateral security alliance with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS.

Marles and Wong are also due to hold talks this week with British government ministers.
Azerbaijan said on Monday it was suspending work at its embassy in Iran, days after a gunman stormed the mission, killing one guard and wounding two others.

Iran has said the attack on Friday was motivated by personal reasons, but Baku labeled it an act of terrorism.

"The operation of Azerbaijan's embassy in Iran has been temporarily suspended following the evacuation of its staff and their family members from Iran," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayxan Hacizada told Agence France-Presse.

"That doesn't mean that diplomatic ties had been severed," he said, adding that Baku's consulate general in the Iranian city of Tabriz was "up and running."

In a phone call on Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he hoped "this violent act of terror would be thoroughly investigated."

Tehran's police said the attacker, who was arrested, was an Iranian man married to an Azerbaijani woman.

The United States condemned the "unacceptable violence" and urged a prompt investigation. Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow was "shocked" by the attack.

Iran is home to millions of Turkic-speaking, ethnic Azeris, and it has long accused Azerbaijan of fomenting separatist sentiment inside its territory.

Relations between the two countries have traditionally been sour, with the former Soviet republic a close ally of Iran's historical rival Turkey.

Tehran also fears that Azerbaijani territory could be used for a possible offensive against Iran by Israel, a major supplier of arms to Baku.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday for talks with his counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, aimed at boosting "strong cooperation" in several areas between the two countries.

Lukashenko landed in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare, for a two-day visit and was greeted by Mnangagwa and thousands of ruling party supporters.

The two countries are close allies of Russia. Belarus has backed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, while Zimbabwe has claimed neutrality and refused to condemn Moscow.

The two leaders plan to meet on Tuesday. The talks are aimed at strengthening "existing excellent relations" in areas such as politics, mining and agriculture, Zimbabwe's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The visit is historic, as it is the first such undertaking to a sub-Saharan African nation, by President Lukashenko," the ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. He was reelected in 2020 in a highly contested vote that was widely denounced as a sham, resulting in mass protests. Lukashenko's government cracked down violently on demonstrators, arresting more than 35,000 people and brutally beating thousands, according to The Associated Press.

Mnangagwa's reign has been shorter, coming into power in 2017 after the leader of the previous 37 years, Robert Mugabe, was forced to resign because of numerous human rights violations. Mnangagwa has faced similar controversies.

Both leaders have been accused by rivals and the West of being corrupt and limiting free speech by stifling dissent, accusations that Lukashenko and Mnangagwa have denied.

Some information from this report came from Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.
The death toll from Mondays suicide bombing attack of a mosque in northwestern Pakistan has risen to at least 100 people.

More than 150 others were wounded in the bombing in central Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Rescuers were still pulling victims out of the rubble Tuesday. The explosion was so powerful that the roof of the building collapsed.

The victims were mostly members of the provincial police force, as the mosque was frequented by security and government officials. The attack occurred during traditional afternoon prayers.

Police officials would not immediately discuss the nature of the attack, saying an investigation was underway.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the suicide mosque bombing in Peshawar, an official statement said in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, leader of the main opposition in Pakistan, also denounced the bombing, calling it a terrorist suicide attack in a Twitter post.

It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism, Khan said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the blast as "abhorrent" Monday through his spokesman.

No one has taken responsibility for the deadly bombing.

The Pakistani province borders Afghanistan and has experienced repeated terrorist attacks in recent months. Most of the violence in the past is claimed by the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, known as the Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani Taliban, in a statement released to media outlets, including VOA, said it did not carry out Mondays deadly attack.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Richard Green contributed to this report.
Pakistan is facing a severe economic crisis. Prices of staples like food and fuel are skyrocketing. The country must repay billions in external debt, but its foreign reserves are so low it can barely afford to buy a few weeks' worth of imports. As the government tries to revive stalled talks with the International Monetary Fund to unlock much-needed assistance, Sarah Zaman looks at how delaying reforms has brought Pakistan to the brink of economic disaster.
The Somali government has sent thousands of military recruits to nearby countries for training to strengthen the army for its war against al-Shabab militants, according to the national security adviser for the Somali president.

In an exclusive interview on January 26 with VOA Somali, Hussein Sheikh-Ali said Somalia has sent 3,000 soldiers each to Eritrea and Uganda in the past few weeks. He said an additional 6,000 recruits will be sent to Ethiopia and Egypt.

"We want to complete making 15,000 soldiers ready within 2023," Ali told VOA in the one-on-one interview in Washington where he met with U.S. officials to seek more support for Somalia.

The news comes as a report by the Mogadishu-based think tank Heritage Institute for Political Studies (HIPS) cast doubt that the government will meet its December 2024 deadline to have 24,000 soldiers ready to assume security responsibilities when troops from the African Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) are scheduled to leave.

"This timetable is ambitious because the Somali security services are unlikely to be fully autonomous by then, nor is it likely that al-Shabab will have been militarily defeated," the report said.

"The deadline and the fact the army is in a war while at the same time they are being rebuilt  we argue it's a tight deadline," said Afyare Elmi, executive director of HIPS and the report's coauthor. "It will be difficult to meet."

The report noted that in November, the Somali government asked ATMIS to delay the first drawdown of 2,000 soldiers by six months, from December 2022 to June 30, 2023.

Ali said the delay was requested because the troops Somalia is expecting to take over from ATMIS are in training abroad. He also said the government doesn't want to disrupt military operations against al-Shabab in central Somalia, as the areas ATMIS troops would vacate will have to be taken over by Somali forces.

The Somali government recently brought home most of the 5,000 soldiers who were trained in Eritrea. Ali defended the decision to send more recruits there, calling the plan "transparent." He said the government is ahead of its training schedule.

He said the government will have 24,000 troops trained and fully equipped by next year.

"There is no reason for ATMIS to stay or to continue to stay in Somalia," he added.

Ali also made a bold prediction that the government will defeat the militant group by next summer.

"Our ... primary goal is that in the summer of 2024, before June or July, that there will be no al-Shabab person occupying a territory in Somalia. You can note that down," he said.

Financial challenges

The Somali army, working with local clan militia, succeeded in taking several towns and villages in central Somalia from al-Shabab in 2022.

Despite these successes, Somali security forces have other challenges, including financial constraints, and capability and training gaps, the HIPS report said.

The Somali parliament recently approved its biggest-ever budget for 2023 at $967 million, but domestic revenue is very low, and two-thirds of the budget comes from external support. That budget allocates $113 million for the national army.

"To date, the Somali authorities alone cannot afford the army they want," the report said.

Elmi said building an army without a budgetary plan could result in an unsustainable situation.

"An army is more than paying a salary. So many expenses come with it," he said.

"We have only emphasized sustainability. We are not specifying a number. We are saying they must be affordable. That affordability is coming from the capacity of the state."

Capability gaps

The report said ongoing military operations highlighted two major capability gaps for the Somali National Army (SNA). It says the troops suffered from many casualties over the years from improvised explosive devices, lack of equipment and armored personnel carriers, and a shortage of explosive ordnance disposal teams.

The report said Somali army units trained by the United States, known as Danab (Lightning), and Turkey, known as Gorgor (Eagle), are now "reasonably well equipped," but the regular army units are only marginally better equipped than the Ma'awisley, the local clan militias supporting government forces.

"This inequality is so pronounced that officials now talk about the SNA being effectively two armies  one that is mobile, and one that is largely stationary," the report says.

The report also highlights struggles in generating and deploying "hold" forces that can stabilize newly recaptured areas.

"There is an important difference between pushing al-Shabab forces out of areas and holding them long enough to deliver a real peace dividend to the local inhabitants," it said.

The report further said al-Shabab made stabilization efforts much harder by destroying schools, medical facilities, wells and other important infrastructure.

Security and intelligence experts say it's the responsibility of other government agencies such as police, intelligence and regional paramilitary forces to relieve the army in stabilizing recovered territories.

"To hold the areas seized, to defend themselves and to go forward and seize more territory is difficult for them, both quantity and quality," said Brigadier General Abdi Hassan Hussein, a former intelligence officer and former police commander of Puntland region.

Hussein said the capacity of Somali soldiers has been affected by a decades-long international weapons embargo on Somalia. He said the United Nations and other stakeholders must look into the issue.

"If the stakeholders do not play a role in this fight and it fails, [peace] will be far away," Hussein said.

Al-Shabab strategy

Al-Shabab is unwilling to fight the government's war. It wants to fight its own war and is trying to draw the government into its war, experts on the militant group said.

The militant group has been using an older strategy to withdraw from territories as government forces and local militias approach. But the group's fighters are not going far, according to former al-Shabab official and defector Omar Mohamed Abu Ayan.

"They are not defending the towns, which they used to do," said Abu Ayan. "Instead of moving further away, they are hovering around in the forests nearby the towns, and then they send suicide bombers back into the town."

Abu Ayan also said al-Shabab started withdrawing its money from banks after the government froze funds and shut down hundreds of accounts suspected of having links to the group.

"They developed hostility towards the banks," he said. "They also called the companies and businesses and asked them to give the money they were supposed to pay them several years in advance, so that they can accumulate more money. They have also reduced their expenses."

The Somali government announced that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is hosting the heads of states from the "front-line" countries of Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti this week to discuss the war against al-Shabab. Defense ministers and army chiefs from the four countries met in Mogadishu on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's summit.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens upcoming trip to Beijing does not mean the United States is heading toward a substantial change in its relationship with the Peoples Republic of China, according to U.S. analysts.

Blinken would be the first top U.S. diplomat to visit Beijing since 2018.

Meanwhile, officials from the two countries are preparing for another in-person and pull-aside meeting between their leaders this year, according to a U.S. official who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity.

But expectations are low that Blinkens meetings with senior PRC leaders would result in large deliverables or reset the fraught relationship between the two countries.

I dont think there should be many expectations that were going to see anything significant breakthroughs for the trip, said Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

I also dont think thats a bad thing, given how far the relationship has deteriorated over the last five years, Blanchette told reporters during a telephone briefing on Monday evening.

This month, Blinken told an audience at University of Chicagos Institute of Politics that open lines of communication can put guardrails on U.S.-China ties amid rising tensions, adding temperature has been lowered after then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan in August of 2022.

President Joe Biden last met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the G-20 Summit in Bali last November.

India will host this years G-20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. The U.S. will host this years Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Summit in San Francisco in November.

Russia's Ukraine invasion

February 24 of this year will mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The United States said it has been very clear to PRC about the implications of providing security and material support to Russias war against Ukraine.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a Chinese company  Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co. LTD, also known as Spacety China  for providing satellite imagery of Ukraine to support the Kremlin-linked mercenary Wagner Group's combat operations for Russia.



Spacety Chinas Luxembourg-based subsidiary also was sanctioned.

U.S. officials and China watchers have said Russias war on Ukraine would be on the agenda during Blinkens meetings in Beijing.

The debate over Chinas policy toward Russia and Ukraine within China is one of the most contentious issues that I encountered when I was there, said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at CSIS, who spent six weeks in China last fall. A lot of people inside China in the expert community think that the Chinese made a strategic blunder.

But in public, PRC officials stick with Beijings policy position and narrative.

The U.S. is the one who started the Ukraine crisis and the biggest factor fueling it, said Mao Ning, a spokesperson from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

PRC visas

The Beijing government has suspended all 10-year multiple entry visas for Americans issued before March 26, 2020, when Beijing stopped issuing visas because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This runs counter to a reciprocal agreement that China made with former President Barack Obamas administration, according to Dennis Wilder, professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University. Wilder served from 2009 to 2015 as senior editor of the U.S. presidents Daily Brief.

Wilder told VOA that Blinken likely will press PRC officials to have the suspension lifted because it affects many Chinese Americans, as well as business and educational exchanges.

For its part, the PRC government said it will continue to adjust measures according to its pandemic situation and facilitate the recovery of international people-to-people exchange.

A spokesperson said the Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in the U.S. can issue free of charge a new two-entry, six-month valid visa to the applicants who hold a multi-year, multi-entry visa issued before March 26, 2020, that has been suspended. But visas for tourism and medical treatment in China are excluded.

While Americans can apply for new PRC visas, the extensive private information required in the visa application could be used against applicants or to pressure overseas dissent, said experts.

The current PRC visa application requires private information of applicants spouse, parents (even deceased) and children, such as their date of birth, country of birth, nationality, address and occupation. It also asks if applicants parents are in China.

In comparison, information of an applicants family members is optional in the previous four-page visa form.

There also is additional requirement for visa applicants who were born in Taiwan or Hong Kong to provide documents with their original names in Chinese characters, such as for their birth certificates.

PRC authorities are looking for vulnerabilities of overseas Chinese Americans, because such information can be used as a leverage to pressure applicants families living in China, said Wilder, citing examples of several Chinese American reporters who left the mainland China because of this type of pressures.

I would be worried filling out all that information, Bonny Lin, director of China Power Project at CSIS, told VOA.

It would not be uncharacteristic of what we've seen in terms of the overall trend in China, in which China wants to have better control and increased surveillance on all activities within its border, she said.

Asked if such private information provided by U.S. officials traveling to China can be used as a form of political intelligence, Lin agreed.

Definitely yes, because they are collecting that information for use, she said.

For PRC nationals applying for U.S. non-immigrant visas, while applicants are required to provide their family information, the requirement is not as extensive. Also, the U.S. does not ask for specific and private information about visa applicants children.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to provide comments to VOA. A spokesperson from the PRC Embassy did not address questions regarding concerns over family information required in the visa application.
Pope Francis on Tuesday is expected to land in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa's largest predominantly Catholic country, for a landmark three-day visit.

Here are five things to know about this vast nation:

Mineral wealth, dire poverty

The Democratic Republic of Congo is awash with minerals and precious stones, from gold, diamonds and coltan to tin, copper and cobalt.

Harboring the Congo River  the second-largest in Africa after the Nile  the Democratic Republic of Congo also has huge hydroelectric potential, as well as 80 million hectares (197 million acres) of arable land.

But decades of war and chronic mismanagement means that little of the country's enormous wealth trickles down to the population of some 100 million people.

About two-thirds of the Congolese population survive on under $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.

Ethnic mosaic

Occupying a vast area the size of continental western Europe, the Democratic Republic of Congo is about 80 times larger than its former colonial power, Belgium.

It is the second-largest state in Africa after Algeria.

Some 250 different ethnic groups live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking hundreds of different languages.

French is the country's official language, and local tongues Kikongo, Lingala, Tshiluba and Swahili are also officially recognized.

Despite its size and diversity  the former province of Katanga tried to secede in the 1960s  there is a fierce sense of national unity.

Troubled east

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been ravaged by brutal conflicts in recent decades. The first Congo war, between 1996-1997, resulted in the overthrow of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

The second Congo war, between 1998-2003, sucked in nine different countries, involved about 30 armed groups and caused millions of deaths according to some estimates. It also bankrupted the country.

Most of the Democratic Republic of Congo is now at peace, but its mineral-rich eastern provinces remain plagued by dozens of armed groups and civilian massacres are common.

Secular, religious

Secularism has been enshrined in the Congolese Constitution since 1974, which also recognizes freedom of worship.

According to estimates, about 40 percent of the country is Catholic, 35 percent Protestants of various denominations, nine percent Muslims and 10 percent Kimbanguists  a Christian movement born in the Belgian Congo.

Official Vatican statistics put the proportion of Catholics in the DRC at 49 percent of the population.

Atheists are exceedingly rare in Congolese society, which remains deeply religious and influenced by the church. During the colonial period, education was entrusted to Catholic missionaries.

Rumba, survival

Congolese people are renowned for their sense of humor and resourcefulness in the face of trying conditions.

Many jokingly refer to "Article 15" of the constitution, which purports to instruct citizens to sort things out themselves.

Music also plays an outsize role in the country's culture. UNESCO listed Congolese rumba as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in December 2021.

Congo is also famed for its so-called sapeurs  dandies known for their ultra-elegant clothing and sense of style.
As the World Health Organization celebrates World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day January 30, the Atlanta-based Carter Center is marking continued progress in the fight against Guinea worm infections. VOA's Kane Farabaugh has more on how countries in Africa are working to rid the world of the parasite once and for all.
China says it is deeply concerned over reports that the United States is moving to further restrict sales of American technology to Huawei, a tech company that U.S. officials have long singled out as a threat to national security for its alleged support of Beijings espionage efforts.

As first reported by the Financial Times, the U.S. Department of Commerce has informed American firms that it will no longer issue licenses for technology exports to Huawei, thereby isolating the Shenzen-based company from supplies it needs to make its products.

The White House and Commerce Department have not responded to VOAs request for confirmation of the reports. But observers say the move may be the latest tactic in the Biden administrations geoeconomics strategy as it comes under increasing Republican pressure to outcompete China.

The crackdown on Chinese companies began under the Trump administration, which in 2019 added Huawei to an export blacklist but made exceptions for some American firms, including Qualcomm and Intel, to provide non-5G technology licenses.

Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden has taken an even more aggressive stance than his predecessor, Donald Trump. Now the Biden administration appears to be heading toward a total ban on all tech exports to Huawei, said Sam Howell, who researches quantum information science at the Center for a New American Securitys Technology and National Security program.

These new restrictions from what we understand so far would include items below the 5G level, she told VOA. So 4G items, Wi-Fi 6 and [Wi-Fi] 7, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and cloud capabilities as well.

Should the Commerce Department follow through with the ban, there will likely be pushback from U.S. companies whose revenues will be directly affected, Howell said. Currently Intel and Qualcomm still sell chips used in laptops and phones manufactured by Huawei.

Undercutting the revenue of these technology companies, which reduces R&D budgets and can lead to layoffs, must be carefully balanced by clear national security gains, said Paul Triolo, senior vice president for China and technology policy lead at the business advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group.

In the current climate of U.S.-China relations, that balancing act is being abandoned in favor of viewing technology transactions between the U.S. and China as largely zero sum, he told VOA.

Huawei and Beijing have denied that they are a threat to other countries national security. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning accused Washington of overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress Chinese competitors.

Such practices are contrary to the principles of market economy and are blatant technological hegemony, Mao said.

China has in the past held back on trade retaliations on U.S. actions targeting Huawei, Triolo noted.

Any actions China would take now targeting the foreign business community would not align with moves towards opening up after zero-COVID policies were dropped, and portraying China as now more open for business, he said.

Outcompeting Chinese tech

The latest U.S. move on Huawei is part of a U.S. effort to outcompete China in the cutting-edge technology sector.

In October, Biden imposed sweeping restrictions on providing advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to Chinese companies, seeking to maintain dominance particularly on the most advanced chips. His administration is rallying allies behind the effort, including the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan  home to leading companies that play key roles in the industrys supply chain.

U.S. officials say export restrictions on chips are necessary because China can use semiconductors to advance their military systems, including weapons of mass destruction, and commit human rights abuses.

The October restrictions follow the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which Biden signed into law in August and that restricts companies receiving U.S. subsidies from investing in and expanding cutting-edge chipmaking facilities in China. It also provides $52 billion to strengthen the domestic semiconductor industry.

Beijing has invested heavily in its own semiconductor sector, with plans to invest $1.4 trillion in advanced technologies in a bid to achieve 70% self-sufficiency in semiconductors by 2025.

TikTok a target

TikTok, a social media application owned by the Chinese company ByteDance that has built a massive following especially among American youth, is also under U.S. lawmakers scrutiny due to suspicion that it could be used as a tool of Chinese foreign espionage or influence.

CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23 to testify about TikToks consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms impact on kids, and their relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.

Lawmakers are divided on whether to ban or allow the popular app, which has been downloaded onto about 100 million U.S. smartphones, or force its sale to an American buyer.

Earlier in January, Congress set up the House Select Committee on China, tasked with dealing with legislation to combat the dangers of a rising China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting his Chinese counterparts next week in Beijing, the first visit by an American Secretary of State since 2018, to maintain open lines of communication amid rising U.S.-China tensions.
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

BAIC Group, BTL team up on chassis, auto body, intelligent driving businesses

On Jan. 31, BAIC Group and Bethel Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd. (BTL) signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement to step up the collaboration in such fields as chassis, car body, and intelligent driving.

Photo credit: BAIC Group

Li Autos CEO reveals Li L5 will not be a SUV

The Li L5, a yet-to-be-launched mid-sized model to be priced between 200,000 yuan and 300,000 yuan, will not be a SUV, according to a post on the Weibo account of Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto.

Ganfeng LiEnergy closes new funding round

Chinese investment firm CMG-SDIC Capital Co., Ltd. announced on Jan. 30 it had already completed the investment in Jiangxi Ganfeng LiEnergy Technology Co., Ltd. (Ganfeng LiEnergy), a subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium. The proceeds will be used to help Ganfeng LiEnergy step up R&D and industrialization of solid-state batteries.

Geelys premium EV brand likely to unveil third model at Auto China 2023

Geely Auto Group on Monday released several photos of the third model under ZEEKR, its premium electric vehicle brand, via its twitter account.

According to some local media outlets, the fire new model will ride on the Geely's SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) electric vehicle platform, and has the siblings of the Volvo EX30 and the smart #1.

Changan Automobile forecasts three-digit YoY surge in 2022 full-year net profit

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. ("Changan Automobile"), one of the major Chinese automobile groups, is likely to see its 2022 annual net profit attributable to shareholders zoom up 105.49%-144.9% from a year earlier.

Ganfeng Lithiums 2022 annual net profit expected to soar up to 320.78% YoY

Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. ("Ganfeng Lithium"), one of the world's leading producers of battery-grade lithium, announced on Monday it was expected to score a year-on-year hike of 244.27%-320.78% in its 2022 annual net profit attributable to shareholders.

Chinese intelligent driving solution provider Freetech completes Series B+ financing round

On January 31, Chinas intelligent driving solution provider Freetech announced the completion of its Series B+ financing round.

Huaweis automaking partner SERES Group expects 2022 annual revenue to double YoY

On January 30, SERES Group, Huaweis car-making partner previously known as Chongqing Sokon Industry Group, announced it projects an annual net loss in the year 2022.

Chinas Zhejiang province eyes annual NEV production volume of over 1.2 million units by 2025

East China's Zhejiang province expects its annual production volume of new energy vehicles (NEVs) to surpass 1.2 million units by 2025, according to a document issued by the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission on Jan. 29.
Ukraines government said Tuesday that a human rights report detailing numerous cases in which Ukrainian forces deployed banned anti-personnel mines will be duly studied by the competent authorities of Ukraine.

Ukraine fully implements its international obligations while Russian occupants commit the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide of the Ukrainian people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response to a Human Rights Watch report that provides multiple detailed accounts that Ukraines military launched the weapons against Russian military positions in the fierce battle for the eastern city of Izium last year.

The report raises questions about Kyivs credibility and intentions as NATO allies pour billions of dollars worth of aid and weapons into Ukraine as the Russian invasion nears the one-year mark.

They may get some very difficult questions from the people who've been supplying them with other types of weapons about their ability to use them in a way consistent with international humanitarian law, Steve Goose, director of the arms division at Human Rights Watch, told VOA ahead of the reports release. That office of the rights watchdog promotes humanitarian disarmament. The rights group is calling for an investigation in Ukraine

VOA asked the White House for its response to the report, specifically, whether such allegations would affect the Washington-Kyiv relationship and whether the U.S. will support an investigation.

We welcome the Government of Ukraines announcement it will investigate these allegations, and we appreciate Ukraine reaffirming its commitment to respect its obligations and commitments under international law, an NSC spokesperson said. The official declined to be named, as is common practice when the White House briefs reporters.

Human Rights Watch also reported that Russia has engaged in irresponsible, systematic, and widespread use of explosives, including anti-personnel landmines, which have caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and injured and killed thousands of Ukraines civilians, the official added.

George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told VOA that the allegations are unlikely to hurt the strong relationship between Kyiv, Washington and NATO. But he said they complicate the Wests straightforward narrative of the conflict in the formerly colonized parts of the world that are often collectively known as the Global South.

I doubt that this will have much of an impact on the Wests belief that it needs to continue to support Ukraine against Russia in this war, he said. Where it might have more of an impact is in other parts of the world  in the Global South, which is, I think, much less prone to seeing this war as a fight between good and evil, and much more a war that involves shades of gray, in which both sides have done things that the Global South regards as questionable. And I think this is likely to reinforce that perception in the Global South that Ukraine is not an unalloyed white knight in this battle.

Between April and September, residents told researchers, rockets launched from Ukrainian-held territory scattered thousands of Soviet-era PFM-1 butterfly mines over Russian military facilities in Izium, which Russian forces entered in April. The Ukrainian counteroffensive started in September, and their swift victory over the strategically important railway hub was seen by some military analysts as a turning point in the conflict.

Researchers in Izium, a city in Ukraines Donbas region, spoke to health care workers and counted 11 civilian deaths caused by mines, and 50 wounded civilians. Half of those cases involved amputations of the foot or lower leg  a common injury caused by anti-personnel mines. At least five of the wounded were children.

Russias Foreign Ministry had previously accused Ukraine of using the Soviet-designed mines, which were banned in 1997 under the Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, signed in Canadas capital. Ukraine has also accused Russia of using banned munitions.

On numerous occasions, Human Rights Watch has accused Russia of using other types of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine and of committing a number of atrocities, including kidnapping and torture, during their occupation of Izium.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines told VOA that the next steps are clear, as are the implications.

States Parties to the (Mine Ban) treaty should urge Ukraine authorities to immediately conduct an investigation to determine who deliberately used or ordered the use of these weapons as they may be criminally liable, representatives of the global advocacy group told VOA in a written statement on behalf of the group. Landmines are indiscriminate weapons which cannot differentiate between civilians and military, their use may constitute a war crime.

Ukraine inherited more than 6 million of these mines after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 2021, Ukraine reported to the United Nations that it had 3.3 million mines still in stock, awaiting destruction.

The bright green plastic weapons have two wings that stretch out over 11.9 centimeters  or about the width of a childs cupped hands. They weigh, on average, 75 grams  the same as a medium apple, banana or pear. By design, the mines cannot be disarmed; they must be detonated or destroyed.

Those alluring attributes, Goose told VOA, disguise the mines danger.

They [mines] can't tell the difference between a soldier and a civilian, he said. They go on killing and injuring people long after wars are over. They require a huge effort to try to get rid of them, to demine them and to help the victims. They're despicable weapons that have done nothing but cause harm, and those victims are almost always civilians rather than military personnel.

After being notified by Human Rights Watch in November, Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk did not directly respond to questions about whether his forces used the banned mines but wrote to the rights group, Ukraine is a reliable member of the international community, and it fully commits to all international obligations in the sphere of mine usage. This includes the non-use of anti-personnel mines in the war.

The U.S. has previously had a conversation about the responsible use of weapons in Ukraine. In the early months of the conflict, Washington obliged Kyivs request for an undisclosed number of Claymore munitions, which are American-designed plastic anti-personnel mines.

The way theyre constructed is they [Claymore munitions] have to be manually triggered by an operator, so they are not subject to the Ottawa Convention, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told VOA in June, referring to the Mine Ban Treaty.

But when fitted with a tripwire firing system, the Vietnam War-era weapons can be victim-activated, which is a violation of the Ottawa Treaty.

A senior administration official also told VOA in April that the issue was specifically discussed.

We asked the Ukrainians, and they assured us they would remain command-operated in order for us to agree to do that and to ensure it is compliant with the Ottawa Treaty, which Ukraine has been compliant with, said the official, who asked not to be named, as is common when briefing reporters on background.

These are Ukrainians who are defending their own country and their own territory, the official added.

These concerns come amid the backdrop of what appears to be a renewed Ukrainian push, as the war appears poised to enter its second year. Earlier in January, the U.S. obliged Ukraines request for armored vehicles, agreeing to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.

Kyiv is now calling for American-made F-16 fighter jets.

On Monday, VOA asked President Joe Biden if the U.S. would send the planes.

No, he said.

Iuliia Iarmolenko contributed to this report.
Two years after Myanmars military seized power in a coup, data on the state of journalism in the country reveals a dire picture.

More than 130 journalists have been arrested, with dozens still detained; at least 10 outlets were forced to shutter; four reporters were killed, two of them while in custody; and the countrys press freedom ranking plunged 36 spots on a global index.

In interviews with VOA in the past two years, journalists have spoken about the risks they take daily to keep covering events in the country and how the restrictions limit their ability to provide news to their audiences.

But if you ask the military regime for its view, it says the media are the fourth pillar of nation building, in accordance with the countrys press law.

Myanmar is currently one of the worst jailers of journalists globally. But military spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun told VOA those imprisoned are arrested for violating laws and not for their reporting.

The journalists themselves know, I think, the question of whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities to the public, he said.

If you work as a journalist, we have already given you a guarantee, Zaw Min Tun said. [But] if they do something that violates the provisions of the terrorism law, we must take action against the journalists and the media. I would like to say that we only look at the crimes committed by the news media."

Myanmar is currently detaining more than 70 journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Among them is VOA contributor Sithu Aung Myint, who is serving 12 years in prison with labor, after an arrest in August 2021.

RSF and other organizations tracking arrests say most journalists are accused of having discredited the military or violating new laws related to incitement. Some are charged under counterterrorism laws for contacting groups such as the National Unity Government of Myanmar or the Peoples Defense Force that the junta has designated as terrorist groups.

The current environment makes it difficult for journalists to work, and as a result, the right of access to information is diminishing.

There is no way for media to stand in the country, neither as an agency nor as an individual journalist, said Nathan Maung, founder and editor-in chief of the news website Kamayut Media. Even holding a mobile could be dangerous.

Maung, an American journalist of Burmese descent, was jailed for 98 days in 2021 after authorities raided his Yangon-based newsroom.

After his release, he recalled to VOA how he was blindfolded, beaten and accused of being the enemy of the state before finally being released.

Two years on, media are limited in their ability to gather information, and journalists are taking risks to keep reporting, Maung told VOA.

Journalists are paying a huge price with lessons learned, facing challenges to stand up to cover news. There is no press freedom at all. We lost our freedom of expression. Our vision is to rebuild the independent media.

The difficulty in accessing reliable news since the February 1, 2021, coup was raised by a veteran journalist, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.

"Most media [have] turned into propaganda mode, which, the journalist said, is useless for the audience.

The opportunity to get professional news is lessened. It has become a situation where everyone is responsible and does not bear any accountability, the journalist told VOA. There are consequences to covering the news under the current circumstances.

With the risk of arrest or even being killed, the quality of news has declined. The media itself is not in a position to do the job well, the journalist added. I see it as a detriment to the audience."

One reporter, who requested anonymity for fear of safety, recounted being arrested and questioned about coverage. Even after being released, the journalist said it is hard to continue because they and their family are under strict surveillance.

"I was working as a dedicated journalist all my life. When I was released, I wanted to resume my work as a journalist, but the news media is not there in the country, the reporter said. I didn't want to be accused of committing crimes. I felt like I was always being watched. My family was not safe. I had to work discreetly as a reporter because I didn't want to give up my passion as a journalist.

RSF has said that in the past two years anti-journalist terror has grown in Myanmar, and the military crackdown on media has escalated steadily in every respect.

The country ranks a lowly 176 out of 180 countries on the RSF press freedom index, where 1 signifies the best environment for media.

RSF has been constantly appalled by the figures it has been compiling for the tragedy in Myanmar, said Daniel Bastard, head of RSFs Asia-Pacific desk, in a prepared statement. The entire country has been subjected to an implacable repressive machine. The prison sentences passed on journalists keep getting longer. All this has but one goal: to prevent the world from knowing what is happening under Myanmars generals.

The junta has pledged to hold elections but outlined limitations on parties planning to run, the Reuters news agency reported.

A spokesperson for the United Nations general secretary flagged concerns on Monday concerning the militarys stated intention to hold elections amid intensifying aerial bombardment and burning of civilian houses, along with ongoing arrests, intimidation and harassment of political leaders, civil society actors and journalists.

Without conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to freely exercise their political rights, the proposed polls risk exacerbating instability, the spokesperson said in a statement.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also cautioned that elections could lack credibility under the current restrictive environment.

Noting in a statement that "press freedom conditions in Myanmar have deteriorated drastically" since the coup, CPJ's senor southeaster representative Shawn Crispin said, The junta's stated intent of restoring democracy through elections will lack credibility as long as Myanmars beleaguered press continues to live under fear and repression.

This story originated in VOAs Burmese Service.
In a photograph posted on an Instagram page with almost 15,000 followers, a little girl smiles brightly, her hands folded and pressed together in a common Indian greeting gesture. She sits on an elaborate throne decorated with roses. Dressed in a pastel pink outfit, diamond jewelry and a tiara, she looks like the daughter of any affluent Indian family  enjoying a Disney Princess-themed birthday party, perhaps.

The caption dated January 17, however, spells a different story: Antim Vidai Samaroh  The Final Farewell Ceremony.

The next day, the eight-year-old girl, Devanshi Sanghvi gave up her multi-hued clothes and the worldly life of an heiress to Sanghvi and Sons, a multi-million-dollar diamond business based in the Indian city of Surat in Gujarat.

In the ceremony titled Divya Diksha Danam or The Divine Brilliance Initiation Donation  also chronicled on the Instagram page, Devanshi was dressed in white cotton robes, still grinning for photos. It was almost as if she was not completely aware of what entailed: she would now live as a nun, eat only what she received in alms, avoid using any kind of technology, not bathe, and even give up all her familial relations.

Devanshi comes from a family following Jainism, one of the oldest religions in the world  originating in India.

With around 4.5 million followers all over the globe, renunciation of worldly life is not uncommon among Jains. The induction of a child as young as eight into nunhood, though, is mostly unheard of.

Devanshis guardians have come under scrutiny from several child rights activists and mental health professionals.

Valavan V.S., a child rights professional based in Chennai, told VOA he strongly believed Devanshis decision to become a nun was heavily influenced by her parents and other adults around her.

This cannot be the sole decision of an eight-year-old child, as it is being claimed. Even if she has made the decision herself, it cannot be amused or encouraged as she is too young, he said.

The Instagram page highlighting Devanshis journey seemed to be aware of potential criticism even before news about her becoming a nun was made public. A video dated December 25, 2022, addressed several concerns in Hindi smattered with English.

Armed with visuals and animation, it claimed that Jain children who became nuns and monks would have access to nutritious food, specialized education, healthcare and adult mentors.

The video also claimed that Devanshis was not an imposed decision, but one that the child had taken out of her own volition.

Opposing the claims made by Devanshis social media handlers, Nilima Mehta, a professor and child protection consultant in Mumbai, explained, The consent of a child anyone under eighteen  is not considered consent in law. A child Devanshis age is not cognitively or emotionally matured enough to make an informed decision.

In a poignant video posted on January 4, Devanshi can be heard speaking in childlike Hindi mixed with English. In the video, where she talks about a letter she wrote for her mothers birthday, she says, I realized that this is going to be my last birthday with my mother. So, my gift to her is going to be my Diksha (initiation into nunhood).

In another Instagram video, Devanshi reveals how people kept asking her if she was sure about the Diksha. She added that she feared the adults around her would cancel the ceremony, refusing to let her become a nun.

Anindita Chatterjee, a child psychologist based in Kolkata, told VOA, It is evident that Devanshi is not aware of the hardships of a Jain nuns life. This decision can have an adverse effect on her mental health, too, once she becomes cognizant of the realities of the harsh world she is about to face.

The human mind is complex and prone to changes. There have been cases of children who became nuns and monks, only to run away later when they were old enough to think for themselves, she said.

Valavan V.S. blamed the child protection system of India for failing to take any action regarding Devanshis case.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) clearly states that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child should be the primary focus. If you look at this case from this perspective, the decision taken by an eight-year-old child could be considered void and adults who are supporting this must be brought into the legal circle, he said adding, however, that the District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) have done nothing to protect Devanshis rights.

The DCPUs, CWC and NCPCR are government agencies in India responsible for the protection of the rights of children at different levels.

Ironically, the caption of a video on Devanshis Instagram page says it all, describing her as a girl who was happy singing, dancing, playing with her sister and having fun with her family.

A professor of Jainism explained the theological aspect of children taking up monkhood.

According to Jain sacred scriptures, an eight-year-old childs mind is developed enough to make their own decisions, said the professor who asked not to use her name due to the sensitive nature of this issue. At that age, one attains the state of Atmanubhuti  knowing oneself through their own knowledge. Through this, the child learns to differentiate between the self and the other.

The professor further explained the eleven stages of sacrifice.

In the eleventh stage, the person can give up their birth family and home. If she now wishes to abandon worldly life including her parents, she has to ask her parents and Guru (spiritual teacher) for permission, who gauge if her wish for tyag (sacrifice) is strong enough, the Jainism professor told VOA.

This will surely bring fame to Devanshis family, alongside criticism. But only time can tell what the childs final destination will be, Kolkata-based Chatterjee said.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Anindita Chatterjee as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a child psychologist.
Kenyan state prosecutors are charging a suspected lover of LGBTQ activist Edwin Kipruto, known as Edwin Chiloba, with his murder.

Chiloba's body was found in a metal box on the side of the road earlier in January, sparking fears of a hate crime. However, Kenya's state counsel, Anthony Fedha, told a court Tuesday that investigators have gathered evidence linking Chiloba's lover, Jackton Odhiambo, to the death.

Odhiambo, a freelance photographer, appeared in Eldoret town Tuesday to face murder charges. He has not yet entered a plea.

Odhiambo appeared alongside other suspects who were freed after prosecutors established that they were not associated with the killing.

''For the second to fifth respondents, we have no evidence to continue having them in custody; they can be released, save for the second, third and fourth respondent we still require them to report at the DCI Eldoret once a month for three months to record further statements,'' Fedha said.

The DCI is the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Many members of Kenya's LGBTQ feared Chiloba was targeted for his sexuality and activism.

However, according to the Associated Press, investigators have determined the murder was not a hate crime. AP reports that investigators believe the murder was linked to a love triangle.

Kenya's chief government pathologist, Johansen Oduor, said Chiloba, a 25-year-old model and fashion designer, had been smothered to death. The murder attracted global attention.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price urged Kenyan authorities to thoroughly investigate the case.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in Russias war on Ukraine. All times EST.

11 p.m.: The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it had no indication that U.S. funds had been misused in Ukraine and said it would continue to work closely with Ukrainian authorities to ensure appropriate safeguards were in place to avert corruption, Reuters reported.

It was the Treasury's first comment on the issue after Ukraine's government last week dismissed a slew of senior officials in the country's biggest political shake-up of the war following corruption allegations.

The World Bank has disbursed more than $13 billion to Ukraine through its Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, as of December, much of it coming from the United States.

PEACE funds are disbursed to Ukrainian authorities a month after bank officials have verified that they have paid salaries to teachers and civil servants and pension payments, which helps safeguard against problems.

The bank last month told Reuters it is working with Ukraine to improve its already well-regarded E-Government Procurement System called ProZorro, adding that digital system would help ensure transparency, integrity and ease of access.

10 p.m.:

9:25 p.m.: Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko has joined Ukraine's fight against IOC plans to let some Russians compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, The Associated Press reported.

The former heavyweight champion suggested in a video message published Monday that sports leaders will be accomplices to the war if athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus can compete at the next Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee set out its preferred path last week for Russians and Belarusians who have not openly supported the war to qualify for Paris and compete in 18 months' time as neutral athletes with no flag or anthem. Qualifying events would likely be in Asia.

That softening of the IOC advice given last February  that sports bodies should exclude Russia and Belarus from international events  provoked anger in Ukraine, which warned it could boycott Paris.

Klitschko's elder brother, Vitali, is the mayor of Kviv and also a former heavyweight champion.

8:49 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will discuss Ukraine's latest requests for advanced weaponry to defend against Russia with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Agence France-Presse reported.

"We're going to talk," Biden told reporters, speaking the morning after he answered with an emphatic "no" when asked at the White House whether he favored sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Ukraine, where the Russian invasion is now approaching the one-year mark. A coalition of other Western countries is also sending arms, ranging from rifles to armored vehicles and artillery.

Most recently, the United States and Germany agreed to send advanced tanks, following the earlier lead of Britain.

Now, Ukraine is pressuring for fighter jets and long-range missiles that could hit Russian targets far behind the front lines.

8:14 p.m.: Ukraine's prime minister said a Ukraine-European Union summit will take place in Kyiv on Friday, as the war-torn country battles to repel the Russian invasion, Agence France-Presse reported.

"The Ukraine-EU summit will be held in Kyiv on February 3," Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a government meeting on Tuesday, calling the event "extremely important" for Kyiv's bid to join the European bloc.

"The fact that this summit will be held in Kyiv is a powerful signal to both partners and enemies."

No details were provided on who would be attending on the European Union side.

The Ukrainian prime minister said that another key event will take place on Thursday, when consultations between the government of Ukraine and the European Commission will take place "for the first time in our history."

Ukraine gained EU candidacy status in June last year.

7:47 p.m.: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Republican lawmakers on Tuesday, pressing the United States to sustain aid to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia's assault.

Johnson spoke with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican, in his office and is scheduled to speak at a private Republican club in the evening, said Representative Joe Wilson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Johnson is also scheduled to meet with a group of Republican senators, said U.S. Senator Todd Young, though he said he was unaware of the exact timing.

McCarthy's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Johnson, who left office in September following a series of scandals, was prime minister when Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

7:16 p.m.: United Nations experts on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by government forces and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali, Reuters reported.



Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, have previously said Russian forces in the West African country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.



Western powers say the Russian forces in Mali include Wagner Group contractors.



Wagner Group has attracted international attention over its prominent role in fighting during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Washington last week designated Wagner as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread human rights abuses.

6:26 p.m.: A court in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg has sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for throwing Molotov cocktails at a military conscription center in the Siberian autonomous district of Khanty-Mansi, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.



The Central Military District Court identified the man as Vladislav Borisenko.



It is the first time an arson attack against a military conscription center was classified as a terrorist act. There have been dozens of such attacks since Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.



5:52 p.m.: One person was killed and three were injured in a suspected Russian missile strike on a residential building in the center of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine late on January 29. Rescuers say they found the body of an elderly woman in the rubble. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.



5:21 p.m.: Following Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year, Britain trumpeted new legislation requiring property-ownership disclosure aimed at cracking down on Russian oligarchs and corrupt elites laundering illicit wealth, Reuters reported.



Foreign companies holding UK property have until the end of Tuesday to identify their beneficial owners in a new public register, making Britain one of the first countries to do so. But a Reuters analysis of government data found that the people behind thousands of U.K.-property owning foreign companies remain veiled in secrecy.



Only four Russian nationals under British government sanctions appeared on the register as of Tuesday morning. They were: Vladimir Potanin, one of Russias wealthiest businessmen; Igor Shuvalov, Russia's former first deputy prime minister, and his wife; and Alexander Frolov, the former chief executive officer of Evraz, a Russian steel and mining company.



Absent from the register as of Tuesday morning were some sanctioned Russians who have been linked to UK properties, including Roman Abramovich.



4:54 p.m.: Ukraine protested to Hungary's ambassador on Tuesday over "disparaging" comments made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and urged Budapest to stop what it called anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, Reuters reported.



The envoy was summoned by the foreign ministry after its spokesperson said last week that Orban had told reporters Ukraine was a no man's land and compared it to Afghanistan.



Ambassador Istvan Ijdjarto was delivered "a strong protest in connection with the recent disparaging statements of the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban," the ministry said.



4:18 p.m.:

3:58 p.m.: Former U.S. Navy SEAL Daniel Swift, who was killed fighting for Ukraine, was commemorated in a memorial service in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Tuesday, Reuters reported.



Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who attended the service, said on Facebook that Swift had fought for Ukraine's International Legion, and earned an award during his service.



"Sincere condolences to the family and eternal memory to the defender," Sadovyi wrote.



According to a statement by the U.S. Navy, Swift deserted from the U.S. military in 2019, and was killed while fighting in Ukraine on Jan. 18.



3:16 p.m.:

2:30 p.m.: The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory, Reuters reported.



The treaty came into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.



The two countries, which during the Cold War were constrained by a tangle of arms control agreements, still account together for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads.



Washington has been keen to preserve the treaty but ties with Moscow are the worst in decades over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an element that could complicate attempts by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to maintain and reach a follow-on agreement.

2:15 p.m.:

2:00 p.m.: Swedens government should act differently if it wants to clinch Turkish support for its bid to join NATO, Hungarys foreign minister said Tuesday. He added that a recent Quran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm was unacceptable, The Associated Press reported.

Peter Szijjarto made the remark at a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Hungarys capital Budapest. Both diplomats addressed the Jan. 21 anti-Turkish protest that increased tensions between Ankara and Stockholm as Sweden seeks Turkeys approval to join the NATO military alliance.

As a Christian and as a Catholic, I must say that burning of a holy book of another religion is an unacceptable act, Szijjarto said, and criticized a statement by Swedens prime minister that while the burning of the Quran was inappropriate and deeply disrespectful, it fell under Swedish freedom of speech protections.

The meeting in Budapest came as Turkey and Hungary remain the only two NATO members that havent approved bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. The northern European neighbors which share a border with Russia dropped their long-standing military neutrality and sought NATO membership in response to Moscows war in Ukraine.

1:45 p.m.:



1:30 p.m.: Poland aims to get training time on Leopard 2 battle tanks down to five weeks at a center where Ukrainian soldiers are likely to be taught how to operate the Western battlefield workhorse against Russia's invasion, Reuters reported.



The village of Swietoszow in western Poland, near the German border, hosts one of just three Leopard training centers in Europe - the others are in Germany and Switzerland.

1:15 p.m.:



1:00 p.m.: Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Olympics due to Moscow's invasion, the sports minister said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.



The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is open to including Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals at the 2024 Games and has opened a door to them competing in qualifiers.



"This is unacceptable for us," Sports Minister and former Olympic champion Vadym Huttsait told Reuters at his offices in Kyiv, beside a wall with portraits of athletes killed in the war launched by Moscow a year ago with assistance from Belarus.



"It is impossible for us at a time when the full-scale war is going on, when our athletes, our soldiers are defending our homeland, our land, defending their homes, their families, their parents."



At least 220 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died in the war, Huttsait said, with over 340 sports facilities damaged or ruined.



12:50 p.m.:



12:40 p.m.: Human rights researchers say theyve documented numerous cases in which Ukrainian forces fired banned anti-personnel mines at Russian military positions in the fierce battle for the eastern city of Izium last year, VOAs White House correspondent Anita Powell reported.



A report, released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch and including multiple, detailed accounts by researchers, raises questions about Kyivs credibility and intentions as NATO allies pour billions of dollars worth of aid and weapons into Ukraine as the Russian invasion nears the one-year mark. The rights group is calling for an investigation in Ukraine.



On numerous occasions, Human Rights Watch has accused Russia of using other types of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine and of committing a range of atrocities, including kidnapping and torture, during their occupation of Izium.



The International Campaign to Ban Landmines told VOA that the next steps are clear, as are the implications. States Parties to the (Mine Ban) treaty should urge Ukraine authorities to immediately conduct an investigation to determine who deliberately used or ordered the use of these weapons as they may be criminally liable, representatives of the global advocacy group told VOA in written a statement on behalf of the group.



After being notified by Human Rights Watch in November, Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk did not directly respond to questions about whether his forces used the banned mines, but wrote to the rights group, Ukraine is a reliable member of the international community, and it fully commits to all international obligations in the sphere of mine usage. This includes the non-use of anti-personnel mines in the war.



The U.S. has previously had a conversation about the responsible use of weapons in Ukraine.

12:30 p.m.:



12:10 p.m.: The United States on Tuesday put new trade restrictions on seven Iranian entities for producing drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing the U.S. Department of Commerce.



The firms and other organizations were added to a U.S. export control list for those engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.



The additions to the Commerce Department's "entities list" were posted in a preliminary filing in the U.S. Federal Register, the government's daily journal, and will be officially published on Wednesday.

11:55 a.m.:



11:40 a.m.: France said on Tuesday it will send 12 additional Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and has discussed training Ukrainian pilots to fly French fighter jets as part of military assistance to Kyiv in the war with Russia, Reuters reports.



Speaking after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov in Paris, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France will also send 150 army staff to Poland to train up to 600 Ukrainian soldiers per month there.



France's position when it came to supplying arms to Ukraine was that it should not weaken France's own defense capacity, that it should be useful and practical to help Kyiv in the war with Russia and that the weapons be used only by Ukraine to defend itself, Lecornu said.



Training Ukrainian pilots to fly fighter jets was "part of our discussions but no decision has yet been taken on that issue," he added.



11:25 a.m.:

11:10 a.m.: Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that his country is willing to offer more assistance to close ally Russia in its war against Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. But Lukashenko stressed that Russia does not need any help right now.

However, if our Russian brothers need help, we are always ready to offer such assistance, he said on a state visit to the southern African nation of Zimbabwe  which is also close to Russia.

Lukashenko was speaking through a translator in a brief response to a question on whether his country is under pressure to step up its support for Russia in the nearly yearlong war against Ukraine. Lukashenko did not specify what that help would entail.

Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of its invasion from its territory last February and has also been a launching pad for Russian missiles into Ukraine. But Belarus hasnt committed any of its troops to the war.

Russia and Belarus have engaged in joint military exercises on Belarusian territory this month and Ukraine says it has maintained forces along its border with Belarus to fend off any potential invasion. The Pentagon says that it hasnt seen any Russian troop movement in Belarus that would indicate an imminent attack.

10:50 a.m.: Ukrainian civilians come under shelling as they attempt to flee from Russian attacks in the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, in a video posted online by foreign volunteers. Also, correspondents visit trenches 100 kilometers southwest -- where Russian forces have also been testing the Ukrainian lines. Current Time, a co-production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA, has this report.



10:35 a.m.: Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had repelled Russian attacks on a road near the eastern town of Bakhmut, preventing Moscow gaining control of an important Ukrainian supply line.



Russian troops have been unable to cut off the road leading from the town Chasiv Yar to Bakhmut, military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty said in televised comments.



"Russian troops could not cut off the road which is used for supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian army in Bakhmut is supplied with everything necessary," he said.



He said Bakhmut remained one of the main focuses of Russian attacks, including artillery strikes and infantry assaults.



Earlier on Tuesday, Russia said its forces had taken control of Blahodatne, a small village just north of Bakhmut.



Reuters was not able to independently verify battlefield accounts by either side.



Ukrainian troops, the Russian military and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group have been locked for months in a fierce battle of attrition in the Bakhmut area.



10:10 a.m.:



9:50 a.m.: Ukraine will receive 120 to 140 Western tanks in a "first wave" of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.



Kyiv secured pledges from the West this month to supply main battle tanks to help fend off Russia's full-scale invasion, with Moscow mounting huge efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine.



"The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks," Kuleba said during an online briefing.



He said those tanks would include the German Leopard 2, the British Challenger 2 and the U.S. M1 Abrams, and that Ukraine was also "really counting" on supplies of French Leclerc tanks being agreed.



Kuleba gave no timeline for any of the deliveries. Time will also be needed for training with the tanks.

9:35 a.m.: Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country needed more weapons to repel Moscow's forces because Russia has stepped up attacks.



He wrote on Twitter Tuesday that "systematic shelling of frontline cities, accumulation of ordnance, redeployment of troops, additional forced mobilization surely do not indicate RFs (Russia's) readiness for peace."



"These are direct signs of significant escalation. Therefore, weapons, weapons & more weapons for Ukraine," he wrote.



Podolyak also said on Twitter that without more weapons for Ukraine, the war could spread further in Europe.

9:20 a.m.: Russia will begin checks for weapons and explosives in cars in regions of the country with a high terrorist threat level, according to a presidential decree published on Tuesday, Reuters reported.



The decree, published on the government's legislative portal, said that "inspections of vehicles using technical means for detecting weapons and explosives" would begin in regions where "a level of terrorist threat has been confirmed."



The Russian government has since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine designated a "yellow" level terrorist threat, which corresponds to confirmed information about a planned terrorist act, in a number of regions that border or are nearby Ukraine.



Russian officials have repeatedly described artillery and air strikes against Russian territory as "terrorism" by Ukraine. Kyiv has traditionally neither confirmed nor denied its role in strikes on Russian territory.



9:05 a.m.:

8:55 a.m.: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with Republican lawmakers this week as he presses the United States to sustain aid to Ukraine as it fights off Russia's assault, Reuters reported.



Johnson is scheduled to speak at a private Republican club in Washington on Tuesday evening, said Representative Joe Wilson, a member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also scheduled to meet with a group of Republican senators, said U.S. Senator Todd Young on Monday, though he said he was unaware of the exact timing of the talks.



On Wednesday, Johnson will discuss the need for "Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses" at the Atlantic Council think tank.



8:40 a.m.:



8:25 a.m.: Britain does not believe it is practical to send its fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday, after Kyiv indicated it would push for such Western planes.



The U.K.s ... fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine, the spokesperson told reporters. We will continue to discuss with our allies about what we think what is the right approach.



8:10 a.m.:

7:50 a.m.: Ukraines push for fighter jets to help beat back Russias invasion force risks straining the unity of Ukraines Western allies, amid fears that the move could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war, The Associated Press reported.



Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris Tuesday where discussions about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine was expected to be on the agenda.



Kyiv officials have repeatedly urged allies to send jets, saying they are essential to challenge Russias air superiority and to ensure the success of future counteroffensives that could be spearheaded by tanks recently promised by Western countries.



There was no indication that a decision on warplanes to Ukraine might come any time soon and no sign that Western countries have changed their earlier stance on the issue. Ukraines allies also have ruled out providing Kyiv with long-range missiles able to hit Russian territory, signaling a similarly cautious stance on warplanes.



Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be building up their arsenals for an expected offensive in coming months. The war has been largely deadlocked on the battlefield during the winter.



Asked about Lithuanias call for Western countries to provide Ukraine with fighter jets and long-range missiles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comments reflected an aggressive approach taken by the Baltic nations and Poland, who are ready to do everything to provoke further escalation without thinking about consequences.



7:35 a.m.:

7:20 a.m.: Russia said on Tuesday that calls by the president of Lithuania to supply Ukraine with fighter planes highlighted the "extremely aggressive position" of the Baltic states and Poland, and that "major European countries" should counterbalance their stance, Reuters reported.



Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Monday that NATO should stop drawing "red lines" and should supply Ukraine with whatever weapons it needed, including fighter jets and long-range missiles.



Asked about those comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "In general, we see an extremely aggressive position from representatives of the Baltic countries and Poland. They are apparently ready to do anything to provoke the growth of further confrontation, with little regard for the consequences."



He added: "Of course, it is very sad that under these conditions the leaders of major European countries, who drive all European processes, unfortunately do not play a balancing role."



7:05 a.m.:



6:55 a.m.: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida pledged on Tuesday to strengthen ties, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its growing military cooperation with China had created the most tense security environment since World War Two, Reuters reported.



The comments came in a statement issued during Stoltenberg's trip to Japan following a visit to South Korea on which he urged Seoul to increase military support to Ukraine and gave similar warnings about rising tension with China.



"The world is at a historical inflection point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II," the two leaders said in the statement.



It also raised concerns about Russia's nuclear threats, joint military drills between Russia and China near Japan, and North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.



Stoltenberg told reporters a Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden China at a time when it is building up its military, "bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan."

6:40 a.m.: A large Russian force has advanced hundreds of metres in a major new assault on a Ukrainian-held bastion in southeastern Ukraine this week, though it is unlikely to force a significant breakthrough there, Britain said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.



Russian officials claimed the advance had secured a foothold in the coal-mining town of Vuhledar. Kyiv has acknowledged heavy fighting there but says it has repelled the push so far while inflicting heavy losses on the attackers.



In an intelligence update offering rare battlefield detail, the British ministry said Russia was attacking the town with a force at least the size of a brigade, a unit normally comprising several thousand troops with a full range of capabilities.



So far, the Russians had likely advanced from the south several hundred meters beyond the Kashlahach River, which it said had marked the front line for months. The small river flows on the edge of the town of Pavlivka, about 2 kilometers south of Vuhledar.



6:25 a.m.:

6:10 a.m.: Finnish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic unions will quit a global media federation on Tuesday in protest at "corruptive activity," including most recently allowing Russian state media journalists in Ukraine to stay as members, the Finnish union said according to Reuters.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents 600,000 journalists in 146 countries, calls itself "the global voice of journalists," many of whom strive to reveal corruption and wrongdoings.

It denounced the accusations as "false, defamatory and damaging."

The Nordic members accused the IFJ of longstanding undemocratic practices, unethical finances and of allowing the Russian state media representatives to continue as members.

"We call this corruptive activity," Hanne Aho, the chairwoman of the Union of Journalists in Finland, told Reuters.

"We have decided to resign together with the Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic unions. We will hand in our letters of resignation on Tuesday."

Aho said the Nordic unions had for years tried to raise problems internally within the IFJ, with their latest disappointment being the IFJ not taking action against the Russian Union of Journalists for setting up regional journalists' associations in Ukrainian territories invaded by Russia.

"They have been able to do so in all tranquility without the international federation expelling the Russian union," Aho said.

The IFJ said its executive committee had triggered a formal process for suspending and expelling the Russian Union of Journalists. It said expenditure was formally audited every year, adding that it had sought to answer all questions posed by the Nordic unions.

"We entirely reject what are false, defamatory and damaging allegations," IFJ Deputy General Secretary Jeremy Dear told Reuters in an emailed response.

5:30 a.m.: According to Reuters, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had met with newly arrived U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy and they had discussed arms control.

5:05 a.m.:

4:40 a.m.: A Russian court on Tuesday fined streaming service Twitch 4 million roubles ($57,000) for failing to remove what it said were "fakes" about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Reuters cited the Interfax news agency as reporting.

Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms' distribution of content that falls foul of its restrictions, with Russian courts regularly imposing penalties.

4:10 a.m.: Russia's Gazprom said it will ship 24.5 million cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, a volume in line with recent days, according to Reuters.

3:30 a.m.: Ukraine's foreign ministry criticized Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as "unacceptable" Reuters reported.

Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. In remarks on Monday detailing his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic said it was "clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine."

"We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

3:05 a.m.:

2:20 a.m.: Russia and Belarus have started a week-long session of staff training for the joint command of their regional grouping of forces, the Belarusian defense ministry said on Tuesday.

The training is part of preparation for joint drills the two countries will hold in Russia in September, the ministry added in its statement, Reuters reported.

1:50 a.m.: Russian forces have likely conducted attacks around the Ukrainian towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar in the past three days and may be aiming to develop a new axis of advance into Donetsk, Britain said in a regular intelligence update on Tuesday.

"There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector," the update added.

"However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough."

1:32 a.m.: NATO will continue to strengthen its partnership with Japan amid the ongoing Ukraine war, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday during a visit to Japan, where he will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Reuters reported.

"The war in Ukraine matters for all of us, and therefore we're also very grateful for the support that Japan is providing, using also the planes and the cargo capabilities," Stoltenberg said during a brief speech after surveying the Japanese Self Defense Force's Iruma Air Base.

His trip, which included a stop in South Korea, is aimed at bolstering ties with Western allies in Asia in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.

Speaking in Seoul on Monday, Stoltenberg urged South Korea to increase its military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict following Russia's invasion.

1:05 a.m.: Human Rights Watch published a new report on Tuesday on the alleged use of banned anti-personnel landmines by Ukraine during the Russian invasion. These butterfly mines are about the width of a childs cupped hands and cannot be disarmed; they must be detonated or destroyed.

This is exactly what makes them so dangerous. VOAs White House correspondent Anita Powell had the full report.

12:30 a.m.:

12:01 a.m.: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's bid this week to rally support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion during his first South American tour fell flat, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterating his view both parties shared blame, Reuters reported.

Scholz has sought to project unity on Ukraine during his whistlestop three-day tour, thanking all three countries he has visited  Argentina, Chile and Brazil  for condemning Russia's invasion at the United Nations General Assembly last year.

But the fallout of the war and harsh sanctions on Russia, such as soaring food and energy prices, have hit the region particularly hard, raising questions over the West's approach. Skepticism also abounds about interventionism and sanctions given its own past.

On the final leg of his South American tour, Scholz on Monday became the first foreign leader to visit Lula since his inauguration. Europe is seeking to reset ties with Brazil which were frosty under far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.

In a joint news conference in Brasilia, Scholz said he was delighted by Brazil's return to the world stage. But he grew stony-faced as his fellow leftist leader expounded his views on the Ukraine war.

"I think Russia made the classic mistake of invading another country's territory, so Russia is wrong," Lula told reporters.

"But I still think that when one won't, two won't fight. You have to want peace," he said, adding that he had heard very little from either side about finding a peaceful end to the war.

Lula also said Brazil would not provide ammunition to Ukraine for German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns, as reportedly requested by Germany.

Brazil would work with other countries to help achieve peace in Ukraine, as his country has not taken sides, he said.

China has an important role to play in peace talks, he added, which he will discuss on a planned visit to Beijing in March.
A powerful al-Qaida-affiliated leader in the Sahel has been in secret talks with armed groups in northern Mali that, like him, are fighting militants backed by the Islamic State group, sources close to the meetings said.

The jihadist is Iyad Ag Ghaly, an ethnic Tuareg who heads the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which has been battling the self-described Islamic State (IS) for influence in the Sahel.

He has recently held clandestine meetings in northern Mali, including with leaders of armed groups that have been fighting bloody battles with IS jihadists, the sources said.

They confirmed the talks had taken place but did not comment on mounting speculation that the GSIM would join forces with these groups.

Northern Mali is the birthplace of a jihadist insurgency that has destabilized the entire region and stoked fears that it could spread to countries farther south on the Gulf of Guinea.

Across the Sahel, thousands have died and millions have fled their homes to escape the violence.

"I was received on an individual basis and alone by Iyad Ag Ghaly lkala in the Kidal region last week. Others went in small groups. He said the same thing to everyone, about uniting the sons of the Kidal region," a local leader told AFP, asking not to be identified.

Kidal is a crossroads region in the north that is not under the control of the Malian state but by a coalition of predominantly Tuareg groups called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

The CMA launched a fight for regional independence in 2012 that was joined by jihadists, and which they later fanned into their insurgency.

In 2015, the CMA signed a peace agreement with the Malian government and pro-state armed groups.

Separate forces against IS

Today, the Kidal region is relatively unscathed from the violence sweeping Mali.

But south of the region, in the Gao and Menaka areas, the CMA, pro-state groups and the GSIM have separately been fighting IS for months.

Hundreds of civilians have died and there has been a mass exodus of people fleeing their homes.

The source who met Ag Ghaly said "he paid tribute to the expected amalgamation" of the CMA's diverse groups, which could take place in February.

Ag Ghaly has been considered by many Malian commentators and officials as an unavoidable figure in efforts to end the country's prolonged crisis.

He was in contact with the government years ago, but the question of a dialogue between jihadists and the authorities has been off the political radar since the 2020 coup.

The recent meetings "aren't new," another leader in the north told AFP, saying that Ag Ghaly had always been in touch with powerful men in his region.

Russian 'mercenaries'

Ag Ghaly also met representatives of the civilian populations, telling them of his willingness to "defend Sharia and protect them from the Malian army and Russian mercenaries," a local government official said.

The ruling junta has forged close ties with the Kremlin, bringing in operatives that France and others say are from the Wagner paramilitary group.

Ag Ghaly "wants to impose himself as the uncontested leader of the northern Sahel," said a foreign diplomat, adding that the question was how the junta would respond to "this worrying new landscape."

The 2015 peace agreement has often been deemed crucial to efforts to end Mali's bloodshed, but after much fanfare following its signing, it remains dormant.

In December, the CMA and other groups suspended participation in the deal, blaming what they called the junta's "inertia" in tackling the crisis in the northeast.

An international team is expected to head to Kidal on Wednesday with the aim of reviving contacts over the agreement, diplomatic sources said.
Authorities in Canada continue to discover what may be previously unknown graves of Indigenous children at former residential schools.

The latest discoveries of 66 possible graves are on the site of what was once St. Josephs Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, British Columbia, about a six-hour drive north of Vancouver.

Earlier exploration with the use of ground-penetrating radar found 93 similar impressions last year. So far, only 0.18 square kilometers of the former school grounds have been investigated. This is out of nearly 8 square kilometers.

More than 150,000 First Nations children from the 1830s to as late as 1997 were forced to attend the schools. The schools were designed to forcibly integrate First Nation children into European culture. The institutions were paid for by the Canadian government and run by Catholic and other Christian churches.

So far, thousands of possible unmarked graves have been discovered across Canada. News of undiscovered graves first emerged in May 2021 when the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops, British Columbia, announced it had found 215 possible unmarked graves.

Pope Francis visited Canada last year to apologize for the Catholic Churchs role in how the schools operated.

Willie Sellars, chief of the Williams Lake First Nation, said word of more graves is gut-wrenching news.

You know, we're almost conditioned to take that news and not react, he said. But all of us are continuing to hurt and know how we deal with our emotions and how we deal with our trauma is, of course, different in every single one of us.

Sellars said the schools impact was far-reaching, as students came from 48 First Nations.

He said exhumation might happen in the future but will have to be done in consultation with the different communities. DNA testing would be conducted before returning the remains to families.

Just before the announcement from Williams Lake, the Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation near Kenora, Ontario, announced it had discovered as many as 171 graves near another closed institution, St. Marys Residential School. Only five of the graves are marked.

Chief Chris Skead said because much of the area is undeveloped, hilly and now on private property, ground-penetrating radar will not always be feasible. The next step is to bring in cadaver dogs when the snow clears.

Reason being is they wouldn't be as effective in the wintertime just due to the snow cover, Skead said. But come snow free, we're looking at utilizing  the cadaver dogs to search these heavily wooded areas that are still off site of the former residential school site.

For Angela White, executive director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, the continuing discoveries are no surprise. She said many of the 139 former schools have yet to be examined and that many of them have not had or used ground-penetrating radar.

The numbers are going to continue to grow, she said.

As part of the reconciliation process, the Canadian government has announced a $2 billion ($2.8 billion CAD) settlement to be administered by different First Nation communities whose members attended the schools.
Namibian authorities say poachers killed 87 rhinos last year, almost double the number killed in 2021 in a country that is home to the world's largest free roaming black rhino population. Conservationists say poachers seeking rhino horns for Asian markets are targeting Namibia's commercial farms.

Simson Uri-Khob, chief executive officer of the Save the Rhino Trust, told VOA there have been almost no incidents of rhino poaching in Namibias rhino conservancies for the past 30 months.

He said, however, that poaching is a major concern in the more than 2-million-hectare Etosha National Park and on commercial farms where rhinos serve as tourist attractions. He said the last poaching on the communal land in the conservancies was in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown.

That was the last poaching we had in our conservancy, but poaching is still happening in Etosha and on private land that is where the poachers are targeting now, Uri-Khob said.

Last week, a parliamentary committee on natural resources held a meeting with various stakeholders in the tourism and conservation sectors to discuss the increase in poaching.

The director of wildlife and parks at the Ministry of Environment, Bennett Kahuure, said poachers target the national park because of its size, which makes it hard to protect.

Different syndicates operate in the country targeting rhinos wherever they exist and given a small chance, they will strike and they will strike again, Kahuure said.

Ministry of Environment spokesman Romeo Muyunda said although incidents of elephant poaching have drastically declined over the years, poaching of rhinos remains a major concern.

The ministry has expressed its concern considering the fact that we have recorded 87 rhinos poached in 2022, Muyunda said. This is obviously one of the highest numbers but not the highest number of poaching we have recorded. We have had 43 rhinos recorded in 2020 as well as 45 rhinos in 2021 and 84 rhinos in 2018 and so far, this year only one rhino has been poached.

Poaching has reduced rhino numbers throughout Africa in recent decades and the animal is now considered a critically endangered species.

Namibia has an estimated 800 white rhinos and 1,800 black rhinos.

Muyunda said the country has implemented measures in the national park to combat poachers but declined to give further details so as not to undermine the additional security.
Czech President-elect Petr Pavel vowed Monday to boost his country's ties with Taiwan after holding a phone call with the island's president and foreign minister.

President Tsai Ing-wen congratulated Pavel on his win in Saturday's presidential run-off over the populist billionaire Andrej Babis.

"I thanked her for her congratulations, and I assured her that Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights," Pavel said on Twitter.

"We agreed on strengthening our partnership," added the former general, who served as head of NATO's military committee in 2015-2018.

He said he "expressed hope to have the opportunity to meet President Tsai in person in the future."

The call is likely to anger China, which is trying to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and prevents any sign of international legitimacy for the island.

Beijing claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary.

The Taiwanese presidential office said the call, which Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also joined, lasted almost 15 minutes.

"The president... acknowledged that President-elect Pavel carries on the spirit of former Czech President (Vaclav) Havel who respected democracy, freedom and human rights, under which the republic was founded, and is like-minded with Taiwan," Tsai's office said in a statement.

Havel was the Czech Republic's first president in 1993-2003.

Before Havel became head of state, the anti-communist dissident playwright had in 1989 led the so-called Velvet Revolution, which toppled communism in former Czechoslovakia.

As the Czech Republic's fourth president, Pavel will replace pro-Chinese and pro-Russian incumbent Milos Zeman, whose final term expires in March.

Zeman is currently visiting Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, which has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

In a sign that his foreign policy would vastly differ from Zeman's, Pavel spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the phone Sunday.
A grand jury is hearing evidence in New York over former President Donald Trump's role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

A grand jury could lay the groundwork for possible criminal charges against the former president by the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified before the grand jury, one source told Reuters. Pecker was seen entering the lower Manhattan building where the grand jury is empaneled, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the grand jury on Monday. Pecker could not immediately be reached for comment.

The publisher had offered to help Trump by buying rights to unflattering stories and never publishing them.

The moves are an indication that the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is closer to a decision on whether to charge Trump.

Bragg's office declined to comment on the Times report.

Daniels said she had a sexual liaison with Trump and received $130,000 before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for not discussing her encounter with Trump, who denies it happened and in 2018 told reporters he knew nothing about a payment to Daniels.

Trumps former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in New York for orchestrating hush payments to Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had a months-long affair with Trump before he took office.

McDougal has said she sold her story for $150,000 to American Media Inc., but it was never published. The incident involved a practice known as "catch and kill" to prevent a potentially damaging article from being published.

Pecker, AMIs former chief executive officer and a longtime friend of Trump and Cohen, told prosecutors of their hush-money deals with McDougal and Daniels before the 2016 U.S. election won by Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2018.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On January 31, Chinas intelligent driving solution provider Freetech announced the completion of its Series B+ financing round.

Photo credit: Freetech

Investors of the round include China Communications Construction Blue Fund, Tsari Capital, etc. Notably, the company bagged a strategic financing of roughly US$100 million in November 2022. Added with the fresh B+ round, Freetech has received nearly 1 billion yuan in its entire Series B.

According to Freetech, the proceeds will help the company iterate its high-level intelligent driving technology and products, as well as strengthen commercial applications.

Freetech independently developed the ODIN digital intelligent base solutions and product portfolio, domain control hardware, sensors, autonomous driving algorithm, and data closed-loop system composition. The company has built a full-stack capability to provide complete software and hardware solutions from functional software, middleware, bottom layer to hardware development and design. Freetechs product lineup covers smart cameras, millimeter-wave radars, domain controllers, etc.

At present, Freetech has cooperated with more than 40 auto brands on over 100 cooperative models. The companys products have been deployed by mass-produced models for more than 1 million sets in 2022.
Pope Francis arrives in the Democratic Republic of Congo Tuesday on his first visit to the country with Africas largest Catholic population. Francis will be in the DRC, a country struggling with decades of conflict, until Friday, when he goes to the worlds youngest country, South Sudan. Analysts hope for peace in the region.

Pope Francis arrived Tuesday in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, to begin a six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

The pope brings bring a message of peace and reconciliation to the two countries, which have struggled through years of conflict.

A pastor invited to meet with the pope, who asked to be identified only as Herale, told VOA that he hopes the Pope's message will help end the fighting in the country's east.

He said the Pope is well known both religiously and politically. Congo has numerous problems, squabbles, and conflicts. The pope only needs to say a few words to put an end to the conflict in the east, the pastor says. Francis has the ability to assist the country and bring peace.

The pope meets with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, government officials, diplomats, civil society leaders, and victims of conflict from the east.

On Wednesday, the 86-year-old will also hold a public prayer in Kinshasa.

Pope Francis had planned to visit Goma in North Kivu province, but he canceled his visit because of the resurgence of conflict between the M23 rebel group and Congolese forces.

Researcher and political analyst Ntanyoma Rukumbuzi said the pope will remind the world of the ongoing conflict in the DRC.

Because of security problems affecting civilians in this region, his message was to support and call for attention to atrocities taking place in this region. During his visit, the situation has drastically deteriorated. One can expect his message as it was before would possibly change. He is going to change his tone to emphasize that civilians should be protected, said Rukumbuzi.

In addition to the chronic unrest in several eastern provinces, the DRC is preparing for an election later this year and the prospect of political violence remains a concern.

Rukumbuzi said the pope will speak out about the political situation and upcoming elections.

The Pope will talk about the countrys leadership and what to expect from its leaders, and as it has been mostly the stance of the Roman Catholic in DRC it plays a huge role within the political arena, domestic political arena, but they are also among the vocal critic when it comes to the way the Congolese elite manage the country. The Pope will be very clear on this issue, said Rukumbuzi.

The country's Catholic leadership criticized then-president Joseph Kabila when he postponed elections for more than two years starting in 2016.

The election was finally held in December 2018 and won by the current president, Tshisekedi, in a disputed vote. Tshisekedis term ends this year and polls are expected in December.

Pastor Herale said politicians must prioritize the interests of the country.

"Congo is preparing for elections, and politicians are competing for political positions, but security is poor. He's coming to Congo, which is in a lot of trouble, and we hope he'll be able to convince politicians to speak one language and agree to protect the country," he said.

Pope Francis is scheduled to be in Congo until Friday, when he heads to South Sudan.
Climate activists in South Africa are protesting a refueling stop by a Russian ship that they say is ignoring a ban on exploring oil and gas in Antarctica.

Protest organizers Greenpeace Africa and Extinction Rebellion say the seismic tests the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky has been conducting in Antarctica for the past 25 years are harmful to marine life like dolphins and whales.

They also say that fossil fuels should stay in the ground if the world is to prevent catastrophic global warming.

The ships operator, Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition, a subsidiary of Russias state-owned mineral explorer RosGeo, insists it is not exploring for oil and gas in Antarctica but simply conducting research.

South African environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan isnt convinced and says its vital everyone sees the importance of fighting global warming.

Its incredibly Important from a climate change perspective because the oceans there absorb a lot of the Co2 from the atmosphere but its also part of regulating the worlds climate and, also the currents and the weather system. But its also very much affected by climate change because the ice is melting, he said.

Cormac says its problematic that there isnt a government for Antarctica but instead an agreement signed in the 1950s, called the Antarctic Treaty System, where 29 countries have decision-making powers.

Decisions are made by consensus and over the last years, when they tried to declare more marine protected areas, countries like Russia and China block them so its not really going anywhere, he said.

He says terms of the treaty are only binding on the people whove signed up to them. And he says policing compliance is almost impossible because theres no international police force dedicated to this task.

If there is a big enough dispute, it could be referred to the International Court of Justice. But you know in a situation like this, often countries wont take on another country like Russia because they think Russia may retaliate in other ways, he said.

Cullinan is working on a Declaration for the Rights of Antarctica which environmentalists hope will be launched towards the end of this year or early in 2024. He says among other things, they hope it will make it possible for lawyers to represent Antarctica in courts of law.

Certainly, if you think how important human rights are in the world. Even though you know governments violate rights all the time, just the fact that weve got agreed standards of behavior.

He says a similar rights-of-nature declaration is being worked out for the Amazon rain forest which spreads across several countries.

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, Greenpeace Africa volunteer Elaine Mills says her organization is working on a letter of demand to send to the government.

The one is that Alexander Karpinsky and other vessels like it are not allowed into South Africa. The second is that the Alexander Karpinsky and vessels like it have to prove that they are engaged in genuine scientific research before they are allowed entry into our ports. The third one is that we want the parties to adopt a treaty that no hydrocarbon extraction will ever be allowed within the Antarctic region, said Mills.

Contacted by VOA, the South African Ministry and Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment did not provide comment.

South Africa announced Tuesday that it will host representatives of its partners in the BRICS bloc, namely Russia, China, India and Brazil, in Limpopo province on Wednesday and Thursday.

Naval exercises with Russia and China are also planned in February, a few days before the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine.
Iranian authorities have imposed a travel ban on leading filmmaker Masoud Kimiai, local media reported Monday, after he expressed support for protests that have gripped the Islamic republic for months.

Iran has seen a wave of demonstrations that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an ethnic Kurd, following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women.

"The filmmaker, who wanted to go to the Netherlands on Sunday evening to participate in the Rotterdam film festival, was banned from leaving the airport," the local Tehran daily Hamshahri said on its website.

In a video on September 22, days after the protests broke out, Kimiai had said he was "standing with the people."

Kimiai, 81, is considered a pioneer of modern Iranian cinema, having gained acclaim with his 1969 film "Qeysar," which was released 10 years before the Islamic revolution.

The filmmaker was due to travel to the Netherlands for the screening of his latest film, "Killing the Traitor," a historical melodrama set in 1950s Iran.

The 2022 film, described as a "sepia-tinted melodrama" on the Rotterdam festival's website, tackles the period when then-Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized Iran's oil industry.

Mossadegh was ousted in a 1953 coup orchestrated by London and Washington.

Several high-profile Iranian filmmakers and actors have been questioned or arrested by the authorities after expressing support for the wave of protests.
Britain will announce a plan Tuesday to improve the environment, including a commitment to restore at least 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of wildlife habitat to protect the country's rarest species, from hedgehogs to red squirrels.

The proposals comprise 70 new projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

There are 225 National Nature Reserves in England, with a total area of over 98,600 hectares or about 0.7% of the countrys land surface, according to government data.

The proposals come after the country's nature protection watchdog criticized the government this month for falling far short on its environmental targets.

"Protecting our natural environment is fundamental to the health, economy and prosperity of our country," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Last year he was forced to reverse a decision to skip the COP-27 summit after heavy criticism.

Among the new pledges, the government said it wants to ensure everyone lives within a 15-minute walk from a green space or water.

Other commitments included a promise to restore 400 miles (643.74 km) of river through the first round of landscape recovery projects and establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands along England's rivers.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov visited Paris for talks with French leaders on Tuesday, pushing for fighter jets to help Kyivs fighters fend off Russias nearly year-long invasion.

Ukrainian officials have called on their Western allies to send the jets in order to better respond to the Russian attack, but so far those calls have been met with wariness.

When asked by reporters if France would consider sending fighter jets to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that nothing is excluded but laid out multiple conditions before such a step could be taken. Those included that the equipment would not touch Russian soil, would not lead to an escalation of tensions and would not weaken the capacities of the French army.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday the United States would not supply its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

France, however, has agreed to ship 12 more Caesar truck-mounted howitzers and new air defense equipment to Ukraine to bolster the fight against Russia, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Tuesday in Paris. The artillery pieces add to the 18 already delivered.

The move comes with France yet to commit to sending its main Leclerc battle tanks to Ukraine, after spending weeks pressuring Berlin to supply its Leopard 2 and allow allies to re-export the German-made tanks.

Alongside other Western mobile cannons such as the German Panzerhaubitze 2000, the Caesar was credited last year with helping Ukraine strike targets deep behind Russian lines, undermining Moscow's offensive.

The truck-mounted 155mm guns can fire a highly accurate volley at ranges of up to 40 kilometers and shift position before the enemy can locate them and fire back.

Lecornu said the new batch of howitzers would be delivered "in the coming weeks" and had originally been ordered by Copenhagen. Denmark has also pledged its entire existing 19-strong fleet of the French-made howitzers to the Ukrainian war effort.

Paris will also give Kyiv a Ground Master 200 radar capable of detecting enemy aircraft at distances as far as 250 kilometers, including low-flying drones.

Ukraine won a boost last week when the United States and Germany both promised to send tanks to Ukraine, after Germany hesitated for weeks over sending its advanced Leopard 2 tanks.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba estimated Tuesday that a dozen countries have now promised more than 100 tanks, which he described as the "first wave of contributions."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hinted Monday at the prospect of more upcoming pledges of military support for Ukraine, saying that any activity aimed at strengthening Ukraines defense powers is under consultation with our NATO partners.

Japan, South Korea

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the wider potential effects of Russias invasion of Ukraine as he visited Japan on Tuesday, saying what is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow.

If President Putin wins in Ukraine, this would send a message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force, Stoltenberg told reporters at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Beijing is watching closely and learning lessons that may influence its future decisions.

Stoltenberg also welcomed Japanese sanctions against Russia and significant support for Ukraine.

His visit to Japan came a day after he called for South Korea to send direct military support to Ukraine. The Seoul government is a growing arms exporter and has a well-equipped, U.S.-backed military.

Asked about the possibility of that support Tuesday, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told reporters in Seoul after meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that we are directing our close attention to the situation of Ukraine.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of the coup with curbs on energy officials and members of the junta, among others.

Washington imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises, energy officials, and current and former military officials, according to a Treasury Department statement. Details of the U.S. move were first reported by Reuters.

It marks the first time the United States has targeted Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions program, a Treasury spokesperson said.

Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom also announced sanctions on Tuesday.

Myanmar's top generals led a coup in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system that was created by the military, which led to a decade of unprecedented reform.

The country has been in chaos since, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.

Tuesday's U.S. move targets the managing director and deputy managing director of the state-owned MOGE, which is the junta's single largest revenue generating state-owned enterprise, according to the Treasury statement.

Human rights advocates have called for sanctions on MOGE, but Washington has so far held back from designating the state-owned enterprise.

Also among those designated by Washington was the Union Minister of Energy, Myo Myint Oo, who Treasury said represents Myanmar's government in international and domestic energy sector engagements and manages the state-owned entities involved in the production and export of oil and gas.

Mining Enterprise No 1 and Mining Enterprise No 2, both state-owned enterprises, as well as the Union Election Commission, were also hit with sanctions by the United States.

The military has pledged to hold an election in August this year. On Friday, the junta announced tough requirements for parties to contest the election, including a huge increase in their membership, a move that could sideline the military's opponents and cement its grip on power.

The rules favor the Union Solidarity and Development Party, a military proxy stacked with former generals, which was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2015 and 2020 elections.

The NLD was decimated by the coup, with thousands of its members arrested or jailed, including Suu Kyi, and many more in hiding.

The NLD in November described this year's election as "phony" and said it would not acknowledge it. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.

Washington also targeted former and current Myanmar military officials, the Treasury said, accusing the Air Force of continuing to launch airstrikes using Russian-made aircraft against pro-democracy forces that have killed civilians.

Canada targeted six individuals and prohibited the export, sale, supply or shipment of aviation fuel in its action on Tuesday, while Australia targeted members of the junta and a military-run company.

The United Kingdom designated two companies and two individuals for helping supply Myanmar's air force with aviation fuel used to carry out bombing campaigns against its own citizens.

"The junta must be held to account for their brutal crackdown on opposition voices, terrorizing air raids and brazen human rights violations," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
U.S. Representative George Santos, who has admitted to fabricating much of his resume, told fellow Republican lawmakers on Tuesday he would not serve on committees for now, lawmakers said.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the freshman lawmaker asked if he could recuse himself from his committee assignments while he works to clear up an ethics cloud. McCarthy called it an "appropriate decision."

"The voters have elected him," McCarthy told reporters. "He'll have a voice here in Congress. And until he answers all those (ethics) questions, then at that time, he'll be able to be seated on committees."

The embattled congressman has faced calls from fellow New York Republicans to step down over fabrications about his career and history.

Santos, who announced his decision in a closed-door meeting with fellow Republican lawmakers, has rebuffed calls for his resignation, saying he would vacate his seat only if he loses the next election.

"He just said he recused himself for a while and then he'll come back," Representative Don Bacon told reporters.
The U.S. accused Russia on Tuesday of violating the nuclear arms control START treaty, contending that Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities inside Russia.

The treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control efforts, took effect in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It sets a limit on the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

Together, the two countries still account for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads.

Washington has been trying to preserve the treaty, but ties with Moscow are the worst they have been in decades, the result of Russias invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. The U.S. has led Western allies in supplying munitions to Ukraine to help fend off the Russian attack.

"Russias refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control," the State Department said.

In August, Moscow suspended cooperation with inspections under the treaty. It blamed travel restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies after Russia invaded Ukraine but said it was still committed to complying with the provisions of the treaty.

The State Department said Russia had a "clear path" to comply with the treaty by permitting inspections to continue.

On Monday, Russia told the United States that the treaty could expire in 2026 without a replacement, claiming that Washington was trying to inflict "strategic defeat" on Moscow in Ukraine.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state news agency that it "is quite a possible scenario" there will be no nuclear arms control treaty after 2026.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey warned Americans on Monday of possible attacks against churches, synagogues and diplomatic missions in Istanbul, marking its second such notice in four days, following Quran-burning incidents in Europe.

In an updated security alert, the U.S. Embassy said "possible imminent retaliatory attacks by terrorists" could take place in areas frequented by Westerners, especially the city's Beyoglu, Galata, Taksim, and Istiklal neighborhoods.

Turkish authorities are investigating the matter, it added.

On Friday, several embassies in Ankara, including those of the United States, Germany, France and Italy, issued security alerts over possible retaliatory attacks against places of worship, following separate incidents in which the Muslim holy book, the Quran, was burned in Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark.

On Saturday, Turkey warned its citizens against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe.
The United States and South Korea will increase the pace and scope of joint military exercises, and expand intelligence sharing, in response to repeated and more frequent missile tests by North Korea.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup promised a more resolute response to what they described as Pyongyangs unprecedented level of provocations over the past year.

During a joint news conference following an hour-long meeting at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Austin assured South Korean officials that Washingtons resolve remains firm, and that the Pentagon will use the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear, and missile-defense capabilities to defend its long-time ally.

Austin and Lee also said the two countries would move ahead with new table-top exercises next month, as well as additional exercises and training.

Prior to the meeting, U.S. officials had promised a resumption of joint, live-fire exercises later this year.

Austin said South Korea could also expect more support along the lines of recent U.S. deployments, which included the deployment of F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, and a visit by the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group.

The United States currently has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. But Pyongyangs bellicose behavior has stoked growing concern in South Korea, prompting President Yoon Suk Yeol to suggest earlier this month that Washington might need to redeploy nuclear weapons to the peninsula while saying Seoul could also begin to develop its own nuclear arsenal.

Austin met with Yoon Tuesday, following his meeting with Lee, though neither spoke to the media.

Lee, though, seemed satisfied with Austins assurances.

Even if they [North Korea] do use their nuclear capabilities, the Republic of Korea and the United States have the capability to deter their efforts, Lee said, speaking through a translator.

The United States has the will to deter other uses of nuclear weapons, as well, he added. This goes on to demonstrate that we have the capability to deter any additional provocation by North Korea.

As things continue to evolve, our alliance continues to strengthen, Austin added. And we look for ways to strengthen that extended deterrence.

This is Austins third trip to South Korea and his fourth meeting with Lee.

In a joint statement following their meeting, the two also committed to working with Japan to improve and facilitate the sharing of missile warning data due to the North Korean threat.

Support for Ukraine

Austins visit to Seoul Tuesday followed a visit Monday by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg urged South Korea, which has mostly provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, to increase its military support for Kyiv.

When asked Tuesday whether that could happen, South Koreas Lee seemed to leave open the possibility.

Lee said he and Stoltenberg shared a sentiment on the need for the international effort in overcoming this crisis in Ukraine.

Regarding our weapons support, our Republic of Korea weapons support, Ill just say that I like to leave my answer that we are directing our close attention to the situation in Ukraine, Lee said.
In March last year, the Chinese battery manufacturer CALB Co., Ltd. (CALB) filed for an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange with the aim of banking up to $1.5 billion. It could be the largest IPO in Hong Kong so far this year.

CALB noted in the prospectus that the net proceeds will be used to build up and expand a number of production base projects for EV battery and energy storage system (ESS).

In 2022, CALB recorded an annual power battery installed capacity of 19.24GWh, accounting for 6.53% of China's total volume and ranking third among power battery manufacturers in China, according to the data from China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (CAPBIIA).

Photo credit: CALB

Although CALB is still trailing far behind the top 2 playersCATL and BYD, the company has made a substantial progress during the past few years. In terms of annual power battery installed capacity, CALB moved up to the second runner-up last year from the No.6 place in 2019.

While getting its business back on track, CALB is also vigorously pushing ahead with the building of its battery production capacity. At a strategy launching ceremony held in November last year, the battery maker announced it had raised its annual production capacity target to 500GWh by 2025 and to 1TWh by 2030. Thus, the successful public listing is expected to help the company diversify its financing channels, so as to raise the requisite capital for achieving the expansion goal.

In this article, Gasgoo will help you better learn CALB by summarizing the company's development history and offering the key information about its financial performances, R&D investment, technical advantages, and production capacity, etc.

Development track

CALB's history can be dated back to 2007, when China Airborne Missile Academy (Missile Academy) established Sky Energy (Luoyang) Co., Ltd. (Sky Energy) in Luoyang city, Henan province, which was dedicated to manufacturing LFP batteries. Sky Energy was universally regarded as the predecessor of today's CALB.

Then in 2009, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd. (AVIC), a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate, and Missile Academy restructured Sky Energy, which was later renamed into China Lithium Battery Technology (Luoyang) Co., Ltd. (Luoyang Company) in September of that year. It is worth noting that Missile Academy is a public institution set up by AVIC.

In 2010, AVIC made capital increases to Luoyang Company through some of its subsidiaries, of which Sichuan Chengfei Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (CITC) took the majority shareholding upon completion of the capital increase.

As China adopted policies to vigorously promote new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2009, the automobile industry was facing increasing demands for power batteries. The policy tailwinds paved the way for Luoyang Company's blooming development after the aforesaid capital increase. According to the data offered by CITC's annual results and compiled by Gasgoo, Luoyang Company accounted for up to 63.31% of CITCs annual revenue in 2016, jumping from the 28.37% in 2011. In the same year, Luoyang Company earned 110.83 million yuan ($16.572 million) of yearly net profit, logging a year-on-year increase for the second year in a row.

Luoyang Company took the commercial vehicle (CV) domain as its gateway as the governmental policies prioritized the NEV promotion in the CV field at the early stage. Under this development route, the company rapidly obtained a slew of CV clients with the support of its state-owned parent company.



After peaking in 2016, its net profit precipitously plunged into a loss of 334.56 million yuan ($50.025 million) in 2017 and then hit rock bottom in 2018.

One of a main factor leading to the plunge is that the government subsidy policies set for 2017 and 2018 were modified to promote the batteries with higher energy density and longer driving range, leading Chinese NEV makers to install ternary batteries in their newest models. Meanwhile, the government also whittled down the subsidies on new energy commercial vehicles. Amid those changes, the battery maker did not timely adjust its CV-focused strategy, failing to keep up in the market rat race.

The company's money-losing status largely weighed on the financial performance of CITC. In 2018, the parent recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of around 204.655 million yuan ($30.6 million) and saw its gross margin drop 9.51 percentage points year on year to 1.46%. CITC said the sliding gross margin mainly resulted from the decline in the gross margin of its lithium battery business.

In March, 2019, the Shenzhen-listed CITC's trading was temporarily suspended for one day with its stock name prefixed with ST, which indicating that the firm was on the brink of being delisted.

Revival with help of Jintan district government

For the sake of recovery, CITC must properly handle the issue of CALB. At the critical moment, the government of Jintan District, Changzhou City lent a helping hand.

According to CALB's prospectus, it was established in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province as a limited liability company on December 8, 2015, named CALB Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (CALB Technology) initially. Upon its establishment, CALB Technology was owned as to 50% by Jinsha Investment, 30% by Luoyang Company, and 20% by Huake Investment. Notably, both Jinsha Investment and Huake Investment are ultimately owned by the government of Jintan District. Luoyang Company was still the controlling shareholder of CALB Technology as it was entitled to exercise 51% of voting rights in the latter.

Subsequently, CALB Technology carried out restructuring in 2019. In April 2019, Luoyang Company transferred its 30% equity interests in CALB Technology to CITC, while making capital increases to CALB Technology through CITC, Jinsha Investment and Huake Investment. Upon completion of the restructuring in July 2019, CALB Technology became ultimately controlled

by the Jintan Group (a shorthand used to name a group of Jintan-based investors, including Jinsha Investment, Huake Engineering, Huake Investment, Jintan International, Jintan Hualuogeng and Jintan Holding).

Between August 2019 and November 2021, CALB Technology went through a series of capital increases and brought in new shareholders and investors, such as Lihang Jinzhi, Jinyuan Industry, employee shareholding platforms, Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry, and Chuanghe Xincai.

On November 18, 2021, the company's name was formally renamed to CALB Co., Ltd. from CALB Technology, meaning that it has ushered in a new development era.

To make the description easier, we will use the Company or CALB to refer to both CALB Technology and CALB Co., Ltd. in the following content.

Industrial position of today's CALB

Through several years of efforts, CALB has posted evident recovery in both revenue and profit, and made significant headways in technology development and production capacity expansion.

After dropping to the historical low level in 2018, CALB's annual net loss drastically shrunk year on year in both 2019 and 2021, and the Company once again turned into a profitable firm in 2021.



As for the annual revenue, CALB was clearly much outperformed by CATL and even trailed by its main rival Gotion High-Tech. Nevertheless, its yearly revenue shot up 141.3% from the previous year to 6.817 billion yuan in 2021.

CALB's fast growth in revenue came at the expense of relatively low profit margin. Its annual gross margin have for years been lower than that of CATL and Gotion High-Tech's power lithium battery business. In 2021, the Company saw its yearly gross margin decline 8.1 percentage points year on year to only 5.5%.

Despite the low gross margin, CALB still logged an annual operating profit of 113.122 million yuan in 2021, indicating the Company's outstanding performance in cost control.



CALB's R&D investment amounted to 285.256 million yuan in 2021, accounting for only 4.18% of the Companys annual revenue. The proportion was lower than that of both CATL and Gotion High-Tech.



On the sides of technologies and products, CALB is primarily working on improving the battery safety and enhancing a cell's energy density by lifting the battery voltage.

On the level of battery system, CALB has released the One-stop Bettery solution and the Magazine battery, which should be the same one announced by GAC AION.

In the aspect of clients, CALB has relatively fewer global OEM customers than CATL, BYD, and Gotion High-Tech. Its orders are highly concentrated. According to the prospectus, the contribution of the Company's top 5 clients to its 2021 revenue totaled 82.9%.



With regard to the battery production capacity, CALB's annual production capacity reached 11.9GWh as of 2021, surging 189.5% year on year.



In spite of the current gap, CALB still set an ambitious goal in production capacity expansion. It aims to reach a yearly capacity of 500GWh by 2025, only following CATL, BYD, and SVOLT among its Chinese peers. It was also the first one in China to announce the goal of hitting 1TWh per year by 2030.

Aerial view of CALB's Meishan power battery and energy storage system base; photo credit: CALB

CALB has so far expanded its existing production bases and constructed new production bases at various sites, including Changzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hefei, Jiangmen and Meishan. Its industrial bases and R&D centers in Europe and North America have entered the planning phase.
A decade ago this year, the head of the European Unions executive branch stood, visibly shaken, before rows of coffins holding the corpses of migrants drowned off the Italian island of Lampedusa. Some of them, small and bone-white, contained the bodies of infants and children.

That image of hundreds of coffins will never get out of my mind. It is something I think one cannot forget. Coffins of babies, coffins with the mother and the child that was born just at that moment, Jose Manuel Barroso, then president of the European Commission, said in 2013.

More than 300 people died on October 3, 2013 after a fire broke out on a fishing boat that had set off from Libya on the world's deadliest migration route. The boat, which carried almost 500 people looking for better lives in Europe, capsized only hundreds of meters (yards) from shore.

The kind of tragedy we have witnessed here so close to the coast should never happen again, Barroso said. The EU must boost our surveillance system to track boats, so that we can launch a rescue operation and bring people back to safe grounds before they perish," he added.

Nothing of the sort will be considered by EU leaders at a summit next week. Indeed, almost a decade on, little has improved.

About 330,000 attempts were made to enter Europe without authorization in 2022  a six-year high. The International Organization for Migration says more than 25,000 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea since 2014.

The search and rescue mission launched in response to the Lampedusa tragedy was shut down a year later over concern that the Italian navy ships only encouraged people to set out in the hope of being plucked from the sea.

Civilian boats run by charities have been hounded and impounded by governments for trying to save lives. The EU provides vessels and equipment to the Libyan coastguard to prevent people leaving, and Turkey and several other northern African countries get financial support.

At their February 9-10 summit, the EUs 27 heads of state and government are set to renew a call to beef up borders and pressure the often-impoverished countries that people leave or cross to get to Europe, according to a draft statement prepared for the meeting, seen by The Associated Press.

The leaders will give full support so that the border and coastguard agency Frontex can deliver on its core task, which is to help Member States protect the external borders, fight cross-border crime and step up returns  the EU's euphemism for deportation.

The EU will enhance cooperation with countries of origin and transit through mutually beneficial partnerships, said the text, which could change before the summit. It did not list the ways the partnerships might be beneficial for those countries, only the means of persuasion that could be used on them.

The EU's aid budget should be put to the best possible use to encourage countries to stop people leaving, it said. Those that dont accept their nationals back would find it harder to get European visas. Bangladesh, Gambia, Iraq and Senegal are already being monitored.

After a meeting last week of interior ministers, the EUs Swedish presidency said that both positive incentives and restrictive measures are required. We must make use of all relevant policy areas in this regard, such as visa policy, development cooperation, trade and diplomatic relations.

Border fences are back on the table, even though the European Commission previously declined to help member countries pay for them, arguing they were not in line with European values. Several EU countries, notably Hungary, Austria and Slovenia, have erected border fences after well over one million migrants entered Europe in 2015, most of them war refugees from Syria and Iraq.

A Dutch government position paper circulating in Brussels said that all types of stationary and mobile infrastructure should be part of a broader package of border management measures, while guaranteeing fundamental rights as enshrined in EU and international law.

The land border between EU member Bulgaria and Turkey, from where many migrants set out, is of particular concern. Asked about it last Thursday, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said only that there isnt enough money to help countries build fences.

The commission wants to speed up asylum processing at the blocs borders, and has named a Returns Coordinator to expedite deportation. More than 900,000 people applied for EU asylum last year, sparking a border backlog.

In a letter to the leaders, President Ursula von der Leyen said that pilot testing will be done in coming months on an accelerated border procedure, including the immediate return of those not permitted to stay.

This Fortress Europe approach has evolved because of the EU's failure to agree on the answer to a vexing question: who should take responsibility for migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, and should other members be obliged to help?

The question has rarely arisen over the last year as millions of Ukrainian refugees were welcomed into Europe amid an outpouring of good will, notably from countries like Hungary or Poland that are staunchly opposed to helping take care of migrants from Africa or the Middle East.

The commissions Pact on Migration and Asylum, unveiled in 2020, was supposed to resolve the problem but little progress has been made. Now, EU officials say that members might endorse the reform plan before the 2024 elections usher in another commission.
The Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya  Africa's biggest refugee camp  is about to get even bigger. Kenya has approved more land for the crowded camp to help relieve congestion. The expansion comes as thousands of Somali refugees fleeing record drought and hunger arrive in Dadaab in search of relief.
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The conflict between the advocates of "a world based on rules" and those who advocate a return to "a world based on international law" continues. It began with the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and will last for years.

The military situation on the ground is blocked, as always in winter in this part of the world. The supporters of "a world based on rules" still refuse to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 2202, while those of "a world based on international law" are conducting a special military operation to implement it. In the end, they gradually moved away from it and stabilized the situation of the people of Novarussia.

The transition from a war of movement to a war of position allowed each protagonist to reflect on the reasons that pushed him into the battle. From now on, it is no longer two visions of international relations that face each other, but two conceptions of Man.

Among the troops of Kiev, we must distinguish the "integral nationalists", always ardent in the fight, from the professional soldiers and the citizens mobilized for the occasion. The former are ideologically trained men who consider that killing Russians is a sacred immemorial duty. They refer to the writings of Dmytro Dontsov and to the example of Stepan Bandera. The former was the administrator of the Reinhard Heydrich Institute in Prague and, as such, was one of the designers of the "final solution of the Jewish and Gypsy questions", the latter was the leader of the Ukrainian collaborators of Nazism against the Soviets. The other group of Kiev soldiers, which made up two-thirds of them at the beginning of the Russian intervention, is in no mood. They see that Western weapons are being delivered to the "integral nationalists," but not to them. They are considered as cannon fodder and suffer very heavy losses. Social networks abound with video messages of units protesting against their officers. There was a first wave of discontent in the fall. This is the second. If they thought they were defending their homeland against an invader, they now know that their country is in the hands of a clique that has purged the libraries, taken control of all the countrys media, banned 13 political parties and the Orthodox Church, and is ultimately establishing an authoritarian regime. Last week, President Zelenskys former communications adviser, Colonel Oleksiy Arestovich, told them that Ukraine was fighting the wrong battle and wrongly considered six million of its citizens as "Russian agents". They know that most of the journalists have been arrested and most of the lawyers have fled abroad. They therefore feel threatened by both the Russian military and their own government. The multiple corruption scandals, which broke out last week, confirm to them that they are only pawns between the United States and Russia.

On the Russian side, the opposite is true: the professional troops who were deployed at the beginning of the special operation obeyed without understanding why the Kremlin sent them to Ukraine, the region that gave birth to their homeland. The Russian population feared a return to the massacres of the past. Little by little, things calmed down. The bobos went into exile. I was very surprised when a Russian friend commented to me: "Good riddance! He didnt seem worried about their departure, but relieved not to have to face them anymore. The population, which was very shocked by the Western measures against its artists and against its past glories, became aware that Ukraine is only a pretext for something else. It was also surprised to see the alignment of the populations of the European Union with Washington. It is, in its eyes, a war against its civilization, a war against the heritage of Tolstoy and Pushkin, not against the policy of President Putin. This proud people, always eager to evaluate its ability to defend its own and its honor, observes with sadness the arrogance of the West, their feeling not to serve the Good, but to embody the Good.

The political arguments that President Putin set out in December 2021, when he published his draft bilateral US-Russia Treaty on Security Guarantees [1] are outdated. This is no longer a war to defend interests. If the Russian protagonists understand that they are not fighting for something, but for survival, the West does not interpret the conflict in this way. For them, the Russians are blinded by the propaganda of their regime. They are unknowingly fighting to restore the greatness of the Tsarist Empire or the Soviet Union.

This type of conflict is extremely rare. One thinks of the conflict between Rome and Carthage, which ended with the destruction of all vestiges of Carthaginian civilization. To the point that we ignore today almost everything of it. At most we know that it was built by people from Tyre (now Lebanon, the stronghold of Hezbollah) and that its leader, Hannibal, sought refuge in Damascus and other Syrian cities when his city was destroyed. We also know that it had developed in good understanding with its neighbors and partners, while Rome had conquered its empire by force. I had already made this connection with the war against Syria when Russia intervened. The parallel is becoming more and more obvious. The two blocs have nothing in common anymore.

In the West, the events in Ukraine are seen as a war between the United States and Russia, through Ukrainians. The "integral nationalists" are certain, not to resist the one they consider the invader, but to defeat him, today or in the "final battle". This is their destiny, they think. But leaving aside the mystical delusions of Dmytro Dontsov, how can one imagine that 40 million Ukrainians could defeat 140 million Russians, knowing that the latter have weapons that are twenty years more modern than those of the West?

The members of the Ramstein Group, i.e. in practice the United States and the European Union, have already spent more than 250 billion dollars on this war, i.e. as much in one year as for the ten years of war against Syria. If we are to compare the two conflicts, we should note that in international law, Russia is right in both cases, while the United States has assembled a larger coalition against Syria, but has considerably more involved its allies in Ukraine.

Unlike Hannibal, President Putin has no intention of taking the capital of his adversaries, Washington. He is aware of his military superiority and will not alienate the people of the West by bringing the war home, except perhaps against their "elites" at the Foreign Office and the Pentagon.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. ("Ganfeng Lithium"), one of the world's leading producers of battery-grade lithium, announced on Monday it was expected to score a year-on-year hike of 244.27%-320.78% in its 2022 annual net profit attributable to shareholders.

According to the company's announcement, Ganfeng Lithium's net profit belonging to shareholders is estimated to be 18 billion yuan-22 billion ($2.666 billion-$3.258 billion) in 2022, versus the net profit of 5.228 billion yuan ($774.338 million) recorded in 2021.

Photo credit: Ganfeng Lithium

Excluding the impact of certain non-recurring gains and losses, the company's full-year net profit is anticipated to rocket 498.54%-636.14% year on year to 17.4 billion yuan-21.4 billion yuan ($2.577 billion-$3.169 billion) last year.

The company projected basic earnings per share amounting to 8.93 yuan-10.92 yuan ($1.32-$1.62) for the year of 2022, rising from the 3.73 yuan ($0.55) for the year-ago period.

During the reporting period (the year of 2022), thanks to the rapid development of the global new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, the demands for lithium salts from downstream customers grew strongly and the sales price of the company's lithium salt products increased substantially compared with the corresponding period of 2021, said Ganfeng Lithium. Coupled with the continued growth of the market for power battery and energy storage industries, the production and sales volume of the lithium batteries increased significantly, hence the company's operating results increased year-on-year.
Earlier this month, Northern Arizona University (NAU) held an astroinformatics bootcamp to help undergraduate students learn astroinformatics skillls, furthering the study of asteroid data in the process.

Over their last week of winter break, 11 computer science and astronomy students worked in small groups on research projects meant to help them increase astroinformatics-related skills.

This the second time NAU has held this bootcamp; the inaugural session was held in August before classes started for the fall semester. The camp is a partnership with Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science (DAPS) at the university and its School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems (SICCS).

DAPS chair David Trilling described the program as an opportunity for students to learn [astroinformatics] skills.

Theyre learning computer skills and theyre learning critical thinking, theyre learning how to apply science knowledge to computer skills and the reverse, he said. All of those things are going to help them, wherever theyre going and whatever theyre doing.

The bootcamps chief instructor, Daniel Kramer, was also the first at NAU to earn an astroinformatics degree, and is currently working on a masters in informatics with the university.

Kramer described astroinformatics as data analysis for astronomy.

[Surveys] generate a ton of data; its impossible for a human to look at by eye without going crazy, so you need computers to do this, he said. You need to know how to be able to find the needle in the haystack.

Hes involved with a research project at NAU called the Solar System Notification Alert Processing System (SNAPS), data from which was the foundation for projects at the bootcamp.

The idea is to sort through large amounts of data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in California and identify anomalies for other astronomers to look into further. While it picks up large amount of data, the ZTF is itself a light version of a telescope currently being built in Chile.

When its finished, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will produce something like 20 terabytes of data a night, Kramer said, about 10 times as much as that picked up by ZTF.

The students participating in the bootcamp were, as Kramer described it, using data to try and find outliers, try to find interesting patterns.

Each group was given a research starter idea that Trilling said was purposely not-well defined and not yet answered. Then, using a supercomputer at NAU called Monsoon, they began analyzing ZTF asteroid data related to their topic.

They spent 40 hours on the project over the course of the week and were given a stipend to lessen financial barriers to participation.

Other than twice-daily check-in presentations, the bootcamp was almost entirely focused on research work so that the students could gain hands-on experience with these skills rather than just listening to a lecture. Throughout the week, the program leaders  Trillling, Kramer and SICCS assistant professor Michael Gowanlock  provided guidance.

Computer science major Naima Ontiveros and astrophysics major Matthew Cooperman were in the process of refining a graph that looked at asteroids changing colors, after the progress presentations on Jan. 12.

They were using data from about 32,000 asteroids and were trying to narrow to those most likely to change colors, to get to a graph that would accurately display that color change.

They were specifically looking at active asteroidsones that grow a tail. The colors of that tail and the asteroids surface are one indicator of what substances its made of.

They become active for multiple different reasons, but one of the reasons is the proximity they are to the sun, so when comets get close to the sun, theyll grow a tail and youll be able to see that, Cooperman explained. Weve noticed that some asteroids are doing that as well, so thats very interesting to us. Our project here is trying to narrow down which ones could be and which ones arent by the color of their surface.

This could show what the asteroid is made of, Onntiveros added, including potentially ice or water.

Jaidyn Thompson and Nate Chan were working on their own project about asteroids that afternoon.

Right now, were looking at brightness in asteroids to try and determine whether when asteroids get closer to the sun or any point in time they get a sudden surge of brightness levels and it increases a ton, Thompson said, because if it does happen  a really big increase  then we can notice that something happened that is making that brighter.

Thompson is an astrophysics and Japanese language double-major, while Chan is studying applied computer science. Both said the project has been helping them to learn about the other field and how to combine it with their area of study.

Ive learned a lot about astronomy and astronauts and comets in general, Chan said. What kind of conditions are needed to turn an asteroid into a comet and all the types of characteristics. He added that he was learning how to use data associated with this information through the lens of computer science.

Similarly, Ontiveros said the project had helped her understand different programming languages and how to interpret different types of graphs, while Coopermans takeaway from the class was that he needed to gain familiarity with more aspects of computer science.

Thompson said the project was helping her learn how to do more independent research as well.

I didnt know anything about computer science and coding before this, so I feel like Ive learned a lot about the actual act of coding, which is very necessary with being an astronomy major, she said.
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In Silicon Valley, that magical and mystical utopia where tech CEOs and entrepreneurs describe their companies as one big happy family, the biggest family man of them all has always been Marc Benioff. To the Salesforce Inc. chief executive officer, the cloud-based software enterprise company he co-founded isnt just a company but what he calls Ohana  a Hawaiian word meaning family and support system. Its massive annual Dreamforce event that takes over San Francisco isnt a conference but a family reunion. Even earnings calls and investor days  where Benioff has been known to wax poetic on everything from dolphins returning to the Venice canals during the pandemic to his Ukrainian ancestry  can feel a little bit like dad presiding over a family dinner.

That worked just fine for Benioff during the happy-go-lucky boom times when Salesforce and its tech brethren seemed to think that permanent acceleration was a real thing, as my colleague Justin Fox has written.

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But what happens now that Benioff and Salesforce are facing the kinds of problems that dont have very family friendly solutions: three activist investors circling, Wall Street questioning the price tag of recent deals including the $28 billion acquisition of business communications app Slack, growing criticism that Benioffs celebrity schmoozing with the likes of Will.i.am and Matthew McConaughey is a distraction, and profits that have not kept up with the pace of sales growth.

On Jan. 4, the company announced that it would lay off 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 people. The employees being affected arent just colleagues. Theyre friends. Theyre family, Benioff wrote in a memo announcing the cuts. Please reach out to them. Offer the compassion and love they and their families deserve and need now more than ever.

The conflicting messages in Benioffs staff memo were jarring. If the people impacted really were family, wasnt it kind of awkward and heartless to put them out of a job? According to Insider, one employee wrote on Slack during a company all-hands, that given the family who were laid off, should we consider retiring the phrase Ohana?

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The answer is a resounding yes. And not just to retiring Ohana but to all the family metaphors and tropes that Silicon Valley now relies on as shorthand for the culture it wants to project. Its language that might have been effective and even appealing when these companies were those fabled five-person teams working out of someones garage. But today, many of these enterprises are decades-old behemoths, topping the list of some of the biggest companies and employers in the world. Trying to sell themselves as a family requires a suspension of disbelief thats insulting to the talent they are trying to attract.

As much as Benioff might want his employee base to think otherwise, this framing around family is a business decision above all else. Salesforce readily admits to that in its annual report, noting that its cultures sense of family is part of what allows us to attract and retain the best talent, which is critical for our continued success.

Salesforce is far from alone here. The Stanford Project on Emerging Companies, which launched in the 1990s and for years tracked Silicon Valley startups, reported that a good chunk of founders wanted their companies cultures to follow a commitment model  a strong family-like feeling and an intense emotional bond with the workforce that would inspire superior effort and increase retention of highly sought employees. The researchers found that these commitment companies were the least likely to fail and the most likely to IPO.

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In the last five years or so as Silicon Valley has evolved, the commitment model as it was originally envisioned has come under strain and skepticism. This way of working relies on a blurring of the lines between work and personal life, with the expectation that you will prioritize your work family at the expense of your actual family. Three years of pandemic living has led workers, especially younger ones, to demand more definitive boundaries between these two worlds. The free meals, massages, and foosball that tether employees to the office are nice, but getting to work from home and take the weekend away from your email is, maybe, nicer. The rise of labor organizing in tech, long considered taboo, is yet another indicator of workers growing wariness that their employers will take care of them in the ways that they have promised.

While distrust and cynicism of the family rhetoric might be more widespread today, lets be clear that its a model that never worked for employees who dont subscribe to the expected Silicon Valley mold. Even back in 2002, well before most companies were even talking about diversity and inclusion, the Stanford researchers were already pointing out that the commitment models reliance on fitting in made it harder to attract and retain women in key roles and to build a diverse workforce.

But the real stress test is happening now as a generation of tech workers experience mass layoffs for the first time and the industry enters a new phase in its life cycle. If the goodbyes on Twitter Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. are any indication, techies are quickly learning about another lazy family trope: tough love.

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 Noncompete Contracts Can Help Workers and Firms: Tyler Cowen

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Beth Kowitt is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering corporate America. She was previously a senior writer and editor at Fortune Magazine.

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The work ethic is the most important engine of capitalist civilization. It keeps workers working long after they have satisfied their basic needs, drives entrepreneurs to found new companies and inventors to invent new things, and, in general, generates the surplus that pays for productive investment and social welfare. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Yet the belief that work is a moral duty rather than an inconvenient necessity is hardly a natural one. In most civilizations, social status has been determined by your distance from productive labor  aristocrats in Naples even lost their patents of nobility if they were caught doing anything useful  while workers abandoned the grindstone for the alehouse at the slightest opportunity.

Ever since Max Weber published his landmark The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), historians have debated his claim that Protestantism, particularly in its Calvinist form, was responsible for the rise of capitalism because it treated hard work and wealth accumulation as proof of salvation. But they have largely agreed with the basic idea that the rise of capitalism required a revolution in attitudes to work.

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Which raises a troubling proposition: If the work ethic is the product of cultural change, it can be destroyed by cultural change. America is the worlds leading example of the power of the work ethic. The North was settled by work-obsessed Puritans fleeing persecution in England (the South was settled by Cavaliers who despised work and relied for their leisure on slave labor). Benjamin Franklin coined aphorisms about time being money and early to bed, early to rise being the secret of wealth as well as wisdom. Horatio Alger insisted that anybody could make it if they worked hard. Immigrants came to the United States in their millions in the hope that hard work and self-reliance would finally be rewarded.

In some ways this culture still survives. Americans in the labor force work longer hours than Europeans and take significantly shorter vacations. The month-long summer holiday that the French regard as a right strikes many Americans as a form of decadence. High-earning Americans in law, banking and the executive suite routinely work more than 50 hours a week and some of them work more than 100.

Yet this commitment to work is eroding at the edges and increasingly at the center. The US labor force participation rate  the proportion of working-age citizens either working or actively looking for work  has declined from a high of 67.5% at the turn of the century to 62.3%. The US work ethic is really strong and healthy, Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute quipped to me in an interview, except where it isnt.

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The post-work revolution was led by men without college degrees. In Men Without Work, which was first published in 2016 and revised in 2022, Eberstadt produces some astonishing statistics on the number of prime-age men (25 to 54) who have fallen out of the labor market. More than 11% of these men  some seven million souls  are neither working nor looking for a job. Barely half of native-born prime-age men with no high school degree are in the job market. The not in labor force number has gone up by a percentage point every seven years since 1965 regardless of the state of the economy or the number of job vacancies.

The Covid pandemic spread the post-work revolution to new groups  hence all the talk of the great resignation and quiet quitting. Many older Americans decided to fast forward their retirement by cashing in their 401k plans and/or selling their over-priced properties and moving to cheaper Valhallas: 1.75 million baby boomers retired in 2021 as compared with a million in the average year. Some prime-age workers (particularly women) decided during the furlough that going out to work wasnt worth the hassle if you were spending most of your income on caring for children or aging parents.

Most worrying of all is the changing attitude to work among the young. A 2010 Pew Research Center Report sounded the alarm with its discovery that three-fourths of respondents claimed that older people had a better work ethic than younger people do  a belief that was held just as strongly by the young as by their seniors. Since then, evidence of disillusionment has multiplied. Employers report that millennials are more likely to regard work as a means of self-fulfillment rather than just an income stream. Anti-work activists cite appalling corporate practices on Reddit, praise The Right to be Lazy (1883), by Karl Marxs son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, debate the relative merits of rage quitting versus quiet quitting, and advocate the virtues of a universal basic income, which does away with the need to work at all.

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This anti-work revolt is obviously troubling for economic reasons: It reduces the economys overall productivity and leaves urgent jobs undone. It is also demoralizing. On being asked how a person might flourish, Sigmund Freud replied love and workwork and love, thats all there islove and work are the cornerstones of our humanness. Time-work studies of men who have dropped out of the labor market show that they spend most of their abundant socializing, relaxing and leisure time (as the American Time Use Survey defines it) in front of a screen, whether watching the TV or playing video games. Similar studies of early retirees also show enormous amounts of screen time.

So how do we explain the trend? And how do we go about reversing it? Several specific explanations invite specific remedies. The opioid epidemic has wrecked lives across the country. Ill health and obesity make it harder for people to hold down a job. Disability rules discourage retraining. Ex-convicts find it hard to get back into the workforce, yet close to one-in-eight American men have been in prison. Tackling the opioid crisis and addressing the incarceration madness will also help to tackle the work crisis The problem of premature retirement may also be solving itself as retirees discover that they dont have as much to live on as they previously expected. But the problem also has deeper cultural roots that require deeper digging if they are to be torn up. Start with two famous paradoxes about the nature of capitalism.

In Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942), Joseph Schumpeter argued that capitalism produces its own gravediggers in the form of tenured intellectuals who gorge on capitalisms fruits while devoting their energies to denouncing its evils. This problem has now reached an extreme that would even have surprised a man who lived through the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its not just that liberal academics and administrators outnumber conservative ones by growing margins in the humanities, and that within the ranks of liberals, a more progressive mindset has taken hold. Its that this progressive mindset is also now in the ascendant among faculty at traditionally vocational institutions such as law schools and business schools. Where once Harvard Business School students learned that their only duty was to maximize shareholder value, now they learn that they must reimagine capitalism in a world on fire.

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In the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976), Daniel Bell took the argument further by arguing that capitalism was undermining itself by producing so much wealth. If the Puritan work ethic depended on self-denial, which generated the surplus needed for prosperity, the affluent society depended on endless consumption and instant gratification, which destroyed the foundational virtues of thrift and sobriety. In the first decade of the century, banks persuaded so many people to take loans they couldnt afford that the banking system almost collapsed. Now Big Marijuana is pushing a drug that reduces motivation on the American people, a particular hazard to those only loosely attached to the labor market. Is that ubiquitous smell in Americas great cities the smell of sensible liberal drug policy? Or is it the smell of Americas work ethic going up in smoke?

To these two classic paradoxes Id add a couple of my own. One is the paradox of opportunity. The neoliberal revolution was justified by the idea that people had a right to rise as high as their talents would allow them without paying an undue amount of money back to the state in the form of income or inheritance taxes. But the resulting explosion in inequality is undermining faith in equality of opportunity. A March 2020 Pew Research Center report found that nearly two-thirds of US adults (65%) believe that the main reason some people are rich is because they have had more advantages in life than other people. Only a third say that it is because they have worked harder than others.

The second is the paradox of work. Work is increasingly becoming an all-or-nothing proposition  you either devote your life to the job or give up entirely. Employers not only expect their employees to be available to answer emails or even take calls all hours of the day and night. They link their pay to ever more precisely measured performance. Office workers days are crammed with Zoom meetings and performance reviews. Amazon warehouse workers have their visits to the lavatory timed. The faster the hamster wheel revolves, the greater the temptation to jump off.

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Solving the first three of these paradoxes may be the work of Sisyphus. But a few encouraging signs suggest that these problems are being addressed. The University of North Carolina recently voted to establish a School of Civic Life and Leadership which will give a voice to academics from across the political spectrum, including conservatives. Some Republicans are rethinking the partys tax-cutting and government-shrinking orthodoxy and emphasizing instead the importance of jobs-based prosperity. Ever more Americans are worried about the size of inherited fortunes. Yet a broad-ranging campaign to restore the work ethic will require an appetite for preaching that is rare and a willingness to work across political lines that has evaporated.

The one bright spot is the nature of work. The Covid pandemic has had the unexpected consequence of shaking workers free from ossified practices and unleashing the power of new technologies such as Zoom. Companies are adopting a hybrid work system whereby workers cut their commuting to two or three days a week and workers are using their newfound flexibility to combine working with domestic duties. A solid body of evidence suggests that this is producing higher productivity and higher engagement. Companies need to widen and deepen this revolution rather than using the current spate of layoffs to tighten the organizational harness.

Treat workers as responsible adults rather than errant children, intent on skiving off, or giddy adolescents, wowed by free beer and pizza. Use Zoom to reduce the need for work-related travel as well as trips to the office. Cut down on the proliferation of meetings. Stop bombarding employees with unnecessary emails, particularly from HR. Embrace part-time jobs so that older workers dont have choose between working and retiring.

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The easiest way to start addressing Americas work ethic problem is to start making work itself more attractive.

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(Corrects definition of prime age in seventh paragraph.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Adrian Wooldridge is the global business columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former writer at the Economist, he is author, most recently, of The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World.

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Subscribe to Crash Course on the iHeartRadio appSubscribe to Crash Course on Apple Podcasts Subscribe to Crash Course on SpotifyI cant imagine a more disruptive politician than Donald Trump. After rolling down a Trump Tower escalator in 2015 to declare what became his first successful presidential bid, he proceeded to upend and warp political, civil and legal norms. And he forced Americans to examine myths theyve told themselves about tolerance, progress and shared values and goals.

This has spawned an array of disruptions and learning moments  including Trumps collision with the GOP, the Republican Partys collision with itself, and the ongoing polarization of Republicans and Democrats. All of that led to the recent cage match in Congress over who Republicans would nominate as the next Speaker of the House; hand-wringing within the party over whether Trump can be a successful presidential standard bearer in 2024; and who will be best situated to represent Democrats in that same race.

We are in a chaotic political era, and the fact pattern and clarity are our friends in moments like this. Thats why Im happy to welcome Maggie Haberman to todays Crash Course episode. Maggie is a senior political correspondent with The New York Times, one of our savviest Trump-watchers, and the author of a new bestseller: Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. Have a listen:

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Timothy L. OBrien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.

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Allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud from New York-based investor Hindenburg Research against Adani Group are piling pressure on the Indian conglomerate and its 60-year-old founder. Gautam Adani is one of Asias richest men and at one point last year was second only to Elon Musk in the world. Unlike Musk, Adani is relatively unknown outside his home country. Heres some background on him and whats going on.

1. Who is Gautam Adani? Whats his net worth?

Adani was born to a small textile merchant family in 1962 in the western industrial state of Gujarat. He dropped out of university and began his career sorting diamonds for a firm in the financial hub of Mumbai. He later imported materials used in manufactured goods and by the mid-1990s was managing the Mundra Port, which he now owns. While his net worth took a beating in the days after Hindenburgs report was published on Jan. 24, he was still one of the richest men in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A record $2.5 billion share sale by his flagship firm, Adani Enterprises Ltd., was fully subscribed on the final day, Jan. 31, despite the controversy.

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2. How does Adani make money?

Adani Group today comprises half a dozen major companies with interests ranging from energy to transportation and infrastructure development. Its Indias largest port operator and manages some of the countrys biggest airports. Adani Enterprises, the groups listed trading house, reported $9.3 billion in sales in the year through March 31, 2022.

3. What are Adanis companies?

In addition to Adani Enterprises, which is also in coal mining, there are:

Adani Green Energy Ltd. (Renewable power generation)

Adani Transmission Ltd. (Power transmission)

Adani Total Gas Ltd. (Gas distribution)

Adani Power Ltd. (Coal-fired power generation)

The Adani Group also runs a real estate business, a shadow banking firm named Adani Capital and an edible oil and food business via a venture with Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd.

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4. What are Adanis political connections?

The tycoon is seen as closer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also hails from Gujarat state, than any other Indian billionaire. Adanis corporate strategy has run in parallel with Modis efforts to develop Indias $3.2 trillion economy. When Modi promised to bring reliable electricity to more Indians, Adani doubled down on coal-fired power production. The alignment extends to foreign affairs. In 2021, Adani began construction of a major port facility in Sri Lanka. Officials from both countries said the plan was encouraged by the Modi government, which wants to curb Chinese influence in the island nation. Whether building expressways or upgrading data centers, Adani can be counted on to provide money, infrastructure, or expertise, whatever the policy priority.

5. What are Hindenburgs main allegations?

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Hindenburg, founded by short-seller Nathan Anderson, issued a 100-page report accusing the Indian conglomerate of using a web of companies in tax havens to inflate revenue and stock prices, even as debt piled up. Among the allegations:

 It identified 38 Mauritius shell entities controlled by Adanis brother, Vinod Adani, or his close associates plus entities controlled by him in other tax havens.

 The offshore shell network seems to be used for earnings manipulation.

 Adani Group has previously been the focus of four major government investigations relating to allegations of fraud.

 Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas appear to be audited by a tiny firm, with no current website, only four partners and 11 employees, and which has audited just one other listed firm.

 The auditor hardly seems capable of complex audit work, it said, when Adani Enterprises alone has 156 subsidiaries and many more joint ventures.

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Hindenburg also said it had taken a short position  basically a bet that the stock price would go down  in Adanis companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives. The shares in fact plummeted, erasing tens of billions of dollars in market value from Adanis flagship. The record $2.5 billion share sale by Gautam Adanis flagship firm was fully subscribed on the final day, offering Asias richest man a reprieve after his empire was rocked by allegations of fraud by short seller Hindenburg Research.

6. How did Adani respond?

In a rebuttal published Jan. 29, Adani said that it had addressed some 65 of the 88 questions raised by Hindenburg in public disclosures. It described the short sellers conduct as nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law. The group said it would exercise our rights to pursue remedies to safeguard our stakeholders before all appropriate authorities. Hindenburg then said Adanis response ignored all its key allegations and was obfuscated by nationalism.

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7. What is Hindenburg Research?

Andersons firm  technically a research and trading outfit, not a hedge fund with outside investors  is less than five years old and wagers its own money in the markets. Even in Manhattans financial circles, Anderson is hardly a big name. The closely held firm specializes in forensic financial research, according to its website. It first attracted Wall Streets attention in 2020 for raising serious questions about electric-vehicle makers Nikola Corp. and Lordstown Motors Corp.

--With assistance from Shikhar Balwani and P R Sanjai.

(Updates with Adani no long in top 10 rich list; share sale. An earlier version corrected the spelling of Shuli Ren in Reference Shelf)

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Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have clashed repeatedly over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. During a short war in 2020, Azerbaijani forces backed by Turkey regained control of seven surrounding districts that had been occupied by Armenians since the early 1990s. Azerbaijan also took over part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, a territory largely populated by Armenians but which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. While a truce brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin halted fighting then, energy-rich Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia havent reached a final peace agreement. Deadly border clashes broke out again briefly last year and tensions continue to flare, spurring international concern about a brewing crisis.

1. Whats the root of the conflict?

Todays Armenia and Azerbaijan are situated in an area that for centuries had fluid borders, with both suffering partition and brutality at the hands of the much larger Russian, Ottoman and Persian empires. The two communities began to fight each other as those empires collapsed toward the end of World War I and they sought to form independent states, with Russia backing Armenia and Ottoman Turkey supporting Azerbaijan in what amounted to a proxy war. Nagorno-Karabakh was a center of tension from the start, because the mountainous region hosted a mixed community of Armenians and Azeris and was seen by both nations as central to their national histories and identities.

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2. What role did the breakup of the Soviet Union play?

After the Soviet Union took control of both nascent states in 1921, its leader Josef Stalin sowed the seeds for todays dispute. He secured Nagorno-Karabakh for Azerbaijan but then in 1923 carved it out as an autonomous region, with borders that gave it a population that was more than 90% Armenian. The first violence of the current conflict broke out in 1988, as it became clear that the days of the Soviet empire, too, might be numbered. The two Soviet republics began to press for independence, giving new meaning to what had in essence been internal administrative borders. Nagorno-Karabakhs national assembly voted to dissolve its autonomous status and join Armenia. Pogroms against ethnic Azeris in Armenia and against ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan occurred. In all, more than 30,000 people were killed in the war in the early 1990s. More than 6,000 were killed in the 44-day war in 2020, and dozens died in September 2022.

3. How has Armenias history contributed to this?

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Although the Armenian and Azeri communities of Karabakh lived together peacefully and were relatively well integrated until 1988, Armenias history in particular conspired to create a tinderbox of nationalist feeling. The 1915 genocide, in which the Ottoman regime killed as many as 1.5 million Armenians as it drove them from Anatolia, left deep scars. Fear of Turkey left Armenia feeling unusually dependent on Russia for military support after the Soviet collapse, and many Armenians came to see Azeris as proto-Turks, eliding the threats. In fact, the two are distinct. Azeris are Turkic speaking but they are mainly Shiite Muslims, whereas Turks are mainly Sunni.

4. Why is Turkey involved and what are its goals?

Turkey long had a closed border and no diplomatic relations with Armenia, in part due to the Karabakh conflict and in part due to wider tension over the 1915 genocide. (Since the 2020 war the two sides have sought to normalize ties and partially reopen their border.) By contrast, Azerbaijan supplies Turkey with natural gas and crude oil via pipelines that pass within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border and 30 miles of the broader conflict zone. As a result, Turkey has long sided with Azerbaijan on the Karabakh dispute. That support was until recently limited to rhetoric, but Turkeys military backing, including F-16 fighter jets and drones, proved decisive in the 2020 conflict. The two countries signed a defense pact a year later and have held joint military drills. The changes came at a time when Erdogan was using hard power to press Turkish interests across much of the former Ottoman space, including against Russia in Syria and Libya, and against Cyprus, Greece and Israel in the eastern Mediterranean. Though Turkey wasnt a signatory to the truce, the 2020 war represented a strategic triumph for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was able to muscle into Russias Caucasus backyard.

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5. What did the truce involve?

It restored Azerbaijans control of most of the territory it lost in the 1990s, while saying nothing about the final status of the disputed enclave. Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, sent nearly 2,000 peacekeeping troops to Nagorno-Karabakh.

 The accord provided for Russian peacekeepers to police a road, known as the Lachin corridor, through which people could travel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. However, traffic on the route was blocked by a group of Azerbaijainis presenting themselves as environmental activists in December 2022, prompting warnings from the US and European Union about a humanitarian crisis. Azerbaijan claimed the Russian peacekeepers closed the road in response to the protests, while Armenia accused Azerbaijan of mounting a blockade against civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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 The truce brokered by Putin also is supposed to allow movement of people and vehicles across southern Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Naxcivan, which borders Armenia, Iran and Turkey, as part of a broader agreement between the two states to unblock all transport links. Theres been no progress on that as of early 2023.

A full peace agreement remains elusive, despite international efforts to promote talks.

6. Whats been Russias role?

As a nearby nuclear superpower and former overlord, Russia has leverage with both countries. It has a defense pact with Armenia, though it doesnt cover Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia is now more dependent than ever on the ultimate guarantee that the Russian base provides. With Russia increasingly preoccupied with its war in Ukraine, that has left Armenia feeling vulnerable, as evidenced by Russias inaction regarding the blockade. Since 1994, Azerbaijans oil and gas wealth have allowed it to substantially increase its military spending  much of which has gone to purchasing weapons from Russia, which arms both sides.

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7. What about the US and France?

Russia, the US and France are members of the so-called Minsk Group of mediators that have been trying for decades to negotiate a settlement. The US used to wield considerable influence, as home to a large, wealthy and politically active Armenian diaspora and the primary backer of new Azeri oil and gas pipeline routes that skirt and compete with Russias transit network. While US interest in the region ebbed in recent years, the State Department has mediated peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 2020 war, and it urged an end to hostilities and reopening of the Lachin corridor. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed sympathy with Armenia, but his leverage with Azerbaijan appears limited. The European Union in mid-2022 signed a deal to double imports of natural gas from Azerbaijan as the bloc seeks to break Putins grip on its energy supplies amid the confrontation over Russias invasion of Ukraine.

8. Whats the energy situation?

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The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline has a capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day. It normally operates at only half that level, but supplies have increased since May, when BP shut oil exports via the Western Route Export Pipeline, also known as Baku-Supsa, and diverted them to the BTC. BP cited the unavailability of tankers on the Black Sea, where shipping was disrupted by Russias war in Ukraine. The South Caucasus Pipeline, the first leg of a chain of pipelines known as the Southern Gas Corridor that connects Azerbaijan with Europe via Georgia and Turkey, exported 14.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the first eight months of 2022, up 23% from a year earlier. European countries were the biggest buyers of Azerbaijani gas in the period with 7.3 billion cubic meters. Turkey bought 5.4 billion cubic meters and Georgia purchased 1.7 billion cubic meters. As Europe looks for sources to replace Russian gas, Azerbaijan plans a small increase of supplies to the continent in 2023 but a doubling of those exports to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

--With assistance from Zulfugar Agayev.

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The bitter battle between the Adani Group and Hindenburg Research is heating up. In a rebuttal to Hindenburgs claim that Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has overseen the largest con in corporate history, the company took on a dramatic tone, calling the New York-based research outfit the Madoffs of Manhattan. The activist short-sellers report, Adani said, was a calculated attack on India and its growth story and ambition.

Never mind that Hindenburgs founder Nathan Anderson had worked with Harry Markopolos, the analyst who uncovered Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme that robbed investors of as much as $65 billion. If anything, that puts Anderson in an anti-Madoff camp. Even as Hindenburg responded swiftly to Adanis rebuttal, saying it failed to answer 62 of our 88 questions, it is nonetheless worth pondering what the short seller might focus on next to win over investors minds and money.

Despite its good reputation in New Yorks finance circles, the Hindenburg name by no means translates into automatic success in Asia. Other conglomerates, such as Chinas HNA Group and China Evergrande Group, had survived years of high-profile short sellers attacks and failed only when the political wind turned against them.

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One of the research firms major allegations is stock manipulation. According to Hindenburg, Adani insiders already own more than 75% of four publicly traded subsidiaries with the aid of offshore shell entities, thereby triggering delisting according to Indias securities laws.

But that accusation alone is not enough to convince investors who are deciding what to do with their Adani holdings. For years, foreign investors had complained about Hong Kong-listed Evergrandes limited free float and concentrated ownership, which it made it difficult for them to short the developers shares  to little avail. Evergrande only became distressed when Beijings regulators cracked their whips, prompting domestic banks to stop lending to the builder.

As such, it will all depend on whether Hindenburg has enough global sway to shut down at least one of Adanis key borrowing channels. Industrial companies are capital-intensive. If they cant refinance, even good firms can go bad. Five of seven listed Adani companies have reported current ratios below 1, indicating they dont have enough liquid assets to cover their short-term liabilities. That means Adanis ability to refinance debt is all the more important.

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On that front, Hindenburg might just have an outsized voice, in that about 30% of Adanis borrowings are denominated in foreign currencies. The group has more than $10 billion dollar bonds outstanding, with an investor base including global asset managers such as Lord Abbett & Co., BlackRock Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group, according to Bloomberg data.

Already, a few dollar notes including debt of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd., a subsidiary with investment-grade rating, have fallen to distressed levels, indicating mounting markets concerns about Adanis creditworthiness. Hindenburgs report is renewing a bond rout which began in September after Fitch Group unit CreditSights published a report raising concerns over the groups leverage.

With Evergrandes spectacular fall still recent in their memory, global bond traders can be jittery. For instance, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd., the groups biggest dollar-note issuer, is rated at BBB-, the lowest level of the investment grade. What if credit ratings agencies downgrade the company to junk, purely because of their belief that market selloffs can shut down financing options, as theyve done to Chinese real estate developers? This fear alone could cause foreign bond buyers to flee.

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So far, the Adani short is still largely an equity story. But as weve seen in China, spillovers into credit markets can be swift. One bad margin call on pledged shares, one credit rating downgrade, and everything unravels. Hindenburg still has some convincing to do.

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 Adani Short Seller Hindenburg Opened a Pandoras Box: Shuli Ren

 Adani Strikes Back. Can He Win the Image War?: Andy Mukherjee

 What Really Worries Indians About Adanis Empire: Mihir Sharma

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barrons. She is a CFA charterholder.

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It looks as though the Adani Groups attempt to wrap itself in the Indian tricolor and see if criticism bounces off the flag may succeed. If the Indian government becomes a participant in the conglomerates effort, however, it would be doing itself and all Indians a great disservice. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In its rebuttal to short-seller Hindenburg Researchs claims of stock manipulation, tycoon Gautam Adanis company made its strategy clear: Hindenburgs accusations were, said Adani, a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India.

This is, of course, not true. Hindenburg Research is not part of a giant conspiracy to defame Adani, the Indian economy, or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The company is a small, respected, New York-based shop of short-sellers that thinks it recognizes the signs of overvalued companies ripe for a selloff. The possibility of profit is enough of a motive  you dont have to reach for theories about a transnational network of anti-India bankers and journalists.

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Yet there is one grain of truth in Adanis claim, and it should worry Indian policymakers. Hindenburgs report, which describes a web of offshore shell companies engaged in possible related-party transactions, refers to investigations by the relevant Indian regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI.

The short-sellers make a strong, and possibly overstated, claim about the possible outcome of a regulatory investigation: Offshore shells and funds tied to the Adani Group comprise many of the largest public (i.e., non-promoter) holders of Adani stock, an issue that would subject the Adani companies to delisting were Indian securities regulator SEBIs rules enforced. The report goes on to claim that the companies are still being investigated more than a year and a half after concerns were initially raised by the media and members of Parliament.

While this allegation may not read as an attack on the integrity and quality of Indian institutions, it does come close. It certainly raises a few questions about regulation that Indian decision-makers would do well to answer quickly and comprehensively.

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One of the ways that India has successfully differentiated itself from other emerging markets  and even from China  is through the transparency of its markets, the quality of its markets regulator, and its legal protections for minority investors. Indian courts might be difficult to navigate, political risk in New Delhi and the states might be tough to manage, but the Indian equity markets are world-class.

They are plug-and-play institutions, easy for first-timers or foreigners to navigate and to trust. While we have suffered stock manipulation scandals like anyone else, the perpetrators have been caught and reforms put into place to try to prevent a recurrence.

This reputation is not something that can or should be lightly risked. The Adani Group shouldnt be declared guilty on the basis of one report from one research group. But that report has caused the world to look closely at not just Adani but also the environment within which Adani operates. Whatever conclusion they come to about the first, its critical that their judgment of the second turns out positive. Otherwise, Indian companies that intend to raise money from capital inflows into the equity markets will suffer. So will Indian investors who expect those inflows to swell their returns.

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It isnt only Indian regulators who need to ensure they address these doubts head-on. This is a crucial test for Indias market economy. Policymakers in New Delhi still have extraordinary influence over the nuts and bolts of Indias economy, if in ways that are not immediately obvious to outsiders. State-run banks dominate lending to companies. The Life Insurance Corporation of India, a public sector insurer, is the most influential domestic equity investor. If it and other state-run institutions appear to come to Adanis rescue now, without credible justification, who will believe in the future that Indias government doesnt have a thumb on the stock-market scales?

Policy makers will have some tough choices to make. They may feel the odds are against them, and the world has turned untrusting. Consider this: We have just heard that Abu Dhabis International Holding Co. will invest $400 million in Adani Enterprises Ltd., the groups listed trading house. On the one hand, this makes perfect sense for IHC, and fits with other such investments the Emirati royals fund has made in the past.

On the other hand, everyone also knows that the United Arab Emirates are Indias closest strategic partner. Concerns that New Delhi will call on its friends, associates and vassals to help Adani in its hour of need are hardly likely to be assuaged by this news.

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Indias regulatory reputation is on the line. This is the one thing that has set us apart for three decades, since SEBI was first set up in response to our first big market manipulation scandal. It is something we as Indians should be proud of and should fight to defend  regardless of how hard one company waves the flag in our faces.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 How Madoffs of Manhattan Can Unravel Adanis Empire: Shuli Ren

 Adani Strikes Back. Can He Win the Image War?: Andy Mukherjee

 What Really Worries Indians About Adanis Empire: Mihir Sharma

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, he is author of Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy.

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The scene is familiar: An American Secretary of State arrives in Jerusalem as a right-wing Prime Minister is simultaneously preparing for another cycle of violence with the Palestinians and bracing for blowback from an Israeli attack deep inside Iran. But while Antony Blinken and Benjamin Netanyahu smoothly act out their parts in the kabuki theater of Middle Eastern diplomacy, keep an eye on a character in the background, trying not to display his acute discomfort: Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates.

In previous enactments of this production, MBZ, as he is widely known in the Arab world, would have been in the wings. But he brought himself onto the stage two-and-a-half years ago by normalizing the UAEs relations with Israel. In effect, he took part ownership of Israels more contentious relationships, with the Palestinians and with Iran.

Two other Arab states, Bahrain and Morocco, followed the Emirati example and signed on to the Abraham Accords with Israel, but it is MBZ who has really stuck his neck out. His officials quickly built trade, tourism and security relations with Israel, and talked of $1 trillion in economic ties over the next decade.

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Given Netanyahus history of belligerence toward Iran and uncompromising hostility toward the Palestinians, MBZ would have anticipated turbulence in the relationship on those two fronts. The UAE is keenly aware that its glittering cities and oil installations sit within range of the Islamic Republics missiles. Tehran also uses its proxies, such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen, to menace Emirati interests. The risk is substantial that Iran will lash out at the UAE in revenge for the actions of its Israeli ally.

Violence against Palestinians, whether inflicted by the Israeli Defense Force or by Jewish settlers, represents a different kind of problem for MBZ: a loss of credibility in the wider Arab world. The Emiratis had argued that signing the Abraham Accords would give them more leverage with the Israelis, the better to protect Palestinian interests. As proof, they pointed to Netanyahus abandonment of a plan to annex swathes of the West Bank.

But the Emirati ability to restrain Israeli actions against Palestinians was always going to be challenged by Netanyahus new governing coalition, which is beholden to extreme right-wing parties that call for annexation and more violence against Palestinians.

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Now MBZ faces a perfect storm of increased violence against Palestinians, empowered and emboldened settlers  and an Iranian regime, already rattled by internal dissent, provoked by an Israeli strike on a military compound in Isfahan.

(By contrast, having resisted American pressure to join the Abraham Accords and made a Palestinian state a precondition for formal diplomatic ties with Israel, the Saudis will be feeling vindicated.)

Thus far, the Emirates have responded with characteristic caution. They have decried the provocative behavior of Netanyahus allies: The UAE, along with China, called for a UN Security Council meeting after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in early January. They have condemned both the IDFs raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin as well as the terrorist attack against a synagogue near Jerusalem.

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And they have wagged a disapproving finger at the attack in Isfahan. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, MBZs diplomatic adviser, said in a tweet the attack is not in the interest of the region or its future. He was, however, careful not to directly blame Israel.

But the limits of this cagey approach are certain to be tested as the Netanyahu government settles into power. MBZ can expect more Palestinian-baiting from Ben-Gvir and other hard-right figures, as well as more belligerence from settlers.

With little influence over Palestinian terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, MBZ can also expect more violence aimed at Israelis. He must know Israel will make more attempts on Iranian military targets, especially as the regime in Tehran races toward nuclear threshold status. And, as he learned last weekend, he can expect all these things to happen at once.

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A great deal more discomfort is in store for the Emirati ruler.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Yemens Fragile Truce Needs More Than Talks to Survive: Bobby Ghosh

 Netanyahus New Partners Waste No Time in Undermining Him: Hussein Ibish

 A Democratic Iran Is Coming and It Will Lead the Middle East: Robert D. Kaplan

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs. Previously, he was editor in chief at Hindustan Times, managing editor at Quartz and international editor at Time.

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The Conservatives may own Brexit, but the issue is as awkward for Labour. Earlier this month, London Mayor Sadiq Khan broke omerta on the subject and spat it out. After two years of denial and avoidance, we must now confront the hard truth: Brexit isnt working. Its weakened our economy, fractured our union and diminished our reputation.

Khan called for a discussion about rejoining the single market and customs union. That, however, isnt on Keir Starmers agenda, at least not for the next election. Instead, the party will focus on changes at the margins. In a major foreign policy speech last week, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said a Labour government would aim to fix the Tories bad Brexit deal to increase trade with Europe.

Lammys proposals included fixing (that word again) the Northern Ireland Protocol, reducing friction on trade in agri-foods, medicine and veterinary goods, strengthening mutual recognition of professional standards and getting UK participation in the EUs Horizon science funding scheme unblocked.

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Theres no reason that some mitigation of frictions in these areas shouldnt be possible. Indeed, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already changed the tone of discussion and is making progress toward a deal on the Protocol. But the torturous trade negotiation process also showed that concessions come at a cost. There are no easy external trade deals either, as the government has found.

The various Conservative positions on Brexit  which veer from denialism to deflection  are even more problematic. In a speech at Bloombergs European headquarters on Jan. 27, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt spoke about the unheralded achievements and potential of the UK economy. But his language on Brexit betrayed the logical, or maybe tautological, problem for Conservatives: We need to make Brexit a catalyst for the bold choices that will take advantage of the nimbleness and flexibilities that it makes possible.

If Brexit offers so many great opportunities, why does the government have to find ways to make it a catalyst? What he seems to be saying is necessity must be the mother of invention, but thats hardly a ringing defense of Brexit.

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Three years is certainly long enough to draw some conclusions. While its tricky to separate Brexit effects from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, there are some clear patterns. The Centre for Economic Reforms John Springford developed an algorithm that compares data on UK performance with that of 22 other advanced economies; it is weighted to form a non-Brexiting (or doppelganger) UK for contrast. Updated results in December found that UK GDP is 5.5% lower than it would have been had Brexit not happened. Investment is 11% lower and goods trade 7% lower (services trade was mostly unaffected). That equates to roughly 40 billion ($50 billion) in lost tax revenue, which is making it harder for the government to cut taxes or meet other spending priorities.

Counterfactuals arent an exact science and the model may well overestimate the costs of Brexit. (The Office for Budget Responsibility had put the cost of Brexit over 15 years at 4% of GDP.) But Britain has experienced a growth shortfall relative to its G7 peers of 4% since the second quarter of 2016, as Bloomberg Economics Chief European Economist Jamie Rush noted Friday. Other research published last week by the Centre for European Reform and UK in a Changing Europe estimates that the end of free movement of workers has resulted in a labor market shortfall of 330,000 people, mostly in the low-skilled segment of the economy.

When it finally happened three years ago on Jan. 31, Britains official departure from the EU came with a whimper rather than a bang. Little changed on the surface except the removal of the B-word from political discourse, regarded by many as a mercy.

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That avoidance has become harder to sustain in light of the evidence that Brexit is adding to Britains economic woes. Polling agency YouGov reported late last year that 56% of the public regret voting for Brexit; 32% are still in favor. More recent polling shows the public have little confidence in either party on the issue. Three years on, determined to avoid a new debate about Brexit, both parties are struggling to articulate a coherent narrative of what comes next.

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 What Does Sunak Stand For? His Party Needs to Know: Martin Ivens



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--With assistance from Elaine He.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

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Its well established that the European Union has some of the strictest privacy laws in the world, threatening fines of up to 4% of a companys annual turnover. A lesser-known fact, and one which large tech firms would like to keep quiet, is that the EU hasnt enforced those rules very strictly.

Since introducing its landmark privacy law known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, the EU has delegated the job of policing Big Tech to the nations where the firms have their European headquarters. That puts enormous pressure on countries like Ireland, which hosts several large internet firms that have frequently been accused of flouting privacy law, including Meta Platforms Inc. Ireland has issued roughly 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) worth of fines against Meta alone in the past five months, but the penalties took years to come about and, in the latest case, Ireland was forced by its European peers to significantly raise it. Ireland has long been a bottleneck for the EUs enforcement because of the slow pace with which it has processed cases and its relatively business-friendly interpretation of GDPR rules.

But that could well change now that the EUs executive arm, the European Commission, will require each nation to share an overview of its data-protection investigations six times a year. A countrys regulator will also have to give the Commission an overview of all its large-scale cross-border investigations under GDPR including, critically, all key procedural steps taken with each case, and all investigatory or other measures taken, along with dates for each of these steps and measures, according to a document detailing the Commissions response to suggestions from the European Ombudsman, seen by Bloomberg Opinion. It signals a toughening stance on privacy, holding the regulators themselves to account for investigating companies properly.(1)

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While the Commission does issue a report every two years or so on the general state of GDPR enforcement, (2)the executive arm has not deeply scrutinized the work of each nations privacy regulator in such a formal or systemic way. In theory, if national watchdogs dont comply with the new requirement for information, that nations government could face legal action at the European Court of Justice. The privacy regulators have never had their feet held to the fire quite like this.

Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France are countries for whom this change is most important. Ireland hosts the largest number of tech firms on its shores, while Uber Technologies Inc. is in the Netherlands, Amazon.com Inc. in Luxembourg and Criteo SA, one of the worlds largest online advertising firms, is in France.

The change appears to be the result of a complaint made to the European Ombudsman by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, a human rights group that has lodged several objections with the EU about how Irelands privacy watchdog has dealt with Facebook.

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Previously you had cases lying dormant for years and privacy law not being applied, says Johnny Ryan, a senior fellow at the ICCL. This heralds the beginning of true enforcement, and that means serious European enforcement against Big Tech.

The EUs one-stop-shop mechanism, which is bureaucrat-speak for making a single country responsible for policing tech firms, has put privacy advocates in the unusual position of lodging complaints not just against companies but against the regulators themselves for not being strict enough. Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems has suggested hell take action against Luxembourgs privacy watchdog because of the long wait over a complaint about Amazon, which has been accused of exposing user information to potential breaches and exploitation.

The European Ombudsman, which investigates administrative complaints about the EU, confirmed it had been told by the European Commission that it would increase its scrutiny of national watchdogs.

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Irelands Data Protection Commission has argued that its cases take a long time because they are complex, and that while it is inundated with cases with the myriad tech companies under its jurisdiction, it has resolved hundreds of cross-border complaints over the last four years.

But the European Court of Justice has also called out the Irish watchdog for persistent administrative inertia. And earlier this month the regulator was forced by Europes Data Protection Board to substantially increase a fine against Meta over illegal data processing, from 28 million euros to 390 million euros, after it initially sided with Meta on several aspects of the original complaint which came from Schrems.

With the Commission checking each regulators homework, the watchdogs will be forced to work harder and avoid stalling: any years-long delays between the lodging of a complaint and the opening of an inquiry will be in full view of the EU mothership, as will many months passing between rounds of correspondence about a case, or complaints leading to no investigation at all.

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The one drawback to this development is that the Commission wont do its audits in the open; all the information that national privacy regulators share will be kept strictly confidential.

Till then well have to make do with what is still a step in the right direction. The renewed scrutiny wont be public, but at least it will be happening.

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(1) According to the document, the Commissions Department for Justice and Consumers, led by Commissioner Didier Reynders, said it would request all national supervisory data protection authorities to share with the Commission, on a bi-monthly and strictly confidential basis, an overview of large-scale cross-border investigations under the GDPR with information on the following pre-determined fields: Case number; Controller or processor involved; Investigation type (ex officio or complaint-based); summary of investigation scope (including which provisions of the GDPR are at issue); DPAs concerned; Key procedural steps taken and dates; Investigatory or any other measures taken and dates.

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(2) The Commissions last such report was published in 2020 and mentioned Ireland once, saying on a general way that resources for privacy enforcement was uneven between member states.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of We Are Anonymous.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Over the past week, a number of countries have made commitments to provide advanced tanks and armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian military. How will the Ukrainians take advantage of their windfall in armored combat power? And why is the image of tanks on European battlefields so evocative? Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight In the coming months, the Ukrainians will be receiving a force of what are known as main battle tanks: extremely capable, modern, well-maintained and lethal. The initial pledges include German-made Leopard 2 tanks from perhaps a dozen nations, most importantly Germany and Poland; the formidable M1-A1 Abrams from the US; and Challenger 2 tanks from the UK. The French have promised Leclerc armored personnel carriers, and the US will send Bradley fighting vehicles and high-speed armored Strykers. Other European nations, from Spain to Sweden, are promising additional armored vehicles.

As for Russia, there were reports the other day that it had just received a bunch of decades-old T-34 tanks from Laos. It turns out Russia did add such tanks to its arsenal, but the shipment arrived a few years ago. They were built in the waning days of World War II, given to Vietnam by the Soviet Union, then passed on in the 1980s, like broken toys, to the Laotians. A Russian state broadcaster described them recently: Despite the old age of these legendary T-34s [they] still work. The guns here are also in working condition. Hardly a glowing assessment.

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Given that hundreds of Russian frontline tanks were destroyed in the opening months of the war  most by antitank missiles and sophisticated drones provided by Ukraines Western supporters  Russian President Vladimir Putin is desperate for combat armor.

A look at history helps to show why. The broad plains of Central and Eastern Europe were highways for mechanized forces throughout much of the 20th century. Under Hitler, the Nazi Army used tank warfare to launch the vaunted Blitzkrieg that crushed Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in the opening rounds of World War II. German Panzer tanks were used with lethal effect across Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) against the Soviet Union as well.

Eventually, as the industrial superiority of the allies began to wear down the German war machine, it was the turn of the Allies: Pattons mechanized forces rushing across Europe; the Red Army pushing its way to Berlin. Tanks have constituted the dominant military force across Europe in the memories of older generations. Their reappearance has rattled old ghosts, in Moscow and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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Looming major tank warfare has created a sense of opportunity for the Ukrainians. And, despite their bravado over the Western commitments  NATOs tanks will burn like all the others, said a Kremlin spokesman  theres no question the Russians are very uneasy.

And they should be. The tanks provide Ukraine with three key advantages.

First and foremost, the unity of the allied decision to provide the armored forces  albeit after a few weeks of wrangling  is a powerful signal of transatlantic solidarity. Morale is a strong and meaningful force on a battlefield. Putin banked on the allies cracking by now in the face of European gas shortages and restive publics, but these announcements give the lie to that theory.

A second element of tank capability is how they provide support to infantry. Military professionals have long talked about infantry as the queen of the battlefield, able to move in any direction like the queen on a chessboard. But on a modern battlefield, that maneuver can be too slow without mechanized armor. Supplied with tanks for mobile fire support, alongside the relatively high-speed armored personnel carriers and Strykers, Ukrainian forces should be able to move rapidly up and down the hundreds of miles of the battlefield line in the Donbas to stem any Russian offensive.

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Finally, the tanks and armored personnel carriers can be concentrated and used to punch at the Russian front lines at a time of the Ukrainians choosing. With sufficient power, they could break through Russian lines and drive to the Black Sea coast. This would split the Russian forces, expose their flanks, complicate their logistics immeasurably, and isolate Russian forces in Crimea from Russia proper.

All of this comes with risks, of course. It will be challenging to quickly train the Ukrainian crews, not only in the individual operation of differing kinds of tanks and armored personnel carriers, but also in how to integrate them into a single fighting force. The logistics for the donor nations in simply getting the tanks into the hands of the Ukrainians will be challenging; the vehicles will not all appear magically in the same moment, but rather will be staggered in arrival.

Maintenance and fuel will be challenging, notably for the Abrams, with its turbine-powered jet engine and complex command-and-control suite. And using the armor in a combined-arms style of fighting  to avoid suffering in the kind of tank killing fields the Ukrainians created around Kyiv in the early months  will be a crucial challenge.

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One other aspect of the new armored forces is important. The arrival of the tanks immediately begs for more combat aircraft overhead, particularly Soviet-era MIG-29s and American F-16s. So far, the West has held off supplying aircraft, but that debate is going to heat up soon, despite US President Joe Bidens comment on Monday that doing so was not practical: While the addition of the tanks is crucial, combat airpower may ultimately be decisive. Having spent years as supreme allied commander of NATO studying European war plans and the history of tank warfare on the continent, I cant imagine operating that armored force without sufficient air cover.

Memories of tank warfare still haunt Europe. The arrival of Western armor in meaningful numbers should become Putins next nightmare.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

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 Forget Autonomy  Europe Needs the US: Andreas Kluth

 Western Tanks Will Give Ukraine a Fighting Chance: Editorial

 Sending Dumb Weapons From Israel to Ukraine Is Smart: James Stavridis

(Updates with Biden comments on aircraft for Ukraine in 13th paragraph.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A retired U.S. Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, he is vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group. He is the author most recently of To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision.

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Former President Donald Trump embarked on another White House run while facing a slew of legal troubles. They now include a recommendation from lawmakers that Trump be charged in connection with the violent attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election. The cases could pose distractions and produce unflattering revelations that no presidential candidate would welcome. Trump is no normal politician, though, and the legal scrutiny could feed his preferred narrative that he is being unfairly targeted by the current Democratic administration and a deep state bureaucracy.

1. What are the legal cases?

Trump faces possible criminal charges by the US Justice Department over classified documents found at his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot; by Atlantas district attorney over his attempts to change the 2020 Georgia election results; and by a grand jury in New York over any role he may have played in making hush money payments to an adult film actress on the eve of the 2016 election. On the civil side, Trumps hurdles include a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James that accuses him and three of his children of fraudulently manipulating the value of the companys assets for years to deceive banks and insurers.

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2. Could any of this disqualify him as a presidential candidate?

Probably not. Article II of the US Constitution, which lays out qualifications for the presidency, says nothing about criminal accusations or convictions. Trump opponents see two possible avenues to challenging his eligibility, however. One is a federal law barring the removal or destruction of government records: It says anyone convicted of the offense is disqualified from federal office. This could conceivably apply if  and this is a big if  Trump is charged and convicted for taking classified documents from the White House. The other is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It says nobody can hold a seat in Congress, or any office, civil or military, if they engaged in insurrection or rebellion. The Democrat-led House of Representatives committee that investigated the Capitol riot voted on Dec. 19 to recommend that the Justice Department charge Trump with insurrection and other crimes. (Criminal referrals from Congress carry no legal weight on their own.) In addition, two advocacy groups said they would sue to make sure the 14th Amendment prohibition applies to Trump.

3. Do these cases hurt him politically?

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In a Marist Poll taken in August, 47% of Americans said Trump did something illegal or unethical and should be charged. But Trumps hardcore supporters have proven to be unwavering. A New York Times/Siena College poll in September found that 44% of voters viewed Trump favorably, similar to the level of support found in recent years. Trump has long tried to cast lawsuits against him and investigations into his conduct as politically motivated, calling them hoaxes and witch hunts. Signs calling for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be defunded and Attorney General Merrick Garland fired have become common among Trump supporters.

4. Whats the status of the other criminal cases?

 The FBI said it found 11 sets of documents bearing classified markings at Mar-a-Lago, a number of which were marked top secret. In their search warrant, agents said they were investigating a potential violation of the Espionage Act  which makes it a crime to remove or misuse national-defense information  along with obstruction of justice and violation of a law prohibiting the removal or destruction of government records. Days after Trump announced his candidacy, Garland appointed Jack Smith, the former head of the Justice Departments public integrity section, as special counsel to take over the Trump probes.

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 In Georgia, Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating whether Trump broke the law in his attempts to alter the results of the states 2020 vote. In a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call, Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes  one more than Joe Bidens margin of victory in the state. A special grand jury that heard evidence in the case finished its work by submitting a report to Willis, who will decide whether to bring charges.

 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office is investigating whether Trump and his company falsified records to conceal payments to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, intended to keep her from going public about her alleged affair with Trump. (Trump has denied the affair.) Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, a key player in the alleged scheme, admitting he facilitated payments and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization for advancing the money to Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance and other violations in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

 On Dec. 6, following a weeks-long trial, two units of the Trump family business, the Trump Organization, were found guilty of engaging in a 13-year tax-evasion scheme. A Manhattan jury found the two units guilty of all 17 counts including scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Trump himself wasnt charged. The two companies were assessed a $1.6 million fine. With a felony on its record, the Trump Organization could be barred from further contracts with government agencies and could have trouble doing business with banks. Lawyers for both units said they would appeal.

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5. Where do the civil cases stand?

 The New York attorney generals civil suit against Trump and three of his children for allegedly inflating the value of his real estate companys assets is perhaps the biggest threat to the former presidents wealth, as well as his image as a successful businessman. James is seeking $250 million in disgorgement and a permanent ban on the four Trumps doing business in New York. Shes already succeeded in winning a court order for an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization, a move that could bring unprecedented scrutiny to the former presidents finances.

 Trump was sued for battery by New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who claims that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The suit was filed under New Yorks new Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for one year on civil claims for sexual offenses. Trump was already facing a potential trial in a defamation suit brought by Carroll over his comments, when she first made her accusation in 2019, that Carroll was not his type and that she made up the claim to boost sales of her book. Trump says hes shielded from liability in that suit because he was a government employee undertaking an official act when he denied Carrolls allegation. In her battery lawsuit, Carroll included a new allegation of defamation against Trump, based on a social media post he wrote after leaving office.

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 Trump, his company and his three oldest children are also facing a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by four investors who claimed that they were duped by Trumps promotions into paying thousands of dollars to become independent sellers with ACN Opportunity LLC, which sold a doomed videophone device that Trump touted as the next big thing. The devices were made obsolete by smartphones. Trump sat for questions in October.

 Trump was sued by 12 Democratic lawmakers accusing him of sparking the Jan. 6 riot. Multiple Capitol police officers also sued Trump for physical injuries and racist abuse suffered during that day. Through appeals, Trump is trying to get the cases dismissed.

 Mary Trump, the former presidents niece, sued her uncle, his late brother and older sister for allegedly cheating her out of her share of the family fortune. Donald Trump won dismissal of the lawsuit on Nov. 14; Mary Trump is seeking to have it reinstated.

 A group of Michigan voters sued Trump and his reelection campaign in 2020 for mass voter suppression, particularly among Black voters. Trumps attempt to dismiss the case was partially granted; the Michigan group sought more time to file a second complaint.

--With assistance from Erik Larson.

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(The Phantom of the Opera)

The Phantom of the Opera is set to leave Broadway after a 35-year run. The Post interviewed six women who played leading lady Christine Daae through the decades.
The tiny radioactive capsule missing in Western Australias outback has been found.

WA Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson confirmed the capsule was found after 11am just south of Newman on Wednesday.

Dawson said it was an extraordinary result by for Western Australians and Australians.

The missing radioactive capsule has been found.

The hunt for the 8 millimetre-long silver capsule containing the harmful radioactive substance caesium-137 has been ongoing since January 25 and spanned the 1400-kilometre route the piece of equipment the capsule was contained in took when it went missing earlier this month.

The search involved the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, the Australian Defence Force, and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, which arrived in WA on Tuesday with specialised car-mounted and portable detection equipment.

Authorities believe the capsule fell out of a bolthole in a piece of mining equipment sometime between January 12 and January 16 while in transit to Perth along the Great Northern Highway from Rio Tintos Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the Pilbara.
Jerusalem: Arriving in Jerusalem amid the bloodiest violence in years, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israelis and Palestinians to ease tensions while he reaffirmed a long-stalled peace vision of two states side by side as the only path forward.

Blinken focused censure on a Palestinian gun spree outside a synagogue that put Israel on high alert but also cautioned against any celebration or avenging of such bloodshed.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after their meeting at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem. Credit: AP

Seven people were shot dead in Fridays attack by an East Jerusalem man who was later killed by police. Lionised by many fellow Palestinians, he had no known links to militant groups.

A day earlier, Israel carried out an unusually deep raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, killing 10 residents, most of them gunmen. At least 35 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians, have died in violence surging since January 1, medical officials say.
National Trade Facilitation Agreement Workshop, organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF) in cooperation with UNCTAD, the Asian Development Bank, and the WCO in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Maldives, was held from 22 to 25 January 2023 in Male, Maldives.

Participants included members of Maldives' National Trade Facilitation Committee (NCTF), representatives from the Maldives Customs Service (MCS), other relevant ministries and private sector representatives involved in implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

The first day of workshop was dedicated to the Maldives NCTF members. The objective of this session was to increase the awareness of NCTF members of the importance of the TFA, the role of NCTF in its implementation and the active role that the NCTF members have to play in this regard. The audience was made aware of the Maldives current status of implementation of the TFA based on the notifications and the WCO Mercator Diagnostic Mission findings and recommendations as well as the WCO TFA Maturity Model Assessment.

During the workshop, the participants had an opportunity to visit MCS headquarters and the Maldives port. This provided them an opportunity to observe the Customs procedures including documentation, risk assessment, ongoing work on AEO programme and to see the processes at the port.

Participants were also briefed on the WCO instruments and tools developed to facilitate international trade and to support the implementation of the TFA including the Revised Kyoto Convention, Implementation Guidance for Section I of the TFA and others. The WCO e-learning opportunities for Customs officers as well as other public and private sector stakeholders and academia were also introduced.

The Maldives Customs Service and other participants greatly appreciated and thanked the WCO for its continuous technical assistance and capacity building support provided to the MCS on their way towards implementation of trade facilitations measures.

The WCO highlighted its long term engagement with the MCS under the Multi-Year (MY) Mercator partnership aimed to assist with the implementation of the TFA and reiterated that this support will continue to be provided with some new planned activities in the coming period.
Press Release

January 30, 2023 TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH - SENATOR FRANCIS 'TOL' N. TOLENTINO

30 January 2023 | Sponsorship Speech--Committee Report No. 19

Senate Resolutions No. 120 and 134 on the alleged procurement of overpriced laptops Mr. President, fellow members of this august chamber, after conducting almost 5 extensive hearings during the last quarter of 2022, as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, I have the honor to report out Committee Report No. 19 in relation to PS Resolution No. 120 and PS Resolution No. 134, regarding the alleged overpriced and outdated laptops procured by the Department of Education (DepEd) through the Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management. Mr. President, we scrutinized 5 sets of TSN - Transcript of Stenographic Notes, consisting of 1,193 pages. 3 memoranda filed, various memoranda filed by Undersecretaries of the Department of Education, former Undersecretaries, and some members of the PS-DBM, including special black No. 1 Voluminous pages, likewise, Mr. President. The evidence gathered by the committee, Mr. President, consisted of 10,662 pages. Inaral po lahat iyan, Mr. President. We came out with the committee report consisting of 197 pages, excluding the attachments, Mr. President. Mr. President, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our lives in more ways that we have expected. And while we are yet to come to terms with the changes the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed us back to break from our traditional ways of doing things and transition into doing every online, including the delivery of education. Mr. President, for the last 14 or 15 months, Mr. President, I've seen right in front of the Quirino Grandstand the temporary quarantine facilities, consisting of several container bans. Kanina lang po, Mr. President, ginigiba na yung harap nung Quirino Grandstand to show the semblance of going back to normal. But Mr. President, hindi pa rin ho nakakalimutan ng education sector ang nangyari. And as you mentioned a while ago, Mr. President, there was an education summit conducted today, which we should all support. Mr. President, I've mentioned this, the education sector was one of the most affected - adversely affected by the pandemic. At the time of the lockdowns, the Covid baseline for the education sector according to the Department of Education can be summarized as follows and the good Senator, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, will agree with these figures: 1. Basic education had a total enrollment of 27,770,263 learners from Kindergarten to Grade 12, excluding the 21,786 enrollees in Philippine Schools Overseas (PSOs), resulting in a total of 27,748,477 learners in the country of which 22,572,923 were accounted for by DepEd Schools; 2. In addition to the learners, the DepEd employed over 900 thousand regular personnel of which more than 800 thousand are teachers. There were also about 10 thousand contracts of service personnel in the various offices of the DepEdp nationwide according to adding sum 300 thousand private school teachers and personnel. Marami rin po, Mr. President, during the lockdown period na private elementary schools and high schools na nag-sara na. Thus, basic education directly accounts for nearly 30 million learners, teachers, and personnel, not counting the ancillary services supporting the education system, including transport, food, and other services. This 30 million figure represents about 27 percent of the current Philippine population and is 20 percent higher than the total number of people employed in the services sector, the biggest employer of the country's labor force. To keep up with the demands of time, the 18th Congress passed Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to recover as one or the Bayanihan 2, which among others appropriated an amount of 4 billion pesos to assist the DepEd in the implementation of the digital education, information technology, and digital infrastructures and alternative learning modalities, including the printing and delivery of self-learning modules of the DepEd. A Special Release Order - Allotment Release Order, SARO was issued by the DBM on 11 November 2020. In the original proposal, Mr. President, and this came from the records of the committee, 2 billion 400 million was supposed to be allotted to provide internet load mobile internet load to some 3.2 million high school learners nationwide. However, weeks after the issuance of the SARO, DepEd requested an amendment of the project to be funded by the appropriations from mobile internet load for Senior High School students to, quote-unquote, laptop for teachers, supposedly to ensure that teachers have the necessary tools to conduct classes through online learning. But this is not what happened, Mr. President. Unfortunately, rather than maximizing the amount to get the possible laptop for our teachers, officials of the then DepEd administration and PS-DBM, for reasons only known to them, reduced the number of laptops to be procured. From 68,500 to only 39,583. This was accomplished by simply increasing the approved budget of the contract ABC per piece from 35,036.50 to 58,300 through a new price markets survey conducted by PS-DBM. As a result of the reduction of quantity, less teachers received laptops and less students were reached and benefited from the program. Mr. President, to add insult to the injury, the laptops procured had a speed of 1.8 gigahertz, which was way below the agreed specification of at least 1.9 gigahertz. During the course of the hearings, Mr. President, some of which lasted for more than 8 long hours, your committee - your Blue Ribbon Committee would like to thank all the Senators who participated extensively, including Senators Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, the minority leader, Senator dela Rosa, some of whom are not here, including Senator Padilla. Your Blue Ribbon Committee has uncovered an equally contentious issue aside from the fact of the laptops being overpriced. Mr. President, the word overprice initially, originally came from the Commission on Audit using the word, quote-unquote, pricey in their report, Mr. President, in their audit report. I am referring to the fact that the Memorandum of Agreement executed between the DepEd and PS-DBM was antedated. Antedated, Mr. President. Mr. President, again, this came from the evidence gathered by your committee, and I repeat: ang ebidensiya pong nakalap ng Blue Ribbon Committee ay roughly 10,662 pages, Mr. President. 10,662 pages. Mr. President, based on the evidence presented during that five separate hearings open to the public, transparent, Mr. President, the Blue Ribbon Committee has reached the following findings: 1. The contract for the supply and delivery of laptop computers for public school teachers under the 2021 Deped Laptop for Teachers Procurement Project was overpriced by at least Php 979 million pesos; 2. There is sufficient basis to believe that there was a conspiracy to facilitate and/or generate an overprice which indicates manifest partiality, evident bad faith, and/or gross inexcusable neglect on the part of senior officials and staff of the former DepEd administration and the PS-DBM. While they may seemingly act separately, concerted acts were evident to create an opportunity for favored bidders to submit bloated and excessive bids leading to an overprice in the purchase of the laptops. This finding is supported by a Commission on Audit report and audit recommendations presented to the Committee by the Commission on Audit itself; 3. The repeated changes by DepEd in the use and allocation of the Php2.4 Billion from tablets to mobile connectivity loads for students, and then to laptops for teachers is highly arbitrary, unjustified, improper, and not beneficial to DepEd teachers and students; 4. The outsourcing of procurement tasks by DepEd to PS-DBM contravenes Section 7.3.3 of the 2016 Revised IRR of Republic Act 9184 as DepEd has the proficiency and capability to undertake the procurement. Further, rather than hastening the procurement, the transfer to PS-DBM of procurement tasks delayed the process and facilitated the anomaly subject of the investigation conducted; 5. The Agreement entered into by DepEd and PS- DBM dated 16 February 2021 was antedated, antedated, as it was only signed on 28 May 2021, thereby making the procurement activities conducted highly irregular and questionable. In this regard, the obligating of funds supposedly for the procurement of the laptops on February 18, 2021, without the said Memorandum of Agreement in place, is likewise irregular and subject to question; 6. The increase of the unit price component of the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) from Php35,036.50 to Php58,300.00 which caused the reduction of the quantity of the laptops is highly irregular, it was generated from a manipulated market survey. This was gathered during the hearing, Mr. President. And the price analysis of PS-DBM which was accepted and approved by DepEd without question; 7. Mr. President, number 7: the Special Bids and Awards Committee, Head of the Procuring Entity of PS-DBM, and the officials of DepEd caused grave and undue injury and prejudice to the DepEd and our public school teachers when they procured and accepted the entry-level Dell Latitude 3420, with Intel Celeron 1.8 GHz processor despite said processor being below the specifications stated in the bidding documents; 8. Pangwalo, number 8, Mr. President: Contrary to the avowed purpose of the procurement which is to ensure that teachers will have the necessary tools to conduct classes through online learning, the Dell Latitude 3420 procured were diverted, were diverted to a large number of non-teaching personnel (about 12 percent), Mr. President. And as testified by teachers and the Commission on Audit (COA), during the hearings conducted, the laptops were too slow because the processor is Intel Celeron, which is outdated, and the price is too high considering the entry-level specifications. Mr. President, on the basis of the findings which I just mentioned, your Senate Blue Ribbon Committee recommends the following: The abolition of PS-DBM, and to require government departments, agencies, offices, instrumentalities, including GOCCs, SUCs and local governments, to conduct their own procurement as an exercise of their fiduciary duty to be accountable for the public funds appropriated for their respective offices; Mr. President, I have filed the bill relative to this. I have filed, today, Senate Bill No. 1803, amending Republic Act 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, providing for the eligibility of bidders in the procurement of goods and infrastructure projects and for other purposes. I have a copy hear, Mr. President. Kaka-file ko lang po ito ngayon, ala-tres quarenta ng hapon ngayong araw na ito. Mr. President, your committee, likewise, recommends the following: Amend RA No. 9184 to provide for transparency and accountability requirements for joint venture entities or arrangements participating in public biddings. Yung joint venture po dapat mayroon silang expertise don po sakanilang sinasalihang venture;

Amend RA No. 9184, as I have mentioned, to provide for transparency and accountability safeguards during the planning and pre-bidding stages of public procurement, including but not limited to the setting of the ABC and technical specifications or goods, services or infrastructure to be procured;

Recovery of the overprice in the amount of at least Php979 Million Pesos as proceeds of corruption, and the amount totally recovered by the courts, the Sandigang Bayan, to be placed in a special National Teachers Trust Fund to support the health and medical needs of public school teachers and educational needs of their children through a special scholarship program;

Number 6: The immediate conduct of a Special Fraud Audit by the Commission on Audit to examine the various accounts and financial documents related to the overpricing of the laptops, and determine relevant accountability;

Number 7: Request an AMLC investigation on the overpriced procurement, including an inquiry into bank deposits of the public officials identified in the investigation conducted by your Blue Ribbon Committee; Further recommendation is to: Request the BIR - the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to conduct a Special Tax Compliance Audit or a tax fraud audit inquiry to determine whether the proper taxes were paid on the income of the Joint Venture consortium partners; and And finally, Mr. President: The filing of criminal and administrative cases against the officials of DepEd and PS-DBM which we mentioned in Committee Report No. 19 To make matters worse, Mr. President, the Committee has also discovered during the course of our hearings that as of August 2022, there are still a total of 1,678 laptops that have not been distributed to teachers and are still gathering dust in some places. This could have helped 1,678 teachers in the fulfillment of their teaching duties. Mr. President, if we make an estimate of at least 30 students per teacher, these laptops could have benefited around 50,340 students, had they been fully distributed. Mr. President, as I have mentioned a while ago, I also filed Senate Bill 1802, abolishing the PS-DBM permanently, Mr. President. Sayang po, Mr. President, sayang. In closing Mr. President, the author and innovative learning and leadership consultant, George Cuoros, said and I quote, "Technology will never replace great teachers, but in the hands of great teachers, it's transformational". And indeed, what great transformation we could have achieved had our public officials from the former DepEd administration and the PS-DBM exercised their sworn duty to uphold the public trust, and performed their fiduciary duty to safeguard and ensure the optimal use of public funds in the purchase of laptops for our public school teachers. This was sadly not the case. This august chamber, therefore, is called upon to enact legislation that will not only address the acts and omissions that have led to the overpricing of the DepEd laptops, but more important, to ensure that more effective safeguards are put in place to prevent a recurrence of this anomaly which have compromised the integrity of our public school system and caused huge losses and waste of government resources. Katulong po ng Senado, hindi lang ang paghahanap ng katotohanan. Katulong po ang Senado, Mr. President, para matulungan ang ating mga guro at ang ating mga kabataang mag-aaral. Mr. President, sa dinami-dami po ng batikos, karangalan ko pong ibigigay at ilahad ang Committee Report No. 19 na pinaghirapan ng inyong committee. Maraming Salamat po, Mr. President. Mabuhay po ang Senado!
Today

Mostly sunny and continued unseasonably warm; some high clouds increase during the day.

Tonight

Increasing clouds. There might be a stray shower closer to sunrise.

Tomorrow

Mainly cloudy and cooler with some showers likely mainly during the afternoon, but not a washout. There might be a rumble or two of thunder too.
This years Ag Expo will feature Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen as a keynote speaker. The event is Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Southeast Community Colleges Academic Excellence Center on the Beatrice Campus. Gov. Pillen will kick off the event at 1 p.m. and will be followed by Dr. David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech.

The Beatrice Chamber Ag Committee is very excited to have the opportunity to host newly-elected Governor Pillen, coupled with well-known ag economist Dr. Kohl, said Kelly Lenners, one of the organizers of the event. Both will offer the audience excellence insight on the ag economy within Nebraska and nationally.

Kohl was professor of agricultural finance and small business management and entrepreneurship in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech. He is a two-time recipient of the prestigious American Agricultural Economics Associations Distinguished Teaching Award.

The event is free to the public and sponsored by the Beatrice Chamber of Commerce, Security First Bank, First State Bank, First National Bank of Omaha, and SCC.
MUHLENBERG TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Muhlenberg Township-based Clover Farms Dairy said a subsidiary of Cream-O-Land Dairy out of Florence, New Jersey will acquire its assets and operations.

"I knew for some time that Clover Farms owners were interested in retiring and passing along the business," said State Sen. Judy Schwank, D 11th District. "So I was very interested to hear that they have reached an agreement with a buyer."

Clover Farms products are sold not only in Berks County but also in much of Eastern Pennsylvania as well as other states. The company said both groups are working diligently to close the deal, which is expected to take two months.

"My concerns at the outset were, would the business still stay in Berks County and would our Berks County dairy farmers still have a local plant to ship their milk to," said Schwank.

The company said the transaction will secure Clover Farms' operations into the future as a strong regional dairy processor providing hundreds of jobs locally and keeping it a stable market for its independent farmer network.

"For those of us that like to buy local food products, it is really important to have our Clover Farms milk and most certainly that Clover Farms Icy Tea, that's also a product that a lot of people love in Berks County and beyond," said the senator.

Schwank is the minority chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. She said Pennsylvania is concerned about losing milk processors, so much so that the state recently passed legislation offering tax incentives to milk processors who come here.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Ira "Bob" Born, who was president of Just Born Quality Confections, which makes Peeps, has died at the age of 98, according to the company.

Born, also known as the "Father of Peeps," joined his father, Sam, and uncles Irv and Jack Shaffer in the family business in 1946, according to the company's website.

Bob joined Just Born in 1945 after World War II, where he honorably served in the Navy.

He became the president of Just Born Quality Confections in 1959, and during his long tenure, made many significant contributions to Just Born, the company said on its website.

The company said he invented the Peeps chick machine in 1954, which mechanized the production process. In addition, he created the recipe for Hot Tamales cinnamon-flavored candies in 1950 and created a technique that significantly increased the rate of production of the Mike & Ike and Hot Tamales candies.

"Bob will be remembered as a tireless and passionate advocate for the candy industry and a wonderful supporter of our community," said David Shaffer, board chair and co-CEO of Just Born. "Bob was our second-generation family member whose dedication was instrumental in Just Born reaching our 100-year milestone. We extend our deepest sympathy to his son, Ross, and the entire family."
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A corner of Bethlehem's Five Points, soon to be the site of an AutoZone store, has been sold for $2.64 million.

The property at 501-507 Wyandotte St., formerly homes and an auto-repair business, was sold Jan. 25, according to Northampton County property records. The AutoZone store that will open there is partly up.

The City of Bethlehem approved the auto parts store after lots of debate over traffic at the busy Five Points intersection. It is across from a McDonald's restaurant.

Traffic entering AutoZone could cause backups at Five Points, members of the city planning commission said in 2021. The issue of turning restrictions onto Sheets Street, an alley at the southern end of the property, was left up to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Turning restrictions are imposed on the nearby McDonald's, city officials said then, without hindering that business.

Others said that the same issue would come up with any use, and that people would ignore turning restrictions anyway.

"What better use than AutoZone?" Planning Commission member Thomas Barker asked at the May 2021 meeting. "Anybody who wants to go in there, we're going to have the same conversation. Somebody's got to go in there."

The transmission shop that occupied most of the land earlier had been closed for years.

The new owner is listed as SBBaker Realty, a limited liability corporation with an address on Long Island, New York.

AutoZone added a store at 3650 Nazareth Pike in Bethlehem Township last year. The auto parts chain operates more than 6,000 stores, mostly in the U.S. but also in Mexico and Brazil.

Shares of AutoZone Inc. trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AZO. They were trading at 2,444.00 per share at 9:50 am. Tuesday. The company's market capitalization (current share price times number of shares outstanding) is $45.5 billion at that price.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - PPL says its customers deserve better.

In a letter to all customers Tuesday, the company addressed a "technical issue" that caused many to get estimated electric bills, and has led to long call wait times.

"If you received an estimated bill or have had difficulty reaching our call center, I apologize. Simply put, you deserve better, and we are committed to regaining your trust," says the letter, in part, from PPL Electric Utilities President Steph Raymond.

PPL said the technical issue that caused thousands of bills to be sent out based on estimated electricity usage has been fixed, and customers can go online again to see detailed usage. The issue involved bills sent from Dec. 20 through Jan. 9.

Those who received an estimated bill either already have received a corrected bill or will see an adjustment based on actual usage on their next month bill, PPL says.

The company also said it will not shut off power for non-payment through March 31, and is waiving all late fees in January and February.

The letter also addresses higher energy prices, but said higher prices are not related to estimated billing.

Some customers reported bills double, triple or even 12 times the average monthly use. PPL did not explain how the technical issue could have caused bills multiple times the usual amount.

Customers with questions or concerns can contact PPL, and the company said it is adding more agents to answer calls and reduce wait times.

Local lawmakers and the state attorney general's office had also been monitoring the situation. PPL is regulated by the Public Utility Commission, a state agency.
This was a tough week for lottery players who use electricity.



First, PPL Corp. hit some customers with big bills, and then the lottery threatened to take players' money before they had a chance to lose it the old-fashioned way.



PPL has since apologized, and now the lottery has, too.



The Pennsylvania Lottery says it will not - NOT - turn your account over to the state.



Earlier Tuesday, some players with online accounts received an email saying they had not logged in for three years. Whatever was in their account would be turned over to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property if there was no login before March 31.



Later, the lottery retracted that statement.



"Please disregard an earlier email you received today about a remaining balance. Your remaining account balance will NOT be turned over to the Pennsylvania Treasury and is NOT considered unclaimed property. No further action is needed on your account," the next email said.



At 4:35 p.m., several hours after 69 News contacted the main lottery office in Middletown, Dauphin County, this comment was sent: "Players who received this email in error were immediately contacted via email and informed that their account balances would not be turned over to the Treasury Department," the statement said, including the apology.



The term "immediately" may not mean the same thing to all people. In one player's case, the message that the funds would not be turned over came almost two hours after the first.



"We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again," the late afternoon statement said. How many online players received the notice was not disclosed.



The Pennsylvania Lottery, according to its website, is the only state lottery that gives all proceeds to programs that benefit senior citizens. It has distributed more than $33.8 billion for senior centers and meals, prescription assistance, free and reduced-cost transportation, elder care, and property tax and rent rebates.



And for now, it will only take money that players want to give to it.
CRESCO, Pa.  The Paradise Township Board of Supervisors is currently reviewing plans for a new resort in the Pocono Mountain region, in Monroe County.

On Monday night, supervisors held the first of several public hearings to consider the conditional-use application of JSPA Realty LLC, which has presented a master development plan for the Hawthorne Mount Pocono Resort, a mixed-use facility consisting of a lodge, separate villas, pools, a spa and related features.

Also incorporated into the plan, a commercial shopping center will include retail, office and restaurant uses.

The entire development is being proposed on seven parcels of land located off Route 611, four parcels of which are located within Paradise Township. The others are in Pocono Township and in Mount Pocono Borough.

The facility is being proposed within the township's resort development overlay district in the R-2 residential zoning district.

The use is permitted within the overlay district by special exception.

Township Zoning Officer Shawn McGlynn gave an opinion that although the application was complete, he does not believe it is compliant with the zoning ordinance.

"The resort component is a rather spread-out development with a series of cabins and winding roads that weave their way through the hillside," McGlynn said.

"The commercial development is completely separate, with the exception of getting into a car and driving down Route 611," McGlynn continued. "This has been presented as a single application, but in a residential district, it's taking advantage of the resort overlay."

Donald G. Karpowich, an attorney representing the applicant, reminded McGlynn that it is his job to provide the facts of the zoning ordinance and not give his opinions.

Because the land parcels are continuous, Karpowich argued that the applicant has a right to submit one application according to the rules of the zoning ordinance.

The majority of the first hearing dealt with having 13 members of the public sign on as parties to the proceedings, and involved questioning them to ensure they had standing to be qualified as parties.

To sign on as a party means the person has a right to be represented by an attorney, question all witnesses, present evidence and testimony, offer their own witnesses and appeal a decision in court.

The applicant did not present its full case, as there was only time allotted for the project architect James Garrison to present artist's renderings of the completed resort.

The supervisors allowed non-party members to make brief statements at the end of the hearing, even though the full plans have not yet been presented.

Several members of the public raised issues surrounding waterways, stormwater runoff and sewage issues.

Ann Foster, a township resident, said she was speaking as an officer in the Broadhead Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

"The state of Pennsylvania has more exceptional and pristine waterways than any place else in the continental United States, and takes great pride in protecting and preserving these waters," Foster said.

"I do want to say that we ask everyone to be mindful going forward, not only of water withdrawals, but also of sewage disposal with our exceptional streams which feed many waterways downstream and throughout the watershed," Foster continued.

"I'm very aware of the economic benefit that these waters bring to our area," she explained. "We don't want to lose this good quality water and also the economic benefit that has supported the Poconos' economy for the last century."

Karpowich said he will present witnesses on the water and sewage issues next month.

The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in. the Pocono Mountain East High School auditorium.

Additional hearings have also been scheduled on March 9 and March 16, also at 7 p.m. at the high school.
PHILADELPHIA -- A pro-life activist from Bucks County has been found not guilty of violating the federal FACE Act.

Mark Houck was accused of pushing and injuring a patient escort outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia.

Shortly after the verdict came out, Houck and his legal team held a news conference outside the courthouse, blaming the Department of Justice for the case ever coming to federal court. They believe the case was meant to intimidate people who do sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics, but Houck said he hopes the opposite happens, and that this result strengthens the pro-life movement.

Now that he's been found not guilty, for Houck, it's a wonderful life.

"I'm George Bailey today. I'm George Bailey," said Houck.

After a week in federal court, and facing the potential of up to 11 years in prison, he is now a free man. Houck said he hopes his case inspires others.

"That's the whole point of this, we wanted this to really help the pro-life movement," said Houck.

Houck was charged with two counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for pushing patient escort Bruce Love twice outside the Planned Parenthood clinic at 12th and Locust streets on October 13th, 2021. The second time Houck injured Love, and the push was caught on camera, but federal prosecutors had to prove that the act rose to the level of a federal crime. At first the jury was deadlocked, but then a swap changed the deliberation.

"One of the jurors had to be excused who was not participating quite frankly in the deliberation process, and we quickly worked to try and bring in an alternate juror, and he came in and within an hour of getting here, there was a unanimous not-guilty verdict," said Brian McMonagle, Houck's defense attorney.

Houck's attorneys believe the case never should have ended up in federal court, and they think politics had to do with it.

"From day one, this case has been an intimidation tactic by the Biden Department of Justice," said Peter Breen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society representing Houck.

An intimidation tactic, they believe, to keep people like Houck from sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics, but Houck said he's ready to start again right back at the same Planned Parenthood.

"100 percent I'm going back. I'll be there next Wednesday," said Houck.

And Houck's attorneys hope the case continues to get national attention.

"I do now hope that the United States Congress ask Mark to come down and asks Ryan-Marie and the kids to come and testify in front of Congress about what they had, about their experience. What the Department of Justice put them through," said Breen.

We spoke with the federal prosecutors in the case as they were leaving the courtroom, but they declined to comment on the verdict.
The First Baptist Church in Beatrice celebrated its 150th Anniversary on Sunday with a special service.

Pastor Nolan Hayes spoke to the attendees with several congregation members and honored guests.

Pastor Nolan Hayes and his wife, Amanda, have served in the congregation for six years.

It is a good day to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the church, he said. Im grateful and its a joy to be here as we remember.

Camp Moses Merrill Director Bev Pacas said the camp was proof that the ministry of First Baptist in Beatrice is happening beyond the walls of this church.

I want to thank you for serving outside your walls, she said. It shows that you care.

Jenny Swarthout leads the Narcotics Anonymous ministry in the church. There are currently four meetings at the church each week.

Im a grateful, recovering drug addict, she said. Thirteen years ago I was sitting in a jail cell. My parents bailed me out and thankfully there was an NA meeting that night.

Meetings are crucial to people in recovery and when Covid hit, the church we were meeting at wouldnt allow us to meet in person. First Baptist welcomed us in and have been so accommodating. The church feels like home and we are so blessed.

Hayes said it was amazing to see what God can do when you simply say yes.

Foster Closet Associate Director Tim Balzer described the ministry and spoke with appreciation for First Baptist being a site.

Children are often removed and taken to foster care with the clothes they are wearing, he said.

Currently there are approximately 3,500 children in foster care in Nebraska. The Foster Closet is a resource for families in 91 of the 93 counties by offering new clothes for the children.

We are grateful to partner with First Baptist to meet the needs of the children in Gage County.

Member of First Baptist Dick Williams said he and his family attended the church in the early 1960s and then moved out of town. When Dick and Linda decided to return to the church, he said he always felt like he was home.

It seemed like the first person to shake my hand was God when I walked back into this church, he said. Of course I have worked almost every job in the church. I feel like Ive accomplished something in this church and I know this church accomplished something in me.

On January 29, 1873, eight Baptists of the pioneer town of Beatrice gathered to organize the First Baptist Church. Rev. J.N. Webb, with the American Baptist Home Mission Society, preached at the Presbyterian Church in the morning, but gave direction to the organization later in the afternoon.

Beginning with a membership of eight, the number increased to 18 by September 1874, according to church records.

The first building was erected in December of 1873 on the east corner of Fifth and Market streets, currently the parking lot of Pinnacle Bank. A second building was built and dedicated in the fall of 1882 at 408 Ella St. The building was moved to 715 Grant St. after some real estate transactions and remained until 1906. The church was moved to the corner of Sixth and Elk streets, remodeled then rededicated August 1906.

In September 1908 a structure at 524 High St. (now the location of Northeast Auto) was purchased and remodeled. In 1957 the property was sold to Standard Oil and the parsonage moved to 519 S. 12th St.

The congregation met at Paddock Lane Public School from March 1957 until the current church building at 1025 N. 16th St. was completed. The congregation met on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1958.

Throughout the years membership has fluctuated with pastors and the location of the church. The highest numbers were recorded in 1893 with 247 and in 1972 with 255 members. Currently the average number of attendees is 40-50 each Sunday morning for worship.

Interim Executive Minister of the Region Greg Mamula said First Baptist was a great example of people who have persevered in their faith.

First Baptist have served as the hands and feet of Jesus since the first eight people gathered 150 years ago, he said. You are a family that has served in the community and beyond.
When Travis Benda and his sons ventured out on an early December deer hunting trip in Southeast Nebraska, they werent expecting to find a millennia-old fossil.

The group discovered the lower jaw of a mastodon, an elephant from the Ice Age, frozen in a sandbar along the Little Nemaha River.

I thought it was nothing, Benda said. It looked like a tree limb until my son saw the teeth.

Unsure what the bone frozen in dirt was, Benda took photos and emailed them to Shane Tucker, a highway paleontologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the first person he saw on Google who might have an answer.

When I sent those photos to Shane, I thought it might be from a buffalo, maybe a mammoth if we were lucky, Benda said. So, to find out that it was rare, the kids were super excited.

Tucker said Nebraskans call about fossils frequently, with common finds like horse and bison teeth being reported two or three times a month. Mastodons are much rarer.

Out of the University of Nebraska State Museums collection  more than 1.5 million fossils  there are only 10 mastodon jaws. As soon as Tucker knew what the fossil was, he reached out to the landowner to see if she would be willing to donate it to the museum.

Shane reached out and left a voicemail for me, said Arlis Scanlan, the landowner. At first, I laughed  I thought it was a prank.

The farmland the fossil was found on has been in Scanlans family for more than four generations. Currently, its leased out under Nebraskas Open Fields and Waters Program, which allows public access to private land for hunting, trapping and fishing.

The creek bed where the kid spotted the fossil is my moms old swimming hole, Scanlan said. She used to meet her cousins and her brothers at the bank to swim during the summer.

Scanlan and her 86-year-old mother joined the Bendas, Tucker and other UNL employees for the excavation.

When they reached the site, they found themselves in a unique situation.

Usually, Tucker said, collections are done in the summer, when the ground is soft and easy to dig. With the increased snow and rain, the team was concerned that the river would rise and cover the jaw.

Instead of lifting the fossil out of the ground, the team covered the area with plaster and burlap to build a protective outer shell. Then, the group used a wheat-burning torch to melt the ice and slowly chipped away at the sediment.

After hours of work, the jaw, still encased in layers of dirt and grime, was removed and transported to a lab.

The fossil will be prepared in front of the public at Morrill Hall starting at the end of February.

Scanlan is a seventh grade teacher at Platteview Central Jr. High School and said her 91 students will be front-and-center, watching.

Paleontologists will use small scalpels and brushes to remove the dirt from the fossil, then use a chemical solution to seal any cracks and stabilize the bone.

The students are studying Earth layers and fossils right now, Scanlan said. This experience makes it real for them, it takes it off the page and puts it in front of them.

Tucker said the fossil is anywhere between 12,000 and 40,000 years old.

Eventually itll come back to our research collection, Tucker said. Itll be here for students to research, faculty and staff to research, or even researchers from all over the world.  Morrill Hall is a library of Nebraskas past; we just have bones instead of books.

Close Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins and Colby Cochran of G & M Window Service on Thursday, June 28, 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. (JACOB HANNAH/Lincoln Journal Star) Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins (left) and Colby Cochran of G and M Window Services in 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins and Colby Cochran of G and M Window Services on Thursday, June 28, 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. (JACOB HANNAH/Lincoln Journal Star) Photos: Mammoth gets a wash Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins and Colby Cochran of G & M Window Service on Thursday, June 28, 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. (JACOB HANNAH/Lincoln Journal Star) Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins (left) and Colby Cochran of G and M Window Services in 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. Archie, the life-size bronze replica of an ancient Nebraska mammoth at the University of Nebraska State Museum, gets his biennial wash from J.R. Elkins and Colby Cochran of G and M Window Services on Thursday, June 28, 2012 in front of Morrill Hall in Lincoln. Patterned after the giant fossil skeleton on display in the museum's Elephant Hall, the statue is 15 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 5,000 pounds -- considerably less than the 15-ton mass of the real Archie who roamed the Plains 30,000 years ago. (JACOB HANNAH/Lincoln Journal Star)
A Lebanon mother and her daughter duo recently teamed up to provide a healthy snack alternative for dogs while honoring an important piece of the journey.Lebanon High School senior Calli Jo Davis and her mother, Nicki, recently started Down Right Delicious Dog Treats, which features healthy and natural ingredients with no preservatives.Ive never done it, but we have a dog, []
There are numerous winter educational programs offered by Nebraska Extension for landowners, farmers, or agricultural professionals in southeast Nebraska, I encourage you to register and attend two upcoming Nebraska Extension programs in February.

The 2023 Eastern Nebraska Soil Health Conference (formerly Nebraska Cover Crop Conference) will be held at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension, and Education Center (1017 Co Rd G, Ithaca, NE 68033) from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 9. We invite you to join us to discuss and analyze the latest innovations, achievements, and opportunities to build and maintain healthy soil. This event features innovative and diverse speakers  researchers, extension educators and ag producers  who will share their experiences adopting regenerative soil health practices, such as cover crops, diversified crop rotations, biochar and perennial grains. Join us and bring all your questions about soil health and regenerative agricultural practices. A Nebraska farmers perspective on diverse crop rotations and intensification panel includes 3 farmers from southeast Nebraska. The conference is funded by the Nebraska Soybean Board. The meeting is free to attend, and lunch will be included. To learn more and to get registered by the deadline of February 4, go to https://enrec.unl.edu/nebraska-cover-crop-conference/. For assistance with registration over the phone, call Nebraska Extension in Saline County at 402-821-2151.

The Nebraska On-Farm Research Network invites farmers and agronomists to the 2023 research results update meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16 in Beatrice at the Holiday Inn Express located at 4005 N 6th St. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. with check-in and refreshments beginning at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will provide valuable crop production-related information from on-farm research projects conducted on Nebraska farms by Nebraska farmers in partnership with University of Nebraska faculty.

These research projects cover products, practices and new technologies that impact farm productivity and profitability. In 2022, farmers and agronomists conducted over 80 on-farm research studies across the state. This meeting is an opportunity to learn from these farmers and network with other innovative farmers and agronomists. The complimentary meal and a copy of the 2022 research results book are provided thanks to sponsorship of the Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Nebraska Soybean Board and Nebraska Dry Bean Commission. CCA credits are applied for and pending approval.

The meeting is free but pre-registration is required for everyone attending for meal planning purposes, so please learn more and register online at https://onfarmresearch.unl.edu/nebraska-farm-research-network-results-update-meetings-2023. For assistance with registration over the phone, call Nebraska Extension in Gage County at 402-223-1384.

For inquiries about other agronomic resources and programs from Nebraska Extension, contact me at nathan.mueller@unl.edu, 402-821-1722, or visit my website. Know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line at croptechcafe.org.
Minnesota State, the system of 26 state colleges and seven state universities, has released the results of a study that estimates the impact of Minnesota State College Southeast on the regional economy to be $88.3 million annually. The study also estimates that the college supports and sustains 668 jobs.

At Minnesota State College Southeast, student success is our top priority, but it is important to note that the college plays a vital role in the economy of both the state and the southeast region, said Dr. Marsha Danielson, president of MSC Southeast. Our operations and the economic activity generated by our faculty, staff and students impact every aspect of our regional economy, particularly the business, industry and health care sectors.

The study was commissioned by Minnesota State and was conducted by Parker Philips, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in economic impact analysis.

An economic contribution analysis is an objective way to measure the significance of an organization in the regional economy; it is a useful tool that policymakers can use to inform their decisions, said Nichole Parker, president of Parker Philips.

The numbers speak for themselves  Minnesota State College Southeast is an important contributor to the regional economy.

In the analysis, the study considered the direct spending on operations, pay, benefits and capital projects by Minnesota State College Southeast and the estimated increase in demand for goods and services in industry sectors that supply or support the college. The study also measured the effect of student spending and the induced effect of increased household income.

According to the study, a key result of this activity is that MSC Southeast supports and sustains 668 Minnesota jobs, including direct employment by the college, as well as indirect and induced jobs created by supply and equipment vendors, contractors and laborers for the construction and renovation of facilities. Jobs created in the community at hotels, restaurants and retail stores in support of college faculty, staff, students and visitors are also considered in the total estimate of 477 direct and 191 indirect/induced jobs.

The study also calculated tax revenues generated by this level of economic activity, including sales, property, personal income and corporate income taxes. The study concluded that Minnesota State College Southeast generates about $7.2 million in tax revenues for state and local government.

The study further estimated the value of the increase in productivity that the degrees awarded by Minnesota State College Southeast yield throughout the careers of the graduates. Assuming a 40-year work life, the education received by these graduates will yield additional state income of $931.3 million (future value, discounted and adjusted to account for such factors as foregone income while attending school and outmigration).

With every graduating class, Minnesota State College Southeast makes a long-term contribution to the regional economy, because the productivity improvements from higher education last for each individuals entire career, said Danielson.

Statewide, all Minnesota State operations, including all seven state universities and 26 community and technical colleges, plus the spending of its faculty, staff and students, had a total statewide economic contribution of $8.4 billion. This activity generated an estimated 62,125 jobs in the state.

Photos: Ribbon cutting for Minnesota State College Southeast's Manufacturing Initiative Program MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony MSC Southeast Advanced Manufacturing Initiative Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
HAYWARD  WOJB, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Public Broadcasting here, has been around for more than 40 years. It serves as a connector for Native Americans in northern Wisconsin.

The 100,000-watt radio station serves locals, campers and tourists. It plays everything from Big Band to powwow music. The station also airs a number of programs that are geared toward Native Americans.

WOJB 88.9 FM is the voice of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. Ojibwa or Ojibwe peoples are part of Anishinaabe, the people of Odaawaa-zaagaiganiing. Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous people located in the Great Lakes region of Canada and northern United States.

They include the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississaugas, Nipissing and Algonquin peoples.

The LCO peoples are also one of six federally recognized bands of Ojibwe located in present-day Wisconsin.

WOJB aims to serve the LCO and anyone within the listening area. WOJB is one of just 135 indigenous Native American radio stations in the United States.

During the weekday lunchtime hours, WOJB airs a Native Voice One program called Native America Calling.

This is a live call-in program that airs across most of North America but is based out of New Mexico.

That is one of the key points of our Native programming, said Jeffrey Jones, programming director, music director and afternoon music host at WOJB. Another one is Tuesdays  the Native Tuesday Afternoon Show.

On Tuesday nights, WOJB airs a program called Drum Song, which is geared toward traditional Native drum music.

So the powwow groups that tour the country during the powwow season, theyre featured during that program, Jones said.

For locals, the station provides more than just music and local programming. It helps to keep culture and history alive.

Karl Habeck, general manager of WOJB, said that the station has been working with Rosetta Stone, a language learning company thats developed a tutorial to teach people the Ojibwe language.

Weve had numerous people in our studio doing recordings. What happens is well have guests sharing Ojibwe in the studio and the engineers will be here in the studio with them. And then therell be third parties involved, Habeck said. Everythings recorded and that all contributes to what Rosetta Stone puts together as a final language teaching product.

The station also offers an opportunity for tribal elders to share their stories on the air. In addition, there is programming that is specifically aimed at addressing addiction issues in the local Native American community.

The station has four full-time staff members, a couple of part-timers and a load of volunteers doing the programming.

The staff wants to operate under the WOJB mission statement that was adopted years ago. This includes informing citizens of the significant issues facing society while contributing to the development of communities, so that they are better able to deal intelligently with those issues. It means conveying the cultural past of the region, before and after European settlement, and making it known to the present generation while also preserving it for generations to come.

But it also means entertaining the public while enriching the lives of listeners.

As general manager, I try to follow that to a T, Habeck said. WOJB is about offering people, especially LCO people, a space and place to be recognized, to be heard, to share and to learn.

Habeck grew up in Green Bay, and his mother was born and raised in the Hayward region. She was a LCO tribal member whod bring her son to the area occasionally.

I loved to listen to the radio station when we came up here on our visits. I loved the variety and I loved the hominess of the DJs and the variety of music, he said. It was something different than what I was used to listening to on your more mainstream radio.

Habeck began volunteering at the station in 2008 and became a full-time employee in 2010.

At the station, he worked both on the technical side, as an engineer and chief operator, and also hosted or filled in for a number of programming slots, such as the Honky Tonk, Drum Song, Blue Monday and Spice of Life.

Habeck said he still wants WOJB to be that radio station that he remembers listening to so many years ago.

I know that the 70s were a long time ago for many of our listeners, but its important to note that we started, that this station kind of arose out of the activism of the late 70s  a lot of things that were going on with the American Indian Movement, he said.

I always keep that in the back of my mind whenever were recounting stories or trying to make things interesting for our listeners. Rather than just canned music on the radio station I want to help make something that has some meaning.

WATCH NOW: Chippewa Falls resident on a mission to keep Ojibwe heritage and family history alive Margaret Marge Hebbring, a 73-year-old resident of Chippewa Falls, is a member of the Ojibwe tribe in northwestern Wisconsin. Ojibwe and Chippewa are versions of the same word, pronounced differently because of English and French accents. Hebbring is also a descendent of Michel Cadotte and (Madeline) Equaysayway Cadotte. Madeline Island was named in honor of (Madeline) Equaysayway upon her marriage to European fur trader Michel. These families built the first trading post on the Yellow River near modern day Cadott, WI. Hebbring hopes to keep the tribal, family and state history alive through stories, historical records and outreach work.

IN PHOTOS: WOJB 88.9 FM, connecting Native Americans WOJB 5 On Air WOJB 2 WOJB 3 WOJB 1 WOJB 4 WOJB 4 WOJB 6 WOJB 7
Dodge County Historical Society will host a lecture at 1 p.m. March 4 at the Dodge County Historical Society Museum, 105 Park Ave., Beaver Dam. The lecture is free and open to the public and refreshments and cookies are provided. Reserve a spot by calling Kurt Sampson at 414-405-4367 or 920-887-1266.

By Dr. Patrick Jung of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, will discuss two of his books, The Black Hawk War of 1832 and The Battle of Wisconsin Heights 1832, regarding the infamous and tragic Black Hawk War in Wisconsin in 1832.
You shouldnt have to lock your house, you shouldnt have to worry about your car being locked, people should just stick to their own property, said Wayne Smith, Chief of the Lodi Police Department. Unfortunately thats not the world we live in.

After two high-speed chases lit up the typically quiet streets of his jurisdiction just weeks apart, Smith is doubling down on his public safety warnings.

On Jan. 1, a call about suspicious activity on Arbor Valley Road ended in a chase reaching speeds up to 115 mph, according to Columbia County Sheriff Captain Todd Horn. Two stolen vehicles, one of which being driven by a 14-year-old, led the Columbia County deputies and Lodi officers on a dangerous pursuit, ending with the 14-year-old crashing into a light pole.

Pursuits are often dangerous, said Smith. Its something we try to mitigate based on the circumstances.

The most recent pursuit, less than two weeks later, had an added layer of chaos. A common scenario, a woman sleeping in her car in the early morning hours while her husband briefly stopped off at a Poynette truck stop, turned into a carjacking and kidnapping.

Thats a lot different than a car that was maybe just speeding and didnt stop, said Smith. Not to say that either is fine.

Smiths review noted that around 3:30 a.m. the woman called 911, explaining to dispatch that a stranger, identified as Kyle Wagner of New York, had carjacked the car she was in, driving at dangerous speeds and refusing to let her out.

Amid the raised stakes, though, the responding officers had other circumstances on their side. Smiths review of the chase found that multiple officers were able to position themselves in surrounding areas, prepared to locate the vehicle and bring it to a halt.

Its not often that we have several law enforcement officers in the area that are able to be in front of a chase and deploy spikes, he said. It just really showed a set of fortunate circumstances, but it showed multiple agencies really coordinating well, working well together.

In this case, spikes were deployed three times, one of which, set by Lodi officer Caleb Hartmann, popped three of the vehicles tires. In the end, Wagner surrendered to police, with neither himself nor the woman harmed.

In his law enforcement career, Hartmann has only been involved in two chases, and only twice attempted to deploy the spikes. His success in slowing the stolen vehicle in this case, as well as the chases safe ending, are things he attributes to the responding officers abilities to maintain their composure in the face of chaos.

Its very important to concentrate on our breathing and, you know, stay calm, said Hartmann.

If were all amped up and were all talking on the radio at the same time, were not going to get that important information out.

Apart from his gratitude for the work of his officers, Smith says incidents like these are indicative of a much larger problem: opportunistic thieves.

Even in quiet areas like Lodi and Poynette, residents must remain vigilant to protect their belongings. Lodi is among many other departments nationwide endorsing the 9 p.m. routine: As you wind down for the evening, make sure your vehicles are locked. Bring any valuables inside or conceal them. Lock all garage and house doors, and, if possible, turn on some outdoor lights.

Lodi officers also patrol neighborhoods at night, alerting home and vehicle owners if their doors are unsecured and keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior. In all, Smith says the goal is to make thefts more difficult, and therefore less common.

Criminals will find a way, he said. If you make it harder for them, they will move on.

Whether its at a truck stop, whether its at your house, all of those same safety practices are a good idea and they pay off, said Smith.
Portage city officials are working to keep the Energizer battery plant open despite reports the facility could be shut down within the next two years.

A statement released Jan. 19 by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters alleges that Energizer is planning to shut down the battery plants in Portage and Fennimore. The Teamsters reported almost 600 jobs would be lost potentially to overseas positions if the two Wisconsin facilities close.

Mayor Mitch Craig said it would be a huge loss for the community if Energizer closes its battery plant in Portage. Craig and other officials are in talks with Energizer, the Teamsters and state officials about the planned closing.

Craig said he remembers when the Energizer facility was located where the current Portage Public Library now sits before moving in 1977.

It was a four-five story, red brick building downtown, Craig said. Rayovac and Energizer have been in Portage for decades. There have been generations of employees at the plant. People who work there really enjoy the work and the company.

Craig said that the Energizer facility in Portage is the only place in the United States that manufactures batteries for hearing aids.

Portages business and development manager, Steve Sobiek, said the city is aware of the situation at Energizer and that both he and Craig are working to prevent the closure.

Ive been talking with (Gov. Tony) Evers team about possibilities to keep the plant open, Craig said. State officials were unaware of the closure until we told them and now we are working on a solution for the facility.

Teamsters General President Sean OBrien said hundreds of jobs are at risk if the facility shuts down.

Energizer is putting a plan in motion to kill hundreds of good jobs here in America and offshore them in favor of even bigger profits, he said.

Some workers have been in these factories for more than 40 years. The American public should be outraged by these plans. Our entire union is furious. If Energizer thinks its going to outsource American jobs and destroy Wisconsin communities, weve got news for them  the Teamsters are coming and we will stop at nothing to protect American workers.
State lawmakers are considering revisions to the political districts of Montanas Public Service Commission, one year after a panel of federal judges declared them unconstitutional and forced a redrawing.

Legislators this week will hear a two-step proposal to recognize the districts drawn by Montanas secretary of state under court order in early 2021. If they recognize the districts, lawmakers would then go about drawing PSC districts of their own.

At issue is the one person, one vote provision of the 14th Amendment, which requires that political districts balance, within reason, so voters are equally represented. After going 19 years without revision  a job belonging to the Montana Legislature  the populations of Montanas PSC districts were out of whack. The states least populated district, which included the Hi-Line region, had 53,000 fewer people than its most populated district, which included Bozeman and southwest Montana.

The PSC regulates monopolies, more specifically the states largest utilities NorthWestern Energy and Montana Dakota Utilities. In that capacity, the PSC affects the household budgets of more than 400,000 Montana utility customers. Those customers are legally recognized as captive, meaning they lack the free-market choice of shopping around for a better deal. The commission is charged with assuring captive customers have reasonably priced, reliable electric and natural gas service, while assuring utilities receive a fixed rate of return.

The suit was because there wasn't an equal population balance, and I still don't think they got there, Sen. Keith Regier, told the Senate Energy Committee. It appears to me that the federal court was focused on staying in the county boundaries and we dont have to stay within county boundaries. We cant if were going to get back to equal population.

Its Regiers Senate Bill 109 that revises the districts.

The previous imbalance favored the sparsely populated Hi-Line. Three voters, two from Gallatin County, one from Flathead County, sued, taking Montana's top election official, Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, to court to force a change in time for the 2022 primary election.

Jacobsen presented the court with a revised PSC map that adhered to the Legislatures previous practice of not dividing counties when drawing PSC districts. By shuffling four counties, the secretary of state brought the five PSC districts within of a 5.5% population difference. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously accepted a 10% difference as constitutional.

The judicial panel ruling on Montanas districts, comprised of Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford and U.S. District judges Donald Molloy and Brian Morris, made one change to Jacobsens map in order to keep the Blackfeet Reservation in a single district.

The voters who sued had proposed a map with the largest difference in population being 1.5%, but also split counties.

Once the court selected Jacobsens map, the judges emphasized that the Legislature was free to draw its own, either before the 2022 election or in regular session in 2023  as long as what the Legislature produced is constitutional.

There was some subtle ribbing of Regier about how the previous PSC map became unconstitutional over 19 years. Had the 2013 Legislature chosen to redraw the districts, a decision that would have likely started in the House or Senate energy committees, the lawsuit wouldnt have occurred.

Sen. Regier, who was the chairman of Energy in the House in 2013?, asked Sen. Dan Zolnikov of Billings.

The chairman of House Energy in 2013, was Keith Regier, whose bill would require the lawmakers to evaluate the districts in the session following each Census. Senate Bill 109 doesnt require the districts be adjusted every 10 years.

The House Federal Relations Energy and Telecommunications Committee takes up SB 109 on Tuesday.
Montana State University Billings hosts its annual Jazz Festival Concert at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 in Petro Theatre on the university campus, featuring the MSU Billings Jazz Band and guests Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca.

Lemvo is from Sao Salvador Do Congo (MBanza-Kongo), Zaire in Northern Angola. He grew up in Congo-Kinshasa where he was introduced to Cuban music by a cousin who owned a large collection of vintage Cuban records. Lemvo initially came to the United States more than 30 years ago to study law but ended up devoting his life to music.

Lemvo is the embodiment of the Afro-Latin Diaspora which connects back to Mother Africa via the Cuban clave rhythm. He is multi-cultural and equally at home singing in Spanish, Portuguese, Kimbundu, Turkish, Lingala, and Kikongo. Since forming his Los Angeles-based band Makina Loca in 1990, Lemvo has refined his craft and vision, raising his joyous voice with strength, singing songs that celebrate life, and most importantly, inspiring his audiences to let loose and dance away their worries.

Along with the concert, jazz ensembles from Montana colleges, high schools and junior highs are invited to attend adjudications and clinics hosted on campus throughout the day on Feb. 3.

All ensembles, including big bands, combos, modern bands, vocal jazz, and other sizes of instrumentation of jazz or commercial ensemble, may take place in adjudication and clinics featuring improv, jazz concepts and music production. This festival is non-competitive and focused on education and nurturing the love of music. Top soloists of the festival will be awarded at the evening concert.

This is the largest jazz event in the region, hosting world class musicians and bringing their knowledge to Billings students, teachers, and our community, says John Roberts, department chair of the MSUB Music Department. Its an opportunity to expand not only students knowledge and skill, but also to showcase our musicians and the guest musicians that join us.

Tickets to the concert may be purchased by contacting the MSUB music department at 406-657-2350 or music@msubillings.edu. Admission is $15 per ticket or free admission will be provided with a valid MSUB ID at the entrance.
Artists perform a dancing at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia, Jan. 30 (Xinhua)  With the sound of the gongs and drums, a golden-haired "lion" jumped on two-meter high poles, demonstrating its amazing flexibility and agility. The scene attracted large crowds taking photos and videos on their phones.

The lion dance was performed in the heritage precinct of George Town, the capital city of Penang state, Malaysia, on the evening of Jan. 28, when the 2023 Penang Chinese New Year Celebration (Miaohui) was held.

Besides lion dances, this year's Miaohui, or temple fair was filled with other activities, such as dragon dances, Hakka song singing, playing diabolo, magic tricks, among others. In addition, musical performances with a host of traditional Chinese instruments, including Guzheng, flutes, Erhu and suona, also attracted many audiences.

The children visiting Miaohui were curious to watch and take part in traditional cultural activities, such as paper-cutting and making dough figurines.

According to Chief Minister of Penang Chow Kon Yeow, Penang Miaohui began in 1999, the Year of the Rabbit. This year Penang Miaohui is 24 years old. Despite the harsh challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, this celebration was still held online and was not canceled.

Nowadays, Penang Miaohui is not only a celebratory feast during the Spring Festival, but also a platform to illuminate traditional Chinese culture.

In different ancestral halls, visitors can learn myriad cultural aspects and facets. For example, in Ng See Kah Miew, or the ancestral temple of Ng clan, which was built in 1897 by the Ng forefathers, they can learn the architectural structure of mortise and tenon.

In Lee Sih Chong Soo, or the clan association for the Chinese surnamed Lee, they can learn about the different categories of traditional Chinese medicine, understanding the influence of Li Shizhen, a Chinese scholar of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and his highly-influential Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) on modern society.

In the Nin Yong Temple, young people, in particular, can learn about the spirit of Guan Yu, the famous ancient Chinese general known as the Chinese god of war, through the related exhibition inside and are educated on benevolence, brevity, and intelligence.

Leong Keng Fei, Chairman of the Penang Chinese Clan Council, the organizer of the event, said that since the Penang Miaohui was held in 1999, it always focused on promoting traditional cultures. Visitors were encouraged in the ancestral halls and temples to experience and learn the cultural treasures left by ancestors, and to find the roots deep in their souls.

The organizer hopes that through this method, every Chinese descendant will have the opportunity to receive and pass on the essence, energy, and spirit inherited from their ancestors.

Penang is a state with a high population of Malaysian-Chinese. More than 200 years ago, many Chinese came here and made contributions to its economic and social development.

Nowadays, Malaysian-Chinese still cherish and pass down traditional Chinese culture to future generations through celebrating Chinese festivals like the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 22 this year.

Zhou Youbin, Chinese Consul General in Penang said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership, and next year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

"I hope that every overseas Chinese will seize this opportunity, to help integrate China with the rest of the world and be part of the Belt and Road initiative, and to support this constructive and mutually beneficial relationship between Malaysia and China."

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

Children learn paper-cutting at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

People watch a traditional opera performance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

People visit the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

People watch a performance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

Artists perform dragon dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua]

(Source: Xinhua)
Press Release

January 31, 2023 Hontiveros to DTI: Protect BPO industry amid rise of AI Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to put safeguards in place for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) workers who may be affected by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots. According to US-based technology research firm Gartner, call centers could save up to $80 billion if humans are replaced by AI by 2026. The global tech giants are experiencing an upheaval, in part because of the surprising acceleration and commercial attractiveness of AI deployments. "Is the BPO industry in trouble too? Does Sec. Pascual, being at the helm of the DTI, have a plan for when more companies invest in AI instead of workers? Malaki ang magiging epekto nito sa ating BPO industry, sa ating ekonomiya, kaya dapat ngayon pa lang handa na ang ahensya sa posibilidad na ito," Hontiveros said. The Philippine BPO industry earns around $30 billion yearly -- the same as OFWs. The senator stressed that BPO earnings are one of the three legs, alongside tourism and OFW incomes, on which the sustainability of the country's import intensive growth stands. "If this industry gets into trouble, then dollars become scarce, they become more expensive, and the peso devalues. A pathway to entry into the middle class will also disappear," Hontiveros said. The senator also said that while preparing for the future of AI in the country, the DTI should simultaneously have a stronger campaign to protect the industry and its workers. "The IT-BPO industry seems to know what it needs to survive and thrive in the time of Chat GPT and, at the conceptual level at least, I think Secretary Pascual does too," says the Senator. "I know that Secretary Pascual is aware of the bright prospects and novel risks faced by the IT-BPO industry: I agree with him when he says that current systems of learning are not yet agile enough for our industries to stay ahead of the AI curve. He must make sure that industry is able to directly and quickly influence the offerings of schools. Maybe work places themselves should now be the schools, or should at least be supported in defining a continuing education pathway for workers. In that way, workers will always know what sets of skills will enable them to work alongside these intelligent machines, instead of being replaced by them." The Senator believes that a corner has been turned in the local IT-BPO industry's "battle for talent." But she warns that "the DTI and the DICT will also have to ensure sustained improvements in connectivity so that the work-anywhere model that is now central for talent retention will remain technically feasible even as clients' service standards continue to rise." "Maraming kumpanya ang nagtatayo ng call center sa Pilipinas dahil mismo sa kakayanan at abilidad ng Pilipinong manggagawa. The DTI should constantly highlight the particular care and attention that Filipino workers offer, a kind of service and human connection that no chatbot can ever provide," Hontiveros concluded.
Yellowstone County leaders, courthouse employees ratify labor contract

After tentatively agreeing to a deal last week, members of the clerks union and Yellowstone County leadership have ratified a labor contract, ending more than six months of negotiations and mediation.

Earlier in the month, union members voted to authorize a strike had an agreement not been reached by the end of January.

Bargaining to this fair agreement was not easy, but it was made possible through the resiliency and strength of our union, said Yellowstone County Employees Union President Katie Cosby. Yellowstone County Courthouse employees are more unified than ever, and today we celebrate salary increases reflecting how hard we work for everyone in the county.

The dispute over pay had been worked out after prolonged negotiations that eventually involved a mediator and the unfair labor practice ruling against the county. The sticking point became contract language that dictated county hiring practices.

The county and the union had been negotiating a new deal since last spring and roughly 130 Yellowstone County Courthouse employees had worked since July 1 without a contract. Courthouse employees, which includes sheriffs department clerks, are represented by the Montana Federation of Public Employees.

Annual jazz festival at MSU Billings February 3

Montana State University Billings hosts its annual Jazz Festival Concert at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 in Petro Theatre on the university campus, featuring the MSU Billings Jazz Band and guests Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca.

Lemvo is from Sao Salvador Do Congo (MBanza-Kongo), Zaire in Northern Angola. He grew up in Congo-Kinshasa where he was introduced to Cuban music by a cousin who owned a large collection of vintage Cuban records. Lemvo initially came to the United States more than 30 years ago to study law but ended up devoting his life to music.

Lemvo is the embodiment of the Afro-Latin Diaspora which connects back to Mother Africa via the Cuban clave rhythm. He is multi-cultural and equally at home singing in Spanish, Portuguese, Kimbundu, Turkish, Lingala, and Kikongo. Since forming his Los Angeles-based band Makina Loca in 1990, Lemvo has refined his craft and vision, raising his joyous voice with strength, singing songs that celebrate life, and most importantly, inspiring his audiences to let loose and dance away their worries.

Along with the concert, jazz ensembles from Montana colleges, high schools and junior highs are invited to attend adjudications and clinics hosted on campus throughout the day on Feb. 3.

All ensembles, including big bands, combos, modern bands, vocal jazz, and other sizes of instrumentation of jazz or commercial ensemble, may take place in adjudication and clinics featuring improv, jazz concepts and music production. This festival is non-competitive and focused on education and nurturing the love of music. Top soloists of the festival will be awarded at the evening concert.

This is the largest jazz event in the region, hosting world class musicians and bringing their knowledge to Billings students, teachers, and our community, says John Roberts, department chair of the MSUB Music Department. Its an opportunity to expand not only students knowledge and skill, but also to showcase our musicians and the guest musicians that join us.

Tickets to the concert may be purchased by contacting the MSUB music department at 406-657-2350 or music@msubillings.edu. Admission is $15 per ticket or free admission will be provided with a valid MSUB ID at the entrance.

Suspected homicide at Montana State Prison; no details released

State prison officials and Powell County law enforcement are investigating the suspected homicide of a 49-year-old man who had been an inmate at Montana State Prison since 2019.

Todd C. Fisher of Glendive was pronounced dead on Sunday, according to a press release from the Montana Department of Corrections sent Monday afternoon.

The agency said no further information would be released while the investigation was pending, but added the incident appeared to be isolated.

Fisher was sentenced in 2019 to 70 years in state prison for the murder of his father.

Damaged railway bridge removed

LIVINGSTON  A closure on an 8-mile section of the upper Yellowstone River has been lifted now that a damaged railway bridge near U.S. Highway 89 has been removed.

The Highway 89 Bridge fishing access site, which was part of the closure, has also reopened to public access.

The river closure extended from Mayors Landing FAS to Sheep Mountain FAS. Its been in place since July after significant flooding damaged the railway bridge, causing a safety hazard. In August, demolition experts collapsed the structure so it could be torn apart.

From Gazette news services
Arik Spencer, the president of the Greater North Dakota Chamber, opposes a bill that would establish a paid family leave program administered by the state and funded mostly by employers and their workers.
The continuing crisis of Britains ruling Conservatives saw the sacking of party chairman Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday. Zahawi was fired after Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks ethics adviser found he committed multiple serious breaches of the ministerial code by failing to be transparent about his tax affairs.

This followed 10 days of intensifying claims from tax experts, opposition MPs and newspaper exposures that the multi-millionaire tried to avoid paying tax.

Newly Appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds his first Cabinet Meeting the morning after assuming office. Nadhim Zahawi is on the right of the table (third nearest camera). October 26, 2022, London, UK [Photo by Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Zahawi was appointed party chair by Sunak in November. Sunak only took office himself in October, as the third prime minister in six weeks, following the forced resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Zahawi remains Tory MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Zahawi was promoted to education secretary in October 2021 by Boris Johnson and again promotedas the last chancellor in his administrationfrom July 2022 to September last year. Zahawi was then replaced as chancellor by Kwasi Kwarteng when Truss replaced Johnson.

Zahawi and his wife are among numerous senior government figures who have amassed vast wealth. They made a fortune from various companies and have built a 100 million property portfolio. More than half the property was bought while Zahawi served as a government minister. Among their assets are five personally owned residential propertiesworth at least 17 million. Three are in London, one in Warwickshire and one in Dubai.

The Guardian revealed on January 20 that Zahawi agreed to pay a penalty to HMRC [HM Revenue and Customs] as part of a seven-figure settlement over his tax affairs The newspaper was told that the former chancellor paid a penalty imposed by HMRCpart of an estimated 5m tax bill. The newspaper noted, Penalties are applied if someone does not pay the correct tax at the right time.

HMRCs investigation centred on a 42.5 percent stake in YouGov held by Zahawis father through an offshore vehicle in Gibraltar, Balshore Investments. YouGov, an Internet-based market research, opinion polling and data analytics firm, was co-founded in 2000 by Nadhim Zahawi. The Balshore shares were eventually sold for an estimated 27 million in 2018. The disposal of the profits and tax receipts was the basis of the HMRC tax investigation.

According to the newspaper, A source familiar with the payment said a penalty was triggered as a result of a non-payment of capital gains tax due after the sale of shares in YouGov. Zahawi could have been subject to larger penalties had he not reached a settlement towards the end of last year.

Experts estimate the tax due was about 3.7 million in capital gains tax from the sale of more than 20 million in YouGov shares. Zahawi attributes this to an error that was careless and not deliberate.

Sunak refused to fire Zahawi at that stage, instead requesting an ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to investigate his tax affairs.

Pressure intensified last Thursday when HMRCs chief executive, Jim Harra, told MPs on the cross-party public accounts committee that under law, There are no penalties for innocent errors in your tax affairs. He added, If you take reasonable care, but nevertheless make a mistake, whilst you will be liable for the tax, and for interest  you would not be liable for a penalty.

Magnus found that when Zahawi was appointed chancellor on July 5 last year, he filled in the relevant form with no reference to the HMRC investigation. Zahawi started his interaction with HMRC in April 2021, settling the dispute in August last year with an agreement signed in September.

Under the ministerial code, ministers must update a declaration of interest form, including details of any tax problems. Ministers are required to make senior civil servants aware of any potential issues that could arise. There is no evidence that Zahawi did this when acting as chancellor of the exchequer.

Magnus found that Zahawi breached the ministerial code from the outset by treating the HMRC investigation into him as a non-issue, with a face-to-face meeting in June 2021. Zahawi claimed that he did not realise this was a formal probe into his tax affairs.

Zahawis dubious financial dealings were no surprise to anyone in Whitehall. The Observer revealed on Sunday that Sunak was told there could be a reputational risk to the government from Nadhim Zahawis tax affairs when he appointed him as Conservative party chair in October.

But for Sunak, such warnings were small fry, as he and his wife possess a fortune of at least 730 million. Last year Sunak entered the Sunday Times Rich List, with the WSWS noting that he was the living embodiment of government in the service of the financial oligarchy  of rule of, by and for the oligarchy.

Government and business are increasingly the same thing, with the financial aristocracy running both.

Another of Johnsons chancellors, Sajid Javid, was a multi-millionaire on entering parliament in 2010 with a fortune made in banking, as well as a property millionairewho owned three homestwo properties in London and one in his constituency of Bromsgrove. Sky News reported this month that he is in talks about a role with an investment firm with close links to SoftBank, the giant Japanese conglomerate. The conglomerate, Centricus, is a London-based group which manages more than $40bn in assets. Prior this Javid, who previously held the position of health secretary, had share options in a California tech firm behind health sector software. These were only sold after MPs pointed out the clear conflict of interest.

Despite a parliamentary majority of over 70, stemming from Johnsons defeat of Labour in the 2019 general election, the Tory government is increasingly unstable. Sunak was handed power by the financial markets removal of Truss, who committed the crime of outlining massive tax breaks for the rich without premising them on intensified austerity against the working class.

Zahawi is the second minister to be forced to resign in a government barely 100 days in office. Gavin Williamson stepped down as Cabinet Office minister less than a fortnight into Sunaks new government. Sunaks deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, is being investigated over claims of bullying.

Sunak was only able to take office in the first place and his rotten government continue in the saddle due to its being propped up by the Labour Party and trade union bureaucracy.

Johnson and Truss were kept in place by Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Keir Starmer on the basis of a de facto coalition in the national interest. This allowed the bourgeoisie time to reorganise its affairs and remove Truss on the basis that Sunaks new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, be tasked with massively ramping up the offensive against the working class.

Labour is incapable of mounting any popular challenge to Sunak. Following Zahawis fall, Labours Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds declared There are now very serious questions for this Prime Minister who promised integrity, promised accountability, but that isnt what he is delivering. Instead, he has been weak, he has vacillated and has once again put party before country. Everything is being funnelled through the parliamentary set-up, with Thomas-Symonds stating, The Prime Minister should now be coming out and giving us an explanation of these matters.

The Zahawi affair only confirms that there is no fundamental political opposition to the Tories within the parliamentary set-up, with the two main parties in agreement with intensifying NATOs war against Russia and deepening the offensive against the working class.
As the United Auto Workers bureaucracy and court-appointed UAW Monitor move ahead with a runoff election between two representatives of the union apparatus, rank-and-file UAW members continue to denounce the illegitimate character of the election process. As a result of deliberate voter suppression by the UAW bureaucracy, only 9 percent of the unions 1.1 million eligible voters participated in the first round of voting. This was one of the lowest, if not the lowest, turnout in any national union election.

Will Lehman speaks with GM Flint Assembly worker in August 2022 [Photo: WSWS]

On December 19, Will Lehman, a Mack Trucks worker in Macungie, Pennsylvania and socialist candidate for UAW president, filed a formal protest over the conduct of the UAW apparatus in the election and demanded the election be re-contested or, as an alternative, that all five of the original candidates be included in the runoff. As of this writing, Lehman has received no response to these issues from the Monitor.

Two workers at General Motors Flint Assembly plant spoke with the World Socialist Web Site last week about the election. They also commented on the poor conditions regarding health and safety in the shop.

Greg, a full-time worker at the Flint Assembly plant, said, The protest was absolutely necessary, not just for Will Lehman but for 1 million people in the UAW. This was the first election in UAW history, and it was held because of corruption in the union leadership. The federal Monitor didnt monitor anything.

Asked whether the extremely low voter turnout in the election was due to workers apathy, as was claimed by Curry supporter Debi Kirchner in the Local 598 (GM-Flint) newspaper, the Eye Opener, Greg was adamant. Apathetic? No. Not informed. Some people didnt even get their ballots.

Greg contrasted the UAW bureaucracys silence on its own election with their energetic promotion of the Democrats in the federal midterm elections. For the UAW election, there was maybe one poster in the plant. For the midterms, they put ads in the union newspapers and sent out mailings to all the employees.

Lindsey, a temporary part-time (TPT) worker in the plant, also saw a difference between the union leaderships treatment of the UAW election and the midterms: Many notices, flyers, information in general were posted around the plant, and we received mail, like physical mail, about the midterms. We were even scheduled a day off to vote in the midterm, which again was made explicitly known to us.

As for the UAW election, Lindsey was outraged over the UAW bureaucracys effort to strip workers of their right to vote. Every worker should have been told by local union committee people that there was an election and they should vote, but they didnt do that. They could have done something more if they were concerned with getting people to vote. Thats not negligence. That was a conscious choice on the part of the union.

Asked why the union leadership would suppress the vote, Lindsey said, Obviously, if you have a fully informed voter base, then that would pose a great risk of voting out whos currently in power. So they wanted to limit the number of individuals who knew about the election.

Greg answered in much the same way. The bureaucracy repressed the vote because theyre working with management, and theyre afraid they could get thrown out.

A major argument in Lehmans protest concerns the UAWs Local Union Information System (LUIS). For the election, the UAW relied on the LUIS systems mailing list to get ballots out to the membership. This was despite the fact that the Monitor had found the system to have significant shortcomings during the 2021 referendum when members voted for direct elections of top officers.

As Lehman stated in his protest:

In its referendum report, the Monitor noted that At the onset of the monitorship, the UAW did not have a sufficiently accurate or comprehensive centralized mailing list for its members. The report also noted that not all Local Unions routinely uploaded (or even had the technological capacity to routinely upload) that information to LUIS. The UAWs mailing list therefore required significant attention.

To put the matter briefly, the Monitor had instructed the locals that they had to update their mailing lists in LUIS. In his protest and a subsequent presentation of evidence, Lehman established that at the time of the referendum (election), only a handful of locals had done so. Therefore, as Lehman had made clear, hundreds of thousands of eligible voters may not have received ballots.

In a hearing held on November 22, 2022, in Lehman v. UAW, attorneys for the UAW and the Monitor attested that the LUIS system was designed as a means of communication and data sharing between the International and the locals. That is, it had only ever been used by the bureaucracy, for the bureaucracy. As Judge Lawson said in the hearing, LUIS kind of cut out the membership.

Lindsey, who is familiar with Lehmans protest and the failure of the LUIS system, drew this conclusion: I would say it [the UAWs handling of the election] is totally undemocratic and would make any election that is supposed to be democratic illegitimate, given that the outcome would not represent the wants or will of the eligible voters.

Information on UAW runoff has been prominently displayed inside Flint Assembly [Photo: WSWS]

Now that the illegitimate runoff is underway, were being bombarded with election posters at every work desk and break table. The big posters are everywhere in the plant including in the glass cases. Ive received at least five different mailers at home. There was nothing like this for the first election.

Lindsey continued, On Saturday, shop chairman Eric Welter posted a reminder on the UAW 598 cell phone app where he answers various questions submitted by the membership. He wrote, The ballots for the international union officers have been sent out and you should already have received them. Please fill it out put it in your mailbox, no postage is needed. This is your right as a member in good standing please take a couple moments and exercise that right.

On Sunday, she explained, the following exchange between Welter and a worker appeared on the local union app:

Q: I was never sent a ballot the first time and didnt receive a ballot this time. Not sure what I can do. A: Contact the union hall then can assist in getting a replacement

Greg explained further, This app was never used during the first round of voting to give us any information about the election, about ballots, deadlines or anything. This already set-up technology was never used for the first election round. This shows me they deliberately chose to keep us in the dark.

Both Greg and Lindsey also spoke about unsafe conditions in the plant, which the UAW bureaucracy has allowed. Commenting on a recent injury of a worker in the Chassis Department, Lindsey explained, This woman was working on one job that uses a particularly heavy tool, and it malfunctioned while in operation. Not because of user error, just because the machine itself was not functioning. It rose up and hit her in the head.

Lindsey recounted managements response: The line was stopped for a very brief amount of time while this woman, who was bleeding on her forehead was sent to the medical office and only got a butterfly bandage. This woman was told, like what was under an hour after experiencing this injury, she was told to go back to the same job on the machine that injured her.

Greg observed, They just keep the line running, and it doesnt matter if you get hurt or not. The union just comes and they hardly talk to you, but in reality theyre just going to do what the company wants.

Lindsey identified the Chassis Department as the grimiest, most dangerous part of the plant. It was 95 degrees there last summer. They prefer to put new workers in that area, and of course, thats the temp workers.

Roughly six years ago on Chassis One, a TPT was working with a tool. To keep up with the line, they overextended the machine, and the tool snapped back causing a broken neck and left him permanently disabled. Thats just one example of the conditions in the plant.
A pair of bills introduced in the North Dakota Legislature hoping to provide universal free lunches and to end lunch debt shaming for students in public schools have received bipartisan support.

House Bill 1491 is asking for an appropriation of $89.5 million from the general fund to provide free lunches to students enrolled in public schools starting July 1, 2023, and continuing for two years. Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo, sponsored the bill, which is co-sponsored by five other Democrats and one Republican.

During the hearing on the bill on Monday, Hager said she will be adding an amendment to make the policy, if passed, long term. Every day, about 32,000 students eat breakfast and about 90,000 eat lunch provided by public school districts, according to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

House Bill 1494, a companion bill to HB 1491, received wider bipartisan support and would direct schools not to deny students meals, not to take away food from a student, not to stigmatize students and not to limit a students participation in school activities because of meal debt. Rep. Zachary Ista, D-Grand Forks, introduced the bill, which has 11 other lawmakers co-sponsoring.

Ista, who also backs the free lunches bill, became aware of the affordability problem related to school meals while campaigning for reelection this fall.

School meal affordability has become a growing concern for families since COVID-era federal funding for school meals stopped at the beginning of the school year, he said.

Year-end meal debt totals in bigger school districts like Bismarck and Fargo have increased to $60,000, with Fargo on track to outpace the largest year-end meal debt on record, accruing around $32,000 in less than four months, according to data provided by the district in December.

An average of 34.3% of public school students across the state since 2017 use the free and reduced lunch program, according to the NDDPI. Numbers do not include pandemic years, as federal dollars were used to provide students with free meals.

Costs for breakfasts for all North Dakota public schools over a two-year period would be nearly $11 million, while free lunches over the same time period would cost the state roughly $72 million, according to data released from the NDDPI.

Testimony in support of HB 1491 ranged from the educational benefits and better student behavior to helping working families and attracting people from outside the state to stay in North Dakota.

Ista said lack of sufficient nutrition leads to academic struggles and a possibility of emotional and behavioral outbursts in classrooms.

If left unchecked, those issues can lead to more severe consequences later in life. By simply making sure every child, no matter their familys income level, has access to nutritious food, we can do a lot to prevent these issues from happening, Ista said.

Carel Two-Eagle, of Standing Rock, testified before the House and said she created a housing cooperative and works with single fathers struggling to raise and feed their children.

"What we have seen is the needs of the people who work the lowest end jobs, and theyre so frustrated because they just cant seem to get where they need to go," Two-Eagle said.

Its not about how much this will cost, but how much it will benefit, she said, adding that, if passed, the law would motivate children to learn better and later help them commit to staying in North Dakota.

During testimony, Hager said more than 12 million children across the United States live in food insecure households.

When members of the education committee asked Hager if an annual sum of $89.5 million was sustainable during the hearing, she said it was.

I believe we are a wealthy state, and providing for our children is what we are here to do. I believe it is something sustainable in our state, Hager said.

Ista is optimistic the bill will receive strong consideration from the Legislature. "We all know how important school meals are to working families across our state, and this is one way to help bring down costs for moms and dads, he said.

Sen. Jeff Barta, R-Grand Forks, who supports the anti-lunch-shaming bill, said children should not be singled out because of a lack of funds. "That is an issue they do not have control over and therefore should not suffer from," he said.

Reports from across the nation about lunch-shaming policies in schools, like giving students who owe money cold cheese sandwiches and hand stamps as a sign of carrying unpaid debt, have alerted Ista to get ahead of any future problems in the state.

Heather Gades, Miss Bonanzaville 2023, talked about her experience with the ridicule and stigma of her family falling behind on school meal payments.

By the end of her junior year in high school, her family had a negative balance of about $1,000, she said. The schools lunch monitor would remind her every day that she owed money, which classmates overheard.

Four days before she was going to graduate, the principal told her if she didnt bring $700 to pay for school meals, she would not be able to graduate.

In a small town, word spreads, people talk. ... It is never right to publicly humiliate a child because of their familys financial situation, Gades said.

Karen Ehrens, former coordinator of Hunger Free North Dakota Coalition, is preparing to go to Washington, D.C., to work on economic policy related to food and health issues at the federal level.

Ehrens supports both bills, saying theyre a great effort to help make sure every student has access to meals as part of the school day. Not only will the bills help families save money, school districts will be able to eliminate administrative costs and free up time needed to manage free and reduced lunch programs, she said.

Although no one spoke in opposition to the bills during the hearing, opposition is expected, Ehrens said. She noted if school meals were free, meal shaming would also disappear.

During the (COVID-19) pandemic, we experienced how it can be. People realized that we can do this as a society and support enough healthy food every day while children are at school," she said. "It has been a natural experiment."
The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) and National Police Agency raided the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on January 18 on the basis of allegations that union officials had violated the countrys draconian National Security Act.

The NIS, South Koreas counterpart to the CIA in the US, has accused four officials of having connections to North Korean agents. Intelligence and police officers also raided the offices of the Korean Health and Medical Workers Union (KHMU), a shelter for impoverished workers on Jeju Island, and the homes of the accused officials. All of the raids were supposedly conducted in search of documents related to the charges.



The union officials include a KCTU executive, a KHMU official, a former official at the Kia Motors union, and the owner and director of a shelter and neighboring memorial hall on Jeju Island for the victims of the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014. The last is said to be a former Korean Metal Workers Union official at steel manufacturer Posco.

KCTU members protest police raid and arrests. [Photo: KCTU Facebook]

While the police have raided or attempted to raid KCTU offices in the past related to strikes and protests, it is the first time they have carried out a search and seizure for documents under the National Security Act. The 1948 law makes socialism illegal in South Korea. It is also the first time the NIS has been directly and openly involved in a raid on the KCTU.

In a statement on January 18, the KCTU, which postures as a militant labor organization, said, The government is reviving the police state through accusations of supporting North Korea as well as the ideology that put forward the National Security Act in order to cover up the incompetence and realities of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. The administration is desperately focusing on harming the KCTU and the labor movement, talking about seditious influences that have infiltrated labor unions in conjunction with todays search and seizure warrant.

An article in the right-wing JoongAng Ilbo newspaper based on anonymous NIS sources alleged that five North Korean agents had been in contact with the four KCTU officials. It claimed that the chief agent Ri Kwang-jin works for North Koreas Cultural Exchange Bureau, which is allegedly tasked with generating dissent in South Korea. The NIS claims the four KCTU members met the North Korean agents between 2017 and 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Hanoi, Vietnam.

The NIS alleges that slogans used by the KCTU during rallies last August 15 marking the anniversary of the end of Japanese rule, included anti-US and anti-conscription slogans that were generated by the North Korean agents. No evidence has been provided to back any of these accusations.

The NIS has a long history of violent repression since its founding in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). Military dictator Park Chung-hee, who came to power that year in a coup, established the KCIA as a tool to crush political resistance to his regime. The KCIA participated in a number of operations including the kidnapping and torture of political dissidents; the infamous 1974 fabrication of the Peoples Revolutionary Party and execution of eight individuals the following year amidst anti-government protests; and the kidnapping in Japan and near assassination of Democrat and future president Kim Dae-jung in 1973.

While undergoing name changes, the NIS retains this reactionary character, demonstrating that even after South Korea has democratized in the 1980s, the police state apparatus established under the military dictatorship remains in place.

In recent years, the NIS ran an online smear campaign in 2012 against then-presidential candidate Democrat Moon Jae-in. The NIS also participated in the forced dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party in 2014. It claimed that members of the party had founded an organization to aid North Korea in the event of war even though the courts admitted that no such organization existed.

The current government of right-wing President Yoon Suk-yeol has revived the old KCIA motto We work in the dark to serve the light for the NISa sign that a campaign of dirty tricks and repression is going to be stepped up.

The chief target of this reactionary campaign is the opposition in the working class to deteriorating economic conditions, the spread of COVID-19, and the integration of South Korea into US war plans against China. Workers and youth speaking out against the government will face accusations of sympathizing with or being agents of North Korea.

Building on the attacks carried out on the working class by the previous Moon Jae-in government, Yoon came to power in May pledging to repress workers resistance to assaults on their working and living conditions.

The KCTU does not defend the interests of the working class. Despite its radical-sounding rhetoric, the KCTU leadership signaled to the government in December that it would wage no genuine fight against the stepped-up assaults on workers, when it helped engineer the defeat of a major strike of truck drivers.

During that strike, President Yoon denounced the drivers as akin to a North Korean threat. Under pressure from the government, the truckers union, Cargo Truckers Solidarity, and the KCTU called off the strike with none of the drivers demands being met. The unions made no attempt to expand the struggle to other sections of the working class.

Workers should take a serious warning from the raids on the KCTU, which are part of a far broader campaign of repression being prepared against the working class. No faith can be placed in the KCTU or their political allies like the Democrats which all defend the crisis-ridden capitalist system. Workers should take matters into their own hands and form rank-and-file committees independent of the unions to organize a fight to defend their social and democratic rights. Such a struggle needs to be waged on a socialist and internationalist program.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka has begun its campaign for the March 9 local government elections. The party is fielding 53 candidates across three local government bodies: the Kolonnawa Urban Council in Colombo district, Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha in Nuwaraeliya district in the central plantations, and the Karainagar Pradeshiya Sabha in Jaffna district.

Vilani Peiris, Myilvaganam Thevarajah and Thirugnana Sampanthar [Photo: WSWS]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led government previously attempted to postpone these elections, fearing that widespread popular opposition would result in a humiliating electoral defeat.

The SEP is intervening in the local elections as a part of its struggle to build an independent movement of the working class and the rural masses on an international socialist perspective. The SEP is mobilising workers, youth and the rural poor on an anti-war program and to fight the governments austerity measures and attacks on democratic rights.



Last week a SEP team campaigned at Meethotamulla in the Kolonnawa area, a Colombo outer-suburb, distributing copies of party literature, including its statement, For a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses in Sri Lanka! Published on July 20, 2022, the statement calls for a national campaign by working people and youth to establish independent action committees in workplaces and suburbs as the basis for sending delegates to a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses.

Campaigners discussed with workers and youth the political and economic roots of Sri Lankas current crisis which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. They explained the role being played by the parliamentary opposition parties, the SEPs socialist program, and the need for action committees.

Meethotamulla is a densely populated mainly low-income area. Many of its residents are daily wage workers, employed in warehouses, small packing plants and the local council. Others work as three-wheel vehicle drivers, shoemakers and street vendors.

Residents readily engaged in political discussion with SEP campaigners. The majority vehemently denounced the politicians of successive Sri Lankan governments, angrily explaining how they were attempting to deal with the worsening economic and social disaster. Some had participated in last years mass protests against the Rajapakse government. Many accused past and present governments of destroying the lives of their children.

One widow explained how her family was struggling to survive under escalating increases in the cost of living. We live on my sons wage [as a construction worker], but he does not get continuous work because the construction industry has been affected by the rising cost of cement. He earns 3,000 rupees [$US8] a day. We do not have lunch and dinner, only breakfast. Ive pawned my jewellry but am now unable to get it released, she said.

She also complained about lack of medicines at Colombo National Hospital where she is being treated for diabetes, high cholesterol, and kidney problems. SEP campaigners explained that the crisis in the hospitals were a result of health expenditure cuts by successive Sri Lankan governments, in line with austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Almost six years ago, on April 14, 2017, a huge garbage dump in the area collapsed as people were celebrating the Sinhala and Tamil new year. Dozens of homes were destroyed and 32 people killed, some of them buried alive. The SEP launched an independent workers inquiry into the tragedy, exposing the criminal responsibility of successive governments and the capitalist profit system.

Aftermath of garbage dump landslide in Meethotamulla, 14 April 2017. [Photo: WSWS]

Gayani, a housewife, sorrowfully explained how the garbage dump collapse killed three family members and relatives. Her husband, a Colombo Municipal Council worker, had one of his legs seriously injured in the disaster. My disabled husband still goes to work but under difficult circumstances. Life is getting harder and harder and, on top of that, there are no medicines in the hospitals, she said.

There is no hope of voting for any of these politicians, Gayani said, voicing her disgust with all bourgeois politicians. But we know about you, she added, recalling the SEPs independent workers inquiry into garbage dump tragedy. She purchased a copy of the SEPs book on the investigation. After campaigners explained the importance of forming of an action committee in her neighbourhood, said she was willing to join.

A mother of four children condemned all the political parties. When someone like you comes along talking about politics, we get angry. Neighbours say they dont want to talk to them [politicians], she said.

We are so frustrated because it doesnt matter who is voted in, its useless. Voting is important, but only because we need it for the childrens school admissions. Politicians only come around during the elections. After that theyre nowhere to be seen.

Kaushalya, a female worker, with a daughter in grade 8, and a son in grade 9, said: The closure of small factories has deprived many people of getting employment. And whenever they get work, its only for two or three days a week. My husband works at the urban council. His basic salary is just 20,000 rupees [$US54] but after debt installments are deducted, theres nothing.

Although many workers try to migrate to other countries there are risks with this. But how can we live [without earning income from foreign jobs] and send our children to schools? A pair of shoes is 4,500 rupees and a school bag 4,000 rupees, she added.

She agreed with the SEPs fight to independently mobilise the working class on a socialist program and said she would organise a discussion about forming an action committee in the area.

Hassan, a young three-wheel vehicle driver, had previously voted for Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP), the SLPP and even the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the current main opposition party.

Hasan [Photo: WSWS]

Disappointed with all these parties he told SEP campaigners that he would vote for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The policies of [JVP leader] Anura Kumara [Dissanayake] are good, he said, but added that he had doubts about whether the JVP would implement them.

SEP campaigners explained how the JVP supported the IMFs austerity measures and that it had been partners or supporters of almost every bourgeois government since 1994. They also reviewed its enthusiastic support for anti-Tamil racialist war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the JVPs fascistic terror against the working class during the 198890 period.



Hassan carefully listened, replying that the JVPs political record was problematic asked for further discussion about the SEP and its election campaign.

Referring to the SEPs analysis of growing danger of a third imperialist war, he said: If a war by America and NATO against Russia and China goes forward, there is the danger that the entire world would be ruined. Japanese children today still face the consequences of bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Im for the building of an anti-war movement and mobilising youth. I will organise a discussion with other young people, especially about organising against war.

Youve explained that the JVP is hand in hand with American imperialists in this situation. I comprehended those facts. The JVP has a history of dealing with the capitalist governments, he said.
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Northern Territory (NT) town of Alice Springs, where he pledged greater resources for the police and other measures of a reactionary law-and-order character.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre) in Alice Springs on Jan 24, 2022. [Photo: Twitter @AlboMP]

The rapidly scheduled visit, and the measures announced, were a direct response to an hysterical campaign by the media and the most right-wing sections of the political establishment.

In the weeks prior to Albaneses arrival, the Murdoch press had run a stream of lurid and sensationalist articles alleging, with very little concrete evidence, a major crime wave in the town, which like the rest of the NT has high rates of poverty and a large Aboriginal population.

Liberal-National Coalition leader Peter Dutton had called for a return of the 2007 NT intervention, including the deployment of Australian Federal Police and defence force personnel to the NT.

Albanese has not gone that far, yet. He did, however, reimpose intervention-era alcohol bans that were put in place by the previous federal Labor government in 2012, and which automatically expired after a decade last year.

Albanese announced an immediate ban in Alice Springs on takeaway alcohol sales on Mondays and Tuesdays, on top of existing restrictions on Sundays. On other days, takeaway alcohol can only be sold between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., limited to one purchase per person each day.

A federal government press statement, coinciding with Albaneses visit, asserted that the Labor administration would invest $48.8m over two years. In line with the broader law and order campaign, the chief priorities would be to tackle crime, keep women and children safe and provide support to young people in communities.

The money includes $14.2 million to boost police numbers in Alice Springs and $2 million for CCTV cameras and lighting. The additional funding for social services in the town is paltry. Just $2 million will be allocated to domestic violence services, scarcely the equivalent of the value of two small houses in a capital city. Some $25 million for community and safety services is merely a continuation of existing funding arrangements that were set to expire at the end of next year.

Police auxiliary liquor inspectors in Alice Springs supermarket in November 2019. [Photo: WSWS]

More broadly, across the entire NT, the government has pledged $19 million for indigenous health services and $100 million for housing and essential services, only $25 million of which has been concretely allocated.

To describe this as a drop in an ocean of crying need would risk overstating matters. Amid a catastrophic social crisis in the NT, that has been deepening every year, the government is providing a pittance. The police, the only well-resourced entity in the territory, are being provided a further boon to enforce these horrendous social conditions, and to scapegoat and brutalise the victims, in the first instance Aboriginal youth.

To provide this right-wing agenda with a progressive veneer, the Albanese government is further entrenching the position of a privileged layer of Aboriginal bureaucrats. The police build-up and miserly expenditures on social services are ludicrously being billed as community led.

The chief justification for this claim is the appointment of Dorrelle Anderson, the indigenous director of a domestic violence charity as Central Australian Regional Controller. She is to consult with remote communities on whether they wish discriminatory alcohol bans to be enforced on their community, and to provide the government with non-binding recommendations at the beginning of February.

In addition to boosting the repressive forces of the state, the entire thrust of the Labor governments response is to demonise the residents of Alice Springs and the NT more broadly as being responsible for the social crisis they confront.

This dovetails fully with the statements of police themselves and the media campaign spearheaded by the Murdoch media. The police have asserted an increase in crime rates in Alice Springs, including property damage (purportedly up 59.64 percent), commercial break-ins (55.76 percent) and alcohol-related assault (54.6) between 1 December 2021 and 30 November 2022.

The right-wing commentary has presented these as being the result almost entirely of the alcohol bans elapsing last year. In reality, these are mainly petty crimes of poverty and despair.

Figures prior to the pandemic showed that almost 45 percent of the roughly 61,000 Aboriginal people living in the NT were below the poverty line. Indigenous youth, in particular, have virtually no prospect of a future. They are blighted by a lack of access to education, housing and medical services, and have few chances of decent employment. They have, moreover, grown up under the repressive NT intervention, which at times had the character of a hostile military occupation.

In an indication of the official indifference to the social crisis, recent figures are scanty. But it is clear that the social situation is worsening, not improving. In explaining the crime figures in Alice Springs, NT residents have pointed to the fact that residents of remote communities are increasingly being forced to move to the town to access medical facilities and other services. Such communities have been hit by the broader inflation crisis, as well as price gouging, including for such essentials as food. Some are staying in the town with no employment or secure housing.

When torrential downpours sparked flooding earlier this month, remote communities cut off from roads and transport faced a major crisis. Ampilatwatja, one of those towns, is about 350 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs. Its population of 500 people have only the most rudimentary medical facilities. When one resident suffered a medical episode, transporting them for treatment proved a major logistical exercise.

Christine May, manager of the local clinic, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Because we do not have a sealed air strip, there was no way we could get anybody in or out. She added: People come out here to live because its their country... but when they need services, theyre very poorly served out here Its one of the biggest problems with living remotely.

Another ABC report this month noted: Over this Christmas and New Years period, the Salvation Army has seen a 30 percent surge in the number of clients dropping into their centres across the NT, compared to last year. Many of the homeless were from remote communities, whose residents are frequently compelled to live in makeshift dwellings. Overcrowding is the norm. Hardly any such properties have air conditioning, under conditions where summer temperatures in the NT are frequently in excess of 40 degrees celsius.

The ABC article added: In Alice Springs, only a handful of shelters still have spacebut according to the Salvation Army, these shelters dont accept children.

The Northern Territory government is pressing ahead with changes to public housing rent, that will likely see costs soar. Rent is no longer to be charged based on income, being replaced by a flat rate of $70 per bedroom a week, capped at $280. Charity groups have warned that this will lead to a further increase in housing insecurity and homelessness in the NT, which is already among the worst in the country.

A number of community representatives have condemned the alcohol bans and the prospect of their reintroduction in remote areas. They have noted the punitive and racially-discriminatory character of such measures, as well as the fact that they do nothing to address the underlying social crisis.

NT youth are locked up at the highest levels in the country. A December report by the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare last December found: In the Northern Territory, from the June quarter 2020 to the June quarter 2022 there continued to be a sharp increase in the rate of young people in detention on an average night from 6.6 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2020 to 21 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2022. That figure compares with 1.1 to 2.2 per 10,000 in other states and territories. Frequently, 100 percent of juvenile detainees in the NT are Aboriginal.

Aboriginal children playing at a remote settlement outside Alice Springs in 2008. [Photo: John Hulme/WSWS]

The conditions in such facilities have previously been denounced by international human rights groups as akin to torture. In 2016, an ABC investigation exposed the use of spit hoods, brutal beatings and other abuses at the Don Dale facility.

The role of the police, now being provided with a further boost by the Labor government, was underscored by the police killing of Aboriginal youth Kumanjayi Walker in the remote town of Yuendumu in 2019.

The police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was found not guilty of murder last year. In a text message to a friend published by the media, Rolfe had written: Alice Springs sucks ha ha. The good thing is its like the Wild West and f*** all the rules in the job really... but it is a shit hole. The police could do cowboy stuff with no rules in Alice.

The current campaign recalls the atmosphere whipped-up prior to the launch of the NT intervention in 2007. Lurid reports of child sexual abuse were broadcast by the media, led by the ABC. These were used as the pretext for the deployment of the military to the NT. There, the army enforced not only discriminatory measures, such as the alcohol bans, but further attacks on social conditions. These included denying residents their welfare payments, and instead providing them with basics cards, that could only be used at a handful of outlets.

In 2008, recently-elected Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued an apology to Aboriginal people for government crimes against them, including the forcible removal of children. The apology, lauded by liberal commentators and others, was a cynical fig leaf for Labors deepening of the intervention, which remained in place until 2012.

Similarly now, the Albanese government is proposing an indigenous voice to parliament. The establishment of the consultative body, which would need to be approved by a referendum, would do nothing to improve the social conditions of Aboriginal workers and youth, who are the most oppressed section of the working class. Instead it would further entrench a layer of privileged upper middle-class Aboriginal figures, as an another mechanism to maintain and enforce that oppression.
The commemoration of this years 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27 took place amidst NATOs escalation of the war against Russia in Ukraine and was dominated completely by imperialist war propaganda and right-wing historical falsification.

In the eyes of millions all over the world, Auschwitz has become the dominant symbol of the crimes of fascism in the 20th century. The camp was liberated 78 years ago by the Soviet Unions Red Army. Upon arrival, the soldiers found a vast complex of extermination and labor camps. Over 1 million people had been murdered here, including 900,000 European Jews. Overall, between 1.1 and 1.5 million people were deported to Auschwitz during the Second World War, among them at least 140,000 Poles, 20,000 Sinti and Romamost of whom were murderedand 10,000 Soviet prisoners of war. Countless thousands were forced to work in the labor camps that were run on behalf of the German chemical and pharmaceutical giant IG Farben. It was the predecessor of todays BASF and Bayer, two of the worlds largest and most influential companies.

"Selection" of Hungarian Jews at Auschwitz, 1944. Almost the entire Jewish community of Hungary, numbering 400,000 people, was gassed in Auschwitz in the summer of 1944.

But these historical facts were under systematic assault at the official commemoration ceremony, which was placed fully in the service of imperialist war propaganda against Russia. Its aim was not to honor the memory of those who were murdered and the few survivors of the Holocaust who are still alive, but to beat the drums of war propaganda to justify new crimes of imperialism.

Russia had been disinvited from the ceremony to begin with, despite the fact that the Red Army liberated the camp, as well as most of Eastern Europe 78 years ago.

The director of the Auschwitz memorial, Piotr Cywinski, focused his speech not on a condemnation of the crimes of fascism and Nazism, but rather on a conscious relativization of the crimes of the Nazis by equating Russias invasion of Ukraine to the wars waged by Hitler and the Holocaust. He said, Auschwitz emerged out of the lust for power and megalomania. Today, he continued, similar sick megalomania, similar lust for power, and similar-sounding myths about uniqueness, greatness, primacy only written in Russian. Innocent people are dying en masse in Europe, again.

Even though Auschwitz is principally remembered as a major site of the Holocaustits gas chambers murdered one-sixth of the Holocausts 6 million victimsthe Holocaust and the Nazis death camps were largely ignored by Cywinski. Mentioning sites of Nazi massacres of Polish, French and Czech civilians but not the mass murder of the Jews, he said, Wola district in Warsaw, Zamojszczyzna, Oradour and Lidice today are called Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, Mariupol and Donetsk.

No convincing evidence has been provided for the imperialist allegations of Russian war crimes in the cities of Ukraine cited by Cywinski. By contrast, it has been documented irrefutably that the Nazis murdered between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in the Wola district in 1944, 340 Czech civilians in the massacre of Lidice, and 643 French civilians in the massacre of Oradour, in France. Over 100,000 Poles were deported from Zamojszczyzna in an operation of ethnic cleansing that formed part of the Nazis Generalplan Ost, which aimed at the expulsion of the Slavic population and the settlement of Germans in Eastern Europe.

There is no innocent explanation for the head of the Auschwitz memorial highlighting these sites over those of the Holocaust. These massacres have long been exploited above all by Polish, but also other European nationalist and far-right forces, in order to downplay the crimes of the Nazis against the Jewish population across the continent, which local nationalist and far-right forces either tacitly supported or directly participated in.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Polands prime minister and a member of Law and Justice Party, went even further, claiming on Facebook, On the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, let us remember that to the east Putin is building new camps. He provided no evidence whatsoever for this extraordinary claim. Hours later, he boasted on Facebook about Polands role in pushing for Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to wage war against Russia.

Morawiecki is a member of a party that has not only played a key role in NATOs war preparations against Russia, but is also infested with far-right and anti-Semitic forces. In 2018, the Polish government banned public mention of and research into the crimes of Polish anti-Semites during the Holocaust. It has since undertaken a large purge of academic institutions and museums, ousting people who have opposed the governments far-right historical revisionism. In 2019, the PiS government effectively allowed a pack of fascists to march in Auschwitz on the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

The unprecedented promotion of war propaganda and the deliberate minimization of the crimes of Nazism at the Auschwitz commemoration is inseparable from the renewed explosion of imperialist militarism now underway in Europe.

The crimes of Auschwitz and German fascism more broadly were ultimately rooted in the breakdown of the capitalist system. The Nazi movement was brought to power by the German ruling class to smash the workers movement and establish the hegemony of German imperialism in Europe. The virulent anti-Semitism of Nazism was rooted, primarily, in the political and ideological reaction against the internationalist and socialist workers movement. The destruction of the Soviet Union became one of the central aims of German imperialism.

First, Germany sought to destroy the workers state that had emerged out of the 1917 October Revolution, albeit degenerated under the Stalinist bureaucracy, and thus deal a major blow to the international working class. Second, German imperialism sought to establish full control over the vast raw material resources of that region in order to consolidate its position vis-a-vis its main imperialist rivals, above all, the United States.

These aims were the basis for a war that to this day remains the bloodiest in human history. It was based from the very beginning on criminal orders, placing Germanys waging of war outside any established international norms of warfare. In one of the criminal orders issued to the Wehrmacht, Eric Hoepner, commander of the 4th Panzer Group, instructed his troops on May 2, 1941:

The war against Russia is an important chapter in the struggle for existence of the German nation. It is the old battle of Germanic against Slav peoples, of the defence of European culture against Muscovite-Asiatic inundation, and the repulse of Jewish-Bolshevism. The objective of this battle must be the destruction of present-day Russia and it must therefore be conducted with unprecedented severity. Every military action must be guided in planning and execution by an iron will to exterminate the enemy mercilessly and totally. In particular, no adherents of the present Russian-Bolshevik system are to be spared.

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 marked a key turning point not only in the war but also in the development of the Holocaust. Auschwitzs gas chambers began operation a few months later, as the Nazis Wehrmacht was massacring the Jewish population of the occupied Soviet Union en masse in mass shootings. The vast majority of the victims of the Holocaust were murdered between the summer of 1941 and late 1943.

The Red Army, composed of soldiers from throughout the Soviet Union and its different nationalities, fought against the Nazi invasion and played the central role in defeating Nazi Germany in the war. Despite the horrendous crimes of Stalinism, the Red Army, which had been founded by Leon Trotsky in 1918 to defend the conquests of the 1917 October Revolution against the invading armies, backed by the imperialist powers, still carried within it the spirit of the socialist revolution and social progress.

The disinviting of Russia from the official ceremony was therefore not just a major political provocation, but also part of a systematic effort to promote anticommunism and historical falsifications.

But Russias President Vladimir Putin counterposed to the imperialist war propaganda historical falsifications and political lies of his own. He responded to the disinvitation of Russia from the official commemoration ceremony by creating a false analogy between Russias invasion of Ukraine and the role of the Red Army in World War II, claiming that the aim of his war in Ukraine was to de-nazify the country.

The reality is that both the war in Ukraine and the resurgence of far-right forces and the unfolding imperialist war against Russia are ultimately the product of the decades-long Stalinist counterrevolution against the socialist October Revolution of 1917, which culminated in the 1991 destruction of the Soviet Union by the Stalinist bureaucracy. The Putin regime, which speaks for the interests of a tiny oligarchy that has enriched itself at the expense of the masses over the past 30 years, is the heir of this counterrevolution.

The Russian army, recruited largely from desperately poor people, is not a resurgence of the Red Army. Its soldiers are tragically being slaughtered in a war waged by the oligarchic regime in a desperate effort at a war of national defense whose principal goal is to safeguard the oligarchys own privileges and somehow find a way to negotiate with the imperialist powers. The reactionary invasion of Ukraine by Russias oligarchic regime and the accompanying historical falsifications and promotion of Russian chauvinism have been grist for the mills of the imperialist war machine and its propaganda and have served to further divide and confuse the working class.

The task of putting an end to the imperialist war now under way and of fighting the resurgence of fascist forces in Europe falls to the international working class. It must draw the lessons from the devastating consequences of the nationalist betrayal of the October Revolution by the Stalinist bureaucracy and counterpose to the imperialist warmongers and the nationalism of the Putin regime the strategy of a unified struggle by the working class across Europe and internationally in the fight for socialism.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials Monday, for talks on the mounting political crisis in Israel, and on joint US-Israeli military operations against Iran.

Netanyahu clearly wanted the main focus to be on the second of these topics, but in his public remarks as they met, Blinken made it clear that there is mounting anxiety in Washington over the explosive political conditions building up both in the occupied territories and within the Jewish state itself.

The Biden administration is clearly concerned that the events of the past month are destabilizing the Israeli regime and calling into question its ability to serve as the principal bastion of American imperialism in the Middle East.

Its level of concern is reflected in the extraordinary relay of top US officials through Jerusalem in the month of January: first National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, then CIA Director William Burns, and now Secretary of State Blinken.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Jerusalem. [AP Photo/Ronaldo Schemidt/Pool]

Netanyahu has assembled a radical right-wing government, headed by his Likud Party, the traditional party of the Israeli right, but with the participation of fascistic parties based in settlers on the West Bank and ultra-religious parties which seek to suppress not only the Palestinians but the more secular sections of the Jewish population.

Partly in order to block his own continued prosecution on corruption chargesas well as similar charges against several key political alliesNetanyahu is pursuing a series of changes in the Israeli political structure that would remove the attorney general and abolish the independence of the judiciary.

Israel has no written constitution or guarantees of basic democratic rights, and the previous Netanyahu government formally declared Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people, reducing Palestinians to a second-class, apartheid-like status.

The latest proposal to effectively neuter the judiciary, popularly considered the last independent line of defense for democratic rights, aroused mass opposition, with several huge demonstrations in Tel Aviv, with as many as 100,000 people, in a country of only 7 million.

Blinken made an explicit reference to these protests in his public remarks, an unusual breach of the traditional diplomatic posture that a countrys internal affairs are its own business. This was clearly not out of concern for democratic rights in general. The US envoy had just spent a day in Egypt schmoozing with the bloodstained military dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

A further destabilizing factor, to which Blinken devoted most of his public comments, is the wave of violence on the West Bank and in Jerusalem, provoked by an Israeli raid Thursday in the West Bank city of Jenin, which left ten Palestinians dead.

This was followed by a suicide attack by a lone Palestinian on a Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, in which seven were killed. On Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian opened fire on an Israeli father and son, wounding both. On Sunday there were numerous settler attacks on Palestinians across the West Banksome reports said as many as 150 violent incidents were recorded over the weekend.

On Monday, Israeli military forces in the occupied city of Hebron opened fire on a car which was supposedly driving suspiciously, killing the driver, 26-year-old Nassim Abu Fouda, who was shot in the head.

In his opening statement to Netanyahu and in subsequent public remarks, Blinken called for an end to the violence, by which he meant actions by Palestinians, and settlers, and other Jewish vigilantes. He made no reference to the Israeli massacre that touched off the current round of attacks, let alone voicing any criticism.

After his meetings with Netanyahu and other cabinet officials, Blinken is to travel Tuesday to the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered, for talks with the 87-year-old president Mahmoud Abbas. He is expected to bully the PA into restoring official cooperation with the Israeli security forces in actions to suppress the Palestinian population of the West Bank. This cooperation was suspended after the bloody assault in Jenin.

The closed-door talks between Blinken and Netanyahu are likely to have dispensed briefly with the internal crisis, and given much greater attention to the mounting military aggressiveness of both Israel and the United States against Iran.

There is no doubt active planning under way for further actions after Saturdays attack on the Iranian city of Isfahan, where military targets were hit by small drone aircraft apparently launched within Iran by Israeli agents. There are conflicting reports on the nature of the targets and the extent of the damage, but the city is a center of Iranian air and space operations.

The Pentagon declared Sunday that the American military had no role in the strike, but as the conservative Jerusalem Post pointed out, There are all sorts of ways to parse the Pentagon statement that the US had no military involvement in the drone strike. Might it have had intelligence or cyber involvement?

Netanyahu has made war threats to forestall the supposed threat of a nuclear-armed Iran his political calling card. He adamantly opposed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers, including the United States, and hailed the Trump administration for pulling out of the agreement and effectively wrecking it.

The Biden administration has moved closer to the Israeli position in the wake of the outbreak of the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Russia has reportedly relied on Iranian-made drones as an effective weapon against Ukrainian targets, although Iran claims the drones were supplied before the war broke out last February.

An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky openly linked the Israeli drone attack on Isfahan and the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine. There has been considerable speculation in the US corporate media that the Biden administration is seeking means to disrupt Iranian drone production or otherwise retaliate against Tehran for its de facto alliance with Russia.

Earlier this month, the US and Israel carried out their largest-ever joint military exercises, involving 7,500 troops and encompassing air, sea and ground forces. In an interview with CNN Monday night, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declared that these exercises were directed primarily against Iran, which he called the principal security threat to US interests in the Middle East and to the state of Israel.
Attorneys from the Consumer Protection branch of the Department of Justice (DoJ) are investigating Abbott Laboratories, according to a CNN report on January 20. An unnamed Abbott spokesperson is quoted as saying, DOJ has informed us of its investigation and were cooperating fully.

The Wall Street Journal reported the same day that the focus of the investigation was the companys infant formula factory in Sturgis, Michigan that was at the center of a devastating baby formula shortage in 2022 that continues to this day. NBC News said a law enforcement official familiar with the matter confirmed the Michigan factory where 420 workers are employed is where the investigation is being conducted.

No one from the US government or Abbott Laboratories has officially acknowledged the DoJ probe or explained the reasons for the investigation.

Such cooperation between federal government agencies and the multinational medical devices and health care corporation is unsurprising considering that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed Abbott to continuously deny there is any link between the conditions in the Sturgis facility and a series of illnesses and deaths of infants after they consumed formula produced there.

Abbott manufactures about 40 percent of the baby formula in the United States, one of four companies that produce 90 percent of all such products sold domestically. The formula shortages in 2022 were largely caused by the FDA shutdown of the Sturgis facility and voluntary recall of products made there beginning in February 2022.

The shutdown occurred when reports emerged that four infants became ill with bacterial infections after being fed Abbotts Similac PM 60/40 powdered formula in late 2021. Two of those children died. Since then, the FDA has received 129 complaints about tainted products related to the presence of Cronobacter sakazakii, including 8 additional deaths of infants, bringing the total to 10.

On May 16, 2022, Abbott and the FDA signed a consent decree outlining the process by which manufacturing could restart at the Sturgis facility. The agreement included the guarantee that Abbott Labs would not be held criminally liable for the bacterial contamination of its products.

All of these facts would never have come to the publics attention, had it not been for the out-of-stock rates that families experienced before the Sturgis facility was closed, stemming from the inability of the baby formula monopolies to calibrate their production volumes during the supply chain disruptions and surges in consumer demand in from the coronavirus pandemic.

These shortages continued for much of 2022 and are still higher than typical. As of December 2022, for example, out-of-stock rates for infant nutritional products were reported at 18 percent, down from the high of 43 percent in May. Before the shutdown of the Sturgis facility in February, these rates were 11 percent.

This is even though, as reported previously by the WSWS, about two weeks after the consent decree was signed, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf gave sworn testimony in which he stated, We had no confidence in the integrity of the quality program at the facility.

Califf also described bacteria growing in multiple sites within the complex, cracks in key equipment, leaks in the roof, standing water and inadequate handwashing by staff. The FDA found five different strains of Cronobacter, bacteria that can cause dangerous blood infections, at the Michigan facility.

The new DoJ investigation comes in the same month that tariffs that had been temporarily lifted on the importation of baby formula and nutritional products had expired. During that period, emergency measures doubled the number of companies able to sell formula in the United States, including from Mexico and the United Kingdom.

On May 15, 2022, Transportation Secretary and former Democratic Party presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, had these words for the parents struggling to find food for their children in the middle of a global health crisis, The government does not make baby formula, nor should it. Companies make formula. Lets be very clear, this is a capitalist country.

Buttigieg, of course, is correct. This is a capitalist country. Which means that all aspects of life are subordinated to the drive for profits. Whether it is the push for lower wages and worsening conditions in auto plants, the understaffing of hospitals or the inability of the largest capitalist economy in human history to put baby food on shelves.

According to Statista, the US baby formula market is worth $6.93 billion annually. Fiscal reports from 2021 show that Miles White, former chief executive officer of Abbott, received $14,034,939 in total compensation. Meanwhile, a current job posting for a second shift supervisor at the facility shows an estimated salary of $56,000$91,000 annually.
The Chinese governments abrupt ending of the zero-COVID policy that was successful in containing the pandemic has been met with a mixture of shock, concern, anger and opposition as the virus has rapidly spread through the population of 1.3 billion people. While the official death toll since the beginning of December stands at 60,000, modelling by Airfinity conservatively estimates the figure at 700,000.

Qianmen pedestrian shopping street on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. [AP Photo/Andy Wong]

Under relentless pressure from the major imperialist powers to open up, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime seized on small middle-class protests last month demanding freedom and an end to zero-COVID to dramatically accelerate the lifting of all restrictions. In adopting the murderous herd immunity policy of governments around the world, the CCP has promoted the same lies that the latest variants are mild, no worse than the flu and living with the virus is necessary to revive the economy.

With the traditional media heavily controlled by the state, the only avenue for the expression of opposition to this sudden about-face is social media, which is itself heavily monitored and censored. Most social media platforms such as Weibo and Zhihu are predominantly used by sections of the middle class, including students, as well as young and middle-aged people. Nevertheless, social media does provide a glimpse into the sentiments of working people that find no expression in the official press or for that matter the Western media which, with staggering hypocrisy, now accuse China of the practices prevalent elsewhere in the world such as falsifying or minimising health statistics.

Soon after the complete lifting of zero-COVID measures in mid-December and the rapid surge in infections across in the country, social media platforms were completely dominated by discussion of the pandemic. Many were sharing their symptoms after testing positive, talking about how most people they knew were infected and complaining about the difficulty of seeing a doctor or even getting an antigen test. Those who had not been infected were preoccupied with discussing preventative measures. A week or two later, as the death toll rose, obituaries of celebrities, intellectuals and veterans started to emerge, as well as posts from ordinary working people about the deaths of loved ones.

While the social media discussion of COVID has ebbed, it has become more critical. The themes have included: the stark contrast between everyday experiences and the state propaganda; why was the lifting of zero-COVID so rushed; the efficacy of vaccines and the potential for re-infection; and reports of long-COVID symptoms already experienced by many.

The three posts below and a selection of the responses give an indication of the discussions underway. All three are still posted.

1. The first post on January 16 on Weibo from Zhejiang Province stated Wanna know how my grandfather passed away? It described in detail how he was initially all right after being infected but his symptoms worsened very rapidly after leaving hospital. He died very quickly, just 15 days after being infected. The post received 9,000 likes, 1,000 comments and was reposted 1,700 times. Among the responses were:

One could really say that your grandfather was murdered by those health care experts who promoted that [Omicron] is a mere cold, that [infections] are all asymptomatic and that zero-COVID should be lifted.

Im sorry for your loss. Are you in Wenzhou [a city in Zhejiang]? A lot of elderly people passed away. I dont understand how it came to become this terrible.

I was at the hospital a couple days ago but could not get access to a bed. I had to stay in the Emergency Room. It was filled with elderly people, and basically every day we had someone passed away. My whole perspective about life was challenged during that couple of days.

A small group of evil people and whiners instigated [opposition] among gullible young people, which in turn accelerated in the making of this catastrophic tragedy.

My grandfather had a fever and passed out on Dec 27, was hospitalized on Dec 28, was able to get out of hospital twice, was conscious the whole time, but passed away on Jan 10. I cannot find a reason to celebrate this New Year?

My grandfather passed away very abruptly as well. The day before [his death], he told me not to worry and was not willing to go to the hospital. He left the next morning, but the hospital would not even write down COVID [as the cause] on his death certificate. What a world! At the same time, daily COVID infections were reported [officially] to be a dozen cases across the country.

Most people in my office [at work] are young and strong and are under 40. However, 90 percent of them still have lingering symptoms even after a whole month. Older people should be even more cautious.

2. A song titled Everything will be fine very soon was composed and published in mid December. It was then posted again on the state-owned Xinhua news agencys official account on Chinese TikTok on December 16. The song was released as mass infections spiralled around China and was performed at CCTVs New Year Gala, a program broadcast to the entire country and watched by hundreds of millions of people on the eve of Chinese New Year. The songs lyrics are:



No discomfort, dear?

Everything will be fine soon.

At the end of a special year

There are always worries.

You dont have to be afraid.

Because Im always here.

Be brave! Hit the road with an open heart!

Well go to movies together

Well go to pubs together

Well run away together

Well meet friends and drink together

We will talk about our worries

We will sunbathe together

We will hang out together

Together in the sunset

Masks will no longer separate

Each other's beautiful faces



The song provoked angry reactions. Some of the most widely liked comments in a thread on Zhihu about the song were:



The lyric is so disgusting. Is it a comfort? No, its empty wishful thinking. And also on the line about masks, do you have to be this anti-intellectual?

It would fit this song even better if it includes a line about injecting bleach into your veins.

If you have a deceased family member, how would you feel about this lyric? This song is even more sinister than Liu Huans song that told laid-off workers [in the 90s] to Start all over again.

This song referenced in the last response, Start all over again,was published in 1997 with state backing after mass layoffs and shutdowns of state-owned factories resulted in the destruction of tens of millions of jobs. Many workers were never able to start all over again.

3. A lengthy post on Zhihu on January 15 entitled Our lovely son left us forever received 1,204 comments. It stated in part:

My son was just two years and one month old. He was usually very healthy and only had four fevers after he was born. We never had thought that he would have left us due to COVID. Propaganda from official media said that children infected with Omicron would have more moderate symptoms, so we thought he could just stay home and be given antipyretics. We also knew that our neighbours kid was alright taking [Ibuprofen antipyretic liquid] after being infected.

On the death report, the cause was not COVID. We looked at data from the US, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and saw some really similar cases of death from encephalitis induced by COVID. Most of them were under the age of 13, and a lot more children under the age of 5. None of these were mentioned by the media in China.

I always felt like I took him to the hospital too late. However, at that time, doctors at the hospital were under very difficult conditions as well. Most of them kept coughing during work. Now, I often wake up in the middle of the night and think of him I miss him so much but theres no way I can go back in time.

The responses included:

Hugs. I just lost my daughter under similar conditions.

After lifting zero-COVID, I have been living at a rented place because I have to go to work. My mother, wife and kid have been staying at home all the time. I bring all life essentials to their door after disinfecting everything with ethanol. Thats the only reason why they have not been infected so far. My kid is too youngonly two months oldand Im extremely worried.

My kid was infected when he was only a little over 20 days old. It did damage to his/her heart, and some of the lab indices are still somewhat elevated 42 days later.

The same happened to my daughter. I am still very heart broken thinking back on that day [when she passed away]. Its been a month, but I miss her every single day.

My mother-in-law is a doctor. More than 90 percent of doctors and nurses are working despite being sick themselves. My mother-in-law started seeing patients the second day after she tested positive, performed a surgery on the third day. She was over 60 but only got one day off.
Memphis police beat Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023. [Photo: Memphis Police Department]

In the aftermath of the release of the video last week showing the brutal police assault of Tyre Nichols that led to his death three days later, President Joe Biden and the capitalist press have sought to present the killing of Nichols as the latest expression of systemic racism.

The facts of the incident make this argument a difficult one. The police who have been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of the 29-year-old FedEx workerDemetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smithare African-American, like Nichols.

No evidence has been presented that the January 7 traffic stop of Nichols, and subsequent police assault, were motivated by racism. And while racist and backward attitudes are cultivated by the ruling class in police departments around the world, the racial composition of the Memphis Police Department roughly corresponds to that of the working class population of Memphis.

Of the nearly 2,000 cops in the department, nearly 60 percent are black, close to the 64 percent of the Memphis population that identifies as black. Six out of the nine members of the Memphis police leadership executive command staff, including police chief Cerelyn Davis, (who spearheaded the creation of the SCORPION unit that killed Nichols) are also black.

In light of these facts, representatives of the ruling class who advance the racialist narrative to explain unending police killings in America claim that when it comes to black cops killing black people, the race of the police officers does not matter because American society in general is systemically racist.

In commentaries published in the New York Times and the Washington Post, the two leading newspapers affiliated with the Democratic Party presented the Nichols killing as confirmation of systemic racism in the US.

In a January 29 editorial titled On violent policing, we say never again but we get once again the Post asked, How many more times will Americans, and their leaders in government and law enforcement, vow never again about such an incident, only to find ourselves ruefully saying, Once again. (Emphasis added)

With a bit of verbal sleight of hand, the Post attempts to foist onto the American people as a whole the responsibility for the endless killings carried out by the police, which is an institution of the state, operating under the direction of both capitalist parties. Since coming to office following Trumps failed coup, Biden and the Democrats have sought to outflank their fascistic Republican colleagues from the right in their support and funding for the police.

This is combined with an effort to whitewash the role of the Memphis police as a whole. The Post writes that there are some encouraging aspects to this episode, including the claim that Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis took her own skeptical look at the initial reports and fired the men 12 days later.

In fact, the initial statement put out by the Memphis Police Department was not skeptical of anything. It claimed that only a confrontation between Nichols and the police had occurred and that Nichols was taken to the hospital after he complained of having a shortness of breath.

The false police statement was a main driver in prompting the parents of Nichols to protest multiple times outside the police station following his death, and to publicly release a photograph of their childs mangled body, likening the treatment Nichols received to the fatal violence inflicted on Emmett Till by Mississippi racists in 1955.

While assuring its readers that most police officers do a difficult and necessary job, the Post concludes that the change that is needed is the kind that cannot come from laws and policies alone: cultural. That is, the problem, in the end, is racism.

The racialist narrative is developed in an even more overt manner by the New York Times Charles Blow in his January 27 column headlined, Tyre Nicholss Death Is Americas Shame.

Blow pours scorn on the mass demonstrations of youth and workers of all races that erupted in 2020 following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He writes that they were populated by evanescent allies, poll-chasing politicians and cooped-up Covid kids who had used the protests as an opportunity to congregate. Blow cynically likens the protests to a mass psychological episode, a cabin-fever racial consciousness brought on by Covid lockdowns that melted away like ice cubes on a summer sidewalk.

In the wake of the protests, he writes, Americans shifted to other priorities and the broader public became desensitized to police killings, or it callously started to see the police killings as unfortunate but ultimately acceptable byproducts of much-needed increased policing at a time of rising crime.

The police killing of Nichols is a consequence, he declares, of the fact that America has once again failed Black people... America should be ashamed.

This is at once a disgusting slander and a political cover-up. It is a slander against the millions of Americans who braved police violence and fascist terrorism to oppose police violence in the summer and fall of 2020. And it is a cover-up of the role of Democratic Party politicians and their spokesmen like Blow himself who channeled this opposition into the bankrupt politics of racial identity.

Amid the outpouring of commentary (the Post editorial and the Charles Blow column are only two examples of many) on the systemic racism revealed in the killing of Nichols, there is no mention of the fact that police violence affects workers and poor people of all races.

While blacks, Native Americans and Hispanics are killed at a disproportionate rate compared to their share of the general population, of the over 1,000 people killed by police in the US every year, a plurality are white men.

According to figures for 2022 from Statista, of the 1,192 people killed by police in America in the course of the year, 502, or 42 percent, identified as white. Black, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander and unknown combined accounted for 474 deaths, or 41 percent. Hispanics accounted for 216, or roughly 18 percent of the deaths.

Among the most horrific police killings captured on video in recent years, which went largely unreported in the mainstream media, was the killing of Jerod Draper. Draper, who was white, died inside a Harrison County, Indiana jail after his bare feet [were] stomped, his pressure points [were] prodded, he [was] Tased multiple times, while he loudly plead[ed] for the pain to stop, according to a December 2021 investigation by the IndyStar.

To the extent that racism plays a role in police murders, it is due to the fact that the ruling class cultivates in police departments the most backward and lumpen social elements to defend, not a racial hierarchy, but the capitalist system and the ruling class unearned wealth and private property. What the victims of police violence and murder have in common is that they are overwhelmingly working class.

The arguments of the Post, the Times and countless others are aimed at denying the roots of police violence in the reality of American capitalism, while dividing workers against each other on the basis of race.

Where is the real explanation for the horrors of police violence to be found? Here, two factors must be emphasized.

First, the United States is the most socially unequal of any major capitalist country, presided over by a ruling class that has amassed unimaginable wealth amidst the destruction of social services, the gutting of cities and a pandemic that has killed more than one million people.

Second, and this deserves particular emphasis, is the operation of American imperialism throughout the world. The US government spends $1 trillion a year to finance the instruments of death. The Pentagon has engaged in 30 years of endless neocolonial wars and interventions throughout the world, which have now developed into a direct conflict with Russia. In the interests of world domination, the ruling class has built up a massive apparatus of militarist violence.

But there is no dividing line between the organized institution of violence abroad and the organized institution of violence at home. Indeed, there are innumerable connections between the military and the police, both in terms of finances and personnel. They are, moreover, both instruments of the state and the capitalist ruling class that controls it.

It is this essential class function of the police that the narrative of systemic racism is aimed at obscuring. But it is the essential basis for the working class of all races to oppose police violence by opposing capitalism.
The German author and intellectual Hans Magnus Enzensberger died November 24, 2022, at the age of 93. The intellectual life as well as the literary and political history of Germany after 1945 cannot be imagined without him. Enzensberger was not only shaped by it, but he also influenced it and created landmarks with his poems, essays and plays.

Hans Magnus Enzensberger, 2006 [Photo by Mariusz Kubik / CC BY 2.0

Born in 1929, he grew up in the family of a senior telecommunications engineer who did not engage in resistance against the Nazis, but preferred to hold himself at arms length from them.

Following the military collapse of Hitlers Third Reich in World War II, Enzensberger was repulsed by postwar West German society. Countless former Nazis cheerily announced their adherence to democracy and brazenly remained in or took over leading roles in politics, the judiciary, state administration and at universities and schools, while at the same time millions of their victims were consigned to political oblivion.

Immediately after graduating from high school, Enzensberger seized the first opportunity to escape to the promised land abroad. He was able to spend a year in Paris, immersing himself in debates involving well-known European writers and philosophers. The far more liberated cultural climate in Paris, however, could not compensate for the great political and intellectual crisis that prevailed throughout Europe after the war. The potent culture of Marxism, which little more than 30 years earlier had been provided such an impetus by the 1917 Russian Revolution, had been largely destroyed by Stalins political genocide in the Great Terror and the show trials of 193638, which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Communists, socialists, progressive-minded scientists and intellectuals.

Consequently, in Eastern Europe as in the Soviet Union, the Stalinist bureaucracies were able to strangle every independent, revolutionary movement of the working class. In the West, in league with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and trade union bureaucracies, the Stalinists suppressed the class struggle and revolutionary opportunities in Greece, France and Italy. And so, a reactionary brew of irrationalism, mysticism, existentialism, Catholic and Protestant bigotry could contaminate the intellectual climate in Europe and especially in Germany.

Under these conditions, the young writer Enzensberger, who regarded himself as a nonconformist, was drawn to the philosophers of the Frankfurt School (founded in 1923): Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse and, above all, Theodor Adorno. All three had been forced into exile in the US following January 1933, when state power in Germany was handed over by the ruling class to Hitler and his Nazi movement. The treacherous leaderships of the two mass workers parties, the SPD and KPD (Communist Party of Germany), which even in parliament together represented a majority, surrendered to the fascist gangsters without a fight.

Failing to understand the root causes of that political catastrophe, Horkheimer, Marcuse and Adorno drew the most pessimistic conclusions. Already in the late 1920s, in the wake of the defeats of the German Revolution in 191823 and the Chinese Revolution in 1927 and the rise and consolidation of the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, they developed the strong conviction that the working class did not play any progressive, much less a revolutionary role, in society. Then, after 1933, the Frankfurt School figures explicitly rejected historical materialism, Marxisms philosophical foundation. Marxism in their view had to be updated by a return to the philosophy of idealism, to Kant and Hegel, and others.

Yet Adorno, Marcuse and the others camouflaged their flight into irrational idealism and subjectivism behind pseudo-dialectical, occasionally Marxist-sounding phrases. That gave their bleak philosophy the appearance of a progressive critical theory, of an alternative to German ruling class ideology, which continued in the postwar period to be permeated with chauvinism, persistent anti-Semitism and other right-wing conceptions in many areas of political and cultural life.

Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno in 1964 [Photo by Jeremy J. Shapiro / CC BY-ND 2.0

By the early 1950s, Horkheimer and Adorno had returned from exile, determined to re-establish the Frankfurt Institute of Social Research and to re-educate the German people with their conceptions. Enzensberger, back in Germany from Paris, was immediately attracted to their seemingly progressive critical theory, above all to Adornos cultural criticism, which claimed that the crux of capitalism was not the exploitation of the working class for profit, but the ostensibly invincible power of the media to drive workers like sheep into stupefying mass consumption.

In 1957, Enzensberger delivered a caustic polemic on the radio against the jargon of the so-called news magazine Der Spiegel, based on factual, irrefutable analysisand became known overnight, above all, because the publisher of the magazine, Rudolf Augstein, deeply impressed, published the radio essay shortly afterwards in Der Spiegel itself.

Enzensbergers first volume of poetry, Defence of the Wolves, also published in 1957, emerged like a bolt of lightning in sultry weather. It captured the attitude of an entire generation, the 20- to 30-year-olds of the time, who, like Enzensberger, had nothing but contempt and indignation for the society into which they have been born.

But even in Enzensbergers poetry, Adornos attitude, like that of other representatives of the Frankfurt School toward the working class, toward the masses, shines through: the thoroughly gullible masses accept everything, they read the trashy tabloid Bild newspaper every day, they throw themselves into consumption, supposedly intoxicated by West Germanys incipient economic miraclewhere things are going upwards, but not forwards. You do not change the world reads the reproach in the last line of the title poem of the volume.

Frankfurt School, one might say, yet not pseudo-intellectual gibberish, incomprehensible to most people, but in downright breezy, accessible, cheeky, sometimes sad or wicked verse.

In 1963, Enzensberger received Germanys most important literary prize, the Buchner Prize, named after the great poet, scientist and revolutionary Georg Buchner (18131837). He was now internationally renowned and recognised. Together with Heinrich Boll and Gunter Grass, Enzensberger was regarded and celebrated by a global public, which was still suspicious of official postwar (West) Germany, as the representative of another, a better Germany.

Kursbuch, 1965

Elated by growing social struggles in Europe, which was rocked by the first major economic and political crises since postwar reconstruction, and highly motivated by the civil rights movement in the US and the national liberation movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Enzensberger founded the influential political-literary journal Kursbuch (Timetable) in 1965.

With this publication, edited by him until 1975, Enzensberger provided the ideological representatives of middle class layers radicalized all over the world a platform for the exchange and discussion of their ideas. Petty-bourgeois nationalists like Fidel Castro and Frantz Fanon, anti-Marxist student leaders like Rudi Dutschke, exponents of structuralism like Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes and of postmodernism like Michel Foucault, renegades from Trotskyism like Ernest Mandelall found a place in the pages of the Kursbuch. What united all these forces was their hostility to Trotskyism and their worship of the anti-communist big lie of the 20th century: Stalinism equals socialism! or, viewed critically, equals real existing socialism.

During the German student revolt of 196768, and especially during the protests against the emergency laws finally passed by the grand coalition of the conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union and SPD in May 1969, Enzensberger and his Kursbuch played a crucial role.

German student protest, 1960s

He called for the imitation of French conditions, referring to the then general strike of May-June 1968 in Francewhich was to be betrayed shortly afterward by the Stalinist Communist Party and trade unions. Already by the end of 1968, Enzensberger sounded the retreat in a series of essays and ironic commentaries in Kursbuch, parodying the dreams and visions of revolution that were sinking to the bottom like the Titanic.

The essays The End of the Consequence (1981) and In Defence of Normality (1982) signalled that H.M. Enzensberger had made his peace with the status quo. All the revolutionary visions of the 19th century, Marxism as well as anarchism, have proven to have failed, to be unrealisable, he later repeated time and again in interviews to justify his abandonment of previously held positions.

And: Only trees need a standpoint! People have to be mobile, they always have to change their point of view!this cynical bon mot served him as justification for his coming to terms with the normality of philistine opportunism.

Around the same time, many Maoists, anarchists, Stalinists and a faction of the Pabloites in Germany founded the Greens as a purely bourgeois party. The founding statutes of the party stipulated that its members renounced any reference to socialism or Marxism.

Enzensberger remained very productive in literary and publishing terms, but politically he was pining awayuntil the destruction of the Soviet Union and former East Germany (GDR) by the Stalinist bureaucrats ruling there and the restoration of capitalism in the East pushed him, like other ex-radicals, far to the right!

The Greens, along with the SPD and the trade unions, in collaboration with the turncoat Stalinists of East Germanys former ruling party, the SED (Socialist Unity Party, renamed the PDS [Party of Democratic Socialism], and later the Left Party), all lined up to help the German government of Helmut Kohl to smash the nationalized property relations in the East and the social gains of workers organically linked to them, thereby creating mass unemployment and poverty.

As far as Enzensberger was concerned, he sent an important foreign policy signal to the ruling class. In an essay in Der Spiegel in February 1991, he declared his unqualified support for the cruel colonial war that the US, with the support of its NATO allies, was waging against Iraq. Washingtons aim was to take control of Iraqs energy supplies and reaffirm its vast military supremacy in the worldincluding vis-a-vis the newly reunited Germany, which had risen to become the leading power in Europe.

George Bush visiting US troops in Saudi Arabia, November 1990

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a reincarnation of Hitler, Enzensberger argued, and the bloodbath unleashed by the American military in the former colonial country therefore a war of liberation. In reality, the US invasion was the opening shot of decades of unceasing wars by the US and its NATO allies in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, aimed at redividing the world after the restoration of capitalism in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China.[ 1 ] Even after the extent of the destruction and carnage wrought by the US in Iraq became known (and the lies on which the invasion was based), Enzensberger maintained his position. He had been right in the matter, he declared in interviews years later, he would only choose other words today!

Over the following three decades, he continued to be creative in the field of literature, writing worldwide bestsellers with his books for children and young people on mathematics. Politically, however, taking into account his prostration before imperialism, as a democratic rebel or even merely a democratic admonisher, Enzensberger was definitively dead.

The Number Devil (children's book), Hans Magnus Enzensberger

This disturbing and shocking development has a significance that goes far beyond Enzensberger as a writer and individual.

For what was truly experiencing a rebirth immediately after German reunification was German militarism, which had already triggered two catastrophic world wars. The ex-radicals of the 1960s and 1970s, first of all Enzensberger and the Greens, were its godparents. Defence of human rights, defence of democracy were the mendacious slogans they gave this campaign to disguise its true and age-old goals: to secure the domination of German corporations and banks in Europe and participate in the re-division of the world among the imperialist powers.

It was the Greens under Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer who in 1998, in violation of international law, instigated the first ever postwar deployment of German troops in a warand that, of all places, in the Balkans, overrun with resulting mass devastation and mass murder by the German Wehrmacht in World War II.

And today again, 25 years later, the Greens are the most important and most ruthless of all war parties, threatening to plunge Germany into a new World War, by betting on a final victory over Russia and by rearming Ukraine and, above all, the German military on a gigantic scale just as Hitler rearmed the Wehrmacht in the 1930s.

Enzensbergers 1991 article in Der Spiegel on war in Iraq thus blazed a trail that was ahead of its time.

On the occasion of his second, physical death, we are therefore republishing today the article with which this author responded to Enzensberger in the Neue Arbeiterpresse on February 22, 1991, in slightly edited form and with explanatory footnotes for todays readers. The Neue Arbeiterpresse was at that time the weekly paper of the Bund Sozialistischer Arbeiter, the forerunner of the Socialist Equality Party, the German section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

* * *

The case of Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Wolfgang Weber, February 22, 1991

On February 4, 1991, a sensational essay by Hans Magnus Enzensberger entitled Hitlers Ghost appeared in Der Spiegel. The cause of the stir was not so much due to the cover of the magazine, which featured the slogan Saddam = Hitler. This was the same accusation already used for months by US President George W. Bush, French President Francois Mitterrand, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to justify the mass bombing campaign launched against the Iraqi population in the guise of a war of liberation.

Bush, the organiser, financier and beneficiary of numerous military dictatorships, racist and/or fascist regimes in South Africa, Chile, Turkey, lacked any credibility to pose as an anti-fascist liberation fighter. Equally disqualified was Helmut Kohl, the representative of the same German banks and corporations that financed and profited from Hitlers fascism.

Der Spiegel cover, February 1991

The real sensation was the fact that that piece in Spiegel came from the pen of a well-known writer who for decades had been regarded as a radical critic of capitalism in general and German capitalist society in particular.

In the 1960s and 70s, Enzensberger played a key role in the student movement as editor of Kursbuch, a political-literary magazine. He wrote a series of linguistically dazzling and politically biting poems and essays critical of German bourgeois society, riddled with former Nazis. He also wrote works opposing the colonial oppression of poor, backward countries by imperialist powers.

His play and television movie The Havana Inquiry (1970), dealing with the Bay of Pigs operation, the failed US invasion of Cuba under President John F. Kennedy in April 1961, was seen worldwide and became renowned.[ 2 ]

Now, 20 years later, Enzensberger has tossed aside his radical left credentials and has suddenly emerged as the vehement advocate of a brutal colonial war.

Hence, his argumentation in this regard deserves close examination.

1. The Character of Hitlers dictatorship

Enzensberger writes:

The parallel with Hitler is evident. The Fuhrer, too, was not concerned with defeating one or another internal or external opponent.

This is a gross falsification of history!

Enzensberger is as well versed in the history of class struggle[ 3 ] as he is in the history of literature. He is very well aware that the first priority of the Hitler regime on behalf of the ruling class was to defeat the enemy at home: i.e., the working class.

Immediately following the handover of power to Hitler, the first concentration camps were filled with thousands of workers, Social Democrats and Communists, trade union officials and resistance fighters. Countless numbers of them were murdered. The trade unions were destroyed, the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party banned and all working class democratic rights brutally suppressed.

Hitler and Nazism had been financed and brought to power by the German banks and industrial corporations for precisely this purpose. This was the only way they could impose savage conditions of exploitation on the working class, wage a new war against their imperialist rivals to seize colonies and destroy the Soviet Union and conquer its vast resources and raw materials. The murder of 6 million Jews was bound up with this class dictatorship. The victims were mainly the poor proletarian and petty bourgeois strata of Eastern Europe and Russia. In the case of wealthier Jews, they were expropriated and eliminated as unwelcome competitors.

Enzensberger denies the class character of the Hitler regime as an open dictatorship of capital and disguises its historical role by simply declaring Hitler to have been an enemy of the human race. Why? Because this is the only way to justify equating Hitler and Saddam Hussein as enemies of the human race.

Only on this basis can the writer attempt to draw an equivalence between the fascist dictatorship of a highly developed industrial power striving for world domination and the unstable bourgeois regime of an oppressed, former colonial country that stands in the way of the imperialist powers and their aspirations for unrestricted oppression.

It is only on this basis that Enzensberger can claim that it is not US President Bush and his allies in Europe, with their slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi workers, peasants, women and children, who stand in the tradition of Nazi fascism, but rather Iraqs Hussein.

Of course, this requires Enzensberger to turn not only history, but also the facts of the current war on their head. According to Enzensberger, it is not Bush, Mitterrand and Kohl who are busy wiping out cities, but Saddam Hussein.

2. Legitimising genocidal policies

After defining Hitler as an enemy of humanity, he deals with the causes of his dictatorship. According to Enzensberger, responsibility for fascism does not rest with the German capitalists or their henchmen in the Social Democratic and Stalinist workers bureaucracies, which politically disarmed the working class and handed it over to fascism in 1933 without a fight.

Hitler with Nazi Party members in 1930

In their 1933 May Day appeal, the Social Democratic trade union leaders officially called on the working class to collaborate with the new state and march under the Nazi swastika on May Day to demonstrate their loyalty to the Hitler regime. The unions thereby announced they would not organise any resistance. One day later, on May 2, 1933, the Nazis responded by storming the bureaucracys headquarters and smashing up the unions.

But, no, according to Enzensberger, it was not the treacherous reformist and Stalinist officials who were responsible for the ability of the German bourgeoisie to implement its plans, but rather the people (Das Volk) and their death wish:

A Hitler, a Saddam can only appear in history when an entire people wish for their coming. Their power does not grow from the barrels of guns, but rather from the boundless love and subservience of their followers.  What excited the Germans was not only the licence to kill, but even more the prospect of being killed themselves. Today, millions of Arabs are just as fervent in their desire to die for Saddam Hussein.

According to Enzensbergers version of history, it was not the gun barrels of the SS and Gestapo, not the terror of the Nazi Peoples Court, not the tens of thousands of executions, not the torture and concentration camps that sustained Hitlers fascism, but instead the German peoples boundless subservience to the new regime and their yearning for death.

Enzensberger sees the cause of this longing for death in the

feeling of a long-standing collective grievance that utterly corrodes the self-esteem of millions. From this point of view, the Germans, if they had a better memory, could recognise themselves in the Arabs.  The parallels [between the Germans] and the peoples of the Middle East is obvious. When a collective no longer sees a chance to make up for itsreal and imaginaryhumiliation through its own efforts, then it deploys all its psychic energy to accumulate immeasurable stores of hatred and envy, resentment, and vindictiveness. It feels like a pawn and victim of circumstances and denies any shared responsibility [!] for the situation it finds itself in. The search for the culprit can begin. Then the hour of the Fuhrer has come. The enemy of humanity can charge himself with the accumulated death energy of the masses.

If one thinks through these trains of thought to the end, it allows only one conclusion: if fascism has its historical and social roots not in capitalist class society, but in the anthropological problems of a people plagued by inferiority complexes, then, in order to eliminate a fascist dictatorship, one must exterminate the entire population!

And when the mobilisation and militancy of millions of Arabs against colonial oppression can be equated with the fascist ideology of the maddened, ruined petty bourgeois masses, then it is precisely these millions of Arabs who must be exterminated.

Consequently, it is necessary to support the war of extermination of the US and its allies against Iraq.

We are not reading this conclusion into his essay, Enzensberger himself spells it out:

The elimination of Hitler cost countless lives. The price for removing Saddam Hussein from the face of the earth will be astronomical

Given this line of reasoning there is no longer a good reason not to carry out such a surgical operation, not just with hundreds of thousands of tons of conventional incendiary, petrol and fragmentation bombs, but also with nuclear weaponsand there is none with Enzensberger. On the contrary, he already identifies the next targets for imperialist wars of liberation, namely the entire Arab world, the Indian subcontinent and the Soviet Union. In his opinion, a nuclear final solution is close at hand.

Literally, he says:

It is foreseeable that in the future other peoples will cheer their and our own executioners. There are eternal losers in all directions. Among them, the sense of humiliation and the tendency towards collective suicide increases with every year. In the Indian subcontinent and the Soviet Union, the nuclear arsenals stand ready. What Hitler and Saddam failed at, the final victory, that is, their final solutiontheir next revenant could succeed in doing.

Enzensberger formulates in literary form a recipe for destroying the masses of workers and peasants who threaten to rise up in India and elsewhere against their oppressors in even more formidable numbers than in the Middle East andin the case of the Soviet Unionwho oppose the attempt to reintroduce capitalist exploitation with the help of Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev.

3. The enemy within

Enzensberger identifies not only the next external wartime enemy, but also the internal enemy at home with whom it is necessary to come to terms: the German youth, who like the entire German people, is, in his opinion, latently fascistoid, i.e., seized by an inclination to collective suicide, by remnants of fascism no one wants to be reminded of.

As proof, Enzensberger cites the fact that a considerable proportion of German youth identifies more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis and would rather direct their protest against George W. Bush than against Saddam Hussein. In other words, the writer reacts against the fact that young people spontaneously show solidarity with the victims, the Palestinian and Arab masses, rather than with the organisers and bastions of imperialist and racist oppression, the US and the Israeli state.

This position of Enzensbergers taken to its logical conclusion means nothing else than that just as the imperialists colonial war of extermination must be supported externally, so must police-state oppression be supported internally, directed against the working class and youth and their fascist death frenzy.

The ultra-reactionary character of this position is made clear by the fact that the ruling elite in Germany is already vigorously reviving not only militarism but also domestic repressive measures.

In Berlin and Bavaria, citizens from Arab nations, defamed as potential terrorists, have been deprived of their democratic rights and placed under direct police supervision. At the same time, a 1930s-style police raid is taking place at the IG Metall [union] headquarters in Heidelberg, and that over an anti-war appeal; anti-war demonstrators are being arrested; a further tightening up of police laws is planned; the imposition of emergency laws is planned in the event of Germany officially entering the Iraq war.

None of this forces Enzensberger to rethink or even hesitate.

Fidel Castro in the UN General Assembly, 1960

In the 1960s, he denounced and analysed the colonial oppression of peoples in the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa and supported revolutions and liberation struggles in Algeria, Cuba and Vietnam. In the 1970s, he continued to oppose the construction of a police state in Germany. Now the very same man is putting his not inconsiderable literary talents unreservedly at the service of the powers that be and their war propaganda.

Enzensberger writes all this in the same magazine about which he observed in a brilliant 1957 essay (The Language of Der Spiegel) that it possessed the power and ability not only to overthrow corrupt ministers, but also to corrupt the opinion of millions![ 4 ]

4. Enzensbergera social phenomenon

This political about-face cannot be explained by the individual Enzensberger, but only by the evolution of certain petty bourgeois strata, whose ideological mouthpiece Enzensberger has always been. The position of this layer within capitalist class society has changed fundamentally in the recent period. After the Second World War, this social grouping was systematically built up as a buffer between the two main classes, the bourgeoisie and the working class. It was entrusted with the administration of capitalist state affairs and the shaping of the bourgeois consciousness industry (Enzensberger), that is, the media, the education and academic system, and it was tied to the capitalist state with the help of extensive privileges.

In the 1960s and 1970s, these layers reacted to the emergence of national liberation movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the civil rights movement in the US, the Vietnam War and the crisis of capitalism in the central industrialised countries with the so-called student movement. The perspectives of this movement, however, never went beyond protest against imperialism, albeit with the occasional use of radical phrases.

Its ideologists like Enzensberger explicitly rejected the revolutionary role of the working class and thus the perspective of a proletarian revolution to overthrow capitalism. They used Marxist phrases to distort Marxism. They turned to the workers movement, not to mobilise it with a revolutionary programme, but merely to exploit it as a lever to introduce and impose their own bourgeois reformist programme, to assert their own ascendancy in the state and society.

Politically, they all ended up embracing Social Democracy and Stalinism, or at least bowing to them in a critically distanced manner. Based on the continued control of these counterrevolutionary bureaucracies over the working class, they promised themselves a stable and tranquil future under capitalism. Many of them became members of the arch-Stalinist German Communist Party (DKP), joined one of the numerous Maoist groups, rose in the ranks of the SPD and trade union bureaucracies or, in the case of the fake Trotskyist Pabloite organisations, acted as their left fig leaves.

During the 1980s, a period in which the only thing that still flourished under capitalism was the unrestrained enrichment of capitalists through financial speculation and swindling, sections of these petty bourgeois layers increasingly abandoned their anti-capitalist phrases and plunged into businessas yuppies on the stock exchange, publishers or sought-after authors in the consciousness industry. They even became government ministers such as Michel Rocard[ 5 ] and Jean-Pierre Chevenement[ 6 ] in France, or the former Juso [SDP Young Socialists] Chairman Gerhard Schroder[ 7 ] and Joschka Fischer[ 8 ] from the Greens in Germany.

In the last two years, the material position of this affluent stratum and thus its function as a buffer between the classes has been severely shaken. The near collapse of the stock markets,[ 9 ] the intensification of trade wars between the great powers and the threat of state bankruptcy in leading capitalist nations have undermined their chances of enrichment.

Finally, with the collapse of the East European Stalinist bureaucracies and the crisis of Stalinism in the Soviet Union, a decisive political pillar of the entire postwar imperialist order has toppled. The more class conflicts come to a head in Germany because of the takeover of East Germany and the war in the Gulf, the more the Social Democratic bureaucrats, who organise low-wage labour and mass unemployment, are also in danger of losing control of the working class.

This change in class relations has driven sections of the privileged petty bourgeoisie to the right. Their ideologists and literary representatives like Enzensberger see no other alternative than to throw themselves into the arms of the ruling class. At the very moment when the ruling class is once again arming itself for war and dictatorship, they openly appear as defenders of the tottering capitalist order and as heralds of imperialist war.

The fact that Enzensberger is not alone shows that this is a social phenomenon and not just about an individual Enzensberger case. He has been joined, for example, by former East German dissident Wolf Biermann, who on February 1 wrote a vicious, two-page diatribe against demonstrations opposed to the Iraq war in Die Zeit, the weekly for the educated petty bourgeois:

Lets be clear: I am for this war in the Gulf!Of course, the Americans are also interested in oil. I am glad that there are such reliably rotten interests. Israel would otherwise stand alone.

A week later, another chief ideologue of the former student movement, Jurgen Habermas[ 10 ], came forward in the same newspaper:

To say in advance: the intervention as suchHabermas is a philosopher!I consider justified![ 11 ]

Similar statements have already been made by the critic of Social Democracy [writer] Cora Stephan and other greats of the former student movement, not to mention the Green politicians Fischer, Udo Knapp and Klaus Hartung, who openly call for Germanys active participation in the imperialist armed encounter with Iraqall under the hypocritical pretext of defending Israel.

5. Enzensberger and Marxism

These ideological leaders of the petty bourgeoisie have one thing in commonthey have broken relations, however superficial or formal, with the working class and declare the bankruptcy of Stalinism to be the end of Marxism. They openly admit that if they ever criticised Stalinism, they have always done so from the right, from the standpoint of bourgeois democracy and anti-communism, and not from the left on the basis of a socialist perspective.

Only a fortnight ago, Enzensberger himself emphasised in a television interview that he had borrowed from Marxism during the student movement, but had never been a Marxist. He took an intellectual crumb from Lenin here to criticise imperialism, a morsel from Trotsky there to expose Stalinism, and also borrowed something from Hegel to better understand the course of history.

Contrary to Enzensbergers eclectic view, however, Marxism is a scientific method of comprehending the world. It is the basis for a correct historical, economic and political analysis of the class struggle and thus for mobilising the international working class with a socialist programme for the abolition of capitalism.

Enzensberger explicitly rejected revolutionary Marxism; in contrast, as he explained in the television interview, he always retained a tenacious residue of unease.

Enzensberger presented himself as a particularly critical spirit, independent of all doctrines and ideologies. In fact, this was merely the posturing of a thoroughly average petty bourgeois democrat and nationalist philistine. In his essay published in the 1960s, European Periphery, he himself was aptly able to describe this species of politician and ideologuebased on picking through Marx and Engels:

They can muster a certain, paternalist-like benevolence for the revolution in Cuba, in Algeria and in Vietnam, but only as long as the revolutionaries do not endanger the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, freedom of the press, the social market economy and private property. One is familiar with this behaviour from the class struggles of the nineteenth century and knows where it leads, if not in principle, then in reality: favouring existing power relations.[ 12 ]

Now Enzensberger has caught up with his own political prediction to an extent that would have probably frightened him 20 years ago; shedding the flimsy garb of intellectual independence, he unabashedly postures as an intellectual prostitute for his own bourgeoisie and its war propaganda.

For the working class, this molting of Enzensberger and many other upper-middle class radicals contains an important lesson: it can free itself from capitalist exploitation not just by shaking off the yoke of the Social Democratic and Stalinist bureaucracies. It must also free itself from the influence of petty bourgeois radical ideologues and their paternalism.

This requires the building of the Trotskyist world party, the International Committee of the Fourth International and its German section, the Bund Sozialistischer Arbeiter. It is the only political tendency in history that has defended Marxism and the perspectives of socialist revolution against both the counter-revolutionary bureaucracies of Social Democracy and Stalinism and their props in the petty bourgeoisie.

To the extent that the working class, through the building of the Trotskyist party, turns again to the perspectives of Marxism and participates in the class struggle as an independent political force, it will also be able, as in previous revolutionary periods, to break the best representatives of the intelligentsia from the bankrupt, pro-imperialist policies of middle class radicalism and win them to its side in the struggle for a socialist future of mankind.
On December 20, rank-and-file socialist candidate for UAW president Will Lehman filed a protest over the UAW bureaucracys deliberate efforts to suppress the vote in the first ever direct election for national union officers. The Monitor has not substantively responded and is instead going forward with a second round between Ray Curry and Shawn Fain, two candidates who each received votes from less than 4 percent of eligible voters.

On January 23, the UAW Monitor sent an email asking Lehman for additional information, but only about a small element of Lehmans initial report. The Monitors letter read, in part:

As relayed to you in this prior correspondence, the Monitors Office has received and is currently evaluating your protest and will issue our ruling when our review is complete. In connection with our evaluation of your protest, we are requesting additional information in support of some of your claims. Specifically: Regarding your claim on page 36 of your protest that UAW officials called security to remove campaign volunteers engaged in protected election activity at specific workplaces on various dates, please provide additional information regarding each incident so that we may fully evaluate this claim.

Lehmans response, which was sent January 30, is as follows.

***

Mr. Barofsky,

This is my response to your January 23 email requesting information about my supporters being obstructed by UAW officials when they tried to campaign at workplaces, as well as about members at certain workplaces being misinformed about voting deadlines.

Your email is the only substantive response I have received so far to my December 19 protest to the first round of the elections. In that protest, I demonstrated that hundreds of thousands of members were intentionally disenfranchised by inadequate notice and by deliberate efforts to suppress the vote.

Without a doubt, the misconduct you are asking about was part of a deliberate effort to suppress the votenot just in terms of preventing workers from finding out about my campaign, but in terms of preventing workers from finding out that an election was happening at all. In the hundreds of discussions I personally had with UAW members outside workplaces across the country as part of my campaign, I would estimate that only 10 or 15 percent had heard an election was taking place before I told them.

However, you are now pressing ahead with a second round of runoff elections despite all the issues I raised. It is clear from the narrow scope of your requests, as well as their adversarial tone, that you intend to overrule my protest and certify the election results.

As to your requests for information themselves, you are asking about issues that I first reported to you long before votes were cast in the electionwhen you still had plenty of time to do something about them. Your own election rules say that any anti-democratic efforts or policies will be swiftly addressed and eradicated (page 4). Now you are suggesting that you will look into these issues nearly two months after the ballots were already countedwhich is hardly swift.

At any rate, this response should be more than sufficient for you to investigate and hold accountable all the UAW officials involved, and it further underscores why the election needs to be re-done in its entirety. The two campaign volunteers who are most able to speak to these events are [Name Removed] and [Name Removed], they are both available to speak to you as soon as possible.

1. August 23 intimidation by UAW District Committeeman Sean Meachem at North Parking Lot of Flint GM Assembly

On September 1, I wrote you an email that began:

I am requesting that your office investigate an act of intimidation by the UAW which violates my Freedom to Advocate pursuant to Rule 4-4 of the election rules and constitutes discrimination by the UAW against my campaign under Rule 4-5.



On August 23, I visited Flint GM Assembly plant with volunteers from my campaign. We went at shift change, in the afternoon, in order to speak to workers about my campaign and distribute leaflets with information about my program. We spent roughly an hour speaking to workers and handing out literature.



After an hour, a UAW official who identified himself as Local 598 District Committeeman Sean Meachem began to intimidate us and the workers with whom we were speaking. Meachem told us he was calling General Motors to inform them of our presence and remove us from the premises to prevent us from distributing literature and speaking to workers. When we explained our Freedom to Advocate under Rule 4-4, Mr. Meachem continued to order us to leave. He then instructed a woman wearing a UAW shirt to begin taking photographs of me, my volunteers, as well as workers who were speaking to us. This was an attempt to intimidate workers from taking leaflets or holding discussions with me.

In response to this email, you held a perfunctory meeting with me on September 9, and when my lawyer asked you whether that meeting constituted an investigation your representative said that it did not.

At that meeting, I provided all of the information that I had about this incident. I have nothing more to add. As I explained during that meeting, we did leave the plant as a result of this. You never told me what came of this meeting. If you took action against Mr. Meachem, you never told me about it. As a result of your inaction, the UAW bureaucrats felt emboldened to take the actions of intimidation that follow here.

2. November 5 intimidation by UAW Local 3047 official Gary Parr

On November 9, I wrote to you:

Last week, workers at the Metalsa parts plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, were intimidated from speaking to my campaign volunteers by UAW Local 3047 official Gary Parr, who called company security and began taking photos of nearby license plates in an attempt to intimidate workers from learning about my campaign. A similar act of intimidation took place in August, when a UAW Local 598 official instructed someone to photograph workers who had been talking to me about my campaign at GM Assembly in Flint, Michigan.

My volunteers stopped campaigning as a result of these actions. You never responded to this complaint until now. The exact date was November 5. The Metalsa plant has only one employee parking lot, located on the south side of the plant.

3. December 17 threat of physical violence by Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell

Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell made threats against my volunteers at a rally for CNH workers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Campbell began taking photos of my volunteers and suggested they read your (the Monitors) election rules for your safety. I already reported this to you. My volunteers felt that any attempt to stand their ground would have resulted in physical violence.

4. Additional incidents of my campaign being obstructed at workplaces.

Here are the details of additional incidents of my campaign being obstructed at workplaces, some of which I reference in my December 19 protest:

August 20 obstruction of campaign volunteers at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant

Campaign volunteers were in the south parking lot during the afternoon shift change distributing leaflets and telling workers about the election. A company security guard asked my volunteers who they were, and they responded that they were volunteers for my campaign. At this point the security guard told the volunteers they could not stay, and so they left.

September 21 security asked supporters to leave GM Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana

On September 21 at around 2:10 p.m., volunteers at GM Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana were approached by security, who said that they would contact GM World HQ in Detroit for guidance about whether they could hand out leaflets. In this particular instance, the volunteers were actually able to stay by the turnstiles and finished distributing their leaflets before security ever got back to them.

October 14 obstruction by UAW official who refused to identify himself at Freightliner Truck Manufacturing Plant in Cleveland, Ohio

At roughly 3:00 p.m., as my campaign volunteers were distributing leaflets and notifying members of the upcoming deadlines to request ballots and cast votes, a man who identified himself as a UAW official but who would not state his name approached my volunteers and told us, You have to leave, I am calling security. My volunteers told him that under the Monitors rules we had a right to be present to inform workers of their right to vote in the election, and the UAW official disregarded these appeals. Security arrived and a company security official said they were calling the police. They then escorted my volunteers out of the parking lot.

October 14 obstruction at Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan

In the afternoon of October 14, campaign volunteers were distributing leaflets near the main gate of Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. This incident took place by the flagpoles. A person who identified himself as head of security at the plant approached my volunteers and told them they had to leave immediately. He escorted them off the premises after threatening to call the police.

October 17 obstruction at Volvo plant in Dublin, Virginia

At around 3:30 p.m., at the main entrance to the Volvo plant, a white woman who looked like she was in her 50s approached my campaign volunteers and said, I am with the UAW, on whose authority are you here? She then called security, and one guard came up to my volunteers and demanded that they leave, which they did.

October 19 obstruction at Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant

On October 19, my supporters were located at turnstile about 30 feet southwest of the security booth at Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant. While campaigning, they saw two men, approximately in their 40s, both white, speaking to security. We were then approached by security guards who said we had to leave company property.

The security guard expressed exasperation over the fact that the union officials had not told us themselves. From this we understood that it was the union officials that had demanded that security ask us to leave.

October 20 obstruction at GM Fairfax Kansas City Plant

My supporters were at the turnstile on the west side of the plant. At one point during the campaign, three UAW officials, two white men and one black woman, insisted that we leave because the factory gate was company property. They included UAW Local 31 plant chairman and International Rep Jerry Belucci (spelling not known). This video shows the incident. Please review.

October 27 obstruction at Dana Inc. parts plant in Toledo, Ohio

An African American woman wearing an official UAW shirt with a large UAW Local 12 logo on it stood in the doorway to the plant as a corporate security guard removed my campaign team from the premises, even though my team was outside, in the parking lot. It was apparent that the UAW official instructed security to remove us. Volunteers were distributing leaflets with information about the campaign and informing workers that an election was taking place. The UAW official did not respond to requests that she provide her name, but she stood in the door to block workers from receiving leaflets about my campaign. When my campaigners told the UAW official that they had a right to inform workers about the election, the UAW official did not respond.

October 27 removal from Planters Peanut plant in Suffolk, Virginia

Volunteers were standing in the middle of the parking lot between 1:30 and 2 p.m. with no problem, but when they moved toward the entrance to the lot, right across the street from the security guards station, a single guard approached them and told them to leave. They moved down the block a little, on a public street, and he approached them a second time and asked them to leave and they left. It is not known whether UAW officials were involved in this incident, but it is possible given the pattern of similar incidents.

October 28 removal from Jefferson North Assembly Plant, Detroit

Campaign volunteers were distributing leaflets on a public sidewalk outside the plants drive-out gate, as they had been doing for many weeks in a row. Security guards came out on October 28 for the first time. This indicated that somebody had asked the company to remove us from the public space outside the plant.

November 19 volunteers removed from GM Arlington, Texas

Volunteers were asked to leave the turnstiles at GM Arlington by security on Saturday, November 19 during the afternoon shift change between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. They were leafleting near the entry turnstiles at Gate 3, where they had leafleted many times before. They do not know whether UAW officials were involved, but the volunteers recall speaking with someone who may have been a UAW official shortly before being removed.

5. False deadline reports at GM Arlington, Texas and Centerline, Michigan

Regarding workers at GM Arlington (Texas) and Centerline (Michigan) reporting that they were being told the wrong information about deadlines, I already sent this information to you on November 9. I promptly reported to you what was reported to me and I asked you to investigate.

I wrote:

Workers in at least two plantsGM Arlington in Texas and Mopar in Centerline, Michiganare informing my campaign that UAW officials are telling eligible voters that the deadline to mail in their ballot was October 28, and that they need not send their ballots now because it is too late. This is not the correct deadline. If an investigation confirms what workers report, this would amount to a violation of federal law and of workers right to vote.

In both cases, I was relaying to you what workers had told my campaign, including multiple workers at the turnstiles at GM Arlington. I specifically asked you to investigate these reports to determine the scope of the problem and take appropriate action. Based on your email last week, it is clear you never investigated these reports. It was your obligation to do so under the rules, not mine. However, since you failed to do it, I am now working to reach workers at both facilities and will provide a supplemental response about what I discover.

Conclusion

The information I provided previously and in this letter should be sufficient for you to conduct your own investigation to hold accountable all of the UAW officials involved.

However, my protest exposed more than just the misconduct of a few bad apples. There was a systematic effort by the entrenched bureaucracy across the board to cling to power by suppressing the vote, which resulted in an election that had such low turnout that it was not meaningful in any fundamental democratic sense. The only way to make this right is to conduct a do-over of the election with adequate notice and with the names of all duly nominated candidates on the ballot.



Best,

Will Lehman
The North Dakota House unanimously approved legislation on Tuesday that would require schools and governing bodies to give students and board members a chance to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

House Bill 1120, sponsored by Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, would mandate school districts to allow the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by students at the start of each school day. The proposal also requires public panels, including school boards, to allow members to say the pledge before meetings.

The bill comes after the Fargo School Board voted in August to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance  a move that sparked outcry from politicians and pundits. School board members received threatening messages before reinstating the recitation of the pledge about a week after the initial decision.

Heinert, who collaborated with Gov. Doug Burgum's office on the bill, previously said the Fargo controversy didnt influence his decision to introduce the legislation.

Representatives on Tuesday also advanced House Bill 1172, which bars the governor from altering the words of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Bill sponsor Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, said the phrase "one nation under God" was added to the oath in the 1950s to recognize the nation's "Judeo-Christian roots."

Members of Congress reportedly added the words "under God" to the pledge in 1954 to highlight Americans' differences with the atheistic Soviet Union, according to the New York Times.

Both bills will head to the North Dakota Senate in March when the chambers exchange approved legislation.
UAW incumbent president Ray Curry; Tunisia incumbent president Kais Saied [Photo: UAW/Houcemmzoughi composited by WSWS]

You dont need a degree in political science to see the difference in how the corporate media and political establishment treated two elections that took place in December 2022.

The first election involved 1 million active and retired autoworkers, and nobody in the courts, the press or the two parties of big business seemed concerned about the fact that turnout in the election was only 9 percent, a sign that the UAW bureaucracy engaged in voter suppression to keep itself in power. The second election took place in the North African country of Tunisia, where 11 percent of eligible voters voted in parliamentary elections held two weeks after the UAW vote concluded.

UAW members in the US can be forgiven if they did not hear about the election in Tunisia, though as it turns out, most of them did not hear about the election in the UAW either, since the bureaucracy made every effort to keep the rank-and-file from learning about it and voting in it. (Details of how the UAW bureaucrats suppressed the vote can be found in a protest Will Lehman sent to the court-appointed monitor overseeing the election here.)

But comparing the two elections is important, because the political and media establishment hailed the UAW election as a historic triumph for democracy, while denouncing the Tunisian election, with slightly higher turnout, as a sham that proved the leadership was illegitimate.

When Lehman filed a lawsuit in federal court in November warning that turnout in the first round of the UAW was on pace to be less than 10 percent, lawyers representing the UAW, the court-appointed monitor and the Biden administration shrugged off the warning and said they were not concerned about the turnout.

After the UAW election, when turnout was just as low as Lehman warned, the academic, media, legal and political establishment came together with one voice to praise this fraud as a triumph of democracy.

Professor Nelson Lichtenstein said on January 18 that the first round of the UAW election was a genuine leadership election, citing it as proof the union was returning to real democracy. The publication Labor Notes, which speaks for a part of the trade union bureaucracy represented by longtime apparatus man Shawn Fain, said the first round was a historic change and nothing short of an earthquake.

At a recent event held by the Democratic Socialists of Americaa group that is not socialist but functions entirely within the capitalist Democratic Partytwo leaders of the organization also praised the UAW elections, with Sofia Guimaraes Cutler calling the election an unprecedented opportunity to elect their top officers.

The most shameless reporting came, as usual, from the New York Times, which wrote on December 2:

The first United Auto Workers election open to all members appears to have produced a wave of opposition to the established leadership, signaling the prospect of sweeping changes for a union tarnished by a series of corruption scandals.

The Times quoted professor Harley Shaiken as saying: The union is entering a new and profoundly different era, implying that the election showed the UAW has broken with its past leaderships long record of criminality. The Times made no mention of low turnout. Nor has recently-retired Times reporter Steven Greenhouse, who hosted the debates between UAW candidates in the first round and the fraudulent runoff.

But heres how the Times reported on the election in Tunisia:

On December 20, the paper wrote an article titled As Tunisia drifts farther from democracy, voters shun election, which noted with indignation that just over 11 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. This feeble turnout, the Times wrote, was the product of efforts by the countrys strongman president to violate the rights of the Tunisian population.

Various professors and think tanks expressed shock over the low turnout in the Tunisian election. Monica Marks, a professor at New York University, said, No one can find a single party of importance across the political spectrum or a civil society organization that sees Saturdays election as anything other than a sham vote to create a Potemkin parliament.

The Carter Center, a think tank founded by former US President Jimmy Carter, said the low turnout showed the Tunisian election lacked legitimacy and fell short of international and regional standards and obligations. ABC News said the low turnout showed the Tunisian political system is now seen as disintegrating. Foreign Policy magazine wrote, Nearly 90 percent of the country stayed home during the first round of parliamentary elections, calling this an electoral disaster.

There is another notable difference in the responses to the two elections. In the case of Tunisia, President Kais Saieds opposition called for a boycott of the second round and demanded the president resign as a result of low turnout. Reuters reported that the opposition said the president lost his legitimacy after Saturdays parliamentary election had a preliminary turnout figure of less than 9 percent (this was later revised to 11 percenthigher than the UAW turnout).

However, there are no such statements coming from the opposition to Ray Curry and the Admin Caucus within the UAW bureaucracy, represented by Shawn Fain and his slate, UAW Members United. Although this group won the votes of less than 4 percent of eligible voters, Fain and his slate have accepted the legitimacy of the elections and refused to criticize low turnout.

Fain and Currys camps both hope to carry out the election as an internal contest within the bureaucracy. Brian Keller, another independent candidate, has endorsed Fain. Rank-and-file socialist Mack Trucks worker Will Lehman is the only candidate who has called for the election to be thrown out and for new elections to be run with all candidates names on the ballots.

There is no doubt that the Tunisian election was a fraud conducted in violation of the rights of Tunisian workers, but the corporate media and state apparatus only chose to say so because they are attempting to secure even more concessions for corporate America out of the government of Tunisia.

The black-and-white contrast in the treatment of the two elections shows that the entire political establishment holds the most basic rights of the working class in utter contempt. The UAW election was conducted from start to finish with the aim of propping up the legitimacy of the UAW bureaucracy, which it views as necessary to suppress the class struggle, force through sellout contracts, and keep corporate profits rolling in.
The consultations were held ahead of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least-Developed Countries (LDC5), to take place from 5 to 9 March in Doha, Qatar. Hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the first meeting was held in Addis Ababa on 17 and 18 January for Haiti and African LDCs. The second meeting was organized for LDCs of Asia-Pacific on 30 and 31 January and hosted by Cambodia in Siem Reap.

Under discussion were trade impacts for countries graduating from LDC status, LDCs' regional integration and evolving trading trends in LDCs. Participants also discussed ways of strengthening LDCs' capacity to trade, including opportunities provided by digital trade. DDG Zhang encouraged the participants to keep reviewing their evolving trade interests and called for strengthening dialogue between government officials based in capitals and officials based in Geneva.

Coordinated and concerted measures are needed to enable LDCs to better access international trade and global value chains. LDCs can derive significant benefit from a multilateral trading system under the WTO, said Rabab Fatima, UN Under-Secretary General and High Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least- Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).

As we are approaching the Fifth UN Conference on LDCs, it is very important for LDCs to strategize on our shared vision for trade and development for the next decade, said Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan of Djibouti, who coordinates the LDC Group in the WTO. This would allow us to pave a clear road ahead on where we would like to be with our trade and development efforts in 2031.

Samheng Bora, Cambodia's Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce, said: We strongly believe that the multilateral trading system can bring economic benefits to our country and that trade preferences and capacity building can make trade work for all. Aid for Trade initiatives like the Enhanced Integrated Framework are important for bringing together development partners, agencies and national stakeholders to build trade capacity, to support economic diversification in LDCs and to enable inclusive and sustainable trade development.

The consultations were organized jointly by UN-OHRLLS, the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the WTO and UN regional economic commissions. The outcomes of the consultations will be presented at the LDC5 Conference. There are currently 46 LDCs, of which 35 are WTO members and eight are in the process of accession.
The 17 participants in the Young Professionals Programme were selected from more than 3,500 candidates after a competitive and merit-based selection process. The seventh cohort come from Barbados, Chinese Taipei, Cote d'Ivoire, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama, Togo, Ukraine, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Launched in 2016, the WTO Young Professionals Programme is part of the Secretariat's efforts to increase diversity and broaden the representation of the membership.

The primary goal of this programme is to build your WTO-related knowledge and skills, which you will then carry with you in your future endeavours, whether in public service or the private sector in your home countries, here at the WTO, or elsewhere, DG Okonjo-Iweala said. We are counting on you too: we need your fresh eyes to tell us what you think is working well here  and more importantly, what you think is not!

Talking on behalf of the group, Kimonique Powell from Jamaica said: This is a unique opportunity for the 17 of us, all from underrepresented members of the WTO, to expand our knowledge of international trade and WTO-related issues. The programme also speaks to the WTO's continued commitment to diversity and inclusion which is evident not only in the countries we represent but also in our professional profiles, she said.

In addition to the participation of the Director-General, the event was attended by Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard, ambassadors and permanent representatives of the participants' members of origin, and directors of the WTO Secretariat divisions hosting the Young Professionals this year.

Jamaica, Moldova, Nepal, Saint Lucia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are represented in the Young Professionals Programme for the first time.

What the participants expect from the programme

I expect that this year will be filled with opportunities to deepen my knowledge in trade and environment topics and the multilateral trading system. I am excited to learn from my expert colleagues in the Trade and Environment Division as well as the wider WTO staff who represent some of the best minds in international trade. I am also excited to contribute to the WTO's work and to support the positive impact of this work on the members. I want to use this time to immerse myself in the organization, with the view to gaining insights and knowledge for future career growth and contributing to the growth and improvement of my country Barbados. I also hope to create meaningful relationships with colleagues as I widen my professional network. Cherise Trotman (Barbados)

I believe the WTO is the best place for me to experience how international trade contributes to sustainable development and the transition towards a more inclusive global society. As a Young Professional, I will cherish this precious opportunity to dedicate myself to critical agricultural trade issues and obtain more comprehensive knowledge across various trade topics. Jessica Wang (Chinese Taipei)

The future of trade is services, as DG Ngozi said. I couldnt be happier to be part of the Trade in Services and Investment Division for the whole year. During my stay, I am looking forward to enhancing my knowledge on the General Agreement on Trade in Services and to contributing to the work of the Division in preparation for the 13th Ministerial Conference. I am hoping to develop strong expertise in the area of services trade and investment matters, so that I can contribute to the development of services trade in Africa. Mosuru Olukayode Abiodun (Cote d'Ivoire)

The Young Professionals Programme provides a unique opportunity for me to enhance my knowledge of the WTO and to immerse myself in the discussions of the issues that shape world trade. I am very excited to contribute to the work of the Office of the Director-General in a crucial year for the multilateral trading system. Grecia Anai Rosal Rosales (Guatemala)

I look forward to enhancing my professional experience in trade policy. As a Young Professional in the Information and External Relations Division, I intend to deepen my knowledge in several areas of interest, such as MSMEs and trade & development, while using my skills to assist the Division in disseminating information about the important work of the organization. Shauna Andrea Ramdyhan (Guyana)

As our DG often reiterates (and in reference to the preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement), trade is about people! This simply means improving people's lives and livelihoods is at the centre of the work being conducted by the WTO. I thus look forward to contributing to all areas of work at the WTO and, in particular, those issues that are of critical importance to the global commons (e.g., trade and development, food security, trade and the environment). The intent is to use the knowledge garnered to help small developing countries integrate fully into the global economy by harnessing the gains from trade. Kimonique Powell (Jamaica)

It is an honour to be working as a Young Professional at the WTO. During my time in the Development Division, I hope to enhance my knowledge of trade and development issues and how developing countries and LDCs utilize the special and differential treatment flexibilities provided in the various WTO agreements. Moreover, I would be eager to follow the discussions on WTO reform following the outcome of MC12. Magdaline Morijoi (Kenya)

The Young Professionals Programme provides an outstanding opportunity to gain greater understanding of world trade and engage in different areas of work of the WTO, for which I am extremely grateful. I hope to strengthen my knowledge about the multilateral trading system, with a particular focus on trade in goods, and to build strong professional skills while aspiring to become a trade policy expert. Moreover, I am very excited to have the chance to work alongside top experts within the Market Access Division and intend to make the most of it. Daniela Tibuleac (Moldova)

I am convinced that international trade cooperation under the aegis of the WTO is critical to achieving sustainable growth for developing countries, particularly for LDCs. During my time in the WTO Secretariat, I look forward to working closely with the WTO Chairs Programme to gain an in-depth understanding of sector-specific challenges facing LDCs, alongside contributing to building the trade capacity of members. I am equally keen on learning from the experiences of my fellow cohort members who come from and represent different regions of the world. Shraddha Gautam (Nepal)

The unprecedented outcomes of MC12 prove that the multilateral trading system under the WTO is capable of responding to the most critical issues of our time. During my year at the Secretariat, I look forward to working closely with the Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division on e-commerce and other emerging issues and building on the success of MC12 by delivering substantial outcomes that answer the needs of the average person. I also look forward to deepening my expertise in international trade and building a professional network that I will continue to learn from as I progress through my career. Frances Omotese Uhomoibhi (Nigeria)

As a Young Professional from Central America, I am honoured to join the WTO's Government Procurement and Competition Policy Group. Over the course of this year, I look forward to gathering insights into how the Government Procurement Agreement is implemented at the WTO, and contributing to the Division's work in promoting transparency, integrity and competition in this market. I am also excited to support the technical cooperation activities available to developing and least-developed countries, to assist them in participating effectively in the WTO's work on government procurement. Gabriela de Obarrio (Panama)

I am delighted to be part of the seventh cohort of the programme. As a Young Professional in the Trade Policies Review Division, I feel honoured to work with trade policy experts. During my time at the WTO, I hope to improve my skills in trade policy analysis and gain a better understanding of the contemporary economic and legal fundamentals of the multilateral trading system. Leleng Kebalo (Togo)

With the dispute settlement system being part and parcel of the WTO, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be working with and learning from my colleagues in the Legal Affairs Division. Weighed with a legacy of the previous year's immense challenges and yet inspired by the MC12 outcomes, 2023 offers the prospect of demanding tasks and seeking promising solutions. I am pleased to be a part of the WTO Young Professionals cohort during such unprecedented times for the international trading system. Olesia Volodymyrivna Kryvetska (Ukraine)

I am thrilled to be a part of this year's Young Professionals Programme cohort. During my time in the Agriculture and Commodities Division, I hope to deepen my understanding of the multilateral trading system and take full advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from international experts in the field of agriculture and trade. I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the WTO's work on global food security over the coming year. Tamara Persaud (Saint Lucia)

Trade is a force multiplier for action towards sustainable development. As a Young Professional in the Trade and Environment Division, I look forward to immersing myself in discussions at the intersection of trade, climate change and the environment, and to contributing to global cooperation on all fronts in tackling the most pressing issues of our time. Joan Lim (Singapore)

I am happy to be part of the Trade Policies Review Division where I hope to learn more about how countries are evaluated on their trade and trade-related policies (i.e. by measure and sector), especially for developing countries such as those in the Southern African Customs Union. After my time at the WTO, I hope to use my technical skills to be an ambassador of transparency which is essential for trade and a key principle for the WTO. Lungelo Prince Cele (South Africa)

I am excited to join the Economic Research and Statistics Division. This is an invaluable opportunity to gain first-hand experience in global trade analysis and tap into a great wealth of knowledge, working alongside experts from around the world. I am confident that this will allow me to contribute to the organization's important work and make meaningful contributions to the multilateral trading system. Tinotenda Mataire (Zimbabwe)
A bipartisan group of North Dakota lawmakers believes offering workers paid leave to care for newborn babies and sick family members could be part of the answer to the states workforce woes and child care crisis.

House Bill 1460 would establish a paid family leave program administered by the state and funded mostly by employers and their workers.

Supporters of the legislation say it would allow workers to be with family or to recover from injuries while staying above water financially. Opponents contend a publicly run program unfairly burdens businesses and puts the state at financial risk.

Under the proposal by Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, businesses or their employees could choose to pay a small regular fee  6 cents of every $10 of wages  into a statewide pool of money that compensates workers for 60% of their salary for up to 12 weeks of leave.

To take paid leave, employees would have to experience an eligible event, including the birth of a child or the deterioration of a family members health.

Employers who pay into the program would be eligible for a corporate income tax credit, though no businesses would be required to participate. Workers at any business could opt to pay into the program even without their employers backing.

The bill relies on a $5 million loan from the voter-approved Legacy Fund to start up the program under the state labor commissioner.

Workers at large employers are guaranteed unpaid family and medical leave through federal law, but Hanson told the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee on Monday, Jan. 30, that paid family leave would prevent North Dakotans from having to choose between their paycheck and caring for themselves or a loved one.

The Fargo lawmaker sponsored a nearly identical proposal in 2021, but the House amended it into a study of paid family leave. The Senate narrowly defeated the proposed study.

But Hanson believes legislators should feel greater urgency to pass the bill amid severe labor and child care shortages.

Thirteen states have enacted some kind of paid family leave, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced a plan last week to extend paid family leave to private sector workers, and Minnesota lawmakers are considering a proposal to institute a family leave program.

Establishing a program in North Dakota would help the state compete with its neighbors for workers in a tight labor market, Hanson said. Allowing parents to stay with newborns would ease some of the demand on overwhelmed daycare businesses, she added.

Dr. Natalie Dvorak, a Moorhead-based pediatrician, said giving new parents extra time at home with their newborns would allow for invaluable bonding time and prove beneficial to both child and maternal health.

AARP lobbyist Janelle Moos said paid family leave would help keep older residents in their homes by creating a way for their adult children to take time off work in emergency cases.

Arik Spencer, the president of the Greater North Dakota Chamber, spoke in opposition to the bill, saying the state shouldnt force the program onto private businesses, which would have to let their enrolled employees go on leave. He said the private sector should come up with solutions to the problem.

Rep. Paul Thomas, R-Velva, said establishing a state-administered program would be unfair to businesses that already offer paid family leave and use it as a recruiting tool.

Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, expressed concern that the state would be on the hook if the program ran out of money and became insolvent.

The committee did not take action on the bill Monday morning.
Boardings at North Dakota's eight commercial service airports in 2022 surpassed more than 1 million for the first time in three years.

The airports in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Devils Lake, Jamestown, Dickinson and Williston had a total of 1,028,159 passenger boardings last year, up 16% from 2021 and 80% higher than in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit and boardings plummeted to a record low in April of that year, according to the state Aeronautics Commission.

The rebound above 1 million last year came despite record-breaking blizzards in November and December that resulted in numerous canceled flights. Staffing shortages were a concern for the industry throughout the year.

This past year was one of significant challenges for the aviation industry as it worked to accommodate a large recovery in passenger demand while simultaneously experiencing significant workforce shortages, Commission Executive Director Kyle Wanner said in a statement. Amongst these challenges, North Dakotas airline passenger demand is within reach of a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels."

The growth in passenger demand in 2022 also "bolsters the justification for airlines to look to add more flights, destinations and seat capacity to North Dakotas airports," the commission said.

Travelers in North Dakota can catch direct flights to 10 major cities: Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

All eight North Dakota airports saw increases in boardings last year compared to 2021. Bismarck's rise was 13.3%, Dickinson's 24.4% and Williston's 42.7%. The increase at Hector International in Fargo -- the state's largest airport -- was 14.1%.

The bad weather late in the year impacted December boardings. Bismarck saw an increase of 3.2% over December 2021, and Williston had a rise of 3.6%. But Dickinson saw a 26% drop. None of the eight airports had an increase over pre-pandemic December 2019.

Mott grant

The Mott Municipal Airport Authority is getting $350,000 from the federal government for a terminal reconstruction project.

The money is through the Federal Aviation Administration, according to U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
School districts' life science curriculum would have to include a video of fetal development under a bill the North Dakota House of Representatives passed Monday.

The House in a 60-34 vote passed House Bill 1265, brought by Rep. Karen Anderson, R-Grafton. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The bill would add "a high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development" to a school district's human growth and development discussion and human sexuality instruction. The bill doesn't specify a grade level.

Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, presented a sample video to the House Human Services Committee earlier this month. The video of "Baby Olivia" is from Live Action, an anti-abortion organization.

"This is the moment that life begins," a narrator says as a sperm cell enters an ovum in the video. "A new human being has come into existence."

When human life begins is a major point of debate regarding abortion.

Myrdal said Live Action is willing to relinquish its rights to the video, take its name off, and provide it free of charge to the state Department of Public Instruction. DPI spokesman Dale Wetzel said the agency didn't testify on the bill; he didn't comment on the video.

Myrdal said she chose the video not for its source but for its content being "the shortest ... most scientific that I've seen, of quality."

Myrdal, one of the Legislature's most outspoken abortion opponents, said "the source doesn't matter in this instance, I think."

"If that becomes controversial ... it would be media making it controversial or the abortion industry making it controversial because of the source of the video," she told the Tribune.

She wonders what other source "would be acceptable? Planned Parenthood?" Planned Parenthood is a reproductive health care provider that advocates for abortion rights.

Rep. David Richter, R-Williston, opposed the bill for setting academic standards outside of DPI rules and school boards.

Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo, opposed the bill for not being reviewed by the House Education Committee.
Medical marijuana patients aren't any closer to having edible products legally available after the North Dakota House of Representatives killed two bills on Tuesday.

The House in a 55-37 vote killed House Bill 1202, by Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, and in a 20-72 vote killed House Bill 1164 by Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson. The bills needed a two-thirds majority vote, or 63 votes, to pass.

The House Human Services Committee had amended elements of both bills into 1202 and had given a "do not pass" recommendation to 1164, according to Rep. Gretchen Dobervich, D-Fargo.

North Dakota voters in 2016 approved of a state medical marijuana program. Patients are limited to using dried marijuana leaves and flowers, or THC products such as concentrates, tinctures, capsules, transdermal patches and lotions. THC is what gives marijuana users a high.

Bill supporters said edibles are a healthier and more accurate dosing method for medical marijuana patients.

"This is something the people wanted. The people voted for this, and now here we are, six years later, trying to give the people what they originally asked for," Vetter told the House.

The bills sought to allow edible squares and lozenges.

Opponents said edibles pose health risks for children who might ingest the products.

Similar bills have failed since 2019.

North Dakota's medical marijuana program has 8,898 active patient cards, with manufacturing facilities in Bismarck and Fargo, and eight dispensaries statewide, including one in Bismarck.
North Dakota's state ethics panel might not get everything it sought in a bill for tweaks to state government ethics laws.

The Senate in a 44-3 vote on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 2048, advanced by the Ethics Commission for several requested changes, including a proposed but deleted expansion to include nearly 9,000 more state employees under its authority. The legislation now goes to the House of Representatives.

The bill's changes include extending the time frame to notify an accused person of an ethics complaint, and adding criteria for who can make complaints.

The ethics panel also sought to add about 8,960 executive branch employees to its jurisdiction over public officials," citing the move as "an equitable expansion" because legislative branch employees already are under the board's authority.

The Senate State and Local Government Committee cut that proposed expansion from the bill before it went to the full Senate for a vote.

Chair Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, told the Tribune her panel "didn't feel like there should be that large of an expansion of (the Ethics Commission's) scope without a lot more information and justification for that."

The bill passed with no discussion.

North Dakota voters in 2018 approved a ballot measure adding ethics mandates to the state constitution, creating the five-person panel, which began meeting in 2019.

The ethics board already has oversight of elected and appointed officials of the executive and legislative branches, members of the governors Cabinet, members of the Ethics Commission and legislative branch employees.
Three elementary schools in Nashville's southwest and southeast corners would see ground-up rebuilds or extensive renovation under a spending plan proposed by Nashville Mayor John Cooper on Thursday.

The plan  which requires Metro Council approval before funds can be spent  includes a combined $112 million toward the construction of a new Lakeview Elementary School and Percy Priest Elementary School, and the near-total renovation of Paragon Mills Elementary School.

Cooper's proposal also includes $27 million for upgrades and maintenance at other MNPS schools, including funds for new school buses, building improvements and security upgrades.

Lakeview Elementary has been waiting for this funding for six years, Cooper said during a news conference in the school's library.

Lakeview Elementary School would be reconstructed from the ground up for $39.3 million in Nashville Mayor John Cooper's Jan. 2023 capital spending proposal.

The southeast Nashville school currently has five portable classrooms to serve its growing number of pre-K through fourth grade students. Cooper said a new facility would give Lakeview room to expand to include fifth grade, in line with Metro Nashville Public Schools' "Metro Schools ReimaginED" initiative.

Plans for a new Lakeview school would include modern classrooms to serve students from pre-K through fifth grade, Cooper said, in addition to a dedicated support classroom for each grade level to serve students who are economically disadvantaged or have limited English proficiency.

Across all MNPS schools, about 27% of students are English language learners and 35% are economically disadvantaged, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

MNPS Director Adrienne Battle said transitioning fifth grade to elementary school campuses has been a "long-standing goal." Talks initially stalled in 2017 over a then-$300 million estimated price tag. The district resurrected the idea in 2020 and began moving toward the goal in the 2021-2022 school year.

That goal "just seemed impossible due to some of our schools," Battle said. "Sometimes if you need to get where you want to be, you have to just start moving before you chart the full path."

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This funding, if approved, would advance that transition, replace aging facilities and reduce overcrowding, she added.

Paragon Mills Elementary School would receive $33.4 million in renovations in Nashville Mayor John Cooper's Jan. 2023 capital spending proposal.

Investments in new classrooms to accommodate more students are especially needed in southwest and southeast Nashville, Battle said.

Nashville saw some of the steepest growth in these areas of the county, according to the 2020 census. In District 34, where Percy Priest Elementary School is located, the population grew 12% from 2010 to 2020. Lakeview Elementary's District 29 saw a 17.5% increase. Paragon Mills Elementary's District 26 showed 7.3% growth.

Percy Priest Elementary School would be reconstructed from the ground up for $39.3 million in Nashville Mayor John Cooper's Jan. 2023 capital spending proposal.

Other previously funded new schools are expected to complete construction in time for the 2023-2024 school year. The new James Lawson High School will replace Hillwood High School in Bellevue. The new Goodlettsville Elementary School should be complete this summer. An expansion of Cane Ridge High School is also underway, and funding was approved in 2021 for the design of a new Cane Ridge Middle School.

"School buildings don't teach our students," Battle said. "That's what our hard-working professionals do every day ... but school facilities can, and I repeat, can, have an impact on the way a student learns, how they feel about their school and how they think their community values them."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: These 3 Nashville elementary schools may get overhaul
Asake

Last year, Asake made serious waves with his debut studio LP, Mr. Money With The Vibe, a 12-song body of work with a couple of assists from Russ and Burna Boy. The album topped Nigerias Albums and Street-Pop Albums charts immediately following its release, catapulting Asake to the forefront of the Afrobeats scene. Since then, hes continued to raise his profile via appearances on Tiwa Savages Loaded and Fridayys Blessings (Remix).

Yesterday (Jan. 30), Asake dropped off a new single titled Yoga, a Magicsticks-produced offering that  as he explained via press release  is about minding my business and guarding my peace, so no one can disrupt it. As such, the song is filled with lyrics about remaining above the proverbial nonsense, sung in both English and Yoruba:

Enemies I get them too much, its better to get them surplus, who go dey for you no go take off, hmm hmm oju tele gan, modupe, mo thank God, omo olore mo gbaye mo keko, ori labi eteti egbe ko, ilu labi magic ko soro, what can fa? What can fa? Keep distance if you wan come whine me, ma lo fa, ma lo far, I still balance, I still galant, alubarika, bara mi mecca, para pass para, alasake tin pa dollar ah-ah

Yoga also boasts a matching video that comes courtesy of go-to director TG Omori. Filmed in Dakar, Senegal, the Peace Be Unto You talent can be seen in the midst of a spiritual journey, complete with ceremonial performances, fishing excursions with locals, and a yoga session alongside Alexis Skyy.

In a past interview with Rolling Stone, Asake revealed the biggest inspiration behind his music and subject matter:

My music talks about life in general, he stated. I draw inspiration from my real life experiences to encourage everyone who thinks their present reality is constant. I want them to always remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Press play on Yoga below.
https://www.instagram.com/bugrobertson/?hl=en. Courtney Robertson Preciado/Instagram

Courtney Robertson Preciado/Instagram

Courtney Robertson is opening up about life as a mom of two.

Speaking with PEOPLE at an event for The Bachelor season 27, the dating series alum, 39, joked that she and husband Humberto Preciado are "excited" for when her kids can "start wiping their own butts."

"The days are full, but it's like little fires in the house. I always say little fires cracking," she tells PEOPLE. "It's just new developments every day, and it's fun to share that with my husband, texting him like, 'Oh my God, my daughter's standing.' I think by the time I get home, she'll be walking."

Robertson also talked about the differences she's noticed between daughter Paloma Ruby, 14 months, and son Joaquin Ramon, 2.

"My son is a total mama's boy, and their personalities are so different. They're just born with their ways," she says. "My daughter is so sweet, and she just looks at my husband. She's a daddy's girl. She loves me too. When he walks in the room, she just lights up.

Though having two under two can be a challenge, Robertson believes the couple is "more relaxed now as parents, having been through it," which gives them more time to devote to their own relationship.

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RELATED: 'Bachelor' Alum Courtney Robertson Welcomes Second Baby, Daughter Paloma Ruby: 'New Party of 4'

"We always make it a point to do at least one date night a week, and my husband's really good at that. We love going to concerts, so we do 24-hour trips," she explains, recalling a recent trip to Anaheim, California for a Pearl Jam concert.

However, Robertson admits that being "out till midnight" isn't the same as before.

"You feel the effects the next day. You wake up with the kids at 6, and you're like, 'But it was worth it because we got to flirt a little bit.' Just have a nice dinner together. So you appreciate it much more now."

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Having found the balance, Robertson says the couple is entertaining the idea of adding one more to their brood.

Courtney Robertson, Humberto Preciado

"I'm just doing real estate full-time in Arizona. That's been nice. I'm starting a podcast I'm really excited about, a limited series. And I think we were deciding if we're going to have another baby," she teases, adding, "Stay tuned."

Of the conversation, Robertson says she's admitted to Preciado that she's nervous to "be outnumbered."

"But my husband really wants another, and I'm turning 40 next summer, so we're deciding that and if we have the bandwidth to do it."

"It's a big decision, and we're deciding soon, but I think we're leaning towards yes, to at least try," she continues. "At least right now, we each have one, so it's like we're covered. We'll have a wild child. We'll see. I'm hoping for another boy. I have to say, my son loves me."
New York-based fashion brand Collina Strada has teamed up with the quintessential California label Vans for a decidedly whimsical and colorful collection of footwear.

Known for its iconic Slip-On 98 DX silhouette, the collaboration reimagines the familiar shoe, alongside the Sk8-Hi 38 DX and Old Skool Vibram DX.

Sharing her connection with the brand, founder and creative director Hillary Taymor reveals, "I grew up in Southern California and I've been wearing Vans my whole life. I wore Slip-Ons skateboarding on the pier and to the barn before putting on my boots, so it is such an honor to get to create a collection with the brand."

The vibrant collection paints the comfortable slip-ons with Collina Strada's signature fanciful hand-drawn flower fields on the outsole, while a picture-perfect neighborhood covers the canvas upper. The chunky Old Skool Vibram DX arrives in a stunning Sweet Lilac colorway, coming with an oversized sole. The classic iteration appears in a shocking metallic Citronelle, immediately calling to mind the tart fragrance. The Sk8-Hi 38 DX stands out from the pack, bearing the New York brand's trademark butterflies, fluttering across a cherub floral screen print, boasting an elevated heel.

collina strada vans collaboration footwear slip-ons new york california sneakers skateboarding





collina strada vans collaboration footwear slip-ons new york california sneakers skateboarding





collina strada vans collaboration footwear slip-ons new york california sneakers skateboarding





collina strada vans collaboration footwear slip-ons new york california sneakers skateboarding

The assortment is not without apparel as a matching set of the Collina Strada hoodie and sweat pant are featured in an acidic "Sulphur Spring" and crafted from over-dyed organic French terry fabric. Joining the collection is a a woven shirt, t-shirt and pair of socks in the candy-colored "Sweet Lilac," while a backpack littered with doodles is a nostalgic call to our schoolyard days.

To celebrate the release of Collina Strada x Vans collaboration, the band will be hosting a launch party on February 11 from 1 p.m. -- 4 p.m. EST. The event will be open to the public and the first 50 guests to purchase the Vans x Collina Strada collection will receive a special gift with purchase.

Take a first look at the collection in the gallery above. It will be available for purchase on February 10 on Collina Strada's online store and Vans' website.
Dallas Zoo Reports the Disappearance of Two Tamarin Monkeys After Multiple Animals Have Gone Missing https://twitter.com/DallasZoo/status/1620195239347511298?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

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The Dallas Police Department is investigating another missing animals case at the Dallas Zoo after two tamarin monkeys were reported missing from the zoo on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Dallas PD tells PEOPLE that a preliminary investigation into their disappearance determined that "an intentional cut" was made into a tamarin monkey enclosure at the zoo.

While the investigation remains ongoing, officials believe that the animals were intentionally taken from the enclosure.

RELATED: The Dallas Zoo Is Investigating an 'Unusual' Vulture Death Days After Clouded Leopard's Escape

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=540415921449824&set=a.206183841539702 Dallas Zoo eotorspdnSuhhgc h 0hf50cu5530f3aft542h 1 4f55c1g6f77aut1a8utu567  We'll be sharing another update later early this evening, but in the meantime, for anyone in the areas surrounding the Zoo who may be curious or have concerns - This animal is an adult clouded leopard and weighs 25 lbs. Its habitat is a dense forest, and it is designed for life in the treetops. It is bigger than a house cat and smaller than most bobcats. If you think you see the animals, please do not approach the animal. We ask that you take a photo and DM the Dallas Zoo on social media. To set some minds at ease, if she has made her way off-grounds, this animal isn't a greater risk for pets than animals native to North Texas that roam our surrounding neighborhoods, but if you feel more comfortable bringing pets inside, please do. See less

Dallas Zoo

A representative for the Dallas Zoo adds in a statement to PEOPLE that emperor tamarin monkeys would likely stay close to home. When the zoo searched near their habitat and across zoo grounds, they were not able to be located.

Monday's incident comes after the Texas-based zoo reported a string of missing and injured animal cases in the past weeks.

RELATED: Dallas Zoo 'Thrilled' to Find Clouded Leopard, Nova, Hours After She Went Missing

Most recently, the Dallas Zoo reported that one of its endangered vultures living in the zoo's Wilds of Africa habitats was found dead over the weekend and added in a Facebook post on Sunday: "The animal care team is heartbroken over this tremendous loss. Please keep them in your thoughts as they process what has happened."

A 4-year-old clouded leopard named Nova went missing on Jan. 14., prompting the zoo to close for the day.

While she was located near her enclosure later that day, an investigation by Dallas PD on Jan. 16 showed that a cutting tool was used to make an opening in the fencing surrounding Nova's habitat on the same day of her escape.

The same type of cut was found in the area housing the zoo's langurs, a small breed of monkey. The cutting of the two enclosures remains under investigation.

RELATED VIDEO: Dallas Zoo Welcomes 'Much-Anticipated' Baby Hippo 'We Are Thrilled'

In response to these two incidents, the Dallas Zoo "added additional cameras throughout the Zoo and increased onsite security patrols during the overnight hours," according to the facility's post about the vulture's death.

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.

"We will continue to implement and expand our safety and security measures to whatever level necessary to keep our animals and staff safe," the zoo added before concluding the post with a promise to "provide updates as we know more."
Alex Murdaughs high-profile trial took a dramatic turn on Monday when jurors heard that the legal scion may have unwittingly slipped up and confessed to the murders of his wife and son.

Audio from Mr Murdaughs second interview with law enforcement was played in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday, revealing the disgraced legal dynasty heirs shocking five-word statement for the first time.

I did him so bad, he appeared to say about his son.

The interview took place on 10 June 2021, three days after Mr Murdaugh allegedly shot dead Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, at the familys estate in Islandton on 7 June 2021.

SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft testified that he had gone to Mr Murdaughs brothers house to ask the 54-year-old questions about his and his familys movements on the day of the murders and what happened when he claims he discovered his wife and sons bodies at the dog kennels on their 1,700-acre property.

A sobbing Mr Murdaugh appears to tell the special agent: :Its just so bad, I did him so bad.

He added: He was such a good boy too.

Agent Croft was asked by prosecutor Creighton Waters to clarify what he heard Mr Murdaugh saying.

Its just so bad. I did him so bad, he responded.

While prosecutors sought to suggest that the 54-year-old father and husband slipped up during the police interview, Mr Murdaugh was seen shaking his head and appearing to mouth I did not say that to his attorneys in court.

However, the audio of the interview has also raised doubts, being somewhat unclear as to whether Mr Murdaugh says I or they, with some inside and outside court believing he actually says: They did him so bad.

Agent Croft is expected to be cross-examined by Mr Murdaughs attorneys when the trial resumes on Tuesday morning  when the defence will no doubt seek to pick his holes in the audio.

On the day of the murders, Mr Murdaugh told the investigators in the June 2021 interview that he had gone to his law firm where he had worked on the civil case involving Pauls 2019 boat crash.

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He then met his son back at the family home in the afternoon where they drove around the estate looking for hogs to shoot, he claimed.

Mr Murdaugh said that Maggie had gone to the doctors that day and returned home, where the three of them had supper together.

After dinner, he claimed Maggie went to the kennels, Paul left the house to go somewhere and he fell asleep on the couch.

When he woke up, he claimed he texted Maggie to tell her he was going to visit his mother.

Crime scene photos show shell casings on the floor of the dog feed house (Law & Crime)

On returning to the property, he found the family home empty so he claimed he went to the dog kennels to look for his wife and son.

It was then that he claimed he discovered the two victims dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

At one point in the interview, Mr Murdaugh was heard sobbing as he described his wife Maggie as a wonderful girl, wonderful wife, great mother and recalled a recent argument they had got into.

She always said it was her job to take care of me and the boys, she did everything, she did absolutely everything, he is heard telling the agent.

He insisted that their relationship was as good as it could be.

Meanwhile, Mr Murdaugh told investigators that Paul was known to leave his belongings strung out all over the state  including the familys guns.

He would leave anything anywhere, and it was not unusual for there to be guns out there, he said.

The two separate guns used to kill Maggie and Paul have never been found.

Paul was shot twice  once in the head and once in the chest  with a shotgun while Maggie was shot five times with a AR-15-style rifle  with some of the bullets striking her when she had already fallen to the ground.

Crime scene photos show blood on the floor of the dog feed house (Law & Crime)

Bodycam footage released by the court on Monday revealed a huge stash of firearms inside the familys home  none appearing to be locked away.

Agent Croft also told jurors how he seized firearms and ammunition from the Murdaugh home  including weapons and ammo that matched the type of guns and bullets used to kill Maggie and Paul.

A .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle, 12-gauge Browning shotgun, Benelli shotgun and 12-gauge pump shotgun which were seized from the family home were all brought into the courtroom and shown to jurors.

The agent testified that several empty boxes of ammunition were also found during searches of the Murdaugh home on 8 June and 13 June.

Inside the .300 Blackout rifle was Sellier & Bellot .300 AAC BLK ammo  the same type of ammo that was used to kill Maggie.

Also seized as evidence was a credit card receipt for an $1,021.10 item from Gucci  the item had been circled.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Murdaughs legal team sought to push their theory that there could have been two shooters separately responsible for killing the mother and son.

Under cross-examination by defence attorney Dick Harpootlian, SLED special agent Melinda Worley admitted that the theory is possible but said that it is only one possible explanation for the evidence.

Jurors were shown photos and diagrams of the crime scene from both the night of the murders and more than one month later on 16 July, with Mr Harpootlian honing in on two bullet projectiles in particular  one that travelled through the dog house and one through the quail pen.

Alex Murdaugh at his murder trial for the 2021 killings of his wife and son (AP)

He pushed the idea that, because the bullet projectiles were shot at different angles, it is a reasonable possibility that there was two killers.

One reasonable explanation is there are two people there: one with a shotgun, one with an AR. Could someone have been a lookout, they went there to kill Paul and Maggie surprised them? Mr Harpootlian pressed.

Agent Worley admitted that it was possible but insisted that it was only one explanation as to what may have taken place that fateful night.

She added that it could also be the result of one single shooter moving.

During much of his cross-examination, Mr Harpootlian sought to pick holes in the evidence gathered from the bloody crime scene, raising doubts about a potential footprint found on Maggies calf.

Jurors heard that a mark was spotted on the victims leg on the night of the murders.

While Mr Harpootlian suggested it was a footwear impression, Agent Worley said she couldnt say that was what the mark was but that it could be.

The mark was not examined on the scene and no impression of the imprint was taken, she testified.

She also confirmed that a bloody footprint found in the feeding room was later determined to be that of a law enforcement officer  something that supported the defences line of questioning that some evidence was not preserved correctly and was even destroyed.

Do you know what other evidence they may have destroyed? asked Mr Harpootlian.

I have no idea, the agent said, to which he responded: Thats right you dont.

Agent Worley also testified about testing that was carried out on the clothes that Mr Murdaugh was wearing on the night of the murders  including the clean white shirt which several law enforcement officers previously testified had no visible signs of blood.

The tests found possible blood stains on the shirt  however the positive test could instead indicate bleach or rust.

Mr Murdaughs clean presentation was a key focus in courtroom testimony last week where the legal scion was heard in both his first police interview and his 911 call claiming he touched his wife and sons bloodied bodies.

In his first police interview, which was heard for the first time, he described attempts to check the pulses of Maggie and Paul and to move his sons lifeless body.

This account was contradicted by law enforcement testimony and images of his clean hands and clothing.

First responders have revealed how the scene was especially violent, with Pauls brain shot out of his skull and both victims found lying in pools of their own blood.

New crime scene photos, released on Monday, show blood spatters on the floor of the dog feed house and shell casings around the murder scene. A diagram also reveals where Maggie and Pauls bodies were found yards apart around the dog kennels on the 1,700-acre family estate.

Alex Murdaugh seen in bodycam footage on the scene of the murders (Colleton County Court)

Jurors also learned on Monday about the final text messages and phone calls made by Paul and Maggie before their brutal murders.

On the night of 7 June 2021, Paul placed a call on his cellphone to friend Rogan Gibson at 8.40pm, lasting four minutes, followed by a second call at 8.44pm. The second was the last incoming communication he received from Pauls cellphone.

Five minutes later, at 8.49pm, Mr Gibson sent Paul a text message: See if you can get a good picture of it. Marion wants to send it to a girl we know thats a vet. Get him to sit and stay. He shouldnt move around too much.

The message  believed to be about a dog Paul was taking care of for him  went unanswered.

From that point onward, neither Paul nor his mother Maggie responded to any messages or calls on their cellphones.

At that time, the mother and son were being brutally gunned down at the dog kennels with prosecutor Creighton Waters saying in opening statements that Paul was shot dead first at 8.50pm and Maggie minutes later. Their cellphones had no activity from 8.49pm onward.

After sending the text message at 8.49pm and receiving no response from his friend, Mr Gibson sent a follow-up text at 9.58pm, which simply read: Yo.

Mr Gibson also tried calling Paul multiple times at 9.10pm, 9.29pm, 9.42pm, 9.57pm and 10.08pm.

Getting no response from his friend, jurors heard that he also texted Pauls mother Maggie at 9.34pm, saying: Tell Paul to call me.

Shortly after, Mr Gibson had four missed calls from Alex Murdaugh at 10.21pm, 10.24pm, 10.25pm and 10.30pm.

During some of the most gruesome testimony, Mr Murdaugh was seen sobbing in court  while jurors heard that he shed no tears on the night of the murders.

Mr Murdaugh, 54, is facing life in prison for the murders of his wife and son.

Prosecutors claim he shot dead his family members in an attempt to distract from a string of other scandals and crimes encircling him. He denies the allegations, insisting that their killer or killers is still at large.

At the time of the murders, Mr Murdaugh was believed to be facing financial ruin from a 20-year opioid addiction and  one day earlier  had been confronted by his law firm PMPED over an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.

Now, Mr Murdaugh is charged with more than 100 counts from multiple indictments alleging he stole nearly $8.5m from clients at his law firm in fraud schemes going back a decade.

The attorney, who has since been disbarred, allegedly represented the clients in wrongful death settlements before pocketing the money for himself.

Alleged victims include family members of Gloria Satterfield family, the Murdaughs longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious trip and fall accident at the family home in 2018.

Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh left to right (Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook)

At the time, her death was regarded as an accidental fall  though the investigation was reopened after Maggie and Pauls murders.

Three months on from the murders  on 4 September 2021  Mr Murdaugh allegedly conspired to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.

The now-disbarred attorney initially claimed he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle, but his story quickly unravelled and he confessed to orchestrating the plot.

Mr Murdaugh and his alleged co-conspirator Curtis Smith were arrested and charged over the incident.

As well as the deaths of Beach and Satterfield, questions have also surfaced about other mystery deaths surrounding the Murdaughs.

Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina. The openly gay teenager had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But the victims family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours.

An investigation was reopened into his death after Maggie and Pauls murders.
A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting the logo of the Russian mercenary 'Group Wagner' and a slogan in Russian on January 20, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

An ex-Wagner mercenary said the group's leaders shot soldiers who did not want to fight in Ukraine.

"They brought two prisoners who refused to go fight and they shot them in front of everyone," he told CNN.

He added that soldiers were often sent into battle with little direction and "no real tactics."

An ex-Wagner mercenary who recently fled the war in Ukraine shared horror stories alleging the Russian-backed soldiers who didn't want to fight in Ukraine were brought in front of new recruits and shot.

"They would round up those who did not want to fight and shoot them in front of newcomers," Andrei Medvedev told CNN's Anderson Cooper while discussing the "ruthless" tactics.

"They brought two prisoners who refused to go fight and they shot them in front of everyone and buried them right in the trenches that were dug by the trainees," Medvedev alleged.

He added that soldiers were often sent into battle with little direction and "no real tactics."

"We just got orders about the position of the adversaryThere were no definite orders about how we should behave," Medvedev explained. "We just planned how we would go about it, step by step. Who would open fire, what kind of shifts we would haveHow it would turn out that was our problem."

Medvedev had previously served in the Russian army before joining Wagner as a volunteer in July 2022. He told CNN he ended up fighting in Ukraine less than 10 days after he signed his contract.

He told CNN that it took only six days of deployment in Ukraine to know he no longer wanted to fight for the private military group after seeing what they were doing to their own members, but that he didn't have the opportunity to leave until recently.

"I was afraid I would be captured and shot as a traitor," he said.

Medvedev is now in Oslo, Norway after crossing the border from Russia. He is now seeking asylum.

Medvedev told CNN he evaded arrest "at least ten times" during his defection journey and that he had to dodge bullets from Russian forces.

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The Wagner Group, a notorious Russian paramilitary organization with close links to the Kremlin, has appeared to be the main fighting force in Russia's war in Ukraine.

The US issued a sweeping list of sanctions aimed at the group Thursday and designated Wagner a "significant transnational criminal organization." The sanctions target a handful of individuals  "cronies" of Russian President Vladimir Putin  and entities involved in the mercenary group's global network.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Proposed revisions to North Dakota's abortion laws cleared the state Senate on Tuesday.

Lawmakers in a 43-4 vote passed Senate Bill 2150, brought by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.

Myrdal has said the bill is to clear up language between the state's 2007 trigger ban and 2013 "heartbeat bill" in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

The former bans virtually all abortions in North Dakota, but is temporarily blocked in state district court. The latter bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected -- as early as six weeks, when some women don't yet know they're pregnant -- except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with the law. Attorney General Drew Wrigley is appealing a federal block on the law.

The Red River Women's Clinic, North Dakota's sole abortion provider, moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision last June that triggered North Dakota's 2007 law to take effect.

The clinic is challenging the trigger law, which would ban virtually all abortions but for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. The state Supreme Court will rule soon on a judge's temporary block of the trigger ban.

Under the ban, doctors could be charged with a Class C felony for performing an abortion during medical emergencies and in cases of rape or incest, but they could argue in court that the affirmative defenses for rape, incest and protection of the life of a mother outlined in the law protect them from criminal liability.

The bill would change the ban's affirmative defenses into exceptions, which supporters say would take the legal burden off medical providers.

The bill would allow for abortions for rape and incest, but only before six weeks gestation. Myrdal said "this was already law, no changes." It also would allow for treatment of ectopic pregnancies, a dangerous, nonviable scenario in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.

Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, a former social services director, said she worked with "many families where incest has been a problem," including three cases of children younger than 12 who became pregnant due to incest. None reported the incest until they were found to be pregnant and after six weeks gestation, Hogan said.

"These girls faced many new traumas in addition to the incest," Hogan told the Senate. "Carrying a pregnancy to term for ... children is a life-altering trauma."

One girl attempted suicide three times within six weeks after learning of her pregnancy, according to Hogan.

She said the bill is better than the blocked trigger law, "But it's still devastating to the victims of rape and incest."

Physicians last month told the Senate Judiciary Committee of devastating pregnancy complications, and requested amendments they'd like to see for broader exceptions.

The Senate panel didn't make all the amendments the doctors had requested, but notably removed language that concerned doctors in the definition of a medical emergency.

Other bills introduced in the wake of Roe v. Wade's reversal are progressing through the Legislature.

The House last month in an 89-1 vote passed House Bill 1171 introduced by Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, which would prohibit and criminalize "forced or coerced" abortions.

The House also passed in an 82-9 vote House Bill 1173 introduced by Rep. Brandon Prichard, R-Bismarck, which would designate Jan. 22 as "Right-To-Life Day" in North Dakota. Both bills go to the Senate.
For better or worse, gorpcore remains in the style zeitgeist. The internet neologism, coined to describe the wearing of utilitarian, outdoor-minded clothing in everyday situations, feels very 2023. However, one might argue that this practice predates taped-seam shell jackets and Sherpa fleece by centuriesand you can trace it back to a hearty piece of outerwear preferred by Alpine hunters: the loden coat.

The garments most immediately identifiable feature may be its color, a deep olive hue so associated with the style that it shares the same name. But its the fabric that counts. As Veronika Schneider, a third-generation member of the family behind noted maker Schneiders Salzburg explains, loden fabric is made from virgin wool that undergoes a process called fulling, in which the wet fabric is kneaded until it takes on a felted texture.

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This creates properties that make the traditional fabric a natural functional fabric, says Schneider, who serves as the companys head of marketing and PR. Raindrops just roll off, and yet the coat is breathable thanks to its natural fibers.

The fabric has been fashioned into everything from pants to capes, but its most iconic expression remains the loden coat with Schneiderss Hubertus model serving as a textbook example. It has a long, generous fit, a deep inverted pleat at its back, and several hunting-friendly features: open undersleeves that allow for a greater range of movement, side pockets that open to access the trouser pockets below, and braided leather buttons that wont scare off potential prey with metallic clinking.

While its coats are now worn outside of deer season, Schneiders has maintained those traditional design details. However, the company isnt bound to the original loden recipe that focused solely on Austrian mountain sheep. Today it refines its fabric by blending in alpaca, and also offers a more luxurious version of the Hubertus cut from 100 percent cashmere.

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Loden coats were historically worn in Tyrol, the Alpine region straddling Northern Italy and Western Austria, but gradually found their way to well-dressed gentlemen in lower altitudes. Arthur Samier, who works as a cultural content writer for the tailoring-focused Parisian brand Husbands, cites such characters as the inspiration behind the labels recently released loden coat.

It is not uncommon to see old men wearing loden in Paris. In Milan this is even more true, he tells Robb Report.

The Husbands take retains the originals flared cut, inverted back pleat and open undersleeves. But the French label looked to Italy for its fabric, sourcing a 100 percent wool loden that Samier characterizes as more comfortable to wear, softer to the touch and more luxurious.

And though the coats appearance is traditional, Samier encourages it to be styled in a manner consistent with the young brands fresh approach to traditional clothing.

We imagine a silhouette more rock and less conservative. Black high-waisted trouser, a pair of zipped boots and a silk scarf, he says.

Another recontextualization of the loden coat comes courtesy of Paul Stuart creative director Ralph Auriemma, who included a luxe iteration as part of the retailers Scottish-themed Need for Tweed collection for fall 2022. The since sold-out coat, which differed in having a raglan sleeve shoulder but maintained the inverted back pleat, paired nicely with the Scottish Fair Isle sweaters and tweed trousers that were core components of the collection, Auriemma says.

Traditional overcoats have enjoyed something of a boomlet in the last few years, with once-obscure models like the polo coat or the balmacaan sliding over sport coats and hooded sweatshirts alike. Perhaps men will start reaching for the loden coat nextparticularly if the forecast calls for rain.

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Agave spirits continue to conquer the world in terms of sales and popularity, with eager celebrities getting in on the lucrative action. And now producers in countries outside of Mexico are making their own agave spirits like Selva Negra, a new 100 percent agave spirit made in Germanys Black Forest.

Selva Negra cant legally be called tequila or mezcal, firstly because those categories are protected by geographical indication in the same way as bourbon or Cognac. Also, the type of agave used to make the spirit is the salmiana variety, which would remove it from the tequila category even if it were produced in one of the Mexican states where its allowed to be made (tequila can only be made from Blue Weber agave, but there are some mezcals made from salmiana).

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Winemaker and distiller Florian Faude of Faude Feine Brande is responsible for making Selva Negra, the first agave spirit to be produced in Germany. It is distilled using extract from salmiana agave imported from Mexico, as opposed to having entire agave pinas shipped to Germany. Wine yeast is added for the fermentation, turning the extract into an agave wine over the course of six to eight weeks before its distilled twice. In between distillations, Selva Negra is also given a mezcal-like twist by infusing it with smoke from local German spruce wood, but the method used to actually introduce spirit to smoke is kept secret. For now, this spirit is only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, so we have not been able to taste it, but expect an agave-forward palate with notes of spruce, smoke and a bit of fruit. Selva Negra is meant to be used in cocktails, and the official website suggests some riffs on classics like the Margarita, Paloma, Old Fashioned and Negroni.

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For better or for worse, depending on where you come down on the concept, non-Mexican agave spirits have been popping up with more frequency as of late. Australias Black Snake Distillery and Shelter Distilling in California are just a few of the distilleries experimenting with making agave spirits outside the categorys traditional and ancestral borders. There are, of course, many who look askance at this practice, arguing that its a combination of cultural appropriation and dilution of an important cultural signifier. Look no further than the drama surrounding sotolthis Mexican spirit has a GI that is not currently recognized by the US, and is being made by American distilleries in the Southwest. And many bourbon drinkers were in an uproar when Crown Royal put Bourbon Mash on the label of one its whiskies (it was subsequently removed). Still, given how popular agave spirits have become, this trend isnt fading away anytime soon. So if you see a bottle of peat-smoked Scottish agave spirit on a shelf in the next few years, remember you heard it here first.

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New video obtained by CBS News shows former President Donald Trump repeatedly refusing to answer questions in a deposition last summer for the New York attorney generals investigation into fraud at his company.

CBS News released clips and a description of the hourslong footage on Tuesday after obtaining it through a Freedom of Information Act request. Though a transcript of the deposition had already been made available, this is the first time the public can see portions of it on video.

Before answering investigators questions, Trump is seen denouncing New York Attorney General Letitia James probe into his business dealings  which a month later resulted in a lawsuit against the former president, three of his children and the Trump Organization for an alleged tax-dodging scheme.

She knows nothing about us, Trump says of James vowing to look into his real estate business. This is what she knew: absolutely nothing about us. It was very unfair. This whole thing is very unfair.

Once the questioning began, the 2024 presidential candidate went on to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights more than 440 times, news reports at the time found. The video released Tuesday shows him defending that decision.

If youre innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment? I was asking that question, he said. Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt, supported by lawyers, prosecutors and even the fake news media, you really have no choice.

Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool, he continued.

Trump previously was highly critical of people pleading the Fifth and slammed it as a technique for organized criminals.

The mob takes the Fifth, he said in 2016. If youre innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?

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A California man who prosecutors say intentionally drove his Tesla off a cliff with his family inside is facing attempted murder charges.

Dharmesh Arvind Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was arraigned on three felony counts of attempted murder at the San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City on Monday afternoon. He did not enter a plea and was ordered to remain held without bail in the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City.

Patel's attorney, Josh Bentley, did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Patel is accused of intentionally trying to kill his wife and two young children by driving their car off a cliff on California's scenic Highway 1, just south of the Tom Lantos tunnels, on the morning of Jan. 2. The California Highway Patrol said its officers were dispatched to the scene about 15 miles south of San Francisco at approximately 10:50 a.m. local time and, upon arrival, located a white Tesla some 300 feet down the cliff.

First responders repelled down the cliff to rescue the occupants from the vehicle -- two adults and two children. All four were then transported to a local hospital with "serious injuries," according to the California Highway Patrol.

MORE: Man arrested for allegedly intentionally driving a car off cliff with wife, 2 children

After interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene, investigators developed probable cause to believe the incident was an intentional act and placed the driver -- identified as Patel -- under arrest for attempted murder and child abuse. Investigators were unable to determine what driving mode the Tesla was in at the time, but "that does not appear to be a contributing factor in this incident," the California Highway Patrol said in a Jan. 3 press release.

On Friday, Patel was released from the hospital and subsequently booked into the San Mateo County Jail. The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office filed the attempted murder charges with against Patel on Monday. Two of three three counts have domestic violence and great bodily injury enhancements, according to the complaint obtained by ABC News.

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After Patel's arraignment, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe held a brief press conference to give an update on the investigation. He said evidence shows there were no signs of braking or skid marks before the car plunged off the cliff. Eyewitnesses who were driving behind Patel's Tesla at the time have told investigators that the vehicle's brake lights did not illuminate as it turned and drove off the edge, according to Wagstaffe.

FILE PHOTO: In this photo provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, emergency personnel respond to a vehicle over the side of Highway 1 in Southern California's San Mateo County on Jan. 2, 2023. (Sgt. Brian Moore/San Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

Investigators have also recovered video from surveillance cameras near the Tom Lantos tunnels that show the Tesla driving out of a tunnel and off a cliff. Based on the evidence, prosecutors are certain that this was attempted murder. The footage will not be released to the public, the district attorney said.

The California Highway Patrol is still examining the car to make sure no malfunction occurred, in which case the charges would be changed, according to Wagstaffe, who noted that he does not anticipate this to happen.

Patel's 41-year-old wife suffered "major injuries" from the crash and remains hospitalized, the district attorney said. Their 7-year-old daughter was also badly hurt, while their 4-year-old son "miraculously" sustained only bruises, according to Wagstaffe, who said that's why there were no enhancements added to the third count of attempted murder.

"By some miracle that I don't understand, all of them have survived. I'm glad for that," Wagstaffe told reporters on Monday afternoon. "But it doesn't change [what] we've charged him with."

MORE: Illinois paramedics plead not guilty to first-degree murder charges

The district attorney said his office views the case as domestic violence. The judge denied prosecutors' request for a no contact order and instead granted a no harassment order, according to Wagstaffe.

A potential motive remains under investigation.

"I mean, we know the motive was he didn't want any of them to live any longer," Wagstaffe added. "But what led to this, what has caused this, what was the trigger -- that's still under investigation. We're hoping to learn more when the wife is hopefully available for an interview and is willing to speak with us at that point."

If convicted on all charges with the special circumstances, Patel could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison. He is due back in court on Feb. 9 and is expected to enter a plea, according to Wagstaffe.

ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab, Marilyn Heck and Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.

Man who allegedly intentionally drove Tesla off cliff with family inside faces attempted murder charges originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Isiah Mitchell ended up in the Oklahoma County jail Friday afternoon after an Oklahoma City police officer spotted him riding a bicycle the wrong way on a street.

By Monday, he was dead.

The jail's interim administrator told jail trustees Monday that the detainee was pronounced deceased at a hospital at 1:21 a.m.

Mitchell, 26, of Oklahoma City, was found hanging in his cell at 12:02 a.m. during a sight check, Maj. Brandi Garner wrote in her email notification. He had been in the cell alone.

The inmate death was the first at the Oklahoma County jail in 2023 and the second since Garner was named interim administrator last month.

More:Richard Glossip, six other Oklahoma death row inmates get new execution dates

The jail has had close to 40 inmate deaths since a trust took over operations on July 1, 2020. Sixteen of those deaths came last year.

The last jail administrator, Greg Williams, resigned in December amid criticism over the high death toll. His final day was Jan. 19.

Garner has pledged to make reducing jail deaths her main focus.

Garner

"Please understand this isnt just a job for me  it's a calling," she wrote in a Jan. 15 guest column for The Oklahoman. "And once I set a goal, Im going to make sure it happens, whatever it takes."

Mitchell was jailed after his traffic stop Friday because he was wanted in Garfield County. A judge there in 2016 issued a warrant for his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired.

The jail described his death in a news release as an apparent suicide.

More:Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond hires independent counsel to review Richard Glossip case

"I reviewed his booking paperwork including the intake questionnaire required to be completed by the arresting officer," Garner wrote in her email. "The questionnaire did not indicate Mr. Mitchell had expressed suicidal ideations, was not under the influence, and exhibited no signs of mental illness or acute medical conditions."

Ironically, Mitchell said on the drive to jail that he "was happy that I kept him from making a very bad decision," the arresting officer wrote in an incident report.

Story continues

He said he had been on his way to buy fentanyl, according to the report.

The death sparked new outrage on social media about jail conditions. The jail disputed a Facebook post that claimed Mitchell had been complaining about needing a nurse for hours and was ignored.

After deaths, failed health inspections,Oklahoma County jail changing intake process

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County jail reports first inmate death of 2023
Andrew Tate has given Channel 4 full access to his life for a new documentary from the team behind Leaving Neverland.

The former kickboxing world champion, who amassed millions of followers for his misogynistic online content, is currently under arrest in Romania facing allegations of human trafficking and being part of an organised crime gang, along with his brother Tristan.

On Monday (30 January), Channel 4 announced it has commissioned a 60-minute documentary investigating Tate, 36, and his rise to fame.

The documentary will be directed by Maggie Gaudin and executive produced by Dan Reed, who directed Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland.

The currently untitled project will seek out figures from Tates personal life, gather extensive footage of him over the last decade and speak to his legions of supporters, Channel 4 said.

Tate, who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

He was reinstated to Twitter last month, where he has 4.8 million followers.

Reed said: How Andrew Tate became the most viral influencer on the planet, and what forces and experiences shaped Tate the man (as opposed to the controversy-seeking media icon) is what were trying to find out.

Tate has given us full access and were looking forward to carrying on filming if he gets out of jail in the coming weeks.

Tate (left) is currently under arrest in Romania (AFP via Getty Images)

Tate, who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. He was reinstated to Twitter last month, and has 4.8 million followers.

Both Tate and his brother will remain in detention until late February after a judge granted a request to extend their detention by 30 days for a second time.

Additional reporting by Press Association
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The grieving family members of Madison Brooks have said they were blown away by the suspects attempts to victim blame as they said rape is rape.

Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks family, spoke out to set the record straight so that the Louisiana State University (LSU) student is not blamed as a victim for her alleged rape and death.

On Friday, attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference saying Brooks wouldnt have complained about the alleged rape if she was alive.

Mr Miller slammed the comment telling Fox News Digital: I was blown away by that comment. I mean their clients gave sworn statements that they raped a young girl who was intoxicated.

He added: She was raped. Rape is rape.

Brooks met the four men in Reggies Bar in Baton Rouge on 15 January. Investigators say the suspects raped her in a car and then abandoned her on a dark road where she was struck and killed by a car.

Key points

Madison Brooks family slams smear campaign by suspects

Funeral arrangements released for LSU student

Suspect arrested over second alleged rape in 2020

Surveillance footage shows Brooks leaving bar

Prosecutors vow to upgrade rape charges

Funeral arrangements set for Madison Brooks

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Funeral arrangements have now been set for Madison Brooks.

The LSU student, 19, will be laid to rest in her hometown of Covington, Louisiana, on 3 February.

Her visitation will be held at St Peter Catholic Church in Covington from 11am on Friday followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 1pm.

She will then be buried at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Covington, Louisiana.

Alleged rapists attorneys deny polices claims that her blood alcohol concentration was four times over the legal limit

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley questioned the accuracy of body alcohol level (BAC) results showing that 19-year-old Brooks was nearly four times over the legal limit at the time of her death, ABC affiliate WBRZ reports.

Story continues

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

A 17-year-old, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, is also accused of raping Brooks.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs Office said that the men dropped Brooks off along a roadway where she was later fatally hit by a car.

If you have a .391 [body alcohol level], your motor skills shut your body down. You cant walk, you cant talk, youre lapsing in and out of a blackout, Mr Long said.

The evidence weve seen so far of Ms Brooks running across the street from Reggies undermines the polices version of events, and until our experts can look at what happened, we believe that the BAC is inaccurate.

Madison Brooks alleged and rape have brought awareness of rape culture at LSU, students and parents say

11:00 , Andrea Blanco

Tiffani Carlini Roberston, the mother of a female student at LSU, wrote in a touching post that 19-year-old Madison Brooks memory is in the heart of every woman attending LSU as well as their mothers.

Ms Roberston said Brookss story had resonated with many in the local community and made them realise that there is a bigger conversation to be had.

We may never rid the world of sexual assault, but Madis beautiful life is bringing awareness of sexual assault to a generation that till now has kept their pain to themselves, she told The Independent. Our hearts are breaking for this family weve never known.

Meanwhile, an LSU student has created an initiative for fellow females to have a safer way to get home after a night out.

If you go to LSU or have a daughter, friend, family member or any GIRL that goes to LSU, Ive taken the initiative to make a groupme for girls to reach out to other girls for a ride home or just help getting out of an uncomfortable situation, Alisha Ortolano, a pre-vet student at LSU, wrote in a Facebook post.

Mr Ortolano encouraged students to get in touch with her to join the group. Only those with an LSU email account can sign up and join the GroupMe chat.

They can then offer to give rides to women who find themselves in any uncomfortable situations.

Feel free to message me and ask for my phone number to put in your contacts if you ever need a ride. Please share this. I want this to reach as many LSU girls as possible! she added.

LSU students family is blown away by victim blaming as they say rape is rape

10:09 , Rachel Sharp

The grieving family members of Madison Brooks have said they were blown away by the suspects attempts to victim blame as they said rape is rape.

On Friday, attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference saying Brooks wouldnt have complained about the alleged rape if she was alive.

Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks family, slammed the comment telling Fox News Digital: I was blown away by that comment. I mean their clients gave sworn statements that they raped a young girl who was intoxicated.

What does he mean by that? That had she not been run over by a car seconds after being dropped off in the middle of the road that they wouldnt have come forward and admitted their guilt?  Clearly a crime was committed. And I think that will be proven in court.

He said he was speaking out to set the record straight so that the Louisiana State University (LSU) student is not blamed as a victim for her alleged rape and death.

She was raped. Rape is rape, he said.

Its just a horrific, terrible situation. And to the extent that those involved with the alleged rapist want to blame the victim and show up at press conferences and say things  were standing up for Maddie. Thats not right.

VIDEO: Footage shows Madison Brooks on her final night

09:30 , Andrea Blanco

Newly-released surveillance footage has captured Madison Brooks movements on her last night, before the Louisiana State University (LSU) student was allegedly raped and then struck and killed by a car.

From Baton Rouge bar to alleged rape and death, what happened to the LSU student?

08:00 , Andrea Blanco

Police investigating the tragic death of Louisiana State University (LSU) student Madison Brooks have arrested and charged four suspects with rape.

Brooks, 19, was allegedly sexually assaulted in a car on 15 January after a night of drinking in a Baton Rouge bar before being left on a dark road in the early hours of the morning, at which point she appears to have been struck by accident by a passing car, dying later in hospital of her injuries.

On 23 January, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old male who has not been named because of his age were charged with third-degree rape.

Mr Washingtons uncle, Everette Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were also charged with principal to rape.

Heres a timeline of the case:

From Baton Rouge bar to alleged rape and death, what happened to Madison Brooks?

Madison Brooks was killed by a car. Now, four men who left her on the road are charged with rape

06:30 , Andrea Blanco

When Madison Brooks was struck and killed by a car on 15 January, very few details were revealed about the circumstances surrounding her death.

But as her loved ones reeled from the sudden loss, the case took an unimaginable turn on 23 January when the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office announced the tragedy was not arbitrary, as initially thought.

The department accused four men of directly participating in or witnessing an alleged sexual assault of a very impaired and unable-to-consent Brooks before dropping her off on a dark side of the roadway where she would later be fatally injured.

The Independents Andrea Blanco is following the case:

Madison Brooks was killed by a car. Now, four men are charged with rape

LSU student Madison Brooks was former employee at bar where she met her alleged rapists

05:00 , Andrea Blanco

Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks once worked at the bar where she met the four men accused of raping her shortly before her death, The Independent has learned.

On the evening of 14 January, Ms Brooks was at Reggies bar in Baton Rouge, where she reportedly encountered the men now facing rape charges.

Kris Perret, an attorney for Reggies, has now confirmed to The Independent that Ms Brooks worked at the bar for a month, between 11 June and 11 July last year, as a door girl applying wristbands to patrons.

She was terminated on or about July 11, 2022 after engaging in an altercation with another female employee, Mr Perret said.

Authorities say Ms Brooks - who was visibly intoxicated - was sexually assaulted by the suspects in a car after leaving Reggies.

The suspects then allegedly dropped her off along a dark stretch of road in the early hours of 15 January. She was struck by a rideshare vehicle and killed soon after.

Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old male, unnamed because hes a minor, have been charged with rape in the third degree.

Mr Washingtons uncle Everette Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, have been charged with principal to rape.

The three adult suspects have all been released on bond.

Brooks family attorney decries defences comments on victims test results

03:30 , Andrea Blanco

Brooks family attorney Kerry Miller criticized the defence while speaking to WVUE.

Kavion Washington, 18, faces a charge of third-degree rape, Everett Lee, 20, and Casen Carver, 18, face charges of principle to third-degree rape, and a 17-year-old, unnamed because of his age, faces a charge of rape.

To come out to mention evidence that they have and dont show it, to contradict a gold standard blood alcohol test and not say on what basis they are doing it, it is a made-up smear campaign, absolutely shameful, he said. What the next week and several days are about is letting Madis family grieve.

The office of the district attorney has said that the charges could be upgraded to first-degree rape if supported by the evidence and that a grand jury may be convened.

Wether the 17-year-old will be tried as an adult remains unsettled.

Kaivon Washington, Madison Brooks alleged rapist, arrested over second alleged rape in 2020

02:00 , Andrea Blanco

One of four suspects charged in the rape of LSU student Madison Brooks  who was fatally hit by a car after the alleged assault  has been arrested in connection with a second rape dating back to 2020.

Kaivon Washington, 18, was charged this week with third-degree rape in the 15 January incident involving Ms Brooks, then posted bond on Thursday and was released in Baton Rouge.

On Friday, he turned himself in to authorities in Livingston Parish, about a half hour away, where he was booked on a count of first-degree rape stemming from an incident three years ago, according to The Advocate.

The Independents Sheila Flynn has the full story:

Madison Brooks suspect faces second rape charge for alleged 2020 assault of minor

Funeral for Madison Brooks will take place on 3 February

00:30 , Andrea Blanco

Funeral arrangements have now been set for Madison Brooks.

The LSU student, 19, will be laid to rest in her hometown of Covington, Louisiana, on 3 February.

Her visitation will be held at St Peter Catholic Church in Covington from 11am on Friday followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 1pm.

She will then be buried at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Covington.

Madison Mogen's father reveals what he did when he learned of Bryan Kohbergers arrest

Monday 30 January 2023 23:06 , Andrea Blanco

The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just broke down and cried when he learned that his daughters accused killer had been taken into custody by police.

Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.

Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect  Bryan Kohberger  had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.

Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABCs  Good Morning America  earlier this month.

He said, Ben, this is the moment weve been waiting for, he said the officer told him.

I just broke down, and I just cried.

The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohbergers arrest felt like a huge weight that got lifted.

Madison Brooks family hits out at smear campaign by alleged attackers

Monday 30 January 2023 22:56 , Andrea Blanco

Brooks family attorney Kerry Miller told WVUE that the goal of Madis mom is to never have this happen again, to never have any family feel the kind of pain she is feeling right now.

Kavion Washington, 18, faces a charge of third-degree rape, Everett Lee, 20, and Casen Carver, 18, face charges of principle to third-degree rape, and a 17-year-old, unnamed because of his age, faces a charge of rape.

Defence lawyer Ron Haley told the local TV station that this of course has captured the attention of our city, our state and the nation.

We do not intend to try this case in the media. We do however intend to state the pertinent facts in this case while being as sensitive as possible with all parties involved, he added.

The lawyers representing the suspects  Mr Haley, Joe Long, Ryan Beaulieu, and Dale Glover  organised a press briefing on Friday, saying that they have video footage proving that Mr Washington and the 17-year-old are not guilty.

The two defendants who engaged in consensual sexual acts with Ms Brooks did so after obtaining verbal consent, Mr Haley told the press.

The way this is being reported and taken out of context from the police report is factually inaccurate. Ms Brooks asked to be dropped off at a sorority sisters house in Pelican Lakes. The driver complied. Ms Brooks left the car [of] her own volition, saying she would get an uber. She is seen on video leaving the car, unharmed and in good health. This will be confirmed by video at a later date.

LSU student group slam university presidents statement in response to Madison Brooks death

Monday 30 January 2023 21:08 , Andrea Blanco

LSU College Democrats accused the presidents email of victim-blaming and demanded that the university renewed a contract with sexual trauma awareness and response and release an accessible list of confidential registered trauma responders and organizations made by LSU.

The group said that working with students to establish a concrete plan was pivotal to eradicating rape culture at the university.

LSU students slam universitys response to Madison Brooks alleged rape and death

Attorneys for Madison Brooks alleged rapists allege her body alcohol level results are incorrect"

Monday 30 January 2023 20:21 , Andrea Blanco

Laywers representing Madison Brooks alleged rapists have denied that the LSU student was in a drunken stupor when two of the accused had sex with her.

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley questioned the accuracy of body alcohol level (BAC) results showing that 19-year-old Brooks was nearly four times over the legal limit at the time of her death, ABC affiliate WBRZ reports.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

A 17-year-old, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, is also accused of raping Brooks. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs Office said that the men dropped Brooks off along a roadway where she was later fatally hit by a car.

If you have a .391 [body alcohol level], your motor skills shut your body down. You cant walk, you cant talk, youre lapsing in and out of a blackout, Mr Long said. The evidence weve seen so far of Ms Brooks running across the street from Reggies undermines the polices version of events, and until our experts can look at what happened, we believe that the BAC is inaccurate.

Will the 17-year-old suspect be tried as an adult?

Monday 30 January 2023 19:30 , Andrea Blanco

The 17-year-old suspect is yet to be identified due to his age.

However, questions are mounting as to whether he will be tried as an adult in the case.

At a bond hearing on 24 February, prosecutors vowed to upgrade the charges against the four men accused of raping the LSU student.

District Attorney Hillar Moores Office has said that charges could be upgraded to first degree rape and are planning to call a grand jury in the case.

Attorney for Brooks family slams comments by the defence team that Madison wouldnt have complained about alleged rape

Monday 30 January 2023 18:46 , Andrea Blanco

Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks family, spoke out after attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference on Friday denying Brooks blood alcohol levels and saying Brooks wouldnt have complained about it if she was alive.

I was blown away by that comment. I mean their clients gave sworn statements that they raped a young girl who was intoxicated, Mr Miller told Fox News Digital.

What does he mean by that? That, had she not been run over by a car seconds after being dropped off in the middle of the road, they wouldnt have come forward and admitted their guilt? I guess thats what he means.

Lawyers for alleged rapists say community wants somebody to pay for Madison Brooks death

Monday 30 January 2023 17:57 , Andrea Blanco

Attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley claimed on Friday that the charges against the four men accused of raping Brooks were filed because prosecutors wanted someone to pay for her death.

We believe that if Ms Brooks was alive, this wouldnt be a crime. She wouldnt have complained about it at all, Mr Long said. There is understandable anger in the community, and [they] want somebody to pay for her death.

We understand that, but our clients did not [commit a crime.]

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges.

Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

VIDEO: Surveillance footage shows Madison Brooks leaving bar before her death and alleged rape

Monday 30 January 2023 17:00 , Andrea Blanco

Surveillance footage showed Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks leaving a bar allegedly with the four men accused of raping her on the night she was also fatally hit by a vehicle.

According to the footage, Brooks could be seen crossing the street with four people near Reggies bar in Baton Rouge and moving towards the parking lot, reported CBS affiliate WAFB.

Authorities said that Brooks - who was visibly intoxicated - was sexually assaulted by the suspects in a car after leaving Reggies.

Family remembers Madison as pure joy and light'

Monday 30 January 2023 16:15 , Andrea Blanco

In the wake of her sudden and tragic death, tributes have poured in from loved ones of Brooks.

LSUs Alpha Phi chapter paid tribute to its sorority sister in a post on the groups Facebook page.

Madison was a sophomore and made a lasting impact on all of us, the statement read.

She was also a hero and was able to donate her heart and kidneys to save others. We send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. And we respectfully ask for time and space so we may support each other in our healing process. AOE

In the wake of her sudden and tragic death, Brooks has been remembered as a bright and joyful young woman

Brooks grandfather Kert LeBlanc also issued a heartfelt statement on his Facebook profile.

She was pure joy and light. She made us so very proud. We will miss her terribly. Please keep our family in your prayers as we navigate through this difficult time, Mr LeBlanc wrote.

Tiffani Carlini Roberston, the mother of a female student at LSU, wrote in a touching post that Brooks memory is in the heart of every woman attending LSU as well as their mothers. Ms Roberston said Brookss story had resonated with many in the local community and made them realise that there is a bigger conversation to be had.

We may never rid the world of sexual assault, but Madis beautiful life is bringing awareness of sexual assault to a generation that till now has kept their pain to themselves, she told The Independent. Our hearts are breaking for this family weve never known.

Madison Brooks family slams shameful smear campaign by suspects attorneys

Monday 30 January 2023 15:30 , Andrea Blanco

The grieving family of Madison Brooks has slammed her accused attackers for launching what they have described as an absolutely shameful smear campaign against the late Louisiana State University (LSU) student.

Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks family, spoke out after attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference on Friday denying Brooks blood alcohol levels and claiming footage  that they are not releasing  casts doubt on her inability to consent to sex.

To come out to mention evidence that they have and dont show it, to contradict a gold standard blood alcohol test and not say on what basis they are doing it, it is a made up, smear campaign, absolutely shameful, Mr Miller told WAFB.

What the next week and several days are about is letting Madis family grieve.

Madison Brooks was killed by a car. Now, four men who left her on the road are charged with rape

Monday 30 January 2023 14:30 , Rachel Sharp

When Madison Brooks was struck and killed by a car on 15 January, very few details were revealed about the circumstances surrounding her death.

The 19-year-old Louisiana State University student was remembered by her friends and family as a bright and joyful young woman who had a lasting effect on everyone she met. Her sorority sisters at Alpha Phi said that Madi  as she was known to those who loved her  had made the ultimate gesture that conveyed her generous personality by donating her heart and kidneys to save others.

But as her loved ones reeled from the sudden loss, the case took an unimaginable turn on 23 January when the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office announced the tragedy was not arbitrary, as initially thought. The department accused four men of directly participating in or witnessing an alleged sexual assault of a very impaired and unable-to-consent Brooks before dropping her off on a dark side of the roadway where she would later be fatally injured.

The Independents Andrea Blanco is following the case:

Madison Brooks was killed by a car. Now, four men are charged with rape

LSU students slam universitys response to Madison Brooks case

Monday 30 January 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Lousiana State University students have slammed the universitys president saying his statement about the Madison Brooks case falls short of addressing the issue of sexual assault and consent.

In a statement published last week, LSUs Feminists in Action decried president William F Tates response to the alleged sexual assault that 19-year-old Brooks suffered before being dropped off by the suspects along a roadway and fatally hit by a car on 15 January.

The group demanded that Mr Tate use his energy to fix the sexual violence our community faces instead of using alcohol as a scapegoat. Mr Tate had previously said that the university plans to investigate why the establishment where 19-year-old Brooks met the men accused of raping her was serving alcohol to minors.

While students are grieving the loss of our peer and fearing for our safety and well-being, your administration directs its attention to the underage consumption of alcohol. This response is inexcusable, the group said.

The statement added: These four individuals were arrested for third-degree rape and principle to rape; not underage drinking nor driving under the influence.

Video taken by suspect shows them having a conversation with Madison Brooks, attorneys say

Monday 30 January 2023 23:36 , Andrea Blanco

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley clarified that the video taken inside the car showed the defendants engaging in a conversation with Brooks, but did not depict them having sex, as was previously reported.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

The video will not be released at this time, the legal team said.

The attorneys had hoped that the video would exonerate the men, but Judge Brad Myers said it only showed the suspects callously laughing at Brooks as she slurred her words, reported local outlet WAFB.

They also said on Friday that another video of Brooks leaving the vehicle unharmed will also be released at a later date. It is unclear whether that footage was obtained from surveillance cameras or recorded by the suspects.

Madison Brooks rape suspects lawyers are denying police claims that she was drunk

Monday 30 January 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Laywers representing Madison Brooks alleged rapists have denied that the LSU student was in a drunken stupor when two of the accused had sex with her.

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley questioned the accuracy of body alcohol level (BAC) results showing that 19-year-old Brooks was nearly four times over the legal limit at the time of her death, ABC affiliate WBRZ reports.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

Read more here:

Attorneys for the defence clarify that video taken by suspect shows them having a conversation with Madison Brooks

Monday 30 January 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley clarified that the video taken inside the car showed the defendants engaging in a conversation with Brooks, but did not depict them having sex, as was previously reported.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

The video will not be released at this time, the legal team said.

The attorneys had hoped that the video would exonerate the men, but Judge Brad Myers said it only showed the suspects callously laughing at Brooks as she slurred her words, reported local outlet WAFB.

They also said on Friday that another video of Brooks leaving the vehicle unharmed will also be released at a later date. It is unclear whether that footage was obtained from surveillance cameras or recorded by the suspects.

Will the 17-year-old suspect be tried as an adult?

Monday 30 January 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

The 17-year-old suspect is yet to be identified due to his age.

However, questions are mounting as to whether he will be tried as an adult in the case.

At a bond hearing on 24 February, prosecutors vowed to upgrade the charges against the four men accused of raping the LSU student.

District Attorney Hillar Moores Office has said that charges could be upgraded to first degree rape and are planning to call a grand jury in the case.

Madison Brooks timeline: From Baton Rouge bar to alleged rape and death, what happened to the LSU student?

Monday 30 January 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Police investigating the tragic death of Louisiana State University (LSU) student Madison Brooks have arrested and charged four suspects with rape.

Brooks, 19, was allegedly sexually assaulted in a car on 15 January after a night of drinking in a Baton Rouge bar before being left on a dark road in the early hours of the morning, at which point she appears to have been struck by accident by a passing car, dying later in hospital of her injuries.

On 23 January, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old male who has not been named because of his age were charged with third-degree rape.

Mr Washingtons uncle, Everette Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were also charged with principal to rape.

Heres a timeline of the case:

From Baton Rouge bar to alleged rape and death, what happened to Madison Brooks?

Madison Brooks mother calls for this never to happen again

Monday 30 January 2023 11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Madison Brooks devastated mother is calling for this to never happen again as she prepares to lay her daughter to rest this week.

Attorney Kerry Miller, who is representing the family of Brooks, told WAFB that the family doesnt want any other family to go through what they are.

Really the goal of Madis mom is to never have this happen again, to never have any family feel the kind of pain she is feeling right now, he said.

He added: People around her should not have taken advantage of her. They should have protected her.

Gotten her home safely. Which is the opposite of what these individuals did.

Madison Brooks alleged rapist ordered not to comment on the case on social media after being released on bond

Monday 30 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco

Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18; a 17-year-old male who has not been named due to his age; Everette Lee, 28; and Casen Carver, 18, were charged on Monday with the sexual assault of 19-year-old Brooks.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office said that a severely intoxicated Brooks was callously dropped off along a road in a neighbourhood near Pelican Lakes Parkway after two of the suspects allegedly raped her in the early morning hours of 15 January.

Brooks was hit by a vehicle and died hours later in the hospital.

On Wednesday, Mr Lee and Mr Carter, who are facing charges of principal to rape, were released after posting bonds of $75,000 and $50,000, respectively, local news station WBRZ reported.

Mr Washington also posted bail on Wednesday.

Under the bond terms, the released suspects were ordered not to make social media posts about the case or make contact with Brooks family, to submit for random drug testing and be placed on house arrest and to wear an ankle monitor. The 17-year-olds bond hearing has been postponed to February.

Madison Brooks suspect arrested over second alleged rape in 2020

Monday 30 January 2023 10:30 , Rachel Sharp

One of four suspects charged in the rape of LSU student Madison Brooks  who was fatally hit by a car after the alleged assault  has been arrested in connection with a second rape dating back to 2020.

Kaivon Washington, 18, was charged this week with third-degree rape in the 15 January incident involving Ms Brooks, then posted bond on Thursday and was released in Baton Rouge. On Friday, he turned himself in to authorities in Livingston Parish, about a half hour away, where he was booked on a count of first-degree rape stemming from an incident three years ago, according to The Advocate.

Arrest documents show that a 12-year-old girl told police Washington had raped her at a pool party in Walker in May 2020, the newspaper reported. He allegedly followed her into a room at her apartment, pulled off her towel, threw her on the bed and raped her while covering her mouth, according to the affidavit.

The Independents Sheila Flynn has the full story:

Madison Brooks suspect faces second rape charge for alleged 2020 assault of minor

Funeral arrangements set for Madison Brooks

Monday 30 January 2023 10:00 , Rachel Sharp

Funeral arrangements have now been set for Madison Brooks.

The LSU student, 19, will be laid to rest in her hometown of Covington, Louisiana, on 3 February.

Her visitation will be held at St Peter Catholic Church in Covington from 11am on Friday followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 1pm.

She will then be buried at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Covington.

Madison Brooks' family slams shameful smear campaign by suspects attorneys

Monday 30 January 2023 09:30 , Rachel Sharp

The grieving family of Madison Brooks has slammed her accused attackers for launching what they have described as an absolutely shameful smear campaign against the late Louisiana State University (LSU) student.

Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks family, spoke out after attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference on Friday denying Brooks blood alcohol levels and claiming footage  that they are not releasing  casts doubt on her inability to consent to sex.

To come out to mention evidence that they have and dont show it, to contradict a gold standard blood alcohol test and not say on what basis they are doing it, it is a made up, smear campaign, absolutely shameful, Mr Miller told WAFB.

What the next week and several days are about is letting Madis family grieve.

Madison Brooks once worked at the bar where she met her alleged rapists

Monday 30 January 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco

Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks once worked at the bar where she met the four men accused of raping her shortly before her death, The Independent has learned.

On the evening of 14 January, Ms Brooks was at Reggies bar in Baton Rouge, where she reportedly encountered the men now facing rape charges.

Kris Perret, an attorney for Reggies, has now confirmed to The Independent that Ms Brooks worked at the bar for a month, between 11 June and 11 July last year, as a door girl applying wristbands to patrons.

She was terminated on or about July 11, 2022 after engaging in an altercation with another female employee, Mr Perret said.

Authorities say Ms Brooks - who was visibly intoxicated - was sexually assaulted by the suspects in a car after leaving Reggies.

The suspects then allegedly dropped her off along a dark stretch of road in the early hours of 15 January. She was struck by a rideshare vehicle and killed soon after.

Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old male, unnamed because hes a minor, have been charged with rape in the third degree.

Mr Washingtons uncle Everette Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, have been charged with principal to rape.

The three adult suspects have all been released on bond.

Attorneys for alleged rapists deny police claims that she was drunk

Monday 30 January 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley questioned the accuracy of body alcohol level (BAC) results showing that 19-year-old Brooks was nearly four times over the legal limit at the time of her death, ABC affiliate WBRZ reports.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

A 17-year-old, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, is also accused of raping Brooks.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs Office said that the men dropped Brooks off along a roadway where she was later fatally hit by a car.

If you have a .391 [body alcohol level], your motor skills shut your body down. You cant walk, you cant talk, youre lapsing in and out of a blackout, Mr Long said.

The evidence weve seen so far of Ms Brooks running across the street from Reggies undermines the polices version of events, and until our experts can look at what happened, we believe that the BAC is inaccurate.

Judge says that video suspects claimed proved their innocence instead proves a crime took place

Monday 30 January 2023 05:00 , Andrea Blanco

Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18; a 17-year-old male who has not been named due to his age, Everette Lee, 28; and Casen Carver, 18; have been charged with the rape of 19-year-old student Madison Brooks, before she was struck by a car and killed.

Brooks, a 19-year-old Alpha Phi sorority sister, had spent the night of 14 January at Reggies Bar in Baton Rouge where she allegedly met her attackers.

The three adult suspects appeared in court on Tuesday. At the bond hearing, 19th Judicial District Judge Brad Myers said that he had watched a video filmed by one of the four suspects inside the car with Brooks.

The judge said that the video shows the suspects callously laughing at the drunk 19-year-old woman as she slurred her words, reported local outlet WAFB.

The judge concluded that  based on the two videos and statements made by Mr Carver to investigators  he said it was clear that a crime had occurred that fateful night.

The evidence to me is clear, he said.

The suspects attorneys said on Friday that the video wont be released at this time.

Reggies bar has liquor lincense suspended following Madison Brooks death

Monday 30 January 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco

The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced last week that it was issuing an emergency suspension for Reggies bar.

On Tuesday, the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced that it was issuing an emergency suspension for Reggies bar

The agency cited the seriousness of the allegations and the potential threat to public safety.

This action immediately suspends the service or sale of alcoholic beverages at these locations, it said in a statement.

The state agency said that an emergency hearing will be held in February to determine what penalties, if any, should be imposed following a presentation of the evidence.

Kris Perret, an attorney for Reggies Bar, said in a statement to The Independent that the owner has fully cooperated with the investigation.

With regards to the current temporary suspension of Reggies license, the owners of Reggies will continue to cooperate with state and local authorities, as we have done since their first request for assistance in their investigations of this incident, he added.

We look forward to meeting with State ATC and East Baton Rouge ABC officials as soon as possible to address their concerns and to insure they have all of the complete and accurate facts and all information they require to complete their investigation.

The bar has denied serving alcohol to Ms Brooks, alleging that she got into the bar with a fake ID.

Madison Brooks alleged and rape have brought awareness of rape culture at LSU, students and parents say

Monday 30 January 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco

Tiffani Carlini Roberston, the mother of a female student at LSU, wrote in a touching post that 19-year-old Madison Brooks memory is in the heart of every woman attending LSU as well as their mothers.

Ms Roberston said Brookss story had resonated with many in the local community and made them realise that there is a bigger conversation to be had.

We may never rid the world of sexual assault, but Madis beautiful life is bringing awareness of sexual assault to a generation that till now has kept their pain to themselves, she told The Independent. Our hearts are breaking for this family weve never known.

Meanwhile, an LSU student has created an initiative for fellow females to have a safer way to get home after a night out.

If you go to LSU or have a daughter, friend, family member or any GIRL that goes to LSU, Ive taken the initiative to make a groupme for girls to reach out to other girls for a ride home or just help getting out of an uncomfortable situation, Alisha Ortolano, a pre-vet student at LSU, wrote in a Facebook post.

Mr Ortolano encouraged students to get in touch with her to join the group. Only those with an LSU email account can sign up and join the GroupMe chat.

They can then offer to give rides to women who find themselves in any uncomfortable situations.

Feel free to message me and ask for my phone number to put in your contacts if you ever need a ride. Please share this. I want this to reach as many LSU girls as possible! she added.

WATCH: Footage shows Madison Brooks on her final night

Sunday 29 January 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco

Newly-released surveillance footage has captured Madison Brooks movements on her last night, before the Louisiana State University (LSU) student was allegedly raped and then struck and killed by a car.

Three adult suspects in Madison Brooks case have been released on bond

Sunday 29 January 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco

Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18; a 17-year-old male who has not been named due to his age; Everette Lee, 28; and Casen Carver, 18, were charged on Monday with the sexual assault of 19-year-old Brooks.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office said that a severely intoxicated Brooks was callously dropped off along a road in a neighbourhood near Pelican Lakes Parkway after two of the suspects allegedly raped her in the early morning hours of 15 January.

Brooks was hit by a vehicle and died hours later in the hospital.

On Wednesday, Mr Lee and Mr Carter, who are facing charges of principal to rape, were released after posting bonds of $75,000 and $50,000, respectively, local news station WBRZ reported.

Mr Washington also posted bail on Wednesday.

Under the bond terms, the released suspects were ordered not to make social media posts about the case or make contact with Brooks family, to submit for random drug testing and be placed on house arrest and to wear an ankle monitor. The 17-year-olds bond hearing has been postponed to February.

Video of Madison Brooks with suspects does not depict them having sex, attorneys clarify

Sunday 29 January 2023 19:00 , Andrea Blanco

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley clarified that the video taken inside the car showed the defendants engaging in a conversation with Brooks, but did not depict them having sex, as was previously reported.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

The video will not be released at this time, the legal team said.

The attorneys had hoped that the video would exonerate the men, but Judge Brad Myers said it only showed the suspects callously laughing at Brooks as she slurred her words, reported local outlet WAFB.

They also said on Friday that another video of Brooks leaving the vehicle unharmed will also be released at a later date. It is unclear whether that footage was obtained from surveillance cameras or recorded by the suspects.

Madison was pure joy and light, family says

Sunday 29 January 2023 17:00 , Andrea Blanco

In the wake of her sudden and tragic death, tributes have poured in from loved ones of Brooks.

LSUs Alpha Phi chapter paid tribute to its sorority sister in a post on the groups Facebook page.

Madison was a sophomore and made a lasting impact on all of us, the statement read.

She was also a hero and was able to donate her heart and kidneys to save others. We send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. And we respectfully ask for time and space so we may support each other in our healing process. AOE

In the wake of her sudden and tragic death, Brooks has been remembered as a bright and joyful young woman

Brooks grandfather Kert LeBlanc also issued a heartfelt statement on his Facebook profile.

She was pure joy and light. She made us so very proud. We will miss her terribly. Please keep our family in your prayers as we navigate through this difficult time, Mr LeBlanc wrote.

Tiffani Carlini Roberston, the mother of a female student at LSU, wrote in a touching post that Brooks memory is in the heart of every woman attending LSU as well as their mothers. Ms Roberston said Brookss story had resonated with many in the local community and made them realise that there is a bigger conversation to be had.

We may never rid the world of sexual assault, but Madis beautiful life is bringing awareness of sexual assault to a generation that till now has kept their pain to themselves, she told The Independent. Our hearts are breaking for this family weve never known.

(Madison Brooks/Obituary)

Defence lawyers allege that Madison Brooks exited accused rapists car after saying she would get an Uber instead

Sunday 29 January 2023 15:00 , Andrea Blanco

In a press conference on Friday, attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley said that 19-year-old Brooks had initially asked the group for a ride to a sorority house near Pelican Lakes, but after an argument unfolded, she allegedly said she would be taking an Uber instead.

Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges. Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.

The way this is being reported, taken out of context from the police report, is factually inaccurate, he said.

LSU student group slam university presidents statement in response to Madison Brooks death

Sunday 29 January 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco

LSU College Democrats accused the presidents email of victim-blaming and demanded that the university renewed a contract with sexual trauma awareness and response and release an accessible list of confidential registered trauma responders and organizations made by LSU.

The group said that working with students to establish a concrete plan was pivotal to eradicating rape culture at the university.

LSU students slam universitys response to Madison Brooks alleged rape and death

Freshman at LSU creates safe way for students to get home after a night out

Sunday 29 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco

Following Madison Brooks death earlier this month, an LSU student has created an initiative for fellow females to have a safer way to get home after a night out.

If you go to LSU or have a daughter, friend, family member or any GIRL that goes to LSU, Ive taken the initiative to make a groupme for girls to reach out to other girls for a ride home or just help getting out of an uncomfortable situation, Alisha Ortolano, a pre-vet student at LSU, wrote in a Facebook post.

Mr Ortolano encouraged students to get in touch with her to join the group. Only those with an LSU email account can sign up and join the GroupMe chat.

They can then offer to give rides to women who find themselves in any uncomfortable situations.

Feel free to message me and ask for my phone number to put in your contacts if you ever need a ride. Please share this. I want this to reach as many LSU girls as possible! she added.

It comes as nineteen-year-old Brooks was killed on 15 January after a ride-share driver hit her while she was standing in a dark roadway in Baton Rouge.

On Monday, local news station KSLA reported that Brooks was dropped off near the site of the crash by four men now accused of participating in or witnessing her rape moments before.
The President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili met with the Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer in Orbeliani Palace and discussed Georgia-EU relations, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the current situation in the region.According to the information released by the press service, the President noted that giving Georgia a European perspective on the path of European integration is a historic decision supported by the majority of the Georgian population.The Chancellor of Austria emphatically confirmed Austria's firm support for Georgia's territorial integrity and European integration process."During the meeting, it was mentioned that Georgia should continue implementing institutional reforms. At the same time, the European Union should make a strategic decision regarding Georgia and show the Russian Federation that Georgia has the support of the European Union.The conversation touched on the occupation, which remains one of the main challenges of Georgia, and it was noted that the country will not deviate from its declared policy, which implies the restoration of territorial integrity only in a peaceful way. In addition, the conversation touched on the war waged by Russia in Ukraine and noted that it is a great challenge for the security of Europe.The importance of strengthening the economic cooperation between Georgia and the Republic of Austria was also emphasized.At the end of the meeting, the Federal Chancellor of Austria once again expressed the full readiness of Austria to support Georgia in the process of European integration," the information reads.Levan Khabeishvili made his first statement after winning the elections for the chairmanship of the United National Movement.He thanked the voters and said that he is starting to fight against the Russian regime from today, to release Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramia."Democracy is not a word for us. The United National Movement is the only party in Georgia that proves its commitment to Western values, this election is a direct manifestation of that.We are not going to celebrate, of course. Today begins the process that will lead our country to peace, just as Misha and his comrades did in 2003.We are going to work and we will never get tired of this work. From today we begin a difficult but continuous struggle to defeat the Russian oligarchic regime. From today, the NMM will be open to all new people, old and new comrades of ours, who can lay even one brick in this struggle.This victory belongs to Mikheil Saakashvili, who is now fighting for his life, and his fight is also related to the freedom of our country. Obviously, the first decisions will be related to the fight for President Saakashvili's freedom. "Misha, I want to promise you that we will not stop until your life and health are secured for the freedom of our country," Khabeishvili said.
The BNSF railroad plans to take down the existing rail bridge across the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan. BNSF plans on building a new bridge to accommodate increased freight traffic. Amtrak carries passenger traffic on the rail line through Minot, some 110 miles north. Rail passenger advocates continue to press for a passenger train through Bismarck as well. The new bridge may have two lines which would accommodate passenger and freight if that day ever comes.

BNSF dismisses the idea that anyone but themselves have any legal interest in the existing bridge. Defining legal ownership that gives absolute control of anything to the owner has been problematic throughout history. Currently cattle can be owned as chattel property by a rancher. That owner can buy and sell those animals as he or she pleases, but it is against the law to neglect those animals by not feeding them. Ownership in this case is both a right and an obligation.

In the case of the railroad bridge, millions of public dollars have gone into the building of that architectural masterpiece. The railroad was given every other section of land, four sections deep on both sides of the rail line, an 8-mile-wide corridor of land ownership for the public purpose of hauling people and freight and crossing the Missouri River.

The design and construction of this bridge is so intertwined with the history of North Dakota that they are inseparable. It is not ancient history. The bridge, designed in 1880 and completed in 1883, withstood the flood of 2011 which carried a 17-mph current against those bridge piers. Those piers are clad on the north side with steel to protect the bridge against ice flows. Can anyone imagine the force of those ice flows the bridge has resisted over all these years? I cheer for the bridge designer and for those skilled and dedicated workers who built it every time thunderous ice flows are hurled against it and the bridge still stands!

It is too simple to say that BNSF owns the rail bridge and can do with it what they want. It would be equivalent to saying the owner of the original painting of the Mona Lisa can burn it in public.

I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Construction started in 1869 and was completed in 1883. The Brooklyn Bridge is a major tourist attraction. That bridge carries heavy trucks, bicyclists and pedestrians. The Bismarck rail bridge is historically equivalent to the Brooklyn Bridge. It is something to see. Visitors will marvel at the courage and the intelligence of those who designed and built it and those who have maintained it for 140 years.

Can you imagine the advertising value for tourism if that bridge is preserved as a pedestrian walkway across the Missouri? Can you imagine the value it will have for the riverfront development of the cities of Mandan and Bismarck?

Harold Hamm gave $50 million to the Theodore Roosevelt Library at Medora. So did the state of North Dakota. Wealthy industrialists are not new to North Dakota. Remember Andrew Carnegie and James J. Hill? The conversion of an historic rail bridge to a pedestrian walkway is not big money to either wealthy industrialists or the state of North Dakota. It is right for Hamm and the state to contribute to the Roosevelt Library, and it is right to ask the state and wealthy folks to save this bridge. Let us be dedicated to that proposition and not worry about who owns it.
Chinese buyers of Russian oil are seeking to avoid reputation damage, one analyst said. ALEXEI DRUZHININ/Getty Images

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine could have global consequences.

If Putin wins, it would show countries like China that "brute force" works, he said.

"Beijing is watching closely. And learning lessons that may influence its future decisions," he warned.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday warned that a Russian victory in the war it launched against Ukraine would send a "dangerous" message to authoritarian regimes around the world.

"Beijing and Moscow are leading an authoritarian pushback against the international rules-based order. The Indo-Pacific faces growing challenges, from China's coercive behaviour to provocations by North Korea," Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, going on to characterize Russia's "brutal war of aggression against Ukraine" as not only a crisis for Europe but a "challenge to the world order."

"If President Putin wins in Ukraine, this would send a message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force. This is dangerous. Beijing is watching closely. And learning lessons that may influence its future decisions," the NATO chief said. "What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow. So we must remain united and firm. Standing together for freedom and democracy."

Since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February, the subject of China's aggression toward Taiwan has been a constant point of discussion among leaders and top officials worldwide.

A visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August prompted provocative Chinese military drills near the self-governing island democracy, leading to concerns about the potential for an invasion. Chinese military activities have continued, and recently, a US Air Force general suggested a fight could break out over the island as early as 2025. The DC-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies spent months wargaming such a situation, and the outcome was bleak.

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Stoltenberg on Tuesday said that China's behavior was a matter of serious concern.

"China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons. Bullying its neighbors, and threatening Taiwan. Trying to control critical infrastructure. And spreading disinformation about NATO and the war in Ukraine," he said.

Beijing, which often sides with Moscow on geopolitical issues, has taken a relatively cautious approach to the Ukraine war as Western countries like the US have warned it against providing material support to Russia.

China has not condemned Russia's invasion, and Chinese state media has often echoed Russian propaganda critical of NATO. But Beijing also hasn't offered full-throated support for Moscow's war. During a meeting with Xi Jinping in September, Putin acknowledged that the Chinese leader had "question and concerns" regarding Russia's ongoing invasion.

China has continued to foster robust political and economic ties to Russia, providing Moscow a lifeline as it contends with crippling economic sanctions imposed by the West in response to the war. And Putin and Xi pledged in late December to deepen cooperation between their two countries.

At the time, Xi said China was ready "to increase strategic cooperation with Russia, provide each other with development opportunities, be global partners for the benefit of the peoples of our countries and in the interests of stability around the world," per the Associated Press.

"In the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, the significance of the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership is growing as a stabilizing factor," Putin said as Moscow and Beijing threaten the security structures in their respective regions.

Read the original article on Business Insider
T+L TOP TRAVEL ADVISOR | BELIZE SPECIALIST

Courtesy of Respective Travel Advisor

Among the immersive trips Johnson has planned: a six-night catamaran journey from Belize to Guatemalas Rio Dulce that incorporated visits to local homes, galleries, and creative co-ops around Lake Atitlan.

We work only with small tour operators that are locally owned, such as Belize Hiking Group or Taste Belize, Johnson says. One time, she arranged a journey led by a guide with a Ph.D in anthropology and food Studies. The first visit was to a Kekchi Maya village for preparing a traditional lunch, followed by a visit to a cacao farm where chocolate is using a heirloom stone tool that has been passed down from five generations.

Language(s) Spoken: English

Average Daily Spend: $500 per person

Trip Planning Fees: none

Contact Info

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that would have overhauled the state's 175-year-old wrongful death statute, angering some families whose elderly loved ones were killed in a Buffalo supermarket mass shooting.

The Grieving Families Act would have allowed courts to consider grief and loss when determining how much a family can be compensated by insurance companies, regardless of the income-earning potential of the deceased.

The law would have also extended the time permitted to bring a wrongful death action to court by 18 months and allow families to claim compensation for funeral expenses and loss of companionship.

PHOTO: New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference regarding new gun laws in New York, Aug. 31, 2022. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters, FILE)

Some relatives of the 10 people killed in a May 14, 2022, mass shooting at a Top's grocery store in Buffalo had called on Hochul to sign it the bill, saying the current statute, which dates back to the Civil War, devalues and discriminates against young people and the elderly, like many of those who died in the mass shooting.

"It's a slap in the face," retired Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, whose mother was among the 10 people killed in the attack, told ABC News on Tuesday. "Obviously my mom was 86 years old, but what makes her life any less valuable than someone whos working?"

PHOTO: Garnell Whitfield Jr., whose 86-year-old mother was killed in the May 14, 2022, mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery story, speaks at a press conference on Oct. 6, 2022, urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Grieving Families Act. (ABC News)

Mark Talley, whose 62-year-old mother was killed in the Buffalo attack, told ABC News that he was not surprised by Hochul's decision. "When you work in government you've got to have an excellent ability to smile in people's faces and then stab them in the heart once they turn around," Talley said.

The deadline for Hochul to sign the bill was midnight Tuesday.

In an op-ed published in the New York Daily News hours before the deadline, Hochul said, "Experts have highlighted concerns that the unintended consequences of this far-reaching, expansive legislation would be significant."

"It is reasonable to think that the legislation as drafted will drive up already-high health insurance premiums, adding significant costs for many sectors of our economy, particularly hospitals that are still recovering from the pandemic and struggling to stay afloat -- including public hospitals that serve disadvantaged communities," Hochul wrote. "This is a question that would benefit from careful analysis before, not after, passing sweeping legislation."

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She suggested the bill was hastily passed by the state Legislature at the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session, noting that it was approved by a committee and sailed through the Assembly and Senate on the same day.

"What was missing was a serious evaluation of the impact of these massive changes on the economy, small businesses, individuals, and the state's complex health care system," Hochul wrote in her op-ed.

MORE: How Buffalo shooting victim's son shields his ailing father from tragedy

She blamed the Legislature for the veto, saying it failed to negotiate a scaled-down bill.

PHOTO: Community members pay respects at a 'Memorial Garden' filled with flowers, photos and mementos outside the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue, July 14, 2022, in Buffalo, N.Y. (John Normile/Getty Images)

"I also recognize that the law as it currently stands, valuing lives based on earning potential, reinforces historic patterns of structural inequity and racism," Hochul wrote. "This is one of many areas of unfairness that remain in our legal system, we must never give up on the important work of making needed change."

Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, praised Hochul's decision, saying, small businesses and the health care workforce are "breathing a collective sigh of relief."

"Now is (the) time to get to work and rein in New Yorks already out of control litigation climate," Stebbins said in a statement. "To bring balance to the system, reduce unintended consequences, and avoid increasing costs at a time when we can least afford it, lawmakers must work with stakeholders to craft a bill that benefits all. The health and prosperity of the Empire States economy depends on it."

MORE: Suspect fired 50 rounds in Buffalo supermarket hate crime shooting that killed 10: Police

The New York Trial Lawyers Association, which called on Hochul to sign the bill, released a statement, saying the governor "sided with insurance companies, the health care industry, big corporations, and anyone else who doesnt want to be held accountable for the negligent killing of a person."

State Assemblymember Helene Weinstein and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who both sponsored the bill, released a joint statement, saying they were "disappointed" with the governor's decision to veto the legislation.

"Instead, the Governor has proposed a half-baked compromise that would only delay long overdue reforms to this archaic 175-year-old law while protecting negligent corporations and institutions from any accountability," the statement reads. "New Yorks wrongful death statute predates the Civil War and is widely regarded as the most regressive of its kind in the nation."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes Grieving Families Act, angering some loved ones of Buffalo massacre originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A federal judge awarded more than $10 million to the family of a Ugandan human rights activist who was decapitated while on a visit to Arches National Park in 2020.

Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo's husband Ludovic Michaud will receive $9.5 million while her mother Christine Namagembe will receive $700,000, according to the judgment filed in federal court. Essie's father John Bocso Kateregga will receive $350,000.

Nakajjigo's husband and parents filed a $270 million administrative claim against the National Park Service in 2021 over her death.

Nakajjigo and Michaud spent June 13, 2020, at Arches National Park in Utah as a way to celebrate their one-year anniversary of when they first met, according to the Associated Press.

RELATED: Family Files $270M Claim Against National Park Service After Death of 25-Year-Old Newlywed: Reports

The newlyweds were on their drive out with Nakajjigo in the passenger seat when a strong wind pushed the park's entrance gate into the road, and sliced through their rental car "like a hot knife through butter," the claim said, according to the AP.

The activist was decapitated.

Zoe Littlepage, a lead attorney on the case, told The Salt Lake Tribune, that "on behalf of the family, we are very appreciative of the judge's attention to detail, the time he spent working on this, and for the value he put on the loss to this family of Essie."

Esther Nakajjigo

Esther Nakajjigo/Twitter Esther Nakajjigo

In a statement to the newspaper, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Trina Higgins, said Nakajjigo's family was entitled to damages.

The trial began Dec. 5 in Utah and was meant to determine how much money was owed to the family, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

During the trial, a U.S. attorney representing the government said, "The United States was 100 percent at fault.  And we want to express on behalf of the United States our profound sorrow for your loss," per the newspaper.

RELATED: Boy, 14, Killed at North Carolina Rodeo During First Bull Ride: 'My Lil Cowboy'

"We respect the judge's decision and hope this award will help her loved ones as they continue to heal for this tragedy," the statement read. "On behalf of the United States, we again extend our condolences to Ms. Nakajjigo's friends, family and beloved community."

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"Essie was a remarkable humanitarian and champion for women and girls. This verdict, though the largest by a federal judge in Utah history, cannot replace the immeasurable loss suffered by her husband and family. We are grateful that Judge Jenkins honored Essie's life and legacy with this award," Littlepage said in a statement to PEOPLE.

Higgins did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.

Nakajjigo was Uganda's ambassador for women and girls, and ran a health center in her home country that she set up when she was just 17 years old to provide free health services to adolescents.

She was also the brains behind two reality TV shows that aimed to empower young mothers and encourage girls to stay in school.

She reportedly moved to Colorado for a social entrepreneurship program at the Watson Institute in Boulder.
Daryl Johnson, right, circled in red, and his son Daniel Johnson as seen in a surveillance video during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A St. Ansgar man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol has been arrested again, this time for allegedly taking surreptitious video of a female customer in a tanning salon owned by his family.

Daryl Johnson, 52, is charged with invasion of privacy, a misdemeanor, according to court filings. The complaint states that on Jan. 27, Johnson placed his cell phone atop a dividing wall separating tanning rooms at iSun Tan 24/7 in Clear Lake, pointing its camera into an adjacent room where a woman was tanning. The woman told investigators she did not know or consent to being filmed as she was undressing and using the tanning bed.

Johnson also allegedly resisted the seizure of his phone by police.

The new charges, which were first reported by the Globe Gazette in Mason City, come seven months after Johnson was sentenced to 30 days in prison for his role in the Capitol riot. Johnson and his son, Daniel of Austin, Minnesota, were charged with entering the Capitol through a shattered window and at one point allowing more rioters to enter by rushing a group of police officers who were trying to hold a door to the building shut .

Previously:First Iowan sentenced in January 6 riot at US Capitol gets 30 days in prison; son sentenced to four months

Johnson pleaded guilty in that case to civil disorder, a felony. His son pleaded to the same charge and received a four-month sentence. Aside from Johnson's federal case, state records do not show any other prior criminal convictions.

Johnson's family owns multiple businesses

State and county records confirm the salon property is owned by an entity registered to Johnson's father, former St. Ansgar Mayor Norman Johnson. During their federal case, Johnson and his son emphasized their background as small business owners, and Johnson's attorney wrote that the family owns nine laundromats, a car wash and the tanning salon in Iowa and Minnesota, with ownership split between Johnson, his wife and his parents.

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In court filings, Johnson and his son indicated one reason they traveled to Washington for the rally with then-President Donald Trump preceding the Jan. 6 riot was their dismay at damage sustained by several of their Twin Cities properties during unrest that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

"The whole world seemed to be upside down," Johnson said at his sentencing hearing. "Wrong was called right, or it was excused, and it just seemed to me the whole world went a bit crazy."

Johnson apologized for his role in the attack, especially for the trauma inflicted on lawmakers and Capitol employees and police.

"For me to be part of something that caused that pain and anguish that theyre going to have to deal with really causes me heartbreak, and Im really truly sorry," he told the judge.

Johnson does not currently have an attorney listed in the Iowa invasion of privacy case.

Capitol riots:Doug Jensen, Capitol rioter among first in building, sentenced to 5 years in prison

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: Jan. 6 riot defendant charged with spying on woman in tanning salon
Danny E. Martindale / Getty Images

A woman is suing Marilyn Manson, alleging he groomed and sexually assaulted her several times throughout the 1990s, including when she was a minor.

Manson used "his role, status, and power as an adult and performer in the music industry to gain access to, groom, manipulate, and exploit the Plaintiff, resulting in sexual assault in two separate incidents," the lawsuit states. The suit was filed Monday in New York's Nassau County Supreme Court.

Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, has previously been accused of abuse by at least 15 women , including Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood. Less than a week ago, he settled a lawsuit brought upon by Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco that accused him of rape and other acts of abuse brought upon by Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco . Manson previously denied wrongdoing , and the terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.

Manson's lawyer, Howard King, denied the woman's claims, alleging inconsistencies and discrepencies in her story throughout the years.

Brian Warner does not know this individual and has no recollection of ever having met her 28 years ago," King said in a statement. "He certainly was never intimate with her."

According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by BuzzFeed News, the Maryland woman  identified only as Jane Doe  was first assaulted by the musician in 1995 after one of his shows. Manson invited the then-16-year-old fan onto his tour bus, the complaint states, where he allegedly raped her while a member of his band watched.

"After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her," the complaint states. He then allegedly demanded she "get the fuck off of [his] bus" and said "if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family."

The lawsuit alleges that, days later, Jane Doe began taking drugs for the first time in her life, which began "an addiction with drugs and alcohol that continued for many years." Manson allegedly began calling the teenager a few weeks later and soliciting her for explicit photos.

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The filing alleges that, about three months after their first meeting and as a result of Manson's "encouragement and insistence," the 16-year-old traveled to see him in concert again in New Orleans, where she was given free tickets and a venue access pass and again taken onto Manson's tour bus after the show.

On the bus, Manson allegedly "groomed" the teenager "by complimenting her, playing with her hair, and looking at the photos and drawings she brought with her." He then "became more aggressive and again sexually assaulted" her, the lawsuit alleges.

In 1999, when she was 19, the plaintiff claims they reconnected with Manson, who was on tour at the time. Over the next four weeks, Manson allegedly "continued to groom and sexually assault" her, including coercing her into having sex with him or other band members, tightly controlling her every move, and giving her alcohol and drugs.

The lawsuit alleges Manson also emotionally abused her during this time, including ridiculing her in front of other young female fans. In some instances, he allegedly "called her racial slurs and called her fat." The lawsuit also claims Manson isolated Jane Doe from her family, "telling her that no one understands her other than him," after the young woman opened up to him about not feeling supported by her family.

The woman "had not recovered from the original childhood sexual assaults and grooming" by Manson, the lawsuit states, noting that she was still addicted to drugs and alcohol at that time and "was susceptible" to Manson's influence as a powerful celebrity. As a result, she "was lured into [Manson's] dark world of drugs, alcohol, sexual deviance, harassment, abuse and assault," the suit contends.

Manson isn't the only defendant in the lawsuit. His former labels, Interscope Records and the now-defunct Nothing Records, are also named, based on "information and belief" that they were aware of his "practice of sexually assaulting minors, and aided and abetted such behavior."

"Defendant Warners pedophilic obsessions and violent behaviors were not only known by Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records, but they were celebrated and promoted for their collective financial gain," the lawsuit states.

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Interscope, which owned the Nothing Records, for comment.

Attorney Karen Barth Menzies, who is representing the anonymous woman in Monday's lawsuit, told BuzzFeed News why Manson's labels were also being sued.

Sexual predators in the music industry dont act alone," she said in a statement. "It takes a network of people to aid and protect the artists who commit these heinous acts."

She continued, "In order for there to be meaningful changes in the music industry, we have to do more than just hold the predators accountable."
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  LSU guard Alexis Morris showcased her speed, shooting touch and veteran savvy, punishing Tennessee for its apparent preoccupation with dominant Tigers post player Angel Reese.

Morris scored a career-high 31 points, stirring a raucous sellout crowd with a series of clutch transition layups in the fourth quarter, and third-ranked LSU remained unbeaten with a 76-68 victory over Tennessee on Monday night.

I had to be the player to stay poised because Im experienced. Ive been here before," Morris said. I got my first few transition buckets and was like, OK, this is pretty easy. I might as well use it to my advantage. And that's what I did tonight, push it in transition and put the pressure on them.

Reese had 18 points and 17 rebounds for her program-record 21st straight double-double for LSU (21-0, 9-0 SEC). Reese's highlights included a transition layup while being fouled during a pivotal 11-0 run after the Lady Vols had pulled as close as 53-52 in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Walker scored 19 points and Rickea Jackson added 17 for Tennessee (16-8, 8-1), which has lost two straight, albeit to two top-five teams (No. 5 UConn being the other).

Jordan Horston scored 11 for Tennessee, which nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half before the Tigers' final surge kept the Lady Vols at arm's length in the final minutes.

It was competitive  got away from us there in the second half, Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. Obviously, Alexis Morris made some really, really tough shots and put up a lot of points.

Reese was held to just four points and four rebounds in the first half, when she was trying to avoid foul trouble. She ramped up her aggression after that.

With her, its really difficult to keep her completely off the boards," Harper said. With her length and her strength, she just has position early, and its really difficult because she has such a knack for the ball.

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LSU led by as many as nine in the first half after Last-Tear Poa's 3 made it 32-23 late in the second quarter.

Tennessee closed to 34-31 after Jackson scored inside to open the second half. But 3s by Jasmine Carson and Morris helped LSU start to pull away again. Morris' free throws ignited an 8-0 run, capped by Reeses driving layup that made it 48-34 in the middle of the third quarter.

Tennessee went more than four minutes without scoring before Jackson's layup made it 48-36.

Tennessee then began defending the entire length of the court. That disrupted the Tigers, who did not hit a field goal for the last 5:45 of the third, allowing Tennessee to pull to 50-47 on Puckett's 3 in the final minute of the period.

The Vols were as close as 53-52 after Jackson's free throw, but Morris responded with a driving leaner while being fouled for a three-point play. Soon after, Reese converted a steal into a transition layup as she was fouled. Morris then scored twice more in transition, sending the crowd, and LSU coach Kim Mulkey, into a triumphant frenzy.

Everybody in the SEC picked Tennessee to finish ahead of us," Mulkey noted. If Im a competitor, I take that as a challenge.

FULL HOUSE

The crowd of 15,157 was the largest since a 2005 renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Mulkey called the atmosphere in the arena everything young people need to experience in college.

Added Reese, a Maryland transfer, I've never been a part of this type of environment. ... To come to a school where they support women's basketball, sometimes even more than the men, is amazing and you don't see that very often.

Harper said it was so loud at times that it was really difficult to communicate with our team while the ball was in play.

Sometimes, Haper added, "it was hard to even communicate in the huddle.

BIG PICTURE

Tennessee: The Lady Vols continued to be a victim of their difficult schedule. They now have a half-dozen losses against ranked teams and most of those losing margins were single digits. ... Tennessee shot 8 of 19 from 3-point range to keep the game close, but were outperformed inside in the second half.

LSU: Led for all but a few minutes and always had a response for each Tennessee push. LSU outrebounded Tennessee 45-38, outscored the Lady Vols in the paint 38-30 and scored 23 points at the foul line to Tennessee's six.

UP NEXT

Tennessee: Hosts Mississippi on Thursday.

LSU: Hosts Georgia on Thursday.

___

AP womens college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll
A former New Jersey priest who was serving a life sentence in Massachusetts for raping a child has died, authorities said.

Romano Ferraro admitted during a Parole Board hearing to sexually abusing "numerous" children and has prompted lawsuits by alleged victims in New Jersey, New York, Missouri and Florida. He served in Catholic parishes in Middlesex County during the 1980s and was eventually removed from the priesthood in 2011.

Ferraro was "one of the most prolific priest pedophiles on the East Coast," according to the website of Adam Horowitz, an attorney representing a former altar boy who sued the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey.

Romano Ferraro, formerly a Catholic priest in New Jersey's Metuchen diocese, died while serving a life sentence for rape.

Advocates for clergy abuse survivors cite Ferraro as proof of the church's failure in New Jersey to live up to its promises of transparency about sexual assault. While he is included on lists of "credibly accused" priests issued by the Diocese of Brooklyn and Archdiocese of St. Louis, his name is absent from the list released by the Metuchen Diocese in 2019.

An investigation published Sunday by the USA Today Network New Jersey found that the state's five Catholic dioceses have been slow to update their accused-priest lists despite hundreds of new lawsuits and settlements since the documents were made public four years ago.

Ferraro "was a dangerous predator who abused young boys in every assignment he ever had," said Mark Crawford, the New Jersey director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "For years, church officials put children in harm's way. This is why institutions need to be held accountable."

Ferraro, 89, died on Jan. 21, according to Samantha Higgins, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Correction. He spent his final days at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit in Boston. The cause of death was not immediately available.

A jury convicted him in 2004 of sexually assaulting a Massachusetts boy repeatedly over a six-year span, starting when the boy was 7 years old, and sentenced him to life in prison.

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During a 2019 hearing, Ferraro estimated he had molested as many as 20 children and said he was "dreadfully sorry" for having assaulted so many, according to a Parole Board report. He described his actions as "terrible, morally sinful." The board denied his request for freedom the following year, saying it did not see enough signs of rehabilitation and did not consider his release "compatible with the welfare of society."

Middlesex churches

In New Jersey, Ferraro, who was ordained in 1960, served for a time at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church in Middlesex and at St. John Vianney in Woodbridge. In the lawsuit filed against the Metuchen Diocese, his accuser said the priest abused him for three years beginning in 1984, when he was an 11-year-old altar boy.

See the list: Abuse survivors say Catholic Church has failed to disclose hundreds of cases in NJ

More:Sexually abusive priest sent to Diocese of Metuchen under McCarrick's watch

The suit alleged that officials in the Brooklyn and Metuchen dioceses knew Ferraro had a history of abuse allegations but did nothing about it, instead transferring the priest from one parish to another.

The suit was eventually settled out of court.

Reached last week, Philip Guecia, whom Ferraro assaulted in the Massachusetts case, said the death stirred complex emotions.

"Does the fact that he died in prison change anything? Has anything changed? Has the Catholic Church changed?" Guecia, who now lives in Maine, asked in an interview. "His death didnt change my life. His abuse changed my life." Now 56, Guecia has gone on to marry and have a family of his own. "I hope more people come forward to tell their stories," he said. "The truth matters.

The former altar boy who sued the Metuchen Diocese is now 47 and living in Hudson County. Of Ferraro, he said, "He's gone now, but the damage he brought doesn't go away with his death.

"I don't know if happy is the right word, maybe relieved that he finally is gone," said the man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Brian. "Unfortunately, I'm just as broken as I was yesterday. He did a lot of damage to a lot of people."

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

Twitter: @deenayellin

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Romano Ferraro sexual misconduct case: Priest dead in Massachusetts
North Dakota lawmakers are on the path to force survivors of rape to carry their pregnancies to term with the introduction of Senate Bill 2150. The bill intends to ban nearly all abortions in North Dakota with a narrow rape exception that fails to understand the basics of pregnancy.

As the bill is currently written, abortions are permissible in cases of rape IF the probable postfertilization age is six weeks or less. Due to the complexities of menstruation and gestation, most people dont know theyre pregnant by six weeks. This is especially true for someone who has recently experienced significant trauma.

In addition, use of the word postfertilization prompted a doctor at the bills hearing to seek clarity because they had never encountered that term in medical training or medical practice and have never used it in patient counseling or medical decision making. Should lawmakers who lack a basic understanding of pregnancy be writing laws that regulate it?

Survivors of sexual assault already had their lives forcibly altered  and instead of protecting these people, North Dakota anti-abortion lawmakers are further taking away survivors' control of their bodies and futures. Did these lawmakers work with our states sexual violence crisis centers to understand the importance of bodily autonomy when healing from trauma?

Rather than further traumatizing survivors of sexual assault, we need to protect and support them by providing medically accurate, comprehensive reproductive health care. People should have the fundamental right to control their own body and health care decisions. Urge your legislators to vote NO on SB 2150.

Kylie Oversen, Fargo
Arizona voters want a fuller picture of who is funding campaign ads.

The dark money apologists are at it once again.

They have been relentlessly attacking Proposition 211, and this attack on our new transparency statute comes in an op-ed in The Arizona Republic (Why disclosing dark money donations actually hurts your freedom of speech) claiming that disclosure actually hurts your freedom of speech.

Arizona voters disagree. Seventy-two percent of the vote in November affirmed the belief that disclosure of the original source of money spent on political campaign ads actually enhances the right to vote.

Obviously, a win of this size means that Arizonans of all parties and political beliefs support disclosing the real sponsor behind campaign ads. The new Arizona statute ensures that voters arent deceived any longer by special interests hiding behind front groups.

New law targets spending on campaign ads

Dark money effectively separated the actual source of the cash paying for political campaign ads from any responsibility for what the ad said. When lies and deception are spoken without proper attribution, responsible behavior and accountability fly out the window.

In November, Arizona voters approved their right to know the original source of campaign funds  the real source, not some name made up to hide the real sponsors. Knowing the sponsor is important to understanding the message.

Another view:Dark money overlords want to overturn voters

For example, groups opposing Proposition 211 tend to be funded by dark money and want to protect their franchise. Now that you know this  doesnt it change your perception of their argument? The fervent desire to protect free speech for all might suddenly look like lets protect dark money so we can pay our bills.

Contrary to the op-ed, Arizonas new statute was carefully targeted to require disclosure of the original source of only those funds spent on campaign ads  provided that high thresholds are reached: The contribution must be more than $5,000 and the receiving organizations total spending for political advertising must be more than $50,000 for state campaigns or $25,000 for local.

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Moreover, donors who dont want their names connected to certain causes can simply tell the big spenders not to use their donations for election ads. The spender can use the money for other purposes, including issue advocacy of importance to the donor.

Dark money has burned Arizona before

For many years, everyone in Arizona making a campaign contribution more than $50 had to disclose their name, home address and employer. Yet none of the horrible results imagined by the op-ed author have materialized.

Still, he prefers to ignore the 99% of political contributors who have been disclosing their identity without incident and focus on the less than 1% who want to continue hiding their identity so they can keep pouring tens of millions of dollars into Arizona elections without revealing who they are.

Arizonans been burned by dark money before. A painful example was in 2014 when Arizona Public Service used corporate funds to secretly support two candidates for the Corporation Commission. When those candidates were elected, they voted for a large rate increase. It was five years before the true source of more than $10 million in campaign funds was revealed.

Arizona consumers paid a high price for not knowing the source of the advertising money before the election when they could have voted to protect themselves. In the interest of fairness, we should note that before the passage of Proposition 211, APS renounced the use of dark money.

Contrary to the op-ed arguments, Proposition 211 surgically focuses on disclosing large political contributions, knowingly given to be spent on media campaign ads, and nothing else.

Constitution offers no 'right to hide'

The Supreme Court has consistently upheld this kind of disclosure because its benefits for democracy far outweigh any burdens. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the majority opinion in Citizens United, concluded that even if disclosure in some way chilled a speaker, it did not violate the First Amendment.

In short, our Constitution provides no right to hide from disclosure if you are a big political contributor.

The most eloquent defense of disclosure are the words of former Justice Antonin Scalia, who considered the possibility that disclosed donors might be criticized for their action and concluded:

There are laws against threats and intimidation; and harsh criticism, short of unlawful action, is a price our people have traditionally been willing to pay for self-governance. Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed.

For my part, I do not look forward to a society which, thanks to the Supreme Court, campaigns anonymously  hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism. This does not resemble the Home of the Brave.

Terry Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general and former Phoenix mayor; and David Tedesco, chief executive officer of Outlier, an Arizona based conglomerate; are co-chairs of Voters Right to Know (Yes on Prop 211). Share your thoughts at info@stopdarkmoney.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona voters deserve to know who paid for that campaign ad
The operatives running former President Donald Trumps cash-flush super PAC met quietly in December to sketch out their lines of attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other potential GOP rivals  the latest indication that the slow-burning 2024 primary is beginning to intensify.

During the meeting, which was held in an Alexandria, Va. office and led by Trump lieutenants Taylor Budowich and Tony Fabrizio, the group pored over confidential polling, went over legal and communications strategies and laid out a six-month plan for the race. That plan included an opposition research initiative targeting DeSantis and other possible candidates.

The early planning foreshadows a coming battle between Trump and his would-be rivals. Trump, who bent the party to his will as president, is intensely focused on batting down anyone who challenge him. Thats especially true of DeSantis, whom the former president, over the weekend, derided as disloyal, while also attacking his early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump also appeared to tweak Nikki Haley, who is exploring a run after having served as his U.N. ambassador, by noting that she had previously said she wouldnt run against him.

Now, Trumps political apparatus is preparing to follow suit with its own offensive.

Over the next several weeks, the super PACs officials are expected to travel to the four early nominating states  Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada  to test out possible lines of attack against DeSantis and a handful of other potential rivals before focus groups. The Trump-aligned organization, MAGA, Inc., has begun drafting messages that could be used to undercut opponents, which it says are based on extensive opposition research.



While the super PACs early focus has largely been on DeSantis, officials say its research effort has been expanded to include other prospective candidates. And those involved are not ruling out the possibility of airing early ads targeting Trumps opponents, potentially before the end of March. The super PAC has hired a media buyer and has begun looking into the cost of running commercials in early primary states, according to a person familiar with the groups activities. It is also expected to set up a war room based in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Trumps campaign has also set up its headquarters in West Palm Beach, near where the former presidents Mar-a-Lago estate is located.)

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Budowich, who heads the pro-Trump super PAC, did not specify an exact date for when the group would start airing ads. In a statement, he said that MAGA Inc., through deep opposition research, tested messages, and a significant war chest, is building a GOP primary guillotine that will welcome every challenger with swift and decisive force.

A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But on Tuesday, the governor took a rare swing at Trump, arguing that his landslide reelection win this past November in Florida showed that voters approved of his light-touch approach to handling the pandemic.



The good thing is, is that the people are able to render a judgment on that whether they reelect you or not, DeSantis told reporters during a press conference when asked about Trumps recent attacks. And Im happy to say  you know in my case  not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has had in the history of the state of Florida. ... That verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida.

With polls showing Trump and DeSantis leading the field in the early-voting states, some people in the former presidents orbit have privately expressed a desire for Trumps super PAC to begin going after the Florida governor.



The group has substantial resources at its disposal: Fundraising efforts did not begin until 2023, but upon its launch last year, MAGA Inc. was seeded with $55 million, much of it transferred from Trumps political action committee, Save America. (Super PAC officials downplayed expectations for a campaign finance report due Tuesday evening, which will cover fundraising for the final weeks of 2022.)

Now, the super PAC is looking to build its war chest further, and it is planning to hold its first fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 23. Organizers are describing the event as a candlelight dinner, that will be attended by the former president. The super PAC has brought on Meredith ORourke, a veteran Republican fundraiser, to oversee its finance efforts and has begun hiring a team of regional fundraisers.

Raising major funds, however, may not prove easy for Trump. Some of Trumps top donors from 2020, such as hedge fund executive Stephen Schwarzman, have expressed a desire to move on from the former president. Others have also been supportive of DeSantis.

And some big donors appear likely to sit out the 2024 GOP primary entirely. Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson who has recently dined with Trump and was his biggest financial supporter in 2020, has made clear she has no plans to get involved in the nominating fight.
Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine  The city of Bakhmut was home to around 70,000 people before it found itself on the front line of Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war to seize Ukrainian territory. Almost 12 months of war have left Bakhmut barely recognizable.

Once renowned for sparkling wine, the small city has been reduced to a hollowed-out shell of its former self. But Bakhmut, and the Ukrainian forces defending it, have hung on. "Bakhmut holds" has even become a battle cry for the nation as it fights back against the Russian invaders. But it's only just holding on.

Biden says U.S. won't provide Ukraine with F-16s

Even a quick trip to see the central square must be undertaken with one eye on the clock, and the other vigilantly surveilling the sky. The barrage of artillery fire is constant. The sound of shells, incoming and outgoing, fills the air, punctuated by bursts of small arms fire.

A CBS News team walks down a street strewn with debris in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, amid Russia's ongoing invasion, in late January 2023. / Credit: CBS News

The city is absolutely decimated and all but deserted, though CBS News did see a few civilians, astoundingly still trying to eke out a living amid the rubble and ruin.

Seva Kozhemyako, founder and commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Khartia Battalion, and his men are among the forces battling to keep Russia from seizing what little remains of Bakhmut.

It has been one of the most fiercely contested and bloody battles of the war, and as the thunder of artillery continued, Kozhemyako ushered CBS News quickly underground into one of the bunkers from which much of it has been directed.

While the trench warfare along a front line that stretches hundreds of miles from north to south Ukraine looks like something from the battlefields of Europe 100 years ago, Ukraine's fight to hold onto Bakhmut is being waged from high-tech underground command centers.

Seva Kozhemyako, founder and commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Khartia Battalion, leads CBS News' Debora Patta into an underground bunker in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, where volunteers monitor screens showing video live-streaming in from drones across the front line. / Credit: CBS News

Inside Kozhemyako's bunker, a small army of volunteer tech warriors  many of them gamers and IT nerds in their pre-war life  carefully monitored screens showing video being live-streamed straight from the front line.

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A fleet of inexpensive drones revealed the landscape in astounding detail, from slain Russian soldiers, to fields pockmarked by shells and shattered civilian homes caught up in the battle.

One drone watched recently as Russian troops crawled into a back yard to try to escape a Ukrainian grenade. Often the drones capture images of seemingly helpless Russian forces huddling in trenches before a grenade falls on them. Such clips have spread far and wide on social media in recent months  valuable propaganda for Ukraine and its supporters.

An image captured by a Ukrainian drone shows a Russian soldier peering up at the sky from a trench on the front line near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, moments before a grenade lands in the trench, in late January 2023. / Credit: Handout/Ukrainian Armed Forces

The videos paint a stark picture: Men dying in World War One-style trenches as they come up against 21st-century electronic warfare.

"They monitor the videos, as soon as they see the enemy there, or the tanks, they just start to shoot," Kozhemyako said of the tech team's coordination with troops on the front line.

"We are observing all the movements of the enemy with the help of drones," said Oleksander Pyvenko, commander of the Ukrainian National Guard's 3rd National Brigade.

Ukrainian forces exchange small arms fire with Russian troops from a trench on the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut, in late January 2023. / Credit: CBS News

Pyvenko said the real-time information is used primarily "to support artillery  we see the advances of the enemy and destroy them."

The biggest challenge is detecting Russian incursions before it's too late.

"It can be at night, can be during the day," said Pyvenko, but detecting enemy movements and warning ground forces about them is saving Ukrainian lives.

Gains along the front line just east of Bakhmut, where Russian forces are dug in, have been counted in inches. Russia has thrown wave after wave of soldiers and mercenaries at the fight. Many of them were recently prisoners, lured into the private army of the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group. If they survive, they're promised their freedom.

U.S. labels Russian Wagner Group an criminal organization

Ukrainian forces told CBS News the Russian men are being treated like meat.

Anton Zadorozhyni, battle commander of the Ukrainian National Guard's 3rd Operative Battalion, said that for Russia's forces, there's no option to retreat.

"They are forced to advance over the bodies of their fallen soldiers. One group is destroyed, new ones come over and over," he said. "At night they collect the bodies."

Ukrainian forces rest in a bunker on the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country in late January 2023. / Credit: CBS News

The Ukrainian forces holding the front line, using the intelligence that comes from tech bunkers, sleep, eat and fight in shifts, right around the clock.

They know that while Russian forces have been killed in staggering numbers trying to take the small city, more will come, and more will die, on both sides.

For the time being, however, from the bunker to the blood-soaked battlefields just a few blocks away, Bakhmut holds.

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Wells Fargo & Co. at 4800 West Wabash Avenue in Springfield

The nation's third-largest bank has laid off 140 employees in Springfield.

Wells Fargo & Co. notified the employees in its home lending division of the layoffs on Jan. 11, a spokeswoman with the bank in Houston said.

All of the employees were part of Wells Fargo's correspondent business, which purchases loans originated by other financial institutions, said Tymika Morrison, a communications consultant for the bank.

In an 'unprecedented position,' city geared to spend on public safety enhancements, equipment

"We have communicated openly and honestly with impacted employees and provided severance, career assistance and other services to assist them," Morrison said.

Most of the employees worked at the facility at 4800 West Wabash Avenue.

While Wells Fargo doesn't have branch banks in the Springfield area, there are other employees mostly in the consumer lending division, Morrison said.

The plans to exit the correspondent business have been in the works for several years, with an eye on creating a more focused home lending business aimed at serving bank customers, as well as individuals and families in minority communities, according to Wells Fargo.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity was apprised of the Springfield layoffs.

The layoffs, said Ryan McCrady, president & chief executive of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, will happen through the end of the third quarter of the year, Sept. 30.

"These things happen from time to time," McCrady said. "They're never pleasant when they happen, but the good news is that the affected individuals will be working closely with Sarah Graham and her team at the Illinois WorkNet Center. They're very skilled at helping those individuals find new places of employment.

"Financial services, professional services, back office duties are in high demand here, so I'm very optimistic they'll be able to re-employ."

McCrady said the decision had nothing to do with Springfield as a community.

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"We're blessed to have very large businesses that are present here in Springfield," he said. "One of the things that come with that is that they're subject to national and global economic pressures that cause them to have to make decisions that may impact us locally, but it's not an indication or any sign they don't like Springfield. It's a corporate-wide decision that happened to impact Springfield."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Wells Fargo has laid off 140 in Springfield home lending division
The actor was best known for portraying the assassin and ex-convict Leonard Kone in the Netflix drama.

Adama Niane, the French actor best known for his work on Netflixs Lupin, has died.

He was 56.

A cause of death has not yet been revealed, according to Deadline.

Omar Sywho stars in the titular role as gentleman thief Assane Diop and takes inspiration from the classic French character Arsene Lupinled the tributes for his late co-star.

I extend my deep condolences to the loved ones of Adama Niane, an immense actor alongside whom I had the chance and the pleasure of playing, he wrote in French on Twitter.

A man of rare benevolence May his soul rest in peace, he concluded.

Film director Olivier Abbou also mourned the actor and colleague in a tribute on Instagram, noting, It is with immense sadness that I learned of the passing of Adam Niane, with whom I had the pleasure of working on the 2 seasons of Maroni and Fury.

We haven't left each other for 4 years, sharing intense human and artistic adventures at the end of the world, Guyana, St Pierre and Miquelon and even Lille, he wrote, adding, He was engaged, lit, whole, talented, powerful. He was my hero, a friend, and an accomplice. Go in peace.

Niane is best known for portraying the assassin and ex-convict Leonard Kone in the Netflix mystery drama, based on the novels by Maurice LeBlanc.

According to IMDB, his final acting credit was in 2022s limited series Lile aux 30 cercueils starring as Yannick Lantry.

His other work included roles on TV projects like Alex Hugo, Inhuman Resources, and Troubled Waters.

Earlier this weekend, actress Annie Wersching, known for roles in shows like 24, Timeless, Runaways, The Vampire Diaries, and Bosch, died at the age of 45.
Baidu, China's top search engine provider and robotaxi developer, is apparently working on its own counterpart to ChatGPT. The news, first reported by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, sent Baidu's stock price rising on Monday to reach its highest point since September.

A spokesperson for Baidu declined to comment on the reports. But it wouldn't be surprising that Baidu, which bills itself as the pioneer in China's artificial intelligence field, is stepping up to build the Chinese equivalent of today's most powerful chatbot. The question is how big a difference the tool can make, and where its limitations lie.

A driving force shaping China's tech development over the past few years is the rise of digital sovereignty, which refers to a country's ability to control its own "digital destiny" and can include autonomy in critical software and hardware in the AI supply chain. Episodes of U.S. export bans on China have pushed Beijing to further call for tech independence in areas ranging from semiconductors to basic research on AI.

As OpenAI's ChatGPT shows the potential to disrupt sectors from education and news to the service industry, China's tech leaders and policymakers are likely pondering how AI can also be used to drive productivity at home. China naturally wants its homegrown ChatGPTs, not just to secure control over how data flows through such tools but also to create AI products that better understand local culture and politics.

Slated to debut in March, Baidu's conversational robot will first be integrated into the firm's search engine, according to The Wall Street Journal. That suggests the chatbot will mostly generate results in Chinese. Nonetheless, the deep learning model is trained on both Chinese and English data sources, including information gleaned outside the Great Firewall, the country's elaborate internet censorship infrastructure.

That's where things get interesting. Like all other channels of information in China, the Baidu chatbot will no doubt be subject to local regulations and censorship rules. As we wrote earlier, the firm's text-to-image application, ERNIE-VilG, already rejects politically sensitive prompts. But conversational AI handles much more complex inquiries than image generators -- how will Baidu walk the line between censorship confinement and leaving enough freedom and creativity to its bot?

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Also important to machine learning performance is the undergirding algorithms. According to The Wall Street Journal, Baidu adapted a "core breakthrough" that Google developed in 2017 and open-sourced, an algorithm that has also powered ChatGPT. Most likely, though, there are other key pieces of proprietary algorithms that Baidu has acquired or developed to form the backbone of its chatbot.

Hardware plays another important role in training large-scale neural networks. U.S. chip sanctions against China are posing a threat to China's AI industry as companies lose access to advanced semiconductors that power supercomputers and large data centers.

Baidu, however, believes the chip ban has a "limited" effect on its AI business, as we reported. In the near term, the company "already stocked enough [chips] in hand." As for the future, Baidu is counting on its Kunlun AI chip developed in-house to drive high-performance computing. Alternatively, it could work on increasing the efficiency of its algorithms to take some work off the hardware.

Lastly, the success of Baidu's ChatGPT alternative depends in part on continuous data training through user feedback, such as giving a thumb-up or -down to the machine's responses. In other words, the more people using it, the better the AI assistant understands how to respond to humans.

Ella Zhang, founder and CEO of text-to-image startup IMGCreator (who previously was working on AI-generated fashion models), reckons that Chinese-language chatbots "might not see the same strong demand yet as English ones because China still enjoys relatively cheap labor." So instead of subscribing to expensive AI software and finetuning it to carry out customer service tasks, a Chinese company might simply hire a team of human staff for affordability and convenience. Things might change in a few years, though, as China gradually loses its labor advantage in a new era of negative population growth.
AUSTIN, Texas  Die-hard transparency advocates are expressing guarded optimism that the scandals over sensitive documents found at the homes of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence could spur action to fight a long-running problem  arbitrary and excessive secrecy around government records.

One sign of potential opportunity: The high-profile political and legal imbroglios have prompted the typically nerdy debate over government secrecy and overclassification to spill into pop culture.

Even Saturday Night Live has gotten in on the act, noting during its opening skit over the weekend that once-daunting markings like Top Secret seem to have lost their luster.

Some have said the federal government classifies too many documents  about 50 million a year, comic Mikey Day declared, impersonating Attorney General Merrick Garland. This has led some to ask: Does recovering these documents even matter?

Those questions were front and center as a motley band of former senior intelligence officials, historians, archivists, journalists, open-government activists and even UFO researchers gathered at the University of Texas last week to assess the possibilities that the newfound attention to the issue could provided the impetus needed to rein in the national security classification system.

We were a bit worried wed be talking to ourselves, but I think things have changed a bit, said Ezra Cohen, a former senior intelligence official appointed by Trump to an obscure panel that wrestles with issues of classification and transparency, the Public Interest Declassification Board. Theres things going on in the news that, hopefully, will be another watershed moment to get a lot of these kinds of systematic reforms to the classification system across the finish line.

PIDB member Carter Burwell, former chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), told the attendees: Were grateful that youre interested in classified information now.

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Cornyn also turned out to speak to the group, lamented the excesses of the current system for classification and expressed hope that more focus on the issue could inspire changes.

This could not be a more timely discussion, given everything thats going on, Cornyn said on Friday. But it also, I think, perhaps will lead to what I consider to be some important debates and discussions and potential reforms of the classification system.



The Texas Republican also offered some theories about why documents with classification markings showed up at Trumps Florida home, Bidens Delaware home and a think tank office he used in Washington, and Pences home in Indiana.

Garland has appointed separate special counsels to investigate the stashes of hundreds of sensitive documents at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate and what appear to be a smaller batch of such records discovered at Bidens residence. Justice Department investigators appear to be handling the handful of potentially classified documents found at Pences home, at least for now.



Cornyn, who joined the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017, said the wayward presidential records might stem from the dubious sensitivity of many classified briefings. That has led many in Washington to question the legitimacy of the classifications that intelligence agencies apply to their work, he said.

One of the reasons why perhaps people become lackadaisical and less than vigilant in protecting classified information is the experience of most members of Congress when you go  get briefed [in a] secure facility on whatever it is the administration wants to brief you on and you come out of there saying, I could have watched cable news and read the newspaper as much as they were willing to tell me, the senator said. And so, they think, Well, this is not that big a deal. You say its secret, but this is not a secret. Its open source stuff.  But I think thats part of why we find ourselves in the strange place we are today.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines traveled to Texas to speak at the conference and bemoaned the overclassification problem. She said it had grown so severe that it was an obstacle not only to public accountability, but also to information-sharing within the government and with allies in desperate need of U.S. intelligence, like Ukraine.

Im just uniquely qualified as a consequence of my position, I think, to make the case for how overclassification can negatively impact national security, particularly given the current threat landscape, Haines told the event organized by the University of Texas Clements Center for National Security. Not only is this an important issue for our democracy; it is also critical to our national security.

There are signs that some in Congress may be tuning in. The new chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) have agreed to work together on legislation to create a new layer of oversight, potentially through the National Archives, over the process for separating a presidents personal and political records from official ones at the end of a presidency.



We have to reform the way that documents are boxed up when they leave the president and vice presidents office and follow them into the private sector, Comer said on Monday at an event at the National Press Club in Washington. This is something I think will be a bipartisan legislative fix.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, questioned whether the Archives should have someone be there at the very beginning saying before you take anything out of here, were going to look at it and give you a yay or nay.

We obviously have a problem in our system, he added. When are we going to talk about that? Thats where I am.

A drive to go even further and tackle overclassification could draw together strange bedfellows. Such a move would be a logical part of a broader GOP effort to assert legislative prerogatives against the executive branch. And some Democrats who harbor longstanding doubts about the intelligence community could welcome greater sunlight on its work.

Further reforms to the classification process could become part of what many in Congress and the national security community regard as a must-pass piece of legislation that is expected to work its way through the House and Senate this year: an extension of surveillance authority known as Section 702, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to tap into email, social media and other U.S.-based tech providers to monitor foreigners suspected of terrorism, ties to foreign governments and for other reasons.

Many Republicans are already looking for greater assurances that Americans arent targeted by U.S. intelligence agencies, but Cornyn suggested some reforms to the classification system could also be part of such a package.

We can have part of a larger conversation  that 702 can be a piece of  to provide some reassurance that were being responsive to concerns that have been raised, Cornyn said.



Still, the odds of major changes being enacted seem long given that national security officials, lawmakers and academics have been lamenting the problem for more than 60 years and that during that time it has, by all accounts, only grown worse.

A Defense Department committee set up to tackle the issue in 1956, during President Dwight Eisenhowers first term, said overclassification had reached serious proportions and recommended an overhaul. The use of even Top Secret has gone far beyond that contemplated, the group wrote.

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) took up the crusade again during the 1980s and 1990s, launching a higher-profile commission that warned government secrecy was getting out of control, spurring conspiracy theories and fetishization of all things classified.

In a culture of secrecy, that which is not secret is easily disregarded or dismissed, Moynihan declared as he slammed intelligence agencies. A culture of openness will never develop within government until the present culture of secrecy is restrained by statute.  The culture of secrecy in place in the Federal Government will moderate only if there comes about a counterculture of openness; a climate which simply assumes that secrecy is not the starting place.

Congress has never passed a law comprehensively addressing classification. Indeed, legislation alone probably wont do the trick. Questions about classification are wrapped up in unresolved constitutional issues about presidents executive powers, so any laws passed on the have to step gingerly around claimed presidential prerogatives or could face opposition from the White House.

For decades, national security secrets have been regulated by presidential executive orders. One that President Barack Obama issued in 2009 was never changed and remains in effect today, over 13 years later.

As Obamas presidency wound down in 2016, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper floated a modest reform: eliminating the Confidential classification, the lowest of three major tiers of secrets. The proposal was never implemented.



While Trump often railed against classification of what he said amounted to evidence of misconduct by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and as he battled with the so-called Deep State to wield his presidential prerogative to force disclosures, neither he nor his aides managed to implement significant reforms to the classification bureaucracy.

The bipartisan nature of the current scandals could make it easier to advance changes that limit the number of classified records and force disclosure of more secrets sooner.

Democrats have historically been skeptical about the actions of intelligence agencies, although many lawmakers on the left rallied to the side of those agencies in the face of Trumps claims that he was unfairly scrutinized. Republicans who have been trusting of the intelligence community and law enforcement often grew more questioning during the Trump years.

Still, in the current political climate, the possibilities for partisanship to disrupt a coalition seeking reform abound. For example, if criminal charges are filed against Trump over the recovered documents or his actions related to them, the heat around the issue would likely grow so intense that any reform would be derailed. (Biden is unlikely to face charges regardless of what investigators find. Longstanding Justice Department legal opinions preclude criminal charges against a sitting president.)

In her remarks in Austin, Haines underscored the urgency of reform to the handling of government secrets. And she praised those pressing for sweeping changes, notwithstanding the dusty stack of government reports that have piled up over the issue for half a century, while never managing to prompt action.

The fact that you are here is a testament to your capacity to fight cynicism on this issue, she declared.

Jordain Carney, Olivia Beavers and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
MSNBCs Chris Hayes on Monday took to task the Republican lawmakers and Fox News personalities who pushed dangerously false smears about Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was hospitalized in October following an attack in his own home.

Hayes, the host of All In, noted how police body camera video of the brutal assault released Friday debunked once and for all the misinformation, disinformation and outright scurrilous nonsense surrounding the attack that was peddled by GOP politicians and on conservative media.

Among the worst culprits? Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), failed GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Fox News prime-time anchor Tucker Carlson.

Hayes noted how theres been no big mea culpas.

There is no fact in the world thats going to course-correct here, that didnt deter Fox from pushing its same smears, he said. Theyre still doing it with the video, in fact, because the facts, reality itself, dont actually matter. Thats just ancillary.

I mean, of course, they knew it was all nonsense from the beginning. Well, I dont know. I think most of them. Some of them are not that bright. But they just dont care, Hayes added.

Watch the video here:

Related...
I'll never forget that time a wombat named Maggie climbed into my lap for cuddles at the Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne, Australia. I've been in love with wombats ever since, they're sweet and funny creatures, and I'm lucky enough to have spent time with one.

But maybe not quite as lucky as this wombat featured in a recent Facebook video by 9 News Melbourne, though. It was stranded on a stump in the middle of Lake Mulwala in New South Wales, but luckily was rescued by a wildlife expert and brought to safety. 9 News Melbourne explains:

The wombat was spotted by a family while fishing on Sunday, who then alerted Dutch Thunder Wildlife Shelter to assist the animal, which was stuck around half a kilometre from shore. Despite some minor wounds, the wombat is now doing well and will be released in the near future.

So happy to hear that the wombat's ok!
Alex Murdaugh with his attorneys at his murder trial (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

Legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in a South Carolina courtroom for the brutal double murder of his wife and adult son.

Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, were both shot dead at the familys sprawling 1,700-acre property in Islandton, South Carolina, on the night of 7 June 2021.

Mr Murdaugh, 54, claimed that he returned home from visiting his elderly mother to find the victims bodies at the dog kennels on the land.

No arrests were made for more than a year, until  in July 2022  Mr Murdaugh was charged with their murders.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract from the growing number of scandals and crimes swirling around him.

Its a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaughs trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

Prosecutors opening statement reveals Snapchat video will be key to trial

Opening arguments kicked off the trial on 25 January, with the prosecution telling jurors that cellphone records and a Snapchat video taken by Paul minutes before he died are critical in proving Mr Murdaughs guilt.

Attorney Creighton Waters gave a timeline for the murders, saying that Paul was shot at the dog kennels first at 8.50pm and Maggie minutes later.

Cellphone records allegedly place Mr Murdaugh at the dog kennels minutes earlier  when the suspect had told everyone he was never there.

Mr Waters also described a video Paul made at the kennels minutes before his murder as he was filming a dog to send to a friend. According to the prosecution, three voices  Paul, Maggie and Mr Murdaugh  can be heard.

Other evidence the prosecution promised to show jurors included gunshot residue found in both Mr Murdaughs car, on him and on a raincoat that he allegedly left at his parents home a week after the murders.

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Defence details horror injuries of victims in opening statement

In the defences opening statement, Mr Murdaugh was seen breaking down in tears as his attorney Dick Harpootlian described the fatal shot which killed his son Paul, saying it exploded his brain, like a watermelon.

Mr Murdaugh then arrived home and found his sons brains by his feet, he said.

Mr Harpootlian insisted Mr Murdaugh is an innocent man, saying that jurors will see a Snapchat of him and Paul happily spending father-and-son time together less than two hours before the murders.

Paul, the apple of his eye. You are going to see a video from the night of the murders of Paul and Alex riding around looking at trees they planted, a Snapchat sent to other people. They were laughing, having a good time, he said.

He also argued that cellphone records from that night are incomplete and that Maggies phone was thrown on the side of a road halfa mile from the family estate at the same time that Mr Murdaugh was at the property.

The suspect would have to be Houdini to be in both places, he said.

Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh left to right (Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook)

Murdaugh immediately told police murders were tied to 2019 boat crash

Mr Murdaugh immediately suggested that his wife and son had been murdered because of a 2019 fatal boat crash as soon as the first law enforcement officer arrived on the scene of the grisly slayings, bodycam footage played in court revealed.

In the footage, taken from the bodyworn camera of Colleton County Sheriffs Sgt Daniel Greene when he was the first officer to respond to the scene, Mr Murdaugh says he believes the murders are connected to the boating incident.

This is a long story. My son was in a boat wreck, Mr Murdaugh says. I know thats what this is.

At the time of Pauls death, he was awaiting trial over the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

Paul was allegedly drunk driving a boat of his friends including Beach in 2019 when it crashed and they were thrown overboard. The rest of the group survived but Beachs body washed up days later.

Paul was charged with boating under the influence and faced up to 25 years in prison.

Mr Murdaugh is also heard mentioning the boat crash in the 911 call alerting law enforcement to the scene and in his first interview with law enforcement on the night of the murders.

Suspect shed no tears after finding wife and sons bodies

Colleton County Sheriffs Office Sgt Daniel Greene testified that Mr Murdaugh appeared to shed no tears after he claimed to have found his wife and sons bodies.

Sgt Greene told the court that Mr Murdaugh seemed upset and repeatedly asked if his wife and son were dead but did not appear to have any physical tears in his eyes.

Did you ever see any physical tears? the prosecutor asked.

I did not, the officer said.

As bodycam footage from the night of the murders was played in court, Mr Murdaugh was seen breaking down in tears.

Bodycam shows Murdaughs clean shirt after claiming to touch bloody bodies

Bodycam footage from the night of the murders revealed Mr Murdaugh wearing a clean white shirt after he claimed he touched his wife and sons bloodied bodies on finding them shot dead.

In the footage, Mr Murdaugh is dressed in a white T-shirt and dark shorts with no obvious signs of blood.

During courtroom testimony, multiple law enforcement officials described how Mr Murdaugh was clean and did not appear to have any blood on him when they arrived on the scene of the murders.

Alex Murdaugh seen in bodycam footage on the scene of the murders (Colleton County Court)

Yet, according to the 911 call made by Mr Murdaugh and bodycam footage from his first police interview on the night of the murders, Mr Murdaugh claims he touched his wife and sons bodies when he found them by the kennels.

In the interview footage, he is heard telling law enforcement twice that he tried to turn over his sons bloodied body and that he had checked him and his wife for pulses.

I could see his brain ... I ran over to Maggie, actually I think I tried to turn Paul over first... um... you know, I tried to turn him over, I dunno, I figured it out, he is heard saying.

Mr Murdaugh said that his sons cellphone fell from his pocket when he tried to move him and that he handled it briefly.

His cell phone popped out of his pocket, I started trying to do something with it but I put it back down really quickly, and then I went to my wife, he says.

Detective Laura Rutland of Colleton County Sheriffs Office contradicted his version of events as she said that Mr Murdaugh was clean from head to toe with no signs of blood on his body, shirt, shorts or shoes.

She said she didnt say where he checked for a pulse but, in a gripping reenactment, agreed that if Mr Murdaugh had touched pulse points on Pauls neck or wrists he would have been covered in blood.

As jurors have previously heard, the crime scene was especially violent and bloody, with Pauls brain shot out of his skull and both he and Maggie lying in pools of their own blood.

Crime scene photos show blood on the floor of the dog feed house (Law & Crime)

911 call played at trial

The unredacted 911 call placed by Mr Murdaugh on the night of the murders.

In the dramatic audio, Mr Murdaugh cries and and sobs down the phone as he tells the dispatcher its bad and my wife and child have been shot badly.

He also the dispatcher about the 2019 boat crash involving Paul, saying that the 22-year-old had been getting threats for months and months and months.

The attorney then says he is going back to his house to get a gun just in case. When officers arrived on the scene, Mr Murdaugh had a shotgun which he handed over.

Murdaugh tells wild story about Black Panthers

Alex Murdaugh recounted a wild story about a farmhand claiming to kill radical Black Panthers when he was interviewed by law enforcement on the night of the double murder of his wife and son.

In footage of the interview, Mr Murdaugh says he cant think of anyone overly suspicious who could be responsible for the murders but suggests law enforcement speak to a farmhand he had recently hired to work at the 1,700-acre estate.

Mr Murdaugh claims that the man had told Paul a really weird story just one week before the murders.

He told Paul a story the other day of how when he was in high school he got in a fight with some Black guys and an FBI undercover teams observed him fighting those guys, he says. And they put him on an undercover team with three Navy Seals and their job was to kill radical Black Panthers.

He adds: Paul was so taken aback by it that he recorded it on his phone.

Mr Murdaugh tells the officers that Paul had been working with him a lot and the story was really weird.

However, he adds that he doesnt believe the man could be behind the murders, saying that its such a stupid that he was embarrassed to even bring it up.

Speculation over whether Murdaugh accidentally confessed

Audio from Alex Murdaughs second interview with law enforcement was played in court on 30 January, revealing that the disgraced legal dynasty heir may have unwittingly slipped up and confessed to the murders of his wife and son.

I did him so bad, a sobbing Mr Murdaugh appeared to say about his son in a police interview on 10 June 2021.

SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft was asked by prosecutor Creighton Waters to clarify what he heard Mr Murdaugh saying.

Its just so bad. I did him so bad, he responded.

While prosecutors sought to suggest that the 54-year-old father and husband slipped up during the police interview, Mr Murdaugh was seen shaking his head and appearing to mouth I did not say that to his attorneys in court.

However, the audio of the interview has also raised doubts, being somewhat unclear as to whether Mr Murdaugh says I or they, with some inside and outside court believing he actually says: They did him so bad.

Guns and ammo at Murdaugh home match crime scene

Bodycam footage released by the court on 30 January revealed a huge stash of firearms inside the Murdaugh family home in the days after the murders.

SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft told jurors how he seized firearms and ammunition from the Murdaugh home  including weapons and ammo that matched the type of gun and bullets used to kill Maggie and Paul.

A .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle, 12-gauge Browning shotgun, Benelli shotgun and 12-gauge pump shotgun which were seized from the family home were all brought into the courtroom and shown to jurors.

The agent testified that several empty boxes of ammunition were also found during searches of the Murdaugh home on 8 June and 13 June.

Inside the .300 Blackout rifle was Sellier & Bellot .300 AAC BLK ammo  the same type of ammo that was used to kill Maggie.

Also seized as evidence was a credit card receipt for an $1,021.10 item from Gucci  the item had been circled.

Defences two shooters theory

Mr Murdaughs legal team sought to push its theory that there could have been two shooters separately responsible for killing the mother and son.

Jurors were shown photos and diagrams of the crime scene from both the night of the murders and more than one month later on 16 July, with defence attorney Dick Harpootlian honing in on two bullet projectiles in particular  one that travelled through the dog house and one through the quail pen.

Under cross-examination of SLED special agent Melinda Worley, Mr Harpootlian pushed the idea that, because the bullet projectiles were shot at different angles, it was a reasonable possibility that there was two killers.

One reasonable explanation is there are two people there: one with a shotgun, one with an AR. Could someone have been a lookout, they went there to kill Paul and Maggie surprised them? Mr Harpootlian pressed.

Agent Worley admitted that the theory is possible but said that it is only one one explanation as to what may have taken place that fateful night. She added that the angles could also be explained as one single shooter moving around.

Victims last texts and calls revealed

Jurors learned about the final text messages and phone calls made by Paul and Maggie before their brutal murders.

On the night of 7 June 2021, Paul placed a call on his cellphone to friend Rogan Gibson at 8.40pm, lasting four minutes, followed by a second call at 8.44pm. The second was the last incoming communication Mr Gibson received from Pauls cellphone.

Five minutes later, at 8.49pm, Mr Gibson sent Paul a text message: See if you can get a good picture of it. Marion wants to send it to a girl we know thats a vet. Get him to sit and stay. He shouldnt move around too much.

The message  believed to be about a dog Paul was taking care of for him  went unanswered.

From that point onward, neither Paul nor his mother Maggie responded to any messages or calls on their cellphones.

Prosecutors said in opening statements that Paul was shot dead first at 8.50pm and Maggie minutes later. Their cellphones had no activity from 8.49pm onward.

After sending the text message at 8.49pm and receiving no response from his friend, Mr Gibson sent a follow-up text at 9.58pm, which simply read: Yo.

Mr Gibson also tried calling Paul multiple times at 9.10pm, 9.29pm, 9.42pm, 9.57pm and 10.08pm.

Getting no response from his friend, jurors heard that he also texted Pauls mother Maggie at 9.34pm, saying: Tell Paul to call me.

Shortly after, Mr Gibson had four missed calls from Alex Murdaugh at 10.21pm, 10.24pm, 10.25pm and 10.30pm.

Doubts cast on preservation of crime scene

During much of his cross-examination of SLED Special Agent Worley, Mr Harpootlian sought to pick holes in the evidence gathered from the bloody crime scene.

He raised doubts about a mark or potential footprint spotted on Maggies calf on the night of the murders.

While Mr Harpootlian suggested it was a footwear impression, Agent Worley said she couldnt say that was what the mark was but that it could be.

The mark was not examined on the scene and no impression of the imprint was taken, she testified.

She also confirmed that a bloody footprint found in the feeding room was later determined to be that of a law enforcement officer  something that supported the defences line of questioning that some evidence was not preserved correctly and was even destroyed.

Do you know what other evidence they may have destroyed? asked Mr Harpootlian.

I have no idea, the agent said, to which he responded: Thats right you dont.
WASHINGTON  The FBI searched President Joe Biden's former Washington, D.C. office after the president's lawyers initially alerted the National Archives about the discovery of classified documents at the location, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

No search warrant was issued in connection with the previously undisclosed action, which involved the consent of the president's legal team, said the source who is not authorized to comment publicly on the investigation.

The search was conducted in November, after lawyers discovered an initial batch of documents Nov. 2, at the think tank office that Biden used after serving as vice president.

The search was first reported by CBS News.

Stay up-to-date on Washington, government and politics: Follow our live coverage of the major news

The White House and Biden's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined comment.

It was not clear whether additional documents were recovered at the time of the FBI office search.

The building that housed office space of President Joe Biden's former institute, the Penn Biden Center, is seen at the corner of Constitution and Louisiana Avenue NW, in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. Potentially classified documents were found on Nov. 2, 2022, in a locked closet in the office, according to special counsel to the president Richard Sauber.

Earlier this month, the president's lawyers disclosed that the FBI had searched the Biden family home in Wilmington, Delaware, recovering classified material related to six items dating to Biden's time as vice president and as a U.S. senator.

The home search, which also did not require a search warrant, followed the discovery of a separate batch of classified documents by Biden's lawyers at the home.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to examine Biden's handling of classified documents. In addition, the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability launched its own investigation.

Biden family probe: Biden family hearings to begin Feb. 8 as House GOP probes Twitter, Hunter Biden laptop

Garland appointed a separate special counsel in November to investigate former President Donald Trump's retention of documents after leaving the White House.

While both cases involve the handling of sensitive government documents, the Trump inquiry also is examining Trump's alleged attempts to obstruct the government's repeated efforts to retrieve the records from his Florida estate.

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When those recovery efforts proved unsuccessful, the FBI obtained a search warrant and scoured Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Aug. 8, when agents seized more than 100 additional classified documents among thousands of government records.

Since the disclosures involving Trump and Biden, unsecured classified documents also were found at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence documents found: Classified documents found at former VP Mike Pence's Indiana home

A Pence representative alerted the National Archives earlier this month to a handful of records, which the FBI has retrieved.

Pences lawyer characterized the documents as a small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently transported to the personal home of the former vice president at the end of the last administration. He said they were found Jan. 16 and placed in a secure safe until they could be returned to proper authorities.

Archives asks ex-presidents to check for documents: After Pence, Biden, Trump revelations, Archives asks ex-presidents to check for classified documents

.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden documents: FBI searched president's former DC office in November
The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in November after President Joe Biden's lawyers reported finding classified documents at a former office he used there, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

It is unclear if the FBI discovered any additional documents during the search, which was done in coordination with Biden's lawyers and occurred after his aides disclosed to the National Archives that classified documents were found at his old office on Nov. 2, sources said.

According to one source, the FBI checked the center to make sure all Biden-related documents were retrieved.

The White House, Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.

CBS News first reported the FBI search.

The Penn Biden Center is a Washington, D.C., think tank that Biden helped launch after leaving office as vice president under Barack Obama. He "periodically used this space from mid-2017 until the start of the 2020 campaign," Richard Sauber, a special counsel to Biden, said in a statement earlier this month confirming the documents had been in the office.

MORE: Key events in the Biden classified documents probe: Updated timeline

Classified materials have since been recovered from Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home, according to his lawyers, and all of the records were returned to the government.

His attorneys have said that the material dates from his decades as a senator or as vice president, from 2009-2017.

The White House hasn't specified what was in the documents or how they ended up being retained in the years Biden was out of office, in apparent violation of statutes about the handling of classified records.

PHOTO: An office building housing the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement is seen in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Though the materials were discovered beginning in November, days before the midterm elections, the matter only became public via news reports in early January.

The White House has since faced scrutiny -- even from those in Biden's party -- over the decision not to disclose what was happening.

"I think the administration will need to answer that question. I'm going to reserve judgment until they do," Rep. Adam Schiff, a former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, recently said on ABC's "This Week."

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told NBC's "Meet the Press" last week that the president had been "irresponsible."

"We make mistakes," Manchin said then. "I can tell you I don't think anyone intended, he sure didn't intend, for it to fall in wrong hands and use it against our country. I know they didn't intend that to happen."

White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield on Tuesday pushed back on questions about transparency, telling ABC News: "We put out a statement from the president's attorney in January that made clear we were fully cooperative, and we're going to cooperate with the process."

She insisted the White House had been fully transparent and cooperative since the very beginning but did not answer a question about the continued incremental release of information related to events from months ago.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former federal prosecutor, to investigate as special counsel.

Hur is expected to formally begin his work this week, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

In addition to the November search of the Penn Biden Center, the FBI conducted a similarly voluntary search of Biden's home in Wilmington earlier this month and found additional classified documents after Biden's attorneys searched the home themselves in December and found some classified materials, the president's lawyers have said.

In a statement in mid-January, Sauber, Biden's counsel, said: "We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake."

PHOTO: President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

Classified documents were also taken from former President Donald Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago last summer, in a court authorized FBI search, after what the government has called a months-long effort to get Trump to return all of the classified material he kept after leaving office. Trump denies wrongdoing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence's lawyers recently did their own search of his Indiana home and found some classified records that he retained after leaving office, which he returned to the government, according to this attorneys. Pence said on Friday that it was a "mistake" and he was unaware the documents were there, but he took "full responsibility."

Biden has largely declined to comment on the classified documents found at his home and office but has said he was "surprised" records were located at the Penn Biden Center.

He has also defended his handling of the investigation.

"We found a handful of documents  were filed in the wrong place, we immediately turned them over to the [National] Archives and the Justice Department," he told reporters on Jan. 19. "We're fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly."

"I think you're going to find, there's nothing there," he said then. "I have no regrets. I'm following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It's exactly what we're doing. There's no 'there' there. Thank you."

ABC News' Adam Carlson, Ben Gittleson and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

FBI searched Biden's former office last year after his lawyers found classified documents: Sources originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Rep. George Santos leaves a GOP caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on January 25, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. George Santos told his GOP colleagues that he will step down from his committees.

Santos has been mired in scandal after fabricating parts of his resume.

The congressman was set to serve on the House Science and Small Business committees.

Rep. George Santos of New York on Tuesday told his Republican colleagues during a morning conference meeting that he will step down from his committee assignments.

The decision comes as the embattled congressman has been mired in scandal after he fabricated parts of his resume and has been under pressure to resign from office. Santos was set to serve on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and House Small Business Committee.

House Democratic Caucus chair Pete Aguilar attributed the ping-ponging of Santos' congressional responsibilities to the "chaos" and "confusion" newly empowered GOP leaders have brought to the chamber.

"We have said from the very beginning that George Santos is not fit to serve on any committees," Aguilar told reporters at the US Capitol. "So we're pleased that they agree with us now."

"I just don't know if we can trust them  if this is just the decision of the week," Aguilar said, as the situation with the scandal-plagued New York Republican has left many flummoxed. "We'll see what the message is related to Mr. Santos for next week," Aguilar added.

Santos has come under fire in recent weeks for lying about his education and work history and his heritage before getting elected to Congress. He has characterized himself as a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors, though later said he only claimed to be "Jew-ish." The lawmaker has since admitted that he "embellished" his background and apologized for the fabrications.

Besides Democrats, a handful of Republicans in Congress and several in his home state have called for Santos' resignation, though he has refused. The news on Tuesday comes as a newly released poll found that 78% of voters in Santos' district want him to leave office.

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Santos is also under investigation in Brazil over fraud allegations, and in New York over lying about his past. The congressman has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Two House Democrats earlier this month filed a complaint against Santos, asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate the congressman. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said Santos will be removed from office if investigators find that he broke the law.

"George has voluntarily removed himself from committees as he goes through this process," Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Santos announced the move in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying it's "important" for him to "primarily focus" on serving his constituents "without distraction."

"With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared," Santos said.

"I want to personally thank Speaker McCarthy for meeting with me to discuss the matter and allowing me to take time to properly clear my name before returning to my committees," he added. "To my constituents, I remain committed to serving the district, and delivering results for both New York's Third Congressional District and for the American people."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Greystone

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a $24,080,000 HUD 223(f) loan to refinance an 89-unit affordable housing property in Stamford, Connecticut. The loan was originated by Jon Morales, Senior Vice President at Greystone, on behalf of New Neighborhoods, Inc.



Located on Stillwater Avenue, Martin Luther King Apartments is a 100% Section 8 multifamily property. The HUD-insured financing is a 35-year loan at a low, fixed rate. As part of the financing, the owner obtained a 20-year HAP contract for the property, preserving affordability long-term. The 13-story high-rise building contains 22 one-bedroom units, 45 two-bedroom units, and 22 three-bedroom units with a community room and laundry facilities as resident amenities.

Greystone understands the nuances of the affordable housing market, particularly Section 8 properties, and their mission aligns with ours as we continually look to invest in quality housing for core markets in the Northeast, said Jamey Healy, President & CEO, New Neighborhoods, Inc.

Greystone was diligent in their work to close this complex financing, and we are thrilled with the ability to reinvest back into the property to ensure its viability as a critical asset to the Stamford market, added Jerome Floyd, Operations Director, New Neighborhoods, Inc.

We are thrilled to work on this HUD loan for Jamey and his team and are delighted to get them the proceeds and terms they needed in order to set the property up for continued long-term success, said Mr. Morales. We strive to earn our clients trust in each new transaction by coupling our deep lending platform and multifamily capabilities with exceptional service and care.

About Greystone

Greystone is a private national commercial real estate finance company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greystone.com.

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PRESS CONTACT:

Karen Marotta

Greystone

212-896-9149

Karen.Marotta@greyco.com




JCDecaux

JCDecaux wins 15-year exclusive Advertising Street Furniture Contract in Macau SAR, China

Paris, 31 January 2023  JCDecaux SE (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announced that its JV subsidiary, JCDecaux (Macau) Limited, created in partnership with HN Group (JCDecaux 80% / HN Group 20%), has been awarded a 15-year exclusive contract for the advertising street furniture in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (population: 682,000). This new concession covers the entire inventory of about 150 Bus Shelters and 150 City Information Panels (CIPs).

The Group has worked in partnership with Macau for many years, beginning in 2001 as the first company to win an exclusive advertising contract to install and maintain street furniture. Going forward, JCDecaux Macau will gradually deploy the new furniture throughout the territory, now extending to Taipa, Cotai and Coloane.

The new Bus Shelters will include a broad range of services:

43 LCD digital screens to broadcast real-time bus arrival and bus route information, to optimise the use of the public transport system;

LED screens designed for the display of contextual information (time, temperature, humidity, etc.);

planned accessibility with additional entry points at long bus shelters for people with reduced mobility;

braille and tactile signs to enable visually impaired passengers to access bus information;

USB charging ports for passengers mobile devices.





In a world first, all the CIPs will be double sided advertising and digital (one 75 side and one 43 side) and some will even be equipped with an interactive 32 screen designed for improved access to people with reduced mobility.

This unprecedented digital network offers an outstanding platform to reach audiences in real-time with full-motion digital content, providing a powerful channel for municipal city communication and for commercial advertising.

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This digital platform will also integrate a unique emergency alert system (EMAs) to facilitate the priority dissemination of safety alerts, to strengthen the range of public safety alert tools to support disaster information (typhoons, flooding, etc.).

As part of the Groups commitment to improving the energy performance of its furniture, outlined in its ESG strategic roadmap, JCDecaux is developing smart lighting solutions such as dynamic dimming and movement sensors that detect people. In addition, digital screen brightness and ventilation are controlled by sensors that optimise and reduce power consumption depending on the environmental conditions. JCDecaux is also pursuing an ambitious renewable energy purchasing policy and covers 100% of electricity consumption since the end of 2022 at Group level.

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and to contribute to the citys transformation benefiting its people and visitors. 20 years after installing the first Bus shelters and City Information Panels in Macau, JCDecauxs teams will focus on the provision of smart services to deliver a powerful and digitised communication platform, providing relevant local information and advertising campaigns. This new contract underlines our dual ambition: to build the future of sustainable urban living and to create the future for effective and efficient advertising.

With these objectives in mind, we are committed to making Macau an even smarter city, and to enhancing the quality of life for its residents and visitors in the coming decade and beyond.

Key Figures for JCDecaux

2022 revenue: 3,317m (a)

N1 Out-of-Home Media company worldwide

A daily audience of more than 850 million people in more than 80 countries

957,706 advertising panels worldwide

Present in 3,518 cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants

10,720 employees

JCDecaux is listed on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris and is part of the Euronext 100 and Euronext Family Business indexes

JCDecaux is recognised for its extra-financial performance in the FTSE4Good (3.6/5), CDP (A- Leadership), MSCI (AA) and has achieved Platinum Medal status from EcoVadis

1st Out-of-Home Media company to join the RE100 (committed to 100% renewable energy)

Leader in self-service bike rental scheme: pioneer in eco-friendly mobility

N1 worldwide in street furniture (530,143 advertising panels)

N1 worldwide in transport advertising with 154 airports and 215 contracts in metros, buses, trains and tramways (340,753 advertising panels)

N1 in Europe for billboards (72,611 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Europe (596,831 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Asia-Pacific (232,268 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Latin America (64,893 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in Africa (20,808 advertising panels)

N1 in outdoor advertising in the Middle East (14,177 advertising panels)

(a) Adjusted revenue

For more information about JCDecaux, please visit jcdecaux.com.

Join us on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

Communications Department: Albert Asseraf

+33 (0) 1 30 79 79 10  albert.asseraf@jcdecaux.com

Investor Relations: Remi Grisard

+33 (0) 1 30 79 79 93  remi.grisard@jcdecaux.com

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You certainly can put a price on love. Wisconsins income tax makes many people calculate it: They may love our state, love the town where their family business was born, the place they went to college  but do they love it enough to stay and pay?

So it is heartening that legislative leaders are talking about epochal tax reform, a move to a single-rate income tax instead of Wisconsins redistributive progressive tax. The Badger Institute long has advocated such reform and, last summer with the Tax Foundation, laid out options for achieving it.

Lawmakers can talk about game-changing reform because revenue is growing swiftly, even more than spending, and the state projects that surpluses will continue for years. The latest estimate is a $7.1 billion general-fund surplus by the end of this fiscal year.

Lawmakers must talk about such reform because our progressive income tax is uncompetitive.

Three of our neighbors, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, charge a single rate to all earners, and in each place its a lower rate than Wisconsins top two brackets. Iowa on Jan. 1 dropped its top rate below ours and is going to a single rate in 2026, one lower than three of our brackets.

Fourteen states now have or are adopting flat taxes. Thats 14 states where, as a taxpayers income rises, her taxes will increase proportionately  unlike in Wisconsin, where her taxes rise disproportionately.

Earn $280,000 in Wisconsin and your marginal rate is 5.3%. Have a good year and earn $281,000, and your marginal rate jumps to 7.65%. It is an explicit penalty on success, a Progressive-era attempt to even out incomes. As the economic literature has long pointed out, it depresses upward mobility and wage growth. Flat taxes, on the other hand, would spur growth and opportunity.

The 7.65% top rate is higher than any income tax rate in any state between New York and California, except for Minnesota. Not surprisingly, Minnesota has been losing people to Wisconsin in recent years.

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Our top rate has been stuck at 7.65% since 2013. Since then, every other Wisconsin taxpayer has seen a rate cut. The lowest rate has fallen by a fourth to 3.54%. The second-highest rate, covering two-thirds of taxpayers, fell a full percentage point in 2021.

The Legislatures years of tax-cutting effort, while good for most taxpayers, increased the gap between rates at the top  creating a bigger disincentive for many Wisconsinites to earn more money and subject themselves to much, much higher taxes.

Under a plan submitted by Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, all taxpayers will pay less, and it is true that the highest earners will also get a significant break. Thats inevitable because right now the 3.7% of taxpayers who earn $200,000 or more pay 36% of all income taxes in the state.

Looked at another way, filers making $100,000 or more earned 56% of income in Wisconsin but paid 67% of income taxes, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Those over $200,000 earned 29% of income but paid 36% of income taxes. A flat tax that made them pay their fair share  say 29% of the tax burden rather than 36%  would involve a cut.

We think most Wisconsinites admire people who are successful  it usually means they hired a lot of others and paid a lot of suppliers. That benefits everyone. If the top earners light out for Texas or even Iowa, conversely, everyone loses and those who remain will have to pay more in taxes themselves.

Moving to a flat tax matters for businesses and for everyone who works for them because the income of about 95% of Wisconsin businesses is taxed on the owners personal returns. For such pass-throughs, about two-thirds of business income is exposed to the top 7.65% rate a rate ever harder to justify as surpluses pile up and as Wisconsin business closures outpace startups.

In a real way, Wisconsins top rate is optional because staying in Wisconsin is optional  especially as more of society works remotely. People have options, especially workers with top-earning talents or taxpayers who choose where their companies will grow. What progressive-tax advocates miss is that if successful Wisconsinites move to a state with a flat income tax (or no income tax, which is the case in nine states), Wisconsin receives none of their revenue. And if they take their businesses with them, Wisconsin loses out on even more.

Fortunately, Wisconsin has options, too. We outlined four options to get Wisconsin a flat-rate tax that fits easily within the states projected revenue and that uses the states income-linked standard deduction to protect every taxpayer from suffering any rate increase. Some options reach a still lower rate by raising our sales tax, one of Americas lowest; others leave it alone. All of them can be dialed up or down to return more or less of that surplus, leaving a small or a huge pile for other priorities.

We urge lawmakers to ponder the fiscal details. This is about the money.

But it also is about people: The people who someday will employ your kid here rather than off in the Sunbelt, if we dont chase their company (and your grandkids) away. The people who would rather grow and prosper here, if only we stopped making Wisconsin such an expensive place to love.

Patrick McIlheran is the policy director for the Badger Institute, a conservative not-for-profit institute established in 1987 working to engage and energize Wisconsinites and others in discussions and timely action on key public policy issues critical to the states future, growth and prosperity.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A flat income tax would make Wisconsin more competitive and spur growth.
The exclusive curated palette collection by celebrity designer Jenny Marrs features inspiring color palettes

CARY, N.C., January 31, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mastic Siding & Accessories, part of the Cornerstone Building Brands family, relaunches its Home Design Visualizer featuring curated exterior palettes exclusively for Mastic by TV host and designer Jenny Marrs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005723/en/

Jenny Marrs, along with her craftsman, builder and general contractor husband, Dave Marrs, has partnered with Cornerstone Building Brands to promote Mastic siding and accessories. The partnership will highlight all the benefits of choosing Mastic siding, such as deep color protection, industry-leading technologies, lifetime durability and incredibly low maintenance.

"Working with the Mastic team, it became clear we have a shared appreciation of timeless design. I like that Mastic offers a collection of siding options and colors that are universal enough to be stunning on any style home, any time of day, but easy enough to mix and match so that combinations are still brimming with character," said Jenny Marrs.

The Mastic Home Design Visualizer now features a collection of exterior palettes brought to you by home designer Jenny Marrs, giving homeowners a starting point for selecting the right combination for their home.

"Jenny curated a palette collection that not only reflects her distinct style but also features a variety of Mastic siding and accessory options, like textured Cedar Discovery Shake & Shingle and Mastics Board + Batten Designer Series," said Jamie Heath, Director of Channel Marketing for Cornerstone Building Brands Surface Solutions division. "With just a few clicks, you can see how Jennys designer recommendations can transform your own home with Mastics broad range of colors and siding solutions."

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Mastic premium siding offers the widest array of color options with the latest technologies, ensuring a lifetime of performance in extreme weather conditions. To see the curated exterior palette collection by Jenny Marrs, visit the Cornerstone Building Brands booth at the International Builders Show, Booth #C5207.

About Cornerstone Building Brands

Cornerstone Building Brands is the largest manufacturer of exterior building products by sales for residential and low-rise non-residential buildings in North America. Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, we serve residential and commercial customers across the new construction and repair and remodel markets. Our market-leading portfolio of products spans vinyl windows, vinyl siding, stone veneer, metal roofing, metal wall systems and metal accessories. Cornerstone Building Brands broad, multichannel distribution platform and expansive national footprint includes more than 20,000 employees at manufacturing, distribution and office locations throughout North America. Corporate stewardship and environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibility are embedded in our culture. We are committed to contributing positively to the communities where we live, work and play. For more information, visit us at cornerstonebuildingbrands.com.

Source: Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005723/en/

Contacts

Gina Page

(704) 926-1359

gpage@wrayward.com
4.66 g/t Au over 64.0 m (Sulphide Zone), 4.02 g/t Au & 1.5% Zn over 22.9 m (Deep Potential), Regional Program Ramping Up with Encouraging Results.

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Orla Mining Ltd. (TSX: OLA) (NYSE: ORLA) ("Orla" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2022 exploration activities at Camino Rojo and provide an overview of its 2023 exploration plans in Mexico. Updates on Orla's exploration activities in Nevada, US and Panama will be provided in the first quarter.

2022 Exploration Highlights: Camino Rojo (Mexico)

Camino Rojo Sulphides: The Sulphide drill program continued to return higher-grade gold intercepts (>2 g/t) over wide widths (>30 m). Notable results include:[1]

Hole CRSX22-09B: 4.66 g/t Au over 64.0 m

Hole CRSX22-09A 2.76 g/t Au over 79.0 m , incl. 3.22 g/t Au over 55.0m

Hole CRSX22-08C: 2.81 g/t Au over 70.0 m

Hole CRSX22-10A: 1.92 g/t Au over 87.0 m , incl. 3.14 g/t Au over 25.5 m and 1.74 g/t Au over 73.5m , incl. 2.61 g/t Au over 24.0 m

Hole CRSX22-09: 3.83 g/t Au over 40.5 m , incl. 9.28 g/t Au over 9.0 m and 6.94 g/t Au over 16.0 m

Hole CRSX22-08B: 3.78 g/t Au over 37.0 m

Hole CRSX22-10: 2.71 g/t Au over 49.5 m, incl. 6.80 g/t Au over 8.0 m

Camino Rojo Deep Potential: Drill results have shown that gold mineralization extends deeper than the limit of the current mineral resource. These deeper intercepts suggest gold mineralization remains open at depth along and adjacent to interpreted feeder-like structures for the currently defined Camino Rojo deposit. Notable result include:1

Hole CRSX22-07: 4.02 g/t Au & 1.5% Zn over 22.9 m, incl. 56.7 g/t Au & 17.2% Zn over 0.6 m

Regional Exploration: Encouraging drill result on the first diamond drill core hole completed outside the footprint of the Camino Rojo mine. The Guanamero target area is located approximately 7 km northeast of the Camino Rojo mine along the mine structural trend. Notable results include:1

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Hole CRED22-01: 0.54 g/t over 7.10 m, incl. 4.12 g/t over 0.7 m (from 51.4 m) and 1.35 g/t over 2.35 m, incl. 5.59 g/t over 0.5 m (from 104.95 m)

"The 2022 infill drilling of the sulphide extension of the Camino Rojo deposit has consistently generated exceptional gold intersections enhancing future development opportunity scenarios and potential to grow the resource at depth", stated Sylvain Guerard, Orla's Senior Vice President, Exploration. "We are excited to advance a full exploration pipeline in 2023 in an effort to upgrade and expand reserves and resources and make new discoveries on our large and under explored land package".

2022 Exploration: Camino Rojo (Mexico)

Exploration at Camino Rojo in 2022 focused on advancing the understanding of the sulphide deposit (the "Sulphide Project" or "Camino Rojo Sulphides") and testing priority regional targets to make new satellite discoveries.

Near Mine Exploration Results

Drill results at Camino Rojo Sulphides continue to support potential for underground development

Drilling continues to intercept wide zones of higher-grade gold mineralization, and in conjunction with metallurgical results from the 2021 drilling (see news release dated May 9, 2022), supports the potential for underground development and a standalone processing option for the Camino Rojo Sulphides. A large part of the 2022 program included infilling the sulphide deposit and improving the geological model to support potential underground mine development scenario. A total of 9,174 metres was completed in 15 holes, with 5 holes previously reported (see news release dated September 12, 2022 - Orla Mining Advances Exploration & Growth Pipeline). The 15 holes completed in 2022 returned 32 significant mineralized drill intercepts with grade-by-thickness factor greater than 50 g/t by metre Au (g/t * m), including 16 intercepts with grade-by-thickness factor greater than 100 g/t by metre Au. Full drill results are available in the Appendix to this news release and are available at www.orlamining.com.

The current mineral resource estimate for the Sulphide Project at Camino Rojo consists of 74 koz of measured resource (3.358 million tonnes at 0.69 g/t gold) and 7,221 koz of indicated resources (255.445 million tonnes at 0.88 g/t gold) and has an effective date of June 7, 2019.2

Figure 1: Camino Rojo Sulphides 2022 Drill Program Hole Location (Plan View) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 2: Camino Rojo Sulphides 2022 Drill Program Hole Location (Long Section) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 3: Camino Rojo Sulphides 2022 Results (Cross Section, Hole CRSX22-08) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Vein domains constraining higher grade gold in sulphide deposit

The 2022 sulphide drill program has helped define areas of high vein concentrations ("vein domains") which coincide with higher grade (>2 g/t) gold mineralization. The vein domains are important geological controls on gold mineralization, constraining the distribution and continuity of higher-grade gold mineralization within the sulphide deposit. Improved confidence in geological controls will strengthen future mineral resource estimations.

Vein domains have been defined by combining recent oriented diamond drill core data and approximately 70,000 m of historical vein density and orientation data within the main zone of potassic alteration (Kp). This work has resulted in the definition of three steep northwest and five shallow south-southwest dipping vein domains (Figure 4). High grade gold (>10 g/t Au) appears to be concentrated at the intersection of these steep and shallow dipping domains.

Figure 4: Camino Rojo Sulphides 2022 Program Vein Domains (Cross Section, Hole 7) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 4: Camino Rojo Sulphides 2022 Program Vein Domains (Cross Section, Hole 7)

Potential new oxide mineralization outside current pit boundaries

Hole CRSX22-05, drilled as part of the 2022 sulphide drill program, intersected a mix of oxide and transitional material on the edge of the oxide open pit along the dike structure with mineralized intersections of 1.95 g/t over 61.2 m and 1.03 g/t over 25.3 m (see news release dated September 12, 2022 - Orla Mining Advances Exploration & Growth Pipeline). This positive intersection triggered follow-up drilling to further assess potential oxide pit extension over this area. Two holes were drilled in 2022 with CROX22-01, returning 1.10 g/t Au over 136.5 m[3] and CROX22-02 returning 0.70 g/t Au over 290 m including 0.97 g/t Au over 147.5 m3. Both holes intercepted the extension of the mineralization and associated oxidation that was intercepted in hole CRSX22-05, but within the current feasibility pit. Results so far indicate that mineralizing structures also act as pathways for deep oxidation beyond the current pit boundary. Further drilling is planned in 2023 to test for zones of oxidized mineralization that could potentially allow for local expansion of the oxide pit.

Deeper intersections suggest deep potential for extension of Camino Rojo Sulphides

Select holes from the recently completed 2022 sulphide drill program were extended to test the down plunge continuity of gold mineralization along the Dike Zone. These drill holes have returned encouraging and highly significant results, such as 4.02 g/t Au over 22.9 m. Compilation of historical drill data has also confirmed high-grade gold intercepts over significant widths with a similar style of mineralization elsewhere below the current extents of the Camino Rojo resource estimation model.

Most of the gold mineralization at Camino Rojo has been defined in the Caracol Formation where auriferous veins are mostly constrained to a broad envelope of potassic alteration (Kp). Recent and compiled historical drilling indicates gold mineralization extends deeper into the underlying Indidura and Cuesta del Cura formations (and potentially deeper into other underlying units) along the Dike Zone and Breccia Fault Zone, suggesting these faults may be feeder-like structures for the Camino Rojo deposit. This deeper gold mineralization is hosted by skarn and calc-silicate alteration associated with manto-type mineralization with semi-massive to massive sulphides replacing bedding.

2022 notable results hosted in Indidura or Cuesta del Cura formations:

Hole CRSX22-07: 4.02 g/t Au over 22.9 m, incl. 9.30 g/t Au over 6.1 m

Hole CRSX22-08B: 1.28 g/t Au over 24.6 m

Hole CRSX22-08B: 1.33 g/t Au over 17.2 m

Hole CRSX22-08C: 2.50 g/t Au over 9.1 m

Hole CRSX22-08C: 1.81 g/t Au over 19.4 m, incl. 2.51 g/t Au over 9.0 m

Selected historical4 results below Caracol Formation in Indidura or Cuesta del Cura Formations:

Hole CR12-366D: 4.04 g/t Au over 46.5 m, incl. 6.26 g/t Au over 27.0 m

Hole CR13-507DB: 3.08 g/t Au over 55.5 m, incl 5.67 g/t Au over 22.5 m

Hole CR13-455D: 6.12 g/t Au over 21.0 m, incl 18.75 g/t Au over 6.0 m

Hole CR13-454D: 2.11 g/t Au over 51.0 m, incl 6.72 g/t Au over 4.5 m

Hole CR13-453D: 3.62 g/t Au over 27.0 m

Hole CR14-597DG: 3.68 g/t Au over 25.5 m incl 11.49 g/t Au over 6.0 m

Figure 5: Camino Rojo Sulphides Deep Potential 2022 Results (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 6: Camino Rojo Sulphides Deep Potential (Schematic Cross Section) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Regional Exploration Results

Orla's first diamond drill core hole outside the Camino Rojo deposit returned 0.54 g/t Au over 7.10 m and 1.35 g/t Au over 2.35 m at the Guanamero target. Prior to this drill hole, meaningful gold mineralization had been restricted to the footprint of the Camino Rojo Deposit. These new regional exploration results, combined with strong exploration markers are a very encouraging step towards making a regional discovery. The positive exploration markers for Guanamero include the presence of gold-bearing mafic dikes, alteration and rock types similar to Camino Rojo deep potential target, as well as the Guanamero target being located on an extension of the mine trend.

Early-stage exploration targets were tested with reverse circulation ("RC") drilling along the Camino Rojo Mine trend as well as to the south of the mine. One core hole (CRED22-01) was drilled into an IP anomaly at the Guanamero target area, approximately 7 km to the northeast of the mine. The Guanamero target area is defined by the northeast extension of diorite dikes along the regional structure hosting the Camino Rojo Mine, the presence of a large high magnetic signature (1 km2) and anomalous to significant results from Orla's wide-spaced 2021 RAB drill program (see news release dated March 14, 2022). Drill hole CRED22-01 intersected geology similar to that encountered in the deep potential at the Camino Rojo Mine: altered diorite and hornblende porphyry diorite dikes with calc-silicate to propylitic altered Cuesta del Cura, La Pena, and Cupido formations. Trace to 2% disseminated and fine sulphide (pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, magnetite) veinlets, stringers and breccia zones were intercepted throughout the length of the hole. Anomalous to significant gold results, as listed below, are associated with zones of breccia and sulphide dissemination and veinlets. Follow-up drilling will be performed in early 2023.

0.54 g/t over 7.10m, incl. 4.12 g/t over 0.7m (from 51.4 m)

0.39 g/t over 5.50 m, incl. 1.02 g/t over 1.5 m (from 74.5 m)

1.35 g/t over 2.35 m, incl. 3.83 g/t over 0.8 m (from 104.95 m)

0.24 g/t over 5.65 m, incl. 1.42 g/t over 0.6m (from 116.9 m)

0.44 g/t over 3.0 m (from 137.5 m)

0.20 g/t over 4.3 m (from 151.0 m)

0.32 g/t over 9.05 m (from 169.95 m)

0.11 g/t over 17.5 m (from 279.5 m)

2.17 g/t over 1.20 m (from 398.3 m)

0.63 g/t over 1.5 m (from 571.5 m)

Composites for the regional exploration drilling were calculated using 0.1 g/t Au cut-off grade and maximum 6 metres consecutive waste.

Figure 7: Camino Rojo Regional Exploration Program Guanamero Results (Hole 1) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 8: Guanamero Drill Results (Hole 1) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

2023 Exploration Plans & Strategy: Camino Rojo (Mexico)

Mexico Exploration 2023 Program Drilling Planned Spend Camino Rojo Layback Drilling (capitalized) Infill on oxide mine layback area 3,000 m DD $2m Camino Rojo Sulphides Drilling Infilling sulphides and other near-mine drilling 34,000 m DD sulphides (20% deep extension) 6,500 m DD (oxides) $16m Camino Rojo Regional Exploration Target drill testing and target definition 15,000-20,000 m RC 2,000-5,000 m DD +Geophysical & geochemical surveys $4m Total Mexico Exploration



$22m

Near Mine Exploration

Camino Rojo layback reserve drilling

A 3,000 metre, 22-hole drill program to confirm and delineate mineralization located in the oxide pit layback and allow for potential update of mineral resource and reserve estimates will be completed in 2023. This program will seek to define additional oxide reserves at the Camino Rojo Mine following confirmatory core drilling on the Fresnillo Plc ("Fresnillo") property, located immediately north and adjacent of the Camino Rojo oxide mine open pit. While historical drilling indicates that mineralization continues across the property boundary onto the Fresnillo layback area, no ounces from this area are currently included in the Camino Rojo mineral reserve estimate.

Figure 9: Camino Rojo Oxide Layback Drilling Plan (Cross Section) (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Camino Rojo Sulphides drilling continuation

A 34,000-metre, 57 hole follow-up drill program will continue to infill the Camino Rojo Sulphides in 2023. 20% of the holes will extend to test the deep potential of the deposit. In addition, 6,500m will be drilled on the extensions of the Camino Rojo oxide deposit to update and expand resources and reserves.

Based on the positive results encountered in the 2021 and 2022 programs, more closely spaced, south-oriented drilling will be required to fully capture the extent of a potential underground resource. To date, 15,253 metres of directional drilling has been completed. This drilling has continued to inform Orla's perspective on the development approach to the deposit. The 2023 drilling is expected to strengthen the confidence for the development of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") that contemplates underground mining by infilling the higher-grade (>2 g/t) portions of the deposit with 50 metre spacing of South-oriented drill holes. Overall drill spacing at the end of this next phase, including historical north-oriented drill holes, will be 25-30 metres. Upon the completion of the 2023 additional south oriented directional drilling and test work programs, a PEA is expected to be completed based on the optimal development scenario for Orla.

Regional Exploration

Approximately 15,000-20,000 metres of RC drilling and 2,000-5,000 metres of core drilling is planned for regional exploration in 2023. Regional exploration will consist of drill testing multiple targets outside the Camino Rojo deposit including priority targets along the northeast-southwest mine trend, including targets associated with recently defined IP anomalies. Priority targets such as Guanamero and Monterilla at the north-east and CR SW immediately to the south-west of the Camino Rojo deposit were only partially tested in 2022 and will be drill tested in 2023. Geophysical and geochemical surveys are also planned for 2023 to keep defining new targets.

Qualified Persons Statement

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Sylvain Guerard, P Geo., SVP Exploration of the Company, who is the Qualified Person as defined under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").

To verify the information related to the 2022 drilling programs at the Camino Rojo property, Mr. Guerard has visited the property in the past year; discussed logging, sampling, and sample shipping processes with responsible site staff; discussed and reviewed assay and QA/QC results with responsible personnel; and reviewed supporting documentation, including drill hole location and orientation and significant assay interval calculations.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control  2022 Drill Program

All gold results at Camino Rojo were obtained by ALS Minerals (Au-AA23) using fire assay fusion and an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. All samples are also analyzed for multi-elements, including silver, copper, lead and zinc using a four-acid digestion with ICP-AES finish (ME-ICP61) method at ALS Laboratories in Canada. If samples were returned with gold values in excess of 10 ppm or base metal values in excess of 1% by ICP analysis, samples are re-run with gold (Au-GRA21) by fire assay and gravimetric finish or base metal by (OG62) four acid overlimit methods. Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results were performed by qualified persons employing a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards were inserted at a frequency of one in every 50 samples, and blanks were inserted at a frequency of one in every 50 samples for Quality Assurance/Quality Control purposes by the Company as well as the lab. ALS Laboratories is independent of Orla. There are no known drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the drilling data at Camino Rojo.

About Orla Mining Ltd.

Orla is operating the Camino Rojo Oxide Gold Mine, a gold and silver open-pit and heap leach mine, located in Zacatecas State, Mexico. The property is 100% owned by Orla and covers over 160,000 hectares. The technical report for the 2021 Feasibility Study on the Camino Rojo oxide gold project entitled "Unconstrained Feasibility Study NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Camino Rojo Gold Project  Municipality of Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico" dated January 11, 2021, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. Orla also owns 100% of Cerro Quema located in Panama which includes a gold production scenario and various exploration targets. Cerro Quema is a proposed open pit mine and gold heap leach operation. The technical report for the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Cerro Quema oxide gold project entitled "Project Pre-Feasibility Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cerro Quema Project, Province of Los Santos, Panama" dated January 18, 2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. Orla also owns 100% of the South Railroad Project, a feasibility-stage, open pit, heap leach project located on the Carlin trend in Nevada. The technical report for the 2022 Feasibility Study entitled "South Railroad Project, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Elko County, Nevada" dated March 23, 2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The technical reports are available on Orla's website at www.orlamining.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, including, without limitation, statements regarding: the potential mineralization at Camino Rojo based on the 2022 drill program, including the potential for local expansion of the oxide pit at Camino Rojo, the deep potential of the Camino Rojo Sulphides and the potential for additional regional discoveries; and the Company's 2023 drill program, including the expected expenditures, timing, benefits, and results thereof. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements were made, including without limitation, assumptions regarding the price of gold, silver, and copper; the accuracy of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimations; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained, including concession renewals and permitting; that political and legal developments will be consistent with current expectations; that currency and exchange rates will be consistent with current levels; and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to: uncertainty and variations in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, including risks that the interpreted drill results may not accurately represent the actual continuity of geology or grade of the deposit, bulk density measurements may not be representative, interpreted and modelled metallurgical domains may not be representative, and metallurgical recoveries may not be representative; the Company's reliance on Camino Rojo and risks associated with its start-up phase; financing risks and access to additional capital; risks related to natural disasters, terrorist acts, health crises and other disruptions and dislocations, including by the COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to the Company's indebtedness; success of exploration, development, and operation activities; foreign country and political risks, including risks relating to foreign operations and expropriation or nationalization of mining operations; concession risks; permitting risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; delays in or failures to enter into a subsequent agreement with Fresnillo Plc with respect to accessing certain additional portions of the mineral resource at Camino Rojo and to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals related thereto; the mineral resource estimations for Camino Rojo being only estimates and relying on certain assumptions; delays in or failure to get access from surface rights owners; risks related to guidance estimates and uncertainties inherent in the preparation of feasibility and pre-feasibility studies, including but not limited to, assumptions underlying the production estimates not being realized, changes to the cost of production, variations in quantity of mineralized material, grade or recovery rates, geotechnical or hydrogeological considerations during mining differing from what has been assumed, failure of plant, equipment or processes, changes to availability of power or the power rates, ability to maintain social license, changes to exchange, interest or tax rates, cost of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment rising, changes in project parameters, delays, and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of local communities; uncertainty in estimates of production, capital, and operating costs and potential production and cost overruns; the fluctuating price of gold, silver, and copper; global financial conditions; uninsured risks; competition from other companies and individuals; uncertainties related to title to mineral properties; conflicts of interest; risks related to compliance with anti-corruption laws; volatility in the market price of the Company's securities; assessments by taxation authorities in multiple jurisdictions; foreign currency fluctuations; the Company's limited operating history; risks related to the Company's history of negative operating cash flow; litigation risks; intervention by non-governmental organizations; outside contractor risks; risks related to historical data; unknown labilities in connection with acquisitions; the Company's ability to identify, complete, and successfully integrate acquisitions; dividend risks; risks related to the Company's foreign subsidiaries; risks related to the Company's accounting policies and internal controls; the Company's ability to satisfy the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; enforcement of civil liabilities; the Company's status as a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes; information and cyber security; gold industry concentration; shareholder activism; risks associated with executing the Company's objectives and strategies, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion and analysis, as well as its annual information form dated March 18, 2022, which are available on www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers

This news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian standards for the reporting of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, which differ from the previous and current standards of the United States securities laws. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the terms "mineral reserve", "proven mineral reserve", "probable mineral reserve", "inferred mineral resources,", "indicated mineral resources," "measured mineral resources" and "mineral resources" used or referenced herein and the documents incorporated by reference herein, as applicable, are Canadian mineral disclosure terms as defined in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM")  CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended (the "CIM Definition Standards").

For United States reporting purposes, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted amendments to its disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules") to modernize the mining property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the Exchange Act, which became effective February 25, 2019. The SEC Modernization Rules more closely align the SEC's disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101, and replace the historical property disclosure requirements for mining registrants that were included in SEC Industry Guide 7. Issuers were required to comply with the SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. As a foreign private issuer that is eligible to file reports with the SEC pursuant to the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system, the Corporation is not required to provide disclosure on its mineral properties under the SEC Modernization Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and the CIM Definition Standards. Accordingly, mineral reserve and mineral resource information contained or incorporated by reference herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies subject to the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources." In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of "proven mineral reserves" and "probable mineral reserves" to be "substantially similar" to the corresponding CIM Definition Standards that are required under NI 43-101. While the SEC will now recognize "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", U.S. investors should not assume that all or any part of the mineralization in these categories will be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves without further work and analysis. Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of uncertainty as to its existence and feasibility than mineralization that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources, or inferred mineral resources that the Company reports are or will be economically or legally mineable without further work and analysis. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a greater amount of uncertainty and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. Therefore, U.S. investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred mineral resources will be upgraded to a higher category without further work and analysis. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. While the above terms are "substantially similar" to CIM Definitions, there are differences in the definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definition Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral reserves or mineral resources that the Company may report as "proven mineral reserves", "probable mineral reserves", "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the reserve or resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules or under the prior standards of SEC Industry Guide 7.

Appendix: Drill Results

Table 1: Camino Rojo Near Mine Composite Drill Results
Kate Fredericks, a pilot and former employee of cargo airline Ameriflight, is suing the company in a proposed class action lawsuit over the contract that Ameriflight made her sign.

Kate Fredericks, a pilot and former employee of cargo airline Ameriflight, is suing the company in a proposed class action lawsuit over the contract that Ameriflight made her sign.

Kate Fredericks quit her job flying for the cargo airline Ameriflight in late November 2021, six and a half months into her stint as a pilot based out of Puerto Rico. It was the most expensive resignation she could imagine.

Ameriflight told Fredericks she owed the company $20,000 for the cost of her training since she was leaving before working for 18 months. Fredericks had signed an agreement to those terms when she was hired, so she wasnt surprised the company expected her to pay up.

She had heard stories of other erstwhile Ameriflight pilots getting calls from debt collectors. Fearing the bill could wreck her good credit, she negotiated a payment plan directly with the company: $250 a month for nearly seven years. She started mailing the company a handwritten check each month because she was told they couldnt accept electronic payments.

I was terrified. I didnt want someone banging on my door, said Fredericks, whos 37 and lives in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Some tried to ignore it and had collections scare the living daylights out of them.

Fredericks is now challenging the legality of that contract. She filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court in Puerto Rico on Monday, arguing that the agreement she had to sign with Ameriflight amounts to an unlawful constraint of trade, trapping workers in their jobs to stifle competition and keep wages down.

Her Ameriflight debt is a high-priced example of what critics call training repayment agreement provisions, or TRAPs. These agreements require workers to compensate their former employers for the purported costs of training if they leave before working a certain amount of time. In a recent case that gained national attention, a PetSmart dog groomer was hit with a $5,000 bill for the retailers grooming academy when she quit her job after seven months.

Story continues

The clauses have drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission because of the way they tie workers to their jobs and put a lid on pay. The agency recently issued a sweeping proposal to ban noncompete agreements, explicitly including training-repayment provisions in the plan. Employer groups are likely to sue the FTC in an effort to stop it.

But the FTC does not have jurisdiction over air carriers when it comes to addressing alleged unfair or deceptive practices  that responsibility falls to the U.S. Transportation Department. On Monday, several advocacy groups sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking that he follow the FTCs lead and stop the use of training-repayment provisions in the airline industry. The groups alleged that at least six other aviation firms have used the clauses.

According to Fredericks lawsuit, an Ameriflight pilot could owe up to $30,000 depending on the training they received. In Fredericks case, her $20,000 tab would have been knocked down to $10,000 if she worked a full year after her training period. After 18 months, she wouldnt have owed anything.

Her complaint alleges Ameriflight withdrew the debt repayment agreement from new contracts last spring but continues to enforce it on pilots who signed it previously.

An Ameriflight spokesperson declined to answer questions about Fredericks lawsuit or the training repayment agreements, saying the company doesnt comment on litigation. Ameriflight, which is based in Dallas, serves as a feeder airline contracted by overnight carriers like UPS and DHL.

HuffPost readers: Did you have to sign a training repayment agreement for your job? Email our reporter about it. You can remain anonymous.

Fredericks filed her lawsuit with the help of Towards Justice, a legal aid group assisting workers, and the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit watchdog of the student loan industry. Attorney Mike Pierce, the centers director, said Ameriflights repayment agreement is another illustration of employers trying to foist the cost of workforce training onto workers.

He compared it to the exploitative practices used by many for-profit colleges.

What we saw in this case was the same fact pattern as when someone walks in the door of a fly-by-night helicopter or flight training academy, Pierce said. Instead of recruiting vulnerable people off the street and selling a bill of goods, theyre hiring people to become the next generation of pilots and using that position to take advantage of them.

But Fredericks battle with Ameriflight is also a story about the tumultuous pandemic labor market  how it threw millions of desperate workers out of their jobs, then later handed them newfound leverage once the economy rebounded.

The daughter of a pilot, Fredericks started flying planes in early 2018. She said it took her a year and a half and around $80,000 to obtain her private pilot license, instrument ratings and other credentials shed need to find work. She financed the training with equity from a home sale and by working at a restaurant while she learned to fly.

Her first job was flying scenic tours in Bar Harbor, Maine; her next was flying aerial surveys in parallel lines. But a promising new job she took with Republic Airlines fell through once the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, as pilots and flight crews across the industry were laid off, furloughed or nudged into retirement.

Fredericks holds her fathers E6B flight computer, a flight planning tool that pilots must learn to use manually during training.

Fredericks holds her fathers E6B flight computer, a flight planning tool that pilots must learn to use manually during training.

A friend from her old surveying job told Fredericks there was still a lot of work in Puerto Rico. So she went to the island and literally walked around the airport handing out copies of her resume, she recalled. She worked for a small commercial carrier before Ameriflight called with an offer in the spring of 2021. She understood she might be locking herself into Ameriflight for around two years. But the industry still hadnt recovered, and stable work remained hard to find.

Theres this pressure put on pilots. ... Youve just dedicated two years of your life to nothing but flying, said Fredericks. I had done all of these things and completely restructured my life.

Fredericks said her training period, during which she was paid $12.50 per hour, lasted around two months and took place in Puerto Rico and Dallas. That stint included the Part 135 training that the Federal Aviation Administration requires for Ameriflight to operate its small cargo planes. Portions of the training were specific to the Beechcraft 99 planes that Fredericks would be flying. She said much of her in-the-air training with Ameriflight pilots was on flights in which the company was carrying cargo and making money.

An important question in Fredericks case is what her training was really worth and how well it would transfer to other carriers. Her lawsuit calls $20,000 a gross overvaluation. Fredericks said she gained little marketability for her Beechcraft 99 training (the models production ended in the mid-1980s). She said she came to Ameriflight with 1,700 hours of flying time, well above the 1,200 hours Ameriflight required for incoming captains.

The training I received is a requirement by the FAA in order for them to operate as an airline in the U.S., Fredericks said. You cant just not do this training. If they didnt give me this training, I couldnt fly and they couldnt operate.

Fredericks said her base salary at Ameriflight was around $55,000 per year. As the travel industry rebounded in 2021, her pay and schedule started to look less attractive compared to other opportunities. The same companies that had executed mass layoffs at the start of the pandemic were now competing with one another for a limited pool of workers.

Now the airlines were like, Oh no, we need pilots, pronto, Fredericks recalled. It was basic capitalism, supply and demand. It was an immediate flip. I watched it happening and said, Im going to miss the boat if I dont do something about this. Compared to where the market was, I was underpaid, overqualified, and had a grueling schedule that didnt give me any time to see my family.

Fredericks poses for a portrait at Hollywoods Beach in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

Fredericks poses for a portrait at Hollywoods Beach in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

She left Ameriflight for another job at the end of November 2021. She and company officials were soon discussing her debt over email. Fredericks said she asked the companys chief pilot for an itemized accounting of training costs but didnt receive one.

Its not clear exactly when Ameriflight instituted the training repayment provision. Fredericks said she believes the company stopped using it last year because the tight job market would no longer allow it. (In August the company announced significant pay hikes for its pilots, setting a new base salary of $76,500 for captains.)

When someone is offered a no-strings-attached job to fly jets in the normal hours of the day, or offered to be paid less and sign a TRAP and fly in the middle of the night  which one would you choose? she said.

Ameriflights repayment agreement was the subject of heated online debate in at least one forum for pilots early in the pandemic. At the time, a poster who said they worked for Ameriflight defended the use of the clause. The job market had been flooded with lots of capable pilots and the company needed to hire the ones who would stick around, they wrote.

Our training department spends a significant amount of time and Ameriflight spends a significant amount of money on each new hire, the poster wrote. With the substantial uptick in qualified applicants, narrowing the pool down to candidates who agree to commit to Ameriflight for at least 18 months is the responsible thing to do.

If Fredericks lawsuit succeeds, its possible her debt and that of other former Ameriflight pilots would be wiped out. They could also be entitled to damages. As part of the lawsuit, she is seeking an injunction that would forbid Ameriflight or its debt collectors from trying to enforce the clause.

Fredericks still has several years left under her debt repayment plan. She said she hesitated to file a lawsuit out of fear she could damage her job prospects and even be blackballed from airlines as a problem child. But she wants to put an end to the practice.

People need to be free to make their own choices and not feel like they have a debt theyre carrying around like Atlas with the world on their shoulders, Fredericks said. No one should feel like they dont have any options.
Ira "Bob" Born, the man who built a business on the backs of the marshmallow monstrosities known as Peeps, had died. He was 98. Peeps manufacturer Just Born Quality Confections is a family business that was founded by Born's father and eventually taken over by his son Ross. Along with Peeps, the company makes Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, and Goldenberg's Peanut Chews. Bob Bornwho held a degree in engineering physics"devoted his life to Just Born and the science and process of candy making," the company wrote in a statement. "He was an inventor whose amazing intellect allowed him to see solutions to almost any situation." From CNN:

Peeps have been around since the early 1950s when Just Born bought a smaller candy company that had been making the marshmallow candy by hand. Born used his engineering skills to "mechanize the marshmallow-forming process," reducing the time it took to make a Peeps package from 27 hours to just 6 minutes," according to the company's website. That helped him earn the nickname "Father of Peeps."

Originally created for Easter, Peeps makes themed candy for other holidays, too, including Valentine's Day and Halloween. However, Easter accounts for about 75% of Peeps sales each year[]

"The candy business was kind of catchy  it was interesting to him," Ross Born told the newspaper. "He enjoyed the science, the technology, the processing, he was very much into the equipment."
The United Kingdoms Defense Ministry this week said that Russian forces are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough in movement within the borders of southeastern Ukraine as its nearly year-long conflict with the neighboring country continues.

In a Twitter thread, the British Ministry of Defense noted that in the last three days, Russian forces were able to develop their probing attacks into a more concerted assault around the Ukrainian towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar.

The settlements lie 50km south-west of Donetsk city, and Russia previously used the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade in an unsuccessful assault on the same area in November 2022, the ministry said.

British intelligence also said the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade had likely advanced several hundred meters beyond the Kashlahach River, saying that Russian forces had marked the front line for several months.

There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector, the ministry said. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough.

The British Defense Ministry noted that Russian commanders have plans to develop a new axis of advance into the Ukrainian-held province of Donetsk, adding that forces want to divert Ukrainian forces from the heavily contested city of Bakhmut.

The British intelligence report comes as Russian forces have made significant advances around Bakhmut over a two-week period, their biggest gain in the war since Ukrainian forces took back most of the territory in the latter part of 2022, according to a Reuters report.

In an effort to slow Russias advances in the war, both the U.S. and Germany agreed to send tanks to support Ukrainian forces last week, with the U.S. announcing it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.

Russias invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has killed thousands on both sides and displaced nearly eight million Ukrainian citizens.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Self-examining yourself for skin cancer is an important, proactive step you can take in your own health.

FreshSplash/Getty Images

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the entire world, and its estimated that one in five people in the United States will develop skin cancer before theyre 70. Certain factors can put you more at risk of developing skin cancer, like having fair skin, a family history of skin cancer, and lots of exposure to the sun and/or tanning beds.

We dont say this to scare you, but rather to stress the importance of routinely self-examining for signs of skin cancer and making sure you visit your dermatologist regularly. When detected in its early stages, the five-year survival rate for melanoma the most concerning form of skin canceris a whopping 99%. Thats nothing to snuff at.

Self-skin checks are so important. You are the first line of offense for skin cancer, says Stefani Kappel, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist based in California. I have had patients who have performed self checks at home and then come in to see me as a dermatologist for a consultation or biopsy.

Keep scrolling for an in-depth rundown on how to check for skin cancer at home, what signs to look for, and advice for when you should schedule an appointment with your dermatologist.

How to Check for Skin Cancer At Home

Performing at-home skin cancer checks is a powerful way to take control of your own health. The rule of thumb is to do a thorough check at least once monthly, and you can also keep an eye out for any skin changes during routine grooming like showering or applying lotion.

Know the ABCDE's of Melanoma

When doing a self skin check you will be looking for the ABCD's of melanoma, says Dr. Kappel. These are the concerning changes that can happen with existing moles.

Asymmetric : One part of the spot looks different than another

Border Irregularity : The border looks jagged, blurred, scalloped, or undefined

Color variation : The spot contains multiple colors versus a single shade

Diameter : Be on the lookout for anything larger than the size of a pencil eraser

Evolving: The spot has changed over time in any way

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Dr. Kappel says that any of these signs are considered a red flag for melanoma and warrant a visit to the dermatologist. Also be aware of any symptoms such as itching, scaling, pain, inflammation, or redness.

What to Look For in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma skin cancerslike basal cell and squamous cell cancer, which are the most common cancersoften do not have pigment, notes Tiffany J. Libby, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon. They can be pink, skin-colored pearly bumps or scaly plaques of skin that are non-healing.

She says that shes had many patients come to her explaining that these spots started out like pimples but never went away. Sometimes they may bleed but thats not always the case.

Check Your Entire Body

Check for these skin cancer signs from head to toe, including your legs, arms, stomach, feet, and chest. In addition to the easy-to-check areas, take some time to examine lesser-viewed areas.

There are many areas on our bodies that we do not check regularly, like our backs, back of legs, in between fingers and toes and the soles of our feet, says Dr. Libby. This is why it is important to take an inventory to note any changes and allow for early detection of any cancerous lesions.

Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., a Miami-based board certified dermatologist, recommends using a mirror for this. She also points out some other easy-to-miss areas, such as genitalia, underarms, palms, soles of feet, and behind your ears. For some of these areas, you may be able to recruit a close friend, family member, or partner to help.

Be thorough, taking your time to be thorough and careful. This process takes about 10 to 15 minutes, so put on some good music and make an event of it.

Schedule an Appointment

If you notice any of the above signs of skin cancer, schedule an appointment with your dermatologist for a closer look. I always say that patients know their body the best, and very frequently in my clinic, patients are coming in pointing out new or changing lesions that end up warranting a skin biopsy, Dr. Libby says.

Its also important to routinely visit your dermatologist similar to an annual doctors checkup. In the same way self-breast checks are supplemental to mammograms, at-home skin assessments are supplemental to visiting your dermatologist at the recommended frequency. For someparticularly those with lots of freckles and moles or with a history of skin cancerthat may be as often as every three to six months. Others may only need to go every one to three years. Your dermatologist will recommend an ideal frequency for you.



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It might be sunny in El Paso, but a winter storm with freezing rain and icy roads on Tuesday was creating all sorts of havoc in other parts of Texas.

A pileup collision involving tractor-trailers on Tuesday morning closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 east of Van Horn, the Texas Department of Transportation office in El Paso said on Twitter.

There was a traffic backup at least 10 miles long as I-10 East remained closed as of Tuesday afternoon. Drivers were being detoured to Van Horn, Tx DOT said. The roadway reopened early Tuesday evening.

There also were reports of ice on the road on I-10 near the I-20 split, the transportation department cautioned. Drivers are advised to remain home, if possible. If they must travel, drivers should slow down, pay attention and use caution.

Nation:'It's messy out there': LaGuardia, Dallas airports issue ground stops amid fierce winter storms. Live updates.

The winter storm is also impacting the Permian Basin, where schools in Midland were closed Tuesday because of the worsening weather.

The storm is part of an arctic cold front stretching from Texas to the East Coast.

More:Here's how to stay out of the emergency room during winter storm

An American Airlines aircraft undergoes deicing procedures on Monday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

In West Texas, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from the Fort Stockton region eastward to Odessa-Midland and Del Rio and stretching east across much of Texas.

El Paso was expected to be sunny with a high of 60 degrees on Tuesday, but an upper-level system will arrive in the region on Wednesday, bringing cooler temperatures but no local hazardous weather. There was a possibility of freezing rain in neighboring Hudspeth County, the weather service said.

Texas airport cancellations

More than 1,000 U.S. flights were canceled by around 8 a.m. MT Tuesday, with over 1,300 more delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Southwest Airlines saw the most cancellations, scrapping around 322 flights, or about 8% of its schedule, USA TODAY reported.

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Cancellations impacted airports in Texas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

As of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, the El Paso International Airport website listed the cancellation of seven departures to Dallas and Austin. Delays also were reported.

Travelers should check with their airlines for the latest updates.

An icy mix covers Highway 114 on Monday in Roanoke, Texas. Dallas and other parts of North Texas are under a winter storm warning through Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas winter storm causes I-10 pileup near Van Horn; flights canceled
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23rd. Chew will discuss the app's privacy and data security measures, its impact on kids and ties to China (where parent company ByteDance is headquartered). This is Chew's first appearance in front of a congressional panel. TikTok's security and relationship with Chinese authorities have drawn the attention of US officials over the last few years. However, as CNBC reported, discussions between the US and TikTok appear to have stalled.

The relationship has been a precarious one for several years. The company has tried to assuage concerns by storing US user data on domestic Oracle servers and deleting such data from its own servers in the US and Singapore. However, other stories, like TikTok having to fire four employees (two each in China and the US) who accessed the data of several journalists, arent helping. They were said to be looking for the sources of leaks to reporters.

Also in December, a mammoth spending bill passed by lawmakers included a ban of TikTok from federal government-owned devices. However, the relationship has thawed since its nadir during the Trump administration , when the president pushed for the social network to shed its US assets. That, of course, never happened .

 Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Chip sales were down, too.

Samsung has revealed a sharp decline in profit for 2022, mainly due to the weak demand for its chips and smartphones, the company's main moneymakers. The Korean tech giant has posted KRW 302.23 trillion (US$245.4 billion) in annual revenue, which is a new record high for the company, in its latest earnings report. Its operating profit, however, was down KRW 8.5 trillion (US$6.9 billion) from the year before. Sales for Samsung's more affordable phones went down, and while flagship sales held up to market expectations, they're still lower than in previous quarters. The company expects demand for mass-market smartphones to weaken even further in 2023 "due to persistent macroeconomic conditions." Thats not great news when the company is holding its first Unpacked event of 2023 tomorrow.

Story continues

Continue reading.

Carl Pei says the upcoming flagship will be more premium than the Phone 1.

TMA

Nothings Carl Pei has confirmed the companys second phone will launch in the US later this year. He described the 2023 flagship as more premium than the Nothing Phone 1, which probably means itll be more expensive, too. In an interview with Inverse, Pei said the Phone 2s US launch would be Nothings top priority this year. Pei added that American carrier demands (red tape) were the main reason Nothing didn't launch the Phone 1 in the US.

Continue reading.

Baidu's service will allow users to get conversation-like search results.

TMA

Chinese search giant Baidu aims to introduce a ChatGPT-like AI service that gives users conversational results, according to a Bloomberg report. Open AI's ChatGPT has taken the tech world by storm, thanks to its ability to answer fact-based questions, write in a human-like way and even create code. Microsoft invested $1 billion in Open AI back in 2019, and reportedly plans to incorporate aspects of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine. Its the big thing  even Google reportedly sees the technology as a threat to its search business and plans to accelerate the development of its own conversational AI technology.

Continue reading.
SPUTNIK / AFP

Russias Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov informed Russian President Vladimir Putin that more than 9,000 reservists were illegally mobilized in the war against Ukraine, according to the presidents office.

Through the efforts of supervision, more than nine thousand citizens who were illegally mobilized were returned home, including those who, due to their health, should not have been mobilized in any way, Krasnov said in a meeting with Putin, the transcript of which was shared on Tuesday.

The mobilization has been a lesson for many, Krasnov added, noting that the military has to reorganize its databases and organization of military records to address the shortcomings. There have also been problems with paying troops, Krasnov said.

Mobilization has not been carried out for a long timeit revealed a lot of significant problems, Krasnov said.

The update on the internal chaos comes after months of Russias military floundering and working to round up Russian men to go to the war in Ukraine with little preparation. In an attempt to flood the field with more personnel approximately seven months into the war last fall, Putin announced a partial mobilization, calling up 300,000 reservists to go to Ukraine.

Intel Reveals Putin on Thin Ice in Panicked Hunt for Troops

Some were sent with little to no training after being mobilized. Reports of men being sent even when they had medical issues or were elderly have emerged in recent months. For example, in the Volgograd region, a 63-year-old pensioner with diabetes and a brain condition was called up, according to Baza. Video footage emerged last summer showing elderly Russians preparing for war, too.

Putin reportedly suggested in a meeting with members of the Security Council last year that only healthy men should be called up to Ukraine.

Fathers with many children, or people suffering from chronic diseases, or who have already passed the military age, should be entitled to deferment, Putin said last fall, according to RIA.

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Krasnov and Putin also discussed the problems that Russia has had in providing uniforms, bulletproof vests, and winter gear to properly prepare Russian troops for war in Ukraine.

We continue to deal with the issues of providing mobilized servicemen with bulletproof vests and other uniforms, Krasnov said. Most of the problems have already been resolved. Now we control the supply of winter uniforms to mobilized servicemen, as well as the formation of appropriate warehouses and their safety.

Putin responded to Krasnovs report that there are questions about ensuring the defense capability of the state moving forward.

Even with a track record of failings in the mobilization, Putin is working through ways to round up more Russian troops to go to Ukraine, without prompting more domestic resistance, according to a British government intelligence report released early this week. In some cases, Russian borders guards have reportedly begun preventing migrant workers that are naturalized citizens or that maintain Russian passports from leaving the country since they may be able to fight for the country.

The Russian leadership highly likely continues to search for ways to meet the high number of personnel required to resource any future major offensive in Ukraine, while minimizing domestic dissent, the intelligence brief said.

Western officials have been suggesting for weeks that Russia may be plotting a new offensive against Ukraine in the new year. British intelligence assesses that Russian authorities are likely keeping the option of more mobilization under the earlier partial mobilization to provide more manpower in the invasion in Ukraine.

A satellite imagery analysis provided exclusively to The Daily Beast last week shows that Russia is building up fortifications that may help them launch an offensive while maintaining what little gains they have made in Eastern Ukraine as well.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Jan 30 (Reuters) -

More than 1,000 Monday flights into or out of the United States have been canceled due to a severe winter storm, with about half of those coming from Southwest Airlines Co.

A total of 1,019 flights were canceled as of 6:00 pm ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.

Low-cost carrier Southwest earlier this month faced U.S. government backlash for canceling 16,700 flights over the holidays as it grappled with bad weather and outdated technology.

The company has scrapped about 12% of its Monday schedule, while American Airlines Group Inc has canceled 6%, or 200 flights.

The fresh cancellations come as the U.S. aviation sector recovers from a nationwide ground stop imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over a computer issue.

For Tuesday so far, 797 flights are scheduled to be canceled into or out of the United States.

Southwest Airlines and other major U.S. airlines have issued winter weather waivers. A waiver allows customers to change their itinerary with no fare differences if they remain in the same cabin as originally booked. (Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
A close ally of Vladimir Putin has boasted that the sanctions slapped on Moscow by the Kyivs allies have failed miserably.

Posting to Telegram on Tuesday morning, Dmitry Medvedev  former Russian president and prime minister  claimed that enemy countries do not have the courage to admit that their hellish sanctions have misfired.

He went on: So everything is as always: the Americans make money on a humiliated Europe. Crushed Europe endures and loses money. At the same time, even the IMF predicts economic growth in Russia this year.

In other news, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt has claimed that Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine could have been avoided if Brexit had not happened.

The blocs former Brexit coordinator suggested the Russian president calculated that the continent was not united on defence after the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Verhofstadt went on: A united Europe, certainly on defence matters, would make an enormous difference. I think maybe without Brexit, maybe there was no invasion. I dont know.

Key points

Russia faced with battle for every metre in eastern Ukraine

France sets conditions on sending jets to Ukraine

Biden says US wont provide F-16 jets to Ukraine

Russia planning new axis of advance to divert Ukraine from Bakhmut sector - MoD

Russia is having its big revenge, warns Zelensky

Putin ally says Western sanctions have 'failed miserably

12:15 , Emily Atkinson

A close ally of Vladimir Putin has boasted that the sanctions slapped on Moscow by Kyivs allies have failed miserably.

Posting to Telegram on Tuesday morning, Dmitry Medvedev  former Russian president and prime minister  claimed that enemy countries do not have the courage to admit that their hellish sanctions have misfired.

(Sputnik)

He went on: The vast majority of industrial products and consumer goods were replaced by our own, Russian, and the missing ones  by Asian brands. Parallel imports also work, from which we get the same western brands, and their owners get nothing.

Story continues

So everything is as always: the Americans make money on a humiliated Europe. Crushed Europe endures and loses money. At the same time, even the IMF predicts economic growth in Russia this year.

Boris Johnson 'to urge US to sustain aid for Ukraine

12:55 , Emily Atkinson

Boris Johnson will meet with Republican lawmakers this week as he presses the US to sustain aid to Ukraine as it fights off Russias assault.

The former prime minister is scheduled to speak at a private Republican club in Washington on Tuesday evening, said Representative Joe Wilson, a member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

(REUTERS)

He is also scheduled to meet with a group of Republican senators, said senator Todd Young on Monday, though he said he was unaware of the exact timing of the talks.

On Wednesday, Mr Johnson will discuss the need for Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses at the Atlantic Council think tank.

Russia publishes new decree in terrorism crackdown'

12:35 , Emily Atkinson

Russia will begin checks for weapons and explosives in cars in regions of the country with a high terrorist threat level, according to a presidential decree published on Tuesday.

Kremlin attacks extremely aggressive position of Baltic states

11:55 , Emily Atkinson

Calls by the president of Lithuania to supply Ukraine with fighter planes highlight the extremely aggressive position of the Baltic states and Poland, Moscow claims.

As a result of this, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that major European countries should make efforts to counterbalance their stance.

It comes after Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda said that Nato should stop drawing red lines and supply Ukraine with whatever weapons it needed, including fighter jets and long-range missiles.

(Reuters)

Asked about those comments, Mr Peskov told reporters: In general, we see an extremely aggressive position from representatives of the Baltic countries and Poland. They are apparently ready to do anything to provoke the growth of further confrontation, with little regard for the consequences.

He added: Of course, it is very sad that under these conditions the leaders of major European countries, who drive all European processes, unfortunately do not play a balancing role.

US ambassador discusses arms control in meeting with Russian minister'

11:35 , Emily Atkinson

Moscows deputy foreign minister has met with the US ambassador, according to Russias foreign ministry.

Sergei Ryabkov met with newly-arrived US ambassador Lynne Tracy and they had discussed arms control, the ministry said.

Russia wouldnt have invaded Ukraine without Brexit, suggests top MEP

11:15 , Emily Atkinson

Russia may not have invaded Ukraine if Brexit had not happened, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt has said on the third anniversary of the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Verhofstadt  the European parliaments former Brexit coordinator  suggested Vladimir Putin calculated that the continent was not united on defence after the UKs exit from the bloc.

This war, this brutal invasion started with Putin and Russia, he told LBC. Its really an attempt by Putin to restore the old Soviet Union. The only difference is the communist party is replaced with his own cronies.

Political correspondent Adam Forrest has more on this story here:

Russia wouldnt have invaded Ukraine without Brexit, suggests top MEP

Ukraine terrain control mapped

10:55 , Emily Atkinson

Russia has begun a major new offensive on the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar that could make local gains but is unlikely to lead to an operational breakthrough, the UKs Ministry of Defence has wanred (see more on this from our 7.40am post)

As a fresh Russian assault looms, here is a map showing the assessed control of terrain in Ukraine as of 30 January, using data from the Institute for the Study of War.

(The Independent)

Russia slaps Twitch with hefty fine over Ukraine war content

10:35 , Emily Atkinson

A Russian court has fined streaming service Twitch 4m roubles (46,265) for failing to remove what it called fakes about Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms distribution of content that falls foul of its restrictions, with Russian courts regularly imposing penalties.

In pictures: Friends of fallen Azov solider carry his body to Sloviansk cemetary

10:20 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian servicemen carry the body of an Azov battalion soldier killed while fighting in Bakhmut to a cemetary in Sloviansk.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Oleksiy Storozh (R), 28, is seen carrying the cross to be placed at the grave of his late best friend, 28-year-old orphan Oleksandr Korovniy. Other friends of Mr Korovniy are seen carrying his coffin.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Natos Stoltenberg calls for closer ties with Japan

10:05 , Emily Atkinson

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg has called for closer ties between Japan and the military alliance amid Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in Japan during a visit as part of his East Asia tour, the Nato secretary general said a Russian victory in Kyiv would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians.

(Getty Images)

Mr Stoltenberg went on: But it will also send a very dangerous message to authoritarian leaders all over the world because then the message will be that when they use military force they can achieve their goals. So the war in Ukraine matters for all of us.

He said his visit is a way to further strengthen the partnership between Nato and our highly valued partner Japan.

Mr Stoltenberg is set to meet with prime minister Fumio Kishida and hold a joint press conference later today.

Gazprom 'to ship 24.5m of gas to EU

09:50 , Emily Atkinson

Gazprom said it will ship 24.5m cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, a volume in line with recent days.

It follows reports that its exports to the EU fell to a record low in the first 30 days of January. For more on that story, see our post from 7.50am.

Putin 'speaks to Saudi Arabian prince in phone call

09:35 , Emily Atkinson

President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in a telephone call, according to Russias foreign ministry.

Further development of bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic and energy sectors, as well as cooperation within the Opec Plus group to provide the stability of global oil market were discussed, a read-out of the call states.

Putin and Saudi Arabias crown prince are pictured during a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October 2019 (REUTERS)

Review: World leaders seem rightly shamefaced about how they got taken for a ride by Russian president

09:20 , Emily Atkinson

Putin vs the West is the latest series from the legendary Norma Percy, and the three-parter contains everything youd expect from the veteran documentarian  the right blend of revelation, anecdote, history, drama, forensic analysis and storytelling. Its Putin, the Ukraine war and how the West fouled up, all made comprehensible. Its brilliant, and you have to watch it to understand how we got to where we are now.

Read Sean OGradys latest review here:

World leaders seem rightly shamefaced in Putin vs the West  review

Macron to host Kyiv defence minister in Paris amid jets debate

09:05 , Emily Atkinson

French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to welcome Ukraines defence minister to Paris today amid an ongoing debate among allies over whether to provide Ukraine with fighter jets.

The meeting comes after US president Joe Biden ruled out supplying Ukraine with F-16s to support its efforts against the Russian advance.

(via REUTERS)

Last week, Oleksiy Reznikov said Kyiv was planning to push for Western fourth-generation fighters like F-16s after securing supplies of main battle tanks.

Contrary to the US, France and Poland appear to be willing to consider any such request from Ukraine, with Mr Macron telling reporters in The Hague on Monday that by definition, nothing is excluded when it comes to military assistance.

Advocacy group accuses Ukraine of scattering landmines in Izium

08:50 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine has been urged to investigate claims that its military used thousands of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the eastern city of Izium when Russian forces occupied the area.

Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk, said Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch.

Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesnt justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons, he said.

(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Human Rights Watch documented PFM mine use in nine different areas in and around Izium city and verified 11 civilian casualties from these mines, it said on Tuesday.

The nine areas were all close to where Russian military forces were positioned at the time, suggesting they were the target.

A PFM is a scatterable antipersonnel mine, commonly called the butterfly mine.

Kyiv attacks Croatian presidents unacceptable comments over Crimea

08:30 , Emily Atkinson

Kyiv has hit out at comments made by Croatias president that Crimea will never again be a part of Ukraine, calling them unacceptable.

President Zoran Milanovic made the remarks on Monday while detailing his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Ukraine.

What the West is doing about Ukraine is deeply immoral because there is no solution (to the war), Mr Milanovic told reporters. It is clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine.

(REUTERS)

Posting to Facebook on Tuesday, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said: We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia and Belarus start joint training week for regional forces'

08:10 , Emily Atkinson

Russia and Belarus have started a week-long session of staff training for the joint command of their regional grouping of forces, Minsks defence ministry says.

The training is part of preparation for joint drills the two countries will hold in Russia in September, its statement reads.

Russian gas exports to EU via Ukraine 'hits record low

07:50 , Emily Atkinson

Russian gas exports to the European Union via Ukraine have reached a record low, reports say.

Exports plummeted to a low of 951.4 million cubic metres in the first 30 days of January, a report by Russian business newspaper Vedomosti claims, citing Gazprom figures.

Vedomosti reported that Gazprom had shipped between 41-43 million cubic metres via Ukraine daily during the second half of 2022.

(REUTERS)

However, from 5 January, daily volumes began to fall sharply, with only 24.4 million cubic metres shipped daily by 19 January.

Vedomosti reported that the decline is primarily the result of reduced demand for Russian gas in Europe, amid an unusually warm and windy winter.

Russia developing new axis of advance in Donetsk'

07:28 , Emily Atkinson

Russian forces have likely conducted attacks around the Ukrainian towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar in the past three days, according to UK intelligence.

In its daily update, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Moscow couldbe aiming to develop a new axis of advance into Donetsk.

There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the (Bakhmut) sector, the update added.

However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 31 January 2023



Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/LEQzjzWkCH



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/DpJv5iBb6b  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) January 31, 2023

US wont send F-16s  Biden

07:00 , Liam James

US president Joe Biden said the US will not send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, just hours after France said it was open to such a move.

Ukraine recently denied reports that it was seeking two squadrons of 12 fighter jets from allies but French president Macron said yesterday that France could yet send jets with conditions.

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

06:27 , Arpan Rai

The war in Ukraine should trigger a massive wakeup call for how the UK government looks to fund the British Army, former soldiers and military historians have warned amid criticism over its ability to defend the UK and its allies.

Former soldier Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British Army officer from 1988 to 2012, told The Independent: We thought the artillery was in good shape but that was before the Ukraine conflict, a lot of money was spent. But having been playing Star Wars [with focus on cyber and space security] the Ukraine war has shown that to be successful on the battlefield you need to focus on that.

The Rishi Sunak administration has come under fire from veterans and members of his own party after a US general said the army could no longer defend the UK. The army is currently 76,000 strong but would shrink to 73,000 if downsizing plans go ahead. It is already half the size it was in 1990 and the smallest it has been since Napoleonic times.

Read the full story here:

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

Russia turns maternity hospitals into field hospitals in Luhansk  official

06:14 , Arpan Rai

Russia has turned two maternity hospitals in Luhansk Oblast into field hospitals, the Ukrainian general staff said today, reported The Kyiv Independent.

He added that the medical facilities were taken over by Russian soldiers and it is now only possible to give birth at the Luhansk Regional Perinatal Centre where there is a catastrophic lack of places and risks for childbirth.

Putin threatened to kill me with missile attack, says Boris Johnson

06:00 , Liam James

Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in a missile attack, saying it would only take a minute in a call ahead of the invasion of Ukraine (Adam Forrest writes).

The former prime minister said the extraordinary conversation took place in February after he had visited Kyiv in a last-ditch attempt to show Western support for Ukraine amid growing fears of an assault.

Mr Johnson, who would emerge as a staunch backer of Volodymyr Zelenskys government, made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the invasion.

The former PM, who left No 10 in September after being forced from office, made the visit to Kyiv in early February to warn Russia that an invasion would prove disastrous and lead to tough Western sanctions.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Russian shelling targets Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson

05:41 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces have shelled a dozen settlements in the Bakhmut sector over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian army general staff said last night.

The Russian troops also trained tank, mortar and artillery fire on towns near Avdiivka to the south, the Ukrainian army official said.

More than 40 settlements came under Russian shelling in central Zaporizhzhia region and in southern Kherson region.

In Kherson, the Russians shelled Kherson city and towns on the left bank of the Dnipro River that they abandoned in November, Kyiv said.

Officials said some casualties have been reported.

Despite the heavy fighting which has picked pace in January, the front line in the eastern sector has not changed, according to Ukrainian military analyst.

The Russians also launched four rocket attacks on Ochakiv in southern Mykolaiv, the army said, on the day Zelensky met Danish prime minister in Mykolaiv city, to the northeast.

More than 60 Bradley fighting vehicles on way to Ukraine, say US officials

05:14 , Arpan Rai

A shipment of military aid that includes more than 60 Bradley fighting vehicles is on its way to Ukraine and will soon be received by Kyiv, US officials say.

The update was provided by US Transportation Command, a branch of the US military responsible for its significant transport logistics needs.

The shipment departed from South Carolina last week, a statement said.

The shipment  containing more than 60 Bradleys  left the shores of North Charleston, South Carolina, last week, and will provide the Ukrainian forces with additional offensive and defensive capabilities to protect their borders against Russias illegal invasion, US Transportation Command said.

Biden to visit Poland, date unknown

05:00 , Liam James

US president Joe Biden said on Monday he will visit Poland but does not know when.

NBC News reported last week Mr Biden was considering a trip to Europe, including possibly Poland, to coincide with the 24 February anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

04:42 , Arpan Rai

The Kremlin has indicated Boris Johnson told a lie when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson, talking about a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Moscows invasion of Ukraine, said: He sort of threatened me at one point and said: Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute, or something like that.

Read the full story:

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

World leaders seem rightly shamefaced in Putin vs the West

04:30 , Arpan Rai

In Putin vs the West, David Cameron, Francois Hollande, Jose Manuel Barroso and the rest of the gullible talking heads are mostly filmed in front of impressively full bookcases or inside what look like ornately furnished palaces.

Juxtaposed with bombed-out Ukrainian schools or tanks rolling down Crimean roads, this makes them look rather detached from the bloody reality they allowed to happen.

This is the latest series from the legendary Norma Percy, and the three-parter contains everything youd expect from the veteran documentarian  the right blend of revelation, anecdote, history, drama, forensic analysis and storytelling.

Its Putin, the Ukraine war and how the West fouled up, all made comprehensible. Its brilliant, and you have to watch it to understand how we got to where we are now.

Read the review here:

World leaders seem rightly shamefaced in Putin vs the West  review

Russia faced with battle for every metre in eastern Ukraine

04:20 , Arpan Rai

A Russian-backed official has made fresh claims of capturing Ukraines territory in the eastern region, but added that its troops were facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting for every metre.

Denis Pushilin, head of the occupied eastern Donetsk province and installed by Russia, claimed that the Ukrainian fighters were countering the Russian offensive with reinforcements in Bakhmut, Maryinka and Vuhledar  three towns placed in eastern Ukraines north to south strip.

Russian forces were making advances there, but not clear-cut, that is, here there is a battle for literally every metre, he said, reported Russias state news agency TASS.

Russia is having its big revenge, warns Zelensky

04:00 , Liam James

Russia has begun its big revenge for Ukraines resistance to its invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, as Russian forces claimed a series of incremental gains in his countrys east.

Mr Zelensky has been warning for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault on Ukraine after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.

He said Russian attacks in the east were relentless despite heavy casualties on the Russian side, casting them as payback for Ukraines success in pushing Russian forces back from the capital, northeast and south earlier in the conflict.

I think that Russia really wants its big revenge. I think they have [already] started it, Zelenskiy said.

Every day they either bring in more of their regular troops, or we see an increase in the number of Wagnerites, he told reporters in the southern port city of Odesa.

Zelensky at a news briefing in Odesa on Monday (Reuters)

Biden says US wont provide F-16 jets to Ukraine

03:22 , Arpan Rai

Joe Biden has said the US would not be providing Ukraines armed forces with the American-made F-16 fighter jets that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and members of his government have asked for.

Mr Biden was addressing reporters upon his return to the White House when he was asked if the US would offer the single-engine multirole fighters to Kyiv.

He replied: No.

The presidents statement comes amid a renewed push by Pentagon officials to provide the jets, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and used by a variety of US allies, in the wake of his decision to allow Kyiv to acquire American-made M1 Abrams tanks.

Read the full story here:

Biden says US wont provide F-16 jets to Ukraine

Slovenian authorities hold 2 alleged Russian spies'

03:00 , AP

Slovenian authorities have apprehended two alleged Russian spies suspected of using an agency dealing in real estate and antiques as a front for their activities in the Nato member, media reported Monday.

Slovenias respected Delo newspaper and the Siol news portal cited the public prosecutors office as confirming the arrests.

Slovenian police confirmed that two individuals had been arrested in December for suspected espionage but did not disclose which country they were accused of working for.

They are suspected of being members of a foreign intelligence service, police spokesman Drago Menegalija said.

Report: Slovenian authorities hold 2 alleged Russian spies

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

02:00 , PA

The Kremlin has suggested Boris Johnson told a lie when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson, talking about a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Moscows invasion of Ukraine, said: He sort of threatened me at one point and said: Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute, or something like that.

But the Kremlin disputed the claim, saying there were no threats with missiles during the bilateral conversation held in February 2022.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Five civilians killed as fighting remains deadlocked, say Ukrainian officials

01:00 , Liam James

Fighting has remained largely deadlocked in eastern Ukraine, where Russian shelling killed five civilians over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials.

The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were wounded by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city in the countrys north-east, regional governor Oleh Syniyehubov said.

An emergency worker walks in front of a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket in the city centre of Kharkiv (AP)

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

00:00 , Liam James

The Ukraine war should provide a massive wakeup call for how the government looks to fund the British Army, former soldiers and military historians have warned amid criticism over its ability to defend the UK and its allies (William Mata writes).

Rishi Sunak has come under fire from veterans and members of his own party after a US general said the army could no longer defend the UK. The army is currently 76,000 strong but would shrink to 73,000 if downsizing plans go ahead. It is already half the size it was in 1990 and the smallest it has been since Napoleonic times.

Former soldier Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British Army officer from 1988 to 2012, told The Independent: We thought the artillery was in good shape but that was before the Ukraine conflict, a lot of money was spent. But having been playing Star Wars [with focus on cyber and space security] the Ukraine war has shown that to be successful on the battlefield you need to focus on that.

Ukraine war a massive wakeup call for British Army, say veterans and experts

UK still a top-tier military power, says No 10

Monday 30 January 2023 23:00 , Liam James

London has insisted the UK remains a top-tier military power following claims a senior US general told defence secretary Ben Wallace the British Army is no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force.

Asked if Rishi Sunak still believes the UK is a top-level fighting force, his spokesman said: Yes, adding that the PM believes the British military personnel have the equipment and capability to meet the threats they face.

Defence sources told Sky News that cost-cutting measures have seen the status of the British Armed Forces decline in the eyes of world leaders. You havent got a tier one, its barely tier two, the US general reportedly told Mr Wallace.

France and Australia in joint arms pledge, moving on from Aukus snub

Monday 30 January 2023 22:00 , Liam James

France and Australia have unveiled plans to jointly manufacture ammunition for Ukraine as the two countries seek to shore up defence cooperation and move past a row over Canberras decision to ditch plans to buy French submarines.

The relationship hit historic lows in the autumn of 2021 with Paris accusing its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines built with US and British technology instead in what became known as the Aukus pact.

French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said France and Australia had agreed to cooperate to make several thousands of 155-mm shells to help Ukraine, which he hoped could start being delivered in the first quarter of this year.

Mr Lecornu was speaking after meeting his Australian counterpart Richard Marles, the first joint high-level talks since the submarine row erupted.

France open to sending fighter jets to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 20:59 , Liam James

President Emmanuel Macron said France was open to sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step might be taken.

France has sent Ukraine air defence systems, rocket launcher units, cannons and other military equipment and has pledged to send armoured surveillance and combat vehicles, but has stopped short of sending battle tanks or heavier weaponry.

Asked at a news conference in The Hague on Monday if France is considering sending warplanes, Mr Macron said nothing is excluded as long as certain conditions are met.

Among those conditions: that providing such equipment would not lead to an escalation of tensions or be used to touch Russian soil, and that it would not weaken the capacities of the French army, Mr Macron said.

He also said Ukraine would have to formally request the planes.

Allies have held back from pledging war planes over fears of a Russian response but after several states took the previously unthinkable step of sending tanks, the terms of support for Ukraine have changed.

Croatias president criticises tank deliveries to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Nato-member Croatias president has criticised Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons in its campaign against invading Russian forces, saying those arms deliveries will only prolong the war.

Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital that its mad to believe that Russia can be defeated in a conventional war.

I am against sending any lethal arms there, Mr Milanovic said. It prolongs the war.What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of the government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is mad, he added.

Mr Milanovic won the presidential election in Croatia in 2019 as a left-leaning liberal candidate, a counterpoint to the conservative government currently in power in the European Union and Nato-member state.

Milanovic after taking the presidential oath in 2020 (AP)

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Monday 30 January 2023 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin has suggested Boris Johnson told a lie when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson, talking about a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Moscows invasion of Ukraine, said: He sort of threatened me at one point and said: Boris, I dont want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute, or something like that.

But the Kremlin disputed the claim, saying there were no threats with missiles during the bilateral conversation held in February 2022.

Boris Johnson told a lie over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin

Joe Bidens decision to send tanks to Ukraine is about more than just politics

Monday 30 January 2023 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The decision by the Biden administration to reverse its previous stance and send tanks to Ukraine is a significant political and military move, Kim Sengupta writes.

The supply of the M1A1 Abrams has met the German stipulation on Leopard 2 tanks, for Berlins own forces  and those of other Nato states using them  to transfer them to Kyiv, with new offensives by both Russia and Ukraine due to begin in the spring.

The Abrams, the Leopards and the British-supplied Challengers will not, by themselves, win the war for Ukraine; but they will have a major impact on the battlefield and raise the scale and lethality of combat.

The number of tanks for a decisive tilt against the Russians are not adding up at the moment: although that may change.

Bidens decision to send tanks to Ukraine is about more than politics | Kim Sengupta

Russian official says small steps needed to reconcile with US

Monday 30 January 2023 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russias deputy foreign minister said that small steps would be needed for Moscow and the United States to come closer to agreement on bilateral issues, the RIA news agency reported on Monday.

We hope that the tactics of small steps will allow us to come to mutually acceptable solutions on the most important issues of the bilateral agenda, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency in an interview.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Slovenia arrests two men suspected on spying for Russia

Monday 30 January 2023 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Slovenias state security service has arrested two men suspected of spying for Russian military intelligence, the Ljubljana-based Delo newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.

The suspects, one of whom has citizenship of a South American country, operated under assumed identities from a rented office in the Bezigrad neighbourhood of the capital Ljubljana, the report said.

It said the two suspects have been charged with espionage for Russias GRU military intelligence service and using false documents. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to eight years.

The Slovenian Intelligence Agency said the information gathered was classified and therefore the agency does not make it public nor does it publicly comment on it.

The Agency regularly informs the main bodies of the national security system on intelligence activities carried out by foreign entities and cooperates ... closely with Slovenian security authorities as well as with the EU and NATO authorities and services, it said in an emailed response to Reuters.

NATO chief urges Seoul to send military support to Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 15:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying Kyiv is in urgent need of weapons to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with the large US-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining US-led economic sanctions against Moscow.

But the country has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.

Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg urged South Korea to step up on the specific issue of military support.

He noted that several NATO members and allies, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, have changed their policies of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.

If we believe in freedom, if we believe in democracy, if we dont want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons. Thats the reality, said Stoltenberg, who arrived in South Korea on Sunday on a trip that also includes Japan.

Stoltenberg also met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday. They discussed South Koreas commitment to support Ukraine and NATOs possible role in dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoons office said.

South Korean officials didnt confirm any specific discussions about sending arms to Ukraine.

Following his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Sunday, Stoltenberg mentioned U.S. intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, which he said highlights how security between the regions is more and more interconnected.

Russian business offers cash bounties to destroy Western tanks in Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 15:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A Russian company said it will offer five million roubles - approximately 58,000 - in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture western-made tanks in Ukraine, after the Kremlin vowed Russian forces would wipe out any Western tanks shipped to Ukraine.

The United States, Germany and several other European countries are lining up to send Kyiv dozens of advanced combat tanks over the next few months to help boost Ukraines military capacity as the war approaches the 12-month mark.

The decision has been criticised by the Kremlin as a dangerous escalation, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the tanks would burn on the frontlines.

Now a Russian company - Fores, a Urals-based firm which makes proppants for the energy industry - is offering cash payments to Russian servicemen who capture or destroy German-made Leopard 2 or U.S.-made Abrams tanks.

The company said it will pay five million roubles to the first Russian soldier to destroy one of the tanks, and 500,000 roubles- approximately 5,700- for all subsequent attacks.

Echoing language used by Russian officials and pro-war state TV hosts, Fores said NATO was pumping Ukraine with an unlimited amount of arms and escalating the conflict. It also said it would pay a 15-million rouble ($215,000) bounty on Western-made fighter jets, should they ever be delivered to Ukraine.

The tanks have not yet been dispatched to Kyiv, and it could take several months before the bulk of the promised deliveries are sent.

Finland to stick with Sweden in NATO bid, hopes for green light by July

Monday 30 January 2023 14:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Finland is sticking to its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbour Sweden, and hopes to do so no later than July, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said on Monday.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russias invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey raised objections.

The three countries signed an agreement in Madrid over a way forward, but last week, Turkey suspended talks after protests in Stockholm that included the burning of a Koran.

Turkeys President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday made similar statements.

However, Haavisto said Finland will stick with Sweden, its closest military partner, during the application process.

Our strong wish is still to join NATO together with Sweden, Haavisto told a news conference in Helsinki.

We have underlined to all our future NATO partners, including Hungary and Turkey, that Finnish and Swedish security go together, he said.

A spokesperson for Swedens foreign ministry declined to comment.

Zelensky visits southern Ukraine, meets Danish prime minister

Monday 30 January 2023 14:31 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen in the southern city of Mykolaiv on Monday during a rare visit by a foreign leader to a region close to the war front.

Zelensky greeted Frederiksen with a handshake on a snowy street before entering a hospital where they met soldiers wounded in Russias invasion.

It is important for our warriors to be able to undergo not only physical, but also psychological rehabilitation, Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. I am grateful to all the medical workers who care about the health of our defenders. I wish them a speedy recovery!

The two leaders also visited the Mykolaiv Commercial Sea Port, where they saw oil storage tanks hit by Russian enemy missiles and drones, and a heating point equipped with a water purification and distribution unit under a project implemented with Danish assistance.

Zelensky thanked Frederiksen for the assistance provided by Denmark, whose defence ministry said earlier this month that the country would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine.

The president said he had also met local officials while in Mykolaiv region, which has frequently been under attack by Russian forces since the invasion 11 months ago.

The region is heroically withstanding all the attacks of the terrorists (Russian forces). During the visit, I held a meeting on the current situation in the region, he wrote.

We discussed the operational situation in the south of Ukraine, the consequences of Russias missile and drone attacks.

Talks also covered the state of the regions energy infrastructure and the regions long-term recovery, Zelensky said.

Russia claims gains in relentless battles in east Ukraine

Monday 30 January 2023 13:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian forces claimed incremental gains in eastern Ukraine on Monday adding up to their biggest advances in months, after relentless battles that Kyiv described as human wave attacks which showed Moscow had no regard for the lives of its own men.

The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, claimed troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

A day earlier, the head of Russias Wagner mercenary force said his fighters had secured Blahodatne, a village just north of Bakhmut, a city that has been the focus of sustained Russian attacks for months.

Kyiv said it had repelled assaults on Blahodatne and Vuhledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situations there. But the locations of the reported fighting indicated clear, though gradual, Russian gains after around two months in which front lines had largely been frozen in place.

The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region - there are constant Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address late on Sunday.

The enemy does not count its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks.

Vuhledar sits south of Bakhmut, near where the eastern frontline protects Russian-controlled rail lines supplying Moscows forces in southern Ukraine. Mykola Salamakha, a Ukrainian colonel and military analyst, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Moscows assault there was coming at huge cost.

The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there, he said. This is a repetition of the situation in Bakhmut - one wave of Russian troops after another crushed by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Monday 30 January 2023 13:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russias special military operation in Ukraine has now been raging for more than 11 months, the conflict continuing to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russias western neighbour needed to be demilitarised and de-Nazified, an entirely baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president.

Ukraine has fought back courageously ever since and continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Read more from Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad:

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

China's top diplomat to visit Moscow in February

Monday 30 January 2023 13:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is set to visit Moscow in February, Russias Vedomosti newspaper said on Monday, citing two sources.

According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the sources said.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the report.

(AP)

Slovenia arrests two men suspected on spying for Russia

Monday 30 January 2023 13:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Slovenias state security agencies have arrested two men suspected of spying for the Russian military intelligence service, the Ljubljana-based Delo newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.

The suspects, one of whom has citizenship of a South American country, operated under assumed identities from a rented office in the Ljubljana neighbourhood of Bezigrad, the report said.

The two suspects have been charged with espionage and using false documents. If convicted, they may face jail terms of up to eight years, the report said.

Slovenias intelligence agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.

More Russian forces moved to Kursk region on Ukrainian border -governor

Monday 30 January 2023 12:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has moved additional forces and equipment to the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine to protect the frontier and ensure security, regional governor Roman Starovoit said on Monday, according to Interfax news agency.

Local authorities say that the region has repeatedly been subjected to Ukrainian shelling since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.

Some of Russias troops entered from the Kursk region, although the areas of northeastern Ukraine that they seized have since been retaken by Kyivs forces.

Starovoit told a meeting of the regional government that a solid contingent of personnel from the armed forces, border guards and law enforcement agencies had already been formed in Kursk, but that it is necessary to provide comprehensive support for the reception, deployment and arrangement of additional forces.

Kyiv has repeatedly warned that Russia could make a new attempt to seize parts of northeastern Ukraine, pointing to increased joint military activity in Russias close ally Belarus, another of the staging points for Februarys invasion, around 200 km (120 miles) west of Kursk province.

In pictures: Kherson strikes damage residential homes

Monday 30 January 2023 12:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian firefighters douse flames in a burning house following Russian shelling in the city of Kherson.

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Ryanair hiring Ukraine staff in anticipation of return after war

Monday 30 January 2023 11:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ryanair is hiring significant numbers of Ukrainian pilots and cabin crew so that it will be ready to return to the country when the war with Russia ends, Chief Executive Michael OLeary said on Monday.

We are very committed to returning to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so, said OLeary, who had said on the eve of the conflict that he was considering basing up to 20 aircraft in the country.

We are hiring quite a number of Ukraine pilots and cabin crew specifically so that we can ... restore bases in Ukraine if and when it is safe to do so, OLeary told analysts after the release of third-quarter financial results.

Russian shelling kills 5 in tough eastern Ukraine combat

Monday 30 January 2023 11:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian shelling killed at least five people and wounded 13 others during the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian authorities said Monday as the Kremlins and Kyivs forces remained locked in combat in eastern Ukraine.

The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were wounded by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city in the countrys northeast, according to regional Gov. Oleh Syniyehubov.

(via REUTERS)

(via REUTERS)

Russian army shells Kherson atrociously all day'

Monday 30 January 2023 10:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes on Kherson which damaged a hospital and residential buildings.

Today, the Russian army has been shelling Kherson atrociously all day. Residential buildings, various social and transport facilities, including a hospital, post office, and bus station, have been damaged, he said in his nightly address.

Two women, nurses, were wounded in the hospital. As of now, there are reports of six wounded and three dead.

(AFP/Getty)

Boris Johnson lied about Putin missile threat, Kremlin says

Monday 30 January 2023 10:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin said on Monday that former British prime minister Boris Johnson was lying when he said Vladimir Putin had threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that what Johnson said was not true, or more precisely, a lie.

Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader had threatened him with a missile strike that would only take a minute.

He threatened me at one point, and he said, Boris, I dont want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute or something like that, Johnson said.

Russia seeks 'new level' of China ties

Monday 30 January 2023 09:58 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia said on Monday that it wanted to take ties with China to a new level and was looking forward to face-to-face talks with Beijings leadership as a Russian newspaper reported that Chinas top diplomat would visit Moscow in February.

We are convinced that the potential for Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation is still far from exhausted, Russias foreign ministry said.

Russia aims to reach its target of $200 billion worth of trade between the two countries ahead of schedule and to significantly deepen its ties with Beijing, it said.

The deepening no limits partnership between the rising superpower of China and the natural resources titan of Russia is being watched by the West with some anxiety, though it is unclear just how deep the partnership is.

China has refrained from condemning Russias operation against Ukraine or calling it an invasion in line with the Kremlin which casts the war as a special military operation.

After the West imposed the most severe sanctions in modern history on Moscow due to the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin says Russia is turning towards Asia - and China in particular - after centuries of looking to the West as the crucible of economic growth, technology and war.

The Russian foreign ministrys comments came shortly after Russias Vedomosti newspaper reported that Chinas chief diplomat Wang Yi was set to visit Moscow in February.

According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Putin during his stay. The purpose of Wangs visit is unclear but may be related to preparations for an upcoming visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping, it added.

When asked about the potential visit by Wang Yi, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular briefing that she was not yet aware of such a meeting.

Iran summons senior Ukraine diplomat over comments on drone strike

Monday 30 January 2023 09:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Iran summoned Ukraines charge daffaires in Tehran on Monday over his countrys comments on a drone strike on a military factory in the central Iranian province of Isfahan, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in Ukrainian cities far from the front, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the incident directly to the war there.

Explosive night in Iran, Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Sunday. Did warn you.

A US official told Reuters that Israel appears to have been behind the attack.

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but says they were sent before Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year.

Moscow denies its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.
SINGAPORE, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UOB has partnered with some 1,500 clients to raise $2.4 million for charity as part of its Commercial Banking's annual Lunar New Year festive celebrations.

The funds, raised through a series of art workshops and a fundraising gala dinner with clients, will be donated to various charities to support the arts, children, as well as educational causes. These include The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Central Singapore CDC (UOB My Digital Bootcamp). The proceeds will also go towards assisting local small and medium-sized enterprises in their innovation efforts under the UOB-Singapore Management University Asian Enterprise Institute.

Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UOB, said, "Our fundraising activities bring businesses together for the greater good to support children, artists and budding entrepreneurs. We hope this annual tradition that combines art, philanthropy and celebrations will spread festive joy to the broader community in a meaningful way. We are grateful to our clients for their generosity in making this happen year after year."

As part of the fundraising efforts, two art pieces featuring finishing touches from Mr Wee and his seal, were auctioned off to Mr Kelvin Lim and Mr Neo Kah Kiat for a bid of $283,888 and $200,000 respectively. About 40 clients also participated in an art workshop as part of the fundraising effort.

Titled "Everlasting Fortune", the first art piece is assembled with elements of preserved natural moss and pine leaves, creating a magnificent landscape display symbolising longevity, good fortune and well-being.

The other piece is a commissioned contemporary artwork  titled "Harmonious Fortune"  by artist Karina Delicia Simon. It features an abstract bonsai tree with round leaves against a skyscape and sun, with a stroke of gold underneath representing wealth. The round leaves represent harmonious solidarity within the family, while the skyscape and sun indicate spring skies, signifying growth and good fortune.

Story continues

Digital representations of the two art pieces were also created and given to their respective bidders.

Mr Kelvin Lim, Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director of LHN Group, said, "Every Lunar New Year, I look forward to UOB's fundraising drive and am happy to be part of this meaningful initiative. We appreciate UOB's commitment to making this an annual tradition during the festive season as we give back to the community and do our part, while reconnecting with our business peers."

Mr Neo Kah Kiat, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neo Group Limited, said, "UOB's annual fundraising activities during Lunar New Year is a time of reunion for all of us, as it brings businesses together to lend our support to those who need our help. We are glad to be part of this effort in supporting the community."

About UOB

UOB is a leading bank in Asia with a global network of around 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. UOB is rated among the world's top banks: Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service and AA- by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. In Asia, UOB operates through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as branches and representative offices across the region.

Over more than eight decades, generations of UOB employees have carried through the entrepreneurial spirit, the focus on long-term value creation and an unwavering commitment to do what is right for our customers and our colleagues.

We believe in being a responsible financial services provider and we are committed to making a difference in the lives of our stakeholders and in the communities in which we operate. Just as we are dedicated to helping our customers manage their finances wisely and to grow their businesses, UOB is steadfast in our support of social development, particularly in the areas of art, children and education.

SOURCE UOB
Colorado-based bluegrass band Elk Range entertained folks who were stranded on Interstate 70 on Saturday, January 28 after an accident closed the highway for five hours. CBS News Colorado explains:

When members of the Elk Range group broke out their instruments and broke into song, bored drivers and passengers got into the groove. A 10-mile stretch of Interstate 70 was shut down at about 6:15 a.m. Saturday when a tractor-trailer jackknifed at mile marker 155. Traffic was stopped both directions and detoured at Wolcott and Eagle exits. But travelers caught between the towns had to sit out the closure.

Watch the video on YouTube here  the band is bringing their best, and the crowd is enjoying it, despite the snowy conditions!

If you want to learn more about Elk Range, which describes itself on its Facebook page as a "NewGrass quartet playing Rocky Mountain inspired music w/guitar, bass, mando, harmonica," visit their website.
Business Reporter

Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports.
Crime and Courts Reporter

Donald W. Meyers is a multimedia journalist at the Yakima Herald-Republic covering crime and courts. He is also the writer behind It Happened Here, a weekly history column. Before coming to Yakima, Meyers covered a wide variety of beats at The Salt Lake Tribune, Daily Herald, and daily and weekly newspapers across New Jersey. He is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as a regional officer in the organization as well as on the national Freedom of Information Committee.
Education Reporter

Vanessa Ontiveros is the education reporter at the Yakima Herald-Republic. She grew up near Los Angeles but has happily made Yakima her new home. She is passionate about reporting stories that serve the community and highlight various aspects of the educational system.She also hosts a podcast that discusses local arts education, Yakima Arts Talk, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The daughter of two longtime public school teachers, she is always looking to include community voices in her work.
RFA/Latino Community and Lower Valley Reporter

Heyo, Im Jasper. Nice to meet you. I cover a wide variety of news, but I try to focus on the Latino community and the Lower Yakima Valley. I want to sharestories and perspectives from the Yakima Valley. Im interested in economics, labor, geography and the environment, but the most important issues will always be the ones the community cares about. If you have something worth saying, Ill listen and try to write it down. Im a gosei from Northeast Los Angeles and I got my start as a student journalist and editor covering sports in the Bay Area. Im a massive soccer fan and I still love to play. I also love water in all its forms, the word copacetic and trying new things. I want to read more, and I like to cook, but Im not great at either. Have fun out there!
Mark Morey never hesitated to dive into a story and get his hands dirty. Or in this case, during a tour of the fall fishery on the on the Columbia River, bloody.
The George Supreme Court will consider removing a state appeals court judge, Christian Coomer, from the bench after a three-judge panel found him guilty of multiple ethics violations. It takes a lot to get the justice system to police itself, but Coomer's long list of wrongdoing demonstrates a deeply corrupt individual.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The panel found that Coomer improperly mingled money from his campaign account with his law firm's banking account. Four times in 2017, his campaign account transferred between $1,000 and $1,200 to his law firm account. Each time, Coomer's law firm account would have suffered an overdrawn balance had the transfer not been made, the panel found.

The panel also said Coomer improperly used campaign funds for family vacations to Israel and Hawaii. In all, the panel said the JQC proved 29 of the 36 ethics violations lodged against Coomer, who took the stand twice during his quasi-trial.

Emotional at times, Coomer said the allegations tarnished his reputation and embarrassed his family. He admitted to "blurring the lines" between attorney and friendship when he asked former client Jim Filhart for three loans totaling nearly $370,000. Coomer said he repaid the money with interest; most of it was returned after Filhart filed a lawsuit accusing Coomer of fraud and malpractice.
Pathological liar George Santos told his co-dependent GOP colleagues today in a closed-door meeting that he is stepping down from his committee assignments. Although he said he wanted to remove himself because he's "a distraction," his decision comes while the New York congressman  who also goes by Anthony Devolder, Anthony Zabrovsky, and Kitara Ravache, among, perhaps, other undercover aliases  faces a "parallel criminal probe," including a federal investigation into his campaign finances and another local investigation into his resume "embellishments."

However, the 34-year-old alleged fraudster, who Speaker Kevin McCarthy shamelessly defends, said his recusal from both the House Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee would be "temporary" until "things get settled," according to The Hill.

From The Hill:

Santos's move comes after he met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday. "I met with George Santos yesterday and I think it was an appropriate decision that until he could clear everything up he's off of committees right now," McCarthy told reporters following the closed-door conference hearing. "We had a discussion, he asked me if he could do that. So I think it was the appropriate decision," McCarthy said. The Speaker said the spots initially set aside for Santos could be filled "on a temporary basis," adding that Santos will "be able to get committees back" once he is cleared.

And from The Washington Post:
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Danubius Hotel Hungaria, Hungary's biggest hotel is set to reopen on February 23, Danubius Hotels tells the Budapest Business Journal.

As previously reported, Danubius Hotels has ordered a temporary shutdown of the hotel in order to ensure efficient operations, to meet occupancy forecasts and to address the economic and energy situation.



On a company level, the hotel management is seeing a positive trend in the spring-summer occupancy forecasts, with a return of interest in Budapest and the country from leisure groups and a number of high-profile events being organized in Budapest this year.



"Given the expected demand, we have judged that now is the right time to expand our capacity with the opening of Danubius Hotel Hungaria. It is a positive turnaround in tourism that the group tour business, which has been ailing since COVID, seems to be gaining strength again," said Balazs Kovacs, CEO of Danubius Hotels.



"The number of bookings of this type has increased significantly in the last period, and there is also great interest in several cultural and sporting events hosted by our capital. All colleagues working at the hotel were looked after during the temporary shutdown. We have an extensive portfolio of hotels in the capital, so we were able to provide work for our colleagues in Hungaria during this period."



With the reopening of Danubius Hotel Hungaria, the hotel chain will once again be open to guests in nine hotels in Budapest, Buk, and Gyor from the end of February.
A record number of 1,151 students from Morocco have enrolled to study in Hungarian universities this year, a sign of recognition of the standard of Hungarian higher education, the foreign minister said, after meeting Moroccos minister for higher education and innovation minister in Budapest.

Peter Szijjarto and Abdellatif Miraoui signed an agreement on Hungary increasing the number of grants for Moroccan students from an annual 150 to 165 during 2023-2025.



In March, the rectors conferences of the two countries will hold a joint meeting and Hungarian universities will send teachers to give classes at Moroccos largest universities, Szijjarto told a joint press conference after the talks.



Meanwhile, Szijjarto said the war in Ukraine had seriously affected Morocco, with most of its wheat imports coming from Ukraine and Russia.



He said both Morocco and Hungary had an interest in restoring peace in Ukraine as soon as possible to have a realistic chance to prevent serious global challenges.



Szijjarto called illegal migration to Europe one of such challenges, adding that in tackling it Morocco had an important role to play.



The experience we have gained over the past 6-7 years is that migration pressure eases if there is stability in north Africa. This is why we highly esteem stable countries in the region, a line of defence for Europe, Morocco among them, the foreign minister said.



Hungary will have the opportunity to offer further help as its embassy will serve as liaison between Morocco and NATO from 2023, he added.



Speaking about bilateral economic ties, Szijjarto noted a continued development of cooperation.



Bilateral trade last year increased by 16%, to a record 300 million dollars, he said.
The Christian Crusades from 1095-1291 against Muslim and Arab peoples have a continued impact today. Establishing a precedent where wars were fought in the name of a Christian God, wars that led to mass death while accumulating massive amounts of wealth, reflect a history and logic of genocide. That same logic, pitting European Christians against the "heathen" Indigenous already inhabiting this newly discovered world, constructs an origin narrative of mythological proportions.

Warriors, demons, baby killers, groomers, and diabolical policies are the language used by contemporary Christian warriors. This New Republic article by Katherine Stewart, "The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right," explains the transformation in American society.

"A hotter and more reactionary style of religion is surging in America and mainstreaming certain radical frameworks. It cuts across traditional denominational divides. It tracks some global shifts in religion, shifts in which America is a follower as well as a leader. And it represents a significant threat to the future of American democracy. The most fruitful line of investigation and response has to focus on the root causes of the religious transformation. Religion in America is starting to look more like religion in Brazil and Guatemala because America, in some aspects, is starting to resemble Brazil and Guatemala: increasingly unequal, bitterly divided, corrupt, rife with disinformation, and unstable. If we want people to choose different gods, we might think about tackling the conditions that lead them to prefer one kind over another."

This essay by Stewart is part of a larger book project, The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, that unveils the national, local, and global impacts of the political machinations of wealthy soldiers for Christ.

"A revelatory investigation of the Religious right's rise to political power. Stewart shows that the real power of the movement lies in a dense network of think tanks, advocacy groups, and pastoral organizations, embedded in a rapidly expanding community of international alliances with like-minded, anti-democratic religious nationalists around the world, including Russia. She follows the money behind the movement and traces much of it to a group of super-wealthy, ultraconservative donors and family foundations. The Christian nationalist movement is far more organized and better funded than most people realize. It seeks to control all aspects of government and society. Its successes have been stunning, and its influence now extends to every aspect of American life, from the white house to state house capitols, from our schools to our hospitals."

Why do Christians still believe they have the right to impose their views through law and policy on other people, especially non-Christians?
Matt is currently based in British Embassy Budapest, where he is the First Secretary and Head of the Political Team.

Matt joined the then FCO in 2017 as a Research Analyst covering Counter Terrorism in North Africa and Europe from the Defence and Science Technology laboratory (part of the UK Ministry of Defence), before leading Open Source Intelligence for the FCO and then FCDO until 2021.



1. Where did you grow up, and what brought you to Hungary?

I grew up in the west midlands, in a small town called Shrewsbury. I arrived here for a job posting as 1st Secretary of British Embassy Budapest.



2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

Definitely somewhere hot, I really enjoy summers in Budapest as the temperature really climbs!



3. What would you miss most if you moved away from Hungary?

Hungarian hospitality. I've made great friends here, and have always been made to feel very welcome by every Hungarian I meet.



4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?

Fisherman's bastion, the Basilica and the Szechenyi baths! A tour of the Hungarian parliament building would also be great, and swing by the New York cafe is a very

good way to spoil yourself! If there's time I'd also take them away from the busy

centre and head to Szentendre or Normafa park.



5. What is your favourite food?

I cannot get enough of Italian food especially gnocchi, but I have a soft spot for kurtoskalacs.



6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise?

I'm a big fan of Formula 1! Sadly I don't have a F1 car to race myself, but I recently tried gokarting and love it! I also a bit of running and hitting the gym when I can!



7. What is your favourite place in Hungary?

I've visited Pecs a couple of times, and it's especially nice in the summer.... But I think I have to say the model answer is Balaton!



8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?

Broadcast journalist or Newsreader! Maybe one day...



9. What's a job you would definitely never want?

Accountant - I tried it once for work experience, not for me!



10. Where did you spend your last vacation?

I took a big trip on my motorbike, from Budapest to Bratislava, over to Austria to see Vienna and Graz, followed by Zagreb and Zadar in Croatia, Tivat in Montenegro and then Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina... then I stopped in Dublin, mostly to recover from the 2500 km trip!



11. Where do you hope to spend your next one?

I'm hoping to go to Iceland! I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights.



12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?

I'm a sucker for a historical epic and Gladiator is a timeless favourite! I also love Star Wars!



13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?

I have a sweet tooth, so anything fruity and sugary! Rowntree's fruit pastilles are fantastic.



14. Red wine or white?

Red marginally edges white for me... I'm a fan of Hungarian reds in particular.



15. Book or movie?

Movie



16. Morning person or night person?

Morning



17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?

Diversity and equality is very important to me. I lead the FCDO's Race and Ethnicity Network, which is very fulfilling!



18. Buda or Pest side?

Pest



19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about?

I'd have to say becoming a diplomat, it's a career I never thought I'd get to do!



20. What would you say is your personal motto?

"You never really know a man 'til you walk a mile in their shoes"? Atticus finch, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
YORK  The York Police Department is investigating a suspected homicide as a York woman was found shot to death in her home.

York Police Chief Ed Tjaden said the department was called to 84 South Platte Avenue to investigate a shooting at 9:47 p.m.

After tactical entry was made into the home, Stacie Beutler, 46, was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. Medical assistance was called and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Tjaden said while they were still at the residence, officers received information about the location of a suspect at another house in York. A short time later, Bart Beutler, 47, was arrested without incident on charges of first degree murder, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person. He was transported to the York County Jail where he is currently held.

Chief Tjaden said the suspect was taken into custody 30 minutes after the initial report and there is no indication at this time anyone else was involved.

Tjaden said he wanted to thank the York County Sheriffs Department, the York Fire Department and the Nebraska State Patrol for their assistance.

No further information is available at this time. Chief Tjaden asked for the publics patience as we move through this investigation.
How does the celebration for Punxsutawney Phil differ from the popular Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" and what are some of the gaffes that have happened there over the years?

Meteorologist Joe Murgo has covered it in person for more than 20 years and shares his stories about the crowds and dignitaries, including a governor who nearly got his finger bitten off!

About the Across the Sky podcast

The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team:

Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia.

Sneak preview

More episodes
YORK  Michael Cook, 40, of York, has been arraigned on three felony charges related to an illegal weapon and the possession of methamphetamine.

He appeared in York County District Court this week, before Judge James Stecker.

The case began when officers with the York Police Department were on regular patrol and initiated a traffic stop because of violations.

In the affidavit the officers filed with the court, they say the driver  Brian R. Wilson, who they knew from prior contact  exited the vehicle and begin walking toward them, saying he was confused about why he was stopped.

Cook and Mary Boyles were identified as the passengers of the vehicle. Officers were advised Wilson had a revoked license from California and no license in Nebraska; Boyles license was suspended in Nebraska, she had a history of narcotic violations and was flagged as dangerous; and Cook had a narcotics history, was a felony and was also flagged as dangerous.

Court documents indicate Cook disclosed he had a knife concealed in his pocket which the officers retrieved.

Wilson denied consent to search the vehicle, but the officers told him they were aware there was methamphetamine inside it because he had just purchased it from a trailer house hed left prior to the traffic stop. Wilson allegedly admitted that yes, there was methamphetamine in the car. But suddenly, he changed his mind, acting surprised and in an exasperated voice told (officers) there was no methamphetamine in the vehicle and he does not do drugs and never has.

Because Cook was on probation, a probation search was requested of the vehicle. Officers found two bags containing seven grams of methamphetamine.

Cook has been charged with possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, a Class 3 felony; possession of a deadly weapon while committing a felony, a Class 3 felony; and possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony.

A jury trial has been set for late May.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd., has announced the installation of its Ultra-High Speed Public EV Charging Network across key highways and cities in India. HMIL has installed the first two Ultra-Fast Public Charging stations across Hyderabad-Vijayawada (Narketpalle) and Delhi- Chandigarh (Kurukshetra) highways. Each fast charging station will comprise one unit of DC 150 kW Ultra-Fast Charger and one unit of DC 60 kW High-Speed Charger. HMIL further said they aim to set up 10 Ultra-Fast Public Charging Stations in first-half of CY2023 and will continue expansion to other cities and highways.

All electric vehicle owners in India can avail the quick charging facility at these chargers. Hyundai EV owners, on the other hand, can access the charging stations on Hyundais own Charger Management System in myHyundai App, for easy finding, pre-booking charging slots, digital payment, remote charging status monitoring, etc. All the charging stations are managed and operated by Hyundai Motor India Ltd in partnership with ChargeZone.

The Hyundai branded station with an attractive charging tariff are installed at locations having adequate customer amenities like coffee shops/ restaurants. These charging stations are also manned with marshals for assisting EV users 24x7 to enable a seamless charging experience. The newly launched Hyundai IONIQ 5 can be charged from 10% to 80% charge within 21 minutes, at these charging stations.

Commenting on the installation of Fast Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles, Jae Wan Ryu, Executive Director  Corporate Planning, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, "We are delighted to take another step in the direction of strengthening the Indian Governments resolve for Electrification, that will enrich and augment the electric mobility lifestyle for EV adopters.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. has been persistent in its efforts to enhance customer convenience by installing Ultra-Fast EV Charging Stations at strategic public locations across highways and cities. With the recent launch of the globally acclaimed, the all-electric SUV Hyundai IONIQ 5 and HMIs commitment to expanding its EV portfolio by 2028, we will catalyze our initiative of building a sustainable ecosystem for Indias transition towards electric mobility, and continue taking our customers Beyond Mobility.
Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has announced that it received the first Level 3 Autonomy approval for its "DRIVE PILOT" system, a first in the industry in the US. The German car company also said that Nevada (a US state) is the first state to confirm the compliance of the system with state regulations. DRIVE PILOT will allow the driver to hand over the dynamic driving task to the vehicle under certain conditions.





"Our DRIVE PILOT takes a major step forward in achieving that and places us at the very forefront of innovation in the crucially important field of automated driving," Markus Schafer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, CTO, said in a statement."DRIVE PILOT demonstrates once more that our pioneering spirit is part of our DNA. Certification in Nevada marks the start of its international rollout and, with it, the dawning of a new era," he added.Moreover, the company said, during the conditionally automated journey, DRIVE PILOT will allow the drivers to take their mind off the traffic and focus on certain secondary activities.While DRIVE PILOT is active, applications that are normally blocked while driving can be enabled on the vehicle`s central display. Further, the German car maker mentioned that it has the ambition to continue to expand to California later this year with the certification documents already filed with state authorities.Mercedes-Benz will offer DRIVE PILOT on S-Class as well as EQS sedan models for the model year 2024, with the first cars being delivered in the second half of 2023.
Boeing, the US based aviation giant will deliver the final unit of the iconic jumbo jet - the Boeing 747, also called the 'Queen of the Skies' - to Atlas Air. The plane will be delivered in a special ceremony at its Everett manufacturing facility in Washington on February 1. Boeing 747, the original and arguably most aesthetic "Jumbo Jet", revolutionized air travel and is also the longest surviving plane in the world with continuous production for last 53 years. The US aircraft maker had rolled out the first B747-100 plane on September 30, 1968, while the first 747 entered service on launch customer Pan Am Airlines' New York-London route on January 21, 1970.

Boeing 747 became the first double decker plane and also the first dual aisle aircraft in the world. In July 2020, after running the iconic jumbo aircraft programme for nearly 52 years, the aircraft maker announced it will end production of the 'Queen of the Skies' by the end of 2022 due to market preference.

In the 55-year period, Boeing built a total of 1,574 B747 aircraft with four engines for over 100 customers, including Air India. "Truly the passing of an era, and of a slice of our lives. The Boeing 747 is what got many like me obsessed or even infatuated with aviation. It represented freedom to travel and see the wondrous world to me as a young boy growing up in Calcutta. The most beautiful aircraft ever!," tweeted Jet Airways 2.0 CEO-Designate, Sanjiv Kapoor on the final delivery of the B747 plane.

Air India was one of the early customers for these planes, inducting the 500-seating capacity aircraft in the fleet as early as in 1971. Besides using them for commercial operations for a little over 50 years, Air India also used two of these planes for flying the VVIPs 'President, Vice President and Prime Minister', which were replaced with two refurbished B777s in October 2020.

The jumbo also made its mark on global affairs, symbolising war and peace, from America's "Doomsday Plane" nuclear command post to papal visits on chartered 747s nicknamed Shepherd One. Now, two previously delivered 747s are being fitted to replace U.S. presidential jets known globally as Air Force One.

As a Pan Am flight attendant, Linda Freier served passengers ranging from Michael Jackson to Mother Teresa. "It was an incredible diversity of passengers. People who were well dressed and people who had very little and spent everything they had on that ticket," Freier said.

Boeing 747: The Start

Pan Am founder Juan Trippe sought to cut costs by increasing the number of seats. On a fishing trip, he challenged Boeing President William Allen to make something dwarfing the 707. Allen put legendary engineer Joe Sutter in charge. It took only 28 months for Sutter's team known as "the Incredibles" to develop the 747 before the first flight on Feb. 9, 1969.

Although it eventually became a cash cow, the 747's initial years were riddled with problems and the $1-billion development costs almost bankrupted Boeing, which believed the future of air travel lay in supersonic jets.

After a slump during the 1970s oil crisis, the plane's heyday arrived in 1989 when Boeing introduced the 747-400 with new engines and lighter materials, making it a perfect fit to meet growing demand for trans-Pacific flights. "The 747 is the most beautiful and easy plane to land ... It's just like landing an armchair," said Dickinson, who also chairs aviation maintenance firm Caerdav.

Boeing 747: The Finish

The same swell of innovation that got the 747 off the ground has spelled its end, as advances made it possible for dual-engine jets to replicate its range and capacity at lower cost. Yet the 777X, set to take the 747's place at the top of the jet market, will not be ready until at least 2025 after delays. Nevertheless, the latest 747-8 version is set to grace the skies for years, chiefly as a freighter, having outlasted European Airbus' double-decker A380 passenger jet in production.

With agencies inputs
A 62-year-old man from Kerala was arrested for allegedly smoking inside the lavatory of a private airline, which landed at the airport here on January 29. According to the Police, a case under various provisions of the Aircraft Act was registered against Thrissur resident, Sukumaran. The case was registered on January 29 and the man was arrested after completing formalities. Later, he was let off on bail, they said. As per the FIR, the man was found smoking inside the lavatory of Spicejet airways mid-flight and was apprehended by the crew who handed over him to the airport authorities.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) fined Tata-owned Air India Rs 10 lakh for not reporting two incidents onboard a Paris-New Delhi flight last year. This incident occurred within a few days of the urination incident on the New York-Delhi flight.

Also read: Aviation Explained: Why Singapore Airlines is Investing in Tata-Owned Air India?

As per reports, the unruly behaviour of two passengers was overlooked by Air India on the Paris-New Delhi flight. While one passenger smoked inside the lavatory of the flight (smoking is banned inside the plane), another drunk passenger relieved himself on a blanket kept on an empty seat.

This fine comes within days of DGCA slapping a first-of-its-kind fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for mishandling the peeing incident on a New York-Delhi flight.

The incident, which occurred on November 26, 2022, garnered a lot of media attention, resulting in the arrest of Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on an elderly woman on the flight in an inebriated condition.

Apart from Rs 30 lakh fine on Air India, DGCA also fined Rs 3 lakh on Air India's Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties. DGCA also suspended the license of the pilot-in-command for three months.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Mumbai Police has arrested an Italian woman, Paola Perruccio, for creating a ruckus on a Vistara international flight and allegedly walking semi-naked in the aisle of the flight, demanding to upgrade her seat. As per ANI, the woman, who was travelling on a Vistara Abu Dhabi-Mumbai flight insisted on sitting in business class despite having an economy ticket. On being denied for an upgrade, she assaulted the cabin crew, took off some of her clothes and walked up and down the aisle in a partially naked state. According to the Mumbai police, the woman was reportedly in an inebriated state and created a ruckus.

The Sahar Police Station in Mumbai, under which Mumbai Airport jurisdiction falls, received the complaint from the cabin crew of the flight UK 256 and arrested the woman after it landed in Mumbai in the early hours of Monday, January 30, 2023. The flight took off from Abu Dhabi at 2.03 am IST on Monday.

"We confirm that there was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 256 operating from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on 30 Jan 2023. In view of the continued unruly conduct and violent behaviour, the captain issued a warning card and made a decision to restrain the customer" said Vistara spokesperson.

"The pilot made regular announcements to assure the other customers onboard of their safety and security. In accordance with the guidelines and our stringent SOPs, the security agencies on-ground were informed to take immediate action upon arrival" Vistara spokesperson added.

Vistara spokesperson further stated that the incident was reported to the relevant authorities as per the SOPs, "Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behaviour that endangers the safety, security, and dignity of its customers and staff."

The Mumbai Police has filed a chargesheet against Paola Perruccio for misbehaving midair on the flight and was later given bail by a court. A medical examination was also conducted on the woman before booking her under several sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Last year Vistara handed over an unruly passenger to London's Heathrow airport authorities after he manhandled and abused crew members during the flight. A Vistara spokesperson said the passenger was detained for investigation on arrival at London Heathrow.
New Delhi: Hansal Mehta's hostage drama Faraaz is all set to release later this week and the audience has bookmarked February 3rd, 2023 to experience the spine-chilling story. Exclusive bytes from the recent Kapoor screening are here. Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan & Paresh Rawal have praised the film.

Alia Bhatt said, "I dont think I expected the experience I saw. I really felt like I was a part of the experience. So gripping, so personal, & so thrilling. Such a poignant story, such a large message."

Ranbir Kapoor adds, Its a very moving & powerful film. Its so simple but it says so much about ideology & perceptions.

Kareena Kapoor Khan adds, "There was this angst & tenseness through the film which I connected to from all the time the film started. The minute they entered the cafe, I just knew it's going to be like a hazy kind of rush & that's exactly what happened."

Saif Ali Khan said, A film with a strong, tight narrative. A really well-directed & put-together film. Its really well done.

Paresh Rawal ends by saying, "This is the most important film for such trying times of India & for such youth. The most important film."

Based on the real-life terrorist attack that ravaged a Dhaka cafe, Faraaz is an untold heroic tale about a young boy who stood tall in the darkest times.

Faraaz is directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha, Sakshi Bhatt, Sahil Saigal, and Mazahir Mandsaurwala. The film is jointly produced by T-Series and Benaras Media works in association with Mahana Films. The film stars Zahan Kapoor, Aditya Rawal, Juhi Babbar, Aamir Ali, Sachin Lalwani, Pallak Lalwani, and Reshham Sahaani in the cast. Faraaz is all set to release on February 3rd, 2023.
An e-book for teens was mislabeled and available to elementary school students, and so Orange County, California's Orange Unified School District has shut down access to the entire virtual library. Conservative parents are trumping up outrage over books all over the country, but this shows a level of sophistication I did not expect  when did these folks learn there are e-books?

OC Register:

"The analogy I use is that, when you walk into a physical library and find an inappropriate book in the children's section, you take it off the shelf and hand it to the librarian to put in the proper place," Erickson said. "You don't shut down the whole library."

She's withholding judgment until she gets more information, but understands people's fears that the committee might open the door to censorship. It's unclear who will be on it, or what exactly it will be doing.

The interim superintendent was traveling Monday and wasn't available to answer questions, district officials said.

Darshan Bryant Smaaladen is concerned about what they want to leave out.

"They want to control the books," she said. "The desire for parents to have transparency about what their child is checking out and accessing is valid  an email informing you your child has checked out X or Y. But we can't limit access. Who decides? I think this is grandstanding. It is further reckless behavior that throws our district into chaos."
New Delhi: The Budget session of Parliament kicks off on Tuesday with opposition parties geared up to target the government on a range of issues including the Adani-Hindenburg row while the Centre asserted it was willing to discuss every matter allowed by rules.

The session will commence with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The address essentially highlights the government's achievements and policy priorities.

The Economic Survey will be also tabled on Tuesday after the President's address.

On the eve of the Budget session, opposition parties on Monday raised the Adani issue and the conduct of governors in some states ruled by them at an all-party meeting.

With several regional parties signalling their intention to also raise issues relating to unemployment, price rise and the Centre's alleged bias in sharing revenue with states, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government has always been positive to discussing every topic but maintained that it should be held under the rules and with the Chair's permission.

"We seek the opposition's cooperation in running Parliament smoothly," Joshi told reporters after the meeting which was attended by 37 leaders, representing 27 parties. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal were among others who attended the meeting.

The Budget session will have 27 sittings.

The first part of the session will conclude on February 14. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the session and continue till April 6.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Wednesday present the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

When away from work, Members of Parliament will now also get a chance to savour new menus.

From jowar vegetable upma to ragi dosa, bajre ki tikki to bajra khichdi -- these food items made of millets will now be part of the menu of Parliament House canteens.

With the government promoting the use of millets, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has made arrangements for serving the dishes made primarily with ragi, jowar, bajra, rajgira and kangni to MPs, staff and visitors.

The government plans to bring around 36 bills - including four related to the budgetary exercise - during the session.

As most Congress leaders were busy with the Bharat Jodo Yatra's conclusion, the main opposition party was not represented at the all-party meeting. A Congress leader who had to be present could not reach. Minister Joshi said its floor leaders are likely to meet him on Tuesday to convey their views.

The meeting saw Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD), and leaders representing other opposition parties like the Shiv Sena faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi(BRS), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK) and the Left raising the Adani issue and seeking discussion on it during the session.

The BRS and the DMK which govern Telangana and Tamil Nadu respectively raised the issue of conduct of governors in their respective states.

Sources said the BRS is also reaching out to some opposition parties for boycotting the President's address to lodge its protest against the government over various issues.

The US-based short seller Hindenburg Research has accused the Adani Group of several wrongdoings like stock manipulation and fraud. The company has dismissed the allegations as "nothing but a lie".

Jha and Singh told reporters that public sector insurance firm LIC has invested huge sums of money in the Adani group of companies.

"There is no statement from the government. It must discuss the issue," Jha said.

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) said it has an exposure of Rs 36,474.78 crore to Adani group's debt and equity, and the amount is less than one per cent of the national insurer's total investments.

The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray demanded an SEBI investigation into alleged stock manipulation by the Adani group and "overexposure" of LIC and SBI funds in shares of the group companies.

TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said space must be given to opposition parties in Parliament and the legislature should not be used merely for passing bills.

He also spoke about the government's ban on a controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Parties like the YSR Congress, the BRS, the Biju Janata Dal(BJD) and the Trinamool Congress(TMC), in power in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal respectively, made a fresh pitch for the passage of a bill ensuring quota for women in legislatures.

The YSR Congress also demanded a nationwide caste-based economic census at the meet with its leader Vijaysai Reddy asserting that it is necessary to know the economic status of the backward castes who are "lagging behind" on social and development indicators.

Reddy said the backward castes are more than 50 per cent of the total population and the census will help find their economic status.

The ruling party in Andhra Pradesh has joined the likes of the JD(U) and the RJD, both of which have demanded a caste census for similar reasons. The grand alliance government in Bihar has rolled out a state-wide caste survey.

Parties including the TRS, TMC and the BJD also supported the demand.

The BSP raised the issue of the prolonged border row between India and China and the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. However, government sources cited security implications to rule out a discussion on these matters.
New Delhi: India's sugar production is estimated to fall 5 percent during the 2022-23 marketing year ending September to 340 lakh tonnes as more quantity of sugarcane juice is being diverted for the production of ethanol, according to industry body ISMA. Sugar production stood at 358 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year (October-September).

In a statement, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said sugar production in 2022-23 is estimated at around 340 lakh tonnes after the diversion of 45 lakh tonnes of sweetener towards ethanol manufacturing. Sugarcane juice/syrup and B-molasses are being diverted to ethanol making. (Also Read: Union Budget 2023-24 to be Out on Feb 1; Check Where, When, and How to Live Stream)

In the previous 2021-22 marketing year, 32 lakh tonnes of sweetener were diverted towards manufacturing ethanol for blending with petrol. Based on the images of harvested and balance areas field visits, the current trend of yields, and sugar recoveries, ISMA has released its second advance estimates of sugar production for 2022-23. (Also Read: Golden Chance to Take Loan on Zero Interest! THIS Govt Scheme Offers Loan Without Guarantee)

The actual sugar production in Maharashtra is estimated to decline to 121 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 from 137 lakh tonnes in the previous year. Uttar Pradesh will see a marginal decline to 101 lakh tonnes from 102 lakh tonnes, while Karnataka may witness a decline to 56 lakh tonnes from 60 lakh tonnes.

The government has allowed sugar exports of 61 lakh tonnes for the current 2022-23 marketing year. The country had exported a record over 110 lakh tonnes of sugar in the previous year. The blending of ethanol with petrol stood at 10 percent in the previous year and it is expected to increase to 12 percent in 2022-23.
New Delhi: The presentation of the Union Budget 2023-24 of India is almost at your door. After tabling the Economic Survey of 2022-23, today, on February 1 (Wednesday) at 11 a.m., Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the Union Budget 2023. This is Sitharaman's fifth budget in a row for the fiscal year that starts on April 1. Union Budget 202324 will likewise be delivered electronically, similar to the previous two.

Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this will be the Modi government's final full budget. On October 10, the formal process to create the annual Budget for the following fiscal year (202324) got underway. On January 31, the Economic Survey will be presented, setting the stage for the Budget presentation. (Also Read: Golden Chance to Take Loan on Zero Interest! THIS Govt Scheme Offers Loan Without Guarantee)

Where to Watch Union Budget 2023/ FM Nirmala Sitharaman Speech Live?

On Sansad TV and Doodarshan, one can see the LIVE presentation of Nirmala Sitharaman's budget for the fiscal year 20232024. Their Youtube channels will also host the live broadcast. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) will also broadcast the Budget 2023 online. (Also Read: Union Budget 2023 is to be Presented on Feb 1; THESE Key Points Should be Watched Upon)

Other news networks as well as YouTube are accessible to viewers. Visit the Zee News English website or app to read the LIVE updates and in-depth analysis of the Union Budget.

How to download Budget, DG, Finance Bill of Union Budget 2023

The "Union Budget Mobile App" will allow Members of Parliament and the general public to easily access the 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as the Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill, etc., as required by the Constitution, the finance ministry had announced in a statement.

The app will be accessible on both the Android and iOS operating systems and is bilingual (English and Hindi). Additionally, it stated that it may be obtained through the Union Budget Web Portal at www.indiabudget.gov.in.

Via February 1, 2023, following the finance minister's Budget address in Parliament, the documents will be made available on the app.
New Delhi: Multi-lingual star Raashii Khanna has been creating waves with her upcoming show Farzi, set to release soon. With her headstrong and impactful role of a woman in a man's world, Raashii has grabbed the attention of the audience, however, not many know that the actress bagged her part in the Raj and DK show basis an audition done years ago!

Not only did Raashii Khanna sign Farzi before her digital debut release Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, but also her audition for the Shahid Kapoor - Vijay Sethupati co-starrer show was filmed years ago.

The actress shared, "Farzi came to me based on an audition I did for Mukesh Chhabra's casting agency a few years back. It wasn't particularly for any project, however, it lead me to Farzi. Apparently, Raj and DK saw the audition tape and had also seen clippings of my work in a few South Indian films, and visualised Megha in me. I guess destiny works in mysterious ways."

Raashii Khanna looks forward to an eventful year in Bollywood with two big projects, while currently gearing up for her first release of the year Farzi, Raashii also has Dharma Productions' Yodha alongside Sidharth Malhotra in July, in addition to a few projects in South.
New Delhi: Netflix's upcoming young adult drama series is an exciting and intriguing adaptation of Netflixs popular global series, Elite. Produced by Bodhitree Multimedia Limited in association with Future East and directed by Ashim Ahluwalia, the show follows the tumultuous events that unfurl when two worlds collide, shaking up families, relationships and the lives of Hampton Internationals students.

In a fun conversation with the cast, they revealed that if they weren't actors and students in class, what their co-actor's alternate job would be. Chayan, who plays the character of Dhruv in the show, said that his co-actor Yashika would be a photographer, "Yashika has an eye for detail and composition, I can totally see her capturing beautiful moments behind the lens."

Gurfateh, who plays the role of Neeraj, said that his co-actor Chayan would be Ranbir Kapoor from Tamasha, "Chayan is a natural performer, and he can easily pull off any role. He has that emotional radar, just like Ranbir Kapoor."

Anjali, who plays the role of Suhani, said that her co-actor Piyush would be a public speaker, "Piyush is a great listener and he has a way with words. He can easily hold an audience's attention, I can see him being a great public speaker."

The cast also revealed that they have a close-knit relationship with each other. They are constantly in touch, sending each other memes and pictures, and have a group on WhatsApp. "We're a close-knit bunch," said Anjali. "Even if we're not working, we're constantly in touch with each other."
Ahmedabad: In more trouble for 81-year-old religious preacher Asaram Bapu, the prosecution on Tuesday told the sessions court in Gandhinagar that he is a "habitual offender" and sought life imprisonment along with a heavy fine for the self-styled godman in a case of rape filed against him. Sessions court judge D K Soni concluded hearing the arguments on the quantum of sentence and reserved the final order for 3.30 pm, special public prosecutor RC Kodekar said. The 81-year-old godman is currently lodged in a Jodhpur jail, where he is serving a life sentence in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

The court at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Monday convicted Asaram in a case registered in 2013 for raping a woman disciple, who hailed from Surat, on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad.

"There is a provision of maximum life imprisonment or 10 years in jail for the offence for which Asaram has been convicted by the court. But, we have argued that he has already been convicted in another similar case in Jodhpur, and hence he is a habitual offender," Kodekar told reporters outside the court after the conclusion of the arguments. He demanded that Asaram be considered a habitual offender and given the strictest punishment.

"We have submitted before the court that Asaram should get the strictest punishment for the way he kept the victim captive, raped and sodomized her, and forced her to remain confined in the ashram. We told the court that he should be given life imprisonment. The court should also impose a heavy fine on him, including compensation to the victim," the prosecutor said. The defence lawyer said it has no objection to 10 years imprisonment for the jailed godman, Kodekar added.

Asaram Bapu Convicted In Rape Case

The Gandhinagar sessions court on Monday convicted Asaram in a decade-old sexual assault case. Asaram was accused by a Surat-based woman of repeatedly raping her while she was at his ashram in Ahmedabad's Motera around 10 years ago. As per the FIR lodged at Chandkheda police station in Ahmedabad, Asaram Bapu allegedly raped the woman on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living at his ashram on the outskirts of the city.

The court, however, acquitted six other accused, including Asaram's wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples who were accused of aiding and abetting the crime, for want of evidence.

Asaram was convicted for several charges under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 2 (C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful detention), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 357 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation), in the case lodged by his former woman disciple in 2013.
Moscow: In a significant development, Russia has accused the BBC of "waging an information war" on different fronts - not only against Moscow but also against other global centers of power pursuing an independent policy, days after the British broadcaster released a controversial series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made these remarks when asked about the BBC's controversial documentary. "Our Indian friends have already made a comment on this situation. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is yet another evidence of the BBC waging an information war on different fronts - not only against Russia but also against other global centers of power pursuing an independent policy," Zakharova told reporters.

After a certain number of years, it turns out that the BBC is fighting even within the British establishment, being an instrument of the interests of some groups against others, she said.

"It should be treated accordingly. The BBC is not an independent television and radio corporation, but a dependent one, often neglecting the basic requirements of the journalism profession," she added.

The reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry comes at a time when protests are being held across the India against Centres ban on screening of the controversial BBC documentary on Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Modi was the chief minister of that state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset".

The BBC has defended the programme as "rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards.'' British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended Prime Minister Modi over the BBC documentary, asserting that he "didn't agree with the characterisation? of his Indian counterpart.
New Delhi: A Local Court In Gujarat's Gandhinagar on Tuesday (January 31) sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment in connection with a decade-old sexual assault case. The prosecution told the sessions court earlier today that Asaram is a 'habitual offender', seeking for him life imprisonment, along with a heavy fine for the self-styled godman in a case of rape filed against him.

The Gandhinagar sessions court on Monday (January 30) convicted the self-styled godman Asaram in connection with a decade-old sexual assault case. Asaram was accused by a Surat-based woman of repeatedly raping her while she was at his ashram in Ahmedabad's Motera around 10 years ago. However, the court acquitted six other accused, including Asaram's wife, due to the lack of evidence.

As per the FIR lodged at Chandkheda police station in Ahmedabad, Asaram Bapu allegedly raped the woman on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living at his ashram on the outskirts of the city.

"The court has accepted the prosecution case and convicted Asaram under sections 376 2(C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code for illegal detention, among others," special public prosecutor RC Kodekar said on Monday.

The controversial godman is currently lodged in jail in Jodhpur in another rape case. A Surat-based woman had filed a case of rape and illegal confinement against Asaram Bapu and seven others, one of whom died during the pendency of the trial, in October 2013. A chargesheet was filed in July 2014.
New Delhi: Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India`s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation. "Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today`s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India`s budget," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the aspirations."Amid the unstable global economic situation, India`s budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, and the ray of hope being seen by the world glows brighter-for this, I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations," PM Modi said while addressing the media.

The Prime Minister cited the "credible voices from the world of the economy" and said that they have brought a positive message ahead of the session."Today, the Budget Session is commencing. Credible voices from the world of economy, have brought in a positive message, a ray of hope and a beginning of enthusiasm. It is an important event today," he said.PM Modi said the maiden inaugural address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both Houses is a matter of pride for the Constitution.

"The President is going to address a joint session for the first time today. The President`s first address to the joint session of Parliament is a matter of pride for our Constitution, and especially for respect of women. The whole world has its eyes on India," he said."Our Finance Minister is a woman too. She will present one more budget before the country tomorrow. In today`s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India`s budget," PM Modi added.

The budget session will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6.
New Delhi: Amid its continued face-off with the central government ahead of the crucial Telangana Assembly elections later this year, the ruling BRS has decided to boycott the customary address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of Parliament on Day one of the Budget session, which gets underway on Tuesday. Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is also likely to skip the President's first joint address to Parliament, said sources.

Confirming the same to ANI, a BRS source said, "The BRS and AAP will boycott the Presidential Address to the joint session of Parliament as a mark of protest against the NDA government`s failure on all fronts of governance."

Asked why they chose to the skip address of the President, who holds the highest constitutional post in the country, BRS Lok Sabha MP Ranjith Reddy said there are good enough reasons to boycott the address. "Even the Governor of Telangana is a constitutional authority but you see what she has been doing. That is a good enough reason for us to boycott (the President`s address)," Reddy said.

It was further learnt from sources that the BRS also tried to convince other Opposition parties to boycott Tuesday`s address."Our party will do what is important, which is to be the voice of the people of Telangana and raise their issues. We are also hopeful of receiving support of other Opposition parties," the TRS MP said.

The BJP-led central government and the BRS regime in Telangana have been at odds for a while, with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao skipping several meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Budget session of Parliament, beginning Tuesday, is expected to be stormy with the Opposition parties seeking to raise several issues, including the falling stocks of the Adani Group in the light of a report by a research firm and the BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre, for its part, has said it was ready to discuss and debate all issues raised by the Opposition.

The session will begin with a joint address to the two Houses by President Murmu. The Economic Survey will also be presented in Parliament on Tuesday while the Union Budget will be presented on February 1, Wednesday.

The Budget session will take place in two parts, with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6. The government convened an all-party meeting ahead of the Budget session, on Monday, during which the Opposition parties raised several issues of concern.

The government will also push its legislative agenda in the Budget session. According to government records, 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and 9 in the Lok Sabha.

Amongst the 26 Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three have already been passed by Lok Sabha -- the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022.

The bills which haven`t been referred to any parliamentary scrutiny and are pending passage include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, the Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Earlier this month, a 29-year-old graduate from Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick posed as a 15-year-old teenager and enrolled at New Brunswick High School in New Jersey. Hyejeong Shin even got away with going to class for four days, duping all of her teachers, guidance counselors, and office staff before school officials finally caught on.

It was Shin's forged birth certificate that gave her away after an observant school employee noticed something was off. She has since been arrested and barred from stepping onto campus.

From Yahoo!:

[Shin] was charged on Jan. 24 with one count of providing a false government document with the intent to verify one's identity or age, the New Brunswick Police Department stated in a news release on Wednesday.  "She was here for four days before being found out and barred from entering district property," [Superintendent Dr. Aubrey] Johnson said in a video posted on Twitter. "All appropriate authorities were immediately notified and the individual in question has now been arrested." According to Johnson, the school has cautioned all students, especially those who encountered Shin, to avoid any contact with her "either remotely or in person."  Although the 29-year-old attended a few classes, she spent most of her time with guidance counselors.

Shin's motives for pretending to be a teen student are still unknown.
Dehradun: Amid concerns over the land sinking crisis in the holy town of Joshimath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has assured that the upcoming Char Dham Yatra will be conducted safely. Talking to reporters in Raiwala near Rishikesh on the concluding day of the Pradesh BJP's executive committee meeting on Monday, CM Dhami said no one should have any doubts in their mind about Joshimath, the gateway to Badrinath.

"I have repeatedly said that 70 per cent of people in Joshimath are living a normal life and the roads to nearby Badrinath and Auli are fully open. Char Dham yatra will be conducted absolutely safely like before. A record number of pilgrims came for the yatra in the last season. This year too all arrangements will be made for pilgrims," CM Dhami said.

Efforts will also be made at the party level to lift people's spirit, he said. He also criticised the Congress for raising the issue of Joshimath during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying the party is highlighting the issue in a different way during the yatra to tarnish the state's image outside. "The opposition is starved of issues," he said.

On Joshimath residents demanding to scrap of development projects holding them responsible for the Joshimath crisis, Dhami said some people under the influence of some forces are doing this. "Scrapping all development projects is no solution. It is not good either for the state or for the country. But yes, a balance between economy and ecology will be maintained while taking up development projects," he said.

Saving Joshimath, maintaining its identity as a culturally, religiously and strategically important town and rehabilitating the affected people properly is the state government's commitment, Dhami said.

Meanwhile, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana has suggested three options for the settlement of the displaced people in land subsidence-hit Joshimath town of Uttarakhand. Khurana, who heads a committee working on a settlement plan for Joshimath, submitted his recommendations to a high-powered panel chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan here.

As part of the Char Dham Yatra, the sacred portals of Shri Badrinath Dham will open on April 27 (Thursday). Located in the Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of the Alaknanda River, Badrinath Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The portals of the Badrinath Temple were closed during the winter. The gates will be opened at around 7 AM on April 27, the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee said. It also informed that the Gaadu Ghada Kalash Yatra would begin on April 12.

The committee informed that the gates will be opened with proper customs and traditions. The shrine is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites referred to as Char Dham which also includes Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. It is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It remains open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November).
Ramanagara: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah has lashed out at the BJP and JD-S saying these parties have no ideology or rationality and reiterated that he will never join BJP or its parent outfit RSS. The Karnataka Congress veteran said, "Even if they (BJP) make me the President and PM I will not go with BJP and RSS. Even my corpse will not go with BJP and RSS."

Siddaramaiah, however, claimed that regional parties like Janata Dal (Secular) or others will go with the BJP as they are power hungry. He claimed that the JD-S had no ideology and no rationality. They will go with anyone for power.

He made these remarks in Magadi in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka while addressing a forum. "BJP has accused me of being anti-Hindu. CT Ravi of BJP calls me Siddaramullah Khan. But Gandhiji was a true Hindu. They are Hindus who worship Godse who killed Gandhiji," he said.

"Do they have dignity?" He questioned whether the JD-S who joined with them had dignity and respect.

Speaking on his works from his tenure of being the CM, he said that he provided food security to everyone, which the BJP government has failed to do. "When I was CM, I brought Annabhagya Yojana for all the poor. I took oath on Basava Jayanti. Within an hour, the security of food, farming and dairying was achieved. We have waived everyone`s loans. Earlier we gave 7 kg of rice free. But now BJP has done 5 kg. Next, we will give 10 kg of rice, and we will give Rs 2,000 per month to every housewife in the state. We are planning to give Rs 24,000 per year," he added."

All this money is not our own, we have spent people`s tax money in the right way," he added. He promised that the support price of milk will be increased from Rs 5 to Rs 6.

Siddaramaiah had earlier asked people not to trust JD(S) and claimed that the regional party can win a maximum of only 20-22 seats in the 224 member legislative assembly, and cannot come to power.
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday (January 31) conducted searches at 50 locations in seven states as part of its probe in two cases related to the leak of constable recruitment exam papers in Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The agency had registered two FIRs on November 30, 2022 on a request from the state government to take over the investigation of cases probed by the state police.

Question papers of written examinations for the post of Constables in Himachal Pradesh Police, held on March 27, 2022 were leaked ahead of the date by, it has emerged, several middlemen spread across states.

Middlemen based in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab were operating in an organised manner to leak the exam papers, it has been alleged.

The papers were provided to aspirants in return for huge money, officials said.
ICAI CA Foundation Result 2022: Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI CA Foundation Result 2022 is expected to be released this week. According to CA officials, candidates will be able to access the CA Foundation December Result in the first week of February. ICAI is likely to confirm the CA Foundation Dec Result 2022 date on the official website icai.org at any time now. According to officials, the ICAI CA Foundation Result 2022 will be announced on February 3, 2023, or February 4, 2023. Candidates have been urged to wait for the institute's official notification.

ICAI CA Result 2022: Steps to check here

Visit the official website of ICAI at icai.org or icai.nic.in.

On the homepage, click on the link provided for ICAI CA Foundation Result 2022

Enter your registration number date of birth and other details asked for

Your CA Foundation Result will be displayed on the screen

Download and take a printout for future references.

The ICAI CA Foundation December 2022 exam was held from December 14, 2022 to December 20, 2022. The CA Foundation December 2022 exam has four papers.
PATNA: Disgruntled Bihar Janata Dal-United leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday lashed out at the states Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar for not paying heed to his suggestions and humiliating him every now and then. Addressing a press conference, Kushwaha categorically dismissed Nitish Kumars claim that he was made the Chairman of the JDU Parliamentary Board out of respect and owing to his contribution to the party.

CM said that I was given a lot of respect as I was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board. But it was a 'Jhunjhuna'. Even after being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board, I cannot nominate a member. No attention was paid to my suggestions, Upendra Kushwaha told reporters.

Bihar | CM said that I was given a lot of respect as I was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board. But it was a 'Jhunjhuna'. Even after being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board,I cannot nominate a member. No attention was paid to my suggestions: Upendra Kushwaha, JD(U) pic.twitter.com/xAP6h8FBqt January 31, 2023

Earlier on Monday, Kushwaha, who is currently at odds with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after his open revolt, alleged that his car was attacked with stones in the Bhojpur district of the state.

Kushwaha, who is a member of the state legislative council, made the allegation on his official Twitter handle, tagging Nitish Kumar and the Bihar Police. "Some anti-social elements attacked my car at Nayka Tola, Jagdishpur (Bhojpur). They ran away when security personnel tried to chase them," Kushwaha tweeted in Hindi.

The district police said it was investigating the matter and trying to identify the culprits. No injuries have been reported in the incident. Kushwaha, upon return to the state capital, claimed that he was clueless about the identity and motive of the attackers.

The former Union minister has been in a sulk ever since Kumar rebuffed speculations of his induction as deputy CM, making it clear that only RJD's Tejashwi Yadav will hold the post.

Kushwaha, who returned to the JD(U) in 2021, merging his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, has since been demanding that terms of the alleged deal struck with the RJD while forging an alliance in August last year be made public.
Chamoli: Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana has suggested three options for the settlement of the displaced people in land subsidence-hit Joshimath town of Uttarakhand. Khurana, who heads a committee working on a settlement plan for Joshimath, submitted his recommendations to a high-powered panel chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan here.

What Are The Three Options?

The first option offers one-time settlement by providing financial assistance to the affected land/building owners, Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said at a press conference here on Monday. They will be paid compensation as one-time settlement for their damaged land or buildings as per the prescribed norms, he said. However, before they are paid fully, the land/building of the affected person will have to be registered in favour of the state government, he said.

Under the second option, land up to a maximum area of 100 square me tres will be provided to the affected land/building owners for house construction and compensation for the affected building. In case of more than 100 square metres of land, the affected landowners will be paid for the rest of the land according to the norms. Before making the full payment to the affected land/building owners and before allotting land up to an area of 100 square metres for house construction, the registry of the land/building of the affected person will have to be done in favour of the state government, the officials said.

Under the third option, a building will be constructed on land up to the maximum area of 75 square metres at the identified place for the rehabilitation of the affected. If the valuation of the affected residential building/land is more than the land/accommodation being provided, then the remaining amount will be paid to the displaced.

In this option too, the registry of the disaster-affected land/building will have to be done in favour of the state government. The three options proposed by the Chamoli DM have been found to be suitable and will now be presented before the state cabinet for its consideration and approval, the disaster management secretary said.

The DM has proposed to give funds for retrofitting houses/buildings which have small cracks and are located on "safe" land. The number of affected families which need to be permanently relocated will be decided after various technical institutions submit their survey reports to the government, Sinha said.

A decision will also be taken regarding the work related to mitigation of disaster/stabilisation of the area, toe erosion, drainage plan when the final report of the technical institutes conducting their studies are received.

Instructions were also given by the high-powered committee that along with affected families/individuals of Joshimath area, action should be taken to waive electricity/water bills for six months for affected commercial establishments. Sinha said students of three schools hit by subsidence in Joshimath have been transferred to other schools and will be provided free transportation by the administration.

The water discharge from an unknown source in the JP Colony area has lowered further to 67 litres per minute (LPM) and the number of houses that developed cracks still stands at 863, he said.
Morbi: Managing Director of Oreva Group Jaysukh Patel, an accused in the last year's Morbi suspension bridge collapse case who is facing culpable homicide not amounting to murder charges, on Tuesday (January 31) surrendered before a court here in Gujarat and was subsequently sent to jail.

As many as 135 people were killed and scores others injured when a suspension bridge collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi town on October 30 last year. Patel, whose company was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the carriageway, surrendered before the Morbi-based court of chief judicial magistrate which had issued an arrest warrant against him. The court accepted his application for surrender and sent him to jail under judicial custody.

The businessman was named as the tenth accused in the case in a chargesheet filed by the police on January 27.

Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river that collapsed, days after its repairs. Nearly 250 persons were on the more than a century-old hanging bridge, a popular tourist site, when it caved in.

"Jaysukh Patel surrendered before the court of chief judicial magistrate MJ Khan which had issued an arrest warrant against him under section 70 of the CrPC. The court accepted his application and sent him to judicial custody. The police will approach the court and seek his custody," said Dilip Agechaniya, a lawyer representing families of the victims.

#WATCH | Morbi Bridge collapse: Jaysukh Patel of Oreva Group sent to judicial custody. He earlier surrendered before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Morbi. pic.twitter.com/LIQp5idJDe  ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2023

The CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) section 70 deals with warrant of arrest. As the Oreva Group Managing Director arrived in the court for surrender, angry kin of the victims who had gathered outside the court shouted slogans against him. After his surrender, Patel was taken for a medical check-up.

"Jaysukh Patel surrendered in the court today. He was sent to judicial custody. We will soon initiate the process of seeking his custody from the court," said Morbi Superintendent of Police Rahul Tripathi.

In the chargesheet running in more than 1,200 pages and filed in the court of chief judicial magistrate MJ Khan by Deputy Superintendent of Police P S Zala, Patel was shown as the tenth accused.

Earlier, fearing arrest in the case, Patel had moved an anticipatory bail plea in the court and it was due to come up for hearing on February 1. On October 31, a day after the tragedy, the Morbi police had arrested nine persons in connection with the case, including two managers of the Oreva Group, two ticket booking clerks, two sub-contractors who repaired the bridge and three security guards deployed on the cable-stayed structure to guide and control the crowd. Two weeks ago, the same court issued an arrest warrant against Patel.

All the ten accused, including Patel, have been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).

During a suo motu (on its own motion) hearing on the tragedy in the Gujarat High Court recently, the Oreva Group offered to pay compensation to the victims. However, the court made it clear the compensation would "not absolve it of any liability".

A special investigation team (SIT) formed by the state government to probe the collapse had cited several lapses on the part of the firm. The lapses included no restriction on the number of persons accessing the bridge and no curb on sale of tickets, which led to unrestricted movement on the bridge, as well as carrying out repairs without consulting experts.

The probe had revealed the new metal flooring done by the firm had increased the weight of the structure, while the rusted cables on which the entire bridge was hanging were not changed by the Oreva Group. Moreover, both contractors hired by Patel's firm were not qualified to carry out such repair and renovation work, according to the SIT.

The probe report also revealed the Ahmedabad-based Oreva Group did not hire any expert agency to assess the load-bearing capacity of the carriageway before throwing it open to the public after repair and renovation work.

The group had sold 3,165 tickets on October 30 (the day of the collapse) alone and there was no coordination between ticket booking offices on both sides of the bridge, the lower court was informed in the past by the prosecution.


Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police has dismissed mentally unstable ASI Gopal Das from service after he reportedly confessed to gunning down the states health minister Naba Kishore Das. He was arrested at Brajarajnagar. The assistant sub-inspector was held following his "confession" during initial interrogation, ADG (Crime Branch) Arun Bothra said. The accused ASI has confessed to the crime. We will bring him on remand for further interrogation to ascertain the motive, Bothra told reporters.

He also denied reports that the ASI had earlier served as a personal security officer of the deceased leader. Jharsuguda District SP Rahul Jain dismissed the policeman from service, officials said. He was posted at Gandhi Chhak Outpost under the Brajarajnagar police station.

Meanwhile, the crime branch in a statement said the case registered against ASI Das under Section 307 of the IPC and 27(1) of the Arms Act, has been converted and he is now booked under Section 302 of the IPC (punishment for murder).

During the investigation, the crime branch team seized from the possession of the accused one 9 mm pistol (service revolver), three rounds of live ammunition and a mobile handset, the officials said.

The viscera samples of the deceased BJD leader have been preserved for further chemical examination, they added. The minister, 60, breathed his last on Sunday evening, hours after he was shot by the policeman at Brajarajnagar, where he had gone to attend an event.

The ASI is believed to be suffering from a mental disorder.
Kohima: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday (January 31) issued Gazette Notification for the 14th Assembly election to 60 constituencies in Nagaland. Political parties and candidates can submit their nomination papers by February 7. Scrutiny will be done on February 8 while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is February 10.

Polling will be held on February 27 from 7AM to 4PM and counting of votes will take place on March 2.

Through the official Gazette, Nagaland Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi called upon all to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of the State in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

No candidate has submitted any nomination on Tuesday, the first day for filing, an official in the State Chief Election Officer's office said.

Meanwhile, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India, the Governor also notified that the existing Legislative Assembly of the State shall continue up to and including March 12 and shall thereafter shall stand dissolved.






New Delhi: The budget session of Parliament will commence on Tuesday with address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament. Economic Survey will also be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday ahead of Union Budget on Wednesday. It will be first address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. She was elected President last year. There will be a separate sitting of the Rajya Sabha for the transaction of government business, half an hour after the conclusion of the President`s Address on January 31. However, the sitting will be held for a short duration as per procedures for the transaction of government business. The session will take place in two parts with the first part concluding on February 13. The second part will be held from March 13 and will conclude on April 6. The government held an all-party meeting on Monday in which the opposition parties raised issues of their concern.

The first part of the session would also see discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President Address. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The government will also push its legislative agenda in the budget session.

Also Read: Budget Session: BRS, AAP to Boycott President Droupadi Murmu's Joint Address to Parliament

According to government records, 26 Bills are currently pending in the Rajya Sabha and nine in the Lok Sabha.Amongst the 26 Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha, three Bills have already been passed by Lok Sabha including the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022.

The bills which haven`t been referred to any parliamentary scrutiny and are pending for passage include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, the Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
We are delighted and excited to announce 5th European Biomass PowerON 2023 conference with newly researched agenda, trending industry news, excellent speakers & technical insights. The conference will take place on 11-12 October 2023 in Stockholm.

In the face of an energy crisis and rising interest in cleaner energy sources Europe is turning to possibilites that biomass and pellets offer. Change of the heat and power feedstock is crucial from the point view of European energy security, as well as climate change mitigation.

This year, among other topics we are focusing on usage of biomass and pellets for heat and power generation, role of bioenergy in decarbonisation as well as on perspective of forest industry on the higher demand for wood biomass and pellets. Also, as many discussions are on within EU in terms of policies and regulations for green solutions and biomass place among them we will be discussing the influence of legislation on the bioenergy sector.

This event is set to bring industry stakeholders, unique content, workshops discussions and networking. Join us for latest market news, excellent keynote speakers and technical insights.



Who should attend?

5th European Biomass PowerON 2023 Conference will bring together top level experts from biomass suppliers, end users from entire value chain (trading & distribution companies, producers of feedstock, heat & power companies, EPC contractors and OEMS), technology providers, equipment manufacturers, projects representatives, market analytics, consultancies, research experts, government representatives, business analytics and others



Why you should attend?

During this 2day event rich in presentations from industry end users and running projects case studies you will gain a comprehensive overview of the biomass sector . You can hear experts focusing on new regulations, changing market situation and more. Get an opportunity to network and exchange views with industry leaders.

Early confirmed speakers include:
In some ways, applying for a job in cannabis is like applying for a job in any other industry. In other ways, it's like nothing any job seeker has ever done before.

That's because the industry is brand new in the state and, though it is legal in New York, cannabis is still federally prohibited. That brings a host of complications and pitfalls, and has companies walking a legal tightrope that makes for some important distinctions job seekers should be aware of.

But it hasn't stopped companies for champing at the bit to get their piece of the pot pie, or the experts from predicting lucrative things to come. The cannabis industry could add nearly 51,000 jobs in New York State, earning $2.2 billion a year by 2027, according to cannabis education website Leafly. That includes both plant-touching and ancillary jobs supporting the market.

And because social justice has been such a big part of New York's efforts, those jobs are largely well paying  even entry level positions. Unions have been heavily involved in worker advocacy among cannabis employers, and each company by law must sign a labor peace agreement, saying they will not stand in the way of union organizing. Jobs in the state's medical marijuana industry average $65,000, according to job search site ZipRecruiter.

But starting a career in the industry is not as easy as simply searching "cannabis jobs" on the internet.

The trouble with cannabis

With cannabis still illegal by federal standards, it leaves even state-sanctioned cannabis businesses operating in a legal grey area that other companies don't want to touch. That puts them in danger of losing their insurances, their bank account, even their websites and payment processing systems.

Roughly 70% of cannabis-related businesses operate on a cash-only basis and don't have a relationship with a bank, estimates the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

A business using the term cannabis anywhere in its correspondence, name or online presence puts it at risk. That's why cannabis businesses will not usually use the words cannabis, marijuana, pot or weed in their job postings.

"They have life insurance, health insurance, all kinds of things that could interfere with that," said Tiffany Walters, founder of NYS Cannabis Connect, a resource hub for businesses and consumers.

Too much pot and not enough stores: Growers fear oversupply woes as openings are delayed The state's cultivators and processors are sitting on an estimated $1.5 billion of marijuana, with fewer than half the expected dispensaries in which to sell it.

But if you can't say cannabis, what should you say?

That's where keywords come in.

Keywords are crucial when it comes to searching and applying for jobs online, said Maggie Shea, a partner at staffing agency StaffBuffalo. Her company specializes in translating cannabis terms to the types of keywords those companies use and look for.

"You've got to get those keywords in there," she said.

If you're looking for a job at a grow operation, you'll want to use industry-specific words and phrases such as "hydroponic systems," "greenhouse operations" and "flowering schedules."

How to sell pot: State regulators are writing the rulebook The cloudy picture of what recreational pot sales might look like in New York State is becom

For jobs processing cannabis, try "clean room protocols," "potency testing" and "extraction."

Wannabe budtenders and dispensary workers should use terms such as "retail operations," "strain-specific knowledge" and "pipes and rigs."

The website MarijuanaResumes.com has an extensive list of terms that job seekers can use to search job listings or to match to their own skills.

"You're might already be doing all these things, this just makes it more corporate," Shea said.

Lacking experience? That's OK, so is the industry

New York's medical cannabis industry was made legal in 2016. Recreational cannabis became legal in 2021. Companies in the state know they cannot expect workers to have deep experience in a market that has technically existed for just barely a year, workforce professionals said.

"The Cannabis tech industry is still fairly new, so you don't have to have a cannabis tech background," said Anne Forkutza, head of strategic growth at Dutchie, a cannabis point-of-sale and ecommerce platform headquartered in Oregon.

"Don't just look at a company and write it off as you're not qualified because the cannabis tech industry is so young. There aren't a lot of people who have that experience," she said.

At Dutchie, there are software pros who came in knowing little about cannabis, and cannabis pros who came in knowing little about software. That will be the same across every facet of the industry, job experts said.

"You may have one part of the skills set we can upskill to be more valuable," Shea said.

Even if you don't have industry-specific experience, you likely do have skills that translate, she said.

"You might see people copying and pasting job descriptions from other states where cannabis has been legal. So they'll ask for two years' experience because they've had that time. So when you see stuff like that, don't be scared to apply anyways," Walters said.

Have black market experience? Careful how you list it

If you worked with cannabis while it was illegal, you have what's called "legacy" experience.

That is valuable and not something to be ashamed of, experts said. But you have to be careful about the way you present the information. Hiring someone with a resume that admits to illegal activity can have legal and insurance repercussions for a company, and expose it to unnecessary risk.

Cannabis companies say overwhelmingly that they want to know how much you know about cannabis. Just list it under "hobbies" instead of "job experience." And, once again, use those keywords.

"If you were cultivating cannabis during prohibition, you have a lot of skills that you acquired," Walters said. "You're doing all these things that are skills that can go on your resume. You just need to present what makes you attractive to an employer. So it's just understanding what your skills are and how you write them out."
Indore, Jan 31 (PTI) A 27-year-old man was on Tuesday sent to jail under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly delivering inflammatory speech and raising objectionable slogans during a counter-protest after the release of Shah Rukh Khan's film "Pathaan" in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Rajik alias Rijju (27), was arrested under NSA and sent to the Central Jail on the orders of district collector Ilaiah Raja T in connection with a protest held on January 25 in the Badwali Chowki area, said Sadar Bazar police station in-charge Sunil Srivastava.

Police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against those involved in the protest wherein provocative speeches were delivered and objectionable slogans raised under sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Shrivastava said.

A protest was held at Kastur Talkies complex in Indore on January 25 when "Pathaan" was released on the appeal of Bajrang Dal. Right-wing activists protested against Khan's co-star Deepika Padukone dancing in a "saffron" bikini in the "Besharam Rang" song of the film.

On the other hand, the Muslim side alleged that during the protest by Bajrang Dal, an objectionable slogan was raised against Prophet Mohammad, which hurt their religious sentiments.

On January 25, several members of the Muslim community gathered at Badwali Chowki to protest against the alleged sloganeering. Police officials said six persons have been arrested so far in connection with the Badwali protest, while seven people, including local Bajrang Dal convenor Tannu Sharma, were arrested for allegedly raising objectionable slogans at the agitation held at Kastur Talkies complex.

(The above article is sourced from news agency PTI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency PTI is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Tuesday mocked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his claim that he will rather die than realign with the BJP again, saying "use and throw" is part of his work culture and the JD(U) leader had made similar remarks in the past. Speaking to reporters in Parliament complex, Paswan said Kumar can't be trusted as he has repeatedly "used" parties and people in pursuit of power and had dumped the RJD, his current ally, and the BJP earlier too by making similar assertion of never tying up with them again.

"Use and throw is part of his culture. This is the way he also treated leaders like George Fernandes and Sharad Yadav. He is also treating Upendra Kushwaha in a similar manner," he said.

Kushwaha had joined the JD(U) last year after it broke ties with the BJP but has now rebelled against him.

Kumar had on Monday asserted that he will "rather die" than realign with the BJP after the saffron party said there will be no alliance with the "unpopular" Janata Dal (United) leader.

Paswan also criticised the law and order situation in Bihar, alleging the state has gradually receded into anarchy. Kumar's silence has only emboldened criminals, he said, reiterating his demand for the President's rule there.

The LJP leader also targeted Kumar for often claiming in public following some incidents that he was not aware of them. If that is the case, then why is he in power, Paswan asked and said that the chief minister should quit.

Paswan also praised President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of Parliament. She eloquently highlighted how the central government is developing the country in different aspects while harmonising ancient India with modernity.
NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday announced that the coastal city of Visakhapatnam will be the new capital of the state. CM Jagan made the announcement while speaking at the International Diplomatic Alliance Meet in New Delhi. "I am here to invite you to Visakhapatnam, which will be our capital. I will also be shifting to Vizag," the CM said. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy also said, "I invite you and your colleagues to see for yourself how easy it is to do business in Andhra Pradesh."

#WATCH | "Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital in the days to come. I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come": Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at International Diplomatic Alliance meet in Delhi pic.twitter.com/wANqgXC1yP  ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2023

It may be recalled that after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly carved state. The N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government acquired over 33,000 acres of land from farmers to develop Amaravati as the capital of the state in 2015.

After Jagan Mohan Reddy took over in 2019, the state government floated the idea of having three capitals -Visakhapatnam-Executive Capital, Amaravati-Legislative capital and Kurnool-Judicial capital and passed legislation in this regard. However, Amaravati was soon also at the center of an alleged land scam and Jagan Reddy's party YSRCP demanded a probe against the previous chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

The Jagan Mohan Reddy government in November last year passed a Bill in the Assembly, repealing the controversial AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which was intended to establish three capitals for the state.

Without putting any timeframe, Jagan then told the Assembly that the government would come out with a "comprehensive, complete and better" bill after plugging loopholes in the previous version.

In March last year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled against the three capitals and directed the government to develop Amaravati as the state capital as envisaged.

The Court also in its verdict on March 3, 2022, said the state Legislature lacked the competence to make any legislation for shifting, bifurcating or trifurcating the capital.

The High Court also set a timeline for the development of Amaravati.

The Jagan Reddy government filed a petition in the Supreme Court and challenged the High Court order.

(With Agency Inputs)
Sonam Wangchuk, an Indian engineer, scientist, and education reformer has been on a fast since January 26, 2023. He had previously stated that he would sit on a five-day climate fast at the 18,000-foot-high Khardungla Pass when it is -40C. He added that he was fasting from HIAL since the routes to Khardungla were blocked by the recent snowfall. Wangchuk is a local icon and celebrity of Ladakh, the place he was born and raised in. He is the founding director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which was founded in 1988 by a group of students who had been in his own words, the 'victims' of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh.

Who is Sonam Wangchuk?

Sonam Wangchuk is a mechanical engineer who was born in 1966 and serves as the director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives in Ladakh (HIAL). He was shifted to Srinagar when he was 9 years old and was enrolled in a local school. Since he looked different compared to the other students, he would get addressed in a language that he did not understand, due to which his lack of responsiveness was mistaken for him being stupid. He recalls that period as the darkest part of his life.

He is best known as the inspiration behind Aamir Khans character in 3 Idiots Phunsukh Wangadu. He is also renowned for creating the solar-powered SECMOL campus, which requires no fossil fuels for heating, lighting, or cooking. In late 2013, Wangchuk invented and built a prototype of the Ice Stupa which is an artificial glacier that stores the wasting stream waters during the winter in the form of giant ice cones or stupas, and releases the water during late spring as they start melting, which is the perfect time when the farmers need water. In 2021, he also invented an eco-friendly solar-heated tent that Army personnel can use in extremely cold places like Siachen and Galwan valley in the Ladakh region. In November 2022, he was awarded the seventh Dr. Paulos Mar Gregorios Award by former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. He received Magsaysay Award in the year 2018.

Why is Sonam Wangchuk Protesting?

Wangchuk contacted PM, Modi, with an SOS on January 23. As "everything is not well in Ladakh," he pleaded with the prime minister to take action. He posted a video on his social media platform, he explained, "Ladakh, also known as the "third pole" of the earth, is dealing with serious issues as he mentions the 6th Schedule and protests related to it. To promote total economic development and decision-making autonomy, locals have been calling for the inclusion of Ladakh under the 6th Schedule. The topic has also previously been brought up in Parliament."

In the 13-minute long video, Wangchuks said the people of Ladakh are baffled as to why the government has not heeded their 70-year-old desire for a union area. Sonam Wangchuk is also demanding Ladakh be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution, which grants autonomy to regions with a high tribal population. Wangchuk is also protesting against illegal and environmentally harmful activities taking place in Leh and Ladakh in the name of development.

Sonam Wangchuk organized a 5-day climate fast from January 26 to January 30. He wanted to go on a fast at the Khardungla Pass but was prevented by the Ladakh administration and put under house arrest. He is currently protesting from the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) campus.
New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan`s upcoming movie `Jawan` fame director Atlee is blessed with a baby boy.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Atlee shared a couple of pictures and announced `it`s a boy`. He wrote in the caption, "They were right. There`s no feeling in the world like this. And just like that our baby boy is here! A new exciting adventure of parenthood starts today! Grateful. Happy. Blessed."

Atlee posted a picture with his wife Priya where both are all smiles for the camera. In the other frame, the duo holding a pair of baby shoes.

Soon after Atlee posted these pictures, friends from his fraternity congratulated him.`Family Man` fame actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu wrote, "Congratulations my loves." Another popular south actress Keerthy Suresh wrote, "Big congrats to the new Mum and Dad in town! God bless the little one. can`t wait to meet you all together. Lots of love."

South director Atlee is known for films like `Raja Rani`, `Their`, `Mersal`, `Bigil`. Jawan` has put the spotlight on him as Shah Rukh will be acting in the movie. The first poster of `Jawan` created quite a buzz as Shah Rukh`s face was covered with a bandage.
Mumbai: Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan and his family turned out to be the perfect host to K-pop star Jackson Wang, who visited the actor's home. Wang took to Instagram, where he shared a string of photographs to sum up his visit to India as he performed at the Lollapalooza global music festival.

Jackson Wang wrote the caption: "#MAGICMAN in Lollapalooza India 2023. Always wanted to visit. Finally... Such an amazing experience with all of you since the moment at the airport to seeing you all to the show to new friends to the experience of the culture. Such an honor. Very blessed. I hope I get to come back more often. @lollaindia."

He shared a picture with Hrithik, the actor's parents Rakesh and Pinkie Roshan photographed at their home.

He also posted a clip showing Wang taking a chariot ride on the streets of Mumbai, spending some time at the sea, visiting a local market and a picture of the Gateway of India.

On the Bollywood front, Hrithik will now be seen in 'Fighter', alongside Deepika Padukone.
New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is currently basking in the phenomenal success of his latest release 'Pathaan', recently sang a song for Deepika Padukone, the female lead in the superhit movie.

At a media event, Shah Rukh crooned the track 'Aanhon Mein Teri' from the film 'Om Shanti Om', which marked the debut of Deepika alongside Shah Rukh, almost 15 years back.

Considering Deepika started her career opposite Shah Rukh, the superstar felt it fitting to dedicate the song to her and bring back treasured memories.

The two have become a successful on-screen pair given the reception of their films like 'Chennai Express', 'Happy New Year' and now with 'Pathaan' registering impressive numbers.

'Pathaan', which marked the return of Shah Rukh on the silver screen after four years, has been pulling in crowds since the day of its release with theatres running to packed houses.

Directed by Siddharth Anand, 'Pathaan' also stars John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in key roles.
Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam, a port and major industrial centre located on the Bay of Bengal is the new caiptal of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It also goes by the name Vizag. Vizag is known as the "City of Destiny" and is home to the oldest shipyard in India as well as other stunning man-made and natural wonders.

Some of India's top beaches are located in the city. Here are the top 5 attractions in Visakhapatnam that you shouldn't miss if you plan on visiting the port city.

1. Simhachalam Temple, Visakhapatnam

One of Andhra Pradesh's most popular temples, this Lord Narasimha temple is well-known even among celebrities, who seek the deity's blessings before the release of their film. The temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu in the form of Varaha Narasimha and is located in the city of Visakhapatnam, the chosen capital of Andhra Pradesh. More than 500 engravings were found in the roughly 1000-year-old shrine.

2. Rishikonda Beach, Visakhapatnam

On the Bay of Bengal coast lies the stunning Rishikonda Beach, also known as Rushikonda Beach. Rishikonda Beach is aptly known as the "Jewel of the East Coast" due to its undisturbed natural beauty. The centre of Rishikonda hill is home to the beach's serene golden beaches.

3. Borra Caves, Visakhapatnam

The Ananthagiri hills in the Araku Valley of the Visakhapatnam district are where you will find the Borra Caves. One of the largest in the nation, the caves are situated at a height of 705 metres. It is a magnificent work of nature, and the most stunning aspect is the astounding variety of speleothems (structures formed by the deposition of minerals from water), which range in size.

4. Kurusura Submarine Museum, Visakhapatnam

The first submarine museum in the world is located at VMRDA INS Kursura. The Submarine Museum is located in a breathtaking location with the RK beach's golden sand and azure waves. The museum displays artefacts, portraits, and essays that highlight the valour, sacrifice, and patriotism of the soldiers.

5. Katiki Waterfalls, Visakhapatnam

The Katiki Falls, which are located about 90 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, get their water from the River Gosthani. The spectacular natural phenomenon, which stands 50 feet tall, is close to the Borra caverns. Trekkers love the location since it is ideal for beginner and intermediate trekkers. The area is surrounded by rich flora, and the waterfall there is breathtaking.
New Delhi: The death toll in a Taliban suicide attack at a mosque in the high-security zone in Pakistan's restive northwestern Peshawar city mounted to 61 on Monday (January 30, 2023). The bomber who blew himself up in a mosque packed with worshippers during afternoon prayers on Monday also wounded more than 150 people, mostly policemen.

According to officials, the powerful blast occurred inside the mosque in the Police Lines area around 1.40 pm when worshippers, which included personnel of the police, army and bomb disposal squad - were offering the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan last year.

The group is said to be close to al-Qaeda and has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban had also stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, saying the attackers behind the incident "have nothing to do with Islam".

"Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan," he said and vowed that the sacrifices of the blast victims will not go in vain.

"The entire nation is standing united against the menace of terrorism," he added.

Sharif also stated that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal government will help provinces in increasing their anti-terrorism capacity.

The Prime Minister and Army chief General Asim Munir rushed to Peshawar to review the relief and rescue operation.

The premier along with the Army chief also visited the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar and inquired about the health of the injured.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and other officials were also present.

The Prime Minister summoned an emergency meeting where the preliminary probe report was presented.
Toronto: A Hindu Temple in Brampton in Canada has been defaced with anti-India graffiti triggering outrage among the Indian community. The Indian Consulate General in Toronto on Monday (local time) condemned the vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir stating that the act has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. The consulate office in a statement said "We strongly condemn the defacing of Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton, a symbol of Indian heritage, with anti-India graffiti. The hateful act of vandalism has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Indian community in Canada. We have raised our concerns on the matter with Canadian authorities. "The Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has condemned the vandalism and the Canadian authorities are investigating the incident. "This hateful act of vandalism has no place in our City or Country," adding that he had raised his concerns over this hate crime with Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah," the Brampton Mayor tweeted.

"Everyone deserves to feel safe in their place worship," the Brampton Mayor said. This is not the first time that a temple was vandalized in Canada. Earlier in September 2022, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Canada was defaced by `Canadian Khalistani extremists` with anti-India graffiti.

Also Read: Indian Envoy Condemns Attack on Hindu Temple in Melbourne, Pro-Khalistani Groups Involved

Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament, Canada tweeted, "Vandalism of Toronto BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir by Canadian Khalistani extremists should be condemned by all. This is not just an isolated event. Canadian Hindu temples have been targeted in the recent past by these kinds of hate crimes. Hindu Canadians are legitimately concerned. Also, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was defaced in July 2022. In both instances, pro-Khalistan slogans were painted and the vandalization was promoted on social media by pro-Pakistan handles.

Meanwhile on January 29 in men from alleged pro-Khalistani groups attacked Indians carrying the national flag in their hands in Melbourne, Australia. The Indian group was seen running away from the scene while the Khalistani group continued to hit them. One individual was seen breaking an Indian flag and throwing it on the floor. Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra today visited the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne and condemned its "vandalization" by "pro-Khalistani elements." He also said that the "place of worship has always been revered by all communities and faiths."

Earlier, Indian envoy Vohra paid his respects at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne and discussed the community`s concerns over the temple`s recent vandalization. The violence witnessed in Melbourne on Sunday was also discussed.BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in the Mill park area of Melbourne was allegedly vandalized by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the walls of the temple, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported.
"The buck ultimately stops with me," Brown told reporters in his City Hall office. "Like others, I was not immediately notified, but I should have been, and we should have put the information out to the community. No excuse for it."

Since 2015, the CDC has recommended an optimal fluoride concentration of 0.7 parts per million in community water systems. Buffalos fluoride concentration in its 2021 water quality report was 0.13 parts per million, more than five times lower than the recommended level. The report lists natural deposits and discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories as possible sources of fluoride in the water.

Buffalo Water Board Chairman Oluwole A. McFoy previously told The Buffalo News the city was in the process of upgrading an outdated "dry" fluoride system when the lead water crisis in Flint, Mich., caused the water board to pause in 2016 and study whether the new type of "wet" fluoride system would have a corrosive effect on Buffalo's many lead pipes. He said studies done in conjunction with the University at Buffalo showed the system is safe and the city will begin adding fluoride to its water again sometime this year.

Corp questioned the timeline given by the city and asked why the water board did not continue the manual addition of fluoride while a mechanical process was being tested.

"We see a problem and we dont believe, at the moment, that the city has a ton of credibility on this issue," Corp said. "Well, we couldnt trust you not to stop fluoridating the water and we think that its important that the courts are involved to oversee the resumption of the fluoridation of the water. We think that should happen immediately."
Melbourne: Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra on Tuesday visited the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne and condemned its "vandalization" by "pro-Khalistani elements."He also said that the "place of worship has always been revered by all communities and faiths."Visited the historic Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, a place of worship that has always been revered by all communities and faiths. That makes its vandalization with hate-filled graffiti by pro-Khalistani elements even more condemnable. Confident that they will not succeed," tweeted Vohra.

On Sunday, men from alleged pro-Khalistani groups attacked Indians carrying the national flag in their hands, The Australia Today reported. Taking to Twitter, Australia Today said that "five people were sent to the hospital after the attack."Another video of #Khalistan goons running a mock in #Melbourne`s Federation Square Five injured one in Hospital," The Australia Today tweeted. The Indian group was seen running away from the scene while the Khalistani group continued to hit them. One individual was seen breaking an Indian flag and throwing it on the floor.

Indian High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra visited the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne, calls it "a place of worship that has always been revered by all communities and faiths," and condemns its "vandalization" by "pro-Khalistani elements" pic.twitter.com/nR3x6cswZF January 31, 2023

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia was also appalled to see violence at Fed Square in Melbourne."I was appalled to see violence at Fed Square in Melbourne...People have the right to engage in peaceful protest in Australia, but there`s no place for violence or vandalism...Pleased that police responded quickly & are investigating," tweeted Watts MP. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles was concerned to see the violence that break out at Federation Square in Melbourne."I was concerned to see violence break out at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday.

Australia respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views. Pleased @VictoriaPolice responded quickly and are investigating," tweeted Giles.Earlier, Indian envoy Vohra paid his respects at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne and discussed the community`s concerns over the temple`s recent vandalization. The violence witnessed in Melbourne on Sunday was also discussed.

"Paid respects today at the sacred BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne, a place of spirituality and service. Discussed the peaceful community`s concerns over the recent attack by vandals, and the disturbing violence witnessed yesterday in Melbourne," the Indian High Commissioner to Australia said.BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in the Mill park area of Melbourne was allegedly vandalized by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the walls of the temple, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported.

Patel, an onlooker shared how he witnessed the vandalized walls of the temple when he visited the site on Thursday."When I reached the temple today morning all walls were coloured with graffiti of Khalistani hatred towards Hindus," The Australia Today quoted Patel as saying. He added, "I am angry, scared, and dismayed by the blatant display of religious hatred towards the peaceful Hindu community by Khalistan supporters.

"Issuing a statement to The Australia Today, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir stated that they are "deeply saddened and shocked by these acts of vandalism and hate." It said that they have remained committed to "peaceful coexistence and dialogue to all faiths." BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir further said that they have informed the authorities regarding the incident, as per The Australia Today report.

Various Hindu temples have recently been vandalized in Australia. India condemned the vandalization of Hindu temples in Australia and said that the matter has been raised with the Australian government in Canberra and asked for expeditious investigation against the perpetrators.
Islamabad, Jan 31 (PTI) Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir on Tuesday directed his generals to focus on anti-terrorism operations as he vowed zero tolerance for terrorist groups, a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque inside a high-security zone in Peshawar, killing 100 people and wounding more than 200 others.

General Munir, who presided over the 255th Corps Commanders' Conference held at general headquarters in Rawalpindi, said that the military was determined to eliminate the threat of militancy from the country.

The army chief referred to the Peshawar mosque attack and said that "such immoral and cowardly acts cannot shake the resolve of the nation rather reinvigorate our determination to succeed in ongoing war against terror with zero tolerance for any terrorist entity," according to a statement issued by the army.

General Munir, who on Monday was in Peshawar along with Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif following the suicide bombing, "directed all commanders to continue focus on anti-terrorism operations in coordination with intelligence and law enforcement agencies with renewed resolve till the time we achieve sustainable peace," the statement said.

The forum paid rich tribute to the victims of the Peshawar mosque blast and vowed that perpetrators will be brought to exemplary justice. Most of the victims of the attack were policemen.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan in August last.

The generals were briefed in detail about prevailing and emerging threats, situation in Kashmir and the ongoing intelligence-based operations by the security agencies for breaking the nexus between terrorists and their support mechanism across the country.

The Corps Commanders Conference is the highest forum of the army to discuss all security matters and other relevant issues and take decisions.

(The above article is sourced from news agency PTI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency PTI is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
A Blasdell man who pretended to be a U.S. Department of Homeland Security officer has been sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder to serve six months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said that 52-year-old David J. Erhardt was convicted of unauthorized possession of an imitation badge. In May 2016, Erhardt began a romantic relationship with a woman during which he falsely claimed to have obtained employment with the Department of Homeland Security. On Aug. 30, 2020, Erhardt texted the woman a photograph of a Homeland Security Investigations badge, but it turned out he was neither an employee nor a contractor of the Department of Homeland Security. Nor did he have any legal authority to possess such a badge or an imitation of one, according to prosecutors.
Rickey L. Bryant of Buffalo was sentenced Tuesday in Erie County Court to 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision for a fatal shooting last year in the city's Genesee-Moselle neighborhood.

According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, on Jan. 19, 2021, Bryant, 21, shot 35-year-old Tony D. Rookard multiple times inside of a convenience store on Doat Street. Rookard died at the scene.

In July of 2021, Bryant was taken into custody in Dallas by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Bryant pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter on Aug. 11, 2022.

District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr. commended the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for its work in the investigation of the case, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service for locating the defendant in Dallas.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Eugene T. Partridge III of the Homicide Bureau.
Family and friends of Tyler X. Lewis, the SUNY Buffalo State student who was fatally stabbed in October on the University at Buffalo North Campus, are growing frustrated with an investigation that so far hasn't led to an arrest.

Roquishia Lewis went to the UB North Campus earlier this week with friends of her son and local activists to bring renewed attention to the 19-year-old's killing and to put pressure on police and prosecutors to wrap up their 3-month-old investigation. They've also set up a tip line and offered a reward.

And she and Terence Lewis, Tyler Lewis' father, recently sued Buffalo State and UB for failing to ensure the safety of their only child.

"If it was a priority, I wouldn't have had to go to Buffalo this weekend to hand out flyers. And if it was a priority, then half of the students I spoke with would have known about the stabbing, the murder, of my child on their campus," Roquishia Lewis said in an interview Tuesday. "It doesn't make sense. Everyone should know about this."

The Erie County District Attorney's Office has declined to comment on the case. UB Police Chief Chris Bartolomei on Monday said the probe is nearing an end but he did not provide details on what his detectives have learned so far.

"University Police is moving into the final stages of our comprehensive investigation and expect the district attorney will take action on the case in the very near future," Bartolomei wrote in a statement.

Tyler Lewis was a sophomore from Long Island majoring in pre-business administration at Buffalo State. He was killed just before 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 outside a freshman dorm in the Ellicott Complex's Richmond Quad on the UB North Campus in Amherst, the university said at the time.

Police responded to a report of a person with a chest wound, and Lewis was pronounced dead at Erie County Medical Center.

UB police one day later said they had a "person of interest" in Lewis' killing. He was described as a white man, between 19 and 22 years old and roughly 5-feet, 5-inches to 5-feet, 9-inches tall.

He had light brown hair and a medium build, and was wearing a mustard-colored shirt covered in blood, according to the university.

He had "significant facial injuries," the university said, and left the area in a black, four-door sedan.

In an early statement on the attack, Bartolomei said it "does not appear to be a random act of violence, but rather a targeted incident between known individuals."

In the 3 months that have followed, police have offered few new details to the family.

"They just feel like they're being left in the dark. They feel like there's not enough communication," said Jillian Hanesworth, a community activist who has worked with the Lewises since November to bring attention to Tyler Lewis' death.

The Lewis family has done what it can to keep the case in the public eye. They have Facebook and Instagram pages and a Twitter account dedicated to "justice4tylerlewis."

Earlier this month, Roquishia and Terence Lewis sued UB and Buffalo State in the state Court of Claims in connection with their son's killing.

"The universities failed to properly vet students prior to admission and admitted students known to have a violent history, thereby failing to provide a safe environment for Tyler Xavier Lewis," the Lewises argue in their claim.

This exposed their son to "a dangerous environment where he was likely to be seriously injured or killed," they wrote.

Buffalo State officials did not directly address the claims in the lawsuit.

"We understand the Lewis familys unwavering commitment to search for answers. My heart goes out to the family, and our thoughts and prayers remain with them during this extremely difficult time," Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner said in a statement.

A UB spokesman said the university couldn't comment on pending litigation. "However," John DellaContrada said in an email, "specifically in response to the implication made in the lawsuit that the attacker(s) is a UB student, that claim is not supported by the evidence gathered in the case."

Roquishia Lewis said she doesn't understand why UB police haven't made an arrest when it's apparent they know who was with her son at the time he was killed. She said a group of "so-called" friends of Tyler Lewis' lured him to the North Campus and she's frustrated that, she understands, the group is not cooperating with investigators.

Bartolomei, in his latest statement, said UB police can't release information on an active investigation without approval from the District Attorney's Office.

Kait Munro, a spokeswoman for Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, declined to comment.

On Sunday and Monday, Roquishia Lewis and other supporters gathered at UB near the site of her son's death to hand out flyers and spread the word about what happened to him. The flyers publicized a $4,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the killing.

Visit linktr.ee/justice4tylerlewis for more details. Anyone with information is asked to call or text 716-226-6336.

"I have to come out there and relive this whole nightmare all over again," Roquishia Lewis said. "Stand where my son was murdered and hand out flyers. Offer my own reward money and set up a tip line. Obtain a lawyer and a private investigator. This sounds like I'm a detective at this point."

She was asked how she would react if, in the end, no one is charged with murder in her son's death.

"I don't know. I don't think I will survive that," she said. "I'm hanging on to a thread right now. Tyler is all that I have. He was my past, my present, my future."
To law enforcement officials, Deshema Clark's text messages and online searches look like proof she somehow helped her boyfriend after his heinous crimes  killing three Florida residents in a 2019 drug robbery and then burning their bodies  and later lied to the FBI and police to create a false alibi for him.

Their suspicions were aroused by her reply text message to her then-boyfriend, Deandre Wilson, on Sept. 16, 2019, the day after the murders and just shy of a year before he would be charged with murder. After Wilson sent text messages thanking her, Clark replied, "Don't keep thanking me ... I'm only doin what I'm supposed to be doing!' "

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo details the text messages, cellphone calls and online searches that form the case against her. Clark, 45, faces federal charges she lied to FBI agents and failed to notify law enforcement of crimes that a jury would later convict Wilson of committing. Her initial court appearance will be on Wednesday.

Clark denied the charges in an interview with The Buffalo News.

"Ive never been hooked up in something like this," she said. "I just want my life back."

In an affidavit, Christopher Dailey, a special agent with the FBI, said call records and text exchanges on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17 indicate Clark had knowledge of the felonies committed by Wilson and others.

"Moreover, I believe that Wilson's texts thanking Clark indicate that she helped him in some way following the murders that he committed, and that Clark's text  'Don't keep thanking me ... I'm only doin what I'm supposed to be doing!'  was intended to demonstrate her loyalty to Wilson notwithstanding the fact that he committed several serious federal crimes," Dailey said in his affidavit.

Clark said law enforcement officials are reading too much into Wilson's text message thanking her. His thank-you messages had nothing to do with any crimes, she said.

She said she met Wilson in February 2019 after he spent 25 years in prison for murdering a Box Avenue man in 1992.

"He thanked me all the time," she said. "He thanked me for giving him a chance, for letting him in my life. He thanked me for introducing him to my family, to my kids. Its all in text messages and conversations. You cant just take that (one text and think) she was doing him a favor because he said thank you, or that because she Googled the bodies of somebody being burnt that she knew about what was going on."

One of her texts on Sept. 25, 2019, alerted Wilson to a police raid that would lead to the arrests of Jariel Cobb, also known as Doobie, and James Reed, both of whom would later plead guilty to burning the bodies.

"They just raided dobie," she texted Wilson.

After a series of texts, Wilson texted back, "Watch your surroundings & be careful I OWE YOU BIG TIME I LUV U."

Clark replied with one word: "Terrified."

Police and FBI investigators see the texts as proof that Clark was concerned that Wilson was, or was going to be, arrested.

Later that day, Clark turned to Google for information about the killings. Clark searched "parents burned in car tonawanda."

Police had held a news conference Sept. 17 about the bodies found inside a burned-out vehicle in a remote industrial site in Black Rock, a 3-year-old boy found alone on a West Side porch and three people from Florida reported missing.

When Cobb and Reed were arrested on drug charges on Sept. 25, there was no public information at the time linking Cobb or Wilson to the murders or the parents' burned skeletal remains, according to the criminal complaint.

She made a similar online search on Oct. 1.

On Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 she watched a local news station's story on her cellphone about surveillance video showing two unidentified men leading the child from the burning car, according to the court file.

The news story that Clark watched contained information confirming two bodies were found in the burnt van, that police considered the matter a homicide, that the toddler found on the porch was connected to those who had rented the van and that police were seeking the public's help identifying the two individuals with the child.

"The Google searches, text messages and phone calls on Sept. 25, 2019, conducted at a time when there was no public information linking Jariel Cobb or Wilson by name to the murders, fires, obstruction or discovery of the child abandoned on a porch establish that Clark had knowledge of individuals, including Wilson, who were involved with the crimes before the FBI solved the case or even had fully identified Wilson," according to the complaint.

Clark calls her online search for "parents burned in car tonawanda" just one of countless similar searches that many others in her neighborhood were also making about the horrific crimes.

She told The News she was just curious about a big news story.

"Everybody was talking about this once they aired it on the news," Clark said, denying any prior knowledge of or involvement in the crimes. "For them to say that I was involved or I knew about it, trying to protect this guy, why would I ever try to protect him? That is something horrible to do to somebody, to anybody, let alone three people. Its horrible."

Attorney Peter Kooshoian, who represents Clark, said news about the crime was made public "very early on."

"They think she lied to them, which she did not do," said Kooshoian, who sees this as more a case of "shes dating the wrong guy."

Jurors last fall convicted Wilson on murder charges that he fatally struck Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred with a handgun during a drug deal inside a home at 4 Roebling Ave., in the Schiller Park neighborhood and then stepped outside and shot Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud, who were sitting in the minivan with their 3-year-old son. After shooting Valentin-Colon and Merced-Plaud, Wilson drove the minivan to a secluded spot behind a building on Scajaquada Street, left the toddler in the van with his dead parents, and then Wilson went to Darien Lake for a Meek Mill rap concert, according to trial testimony.

Clark went to the concert with Wilson.

She told investigators that after the concert the two returned to her Parkridge Avenue home shortly after midnight and that Wilson was there when she fell asleep and when she awoke some six hours later.

Clark told investigators she got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

"When I got up, to use the bathroom, he was there. He was in the bed with me," she told them, according to an excerpt of her police interview contained in the court filing.

Investigators allege that Clark knew Wilson was not with her at her home between 12:08 a.m. and 5:07 a.m. on Sept. 16.

Surveillance video shows Wilson's movements on Scajaquada Street in the early morning hours of Sept. 16 and not leaving Box Avenue until 5 a.m., according to police.

"There's no way possible you woke up in the middle of the night and rolled over and that he was laying there," Buffalo homicide detective Adam Stephany told her, according to the court filing.

"Indeed, while Wilson was with Cobb in the vicinity of 366 Scajaquada Street preparing to move the minivan containing the dead bodies and minor child, Clark called Wilson from her cell phone at 2:20 a.m.," according to Dailey's affidavit.

As for the night she said Wilson spent at her home, she told The News, "He was there when I fell asleep, and when I got up he was there."

Clark said she attended part of Wilson's murder trial.

"I cant say what he did or what didnt do," she said. "I wasnt convinced from what I (saw) at the trial. I think he knew what was going on. I dont know what part he played in it. I dont really know. I know he had to know something about what was going on. From the evidence, from the footage and everything, he was on the scene."
A Buffalo man accused of throwing a rock through the glass front door of the U.S. Attorney's Office, 138 Delaware Ave., in downtown Buffalo, on Sunday was arrested again Monday after allegedly throwing another rock at the building, breaking a front glass window, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross reported.

The first incident occurred about 2:45 a.m. Sunday and the suspect, Jones Ricky Woods, 61, was taken into custody later in the day by Buffalo police, according to the report. The building was closed at the time.

Woods was arraigned Monday afternoon in City Court on a charge of third-degree criminal mischief and released on his own recognizance, Ross said. City Court Judge Samuel P. Davis issued a verbal stay-away order.

After the second incident about 3:30 p.m. Monday, Woods was immediately apprehended by federal law enforcement officers, Ross said, and is being held by the FBI. Federal charges are pending. Ross noted that there were no injuries from either incident.
To the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, reshuffling the weekend Masses apparently is more important than preserving the Christian community. In North Buffalo, the dwindling number of priests are now spread out to serve six parishes. As a result, the hour in which you choose to attend Mass directs you to just one of those six parishes.

Starting in January, to continue going to Saturday Mass, I find myself in a church where I know virtually no one. The community that formerly attended that Mass at my old parish has been scattered for most of the year.

So, get used to your new fellow parishioners. Wrong. Saturday Mass switches to my old parish in May, then to a third church in July. Whew!

My former pastor is now confined to a desk as the regional vicar forane over all six parishes. This is a shame, because he is supremely gifted as a preacher and loving pastor, not as a bureaucrat responsible for maintaining properties and getting the boilers fixed.

Hallelujah! We can still get our tickets punched and avoid the sin of missing Mass. However:

The early church did not prescribe a day of rest or sabbath, writes Father James E. Keenan, SJ, in the January issue of America magazine. For the first three centuries, Christians simply celebrated Eucharist [together] as a meal on Sunday, without any law  neither a law to rest or a law to worship.

This didnt change until the Council of Orleans in 538 AD.

The New Testament refers to Sabbath fellowship for Holy Communion as the love feast, going back to the Last Supper. The love feast is defined by Merriam-Webster as a meal eaten in common by a Christian congregation in token of brotherly love. Thats compromised when youre in a congregation of strangers.

Evangelical churches have the right idea. Although their communion consists only of an unconsecrated cracker and thimble of grape juice, their people dont rush home after service. They linger in the aisles, praying over each other, and arranging to keep in touch during the week. Thats my idea of a Christian community.

The Catholic Church has brought this priest shortage upon itself. Mandatory celibacy for priests has no foundation in scripture, and it wasnt mandated by Rome until a thousand years after Christ. When will the Vatican establish an order for married priests? It may already be too late.

Sadly, I envision the day when parishioners will sit in church, viewing on a gigantic TV screen the Mass being celebrated elsewhere in real time. Then the parish deacon will distribute Communion consecrated beforehand by a priest.

Anthony Cardinale served on the former diocesan Justice and Peace Commission.
As a registered Independent living in the Town of Lancaster, Id like to make a public appeal to my Congressman Nick Langworthy and his fellow congressman from the state of Georgia, Rick Allen.

I am 53 years old and have been continuously employed since age 13, starting as a paperboy. During this time, I have contributed my share of FICA from every paycheck earned. As I age, I am trying to pay off my bills including, but not limited to, my mortgage, my childrens college tuitions and car payments, so that I may enjoy my golden years with my family. Time is priceless and I cherish every minute I get to spend with them while dreaming of our grandchildren.

With this in mind, Id like to serve notice that I have no desire to work into my 90s as Congressman Allen suggested we all should. I need no incentive to reduce the amount of time spent working to live rather than living to work. Being a member of the middle class, I have never heard of anybody in my social/familial circle planning on working to that age. Instead, were all saving through 401(k)s and other retirement vehicles, including the good-faith promise that Social Security and Medicare will be there to supplement our retirement  whenever that takes place.

After hearing all of the ridiculous scare tactics about things that are going to be taken away from me, I find it incredulous that the most open and realistic threat from the GOP is not being taken seriously.

When it comes to negotiating federal budgets and governance, I implore you keep your hands off the Medicare and Social Security programs we have all paid into with our own money. These are not entitlements, but rather commitments we have made to support all Americans as we age  regardless of political party.

John Walker

Lancaster
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took an unusually strong step Tuesday and blocked a proposed mine heralded by backers as the most significant undeveloped copper and gold resource in the world because of concerns about its environmental impact on a rich Alaska aquatic ecosystem that supports the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery.

The move, cheered by Alaska Native tribes and environmentalists and condemned by some state officials and mining interests, deals a heavy blow to the proposed Pebble Mine. The intended site is in a remote area of southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay region, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.

The mine site is accessible only by helicopter and snowmobile in winter, developer Pebble Limited Partnership said in a permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As proposed, the project called for a mining rate of up to 73 million tons a year.

An appeal by the Pebble partnership of a separate rejection of a key federal permit is unresolved.

In a statement, Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively called the EPA's action unlawful and political and said litigation was likely. Shively has cast the project as key to the Biden administration's push to reach green energy goals and make the U.S. less dependent on foreign nations for such minerals.

The Pebble Limited Partnership is owned Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

The Pebble deposit is near the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, which supports a bounty of salmon unrivaled anywhere in North America, according to the EPA.

Tuesday's announcement marks only the 14th time in the roughly 50-year history of the federal Clean Water Act that the EPA has flexed its powers to bar or restrict activities over their potential impact on waters, including fisheries. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said his agency's use of its so-called veto authority in this case underscores the true irreplaceable and invaluable natural wonder that is Bristol Bay.

Story continues

The veto is a victory for the environment, economy and tribes of Alaska's Bristol Bay region, which have fought the proposal for more than a decade, said Joel Reynolds, western director and senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The mine would have jeopardized the regions salmon fishery, which brings 15,000 jobs to the area and supplies about half the worlds sockeye salmon, Reynolds said. The 2022 harvest was more than 60 million fish, state officials reported last year.

Its a victory for science over politics. For biodiversity over extinction. For democracy over corporate power," Reynolds said.

The EPA, citing an analysis by the Army Corps of Engineers, said discharges of dredged or fill material to build and operate the proposed mine site would result in a loss of about 100 miles (160 kilometers) of stream habitat, as well as wetlands.

The Pebble partnership has maintained that the project can coexist with salmon. The partnership's website says the deposit is at the upper reaches of three very small tributaries and expresses confidence any impacts on the fishery in the unlikely event of an incident would be minimal.

Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the EPA's veto was a dangerous precedent that could affect future development in the state, while state Attorney General Treg Taylor called the agency's action legally indefensible."

"Alarmingly, it lays the foundation to stop any development project, mining or non-mining, in any area of Alaska with wetlands and fish-bearing streams, Dunleavy said.

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she opposed the mine but that the EPA's veto shouldn't be allowed to jeopardize future mining operations in the state.

This determination must not serve as precedent to target any other project in our state and must be the only time EPA ever uses its veto authority under the Clean Water Act in Alaska," Murkowski said in a statement.

Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell called the EPA's action the final nail in the coffin for the Pebble Mine" and the culmination of a hard fought battle.

Now, we will have a thriving Bristol Bay salmon run for generations to come, she said.

Tribes in the Bristol Bay region in 2010 petitioned the EPA to protect the area under the federal Clean Water Act. Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, said that to call the EPA announcement welcome news is an understatement.

Tim Bristol, executive director with the group SalmonState, lauded the EPAs decision, saying it may be the most popular thing the federal government has ever done for Alaska.

The EPA's decision is the latest in a yearslong back-and-forth over the project that has spanned administrations.

Leila Kimbrell, executive director for the Resource Development Council for Alaska Inc., called the decision a dangerous abuse of power and federal overreach. The National Mining Association, citing high demand for minerals and fragile global supply chains, said domestic mining has never been more important. It said EPA's decision is in stark contrast to national and global realities.

___

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

Becky Bohrer And Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press
TWIN BUTTE, Alta.  A property that includes fescue grasslands, forests and wetlands near Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The organization said Tuesday that the 2.5-square-kilometre property between the national park and Twin Butte, Alta., is its newest conservation site.

"Waterton Lakes National Park is renowned for its incredible wildlife, but these species rely on an area much larger than the park itself throughout the year," Tom Lynch-Staunton, regional vice-president for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said in a statement.

"By conserving this property, we are ensuring it will continue to offer habitat and safe movement routes for these incredible animals."

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said the property will become part of the 130-square kilometres of private conservation lands known as the Waterton Park Front, which is now about 75 per cent conserved.

"This property is just another piece of that larger puzzle," said Sean Feagan, an Alberta spokesman for Nature Conservancy of Canada.

"It's a victory for nature."

Land conservation in the area, he said, is important because it features a unique and relatively intact ecosystem that provides a corridor for wildlife such as grizzly bears and elk.

"It's where the grasslands butt up right against the mountains," said Feagan. "There's not a ton of foothills, so it's a unique part of the province geographically and geologically.

"So, you get a mixture of grasslands species and montane species living together."

He said mammals such as elk, deer and moose congregate in the areas outside of the national park in the winter to forage grasses such as fescue, which has high nutritional value.

"It's a really important winter foodstuff for these animals," he said.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said the protected area will continue to be used for cattle grazing while being managed in a way that allows nature to thrive.

Story continues

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2023.

 By Colette Derworiz in Calgary.

The Canadian Press
John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times. jnichols@captimes.com and @NicholsUprising.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
HAYWARD  WOJB, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Public Broadcasting here, has been around for more than 40 years. It serves as a connector for Native Americans in northern Wisconsin.

The 100,000-watt radio station serves locals, campers and tourists. It plays everything from Big Band to powwow music. The station also airs a number of programs that are geared toward Native Americans.

WOJB 88.9 FM is the voice of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. Ojibwa or Ojibwe peoples are part of Anishinaabe, the people of Odaawaa-zaagaiganiing. Anishinaabe are a group of culturally related Indigenous people located in the Great Lakes region of Canada and northern United States.

They include the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississaugas, Nipissing and Algonquin peoples.

The LCO peoples are also one of six federally recognized bands of Ojibwe located in present-day Wisconsin.

WOJB aims to serve the LCO and anyone within the listening area. WOJB is one of just 135 indigenous Native American radio stations in the United States.

During the weekday lunchtime hours, WOJB airs a Native Voice One program called Native America Calling.

This is a live call-in program that airs across most of North America but is based out of New Mexico.

That is one of the key points of our Native programming, said Jeffrey Jones, programming director, music director and afternoon music host at WOJB. Another one is Tuesdays  the Native Tuesday Afternoon Show.

On Tuesday nights, WOJB airs a program called Drum Song, which is geared toward traditional Native drum music.

So the powwow groups that tour the country during the powwow season, theyre featured during that program, Jones said.

For locals, the station provides more than just music and local programming. It helps to keep culture and history alive.

Karl Habeck, general manager of WOJB, said that the station has been working with Rosetta Stone, a language learning company thats developed a tutorial to teach people the Ojibwe language.

Weve had numerous people in our studio doing recordings. What happens is well have guests sharing Ojibwe in the studio and the engineers will be here in the studio with them. And then therell be third parties involved, Habeck said. Everythings recorded and that all contributes to what Rosetta Stone puts together as a final language teaching product.

The station also offers an opportunity for tribal elders to share their stories on the air. In addition, there is programming that is specifically aimed at addressing addiction issues in the local Native American community.

The station has four full-time staff members, a couple of part-timers and a load of volunteers doing the programming.

The staff wants to operate under the WOJB mission statement that was adopted years ago. This includes informing citizens of the significant issues facing society while contributing to the development of communities, so that they are better able to deal intelligently with those issues. It means conveying the cultural past of the region, before and after European settlement, and making it known to the present generation while also preserving it for generations to come.

But it also means entertaining the public while enriching the lives of listeners.

As general manager, I try to follow that to a T, Habeck said. WOJB is about offering people, especially LCO people, a space and place to be recognized, to be heard, to share and to learn.

Habeck grew up in Green Bay, and his mother was born and raised in the Hayward region. She was a LCO tribal member whod bring her son to the area occasionally.

I loved to listen to the radio station when we came up here on our visits. I loved the variety and I loved the hominess of the DJs and the variety of music, he said. It was something different than what I was used to listening to on your more mainstream radio.

Habeck began volunteering at the station in 2008 and became a full-time employee in 2010.

At the station, he worked both on the technical side, as an engineer and chief operator, and also hosted or filled in for a number of programming slots, such as the Honky Tonk, Drum Song, Blue Monday and Spice of Life.

Habeck said he still wants WOJB to be that radio station that he remembers listening to so many years ago.

I know that the 70s were a long time ago for many of our listeners, but its important to note that we started, that this station kind of arose out of the activism of the late 70s  a lot of things that were going on with the American Indian Movement, he said.

I always keep that in the back of my mind whenever were recounting stories or trying to make things interesting for our listeners. Rather than just canned music on the radio station I want to help make something that has some meaning.

WATCH NOW: Chippewa Falls resident on a mission to keep Ojibwe heritage and family history alive Margaret Marge Hebbring, a 73-year-old resident of Chippewa Falls, is a member of the Ojibwe tribe in northwestern Wisconsin. Ojibwe and Chippewa are versions of the same word, pronounced differently because of English and French accents. Hebbring is also a descendent of Michel Cadotte and (Madeline) Equaysayway Cadotte. Madeline Island was named in honor of (Madeline) Equaysayway upon her marriage to European fur trader Michel. These families built the first trading post on the Yellow River near modern day Cadott, WI. Hebbring hopes to keep the tribal, family and state history alive through stories, historical records and outreach work.

IN PHOTOS: WOJB 88.9 FM, connecting Native Americans WOJB 1 On Air WOJB 2 WOJB 3 WOJB 4 WOJB 4 WOJB 5 WOJB 6 WOJB 7
The public would be able to watch more parole deliberations in real time under a new Republican proposal, which was written after the Wisconsin Parole Commission came under scrutiny last year over whom it sought to release.

The draft bill  written by Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, and announced last week  would eliminate from the states open meetings law the exemption allowing the commission to go into closed session when it considers parole requests.

Because that exemption is in place currently, the commissions decisions often only become public through records requests, which can take months to receive.

Under the open meetings law, the commission would still be able to go into closed session under narrow circumstances, like discussing a prisoners medical history.

I think greater transparency in these proceedings is a good idea, and I hope that the Parole Commission itself supports this change, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council president Bill Lueders said. Its members should see it as a way to show to the public that decisions about parole are made deliberately and with due consideration for public safety and the rights of people who have been convicted of crimes.

Withholding judgment about the bill, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said, The governor supports efforts to improve the parole commission process  especially measures to ensure crime victims and survivors have a meaningful voice in the parole process  and looks forward to working together on legislation that builds on our administrations work toward this important goal.

The proposal would also require the Department of Corrections to publish a report every month listing the individuals granted parole, denied parole and those who were returned to prison after their parole was revoked. The department would have to make public annually the demographics of those prisoners and former prisoners.

Saying she was still reviewing the legislation, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, called government transparency and accountability a critical part of a functioning democracy, adding that applicants privacy should be respected when sensitive material, like mental health history, is being reviewed.

The parole commission, and specifically its former chair, John Tate, came under fire last year over the commissions initial plans to parole Douglas Balsewicz, who served less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence for stabbing his wife, Johanna Balsewicz, to death.

After meeting with the victims family, Evers asked Tate to reconsider Balsewiczs parole. After initial reluctance, Tate rescinded Balsewiczs parole.

Despite his change of course, some Republicans called on Evers to remove Tate from office. Tate announced his resignation June 10 at Evers request.

The conservative media outlet Wisconsin Right Now last year used public records requests and publicly available information to compile a list of hundreds of people with felonies released on parole under Evers administration before their mandatory release dates.

Saying the commission failed to fully provide corresponding records to a May 2022 records request, the media outlet sued the parole commission in late September last year. A Washington County judge required the commission to turn over the records in early October.

Many Republicans, including former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels, sought to use the Wisconsin Right Now reports as examples of Evers being soft on crime. Governors have no direct control over whos released; they only appoint the commission chair.

Evers announced two weeks ago that former Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach would chair the commission.

With Jon Erprenbachs appointment as Parole Commission Chair, we have a chance to ensure the Parole Commission doesnt repeat the same mistakes and operates in a more open manner, Wanggaard said in a statement last week, saying his proposed bill is an important first step in enhancing public confidence in the parole process.

Erpenbach did not respond to a request for comment.

Only a small fraction of Wisconsins prison population is eligible for parole because of a change in state law that took effect at the end of the last century. People sentenced to prison for crimes committed before Dec. 31, 1999, can be paroled after serving 25% of their sentence, and must be paroled after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

But people who committed crimes after that date must serve all of their sentences, with some exceptions for completing certain rehabilitative programs. The parole commission has no say over their fates.

Only 8.6%, or 1,761, of those in prison in Wisconsin were eligible for parole as of Nov. 30, according to the Department of Corrections, although DOC spokesperson John Beard last year said that calculation could include some who are also serving sentences under the current sentencing system and thus would not be eligible for parole for those post-1999 crimes.

Photos: Inauguration ceremony at the state Capitol
A son of Mark and Julie Jensen testified Monday in the high-profile jury retrial of his father, the Pleasant Prairie man accused of poisoning and suffocating his wife to death in December 1998.

David Jensen, now 33, testified for the first time in Kenosha County Circuit Court. David Jensen was just eight years old when his mother was found dead in her bed. David Jensen was the last witness presented by the defense before they rested Monday afternoon.

Mark Jensen, 63, was convicted in February 2008 for the murder of Julie Jensen inside their Carol Beach neighborhood home near the lakefront. He is standing trial again here after years of appeals and battles in state and federal courts.

Mark Jensen, according to prosecutors, killed the 40-year-old mother of two over three days in December 1998 by poisoning her with odorless ethylene glycol, more commonly known as antifreeze, and then suffocating her by sitting on her while she laid in bed dying and gasping for air. He allegedly killed her in order to make it easier for him to be with a woman he was having an affair with and who later married.

They also allege he killed Julie Jensen out of deep anger and obsession over a previous sexual affair she had with a coworker years before, along with other marriage issues.

Mark Jensen, a former stock broker, searched the internet for ways to make Julie Jensens death look like a suicide and terrorized her for years with strategically placed pornography of men, lewd emails and phone calls, according to prosecutors.

Mark Jensen, however, has maintained his innocence ever since his wifes death. His attorneys have argued Julie Jensen was deeply depressed and died by suicide after framing her husband for her death.

All witness testimony ended Monday afternoon in what is now the fourth week of trial. Closing arguments are expected this week.

Son testifies

David Jensen told the court about his recollections from the day of his mother's death.

On Dec. 3, 1998, the day of Julie Jensen's death, David Jensen said he and his little brother Douglas Jensen, who was three at the time, were picked up from school and taken to their home by their father.

"We came inside and Doug and I went to the living room," David Jensen testified. "It was my dad, my brother Douglas and I."

David Jensen said his father told the boys to wait in the living room while he went down the hallway to a bedroom to check on Julie Jensen. David Jensen said his father eventually came out crying.

"I don't remember how long exactly it was but he came out crying, not terribly long (after), David Jensen said. "He was sobbing and told us to stay there, told me to put on a movie for Doug (and then) went to the telephone and returned down the hallway. We just stayed in the living room."

He said that was the first time he'd seen him cry.

Earlier that day David Jensen said he said goodbye to her before he went to school. He said her breathing was raspy but "she still gave us a hug, told us she loved us before we left."

He said he didn't remember her having such raspy breathing the day before even though she wasn't feeling well and in bed.

Prior to leaving the house, David Jensen said he spoke with his father "about how we were going to come straight home" after school and that if Julie Jensen wasn't feeling better they would take her "straight to the doctor."

David Jensen said he spent the night at his aunt's home and the next morning he and his brother were told about their mother's death by Mark Jensen.

"He sat us down on his lap and told us she'd passed," David Jensen recalled. "I had kind of already knew at that point, and I don't remember what specifically he said to me. I was kind of just numb and he may as well been talking to the wall. I was kind of just in a daze."

David Jensen made eye contact with his father and smiled at him when he exited the courtroom after testifying for about an hour.

Expert witness

A forensic psychiatrist also testified Monday. Dr. Sara West said Julie Jensen was at high risk of dying by suicide. West said Julie Jensen was deeply depressed even though she reportedly told people closer to her she was not suicidal or didn't appear to be suffering from depression.

Reason for new trial

The original prosecutor, Jambois, a former Kenosha County District attorney, is serving as special prosecutor before Judge Anthony Milisauskas, now the third Kenosha County Circuit Court judge to preside over the matter.

Mark Jensen is represented by a team of defense attorneys led by Bridget Krause.

A Kenosha County judge vacated Mark Jensens conviction in April 2021 after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Jensen deserved a new trial.

The court found that a letter his wife wrote incriminating him in the event something should happen to her could not be used by the prosecution as it was in the first trial. In early 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court helped pave the way for this new trial when it declined to hear an appeal of the Wisconsin Supreme Courts ruling.

The so-called letter from the grave in which Julie Jensen wrote that if anything happens to me that her husband would be my first suspect will not be allowed into evidence during this lengthy trial. The high-profile case has sparked headlines across the nation.

Mark Jensen opts not to testify

Attorneys with the defense rested their case on Monday.

Some of the those who were called to testify by the defense included a forensic pathologist, a medical toxicologist, the Jensen family doctor and Mark Jensen's sister.

The prosecution rested last week after calling 38 witnesses to the stand and playing lengthy videos of some of the men and women who testified during the first trial but were unable to testify again or had died.

Among those who testified during the first two weeks of trial for the prosecution included local law enforcement officials, former coworkers of Mark Jensen, former neighbors of the Jensens, a brother of Julie Jensen, medical examiners and inmates who Mark Jensen reportedly told of his alleged actions.

Mark Jensen chose not to testify, as is his Constitutional right.

The state began called rebuttal witnesses Monday afternoon and that ended around 4 p.m.

Mark Jensen, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in his wifes death, remains in custody on a $1.2 million cash bond in Kenosha County. He faces life in prison.
KEARNEY  On an 11-acre plot in Kearney sit dozens of what look like shipping containers.

Inside the containers are racks and racks of computers. Thousands of computers, solving complicated math equations around the clock.

Here on the outskirts of town, wedged between a solar field and a cornfield, the computers mine for cryptocurrency.

They use as much electricity as the entire city of Kearney, pop. 33,790, to do it.

This is one of the largest cryptocurrency data centers in Nebraska  a massive, 100-megawatt host site for the computers racing to verify crypto transactions.

Its likely the first of many data centers to settle in the state, as the new and oft-volatile crypto industry carves out a home here.

Cryptos instability already hit the Kearney location  in September, Compute North, the company that opened the data center, declared bankruptcy, though the center is still running under a new owner.

Not even freefalling crypto prices and the infamous failure of crypto exchange FTX have stopped the industrys expansion in Nebraska.

Just this month, the Hall County Board of Commissioners approved the construction of a 14-megawatt crypto data center near Grand Island.

We werent actively pursuing these, they came to us, said Neal Niedfeldt, chief executive officer of Southern Public Power District, one of many Nebraska utility districts fielding crypto company calls.

A digital currency, crypto relies on a network of computers maintaining a blockchain  think of it like a digital ledger of transactions. The computers solve complicated math problems to verify transactions, adding them to the ledger. In exchange, they receive digital coins  like bitcoin or ethereum.

The currency is largely unregulated. Its not backed by any government, like the U.S. dollar. For crypto enthusiasts, the decentralized structure is appealing.

Basically, the business of crypto is converting electricity into computer computations, said Gus Hurwitz, a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Businesses like the Kearney data center function as a rental space for the computers. Crypto miners ship in their equipment, paying for space, maintenance, internet and  crucially  electricity.

Electricity is the main cost of business since the computers run virtually 24/7. The companies running these hubs are looking for cheap power.

Compute North found it in Nebraska  the only state served entirely by publicly owned utilities mandated to deliver the cheapest electricity possible.

They had heard our rates are low, and theyre stable, said Nicole Sedlacek, economic development manager for Nebraska Public Power District.

The company had a few other criteria: It liked the power districts mix of carbon-free energy. It needed affordable land. It sought a place that could handle its massive electrical load, and a local government open to the idea of crypto coming to town.

Kearney had everything company officials were looking for.

The central Nebraska town had been working to develop its technology park. A crypto data center promised a few jobs, said Stan Clouse, longtime mayor and also an NPPD manager. The data center would double the electrical capacity of Kearneys power grid, making power more stable and keeping rates low. It would also mean an influx of cash.

Increasing the load increases revenue, Clouse said. Thats an excess of $1 million annually to Kearney. For a community our size, thats pretty significant.

But for some, the Kearney data center and others soon opening in Grand Island and York arent to be celebrated. Theyre concerning.

Its not about job creation and opportunity for Nebraska, said Scott Scholz, spokesperson for advocacy group Nebraskans for Social Good. Its about out-of-state companies leveraging our electrical system for their own profit.

In June 2019, the Kearney City Council voted unanimously to approve a development agreement with Compute North. (Clouse abstained because of his NPPD role.)

The company received 11 acres of free land, valued at $165,000 and paid for by the Economic Development Council of Buffalo County, and a temporary rebate on electricity.

NPPD added mobile substations to help transmit the increased load. Its now working on a new $12.5 million permanent substation that will exclusively send power to the crypto-mining location.

In return, Compute North delivered 11 new jobs. It helped develop and add to the electrical capacity of Kearneys tech park. By 2021, it grew to be a 100-megawatt customer.

By comparison: The rest of Kearneys energy needs peak at 100 megawatts. The second-largest user is manufacturing company Eaton, peaking at 10 megawatts, Clouse said.

Cryptos electricity use raises environmental concerns, Scholz said. One year of global crypto mining uses more electricity than the country of Argentina, according to an estimate in a White House report  accounting for as much as nearly 1% of the worlds electricity usage.

In New York, lawmakers recently passed a two-year ban on fossil fuel-powered crypto mining projects. In Montana, a coal-fired power plant was set to shut down, cheering environmentalists  until a crypto data center opened nearby.

In Nebraska, NPPD already had the energy capacity to power the Kearney data center, said Pat Hanrahan, NPPDs general manager of retail services. Roughly 62% of NPPDs energy generation is carbon-free, and has remained steady since Compute North came to Kearney, said Grant Otten, NPPD spokesperson.

Still, a data centers constant energy usage is likely drawing from all available energy sources.

Its coming from a mix of more green sources, like wind, as well as not-so-green sources, like coal and natural gas, said University of Nebraska-Lincoln civil engineering professor Bruce Dvorak.

In the past five years, NPPDs economic development arm has fielded calls from 25 crypto companies interested in Nebraska, Sedlacek said. Some towns, like Kearney, were excited.

Others were hesitant. They welcomed economic development. But we dont want crypto, they told her.

The crypto market is young and volatile. In November 2021, the price of bitcoin peaked at $68,764. Its since crashed, plunging to $16,625 in January.

In November, giant crypto exchange company FTX filed for bankruptcy. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was then arrested for fraud, sowing distrust among crypto skeptics.

We are definitely at a low point, said Hurwitz, the law professor. Anyone entering into this market right now needs to be better capitalized, and capitalized in a less risky way than a year ago.

Compute North, the company that opened Kearneys data center, declared bankruptcy late last year, citing rising energy costs and falling bitcoin profits. The bankruptcy didnt interrupt local operations. Today, the cluster of computers continues mining new cryptocurrency.

Because they can move in so quickly, they can move out rather quickly, too, NPPDs Sedlacek said. We spent a lot of time as a utility really talking through that. How can we protect our ratepayers so we arent left stranded with  unpaid bills?

She thought the calls would slow last year, when the digital currencies cratered. They didnt.

More Nebraska projects are now in the works.

The York City Council decided in April to sell land to BginUSA, an Omaha company building an $8 million mining complex. In Minden, a planned Compute North expansion is now being transferred to another company.

In November, residents opposed to a proposed crypto data center near Doniphan crowded a Hall County Commissioners public hearing.

This isnt a farm facility going in, resident Justin Gregg said during public comment, according to NTV News. Its all cornfields around us, and should stay that way.

The company pulled its request for a permit before the commissioners voted.

In mid-January, Hall County approved a conditional use permit for a different crypto project near Grand Island.

Questions loom around cryptocurrencys future, including possible regulation. Nebraska towns and utility districts now hopefully understand cryptos risks, Hurwitz said.

I would not be willing to take anything on credit, he said.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
For Todd Tuls, milking cows is in his blood.

Tuls, owner of Tuls Dairies and a Columbus community member, was a guest speaker during the Butler County Chamber of Commerces annual banquet held Jan. 23 in David City, during which time he spoke about the business.

The roots of Tuls Dairies can be traced back to California, Tuls said, with his father and grandfather milking 400 cows in Chino. At the age of 10, he was in charge of feeding 100 calves on his familys farm.

The business, Tuls said, grew to milking 1,000 cows in 1979, then to 2,200 cows and then to 3,800 cows. They had been one of the largest dairies in California.

Milking cows was something he always knew he was going to do, Tuls added.

My dad always had this ashtray on the corner of his desk and it was my grandfathers and it said, Milking over 2,000 cows since 1969, Tuls said. I said, well  my grandfather could do that, I could do 10 (times more). I set out to milk 20,000 cows a day and I wasnt going to do that in Southern California.

Tuls and his brother moved to southwest Kansas in 1994, with Tuls splitting off in 2000 and coming to Nebraska.

According to Tuls, he had been attending a farm show in Wisconsin when he met Bob Hilger of Butler County. Hilger had asked Tuls if he was considering setting up operations in Nebraska. Tuls said he met with Bob Hilger and his son, which lead to him establishing dairies in Northeast Nebraska.

Tuls said Double Dutch Dairy was constructed in Polk County, which originally milked 1,800 cows. Double Dutch expanded five years later, and Butler County Dairy was built in 2007.

In Wisconsin, Rock Prairie Dairy was built in 2011 and a second dairy was established in 2018. The year 2018 was the year that Tuls reached his goal  20,000 cows  so they named that dairy Pinnacle Dairy. They also own and operate Emerald Sky Dairy in Wisconsin.

Also in Butler County, Tuls owns Summit Calf Ranch, as well as Trinity Feed Yard in Kansas.

We raise about 7,200 calves on the bottle there (at Summit Calf). Theyre all fed twice a day and then weve got calves in the barns, about 15,000 head there, Tuls said. From there they go to our feedlot in southwest Kansas.

From the feed yard, the animals are transported to the dairies.

According to Tuls, the majority of the milk produced at their Nebraska dairies is transported to a Hiland Dairy facility in Omaha. Hiland also bottles for Hy-Vee, he added.

If youre drinking Hy-Vee milk or Hiland milk, youve got about a 90% chance youre drinking ours, Tuls said.

Milk is also transported to cheese plants in South Dakota and Iowa. The milk produced in the summer is transported to another Hiland plant in Kansas City. For the milk at their Wisconsin operations, it gets transported to cheese and bottling plants in the same state.

Looking forward, Tuls said, they are working on vertical integration in their operations, as well as a new product.

Tuls said Tuls Dairies is developing an ultrafiltered, long shelf-life whole milk aimed at kids.

You guys should see it in Hy-Vee this spring, April or May, Tuls said. It (has) six grams of sugar, 19 grams of protein and it tastes great so your kids will love it.

The guest speakers of the night were asked questions, the most notable being with the growing divide between rural and urban areas, is there concern that consumer demands will make regulations that will curtail production?

Tuls noted there have been times his business has been scrutinized on how they raise calves or handled/housed cows.

Tuls explained how some of his operations are set up, specifically the way he likes to build his sites.

The way the barns are designed, theyre sitting north and south. Its that way for a reason, Tuls said. I want to make sure the cattle see the rising sun. I want them to see the setting sun and then weve got translucent, clear panels in the roof, so the sunlights always coming in our buildings.

The panels are designed to completely open when the weather permits, Tuls said, and the sides of the facilities can open to where fresh air can enter. A monitoring system also keeps the temperature at an ideal level for the animals.

These measures, Tuls added, enhance the health of the animals and Tuls Dairies production.

About nine years ago, new genetics were introduced in the breeding process, which has allowed them to greatly reduce the use of hormone therapy to bring a cow into cycle, he said.

Weve reduced our mortality at birth, all the way down to about a 1.5% from 5, Tuls said.

Tuls also commented on the care of the animals that can be seen daily.

For heifers that are going to be milked for the first time, Tuls said, employees will start touching the animals utters for three weeks before hooking them up to a machine.

Theyre relaxed, theyre calm. The cows are just like, hey, Im used to being touched Tuls said. Its amazing what happens when you do those kind of things.

The other guest speakers for the night were Chris Schaffer, chief executive officer and general manager of Ag Processing, Inc. (APG), and Jessica Kolterman, director of administration for Lincoln Premium Poultry.

AGP, which is based out of Omaha, is a regional cooperative that is involved in soybean crushing, Schaffer said. The soybeans are used to make meal for animals and soybean oil for food products, as well as biodiesel.

Currently there are nine AGP facilities in the United States, with a new plant scheduled to be constructed in Butler County.

We crush just a little bit over a million bushel of beans annually, Schaffer said. Were going to build a plant in David City, itll crush roughly 15% more beans for the company.

AGP has 1,100 employees, Schaffer added, with the new David City facility expected to create 85 jobs. The new plant is expected to open in 2025.

Lincoln Premium Poultry is based out of Fremont, Kolterman noted, and grows chickens for Costco Wholesale.

Kolterman said that in addition to the companys boiler barns and processing facility, they have a hatchery and a feed mill. They also have about 100 farm families that raise chickens to be taken to the plant to be processed  there are several growers in Butler County.

The economic impact of our company is about 1% of the state of Nebraskas GDP (gross domestic product), Kolterman said. The investment by Costco on the front end was about $500 million, and then if you add in where the farm families sit in this region, it gets us to almost a billion dollars.
" " Computers are growing more powerful and more capable, but everything has limits. Ryzhi/Shutterstock

Empowered by artificial intelligence technologies, computers today can engage in convincing conversations with people (thanks, ChatGPT), compose songs, paint paintings, play chess and go and diagnose diseases, to name just a few examples of their technological prowess.

These successes could be taken to indicate that computation has no limits. To see if that's the case, it's important to understand what makes a computer powerful.

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There are two aspects to a computer's power: the number of operations its hardware can execute per second and the efficiency of the algorithms it runs. The hardware speed is limited by the laws of physics. Algorithms  basically sets of instructions  are written by humans and translated into a sequence of operations that computer hardware can execute. Even if a computer's speed could reach the physical limit, computational hurdles remain due to the limits of algorithms.

These hurdles include problems that are impossible for computers to solve and problems that are theoretically solvable but in practice are beyond the capabilities of even the most powerful versions of today's computers. Mathematicians and computer scientists attempt to determine whether a problem is solvable by trying them out on an imaginary machine.
MONDAY, Jan. 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Transgender youth in Utah are now blocked from receiving gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy after Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that largely bans such care for youth. Cox said that the ban was necessary until more research is done on long-term effects of treatments, The New York Times reported.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah responded, saying the law violated due process and constitutional equal protection rights. "This bill effectively bans access to lifesaving medical care for transgender youth in Utah," Brittney Nystrom, executive director of the organization, said in a statement. "It undermines the health and well-being of adolescents, limits the options of doctors, patients, and parents, and violates the constitutional rights of these families."

But Cox stood firm on the bill. "While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures," Cox, who is a Republican, said in a statement.

While leading medical groups have rejected the idea that gender-affirming care is harmful, a small number of medical professionals have cited concerns that puberty blockers may affect bone density, The Times reported.

The Utah bill is only the first of many expected this year. More than 150 Republican-proposed bills in 25 states would restrict transgender rights, including more than 12 bills focusing on blocking transgender youth from surgical or hormonal care, according to The Times.

Kansas and Mississippi would ban gender-affirming care for anyone up to age 21 years. Bills in Oklahoma and South Carolina would go further, criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender people younger than age 26 years, The Times reported. Last year, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, and Tennessee restricted access to gender-transition care for transgender youth, though federal judges in Arkansas and Alabama have blocked those laws during litigation. Texas took a different tack by classifying gender-affirming health care as child abuse last year and authorizing investigation of families of transgender children seeking care. The governor and attorney general were later blocked by the state Supreme Court from ordering investigations, but only for families who had sued.

The New York Times Article
By Azernews

Qabil Ashirov

The ratio of Azerbaijan's foreign debt to GDP reduced to a single-digit indicator, amounting to 8.6 percent, Azernews reports, referring to Finance Minister Samir Sharifov at the expanded board meeting of the ministry.

He noted that 2022 was among others also characterized by a significant reduction in foreign debt and the development of the domestic debt market. He pointed out that these activities were carried out on the basis of the document "Medium and long-term strategy for the management of public debt in the Republic of Azerbaijan", approved by a presidential decree dated 2018.

As of July 1, 2022, Azerbaijan's public debt amounted to $8.8bn, which was 13 percent of GDP. Of which, $7bn contained foreign debt or 10.6 percent of GDP, and $1.7 contained domestic debt or 2.4 percent of GDP.
Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers are nonemergency.
PPL on Tuesday announced it is adjusting electricity bills that used estimates based on customers historical usage instead of actual usage.

PPL said it has fixed the technical issue that resulted in a significant number of bills that were based on estimated electricity usage and sent from Dec. 20 to Jan. 9. The company said some bills may have been higher or lower than they should have been, and customers may have already received a corrected bill with the actual usage or will see an adjustment on the next monthly bill.

Because of the issue, in addition to the increase in electricity prices, PPL said there was a sharp increase in customer calls, resulting in long wait times.

The Pennsylvania Utility Commission on Tuesday announced it has initiated a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances around PPLs bills and the companys billing practices. The commission said the matter has been referred to its Independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, which enforces the state public utility code and PUC regulations.

Consumers who do not believe that PPL has addressed their issues or believe that it has not responded appropriately can contact PUCs Bureau of Consumer Services at 1-800-692-7380.

If you received an estimated bill or have had difficulty reaching our call center, I apologize, PPL President Steph Raymond said in a letter to customers. Simply put, you deserve better, and we are committed to regaining your trust.

PPL said that due to the issues, it is waiving all late fees in January and February, with any fees already charged in January being credited to customer accounts. The company will also not shut off power to residential and small-business customers for nonpayment through March 31.

PPL said it also is adding more agents to answer calls and reduce wait times, and it will continue to offer payment plans and assistance programs for those struggling to pay electric bills, with options available online at pplelectric.com/billhelp or by calling 1-800-342-5775.
An area man has been charged with murder after authorities say he gave fentanyl to a woman, resulting in her death at his Potosi home last year. Police said the woman's death is one of three suspected overdoses near the man's home in the past two years, with the other two still under investigation.

Travis Wayne Roberts, 42, of Potosi, has been charged in Washington County with second-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance.

A probable cause statement from the Washington County Sheriff's Office states that in the early hours of April 10, 2022, the sheriff's office was dispatched to Roberts' residence for a deceased female, later identified as 32-year-old Raven Garrett. Police said it was suspected the woman died from an overdose.

Weeks later, on April 27, authorities interviewed Roberts about the woman's death. During the interview, the man reportedly said he had a capsule of fentanyl that he split, giving half of it to the woman.

The report states Roberts admitted the woman did not "normally" do fentanyl, yet he gave the potent opioid drug to her anyway.

Last week, on Thursday, Washington County investigators received the coroner's report and death certificate for Garrett, which indicated the woman died as a result of a mixed drug intoxication that included fentanyl and methamphetamine.

It was noted in the charging documents that Garrett is one of the three females who have been discovered dead from suspected overdoses near Roberts in the last two years. The other two deaths are still under investigation, according to police.

Roberts was booked at the Washington County Jail on Thursday. He is being held at the facility without bond.

Roberts appeared in court on Monday, where he entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and applied for a public defender to be appointed to represent him in the case.

Court records state that Roberts is a convicted felon in Missouri.

A search of the man's criminal history showed previous arrests for multiple offenses, including first-degree assault, second-degree burglary, stealing, domestic assault, DWI, forgery, theft, possession of a controlled substance, and at least two charges of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Antisemitic flyers were distributed throughout Charlottesvilles Barracks Rugby and Venable neighborhoods over the weekend, in what appears to be part of a national public relations stunt by the Goyim Defense League hate group.

Congregation Beth Israel, Charlottesvilles only synagogue whose temple is the oldest still standing in the commonwealth, warned its congregants Monday morning to be aware of their own personal safety when in public and at their home.

Former Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, who is Jewish, told The Daily Progress his street was in one of the neighborhoods the campaign targeted. He said he found the leaflets scattered on several nearby driveways on Saturday morning as he walked out to fetch the morning newspaper.

He said he ran across the street to grab a flyer that had been thrown on his neighbors driveway. She wasnt going to be interested in receiving that.

Signer, who served as mayor during the deadly Unite the Right rally-turned-riot when neo-Nazis and neo-Confederates descended on downtown Charlottesville in 2017, said he has heard of such messages showing up in other places in America.

We have seen a lot of this kind of thing, he said on Monday. I know whats happening all around the country with this kind of activity. It is obviously upsetting to see it come right here to Charlottesville.

The leaflets distributed in Charlottesville were sealed in plastic bags filled with corn kernels in an apparent attempt to keep them from blowing away. Every single aspect of the media is Jewish, they read. 6 Jewish corporations own 96% of the media. Printed below that is a list of major media companies and the names of Jewish employees, regardless of whether they are still employed there or not.

The leaflets also have an advertisement for Goyim TV, a video platform owned by the Goyim Defense League and operated by self-proclaimed white supremacist Jon Minadeo II.

Minadeo, who uses the pseudonym Handsome Truth, could best be described as an internet troll. A high school dropout, by his own account, Minadeo has an IMDB page online which suggests a brief career in poorly reviewed, low-budget comedies made before he ventured into the publication of conspiracy theories.

His website, Goyim TV, is a crude version of YouTube with videos called Joe Biden Wants To Eliminate White People and Jewish Domination of the Slave Trades, among other lies, discredited conspiracies and what can only be described as nonsense.

Minadeos best-known work is a banner his group claims it hung last year across a Los Angeles freeway that read, Kanye is right about the Jews. The rapper formerly known as Kanye West had earlier previously engaged in several rants on podcasts and social media attacking Jews.

Though Minadeo was previously based in Californias Bay Area, he has since moved to Florida. His organizations mission remains the same.

GDLs overarching goal is to cast aspersions on Jews and spread antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories, according to an Anti-Defamation League report.

Theyve been doing this in six states and came to Virginia within the past six months, Bruce Hoffman, director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, told The Daily Progress on Monday. There were incidents this fall in Virginia Beach and Lynchburg that were identical to what happened in Charlottesville over the weekend.

There were more incidents than that.

Newspapers up and down the East Coast on Monday, from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Rochester, New York, were reporting that antisemitic flyers had been discovered in their cities.

Antisemitic hate crimes are on the rise nationally, with a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 2021, the most recent figures available.

Charlottesville has not been immune. Residents have reported antisemitic stickers appearing on street signs and utility poles around the city.

On Oct. 25, surveillance cameras captured a young man removing a Welcome Jewish Students banner hanging from the door of the Rohr Chabad House, which is a home away from home for the schools Jewish students and community, according to its website. The suspect was never identified, according to university police.

Truman Brody-Boyd, assistant director of development at the Brody Jewish Center at the University of Virginia, said the members at the center have not noticed any antisemitic acts locally since the sign incident. Hearing about the most recent incident was unsettling, he said.

To be Jewish in America these days is to understand that theres an increase in antisemitism across the country, and we can feel a little bit of insecurity," Brody-Boyd said. "Of course we do everything we can to support our students and make sure they feel secure, and like they have a space to process and be proudly Jewish at all times.

Brody-Boyd said the center will maintain its usual safety measures, which are designed to protect its community from standard safety concerns as well as antisemitic threats.

Congregation Beth Israel has encouraged its members to attend the synagogues periodic security trainings, which include Situation Awareness, Run, Hide, Fight, Stop the Bleed and White Supremacist Threat.

While its true that Minadeo and his followers have not been responsible for any violence yet, that doesnt mean it isnt the groups ultimate aim, said Georgetowns Hoffman.

There hasnt been any violence to date. Theres been obnoxious and outrageous theatrical antics, but no violence, he said. But, the message of this kind of leafleting is to generate hatred and intolerance with a view toward targeting members of our society for their religion or ethnic identity.

Virginia Republicans Del. Terry Kilgore and state Sen. Bryce Reeves have introduced bills in the House of Delegates and state Senate, respectively, that would enforce higher criminal penalties for antisemitic hate crimes and require those crimes be entered into a database maintained by the Virginia State Police.

On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Reeves bill to the Finance and Appropriations Committee, which will review the proposed legislation later this week.

While Virginias elected officials push for legislation in Richmond, Hoffman said Charlottesville should focus on supporting its Jewish community.

In the short term, I think communities have to stand together and refuse to allow their neighbors to be intimidated or harassed or be made to feel like theyre unwelcome or dont belong in the community, Hoffman said. In the long term, I think we need digital literacy, teaching the children in schools to be able to research facts and get authoritative information from recognized sources.
The University of Virginia will test its public alert system on Tuesday morning.

The UVa siren and public address system is scheduled to be activated at 10:50 a.m., according to the university. Both will be audible on and near Grounds, UVa has said. An all clear is scheduled to be issued at 11 a.m.

The test is also expected to include email and texted alerts sent to students, faculty, staff and UVA Health workers. A similar text message will also be sent to other members of the public who have signed up for mobile alerts, the university said.

In addition, messages will appear on various screens on Grounds and across UVa websites, the school said. Tweets will be sent from the accounts of @UVA_EM and @UVAPolice, and messages will be sent from the Guardian Safety App and the Vocera app, according to UVa.

We understand that this test might be somewhat unsettling for members of the community given the tragic incident last November, but this routine testing is important to be sure that our systems are in good working order when we need to use them, said the university's Chief of Police Timothy Longo and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Davis in a joint statement.

Members of the public who are not students, faculty, staff or UVa Health workers who would like to receive text alerts can sign up online at https://uvaemergency.virginia.edu/uva-alerts/uva-alerts-public.

Questions about the universitys emergency notification system can be directed to the UVa Office of Emergency Management at uvaem@virginia.edu or (434) 982-0565. Questions about the UVa Medical Center emergency notification system can be directed to healthsystemEM@virginia.edu or (434) 982-3196.
The Senate voted 23-16 on Monday to advance a bill that would adjust Virginias red flag law  joining a handful of Democratic gun-related bills the chamber has endorsed.

However, it might not clear the GOP-led House of Delegates, where bills concerning storage requirements and restrictions on assault-style firearms have failed.

A red flag law is a common term for substantial risk orders. These orders allow law enforcement and prosecutors to petition courts to temporarily prohibit possession, purchase or transportation of firearms from people who have been deemed at risk to themselves or others.

Senate Bill 1076 would add factors for a judge to consider when issuing a substantial risk order  such as any arrests or law violations within the six months leading up to the filing of the petition. Once a petition is filed, the person with the order has a hearing and can defend the right to keep their firearm, but they can also lose access for a period of time determined by a judge.

Calling it an expansion of the red flag law, Senator Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham urged his colleagues to vote down the bill.

What I have not heard is any instance in which a red flag law complaint was made, but was rejected, in which harm has occurred to anybody in the commonwealth of Virginia, he said. I would hope that members would vote no.

Then a majority of his colleagues voted yes.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who carried the bill, asserted that his bill is not expanding Virginias red flag laws, its just adjusting it.

This basically just makes clear what evidence the court can consider, he said before the Senate took its votes. If you look at the language that's in this statute, it was taken from the Florida Statute. Again, Florida is not a sound bastion of progressivism at all I would say. Florida has been one of the most aggressive states using these laws. And that's where these factors came from.

Following a 2018 mass shooting at a high school, Floridas GOP-controlled state legislature took action on red flag laws to prevent mass shootings. In his speech, Surovell recalled the recent University of Virginia shooting where the shooter had been reported to police and school authorities but lacked a substantial risk order.

There certainly were all kinds of factors out there that suggested that that man was a candidate for a red flag order, Surovell said.
DHAKA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The 172 km Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP) is one of the most significant projects under construction by the China Railway Group Limited (CREC) in Bangladesh.

The PBRLP will pass through the Padma Bridge, which was built by the China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd.

The Padma Multipurpose Bridge, the longest in Bangladesh, which opened to traffic in June last year, is located about 40 km southwest of Dhaka, with a total length of 9.8 km and its main bridge is 6.15 km long.

The CREC's more than 11,000 Chinese and Bangladeshi workers, staff members and officials are now working flat out for the timely completion of the mega rail project.

The project's implementation speed remained unhampered despite of the Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, which is the grandest festival in China with a seven-day-long holiday.

Hu Guangming, chief finance officer at the CREC's Dhaka office, told Xinhua recently that the PBRLP in Bangladesh is a significant joint project between China and Bangladesh governments.

He said it is one of the vitally essential projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the top priority project and the largest railway project in Bangladesh so far.

During the Chinese Spring Festival, the 684th span concrete simple-supported box girder and all viaduct segment box girders of the PBRLP undertaken by CREC were completed, which is a major milestone of the construction progress of the project, he said.

"On behalf of the project Mmanagement office of the PBRLP, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations and sincere greetings to the staff of the First Division, who sacrificed their Spring Festival holidays and stuck to their posts in Bangladesh at this moment," said Hu.

According to the chief finance officer, more than 1,000 Chinese personnel and more than 10,000 Bangladeshi workers have now been working for the timely completion of the project.

"I wish everyone the best and greetings for the Chinese New Year!" said Hu.

Geng Shucheng is the chief engineer and project director from CREC.

He said the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project includes three viaducts -- V1, V2, and V3, with a total length of 23.4 km.

Viaduct 1 covers a total length of 16.8 km, including 15 spans of 100-meter simple-supported steel trusses. The second viaduct covers a total length of 2.6 km, including one, 80-meter span of simple-supported steel trusses. The length of viaduct 3, meanwhile, is 3 km, Geng explained.

Facing plenty of adverse factors such as a lengthy elevation route, complex terrain, tight deadlines, high safety risks, an unpredictable natural environment, and ongoing COVID-19-linked issues, CREC undertook prefabricating, splicing, and erecting box girder segment technology to complete the PBRLP's viaduct construction, said Geng.

Noor Hussain Mone, a project official who is assigned to look after the welfare of the Bengali workers and staff members, said "Our work is already more than 75 percent done. After a lot of challenges, we are finishing the work nicely."

He said they are pleased to have such a large establishment in Bangladesh.

"The laborers we hired have never worked on such a big project before," said Mone, adding they are happy working and gaining experience on the project. The Chinese nationals who are working on the project are also very happy.

Md Kawsar is a laborer from Rangpur district (about 304 km northwest of Dhaka).

"I've been working here for about three or four months. I'm very happy to work here and I can learn a lot," he said.

Another worker, Md Alamin Miah, who comes from Gaibandha District (around 268 km northwest of Dhaka) said they are working along the Buriganga river.

"I'm happy to work here. It is a very long and extremely tall bridge. We are working as hard as we can and good things are happening," he said.

Foreman Rafiqul Islam, from Gaibandha Sadar, said he has 250 workers under his supervision.

"I work under the Chinese engineers. We're working on this very modern designed bridge. I feel good about this project and my workers are also doing a great job," he said, adding that all involved are being "very well paid."

The employer of the project, Bangladesh Railway, has praised CREC's persistent efforts in the construction of the mega project.

According to Bangladeshi Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, it will be possible to run trains on one of the Rail Link Project's three sections, from Dhaka to Bhanga in the central Faridpur district, by June 2023.

The section from Dhaka to Jessore, 164 km southwest of Dhaka, will be completed in 2024, the minister said.

Md Afzal Hossain, project director of the rail link project on the Bangladesh side, said this is Bangladesh Railway's biggest-ever project, and it is also the government's fast-track project.

"Although we suffered some setbacks due to COVID-19, our work never stopped. The pandemic is lingering this year, but we're still working," he said.

According to Hossain, the project is being implemented in three sections, from Dhaka to Mawa, from Mawa to Bhanga, and from Bhanga to Jessore.

"At present, our work is in full-swing everywhere, including laying the track," Hossain said. 
By Azernews

Laman Ismayilova

International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation President Gunay Afandiyeva visited the Hungarian city of Veszprem - the European Capital of Culture in 2023, Azernews reports.

The foundation president took part in the official opening ceremony along with Hungarian President Katalin Novak, Croatian President Zoran Milanovi?, Hungarian Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics, Hungarian Minister of Culture and Innovation Janos Csak, Chairman of Veszprem Municipality Gyula Porga, Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in Shusha Aydin Karimov, TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev, the head of the representative office of the Organization of Turkic States in Budapest Janos Hovari, representatives of diplomatic corps accredited in Hungary and other officials.

Within the framework of the event, Gunay Afandiyeva met with Hungarian President Katalin Novak, Hungarian Minister of Culture and Innovation Janos Csak, and Mayor of Veszprem Municipality Gyula Porga.

The meetings hailed historic friendly ties between Hungary and the Turkic countries.

The sides praised the successful development of existing relations in modern times and discussed prospects of future cooperation.

Initiated in 2012, the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation focuses on the preservation of the Turkic heritage in member countries as well as conducting projects in collaboration with partners in third nations.

The foundation provides assistance in the protection, study, and promotion of Turkic culture and heritage through supporting and funding various activities, projects, and programs.

The organization carries out its activities in cooperation with TURKSOY and the Turkic Academy.
Westbound Interstate 70 has reopened to traffic after a major crash involving a semitruck closed the interstate in Glenwood Canyon Monday afternoon, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The crash closed the highway in both directions between mile markers 116-233 around 1 p.m. (Glenwood Springs to Dotsero).

CDOT photos show a semi dangling off the eastbound deck of the highway.

"Motorists should anticipate safety closure being in place until at least late this evening," CDOT said. "Motorists will be routed onto the northern or southern alternate routes. The alternate route will add at least 2.5 hours travel time."

Westbound I-70 reopened to traffic at 10 p.m., according to a news release from CDOT. Eastbound I-70 is expected to reopen within an hour of the 10 p.m. new release. CDOT said the closure was necessary for crews so the crash could be safely cleared.
Telecom Egypt acquired 5MHz of spectrum in the 1,800MHz band for US$125 million as the operator looks to support rising traffic on its network.

The operator detailed in a statement that the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) accepted its financial and technical offer on a 10-year deal, and it will tap into FDD technology with the spectrum.

The airwaves will be used almost immediately to enhance voice and data service quality, and coverage nationwide, and support the growing digitisation of Egypt.

Telecom Egypt noted the cash injection marked a milestone in the operator's transition from a fully integrated telecom provider to a leading ICT provider.

We are delighted that Telecom Egypt's request for more spectrum has been accepted. Together with our current spectrum packages, this additional package will enable us to continue providing competitive, highly-efficient connectivity while accommodating for the rapid expansion of our mobile customer base. We intend to leverage our licenses to deliver value that meets the aspirations of both businesses and consumers, while also providing cost efficiencies for the company and maximizing shareholder value, said Telcom Egypt managing director and CEO Adel Hamed.
Bite Lithuania hailed 5G data speeds up to 2.679Gbps, which it claimed bested rival records, as the operator edges closer to launching its commercial network for smartphones next month.

Bite stated the speeds are 16 times faster than the current average mobile connections, which customers will be able to tap into on February 14 when the operator launches services.

The new record is also eight times faster than its 5G fixed wireless access broadband offering which was launched last year in October.

Bite Lithuania general director Gintas Butenas said: With the 5G Internet record, we aim to demonstrate the communication capabilities of Bite. We are proud that the achieved 5G internet speed record is more than 16 times higher than the average internet speed achieved by previous communication technologies. The 5G recorded at the time of the record is almost 8 times higher than the average 5G speed of Bite, which is the highest among the three communication providers."

The operator made multiple moves last year to bolster its 5G charge. It acquired spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 700MHz bands alongside rivals in auctions last year, spending around 6 million.

Bite also moved to merge with broadband subsidiary MEZON to leverage the latters network to boost its mobile strategy.
Vodacom Group reported a revenue increase of 14.8% to ZAR30.7 billion (US$1.76bn) driven by the recent acquisition of Vodafone Egypt.

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said in a statement, Vodafone Egypt was consolidated into the group on December 8 last year, contributing over ZAR1.8 billion to service revenues, a key factor alongside currency gains and operating model resilience, for its positive results.

Group service revenue increased by 14.8% year-on-year from ZAR20.6 billion to ZAR23.4 billion, despite ongoing financial market volatility and weaker prospects for the global economy, said Joosub.

He added the revenue growth "underscores the ongoing resilience of the Groups portfolio at a time when economic uncertainty prevails in the face of the war in Ukraine and the supply chain impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In other financial highlights, service revenue in South Africa grew 3% to ZAR15.4 billion on the back of strong performance in prepaid mobile, while international service revenue grew 18% to ZAR6.9 billion, driven by strong data demand and a weak rand.

Financial services revenue surged 30.6% to ZAR2.6 billion largely due to the demand for services on its M-Pesa platform across its footprint, and double-digit growth in insurance and airtime advance sales in South Africa. The company noted financial services remains a clear strategic priority as it proved to be a fast-growing contributor to revenues.

The company also highlighted its spectrum acquisitions in Tanzania and Mozambique, in what seems to be hints for further capex this year to bolster service quality across its footprint.

Vodacom completed its acquisition of Vodafone Egypt in December after speculation on the future of the unit had been up in the air since talks with STC fell through.
The long-awaited end of charges for roaming between Brazil and Chile is not happening after all  or at least not yet.

Initially scheduled for January, charge-free international roaming between Brazil and Chile has now been postponed until July.

The decision came on the deadline for the implementation of the commitment  25 January. It was communicated to regulator Anatel by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). An extension until 25 July was apparently in response to a proposal made by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though some media sources suggest it was a joint decision from the diplomatic delegations of both countries

An end to roaming charges was proposed in a free trade agreement signed between Brazil and Chile in late 2018 and enacted in 2022. It means that mobile operators and MVNOs offering an international roaming service to people from one country passing through another must charge the same tariffs and prices charged in the service plan in the users home country. This applies to calls, SMS and mobile data usage.

Now, of course, this in hold. However, it sems that an operational manual for the implementation of the rules by Brazilian operators, which has been approved by Anatel's Board of Directors, will not need changing.

As we noted earlier this month, the decree making this agreement effective was published almost a year ago, on 26 January 2022. What caused the delay has not been explained. However, we will need to wait until July to see what happens next.
The US is reportedly considering a total ban on sales by domestic firms to Chinas Huawei.

Reports from outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Financial Times indicate that the US has scrapped a licensing scheme that has allowed several US firms  including Intel and Qualcomm  to continue providing products to the Chinese vendor since it was placed on a trade blacklist in May 2019. The scheme was aimed at providing US firms with time to prepare for the shock of cutting Huawei out of their supply chains.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson from Chinas Foreign Ministry, said that China was seriously concerned about the reports, adding that the move goes against the principles of the market economy and rules of international trade and finance, hurts the confidence the international community has in the U.S business environment and is blatant technological hegemony.

According to Reuters, the abolition of the licensing scheme is likely testing the waters for a formal policy banning all shipments to Huawei, including items associated with non-5G technologies such as 4G, Wi-Fi 6, AI and cloud.

The Financial Times quotes Martijn Rasser, Senior Fellow and Director, Technology and National Security Program, as saying that Huaweis pivot towards such technologies would not have gone unnoticed by US authorities, and likely accelerated the push towards a full ban on sales to the vendor. The actions by the commerce department are partly driven by the fact that Huawei as a company is a very different animal than it was four years ago when it was focused on 5G, noted Rasser.

A full ban on US sales to Huawei feels unsurprising at this point. It would be the logical endpoint of what now appears to be a sustained campaign against Chinese networking equipment originally justified by the US on the grounds of national security concerns. However, while China may express concern over the projected losses that such bans may inflict on its vendors, the fact remains that in December 2022, Huawei reported revenue of around US$91.53 billion  around 8% down year-on-year, but nothing like as bad as the drop of nearly one-third following the imposition of US sanctions in 2021.

The US campaign against Chinese vendors may freeze them out of more developed markets, but their substantial footprint in most emerging regions has sustained them throughout blacklisting and trade embargoes. Given Huaweis increased focus on the cloud  coupled with its penchant for affordability  this is likely to continue as low ARPU markets build out increasingly advanced networks.
Cuba, prostituted, between London and Moscow Castroism is now accelerating the transition from a supposedly socialist dictatorship to a supposedly capitalist one, with Russian counsel and control.

The fact that Castroism would like to adopt the "Russian model" is obvious, as it seems to constitute a stable formula mixing a largely liberalized economy with discreetly privatized strategic state sectors, such as Banking, Communications and heavy and extractive industries, all under a dictatorial government that is only technically accountable, having legal mechanisms to concentrate and perpetuate itself in power.

Cuba, however, lacks what renders the Russian model viable: a productive sector (in Russia, hydrocarbons) providing the Government with sufficient revenue so that it can, without losing power, liberate the rest of the economy while having resources to cover every dictatorship's overhead: propaganda, repression, bureaucracy and loot to give out to avert power struggles in the leadership.

With the sugar industry destroyed, only tourism could be, for Castroism, what hydrocarbons are for Vladimir Putin, but even after years of investing at an irrational pace in hotels, which has decapitalized the country's agricultural and industrial production, they have not managed to turn tourism into that pivotal sector, nor will this be achieved as long as Americans cannot freely vacation in Cuba.

Let us recall that under Raul Castro a diplomatic thaw with Washington was achieved, coming to an end with Donald Trump, aborted by Fidel Castro himself and hardliners still found in the CCP and the Armed Forces. It is hardly bold to surmise Raul was hoping that, eventually, the embargo would be relaxed, at which point tourism to the largest of the Antilles would explode, but that never happened.

As they await such an outcome they have been buying time with economic reforms that, for the most part, are just smoke and mirrors to instill hope in the people and convince them that they are doing things differently from Fidel, in a tacit recognition that it was he who got Cuba into this mess. Other reform measures have been maneuvers involving displacements of national revenue against small self-employed companies, which were flourishing until 2019.

Only recently, with the situation hitting rock bottom, and after the national uprising on 11J, did they begin to introduce partial liberalizations, such as the MSME law, which is, actually, a first step towards the remote-controlled privatization demanded by the Russian model.

This internal crisis, which, incredibly, continues to get even worse (the price paid for having electricity is less food, medicine and transport) is compounded by an external crisis. A lawsuit in London for less than $100 million could trigger a string of lawsuits pushing Cuba into default. Economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago has just calculated that the foreign debt stands at over 29.78 billion dollars, while The Economist Unit estimates that the foreign reserves are 4.103 billion, so Castro Cuba owes 7.26 dollars for each one that it owns. This paints a dire picture.

Against this backdrop, at the end of 2022 Miguel Diaz-Canel made a humiliating tour, visiting Cuba-friendly dictatorships to plead for more time to pay. A little more than a month later, a contingent of Russian "businessmen" just met with the Government in Havana, and it has been announced that Cuba will be advised on economic issues by a Russian institute with clearly pro-capitalist leanings.

One does not have to be a genius to deduce that at the Kremlin they told Diaz-Canel that, if he wanted more time and money, he had to not only accelerate reform in Cuba, but do so according to Moscow's counsel and preferences, thereby prostituting national sovereignty once again to save the regime. Of course, he accepted.

Thus, if Castroism is speeding up its transition from a supposedly socialist dictatorship to a supposedly capitalist one, with Russian advice and control, it is not because it feels prepared to do so without ceding some power, but rather because it has either been directly forced to do so by Moscow, or it realizes that it is on the verge of the abyss, and if it does not do something soon, even if risky, it faces another social uprising and international abandonment by its totalitarian cronies.

Therefore, the announcement of a new "Russification" of the Cuban economy is, of course, terrible and threatening news, even humiliating, but it is also confirmation of the regime's crisis, and every crisis is also an opportunity.
The Icelandic Foreign Ministry has condemned the armed attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran, Azernews reports.

"Iceland condemns the attack on the embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran. Attacks on diplomatic missions and staff must never be accepted. Condolences to the family of the victim and we wish those injured a speedy recovery," the ministry said in a tweet.

As reported earlier, the head of the security guard of the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran was killed, and two other security officers were wounded in the armed attack on the building on January 27.
ANDALUSIA  After nearly 36 years at Covington Electric Cooperative, Mark Parker will succeed longtime leader Charles Ed Short as president and chief executive officer on Wednesday.

Parker has played a pivotal role in the growth of the cooperative throughout for three decades, including working as director of member services, vice president of member relations, staff assistant, and vice president of information technology. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer.

A south Alabama native, he earned his certificate in industrial electricity technology from Douglas MacArthur State Technical College and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Troy State Dothan. Parker also completed the Robert I. Kabat Management Internship program through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Ive been heavily involved in the implementation of several new technologies, including the first CEC computer networks, billing systems, the pre-pay program, the dispatch system, and the Buzz Broadband project, said Parker. I want to thank the board of trustees for this opportunity. Im eager to lead CEC as we work together to find ways we can be more efficient with our technology and provide the best possible service at the most affordable cost.

Parker and his wife, Teri, have two grown children and will soon welcome their fourth granddaughter soon. They have been married 38 years.

Outside of CEC, hes an active member in the Andalusia Kiwanis Club, Kiwanis Covington County Fair Board, and Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce. Hes also served as a member and president of the Opp Lions Club, Douglas MacArthur State Technical College Foundation, and the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Foundation.

Im excited about the future, and I plan to do everything I can to ensure CEC provides our community with reliable energy and broadband, said Parker. I look forward to our future together.

Founded in 1944, Covington Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative that serves parts of six counties: Covington, Coffee, Crenshaw, Geneva, Escambia, and Dale. A Touchstone Energy Cooperative, CEC provides reliable power to more than 23,000 meters. In 2021, CEC started Buzz Broadband to serve the community with fiber optic technology.

Visit www.covington.coop or call 800-239-4121 for more information.
A bus ticket to another city. No money. No phone.

Thats what the Alabama Department of Corrections gave people dropped off at bus stations Tuesday as hundreds of state inmates were set to be released early from prison following a 2021 state law.

Two men got off a state van about 10:05 a.m. at the Birmingham Intermodal Transmit Facility in front of the Greyhound bus station.

They each had a bag containing what appeared to be clothes.

Standing outside the station, the two men spoke to AL.com.

Shane Rutledge was arrested in March 2020 on drug charges.

Rutledge served time in the Walker County Jail, then at an ATF facility before being transferred to the ADOC Childersburg Work Release facility.

He served there for about a year before being released today.

Another man, who only provided his first name as Brandon, had a similar story.

He was arrested in the summer of 2020 on drug possession charges in Walker County.

He also spent time at the county jail, ATF, and then was transferred to Childersburg. He had been there for about a month before being released today.

Both mens sentences were set to end in September.

They said 13 men there were set to be released from the work camp today, and everyone was notified about their early release several weeks ago.

But after Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshalls lawsuit Monday, alleging the ADOC did not properly contact victims of the inmates release, Rutledge said the facility was forced to only let out four of the original group.

A Montgomery County judge denied Marshalls request to halt the release on Monday evening.

A letter from ADOC Commissioner John Hamm to Marshall was referenced in that court hearing, where Hamm said, no inmate will be released without compliance with the (states) victim-notice requirement.

Law enforcement officials around the state have expressed concern about the release.

Anything that floods the state with dangerous offenders is something that causes me great concern, said St. Clair County Sheriff Billy Murray.

We currently have a man being released to our county that has repeatedly been denied parole. He killed his brother, Blount District Attorney Pamela Casey said Monday. He had dug a hole to put his wifes body in when he was arrested. At no time was my office or his ex-wife notified of his early release.

Cullman Sheriff Matt Gentry call the early release an injustice to society, and especially an injustice to the victims and their families.

There were set to be 369 inmates released early Tuesday.

As of time of publication, no state official had responded to requests for comment as to how many would actually be released.

Of the four men released at Childersburg, two were picked up from the facility.

Rutledge and Brandon were dropped off by the prison van outside the Greyhound station, each given a bus ticket to a destination they didnt choose.

Neither were given money for food, nor had access to a phone to call family members or friends.

Rutledge is headed to a halfway house, and has a job lined up.

Brandon said he doesnt know whats next for him, but plans to go home to Walker County.

When asked why Marshall would be upset about their release several months early, they both shook their heads.

Wouldnt the public rather have the men released and supervised via an ankle monitor for several months, instead of being released without any supervision?

Thats what Im saying, Brandon sighed.

I guess I could understand it more if it was a violent crime, Rutledge said. But I dont know why they would be upset for us to get out and get a head start.
Richard Shelbys last week as our United States Senator was poetically amazing.

The nation watched as he gave his farewell address to the Senate. His speech was followed by a tribute from his longtime friend Sen. Patrick Leahey. Shelby and Leahey from Vermont are best friends and co-chaired the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee together for their final six-year terms, which ended Jan. 3, 2023. They walked out together after a lasting three-decade partnership.

The national media made note of the fact that Leahey, a Democrat, and Shelby, a Republican, were the last vestiges of bipartisanship in Congress. They worked together congruently to get things done for the nation and, yes, primarily for the states they represented. Shelby, who served 36 years as our senator, retired at 88 last month.

To say that he went out with a bang would be a dramatic understatement. As he was making his farewell speech, he and Leahey were crafting their final federal budget. The budget was passed the next day, two days before Christmas. When the experts discerned the 4,000 plus page document, it revealed that Shelby had again played Santa Claus to the people of Alabama. He not only brought most of the money from Washington to Alabama, practically speaking he brought the entire North Pole and Rudolph and all of the reindeer to the Heart of Dixie as he was walking out the door of the U.S. Senate.

The national media dubbed Shelby the Greatest King of earmarked procured money for their state in history. Indeed, the amount of federal dollars Shelby brought home to our state as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee is historical. He probably surpassed the previous King of Pork for their state, the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

In his last hurrah, Shelby appropriated a mind boggling $660 million of extra earmarked dollars to our state. Folks, that is quite an amazingly, unfathomable, incomprehensible, Christmas gift for our state.

As I was exchanging Christmas greetings with a state senator who is a close friend, I commented about Shelbys departing $660 million Christmas gift to the state. He quietly commented, Flowers, that is over 25 percent of our entire state General Fund Budget. However, if you dig deeper into the federal budget that Shelby passed, his $660 million is also met with upgrades of funds Shelby allocated in previous years to amount to $4 billion. That is more than the entire State of Alabamas annual budget. Every part of Alabama was showered with Shelbys gifts, which will make generational changes to our state.

In Huntsville alone Shelby has played a pivotal role in shaping this Tennessee Valley area into the science, space, and technology capital of the South, if not the nation. In his final hurrah, the Huntsville Redstone area received funds for Army research weaponry, a space launch system, nuclear thermal propulsion for the Marshall Space Flight Center, construction of a new FBI headquarters, which Shelby moved from Washington to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, and several other new buildings at the Redstone Arsenal.

Shelby earmarked a great deal of federal money for his home area of Tuscaloosa including millions for new buildings and education centers for the University of Alabama, funds for a new bridge, and millions for the Tuscaloosa airport.

He took care of the Montgomery/Wiregrass area, which is military laden for years to come. This area received multi-millions in new money for Fort Rucker for flight training and Air Surface Missiles, along with millions for the Hellfire missiles made in Troy.

There is over a billion dollars going to UAB for biomedical research and new buildings. Shelby has been instrumental in transforming UAB into one of the most pronounced medical research institutions in the nation.

He took care of Mobile for generations to come. There are millions of earmarked funds going to the Port City. In addition, Shelby completed his mission of building Alabama a new deeper and wider Port with a $200 million dollar appropriation for the Alabama State Port Authority.

In my 2015 book, Of Goats and Governors: Six Decades of Alabama Political Stories, I have a chapter entitled Alabamas Three Greatest Senators, John Sparkman, Lister Hill and Richard Shelby. If I were writing that book today, Richard Shelby would be alone as Alabamas greatest United States Senator by far.

See you next week.
The government has extended the 30% cut in land-use fee it made last year for one more year to support economic recovery.

Green-lighting a proposal made by the Ministry of Finance two weeks ago, it said this year many sectors such as property, agriculture and mining are set to face challenges due to tightened spending and falling demand, and it is necessary to support them.

Last year the cut was equivalent to VND3.5 trillion (US$149.33 million).

Land is owned collectively in Vietnam, and people can only acquire land-use rights for properties. They need to pay rent for the rights to the government.
A turtle on Hon Bay Canh Island of Con Dao Archipelago in southern Vietnam. Photo by Le Bao An

Con Dao Island, off the coast of southern Vietnam, has been voted as one of 16 best destinations for summer getaways by Conde Nast Traveler, a luxury travel magazine.

"Con Dao is a smaller island with very little commercial development," the magazine said. "With this, the beaches are quiet and the few resort options allow for a special retreat."

Situated around 230 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, the Con Dao Archipelago was overlooked by tourists for years until Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie along with their children visited it in 2011, giving it global exposure.

Thanks to its low tourist profile, Con Dao is home to a large turtle population.

The U.S. magazine advised tourists to head to Hon Bay Canh Island and stay overnight at a ranger station to watch the turtles lay eggs during the mating season from April to October.

Hon Bay Canh, the second largest island of the Con Dao Archipelago after Con Son, is covered by primitive forests.

If youre interested in history, a visit to the Con Dao Prison, which was built during the French colonial era and used through the Vietnam War, is not to be missed.

The list also included Koh Samui Island in Thailand, Lord Howe Island in Australia, Mallorca in Spain and Vancouver Island in Canada.
Foreign tourists on Ta Hien Street in Hanoi on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Hanoi ranked fifth and Ho Chi Minh City 14th on the safety index among Southeast Asia's 20 tourist cities published by statistics site Numbeo recently.

Hanois safety index was 62 points, after Thailands Chiang Mai at 75.9, the Philippines Davao at 72.4, Singapore at 70.6 and Malaysias Penang at 66.5, according to data from Numbeo, which claims to be the worlds largest database of user-contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.

The southern Vietnamese metropoliss safety index was 47.4 points as the site says walking alone at night in HCMC "has a low safety level."

Thailands Bangkok ranked seventh while Indonesias tourist paradise island Bali secured the 10th position.

Numbeo defined safety as "safety walking alone in daylight" and "safety walking alone at night."

It measured the level of safety in 416 cities around the world based on public perceptions.

Globally, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates took the lead with safety index of 88.8, followed by Doha in Qatar and Taipei in Taiwan.

The world's least safe city was Caracas in Venezuela, where violence and murder have become notorious.

Hanoi strives to attract three million foreign tourists this year while HCMC has set a target of five million foreign arrivals.
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We will support Ukraine's self-defense for as long as it takes, said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The reality on the ground more than one year after the Taliban takeover [in Afghanistan] is dire, declared U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the UN.

The Taliban has barred female employees of national and international non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, from the workplace. This puts at risk millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival, as NGOs - including their female employees - are instrumental in delivering this assistance. Moreover, this unjustly restricts Afghan womens participation in the workplace. The United States calls on the Taliban to urgently reverse this decision.

Earlier in December, the Taliban stripped away women and girls access to education above grade six. State Department spokesperson Ned Price spoke out against this move:

The United States condemns, in the strongest terms, the Talibans indefensible decision to ban women from universities, to keep secondary schools closed to girls, and to continue to impose other restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and their fundamental freedoms.

It is not only women and girls who are impacted, noted Ambassador Wood. Weve seen the reports that the Taliban ordered judges to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law, including carrying out public executions, amputations, and floggings.

Many Afghans continue to reject these actions by the Taliban. As the Taliban increasingly adopts its old practices, it moves further from normalization with the international community and the legitimacy it desires.

The United States remains committed to helping the Afghan people in need, said Ambassador Wood:

We have provided more than $1.1 billion in humanitarian assistance since August 2021, and we will continue to address the needs of vulnerable Afghans in Afghanistan and those who have fled to neighboring countries.

The United States supports the Afghan peoples call for women to return to work and women and girls to return to school and university, and for women to continue to play essential roles in humanitarian and basic needs assistance delivery. The Taliban must respect the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

The legitimacy and support that the Taliban seeks from the international community begins with the legitimacy they earn from the Afghan people through their actions.
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Ombudswoman has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the nation's embassy in Iran in an official letter to Head of the General Inspection Organization of Iran Zabihullah Khodaeian, Azernews reports.

In the letter, Sabina Aliyeva emphasized Iran's violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents.

Further, she called on the human rights organization of Iran to take the necessary and urgent measures within its powers to bring to justice the persons who organized and participated in the commission of this treacherous attack as soon as possible.

As reported earlier, the head of the security guard of the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran was killed, and two other security officers were wounded in the armed attack on the building on January 27.
ELKO  A Fallon woman died Saturday after an SUV she was riding in crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 80 near Winnemucca.

According to Nevada State Police, the Chevy was traveling east during the noon hour in the right travel lane about eight miles east of Winnemucca. A Peterbilt was traveling east directly in front of her.

For unknown reasons the driver of the Chevrolet hit the right rear of the commercial motor vehicle. The Chevrolet then drove off the right side of the roadway and subsequently overturned, stated NSP.

Leila Johnson, 75, was unrestrained and ejected from the vehicle. She succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of the SUV was transported with suspected serious injuries.

The crash is being investigated by the Nevada Highway Patrol Northern Command East Multi-Disciplinary Investigation and Reconstruction Team. If you were a witness to this incident, or have any information regarding the crash, please contact Sgt. Mitch Payne of the NHP Elko Office at 775-753- 1111.

This marks the Nevada State Police, Highway Patrol  Northern Command Easts second fatal crash for 2023 and second fatality.

An Arizona woman died Jan. 17 in a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 93 north of Ely.
ELKO  Free lunches will be served again in the next school year to all students in the Elko County School District after the Nevada Legislatures Interim Finance Committee approved funding throughout the states schools.

The general manager for Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE), George Sears, said in a presentation to the Elko County Board of School Trustees earlier this month that the free school breakfasts and lunches are sometimes the only good meals students get in a day.

He said SFE had served roughly a half million meals for 2022 in the Elko district.

The school district also recently provided figures that show SFE served 10,000 Thanksgiving meals in Elko schools, and 700 adult meals, and the meals served in November totaled 113,298. From August through November, SFE served 369,122 meals in the school district.

The Interim Finance Committee in December under outgoing Gov. Steve Sisolak approved spending $28 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to continue the free meals statewide through June 2024, and the Nevada Department of Agriculture will administer the funds.

Back in June 2022, the committee approved using ARPA funds for free lunches for the 2022-2023 school year, and Sisolak, who lost the November election and left office Jan. 2, put forward the extension of free lunches to the committee for the December action.

Food funds are administered through the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture is committed to addressing food insecurity throughout the state, and the extension of this funding through the 2023-24 academic year will provide additional relief to families throughout Nevada, said NDA Division of Food and Nutrition Interim Administrator Patricia Hoppe.

She said that schools are reimbursed for free meals through the same process federal free-and-reduced lunch meals are. The NDA reimburses funds to the schools based on the meal counts distributed, as indicated in their monthly claims.

Both Hoppe and the Elko County School District encourage all families to still fill out the applications for eligibility for free and reduced-rate lunches even though the lunches will be free.

ECSD stated that while the free lunches have been extended for another school year, parents should still fill out the applications because those forms directly impact the rate of reimbursement for the meals, as well as other revenue sources throughout the district.
ELKO  The Nevada Cattlemens Association is pleased to announce 2023 scholarship opportunities. NCA will again be offering two scholarships.

The NCA Scholarship will be awarded to a first-year college student beginning to pursue an education within the agricultural industry. This scholarship is open to all Nevada High School graduating seniors planning to attend a community college or four-year university and majoring in an agriculture related field. The amount of this scholarship will be $1,500.

Eligibility and application requirements for the NCA Scholarship include:

Applicant must be a senior graduating from a Nevada High School.

Applicant must plan to attend a Community College or a 4-year college or university.

Applicant must be seeking a degree in an agricultural related field.

Applicant must have at least a 2.5 GPA. A copy of the students official transcripts is required.

Applicant must submit a cover letter describing themselves and how your future plans tie into the future of the cattle industry, background in the beef industry, and how this scholarship may benefit you, etc.

NCA is also pleased to announce the continuation of the Marvel/Andrae Scholarship, which is available to graduating high school seniors or students currently enrolled in college. To be eligible, students must be pursuing a bachelors degree in agricultural economics, agricultural business, or the animal/meat science fields. The 2023 Marvel/Andrae Scholarship award will be $2,000.

The Nevada Cattlemens Association would like to thank Agri Beef for their continued support of the Marvel/Andrae Scholarship. This scholarship recognizes the legacies of Tom & Rosita Marvel and Jim & Sharon Andrae and the many contributions these two Nevada ranching families have made to our industry.

Eligibility & application requirements for the Marvel/Andrae Scholarship include:

Applicant must plan to attend or be currently attending a Community College or a 4-year College or University.

Applicant must be from Nevada and pursuing a degree in a bachelors degree in agricultural economics, agricultural business, or the animal/meat science fields.

Applicant must have at least a 2.8 GPA. A copy of the students official transcripts is required.

Students that were previous recipients of the NCA Scholarship and meet the eligibility requirements of the Marvel-Andrae Scholarship are eligible to apply.

Applicant must submit a cover letter describing themselves, background, goals, future plans, and how this scholarship may benefit them, etc.

Students and educators interested in these two great scholarship opportunities are encouraged to contact the Nevada Cattlemens Association. Scholarship application forms can be downloaded from the Nevada Cattlemens website at www.nevadacattlemen.org, or applicants can call the NCA office at 775-738-9214 or send a request to nca@nevadabeef.org for a copy.

Completed applications are due April 3, 2023, and can be mailed to: Attn: Research & Education Committee, c/o Nevada Cattlemens Association, P.O. Box 310, Elko, NV 89803; or submitted by email to nca@nevadabeef.org.
President Xi Jinping encouraged Hungarian youths to learn more about China and become envoys of the China-Hungary friendship in a recent reply letter.

In his reply to a letter from students of the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in the Central and Eastern European country, Xi said he and his wife were glad to hear from the Hungarian students during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, and he still remembers chatting with teachers and students of the school in 2009.

Xi said he would like to give the students a thumbs-up upon hearing that the students have kept learning Chinese for a long time and are committed to making contributions to the China-Hungary friendship.

He emphasized that both China and Hungary have a long history and a splendid culture, and people of the two countries enjoy a traditional friendship and increasingly close cultural exchanges.

The students, Xi said, are welcomed to study in Chinese universities after graduation from high school, hoping that more and more Hungarian youths will love and study the Chinese language.

Xi also said that he hoped they have the opportunity to travel around the country, learn more about today's China as well as its history and culture, and strive to become envoys to carry forward and develop the China-Hungary friendship.

Founded in September 2004, the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school is the only full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese and the local language for instruction. Currently, the school has 12 grades and 20 classes with more than 530 students.

During his visit to Hungary in October 2009, Xi, who was then China's vice president, visited the school.

Before the Spring Festival, two students whose Chinese names are Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, wrote a letter to Xi and his wife, Professor Peng Liyuan, on behalf of all students in the school, conveying their New Year's greetings. In their letter, they also spoke about what it felt studying Chinese in the school for 12 years, and expressed their willingness to study in Chinese universities and contribute to the Hungary-China friendship.
Reporter: In 2022, Vietnam and Azerbaijan celebrate the 30th anniversary of official diplomatic relations. However, the two countries have had strong ties since the time Azerbaijan was under the former Soviet Union, through the foundation set up by leader Heydar Aliyev and President Ho Chi Minh. As the new Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Vietnam, can you give an overview of the cooperative relationship between the two countries in recent years?

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade: As you correctly mentioned last year we marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Vietnam. At the same time, the history of traditionally friendly relations between our countries and nations is longer, and was founded by the national leaders of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, and Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh. In July 1959, the great son of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh, in the framework of his visit to the Soviet Union, paid a historical visit to Azerbaijan as well. This visit is rightfully considered historic because it was the first direct contact between the governments of Vietnam and Azerbaijan and gave an impetus to the development of cooperation in many areas. Yet another important stage started with the visit of Heydar Aliyev to Vietnam as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1983. In the capacity of head of highest ever delegation of Soviet Union he participated in inauguration of infrastructure projects, visited regions of Vietnam, met with the local governments, experts and workers, as well as with compatriots working in oil-gas and constructions fields.

Azerbaijan was one of those Soviet Republics where we had the leading number of the Vietnamese students who graduated and became specialists not only in the oil and gas, engineering, construction, but also military, legislation, math, geology and other spheres. Graduates of Azerbaijani universities after returning to their homeland contributed to the restoration and development of Vietnam. All those young Vietnamese with their behaviors, culture, attitude to studies and, especially, to elderly people left very warm memories in Azerbaijan about Vietnam and its people. Embassy will initiate publishing books and films about role of our national leaders, as well as Vietnamese who studied in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis worked in Vietnam in the establishment and development of friendship relations between our two nations.

The visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Vietnam in 2014 and the visit of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Azerbaijan in 2015 gave strong impetus for further strengthening and raising to new higher level of political relations between our countries. By the initiative of our President, Azerbaijan in 2013 opened Embassy in Hanoi, thus demonstrating its adherence to historical friendship between our nations. Nowadays, relations with Vietnam are one, of important areas of foreign policy agenda of Azerbaijan in Asia, given rich historical heritage.

These relations will be cemented through realization of cooperation agenda between New Azerbaijan Party and Communist Party of Vietnam. Special attention will be paid to the establishment and strengthening of people -to-people contacts in all spheres, including science, education, music, sport as well. We have a lot of potential for cooperation in tourism. Although many events were held last year to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, noteworthy to touch upon one related to young participants. The Embassy organized an online chess friendship tournament between young chess players of two countries.

Reporter: The year 2023 will mark important milestones in the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Vietnam. Azerbaijan will celebrate the 100th birthday of the late President Aliyev and the 40th anniversary of his official visit to Vietnam. In your opinion, how do these important milestones play a role in strengthening Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations?

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birthday of our national leader Heydar Aliyev, and the 40th anniversary of his historical visit to Vietnam. Heydar Aliyev was one of the prominent and strongest leaders and members of the Political Buro in the Soviet Union. Whenever he worked - in Azerbaijan or in Moscow, he deserved sincere and strong respect for his responsibility to achieve highest results while paying special attention to communication with ordinary people. Its known, that Heydar Aliyev personally was very dedicated to the relations with Vietnam and his further activities contributed to the strengthening of Soviet aid to Vietnam. Along with official meetings with the leadership of Vietnam, the opening of the construction of the Friendship Bridge in Hanoi and other important infrastructure objects took place with the participation of Heydar Aliyev. In the framework of his visit, he met with compatriot engineers and oil experts and appealed to them to work tirelessly and do their best in supporting the friend country. At those periods up to 5 thousand young Vietnamese students have studied in universities of Azerbaijan, for some of them diplomas were awarded by Heydar Aliyev himself. This is a vivid example of his personal support for Vietnamese students in Azerbaijan. Also, after his visit to Vietnam many of new Azerbaijani specialists were sent to Vietnam to help rebuild the war-torn countrys infrastructure and oil industry.

President of Azerbaijan visited to Vietnam in 1983. (Photo: The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Vietnam)

Reporter: How do you assess the prospect of expanding cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, especially in fields where the two sides have advantages, such as trade, oil and gas, defense, education and training?

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade: Economic relations have also been developing dynamically in recent years. Nevertheless, the trade turnover between our countries does not meet the economic potential of our countries. Therefore, it is important to jointly begin the search for new promising areas of cooperation in the economic sphere. This will be facilitated by the next meeting of Azerbaijan- Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission on economic, trade scientific and technical cooperation. Taking into consideration that today, Azerbaijan has the fastest growing economy in the wider region and the Vietnamese economy is one of the fastest growing among Asian countries. The two countries have great potential for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in various sectors of the economy and trade, transport and logistics. At the same time, it is important to develop and strengthen cooperation in the field of tourism, culture, education, science and sports. Mentioned directions will remain in the focus of the Embassy's activities.

Reporter: Over the past time, Vietnam and Azerbaijan have together maintained close consultation and coordination on international and regional issues, especially within the framework of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, of which Azerbaijan excellently received the position of President from 2019-2022. How do you assess the prospect of strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and Azerbaijan at forums that the two countries participate in, thereby contributing to affirming the two countries' positions and voices in regional and international issues?

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade: Azerbaijan and Vietnam have built their foreign policy on the norms and principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and non-interference in internal affairs. Both countries are members of a number of international organizations and traditionally support each others position and each others candidates within international organizations. Today, the Republic of Azerbaijan is recognized as an active actor and regional power that contributes to the establishment of cooperation in the modern system of international relations as the implementer of transnational projects, global security issues, and energy security in Europe. As it is known, in 2019, Azerbaijan was elected as a chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Last year, Azerbaijans chairmanship was extended to the end of 2023 with unanimous support of all states. NAM is one of the major platforms where Azerbaijan and Vietnam fruitfully cooperate. Vietnam participated in NAM summit in 2019, in Baku.

It should be noted that during Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the organization, we always count on support of Vietnam in matters of common interest of all participants of NAM. In this regard, I have the honor to note, that in March 2023, Azerbaijan is organizing a Summit-level Meeting of the NAM contact Group in response to COVID-19 on post- pandemic global recovery in Baku. This Summit will offer a great opportunity to discuss and produce valuable ideas for better life in the post-COVID era. It will be a great pleasure for us to welcome the Vietnamese delegation in Azerbaijan again and exchange experience of the activity and achievement of our countries in the field of the post-covid recovering economy.

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Vietnam. (Photo: The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Vietnam)

Reporter: As a diplomatic "bridge" in Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations, in 2023, what contributions and recommendations will you make for the historic cooperative relationship between the two countries to continue to be effectively promoted?

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade: In my opinion, the most important areas for developing and strengthening relations are the economy, trade, agriculture, energy, including renewable energy and the environment, as well as IT fields. But in order to foster cooperation in the mentioned field, first it is necessary to develop and diversify transport communications between our countries.

With the aim to benefit from its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, East and West Azerbaijan are heavily invested in developing its transport infrastructure. Our country has the most modern Baku International Sea Port on the Caspian Sea. The construction of a free economic zone near this port is on the way. We had the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars road -the railway system which can connect Europe with Asia. Also, Azerbaijan is developing a number of transport projects, such as West- North and South-East International transport corridors. Here we can see the huge potential of cargo transportation from Vietnam via the territory of Azerbaijan to Europe and vice-versa.

Cooperation in humanitarian area is yet another important task of our agenda. Heydar Aliyev Foundation several years ago supported the project of repairement of primary school in remoted mountainous village of Vietnam.

Reporter: As the new Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Vietnam, how do you evaluate the achievements in the development of the country and people of Vietnam over the years? On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, what message would you like to send to readers of the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper?

Mr. Shovgi Kamal Oglu Mehdizade: Thank you for these important and very interesting questions. First of all, I would like to emphasize that it is a great honor for me to be the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Vietnam- the country with which we have a very long history of friendship. For Azerbaijanis Vietnam is a country of close friends - brave, patriotic, peaceful and hard-working people. After some challenging times for Azerbaijan and Vietnam, when we had to tackle internal problems, like economic reforms and the transition period, we are ready to start strengthening our bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interests. These times were also hardest for Azerbaijan  we liberated our territories from occupation and restored our territorial integrity. In this process we always felt the support of friends from all over the world.

When I arrived here I was impressed by the latest achievements of Vietnam. Vietnam today is a dynamically developing country with the highest rate of GDP, increasing year by year amount of foreign trade and attracting more and more investments from abroad. Although most of its population consists of a young, actively growing population, the traditions of respecting elders and parents, patriotism, hard-work and learning remain strong. These values are also very important in Azerbaijan.

And it is my honor to implement activities dedicated to developing bilateral relations between our two countries. This year I will celebrate my first Tet holiday in Vietnam and I am looking forward to learning more about it. At the same time, I have already recorded many similar traditions to Novruz Holiday, which is celebrated in Azerbaijan in March, marking awakening of nature, a new season of spring and the starting of agricultural works.

With great pleasure, I would like to wish our dear Vietnamese friends strong health, prosperity and peace. We people in Azerbaijan and Vietnam know the price of peace well from our history.

Special wishes I would like to extend to the younger generation and hope that they will protect and develop friendship relations between our nations  the great heritage left to us by our leaders and previous generations for the benefit of our countries.

Azerbaijan will further continue to extend its support and cooperation to Vietnam.

Reporter: Thank you so much!
This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

XI'AN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Scenic spots in northwest China's Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns.

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the south plaza of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda scenic spot in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns near the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

Editor: WXL
Artists perform a dancing at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

By Wang Yi, Mao Pengfei

GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- With the sound of the gongs and drums, a golden-haired "lion" jumped on two-meter high poles, demonstrating its amazing flexibility and agility. The scene attracted large crowds taking photos and videos on their phones.

The lion dance was performed in the heritage precinct of George Town, the capital city of Penang state, Malaysia, on the evening of Jan. 28, when the 2023 Penang Chinese New Year Celebration (Miaohui) was held.

Besides lion dances, this year's Miaohui, or temple fair was filled with other activities, such as dragon dances, Hakka song singing, playing diabolo, magic tricks, among others. In addition, musical performances with a host of traditional Chinese instruments, including Guzheng, flutes, Erhu and suona, also attracted many audiences.

The children visiting Miaohui were curious to watch and take part in traditional cultural activities, such as paper-cutting and making dough figurines.

According to Chief Minister of Penang Chow Kon Yeow, Penang Miaohui began in 1999, the Year of the Rabbit. This year Penang Miaohui is 24 years old. Despite the harsh challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, this celebration was still held online and was not canceled.

Nowadays, Penang Miaohui is not only a celebratory feast during the Spring Festival, but also a platform to illuminate traditional Chinese culture.

In different ancestral halls, visitors can learn myriad cultural aspects and facets. For example, in Ng See Kah Miew, or the ancestral temple of Ng clan, which was built in 1897 by the Ng forefathers, they can learn the architectural structure of mortise and tenon.

In Lee Sih Chong Soo, or the clan association for the Chinese surnamed Lee, they can learn about the different categories of traditional Chinese medicine, understanding the influence of Li Shizhen, a Chinese scholar of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and his highly-influential Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) on modern society.

In the Nin Yong Temple, young people, in particular, can learn about the spirit of Guan Yu, the famous ancient Chinese general known as the Chinese god of war, through the related exhibition inside and are educated on benevolence, brevity, and intelligence.

Leong Keng Fei, Chairman of the Penang Chinese Clan Council, the organizer of the event, said that since the Penang Miaohui was held in 1999, it always focused on promoting traditional cultures. Visitors were encouraged in the ancestral halls and temples to experience and learn the cultural treasures left by ancestors, and to find the roots deep in their souls.

The organizer hopes that through this method, every Chinese descendant will have the opportunity to receive and pass on the essence, energy, and spirit inherited from their ancestors.

Penang is a state with a high population of Malaysian-Chinese. More than 200 years ago, many Chinese came here and made contributions to its economic and social development.

Nowadays, Malaysian-Chinese still cherish and pass down traditional Chinese culture to future generations through celebrating Chinese festivals like the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 22 this year.

Zhou Youbin, Chinese Consul General in Penang said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership, and next year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

"I hope that every overseas Chinese will seize this opportunity, to help integrate China with the rest of the world and be part of the Belt and Road initiative, and to support this constructive and mutually beneficial relationship between Malaysia and China." 

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Children learn paper-cutting at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

People watch a traditional opera performance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Artists perform lion dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

People visit the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

People watch a performance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Artists perform dragon dance at the Penang Chinese New Year Celebration in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Editor: JYZ
Ivan Kopychenko, expert in digital technologies, EGAP Program regional coordinator in the Odesa Oblast at East Europe Foundation

Systematic check is a must not only for the human body, but also for all the electronic devices that are used on a daily basis. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, and even a coffee machine know more about us than we think! And they can easily become tools for fraudsters who want to steal our personal data.

Despite this, Ukrainians often take lightly the dangers that lurk online. I have put together five pieces of anti-advice that are most often heeded by people who neglect their own cyber hygiene. Check if this list contains anything that you might misuse occasionally.

Advice 1. Ignore legal software

- What, another update on my smartphone? Ill do it later!

Almost 100% of updates on our smartphones protect against data vulnerabilities. When they lose their relevance, they may be published online. If you fail to update your gadget promptly, fraudsters can take advantage of this and carry out a hacker attack.

- Okay, Google, what about other devices?

Software updates are one of the key security factors not only for your smartphone, but also for all devices that have access to the Internet.

At present, a problem exists in Ukraine with unlicensed, or the so-called pirated software. Its use dramatically raises the risk of computer damage by a virus, may result in your confidential information being leaked publicly or even in any home appliance connected to the network being hacked.

This was proved by an experiment performed by Avast employees who were able to hack the coffee machine software and make it spray water randomly, demanding via a menu a ransom to stop this outrage.

To secure your gadgets, use commercial software or its free official alternatives. For example, the Open Office suite is a great alternative to the popular Office 365. Whereas CCleaner, the cache cleaning utility, is in no way inferior to the commercial LifeLock .

Advice 2. Install free antivirus software of unknown origin

If you never saw the film The Secret and have no idea of a secret that had caused global mass hysteria in the noughties, heres a spoiler alert for you.

Sometimes antivirus software on your PC is not what it seems!

Using antivirus software on your computer or smartphone is one of the best cybersecurity practices. It can protect your device from most known cyber-attacks. However, not all antivirus programmes are in fact useful.

Sometimes malware often masquerades as free antivirus programme to steal user data. VPNPro researchers found several such antivirus viruses for smartphones in 2019:

 Security Master  500 million downloads;

 Virus Cleaner 2019  50 million downloads;

 Virus Cleaner, Antivirus, Cleaner (Max Security)  50 million downloads;

 Super Phone Cleaner: Virus Cleaner, Phone Cleaner  50 million downloads;

 Antivirus Free 2019  10 million downloads;

 Clean Master  1 million downloads.

How to make the right choice and identify a bona fide antivirus programme? First, pay attention to well-known antivirus software that was not developed in the countries from the sanctions list, such as Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Myanmar, Eritrea or Cuba. Download software from official sources only. If you have Microsoft Windows installed, switch to a version that was released after 2010  older releases like Windows 7 have not received updates for quite a while.

You can also use VirusTotal, a free online service. It offers more than 70 antivirus utilities that would check your files online for threats without the need for downloads.





Advice 3. Use the same password for all accounts

According to a password security report published in 2019, more than half of respondents share passwords with their co-workers. 50% of them use the same password for multiple accounts, and only one third use two-factor authentication to protect their accounts.

Each account must have a password that is resistant to hacker manipulation. What should it look like?

First, it must contain many mixed case characters. It is also advisable to add numbers and special symbols, such as percent sign, hash, copyright symbol  anything that would confuse fraudsters and prevent them from hacking the account by guessing the password (staging a brute force attack).

Two-factor authentication should also be kept in mind. Should your password be stolen, criminals would be unable to log in to your account without knowing your phone number.

Besides, using password managers and data encryption is recommended. This may include asymmetric PGP encryption for email, where dedicated software exists, or secret chats for instant messengers.

Advice 4. Always share your personal data on demand, especially if this is Diias official website!

Phishing websites are among the most common online scams. These are chameleon resources that masquerade as websites of banks, official institutions, or even charitable organisations in order to lure personal data from users. Whenever you visit such a site, your phone number, usernames and passwords to your accounts, along with bank card codes are potentially exposed.

An example of such scam was a fake website of the Unified State Register of Declarations of Persons Authorised to Perform the Functions of the State or Local Self-government, which was set up in 2018. Missing letters in the website title, along with the wrong domain address in the browsers address bar helped to distinguish the fake from the original.

And in 2021, hackers imitated a Diia portal page to harvest credit card and ID numbers of Ukrainians. The fake website promised payments of eight thousand hryvnias to those citizens who found themselves in the red zone during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Source: cybercalm

Note the font and errors in the description  the real Diia portal has none of them.

How the hook of phishing websites can be avoided? Pay attention to the visual component  an unusual design and the presence of grammatical errors may already indicate a fake.

Phishing resources can be sometimes well disguised; therefore, you need to check the websites domain name (for example, criminals used privatbank.in.ua instead of the actual address privatbank.ua, or and mono.org.ua instead of monobank.ua).

Update your browser to the latest version to receive timely notifications about security hazards. Furthermore, never enter your personal data on any resources!

Baiting is another example of cyber fraud. This is a scheme where malicious USB flash drives are planted on your computer in order to infect it with viruses, destroy confidential or official information, or even to install wiretapping. A USB flash drive may contain links to the same phishing websites used by criminals in order to lure your funds.

This fraud is especially widespread in office environment where it is difficult to keep track of all actions on your work PC. To protect yourself, check all the USB devices that get connected to your computer (yes, yes, even the USB flash drive that a colleague gave you as a new year gift!). If the medium has some suspicious files, you should better delete them without even opening.

Advice 5. Fact-checking is for nerds. True pros would only rely on their gut feelings!

In laymans terms, fact-checking means good digital hygiene skills, ability to counteract fakes and verify facts.

Chicken Little, a 1943 Disney cartoon, is a good example of the effect that fake information may have on the collective subconscious. In the story, the fox manipulates chickens , convincing them that the sky is about to fall on their heads (source: the How to avoid becoming a vegetable YouTube channel). The birds ignore checking this information, pin their faith on this hoax, fall under the influence of the herd instinct and start to panic. Eventually, they hide in a cave, where the fox is already waiting for them, expecting a nice dinner.

So, how fakes can be avoided? Check information across three, or better yet, five sources, and always look for the original source. Pay attention to news headlines  respectable resources would tend to avoid clickbait (flashy) headlines in capital letters.

Do not let any manipulations related to massive shelling take over your mind. Dont read dubious Telegram channels or Internet cesspits. Even the national intelligence service has no information about any attacks that are about to happen tomorrow; obviously, this information can never be available to administrators of the channel that advertises top 20 films worth watching during the blackout.

After heavy shelling is over, Ukrainians tend to channel their rage into the support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is the time when fraudsters become particularly active. Therefore, we recommend donating only to well-established charities, such as Come Back Alive, Hospitallers, Serhii Prytula Foundation, United 24, and using banking details from official and Internet banking sources.

If you dont care about your personal cyber hygiene, you put under risk your family, the health of your employers workflow system, and even the countrys welfare. So, let us march towards victory not only digitalised, but also well-informed!
Between January 23 and January 29, DTEK restored electricity supply to 60,000 families in 51 settlements of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, the energy holding said on Telegram on Monday.

"These are 51 settlements where power engineers have repeatedly resumed power supply due to constant shelling. We will continue to do this until every Ukrainian family receives electricity in their home," the company said.
Energy, housing, demining, critical social infrastructure and assistance to private businesses are the top five priorities for Ukraine's emergency recovery in 2023, for which $17 billion are to be raised, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a video conference speech at a business forum for the fast recovery of Ukraine in Luxembourg.

"We expect the world to continue to show high support," the head of the Ukrainian government stressed, expressing hope that the donor coordination platform created last week will play an important role in attracting this $17 billion in addition to financing the $38 billion state budget deficit.

Shmyhal specified that in the case of the energy sector, it is not only about restoring the energy infrastructure after 13 massive missile attacks and dozens of local ones that destroyed or damaged more than 400 facilities, but also about reorganizing it into a more decentralized one and more resistant to such attacks.

Speaking about the second priority, the prime minister pointed out that over 150,000 residential buildings have been destroyed, and the estimated damage in this area alone exceeds $55 billion.

According to him, in terms of demining, current estimates give it five years or more, while it needs to be done faster.

Shmyhal added that without the restoration of critical social infrastructure - roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, public utilities - it will also be impossible to live in cities.

Finally, noting the fifth priority - helping private businesses - the prime minister recalled the direct losses of private businesses last year in the amount of $13 billion, while indirect losses exceeded $33 billion. According to him, the government supports businesses with concessional loans and grants, but more is needed.

The premier stressed that the need for financing the recovery confirmed by the World Bank was $350 billion back in June last year, and is currently estimated at $600-700 billion.

Shmyhal urged the governments of the partner countries to follow the example of Canada and confiscate the frozen Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine for restoration, as they should become the main source.
About 40m Azerbaijanis are hostages of the Persian regime in Iran, the chairman of the Board of Muslims of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahsukur Pasazada, has said.

"Like everyone else, we condemn the terrorist attack on the embassy of Azerbaijan in Iran. Today, representatives of all religions living in our country came together and expressed their condolences. This shows tolerance and national unity in Azerbaijan," he said.

About 40 million Azerbaijanis live in Iran, the chairman of the Board of Muslims of the Caucasus added.

"Today, they are captives in the hands of the Persian regime. I believe that the truth will prevail in the future. Today we received a martyr from Iran whom we considered a brother. Now we see that they are Armenia's brothers. As President Ilham Aliyev said, what happened is an act of terrorism. The matter must be thoroughly investigated, and the world must know the truth, Pasazada said.
Norway to hand over Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in late March  media

Norway will hand over Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in late March, Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said.

According to him, Norway will send German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine without delay, possibly at the end of March.

"We haven't yet determined the number," the minister told France24 on the number of possible tanks.
The United States has sent a batch of 60 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine, the Transport Command (TRANSCOM) of the U.S. Armed Forces has said.

"The shipment containing more than 60 Bradleys left the shores of North Charleston, South Carolina last week, and will provide the Ukrainian forces with additional offensive and defensive capabilities," the command said in a statement.

At the same time, it is indicated that the U.S. Transportation Command is delivering the first shipment of Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of a $2.85 billion military aid agreement announced earlier in January.

Bradley has a crew of three and can carry up to six infantrymen in a troop compartment. The BMP entered service in 1981, with a total of 9,753 copies of various variants produced. They were used by U.S. troops in the wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The total amount of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine since February 2022 has amounted to $27.1 billion, the command said.
The United States is not going to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden said.

"No," Biden answered a question from U.S. journalists about whether Washington supports the idea of transferring the F-16 to Kyiv.

Earlier in January, Politico said, citing sources, that representatives of Western countries are discussing the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine. It is noted that the idea of supplying fighter jets is especially supported by the Baltic countries. However, according to Politico, this issue is likely to be "more contentious" than the tank situation.

The publication did not specify which aircraft models could be discussed, but recalled that Kyiv had previously spoken about interest in the F-15 and F-16 fighters.

At the same time, Head of the German Defense Ministry Boris Pistorius suggested that the supply of Western fighters to Ukraine is impossible.

Prior to this, Berlin decided to transfer the first batch of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. At the same time, the German authorities will allow the allies to supply their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Last Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.
Over the past day on Monday, January 30, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks by Russian invaders in the area of 13 settlements in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Ukrainian aviation and artillery hit 13 areas of concentration of manpower, equipment and ammunition of the enemy, the General Staff said.

"Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled the attacks of the invaders in the areas of the settlements of Novoselivske, Bilohorivka, Luhansk region and Yampilivka, Spirne, Krasna Hora, Paraskoviyivka, Bakhmut, Kleschivka, Ivanivske, Avdiyivka, Vodiane, Pervomayske and Vuhledar in Donetsk region," the General Staff said on Tuesday morning.

It is also reported that the enemy continues to conduct offensive operations in Lyman and Bakhmut directions, suffering heavy losses. At the same time, the enemy is conducting unsuccessful offensive operations in Avdiyivka and Novopavlivsk directions. In Kupiansk and Zaporizhia directions - it defends previously captured lines.

"There is a despondency of the personnel of the Russian units in the decisions of their own military-political leadership and the exhaustion of personnel from the intensity of hostilities," the AFU General Staff said.

During the day, the aviation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces delivered four strikes on enemy concentration areas, and rocket and artillery units hit three command posts, four concentration areas and two ammunition depots of the occupiers.
Over the last three days, the Russian occupiers have probably turned their reconnaissance attacks in the area of the village of Pavlivka and the town of Vuhledar of Donetsk region into a more concerted assaults, according to a defense intelligence statement published on Twitter by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning.

"Russian commanders are likely aiming to develop a new axis of advance into Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast, and to divert Ukrainian forces from the heavily contested Bakhmut sector. There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector. However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough," the defense intelligence said.

According to the statement, Russia had previously used the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade in an unsuccessful assault on the same area of Pavlivka and Vuhledar in November 2022. "Elements of the 155th are again involved as part of an at least brigade sized force which has likely advanced several hundred meters beyond the small Kashlahach River which marked the front line for several months," British intelligence said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers unacceptable the statements of the President of Croatia, who said the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula allegedly "will never be Ukraine again," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko has said.

"Croatian President Zoran Milanovic believes that Crimea will never be Ukraine again. He also warned against confronting Russia, which has nuclear weapons... We consider unacceptable the statements of the President of Croatia, who actually questioned the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Nikolenko said on Facebook on Tuesday.

He also said Milanovic could hardly have become president of his country with such rhetoric in the 1990s, when Croatia was fighting to preserve its statehood, and his voters would hardly have agreed to turn a blind eye to the occupation of part of the country's territory.

"Let me remind you that due to external aggression, Croatia could lose a third of its lands. However, thanks to the heroic struggle, the Croats were able to defend the independence of their state," Nikolenko said.

"At the same time, we highly appreciate and thank the government of Croatia and the Croatian people for their unwavering support of Ukrainians in the fight against Russian aggression," he said.
Russian occupiers fired artillery almost 200 times at Ukrainian positions near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region over the past day, but during the clashes they lost more than 500 people killed and wounded there, Spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Cherevaty said.

"Bakhmut continues to be one of the main directions of the enemy's strikes, there they struck 197 times with barrel-rocket artillery at our positions, there were 42 combat clashes. The enemy lost a lot of personnel during these days: 277 enemies were killed, 258 were injured of varying degrees. The fighting took place in the area of Spirne, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Kleschivka," Cherevaty said on the air of the national telethon.

He also said the occupiers were unable to cut the route along which the group of Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut is being provided.

Answering a question about the possibility of withdrawal of Ukrainian units from Bakhmut, the representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said such decisions are made in the context of the general situation in order to preserve personnel and occupy better positions, and they are carried out in several stages. "The command has different options for action, the command constantly monitors the enemy, and we have counteraction for each of his actions," Cherevaty said.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative is not blocked, work is underway to continue it, UN system coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown said.

At a meeting with journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday, she said the Black Sea Grain Initiative is not blocked and this is extremely important.

The UN said there are difficulties, but they are being worked on.

Brown said the Black Sea Initiative can do more and the UN can't and won't let it end. The UN cannot afford it, and Ukraine cannot, she said.

Brown noted the importance of neutrality for continuing dialogue with Russia.

She said that's what's happening now as the UN officials try to work on the initiative.

The coordinator reminded that the initiative should be extended in March.

Brown said before the last extension of the initiative in November, the UN officials spent a lot of time in September, October, working through many points.

As reported, on January 20, Presidents of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan are in favour of extending the grain export agreement and allow its expansion to other ports of Ukraine.

On January 24, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said less than 60 days remained before the completion of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and that work is underway to continue it, since now this is the only way to supply Ukrainian grain in large volumes.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) found the suspicion of misappropriating more than UAH 229 million by abusing official position against ex-head of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev unfounded, his lawyer Oleksiy Nosov has said.

"The conclusion of the investigating judge based on the results of consideration and evaluation of the arguments of the parties: the suspicion brought against Andriy Kobolev is unfounded," he wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, the prosecutor's office has already filed an appeal against this decision of the HACC. "Therefore, now the HACC Appeals Chamber shall evaluate both our arguments and the conclusions of the investigating judge, and make a final decision on the issue of choosing a preventive measure," the lawyer said.

"Without going too deeply into the legal details of the text of the resolution, I want to share my first impression: the investigating judge, in 12 days of proceedings in the case of the Stockholm bonuses, understood it much deeper than a bunch of NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors since 2018," Kobolev said.

As reported, on January 19, 2023, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) notified Kobolev of suspicion of abuse of his official position while securing payments bonuses of UAH 229 million for the company's victory in the Stockholm arbitration with Russian Gazprom. According to invetigators, this amount significantly exceeds the normatively determined amounts of such payments (UAH 37.48 million).

The HACC refused to the prosecutor to select a custody status for Kobolev  a detention with an alternative bail of UAH 365 million.
At the Ukraine-EU summit to be held this week in Kyiv, several sectoral documents and a joint statement, work on which is still ongoing, will be signed, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"We are preparing to present the results of the implementation of all seven recommendations of the European Commission and expect a positive assessment of our efforts from the EU. We look forward to significant progress in approaching the EU internal market, cooperation in the energy sector, and the field of renewable gases," he said at a briefing on Tuesday.

According to Kuleba, the key issue on the agenda should be the prospect of an early start of the negotiation process on joining the EU.

"After Ukraine fulfills all the recommendations of the European Commission and receives a positive assessment," he added.

The summit will also focus on new EU sanctions, the security situation, the implementation of the Peace Formula, bringing the Russian Federation to justice for crimes, and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

In addition, the Foreign Minister said that a joint statement is to be signed at the summit.

"During the summit, several sectoral documents are being prepared for signing, which are under consideration by the parties, and a joint statement on the results of the summit. The Office of the President and the Foreign Ministry are now actively working to finalize the joint statement so that it is as strong as possible and meets the interests of Ukraine," he said.

As expected, the 24th EU-Ukraine summit is to take place in Kyiv on February 3.
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

The Training and Educational Center of the Azerbaijani Army held training-methodical sessions with a group of personnel of the military traffic police, Azernews reports per Defense Ministry.

The sessions were organized in accordance with the training plan for the current year.

First, the memory of National Leader Heydar Aliyev and martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, was honored with the observance of a minute of silence. Then, Azerbaijans national anthem was performed.

During the session, educational talks were held on compliance with traffic rules by drivers, requirements of orders on ensuring traffic safety, as well as on checking the technical condition of vehicles of military units of the garrison, their use for the intended purposes, and correct compilation of road documents.

The requirements and instructions of the leadership of the Defense Ministry were delivered to the servicemen, recommendations were given on the correct and high-quality organization of the service.

Further, the participants exchanged views on the organization of joint activities with relevant state institutions.
The first-ever intergovernmental consultations between the government of Ukraine and the European Commission will take place this week, on February 2, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said.

"This week, two major events in the field of European integration of Ukraine will take place. First, on February 2, the first intergovernmental consultations in our history between the government of Ukraine and the European Commission will take place. Second, on February 3, the Ukraine-EU summit will be held in Kyiv," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

The prime minister said that Ukraine expects, first of all, an intermediate positive assessment of European integration efforts from the summit.

"We want to phase a detailed roadmap on how to go through the European integration path as quickly and successfully as possible  from assessing the work that we have done after obtaining the [EU] candidate status, to starting substantive negotiations on Ukraine's entry into the European Union," the prime minister said.

In addition, the agenda of the Ukraine-EU summit will include issues of sectoral integration of the Ukrainian economy into the European space. In particular, it is important that all Ukrainian goods must obtain long-term access to the EU market without quotas and duties.

"We also hope for progress in Ukraine's accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and in joining the Common Roaming Space. The Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products remains on our agenda," he said.

Among other things, Shmyhal said that discussions about financial assistance to Ukraine are also important for the rapid restoration of the energy sector, infrastructure, and damaged housing.
Kostin meets with U.S. Under Secretary of State to discuss legal mechanisms for compensation of damage to Ukraine

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin met with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya in Washington, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said on the Telegram channel.

The parties discussed the legal mechanisms for compensation of damage to Ukraine. The Ukrainian prosecutor general said that he appreciates the new initiatives of the U.S. aimed against Russian oligarchs.

"Justice is not full until everyone affected by the war feels it. The victory of the free world is possible only when we hold Russia accountable and force it to pay," Kostin said.

He also expressed gratitude for the expert support within the framework of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), as well as technical, humanitarian, financial, and military assistance of the United States.
Ukrainians have ordered more than 300,000 new lamps within a day as part of a program launched through Diia to exchange incandescent lamps for LED lamps, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said.

"Yesterday, a large-scale program for the exchange of old incandescent lamps for LED lamps was launched in Ukraine. It's an initiative of President Volodymyr Zelensky, supported by the European Union," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

According to him, 30 million lamps have already been purchased by the EU, and another 5 million is expected from France.

"Ukrainians have already ordered more than 300,000 energy-saving lamps through Diia for exchange. Therefore, we are confident that the program will be successful," the prime minister said.
DFC to raise $250 mln to help finance SME support programs in Ukraine in 2023  PM

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will raise $250 million to help finance programs to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine in 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has announced.

"The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is ready to support Ukrainian business. Today, DFC Director Scott Nathan announced at our meeting that the corporation will raise $250 million this year to help finance programs to support small and medium-sized enterprises. In total, DFC plans to mobilize up to $1 billion in support of the Ukrainian economy," Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.

The prime minister said that at the meeting the parties discussed instruments for attracting investments, and also separately raised issues of launching the stock market in Ukraine.
Egypt's Public Prosecution ordered an autopsy on the body of a 42-year-old bank manager who died on Sunday  nearly six weeks after being attacked by his neighbour's Pit Bull  to determine the direct cause of death.
At least 51 people were killed in two separate transport accidents in western Pakistan on Sunday, when a bus plunged off a bridge and a boat carrying a class of children capsized.

Forty-one are so far confirmed dead after their bus crashed into a ravine in southwestern Balochistan province, while at least 10 students died in the boating accident in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.

As many as three are still missing in the waters, with a rescue operation underway.

At the remote site of the bus crash, north of the city of Bela in Lasbela district, senior administration official Hamza Anjum said "the dead bodies... are beyond recognition".

Anjum said 40 corpses were retrieved from the wreck alongside three injured, one of whom died shortly after. The remaining two survivors were in "serious" condition.

The charred brown husk of the vehicle chassis smoked on a dry riverbed under the bridge on Sunday, according to video released by the provincial government.

A team of men used heavy machinery to move the twisted metal aside and pull out the burnt remains, which were then shrouded in white cloth.

Head of the local rescue service Asghar Ramazan told AFP the bus had been loaded with containers of oil.

"When the bus fell down, it immediately caught fire," he said. The oil "caused the fire to flare up so much that it was difficult to control", he added.

The bus was reportedly carrying a total of 48 passengers when it hit a pillar on the bridge and careened off course earlier on Sunday.

It had been travelling overnight between Balochistan's provincial capital of Quetta and the southern port city of Karachi.

"It is feared that the driver may have fallen asleep," Anjum said, also mentioning the possibility he had been speeding during the long-distance trip.

"We will investigate the causes of the accident," he said, adding that DNA tests would be needed to determine the identity of the remains, which had been "badly mutilated".

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local police official Mir Rauf told AFP all of the drowned so far recovered from the boating accident on Tanda Dam lake were aged between seven and 14.

A total of 17 were rescued alive from the reservoir by Sunday afternoon.

"Everything was normal until suddenly the boat overturned," said 11-year-old survivor Muhammad Mustafa from his hospital bed in the nearby city of Kohat.

"I got stuck under the boat," he told AFP. "My shawl and sweater weighed me down, so I took them off."

"The water was extremely cold and my body went numb. I thought I was going to pass out when a man on an inflatable tube saved me."

One of the rescued was a teacher, who remained unconscious as the rescue operation continued for up to three pupils still missing.

The class of madrassa students "went out for a picnic and boating" at the scenic location, district police chief Adbul Rauf told AFP.

"According to the information so far, the boat was in a dilapidated condition and it was overloaded too," he said.

Ramshackle highways, lax safety measures and reckless driving contribute to Pakistan's dire road safety record.

Passenger buses are frequently crammed to capacity and seatbelts are not commonly worn, meaning high death tolls from single-vehicle accidents are common.

In November, 20 people, including 11 children, were killed when a minibus crashed into a deep and water-logged ditch in southern Pakistan.

According to World Health Organization estimates, more than 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan's roads in 2018.

Mass drownings are also common in Pakistan, when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water.

In July last year, at least 18 women drowned after an overloaded boat carrying about 100 members of the same family capsized during a marriage procession between two villages.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Monday that Washington relies on close coordination with the Egyptian presidency to restore stability and achieve calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

Blinken's remarks came during his meeting with President El-Sisi on the first leg of his three-day Middle East trip at Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo where they discussed a host of regional and international issues as well as bilateral relations.

The Egyptian president welcomed the US secretary and conveyed his greetings to President Joe Biden confirming the strategic bilateral relations between the two countries with wishes to strengthen coordination and negotiation in political, regional and security issues, the presidential spokesmen Bassam Rady said.

The meeting was attended by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

The presidential spokesperson added that the two sides discussed the most recent developments in the Palestinian territories.

They reviewed joint efforts as well as ongoing Egyptian efforts to contain the growing tensions in the territories in the past few days, according to Rady.

El-Sisi stated to Blinken that the latest developments confirmed the importance of immediate responses and work in both the political and security track to calm the situation.

The Egyptian president also stressed the need for both sides to refrain from unilateral measures.

The Egyptian president underlined to the US Secretary of State Egypt's constant stance on the need to reach a comprehensive and fair solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people according to international standards in a manner that solves the conflict to allow peace, stability, cooperation and growth.

The two sides also discussed the recent developments in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Rady added.

The Egyptian president reaffirmed Egypts firm stance that it is crucial for a legally binding solution to be reached with regards to the filling and the operating of the dam, in a way that achieves mutual benefits and safeguards the water and developmental rights of all parties.

El-Sisi stressed to Blinken the importance of the US playing an effective role in resolving the crisis.

Blinken had arrived in Cairo on Sunday and held a conversation with a group of youth at the American University in Cairo (AUC) in the evening.

He is scheduled to leave for Israel later on Monday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before traveling to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The killing marks the latest bloodshed in spiraling violence that comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the region.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man, Nassim Abu Fouda, 26, was shot in Hebron - where the Israeli army and 700 Israeli settlers impose a reign of terror on a daily basis against the 200,000-plus Palestinian residents of the city.

Israeli violence against the Palestinians has spiked in recent days, with an Israeli military raid on a militant stronghold in the West Bank city of Jenin last week killing 10.

Meanwhile, a day later, a Palestinian shooting attack in an east Jerusalem Jewish settlement killed seven Israelis.

Unrest has continued in the ensuing days, prompting Israel to approve a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians and ratcheting up tensions just as Blinken begins meetings with leaders later in the day.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making it the deadliest year in those territories since 2004, according to figures from the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the same period killed 29 people.



Nassim Abu Fouda

The bloodshed has spiked this month, during the first weeks of Israel's new far-right government, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians and ramp up settlement construction.

Monday's death brings the toll of Palestinians killed this month to 35.

Blinken's visit, which was planned before the flare-up, was expected to be fraught with tension over differences between the Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government, which is made up of settlement supporters. He will now need to contend with an additional challenge during his trip, trying to restore calm even as violence persists.

After the Jenin raid, the Palestinians said they would cancel security coordination with Israel and after attacks against Israelis intensified, Israel said it would beef up Jewish settlements in the West Bank, among other steps.

Israeli Army Radio reported late Sunday that the government was also set to approve a rogue outpost deep inside the West Bank, and speed up approval for other such small settlements.

Israel also arrested 42 Palestinians, some relatives of the Jerusalem attacker, in its investigation into the attack. And the firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he has ordered authorities to begin demolishing Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem in response to the attack, claiming that the houses have been illegally built.

Ben-Gvir called it "one step among a series of important steps for governance and for the war on terror and we need more steps in this war.''

Palestinian residents of the city's eastern sector say systemic housing discrimination means they are rarely granted building permits, prompting some to build illegally.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians claim for a future independent state.

Some 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank in dozens of settlements and outposts with their own road and highway system, in a setup that impedes traffic and daily life nightmares for more than 2 million Palestinians in the occupied territory.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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A suicide bomber struck a crowded mosque inside a police compound in Pakistan on Monday, causing the roof to collapse and killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 150 others, officials said.

Most of the casualties were police officers. It was not clear how the bomber was able to slip into the walled compound, which houses the police headquarters in the northwestern city of Peshawar and is itself located in a high-security zone with other government buildings.

Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The main spokesman for the militant group was not immediately available for comment.

``The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable. This is no less than an attack on Pakistan,'' tweeted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who visited the wounded in Peshawar and vowed ``stern action'' against those behind the bombing.

He expressed his condolences to families of the victims, saying their pain ''cannot be described in words.``

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended their cease-fire with government forces.

Earlier this month, in another attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, a gunman shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the country's military-based spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence.

Security officials said Monday the gunman was traced and killed in a shootout in the northwest near the Afghan border.

Monday's assault on a Sunni mosque inside the police facility was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.

The militant group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest. Many were injured when the roof came down, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer, and rescuers had to remove mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble.

Meena Gul, who was in the mosque when the bomb went off, said he doesn't know how he survived unhurt. The 38-year-old police officer said he heard cries and screams after the blast.

Mohammad Asim, a spokesman at the main government hospital in Peshawar, put the death toll at 59, with 157 others wounded. Police official Siddique Khan the bomber blew himself up while among the worshippers.

Senior police and government officials attended the funerals of 30 police officers and arrangements to bury the rest were being made. Coffins were wrapped in the Pakistani flag their bodies were later handed over to relatives for burials.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence, and the city has been the scene of frequent militant attacks.

The Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The Pakistani government's truce with the TTP ended as the country was still contending with unprecedented flooding that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

Mohmand, of the militant organization, said a fighter carried out the attack to avenge the killing of Abdul Wali, who was widely known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, and was killed in neighboring Afghanistan's Paktika province in August 2022.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was ``saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives and many others were injured by an explosion at a mosque in Peshawar'' and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Condemnations also came from the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad, as well as the U.S. Embassy, adding that ``The United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism.''

Cash-strapped Pakistan faces a severe economic crisis and is seeking a crucial installment of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund _ part of its $6 billion bailout package, to avoid default. Talks with the IMF on reviving the bailout have stalled in the past months.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called the bombing a ``terrorist suicide attack.'' He tweeted: ``My prayers & condolences go to victims families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.''

Sharif's government came to power in April after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan has since campaigned for early elections, claiming his ouster was illegal and part of a plot backed by the United States. Washington and Sharif dismiss Khan's claims.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Monday ahead of talks urging a deescalation in violence that has flared in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Washington's top diplomat arrived in Israel on the second leg of his Middle East tour, after meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

Israel is reeling from an attack Friday that killed seven civilians outside a synagogue in annexed east Jerusalem, a day after the deadliest army raid in years in the occupied West Bank claimed 10 Palestinian lives.

The ensuing violence has prompted Israel to approve a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians, ratcheting up tensions just as Blinken begins meetings with leaders later this day.

"We've seen horrific terrorist attacks in the last couple of days that we condemn and deplore," Blinken earlier told Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya.

In a press conference in Cairo on Monday, Blinken urged "all parties to calm things down and deescalate tensions" while also stressing the "importance of working for a two-state solution".

In the latest bloodshed, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian driver in the West Bank Monday, officials on both sides said, with the army claiming the car had hit a soldier's leg before speeding off.

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinians both adults and children -- albeit mostly civilian some of them were alleged militants.

Over the same period six Israeli civilians, including a child, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed. All were shot dead in the attack Friday outside the synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement.

In retrospect, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making it the deadliest year in those territories since 2004, according to figures from the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the same period killed 29 people.

"Dangerous developments"

The United States has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy, and Egypt, which has relations with Israel, has long served as a mediator in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Blinken was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a veteran leader who returned to power late last year at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

The US envoy will also travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.

Abbas met with CIA chief William Burns in Ramallah late Sunday to discuss the "dangerous developments", said the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. The US embassy declined to comment to AFP.

Blinken had long planned the visit, but the trip takes on a new urgency amid the spiralling violence.

The fatal east Jerusalem shooting was preceded by the deadliest Israeli forces operation in the West Bank in years.

Ten people were killed Thursday in the densely-populated Jenin refugee camp, in a raid Israel claims targeted Islamic Jihad operatives.

The military later hit sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu's cabinet has vowed a tough response and moved to punish "the families of terrorists that support terrorism" with home demolitions and other measures.

The government is also planning to rescind the rights to social security benefits of attackers' relatives, and steps to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms.

"Death spiral"

The latest bloodshed has heightened international concern, with Pope Francis on Sunday deploring the "death spiral".

French President Emmanuel Macron urged all parties to avoid feeding a "spiral of violence" and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for "maximum responsibility" on all sides.

Blinken on Monday met El-Sisi and then Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Blinken commended El-Sisi for "Egypt's important role in promoting stability in the region" and "discussed ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians," said the State Department.

The diplomats and intelligence services of Egypt -- a major recipient of American military aid -- are regularly called upon to intercede between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blinken's Israel visit is part of the Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democratic administration under Barack Obama.

While there, Blinken was expected to reiterate US support for a Palestinian state, a prospect few expect to advance under the new Israeli government.

The State Department said Blinken would call for the preservation of the status quo at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem.

Israel's extreme-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, sparked global condemnation when he visited the site earlier this month, which is administered by Jordan.

The compound is the holiest site to Jews, who refer to it as Temple Mount, and the third most sacred place in Islam.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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By Azernews

Yusif Abbaszada

Iran has always been a complicated and unpredictable country, collecting and embodying cruelty and conflicts in its identity. Being under sanctions for almost 40 years, the runaway country, being under blockade, changed the consciousness and thinking of the public, thereby instilling hatred for freedom and democracy in certain segments of Iranian society. The conditions under which generations grow reflect not only identity but also political nature and the future of this country.

Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Iran has nurtured its own terrorist sects for its own political needs. Being too carried away by this and other redundant and useless matters, Iran has completely forgotten about the consequences, which may soon be irreversible and lead to serious geopolitical conflicts.

On January 27, at about 0830 am, an armed attack was carried out on the embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran. The attacker broke into the security post of the diplomatic mission and killed the head of the security service with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Two embassy security guards were injured while repulsing the attack. The deceased is a member of the security service of the diplomatic mission. The attacker is currently under arrest if one can believe the Iranian sources. The state of health of the wounded security staff members is satisfactory. This insidious attack is currently under investigation.

The causes and etymology of this crime are not yet known, but the available political picture points to a terrorist motive behind this atrocity. During the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, Iran has always tried to play the role of a country that is undoubtedly for common sense and a peaceful solution to the conflict, while providing assistance to Armenia, both humanitarian and military, playing a completely unprincipled double game.

A friend, as we called Iran, conducted military exercises in October 2022 on the Azerbaijani border for the first time after the latter's convincing victory over Armenia in the 44-day second Karabakh war in 2020, thereby calling the friendly relations into question. And even if this can be called friendship, duplicity and selfishness prevail in it.

Attempts to control processes unfolding in the region almost turned out badly for the Iranian regime. Such an attitude towards their people and a demonstration of cruelty showed the inner layers of Iran's claimed nature as an Islamic state.

Trying to be good for everyone, putting on a mask of flattery and duplicity, Iran dooms itself to the appearance of a country of a liar and lickers, pursuing only its own goals by any means.

A dual game and double standards are the strong points of the political concept of mullahcracy in Iran. Helping Azerbaijan's enemies, according to the Iranian authorities, is quite an acceptable phenomenon, while the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel is disrespectful to the Iran government. This is the Aldwych farce and sheer nonsense.

This whole situation is very similar to revenge for our dependence which apparently does not somehow please Iran. Our freedom is in the truth and reasonableness of our decisions, and we are not obliged to dance to someone's tune, fulfilling the whims and megrims of our neighbor.

The lack of awareness of the regime about what happened is another lie, in my opinion, which they are trying to feed us. Azerbaijan is no longer a country where one can dictate terms and indicate with whom to be friends and with whom to be at enmity. We are a country that clearly knows its own rights and is guided by universally-accepted standards and international laws.

The parasite under the guise of terrorism, which was so vehemently fed by the Iranian regime, ceased to be controlled becoming an integral part of the autocratic regime.

The complete demoralization and pretense of the Iranian leadership cannot leave anyone indifferent. So many versions of what happened have been put forward that one can come up with a dozen more scenarios behind this act of terror.

The future of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran is a matter of mutual respect for and observance of shared values by all actors. If Iran's mullahcracy chooses to go ahead with enmity vis-a-vis Azerbaijan, the latter will no doubt pay it back in their own coin - no more, no less.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised on Tuesday Egypt's stance towards the Ukrainian crisis as one that is "based in history" and "balanced" after he received a message from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the issue that was delivered by Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

In a joint press conference with the Egyptian foreign minister in Moscow, Lavrov said that the message he received from Blinken, which asked that Russia should stop these actions in order for negotiations to succeed," did not amount to "a serious proposal."

"We are open to any serious proposal for a settlement in Ukraine. But, I emphasise: the word 'serious' means it includes all aspects of the issue," Lavrov said.

Shoukry's visit to Moscow came immediately following his meeting with Secretary Blinken on Monday during his a two-day visit to Cairo in the first leg of his Middle East tour.

Lavrov added that Blinkens message was both "incomplete" and does not correspond with the pronounced western positions on the Ukraine crisis as evidenced by the comments delivered by the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg in South Korea on Monday.

Lavrov said that Stoltenberg comments in South Korea that "Russia would have to be defeated in Ukraine and that the West would not allow Ukraine to lose because that would mean Europe and the world lose" show that "NATO has taken on the responsibility of defeating Russia on behalf of the world."

"These [comments] are not just about Ukraine nor about the Kyiv regime, which does not enjoy any independence. They reflect submission to the dictates of the US," Lavrov said.

He called on Blinken to send "a complete message" in his demand for a Russian exit from Ukraine.

Lavrov said that he briefed Shoukry with detailed information about the situation in Ukraine.

"The Western powers that are fueling the conflict in Ukraine," Lavrov said during the presser.

From his side, Shoukry said he discussed the Ukrainian crisis with Lavrov and listened to the Russian vision regarding the crisis.

The Egyptian FM stressed in his remarks during the presser the need to agree on a political and diplomatic framework that would end the military conflict in Ukraine in a way that meets the interests of all parties.

He also stressed that "Egypt will continue its efforts in seeking diplomatic solutions to this crisis."

Palestine, Libya and Syria

During the press conference, both Shoukry and Lavrov said that they have tackled various regional files during their meeting, including the Palestinian issue and the developments in both Libya and Syria.

The foreign ministers agreed on the need to resume the activities of the Quartet, which was set up in 2002 comprising the United Nations, the European Union, the United State and Russia, to mediate Middle East peace negotiations and support Palestinian economic development and institution-building in preparation for eventual statehood.

Lavrov said that the agreement to resume the Quartet aims to promote cooperation between the Quartet and the Arab League States. It also aims to reach a solution that contributes to easing tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Lavrov added that Russia is worried about the growing escalations in the Palestinian territories and that it supports initiating negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution.

Shoukry, on his side, stated that both he and Lavrov emphasised the need to reach a settlement in the Palestinian territories, adding that "Egypt is keen on the stability, security and development of the region."

Speaking of the Russian role, Shoukry said that "Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and a member of the International Quartet, and has always coordinated with Egypt in order to advance the settlement in the Palestinian territories and end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Shoukry added that Egypt looks forward to its joint effort with Russia to take Palestine and Israel out of the current cycle of conflict and escalation which threatens stability in the region and leads to extremist tendencies.

He said that talks with his Russian counterpart emphasised respect for state institutions in Libya and the need to respect the sovereignty of the Libyan people.

Shoukry said that both Lavrov and he discussed the steps being taken to restore legitimacy  as represented by the Libyan institutions and the resolutions of the 2015 Skhirat Agreement  in Libya as the main way to resolve the Libyan crisis.

A Libyan-Libyan solution must be reached to end the [Libyan] crisis and to end the presence of foreign forces and militias, said Shoukry, adding that Egypt will continue to move forward with its efforts to prevent the return of military confrontations.

Shoukry said that Egypt has a vested interest in the security and stability of Libya given the close neighbourly relations between the Egyptian and Libyan peoples. He added that Egypt and Libya share mutual interests, and that Egypt supports Libya in matters of national security and combating terrorism.

Shoukry also revealed that he and Lavrov stressed the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of Syria.

"We stressed the importance of preserving the unity of the Syrian territories and Syrian sovereignty, and the absence of foreign forces and military actions that are not compatible with the resolutions of international legitimacy, and we will communicate with the UN envoy to implement Resolution No. 2254 of the Security Council, in order to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and its sovereignty over all its lands," Shoukry said.

Resolution No. 2254 calls for ceasefire across all of Syria as well as for free and fair elections to be held under UN supervision. According to the resolution, the political transition would be Syrian-led.

Developing bilateral relations

During the press conference, Shoukry expressed his appreciation of the 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, beginning in 1943, saying "it is a historical relationship based on a stable and solid foundation of mutual respect."

Shoukry said the Egyptian-Russian trade relations are diverse and both nations seek to find mechanisms to benefit from and develop this relationship  including via implementing economic development ventures  in a way that serves the interests of the two countries peoples.

"We will pursue our close communication with Russia and pursue the close coordination and joint work on the basis of common interests and the extended history that prepares the ground for this relationship," Shoukry added.

Trade exchange between Egypt and Russia stood at $6 billion, said Lavrov, stressing "we are looking forward to increasing this figure."

Egyptian-Russian trade exchange increased by 5.1 percent in 2021 to reach $4.7 billion, compared $4.5 billion in 2020, as per previous remarks by former Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea.

Russia's top diplomat also expressed his country's hope to explore "new and broader" areas of cooperation with Egypt, referring to the role of the Egyptian-Russian committee, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo in the coming months.

Lavrov said that the two countries agreed to cooperate in many fields, including industrial, military and technical spheres.

For his part, Shoukry said trade exchange with Russia has been on the rise, spotlighting wheat imports, which he said "is one of the most main elements of the relationship between Egypt and Russia."

"Egypt is the largest importer of wheat and grains in the world and hence it is a strategic commodity as the Egyptian people rely it and so [such a commodity] represents food security for them," he added.

Egypt relies heavily on wheat for making bread, a main staple of most Egyptians daily diet.

Egyptians consume almost 100 billion loaves of bread annually, made with around 18 million tons of wheat, according to government officials.

Ahead of the nearly-year long Russian-Ukrainian war, Cairo relied on both nations for 80 percent of its imported wheat.

These imports have been affected by the supply chain disruption resulting from the war, with Egypt seeking to increase local wheat production and also seek new international wheat sources.

However, Egypt has also in recent months sourced wheat shipments from Moscow.

"We are taking all measures and mechanisms to sustain the relationship between the two countries in this regard, not only to preserve these imports, but also to expand the area of trade exchange in all fields," Shoukry added.

Egypt is among the most popular destinations for Russian tourists.

EgyptAir, the country's flagship airline, as of 18 December 2022 increased its weekly flights from Cairo to Moscow from 11 to 14 flights.

The two countries are also cooperating in the construction of El-Dabaa plant, the country's first nuclear power plant, which is located in the northwestern governorate of Marsa Matrouh.

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In a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev on Tuesday, Egypts Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry called for a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.

According to Abu Zeid, Shoukry, who is visiting Moscow, was briefed by the Russian official on the latest developments of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis "as its repercussions extend largely regionally and internationally in a way that seriously impacts developing countries, including Egypt".

A liaison Arab group formed in March to tackle the impacts of the Ukraine crisis on the Arab region included Egypt alongside others parties.

In April, the liaison group held talks with Russias Lavrov in Moscow and Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba in Warsaw in an attempt to forge a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Egypt has repeatedly called for a political solution to the crisis based on dialogue and warned of the global crisis impact on the Arab countries at the political, security and economic levels.

Shoukry and Patrushev agreed to continue bilateral talks and exchange views on several regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Talks between Shoukry and Patrushev dealt with means to bolster the Egyptian-Russian ties in the interests of both countries, with both officials praising the bilateral ties as a solid foundation to strengthen cooperation via implementing major projects in Egypt, the statement added.

These projects include El-Dabaa plant, the country's first nuclear power plant, which is located in the northwestern governorate of Marsa Matrouh as well as the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), the spokesman added.

The pair showed interest in organising celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Egypt and Russia in August 2023.

Shoukry's visit to Moscow came immediately following his meeting on Monday with Secretary Blinken during Blinken's two-day visit to Cairo in the first leg of his Middle East tour.

Shoukry met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov earlier today.

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Both Egypt and the US are hoping to avert further Israeli escalation against the Palestinians despite their differing approaches, writes Dina Ezzat

Fresh from consecutive talks with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in Egypt and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday.

Blinkens three-leg tour of the region comes against a backdrop of significant Israeli military escalation on two parallel fronts: Palestinian and Iranian.

Last Thursday, Israel, now under one of the most far-right governments in its history, launched an aggressive attack on Jenin in the West Bank that killed nine Palestinians.

In reaction to a retaliatory attack against Israeli settlers, on Sunday it hit again by launching an attack on Gaza. During the same week, Israel said it had hit Iranian targets three times, including an attack on an ammunition depot, which Iran said was insignificant, and two other attacks on convoys of weapons.

Blinken arrived in Cairo on Sunday for a visit that had been under preparation for days ahead of this two-track escalation.

Kicking off with meetings with a group of young men and women at the American University in Cairo and civil society figures, Blinken went on to focus on regional affairs, especially the Palestinian situation amid concerns about a possible escalation beyond the limits of the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) owing to widespread Palestinian anger and the aggressive political and security positions of the Israeli government.

An informed Egyptian source said that Egypt was in favour of de-escalation and that it had received relatively reassuring statements from the leading resistance movements in Gaza, namely Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The worry, the source said, was more on the Israeli side because it was clear that Israels ultra-radical government would adopt provocative positions that could trigger sporadic Palestinian anger that nobody can either anticipate or control.

This is not just about the Palestinian Authority, but also about both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have shown considerable restraint.

On Monday, Blinkens talks in Cairo started with a meeting with President Al-Sisi and then with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri. In joint press statements, both Shoukri and Blinken said there Cairo and Washington are committed to work on the containment of the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

Neither offered a specific vision of the path towards detente, however.

According to Mohamed Ibrahim, an informed strategic analyst with previous experience of high-level mediation between the Palestinians and Israelis, it would be hard to say that there was a coherent vision on the management of the Palestinian-Israeli situation on the US side.

This is precisely where we differ with the US. Egypt has a vision that is the need to relaunch political talks on the basis of a clear and coherent agenda for peace. The US is too focused on the containment issue and does not seem to be planning to go further any time soon, Ibrahim said.

He added that with such an intense political and security agenda, the US is not really prioritising the political agenda on the Palestinian front.

This [US] administration has so many issues, including Ukraine, Russia, China, Iran, and the strained relations with the Gulf. It is too preoccupied.

He added that despite Cairos awareness of the limitations on how far the Biden administration would go, Egypt was willing to engage on the containment front to match whatever the US was going to invest, though he doubted that the US would invest much.

Senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace Hisham Youssef, who has long and direct diplomatic experience of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, shared Ibrahims scepticism.

Youssef said that it was Egyptian-US cooperation that had led to the successful containment of tensions with Israel under previous Netanyahu governments and later under the Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett coalition.

US-Egyptian cooperation succeeded in ending the war in May 2021 after 11 days, in avoiding any major escalation in Ramadan and Passover in 2022, and in ending the military attack on Islamic Jihad after three days in August 2022, he said.

But today the situation is somewhat different given the radical nature of the Netanyahu government that includes far-right cabinet members like Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Netanyahu needs the support of the extremist members of his cabinet for his own agenda that includes an attempt to fix some legal charges against him. He will have to accommodate them, and this could make it more challenging to keep detente in place, even if we are just talking about detente and not a political process, Youssef said.

The US could always put pressure on this government, but the question is whether the US has the political will to go there, he said. The indicators we have do not suggest that there will be much pressure from the US on this government.

Following his talks in Israel, Blinken said during a joint press conference with Netanyahu that he had underlined the need to avoid escalation and to work towards a political path in resolving the crisis.

We continue to believe that the best way to achieve it is through preserving and then realising the vision of two states. As I said to the prime minister, anything that moves us away from that vision is, in our judgement, detrimental to Israels long-term security and its long-term identity as a Jewish and democratic state, Blinken said.

Thats why were urging all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate. We want to make sure that theres an environment in which we can, I hope, at some point create the conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, which of course is sorely lacking.

According to both Ibrahim and Youssef, such statements need to come with concrete action to help things move in the direction of talks towards the two-state solution. So far, both said, the US has yet to show this type of concrete commitment.

Both also agreed that much can happen on the ground and that the role of Egypt in working to use its relations with all concerned is essential, even if only for the sake of detente.

In addition to the Palestinians and Israelis, the parties include Jordan, whose King Abdullah is scheduled to attend talks in Washington with Biden. The Jordanian monarch earlier in the month also received Netanyahu in an unannounced visit that was leaked to the Israeli press.

In Washington, he is expected to ask the US to work on a specific containment plan that relates to the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem for which the Hashemite Kingdom is responsible.

Egyptian officials agree that Jordan is a partner in working on averting escalation against the Palestinians, especially when it comes to Jerusalem. Earlier in the month, President Al-Sisi hosted Palestinian President Abbas and the Jordanian monarch before Al-Sisi and Abdullah flew to the UAE where they discussed the Palestinian situation during a wider Arab meeting hosted by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed.

The latter is leading the momentum for Arab normalisation with Israel, but he has also been working through his countrys non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council to call for detente. At the same meeting was Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad, a close interlocutor of the US, the Palestinians, Jordan, and the Israelis.

Egyptian officials say that during the meeting, President Al-Sisi spoke of the need for collaborative work to secure stability in the Palestinian territories. Those present agreed that at the end of the day, and without considerable support from the US, there would be no telling how far Netanyahu could go, if only to accommodate his radical cabinet members.

They argued that the US is fully aware that Egypt is an important player when it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli situation and that for the US this issue is also much more consequential than the issue of human rights that Blinken mentioned during his talks with officials while in the Egyptian capital.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Kuwaits government has resigned following a standoff with the countrys parliament, leaving the way open for the formation of the seventh government in three years, writes Mohamed Hafez

The government headed by Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah resigned last week, just three months after it was sworn in.

Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah formally accepted the resignation in a decree that read that the resignation of His Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah and the ministers has been accepted. Each of them shall continue to manage the urgent affairs of his office until such time as a new cabinet is formed.

The resignation followed a standoff between the government and the Kuwaiti parliament following a loan-relief bill in exchange for a government commitment to a package of financial relief measures for the people.

The outgoing government was the third formed by Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf, the son of the Kuwaiti emir, who had been appointed prime minister in August. It is the sixth time a government has resigned in three years, once because of the protocol required after a parliamentary term ended and five times against the backdrop of political disputes.

There are two immediate reasons for last weeks resignation. The first is the controversial loan-relief bill that would oblige the government to assume payment of about 1.7 billion dinars worth of commercial bank loans owed by around 500,000 Kuwaiti citizens, according to figures supplied by the Kuwaiti Central Bank.

The bill was intended to fulfil a pledge that a majority of MPs had made to their constituents in the lead up to the parliamentary elections in September.

The second reason relates to the parliaments right to question government officials. One official was the minister of state for cabinet affairs, whom an MP wanted to question in relation to salary raises for ministers and exceptional salary payments to retired government officials.

Another set of questions was directed to the minister of finance and the minister of state for economic affairs and investment in connection with the alleged mismanagement of public funds, such as the Future Generations Fund and the national reserves.

But the tensions between the government and parliament in Kuwait have deeper roots. They stem in part from poor coordination between ministers, the non-implementation of the national development plan, and the poor performance and lack of transparency with regard to policy priorities.

As a whole, the governments did not rest on a comfortable parliamentary majority.

Other sources of tension have had to do with the parliament. One is the haste and frequency of MPs requests to question government officials instead of availing themselves of other oversight mechanisms.

MPs also tend not to give ministers sufficient time to perform their duties and tasks. Moreover, the cooperation between the parliament and the government is poor. The result is a cyclical process whereby mounting tensions between the two branches affect sociopolitical and economic stability.

The Kuwaiti parliament is one of the countrys main governmental institutions and plays a vital role in promoting and sustaining democracy. Lawmakers and the drafters of Kuwaits modern constitution were and remain keen to ensure that this body reflects the will of the people.

The parliament is formally and substantively empowered to promulgate laws. Constitutional Articles 25 and 79 affirm that no law may be promulgated unless it has been passed by parliament and ratified by the emir, making lawmaking a multi-faceted process that is the joint function of parliament and the head of state.

The parliament is composed of 50 members elected directly by secret ballot. Ministers who are not elected members of parliament are considered as such by virtue of their office. The term of the parliament is four calendar years.

The Kuwaiti system of government thus approximates to a parliamentary one, and Article 50 of the Constitution enshrines the principle of the separation of powers. In practice, however, the system tends to give greater weight to the executive, and the emir is both the head of the executive branch and is endowed with lawmaking powers.

In a parliamentary system, one of the most powerful instruments a parliament has is the right to withdraw confidence from the prime minister, thereby bringing down the government.

However, the Kuwaiti parliamentary system does not work this way. Under Article 102 of the Constitution, if the parliament decides that it cannot work with a prime minister, it submits this grievance to the head of state who determines whether to dismiss the prime minister and appoint a new cabinet or to dissolve the parliament.

In the event of the latter, if the new parliament determines by majority vote that it cannot cooperate with the prime minister, the prime minister will be relieved of his office and a new cabinet will be formed.

These provisions are connected with the right to question and to withdraw confidence from ministers apart from the prime minister. According to Articles 100 and 101, MPs may address questions to any minister on matters that fall within that ministers area of competence.

They may lead to a vote of no confidence in that minister in accordance with certain provisions. In the case where the emir dissolves a parliament that is unable to cooperate with a prime minister and the subsequent parliament deems that it too is unable to work with him, the rules and procedures will then apply.

In the event that confidence is withdrawn, in accordance with the stipulated majority, the government will be deemed dismissed but will carry on in a caretaker capacity.

The current interval until 8 March is therefore critical. While negotiations are underway to form a new government, parliamentary leaders and members of the government can explore possible solutions to their differences.

However, on 8 March, the Constitutional Court is expected to hand down its ruling on appeals lodged against the last legislative elections that took place in September 2022. The results of three out of the five electoral districts have been challenged.

If the court rules in favour of the appeals, the current parliament will be dismissed. If it affirms the integrity of the elections, the prime minister will submit a new slate of ministers to parliament. If a standoff continues, the emir may be forced to either dissolve parliament or to appoint a new prime minister to form a new government for the seventh time.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The Somalia-based jihadist group, Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen (HSM), has recently begun to escalate terrorist operations in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Meanwhile the Somali army and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS, which replaced the African Union Mission in Somalia) have stepped up counterterrorist operations in response to Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohameds declaration of all-out war against Al-Shabaab when he came to power in May 2022. US forces also resumed strikes against HSM strongholds in central and southern Somalia after Washington decided to return to the counterterrorist battlefront in Somalia last year. The mounting terrorist activity aggravates the security dilemma in the country, threatening the future of the state and casting a shadow over security and stability in the Horn of Africa.

The Global Terrorism Index 2022 ranked Somalia the country most impacted by terrorism in Africa in light of Al-Shabaabs activities. The organisations attacks and bombings ranged across a broad area in southern and central Somalia, including such towns as Jowhaar, Beledweyne, Merca and Baidoa. It has resulted in the killing of dozens of civilians and officials. Some operations appear specifically intended to sow doubt about the governments ability to protect its own institutions. On 29 July 2022, the Minister of Justice of the Southwestern Somali State Hassan Ibrahim Lugbur, was killed in a terrorist bombing in Baidoa. On 7 August 2022, HSM fighters armed with mortar rifles, attacked the presidential compound in the capital, Mogadishu. A similar attack was carried out in the capital in January this year.

Al-Shabaab have also stepped up attacks against African Union forces in Somalia, in an attempt to intimidate the African countries taking part in ATMIS. In May 2022, HSM fighters attacked the Burundi forces base in northern Mogadishu, killing ten Burundi soldiers and wounding around 30. They also attacked the Ugandan base in the Wanlaweyn district in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia. Kenyan forces taking part in ATMIS have come under attack in various parts of the country.

The terrorist movement has increasingly focused on soft targets. A salient example is the attack on Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on 21 August, killing at least 22 civilians and injuring 30. Soft targets present opportunities for more frequent and more lethal strikes as they tend to be less protected and more populated. Also, the diversification makes it harder to predict where the terrorists will strike next.

HSM attacks outside Somalia have included an incursion into Ethiopia on 20 July 2022. Some 400 Al-Shabaab fighters infiltrated the Ethiopian Somali Region in an attempt to gain a foothold in that area. Ethiopian authorities claim they defeated the attackers. The jihadist organisation has also increased attacks across the Somali border with Kenya. On 2 August 2022 they launched a mortar attack against a Kenyan army base in the Konton area near Mandera in the North East region of Kenya, wounding several Kenyan soldiers. The assault followed two similar attacks, in June and July, against Kenyan military targets in Mandera and Garissa, which is also in the North East region.

On 19 January 2023, the Somali government announced plans to expand military operations in cooperation with some pro-government tribal militias as part of drive to contain the terrorist threat in southern and central Somalia. The armys efforts will continue to be backed by US airstrikes against HSM strongholds in those areas. However, they are clearly up against a relentless adversary, determined to continue with attacks against Somali government as well as regional and international targets, sending a message to the international community that it has the ability to recover, readjust and sustain its operations until it attains its long-term objective of staging a Somali iteration of the Taliban experience in Afghanistan.

The HSMs main goal is to overthrow the government in Mogadishu in preparation for establishing rule by Sharia Law as they interpret it. Escalation has the immediate tactical aim of wreaking attrition on the Somali army in the hope of curbing the frequency and intensity of the governments military operations against their strongholds in the south and centre of the country. Another purpose is to hamper the development of the Somali army and security forces which threaten the movements influence in the areas it controls.

The HSM has also set its crosshairs on the Somalian armys foreign supporters. Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye, also known as Abu Ubaidah, has vowed to defeat ATMIS troops and drive them out of Somalia before the end of their mandate in 2024. The surge in attacks against African forces are also intended to dissuade other African countries from sending troops to Somalia. In response to HMS threats, US Ambassador to Somalia Larry Andre has stated that Al-Shabaab would never gain control of Somalia and that the Taliban experience would not be repeated in the Horn of Africa.

In order to sustain itself and its operations, the HSM has sought to gain control over natural resources in the area, such as the oil and gas reserves in eastern Ethiopia. It also runs smuggling operations dealing in, for example, Somali coal and weapons from Yemen. Its revenues from such lucrative trade are reflected in the growth of its own armament capacities as well as its ability to recruit supporters, compounding the threat it poses to Somalia and international interests in the region.

Al-Shabaabs ambitions go beyond Somalia and, amid the shifting regional security situation, it hopes to raise its profile as a force to be reckoned with regionally. According to US intelligence sources, the HSM has between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters and spends about $24 million a year, about a quarter of its budget, on arms, explosives and drones. Not only is this growing force meant to signal to the international community that the movement is strong enough to spread to other countries in the area but it has also strengthened its influence within Al-Qaeda whose leadership cadres have been in flux since the death of Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

The organisations incursion into Ethiopia suggests that it plans to develop a larger regional terrorist network. Most likely, it was searching for allies within Ethiopia to strengthen its influence there, building strongholds in southeastern Ethiopia from which to launch strikes deeper into the Ethiopian interior. Establishing a foothold in Ethiopia could also give Al-Shabaab other staging grounds for attacks at Kenya and perhaps Uganda and South Sudan. The threat to security in the Horn of Africa is clear, which is exactly what Al-Shabaab wants. Destabilisation spreads fear and helps disseminate the message that others in the region are within the movements reach.

HSM is likely to try to escalate further both domestically and regionally in the coming period, with the aim of bolstering its bid to establish itself as the leader of all jihadist movements in East Africa, thereby strengthening its position within Al-Qaedas hierarchy. At the same time, it will continue its drive to weaken Somali and ATMIS forces. The growing threat to regional stability and security that Al-Shabaab poses jeopardises international strategic interests in the Horn of Africa, not least the international maritime routes and trade in the Red Sea.

Should the danger mount, it may necessitate an international intervention.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The escalating Israeli violence in the occupied Palestinian territories topped US Secretary of State Antony Blinkens talks in Cairo this week, writes Ahmed Eleiba

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Cairo at the start of a three-day visit to the Middle East that also included Tel Aviv and Ramallah this week.

In Cairo, the Palestinian-Israeli question featured prominently on the agenda of Blinkens talks with Egyptian officials because of the violent developments in Israel and the West Bank triggered by Israels deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

In remarks to the press following President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis meeting with Blinken, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said that Washington is counting on close coordination with Cairo to restore stability, achieve calm, and contain the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis.

He explained that the president and US secretary of state had discussed recent developments in the Palestinian Territories and Egyptian and joint efforts to contain the mounting tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis.

He said that President Al-Sisi had emphasised the gravity of the current crisis and the need for immediate action to restore calm and forestall unilateral measures on both sides.

Blinkens tour was followed by a similar tour by CIA Director William Burns. Both men stressed the need to contain tensions and restore calm between Israel and the Palestinians, and they reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution.

In Israel, the talks between US and Israeli officials were shaped by another recent development, namely the recent drone strike against an Iranian defence facility near Isfahan.

Discussions of arrangements related to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus forthcoming visit to Washington also appeared to take priority over the Palestinian question. With regard to the latter, the tone of the Israeli discourse reflects an intention to further escalate military operations in the West Bank.

In Tel Aviv, Blinken called for urgent measures to restore calm between Israel and the Palestinians. In a joint press conference with Netanyahu after their meeting in Jerusalem, he said that his government was urging all sides now to take urgent steps to restore calm, to de-escalate.

He reiterated Washingtons support for upholding the historic status quo at Jerusalems holy places, including the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif, and stressed that anything that leads us away from [the vision of a two-state solution] is, in our judgement, detrimental to Israels long-term security.

Netanyahu called on Washington to forge a common policy to thwart the Iranian nuclear programme and Iranian designs for regional hegemony.

According to Palestinian reports, Blinkens main aim in the West Bank was to persuade the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume security coordination with the Israelis.

A source in Ramallah told Al-Ahram Weekly that the PA could not easily comply with this request despite the inducements Blinken offered, such as a commitment to oppose settlement expansion and to get Israel to unfreeze the tax revenues it has collected on behalf of the PA and that it withheld from the PA last summer.

The PA suspended security cooperation with Israel after Israeli occupation forces killed nine Palestinians in Jenin last week. The source said that the PA could not back down from its position in the light of the ongoing blockade of the West Bank and the escalating raids by the occupation forces on the pretext of preventing Palestinian attacks inside Israel.

Sources in Cairo familiar with the matter believe that the situation in the Occupied Territories will deteriorate further, regardless of Egyptian efforts to promote restraint. The Netanyahu governments policies appear deliberately intended to turn the West Bank into a powder keg, as the sources put it.

We can only expect the worst, they said, in view of the type of Israeli violence the Palestinians had experienced in Jenin and the inflammatory behaviour of senior officials in the Netanyahu government.

The most dangerous are Netanyahus interior minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who promotes the distribution of firearms among West Bank settlers and provocative actions such as the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by radical settlers, and Bezalel Smotrich, a notorious extremist who is in charge of settler affairs.

Netanyahus defence minister and close political ally Yoav Galant has also been adding fuel to the fire. Speaking at an army post at the settlement of Beit El overlooking Ramallah, Galant declared that every terrorist will either go to court or to his grave.

We will hunt them down if need be. We will carry out offensive and preemptive measures against all who try to harm our children. All who abet terrorists will be harmed. If need be, we will destroy their homes. We will strip them of their rights.

The sources the Weekly spoke with in Cairo agree that both Cairo and Washington are unsure how to handle the problem. They know that trying to convince Netanyahu alone will not work. The Israeli government does not speak with one voice, and there is no longer a single address to turn to in order to mediate or promote restraint.

The escalating tensions are likely to drive the Palestinian factions to ramp up their actions against Israel. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), in particular, will be chomping at the bit, but it is unlikely to act on its own without Hamas.

But Hamas, too, might feel forced to take action after the recent exchanges of missile fire between Israel and Gaza. For Cairo the problem is not just that the situation could spiral out of control in the form of military clashes or a fully-fledged Intifada. Cairo fears the crisis could grow more complex and spread because of how various regional issues interweave.

Not the least of these is the Iranian crisis following the recent strike against the facility outside Isfahan for which Israel is widely believed to be responsible. Iran may try to retaliate via Syria where Israel has been stepping up strikes recently, ostensibly to prevent Iranian forces from establishing themselves too close to the Israeli border.

The PIJ and Hamas could come into play in support of Iranian pressure on Israel from the north, perhaps in conjunction with support from Hizbullah in Lebanon and other pro-Iranian factions in Syria.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Tensions are increasing in the Middle East with the return of the shadow war between Iran and Israel and no progress on the nuclear talks with Tehran.

Fears are growing that the Middle East is on the verge of a new phase of tension and military escalation after a drone attack on an Iranian military facility in the city of Isfahan.

The attack, which US officials believe Israel was behind, could start a new round of attacks and counterattacks between Iran and Israel and reignite the shadow war that is taking place through proxies in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did little to ease fears of possible rounds of violence in the region when he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week.

Netanyahu stressed that confronting Iran would be his main priority. The US Secretary of State focused on Washingtons fears of a new Israeli law that would weaken the independence of the judicial institution.

An Israeli strike on an Iranian military facility would be the first under Netanyahu since he returned to office last month to lead the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

Despite differences between Netanyahu and the Biden administration, US President Joe Biden would be reluctant to expose the rift or allow public tension in the relationship when the preliminary stages of the US presidential elections have begun.

Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Blinken did not hide the US administrations concern over a proposed law by Israels new right-wing government that would reduce the independence of the judiciary.

Throughout the relationship between our countries, what we come back to time and again is that it is rooted both in shared interests and in shared values, Blinken said.

That includes our support for core democratic principles and institutions, including respect for human rights, the equal administration of justice for all, the equal rights of minority groups, the rule of law, a free press, a robust civil society  and the vibrancy of Israels civil society has been on full display of late.

The Netanyahu right-wing coalition is pushing through a series of laws that would increase government control over the judiciary.

The new law set out by Justice Minister Yariv Levin gives politicians broad powers over the countrys judiciary. It would allow a simple majority in parliament to override High Court decisions and give the government control over the appointment of judges.

Israels right-wing parties have long insisted on an overhaul of the judiciary, claiming that the High Court has become an instrument to push a largely left-wing agenda. The new draft law has sparked outrage in Israel and fears that it will give the executive branch wide powers at the expense of the judicial institution.

Since the government began attempts to pass it in parliament, Israel has witnessed weekly demonstrations against it.

The commitment of people in both our countries to make their voices heard, to defend their rights, is one of the unique strengths of our democracies, Blinken said in his remarks in Israel this week.

Implying a difference between the Biden administration and Netanyahus government, Blinken said that the US and Israel have strengthened their democracies by holding ourselves to the mutual standards we have established; and by speaking frankly and respectfully, as friends do, when we agree and when we do not.

Netanyahu stressed that Israel and the US share common values [and are] two strong democracies. But his focus was mainly on Iran, emphasising that the world has seen the true face of the Iranian regime.

Theyve seen the barbarism of this regime against its own people, Netanyahu said, referring to the mass protests that have engulfed Iran since last September. They have seen how it exports aggression beyond its border and beyond the Middle East, and I think there is a common consensus that this regime must not acquire nuclear weapons.

Our policy, and my policy, is to do everything within Israels power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, Netanyahu said.

His warning came a day after a bomb-carrying drone targeted an Iranian defence factory in the central city of Isfahan on Sunday. Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene. But the extent of damage could not be independently established.

The Iranian Defence Ministry did not offer details regarding who was behind the attack, but a statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing minor damage to its roof and wounding no one, it said.

The ministry called the site a workshop, without elaborating. Isfahan, some 350 km (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to a large air base and the Natanz Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Centre.

Israel rarely acknowledges operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or Mossad intelligence agency. Nonetheless, Netanyahu has long considered Iran to be the biggest threat his nation faces.

In 2021, Tehran accused Israel of sabotaging the Natanz Centre. There have been several explosions and fires around military, nuclear, and industrial sites in Iran in recent years in addition to the assassination of nuclear scientists working in the Iranian nuclear programme in complex operations.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Israel was responsible for the drone strike, citing US officials and people familiar with the operation.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters it appeared that Israel was involved. Several other US officials declined to comment, beyond saying that Washington had played no role.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani criticised the cowardly attack when asked if it would affect the countrys nuclear programme.

Such moves cant impact our nuclear scientists will and intentions to achieve peaceful nuclear energy, Abdollahian said. Qatars foreign minister said he had passed a message from the US to Iran related to its nuclear programme, without offering the specifics.

Any breakthrough in the Iranian nuclear talks now seems a long way off.

In a major shift in the European position, EU leaders are exploring ways to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terrorist organisation. It is not known whether the European discussions on this issue aim to force Tehran to stop supplying Russia with drones, or whether the EU has generally hardened its stance towards Tehran.

European sources said that the step of declaring the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organisation was now supported by France and Germany, adding that discussions were underway about the legal aspects of the step among the 27 member states.

Yes, some member states are supporting this proposal, Josep Borrell, the EUs foreign policy chief, said in an interview with the UK Financial Times.

Iran has warned that it will respond forcefully to any European decision that considers the IRGC a terrorist organisation. It hinted that it would include European armies on Irans list of terrorist organisations.

The potential escalation on both sides would be the beginning of the end of the stalled talks on the nuclear deal, which could open the door to escalation in the Middle East and beyond.

Both the Netanyahu government in Israel and President Ebrahim Raisi in Iran are facing major economic problems, sharp political polarisation, and rejection by large segments of Israeli and Iranian society, which means that the two governments may see regional escalation as a way to relieve internal pressures.

European officials have not closed the door to the resumption and success of the nuclear negotiations. However, the recent attack on the military facility in Isfahan, the dissatisfaction of European countries with the suppression of the demonstrations in Iran, and the Iranian military support for Russia in its war against Ukraine mean that the clouds are gathering for a perfect storm.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a visit to the region amid bloody escalations in the occupied Palestinian territories. He stopped first in Cairo before going to Tel Aviv and Ramallah. His purpose was explore what Washington might do to keep the tense situation under control, though analysts are not expecting much.

American pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reign in young Palestinians responding to provocative practices from the radical government in Tel Aviv may not yield much, nor is Egyptian intervention sought by Blinken likely to make a difference. The Israelis are committed to escalation, especially in the occupied West Bank, and Palestinian officials quoted in the Western media have suggested that matters are now out of hand. The leadership in Ramallah seems incapable of quieting down its people as the death count rises.

There is a growing fear that a more militant Palestinian Intifada is on the horizon, instigated by the ultra-aggressive policies of the new Israeli government. The most recent spike in violence has put the development of Gulf relations with Israel on hold, at least politically.

A previously planned visit by Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi earlier in January was postponed after his extremist Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, generating widespread condemnation from the Abraham Accord states in the Gulf. The visit has not been rescheduled. A steering committee of the Naqab Forum was hosted by Abu Dhabi to prepare for next forum meeting in Morocco, but no date was set for the meeting, and there were doubts it would even materialise in early spring as planned.

The forum was launched under US patronage, in March last year, in a meeting in Al-Naqab hosted by former Israeli foreign minister Yair Labid, Blinken that brought together the foreign ministers of Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. Jordan, which has its own peace agreement with Israel, did not take part. At the time, the Jordanian King visited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, and the Israeli media saw the significance of the meeting in gathering Arab countries who signed the Abraham accords (UAE, Bahrain and Morocco), along with long-standing peace partner Egypt in Israel to meet the US Secretary of State.

Washington and the Gulf countries are eager for the spring meeting in Morocco to go ahead despite tensions in Israel and Palestine. Morocco might be the main venue for the progress of Arab-Israeli relations. The main aim of the forum is to implement the principles enshrined in the Abraham Accords in joint initiatives and projects in areas as diverse as regional security, energy, tourism, education and water security, according to statements after its first meeting.

Though the Israelis and Americans say theres an empty empty for Jordan, it is not clear if the Jordanian foreign minister will attend the next forum. In fact, Amman did not send a delegation to the Abu Dhabi steering committee meeting earlier in January. This, despite Jordans economic problems and its need for Gulf and American support.

The Gulf countries, especially the UAE, were supposed to use their new relationship with Israel to help relieve tension, but it seems the focus is shifting towards traditional facilitators of rapprochement such as Egypt. The Saudis have maintained a distance from the accords that included the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. A few weeks ago, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said that an agreement to create a Palestinian state would be a precondition for establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel. He told Bloomberg TV in Davos, Switzerland: We have said consistently that we believe normalisation with Israel is something that is very much in the interest of the region However, true normalisation and true stability will only come through giving the Palestinians hope, through giving the Palestinians dignity... That requires giving the Palestinians a state, and thats the priority.

The Saudi position on recent developments seems stronger than the tone of statements from Abu Dhabi and the rest of Abraham Accords countries suggests. But Saudi commentator Abdul-Aziz Alkhames told Al- Ahram Weekly that the position of the Gulf countries is integrated, accusing others of exploiting the Palestinian cause for opportunistic reasons and not helping to end the suffering of Palestinians. He was referring to campaigns on social media, attributed to the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates, claiming there is a rift in the position of the Gulf on many regional issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These campaigns made a big issue out of the fact that Saudi Arabia did not attend the consultative summit hosted by Abu Dhabi which brought together the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. Emirati officials insisted that this was an informal gathering between the leaders, and not a summit as such.

Yet, AlKhames admitted that there is competition especially on the economic front. All the Gulf states are seeking to accelerate the diversification of their economies away from heavy reliance on energy revenue. But on the latest developments in Jenin and Jerusalem, he repeated, look at the statements by those countries that try to pacify and de-escalate.

In fact, looking at official statements, there is a slight difference in tone. Saudi Arabia warned that the situation between Palestinians and Israel may slip into dangerous escalation and called for reviving the peace process, according to a Foreign Affairs Ministry statement. It said: The Kingdom condemns all that target civilians and confirms the importance of ending escalation, reviving the peace process, and ending the occupation.

The UAE called for a UN Security Council meeting after the Israeli raid on Jenin. But after the Jerusalem shooting, its Foreign Ministry statement said: The UAE expresses its strong condemnation of these criminal acts, and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and principles. Then it offered its condolences to the government of Israel and its people, and to the families of the victims of this heinous crime.

Some observers read between the lines of the two positions, and conclude that the Saudis are more content with their position not to join Abraham Accords. The latest developments give them leverage to pursue a bilateral approach to peace with Israel based on conditions that give Riyadh a better position in defending the Palestinian cause.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Twenty-eight people have died in new attacks by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso, including 15 who had been abducted at the weekend, the authorities said Tuesday.

Fifteen bodies bearing bullet impacts were found on Monday near Linguekoro, a village in the western province of Comoe, regional governor Colonel Jean-Charles Some said in a statement.

They were among 24 people who were aboard two minibuses travelling from Banfora that were stopped in Linguekoro by armed men on Sunday evening, he said.

"The passengers, comprising eight men and 16 women, were told to get off," he said.

"Eight women and one man were released and told to walk to Mangodara," 30 kilometres (18 miles) away, he said.

The two minibuses were then torched and the 15 other passengers taken away.

Separately, 10 police officers, two members of an auxiliary force supporting the army, and a civilian died in northern Burkina Faso from a "terrorist attack on Monday" in the locality of Falagountou, which also goes by the spelling of Falangoutou, army headquarters said.

At least five police were wounded and about 10 are missing, while the bodies of about 15 "terrorists" were found during a sweep, it said.

Mounting toll

The attacks mark a further escalation in an insurgency that has beset Burkina, one of the world's poorest and most troubled countries, for more than seven years.

Violence linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group has killed thousands of people and forced around two million more to flee their homes.

More than a third of the country lies beyond the control of the government.

Since the start of the year, at least 77 people have died, according to a toll compiled by AFP from official statements and security sources.

Also in January, 62 women and four babies were abducted as they foraged for food in Arbinda, in the north of the country.

They were rescued by the army several days later at a location 200 kilometres (125 miles) away, according to the state-run media.

French pullout

Frustration within the army at the mounting toll of security forces triggered two coups last year.

The ruling junta has fallen out with France, the country's traditional ally and military supporter, which last week said it would withdraw its troops at the authorities' request.

Around 400 French special forces are based near the capital Ouagadougou in a deployment dubbed Operation Sabre, part of a broader military presence to fight jihadists across the Sahel region.

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in the capital on Saturday to celebrate the pullout, and some called for Burkina Faso to follow Mali in weaving a close alliance with Moscow.

Relations between France and Mali, the epicentre of the jihadist campaign that erupted in the Sahel in 2012, nosedived after the military forced out the country's elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, in 2020.

The junta brought in Russian paramilitaries, whom Paris and others describe as mercenaries of Russia's privately-run Wagner operation.

The Wagner group has been associated with abuses or atrocities in Mali and the Central African Republic, where France last year also withdrew its forces in the face of hostility.

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Massive crowds thronged for a glimpse of Pope Francis as he made his way through the streets of Kinshasa Tuesday, after arriving in DR Congo with a message of peace for a country ravaged by decades of conflict.

Waving flags and cheering, residents of Kinshasa ran after the popemobile, which wound through working-class districts towards the presidential palace, after the 86-year-old Pope Francis descended from his plane in a wheelchair.

The Argentine pontiff is on his fifth trip to Africa, during which he will also visit conflict-hit South Sudan.

"We've been waiting for a year, it's a beautiful trip," the 86-year-old pope told reporters travelling aboard his plane.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a desperately poor country of about 100 million people, 40 percent of whom are Catholic.

"I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him face to face," Maggie Kayembe, a woman in her thirties, told AFP as she waited for the pope. "He always preaches peace wherever he goes, and peace, we really need it," she added.

The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan had been planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff's knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.

He boarded the plane in Rome via an elevator.

Security concerns were also said to play a role in delaying the trip, and a stop in Goma in DR Congo's east, where dozens of armed groups operate, is no longer on the itinerary.

"I would have liked to go to Goma too, but with the war, you can't go there," the pope told reporters on the plane.

On Sunday, he had offered his greetings "with affection to those beloved peoples who await me".

"These lands, situated in the centre of the great African continent, have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts," he said after his Angelus prayer at the Vatican.

He lamented "armed clashes and exploitation" in the DRC, and said South Sudan, "wracked by years of war, longs for an end to the constant violence".

Victims of violence

Despite its vast mineral wealth, some two-thirds of DRC's population live on less than $2.15 a day, while violence plagues the eastern provinces.

The Tutsi-led armed group M23, which Kinshasa alleges is backed by neighbouring Rwanda, has been conquering large swaths of territory in North Kivu province.

The region has also seen a wave of deadly attacks blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group the Islamic State claims as an affiliate, including a bomb blast at a Pentecostal church this month that killed 14 people.

Francis will be received at the presidential palace by President Felix Tshisekedi.

The pontiff will then make his first of a dozen speeches during the trip, addressing authorities, the diplomatic corps, and representatives of civil society.

"He can deliver a strong message to politicians by addressing the issue of corruption" ahead of a general election scheduled for December, said Samuel Pommeret with Catholic humanitarian group CCFD-Terre Solidaire, which operates in the area.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer vigil Tuesday evening at N'dolo airport ahead of a mass on Wednesday morning, which is tipped to draw more than a million faithfl.

During his visit to DRC, the pope will also meet victims of violence as well as members of the clergy and charities operating in the country.

Pilgrimage of peace

On Friday, Francis will travel to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, also one of the world's poorest countries, that has lurched from one crisis to another since gaining independence in 2011.

It suffered a brutal five-year civil war, while continued conflict between rival ethnic groups exacts a terrible toll on civilians.The pope will be joined in Juba by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the leader of the Church of Scotland, on what he has called "an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace".

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The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Armenoa's terrorist regimes with weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), US expert Peter Tase said in an interview with Azernews.

Teheran is the main sponsor of Armenia's armed attacks inside the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. In front of these brutal actions, which directly harm Azerbaijan's national interest, and encompass a high level of irredentism that straightly attacks the territorial sovereignty and national economy of Azerbaijan. In front of these blatant actions, the international community including the UN and OSCE, have not condemned the malign, warmongering efforts of the Iranian terrorist regime in the South Caucasus and Eurasia, Tase said.

It is a fact that Iran is not anymore a regional player, indeed its theocratic government has become a threat and source of terrorist operations on both sides of the Atlantic. The terrible attack against the embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran is a major terrorist attack against a sovereign nation, this brutal action must be condemned with the maximum level of resilience, and the EU and the USA must impose economic sanctions against the political elite of Teheran. For over 30 years, Iran has financed terrorist operations and financial services that directly benefit Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and their political aspirations, he added.

This attack against Azerbaijan happens only a few hours after the United States Department of State announced serious actions and financial sanctions against the current Vice President of Paraguay Hugo Adalberto Velazquez Moreno - for his deep ties and strong alliance with Hezbollah and other criminal organizations in the Middle East, and serious sanctions are imposed by the US Department of the Treasury against Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara (former president of Paraguay, 2013-2018) for his money laundering activities that have directly supported Iran and its terrorist allies in the region.

Actions of this magnitude must continue against the ruthless regime of Teheran. The order of closing the Iranian embassy in Tirana, Albania, in September 2022, is another important action taken towards reducing the malign influence of Iran and assuring that the Ayatollahs do not expand their terrorist operations in the South Caucasus. The recent attack against the embassy of Azerbaijan must be condemned and unbridled actions should be taken until the warmongers of Teheran are down to their knees, the political expert concluded.
Lithuania's foreign minister on Tuesday urged European Union countries not to host Russian ambassadors, as diplomatic tensions between the Baltics and Moscow rise following the invasion of Ukraine.

"There is little use in having an ambassador, a Russian ambassador, in any European capital," Gabrielius Landsbergis told a press conference in Riga.

"In most cases it's no longer a diplomatic institution, it's an institution of propaganda, covering up crimes of war and in general promoting a genocidal agenda," he said.

Lithuania downgraded diplomatic relations with Russia, which included expelling Moscow's ambassador, in April last year after the massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha was discovered.

Last week, Estonia said it would expel the Russian ambassador in a tit-for-tat move after the Kremlin ordered Estonia's ambassador to leave.

"We stand by the principle of parity in relations with Russia," the Estonian ministry of foreign affairs said in a tweet, adding that the Russian ambassador would have to depart at the same time as his Estonian counterpart, ordered by Moscow to leave on February 7.

Fellow Baltic state Latvia said it was also expelling the Russian ambassador in solidarity with Estonia, adding that it would withdraw its own ambassador from Moscow.

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Ukraine's prime minister said a Ukraine-European Union summit will take place in Kyiv on Friday, as the war-torn country battles to repel the Russian invasion.

"The Ukraine-EU summit will be held in Kyiv on February 3," Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a government meeting on Tuesday, calling the event "extremely important" for Kyiv's bid to join the European bloc.

"The fact that this summit will be held in Kyiv is a powerful signal to both partners and enemies."

No details were provided on who would be attending on the European Union side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24 last year, and his forces have repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure including in the capital Kyiv.

Shmygal said that the fact that the high-profile summit will take place in war-time Kyiv is meant to demonstrate to Russia that its efforts to sow discord among Kyiv's Western allies and prevent Ukraine from joining the EU have been futile.

The Ukrainian prime minister said that another key event will take place on Thursday, when consultations between the government of Ukraine and the European Commission will take place "for the first time in our history."

Ukraine gained EU candidacy status in June last year.

EU countries have staunchly supported Ukraine since Moscow invaded in February, by hitting Russia with waves of economic penalties and sending weapons to Kyiv.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to meet Palestinian leaders Tuesday for his final stop on a Middle East tour aimed at curbing the worst outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.

After a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Blinken urged both sides to take "urgent steps" to calm tensions and said Washington would work to "restore a sense of security" craved by "Israelis and Palestinians alike".

After landing in Israel on Monday, Blinken said, "We condemn all those who celebrate... acts of terrorism, that take innocent lives."

He also appeared to chastise Israelis blamed for dozens of incidents of reprisal violence following Friday's shooting in an east Jerusalem settler neighbourhood.

"Retaliatory acts of violence against civilians are never justified," he said.

Since the start of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 35 Palestinian adults and children.

'Dangerous developments'

Blinken is scheduled to hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who last week announced that the Palestinian Authority was cutting security coordination with Israel after the deadly occupied West Bank raid.

Blinken is expected to urge the PA to continue working with Israel to stem militant attacks.

Blinken, whose long-planned visit has taken on a new urgency amid the spiralling violence, will also meet with Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh.

The fatal east Jerusalem shooting was preceded by the Israeli occupation army's deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank in years, killing 10 people Thursday in Jenin refugee camp.

Netanyahu's cabinet has moved to punish the families of the Palestinian attackers with home demolitions and other measures.

His government is also planning to rescind the rights to social security benefits of attackers' relatives, and steps to make it easier for Israeli citizens to obtain permits to carry firearms.

'Death spiral'

Blinken had made an initial stop in Egypt, where he met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, commending "Egypt's important role in promoting stability in the region."

The diplomats and intelligence services of Egypt are regularly called upon to intercede between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blinken's Israel visit is part of the Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who had tense relations with the previous Democratic president Barack Obama.

He also reiterated US support for a Palestinian state, a prospect few expect to advance under the new Israeli government.

Netanyahu, a veteran leader, returned to power late last year at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is wrapping up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday with renewed appeals for Israeli-Palestinian calm amid an alarming spike of violence.

Blinken was meeting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday, a day after seeing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Standing alongside the Israeli leader, Blinken stressed the importance the Biden administration places on resolving the long-running conflict with a two-state solution.

However, beyond urging a de-escalation of tensions Blinken offered no new U.S. initiative to do so. There were no signs that Blinken was making progress on even the modest goal of halting the latest wave of violence, much less of addressing the broader issues surrounding peace talks.

Netanyahu's far-right government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood and are unlikely to make even minimal concessions.

Blinken's visit comes amid one of the deadliest periods of fighting in years in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. The violence has further complicated the administration's already difficult attempts to find common ground with Netanyahu's government.

In Ramallah, Blinken was expected to discuss the Palestinian Authority's decision to halt security coordination with Israel. The security ties, which in the past are believed to have helped contain violence, are deeply unpopular among everyday Palestinians.

Before heading to the West Bank, Blinken met with Israel's opposition leader, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

"The secretary conveyed his concern over the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank and the need for urgent action to prevent greater loss of life. Secretary Blinken reiterated that Israelis and Palestinians deserve to have equal measures of security, prosperity and freedom,'' his office said.

Following a meeting with Blinken on Monday, Netanyahu made only passing reference to the Palestinians and focused instead on Iran, which he believes is his most urgent security priority.

Netanyahu's coalition partners also gave a cool reception to Blinken's comments.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, vowed to push forward with punitive measures against the Palestinians in response to a pair of shootings in east Jerusalem over the weekend. Ben-Gvir has pledged to demolish Palestinian homes and hand out more weapons to Israeli civilians.

Cabinet Minister Orit Strock, another ultranationalist, objected to comments by Blinken that were seen as criticizing the Israeli government's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system and weaken the Supreme Court.

During his appearance with Netanyahu, Blinken voiced "support for core democratic principles and institutions," including "the equal administration of justice for all, the equal rights of minority groups, the rule of law.'' Critics say Netanyahu's plan will weaken the country's judicial system and destroy its democratic system of checks and balances.

Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Strok accused Blinken of meddling in internal Israeli affairs.

"We're not the 51st or 52nd state of the U.S., and he didn't need to interfere in internal disputes in the state of Israel,'' she said. "It's not his job.''

Before leaving Jerusalem for Ramallah, Blinken met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who repeated the prime minister's concern about Iran.

"Your visit comes at a critical time,'' Gallant said. "It sends a clear message to the region: the United States and Israel are united facing Iran or anyone threatening peace and stability in the region.''

Blinken agreed about unity when confronting Iran and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons. He said the U.S. commitment to Israel's security remains 'ironclad' but suggested there was more on his agenda. "We have a lot on our hands in this moment and so I couldn't see you at a better time,'' he said.

January is shaping up to be the deadliest month in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in years. Some 35 Palestinians have been killed in fighting, including 10 who were killed in what is considered the deadliest Israeli military raid in years in the flashpoint town of Jenin last Thursday.

While Israel is still reeling from an attack Friday that saw a 21-year old Palestinian man kill seven people outside a synagogue in annexed east Jerusalem. The next morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two Israelis elsewhere in east Jerusalem.

Israel's options may be limited. Both shooters are believed to have acted individually and were not part of organized militant groups, and punitive steps against the broader population such as those promoted by Ben-Gvir could risk triggering even more violence. Israel has also pledged to "strengthen'' West Bank settlements.

The U.S. and the overwhelming majority of the international community, including the United Nations, consider Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands to be a baltant violation of international law and an obstacle to peace in the region.

In this context, the Biden administration has done very little to address the issue of illegal settlements. Nor has it made any progress on its stated intent to re-open the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, which had been the main conduit for engagement with the Palestinians.

The closure came after former President Donald Trump gave the Israelis the greenlight to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem, a step that infuriated the Palestinians.

In the latest bloodshed, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian driver in the West Bank Monday, officials on both sides said, with the army claiming the car had hit a soldier's leg before speeding off.

In retrospect, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making it the deadliest year in those territories since 2004, according to figures from the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the same period killed 29 people.

The violence which came after months of near-daily Israeli arrest raids in the West Bank, has peaked this month during the first weeks of Netanyahu's new far-right government, which has promised to take a tough stance against the Palestinians and ramp up settlement construction.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi visited India, Azerbaijan, and Armenia from 24 to 29 January. While Al-Sisis visit to India was the third since he came to office in 2014, his trips to Azerbaijan and Armenia were the first for an Egyptian president since the two countries gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991.

Al-Sisis visits to the three countries were welcomed in Cairos political and economic circles as historic and reflecting a need for Egypt to shift the focus in its foreign relations in favour of going east more to reinforce relations with Asian countries rather than limiting the scope to Western Europe and the United States.

In New Delhi, Indias capital, President Al-Sisi kicked off his six-day tour in Asia. He talked politics, security, defence, economic cooperation, investment, and food security with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders decided to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, which will create a long-term structure of cooperation in political, security, economic, and scientific areas, said Modi, also announcing that the scope for cooperation with Egypt in the fields of defence will be unlimited.

During the three-day visit to India, officials from the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding covering culture, cooperation on youth matters, cyber security, information and technology, and public broadcasting. I have asked Prime Minister Modi to create permanent channels to enhance digital connections between small and medium-scale industries in the two countries as this will help in improving life for many young people in the two countries, Al-Sisi said, adding that defence cooperation was part of his discussion with Modi and that a joint Egyptian-Indian military exercise was an example of that cooperation.

The Hindu, Indias daily newspaper, reported that while Modi had approved sending military personnel to work on Egypts military aircraft project at south Cairos district of Helwan, he appreciated that a contingent of Egyptian military personnel had participated in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on 26 January.

It was also announced that Egypt had been invited to participate in the Aero-India 2023 at Yelahanka Air Force Station, in Indias district of Bengaluru, next month.

In business terms, the visit also saw President Al-Sisi announcing that his government would consider establishing an economic zone for Indian firms in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

The two countries hope to increase the value of bilateral trade to $12 billion in the next five years, up from $7.3 billion in FY 2021-22, an official statement said.

Al-Sisi also met representatives from Indias renewable energy firm ReNew Power to discuss investments in renewable energy infrastructure.

Indias billionaire and Asias richest man Gautam Adani was among those who also met Al-Sisi. Adani said there are opportunities for cooperation with Egypt regarding ports, logistics, energy, digital transformation, and green hydrogen facilities.

Egypts former ambassador to India Jailan Allam said in a TV interview on 28 January that Egypt had for long been hoping to regain the strategic partnership which existed with India during the 1950s and 1960s under former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

Egypt wants to build new relations with new partners in Asia, particularly India, rather than limiting its strategic partnerships with countries in Western Europe and with the US, said Allam, indicating that India has the fifth biggest economy and the fifth strongest army in the world and this means a lot for Egypt.

Hisham Halabi, former Egyptian air commander, commented on the visit: Egypt sees that there is wide potential for cooperation with India in the area of joint military production and President Al-Sisis visit to India is a big step on this road. He explained that India has come a long way in military industries, particularly in fighter planes, drones, rockets, and submarines.

Al-Sisis visits to the two former Soviet Union republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia were particularly significant, according to Al-Ahram political analyst Hassan Abu Taleb. This is the first time for an Egyptian president to visit these two countries and it reflects the need to tap economic, commercial, and investment opportunities with them and with others in the Caucuses, Abu Taleb said, indicating that India and former Soviet Union republics had achieved much economic progress in recent years and that Egypt should benefit from their experiments, especially in the sense of how to boost information technology, exports and double tourism traffic.

From New Delhi, Al-Sisi left for Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where he held a one-on-one meeting with President IIham Aliyev on 28 January. They held an expanded meeting on the same day, after which came the signing of contracts. Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and his Azerbaijan counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov signed MoUs on water security and culture, while Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Al-Said and Azerbaijans Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov signed another MoU on trade.

Aliyev said that since its independence in 1991, Azerbaijan has been keen to foster strong economic and political relations with Egypt. Of course, the joint activity of the business communities in our two countries will further reinforce our relations, and I am sure that a greater volume of mutual investments and an increase in exchange of trade will be achieved in the near future, Aliyev said.

Al-Sisi said Egypt and Azerbaijan had agreed to take urgent measures to up joint investments and joint ventures, particularly in pharmaceuticals and drugs, agriculture, trade, and information technology.

Statistics show that the value of trade between Egypt and Azerbaijan dramatically increased to $1 billion in 2021, up from just $2 million in 2008.

In a press conference, Al-Sisi and Aliyev agreed on forming a joint business council for private businessmen and investors. The two countries have enormous potential and numerous opportunities for cooperation, particularly in new and renewable energy and natural gas, taking into account that Egypt is positioning itself to be a regional energy hub, a statement said, adding that the two presidents also agreed on the need to step up cooperation in other areas such as construction, infrastructure, transport, pharmaceutical industries, tourism and culture.

Like Azerbaijan, Al-Sisi then paid a one-day visit to Armenia. In Yerevan, the capital, he talked trade and investment with his counterpart Vahagn Khachaturyan. After an expanded meeting on 29 January, the two leaders witnessed the inking of a number of MoUs in science, technology, culture, youth and institutional cooperation in investment. Also, the Enterprise Armenia (Investment Support Centre) signed a memo with the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). Al-Said signed the deal for Egypt.

The two presidents also discussed boosting trade, opening regular direct flights between Cairo and Yerevan, and cooperation in the energy, infrastructure, agriculture, IT, food, and pharmaceutical industries, a statement said.

Al-Sisi also held a separate meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss mutual investments and agreed to intensify coordination and consultation over the war in Ukraine and its repercussions.

In a press conference on 29 January, Al-Sisi said he and his Armenian counterpart agreed to boost their economic and industrial cooperation in the coming stage particularly in green hydrogen production, and boosting trade exchange. A joint committee for economic, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as a joint businessmen council, will be formed to translate the objectives into facts on the ground, according to Al-Sisi.

Khachaturyan hailed Egypt facilitating visa procedures for Armenian tourists. The number of Armenian tourists interested in visiting Egypt is increasing all the time and that they view it as a favourite tourist destination, Khachaturyan said.

At the end of his visit, President Al-Sisi said Egypt was ready to play a mediation role between Azerbaijan and Armenia to settle the political crisis between them. We maintain a neutral position over this crisis but we are ready to play the role of a peacekeeping mediator to settle it, Al-Sisi said.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Sudans new agreement with Ethiopia on the building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam could have negative impacts on Egypt.

Sudans earlier position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the same as Egypts in asking for a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, saw a sudden change last week when the country said it now agrees with Ethiopia on issues related to the GERD.

The reversal raises numerous questions about the consequences of the decision and the difficulties it may lead to for Egypt.

However, the change did not come as a surprise to Ashok Swain, professor and head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, who said that Sudans position on the GERD and the sharing of water from the Blue Nile had been confusing for at least a decade.

Sudan understands it will benefit from the dam, as it will help to control flooding in the rainy season and reduce the silting problem of its own dams. At the same time, Sudan also sees that in the absence of a legally binding agreement, it may be subjected to the whims and blackmail of Addis Ababa, Swain told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Last week, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, chair of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, announced that Sudan and Ethiopia are aligned and in agreement on all issues regarding the GERD in a statement issued by the Sovereignty Council.

Al-Burhans announcement was made during Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds first visit to Khartoum since 2021.

The move came as a surprise, said one diplomat who talked on condition of anonymity. During Al-Burhans last meeting with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in December, he said, both leaders had reiterated the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD and that any agreement should achieve the joint interests of all parties.

Their meeting was on the sidelines of the China-Arab Summit held in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The diplomat questioned whether Al-Burhan was hoping to settle differences with Addis Ababa in order to ensure its support at a time when his own government is under internal and international pressure to form a civilian administration.

Alternatively, Addis Ababa may be preparing to mediate between the Sudanese military and the countrys civilian political parties to end the countrys political crisis, he said.

Although Ahmed stated during his visit to Khartoum that the negotiating process among the Sudanese parties must be completely Sudanese, his visit raised speculation as to Ethiopia playing a possible mediating role between the different parties in Sudan in order to ensure the transition to a civilian government and elections.

Sudans present government under Al-Burhan is facing popular demands that the military should stay out of politics and that Al-Burhan should hand over power to civilian rule. However, the military has been delaying deadlines and postponing steps that could lead to the reinstatement of a civilian government.

On the regional level, the African Union (AU) has decided to suspend the participation of Sudan in all AU activities with immediate effect until the effective establishment of a civilian-led transitional authority in Sudan.

US President Joe Biden excluded Sudan from attending the US-Africa Summit meeting held in the US capital Washington last December for similar reasons.

Some commentators also ascribed Al-Burhans statement to Sudans attempts to appease Addis Ababa in order to resolve border disputes between the two countries.

As a result of its internal challenges, Sudan is having difficulty maintaining its control of the disputed Al-Fashqa territory. Addis Ababa, by contrast, has largely resolved its own internal problems, such commentators say, with the result that it can now focus on the border disputes with Sudan.

Ahmeds one-day visit to Khartoum was meant to demonstrate support for the Sudanese administration and people in their efforts to construct a peaceful transitional period, a statement said. Ethiopia continues to stand in solidarity with Sudan in the current self-led political process.

The visit was an opportunity for Ahmed to reiterate his view that the GERD would not harm Sudan. According to the statement, it will help Sudan in terms of generating electricity.

That is not the first time that Ahmed has stated that the GERD will not harm downstream countries. However, his claims have not been backed by any commitment that the amount of water reaching Egypt will not be affected.

Sudan and Egypt fear that the massive dam, Africas largest, could diminish their share of the Niles water. The two downstream countries have repeatedly called on Addis Ababa to sign a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam that secures their water rights and protects their peoples interests.

Multiple rounds of talks between the three governments have failed to produce an agreement over the filling and operation of the dam.

Now that relations between Sudan and Ethiopia have taken a new turn with Ahmeds desire to mediate between the different parties in Sudan and Al-Burhans statement that the two countries agree on all issues regarding the GERD, the issue is likely to face further challenges.

While there are signs that Ethiopia is getting ready for the fourth filling of the dam reservoir prior to reaching an agreement, the diplomat said, Egypt will need to stick to its approach of raising the issue and highlighting the dangers in all international forums.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri raised the issue with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Cairo this week, the diplomat said.

Swain also pinned hopes on diplomacy, but said that considering the present regional and global power dynamics, there was little hope of the deadlock over the GERD ending soon.

Ethiopia has already stored enough water in the dam reservoir to feel comfortable about the security of the dam, he said. By signing a peace agreement in the Tigray region ending the civil conflict in the country, it also hopes the West will need its cooperation for peacebuilding.

The better option for Egypt and the West is to use intense soft diplomacy to persuade Ahmed to agree to a legally binding agreement on the dam, he concluded.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The results of Tunisias legislative elections this week indicate that President Kais Saied and the parties loyal to him remain at the forefront of the political stage, reports Karam Said

The second round of Tunisias legislative elections on 29 January took place amid escalating political polarisation in the country. They served as a test of the political balances at home, especially with the governments efforts to promote the transformation of the country towards the presidential system.

Fourteen women from a total of 262 candidates stood in the elections that saw a majority win for the political current loyal to the government of Tunisian President Kais Saied, according to initial estimates. The government has been encouraging voters to turn up at polling stations to make up for the short queues that lined up to cast their ballots in the first round.

The second round of the elections took place as Tunisia continues to suffer from an economic crunch, deteriorating living conditions, and stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to acquire a financial loan.

Meanwhile, the Islamist Ennahda Movement and a number of other opposition parties have announced they will not recognise the results of the elections, saying they are meant to transform the country into a presidential system and limit the powers of parliament.

There have been growing disagreements over many of the political and economic decisions that have been taken by Saied, putting increasing pressure on the government. The latest move was a strike in the transportation sector, with Tunisias General Labour Union threatening more strikes to come.

Although the government has responded to pressures from a number of trade union and political actors, Saied has not stood idly by in the face of people that want the country to endure an endless cycle of protests. The latter also played a role in the second round of the elections, affecting some voters choice to boycott the electoral process.

Only 10 per cent of Tunisias eligible voters cast their ballots in the elections, according to the primary results, particularly due to calls by political opposition forces to boycott the elections in protest at the coup Saied was allegedly trying to stage to bring every authority in the state under his control.

The turnout in the second round of the elections was the lowest in Tunisias history, leading Saied to claim that some parties have made concealed threats to urge people not to vote. Chair of the Tunisian Independent Higher Authority for Elections Farouk Bouaskar said the final results would be announced after looking into appeals on 4 March.

The second round of the legislative elections has shed light on the rise of political forces supporting Saied as well as the continuation of the public boycott. Saied had earlier recognised the boycott calls, saying it was the voters right to boycott the elections provided that this did not stand in the way of those wanting to cast their ballots.

A number of opposition parties from the centre and the left of the political spectrum, in addition to Ennahda which had a majority of the seats in the previous parliament, boycotted the elections, hoping to nullify the exceptional measures taken by Saied in July 2021 when he dissolved the parliament and to weaken the government.

However, the elections also showed a mood of calm despite the public refusal to vote amid the deteriorating living and economic conditions and political fragmentation. The tranquil mood was primarily the result of the states security provisions as well as warnings against any moves that might disturb the peace during the elections.

While a segment of the voters boycotted the elections, the weak turnout was also the result of feeble election campaigns and the fragile role the opposition parties play in the countrys political sphere, having failed to satisfy the aspirations of most Tunisians when they were in power.

If anything, the second round of the legislative elections revealed that Saied and the parties loyal to him remain at the forefront of Tunisias political stage. They also indicated that the country is likely to continue to live in the mood established in July 2021 coupled with political polarisation.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Egypt, Palestine and Israel this week was mainly aimed at de-escalating tensions and to restore calm following one of the deadliest weeks in recent years, in which more a dozen Palestinians and seven Israelis were killed.

Probably the sense of urgency was heightened in the Western media because of the number of Israelis killed in the same week. The fact that the victims had just finished their prayers ahead of the Jewish Sabbath, and that the attack coincided with the World Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, allowed Israel to cover up the atrocities it has been committing daily against Palestinians, killing them in cold blood and denying them their basic rights, showing more clearly than ever how they have been living under racist occupation for decades.

Only a day before the Friday attack in Jerusalem, Israeli occupation soldiers raided the West Bank town of Jenin, killing 10 Palestinians, mostly civilians and bystanders. Yet this was not met with a similar world uproar, seen as business as usual: yet another routine Israeli incursion into Palestinian territories that might have got slightly out of hand, killing more than the average two to five Palestinians reported daily in the news.

In January alone, and since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office heading a coalition dominated by right-wing, fundamentalist ministers who won their posts on a platform of calls to deport Palestinians, more than 30 Palestinians were killed in attacks similar to that in Jenin a week ago. Even before Netanyahu became prime minister, the UN described 2022 as the deadliest in terms of Palestinian deaths since 2005, with more than 170 killed, and this happened when a supposedly moderate Israeli government was in office.

The fact that Palestinian suffering under occupation has accumulated while all hope of even restarting the long ignored peace process has faded led to increasing calls for a new intifada. In an extremely volatile regional and international scene, this is happening away from the Palestinian Authority that has been pressured, and even subjected to sanctions for restoring to the International Court of Justice in an attempt to provide protection for its people and condemn Israeli crimes.

It was indeed worth noting that the Palestinian who carried out the attack in Jerusalem was a young 21-year-old man moved by the funerals of the 10 Palestinians massacred in Jenin a day earlier, the tears of their mothers and loved ones. On the second day, a 13-year-old Palestinian attempted to shoot two Israeli settlers with a hand-gun, also reflecting the sense of desperation and pain among Palestinians regardless of age. The fact that the two attacks were carried out by lone youngsters who have no political affiliation with any of the Palestinian movements should be a clear warning sign that Palestinians will not accept being killed and humiliated under occupation while the world remains indifferent to their plight.

Now with an Israeli prime minister who has intentionally avoided even the mere mention of rising tension and bloodshed in his introductory remarks with Blinken following his arrival in Israel on Monday, talking instead on the Iranian threat and hopes to continue normalising ties with Arab nations, along with his partners in government such the ministers of national security and finance who have been pressing for increasing settlements, demolishing Palestinian homes and providing more personal weapons to Israelis to be able to arbitrarily kill Palestinians, the US and world reaction should definitely go beyond calls for de-escalation or restoring calm.

As stated by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri in his joint conference with Blinken on Monday, we need to work not only to calm things down and de-escalate tensions, but also to find an appropriate political path in accordance with the rules of international legitimacy and in accordance with international consensus on the need to reach a permanent and comprehensive solution through a negotiation process, a political path based on the principle of a two-state solution.

Indeed it is a positive development that Secretary Blinken and the current US administration have affirmed their commitment to the two state solution in official statements, at a time when Netanyahu and his coalition government do not consider talks with Palestinians even a priority. Yet what matters is action on the ground, whether in terms of effort to support the Palestinian Authority, or of speaking out publicly against Israeli practices that only increase Palestinian anger and the sense that Palestinian blood, death and suffering do not matter.

The current Israeli government is raising the alarm even among some of Israels close supporters because of its right-wing, fundamentalist rhetoric, as well as among the Israeli public who have obviously been divided in recent years over the kind of government they want. However, Palestinians living under occupation should not pay the price for internal Israeli division, or be Netanyahus scapegoat as he attempts to wriggle out of legal and political trouble.

Netanyahu, and the United States, will also soon need to recognise that it is delusional to request normalising ties with more Arab countries if Israel continues killing Palestinians with impunity, while providing no sense of hope that a process will restart to gain their long-delayed, basic rights as equal human beings.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes at least one surprising admission on his recent visit to Cairo.

On 29 January, the Tahrir Campus of the American University in Cairo, of which the present writer is an alumnus, welcomed a very distinguished visitor. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the guest on this occasion, was on a Middle Eastern tour that started with Egypt on 30-31 January before he left for Israel and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Many years ago, a former US secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice, addressed a select audience at the same university.

Blinken made some opening remarks about the partnership that has existed between the US and Egypt since 1978 and how much Washington is looking forward to strengthening US-Egyptian relations and partnering with Cairo in preserving security and stability in the Middle East.

After his remarks, the reporters present were asked to leave for a closed meeting with representatives of Egyptian civil society and young people to take place.

A day before Blinkens arrival in Egypt, the State Department released a document entitled The US-Egypt Relationship that deals with various aspects of US-Egyptian relations, always from a US point of view, of course.

It tackles issues like Promoting Regional Security, Bolstering Economic Opportunity, Advancing People-to-People Ties, Tackling the Climate Crises, Strengthening a Critical Defence Partnership, and Realising a Democratic and Prosperous Future for All.

Under the last heading, the document says that the US firmly believes critical partnerships like the US-Egypt relationship are stronger when there is a shared commitment to human rights.

It says the US maintains an active dialogue that seeks to reinforce tangible steps to promote freedom of expression, end political detention and strengthen the rule of law, and undertake critical judicial reforms, including with respect to pre-trial detention.

The parts of the document on Promoting Regional Security and Strengthening a Critical Defence Partnership can be considered together.

They deal with the regional security environment and the joint role of Cairo and Washington in maintaining regional security and stability, working together to find political solutions to the crises in Libya and Sudan, and fighting terrorism.

The document also refers to the unwavering commitment [of the US and Egypt] to a negotiated two-state solution as the only path to a lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The magic word in this context is negotiated, which begs the question of negotiated by whom? The occupying power of the West Bank, Israel, has boycotted negotiations with the Palestinian Authority since April 2014 and has exercised a veto on the resumption of negotiating a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since then.

In his remarks at the AUC, Blinken sprang one surprise, to say the least, and I am not sure how well it will be received by the majority of Egyptian people.

He said that we, meaning the US administration I imagine, have established recently a council of advisers for the ambassador, a youth council designed to advise the American ambassador in Egypt and our team on every issue of concern to both our societies.

He did not mince his words. He told his audience that we need to be constantly getting input and getting advice from this recently established council of advisers.

I cannot help asking, even if just out of sheer curiosity, who the members of this council were chosen by. Are they genuinely representative of Egypt? Should we not be entitled to know their names and political affiliations?

Isnt the establishment of such foreign-inspired bodies an infringement on our national sovereignty? Or is history, whether recent or further away in the past, simply repeating itself?

Our grandparents fought for 72 years for the independence of Egypt from foreign occupation and intervention in our domestic affairs, whether directly or indirectly through a network of pro-occupation officials and business leaders.

We should not fail to honour their national struggle to make Egypt a free and brave country.

During his short visit to Cairo, Secretary Blinken met President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi before he held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri.

The talks reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries. Shoukry said the talks tackled several subjects of mutual interest, principally the Palestinian question, the situation in Libya, and the democratic transition in Sudan. Needless to say, Egyptian-American relations took centre stage, with special emphasis on working together to avoid escalation in the occupied West Bank, the reaffirmation of the two-state solution, economic relations, and American support for a negotiated deal between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam , a deal that would take into consideration the interests of the three parties.

One point of notable interest is the statement of Secretary Blinken that Egypt has made big progress in human rights.That in itself proves that the visit of Secretary Blinken to Cairo proved to be successful from an Egyptian point of view.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Despite the international campaigns against it, there is every sign that the Islamic State terrorist group may be experiencing a resurgence in the Middle East and Europe, writes Hany Ghoraba

Some political observers in Europe and the West believe that the threat posed by the notorious terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS), particularly its branch in the Levant known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has been contained. However, sadly this could not be further from the truth.

Indeed, while the threat of this terrorist group has diminished thanks to intensive counter-terrorism operations by the international coalitions against ISIS whether in the Middle East, Africa, North America or Europe, it is still very much alive. This is the case despite the major blow the group received when its founder and leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, was killed in a US operation in Syria in 2019.

After the death of Al-Baghdadi, the group disintegrated to a large extent and operated on either a small scale or a lone-wolf basis in various regions of the world with the exception of Africa where the group found an environment to host it in the West African and Sahel regions.

The past few weeks and months have seen a surge in the activities of IS in Europe, a major target for the group over the past decade. The group executed some of the bloodiest terrorist operations since World War II in countries such as France, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. In January this year, the German authorities foiled a chemical attack using ricin by an Iranian citizen believed to be linked to IS. Investigations are still ongoing.

Moreover, more arrests of members of IS cells have been filling the news headlines this month, with individuals arrested in Germany, Holland, Spain and Morocco.

In the latter two countries, a joint operation led to the arrest of a three-member cell that had pledged allegiance to IS in the Moroccan Chtouka Ait Baha Province and the Spanish city of Almeria. The cell, active in promoting IS ideology, had attempted to join other IS elements in the African Sahel region.

The Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) has been actively coordinating with the Spanish authorities and others to curb growing IS activities in the region. The African Sahel remains one of the most attractive regions for the group, due to the lack of political stability and the lax security measures in some African countries.

The Dutch authorities arrested a Syrian refugee last week on charges of committing war crimes as a security official for IS between 2015 and 2018. He had had the audacity to seek refuge in the Netherlands after the tables were turned against the group during bombardments by the International Coalition as well as the Russians against IS targets in Syria.

Meanwhile, the trials of IS-affiliated individuals are ongoing in different countries across Europe, including of those accused of participating in crimes against humanity such as the enslavement of Yazidi women in Iraq. One German woman is on trial in the southwestern German city of Koblenz for capturing a Yazidi woman and enslaving her during her stay with her husband in Syria when the terrorist group occupied significant areas of the country a few years ago.

A more ominous warning has come from the US Pentagon, which has warned of a strong resurgence of IS in 2023 as a result of intelligence gathered in the past period. Security analysts have warned that the group is organising a lethal campaign of revenge against the US and its partners because of these countries role in destroying the IS group in Syria and killing its self-proclaimed caliph Al-Baghdadi along with some of his heirs.

It is a fact that the groups hierarchy is not the same as it was between 2013 and 2016, and it does not work on the orders of its caliph as it did in the past decade. Nevertheless, its new lone-wolf or small-cell operations could be as lethal as the ones earlier ordered directly by group leaders as they are harder to trace and thwart by security measures.

As a result, vigilance will be extremely important in the upcoming months for all the indications of a major restructuring of the group are unfortunately there.

Given the rising pace of arrests, which suggests that the threat is far from gone, dropping their guard now would be fatal mistake for security apparatuses across the world. IS is still operational in Iraq and Syria even if it has diminished in size and currently has no known leader.

Ignoring the looming terrorist threat of IS while focusing on other global issues such as environmental challenges and the economic crisis that have occupied the top priority for most governments over the past couple of years will only make the threat stronger.

The fact that there have been no major terrorist attacks executed in Europe, the US, or major capitals in the Middle East over the last few years does not mean the danger is over. It only means that the security apparatuses are doing their jobs. Meanwhile, IS remains active in many areas including the Middle East, Africa, and even Afghanistan

At the same time, the security services must be fully supported by the politicians, who seem not very interested in this issue and in many cases have shifted their focus to issues that they feel should receive more priority, such as the energy crisis. But this kind of complacency is what led to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, leading to the two decades of the war on terrorism that is still ongoing.

That complacency also led to the emergence of the IS group, which went on to wreak havoc across the region. There is thus no room for ignoring the Pentagon warning.

The global economic crisis along with the economic and security ramifications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been at the top agenda of almost every government over the last year. But it can be stated without any doubt that older elements are being joined by new recruits in IS and that these are planning to carry on activities in the Middle East and Europe where the group has found sympathisers among extremists from the younger generations.

Elements from the group and its sympathisers can be found in all European states, and many of them are willing to act in the name of their vile cause against the very countries that have opened their doors to them.

Ignoring this threat or even considering it to be a secondary priority will lead to the kind of tragedies the world saw over the last decade when armed terrorists opened fire in European capitals or carried out the massive bombing of strategic targets or human groups without any warning.

* The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin discussed prospects for the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, Azernews reports.

Besides, the sides exchanged views on the cooperation between Moscow and Baku within the implementation of the "Declaration on the Allied Interaction" between the two countries, as well as relations based on the realization of trilateral agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

Meanwhile, talking about the conference involving the speakers of the Caspian Five parliamentarians, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said that it is expected to take place in each member country.

"Given the high geopolitical and economic significance of the Caspian Sea, cooperation within the Caspian Five (Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran) plays a crucial role today. The establishment of the parliamentary dimension of the Caspian Five will contribute to the practical implementation of agreements signed by the leaders of the five states," the Russian speaker added.

The leaders of the five Caspian littoral states participated in a summit meeting in Turkmenistans Ashgabat on June 29, 2022.
Memoirs are often used as weapons for political ends. The latest example of this is Mike Pompeos Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love. This tell-all about the time he served as secretary of state under former US president Donald Trump appeared just last week, causing a media storm with its revelations. Ironically, it has not endeared itself to the mainstream media, which had lashed out against Pompeo for embracing Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman soon after the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Pompeo gets his own back in his memoirs. He writes that the media had created a misleading picture of Khashoggi. Contrary to the image built up in the Western press, Khashoggi was far from a John Woodward, the investigative journalist who exposed the Watergate scandal under president Richard Nixon. He was a political activist who, moreover, was cosy with the terrorist-supporting Muslim Brotherhood organisation. Pompeo stressed that Khashoggi did not deserve to die, but we need to be clear about who he was  and too many in the media were not.

This is the first time we find a major critique in the West of the generally accepted narrative on Khashoggi, whose murder in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018 riveted the attention of the American press which has since used that incident as a means to attack the Saudi regime and the crown prince, in particular. But that critique elicited angry reactions.

Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, said it was shocking and disappointing that Pompeo had so outrageously misrepresented Khashoggi and that it was shameful that he would spread such vile falsehoods to dishonour a courageous mans life and service and his commitment to principles Americans hold dear as a ploy to sell books. Khashoggis widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, was reported as saying that regardless of what Pompeo wrote about her husband, he never knew him. He should be silent and shut up the lies about my husband.

The timing of the publication of Pompeos memoirs is noteworthy. The former secretary of state has announced plans to run for president in 2024. He said that Trumps second bid for that office would not stop him. Pompeo, in his memoir, also delivered a broadside against Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, who has signalled her intent to run for president. He wrote that Haley had plotted with Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump to be named vice-president instead of Mike Pence. Haley called the allegation lies and gossip to sell a book.

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The title of this article jars with what we have grown familiar with. In past decades, globalisation was the mantra of the post-Cold War world. It signified a shift from an international political system based on sovereign nation states with distinct identities to a borderless world transcending different cultures and civilisations. The term was originally used in an economic way to denote a single global market, free trade and the free movement of capital and labour. There was some sense that humanity shared a common fate, especially in the face of common threats such as global warming, pandemics and other problems that no country could solve on its own. Some international relations experts saw globalisation as a path to world peace. As long as countries depended on each other, pursuing a growing number of common interests, there would be recourse to arms.

Before long, the concept broadened to include value systems and cultures, in part inspired by the desire to develop a single culture in which humanity, in all its linguistic and ethnic diversity, could be bound by the bundle of ideals and global mood. Technology played a key role in accelerating this process, starting with the third technological revolution based on digitalisation, IT and the proliferation of personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. The subsequent revolutions, whichever way they are numbered, accelerated the process. Multinational companies and organisations discovered that establishing a presence in the global market with the new technologies would open up previously unavailable opportunities. Google, Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and other such companies availed themselves of the advances in computerised translation as a means to cement global culture. All this was closely associated with the growth of the global economy and the development of such global institutions as the World Trade Organisation and the G-20.

Now, that overwhelming tide of globalisation appears to have exhausted itself. The most recent era of globalisation seems to have come to an end, writes Raghuram Rajan under the headline The Gospel of Deglobalization in the latest edition of Foreign Affairs. As proof, he points to the steady downward trend in the ratio of global exports of goods and services to world GDP since 2008, and cites World Bank figures showing that foreign direct investment fell from 5.3 per cent of world GDP in 2007 to 1.3 per cent by 2020. He adds, the worlds two largest economies, China and the United States, have become increasingly hostile, trying to reduce their dependence on each other for goods and services. The process entails a decoupling - to use the current term - of their markets and means of supply and production. When this fraying happens between the two largest economies in the world, its clear that globalisation is in trouble.

But, as Rajan, who had served as governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to 2016, points out: They are not the only ones. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, there have been five times as many protectionist measures enacted across the world as there have been liberalising ones. And, of course, immigration remains an important issue in many countries, with nationalist parties pledging to pull up the drawbridge and keep foreigners out. As we know, immigration was the bane behind Brexit and Britains decoupling from the EU, the epitome of international interdependence.

The Russian-Ukrainian war drove another big nail in the coffin of globalisation. As part of the harsh economic sanctions regime Western powers imposed on Russia, Western transnationals shuttered their branches and withdrew their assets from Russia and Russia was cut off from the Swift system and other banking relations were severed. The sanctions called into question the globalisation policies the US, itself, had promoted throughout the previous decades. The very essence of globalisation is founded on the worldwide dissemination of the capitalist system. But the capitalist system is based on trust, above all trust in the banking system which secures our savings and safely transfers money for investors and customers who wish to pay for goods and services by credit card. It also relies on trust in international shipping and transportation services, as well as international accommodation facilities, for wherever you find their branches, international hotel chains ultimately follow a uniform system. When you consider the innumerable forms of capitalist transactions involved in investment, production and consumption, you begin to grasp the scale of the global catastrophe accompanying the Ukrainian-Russian war. Although the US has imposed sanctions on many countries, none were of the size and influence of Russia, which has the sixth largest land mass in the world, 7,000 nuclear warheads, and close relations with China. Russia is not a country you treat the way you treat others, small or big.

The breakdown of globalisation, or deglobalisation, puts many global concerns at risk. Major collective endeavours are running aground on the shoals of spiralling disputes and animosity. The great powers that are party to such endeavours are increasingly set on going their own way. There was a time, not so long ago, when 16 nations, foremost among which were Russia and the US, contributed to the manufacture and launch of the first International Space Station that participant nations would use for aerospace and other research. The ISS, which was scheduled to run until 2024 if not beyond, needs an overhaul, but against the backdrop of the current polarisation, Russia has decided to withdraw from the project and build its own space station. China, which was not a part of the first ISS, also plans on building its own space station.

Following the international financial crisis of 2008, the G-20, which consists of the worlds largest industrialised nations, decided that their central banks should work together to remedy the crisis. Today, the G-20 does almost nothing to address the economic crises that have resulted from the war in Ukraine. There are many other examples of this breakdown due to the disruption in the global economic order, some directly connected with the safety and survival of our planet.

As a result of the foregoing, a new regionalism is gradually replacing globalisation in opening up relatively large markets. Generally, these markets are based on geographic proximity and historic relations. The main purpose is to improve the prospects of growth for each of the member countries. The phenomenon is on the rise in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, where we see the beginnings of the indigenisation of supply chains and regional integration in trade, industry and tourism. The above-mentioned article mentions that some people might find comfort in a deglobalised world, but surely that prospect begs many questions.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A team of experts in regional and international political and military affairs at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University, has completed this years Strategic Assessment of Israel.

As the INSS is one of closest think tanks to decision making circles in Israel, it is not surprising that this important Strategic Assessment was submitted to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a formal ceremony at his office.

During this event, the team of researchers led by INSS Executive Director Manuel Trajtenberg and INSS Managing Director Tamir Hayman presented a summary of the assessment, which is a comprehensive analysis of Israels strategic environment through the prism of the countrys national security. It identifies potential threats and opportunities and offers a number of recommendations for Israeli decision makers.

Following the presentation, Herzog observed that the assessment had made it very clear that the future of the Middle East was largely contingent on the future of various partnerships. He identified Iran as the greatest threat to Israel, yet one that was not limited to Israel alone. As such, he said, the threat of Iran should be prioritised as an area for cooperation with those he referred to as Israels friends in the Middle East.

Herzog said nothing new in this regard, since for years Israel has been insisting that Iran poses the gravest threat to regional security and has been urging Arab parties in the region to join it in a form of partnership to fend off the threat.

However, this claim is a reductionist one. The parties that Israel has been addressing in making this claim could also cite a list of threats as grave as the Iranian one, but Israel has never shown an interest in dealing with them or in working in the framework of the partnerships Herzog mentioned to devise a mechanism for exploring arrangements that would realise real stability.

Herzog was more consistent when he spoke about what he called the Strategic Assessments particularly disturbing findings on what he termed the internal arena and its implications for Israels national security.

Israeli society, Herzog said, was in a period of crisis and particularly dangerous internal conflict that was testing the states national resilience. We have to be able to face and deal with the deepest differences of opinion, without giving up our belief in ourselves, he said, adding that bridging divides, including political ones, is perhaps the most important step in protecting Israels security, stability and growth.

This accurately sums up the depth of the rifts that are now threatening to tear Israel apart following the rise of the most far-right government the country has ever seen. The INSS agrees, and its recent Strategic Assessment says that Israels national security has been stable and favourable with respect to its regional adversaries, but that there are now a host of new challenges that could upset this balance.

The assessment warns that the threat the agenda of the far-right in Israel is posing to the system of checks and balances underlying the countrys democracy and judicial system is aggravating the polarisation in Israeli society, thereby weakening the social resilience that it describes as a critical component in Israels ability to cope with external threats.

This internal conflict is also integrally related to what the Strategic Assessment regards as Israels greatest long term strategic threat, namely the deterioration in its relations with the Western nations and with the US in particular. This threat has grown more acute due to character of the current Israeli government, which is perceived to be actively undermining democracy, the judiciary, and the existing relationship with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Hayman, a former head of Israeli Military Intelligence, has stressed what he has described as the grave threat to Israels strategic sphere arising from internal socio-political developments in the US. He has also underscored the intense political polarisation in the US, especially over the nature of the Israeli state, which has led to a gradual decline in US public support for Israel.

The INSS Assessment warns that the discourse and actions of the current far-right Israeli government are angering the US and the West, putting the security of Israel at risk. It notes that the problem extends beyond public opinion to the perceptions of government officials. According to the assessment, the shift has been due to the growing influence of the progressive youth movement in the US. This trend denies the legitimacy of Israel and Zionism, which they see as expressions of white-colonialist supremacy, as the authors of the assessment put it.

Although the INSS Assessment, like the Israeli president, rates Iran as the most extreme threat that Israel faces, it nevertheless also rates the collapse of the Palestinian Authority as the most urgent. It therefore says that the continued existence of the Palestinian Authority, despite its drawbacks, is clearly in Israels interest.

According to Hayman, against the backdrop of the lack of a viable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the approaching end of the era of Mahmoud Abbas as PA chairman, and the growing discontent and frustration among Palestinian young people, there is a risk of a surge in violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

This would aggravate the strategic threat of a slide into a one-state reality that would jeopardise Israels Jewish identity, Hayman says.

* The writer is the general director of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS).

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Many long-term readers of Al-Ahram Weekly will remember the renewed international awareness of the culture and heritage of Afghanistan in the early years of the present century.

The destruction of the giant statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan in central Afghanistan by the then Taliban regime in March 2001 drew world attention to threats to the countrys heritage. The US invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington later in the same year meant that international attention was again drawn to the troubled country in the hope it would see a better future.

With the US invasion and the removal of the Taliban regime from the Afghan capital Kabul came new opportunities for archaeological excavation in Afghanistan, renewing a tradition that had all but ground to a halt with the Soviet invasion in 1979 and then the period of Civil War that escalated following the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989. Much of the country, and most of central Kabul, was destroyed in the Civil War, causing irreparable losses to the countrys heritage.

That tradition of archaeological study and excavation had been associated most with France and particularly with the DAFA  the Delegation Archeologique Francaise en Afghanistan  that was set up at the request of Afghan king Amanullah in 1922 in order to develop archaeological expertise in Afghanistan. The Afghan government of the time, having memories of fighting multiple wars against the British, did not want to risk a British presence in the country despite the high reputation of the Archaeological Survey of India in what was then British India.

When it became possible for Western archaeological teams to work again in Afghanistan following the removal of the Taliban regime in 2001, the DAFA almost immediately returned to the country to take up from where it had left off some two decades earlier. At the same time, international interest in the countrys history and culture, already high, was stimulated by two important exhibitions in Paris in the first decade of the century that later went on world tours. They pointed to what had been lost, but also celebrated what had been saved, during the upheavals in Afghanistan.

They form the backdrop to a new exhibition at the Musee Guimet in Paris that reviews the history of the DAFAs work in Afghanistan from its foundation in the early 1920s to the present. Entitled Afghanistan, ombres et legendes and running until 6 February, it provides not only a survey of the DAFAs work and the important discoveries with which it has been associated, but also an account of the early history of what is now Afghanistan told through the excavations that allowed this to be pieced together.

Full of photographs and other records of the excavations  unfortunately often of sites now lost as a result of conflict  as well as of a succession of major pieces from the Musee Guimets own collections, the exhibition gives visitors a historical overview of this astonishingly beautiful country. Its heritage bears witness to the role it has played for millennia as a crossing point between East and West and as the home of successive civilisations from the Graeco-Buddhist to the Islamic.

It draws upon the two earlier exhibitions, also at the Musee Guimet, that marked the re-opening of Afghanistan to outside teams after 2001. The first of these, Afghanistan, une histoire millenaire, an exhibition of mostly Graeco-Buddhist materials (reviewed in the Weekly in March 2002), served as a reminder that Afghanistan, at a geographical crossroads of southwest Asia, once witnessed the armies of Alexander the Great as they passed through the region on their way to India in the 4th century BCE. The region hosted first a Hellenistic and then a Graeco-Buddhist civilisation from the death of Alexander to the early centuries CE.

The second, Afghanistan, les tresors retrouves (reviewed in the Weekly in February 2007), took the story forward by displaying some of the important discoveries made by the DAFA over the course of the last century, many of which had never been seen before outside the country. For the first time, foreign audiences were able to gain glimpses of material that not only had never been lent before by the Afghan National Museum in Kabul, but that had also in some cases been considered lost during the Civil War that wracked Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Soviet forces.

It included the Bactrian gold discovered by joint French and Afghan archaeologists at Tillia Tepe in northern Afghanistan in the late 1970s. This survived the Civil War locked in the vaults of the Afghan National Bank in Kabul, where it was rediscovered following the US invasion. It also included Hellenistic objects from excavations carried out at the site of the ancient city of Ai Khanoum near the Tajik border and Hellenistic and Indian materials found at Bagram north of Kabul in the late 1930s.

These materials came as a revelation to international audiences, exhibiting the range of the successive cultures that have flourished in Afghanistan. The Hellenistic city of Ai Khanoum and the synthesis of Hellenistic and Indian culture that led to the Graeco-Buddhist art found at sites scattered across central Pakistan and northern, central, and eastern Afghanistan were particularly eye-catching.

After Alexanders death in 323 BCE, his generals divided up his conquests. Ptolemy took Egypt and turned it into the richest and longest-lasting Hellenistic kingdom. Seleucus took the vast territories Alexander had conquered in Asia and controlled them through Greek garrison cities almost to the Indus River, Ai Khanoum and other sites in Afghanistan among them.

THE FRENCH DELEGATION: The new exhibition opens in the north-east of Afghanistan with a selection of funerary statues from Kafiristan or Nuristan  in other words the area straddling north-west Pakistan and north-east Afghanistan and home to the non-Muslim Kalash people.

Visiting this area in the early 2000s from Chitral in Pakistans North-West Frontier Province, the present writer was struck, as many visitors to the exhibition may also be, by the flourishing of this unique people whose origins are thought to lie with Alexanders soldiers settling in the region. Opening the exhibition with material from the Kalash Valleys underlines the diversity of Afghanistans present-day populations.

Before entering the exhibition proper, visitors can watch an interview with Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan. Made in 1965 for French television before an official visit to France, in the interview Zahir Shah explains the development ambitions of his country and its long association with France, where he was educated. He underlines the role of French cultural cooperation in helping to reconstruct and promote awareness of Afghanistans long history.

The first room of the exhibition takes visitors to the north-east of Afghanistan and the border area with the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan that was once the home of ancient Bactria, the Greek kingdom founded by Alexander the Great where he married the Bactrian princess Roxana. When French archaeologist Alfred Foucher began working for the newly established DAFA in the early 1920s, his attention was drawn to this area in the hope of finding the remains of the Greek cities founded by Alexander.

In the event, the Hellenistic site of Ai Khanoum was only excavated much later, but in the meantime Foucher focused instead on the later Graeco-Buddhist sites in the region that he thought bore witness to a synthesis of Greek and Indian art in their striking statues of the Buddha and Buddhist bodhisattvas. According to the Chinese monk Xuan Zang who visited the region in 628 CE, there were once some 1,000 Buddhist monasteries in this area of Afghanistan, and Foucher set out to find them.

Excavation work took place at Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, where the giant twin statues of the Buddha were monumental examples of this form of art, as well as at Bagram, identified by Foucher as the site of one of the monasteries visited by Xuan Zang. Perhaps most spectacularly of all, the remains of the ancient monasteries of Tapa Kalan, Tapa Shotor, and Tapa-i-Kafariha, among others, at Hadda near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan yielded some of the finest examples of Graeco-Buddhist art.

Examples of finds from these sites are included in the exhibition, along with photographic and other records of the excavations. There are reproductions of some of the frescos that once adorned the caves and Buddha niches at Bamiyan, together with statues of the Buddha in plaster and shale that were found at Hadda and preserved at the Musee Guimet in Paris even as similar collections at the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul were destroyed in the 1990s.

Following World War II, a new agreement was signed between the Afghan government and the DAFA, this time with a view to extending its activities away from a focus on Afghanistans Hellenistic and Graeco-Buddhist heritage towards the whole of its history from the Bronze Age to the present. At the same time, other foreign archaeological missions began working in the country, the most important being Italian, German, and Japanese.

The exhibition reflects these activities in photographs and finds from excavations at Surkh Kotal in north-east Afghanistan between 1952 and 1963, once an important centre of the Kushan Empire that succeeded the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom, and at Lashkari Bazar near the city of Kandahar in the south of the country between 1949 and 1951, a site that was once the winter capital of the regions Islamic Ghaznavid and Ghurid Dynasties.

Later rooms show the work carried out by multiple teams on the Minaret of Jam in the west of Afghanistan, a lone minaret dating back to the Ghurid Dynasty. The latter established the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in India, the forerunner of the Moghul Empire. An instructive video in the exhibition shows the Minarets complicated internal structure.

There is also a review of work carried out at Herat in western Afghanistan, a city established by Timur, founder of the Timurid Dynasty, who is perhaps best known to Western audiences by his English name of Tamburlaine the Great. Various international teams have worked on the restoration of the citys Gawhar Shad Mausoleum, Husayn Bayqara Musalla Complex, and Qala-e Ikhtyaruddin Citadel, as they have on the Mosque of Khwaga Abu Nasr Parsa in Balkh and of course also on the restoration of the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul after its destruction in the 1990s.

Writing in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, former Afghan ambassador to France Abdel-Ellah Sediqi refers to the history of French archaeology in Afghanistan in glowing terms, seeing it as a lesson in international cooperation. He expresses the hope that the Taliban regime that came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US forces will respect that legacy, a wish all visitors to the exhibition will share.

Afghanistan, ombres et legendes, Musee Guimet, Paris, until 6 February.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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I recently read an article about the Rosetta Stone by UK historian David Abulafia. I feel that the author could benefit from learning some facts that are clearly lacking in his article.

Abulafia says that the Rosetta Stone is the most-visited object in the British Museum in London and describes it as one of the most important and impressive objects in the museum. It is true that the Rosetta Stone is one of Egypts most-important artefacts. However, when he claims that it is the most-visited object in the British Museum, this statement is not entirely accurate.

It implies that the Rosetta Stone has always been valued and visited at the British Museum. Before I began my endeavour to have the Rosetta Stone returned to Egypt, the British Museum authorities displayed the Stone in a dark area of the museum where it could hardly be recognised.

The story began when I gave a lecture at the British Museum. After the lecture the director of the museum hosted a dinner in my honour in the Egyptian Gallery and invited Abel Al-Gazar, the then Egyptian ambassador to the UK, to it. After the dinner, the director made a speech, followed by a speech from me. I said jokingly that I was the only person who could talk to the pharaohs, adding that while I was having dinner Ramses II had come to me in person and said Zahi, I have been in this country in the cold weather for more than 100 years, and I want to go back with you to Egypt.

Next, I said that Thutmoses III (another famous king known to us today as the Napoleon of antiquity) had echoed what Ramses II had said. However, after a while the two kings came back to me and said that they had decided that I should take the Rosetta Stone back to Egypt with me instead, because it is an icon of Egyptian identity.

The next day, several news sources wrote that I had asked for the Rosetta Stone to be returned to Egypt. At that, the British Museum curators took the stone out of the dark hallway where it had been placed and put it in a much more prestigious location in the museum. They added a more detailed description of its historical value and placed it on display with new lighting. This story demonstrates that the Rosetta Stone was not always the most-visited object in the British Museum.

Abulafia says something else that is very strange about the Rosetta Stone in his article. If installed in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, it would look as out of place as a dirty pair of trainers in the Athenaeum, he said. This is a really strange statement. How could that possibly be the case? The stone is an icon of Egyptian identity, and without the stone there would be no such thing as Egyptology.

The Rosetta Stone would be one of the objects leading visitors into the Grand Egyptian Museum. It would be a guide for everyone as it has always been, because without the Rosetta Stone there is no real Egyptology. The stone led to the first breakthrough in decoding the ancient Egyptian language.

I really cannot understand Abulafia when he says yet the history of this object is not simply an Egyptian history. I am sorry to say that this statement is not entirely fair. The Rosetta Stone was found inside the country of Egypt and was dedicated by Ptolemy V, a Ptolemaic king who had been Egyptianised.

The Ptolemies lived in Egypt for a span of 300 years. They wrote their names in hieroglyphics, dressed like Egyptians, and their monuments were Egyptian. The inscription on the Stone is written in three scripts, Greek and two ancient Egyptian scripts, hieroglyphic, and demotic. The stone is named after the location in Egypt in which it was rediscovered, Rosetta, in the Nile Delta region. Without question, the Stone is fundamentally Egyptian.

Of course, the Rosetta Stone is also an important piece of the history of European scholarship on ancient Egypt. We cannot ignore the work and efforts of Jean-Francois Champollion and others to reveal the secrets of the ancient Egyptian language, but this does not negate the fact that the stone is an Egyptian object.

AN EGYPTIAN ARTEFACT: While I am saying that this object will always attract visitors, we are really talking about an important object for the history of ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone should therefore be in Egypt.

I would like to tell Abulafia a story that relates to this discussion when Oxford University students held a debate a few years ago and ultimately decided that Egypt had the right for the Rosetta Stone to be returned to it.

I was invited to be part of this famous debate among the Oxford students. There was a group headed by Jim Cuno, president of the Getty Institute in the US, and other directors of European museums, and I was on the other side from this group defending Egypts antiquities.

The first group argued that returning objects to their countries of origin put them in danger of damage should there be political revolutions. The members of the group argued that monuments might get destroyed, that the home country museums did not have adequate restorative techniques, and that the museums themselves were of poor quality.

I stood up to give a speech that can still be watched on YouTube. I said I was not requesting the return of every Egyptian artefact to Egypt. I was only after unique artefacts that should be in Egypt, for example the bust of Nefertiti in Berlin. How can one justify a bust like this being shown abroad after it was taken from Egypt illegally? The story of the bust should make the Berlin Museum ashamed of how the bust left Egypt.

Ludwig Borchardt, a German archaeologist, discovered the bust of Nefertiti in 1912. At that time, there was a law that said that anyone who discovered a royal statue made of stone would have to leave it in Egypt. However, if the statue was made of gypsum it could be taken out of Egypt.

Borchardt wrote in his private dig diary that he had found a limestone bust of queen Nefertiti, but in the public register book that everyone would read he said it was a royal statue made of gypsum. Additionally, he put the bust in a box when the director of the then Egyptian Antiquities Department came to divide the objects that had been found. The director only read the description on the box, which said there was nothing important in it. Because of that, he permitted Borchardt to take it out of Egypt.

Borchardt knew he had committed a crime, however, and as a result he hid the bust in his home for 10 years after it left Egypt. A project was started by the Americans during World War II to help Egypt have the bust returned, but this was refused by German dictator Adolf Hitler.

Another controversial object is the Zodiac Ceiling from Dendera. A French man went to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera in the early 19th century and cut the Zodiac Ceiling out of the temple. There is now a replica within the temple rather than the original itself. What should people say when they see a replica in the temple and then hear that the original is in the Louvre in Paris? The story of the Rosetta Stone is even sadder because the French gave something that they did not own to another country, in this case Britain.

The French officer Pierre-Francois Bouchard found the stone in 1799 when the French army was building military constructions around the Qait Bey Citadel (Fort Julien) in Rashid (Rosetta). The stone stands about one metre high and is 73 cm wide, and after it was found it was sent to a French scientific institution.

It bears a text written three times in different scripts. The text is written in Greek and two scripts of the ancient Egyptian language, the hieroglyphic, and the demotic. There are four other stones that are similar to the Rosetta Stone, and these are also important. But the Rosetta Stone is more important because of its role in solving the secrets of the ancient Egyptian language.

Dreyer, a German archaeologist who re-excavated the tombs of the kings of the ancient Egyptian First Dynasty, discovered that writing was used in ancient Egypt before its creation in Mesopotamia in 3250 BCE. The demotic script came into use around 644 BCE in Upper Egypt and then spread all over the country. The last demotic text was carved in Philae in Upper Egypt in 452 CE.

LEAVING EGYPT: The Rosetta Stone arrived in Portsmouth in England after it was taken out of Egypt by the French, who then gave it to the British.

Napoleon created an academy in Egypt in August 1798 that was similar to the one in France. French general Jacques-Francois Menou was the officer responsible for the stone originally, and he later converted to Islam and married a woman named Zubeida who was the daughter of Mohamed Al-Bawab from Rosetta. It was Menou who transferred the stone to the academy in Cairo accompanied by Bouchard.

A newspaper then published an article saying that the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided hope for solving the secret of hieroglyphics. Menou, the leader of the French military in Egypt after Napoleon left, was then forced to give the stone to the British. The academys members were not happy about giving it to the English, but the Alexandria Treaty between France and England left them with few options. However, the French first copied the stone before turning it over to the British.

The first time that Champollion saw a copy of the Rosetta Stone was in 1807, but the first person who studied the stone itself was the Englishman Thomas Young in 1814. Champollion visited Egypt in the late 1820s and visited the Temple of Dendera, the Valley of the Kings, and Philae. He became the first professor of Egyptology in France in 1831, just a year before his death.

Of course, there is no doubt about Champollions great achievement in pioneering the decipherment of the ancient Egyptian language for the field of Egyptology. When he began to study the stone, he saw it through his understanding of the Egyptian Coptic language. He was able to compare the letters of Cleopatras name with the name of Ptolemy in the inscription on the Stone, noticing that the two names were similar in five sounds and the symbol of a lion.

A lion in Coptic is lapu. He also noticed the absence of the symbol of the hawk and in the place of the letter A the eagle or the vulture, which in Coptic in akhou. The picture of the mouth in hieroglyphics is ro in Coptic and the letter R in the name Cleopatra. It is strange to consider the fact that Champollion never saw the original Rosetta Stone. He conducted all his work from a copy.

Champollions visit to Egypt lasted 18 months, where he discovered some new sites and published his findings in six volumes. To quote Champollion, finally the great god Amen has permitted me to say goodbye to his sacred land. I will leave Egypt on 2 or 3 December, after ancient and modern Egypt has given me kindness and hospitality.

He wrote to his brother that all of me is for Egypt. It is everything to me. He died in March 1832 at the early age of 42. He is considered to be the founder of Egyptology because of his great achievement in deciphering hieroglyphics in 1822. Some people say that when he knew the secret of the language, he went to his brother crying, I have got it and then fainted on the hot June day.

I agree with Abulafia that the history of the Rosetta Stone is not local but rather global history. However, I still believe that it would be fair to return the stone to Egypt. The British Museum has thousands of artefacts on display and in its reserves. We are not requesting any other artefact, but we need the Rosetta Stone because it is a symbol of Egypt and as such should be in Egypt.

French President Emmanuel Macron has recently called for the return to Africa of African art. Many of the objects in museums in Europe today were taken by force during the period of European imperialism. Even in todays climate, museums still practice imperialism by buying, trading, and displaying stolen artefacts. I hope they will stop encouraging thieves to steal objects from tombs and archaeological storage sites by ceasing to purchase stolen artefacts. If museums stopped purchasing such objects, there would be no market for robbers to sell their stolen goods.

A petition for the return of the Rosetta Stone to Egypt can be found online at https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-the-return-of-the-rosetta-stone-and-the-dendera-zodiac-to-egypt.

The petition has reached almost 150,000 signatures. We are waiting to reach one million signatures and then we will ask for the return of the stone by popular request. We know that there are many official steps to be taken for the return of the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, but I feel that once it happens those who have helped to return it will have their names written in gold in history.

Even so, I still cannot believe that Abulafia believes that the history of this object is not Egyptian.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Egypt and Germany celebrate today the establishment in 2008 of the German-Egyptian Committee for Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection (JCEE).

The Egyptian- German Committee on Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection (JCEE) was founded fifteen years ago on the 31 January. The establishment of the JCEE marked the beginning of a fruitful and successful cooperation between Egypt and Germany in the field of sustainable development that remains to this day.

On Tuesday the 31st of January, Egypt and Germany celebrated 15 years of cooperation under the JCEE.

During the celebration, the achievements of the last few years were reviewed and the joint commitment for the future was consolidated.

The celebration was attended by the German Ambassador to Egypt Frank Hartmann, Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker, a number of representatives of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and Egyptian implementing partners.

According to a press statement by the German embassy, the JCEE is the oldest ongoing bilateral project of German technical cooperation with Egypt in the field of energy and climate. It aims to give the Egyptian population and economy access to a reliable and cost-effective energy supply with reduced energy intensity and a high proportion of renewable energies. The work of the JCEE also contributes to the implementation of Egypt's national climate strategy.

In the last 15 years, thanks to intensive and trusting cooperation in this format, considerable success has been achieved. For example, the JCEE is working intensively on promoting the development of large-scale plants for generating electricity from renewable energies in the regions west and east of the Nile. When completed, these solar and wind power plants should provide enough energy to supply 1.5 million households. Other focal points are the digitisation of the Egyptian power grids as well as knowledge transfer and capacity building - in 2022 alone more than 300 Egyptian technicians and engineers were trained in the installation and maintenance of state-of-the-art photovoltaic systems.

The JCEE is thus a symbol of Germany's reliable and long-term support for Egypt on the way to sustainable development and in meeting the national, sustainable energy goals.

Germany would like to continue and expand the close cooperation in the JCEE in the future; the project is scheduled to enter its 5th phase in July 2023 and the federal government is allocating to it a budget of EUR 10 million.

It was only in November 2022 that Egypt and Germany agreed on a support package of over EUR 250 million for the Egyptian NWFE (Nexus Water, Food, Energy) programme at COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. This consists of very concessional loans, debt conversion and grants that support Egypt in achieving its national contributions to climate mitigation.

In the future, JCEE will also contribute, among other things, to the Egyptian NWFE (Nexus Water, Food, Energy) programme, to the development of state-of-the-art technologies, such as green hydrogen, and to the achievement of Egypt's national climate goals.

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Renowned French author and expert journalist on Middle East Affairs, Roland Lombardi, toured the Giza Plateau.

He visited both the great pyramid of Khufu and the Sphinx, and enjoyed his lunch before the pyramids at one of the plateaus restaurants.

The tour came on the fringe of his recent visit to Egypt to attend a seminar at the 54th Cairo International Book Fair on his newly published book entitled Abdel Fattah El-Sisi: The Egyptian Bonaparte.

Lombardi expressed his admiration for the magnificence of the pyramids and for the prowess demonstrated by the ancient Egyptians in carving the Sphinx.

He was also keen to document his visit to the Plateau by taking photos.

Lombardi explains in the introduction to his book that it is is not a biography, but rather a profile of a leader whose ambitions for Egypt are similar to those of Napoleon Bonaparte for France after the French Revolution.













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Younger Koreans are being increasingly reluctant to work in factories, and the 52-cap on the working week means the workers who remain can only work limited overtime.

Korean shipbuilders have seen a surge in orders for environmentally friendly vessels recently, and the shortage of workers is causing problems for them. The situation is the same for transportation companies and small and mid-sized manufacturers.

The shipbuilding industry is one of Korea's top manufacturing sectors, but labor is in short supply after several years of massive layoffs.

The country's top three shipbuilders -- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries -- managed to meet their annual order targets for the year already in the third quarter but are now hard-pressed to keep up with production.

According to the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association, the total number of workers in the industry has fallen from 109,901 in 2017 to 92,738 this year as shipbuilding workers moved into the construction due to the slump.

They have proved hard to woo back. Yang Choong-saeng, who heads an organization representing Hyundai Heavys subcontractors, said, "The prolonged slump forced key workers such as welders and painters to move into construction, which pays more, so the workers who left aren't coming back."

Seven out of 10 laborers in the shipbuilding industry work for smaller subcontractors, which do not pay the stellar wages of the big firms, and their failure to secure enough workers leads to production problems. Subcontractors are saying that the 52-hour cap on the working week caused overtime pay to decline and drove workers into other jobs.

The shipbuilding industry is not alone. According to a survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the transportation sector is suffering the biggest labor shortage with around 16,000 unfilled positions. The shortage is particularly worrying amid the home-deliveries boom.

Some pundits blame more generous unemployment benefits and pandemic relief payouts. Sung Tae-yoon at Yonsei University said, "Financial aid is making job seekers less willing to work, which hurts not only individual competitiveness but national competitiveness."
Austin will use meetings Tuesday with Yoon and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to highlight Washington's "ironclad extended deterrence commitment," a second senior U.S. defense official said.

U.S. defense officials also emphasized their concern about North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal and its ongoing ballistic missile tests, calling the number of test launches unprecedented. Pyongyang's bellicose behavior has stoked growing fears in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this month suggested that Washington might need to redeploy nuclear weapons to the peninsula or that Seoul could begin developing its own nuclear arsenal.

Specifically, the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, cited a "a sharp uptick in destabilizing PRC [People's Republic of China] operational behavior," including what was described as "dangerous air-to-air intercepts" and Beijing's use of "swarms of maritime militia vessels" in the South China Sea.

"The security environment in the Indo-Pacific is growing more complex, which we see day to day," said a senior U.S. defense official, citing ever more aggressive behavior by both China and North Korea.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making his sixth official visit to the region, starting late Monday with high-level meetings in Seoul, followed by a visit to the Philippines to meet with recently elected President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his new national security leadership team.

Less than a week after helping secure billions of dollars in additional military assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, including U.S.- and German-made battle tanks, top U.S. defense officials are shifting their focus to the Indo-Pacific and growing threats from China and North Korea.

But the official cautioned the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to South Korea will not be on the table. "We are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the official said. "Our focus is emphasizing the importance of extended deterrence that includes the full range of U.S. capabilities, including certainly our nuclear abilities, our conventional capabilities, as well as our missile defense."

It also includes increased cooperation and additional training, including a resumption later this year of U.S.-South Korean joint live-fire exercises on the peninsula following a hiatus of several years. "We are committed to doing more," the official added.

U.S. defense officials also expect to discuss Seoul's support for Ukraine and ways the U.S. can deepen its cooperation with South Korea's defense industry, which the officials praised as a world leader in advanced weaponry.

Following his meetings in South Korea, Austin will fly to the Philippines, where he will meet with U.S. troops working with their Philippine counterparts in Zamboanga before looking to further cement ties with Manila over shared concerns about China. "We'll be actively talking about what we can do together to address what has been a pretty notable period of harassment and coercion recently in the South China Sea," said a third senior U.S. defense official, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity.

After several years of tense discourse between Manila and Washington, the official said the Pentagon is seeing "a very positive upswing in the trajectory of the relationship." According to U.S. officials, the Pentagon sees the Philippines as a crucial part of a growing alliance of countries across the Indo-Pacific aimed at pushing back against Beijing, both with and without U.S. help.

And at the Pentagon, there is hope Austin's visit will enable both countries to build upon previous defense agreements, including 2014's Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, and help Manila modernize its forces and pivot from its ongoing counterterrorism mission so it can better confront Beijing.

"[Austin] will reiterate publicly what we have been very clear about, which is that our treaty commitments do apply in the South China Sea and that an armed attack on Philippine forces or vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea would be relevant to the defense treaty commitments that we have," the official said.

Already, the Philippines is one of a handful of countries that gets critical maritime information and intelligence through a new U.S. initiative. And U.S. officials are also hoping to expand cooperation in Manila in the areas of space and cyberspace.
In a new BBC documentary, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Britain with a missile strike.

Johnson says the conversation took place during a phone call in the run up to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February of last year. Johnson recalled the Russian leader saying, "It would only take a minute... Jolly."

Johnson, however, said he did not take the threat seriously in their "extraordinary" call. "He was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate," Johnson said of Putin.
By Azernews

Sabina Mammadli

In a response to a question by pro-Armenian MEP Asita Kanko, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell noted that the EU does not consider sanctioning Azerbaijan because of the situation on the Lachin-Khankandi road, Azernews reports.

Noting that sanctions are only one of the EU's tools to promote the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, he said that they are not being considered in this case.

"The EU's efforts with Armenia and Azerbaijan are focused on achieving solutions through dialogue, to which the leaders of both countries have expressed their commitment," Borrell added.

According to him, the EU has been closely following the developments along and around the Lachin road since December 2022. He also mentioned the deployment of a new civilian EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA).

To recap, on January 23, the EU Council approved the dispatch of a long-term civilian mission to Armenia.

The stated aim of the mission is to promote stability on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, build confidence on the ground and provide an environment conducive to EU-supported efforts to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Previously, the issue of placement of the first EU mission on the border was reflected in the statement adopted on October 7 following the quadripartite meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Prague.
Exports of passenger cars were worth nearly US$50 billion last year, the highest on record.

According to Korea Customs Service, exports amounted to $49.02 billion in 2022, up 15 percent on-year and the highest in eight years. They had been stagnating at around $40 billion since peaking at $44 billion in 2014.

Exports of eco-friendly cars such as electric and hybrid vehicles soared. Some $15.96 billion worth of eco-friendly cars were exported last year, up 37 percent from a year earlier, and their proportion rose from 27 percent in 2021 to 33 percent.

The U.S. accounted for 45 percent of exports with $22.19 billion, up 30 percent. Shipments to other major markets such as Australia, the U.K. and Canada also increased 33 percent, 16 percent and nine percent.

Imports of passenger cars also increased by 8.9 percent, the largest margin ever, to $14 billion.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 31, 2023 - 22:46 | All, World, Japan

The Philippines is considering deporting all four suspects believed to be behind a string of robberies across Japan at the same time, the Southeast Asian country's justice minister said Tuesday, expressing hope to "solve the problem" by Monday.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla spoke to Kyodo News after announcing at a press conference earlier that one of the suspects, now being held at an immigration facility in Manila, is expected to be returned to Japan in the next few days.

Remulla had also said another suspect could be transferred to Japan in the latter half of this week, while the remaining two will be sent once certain conditions are fulfilled.

But the minister said later that he would comply with any request from Japan to deport all four suspects at once if Japan elects to make just such a request.

The actual date of deportation remains fluid as pending local criminal cases could present obstacles to their swift deportation. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with the Philippines.

The minister also said late Tuesday afternoon that everything related to the suspects' deportation is "held in abeyance."

Remulla has said Manila aims to resolve the issue as soon as possible and in time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit to Japan, expected to begin in early February.

At Tuesday's press conference, the minister did not disclose the name of the first suspect expected to be transferred but said a criminal case against him had been dismissed.

He has previously told Kyodo that a pending case against Kiyoto Imamura, 38, was dropped at a local court on Jan. 25.

Remulla said the second suspect to be transferred has been accused of violence against a woman but that such a claim against him contradicts how the woman has interacted with the suspect. He said the woman regularly visits him at the facility and has displayed signs of intimacy.

Among the four suspects, Yuki Watanabe, who is believed to be a key figure in the group and may go by the name "Luffy," has been charged with violating the Philippine law on violence against women and children.

An investigative source has said Watanabe might be hoping the case will enable him to "avoid" being sent back to Japan.

The four men are believed to have remotely coordinated a series of robberies in Japan that began last year using an encrypted messaging app.

Remulla told the press conference that communications devices, including phones, have been confiscated from the suspects and that one of them owned six mobile phones.

Local investigators will work with police officers dispatched from Japan to search for evidence in the communication logs.

The four men likely include a person or persons thought to have masterminded the robberies under the names "Luffy" and "Kim."

Tokyo has sought the transfer of the four after Japanese police obtained arrest warrants on suspicion of theft in connection with a scam targeting elderly people in Japan.

Among the four detained at the facility, 38-year-old Watanabe was allegedly one of the leaders of the fraud group, which stole some 3.5 billion yen ($27 million) in around 2,300 cases between November 2018 and June 2020, police said.

Upon their return to Japan, police will arrest the four over the alleged scams and also investigate their suspected involvement in a string of robberies that have taken place across Japan since last year, including a Jan. 19 case in the suburban city of Komae in Tokyo that led to the death of 90-year-old Kinuyo Oshio.

Sources connected to the investigation into the robberies also said Tuesday that several incidents appear to have involved robbers posing as delivery people to gain entry to the properties.

Investigators in the December robbery in the capital's Nakano Ward and the Komae case have found transit forms with the victims' addresses on them, while in a robbery in suburban Tokyo city Inagi in October, a man wearing what appeared to be a delivery person's outfit was seen at the property.

Related coverage:

Manila hopes to deport Japan robbery suspects by 2nd week of Feb.

"Luffy" Japan robberies head suspected to be behind Manila fraud ring

Philippines willing to deport alleged robbery ringleader to Japan
KYODO NEWS - Jan 30, 2023 - 23:55 | World, All, Japan

South Korea and Japan made scant progress in discussions on resolving a long-standing wartime labor issue in a meeting of their senior diplomats, a South Korean official said Monday.

Seo Min Jung, director general of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau, discussed the issue of wartime labor compensation for Korean workers with her Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, in the meeting in Seoul, among other issues.

"As we discussed a broad range of topics, there was progress in some parts, but regarding the issues that many would be interested in, I would say we kind of fell short of making progress," a Foreign Ministry official told reporters after the meeting.

The latest meeting was held weeks after discussions between the two senior officials in Tokyo and phone talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi.

The series of meetings came after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed in November for an early settlement of wartime labor issues, which saw bilateral ties sink to their lowest point in decades.

Bilateral cooperation is becoming increasingly important in the face of threats from North Korea, which conducted missile tests at a record pace last year.

In 2018, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese firms to pay compensation to South Korean plaintiffs over forced labor during wartime. The Japanese government strongly opposed the ruling, saying that all the issues stemming from the colonial era were "completely and finally settled" under a bilateral treaty signed in 1965.

South Korean President Yoon's administration, which has shown a strong willingness to improve ties with Japan since he took office in May, has recently proposed creating a foundation based in South Korea to compensate the plaintiffs who won lawsuits against two Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp.

The proposal faced harsh criticism from the plaintiffs' side as the foundation would be established without an apology from Japan or the direct involvement of the accused companies.

The official also said that the opposition from the plaintiffs was delivered to the Japanese side and that further discussion will be needed to win a "sincere response" from Japan.

"The main point of a sincere response is an apology and contribution" from the companies, the official said, adding that there is still a gap in opinions between the two countries over the issue.

Japan plans to make clear that it will stand by a previous apology to its neighbors over past aggressions as part of efforts to improve its ties with South Korea if Seoul finalizes a solution to the wartime labor issue, a Japanese government source said earlier.

Tokyo is considering showing its remorse based on past statements, including one in 1995 by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who said, Japan "caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries" through its colonial rule and aggression, stating his "feelings of deep remorse" and "heartfelt apology."

Related coverage:

Japan to uphold apology if South Korea settles wartime labor issue

Japan, South Korea discuss Seoul's proposal to solve wartime labor row
KYODO NEWS - Jan 31, 2023 - 21:13 | All, Japan, World

Japan and NATO warned Tuesday against "growing" military proximity between Russia and China, pledging to beef up their security partnership amid Moscow's war in Ukraine and Beijing's military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reached the agreement at their meeting in Tokyo, as Japan and other regional democracies have been reinforcing security relations with the trans-Atlantic alliance, led by the United States.

"We highlight with concern Russia's growing military cooperation with China, including through joint operations and drills in the vicinity of Japan," the leaders said in a joint statement released after their talks.

"We recognize that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and of the Indo-Pacific is closely connected and stress the necessity of further strengthening cooperation between Japan and NATO in order to respond to the changing strategic environment," they added.

Japan said Russian and Chinese bombers jointly flew above waters near the country in May and November last year, with Moscow and Beijing apparently testing the response capabilities of the Tokyo-Washington alliance.

Kishida and Stoltenberg strongly opposed "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion," given the recognition that the free and open international order based on the rule of law is "at stake."

"I welcome NATO's deepening interest and involvement in the Indo-Pacific region," Kishida said at a joint press event with Stoltenberg after their talks.

Kishida added Japan will set up a mission for the Brussels-based North Atlantic Treaty Organization to promote closer communication.

The two leaders confirmed that Japan and NATO will continue supporting Ukraine while condemning Russia's invasion.

They emphasized that Moscow's "irresponsible" rhetoric is unacceptable and any nuclear weapon use would lead to "severe consequences."

With fears lingering that Russian President Vladimir Putin might use a nuclear device in the course of his war launched in February last year, worries have also been mounting about China's possible military action against Taiwan.

Communist-led China considers the self-ruled democratic island as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been governed separately since 1949 due to a civil war.

Kishida and Stoltenberg said peace and stability across the strait are important "as an indispensable element in security and prosperity" in the international community while urging China to improve transparency regarding its "rapid" military expansion.

Stoltenberg said China is "substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan" and "spreading disinformation about NATO and the war in Ukraine."

China has lambasted the United States and its security allies for striving to establish an "anti-China alliance in Asia" and eventually form an "Asian NATO."

Kishida and Stoltenberg also agreed it is crucial to boost cooperation in cyberspace, outer space, disinformation and other fields to bolster their capabilities "to address emerging challenges in new domains."

NATO views Japan as a partner nation, along with South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The countries' leaders were invited for the first time to a NATO summit in Madrid in June 2022.

Before the ongoing war, Russia had been complaining about NATO's military activities near its border and stepping up its demands for security guarantees, such as precluding NATO's expansion eastward to Ukraine.

After visiting South Korea and meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol, Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has stayed in Japan since Monday. He is scheduled to leave Asia Wednesday.
Japan's average job availability in 2022 improved for the first time in four years as economic and social activities revived with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, government data showed Tuesday.

The job-to-applicant ratio rose 0.15 point from the previous year to 1.28, thanks to a stronger hospitality sector, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. The figure has yet to reach the pre-pandemic level of 1.6 in 2019, indicating that a full recovery will take time.

The ratio means there were 128 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

The pandemic pushed down the ratio to 1.18 in 2020 and 1.13 in the following year.

"There was a noticeable recovery, mainly among accommodation and restaurant businesses, which had been struggling due to the spread of COVID-19," a ministry official said.

"While difficulty is seen in some parts of the labor sector, such as with some industries experiencing a slow recovery in job openings, there is a mild recovery (in the situation)," labor minister Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference.

Japan is in the midst of its eighth wave of infections, but the government has decided to downgrade COVID-19 in May to the same category as seasonal influenza and other common infectious diseases, a move that is hoped will further fuel the economy.

October's relaxation of rules regarding the entry of tourists to Japan pushed foreign arrivals up, while the government's domestic tourism subsidy program has aided the hospitality sector.

December's job availability ratio was 1.35, unchanged from the previous month, and the number of job offers from a year before was up 4.8 percent.

Among the industries, lifestyle and entertainment sectors saw the sharpest rise in job offers at 18.5 percent, followed by the accommodation and restaurant services at 6.9 percent, both from a year earlier.

In contrast, employment offers in the construction sector decreased by 6.2 percent, while manufacturing had a slight fall at 0.1 percent.

Separate data released the same day by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed the country's unemployment rate in 2022 also saw a recovery for the first time in four years, dipping by 0.2 point from the year before to 2.6 percent.

In 2019, the jobless rate stood at 2.4 percent, but it worsened to 2.8 percent in 2020 and 2021.

The number of unemployed people stood at 1.79 million in 2022.

December's unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous month at 2.5 percent, data showed.

The number of unemployed people in December dropped by 20,000 from the previous month to 1.71 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. Of those, 690,000 voluntarily left their jobs, down 2.8 percent from the previous month, while 390,000 were laid off, down 7.1 percent.

The number of workers in the lifestyle and entertainment services sectors fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 2.22 million people working on an unadjusted basis.

Meanwhile, workers in the accommodation and restaurant sector rose 2.9 percent from a year before to 3.96 million.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 1, 2023 - 08:00 | All, World

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will bring up Russia's war in Ukraine during his upcoming trip to China, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

Kirby said one of the major goals of the visit is to restore and revitalize communication channels on military, climate change and many other issues, which were shut off by China in the wake of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last August.

"This is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world," the spokesman said during an online press briefing.

Blinken's visit to Beijing, the date of which has still not been officially announced, is likely to take place on Feb. 5 to 6. The trip will be the first by a U.S. secretary of state in more than four years.

His trip will be a follow-up to U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, which was held on the Indonesian island of Bali on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit.

During the first face-to-face meeting between the presidents, they agreed to facilitate communication and have Blinken visit China for the next round of discussions, despite the two countries' very different positions on Taiwan, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and economic and human rights issues.

On the invasion, China has opposed a series of sanctions imposed on Russia by major democratic countries and it continues to boost military and economic ties with Moscow.
NANNING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A forest fire broke out on Saturday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and firefighters continued to battle the blaze as of 9 p.m. Monday, local authorities have said.

The fire started at approximately 9 p.m. Saturday in Rongjiang Town, Guilin City, and has raged across over 16 hectares of forest, according to Guilin's emergency management bureau.

More than 500 firefighters and other emergency response personnel have been dispatched to tackle the blaze. 
This photo taken with a mobile phone shows people searching for victims at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said. (Str/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said.

Muhammad Ijaz Khan, capital city police officer of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, told Xinhua that around 300 people were praying in the mosque of the Police Lines area of the city when the blast happened, killing and wounding people including police officers.

He said the powerful blast damaged a portion of the mosque building, which caved in and trapped many worshippers, adding that the rescue teams were trying to retrieve the people from the rubbles.

Mohammad Asim, spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, told Xinhua that the death toll could further rise as at least 15 people were in critical condition.

The Police Lines is located in Peshawar's most sensitive area of cantonment where a large number of law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, counter-terrorism department of KP police, are situated, according to local reports.

Official sources from the Peshawar police told Xinhua that the target of the suicide bomber was the police personnel, adding that the bomber managed to sneak into the highly sensitive area before blowing himself up in the mosque.

Following the explosion, the provincial health department declared an emergency in district Peshawar and asked all medical personnel to remain on duty. Security forces condoned off the area and launched a full-fledged investigation into the incident.

Rahim Khan, a 35-year-old local resident, said he was inside the mosque when he suddenly heard a loud bang followed by cries and screams of the wounded.

"For a moment I could not believe my eyes. I saw people covered in blood lying everywhere while screaming for help. This is the most horrible incident of my life ... I am still in a state of shock," Khan told Xinhua.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, saying the entire nation was standing united against the menace of terrorism.

"Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan," he said, adding that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in KP and the federal government will help provinces increasing their anti-terrorism capacity.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing yet. 

Ambulances arrive at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

An ambulance arrives at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

Security personnel stand guard at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

Security personnel stand guard at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. A suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing at least 28 worshippers and wounding more than 140 others, government and police officials said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)
Norway will send part of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine "as soon as possible", Defense Minister of Norway Bjorn Arild Gram said this in an interview with AFP.

Norway will send part of its fleet of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible, indicating perhaps late March, the report says.

It is noted that Norway was among several European countries that promised last week to deliver the tanks long sought by Ukraine.

The country has 36 Leopard 2 tanks, but has not said how many it will send to Ukraine.

"We haven't yet determined the number," the Norwegian defense minister said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem, on Jan. 30, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security. (Olivier Fitoussi/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security.

As part of his three-leg Middle East tour, Blinken arrived in Israel after visiting Egypt. This was his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Netanyahu returned to office in December 2022 as the leader of a new extreme-right-wing and ultra-religious government.

At the airport upon his arrival, Blinken condemned the recent deadly attacks between Israelis and Palestinians.

"To take an innocent life in an act of terrorism is always a heinous crime," he said, adding Israeli calls for vengeance "against more innocent victims are not the answer," as "acts of retaliatory violence against civilians are never justified."

In later joint statements with Netanyahu after their meeting, Blinken urged "all sides to take urgent steps to restore calm and to de-escalate."

"We want to make sure that there's an environment in which we can, I hope, at some point, create the conditions where we can start to restore a sense of security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, which of course is sorely lacking," he said.

His visit coincided with a flare of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Since the beginning of 2023, at least 35 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to official Palestinian figures.

Netanyahu did not mention the regional tensions in his statement. Instead, he talked about the Iranian "aggression" and his wish to expand the so-called Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco agreed to normalize ties with Israel.

"Expanding the circle of peace (and) working to close the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I think, would also help us achieve a workable solution with our Palestinian neighbors," Netanyahu said.

For his part, Blinken said while the United States supports more normalization deals and the integration of Israel in the Middle East, "these efforts are not a substitute for progress between Israelis and Palestinians."

He repeated the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"As we advance Israel's integration, we can do so in ways that improve the daily lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza," he said, noting Washington believes that establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel is the way to move forward.

Blinken also had discussions with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The U.S. top diplomat has a scheduled trip to the Palestinian territories, where he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a press conference in Jerusalem, on Jan. 30, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security. (Yoav Ari Dudkevitch/JINI via Xinhua)

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting in Jerusalem, on Jan. 30, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Monday, urging Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions and reiterating Washington's "ironclad" commitment to Israel's security. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's services activity logged a strong recovery in January thanks to a robust consumer market during the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

The purchasing managers' index for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 54.4 in January, up from 41.6 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below it reflects contraction.

The figure was the second highest in the past 12 months, only slightly lower than the reading of 54.7 last June.

The sub-indexes for the services and construction sectors in January stood at 54 and 56.4, respectively.

The services activity ended its six-month losing streak in January and returned to positive territory, with a sharp rebound in the business climate, senior NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

Of all 21 surveyed industries, 15 saw business expansion, with railway, aviation, postal services, financial services, and insurance in a high climate range of above 60. Retail, hotel, and catering sectors, previously hardest hit by COVID-19, also resumed expansion.

Zhao believes consumer sentiment has improved significantly and market activity has picked up.

Meanwhile, data showed the construction sector maintained relatively rapid expansion. As various government policies to promote major projects have taken effect, building enterprises have remained optimistic, Zhao said. 
Aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2019 shows a vineyard in Catamarca of Argentina. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

"A deal is made so everyone wins," leading Argentine politician Alejandro Karlen said. "As Mercosur, what we want to discuss with Europe is not renouncing our interest in reindustrialization."

BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The trade agreement being negotiated between South American trade bloc Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and the European Union (EU) must allow for the industrialization of South America, said leading Argentine politician Alejandro Karlen, a member of the Mercosur Parliament.

"We are inclined to establish an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. But what is important for South America needs to be taken into account, and that means that Brazil cannot renounce its right to reindustrialize, just as Argentina cannot renounce being a country with a strong industry," Karlen told Xinhua following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Jan. 28 visit to Buenos Aires as part of a South American tour that includes Chile and Brazil.

"A deal is made so everyone wins," he said. "As Mercosur, what we want to discuss with Europe is not renouncing our interest in reindustrialization."

Mercosur, which gathers Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, reached a trade agreement with the EU on June 28, 2019, after 20 years of negotiations, but the deal has yet to be ratified by the two sides.

"It is important to note that Europeans' growing concern for the security of their energy, raw materials and food supplies has brought about a change," said Karlen.

Scholz's visit to Argentina suggests "Germany supports the realization of an ambitious EU-Mercosur agreement for geo-strategic, economic, foreign policy and sustainability reasons," he said.

A consumer shops at a supermarket in Brussels, Belgium, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Each of the two regions has its comparative advantages, with Europe strong "in the production of high-value goods," and South America rich "in natural resources and basic manufactured goods, including agricultural and mineral products," said Karlen.

But the EU is clearly the more industrialized of the two, and any deal should reflect that status, he said.

"If the partners ... are very asymmetrical, the agreement must be too. The more developed partner has to make many more concessions, has to liberalize much more than the less developed region, which has to make many fewer concessions," said Karlen.

The "special and differential treatment" provision of the World Trade Organization represents one of "the fundamental principles of negotiations between developed and developing countries," he said.

Looking to the future, Karlen said greater South American integration, through a common currency for example, would strengthen the region's negotiating hand. 
People transfer an injured man to a hospital following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Pakistan's northwest provincial capital of Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar Shafiullah Khan said that the death toll rose after some injured succumbed to their injuries and more bodies were recovered from the debris of the mosque which collapsed following the blast.

The official added that 150 people were injured in the attack, of which 67 were still under treatment in different hospitals while the remaining have been discharged after medical treatment.

The deputy commissioner said that the death toll might rise further because around 10 people are still in critical condition, and some are still buried under the debris.

On Monday, Muhammad Ijaz Khan, a capital city police officer of Peshawar in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told Xinhua that around 300 people were praying in the mosque of the Police Lines area of the city when the blast happened.

The Police Lines is located in Peshawar's high-security zone where many law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, the counter-terrorism department of police, are situated.

Condemnation from all walks of life poured in after the attack, with a call to take decisive measures against terrorists.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack, expressed deep grief over the martyrdom of the worshippers, and termed the attacker as the enemy of humanity.

The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad also strongly condemned the attack and said, "We feel deeply grieved and pay our deepest condolences to the families of victims and injured of the tragedy."

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is observing a day of mourning on Tuesday with the national flag hoisting at half-mast across the province. 

People transfer an injured man to a hospital following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

An injured man sits in a vehicle following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

People transfer an injured man to a hospital following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

A boy weeps outside a hospital following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

People transfer an injured man to a hospital following a blast at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. The death toll from a suicide bomb blast that hit a mosque on Monday in Peshawar rose to 88, an official told Xinhua on Tuesday. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday talked over phone with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

During the conversation, Qin said China looks forward to working with the Netherlands to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen exchanges at all levels and push for new progress in China-Netherlands relations.

The defining feature of the China-Netherlands relationship is that it is open and practical, Qin said, adding that China is speeding up its efforts to promote high-quality development and high-level opening-up, which will bring greater opportunities to China-Netherlands cooperation.

China, Qin said, stands ready to work with the Netherlands to strengthen cooperation in multilateral areas, support the 28th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in achieving positive outcomes, maintain stability of the international industry chain and supply chain, and promote an open and orderly international trade environment rather than a fragmented and chaotic one.

For his part, Hoekstra said the Netherlands stands ready to strengthen interactions with China at all levels, deepen bilateral cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, arms control, non-proliferation and climate change, and push forward their open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership, adding that the Dutch side will continue to handle economic and trade affairs with China in a responsible manner.

During their talks, the Dutch side invited China to attend the UN 2023 Water Conference co-hosted by it, and the Chinese side said it will send high-level delegates to the event.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Japanese government's decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Both sides agreed that such an action concerns human health and the marine environment, on which they agreed to maintain communication.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue, during which Qin reiterated that China will work with relevant parties to promote peace talks. 
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns a deadly attack at a mosque in Pakistan's northwest Peshawar city, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday.

"We express our deep condolences for the loss of life in the attack and extend sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families," Mao told a press briefing.

She said China firmly opposes terrorism in any form and firmly supports Pakistan's efforts in fighting terrorism, defending national stability, and protecting people's lives.

According to media reports, the Monday blast has killed at least 59 people and injured 157 others. 
Ambulances arrive at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on Jan. 30, 2023. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan Stock Exchange significantly plunged by nearly 600 points in the first trading session of the week on Monday, which was largely attributed to a blast in the early afternoon in its northwest Peshawar city.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark KSE 100-Index moved down by 1.45 percent or 579.26 points to close at 39,871.27 points on Monday when compared with 40,450.53 points reported on Friday.

The KSE All Share Index declined by 0.93 percent or 248.18 points to close at 26,673.22 points, the KSE 30-Index went down by 1.42 percent or 212.21 points to end at 14,897.72 points, the KMI 30 Index fell by 1.08 percent or 736.71 points to conclude at 67,995.54 points.

Meanwhile, the All Shares Islamic Index decreased by 0.88 percent or 169.68 points to finish the trading session at 19,332.05 points.

According to market analysts, the market index started falling soon after the deadly blast in Peshawar in which more than 30 people were killed and over 150 others injured.

"Initially, investors' sentiment was positive as another International Monetary Fund prerequisite action was done by government over the weekend by increment in petroleum products prices," Topline Securities, a local brokerage house, said in its market review.

However, the blast in Peshawar dented aforesaid momentum by increasing concerns over the security situation in the country, the securities firm added. 
UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths (C, Rear) speaks at a press briefing on the situation in Afghanistan at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 30, 2023. A mission of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to Afghanistan has reported positive signs concerning women's rights in the country. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A mission of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to Afghanistan has reported positive signs concerning women's rights in the country.

The mission was sent to Afghanistan last week to look into the effects of the ban on women being employed in national and local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian work that was promulgated by the Taliban on Dec. 24, 2022.

Days after the Dec. 24 edict, the Afghanistan minister of public health said this edict would not apply in the health sector. That was followed a few days later by a similar exception in the education sector. So there already was a record of exceptions, said UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who chairs the committee and led the mission to Afghanistan.

"And in addition to making clear our grave concern about the edict itself, we then also said, okay, if you're not rescinding the edict now, then we must expand these exceptions to cover all the aspects of humanitarian action. And that was the agenda with which we met all those de facto Taliban leaders," Griffiths told a press briefing on Monday.

He said the mission spent several days in Kabul and met with nine Taliban leaders, including the de facto acting foreign minister, the de facto acting economy minister, the first and the second deputy prime ministers, and the interior minister.

"So we expressed our opposition to the ban, hope for it to be rescinded, and in the meantime asked for further sectors to be granted these exceptions or authorizations for the role and the function of women," said Griffiths. "In all these meetings, we were told that indeed, these such arrangements would be forthcoming ... we were asked to be patient."

The mission was told that guidelines are being developed by the Taliban authorities, which would provide allegedly the role of functioning of women in humanitarian operations, he said.

"Let's see if these guidelines do come through," said Griffiths, adding that "our view is that the message has clearly been delivered that women are central, essential workers in the humanitarian sector, in addition to having rights, and we need to see them back to work."

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee is a humanitarian coordination forum of the UN system. It brings together the executive heads of 18 organizations and consortia, with members from within and outside the United Nations, to formulate policy, set strategic priorities and mobilize resources in response to humanitarian crises.

At Monday's press briefing, the deputy executive director for programs at the UN Children's Fund, Omar Abdi, said there are some positive signs concerning the Taliban's ban on girls attending secondary education.

Since the Dec. 20 ban, an estimated 200,000 girls have continued to attend secondary schools in around 12 provinces, and female secondary-school teachers continued to receive their salaries from the de facto authorities, he said.

"The officials we met in Kabul ... reaffirmed that they are not against girls learning in secondary schools, and again promised to reopen once the guidelines are approved by their leader," he said.

In addition, over the last year, the number of community-based education classes taking place in private homes/public places has doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 classes. These serve about 600,000 children, of whom 55 percent are girls, said Abdi.

These positive signs are the results of both commitment from the de facto authorities and pressure from local communities to keep schools and community schools open, he said. "Without education, certainly there is no hope for a better future for girls and women of Afghanistan."

Janti Soeripto, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children U.S., called on donor countries not to freeze or withhold humanitarian funding for Afghanistan.

"Donor countries must continue to support a unified, principled response that includes men and women, and refrain from freezing or withholding this flexible funding that we so desperately need. We need the international community to stand by and not give (up) hope on the women, girls and men and boys in Afghanistan," she told the press briefing.

If the ban on women's participation in humanitarian work isn't reversed, the consequences for the people of Afghanistan will be dire, and that's the message the mission has taken to the de facto authorities in Afghanistan, she said.

As there has been some progress, her organization is hopeful that discussions across the various provinces to resume its work will continue, said Soeripto. 

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths speaks at a press briefing on the situation in Afghanistan at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 30, 2023. A mission of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to Afghanistan has reported positive signs concerning women's rights in the country. (Xinhua/Xie E)
VoterGA Expands Suit to Subpoena Konnech Servers, Ban ERIC

NEWS PROVIDED BY

VoterGA

Jan. 31, 2023

ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- VoterGA announced today an expansion to its original complaint that seeks a ban on the pending Salesforce third-party voter registration system also known as GaRVIS. The amendment seeks to ban all outsourcing of Georgians private data to third-party vendors. It is one of the first lawsuits in America to contest all outsourcing of private voter data by a Secretary of State (SOS).

The amendment seeks to ban current voter data transfers to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) that receives both voter and non-voter resident data from the Georgia SOS. Petitioners contend that ERIC shared personal data illegally with the Center for Electronic Innovation and Research (CEIR) and that data was used for partisan purposes in violation of the Help America Vote Act and National Voting Rights Act.

VoterGA also announced that its petitioners have subpoenaed Konnech Inc. (Konnech) servers currently being held by Los Angeles County District Attorney investigators after the arrest of Chief Executive Officer Eugene Yu. The servers were seized in Michigan for violation of federal law after expert grand jury testimony alleged American poll worker data was in the hands of Konnechs Chinese programmers and stored on a Unicom internet backbone controlled by the Communist Chinese government. The arrest warrant was issued in Los Angeles County based on a contract Konnech has with the county.

Konnech has a contract with DeKalb County, Georgia and the same servers are believed to contain not only DeKalb County poll worker data, but data from other officials in DeKalb County and even other residents throughout the state.

GaRVIS, originally scheduled to be implemented early last year, was postponed to correct a variety of technical problems. The original complaint was filed in Fulton County Superior Court on January 21, 2022. The temporary injunction filed on March 11, 2022, has never been heard. Defendants objected to every item on the Interrogatories and Notice to Produce lists that were filed. Petitioners challenged the objections and refusal to comply.



VoterGA co-founder, Garland Favorito, credited research of other groups: We are grateful to True the Vote and Verity Vote for their vital investigative work that revealed privacy violations impacting the security of the American people. Their investigations formed the basis of our expanded legal efforts to defend the privacy rights of all Georgia residents.

VoterGA is a non-partisan, 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization created by a coalition of citizens working to restore election integrity in Georgia. We advocate for independently verifiable, auditable, recount capable, transparent and tamper proof elections.

SOURCE VoterGA

CONTACT: Sheryl Sellaway, 404-273-5133, sheryl@righteouspragency.com
Israel on Monday hosted the heads of the cyber defense systems of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco for a regional cyber intelligence meeting, the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) said in a statement.

The event, held at Microsoft's campus in the coastal city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, was aimed at strengthening relations and cooperation between the countries to improve regional cyber defense and examine technological solutions, according to the statement.

"Cyber defense is a central axis in the relations between those countries," said INCD Director-General Gaby Portnoy.

"The collaborations between the private and governmental sectors, and between the countries in the region have a significant contribution to national resilience and the advancement of the economy," he concluded.
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday held a phone conversation with his Argentine counterpart Santiago Cafiero.

During their talks, Qin congratulated Argentina on successfully hosting the seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Noting that China and Argentina are good friends and good partners, Qin said that China is willing to work with Argentina to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, carry forward the good traditions of mutual respect, treating each other as equals, and win-win cooperation between China and Argentina, and promote greater development of China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership.

China will, as always, support Argentina in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Qin said, adding that the two sides should promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The Chinese FM noted that China's recent optimization and adjustment of pandemic prevention and control measures is a boon for enhancing communication and cooperation between China and other countries including Argentina.

China supports Argentina in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs and supports Argentina to become a member of BRICS as early as possible, Qin said.

He added that China stands ready to cooperate closely with Argentina within the framework of the United Nations and the Group of 20 to jointly promote the implementation of Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, and promote the sustainable development of the China-CELAC Forum.

Stressing that Argentina and China share similar vision of governing for the people, the Argentine FM said the two countries enjoy a brotherly relationship and bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful results.

Noting that Argentina will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China principle, Cafiero said Argentina is willing to carry out Belt and Road cooperation with China, actively promote the construction of the China-CELAC Forum, and jointly practice multilateralism. 
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday held phone talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

During the talks, Qin said President Xi Jinping's recent presence at the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, and his state visit to Saudi Arabia have scored complete success, making it a new milestone in the history of China-Saudi Arabia, China-GCC and China-Arab relations, adding that China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to implement the outcomes of the summits and promote their relations to new levels.

China highly appreciates Saudi Arabia's consistent and firm support on issues concerning China's core interests and stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to uphold non-interference in internal affairs and other basic norms of international relations, Qin noted.

He said the two sides should further expand cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, energy, infrastructure, investment, finance and high-tech, increase communication and coordination, make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, continuously strengthen the China-GCC strategic partnership and build a China-GCC free trade zone as soon as possible.

China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Saudi Arabia in regional and international affairs, jointly promote regional peace and stability, and better safeguard the common interests of the vast developing countries, Qin said.

Faisal said Saudi Arabia regards its relations with China as an important cornerstone of its foreign relations and is willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of the summits, take joint actions, deepen cooperation in various fields, promote further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and China, and safeguard the common interests of the two countries.

Saudi Arabia fully adheres to the one-China principle and firmly opposes the politicization of human rights issues, Faisal said, noting that his country is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China and jointly uphold the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. 
TIANJIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Having been an intern at one of the top hospitals in north China's port city of Tianjin for nearly a year, Mahamat Hamid Mahamat, a Ph.D. candidate in neurosurgery, said he is getting closer to his dream every day.

Mahamat, 33, resolved to become a doctor in his home country, the Republic of Chad in central Africa, after completing study at the city's top-notch Nankai University.

The African student has aspired to learn medicine in China since childhood. He was long impressed by the friendliness and capabilities of the Chinese medical teams sent to his country decades ago.

Since 1978, 17 medical teams from China have been dispatched to the African country for medical cooperation and assistance in the health sector.

Mahamat said these medical teams are deeply respected in Chad as they often make long treks to remote villages to visit patients.

From 2000 to 2020, China also provided around 120,000 government scholarships to assist outstanding African young talents in furthering their study in China. Mahamat is one of those who have benefited from the program.

First enrolled at Jiamusi University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in 2011, Mahamat thus traveled across the country to pursue higher degrees. He was later admitted to Lanzhou University in northwest China.

Now fluent in Chinese, Mahamat keeps a busy schedule every day and often works overtime during his internship at Tianjin Huanhu Hospital to get familiar with his patients as soon as possible.

"If a patient suddenly catches a high fever, I would first ask for his or her overall symptoms before drawing any conclusion, as there might be a possibility of infection," said Mahamat.

Talking about his friends who share the same education experience sponsored by China, Mahamat said those who chose majors including machinery, civil engineering, and petrochemical have mostly returned to their country and made their own contributions.

Albeit a few years before his graduation, Mahamat routinely shares medical knowledge on social media with people at home. "No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen my devotion to my country and people," he said.

Mahamat added that he was always inspired by the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, which he thinks includes sincere friendship, equal treatment, mutual benefit and development, justice, openness, and tolerance. 
Aerial photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows the east and west pagodas of Kaiyuan Temple and the surrounding core area for ancient city conservation in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

China has opened up to the outside world and expanding its circle of friends in the globalization process, which in fact contributes to hedge against the insecurity brought by the United States to expand military alliance.

by Dr. Henry Huiyao WANG

A mainstream view thinks that globalization started with the Age of Exploration in the 15th century. However, American historian Prof. Valerie Hansen at Yale University said in a public dialogue that globalization originated as early as around 1000 AD and China ruled by the Song Dynasty then was the hub of globalization.

At that time, the country had the most extensive foreign trade worldwide. Across the hemisphere, the Chinese exported unique and high-quality ceramics as well as various manufactured products to the Middle East, Africa, India and other places. At the same time, they also obtained rare consumer goods such as spices and ivory from these regions. It can be said that ancient China was one of the major cradles of globalization.

The West-led process of globalization has taken place since the the modern era. Aligned with economic globalization, Western values, academic concepts, and institutional patterns have been disseminated to the world and achieved dominance. The two industrial revolutions settled the leading edge in the development of Western technology. After the two World Wars, a West-dominated world order took shape.

Global landscape evolves from the bipolarity during the Cold War to "one superpower, many great powers" after the end of the Cold War, and then to the acceleration of multi-polarity worldwide. The rise of China is unstoppable, and the decentralized world politics has become a trend. Since the 19th century, the world has transformed from an acentric system to a central-marginal system. Western countries get accustomed to being in the center with the non-West world on the periphery. However, as the strength of marginal countries grows, while the development speed of central countries relatively slows down, the central-marginal system tends to be decentralized, and a more balanced and inclusive multi-polar world order is taking shape.

Undeniably, the establishment of the Bretton Woods system after World War II has brought decades of peace, stability, prosperity and development to the world. However, with the financial crisis in 2008 as a turning point, the world economy has entered a downturn. The global power structure and world order have also weathered adjustment and reconstruction.

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 27, 2023 shows a container ship at the Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

In the past 30 years or so, globalization has been marching fast. The universal prosperity and development concealed the injustice and imparity of the international system and world order, but the sluggish world economy has laid bare the problems.

At present, three years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the world economic recession, the accelerated impact of climate change along with the rapid development of new technologies, these all propelled globalization to enter a new stage. The world confronts more common challenges. Humanity needs a new Bretton Woods system.



Currently, the international community faces the issue of how to make globalization more inclusive, equal, mutually beneficial, cooperative and united, so as to create a more resilient and flexible globalization. In this process, major countries in the East and West, North and South or country groupings need to cooperate and manage cleavages. China can play a pivotal and constructive role.

China has opened up to the outside world and expanding its circle of friends in the globalization process, which in fact contributes to hedge against the insecurity brought by the United States to expand military alliance.

In recent years, the United States has been bent on consolidating and expanding its military security alliance, such as moves of the eastward expansion of NATO, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the Australia-United Kingdom-United States partnership. These have exacerbated geopolitical tensions and subtly fueled an arms race, which threatened and damaged the peaceful and stable environment.

Having no intention of engaging in the military contest with the United States, China has always regarded economic globalization as its top priority. In recent years, the country has promoted the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and applied for the membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and Digital Economy Partnership Agreement. Additionally, it continues to deepen economic and trade cooperation with Europe, Africa, Latin America and Arab countries.

Moreover, China has developed the sui generis mixed economy. Its stability, certainty and huge potential have laid a solid foundation for advancing a new wave of globalization. One of the most prominent features of Chinese-style modernization -- a mixed economy model stands out in the country's globalization process.

Staff members make electrical equipment at an electrical appliance company in Yuxin Town of Nanhu District, Jiaxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

State-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and multinational enterprises have formed a stable triangle support, which jointly created a unique path of Chinese-style modernization. Among them, state-owned enterprises act as the pillar of the national economy which involve major industries and key fields in China. They play an important role in stabilizing the economy, innovating in science and technology, ensuring people's livelihood and providing public goods.

Private enterprises have contributed over 50 percent of the tax revenue of the Chinese economy, over 60 percent of GDP, over 70 percent of technological innovation achievements, over 80 percent of urban labor employment, and over 90 percent of the number of enterprises.

Multinational enterprises, with less than 3 percent of the total enterprises in China, have created employment for about 40 million people, 2/5 of China's foreign trade, 1/6 of tax revenue and nearly 1/10 of urban employment.

They are an important part of Chinese market, also an important participant, witness and contributor to China's moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Against the backdrop of the global economic recession, strong resilience, huge potential, and sufficient vitality of the Chinese economy do not change. China's continuous deepening of opening-up and development will continue to provide robust momentum for global economic recovery.

A young entrepreneur promotes products via livestreaming at Yichang film park, a popular scenic spot and a business incubation base transformed from former industrial site, in Yuzhong District, southwest China's Chongqing, Sept. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

For a long period in the past, globalization has been dominated by Western countries. Notwithstanding, future globalization will be a multi-polarity jointly propelled by China, the United States, Europe and emerging economies.

In this regard, a new global multilateral coordination mechanism should be established on the basis of international organizations such as G20, G7, etc. A high-level dialogue mechanism between China, the United States and Europe should be established to enhance coordination.

In this process, China, which has benefited from globalization, will continue to promote a more inclusive, equal, mutually beneficial, cooperative and united globalization and global governance, and will continue to inject new momentum into the development of new globalization in the post-pandemic era.



Editor's note: Dr. Henry Huiyao WANG is founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a leading non-governmental think tank in China.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's major industrial firms grew steadily in terms of revenue in 2022, but their profits dipped due to certain factors impacting beyond expectations and a high base of comparison, official data showed Tuesday.

The combined revenues of industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.96 million U.S. dollars) rose 5.9 percent year on year in 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Their total profits stood at 8.4 trillion yuan in this period, down 4 percent from a year earlier, the NBS data revealed.

Senior NBS statistician Zhu Hong highlighted the improvement in the profit structure of the industry's upstream and downstream links in 2022, despite contraction in profits.

If excluding sharp declines in a few industries, such as steel and oil processing, the overall profit growth rate in 2022 would be elevated to 5.6, Zhu said.

A total of 21 out of 41 major industries saw growth in profits in the period, up from 20 in the Jan.-Nov. period.

The oil and gas exploitation sector saw profits jump 1.1 times compared to a year earlier, while the electric and heat power production and supply sectors, and coal mining and washing sectors reported profit increases of 86.3 percent and 44.3 percent, respectively.

Equipment manufacturing and basic consumer goods served as bright spots for the industrial sector during the period, Zhu said.

With a sustained recovery, the combined profits of the equipment manufacturing industry rose 1.7 percent year on year, data showed. The sector contributed over a third of the country's total industrial profits in 2022, providing a strong impetus for the overall industry.

Meanwhile, the profits of basic consumer goods companies also logged steady expansion, as pro-growth policies spurred the market demand, according to Zhu. Thanks to the warming market, producers of alcoholic drinks, tea, and tobacco posted rapid growth in profits in 2022.

Despite the overall profit decline in 2022, signs showed that China's industrial firms were on the right track to profit recovery, as the country continued to emerge from its COVID shadow.

Tuesday's data showed that the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector rebounded to expansion territory in January 2023, after three consecutive months of contraction, with major sub-indices posting surges.

However, Zhu still warned against challenges, including relatively high costs for businesses and uncertainties in the domestic and external environments.

Looking ahead to the next stage, Zhu urged efforts to better coordinate the epidemic response and economic and social development, boost market confidence, proactively expand domestic effective demand, and consolidate the foundation of profit recovery for industrial firms, so as to push for an overall upturn in the industrial economy in 2023. 
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged Hungarian youths to learn more about China and become envoys of the China-Hungary friendship in a recent reply letter.

In his reply to a letter from students of the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school in the Central and Eastern European country, Xi said he and his wife were glad to hear from the Hungarian students during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, and he still remembers chatting with teachers and students of the school in 2009.

Xi said he would like to give the students a thumbs-up upon hearing that the students have kept learning Chinese for a long time and are committed to making contributions to the China-Hungary friendship.

He emphasized that both China and Hungary have a long history and a splendid culture, and people of the two countries enjoy a traditional friendship and increasingly close cultural exchanges.

The students, Xi said, are welcomed to study in Chinese universities after graduation from high school, hoping that more and more Hungarian youths will love and study the Chinese language.

Xi also said that he hoped they have the opportunity to travel around the country, learn more about today's China as well as its history and culture, and strive to become envoys to carry forward and develop the China-Hungary friendship.

Founded in September 2004, the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school is the only full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese and the local language for instruction. Currently, the school has 12 grades and 20 classes with more than 530 students.

During his visit to Hungary in October 2009, Xi, who was then China's vice president, visited the school.

Before the Spring Festival, two students whose Chinese names are Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, wrote a letter to Xi and his wife, Professor Peng Liyuan, on behalf of all students in the school, conveying their New Year's greetings. In their letter, they also spoke about what it felt studying Chinese in the school for 12 years, and expressed their willingness to study in Chinese universities and contribute to the Hungary-China friendship. 
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A mission of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to Afghanistan has reported positive signs concerning women's rights in the country.

The mission was sent to Afghanistan last week to look into the effects of the ban on women being employed in national and local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian work that was promulgated by the Taliban on Dec. 24, 2022.

Days after the Dec. 24 edict, the Afghanistan minister of public health said this edict would not apply in the health sector. That was followed a few days later by a similar exception in the education sector. So there already was a record of exceptions, said UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who chairs the committee and led the mission to Afghanistan.

"And in addition to making clear our grave concern about the edict itself, we then also said, okay, if you're not rescinding the edict now, then we must expand these exceptions to cover all the aspects of humanitarian action. And that was the agenda with which we met all those de facto Taliban leaders," Griffiths told a press briefing on Monday.

He said the mission spent several days in Kabul and met with nine Taliban leaders, including the de facto acting foreign minister, the de facto acting economy minister, the first and the second deputy prime ministers, and the interior minister.

"So we expressed our opposition to the ban, hope for it to be rescinded, and in the meantime asked for further sectors to be granted these exceptions or authorizations for the role and the function of women," said Griffiths. "In all these meetings, we were told that indeed, these such arrangements would be forthcoming ... we were asked to be patient."

The mission was told that guidelines are being developed by the Taliban authorities, which would provide allegedly the role of functioning of women in humanitarian operations, he said.

"Let's see if these guidelines do come through," said Griffiths, adding that "our view is that the message has clearly been delivered that women are central, essential workers in the humanitarian sector, in addition to having rights, and we need to see them back to work."

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee is a humanitarian coordination forum of the UN system. It brings together the executive heads of 18 organizations and consortia, with members from within and outside the United Nations, to formulate policy, set strategic priorities and mobilize resources in response to humanitarian crises. 
After chatting online for three years, Kazakhstani trader Yelijas Tohdahen finally traveled to China to meet Yu Chengzhong in the border port city of Horgos. What happened in this special reunion?

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ISLAMABAD, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the suicide blast that ripped through a mosque on Monday afternoon in Pakistan's northwest provincial capital of Peshawar rose to 44, an official told Xinhua.

Muhammad Asim, spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital, said the death toll rose after some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries and some more bodies were recovered from the debris of the mosque that collapsed following the blast.

The spokesperson added that at least 157 injured people are still under treatment, out of whom 12 to 15 are in critical condition at the hospital, fearing that the death toll might further rise.

The deceased included three police officers and other police personnel, civilians, a prayer leader and a woman who was residing in a house near the mosque. At least three of the victims have not been identified yet.

Muhammad Ijaz Khan, capital city police officer of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, told Xinhua that around 300 people were praying in the mosque of the Police Lines area of the city when the blast happened, killing and wounding the people including the police officers.

He said the powerful blast damaged a portion of the mosque building, which caved in and trapped many worshippers.

The Police Lines is located in Peshawar's most sensitive area of cantonment where a large number of law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps, the counter-terrorism department of KP police, are situated, according to local reports.

Official sources from the Peshawar police told Xinhua that the target of the suicide bomber was the police personnel, adding that the bomber managed to sneak into the highly sensitive area before blowing himself up in the mosque.

Following the explosion, the provincial health department declared an emergency in district Peshawar and asked all medical personnel to remain on duty. Security forces condoned off the area and launched a full-fledged investigation into the incident.

Rahim Khan, a 35-year-old local resident, said he was inside the mosque when he suddenly heard a loud bang followed by cries and screams of the wounded.

"For a moment I could not believe my eyes. I saw people covered in blood lying everywhere while screaming for help. This is the most horrible incident of my life ... I am still in a state of shock," Khan told Xinhua.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, saying the entire nation was standing united against the menace of terrorism.

"Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan," he said, adding that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in KP and the federal government will help provinces increasing their anti-terrorism capacity.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing yet. 
BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, President of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly Csaba Korosi will visit China from Feb. 1 to 4, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced Tuesday. 
Turkiye has signed a natural gas purchase agreement with Oman that will be valid for the next 10 years, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez announced Monday.

A delegation from the Turkish state energy company BOTA? visited Oman for the agreement that will see Turkiye buying an annual 1.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Oman, Donmez told an event in Istanbul.

The agreement with Oman also includes an opportunity to be extended further if needed, Donmez told the Summit of Century of Turkiye in Energy.

At a time when the world, especially Europe, is suffering from gas supply problems, Turkiye is taking all steps to become a gas trade center, he said.

Turkiye is almost entirely dependent on imports to cover its energy needs, which leaves it vulnerable to rising costs. Domestic demand has increased since the pandemic.

It imports gas mainly from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as liquified natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, the United States, Nigeria and Algeria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.

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Passengers line up to borad a train at Fuyang West Railway Station in east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 27, 2023. Railway stations, highways and airports across China are bracing for a fresh travel peak as a growing number of travelers hit the road and return to work after a week-long Spring Festival holiday which ends on Friday. (Photo by Lu Qijian/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- With most of the COVID-19 restrictions lifted in China and the infection peak now passed, the hustle and bustle of Spring Festival has returned and the world's second-largest economy is poised for economic recovery.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese people joined the Spring Festival travel rush around the nation's most important traditional holiday, reuniting with relatives in their hometowns or taking long-awaited vacations.

The increase in travel this year has brought opportunities for huge holiday and tourism spending, giving a strong boost to the country's economic recovery.

HEAVY TRAFFIC

During the Spring Festival holiday alone, which ran from Jan. 21 to 27, 50.17 million people traveled by train, up 57 percent year on year, and recovering to 83.1 percent of the level in 2019, according to the National Railway Administration.

Meanwhile, 9 million passengers traveled by air, surging 79.8 percent year on year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

In parts of the country, the traffic has even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The Spring Festival holiday this year is the first week-long holiday after the country optimized its anti-virus response, and the enthusiasm for travel was strong.

In east China's Jiangsu Province, the flow of highway traffic amounted to 3.41 million vehicles on Friday, a new daily record for the Spring Festival holidays.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province, highway traffic and travel by train and air have all returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The highways saw a daily average of 3.84 million vehicles during the seven-day period, up 30 percent from the level in 2019.

China Railway Chengdu Bureau Group Co., Ltd., which operates railways in Sichuan and several neighboring regions, transported 6.45 million passengers, an increase of over 197,000 from the same period of 2019. Airports in Chengdu, the provincial capital, handled 1.17 million passengers, returning to the level in 2019.

TOURISM RECOVERY

A huge number of people took long-awaited vacations during the holiday, leading to a strong recovery and boosting further confidence in the tourism sector.

Some 308 million domestic tourism trips were made in the period, up 23.1 percent from the same period last year and recovering to 88.6 percent of the figure for the same holiday in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Consumption is returning to the normal growth track faster than expected, said Wang Yun, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research

During the holiday, authorities in Jiangsu offered tourism consumption coupons, and free entrance and public transport, to aid the recovery. The province received over 41.3 million domestic tourists, 21 percent higher than the level in 2019, and tourism revenue was 0.6 percent higher than the level in 2019.

"During the holiday, the average occupancy rate of our guesthouses was close to 90 percent," said Liu Guang, general manager of a countryside tourism resort in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.

"Tourism is recovering, the holiday hustle and bustle is back and our business is getting better," said Xu Bao, who was busy serving customers in a coffee shop at a scenic site in downtown Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.

During the holiday, tourists swarmed into Weizhou Island, the youngest volcanic island in China and a popular tourist destination, located in the coastal city of Beihai, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Yang Xiaojun flew to Beihai with family and friends for a six-day vacation. "Due to the epidemic, we usually took short-distance self-driving tours in our home province of Hunan during the Spring Festival holidays in the past couple of years," said Yang. "We decided to travel a little farther this year."

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said that travel demand has bounced back, with family visits and holiday travel during the Spring Festival holiday of 2023, kicking off a rosy start and sustained recovery of the tourism sector.

GOOD START

Authorities and enterprises in the booming Jiangsu Province have also joined the travel rush, heading to inland provinces for recruitment and sending buses to ferry workers back.

Authorities in the city of Changzhou have traveled to Sichuan and Shaanxi to recruit workers for local enterprises. The manufacturing hub of Kunshan sent charter buses to ferry migrant workers back, to speed up industrial production after the holiday. The city of Wuxi even arranged a charter plane to transport 120 migrants back from Yunnan Province on Friday.

"The chartered flight has helped alleviate our labor shortage," said Zhu Rende, general manager of Wuxi Jingyuntong Technology Co., Ltd. "Orders for our photovoltaic products have grown steadily. We maintained production during the holiday, and workers took turns returning to their hometowns."

A survey of nearly 7,000 major enterprises showed a strong desire to increase payrolls this year amid the economic recovery, said Zhang Hongwei, deputy director of the Jiangsu provincial department of human resources and social security.

Han Jian, a professor at Nanjing University's business school, said the adjustment of China's epidemic control policy has created greater space for local economies, and many regions are quickly rolling out measures to stabilize growth.

"From the consumption boom around the Spring Festival this year, we can see that the potential of China's consumer market is still huge, and the economy is getting off to a good start," said Han.

Liu Jing, chief economist for Greater China at HSBC, said the economic rebound is a key theme for China in 2023, and China's economy will rebound strongly from the second quarter, with growth of 5 percent forecast this year.

Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at J.P. Morgan, is also optimistic. "We see both production and consumption activities on track to recover further. It is likely that the economic recovery could be front-loaded compared to our baseline forecast," wrote Zhu. 
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday at a regular press briefing that the U.S. side cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao's comment came after the U.S. State Department Spokesperson repeatedly mentioned Secretary Blinken's upcoming visit to China, saying that his team will discuss with China how to "responsibly manage competition and step up cooperation on transnational challenges," and also raised concerns on issues related to Taiwan, fentanyl, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula.

Mao said that in growing relations with the United States, China follows the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, adding that China remains committed to defending its own sovereignty, security and development interests at the same time.

"China does not shy away or flinch from competition, but we are against defining the entire China-U.S. relations with competition alone and using competition as an excuse to contain and suppress others," she said.

Mao said China is ready to have both bilateral and multilateral communication and cooperation with the U.S. side on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, but the United States cannot demand communication and cooperation from China while keeping interfering in China's internal affairs and hurting China's interests.

Mao also pointed out that Taiwan question is at the heart of China's core interests, and it is the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and the number one red line that must not be crossed between China and the U.S. side.

"At no time should the United States ever seek to cross that red line," she said.

Noting China is the first country in the world to have officially scheduled fentanyl-related substances as a class, Mao said that China has taken an active part in international counternarcotics law enforcement cooperation under the framework of the UN conventions on drug control, adding that however, China's counternarcotics capacity has been seriously hampered by U.S. sanctions on relevant Chinese institutions.

"We are firmly against those sanctions and urge the United States to reflect on its inadequate counternarcotics efforts instead of deflecting the blame," Mao said.

She also mentioned that China is committed to seeking a political settlement and bringing parties to the table on Ukraine and the Korean nuclear issue, and goes against any rhetoric or action that could fuel the tensions and make matters worse.

"We hope the United States will work with China and let China-U.S. interactions be defined by dialogue and win-win cooperation, not confrontation and zero-sum competition, and deliver on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state to bring bilateral relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth," Mao added. 




NANCHANG, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The rabbit, a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture, is often welcomed by artists in their works.

At the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, a museum in China's Nanchang promoted its collection of rabbit-themed works painted by the renowned Chinese painter Zhu Da (Bada Shanren), who was born in Nanchang in the 1620s.

China welcomed the Year of the Rabbit on Jan. 22 according to its lunar calendar.

In the Chinese calendar and zodiac, the rabbit is the fourth in the 12-year cycle of animals.





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BEIRUT, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese General Security arrested five people last month for forming a terrorist cell affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), the daily newspaper Al Akhbar reported Monday.

Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the detainees admitted to having prepared to carry out a terrorist attack on a church in the northern city of Tripoli on Christmas Eve last year, said the newspaper.

He had other plans, including attacking a hospital in Beirut with an explosive drone.

The detainees, all Lebanese citizens, are mostly from families with a long history of operating with terrorist groups, some of whom had fought in Syria and spent years in prison in Lebanon for working with terrorist groups, according to the investigations.

Lebanon tightened security during the Christmas and New Year festivals by deploying 521 officers, 7,690 soldiers, and 440 security patrols at 391 churches across the country.

Over the past years, Lebanon has busted several terrorist networks and groups and foiled many of their plans. 
Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Arc de Triomphe during the New Year's celebrations on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris, France, on Jan. 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Before the pandemic, more than two million Chinese tourists visited France each year. They represented 8.2 percent of the total number of visitors to the Louvre Museum.

PARIS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- France's tourism sector has welcomed China's recent relaxation of cross-border travel restrictions, fueling expectations of a return to pre-COVID-19 tourist numbers.

In 2019, France hosted nearly 90 million international tourists, which made it the top tourist destination in the world in terms of tourist arrivals. In the same year, more than 50 million tourists visited the Paris region, and Chinese tourists made up the second-largest cluster. They generated over one billion euros (1.08 billion U.S. dollars) in tourism revenues, the Paris Ile-de-France Regional Tourism Committee said.

Decorations are seen at the Chinese Lounge at the apartment Victor Hugo rented from 1832 to 1848 in Place des Vosges in central Paris, France, June 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Air connectivity between France and China has been gradually improving since China's decision to optimize its COVID-19 response. Air France now operates two flights per week to Shanghai and one to Beijing. Three weekly direct flights have been operating to Hong Kong since Jan. 9, and a third to Shanghai will be added in February. Passenger transport capacities are expected to be strengthened by next summer, according to the French Embassy in China.

"Chinese tourists are mainly welcomed by operators specializing in Chinese or Asian customers. Of course, due to the absence of the Chinese, they remained in apnea for three years, which is extremely long, extremely hard," Jean-Pierre Mas said. He is president of Les Entreprises du Voyage, an association that brings together 1,674 companies representing 85 percent of the travel agency market in France.

"They benefited from the support of the state, but the support, there is no longer any today, and they, therefore, count on the return of the Chinese," he explained.

Passengers are checking in at the Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

For the past three years, Li Xiaotong, who runs Mandarin Voyages, a France-China tourism operator based in Paris, has refocused her business on online content and city tours for Chinese people living abroad.

For Li, the return of Chinese tourists is already noticeable, but for the moment, this recovery mainly concerns those Chinese living in other countries, business delegations or family reunions.

For Caroline Paul, founder of Talents Travel and a consultancy strategy specialist specializing in tourism marketing for the Chinese market, the world of travel is experiencing what is called "revenge travel," which means people having not been able to travel for a while, and therefore needing to travel at all costs to be no longer constrained.

"It's the same for the Chinese," she said, adding that "the return of Chinese tourists is going to be quite significant."

People visit the Louvre Museum on its reopening day in Paris, France, on May 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese art lovers are also eagerly awaited in the museums of Paris. Before the pandemic, the Louvre Museum was a favorite site for Chinese tourists in Paris, who represented 8.2 percent of the museum's total visitors in 2019.

Before the pandemic, more than two million Chinese tourists visited France each year. "If this year we have a million Chinese, it will already be a very, very good result," Jean-Pierre Mas said.

For Caroline Paul, however, there will be a "before" and an "after" COVID-19 in the way Chinese people travel. "They're going to start to travel again. Their trips are going to be longer. They're going to stay longer. It's going to be much more individual, much more upscale travel," she said.

According to Paul, France's tourism professionals will need to adapt to the new ways that the Chinese travel.

Participants perform during the Chinese New Year parade in Paris, France, on Jan. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks with the staff at the investment center of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jan. 30, 2023. Li on Monday paid a visit to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, where he chaired a symposium. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed enhancing the role of finance in stabilizing the macroeconomy and improving financial services to keep the economy performing within a reasonable range.

Li made the remarks on Monday during a visit to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), where he chaired a symposium.

Speaking with the staff at the investment center of SAFE, Li said that, faced with multiple external shocks in recent years, China has kept foreign exchange reserves above 3 trillion U.S. dollars, and the exchange rate of yuan has remained basically stable, providing strong support for foreign trade, the financial sector and the economy.

Recent reform in the financial sector has solidly supported China's economic development, Li noted. Only a good economy will produce a sound financial sector, and only when the financial sector is stable will the economy run steadily, he said.

Improvement and innovations in macro regulation, as well as sticking to the prudent monetary policy, have played a crucial role in ensuring economic stability and serving the real economy, Li said at the symposium, citing loan rate reductions for enterprises and the mild increases in consumer prices.

China has also prevented risks from unusual fluctuations in the financial markets, addressed risks in small and medium financial institutions and property developers, among others, and ensured that no systemic risks arise, he said, cautioning that ensuring financial stability and preventing risks is still an arduous, long-term task.

With a rebound in economic growth underway, the financial system should continue to improve services for the real economy, said the premier.

He called for enhancing financial support to strengthen consumption, investment and economic structure, improving the financial environment for the private sector, especially the small firms, fending off financial risks, and keeping the yuan's exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks with the staff at the investment center of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jan. 30, 2023. Li on Monday paid a visit to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, where he chaired a symposium. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chairs a symposium during a visit to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jan. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chairs a symposium during a visit to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Jan. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)
People operate excavators to demolish a house in the West Bank city of Hebron, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua)

"We are seriously concerned about the negative ... development of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," Lavrov said.

MOSCOW, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that both Russia and Egypt agreed on the importance of resuming negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

"We are seriously concerned about the negative ... development of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," Lavrov said during a press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Moscow.

Both sides confirmed the need for a swift revival of negotiations between Palestine and Israel, Lavrov said, adding that such talks would aim to resolve key final status issues and help achieve a comprehensive settlement based on a universally recognized international legal framework.

Lavrov stressed the importance of resuming work within the international quartet of Middle East mediators, adding that it is important for the quartet, composed of the United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States, to work in close coordination with any of the Arab states.

He noted however that there was currently not much progress in this direction.

The Egyptian foreign minister also pointed to the importance of a speedy settlement, and the need to intensify international mediation efforts, including through work within the international quartet. 
ALGIERS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Participants at the 17th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (PUIC) urged dialogue and solidarity to promote peace and security around the world at the end of their work here on Monday.

The participants adopted a declaration in which they stressed "the importance of strengthening joint action to confront terrorism and violent extremism that constitute an existential threat to global peace and security."

They called for "strengthening international and regional cooperation and solidarity among member states in the field of combating terrorism by developing a comprehensive strategy."

They further urged Palestinian factions to strengthen their efforts to confront illegal policies and practices, "especially the violations that affect the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the violence practiced against defenseless worshipers."

They also called for a cessation of "all Israeli violations of international law" and an end to "the ongoing repression against Palestinian civilians."

They reaffirmed their support for "Palestine's demand to obtain the status of a full-fledged member state in the United Nations, in order to reach a two-state solution in accordance with the rules and principles of international law."

Themed "The Islamic World and the Challenges of Modernization and Development," the conference started on Sunday in Algiers, with representatives of more than 35 parliaments present. 
Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, opened an office at Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island, reinforcing its long-term commitment to providing a gateway between Europe and the UAE.

The inauguration was attended by French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire; Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, and Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, among other esteemed guests.

Ardians team in Abu Dhabi will serve its large base of local and regional investors and support its growing range of portfolio companies expanding into the region.

The new opening, Ardians 16th global office, aligns with Ardians ambition to provide clients with a tailored and local presence, in response to increasing investor demand. Ardian will work closely together with its LPs to share knowledge and strengthen relationships, developing globally diversified portfolios of the best that private investments have to offer.

The local team, under the supervision of Francois Aissa Touazi, Chairman Ardian Limited Abu Dhabi, will comprise senior representatives from both Ardian investment teams and support functions to provide client-support services in the region.

Dominique Senequier, President of Ardian, said: At the heart of Ardians approach is close collaboration with our partners around the world. Our new office in the United Arab Emirates is therefore a natural progression as we continue with our strategy to evolve and grow globally. Having a local presence marks our commitment to the goals of developing strategic and long-stranding partnerships in the region. We look forward to working alongside our long-standing partners in the region to provide new opportunities for growth.

Francois Aissa Touazi said: With our newly established office, Ardian looks forward to stepping up its role as a partner of choice for financial institutions in the Gulf region. The UAEs core values of excellence, innovation, and development resonate strongly with Ardians own values and alongside our portfolio companies, we are confident that our activity is well-aligned in supporting the UAE on its 'We the UAE 2031' development path and will strengthen economic diversification.

Ardian has been active in the UAE and the region for two decades, responsible for $25 billion of AUM from more than 60 investors and $8 billion of capital deployed in the region. - TradeArabia News Service
YAOUNDE, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's electoral body, Elections Cameroon (Elecam) on Monday published a list of 13 political parties, including the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement that will compete in the country's Senate elections scheduled for March 12.

Director General of Elecam Essousse Erik said all was set for the smooth organization of the elections. "Our teams are well prepared. As usual, we are resolute to organize free and fair elections nationwide."

Municipal and regional councilors will elect 70 senators in 10 regions of the country and the president of the republic will appoint 30 other senators, to sum up to 100 senators who will run the senate for five years.

The Central African nation held its first Senate elections in 2013 after a 1996 constitutional amendment ushered in the Upper House of the Parliament. 
TUNIS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied decided on Tuesday to extend the state of emergency imposed across the country until the end of 2023.

"The state of emergency in the entire territory will be extended from Tuesday to Dec. 31, 2023," said the Journal of the Republic of Tunisia, an official biweekly gazette.

Tunisian emergency law allows the authorities' exceptional powers, including carrying out home arrests, banning official meetings, imposing curfews, monitoring media and press, prohibiting assemblies, and media censorship without permission from the judiciary.

It is considered one of the longest extensions since the state of emergency was first declared in Tunisia on Nov. 24, 2015, following a bomb attack on a bus carrying presidential guards, killing 12 of them. 
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani rescue workers recovered 21 more bodies from a dam in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, taking the death toll of Sunday's boat incident to 52, an official said on Tuesday.

Students of a seminary were aboard the boat when it capsized in Tanda Dam in Kohat district of the province on Sunday morning, District Police Officer Abdul Rauf Babar Qaisarani said.

All of the drowned so far recovered were aged between seven and 14 who came to the dam for a picnic, said the official, adding that the search operation for two more missing students is still underway.

The Pakistani army and navy were taking part in the relief operations at the lake to assist the local administration in their rescue activities.

Earlier, police and local authorities provided contradictory figures for the number of students on board. They initially said around 25 to 30 people were on board the ill-fated boat, but later reported that there were at least 58 people.

The accident occurred due to overloading of the boat, Deputy Commissioner of Kohat district Furqan Ashraf told media, adding that the dam was closed by authorities for any recreational tours, but the seminary students ventured into the dam without permission.

A case has been registered against the boat operators and other relevant personnel, he added. 
AUCKLAND, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- With the maximum amount of water vapor in the air increasing exponentially with temperature, the potential for extreme rainfalls grows as the climate warms, New Zealand scientists warned on Tuesday.

Auckland is currently challenging the record for its wettest month ever. More than 769 percent of its rainfall in a normal January has been recorded so far, which was about more than a third of Auckland's entire annual average, with further round of downpours likely to hit again on Tuesday night.

"Not that every storm brings a deluge, but as we warm the climate, we constantly weight the dice towards heavier rainfall events," Prof. James Renwick from Victoria University of Wellington explained the link between a warming climate and such extreme rains.

Record rainfall from Friday morning through overnight to Saturday morning in Auckland caused massive flooding across the biggest city in New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the severe weather was a climate change.

"When the rain hit, it hit very hard and very fast... Aucklanders need to brace for the fact there could be more rain. This is quite unprecedented," Hipkins said.

The country's national meteorological service MetService issued Red Heavy Rain Warning for the Auckland area overnight and recorded 249 mm of rain in 24 hours until 1 a.m. Saturday.

The previous 24-hour record of rainfall was 161.8 mm, dating back to February 1985, according to MetService. The red warnings are only issued for the most significant weather events.

The record rainfall has caused massive flooding to houses and properties, claiming four people's lives and forcing the closure of state highways and the Auckland Airport, with the state of emergency declared by the government.

Prof. Renwick said many of the heaviest rainfall events in New Zealand and elsewhere are associated with "atmospheric rivers" which means vast corridors of moisture that extend from the tropics to higher latitudes. The recent flooding in Auckland is an example of this.

As the atmosphere becomes more loaded with water vapor, these "rivers" are set to transport more moisture. Already, a significant atmospheric river carries as much water as the Amazon does, he said.

Dr. Daniel Kingston of the School of Geography, University of Otago, said the Auckland catastrophe was linked to atmospheric rivers funneling warm moist air down from the tropics, and its relatively slow passage over the country -- similar to the slow-moving atmospheric river that devastated the top of the South Island in August last year. 
MANILA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 404 public school learners committed suicide, and 2,147 learners attempted suicide in the Philippines in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official of the Department of Education said on Tuesday, calling it "an alarming rate that continues to go up."

Philippine Education Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban told a senate hearing that the school suicide rate "is something we look into," stressing that even one suicide case is too much.

He said the transition from face-to-face to online learning during the pandemic put a strain on the students.

Galban also told the panel that the agency believed that the 775,962 learners who sought guidance counseling in 2021 are potentially underreported given the lack of guidance counselors in public schools.

He provided the senate with a snapshot of the mental health situation in public schools and stressed the need for more mental health programs and mental health experts in schools.

The recommended ratio for the number of guidance counselors to students is one to 250, but the reality is one to 13,394, he noted. "So clearly, there is a gap to be filled."

The Senate Committee on Basic Education said it is prepared to endorse the Department of Education's request for a higher salary for guidance counselors in schools to ensure that the country's youth have access to mental health programs.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed the senate bill Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, which seeks to strengthen the promotion and delivery of mental health services in primary education schools through institutionalizing the mental health and well-being program and prescribing the hiring and deployment of mental health professionals. 
by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- On a usual afternoon at work, Nasrullah Khan, sub-inspector of police in the capital city of Peshawar of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, took some time off from work to offer prayer in the highly guarded Police Lines area of the city.

"More than 300 people were inside the mosque, and as soon as the prayers began a big blast was heard, and the roof of the mosque started falling apart," Khan said, adding that "before I could rush out of the mosque something hit me and I fell on the ground."

Khan was lucky that a pillar of the roof landed just close to him, making a protective shield and saving him from receiving fatal injuries in a suicide attack which has killed at least 63 people and injured 157 others.

"I was scared down there, seriously wounded, lying under all the dirt, hearing the groans of others, until rescue teams started removing the rubble and I saw a small tunnel and mustered up my courage to creep out of it, with the help of rescue workers," Khan told Xinhua from Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar where he is being treated for his injuries.

According to Peshawar police, the blast occurred at about 1:13 p.m. local time on Monday in the Police Lines area when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in the front row of the prayer congregation in the mosque.

In talks with Xinhua, Inayatullah Khan, former health minister of the province, who was having a meeting with a police officer a few yards away from the blast site when the incident happened, said that the area is a heavily guarded compound consisting of residences and offices of police, intelligence, and counter-terrorism departments.

He said that the bomber had to cross at least two police checkpoints before entering the Police Lines.

"The successful execution of the attack indicates that he was well versed about the area and managed to dodge the police to reach the mosque or had the support of some insider," he said.

Part of the mosque was razed to the ground following the explosion, trapping scores of people inside, and the rescue teams are still busy sifting through the rubble to recover at least 10 missing people.

Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been imposed in all hospitals in the city to provide the best possible medical treatment to the victims, according to the provincial health department.

Khalid Waqas, president of the non-government rescue organization Al-Khidmat Foundation in the province, told Xinhua that when they received news about the incident, their rescue workers in 16 ambulances rushed to the site and shifted the injured people to the hospital, and recovered the trapped people from the debris.

"We remain active in rescue work across the province, but this is one of the most serious blasts that I have ever seen in my life. I can not explain in words what I saw today. Most of the people received wounds both from the explosion and from the collapsed roof due to which they could not survive," he said.

Almost all of the victims were either policemen, non-uniformed staff of the police department, or their visitors or family members, police sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that a 25-year-old member targeted the police to avenge the death of a militant commander.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited Lady Reading Hospital on Monday to ask about the health of the wounded policemen.

In a statement following his visit, Sharif said that "the nation is overwhelmed by a deep sense of grief. I have no doubt terrorism is our foremost national security challenge." 
ISTANBUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Widespread consumption during the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, reflects a dynamic Chinese economy and could rub off on Turkiye in the coming year, experts and tourism industry professionals here have said.

Mustafa Sonmez, a Turkish economist and writer, said the festival brought about a robust economic rebound. Such dynamism would "find a place in the Chinese economy, China's domestic market, and the world economy," and could make its way to Turkiye in 2023.

Robust tourism activities and an increase in consumption from the holiday season would positively affect the world economy, Baris Doster, a scholar at the Istanbul-based Marmara University, said.

After China optimized its COVID-19 responses on Jan. 8, easing international travel, Turkiye started to see more Chinese tourists arriving, especially during the Spring Festival.

"I wish all Chinese people a year of abundance, prosperity, peace, and happiness," Hasan Eker, vice president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Irfan Karsli, head of the Istanbul-based Ligarba Travel Agency, said that tourism representatives looks forward to the arrival of Chinese tourists.

After hosting over 420,000 Chinese tourists in 2019, according to official data, Turkiye had initially projected to attract nearly one million in 2020, but such hopes were dashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, TJ Joulak, general manager of the Shangri-La Bosphorus, decorated the hotel with a sea of red lanterns, a giant wish tree and various rabbit figures of all sizes.

Sevgi Uzgen, a history teacher, visited the hotel to enjoy the New Year decorations. "I wish the year of the Rabbit could bring abundance and luck to people," Uzgen told Xinhua after taking several photos of her mother next to a rabbit statue.

"Rabbit is an adorable animal," said Betul Pakis, a designer in charge of the hotel decorations. "I hope it will bring peace to the whole world." 
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Boeing announced on Monday that the company was awarded a 2.3 billion U.S. dollars contract for the ninth production lot of 15 KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft by the U.S. Air Force.

To date, 128 KC-46A Pegasus are on contract with the U.S. Air Force, with 68 delivered, Boeing said.

Boeing said it builds KC-46A aircraft on the 767 production line in Everett, Washington state, supported by a supplier network of about 37,000 American workers employed by more than 650 businesses throughout more than 40 U.S. states.

Boeing is on contract for 138 KC-46A Pegasus tankers globally, the company said. 
Tehran: According to Newsweek, Iranian diplomats have cautioned that American military action against their nation runs the risk of sparking a full-scale conflict. There have been rumours that Washington may have been involved in a recent drone strike on an Iranian military facility.

The Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN told Newsweek on Monday that any use of the military option would result in US involvement in the conflict. The statement said Iran currently views such a possibility as "weak." However, it went on to say that if "the US miscalculates and starts a war," Washington would be responsible for the dire consequences for the region and the rest of the world.

The remarks were made following a Saturday night attack on a building belonging to the Iranian Defense Ministry in the city of Isfahan. The Wall Street Journal and the Jerusalem Post, among other news organisations, claimed that Israel had launched the attack from inside Iran. Three tiny drones allegedly carrying explosive charges were used in the attack.

Also Read: Ukraine will never retake Crimea EU states president

Although it is suspected of staging a number of sabotage attacks and assassinations of Iranian officials and scientists, Israel typically neither confirms nor denies claims of operations against Iran.

The explosions in Isfahan were initially linked to a US Air Force operation, according to initial Arab media speculation. Later, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that the strike did not involve any American forces, but he would not elaborate.

In contrast to claims of a major success reported by the Jerusalem Post, Iranian officials refused to place blame on any party and asserted that the attack had only slightly damaged the building's roof.

Also Read: Hindus being targeted all over the world! Temple attacked in Canada after Australia

A representative of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky hinted that his nation might be involved in the incident. Kiev has accused Iran of giving Russia lingering ammunition for its military operation in Ukraine, a claim that both Moscow and Tehran have refuted.

Also Read: Biden's remarks regarding the F-16s for Ukraine

Mikhail Podoliak tweeted that Iran had been "warned" and that "war logic is inexorable and murderous." The Zelensky aide had previously called for attacks on Iran because of its alleged support for Russia. In response to Podoliak's comments, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Kiev's charge d'affaires.
Jakrata: Numerous Indonesian Muslims demonstrated on Monday in front of the heavily guarded Swedish Embassy in the nation's capital to protest the recent desecration of Islam's holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.

More than 300 protesters blocked a busy street in Jakarta's downtown while waving white flags bearing the Islamic declaration of faith, trampling Rasmus Paludan's portraits and burning the flags of Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands as well as the Danish anti-Islam activist's country of birth.

More than 200 police and soldiers were stationed in and around the razor-wire-barricaded embassy, which was accessible only via streets that were blocked by authorities.

Also Read: The Stockholm Koran burning may have involved Russia

Police gave Paludan permission to hold a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm earlier this month after he burned the Quran there on January 21. Days later, near the Dutch Parliament, Edwin Wagensveld, the Dutch leader of the far-right Pegida movement, tore pages out of a copy of the Quran and trampled on them.

It infuriated millions of Muslims around the world and led to demonstrations, including in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. In Jakarta, protesters yelled, "God is Great" and "Get out, Swedish embassy!"

According to a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry named Teuku Faizasyah, the Indonesian government strongly denounced the burning of the Quran by Paludan and summoned the Swedish ambassador Marina Berg last week.

Also Read: Pope condemns the Middle East's rising "death spiral"

Religious tolerance has been harmed and tarnished by this act of blasphemy, the ministry declared in a statement on January 22. "Freedom of expression should only be used responsibly."

Turkey has charged the Stockholm government with being too lenient toward groups it views as terrorist organisations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. Stockholm has jointly applied to join NATO with Finland. NATO requires its existing members to unanimously approve the addition of new members, but Turkey claims it would only consent to Sweden's admission if the nation met its requirements.

Marwan Batubara, the organiser of the protest, criticised Paludan for its aggressive hostility toward Islam and urged Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark to punish those responsible and express regret to Muslims.

Also Read: Palestinians condemn the woman who was killed in Jenin without cause

Because it deeply hurt us, we demand that Sweden prosecute him in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. The defence of those who disparage Islam under the banner of free speech will only inspire martyrs to stand up for it.

The far-right extremist's act of Islamophobia in Sweden was "strongly rejected by the Swedish government," according to a statement from the Swedish Embassy in Jakarta.

The statement read, "This act does not in any way reflect the opinions of the Swedish government."
Emerge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar and French energy giant EDF, has signed an agreement with Coca-Cola Al Ahlia Beverages, the soft drink brand's bottler and distributor in the UAE, to set up a 1.8 MWp solar photovoltaic plant for its Al Ain facility.

The commercial and industrial (C&I) project, located at the Coca-Cola bottling facility in Al Ain, will be a combination of ground-mounted, rooftop, and car park installations.

As per the deal, Emerge will provide a full turnkey solution - including the design, procurement and construction, for the solar project as well as providing the operation and maintenance of the plant for 25 years.

The agreement was signed by Coca Cola Al Ahlia Beverages CEO Mohamed Akeel and Emerge General Manager Michel Abi Saab at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) held recently.

Abi Saab said: Emerge is pleased to be increasing its C&I footprint in the UAE with our collaboration with such a reputed company. We are confident the 1.8 MWp solar PV plant we will build, operate and maintain for Coca-Cola Al Ahlia Beverages  like the facilities we are building for our other partners Miral, Khazna Data Centers, and Al Dahra Food Industries  will provide stable and clean energy for its Al Ain facility for decades to come.

On the key partnership, Akeel said it was a significant milestone for the soft drinks brand as it continues to drive and embrace innovation in every part of the business while reducing the carbon footprint.

"Our agreement with Emerge will allow us to reach yet another sustainability milestone - a big aspect of which is the integration of more renewable energy into our operations," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Joint staff training involving Russian troops begins in Belarus 31 January, 12:39 PM Belarus announced the start of new exercises with the Russian troops (Photo:www.facebook.com/mod.mil.by)

A "joint staff training" involving Belarusian and Russian troops has begun in Belarus, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced of on Telegram on Jan. 31.

The ministry said that during the week representatives of the military departments of the two countries "will work on the issues of joint planning of the use of troops based on the experience of armed conflicts in recent years."

Read also: Joint aviation exercises with Russia to kick off in Belarus

The theme of the drills is as follows: "Decision-making on the use of a regional grouping of troops (forces) in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Union State."

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The Union State is how Belarus and Russia describe the Moscow-dominated partnership between the Belarusian and Russian dictatorships.

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense stated that the training is "aimed at increasing the compatibility of the military authorities of the two states" and "is the next stage of preparation for the joint operational exercise" 2023 Union Shield, which will be held in Russia in September 2023.

In a December interview with UK news magazine the Economist, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that Russia could launch a new offensive in February.

According to Zaluzhnyi, the offensive could take place not in Donbas, but in the direction of Kyiv from Belarus.

Read also: Ukraine would have enough time to react to potential invasion from Belarus

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Jan. 24 warned that Russia was amassing forces for a new large-scale offensive.



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Lithuania calls for fighter jets for Ukraine, as Hungary and Austria oppose any arms deliveries 31 January, 04:57 PM Gitanas Nauseda believes that drawing new "red lines" in the issue of fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine is impractical (Photo:Gitanas Nauseda/facebook.com)

With debate now shifting to the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said he supports the transfer of all kinds of weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Speaking to television channel LRT TV on Jan. 30, Nauseda said that in the context of Russian aggression, it was inappropriate to talk about any "red lines" in this matter with regard to the Kremlin regime.

Read also: Lithuania extends EUR 40 million in military aid to Ukraine

"I have seen many red lines that have been drawn, and sometimes I even have the impression that these red lines are not drawn by us, the Western countries, the democracies, but that it is the terrorist state of Russia that is trying to draw them through fear and threats, and it is trying to impose them," Nauseda said.

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The Lithuanian leader noted that many Western countries, including Germany, had previously ruled out supplying Ukraine with anything more substantial than helmets and bulletproof vests, but now they are preparing to transfer heavily armored vehicles.

"This Rubicon has been crossed, so I do hope that this red line  if it really exists, and I think it exists only in our heads  will also be crossed," Nauseda said, emphasizing the extreme importance of military assistance to Ukraine "at this crucial stage in the war."

Hungary and Austria, on the other hand, are categorically opposed to providing any weapons to the Ukrainian army, according to the Osterreich newspaper.

During a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Klaudia Tanner, the parties declared that military aid to Ukraine could lead to an "escalation.

According to the Hungarian minister, this could result in the conflict spreading to other European states.

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No signs of Iranian missiles being used by Russia in Ukraine 31 January, 05:33 AM Oleksii Danilov (Photo:www.president.gov.ua)

Kyiv registers no indication that Russia is using Iranian ballistic missiles against Ukraine, National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) secretary Oleksiy Danilov told Ukrainian TV broadcasters on Jan. 30.

We dont see Iranian missiles yet, although theres been talk of that for 3-4 months  (Iranian assistance to Moscow) remains limited to Shaheed (kamikaze drones), said Danilov.

He added that Russia attempting to source ballistic missiles from Iran and other countries suggests it lacks the capacity to produce high-precision weapons domestically.

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Well tell our people and the whole world if there are Iranian or (North) Korean missiles present, the secretary concluded, saying that certain events and processes are underway in Iran.

On Jan. 28, Iranian social media were awash with footage of explosions at several military facilities across the country. The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that an ammunition factory in Isfahan was hit in an apparent attack. The site is near the Iranian Aerospace Research center, which, according to the United States, is involved in Tehrans ballistic missile program.

AP later reported Israel was behind the attacks, although Israeli officials did not confirm this. Iran claims it as successfully repelled a drone attack at one of its military enterprises.

Ukraines Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said the explosions in Iran are a direct consequence of Tehrans foreign policy, as it continues to supply Russia with weapons to use against Ukraine.

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Russia likely preparing for offensive in Ukraine in coming months, says ISW 31 January, 11:44 AM Ukrainian military in the Bakhmut area (Photo:REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

Western, Ukrainian, and Russian sources continue to indicate that Russia is preparing to launch an offensive in Ukraine in the coming months, U.S. think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Ukraine report on Jan. 30.

The ISW noted NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenbergs statement on Jan. 30 that there are no indications that Russia is preparing to negotiate for peace  rather, all indicators point to the opposite.

Stoltenberg said Russia might mobilize upwards of 200,000 men, and is continuing to acquire weapons and ammunition through increased domestic production and partnerships with authoritarian states such as Iran and North Korea.

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Stoltenberg also emphasized that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin retains his maximalist goals in Ukraine  the complete conquest of the country.

In turn, Head of the Council of Reservists of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Ivan Tymochko, relatedly stated that Russian forces are strengthening their grouping in Donbas as part of an anticipated offensive, and noted that Russian forces will need to launch an offensive due to increasing domestic pressure for victory.

According to ISW analysts, Stoltenbergs and Tymochkos statements support ISWs previous forecast that Russian forces are setting conditions to launch an offensive effort, likely in Luhansk Oblast, in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Russian milbloggers are also setting conditions in the Russian information space in anticipation of a Russian offensive. They have amplified a statement by a Russian Telegram channel that the current pace and nature of Russian operations indicate the main forces that are to carry out the anticipated offensive and promised breakthrough have not yet entered the battle.

At the same time, ISW stressed that Russia and Iran continued efforts to deepen economic ties. Iranian state media reported that Iran and Russia established direct financial communication channels between Iranian banks and more than 800 Russian banks on Jan. 29.

Iranian Central Bank Deputy Governor Mohsen Karami announced that Iranian and Russian banks have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on financial messaging, effective immediately. Karami added that Iranian banks abroad were also included in the MoU and would be able to exchange standard banking messages with Russian banks.

ISW experts believe that Iranian officials and state-affiliated media outlets framed the MoU as a means to circumvent Western sanctions on Iran and Russia and compared the messaging system to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which serves as the worlds largest financial messaging system.

Other key takeaways by ISW analysts:

Russian forces continued ground attacks to regain lost positions west of Kreminna as Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations northwest of Svatove;

Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian troop concentrations in rear areas in Luhansk Oblast;

Russian forces continued to conduct ground attacks across the Donetsk Oblast front line;

Russian forces continued to make marginal territorial gains near Bakhmut;

Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground attacks in Zaporizhzhya Oblast;

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued measures to professionalize the Russian military even as it faces a continued backlash against these measures;

Russian forces and occupation authorities continue to target Crimean Tatars in an effort to associate anti-Russia sentiment with extremist or terrorist activity.

Map of combat operations: the battle for Bakhmut, battles in the Donbass and in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in the south and in the north-east of Ukraine



Infographics: ISW

Infographics: ISW

Infographics: ISW

Infographics: ISW

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Russians training in Belarus, no offensive group formed, says State Border Guard Service 31 January, 07:57 PM Military personnel of the Russian Federation and Belarus (Photo:belvpo.com)

Ukrainian border guards are not currently observing the creation of offensive groupings in Belarus that could be used to attack Ukraine, a representative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, stated during a briefing on Jan. 31.

He said that while Russian units are at training grounds in Belarus, where they are conducting exercises, there is no creation of the (kind of) offensive group that would be (needed) to invade from the territory of Belarus."

Russian units in Belarus are at training grounds where they are conducting drills or undergoing training.

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According to the spokesperson, the redeployment of the units that have already completed their training is being completed, and since the beginning of January, new units have been brought to Belarus to conduct combat coordination and training.

The situation is being closely monitored by Ukraine's intelligence units, including the State Border Guard Service, which is recording everything that is happening across Ukraines northern border.

Belarus continues to support Russia's armed aggression. Joint exercises between the units of Belarus and Russia are constantly taking place on its territory. Since Jan. 16, there have been exercises for the aviation component, which were announced to end on Feb. 1.

Demchenko said that the main task for the Ukrainian military now in this sector is to maintain a strong defense.

On Jan. 30, State Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko said that there were only about 9,000 Russian troops in Belarus.

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Does Israel need to prepare? Who attacked Iran and what Tehran's response will be 31 January, 06:52 PM Jerusalem (Photo:Bryan_T/Flickr)

The strike on Iran should also be considered on a symbolic level

Who attacked Iran, and why is this country silent? It depends on what goal is being pursued. If the goal is a willingness to take responsibility, it will eventually be done. But usually in such cases, there are few willing to take responsibility. Therefore, we are talking here about a nobody  a mysterious unknown structure, body, country, or entity that has, in fact, carried out this operation.

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Why is this important? We see before us an example from Iran itself. Iran claims that it does not, for example, supply drones to Russia, and does everything it can to prevent the formation of any commissions that could put an end to this. Accordingly, these drones, which were used to attack Iranian facilities, may also be made of the same components that make up Iranian drones. I would not be surprised if we find an inscription on the drones fuselage or tail which survives the impact that reads Geran or Shahed-136. In other words, the situation here could be, as many joke on the Internet, a boomerang.

No one is taking responsibility, and this is making life difficult for Iran itself, as they have to act in response. If they make claims against, say, Israel, then they have to prove that Israel was behind it.

Yes, we have the statements of some Israeli experts who are close to the defense forces, but this, in my opinion, is more likely PR from the Netanyahu government, and not a fact that can be considered as proving Israel's involvement. Therefore, any strike on Israeli territory would be considered as aggression with consequences for Iran. That is, it will be declared an aggressor country and massive missile and bomb strikes will be carried out on its territory, after which its military industry will cease to exist.

Can we guess where these UAVs might have come from? They could have been launched from the sea, from an airplane, or from a ship. They could have flown from the territory of Iran itself, from its Kurdistan, as Iranian troops do not control the entire region. There are different versions speculating that the drone could have come from the territory of Azerbaijan. Some say that it was some sort of joint operation by the Ukrainians and the U.S. At least such an operation would be logical. In any case, there are many narratives, but I understand that the Iranians do not have the flight paths of these drones.

Could this strike on a military manufacturer to slow down Iranian military aid to Russia? This is important for us. Perhaps the most important and desirable thing is not only that the drones are not supplied, but that the Iranians stop even talking about the possibility of supplying ballistic missiles.

So far, however, it is difficult to answer this question, as again, we do not know all the consequences of this strike. But it seems to me that this strike should be considered on a symbolic level as well, as it is a definite game changer. In other words, strikes have not been carried out against Iranian territory before, and it was believed that the war could continue somewhere on the periphery  in Syria or Iraq  but not in Iran itself. That seal has been broken, and it is now clear that more such strikes will follow. And it all depends on how the Iranians react.

If they could do it now, they would do it now

This is because we have not so far seen any reaction (at least nothing very terrible or on the order of what we would expect) from Tehran. But we know from experience that they need several days to make decisions. That's how it was, for example, when Qassem Suleimani was killed. He died on January 3, and Iran did not strike back until January 7, three or four days later. I think that right now, they are considering what to do next, but this is definitely a clear signal to the Iranians that if they continue to cooperate with Russia, there will be many more such cotton puffs [a Ukrainian euphemism for explosions  ed.]. This should be considered as a warning. This strike could be a factor in slowing down the transfer of any arms to Russia. By blaming a force majeure, they can revise the terms of their contract.

Regarding Iran's receipt of Russian Su-35s from the Russian Federation: As I recall, these planes are supposed to be delivered (or at least the first batch of them) to Iran in the spring. So, there are at least several months to go, and it is unlikely that they will all appear at once. Therefore, based simply on this, I think that the Americans will not allow it to be done. That is, they will be causing them nightmares already. There is no point in waiting for the Iranians to get planes and new air defense equipment  if they could do it now, they would do it now, because, as far as I know, the contract with the Russian Federation provided for the exchange of aircraft and air defense equipment against cruise and ballistic missiles.

It is difficult to say whether Israels political position is changing in view of the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. At the moment, they are going through an acute internal political crisis and an escalation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. And against this background, they might find it appealing to shift their focus to an external threat  that is, to once again unite society around countering the Iranian threat. Perhaps this will be their strategy. But I am interested in whether their position on Moscow will change. So far, I am not seeing these changes. Rather, I see Netanyahu's policies as a continuation of the previous actions of previous governments. That is, they will most likely not change anything, so I see no transformation. But if the Israelis decide to counter the Iranian threat, I see all this in the context of strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel.

Of course, Israel is very interested in reducing Iran's military potential and in general doing everything it can to prevent the emergence of nuclear weapons in Iran. That is, this is Israel's key task, and they have built their strategy around it. I assume that the Israelis are hardly ready to act completely independently (without coordinating their actions with the Americans), if we are to consider the narrative that Israel participated in these strikes.

The Israelis should now be preparing to strike back, as this threat really exists. It is possible that we will see some sort of proxy war, in which the Iranians give instructions to Hezbollah to start launching missile strikes, or send strikes from the territory of Syria. It is less likely that there will be missile strikes from Iranian territory. But if this happens, then, of course, Israel had an action plan for this situation, meaning how Israel is to respond, and how other countries that guarantee Israels security would react  the U.S. primarily  and how the anti-Iranian coalition would be formed.

Because from the point of view of international law, such an attack would be absolutely unprovoked. As for how the U.S. can support Israel in this situation, it might directly participate in air attacks with the Israelis, or perhaps conduct missile and bomb strikes on Iranian territory and on critical Iranian infrastructure and military facilities. That is, by turning Iranian military equipment to dust.

Hamas has accumulated quite a large arsenal of missiles over the past few years. These are Iranian missiles. They are not ballistic, but they can seriously annoy the Israelis. The problem is that if there is a mass strike of a hundred or more missiles at once, then there is a serious threat that Israels Iron Dome can't beat it back, and will miss some of the incoming rockets. These rockets do not strike specific targets, but general areas. Hamass home-made Kassam rockets also hit general areas like this.

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EU sanctions against Belarus. What is happening now? 31 January, 06:39 PM Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko (Photo:Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)

Expectations for the content and scale of the "Belarusian" package are quite high

Traditionally, the problem of economic sanctions in the public space is discussed specifically in relation to Russia. But Belarus is hardly mentioned. Yet the status of Belarus is as the same aggressor as Russia. Why? According to the 3rd Article of UN Resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 1974, "regardless of the declaration of war, under the conditions and in accordance with the provisions of Article 2, it qualifies as an act of aggression...The action of a state that allows its territory, which it has placed at the disposal of another state, to be used by that state to commit an act of aggression against a third state". Therefore, it is necessary to proceed from this.

Video of day

The history of sanctions against Belarus has two stages. The first stage are sanctions related to human rights violations, repression of the opposition, massive falsifications during the presidential elections, and brutal suppression of civil protests. It should be noted that this sanctions policy was quite flexible. Thus, on October 29, 2015, the EU Council suspended until February 29, 2016, the freezing of assets and the ban on entry for 170 people, and the freezing of assets of three Belarusian companies. The reason for this decision was the release of all Belarusian political prisoners on August 22, 2015, and the improvement of relations between the EU and Belarus. In addition, the EU recognized that the presidential elections on October 11, 2015 were generally free.

Read also: Myroslava Gongadze What is happening on the border with Belarus near the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant

In total, the EU introduced six packages of these sanctions against 195 individuals and 35 legal entities. They provide for the freezing of their assets and the prohibition of EU citizens and companies from providing financial services to the sanctioned persons, the prohibition of persons on the sanctions list from entering the EU, etc. Other countries have introduced similar sanctions.

The economy of Belarus has traditionally depended on special political and economic ties with Russia

The second stage are sanctions connected to Belarusian participation in Russian aggression against Ukraine, which representatives of the world community began to apply with the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine. The EU introduced such sanctions at the beginning of March. Among other things, the embargo and import from Belarus of wood products, cement products, iron and steel products, and rubber products. The EU banned the export of weapons to Belarus, special equipment for internal repression, technology or software, dual-use products and technologies, goods and technologies intended for the development of military production and technologies or the defense and security sector as well. The EU also banned Belarusian transport companies from road transport within the EU. According to EU estimates, trade restrictions affected 70% of imports from Belarus. As of today, the EU has used almost all traditional sanctions instruments.

It should be noted that in 2021, the EU was the second main trading partner of Belarus (19.9% of the country's merchandise exports and imports), while Russia accounted for 49.0% of Belarus' foreign trade turnover. At the same time, bilateral trade increased by 27.0% in 2021 to EUR 12.9 billion, after a 7.3% drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read also: Oleg Zhdanov What is happening around Soledar and what is the Russian army preparing for in Belarus

Well, now to the conclusions. The economy of Belarus has traditionally depended on special political and economic ties with Russia, which actually preserved the inefficiency of the Belarusian political and economic system. In particular, we are talking about preferential conditions for the supply of energy carriers and multibillion-dollar loans that no one is going to repay. It is clear that the sanctions against Belarus force the country to seek economic salvation from Russia. Therefore, analyzing the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy, one aspect should be also taken into account  how restrictive measures affect Russia's ability to economically support Belarus.

On January 16 of this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine, in order to punish the senior political leadership of Russia and its allies. At the same time, it was emphasized that such a tribunal should have jurisdiction to investigate the relevant crimes of Alexander Lukashenko and his accomplices. In turn, on January 26, PACE unanimously demanded the creation of a special international criminal tribunal in The Hague to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders who "planned, prepared, initiated or carried out" Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine.

In my opinion, one very specific step should be the consequence of this decision  a demand to Belarus to pay reparations to Ukraine for aggression against our country. After all, the current behavior of Belarus fully corresponds to the definition of aggression, which was mentioned earlier. With regard to sanctions, as in the case with Russia, in the future their cancellation should be strictly conditioned by compensatory payments in favor of Ukraine.

The goals of the EU sanctions policy against Belarus are obvious.

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The Nepali e-commerce industry has been rapidly expanding in the last decade. This industry, which is still in its early phases, is supported by a young population and rising internet usage. Furthermore, smartphone adoption and gradual economic growth have aided this market.

E-commerce in Nepal has also benefitted from the digital payment mechanism and the prominence of social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. The majority of the e-commerce activity is focused in urban regions, including Kathmandu valley and a few other cities like Pokhara, Biratnagar, Butwal, and Lahan. Additionally, the Covid pandemic has made individuals more aware of the value of e-commerce in the country.

So, does it have a hopeful future? The answer is not straightforward and it needs an elaborate answer.

The rise of e-commerce in Nepal

E-commerce in Nepal appears to have begun when Nepali people went overseas for education and residential purposes. When non-resident Nepalis wished to send a present to their loved ones in Nepal, they encountered numerous difficulties.

As a result, the first e-commerce websites in Nepal were primarily gift sites. E-commerce in Nepal began in 2000, with the opening of thamel.com. Then came Hamrobazaar in 2005. Sastodeal arrived later, in 2011.

Daraz (2016), Nepals leading e-commerce platform, was rebranded by Kaymu, which came to the country in 2014. Although there are various e-commerce sites in Nepal right now, only a few of them are well-known.

E-commerce refers to the selling of goods and services over the internet. It also embraces all types of online transactions. The most frequent types of e-commerce in Nepal are electronic retailing, online banking, and online shopping.

Opportunities galore

Young entrepreneurs can launch their businesses at a low cost while also avoiding geographical constraints. Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

There still are new e-commerce categories such as ed-tech, food-tech, med-tech, and fin-tech. The upsurge in e-commerce in Nepal demonstrates suggests a promising future.

Nepal has a large market with a population of almost 30 million people. The population is young, with around half of the inhabitants under the age of 30. This opens up several possibilities for economic growth and innovation.

This young demographic is technologically savvy. This will most certainly favour e-commerce in Nepal. A plethora of product options on e-commerce sites will definitely satisfy the youth. Youth are also more concerned with saving time and spending it on something else, which may be accomplished by buying from home rather than going out.

E-commerce also eliminates the difficulties associated with visiting local marketplaces such as Ason in Kathmandu, which is chaotic and difficult to access parking. Young entrepreneurs can launch their businesses at a low cost while also avoiding geographical constraints.

Eliminating challenges

The e-commerce industry will blossom in the coming days as the number of online users and internet penetration rate increases. Photo: hippopx

However, we must not lose sight of the fact that there is another side to this. According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DOFE), about 3,000 Nepali young people move abroad every day.

A high rate of youth migration will not maintain a healthy proportion of young people in the country. A lack of youth will eventually lead to a lack of skilled workers and targeted customers, causing e-commerce in Nepal to suffer.

Nepal boasts 11.51 million internet users as of January 2022. The countrys internet penetration rate is 38.4 per cent. These statistics will rise in the coming periods. The e-commerce industry will thus blossom in the coming days as the number of online users and internet penetration rate increases. However, around 60 per cent of the population still does not have access to the internet.

This could be due to a variety of factors, including a lack of internet connectivity in rural areas, low digital literacy among persons over the age of 45, and low-income earners. Due to limited internet access and slow internet connection among those with internet connectivity, e-commerce in Nepal is having difficulty scaling its operations.

Furthermore, almost 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, making the delivery of products difficult. The issues have been exacerbated by a lack of sufficient road infrastructure and digital infrastructure. As a result, the governments efforts in transportation and telecommunications will define the future of e-commerce in the country.

In 2020, the Government of Nepal drafted an e-commerce bill. The governments legal action protects consumer rights and the various stakeholders involved in the business. However, the government still has to embrace more areas as well as assimilate more rules and regulations.

However, talking of technology; Nepal still has a lot to do. According to the Asian Development Outlook 2022 update (reports by the Asian Development Bank and the World Intellectual Property Organisation), Nepal ranks very low in terms of digital entrepreneurship and innovation.

In terms of the digital environment for entrepreneurship, Nepal ranks 104th out of 113 countries. Nepal is also placed 111th out of 132 nations in the Global Innovation Index 2022.

Mostly, e-commerce in Nepal promises to be on the rise in the coming years. Yet, there are numerous challenges to overcome.

The governments participation will be significant in the development of efficient transportation networks, favourable digital laws, the incorporation of technology into education, and tax regulations, all of which will have an impact on e-commerce.

Nepal will likewise face a global surge of rapid technological growth, which will also boost e-commerce in Nepal once again.
Description

Coche Comedor is hosting Las Noches De Salud! every Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. Each week diners may enjoy $15 flights of frozen margaritas, complete with small plates crafted by Chef Juan Juarez. Chefs selections will change weekly and the promotion will be offered in the bar area only. Honest Mans Beverage Director Chimene Macnaughton says of these evenings,

Anybody whos weathered a winter out east is familiar with this stretch were in now where we collectively wonder if well ever see another daffodil bloom. We can all surely use some funning up, and Coches spacious bar and sunny offerings remind us that Memorial Day is coming. - Chimene Macnaughton
Description

The Hofstra University Museum of Art exhibition, When We All Stand, focuses on the power of artists and the arts to address complex issues in society and chart a path for social change.

On display from January 31-July 28, 2023, at Emily Lowe Gallery on Hofstra Universitys South Campus, When We All Stand features the talents of Emma Amos, Molly Crabapple and the Equal Justice Initiative, For Freedoms, Miguel Luciano, Michele Pred, Hank Willis Thomas, and Sophia Victor. Their works spotlight injustices and send out a call for activism on issues such as immigration, gender equality, reproductive rights, mass incarceration, voting rights, and gun violence.

Curated by Alexandra Giordano, the Museums assistant director of exhibition and collection, the exhibition underscores artists civic responsibility and influence.

When We All Stand highlights the vital role that artists have in activating democratic values that promise equality and freedom, encouraging civic engagement, and cultivating unity, said Giordano. The Museum is thankful to the artists for lending their artwork  it is consequential and timely.

When We All Stand is presented in conjunction with Hofstras 13th Presidential Conference, Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States, April 19-21, 2023.

The public is invited to a free preview reception of the exhibit on Sunday, January 29, 2023, 2-4 p.m. The exhibits opening reception is planned for Thursday, February 2, 2023, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at Emily Lowe Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. To RSVP please call (516) 463-5672.

Image credit:

Michele Pred (Swedish-American, born 1966)

Love as Activism

2021

Neon on plexi

26 x 26 x 5 inches

Edition 2 of 3

Courtesy of the Nancy Hoffman Gallery
Alfanar Construction, a leading EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contractor in Saudi Arabia, said it has signed an agreement with Korean group Daewoo Engineering and Construction to explore opportunities for joint collaboration in the construction of oil, gas and petrochemical projects across the kingdom.

The deal was inked by Alfanar Executive Vice President Amer Al Ajmi and Daewoo E&C Senior Vice President Sungmin Yang on the opening day (January 30) of iktva2023 Forum & Exhibition being held at Dhahran Expo Center.

To be held until February 2, the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) programme will see participants visit designated exhibition pavilions for enablers, digital, sustainability, industrial and manufacturing, as well as investment workshops and various panel discussions.

This year's edition is being held under the theme 'Accelerating Future Success,' which aims to strengthen companies' readiness and resilience for tackling the upcoming calendar year by forging their collective localization efforts in different focus areas, such as sustainability, digital, industrial, manufacturing.

Alfanar said as a leading Saudi company, it continues to contribute heavily towards developing local content and achieving sustainability in the energy sector.

Through this agreement, the duo will work on transferring and localising expertise in the engineering construction field and exchange the expertise of advanced technologies used in design, procurement, and project execution, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
(Adds quote from U.S. secretary of state)

By Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of a military coup with curbs on energy officials and junta members, among others.

Washington imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises and energy officials, among others, according to a Treasury Department statement. Details of the decision were first reported by Reuters.

It marks the first time the United States has targeted Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions program, a Treasury spokesperson said.

Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom also announced sanctions.

Myanmar's top generals led a coup in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system that was created by the military, which led to a decade of unprecedented change.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.

Tuesday's U.S. sanctions target the managing director and deputy managing director of MOGE, which is the junta's single largest revenue generating state-owned enterprise, according to Treasury.

Human rights advocates have called for sanctions on MOGE, but Washington has so far held back.

Also designated by Washington was the Union Minister of Energy, who Treasury said represents Myanmar's government in international and domestic energy sector engagements and manages the state-owned entities involved in the production and export of oil and gas.

Mining Enterprise No 1 and Mining Enterprise No 2, both state-owned enterprises, as well as the Union Election Commission, were also hit with sanctions by Washington.

TOUGH ELECTION RULES

On Friday, the junta announced tough requirements for parties to contest an election planned for August, including a huge increase in their membership, a move that could sideline the military's opponents and cement its grip on power.

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The election would subvert the will of the people if opponents of the military continue to be met by violence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"Many key political stakeholders have announced their refusal to participate in these elections, which will be neither inclusive nor representative, and which almost certainly will fuel greater bloodshed," he said.

The rules favor the Union Solidarity and Development Party, a military proxy stacked with former generals, which was trounced by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2015 and 2020 elections.

Thousands of NLD members were arrested or jailed in the coup, including Suu Kyi, and many more are in hiding.

The NLD in November described this year's election as "phoney" and said it would not acknowledge it. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.

Washington also targeted former and current Myanmar military officials, the Treasury said, accusing the Air Force of continued air strikes using Russian-made aircraft against pro-democracy forces that have killed civilians.

Canada targeted six individuals and prohibited the export, sale, supply or shipment of aviation fuel in its action. Australia targeted members of the junta and a military-run company.

The United Kingdom designated two companies and two people for helping supply Myanmar's air force with aviation fuel used to carry out bombing campaigns against its own citizens.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said that even with Tuesday's action, the United States has still not matched stronger sanctions imposed by the European Union, particularly when it comes to natural gas revenue and banks that process foreign payments for the extractive sector.

"As a result, the measures taken so far have not imposed enough economic pain on the junta to compel it to change its conduct," Sifton said in a statement. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey in Washington and Sachin Ravikumar in London; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
(Adds war background, paragraph 4; Iran comment, paragraph 7)

By Karen Freifeld and Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday put new trade restrictions on seven Iranian entities for producing drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Commerce said.

The firms and other organizations were added to a U.S. export control list for those engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

The additions to the Commerce Department's "entities list" were posted in a preliminary filing in the U.S. Federal Register, the government's daily journal, and will be officially published on Wednesday.

Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and over 30 other countries have sought to degrade its military and defense industrial base by using export controls to restrict its access to technology.

The Iranian entities are Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company, Paravar Pars Company, Qods Aviation Industry, and Shahed Aviation Industries.

Any suppliers to the entities are required to have licenses to ship goods and technology, but these are expected to be denied, apart from those for food and medicine. The licenses will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York said: "Sanctions have no effect on Iran's drone production capacity because its drones are all produced domestically. This is a strong indication that the drones shot down in Ukraine and using parts made by Western countries don't belong to Iran."

In January, Canada announced it would buy a U.S.-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine. NASAMS is a short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system that protects against drone, missile and aircraft attack. The United States has provided two NASAMS to Ukraine and more are on the way.

Other ground-based air defense systems such as Raytheon Technology Corp's Patriot have been pledged by the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands as allies hope to stave off further power disruptions. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York and Mike Stone in Washington; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Paul Simao and Howard Goller)
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NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- APIW, Inc. is pleased to announce Janet Jordan-Foster, Executive Vice President, and Head of Primary Casualty Insurance at AXIS, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the prestigious APIW Insurance Woman of the Year Award. Ms. Jordan-Foster will be recognized with this award on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at The View at Battery Park in New York City.

In announcing the award, APIW President Elizabeth Kramer said, "We are thrilled to present the 2023 APIW Woman of the Year award to Janet Jordan-Foster. Throughout her very successful career, Janet has had an enormous impact not only in leadership roles at AXIS and other companies, but also with her involvement in various industry boards and DEI groups across our industry. She is an incredibly thoughtful leader and has brought balance, reason and insights into numerous important discussions meant to support and advance women and other groups. We are pleased to have Janet represent APIW as this year's Woman of the Year."

Ms. Jordan-Foster has a career that spans more than three decades in the insurance industry. Prior to joining AXIS in 2007, she spent more than 10 years at Zurich North America where she was Executive Vice President managing Primary Casualty and Railroad and subsequently Healthcare as part of the North American Specialties Division. Currently, Ms. Jordan-Foster leads the AXIS Primary Casualty Insurance unit in the United States. Under her leadership, she has grown the team and the business by expanding AXIS's footprint in the primary space throughout the United States, positively contributing to the overall performance of the organization.

"On behalf of AXIS, I am delighted to congratulate Janet on this recognition," said Albert Benchimol, President and CEO of AXIS. "Janet is a proven leader in the Specialty Insurance space, with a strong track record of success. As a tenured member of our leadership team, she has been the catalyst in growing our Primary Casualty business. In addition, Janet's passion for developing diverse talent in our industry is a reflection of her leadership and aligns with our company's commitment to DEI. Thank you, Janet, for your contributions to AXIS and our industry."

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Ms. Jordan-Foster is also a member of the AXIS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Council which identifies, drives and executes DEI initiatives across the organization as part of the overall Corporate Citizenship program which aims to address environment, social and governance (ESG) factors. With her support and influence - AXIS successfully launched several initiatives within the organization including Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), the Annual Global Mentoring Event, and more. The AXIS DEI Program has since received several accolades including inclusion in the 2021 and 2022 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, 2022 Forbes Best Places to Work, and 2022 Insurance Business America 5-Star DEI Award.

"Janet has been integral in advancing the AXIS DEI program," said Noreen McMullan, Chief People Officer at AXIS. "Janet is a strong and well-respected business leader who has lent her expertise, strategic counsel, and strong network of connections to help grow our program to what it is today. Congratulations Janet on this well-deserved award. We are excited to continue working together as we build on our progress here at AXIS and beyond."

Across the industry, Ms. Jordan-Foster holds several leadership roles within organizations that aim to advance DEI in insurance and reinsurance. She is the immediate past Chair for The National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA) and currently sits on the Boards of the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) Diversity Foundation and the APIW.

In addition, Ms. Jordan-Foster has received several awards recognizing her leadership, expertise, and contributions to the industry. In 2020, she was included in the Insurance Business Global 100 list, which highlights industry leaders who drive positive change and demonstrate outstanding leadership. In 2022, she was also named as one of Insurance Business America's Hot 100, which honors industry executives for their innovation, leadership, and expertise.

About the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW)

Founded in 1976, APIW is the leading organization dedicated to advancement of professional insurance women and to the recognition of their contributions to theindustry. APIW sponsors programs that encourage professional development and provide opportunities for members to hone leadership skills. The group has more than 1,200 members who are successful professionals in the insurance industry and have a cross-section of industry skills and knowledge to share. APIW is based in New York, with networks in Chicago, Philadelphia, Hartford, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, New Jersey and a developing network in Boston. For more information about APIW visit www.apiw.org, or contact us at info@apiw.org.

Contact Information:

Susan Barros

Executive Administrator

scb@thebeaumontgroup.com

973-941-6024



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VACAVILLE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Athena Gold Corporation (OTCQB:AHNR)(CSE:ATHA) ("Athena" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the addition of 1,000 acres (405 Hectares) to its property at Excelsior Springs by staking 51 new BLM claims bringing its total land package to 200 BLM lode claims covering over 4,000 acres (1,619 Hectares).

Figure 1 - Map depicting Excelsior Springs Claim block with new claims shaded in light gold.

"We are excited to announce having secured an additional 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of key Lode Claims at Excelsior Springs. Our discovery at Western Slope, where we drilled three high-grade oxide gold holes near surface with multiple intercepts including 10.02 Au G/T over 10.7 meter opens the potential for continued mineralization to be found. We staked new claims to the south and east, including coverage of the Southwest IP Anomaly." commented John Power, President of Athena Gold Corp."

"Athena's recent exploration success in the Western Slope Zone proves the potential at the Excelsior Springs project. The new claims and exploration targets support our goal of developing a bulk mineable intrusive hosted gold deposit" Power added.

New Claim Block Details

A shallow IP survey on the property shows a chargeability anomaly that extends beyond the boundary of the survey to the southwest with increased chargeability going under the South Ridge Thrust Fault ("SRTF") and is a target for a concentration of sulfides at depth and needs to be drill-tested. Of the new lode claims, 19 claims were located along our southern claim block border to provide protection over this important exploration target.

Figure 2 - Map of Excelsior Springs Claim Block overlaid with the Gradient Array/IP Survey and South Ridge Thrust Fault.

An additional 32 new lode claims (640+/- acres) were located east and southeast of our existing claim blocks in The Palmetto Mountain Trend which has been a key focus on a regional scale in this area of the Walker Lane Trend for over 150 years.

Figure 3 - Map of the Palmetto Trend [1]

[1] "The Mines of the District for the most part lie within two parallel lines not much more than a half mile apart, commencing at the summit of the (Palmetto) Lida Bell Mountain thence diagonally down that mountain thence, diagonally down that mountain" was reported in the Inyo Independent newspaper in May 1873.

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About Our Flagship Excelsior Springs Project

The Excelsior Springs Project (the "Project") lies within the prolific Walker Lane tectonic trend, a large region of northwest-trending, strike-slip fault zones that host a significant number of precious metal deposits having very strong structural control for mineralization. The Project contains numerous prospect pits, trenches, roads, surface sampling sites and 104 drill holes to date within a 300m X 3,000m wide (1,000 foot-wide and 10,000-foot-long east-west trending zone of shearing and alteration. Underground workings on the two patented claims within the Project had unverified, historical production of 597,187 grams of gold (19,200 troy ounces) from 18,000 tons averaging 37.3 grams/ton Au (1.2 oz/ton Au).

The Walker Lane trend is experiencing a major resurgence of intense and successful exploration and development. The Walker Lane has had total production of 20+ million ounces ("Moz") of gold, including the following deposits at Goldfields (5 Moz), Bullfrog (2 Moz), Tonopah (2 Moz), Mineral Ridge (1.5 Moz) and Comstock (8 Moz Au, 200 Moz Ag). Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any of the above-mentioned properties, other than the Excelsior Springs the "Project"), and that the mineral deposits, and the results of any exploration or mining thereof, on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of potential mineral deposits Project or any potential exploitation thereof.

Gold mineralization discovered at the Project to date occurs in quartz vein stock-works and silicified zones in hornfels and calc-silicate altered country rock and is generally close to porphyry dykes. The best (grades and thicknesses) discovered recently were found in oxidized and altered sediments immediately above porphyry dykes seemingly intruded along existing east- and east-northeast trending faults. The mineralized stock-work vein zones are shallow and have a relatively flat plunge, making them amenable to open pit mining methods.

Most historical exploration at the Excelsior Springs Project has focused on a 2.5 km (8,200 feet) long section in the central part of the Buster zone where mineralization is at or near the surface. Surface mapping and an Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey conducted by Zonge International Inc. identified multiple zones of silicification that correlate well with the known mineralization. Many of the silicified zones defined by the IP (resistivity highs) surveys have not been tested by drilling and constitute viable exploration targets.

Based on the results of previous drilling programs, the Project is at an advanced stage of exploration with significant potential to host one or more shallow gold deposits amenable to open pit mining, along with deeper, higher grade feeder zones that may be found and could be mined by underground methods. In the opinion of management and its consultants, the Project is very promising and further exploration has the potential to expand the known mineralization and establish additional mineralized zones.

Qualified Person

Donald G. Strachan, Certified Professional Geologist (CPG #10376 AIPG), is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis of this press release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Strachan is independent of the Company and was responsible for the site management and technical aspects of Athena's 2022 drill programs.

About Athena Gold Corporation

Athena is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on the Project.

For further information about Athena Gold Corporation and our Excelsior Springs Gold project, please visit www.athenagoldcorp.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

John Power

Chief Executive Officer and President

Contact:

Phone: John Power, 707-291-6198

Email: info@athenagoldcorp.com

Jason Libenson,

President

Castlewood Capital Corporation

Phone: (647)-534-9884

Email: jason@castlewoodcapital.ca

Cautionary Statement to U.S. Investors

This press release references NI 43-101, which differs from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can legally extract or produce. Pursuant to SEC Industry Guide 7 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves. Currently Athena has not delineated "reserves" on any of its properties. Athena cannot be certain that any deposits at its properties will ever be confirmed or converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 or any successor rule or regulation compliant "reserves". Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the historic Buster Mine gold zone will ever be confirmed or converted into reserves or that it can be economically or legally extracted.

The SEC has adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These amendments became effective February 25, 2019, with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and historical property disclosure requirements for mining registrants that were included in SEC Industry Guide 7, which was rescinded from and after such date and replaced with disclosure requirements known as S-K 1300.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration plans and the completion of a phase 2 drill program at the Project, future results from exploration, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "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 press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that there will be investor interest in future financings, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner, QAQC procedures at the Project were followed, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the exploration and development of the Company's projects and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the inability of the Company to obtain the necessary financing required to conduct its business and affairs, as currently contemplated, 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 precious metals, 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, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, 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 the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and other factors and risks that are discussed in the Company's periodic filings with the SEC and disclosed in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated August 31, 2021.

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 press release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

SOURCE: Athena Gold Corporation





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/737348/Athena-Gold-Increases-Excelsior-Springs-Project-Size-in-Nevada




Burgeoning Demand for Last-mile Delivery Services: To fulfil the need for instant gratification via efficient delivery of goods to consumers has propagated the demand for last mile delivery services.

Multitude of Payment Options: Advent of BNPL, payment wallet, short-term credit lines, and others have stimulated the e-commerce growth. Subsequently, propagating logistics business.

Technological Advances: Integration of AI, warehouse automation systems, analytics, etc., have helped logistic players to predict demand and forecast supply.

GURUGRAM, India, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising Demand of Door-to-door Parcel Pickup & Delivery Services: In door-to-door parcel pickup-up & delivery, the logistic provider is involved in every stage of delivery, from packaging, sorting, custom clearance, handling until final delivery point. Service providers offer the option of same day, overnight delivery, domestic or International, documentation, safe transfers, etc. Sendel is a key service provider, while other emerging players are forming partnerships to maximize their reach. Zoom2U formed agreement with Greyhound Australia to utilize Greyhound buses to move parcels across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

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Trucking Services through Online Marketplace: Numerous online truck aggregating service providers, such as Ofload, Shippit, FreightExchange, Loadshift, among others are bridging gap between truck owners and load generators (end-users). Users can book full truck load, on-demand services, refrigerated freight, palletization, shipment tracking, and many more.

Government Initiatives: Australian government is expected to bring regulatory framework for cryptocurrency (Bitcoins), digital wallets (Google pay, Apple pay), and buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers (Afterpay). It would bring standardization in digital payments methods, after which more businesses would utilize the services. In 2022, talks with the Indian government to sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA), comprising digital trade and foster bilateral trade b/w Australia & India. This would accelerate demand for goods & thereby require sophisticated logistics support.

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Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026- Driven by rapid integration of automation technology & changing consumer shopping habits" by Ken Research observed that Australia E-commerce Logistic Market is in the Growing Phase as the Rising demand for Door Step Delivery, Increase in Digitisation, reducing cost of packaging and Government Initiatives, these are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period. The Australia E-commerce Logistics Market is expected to see high growth rate over the forecasted period 2022-2026F.

Key Segments Covered:-

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market (Revenue, Shipment, Average Cost and No of Orders and more)

By Type of Shipment (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Domestic shipments

International shipments

By Time Duration (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Same Day

2-4 Days

More than 4 days

By Delivery Area (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Interstate

Intrastate

To learn more about this report Download a Free Sample Report

By Delivery Area (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Intercity

Intracity

By Mode of transport (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Ground

Air & Sea

By Payment Method (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Cash On Delivery

Online Payment

By Orders (By Shipment), 2021 & 2026F

Accepted Orders

Rejected Orders

Key Target Audience

E-commerce Companies

Third Party Logistics Companies

Potential Market Entrants

E - Retailers

Integrates Logistics Companies

Logistics/Supply Chain Industry Associations

Visit this Link :- Request for custom report

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period: 2016-2020

Base Year: 2021

Forecast Period: 2022 2026F

Companies Covered:-

Australia Post

DHL

FedEx

Linfox

Toll group

DB Schenker

Couriers Please

UPS

Mainfreight

Aramex

DTDC

E-store logistics

StarTrack

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Socio-Economic Outlook of Australia

Internet Penetration of Australia

Overview of Retail Purchases and Categories of Online Shoppers in Australia

Demand Infrastructure- Ecosystem of Major E-Commerce Players and Sellers

Global Retail Industry Compared to Australian Market

Australia E-commerce Logistics Market Size, 2016-2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Domestic/ International Shipments, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Time Duration, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Delivery Area and Ground or Air and Sea Transport, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Segmentation by Payment Method and Accepted and Returned Orders, 2021

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Growth Drivers

SWOT Analysis of the industry

Trends and Developments in the Industry

Issues and challenges in the industry

Several Technological Disruptions in Australia E-commerce Logistics Industry

Key Challenges for E-Commerce Logistics Providers in Australia

Challenges for E-Commerce Players in Australia

Government Rules and Regulations in Australia E-Commerce Market

Government initiatives in the industry

Impact of Covid-19 on Australia's E-commerce Logistics

Snapshot of E-commerce Warehousing

Demand Analysis

Cross Comparison- Major Online E-Commerce Players

Competitive Landscape Basis Major Ecommerce Logistic Players in Australia

Cross Comparison of major Ecommerce Logistic Companies on the basis of Business Landscape

Recent Mergers and Acquisitions in E-commerce Logistics Market in Australia

Investment Analysis of Logistics Tech Startups

Future Outlook

Analyst Recommendations

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to below link:-

Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market

Related Reports by Ken Research:-

Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook 2026F- Driven by Change in Consumption Pattern of Consumers, Government Initiatives and Innovation of Advanced Technologies

According to Ken Research estimates, the Thailand E-Commerce Logistics Market E-Commerce Orders and Deliveries are growing at a CAGR of 9.5% (2021-2026F) with Increasing Number of online shoppers and entrance of major retailers in Thailand. Technology will have a huge role to play in the sector as applications. AI and a horde of other devices like drones, electric vehicles, automated systems, high-tech security and efficient management systems have made the processes much easier for logistics companies as well as their clients.

KSA E-Commerce Logistics and Warehouse Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

Over the forecast period, KSA E-commerce logistics market is expected to drive up the demand because of expected surge in internet penetration, especially its exposure to the youth. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a shift from offline sales to online sales, which is expected to ensure substantial growth in the future as well. The e-commerce logistics market in the country is expected to grow on the back of new technologies such as Automation, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things, which will be explored to increase efficiency, improve customer experience and enhance service quality.

South Korea E-commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026F- Driven by Growth in Online Shoppers along with Introduction of New Age Technologies by Logistics Players

The South Korea E-Commerce Logistics Market witnessed significant growth during the period 2018-2021, owing to the consistently increasing digitalization process in the country. In the coming years, higher smartphones penetration rate, better internet connectivity as well as vision 2030 of South Korea will play an important role in increasing the reach of E-commerce last-mile shipments all across the country. It is expected that the growing e-commerce sector will create opportunities in intracity logistics eventually since South Korea has a well-developed transportation system. So, the orders can be delivered easily from one place to another.

USA E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2026- Driven by Increase in Cross-Border E-Commerce Activities along with Same Day Delivery and Technological Innovations

According to Ken Research estimates, the USA E-Commerce Logistics Market  The USA E-Commerce Logistics Market has grown at a CAGR of 33% over the last three years due to an increase in cross-border e-commerce activities and technological and logistic innovations like Same day delivery. Same day delivery has increased between 2020-2021 in United States. 24 percent of U.S. online shoppers opted for same-day delivery for purchases from pure online merchants in 2020. As of February 2021, the percentage increased to 36 percent. Increase in cross-border e-commerce activity drives the growth of the e-commerce logistics market in USA. Rising per capita incomes and increasing access to foreign brands are favoring cross-border e-commerce.

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Contact Us:-

Ken Research Private Limited

Ankur Gupta, Director Strategy and Growth

Ankur@kenresearch.com

+91-9015378249

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/australia-e-commerce-logistics-market-is-expected-to-generate-usd--10-bn-by-2026f-owning-to-rising-demand-of-door-step-delivery-increasing-digitisation-reducing-cost-of-packaging-along-with-favorable-government-initiatives-ken-301734509.html

SOURCE Ken Research
Expert in education, social impact, non-profit and real estate combines business acumen with executive search and organizational consulting to strengthen the client proposition

Dr. Michael Nichols

Michael Nichols joins Boyden Atlanta

Atlanta, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boyden, a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 70 offices in over 45 countries, is delighted to welcome Dr. Michael Nichols to its partnership in the United States. Effective immediately, Michael is based in Atlanta and joins Boydens global Social Impact practice, serving clients in education, not-for-profit, public sector and social enterprise.

Commenting on his appointment Michael Nichols Partner, Boyden United States, said, From the moment I first talked to partners at Boyden, I could see they are doing exceptional work in higher education in markets around the world. There are teams of very high caliber people making a real impact in the sector through their expertise and collaborative teamwork, and I look forward to leveraging best practices and new ideas from global colleagues to grow a strong higher education practice in the US. I was immediately attracted to their style of engagement in the market, where partners and clients flourish and move forward together. It is quite distinctive in our industry, and I am delighted to join this global partnership.

Nichols will work with higher education clients in the United States and expand services to public, private and faith-based institutions, who continue to need strong, strategic leaders with the business acumen to lead the business enterprise of the institution, adds Nichols. Today, its more important than ever that institutions have the right people, processes and structures in place. Applying proven principles from other markets reinforces our work and enables institutions to grow, making education accessible to more and more people. This is what drives leaders who love learning, the value of it and its importance to society.

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A recognized authority on strategic leadership, organizational development and executive search, Nichols brings a 30-year track record advising leaders, teams and organizations on organizational growth and human capital. He has led a leadership consulting firm and held leadership roles in higher education and in consulting. He was previously an executive search consultant at one of the nations top executive search firms; and Chairman and CEO of a consulting firm providing marketing, organizational development and strategic planning advice to companies, colleges, universities and non-profit organizations. He has held Chief Officer roles at Southern Wesleyan University, Trinity Baptist College and Bryan College.

Having served in a number of board and association roles throughout his career, Nichols is currently Board Chair for The GreenTree Foundation. He will also draw upon his previous leadership experience in property management to support clients and colleagues specializing in real estate.

Nichols holds a Doctor of Education (Ed. D.) in organizational development from Liberty University; a MABS in international business from Tennessee Temple University; and a bachelors degree in education from Crown College.

About Boyden

Boyden is a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 70 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.

Attachment

CONTACT: Chris Swee, CMO Boyden cswee@boyden.com




Candente Copper Corp.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Candente Copper Corp. (TSX:DNT, BVL:DNT) (Candente Copper or the Company) is pleased to announce that at the Special Meeting of Shareholders of the Company held on January 31, 2023 (the Special Meeting), the disinterested shareholders of the Company have approved the $4,000,000 private placement through the issuance of 22,222,222 common shares of the company at a price of $0.18 per share (the Private Placement) with Nascent Exploration Pty. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (Fortescue), as previously announced by the Company in the press releases dated December 14, 2022 and January 9, 2023.



A total of 85,214,269 common shares of the Company, representing 31.20% of the Companys outstanding common shares, were represented at the Special Meeting. A total of 78,735,458 common shares (92.4%) voted in favour of the Private Placement with Fortescue while a total of 6,478,811 common shares (7.6%) voted against. The Private Placement was required to be approved by over 50% of the votes cast by disinterested shareholders at the Special Meeting, excluding Fortescue.

The Company anticipates that it will complete the Private Placement on or about February 6, 2023. The Private Placement is subject to the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

About Candente Copper

Candente Copper is focused on the development of its 100-per-cent owned Canariaco advanced staged copper project. Canariaco comprises 90 square kilometers of highly prospective land located 150 kilometers northeast of the City of Chiclayo, Peru, which include the Canariaco Norte deposit, Canariaco Sur deposit and Quebrada Verde prospect, all within a 4km NE-SW trend in northern Perus prolific mining district. Canariaco is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not held by a major.

The company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), delivered March 15, 2022, highlights that the Canariaco Norte deposit has a measured and indicated resource containing 9.3 billion pounds; 2.1 million ounces of gold and 59.4 million ounces of silver within 1.09 billion tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.42% and a further 2.7 billion pounds of copper; 540,000 ounces of gold and 18.1 million ounces of silver within 411 tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.32%.

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The PEA also highlights that the Canariaco Sur deposit has an inferred resource containing 2.2 billion pounds of copper; 1.2 million ounces gold; 15 million ounces of silver and 18.9 million pounds of Moly within 385 million tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.26%.

Please refer to the technical report dated February 8, 2002, with an effective date of March 15, 2022 and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment," prepared by Ausenco.

Joanne Freeze, P.Geo., President, CEO and Director is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the projects discussed above. She has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the planned closing of the Private Placement. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approval. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licenses and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; local community opposition; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risk factors described in the Companys annual information form and other filings with Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

On behalf of the Board of Candente Copper Corp.

Joanne C. Freeze, President, CEO & Director

For further information please contact:

Joanne C. Freeze, President, CEO & Director

jfreeze@candente.com

or

Giulio T. Bonifacio, Executive Chair and Director

gtbonifacio@candente.com

1 604 689 1957

info@candentecopper.com

www.candentecopper.com




China offers Sri Lanka debt moratorium, IMF help still in doubt FILE PHOTO: Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy petrol from a fuel station, amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo

By Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO (Reuters) -The Export-Import Bank of China has offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it would support the country's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.

Regional rivals China and India are the biggest bilateral lenders to Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people that is facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

India wrote to the IMF earlier this month, saying it would commit to supporting Sri Lanka with financing and debt relief, but the island nation also needs the backing of China in order to reach a final agreement with the global lender.

However, China's Jan. 19 letter, sent to the finance ministry, may not be enough for Sri Lanka to immediately gain the IMF's approval for the critical loan, Sri Lankan sources with knowledge of the matter said.

According to the letter, China EximBank said it was going to provide "an extension on the debt service due in 2022 and 2023 as an immediate contingency measure" based on Sri Lanka's request.

"You will not have to repay the principal and interest due of the bank's loans during the above-mentioned period," the letter said, adding China EximBank wanted to expedite the negotiation process with your side regarding medium and long-term debt treatment in this period.

By end-2020, Sri Lanka owed China EximBank $2.83 billion or 3.5% of the island's external debt, according to IMF data.

In total, Sri Lanka owed Chinese lenders $7.4 billion, or nearly a fifth of public external debt, by end-2022, calculations by the China Africa Research Initiative showed.

"The bank will support Sri Lanka in your application for the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to help relieve the liquidity strain," China's letter added.

An IMF spokeswoman confirmed the IMFs management received Indias commitment but did not comment on the Chinese letter.

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Sri Lanka's foreign and finance ministries and China's foreign ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters.

One Sri Lankan source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the confidential discussions, said the country had hoped for a clear assurance from Beijing along the lines of what India provided to the IMF.

"China was expected to do more," the source said, "This is much less than what is required and expected of them."

DEBT SUSTAINABILITY

In a letter directly addressed to the IMF, India said last week that the financing or debt relief provided by Export-Import Bank of India would be consistent with restoring debt sustainability under the IMF-supported program.

Another government source with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters that Sri Lanka would likely share China's letter with the IMF and seek their opinion on its contents to gauge if stronger assurances were needed.

Comparing the letters showed that India's was "comprehensive" in acknowledging debt restructuring parameters from the IMF for middle-income countries such as Sri Lanka, another person with knowledge of the debt discussions added. Meanwhile China's letter only points to a rebuilding of foreign exchange reserves being key for Sri Lanka without referencing ratios for debt and financing needs, the person said.

"The fact that China's letter could be acceptable to the IMF will be watched very closely by all private creditors," said the person on condition of anonymity.

It is unclear what debt relief major lenders such as China - the world's largest bilateral lender - and India are willing to make further down the line.

Western countries such as the United States and multilateral lenders are pressing Beijing to offer debt relief to emerging economies in distress, and have criticised Beijing for slow progress.

However, news from Zambia on Monday suggests China could be playing a more proactive role. Speaking in the capital Lusaka, the head of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva said the lender had reached an understanding in principle with China about a debt restructuring strategy.

China will de facto accept NPV (net present value) reduction on the basis of significant stretching of the maturities and reduction of interest, Georgieva said.

Sri Lanka's central bank chief P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Tuesday the country hoped to complete its debt restructuring in six months.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe, additional reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, William Maclean and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Beleaguered crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried tried to stop bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. in November to transfer assets from his crypto exchange to foreign regulators.

According to federal prosecutors, Bankman-Fried expected lenient treatment from foreign regulators, eventually allowing him to regain control of FTX.

Last month, the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office charged Mr. Bankman-Fried for stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers and misleading investors.

Earlier this month, FTX recovered more than $5 billion in cash and other liquid assets. Still, the amount of customer losses is yet to be ascertained, an attorney for FTX told a U.S. bankruptcy court.

Last week, Mr. Bankman-Frieds lawyers asked a judge to remove bail conditions that prohibit him from accessing assets held by FTX and his investment firm Alameda, Wall Street Journal writes.

We are deeply grateful for what The Bahamas has done for us and deeply committed to it, according to prosecutors, Mr. Bankman-Fried wrote in the letter. We are also deeply sorry about this mess.

Most recently, FTX and its affiliated debtors have asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware to exclude two of its subsidiaries in Turkey, FTX Turkey and SNG Investments, from the ongoing bankruptcy case.

Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga.com

 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
FAT Brands Inc.

Original Cookie Cake Franchise Now Serving Up Treats in Albuquerque

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great American Cookies, the Original Cookie Cake franchise, announces its first location in the state of New Mexico. Located in the heart of Albuquerque, the new store boasts an array of delicious, fresh-baked treats such as Custom Cookie Cakes, classic chocolate chip and sugar cookies, and more.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding our debut in New Mexico, said Jenn Johnston, President of FAT Brands Quick-Service Division. From locals excited to get a taste of their first Great American Cookies experience to fans who grew up with the brand elsewhere looking to relive the nostalgia, the anticipation of our arrival has been nothing short of amazing. We are so appreciative of the warm welcome and look forward to creating special memories with the community in the years to come.

Great American Cookies has baked up a reputation for not only being the creator of the Original Cookie Cake, but also for its chocolate chip cookie recipe dating back to 1977. For guests craving more, they can enjoy a deliciously rich brownie, or a Double Doozie, delectable icing sandwiched between their favorite cookies.

The Albuquerque Great American Cookies is located at Paseo Village Plaza (8001 Wyoming Blvd NE, Suite B8, Albuquerque, NM 87113) and is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information on Great American Cookies, visit www.greatamericancookies.com.

About FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands

FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets, and develops fast-casual, quick-service, casual dining, and polished casual dining concepts around the world. The Company currently owns 17 restaurant brands: Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Fazolis, Twin Peaks, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Buffalos Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation Burger, Native Grill & Wings, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, and franchises and owns over 2,300 units worldwide. For more information on FAT Brands, please visit www.fatbrands.com.

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About Great American Cookies

Founded on a family chocolate chip cookie recipe in 1977, Great American Cookies believes that pure, simple delight is part of living a full life. Serving the Original Cookie Cake, fresh baked cookies in a variety of flavors, brownies, and Double Doozies, we promise to treat you to bites of bliss that prove how sweet life can be. With more than 370 bakeries across the country and internationally in Bahrain, Guam, Saudi Arabia, and treats available to ship right to your door, the sweet spot is always close to home. For more information, visit www.greatamericancookies.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Erin Mandzik, FAT Brands

emandzik@fatbrands.com

860-212-6509




The American University in Dubai (AUD) and TOUGHLOVE Advisors have announced a new collaboration that aims to bridge the gap between industry experience and academia.

Through extensive advisory services across multiple subjects  ranging from marketing communications and business innovation to business operations, strategy and management  students and the faculty, will receive vital real-life perspectives alongside curriculum material.

Together with the lectures taught by the AUD faculty, TOUGHLOVEs senior advisory board  comprising nine C-suite executives with more than 250 years of combined hands-on experience  will offer their expertise via guest speaker opportunities, roundtable discussions, hands-on mentoring and training programs, and internship and networking opportunities for current students, while also providing institutional support to the wider AUD faculty.

AUD has been responsible for developing many of todays business leaders and entrepreneurs in the UAE. With the Universitys impressive graduate employability rate, a collaboration of this nature makes them the perfect match for adding the real life ready component to help further prepare students for tomorrows workforce.

The new collaboration is part of TOUGHLOVEs larger commitment of giving back to the community at large, by fostering talent in the UAE and preparing todays youth for the next steps through specific subject matter content discussions, talks, and on-project training, ensuring students get the right exposure.

Eddie Maalouf, Partner, TOUGHLOVE Advisors and AUD Alumni said: "We at TOUGHLOVE Advisors are honored and excited about the opportunity to bring our decades of experience and learning to the students and curriculum at AUD in the hope of getting them life ready. We are equally excited about the prospect of learning from the AUD students and their programs, gaining access to fresh and innovative business thinking and talent, while positively contributing to the students and administration at AUD."

Dr David Schmidt, President, American University in Dubai said: We are so pleased to initiate this collaboration as it is indicative of another one of the advantages that AUD provides students in preparing them for tomorrow and beyond. TradeArabia News Service
Runner Up Company is Olemedo, Founded by a Female Mexican Immigrant Entrepreneur; UK-Based Growth Hacking Competition Focused on Revenue over Polished Pitches, Seeking a Better Way to Drive Investment

Priyansu Nath, founder and CEO of House of Tula, wins the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize. Nath stands with James Shoemark, co-founder of The Startup Race.

The Startup Race, a UK-based Startup growth-hacking Competition which prioritises sales over pitching skills, announced today that House of Tula has won the 6-month long competition, and was awarded the 10,000 cash prize. House of Tula founded by female Indian immigrant entrepreneur Priyansu Nath, has secured the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize and says she will use the purse to invest in online marketing, social media marketing campaigns, and bring in customers to its future crowdfunding campaigns. House of Tula, the winning company, is focused on personal journaling, with sustainability at its heart and as its founding principle. More than 500 companies entered The 10,000 Startup Race in 2021. The competition also awarded second place to Olmedo of Londons founder Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur (Mexico).

Priyansu Nath, founder and CEO of House of Tula, wins the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize. Nath stands with James Shoemark, co-founder of The Startup Race.

The Startup Race, a UK-based Startup growth-hacking Competition which prioritises sales over pitching skills, announced today that House of Tula has won the 6-month long competition, and was awarded the 10,000 cash prize. House of Tula founded by female Indian immigrant entrepreneur Priyansu Nath, has secured the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize and says she will use the purse to invest in online marketing, social media marketing campaigns, and bring in customers to its future crowdfunding campaigns. House of Tula, the winning company, is focused on personal journaling, with sustainability at its heart and as its founding principle. More than 500 companies entered The 10,000 Startup Race in 2021. The competition also awarded second place to Olmedo of Londons founder Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur (Mexico).

EDINBURGH, UK, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Startup Race, a UK-based Startup growth-hacking Competition which prioritises sales over pitching skills, announced today that House of Tula has won the 6-month long competition, and was awarded the 10,000 cash prize. House of Tula founded by female Indian immigrant entrepreneur Priyansu Nath, has secured the 10,000 Startup Race cash prize and says she will use the purse to invest in online marketing, social media marketing campaigns, and bring in customers to its future crowdfunding campaigns.

As an entrepreneur, you need to validate various hypotheses for your business. What The Startup Race competition did for the business was create a 6-month time frame to achieve this, said Priyansu Nath, founder and CEO of House of Tula. It was the perfect time to play your cards as not only we could test the hypothesis, but every penny generated in revenue would also count towards the competition. This meant concrete insights for the business in an accelerated time.

The competition also awarded second place to Olmedo of Londons founder Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur (Mexico).

For both our first and second place winners, their mission and business success proves that gamifying the startup process with a growth-hacking competition can help Startup founders overcome perfectionism, procrastination, and thus reduce the chance of failure, said James Shoemark, CEO and co-founder of The Startup Race Ltd. When customers actually start purchasing a startups product or service, its not only an achievement, but also significant validation for the startup concept and value proposition.

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More than 500 companies entered The 10,000 Startup Race, and the entrepreneurs became especially competitive towards the end. The Startup Race team used an FCA-regulated Open Banking data aggregation company to diligently, analyse and validate each bank transaction that reflected a sale the Startup Racers were able to achieve each week. This resulted in changing positions on the 10,000 Startup Race League Table each week and Priyanshu Nath won by having the most sales overall.

House of Tula, the winning company, is focused on personal journaling, with sustainability at its heart and as its founding principle. House of Tula was born in 2022 following the founder Priyanshu Nath's personal well-being journey in which journaling played a key role. She discovered that writing on textured paper gave her a tactile experience that digital devices failed to offer, and journals with beautiful aesthetics made her carry the journal regularly like an accessory. With this in mind, she ventured to develop a product that would be appreciated by more people like her and found that it was popular with other customers including journallers, artists and architects, who too appreciated sustainable good quality paper, beautiful designs and the lovely feel of textured paper.

Olmedo of London is an innovative clothing company founded by Mariely Macias Olmedo, another female immigrant entrepreneur from Mexico who studied fashion in London at the masters level in Italy at Instituto Marangoni. She blends authentic Mexican embroideries and the fusion of western inspirations, focused on creating contemporary garments for women. Olmedo wants to introduce one of the main characteristics of the luxury market; handmade process and authenticity creating collaborations with artisans and creative people in the UK.

The 10,000 Startup Race motivated me to launch my new label with a collection of handbags made of cactus leather, said Mariely Macias Olmedo, founder of Olmedo of London. Technical challenges, administrative tasks and design approach, can be quite challenging to put together with a very specific deadline. However, with the tools and methods that the Start Up Race supports, was approached in a successful way. We will be continue constructing our beautiful project and improving in all corresponding areas.

The Startup Race methodology capitalizes on the iconoclastic startup method, first developed by GodFather of the Lean Startup Movement - Steve Blank. In a 2013 blog post called Its Time to Play Moneyball: The Investment Readiness Level. Upon entry to the Accelerator, participants gained access to the worlds best Lean Startup resources in order to validate their thinking, develop their business model and personal profile in order to attract co-founders. Other free resources on Leanstack include the Foundations and Business Model Design Playbooks and Lean Canvas & Traction Roadmap tools. The Startup Race team helps entrepreneurs incorporate their UK company and open a UK business bank account to enable them to start generating sales as soon as the competition starts. Through The Startup Race process, a number of high net-worth individuals observe how the teams perform over the course of The Race and be introduced to companies that they may consider supporting at the end of the program.

For more information on The Startup Race, please visit: WWW.TheStartupRace.com.

____

ABOUT THE STARTUP RACE

The Startup Race is an accelerator program focused on proving that entrepreneurs succeed best through sales and revenue, over perfect pitching. The program was conceived in 2014 when a young entrepreneur asked Mr. Shoemark, who was hosting a League of Entrepreneurs Meetup at the time, if and how the startup process could be gamified. Mr. Shoemark decided that a business competition using the Pirate Metrics (AARRR as popularised by Dave McLure) could be the answer. He soon teamed up with Michael Clouser, a former Silicon Valley venture capitalist (Dot Edu Ventures) who directed the Edinburgh-Stanford Link at the University of Edinburgh. Michael is also an entrepreneurship professor and earned his BS/MBA from Cornell University, and researched on the MSc/PhD at the University of Edinburgh. The team also partnered with Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs,investors and students as partners in order to help fuel fast-growth startups in the UK and around the world. For more information on The Startup Race, please visit: WWW.TheStartupRace.com.





Attachments

CONTACT: CARSON QUINN ZindseyMEDIA public relations for THE STARTUP RACE 312.339.9779 CARSON@ZINDSEY.COM




GreyViews

Hydraulic Marine Cranes Market By Design (Telescopic Boom, Knuckle Boom, Foldable Boom, and Stiff Boom), By Capacity (50-150 Tm, 501 tons to 15000, Below 50 Tm, and Above 150 Tm), By Application (Oil & Gas Platforms, Workboats, Shipping & Ports, Research & Fishing Vessels, and Government & Military), Regions, Segmentation, and forecast till 2030.

Pune India, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The market has been studied for the below mentioned-segmentation and regional analysis for North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. These are the key regions where the hydraulic marine cranes market is operating and is predicted to expand soon. The manufacturers and suppliers involved in the hydraulic marine cranes market are present across various countries in the above-mentioned regions.

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The report provides a detailed understanding of the market segments which have been formed by combining different prospects such as the design capacity, application, and region. Apart from this, the key driving factors, restraints, potential growth opportunities, and market challenges are also discussed in the below paragraphs.

The significant players operating in the global hydraulic marine cranes market are DMW Marine, Heila Cranes, Allied Marine Crane, EK Marine, Liebherr, PALFINGER, North Pacific Crane Company, HS. MARINE, Huisman Equipment, James Fisher among other. To achieve a substantial market share in the worldwide hydraulic marine cranes market and strengthen their position, manufacturers are pursuing expansion methods such as current developments, mergers and acquisitions, product innovations, collaborations, and partnerships, joint ventures.

A specialised tool that may be used to lower and elevate cargo in order to transfer it horizontally is a maritime crane. It often comes with bundles, wire or chains, and a lifting cable. It is used to transport and carry big objects. By utilising one or more simple machines, the device transmits load more effectively than a human could by taking use of the machine. In the manufacturing of other products as well as the freight forwarding industry, cranes are regularly employed to assemble large pieces of equipment. Marine cranes are widely used to load and unload cargo in seaports. The growth of international trade and business promotes the shipping of many different commodities. For instance, the Sagar Mala project, the Indian government's flagship initiative, is a master plan for six major ports that is expected to be completed by 2025. In addition, the Sri Lankan government authorised the development of additional ports with Japan and India. In March 2021, the government of Sri Lanka also plans to establish a new port at Colombo Port. The United Arab Emirates' government of Dubai and the Senegalese government announced in December 2020 that they had reached a deal to build a new deep-water port in Ndayane, Senegal. China and Myanmar agreed in January 2020 that a new seaport would be constructed as part of Myanmar's new economic partnership. 2019 will see the construction of a port in Duqm, according to Oman.

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Scope of hydraulic marine cranes market Report

Report Metric Information Study Period 2022-2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Market Share Unit USD Billion Segments Covered Design, Capacity, Application, and Regions Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and Middle-East and Africa Major Players DMW Marine, Heila Cranes, Allied Marine Crane, EK Marine, Liebherr, PALFINGER, North Pacific Crane Company, HS. MARINE, Huisman Equipment, James Fisher among others.

Segmentation Analysis

The foldable boom segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The design segment includes telescopic boom, knuckle boom, foldable boom, and stiff boom. The foldable boom segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Due to its design type as a knuckle boom, telescopic boom, firm boom, and stiff boom, the foldable boom segment is anticipated to account for the largest share of the market throughout the forecast period. The consistent torque momentum, small size, and considerable loading and unloading capacities of foldable boom cranes, among other aspects, have contributed to the market's unprecedent expansion.

The 501 tons to 15000 segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The indication segment includes 50-150 Tm, 501 tons to 15000, below 50 Tm, and above 150 Tm. The 501 tons to 15000 segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. This expansion is anticipated to be aided by the rise in oil exploration and production in developing nations like China, India, and the Middle East. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries estimates that the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, or 9.5 million barrels per day, has developed half of the world's total capacity for oil and natural gas refineries. 20% of the total, or about 3.7 mb/d, can be used for Middle Eastern exploration. Because of this, marine cranes are frequently used in oil exploration to manage loads of different tanks with different capacities.

The oil & gas platforms segment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in 2022.

The application segment includes oil & gas platforms, shipping & ports, workboats, research & fishing vessels, and government & military. The oil & gas platforms segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Due to the widespread usage of maritime cranes for exploration by oil and gas companies as a result of a rise in world demand. To ensure global sustainable growth, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that all kinds of offshore energy will require roughly USD 4.6 trillion in capital investments by 2040. As a result, there will be a major growth in market opportunities for marine cranes, which are necessary for transporting large loads during oil and gas exploration.

Regional Analysis

The regional analysis provides a detailed perception of the key regions and the countries. Some of the key countries analyzed for the hydraulic marine cranes include the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Peru, UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The Europe region witnessed a major share. Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain are among the countries in Europe that produce the most marine cranes on a volume basis. In the European hydraulic marine crane market, there is a sizable demand for hydraulic marine crane products from end customers or shipbuilders in various areas of the world. Europe is anticipated to rule the market for hydraulic marine cranes throughout the forecast period due to its extensive coastline, numerous marine crane producers, and the existence of the busiest port in the world.

Country Analysis

Germany

Germany's hydraulic marine cranes market size was valued at USD 1.17 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.9 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2023 to 2030. Due to increased subsea construction and oil exploration operations as well as rising demand for renewable energy sources, the market for hydraulic marine cranes in the area is growing.

China

Chinas hydraulic marine cranes market size was valued at USD 0.78 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1.27 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2023 to 2030. In addition to being the location of the bulk of raw material suppliers who also supply some manufacturing facilities throughout the world with parts, China is the epicentre of this pandemic. The worldwide lockout, which has reduced the global production network, has restricted the creation mobility at many of these industrial facilities. Eighty-one percent of manufacturing firms purchase their components from Chinese suppliers. This has had a direct impact on FDI inflows internationally, and as a result, a few economies worldwide have seen considerable declines.

India

India's hydraulic marine cranes market size was valued at USD 0.60 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 0.97 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2023 to 2030. Due to the growth of the shipping and transportation industry. The population and urbanization are also rising, which is increasing the amount of seaborne traffic in these locations. This element is probably going to increase interest in the hydraulic marine crane industry on a global scale.

Covid-19 Impact

Covid-19 had a major impact on almost all industries, such as electronics, semiconductors, manufacturing, automobile, etc. However, several companies operating in the technology sector have seen increased revenue due to significant changes in consumer preferences toward technological services. In addition, the pandemic has led to significant growth in technology across developing and developed countries.

Furthermore, the growth of the hydraulic marine cranes market is mainly driven by the rise in shipping and transportation.

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BOSTON, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: HTD) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.1380 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of January 13, 2023, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: HTD) with important information concerning the distribution declared on January 3, 2023, and payable on January 31, 2023. No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: January 2023

Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.1380

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable January 31, 2023, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 01/1/2023-01/31/2023

For the fiscal year-to-date period 11/1/2022-01/31/2023 [1] Source

Current Distribution ($)

% Breakdown of the Current Distribution

Total Cumulative Distributions ($)

% Breakdown of the Total Cumulative Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0152

11 %

0.2231

54 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0571

14 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0827

20 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source

0.1228

89 %

0.0511

12 % Total per common share

0.1380

100 %

0.4140

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on December 31, 2022

6.10 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of December 31, 2022

7.09 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through December 31, 2022

4.12 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of December 31, 2022

1.77 %



You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

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The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the January 2023 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.1380 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

______________________________ 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2022 and will end on October 31, 2023.

Cision

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SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
Middlefield Canadian Income PCC Net Asset Value

Middlefield Canadian Income PCC

Middlefield Canadian Income - GBP PC

(a protected cell company incorporated in Jersey with registration number 93546)

Legal Entity Identifier: 2138007ENW3JEJXC8658

Net Asset Value

As at the close of business on 30 January 2023 the estimated unaudited Net Asset Value per share was 134.35 pence (including accrued income, which excludes an amount of 1.30 pence per share in respect of the quarterly dividend to be paid on 31 January 2023).

Investments in the Company's portfolio have been valued on a closing price basis.

Enquiries:

JTC Fund Solutions (Jersey) Limited

01534 700 000




COAST SALISH TERRITORY and VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Raven Indigenous Capital Partners today announced the final closing of a historic $100M Indigenous venture capital fund that provides patient capital and a culturally grounded community of support to early and growth-stage Indigenous enterprises. The Raven Indigenous Impact Fund II builds on the success of Fund I ($25M) and will continue to invest in purpose-driven Native American enterprises that demonstrate commercial viability, potential for scale, and measurable community benefit streams.

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is North Americas only Indigenous-led and owned social finance intermediary (CNW Group/Raven Indigenous Capital Partners Inc.)

"We are proud to continue our support for Raven's efforts to close the capital gap for Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses serving historically marginalized Native communities. Raven's approach presents a powerful opportunity to build a more equitable future," said John Balbach, Director, Impact Investments at the MacArthur Foundation.

- John Balbach, Director, Impact Investments, MacArthur Foundation

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is North America's only Indigenous-led and owned impact investment firm. It was established in 2018 to address two critical gaps in the Indigenous finance ecosystem in the US: the provision of equity and equity-like capital that are essential to the development and scaling of Native American enterprises; and a deep cultural and community understanding informed by lived experience.

"As part of the Bush Foundation's impact investment strategy to advance equity in capital markets with a focus in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the 23 Native Nations that share that geography, the Foundation has committed US$2m to Raven Indigenous Impact Fund II."

- Eric White, Senior Investment Manager, Bush Foundation

Raven is working to build a vibrant Native American economy in the US by investing in entrepreneurs and businesses across five thematic areas: technology, health, regenerative agriculture, clean energy, and next generation consumer products. To better support the Native American economy, Raven has a growing investment team based in the US who are familiar with the unique challenges and opportunities Native American entrepreneurs face. The Raven team combines full-cycle principal investing experience, cultural understanding and knowledge, capacity-building expertise, deep networks with trust-based relationships in Indigenous communities, and extensive knowledge and experience in the social/financial innovation ecosystem.

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"We are thrilled to partner with some of the leading foundations and financial institutions in the United States in providing mission and values aligned capital to Native American entrepreneurs."

- Garry McBerryhill, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, US Market Lead

About Raven Indigenous Capital Partners

Established in 2018, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is an Indigenous-led and owned social finance intermediary headquartered in Vancouver. Raven works in partnership with Indigenous enterprises and social purpose organizations to accelerate their success by providing access to capital and bespoke technical assistance within an Indigenous cultural framework. Ultimately, Raven aims to achieve a positive and lasting impact on the Indigenous economies.

Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice, or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Investing in the exempt market has significant risk. You should be aware of these risks, and as appropriate, consult with appropriate financial professionals to support your decision-making processes.

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SOURCE Raven Indigenous Capital Partners Inc.
Subscale Version of LIFE Habitat (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) Exceeds NASA Certification Requirements in Duration Test for Extended Human Missions

LOUISVILLE, Colo., January 31, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sierra Space, a leading, pureplay commercial space company building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space, announced today that the companys LIFE habitat (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) successfully completed a third stress test  this time for duration  exceeding NASA certification requirements and demonstrating the inflatable structures integrity for sustaining human life in space for long periods of time.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005408/en/

Sierra Space's LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat completes third stress test  this time for duration. (Photo: Business Wire)

This latest assessment, called an Accelerated Systematic Creep Test, is a destructive materials testing method by which test engineers load the test unit  a subscale version of the inflatable habitat  with a sustained amount of pressure over time until it fails. The units "softgoods" pressure shell burst after over 150 hours, exceeding NASAs short-term, recommended creep duration target of 100 hours. High-strength softgoods materials are sewn and woven fabrics  primarily Vectran  that become rigid structures when pressurized and can provide safe and sustainable architecture for space habitation.

This latest creep test is a different kind of stress test than the two previous ones conducted in July and November, which pressurized units with increasing loads until they burst at maximum or Ultimate Burst Pressure (UBP). All three tests took place within six months, further demonstrating Sierra Space as a market leader in the development of softgoods inflatable habitat technology, a key step in facilitating extended human missions to low-Earth orbit, the moon and Mars.

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"LIFE represents the essential technology developments needed to one day enable humans to live and work in space," said Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice. "Habitat units are a key element in Sierra Spaces platform in space, and this crucial milestone illustrates that our team has exceeded programmatic requirements that validate critical aspects of the LIFE design. These results will propel us in 2023 as we mature the technology via full-scale development and continue toward full NASA certification."

Sierra Space, its partner ILC Dover and NASA subject matter experts performed the subscale Accelerated Systematic Creep Test in December 2022, at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The purpose of the test was to determine the duration of time that LIFEs pressure shell could last during its on-orbit operational mission life.

NASA designed a climate-controlled, disposable building in which the test was performed. This building was specifically built to meet two requirements: 1) to protect the test article (Sierra Spaces pressure shell) during the duration of the test and 2) to be expendable once the article successfully burst upon maximum creep pressure and duration. Due to the explosive nature of the test, the team placed the sub-scale space habitat adjacent to the flame trench of the Saturn 1/1B test stand, where NASA tested rockets for the Apollo program.

"Sierra Spaces LIFE pressure shell has an on-orbit performance requirement of 15 years, but with softgoods, there is a times four safety requirement set by NASA, so we must ultimately prove were viable for 60 years," said Shawn Buckley, LIFE Chief Engineer and Senior Director of Engineering at Sierra Space. "Based on data from this first subscale creep test, we well exceeded the on-orbit mission performance requirement of 60 years for inflatable structures within our current architecture."

The company will conduct a second subscale Systematic Accelerated Creep Test early in 2023. Stress tests on full-scale LIFE units will begin later in the year as part of Sierra Spaces ongoing softgoods certification process.

Sierra Space performed the 2022 subscale Ultimate Burst Pressure Tests as part of NASAs NextSTEP Appendix A Habitat Systems contract, which is managed by NASA Marshall and falls under the pre-formulation habitation team in NASA HQs Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Technical Integration office. The Systematic Accelerated Creep Test was performed by Sierra Space under its LIFE softgoods certification. Sierra Space is focused on performing critical risk reduction tests and assessing LIFEs extensibility to multiple space destinations including the moon and Mars.

Sierra Spaces LIFE is a key component of the companys in-space destinations technology portfolio. The inflatable module is a three-story, commercial habitation and science platform designed to allow humans to live and work comfortably in low-Earth orbit and beyond. LIFE will serve as both the habitation and payload element for the Orbital Reef commercial space station, a collaboration between Sierra Space and Blue Origin.

Click here to view and download video of the Accelerated Systematic Creep Test.

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space (www.sierraspace.com) is a leading pureplay commercial space company at the forefront of innovation and the commercialization of space in the Orbital Age, building platforms in space to benefit life on Earth. With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, the company is enabling the future of space transportation with Dream Chaser, the worlds only winged commercial spaceplane. Under construction at its Colorado headquarters and expected to launch in 2023 on the first of a series of NASA missions to the International Space Station, Dream Chaser can safely carry cargo - and eventually crew - to on-orbit destinations, returning to land on compatible commercial airport runways worldwide. Sierra Space is also building an array of in-space destinations for low-Earth orbit (LEO) commercialization including the LIFE habitat (Large Integrated Flexible Environment), a three-story commercial habitation and science platform designed for LEO. Both Dream Chaser and LIFE are central components to Orbital Reef, a mixed-use business park in LEO being developed by principal partners Sierra Space and Blue Origin, which is expected to be operational by the end of the decade.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005408/en/

Contacts

Alex Walker

Sierra Space

(303) 803-2297

Alex.Walker@sierraspace.com

Allison Gregg

Griffin Communications Group

(256) 520-3985

Allison@GriffinCG.com
Kansas to improve data sharing for property information

PLANO, Texas, January 31, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced it has signed an agreement with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) for Tylers Enterprise Data Platform, Open Data Platform, and Assessment Connect solutions. Currently a statewide user of Tylers Assessment Pro solution, powered by Orion, to manage its property tax assessments, the new solutions will enable KDOR to access property data for analysis in real-time.

"Were pleased to select Tylers data and analytics solutions to bring efficiency to our current processes and expand our data sharing with all Kansas counties," said David Harper, director, Division of Property Valuation and Division of Vehicles for the Kansas Department of Revenue. "In addition to our staff being able to access important property data in real-time, the addition of Tylers Open Data Platform will also help us provide greater transparency to the public."

Tylers Enterprise Data Platform is a cloud-based enterprise solution that enables secure, internal data sharing with central governance for access, visibility, and controls. The platform, which is FedRAMP-certified and powered by Amazon Web Services, will efficiently manage property data for KDOR. This will bring improvements to the KDOR staff, while the addition of Tylers Open Platform will bring greater transparency to the property owners and taxpayers. Once implemented, residents, businesses, developers, and local organizations can easily access the most up-to-date data, displayed in intuitive charts and graphs for easy understanding.

"Were thrilled that the KDOR has chosen our premier property data and analytics solution to enhance their property valuation process," said Franklin Williams, president of Tylers Data & Insights Division. "We know that data is a tremendously powerful tool, and were excited to help Kansas put data at the heart of their organization. Were confident that they will be able to gather and share important insights from their property assessment data, which will aid both the state of Kansas and its counties."

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Tylers Enterprise Data Platform was built and designed exclusively for the government and is the leading platform for government data solutions. It has been deployed in 47 states, and Washington, D.C., as well as in 11 countries and territories.

About Tyler Technologies, Inc.

Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tyler's end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate more efficiently and connect more transparently with their constituents and with each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tyler's solutions are transforming how clients gain actionable insights that solve problems in their communities. Tyler has more than 37,000 successful installations across more than 12,000 locations, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been recognized numerous times for growth and innovation, including Government Technology's GovTech 100 list and Forbes' "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com.

#TYL_Financial

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005092/en/

Contacts

Jennifer Kepler

Tyler Technologies

972.713.3770

Media.team@tylertech.com
(Removes SM Bluebird, Mozah and Adamastos upates to show Vivirt City LNG, Ribera Duero Knutsen and Malanje have arrived) Jan 31 (Reuters) - The following liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are expected to arrive in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands in the coming weeks. Estimated arrival dates, often revised by port authorities and AIS Live ship-tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon, are updated below. Some tankers heading for Belgium and Britain may be loading at the terminal. Those expected to load are indicated with an (). Those likely to perform ship-to-ship transfers are indicated with (STS). Tankers that have docked are indicated with (A). Floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminals are added to the table when they near deployment. As of Dec. 27 2022, this includes the Eemshaven terminal in the Netherlands, the Wilhelmshaven and Lubmin terminals in Germany. For the Reuters LNG guide, click here: LNG TANKER CAPACITY in EXPECTED ARRIVAL FROM PORT cubic metres BRITAIN Celsius Carolina 180,000 Jan. 28 (A) United States Isle of Grain Vivirt City LNG 170,000 Jan. 30 (A) United States South Hook Ribera Duero Knutsen 173,000 Jan. 31 (A) United States Isle of Grain Orion Bohemia 171,000 Feb. 1 Peru Dragon Minerva Amorgos 170,000 Feb. 2 United States South Hook Alicante Knutsen 171,000 Feb. 4 United States Milford Haven Seapeak Magellan 163,000 Feb. 4 United States South Hook Gaslog Hong Kong 174,000 Feb. 10 United States South Hook Gaslog Westminster 156,000 Feb. 11 United States Isle of Grain Santander Knutsen 170,000 Feb. 13 Peru Milford Haven Marvel Pelican 155,000 Feb. 14 United States Isle of Grain BELGIUM SCF La Perouse 174,000 Jan. 30 Britain Zeebrugge Clean Horizon 159,000 Jan. 30 (L)(A) Qatar Zeebrugge Nikolay Yevgenov 172,000 Jan. 31 Russia Zeebrugge Al Jassasiya 144,000 Feb. 1 Qatar Zeebrugge Nikolay Zubov 173,000 Feb. 2 Russia Zeebrugge LNG Dubhe 174,000 Feb. 2 (L) N/A Zeebrugge Nikolay Urvantsev 169,000 Feb. 4 Russia Zeebrugge Clean Planet 159,000 Feb. 9 (L) Russia Zeebrugge NETHERLANDS Arctic Discoverer 140,000 Feb. 2 N/A Gate Energy Universe 165,000 Feb. 4 United States Gate Sonangol Etosha 158,000 Feb. 8 Angola Gate Rioja Knutsen 174,000 Feb. 9 United States Gate GERMANY Malanje 160,000 Jan. 31 (A) Angola Wilhelmshaven Cool Voyager 158,000 Feb. 1 United States Lubmin Sources: Ports, AIS Live ship tracking, Refinitiv Eikon data. (^) Partial unload (*) Arrival date estimated based on flows data (Reporting By Susanna Twidale)
Douglas Insights

The incredible insights you get from Douglas Insights' global technical textiles market report are a game-changer for marketers, businesses, investors, and professionals in the industry. It can help you make key decisions about the market that help your business or investments.

Isle Of Man, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Technical textiles are performance-based textiles that have higher qualities than conventional textiles in one or more ways. They are created using both synthetic and natural fibres.

Synthetic fibres are typically created using a variety of natural fibres and applying a combination of chemical processes to them. These processes allow the fibres to gain new properties that can enhance the performance of any textiles developed with them.

These new properties allow technical textiles to have higher strength, durability, breathability, stretch/ flexibility, versatility, hygiene, safety, or water resistance. As such, they can be used in various applications other than apparel use.

For example, high-quality stronger textiles are widely used for automotive applications, whereas others with functionalities like greater hygiene or safety have plenty of medical applications.

These days, increasing awareness about the properties, applications, and functionality of technical textiles is increasing demand and consumption globally. This awareness and subsequent demand are key driving factors for the global technical textiles market.

Similarly, the rising adaptability of utility and functionality is encouraging conventional manufacturing to improve innovation and upgrade natural fibres through technical textile development.

This shift in the industry is caused by higher demand for textile products that provide greater strength and flexibility and provides greater functionalities like durability, personal safety, or lower weight.

Together, increased awareness and adaptability are the two main factors driving the growth of the global technical textiles market in the coming years.

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They are supplemented by rapid technological advancement in the textile industry , which is helping drive growth in nearly every product segment, especially technical textiles. Spinning, weaving and knitting are key areas where new technologies are helping improve the production of technical textiles.

New technologies like thermo-forming, melt spinning, and three-dimensional weaving and knitting wet spinning, are making it possible to produce enhanced fibres with high-performance properties for the production of technical textiles.

Browse to access an In-depth research report on Global Technical Textiles Market with detailed charts and figures: https://douglasinsights.com/technical-textiles-market

It is in developing and producing such cutting-edge fibres and technical textiles that key market players find the best growth opportunities in the coming years.

Of course, this production and the growth of the global technical textiles market are not without their restraints and challenges.

The biggest restraint to this market in the coming years is the high cost of finished products that impact pricing. Researching and development of enhanced fibres are costly but not nearly as expensive as manufacturing technical textiles.

Manufacturing involves complex procedures, limited margins of error, and advanced infrastructure, all of which are expensive for market players. There is also the high cost of procuring the raw materials for manufacturing fibres and technical textiles.

Ultimately, these things culminate in a finished product that has a high production cost, which leaves manufacturers with limited opportunities for profit margins. Conversely, the higher price of finished products impacts the pricing structure of intermediate industries, which makes the finished technical textile products available to consumers.

However, upcoming and new technologies like the previously mentioned ones are helping reduce the cost of production. Thus, making it easier for market players to manufacture technical textiles and make them commercially viable.

These cost-cutting new technologies are expected to overcome restraints and support the growth of the global technical textiles market in the coming years.

Region-wise, production and growth opportunities of fibres and technical textiles are also centred around countries with technological capabilities. This includes countries like the U.S., Canada, Japan, and a few countries in Europe.

However, rapidly developing nations in the Asia-Pacific region, like China and India, are also expected to show growth in the coming years. Key factors like growing economies, rising populations, increasing demands for hygiene products, etc., are all driving growth for this market in the Asia Pacific region.

The key challenge in terms of regions is the varying environmental mandates. Key market players are restricted from using manufacturing materials according to regional regulations. This poses challenges for the global technical textiles market.

Many governments are restricting chemical use across industries, consumers demand the use of bio-degradable materials, and the intermediate industry wants to ensure that pricing is not increased to a point where they start to lose market share.

You can get an in-depth report on the global technical textiles market from Douglas Insights. This report covers various product types and end-user segments.

Covered industries include the ones that rely on textiles for safety, filtration, support, etc. The report highlights all key aspects of the market by segmenting it based on the form of material, material type, region, application, and industrial end-use category.

The report offers a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the global technical textiles market and analyses market trends globally for the coming years. You will also find crucial information like historic market revenue, CAGR projections, market share analysis, key driving factors, restraints, demand, COVID-19 impact, and a lot more.

The detailed report also highlights the fastest growing applications and technologies, an assessment of the vendors' landscape, and a detailed profile of key market players like DuPont, Mitsui Chemicals Inc., Asahi Kasei Corp., Kimberly-Clarke, Berry Global Group, and Freudenberg & Co.

Browse to access an In-depth research report on Global Technical Textiles Market with detailed charts and figures: https://douglasinsights.com/technical-textiles-market

The incredible insights you get from Douglas Insights' global technical textiles market report are a game-changer for marketers, businesses, investors, and professionals in the industry. It can help you make key decisions about the market that help your business or investments.

Most importantly, the exhaustively detailed report, its projections, and its insights can give you an edge over competitors.

You can buy this highly informed report for just $5500 from the Douglas Insights official website, the price set for a single user for one year of access. If you are interested in a multi-user license, that is also available for just $6600 for up to 15 users within a company. Enterprise-level or multinational companies can also get a global user license for $9504, accessible to all company users at all geo-locations.

The best part is that you can request a sample or customisation, inquire before buying, and get access to the report within one business day.

Set a budget for a custom project and see offers from publishers all over the world: https://douglasinsights.com/projects

Countries Covered in the report are as below:

North America - United States, Canada, and Mexico

Europe - United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain & Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia & Rest of APAC

Latin America - Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile & Rest of Latin America

Middle East and Africa - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, South Africa

Segmentation Covered into Global Technical Textiles Market-

Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by Type of Material

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.3 Synthetic Polymers

6.3.1 Nylon

6.3.2 Polyvinyl Chloride

6.3.3 Low-Density Polyethylene

6.3.4 Polypropylene

6.3.5 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.4 Natural Fibers

6.4.1 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.5 Mineral Fibers

6.5.1 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.6 Metal Fibers

6.6.1 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.7 Regenerated Fibers

6.7.1 Rayon

6.7.2 Acetate

6.7.3 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

6.8 Other Technical Textile Fibers

6.8.1 Glass Fibers

6.8.2 Basalt Fibers

6.8.3 Carbon Fibers

6.8.4 Ceramic Fibers

6.8.5 Market Size Estimation and Forecast



Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by Form of Material

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Woven Technical Textiles

7.2.1 Types

7.2.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

7.3 Nonwoven Technical Textiles

7.3.1 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

7.4 Knitted Technical Textiles

7.4.1 Types of Knitted Fabric

7.4.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

7.5 Other Forms of Technical Textile Materials

7.5.1 Market Size Estimation and Forecast



Chapter 8 Market Breakdown by Manufacturing Process

8.1 Overview

8.2 Thermo-forming

8.3 3D Knitting

8.4 3D Weaving



Chapter 9 Market Breakdown by Industrial End-Use Category

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.3 Mobiltech (Automotive Textiles)

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.3.3 Mobiltech End Uses

9.4 Indutech (Industrial Textiles)

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.4.3 Indutech End Uses

9.5 Sportech (Sports Textiles)

9.5.1 Overview

9.5.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.5.3 Sportech End Uses

9.6 Buildtech (Construction Textiles)

9.6.1 Overview

9.6.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.6.3 Buildtech End Uses

9.7 Hometech (Home Textiles)

9.7.1 Overview

9.7.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.7.3 Hometech End Uses

9.8 Clothtech (Clothing Textiles)

9.8.1 Overview

9.8.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.8.3 Clothtech End Uses

9.9 Meditech (Medical Textiles)

9.9.1 Overview

9.9.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.9.3 Meditech End Uses

9.10 Agrotech (Agro Textiles)

9.10.1 Overview

9.10.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.10.3 Agrotech End Uses

9.11 Protech (Protective Textiles)

9.11.1 Overview

9.11.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.11.3 Protech End Uses

9.12 Packtech (Packaging Textiles)

9.12.1 Overview

9.12.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.12.3 Packtech End Uses

9.13 Geotech (Geotextiles)

9.13.1 Overview

9.13.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.13.3 Geotech End Uses

9.14 Oekotech (Environmental Textiles)

9.14.1 Overview

9.14.2 Market Size Estimation and Forecast

9.14.3 Oekotech End Uses



Chapter 10 Market Breakdown by Region

10.1 Overview

10.2 Asia-Pacific

10.2.1 Overview of the Asia-Pacific Market for Technical Textiles

10.2.2 Asia-Pacific Market for Technical Textiles by Industrial End-Use Category

10.2.3 Asia-Pacific Market for Technical Textiles by Type of Material

10.2.4 Asia-Pacific Market for Technical Textiles by Form of Material

10.2.5 Asia-Pacific Market for Technical Textiles by Country

10.3 North America

10.3.1 Overview of the North American Market for Technical Textiles

10.3.2 North American Market for Technical Textiles by Industrial End-Use Category

10.3.3 North American Market for Technical Textiles by Type of Material

10.3.4 North American Market for Technical Textiles by Form of Material

10.3.5 North American Market for Technical Textiles by Country

10.4 Europe

10.4.1 Overview of the European Market for Technical Textiles

10.4.2 European Market for Technical Textiles by Industrial End-Use Category

10.4.3 European Market for Technical Textiles by Type of Material

10.4.4 European Market for Technical Textiles by Form of Material

10.4.5 European Market for Technical Textiles by Country

10.5 Rest of the World

10.5.1 Overview of the ROW Market for Technical Textiles

10.5.2 ROW Market for Technical Textiles by Industrial End-Use Category

10.5.3 ROW Market for Technical Textiles by Type of Material

10.5.4 ROW Market for Technical Textiles by Form of Material

10.5.5 ROW Market for Technical Textiles by Sub-Region

Key questions answered in this report

COVID 19 impact analysis on global Technical Textiles industry.

What are the current market trends and dynamics in the Technical Textiles market and valuable opportunities for emerging players?

What is driving Technical Textiles market?

What are the key challenges to market growth?

Which segment accounts for the fastest CAGR during the forecast period?

Which product type segment holds a larger market share and why?

Are low and middle-income economies investing in the Technical Textiles market?

Key growth pockets on the basis of regions, types, applications, and end-users

What is the market trend and dynamics in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa?

Unique data points of this report

Statistics on Technical Textiles and spending worldwide

Recent trends across different regions in terms of adoption of Technical Textiles across industries

Notable developments going on in the industry

Attractive investment proposition for segments as well as geography

Comparative scenario for all the segments for years 2018 (actual) and 2028 (forecast)

Access complete report- https://douglasinsights.com/technical-textiles-market

Inquire (for customization, for specific regions, etc.): https://douglasinsights.com/static/contact-us

Follow Douglas Insights for More Industry Updates- @ LinkedIn & Twitter

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Douglas Insights UK limited is the first company to provide comparison of market research reports by Table of content, price, ratings and number of pages. We understand the value of time. Productivity and efficiency are possible when you take prompt and assured decisions. With our advanced algorithm, filters, and comparison engine, you can compare your preferred reports simultaneously, based on publisher rating, published date, price, and list of tables. Our data portal enables you to find and review the reports from several publishers. You can evaluate numerous reports on the same screen and select the sample for your best match.





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Siemens Healthineers is showcasing at Arab Health 2023 the latest innovations from in-vitro and in-vivo diagnostics to image-guided therapy and innovative cancer care.

One of the highlights is the worlds first photon-counting CT, the NAEOTOM Alpha with Quantum Technology, representing nothing less than the total reinvention of computed tomography, offering high-resolution images at minimal dose with spectral information in every scan and improved contrast at lower noise.

In addition, the MAGNETOM Free.Max, with its 80 cm bore, sets a new paradigm in patient comfort, breaking barriers in expanding access to care in MRI.

MOBILETT Impact

There is also an opportunity to receive a first-hand experience of the MOBILETT Impact, providing a high-quality, mobile, and digital X-ray solution to the patients bedside at an economical price, enabling a fast and undisrupted workflow.

The Symbia Pro. specta with myExam Companion sets new standards in SPECT/CT, bringing the nuclear medicine department into the future. The system includes intelligent SPECT/ CT imaging and a fully integrated user interface to give you the power of more.

Siemens Healthineers is introducing a new release, the ACUSON Juniper 2.5 ultrasound system, which elevates the user experience while addressing clinical challenges across a variety of clinical applications. Also on the showfloor, the ACUSON Sequoia ultrasound system powered by BioAcoustic technology, helps to deliver effective clinical insights by reducing the effects of ultrasound variability between users, patients, and technology.

Detailed insights

Detailed insights are provided by Siemens Healthineers experts on the booth on latest advancements and broad spectrum of immunoassay, chemistry, hematology, molecular, and urinalysis testing solutions, in conjunction with automation, informatics, and services to serve the needs of laboratories of any size  today and tomorrow.

In the point-of-care section, visitors are informed about solutions providing immediate, convenient, and easy-to-use diagnostic testing, including the latest innovations in blood gas testing and cardiac care.

Varian is being represented as well at the Siemens Healtineers stand, sharing their vision of a world without fear of cancer.

Ole Per Maloy, CEO, Siemens Healthineers Middle East and Southern & Eastern Africa, said: By constantly bringing breakthrough innovations to market, we enable healthcare professionals to deliver high-quality care, leading to the best possible outcome for patients. At Siemens Healthineers, we are striving to overcome the most threatening diseases, improving the quality of outcomes, and enabling access to care by pioneering breakthroughs in healthcare. Visitors are invited to discover how advanced diagnostics and therapy workflows can combine to create comprehensive and personalized care and we will show our perspective on how to leverage digitalisation and automation at scale to create a smart imaging value chain.

Value Partnerships and Innovation Think Tank

On the showfloor, Siemens Healthineers displays Value Partnerships and the benefits that long-term, performance oriented, collaborative engagements provide to healthcare institutions, their staff, and patients. Exemplary global and local case studies are featured on their Exhibit Globe, where visitors will be informed on how Siemens Healthineers is bringing a combination of clinical insights, medical innovation, strategic vision, and implementation expertise to the advancement of healthcare.

Customers and interested attendees are taking a closer look at one of their 3D Innovation Think Tank models, showcasing how Siemens Healthineers enables the creation of knowledge economies through self-sustainable local innovation infrastructures promoting expertise development, capacity building, and entrepreneurship at hospitals, universities, and governmental institutions.-- TradeArabia News Service
Garfunkel Wild, P.C.

GREAT NECK, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Garfunkel Wild, P.C. won a significant and precedent-setting victory for its client, and other Catholic-affiliated hospitals across the country, in a case that challenged the use of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) in Catholic-affiliated hospitals.



On January 18, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to the hospital defendants, agreeing that a prospective employees objection to the ERDs was not a protected activity and cannot form the basis of a religious discrimination case. While the widely-disseminated code of conduct that Catholic healthcare facilities are used nationwide, there is an absence of case law establishing that their use is permissible and will not lead to discrimination-related claims. Catholic institutions requiring adherence to the ERDs now are armed with a federal court decision to fend off similar future claims.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, a psychiatrist seeking to work within a Catholic not-for-profit health system, objected to its requirement that its employees adhere to the ERDs. Plaintiff sued, claiming that he was discriminated against and blacklisted from employment for asking about the ERDs.

On a motion to dismiss, the Court largely dismissed Plaintiffs claims as deficient, holding the ERDs are statements of how the signor will conduct his medical practice while employed by the hospital, not a statement of religious belief and cannot form the basis of a religious discrimination claim. As the Court explained, all Plaintiff was required to do was to say that he agreed to comply with the ERDs at work; he was not required to say he personally agreed with the ERDs or the views of the Roman Catholic Church. . . He remained entirely free to disagree with and disregard the directives of the Church in his personal life. Furthermore, [t]o the extent he believed the Agreements required him to state that he would be bound by Church doctrine in general, that is an implausible reading. That belief is an idiosyncratic, subjective misreading of the contract, which is secular conduct, not a bona fide religious belief. Only a limited retaliation claim survived the motion.

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Following discovery, Garfunkel Wild moved for summary judgment dismissal of the small piece of the case that survived the motion to dismiss. Garfunkel Wild argued, and the Court agreed, that Plaintiffs objections to the ERDs were not protected activity. The Court expressly called the ERDs a code of conduct and reflected on its decision on the motion to dismiss. Upon reflection, the Court held that Plaintiffs objection to the ERDs cannot be a protected activity because it was not objectively reasonable for Plaintiff to think he was protesting an employment practice made illegal by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Garfunkel Wilds litigation team included Michael Keane and Gillian Barkins.

The case is Giurca v. Bon Secours Charity Health System et al in the Southern District of New York, and the full opinion can be found here.

About Garfunkel Wild, P.C.

Garfunkel Wild was founded over 40 years ago with a single purpose in mindto attend to the specific business and legal needs of its clients in the health care industry. Garfunkel Wild has provided health care, transactional, regulatory, and litigation advice to more than 100 hospitals and health care systems, 500 long term care providers, 4,000 physicians, 50 ambulatory surgical centers, and 40+ Federally Qualified Health Centers, as well as telehealth, urgent care centers and emerging companies. Garfunkel Wild attorneys are thought leaders with years of experience, including physicians, nurses, former prosecutors, technology experts, and former government officials and regulators.

With over 85 attorneys and offices in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Florida, the firm and its lawyers are ranked in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers.

Contact:

Mandy Kaplan

mkaplan@garfunkelwild.com

516-393-2294




Company Logo

Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "WebRTC Software, Applications, Services, Solutions and Devices Market with Global and Regional Forecasts 2023 - 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.





This report evaluates WebRTC technology, evolving ecosystems, solutions, and applications. It also addresses the role of value chain partners, WebRTC APIs, enterprise applications, telecom operators, and other CSPs within the evolving ecosystem.

This report also assesses WebRTC features/functionality, use cases, and adoption expectations for enterprises and consumers. The report covers the WebRTC solution landscape with vendor analysis focused on business models for each company/solution.

Forecasting provides revenue by categories including solution, service (Implementation, Integration, Consulting, and Maintenance), industry verticals, deployment models, and application. In addition, the report contains forecasts for WebRTC devices and users globally and regionally from 2023 to 2028.

Select Report Findings:

WebRTC will be the RTC platform of choice with the introduction of 5G and the expansion of OTT offerings

Cloud-based Communications, Applications, Content, and Commerce (CACC) will benefit greatly from WebRTC

WebRTC is a key component of an overall CACC strategy for CSPs as they seek to retain customers and grow revenues

CSPs are stumbling with the implementation of RCS, making WebRTC deployment critical as well as partnering with various third parties

While WebRTC is table-stakes for CSPs, they also have revenue potential from back-end integration with their most important customers: enterprise

Telecom APIs are a key component to overall WebRTC success for the entire value chain as well as leveraging telecom data in a cloud-based DaaS business model

WebRTC supported services will usher into the ICT ecosystem a next-generation services ecosystem of communications, applications, content, and commerce

Web Real-time Communications (WebRTC) provides a framework, protocols, and API that facilitates real-time interactive voice, video, and data via a Web browser. The requirement is only a WebRTC-enabled browser (HTML5).

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Because WebRTC requires no plug-ins and works natively, it can be implemented and operated very easily on PCs, laptops, TVs, tablets, smartphones, and wearable devices. The business drivers for WebRTC are many and varied as there are benefits for all industry constituents including:

End-users: New User Experience, Service Creation/Service Mash-up

Developers: Ease developer burden with a single platform.

Communication Service Providers: Expansion of market/customers

WebRTC is being applied to all modern and native browsers for virtually all major platforms to support sharing of voice, video, and generic data between peers, allowing developers to create compelling video-and-voice communication solutions. There are numerous use cases of WebRTC, the technology behind certain industry-leading communications and collaboration solutions including Discord, Facebook Messenger, and Google Meet/Hangout.

Use cases range from advanced video calling apps (such as Skype, Duo, and WhatsApp) and screen sharing to the more basic web apps that can use your microphone or camera. Major drivers for the vendor, service provider, and developer adoption are ease of implementation, compatibility with browsers and OS, and free open-source with no need for third-party applications.



Key Topics Covered:





1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 WebRTC Technology and Market Overview

2.1 Understanding WebRTC

2.1.1 WebRTC Features

2.1.2 WebRTC Advantages

2.1.3 Peer-to-Peer vs. Browser-to-Browser Communication

2.1.4 Click-to-Call

2.2 Evolution of WebRTC

2.3 WebRTC Solution Market

2.4 WebRTC Market Factors

2.4.1 Growth Drivers

2.4.2 Market Limitations

2.4.3 Market Opportunities

2.5 WebRTC Ecosystem/Value Chain

2.5.1 Vendors

2.5.2 Products

2.5.3 Solutions and Services

2.5.4 Applications

2.5.5 Delivery Platforms

2.5.6 End Users

3.0 WebRTC Taxonomy

3.1 WebRTC Technology

3.1.1 Native Apps vs. WebRTC

3.1.2 HTML5

3.1.3 WebRTC and Expansion of Media/Data usage via LTE

3.1.4 LTE, RCS, and WebRTC

3.1.5 Carrier WiFi and WebRTC

3.1.6 Cloud Communication and WebRTC

3.1.7 Open Source API and WebRTC

3.2 WebRTC Architecture

3.3 WebRTC Functionality

3.3.1 Voice Calling

3.3.2 Real Time Messaging

3.4 WebRTC Enterprise Application

3.4.1 Customer Facing Enterprise

3.4.2 In-House Licenses Development

3.4.3 Application and Security

3.5 WebRTC API

3.5.1 Session Description Protocol

3.5.2 Open Real-time Communications API

3.5.3 WebRTC Security

3.5.4 Chrome

3.5.5 Firefox

3.5.6 Media Stream (getUserData)

3.5.7 Hookflash

3.5.8 MediaStream API

3.5.9 RTCDataChannel API

3.6 Cloud RTC Platform

4.0 WebRTC Application Cases

4.1 Stages of Creation of WebRTC Application

4.1.1 Getting Started

4.1.2 Creating Video Audio Calling

4.1.3 Using Text

4.1.4 File Sharing

4.2 WebRTC Applications

4.2.1 Use of WebRTC in E-learning

4.2.2 WebRTC in Corporate Meetings

4.2.3 WebRTC and HTML5 Developments

4.2.3.1 Web Applications

4.2.3.2 Off-line Applications

4.2.4 WebRTC for the Mobile Applications

4.3 WebRTC Use Cases

4.3.1 Customer Care

4.3.2 Premium Customer Services

4.3.3 Customer Willingness to Pay for such Premium Services

4.4 Economics of WebRTC

5.0 WebRTC Vendor Landscape

6.0 Future of WebRTC

6.1 Beyond Voice/Video and Browsers

6.2 Hybrid P2P and Server-based CDN

6.3 Emerging WebRTC Issues and Opportunities

6.4 WebRTC Implementation Status

6.5 WebRTC Applications in Machine Learning and 5G

6.6 WebRTC vs. RCS

7.0 WEBRTC Market Analysis and Forecasts 2023 to 2028

8.0 Summary and Recommendations

9.0 Appendix

Companies Mentioned

AT&T

Avaya

CafeX

Cisco Systems

Dialogic

Ericsson

Google

Huawei Technologies

IBM Corporation

Mitel Networks

Nokia

Oracle

Plivo

QUOBIS

Ribbon Communications

Sonus (Ribbon Communications)

Temasys

TokBox Telefonica

Twilio

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4bb82l-software?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Company Logo

Dublin, Jan. 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "E-commerce in the Mattress Industry" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Research Report E-commerce in the mattress industry offers a detailed analysis of the online mattress market with a particular focus on three world areas: North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

The study analyses the largest retail mattress markets, estimating the current incidence of online mattress sales in key countries (the USA, Canada, China, India, South Korea, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain), the e-commerce mattress sales of the leading retailers (e-tailers, brick-and-mortar retailers, online mattress companies and mattress manufacturers) and providing company profiles highlighting their activity and performance in this sector.

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales are provided for the time series 2019-2022* (*preliminary) by country/region.

E-COMMERCE BUSINESS MODELS.

The report identifies the leading online retailers involved in mattress sales by business model:

E-tailers (pure e-commerce companies)

Brick and Click companies (dealers with physical stores and web-store)

Non-furniture specialists' chains (large multichannel dealers selling furniture, homewares, accessories, home improvement, lighting fixtures, and electronics).

Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer companies selling online via their own web platform or through e-tailers)

Mattress manufacturers selling online via own website

FEATURES OF THE ONLINE MATTRESS BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION

The most important peculiarities of the e-commerce business in the mattress industry, including services (delivery and logistic issues, payment methods, return strategies), product features (bed-in-a-box, one-size-fits-all mattresses) and the role of industry suppliers.

ECOMMERCE IN THE MATTRESS INDUSTRY. THE LARGEST MARKETS

The report focuses on three world areas, North America (the United States and Canada), Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), and Asia Pacific (China, South Korea, and India).

Story continues

For each considered geographical area and country the report provides: Retail and e-commerce sales (sector overview of economic and e-commerce indicators enriching the analysis) and E-commerce mattress sales (mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales by country) up to 2022.

COMPETITION AND PROFILES OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN THE ONLINE MATTRESS MARKET

Online mattress sales by distribution channels and by leading retailers in Europe, the US, Canada, and the Asia Pacific.

The study also profiles the leading retailers and manufacturers operating in the online mattress market, highlighting their e-commerce activity and financial performance.

For the online mattress companies, it describes the most important supply features (number of trial nights, years of warranty, price of a twin mattress, in-home-delivery, and setup) and distribution strategy (presence of physical stores) and profiles of leading online mattress companies by country.

As regards mattress manufacturers selling online, leading players for each considered country are provided, together with information about their online activity.

SURVEY RESULTS: GLOBAL E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET

The Report E-commerce in the mattress industry was also carried out through direct interviews with leading mattress manufacturers and retailers operating in the e-commerce mattress business and an online survey launched in September 2022, addressed to global retailers and manufacturers involved in the mattress industry.

Topics:

E-commerce activity and Location

Incidence of e-commerce sales on mattress sales

Delivery and type of mattresses

E-commerce mattress sales by sales channels

The top promising markets for e-commerce mattress sales

The most important services offered for e-commerce mattress sales

Share of mattresses returned back

Expected sales variation in 2022 over 2021 for online and total sales

Key Topics Covered:

INTRODUCTION: Data gathering, terminology, processing methodology and sample of companies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: E-commerce in the mattress industry performances and market peculiarities, companies insights for the first half of 2022

1. E-COMMERCE IN THE MATTRESS MARKET: An overview of the world mattress market

1.1. An overview of the world mattress market: mattress consumption and consumption by country. International trade of mattresses

1.2. E-commerce in the mattress market: Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales by country/region; Share of e-commerce mattress sales

1.3. Models of e-commerce business

E-tailers (pure e-commerce retailers)

Brick-and-Click companies (dealers with physical stores and webstore)

Non-furniture specialist chains

Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer)

Mattress manufactures selling online via their own website

2. FEATURES OF THE ONLINE MATTRESS BUSINESS

2.1. The business evolution and organisation

Delivery options

Services and return strategies

Bed-in-a-box

The role of industry suppliers

One-size-fits-all mattresses and related bedding products

Payment methods

3. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA

3.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

United States. E-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales

United States and Canada: Macroeconomic and e-commerce indicators

3.2. E-commerce mattress sales in the USA and Canada

3.3. Competition: online mattress sales by distribution channel in a sample of companies and online mattress sales by leading retailers in the USA and Canada

3.4. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

3.5. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer): Supply features comparison of the Leading online mattress companies and Price for a twin mattress in a sample of online mattress companies

3.6. Mattress manufacturers selling online

4. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN EUROPE: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK

4.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

Europe. Economic and E-commerce Indicators

France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom: e-commerce indicators

4.2. E-commerce mattress sales in Europe

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom

4.3. Competition: online mattress sales by distribution channel in a sample of companies and online mattress sales by leading retailers in Europe

4.4. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

4.5. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer): Supply features comparison of the Leading online mattress companies and Price for a twin mattress in a sample of online mattress companies

4.6. Mattress manufacturers selling online

5. E-COMMERCE MATTRESS MARKET IN ASIA PACIFIC: China, India and South Korea

5.1. Retail and e-commerce sales: overview and demand drivers

Asia Pacific: China, India and South Korea. Economic and E-commerce Indicators

5.2. E-commerce mattress sales in Asia Pacific

Mattress sales and e-commerce mattress sales in China, India, South Korea

5.3. E-commerce retailers (pure e-tailers, retailers selling online)

E-commerce retailers selling mattresses in Asia Pacific: China, India, South Korea

5.4. Online mattress companies (direct-to-consumer)

5.5. Mattress manufacturers selling online

6. ANNEX: Results of the survey on the Global e-commerce mattress market

6.1. Survey results: Global e-commerce mattress market

E-commerce activity

Location

Incidence of e-commerce sales on mattress sales

Shipments and types of mattresses

E-commerce mattress sales by sales channels

Top 5 promising markets for e-commerce mattress sales

Services offered for e-commerce mattress sales

Share of mattresses returned back

Expected sales variation in 2022 over 2021 for online and total sales

7. MENTIONED COMPANIES

List of mentioned companies selling mattresses online: country, retailing format, activity, website

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Amazon

bett1

Casper

Emma

IKEA

JD.com

Kurlon

Mattress Firm

Mlily

Nectar Sleep-Resident

Otto

Pepperfry

Purple

Simba

Saatva

Serta Simmons

Simba Sleep

Simmons

Suning

Taobao

Tmall

Tuft&Needle

Wayfair

Zinus

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1osvko-commerce-in-the?w=12

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - New York's attorney general on Tuesday asked a judge to sanction former U.S. President Donald Trump, his adult children, the Trump Organization and their lawyers over their responses to her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against them.

The lawsuit by Attorney General Letitia James last September accused the defendants of involvement in a decade-long scheme to manipulate asset values and Trump's net worth, in order to induce banks and insurers to provide better terms.

On Jan. 26, the defendants filed formal "answers" where, as often occurs in similar lawsuits, they denied or claimed to lack sufficient knowledge about dozens of substantive accusations.

In a letter to the Manhattan judge overseeing the case, Arthur Engoron, James said many responses were "demonstrably false," frivolous or otherwise improper. She said the Trumps should lose some of their defenses, as well as face sanctions.

"The court has already admonished defendants and their counsel for their continued invocation of meritless legal claims but exercised its discretion in not imposing such sanctions," the letter said. "It does not appear that this point was taken."

Lawyers for the Trump defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

James said the improper responses included Trump's objection to being labeled the "inactive president" of the Trump Organization during his White House term, though he had used that description in an October 2021 sworn deposition.

Trump's daughter Ivanka was criticized by James for saying she did not know whether she had personally met with bankers, or could confirm the contents of her own emails.

James also rejected arguments by Donald Trump and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric that she lacked standing to sue and "acted contrary to the ancient and customary norms" governing prosecutors, saying Engoron had already rejected their contention that she was pursuing a political "witch hunt."

Earlier in January, Donald Trump ended two legal challenges to James' lawsuit, after a Florida judge imposed $937,989 of sanctions against him and his lawyer for filing a "completely frivolous" lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton of trying to rig the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine on Monday visited the future site of Germanna Community Colleges cybersecurity training center in Stafford County.

The senators from Virginia worked to secure $870,000 in federal funding for the center  part of $200 million in federal funding that is coming to Virginia through the federal governments annual budget.

The $870,000 for Germanna will be used to establish the James R. Clapper Center for Innovation in Cybersecurity, which will be located in the new Barbara J. Fried Center in North Stafford and will house the community colleges cybersecurity degree and credential programs.

This proposal sold itself, Kaine said of Germannas funding request. Its right in the sweet spot of what the country needs.

In a round table discussion Monday, the senators  who were on their way to a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh  said they are focused on growing the countrys workforce, especially in the field of cybersecurity.

Our country does not have the workforce it needs, Kaine said, noting that barriers like the high cost of childcare and education and health concerns such as the effects of long COVID are keeping people out of the workforce.

Meeting the needs of the cybersecurity workforce is one of the countrys biggest challenges, Warner said.

There are 3 million unfilled cyber jobs  60,000 of them in Virginia, he said.

At the same time, cyber-attacks  especially on healthcare systems, which house personal information even more valuable than that kept by financial systems, Warner said  continue to occur.

Increasing access to required training is essential to meeting cybersecurity workforce needs, the senators said.

Germanna announced last year that the community college would be expanding into Stafford through the establishment of a new, permanent site. The community colleges Educational Foundation purchased two buildings at Center Street in North Stafford, assisted by community donations and the Stafford Economic Development Authority.

One building, the Kevin L. Dillard Health Sciences Center, will allow Germanna to train and graduate more nurses and will house a community health clinic, while the other  the Barbara J. Fried Center  will house the cybersecurity training classrooms.

On Monday, the senators toured the space that will be turned into the James R. Clapper Center  named for the former Director of National Intelligence, a friend of Germanna Community College.

In addition to classrooms and office space, there will be labs that are open 24-7 for students who work full time and may need to complete classwork during off-hours.

The Stafford location puts cybersecurity students in proximity to military bases at Quantico and Dahlgren and many defense contractors, which offer potential internships and jobs.

Germanna plans to begin offering classes in the new buildings in August 2024.
A 60-day public comment period kicked off Monday as Gov. Glenn Youngkin seeks a regulatory route to repeal Virginias participation in a multistate carbon market.

So, environmental advocates rallied outside of the Department of Environmental Quality to make clear they are not happy with the governor.

The comment period will end March 31 and can be accessed on Virginia's Town Hall website. The Air Pollution Control Board will eventually vote on whether to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative through regulations.

Colloquially called RGGI, the initiative is a cohort of 12 states in which energy producers trade emission reductions for credits, or they buy credits to emit carbon dioxide past a capped amount.

The health and preservation of resources is directly linked to the maintenance of clean air and a stable climate, said participant Jordan Seurattan of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

I implore you please submit comments opposing Governor Glenn Youngkins unlawful attempt to remove Virginia from [RGGI] and to defend Virginia's participation in [RGGI].

The event was organized by Appalachian Voices, the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club and the Virginia chapter of the League of Conservation Voters. Three people dressed in costumes as the governor, former President Donald Trump and Andrew Wheeler  who headed the Environmental Protection Agency in the Trump administration.

Wheeler has been controversial among environmental activists for his past as a coal lobbyist and for overseeing rollbacks of environmental protections when he helmed the EPA. He was Youngkins pick for natural and historic resources secretary, but was rejected by the state Senate. He now oversees the Office of Regulatory Management, and activists suggest he is still influential over policies as there is still no permanent secretary more than a year into the Youngkin administration.

At an August air board meeting, acting secretary Travis Voyles called Virginia's participation in RGGI a direct tax on consumers.

Thats because customers are paying $2.36 a month through a rate adjustment clause attached to customers bills.

A 2022 Youngkin administration report concluded: Because of the captive nature of their ratepayers, the ability for power-generators to fully pass on costs to consumers, and the fact that the Code of Virginia dedicates RGGI proceeds to grants programs, participation in RGGI is in effect a direct carbon tax on all households and businesses."

Proponents of remaining in RGGI argue that the $2.36 a month is not a significant additional cost when the money generated through the initiative targets energy-efficiency projects along with flood prevention and protection measures.

In December, Youngkins budget proposal included $200 million in funding for flood prevention projects. At the time, his administration said it was a first step toward replacing what would be lost if Virginia pulled out of RGGI.

Activists and environmental organizations disagree.

RGGI is law! was repeatedly chanted by the crowd of about 20. A couple of people raised their fists in solidarity outside of their car windows while driving by on Main Street.

The latest effort to remove Virginia from the initiative follows a year of debate about whether the governor has the authority to do so. The General Assembly, then with Democrats leading the House and Senate, voted Virginia's participation into law, and 61 Democratic legislators argue that the decision is up to the legislature.

The regulatory route could see a vote in Youngkins favor as several members of the air board are his appointees  yet some members question if its their purview to remove Virginia from RGGI.

The board is expected to take a vote at some point in 2023, with Voyles stating a goal to have Virginia out of RGGI by the end of the year.

Virginia localities most concerned about climate change Localities most concerned about climate change in Virginia #50. Surry County #49. Essex County #48. Accomack County #47. Caroline County #46. Staunton #45. Prince Edward County #44. Suffolk #43. Lancaster County #42. Greensville County #41. Spotsylvania County #40. James City County #39. Chesapeake #38. Brunswick County #37. Chesterfield County #36. Franklin #35. Montgomery County #34. Sussex County #33. Hopewell #32. Stafford County #31. Nelson County #30. Charles City County #29. Northampton County #28. Danville #27. Henrico County #26. Lynchburg #25. Martinsville #24. Roanoke #23. Emporia #22. Portsmouth #21. Lexington #20. Albemarle County #19. Manassas #18. Hampton #17. Winchester #16. Prince William County #15. Harrisonburg #14. Loudoun County #13. Williamsburg #12. Newport News #11. Norfolk #10. Fairfax County #9. Fairfax #8. Fredericksburg #7. Petersburg #6. Falls Church #5. Charlottesville city #4. Manassas Park #3. Richmond #2. Arlington County #1. Alexandria
GREENSBORO, N.C.  A 4-year-old boy who died along with his twin brothers in a December house fire had cocaine in his system, according to testimony in court Monday.

During a first appearance hearing for the boys' mother, Brandi Sturdivant, Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Thompson said that during an autopsy of Antonio Little Jr. the medical examiner found cocaine in his system.

Sturdivant, 28, is accused of leaving the boy and his 1-year-old twin brothers, Aerious and Anyis Little, alone at the home when the fire started. She was charged Friday with three felony counts of negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.

During an interview with detectives, Sturdivant "admitted that she kept cocaine in her home, in a box," Thompson said Monday.

Sturdivant who appeared at the hearing via video, rocked back and forth crying as attorneys reviewed the case for District Court Judge Kelvin D. Smith. Sturdivant did not speak other than to confirm that her attorney, Assistant Public Defendant Wayne T. Baucino, spoke on her behalf.

"She is absolutely inconsolable about what happened," Baucino told the judge.

Thompson noted that a few weeks before the fire, someone called social services to allege that Sturdivant was leaving her children alone at night at the house at 2518 Grimsley St.

"She routinely left the children alone, left them to fend for themselves," Thompson said. "This was a very graphic and gruesome crime scene."

He said prosecutors expect further charges in the case.

Thompson said the origin and cause of the fire is still under investigation, but that witnesses and doorbell cameras indicate that Sturdivant was not at the home as early as 6 a.m. on the morning of the fire.

Two of Sturdivant's older children were at school when the fire broke out.

Thompson said Sturdivant's story changed over time, from initially telling investigators that she was inside the house when the fire broke out, to saying she was outside of the home and taking her older children to school, Thompson said.

Thompson asked Smith to keep Sturdivant's bail at $150,000 or higher. She said Sturdivant was a flight risk because Sturdivant did not turn herself in to police as requested and instead had a friend tell investigators that she was on her way to Virginia.

The prosecutor also noted that Sturdivant is on probation for felony hit-and run and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. In a 2019 assault case, Thompson said the victim indicated Sturdivant "stabbed her because she thought she had snitched on her boyfriend."

Because of this incident, Thompson expressed concern that Sturdivant might seek retribution against witnesses. "That puts them in a precarious situation," she told the judge.

The prosecution also asked for a no-contact order with her older children, at which point Sturdivant began sobbing.

"These children also have been traumatized as well by this behavior," Thompson said, noting they are under a protection plan with the Guilford County Department of Social Services. "They need an opportunity to heal and are safe with their paternal grandmother."

The prosecutor also said that although the home had baseboard heat, Sturdivant told investigators that she was using an oven to heat the single-story home because she couldn't afford the heating bill.

"However ... there has also been some information that she might have been getting assistance to pay that light bill, so we have that discrepancy," Thompson said.

Fire officials have said flames were coming out of all the windows and the front door of the home when crews arrived four minutes after the first 911 call.

"All the children were in one bedroom and the fire was around the door frame, so even if they had wanted to get out, they could not have gotten out," Thompson told the judge.

Smith agreed to leave Sturdivant's bail at $150,000, but ordered her to have no contact with her older children and any known state witnesses in the case.

"I would make a finding that she is both a flight risk and a threat to the community," Smith said.

If convicted, Sturdivant would face up to 7 years and four months in prison on each charge. Her next court date is set for March 16.

PHOTOS: Fire destroys Greensboro home
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Gov. Jim Pillen delivered a conservative message Monday to participants and listeners in his first monthly statewide call-in radio show while centering on the need for workforce development and retention of young Nebraskans.

Pillen, who is approaching his first month in office, said he is committed to "transformative tax policy" and less government.

"We need to shrink government," he said. "Get government out of our hair."

At the same time, the governor said, he is determined to "improve services with less people" holding government jobs.

"As we shrink government," Pillen said, "don't fill empty seats" when people retire.

"We need to focus on essential, critical services," Pillen said, and that includes making "a significant investment to fill positions" now vacant in the Nebraska State Patrol.

Pillen said the state needs to proceed with construction of a new prison to replace the aging penitentiary in Lincoln, locate the new facility in a populous location and improve programming for inmates so they can be prepared to "join the workforce and live productive lives" once they have completed their sentences.

Although Pillen did not suggest where a new prison should be built, Omaha is considered to be the most likely site.

Answering questions phoned in during the hourlong show aired on KFOR in Lincoln, the governor said the opportunity for legislative enactment of Sen. Tom Brewer's "constitutional-carry" gun rights bill "looks pretty good" and responded to criticism about his appointment of former Gov. Pete Ricketts to the Senate.

Brewer's bill (LB77) would allow Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without a permit or required gun safety training. Twenty-five senators have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Critics of the appointment of Ricketts to succeed Ben Sasse, who resigned from the Senate to become president of the University of Florida, have pointed to the former governor's strong financial support for Pillen's gubernatorial candidacy.

Noting that he had 4,500 contributors to his campaign, Pillen said: "No one asked for anything in return."

"I chose the best person," the governor said.

"And everybody will have an opportunity to make a decision" whether Ricketts should continue to hold that Senate seat two years from now when Ricketts seeks election to serve the final two years of Sasse's six-year term, Pillen said.

Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023
RAVENNA  Since last summer, 16 ducks have been unofficial mascots of Ravenna Lake. They entertained campers and children and were being fed this winter by a group of retirees.

But last week, 12 of the ducks were shot and who did the shooting remains unknown, according to Stephen A. Gaasch, facilities director of Buffalo County.

The ducks were last seen alive Tuesday afternoon, so the shooting is believed to have taken place Tuesday night, Gaasch said. He and several others ventured out across the frozen lake to the open water and retrieved the bodies. Several ducks had multiple gunshot wounds.

We still have four ducks to watch, but it breaks our hearts to not see the other 12 out there with them, Gaasch said. I cannot believe that anyone would be so cruel and heartless as to shoot a dozen tame ducks.

Gaasch said he hopes the Buffalo County Sheriffs Office and Nebraska Game and Parks can find whomever is responsible.

Being a Nebraskan is supposed to be a source of pride. We dont do things like this, he said.

Photos: Birds you can spot in Nebraska Baltimore Oriole Bay-Breasted Warbler Black-Capped Chickadee Cape May Warbler Cedar Waxwing Cerulean Warbler Great-Crested Flycatcher Indigo Bunting LeConte's Sparrow Northern Cardinal Prothonotary Warbler Red-Headed Woodpecker Rose-Breasted Grosbeak Scarlet Tanager White-Throated Sparrow Wood Duck Yellow-Rumped Warbler Western Tanager
Arab Heath and Exhibition and Congress 2023, the largest gathering of healthcare companies, technology, and products in the region, opened its doors yesterday (January 30) in Dubai welcoming more than 3,000 exhibitors from over 70 countries who will be showcasing their latest innovative new technologies during the four-day event.

It was officially inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Being held under the theme innovation and sustainability in healthcare, this year's Arab Health is , complementing over 300 regional and international speakers, 9 continuous medical education (CME) conferences, all delivering keynote speeches, scientific lectures, and industry briefings.

It is also expected to welcome more than 51,000 attendees at the Dubai World Trade Centre until February 2

Commenting on the expo, Ross Williams, Exhibition Director for Informa Markets, said: The worlds leading healthcare industry players will be in the UAE, reinforcing its position as a global healthcare hub and showcasing cutting-edge technology and the latest innovations in the sector.

The event provides a platform for high-level discussion on how we drive the industry forward while creating an opportunity to build relationships with stakeholders from around the world, which is further endorsed by peer-to-peer networking and learning where participants can foster knowledge through insights and expert analysis as part of the CME conferences, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Memphis police chief said video of the Jan. 10 beating by five police officers that killed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols included acts that defy humanity.

We had fair warning, but the 66 minutes of body-worn and lamp-mounted camera images released Friday night confirmed the chiefs characterization and then some. Here were officers pulling over Nichols car for no clear reason. Here was Nichols pleading, Im just trying to go home. Here were men charged with enforcing the law punching and kicking and striking a civilian as he lay on the ground, apparently handcuffed, and Tasing him.

Here was Nichols crying out for his mother. Here were cops deploying pepper spray and accidentally spraying one another. Here was a painful 20-minute delay between the beatdown and the arrival of an ambulance.

This was less a police action than a gang assault on a Black man by violent aggressors who happened to be collecting government salaries, wearing uniforms and wielding the power of the state.

The wheels of justice must now turn against the officers, who thank God have already been fired. But an inquiry must dig much deeper.

In the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter marches righteously reminded America that the lives of those with darker skin are all too often treated as disposable. No linear connection can here be drawn between racism, whether overt or subtle, and the actions of the five Black cops.

Of course a non-white officer can also betray bias against a non-white civilian  overzealous use of force against Black men is a bedeviling police problem no matter the skin color of the individual in uniform  but hard questions must also be asked about the hiring of these men, about their training and about the culture of the poisonously named Scorpion unit.

Police are often justified in their use of force. When they wantonly harm people, they must pay a price, swift and severe, and the bigger forces behind their crimes must be systematically pulled apart.
In order to more fully tell the Black history story in Colorado, Dexter Nelson II knew he wanted to take a different approach.

A lot of times the Black experience is reduced to slavery, and then Martin Luther King, and then Obama, said Nelson, History Colorados associate curator of African American history and cultural heritage.

When crafting the museums event series, Blaxplanation, he decided to talk about anything but. Last years inaugural season was a success, he said, and the series made its return this year with season two opening Saturday.

The first event included a screening of the documentary The Holly, followed by a panel composed of the films subject, Terrance Roberts; its director, Julian Rubinstein; and producer donnie l. betts. The NAACP is sponsoring this years series.

The much-discussed documentary chronicles the story of Roberts, a former Bloods gang member who grew up in the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, and his 2015 acquittal for shooting Bloods gang member Hasan Munch Jones. At the time of the shooting, Roberts was preparing to host a peace rally to continue his work as an anti-gang activist seeking to quell violence in the community.

The film and the accompanying book, The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood, delve into not only gang violence but myriad issues such as gentrification and police misconduct.

The screening was the first installment in an event lineup that includes another discussion about gang violence in northeast Denver, but also talks about the Black communitys contribution to pop culture and a walking tour of local historic areas.

The series tagline, Black History, From the Black Perspective, Beyond Slavery, sums up the programs mission, Nelson said. That is, telling a history of the African diaspora that is not whitewashed or limited, he said, and telling it with the perspective of African Americans.

Creating a safe space

The inaugural season of Blaxplanation last year sought to tell more stories and connect with the community, Nelson said, ranging from programming about local artists to lessons on the Green Book  a guide identifying businesses that would safely serve African Americans during the segregation era.

Nelson came up with the series name as a play on the term Blaxploitation  coined for the film era that emerged in the '60s and '70s that stereotyped African Americans on camera, but also afforded them new freedoms to work in the industry behind the camera, he said.

The series was partly born from History Colorados efforts to make inroads connecting with the states African American community, which had met resistance, Nelson said.

And so, we wanted to really have this series as kind of a space where we could just program and have stories about the African American experience, really with no restrictions, he said.

At almost every Blaxplanation event held in 2022, an attendee told Nelson they were grateful to learn History Colorado hosted programming like it, or told him, We see you seeing us, and we appreciate that, he said.

This year is about building on that momentum and cementing History Colorado as a safe space to hold conversations, he said.

We are not saying, Think this way or that way, or anything like that. We are saying, This is a very relevant conversation; lets discuss it, he said.

The next installments in 2023 include a program about the northeast Denver communitys response to gang violence on April 1 at the History Colorado Center.

Terri Gentry, the museums engagement coordinator for Black communities, will lead a walking tour of the historic Welton Street and Five Points neighborhood on June 9 (the trek includes sampling off the menu of a Black-owned restaurant).

To wrap up, History Colorado partnered with Denver Film to dive into the series namesake, the Blaxploitation film era, with an Aug. 18 screening of Friday Foster at the Sie Film Center. The film stars Pam Grier, a Colorado resident and prominent actor during the Blaxploitation days. The event will also include a conversation with editor Christopher Marlon about the Black communitys contributions to pop culture and film.

Debating The Holly

As lights came on, the Saturday crowd of roughly 100 gave The Holly two rounds of applause. They had laughed at moments of comedic relief. They sighed as the film revealed young men the director interviewed later died of violence. They grimaced, and buried heads in hands, at the description of a murdered 2-year-old child abuse victims injuries.

Despite the Saturday crowd's warm reception, the film previously sparked division within the Park Hill community  with some saying it paints a one-dimensional portrait of the neighborhood as defined by gang violence.

Rubinstein addressed some of the pushback during the Saturday panel discussion, saying in part that its a small portion of the Black community seeking to discredit the work and that some of his critics had not read the book or seen the film.

Roberts, now one of 17 candidates to become Denvers next mayor, said what he hopes people can learn from the film is that gang violence is a legitimate issue facing Denver and its youth. He spoke at length during the panel discussion about frustrations that stem from his life experiences highlighted in the film.

He is particularly exasperated by law enforcement using informants who are active gang members, lambasting it as an inappropriate relationship that continues to harm the community, not solve its problems.

Roberts called programming like the Blaxplanation series needed, not just for Black communities but for all marginalized communities, he said, naming womens rights, the Latino community and the LGBTQIA community.

Being part of the 2023 series launch was an honor, he said.

To make it from where Ive been in life to being able to be at History Colorado and kicking off a series like this, with a story where Im the protagonist, who could have ever imagined it, he said.

In History Colorado engagement sessions with community members  which helped shape the Blaxplanation programming  Nelson said staff clearly heard that some northeast Denver residents do not like how their neighborhoods are being portrayed, and not just in The Holly.

The series inclusion of a walking tour and discussions about pop culture were in response to that, and an effort to include a range of topics beyond gang violence. The upcoming events will include alternative views, Nelson said.

He encouraged critics of The Holly with questions about its inclusion in the series to contact History Colorado, whether it be by email or attending an event and asking questions.

We want to know what they have to say, and we want to provide a space for them to say it, he said.

A paradigm shift

Gentry is the woman helping lead those engagement sessions for History Colorado and another force behind the Blaxplanation series as the museums engagement manager for Black communities. She joined the museum staff last year and also sits on the board of the Black American West Museum.

As a longtime admirer of producer donnie l. betts, and a Denverite with generational ties to northeast Denver, Gentry was eager to see The Holly. She has lived in Clayton, Park Hill and North East Park Hill. Her grandparents lived in Whittier. Her great-grandfather ran his business in Five Points. Her loved ones also called Skyland home.

She loved growing up in the area. Friendships she made at 5 and 6 years old are still going strong. She comes from a long line of people who worked hard to better their community, she said, calling her parents and grandparents warriors.

Her father retired as a division chief for the Denver Police Department. Her mother fought to build her career within the white-male dominated Martin Marietta (before it became Lockheed Martin in 1995 after a merger), she said. Her great-grandfather was the first Black man to become a licensed dentist in Colorado.

This community that I grew up in, and I am a part of, has some amazing people that were part of it, she said. I am still watching generationally the people who are my age and younger continuing that legacy.

The Holly offered a transparent look at some experiences of local residents while including a number of perspectives, she said.

Her own life experiences drive her work as History Colorados engagement coordinator and in working on the Blaxplanation series, she said. Every day to Gentry is about celebrating her ancestors and telling her communitys story.

The Blaxplanation series offers folks who are not familiar with our experiences a window into who we are, and I think it also helps to give voice to our community, she said.

Thats important to her because she also sees efforts nationwide to shut us down and silence us, she said, citing examples like legislation seeking to ban certain curriculums about Black history taught from African American perspectives or laws aimed at diminishing voting rights, she said.

Her job is helping History Colorado to step up, she said, and include all of Colorados voices in telling the states history.

Its a matter of a paradigm shift, Gentry said.
Homicides in Denver decreased in 2022 after two years of increases. But December saw more than the average for the year, and teenage victims and suspects continue to worry officials.

Denver police counted 88 homicides last year, down from 96 in 2021. Nine were tallied in December.

Its not a number that were happy with, unfortunately, said Chief Ron Thomas, adding each life lost is one too many.

Eight victims in 2022 were under 18, and eight of the years homicides had juvenile suspects charged criminally.

Thomas said the city hopes to bring those numbers down with a focus on social services for families and economic development. He said reducing homicides by underage offenders also requires measures that minimizes the chances of them getting their hands on guns, such as gun locks, not storing them in cars and buyback drives  in which the city pays people to turn over guns voluntarily.

Thomas estimated the city collected about 1,000 guns from its buyback events last year.

So, that's 1,000 guns that will not fall into the wrong hands and have some tragic results from someone using that firearm, he said.

The numbers mirror a concern about juvenile violence statewide. In the 2022 fiscal year, 43% of kids in the juvenile system had committed a violent offense, up from 31% in the 2019 fiscal year, according to an annual report from the Division of Youth Services.

Denvers trend in homicides from 2019 to 2022 also appears to mirror what midsize and large cities in the U.S. saw, based on an analysis of 27 cities by the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank.

Homicides rose by 37% from 2019 to 2020 in the cities studies, resulting in 1,472 more deaths. Homicides increased 2% between 2020 and 2021, but then declined by 4% in 2022.

However, some of the cities saw much larger increases than others, and some experienced decreases while homicides rose elsewhere. The study included Denver, and analyzed cities ranging from a population of about 227,000 (Richmond, Virginia) to 8.4 million (New York City).

Personal disputes continued to be a top motivation for homicides in 2022, following 2020 and 2021, a spokesperson said of the departments internal analysis. Denver police counted 25 homicides last year with a personal dispute as the main driver, said Matt Clark, commander of the departments Major Crimes Division.

He said the department tends to classify each homicide in only one category when determining causes.

Youll see crossover. When we look at the drug-nexus cases, those cases sometimes are robberies as well, but it was a drug transaction. So those are going to fall into a drug-nexus type scenario there.

Domestic violence and drugs followed personal disputes followed as top causes for homicide, according to police.

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But tracking of homicides includes some differences depending on the source. While the Office of the Medical Examiner, for the most part, includes any person killed by another under one count, some sources of data on Denvers homicides separate out certain deaths that meet the definition.

The police departments internal tracking of homicides and online data dashboard does not include deaths at the hands of officers, though the number reported to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation does include fatal officer shootings.

The department tracks deaths this way according to the FBIs guidelines for reporting under its Uniform Crime Reporting program, Clark said.

The medical examiner recorded 90 homicides last year, compared with 104 last year and 102 in 2020.

The police department counts homicides for the year in which the act was committed, Clark said. For example, someone shot at the end of 2021 who passes away in the hospital in 2022 would be counted in 2021.

The medical examiner counts homicides for the year in which the person died, the offices operations manager added.

The medical examiner and Denver police also track traffic fatalities separately.

A spreadsheet provided to the Denver Gazette by the police department shows the agency recorded 82 traffic fatalities for 2022. The tracking includes deaths that led to criminal charges, such as vehicular homicide or felony hit-and-run.

Clark said the medical examiner classifies the manner of unintentional traffic deaths as accidental.

But different ways of accounting homicides can be confusing for the public, said Jacob Kang-Brown, a senior research fellow at the Vera Institute of Justice, especially if that means the numbers vary based on the source.

Public safety and violence prevention are a really important part of our world. And tracking homicide, and better understanding how that happens, I think is a valuable thing. And so making sure that the data actually represent what's happening is important, he said.

Thomas stands by the police departments strategy of focusing policing resources on several hot spots in the city that officials say have been the locations of a disproportionate share of shootings and homicides. Currently, the police department has eight intersections in the city pinpointed as focus areas.

The strategy has drawn criticism that it leads to over-policing of poor communities and people of color. But following a shooting last fall in Denvers East Colfax neighborhood that injured six people, just over the border with Aurora, a resident said she felt like she typically would only see police visible in her neighborhood immediately after a major violent incident.

I'm hopeful that if we were to ask her today that she would have a different response, that she would say that she continues to see police officers in her neighborhood, even though we're a long ways away from those tragic events that occurred back at the end of last year, Thomas said.

I think that there was sort of a sentiment that the city government as a whole had really kind of neglected that neighborhood. Hopefully, I was able to convince that neighborhood that, actually, there's a significant amount of government intervention and support that has been infused into this particular neighborhood," he added.
To use the crosswalk or to jaywalk  that is the question.

And it's a question the Denver's city council took seriously during meeting on Monday, when the councilmembers decided to adopt a bill decriminalizing jaywalking in a, 10-3 vote.

Critics of the bill said it sends the wrong signal to the public, particularly at a time when traffic crashes that kill pedestrians are on the rise. Supporters counter that decriminalization is warranted because people of color disproportionately get get cited for jaywalking.

A deadly year: 745 died in Colorado road crashes in 2022

A few  District 4 Councilwoman Kendra Black, District 6 Councilman Paul Kashmann and District 8 Councilman Christopher Herndon  voted against the bill.

Black wanted to go on the record opposing the proposal and called it out for a separate vote.

Normally, bills appear before council twice: A first reading, when it is ordered published, and a second reading, when it is adopted during the council's legislative session. If a bill or resolution is not called out by a councilmember before 1 p.m. Monday  or the day of council's meeting  it is adopted in a block vote with all members

Black has been vocal in her opposition to the bill since it was introduced at a land use, transportation and infrastructure committee meeting on Jan. 10.

Half of Coloradans rate highways unsafe, state troopers score high on professionalism, respect

"Recently [the Colorado Department of Transportation], released data that, in the past 10 years, there's been a 57% increase in traffic deaths and 36% of those are pedestrians and bicycles," Black said on Monday. "I think the problem with this bill is that it sends a message that jaywalking is okay."

On Jan. 23, CDOT reported that 745 people died in traffic crashes last year, the most since 1981. In Denver alone, 82 died.

Already this year, six people have died from traffic crashes, according to Denver's Vision Zero dashboard.

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Black said the message the council is sending is especially dangerous to children, who may try to run across a busy city block, thinking a car is still far away. She said the bill also contradicts a lot work Denver has taken to improve pedestrian safety, which included fighting for money to install new pedestrian signals in each district.

Why are so many immigrants coming to Denver? Town hall seeks answers

Black also pointed to the "Safe Routes to School" program, which seeks to create safe and equitable environments for students traveling to and from school. Other initiatives, such as Vision Zero, seek to eliminate traffic related fatalities entirely.

The bill, known to council as 23-0015 or the "Freedom to Walk" bill, initially cleared the land use, transportation and infrastructure committee on Jan. 3. The bill resulted from a collaboration among District 9 Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, District 7 Councilman Jolon Clark and District 3 Councilwoman Jamie Torres.

CdeBaca said they reviewed 134 jaywalking citations and that a majority of these were issued in Denver's "inverted L" areas to the North of Interstate 70 and West of Interstate 25 that she says have historically seen higher levels of citations against people of color.

"When we're looking at data, we're looking for disproportionality," CdeBaca said at the Jan. 10 committee meeting. "Although only 10% of Denver's population is Black, a staggering 41% of jaywalking citations are given to Black residents."

Additionally, CdeBaca said, 25% of the citations were issued to homeless residents. She said 56% of the citations were give to white residents, who account for 80% of Denver's population.

Black said she is not convinced police specifically targeted anyone.

"With an average number of jaywalking citations of 22 per year, there's absolutely no data supporting the idea that the police are targeting any group," she said.

While the council approved decriminalizing jaywalking in Denver, it remains illegal on the state level. Any person who fails to follow the rules of crossing streets is subject to a class B traffic violation and a fine of up to $100, according to a local legal firm.

Mayor Michael Hancock still needs to sign the bill in order for it to take effect, and the signed ordinance has to be filed by the city clerk. Hancock can veto the bill, but the council can override his veto with nine votes.
Remember the early days of the internet, when tech companies told us how their inventions would bring freedom of speech to the entire planet? Facebook and Twitter and Google promised a big interconnected World Wide Web that would forever guarantee the free flow of information, bringing light to the worlds dark crevices.

Now, Colorado U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, in a new book called Crushed, argues that we have come full circle, and the very tech titans who had promised to bring free speech to the four corners of the globe are the biggest threat to free speech on the planet.

No question the internet has transformed the public square, supplanting our actual public squares with a vast virtual one. Problem is, Buck says, our communication commons is controlled by a handful of tech companies  Twitter, Meta, Google, and Amazon  not us. Theyre dictating who can speak and how they may speak.

The marketplace of ideas is now a gated community within the digital sphere. For 200 years, that marketplace was self-regulated. Not anymore.

So if Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk dont particularly like certain people and what theyre saying, they are so powerful and the platforms they control used by so many people, they can effectively restrict the free speech of those individuals.

And Buck worries that gives tech lords the ability to effectively deny constitutionally protected liberties. What good is a government-guaranteed right of free speech if the government doesnt have any real control over the public square?

Big Tech controls the marketplace of ideas and the markets in a way that defies oversight, Buck contends.

Ken Buck is a conservative, and much of his argument is built on claims that tech companies have unfairly silenced conservative voices. But liberals shouldn't be distracted by the axes he grinds in his book: The alarms Buck sounds in "Crushed" should worry free speech lovers of all stripes.

Lets unpack Bucks argument a bit more to see why.

In the marketplace of ideas  a wonderful phrase coined by English philosopher John Stuart Mill  ideas get accepted by competing with each other head to head, without government interference or censorship. For Mill, ensuring an unimpeded flow was a way to protect individual independence and prevent social control by a government or an oppressive popular idea, Buck writes in his book. Good journalism embraces much the same thing: the ideal news story gathers the best arguments from both sides of an issue and lets those ideas battle it out, allowing readers to decide which argument is the stronger.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes expanded on Mills idea in a dissenting opinion: "Ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade and ideas. The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.

But Big Tech has put a thumb on the scale, Buck argues. They are the arbiters of the marketplace now, and they are able to selectively disseminate information as they see fit, so the test for the truth is broken.

Arent their good intentions and promises to live up to our sacred right of free speech enough? Theyre good Americans, arent they?

Buck says no one should be trusted to always do the right thing, no matter how benign they claim their intentions are. Thats giving them way too much power over the First Amendment.

Constitutionally, they have total freedom to do whatever they want with the speech on their platforms. They are private companies, after all. The First Amendment only forbids government actors from limiting free speech, and Facebook, Amazon and Twitter are not government actors.

So the tech lords are immune to the very safeguards that keep government from infringing on free-speech rights.

So what do we do about it? If free speech is truly threatened, how do we save our most precious American commodity?

Buck believes it's time for some serious trust-busting. Like the big monopolies of the early 20th century  John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. and J.P. Morgan's Northern Securities Co.  Buck thinks todays tech companies need to be busted.

He believes Big Tech companies have overextended their power through self-preferencing practices, restricting competition through mergers and acquisitions, and through censorship.

As his foreword states, "There has never been such an aggregation of power in the history of humankind as Big Tech enjoys today with the money, monopoly power, and hubris that comes with the unchecked exercise of power."

Reining in that power will take fresh legislation from Congress, lawsuits invoking antitrust laws that chip away at their anti-competitiveness, and concerted individual action against Big Tech, as well, Buck believes.

On Tuesday, Colorado jumped into this fight with both feet. A group of eight states including Colorado sued Google, accusing it of illegally creating a monopoly over technology that powers online advertising. It is the fifth antitrust lawsuit filed by U.S. officials against Google since 2020, as lawmakers and regulators try to rein in the power that Big Tech exerts over information and commerce.

Another reform sponsored by Buck that would help the cause of free speech is languishing in Congress right now. It is vital to the future of journalism in this country, and therefore near and dear to my heart. A group representing publishers has pushed Congress to allow news sites to negotiate the terms of ad deals collectively with Google and other online platforms, coordination that is now illegal under antitrust laws, even though Google is much bigger and more powerful than all those publishers combined. The publishers efforts have been unsuccessful so far.

Buck has some practical suggestions for us individuals in this fight, too. Among them are:

 Seek alternatives to Big Tech products so that competition whittles away their dominance. Buck himself has gone cold turkey and stopped using all Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google products.

 Change your settings on their sites so you share less data with Big Tech.

 Ask your elected leaders and favorite political organizations if they take donations from Big Tech. And then ask them to take the Pledge for America, which Buck has done, swearing off Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter campaign donations.

 Spread the word, donate to campaigns that will fight for free speech, and vote for the politicians who are committed to the fight.

Buck believes the future of free speech depends on what we do right now. Its a big uneven fight, he concedes, with Big Tech pouring millions of dollars into lobbying to keep their monopolies. In fact, on Friday Buck was snubbed by his own party in his bid to head an antitrust subcommittee in Congress. His push for a more significant role for the federal government in checking the power of Big Tech has some fierce enemies among pro-business Republicans.

But he points out that America was born of just such a David-Goliath fight.

"As Ive documented, the United States of America was formed in large part to counteract a vicious, oppressive monopoly. We must carry that lesson as we go forward.

"This threat to free speech is a risk that America cant afford.
The federal appeals court based in Denver declined to apply a 2021 statement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in deciding last week whether to block federal authorities from investigating a marijuana dispensary's compliance with the tax code.

Previously, Thomas cast doubt on Congress's ability to regulate cannabis within states by pointing to the federal government's tolerance of widespread retail and medical marijuana legalization, despite its continued federal status as an illegal substance. Standing Akimbo, Inc., a Denver dispensary, seized on Thomas' statement in its own fight with the Internal Revenue Service, arguing the IRS's quest for business records was illegitimate because of the government's receding interest in enforcing the marijuana prohibition against states.

But on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit decided a statement from a single Supreme Court justice did not outweigh the Supreme Court's own precedent, specifically a 2005 case endorsing federal crackdowns in states with legal marijuana.

"The non-precedential statement of a single justice ... however esteemed he may be," wrote Senior Judge Bobby R. Baldock, "does not call the integrity of that decision into question."

For years, Standing Akimbo has pushed back on the IRS's investigation into the business's compliance with a provision in the tax code called Section 280E. The provision prevents tax deductions for business expenses for those whose activities consist of "trafficking in controlled substances." Marijuana is still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.

The IRS requested documents from Standing Akimbo's owners but, after receiving incomplete responses, issued a summons on Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division, seeking inventory and sales reports from the state's compliance system. Standing Akimbo then sought to quash, or invalidate, the summons, alleging the IRS's investigation was not a legitimate, tax-related proceeding.

"In the circumstances here, it is clear that the purpose of these summonses is not to determine income or expenses, but to determine whether the Petitioners have violated the CSA," wrote attorneys for Standing Akimbo.

The 10th Circuit originally decided in 2020 that the IRS's investigation of Standing Akimbo for tax years 2014 and 2015 was legitimate, noting the IRS had not referred the dispensary to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.

Standing Akimbo then appealed to the Supreme Court. Although the justices declined to hear the case, Thomas took the unusual step of issuing a statement, in which he called Standing Akimbo a "prime example" of the federal government's inconsistent practice of enforcing the marijuana prohibition.

"Once comprehensive, the Federal Governments current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana," he wrote.

Thomas raised the 2005 decision of Gonzales v. Raich, which held that Congress's authority to regulate marijuana reached into the states. However, marijuana legalization has expanded since then, including with Colorado voters' own enactment of retail marijuana in 2012. While the federal government does not crack down on cannabis more broadly, Thomas noted, it is apparently interested in enforcing Section 280E.

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"Suffice it to say, the Federal Governments current approach to marijuana bears little resemblance to the watertight nationwide prohibition that a closely divided Court found necessary to justify the Governments blanket prohibition in Raich," Thomas concluded, questioning whether the regulation of marijuana cultivation within states is still a proper exercise of federal authority.

Standing Akimbo immediately raised Thomas' statement in Colorado, where a similar IRS enforcement case was pending about the dispensary's 2016 tax records. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer eventually sided with the IRS based on the 10th Circuit's prior decision finding the investigation to be legitimate.

Thomas' "non-precedential statement" had no bearing on the case, Brimmer added.

Once again, Standing Akimbo appealed to the 10th Circuit, now centering its arguments around the Thomas statement. If regulating cannabis within states is no longer a legitimate exercise of federal authority, argued Standing Akimbo, the basis for the IRS's Section 280E investigation "evaporates."

"What good does that (statement) do you?" Baldock replied during oral arguments last year. "That isnt even a holding of the Supreme Court."

"What does it do to your case? Why do we care?" added Judge Allison H. Eid, a former clerk for Thomas.

James D. Thorburn, the attorney for Standing Akimbo, argued Thomas' statement provided a window into "what was being discussed" at the Supreme Court. The statement also allegedly undermined the IRS's claim that it was conducting a legitimate Section 280E investigation into Standing Akimbo's business expenses.

The government countered that even if Section 280E were unconstitutional, the IRS would still have the ability to verify Standing Akimbo's tax returns generally.

The 10th Circuit panel ultimately reiterated the court's position in Standing Akimbo's previous appeal, finding the IRS could proceed with its summons for the dispensary's records.

"But we want to be very clear: We will continue to faithfully apply Gonzales v. Raich unless the Supreme Court instructs us otherwise," wrote Baldock in the Jan. 27 order. "The Taxpayers cannot show the IRS lacked a legitimate purpose based on Justice Thomass statement."
A majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that juries must learn about a defendant's prior drunk driving offenses at the same time they hear the current allegations of drunk driving, over the strenuous objection of three justices who said the move all but ensures a conviction will occur.

By 4-3, the Supreme Court addressed the latest issue in the fallout from its own 2020 decision to declare prior convictions an element of felony driving under the influence, rather than a factor that only affects sentencing. Left unanswered was whether judges should hold "unitary" trials, where prior offenses and the current offense are presented together, or "bifurcated" trials, in which priors are heard after jurors decide whether a defendant is guilty of the current offense.

The court's majority sided with unitary trials, citing its own precedent, smooth administration of justice and jurors' own personal lives.

"In a felony DUI trial in which the elements are bifurcated, as jurors complete deliberations on the elements of DUI, they no doubt would start making plans to resume regular life," wrote Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. The jurors might have to "cancel those plans so they may continue serving."

Justice Richard L. Gabriel dissented, believing the majority's logistical concerns did not outweigh the risk of jurors convicting a defendant because of a belief that he or she is a habitual drunk driver.

"The majoritys opinion thus virtually assures a conviction in every felony DUI case because I do not believe that even the most diligent and responsible jurors would be able to set aside in their minds (or limit their consideration of) the fact that a defendant has been convicted multiple times of the same offense that they are considering," Gabriel wrote for himself and Justices William W. Hood III and Melissa Hart.

The latest decision raises the question of whether defendants accused of felony DUI are now in a worse position than before the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in Linnebur v. People.

The legislature created a felony drunk driving offense in 2015 that would apply when a person has at least three prior DUIs, which are ordinarily misdemeanors. The sponsors of the legislation understood the prior offenses would serve to enhance the fourth DUI to a felony after trial, with a more serious sentence to follow.

But in Linnebur, the court decided, 4-2, the priors were actually elements of the felony DUI charge and, thus, need to be proven to a jury at trial. Justice Monica M. Marquez, who dissented from the decision along with Samour, warned that the Supreme Court had opened the door to juries hearing damaging information about a defendant's drunk driving history.

Todays decision strikes me as an example of be careful what you wish for'," she cautioned.

Since then, the Supreme Court has had to clarify the effect of Linnebur, ruling in December 2021 that prosecutors may retry defendants for felony DUI whose convictions were on appeal when the decision came down. Then, in October, the justices heard arguments over whether bifurcated trials were necessary for felony DUI.

Prosecutors in Larimer County appealed directly to the Supreme Court in the cases of two defendants, Timothy Albert Kembel and Kerrie Lyn Dexter. District Court Judge Sarah B. Cure granted the defense's requests to bifurcate the trials based on her reading of caselaw.

"The Court does think that the prior convictions impacts this defendant's right to a fair trial, an impartial jury," she said.

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On appeal, the discussion centered around a 50-year-old Supreme Court case, People v. Fullerton, decided in 1974. In a rough parallel to felony DUI, the defendant in Fullerton was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prior offender. The court decided simultaneously that bifurcating elements of an offense is improper, but also that the administration of justice "must be weighed against" any prejudice to defendants from airing information about prior misconduct.

During oral arguments, some justices were skeptical that Fullerton provided an answer for felony DUI. Hart pointed out that if someone is convicted of driving under the influence in the first phase of a bifurcated trial, but the prior offenses are not proven later, they remain convicted of a misdemeanor. That was not true of illegal weapons possession.

"Possession of a weapon isnt illegal unless youre also a prior offender. So bifurcating them just isnt possible," she said. "Here, having a trial as to the underlying DUI, you can do that with no trouble and have the second part of the trial talk about whether there are three prior convictions."

But the court's majority ultimately disagreed. It found Fullerton did apply and, moreover, flat-out prohibited bifurcating felony DUI trials. Samour wrote about the "significant disruption" that bifurcation would cause to jury trials, alleging problems with instructing jurors, screening jurors for bias and "deceiving" them about the charged offense.

He explained the legislature is "certainly free to clarify" that prior DUIs are a post-conviction sentence enhancer, and not an element of a felony DUI offense to be proven to a jury at trial. But until then, trial judges need to treat priors as an element.

"Our jurisprudence is clear that an element is an element is an element. There are no part-time elements," he wrote in the Jan. 30 opinion. "Once a fact is endowed with elementhood, it cant be treated as something else."

Gabriel's dissent slammed the majority's "unfounded concerns" and "fundamentally flawed" interpretation of Fullerton.

"Lost in the majoritys reasoning, however, is the immense injustice that its decision will cause Kembel, Dexter, and felony DUI defendants throughout this state," he wrote for the dissenting justices. "Although I have great faith in juries in our system of justice, it belies reality to suggest that a person charged with a felony DUI will receive a fair trial when the jury hears about their three (or more) prior convictions of the same charge."

Gabriel added that whatever concerns the majority had about the administration of justice, other states had surmounted and Colorado's trial judges could similarly adapt. He suggested that if a jury acquitted a defendant of driving drunk in the first phase of a bifurcated trial, jurors would not need to decide the existence of prior offenses and could leave sooner.

Abe Hutt, an attorney specializing in DUI defense, said the decision increases prosecutors' leverage and makes it easier to convict defendants of felony DUI now than before Linnebur was decided. Hutt did not know whether lawmakers would want to overturn the Supreme Court's interpretation of the felony DUI law and return it to a sentence-enhancing tool.

"Certainly my fear is there will be enough people in the legislature that are just fine with the Supreme Court making it easier to convict people that there's not necessarily gonna be a whole lot of appetite to change it," he said.

On Tuesday, District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin, whose office appealed the cases to the Supreme Court, said the ruling creates consistency across trial courts and enables jurors to better understand their responsibilities in felony DUI cases.

"While it does not put either party in a better or worse position, it does honor Colorado Supreme Court precedent and the intent of the legislature when they created the felony DUI offense," he said.

The cases are People v. Kembel and People v. Dexter.
Fox News anchor and political commentator Dana Perino will deliver the spring commencement address at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Graduation is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 13 at the ThunderBowl.

Perino graduated from the university, then called the University of Southern Colorado, in 1994 with a bachelors degree in mass communications and dual minors in Spanish and political science. She was involved with the schools speech team and hosted and produced shows for the PBS-affiliated campus television station, according to a news release.

My experience at CSU-Pueblo helped shape me into who I am today, both professionally and personally. I am looking forward to speaking with the class of 2023 to remind them that with integrity, dignity and discipline, anyone can reach their goals and everything will be okay, Perino said in the release.

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Perino went on to work as the White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, making her the second woman to hold such a job, according to the release. She served in the Bush administration for more than seven years, including at the Department of Justice after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. President Barack Obama later appointed her to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, where she advocated for the individual and economic freedoms of women in Africa.

Today, Perino co-anchors Americas Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino and co-hosts The Five, both Fox News programs.

We are excited to welcome Dana back to CSU-Pueblo, said Timothy Mottet, the university's president, in the news release. Her career has served as an inspiration for our students and she has been an incredible mentor providing opportunities for them to see her studio in New York.
Colorado and five other Colorado River states have reached a consensus on how they plan to reduce their water usage, the states announced Monday.

California, notably, is not a part of the consensus.

The proposal, which the states will submit to the federal Bureau of Reclamation, suggests changes to the criteria for Colorado River usage reductions, including operating guidelines for Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell and Hoover Dam at Lake Mead.

The states had until Tuesday to establish major cutbacks in water use.

Last year, when the river was confirmed to be at its driest period in 1,200 years, the federal government asked the seven river states to reduce water use by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet. The discussions were hindered by competing priorities and disagreements over the role each state should take in reduction efforts and a consensus was not met.

The cuts are needed because lakes Powell and Mead are sources of water and power for millions of people throughout the West, including Colorado Springs and other Front Range cities. Both reservoirs are on the Colorado River and are approaching critical levels. The Colorado River has been listed as the most endangered river in the U.S., according to a report from the nonprofit organization American Rivers.

The proposal was signed by Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming  but not California, drawing criticism from U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who called the state's decision "deeply disappointing."

"We are facing the most serious drought in 1,200 years," Bennet said in a statement. "California must step forward and be part of the solution. For too long, the other six states, and particularly the Upper Basin, have carried the burden of this historic drought."

One of the largest changes in the proposal is a requirement for the Lower Basin states to account for 1.5 million acre-feet in system losses, such as evaporation and seepage.

JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, pushed back on the proposal submitted by the other states, saying it is "inconsistent with the Law of the River."

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"California remains focused on practical solutions that can be implemented now to protect volumes of water in storage without driving conflict and litigation," he said in a statement.

He called his state's voluntary commitment to conserve 400,000 acre-feet of water a year through 2026 the only concrete proposal submitted to date.

Upper Basin states, such as Colorado, have argued in the past they consistently take less than their share of water because of drought conditions and requirements to send millions of acre-feet of water downstream to Lower Basin states, including California.

The Colorado River supplies water to 40 million people in two countries, seven states, 29 federally recognized Indian tribes and 4 million acres of farmland. But its ability to provide that water faces a serious challenge following 22 years of drought and a drier climate that reduced its annual flow from 16.4 million acre-feet (MAF) to around 14.5 MAF on average since 2000.

Compacts and agreements among the states govern how water from the river is allocated. 2007 interim guidelines, for example, set up a series of tiers for when water levels at Lake Mead drop to critically low levels. Those tiers would dictate cuts in water allocations to the lower basin states. In 2019, another round of agreements, known as the Drought Contingency Plan, dictated just how water would be cut from the lower basin states should the shortages at Mead reach those levels. California, for now, has so far been spared cuts under the 2007 interim guidelines and the 2019 drought plan. But under a Tier 3 shortage, the state would take less water from the guideline's Intentionally Created Surplus (ICS) Program, which creates water credits in Mead through conservation measures and that could be reclaimed at some point in the future. California is also part of a lower basin plan, known as 500+, signed in December, that would keep about a million acre-feet of water in Mead for the next two years through conservation measures and at a cost of $200 million, split between the states and the federal government. The interim guidelines are in effect until Dec. 31, 2025, and are now the subject of negotiations among the upper and lower basin states.

The proposal by the six states calls for reduced releases from lakes Powell and Mead, and additional combined reductions of 250,000 acre-feet and 200,000 acre-feet at two Lake Mead elevations to Arizona, California and Nevada.

The federal government is expected to evaluate and incorporate the proposal into a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to update operation guidelines originally established more than 15 years ago.

The river originates high in Colorados Rocky Mountain National Park and collects water from major tributaries that then flows through a seven-state river system. The basin is split into two regions: The upper basin includes Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah; the lower basin includes Arizona, Nevada and California.

We recognize that over the past twenty-plus years there is simply far less water flowing into the Colorado River system than the amount that leaves it, and that we have effectively run out of storage to deplete, the states say in their proposal, pledging continued collaboration with the federal government, water users, basin tribes and others.

I am encouraged today that six states came to an agreement on potential mechanisms to better manage the critical reservoirs on the Colorado River, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote in a statement. Increased drought, climate change, and overuse has led to less water in our reservoirs. More must be done to protect the system, and although we did not cause this crisis, I am proud that Colorado is part of the solution.
Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn have been working on a new Song Cycle with the Colorado Symphony that will premiere Thursday at the Vilar Arts Center in Beaver Creek, then play Friday and Saturday at the Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver.

You betcher, we'll be at the Boettcher, said Fleck  a pun so bad it just had to be repeated here.

You might be wondering what a Song Cycle even is.

Well, we were wondering the same thing, Fleck said. But weve been working really hard on creating it. Its a set of songs and stories that go together, written by us as well as some traditional material.

It also includes, Washburn added, some contributions from the late Hazel Dickens, a true coal-miners daughter and one of the first women to record a bluegrass album.

The program will include Bartoks Dance Suite BB86a, Aaron Coplands Appalachian Spring: Suite and the premiere of Fleck and Washburns Dreams in Flight.

This piece is going to have some classical elements, some old-time dead Appalachian elements, and some things I wrote for the orchestra, said Fleck, perhaps the worlds best-known living banjo player. Hes the namesake of Bela Fleck & the (mighty, mighty) Flecktones and a 16-time Grammy Award winner  most recently for 2022s Best Bluegrass Album, My Bluegrass Heart. His wife, with whom he won the 2016 Grammy for Best Folk Album, is not only an acclaimed clawhammer banjo player, she is a graduate of Colorado College in Colorado Springs. The couple have been referred to as "banjo royalty" since their marriage in 2009, and they are now the parents of two sons.

Marin Alsop drops the baton on Oscar contender 'Tar' | John Moore

The new Song Cycle, Washburn said, will play out in three movements conducted by Scott O'Neil.

The first is about how we are always searching for something better and we dont often find it the way we thought we would, she said. The second is about regret, and the third is about finding the spark to keep going, and finding peace in the human condition.

And if that sounds at all like a bummer, Fleck interjected: Everything works out in the end.

Fleck and Washburn responded to email questions from The Denver Gazette in advance of their return to Colorado this weekend:

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John Moore: What is the secret to your  or any  successful musical partnership?

Bela Fleck: Its about respecting your collaborator and really listening to each other. The fact that we are married can make that complex, because one can take things personally when your idea is rejected. But if you can get past that hurdle, there are a lot of great things about being a couple making beautiful music together. (See what I did there?)

John Moore: Abigail, having attended Colorado College, is there any added personal significance for you to be making this appearance with the Colorado Symphony?

Abigail Washburn: Yes! I never could have imagined when I was an undergrad at CC that music would be my career and that I would play with the Colorado Symphony someday. I believe CC trained me to have the curiosity, skills and courage to try new things and walk through daunting doors as they opened throughout my life.

John Moore: Bela, what is special to you about playing in Colorado?

Bela Fleck: Colorado has been one of the places that seemed to get me from the start. I know that its a great audience for a lot of unusual music, and Im so thankful that it is so supportive to the non-centrist music community. Thats probably why its a place where having me and Abigail do a song cycle with the Colorado Symphony is a great match. There are towns where it wouldnt work at all. Thank goodness for Colorado!

John Moore: Bela, who else do you absolutely love to watch play the banjo?

Bela Fleck: I always love to hear my teacher Tony Trischka play. I always have, always will. Earl Scruggs and J.D. Crowe, both no longer with us, were incredible to watch.

John Moore: For those who are more used to seeing you at Red Rocks and seeing the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall, what are we in for when we see your new Song Cycle come to life backed by a full orchestra, all under one roof?

Bela Fleck: This piece is truly unique. Whether you like it or not, youll have to say youve never heard anything quite like it. Weve been working hard on this music for quite a while, so we are deeply invested in it  and we like it!

John Moore: Any specific insight on your selections of Bartok and Copland?

Bela Fleck: This will be the orchestras chance to shine without the banjo players!
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has launched the DIFC Metaverse Platform, in line with the Dubai Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economys aim to attract technology innovators from around the world.



The DIFC Metaverse Platform is aligned with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to add $4 billion to Dubai's GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and attract 1,000 companies specialised in blockchain and metaverse technologies. The platform also supports the objective of the recently launched Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to generate economic value worth AED100 billion from digital transformation annually.



Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy, stated that the UAE adopts advanced technologies in its aim to keep pace with global changes, reflecting the directives of its leadership, in transforming the country and Dubai to become a leading hub for utilizing the best technology and developing capabilities.



Al Olama added that this Metaverse platform is the first in a series of initiatives that aim to strengthen Dubai's position as a global platform for the latest digital trends and accelerate the pace to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy.



Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: The Dubai government has shown great foresight in introducing a metaverse strategy that has the objective of making the emirate a global hub for technology and innovation. The development of the integrated DIFC Metaverse Platform will accelerate the achievements of Dubais aspirations in this sector. The initiative is a natural extension of our Innovation Hub proposition that has shaped the technology and innovation landscape in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.



The DIFC Metaverse Platform includes three key initiatives. The first is an accelerator programme with a dedicated physical studio for metaverse technology that will promote the development of a creator community and venture building.



The platform will also address the metaverse policy development and legislation on open data, digital identity and company law frameworks in the metaverse. Further, the initiative will foster the development of a metaverse community that will explore ways to enhance the metaverse experience for customers.



The Metaverse Accelerator Programme, the first initiative to be launched under the umbrella of the platform, will start accepting applications this month. In the coming years, the programme seeks to attract more than 500 applications, identify 50 of the most promising graduates from the programme and stimulate investment opportunities that will help the sector grow.



The programme demonstrates DIFCs commitment to support innovative metaverse start-ups by introducing them to the regions largest players. The programme also helps them explore partnerships, gain exposure to investors, access a regulatory sandbox and obtain marketing support.



In early November, the regions first and largest FinTech Accelerator  DIFC FinTech Hive  hosted its annual Investor Day on the Metaverse Platform, giving the regions finance ecosystem a first-hand experience of the technology. DIFC Fintech Hive also partnered with Emirates NBD to launch and co-create their own Metaverse Accelerator programme, which received more than 100 global applicants.



The Metaverse Accelerator Programme will run over a period of six months, during which the cohort of start-ups will be introduced to training and workshops to upskill and reskill themselves in both technical and intrapersonal aspects of the metaverse. The programme also aims to facilitate partnerships between start-ups and corporates to create proofs-of-concept and new metaverse solutions.  TradeArabia News Service
Legions of art lovers in the Pikes Peak region were the lucky recipients of Mary Mashburn's trademark sprinkles through the years.

The longtime former executive director of the nonprofit Imagination Celebration, who was also widely known as the "Fairy Godmother of the Arts," died Saturday. She was 85.

Mashburn is survived by her daughters, Mary and Melissa Mashburn, and her sister, Georgianna Green. A joint memorial service for Mashburn and her husband, Wayne Mashburn, who died in September, is planned for May.

"Mary was brilliant about many things, but particularly people," said Imagination Celebration Executive Director Deborah Thornton. "She recognized the essential importance of 'inclusion' and perpetuated that by bringing programs that allowed each child in our region a way to participate and an opportunity to see themselves represented on a big stage."

After traveling with her husband, who was in the U.S. Air Force, for three decades, the Mashburns became permanent Colorado Springs residents in 1978. Mary dove into volunteering, helping to transform the cultural community. In 1981 she co-founded the Mashburn-Marshall Tactile Gallery, a please-touch-the-sculpture gallery designed for the blind and visually impaired and those with disabilities at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.

In 1989 Mary expanded the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration from a weekend festival to a year-round arts organization, which was first based at the Pikes Peak Library District and then as its own organization in 2000. She went on to lead the nonprofit for 18 years, and brought the arts into schools and businesses and helped connect arts groups, teachers and artists.

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"She saw that the arts can break down so many barriers between people and can fire up peoples imaginations," said her daughter, Mary. "The Imagination Celebration summed up what mother thought about the arts. It was a celebration of being alive and how you could stretch, how it took you to other places through your imagination. She loved the idea of the arts being accessible to people and bringing them together."

It was through the Imagination Celebration that she earned her well-known nickname. Sierra High School students dubbed her a fairy godmother after working with her on a theater project, and it stuck.

"She walked in more than one parade dressed as the fairy godmother and doing her trademark sprinkle onto the crowd," Mary said, "as she did with art teachers, performers and children she came into contact with."

Mary served on the board for many organizations around the region, including the FAC, Friends of the PPLD, Colorado Springs Children's Chorale and Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services. Among the many awards she received were the Colorado Governors Award for Excellence in the Arts, Russell T. Tutt Award for Excellence in Leadership and the FAC's Living Treasure Award. Pikes Peak Arts Council lauded Mary and Wayne with its biggest award in 2011  the Eve Tilley Lifetime Achievement Award, for their work as leaders in the arts community.

"Mary was brilliant about the less visible aspects of people, perceptive about their needs and their capacity, nudging them past their fears, their egos, their cant dos, their biases, their comfort levels, to do things they didnt know they could do," Thornton said. "She helped people be more generous, more courageous, more involved, more creative."
Saudi oil giant Aramco signed over 100 agreements and MoUs worth around $7.2 billion to help advance a diverse, sustainable and globally competitive industrial ecosystem on the opening day of the 7th edition of the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) Forum and Exhibition in Dammam.

The programme achieved 63% local content in 2022, up from 35% in 2015, when iktva was originally launched.

The forum, which runs until February 2, is being held under the theme of Accelerating Future Success. It highlights collective localization efforts in key focus areas including Digital, Sustainability, Industrial, and Manufacturing.

The major signings include:

*Zoom: Strategic Partnership Agreement

*Taulia Inc: Collaboration to implement supplier financing solutions

*DHL: Intention to enter a definitive agreement to form a joint venture and offer procurement and supply chain services

*Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia: Development and promotion of investment opportunities and the Regional Headquarters Program

*Accenture: System Integration and Digital Solution Services

*Hassana Investment Company: Establishment of a facility management national champion

*Achilles: Development and localization of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) rating services

The first day of the event attracted more than 10,000 visitors and the exhibition space included more than 290 companies.

The event, which was held under the patronage of Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, was also attended by Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The gathering provided a platform for the launch of Aramco Digital Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary which aims to accelerate digital transformation within the kingdom and the Mena region.

Executive Vice President (Technical Services) Ahmad A. Al-Saadi said: "The local supplier ecosystem is a top priority for Aramco as well as a major contributor to the kingdoms economy. Through this mega programme we are helping to create a culture of innovation and provide high quality jobs for our growing population."

"The launch of Aramco Digital Company is a great example of such innovation in action, providing state-of-the-art AI and emerging technology expertise in a vital sector of the economy," he stated.

On the opening day of the forum, 13 companies were recognized with 2023 iktva excellence awards. These include:

Best in Overall iktva: (Services): SLB

Best in Overall iktva: (Construction): Nesma & Partners Contracting Ltd.

Best in Overall iktva: (Manufacturing): Siemens Energy

Best in Training & Development: Halliburton

Best in Supplier Development: Baker Hughes Company

Best in Saudization (Services): ARO Drilling

Best in Saudization (Manufacturing): Cameron Al Rushaid Co. Ltd.

Best in Exports (Services): JGC Gulf International Co. Ltd.

Best in Exports (Manufacturing): Jubail Energy Services Company (JESCO)

Best in ESG: Samsung Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd.

Best SME Award: Engineering Corner for Inspection Co. Ltd.

Best SME Award: Saudi Geophysical

Best SME Award: Techno Rubber Company Limited

The iktva programme encourages the establishment of regional headquarters in the kingdom. Since inception, more than 150 investments have been made in kingdom including products manufactured for the first time in Saudi Arabia.

The company has also established 16 national training centers (NTCs) in 10 cities, covering more than 60 trades. To date, they have graduated more than 48,000 Saudi nationals, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Christian Artist Saves Lives in Ukraine

UKRAINE NATIVE, CHRISTIAN ARTIST FINDS CALLING, SOLACE, AND HOPE IN GRIEF, TRAGEDY

Nadia Gordynsky creates nonprofit serving women, children on the frontlines of Ukraine

Save A Life International serves women in crisis pregnancy, saves lives, provides hope

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Save a Life International Life

Jan. 31, 2023

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- Ukraine native Nadia Gordynsky is using her personal tragedy and struggles to make a real difference in this world. Gordynsky created and founded Save A Life International, a nonprofit organization serving women and children in Ukraine.

A Pro-Life 501(c)3 agency that supports women in crisis pregnancy, Save A Life International focuses on saving lives by providing women with education about making the choice of life in a crisis pregnancy situation, and giving hope to women without hope.

Gordynsky, a recognized Christian artist and staunch advocate for women and children, says that it was only through personal struggle that she was able to answer Gods calling in her life and fulfill her purpose to help pregnant women in crisis.

In 2005, Gordynsky lost a child after 18 hours of labor. While that tragic event impacted her greatly, Gordynsky said that she always trusted in Gods plan for her life. According to Gordynsky, Through my heartbreak over the loss of my son, God was able to reveal to me the sanctity of life, and what would become my purpose.

Just months after the loss of her child, Gordynsky was invited to appear at a Pro Life rally in Ukraine, where she learned that abortion was regarded as a popular method of contraception and that millions of Ukrainian babies were being aborted each year. Gordynsky stated, I was completely unaware of the plight of the unborn in Ukraine. I felt called to defend life.

In 2015 Gordynsky answered the calling that had tugged on her heart and started Save A Life International. With a mission to support women in crisis pregnancy, the organization focuses on providing crisis pregnancy support, violence and domestic abuse assistance, humanitarian aid for mothers and children, and educational programming. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Save a Life International offers support through its nine Life Centers, which are located in Chernivtsi, Ukraine; Gdynia, Poland; Khmelnytsky, Ukraine; Lviv, Ukraine; Odessa, Ukraine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pokrovsk, Ukraine; Poltava, Ukraine; and Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Since its inception in 2015, the organization has helped nearly 2000 women.

The organizations outreach has extended to a broad cross-section of women in need: from sex slavery survivors to grieving women grappling with the loss of a child through miscarriage or abortion, to victims of violence and abuse, to young moms who need guidance and financial support, and others facing crisis.

Gordynsky said that at the heart of Save A Life Internationals work is a steadfast desire to provide nonjudgmental support: It is vitally important that we meet women where they are, no matter the circumstances. In order to save a life, we must do so with compassion, love and kindness. We offer support without judgement.

While the organization continues to focus on its crucial outreach to women in crisis, the recent war in Ukraine has demanded the organization expand on the scope of its outreach: at present, all of the Save a Life International Life Centers have incorporated refugee assistance and humanitarian aid projects as primary objectives.

Save a Life International (www.savealifeintl.org) is a pro-life 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SOURCE Save a Life International Life

CONTACT: Contact: Maryglenn M. Warnock, maryglenn@maryglenn.com
CNTXT, a leading provider of cloud and digital transformation solutions in Saudi Arabia, has signed a Digital Master Service Agreement with the global oil and gas industry leader, Saudi Aramco.

The agreement will enable Saudi Aramco to further utilise Cognite Data Fusion, the leading Industrial DataOps platform and accelerate development and deployment of digital use cases by leveraging CNTXT digital services.

To support this partnership, CNTXT has launched a large-scale digital programme to accelerate its work and drive innovation. Through this programme, CNTXT will be able to quickly hire and train local talent, establishing a strong foundation for the company to provide advanced technology solutions to the Middle East and North Africa region.

Industrial software

"This agreement is another milestone in Aramcos vision to continue to leverage leading industrial software. We look forward to collaborating with CNTXT and leveraging their local talent pool in advancing our digital vision," said Nabil Al Nuaim, Senior Vice President of Digital & Information Technology at Saudi Aramco.

"We are honoured to be collaborating with Aramco, a company that shares our commitment to driving digital transformation and leveraging technology to solve complex challenges," said Abdullah Jarwan, CEO of CNTXT. "As a shareholder in Cognite and the majority owner of CNTXT, Aramco is deeply invested in our success and we are grateful for their trust."

This partnership represents a major milestone for CNTXT as it continues to grow and expand its presence in the region. With the support of Aramco, CNTXT is well-positioned to make a significant impact in the industry, driving progress and innovation through its cloud and digital transformation solutions.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation recently received a generous and unexpected bequest from a man with no known connection to the Colorado Springs-based nonprofit.

Eugene Griepentrog, a decorated World War II veteran who died in October 2021, left $600,000 to the end-of-life care provider, executor Mindy Underwood said.

Griepentrog, who retired as a chief master sergeant after 30 years in the Air Force, was a generous man with few outlets for his generosity. Widowed and childless, with no immediate family in the Colorado Springs area, he often shopped for items and gave them away to neighbors and friends, Underwood said. Her parents, who were his next-door neighbors before they moved to Florida, essentially "adopted" him as one of their own. Griepentrog eventually asked Underwood to handle his estate.

About a year before he died, he told me he planned to give money to the hospice, she said. His quote was, I just want to help the old people, which was kind of funny, since he was in his 90s.

That Griepentrog  whom Underwood called Grandpa Gene  would give part of his estate to help make people more comfortable in their final days was hardly surprising to anyone who knew him. The size of the gift, however, was stunning.

I was truly blown away, said Andy Petersen, executive director of the Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation. I dont think he had any connection to us, other than the fact that he lived near our offices.

Griepentrog, who died two months shy of his 100th birthday, lived frugally, pinching pennies when he didnt need to  a habit that may have been a holdover from his Depression-era upbringing, Underwood said.

I used to say to him, Grandpa Gene, why do you live on a budget? You dont have to, she said. I think that was just the way his generation lived. Its possible that he didnt know exactly how much money he had.

The Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation, El Paso Countys only not-for-profit hospice and palliative care provider, receives the majority if its funding from Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance. But the nonprofit often helps people without access to those resources, Petersen said.

We have cared for people who were homeless, and other folks who couldnt afford to pay for our services, he said. It is through gifts like his that we are able to continue our mission to help patients experiencing chronic and terminal illnesses find comfort, dignity and peace at one of the most important times of life.

The hospice foundation plans to honor Griepentrog and his gift with a special etching on its Town Hall wall, officials said.

We would have loved to have met Mr. Griepentrog in person, Petersen said. But through his generous gift, we feel he will always remain a part of the PPHPC family.

It is a fitting tribute to a generous benefactor, but he probably would have preferred to remain anonymous.

He wouldnt want this, Underwood said. Gene was a really modest man. He wouldnt want any attention, or any fanfare. But he deserves it.
Is the legislature finally ready to do an about-face and get tough on auto theft? It has skyrocketed in Colorado the past couple of years  giving our state the highest rate in the U.S.  in the wake of misguided justice reforms that watered down penalties in 2021. Just about everybody knows somebody whose car has been stolen, and the public is fed up.

Some state lawmakers from both parties are now poised to act, answering Gov. Jared Polis call for a crackdown in his State of the State speech earlier this month.

On Monday, state Sens. Rachel Zenzinger, an Arvada Democrat, and Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, introduced a Senate bill to restore sanity to prosecution of auto thieves and put more of them in jail. Joining them for the bills debut were state Reps. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat, and Matt Soper, a Republican from Delta, who will carry the bill in the state House.

Current law bases the severity of penalties on the value of a vehicle. That might make some sense in prosecuting, say, a bank heist but not when it comes to stealing cars. Whether you drive a new Tesla or an old rattle trap, it likely has four wheels and gets you to work and your kids to school. If you drive the rattle trap, and it is stolen, chances are you cant afford a replacement. The Tesla owner is probably in a higher tax bracket and has other worries.

Meaning, the lower the value of a car or truck that is stolen, the harder the blow to the victim.

Making matters worse, the 2021 law driven by justice-reform dogma actually went so far as to make the theft of a vehicle valued under $2,000 a mere misdemeanor.

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Senate Bill 23-097 aims to fix that. It eliminates the state criminal codes sliding scale tying the value of a vehicle to the penalty. The vast majority of vehicles stolen in Colorado are valued at the lower end of the scale, says a 2022 report from Colorados Common Sense Institute.

Colorado will (under the bill) treat every auto theft equally, Zenzinger said in a statement issued by the Senate Democrats. A stolen car represents much more than stolen property  it impacts peoples ability to get to work, shop for groceries, and live their daily lives.

The bill also, rightly, imposes tougher penalties on repeat offenders.

Praise is in order for all four of the bills prime sponsors and particularly for Zenzinger and Bird, who to some extent are bucking their own party on this issue. They essentially are calling back one of the more reckless provisions of their fellow ruling Democrats justice reform agenda  and considering instead whats best for the general public. That is the kind of responsive lawmaking our state urgently needs in the crime fight.

Polis himself appears to have had something of an epiphany on the subject. He had signed into law the 2021 bill downgrading a range of criminal penalties, including for auto theft. But in his State of the State speech, he endorsed efforts to "get tough on auto theft sentencing, and he told the joint session of the legislature gathered before him, "I look forward to seeing the General Assembly take up this important recommendation.

Now, the question is whether enough Democrats will vote with minority Republicans to move the measure forward in both chambers of the legislature, all the way to Polis desk. Well be watching the bill closely.
Last week, I attended my very first planning commission meeting in Elbert County. Our county is a rural county southeast of Denver. Our family left highly developed Highlands Ranch for open pastures, starry nights, and fresh air. Not long after we moved here, we learned of huge developments going up. After attending a public meeting hosted by developers, we discovered they were planning 1,400 homes, coffee shops, and nail salons just a few miles from our home. In a private meeting with the developer a few months later, we found out he is purchasing ranch property all over the county and has plans for thousands of homes throughout Elbert County  literally new cities. Surely the leadership of Elbert County would have questions about all this and seek to protect the rural nature of our community. As I learned during the planning commission meeting, I was wrong.

Elbert County is on the fast track to urbanizing, following the path of Douglas County. Its pretty clear theres a love affair between county leaders and developers. The planning commissioner meeting for local citizens was like being the third-wheel on a date. The commissioners and developers were laughing, back-slapping. One commissioner turned to an Elbert County concerned citizen raising complaints about all the development and told him he just needed to let this happen.

Just about every conversation I have with concerned citizens in Colorado is trying to figure out how we became like California in our political leadership. What happened to the Colorado I grew up in? Good question. In 2012, Douglas County went for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney by 25.8%. Just 10 years later, Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl won in Douglas County by only .68%. How do you have a 25% swing in just 10 years in the same county?

Moreover, if you live in Douglas County you know that you are subject to highly contentious school board battles and family-friendly strip shows. Highlands Ranch is now represented by a Democrat in the Colorado House of Representatives. Values change with development.

Im also learning that the manner by which citizens engage in the development process in rural counties is incredibly unfair. Developers work directly with county staff to lay out their vision for the community  they are often on a first-name basis. Citizens arent included in any of those discussions. A few days before a planning commissioner meeting, packets with hundreds of pages of detailed information are posted online for citizens to review. During planning commission meetings, teams of the developers lawyers and experts show up to make their case. In the most recent meeting I attended, developers were given two hours to present their case. Concerned citizens were given 3 minutes each.

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Ive yet to see a community grow in population and become more conservative. Rural counties should take heed to what happened in Douglas County and get very serious about protecting their values. We often talk about the urban/rural divide. Its one of the clearest divisions in values, policies, and vision for communities. Elbert County is only 23,000 residents away from losing its status as a rural community.

The point is not to stop development or eliminate property rights. What needs to happen from Elbert County leadership is a clear dedication to maintaining our rural values and prioritizing citizen concerns. Your average citizen will never have the time or expertise to go toe-to-toe with development attorneys.

Elected county leadership needs to be the voice for the people. Giving developers the ability to build any high-density housing they want and flood communities with new citizens will inevitably change the values of the community.

In 2022, Elbert County residents celebrated that there isnt a single Democrat running for county leadership. Stay on the path were on, and well find ourselves wondering why Republicans cant win in our county anymore.

Jeff Hunt is a conservative leader, registered Republican, and resident of Elbert County. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeffhunt. His views do not reflect the official positions of the organizations he works for.
There are lessons to be learned at any age, and yes  you can teach an old dog new tricks! Here are a few lessons learned from a hot-mess sojourn to Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada.

In October my husband, Ron, and I (and of course our doggy, Gracie) spent an amazing two weeks camping, hiking and sightseeing in Utah. More about that next month. At the end of our trip we visited our son and daughter-in-law in Las Vegas. I had heard about a Nevada state park an hour or so from Las Vegas that I decided was worth a side trip. Here is the tale, and oh yeah  dont go there!

Valley of Fire is a state park that does not accept reservations for its campground, so it is first-come, first-served only. I should have listened to the warning bell from my inner voice, but  noooo 

We made plans to arrive on a Sunday early in the afternoon. Prior to our trip, I talked to a very nice park employee who assured me we should have no trouble getting a campsite at the scenic boulder-strewn campground.

Here are the lessons:

1. Always make reservations when camping, so you will be assured of having a campsite once you arrive at your destination. We left Escalante, Utah with high hopes for what lay ahead. Alas, the weather turned nasty, and we had to go over a mountain pass to get into Nevada. You guessed it  we ran smack dab into a blizzard that got worse as we ascended the two-lane highway. As we neared the summit, cars and trucks came to a standstill, spinning helplessly on the ice. A few semis had slid off the road, partially blocking it. We were pulling a 27-foot trailer, and this was darned scary! We popped the truck into four-wheel drive to maneuver the pass, but what had started out as a short jaunt from Utah into Nevada, ended up being a long slog over treacherous roadways.

We finally arrived at the entrance gate of Valley of Fire State Park. Are there any campsites left? we asked the attendant. He was vague and noncommittal, which should have been a big red flag, but he took our entry fee of $15 cash. We made a beeline for the campground. You know the rest. We werent the only ones cruising for a vacant site. There were none to be had and the campground host was nowhere to be found.

This debacle was unfolding after a long, harrowing day of driving, and tempers in the truck were getting hotter than a pepper sprout, if you know what I mean. Back to the entry gate, where I suggested to the dim attendant that the unused group campground should be opened for overflow camping. No go, but we were told that all we had to do was fill out an online form and we would get our $15 back.

2. Have a backup plan. OK, we had no place to camp, had paid $15 for nothing, and had to turn the truck and trailer around on a dime to drive through the park and out the other side. Luckily I had done my homework, and we quickly found a campsite an hour away at Echo Bay on the shores of Lake Mead. Did we return to Valley of Fire the next day to pay another $15 to visit the park? No way! I was done with dealing with park staff that were uninformed, faux polite and unwilling to make any sensible allowances to think a bit outside the box.

So on to Plan B: We stayed at Echo Bay RV park, and had a lovely time exploring Lake Mead.

3. Dont pay with cash: You will have no record of your transactions. Once we got home I was on a mission to get my $15 entrance fee refunded. After innumerable emails, I was given contact info for the park superintendent. Finally, I thought, someone who would listen to my tale of woe and make it right. Wrong! You must have a receipt for your entry fee, he said. My response: My non-existent receipt is with my non-existent campsite. I told him to look at their security camera footage from that day to view a very unhappy couple in a pickup truck hauling a trailer as they went in and out and back through the entry gate. Did he think I made this story up? Would someone make that up for a lousy 15 bucks?

4. Perseverance doesnt always work. But sometimes it does. Weve all been in situations where we have dealt with a bureaucracy (in this case the Nevada state park system) that is not intent upon problem solving or customer satisfaction. I suspect the park superintendent was just waiting for me to wear out and go away. (Hope he sees this column!). I understand that Valley of Fire is going to a reservation system for the campground starting in 2023. Well, I wont be returning there which is too bad, as the park gets rave reviews for scenery.

Ron and I have vowed that we will never again travel without overnight reservations. It eliminates spontaneity, but at least we know where we will land, and stress will be minimized. Be flexible and have a backup plan  just in case. Use a credit card, which will document your purchases. Dont give up, but be aware that sometimes the best intentions go unrewarded. Im still waiting for that refund 

Libby Kinder is a freelance writer and retired clinical mental health counselor. She and her husband have lived in southwest Colorado Springs since 2003. Contact Libby with comments and travel ideas at eakinder62@gmail.com.
Even though all parties agreed John Robert Hacke will receive a mandatory prison sentence if convicted of identity theft, a majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that Hacke is not eligible for a hearing where he can challenge prosecutors' evidence of probable cause.

By 4-3, the Supreme Court found the requirement in state law that defendants facing "mandatory sentencing" receive a preliminary hearing did not apply to Hacke.

Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr., writing for the majority, noted that Hacke's alleged felony does not require a prison sentence by itself, but, rather, it was Hacke's prior conviction that would trigger mandatory prison this time around.

"That Hackes criminal history will subject him to mandatory sentencing in the event of a conviction is of no moment," Samour wrote in the Jan. 30 opinion.

Justice William W. Hood III disagreed. While prosecutors did not specifically charge Hacke under the legal provision requiring a mandatory prison sentence, it was undisputed his alleged felony carries with it mandatory incarceration.

"And here, identity theft is 'the felony' that mandates imprisonment for a class of offenders that includes Hacke," Hood wrote for himself and Justices Monica M. Marquez and Richard L. Gabriel.

Colorado law provides for preliminary hearings, whose purpose is to screen out cases where prosecutors do not have probable cause to believe the defendant committed a crime. The legislature has given the right to a preliminary hearing to those who are accused of serious felonies.

However, the right also extends to defendants charged with class 4, 5 or 6 felonies whenever the "felony requires mandatory sentencing."

Prosecutors in Pueblo County charged Hacke with one count of identity theft, which is a class 4 felony. The charging document did not mention the portion of the identity theft law that requires a prison sentence for anyone convicted of a second offense, but prosecutors acknowledged Hacke had a prior identity theft conviction that would now trigger mandatory sentencing.

At a June 2022 hearing, Hacke's attorney asked District Court Judge Amiel Markenson to set a preliminary hearing to determine whether probable cause existed for Hacke's alleged offense.

"I would argue, judge, that because it is mandatory prison, he should be entitled to a preliminary hearing in this case," said Deputy State Public Defender Lauren T. Swan.

The prosecutor confessed he was "thoroughly confused" about whether the law would allow for a preliminary hearing, and Markenson said Hacke may be entitled to one. He set another hearing for the following month.

At the second hearing, Markenson was willing to proceed with a preliminary hearing, but the defense noted the victim was not present. Appearing reluctant to issue a warrant for the victim, Markenson then volunteered, "Frankly, I don't know that (Hacke is) even preliminary hearing eligible."

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He elaborated that the legal provision requiring prison for a second offense was a sentence enhancer, and not part of the charged felony itself. Therefore, the charge of identity theft did not fit under the category of offenses entitled to a preliminary hearing.

"Frankly, it would be nice to have something on point from a higher court telling me yes or no," Markenson added in denying Hacke's request for a probable cause hearing.

Hacke appealed directly to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case after determining Colorado's appellate courts had never answered whether a defendant is entitled to a probable cause hearing if the charged offense does not require prison but, practically speaking, he would be incarcerated if convicted.

Swan argued her client faced mandatory incarceration solely because of the pending felony charge, meaning he had the right to a preliminary hearing. The Colorado Attorney General's Office countered that the trigger for a mandatory prison sentence was "not properly part of the charging document." Therefore, Hacke was not charged with an offense resulting in mandatory incarceration.

The Supreme Court's majority agreed with the government.

"The reason Hacke faces mandatory sentencing isnt because the felony with which he is charged requires mandatory sentencing; its because a circumstance in his individual background (his criminal history), when combined with a conviction for the felony with which he is charged (class 4 felony identity theft), requires mandatory sentencing," wrote Samour.

If the legislature had intended to grant probable cause hearings under those circumstances, Samour elaborated, it would have extended the right to all people charged with a class 4 felony who face mandatory sentencing, instead of focusing on whether the felony itself requires mandatory incarceration.

Hood believed the solution was "more straightforward": the term "felony," in his view, meant any legal provisions that would dictate whether a preliminary hearing is necessary. Under that definition, the mandatory sentence for a second identify theft offense would be included.

"Hacke wouldnt be subject to a mandatory prison sentence if it werent for the offense-specific sentence enhancer that the legislature carved out for identity theft," Hood wrote for the dissenting justices.

Tristan Gorman, policy director for the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said she was puzzled by the move to limit eligibility for probable cause hearings, given how uncommon they are in the first place. She noted the decision will have repercussions beyond the offense of identity theft.

"There are a lot of statutes where the legislature has made a second or subsequent offense, or a third or subsequent offense, either a different offense classification or subject to enhanced sentencing," Gorman said. "Thats not unusual in our criminal code."

The case is People v. Hacke.
Colorado ranks No. 1 in the nation for motor vehicle theft and a bipartisan group of legislators wants to get the state off the top of the podium.

The lawmakers seek an about-face on current state law dictating the punishment for stealing a car based on its value and they want tougher penalties particularly on repeat offenders.

Thats the challenge Gov. Jared Polis posed to Colorados legislators during his State of the State address earlier this month, when he urged them to pass tougher penalties on car theft, noting the crime has directly affected both policymakers and members of the public alike.

Current law sets the penalties for motor vehicle theft as follows:

Class 5 felony if the value of the vehicle is less than $20,000

Class 4 felony if the value of the vehicle is more than $20,000 but less than $100,000

Class 3 felony if the value of the vehicle is more than $100,000 or if the defendant has been convicted of an offense involving motor vehicle theft twice before in Colorado or another state or U.S. territory.

The lawmakers said basing penalties on vehicle value creates a hardship for car owners for whom an inexpensive car is their only mode of transportation for work, school, daycare or other common tasks.

The vast majority of vehicles stolen in Colorado are valued at the lower end of the scale, according to a 2022 report from the Common Sense Institute, which reported last September that 85.6% of stolen vehicles are valued at less than $25,000, and 63% are valued at less than $15,000.

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association also reported last year that Colorado had a rate of 68.56 auto thefts per 100,000 people in the first half of 2022. More than 40,000 motor vehicles were stolen in 2022, up 12% over 2021, according Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada, who cosponsored Senate Bill 97 with Sen. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs.

Current law, which weighs the penalty depending on the value of the vehicle, is unfair, Zenzinger said, adding the bill would provide equal justice to the victims of car theft.

Nearly $1 billion worth of motor vehicles were stolen in 2022, said Gardner, who noted that doesnt begin to describe the hardship and burden vehicle theft creates, especially for economically challenged residents.

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Preliminary data from 2022 offered by Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez indicates that motor vehicle thefts have jumped significantly in the city, with 3,291 cases in 2022, up from 2,877 in 2021. Vasquez said that stolen vehicles are often used by criminals to avoid detection while committing other more serious crimes like robbery and dealing drugs.

Polis plea to the legislature came less than two years after signing legislation that lowered the penalty for some car theft offenses. Polis in 2021 approved legislation that overhauled Colorados misdemeanor laws, whose provisions included making it a Class 1 misdemeanor to steal a car if its value is less than $2,000, although the law dictating penalties tied to the value of a motor vehicle go back to at least 2004.

Polis cited the work by local governments, saying the latter have identified tools to successfully fight crime in their communities. Aurora, for example, approved what may be the strictest penalties in the state for car theft  penalties that include a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 60 days, going up to 120 days for repeat offenses. The city also adopted tougher penalties for stealing essential vehicle parts, including catalytic converters, of up to 364 days in jail and a maximum $2,650 fine. State law caps jail sentence for violating municipal ordinances at 364 days.

Colorado is among the worst in the nation when it comes to car theft. Car theft in Denver, for example, is second-highest in America, while three other Colorado cities rank in the top 10 (Aurora, No. 3; Westminster, No. 8; Pueblo, No. 9), according to a study by the Common Sense Institute. Car thefts are on track to exceed 48,000 in 2022, while arson, robbery and vandalism also continue to spike, said the study, which cited FBI statistics.

Law enforcement leaders, policymakers and criminologists remain divided on the causes of the spike in car theft  and they also diverge on the right prescription to it. Some argue that people steal cars over and over again because pretrial-release practices and state penalties for car thefts are too lenient. Others counter that penalties themselves dont act as a deterrent and insist the COVID-19 pandemic created a perfect storm of circumstances that made a ripe incubator for car thefts.

The proposed legislation imposes tougher penalties on repeat offenders, according to Tim Lane of the Colorado District Attorneys Council.

The bill looks at the behavior of the defendant rather than the car value, ranging from a Class 5 felony to a more serious Class 3 felony, which would apply, for example to repeat offenders.

Under the bill, a repeat offender  defined as someone with at least two prior convictions in Colorado or anywhere else in the nation  commits a first-degree felony offense for stealing a vehicle. That carries a Class 3 felony charge and a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.

A second-degree motor vehicle theft, a Class 4 felony, applies when a vehicle is stolen and is held onto by the thief for more than 24 hours. A new third-degree charge, a Class 5 felony, applies to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, including theft.

This is less about the thieves and more about the victims, Zenzinger said.

The bill is not a fix-all for the motor vehicle theft, proponents said.

They said also needed are more resources and staffing for law enforcement and changes to the states bail laws that allow an alleged repeat car thief to be back on the streets hours after an arrest.
Nearly 300,000 Coloradans are approved to have their debt canceled if President Joe Bidens student loan forgiveness program is enacted, according to a new report.

A White House count released Friday showed that 295,000 Coloradans are fully approved for debt relief. That is almost two-thirds of the 471,000 Coloradans who applied or were automatically eligible for relief, and more than one-third of the 787,000 total federal student loan borrowers in Colorado.

In August, Biden released a plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients for those with individual incomes of less than $125,000.

The program was soon blocked by a federal appeals court following challenges from Republican-led states which argued that canceling student debt exceeds Bidens authority as president. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling on the issue in the coming months.

Applications for the student debt relief program were open for less than four weeks before the court blocked it.

During that time, 26 million people applied or were automatically eligible for relief  of whom over 16 million were fully approved, according to the White House report. In total, the report estimates more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for debt forgiveness.

California, Texas and Florida have the most residents fully approved for debt relief, with approximately 1.47 million, 1.39 million and 1.05 million respectively, according to the report.

Colorado ranks 22nd in the nation for the number of residents fully approved for debt relief, making up just under 1.8% of the total approvals. This roughly aligns with Colorados population in proportion to the rest of the United States.
Explora Journeys, a luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group, has introduced another group travel programme - Journey Together Gatherings designed to expand travel opportunities for extended families or friendship groups.



Thanks to excellent collaboration with the travel advisor community, this builds on the Journey Together and Journey Together+ programmes, making planning and payment even more seamlessly convenient for ocean travellers, and offering benefits to travel advisors.



The benefits of Journey Together Gatherings

Explora Journeys suites have been designed as Homes at Sea with spacious living areas. When booking a minimum of three/maximum of four suites, with one suite required to be an Ocean Penthouse or Ocean Residence groups can enjoy this space together as a social hub, to gather, relax and enjoy each others company in a private setting.



This is perfect for a gathering of friends or an extended multi-generational family. In addition, travellers with children will benefit from one under-18 in each suite sailing for free as well as complimentary transfers to the ship for all guests booked on the Journey Together Gathering programme. Travel advisors can benefit from Explora Journeys` rewarding commission payments.



Cindi Occhuizzo to lead Journey Together programmes, charter and incentive groups

The programme will be headed by newly appointed Charter and Journey Together Lead, Cindi Occhuizzo. After 30 years in the luxury travel industry including reputable brands such as Kuoni, Disney Cruise Line, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Cindi brings her global travel and hospitality industry experience to Explora Journeys.



Over the years, she has developed strong relationships with third party event planners, incentive houses and corporate meeting planners throughout the world, and accumulated vast knowledge of the industry. Cindi will be supported by newly appointed Journey Together and Charter Operations Expert, Vilma Moutsatsos, who brings more than 24 years experience to the role, with a deep background in managing luxury travel groups and other large-scale events.



Chris Austin, Chief Sales Officer, of Explora Journeys, said: I am delighted to welcome Cindi and Vilma to our global charters and incentives team and I know they will be great assets for us in this important market. They will work closely with the MICE market as we roll out our Journey Together programmes to our luxury travellers. Designing our Journey Together Gatherings programme has been a highly collaborative process with the travel advisor community. We are proud to launch this programme targeting gatherings of friends and multi-generational families.



Bold commercial terms

Explora Journeys bold commercial terms are reflective of its collaborative approach with the travel advisor community. It has listened and responded, leveraging their many years of experience. The ongoing terms include industry first rolling commission programme, generous levels up to 18% on Journeys and 10% on add-ons with commission being paid following receipt of deposits, no non-commissionable fares (NCFs) and commission paid on cancellation fees.



Journey Together

Designed for travel advisors to book small groups, extended and multi-generational families. The new offering starts with five suites and a minimum of 10 guests. Travel advisors can benefit from a complimentary host berth, rewarding commission payments and each suite reserved comes with a complimentary Journey Experience credit to use onboard.



Journey Together +

The programme starts with a 10 suite, 20 guest minimum and offers travel advisors a complimentary host suite, rewarding commissions and a value fare to significantly increase their profit potential.



Full ship charter, meetings and incentive group requests can also be submitted by travel advisors and shipping brokers and are negotiated independently of the Journey Together programmes. Full ship charter quotes are based upon the length of the customised journey and time of year.  TradeArabia News Service
Jubail Island has launched a full-fledged, innovative mobile phone application to further elevate customers satisfaction by providing a simplified user experience and an optimised journey.



The launch of the new application will bring more visibility to all type of users by providing them with seamless access to an extensive range of services and essential key features. It will allow users to explore a comprehensive portfolio of leisure activities and property services on Jubail Island through a user-friendly interface.



Abdulla Saeed Al Shamsi, Operations Corporate Director for Jubail Island, said: At Jubail Island, the goal is to continuously offer our community of visitors and residents a unique and fully integrated experience. The aim of launching this mobile application is to create a defined central platform, through which all related parties will gain clearer visibility and easy access to different features and offerings in the island. Bringing together the real estate and destination aspects under one umbrella, the platforms will serve as a one-stop-shop for an integrated experience at Jubail Island.



Users on mobile application and the website can create their own accounts, access community insights and latest updates on the island. Furthermore, the platforms will also enable users to book their preferred activities, track bookings and transactions history, and proceed with online payments in just a few clicks.



The user-centric platforms also offer a wide range of services through which they can book appointments and request a call-back from sales relationship managers, and raise queries and concerns. In addition, property owners will be provided with convenient access to their property data, documents, and process and track payments.



Fostering a pleasant user journey and to provide a real value to the users, the strategic and innovative platforms have been built by award winning software and creative design thinking engineers. Jubail Islands community can now download the Jubail Island application through the Apple Store or Google Play to create their own account, book their favourite activities and stay updated with the islands latest news, developments and offerings.  TradeArabia News Service
Rebecca Rodriguez awoke in the morning filled with dread. Her eyes were hot and stung with tears.

Her eviction hearing at the Scott County Courthouse was just a few hours away.

A 46-year-old mother with a 10-year-old daughter living at home, Rodriguez had no idea what would happen if she lost the apartment shes lived in for eight years. The anxiety and fear were hard for her to describe.

I knew I had to ask for help, but that is something I have really never done before, Rodriguez said. I didnt know where to go or who to talk to.

I couldnt afford to pay rent, and there was no way, I thought, I could ever pay for a lawyer. I just came to the courthouse, and thank goodness my oldest daughter (Kailee Thorndike) was here.

Rodriguezs eviction hearing was one of 43 scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24. The list had been 60 cases long, but a number were dismissed. Some were continued. Others had been negotiated prior to going before one of the two magistrates who hear the cases each Tuesday.

Evictions are common in Scott County. While it claims just 5% of Iowas population, the countys evictions accounted for 9% of all such cases in the state for 2022.

When Rodriguez and Thorndike got to the courthouse, they saw the large placard for Iowa Legal Aid that promises help with evictions. The services offered by the five attorneys, paralegal and AmeriCorp volunteer who set up every Tuesday often are the last, best chance for people who cant hire attorneys.

The work of representing Rodriguez and others facing eviction is akin to holding back an avalanche. The number of evictions, in Davenport and across Iowa, are gaining momentum.

Record eviction cases in 2022

A record number of Iowans faced possible eviction from their homes in 2022, according to statistics compiled by Iowa Legal Aid, after a year of rising housing costs and the first full year after a moratorium on evictions expired.

Iowa Legal Aid Director Nick Smithberg visited the Scott County Courthouse on a recent Tuesday to check on the organizations local help desk that assists residents facing eviction. As a pandemic-era pause on evictions was set to expire in 2021, Iowa Legal Aid anticipated a wave of tenants navigating the court system, and decided to go to the place where it happens.

Attorneys and staff for Iowa Legal Aid set up folding tables and chairs every Tuesday afternoon in the courthouse ahead of hearings so they can counsel tenants and landlords.

In 2022, Smithberg said, there were 18,333 eviction cases in Iowa  a record. Not all resulted in evictions. In Scott County, there were 1,462 cases. For the county, only one year recorded more eviction cases  2019.

Smithberg theorizes that pandemic-eviction relief disguised an eviction trend that marches upward.

Theres been a perception that high rates of eviction were associated with COVID, but if anything, what were seeing from the data is that COVID served to suppress the numbers, Smithberg said. This is a decade-long trend, but during COVID, there was an abundant amount of rent assistance available and eviction moratoria that were in place. And now those inhibitors are gone. So were really seeing the numbers skyrocket.

Legal aid attorneys have worked in tandem with a representative from the Salvation Army and Quad-Cities Open Housing Network, part of a web of housing-advocacy groups that can offer landlords a month or two in rent to stave off an eviction, giving a tenant a cushion to get their finances in order or find another place, what Smithberg called a stand-down payment.

Its a deal where we would give the landlord a months worth of rent in exchange for a months worth of time, Smithberg said. Some funds set up two years ago are nearing the end.

Salvation Army also can help with a security deposit on a new place, or pay for late fees or moving costs.

An eviction can be more detrimental than many people realize. A growing body of research shows housing loss can result in childrens poorer academic performance as well as higher rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide and lower life expectancy. Plus, it makes it much more difficult to find housing in the future.

The consequence of an eviction on your record, no matter how the case is disposed of, it can be very bad. It makes it much harder to find habitable affordable housing, Smithberg said.

A helping hand

The first-floor courtroom where Rodriguez and her oldest daughter waited Tuesday afternoon has no clocks on the wall. No cellphones are allowed. The temperature stood at 82 degrees.

Those who entered looked like your neighbors  an elderly woman with a walker, a young couple with three small children, a pair of men with small dogs on leashes and a number of people carrying files of papers.

Some were landlords. A few were attorneys. Most were like Rodriguez, facing eviction and the uncertainty of where they will live.

When I got to the courthouse and I saw the sign for Iowa Legal Aid, I let myself have a little hope, Rodriguez said. Its been hard to have hope for the last couple of months.

An Iowa Legal Aid attorney represented Rodriguez during her hearing and helped her negotiate a settlement with her landlord.

She lives in a $746-a-month apartment and works as a patient service testing specialist; she draws blood for testing and does other lab-related work. She always found a way to pay rent, make her car payment, pay for the vehicles insurance and put food on the table.

But then an old car loan came back to haunt her.

I had a car and I got an oil change and then the engine blew, Rodriguez explained. I gave the car back to the bank and they went after the company that did the oil change.

When all was said and done, I was on the hook for $2,000. I couldnt pay it. I dont have that much leeway. So they got a garnishment against me  $500 per paycheck for four paychecks, starting in late November. I cant take losing $500 per paycheck for two months. I couldnt do it.

Christmas was gone. Rodriguez turned to a number of agencies for help with a holiday gift basket. She has been going to pantries to put together enough to feed her youngest daughter. Thorndike found herself offering her mother money for basics, like gas and groceries.

I felt ashamed, Rodriguez said. And I really had nowhere to go for help, not anywhere that I knew of. Once the bank decided it wanted that money, I had no way to stop it.

Who faces eviction?

Molly McDonnell is the assistant managing attorney for the Davenport office of Iowa Legal Aid. People face evictions for myriad reasons, she said.

A large percentage of the people we see facing eviction are working. They have a job. A number of the people we represent have multiple jobs, McDonnell said. Rent is high in Davenport and across the Quad-Cities. People have smaller margins for sudden expenses. Or if a child gets sick for an extended period of time and they have to miss work. So many of our cases start with things like a broken car.

People cant absorb sudden cost increases. Then they have to make choices. Sometimes the rent has to come after other important choices.

To answer the question of who faced eviction in Scott County in 2022, Smithberg offered some numbers that tell the story:

People with disabilities comprise 8.2% of the countys population but make up 37% of those facing eviction

Women account for 50.6% of the countys population, yet make up 74% of those facing eviction

People of color are 21.4% of the countys population and are 54% of those facing eviction

Smithberg pointed out evictions also tell the story of disparities in our community.

What causes evictions? Start with a lack of affordable housing. Then you have to look at poverty. People simply dont have the income to afford what housing is available. And then you look to issues like income and access, he said.

I say this a lot, but it is true: Evictions are a symptom of something larger going on in the community. We are looking at a set of disparities. When people dont have access to services, dont have access to some of the things many of us take for granted, you see evictions. We are talking about disparities that have existed in our communities for a long time.

A tattered safety net

Rodriguezs agreement with her landlord offered a glimmer of hope. She has two weeks to pay the back rent of $1,400. She then has the entire month of February to come up with that months rent.

She said she planned to first contact the Salvation Army for rental assistance.

Kelle Larned is the program and operations director for the Salvation Army. She helps oversee the eviction prevention program that offers up to three months rent for those looking to avoid losing their rental home.

Since 2020, the Salvation Army has doled out $1.5 million in eviction prevention funds  money solely directed to tenants trying to stave off eviction.

Larned also works to help people without homes establish permanent residences. She pointed to a lack of affordable housing as being one of the crucial elements in both evictions and homelessness.

When a person loses their home in an eviction, it used to be an average of right about 25 to 30 days before we could find them another rental, she said. Now, we are looking at an average of 85 days. That is all about a lack of affordable housing. When people lose their apartments, it is a real struggle to find any place to go.

Larned offered another perspective.

Not long ago, we had 20 to 30 families a month in our shelter program, Larned said. Today, we have between 60 and 70 families a month. We have landlords who work with us, but it is getting harder and harder to find affordable housing for the people who need it the most.

Affordable housing is crucial because the safety nets set up during the pandemic are disappearing.

In 2021 and most of 2022, tenants and landlords had access to emergency rental assistance allocated to the state by Congress in COVID-19 relief passed in 2020 and 2021.

But the nation, including Iowa, did not have the infrastructure set up to distribute the funds effectively, and the states Iowa Finance Authority scrambled to build a system. Tenants and landlords could apply for up to three months in back rent owed. But the agency and its vendor were slow to process applications, and the money slow to distribute.

In late 2022, the state agency said it was no longer running an emergency housing assistance program and would focus a second round of funding on helping homeless people regain housing and on assisting refugees.

As a result, about $89 million allocated for Iowans emergency rental assistance was likely to go back to the U.S. Treasury and be used for other states.

We were able to do a lot of good with the rent assistance, and we continue to see a substantial number of cases, Smithberg said. An overwhelming majority of eviction cases that we see are what they call non-payment cases. Thats about rent.

Smithberg was not hopeful about the rate of evictions slowing in Iowa or Scott County.

I think we are looking at a very tough year, he said. Thats my fear. Homelessness is a lagging indicator. You dont see the number of homeless increase unless there are underlying causes.

I think, with the way evictions are going, we are seeing the front edge of a troubling homeless problem.

For now, Rodriguez has managed to stay in her home. She couldnt thank Iowa Legal Aid enough for the assistance its attorney gave her Tuesday.

I still have to come up with the money, but now I know there is help, she said. Im going to do whatever I can to come up with that money. But I feel like a failure.

You feel like youre in a hole and there is no way out. At least there was someone there to help me.

Photos: Tammy Brewer evicted despite home being condemned by the city 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-001 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-002 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-003 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-004 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-005 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-006 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-007 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-008 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-009 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-010 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-011 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-012 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-013 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-014 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-015 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-016 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-017 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-018 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-019 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-020 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-021 080721-qc-nws-TammyEviction-022
DES MOINES  Energy companies and landowners would be limited on where they can set up solar panel arrays under a bill advanced in the Iowa Senate.

The bill, Senate Study Bill 1077, would prohibit setting up a commercially owned solar field on land suitable for agriculture within 150 feet of a neighboring property, or within 1,250 feet of a neighboring residence or livestock facility. A three-member subcommittee advanced the bill 2-1, noting they intend to amend it. Sens. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, and Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, voted to advance it, while Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, did not.

Zumbach, the bills floor manager, said it is intended to address multiple concerns landowners have about solar fields on neighboring properties. Some landowners dont like to see solar panels near their property, he said, and he also said tornadoes and wind storms could blow debris into an adjacent property.

"Most people that live around them don't like what they look like when they're used to looking at farmland and pastures, and they see this new industrial-style product coming into our farmland," he said. " But by no means is this bill intended to shut down the solar industry. Its going to be a viable part of the state of Iowa, but its about showing respect for everybody on each side of the fence.

Zumbach introduced a similar bill last year that would have prohibited installing solar panel fields on highly productive farmland. The bill also included a 1,250-foot setback requirement from the closest property.

Several power companies and environmental organizations are registered opposed to the legislation, and they said during the subcommittee meeting it would limit options for landowners and hurt the expansion of solar power.

The bill will severely limit the land available for landowners who wish to monetize their land in this particular fashion, Alliant Energy lobbyist Ted Stopulos said.

Alliant energy has both large utility-scale and smaller user-hosted solar projects. The company is aiming to generate 400 megawatts of solar energy by 2024, according to its website.

As of 2022, there were 646 megawatts of solar energy installed across Iowa, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The state ranks 27th by the portion of its energy coming from solar power.

Opponents also said the setback requirement, which amounts to almost a quarter-mile from a neighboring residence or livestock facility, would be a project killer and put a huge limit on the amount of space energy companies and landowners have to work with.

The larger you make that distance, that means the more farmland we actually have to go out and try to work on, because youre taking that farmland by the homeowner, by the livestock facility out of use; weve got to go acquire that someplace else, that means ultimately youre raising the cost, said Christopher Rants, a lobbyist for the Iowa Solar Energy Trade Association and NextEra Energy.

Matt Gronewald, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, said the organization is in support of the bill, but it would support restricting only large-scale projects of 40 acres or more.

Samantha Peterson, a farmer from Benton County who spoke at the meeting, said she supports the bill but is mostly concerned with utility-scale projects as well.

I think this is a good place to start, to set a statewide regulation or rules, and to really protect nonparticipating neighbors like my family and others around the state. And just giving us some peace of mind and a seat at the table when these large projects are composed, she said.

Zumbach said during the meeting that he is willing to amend the bill to address some of the issues raised, including adjusting the setback distance. He also said he would consider allowing a neighbor to sign a waiver to void the distance requirement.

Whether these numbers are the right numbers or not, we dont know that, he said. But we can have that discussion, and numbers are movable.

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Josh Rodriguez has worked as a territory manager for Culligan of Marion, a water-treatment equipment supplier, for 25 years.

In the last six years, a new concern has cropped up among his customers: chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

Rodriguez said he has responded to as much as a dozen such calls over the past year, particularly from customers around Central City and the Eastern Iowa Airport, where the chemicals have been detected in drinking water supplies.

"It is something that's becoming more and more common to hear customers asking about," he said. "They just ask if we have any kind of treatment for PFAS, if there's anything they can do to filter it out of the water."

Federal and state agencies have struggled to keep up with what scientists are learning about PFAS  which is that the chemicals are pervasive, persistent and harmful.

Here's what we know about the "forever chemicals," how Iowa is combating them and what you can do to help keep your drinking water safe.

What are PFAS?

PFAS refers to a group of thousands of human-made chemicals that have been used to make materials resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease and water since the 1930s.

You can find them in common products like non-stick cookware, water-resistant clothes, cleaning supplies, food packaging and adhesives. Although two of the most studied types of PFAS  perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)  are no longer produced in the United States, other varieties are still used across manufacturing and industrial sectors.

They're often called "forever chemicals" because their molecular structures are made of strong bonds, so they don't degrade easily. That allows them to build up and persist over time.

PFAS can end up in the environment through several avenues. They're in treated leachate  the water that percolates through landfills and leaches contaminants  and industrial wastewater that is discharged into waterways. They're in the sewage waste often applied to fields, where they can infiltrate groundwater. They're in some firefighting foams that were widely used for decades. A 2021 study found evidence of the chemicals in a third of sampled waterways in Iowa.

"They are basically in our soil. They're in our water. They're in the air," said Corey McCoid, the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's PFAS coordinator. "It's across all media when it comes to the environment."

Humans can be exposed to PFAS through their drinking water, food, consumer products and surroundings. A recent study found eating one freshwater fish could equal a month of drinking PFAS-contaminated water. Long-term exposure is linked to myriad negative health impacts, including cancer risks, reproductive effects, child development, hormones, immune systems and cholesterol levels.

Research on PFAS and their health effects still is evolving, said David Cwiertny, director of the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination at the University of Iowa. Much of that information comes from studying communities near PFAS manufacturers. Iowa hasn't conducted that level of study yet.

"We don't have  that we know of yet  some of the levels of contamination that you might have, say, in Michigan," Cwiertny said, referencing PFAS contamination from shoe manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide. "What we know is it's dangerous down to very low levels."

Are PFAS regulated?

The short answer is: Federal regulations are in the works, and the Iowa DNR is planning to follow suit.

The Environmental Protection Agency set a health advisory  a non-enforceable threshold at which a drinking water contaminant is deemed harmful  at 70 parts per trillion for both PFOA and PFOS in 2016. Last summer, that advisory was adjusted to near-zero levels: 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS. The EPA also added health advisories for two more types of PFAS that often replace PFOA and PFOS in manufacturing.

"To give you an example, 1 part per trillion ... is one second in 32,000 years, or one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools," McCoid said. "It's very small amounts that we're talking about, which makes it hard to analyze."

No labs can detect such low PFAS levels, which could complicate matters if the thresholds in the health advisories graduate to enforceable regulations. The EPA promised to announce such regulations for PFOA and PFOS by the end of 2022. That announcement has been delayed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for internal review, McCoid said.

Ideally, drinking water would be free of all contaminants. But that would take advanced technology and heaps of money  which aren't available to most communities. The EPA must create a level that takes those restraints into account in order to be realistically enforceable, Cwiertny said. That's why he doubts the regulation will be as strict as the health advisories.

"We've always had some levels of chemicals in our water that we are willing to accept because it is not technologically or economically feasible to get rid of all of them," he said. "Everything about our standards of drinking water is dealing with acceptable levels of risk. There's no risk-free drinking water."

Several states, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, have established their own maximum contaminant limits for PFAS. Others, including Iowa, will be following the EPA's lead.

"We don't have the capabilities to do that in the state of Iowa because that's not the way we're built. That's the EPA's job, and our job is to implement what they create for standards," McCoid said. "It takes a ton of research and staff time."

How is Iowa tackling PFAS?

PFAS contamination wasn't discovered in Iowa until around 2019, when contamination was detected at two Iowa Air National Guard bases in Des Moines and Sioux City.

By January 2020, the Iowa DNR published its PFAS Action Plan  a document outlining the department's initial steps for tackling the emerging contaminant. Its dominant focus? Uncovering any contamination in drinking water.

To start, the Iowa DNR created a sampling plan that split public water suppliers into tiers based on how susceptible their wells were to PFAS contamination. Vulnerability largely depends on the type and thickness of geological layers surrounding an aquifer.

The department also compared well locations to a list of potential PFAS users in Iowa, which The Gazette obtained through a public records request.

The EPA has listed certain industries  like those involving textiles, paper and metal finishing  as more likely to use PFAS in their operations. The Iowa DNR narrowed down facilities in those industries based on their identification on federal tax statements. However, the list does not include all potential PFAS sites in Iowa, nor does it mean the included facilities actually use the chemicals.

"It is likely that a significant percentage of the facilities on the list do not and have never used PFAS, but they simply are in a sector of industry that has been known to use PFAS chemicals," said Matthew Graesch, an environmental specialist in the Iowa DNR's solid waste and contaminated sites section. "It is, and was, the best information available in the public domain."

Without any federal or state regulations in place for monitoring PFAS in wastewater discharges, the Iowa DNR doesn't have the authority to sample those potential sites to see if they're actually using the chemicals. A federal PFAS discharge limit still is being developed, along with guidance on how to properly destroy and dispose of the chemicals.

The Iowa DNR may update its action plan depending on the EPA's forthcoming maximum contaminant level for drinking water, McCoid said. It also will likely be releasing a summary of its sampling results from its top three most susceptible tiers of public water suppliers in February.

What has PFAS sampling revealed in Iowa?

To date, the Iowa DNR has sampled for PFAS in treated drinking water at 130 public water suppliers  more than once for some.

Sampling began in October 2020 for the top two most susceptible tiers, consisting of 68 public water suppliers, 178 sites and about 4,300 samples. When sampling ended the following February, PFAS had been detected in around 20 percent of the samples.

The Iowa DNR is now finishing sampling its third most vulnerable tier of 48 additional public water suppliers, along with repeat sampling for certain sites. The department still is waiting on results from one facility. Three water supplies have had detections so far.

In total, PFAS contamination has been detected in the following public water supplies in Iowa, based on data from the Iowa DNR's PFAS sampling portal:

 Ames Water Treatment Plant

 Burlington Municipal Waterworks

 Camanche Water Supply

 Central City Water Supply

 Dubuque Water Works

 Iowa American Water in Davenport

 Kammerer Mobile Home Park in Muscatine

 Muscatine Power and Water

 Peteschs Mobile Home Park in Bellevue

 Sioux City Water Supply

 Tama Water Supply

Each facility with a PFAS detection higher than an EPA health advisory was required to alert the public. About 20 water suppliers continue to monitor their water for PFAS on a quarterly basis. Several of the contaminated locations have since taken vulnerable wells offline or blended water from several wells to dilute the contamination, McCoid said.

Central City, for instance, has stopped using its second drinking water well since the Iowa DNR announced PFAS detections last year  which resulted in a public panic, Mayor Adam Griggs said in a statement to The Gazette. The city is now relying on one well and is working to get a new second well. It will plug and cap the contaminated well, as continued monitoring has showed no changes in PFAS content.

"Things have calmed down now because we were lucky in that our second well was clean," Griggs said. "Getting a clean backup well online is our biggest priority now."

Other public water suppliers with PFAS detections can't confidently move forward with solutions until the EPA releases its maximum contaminant level, McCoid said.

"They don't know what that new limit's going to be, so they can't really make plans," he said. "Right now, it's kind of in limbo."

A fourth round of sampling starting around March 2022 will include approximately 40 facilities, McCoid said. The EPA also will be conducting nationwide sampling for 30 unregulated contaminants  including various PFAS  at public water supplies until 2025. Starting this month, about 50 facilities will be sampled in Iowa.

How can you protect yourself against PFAS?

There are several technology-based treatments that can help.

Some, like reverse osmosis and carbon filtration, push the liquid through media that filter out the chemicals. A process called ion exchange uses positively charged substances to attract and remove negatively charged PFAS. Companies can install such water treatment equipment in homes.

"It's just peace of mind knowing that if there's anything in the water, it's going to get reduced down going through that drinking system," said Rodriguez, of Culligan of Marion. He said such services can cost between $100 and several thousand dollars.

Even simple solutions, like Brita-compatible PFAS filters, can be effective, McCoid said: "If a citizen is concerned, there are treatment options available." The EPA does not recommend buying bottled water as a substitute, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no established standards for PFAS levels in the products.

Iowa residents drawing their water from private wells  which are unregulated under the Clean Water Act and were not included in the Iowa DNR's statewide sampling  should regularly test for any PFAS contamination, which could be subsidized through the Grants to Counties Program.

Among the UI Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination's several PFAS-related projects, it recently detected the chemicals in several wells around The Eastern Iowa Airport, including one detection above the EPA's prior health advisory of 70 parts per trillion. "In my estimation, it's still the only water consumer in Iowa that's been above the old health advisory," Cwiertny said.

The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law allocated more than $100 million to Iowa for its drinking water and clean water state revolving funds, including at least $12 million specifically dedicated to emerging contaminants like PFAS.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Legislation to stop Iowans from using SNAP benefits to buy products like fresh meat, butter, sliced cheese and bagged salads advanced Thursday despite controversy that made national news this week.

After hearing Iowans concerns at a meeting Thursday, members of the House Health and Human Services subcommittee said they planned to amend the proposal to remove most of those restrictions. The Republican lawmakers still voted to advance the legislation for committee consideration, despite numerous concerns speakers raised about other aspects of the proposal.

In its current form, House File 3 would require food bought with Iowa Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards to match approved foods listed in Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) program. Advocates and disabled Iowans told legislators Thursday that the list of approved foods in Iowas WIC program were tailored to meet the needs of pregnant women and children in early development  but that these restrictions are not necessarily healthy to apply universally.

Journey Berzett, a 21-year-old Iowan with a disability, said the proposed restrictions would make her life demonstrably harder. Because of her disability, she cannot use her hands to cut up a block of cheese or a head of lettuce, Berzett said, and she does not have income outside of SNAP benefits to pay for additional groceries.

I dont think these are the types of things that supporters of HF 3 have even thought of, Berzett said. But I have. I have to. I have no choice.

Rep. Thomas Jeneary, R-Le Mars, said the SNAP food restrictions will be amended out of the legislation in committee, but Democratic Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell said that amendment has not been shared.

Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, said the amendment will remove SNAP eligibility for purchases of candy and soda with sugar. We talked about healthy eating, Meyer said. You cant point anything out of those two items that are healthy.

Advocates voiced concerns about other changes to Iowas public assistance programs laid out in the legislation outside of the WIC food limitations. The bill proposes new asset restrictions on Iowans who receive SNAP and Medicaid benefits. It also would require Medicaid recipients work 20 hours a week as well as implement new identity verification procedures.

Lobbyists representing groups including the Iowa Food Bank Association, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Des Moines Area Religious Council said these proposals would not only create administrative burdens for the state government and those helping Iowans in need, but also could keep people who need help through public assistance programs from getting that aid.

The asset tests would keep poor Iowans from getting benefits if they have more than one car, which advocates said was unrealistic for households with multiple people who work or have children. The 20-hour-a-week work requirement is unrealistic, advocates said, for people who need Medicaid to treat illnesses so they can work in the future.

Meyer said she agrees the targeted programs are important safety nets to help people out of poverty. The legislation is meant to ensure both that people in need continue to get SNAP and Medicaid benefits, but that those who arent eligible cannot access the programs funds.

Theyre all your tax dollars, Meyer said. We want to make sure that were giving them to the right people.

Tyler Raygor with Americans for Prosperity said he understood other speakers concerns about the program cutting off people in need, but said everyone needs to remember that Iowa is working with finite taxpayer dollars.

Others, including Leslie Carpenter with Iowa Mental Health Advocacy, said this framing was disingenuous. Iowa reported a nearly $2 billion budget surplus in fiscal year 2022.

I want to say thank you for being concerned about protecting those fees, Carpenter said. I would say that our ability to support that is not finite. We do have excess income in our state and every one of us in this room knows it.

The legislation will next be discussed in the House Health and Human Services Committee, where it can be amended.

Close Mason City firefighters Brad Meyer (L) and Craig Warner wash a truck as part of the station's weekly maintenance. Members of the Mason City police and fire departments respond to a medical call. Members of Mason City Fire and Ambulance's Third Battalion have breakfast together while on a 24-hour shift. Officer Steve Klemas of the Mason City Police Department tags evidence bags after returning from the scene of an investigation. Officers working the third shift at the Mason City Police Department are briefed by Chief Jeff Brinkley before heading out on their respective patrols. Mason City Police Officers respond to a harassment call. Dispatcher Mallory Dempsey enters information into a call during a night shift at the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office. Cerro Gordo County Deputy Mitch Kruse returns to his vehicle after checking on a driver whose truck had no brake lights. A cross hangs inside Cerro Gordo County Deputy Tami Cavett's vehicle while she is on duty. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Tami Cavett checks in with a resident while making daily rounds through rural towns within the county. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Jensen speaks to a resident in Clear Lake. Lt. Neil Maki makes breakfast for the Third Battalion of the Mason City Fire Department. PHOTOS - First responders Mason City firefighters Brad Meyer (L) and Craig Warner wash a truck as part of the station's weekly maintenance. Members of the Mason City police and fire departments respond to a medical call. Members of Mason City Fire and Ambulance's Third Battalion have breakfast together while on a 24-hour shift. Officer Steve Klemas of the Mason City Police Department tags evidence bags after returning from the scene of an investigation. Officers working the third shift at the Mason City Police Department are briefed by Chief Jeff Brinkley before heading out on their respective patrols. Mason City Police Officers respond to a harassment call. Dispatcher Mallory Dempsey enters information into a call during a night shift at the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office. Cerro Gordo County Deputy Mitch Kruse returns to his vehicle after checking on a driver whose truck had no brake lights. A cross hangs inside Cerro Gordo County Deputy Tami Cavett's vehicle while she is on duty. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Tami Cavett checks in with a resident while making daily rounds through rural towns within the county. Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Jensen speaks to a resident in Clear Lake. Lt. Neil Maki makes breakfast for the Third Battalion of the Mason City Fire Department.
voodoochild wrote:

Mike,

I am sorry to open this old thread. Here's the question I got:

3. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would characterize the activities engaged in by early chartered trading companies as being

(A) complex enough in scope to requrie a substantial amount of planning and coordination on the part of management

(B) too simple to be considered similar to those of a modern multinational corporation

(C) as intricate as those carried out by the largest multinational corporations today

(D) often unprofitable due to slow communications and unreliable means of transportation

(E) hampered by the political demands imposed on them by the governments of their home countries



Can you please explain why is C incorrect? I kept bouncing between A and C. OA is A.



About A - I thought that the author doesn't say that the early trading companies were 'complex' -- she says that the company indeed have a high volume of transaction. I thought that that was a scope creep. secondly, "substantial amount of planning etc" -- is a bit far from what author says. She just talks about salaried agent, who carried out trade with NAmericans and a lawyer (I didn't understand that exact title) ..Hence, I was a bit suspicious.

In reality, however, early trading companies successfully purchased and outfitted ships, built and operated offices and warehouses, manufactured trade goods for use abroad, maintained trading posts and production facilities overseas, procured goods for import, and sold those goods both at home and in other countries. The large volume of transactions associated with these activities seems to have necessitated hierarchical management structures

that's

characterize

voodoochild wrote:

Now C - I liked this answer choice because author says "..merit further study as analogues of modern structure" -- However, after re-reading I noticed that C has "the largest" MNC. I checked the passage, and nowhere the author talks about 'the largest' MNCs.

imagine

"nineteenth-century inventions like the steamship and the telegraph, by facilitating coordination of managerial activities

merit further study as analogues of more modern structure

not

differences



Magoosh Test Prep





Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Signature Read More

The passage said: "..." The author may not use the word "complex", but look at this first sentence quoted here ----complexity! THE GMAT ruthless punishes literalistic thinking on the RC --- it often uses one word or term in the passage, and then uses a different word or term meaning the same thing in the question ----- here, the passage describes a situation, and the question uses a descriptive word that couldthat situation ---- if you look for the literal word, you won't find it. You always need to be working at the level of ideas, not just words. The second sentence quoted says quite clearly that, because of this complex level of detail, those early trading companies needed "management." This is solid evidence for (A).First of all, this is a wildly illogical statement. I would argue that --- even ignoring anything the passage says, we can reject this one because it is simply so over-the-top unreasonable. The "largest multinational corporations today" ---- take Coke --- think of the bewildering array of different places in which you can (a) buy Coke, or (b) see an ad for Coke. Then they have keep track of website visitors, folks clicking on ads, folks sending in codes under the bottle caps, prize, promotions, affiliations with other business, etc. etc. Truly mind-boggling complexity! No single person could possibly keep track of everything the company Coke does. It's off the charts. Nothing in the sixteenth century could come anything vaguely close to this! Sixteenth century folks could not eventhat kind of complexity. Thus, this statement is totally illogical. You have to check for that sort of thing. I would say this choice was designed so that, if you think about what it's saying, it's so unreasonable that there's no way the passage could possibly support it. It's designed to trap people who scour for words without thinking deeply about meaning.The passage says that" increased the volume, and therefore necessarily the complexity, and this increase caused a structural change in the nineteenth century, so the companies in the 19th century were more complex than what came before. I take it as self-evident that (a) a few centuries before that, when they had no modern communication or transport at all, the entire operation and life in general was necessarily less complex, and that (b) life today is way way more complex than it was in the middle of the 19th century.The sixteenth century trading companies "s' means only that some features will be analogous. Saying there's an analogy between two things issaying that two things are equivalent, or even largely similar. The whole point of that paragraph is to talk aboutbetween early trading companies and modern multinationals, so this sentence is simply a moderating, qualifying sentence in that context. Saying there's an analogy is way that the author can argue that, despite differences, this study is somewhat relevant in a historical sense. Despite obvious differences, there are some analogies to be made. If ANYTHING is different about life in the sixteen century and life now, it is the level of complexity. Whatever else may be similar or analogous, the sheer level of complexity will be different by several orders of magnitude.The fact that you found (C) attractive suggests to me that you are missing the forest for the trees. You are so concentrated on finding word & quotes in the passage with the right words that you are not thinking, holistically, about what the statement is saying, and what that would really mean. Again, the RC will punish you for being too literalistic, too focused at the level of individual words, and not thinking about logic & argumentative flow & meaning & context. All that right brain stuff is hugely important on the RC. If you play GMAT RC as if it is mathematics, you will lose.Does all this make sense?Mike_________________
A lawyers text message to his colleague who planned to work elsewhere after her maternity leave ended garnered widespread attention on social media and, ultimately, resulted in the lawyer leaving his firm.

The lawyer sent his colleague what was described by the firm as a heat of the moment text message after he learned about her upcoming departure.

In his text to her, he said he had suspicions she was interviewing during her maternity leave. He texted, What you did  collecting salary from the firm while sitting on your a**, except to find time to interview for another job  says everything one needs to know about your character. He added, Karmas a b**ch. Rest assured regarding anyone who inquires, they will hear the truth from me about what a soul-less and morally bankrupt person you are.

The text was posted on social media and went viral, after which the firm made a variety of statements and then later announced that the lawyer who sent the text was no longer with the firm.

There are several takeaways from this situation.

First, dont send messages or post online when angry, and definitely dont send heat of the moment messages to a colleague. Employees have been advised for years to not send an email when upset, but to print it and leave it in a drawer overnight. Things might look differently in the morning.

Now, with direct messages, instant messages, texts and social media, communicating instantly has become too easy and familiar.

My best advice: If you are angry or intoxicated, dont communicate via text, instant message, social media or other platforms. Take a pause. Think about how that message would be viewed by others if it went viral, like the one described above. Its tempting to tell someone how you feel, but sometimes those emotions dont need to be memorialized.

Furthermore, the lawyers text message demonstrates the sad state of affairs for how women are perceived. After giving birth, women must have time to recover and to be with their babies. That anyone views maternity leave as sitting on your a** shows a complete lack of appreciation for the exhausting work of birthing and parenting a newborn.

Normalizing maternity leave, including paid time off, needs to be built into organizations business plan. Although the Family and Medical Leave Act requires only unpaid leave, employers of choice will offer some form of paid time that will run concurrent with any FMLA or other time off.

Finally, another way to show the value of parental leave is to make it normal for men to take paid paternity leave. As former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in 2001 , Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

Over 20 years later, it seems as if weve taken only baby steps. Men fear how they would be viewed if they take paternity leave, and women are punished when they take maternity leave. This vicious cycle must end, and only through cultural change will we move the needle so that women and men can achieve the necessary true work-life benefit to which they are entitled.

What manufacturing workers make in Virginia What manufacturing workers make in Virginia
LINVILLE, N.C.  Grandfather Mountain is inviting folks to take their careers to new heights  literally.

The Linville, N.C.-based nonprofit nature park and preserve, owned and operated by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is hiring across its various departments for the 2023 season and beyond, offering mountains of opportunities for job- and career-seekers.

The organization is kicking it all off with a job fair on the mountain on Feb. 15 from 2-5 p.m. The event will take place at Mildreds Grill, the nature parks restaurant located in the new Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. Nine departments from across the mountain will be represented at the job fair. Attendees will be able to chat with staff members from each department, learn about Grandfather and the open positions on the mountain and enter to win door prizes.

We welcome all folks who are looking for a job in the area and are curious about what it means to work at Grandfather Mountain to attend the Feb. 15 job fair, said Tommy Oakley, operations manager for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. This is a fun place to work, and we are planning a fun event. We look forward to meeting everyone and sharing all the employment opportunities the organization is offering this year.

It is an exciting time to join the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation team as the park continues to add learning spaces, programming and experiences for guests.

In June 2022, the park opened the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, a building with 10,000 square feet of education space, including state-of-the-art museum exhibits, three classrooms and an ADA-accessible auditorium, as well as enhanced food-service facilities to allow for catering and serving educational groups and expanded capacity for hosting conferences, seminars, receptions and community events.

Guests will enjoy the parks new Williams Outdoor Learning Space, including an amphitheater with terraced seating and a pavilion, when it opens this spring.

The park is seeking staff to assist with its slate of expanded programming and experiences for guests, as well as the work it takes to operate the nature preserve on a daily basis. Grandfather Mountain is extending such opportunities for positions in many departments, most of them seasonal unless otherwise noted. Seasonal employment typically runs from March or April through October or early November, and applicants of all ages, including high school and college students, are welcome to apply.

Positions are currently available in the following departments:

 Education

 Entrance Gate

 Facilities

 Food and Beverage

 Habitats

 Maintenance (Full-time)

 Natural Resource Management

 Park Support/Operations

 Retail

Grandfather Mountain is unlike any other place Ive worked, said Jesse Pope, president and executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. Whats fun is when you look around, you see co-workers whove been here for decades. Its apparent that this is a place that takes very good care of its employees, and it makes work fun  and meaningful. Being an employee at Grandfather Mountain, you really feel like youre striving to achieve a mission.

As a nonprofit, Grandfather Mountain strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of the mountain.

Aside from the powerful purpose of the organization and the park being one of the most scenic workplaces in the world, Grandfather Mountain has a mile-high list of employment perks: competitive pay; a friendly, family environment; free access to approximately 20 area attractions, including destinations in Western North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia; employee discounts; and more.

Those with an interest in learning more about job opportunities at Grandfather Mountain for the 2023 season are invited to attend the Feb. 15 job fair. The event will run from 2-5 p.m., with 1:45 p.m. being the earliest that attendees will be able to enter the park. No advance registration is required to attend the event. Casual or business casual attire is welcome, and bringing resume copies to share is encouraged. Light refreshments will be provided.

To learn more and see the positions currently open, visit www.grandfather.com/jobs.
Nobu Hospitality has announced plans for a new beachfront Nobu hotel, restaurant and branded residences on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah.

Marjan, the master-developer of freehold properties in Ras Al Khaimah, has welcomed Nobu Hospitality to its flagship Al Marjan Island.

This follows the signing with Enevoria Development, who recently acquired a beachfront plot on Al Marjan Island, to build the project.

Enevoria Development will develop a Nobu Hotel and 300 Nobu branded luxury residences that will provide residents and visitors with superior guest services and bespoke amenities.

The large-scale project with a total area of 70,000 sq m will also include a spa and fitness facility, swimming pools, and the exclusive Nobu restaurant featuring contemporary Japanese cuisine providing a unique gastronomic experience for guests and visitors.

Nobu Al Marjan Island is the second Nobu hotel set to open in the UAE.

The upscale hotel is the latest addition to Al Marjan Islands growing portfolio of beachfront hospitality destinations that are welcoming tourists from across the world. The new hotel further boosts the robust hospitality sector of Ras Al Khaimah, which has recorded sustained growth in tourist arrivals in line with the leaderships strategy to promote destination tourism and position the emirate as a global hub, said a statement.

Abdulla Al Abdouli, CEO of Marjan, said: With the arrival of Nobu Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah now joins an elite group of cities worldwide to put on display the power of Japanese minimalism, exceptional hospitality, and world-class dining the brand is renowned for. Set in the heart of our iconic flagship island, the opening of Nobu reinforces Ras Al Khaimahs credentials as a high-growth destination for international and regional investors. We will continue to leverage global partnerships, such as Enevoria Development, to develop signature projects that elevate the Emirates status as a premier world-class leisure and lifestyle destination.

Evgeniy Yakubovskiy, General Manager of Enevoria Development, said: As high-end property developers, we are delighted to partner with one of the leading and fastest growing global luxury hospitality brands on Nobu Al Marjan Island. Our collaboration with Nobu Hospitality will be instrumental in creating a signature international property ensuring impeccable lifestyle that is an integral part of our brand philosophy and a hallmark of Nobu style, combining flawless functionality with groundbreaking design solutions as well as an aesthetic minimalistic elegance.

Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hospitality, commented: We are thrilled to be continuing our expansion within the UAE and the vision for Al Marjan Island aligns seamlessly with the Nobu brand. The charm of Al Marjan Island is the ideal setting for our guests and in developing a community who are seeking an authentic destination lifestyle and living experience. We are proud to partner with Enevoria on this exciting development and look forward to introducing Nobu Al Marjan Island to guests and residents alike.

In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah recorded its highest visitor numbers, welcoming more than 1.13 million overnight arrivals, marking a 40 per cent increase in international visitors. As the emirate continues its growth as a world-class tourism destination, it is right on track to achieve the target of attracting three million visitors year on year by 2030. - TradeArabia News Service
For anyone who wanted The White Lotus to dig a little deeper into its characters hypocrisy, privileged American tourism fantasies and class warfare waged in poshly exotic locales, Brandon Cronenbergs third feature, Infinity Pool, is the answer to your prayers.

Be warned: This is no middle-of-the-road picnic. Like his father, David Cronenberg (Scanners, Crimes of the Future and so much in between), the younger Cronenberg as writer-director bores in on all sorts of grisliness and body horror, though never settling for kicks, or ultraviolence for the sake of cheap, sadistic fun. The cool, sleek filmmaking and the sinister escalations of nerve exhibited by Cronenberg in Infinity Pool may go right to the edge in terms of sexual content and bloody deeds, or get momentarily lost in the narrative here and there. But this is a confident, considered piece of mind-bending filmmaking, with something like a moral compass.

Failed one-time novelist James (Alexander Skarsgard) and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman), a wealthy publishers daughter, are vacationing in the fictional Croatia-adjacent country of La Tolqa. (Cronenberg made the movie in Croatia and Hungary.) One day at breakfast, James meets one of his very few literary fans, aspiring actress Gabi (Mia Goth). She and her architect partner Alban (Jalil Lespert) are also staying at the securely locked-down resort, where guests are not allowed beyond the border of the compound, as a guard says at one point, beneath the barbed wire front gate.

The flirtatious couple invites James and Em for a coastal excursion in a borrowed Cadillac convertible. Why say no? From there, all the reasons they should have declined the invitation proceed to take Infinity Pool in its preposterously absorbing direction.

With James behind the wheel (this parts in the trailer; no spoiler here), theres a scary matter of accidental vehicular homicide and the first of several run-ins with the local police. The key story element of the script hinges on a quaint local custom, any time someone is killed, mistakenly or on purpose, in this foreign land. The eldest son of the wronged family has the right to execute the perpetrator under police supervision.

Theres a twist, also in the trailer and a fairly early development in the narrative. Its a lulu: Somehow La Tolqa has perfected the art of body doubling, in which an exact replica of a human being, complete with their memories, can be manufactured for a fee, thereby letting the real human go free while the double takes the rap. It sounds deeply far-fetched, and it is. And Cronenberg finesses it sincerely and straightforwardly enough, especially in the inspired first half, to make it work.

The second halfs spottier, and a bit sludgy in parts. But in important ways, Infinity Pool sticks to its guns and has the good sense to not let James off the hook as he descends into madness, depravity and the bizarre catharsis that comes with the art of doppelganger-ing. Skarsgard, Coleman and especially Goth register strongly and commit fiercely, with hints of insane black humor.

Midway through Infinity Pool, which somehow got re-rated from NC-17 down to a hilariously boundary-stretching R, theres a hallucinatory sex scene (also a drug scene; its a twofer) that goes on long enough to suggest Cronenberg and his talented editor James Vandewater slipped out for coffee and never came back that day. So be it. Cronenberg knows what hes doing, and this is his most assured act of science-fiction effrontery to date.
GREENSBORO  A student presentation held at Bennett College on Monday championed a reparations commission bill in Congress and called for small Historically Black Colleges and Universities like Bennett to be included in future reparations repayment.

The presentation, created and directed by sophomore Makaela Reed, combined elements of drama, debate and formal speech.

It followed a screening of the new documentary film about reparations, "The Big Payback" Monday afternoon at the college. The filmmakers expect to visit other HBCUs in the state soon as part of their efforts to promote the film and advocate for a reparations commission. Reed was tapped as creator and leader for the presentation by Bennett College president Suzanne Walsh.

"Reparations means funding; it means respect," Reed said, while in character during the presentation. "It means preserving those institutions that made sure our needs were met, especially those HBCUs that paved the way.

In a brief interview, Reed said that encouraging passage of the U.S. House bill known as H.R. 40 was among her goals for the presentation.

H.R. 40 calls on the United States to form a commission to study and propose recommendations for providing reparations to African Americans. It specifies the commission would examine slavery and discrimination in the former American Colonies and in the United States, from 1619 to the present, and suggest remedies.

The bill also says the commission shall identify, "the role of federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery," the forms of discrimination faced by freed slaves and their descendants, and the "lingering negative effects of slavery on living African Americans and society."

Co-directors Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow shared their film in front of an audience of more than 100 at Bennett, as the kickoff of what they expect to be a series of events at HBCUs across the United States, starting in North Carolina.

Robin Rue Simmons, the central figure highlighted in the documentary, also was in attendance at the screening. She is a current not-for-profit leader and former city alderman for Evanston, Ill., where she recently stewarded the nation's first ever tax-funded reparations bill into existence. The first round of reparations in Evanston features grants of up to $25,000 per person to help longtime elderly Black residents who'd collectively faced housing discrimination pay for housing-related expenses like mortgages, home purchases and repairs.

Joseph Alston, chairman of the One High Point Commission was among those in attendance. The commission, created by High Point City Council on Feb. 7, 2022, was charged with exploring community reparations for Black citizens of the city.

"What you've done for me," he told Simmons, "is solidify that we are on the right track."
According to Foreign Relations Department of North and East Syria on Monday, January 9, 2023, a delegation from the State of Barbados visited North and East Syria, headed by the Deputy Head of Consular Affairs in the country, Andre Badmore.

The delegation was received by the deputy co-chair of the Department, Fanar al-Kait, the member of the administrative Body of the department, Khaled Ibrahim, the member of Women's Protection Units YPJ office, Lana Hussein, and a deputy in the Women's Body, Hwaida Muhammad Salim Muhammad. The meeting focused on the situation in Syria and the need to resolve the crisis in accordance with United Nations Resolution 2254, and the humanitarian, economic and security situation in the region.

For his part, al-Kait touched on the Autonomous Administration's adoption of the national dialogue, and the rapprochement between the Damascus government and the Turkish occupation state, and the Turkish occupation' threats and its continuous attacks on Syrian territory, which contributes to "the return of terrorism again."

He also referred to the economic and humanitarian consequences of closing the Tal Kocer crossing, which he considered that unfair to millions of Syrians.

Al-Kait stressed that the Autonomous Administration will continue to cooperate with Barbados, and all countries that have citizens and children in the regions of North and East Syria.

In turn, Andre Padmore said, "We share the pain, suffering, and loss that peoples of North and East Syria suffered in these years, and we hope that you will continue your struggle and work with your forces for the sake of humanity."

He thanked the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces for fighting terrorism on behalf of the whole world, and for helping them in return of Barbados's citizens.

At the end of the meeting, a woman and 2 children from the families of ISIS mercenaries were handed over, according to an official handover document between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the state of Barbados.

a.k

ANHA
After more than a decade of Turkish war on Syria, Russia is trying hard to bring the two parties (Ankara and Damascus) closer together. Perhaps the meeting of the Turkish Minister of War, Hulusi Akar, with the Minister of Defense of the Damascus government, Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow, was part of this path.

Reports indicate that the Russian efforts will not succeed in reaching a rapprochement between Damascus and the Turkish occupation state, especially since the latter is the one that sent mercenaries to all parts of Syria, fueled sectarianism and national intolerance by inciting against sects, religions and nationalities in Syria, and changed the country's demography and occupied large parts of the north Syrian, continues to kill citizens and soldiers alike.

Any process of rapprochement between the two parties needs to address the causes of the problem between the two parties. Perhaps the nature in which Turkey was formed does not allow it to change its bloody occupation approach, and therefore it is very difficult for Ankara to implement the conditions of the Damascus government, which is justified by the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation army and the cessation of support for mercenaries in the occupied areas. Perhaps, this explains the almost complete absence to talk about the Turkish rapprochement with the Damascus government on the media, which is close to the Justice and Development government, following the conditions of Damascus.

And about the path of rapprochement, Muhammad Noureddine, a researcher in Turkish affairs, spoke to our agency, saying: "The end of 2022 witnessed the so-called Turkish road map for rapprochement with Damascus, in order to hold a meeting between Erdogan and Assad, as the preparation for this map took place through the meeting between Syrian, Turkish and Russian defense ministers in Moscow.

He added, "Despite the statements issued by the three ministries of defense that described the meeting as positive, we later found that the road map did not proceed as those countries wanted. The meeting of foreign ministers was postponed, and a hypothetical date was set in mid-February without it must be confirmed that this date is final or will be postponed or cancelled.

The occupying power is not serious about rapprochement

Regarding the postponement of the meeting of Foreign Ministers, Davutoglu and Al-Miqdad, Nouriddine saw that jurisprudence differed regarding the reasons that led to the postponement. Whether there were any stumbling blocks and obstacles that prevented that, noting that "the Turkish side was the initiating party for the reconciliation, as well as the Russian side, in order to mitigate from the burden of the Syrian crisis that falls on his shoulders through the rapprochement between Ankara and Damascus, but it can be said that the failure to complete this path from the last meeting of defense ministers comes primarily and perhaps completely from the Turkish side, as the Syrian side was waiting for practical steps from the Turkish side to complete this path, through Turkey's commitment - according to what the Syrian president made clear - to withdraw its army from Syria and strike terrorist militants in Idlib and the areas controlled by Turkey.

He stressed that "the Turks rejected what might be called Syria's conditions, not out of a moody desire for that, but the Turkish desire for reconciliation with Damascus was not serious, but rather it wanted Erdogan to use the rapprochement card in his electoral campaign for the presidency, whose battle will take place next May. He also pointed out that the Syrian side was not able to agree to complete the political track through a meeting of foreign ministers, without obtaining partial guarantees that reflect Turkeys commitment to a clear and time-scheduled road map, which can begin to be implemented from now until the presidential elections. and then.

The Damascus government did not rush to rapprochement

He added, "Turkey did not get (as he expected) a rush from Damascus towards meeting foreign ministers and even meeting presidents. They were surprised by Damascus' solid position, unwilling to continue the political track without commitments and guarantees from Turkey to meet part of Syria's demands."

A

ANHA
The two sides exchanged views regarding the general situation in all of Syria and NES in particular. The Union delegation was put in the picture of the economic crisis in the regions of NES as a result of the blockade, in addition to the lack of humanitarian and relief aid. The International transport through Damascus as required, which reflects negatively on the living conditions of citizens. They were also placed in the form of other challenges facing the Autonomous Administration, including political and security, in addition to the challenge of terrorism, the situation of ISIS mercenaries, the need to prosecute them, the situation of their families in Al-Hol and Roj camps, and the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities regarding this file.

The meeting also dealt with the threats of the Turkish state, which is exploiting the crisis between Russia and Ukraine to carry out a new aggression against the region, which, if it happens, will lead to a new wave of displacement and destabilize the region, which serves ISIS and terrorism.

For its part, the delegation of the Federation of Trade Unions valued the sacrifices of the Kurds and the components of NES in the face of terrorism. He also expressed his admiration for the experience of the Autonomous Administration, which was formed from the various components of northern and eastern Syria, in addition to the role played by women, and reaffirmed their support for the Autonomous Administration and their condemnation of the Turkish attacks that destabilize the region.

A

ANHA
A bill that supporters said will give health care professionals the right to object to providing care they morally disagree with, and that opponents say would put the lives of Montanans at risk, saw vigorous debate Monday.

House Bill 303 is from Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell. It is similar to a bill from Rep. Keith Regier, Rep. Amy Regier's father, that died in the Senate last session.

The freedom to live and work consistent with one's conscience is critical. It is at the heart of what motivates many who enter the medical field, Rep. Amy Regier said Monday when presenting her bill to the House Judiciary Committee. Our profession is full of individuals who dedicate their lives to healing and doing no harm. And when we protect the rights of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to do no harm, we're actually protecting the lives and health of patients as well.

Regier, a nurse, said the advance of health care offerings over the last several decades has created situations where providers can be met with a conflict of interest when they have a religious, moral or ethical objection to a specific type of care.

The sponsor listed practices like assisted suicide, prescribing marijuana, prescribing opioids, gene editing on fetuses in utero and more as things a provider may not agree with providing. She also focused on abortion care, and that was a procedure many who testified in support of the bill focused on too. The legislation has a section that would require affirmative consent from anyone providing abortion care.

Regier emphasized that the focus of the bill was on procedures that would create a conflict, not the person being treated.

This bill is procedure-based, not person-based, Regier said.

However, several people who testified noted that certain populations of people have need-specific care, such as abortions or gender-affirming care. State Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the first transgender woman to openly serve in elected office in Montana, pushed Regier during questioning from the committee.

"For some of us, myself included, who we are is inextricable from the services we need," Zephyr said.

Heather OHara, a master's-prepared nurse and vice president of the Montana Hospital Association, spoke against the bill, saying personal beliefs or biases should not dictate patient care.

In our rural health care settings, knowing you are hundreds of miles away from the next provider and this is your only option, should the care provider (make decisions based) on their conscience whether treatment is appropriate or should they use their clinical judgment or medical experience? OHara asked.

One of the supporters of the bill was Jeff Laszloffy, who runs the Montana Family Foundation. He described a situation from 2007 when a pharmacist in Broadus decided to stop selling birth control because of a religious objection. Birth control does not cause abortions; methods such as the pill prevent ovulation and prevent fertilization and intrauterine devices kill sperm before they can reach an egg.

During the hearing in 2008, Laszloffy said his organization wanted to see a physicians conscience clause passed by the Legislature, according to reporting at the time by the Flathead Beacon.

As advances in medicine and medical technology continue to outpace the ability of medical ethicists to keep up, the last line of defense is often the conscience of the provider themselves, Laszloffy said Monday. We ask you to keep this last line of defense intact.

Stephanie Nichols, legal counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance for Defending Freedom, argued that the federal government has forced doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others to provide abortion services and gender transition to minors against their conscience.

But many opponents to the bill pointed out that there are already existing protections for providers who have moral objections to providing certain types of care.

The examples from proponents are all things they can currently decline to do, and the example of amputating a leg for some with body dysmorphic disorder are ethically obligated to refuse to do, said Dr. Lauren Wilson, a pediatric hospitalist in Missoula and president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric.

Hospitals also have ethics boards to handle situations of objections to certain types of care, said Dr. Nathan Allen, an emergency room physician and health care ethics consultant who chairs his hospitals ethics committee.

While providers have rights to those objections, they cannot exist carte blanche without qualifications or as a get-out-of-jail-free card," Allen told the committee.

Additionally, Montana already allows providers the right to refuse participation in abortion.

This is not about solving a problem in Montana. In fact, Montana law already allows hospitals and providers to refuse to provide abortions altogether with no exception for urgent medical needs, said Quinn Leighton, executive director of external affairs at Planned Parenthood of Montana.

Shawn Reagor, with the Montana Human Rights Network, said that gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors are extremely rare in Montana.

Dr. Shaun Gillis, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Bozeman, backed the bill. She said she had a hard time finding a residency program where abortion procedures were something future doctors were not required to learn. But shes been practicing about 20 years since then and never had to provide an abortion, nor does the hospital in town perform them.

"But there have been discussions of doing that moving forward, and I'm a little bit concerned about what that might mean for my employment status if I did not wish to provide those procedures," Gillis said.

Several opponents said they worried the bill was far too broad and took away any recourse for patients harmed by not getting care, that it did not ensure patients would be connected to proper care or receive information about diagnoses or that employers could not take action if an employee's objections hampered their ability to run their business.

Al Smith, a lobbyist for the Montana Trial Lawyers, said the bill was too broad, too ambiguous (and) it would definitely end up in court in a myriad of different ways and is just not necessarily needed at this time.
The state Senate voted down a bill to strip language struck down as unconstitutional from Montanas code, with several Republicans encouraging a wait-and-see approach to litigation currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Senate Bill 31 brought by Sen. Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, sought to repeal the Ballot Interference Prevention Act, or BIPA, at the request of the Commissioner of Political Practices. Following rulings that found the law unconstitutional, it remains unenforceable, she said. The bill came out of a legislative interim committee unanimously.

(Commissioner of Political Practices) could not enforce it even if they wanted to, McKamey said Monday, calling the remaining state law code clutter.

In 2018 voters approved BIPA with 63% of the vote after the Legislature advanced it as a referendum the previous year. The law focuses on the issue of ballot collection, restricting one person from returning a maximum of six ballots.

The ACLU, Native American tribes and advocacy groups sued in March to block it, arguing the law disproportionately harms American Indians who live in rural areas and rely on others to collect and convey their ballots to elections offices or post offices.

In 2020, the law was found unconstitutional by Yellowstone County District Court Judge Jessica Fehr, writing it would "significantly suppress vote turnout by disproportionately harming rural communities, the Associated Press reported.

A similar law, outlawing paid ballot collection by third parties, passed in 2021 and was struck down as unconstitutional in a state district court last year. That ruling has been appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.

But Republicans from the Senates conservative wing on Monday argued that the language should remain in place.

I believe that as we consider judicial reform in this body and consider our own position and authority legislatively and respecting the will of the people, that we should actually keep this law on the books, said Sen. Theresa Manzella from Hamilton.

Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, pointed to the case Moore v. Harper being considered by the nations high court dealing with legislative authority and elections, saying he believed it would be prudent to see how the justices rule.

The case centers around arguments from North Carolinas GOP Legislature which argues the independent state legislature legal theory. Essentially the argument claims state courts have little to no authority to limit the authority of legislatures to set rules around federal elections.

The Supreme Court held arguments last December but has not yet issued a ruling. Legal experts say the justices could also issue a scaled back ruling that would expand legislative authority but not to the extent requested by North Carolina.

Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, noted that the ruling in Montana was not appealed and that SB 31 is about clarity.

I think its confusing to the public to keep things on our books that arent constitutional, she said.

The Senate voted down SB 31 on a vote of 21-27.

On Friday the Senate passed a repeal of another election law found unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds, this time in federal court. Last year a judge struck down Montanas Clean Campaign Act requiring any candidate or political committee that distributes or broadcasts negative campaign materials within 10 days of an election to notify the targeted candidates in order to give them a chance to respond.

The Senate voted for the repeal in Senate Bill 30, also carried by McKamey, on a vote of 34-15.
Saudi-based Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) said it has signed an agreement with Integrated Telecom Company (Salam) and Telecommunications Towers Company (Tawal) to provide telecoms services for the first phase of the Diriyah project, home to Unesco World Heritage Site.

The 15-year design, build and operate contract covers open-access services for visitors, tenants, and residents of Diriyah and fiber-optic connectivity for 2,000 plots in addition to key services in the Wadi Hanifah and Wadi Safar areas, said a statement from DGDA.

Work began on the construction of temporary towers last year in bid to provide telecommunications services during the construction phase, it stated.

One of the projects most notable sustainability features is the shared use of each tower among all three primary Saudi mobile operators - STC, Mobily, and Zain - to minimize the number of towers required for coverage and their impact on the urban silhouette and landscape.

According to DGDA, the camouflaged towers will be used to blend in with the surrounding heritage and architectural design. The project will also include high-speed fiber optics, 4G and 5G wireless services, as well as a range of indoor solutions, it added.

As per the deal, more than 80 telecommunication towers are expected to be erected over the next three years, remarked CEO Jerry Inzerillo after signing the agreements with Salam CEO Engineer Ahmed Al Anqari, and Tawal CEO Engineer Mohammed Alhakbani.

"Diriyah prioritizes telecommunications and network access across all of its projects, adhering to the highest global standards," said Inzerillo.

According to him, the contract with Salam and Tawal will boost Diriyahs offering, providing high-speed wireless and fiber connectivity to tenants, residents, and visitors to Diriyah, a key element that will help enhance overall quality of life.

The project is part of Diriyahs comprehensive plan to offer neutrally managed high-speed connectivity, support the Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, integrate smart city technology, and allow our residents and visitors to easily select their preferred service provider, he stated.

Al Anqari expressed delight at Salam's contribution towards Saudi Vision 2030, not only by supporting the kingdoms digital transformation journey but also by helping in the diversification and sustainability of the economy.

"We are proud to be partnering with such visionary companies and look forward to what the next 15 years bring to Saudi Arabia and to Salam," he added.

Alhakbani said Tawal had over the years become the primary enabler of key information and telecommunications technology infrastructure requirements across Saudi Arabia.

"We are extremely pleased to enter into this agreement with Diriyah, newly announced as joining the Public Investment Funds giga project portfolio. This project will see us develop a state-of-the-art IT and telecom infrastructure that will be shared between service providers, enabling them to host the latest technologies in Diriyah," he noted.

"Set to be erected in areas characterized by traditional and authentic Najdi architecture, the telecom towers will blend seamlessly into their surroundings. In addition, the project will offer users indoor connectivity solutions, further establishing Diriyah as a modern and sustainable destination," he added.

The shared infrastructure will cut costs for service providers and will reduce the number of towers needed for coverage and provide reliable telecom services across the Diriyah development, thus guaranteeing connectivity.

New telecom services across Wadi Hanifah and Wadi Safar will also improve wireless connectivity and provide 4G and 5G services to residents and visitors while replacing providers own towers with improved camouflaged ones that better blend in with the surroundings.-TradeArabia News Service
State prison officials and Powell County law enforcement are investigating the suspected homicide of a 49-year-old man who had been an inmate at Montana State Prison since 2019.

Todd C. Fisher of Glendive was pronounced dead on Sunday, according to a press release from the Montana Department of Corrections sent Monday afternoon.

The agency said no further information would be released while the investigation was pending, but added the incident appeared to be isolated.

Fisher was sentenced in 2019 to 70 years in state prison for the murder of his father.
They threatened in October to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and now they have.

The lawsuit seeks protections under the Endangered Species Act for Montanas population of Arctic grayling, with special focus on the river-dwelling grayling in the Big Hole River and the alleged impact of irrigation withdrawals.

Its a battle thats been fought before, but the parties filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Butte say climate change has upped the ante.

The plaintiffs include two environmental groups  the Center for Biological Diversity and Western Watersheds Project  along with Pat Munday, a Butte resident and professor at Montana Technological University. They are being represented by Earthjustice, an environmental law non-profit headquartered in San Francisco.

These fish face a litany of threats, including over-withdrawal of water, habitat degradation, competition from non-native fish and now climate change on top of it all, said Emily Qiu, a lawyer with Earthjustice.

In October, the parties said they would sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if the agency did not initiate the process for listing the grayling under the Endangered Species Act.

They announced the lawsuit Monday.

Record years of drought and previous listing campaigns have spurred responses from the regions ranching community, which has no desire for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to start bird-dogging its irrigation practices.

In 1994, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Arctic grayling was a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, with the upper Big Hole River a critical threatened population stronghold.

In 1995, the Big Hole Watershed Committee was established after ranchers and others recognized a need to be proactive about critical issues facing the watershed.

The long winters in the upper Big Hole require cattle ranchers to grow an abundance of hay and alfalfa during the fleeting summers to feed livestock when snow covers the fields. That means pulling water from the Big Hole River for irrigation. And that impacts flows and temperatures in the river, which, in turn, impact the flow-and-temperature sensitive grayling.

The last two summers have been especially troublesome, with flows dropping and temperatures rising.

Pedro Marques, executive director of the Big Hole Watershed Committee, reacted in October to the groups threat to sue.

Our first comment is, Here we go again, Marques said then. The threat of litigation 28 years ago was effective in mobilizing a grassroots effort to develop a conservation strategy that has, by most accounts, been a tremendous success and continues to be a model across the West.

He noted that federal action could drive ranchers off the land, leaving it vulnerable to subdivision. And he referenced Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks efforts to stock French Creek and tributaries with grayling.

Marques and others have wondered how a federal recovery plan for the grayling in the Big Hole River would improve existing conservation agreements with ranchers.

A news release from the plaintiffs includes a quote from Munday, author of Montanas Last Best River: The Big Hole and Its People.

I fish the Big Hole River often and grayling are truly the jewel of the river, he said. It is incredibly sad that we must sue the Fish and Wildlife Service to follow the law and protect our natural heritage.

The service has said it does not comment on litigation.

Researchers have attributed the decline of the river-dwelling Arctic grayling to habitat degradation, competition with non-native fish, predation, climate change and exploitation by anglers of a notoriously gullible fish.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks, based on calculations tied to the number of effective breeders among Arctic grayling in the Big Hole River, estimates that the adult population of grayling in the river is probably around 1,000 fish, an estimate the agency describes as conservative.

In turn, advocates of listing the grayling have said the river-dwelling population is perilously low.

In July 2020, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Endangered Species Act protections for the Upper Missouri River distinct population segment of the Arctic grayling were not warranted, based on a review of the best available science.

The agency said then that critical conservation work completed by partners who included private landowners helped address threats to the species, including reduced river flows, degraded riparian areas, fish barriers and entrainment.

That observation preceded two memorably hot and dry summers, when low flows and rising temperatures in the Big Hole River caused fishing restrictions and closures and renewed concerns about water withdrawals for irrigation.

Anglers and fisheries biologists alike describe the Arctic grayling as a freshwater fish with a striking appearance. Most impressive is the dorsal fin, invariably described as sail-like.

The dorsal fins are typically fringed in red and dotted with large iridescent red, aqua or purple spots and markings, according to Montana Field Guides.

In short, the fish can be beautiful to behold.

A petition for protection of the grayling under the Endangered Species Act was first submitted in 1991 by the Biodiversity Legal Foundation.
Roughly 75,000 Montanans applied for student loan forgiveness before court challenges blocked registration last fall, according to state-level data released by the Biden administration Friday.

The enrollment numbers come one month ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on lawsuits that bottled up applications to the loan forgiveness program after four weeks.

Republican attorneys general from seven states won a stop to program in District Courts, arguing that Biden didnt the authority to cancel student loan debt and was misinterpreting a law concerning executive powers and student loan debt. One of the lawsuits cited the economic hardship to loan consolidators should the amount of debt in the market diminish.

Conservatives decried loan forgiveness as compounding federal debt, while dismissing the program as a subsidy for societys elites  college graduates.

The Biden administration estimates the repayment plan would cost almost $138 billion over the decade, and some critics have put it closer to $200 billion.

Millions of borrowers could be experiencing relief right now were it not for meritless lawsuits brought on by opponents of the program and elected officials who sued to deny their own constituents from getting much-needed relief, said Haris Talwar, a White House spokesperson in an email Friday. The Administration is confident our program is fully legal, and we are continuing to fight to deliver relief to tens of millions of eligible borrowers.

The loan forgiveness program offered up to $20,000 for debt relief to college loan borrowers earning up to $125,000 a year. The program was rooted in the federal governments decision to suspend loan payments during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the income cutoff for eligibility was $125,000, close to 90% of the applicants approved earned less than $75,000 annually, the White House reported.

Student loans are the norm at Montana universities and colleges. In the past decade roughly 80% of Montanas first-year, full-time students have borrowed, according to university system data. Among Montanas university graduates, 61% have borrowed money for college. The average owed is about $27,290 for state residents who received degrees.

The University of Montana recently assured students from families earning $50,000 a year or less that tuition would be completely covered debt-free through financial aid. The announcement came after officials learned that students from lower income households were choosing not to attend college because of debt concerns. The school calls the program the "Grizzly Promise Initiative."

Friday's loan forgiveness data scaled back the number of Montanans potentially benefiting from the program. Last September, the U.S. Department of Education indicated that more than 120,000 Montanans would qualify for the program. Fridays numbers, based on actual applications and automatic eligibility put the number of Montana borrowers potentially benefiting at 75,000 with 46,000 applications approved.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Feb. 28.
At a recent Senate Committee hearing, Senate Bill 142 was introduced to add protections for consumers and developers who pay impact fees.

Fees are imposed by local governments on residents and developers to defray the infrastructure costs needed to support new development. Opposing the bill were strong lobbying groups. Cities clearly did not want the state overseeing their impact fee programs.

The Committee voted 6-3 approving SB 142 with one amendment. It passed the full Senate 35-14. The amendment supported by cities effectively gutted most of the consumer protections including state oversight. This left only a few safeguards and eliminated transparency. The cities would be allowed to continue business as usual.

Cities mount strong oppositionThe League of Cities and Towns enlisted a large group of cities to testify at the hearing. There were about a dozen speakers opposed to the bill. League executive director presented arguments against the bill and claimed the state audits impact fees. There is no Montana agency that audits impact fees. Cities now collect $25 million in impact fees.

City abuses are well documentedLocal control is a catch phrases used by cities which means let us do what we want and dont look over our shoulders. With tight budgets, its easy for cities to look for creative ways to fund operations using impact fees. Impact fees, however, were never meant to serve this purpose.

Some of the problems: Impact fee studies are not performed every five years as required by law. Some cities are raising fees above the proportionate costs. Cities hire consultants to calculate new impact fees but cities can override what was determined to be the maximum allowable fees. Costs are padded using phantom projects (never built). Some impact fee projects are so far into the future that todays residents will see little to no benefit. Once collected, fees are spent on unrelated projects.

Litigation is in progressThere is pushback from the development community that face excessive or illegal fees.

Whitefish now finds itself embroiled in litigation because of its impact fees. A Class Action lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against the citys impact fees, demanding millions of dollars in refunds.

The lawsuit alleges city management violated state and federal laws when it overcharged both residents and builders.

The federal judge ruled the class action can proceed as a Fifth Amendment violation of the plaintiffs rights.

Looming problems may be on the horizonThere may be a bigger problem with impact fees in the future. Only half of the states in the U.S. allow impact fees. Some of the development community in those states have fought back because of the abuses similar to what was found in Montana.

In North Carolina, developers filed suit against cities and won a major victory in the courts. In 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled all impact fees collected on future infrastructure illegal. Cities had to provide an immediate benefit to development, not a promise to do so in the future. A 2022 ruling by this court declared impact fees subject to the Fifth Amendment, providing citizens and development protections under the takings clause.

As a result of these rulings, many North Carolina cities have suspended impact fee collections. Twenty-eight cities and counties in North Carolina have settled impact fee class action claims. Between 2019  2020, seven of these claims were settled, all at nearly 100%.

What could that mean for Montana?Montana cities could now be subject to the same constitutional challenges as North Carolina.

Montana cities are charging nearly double the water and sewer impact fees as North Carolina, yet developers in North Carolina rebelled against even these modest fees. With no oversight, cities will continue to stretch the limits or simply ignore Montana impact fee laws. If Montana residents or developers are pushed far enough by these abuses, they could follow in the footsteps of North Carolina developers.

A statewide court challenge or increasing class action litigation could result in cities facing tougher scrutiny and restrictions.

This in turn could hamper their ability to impose impact fees, resulting in significant loss of revenue and possibly massive refunds of previously collected fees.

That would be a lose/lose proposition for all of Montana.
SHELBYVILLE  The soon-to-be vacant position of Shelby County's state's attorney is set to be temporarily filled with the help of area state's attorney's offices.

The Shelby County Board voted during a special meeting Monday night to request that the resident circuit judge "take necessary action" to fill the position until a new states attorney can take this post full time.

"There is action the court can take to keep the office populated, keep the trials moving, and keep things going," said board Chairman Robert Orman at the meeting in a full courtroom at the Shelby County Courthouse

In response to questions from fellow board members, Orman said this action will involve having state's attorney's offices from other counties help fill the Shelby County position starting Wednesday.

The current Shelby County state's attorney, Nichole Kroncke, will leave her office Tuesday, Jan. 31, to become a special prosecutor for the Illinois States Attorneys Appellate Prosecutors Office. Shelby County's only assistant state's attorney, Jay Scott, is also set to end his employment on that day.

Orman said the court can temporarily fill the Shelby County position with the help of area state's attorney's offices without the county board's consent, but he wanted the board to take a vote on this matter for the record.

During the special meeting, the board also had been scheduled to discuss and vote on the recommendation of the Republican Central Committee to appoint a Shelby County states attorney to fill the vacancy created by Republican Kroncke's depature.

"The Republican chairman has notified me there is no action to be taken," Orman said Monday night without elaborating.

Board members indicated that they had anticipated being able to discuss and vote on a specific appointee at the special meeting. Some on the board and in the audience said they wanted to make sure to hear information about the appointee's legal record before a vote was taken.

In other matters, the board had been scheduled to vote on rescinding its Jan. 12 vote on an agreement with the AFSCME union representing county employees and approving a new agreement regarding a case before the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

Orman read the text of the new agreement to the board, but members responded that the wording sounded exactly the same. Orman subsequently continued discussion on this matter to the board's Feb. 2 meeting, where he said the board also may take up the Republican state's attorney appointee issue again.
HICKORY  The Catawba Valley Community College Small Business Center will host a no-cost Five Ways for Your Small Business to Become Known in the Marketplace" webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 9-11 a.m. The program will be in webinar format, allowing participants to participate from their computers and mobile devices.

The webinar is designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs market their business to their customers in the right places at the right times. This webinar will explore advertising, public relations, cold calling, social media, and relationship marketing.

There is no charge to attend this webinar, but pre-registration is required. To register or for more information contact the CVCC Small Business Center at 828-327-7000, ext. 4117 or visit http://sbc.cvcc.edu to register online.
The Fallen Heroes Ministry honored a deceased U.S. Army major on Monday with a Bumgarner Oil Co. truck tanker. The tanker, featuring Maj. Larry Bauguess Jr., was revealed to his family in the Sandy Ridge Baptist Church parking lot.

Bauguess was stationed in Afghanistan on Operation Enduring Freedom, said his father, Larry John Bauguess Sr.

His mother, Martha Bauguess, said Bauguess was killed in 2007 during a peace meeting in a schoolhouse in Pakistan. He died defending others and was the only fatality, she said.

Bauguess was in the 82nd Airborne Division, and was a U.S. Army jumpmaster, his mother said. She added that he was a graduate of Appalachian State University.

His parents live in Wilkesboro and remember him as a loving father of two daughters.

Fallen Heroes collaborates with Bumgarner Oil Co. in Hickory to honor soldiers from North Carolina who died in battle. The trucks tanker is covered with an image of the service member who died and a Bible verse.

The verse on Bauguess tanker is John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Around 40,000 Chinese students are expected to land in the coming months. Image: Shutterstock

Australian universities are scrambling to get ready for the sudden return of over 40,000 Chinese students after the country announced it would no longer certify online qualifications from overseas universities.

On Saturday, Chinas Ministry of Education announced the end of special certification rules that were in place during the pandemic.

In order to effectively protect the interests of overseas students and maintain education fairness, our centre has decided to cancel the special certification rules, the Ministry said, according to a statement translated online.

For the 2023 Spring Semester (Southern Hemisphere Autumn Semester) and after that, the foreign (overseas) diploma certificates obtained by distance learning (including new enrolment and continuing study), the centre will no longer provide certification services.

Around 26 per cent of international students studying in Australia come from China, according to the Department of Education.

Education Minister Jason Clare welcomed the return of Chinese students to our shores.

It is good that Chinese students are coming back, he told journalists on Monday, adding that it creates challenges with getting on flights, getting visas, getting accommodation.

Clare said his department would liaise with Home Affairs to help speed up the processing of student visas.

Airlines have reportedly seen an uptick in inquiries from China as students look to make their return, and there are concerns that the current student accommodation simply wont be able to handle a sudden increase in demand.

With students scrambling to return earlier than expected, we will see student accommodation full in many markets  which will put pressure on already tight rental markets as students look elsewhere for places to live, executive director of the Student Accomodation Council Torie Brown said.

Rental prices across the country have ballooned by over 22 per cent in the last two years as the rental market has recovered from a pandemic-led dip.

Universities say they are looking forward to having more students on campus as the sector looks to rebuild following a catastrophic drop in international student enrolments led to fears of a $6 billion drop in revenue over the coming years.

Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson said Chinas announcement happening close to start of the academic year means there are obvious logistical issues that need to be worked through but that it is a step toward returning the higher education institutions to their pre-pandemic status.

Education is our largest services export and generated more than $40 billion in 2019 while boosting Australias social fabric, she said.

Working back to this position of strength we held prior to the pandemic is in the interest of universities and our nation.
Cawa graduates from Carson-Newman

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.  Ashley Cawa of Concord graduated from Carson-Newman University at the conclusion of the institutions fall semester. She received a Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner.

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christ-centered, liberal arts-based university affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

Safrit earns deans list honors

CANTON, NY  Rachel M. Safrit, a SUNY Canton Health Care Management major from Kannapolis, earned deans list honors during the fall 2022 semester.

I join the colleges faculty, staff and administration in offering heartfelt congratulations to the students whove made the deans list, Szafran said. Were inspired by your work and see great promise in all thats to come during your time with us.

Deans list recognizes full-time students with a GPA between 3.25 and 3.74. A complete list of all honor students runs on www.canton.edu.

Rippey inducted into Phi Kappa Phi

BATON ROUGE, LA  Mackenzie Rippey of Landis was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nations oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Rippey was initiated at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Rippey is among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Cope achieves academic honors

DUDLEY, MA  Brandon Cope from Kannapolis achieved academic honors for the fall 2022 semester at Nichols College.

The presidents list and deans list recognize those students who achieve high grades during a single semester. To be included on the presidents list, a student must have a grade point average of 3.85 or higher for at least 12 undergraduate credit-hours and must have received no grades below B- during the semester. Students with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 for at least 12 undergraduate credit-hours and no grades below B- will receive deans list honors.

Anderson, Tolone named to deans list

BRIDGEWATER, VA  Nearly 550 students at Bridgewater College were named to the Fall 2022 deans list, which was announced by Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Leona A. Sevick. Students on the deans list have attained a 3.4 or better grade point average out of a possible 4.0.

Students from the local area include Aidan Anderson of Charlotte and Kathryn Tolone of Concord.

Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Wells Fargo is making big changes to its Charlotte office spaces  including a move out of the uptown building thats served as an East Coast hub for the bank and its predecessor for nearly four decades.

The bank will move employees out of the One and Two Wells Fargo Center buildings, according to a memo sent to Charlotte-area employees on Tuesday morning. The changes will impact thousands of workers.

Offices will be consolidated, with workers moving to the Three Wells Fargo Center and 550 S. Tryon Street, the former Duke Energy building.

That tower on South Tryon Street will effectively become the banks new Charlotte headquarters. By the end of this year, Wells Fargo will occupy 95% of the office space at 550 S. Tryon, the memo said. The bank already owned the building.

Wells Fargo is also making major upgrades to its facilities, renovating 21 floors at 550 S. Tryon and 14 floors at Three Wells Fargo Center at 401 S. Tryon St.

Its so much easier for our teams to work together when they are together, said Mary Mack, the banks CEO of consumer and small business banking, in an interview Tuesday with The Charlotte Observer. We want to create the environment where people want to be here.

Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco but has its largest employment hub in Charlotte, with about 27,000 workers here.

Wells Fargos moves impacts more than just the banks workers.

Office vacancy rates in uptown were just under 13% as of late last year, according to data from CoStar Group, a real estate research firm. Thats more than double what they were to start 2020, when rates were 6% in uptown.

Vacancy rates for the Charlotte market overall were around 11% in late 2022; they stood at about 6.9% in the first quarter of 2020.

Other Wells Fargo office changes

In addition to shuffling employees in its uptown buildings, Wells Fargo is also making major upgrades to its Customer Information Center in north Charlotte, close to University City.

Some 10,000 employees work out of the center, a 157-acre campus off of W.T. Harris Boulevard. Its the banks largest employment site across the country, Mack said.

The bank is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the campus over the next several years, adding more work spaces, a new parking deck and a revamped food court.

About One Wells Fargo Center

Dubbed the jukebox building for its curved design, One Wells Fargo Center opened in 1988. At 42 stories  or about 590 feet  it stood as the tallest building in Charlotte at the time.

As many as 3,000 bank employees used to work out of the building, which was developed by Childress Klein for Wells Fargos predecessor, First Union.

The building is under relatively new ownership.

It was last sold in March 2016 to an LLC affiliated with Nevada businessman Dennis Troesch for $284 million. Tampa-based Vision Properties is the managing and operating entity in the buildings ownership.

Tuesdays announcement comes at a time when the jukebox building is undergoing a number of changes.

That includes a remodeling of the top two floors from bank executive conference rooms to an amenity space for tenants. There will be lounge seating, billiards, conference rooms and terraces for people to enjoy the sweeping views of uptown Charlotte, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The commercial real estate firm is handling leasing in the building.

The buildings ground-floor lobby also was recently renovated with new furniture. A new coffee shop, Night Swim, opened up inside. The Childress Klein YMCA is located inside the building. Plus, crews have been busy upgrading the outdoor plaza.

Vision Properties invested $10 million in renovations in 2021.

As of late last year, One Wells Fargo was 62% leased, according to a fact sheet provided to The Charlotte Observer by Cushman & Wakefield. Asking rents were listed between $38.50 and $42 per square foot.

Wells Fargo already had taken steps to shrink its footprint in the uptown tower. In 2020, Wells Fargo was set to vacate more than 500,000 square feet of space in the building over the next year and a half, the Charlotte Business Journal reported at the time.

About Two Wells Fargo Center

Originally called Jefferson First Union Tower and later First Union Plaza, the 32-story building was finished in 1971.

It is one of four office towers that comprise the uptown Wells Fargo Complex. The building has close to 760,000 square feet of space.


The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) posted notices in over 1000 homes in Tughlakabad area of New Delhi earlier this month, causing consternation among residents.

Arbab Ali & Ubair al-Hameed | TwoCircles.net

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NEW DELHI  Laxmi Devi, 44, left her home early on January 11 to work as a domestic helper in the neighbourhood of Govindpuri in south Delhi. She noticed a letter had been taped to the wall right outside her house. She requested her 16-year-old son Abhay to read the writing. It was an eviction notice, much to Laxmis horror.

In the Bangali Colony in the adjacent Tughlakabad neighbourhood of Delhi, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) posted notices similar to the one on Laxmis wall in over 1000 additional homes.

The Bangali colony, which is close to the famous Tughlaqabad Fort, which was constructed in the 14th century and is largely in ruins, accommodates people who have primarily come from West Bengal and Bihar. Hindus and Muslims live side by side in the neighbourhood, which is primarily populated by those from economically and socially marginalized communities. Residents claim that up to 20,000 people will be impacted by the demolition drive.

In March 2001, an applicant by the name of S.N. Bharadwaj filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging that the ASI had neglected to protect, maintain, and preserve the historic Tughlakabad Fort. He claimed that numerous unauthorised residents have since entered the fort grounds and built their homes with the intention of grabbing government land for residential use.

In response to the petition, the Delhi High Court asked ASI to look into the grievances in proper perspective and take necessary action. The court refused to legitimize the petitioners demand. However, the petitioner, dissatisfied with the manner of disposition, petitioned the Supreme Court in 2002. And the Apex court ordered the encroachment to be removed.

Authorities & land mafia nexus not held accountable

Pooja Devi, 39, another resident of the area, stated that they have been given 15 days to vacate. She claimed that the police arrived in force on January 11 and threatened them that if they did not vacate on time, they would have to pay for the rubble removal as well.

Devi has four children, three daughters and one son, all aged between 12 and 2 years. Where am I going to take them in this cold? she asked.

Devi and about 100 other women protested the demolition orders a few days ago. The police harassed and detained us, she said.

Ranjeev, 41, a guard at a nearby ATM, was also served with an eviction notice. In 2003, he relocated to this area of Delhi. My two children are about to take their annual exams. How can they expect them to study when their home is being demolished? he wondered.

Ranjeev said that given the Supreme Court in its order held local authorities as responsible parties in the matter which colluded to allow construction, why should they be allowed to go scot-free even after being held responsible?

He kept emphasizing that the local authorities remain in cohort with the illegal land mafia in the area and asked why shouldnt they be held accountable.

He told us that he purchased the land from local builders in 2003. He claimed that when he began construction on his house, the police took money from him to allow it to be built.

Now the same police officers came and posted an eviction notice on my front door, he explained. Ranjeev stated that he only has a General Power of Attorney (GPA) over the property.

If the authorities knew settling on this land is illegal, why did they allow us to settle in the first place? Shouldnt the officials be held accountable? Ranjeev queried.

Just like Ranjeev, Asif Khan, 47, also brought a plot, measuring 70 yards, on General Power of Attorney (GPA) from a property dealer. Khan, a native of Bengal, said to us that he moved his family here ten years ago when property values in the colony were not as high. Khan claimed that he borrowed money at the time and is still paying it back.

Officials didnt touch BJP leaders property in demolition zone

Many residents claimed that one of Ramesh Biduris properties, a BJP leader and Member of Parliament from South Delhi, is also in the demolition zone, but that no notice was served on it.

His property is only 100 meters from the fort, a resident who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from Mr Biduri said. Ours is about 700 metres away. Why didnt they serve him with a notice? wondered the anonymous resident.

They only come for the poor, he added, sobbing.

When we visited the area on January 18, members of the local builder lobby and politicians harassed residents and asked them not to speak to the press about the issue.

Legal twists & turns

In November 2011, the apex court turned down the stay on the matter by the Delhi High Court saying that there is no stay order in the matter and the concerned authorities are directed to take appropriate steps in accordance with law.

The court also issued an order directing the ASI to file an affidavit stating how many people lived in the protected monument of Tughlaqabad Fort based on an aerial survey conducted in 1993.

The Fort has its national importance. It has been declared a protected monument. Therefore, it is the legal as well as the ethical obligation of the concerned authorities to protect this heritage site and to properly maintain it. Notwithstanding, over a period of time, the place is encroached upon and rampant illegal construction carried out by many people, the Supreme Court observed in an order in 2016.

In 2017, a committee was formed to oversee the surveying of the structure to determine which of them existed in 1993.

The Delhi High Court was given authority in the 2016 order to issue appropriate orders and to ensure that the Supreme Courts orders were followed.

The Registry is directed to forward the case records to the High Court. The Delhi High Court granted ASI six weeks as a last indulgence in November 2022 to remove encroachments in and around the Tughlaqabad Fort.

Why issue Aadhar, Voter & Ration card on encroached land

A Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad made it clear that non-compliance with its order will lead to strict action by the court and that it will call for the appearance of members of a committee which was formed in 2017 to oversee the task of surveying the structure to determine which of them existed in 1993.

The Bench further instructed the committee members to submit status reports and requested the power utility BSES to cooperate because the sites energy supply needed to be cut off before encroachments could be removed.

Khan showed his BSES power meter, along with his voter, ration, and Aadhar cards.

Why does the government give us BSES meters on encroached land, ration cards, and voter cards? Khan rhetorically questioned us.

Khan claimed that since all of his relatives reside in the Bengali Colony, none of them will have anywhere to go in the case of demolition.

Active collusion of local Authorities: Court

According to the writ petition, the Delhi Government gave the Fort and the 2661 bighas of land inside the fortification wall to the ASI with the intention of protecting, preserving, and developing the entire opening area next to the monument inside the fort wall.

The petition further stated that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) received 4435 bighas for upkeep. The apex court had observed in 2016 that the Government land was allowed to be encroached by all the respondents and construction work was carried out with the active collusion of the Government officials as per reports in the Press.

In May 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation carried out a demolition drive in the citys Tughlakabad neighbourhood. The drive came nearly two weeks after the North Delhi Municipal Corporation bulldozed shops and homes, mostly owned by Muslims, in the citys Jahangirpuri neighbourhood, despite a Supreme Court stay order.

According to Shweta Raj of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), there is a pattern of demolition in which only the poor and people from marginalised communities are targeted. On October 21, last year, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished the homes of 25 Muslims in Delhis Chattarpur constituency without prior notice.



Arbab Ali and Ubair al-Hameed are fellows at the SEED-TCN mentorship program.
After the U.S. Census Bureau released its first round of official 2020 population corrections in January, many states and cities still await action on the bulk of their counting issues and the funding shortfalls those mishaps can cause.
MATTOON  Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation is now accepting applications for the following scholarships.

The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. The application link can be found on their website.

Arland D. Williams, Jr. Scholarship

For college juniors and seniors only, this scholarship supports a former Mattoon High School graduate who is currently majoring in finance, banking, accounting, economics, or computer science.

Elgin and Genevieve Daily Farm Scholarship

This scholarship supports college-bound youth studying agriculture at the University of Illinois or music at Millikin University who reside in Coles or Moultrie county.

Daisy H. Mason Scholarship

This scholarship specifically supports graduates of Mattoon High School who are pursuing higher education.

Del Willison Scholarship

This scholarship supports high school seniors and alumni aiming to complete a certification program, a two-year associate degree, a four-year college degree, or vocational/technical school. The scholarship is available for graduate school and will be determined on an annual basis. The financial need of the applicant will be considered.

Elizabeth Ann Weidner Scholarship

This scholarship is for high school seniors pursuing secondary education, preferably in the areas of health, agriculture, or the arts.

Henry L, John L. and Catherine H. Smysor Scholarship

This scholarship specifically supports Mattoon High School students who have a parent that grew up in Windsor.

Lebovitz Lively Arts Scholarship

This scholarship provides visual and performing arts scholarships for Mattoon High School graduates pursuing higher education.

Mattoon High School Alumni Scholarship

This scholarship aids Mattoon High School seniors and past awardees pursuing higher education.

William, Agnes and Elizabeth Burgess (Osborne) Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship specifically supports graduates of Mattoon High School pursuing higher education.

For more information about the scholarships or the process, contact Kristen Bertrand, program officer, at 217-342-5413 or kristen@southeasternillinois.org.
DECATUR  Blaine B. Manks, the Decatur man who was part of a theft team that stole handguns and rifles from Central Illinois police vehicles, has been sent to prison for 10 years.

Manks, 19, took a plea deal negotiated by defense attorney Chris Amero.

He admitted three counts of possession of a stolen firearm and was sentenced to four years on one of the charges and three years each on the two remaining charges. Macon County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Geisler, passing sentence in a Jan. 19 court appearance, ordered the sentences to run consecutively to each other.

And, as part of the plea deal, Geisler dismissed 10 additional charges of burglary and theft, six counts of possession of a stolen firearm and one count each of aggravated fleeing police and armed violence.

A sworn affidavit by Cody Woods, a detective with the Macon County Sheriffs Office, said police had been dealing with a flurry of gun theft cases, numbering more than 10, since May of 2022. Many targeted weapons left inside police vehicles, including Macon County sheriff squad cars, especially in Forsyth and northern Macon County. But other police departments all over Central Illinois had also been targeted.

Woods said surveillance video had captured a suspect, later identified as Manks, who would search the vehicles while armed with a handgun and using a spotlight mounted on the weapon for illumination. In raids on homes in Decatur, Sullivan and Cerro Gordo, police recovered six weapons, including several AF-15 rifles.

An accused accomplice of Manks, Cameron C. Edwards, is later quoted as telling Woods he admitted to ...Committing approximately 30 motor vehicle burglaries with Manks in which police vehicles were targeted. He admitted to traveling throughout Central Illinois with Manks to find and target the cars, the sworn affidavit said.

Edwards, of Cerro Gordo, has pleaded not guilty to multiple burglary and theft charges but his case is listed for a disposition hearing March 14.

Woods said Edwards, while being questioned at the Macon County Sheriffs Office headquarters and left alone for a few minutes, had tried to escape by attempting to scramble up into the rooms drop ceiling. He stated he was tired of being in the room, said Woods, who also said police had been monitoring the room remotely while they were gone.

Edwards has been free since Sept. 2 after posting a $10,000 bond on bail set at $100,000.

Both Edwards and Manks were arrested in August and, commenting at the time, Macon County Sheriff Jim Root said the thieves had stolen some police body armor as well.

Root said encountering thieves who focused on police vehicles was highly unusual. We have never come across anything like this before, he said.

Updated mugshots from the Herald & Review Joseph A. Williams William A. Hosea Randolph Hayes Byron D. Theus Jetrevius O. Jarrett Phillip Gehrken Emmanuel White Aaron L. Hand
DECATUR  In March, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will present a plan to religious leaders in the Diocese of Springfield to renew the commitment to Catholic schools, which are celebrating Catholic Schools Week this week.

Catholic schools, he said, are central to the mission of the Diocese of Springfield and that renewal is an urgent need.

Paprocki led Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Monday to kick off Catholic Schools Week, with students and staff of Holy Family, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick schools and St. Teresa High School in attendance.

More than places of academic learning, our schools are centers of formation for children and community for Catholic families, Paprocki said. It is common for many of our schools to have served multiple generations of children from the same families, and they are central to our lived experience and history.

The diocese includes more than 10,000 students in 36 grade schools and seven high schools. Those schools, he said, face significant challenges, from finances to cultural disruptions, yet the churchs mission is unchanged: to train children to be disciples of Christ, support them and their families in community together and to be engaged with the larger community in service to others.

Catholic schools began in the 19th century, Paprocki said, and provided education then without charging tuition, but that was largely due to the fact that religious sisters  nuns  were volunteers.

Now theyre replaced by lay teachers, and we have to pay them a just wage, he said. They still make sacrifices. We pay them less than theyd make in public schools. But the costs of tuition are getting higher and higher and its not good. We dont want our Catholic schools to be just for the rich, or for the elite.

One of the seven pillars he outlined as part of the renewal of Catholic schools is to work toward a return to no tuition schools, though he said that will take considerable time and effort to accomplish.

We have to find a way to have a broader subsidy of our education, he said. Just like the public school system is funded by all taxpayers, whether you have children or not, so we need to get the sense that the whole Catholic community has to support Catholic schools. It cant just be on the backs of the parents. It wont survive that way.

He told the children and adults at the Mass on Monday that teachers are ministers of the Gospel, and that mission of forming childrens faith and identity as Christians has to be infused into every subject at school. Parents, as childrens first and most influential teachers, have a duty to pass faith on to their children, and teachers have a prophetic calling to teach and promote the faith, both in the way they teach and how they live.

Catholic schools are a central part of our obligation and mission to go forth and make disciples, he said. They are a most effective means of forming the next generation in the faith and providing a community of Christian discipleship in our parishes. Given the changes in our culture, in public education, and in our regulatory environment, our Catholic schools are now urgently needed as a safe haven for families to help their children grow, develop and flourish.

Samuel Sweeley is from a family that is mostly Catholic, but his immediate family was Protestant, attending a Southern Baptist church when they lived in Texas. They moved back to Illinois in recent years, and he began attending St. Teresa, where he is a sophomore. Most of his extended family attended St. Teresa, too. And last year, he was confirmed in the Catholic church.

Its a great school, he said. Its probably the best school in this area.

Ive gone to Catholic school since I was in kindergarten, said Allie Nichols, a senior at St. Teresa. I was baptized Catholic and not just because my parents put me in Catholic schools. Its been a great opportunity and has gotten me closer to a lot of other students. Its just a big community and I enjoy being a part of it.

Close Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Bailey Bloomfield makes sure that Dean Larry Daly gets the full effect of the pie during Catholic Schools Week festivities. She was one of the students who raised the most cash for Good Samaritan Inn. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Clarissa Lewis works to help the seniors pop all the black balloons during a contest. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Arlis DeJaynes, a teacher at St. Teresa High School, takes a pie in the face as part of a fundraiser for Good Samaritan Inn during Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison St. Teresa cheerleader throws a pie in the face of Coach Tom Noonan. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Teacher Spence Stein seems to be asking why as he receives a pie in the face. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Sara Stokes won the honor of throwing a pie in the face of Coach Tom Noonan for raising money for Good Samaritan Inn during Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison First year St. Teresa teacher Joe Wyckoff takes a taste of the pie he got in the face. He said he never minded an extra meal. The event was part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Dean Larry Daly returns a volley as the faculty takes on seniors during an assembly for Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison St. Teresa students scramble to burst balloons without using their hands during a contest as part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Students representing the different classes work to pop the balloons during one of the contests as part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison The classes at St. Teresa High School bettle in a game of dodgeball during Catholic Schools Week festivities. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Rachel Devereux throws a dodgeball during one of the events for the Catholic Schools Week festivities. PHOTOS: St. Teresa students celebrate Catholic Schools Week Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Bailey Bloomfield makes sure that Dean Larry Daly gets the full effect of the pie during Catholic Schools Week festivities. She was one of the students who raised the most cash for Good Samaritan Inn. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Clarissa Lewis works to help the seniors pop all the black balloons during a contest. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Arlis DeJaynes, a teacher at St. Teresa High School, takes a pie in the face as part of a fundraiser for Good Samaritan Inn during Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison St. Teresa cheerleader throws a pie in the face of Coach Tom Noonan. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Teacher Spence Stein seems to be asking why as he receives a pie in the face. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Sara Stokes won the honor of throwing a pie in the face of Coach Tom Noonan for raising money for Good Samaritan Inn during Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison First year St. Teresa teacher Joe Wyckoff takes a taste of the pie he got in the face. He said he never minded an extra meal. The event was part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Dean Larry Daly returns a volley as the faculty takes on seniors during an assembly for Catholic Schools week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison St. Teresa students scramble to burst balloons without using their hands during a contest as part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Students representing the different classes work to pop the balloons during one of the contests as part of Catholic Schools Week. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison The classes at St. Teresa High School bettle in a game of dodgeball during Catholic Schools Week festivities. Herald & Review/Lisa Morrison Rachel Devereux throws a dodgeball during one of the events for the Catholic Schools Week festivities.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois State Board of Education announced Tuesday that Elgin-based School District U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders will become the next state superintendent of education.

Sanders, 53, will succeed Carmen Ayala, who announced in November that she would retire effective Jan. 31. ISBE said Sanders will take over the post in late February while Deputy Education Officer Krish Mohip will serve as interim superintendent during the transition.

Sanders has been superintendent of the Elgin-area district since 2014. It is the second-largest district in Illinois, serving more than 35,000 students across five high schools and nearly 50 elementary and middle schools, according to the most recent state report card. Of those students, 46 percent are classified as low-income, and 39 percent are English language learners.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recommended Sanders for the job.

Dr. Tony Sanders is an extraordinary choice for State Superintendent of Education, Pritzker said in a statement. Dr. Sanders breadth of experience as superintendent of School District U-46 and his entire background have prepared him to take on this role. His focus on innovation, social emotional development, and academic excellence make him an extraordinary pick.

According to ISBE, Sanders expanded the Elgin districts offerings during his time as superintendent, adding full-day kindergarten for all students, expanding the districts dual language program and establishing an alternative high school, the DREAM Academy, to reduce expulsions and serve students in need of trauma-informed care.

Before becoming U-46 superintendent, Sanders served as the districts chief of staff for 11 years following a stretch as the districts chief communications officer.

He received his bachelors degree from the University of Illinois Springfield, a masters degree in business administration from the New York Institute of Technology, a Chief School Business Official endorsement from Northern Illinois University and his doctorate in education from Aurora University.

Dr. Tony Sanders has distinguished himself as a visionary leader and passionate advocate for students and educators, ISBE Board Chair Steven Isoye said in a news release. As the superintendent of one of Illinois largest school districts, he intimately understands the strengths, the policy history, and the challenges of our public schools.

Isoye praised Sanders for championing equity, expanding opportunities for students and launching innovative programs at the U-46 district.

The Board looks forward to his leadership; we are confident he will build on our record-high graduation rates and college and career readiness to continue leading Illinois schools in a positive direction, he said.
A federal Bankruptcy Court judge has determined that United Furniture Industries Inc. owner David Belford and its board of directors did not rise to the level of bad faith in their decision to shutter operations.

However, UFI and its management made serious errors in business judgment and displayed clear financial incompetence, wrote Judge Selene Maddox of the Northern District of Mississippi.

United unexpectedly shut down Nov. 22, immediately ending employment and health insurance benefits for 530 Triad employees and about 2,700 companywide.

Wells Fargo & Co., Uniteds largest creditor, filed on Dec. 30 a motion for Chapter 7 liquidation of the manufacturers assets and the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee.

On Jan. 18, Maddox issued a ruling giving Belford and United the opportunity to direct the sale of its assets in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection motion.

United filed its motion on Jan. 31, listing between 200 and 999 creditors, but did not submit a list of individual creditors and claims of what they are owed.

It listed having assets and liabilities in a range of $1 million to $10 million.

The manufacturer said it estimates "funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors."

Maddoxs Friday memorandum gave more detail about her earlier ruling.

Maddoxs ruling required the appointing a Chapter 11 trustee. Derek Henderson was approved Thursday after being signed off on by United and its creditors.

Wells Fargo said in a statement Thursday that it is pleased and agrees with Judge Maddoxs ruling to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee.

This thoughtful decision should offer a transparent, fair and orderly process to administer the estate and maximize asset value to help all of UFIs customers, vendors and creditors.

Maddox said she came to her ruling after reviewing whether UFIs actions or inactions, both prepetition and post-petition, disqualify it from being a debtor under Chapter 11.

However, Maddox wrote that UFIs inability, post-closure, to take the appropriate actions to secure its real and personal property leaves the court at a loss for words  almost.

Wells Fargo said it stepped in soon after the United shutdown to preserve Uniteds assets, which include the 850,000-square-foot production facility at 401 W. Hanes Mill Road in Winston-Salem, where it had at least 271 employees as recently as July.

The bank said in a Dec. 30 court filing requesting the Chapter 7 liquidation of United that it is owed $99.21 million in secured debt.

Yet, the bank acknowledged it estimates that any recoveries from liquidation of (Uniteds) collateral will result in a recovery equal to a fraction of this amount.

However, Maddox said that Wells Fargo failed to show how these actions or inactions are fraudulent.

Maddox cited Uniteds hiring of a new chief executive and general counsel in early December as evidence that Uniteds owner and board was not acting in bad faith.

To put it simply, the court does not equate UFIs conduct with that of debtors committing fraudulent acts.

Background

United made promotional- to mid-priced upholstered furniture in the U.S. under its brand and the Lane Home Furnishings brand. The manufacturer also imported wooden bedroom and dining furniture.

Uniteds Chapter 11 motion focuses foremost on how the sale of its assets would be handled.

Wells Fargo claims Uniteds Chapter 11 motion is an exercise in revisionist history and only benefits the manufacturers majority owner, David Belford.

Wells Fargo said Belfords family trust would be a beneficiary of UFIs proposed plan should its bankruptcy case be converted to a proceeding under Chapter 11 ... to the detriment of all creditors.

In its own words, UFIs main goal in bankruptcy is to run a sale process for the companys real-estate portfolio which UFI claims to potentially have in excess of $50 million in unencumbered value.

Wells Fargo disputes that value assessment.

It is unclear who this proposed sale process would benefit other than UFIs real-estate secured creditors and UFIs largest equity holder (Belford), the bank said.

Wells Fargo has pulled no punches in its court filings.

It claims United has performed post-shutdown various instances of conduct found to establish a lack of integrity, gross mismanagement, ongoing incompetence, and conflicts of interest involving Belford, and lack of credibility and creditor confidence.

Belford made the decision to shut down United.

United claims Wells Fargos motion for an interim trustee was filed solely to hinder the companys liquidation plan and that there is zero proof whatsoever of fraud, dishonesty or gross management by Uniteds owner, board of directors or executive team.

According to a court filing, United said it has committed at least $10 million toward the Chapter 11 process, which Wells Fargo said is insufficient.

Maddox wrote that while there is no smoking gun before the court indicating that Belford is working behind the curtain to control UFI as a debtor-in-possession, there is more than enough evidence demonstrating an overlap between current management and Belford that raises questions as to whether UFI will perform its fiduciary duties as expected.

UFI acting as the debtor-in-possession comes with questions regarding its ability to perform fiduciary duties.

A Chapter 11 trustee does not.
A couples entrepreneurial spirit has gradually expanded into a full-time mobile food business.

Jose Reyno is the owner of Lelos Cuban Cafe & Freshly Squeezed Lemonade, and his wife, Michele, works with him on the trailer.

We began two years ago with lemonade, Michele Reyno said.

They actually were in the craft business at the time. Michele Reyno was taking her crocheted, knitted and other craft items to festivals and fairs. We saw this lemonade vendor, and she was busy the whole time. She was selling only one product and was so busy. We said, Why dont we do that?

They gradually expanded from just lemonade to Italian ice, coffee and other beverages.

After they started operating their lemonade stand and then trailer on a temporary basis at these festivals, they noticed something else. Some places we went didnt have food or didnt have any food we cared for. We saw there was a need for Cuban food, Michele Reyno said.

They started selling just Cubano sandwiches in September 2021 and then finally expanded to a larger menu and full-time operation last fall.

The Reynos met as youngsters in Tampa. He was the boy next door, said Michele Reyno, who is of Cuban, Spanish and Italian heritage.

I was born in Cuba in 1960 and moved to the United States in 1967 with my parents, Jose Reyno said.

The Reynos, who will celebrate their 41st anniversary this year, moved to Winston-Salem in 2018 to be closer to their son and his family.

The Cubano ($10) is their best-seller. Its a classic Cuban sandwich with roast pork, ham, Genoa salami, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and mayonnaise, served hot on Cuban bread.

Lelos also uses the roast pork on another sandwich with grilled onions ($10).

Theres also a Cuban steak sandwich ($12). We use thin sirloin tip steak, Jose Reyno said. We marinate it with seasoning. Then I cook it on the grill with onions. What makes the sandwich Cuban is the bread itself.

The sandwiches are buttered and pressed, served hot and toasted.

The Reynos like the Cuban bread that Publix bakes in house, and they pre-order it in bulk for Lelos.

They offer a vegetarian plate of Cuban beans, rice and fried plantains for $7. Customers also can add meat to that for an extra charge.

Other items include a beef and cheese empanada, beef-and-pork stuffed potato and chicken croquette (each $5).

The croquette is the only item we dont make ourselves, Jose Reyno said.

The Reynos daughter-in-law makes dipping sauces, the spicy mango bango and the creamy avocado ranch, for them.

In addition to the above items, Lelos will sometimes have a soup special. The Reynos recently offered a Spanish bean soup with garbanzo beans, ham, flank steak, onions, potatoes and cabbage.

They also still offer lemonade as well as Cuban coffee and espresso. They make the lemonade to order. We use real sugar, Michele Reyno said. But we also can do sugar-free if people want it.

And theres one dessert: an empanada filled with guava and cream cheese.

I used to drive to Florida for sandwiches this good, said regular customer Andrea Ward. Ive tried a lot of different places, but theyve really got it.

My sandwich was excellent, so good  and not too heavy. And the price is right, said Michelle Kennedy, the general manager at The Brewers Kettle, where they visited for the first time last week.

The Reynos began to ramp up their business last year, when they started working with Short Street Gastro Lab, a shared-use commercial kitchen in Kernersville. Now, they are trying to increase the business from three or four outings a week to five or six.

They have had repeat gigs at Fiddlin Fish Brewing Co. and Tuckers Tap Yard in Winston-Salem. They are lined up to do Shelton Vineyards summer concert series, which begins in May. And they plan to be at The Brewers Kettle in Kernersville every Friday at lunchtime.

We also have online ordering so you can order ahead on our website and pick it up wherever we are, Jose Reyno said.

They also plan to add third-party delivery through such services as DoorDash and Grubhub.

PHOTOS: Lelo's Cuban Cafe food truck

(336) 727-7394
A 35-year-old man was shot to death late Monday night, the ninth killing of the year, police said.

Patrol officers responded at 10:12 p.m. to the 1000 block of Geneva Road near the main campus of Forsyth Technical Community College to investigate a call of a man who had been shot.

While en route, police got a second call reporting that a gunshot victim had arrived at a local hospital.

The man, identified as Demetrius Alexander Williams, died despite life-saving measures, police said.

A preliminary investigation showed that Williams had been shot in a parking lot of an apartment complex in the 1800 block of Geneva Road during a fight.

Williams killing in the ninth of the year; at the same point in 2022, four homicides had occurred in Winston-Salem.

Anyone with any information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Winston-Salem

Police Department at 336-773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800.
Eight regional hospitals and health-care providers are among initial participants in a new statewide program aimed at keeping real-time tabs on bed availability for behavioral health patients.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services launched BH Scan on Tuesday.

It is an online centralized registry calculating a daily inventory of available beds dedicated to mental health and substance abuse patients.

The goal is helping providers "more efficiently find and refer people to appropriate treatment with the potential to reduce long stays in emergency departments," DHHS said.

The registry is accessible by health-care facilities and providers, but is not a public open resource.

BH Scan allows referring facilities to search "for an appropriate and available inpatient behavioral bed" based on multiple search criteria, including demographics, acuity, commitment status and location.

The plan is for BH Scan to allow for streamlined referrals to maximize efficiency in busy emergency departments.

Among the initial 99 participants are: Alamance Regional Medical Center; Appalachian Regional Behavioral Health Hospital; DayMark Recovery Services; Forsyth Medical Center; Moses Cone; Novant Health Forsyth Behavioral Health outpatient clinic; Thomasville Medical Center; and Watauga Medical Center.

Most of Atrium Health's hospitals and behavioral health facilities in the Charlotte area are participating. DHHS did not list any of Atrium's properties under the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center umbrella.

"In a moment of crisis, individuals and their families need help to find their way to the care they need quickly," state Health Secretary Kody Kinsley said in a statement.

"A centralized bed tracking system helps patients find providers faster and helps us understand how precious bed resources are being used across the state  its one of the many investments were making in North Carolinas behavioral health and resilience."

Emergency departments are one of many sources of referrals for inpatient care, and often have the most critical patients in need of immediate behavioral health treatment.

DHHS said the need for the online service comes "at a time when one in five individuals are experiencing a behavioral health issue in North Carolina."

A legislative health-care committee was told in November 2016 by the N.C. Healthcare Association that the number of individuals seeking mental health and substance abuse care in emergency departments was up fourfold since 2006.

The average wait time in 2016 was four days for an adult in crisis to be transferred to a state psychiatric hospital, while the wait was 2 days for a bed in a community hospital.

Legislators were told that the wait for children in need of behavioral care is longer than for adults.

DHHS said the bed crunch has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic with "hundreds of people in North Carolina each day are waiting inside hospital emergency departments for behavioral health care."

The N.C. Healthcare Association said that "in many cases, North Carolinas hospitals are the destination of last resort for people who need immediate behavioral health care.

"Any tool like this, that becomes available to expedite timely care and safe, appropriate placement, benefits all. This is a positive step in a long journey to improve the system."

"Given that good data does not exist in our behavioral health care system, we are hopeful that this data will drive strategic investments in the behavioral health service array."
Lots of dollars flying around inside the Capital last week.

What to do with them?

Send them off on spending or investment-in-the-future chores, or return them to sender?

Gov. Jim Pillen says return them to state taxpayers  and so will a majority of the members of the Legislature before this session adjourns.

Pillen scored an "A" with his State of the State address, the Legislature already was tilted favorably on his side, and legislative committees and their leadership appear to have been constructed in a manner that will move his priorities to the floor.

Conservatives are organized for success and this is going to be a very conservative year in state government.

Income tax rates are tumbling down; the state budget will be "hold the line."

However, in the Legislature it's not ever simply smooth sailing ahead.

Democrats have just enough votes to sustain a filibuster, and there would appear to be many filibusters ahead. They could force some compromises.

While you probably could safely bet on a successful and productive initial legislative session for the new governor, there always are some unexpected events or obstacles looming over the horizon.

Perhaps a few stormy days at sea.

But no icebergs.

* * *

Although Ben Sasse may be out of the Senate, he's moving into politically charged territory when he becomes the University of Florida's new president on Feb. 6.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears ready to seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and his recent rejection of an advanced African American studies course proposed by the College Board stirred a sharp response from UF's student newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator.

"DeSantis meddles in university politics  again," the headline read.

"Recent memos show attempt at ideological control.

"It's hard not to see UF these days as Gov. Ron DeSantis' political playground.

"DeSantis is attempting to turn higher education in Florida into political theater, prioritizing his own national profile as a culture warrior over the needs of students and Floridians in general."

* * *

Armed with seniority and now in the majority with Republican control of the House, Rep. Adrian Smith is the new chairman of the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.

A good place for a rural Nebraska congressman with 16 years of seniority to be.

"With trade vital to the health of America's economy, the subcommittee on trade led by Chairman Smith will put American farmers and manufacturers first by prioritizing opening up global markets to sell their products," Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri said.

* * *

Finishing up:

* Democrats hold a voter registration advantage in only 11 of the state's 49 legislative districts. With 17 senators who are Democrats in the current Legislature, they're hitting above their weight.

* Apparently in Washington now, if you don't have classified documents in your closet or under your bed, you must be a nobody.

* A big-time trio of bills is lined up for public hearing in three legislative committees on Wednesday: a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, specific voter photo ID requirements, a limitation on school district property tax increases. Big legislative day.

* The conservative 2% budget increase for the University of Nebraska recommended by Pillen lines up with what the university requested.

* Rep. Mike Flood has been named a member of the housing and insurance subcommittee and the digital assets, financial technology and inclusion subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

* Last week's legislative battle over the committee assignment for a big abortion bill was just the opening salvo. Trench warfare ahead.

* Part of me wishes I had stuck to my early decision to not watch the brutal beating murder of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis. But perhaps we all should see it.

* Still awaiting U.S. Senate committee assignments for Sen. Pete Ricketts.

* Fifty days until spring.


Gandhi said he did not take this Yatra for Congress or himself but for the countrys people.

Afnan Habib | TwoCircles.net

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SRINAGAR (JAMMU & KASHMIR)  Amid heavy snowfall, senior Congress leader and member of parliament Rahul Gandhi concluded his Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 30 with a rally at Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in the Sonwar area of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Leaders of various national and regional parties joined Rahul Gandhi at the rally to mark the formal culmination of the Yatra.

Rahul Gandhi raised the national flag at the Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite earlier in Srinagar. He expressed gratitude to the Bharat Yatris for their love, support, and companionship during the 136-day foot march that started in Kanyakumari on September 7 last year.

Before culminating the rally at Sonwar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, joined by other leaders, hoisted the National flag at the Congress Headquarters at Maulana Azad road in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar at around 11:20 a.m.

Addressing the rally amidst heavy snowfall at the closing ceremony of the Yatra, Rahul Gandhi remarked that he was informed of a possible attack on him in Kashmir, but people here gave me hearts full of love instead of hand grenades.

I did not walk for myself or the Congress, but for the countrys people. We aim to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundations of this country, he said.

He continued by saying that members of the BJP cannot walk in Jammu and Kashmir in this manner because they are afraid. Reflecting on his father Rajiv Gandhis murder, he talked about the anguish of losing a loved one and said he could relate to people who had lost family members in the Pulwama attack.

Rahuls sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also spoke at the event and stated that the central message of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was to spread love and call for the end of hatred by uniting the hearts.

Since starting his journey from Kanyakumari, my brother has been walking for five months. It was a lengthy journey, and I had previously wondered if anyone would show up. But people showed up everywhere during the Yatra. Because of the nations feeling of solidarity, they came out, she said.

Congress President Kharge lauded the people of Kashmir for their kind reception and for being more liberal and accommodative. For us, speaking in the snow is a unique experience. During the Yatra, people have endured everything. Rahul has demonstrated his ability to unite people from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the Congress President said.

Top Kashmiri leaders, including two former chief ministers of J&K, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were also present at the event.

While Praising Rahul Gandhi during his address, Omar Abdullah declared the Yatra a success. This Yatra has demonstrated that while certain citizens of the nation support the BJP, others support the principle of fraternity, he said.

Omar also encouraged Gandhi to undertake a Yatra from west to east and said hed like to walk with him in the Yatra.

Rahul Gandhi was hailed as the nations ray of hope by PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti. Rahul, you said that Kashmir was now your home. It indeed is. I hope everything that the Godse doctrine stole from J&K and our country will be recovered, she said.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the journey had taught him a lot and that he had gained a new perspective on the nation. He also said that the restoration of democratic process and statehood is imperative and the fundamental right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Roads in the valley were closed due to heavy snowfall, impacting the Yatras grand finale. The closing ceremony of the Yatra had to be shortened by Congress.

Afnan Habib is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He tweets @afnanhabib
Thayer Central Community Schools will remain closed for a second day Tuesday, not because of the winter weather but rather an undisclosed threat to students' safety.

In a letter sent to parents Monday morning, top administrators said they were continuing to work with Thayer County law enforcement to investigate a threat made toward the school on Friday.

Later Monday, a tweet from the district said school would remain closed Tuesday.

No information was released on the nature of the threat and the Thayer County Sheriff's office declined to comment.

The letter was signed by superintendent Randy Page, high school and middle school principal Tom Kiburz and elementary school principal Eric Hoops.

A press release on Saturday indicated the school would increase police presence on the campuses Monday, but classes were later canceled.

In addition to Thayer County law enforcement, the release said Nebraska State Patrol officers were helping with the investigation.

Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
OMAHA  A Topeka man told a former platoon mate that he killed his Omaha ex-girlfriend after they got into an argument, a Douglas County sheriff's deputy testified Monday.

"I killed her," Deputy Neal Klein said Aldrick Scott told a former U.S. military comrade while he was in a hotel in Cancun, Mexico, just a day after he allegedly buried Cari Allen's body near an abandoned barn in Kansas.

Data from Scott's cellphone, his Snapchat location and the OnStar account from his Chevy Equinox as well as video surveillance helped investigators piece together his journey from Topeka to Omaha and back again after fatally shooting 43-year-old Allen in the chest at her northwest Omaha home on Nov. 20.

Scott will stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony and tampering with evidence, a judge ruled Monday.

Investigators had first sought a warrant for the arrest of Scott on suspicion of kidnapping before Allen's frozen body was found in a shallow grave at an abandoned farm property on Dec. 21.

Authorities were able to figure out the location of Allen's body because that day they received OnStar data from Scott's SUV, mapping his previous locations.

Klein said that on Saturday, Nov. 19, Scott left Topeka about 7:30 p.m., about the same time Allen went to The Good Life Bar near 180th and Pacific streets with a date she had just had dinner with. Scott had called Allen repeatedly, up to four times within one hour, which prompted Allen to turn off her phone, Klein said.

Scott and Allen dated for about one year but had ended the relationship two weeks before, her friend told police.

Scott then arrived at The Good Life Bar about 10:15 p.m., but Klein said investigators weren't sure if he went inside the business. Scott left after roughly 10 minutes and headed toward Allen's house near 168th and Blondo streets.

Klein said he believes Scott entered Allen's house through her garage because he knew the code and that Scott waited for Allen to return home at about 11:30 p.m.

When investigators went to Allen's home the next day, because her ex-husband and son reported her missing, they found a single bullet hole that went through Allen's bedroom door, two walls and penetrated her son's bedroom door, Klein said. The holes had been freshly spackled, Klein said.

An autopsy determined that Allen was shot once in the chest and the bullet exited out of her back. Scott then wrapped a "combat bandage"  an elastic bandage with a big cotton pad to stem blood loss  around Allen's wounds and put her body in trash bags, Klein said.

Investigators believe Scott used Allen's sedan to transport her body from her home to where Scott's SUV was parked in a nearby neighborhood under construction. The trunk liner from Allen's car was missing and Scott's SUV trunk showed evidence of apparent traces of blood, Klein said. The vehicle has not yet been tested for DNA.

Scott then drove his SUV back to his Topeka home, arriving at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 20. About four hours later, he spent roughly 70 minutes at the abandoned farm property, according to the OnStar data.

Scott purchased plane tickets that day to leave the next day from the Kansas City International Airport, flying to Houston and then Cancun, Klein said. Officials found his SUV in an airport parking garage and found a loaded Sig Sauer P320 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in a handgun case in the spare tire compartment.

Klein testified that on Nov. 22, despite having just flown to Cancun, Scott bought tickets to Fiji via Los Angeles the following day, so Klein and another detective went to Los Angeles to try to intercept Scott. But Scott never got on that plane, Klein said.

Scott eventually turned up in Belize, where he was taken into custody Dec. 6.

Authorities confiscated one of Scott's three phones and believe the two others were ditched in Houston and Cancun.

On that phone, Scott searched the internet asking whether he could be arrested or whether police could confront him in Belize, Klein said. Scott also Googled his name and Allen's name.
OMAHA  Two Omaha police officers were shot and a 38-year-old man was killed during an attempted burglary at a storage facility Monday night, police said.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the two officers responded to a report of a burglary at Dino's Storage, 5328 Center St., about 10:30 p.m. Monday. The officers were let into the building by employees and, at some point, gunfire was exchanged between the officers and Steven Docken.

During the altercation, the two officers, Nicholas Lanning and Joshua Moore, suffered gunshot wounds to their lower extremities and Docken was killed, Schmaderer said. One officer was taken to Nebraska Medical Center by an ambulance and the other officer was taken to the same hospital by another officer in a police cruiser.

Lanning has been with the department for about eight years, while Moore has been an OPD officer for less than two years.

Schmaderer said both officers were awake and alert after the shooting. He spoke to both officers and their spouses.

Both officers wore body cameras, though one was damaged during the incident. Security video from the storage building will be reviewed as well, the spokesman said.

A relative of Docken, reached Tuesday morning by phone, said the family would "have no comment" about the incident. According to his Facebook page, Docken attended Benson High School in Omaha.

Docken has served two stints in the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. He was most recently released in December 2021 after spending about two years on a charge of attempted distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He also was in prison from December 2013 to June 2017 after he was found guilty of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and a theft charge.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene near Docken's body. The police spokesman said the officers entered the storage facility with the assistance of the property's management, who told them that a man was breaking into a first-floor storage unit which contained a gun case and ammunition.

Officers attempted to make contact with the man who was still inside an open storage unit. When Docken saw them, he ran down a hallway and was pursued by the officers who gave "multiple loud verbal commands to stop running," the spokesman said.

The officers caught up to Docken and a physical altercation began, the spokesman said. Gunfire was exchanged resulting in the wounding of the officers and the death of Docken, who was shot multiple times.

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office will be involved in the investigation along with an Omaha Police Department team.

The officers will be interviewed in the coming days and have been placed on paid administrative leave.
YORK  A York man accused of shooting and killing his wife in the Nebraska town Monday night was previously convicted of murder in Arizona, according to prior court filings.

Police found Stacie Beutler unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds after authorities were called to 84 South Platte Ave. to investigate a shooting at 9:47 p.m. Monday, York Police Chief Ed Tjaden said in a news release.

The 46-year-old York woman was pronounced dead at the scene, Tjaden said in the release.

While investigators were still on scene at the house near Platte Avenue and Walnut Street, police received a tip about the whereabouts of a suspect in the shooting, Tjaden said.

The tip led police to 47-year-old Bart J. Beutler, who investigators found at another house in York about 30 minutes after the shooting was initially reported to authorities, according to the news release.

York Police arrested Beutler on suspicion of first-degree murder, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person. He was taken to the county jail.

Investigators believe Beutler acted alone in the alleged murder of his wife, Tjaden said.

It's unclear if police have recovered the gun thought to have been used in Stacie Beutler's shooting. Reached by phone, the department declined to provide additional information Tuesday.

Prosecutors had not charged Beutler as of Tuesday afternoon.

Beutler, who authorities identified as a York resident, was in prison in Arizona as recently as 2018 after he was convicted of second-degree murder in Maricopa County in 2007, according to state court filings and Arizona Department of Corrections records.

His conviction stemmed from charges filed in April 2007, when Beutler was accused of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted armed robbery and two counts of kidnapping, according to the filings.

Beutler pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted armed robbery and, in exchange, prosecutors dismissed the additional charges against him.

The former Arizona man was sentenced to 18 years in prison and was released in 2018.
Retention bonuses, student loan forgiveness and alternative certification are just some of the proposed solutions lawmakers are pondering to address Nebraska's teacher shortage.

The Legislature's Education Committee reviewed a series of bills Monday that offered creative ideas for fixing a stubborn workforce problem that's forcing schools to leave positions vacant.

One of the more ambitious proposals was Sen. Lynne Walz's LB519, which would eliminate teacher certification fees, disburse millions in one-time retention bonuses and create a loan forgiveness program for student teachers.

"I know it's a pretty significant piece of legislation, but I think it's going to take a pretty significant piece of legislation to help us get the results that we need when it comes to our teacher shortage," Walz said.

Under the bill, the state would split $35 million in general fund dollars for one-time bonuses to eligible school employees throughout the state, a number lawmakers estimated to be about 80,000.

Walz's legislation would also allow prospective educators to apply for up to $8,500 in forgivable loans each year as they're student teaching. The loans would be forgiven over four years if the teacher stays in the state, or over two years if they teach in a rural or low-income Nebraska school.

The number of loans that can be forgiven under the Attract Excellence Teaching Program would also increase for the first time in years.

Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Education would stop collecting fees for first-time certification and renewals that critics consider an unnecessary financial hoop already-underpaid teachers must leap through. Public school applicants pay $75, while nonpublic candidates pay $55.

The proposals come as Nebraska schools report an increase in unfilled positions as districts navigate the aftereffects of the pandemic. The number of districts reporting positions that were left vacant or filled by an unqualified person rose from 482 in 2021 to 768 in 2022, according to an NDE survey of 402 public and nonpublic schools.

"The fire alarm is ringing," said Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Logan, who testified in support of Walz's bill. "We are moving to a point where it won't matter how we move things around, there will be children who don't have a teacher."

Other solutions senators mulled Monday included Elkhorn Sen. Lou Ann Linehan's LB603, which would create an alternative certification pathway for prospective teachers.

The bill would allow those with a bachelor's degree to earn a teacher's license from an alternate program that's existed for at least 10 years in five states, like the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, an online program initially started by the U.S. Department of Education.

Candidates would have to pass subject and pedagogy exams similar to the Praxis before being certified, but would not be required to have field experience. The programs are markedly cheaper: American Board charges just a $1,500 one-time fee.

Melanie Olmstead, executive director of the program, said alternate certification is not about lowering the bar and said the program produces educators who are of the same quality as traditional students.

"It's trying to give principals five or six applicants for one position as opposed to zero," Olmstead said.

Sara Skretta, certification officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln representing the Nebraska Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, called the bill's contents "duplicative," however. The state already offers alternative certification, Skretta said, and adding more programs to the list won't increase the number of applicants.

The bill, Skretta and other critics said, also seemed designed for very specific out-of-state certification programs, prompting Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln to question its legal permissibility.

Tim Royers, president of the Millard Education Association, said the alternative certificates like those offered by American Board offer no relevant pedagogical experience.

"... This bill is intended to allow already identified companies to profit off of our teacher shortage," he said.

Sen. Justin Wayne, however, said many people  like those in his North Omaha district  bring many life experiences that can't be gained by a college degree or traditional pedagogy.

The Education Committee also heard Linehan's bill (LB385) that would establish the Nebraska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act. The proposed law would dole out $5,000 retention grants to new teachers over the course of their first few years on the job.

A teacher starting in the fall would be eligible for the yearly grant through the 2026-27 school year. Payments are also available to teachers who will be in their second or third year.

Grants would also be available for educators who complete certification in hard-to-fill areas, like special education, STEM and dual-credit courses.

While testifiers were generally supportive, some questioned a "cliff effect" when the fund dries up as well as supporting more veteran teachers with bonuses, too.

Omaha Westside Superintendent Mike Lucas said his district has used stipends to great success, even if his district has dodged the worse of the shortage.

"LB385 is definitely a step in the right direction."

Other education notes:

Earlier in the day, the committee reviewed a pair of bills targeting special education funding and interstate teacher certification.

Under LB324 from Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, the state would fund 60% of school districts' special education services by 2024 and 80% by 2028. The bill, which Wishart has put forward in past sessions, drew support from a number of groups, including Lincoln Public Schools and the Nebraska Catholic Conference.

The state's share of special education funding has hovered just below 50%, while costs have skyrocketed over the past decade.

Special education funding is also included in Gov. Jim Pillen's package of education finance reform bills. One of those bills  Sen. Rita Sanders' LB583  would cover 80% of special education funding using state and federal dollars, on top of the funding already provided for equalized districts.

Meanwhile, a bill from Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue (LB413) would adopt an interstate teacher licensure compact, allowing educators to easily transfer their license to other compact states and lowering barriers to teacher mobility.

The agreement would also create a database between states to better share information, such as teacher disciplinary records. No other states have adopted the pact although there is legislation pending in border states Colorado and Kansas.

Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023
RACINE  The last time Scott Leonard visited Racine, he stopped into Applebees on Green Bay Road  not just for the appetizers, but to visit the mural of historic photos.

One particular photo at the restaurant, which announced it will be closing Feb. 5, shows a young, professional woman shopping in 1959.

Her name at that time was Karen Sandberg, but Scott always called her mom.

Family history

Scott has heard the history of that photo from his mom.

Karen Sandberg moved to Milwaukee in 1956 after graduating from high school to attend a year-long business school. She was 17 years old.

Sandberg eventually landed a position as executive secretary at Miller Brewing in 1957, where she met her future husband, Dick Leonard, who worked in the marketing department.

In 1959, the company was conducting a photoshoot in a supermarket for the employee magazine, and Dick Leonard asked them to include his fiancee.

The two were married later the same year.

By the end of 1960, Karen  now Karen Leonard  put in her notice and left Miller Brewing. She was pregnant with her first child, whom she named Scott.

The years went by and one day Karen Leonard and her daughter, Sue Haag, stopped into Applebees in Delafield.

There, on the wall, was the photo of Karen taken in 1959 by Miller Brewing. Scott said his mother and sister were very surprised.

According to Scott, who is in the process of relocating and will soon call Racine home, the family made it a point to visit Applebees restaurants to see which locations might have the photo of their mother.

The story Ive heard is that 10 or 15 years ago, the company in Waukesha that owns the chain of Applebees in Wisconsin was looking to redecorate and settled on a theme of brewing history in the state, Scott said. They contacted various libraries and companies looking for suitable photos to use in their mural designs.

My guess is they contacted Miller Brewing, who still had this old photo.

When the family learned the Applebees in Stevens Point was closing, Scott said, the family attempted to get the photo of their mom off the wall, but the logistics made that impractical.

But the company kindly sent me a file of the mural artwork, Scott said. It was so massive that they had to leave it for me in Dropbox.

Scott reduced the copy to something more easily managed and sent it off to Shutterfly, which made a 48-inch wide version.

They gave the photo to their mom.

She was thrilled with it, and it hung in her kitchen the past few years, Scott said. When she pre-planned her funeral, she demanded it be brought into church and put on an easel.

When Karen died on Dec. 15, 2021, thats exactly what they did.

Most common fast food chains in Wisconsin Most common fast food chains in Wisconsin #20. Hardee's #19. Noodles and Company #18. A&W Restaurants #17. Wendy's #16. Qdoba #15. KFC #14. Jimmy John's #13. Dunkin #12. Papa Murphy's #11. Starbucks #10. Arby's #9. Cousin's Subs #8. Domino's Pizza #7. Burger King #6. Dairy Queen #5. Pizza Hut #4. Culver's #3. Taco Bell #2. McDonald's #1. Subway
RACINE  A Milwaukee man has been accused of assaulting a woman and holding a knife to her throat.

Christopher M. Bailey, 40, was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, carrying a concealed knife and disorderly conduct.

According to a criminal complaint, on Friday, an officer was sent to a residence in the 1200 block of Martin Luther King Drive for a report of a woman being assaulted by a man while the two were in a vehicle.

Upon arrival, an officer saw a vehicle in front of the residence with a man, later identified as Bailey, seated in the passenger seat.

He was taken into custody and an officer reported seeing a pocket knife and brass knuckles on the seat.

According to the complaint, the officer spoke to the woman, who said Bailey had called and asked for a ride to Milwaukee.

The woman said she picked him up from a park near Douglas Avenue and as they were driving to Milwaukee he allegedly began to get aggressive.

The woman said Bailey punched her in the mouth multiple times, the complaint said, then held a pocket knife to her throat and said, You should just die.

Bailey was given a $250 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday. A status conference is scheduled for April 25 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, online court records show.
1. Yes. Having a community member interview panel is an excellent opportunity for input.

2. Yes. Its good that the city will allow residents to meet the finalist at a reception.

3. No. The city should have conducted a public survey early in the process, as KISD is doing.

4. No. Residents should be able to meet candidates before a lone finalist is chosen.

5. Unsure. Its hard to know how to gauge the proper level of public involvement.

Vote

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Sanitation employees from Lady Hardinges Medical College (LHMC) and other institutions held a protest outside the Delhi hospital directors home on June 28 last year.

Arbab Ali and Ubair ul Hameed | TwoCircles.net

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NEW DELHI  On June 2 of last year, Neeta Ujainwal, 44, arrived for her regularly scheduled shift as a sanitation worker at Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital, a multi-speciality facility in New Delhi and one of the largest paediatric hospitals in Asia. A security guard at the hospitals entrance advised her to go home as the facility had terminated her contract.

She persisted in her desire to talk with a hospital official since she thought there might be some confusion. But she received no communication from the hospital. When we met on the chilly morning of January 10 at Jantar Mantar, a location that has been a well-known gathering place for dissidents since 1993, Ujainwal confessed to us, I walked back home crying.

About 40 of Ujainwals coworkers, both male and female, were also fired in the same way on June 2 of last year. On January 10, the majority of them were present at Jantar Mantar to protest their dismissal. They carried signs with slogans like Safai Karamchariyon ki hai ye pukaar, na karo ye atyachar (This is the call of the sanitation workers, dont do this torture) with them.

They have been protesting outside the hospital gate for more than 220 days, and according to Ujainwal, they came to Jantar Mantar out of dissatisfaction that no one is paying attention to their cries. I would like my job back. Im the sole breadwinner of my family. Since I lost my job, we are just scraping by, she told us.

According to Surya Prakash, the state secretary of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), this dismissal was in violation of a Delhi High Court decision on May 31 that prohibited the hospital from terminating its employees. The sanitation workers at Lady Hardinge Medical College are part of Suryas trade union.

The ruling was in response to demands made by workers, especially employees at the Kalawati Saran Childrens hospital, demanding a minimum pay of about 7,000 rupees.

Sanitation employees from Lady Hardinges Medical College (LHMC) and other institutions held a protest outside the Delhi hospital directors home on June 28 of last year. They took issue with the institutions refusal to allow workers to be reinstated in accordance with court orders.

In compliance with the Minimum Wages Act, the hospital was required to pay Rs. 83, 75,900 in respect of the claims of the 193 workers, plus one time of the said amount as compensation, within 30 days of the date of the order. This was mandated by the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) on December 29, 2021, which was a year earlier.

Rekha, a 37-year-old sanitation worker, said, The hospital had verbally notified us that we would be terminated from services from May 1, 2022.

A new group of contract workers, who Rekha claimed may have been made to pay the hospital illegal extortion money, took the place of the sanitation workers. As a bride, they wanted us to pay between 30,000 and 40,000 rupees. Rekha stated, We lacked the sum.

According to Prakash, it is not permissible to replace contract workers with a different group of contract employees.

Ujainwal informed us that they had a direct employment relationship with the hospital and Sulabh International Social Service Organization (the contractor) was merely a front for denying them the same benefits as normal employees. Some of them had been employed there for as long as 13 years. She claimed that they had been deceiving them for years by labelling their work as volunteering.

The agreement between the hospital and the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation also mentions the engagement of voluntary social workers for the work of sanitation during the period of the agreement.

The Sulabh International Social Service Organization is a voluntary social service organization of charitable and Philanthropic nature registered under the Society Registration Act, of 1860. They operate on a no profit and no loss basis. Hence it is not in compliance with the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act of 1948. They do not pay wages to the volunteers rather they pay an honorarium to the volunteer which is equivalent to the circulated wage rate of the Government of India.

Sulabh International was rapped by the Delhi High Court in 2012 for exploiting the sanitation staff at AIIMS. According to the Delhi High Court, the staff were entitled to minimum wages but had only received a pittance from the Sulabh International Social Service Organization. The Court noted that while Sulabh International was working for a good cause on the one hand, on the other hand, it was exploiting the poor under the guise of volunteer labour.

Justice Suresh Kait said, The organisation may be voluntary, but a poor person who has to fill his belly and has dependent members of the family can not afford to be a volunteer. Respondent No. 2 is a person whose survival depends upon whatever given/paid by employer. If he works voluntarily even for a day, his family starves.

The employees claimed that because sanitation personnel are not regarded as employees but rather as volunteers, hospitals find it simple to terminate them.

We execute critical activities that are similar to those done by the hospitals permanent staff, but for less pay. Very little, Rekha remarked.

Their everyday responsibilities included sweeping, mopping, dusting, garbage disposal, and disposing of biomedical waste, including radioactive waste and items like blood, syringes, infected tubes, and ducts that were left lying around on hospital floors after emergency patients were treated.

According to Central Government Health Employees Federation Secretary General Gautam Das Gupta, Ujainwal and her coworkers provided crucial assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic. They were the ones helping the public when nobody wanted to leave their houses during Coronavirus and the entire healthcare infrastructure failed. In the process, many of them even contracted the virus. Not only is it unlawful, but replacing them would also be cruel, claimed Gupta.

Another fired sanitation worker, Phool Singh, revealed to us that they frequently receive threats from the police to stop the protest. Over the previous eight months, We have been detained numerous times, claimed Singh.

We reached out to Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare via email. He has not responded to the email. This story will be updated when and if he responds.

Harbans Singh, office administration, and Mr Narang, the office superintendent at LHMC, were also contacted, but we did not receive a satisfactory response.

Ujainwal questioned, What is the point of showering flowers on us if you dismiss us whenever you choose and force us to protest in such cold weather?

Arbab Ali and Ubair al-Hameed are fellows at the SEED-TCN mentorship program.
KEARNEY  The Kearney Newcomers Club welcomes new and not-so-new city residents to its programs in February. They include:

In February, the club will begin collecting paper goods, nonperishables, canned goods and more for the Salvation Army, the Jubilee Center and more. Bring these items to the Thursday (Feb. 2) lunch at the Alley Rose.
KEARNEY  Step inside the main entrance to Martin Hall and one of the first things youll notice is a cornerstone bearing the names of Herbert L. Cushing, the former president of the Nebraska State Teachers College at Kearney, as well as members of the Board of Education of State Normal Schools.

That stone, placed in 1953 when the residence hall was under construction, is one of the few features that remained untouched during a major renovation that transformed the nearly 70-year-old building into a modern living and hangout space for University of Nebraska at Kearney fraternity members.

Following 18 months of work to upgrade and improve the 42,500-square-foot building, Martin Hall reopened in mid-January as the new home for Delta Tau Delta, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Sigma Tau Gamma.

Attend the grand opening A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house are scheduled for 1-2:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Martin Hall. Campus officials will speak at 1 p.m., with tours offered until 2:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Connor Morrison, a music education major from Shelby, was among the first students to move in. His initial reaction: Its really nice.

Im pretty grateful for the new building, said Morrison, a previous vice president who currently serves as the new member educator for Pi Kappa Alpha. Im thankful the university saw our potential and how much we do and gave us such a nice building.

The UNK senior views the project as a long-term investment in Fraternity and Sorority Life and, hopefully, a recruiting tool that increases chapter membership and convinces more upperclassmen to live on campus.

We notice a trend in fraternities, once a guy moves off campus, his involvement in the chapter goes down, Morrison said.

With brand-new fixtures, flooring and furniture and amenities such as single-person restrooms and showers, Martin Hall will certainly be a selling point for fraternities.

Its a completely new building, so a lot of guys are interested in it, Morrison said. Thats something we put at the top of the list now  our building just opened.

Located just east of the Nebraskan Student Union in the northeast corner of campus, Martin Hall features dedicated housing pods for individual fraternities and flexible housing units designed to meet the chapters future needs. Each fraternity has its own chapter room and lounge, and there are shared study areas throughout the building. A great room on the main floor serves as an event space for the entire Fraternity and Sorority Life community.

UNK junior Grant Lindner, the secretary and house manager for Phi Delta Theta, believes the layout will bring the chapters closer together.

It seemed like everybody had their own dedicated space before and everybody kind of just stayed in their own house. Now, we pretty much have to interact, he said. I feel like its going to lead to a lot more interaction between the different Greek organizations.

Morrison agrees.

Its going to force us to get a lot closer, he said. Before, yes, we were in the same building, but we were also in our own areas. They didnt have access to ours, and we didnt have access to theirs. In this new building, youre going to see a lot more teamwork in the coming years, which is a huge positive in my book.

Replacement project

The UNK fraternities were previously housed on the west side of campus in University Residence North (URN) and University Residence South (URS). Those residence halls were built in 1991 and 1992 as a temporary and quick solution to housing needs for the fraternity and sorority community, which was moved onto campus to provide a safe, education-centered environment for members.

The wood-frame buildings were only designed to last 20 years. Three decades later, they have the highest annual maintenance and operating costs among UNKs residence halls and continue to experience mechanical infrastructure issues. It would cost an estimated $37 million to make the repairs and improvements needed to keep them in use.

Those buildings have served us well for 30 years, but in looking at our housing master plan, they were first on the list to be replaced, said Trelana Daniel, director of Residence Life.

The Martin Hall renovation is the first piece of that replacement project.

A 41,200-square-foot residence hall under construction directly north of Martin will serve the Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta and Gamma Phi Beta sororities and feature a similar layout with chapter rooms, chapter lounges, study areas, assigned housing pods and flexible housing units. There will also be meeting and lounge space for UNKs three multicultural chapters  the Lambda Theta Nu and Sigma Lambda Gamma sororities and Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity.

The fraternity and sorority residence halls will face each other, with a green space in between serving as an extension of the student union plaza. This location puts some of UNKs most active students directly next to the student union, a hub of social activity on campus, and gives them easy access to dining options.

Bringing our fraternities and sororities closer to the rest of the on-campus community will help these students be more connected to campus, and the proximity will help show the benefits of membership to the larger UNK community, said Karlee Nuttelman, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Lindner sees the same benefits.

Its really nice being back on this side of campus again, the information technology major from Central City said. I lived in the Towers my first year, and it was really nice being close to the union and being able to visit people at the other residence halls super easily. Over there (at URN and URS), youre kind of isolated.

More than 600 students are involved in Fraternity and Sorority Life at UNK, and 174 of them currently live in the dedicated on-campus housing. Martin Hall and the new residence hall for sororities are large enough to accommodate about 245 total beds.

The entire housing project costs $32.65 million, with funding coming from facilities reserves, housing income and an internal lending program. By eliminating Louies Diner, a food court in URS, the university expects to save $250,000 to $350,000 in yearly food services expenses. Additional savings will be realized by sharing residence hall staff with nearby campus housing.

The four sororities housed in URN and URS will remain there until the new residence hall is complete. Those buildings are also being used to temporarily house employees who were relocated because of other campus construction projects at Calvin T. Ryan Library and Warner Hall.

URN and URS will be razed after the new housing complex is complete.
JERUSALEM  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday with no visible signs of progress toward halting one of the deadliest outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.

The anemic outcome highlighted what appears to be the limited influence the Biden administration has over Israels new government, which is dominated by hard-line nationalists who oppose concessions toward the Palestinians.

It also reflected a yearslong process that has turned the U.S. into little more than a conflict manager  drawing Palestinian accusations that Washington is a dishonest broker with a bias toward Israel.

Blinken arrived in the region at a particularly tense time  ending a month in which 35 Palestinians and seven Israelis were killed.

The bloodshed overshadowed what was meant to be a mission to establish working relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new far-right government. Instead, Blinken spent much of his time trying to defuse tensions.

Speaking to reporters before returning to the U.S., Blinken said both sides voiced their readiness to restore calm and he instructed two senior officials to remain in the region.

He also reiterated the long-term U.S. goal of working toward a two-state solution that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel under a final peace settlement.

Restoring calm is our immediate task. But over the longer term, we have to do more than just lower tensions, he said.

It was a familiar message expressed by a string of U.S. administrations but, based on the bitter experiences of his predecessors, one that is unlikely to bear fruit. Blinken gave no details on what steps he has in mind to promote his short-term goals or his long-term vision.

In the short run, Blinken must contend with Israels most right-wing government ever  a collection of religious and ultra-nationalist politicians who oppose concessions to the Palestinians and rule out Palestinian independence.

On the eve of Blinkens arrival, Netanyahus Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians in response to a pair of shootings in east Jerusalem last weekend.

These include plans to step up West Bank settlement construction, demolitions of the homes of attackers families as well as dozens of Palestinian homes put up without building permits. Palestinians say such permits are almost impossible to get.

Blinken said the U.S. would oppose anything that undermines hopes of a two-state solution, including settlement construction built on occupied lands sought by the Palestinians. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians.

But he gave no indication on how the U.S. might respond if Israel presses ahead with such moves, and reiterated longstanding lines about the U.S. commitment to Israels security and shared values between the countries.

Yara Hawari, a senior analyst at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank, said Palestinian expectations for Blinkens visit were low to begin with, and that Blinken delivered a worn message coddling Israel.

Its a textbook visit, she said. The U.S. is not an honest broker in this situation, so I dont understand how it could bring anything to the table that would actually lead us toward achieving Palestinian fundamental rights.

In a sign of what could lie ahead if the U.S. pushes the new government, Israeli Cabinet Minister Orit Strock, a member of a religious ultra-nationalist party, lashed out at Blinkens call for a commitment to human rights and rule of law.

The comments were widely seen as criticism of the governments plans to overhaul Israels judicial system and weaken its Supreme Court. Critics in Israel say the plan will severely damage Israels democratic system of checks and balances.

Blinken needed to respect Israeli sovereignty. Were not the 51st or 52nd state of the U.S., Strock said.

Blinken played down the criticism, saying he would focus on Israels policies, not individual personalities.

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, said the blame for failed peacemaking lies with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who at 87 is seen as weak, corrupt and increasingly authoritarian after nearly 20 years in office.

I think this administration understands there is no one really to work with on the Palestinian side, he said. They have other issues to deal with.

The mutual lack of trust is just one of the many reasons for repeated U.S. failures in the region since the historic interim Oslo accords 30 years ago. Over the decades, the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations all tried their hands at Mideast peace plans with little to show.

Preoccupied with the war in Ukraine and the U.S. rivalry with China, the Biden administration appears to have little desire or bandwidth to wade into a mission doomed to fail.

For the Palestinians, there has been one constant throughout all of the failed peace efforts  a U.S. unwillingness to put meaningful pressure on Israel.
Omaha police officers fatally shot a gunman at a west Omaha Target store midday Tuesday.

Multiple 911 calls alerted police at 11:59 a.m. about an active shooting at the superstore, located at 17810 West Center Road.

The gunman, armed with an AR-15 rifle, fired at least six shots, according to early scanner traffic. Shoppers and employees were fleeing the store.

The gunman was white, in his 30s, and had "plenty of ammunition," said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer. Officials believe the gunman entered through one of the front entrances.

Schmaderer said the first arriving officers went into the Target, confronted the gunman and killed him.

Police did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public.

Schmaderer said the shooter had fired rounds, based on casings that were on the ground, but it was unclear if he was firing at anybody.

Police didn't know how many shots were fired either by the gunman or police.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the Omaha Police Department, FBI, U.S. Marshals and Nebraska State Patrol, as well as the Omaha Fire Department, responded to the scene and blocked off the parking lot.

Schmaderer thanked his officers and the other agencies for their swift actions.

"This is what you want," he said. "When you have an active shooter in your city, you want a massive response like this."

Omaha police officers searched the store twice and found no one injured inside. Schmaderer said about 1:15 p.m. that OPD was about to conduct a third sweep.

One Target employee told a World-Herald reporter that he heard multiple shots.

One woman, who declined to give her name, was shopping in the toy department when she heard gunshots.

"I heard three shots," she said. "Everyone was in a panic. We all ran out of the store."

She said she and about a dozen people  employees and other customers  ran out the back door.

Authorities deemed the situation secure at 12:52 p.m. but told motorists to avoid the area as the investigation continues.

A number of Target employees went to the Sleep Number store to seek refuge after the shooting.

As of 1:45 p.m., the police presence on scene had dwindled, but there were still several cruisers at Target.

Photos: Shots fired at west Omaha Target midday Tuesday
Eric Martinez (Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)) and Kevin Tobia (Georgetown University Law Center, Georgetown University - Department of Philosophy) have published "What Do Law Professors Believe about Law and the Legal Academy? An Empirical Inquiry" on SSRN. Here is the abstract:





Legal theorists seek to persuade other jurists of certain theories: Textualism or purposivism; formalism or realism; natural law theory or positivism; prison reform or abolition; universal or particular human rights? Despite voluminous literature about these debates, tremendous uncertainty remains about which views experts endorse. This Article presents the first-ever empirical study of American law professors about legal theory questions. A novel dataset of over six hundred law professors reveals expert consensus and dissensus about dozens of longstanding legal theory debates.



Law professors also debate questions about the nature of the legal academy. Descriptively, which subjects (e.g. constitutional law) and methods (e.g. law & economics) are most central within the legal academy today? And prescriptively, should todays legal academy prioritize additional areas (e.g. legislation) or methods (e.g. critical race theory)? There is great interest in these questions but no empirical dataset of experts views; this results in uncertainty about which views experts endorse. This Articles empirical study also clarifies these questions, documenting law professors evaluation of over one-hundred areas of law.



The legal theory and legal academy findings support implications for legal scholarship, education, and practice. Clearly, debates about law and the legal academys evolution should not be settled by a survey. Nevertheless, insofar as law professors are experts about these issues, it is instructive to discover and carefully examine what views those experts hold, so as to help determine which views are most likely to be true and how the legal academy ought to develop.
First Bank of Baldwin has announced a name change to Pillar Bank effective Feb. 1.

To accommodate its expanding footprint in western Wisconsin communities beyond the Baldwin area, First Bank of Baldwin underwent an extensive branding process to come up with a more encompassing name.

Pillar Bank has been in business for 140 years and serves the communities of Baldwin, Spring Valley, Plum City, Balsam Lake and Clear Lake. Its newest full-service location opening will open in Chippewa Falls on March 1.

Along with the new name comes a new logo and brand look. Pillar Bank is not being acquired or merged. Pillar Bank will remain under the same ownership, leadership and offer the same services and community involvement as before. Existing customers will be keeping the same account numbers, routing and PIN numbers. The only perceivable difference will be new debit and credit cards using the new name and brand and a new website address of www.pillar.bank.

We have an exciting new name, brand look and feel, yet were the same local, community bank you know and trust. As we celebrate 140 years in business as First Bank of Baldwin, my team and I look forward to the next 140 years as Pillar Bank. We are committed to providing the guidance and resources you need to thrive, says Shane Bauer, CEO.


Family of a 22-year-old youth has accused cow vigilantes of thrashing him to death after branding him a cow smuggler in Nuh district, but police said he died in a road accident.

TCN Special Correspondent

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NEW DELHI  Police in Haryanas Nuh district are yet to file the first information report (FIR) on the complaint of 22-year-old Muslim youths family members, who alleged that Waris died on Sunday after he was allegedly beaten up by the members of Bajrang Dal.

The police, however, claimed that Waris, who is the father of a 3-month-old baby and a resident of Hussainpur in Mewat, died in an accident.

In a complaint filed at Taurus Sadar police station, Imran, elder brother of Waris, said the members of Bajrang Dal led by Monu Manesar accused Waris of smuggling cows and beat him up.

The accused took my brother and his associates into the forest in the presence of the police and beat them up brutally. Waris got seriously injured. The accused handed over half-dead Waris to the Turu police station. The police took him to Medical College Nalhad. But Waris died due to severe injuries, said Imran in his complaint.

Shahid, cousin brother of Waris, told TwoCircles.net that the police did not file an FIR on their complaint.

The police took our complaint but have not filed an FIR based on our complaint. The police are under pressure because the accused has support from the government, said Shahid.

Arvind Kumar, SHO at Tauru Police station, told TwoCircles.net that they have filed an FIR related to the accident and cow.

About the allegations levelled by Wariss family members in the complaint, he said that he will investigate them and then take action in the case. He refused to give further details related to the case.

He also informed that the police have filed an FIR under cow protection related to the act. The FIR is against three occupants of the car in which Waris along with his three associates Waris, Shoukeen and Nafis.

In a statement, Nuh SP Varun Singla also insisted that Varis died of an accident and rejected the allegations of the assault.

The body had no visible injuries. It seems that he succumbed to internal injuries sustained in the accident. The family of the deceased has alleged that he was beaten up by gau rakshaks of Bajrang Dal, but prima facie, since the body had no visible injuries, there is no evidence suggesting any physical assault. A complaint against Bajrang Dal has been recorded in the daily diary register. There was no delay in police reaching the spot or any negligence in the accused being handed over to the police from gau rakshaks, said Singla.

According to Imran, his brother Waris is a mechanic and went to Bhiwadi for his work-related issue. When he was coming back, a group of Bajrang Dal members namely Monu, Sonu and Himanshu along with others rammed their vehicle into Wariss car near Khori village. The group abused Waris and his associates and accused them of cow smuggling. Meanwhile, the police also reached the spot. But the group took away Waris and his associates from there.

Waris, who got married in 2021, has a 3-month-old baby. His father is a farmer.

Shahid said that they have presented some videos to the police to show that his brother did not die due to the accident. He was assaulted.

Nafees, one of the associates of Waris, said that they were beaten up by the cow vigilantes.

We told the police to see our brothers being beaten up. The accident did not cause the death. There is a video of after the incident in which the victims are talking properly, said Shahid.

Shahid provided some videos to this correspondent. In a video, the victims are being asked their names and addresses by some person while they are injured and sitting inside a vehicle. In another video, a group of people are taking the victims in the vehicle. In another video, the vigilantes are holding the victim hostage.

He said that they often witnessed the raids of cow vigilantes in their areas. Recently, an elderly man was beaten up and the women in his house misbehaved with them. They are targeted because they are involved in the cattle trade.
Ahead of the Wisconsin spring primary on Feb. 21, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reminds voters how to obtain identification, free of charge, that is valid for voting.

Valid identification for voting purposes includes a driver license, identification card, military or student ID card, etc. There is no separate voter ID. A federally compliant REAL ID card is not required for voting purposes. Anyone unsure if their identification meets the requirements should visit the Wisconsin Elections Commission website to check.

To obtain identification to show at the polls for voting, begin online. A list of the required documents to bring to a DMV Customer Service Center is available at wisconsindmv.gov. If the required documents needed for an ID are not readily available, DMV has a process, called the Voter ID Petition Process (IDPP), to obtain the necessary information. This process, available free of charge, may be used to quickly obtain a receipt valid to take to the polls for voting while the remaining documents or verifications are obtained.

Anyone with questions related to obtaining an ID to vote should call DMVs toll-free Voter ID hotline at 844-588-1069. Questions regarding voter eligibility, poll locations, voter registration information or other election information can be directed to the Wisconsin Elections Commission at elections.wi.gov.

Start the application now at wisconsindmv.gov or at a local DMV Customer Service Center. To find a DMV, check hours, services and wait times, visit wisconsindmv.gov/centers.
TUESDAY, Jan. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The two COVID emergency measures declared by the White House at the start of the pandemic will end in May.

President Joe Biden informed Congress of the plan on Monday, as part of a statement opposing House Republicans plan to immediately end the protections.

An abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system  for states, for hospitals and doctors offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans, the Office of Management and Budget explained in the statement.

Instead, the Biden administration plans to extend both protections until May 11.

After that, COVID-19 would be treated as an endemic threat managed by more typical public health authorities.

Some of the expected changes have already slowly rolled out, as most designated federal COVID relief money has been spent and emergencies that allowed more Americans to have insurance have ended, the Associated Press reported.

And lawmakers have not approved the Biden administrations request for billions to extend COVID testing and vaccine coverage. Meanwhile, a spending package passed last year eliminated a rule that prevented states from discontinuing COVID-era Medicaid coverage. That coverage will end April 1, the AP reported.

Last but not least, the federal government will no longer have control over vaccines and treatments, which could ratchet up prices. Vaccine maker Pfizer has already said it will charge up to $130 per dose of its vaccine, which had until now been paid for by the federal government.

The initial national emergency was declared by then-President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020. It has been extended by Biden since January 2021.

The Biden administration had held off on an early end to the emergency, to wait for a possible winter surge of COVID cases, the AP reported.

But House Republicans are done waiting.

The country has largely returned to normal, Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said Monday. Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over.

COVID case numbers saw a slight increase over the winter, but are below levels of the past two winters, the AP reported. However, testing for the virus is also down.

Since the pandemic began, 1.1 million people have died in the United States, including 3,700 last week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only 15% of Americans have received an updated booster shot, though they have been available for months, CDC data shows.

More information

The World Health Organization has more on COVID-19.

SOURCE: Associated Press
A 70-year-old La Crosse man faces a maximum of life in prison after being accused of multiple sexual assaults of a young child.

Arnie L. Hardt was charged Monday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with a single felony count of first-degree repeated sexual assault of a child younger than 13.

According to the criminal complaint, police interviewed the child Jan. 24 at a local hospital, where a SANE exam was conducted. The child described a series of graphic sex acts that Hardt forced upon the child.

Police interviewed Hardt on Jan. 27. He categorically denied the allegations. The complaint says, I dont know what to say. Im completely dumbfounded. My god. He told police he would never hurt the child identified as the victim.

Judge Todd Bjerke ordered Hardt held in the La Crosse County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond. He imposed the bond after assistant La Crosse County District Attorney Eric Sanford told the court that Hardt had lived in Mexico for 10 years before returning to the U.S. two months ago. Sanford said Hardt doesnt have a passport and can cross the border with a regular ID.

Defense counsel Rachel Krueger argued that Hardt is entitled to a presumption of innocence and asked for a signature bond. She said Hardt is indigent and doesnt have resources to flee.

Bjerke said Hardts bond can be reviewed at a later date if a release plan is presented to the court.

Throwback from Tribune files: Life in the La Crosse area in the 1950s 1951: La Crosse Central High School 1951: YMCA at Seventh and Main streets 1954: Triangle Cafe 1954: Estell Tall Fashions 1954: Howards Clothes 1954: Crescent Jewelers 1954: Tom's Speedometer Shop 1954: YMCA basketball 1954: 5 and 10-cent Store fire 1955: La Crosse Beauty School 1956: Christmas shoppers in downtown La Crosse 1956: Central High School Memorial Day assembly 1957: Kroger 1957: Jackson Plaza 1957: Old Style newspaper advertisement 1958: 1st National Bank 1958: State Bank of La Crosse 1958: Heat exchanger plant 1958: American Legion parade
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Mass shootings have commanded public attention on a disturbingly frequent basis across the U.S. But rather than provoking a unified response from elected officials, each additional shooting seems to be widening the political divide on gun policy among states.

"It's wash, rinse and repeat with these mass shootings," said Michael Anderson, a bartender who survived a mass shooting at a Colorado nightclub. "They happen, and then they happen, and then they happen  and then nothing gets done."

At least nothing that has put a halt to the violence.

In Democratic-led states with already restrictive gun laws, officials have responded to home-state tragedies with even more limits on guns  doubling down on a belief that future shootings can be thwarted by controlling access to lethal weapons.

In many states with Republican-led legislatures, high-profile shootings appear unlikely to prompt any new firearm restrictions this year  reflecting a belief that violent people, not their weapons, are the problem.

"Obviously, no one wants to see these tragedies occur  this loss of life  but how the problem is viewed, and therefore what the response is to that problem, is night and day difference," said Daniel Webster, an American health professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

For the third straight year, the U.S. in 2022 recorded over 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This year got off to another deadly start, including three California mass shootings in barely a week that killed two dozen people. A Saturday morning shooting in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood that killed at least three and wounded four added to the grim toll. That despite the fact California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws.

As more communities grieve, legislative sessions are getting underway in many states. Numerous gun-related bills have been filed, but common ground appears lacking.

In Texas, Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez convened a Capitol news conference this past week with relatives of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed last May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. They pleaded with lawmakers to raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy semi-automatic rifles and lift restraints against lawsuits alleging negligence by law enforcement officers and public agencies.

"An 18-year-old should not be allowed to purchase an ugly weapon," said Felicia Martinez, whose 10-year-old son Xavier Lopez was killed in the attack. She added: "These laws need to be changed, and they need to be changed today  not tomorrow."

Yet that seems unlikely. Texas House Speaker Dade Phela told reporters earlier this month he didn't foresee enough support in the Republican-led House to pass bills limiting access to guns. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said raising the purchasing age for semi-automatic rifles would be "unconstitutional," though several states already have similar restrictions.

Instead, Texas officials responded last summer with $105.5 million for school safety and mental health initiatives.

Missouri seems similarly unlikely to enact stricter gun laws after a 19-year-old killed a teacher, a student and wounded seven others last October at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis. Police said they had previously responded to a call from the 19-year-old's mother to remove a gun from his possession, but they could not do so because Missouri lacks a red-flag law.

If such a law had been in place, "this would not have happened  at least that person, that situation, that gun, that death, all of that could have been prevented," said Janay Douglas, whose 15-year-old daughter fled from the shooter.

Democrats have sponsored legislation allowing authorities to remove guns from people at risk of causing harm. But its prospects are not good.

"I don't think a red flag law  the way I know it to be and the way it's been defined  has any chance of getting through the Missouri Senate, that's for certain," said Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Republican.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has instead proposed $50 million for school safety grants in response to the shooting.

In Oklahoma, which experienced several mass shootings, Republican lawmakers are expected to push for looser gun laws. GOP state Rep. Jim Olsen has filed a bill to lower the age for carrying a firearm from 21 to 18.

"It's a constitutional right," Olsen said. "The immaturity that exists at 18 sometimes also still exists at 22. So, what do we want to do? Raise the age to 25 or 30? I would think not."

By contrast, lawmakers in Democratic-led New York and Illinois moved fairly quickly to enact additional gun restrictions after mass shootings.

An 18-year-old shooter outfitted with body armor and a semi-automatic rifle killed 10 people and injured three others last May at a Buffalo grocery story in a predominantly black neighborhood. Within a month, the legislature and governor enacted laws barring people under age 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles, limiting the sale of bullet-resistant armor and tightening red-flag laws.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed legislation earlier this month spurred largely by an Independence Day parade shooting that killed seven and injured dozens in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The law bans the sale or possession of dozens of specific types of semi-automatic guns and high-capacity ammunition magazines. A judge has temporarily blocked it after gun-rights advocates sued.

In Colorado, lawmakers are proposing a variety of new gun restrictions, two months after five people were killed at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. Democratic leaders have been most supportive of proposals to strengthen red flag laws and raise the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.

Photos: Mass shooting at Lunar New Year celebration in California
A winter storm bringing the triple threat of ice, sleet and snow Tuesday to parts of the South and central US has prompted officials to close roads and schools as they urge people to avoid traveling in dangerous conditions.

About 38 million people from Texas and Oklahoma to as far east as Kentucky and West Virginia are under various forms of winter weather alerts, including warnings of dangerous ice accumulations forecast to make roads a nightmare.

"In addition to potentially hazardous travel conditions, this amount of ice will lead to tree damage and power outages across the hardest-hit regions," the National Weather Service warned in its forecast Monday.

By early Tuesday, freezing rain was being reported in areas across the South and ice was accumulating in Little Rock, Arkansas, where up to half an inch is possible.

Here's what to expect throughout the day:

Oklahoma City will see brief icing Tuesday morning, while the afternoon will bring significant icing to central Texas, central Arkansas and western Tennessee.

Texas will be dealing with widespread icy conditions, with the heaviest accumulation likely coming Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Drivers in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin can expect dangerous conditions on roads.

Residents in Oklahoma City are under a winter weather advisory through Wednesday afternoon, with the expectation of seeing up to two-tenths of an inch of ice.

Icing up to two-tenths of an inch may also be seen in Louisville, Kentucky, while Charleston, West Virginia, may see sleet up to an inch and ice up to a tenth of an inch.

The first wave of freezing rain will begin to weaken as it moves toward West Virginia by late morning.

In Texas, the governor asked the state's emergency management division to increase its resources so it can be ready to respond through Thursday.

Several school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Austin are closed Tuesday and more than 400 flights departing from Texas airports have been canceled. Some roadways in Texas have been shut down due to ice accumulation, according to the state's transportation department.

In Arkansas, the governor declared a state of emergency Monday and activated the winter weather support teams of the state's National Guard to be prepared to help respond to the storm.

"I encourage Arkansans who are experiencing winter weather to avoid travel if possible and heed the warnings of local officials," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.

The emergency order directs $250,000 toward discretionary use by the head of the state's Division of Emergency Management to provide funding for program and administrative costs, the order stated.

"The real enemy is going to be that ice," said Dave Parker, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. "This could potentially be a pretty dangerous situation."

Most of the state is expected to be impacted, and the state is treating most major roads, Parker added.

Ice is the primary concern

The storm is poised to hit areas in the southern and central regions in waves through Wednesday.

And while the forecast shows there will be periods of reprieve over the next two days, roads will likely be dangerously slick throughout the storm as temperatures remain low.

Tuesday is expected to be the toughest day for driving as Texas bridges and roads become icy, according to the weather service's Fort Worth office.

"More widespread freezing rain/sleet is expected Tuesday and Wednesday morning, with worsening travel impacts during this time," the local weather agency said.

Significant icing of about half of an inch is expected on roads in Austin, San Angelo and Dallas. while San Antonio may see up to a tenth of an inch of ice.

Meantime, Texas' primary electricity provider, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told CNN it will be able to meet residents' demand as temperatures plummet.

"We expect sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand and are continuing to monitor forecasts, this week. We are not asking for Conservation at this time. We are informing the public that IF they ... experience an outage to reach out to their local power provider," the agency said in an email.

In Dyer County, Tennessee, icy conditions led officials to shut down the Interstate 155 bridge, according to the highway patrol.

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The Republican chair of the state Senates natural resources committee sounded optimistic Tuesday that the GOP-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers might find common ground in addressing Wisconsins ongoing battle with forever chemicals in the states ground and drinking water.

That could include Evers request for more than $100 million in increased spending on testing and other resources directed toward PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, said Sen. Rob Cowles, chair of the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy.

Without knowing all the fine points, I think we have a good chance of making it happen, whether its a separate bill or in the budget, Cowles, R-Green Bay, told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday.

Cowles has been one of the more vocal Republicans on the need to address PFAS in the state. Green Bay and groundwater and streams in several communities near his district are contaminated with PFAS from a nearby Tyco Fire Products testing facility in Marinette.

Cowles said the Legislature may consider additional actions related to PFAS  also known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in animal tissues and the human body.

Just as with any emerging environmental contaminant, there is more work to be done and thats why we are here today, he said.

Many of Cowles Republican colleagues, however, have been less enthusiastic. While the Legislature has restricted the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, other measures have largely fallen flat.

While crafting the current two-year spending plan in June 2021, the Republican-led budget committee rejected Evers request to spend $10 million annually to create a grant program for municipalities to investigate and respond to PFAS contamination. The committee did approve putting $1 million in annual funding into the committees supplemental fund for collecting and disposing of PFAS-containing firefighting foam  work that continues.

Every one of these environmental issues, it takes a while to get into the psyche of all the legislators, Cowles said.

PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals used in numerous products, including food packaging, non-stick cookware and water-resistant fabrics. Their unique water- and fat-repellent properties have made them a key ingredient in foam used to fight oil-based fires. Some of the compounds have been linked to cancer and other health problems and have been identified in communities across the nation and Wisconsin, including Marinette, Wausau, La Crosse and Madison.

Christy Remucal, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Madison, said addressing PFAS can be very tricky. While the chemicals can be tested for and identified, there is not yet a way to conduct large-scale removal and destruction of the contaminant.

Remucal said preventing contamination at the source remains the most successful option at this time.

In his State of the State address last week, Evers called for $106 million in the upcoming budget to combat PFAS contamination. The money would go toward helping local communities, increasing staff and resources at the state Department of Natural Resources, and increasing PFAS testing, sampling and monitoring.

The states Natural Resources Board voted unanimously in December to approve a scope statement allowing the DNR to draft a rule adding PFOS, PFOA, PFBS and GenX chemicals to the list of contaminants regulated under the states groundwater law.

Groundwater standards would allow the DNR to hold polluters accountable and give private well owners with tainted water access to funding for treatment.

The scope statement sets parameters for the DNR to draft numeric standards, a process that typically takes about 2 years and requires approval of the governor, the Natural Resources Board and the Legislature. The DNR has not yet said what those numeric standards should be.
Here are the Walworth Countys weekly criminal complaints from Jan. 25  Jan. 30. The cases still need to make their way through the Walworth County Court System. All information is from criminal complaints filed in Walworth County Circuit Court. To follow the cases, go to wcca.wicourts.gov.

Neenah man violates bond by operating a motor vehicle without a valid ID and no side mirrorsEmmanuel O Grant, 34, of 1500 block Collins St., Neenah, has been charged with felony bail jumping-Walworth County Case and felony bail jumping-Kenosha County Case. On Jan. 16, a deputy was monitoring traffic on Main Street and Clark Street in the Village of East Troy when he observed a vehicle traveling with no side mirrors. The driver of the vehicle, Grant, the defendant, was out on bond that stated he could not operate a motor vehicle without a valid license stemming from a felony offense back in Feb. 2022 in Walworth County and a felony offense in Kenosha County from Nov. 2022.

Walworth County Jail inmate spits in the face of a correctional officerNithanyl J Delaney, 20, of 900 block E Milwaukee St., Whitewater, has been charged with assault by prisoners. On Nov. 27, 2022, a correctional officer in the Walworth County Jail was advised the Delaney, the defendant, was actively tying clothes around his neck. At that point, the defendant was placed in a restraint chair without incident. A short time later, Delaney began to try and get out of the restraint chair and threatened to spit at the officers who were trying to subdue him. The struggle continued for a bit longer and the defendant spit directly in the face of an officer.

Darien man charged with his fourth OWI in the City of Lake Geneva back in May 2022Ethan R Kruizenga, 34, of N2000 block Wise Rd., Darien, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence-fourth offense and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration-fourth offense. In May 2022 in the City of Lake Geneva at the 700 block of Williams St., the defendant was pulled over in his vehicle for driving while his license was suspended. When approached by an officer, the defendant had glassy/bloodshot eyes, emitted an odor of intoxicants, slurred speech and was unable to keep his balance. When going through testing, Kruizengas blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.164. He was previously convicted of the same offense in 2014, 2021 and 2022.

East Troy man drives drunk in the Village of East Troy, charged with fourth OWIGary Avery Iverson, 42, of N9000 block Pine Ave., East Troy, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated-fourth offense and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration-fourth offense. On May 14, 2022 in the Village of East Troy, a deputy pulled over the defendant after it appeared he was involved in an accident. When talking with the deputy, Iverson had slurred speech, was unable to keep his balance, emitted an odor of intoxicants, as well as bloodshot and glassy eyes. Later, he blew a BAC of 0.142 at the time of his arrest. His previous convictions of the same offense date back to 2002, 2004 and 2014.

Janesville man gets busted for 7th OWI in Sugar CreekMonte D Dozier, 41, of 400 block S Academy Dr., Janesville, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence-seventh offense, operate a motor vehicle while revoked-second offense, and violating a court order restricting operating privilege ignition interlock device, extend order for ignition interlock device. On Jan. 21 in the Town of Sugar Creek, Dozier, the defendant, crossed over the center line, weaved within the lane and was involved in an accident. Upon being approached by a deputy from the Walworth County Sheriffs office, Dozier emitted an odor of intoxicants, had bloodshot and glassy eyes, and was slurring his speech. His preliminary breath test result was a .188. The defendant was previously convicted of the same offense in 2006, three times in 2009, 2017 and 2018.

10-plus photos, videos from Walworth County's 2022 National Night Out Watch now: Deputy Wayne Blanchard talks at National Night Out National Night Out K-9 demonstrations And bite K-9 demonstration Grateful to be alive Watch now: K-9 demonstration at National Night Out Practicing to be safe National Night Out Watch now: K-9 demonstration at Walworth County National Night Out Climbing aboard One big shield Still a little big The mounted search and rescue team Watch now: Openening ceremony at Walworth County National Night Out Watch now: Fire safety talk at Walworth County National Night Out

Milwaukee man charged after a handgun, marijuana and cocaine was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop in the City of DelavanDujuane T Williams, 47, of 2900 block N Pierce St., Milwaukee, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of cocaine-second and subsequent offense, and possession of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC)  second and subsequent offense. On Jan. 7, Williams, the defendant, was pulled over in the City of Delavan. When speaking with Williams, the Delavan police officer could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana, which was stored in the center console. Upon searching the vehicle, seven grams of THC were found in the center console, cocaine was found in the sunglasses holder, and a Springfield XD 9 mm handgun was found in the glovebox.
Lake Geneva Police have completed their investigation into a June 4 shooting incident in the 1500 block of Main Street and have determined the woman died by suicide.

Lake Geneva Detective Sgt. Glen Nettesheim said the department was waiting for testing to be completed at the state crime lab before any final cause of death was declared for 36-year-old Jennifer Lein Bellak.

Police responded on June 4 shortly after 12:15 a.m. to a multi-unit residence in the 1300 block of Main Street after there was a report of a woman shot, according to copies of police reports the Lake Geneva Regional News obtained through an open records request. At the time of the incident, the woman was home along with a man she was dating, 32-year-old Brian Kirchner, as well as three children, two age 13 and one age 8. Two of the children were hers, the third teen was a friend of one of the children.

In the home, there was video surveillance that police were able to review. In the surveillance, there was no evidence of a fight between the woman and Kirchner prior to them going into a back bedroom together. It was in that back bedroom where the gunshot occurred, according to the police reports.

To determine who shot the gun, the gun was swabbed for DNA and the swab was sent to the state crime lab, Nettesheim said. The womans DNA was found on the grip and trigger of the gun. Kirchners DNA was not found on the gun, Nettesheim said.

Police also swabbed both Kirchner and Lein Bellak for gunshot residue on their hands, but ultimately that evidence was not sent into the crime lab because Kirchner likely would have had gunshot residue on his hands after doing CPR on the woman, Nettesheim said.

Kirchner was arrested after the incident, but not in connection to the shooting. He was arrested because of a parole violation, Nettesheim said. He was on probation in Illinois and was not supposed to leave the state of Illinois.

Nettesheim said several weeks prior to the incident, Lein Bellak had held a gun to her head and it had to be wrestled from her hands. She had also reportedly told some people she was pregnant, but she was not, Nettesheim said.

Since the June 4 shooting, which multiple neighbors heard from their houses, many questions have come up about what happened.

Nettesheim said police had an indication about the cause being suicide much earlier in the investigation, but they declined to release any statements publicly until after the DNA evidence was returned from the crime lab.

The 15 finished sculptures in the U.S. Snow Sculpting Championship in Lake Geneva Block 1: New York 2 Block 2: Michigan Block 3: Minnesota Block 4: Wisconsin 1 Block 5: Illinois 2 Block 6: Florida Block 7: North Dakota Block 8: Alaska Block 9: New Hampshire Block 10: Vermont Block 11: Wisconsin 2 Block 12: Illinois 1 Block 13: Colorado Block 14: New York 1 Block 15: Iowa
A Spring Green man recently appeared in Sauk County Circuit Court after being charged with felonies related to child sexual exploitation and bestiality.

Daniel Joseph Ringelstetter, 36, appeared from Sauk County Jail via video with his attorney Jan. 18. Prosecutor Margaret Delain requested a $10,000 bail, which Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock granted. According to court records, he had not been released on bond as of Friday.

Conditions of the bond include that Ringelstetter have no contact with anyone under 18 unless allowed by the Department of Health Services. Ringelstetter is prohibited from using any device which accesses the internet unless it is for work and from having any contact with domestic animals.

According to the criminal complaint:

The Sauk County Sheriffs Office was contacted by an official with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The official told police that a Sparta resident had contacted DHS with concerns that Ringelstetter was exposing a child, and in some cases having the child participate in, sexual activity with adults.

Det. Drew Bulin, a sheriffs office sergeant and a DHS official met with Ringelstetter Jan. 11 at his home, where they spoke to him about the allegations and took his phone after getting his consent and the passcode.

Ringelstetter was also interviewed at the Spring Green Police Department, where he denied sexually exploiting children and explained personal sexual fantasies as reason for his behavior. Police were told by the Sparta resident that Ringelstetter had described having a child involved in some of his sexual activity.

When investigators searched Ringelstetters cellphone, they found video calls between him and another adult which showed a child around 5 or 6 years old engaging in sexual activity and being exposed to Ringelstetters genitals in August. There was also a video of him taken in October in which he is walking up to a child whose back was turned with his genitals exposed. At least two separate videos depicted Ringelstetter engaging in masturbatory behavior with a dog.

Ringelstetter denied engaging in the calls when the child was present during a police interview Jan. 13, claiming he disconnected a video call to tell the person he was talking to that he did not agree to it. He said he did not have any contact information for the other adult, who he claimed to have met on a dating app. He could not provide the name of the dating app. He denied exposing any children to sexual activity.

Ringelstetter is scheduled to next appear in court for a preliminary hearing March 9.

GALLERY: Sauk County court, cops Arsonist sentenced Shores enters Spoentgen argues Amber Lundgren hearing 'I'm sorry, that's all I can say' 020221-bara-news-metzger1 Defense attorney Jeremiah Meyer-O'Day Amber Lundgren in shackles Medflight near Baraboo Judge sets $250K bond for Pulvermacher in Baraboo homicide case Amber Lundgren homicide hearing Albart B. Shores trial Sauk County ADA Rick Spoentgen Pulvermacher listens 102519-bara-news-sauk-co-homicide1 William Wenzel Judge Michael Screnock Judge Klicko and attorneys Martinez and Spoentgen Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Rick Spoentgen Drew Bulin testifies Wenzel and Van Wagner in courtroom 073021-bara-news-dogs1 Mike Albrecht sworn in 051121-bara-news-law-zunker
As Hilary Dugan biked around Madison on Sunday, she found two different worlds as she navigated between city- and UW-Madison-maintained bike trails.

An assistant professor of limnology at UW-Madisons College of Letters and Science, Dugan rode the citys paths, which were plowed and at times swept. Then she arrived at campus to find pathways coated in road salt.

At that point its almost laughable, youre using salt for traction, Dugan said of a bike path near UW Hospital. Theres places, especially a hospital, where you want people to be able to access it easily. But at that point, its just egregious pollution. You can clear a sidewalk with a fraction of that.

Madison got a lot of snow last night, and @CityofMadison is out plowing, but not salting.



Yet, @UWMadison is dousing their campus (roads, parking lots, sidewalks) with salt.



Why? a   Hilary Dugan (@hildug) January 29, 2023

Madison isnt the only city to debate road salt, when to use it and how much. But given salts environmental impact  it washes into waterways and alters ecosystems  the importance of limiting road salt is of particular interest here, where people pride themselves on the beauty of Lake Monona, Lake Mendota and the areas other lakes.

This winter, for the first time, Madison administrators said the city would fine residents for oversalting sidewalks.

And when a snowstorm blew through the area this past week, city officials said they planned to plow the roads and sometimes spread sand for traction, but they would not salt, in part because salt is ineffective at melting ice when the temperatures get too cold.

UW-Madison chose to salt, however. So on Monday, when people like Dugan arrived on campus, they found walkways and roads strewn with salt.

Dugan called out the university on social media for its use of salt.

On social media site Reddit, anonymous users in a Madison-based group debated the merits of using road salt. One user wrote, I dont care if they salt or not, I just want them to more regularly run the snow plows. Another said they couldnt believe people were using 50 pounds of road salt a year on their properties.

Salt as far as the eye can see next to @UWMadison hospital. https://t.co/olIM2eBuoT pic.twitter.com/W6qHDt7Azm  Robb Stankey (@stankey) January 29, 2023

Its just nuts how much water it will take to dilute that much salt, not to mention my poor dogs paws when I have to drag them through it on the sidewalk, they wrote.

Salty sidewalks and more

What we put on the land will find its way into our water, said Paul Dearlove, deputy director of the Clean Lakes Alliance, an organization that seeks to improve water quality in the Yahara River Watershed.

Salt is particularly problematic, he said, as it makes area lakes less inhabitable for vulnerable species and makes our drinking water saltier.

The city first introduced salt treatments to roads in the early 1950s and within 15 years, the salt concentration in Lake Wingra tripled, Dearlove said. Even though a 50% salt use reduction program was put in place across the city in the 1970s, more development and ultimately more roadways that demand more salt have resulted in consistently higher concentrations.

Especially when you get the snow melt happening, is you get this acute toxicity occurring right at the (storm sewer) outfall, he said. That creates these dead zones for aquatic life, because for a lot of aquatic life, except for the most tolerant, they cant take it. Theyll either die or they have to move elsewhere.

UW-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell said the Facilities department uses salt as needed to keep its 13 miles of roads and 60 miles of sidewalks safe for use. Staff minimize salt usage by closing off redundant sidewalks and stairs on campus, using brine on roads if able and avoiding using salt while its actively snowing. Staff is trained to use the minimum amount of salt and opt for removing snow with plows or shovels.

Exceptions can occur on machines intended to distribute bulk salt. For example, plow trucks upon start-up can unintentionally drop a bit more salt, Tyrrell said. (The Facilities department) has long been focused on reducing salt use wherever and whenever possible.

Saltier waterways

Dearlove isnt advocating for a ban on using salt, but he said there are ways it should and shouldnt be used. Putting salt on top of snow, for example, is unnecessary at best and lazy at worst, he said, and using so much that it would crunch under peoples feet is a sign its being used too much.

Salt also can be swept up after it has done its job, Dearlove said, so it doesnt end up in waterways or groundwater as the snow melts.

How to salt Try to avoid using salt if possible, but if it's necessary, here's how to do so in a way that's environmentally conscious.  Use as little as possible  a 12-oz. cup should be enough to salt your entire driveway or 10 sidewalk squares. There should be a few inches between salt crystals.  Clear the snow first and place salt on areas that have ice formation.  Don't use it when temperatures are below 15 degrees F.  Sweep up melting agents afterward.  Consider pets when using salt. Those crystals can cause sores on exposed paws.

As aquatic diversity dies off, the overall ecosystem and the food chain become more unstable, Dugan said. Invasive species such as zebra mussels also tend to be more resilient in saltier waters, changing biodiversity for the worse.

Outside of our waterways, salt is a corrosive material. It eats away at concrete, deteriorates the metal on cars and causes sores on the bottoms of exposed pet paws, Dearlove said.

Additional salt in drinking water is a pressing concern for people who need to reduce their sodium intake, and higher concentrations of salt in tap water can damage pipes made of heavy metals, Dugan said. Thats the cause of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as saltier water leached lead out of the pipes to make the water undrinkable, Dugan said.

Doing more with less

The city of Madison attempts to walk the line between public safety and environmental impact.

Its city policy that only main roadways in Madison receive salt treatment, Madison Streets Division spokesperson Bryan Johnson said. Its limited to heavily traveled streets, arterial roads, Madison Metro bus routes and streets near schools. Residential streets get snow removal and a sand mixture that has a small percentage of salt in it to provide traction if needed.

And now, property owners will be charged for their excess salt if not removed once a sidewalk is cleared.

There is no perfect solution for clearing the roadways that is safe, cost-effective and environmentally conscious, Johnson said. It often comes down to a delicate balance based on how the weather ahead of a snowfall allows the Streets division to prepare.

Theres consequences for the salt  pretty serious consequences, Johnson said. So, its just trying to find that right balance between public safety and whats right for the environment, and where is that line ... are we willing to trade drinking water to be able to go five miles an hour faster on Regent Street?
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Earlier this month, Ellen Gilland shot and killed her terminally ill husband, Jerry, inside a Daytona Beach, Florida hospital. Mr. Gilland had been ill for quite a while, and the duo planned to carry out the shootingtogether.

Ms. Gilland refused to leave the room for over four hours after the shooting, but eventually negotiated an exit with police. Several members of the hospital staff were evacuated, however nobody else was harmed in the shooting.

For more information see The Associated Press Woman fatally shoots dying husband at hospital, police say, KWQC, January 21, 2023.

Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2023/01/woman-fatally-shoots-dying-husband-at-hospital-police-say.html
Boeing has manufactured its last 747 jet airplane. The move ends the long production history of one of the companys most popular aircraft.

The aerospace company built the last 747 for American-based airline Atlas Air. The plane was delivered to the company on Tuesday. The final 747 was the 1,574th one manufactured by Boeing at its production center in the state of Washington. Thousands of employees were expected to take part in a ceremony for the airplane.

Boeing completed the first 747 in 1969. The aircraft has served as a supply plane, an airliner with the ability to carry nearly 500 passengers and a transport plane for space shuttles. The 747 also serves as Air Force One, the official aircraft for the president of the United States.

The plane revolutionized travel by connecting international cities that had never been directly linked before. Its ability to carry many passengers meant more people could travel by air.

But over the past 15 years, Boeing and its European competitors have launched their own versions of large planes that are more profitable and use less fuel. The newer aircraft also have just two engines instead of the 747s four.

If you love this business, youve been dreading this moment, said longtime airline expert Richard Aboulafia. He added that the end of 747 production clearly demonstrates that nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore. However, Aboulafia said it should not be forgotten that for many years, the 747 had a major influence on the development of the airline industry.

Boeing approved production for the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport plane, the C-5A. The idea was to put new, powerful engines designed for transport aircraft into planes designed to carry passengers.

It took Boeing workers less than 16 months to complete the first 747. The major effort ended up earning the manufacturing team a nickname called The Incredibles. The planes production required a huge factory in Everett, Washington. It is still the worlds biggest building by volume.

The body of the aircraft, known as the fuselage, measured about 69 meters long. The tail was as tall as a six-story building. The design included a second level that extended upward over the first third of the plane. Some airline companies turned the second level into a first-class sitting area.

The large, new plane model became known as the Queen of the Skies.

It was the first big carrier, the first wide-body. So, it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it, said Guillaume de Syon. He is a history professor and airline expert at Pennsylvanias Albright College.

Delta was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017. Some international carriers continue to use the plane to transport passengers, including Germanys Lufthansa.

Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 models early last year and the final one left Boeings factory on Tuesday.

Boeings relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration has been strained since deadly crashes of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, happened in 2018 and 2019.

The FAA took nearly two years  far longer than Boeing expected  to approve design changes and permit that plane back in the air.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

deliver v. to bring something to a person or place

dread  v. to feel worried or frightened about something that has not yet happened

nickname  n. a name used informally instead of a persons real name

standard  n. a level of quality, especially a level that is acceptable

first-class adj. the best or highest level of something

strain  v. to cause problems for a situation or relationship

_______________________________________________________________

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Pope Francis started a six-day trip to Africa on Tuesday.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He was supposed to visit last summer, but postponed the trip because of ongoing problems with his legs.

Those who helped organize the trip said they hope the Popes visit will bring international attention to the conflicts in both countries.

Francis spoke with the Associated Press last week. Yes, Africa is in turmoil, he said.

There is fighting in the eastern part of Congo. Government soldiers are fighting rebels and groups linked to the Islamic State. The Pope was supposed to go to the city of Goma to meet with a group from the area. But, the meeting site has been changed to Kinshasa, the capital.

Catholicism is growing in Africa. The religion is most common in Congo where followers make up half of the population. The country is home to thousands of Catholic clergy and other workers.

The Pope has visited Africa four other times in his 10 years as Church leader.

We need to listen to their culture: dialogue, learn, talk, promote, Francis said.

The main event is Wednesday, when the Pope will lead a religious ceremony called a mass at Ndolo airport. About 2 million people are expected.

People from all over the country were coming to Kinshasa for the event. One man said he walked 45 minutes to the airport to see the Popes arrival.

Jean-Louis Mopina said the Pope is like a pilgrim sent by God.

President Felix Tshisekedi met with diplomats who came to Congo for Pope Francis visit. The Congolese leader said the visit shows that the Vatican is concerned with the acts of violence and intolerance that you are witnessing in the eastern part of Congo. The World Food Program said the fighting has displaced 5.7 million people in recent years.

The local director of an Italian-based aid group said he hoped the Popes visit can bring a message of peace.

The second part of the Popes trip will mark his first visit South Sudan, the worlds youngest country. South Sudan is a majority Christian country where fighting has continued even after a 2018 peace plan to end a civil war.

There, the Pope will be joined by top Christian religious leaders from England and Scotland. The three are seeking to show united Christian support in helping South Sudan carry out the plan.

Paolo Impagliazzo is the leader of a group working on putting parts of the 2018 peace deal into place. He said one part  putting together an army made of government and opposition soldiers  has been painfully slow.

He said the visit from the Pope and the other leaders will bring hope to the people and strengthen the churches  that are playing a critical role in bringing about peace and dialogue in South Sudan.

Im Caty Weaver.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

turmoil n. disorganization, fighting

dialogue n. speaking between two or more groups or people

promote v. to speak positively about an idea

pilgrim n. a religious traveler

intolerance n. a lack of understanding or appreciation for an idea

_______________________________________________________________

We want to hear from you. Do you think the Popes visit will make a difference?

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Educators say childrens behavior reached crisis levels after the pandemic shutdowns. Now, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink the ways they discipline students.

In recent years, some schools have adopted policies intended to reduce suspensions and expulsions. Some experts say suspensions and expulsions hurt students ability to learn and largely affect minority students.

But more students have been misbehaving. Some school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether a softer approach can effectively deal with problems that disrupt classrooms.

The latest example came recently in Newport News, Virginia, when a 6-year-old shot his teacher. Teachers there complained at a school board meeting that the school system had become too easy on students. Students who physically attacked school workers were often permitted to stay in the classroom, they said.

The local school board said it would take the necessary steps to restore public confidence in the school system.

Misbehavior has been on the rise since students returned to classrooms following COVID-19 lockdowns. The National Center for Education Statistics questioned school leaders on the issue last summer. It found that 56 percent of school leaders said the pandemic led to increased classroom disruptions from student misbehavior. And 48 percent said it led to more acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.

Rachel Perera studies education at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She said new criticism of approaches to discipline could slow changes in policy.

Theres a lot of pressure on schools right now, she said. I worry that that will translate to schools falling back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need.

Policy changes are already happening. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, the school board approved the use of a restorative practices program in August. The program was meant to center on conflict resolution, repairing harm and rebuilding relationships in the classroom. But the district paused the program in December, with plans to restart it in the 2023-2024 school year. It did so after concerns were raised over incidents in school, including a video of a student attacking a teacher at a high school.

As of 2020, 21 states and the District of Columbia had passed legislation supporting the use of restorative practices in schools. That information comes from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Carrying out the practice correctly takes time, resources, and community support, said Rebecca Epstein. She is the centers executive director.

Change is hard, Epstein said. It cant be up to individual teachers alone to shift the culture It really takes a whole school cultural shift.

Using restorative justice does not mean a school cannot remove a disruptive student from the classroom, said Thalia Gonzalez. She is a professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. But unlike other forms of discipline, restorative practices aim to understand the causes of a students behavior. The approach is less centered on punishment.

Traditional discipline has widened inequities. Black children are often suspended or expelled at rates far higher than white children. Research has found that these differences in discipline can have lifelong effects for children, including worsened educational results and higher rates of imprisonment.

The Virginia city of Newport News has its own history with restorative justice.

At a school board meeting in 2017, district officials discussed efforts to reduce school suspensions while using restorative practices. At the same time, Tracy Pope was the school systems restorative practices specialist. She said at the meeting that such practices did not do away with anything already in place. She described the practices as "another way to look at how we do discipline.

Even before the shooting of a first-grade teacher, many educators were unhappy with the way the school system dealt with student discipline. In a spring 2022 opinion study of teachers and other employees, only 60 percent said school leaders were addressing poor behavior among students.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.

Quiz- US Schools Face Pressure to Discipline Students Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

discipline  v. to punish as a way of making sure that rules or orders are obeyed

expulsion  n. the act of forcing someone to leave a place

restorative  adj. having the ability to make a person feel strong or healthy again

assault  n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically

shift  v. to move or to cause to move to a different place, position, etc.

reintegration  n. returning people to their original society or status

inequity  n. lack of fairness
LEXINGTON  Head Start, a program of Community Action Partnership of Mid Nebraska (Mid), provides comprehensive services to children and families. Lexington Head Start is now taking applications for the 2023-2024 year

The objective of the Head Start program is to enhance the cognitive, social and emotional development of income eligible children through the provision of comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social and other services, involve parents in their childrens learning and to help parents make progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.

Head Start enhances childrens physical, social, emotional and intellectual development while helping parents with the goal of achieving self sufficiency through the family partnership and goal setting process.

Head Start creates an environment that builds upon and responds to the unique strengths and needs of each child and family, including: high quality early education at monthly family connection activities; home visits; on-going parenting enhancement services; comprehensive health services; nutrition; and ongoing support to parents through case management and peer support groups.

If you have a preschool child, age 3 or 4, please contact Christina, Community Action Partnership of Mid Nebraska Lexington Head Start, at the following address or phone number:

931  West 7th Street. Lexington, NE 68850, (308) 324-5282

For more information see www.communityactionmidne.com for all Mid Head Start and Early Head Start center contact information.
LEXINGTON  Crossroads Mission Avenue is currently in campaign mode to help raise funds for construction of a homeless shelter and transitional housing facility. A thrift store has been opened at their Lexington location to help fundraise.

Crossroads is a Christian nonprofit that provides housing, job training and support to enable homeless people to become self-sufficient. It was launched 39 years ago in Hastings. It expanded to Kearney in 2012 and to Grand Island in 2018.

The former Love in Action building at 907 W. 8th St. was purchased by Crossroads and will be renovated into 17 one-room apartments that can serve single men, single women or families in Dawson County.

Crossroads began serving the Lexington community in July 2022, partnering with Food Bank for the Heartland to provide a monthly mobile food pantry. Crossroads staff, guests and volunteers within the Lexington Community work together to pass out food boxes, there are no requirements to attend the monthly event, which serves up to 450 families.

Daniel Buller, executive director of Crossroads, said they began their fundraising campaign last summer after they purchased the building on 8th St.

Their total goal is $1.4 million to cover acquisition and construction costs. Buller said they have had successful campaigns in the past when they worked to open their other facilities in the Tri-City area.

While capital funding and grants will cover a portion of their costs, $675,000 will come from outside donations and funding, so far $250,000 has been raised.

Crossroads has applied for capital funding with applications being accepted through August 2023. Buller said the Lexington site is in a interim period, where they are waiting to start construction. During this period, a thrift store has been opened in the 907 W. 8th St. location.

The thrift store is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store offers furniture, clothing, household goods, linens, home improvement, books, vinyl records and more at affordable prices.

Donations from the community will be accepted at the location; gently used clothing is always in demand, as well as other household items.

The store officially opened on Monday, Jan. 30, Buller said they had great success on their first day with a lot of community support and people expressing the need for a homeless/transitional shelter in the community.

Buller said Crossroads utilizes a sustainability plan that has been successful in the Tri-Cities, once construction begins on the shelter; the store will not close down permanently, but will be moved to another location in the community.

All proceeds from the thrift store go to support local homeless programs, Buller said.

Buller said they offer a four phase program to those who stay with them to prepare and equip them after their time at Crossroads. The first phase is the Personal Resilience Program, that focuses on life skill classes, community service, attending counseling, if applicable and weekly evaluations with a case manager.

The second phase is the Employment Phase, that includes starting a job search, working with employment agencies to find work, stay with an employer for 30 days, start paying off debt and keep attending any needed counseling.

Employment and Finance Program, is the third phase that focuses on maintaining employment, continuing to pay off debt, begin a savings account and continuing with counseling.

The last phase is, Leadership, that includes continuing to save money, attending leadership skills classes, acquire a leadership duty at Crossroads and pass the phase four monthly evaluations.

Its not for nothing that the Lexington funding campaign is titled, Following the Need.

Buller said over the years they have been able to see where the needs are in surrounding counties. For instance when they opened in Hastings, they were seeing Hall County residents, when they opened in Grand Island, they aided Buffalo County residents and now their Kearney facility, opened in 2012, has been aiding Dawson County residents.

Crossroads Mission Avenue is not looking to compete with existing programs in Lexington. The objective of this capital campaign is to provide shelter and services where there is a need, and to partner with existing agencies, per Crossroads Lexington campaign materials.

The needs are great in Lexington, and the Crossroads Board of Directors and I believe that Crossroads is in a unique position to serve not only those with food insecurities in Lexington, but also the homeless and needy men, women and families of Dawson County. With the support of the Crossroads Board of Directors and the City of Lexington, Crossroads Mission Avenue seeks to Follow the Need and join the Lexington community in providing local care and programming for the homeless and needy in Dawson County, Buller wrote.

Renovation of the shelter could be completed as early as December 2023.

Transitional housing is a key component of recovery, providing affordable housing as our guests adjust to a new level of independence and responsibility, and leads to better long-term outcomes, Buller wrote.
Madison summer school teachers will receive an hourly wage of $40 this summer, a raise from the $28 per hour offered last summer, after a 6-1 vote Monday by the Madison School Board.

The one-time pay boost is meant to address staffing shortages, which disrupted summer school last year and kept about 600 students from attending.

I think that it is important to our scholars that we staff summer school in its entirety, and that we make sure the students that want and need the opportunity to attend summer school have it, board President Ali Muldrow said.

I think that last year our inability to staff summer school fully had real consequences for our students and I dont think we get to ignore that fact and I dont think we get to do the same thing that we did last year and hope that it produces a different result, Muldrow said.

The raise can be given within the existing summer school budget, so no new funding was approved Monday. To allow for the change in budget, enrollment this summer will be capped at 4,000 students.

Board member Nicki Vander Meulen motioned to raise teacher pay for the summer instead to $35, and use the remaining $5 an hour for other support staff. She expressed concerns last week that summer school support staff wouldnt receive this raise, especially special-education assistants, or SEAs.

The less SEAs, the less disabled students are able to attend summer school. This is an equity issue, Vander Meulen said.

District officials did not have a financial breakdown of what that proposal would cost Monday night.

Muldrow did not support Vander Meulens motion because she believed teachers deserved the full $40-an-hour wage.

I support this because Im married to an educator and I know how much it costs for him to teach summer school, she said. If you are the parent of small children, you have to put your own kids in day care or camp in order to teach for us. And if you are not making a competitive wage, youre not making anything, youre basically working for our district to be able to afford day care.

Vander Meulen was the only board member to vote for her motion, and the only one to vote against the $40-per-hour wage.

The board previously floated the idea of lowering the hourly rate to $35, but as a cost-saving effort since that rate aligned more with other area schools.

The summer school teacher wage in the Middleton-Cross Plains district this year is $31 per hour. Its between $28.61 and $35.61 in Sun Prairie, $28 for DeForest teachers who are already district staff and $25 for nonstaff members, between $31.41 and $36.65 in Waunakee, between $30.76 and $46.13 in Oregon, and $27.50 in Stoughton.

The $40 raise for Madison summer school teachers is still less than the average district teachers salary during the school year, according to Cindy Green, the associate superintendent of teaching and learning.

Theres a reason why we want to increase the teacher pay to not only make it competitive and attractive, to recruit and keep our teachers working in the summer. It is also an opportunity to offer them something that is closer to their hourly wage, Green said.

Hiring for summer school staff across Dane County is already underway, according to Green, since the programs for the summer depend on the amount of staffing.

Staffing remains a top concern of the school district. Several staff members spoke to the board on Monday about the burnout teachers continue to feel and the substitute shortages that further exacerbate things.

The board discussed the issues at length, including concerns about central office staff and other district staff stepping in to substitute teach in classes.

People have left, be it central office or teachers, because theyre having to sub. And then they go to another district and then theyre having to sub over there, too, Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said. So its a fact.

How are we going to retain the people that we did just hire? Jenkins said. Thats why its going to be very important for us to invest in our staff moving forward. That just has to be number one.
Dane County, with assistance from the private sector, is conducting a survey that will help it determine how to tackle the regions ongoing housing affordability crisis and shortage in the coming months and years.

County residents from all income brackets and backgrounds are invited to take the Community Housing Survey until Feb. 9, said Olivia Parry, senior planner with the Dane County Department of Planning and Development, who is overseeing the studys marketing and promotion.

Participants can anonymously take the survey, which is available in English, Spanish and Hmong, online or by mail. To request a paper copy of the survey, participants can call 608-301-5465 or email plandev@countyofdane.com with their name and address, Parry said. The survey takes seven to 10 minutes to complete.

As thanks for taking the survey, participants will be entered in a raffle to win a prize.

The study is part of a larger project Parry helps manage known as the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy, which she said kicked off last fall.

The purpose of the RHS is to acknowledge, reinforce, and build on local efforts, assess the ongoing challenges, and work together to take the next steps to expedite the development and preservation of affordable/workforce housing, according to the departments website.

The RHS has a roughly 70-member housing advisory committee that meets regularly and includes representatives from the Dane County Towns and Cities and Villages Association, elected officials, business leaders, developers, and nonprofits, among others, Parry said. The committee is working with Chicago real estate consultant SB Friedman Development Advisors to conduct the survey, she said.

We are disseminating (the survey) in every possible way you could imagine, Parry said, adding that the goal is to gather 5,000 respondents by the February deadline. We want to know what (county residents) think are the most important ways (the municipality) can try and solve (regional housing issues). We are also asking people about their personal experience with housing.

[Correction: This story has been updated to correct what people receive for taking the survey.]
In their first joint appearance, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and challengers Scott Kerr and Gloria Reyes traded views and visions on a host of issues from public safety to transit in a robust but civil forum Monday night.

The candidates laid out positions at a 90-minute forum sponsored by multiple West Side neighborhood associations before a full house of more than 80 people at the Sequoya Library.

The format discouraged direct confrontations but Reyes challenged the mayors leadership on several fronts.

But Rhodes-Conway said the city has made progress on many challenges as she led through tumultuous times wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sometimes-destructive protests that left business windows on State Street and parts of Downtown boarded up following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 and the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha three months later.

Kerr, meanwhile, repeatedly voiced his desire for better communications with residents and common-sense solutions.

In 2019, Rhodes-Conway defeated the citys longest-serving mayor, Paul Soglin, to become the citys first openly gay mayor. She also served on the City Council for six years.

Four years ago Madison voted for change, she said, contending the city has made progress on her priorities of housing, bus rapid transit, climate change and racial equity. Her priorities for a second term, she said, are public safety and housing.

Kerr, a technician with the Traffic Engineering Division and a city employee for 42 years, said hes a lifelong Madison resident who wants to make government more responsive to its citizens, and would use a polling system to get input and respect what residents want.

Reyes, a former CEO of Briarpatch Youth Services, deputy mayor, Madison School Board president and city police officer, listed priorities of public safety, affordable housing, economic development and equity. If elected, she would be the citys first Hispanic mayor.

I care about this community, she said. Madison raised me.

On public safety, the mayor said the city is fundamentally safe and is taking immediate actions, mid-term intervention and long investments. She said the city is using an evidence-based, data-driven approach that has reduced gun violence, car thefts and car crashes. She noted the city added police to help meet challenges brought by the attachment of the town of Madison, and is making investments to let the police focus on its core mission and to support youth.

Reyes saw a different landscape and said the city is losing too many Black youths to violence. We are not collaborating, she said. Its an equity issue. We need to wrap ourselves around young people. We need a holistic approach.

Kerr said the city should increase police staffing as much as we can, and make changes, such as not using officers to make mental health transports and to better target enforcement and resources. He said all officers should have body-worn cameras, and he called for increased security cameras on streets.

Buses and transit

The candidates also differed on public transit.

The priority, Kerr said, should be to increase ridership and decrease the subsidy to Metro Transit. He said the coming Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is taking away infrastructure designed to protect pedestrians and removing parking. I dont think it was thought too well, he said. We need to make sure we are serving all communities who use the bus now.

Reyes said she generally supports BRT, but that the bus-riding environment has evolved since the pandemic. She said the coming Metro Transit redesign, which will make some riders walk further to catch a bus, is an injustice to our communities of color.

Rhodes-Conway said the cost of BRT will be almost entirely borne by the federal government and that BRT wont add significant operating costs because its replacing buses on existing high-ridership corridors. The Metro Transit redesign, she said, is addressing current inequities that force low-income residents and minorities to take much longer commutes.

Equity is baked into the design of the system, she said.

With the city facing substantial structural deficits as federal pandemic money wanes, Reyes and Rhodes-Conway differed on past decisions and next steps.

The mayor faulted the state Legislature for failing to increase revenues or allow the city new means of getting revenue, and said she inherited a structural deficit. She said she has instituted a new longer-term approach for the operating budget on how to best use city resources. We do have some difficult budget years ahead, she said.

Reyes had questions. How did we get here? What did we do as a city? What did our mayor do in the past four years? she said, promising an audit on the way federal pandemic money has been spent. We have to be fiscally responsible.

Kerr said he isnt privy to all city finances and wants to do more research.

The next mayoral forum, again sponsored by multiple organizations, is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Urban League of Greater Madison, 2222 S. Park St.

The city elections will begin with primaries for mayor and in eight City Council districts on Feb. 21. The general election is set for April 4.

[Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the month of George Floyd's murder.]

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A lieutenant governor strolling in to talk with the governor or chief of staff is hardly a shocking development  unless you consider how life was before former House Speaker Scott Bedke took the job a few weeks ago.

He provides a marked contrast from his predecessor, Janice McGeachin, who spent much of her term campaigning for Gov. Brad Littles job. Suffice it to say that no tears were shed when McGeachin left the lieutenant governors office in early January.

Bedkes relationship with the governor is much different. He and Little are native Idahoans, fellow ranchers, former legislative colleagues and longtime friends. The two may have spirited discussions about various issues, but there is no serious disagreement about the states general direction or the governors agenda.

We work for the citizens of this state, Bedke says. Elections are over, and I dont think we are well served as citizens when there are cross purposes.

So, we all can breathe easily when Little leaves the state and Bedke serves as acting governor. As Little quipped in his State of the State address, the only thing hed need to worry about is Bedke making a riveting speech about water adjudication. There will be no more politically-motivated executive orders when the governor crosses the state line.

I will not misuse the office, Bedke says.

Dont get the impression Bedke will be silent during his time as lieutenant governor. He served 10 years as House speaker, the longest-serving speaker in the states history, so he has plenty of opinions about state government. And the governor is smart enough to listen.

I bring value in several areas  all the natural resource issues, with emphasis on water, Bedke says. I bring value with my legislative experience, with knowing how the process works and institutional knowledge. I served on the education, budget and transportation committees  arguably, the equivalent of a post-graduate degree in all those areas.

More importantly, Little and Bedke have a mutual trust.

A lieutenant governors job description is relatively simple. The person serving in that position presides over the Senate during the legislative session, which Bedke does routinely, and serves as acting governor when the boss is out of state  which Bedke will do responsibly. His duties from there will depend on arrangements he makes with the governor.

Bedkes role will be much different from his days as speaker, where managing the House and the egos was enough of a challenge. It also included negotiations with the Senate and executive branch. He has no major policy role as lieutenant governor, other than to break tie votes in the Senate. But knowing Bedke and his hard-charging nature, he wont treat his new job like a three-month vacation from his ranch.

Im looking forward to being out in the communities and seeing how its working, Bedke says. I enjoyed being speaker and enjoyed serving in the Legislature, but you can only do that for so long. Im going to extend the reach of the governor. He cant be everywhere at once, but we can be in twice as many places if he and I are out there.

And, as with the governor, Bedke will talk a lot about education  while promoting the governors call for higher-education scholarships for Idaho students.

Thats not just for community colleges and universities, Bedke said. It can give kids a leg up on in-demand careers, and I think thats a good idea.

To some within the Republican Party, its just one of these liberal initiatives that only RINOs can appreciate. Bedke has a different take.

Everybody wants to make education a wedge issue, but Ive traveled the state and talked with a lot of people. It doesnt matter if you are Republican or Democrat, or live east, west, north or south. People want their kids exposed to a quality education. That means having good facilities and good teachers in every classroom, he said. We take the oath that we will provide a general, uniform and thorough system of free schools to Idaho kids. If you want to defund education, then lets talk about changing the constitution. People who live up to that commitment are not liberal.
A Mount Airy, North Carolina, man is in a Surry County, North Carolina, jail awaiting extradition on charges in Patrick County.

Keith Samuel Gunter, 59, was arrested Thursday afternoon following a report at 12:20 p.m. of a shooting that occurred on Chestnut Street in Stuart, a Patrick County Sheriffs Office news release stated.

A person allegedly shot at and struck a residence while it was occupied by three people and then drove away. Later that same day the Surry County Sheriffs Office arrested Gunter on a probation violation charge, the release stated.

Gunter has now been charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling and is awaiting extradition on that charge, Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said in the release.

No other information was available.
Carolina Caring is hosting Walk a Mile with Me, an online support group for caregivers, spouses and widows/widowers of veterans, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m.

The group will continue to meet on the first Tuesday of each month and is designed to be a welcoming place to talk about the journey before and after the passing of a veteran, according to a news release.

Carolina Caring, founded in 1979, is an independent, community-based, nonprofit health care provider. It specializes in programs that offer relief from chronic conditions and serious illnesses and the challenges they bring, including palliative medicine and hospice care for all ages, primary care and grief counseling. Currently, Carolina Caring serves 12 counties across western North Carolina, including McDowell County, and the Charlotte region.

Carolina Caring for Veterans is proud to be a Level IV partner of the We Honor Veterans program, an awareness initiative spearheaded by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The program has also been recognized as a partner of the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Program.

For more information, contact Cindy Stamey, Carolina Carings director of community and veteran relations, at cstamey@carolinacaring.org or call 828-466-0466. You can also visit www.CarolinaCaring.org.
On Monday, Jan. 23, Foothills Regional Commission hosted its sixth annual Legislative Gathering at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

More than 140 local leaders, community partners and state and federal legislators representing the Foothills region gathered to discuss the most pressing issues.

The Foothills Regional Commission is the council of governments for the Isothermal region, which includes Cleveland, McDowell, Polk and Rutherford counties in western North Carolina. The membership of the commission consists of the local governments within the Isothermal region.

This event provides local government officials from the four-county region an opportunity to join in conversation with legislative representatives from North Carolinas General Assembly and the United States Congress. The event commenced with a welcoming statement from Foothills Board Chairman Fred Baisden, according to a news release.

Following his introduction, attendees enjoyed brunch and continued discussions amongst themselves. As brunch came to a close, the representatives shared legislative updates regarding their jurisdictions. U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards from North Carolinas 11th Congressional District kicked off this years proceedings by introducing his state staff and providing updates on his new committee assignments.

Edwards was followed by updates from N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore (District 111), N.C. Sen. Ted Alexander (District 44), N.C. Rep. Kelly Hastings (District 110), and N.C. Rep. Jake Johnson (District 113). The speakers discussed their priorities for the upcoming legislative session, including funding for broadband initiatives, transportation projects and community revitalization efforts. After the updates, local leaders discussed the need for U.S. 74 to receive an interstate designation in order to stimulate economic progress in the region.

Additionally, the following individuals made an appearance at the event: Robin Ramsey, regional representative for U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis; Tyler Teresa, regional representative for U.S. Sen. Ted Budd; Brett Keeter, district director for U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C. 10); and Roger Kumpf, regional director for McHenry.

This years legislative breakfast was the sixth time leaders from around the Foothills region congregated to discuss local member governments priorities and the ways in which Foothills Regional Commission can facilitate community and economic development, according to the news release.
The Angolan Foreign Relations minister discussed yesterday with the Portuguese ambassador in Angola the reappointment of Portuguese Antonio Vitorino, to the post of director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to a press release from the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Angolan head of diplomacy, Tete Antonio, received the Portuguese ambassador, Francisco Alegre, having also discussed the programme of exchange of visits between entities of the two countries, as well as the scheduling of activities in the organizations in which the two States are involved.

The Portuguese diplomat took the opportunity to explain to the Angolan government details about the operation of the VSF Agency, which intends, soon, to introduce new security mechanisms to inhibit individuals of bad faith in the use of these services.

The VSF Agency is creating a new Visa Issuance Centre to defuse the current scenario in the vicinity of the Portuguese embassy, and, with the introduction of new security measures, to combat practices that do nothing for the smooth running of the VSF, the statement said.

Angola and Portugal have a long history of diplomatic relations, dating back to Angolas colonial era.

Since Angolas independence in 1975, the two countries have maintained close relations, with the signing of bilateral agreements in areas such as trade, investment and education, among others.
Mahmoud Bah, Deputy Executive Director of Milleniun Challenge Corporation, and Max Tonela, Minister of Finance and Economy signed the indicative document in Maputo.

The deputy executive director of the Milleniun Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the United States and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Mozambique signed Monday, 30, in Maputo, an agreement entitled Aide Memoire, detailing the agreement between the two governments to implement an aid compact of around US$500 million.

A statement from the US Embassy in Maputo reports that Mahmoud Bah and Max Tonela initiated the document that defines the scope and objectives of the new MCC compact with Mozambique.

We estimate $500 million for the investment package, one linked to transport and connectivity, a second project on climate change management, and a third on commercial agriculture, Mahmoud Bah said on the occasion, indicating that the work comes after MCC announced in April 2022 a $10 million grant for preparatory work on the programme.

The projects will essentially be implemented in Zambezia province, but the fundamental reforms of the compact will involve improvements at the national level focused on road maintenance and the business environment.

The note also said that the Mozambican government had committed to increasing funding for the road maintenance system by 50 percent, or US$37.5 million.

It was noted that the MCC agency, funded by the US government, had already benefited Mozambique with a programme budgeted at US$507 million, which was completed in 2013.
Cape Verde and Luxembourg yesterday in Praia, expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation, which has lasted for over 40 years, and is considered to be special and of excellence.

The intention was expressed in the Cape Verdean capital by the Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, Rui Figueiredo Soares, and by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, who began a two-day visit to the African archipelago.

Luxembourg continues to be a first-line partner of Cape Verde, a partner that always responds promptly to our countrys requests, especially in these times when our country is going through a triple crisis, stressed the head of Cape Verdes diplomacy, at the end of a political dialogue meeting between the two delegations.

Rui Figueiredo Soares noted Luxembourgs support for Cape Verde for over 40 years, and more recently with the vaccination against covid-19, noting that relations with the European country were special and excellent and were now strengthened by his counterparts visit.

Jean Asselborn noted that Luxembourg and Cape Verde were two small countries with almost the same number of inhabitants, which began bilateral relations in 1980, with the first action in Santo Antao.

And then spread to all the other islands, in sectors such as defence, economic development, renewable energy, vocational training, information and communication technologies, transport, climate change.

Our voluntary contribution in the coming years will be around 80 million euros with direct support for young people and school-age children, to ensure the reinforcement of school canteens or vocational training, stressed the Luxembourgian ruler, promising to help Cape Verde tackle the various crises.
A tiger that escaped from a private property near Johannesburg caused panic for a few hours on Monday, less than two weeks after a Bengal tigress attacked a man and killed several animals on its way out.

This time the animal was captured before any incident was reported: The tiger was sedated and taken to an animal sanctuary, Gary Wilson of private security firm S.W.A.T, which was involved in the hunt for the beast, told the media.

Security camera footage shared on social media showed the feline, spotted in Edenvale about 15 Kilometres east of Johannesburg, wandering around a parked car in the early hours. No details were given of the animals owner or the property from which it escaped.

The endangered tiger is not endemic to South Africa, but the controversial breeding of the big cat in the country, particularly for sale to zoos, has become widespread in recent years, much to the dismay of animal rights organizations.

In mid-January, Sheba, an eight-year-old tigress kept as a pet, escaped from her owner. After roaming for four days near Johannesburg, she was shot by the search team. She had injured a 39-year-old man and killed several dogs.

In South Africa, it is illegal to own a lion as a pet, but tigers are allowed. Legislation prohibits the keeping of indigenous species, but the tiger is considered an exotic animal.
African diplomats welcomed, Monday in Marrakech, the efforts made by Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, for the promotion of South-South cooperation in various fields, including training and vocational training.

In a statement to the press on the sidelines of the launching ceremony of a training session on empowerment and capacity building of women from Niger and Mali, the ambassador of Niger in Rabat, Salissou Ada, praised the tireless efforts made by the Kingdom to strengthen South-South cooperation in areas related to training and professional and economic empowerment of women.

This training session, which aims to create a conducive and sustainable climate for capacity building of women, targets 60 beneficiaries from Niger and Mali in the field of traditional sewing and embroidery, said the Nigerien diplomat, highlighting the importance of the handicrafts sector as a lever of solidarity economy.

This training will allow the beneficiaries to launch their own workshops, improve their income, build their own capacity and, therefore, achieve their economic autonomy, he stressed.

For his part, the Malian ambassador in Rabat, Mohamed Mahmoud Ben Labat, welcomed, in a similar statement, the vision and approach advocated by the King for the promotion of South-South cooperation, highlighting the fruitful and diversified cooperation between Mali and Morocco.

The Malian diplomat also commended this initiative, the result of cooperation and coordination between the Arab Industrial Development, Standardization and Mining Organization (AIDSMO), the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the Center for Training and Qualification in Crafts in Marrakech (CFQMAM).
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Cervical cancer, like many illnesses, is treatable if it's caught early, but each year millions of women miss out on getting routine Pap smear screening for the disease, which kills a disproportionate number of Black women.

During the pandemic, cervical cancer screening rates got even worse, especially for lower-income women and women of racial and ethnic minority groups.

A group of recent graduates from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School think a solution to this problem could be rooted in artificial intelligence. For a class they took last fall, they developed a concept for a "smart tampon," an at-home cervical test they hope would make screening for the disease more accessible and ultimately decrease disparities.

They're not the only ones who have high hopes for the role artificial intelligence and machine learning technology will play in the future of health care.

A growing number of researchers in Maryland and across the country see the technology as something that will change the way patients are treated, making it possible to diagnose them earlier and with more accuracy, and better spot signs that they may be at risk for developing an illness or condition.

Just in the past few months, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland have started centers to further incorporate artificial intelligence into medicine.

Beyond health care, the market for artificial intelligence technology is booming, reaching into environments as diverse as the courtroom and the classroom. By 2030, the market is expected to be valued at well over $1 trillion, according to market researchers.

But a cloud of worry has followed the technology's growing prominence.

Just like people, artificial intelligence algorithmsand the large data sets they rely uponcan be biased. If used irresponsibly, the technology can reinforce ways that systems already discriminate against marginalized groups, and possibly worsen them.

But in medicine, some researchers believe that if the technology is advanced thoughtfullyand physicians are educated about its limitationsit could make health care more affordable and accessible, while mitigating disparities.

"Artificial intelligence is likely to be a transformational technology in the practice and delivery of medicine," said Ritu Agarwal, the co-director of the Center for Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence at the Carey School. "But there's a lot that needs to happen before we fully realize its potential."

A different kind of diagnostic

Like a lot of college projects, the idea for the smart tampon started with a group of students seated around a friend's living room.

For a class they were taking with Tinglong Dai, a professor at the business school, the students' assignment was to choose a challenge in health care and figure out a way to address it using artificial intelligence technology.

As the group brainstormed, someone asked: "What's one thing in health care that's just awful? That everyone dreads?"

For Hayley Hoaglund and Madeline Howard, the two women in the group, the answer came quickly: Pap smears, the often uncomfortable procedure used to diagnose cervical cancer by scraping cells from a person's cervix.

In the following weeks, the groupwhich also included Charlie Acosta and Tomas Deliadeveloped a concept for a device that would be inserted like a tampon and scan a person's cervix, much like an iPhone scans a user's face.

The scan would be uploaded to an app that would use artificial intelligence software to compare it with other cervical scans in a database. If the software detected cell abnormalities in the patient's photos, it would notify the provider or patient to seek additional testing.

The tests could be administered every three years, the group believes, perhaps during routine medical examinations or even at home. Its ease of use could help bridge gaps in disadvantaged communities where cervical cancer death rates are higher. One recent study found that Black women are 41% more likely to develop cervical cancer than white women and are 75% more likely to die from it.

Cervical cancer kills about 4,000 people a year.

Ultimately, Hoaglund said, the goal is to encourage more people with cervices to be screened for cervical cancerespecially those who otherwise wouldn't be able to make it to the doctor's office for a Pap smear, and those who have been sexually assaulted or violated, making the current procedure a potentially triggering one.

The "smart tampon" is far from being on pharmacy shelves. The students don't have a prototype, and although Hoaglund said they're interested in finding investors, the project has been on the back burner since they graduated.

Elsewhere in Baltimore, researchers already are investing big money into launching a test that uses artificial intelligence to screen a patient's blood for signs of tumors.

Delfi Diagnosticsa biotechnology company started in 2018 by Dr. Victor Velculescu, a professor at the Hopkins School of Medicinebrought in $225 million in its latest round of fundraising.

The technology that scientists at the company are developing uses a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning to analyze fragments of DNA to sense the presence of cancer and determine where the tumor is located in a patient's body.

Delfi is currently running large clinical trials across the country for technology to detect lung cancer, Velculescu said. Next, the company's scientists hope to put similar technology that can detect liver cancer through similar tests.

Like cervical cancer, the earlier lung and liver cancer are caught, the easier it is to treat the diseases. But unlike the more invasive procedures now required to test for these types of cancer, Delfi's tests will be able to be conducted on blood samples drawn at a doctor's office, Velculescu said.

"The goal is to develop tests that are very inexpensive and very accessible," Velculescu said, "so that everybodyregardless of socioeconomic levels and so forthcan be screened."

Computing for better outcomes

In early November, on a rooftop in North Bethesda, officials from a consortium of educational and medical institutions in Maryland announced the creation of a center that will study the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and support advancements in the field.

The University of Maryland 3Institute for Health Computing will use patient data from the University of Maryland Medical System that has been stripped of identifying information in an array of projects, with the goal of improving treatment statewide, said Dr. Mark Gladwin, dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Along with the University of Maryland Medical System, the partnership includes the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Laboratory and office space for the center is under construction in North Bethesda, and is expected to open in 2028, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, said in news release. But Gladwin said he expects scientists will be hard at work six months from now in rented office space.

Officials hope the institute can use artificial intelligence to track how newly approved drugs perform among diverse populations, and to spot patterns in electronic health care records that will help doctors catch diseases early.

Researchers also hope to use technology developed at the center to train surgeons and medical students, and eventually run clinical trials.

Gladwin said he is well aware of how artificial intelligence algorithms can leave members of marginalized communities behind, or disadvantage them. But, he said, the University of Maryland Medical System has one of the most diverse patient populations in the world.

"We're hoping that by having a more inclusive, diverse group of patients, we're going to help ensure that the advances in AI are inclusive of all populations," he said. "That's really important."

The Center for Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence at Hopkins also wants to develop artificial intelligence technology that works for everybody.

It's part of the center's broader mission, Agarwal said, to find new ways to use artificial intelligence to improve health care outcomes, whether in quality, patient safety, equity, access or cost.

Another Hopkins business professor, Goudong Gao, is co-director with Agarwal for the center. He described some of its ongoing projects, including one that will use a type of artificial intelligence to study the clinical notes of physicians to determine whether race and socioeconomic factors influence which breast cancer treatments they recommend.

The center also wants to work on a way to remove stigmatizing language from clinical notes, deleting phraseslike calling a patient "difficult"that are more often used to describe members of marginalized communities.

It's going to take a lot of hard workand likely a few yearsto fully understand how to create value from artificial intelligence technology in health care, Agarwal said.

"Taking these technologies and diffusing and implementing them within a system that has been rather rigid for decades?" she said. "That's going to be challenging."

2023 Baltimore Sun.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Joseph Abdelnour at work in a compounding pharmacy. Credit: University of Waterloo

When Joseph Abdelnour accepted his recent co-op work term at Avalon Compound Pharmacy (ACP), he never anticipated the new challenges he would face.

With no children's cold medications available in Ottawa and the inability to order from distributors, pharmacists were advising patients to visit nearby emergency rooms, where they must wait for many hours. The other common advice is to visit compounding pharmacies.

Compounding pharmacies create prescribed medications in-house for patients, whereas retail pharmacies can only offer medications on the market that they order. Abdelnour's co-op was at just such a compounding pharmacy.

Drug shortages extend to adult medications

"Co-op terms can be overwhelming for some, but this fall had its own specific challenges. On top of the regular workload, ACP experienced an increase in patients due to medication shortages," Abdelnour says.

The surge of needed medications resulted in Abdelnour and his supervisor compounding more medications in the same ten-hour shift, while ensuring standards are upheld. The time pressure and meeting requirements for regular prescriptions were difficult to meet with the increased demand for cold medications.

"We are now seeing a medication shortage, whether it be over-the-counter or prescription, for adult medications as well," says Andrew Hanna, pharmacist supervisor at ACP. "Not only is there an additional burden on the health-care system that is already overwhelmed, but now there's an added strain for patients. This is where a pharmacist's expertise comes into play. We can make those missing medications for them, it just takes time."

Abdelnour spent his co-op work term compounding medications and reassuring stressed patients in long lineups that there are enough medications for everyone. Additionally, he educated patients on what a compounding pharmacy is, as this was new information to many in the community.

"For us, the School of Pharmacy co-op program is incredibly important," says Hanna. "It's the missing piece of the puzzle. Co-op students are extremely valuable to the industry. Students can explore different opportunities in pharmacy while learning hands-on skills, but we also learn from them. Every student brings unique value through their knowledge and skills,"

Co-op student takes on more responsibilities

In addition to higher demand, stressed patients and excess work, Abdelnour and his supervisor faced staffing issues, as one of the pharmacist technicians broke her arm. With a smaller team and higher demand, ACP gave Abdelnour more independence and responsibility.

"I really wanted to help CHEO, Ottawa's pediatric hospital, during their time of need. But my co-op supervisor needed me to stay. I took on technician responsibilities, transcribing prescriptions and additional compounding duties where I processed regular prescriptions and communicated with other health-care prescribers. I also helped administer COVID-19 vaccinations and flu shots," Abdelnour says.

"I'm thankful for my supervisor during this stressful time. We helped each other a lot while dealing with increased demand. He provided me with constant support and resources while giving me constructive criticism to improve. This was a great learning environment."

Compound pharmacies help ease strain on health-care system

Abdelnour witnessed Canada's medical system in a vulnerable state. Compound pharmacies are stepping up to meet demand while providing the best care to patients.

"Pharmacists should be given further expanded scope of practice so we can train to do more to help the community," Abdelnour says.

Abdelnour is still discovering what career path he wants to take in pharmacy, but after working at ACP he knows he wants a diverse career working in a community pharmacy in addition to institutions.

"Joseph was an excellent co-op student, the best I've had in ten years. If he wishes to come back, there's a job waiting for him," says Hanna.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

So-called generative AIalgorithms that can be used to create content using machine learninghas been much in the news of late. In particular, the tool ChatGPT, created by Open AI, has attracted considerable attention.

In Australia, this has no doubt been contributed to by the comments of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has recently visited our country and is keen to promote the benefits of the technology.

Most of the debate has been about ChatGPT and similar AI tools, such as DALL.E 2, used for creating supposedly realistic images and arts, and Whisper, which offers "speech recognition in natural language," and their potential to facilitate student cheating or to replace workers.

They are also seen as having the potential to free up people's time to enable them to undertake other tasks.

In one article, an entrepreneur, who founded a company specializing in tech start-ups, said, "ChatGPT feels like the introduction of the PCa tool that allows us to work smarter and enhances the ability of humans to do what they do best, which is create, dream and innovate."

However, thus far, little has been said about the potential use and misuse of these tools in medicine and healthcare, including for diagnoses, including self-diagnoses, and prescriptions.

If history is any guide, these are the areas in which these technologies are likely to find early widespread application. They are also areas where there's much potential for exploitation and misuse, especially given the ready accessibility of the tools online.

In a recent news article, it was reported that Bill Gates saw "obvious benefits [of ChatGPT] in the medical profession, and across other industries where a lot of information needed to be understood."

According to the article, "AI could help a doctor write prescriptions, and explain medical bills to patients, for example, or also assist in both writing and understanding legal documents."

As a health sociologist interested in new and emerging health technologies, these comments caught my eye. It's typical of the promissory discourse surrounding new health technologies. It's also deeply worrying.

On the face of it, there's much that is appealing about the near-instantaneous production of information using what is in effect a sophisticated chatbot.

Chatbots have been widely used for some time and, although sometimes useful, their limitations are well understood. As a form of AI, they rely on information harvested from many online sourcessome of questionable reliabilitythat also carry biases, including those based on differences of gender, class, race/ethnic, and age.

Much information available online is "personalized" algorithmic-driven advertising, designed to engage users. These personalized messages are crafted to be "emotionally resonant."

In my recently published book, I explored the mechanisms by which emotions are exploited online; for example, through deceptive designs or "dark patterns," designed to trick users and make them feel and act in certain ways, generally with the aim of encouraging them to stay online and to purchase advertised goods and services.

The emotions are exploited as never before, with affective computing, a field founded by Rosalind Picard, oriented to making machines more "human-like" and "conversational." Picard co-founded Affectiva, an MIT-media lab spinoff that claims to be on "a mission to humanize technology," which potentially has vast applications in advertising. This is where generative AI, like ChatGPT, is of great concern.

OpenAI has produced ChatGPT with the claim that this language model "interacts in a conversational way," and that "the dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests."

This claim, which suggests that AI can think, feel and respond like a human, is significant and has evidently attracted much interest, with claims there were about 1 million users of the tool in a week after its release.

The prospect of a thinking, feeling, sentient AI is far-fetched, but well-entrenched in science-fiction and the popular imagination.

What greatly concerns me is people using ChatGPT, and similar tools, for routine medical procedures, including self-diagnoses.

OpenAI is supported by some powerful individuals, including Gates (Microsoft is reported to be already an investor), Elon Musk (current owner of Twitter), Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal), and other big tech entrepreneurs.

They are hardly disinterested players when they talk up the benefits of generative AI. They, and other billionaire entrepreneurs, will no doubt be looking at the huge profits that can be made from generative AI in the fields of health and medicine, and other areas.

Self-diagnosis is already part and parcel of people's engagement with digital media. Many people go online soon after the onset of illness to learn more about their conditions, and search for information and treatments online as colleagues and I have shown in our research.

These online searches are underpinned by high hopes and the use of heuristic short-cuts to simplify complex decisions regarding the credibility of information. Generative AI will no doubt gain widespread use among those looking for quick answers regarding the treatment and management of often-complex conditions.

There needs to be much more debate about the dangers posed by innovations such as generative AI, which promise much, but also carry huge risks.
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Credit: Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Congratulations on making it through dry January without a beer or glass of wineor at least with fewer alcoholic beverages than you downed in December.

But before you toast your achievement Feb. 1, experts in addictive behavior ask you to lower your glass and reflect on what reducing alcohol consumption over the past month meant for your physical and mental health as well as your family life and energy levels.

"How did you sleep? Were you less anxious? Did your mood improve a bit? Did you feel better physically, less sluggish? Did you lose weight?" says Robert Leeman, an experimental psychologist at Northeastern University whose research focuses on addictive behavior, particularly around alcohol.

He says people should ask themselves, "Did I value these changes? Can I retain some of that?"

Reflect on changes, especially improvements

Like other experts on addiction, Leeman loves dry January not because it sticks it to the liquor industry and drives down sales but because it makes individuals conscious of how much alcohol they consume and the repercussions of that consumption.

"Dry January allows people to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol," says George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"If you are feeling better, working better and sleeping better when you cut back, I think you need to listen to that," says Koob, who wrote a column of advice for dry January and beyond.

Dry January launched in the United Kingdom in 2013 and attracted tens of thousands of participants the first month of 2023, its 10th anniversary, according to the founding organization, Alcohol Change.

Karen Kantor, a social worker in the addiction outpatient unit at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, says she loves how the movement has changed the conversation from who is and who is not an alcoholic to making awareness of alcohol consumption an important part of one's individual health plan.

"That's new," she says.

As people enter the last stretch of dry January, Kantor advises them not to waste the insights they have gained.

Journalingeven a line or twocan help people remember they actually did have a good time at a concert or sporting event without alcohol, she says.

"Be open-minded about this reflection and review," Kantor says, adding that people may discover some friendships or relationships existed solely due to drinking together. "The only thing you had in common was alcohol."

No such thing as a healthy drink?

Over the years there have been loads of contradictory studies on whether moderate alcohol consumption is good or bad for one's health.

"We've converged on a conclusion there's no safe alcohol per se," Leeman says.

In fact, the World Health Organization published a statement in The Lancet Public Health journal that "when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health."

Leeman says he's aware of previous studies touting the benefits of antioxidants in wine and of the better health outcomes of moderate drinkers compared to abstainers and heavy drinkers.

"I never found those data to be particularly compelling," he says.

"No one ever advocates for abstainers to begin drinking wine" for the health benefits, Leeman says.

"It's a little bit nuanced," Koob says.

He says there is no safe level of alcohol for the general population and those who should not drink include pregnant women, people with an underlying liver disorder, those with a family history of alcohol disorder and people who want to reduce their risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.

"It's something each individual has to weigh for themselves," Koob says.

Leeman agrees, adding that he plans to meet with former colleagues and friends at a brewery when he visits Florida in several weeks.

"I don't want to be a hypocrite here," he says.

Leeman says moderate drinking is better than heavy drinking, and light drinking in turn is better than moderate consumption of alcohol.

The Centers for Disease Control defines moderate drinking as two or fewer drinks a day for men and one or fewer drinks a day for women.

Binge drinking, according to the CDC, generally correlates to five or more drinks for men on a single occasion, often within two hours, and four or more drinks for women.

Don't tie one on

Koob strongly advises against going on a binge to celebrate the end of dry January.

He says he knows it can be tempting for some people.

"There's a phenomenon that's been well documented known as the alcohol deprivation effect. "I'm done with January so I'm going to tie one on.'"

Koob says binge drinking can affect "just about every organ in the body" and bring on atrial fibrillation, make liver enzymes go haywire, cause blackouts, increase susceptibility to pneumonia and aggravate diabetes symptoms.

"Please don't tie one on," he says. "It's not good for your body in any way, shape or form."

On its "rethinking drinking" webpages, the NIAAA offers tools for assessing how many drinks are too much and techniques for cutting back.

The carryover from dry January is to remain conscious of drinking levels, Koob says.

"Chart how much you're drinking," he says. "Write it down. Listen to your body."
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-blockers may reduce aggression in persons with major psychiatric disorders. Credit: Dan Burton, Unsplash (CC0, creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

Reductions in violence are seen in individuals using Beta adrenergic-blocking agents (-blockers) compared with periods that they are not taking the medication, finds a study published January 31 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine. If the findings are confirmed by other studies, -blockers could be considered as a way to manage aggression and hostility in individuals with psychiatric conditions.

-blockers are used to treat hypertension, angina and acute cardiovascular events, heart failure and arrhythmias as well as, migraine, symptoms of hyperthyroidism and glaucoma. They are often used for anxiety and have been suggested for clinical depression and aggression, but evidence is conflicting. They have been linked to an increased risk of suicidal behavior though evidence is inconclusive.

Seena Fazel of the University of Oxford, U.K., and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden investigated psychiatric and behavioral outcomes: hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders; suicidal behavior and deaths from suicide; and charges of violent crime. They compared 1.4 million -blocker users in Sweden to themselves during medicated and non-medicated periods over an eight-year period from 20062013.

Periods on -blocker treatment were associated with a 13% lower risk of being charged with a violent crime by the police, which remained consistent across the analyses. Additionally, an 8% lower risk of hospitalization due to a psychiatric disorder was reported as well as an 8% increased association of being treated for suicidal behavior. However, these associations varied depending on psychiatric diagnosis, past psychiatric problems, as well as the severity and type of the cardiac condition the -blockers were being used to treat.

Previous research has linked severe cardiac events to an increased risk of depression and suicide, and these results might suggest that the psychological distress and other disabilities associated with serious cardiac problems, rather than the -blocker treatment, increases the risk of serious psychiatric events. In secondary analyses, associations with hospitalization were lower for major depressive but not for anxiety disorders.

In order to understand the role of -blockers in the management of aggression and violence, further studies including randomized controlled trials are needed. If these confirm the results of this study, -blockers could be considered to manage aggression and violence in some individuals.

Fazel adds, "In a real-world study of 1.4 million persons, -blockers were associated with reduced violent criminal charges in individuals with psychiatric disorders. Repurposing their use to manage aggression and violence could improve patient outcomes."

More information: Associations between -blockers and psychiatric and behavioural outcomes: A population-based cohort study of 1.4 million individuals in Sweden, PLoS Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004164 Journal information: PLoS Medicine
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Greater use of cancer tests is the key to tailoring use of new treatments for patients more precisely and so increasing their chances of being recommended for use within the NHS, experts say.

Cancer researchers are calling for regulatory bodies and industry to work together to ensure new treatments are developed alongside a "biomarker" tests to ensure those patients who are most likely to benefit receive treatment.

The most recent figures available, for 2016 to 2019, show that only 18% of cancer drugs assessed by NICE were accompanied by a biomarker test.

By identifying groups of patients with specific changes in their genes or protein levels that make them more likely to benefit from treatment, biomarker tests make it easier and faster to demonstrate that new treatments are cost-effective.

The need for more and better biomarker tests

The high cost of precision medicines makes it challenging to get them recommended for use within the NHS, unless they are precisely targeted towards individuals who are most likely to benefit from them. For this reason, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is now calling for industry and regulators to come together to encourage the development of more and better biomarker tests.

Biomarkers can benefit patients in two waysfirst by ensuring only those who are most likely to benefit from a treatment go on to receive it, and second by improving the approval rates of new treatments, as they reduce costs by deploying drugs more efficiently.

Challenges to address

However, the costs of developing biomarker tests currently outweigh the financial benefits of doing so because of excess regulation and administrative expenses, along with uncertainty over whether tests will be recommended for use within the NHS.

Drug appraisals tend to consider companion tests as an additional cost, which can discourage pharmaceutical companies from investing in developing and bringing forward biomarker tests, as they appear less cost-effective. In this way, new treatments with companion biomarker tests may seem less attractive, making it harder for them to be developed and adopted.

Experts at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) argue that we need more biomarkers to identify which people with cancer are most likely to benefit from different strategiesacross all cancer types.

Other barriers to developing and accessing biomarkers are highlighted by the ICR in two new position statements, which look at the creation of biomarkers tests, and access to them. Experts are calling for a series of changes in the way biomarker tests are used in the U.K., including:

Companies and academic institutions need to continue to be incentivized to develop biomarker tests alongside new drugsespecially given that use of biomarkers can reduce the size of the patient population for a drug.

The Government needs to invest in better national infrastructure to support research into new biomarkers by making it easier to collect and access patient data and clinical samples.

We need a national directory for non-genomic biomarker tests, to supplement the National Genomic Test Directoryand the process for adding new tests needs to be accelerated.

'The key to personalized medicine'

Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said, "Biomarker tests are the key to personalized treatmentand to getting new drugs approved as quickly as possible. Tests can direct treatment precisely to the patients most likely to benefit, which can improve their quality of life while also increasing the cost-effectiveness of treatment for the NHS.

"The problem is that it is surprisingly hard and costly to get new biomarker tests developed, approved and accessible within the NHS. Unnecessary regulatory barriers need to be removed and we need to see biomarker tests as a way of treating patients more efficiently, rather than as an additional cost."

Getting treatments to the right patients

Professor Kevin Harrington, Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden said, "Our biological understanding of some treatments, especially immunotherapies, lags behind their clinical developmentwhich means we are struggling to get them to the right patients quickly enough. To tackle this issue, we need more and better biomarker tests.

"Testing for these measurable indicators can help us predict which patients are most likely to benefit from treatmentwhich, in turn, allows us to evaluate new treatments in smaller, smarter and cheaper trials, and easier to demonstrate that they are cost-effective."

'Knowing what biomarker a person may have could make all the difference'

Yvonne Diaz, 54, was diagnosed with stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer in September 2021. When a biomarker test showed she had an ALK mutation, she was matched to a targeted treatment. She said, "I first went to my GP because I'd been coughing quite a lot. I assumed it was caused by seasonal allergies, but it got to the point where I was finding it hard to speak and I had pressure in my chest. My GP sent me for an X-ray to be safe. I am so lucky she did, because it turns out I had lung cancer.

"After the diagnosis, I had a biopsy to see what type of lung cancer it was, but while I waited for the results, I became so ill I couldn't even leave the house. When the results arrived, my consultant called to tell me it was 'good news.' I had an ALK gene mutation, which meant I was highly treatable. I started treatment three days later, and within a fortnight I was well enough to join my family for dinner again. Now I'm able to do much of what I did previously.

"The treatment I'm on, a targeted therapy called brigatinib, is easy to take, has only minor side effects and, most importantly, it's working. Knowing what biomarker a person may have could make all the difference. Many lung cancer patients like me get diagnosed at stage IV when they are quite unwell and the cancer is advanced. This makes being matched to the right treatment all the more important. It also gives us the most precious gift of alltime. For me, that's all about more time and memories with my family and friends."
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Based on a Google algorithm technique, researchers showed a new way of organizing data that has wide-reaching implications for the medical field. Credit: Big Data Mining and Analytics, Tsinghua University Press

A medical knowledge graph is a specific way that researchers can organize and display information for use in medical research and clinical applications. The concept of a knowledge graph was originally developed by Google in 2012 as part of their search algorithm.

Since then, medical knowledge graphs have been shown to have a wide range of utility in the medical and medical research fields. For example, a knowledge graph could be created based on data pulled from electronic medical records, clinical trials, or other medical literature. When that information is plugged into a computer system, the medical knowledge graph can be the backbone of intelligent applications, such as chatbots, diagnosis and treatment plan recommendations, and clinical education.

In a paper published in Big Data Mining and Analytics on January 26, researchers set out to provide a comprehensive catalog of medical knowledge graphs, how they are created, and when they should be used.

"Medical knowledge graphs are the basis for intelligent health care, and they have been in use in a variety of medical applications," said Min Li, a professor and dean at the School of Computer Science at Central South University in Changsha, China.

"Understanding the research and application development of medical knowledge graphs will be crucial for future relevant research in the biomedical field. Our research mainly demonstrates the progress of medical knowledge graphs, including data sources, construction methods, reasoning methods, and applications."

One of the most important factors in how reliable and trustworthy a medical knowledge graph is is its data source. With an increase in the use of electronic medical records, online databases of clinical trial data, and more, it is possible to create extensive medical knowledge graphs. Researchers outline four potential sources for data, including real-world data acquired from services like electronic medical records and other available clinical data; scientific publications, such as journals, textbooks, guidelines, standard libraries, and open-and-shared medical knowledge databases, which are databases that are free, open, and accessible.

Researchers also analyze when to use knowledge graphs and different ways to organize the data. They identify disease diagnosis as an upcoming research hotspot, where researchers are using knowledge graphs to identify diseases and provide predictive results. They also note that medical knowledge graphs can be useful in developing drugs and research is underway to determine how to use these tools to develop COVID-19 drugs.

"Our research will hopefully allow readers to understand the research value, main research purpose, and the progress and challenges of medical knowledge graphs, which will help researchers in related fields look closely at these tools," said Li.

Looking ahead, researchers note the different challenges associated with medical knowledge graphs. One challenge is pulling data from disparate sources and making sure that it is cohesive and unified so that it can be read by the application. Another is that the medical domain is incredibly complex. Researchers going forward will need to continue to study how medical knowledge graphs can account for this complexity, especially when it comes to clinical diagnoses and therapies.

Another challenge is that as different medical knowledge graphs are created, they are all created using different frameworks, terminology, and technology. Finally, they posit that this type of knowledge graph will need to also incorporate common sense knowledge, in addition to specialized medical knowledge.

"The next step will focus on in-depth research on the construction and reasoning methods of medical knowledge graphs," said Li. "The ultimate goal is to build a large-scale and high-quality medical knowledge graph and propose more novel reasoning methods and applications in precision medicine."

More information: Xuehong Wu et al, Medical Knowledge Graph: Data Sources, Construction, Reasoning, and Applications, Big Data Mining and Analytics (2023). DOI: 10.26599/BDMA.2022.9020021

Provided by Tsinghua University Press
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Heavy alcohol use is common among college studentsand as a consequence, it puts young adults at risk for a wide range of health issues, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. Day in and day out, college students are bombarded with cues to drink, whether that's seeing a group of friends toast at a party or celebrating after an exam.

Using functional MRI (fMRI) scanning technology, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Dartmouth College examined the relationship between these cues, alcohol craving, and alcohol consumption. They found that having a strong sense of purpose in life decreases the temptation to consume alcohol to excess among some social drinkers.

The study, published in Addiction, is titled "Purpose in life, neural alcohol cue reactivity and daily alcohol use in social drinkers."

Why purpose in life?

Lead author Yoona Kang, a research director of the Communication Neuroscience Lab at the Penn's Annenberg School for Communication, is deeply interested in the impact of purpose in life on health.

Her previous research has found that having a strong life purposethe sense that your life is guided by personally meaningful values and goalsis associated with many health benefits, including easing the loneliness of COVID-19 isolation and reducing the effort it takes to make healthy choices.

"Values and purposes can have powerful effects on how people think and behave," Kang says. "And what's interesting about this study is that we asked participants, 'How much sense of purpose in life do you feel right now?' Because your level of purpose can fluctuate day by day."

Craving alcohol

For this study, Kang and colleagues charted the behavior and attitudes of 54 healthy college students, with daily surveys over the course of a month. Once a day, participants answered questions about their current level of purpose in lifeand every morning and evening they reported how much they craved and consumed alcohol.

"We focused on craving because it is one of the strongest predictors of actual drinking. If you crave, then you're more likely to drink," Kang says. "But just because you crave alcohol doesn't mean that you're going to go out and drink, so we wanted to know what's nudging these social drinkers into drinking when they crave alcohol."

The student volunteers also received fMRI brain scans, which gave a real-time picture of their brain activity while they were exposed to alcohol cues, like photos of beer, wine, and liquor or photos of people toasting at a party. Researchers analyzed the participants' brain activity within the ventral striatum, the area of the brain previously associated with reward and craving.

Individuals whose brains showed greater activity when they saw alcohol cuespeople with higher neural alcohol cue reactivitywere more likely to drink after craving alcohol.

When this data was matched with life purpose data, Kang and colleagues found something interesting: These neurally sensitive drinkers did not necessarily drink more if they were feeling a strong life purpose when they craved alcohol. And if they felt less purposeful? They were more likely to drink heavily after a craving for alcohol.

Further implications

This finding opens the door to discovering new strategies to discourage binge drinking in college students, especially those with higher neural cue reactivity, not by talking about drinking specifically, but by helping students focus on their mission, purpose, and values. Kang suggests that future research could test interventions used in other purposes in life and related studiesstrategies like reflecting on what matters to you or making positive wishes for other people.

While the researchers caution that further testing would be needed to determine whether the findings would generalize to non-college populations, they note that many studies point to the strong link between purpose in life and health behavior across diverse populations.

And Kang underlines the importance of studying college populations. "College students are in a formative time in their lives where they are learning the norms around alcohol use and setting their own habits that will affect their health later in life," she says. "So, I think there's a lot of preventive values in studying alcohol use in college populations."

In addition to Kang, authors include Emily Falk, Danielle Cosme, David Lydon-Staley, Jeesung Ahn, Mia Jovanova, Dani S. Bassett, Silicia Lomax, Faustine Corbani (Columbia University), Ovidia Stanoi (Columbia University), Kevin Ochsner (Columbia University), Victor Strecher (University of Michigan), and Peter J. Mucha (Dartmouth College).

More information: Yoona Kang et al, Purpose in life, neural alcohol cue reactivity and daily alcohol use in social drinkers, Addiction (2022). DOI: 10.1111/add.16012 Journal information: Addiction
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Online forums for people with dementia provide a much-needed sense of community and hope and fill an important gap in the support they receive after diagnosis, a new study has found.

The researchers suggest that clinicians, support workers and organizations could recommend online support forums to people with dementia, in addition to providing their regular in-person care.

Around 55 million people are affected by dementia around the world, and nearly one million people have the condition in the UK. These numbers are expected to rise sharply.

"While there are a lot of online communities for people with a range of health conditions, there has been very little research into the benefits they can have for people with dementia," explained Dr. Catherine Talbot, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Bournemouth University, who led the study.

"People with dementia have reported feeling isolated, confused, and having a loss of identity after being diagnosed. Our study found that online forums allow them to find companionship with others going through the same experience which can be really valuable to them," she continued.

Dr. Talbot and her co-author, Professor Neil Coulson at the University of Nottingham, analyzed 100 conversation threads of the forum "Dementia Talking Point", hosted by the Alzheimer's Society.

The findings, published in the journal Age and Ageing, found three key themes which users found invaluable within their community:

Sharing their journey through dementiafrom first diagnosis, to adjusting to life with the condition and looking to the future.

Supporting each other through the journey.

Sharing experiences of creative activities for therapy, such as painting and crafts.

"A lot of people hoped that by sharing these experiences, they would give hope to others who came to the forum," Dr. Talbot continued. "After people had shared their experiences, often others would come back and give them some sort of support, whether that be signposting them to an organization, or it could be emotional support as well. This was very important for those who felt isolated."

Users with certain types of dementia, in particular young-onset dementia, commented in their posts about their being a lack of support for specifically for them and they therefore found the forum to be a "lifeline". Others spoke about finding it difficult to talk to their friends and family members about their condition and taking to the online space allowed them to be honest about what they were experiencing.

Debbie Ellor, Head of Advice Services at Alzheimer's Society, said, "Our Talking Point forum gives people a community, a space to share experiences and advice with people facing similar challenges. It's great to see Dr. Talbot's research identifying just how crucial forums like this can be throughout someone's dementia journey.

"No family affected by dementia should face it alone, but sadly our research showed that three in five people didn't receive enough support in the last year. While there's clearly power in a likeminded, understanding community that's easy to access online, ultimately we need more support from the health and social care system for families with dementia."

Neil Coulson, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Nottingham added, "Regardless of age, gender, geographical location or personal circumstances, online forums can provide a convenient, anonymous, and supportive environment. Our study clearly demonstrates the value of online peer support regardless of where in the dementia journey an individual may be.

"The nature of the communication through written messages means that users can take their time in both reading and replying to messages posted by others."

The research team hope that this study will lead to increased recognition about the value of online support for people living with the condition. And whilst the forums should not replace in-person support, they advise that they can provide an additional, cost-effective way to find advice from others who understand what they are going through.

"I am hoping that we can use these findings to further improve the support available online, and perhaps develop some training and sites that really respond to their needs," Dr. Talbot concluded.

More information: Catherine V Talbot et al, 'I found it the only place that spoke the same language': a thematic analysis of messages posted to an online peer support discussion forum for people living with dementia, Age and Ageing (2023). DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afac330 Journal information: Age and Ageing
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Aging has been long believed to occur through accumulated mutations to DNA, which gradually interfere with the normal functioning of cells, tissues, and organs. In January, Harvard researchers reported that they'd turned the clock back on laboratory mice by altering the epigenome, a suite of molecules that turn DNA on and off in ways specific to different tissues. Because the epigenome is easier to alter than DNA itself, the finding raises the prospect of being able to reset the body to fight diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, whose incidence increases as we get older.

The Gazette spoke with Genetics Professor David Sinclair, director of Harvard Medical School's Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, and postdoctoral fellow Jae-Hyun Yang about the work and its implications for human health and lifespan.

GAZETTE: David, you have said that you believe the first person to live to 150 has already been born. Does this work change that and is it possible that many people who are going to live to 150 have already been born?

SINCLAIR: Over the last 20 years, there have been a number of molecules that have been found to retard the aging process, at least in animals, and potentially a couple of drugs that are in humans. That made me optimistic that somebody who might make it to 150 has already been born. In this paper, we're showing it's possible to reset the age of the body up to as much as 50 percent. And, when you can reverse aging and not just slow it down, then all bets are off. We now know you can reset the eye multiple times and restore vision in old micethat was our Nature 2020 cover article. In this paper, we're showing that we can reverse aging in other tissues as well, using the same technology. So, if you can reset the age of the body multiple times, I think it would be dangerous to set an upper limit.

GAZETTE: This research shows that, in addition to the understanding that aging results from DNA mutations, it also comes from degradation of the epigenome. Could you just briefly explain what the epigenome is and whether this is potentially good news for the aging field?

SINCLAIR: The older idea is that mutations drive aging and, if that's true, the problem for age reversal is that mutations are very hard to fix. You'd need to repair trillions of them in the body to reverse aging. Instead, we think that it's mostly due to the loss of epigenetic rather than genetic information, which is great news because we've also discovered that there's a backup copy of the epigenetic information in every cell. So, instead of aging being a hardware problem, similar to having an old computer, we are discovering that it's a software problem and you can reboot the software of an old computer and make it run like it's new again.

GAZETTE: And the epigenome is basically molecules that tell the DNA what to do?

SINCLAIR: That's right.

GAZETTE: What approaches might be able to affect the epigenome?

SINCLAIR: We already have a drug in development to reset the age of the bodyit's in nonhuman primates right nowto cure blindness. We think that the same technology that we use in this paper and in the monkeys could be used to reset the age of literally any part of the body. The applications are as broad as you can imagineeven resetting the brain, which seems to allow mice to learn again. We're exploring the possibility that when we reset the age of the body, diseases like Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease go away. This would be a new way of treating the major diseases of the planet.

GAZETTE: Is it likely that the three genes you use, Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4, would be a treatment in humans? Are there concerns about them promoting cancer and having other side effects?

SINCLAIR: With every drug there are concerns about safety, including cancer. Over the last four years, we've conducted extensive studies in miceand now in monkeysto test their safety. So far, there are no warning signs that give me pause, though we need to do more tests to be sure. But I've been surprised how safe it is so far.

GAZETTE: This work took 13 years. Was there a breakthrough moment or was it more grinding, year after year, to get to this point?

SINCLAIR: It certainly was a grind. It was very difficult to be focused on a study that was not published for over a decade. Jae deserves a great deal of credit for persevering. The eureka momenta eureka momentwas when we engineered the mice and then disrupted their epigenome, and, within a matter of months, the mice started to look old. I was sent a photo of those mice from a person who said, "Oh, my goodness, we have a sick mouse here." And I said, "That's not a sick mouse; that's an old mouse." That was the beginning of Jae's journey to understand what was going on in these mice and if they were truly old.

GAZETTE: Jae, what kept you at it?

YANG: I always believed this was going to work, but when I saw the phenotype of the mouseit really looks like an old mouseI wanted to figure out what makes this mouse old. I analyzed all the tissues for physiological and molecular changes to make sure. Another surprising moment was when we found that, because these phenotypes are driven by epigenetic changes, we actually could reverse some of them by expressing OSK (Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4).

GAZETTE: You used three of the four Yamanaka factors to do this. All four make differentiated cells reset their clocks and revert to stem cells. Is using just three how you get them to go only part of the way back and stop them from resetting to an embryonic stage?

SINCLAIR: We did a lot of different combinations of genes when we started and this three-gene combination works really well. It's not strong enough to make embryonic cellsit stops at about 50 to 75 percent reversalthere's a barrier. We don't understand what that barrier is, but it definitely exists. And there's a sweet spot. Cells start out, and they don't have any identity. They're a fertilized egg. Then they get this identity as they develop into tissues and organs. But over time, this paper shows that you lose that identity again as you age. The three Yamanaka factors get you back to that identity state, but not to where you lose it by going back too far and becoming stem cells.

GAZETTE: What is the relationship between your findings and things known to be anti-aging, like exercise and calorie restriction, which also have epigenetic effects. Are we seeing tips of the same iceberg or are these effects very different?

SINCLAIR: They're manifestations of the same process. We actually showed in 2003a Nature paper on yeastthat the environment links to aging through longevity chains, the sirtuins, which are controllers of the epigenome. So, in yeast, we knew that. Now in mammals, what we know is that there are three sirtuins in the nucleus that help with DNA repair as well as epigenomic stability. And when you exercise, when you don't eat three meals a dayyou fastand even if you have high temperatures and low temperatures, that stimulates the sirtuins to be more active. And we know that that can stabilize the epigenome.

YANG: There are multiple ways to manipulate the epigenome besides OSK. It can be temperature, as David mentioned, it can be mechanical stress, it can be drugs. People are already using many drugs to modulate the epigenome, especially for cancer treatment. So there are many other methods we can utilize to make cells of our body younger.

GAZETTE: Do you still look at aging as inevitable?

YANG: I think it is inevitable. Entropy always wins. It's a law of physics. At some point, we should die, but it shouldn't be too early. These technologies are developing now, and the speed of development is getting faster and faster. So, I don't think it's far away that people will live to 150.

GAZETTE: What is the next step? You've begun experiments in nonhuman primates. How far is this from the clinic?

SINCLAIR: Things look promising in the primate studies. If those are successful, then the first humans will be treated just a couple of years after the studies have finished. Does that mean it'll work? No. But if it works to cure blindness in a monkey, I am optimistic it'll work in a patient. And if we're not successful in the next few years, somebody will be, because there has been about $5 billion invested in aging drug development just since our Nature paper came out in 2020. There are many companies now working on this. So, while we're at the forefront, there are many others who should succeed if we're not successful first.

GAZETTE: Any final thoughts?

SINCLAIR: If we're right, there is a universal cause of aging in every tissue and in seemingly every species, from yeast to humans, and diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer's are manifestations. If we're able to slow down or reverse the aging process, this would be a radical new way of treating these diseases. The same treatment for heart disease could also cure Alzheimer's and diabetes, and make you look younger as well. This is an exciting time. We could be witnessing a new approach to treating diseases in general.

Provided by Harvard Gazette

This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu.
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Pfizer expects Covid revenues to decline in 2023 but to push higher again around 2025 with the expected development of a combined Covid-flu vaccine.

After two straight years of surging sales due to COVID-19 products, Pfizer projected a steep decline in 2023 revenues as demand for vaccines and therapeutics ebbs.

The pharma giant expects about a 30 percent drop in company revenues this year as governments work off excess inventories of Pfizer's coronavirus-related products and consumer demand wanes in some markets.

Sales for the vaccine Comirnaty and the COVID-19 therapeutic Paxlovid will reach a "low point" this year before rebounding somewhat in 2024, the company said.

The hit means Pfizer expects 2023 revenues of between $67-71 billion, down about 30 percent from the 2022 level.

Pfizer's revenues rose by nearly a quarter between 2021 and 2022 after almost doubling in the prior stretch.

Pfizer expects 2024 sales of COVID products to stabilize, said Chief Executive Albert Bourla.

"Then starting in 2025 and continuing in 2026 and beyond, we expect to see an increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates, assuming the successful development and approval of a COVID-flu combination product," Bourla said in prepared remarks.

Pfizer projected that 24 percent of the US population would receive a COVID-19 vaccine in 2023, down from the 31 percent level in 2022.

But Bourla said the combined COVID/flu vaccine could bring the level in line with the current flu shot benchmark of about 50 percent of all Americans.

Pfizer expects increased uptick for its COVID therapeutic in China. The company has agreements in China with one company to import and distribute Paxlovid and with another Chinese enterprise to manufacture the drug locally.

"Pfizer shipped only tens of thousands of courses to China in fiscal 2022," Bourla said. "From December through March we expect to ship millions of courses to meet local demand."

In terms of overall fourth-quarter earnings, Pfizer reported profits of $5.0 billion, up 47 percent from the year-ago period.

Revenues rose two percent to $24.3 billion.

Pfizer said it is also hard at work on non-COVID output, planning 19 new products over an 18-month period.

Shares of Pfizer declined 0.3 percent to $43.44 in early Tuesday trade.

 2023 AFP
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Credit: Murdoch University

Scientists have tracked the detailed biology and biochemistry of people infected with COVID-19 to reveal exactly how our bodies respond to the diseaseand have built a predictive model to identify individual chances of recovery.

The research followed the course of the disease in 215 patients for up to a year post-infection. Scientists measured a range of immune system cells and metabolic parameters in blood plasma to estimate the probabilities of unvaccinated patients making a full recovery from the disease.

The predictive model applied to each individual is available here to other researchers.

The research revealed distinct "systemic recovery" profiles, with specific progression and recovery of the inflammatory, immune cell, metabolic and clinical responses to COVID-19.

The finding is the result of a three year partnership between Dr. Helene Ruffieux, Prof. Christoph Hess and colleagues at the University of Cambridge University and in collaboration with The Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease-National Institute of Health Research (CITIID-NIHR) BioResource COVID-19 Collaboration and Australian National Phenome Center (ANPC) and is published in the journal Nature Immunology today (January 31).

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, pro-vice chancellor for health sciences and director of the ANPC, said the research exemplifies the type of breakthroughs possible when powerful technologies and effective clinical collaboration come together.

"We have taken advantage of very well collected and curated patient blood samples from Cambridge University's Addenbrookes Hospital in the U.K., and combined our state-of-the-art technology at the ANPC to produce a uniquely detailed individual mapping of the disease progression and outcomes," said Professor Nicholson.

"The research highlights multiple new features of the disease, which is highly variable in terms of severity and persistence.

"Importantly, the interplay between the immune system and the blood metabolic profiles gives deep insights into how individuals vary and how that variation impacts on long term outcomes, including long COVID or even death.

"What is worrying, is that the long-term disease trajectory appears to be set very early during the course of infection. That means for unvaccinated patients (all the patients in the study were unvaccinated) urgent action would be needed to mitigate the long-term negative consequences of the disease."

The ANPC has already begun improving on this model to make it suitable for deployment in the clinic.

"Our next task is to operationalize this model by reducing it down to the most critical parameters and ones that can be measured rapidly ideally using only one analytical tool, and that is what we are working on now," said Professor Nicholson.

Professor Julien Wist, deputy director of the ANPC, further explained the research.

"The model emphasizes the importance of the different types of immune cell numbers and specific amino acid and lipoproteins metabolism pathways that are disturbed as a result of the inflammatory effects of COVID-19," said Professor Wist.

"We have published the data and the mathematical model developed with Cambridgecurrently for research use onlyand it is available online to anyone who wants to examine how the different parameters interact."

Professor Peter Klinken, Chief Scientist of Western Australia, said that through international collaborations such as these with Cambridge University, the ANPC and Western Australian science continues to have an impact on the world stage in critical areas of unmet medical need.

"COVID-19 remains a global problem and here the ANPC, a WA-based national science facility working with Cambridge, has made a major contribution to understanding the complex disease process that will have new clinical translational impacts for real people," said Professor Klinken.

"COVID-19 is not the last emergent disease threat that we will face, and we are fortunate to have a defensive weapon in the form of the ANPC research facility at Murdoch University."

This latest research is being augmented and validated by thousands of blood plasma samples collected at Harvard University, who are also working closely with the ANPC to predict long COVID outcomes.

More information: Helene Ruffieux et al, A patient-centric modeling framework captures recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection, Nature Immunology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41590-022-01380-2 Journal information: Nature Immunology
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Rebound DNA sequences from the blood (red) and the CSF (blue). Credit: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

When people living with HIV take antiviral therapy (ART), their viral loads are driven so low that a standard blood test cannot detect the virus. However, once ART is stopped, detectable HIV re-emerges with new cells getting infected. This is called "rebound" virus, and the cells that release the virus to re-ignite the infection come from a small population of HIV-infected CD4+ T cells that had remained dormant in blood and lymph tissue while individuals were on ART.

It's a problem called latency, and overcoming it remains a major goal for researchers trying to create curative therapies for HIVthe special focus of the UNC HIV Cure Center.

Now, scientists led by virologist Ron Swanstrom, Ph.D., Director of the UNC Center for AIDS Research and the Charles P. Postelle, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics at the UNC School of Medicine, describe another layer to the challenge of HIV latency and published their work in Nature Microbiology.

Swanstrom and colleagues, with collaborators at UCSF, Yale, the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and others, provide indirect evidence for the existence of a distinct latent reservoir of CD4+ T cells in the central nervous system (CNS). They accomplished this by analyzing rebound virus in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) during the period when people had just stopped taking ART.

"Our analysis of rebound virus suggests latently infected T cells in the CNS are separate from the latent reservoir in the blood," said Swanstrom, senior author of the study. "Our analysis allows us to infer the presence of a distinct pool of latently infected cells in the CNS waiting to reinitiate infection once ART is interrupted."

The researchers compared the genetic sequences of rebound virus particles when ART was discontinued in 11 human participants. This approach allowed the scientists to assess the similarities between viral populations in the blood and CSF to determine whether they were part of a common latent reservoir. In many cases, the viral populations were not the same, which suggested they can represent different populations of latently infected cells.

The researchers also studied details of viral replication to determine if rebound virus had been selected for replication in CD4+ T cellsthe primary home of the virusor had evolved to replicate in central nervous system myeloid cells, such as macrophages and microglia. All rebound viruses tested were adapted to growth in T cells. For several participants, the researchers also compared viral populations in blood and CSF before ART initiation and after ART was stopped.

These experiments provide further evidence that HIV-infected CD4+ T cells can cross over from blood into the CNS, but also that some latently infected cells may be resident in the CNS during therapy. Any curative therapy would need to activate this dormant reservoir, as well as the latent reservoir in the blood and lymph tissue.

More information: Rebound virus in the cerebrospinal fluid reveals a possible HIV-1 reservoir, Nature Microbiology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01309-3 Journal information: Nature Microbiology
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Surgical procedure: At first, only a lobe of the liver with metastases (1) is removed (2) and replaced with a healthy partial organ. Reduced blood flow to the remaining organ part stimulates graft growing (3), and the diseased part can be removed (4). Credit: Annals of Surgery (2022). DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005726

In non-cirrhotic liver diseases, organ transplantation in two steps, especially with a living donation, is a safe therapy option for donors and recipients. This is the conclusion of a case series evaluated by surgeons from the Jena University Hospital in Annals of Surgery. When patients have normal organ function e.g. in the case of liver metastases, no donor organs are available according to waiting list criteria.

More than 1,200 patients were listed waiting for a liver transplant in Germany in 2021. The most frequent reason for this was liver cirrhosis, in which the tissue of the central metabolic organ loses its function due to chronic inflammation, alcohol damage or poisoning.

But cancer can be the reason to need a new liver, too. This includes unresectable metastases in the liver descending from tumors in other organs. However, these patients hardly have a chance for an organ from a deceased donor because their liver function is less restricted than in the case of cirrhosis and the remaining organ function is a central criterion for the allocation of the rare donor organs.

In addition to the transplantation of the organs of the deceased, the transplantation surgery team of Jena University Hospital pursues a successful living liver donation program. After an ethics committee verification, healthy people may donate a partial organ to replace the diseased liver. Both the transplanted part and the remaining organ assume full organ function, because of the particular regeneration ability of the liver.

Living donation in the two-step procedure

"It is the continuing shortage of donor organs that motivates and drives our clinical and scientific work in this area," Prof. Dr. Utz Settmacher, Director of the Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, says.

In cooperation with colleagues from Brussels, Padua, Oslo, Munich and Tubingen, the Jena surgeons published in Annals of Surgery their transplantation experiences in patients who mostly suffer from colon cancer metastases in the liver.

The transplantations were performed in a two-step procedure. To protect the donor, the smallest possible liver section was removed and transplanted. The recipient initially retained a part of the diseased liver to ensure organ function. However, the surgeons reduced the blood flow to this part of the liver to encourage growth of the graft. After about two weeks, it adopts complete organ function and the remaining diseased liver is removed.

Twenty of the 23 patients analyzed in the study were treated with living liver donation. Three received a part of the organ from a deceased donor, and the other organ parts were also transplanted. Most study patients suffered from inoperable metastases from colorectal cancer. Senior author Prof. Dr. Falk Rauchfuss says, "We have compiled and analyzed extensive data on the underlying diseases as well as relevant anatomical and surgical details in order to assess the results in recipients and donors."

Donor risk minimized and waiting list relieved

Both the organ recipients and the living donors survived the procedures well. Complications that occurred after the operation were comparable to those in similar major procedures and could early be recognized and treated. "The two-stage liver transplant is a treatment option for patients with non-cirrhotic liver diseases that minimizes the donor risk and does not affect the waiting list," Falk Rauchfuss says.

"Under standardized study conditions, we want to investigate which patient criteria influence the outcomee.g. short-term and long-term survival or recurrence freedomin order to gain insights into the dynamics after transplantation. We want to get to know for which patients this therapy fits best," Utz Settmacher says.

More information: Utz Settmacher et al, Auxilliary Liver Transplantation According to the RAPID Procedure in Noncirrhotic Patients, Annals of Surgery (2022). DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005726 Journal information: Annals of Surgery

Provided by Universitatsklinikum Jena
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Researchers from Pusan National University find that suppressing the expression of SURF4 reduces pathologic processes that contribute to leukemia progression. Credit: Professor Dongjun Lee, Pusan National University

Leukemia, a type of blood cancer, affected around 2.3 million people around the world in 2015. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)a particularly aggressive diseasegenerally starts in the bone marrow, when stem cells cannot differentiate into white blood cells, which reduces the number of healthy blood cells in the body, leading to a very weak immune system, among other problems.

Given the prevalence and implications of this disease, there has been a lot of research on the development and progression of leukemia. This has led to the discovery of a protein, stimulator of interferon genes (STING), which interacts with two other proteinsTANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6)to exert anti-cancer effects in blood cancers.

Researchers have also observed that a particular genesurfeit 4 (SURF4)is highly expressed in leukemic cells, and its protein, SURF4, binds to STING. However, we are still unclear about how SURF4 affects the STING-TBK1-STAT6 axis, and what role it plays in leukemia. So, a team of researchers from Pusan National University, Republic of Korea set out to understand this. They were led by Professors Dongjun Lee and Yun Hak Kim, who explain the rather humanitarian motive for their research.

"Children who suffer from AML relapses seldom survive. This makes studying the mechanisms of AML very important. Uncovering the effects of proteins like SURF4 may lead to new therapeutic strategies for AML, which hasn't happened in four decades," the team reports. The team ran a series of experiments, the findings of which are detailed in a letter to the editor, published on November 6, 2022 in Cancer Communications.

First, using multiple short hairpin RNA constructs to target SURF4, the team suppressed its expression in myeloid leukemic cells and compared these to control leukemic cells. The former showed increased cell differentiation, cell death, and accumulation of ROS. Tumors containing these cells also displayed arrested growth when inoculated in mice.

The researchers additionally compared SURF4 expression levels among patients with AML and saw that patients with higher SURF4 expression levels had significantly shorter survival. It was also observed that SURF4 expression was much higher in patients suffering from AML compared to healthy people. These observations suggest that SURF4 regulates cell death and differentiation in AML. Interestingly, SURF4 silencing did not affect the cell cycle status.

"Our research shows the role played by SURF4 in myeloid leukemia. It negatively regulates the STING-TBK1-STAT6 axis and inhibits the death of cancer cells. We also found that depletion of SURF4 synergistically works with anti-cancer drugs to reduce myeloid leukemic cell burden," says Prof. Lee.

"Therefore," Prof. Kim concludes, "inhibiting SURF4 expression using monoclonal antibodies and/or aptamers may present a better alternative to current cancer therapies that wipe out the immune system and have multiple side effects. This is a promising option for the treatment of hematological cancers."

More information: Jayoung Kim et al, Novel endogenous endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane protein SURF4 suppresses cell death by negatively regulating the STINGSTAT6 axis in myeloid leukemia, Cancer Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1002/cac2.12390

Provided by Pusan National University
Mother-to-be Kathleen Founds made a routine doctors appointment to discuss the risks of antidepressants in pregnancy. After the visit, Founds, who relies on medication to quell the manic highs and despondent lows of bipolar disorder, learned the physician was out of network.

She received a surprise bill for $650, launching her into a maze of claim forms and hours on the phone being routed from one office to the next to dispute the charges  insurance red tape that so many Americans have encountered. A decade later, Founds captured her experience in a graphic novel, Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance, a richly illustrated, darkly funny fable for adults about the countrys dysfunctional health system.

The book, published in November, follows Theodore, an intelligent but angst-ridden bear, on his quest for treatment for his own manic-depressive illness. But first he must navigate the demands of the WeCare company, a shady outfit run by cigar-smoking felines who profit unfairly from a lopsided economy and a corrupt justice system, among other things. His fellow outcasts include such characters as an overeducated owl drowning in student debt and a bomb-sniffing puppy suffering from PTSD.

America is internationally known for high-quality care, for those who can afford it. A new Gallup Poll shows that a record-high proportion of Americans  38%  postponed medical care because of high costs in 2022. Federal and state no surprise laws of the past few years seek to protect consumers from unexpected medical bills. But they dont prevent expenses like high deductibles or fees hidden in the fine print of their insurance policies.

Descended from the underground comics of the 1960s, graphic medicine has grown into a new field of scholarship on the mediums role in the study and delivery of health care, said Ian Williams, the Welsh physician who coined the term back in 2007. Its ideal for exploring subjects having to do with ones life and well-being in an ironic and funny way, he said.

As Founds puts it, humor is a powerful weapon against despair.

The 40-year-old mother of two teaches English at a community college in Santa Cruz County on Californias central coast. She has never taken an art class and didnt set out to write a graphic novel. The book began as a doodle in the margins of her notebook while studying for a masters degree in fiction writing at Syracuse University in New York. Her 2014 novel in short stories, When Mystical Creatures Attack, is about a teacher who suffers a nervous breakdown and communicates with her students from a psychiatric hospital.

KHN contributing reporter Rachel Scheier spoke to Founds about bringing Theodore to life. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you come to write a book about a bear with bipolar disorder?

Id been making childrens books for my little brother. They were all about angst-ridden animals: a lonely giant squid, a possum with social anxiety disorder who falls asleep whenever hes in an awkward situation, a burro who wants to be a unicorn. My goal was to write a novel. But whenever I was too depressed to string a sentence together, Id draw bears. Then I realized that anyone dealing with a mental health issue in this country is going to have to deal with the labyrinth of health insurance. And I thought it would be fun to depict it as an actual labyrinth with trapdoors and man-eating flowers. Once I went in that direction, it was no longer a childrens book.

Q: Was the book based on your own experience with mental illness?

Yes. I had my first major depressive episode at the end of high school, but I didnt seek out professional help. I just sort of muddled through it. Then, when I was a sophomore at Stanford, I had my first manic episode. I had a series of realizations about the nature of the universe, and I didnt sleep or eat very much. Then, in graduate school, I went to a clinic because I was going through a depression, and the psychiatrist asked me questions like Was there ever a time when you had a lot of energy and didnt feel a need to sleep? And I said, Oh, sure, but that was a spiritual awakening. So, I had to reframe my life story a bit after that.

Q: But religion still has a role in your life?

Im a Quaker. Its something I came to through my interest in nonviolent social change. When I am severely depressed, I feel like life has no purpose. So, following a code that says life does have meaning, that we are all connected by a force of love that undergirds the universe, is something that has helped me a lot.

Q: Why animals?

People are hard to draw! Cartoon animals are a lot easier. I wasnt interested in art in school  actually, when I started drawing was during that first manic episode. I do not recommend writing a 200-page graphic novel with no artistic training. I mean, it took 13 years, but I did finish it.

Q: Why did it take so long?

I worked on it off and on while I was writing essays and working on the beginnings of several other novels. When I finally finished it, I was so excited. I was ready to see it on bookshelves within a year. I sent it to my agent, and she wrote me a very nice email which said, I love this. Its very creative. But theres no way I can sell it. Most graphic novels for grownups are memoir  there wasnt a clear genre. Then another agent I reached out to said, I cant take this on, but you should try Graphic Mundi, which had published several novels in the field of graphic medicine.

Q: What made you want to write about health insurance?

Our system is actually killing people. We have a high suicide rate in this country, and people are not able to access mental health care. And then, when they do get help, its not necessarily the psychiatrist who determines the course of care; its the insurance company. If you go into a room of 10 Americans, five can tell you a health insurance nightmare story.

But I also wanted to explore what it means to develop a healthy lifestyle and grow a strong community and go through all this growth and healing that Bipolar Bear goes through in the story, only to have the depression come back again. What is the meaning of my journey if I find myself right back where I was before? Ultimately, theres no answer to that question, but there is a right thing to do, which is to ask for help. Were all saved by each other.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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When the covid-19 pandemic hit, Dr. Corey Siegel was more prepared than most of his peers.

Half of Siegels patients  many with private insurance and Medicaid  were already using telehealth, logging onto appointments through phones or computers. You get to meet their family members; you get to meet their pets, Siegel said. You see more into their lives than you do when they come to you.

Siegels Medicare patients werent covered for telehealth visits until the pandemic drove Congress and regulators to temporarily pay for remote medical treatment just as they would in-person care.

Siegel, section chief for gastroenterology and hepatology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, is licensed in three states and many of his Medicare patients were frequently driving two to three hours round trip for appointments, which isnt a small feat, he said.

The $1.7 trillion spending package Congress passed in December included a two-year extension of key telehealth provisions, such as coverage for Medicare beneficiaries to have phone or video medical appointments at home. But it also signaled political reluctance to make the payment changes permanent, requiring federal regulators to study how Medicare enrollees use telehealth.

The federal extension basically just kicked the can down the road for two years, said Julia Harris, associate director for the health program at the D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center think tank. At issue are questions about the value and cost of telehealth, who will benefit from its use, and whether audio and video appointments should continue to be reimbursed at the same rate as face-to-face care.

Before the pandemic, Medicare paid for only narrow uses of remote medicine, such as emergency stroke care provided at hospitals. Medicare also covered telehealth for patients in rural areas but not in their homes  patients were required to travel to a designated site such as a hospital or doctors office.

But the pandemic brought a seismic change in perception and telehealth became a household term, said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association.

The omnibus bills provisions include: paying for audio-only and home care; allowing for a variety of doctors and others, such as occupational therapists, to use telehealth; delaying in-person requirements for mental health patients; and continuing existing telehealth services for federally qualified health clinics and rural health clinics.

Telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries grew from less than 1% before the pandemic to more than 32% in April 2020. By July 2021, the use of remote appointments retreated somewhat, settling at 13% to 17% of claims submitted, according to a fee-for-service claims analysis by McKinsey & Co.

Fears over potential fraud and the cost of expanding telehealth have made politicians hesitant, said Josh LaRosa, vice president at the Wynne Health Group, which focuses on payment and care delivery reform. The report required in the omnibus package is really going to help to provide more clarity, LaRosa said.

In a 2021 report, the Government Accountability Office warned that using telehealth could increase spending in Medicare and Medicaid, and historically the Congressional Budget Office has said telehealth could make it easier for people to use more health care, which would lead to more spending.

Advocates like Zebley counter that remote care doesnt necessarily cost more. If the priority is preventative care and expanding access, that should be taken into account when considering costs, Zebley said, explaining that increased use of preventative care could drive down more expensive spending.

Siegel and his colleagues at Dartmouth see remote care as a tool for helping chronically ill patients receive ongoing care and preventing expensive emergency episodes. It allows patients to not be burdened by their illnesses, he said. Its critical that we keep this going.

Some of Seigels work is funded by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. (The Helmsley Charitable Trust also contributes to KHN.)

For the past nine months, Dartmouth Healths telehealth visits plateaued at more than 500 per day. Thats 10% to 15% of all outpatient visits, said Katelyn Darling, director of operations for Dartmouths virtual care center.

Patients like it and they want to continue doing it, Darling said, adding that doctors  especially psychologists  like telehealth too. If Congress decides not to continue funding for remote at-home visits after 2024, Darling said, she fears patients will have to drive again for appointments that could have been handled remotely.

The same fears are worrying leaders at Sanford Health, which provides services across the Upper Midwest.

We absolutely need those provisions to become permanent, said Brad Schipper, president of virtual care at Sanford, which has health plan members, hospitals, clinics, and other facilities in the Dakotas, Iowa, and Minnesota. In addition to the provisions, Sanford is closely watching whether physicians will continue to get paid for providing care across state lines.

During the pandemic, licensing requirements in states were often relaxed to enable doctors to practice in other states and many of those requirements are set to expire at the end of the public health emergency.

Licensing requirements were not addressed in the omnibus, and to ensure telehealth access, states need to allow physicians to treat patients across state lines, said Dr. Jeremy Cauwels, Sanford Healths chief physician. This has been particularly important in providing mental health care, he said; virtual visits now account for about 20% of Sanfords appointments.

Sanford is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Cauwels recalled one case in which a patient lived four hours from the closest child-adolescent psychiatrist and was on the wrong side of the border. Because of the current licensing waivers, Cauwels said, the patients wait for an appointment was cut from several weeks to six days.

We were able to get that kid seen without Mom taking a day off to drive back and forth, without a six-week delay, and we were able to do all the things virtually for that family, Cauwels said.

Psychiatrist Dr. Sara Gibson has used telehealth for decades in rural Apache County, Arizona. There are some people who have no access to care without telehealth, she said. That has to be added into the equation.

Gibson, who is also medical director for Little Colorado Behavioral Health Centers in Arizona, said one key question for policymakers as they look ahead is not whether telehealth is better than face-to-face. Its telehealth vs. no care, she said.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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The Missoula County Public Schools Board will interview three Montana-based finalists for the superintendent position this Thursday before announcing the next district leader in early February.

Last week, the board named Candace Roush, Dale Olinger and Thom Peck as finalists from a pool of 14 applicants. The candidates for the districts next superintendent will be interviewed by the board in a special meeting on Thursday morning. A community meet-and-greet with the finalists is set for Thursday at 6 p.m.

Roush moved to Missoula last year and started working as a budget analyst for the University of Montana in July. She is also an adjunct instructor at Indiana Wesleyan University with the K-12 administration masters and doctoral programs.

Before coming to Montana, Roush served for eight years as the superintendent of Shoals Community School Corporation in Indiana, which has fewer than 700 students enrolled K-12, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Prior to being superintendent she worked for two years as a high school principal and assistant superintendent with the district.

Roush earned her bachelor's degree in secondary education from Indiana University in 2005 and completed her masters in educational leadership at Columbus State University in Georgia in 2007. In 2016, she earned her doctorate in school administration from Ball State University in Indiana and wrote a dissertation about work-family conflict among principals. She currently holds a Class 5C alternative license in Montana with a superintendent's endorsement, which will expire in June 2025. The provisional license allows candidates seeking a Montana teaching license three years to obtain 60 professional development units before they can qualify for a Class 3 administrative license, according to Montanas Office of Public Instruction.

According to her resume, Roush worked to secure 18 education-related grants ranging from federal COVID relief funds to school safety and other projects.

In July, the Washington Times Herald in Indiana reported that Roushs husband, Travis Roush, resigned from his position as Martin County Sheriff to move to Montana for law school. Candace also resigned from her position with the school district for the move.

Olinger is currently superintendent of the Lolo School District. The Hellgate High School graduate has worked in Lolo since 2007 where he started his career as a middle school science teacher before moving to principal and eventually superintendent of the K-8 district.

He completed his bachelor's degree in elementary education with honors from the University of Montana in 2006 with an emphasis in science. He student-taught at Meadow Hill Middle School. He went back to school at Rocky Mountain College in Billings and earned a master's degree in educational leadership in 2011.

Olinger currently has a Class 3 administrator license in Montana with endorsements for principal and superintendent as well as a Class 1 professional teaching license for K-8 instruction, both of which will expire in 2026.

As superintendent in Lolo, the community supported a $22 million bond to build a new school facility and the first general fund levy the district had seen in more than a decade. Olinger is currently overseeing the construction for the new school building, which is expected to be completed in September.

According to his resume, Olinger has provided testimony and outreach on topics related to public education with legislative committees and leaders. He also has active service on the School Administrators of Montana legislative network. Olinger also serves on the advisory board for the spectrUM Discovery Area, a hands-on science center at the Missoula Public Library.

Peck started his career in educational leadership as an assistant principal at Hamilton High School in 1998. Since then, hes worked in a variety of leadership positions at school districts in Bigfork, Three Forks, Charlo and Box Elder before landing at his current job as superintendent of Lewistown School District #1.

Peck earned his bachelor's degree in 1988 from Carroll College and later returned to school to pursue a master's degree in school administration from Seattle Pacific University in 1994. He gained his superintendent endorsement through the University of Montana.

Peck currently holds a Class 3 administrator license in Montana with principal and superintendent endorsements as well as a Class 1 professional teaching license with endorsements in biology and chemistry. Both licenses will expire in June.

Pecks career as high school principal at Bigfork High School ended after he signed a separation agreement with the district in Sept. 2008 and officially resigned in June 2009, according to reporting by the Bigfork Eagle. The reason for the agreement was discussed during executive session with the districts school board and was not made publicly available. Many community members expressed their displeasure with the boards decision to part ways with Peck.

After his time in Bigfork, Peck successfully advocated for multiple bonds and levies in communities across the state. He also helped develop a daycare center for staff and students at Box Elder, where he also helped increase the districts attendance rate by 13% and the graduation rate by 17%, according to his resume.

MCPS superintendent search events The Missoula County Public Schools board of trustees will be interviewing three finalists for its next superintendent on Thursday, Feb. 2 at the district offices. Dale Olinger's interview will begin at 8 a.m.

Thom Peck's interview will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Dr. Candace Roush's interview will begin at 11 a.m. Additionally, the district is inviting parents, students, staff and community members to meet the candidates on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in Administration Building A at the district offices.
A company that operates outdoor adventure-focused lodging has purchased the long-vacant former Mountain Valley Inn property at 420 West Broadway in downtown Missoula.

The company, called LOGE Camps, said construction will begin in early 2023 to remodel the former motel. It plans on converting an existing dog wash business space on the site into a cafe and hopes to secure a license to serve alcohol. Plans also call for a covered lounge with outdoor seating and a fire place with a yoga space and conference room. All the accommodations will be pet-friendly.

In a press release, LOGE Camps said it uses local products and vendors to curate unique hyperlocal experiences. It will seek Montana-based partners for all aspects of its operation, including food and beverage vendors, guides, gear shops and artists.

Staying with LOGE Camps is all about experiencing the local culture, said Gavin Burns, head of business development for LOGE Camps, in a press release. We dont carry national coffee or beer when we can focus on and highlight the best local products. Thats especially true in the guiding space, where we partner with local guides who understand the terrain like no one else can.

He said all the companys locations commit a portion of the top-line revenue to a local nonprofit organization, so theyll be seeking a local partner in Missoula.

He estimated that the project will be complete in early 2024, but thats dependent on permitting timelines, labor availability, weather and adequate material supplies. The number of rooms and specific experience types offered are still yet to be determined.

Graves said the new business will create hospitality jobs and said they have a commitment to competitive wages and promoting employee well-being through outdoor recreation. Employees get a gear budget for purchases and stipends for professional development opportunities.

LOGE Camps (the name is an acronym for Live Outside, Go Explore) recently purchased the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex between West Glacier and East Glacier, with plans for slightly upgrading that historic hotel.

The company has ventures in Bend, Oregon; Mount Shasta, California, and three locations in Washington, with locations in New Mexico and Colorado coming soon.

LOGE Bend has a cafe/bar, a gear rental and demo center and offers tours like a star-gazing paddle tour, a mountain bike shuttle, a movie night, a puffy jacket concert series and a downtown Bend First Friday art walk.

The California location offers fire pits, gear storage, a cafe/taproom, free bikes for guests, covered camping with bathrooms, a grilling zone and free live music on Saturdays in the warm months.

The Mountain Valley Inn has sat vacant for about four years and has 58 rooms. It was built in 1969.

Sterling Commercial Real Estate in Missoula brokered the deal. The property, located near the busy intersection of Orange Street and Broadway just north of the Clark Fork River, was listed at $3.6 million.

Slate Olson, the executive vice president of marketing for LOGE Camps, said the company is based in the Seattle area but has employees in many different areas.

We started in 2017 and were excited about some of the growth were seeing as we expand out of the Pacific Northwest, he explained. Our overall purpose is really to make it easy for people to connect and get out and explore and find their place or a place in the greater communities of the outdoors.

He said the redevelopment of the Mountain Valley Inn will be a benefit to people who live in Missoula, not just out-of-town guests.

Our main focus is to reinvigorate or re-inspire those places not only for guests traveling in but for the community itself, he said. Well have a community space where people can come and join us. We typically have a stage for small concerts, a cafe with good food and drink, an outdoor space with grills, and were looking at having a yoga studio.

He said theyre working through Montanas complex liquor license laws to try to be able to at least serve beer and wine on site.
The state auditor's office says a bill introduced last week would hurt its ability to regulate the insurance industry, which includes the employer of the lawmaker sponsoring the bill.

House Bill 277, sponsored by Rep. Nelly Nicol, R-Billings, would eliminate a statute that requires the Montana State Fund, a quasi-public-private workers compensation program, to pay for two regulatory positions with the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, otherwise known as the state auditor. A version of the bill introduced Friday does not propose an alternative funding source, though that could change.

Nicol said the proposal would eliminate the "smell" of a conflict of interest between the State Fund and its regulator. But Frank Cote, government affairs director for the State Auditor's Office, said the proposal would mean the agency would have to seek out funding for those two positions, an attorney and an examiner, elsewhere.

"If we lose those two employees we won't have the ability to be as successful as we have been in regulating the insurance industry in the state of Montana," Cote said.

Nicol, a freshman Republican from Billings, disclosed to the House Business and Labor Committee on Friday that she works for a workers compensation company in competition with the State Fund.

Because Montana has a citizen Legislature made up of people who have jobs outside being representatives and senators, lawmakers often deal with bills related to their employment. Legislators must disclose personal or private conflicts of interest to their chamber, though rules do not block them from bringing bills or voting on them if there's a conflict. It's not uncommon for landlords to bring bills to change laws around renting, for example. More broadly yet, legislators also adjust the state's tax code.

"For full disclosure, I work for a workers compensation company and we are competitors with the government, with Montana State Fund, so you should know that," Nicol told the committee.

But another dynamic  a decade of legal quarrels between Nicols employer, Victory Insurance Co., and the state auditors office  did not get a mention in Fridays hearing.

Less than a month ago, the state auditors office proposed a $2.7 million fine against Victory Insurance for allegedly misrepresenting to its customers that their policies were being "upgraded" when in fact they were being transferred to Clear Spring, another workers compensation insurer based in Illinois. Victory's attorney on Tuesday said those allegations are not true.

Nicol has disputed that her bill was retaliatory against the state auditors office or that it created such an appearance. On Monday Nicol said she's seeking an amendment that would replace the funding for those two positions.

I'm suggesting that instead of an insurance company paying into their regulator that the money come from the special fund, referring to another source already funding the auditors office, Nicol said.

Despite the intention of her bill, Nicol during the Friday hearing likened the regulatory style of the auditors office to a police officer who pulls someone over and tickets them for speeding, regardless of the speed they are driving, to draw companies into disputes over fines. Nicol called the auditors proceedings a "guilty-before-proven-innocent system," and said by bringing the bill she was "standing up for" the State Fund.

No one testified in support of the bill. Kevin Braun, general counsel for the State Fund, said the organization has never been in litigation with the state auditor's office.

On Monday, state auditor spokesman Sam Loveridge disputed Nicols characterization of the auditors enforcement of insurance statutes.

We are proud of the regulatory work of this agency and have earned the respect of the industries we oversee, Loveridge said. The disputes between Victory and the office stretch across the administration of three different auditors, including a Democrat and two Republicans.

Friday's hearing never veered into the relationship between Victory Insurance and the state auditor's office, although committee chair Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, noted toward the end of the hearing that discussions "had a lot of opportunities for us to go into very sensitive areas and I do appreciate the professionalism of everyone in keeping this to the bill."

10 years in conflict

Under its agreement with Clear Spring, Victory Insurance would be compensated for administering those accounts, according to records with the state auditor's office. The agency, in its notice to Victory on Dec. 27, said the company violated state laws when it did not give the insured customers in at least 54 instances a 45-day notice that their policies were being terminated. Victory contended that it was truthful with customers when it told them their policies were being upgraded and updated.

Several agency actions and lawsuits have spawned from the collapse of Victory and Clear Spring's agreement. The auditors office proposed another $25,000 fine on Dec. 27 for allegedly failing to disclose to the agency the federal litigation that began once that deal with Clear Spring fell apart. In that case, Clear Spring accused Victory of improperly withholding millions of dollars meant for Clear Spring. The parties ultimately resolved that case, which was filed in a federal court in Illinois, with a confidential settlement.

Victory Insurance in 2021 took the auditors office to court to challenge the regulatory violations alleged by the auditor's office in the Clear Spring deal collapse, arguing the agency does not have the authority to litigate the companys contractual disputes. In August, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Christopher Abbott ruled against Victory, writing that the alleged violations were within the auditor's jurisdiction. Victory appealed Abbott's decision to the Montana Supreme Court last year in a case that remains ongoing.

The two parties have circled in each other in legal arenas, either in district court or in the auditors administrative proceeding process, for at least a decade. Abbott, in a ruling on a 2019 case, described the engagements this way:

When it comes to litigation between Victory and the Commissioner, this is not Victorys first rodeo. Over the years, the two have engaged each other in numerous court battles in this judicial district, Abbott wrote in the order. Indeed, at this moment, at least three lawsuits are pending before this court alone.

In 2020, Nicol ran for the state auditors office, and MTN News reported Victory Insurance put up nearly $200,000 in independent expenditures supporting her campaign. Her father, Keith Brownfield, is CEO of Victory. Nicol stepped down from the board of directors during that race, according to records with the Commissioner of Political Practices, but said Friday she has since returned to the board.

Nicol said Monday her motivation in that bid for State Auditor was to clean up the regulatory office.

Nicol lost in the primary election to Troy Downing. She returned for another bid for public office in 2022, running for House District 53 in Billings. She faced no Republican primary opponent, and no Democratic challenger in the November election.

In an interview on Monday, Nicol said the state auditors office recently threatened her for pursuing information on the agency through the Legislative Audit Division, which gathers information from agencies on behalf of lawmakers to develop legislation. That threat, she said, included raising awareness of the conflict between Victory and the agency.

The version of events described by the freshman representative are entirely false, Loveridge said Monday.

Nicol told the Montana State News Bureau she plans to pursue the office's actions since the alleged threat. Asked to clarify, she said she plans to ask a lot of questions.

I was not targeted on the auditors office until I was threatened, Nicol said. And now Im focused on the auditors office.

Nicol also said she does not see a conflict of interest with using her legislative stature to focus on the agency that regulates her company.

As a legislator it is my job to look into all the agencies, she said.

Nicol paused before declining to comment on whether her legislative leadership had warned her about sponsoring legislation related to the state auditors office.

House Bill 277

Nicol said the bill's intent is to eliminate a conflict of interest in the State Fund paying for regulators that oversee it from the State Auditor's Office.

"That doesn't have a very good look or smell to it," she said during Fridays hearing. "So we're going to take the State Fund out of the auditor's office."

The two positions examine both the State Fund, but Cote told the committee they also examine other insurance carriers as a practical use of resources. The State Fund is an insurer of last resort, meaning that it must insure any company that pays premiums.

Cote told the House Business and Labor Committee on Friday he was unsure before the hearing whether he would testify as an informational witness, which does not take sides, or an opponent to the bill.

"I decided that with the information I need to give today that it's probably more than your standard informational witness," Cote said.

In 2015, lawmakers passed a bill that put the State Fund under the regulatory oversight of the state auditor's office. The largest workers' compensation carrier in the state with more than 20,000 employers insured, lawmakers decided to fund additional regulatory positions through the State Fund's surplus dollars. Cote described the two positions on Friday as entirely distinct from the State Fund other than the source of the funding for their jobs.

After the hearing, Buttrey told the Montana State News Bureau he did not feel Nicol's bill crossed into a conflict-of-interest.

"Had I perceived something, I would have said something," he said.

Lin Deola, Victory's attorney in matters with the state auditor's office, denied the allegations from the state auditor's office.

"Unfortunately, the system does not allow victory to respond," Deola said in an email Tuesday. "Instead, the auditor can say whatever they want, and until we have a hearing nobody actually knows if theres any truth to the allegations, which in this case there are not."
Montanas Office of Public Instruction recently released its annual Critical Quality Educator Shortage Report revealing that around 80% of Montana schools, 661 out of 825, are impacted with critical quality educator shortages.

Filling Montana classrooms, wherever the location, with quality educators remains one of my top priorities, state Superintendent Elsie Arntzen said in a news release. I have implemented many flexibilities through TeachMT, teacher licensing rules, and increasing professional development to recognize this great need in every school building across our state. Together we must focus on solutions that put our Montana students first."

The report, released earlier this month, defines an impacted school as a special education cooperative, the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, the Montana Youth Challenge program, a state youth correctional facility, a public school located on an Indian reservation and a public school that is located more than 20 minutes from a Montana city with a population greater than 15,000, based on the most recent federal decennial census.

This school year, there were 2,700 affected licensure and endorsement areas, which is down from the 2021-2022 school year, where there were 2,919. Out of the 2,700 affected areas in 2022-2023, according to the report. High school has been affected the most with 872. Elementary is next with 812, and middle school has 599 while K-12 schools have 417.

The top three critical shortage areas in 2022-2023 are elementary at 492, special education at 259 and mathematics at 188.

Possible reasons for declaring a shortage are if in the past three years, a school has hired a retired teacher, hired a teacher with Class 5 Provisional Certificate, hired a teacher without a license with an emergency authorization, or filled a position from a candidate pool of less than five qualified candidates.

Other possible reasons are they advertised a position that remained vacant for 30 days due to lack of qualified candidates or a vacancy for the current school years was advertised for at least 30 days and less than five applications were received from qualified applicants.

A teachers union official said it partially comes down to money.

"We graduate enough teachers from our Montana colleges to fill almost all of our teaching positions," said Sam Telling, spokesperson for Montana Federation of Public Employees. "Even though theyd rather stay here, graduates flee Montana for states that pay more, have lower health care costs, and have not politicized the profession.

Boulder schools have 10 staffing shortages on the report from elementary to high school level ranging from superintendent to English to computer information systems.

Townsend schools list three shortages this school year. Lincoln K-12 has 14 staffing shortages, and Trinity Elementary has one. Prickly Pear Coop has eight staffing shortages. Helmville Elementary and Garrison Elementary have one staffing shortage, and Avon Elementary has two, according to the report.

Hardin Public Schools had the most staffing shortages out of any Montana school district at 36. They have nine elementary shortages, middle school has 12, high school has 13 and two system shortages -- a supervisor and a school psychologist.

Montana educators who work in critical shortage areas can receive up to $3,000 per year for four years in educational loan repayment assistance. For the 2022 fiscal year, OPI approved and paid a total of 113 approvals for $453,596. In the 2021 fiscal year, they approved 73 for $266,735, and in the 2020 fiscal year, they approved 76 for $268,907.

There is now a bill before the Legislature, Senate Bill 70, which would extend the Quality Educator Assistance Program. It would alter the definition of a critical quality educator shortage area and make it so that all teachers that work in an impacted school regardless of the areas that are affected can receive loan repayment assistance.

"SB 70 is a great start and a good step toward ending our teacher shortage," said Amanda Curtis, president of MFPE. "Extending loan forgiveness to more rural schools gets at the heart of the problem, putting resources where they're needed the most to promote teacher retention and recruitment."
The incestuous swamp in the Montana Legislature continues to grow. Recently we had three legislators drop out of the Montana Legislature. One who would rather take a motorcycle trip than participate in the cesspool that is the Montana Legislature. One that was bullied out of her seat, because she followed her conscience and the National Republican Platform principles. Finally, we have Doug Flament who was forced to resign his seat due to unexpected health issues. House District 29 straddles two counties in Montana, Fergus and Petroleum counties, so the county commissioners of the two counties vote to replace the open seat.

Unlike the vote that ushered in Mr. Flament, the vote for Mr. Flaments replacement was split, not unanimous. Why? Because Ed Butcher was one of the applicants. And Ed Butcher has a long, embarrassing history of racist rants and forced apologies. Whats worse? His own son, a Fergus County commissioner, voted for him.

Butcher has been in Montana politics for a long time. When he was in the Legislature, he was known for wreaking havoc upon Native American representatives with his racist slights:

2002: Senator Ed Butcher who drew fire during the 2001 Legislative session for saying reservations are ghettos where tribal members are held in bondage upped the ante by implying that many reservation Indians are lazy and would rather draw welfare checks than work. Theyre unwilling or incapable of working like normal outside people do.

2004: Sen. Ed Butcher issued a written apology for derogatory comments he made last week about special education students and racial minorities...When initially contacted about the remarks Tuesday, Butcher refused to apologize. At last week's meeting, Butcher said "vegetables," or seriously disabled children, should be removed from the traditional school setting and relocated in regional hub schools that can better meet their needs. Butcher said: "Montana teachers who leave the state for better-paying jobs elsewhere have to deal with groups of Hispanic, Asian and black gangs that are terrorizing schools."

2007: Rep. Ed Butchercharacterized supporters of increased funding for an American Indian education program as "semi-literate." Butcherwrote that the program was misguided and was being "propelled by the 'politically correct' crowd of semi-literate proponents." He also wrote in his response he had been "astonished at the naivety of our educational community in buying into this 'Indian education project.'" He wrote that an accurate picture of historic Indian culture was not possible because Indians were a "hunter/gather peoples who would have had a limited vocabulary  and relied upon sign-language for much of their communication."

2007: Butcherwas forced to apologize Friday on the House floor after referring to an American Indian lawmaker as "chief" and asking if the committee chairman's gavel wielded by Butcher constituted a "war club."Butcher said he has an extra-large gavel and turned to Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Rocky Boy, a member of the committee, and asked him if the gavel could be a "war club." Then, shortly before the meeting was to start, but while Windy Boy was not present, Butcher said the meeting couldn't begin because he was waiting on "Chief Windy Boy."

August 2022: Butcher remarked American Indian legislators always vote for welfare andmost legislators from reservations are unintelligent. "I won't mention the other names that are room-temperature IQs," he said. "The reservation doesn't necessarily always send their best and brightest."

And now Butcher will join the other racist legislators like the Speaker of the Houses daddy, Keith Regier, who believes (without consulting those affected) that Indian Reservations should be eradicated. But lets not forget: Butcher got the seat by way of his county commissioner son voting for him. Ross Butcher has recused himself before when his daddys policies have been presented to the county commission, but not this time. Even if Baby Butcher cleared his vote through the county attorney, the appearance of impropriety blazes like the sun, perpetuating the incestuous and increasingly racist Montana political swamp propagated by the new Montana GOP.
Butte police reports

Saturday arrest

Just after 10 p.m. Saturday, officers were investigating a disturbance in the 800 block of Dakota Street when they came upon Zachariah Thomas Bartsch, 35, of Butte in a nearby alley.

Bartsch had two misdemeanor warrants out for his arrest out of Judge Jerome McCarthys court in connection with simple assault and theft.

Criminal trespass

On Saturday night, Melissa Ann Gravelle, 29, of Butte was told to leave the Butte Rescue Mission, 610 E. Platinum St. She refused and was arrested for misdemeanor criminal trespass to property.

Outstanding warrant

Nathan Val Chelini, 41, of Butte was picked up Saturday afternoon in the 700 block of Hobson Street. Chelini had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest for allegedly violating a protection order.

Woman tackled

Zachary Michael McGuire, 23, of Butte was booked into the jail just before 4 a.m. Saturday for the misdemeanor offense of partner or family member assault.

McGuire allegedly tackled a woman who sustained an injury to her lower lip to the floor at a residence in the 2000 block of Reynolds Street.

Second offense

Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, an officer found a vehicle stuck near Chula Avenue and Rowe Road. Driver Skyler Elliott Camel Nowlen, 27, of Butte was attempting to free the vehicle.

According to the police report Nowlen appeared to be intoxicated and would not give any identification, including a drivers license. He also reportedly refused to take any sobriety tests. He was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence (second offense), open container in the vehicle and obstructing a peace officer.

Taken into custody

While investigating a disturbance Saturday night in the 600 block of Travonia Street, officers learned that the man accused of causing the disturbance, Christopher Lee Etheridge, 38, of Butte had left the area.

Etheridge, who had two local misdemeanor warrants out for his arrest, was found near the intersection of Aluminum and Idaho streets and taken into custody.

Aggravated DUI

Cory Daniel Van Meel, 34, of Butte was arrested early Saturday night near the intersection of Mercury and Arizona for the misdemeanor offenses of aggravated driving under the influence (first aggravated offense, along with two more misdemeanor DUIs), open container in the vehicle and speeding.

Van Meel was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed when an officer pulled him over near the intersection. He failed sobriety maneuvers and was transported to the jail.

Not welcome

Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, Sarah Lynn Armstrong, 30, of Butte was pounding on the door of a residence in the 1800 block of Elm Street.

Armstrong was told repeatedly to go away but she reportedly wouldnt go and became combative when police arrived. She was arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Purse gone

A woman left her car overnight in the parking lot at Butte Depot, 818 S. Arizona Ave. When she went to retrieve the car early Saturday afternoon, the front window was broken out, and her purse was gone.

Disruptive woman

Late Saturday night, a woman was being disruptive at Cinz Bar, 301 E. Mercury St., and police were called. Someone took her home before officers arrived.

Wandering around

Early Monday morning, a man was wandering around an apartment complex on East Broadway Street. Officers came and took him home.
Conservation groups suing to halt a controversial logging project in far northwest Montana argue that the U.S. Forest Service improperly analyzed the projects impacts to grizzly bears, and also failed to publicly disclose parts of the analysis.

The groups, which include Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, argue that the Kootenai National Forest failed to account for illegal use of roads that are blocked to prevent public motorized access. The 91,647-acre project is a mix of commercial logging, thinning and prescribed burning stretching from Yaak to the Canadian border.

When analyzing how the project would change the amount of land with or without open roads in grizzly habitat, the groups argue, the Forest Service must analyze the real-world motorized usage of roads to the best of its understanding  including illegal road use  not just which roads are designated as open to motorized use.

Grizzly bears tend to die in or abandon roaded forests, according to numerous studies collected by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

Earlier in January, the groups sued the U.S. Forest Service in U.S. District Court in Missoula over the project. On Friday, the groups asked the court to either vacate the Forest Services June 2022 approval of the project, or issue an injunction to prevent project implementation, and order the agency to conduct further analysis.

The Forest Service does not comment on active litigation.

Fridays brief outlined three primary points on which the groups believe the Forest Services environmental assessment for the Black Ram project is illegally flawed: that the agency violated federal law and the forests own management plan by failing to consider illegal road usage when calculating changes in the amount of road-free area; that the agency didn't analyze the efficacy of barriers it used to block access to closed roads; and that the agency hasn't acknowledged new information showing threats to grizzlies in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem that werent considered in the EA.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires that agencies take a hard look at the impacts of a proposed action. In doing that, the law requires that agencies use the best available science, make their methodologies and data available to the public, and do not rely on incorrect assumptions or data. The National Forest Management Act requires national forests to develop forest plans and ensure that site-specific projects comply with those plans.

The Kootenai National Forests forest plan stipulates a minimum amount of land  55%  that must be left unroaded in certain management units of the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone that the project falls within. It also stipulates that the amount of land subject to open motorized roads not exceed 31% in Northwest Peak, one of the two bear management units the project affects, and 33% in Garver, the other unit. In Garver, for example, that number would increase to 36% after the project. And an internal document left out of the EA indicated it could reach 42% during project implementation.

Those increases, the groups argue, violate the forest plans limits on roads.

The Forest Service proposes to block other roads to offset that decrease in unroaded, or core, habitat. But, the groups argue, thats not an effective remedy  or at least not a well enough understood remedy to rely upon  because berms or gates erected to close roads are often destroyed or simply driven around. And some roads that are closed to motorized travel lack barriers at all.

The Forest Service has documented widespread illegal road usage in the area and has admitted that it doesnt fix many breached or ineffective barriers. The agency itself recently documented at least 72 such instances. But that wasnt considered in the EA, which assumed 100% efficacy of barriers and quick repairs. The agency violated NEPA and the NFMA by relying on that incorrect assumption, the groups argued.

Plus, they wrote in the brief, previous decisions from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court required the Forest Service to account for illegal usage of roads, as well as unofficial and user-created roads, when calculating road density in grizzly habitat. Failing to do so, the groups argued, has already been proven in court as a violation of law. And although the agency acknowledged in internal documents that it wasnt considering illegal road use or unofficial roads in its analysis, that detail was left out of the methodology explanation in the EA  another NEPA violation, the groups charge.

The forest plan also requires that the agency adhere to IGBC regulations for projects in grizzly habitat. Those stipulate that projects shouldnt degrade grizzly habitat or adversely affect the species in the area where the Black Ram project would take place.

Management decisions will favor the needs of the grizzly bear when grizzly habitat and other land use values compete, the regulations state. Land uses which can affect grizzlies and/or their habitat will be made compatible with grizzly needs or such uses will be disallowed or eliminated.

Additionally, NEPA requires that the Forest Service perform further analysis on a proposed action if the proposed action changes or if There are significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts.

The Black Ram EA cites a Cabinet-Yaak grizzly population of 5560 bears in 2017 with 73% probability that the population was stable or growing. But since then, data show a precipitous decline in grizzlies: 50 in 2018, 45 in 2019, 42 in 2020.

An October 2022 presentation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documented three non-natural deaths of female grizzlies in the Cabinet-Yaak in 2022. Biologists believe the non-natural deaths of just one or two females a year in that ecosystem could imperil the population. The agency violated NEPA and the federal Administrative Procedure Act by failing to conduct further analysis, the groups argued in the brief.
Rebecca Rodriguez awoke in the morning filled with dread. Her eyes were hot and stung with tears.

Her eviction hearing at the Scott County Courthouse was just a few hours away.

A 46-year-old mother with a 10-year-old daughter living at home, Rodriguez had no idea what would happen if she lost the apartment shes lived in for eight years. The anxiety and fear were hard for her to describe.

I knew I had to ask for help, but that is something I have really never done before, Rodriguez said. I didnt know where to go or who to talk to.

I couldnt afford to pay rent, and there was no way, I thought, I could ever pay for a lawyer. I just came to the courthouse, and thank goodness my oldest daughter (Kailee Thorndike) was here.

Rodriguezs eviction hearing was one of 43 scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 24. The list had been 60 cases long, but a number were dismissed. Some were continued. Others had been negotiated prior to going before one of the two magistrates who hear the cases each Tuesday.

Evictions are common in Scott County. While it claims just 5% of Iowas population, the countys evictions accounted for 9% of all such cases in the state for 2022.

When Rodriguez and Thorndike got to the courthouse, they saw the large placard for Iowa Legal Aid that promises help with evictions. The services offered by the five attorneys, paralegal and AmeriCorp volunteer who set up every Tuesday often are the last, best chance for people who cant hire attorneys.

The work of representing Rodriguez and others facing eviction is akin to holding back an avalanche. The number of evictions, in Davenport and across Iowa, are gaining momentum.

Record eviction cases in 2022

A record number of Iowans faced possible eviction from their homes in 2022, according to statistics compiled by Iowa Legal Aid, after a year of rising housing costs and the first full year after a moratorium on evictions expired.

Iowa Legal Aid Director Nick Smithberg visited the Scott County Courthouse on a recent Tuesday to check on the organizations local help desk that assists residents facing eviction. As a pandemic-era pause on evictions was set to expire in 2021, Iowa Legal Aid anticipated a wave of tenants navigating the court system, and decided to go to the place where it happens.

Attorneys and staff for Iowa Legal Aid set up folding tables and chairs every Tuesday afternoon in the courthouse ahead of hearings so they can counsel tenants and landlords.

In 2022, Smithberg said, there were 18,333 eviction cases in Iowa  a record. Not all resulted in evictions. In Scott County, there were 1,462 cases. For the county, only one year recorded more eviction cases  2019.

Smithberg theorizes that pandemic-eviction relief disguised an eviction trend that marches upward.

Theres been a perception that high rates of eviction were associated with COVID, but if anything, what were seeing from the data is that COVID served to suppress the numbers, Smithberg said. This is a decade-long trend, but during COVID, there was an abundant amount of rent assistance available and eviction moratoria that were in place. And now those inhibitors are gone. So were really seeing the numbers skyrocket.

Legal aid attorneys have worked in tandem with a representative from the Salvation Army and Quad-Cities Open Housing Network, part of a web of housing-advocacy groups that can offer landlords a month or two in rent to stave off an eviction, giving a tenant a cushion to get their finances in order or find another place, what Smithberg called a stand-down payment.

Its a deal where we would give the landlord a months worth of rent in exchange for a months worth of time, Smithberg said. Some funds set up two years ago are nearing the end.

Salvation Army also can help with a security deposit on a new place, or pay for late fees or moving costs.

An eviction can be more detrimental than many people realize. A growing body of research shows housing loss can result in childrens poorer academic performance as well as higher rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide and lower life expectancy. Plus, it makes it much more difficult to find housing in the future.

The consequence of an eviction on your record, no matter how the case is disposed of, it can be very bad. It makes it much harder to find habitable affordable housing, Smithberg said.

A helping hand

The first-floor courtroom where Rodriguez and her oldest daughter waited Tuesday afternoon has no clocks on the wall. No cellphones are allowed. The temperature stood at 82 degrees.

Those who entered looked like your neighbors  an elderly woman with a walker, a young couple with three small children, a pair of men with small dogs on leashes and a number of people carrying files of papers.

Some were landlords. A few were attorneys. Most were like Rodriguez, facing eviction and the uncertainty of where they will live.

When I got to the courthouse and I saw the sign for Iowa Legal Aid, I let myself have a little hope, Rodriguez said. Its been hard to have hope for the last couple of months.

An Iowa Legal Aid attorney represented Rodriguez during her hearing and helped her negotiate a settlement with her landlord.

She lives in a $746-a-month apartment and works as a patient service testing specialist; she draws blood for testing and does other lab-related work. She always found a way to pay rent, make her car payment, pay for the vehicles insurance and put food on the table.

But then an old car loan came back to haunt her.

I had a car and I got an oil change and then the engine blew, Rodriguez explained. I gave the car back to the bank and they went after the company that did the oil change.

When all was said and done, I was on the hook for $2,000. I couldnt pay it. I dont have that much leeway. So they got a garnishment against me  $500 per paycheck for four paychecks, starting in late November. I cant take losing $500 per paycheck for two months. I couldnt do it.

Christmas was gone. Rodriguez turned to a number of agencies for help with a holiday gift basket. She has been going to pantries to put together enough to feed her youngest daughter. Thorndike found herself offering her mother money for basics, like gas and groceries.

I felt ashamed, Rodriguez said. And I really had nowhere to go for help, not anywhere that I knew of. Once the bank decided it wanted that money, I had no way to stop it.

Who faces eviction?

Molly McDonnell is the assistant managing attorney for the Davenport office of Iowa Legal Aid. People face evictions for myriad reasons, she said.

A large percentage of the people we see facing eviction are working. They have a job. A number of the people we represent have multiple jobs, McDonnell said. Rent is high in Davenport and across the Quad-Cities. People have smaller margins for sudden expenses. Or if a child gets sick for an extended period of time and they have to miss work. So many of our cases start with things like a broken car.

People cant absorb sudden cost increases. Then they have to make choices. Sometimes the rent has to come after other important choices.

To answer the question of who faced eviction in Scott County in 2022, Smithberg offered some numbers that tell the story:

People with disabilities comprise 8.2% of the countys population but make up 37% of those facing eviction

Women account for 50.6% of the countys population, yet make up 74% of those facing eviction

People of color are 21.4% of the countys population and are 54% of those facing eviction

Smithberg pointed out evictions also tell the story of disparities in our community.

What causes evictions? Start with a lack of affordable housing. Then you have to look at poverty. People simply dont have the income to afford what housing is available. And then you look to issues like income and access, he said.

I say this a lot, but it is true: Evictions are a symptom of something larger going on in the community. We are looking at a set of disparities. When people dont have access to services, dont have access to some of the things many of us take for granted, you see evictions. We are talking about disparities that have existed in our communities for a long time.

A tattered safety net

Rodriguezs agreement with her landlord offered a glimmer of hope. She has two weeks to pay the back rent of $1,400. She then has the entire month of February to come up with that months rent.

She said she planned to first contact the Salvation Army for rental assistance.

Kelle Larned is the program and operations director for the Salvation Army. She helps oversee the eviction prevention program that offers up to three months rent for those looking to avoid losing their rental home.

Since 2020, the Salvation Army has doled out $1.5 million in eviction prevention funds  money solely directed to tenants trying to stave off eviction.

Larned also works to help people without homes establish permanent residences. She pointed to a lack of affordable housing as being one of the crucial elements in both evictions and homelessness.

When a person loses their home in an eviction, it used to be an average of right about 25 to 30 days before we could find them another rental, she said. Now, we are looking at an average of 85 days. That is all about a lack of affordable housing. When people lose their apartments, it is a real struggle to find any place to go.

Larned offered another perspective.

Not long ago, we had 20 to 30 families a month in our shelter program, Larned said. Today, we have between 60 and 70 families a month. We have landlords who work with us, but it is getting harder and harder to find affordable housing for the people who need it the most.

Affordable housing is crucial because the safety nets set up during the pandemic are disappearing.

In 2021 and most of 2022, tenants and landlords had access to emergency rental assistance allocated to the state by Congress in COVID-19 relief passed in 2020 and 2021.

But the nation, including Iowa, did not have the infrastructure set up to distribute the funds effectively, and the states Iowa Finance Authority scrambled to build a system. Tenants and landlords could apply for up to three months in back rent owed. But the agency and its vendor were slow to process applications, and the money slow to distribute.

In late 2022, the state agency said it was no longer running an emergency housing assistance program and would focus a second round of funding on helping homeless people regain housing and on assisting refugees.

As a result, about $89 million allocated for Iowans emergency rental assistance was likely to go back to the U.S. Treasury and be used for other states.

We were able to do a lot of good with the rent assistance, and we continue to see a substantial number of cases, Smithberg said. An overwhelming majority of eviction cases that we see are what they call non-payment cases. Thats about rent.

Smithberg was not hopeful about the rate of evictions slowing in Iowa or Scott County.

I think we are looking at a very tough year, he said. Thats my fear. Homelessness is a lagging indicator. You dont see the number of homeless increase unless there are underlying causes.

I think, with the way evictions are going, we are seeing the front edge of a troubling homeless problem.

For now, Rodriguez has managed to stay in her home. She couldnt thank Iowa Legal Aid enough for the assistance its attorney gave her Tuesday.

I still have to come up with the money, but now I know there is help, she said. Im going to do whatever I can to come up with that money. But I feel like a failure.

You feel like youre in a hole and there is no way out. At least there was someone there to help me.
COLUMBUS JUNCTION  There have been discouraging results to a Columbus Junction effort to learn if enough revenue could be generated through the citys property tax levels to help fund its local ambulance service, Mayor Mark Huston told the City Council on Wednesday.

Huston presented the council with the citys proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 maximum property tax levy notice and explained that even if the city assessed the maximum levies it could, it would only raise an additional $91,878 in revenue compared with this years $467,217 amount.

If the city was to maximize its levies, the property tax rate would climb from the current rate of slightly above $11.80 per $1,000 taxable valuation to almost $14.30 per $1,000.

The issue has become critical for the community because the city began operating the Louisa County Ambulance Service (LCAS) on Jan. 1, 2022; and Huston told the council the service has been losing around $10,000 a month since then.

According to a profit-loss statement Huston and council member Hal Prior presented to the Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the year-to-date cash balance deficit for the LCAS is almost $168,314. A previous $150,000 loan from the county is apparently also not reflected in that statement.

Although Huston said that even maximizing the citys levies would not fill all the holes created by the ambulance service, he indicated that level still needed to be presented in a Feb. 8 public hearing.

Im not saying were going to do it, he told the council, suggesting the effort was an exercise to see how the maximum amount would impact the citys financial situation.

City Clerk Julie Heindel agreed that identifying the maximum property tax did not mean that would be what the council eventually finalizes.

Compounding the issue is a request from Columbus School District and Louisa County Sheriffs Office officials for the city to participate in creating a school resource officer (SRO) position at the school

Huston said early drafts of an agreement for that proposal had the city paying as much as 20% of that positions costs, which officials have said could be between $105,000 and $110,000 annually. Startup costs could add another nearly $90,000 in the first year.

Meetings on the SRO proposal have been held, but Huston told the council the city had to resolve its ambulance issue before moving forward on the SRO position.

In other action during the council meeting Wednesday, the council approved a change-order for additional work at the heritage museum/old library building.

The $3,200 addition to the citys contract with MMI, Iowa City, will cover repair of deteriorating mortar on the brick building. Huston said other repairs suggested by the contractor could be done by city staff or other contractors.

In a related discussion, Huston said a furnace needed to be replaced in the building, but because of a donation from Doug Carey, the city needed to pay only $900 of the cost.

Huston also reported he and other city officials would meet Thursday with Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) officials to discuss the upcoming Highway 92 widening project west of Columbus Junction.

The DOT is planning to detour some traffic through Columbus City and Columbus Junction as part of the project, but Huston indicated city officials have not been fully advised on the detour route or other project details.
NORTH LIBERTY  A snowmobiler fell through the ice Sunday on Coralville Lake and was rescued by the North Liberty Fire Department, according to the city.

The firefighters and Johnson County Ambulance Service were dispatched at 5:07 p.m. to an area just south of the Mehaffey Bridge Road Bridge, where they found a person in the water holding onto the ice.

Firefighters used ice rescue suits, a rapid deployment craft and ropes to rescue the individual from the water. One firefighter was injured in the rescue and was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, along with the snowmobiler.

The fire department said that because of widely variable weather conditions across Iowa, ice on the reservoir and in the Iowa River has deteriorated and refrozen quickly, which creates dangerous conditions for recreation.

"Additionally, the reservoir is a river with a current; this can also cause the ice to be unstable for recreation purposes. Taking risks on the ice also puts rescuers at risk, much like it did in this situation," the city said in a statement. "Ice is never 100 percent safe. The emergency services urge the public to take the time to properly assess the ice before going out on it, and have a survival plan before recreating on the ice."

Counties with the longest life expectancy in Iowa Counties with the longest life expectancy in Iowa #47. Osceola County #47. Henry County #43. Washington County #43. Howard County #43. Wright County #43. Boone County #41. Floyd County #41. Marion County #37. Sac County #37. Winnebago County #37. Warren County #37. Grundy County #35. Jasper County #35. Hardin County #34. Poweshiek County #32. Clay County #32. Madison County #27. Crawford County #27. Keokuk County #27. Delaware County #27. Shelby County #27. Benton County #26. Plymouth County #24. Greene County #24. Linn County #21. Adams County #21. Carroll County #21. Buchanan County #19. Kossuth County #19. Jefferson County #18. Humboldt County #16. Worth County #16. Dubuque County #13. Clayton County #13. Guthrie County #13. Mitchell County #12. Buena Vista County #11. Dickinson County #10. Bremer County #9. Cedar County #7. Jones County #7. Lyon County #5. Hancock County #5. Dallas County #4. Story County #3. Johnson County #2. Sioux County #1. Winneshiek County
BUFFALO, N.Y.  Increasingly it feels like America is at war with itself.

In New Orleans, just days into the new year, a 14-year-old girl was shot to death, along with her father and uncle. A few days after, in a Virginia classroom, a 6-year-old boy pulled out a gun and shot his first-grade teacher. That news was eclipsed by a mass shooting at a California dance studio that left 11 people dead. A day later and a few hundred miles away, a farmworker opened fire in a beachside town, killing seven co-workers. Three more were killed and four wounded in a shooting at a short-term rental home in an an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood early Saturday.

Just keeping track of all the shootings has become overwhelming, with the locations, circumstances and the names of the victims running together into a seemingly endless trail of bloodshed and grief.

And many Americans are deeply pessimistic that anything will soon change. When President Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence  the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation  a substantial majority supported it. But 78% said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.

The sheer number of killings and the glacial pace of the political response "breeds a sense of powerlessness and despair," said Pedro Noguera, the dean of the school of education at the University of Southern California and a sociologist who has studied gun violence for more than two decades.

"I don't think anybody feels good about where we are at  even gun enthusiasts," he said.

But if all that might make you think America has gone numb to gun violence, Zeneta Everhart would disagree. Fiercely.

Everhart's then-19-year-old son, Zaire, was working his part-time job at a Buffalo supermarket last May when a gunman stormed in, looking for Black people to kill. Ten died in the attack. Zaire was shot in the neck but survived.

"I don't think that the country is becoming numb to it, but I think that the country is frustrated," she said. "I think that people are tired."

"You know, we don't want to hear about this. We don't want to hear about our children dying by gun violence, and we don't want to hear about our seniors" who were killed in the California studio attack. "How awful. How heartbreaking."

But that makes Everhart and others even more determined to find ways to stem the violence.

The month after the supermarket shooting, she and other victims' relatives went to Washington, D.C., testifying before a House committee about the need for gun safety legislation. Two weeks later, Biden signed the gun violence bill.

That success, and her son's continuing recovery, keep her energized.

But in a country where attitudes about guns and violence are often contradictory, charting a course of action makes for uneasy calculus.

Overall, 71% of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, according to a 2022 poll by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But in the same poll, 52% said it is also highly important to protect Americans' right to own guns for personal safety.

Last year's gun violence law was designed to incrementally toughen requirements for young people to buy guns, deny firearms to more domestic abusers and help local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous. Most of its $13 billion cost would go to bolster mental health programs and for schools.

This year, though, the number of shooting deaths are already deeply discouraging.

The nation's first mass shooting last year happened on Jan. 23. By the same date this year, the nation had already endured six mass shootings, leaving 39 people dead, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. It tracks every attack in the U.S. that has claimed at least four lives, not including the shooter's, since 2006.

"Unfortunately, I think we have become immune to it," said Mark Gius, a professor at Quinnipiac College who studies gun violence and public policy. "It's become a part of life."

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed when a gunman rampaged through a Parkland, Florida, high school in 2018, knows too well how overwhelming the violence can be.

The immediate instinct to these shootings, he said, is to think "Here we go again." But it doesn't end there.

"It's not that Americans don't care. It's that we've let it go too far," he said. "America is paying attention. People are more engaged on this issue than they've ever been."

For years, he's been pushing in Congress and Florida for legislation known as "Jaime's Law," which would require people buying ammunition to undergo the same background checks required to buy a gun. The bills have stalled repeatedly, but he's not giving up.

While mass killings like Parkland grab much of the attention, more than half of America's roughly 45,000 annual firearm deaths are from suicide.

Of gun killings, the vast majority leave only one or two people dead. Many of those deaths get no attention, beyond from the authorities and the people left behind.

"That's the sad thing," said USC's Noguera. "It almost takes being directly impacted to understand how dangerous the situation is right now."

It has created a situation where even people who detest guns can find themselves wondering if they should buy one.

"It's understandable," he said. "People think: If the state can't protect us, then we must protect ourselves."

Eight months after the Buffalo supermarket attack, doctors have been unable so far to remove all the bullet fragments lodged inside the body of Everhart's son, some of them dangerously close to vital organs. But his survival motivates her to keeping pushing government for change, and she urges others not to give up fighting when they hear about yet another shooting.

"Don't be numb to this," she said. "This should hurt you. You should feel something."

Interactive: Find out more about mass killings in the U.S. Interactive: Mass killings by location scaled by number of victims Interactive: Search mass killing incidents Interactive: Timeline of mass killings scaled by number of victims killed Interactive: Number of mass killings and victims killed this year compared with previous years Interactive map: People killed by shootings, per 100,000 residents
Donald M. Hess, a Napa Valley entrepreneur, vintner and art collector, died peacefully in Bern, Switzerland, on Monday, Jan. 30, at age 86.

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Hess was known for his infectious curiosity, zest for life, pioneering spirit and masterly storytelling  qualities that helped him build a successful mineral water company, along with sustainably focused wineries in Napa and Argentina, in a career that spanned almost 60 years.

Arriving in Napa Valley in the late 1970s, hoping to expand his European mineral water business, Hess was instead captivated by wine, which changed the course of his life.

He was drawn to the rugged hills of Mount Veeder in western Napa County, believing that mountain slopes were unsurpassed for quality grape production. Hess first acquired 700 acres of land on Mount Veeder in 1978 and established The Hess Collection that year, developing 200 acres into vineyard land.

The first Hess Collection wines were produced in 1983, and in 1986 he secured an additional 70 acres on Mount Veeder, which included a historic winery dating to 1903. After a multi-year rehabilitation and renovation of the winery building, The Hess Collection winery, along with a two-story art gallery dedicated to displaying a portion of his art contemporary collection, opened in 1989. Hess later played a pivotal role in establishing the Mount Veeder American Viticultural Area in 1993.

Over the last 45 years, The Hess Collection has become a cornerstone of sustainably grown California Cabernet Sauvignon. Donald Hesss approach to farming was steadfast: Nurture the land, return what you take.

The Hess Collection held the first sustainable farming symposium in Napa County in the early 1990s. As a member of the Wine Institute, The Hess Collection helped to establish a standardized and certifiable definition of sustainable grape-growing practices. Today, the winery owns four estate vineyards in the Napa Valley, totaling about 900 planted acres.

In the late 1990s, Hess traveled to Argentina. High up in the mountains of Salta, he found a small 150-year-old winery, Bodega Colome, his diamond in the rough.

He and his wife Ursula Hess moved to Argentina, working for more than a decade to rehabilitate the vineyards and transform the winery. They expanded the business with further vineyard acquisitions around the Calchaqui valleys, including the Altura Maxima vineyard, which sits at an altitude of 10,200 feet.

Today, Bodega Colome has four estates totaling 370 acres under vine at an average altitude of 8,000 feet. Hess' legacy in Argentina is also reflected in Bodega Amalaya, established in 2010 in Cafayate, Salta.

Hess also founded the esteemed James Turrell Museum at Bodega Colome, which houses nine of Turrells immersive light installations, the world's largest installation of the artists work.

Before his adventures in wine began, Hess had already become an art collector. His enduring interest in contemporary art and the emotions behind pieces helped him forge lifelong friendships with several artists.

He credited the Swiss painter Rolf Iseli as the friend who opened his eyes to the necessity of sustainability. The Hess Collection art gallery in Napa and the James Turrell Museum in Salta are vibrant reminders of his belief in the synergy between collector and work, artist and collector, and ultimately an artist and their work.

Today a second generation of the Hess family continues his legacy at the Napa winery, now known as Hess Persson Estates.
Brazilian police are searching for one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous drug lords, Jean Carlos dos Santos, who escaped from prison along with two inmates, the BBC reported.

The three inmates escaped from Bangu Prison by tying up sheets and descending from the prison window into a garbage dump.

Prison officials said Sunday that an investigation was underway to determine the exact circumstances of this latest escape.

Visits to the prison have been suspended, and 18 inmates linked to Dos Santos have been transferred to other prisons.

Jean Carlos dos Santos, 37, was serving a prison sentence for the murder of his lawyer because he was unable to secure the release of two gang members.

Dos Santos had been in prison since 2017.

Before his arrest, he controlled much of the drug trade in an area of Rio de Janeiro.




Karabakh NSS deputy director, head of presidential Central Information Department are dismissed

Armenia, Russia FMs meet in Uzbekistan

GeoProMining Gold develops social cooperation with Ararat region

Armenia Security Council secretary: International presence needed to resolve many security issues in Karabakh

Armenia police hand over Azerbaijani found in Kapan city area to National Security Service

Security Council head on CSTO: Not possible that Armenia be offered arms, ammunition help and it refuses

Armenia ruling force MP to Zakharova: If we hadn't fought, given casualties, Russia MFA could call as much as it wants

USD depreciating against several other major currencies

Armenia Security Council chief on Azerbaijan border stability: We expect Brussels to take appropriate steps

Armenia Security Council head: There were arrangements with Azerbaijan but most of them were broken

CIS FMs to hold meeting in Uzbekistan

Armenia Security Council chief: Azerbaijan is preparing for military escalation

Newspaper: Army General Staff chief admits that Tegh village incident was Armenian sides omission as well

Armenia MOD: Sanitary vehicle staff not hospitalized

shamshyan.com: Armenia MOD driver, 2 medical assistants hospitalized after truck, MOD sanitary vehicle collide

Brazil's president in China called for abandoning the dollar

Artsakh's Ombudsman expresses dissatisfaction to OSCE chairman for attitude of international community

Ararat Mirzoyan will go on a working visit to Uzbekistan

Police and demonstrators clash on the 12th day of demonstrations in France

Anahit Manasyan had a phone conversation with the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh

he 12th protest against pension reform takes place in France

Russia MOD: No ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh during last 24 hours

Lemkin Institute issues statement on Azerbaijan noncompliance with ICJ order to unblock Lachin corridor

MFA: Shushi is Artsakhs integral part in territorial, cultural, economic, historical aspects

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred in southeastern Turkey

Charles Michel explains his activeness in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process

Armenia PM to Bujar Osmani: This visit is good opportunity to get familiarized with complicated situation

South Korea bans its citizens from traveling to Armenia-Azerbaijan border region

Karabakh President convenes working consultation, security challenges discussed

OSCE Chairman-in-Office: I am here to find out if there is possibility to build bridges between Yerevan and Baku

Armenia PM chief of staff: Azerbaijanis are already in Yerevan, we have ensured their safety

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE toolkit provides mechanisms to assist peace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis

Osmani: We are ready for any efforts to achieve positive dynamics between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Armenia FM: Replacing army with guards on Azerbaijan border should be part of final settlement

Armenia MFA: Rumors about OSCE Minsk Group activities termination are greatly exaggerated

168.am: Who is the Azerbaijani already rendered ineffective in Armenia? What does he say in video?

Armenia village youth tell how they caught Azerbaijani

Armenia Investigative Committee issues statement on murder of security guard, 56, in Syunik Province

Azerbaijani who crossed border into Armenia is caught by locals, found in Achanan village territory

2nd Azerbaijan soldier found, detained in Armenia

Armenian health minister: Wounded soldier in critical condition due to Azerbaijan provocation has stabilized

Which Armenia company is put on US sanctions list?

Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders

Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border

Armenia to have trade attache in Germany

Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position

Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension

Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity

Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries

Newspaper: Karabakh soldiers who showed necessary resistance to Azerbaijan military are rewarded

Armenia FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office tete-a-tete kicks off (PHOTOS)

Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation

Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia

Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy

shamshyan.com: Murder in Armenias Syunik Province, 6 gunshot wounds found on body of security guard, 57

US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable

MFA: France deeply concerned about violence that took place near Tegh village of Armenia

Legal entity from Armenia on list of those subject to US export restrictions

Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

EU monitoring mission in Armenia not present in the area when Azerbaijan attacked

Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed

Armenia MOD: Tegh village incident that led to undesirable consequences was due to deployment adjustment

Mayor of Frances Lyon expresses unconditional support to people of Karabakh

Pashinyan: Armenian side had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

Criminal proceedings launched into Armenia soldiers being killed, wounded by Azerbaijan near Tegh village

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE supports continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan direct contacts

MFA: Russia asked Armenia to explain information about participating in joint military exercises with NATO

Zakharova does not disclose details of Russian, Turkish FMs talks on Armenia-Turkey relations

Russia MFA spox: CSTO mission deployment details can be talked about when Armenia is ready

Zakharova: Russia favors complete unblocking of Lachin corridor

Russia MFA: Other players engagement will lead to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations destabilization

EU calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to intensify border delimitation talks, until then to respect 1991 line

Russia MFA spox: Yerevan, Baku accepted proposal to hold another bilateral talks

Pallone: This is another senseless provocation from Azerbaijani forces against Armenia

Zakharova: Russia Border Guard Service, army took measures to de-escalate situation near Armenias Tegh village

Armenia deputy defense minister on possible Azerbaijan provocations again: Nothing can be ruled out

Armenia MP: Azerbaijanis demanded not to do engineering work, our soldiers responded, battle started from that

Marukyan: This is continuation of attacks carried out against Armenia in May and November 2021, in September 2022

About 100 killed in airstrikes in rural Myanmar

Criminal proceedings to be launched against Armenia opposition MP Mher Sahakyan
Protesters gathered outside Sweden's embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday to demonstrate against the burning of a Quran by a far-right Danish politician, BBC News reported.

Rasmus Paludan destroyed the Muslim holy book in Stockholm earlier in January outside the Turkish embassy.

"We urge the Indonesian government to not just condemn this, but to also join in boycotting everything Swedish," said one protester in Jakarta, Wati Salam.

The burning, and other protests, have led to a major diplomatic row between Sweden and Turkey.

Sweden needs Turkey's approval to join NATOsomething now under threat.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said his country may approve Finland's bid, but not Sweden's.

Other anti-Sweden protests have also taken place in Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Lebanon this month.

The Swedish embassy in Jakarta said the burning does not reflect the government's opinion.

Since the military actions in Ukraine in February last year, both Sweden and Finland have applied to join NATO.

Any NATO enlargement must be approved by all 30 membersand Turkey seemingly agreed to Sweden and Finland's bid in June.

But formal approval has been held up. Turkey has told Stockholm it must extradite Kurds it views as terrorists.

Sweden has made legal changes that allow it to make tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Turkey.

The government has also lifted a ban on selling military equipment to Turkey, in place since Ankara's military intervention in Syria in 2019.

But Turkey was angered when an effigy of the Turkish president was hanged by Kurdish groups in Stockholm in January.

Turkey then cancelled a planned visit to the country by Sweden's defense minister, at the time of the Quran burning.

According to Reuters news agency, the permit Paludan received from police stated that his demonstration was against Islam, and what he called Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to influence freedom of expression in Sweden.
Naba Kisore Das, the Health and Family Welfare Minister of the Indian state of Odisha, was shot by a policeman and died of his wounds, local media reported.

Naba Kisore Das was shot and killed by a policeman named Gopal Das in the western Odisha city of Brajrajnagar when he got out of his car to wave to supporters before opening his local office, The Hindu reported.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on the death of Naba Kisore Das.

The police told the newspaper that the shots were fired at close range around 12:10pm local time. A police inspector and a constable immediately intervened and detained the attacker.

Naba Kisore Das was hospitalized, but died in the hospital.

The doctors found that a bullet had passed through the minister's body, which damaged the heart and left lung and caused massive internal bleeding, the hospital said in a statement.

The police did not give details about the motives of the murder.

Naba Kisore Das was engaged in politics since 2009. He was one of the richest politicians of Odisha state.
Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic off Armenia (RA) writes: According to Zhoghovurd dailys information, the second person will be arrested in connection with the case into the fire that took place on January 19 in the accommodation intended for the personnel of the engineer-sapper platoon of the N military unit located in Azat village of Gegharkunik Province.

Who is he? According to the information we received, the official to be arrested is also one of those in charge of the rear of the military unit.

It should be noted that on January 25, 2023, a decision was made to initiate a public criminal prosecution against G. A., the deputy commander of the rear and the deputy in charge of the utility operation service of the RA MOD N military unit, under Section 3 (military official negligence, which carelessly caused the death of a person) of Article 550 of the RA Criminal Code, as a result of which, on January 26, G. A., Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the rear and in charge of the rear and utility service of the RA MOD N military unit, was arrested.

Let's remind that criminal proceedings have been initiated in connection with the incident of the fire that took place on January 19, 2023, at around 01:30 in the accommodation intended for the personnel of the engineer-sapper platoon of the N military unit located in Azat village of Gegharkunik Province, as a result of this, 15 servicemen of the same platoon dying, several servicemen sustaining physical injuries of varying degrees.
The prosecutor supervising the legality of pretrial criminal proceedings on Monday decided to initiate a public criminal prosecution against Major M. S., the head of the utility operation service and the head of the fire safety and rescue works service of a military unit, under Section 3 (military official negligence which negligently caused the death of a person) of Article 550 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

The Prosecutor General's Office informs Armenian News-NEWS.am that M. S. was detained on Tuesday.

During the investigation of the criminal proceedings being examined by the Investigative Committee, facts were obtained that M. S., being a commander (chief) and an official responsible for the organization of fire protection, did not fulfill his respective duties, including towards providing with appropriate means of fire protection to the engineer-sapper platoon of the military unit located in Azat village of Gegharkunik Province, as a result, carelessly caused the death of people.

On January 19, after midnight, an officer of the engineering service of aforesaid military unit, who was in charge of the accommodation area, in violation of the established order, lit the stove with automotive gasoline in the accommodation intended for the personnel of the above-mentioned unit, as a result of which a fire broke out in the accommodation.

Due to the lack of corresponding fire safety measures, it was not only not possible for the servicemen in the accommodation to put it out, but also, in the absence of a backup exit, to break the iron bars attached to the windows of the accommodation and get out.

As a result, the aforesaid platoons 15 conscript soldiers, who were resting in the accommodation, died, and the officer and four conscripts sustained physical injuries of varying degrees.
The army captain, who, according to the official version, is blamed for carelessly starting the fire in the accommodation of a platoon of a military as a result of which 15 soldiers have died, has not yet been questioned. Gor Abrahamyan, spokesperson of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this.

Abrahamyan said that the health condition of the aforesaid officer does not allow carrying out investigative actions yet regarding him.

The captain, who suffered burns in the aforesaid fire, has been transferred from the hospital intensive care unit to the ward.

Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that at around 1:30am on January 19, a fire broke out in the accommodation of the engineering-sapper platoon of the military unit located in the territory of Azat village of Armenias Gegharkunik Province. Fifteen servicemen have died as a result of this fire, and seven others were injured. Four of them were discharged from the Vardenis town hospital after receiving medical treatment, whereas three others with severe burns were transported to National Center of Burns and Dermatology in the capital Yerevan.

Immediately after the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other high-ranking military personnel were relieved of their positions.

A few hours after the incident, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting of the government that an officer had poured gasoline in the stove of the aforesaid accommodation. After which, when the fire had gotten to him, he had thrownwith a self-protective instinctthe 5-liter can of gasoline in his hand towards the accommodation, and this had caused the fire.

But later, the platoon commander told reporters that there was no gasoline in the accommodation, essentially refuting the PM. The Military Prosecutor also stated that it is not yet clear whether it was gasoline or diesel fuel.

Criminal proceedings have been launched into this incident.
President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. will not send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which the Ukrainian defense minister asked for the delivery the day before. However, Biden promised to visit Poland, Kyiv's most important ally, the Voice of America reports.

"No," Biden answered unequivocally, commenting at the White House on a reporter's question about whether the president supports sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

This month, after much discussion, Western countries agreed to send modern tanks to Ukraine.

The increased support has raised hopes in Kyiv that Ukrainians will soon be able to receive F-16s to support their air force, but the issue is still under active discussion in the West.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion on Feb. 24, expectations are growing that Biden may travel to Europe to show support for the alliance. Poland is at the center of the effort as a logistics center, arms supplier and key U.S. ally in Eastern Europe.

Ukraine's defense secretary said last week that he will now insist on supplying Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the U.S. F-16s after Kyiv succeeded in getting tanks.




Armenia has always been ready to have an open border and established diplomatic relations with Turkey in one second, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia and the latters special representative in relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan told the RFE/RL Armenian Service, stressing that Armenia is constructive in this matter.

According to Rubinyan, Turkey, however has not yet taken that step.

Below is an excerpt from the interview with Ruben Rubinyan.

Are there already direct cargo transportations between Yerevan and Ankara?

The opportunity is open. And if the relevant businessmen want to take advantage of this opportunity, they can. The last meeting that took place was not between special representatives, but there was a technical meeting at the border, in Margara, and the condition, suitability of the Margara bridge was studied, samples were taken bilaterally, and now we are at the stage of that study, after which it will be clear how we move forward. Also, our proposal to open the land border for diplomatic passport holders remains on the table, and we are waiting for the response from the Turkish side.

When there is already an official conclusion about the bridge, according to it, the timeframes can be specified. But, of course, if it is determined that the bridge is suitable for immediate use, in that case there will be no technical reason left for not opening the border immediately for citizens of third countries. And if this does not happen, it will mean that there will be a political reason, whereas there cannot be a political reason, at least on the part of the Republic of Armenia.

Mr. Rubinyan, by the way, what is the logic of opening [the Armenia-Turkey border] for third countries?

Naturally, Armenia has always been ready to have an open border and established diplomatic relations in one second. Moreover, by saying always, I mean since 1991. But since the Turkish side, at least until now, has not taken that step, some steps have been discussed that can be a means of strengthening certain confidence; and, in that context, there was a proposal from our side and that proposal was accepted. By the way, the proposal of direct air cargo transportation was also made by the Turkish side and was accepted by us. The meaning is to give an opportunity to open the border in any case, even partially, which can intensify the tourist movement, etc.

Is a meeting with Turkey's special representative [Serdar] Kilic scheduled in the near future?

At the moment, no.

What is the main obstacle that is delaying the normalization [of Armenia-Turkey relations]? Do they say, "Sign a peace treaty, then?"

The main obstacle is that Turkey has not yet taken this step. Armenia is ready to have a completely open border and diplomatic relations with Turkey tomorrow.

I was referring to the condition which even comes from [Turkish president] Erdogan's lips from time to time.

Various and contradictory statements are often made from Turkey. For example, they also say that Turkey goes to this process without preconditions, but on the other hand, statements are made that contradict these statements, but in any case, Armenia is constructive.
Since the beginning of December 2022, the EU has been closely following the developments along and around the Lachin corridor and their humanitarian implications.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell is in regular contact with the foreign ministers of both sides.

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar also remains in close contact with both sides.

Borrell said the aforementioned in response to the official inquiry from Member of the European Parliament Assita Kanko regarding the blocking of the Lachin corridor, Armenpress reported.

Since the beginning of December 2022, the EU has been closely following the developments along and around the Lachin Corridor and their humanitarian implications.

High Representative/Vice-President Borrell is in regular contact with the Foreign Ministers of both sides. EU Special Representative Klaar also remains in close contact with both sides.

The EU has called on Azerbaijan to take the measures that are within its jurisdiction to ensure freedom and security of movement along the corridor, in line with its obligations deriving from the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020.

In accordance with the agreement reached in Prague on 6 October 2022, the EU Monitoring Capacity was deployed to Armenia for a maximum of two months and completed its activities on 19 December 2022.

The EU has started a new phase of engagement with the decision to establish, in response to Armenias request, a civilian European Union mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The objective of the mission is to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence on the ground, and ensure an environment conducive to normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.

Sanctions are only one of the EUs tools to promote the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and are not being considered in this case.

The EUs efforts with Armenia and Azerbaijan are focused on achieving solutions through dialogue, to which the leaders of both countries have expressed their commitment, Borrell said.
Iran is likely to change its approach to the war in Ukraine in response to the Kyiv government's indirect admission of responsibility for the thwarted drone attack in Isfahan, Mehr reported.



Speaking to Iran's Nour News, an anonymous source said that "the hostile remarks of Ukrainian presidential adviser Volodymyr Zelensky could lead to different reactions" from Tehran.



Ukraines insistence on threatening Irans national security can pave the way for mulling a change in the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the war in Ukraine and adopting a new approach proportionate to the behavior of the Kyiv government, the source said. If the hostile statements of Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian president, against Iran are not corrected by the countrys authorities, they can lead to different reactions by the Islamic Republic of Iran.



The source also told Nour News that Iran has taken a principled position on the war in Ukraine since its beginning and has repeatedly stressed the need to end the military conflict and resolve it through dialogue.



While the Ukrainian government, incited by its Western partners, has falsely accused Iran of providing arms support to Russia during the war in Ukraine, it has not yet been able to provide any evidence to prove its claim, the Iranian media source said.



He also noted that Iran has repeatedly called for a joint meeting with the Ukrainian side to discuss any possible evidence regarding Kyiv's accusations against Tehran.



In the last joint meeting held between the political and military experts of the two countries in Qatar, the Ukrainian side did not present any document to prove the claim of Irans arms support to Russia, and it was agreed that the documents will be presented in the next meetings, added the source.



On the evening of January 28, there was a powerful explosion in Isfahan. The Iranian Defense Ministry said it was a failed attack by drones. Iranian media wrote about explosions in at least five provinces. TV channel Al Arabiya, reported on the Israeli military operation against Iran.



Earlier, Podolyak made it clear on his Twitter that the drone attack on the Defense Ministry facility in Isfahan and the explosion at a company in Azarshahr could be related to the events in Ukraine and Iran's alleged assistance to Russia, writing that "Ukraine warned you."



In connection with Podolyak's statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian charge d'affaires ad interim.
One of the successes of the struggle to unblock the Lachin corridor is that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has been talked about more than in the period after 2018, David Galstyan, head of the Artsakh parliamentary faction Justice told NEWS.am.



According to him, the whole world understood that this problem has not been solved.



He called to continue promoting the importance of solving the Artsakh issue on the basis of the people's right to self-determination, adopting resolutions based on the principle of "recognition for salvation."



The deputy argued that the Azerbaijani action is not of environmental nature, recalling that the same Kashen mine has suspended its operation, but it has not led to the opening of the road.



"Baku hopes that after a certain period of time it will open the road and Armenians will leave their homeland. The position of Artsakh Armenians that they don't accept the conditions of Azerbaijan should be actively conveyed to the international community that Artsakh cannot coexist in one state with Azerbaijan or be forcibly annexed to Azerbaijan," Galstyan stressed.



He explained this by the fact that Azerbaijan pursues a policy of ethnic discrimination and tries to break the spirit of Armenians of Artsakh and expel them - this is how Azerbaijan sees the "solution" to the problem of Artsakh.



"The issue of Artsakh is the issue of all Armenians. Unfortunately, the Armenian authorities are guided by Azerbaijan's agenda and try in every way to leave Artsakh alone with the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, thereby also breaking the spirit of Artsakh people.



But Artsakh Armenians are persistent; we don't expect the road to Armenia to open tomorrow. We are well aware that the struggle is not for the opening of the road, it's a continuation of the national struggle that began in 1988.



As soon as Armenians all over the world stand by Artsakh, including the Armenian authorities, then all problems will be solved. If the Armenian authorities can't do that, they must cede leadership of the country to other forces," Galstyan said.



He believes that negotiations should be conducted between the signatory countries of the November 9, 2020 statement, but Armenia also refuses to negotiate and tries to present the everyday communication of Armenians of Artsakh with Azerbaijan as negotiations.



"This is consonant with the policy promoted by Aliyev. Baku does not consider Artsakh as an equal subject and tries to present contacts as a solution to the problem in Artsakh as "inside Azerbaijani," the deputy concluded.
The European Union and Ukraine intend to expand cooperation in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen to promote the development of the country, whose energy system has been severely affected by Russian attacks, according to a draft document obtained by Reuters.



A draft memorandum of understanding is due to be signed at a summit between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top EU officials in Kyiv later this week.



The document may be amended before it is approved by member governments.



The draft says the EU and Ukraine will improve regulatory, financial and environmental conditions to "significantly accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in Ukraine" and attract investment in the sector.



This month, the EU said it would supply Ukraine with 1,000 generators from a reserve located in Poland, having already offered 1,400.



The draft agreement goes beyond such emergency provisions and aims to support Ukraine in building renewable energy and developing nascent low-carbon sectors - even in the face of the ongoing war following Russia's invasion in February 2022.



The EU and Ukraine will share information on demand forecasts for hydrogen and renewable gases, such as biomethane, and synchronize ways to certify them as they try to create a non-fossil fuel gas market, the draft said.



"The aim is to provide potential investors with maximum clarity on the development of the industry and on the market for these gases," it said.



However, the draft does not specify whether cooperation will be limited to hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, which the EU wants to greatly expand to meet climate goals, or whether it will extend to other types as well.



The vast majority of hydrogen used in Europe today is produced from fossil fuels in a process that produces CO2 emissions that heat up the planet.



According to another draft document, nine countries, including France and Hungary, have asked to include other "low-carbon gases," a term that could include hydrogen produced from nuclear energy, in the agreement with Ukraine.